Chapter Text
Another day, another Akuma. Marinette thought wearily as she looked across the demolition site that was once her beautiful Paris. Chat hadn’t shown up but the now twenty-two-year-old ladybug was used to that. She had been having to tackle the Akuma fights alone ever since she had graduated from lycee and her class had scattered across the globe to pursue their various interests. Sure she hadn’t been as close to them as she once had been even before graduation but it had been nice knowing she had someone she could call on when she needed help.
Marinette shook her head to refocus and quickly spotted the Akumatised item and sprang into action, yoyo spinning to deflect any incoming blasts. The battle itself ended quickly, which had her leaning back against a half-melted car in relief. It was as she was drawing a deep breath after calling for her cure that things went wrong. She had looked up just in time to catch Plagg and his ring barreling into her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs and off-balance. She had automatically tried to steady herself but instead found herself pitching backwards through what felt like one of Bunnix’s portals. She barely had time to try and look around when her sight went black.
When Marinette came to consciousness again she discovered several things quickly. One, her transformation into Ladybug had faded away leaving her as just Marinette again. Two, her miraculous and that of the black cat had transported themselves into the tattoo she had of the Order Symbol. She had had that done as soon as she had moved out of her parents' house. It had taken four spells and untold pain for her but she had managed to transform the Miracle Box into microscopic beads which she had added to the ink when the tattoo artist hadn’t been looking. Tikki had then made sure each of the beads had been evenly spaced within the tattoo. The third thing she noticed was she was strapped to a hard table and four tubes were pumping some sort of liquid into her system.
“Ah, good, you’re awake! Don’t worry we are almost done and then we can start with our questions.”
Although the tone was friendly and cheerful, Marinette found something about it that set her on edge. The tone screamed fake to her.
“W-where am I?” Marinette asked nervously, trying to fish for information without making it too obvious.
“You don’t need to know that,” the voice replied.
Marinette let her eyes scan her surroundings much like she would when she was Ladybug. Her tank top was ripped over her stomach and one of the shoulder straps felt like it was barely attached. Her jeans would probably fit in in the most hardcore rock concert crowd with all the rips and tears in them. The black ballet flats she had been wearing before the Akuma attack were lying on the floor leaving her feet bare. A shiver travelled up her spine as she then took in all the medical paraphernalia around the room. There was a second table with a man in a slightly tattered US military green shirt and standard army issue pants that also looked like they had seen better days. Like her, he had a couple of thin tubes pumping something into him however it looked like he was still unconscious.
There was also a man dressed in what appeared to be a suit covered in a trench coat. Marinette could make out a smart red bowtie and pebble glasses but that was all that she could see when it came to the person who seemed to be her captor.
“H-how did I get here?” Marinette asked, still feigning disorientation vainly hoping for some useful information.
“You were found unconscious in the forest just outside this facility. Since you seem stable enough to be chatty, why don’t you tell us how you got here, hmm?”
“I-I don’t know,” Marinette replied, finally picking up the man's German accent. “The last thing I remember was sitting at a cafe waiting for my coffee, then everything goes black.” She lied quickly, unwilling to reveal anything about being Ladybug or about the miraculous in general. Something was telling her it would be catastrophic if someone got hold of them now.
The man chuckled sardonically before pressing a button on the panel next to him. Marinette shrieked in wordless pain as electricity arced through her briefly before stopping.
“Now, now Fräulein, do you honestly think Hydra would believe that you don’t know how you came to be here?” Marinette trembled as aftershocks raced through her body, tears leaking from her eyes.
“I swear I don’t know anything! What is Hydra? Why are you doing this?” Marinette snivelled pitifully. The thing was she did know about Hydra, even though it was only vaguely covered in her history classes. They were a group allied with the Germans to work behind the scenes on new tech for the war. They were cruel, merciless people who only cared about the end result, not how many people they would kill getting there. The problem was, they had risen to power in WW2 and as far as she knew, Captain America and his Howling Commandos had whipped them out before the good Captain had committed suicide by piloting a plane into the ocean for an unknown reason.
Another shock brought her back to the present and out of her panic-induced spiral.
“I will ask you again, how did you find us?”
The next few hours were a blur in Marinette’s memory. A question she either couldn’t or wouldn’t answer would get thrown at her and with each non-answer or answer the madman didn’t like, another shock was sent through her system. Marinette thought the man on the other table woke up at some stage but her brain was too focused on keeping her sane to truly take notice. The madman had just asked her yet another question when the door to the room was ripped off and a man Marinette might have drooled over if she was in her normal state was revealed. Marinette smiled slightly as he went to work freeing his friend and before slowly letting her head fall back only to be surprised when the straps holding her seemed to vanish and she was thrown over someone's shoulder. The impact of the shoulder meeting her stomach managed to not only knock the air out of her but throw her back into the bliss of unconsciousness once again.
***
Marinette’s return to consciousness was only slightly more pleasant this time. While the surface she had been placed on was more comfortable, though not by much, there was much more shouting.
“How could you be so careless! She is an unknown element and could be a spy for all we know. Barnes was unconscious when she was brought into that room where you found her. How do we know she wasn’t there willingly?”
“How do you know she’s not just a civilian, sir? Look, I understand your concerns however look at how she is dressed. No lady I know of would ever dress like that! Add that to the torture she was being subjected to and it paints a different picture to the one you are painting!”
“Can you turn the shouting down to a dull roar?” Marinette interrupted as both men drew their breath to keep going. “My head is killing me, I’m shaking from the electricity and whatever drug was being pumped into me and for the second time in my recent memory, I have woken up not knowing where I am nor why I am there!”
The two men spun around to look at her. She vaguely recognised one of them as the one to save her but the other didn’t look familiar at all.
“You’re French!”
“Well spotted,” Marinette said dryly even as she went to put her trembling hand on her forehead only to frown. “What the-”
“What? You don’t recognize your own hand now?” the older of the two men sneered at her.
“Sort of. It’s more a case of I’ve never had a soulmate mark despite being twenty-two and suddenly there is one.”
“Nonsense! Everyone is born with a soul mark!”
“Yeah well, I wasn’t and it was a point of ridicule while I was at school.” Marinette snapped before she sighed. “Is there any way I can have a bath and get a change of clothes? I understand you don’t trust me and that’s alright but I feel disgusting and while my clothes wouldn’t look out of place at a rock concert, they aren’t exactly suited for wherever I currently am. If you have to have someone watching me as I bathe that is also something I’ll accept even though I don’t like it.”
Both men studied her for a moment before the older one walked to the tent opening and stuck his head out, yelling some orders before returning inside.
“You’ll have to make do with men's clothes, I’m afraid but I’ve organised for some things to be brought for you. You will be watched by two women just to be safe or you can forget about having that shower. And don’t expect any special treatment.” He said gruffly.
“Thank you,” Marinette said gratefully. “Um, pardon me for asking but who are you both anyway? I mean I vaguely recognise tall and blond over there from when you got me away from wherever I was but I have no idea who either of you are.” Marinette forced herself to stop babbling when she saw the two men looking at her in surprise. “What?”
“I thought you knew.” The blond said with a small blush.
“Um…” Marinette tilted her head to the side in confusion, how could she have known who they were when they hadn’t been introduced?
“I’m Colonel Phillips. Tall and blond as you called him is Steve Rogers aka Captain America. The women who will be watching you are Agent Carter and Pvt. Lorraine.”
“Right, thanks,” Marinette replied with a nod she immediately regretted. She slowly pushed herself to her feet only to frown again.
“What is it now?” Phillips demanded.
“When I left home this morning, my jeans went down to my ankles and were unripped. Now suddenly they are halfway up my calves yet despite the rips, the hems are intact. Same thing with my shirt. The bottom of it covered a good two inches over the top of my jeans now suddenly it’s sitting above my belly button with no change to the hemline. How is that possible?” Marinette started to panic only to feel a hand fall onto her shoulder.
“Deep breaths, Miss-” Steve said softly, trying to calm her down.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Call me Mari please, I hate it when people butcher my name.” Marinette replied after taking several deep breaths.
“Are there any other changes you can think of offhand, Miss Mari?” Steve asked in the same tone he’d originally spoken to her in. Marinette closed her eyes to check her hearing and sense of smell before taking a deep breath and taking another look at herself.
“A few.” She replied softly. “My sense of hearing, smell and eyesight seem to be more acute. Judging from how my clothes are fitting, I’d say I’m almost a foot taller than I was since I was barely 5 feet tall before. The scars from years worth of sewing are gone, if any others are missing I’ll find out after I get clean.” Marinette suddenly stopped talking with a blush.
“What?” Phillips barked suddenly. “What else?”
“Um, my bust seems to have increased in size too,” Marinette mumbled as the blush intensified, which made the two men blush as well. They were saved from replying by a woman walking into the tent.
“Everything is ready, Colonel.” She reported briskly with a crisp British accent.
“Thank you, Agent Carter,” he replied before gesturing for Marinette to follow the woman. “We can continue this later, Miss Mari.
***
Marinette knew she wouldn’t have long before the water she was provided to get herself cleaned up lost its temperature so after she arrived in the tent where the two agents had led her, she stripped off quickly and climbed in.
“You don’t care that we have to watch you?” Agent Carter asked once Marinette had finished washing her hair. Marinette sighed but didn’t pause what she was doing.
“This is a military camp in World War Two. I am an unknown person found in dubious circumstances by people that I’m fairly sure are high profile. If the mark on my wrist is correct, one of those high-profile men is my soulmate. That doesn’t tell you much about me though as even spies and serial killers have soul mates. My behaviour has been enough that even though I am a civilian, I make the higher-ups suspicious. Honestly, I’d be surprised if they didn’t either keep me under watch at all times or simply lock me away.” Marinette replied bluntly as she scrubbed all the dirt off of her skin, frowning when she noticed she had no injuries despite the torture she had gone through and the rough removal of the needles which had anchored the weird tubes to her body.
“You are calm about everything. Too calm. Why do you look so puzzled now?”
“Can’t find the injuries I know I had and as far as I know I don’t have an active X-gene so my healing shouldn’t be this rapid,” Marinette muttered in reply, now drying herself off and noticing her bust had indeed increased in size. How inconvenient. She thought absently. “Also, the randomly appearing soul mark and changes to my body have sort of thrown me off balance. Either way, I’m nowhere near as calm as I look.”
Marinette looked up as she finished tying the laces of the borrowed boots. The borrowed clothes were slightly loose and highly starched but they were serviceable and looking fashionable was the last thing she was worried about at that moment. Both women were staring at her in amazement.
“I’m ready so where next?” She asked. Agent Carter shook her head and blinked before replying.
“Uh, yes, back to the Colonel to get debriefed I suppose.”
Marinette nodded instead of replying and followed the Brit back to the original tent she had been in. Both men were still there and looked up as the women walked in.
“Well?” The Colonel demanded.
“She has a tattoo on her back and her soul mark on her wrist but other than that, nothing that would indicate she is anything but a civilian. I didn’t get a good look at the soul mark so all I know is it’s round.” Agent Carter replied as Marinette flopped back onto a chair that was as far away from anything important and potentially sensitive as she could.
“Why are you sitting there?” Steve asked her quietly.
“They already think I’m a spy, no need to make it worse,” Marinette answered quietly before sighing and tilting her head back. Phillips looked at her before sighing as well.
“I’m sorry we have to treat you as a spy until we can find evidence that you aren’t one.”
Marinette shook her head, “Don’t be. This is the military and you are at war. If you didn’t and I was it could cause major problems down the line.”
Agent Carter spoke up suddenly. “When you were talking to us earlier, you referred to this war as World War Two. Why is that?”
“I don’t know how much of what I am about to say will make me sound mad, especially with no evidence to back me up but I promise I will tell you as much as I can,” Marinette answered with a sigh. “I call it World War Two because that’s what it is. As far as I remember this war is a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It is known as the deadliest military conflict in history where an estimated total of 70–85 million people died. Not all the deaths are caused directly by the war, some are caused by food shortages or war-related diseases. Personally the figure I find the worst is the fact that of the roughly 85 million people who died, 50–55 million were like me, civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Marinette looked up at the others in the tents and saw them staring at her in absolute horror. “Look there are some amazing stories of people helping each other and ignoring racial boundaries but war is war and considering the scale of WW2, I’m honestly surprised it’s not higher. Do I like these numbers? No, but there is nothing I can do about them. Not without potentially making everything worse!”
“How do you know all that?” Steve asked, his voice thick with emotion.
“At the risk of sounding insane, I know all this because I was born in 1989 and the year I was in before waking up at that base was 2011. The sad fact is WW2 is a common topic covered in every standard education syllabus and the atrocities committed during this war make most people sick.”
“You’re right that does sound insane, and you were also right that we cannot take everything you just said as fact. Not without evidence which you have already stated you cannot provide. Is there anything you can think of that might prove you are from the future?”
Marinette looked thoughtful then sighed in resignation. “The only thing I could offer is my soulmate mark. As you know it takes the form of whatever makes their soulmate most recognisable. Now I’m guessing none of you have looked at mine yet?” Marinette paused as they shook their heads. “Good. From what I can see my soulmate hasn’t gained that item yet. Once he does, I will reveal my mark. Since Agent Carter has seen the shadow of it, I’ll let her see it now, on the proviso that she doesn’t reveal anything about it until I reveal it to the rest of you. Is that an acceptable compromise for now?”
“How do we know you won’t change it?”
“That’s why I’m letting Agent Carter see it. She can then verify that it is unchanged later.” Marinette said with a soft smile. “As I said, I understand your suspicion and I’m willing to work to prove myself trustworthy. I also want to be helpful in the meantime but I’m not quite sure how I could do that right now.”
“There are some jobs a civilian could do but it depends on your skill set.” Colonel Phillips said after a moment. Marinette perked up.
“Really? What are they?”
“As I said, it depends on your skills. Since you mentioned you can sew, there is a mountain of uniforms that need repairs. I would say the mess hall needs help but I don’t trust you enough yet to let you near food as you could poison everyone.”
Marinette rolled her eyes and huffed, “By that logic, I could kill everyone with the sewing needles like some sort of concubine of old. I’m a baker's daughter and a fashion designer with a fairly successful brand in my own time. I have more integrity than to sabotage people who are fighting for their country on the same side as my own.” Marinette suddenly paused then laughed. “Well, I should say on the same side as my birth country. If we went by blood it could get interesting.”
Colonel Phillips raised his eyebrows then nodded.
“Sewing Room it is then. Follow me.” Marinette climbed to her feet and followed the Colonel until he reached the tent that held all the uniforms that needed repairs as other than a couple of small tears they were still good enough to be used.
“What are my restrictions?” Marinette asked with a smile.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, sure I can do all the basic repairs but I’m fairly sure after this little escapade there are several men that will need new specialised gear. While the basic repairs are probably going to take a while I could throw a couple of mock-up uniforms together for them. Out of scrap in miniature to help save material obviously.”
“If you can come up with a couple of ideas I’d be open to looking at them,” Phillips said eventually. Marinette beamed at him then walked into the tent, looked around for a moment then pulled a chair over to one of the emptier tables, grabbed the first item of clothing then went to find a needle and some thread and got to work. Colonel Phillips starred, not only had she not flinched at the mountain of work that needed to be done but she hadn’t even questioned why the uniforms needed to be repaired when it was fairly common knowledge that they could just request a new set of clothes be issued. Shrugging, he turned around and went back to sorting out the information that had been brought back from the raid.
***
Unknown to everyone else on the base Marinette wasn’t being very quiet at all. With the repairs being as routine as they were, Marinette had fallen into a meditative state as she worked and was using this downtime as her first chance to communicate with the Kwami within their sub-space. Tikki was extremely relieved that Marinette was uninjured while Fluff was commending Marinette for how careful she had been with how much information she had shared.
“Marinette, why didn’t you just show them your phone?” Tikki suddenly asked.
“Because for some reason it wasn’t on me when I woke up, nor did I see it in the room I was being kept in. I don’t think I grabbed it before we had to deal with that Akuma if I’m honest.” Marinette replied calmly as she finished folding yet another set of pants and reached to grab the next item. As she examined it she saw it was too thin to keep using for its current purpose so she set it on her ‘to be repurposed pile’ and grabbed the next one.
“Fluff, why did I get pulled through the Burrow anyway? It’s too dangerous for a Ladybug to mess with Time and that’s exactly what will happen if I do anything major here.”
“You got pulled through because you are Ladybug. Things were put in motion during this war that were never meant to be put in motion and it is up to you to stop it. Get the two missing miraculous back in this time and you stop Hawkmoth which will stop Hydra from finding out how powerful we are. Stop that happening and you will prevent several things which I cannot reveal. You need to get Barnes back from the train wreck or stop him going. You need to bring back the balance or when the infinity stones are united the world is lost.”
Marinette groaned. “Seriously? Is this really my life now?” A tear fell from Marinette’s eye before she swiped it away angrily, “No, I knew becoming the Guardian would bring extra responsibilities, I need to deal with this.”
“For what it’s worth, you are the only one who can do this. We tried to get Fu to do this and he refused.” Plagg pipped up which had Marinette flinching as she’d forgotten he was with her.
“Alright, I’ll do what I can.” She murmured only to jump out of her seat when a voice spoke behind her.
“What do you mean, Miss Mari?”
“Captain! I didn’t hear you come in!” Marinette squawked as her hand came to rest on her chest as she tried to calm down. She looked around and blinked. Looks like I’ve got more done than I thought. Marinette thought as she noticed there was less than a third of the clothes left to be sorted with most of it piled up in neat piles ready to be used again. Marinette shook her head to refocus.
“Was there something you needed, Captain?” Steve smiled at the young lady in front of him.
“I just came in to tell you it’s food time. You’ve been working hard.” Steve looked around as he spoke, taking in the same changes as those Marinette had. “I’m guessing you hadn’t realised how much you had done?” He asked with a chuckle. Marinette sighed and shook her head.
“I have a very bad habit of not noticing most things when I find my rhythm. My parents used to have to yell to get my attention for food and the number of times I fell asleep while working on a design only to wind up late for school was just embarrassing!” Marinette replied wryly before continuing with a chirp, “So Captain, where will we be eating? With the rest of the soldiers or where the Colonel can keep an eye on me?”
This time Steve couldn’t hold back his laughter as he led her to the tent where they would be eating.
“A bit of both I think. The Colonel wants to keep an eye and you and we also didn’t want to subject you to the rudeness of the rest of the soldiers.”
“Ah, fair enough,” Marinette replied with a nod and before trying to remember the way from where she had been working to the tent they would be eating and failing. “Urgh, I am so going to get myself completely lost trying to remember which way I need to go between the tents. Why does everything always look the same?” She half moaned making Steve laugh again.
“We’re used to it I guess,” he replied as he lifted the tent flap for her and then followed her in. While there were several people in the tent it wasn’t all that noisy and it was easy for Marinette to forget she wasn’t in the cafeteria at her work as she ate. Sure the conversations around her were all in English but to her it was more like a muted buzz as her brain tossed ideas around, making her wish for a pencil and some paper.
“What’s got you so twitchy?” Steve asked her suddenly.
“Huh?” Marinette replied eloquently, still pondering the design she had come up with.
“Your hand, it’s been twitching for the last five minutes.”
“Oh! Oh, um, just an idea. Curse of working as a fashion designer. We can take something seriously mundane and make something stunning out of it. Or something crazy. I just prefer the clothes I make to be practical yet elegant.” Marinette blushed as she realised most of the people in the tent had focused on what she had just said.
“You? A fashion designer? Have I ever heard of your brand?”
“Probably not. I’m sorry, who are you?” Marinette asked with an apologetic tone which was echoed in her smile as the man looked offended.
“Howard Stark,” He replied proudly and a touch too smugly, as though she should have known that already.
“Oh, right. Him. Yeah, not a follower of technology for the most part. I use what I need to advertise my work or to communicate with my friends but that’s about it.” Marinette shrugged before covering her still twitching hand with a small frown at it. The tent was silent for a moment as Howard’s jaw dropped, before suddenly, everyone who had heard her burst out laughing.
“About time someone gave you an ego check!” A random voice called which had Howard scowling.
“Sorry, it’s just, if it’s not a direct link to my interests I don’t take much note of people or celebrities.” Marinette continued wryly before chuckling to herself. “Even then I’m pretty oblivious. I went to school with my favourite designer’s son who modelled for him in almost every promotional thing he did, yet I didn’t recognise said son until a friend told me who he was. Admittedly I was thirteen at the time, but my point still stands.”
Howard nodded understandingly. “That makes more sense! So what do you need to stop that hand twitch?”
“A pencil and some paper. I could probably use anything I could draw on if I’m honest,” Marinette smiled. “I once got hit by inspiration and only had a pen on me, so I ended up using my arm as my design pad. That was a mission to clean off!”
Once again Marinette’s words were met with laughter, however, a few minutes later a pencil and a small notebook were handed to her.
“Here,” Agent Carter said, “We will probably check it over now and then to be safe but you can use these.”
“Thank you!” Marinette breathed before the pencil flew across the page. The first design was for a more practical nurses uniform, slim-fit pants and button-down shirt and clips on the shoulder and waist to attach an apron to protect them from blood splatter. Next was an overcoat for any doctors or surgeons on staff which worked on a similar principle. The sleeves of both uniforms had a couple of snaps down them and small tabs on the inside of said sleeves so they could be rolled up and fastened in place during operations or anything where the wearer needed their hands free. Marinette’s hand paused for a moment as she thought before a third design, this time for people doing special ops in the field, found its way onto the page in front of her. Since she was looking down she didn’t notice the stares of the people around her watching in astonishment at how quickly the designs were flowing until a soft “ Holy Shit” reached her ears making her look up and blush.
“Sorry!” She squeaked nervously which made those who heard her laugh softly.
“How long have these ideas been floating around in your brain?” Howard asked as he turned the book to face him, not waiting for an answer and calculated how easy it would be to implement her ideas. It was as he looked closer that he noticed some of the ‘stitching’ looked different from the rest. Slowly his eyes widened as he realised what it was.
“You, young lady, are brilliant!” He exclaimed, making everyone in the tent stare at him. Marinette tilted her head to the side in confusion so Howard explained. “Despite these being the first drafts of your designs there is no way anyone else can claim them as you leave your signature on them without it being obvious.”
“I had a design stolen when I was thirteen. It was for a competition and the girl who stole it thought since she revealed her entry first, mine would get thrown out. Pity, she had had my design made exactly as I’d drawn it, so my signature was revealed when I showed the judge what to look for.” Marinette said with a cheeky grin which had everyone in the tent chuckling.
“Since you are so good at this, could I get your input for something I’m working on?” Howard asked eagerly and for a moment Marinette saw Adrien’s image superimposed in Howard's place.
“Uh, sure, I guess. I mean it depends on the Colonel but I don’t mind helping.” Marinette said quickly, hiding the small pang of homesickness she felt. Sure, her crush on Adrien was long gone but seeing someone acting like him made her long for the better days scattered among her teenage years. Marinette was brought back to the present when Colonel Phillips spoke up from behind her.
“Since she has recently been proven to be sane and is able-bodied I don’t see why she can’t help you. Lord knows we need all the help we can get.”
Marinette looked around herself and was surprised to see that only Agent Carter, the Colonel, Howard, Steve and herself were in the tent.
“Colonel?” Marinette asked cautiously.
“You said your soul mark was something your soulmate hadn’t gained yet. Agent Carter recently confirmed that he has since received that object. Though what she meant by that I haven’t the foggiest.”
Marinette closed her eyes and slowly rolled up her sleeve to show the Colonel who froze when he saw the shield on her wrist.
“Well, that confirms that then. Congratulations Captain, only you would walk into an enemy base to retrieve your best friend and come out with your soulmate as well.” Marinette and Steve froze before looking at each other. A moment passed, then another and finally Steve spoke.
“I’m guessing the shield is my mark on you?” His eyes shone with hope as he spoke.
“Yup! Though I have no idea what my mark on you would be,” She admitted shyly as she offered her wrist to Steve for him to inspect. Steve smiled and rolled up his cuff just enough for her to see her mark on him. It was her normal Ladybug signature but instead of the line through the centre of it being a black line, it was a sewing needle with a red thread through its eye making a pair of antenna. Marinette blinked twice before she cracked up laughing. “I’ll explain what it means but it can go no further than the people in this room. If any high-up government official found this information or even worse if Hydra got their hands on this information I shudder to think what the consequences would be.”
Colonel Phillips nodded and opened his mouth to reply when a younger soldier ran in in a panic.
“Sir, the pin one of the boys pulled off a dead Nazi just lit up and a weird bug-bird creature appeared in a ball of light!” He babbled, clearly scared. Marinette sat bolt upright.
“Was the badge in the shape of a peacock tail and the creature that appeared similar to a peacock as well? Or was it a purple oval with what appears to be four white wings and the creature mostly purple with wings?” She demanded urgently, only to smile when the soldier nodded rapidly, not clarifying which one. “Alright, lead the way. I know what it is.” Colonel Phillips frowned but followed her as did Steve. It wasn’t a long walk to the barracks but the soldier seemed eager to get back to his friend so they jogged most of the way. Walking into the tent they saw several of the soldiers trying to hide from a blue floating bird that looked like it wanted to cry.
“Duusu! Calm down, baby girl.” Marinette called which had the bird speeding towards Marinette in a flying tackle.
“Guardian!” The now identified Duusu cried.
“I’ve got you, Duusu, you’re safe,” Marinette murmured to the Kwami as she cuddled it close to her chest. “May I get her broach please?” Marinette asked, tilting her head sideways as she looked at the assembled soldiers. A young red-haired soldier walked over and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She smiled at him, making him blush and back away.
“Um, Ma’am?” Another nervous-looking soldier asked suddenly.
“Yes?”
“What is that?”
“Something you don’t need to worry about, I promise.” Marinette smiled reassuringly which set the soldiers in the barrack at ease before turning on her heel. She nodded slightly to Colonel Phillips who followed her as she returned to the tent they had been in originally.
“Care to explain?” He demanded tersely as soon as the tent flap had closed.
“Duusu is the Kwami of Sentiment. Kwami stands for Quantic Universe Kami or God. They are attached to a Miraculous which is generally an inconspicuous piece of jewellery or accessory. Each Kwami and thus each Miraculous represents a different fundamental idea and thus grants different powers. In the wrong hands, they can do a lot of damage but in the right hands they are a force for good.” Marinette replied calmly as she examined the peacock pin that was in her hands.
“That tells me nothing!” Colonel Phillips growled while Agent Carter and Howard nodded in agreement. Marinette was about to speak up when Steve interrupted.
“Good becomes great. Bad becomes worse.” He said softly.
“What are you on about?” The Colonel half growled, nearing the end of his temper.
“It’s what Dr Erskine said to me when I asked why he chose me for the serum. I’m guessing the um Miraculous was it? Anyway, I’m guessing they do the same thing.” Steve explained in a considering tone.
“Roughly yes. They don’t change a person genetically like the serum did but the powers they can grant can have just as much of an impact on someone. I can’t explain everything in detail as the Miraculi should never be in government hands at all but I can give you an example of where they have been used to change history. All I ask is it stays off the record.” Marinette smiled softly as Duusu took a strand of her hair and played with it.
“Like there would be any really important people in history-” Colonel Phillips blustered when Marinette cut in.
“Joan of Arc. She’s a prominent wielder. Hua Mulan was another. Sure both are women and not all the people who are chosen to wield a Miraculous are female, but that does discount their impact on history.” Marinette cut in firmly making Steve’s eyes widen. Were all the examples of a miraculous being used so good?
“Not all of them no. The dinosaurs were wiped out by a Kwami before they were bound to a miraculous. Atlantis was sunk by a wielder of the same Kwami after he went insane with his lust for power. Pompeii was destroyed due to something connected to the miraculous too.” Marinette replied with a small smile. Marinette flopped down into the closest chair and leaned back in time to witness Steve blush.
“I guess I spoke my thoughts out loud there?”
“You did, but I’m sure the others were thinking the same thing,” Marinette replied kindly. She was starting to like Steve even though she knew she shouldn’t get attached. Yes, he was her Soulmate, but she belonged in 2011 and this was WW2! To fall for him completely was just asking to be hurt! She ran her hands around the edge of the pin in her hands and frowned when she felt the slight curve over what should have been a flat surface.
“Duusu, is your miraculous damaged sweetheart?” She asked softly.
“Sadly, yes. My last wielder wasn’t a good person and when he took a blast from one of his comrades I wasn’t surprised. Unfortunately, he had a bad habit of wearing me over his heart so when he took the hit, so did my miraculous.” Duusu thrilled back softly, looking as though their world had been crushed.
“Would Tikki be able to fix it? Or do I need to make a potion?” Marinette asked thoughtfully, missing the looks she received from the rest of the tent's occupants.
“Depends on who brought you here. If it was a spell you’ll need the potion. If it was a miraculous Tikki could tell you how to fix it.”
“Well that’s helpful,” Marinette groaned. “I guess I’ll have to get Tikki to help as it was Fluff who dragged me into this!” Duusu giggled before floating to land on Marinette’s lap.
“Why did Fluff bring you here?” She asked curiously.
“Apparently, Fluff saw a timeline where Hawkmoth joined forces with the remnants of Hydra and wanted to avoid that. How Hydra is still active in 2011 is beyond me though, I’ll ask Fluff later as I get the feeling there’s something else they want me to do. I don’t even know who Hawkmoth is so that makes my life even more difficult. I know Fluff thinks we can avoid that happening by finding Nooroo before Hawkmoth can become Hawkmoth. I don’t even know where to start!” Marinette complained, letting her head fall back so she was facing the roof of the tent.
“I take it Fluff is another of these Kwami ?” Colonel Phillips asked suddenly, making Marinette jump.
“Kwami of Time, they’re a little loopy because of it,” Marinette replied absently as she started concentrating on bringing Tikki out of the Miracle box.
“Marinette!” Tikki cried out as soon as she appeared before tackling her.
“Tikki! Oh, I’ve missed you!” Marinette replied as she brought her hands up to hug Tikki as best she could given Tikki’s small size.
“As touching as this is, I think an explanation is in order.” Colonel Phillips said gruffly.
“Some things should not be explained to those who truly don’t need to know about them,” Tikki said calmly before floating down to where the peacock pin was sitting on the table and examining it. “Marinette, you will need to focus on how it feels when you cast your cure in order to heal Duusu. We cannot be merged though so you will feel really weak and might faint once you’ve finished so make sure you stay seated while you do all this, ok?”
Marinette nodded and cupped her hands around the pin. She closed her eyes, pouring her energy into her hands much as she did before casting the cure and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, releasing the energy into the pin at the same time. Multiple curses echoed around the tent as a soft carmine-pink glow covered her hands and their contents before vanishing. Marinette released a shaky breath as she opened her eyes and examined the pin.
“I think I should have tried to do that in the morning rather than now, Tikki.” Marinette groaned softly even as the now-fixed pin vanished into the Guardian mark with a brief sting.
“Oops!” The Ladybug Kwami replied, “I should have thought of that too.”
Steve was the first to react as Marinette became limp in her chair and almost fell off of it, catching her as she started to fall sideways.
“Mari!”
“Well, at least she ate first,” Tikki sighed before shaking her head.
“What do you mean?” Howard asked while Steve cradled Marinette, ready to follow Agent Carter to wherever they were putting Marinette for the night.
“Marinette has always put others first.” Tikki started softly as she floated closer to her chosen and smiled gently. “When Mari was at school this led to late nights, very little sleep and often doing more for her supposed friends than what could logically be considered normal. That’s before you add in her duties as Ladybug which took up a significant amount of her time, then later her Guardian duties. My Mari’s parents loved her dearly, please never doubt that, but as time went on they had less and less time available to spend with her and so they noticed less and less too.” Tikki shook her head, it wasn’t Tom and Sabine’s fault they had grown so distant from their child. Tikki fell silent after saying that and contented herself with floating next to Steve as they were led to a tent with three beds in it.
“She’ll be staying here with Pvt. Lorraine and I,” Agent Carter told them quietly. “We were the only ones with free space without pitching a new tent. Steve, I know you don’t want to be separated from her so soon but…”
“No need to explain, Ma’am. For all that rescue showed what I can do, I’m technically an experiment and Mari is still very much an unknown. I don’t like it but I do understand.” Steve interrupted as gently and politely as he could. He lowered Marinette onto the bed after Tikki moved the cover down and moved to remove Marinette’s boots but Tikki stopped him.
“While she would probably be more comfortable with them off, she’ll probably wake up and burst into a run as soon as the morning alarm is called. While you have been at war for a couple of years, Marinette has been fighting Hawkmoth for nine years now. Her instinctive reaction is to wake up running these days.” Tikki looked at her chosen sadly. These last few years had been hard on both of them and now, with Plagg being inside the Miracle Box again, Tikki knew if Marinette needed to transform and fight it would be Lady Noir that did so as Ladybug was simply too well-known in the future.
Steve and Agent Carter looked at each other. They simply couldn’t imagine fighting a single foe for so long without making any headway.
“May we ask why she has been fighting the same person for so long?” Steve asked Tikki curiously. Tikki grimaced but nodded.
“To understand that, you need to realise that the one Marinette has been fighting is the holder of the Butterfly Miraculous. Nooroo’s chosen is a back-line fighter primarily. He can send out a butterfly imbued with his power which will then choose someone with powerful emotions. That person is then gifted with powers of their own; however, if the object the butterfly landed on is broken, they lose said abilities and return to normal again. This means Ladybug and Chat Noir very rarely if ever faced Hawkmoth himself, merely whoever he had chosen to possess. When freed of that possession, the person doesn’t remember what they did. This also means Marinette has had to fight against pretty much everyone she knows at least once, if not more. Including her parents.”
Steve felt his legs give out as he heard what his soulmate had been facing. Agent Carter didn’t look like she was faring any better.
“You said she had someone fighting at her side, Chat Noir, did she ever have to fight against him?” Agent Carter asked softly.
“Yes, his Akuma form was an inverted form of himself called Chat Blanc. As an Akuma, he was the worst one she ever faced. Bunnix had to step in to reorder time as he was deadlier than anything she had ever faced as he had managed to destroy the moon and wipe out the population of the world. It was a mess and honestly, it was confusing to deal with but she won. The cost to herself though was a steep one. One I’m not sure she realised she paid in the end.” Tikki explained quietly.
It was a solemn Steve that left for his bed after that as an equally shaken Peggy Carter did the same.
***
True to Tikki’s prediction it was a panicked Marinette that bolted out of the tent as the first notes of Revelry filled the air. Agent Carter was hot on her heels as Marinette searched for the cause of alarm only to sag in relief when she found none.
“Wow, Tikki wasn’t kidding when she mentioned your fight or flight instincts were strong!” The woman said with a wry laugh. Marinette flushed and hid her face in her hands.
“Pre-conditioned response.” She muttered. “I used to wake up late almost every day for school so I had to set multiple alarms. Eventually, the only ones that worked properly were the ones for Akumas and Revelry which was the one I set for everyday use. It was always the last alarm to go off and if it did, it meant I had ten minutes to get to school.”
Agent Carter laughed again before leading Marinette to where they would all be meeting for breakfast.
“Ah, there you two are!” Howard called jovially as they walked in. “Miss Marinette, I need your opinion on what we have organised as uniforms for the newly named Howling Commandos!”
Marinette smiled and walked over, flicking through the designs quickly although she did pause now and then to make a couple of modifications to a couple of the designs. Eventually, she reached the uniform that had been proposed for Captain America. To say her reaction made people laugh would be an understatement.
“Really?” Marinette eventually managed to say even though her disgust was still plastered across her face. Steve pouted.
“Is it really that bad?”
“Steve, this war is tragic enough without you looking like whatever America’s Drunk Prom Date threw up! There is no way I’d ever let anyone onto the battlefield dressed like this and considering my first battle outfit looked like an adult onesie, that’s saying something!” Marinette stopped when she saw Steve’s face fall.
“Look, we can keep the same general colours but it would be better if we toned the blue down to a dark navy blue or a shade just short of black. You can have the seams highlighted by a dark red and if we limit the white to the circle and star on your shield it would make me feel a little better as you won’t be painting a big bullseye on your chest. Does that work for you?”
Steve and Howard looked at her new design for Steve’s uniform and reluctantly agreed it was a much better one than the one they had come up with. Howard nodded then sent the revised designs off to be made with a runner. After that, it didn’t take long for everyone in the camp to fall into a routine. Colonel Phillips had taken a month to decide he actually trusted Marinette but once he had, Marinette was often sent out with the rest of the Howling Commandos. She had chosen to use the Fox Miraculous instead of the Black Cat much to Plagg’s disgust however even he had to agree it was a better idea as the Fox was better at remaining unseen and wasn’t as well known as the Black Cat.
On one of these missions, Marinette had followed a weird instinct to combine the Fox with the Bee and had been able to use venom on an assassin who had been trying to flank the group. It was during an interrogation of said assassin later that they found out Zola was still very much alive and well. They had also been able to get his location and several other highly valuable titbits of information including several other Hydra base locations.
Ironically, he had also had the Butterfly Miraculous with him which had made Marinette relax slightly once she had it with her. Fluff had reassured her that now that it was in her possession, she would be heading home soon. However, they had also told her she wouldn’t be returning home alone. Steve’s best friend would be returning with her as he would be needed in the future. The only thing that reassured her was that she would see Steve again after she left, it would just be back in her own time.
***
Marinette sighed as she let her head rest against a tree trunk on the outskirts of the base. She knew that their next mission was going to tear Steve apart if what Fluff had said was true, which she honestly didn’t doubt it would be.
“What’s got you in such a gloomy mood, Doll?” Steve asked as he appeared next to her holding a canteen of water. Marinette pondered how to reply for a moment before trusting her instincts and in Fluff’s gentle mental nudge.
“Worried you gonna hate me after the next mission.” She admitted softly, unable to look at her soulmate.
“I seriously doubt that’s possible, Mari,” his gentle reply had her wincing. She sighed and sat up straighter to look Steve in the eye as she spoke.
“I know we are going after Zola as our next mission,” she held up her hand to stop Steve from interrupting her when she saw him take a breath. “You forget I am connected to the Kwami of time, Steve, there are certain things I get to know without you telling me even though I am not a good fit for them. I don’t like it and it hurts me but there’s nothing that can be done about it.”
“The part that makes me worry you will hate me is that Bucky and I will not be returning here after that mission. We won’t be dead,” she hurried to reassure him, “but Fluff has indicated that if the modifications to the timeline are to stay stable and or things not to go wonky, I need to return to my time and that Bucky needs to be with me.” Marinette finished with a tear trailing down her cheek. Steve looked at her, searching her eyes for any sign that her words were a prank and visibly drooped when he found none. Moving slowly he gently pulled Marinette into his lap.
“What would happen if you stay or if either of you stay for that matter?” He asked, his voice rough with barely suppressed emotion.
“If he stays he’ll either be killed on a mission within the next 3 months or he’ll go MIA only to turn up in my time, completely brainwashed and under Hydra’s control as the deadliest assassin the world has ever seen. If I stay, I will slowly weaken and die as the timeline seeks to get rid of the abnormality. By Fluff intervening the way he has, it has created an alternate timeline where Hydra can be destroyed by the end of the war. His power has to work within a natural balance though and by saving this timeline another has been destroyed. If I were to stay though it would no longer have that balance as there would be two sets of the same Miraculous set which the natural energies would reject. I don’t quite understand it all but I know that would be bad.”
Steve stayed quiet for a moment before he stood lifting her to her feet at the same time and getting her to look at him again.
“Steve?” Marinette looked at him in confusion.
“This is not how or even when I wanted to ask this all things considered but Marinette Dupain Cheng, will you marry me?” Steve asked her softly before words tumbled from his mouth. “I know I’m gonna lose you soon but despite how rushed this seems and how hectic the last 6 months have been I would like to think we’ve gotten to know each other fairly well. I know this won’t stop you from leaving as I know that you have to follow where you’re needed much like I do but I’d like to be a little selfish and at least have a month where I can publicly be with you as my wife. Yes, we’re soulmates but…” Steve stopped talking as he felt Marinette place her hand against his mouth silencing him.
“Yes. I know I’m being just as selfish and there are several people who would think we’re mad but yes. I’ll be your wife.” Marinette smiled up at him, knowing how hard letting go would be for Steve. After all, it would be just as hard for her.
***
When Steve had woken up and been told what year it was, hope had surged through him. He could see Marinette again. They could finally be together like they had wanted to be. Once he had been given an apartment of his own, as minimal as it was, he had dived into using the internet to find out as much as he could about the time his wife lived in. The battle of New York against Loki had been annoying as he’d had to hide a lot of what he knew due to the expectations he could see being placed on him. It had been three months since then, six months since he’d lost Marinette and Bucky to the time stream in a convincing ‘fall’ from a moving train while capturing Zola and he was starting to get annoyed with Shield.
“Yo Cap, catch,” Barton said throwing something at him. Steve caught it automatically. It was his field bag. He frowned, wasn’t this bag being used in the museum?
“Shield or as it was then, the SSR, gave the museum a replica of your bag and its contents but not your actual stuff,” Barton said seeing his frown. Steve nodded as he started to go through it, finding some of his old sketchbooks and wish Mari’s were in his bag too but not finding them. He was about to ask when Tony walked into the room.
“Capsical.”
“Stark,” Steve replied in resignation.
“I was going through my dad’s shit a while back and found a set of small books that looked like clothing designs. I dono why he had them but they were dated from the time he was at the front lines with you so I wondered if you knew about them.” Steve’s breath caught in his throat as he turned his gaze to Tony.
“Do you still have them?” Steve asked trying to force himself to not get his hopes up.
“Yeah, I brought them with me in case, why?” Tony asked in confusion before handing them to the WWII vet. A cofusion that only deepened when he saw how reverently Steve was handling the old books. Suddenly Steve paused before turning the page. It was Marinette’s concept for his uniform but at the bottom of the page was a series of letters and numbers. This wasn’t unusual as Marinette often jotted random things at the bottom of her pages but the letters on this particular page were BLCDM which was her initials and the fact that she was Ladybug just written in reverse. A smile crept over Steve’s face and he shook his head.
“Only you, Mari, only you,” he muttered with a soft laugh.
“Am I the only one confused?” Tony asked the room in general only to be met with the same confusion in all the other Avengers’ eyes.
“Yo, Capsical, explain?”
Steve didn’t answer, instead when he spoke it was to ask Jarvis to dial the number on the page in the reverse order of the way they were written. Tony was about to scoff when a very clear ringing started as soon as the last number had been added. Soon enough the ringing was stopped by a very groggy but decidedly feminine voice.
“This is Marinette, is there a reason you’ve woken me up?”
***
Marinette groaned as she woke up in her hotel room in New York to a phone ringing. It had been barely three months since the battle of New York where the Avengers had beaten Loki’s army of Aliens and she had glimpsed her husband in a new Captain America uniform. One she had not designed. Still not completely awake and in no mood to be polite as the phone was her personal one Marinette spoke as she pressed the answer icon.
“This is Marinette, is there a reason you’ve woken me up?”
“Still not a morning person unless it’s revelry that wakes you up are you, Dolli,” a male voice on the other end of the line said, amusement colouring his words. Marinette froze.
“Steve?” she asked carefully, not daring to hope.
“It’s me, Mari,” the voice confirmed. That was all it took for Marinette to start crying.
“How?” she asked softly.
“Howard apparently kept your books and passed them on to his son who has just asked me about them. Found the hint you left on the page with my uniform on it.”
“Where…” Marinette trailed off.
“Stark Tower,” Steve admitted.
“On my way,” Marinette said, hanging up before Steve could say anything more, before scrambling to get dressed and on her way to the Tower.
***
“On my way,” The voice identified as ‘Mari’ said before a dial tone sounded. Steve shook his head with a fond smile.
“Never change, Mari,” he said with a chuckle.
“Uh, Capsical?” Tony started to ask before Natasha interrupted.
“How could you be so careless? Bringing someone you don’t know here, they could be…” Natasha’s rant was cut off by Steve raising his hand.
“As amusing as it is to hear that speech again, Marinette is my soulmate and wife. An accident sent her into the past where she and I met, got to know each other and eventually got married. If I can’t trust her, I can’t trust anyone.”
“WIFE!” Fury said as he walked into the room hearing Steve’s statement.
“Yes, my wife,” Steve replied calmly. “She kept her maiden name due to not knowing how to explain its change to anyone in this time but she is my wife nonetheless.”
“But there’s-”
“No record of it?” came a female voice behind Fury. Almost as one, the Avengers turned to see a woman with mixed-race features and black hair that shone blue step out of a fading portal. They were about to reach for their weapons when Steve stood up walked over to her and kissed her.
“Hi, Doll,” he said with a crooked grin when he came up for air.
“Hello to you too, Trouble,” she said with a smile of her own before she punched his shoulder. “That’s for waiting so long to call.”
“To be fair he only got given the books and his bag barely an hour ago,” Tony piped up, surprising himself in his defence of a man he wasn’t sure he liked.
“Fair enough. I probably would have punched him anyway though.”
“Wait, what? What did I do this time?” Steve spluttered completely confused absently taking what Marinette was handing him.
“Let’s just say you have two months to get used to living in this time,” Marinette said with a smile. Steve looked confused but then looked at what she had handed him.
“Really?” He asked before laughing and shaking his head. “I would say you know how to keep a guy on his toes Marinette Dupain-Cheng but I had a part in this so I guess I shouldn’t complain. Fluff not going to intervene again? He asked softly.
“Nope, everything is on track for a clear future. It’ll have its bumps but now we can face them together.” Marinette replied with a smile.
Steve simply kissed her again, ignoring his teammates and Fury. They would get their answers later, for now, Steve just wanted to hold the miracle that was his wife. They would face whatever was coming, together.