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If there was one thing Timothy Drake was sure of, it would be that he didn’t have a soulmate. The bond always expressed itself when the pair, born on the same day, turned thirteen. Why thirteen? It was the day the pair became teenagers, and the first day their bodies were able to hold the powers that would be gained from the bond. Tim had long passed 13, and had yet to meet anyone in the dreamscape. He always entered an area of inky blackness, and Tim could never see anything, no matter where he walked.
The only logical conclusion to his problem was to not sleep. Then he wouldn’t enter the inky dreamscape, and he wouldn’t wake up feeling empty. Tim would force himself to stay up days on end, and consumed copious amounts of coffee to mitigate his need for sleep. He buried himself in cases- for the Bats, the Justice League, and Teen Titans. On top of the caseload he worked, Tim was also co-CEO for Wane Enterprise, along with Bruce. With so much work, it was easy to forget about sleep.
When Bruce went missing, Tim was only fifteen. Damian had come into the picture, and Tim was stripped of Robin. He refused to believe that Bruce died. He became a globetrotter and tracked down leads on Bruce’s whereabouts. He had a safehouse in Paris for a short time- it didn’t last long. Not even two days in the area and it was blown up by Ra’s Al Ghul. Just when he was about to sleep for once. The next time he was able to fall asleep was during the train ride out of Paris during the day.
He got Bruce back later, which was good, and so Tim returned to Gotham. His relationship with Dick and Damian got better, and Jason got closer to him. Red Robin became a staple Gotham vigilante, and Tim Drake-Wayne led Wayne Enterprise into becoming bigger than ever. Tim was thriving- both in mask and out.
It was almost enough to forget about his soulmate. The one that Tim didn’t have. It was the only solution- if he never once met them in three years, then he must not have one.
It all changed the day that Tim went up against Scarecrow alone.
Usually, that would not be such a problem. But when he was running on less than an hour of sleep in the last two days, added to the responsibilities that surrounded him, Tim grew tired quickly. Crane had developed a new strain of fear gas, one that the antidote did not work effectively with. Breathing in more fear gas as time went on, the henchmen soon turned into various members of the batfamily. He pulled back from harming his family too much, but it did not stop the words escaping each family member’s mouth.
“You’re such a failure, Tim!” One of the many Richard Graysons called out. “I will never regret taking Robin away. I only regret not doing it sooner!”
Tim tried to ignore the drugged jabs, he knew that it wasn’t actually Dick.
“Replacement!” A Red Hood cried out as he hit Red Robin with a right hook. “Wish I killed you when I had the chance.”
“Drake,” Damian bit out scathingly. Tim protected himself from the younger’s blow from above. “You’re an incorrigible fool!”
That one was something he and Damian had moved on from long ago. They seldomly fought anymore.
The one that seemed to affect Tim the most, however, was Bruce. Scarecrow had taken the form of the big Bat, and was standing off to the side as the henchmen- looking like the rest of them- piled onto Tim.
“Timothy, I’m disappointed in you.”
No matter how hard he tried, no matter how many he fought, Tim was slowly overpowered. He was unable to fight back, his limbs growing heavier and heavier while his heart thundered in his chest. He couldn’t breathe, each breath coming and leaving faster and faster and faster-
Bodies piled on top of him as he fell to the ground. His rebreather had been knocked away shortly into the fight, and the gas had been given too much time to become effective. He was held down as Bruce came up to him, more syringes in his hand. His gloves were pulled off, as the icy needle was inserted into his lethargic hands. As the contents were pushed into his veins, fire followed it. Racing up his arms and throughout his body, pain exploded. Suddenly his hallucinations became all the more real. The words sliced deeper, and more people came to yell at him.
Conner, Bart, Cassie, Garfield all appeared with scathing remarks. Hell, even Ra’s Al Ghul and Lady Shiva made appearances. People from the Justice League, Young Justice, and the Titans. Friends long gone even appeared- ones Tim had forgotten about himself.
The worst insults came from Janet and Jack Drake.
Tim had lost all lucidity, and every remark from his dead parents' lips were true. He knew it, though they had never said it explicitly before now.
How he was a disappointment, and how they wish he never were born. How they left Gotham so often because Tim was home, and how Tim was the biggest regret they had.
With those statements adding to the fire in his veins, Tim started screaming.
Marinette had given up on her soulmate. At first she was excited at the notion- thinking maybe Adrien could be her soulmate! But their birthday wasn’t the same, nor did he ever show up in the mindspace. It was just inky blackness. It felt suffocating, for Marinette. At school, Lila and her posse had become more volatile. Marinette had been forced to spend more and more time in closets and enclosed spaces. The dark closets resembled the inky blackness of her dreamscape.
She hated how sleep became a reminder of her troubles. As such, Marinette stopped getting sleep. However, spending more and more time awake requires caffeine. Thus grew her addiction to coffee. The next thing she knew, Marinette was spending frequent all-nighters on patrol, looking for Hawkmoth, schoolwork, and commissions. At least her fashion business was growing. That was a plus.
It was after her fifteenth birthday when everything changed. With her new guardian duties, she had just gone three days without sleep, and had forced herself into bed. She fell asleep fairly quickly, which was no surprise. What was shocking, however, was that her dreams were not filled with inky blackness.
For the first time since she turned 13, Marinette was not surrounded by the oppressive blackness.
The area around her was still dark, yes, but she could see around her. Her feet were on solid ground. Her body was standing upright. Marinette looked around to see a long hallway, doors on either side. Glancing behind her, she moved forward, walking past the doors. Each had a label on the front.
“Let's see…” Marinette mumbled to herself. “Bedroom 1, Library, Bedroom 2, Sewing Room, Dark Room, Lounge, Kitchen…”
As she wandered down the hall, she noticed a light from one of the doors. Deciding to neglect the rest of the doors for now, she crept to the lit doorway. She could hear the tapping of keys before she reached the doorway. Marinette looked inside. The room was covered with screens flashing with code as the boy in front of them typed. His hands flew across the keyboard in their own dance. Marinette could not see the boy’s face, but she knew.
This boy was her soulmate.
“Hello?”
Tim was officially freaking out. He must have fallen unconscious after the gas. The last thing he remembered was glass falling on him as his hallucinations surrounded him. Bruce and the rest of them must have come to save him.
Then why was he now in a place he had never seen before?
He had come to standing up at the end of a hallway. He had looked in many of the rooms, which were suspiciously normal. Then, he turned to the computers.
He couldn’t connect to the internet on them. Which was concerning, because computers were supposed to connect to the internet. It is what they worked off of. No internet? No working computer. Concerning.
He decided to hack into the mainframe. Which he quickly got wrapped up in. But the more he hacked, the more questions arose. The only information in the computers was about him and another girl- named Marinette Dupain-Cheng. There were of course other programs on the servers as well- mostly games and other entertainment programs.
It was concerning.
He must have been there for hours, in the empty area. Nobody else was there. He had checked. That’s why he was so surprised when he heard a voice behind him.
“Hello?”
Tim froze, then swiveled on his chair. Behind him was the girl- Marinette. Her eyes seemed to shine with curiosity.
“Err- hello.”
The girl smiled, tucking a piece of her dark hair out of her face. “My name is Marinette, and I’m your soulmate!”
“Soulmate? So I’m asleep?”
“Presumably. Although it’s a bit weird… I’ve never seen this place.”
“Me neither. Usually it's just-”
“The inky blackness.”
“Yeah, that.”
“Well, Mr. Soulmate, what’s your name?”
“Oh, right- Tim.”
“Nice to meet you, Tim!” She exclaimed, before questioning. “It’s been years since the bond should have woken up… why now?”
“Time Zones. You live in Paris- according to the computer- and I live in Gotham.”
“Huh.”
“Yeah. Add that to insomniac tendencies, and it’s a miracle we met after this long.”
“And why are you asleep now? In Gotham it should be in the early evening!”
“I- I don’t know. Must be in a coma again.”
“AGAIN?” She cried out.
“Don’t fret, it wasn’t very long.”
“We must have the worst luck ever.” Marinette sighed, before throwing herself into the other chair in the room.
Tim snickered. “Yeah.”
Time seemed to go on forever, yet passed in a blink of an eye. The blue-haired girl was just explaining the reason why she couldn’t sew a half stitch on china silk when her voice was abruptly cut off. Tim’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, before realizing she must have woken up.
It was time to get back to work.
For the first time in years, Marinette did not want to wake up. Her alarm was going off to the side of her, and Tikki could be heard moving things around. Probably trying to help her holder get ready for school.
“Tikki,” She started. “I met my soulmate last night.”
“Oh Marinette!” Tikki squealed. “You met them? What’s their name, what do they look like!”
“Well,” Marinette started as she rolled out of bed. “He has black hair, and the prettiest blue eyes ever. He’s smart- like computer smart- and he’s really kind. And a total insomniac. He lives in America so add insomniac tendencies, and you get a soulmate pair who doesn’t meet each other until one falls in a coma.”
“A coma? Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he said he was, but apparently it’s happened before.”
Before Tikki was able to reply, her phone went off again, signaling the need to hurry up. She quickly got dressed, and placed her school items in her bag. Tying her hair in her signature pigtails, Marinette smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She climbed down from her room into the kitchen, and ate a small meal. Working on autopilot, the teen cleaned up her dishes and left for her own personal Hell- school.
In retrospect, nothing changed about school. Lila still walked the halls like she owned the school, and Adrien remained a spineless coward. The class were apprehensive when talking to her, wanting to believe both Lila and Marinette. However, they remained more loyal to the liar. More outgoing classmates had started harassing Marientte- doing the same as Lila claimed the other had done to her.
Thus the locked closets, and the verbal abuse.
Of course, the teachers and principal wouldn’t do anything. Mendeleiv tried a few times, but with the blatant ignorance the rest of the faculty held, it didn’t go very far. Still, Marinette frequently hung out in the science classroom- Mendeleiv may not have control over the school, but she did have control over her classroom.
It was tiresome. It wore down on Marinette quickly. The people she loved and helped constantly seemingly turned their backs on her. All she had was herself- well, now Tim too. But he wouldn’t- couldn’t- understand what she was going through. Her life was crumbling around her, and her friends were leaving. She also had to fight an evil terrorist with nothing but a magical yoyo and a lackluster partner. At least she now had a reason for rejecting Chat’s advances.
The first akuma battle after meeting her soulmate happened a week after. It wasn’t a very powerful one, but it had woken her up in the middle of the night. She had been trying to get more sleep to talk with her soulmate, something her body was gratuitous of. But, getting a semi-consistent sleeping schedule made night battles all the more painful. The akuma, known as “La Criminelle”, had been akumatized when the police had conducted a raid on her drug cartel. A dangerous woman made more dangerous with magical powers. It was tedious.
Ladybug was able to defeat La Criminelle after a few hours. Chat Noir hadn’t bothered to show up. Probably would explain himself away by saying he needed beauty sleep. Alas, that was a problem for another day. With the help of her Lucky Charm and her brain, Ladybug had once again saved the city. Too bad she was unable to save her sleep schedule. It was now early morning, and if she went to bed now, Marinette would not be able to get up on time for school.
That night, Tim had fretted over her. He knew that something serious had gone on- she had woken up at a ridiculous hour- and then hadn’t gone back to sleep. That led to a discussion in the dreamscape about her secret. She told him all about Hawkmoth, the akuma, Chat Noir, even the sparse appearances of Mayura. She talked about how she, as Ladybug, was tasked with finding and defeating Hawkmoth- an adult. Marinette had been given this power, this responsibility, when she was thirteen. And the man who gave her the power hadn’t allowed her to know who he was until she was almost fourteen. She hadn’t asked for any responsibility like that. It was forced upon her. Then the man, the Guardian, gave her responsibility over the Kwamis after Miracle Queen. In doing so he lost his memories, leaving Marinette more alone than never.
Tim held her as she cried for hours in the dreamscape. When she calmed down, he told her about himself. His parents, his family. Bruce and the others, along with being Robin and eventually Red Robin. Everything. He told her about his friends, his job as CEO of Wayne Enterprise, and his various adventures. It was a relief, being able to tell Marinette everything. To be able to tell someone about his entire life who could relate, but still be separated.
It was after that the two came up with a plan.
They would find Hawkmoth and Mayura, and defeat them.
Timothy Drake was on the computers again. During the time Marinette was awake, he usually explored the other rooms. His favorite (other than the computer room) had to be the dark room. Inside were the thousands of pictures he had taken as a kid of Batman and Robin, as well as other images both he and Marinette had taken.
Marinette.
He was surprised when he finally met her. She was beautiful and kind and so incredibly smart. She had such a creative spirit, and hardly needed help in her Hawkmoth endeavor. He gave her strategies learnt from the bats. Tim had even started to teach Marinette how to hack, along with various languages and fighting styles. Marinette had also taught Tim various things as well. More languages, stitching as well as various fashion knowledge. The both of them were becoming even more well rounded.
Currently, they are going through a list of suspects.
“What about Mayor Boregouise?” Tim asked.
“Akumatized. Plus he’s not the type. Also he was there when Hawkmoth came forward.”
“Hmm. What about Agreste?”
“Adrien or Gabriel? Adrien wouldn’t work. He’s too young and doesn’t have a reason.” His soulmate replied.
“Reason? What do you mean? He has plenty of reasons! His mother, freedom from his father…”
“He also has been in the classroom when an akuma happens.”
Suddenly Tim straightened up. “What if Hawkmoth had Mayura akumatise him?”
Marinette straightened up as well. “That would make sense! Gabriel Agreste was akumatized right around the time I was suspecting him!”
“And he would be more spiteful and have enough free time in order to akumatise people at all hours!” she then sunk in her chair. “But how would I explain it to Chat Noir! He was so against it the first time around!”
Tim grew sympathetic. “Is he still trying to get with you?”
Marinette sighed. “He respects the fact that I have a soulmate, but he seems so sad nowadays. I don’t think he has met his soulmate either.”
“Parisian superheroes just have the worst luck, huh?”
“Guess it’s all used up in akuma battles.”
The both of them smiled softly at that.
“Maybe you use the mouse miraculous and fox to create clones of yourself?” Tim offered.
“Yeah I could , but it tires me out pretty quickly. It would most-likely be a last chance scenario.”
“What if... What if you had proof? Send Trixx to canvas the area and see if they can spot Gabriel doing anything suspicious.”
“That could work!” Marinette cried out in happiness. If they had proof, Chat had to believe her! She hopped out of her chair and gave Tim a tight hug. “Thank you, Tim!”
As soon as she woke up, she summoned Trixx. The fox kwami was all too happy to help, and soon went off on her adventure. The fox miraculous had been shifted into a bracelet, so nobody would notice the new accessory and immediately think “miraculous!”. Marinette had to transform in her bathroom for a short period of time to inform Chat of her operation. She then went to her desk, thank goodness for weekends.
She later got a message from Chat, thanking her for the information, albeit curious of whom she was investigating.
Marinette told him she would inform him of the identity if he ended up being Hawkmoth, just in case she was wrong.
That night, there was an akuma.
The ladybug miraculous holder sat up from her latest sewing project and looked out of the window. In the distance there were blazing buildings. Normally, she would groan at the appearance of an akuma. This time, she smiled. Trixx would have an answer.
Sadly, this akuma was far from tame. Named “Everblaze”, the akuma was of a man who had woken up from a coma after his house had burnt down. Sadly, his wife and child had died in the blaze. When informed of his family, the man had blown upon a fiery pit of rage and grief. A perfect victim for Hawkmoth.
Everything Everblaze touched burst into flames. It did not matter if the object in question was metal, wooden, or concrete. Any material suddenly grew to be flammable. As Ladybug arrived on the scene, smoke seeped into her lungs and ash flew into her eyes. Still, she pushed forwards. She used her yo-yo to leap into the fray. There she came upon the akuma.
The battle was long and hard. After a while Chat Noir showed up, but he was unable to do much. Anytime either of them would get close, Everblaze would send off a fiery blaze to knock them back. After an especially brutal flame, they both were flown into the air. Chat Noir was thrown into a wall and knocked out, while Marinette had landed on a roof and was able to go back into the fray.
In the end, Mari had to pull out the mouse miraculous. From there she was able to sneak up behind Everblaze and snatch the akumatized item. Stomping on it, Marinette then grabbed the auma in her yoyo and purified it. Saying one of her many catchphrases, she let the butterfly go and cast her cure.
When she got home, she immediately de-transformed. Just as she was about to flop into bed like a bag of flour, Tikki flew up to her face.
“Marinette! Your soulmate power is starting to show!”
What?
Dick Grayson was tired. Tim had been in a coma for a month now. Hooked up to what seemed like a never-ending amount of machines, the boy looked frail. The night Tim was gassed was one Dick would never forget. The screams chilled his bones, and when he broke into the warehouse, Tim had passed out and was withering on the floor, screams pouring out of his mouth. Nobody who heard them slept that night.
At first, they weren’t too worried. Scarecrow gas usually tended to tire out the victim. Added to the fact that Tim was usually sleep deprived, it was very common for Tim to be knocked out for hours afterwards. It was when the twelve hour mark had come and passed when the Batfamily started to get nervous. When the twenty hour mark passed, they called Lesile Tompkins. It was then she declared Tim was in a coma.
Soon after, he was placed on an IV. They were placed on a rotation, just in case Tim woke up or a medical emergency arose. The steady beat of his EKG beeping accompanied whoever was in the room at the time. Scarecrow was caught soon after and sent to Arkham. Yet, he didn’t even know what had caused the coma Red Robin had fallen into.
Like every time, Gotham reacted to the disappearance of Red Robin. Tim Drake had been “sent to a private island to relax” while rumors of Red’s disappearance escalated. Crooks and villains were getting more confident when going out, as one of the vigilante’s was not out.
What was more concerning, though, was that Tim had started changing. Imperceptible at first, but soon it became harder and harder to replace the IV needle. Tim already was susceptible to illness due to the lack of his spleen, and so Leslie was adamant his needle be switched every other day rather than every three days, the timeframe of needles needing to be switched out for patients. She had noticed after two weeks, and the problem had only gotten worse. If Tim didn’t wake up soon, they would have to find a solution- a way to counteract the invincibility, find a way to fight the inevitable infection if the needle were to stay in, or find another way to get Tim his nutrients.
Time was marching on.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t leave Tim behind.
“You’ve started to get your soulmate power!” Tikki reiterated when Marinette had replied with a “Heh?!”
“What? Tikki! What is it?”
“Why, isn’t it obvious? You’re becoming invincible, that’s why you were able to take the hit Chat couldn’t!”
“Because we landed at different spots?”
Giggling, Tikki continued. “No, it's because you are becoming invincible! In and out of the suit! Haven’t you noticed the lack of bruises and sewing needle pricks lately?”
“I thought I was just getting better with my clumsiness!”
“Marinette, get less clumsy?” Trixx responded.
“Hey!” The only human in the conversation called back, before realizing what it meant. “Trixx! You’re back!”
“Ha! Someone finally realizes how awesome I am!” Trixx replied.
“Did you find anything?”
“Oh yes I did! I found everything you asked of me and more!”
Yes! Finally, she could defeat Hawkmoth. Then, she could leave Paris and find Tim! Then once he wakes up Marinette can get to know him out of their dreamscape! She could go on and get her fashion degree and Tim can run his father’s company. Marinette could finally leave Paris behind, along with Lila and the drama. Ah, it sounded like a dream come true!
“What did you find out?” Marinette asked.
“Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth! And his assistant, Nathalie? Mayura.”
“That’s great news! But, what about Adrien? He’ll only have the Gorilla left..”
“That’s another thing… Marinette, Adrien is Chat Noir!” Trixx revealed.
“What?” Things had just gotten more complicated. “How will we plan around this? Adrien’s reaction cannot be predicted, but he might turn against us because of his mother. Hmm… best to do this alone. But then he’ll be even more hurt. Oh no… what will we do? I can enlist Luka and Kagami as holders for the final battle, but since Adrien is Chat Noir how would we tell him?”
“Marinette!” Tikki called out.
“What?” She replied, shaken from her spiral.
“Don’t worry so much! It’ll work out! Take time to think about it, and the solution will shine through!” Tikki reassured her.
“You could always take away his miraculous for reasons other than Hawkmoth. Your soulmate is the true holder, anyways.”
“Oh. That... that makes sense. But Chat would totally kill me if I said I needed his miraculous for my soulmate. Especially before Hawkmoth’s defeat.”
“Well… what if you said you needed it for guardian purposes? Like, there's a spell in the book to make the ring stronger or protect it from something. You need the ring now and not later due to the fact that it takes a few days to do it!” Trixx suggested.
“That could work! And I can give him a fake miraculous as well! Wait- I could explain the plan to Plagg and say that I need the ring to put a serum on it, and switch it out with a fake! Then say with strict instructions that Adrien is absolutely not allowed to transform for the next few days unless I have fallen or have more than three temporary holders with me.” Marinette replied.
“Yes! Because then he won’t question it, Plagg will still be there to keep the lie going, and then Adrien won’t have a clue until Hawkmoth is defeated!” Tikki cut in.
“Okay! We just need to get the word out to Plagg, and then everything will work out!” Marinette decided. “Oh! And a plan to actually defeat Gabriel and Nathalie.”
Yeah… it was going to be a long night.
Good thing Marinette could go to sleep and plan away with boy genius, Timothy Drake.
It took three days to make the replica ring. Another five passed before an akuma attack. By that point, Marinette was on the edge of her seat. She told Chat to meet her at the Eiffel Tower at midnight. Now all she had to do was wait.
Chat showed up right on time. Initially confused, Adrien was hesitant to give up his miraculous. But, with the reassurance that he would get the ring back relatively quickly, he submitted. Marinette had brought along a few vials of water, sugar water, and tea to “mix” as the magical substance. She would mix them together at the tower to give Plagg time to read the plan. Adrien had trusted her when Ladybug had explained it would take a little bit as it was “time sensitive”. Marinette almost felt bad for betraying him. Alas, sacrifices had to be made.
Chat Noir was not happy about the time limit on the ring. He tried to convince her otherwise, but Ladybug stayed true to her count. She said she had already done the same thing to her earrings, and had made it through the time. Chat quieted down afterwards.
With three days before Chat Noir would try to transform again, Marinette set out on the other part of the plan: the other heroes. Ladybug appeared to a few people that night, giving them clear instructions. Luka, Kagami, Max and Kim. At school, Max and Kim had been initially neutral, until they had caught Lila threatening Marinette. When they confronted Marinette over the situation, Mari had told them to wait until Hawkmoth was defeated in order to prevent the mass akumatisation that would happen otherwise. Still, the two told Alix who had already been on Marinette’s side. Them along with Tim had made things more bearable.
The next night was when they all met up. Initially confused and unsure, the four temporary heroes had stood awkwardly. It was then that Marinette had walked up in civilian form and ushered them all together. Many secrets were revealed in that conversation.
It had seemed that all the time had passed in the world, and no time had passed in the same moment. The next thing the group knew, they were at the Agreste household. Not only that, but they were about to have the final showdown.
Thanks to Trixx’s careful instructions, as well as Max teleporting them, the team was able to go deep into Hawkmoth’s lair. Luckily just in time to catch the latest akuma. The ending almost seemed anticlimactic. With Luka’s power he was able to defeat Mayura easily with Kagami. Meanwhile, Kim had used his powers to disrupt Gabriel’s, and Marinette was able to grab his miraculous.
Finally, Paris was free.
Marinette placed both of the miraculous in her yoyo, then snapped it shut.
“Gabriel Agreste, Nathalie Sancoeur, the both of you have committed heinous crimes against the miraculous and the city of Paris. You shall pay for your crimes. I, as guardian, hereby ban you from ever using a miraculous ever again. You shall be turned into the police and go up against the court of law for your crimes.” Ladybug commanded.
With that, the battle was over. Gabriel and Nathalie were sent to officer Rancomprix that night, where the two were immediately taken into custody. While she was at the mansion, Marinette took Plagg as well as the fake ring, explaining everything in her letter: the reason he was uncalled for the battle, who Nathalie and his dad really was. Marinette made sure he knew that it was a tough decision and how she hated every minute of it. With a final thanks, Marinette wrapped the letter with her final goodbye, and asked Adrien not to look for her. Ladybug was retiring, never to take up the mantle of Ladybug again. She would travel the world and learn about the miraculous and gain communications with the temple.
It was for the best, anyways.
She also healed his mother. She would take care of Adrien. It was a newer power discovered by Marinette, because of her guardianship status. Emilie would take care of Emily.
Everything was wrapping itself in a nice, little bow. With the defeat of Hawkmoth, Marinette was able to confront Lila without worry. Kim, Max, Alix, and Luka backing her up only sealed the deal. But it was too late for most of the class. They had broken their friendship too badly to be fixed. Especially Alya. Rose and Juleka were able to heal their friendship over time, as well as Myliene, but Alya and the others were worse off.
Everything was looking up.
That must have been why Tim’s news was such a shock.
It wasn’t good news.
The invulnerability granted to them both was killing Tim.
Marinette needed to get to Gotham, quickly.
After much deliberation, Tim and Marinette had decided to wait the two days until the weekend. Friday afternoon had come, and she had explained things to her parents. She needed to take a short trip to meet her soulmate, but she would be back on Sunday. Initially worried, they told her she couldn’t go. Marinette had reassured them when, as a final point, she had revealed she was Ladybug and could handle herself. The parents were shocked and horrified at what their daughter had been forced to do. Marinette then explained that her soulmate was in a coma she could heal him from, and that their power was invincibility. Her soulmate was dying and he needed her.
With that shock, Marinette had been allowed to go. She felt bad, but knew that was the only way. She had tried every other option to no avail.
With Kaalki, Marinette had teleported into the Batcave. She had merged Wayzz and Kaalki to form her suit. Tikki would still come along, just not transformed. To her luck, she was within sight of Tim. Against her luck, she was also in sight of the other occupants of the cave. Now, Tim had warned her of this, but Marinette still found herself surprised.
There were three people other than Tim in the cave. An older woman, who must have been Lesile, was by Tim’s side. There was also a young adult man- Dick Grayson. And finally, a small child with swords. Damian.
Richard Grayson was immediately on edge. He started to ask Marinette who she was when Damian had attacked her with his sword. Only for it to break. Well, there goes the plan of talking things out peacefully.
Marinette immediately knocked Damian into Dick, and covered them with Wayzz’s shelter. It was the best way to make sure nobody was hurt. She then walked over to Tim, only to find Leslie standing in front of the comatose patient. The doctor had her arms spread in a protective manner.
“Let me heal him.” Marinette demanded.
“Why should I? For all I know you’re planning on killing him.” The doctor bit back. The boys had started banging on the magical shell at this point.
“I can heal him. I can help him more than you can with needles that can’t even breach his skin.”
Leslie faltered. “How did you-”
“Doctor Thompkins, Tim sent me himself.”
Realization struck her face. “But I thought he didn’t have one!”
“He didn’t know. Time zones and insomniac-like tendencies.”
Leslie stepped away from Tim, much to the chagrin of the other two. They yelled at them both. “I swear if anything happens to that boy I will kill you myself.”
Marinette smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”
Marinette de-transformed and immediately set to work. While the other kwamis ate and recharged, Marinette focused on her task. With the help of Tikki, she was able to heal Tim like she had Emilie. All it would take was some time for him to wake up.
But time was not exactly on her side right now. With the release of Wayzz, Marinette had subsequently released Dick and Damian. To make it even worse, they had previously called for backup. Now Bruce, Jason, Cass and Steph were there as well. With intent to severely maim Marinette for breaking in. None of them had seen what Marinette had done.
Instead of waiting for Tim to wake up like a normal person, Marinette freaked out. She immediately re-transformed with Wayzz and created a shell around her, Leslie and Tim.
They were in a stand-off.
One thing Tim was not expecting when he woke up was for Marinette to have placed a magical barrier around them. He sat up, much to the surprise of almost everyone in the room, and looked out. His family all had a mask of anger and protectiveness, but Tim could see the fear hidden behind it. He looked to the side to see Leslie on the inside, as well as Marinette.
“Hey Leslie, long time no see. How’ve you been?” He asked politely.
“Better than you, Tim. You’ve been asleep for quite some time and yet somehow you look like you haven’t slept a wink.”
“Ah, you know how it is. Can’t help but keep working all the time. Have you met Marinette?”
“Can’t say I have had the pleasure of getting her name.”
“Well, I have been a bit busy.” Marinette cut in.
“Leslie!” Dick shouted. “Is Tim alright?”
“I’m fine, Dick!” Tim shot back. “Holy moly, Batman. Just ‘cause you fall in a coma for a while doesn’t mean the mother hen should be sicced on you.”
Marinette started cracking up. In between giggles she asked if it was okay to take down the shelter. Tim nodded, and she did.
Only to be swamped in a hug from his older brother.
“I told you, I’m fine.” Tim reassured me. He turned to look at Marinette only to see her be stared down by Bruce. “B, she’s clear.”
“She’s not clear until I clear her. She broke into the cave today and attacked Robin and Nightwing.”
“To be fair, Damian attacked me first,” Marinette cut in, only to be glared at by Bruce. “Are you going to stop glaring at me, bat boy? Because it’s not working .” She taunted.
Tim started laughing again, much to the chagrin of Bruce. Jason looked like he was suppressing a snort, so if anything came down to it, Jason would probably help Marinette.
“That’s Marinette. My soulmate.” Tim decided to reveal.
Instantly, everyone turned to look between the two of them.
“Thought’cha didn’t have a soulmate, Timmy.” Jason inquired.
“We didn’t know. With the different time zones and refusals to sleep on both ends, it took until now for us to even connect.”
“Great. Two Drakes.” Damian sarcastically bit out dryly. But, Tim could tell it was in humor.
“Ha ha, Damian.” Tim snarked back.
“Now that we’ve had our pleasant reunion, I need to check on my patient. Someone tell Alfred Tim’s awake?” Leslie cut in.
“Oh, I am quite aware of my charge’s predicament, Dr. Thompkins.” A British voice added.
Alfred.
“Are you ready?” Marinette asked Tim. It had been a few months since the latter had woken up, and he was finally cleared to go back to patrol. It had taken a while for Tim to rebuild his muscle mass and get back into shape, even with Marinette’s help.
“Ready as I’ll ever be, Mari. Or should I say, Ladybird.”
Marinette had taken a new mantle. With her laying down the Ladybug one like she had promised back in Paris, it had been time for a new one. Instead of using the miraculous, however, Marinette had shifted to a completely man-made costume. Her name had been simple: a mix of Ladybug and Gotham’s birds.
Marinette still lived in Paris. She was a student there full time, and was waiting until she graduated to move to Gotham. That was the rule set by her parents. Fair enough, she supposed. Even then, Marinette still spent the weekends and breaks over in Gotham. Hence the introduction of Ladybird.
“Then let’s start patrolling, Red Robin. Time to re-enter you into vigilante society.”
And off they went, two birds flying in the sky. Dancing to a tune only they knew the steps to. Forever entwined.