Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jason’s POV:

The bastard left us. He left my mother behind with me to pick up the pieces. And I have been trying so hard to keep it together because I know she won’t. But I just couldn’t see her like that anymore tonight. I needed to get out and do something other than watch her sit on the couch and stare at the door after shooting up. Waiting for him to come back while I’m right here.

Putting on my usual black hoodie and shorts to go unnoticed in Gotham’s shadows, I open the front door and look back at my mother. I want to scream that I’m right here but I know she’s too far gone. She doesn’t see him. I slam the door on my way out.

3rd Person POV

Walking down the street, Jason scouts cars for quick cash. Might as well kill two birds with one stone by clearing his head and getting money for the house. Speaking of birds, Jason recalls that the bat has been seen without his Boy Wonder for sometime now. What’s up with that?
Before he can think about that any further, he hears talking in the alley up ahead of him.

“Come on I know you’re holding out on me.”

“That’s all I have I swear!”

“Bullshit! I see you come out of that store with a bag every day you little bitch. Give. Me. Your. Money.”

“I don’t have anything!”

Putting up his guard immediately, Jason decides to assess the situation to see if he could just pass quietly and go about his day. This is Gotham after all, it’s best to just keep your head down and keep walking.

What catches his attention is how young the second voice sounded. Peering around the corner he sees a small blue haired girl looking up to a thug with a knife to her neck. What made him pause was the expression on her face.

Her blue eyes were brightened in anger with her teeth clenched. Her body was shaking and her fists were clenched at her sides. When he looked harder he could tell she was a street kid. Her clothes were a tattered black tank top and red shorts with stains on them. Jason had seen her around a couple times but she was never around the other kids. She was scared for her life yet still put on a brave face. She was so little, so scared, and...alone.

Something about the scene in front of him reignited the anger from earlier in him. Maybe because she was just a defenseless little girl taking what the world gave her? Maybe it’s because Jason saw himself when he looked at her? Maybe it’s because this thug is so stupid he thinks a street kid has money and should be easy to take out?

Yeah lets go with that last one.

The girl’s eyes are darting all around the alley at this point and eventually land on Jason. She doesn’t want to look for long so the robber doesn’t see him. With tears now in her eyes she looks back up at the robber.

“Fine you got me. I hide my money over there.”

The girl points to the dumpster behind the robber. Surprisingly the dumbass actually turns his head and moves back far enough that the knife is no longer being held at her throat. Jason quickly understands what she’s doing and creeps his way into the alley. The girl looks surprised but before he could register that, the robber whips back around.

“Well-”

Not letting him get a chance to see Jason the girl rams herself into the guy’s torso knocking him to the ground. Jason is now stunned because, how could someone so small exert so much force? Sure he can’t really make out the robbers build because he’s wearing baggy clothing but he definitely has at least 3ft on this girl.

Before the robber can get his breath back, the girl jumps to straddle his chest and knocks the air out of him again. Jason’s eyes are now wide as he is waiting to see what this little firecracker is going to do next. In the next second his curiosity is satiated when she raises her fist and lands a clean shot to the bastard's nose with a sickening crunch. Jason is smiling now. Look at her go? Is this pride?

She rears back her fist again and hits him just as hard in the eye. This knocks the guy out cold but she isn’t done yet. She hits him once more and the smile on Jason's face is falling. She hits him again and again.

“Woah! Stop!”, Jason is now running to her. Lifting her by her armpits from behind he struggles to pull her off of the poor unconscious idiot on the ground. She flails in his arms like she doesn’t feel or hear him. Jason decides his best bet is to restrain her. He slides his hands from under her arms and wraps his arms around her, forcing her arms at her sides.

She’s now breathing heavily forcing deep breaths but her eyes are wide and unfocused. Jason, not feeling equipped for comfort but having a way with words thinks of what to say.

“You’re safe now, I’ve got you.” This is the most gentle voice Jason could muster. He had no clue what he was doing but it felt right. He felt like he was supposed to be here for her at this moment. Her body untenses in his arms and she spins around clutching his shirt sobbing. She’s back to shaking and her voice sounds so broken.

Keeping his hold on the girl he slowly walks backward to the nearest wall and slides down taking her with him. They now sit side by side on the ground. Jason cards his hand through her hair that falls to the middle of her back while the girl hugs her knees.

Eventually she stops crying and turns to look at him. Now that the chaos has settled Jason takes in her features once more. He realizes that along with her blue eyes her features look somewhat Asian. She also has a button nose that's red from crying and freckles scattered across her cheeks.

She tilts her head in a curious manner observing him too. Taking in his straight nose, black hair, and deep blue eyes. She bites her lips debating on a question.

“Why did you come into the alley?”

“Isn’t that what you were looking at me for? Didn’t you want help?”

“No! I was looking for a weapon to use on him but when I saw nothing I thought distracting him would be best to knock him off of his guard. You just looked like you needed to get by.”

Jason now realizes it wasn’t actually “I need help from a person!” glance at him it was more of a “I’m sweeping the area for something to help myself” glance at him.

“So you were fully prepared to take him on all by yourself?” Now he’s baffled, who is this tiny child?

“Well yeah, he’s been staring at me for the past two weeks, something was bound to happen.” She sounds way too unbothered by this? Was this common? Or is she that innocent?

Jason now feels the need to kick the guy on the way out.

“Why are you out this late anyways? Shouldn’t you be at one of the shelters?”

“I was checking in on the flower guy on the corner. He’s so old and needs help! He also gives me candy when I finish up there. Plus I hate being at the shelters.”

He can’t blame her for hating it there, the facilities aren’t the best and sometimes kids go missing from that area. He’s not going to blame her for being a little ray of joy and helping out, but he will blame that damn florist. How could he be so selfish? It’s Gotham at night and he sends a little girl out by herself when he’s done using her for labor? He gives her candy knowing full well money would be more useful for her situation? He feels irritated just thinking about it. But most importantly he feels the need to protect this little ball of unchecked emotions.

Keeping his face neutral and voice level, Jason comes to a decision.

“Let’s go on a walk.”

“Can I have a moment?” she says as her face lights up.

She hops up to her feet. Walking over to the unconscious guy that Jason totally remembered was there, she opens his baggy hoodie and takes a notebook that was half tucked into his pants.

“Okay, I’m ready now!”

As they walk out of the alley and back onto the sidewalk the girl bites her lip and starts to grab at the hem of her tank top.

“Is something wrong?” Jason honestly doesn’t know how someone could be so adorable yet so worrisome.

“It’s just that. I don’t know your name.” She suddenly finds the ground to be interesting. Is that it?

“It’s Jason.” She smiles so big it takes Jason aback. Has he seriously never seen her smile before? Even before tonight? No surely he would have remembered. Her smile makes her look like an angel.

“I’m Marinette!”

Chapter Text

After that they spent all night talking in a nearby park. Jason may not have been able to strip any cars for cash that night, but he was able to learn more about Marinette and that was a better use of his time if you ask him.

He learned that the notebook she took from the guy in the alley was actually her drawing book. She apparently liked to draw clothes and thought Gotham clothing to be too boring unless you count the rouges.

Waving her arms wildly, “I’m not saying that the Rogues’ costumes are the best in the world! I’m just saying that at least they are something different compared to the dark basic clothing this whole city seems to love! I want to be able to wear yellow without getting weird looks, ya’ know?” voice peaking.

Chuckling on the bench in front of her, Jason can’t help but notice how animated she’s become now that she’s not crying.

Jason has also learned that the old guy in the flower shop doesn’t just keep her there for labor but also teaches her things a school would if she could afford to go to one. This doesn’t completely expunge him from Jason’s shit list but he would rather her have a chance in this world when she grows up instead of falling into being someone’s henchman.

Suddenly Marinette’s face goes blank and she grabs another piece of candy from the bag she was hassled for earlier and offers it to him.

“Thanks for talking to me this much and being here for me. You don't have to anymore, really. I don’t want to take anymore of your time. I don’t have much else to offer.”

A scowl settles onto Jason’s face, “Hey I’m out here because I want to be, and if i wanted something I’d do it myself.” He says.

Is the only time people talk to her is when they want something? How often does this happen that she’s conditioned to think this was okay and has a premeditated response for situations like that?

Before he could think any further, Marinette asks, “Well why else are you out here?” scrunching her nose in confusion.

“Because you clearly need someone to look after you!” Jason huffs out, folding his arms and pointing his nose over her head. Feeling embarrassed the tips of his ears growing pink. He can’t believe he basically admitted to wanting to protect her!

“No I don’t! I do fine on my own, always has-!”

“It’s ‘always HAVE’ ! SEE! Right there! You need to socialize with people your own age more!” He exclaims pointing a finger and looking directly at her.

He moves off of the bench to boop her on the nose, causing her wide eyes to blink and cheeks go red. It’s pretty adorable. Anyone who hurts this face will meet his wrath. It’s been decided.

Wait. Always has? What’s that supposed to mean? Did she never have parents? His thoughts cut off once he notices Marinette has started to open the candy that was offered to him for herself.

“And another thing! You can’t just live off of bags of candy an old man gives you!”

“I don’t just live off of candy ya’ know? I buy food too!”

“With what money?”

“The money I get from fights!” She announces haughtily, turning her nose up at him now thinking she won. Oh how wrong she was.

“FrOM WHAT?” SHE STREET FIGHTS FOR MONEY? THIS LITTLE GIRL? This would explain earlier though. Wasting no time Jason moves into action.

Jason now holds her arms up and her sides and nudges her feet apart so that she is in starfish position to check for injuries. Sliding his hands down her sides he ignores her giggling.

“I’m not hurt! Promise!” She’s all out laughing now struggling to keep the smile from her face.

“NO WAY! You will NOT be hiding any pain in my presence! I just point out who gave you any bruises! I promise to number their days!” He says with an edge to his voice.

The shift in his demeanor sobers Marinette, “Really, I’m not hurt.”

He pulls away with a sigh.

“D-Did you mean it? Hurting anyone that would hurt me that is.” She hesitantly asks not wanting to get her hopes up; She refuses to make eye contact, instead choosing to look at her hands.

“Of course I did! I am a man of my word unlike some people.” He proclaims trying not to let bitterness creep into his voice. Trying not to think about his walk out of a father. Trying so hard to notthink about his mother who isn’t waiting for him to come home.

“And what about what you said about your presence? You’re really going to talk to me again?” She’s now grasping her hands together so hard her knuckles are going white. Just who hurt this girl?

Taking her hands apart, Jason lifts her chin to force her to look him in the eyes, “You have my word that I won’t leave you.”

“Why?” She whispers, not trusting her voice.

“Because you’re my new little sister!” He smiles at her.

Chapter Text

At the first glimpse of sunlight Marinette tenses up and starts speaking at rapid fire,

“Oh no! I kept you out all night! You’re going to get in trouble all because of me! And just when you decided that you wanted to deal with me! You’re gonna never talk to me again and I’m going to go back to being alone and I don’t think I can handle the fact that I’M the reason I’ll be alone forever! I mean I made peace with being alone but I didn’t think I was the issue! Who am I kidding? I always knew deep down I was the reason-”

“Hey Marinette?”, reaching out to her Jason knew she had a crazy imagination.

At first Jason found it funny when she first ranted about her new ideas of how some sweets could be innovated, but if it were like this all the time and convinced her that she was unwanted then he wanted to curb that as much as possible.

Now tugging on her hair Marinette’s pupils shrink, “Then I’m gonna die alone and my hamsters will STARVE because no one knew where I lived or visited me! OR EVEN WORSE! WHAT IF...what if my own hamsters don’t want to be around me but they’re too helpless to run away themselves? How could I be so cruel to put them through that-”

“MARINETTE!”

He didn’t want to yell but he seriously didn’t know what she was going on about anymore.

“It’s fine. I won’t get into any trouble. Since it’s Sunday we can catch up on sleep luckily. Come on,” Taking a few steps in the direction of his house. He realizes he doesn’t hear her footsteps and stop.

“Well come on? I can’t wait all day, I need to get my sleep schedule back on track before tomorrow.” Once she catches up to him, he starts off again to his house.

“I don’t understand, where are we going?”

“Our house. Duh.”

“We have a house? How do we have a house!?”

“I told you already that you’re my little sister. Mi casa, es tu casa”, he announces after putting his hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t know Spanish Jason…” Turning to her he notices that she’s blushing again. How cute! Is it because she doesn’t know Spanish?

“No need to be ashamed. I can teach ya’. It means “my house is also your house” basically.”

She lights up at the proposal to both learn Spanish and a home. Then her eyebrows slam down again. What could it be this time?

“Wouldn’t someone notice that I don’t belong?”

“I doubt it. It’s just me and…” He thought for a moment. As much as he can’t help but love her, she hasn’t been his mother for some time huh?

“It’s just me and Catherine. She will probably think that you’re me with your hair and eyes.”

“But I’m a girl!”

“She’s not looking hard. Just don’t give her money or speak to her. Honestly it’ll save a world of headaches.” Looking away he notices that they’re at the front door.

“Don’t mind the mess, I don’t really know how to clean.” Opening the door he looks at Catherine splayed out on the couch he left her on.

Dishes are piled in the sink, clothes are everywhere, overdue bills were scattered on the floor. The T.V. had the news playing with a reporter speaking about Joker’s newest bank heist. The usual.

Marinette stops in the doorway looking at Catherine and hunches in on herself, unease rolling off of her in waves. “Are you sure?”

And how dare she ask with those baby doll eyes of hers?

“You’re my sister so you belong here.” Without waiting for her response he takes her by the arm and drags her down the hallway after shutting and locking the front door, leading her to his room.

Jason’s room consists of a mattress and a red blanket and two pillows. A dresser for his clothes and his book bag. Those are the only normal things in his room. The floor is littered with chunks of metal, paneling, and hubcaps he scrapped from cars. There is a half full toolbox under his bed.

Moving over to the dresser he kicks a path he can pull out clothes that may fit Marinette. He hands her a dark green hoodie and black basketball shorts with drawstrings on both so she can adjust them if needed.

“Sorry for the hand-me-downs, if I had more money I would have bought you clothes-” In the middle of his apology he sneaks a peek at Marinette behind him while his body still faces the dresser. He stops when he sees that she’s crying.

“What’s wrong-”

“Thank you so much!” Jumping onto Jason’s back, he feels a wet spot grow on his shirt.

“Yeah yeah just change when you want, the bathroom is across the hall.” Turning around, Jason lifts Marinette and sits them both on his bed. Waiting for her breathing to even Jason decides that he should just hold her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason POV

I don’t know when I fell asleep but waking up I remembered last night. The sun is in the middle of the sky so I didn’t sleep too long. A grin slid onto my face until I realized Marinette isn’t in my room.

Looking around my room to confirm she isn’t here I step out into the hallway. I would knock on the bathroom door but it was open with the lights off. Moving to the front of the house I could feel my own eyes widen.

The entire house has never looked this clean. We don’t even have cleaning supplies. How could she do this?

That’s it. She’s magic. I mean, that’s the best explanation. I’ve seen weirder in Gotham. Like how she could fight without a scratch? Healing magic. Somehow not get kidnapped even though she is clearly a child completely unattended? Protection Magic. How did she clean this house? Now idea, but it’s looking more like magic as the seconds go by.

She did it without making any noise either! I trained my ears to specifically listen for noises inside the house just in case of robberies or if his mom gave a fuck about him…

I can still hear the news so I can only guess that the T.V is on. Going over to turn it off, my eyes sweep over Catherine, and land on the floor in front of her to finally find Marinette with the hood up. And she is absolutely swimming in my clothes! How adorable!

Marinette looks back at me and puts a finger to her lips to tell me to be quiet. She moves to her feet and takes me back to my room shutting the door softly behind her.

“Catherine woke up earlier for the bathroom, so I put this hood up pretending to be you.”

Fiddling with the hem of the hoodie she looks at me admitting, “I also went to Mister Fu’s shop for cleaning supplies.”

I answer, “Well it’s okay that you pretended to be me, I was hoping it would work out anyways. But who is Mister Fu?” Hopefully letting her know it’s okay that she has autonomy should make her comfortable. However, I have the sneaking suspicion that this ‘Mister Fu’ guy is the reason she was out so late last night and that we will be exchanging words soon.

Lighting up Marinette goes on to tell me that Mister Fu is actually the florist down the street as suspected. I want to tell her that he might be bad news, but he seems to be doing more good than harm.

He has one more fuck up and I’m burning that place down.

“Ah, so what has he taught you so far? You go to him instead of school right? Must be hard working and learning at the same time.” I want to learn as much as possible about the guy before I meet him. Marinette thinking that I’m interested in this guy seems to get her to ramble.

“Well I know how to do maths up to trignon- triga-”

“Trigonometry?”

“Yeah!”

Holy shit that’s pretty high for an 8 year old, I wonder if she were given the proper resources how high of a level she would actually be right now?

“What else?”

“I also know biology, chemistry, and basic anatomy! I’m not doing so well with physics right now though. But I’ll keep practicing! Oh! I have mastered French and Mandarin too. English is still a learning process but I feel like I’m doing well enough to pass for a natural accent. No one has really called me out so far but I think that’s because I don’t really speak to people. You haven’t called me out on words except from that time in the park. I’ve been trying extra hard since then.That was another reason why I didn’t speak to other kids that much. Reading is a nice pastime of mine when I can find books.” She looks determined while using her fingers to tell me what she knows.

Yet every subject that left her mouth left me closer to the edge of a mental short circuit. If what she says is true, then I not only have a small genius on my hands but the man in that shop is far more qualified than most adults in my school. Who the fuck is that guy and how did Marinette end up with him?

Trying not to fall off of the deep end I can feel myself stiffly walk over to my dresser and open the bottom drawer. It’s full of all of my favorite Shakespearean books that I took from the school's library. I brought them home one day and no one ever asked for them back. Apparently I was the only one putting them to use. What a shame.

Handing my copy of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to Marinette she bounces in excitement, snatches the book, and flops onto my bed to read in what seems like one second.

“When I’m in school tomorrow I want no fighting, go to Fu’s until 3 and I will bring back food. We can hang out as much as you want after that okay?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Sitting on my bed again I watch Marinette read while I wrap my head around just exactly what this girl is capable of and what she’s gone through.

Chapter Text

Marinette’s POV

Today Jason went to school so I decided to walk down to Master Fu’s place with my notebook as soon as Jason left.

I really hate lying and keeping secrets. Especially to Jason. He’s always been so considerate and nice to me. And this is how I repay him? I feel terrible about it really, but Master Fu says it’s for the protection of people I care about. One day I will tell him the truth. I owe him that much.

Besides Jason and Master Fu, I only have about a handful of people I have meaningful connections to. Of course I care about the people of Gotham! It’s just that even when surrounded by people I felt alone. Like I am an outlier and don’t belong.

It’s gotten better over time. But in Jason’s arms? I felt safe and warm. More than I have ever been in a long time. When he says that he won’t leave I believe him. Not everyone keeps that promise.

Opening the door to Master Fu’s shop, I’m greeted with beautiful bouquets of all colors. I've always felt better seeing nature thrive.The small fountain by the greenhouse in the back catches my ear. Master Fu only turns it on when he deems that I am fit to learn a new lesson.

Understanding the signal I walk into the greenhouse at the back right side and see that Master Fu is still preparing elixirs on the table with his back facing me.

“Just a moment Marinette. In the meantime can you fix those wilting carnations for me?”

“Of course Master Fu.” A simple task really, one of the first subjects I tried my magic on. Pointing my finger at the white carnations, they perk up immediately.

Master Fu turns around and sits on the red carpet that is in the middle of the room, motioning for me to sit in front of me.

“So this is more of a lecture than a lesson? Did I do something wrong Master?” The only thing that has changed about me is my new routine with Jason. Does the Master want me to stop being around him? I have never gone against Master Fu, but if I have to, my heart will be broken.

“No Marinette. I just want to check in on you. Your aura is now different. Lighter. I’m actually happy about that. What brought on this change?” Well I guess he would be happy about that.

~~Flashback~~

When we first met he approached me on the street and stated that my aura was black. He offered that spending time in his shop should help. At first I thought he was crazy, but I wasn’t going to anger him just in case he snapped. That and I had nothing better to do. I didn’t go to school or speak to other kids. I simply wandered the city most of the time.

The more I had come around, the more we began to speak. Eventually he had told me he felt overwhelming loneliness clinging onto me. I don’t why that was what broke me but as soon as he said that I sunk down to my knees and sobbed.

Once I started crying I felt like I couldn’t stop. Crying like that made me feel like weight was being lifted from my chest. I had never let my guard down like that before. Once all the tears were out, I wiped my eyes and saw Master Fu staring at me with wide eyes.

I wanted to profusely apologize for taking up his time but before my raw throat could manage anything he put his hand on my shoulder and smiled.

“Now that you were able to show your emotions at their purest form look what you accomplished young one!” he said calmly while looking around.

Finally remembering my surroundings I could only look on in amazement. The entire shop looks like a fairy dumped their backyard in here! All of the flowers seemed to have multiplied and wove together like vines, braided around the shop! The once small hedges and bonsai trees were nearly taller than the shop’s ceiling. Everything grew in size into lush greenery.

“Well, Marinette now that loneliness isn’t choking your spirit, your aura has brightened into a dark blue of sadness at the moment. But it’s okay, we can lighten it even more together while I teach you about your newfound abilities.” After helping me to my feet, he moved to the back of the shop. He returned with my first bag of candy.

I was 4.

Chapter Text

Marinette’s POV

The next morning I couldn’t help but feel curious when Poison Ivy* came into the shop with Harley Quinn*. They weren’t up to any trouble as they had just gotten out of Arkham but that doesn’t mean they won’t go back.

Putting her hand to her hip she looks straight at me, “Last night I felt a surge of energy from the Earth, and my babies say that you are the main source. Any idea why they said that?”

She didn’t look angry, just confused. Not being one to lie, “That’s because it was me.” I say abashed.

Taken aback, Ivy glances at Harley for confirmation, “Unless the little doll is a great sociopathic liar, all of her body language is pointin’ to the truth.” She says shrugging her shoulders with a grin on her face.

“I just had my abilities opened last night. My teacher says that since I’m new to this I’ll just keep em-nan-a-ting my magic until I’ve dried it up. Sometimes strong emotions can make them explode!” I said with a smile. I was still learning how to pronounce certain words in english and didn’t want to mess up.

Harley is full on smiling now, “Well shucks Ives! We found a mini you!”

Leaning in closer to examine me Ivy asks for my name and I give it to her.

Standing tall again she goes, “You’re my little Marigold now.” There was no arguing with her so I just nodded and smiled at her.

“So who’s lookin after ya little one?” Harely says to make conversation. Ivy looks around the shop in disinterest.

“M-My grandpa in this shop?” I don’t know what else to tell them really.

Harley shakes her head, “I can tell you’re lying~” she sings. Well darn, I know I’m bad at lying but she could have at least humored me.

Ivy stills and turns a fierce glare at me to speak in the most serious tone I’ve ever heard, “The bastard is touching you is he?”

“No! I just live on the streets I swear!” I didn’t want to admit it, but if I could clear Master Fu’s name since he is innocent then I’d do so! He didn’t deserve the wrath of these women because of a mistake.

“Is he having you move drugs for him? Was this store a front before you blew it up like this?” Harley asks now with a frown.

“No I promise all he sells are flowers!” Now I’m desperately waving my arms. How did this happen? Where is Master Fu?

Finally after 5 more minutes of intense prodding they relax.

“Sorry Marigold but I don’t think either of us could house you legally if we wanted to with our current track record. That and Harley is with Joker and he doesn’t do kids.” Ivy says with a scowl.

“But we will be back when we can to check on you! And your ‘grandpa’. No offense little one but he left you all alone in this shop with two well-known and very ‘dangerous’ rogues. There is a lot with that that doesn’t sit right with me.” Harley then hugs me and walks out.

Ivy takes one last look at my first creation before turning to me and going, “I’m taking this off of your hands.” Even in the present day I don’t know if she was actually being nice or if she just wanted my magic greenery.

Opening the door she summoned vines to gently carry my creations off into the sunset with her and Harley.

~~Present Time~~

“Your aura is now showing hints of white Marinette. You have come a long way and for that I am proud. You’re finally growing into yourself in your purest form. Care to tell me what changed?”

Sitting on my knees I can’t help but stare at my lap, “Well...It seems that I have acquired a brother Master.”

He stares at me in surprise so I quickly add, “I won’t tell him about my abilities I swear! It’s just that...I haven’t felt happy like this in a long while” I floundered a little but proud I was able to tell him about my emotions without rambling.

He smiles back softly at me, “Well, Marinette it seems that you are ready for some more training and some explanations. I’m glad you were able to find happiness.”

Today he goes on to reveal me that he is the guardian of ancient artifacts called The Miraculous. I was made aware of the miraculous jewelry about a year ago but he never told me that he was the guardian and that he was in possession of them currently. I just thought he wanted me to be well versed in what type of magical artifacts existed.

“I must confess Marinette. When we first met I felt as if you were a true hold for a specific miraculous but because your aura was so shrouded I did not know which one. Once your magic appeared though it was clear. It is very rare for a miraculous wielder to also be a magic user but it is a sure way to find out what miraculi resonates with you.” He is looking me in the eyes now.

A beat passes as he makes sure I’m understanding.This is a LOT of information to take in after all.

But it’s okay. I’ll just break up the info in small pieces, place them in my mental box, and never put the whole picture together in my head until I can handle the weight of what he’s saying.

Easy! I do that with all concerning things in my life that I can’t think about. Being in active contact with two rogues, me possessing and hiding my magic without knowing why I have it in the first place, and now I'm a destined miraculous wielder.

Putting all those thoughts back in box, I can numbly acknowledge that nodded my head to let Master Fu know I was ready for the rest of his explanation

“I know I wouldn't be here forever Marinette, so I started to train you to become the guardian after me. That’s what most of these lessons were. I have even trained you to control your magic so it suits your miraculous.” So that’s what all of those hours I spent were for. Initially I wanted to get control over my powers so I wouldn’t hurt anyone, but over time I felt like I was working towards something greater.

Oh look, another thing to add to the box. This man who has admitted that this whole ‘relationship’ is a sham and he only got into my graces for personal gain. Good to know that it’s once again my abilities that are wanted. Not me. Never me. Never Marinette.

The other kids only wanted my knack for having sticky fingers. At first they were nice but once they realized that’s how I could sustain myself-

No back in the box with Fu.

Back in the box with

my parents.

SNAP OUT OF IT MARINETTE.

Inhale, exhale. Keep your face neutral.

To ground myself, I thought about all the progress I had made. A technique Fu taught me so I wouldn’t spiral. I'm rarely able to do it myself, but it manages to keep the darkness away.

It started simple with learning how to control plants. Soon I mastered that and healing Magic. Next was sensory Magic. This allowed me to sense not only regular people but magic users and how to gauge how powerful their magic was as well. The hardest to learn was conjuring magic, it allowed me to materialize nonliving items that I wanted or even organic life through small portals I can create. The portals can only take me at short ranges. A block away at most for now.

Now I have practiced so much all of this would take no effort at all for me to do.

Saturday night I sensed Jason walking towards the alley before he even knew anyone was there, I would have conjured a weapon when I distracted the mugger but he was watching! Jason was also right that night in the park. I do leave fights injured but the injuries never stay for more than 15 minutes or less depending on how severe the blows I got were.

At least I did technically come here for cleaning supplies (via portals), I don't know how I would’ve lied out of that without him catching on. I didn’t have keys okay! I didn’t want to leave the house unlocked.

“When the time comes I will give you full guardianship which will erase my memories, but I fear I will have to give you your miraculous first. Years ago the peacock and butterfly were lost. If broken or corrupted by being used for evil, the only miraculi that can surely stop the two are the Ladybug and Cat miraculous. These two two are especially important. You are suited for the Ladybug as a perfect match. When the time arrives I will assign you a partner.” We spend the rest of the day talking about the miraculi, what they do, and what my abilities are.

My natural affinity to creating life was a dead giveaway for which Miraculous was for me. My only concern is that if something were to happen, I have no room for error. Just thinking about that-

Nope!

Box!

The clock chimes and it's 3pm. Wrapping up with Fu is easy, but wrapping my whole head around the situation? I can only laugh at what my life has become. He hands me my usual bag of candy with a smile like he didn’t just tell me that the world POTENTIALLY rests on my shoulders.

It’s time for Jason to be almost at home anyways and I’m starving!

Chapter Text

*Angst warning

Marinette’s POV

I met Jason on the steps of the house with my mind still processing what I learned today.
But seeing Jason lifted my spirits, especially when I spotted a bag of fast food in his hands.

“Is that really for us?” I didn’t want to admit it in the park, but Jaon was right. The money I get for fighting is stretched out and sometimes saved for new clothes. Because of this I usually get day old bread and not so fresh fruits from the market in the daytime when I can, that way I won’t get mugged at night. Oh the irony.

Smiling at me Jason holds out the bag, “Actually all of it is for you, I ate on the way here. It may not be the healthiest but you’re still growing.”

Bouncing on my feet I happily grab the bag from him, “You’re the BEST brother in the world Jay Jay!”. After realising what I said I stop to look at his face for a reaction.

Eyes wide he goes, “Jay Jay?”. If his voice cracked I wouldn’t make fun of it later. Nope totally won’t.

He doesn’t sound angry so, “well, it just kinda came out! But I think it suits you.” I offer with a smile. Am I being too forward? Oh please don’t kick me out, I didn’t mean to-

“If you give me a nickname, then I’ll have no choice but to call you ‘Nettie’ from here on out!”, he proclaims with his hands on his hips.

Feeling my cheeks grow warm, I decide to change the subject, “Would Catherine want some food too? I didn’t see her eat yesterday and there was no food in the fridge.”

Jason POV

“Don’t worry about it. She’s never home this time of day.”, I say. I don’t know how to tell her that she’s never home when I get back from school. It’s usually when I hide the money before she gets back.

Honestly, I know we won’t be able to keep this house long so I have been saving a little bit of cash and keeping my tools in my bookbag for when we get evicted.

Nettie asks me about school and I ask her about her day with Mr.Fu. She just shrugs and tells me it was okay. I think she just wants to rest, and who am I to deny her of that?
Taking Nettie’s hand I open the door and finally walk in. Heading to my room, I see that the T.V is still on. Which is weird.

Catherine wakes up with terrible headaches when she comes down, and an even worse attitude. She would usually snap at me for being too loud or turn off appliances herself.

Letting go of Nettie’s hand I move to turn off the T.V. Before I could do that I see Catherine curled into a ball on the couch.

Frowning, I moved toward her. Had she seriously not moved from yesterday?

I reached to nudge her shoulder and I’m only met with cold skin.

Why is she so cold? It’s September.

I push her harder but she isn’t even reacting.
-
-
-
-
-
I’m full on shaking her now. I can barely hear Nettie calling my name or the tears slide down my face.

I know full well what’s happened, I just don’t want to accept it. I can’t. Not that it’s time to say goodbye, not that anything will be the same, not that she’s finally left me.

Nettie really is all I have. And to think I was so content just a few moments ago. I thought I had finally gotten some peace.

Was I not good enough? Was she really that unhappy? Shaking her harder, the blanket Nettie placed on her the night before slips off of Catherine.

I didn’t know it but I was apparently screaming at this point according to Nettie.

Marinette POV

I finally pull Jay off of Catherine, or I should say his mom. He’s screaming for his mother to come back and I don’t think he realises it.

His voice is breaking my heart and I don’t know how to help him. He sank to the floor on his knees and is still screaming. All I could do is hold him tight like he once did for me.

I look up at Catherine. Her lips and her fingertips are blue, black hair splayed around her from Jason’s shaking, but most of all her chest isn’t rising or falling. I’ve seen this a few times wandering alley’s in Gotham at night.

She’s gone.

I wasn’t able to close the door before he found Catherine. To what I can only assume is an angry neighbor, comes in with a complaint on their tongue, but they look at the scene in front of them and call the police in a panic.

I don’t know how long I held Jason for but soon the cops came and began to ask us questions. Jason was unresponsive, for the first time I saw his face completely devoid of any emotion. His entire body was tense and eyes were red.

Instead of forcing him to answer any questions, I introduced myself as his little sister. I told them what we saw.

“I know this is difficult but we will have to take you both down to the station for further questioning. Then we will see where to place you two okay?” said the policeman apologetically.

I look over at Jason and something in my gut tells me he wouldn’t want this. To be found out that we aren’t related. To be separated. Neither do I.

Looking back at the officer, “Sure but can me and my brother get our things from our rooms first?” I offer. He accepted and I took Jay to his room in the back of the house.

Shutting the door, I open the book bag still on his back and throw as many clothes as I can and some of his tools in there. I open the window leading to the side of his house and look him in the eyes, “We are going to Mister Fu’s.”
~~~~~~~~
Climbing out the window and creeping down the street, we make our way to Master Fu’s shop down the street as quiet as possible.

If Jay had left anything important behind I’ll simply conjure what he wants or open a small portal to grab anything we forgot before the police take it.

Usually I never want to impose on someone else’s life but this will have to be an exception. Multiple times Master Fu has offered his home to me and I denied. But now Jay needs me and this is our best bet.

With the responsibility Master Fu snuck onto me this morning, I won’t leave him any room for argument. According to him, he needs me so I will take advantage of that. Thinking about giving him an ultimatum puts a sour taste in my mouth, but a voice that suspiciously sounds like Jay is telling me that I’m completely valid.

Speaking of Jay, I pull him into the shop. Master Fu looks up at me in surprise looking between me and Jay. Jay’s head is still down and he’s staring off into nothing.

I don’t know if he can hear me or not, “Hey I’m going to Mister Fu in the back. Can you stay here until I come back?”

He just nods back. He’s never been this quiet before. I don’t know how to help people who are grieving, but I think I should give him some time.

Without looking at Master Fu, I walk to the greenhouse at the back knowing he would follow anyway.

“What’s wrong Marinette? Your spirit is heavier than when you left. And outside, is your brother I assume?” he inquires.

I explain to him what happened at Jay’s house.

“Well you two are welcome to stay, I can’t leave the two of you to fend for yourselves. All I ask is that you only perform your magic when he isn’t around.” I honestly didn’t think it would be that easy. I was about to come in guns blazing, but I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth

Walking back to Jason I introduce Master Fu to him. Finally raising his head, he gives Master Fu an intense look.

~~~Jason’s POV~~~

When I saw that man I felt a burning anger in my chest. If I thought about it, then maybe I would have been startled by how fast I went from being numb to angry. Going by Nettie’s face, my reaction must be visible.

Good. I want this bastard to know that he is on thin ice with me. How could he let someone as sweet as Nettie wonder Gotham at night?

“Jay? Master Fu says we can stay. Would you like that?”, Nettie whispers while she rubs my hands to unclench them.

She’s trying to defuse me and I’m doing nothing but worry her. She probably went through a lot to get us to stay here. Before I could fuck this up for either of us, I need to leave. I don’t trust myself to keep quiet.

Looking at Nettie I try to keep my voice level, but my voice still comes out harsh, “ Thank you Nettie, I’m going on a walk.”

Not letting her reply, I nod at Mr. Fu and turn on my heels. Taking my book bag with me, I walk out the door.

I don’t know why I snapped but I did. Maybe it was because I needed an outlet? Can I just not process emotions properly. What the fuck is wrong with me? Nettie is trying her best and I came off so disrespectful.

Walking through the streets of Gotham, I noticed that the sun was setting.

Luckily Nettie put some more tools in my bag. That girl is a real blessing. I walked until I was dark and the moon was halfway to its peak just trying to clear my head. Looking up again I noticed I was at a higher end of Gotham. Rich people. Good as a place as any to scout for cars.

People on this end of the city are a little more lax about leaving their shit unattended because they could repair or replace them. But as I reached the end of the district, I couldn’t find nice enough hubcaps to pay for me and Nettie’s share at Mr. Fu’s**. Damn valets.

I never really come this far into Gotham because I usually don’t have enough money to pay for transportation over here and back to my house. I didn’t realise how far I’ve walked honestly.

The harbor is now coming into view (I’m making up a map of gotham as I go.) and I’m remembering the time my mom took me here once a couple years back. I had to have been Nettie’s age then. We didn’t have a lot of money so we just played in the sand and looked at the water. I wasn’t much but I miss that version of Catherine. I miss my mom.

Shaking my head again my eye catches a glint of moonlight in a nearby alley. It could be glass or it could be a nice watch a mugger dropped in a hasty escape from earlier tonight. You never know.

Getting closer I realize there is actually a black car with super tinted windows tucked into the alley. On closer inspection I realize the moon was reflecting light off a rim from the car’s wheel!

I waited exactly three minutes for someone to come by to get in the car or even for someone to get out of the car. Nothing happened. Not wanting to waste anymore time than needed I got to work. When I got close to the hubcaps I noticed a bat design on them. No way!

I managed to get 3 out of 4 of the caps off! I’m certain this is THE Batman’s car. I’ve only seen it in passing and going a hundred miles an hour, but I'm certain it is. If it turns out to be just a really enthusiastic fan I’m sure I wont have too much trouble convincing my buyer that these are actually his hubcaps. Me and Nettie can eat like kings for at least a month now!

Starting on the last hub I can’t help the grin that slides onto my face. That is, until a heavy hand rests on my shoulder.

I actually feel my heart dropping to my ass. If this is who I think it is, then this will be the first time I’m actually afraid of someone in my life.

Turning my head around as slow as I can, I meet eyes with the bat himself. Honestly I thought he would be taller?* Puffing up my chest to save face I give him my best glare. On the tip of my tongue the word, “ What?” is about to leave my mouth until he speaks before me.

“So you really are just a kid.”

“...” Well his voice certainly matches up to it’s intimidating reputation.

“You’re coming with me.”

Chapter Text

Jason POV

I woke up in a large room to someone knocking on the door. I would think I was kidnapped but this room is far nicer than any warehouse I’ve been in. The covers are plump and soft. The windows are large letting in plenty of sunlight. There is a desk with a lamp on it and the carpet is soft under my feet once I climb out of bed. Am I in a hotel?

The knocking starts again and I move to open the door. There is an older man standing on the other side giving me a soft smile. Why do I feel like this man is the only person on this earth that will grant me peace?

“I am Alfred Pennyworth and you may call me Alfred. Master Bruce is waiting for you downstairs Master Jason.” he says while handing me my book bag.

Oh it's all coming back to me.

Batman dropped me off at this place saying that freaking BRUCE WAYNE would like to meet me. After sitting in the living room for about 10 minutes the man himself asks me about what I was doing last night.

He sat across a table from me as the fireplace gave me warmth I didn’t know I needed that night. His face was intense the entire time searching for something.

I don’t know what came over me but I told him almosteverything that had happened that day. Catherine, going to a shop for safe haven, hubcaps to eat. All of it, with the exception of leaving Nettie out of the whole explanation. I don’t care how rich you are, you don’t get that kind of money by being clean. I don’t want Nettie involved in anything this guy might pull.
She’s all I have left

By the time I finished I was choking on my tears again and I must’ve passed out.
~~~

Blinking back to reality I thank Alfred and make my walk downstairs with his help navigating the house. Along the walls I see pictures of another kid throughout the years. He doesn’t look like Bruce Wayne but he shares the same features. He adopted a son right?

Reaching the dining hall Alfred sits me at the long table and places a plate of food in front of me, “Master Bruce should be here in a few moments.” he says and stalks back to the shadows of the house.

Another thing. Why is this place so damn dark even though there are windows and candles everywhere? This is the most gothic shit-

Cutting my thoughts off, the man of the hour stalks into the room. Sitting at the opposite end he folds his hand in front of his face, expression grave. Nothing could have prepared me for what he was about to say.

“How would you like to stay here?”

WHAT?

~~~~~~

Marinette POV (starting from when Jason left)

Watching Jay Jay walk out I felt helpless. Did I do something wrong? Maybe we shouldn’t have come here? Did he realize he didn’t want to be here with me anymore-

I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel Fu’s hand on my shoulder, “Don’t worry Marinette, he’s been through a lot today. He will come back.”

“Thank you Master, I just wish there was more I could do. It’s going to be dark soon and I just-”, Lighting up I run to the greenhouse and search through all of the spell books Master collected through the years.

“Master Fu, do you have any protection spells?” I’m coming up with nothing! I wish I learned some now! Before I didn’t have anything or anyone to protect, but being able to protect Jason when I can’t be with him would be great.

“I am in charge of the miraculous of protection Marinette, and not a magic user. I’ve never really searched for those types of spells, just picked up what I could over time. However, the miraculous book of spells should have some enchanting spells for you.” He says while pulling out the book.

Fu begins to translate some of the book for me as a part of my training to become a guardian. Apparently I need an item that represents protection itself and then enchant it with select ingredients. The recipient will make it out of precarious situations if they have the enchanted item on them.

It will take some time to gather all of the ingredients but for now I grab a stalk of foxgloves* and infuse some of my magic in it, so it will not die or wilt. This way I can have it on hand once all the ingredients are here. There will be times when Master Fu will go out and I will have to manage the store myself, but not many customers come by anyway.

The only regulars are Harley and Ivy when they aren’t in Arkham. Slowly but surely Ivy and I have been convincing Harley that Joker is no good for her. All she needs is one last push and Joker knows this so he’s been playing nice as of recently. He’s a filthy manipulator and just thinking about it puts me on edge.

Until Jay comes back I will do my best to not get in trouble. I don’t want to worry him, but I can’t help the fear building in my chest the longer he is away.

Chapter Text

I’ve been gone for too long. It’s only been one day but it feels like forever being away from Nettie. I spoke with Bruce for a long time and decided to become his ward, but only if he could prove to me that he actually has my best interest at heart and if I promise to be on my best behavior.

If Bruce proved himself, I’ll tell him about Nettie. If not, I’ll cut my losses.

Bruce left to go to his company a couple minutes ago. Calling for Alfred, I tell him that I sometimes help out at the flower shop by my old house and that I’d like to keep helping there. Next thing I know I’m in the car on my way to Mr. Fu’s shop.

I tell Alfred that I will be finished in a couple of hours and he agreed to pick me up. Finally! I can be with Nettie!

Opening the door, I spot her at the counter and run to hug her. I really forget how small she is at times. If everything goes as planned and Bruce is worthy, then I can provide a life that she deserves.

Happy to see me, she returns my hug and we stay like that for a few minutes. I notice that Mr. Fu has left her alone. Again. With the door open. In Gotham.

I swear if I weren’t an actual child and he weren’t giving her a place to stay, then I would be doing more than burning this fucker down once I get the chance.

Taking advantage of this moment, I tell her about what happened last night. She begins to bounce in excitement, but suddenly stops.

“Jay Jay what if he gets you into trouble? What if he’s a crook?” She asks in a worried tone.

She cares a lot about me huh?

“Then you’ll be safe. That’s all that matters to me. I will bring money and clothes over here when I can that way you don’t have to fight. I’m always looking out for you Nettie.” I say while patting her head.

“Well if you say it’s okay for now, then I trust you...BUT I’ll try to protect you too! Just you wait Jay!” Her eyes blaze with a new fire and I think I saw the flowers stand a little taller at her promise. That could be in my head though, everything seems more alive when she gets like this.

Locking the door and sitting behind the counter, Nettie and I talk about her lessons as we share candy. I wish days like this could go on forever.

6 MONTHS LATER*

Well.

My gut was fucking right.

Bruce didn’t turn out to be a criminal but fucking BATMAN and then got me involved in his shit too. I can only thank past Jason for his infinite wisdom of not getting Nettie involved in this.

Apparently the Robin before me, or Dick wanted to move past wanting to become Batman and wanted a mantle of his own. Meeting him, I had to say I was put off by Dick immediately accepting me into the family with excitement. He was so welcoming that I almost told them about Nettie that night at dinner. That is, until that very night they divulged their nightly activities to me and offered me the new robin position.

After thinking all night about it, I came to the conclusion that I could watch and protect Nettie from afar if I became robin. Once I told Bruce my decision my training began.

While I was training I was able to give Nettie new clothing and sometimes money as promised. I was also able to teach her as much Spanish as possible. She’s a really fast learner, exceeding expectations left and right. Each time I left she promised me that she’ll be able to protect me one day too. She’s too sweet for this world honestly.

Tonight is my first night out as Robin and Bruce even said I get to have the last hour to myself to see what I could do as an act of trust.

Marinette POV

Today’s the day! Fu gathered all of the ingredients last night, and today I put them together to enchant the stalk of foxgloves to give to Jay. He should be approaching the shop now if the energy on the sidewalk is anything to go by. He’s non magical so he isn’t as distinct, but he’s familiar to me because I’m always around him.

When he opens the door, it takes everything in me to not run him over in a hug. Smiling wide, I pull out the foxgloves from behind my back and shove it in his face.

“Jay Jay! I got these foxgloves for you! Grew them myself so you’ll be protected!” Now I really can’t help myself from bouncing on my feet.

“Slow down Nettie, what are you on about?” He says tilting his head to the side.

“I want you to have these flowers on you all the time Jay Jay! You gotta promise! I grew and took care of these so you’ll be protected.” I say moving closer to him.

“I promise. I’ll keep them on me always, you have my word.” He says as he takes them from my hand and into his pocket.

A smile takes over my face for the rest of the day.

Little did I know I’d see it again a few hours later.

~~~~

Jay left before dark and Fu overwhelmed me with more translations from the Miraculous Book that I had to take a walk. Usually I take easy to languages but this is insane since I also have to learn Arabic before I can get to a half indirect translation of the book. Ugh! Why can’t things be just one step?

My attention is immediately drawn to the alley behind me. There’s an energy signature there and I can feel eyes on my back. It feels familiar though? Actually it feels very familiar? Is Jason somewhere around here?

Turning around I see Robin looking right at me. Except he looks different than before. Younger even. Why is he alone? Is he an impostor? Nah, that would be a sure fire way to have many unwanted eyes on you including the Bat’s.

He comes up to me slowly with his chest puffed. “What could someone so small like you being doing out this late?” He says in a voice that sounds like he’s trying to make it deeper. He’s gonna hurt his throat if he keeps that up.

“Hey!” His voice cracks. Oh I said that out loud?

“I just needed to clear my head. What’s me being small gotta do with it?” I say challenging him. He doesn’t even know me!

“Because bad guys will target you!” He reprimands by booping my nose. The action feels so familiar.

“Then I’m lucky I have you!” I say causing his ears to blush.

“I’ve seen you around before, but you’re usually alone. Why’s that? Up to something shady?” He jokes.

“Used to but not anymore. I’m pretty much the opposite now-a-days really.” I admit. I feel comfortable with him and I can’t pin why.

“Used to be? Is it okay if I asked what changed? I won’t bring you in.” Now he looks like he’s trying to sooth me. I guess he would since whenever I think about what happened I turn into a wreck.

Fu did say talking about it would make me feel better, even if I never told Fu. Maybe he’s onto something with that advice. “I never told anyone what really happened, not even my brother…” I say looking down.

Then I see it. Oh. Ohhh. This explains why I felt comfortable. I was feeling my own magic coming from him. I sensed him being familitar. This explains the voice, why Jason has been getting stronger, why he’s been leaving before dark so much. My foxgloves are in Robin’s pocket. Jason is Robin. Bruce Wayne is Batman. The sky is blue.

How could I be so blind? I’m not angry, I just want to know why?

Taking a deep breath, “When I was younger I did talk to the other kids. The kids that stayed with me on the streets noticed I had a knack of taking things undetected. But once they realised I could take things of actual value and get an income from that? Well, they turned on me. I was able to take wallets, necklaces while they were being worn, cell phones from hands, all without being noticed. That’s a very coveted trait. The kids began to call me haughty and arrogant once I said I couldn’t take care of them all. They began to exclude me and eventually gang up on me until I disappeared for a few days to heal.”

“Oh-”

My hands were shaking and I just couldn’t stop talking. All of this was in me for years waiting to burst, “One day outside of the warehouses a group of kids surrounded me and began to beat me. I saw some of the Joker’s henchmen were there and passed money, placing bets on who could rough me up the most to pass time. This only encouraged the kids.”

“Nettie-” He slips up by using my name.

Hugging myself, “It made me sick. It made me angry. Once they were done I had to take a month in the free clinic to get better after a woman found me. I took that time thinking. “Isn’t it okay to defend myself? What about survival? If I fought for the sake of both, then it’s okay right?” I hated violence but that’s how I got into fighting for money.”

Robin was silent so I took that as a queue to keep going, “Overtime it helped with my self confidence and since people were giving me money I no longer stole.” It was also around the time I learned my healing magic but I left that out. “The last night I fought was when someone tried to mug me for a bag of candy earlier this year.” At this point I wanted to see Jay squirm, but he lowered his head.

Looking up his face was pale and he was trying to hide his emotions. “I was so angry that I fell back into using violence to solve my problems. I nearly cried in my brother’s arm’s. I may be small but I’m not a baby!”

“You totally did cry!” He says pointing at me in his normal voice.

“Aha!” The smile on my face must be vicious because he immediately pales and covers his mouth.

A few beats pass. “A-Are you upset with me?”

“Nope!” I say popping the “p”.

“All I want to know is why?” I say patiently.

“It started out with me making sure he wasn’t shady. Turns out he’s the opposite. And I wanted to be able to protect you...from afar too.” He admits with his ears blazing red.

“But I wanted to protect YOU from afar! That’s why I enchanted those foxgloves!” I say waving my arms.

“Enchanted?” he repeats tilting his head.

“I have magic Jay! So keep those foxgloves on you always” I say with my face as serious as possible.

“Okay Nettie, I already promised anyway.” He chuckled while ruffling my hair.

Oh he doesn’t believe me? This should be funny down the line.

“So no more secrets between us?” He proposes.

“No more secrets!”

“Hey Jay?”

“Yeah Nettie?”

“I’m glad you found me that night.” I stop walking to look at him.

“I’m glad I found you too.” He says while stopping to pat my head.

After that he walks me back to Fu’s and I watch him take the rooftops back to where he stays. How could I have known what was going to happen next?

Chapter Text

2 MONTHS LATER

It’s almost been a year since I met Jason. Since I’ve started to feel happy again. Since the two of us found someone to lean on in this lonely world.

I’ve finished my guardian training and have begun to take formal martial arts lessons with Fu, so if the time comes to step up as Ladybug I’ll be ready. After training all morning I’ve decided to give my body a rest by sitting behind the counter all afternoon until it’s time for the store to close and Fu comes back from shopping.

Watching the sun go down, I sense Harley and Ivy approaching. Opening the door for them, I immediately feel like something is wrong. Really wrong.

This wouldn’t be the first time Ivy has brought Harley here for comfort to cry after Joker does something particularly cruel. Ivy once said that Harley does eventually want a domestic life, but Joker keeps denying her one. Whenever a plan of his fails or she gets too “persistent” in their relationship he takes his anger out on her.

Ivy brings Harley here because she really does like kids, most are just too afraid of her. I’m the exception, so I’m the go-to.

Something is off though. Harley usually waits until she is inside before she starts crying, but it looks like she was in hysterics before I came to the door.

“I don’t know what happened but if I find Joker the bastard is dead.” Ivy seethes.

Finally seeing me past the tears she moves to cradle me in her arms as she begins to cry again, “I just couldn’t take it anymore! He’s gone too far this time. I tried to talk him out of it. I really did but he already took him and left!”

“Harley please tell me what happened.” I beg. Seeing her like this really puts a bad feeling in my stomach. Over the years I have grown to care for them.

“Joker! He took robin! Said that if he tortures him, then Bats would definitely lose it for sure! I begged him not to go through with it but he just laughed and knocked me out! I found Ivy and she took me here! I’m sorry Marigold, I know robin means a lot to you.” She’s on the verge of hyperventilating now.

It’s true, I told them that they didn’t have to worry about me so much at night because Robin would come by to check on me a few months ago.

The world starts to dull as I feel my blood run cold, “Where?” I don’t know how my voice sounds and I don’t care. I want answers.

“I don’t know! He wouldn’t tell me! Our usual hideout is completely abandoned.” Harley whimpers.

Not good enough. Walking towards the door without another word, I retracted the vines that covered it once I heard that Jay is in trouble. I can’t afford to lose focus right now. The whole shop is covered in flora again.

I hold my concentration on the foxgloves I gave Jason and pray that I make it in time. It takes about 3 seconds to pin his location at the harbor. I open many portals on the way there, traversing from alley to alley that way I won’t waste energy running. I don’t care who saw me, all I need is Jay to be safe.

Reaching the harbor I feel for my magic one last time to get a precise location-
There! In the shack next to the water-

Running to it my vision was suddenly filled with white and all I felt was heat. I felt my head make contact with the ground before everything went black.

~~~~~
Jason’s POV from that night.

This sick fuck has me tied up by the harbor and he won’t even tell me what the fuck he wants. Whenever I ask this failed clown just starts laughing and walks out of the room. Every time he laughs, a chill goes down my spine.

Where the fuck is Bruce!?

My hands are tied in front of me but the rope is so tight I would have to break or dislocate a finger to loosen it. Even if I do that, there’s no guarantee that I’ll even get the ropes off completely.

Joker comes back in the room with a camera, a crowbar, and...a timer? What the hell is he doing with a timer?

If Joker is some low level mind reading meta, I would believe it. He giggles and places the timer on the ground next to my head.

“This is how much time Batsy has left to find you until this place goes ‘KABOOM’! Until then, you and I are going to have some fun, while I record a few clips to send to Bats in the meantime.” He says with a manic grin.

He set the timer at 1 hour and I knew it was going to be the worst hour of my life. I look down at the foxgloves in my pocket and mentally say sorry to Nettie. Even if I get out of this, I’m going to need a long time to recover well enough so that she won’t know how badly hurt I was.

Joker follows my gaze and plucks the stalk out of my pocket. My blood runs cold. I made a promise to Nettie and I can’t help but feel lost with it away from me.

“GIVE THAT BACK” I roared. It didn’t matter. It just made his grin wider.

“Now what makes you think that you can give orders in your position?” He giggles tossing the stalk behind him. He rears his arm back to make the first swing and all I can think about are apologies for Nettie as I brace for impact.
~~~~~
3rd POV

Running to the rubble of the shack that once stood there Batman digs through the rubble in hopes that Robin makes it out.

Unfortunately, only a handful of swipes reveals the boy no longer breathing and a stalk of foxgloves on his chest undamaged. Overcome with grief, Batman picks up the boy causing the stalk to fall on the ground without a second thought along with the small figure crumpled on the ground behind the rubble.
~~~~~~
Marinette POV

When I woke up the moon was high in the sky and an officer was checking my pulse. My vision was swarming with black spots. What? Happened??? I vaguely catch the words “her head landed on a rock.” from a muffled voice and everything goes black again.

The second time I woke up I was in a hospital. The white ceiling and the annoying beeps were definitely a dead giveaway. I shift my head feeling a presence next to me, only to find Fu asleep in the chair next to me. Looking up at the muted T.V my eyes land on the headlines “ ROBIN FOUND DEAD?" moving under the anchorwoman. Now wanting to believe it I search for Jay’s energy only to come up with nothing.

Tears silently slid down my face until morning, when they couldn’t come anymore.

I was alone again.

When Fu woke up, he explained that he told hospital staff that he was my guardian. They discharged me saying I had a mild concussion but I healed that as soon as I woke up. Fu left me again saying he had to take care of “some errands”. I think he’s just trying to give me space though. He didn’t know that Jason was Robin, he just assumed Robin was a dear friend of mine. I haven’t spoken since last night and I don’t want to now.

The sun is setting once more and Harley bursts into the shop when I’m spraying the flowers with water. She hugs me from behind, but I can barely feel it.

“Marigold, I’m so so sorry for what happened. If I could have stopped him I would have! But trust me, I’m done with him for good this time and he is permanentlyon my shit list!”. Her tears are wet on my back and her voice is cracking. This feels familiar.

“I know. It’s not your fault.” My voice is now cracking too.

Harley cries even harder. She didn’t expect forgiveness this easy. Joker really destroyed healthy relationships for her. Turning around in her arms I hold her until she’s done. Both of us are crying and I don’t know who will stop first. Maybe I’m not so alone after all.

Chapter Text

Marinette’s POV

Some of TwoFace’s goons groan, handing me a small cut of money after betting that I would lose. I don’t know why they thought 4 older street boys would be enough to take me down. The past vendetta against me or not, they simply couldn’t hold themselves against me. Even if I were out of the fighting scene for a while, I’m still working through some shit.

I hate fighting. I hate how the impact of my fist on contact reverberates throughout my body. I hate how when I heal myself afterward, leaving no trace of what I was doing. I hate how it feels like I’m lying to everyone. Like I lied to Jay about not fighting anymore. I hate how I broke that promise. I hate that he broke his promise of never leaving me. I hate how we broke the promise of protecting each other. I hate how much I miss him.

Harley and Ivy have been doing their best to make sure that I’m okay. They started coming to the shop nonstop. They’re trying really hard to rehabilitate, and I feel like a burden. Harley has removed herself from Joker completely and is still trying to make up what happened to me. I tell her it’s okay and that there really isn’t anything she can do. This just caused her focus to shift and compensate by being really doting to me.

Ivy warmed up to me and we bonded by going to her park. We both compare notes on our knowledge of nature and what can come from different combinations of flora. Pros and cons. Harley joins us sometimes and when she does she likes to be a model for my sketches.

I feel bad about fighting behind their backs because if they find out they’ll hunt down whoever fought me. There is only so much meditating a girl can do though!

Fu decided that my guardian training was done and when the time comes he’ll seek me out. I didn’t know what that meant until I went to his shop the next day and it was completely boarded up.

Asshole.

I was back on the streets for a week before Harley and Ivy noticed. They raised hell looking for Fu, but came up with empty results. I crash at their place most of the time, but some nights I feel like I’m suffocating. I go out and fight at night, but that made me feel worse than how I felt before I left. My night usually ends with me walking towards Wayne tower without me realizing it.

I look up at the top of the skyscraper and my eyes burn. I know who should have been able to stop my brother's death that night. I know there’s nothing I can do about it. And that tears me apart from the inside out.

Walking to the harbor where I last saw him I fell to my knees and cried my eyes out. I cried until the tears wouldn’t come anymore. I cried until my voice broke. I cried until I realized I was surrounded and someone kicked me over. Hard. My vision was spotted and when it came back, my eyes landed on a brilliant bush of foxgloves shining in the moonlight where the shack once stood. There was no more fight left in me.

~~~~~
I woke up at the police station.

Damn.

I was identified as one of the “missing Todd” children from when I and Jay left after Catherine died.

They asked me about Jay and where he was. I couldn’t answer. How could I? Who would believe me? What could I possibly say?

I listened to a policewoman explain that I would be going into foster care outside of Gotham. I shoved my hands in my pocket and bowed my head. Great, now I’m going to be separated from my brother even more-

Feeling paper in my pocket, I asked to go to the bathroom to wash my face. Once I was certain I was alone I pull out the sheet only to read:

Your time will come, Ladybug. Don’t give up.

A bitter laugh leaves me. Then a tear. And another. Tears trail down my face once more that day and even with all of the anger I have towards Fu at the moment, as fucked as it is? This is the only thing I have to live towards anymore. And who knows? Maybe my new home can be a fresh start.

Chapter Text

7 years later

Marinette POV

They placed me in Paris and I can honestly thank Fu for once. Thank him for teaching me, French. Everything else was a dick move on his part though.

I was taken in by Dupain-Cheng's. They have one of the biggest bakeries in Paris and even bigger hearts. I came here broken and a shell of my former self. They were patient and doting.

Over time they got me to open up to them about my interests but never pressured me about life in Gotham. For that I’m grateful. Honestly, I think they were just happy to finally have a child. They gave me sketchbooks and a sewing machine. They gave me fabrics and taught me how to bake. When they thought I was ready, they sent me to school.

Once they realized how independent I was they sort of just left me to my own devices. They began to focus on their business more and expanded. Inevitably they spent less time with me. Yes, I know they care about me, but this isn’t a family. I don’t get the same feelings here like I did with Jay. I thought it would hurt, but since I never recovered from Jay’s death fully, I never really emotionally connected with them anyways. So yay to being emotionally stunted?

3 years ago the universe decided to slam the biggest Uno draw 4 on me and absolutely threw what I thought could be the start of a normal life out the window. A stone monster appeared in the middle of Paris and absolutely wrecked shit.

Running home for safety I was greeted with a familiar ornate box on my dresser.

Asshole.

I became Ladybug and gained a partner named Chat Noir.

We were a cohesive team for about a year and a half.

Then I came home one day to the ENTIRE miracle box just sitting on my desk!
~~~~~~

Today Inferna happened.

Hawkmoth has been upping his game to deadlier and more crippling Akuma's since Miracle Queen. She’s the worst one so far. She was an Akuma that had her house burned down with her family inside. She had the ability to send out embers throughout Paris and if they touched you, you would burn from the inside out.

Chat showed up late and was hit immediately, so I was completely on my own. After Miracle Queen, I had no one to call on. Miss Bite(the combination of the snake and ladybug miraculous) was born today. I fought for days, but to everyone else, the fight lasted until sunset. Still on the longer side for most of our battles. The citizens could tell I struggled and was starting to lose faith.

Who wouldn’t when the survivors saw the horror of their loved ones burn from the inside out? Who wouldn’t when those brought back have their last memory filled with so much fear and pain? Just how much longer could these people suffer?

After all of the grief and devastation of today, I had to leave Paris before I could be taken advantage of. The mental box could only hold so much after the day Jay died. Hell, even that was too much to try and put in the box.

I kept the miracle box on me at all times by keeping it inside my yo-yo. Pulling Kaalki’s glasses out I asked him to take me home. I guess I should have specified which “home” I meant because magic was tricky like that. Expecting to appear in my room, I had to do a double-take as I realized that I was standing in front of Fu’s old flower shop in Gotham. And the shop looked like it was on its last legs as most of it is ashes right now.

Good.

I don’t know what’s a bigger punch in the gut. The fact that I appeared here so suddenly, or that I wasn’t the one to burn this place down myself.

Taking a deep breath I jumped onto the roof of a nearby building before anyone could see me. Crouching into a shadow I willed my suit into a darker version of itself. Crimson red with black gloves that reached my elbows and boots that came to my knees instead of spots. My mask is entirely black. Silently thanking Tikki, I looked around the city for the first time since I left.

Keeping up with Gotham’s news was a habit I developed after being sent to Paris. What I’ve gathered is that the bastard Bruce Wayne had involved more children into his fuckery and that he doesn’t condone outsiders into his city. Having that in mind, being as unseen as possible was the best move. Not that I want to see Batman anyways.

Opening one of my own portals I went straight to the harbor. I have extended my range from one block to a scale the size of a city but not long enough to go from Paris to Gotham without Kaalki. I currently have no sugarcubes on me so using Kaalki anytime soon is a no-go.

Looking out on the shore a shuddering breath leaves me as my eyes land on a large bush of foxgloves that are exactly where the shack once stood. They shouldn’t be able to grow in this environment, but I guess the amount of magic I put into the stalk I gave Jay was strong.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed relatively untouched. That is until I saw that a small stalk was pulled from it. The place from where it was pulled was uneven and jagged, most likely torn. Normally this wouldn’t be weird because people pick flowers all the time, but the enchantment I placed on the original foxgloves only allowed the recipient to affect them, not outside forces or people.

Frowning, I decided to put my anxieties at ease by doing a quick scan for my own magic around the city. See? Nothing to worry abou-

Wait.

That can’t be?

I can feel my own magic in the higher-end part of Gotham?

I portal to a rooftop across the street from where I sense my magic. Below me, I can see into a grand hall with massive windows and elegant decorations. People gathered inside in beautiful clothing. Some of them I recognize as works of my own.

Oh so that explains the invitation MDC got a while back to attend a Wayne gala.

I put that whole day in the box and repressed it. I didn’t go to school that day. Actually I don’t remember anything after reading that letter.

Shaking my head I focus more on where my magic could be among these people. Scanning the crowd desperately my eyes finally land on him*. He’s there. He’s alive and breathing. without me.

He’s taller and he dyed his hair? He looks like he hates being there. He always hated dressing up. But his face softens when he looks over at a redheaded woman in a wheelchair. They begin to speak.

I heard a soft thud behind me and I can feel my body stiffen as a reflex, but I can’t bring myself to look away.

~~~~~

Dick’s POV

Nights like this required all hands on deck. A Wayne Gala is a perfect time to unleash chaos on the upper class if a rogue decides to crash it.

I’m out here keeping a watch out for suspicious activity because it wouldn’t be weird for Dick Grayson to miss a Gala since he lives in Bludhaven. This put Nightwing on the schedule for watch.

Tim’s Co-CEO and has to shake hands even though he wants to get out of being there entirely. Damian was just introduced as Bruce’s son a year ago, so the hype around him is still fresh. No one in the public really got to see Jason and he technically died 7 years ago, so he gets to hide in plain sight as “security” and be our eyes on the inside for anything that might go wrong.

Cass left earlier after being seen and taking pictures. She should be around here somewhere...or she’s right behind me and I’ll never know it. Duke gave Bruce the slip before the day even started. Stephanie is inside but no one knows where she is, I’m just hoping this isn’t another prank of hers.

I see the slightest movement on the roof across from the gala. Not wanting to brush it off, I move towards the roof by circling around it and approaching the figure from behind.

What I found there wasn’t what I expected at all. I was pretty much betting my money on anything from a sniper to a black cat. Not a small girl laying on her stomach and grabbing the ledge of the building with all her might. And what’s with her clothes? Was she trying to play hero and then got scared at the last second**?

Squatting down by her I speak to her in my calmest voice, “What’s someone like you doing all the way up here?”

“My brother is in there.” Her voice is completely dead of all emotion.

“Your brother? Is he in danger or something?” Now I’m intrigued. Was she dressed up to save her brother? What sense does that make?

“No. He’s supposed to be dead.” Her voice cracks and my heart breaks.

What?

She stands and turns to me, pinning me with her blue eyes filled with tears. “His name is Jason Todd.”

My heart clenches.

What?

“It doesn’t look like he needs me anymore. I’m glad he’s safe and happy. I’ll be going now. Thanks for taking care of him, Nightwing.” She wipes her face and walks toward the ledge of the roof, but I grab her by the wrist instead. How does she know that I know Jason? How much does she actually know?

“Wait-” The wind is knocked out of me as I land on my back. Did she just flip me?

She apologizes profusely and helps me onto my feet. I have so many questions. I open my mouth to ask her what her name is, but Cass lands next to her and places her hands on the girl’s shoulders.

Cass stares the girl in the eyes with wonder and turns to me after a tense moment.

“New sister.” She says with a grin. Being well versed in the language of Cassandra, I know this means that she was listening to us the whole time and knows the mystery girl isn’t lying.

Raising my hand to my earpiece, “Did you guys get this?”***

A chorus of miscellaneous grunts and affirmatives gets back to me. Looking back at the window of the Gala’s, I just barely catch Bruce muttering into his sleeve, “Take her to the cave.”****

Chapter Text

Marinette POV

I didn’t know what to make of the older girl in front of me. I could tell that she was dangerous, but not to me? How strange. All of my guardian instincts tell me she is a perfect match for the miraculous of the dragon. She seems fiercely protective and has wisdom to her, whereas Kagami has impulsiveness.

Another part of me is saying she could be used for the ladybug if needed. The ladybug miraculous is difficult because true wielders happen once in a lifetime, the only exception being temporary wielders who would be more compatible than a random person. If this girl were to use it the miraculous cure might not fully work or there could be a physical backlash on her.

Honestly, after losing the temporary heroes I need so much help now more than ever. Hawkmoth has stepped up his game. Chat and I are hanging by a thread. I would never force a miraculous on her though, like Fu.

I barely bring my mind to the present as she exclaims, “New sister!”

Huh? Wait-
Wait, no? New sister to who? Surely I won’t be a Bat right? I’m not being surprised adopted, again RIGHT?

Before I knew it Nightwing tells me that there is someone I should meet and slings me over his shoulder. Having no time to process the fact that I’m swinging through the air to an unknown location, I can’t help but feel a sadness wash over me as I look at the lights of the city under me.

How did my life come to this? All I wanted was some air. Not this.

Finally setting me down I begin to look around at my surroundings, only to have the girl from earlier cover my eyes gently with her hand.

“No peeking.”

She guides me around in what I can only assume are circles for 20 minutes. She takes her hand away and I see that I’m in a cave, surrounded by awful costumes and bat-themed gadgets lining the wall. I look to my left and see the iconic Batmobile, upgraded but the Batmobile nonetheless.

To my right is a staircase and even though I can’t see where it leads, I decided that my curiosity has been satiated for the night. Or decade. Truly, I don’t even want to know anymore. I’ve seen all I’ve needed to see. Jason in his new life and all. Even letting them bring me this far was a mistake. I can’t undo all the progress he’s made.

“Well, it sure has been nice being dragged along by you two tonight but I think it’s time for me to go,” I say as I reach for my yo-yo. Maybe I should have left Tikki and Kaalki merged, so I could leave without anyone seeing me.

Bringing out glasses to do a transformation and then making a portal are way too many clues as to how my powers work. The last thing I want to do is raise more questions and attention to the Miraculi before I can deem these people trustworthy.

“Wait! You won’t have to wait any longer! Promise! They left early just so they could meet you.” Nightwing tries to placate me, but it’s clear that Jason doesn’t need me anymore so who could possibly want to see me here in Gotham?

I opened my mouth to reiterate this but the sound of footsteps cut me off. Looking over to the staircase I see Batman frowning at me. Analyzing me.

All of the rage I’ve repressed starts to bubble in my chest as I try to focus on my English so that I can rip him a new asshole properly. I know I must look hostile because he stiffens and positions his body to defend himself or attack me.

The room is tense.

But all of my anger fizzles out the moment Jason steps from behind him and locks eyes with me. My body slacks and my mind goes blank for the second time tonight. He’s right there and I can feel myself getting lighter-

“Who the hell are you?” He snarls.

“Wha-”

“Do you get some sick satisfaction claiming to be people’s family?”

He’s livid now. He’s looking at me in disgust and I don’t even know why. Can he not recog-

OH.

“Jay Jay you dummy!” This shuts him up. Before he could lunge at me I placed my hands on my hips, “Spots off.”

Tikki flies into my shirt as everyone shields their eyes from the bright light of my detransformation.

No one saw her but I know she’ll have questions for me later for revealing myself. She knows that I have been trained to be a guardian and her holder for a long time so she trusts my judgment. I never officially wore her while I was training in Gotham, but I have shared how important Jason is to me.

“What the fuck?”

I don’t know who said it, but I can tell that was the general consensus of the room right now. The only thing that matters now is Jason though. From how angry he got earlier, I can only hope that it means he still cares about me in some way.

“Let’s try this again?” I ask, clasping my hands together. He’s staring at me with wide eyes and tears are running down his face. I didn’t see him move, but the next thing I knew I was in his arms crying too.

After about a minute we pull back at the same time asking, “What the hell happened to you!?”
~~~~
Jason POV

I thought Bruce was crazy when he pulled me out of the party saying that some girl was claiming to be my sister.

When I was revived I searched the whole city for her, told my men to keep her or anyone who matched her description on the “do not fuck with list”. After I made up with Bruce I asked him to look for her, he came back with results. Apparently, she was still listed as my biological sister and was fostered in Paris of all places. Eventually, she changed her last name to “Dupain-Cheng”. That was the last time I looked into her, she had moved on from me and the notion broke my heart.

Walking into the cave I saw a tiny girl in spandex with pigtails. I don’t know what her deal is, but that’s not my sister. Not a single feature on her face was familiar. In fact, I couldn’t really focus on her face at all.

I wanted to fight Bruce for even getting my hopes up, but this chick needed to be dealt with first. What kind of sick kicks do you get from claiming to be anyone’s sister?

“Do you get some sick satisfaction claiming to be people’s family?” I say trying not to yell. Was she sick? Mistaken? What the fuck?

“Jay Jay you dummy!”

Before I can get my hands on her, she mumbles and places her hands on her hips. A pink light floods my vision. Did they bring a magic user in the cave? We’re being attacked?

Fuck it, Bruce is going to be mad that I’m gonna attack this chick but she deserves it. No one calls me “Jay Jay” anymore.

“What the fuck?”

Did I say that? Or did Dick say exactly what I was thinking? Looking at where I last saw the girl, I lock eyes with...Nettie?

Over time I convinced myself that she was doing fine, but it always felt like an empty promise to myself. But here she is. Right here. Part of me was scared that she would be angry that I left, but no. She’s right here in my arms and-

Pulling back I can’t help but yell, “What the hell happened to you!?”
~~~~
3rd POV

“What do you mean what happened to me? What happened to you!?” Jason yells back.

“You were covered in that light! And changed clothes! What the hell Nettie? You’re a literal pixie! I know we used to joke about your ‘magic’ before but what the hell?” He says using his fingers as quotation marks.

“Me!? The last time I saw you, you blew up! Your energy was completely gone!I never joked about my magic, YOU did!” She says wildly waving her arms.

Grabbing her face and tilting it, “And your hair! Why is it short now? Your pigtails are adorable but-”

“My hair? What about you! Did you dye it? I mean I guess it's okay…but if you’re trying to be rebellious then your look is cliche.”

“And you look like you haven’t slept in ever!”

“You look like you got dressed in the dark!”

“You’re so tall now!”

“You’re still tiny.”

“Hey!”

Reaching up, Marinette grabs him by the cheeks and pulls them from his face, “Nettie! I'll take it back! I'll take it back! Seriously!” Jason begs.

Letting go, Marinette freezes “I forgot we have an audience.”

Turning around, Marinette walks up to Batman and stares at him. He stares back. Nightwing is vibrating in anticipation, he has never seen Jason like this. What is this little miracle about to do now?

“Why did you leave the party and come in costume?” Marinette squints.

The room freezes.

“What do you mean?” Nightwing offers. Right. This comes back to the dilemma he had earlier. Just how much does this girl know?

“I mean, I want to know why did Bruce Wayne dress up as his fursona just to bring Jason to me.”

Jason chokes on-air and begins to cackle.

“What do you mean-”

“I’m not stupid. Bruce Wayne takes in my brother and he becomes Robin. Bruce Wayne = Batman. Simple Math. The fact you thought I wouldn’t be able to put that together and thinking that coming in costume would be solid enough to keep the lie going is insulting.” She concludes by folding her arms.

Sighing, Batman takes off his cowl and pinches the bridge of his nose, “How long have you known?”

“About 7 years give or take,” Marinette replies.

They stare each other down. Bruce is trying to put together how he should move on from here. Adoption? He can do that right? She lives with her foster parents. Not legally a problem. He can totally do that.

Marinette, who has stared death in the eyes and walked backward into hell with middle fingers raised on a daily basis, is having a dilemma. Does she punch this man and ride off into the sunset with Jason, or check in with Jason first before she makes a move?

At that moment Robin comes into the cave with a scowl, “Father I can not believe you left me there with those Neanderthals.” He pauses as he sees an unknown civilian and his father unmasked in the cave staring at each other. Bruce doesn’t have his guard up, but Robin can only conclude one thing,

“Is this a new child you’ve taken in now? I’ve been gone for less than an hour-”

Robin is left in shock as the small girl tackles his father to the ground, mounts him, and then begins to shake him by the collar.

Marinette decided to take the “fuck it” route,

It’s never failed her before.

“THAT IS A LITERAL CHILD! WHY DO THEY KEEP GETTING YOUNGER? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?” The girl shrieks.

Robin moves to attack but is stopped by Cass sticking out her arm in front of him. Well if Cass sees no danger, who is he to argue?

From the floor, Bruce tilts his head to look at Damian, “This is your new sister. Jason, would you please?”

Jason wraps his arms around Marinette to trap her and rests his chin on her head. She struggles for about two seconds and drops her head in defeat, “My name is Marinette. I do not wish to be adopted.”

“Your compliance isn’t a factor. You will be a part of his family.” Dick chimes in.

“Marinette, I have questions for you,” Bruce says in a serious tone.

Looking back at Jason, she sees that he’s truly happy to see her and makes a decision. “I know and I will explain once your whole team is here, I don’t like to repeat myself since it’s a long story.”

Chapter Text

Stephanie POV

The Gala was finally over. I hid in the bathroom most of the time knowing that everyone else thought I was pulling a prank. Looking for me is a sure way to fall into a trap I would have set, that is if I were pulling pranks. Honestly? I was low on ideas and so bored.

This morning Duke being the lucky bastard he is, left the manor for his apartment yelling, “NOT COMING TO THE GALA TO BE ANNOUNCED AS YOUR SURPRISE NEW SON!”

Honestly, I can’t blame him, when it comes to Bruce’s plans he has better foresight-

Goth damn it.

My brain is just one big mental facepalm at this point.

Tim had to stay so he could shake hands with stuffy guys I couldn’t be bothered to interact with.
Bruce, Jason, and Damian disappeared halfway through.

The latter two I expected to ditch, but really Bruce? I counted on you to suffer with us! Cass left early because she’s just efficient like that.

Barbara was staring at her phone with the widest grin I’ve seen in a while. That should be interesting later.

As soon as the party was over I dragged them to the car and hauled ass to the cave. Surely something will be interesting tonight. It’s a Wayne Gala night!
~~~~
Skidding to a stop next to the Batmobile, I helped Barbara out of the car while Tim walked ahead rubbing his temples.

“Steph, you’re gonna love this,” Barbara says ominously.

Tim stopped in front of me and I almost ran into him. His back is perfectly straight and his eyes wide. What gives? What does he see? Giving in to curiosity I peer around his shoulder to see everyone looking at us. Everyone and a new girl.

I can feel the smile form on my face.

Oh, this should be great!
~~~~

3rd POV

“Well now that everyone is here, it’s time that I answer some questions. I suggest you all take a seat because this will take a minute.” Marinette speaks channeling her inner Ladybug.

Everyone gathers around her except Barbara and Tim, they take seats near the computer. Barbara adjusts her glasses and Tim is laser-focused on Marinette.

“Let's start with the easy stuff. My name is Marinette. I am Jason’s sister. After he died, I was taken to Paris to live with a foster family by CPS.”

“How did CPS catch you anyway? You never get caught by anything, Nettie.” Jason asks.

“I got knocked out.” She replies with a shrug.

“WHAT?”

“I got jumped, knocked out, and next thing I know I was in the police station. No big deal, I’m all fine now.” She smiles trying to reassure him. She fails.

Rubbing his hands on his face, “You’re gonna kill me Nettie.” Jason moans.

“Been there, done that.” She teases.

“Oh my goth, I can joke about my death, it helps me cope.”

“I do that same thing, it’s cool.” She placates.

“You WHAT?”

“Oh right, as I was explaining. I do have magical abilities, Jay, that was never a joke. I have healing and sensory abilities, a connection with plant life, and can create portals to short distances at the expense of my energy. I’ve also come to learn that I’m the only organic life that can go through said portals without adverse effects over time though.” She admits tapping her finger on her chin.

Shaking her head she continues, “I’ve had them since I was 4 and Fu helped me develop them even if he is an asshole.” She says as she crosses her arms.

“Aha! I knew he was a shit! Good thing I burned that shop down. Totally worth Bruce getting pissed at me for a week.” Jason smiles.

“That was you?”

“Wait so you can heal, but what does that really mean?” Barbara asks.

“I mean that as long as I am conscious I can heal myself with my own energy. Healing wounds will make me tired but the more familiar I am with an injury, the faster I can heal myself. Like if I were to get shot in the stomach, it would take me some time to heal any internal injuries that may have occurred since I’ve never had to heal a wound like that. But if I were to break my arm, I would be way faster at fixing it since I’m more familiar with healing that type of wound.”

“Wait what do you mean “more familiar with fixing that type of wound”. Stephanie leans forward with concern.

“I’m getting to that.” Marinette sighs. She explains that Fu was training her to become a guardian of the miraculous. She explains what the miraculous is important and her duty to protect. How her Ladybug powers amplified some of her previous abilities. When she got to Paris things immediately went to shit, she explains how Fu dumped the box on her. All of it, even how hard it’s been on her and Chat lately.

During her explanation, Barbara types furiously to get past firewalls set up by the French government and pulls up videos from the Ladyblog. Tim watches her body language for lies.

He found none.

“So the clothing you were in earlier is your Ladybug suit?” Dick asks.

“I modified it to blend into Gotham better, but yes. It’s indestructible to most attacks but I can still be hurt to answer the question from earlier. Actually? Tikki you can come out. They’re trusted.” Marinette beckons.

Flitting out Tikki looks around and waves, “Hello! Please take care of Marinette!”

“She’s so adorable!” Stephanie squeals.

“Hold on, this video was posted today?” Barbara calls. At first, she went to the beginning of the blog and viewed older akumas to verify Marinette’s words. It looks like she’s skipped ahead past Hero’s Day, and into the more dangerous akumas.

This is a short clip from what seems to be a bystander. The video was shaky and not the highest quality.

When the camera focused, gasps were heard around Marinette while she bowed her head. She’s seen enough.

Ashes littered the streets. People who were struck by Inferna’s embers burned so hotly from the inside their veins glowed orange as they screamed for the pain to stop.

Soon they dropped and their bodies caved in on themselves, as they turned into ashes. People who weren’t hit were wailing over the ashes only to be touched by embers as well. The only sounds in the cave that could be heard were the screams of grief turning into screams of agony. Then silenced forever.

Just as Miss Bite arrived on the scene, the cameraman cheered. A fatal mistake. This draws the Akuma's attention and he gets struck as well. The phone clatters to the ground and the sound of Miss Bite yelling “Second Chance!” is heard in the distance. The video ends.

“The description says that you fought for 6 hours. No wonder it looks like you haven't slept. It’s almost sunrise over there now.” Jason stares with worry in his eyes.

“It was days actually. I used the snake miraculous when I arrived so that I could go back to the beginning of the fight. That’s what you hear me yelling at the end of the video. I would get hit and have to use “Second Chance” before my body gave up so I could restart the fight.” Marinette says with a dead tone. She has to keep it together.

“Don’t you have a partner?” Damian says with an edge to his voice.

“He was hit earlier before I could get the snake miraculous, so I couldn’t bring him back.”

“You need help, Marinette. You can’t keep doing this alone.” Bruce places a hand on her shoulder. Marinette stiffens,

“I know. Kwami I know. It’s just that...I can’t just give out miraculous’ to just anyone. They have to be true holders or things can go wrong. I don’t want to force this on anyone like this was for me either. I thought about contacting the Justice League, but it would be bad if any of you were taken advantage of. I don’t know if my abilities can take any of you on. Not to mention how mad I was at you. For the sake of Paris, I was willing to work with you, but for that reason, I kept you out. What would happen if Batman were traumatized?” Marinette rubs her arm to soothe herself, yet it doesn’t stop the tears from coming to her eyes.

“Still, you doing this alone can burn you out, we will help you from afar by putting together who Hawkmoth is for you. We won’t jump in unless we have your word to do so.” Bruce doesn’t want to fuck this up.

From what he can tell, this girl has seen horrors he can’t comprehend and has been facing this all by herself. She’s also the only one who is keeping this world in balance. If she breaks, they’re done for.

“Thank you, but I must confess. I sense a few true holders here. I’m not going to say all of my suspicions, yet but if I reveal to you later that you are a holder do not be alarmed. I’m still getting this guardian thing down. However, for the people I’m calling out now, I’m not forcing this on you, just want it to be known just in case.” Marinette states gaining her confidence from earlier.

This makes everyone stand at attention. Some are excited, the others one edge in anticipation. Slowly, Marinette turns to Cassandra and softens her eyes to show that she doesn’t hold her accountable. Giving Cassandra a chance to deny this responsibility. This knowledge. A chance Marinette never got.

“It’s okay. I’m honored.” Cassandra smiles. She understands what this could entail for her future, but she wants to help in any way that she can.

“Cassandra? That’s so cool! She’s totally kick ass!” Stephanie cheers.

“Which one is she suited for? What powers could she get? What does her costume look like? Can she choose? Who are the other holders? Tell me!” Dick bounces on his heels while he bombards her with questions at rapid-fire.

Ignoring the vibrating adult, she looks at Tikki for help. It’s been a long emotional day. Who could blame her?

“She’s suited as a perfect match for the dragon miraculous. But can be used for the Ladybug if needed, however, if she uses the Ladybug miraculous and isn’t a true holder there could be consequences for her or the Ladybug's ability won’t work at full power.” Tikki supplies with a smile.

Flittering to Cassandra’s face, “Longg will love you! I can’t wait for you to meet them! Their miraculous is a choker and would be lovely on you!”

Cassandra smiles as Marinette clasps her hands around Cassandra’s, “Thank you for accepting. You can back out at any time. I will give you your miraculous when the time comes.”

Tikki begins to explain what her powers will be and how she will transform, so she will be ready for Marinette.

With that Marinette let’s go for Cassandra’s hands and turn to Stephanie, “You are suited for the fox miraculous, you will be able to cast illusions. You will have a near-indestructible flute that can also be used as a bo staff. And yes the costume is up to you.”

“Now that my explanation is out of the way, I have a few questions for you.” Marinette swivels over to look at Jason.

Jason sees the look on her face and feels the need to hide. Even as a kid he knew his sister had a temper and never wanted it directed to him. He nods to placate her, but he knows that his compliance didn’t matter. She was getting answers no matter what.

“I know you and that other kid over there used the Lazarus Pits, it’s leaking off of you two and I want to know where they are.”

“Why? It’s dangerous to go near them. The one that we used is heavily guarded.” Now he’s confused.

“First off, I’m asking the questions here. For one I want you to be completely healthy and if you consider these people family as well, then I want to remove all negative afflictions for everyone if it’s within my ability. Fu suspected that the Pits were still out there somewhere and told me about them. How to spot the use of the pits and how to get rid of them and their effects specifically.” She says, crossing her arms.

Looking over to Tikki, “Second, I'm going to get rid of them, of course. Those things reek and throw off my mojo since they are the product of Tikki’s other half. The concept of destruction, Plagg, that is.”

“Yeah, when Plagg and I were young he got sick one day and- what is the human equivalent? Oh yes, “sneezed” a couple of times and thus the Pits were created.” She says in a matter-of-fact tone.

“It’s still a dangerous mission! The Pit is surrounded by assassins!”

“Then good thing I’m near invincible and can teleport. If anything this is one of the easiest things I’ve had to do.”

And with that, Jason knows he’s lost the argument and gives up. “Other questions?” he sighs.

Relaxing her pose, Marinette gets really close and whispers to him with her hand covering her mouth, “Do you have any sugar cubes?” she bows her head to hide her embarrassed blush. She doesn’t feel comfortable asking for things yet. She doesn’t want to be rude.

Jason laughs and pats her head. Just like when they were kids, causing her to blush harder. She missed that. She missed him.

“You know you’re way too polite for your own good, right?” He smiles. He totally doesn't have a soft spot for Marinette! Nope!

“I need them to get home. Can you ask for some for me?” She asks with a pout.

Deciding to get her out of her comfort zone Jason throws her to the wolves and yells, “Marinette needs sugar cubes to get home!”

The serious atmosphere is broken and Stephanie bounds over with sugar cubes in hand. No one asks why she has them. It is common knowledge that she is a gremlin when sugar is involved in the Wayne household.

Blushing at the attention unwillingly thrown at her, Marinette thanks Steph and pulls Kaalki’s glasses out of her yo-yo, and puts them on.

“I’ve been out most of the night and I’d like to get an hour of sleep before school, but I’ll be back tomorrow I promise.” She says as she feeds Kaalki and looks around the cave.

“Wait but this is your new home you can’t escape us!” Dick protests.

“I can’t hear you! Kaalki, Full Gallop!”

The portal closes behind her before anyone can stop her.

“Are we just going to ignore the tiny horse? I feel like we should have asked about the tiny horse?”

“Forget that! Babs find out her number and add her to the group chat!”

“Hey, can we not tell Duke and see how long it takes for him to understand what's happening?”

“How hard would it be to convince her to live with us?”

“I believe she has proven herself to be competent, Father if you claim her I wouldn’t be opposed.”

“So after the interrogation, why the fuck did you keep staring at her, replacement?”

Chapter Text

Marinette POV

Waking up took herculean strength. Dragging myself out of bed and into the bathroom, I stare at my reflection and contemplate the changes in my life. Finding out that not only is Jay alive, but also accepting of me was enough to have my mood improve for the better. Finally, I have something to look forward to and not even Lila OR Hawkmoth can ruin it.

Absolutely nothing can ruin my mood today. Not an akuma, sentimonster, or Rossi could take away this feeling. With my hopes up I decided I would dress differently than usual today after doing my morning routine.

I decided to wear my hair down and apply my usual makeup for the day. I put on a black t-shirt and leggings with a red fitted zip-up hoodie. Black gym shoes and a black crossbody bag to complete the look. May not have been as fashionable, but I wanted to feel comfortable and inconspicuous as well.

Over the years I found that blending into the background is what I did best. Dressing somewhat athletically helps with how often I tend to run from or have to defend myself from akumas.

With this I begin to head towards the school, the Dupain-Chengs don’t spare a glance. They seemed to have missed my absence last night but that’s nothing new. Not out of neglect, they’re just busy. Or that’s at least what I tell myself. That they liked the idea of having a child and I filled that role for them, no need for Marinette right?

Shaking my head I remind myself that Jay Jay is back now and that he actually wants me around. This lifts some weight off of my chest and I find myself in front of my classroom. Taking in a breath I hold my head high and walk-in.

Only Adrien acknowledges my arrival and waves at me. He’s the only one that speaks to me now. Giving him a smile I head towards my desk at the back, careful of any feet that “happen” to stick out.

Waiting for Ms. Bustier, it’s times like this where I have to reminisce on how things got like this for the class.

Things were somewhat okay in the beginning. I kept to myself mostly. I had issues with Chole, but once she realized I wouldn’t take any of her shit she backed off. We have mutual respect for each other now.

Then came Adrien, he was the first person I felt an attraction to. Or more like I forced it. At first, it was his kindness that stood out to me. This is what lead me to initially latch into him. As I came to know him, he was an active solace for me despite Lila making his life hell. Eventually, I decided to confess to him but it was more closure for me since I already knew I didn’t have a chance. He confided in me that “There’s someone else. You two share a lot of amazing traits, but I don’t want to force that on you.” I couldn’t do anything but laugh off the pain in my chest. Never Marinette right?

My obsession with him was unhealthy and was a desperate attempt to have a sense of normalcy in my abnormal life. I thought having a normal crush like everyone else would be a good escape from the hectic situations I'm constantly in. That’s why I so desperately held onto it. Maybe it was Harley’s influence? Once I made that red flag of a connection, I called it quits.

But the rest of the class is a different story altogether. At first, I had found companionship with the class. Maybe what could have been the beginning of a genuine friendship? I want to say Lila came along and turned most of the class against me, but in reality, all she really did was show me how insignificant I was to them in the first place. My natural reaction was to protect the class from someone who caused them suffering but that was exploited as jealousy instead.

That protection is what made me well, me. And that wasn’t good enough.

She tore relationships apart, ruined future careers, and made false promises. When she isolated me and destroyed most of my reputation, the class became more malicious in mindset. If anything were to go wrong it somehow became my fault. Lila doesn’t even have to try anymore, Alya’s overactive imagination does most of the work. Coupled with her stubborn attitude and impulse decision-making, getting through to her was impossible. Because of this, Lila being an akuma magnet, most are able to pin their ire on me with no hesitation.

I’ve given up on the class not having any real ties to them anymore. No more gifts, no more thankless work, no more free pastries, and clothing. I gave up my student council position to Chole earlier in the year after deciding to graduate after this semester. I was ahead of the curriculum when I arrived, I just wanted to spend time and have experiences with my peers. That’s out the window now. I can transfer, but I’d rather just focus on my work instead and take advantage of all the opportunities MDC is receiving while furthering my education elsewhere. If my peers have this to offer as a social experience then I don’t want it.

A voice that sounds like Jay is telling me that this line of thinking is exactly why I’m socially awkward. But I have friends! Luka may go to another school and can hardly escape his ever-demanding schedule now that his music career is taking off, and Kagami finds a hard time outside of school and practice to hang out. But spending time with them always brings a smile to my face.

My phone buzzing snaps me out of my daze.

“Marinette” added to THIS HOUSE IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE
Marinette: umm..? I think I’m added by accident?

BrucesFirstMistake:This is no accident, I told you that you were a part of this household now.

Marinette:oh well even though I refuse to be adopted, thank you for adding me

Bruce:The papers are ready as well as some backups for when Jason destroys the first copies. Just say the word.

Marinette:and giving me admin privileges?

“Marinette” changed to “Nettie”

iLivedBitch: aw what? Babs wont give us privileges

AllSeeingEye: that’s because I trust she is not a heathen like the rest of you.

DoYouLikeWaffles:SHE SPEAKS TO US

Cassafrass: heathen?

AllSeeingEye: Not you sweetie, never you. Enjoy your new admin privileges.

LilBird: The next time we meet, we must spar Marinette.

iLivedBitch: UM? First Name?

BrucesFirstMistake: I’m so proud right now I think I’m crying? Marinette what did you do for this to happen? Tell me your secrets?

LilBird: I reviewed all of her battles. She is competent and respectable.

iLivedBitch:oh my goth?

Nettie: speaking of goth, why did you dye your hair Jay?

iLivedBitch: Nettie no. I’ve kept Dick from talking about it. Don’t ruin years of bribes and threats.

DoYouLikeWaffles: wait is this something Robins after Jason doesn’t know? I thought we all knew about the white streak?

Nettie: no I meant his red hair? he looked so cute with it!

SleepWho: He WhAT?

BrucesFirstMistake:Nice to see you’re done lurking Tim :).

DoYouLikeWaffles: Wait no we’re not ignoring this. Even Damian is staring at a wall right now.

iLivedBitch:NETTIE WHY? WHAT DID I EVER DO?

Nettie:well

iLivedBitch:don’t answer that.

Nettie:wait I have an idea for a distraction.

Nettie changed “LilBird” to “Damiboo”

BrucesFirstMistake: well you have officially unleashed hell. Tim laughed so hard he spat coffee on Damian. Damian is running through the manor trying to stab Tim. Cass is trying to stop Damian before the house gets damaged. Steph and Jason are laughing like the Joker. Bruce has his face in his hands and wants you to know that he’s sorry. Barbara wheeled out to laugh in peace.

Nettie: I’ll drop by after school today!

KingDuke:UM WHOM THE HELL IS NETTIE?

Chapter Text

On a normal day I would be vibrating with excitement knowing that I would be seeing Jason now that school is out. But give me abreak, the Inferna fight took days and I only got two hours of peace before school started. I’m at the end of my rope and if I don’t find a semi soft surface soon, I will snap.

Lila tried to corner me in the locker rooms on my way out as we were the last ones there. I didn’t notice her presence until her grating voice was right behind me. I don’t even know what she wanted. I just knew that it sounded like someone was attempting to put a pig in a wood chipper as she spoke.

Using the last of my self control I was able to guide my fist to the locker next to her face instead of making sweet and precious contact with her left eye. This shut her up just the same and the silence was bliss. “We can try this again next week. I’m too tired for you right now.” I say with my best smile and leave the building.

This friday takes the title of being the best one. Not just because I see Jason, but because I know I’ll be rewarded with sleep for 2 days.

I enter the bakery and throw as many day-old pastries that won’t be sold into a box. Once in my room I leave a note at my desk for the Dupain-Chengs saying that I’ll be at Alya’s for the weekend knowing they won’t check. With that I transform and ask Kaalki to take me to the Batcave.

~~~~~

Jason has been anticipating Nettie’s arrival all day. How could he not be? They have so much to catch up on! He would never admit it to Bruce but he’s deeply grateful that he’s on board with Nettie being in the family.

Dick is just as excited as he is. Dick’s always been receptive to all the members of the family. Although he has about a million and 2 questions for Nettie. The girls are excited to have someone new to join them on their excursions, but the biggest surprise came from Damian. Never has he taken so well to someone else before. It’s like she charmed him without them noticing it. Damian denies it, but that's exactly what a charmed person would do.

Tim however… has managed to avoid any conversation about Nettie all together. With tactful defection, distracting questions, change of subject to something “urgent” (“your phone isn’t ringing Tim. I know that because I lifted it out of your pocket an hour ago”), to Alfred saving him at the last second. Whatever it is Jason is getting to the bottom of it.

“School’s out over there right? Shouldn’t she be here soon?”

Everyone is still suited up as they have just finished patrols.

The question was answered with a swirling portal opening up in front of them and a tried Ladybug shuffling out of it with her eyes barely open. She places a box inside her yo yo and pulls out a necklace and a choker.

Landing her eyes on the couch she flops her body onto it with her head landing on Tim’s lap…

Everyone stares at the interaction. Jason feels every vein in his neck pulse and he and Tim lock eyes, the latter goes red and shakes his head. Raising his hands in surrender he looks between Jason and Nettie. Stephanie records this moment in silent laughter.
After 2 beats of silence finally Nettie utters, “I think out of this entire clan, YOU have the worst outfit. When I wake up, I’m fixing that. Tilting her head towards Tim’s stomach she curls into herself for warmth. “Spots off.” and with that she’s out.

Jason is torn because without the suit he can see just how exhausted she is...on the other hand Tim’s in the same spot that used to be him in what feels like a lifetime ago.

Barbara wheels over to drape a blanket over them. Tim’s face gets even redder, “You aren’t going to help me?”

“Of course not, if anything being immobilized like this should get you to sleep too!” She moves away with a smirk like she hadn’t just sent Tim’s blood pressure to the roof.

Tikki flits out with a warm smile,“I’m sorry for that everyone, it’s just that she’s really tired. And when she’s tired-”

“-she doesn’t hold back?” Jason finishes. Yeah that sounds about right. His little Nettie never changed.

“While she sleeps she wants me to give the miraculous to the right holders here!” She says as she hands Cass the choker and Steph the necklace.

Placing the jewelry around their necks Longg and Trixx appear in a bright light. What happens after is the highest pitched squeal imaginable from both Dick and Stephanie causing Marinette to throw her crossbody bag across the room with startling precision without looking. The bag hitting Dick hard enough to knock him out cold.

Cass and Damian clap.

“Well at least I won’t get as many questions now.” Tikki sighs. She takes a moment to float over to Cassandra, “In the event that Marinette is unable to continue as Ladybug, you are the next best candidate. You will need to don her earrings and cleanse the Akuma as fast as possible before lots of damage can be done.”

“Understood.”

Duke walks into the cave with Aflred to see an unconscious Dick on the floor, two unconscious teenagers on the couch and everyone else staring at a floating red being at the center of the room.

“It is good to see you again Alfred!”

“It is good to see you too Tikki.”

Chaos and long talks ensue that night.

Chapter Text

Tim wakes up to Jason looming over him with a snarl on his face. Knowing not to make any sudden movements, Tim reels through his memory to understand how he got here. His only clue being the warmest blanket he has ever been under, on his lap.

On no.

Time to gaslight, gatekeep, and girlboss.

“Now Jason, I understand we are upset here. But do you really want to wake up Nettie?”

“You’re calling her Nettie?

ABORT.

Before anything can happen a shrill beeping is heard coming from the crossbody bag thrown across the room several hours before.

Tikki phases into the room and hovers above Marinette’s head, “AKUMA!”.

Snapping awake, Marinette stands up in a defensive position wildly surveying the room. Her face settles into one of recognition and she moves towards the bag to shut off her alarm.

“Sorry to run out like this but it looks like I’m needed.” Lifting up Dick from the floor she moves to place him on the couch.
“Can we come with you?”, Tim asks with wide eyes.

“Absolutely not.” She grunts with effort, replacing her spot on Tim’s lap with his brother.

“But you could need help.” Jason chimes in.

“We don’t know that but if you really want to help, you can start looking into Hawkmoth for me. Until then stay put.”

“Voyage!”