Chapter Text
“Jasooon, hurry up!” Marinette was dragging him down the alleyway towards the bakery that had the really nice couple that would feed them when they needed food. “They are leaving soon and we need to spend as much time with them as we can!”
“Pixie Pop, we don’t have to run!”
Marinette woke up from the same dream again. She had been having it more and more often these days. It was the last time she had seen Jason. The last time she had seen her best friend.
“Marinette, you’re going to be late!” Tikki flew over to her spot in Marinette’s suitcase and started to settle in. They were flying out in just a few hours and the goddess was right, she needed to get moving if she didn’t want to be late.
“Oh my kawmi! Tikki why didn’t you wake me up earlier!” Marinette jumped out of bed and started rushing to get ready. Since it was such a long flight she was going to fly in lounge clothes so she was comfortable. Her toiletries bag was quickly packed away and she did one last check that her tablet cord was where it was supposed to be, then she was heading downstairs where the rest of her luggage was.
She would be staying in Gotham for a least a month, so she needed to make sure she had everything that wasn’t already sent over. Jagged had rented her an apartment right next to his so that she was close by when he was in town, and he had surprised her with a full sewing set up there so she wouldn’t have to pay extra to transport her sewing machine with her, so it was just a matter of her sketching supplies and her premade wardrobe.
Marinette made one last check that she had packed the kawmi box securely in her carry on bag, and then she was ready.
Sabine had come up to check in on her. “Oh honey, we are going to miss you so much!”
“Mom, I’ll be okay. It’s not like I’m going away forever. I just need to do this.”
Sabine gave har another bug hug. “I know sweetheart, it’s just hard watching you go back there.”
“It’s gonna be fine. I have my lucky charm and Adrien and Uncle Jagged will be there to watch out for me. Besides, you know I survived on those streets for years, it’ll be fine!” Marinette smiled with all the confidence in the world. She was lady luck, so she could totally make the difference she wanted to in her city, because as much as she loved and protected Paris, Gotham would always be her city.
---
After a tearful goodbye with her papa she was finally waiting at the airport. Jagged had flown out a couple weeks ago, and Adrien was meeting her here. As much as she had been late in school, now it was Adrien who was never on time places. She may be the head designer of the company, but Adrien ran the behind the scenes business so his meetings ran late, and it was more difficult to get places. That was part of the reason she had his suitcases with her as well, that and Plagg had insisted that he was going with Marinette to the airport to make sure that the miracle box wasn’t picked up on the sensors.
“Mari!” she perked up and looked back to where Adrien was running towards her.
“Finally! You actually made it.” She laughed with him.
“Hey, I have a whole 10 minutes till boarding.” He gave her a mock offended look.
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Check again, they bumped us up, we are boarding in like two minutes.”
“Flight 6777 Paris to Gotham please make your way to the gate, your flight is now boarding,” the speakers rang out and they made thor way to the gate.
After they were settled in their seats Adrien turned to Marinette. “You ready to go home?”
She broke out in a huge smile. “More ready than you know!”
“You think we’ll find him?” Adrien gave her a look.
She smirked at him. “With enough luck I can find anyone, but Tikki thinks he’s gonna actually find us.”
Adrien gave her a look. “How is he going to do that?”
“Knowing my brother, and your luck? In a stupidly heroic way while we are held at gunpoint.” She chuckled thinking about the last time she was held at gunpoint when the attacker wasn’t an akuma.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I grew up in Gotham and I’m not stupid? We are more likely than not to be held at gunpoint at least twice in the month we are planning to be there.”
“And she says I’m the embodiment of chaos.” Adrien grumbled.
She reached over and tapped his nose. “Silly kitty, I say you’re a chaos magnet.”
---
Landing in Gotham was always an experience, the plane descended through the layers of smog and toxins that were always in the air then landed on the runway.
Marinette led the way to the baggage claim and picked up hers and Adrien’s suitcases before turning to look out the doors to the city.
“You ready kitty cat?”
“You and me against the world LB.”
They had a driver waiting to take them to the apartment complex they would be staying at and made it there quickly. After taking some time to unpack and get things settled Marinette decided to go out and explore.
“Don’t forget we have a meeting at Wayne Enterprises tomorrow morning at 8a.”
She waved him off and headed to the elevator, she had a destination in mind and wasn’t about to let him intervene.
“Marinette, Adrien sent me to join you, said that you might find the trouble you’re looking for.” Mullo deposited herself into Marinette’s bag after handing over the hair clips that they had changed the miraculous into.
Marinette laughed and put the clips into her hair, Adrien was right, but he also worried too much. She was serious about being able to handle herself.
“Well let’s go guys!” She got into the elevator and put an earbud in so that she could talk to the kawmi without anyone looking at her weird. They were actually small com devices disguised to look like snapple earbuds. Max had spent a lot of time on them and each of the team had a pair of them. One for themselves and one for their kawmi to talk into from wherever they were hiding at the time.
Marinette got onto the street and immediately started on her way. They were staying in an apartment in a nicer area of town, but Marinette wanted to see Crime Alley. She wanted to check on her old hideouts and give money to the kids who were sure to be there now.
In her ripped up jeans, dark but faded hoodie, and old sneakers she didn’t fit into the riffraff, but she didn’t stick out the way most people did who weren’t native to the alley. It wasn’t long before she slipped back into her old accent, and that made people quit paying attention to her. Anyone could steal some clothes or make enough small cash to buy something at the thrift shop, but the accent placed her as one of their own and the alley welcomed her back.
---
She went to spread good luck to people and help in the way that she could, and that started in the abandoned theatre. After one too many deaths it had been closed and that made it the perfect place to hide, it had enough room for a lot of people to be in there, and it was one of the few squats that wasn’t taken over by druggies. Marinette had snuck in and left some money by some of the sleeping kids and handed out some sandwiches and condoms to the working girls who were getting ready for the night. They didn’t trust her at first but after a few words and a conspirtal grin here and there as she told them about making it into a rich family and wanted to help the people who helped her they accepted the gifts for what they were.
As she walked out of the theatre she felt the eyes on her. It didn’t feel like hostility, but she was still wery. She ducked into an alley that she knew deadended and got herself close enough to the fire escape that she could make the jump, but not so close that the other person would realise she was prepared to run.
“I know you’re there, so might as well come out.” Putting on a brave voice would help to gain control of the situation.
“You seem like you’re a little out of your element, little girl.''
The voice came from above and Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. Either a bat, or someone who knew how to get the element of surprise. This might be more inconvenient than she thought.
She made sure to put as much alley accent into her speech. “Don’ know what ya talkin’ ‘bout. I grew up here didn’t I?”
The figure dropped down to the ground and took a couple steps towards her. She naturally slipped into a defence position, if he tried to grab her she was ready to flip him and run.
“The accent is right, but the designer clothes say money, even if you have worn them through. Designer threads like that don’t wind up at Linda’s too often.”
Marinette smiled at the test. People from the city proper called it linda’s thrift shop, the alley called it L’s place. It was as much a test as it was telling her that this bat was actually from the alley.
“L usually holds out on the good stuff, everyone knows that.”
She couldn’t see past the facemask, but based on the crinkle at his cheeks she had made whoever it was smile.
“Hood, there’s a disturbance by the theatre. Someone has cornered a girl in an alley. Sending you the coordinates now.”
Marinette tried not to show her surprise. She knew that the coms automatically synced to each other so they could all hear one another, but she didn’t expect them to connect to the bat’s com units.
Hood, as he was apparently called, put a hand to his ear and spoke into his communicator. “O, that’s me. She seemed out of place and I wanted to see why a little rich girl was in the alley.”
She heard him through the com as well as in front of her and thought about how max could probably get in contact with this O person, they might hit it off if she was team bat’s man in the chair.
“I’m not a little girl.”
“Pixie pop, you are quite literally little, but I do apologize for assuming your gender.”
“First, don’t call me Pixie Pop, only my brother can call me that, second, I am a girl but I am an adult, third, just because you’re so tall doesn't make me short.” Marinette then made the jump onto the fire escape and started climbing up. “Now, if you don’t mind I’m going home.”