#Alfred Pennyworth x Marinette Dupain-Cheng

[raeuberprinzessin]

Dick, excitedly showing his newest little sister Marinette the Batcave: This is the Batcave! Overe there is the Batcomputer and here we sharpen our Batarangs. On this side are the Batbikes and if you follow this path you'll find the Batplane. And right here is the Batmobile! Isn't it amazing? We should totally take you on a joy ride with it, don't you agree? What do you say?

Marinette, slowly taking it all in: I feel like you were going for a theme with this ... Let me guess? Moody broody late-pubescent goth?

Alfred: Very well said, Miss Marinette.

Jason, peering at a stricken-looking Bruce: Well, I guess trying to show off how cool you are to your new daughter might not go as planned. Any contingencies, old man?

Tim: Going off of experience, it's having a moody brooding session in the dark cave. You know, like a late-pubescent goth.

Bruce, murmuring: I didn't even name most of these things, why am I getting attacked?

[mochinek0]

Daminette December 2022: 28-Family

The Parisian class stuck together as they were taken hostage by one of Gotham City's rougues. They patiently waited for Batman and the others to rescue them. Lila had told them, for months, how she personally knew him. That she was a civilian aide for the Bats. The whole city knew who she was, but pretended like they didn't to give her a sense of normalcy. The class cheered as Red Hood and Red Robin swing in to rescue them. Many of them looked around, but they couldn't find Batman.

Bruce Wayne sighed as he walked out of the car to the crime scene. He had a board meeting he couldn't get out of and had sent two of his sons to help. Dick and Damian were stuck as civilians with the rogue. It wasn't until Commissioner Gordon called him that he was able to cancel the board meeting for a later date. He quickly explained that he had to pick up his sons' from an attack and the board could see it was an important matter.

Bruce saw Red Hood and Red Robin were talking to some of the officers. Dick and Damian were walking towards him and thankfully, looked unharmed. Bruce noticed a girl not far from them and sighed. He walked passed his two boys and grabbed her arm. He started pulling her towards the car.

Marinette started to struggle and tried to dig her heels into the ground as a stranger pulled her away from the class.

"Let me go!" Marinette shouted, trying harder to get away.

The class watched helplessly as Marinette was once again in a hostage situation. Many people turned to see what was going on. When they saw what was happening, some of them chuckled and went back to what they had been doing. Marinette noticed the car looming closer.

'I hope this works, Maman!'

Marinette quickly turned and grabbed the back of his suit jacket. She kicked the back of one of his knees and when she felt the man's knees buckle, she quickly used her weight as leverage and tossed him to the ground.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" Marinette shouted, standing over him.

Bruce laid very still on the floor, confused. He could see the murky clouds and hear the lights from the sirens. It wasn't hard to notice the red and blue lights rotating in the sky. Dick and Damian rushed over to see what was going on.

"This psycho is trying to kidnap me!" Marinette shouted, pointing at the guy on the ground.

The Wayne brothers looked at her and then each other.

'Not again.'

"B, what were you doing?" Dick questioned.

"Trying to take you sister home." Bruce replied, "How hard did I hit my head? Your sister sounds like she's speaking a different language."

The eldest son laughed. The youngest sighed.

"Miss." Damian began.

Marinette glared at him.

"I apologize for my father." Damian spoke, "He is extremely tired. He's had a long couple of nights this past few weeks and early mornings the next day. The man next to me is one of my adopted siblings; they all have dark hair and blue eyes. He thought you one of his adopted children. He thought you were our sister."

Marinette looked at him in shock.

"I-I have parents!" she cried out, "I don't know him! Is that how he got all his other kids, just took them off the streets?"

Damian smirked, " Sometimes. Although, I doubt they minded when Bruce Wayne asked if he could take them home to live in our manor." as Dick picked up their father and dragged him to the car.

Marinette turned red and stammered, "Br-Bruce Wayne?"

Damian gently grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it, "Damian Wayne."

Mari wasn't sure if she was turning a new shade of red.

"Oh no! I'm going to get out class sent home" She shouted, "We're the class he sponsored from Paris!"

The Wayne heir chuckled, "I can assure you, you have nothing to worry about. Our father will likely be the one apologizing to you. Too many late nights and too many board meeting make for a disastrous combination. We'll be making sure he is well rested. I'm sure we'll meet again, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

Damian strode over to the car and the Waynes took off.

Marinette collapsed on the ground, as her legs gave way.

"Give her some air!" GCPD shouted, escorting people farther away from her.

Gordon chuckled, "Never thought I'd ever see him that tired."

Marinette looked up to the older officer, "Does that happen often?"

"Him claiming kids?" He asked, "I think he has eleven, now, but only a few of them are adopted. My daughter goes to his place, too. She use to date one of his sons; now they're friends."

"Oh." Marinette whispered.

"But, his kid is right." Officer Gordon commented, "Usually the adopted ones have dark hair and blue eyes."

'Weird.'

"I think it's just because they remind him of himself." the commissioner continued, "As you can tell, Damian gets his skin tone and eyes from his mother. Other then that, Kid is the spitting image of his Father at that age. Weird to see him grown up a second time."

Marinette looked at him curiously, "How long have you known Mr. Wayne?"

Gordon frowned, "Almost his whole life. I was one of the officers who responded to his parents' murder. Happened tight in front of his, as a child."

'He's building his own family.'

"If I see him again, I'll make sure to decline his request." Mari smiled, "As nice as it sounds, I have my own parents in Paris."

Commissioner Gordon offered her his hand and helped her up. He decide it was best that he personally took her back to her class. It might also keep the media vultures at bay.

"I apologize about the confusion." Gordon chuckled, "He's just a tired man, who thought he was takign his daughter home. His sons will sort him out and make sure he sleep. I have no doubt about that."

The moment she reached the class, Adiren hugged her.

"Are you okay?" He shouted.

Alix shoved him away, "Forget that! She flipped him!"

"Yeah!" Nino shouted, "How'd you do that?"

"Maman." Mari answered

Her friends winced.

"Makes sense." They all commented.

Marinette saw that the commissioner looked confused, "My mother taught me."

"Ah." he smiled, "Have a good rest of the night."

Adrien, Kim, Alix, Max, Juleka, Nathaniel, Nino, and Chloe quickly checked over her.

"I'm okay." Marinette smiled.

Chloe's smile quickly turned into a frown, "It's ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous for you to get kidnapped!"

"I'm not the one who wanted to come to the most crime ridden city in the United States." Marinette commented.

Her group of friends glared at Lila and the others.

"That's right!" Kim snarled.

"It's their fault Marinette almost got kidnapped!" Ali screamed, pointing fingers at them.

"We said we should read up on the Rouges." Nino claimed.

"I believe many cities were offered up as alternatives." Max stated.

"Metropolis." Nino called out.

"Los Angeles." Nathaniel pouted.

"Star City!" Adrien whined.

"But no." Chloe rolled her eyes, "Liar Rossi knows Batman."

"He saved us!" Alya retaliated.

"No, Red Hood and Red Robin saved us!" Adrien exclaimed.

"Batman wasn't here to assist us." Max announced, "He did not appear before us and he did not speak to Lila in any way or form. He isn't even here at this scene. Surely he would have spoke to his civilian aide, if she is that well known by the city."

"Neither was Nightwing or Robin." huffed Nino.

"Or Black Bat." Juleka declared.

"Or Signal." pouted Kim.

"Or BatGirl!" declared Alix.

The rest of the class shifted uncomfortably as the other group made sense, yet again. It was only by one vote that they had decide upon Gotham and now they were coming to regret it.

Bruce Wayne blinked his eyes open and looked around the room.

'I'm home. I don't remember coming hime. How did I get here? Maybe Alfred or the boys know.'

Bruce got dressed for the day and descended to the dining hall for breakfast.

"Sir, I am going to tell you that you are banned from accessing the batcave and patrol for the next week." Alfred announced, "You require a large amount of rest."

'Am I sick? I don't feel sick.'

Bruce looked around the table to see his eldest boys snickering. Damian on the other hand was glaring at him.

'So not sick.'

"What-" he began to ask.

Damian slammed his phone down in front of his father and pressed play. Bruce watched as he grabbed a young girl's arm and attempted to drag her with him. They appeared to be at a crime scene. When they got close to the car, she grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back.

'Well, that explains why my head hurts. Not a concussion, but close enough. Also explains why it looks like Damian is about to grab one of his katanas.'

"I don't remember this." Bruce stated.

"You were too tired." Tim chuckled, "You always go on and on about how I need to sleep. Looks like your sleep demon finally caught up with you."

"You claimed you were taking 'our sister' home." Dick smiled, "You claimed you must have hit your head because she wasn't speaking English."

Bruce groaned.

Damian grabbed his phone and sneered, "I had to explain you were nothing more than a sleep deprived buffoon and who you were. She's a foreigner; she's part of the class trip that you sponsored!"

Alfred set down a cup of coffee, a thermos, and some asprin in front of Bruce.

"Do becareful not to adopt anymore children today, Sir." Alfred stated, leaving the room.

As Bruce left the room, Jason called out, "So how are we placing the bet? Two hours until we have a new sister?"

'It's gonna be a long day.'

Bruce gulped as he noticed the class in the lobby of Wayne Enterprise. He took a breath and walked towards them. He could tell some people recognized him from the other night, by their warily glances.

Bruce cleared his throat, "Um, I'm told I tried to take someone home with me?"

Marinette peeked though and smiled. She moved through the class and held a box out in front of her.

"These are for you." She smiled, "Damian and Mr. Gordon explained how hard you work, Mr. Wayne."

The class froze and Lila backed up a bit.

"I often work too hard and the days blur together so I know what that's like." Marinette continued, "These are caramel and pretzel cookies. Damian said they were your favorite, after asking Alfred."

Bruce remained speechless.

"I'm sorry." Marinette frowned, "I do have to turn down your offer. I love my parents and they are in Paris. I'll be returning to them once the trip is over."

Bruce nodded, "Of course. I apologize again Miss Dupain-Cheng. Is there any way to make up this misunderstanding?"

"Just....accept the cookies?" Marinette replied, holding out the box again.

He smiled and took the box, "I hope the rest of your trip is enjoyable."

After Bruce walked away, her friends surrounded her.

"They guy who tried to kidnap you was Bruce Wayne?" Chloe shouted, "Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!"

Marinette blushed, "Yeah. His son told me he was sleep deprived and the office said his adopted kids had dark hair and blue eyes. I just sorta fit in."

"Yes, it is quite the coincidence, but 100% accurate. The three boys he adopted were all of different nationalities, but the common look they all had was dark hair and blue eyes. His biological son resembles him tremendously, but has green eyes." Max declared.

"My parents probably would have packed my bags and handed me over." Nino chuckled.

Adrien laughed, "So would Father."

"You sure you don't want to change your mind?" Alix asked, "You could run after him."

Mari laughed, "No. I'm good."

Bruce smiled as the elevator dinged, to take him to his office floor.

Bruce took the box to this office and set it on his desk. He opened the box and saw an envelope placed on top of the sweets. He took out the envelope and a cookie. He placed the cookie in his mouth and smiled at the taste.

Hello, Mr. Wayne.

I'm sorry about the trouble for yesterday. I thought you should know that you should look into a student in the class named Layla Rossi. She prefers to go by Lila. She has been claiming to have connections to you and your family, that she knows Batman's identity, and various other claims.

I've already spoken to her and I've tried to get her to see the error of her ways, but she doesn't care. She claims to only be telling people what they want to hear. I'm sure you don't wish to hear about some random girl growing up with you. There should be a USB in the envelope; inside details all the lies and a list of what Lila has done. It will also tell you where to find proof and who you should contact.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Bruce inserted the USB into his laptop and brought everything up.

'She was right. It's very detailed. It was as if Tim had found everything for her.'

Bruce thought back to the smile she had given him as she turned down his gratitude.

'Smart and hides behind a smile. Much like how he portrays himself in front of the board and media.'

Bruce quickly picked pup his phone and dialed Damian.

"What?" Damian questioned.

"You are your mother's only child, right?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, why?" Damian asked, concerned, "What has Mother done this time?"

"Nothing." his father answered before hanging up.

'Well, Damian has no knowledge of her. Was this to convince me not to adopt her? If so, it wasn't working. Does she know I'm Batman?'

Bruce brought up the background check on her. Her parents were both alive and well. Her father was French-Italian and her mother was Chinese. Neither of them had contact with Talia or the League.

'Not adoptable, but she would be a good addition to the family or Wayne Enterprise. Damian talked to her the other day. He was even defensive of her at breakfast.'

Bruce picked up the phone and redialed his son.

"What now?" demanded Damian.

"Ask out Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" his father shouted.

Damian remained silent for over a minute, "Father."

"Win her over!" Bruce commanded.

The Wayne heir sighed, "You can't adopt her so you wish for me to persuade her through marriage."

"Yes." Bruce smiled.

Damian hung up the call. Bruce knew it was a long shot, but all his other kids were too old for Ms. Dupain-Cheng. When he got word that the class was leaving, he rushed downstairs to apologize once more. Imagine his surprise when he found Damian, dressed in a suit, speaking to Marinette and kissing her hand. She was even smiling at his son! Bruce watched as Damian led her away and out of the building.

'Damian listened to me!'

He was so letting Damian get another pet!

Marinette sat across from Damian at a small café, nearby.

"I had an interesting conversation with Father during lunch." Damian spoke.

"Oh?" she probed.

Damian smirked, "My father suggested I ask you out on a date because it was illegal to adopt you."

Marinette laughed, "When do you plan on introducing me as your girlfriend? We've been together for two years."

"I'll let him think it was his idea, for now." the Wayne heir answered, making his girlfriend giggle.

"I do wonder what you did to my father." he spoke up.

"Huh?" Marinette asked.

"He questioned if I had a sibling." Damian replied.

Mari smiled, "Oh, I gave him all of my data on the liar and fed him a type of cookie with Dupain-Cheng flair that you told me he liked.

"Smart. Can cook. Wayne looks." Damian began to list off, "We best be careful, Habibiti. I fear Father will push for a proposal, after four months, if I don't scare you away."

"Oh no." Marinette sarcastically declared, "What ever shall we do?"

"Do you think Alfred or Father would faint first, if I introduced you as my fiancée instead of my girlfriend?" Damian questioned.

"Neither." Marinette spoke, "After everything you've told me about them. I'm guessing Todd."

Damian chuckled.

TAG LIST: @maribat-calendar-events @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus

[sarcasticbambi]

Spiders

HMB Bingo Board "Stab It!" + Crack

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!”

SMACK!

“There she goes again.”  rings in the heads of the residents of the Wayne Manor.

At this point, everyone is used to Marinette’s fear of spiders and, regardless of Alfred’s countless efforts, the Wayne Manor is an old building with a big magnet for the little hairy creatures.

At first, they used to get startled and think that perhaps they were being attacked, no matter how low the chances were, only an attacker could cause such fear induced screams!

Only to arrive at the room she was in, ready to attack, to find her curled into a corner mumbling curses of all kinds and looking on the verge of tears.

Usually someone removes the spider from the room while Damian helps calm down his girlfriend.

Now, after that fateful incident no one is allowed to talk about, that resulted in a broken chandelier from the Eighteenth Century and a painting of one of the founding fathers of Gotham having dinner with a Wayne, Marinette can proudly say she can safely protect herself from the hairy eight leg devils.

And with that, also came a new source of entertainment for the Waynes: Marinette’s Spider killing skills. She had gathered an arsenal of skills and weapons just to get rid of spiders. Some of which not even World’s Best Detective Family could think of.

Some instances include:

She bought a hand shaped fly swatter to smack them with since she refused to touch them herself.

She bought spider insecticide for each and every room in the Manor so that she was never unprepared. (Made sure to use Damian’s card since it was his house, and he should keep it clean of “bugs”)

One time, she was so startled by the spider falling on the lounge room table she jumped and stole the vacuum from Alfred’s hands and vacuumed the spider.

Another time, when she noticed the insecticides weren’t being very effective, she called her mum who told her that in China, a popular way to remove bugs and insects from the house was to use peppermint essential oil and spray it around. Needless to say, the Manor smelled of peppermint for a good couple of weeks until she found a new method.

Alya also told her that when she was younger, her mum used to make a homemade insect repellent consisting of water, vinegar, pepper, oil and liquid soap and of course, our dearest Maribug decided it was a great idea to spray the house down with it - just like she did with all other methods.

She also recommended they plant Eucalyptus trees to help in keeping them away.

She only didn’t use the “spray/pour alcohol on spiders to kill them” because it had to be done directly to them and she considered it torture and she refused to use underhanded methods.

By now, everyone just rolls with it if Marinette comes into a room, flushed and huffing and asking if they have a weapon Manor never had that many spiders but, somehow, Marinette was always being “attacked” by them, as if they were attracted to her like Moths to Flame.

What was surprising was that Marinette was always very gentle with any insects and/or bugs. Especially Ladybugs, she even kept her habit of growing marigolds, sweet alyssums, calendulas and some more on a terrace garden, both at her apartment and at the Manor, which was usually cared for by Damian when she was not there.

Because of this, it was weird that she was afraid of the arachnids, especially considering how useful and harmless they actually were for the house.

This was all even more suspicious when one day, for Justice League business, Ladybug was given the “honour” of visiting the Batcave.

They first found it fun that Ladybug was afraid of the little spiders that also resided in the Batcave alongside the hanging bats (which by the way, what the heck Batman, really keeping up with the theme no?”), joking around if it was a Parisian thing since they knew a Parisian girl that was also terrified of them.

Then, she started using random objects to smack them if they got too close. Which was weird since the spiders never really came close to them, preferring to stick around the small corners and crevices. But they guessed it had something to do with her creation abilities and agreed to not host another meeting in the cave if it could be influenced by it.

Then, she started using methods that Marinette was often using around the house but improvised in a Ladybug way. Like vacuuming the spiders with the yoyo or presenting a peppermint spray from the endless pocket of space that was the little toy-like weapon.

She even grabbed Agent A’s offered teacup, threw the tea at someone - if the “Hey!” was anything to go by - and used it to cover a spider that decided to crawl across the table towards her. It was almost like she did it unconsciously at this point, because she immediately turned to him and apologised for wasting his tea in such a manner.

The highlight of the meeting was when a spider, hanging from the web, was right in front of her face falling right on her nose, causing the loudest shriek to come from The Guardian of The Miraculous. She jumped nearly five feet, attaching herself to the closest victim - who happened to be Robin - shaking him and screaming Bloody Mary.

“DO SOMETHING!!”

“DO SOMETHING I’M TELLING YOU!!

“What do you mean “do something”? What am I supposed to do, Stab It?” 

“I meant something more along the lines of smacking or trapping it, but I guess that’d also work.”

“I-”

“You know what, I honestly don’t care what you do with it, JUST GET IT OUT OF MY SIGHT”

Insert the loudest and longest sigh ever from both Robin and Batman.

“Ladybug, you are aware of just how unprofessional your beha-”

“Father, it’s alright. It is understandable that some people are frightened of such simple life forms, but if we can do it for Habibti, I don’t see why we can’t do the same for Ladybug tonight, you did say we’d change the meeting location for next time so such incidents could be prevented so I don’t see any issue with enduring it for tonight since it’d only be a hassle to change locations at the point.”

And it was thanks to Robin’s words that Batman shut up. With the argument shut down before it could even be started, Nightwing helped collect this round’s spider, and the meeting continued, with a high alert Ladybug and her trusted peppermint spray in one hand and the yoyo on the other. And every Batfam secretly disposed of any spiders attempting to get closer, none of them showing signs of inconvenience at doing such as to not get noticed by Ladybug. 

Needless to say, that no one paid attention to anything Batman was saying and yet, all proving true the “they all share one brain cell” theory when they busied their minds with thoughts on how cute she looked being so concentrated on getting the spiders - which had reduced significantly since there were very few that managed to get past them.

After the meeting had ended with agreements to rerun the points at the next meeting since no one grasped a single speck of information that night, Ladybug summoned the Horse Miraculous and opened herself a portal to leave.

She had told Damian she was going out for the night for a dinner with Chloe since she was in town, so to not wait for her - the excuse she usually went with whenever she had to go on Ladybug business and didn’t want him to know about it. Chloe was the only one of her friends to live nearby when she moved to Gotham, afterall Metropolis was just a town over so any excuse related to Chloe made sense to the little bug.

She was surprised however, to find the lights on when she got to their apartment’s door and saw Damian up and reading a book on the couch when she got inside.

“I told you not to wait up Damian!”

“I know. But what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t stay up to make sure my precious Angel got home safe?”

“I guess you do have a point… Thank you for waiting up then” she said and went in for a hug, which he readily accepted.

“So, did you have fun? You look a bit tired?”

“Oh, uhhh yeah, it was fun! Ahah, but you know Chloe, it’s always unpredictable with her ahahah”

“Hmmm, that’s true. I guess an entire evening with Chloe would be a bit of a headache.”

“Yeah hahaha”

“Hopefully there were no spiders, right?” “wHAT? NO! I mean no! There were no spiders tonight!” 

Damian smiled softly.   She’s so cute when  flustered.

“Great! I’m sure it’s because of all the ladybugs that come to visit!”

“Wha- what dO yOU mEaN hic-?!” Marinette’s brain was going over a mile a minute trying to process what he was talking about. Afterall, He couldn’t have figured out her identity, right? How would he even find out if she was never around him as Ladybug?!

“Oh, you know, the marigold garden in the balcony attracts lots of ladybugs. And like their name says, they are known to bring lots of luck! So, I’m sure you had no encounter with spiders because of it! We should plant some more!

“Oh, yeah, haha, the balcony marigolds, hahaha.”

“Come on, let’s get ready for bed. I already watered the balcony garden, so you don’t need to worry your little head over it. Tomorrow we can go and get some Bachelor’s Buttons, I read that Ladybugs also like them quite a bit.”

Marinette was too dazed to keep up any coherent thought with him at the moment, settling for just a little nod.

Poor thing, she’s probably stressing so much over it. Well, I’ll keep it up for a bit longer, it’s not every day you find your girlfriend’s secret identity afterall.

Pressing a little kiss to her forehead, Damian guided the poor bug to their room to get some rest for the night.

[ggomos-maribat]

[6/?]

original prompt | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Marinette sighs as she throws her window open. "Another night of making sure my family doesn't die."

She's about to jump out and transform when Alfred knocks on her door. "Come in!" she calls out.

The butler comes in with a plate of warm cookies, and another smaller plate of fruits for Trixx. "A snack before you depart, Miss Marinette?"

She lights up and hops to grab the plate. "That looks good! Thank you, Alfie."

"I bid you good luck for tonight. The boys are blowing off some steam for patrol."

She shares a laugh with Tikki. "Don't worry, I have plenty of luck for everyone."

Taglist:

@tinybrie

[hellishere7980]

Begin Again Chapter 5 (sequel to IMW)

"What are your current policies on metahumans and magical users in Gotham?"

"Someone you know?" questioned Bruce, his voice carrying a mix of curiosity and intrigue.

"Yep," Pixie chirped back, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Bruce began with his obnoxious voice, "We are not as strict as they used to be."

Pixie, muttered something suspiciously that sounded like a curse but not in the language of earth as Alfred would have said something. Sure he was fond of Pixie but nothing stopped the old-ever-vigilant butler from reprimanding on improper language.

Bruce, in response, raised his stupidly perfectly arched eyebrows that he attended salon sessions for and continued, "But we should know about them, and they should have their powers under check. It is also helpful if we know exactly how dangerous their powers can be."

"Hmm," Pixie hummed thoughtfully, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she glanced around the room.

She turned to Demonspawn and asked, "Got your camera ready, Damian?"

Jason, along with his brothers, quickly pulled out their cameras, and Jason swore he saw Alfred tap his phone, which was sitting on a stand by the countertop. Bruce, to his credit, managed to look both confused and slightly intrigued at the same time.

Pixie hummed a catchy little tune, and to Jason's astonishment, he saw Bruce making a funny expression. His sentiment was clearly shared by everyone else at the table, except for Bruce and Pixie.

Bruce then turned to Damien and, with a solemn voice, said, "My son, I know I don't say this often enough, but I have always been proud of you."

Jason raised an eyebrow in disbelief while the Demonspawn looked genuinely concerned. "Father, are you feeling well?"

Bruce, seemingly ignoring the question, turned to Timers, who was still trying to recover from his previous statement and said, "Tim, you saved me from my worst and are the reason Wayne Enterprises is flourishing. Thank you."

Timers, still trying to regain his composure, couldn't help but spit out the coffee he was unholy worshiping moments back. Then, Bruce turned to Jason and said, "Jason, I am sorry I never avenged you. After breakfast, we'll start on the plan to physically harm Joker to ensure he doesn't carry out his villainous activities anymore."

Jason blurted out, "WTF". Even Alfred was too astonished to reprimand him.

Bruce, undeterred, turned to Dickhead and said, "Thank you, Dick, for being the level-headed one when I was a dick."

The level of surprise and amusement reached new heights, surpassing even some of the frankly weird stuff they had encountered as a family of vigilantes.

Finally, Bruce turned to Alfred and said, "Thank you, Alfred, for putting up with me. I always saw you as my mentor."

Jason felt the amount of things in the world that could surprise him reduce very, very notably, as he watched the family's breakfast unfold in all its bizarre glory.

He saw Bruce's face slide off his neck? Only to see another Bruce's face behind it. The first face floated beside the second face for a while before going PooF!... and so did any semblance of civility they had.

Chaos reigned before Pixie shouted. "OK! SHUT IT!"

As the chattering abruptly closed Pixie continued.

"You saw I have magic."

He would have never believed that Bruce did a handstand and a split at the same time had he not seen it with his own eyes. Tim laughed out a strangled laugh which was borderline maniac. Did he see Bruce 2? Whatever that was, go poof.

"Talk amongst yourselves. Whatever questions you have get them printed out on a nice sheet of proper paper. I'll be back for dinner and answer them. Spoiler Alert most of the answers will be classified. So bye !"

With that Pixie poofed out leaving them dumb-struck.

He swore that nothing would have stopped the broody bat from typing off a list but today was a compulsory Justice League training session required to attend by all members, honorary or not and associates. He could feel his headache coming on with Bruce .

They placed on their uniforms with a slightly excited aura which was dampened by... honestly... all the variables in the situation.

They arrived at the Watchtower via Zeta Beam only to find it brimming with heroes... some who were anti heroes at times including himself.

Heading towards the training room, they could hear sounds of intense combat, indicating that many were getting their butts handed to them in sparring sessions.

As the whole bat clan stepped in expecting to see maybe Wonder Woman or Black Canary only to see a black clad figure dancing out using martial arts, honestly he didn't think anyone in the Bat Clan knew judging by their... frankly vibrant expressions.

As soon as they were noticed, Boy Scout Sr. stopped pounding Green Lantern's shield sparring and let out a whistle.

"As we always do we request anyone to share a particular skill that most of the people here can learn."

Lady Miracle raised her hand. "I can do that. How many people here can survive in space and want to smash stuff?" he announced.

He thought it was concerning the significant number of hands and at what speed they shot up. but with all the emotional baggage that comes with being a hero, breaking stuff is honestly the least destructive wait they can go forward.

Lady Miracle gave a cheshire grin.

"Everyone suit up! really are going to Noirdya Galaxy!"

Green Lantern raised an eyebrow.

"The abandoned clearly 2 million light years away Galaxy?"

"I can portal, you know.” Lady Miracle responded. “And the fact that it's abandoned makes it perfect for smashing ."

Green Lantern shrugged his shoulders "Fair enough."

As they all suited up and those who couldn't breathe into space stepped into a shield bubble made by Green Lantern. Lady Miracle turned to one of her gods? Cosmic beings? right. Kwamis.

"You'll see I'm gonna break my record."

"What exactly is this record?" Superman asked.

“How long I can survive without a suit. based solely on the dragon's powers which I have outside of suit. I often use this Galaxy for magical experimental purposes."

no one wanted to question her after all they all had their... quirks.

As they passed through the portal Lady Miracle had opened they came across a vast space filled with smaller than earth planets.

He saw Lady Miracle say something by her lip movement, saw her flashing a bit before she stood in a T-shirt and some cargo pants similar to what Superboy once more although she did have a domino mask like the bats and the arrows'. and then she flew and... hugged the planet? To everyone's astonishment the planet slowly turned into ash. Then she flew to another planet and he saw… some purple sparkles? around her hands and then she punched another planet and broke it into big pieces. How powerful was this girl? Honestly this was her out of suit being what he assumed passively charged by these gods.

She looked towards everyone. "What are you waiting for?"

He saw people readying themselves to join in the celestial smashing, embracing the opportunity.

[silverwhiteraven]

Maribattinson, chapter two?? more likely than you think.

[overworkedblorbobattle]

The full list of characters in the Bracket!

The full list of characters who made it into the tournament are listed under the readmore.

Ada Paige- Rhythm Doctor

Adam Parrish- The Raven Cycle

Adora- She-Ra

Aki Hayakawa- Chainsaw man

Alfred Pennyworth- Batman

Almond Cookie - Cookie Run

Angela- Lobotomy Corporation

Anthy Himemiya- Revolutionary Girl Utena

Arthur Lester- Malevolent

Aymeric De Borel- Final Fantasy

Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce- MASH

Bucky Barnes- Marvel

Buffy Summers- Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Burgerpants- Undertale

Carmen Sandiego- Carmen Sandiego

Carol Hathaway- ER

Charlie Magne Morningstar- Hazbin hotel

Chip Revvington- Toontown: Corporate Clash

Cliopher "Kip" Mdang- The Hands of the Emperor

Commander Peepers- Wander Over Yonder

Dana Scully- The X Files

Danny Fenton- Danny Phantom

David Jacobs- Newsies

DC/GOV- Welcome to the table

Dean Winchester- Supernatural

Dick Gumshoe- Ace attorney

Doppo Kannonzaka- Hypnosis Mic

Dot Campbell- The Wilds

Dr Charlotte Dubois- Falsettos

Emma Perkins- The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals

Five Pebbles- Rain World

Ford Pines- Gravity Falls

Fu Hua- Honkai Impact 3rd

George Karim/Cubbins - Lockwood and Co

Gilgamesh "Gil" Wulfenbach- Girl Genius

Gordon Michael Schwinn- A New Brain

Gregor Samsa- The Metamorphosis

Guillermo de la Cruz- What We Do In The Shadows

Harrowhark Nonagesimus- The Locked Tomb

Hera- Wolf 359

Homura Akemi- Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Hunter- The Owl House

Isabelle - Animal Crossing

Izzy Hands- Our Flag Means Death

Jaehee Kang- Mystic Messenger

Jafar- Twisted

Jamil Viper- Twisted Wonderland

Jean Gunnhildr - Genshin Impact

Jeremie Belpois- Code Lyoko

Jess Jordan- Succession

Jonathan Harker- Dracula

Jonathan Sims- The Magnus Archives

Jotaro Kujo- Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Keito Hasumi- Ensemble Stars!

Kento Nanami- Jujutsu Kaisen

Kevin Kandy- Spooky Month

Kim Dokja- Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

Kim Kitsuragi- Disco Elysium

Kiyotaka Ishimaru- Danganronpa

Kunikida Doppo- Bungo Stray Dogs

Kurapika- Hunter x Hunter

Kusuo Saiki - The disastrous life of saiki k

Laerryn Coramar Seelie- Critical Role

Lamplighter/plight- OneShot

Larry- Pokemon

Larry Needlemeyer - The Amazing World of Gumball

Ling Wen- Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Official’s Blessing)

Link- The Legend of Zelda

Lisa Cuddy- House M.D

Lisa Wilbourn- Worm

Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Loid Forger/Twilight- Spy x Family

Lucifer- Obey Me!

Lucretia- The Adventure Zone

Luisa Madrigal- Encanto

Maedhros Feanorian- The Silmarillion

Mafuyu Asahina- Project Sekai/Colorful Stage

Marinette Dupain-Cheng- Miraculous Ladybug

Marsh- Mistborn

Matthew Venn- The Long Call

Merlin- BBC Merlin

Miles O’Brien- Star Trek

Miss Pauling- Team Fortress 2

MK- Lego Monkie Kid

Molly Blyndeff- Epithet Erased

Mrs Doyle- Father ted

Munkustrap- Cats 1998

Nicholas Benedict- The Mysterious Benedict Society

Nishida- Yakuza

Obi-Wan Kenobi- Star Wars

Olruggio- Witch Hat Atelier

Pandemonica- Helltaker

Parsley Botch- Smile for Me

Peppino Spaghetti- Pizza Tower

Percy Jackson- Percy Jackson

Peregrine Mendicant- Homestuck

Ponder Stibbons- Discworld

Raphael Walt/Sirius Dieke- My Next Life as a Villainess

Ratchet- Transformers

Reagan Ridley- Inside Job

Reim Lunettes- Pandora Hearts

Retsuko- Aggretsuko

Riza Hawkeye- Fullmetal Alchemist

Robin- Smash Legends

Rory Williams- Doctor Who

Ryotaro Dojima - Persona

Sara Chidouin- Your Turn To Die

SecUnit- The Murderbot Diaries

Shang Qinghua - Scum Villain's Self-Saving System

Shota Aizawa- My Hero Academia

Sips- Fool’s Gold

Squidward Tentacles- Spongebob Squarepants

Stanley- The Stanley Parable

Steven Alen Starphase- Blood Blockade Battlefront/Kekkai Sensen

Steven Universe- Steven Universe

Super Mario Bros.- Mario Series

Susan Taxpayer- Susan Taxpayer

The Cabbage Merchant- Avatar the Last Airbender

The Captain- BBC Ghosts

The Elsen- Off

The Manager- The Hotel Podcast

Touta Matsuda- Death Note

Trafalgar Law- One Piece

Twilight Sparkle- My Little Pony

Vera Oberlin- Monster Prom

Walter Pensive- Hello from the Hallowoods

Will Graham- Hannibal

William T Spears- Black Butler

[ali-annals]

clover blooms in the fields/spring breaks loose, time is near

Pairing: Alfred Pennyworth x Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Rating: G

TW: implied/discussed character death(s), this is an old work and thus not my best :/

WC: 0.5k

A/N: I've seen people calling this ship Alfrinette, but I prefer my moniker 'NetteWorth'. This is my attempt to sway others into using it as well :p For rare pair advocate @velveteenshadow Merry Christmas, Carmine! <3

She knew being a True Guardian made her different. 

How different, she did not realize at first.

She defeated Hawkmoth, saved Paris, publicly retired. She met a true holder and trained her court precisely.

She fell in love, but knew she could not have him yet, for one day she realized that she hadn’t visibly aged at all, her eyes glowed when she accessed her powers, and she was radiating light. Growing things flourished in her presence and unlucky, destroyed things were reversed.

Her true love got a job away from her Court, raising a child. That was okay–her civilian self existed no more, and she had all the time in the world to wait. She would watch from afar.

He grieved his employers’ deaths, then attempted to raise their son to the best of his ability. He watched him grow into a good man, driven for justice. He supervised his nightly jaunts and was not truly surprised when he was made a pseudo-grandfather. He helped raise four good young men and three wonderful young women, watching protectively as they joined his son on their night jobs. He took care of them in any way he could, remembering how his love had done that for her dearest ones.

He grieved for his grandson and granddaughter and rejoiced when they came back home. And finally, one day…one day he woke up to see his love, just like he remembered. He blinked and walked toward her. 

“Marinette?”

He hadn’t said her name in decades, yet she gave him the same beautiful smile. They were surrounded by a lush, vibrant oasis, crystalline streams flowing and friendly animals playing about their feet. Sunshine dappled in through leaves and the entire area exuded peace and creation. 

His reflection in the pool was the one he’d had when he first met her. Colourful birds strutted behind him in fan formation. She took his hand in hers and smiled again. 

“My love, we are together at last. How have you been, Alfred? I’ve been keeping an eye on you since you left, but tell me everything, just the same.”

He smiled at her. “I thought I could feel your presence around me often…particularly when it was especially tough. You were by me when Master Jason died, were you not?”

“I was. I know how special he was to you, so I took him when the warehouse exploded. He stayed with me for a while, staying in peace. He told me about you. I could tell how much he and your other dear ones loved you.”

She paused at the waterfall, holding his hands in hers. “I had to return him, however. I am pleased he has seemed to find peace after experiencing its counterpart.”

“I am pleased with how well he–and all of them–have turned out,” he admitted. “This garden looks familiar. I knew my thumb wasn’t that green.”

She laughed happily. “I may have helped your pet garden projects along a bit.” “I took up gardening to feel closer to you, you know,” he admitted. “I missed you terribly.”

“I missed you, too.” She squeezed his hand. “It took us long enough to reunite; let us postpone our melancholy.”

He squeezed back, turning in a new direction. “A marvelous decision. Let us explore among the green while we catch up.”

“Lets.”

[ao3feed-ladynoir]

The Dead Guy

The Dead Guy by TheDelta42

While sparring with one of Marinette's teammates, Red Hood has a near run in with someone who can 'smell' death, leading to a series of events that sound like a crackhead's hallucination.

Words: 1863, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of MariBat, Part 9 of Miraculous X-Overs

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types, Teen Titans - All Media Types, Supernatural (TV 2005)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: Multi

Characters: Jason Todd, Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne, Castiel (Supernatural), Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Alfred the Cat (DCU), Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Kate Kane (DCU), Bette Kane, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Koriand'r (DCU), Roy Harper, Selina Kyle, Giovanni "John" Zatara, Doctor Fate, Nabu (DCU), Emma Agreste, Batfamily Members, John Constantine, Chloé Bourgeois

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Batfamily Members & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Tim Drake & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Jason Todd & Everyone

Additional Tags: Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd Has Issues, Resurrected Jason Todd

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41765322

[mochinek0]

Daminette December 2022: 9-Tangled

Marinette was eager to help the Waynes' decorate the manor for Christmas. They had wrapped garland on the staircase banister. Tim had wrapped the tree in lights. Jason was getting all the ornament boxes, while Dick was finding places for the mistletoe. Alfred was out of the house, picking up the girls from the airport and Bruce was still at the office. Marinette was starting to wrap the tinsel around the tree, with Damian keeping the ladder in place.

"Oi, Dick, you can't put mistletoe everywhere!" Jason complained.

"Try and stop me!" he cried out.

"I don't want to kiss anyone here!" Jason shouted, beginning to chase the elder Wayne brother around.

In the midst of the chaos, Dick hit a leg of the ladder and tripped. Jason froze. Dick quickly scrambled away, as the ladder rocked for a moment. Damian held the ladder, but Marinette became unbalanced. She fell and gripped the tinsel.

"Got you, Angel." Damian spoke.

Marinette sighed in relief. Neither of them had expected Titus to rush by and drag the remaining tinsel along. Damian felt his legs give under him and held onto Marinette tight, as he took the brunt of the fall. Marinette and Damian ended up tangled even further in the tinsel. Marinette opened her eyes and found herself face to face with Damian. Her cheeks flamed red being so close to him. Marinette knew she was Damian's friend, even if she did have a tiny crush on him, but she didn't want him to know that.

A flash caught her eye. Her and Damian turned and saw Jason taking pictures with his phone. Tim was passed out on the couch, courtesy of swapping his coffee to decaf and Dick was busy chasing Titus around the room.

"I'm sorry, Damian." Marinette whispered, turning away from the phone.

Damian attempted to look at her, but couldn't see her face. He settled for a reassuring squeeze.

"You have no reason to apologize." He replied, "You didn't do aything wrong."

"I know you don't like physical contact." Mari answered.

"This time, it's okay." he whispered, "You respect my boundaries. I'd rather catch you then watch you fall. I don't want you hurt."

"Thank you, Damian." she said.

"Are you gonna keep taking pictures Todd or help us?" Damian growled, "We still have to fix the tree before everyone gets here."

Jason sighed and put his phone away.

Marinette smiled, "Leave the phone to me."

Damian wasn't sure how she was gonna do anything, but Jason was finally untangling them.

Marinette winced, as Jason helped her to her feet. Damian quickly glared at Todd and frowned. He looked around the room and it was a mess. Drake was passed out; mission accomplished. Grayson was still chasing Titus around the manor.

"Todd, fix the tree." He demanded, "I'll take care of Titus. We don't want another accident. I'll send Grayson to help you."

Damian picked up Marinette and set her down on the couch, opposite of Tim.

"Once I have Titus, I'll be back with ice." he spoke.

"No." Marinette replied, "It's-It's okay. Just let me rest for a bit."

Jason frowned, "Sorry Pixie. I should have helped you both sooner."

Marinette waved off his concern, "I'm clumsy. I probably would have fallen one way or another."

Jason grabbed the end of the tinsel and began to roll it up so he could adjust it. He quickly looked at Marinette and saw her looking at her phone.

'Must be texting her parents. They're proabably waking up right now.'

Jason went back to fixing the tree. The tinsel had tightened around the branches when Marinette had fallen and with Titus pulling it, it hadn't helped in the slightest. He quickly took to loosening the tinsel. Dick came and help the other end of the wound up tinsel so there was enough slack to place everything.

By the time the girls, Alfred, and Bruce had gotten home, the Christmas tree had been decorated and Titus was back in Damian's room. They quickly noticed Tim passed out on the couch.

"It's a Christmas miracle!" smiled Steph.

"It's decaf." Mari whispered back.

The family chuckled. Bruce picked up Tim and took him upstairs to bed. Patrol was off the table for the night. The girls had jet lag. Bruce had a very early meeting and the two teens had finals. Batman had decided he wasn't letting Nightwing and Red Hood patrol unsupervised together, after last time.

Marinette hugged everyone good night and turned to go upstairs. Damian scooped her up. Marinette squeaked in surprise and held on tight.

"Damian!" she cried out, "Put me down!"

"You'll worsen your ankle on the stairs." he answered, "It'll be difficult for you to navigate towards classes on crutches."

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" she insisted, but Damian ignored her.

Damian continued up the stairs, "You're going to sleep. I better not hear your sewing machine."

Marinette stayed quiet after that. Not five minutes later, Damian got into bed when his phone went off.

'Who would message me so late at night?'

Damian grabbed his phone and saw Marinette had texted him.

'Why would she message me? At least she's messaging me and not walking over here to talk.'

Damian opened the text and saw the pictures Jason had taken of them.

'How did she get these?'

Damian: Go to sleep

Marinette: XP

Jason smiled evilly as everyone had gathered around the dining table for breakfast.

"I have something to show everyone!" he announced, "I took some pictures last night of Damian and Marinette! It was very funny before you all got here."

"I fell off a ladder!" Marinette cried.

"I recall having to chase Titus because Grayson was too tired to keep up." Damian declared.

"Someone switched my coffee to decaf!" shouted Tim.

"You need the sleep!" everyone replied, making Tim pout.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" asked Steph.

"Yeah." she spoke, "It just wasn't a fun experience." glaring at Jason.

Jason waved her off, "You were the one who wanted to decorate the place."

"Well, sorry for wanting the manor to be festive, Mr. Grinch!" Mari replied.

Jason rolled his eyes and brought up the gallery on his phone. He was shocked to see there was no evidence of Marinette and Damian tangled up in the tinsel.

"No!" he shouted, "Where is the photos? I took like twenty pictures! My blackmail!"

"Blackmail?" questioned Bruce.

"Timbers, do your thing!" he shouted, throwing his phone at Tim, "Work your techy magic! I need those photos!"

Damian eyed Marinette as she silently ate her breakfast. There wasn't a trace of pleasure or guilt on her face. She had sent him all the pictures from her own phone.

'How did she do it?'

Tim sighed, "It looks like you left the auto-erase feature, we programmed into the phones, on. It must have erased while you slept."

Jason groaned as he got his phone back.

"You got lucky." Jason announced, and started angrily eating his food.

"So, how did you get the photos?" Damian questioned Marinette later.

Mairnette blushed, "I've stolen phones before, but I always returned them. It was always for a good reason."

Damian inched closer, "What was the reason this time?"

"I know you wouldn't want to be manipulated or laughed at, even from your own family." Mari whispered.

Damian smirked. He knew Marinette was a good person. He knew that very well. It's why he had so easily called her a friend.

"Don't worry, I gave him back his phone." Marinette continued, "I just sent the pictures to me, through a text, and then to you. Then, I deleted the text messages and set up the auto-wipe. It's up to you to delete them."

"When?" Damian asked.

"Yesterday." she spoke, looking down, "I faked my ankle. When he untangled us, I took it. He was busy helping fix up the tree, while you took care of Titus. My phone looks like his so he didn't even notice when I was looking at his phone, in front of him. I slipped it back into his jacket when I hugged him good night."

Damian chuckled.

'No wonder Selina likes her. Probably caught her in the act a couple times.'

"I should head back inside." Mari stated, "I still have to work on the rest of the gifts."

"Of course. I'm sure everyone will appreciate your gifts." Damian replied.

Marinette walked away, back towards the manor. She hadn't accounted for the wet grass and slipped. Damian quickly rushed over to help her up. Marinette quickly pulled away, once she was to her feet.

"It's alright, Marinette." he spoke.

Marinette continued to look away from him. She pointed up.

'Why would she point up?'

Damian looekd up and saw the mistletoe.

'Oh.'

"I'll-I'll see you later, Damian." Mari replied.

Damian quickly grabbed her hand. Marinette turned and stared at him. Damian brought her hand up and kissed it. He watched as her cheeks flushed, instantly.

"Take care of yourself. If you hurt your hands, you won't be able to create your amazign designs." He whispered.

Marinette nodded and quickly rushed away.

'She isn't a horrible choice to keep around the manor permanently. Perhaps there is a way to change her view of me to a suitor.'

Damian pulled out his phone and looked at the picture with them tangled in the tinsel. There had been only five pictures he had kept. His favorite was her looking at him and her cheeks red. The photo after that, she had looked away, just like she had now.

TAG LIST: @maribat-calendar-events @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Spot the Bats

by sami_the_simple

When Alfred became the sole guardian of Bruce Wayne, his life took the backseat. Now, he gets the chance to be a better grandfather than he was a father or husband, and his granddaughter gets some much needed help.

Words: 1233, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug, Maribat - Fandom, mlb x dc crossover

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Gen

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Bernard Dowd, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Barbara Gordon, Clark Kent, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Titus | Damian Wayne's Dog, Ace the Bat-Hound, Goliath (DCU), Jonathan Crane, Pamela Isley, Harley Quinn, Joker (DCU), Chloé Bourgeois, Kagami Tsurugi

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne

Additional Tags: There will be probably be more but these are who I am currently planning for, marijon, Wayne Family (DCU), Platonic Relationships, Protective Bruce Wayne, Good Grandparent Alfred Pennyworth, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Manipulative Lila Rossi, Alya Césaire Bashing, Mentioned Alya Césaire and Nino Lahiffe, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Good Sibling Tim Drake, Good Sibling Damian Wayne

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/41019036

[ms-starflower]

Maribat Rare Pairs — Day 9 — Falling like the leaves

@maribat-october-rarepairs

Guys, guess what??? This is another angsty story!! BUT this one has a hopeful ending!!! And is not as sad as today's Spook-tober!! Yay!!

Also, if you saw my post yesterday, it’s the promised crack ship!

Well, it’s a crack ship for me, at least, mostly because of how super weird it was for me to write them. But, surprisingly, I was kinda super inspired?? This is the longest thing I wrote for maribat rare pairs month and spook-tober to date, with a little over 2k words??

But it is still a weird ship, and I’ve never seen it before, so... (Although, seriously, if someone knows of another story with this ship, please share with me, I would love to see what someone else would write for them.)

Anyway, end of the suspence, it’s *jazz hands*: Alfred x Marinette!

Contexte for the story here; It’s totally AU, forget almost everything you know about MLB canon guys. Here Marinette became Master Fu’s apprentice, after her parents death (she was like, idk, eight?? nine??). He took her in and trained her because she showed compatibility with the miraculouses.

I know there was something about how Master Fu became the last Guardian in Miraculous canon (???) but I don’t feel like looking it up, so, whatever. Also, for reference, there is like, around three years of difference between them.

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

Marinette was barely eighteen when she met Alfred for the first time.

He saved her from the people that killed her Master, letting her be the sole Guardian of the Miraculous, even though she never completed her training. He saved her without even knowing about the Miraculous, without ever asking for something in return.

She was lost, alone, and with a task bigger than her in her future. When he died, Fu left her the Miraculous to protect, but he also made her promise to correct his mistakes and found the lost Miraculouses.

She should have disappeared as soon as it was safe to do so, Master Fu had always said that the best way to protect the Miracle Box was to live in complete solitude, hiding from the world unless they had to show themselves. But it hadn’t worked, and now Fu was dead.

She didn’t know why Alfred asked her to come back to England with him, but she knew that she accepted because she didn’t want to be alone.

The trust between them had been nearly instantaneous. She couldn’t explain why, and the Kwamii refused to say anything about it when she asked them, even though they had looked at her with a knowing look.

When she was eighteen, and finally able to use the Miraculous at their fullest, the Kwamii all agreed that they needed to be used again, even if only discreetly. She knew what sort of work Alfred did for his country, it wasn’t hard to understand, and decided to help him.

She told him about the magic jewelry she was tasked to protect, and about the mission her Master left her. They both agreed to keep her help a secret from his superior, and she gave him the Black Cat, herself downing the Ladybug.

They made a formidable team, and Marinette hadn’t felt this useful for the world around her ever. She knew that his work wasn’t all pretty, of course. Alfred still kept her out of some of his missions, but she trusted him and never judged him for the decisions he had to make.

Falling for him hadn’t been instantaneous. It happened slowly, delicately, like leaves falling from trees in the chill breeze of autumn. And, one day, she touched down and realized that she fell and that there was no way up.

She kept silent, not even knowing if he would love her that way. But from the moment where she acknowledged her feelings, they only grew. Soon, she knew she would never love someone as much as she loved him.

She was twenty-three when she saw him for the last time.

The job started typically, for that sort of job. They were sent into enemy territory to evacuate an ally. Well, Alfred really, people didn’t know about her. At least they weren’t supposed to.

Somehow, they knew to expect them both and that they would have the Miraculous. Marinette would never know how it happened, just that it did. The only thing that saved them was the fact that they didn’t know about the Miraculouses’ power beyond the Black Cat’s and the Ladybug’s. They didn’t know to keep them separated, or even what was giving them their powers.

She used Kaalki’s Miraculous to teleport them out, directly to their appartement, and started to pack immediately.

“Marinette,” Alfred had said softly, and she turned toward him to see that he hadn’t moved but had dropped the transformation.

She did the same, dropping both Tikki’s and Kaalki’s. The three Kwamii looked between the two of them, a sad expression taking over Plagg’s face before they all floated in the next room to give them privacy.

“You’re not coming with me,” she said with a rueful smile.

“I want to,” he told her, stepping forward and putting his hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes, leaning into the contact. “But I can’t, not before completing this mission.”

“Why?” She asked him with a frown, opening her eyes back to look at him. “They sold us. Someone at your agency learnt about me and the Miraculous and betrayed us, betrayed you. Why would you finish this mission when it was so clearly designed as a trap?”

“Because,” he started slowly, leaning his forehead on hers. “The people that designed this mission obviously did so knowing it was one I couldn’t abandon.”

“What is so important in this mission,” she asked, swallowing back the ‘more important than me, us’, she wanted to ask. His features softened, his second hand coming up to her other cheek, and she knew he saw the question in her eyes.

“The man I was sent to save,” he started, his tone resigned.

“The American?” She asked, lifting her hands to cover his. He nodded slightly, careful to not disturb their position.

“He saved my life more times than I can count. More than that, he is a dear friend,” he told her, not moving his gaze from her eyes, before adding softly. “His wife is expecting, and I can’t sacrifice this family’s happiness for my own.”

“I—” She started, but there was nothing she could say, she wouldn’t either, if the roles were reversed. Alfred smiled softly at her, using his thumbs to wipe tears she hadn’t realized were falling. She closed her eyes, and left her despair talking for her. “I can save him with you. We can go back to save him together, and then we could leave together. Start a new life.”

“They will be waiting for that,” he told her, jerking his head back to shake it. “The only reason we could get out was because they didn’t know about Voyage, they would be prepared for it now. They will not expect me to come alone.”

“I can’t leave you, Alfred,” she said desperately, grabbing his jacket in her fists. “I love you.”

“I was hoping that it would happen in other circonstances,” he said softly, before leaning in to kiss her lips tenderly. It tasted bittersweet. “But I love you too. And that’s why I can’t ask you to come with me.”

“You’re not asking. I— I know I can help.”

“Your mission is more important, Marinette,” he said sadly, pushing back a strand of her hair. “This mission, your mission, it’s so important for you not because it was your Master’s, it’s so important because you love the kwamii like your family. You would give everything to protect them, I can’t put them in danger, and you know that you can’t either.”

She closed her eyes, letting her hands fall back at her side, knowing that he was right. Protecting the Kwamii that were with her and finding the lost ones were more important than her or her happiness.

“I can’t wait for you here, this place won’t be safe for much longer.”

“I know,” he said with a sorrowful expression.

“Maybe we— We can meet after—”

“No,” he interrupted her, his head shaking. “I can’t know where you will be, if I’m caught, I want to be sure you and the Kwamii will be safe. I couldn’t live with myself if I was the one to put you in danger.”

“What are you going to do, after? you’re not going back to work for them, right?”

“Don’t worry about me, I will find something,” he told her with a smile, and she couldn’t help but smile back.

“I wish we had more time,” she whispered to him, putting her hands in his hair.

“I wish I could tell you how much I love you,” he whispered back, putting his hand around her waist.

“Promise me to live,” she told him, looking him in the eyes. “Promise me to get out of there alive, and then, to live. To let yourself find happiness. I want you to let yourself be happy again, to let yourself live. Because when I find the Miraculous, and get Nooro and Duusu back, I will find you. No matter how long it takes me.”

“I don’t expect anything else from you, darling,” he told her softly, cupping her cheek.

“Promise,” she said again, she needed to hear him say it.

“I promise,” he whispered, eyes closed.

Opening a portal to let him go back there was the hardest thing Marinette ever did, knowing that there was a chance she was sending him to his death, no matter what he promised.

She was gone from the place they had shared for almost six years a couple of hours later, not letting a trace of her presence behind her.

Years passed too quickly and too slowly, after that. She dedicated the grand majority of her time to her mission, looking for Nooro and Duusu. She scoured the world, made contact in the magic community, and kept eyes on the black market.

Still, when she found a lead on Nooro, it was by accident. She was in Paris to talk with one of her contacts when the Kwamii told her they felt Nooro’s energy, and that it was corrupted.

The use of the Miraculous, for as long as she had used it in her youth, had slowed her aging considerably (and she often thought that it probably did the same to Alfred, if he survived). But even then, she wasn’t young anymore, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to be the Ladybug again.

She knew, from her old Master, that children were typically chosen to wield the Miraculous, but she refused to bring children into her war.

Still, finding people compatible with the Kwamii of Creation and Destruction wasn’t easy, and she could only find two promising young adults, Bridgette and Felix, both compatible with the Ladybug and the Black Cat respectively. They were still young, Bridgette was nineteen and into her first year of college while Felix was eighteen and finishing high school, but the only other options were a thirteen years old boy and a fifteen years old girl.

She gave them the choice to refuse, but wasn’t surprised when they accepted. Marinette did everything in her power to help them as much as she could; giving them training, a safe place to hide from the world when their emotions became too much, and a friend with whom to talk. And she used every last one of her contact, every favor anyone owed her, and every resource at her disposal to find Hawkmoth.

It took them three more years to defeat him, but when they did she could reclam back the Butterfly and the Peacock. And her mission was complete. Marinette felt so free, for a time she didn’t know what to do with herself.

She was lying. She had known what she was going to do the second the lost Miraculous were in the Miracle Box.

She left some time to Bridgette and Felix to say goodbye to Tikki and Plagg, promising them that the Miraculous would be there for them if they decided to go back to heroisme, when they finished college.

Then she packed her things and left for Gotham.

She didn’t know how she felt, when she rang Wayne Manor’s bell. Nervous wasn’t the right word, she had waited for this moment for too long to be nervous. It felt right. Freeing.

A young man opened the door, and Marinette recognized Tim Wayne-Drake. She smiled serenely at him, moving her braid back over her shoulder.

“Um, hello,” he started slowly, looking at her curiously. Probably wondering how she got here despite their security. He probably wasn't to guess that it was with Kaalki's help. “Can I help you?”

“Well, yes, I would like to talk with Alfred Pennyworth,” she told him with a smile, making him blink in surprise. “Could you be a dear and tell him that an old friend is here to see him?”

“An… old friend?”

“Yes,” she said matter-of-factly, before leaning forward and whispering conspirationaly, like she was sharing a secret. “The old cat also wants to see him, Stinky Sock doesn't say it, but he really missed Alfred.”

“The… old cat,” he repeated, blinking at her like her words weren’t registering. They probably weren’t, but before she could say anything, another voice cut in.

“Marinette,” Alfred said with a soft smile from behind Timothy. “I was waiting for you.”

“Alfred,” she said, her lips curling into a bright smile. “I told you I would find you.”

“Holy Batman, I feel so lost right now,” Timothy muttered under his breath, looking between the two of them.

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

I know that the popular maribat headcanon for Alfred is to have been a Peacock holder, because it's Alfred, but people change when they grow older and I found it fun to have him be a Cat when he was still young and a little bit stupid (Not much it's still Alfred).

Also, the thirteen years old compatible is totally Adrien, and the fifteen years old is Aurore Beauréale, because I found her really Ladybugesque in the few memory I have of season 1 (I could totally be wrong tho, it was a while ago).

[goggles-mcgee]

A Little Birdy Told Me 18

Beginning

Last Chapter           Next Chapter

Summary:  It's morning in Wayne Manor and Gordon and Bullock stop by for Marinette's statement.

“Good Morning Gordon, Bullock.” Bruce welcomed as he opened the door wider so the two men could enter his house.

“How many times have I told you you can just call me Jim, Bruce?” Jim asked with a shake of his head and a fond smile on his lips as he stepped inside the familiar manor.

“You forget Boy Scout, he was raised by the butler, I think he’s incapable of shaking off that proper speech.” Harvey joked as he followed Jim inside. The two followed the familiar path to the kitchen with Bruce making polite conversation, catching up from the last time they had seen one another. Bruce made sure his voice carried so the kids would know they were closing in on the kitchen. They all did better when they knew people were approaching rather than when they were snuck up on. Came with their night jobs unfortunately. He also did it for Marinette who was so tense, of course he knew why she was but it still made him frown when she flinched at his and the boys’ voices or simply seeing them out of the corner of her eye. He could tell that she was trying her best not to do so but he also knew it couldn’t be helped. 

“Marinette, I’d like you to meet Chief Bullock and Commissioner Gordon, they are old family friends and I figured they would be the best people to get your report of what happened at Wayne Tower.” Bruce explained as he introduced the two men to the teen, who frankly still looked a bit skittish. She looked like she was going to question why the Commissioner and Chief of the GCPD was there to collect her statement but Bruce watched some tension leave her when he clarified that both men were family friends. It made Bruce want to cry, this child, without even knowing them for long, without even knowing him for long, trusted his word. How long had she been going without being able to trust the adults around her? Without being able to lean on them because her fear of them being used by an emotional terrorist was so strong? He didn’t want to know the answer but he thought he might know anyway. 

“Nice to meet you, you can call me Jim. None of that Commissioner stuff.” Gordon said with a small smile, still forever awkward around children that weren’t his own or Bruce’s. 

“And I’m Harvey. Don’t let Bruce trick you into thinking we’re stuffy old men. I swear this boy must have come out of the womb speaking that politely. Took him years to stop calling Jim and I ‘Detective So-and-So.’ It was cute for a while, but quickly became annoying.” Bullock said with a teasing grin shot at Bruce as he took off his hat and set it on the island counter and took a seat on one of the stools set up there for when one of the kids was having a quick meal. 

It managed to get a giggle out of Marinette so Bruce counted it as a win. The teen just seemed so drained, even after the sleepover with Ivy and Harley. He figured they must have had some serious conversation if the looks Ivy and Harley had exchanged over their rushed breakfasts was anything to go by. They had even written two separate notes for Marinette before they had left, she had yet to open them but when Alfred had given them to her she had had the softest smile on her face. “It’s nice to meet you both. You probably already know but I’m Marinette. Uh, Dupain-Cheng. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You need my full name for the report right?”

“Yeah we do kid, but we don’t need to start right away. Why don’t you finish breakfast and then we’ll go settle in Bruce’s office if you’re comfortable with that.” Jim suggested. Marinette gave a small nod before she tucked into her breakfast once more which helped Bruce breathe a little easier. He always worried about the kids eating enough, looks like Marinette officially made it to his worry list. 

“Have you boys had anything to eat yet?” Alfred asked.

“I had a little something from Wackdonals but I’d never say no to your cooking Alfred you know that.” Bollock said as he took a seat at the table and pointedly looked at the chair across from him until Gordon took it with an eye roll. 

“And I’ve told you fast food is not breakfast Harvey.” Alfred shot back as he made the two men a plate each. 

“They serve breakfast.” Harvey retorted with a shit-eating grin that had Marinette muffle another giggle and made Bruce smile as he took a seat at the end of the island counter, the seat closest to the kitchen table. 

“They serve convenience.” Alfred said with a shake of his head as he placed the plates in front of the men. Bruce bit back a laugh as he knew Alfred’s stance on fast food, he didn’t really like the family eating it but he wouldn’t say anything if it was only eaten once in a good while but he absolutely drew the line at breakfast. The older man was firm in his belief that breakfast was the most important meal of the day and he would go out of his way to make the family breakfast even if they woke up at different times if it meant they didn’t go to a fast food restaurant to get breakfast. 

“You like Sundollar Alfie, don’t lie.” Jason made his arrival as he did most mornings. With a witty comment. It made Bruce want to hug him and simultaneously sigh seeing as he was usually the target of said comments. 

When Alfred didn’t comment Jason just laughed and took a seat next to Marinette while Alfred made him a plate. “Morning Short-Stack.”

“Morning Jolly Green Giant.” She snarked back which made Jason snort and ruffle her bangs which made her pout as she slapped away his hand. Jason just laughed again and shook his head before he gave Alfred a soft ‘Thanks’ once he was handed his plate and dug in. It still hurt to see how he ate sometimes, like he thought someone would take his plate from him. It was a habit he never really broke, he only slowly ate if it was something he made. Which was why Alfred had Jason help him with meals a lot of the time or if Jason ever asked to use the kitchen to make a meal he could. He was basically the only one in the house allowed near the stove besides Barbara and Bruce himself even if the kids liked to tease him about not knowing how to cook. What they didn’t know is that he always helped make their birthday meals if he was able to, and he made damn sure he was able to. 

“Oh hey the Fuzz!” Jason cheered as he finally noticed Gordon and Bullock.

“Jason.” They said together which made him snicker. 

“And of course my favorite cryptid, The Jersey Devil! What are you doing in a mansion? Aren’t you supposed to be out haunting the Pine Barrens man?” Jason said cheekily as he looked at Bruce.

“That gets funnier every morning you say it Jason.” Bruce sighed out as he sipped at his coffee since he had already eaten his breakfast well before anyone was awake. He had had to explain his whole schedule to Marinette when she got worried that she was the only one eating. 

“Truly I am the king of comedy.” Jason agreed sagely. “Thanks for the pork roll Alfred.”

“Always welcome Master Jason.” Alfred nodded as he took the boy’s plate before he could take it to the sink himself like he liked to do. Bruce happily drank his coffee and just took it all in, he loved mornings like this, mornings with one of his kids being happy and joking around. Though Dick was more prone to hide behind his jokes and smiles, Bruce would like to believe he knew when they were forced or faked, overall though he was the most morning-person to ever exist beside Clark. Damian was not one to make jokes, he was a quiet person in the mornings and was more often to give smiles or grunts rather than vocal answers. Cass was much the same way, though she was just not a morning person after she learned she could sleep in and would not be punished. Duke was much like Jason, if he was having a good day he would be making jokes and smiles all around, though he did have some quiet mornings they were no-less happy. Steph was not a morning person. Neither was Babs. 

It was peaceful, the way Gordon and Bullock were talking in low voices at the table, voices rising only when Bullock attempted to steal food off Jim’s plate and the way Jason made idle chatter with Alfred about some new recipes he found on some app he had. Bruce of course noticed how the older boy would glance at Marinette every now and then to check on her or make sure she didn’t feel left out of the conversation even if all she gave was a nod at something he said. Bruce loved mornings like this. He could recall some mornings from his youth with his parents and Alfred that felt like these kinds of mornings. He wished he remembered them more vividly but time was a cruel thing to the mind, as much as he wanted to remember those great mornings with them he could never recall what they had talked about or if he ever told his parents he loved them as much as they told him those mornings they would send him off to school. It was an old hurt that still ached but he was working on it. His kids helped more than they probably realized, more than he could ever explain, and he was so grateful for these mornings. He felt so full of love and he liked to believe this is what his parents felt those mornings with him. 

Then they passed and it was a struggle to have breakfast, it took him longer to enter the kitchen. His mother’s records would no longer fill the mornings, he hadn’t had the strength to play them. His father would no longer be in his seat at the table having his cup of coffee with the newspaper. That cup sat there for about a year before he let Alfred clean it because it had stayed on that table the morning the day they were murdered. Alfred tried, bless his heart, but Bruce couldn’t stomach his pancakes because of the memories he had of them for about two years. But then breakfast became him and Alfred, then it was Bruce, Jim and Alfred, then Bullock joined sometimes and then so had Selina. Then life went on, he found his kids or in some cases they found him and the rest was history. Complicated, messy, hurtful, joyful, and wonderful history. But of course things couldn’t last forever and he saw the pointed look Gordon shot at him which made him sigh into his now empty mug. 

“Marinette, would you rather give your statement here or somewhere else in the house? Anywhere you want is fine.” Bruce felt bad for cutting into her conversation with Alfred and Jason, especially because she had actually started taking part in it but they did have to get her statement. As callous as it sounded, they had already given her a lot of time to process, that’s how the law saw it, he was grateful that the GCPD let Batman work with them. They took his judgments to heart and they actually listened to what he had to say. It hadn’t always been that way, that was another rocky history he had. 

Marinette looked up at him and Bruce nearly took a step back, her eyes were so wide and trusting, it was merely-blinding, like when Cass would ask him for something. They were the kind of eyes that held innocence no matter the tragedies they bore witness to, they were pure and Bruce felt as blessed and he did uncomfortable under their gaze. “Can we do the interview in your office? It um, it makes me feel safe.” 

“Whatever you want, Sweetpea.” Shit. No. This is not your kid Bruce! Do not parent it! He could see Jason snicker into his hand and mouth ‘Sweetpea’ at Bruce with the biggest shit-eating grin.

Though he would take all the embarrassment, and all the teasing he knew would be coming his way from his kids with the way Marinette smiled and seemed to relax. “Thank you.”

Bruce gave her a nod and looked up at Gordon and Bullock who both were looking at him with matching expressions. Ones he did not appreciate, thank you very much, somehow they looked both fond yet teasing. He glared at them as best he could in the small window of opportunity he was given as Marinette slid off the counter seat. Maybe he had to make the counters lower? Damian had the same problem but if he even suggested it the boy would have a fit, and maybe murder him in his sleep at the offense. Though he knew Damian would grow into his height, the boy had tall parents, and all his children were tall so lowering the island counter would ultimately be counterproductive. He just felt a little bad at the small jump Marinette had to do to get off the seat, though he was confident she would get some height, though he wasn’t so confident about it being much. He had done his homework on her parents and while, yes, her father was a very tall individual, her mother was on the smaller scale. Given how her mother’s genes won out already, he would be willing to bet she would only grow a little more given she was already taller than her mother. 

“Morning All!” Bruce was pulled from his thoughts by Dick’s sing-song greeting and couldn’t help but smile. He thanked the boy in his head for pulling him from said thoughts, he just couldn’t shut off what Tim and Alfred so fondly dubbed his ‘Detective Brain.’ Even if what he was ‘investigating’ or ‘breaking down’ was mundane, his brain was always grinding its gears away. Bruce smiled at his oldest and gave him a nod and was not surprised to see Damian trail in after him. If Dick was staying at the Manor then it was often you would see the two together, especially for their morning run. 

“Morning Nettie!” Dick greeted Marinette with a ruffle of her bangs which had her slapping at his hand much like she had done with Jason. 

“Morning Dick.” 

“Where are you off to so early in the morning?” He asked as he looked at Bruce, Gordon and Bullock, his smile still in place though Bruce could see his confusion and worry.

“Oh, uh, the Chief and Commissioner are here to get my statement about what happened at Wayne Tower.” Marinette responded, her nervousness shone through the biting of her lip and the way she fiddled with a loose thread on the dress she wore for the day. 

“Oh. Well whaddya know, they also have to get my statement. Why don’t we do it together?” The elder boy lied swiftly and Bruce’s heart filled with fondness, it was no secret that Dick felt particularly responsible about what happened at the Tower. No matter how much the staff, Bruce, the boy’s siblings, and Alfred all told him, he still couldn’t help but shoulder the blame. It also was no surprise to Bruce that Dick felt protective over Marinette over everything. Especially seeing them the night of the accidental phone-call, Marinette looked so comforted and relaxed next to Dick, and Dick looked like…well he looked like what Bruce imagined he looked like when any of his children leaned on him in their times of need. 

“We already-OOF!” Harvey had started but an elbow from Gordon stopped him.

Gordon smiled at Marinette when she looked at him in surprise and questioning. “WE already planned on questioning you Richard, lucky us you are staying at the Manor. Otherwise we would have had to take the drive out to Blüdhaven.”

“Yeah…Lucky us.” Bullock groaned. “Let’s head to the study so we can get this out of your way, kid.” 

“Okay…” Marinette replied with some trepidation but when Dick bumped her shoulder gently and gave her a smile she seemed to calm and gave him a smile back as they walked out of the kitchen but not before she waved at Damian who looked shocked at the action. Through his confusion though the boy gave her a wave back and Bruce again had to hold a chuckle back at his son’s expression. He simply smiled at Damian and patted him on the shoulder as he walked out, it seemed like they had to have a talk soon. Damian may not have realized it yet, but Bruce knew a crush when he saw one, especially on one of his children’s faces. Especially on Damian’s given the boy looked so much like him at that age and Alfred told him so many times how Damian and he showed the same amount of emotion. 

Once they got to the study and all took seats on the couches, as Bruce didn’t want to make Marinette feel uncomfortable or intimidated if he or anyone else sat at his desk, Gordon and Bullock immediately set into getting Marinette’s statement. It shouldn’t have shocked him how well they handled the whole thing given how long the two had been at this job, and how many kids and teens they spoke to, the numbers were too high in Bruce’s opinion but he did his best to lower them. They were patient when they needed to be yet pushed when they had to, he never really thought about it but Bruce could admit that maybe anytime he encountered a child as Batman, especially in the beginning years that he tried to emulate Gordon’s behavior. Being a father helped but it also hindered in a way, because sometimes Bruce just wanted to grab the parents by the shoulders and shake them or he just wished the children never had to go through what they did. Sometimes he saw his kids in the children he encountered and it scared him, it made him want to be reckless even when he knew he couldn’t afford to be. 

Marinette reminded him of Cass and Dick in ways he couldn’t really describe, maybe it was the way both kids often walked like they had the weight of the world on their shoulders. Or maybe it was the way they cared about people, how they loved people with their entire beings. It could also have been the way they found joy in the simple things, they tried to look at the silver linings, but sometimes they could spiral. They overthink, they worry, they feel so much. Bruce looked at Marinette and he saw what he saw in all his kids, a child who had to grow too fast. A child who felt like they were responsible for more than they could handle. Maybe even a child who felt they had to be perfect and anything less than was just not enough. All in all though, Bruce saw a child, a scared child who needed help and if he could be that help he would be. She may not know it yet but by the way Dick looked at her, the way Jason spoke with her, Damian interacted with her and the way Alfred already seemed to dote on her, Marinette had the Wayne family at her back. Bruce had no doubt in his mind that once she and Tim interacted more that they would get along great, Cass would adore her and so would Steph, Duke too. 

Bruce knew she wasn’t telling them the whole truth about Paris, her fear and anger were real, the emotions were very real, the heroes were real, there was just something about it all that felt off. He wasn’t sure what but he hoped they earned her trust, she was an honorary Wayne as far as he saw it and they were going to do whatever they could to help her while she was in Gotham. And if they didn’t manage to solve everything in Gotham then they would go to Paris and help, no kid deserved this much stress. No person deserved this actually. 

“Hey Bruce, I was just telling Marinette about the Botanical Gardens! Apparently it was on the trip’s original plan but was ‘outvoted’ at the last minute, anyway, I was telling her that we were due for a check-in over there this week and thought maybe I can take her this afternoon instead of going to the Tower.” Dick said as he looked between Marinette and Bruce excitedly.

Bruce took one look at Marinette’s hopeful smile and Dick’s excited one, he knew the boy wanted to cheer up Marinette, he also knew Dick probably wanted to be anywhere but the Tower so he sighed and smiled back, “Sounds good to me. Just remember to check in now and then and maybe see if Tim wants to go? He could do with the fresh air. I think I saw him making a new board on his ceiling and I would like him to leave his room sometime.”

“Deal!” Dick said with a laugh as he jumped up from the couch and grabbed Marinette’s hand to ‘go wake Tim up.’ Which coming from Dick could mean jumping on the bed or dumping ice on the poor boy and he did not want to be here for either option so he bid Gordon and Bullock a good rest of their days and made his way to the garage to see Alfred and Damian waiting for him. They were going to drop Damian off at school before Alfred dropped Bruce off at the Tower to help Lucius with whatever he could. 

“Dupain-Cheng is not accompanying us?” Damian asked once they were in the car and Bruce hid his smile in his hand.

“Ah, no, Dick is taking her to the Botanical Gardens, apparently it was something she wanted to do originally with her class but the idea got shut down. I think Dick wanted to cheer her up after everything that has happened. Tim might join them as well.”

“I could have taken her.” Damian looked offended that he hadn’t been considered for the last minute trip and Bruce was fighting with himself not to chuckle. 

“Damian. You have school.”

“Tim has work. So does Dick.”

“Tim has started building another board on his ceiling. That means no work for him. As for Dick, as much as I’m sure he’d love to be giving tours at any of the buildings, or being security for the day, he needs his time off too. Remember, he’s trying to look for something that feels right. I think the incident at the Tower might have dissuaded him from continuing on as tour guide.” Bruce explained.

“Richard has excellent people skills though.” Damian scowled. 

“I’m not saying he doesn’t,” the boy was very protective of his older brother, “it’s just that people can be difficult. For you and I it’s a different kind of difficult, but for Dick, I think it’s more so the kind of people he interacts with and the way he interacts with them.”

“He could be a cop again.”

“He liked it in Blüdhaven I admit, but he wasn’t happy after a while.”

“Do you think he’ll stay in Gotham?” The way Damian asked made Bruce’s heart clench. It was like he didn’t want to allow himself to hope. He was rather attached to Dick and every time the boy went back to Blüdhaven he was always down the days that followed. Dick had told him he wanted to find a new job, one he actually enjoyed, he was even considering moving back to Gotham but he made Bruce swear he wouldn’t mention it to the family. Not until he was sure at least.

“It’s a possibility.” Bruce couldn’t lie to Damian. Not because he felt bad or anything, the boy had the scary ability to read him like all his children did, but sometimes it was like Damian could sniff out a lie. Which, truth be told, was a little disturbing. 

Damian hummed before he looked out the window, “What about Dupain-Cheng? What’s going to happen there?”

“Well, once the new teacher is flown in and the chaperones who should have been here to begin with, the teacher, Marinette, Gotham Academy’s principal and I along with some lawyers will have a meeting to discuss that. We will have to plan out how to carry out the exchange but with splitting the French Class up, if we can even do that to begin with. I don’t believe it will be a problem though. We will also be discussing new rules regarding the French Class.” Bruce explained. He expected the meeting would derail when he got to the Rules section but Gotham was not a city to mess around in and they needed to understand that.

“But she will still be staying with us, correct?”  

Bruce chuckled this time, “Yes. Marinette will continue to stay with us either way since I am now her temporary guardian as her parents gave their permission.” 

“Why did you laugh?” Damian pouted.

“Oh look, we have arrived at your school.” Bruce pointed out which Damian did not look happy about but got out of the car all the same. “Have a good day at school today Damian. Alfred will pick you up as always, or perhaps Dick will. You will be notified before the school day is up.”

“Thank you Father. I hope you have a good day at work and once I am home from school you can tell me what you were laughing at.” Damian huffed before he turned around sharply and left for school. Bruce just shook his head and chuckled softly. 

                 ___________________________________

Tim Curry In Clue My Beloved

@huedoneit

Did anyone else notice our local Baby Wayne aka Ice Prince was a little…thawed today? He didn’t even make sarcastic remarks about @scalesandarpeggios 

It was scary 😱

🎵 Allegra 🎵

@scalesandarpeggios 

      RE: Tim Curry In Clue My Beloved

      @huedoneit

      [Did anyone else notice our local Baby Wayne aka…]

I take offense to that. But true, he didn’t even lecture you about singing show tunes in the hall, all he did was scoff. 

AAAAAlan

@dontmakemejazzsquare

     RE: 🎵 Allegra 🎵

    @scalesandarpeggios 

     [I take offense to that. But true, he…]

Maybe the dude is just sick 🤷🏾‍♂️

*Wackdonals- in the DC Universe version of McDonalds

*Sundollar- is the Dc Universe version of Starbucks

*Pork Roll-or Taylor Ham as it's known in North Jersey, a processed meat product processed, packaged, and sold in New Jersey and almost nowhere else

*Jersey Devil- Cryptid that is said to live in and haunt the Pine Barrens. It is said to have bat wings, hooves, a goat's head and a forked tail. Though in other accounts it is said to have a horse's head instead of a goat's and a kangaroo's tail instead of forked. This cryptid has had many sightings but most commonly the sightings came from Southern Jersey and Philadelphia.

Gotham is located in Jersey, specifically South Jersey which is why I added the line about the Jersey Devil and Pork Roll

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[adrestar]

How Marinette Chose To Go To Gotham Of All Places

In some maribat fics where Marinette want to have a fresh start, why would she move to Gotham, the most crime filled city on Earth, of all places? Here’s how I see it happening:

Also on Ao3

A blindfolded Marinette held the dart tightly between her fingers as she felt Adrien maneuver her towards the large world map plastered inside her room.

“This idea is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. What if the dart ends up on the amazon rain forest of all places? Marinette’s gonna end up living with snakes!” She heard Chloe’s protest. She agreed. This idea is stupid. But stupid is fun and Marinette wants to have fun.

“Relax Chloe, we literally have Tikki on our side. Besides, this is fun.” Alix reassured the blonde girl. But Marinette can hear the grin on the skater’s voice. Something interesting is gonna happen and Alix thinks it’s entertaining. Damn time traveler.

“And- there! You can throw the dart now.” Adrien exclaimed as he ran off to Luka to get his phone and film.

Marinette gave a deep breath as she twirled the dirt between her fingers. She positioned the dart to ready to throw it. Marinette tuned out Chloe’s protests and Alix’s reassurance and focused on the dark on her hand. She exhaled and threw the dart in front of her, smiling at Alix’s loud cheer and Chloe’s groan.

“Where did it land” Marinette asked as she took of the blindfold. She glanced at her friends who are now crowding around the map.

“Northeastern US. New Jersey. Gotham City to be specific.” Alix said, widely grinning at her.

“Gotham City? The crime infested Gotham City? You should rethink about this Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe exclaimed, particularly screeching. Meanwhile, Alix just laughed at her saying “At least it’s not the rainforest.” and Luka sighed.

“Will you be okay there?” Luka asked looking worried. Adrien also looked worried but didn’t say anything, knowing that nothing can change her mind. Alix seemed pretty excited about it so it must be something good.

“I’ll be fine guys.” She smiled at them. She can’t wait to start a new life at Gotham. She glanced at all her friends and grinned at them.

“Time to take care about moving to Gotham!” She squealed excitedly and went to get a notebook to list some things to do, missing the knowing smile on Alix’s face.

[lily-drake]

Peter and His Pixie

Neverland is home to Lost Boys like me, And Lost Boys like me are free

Previous

After a year of collecting money he was almost able to afford the private investigator that was highly recommended by Gotham’s middle class, he just needed a bit more.  He’d find his Pixie no matter what, she was his Pixie after all.  He looked around for a good car to steal parts from when he saw the jackpot.  The Batmobile.  It looked like it had just gotten new tires, but the hubcaps hadn’t been replaced yet.  Surely he wouldn’t mind if he took those old things, it was for a good cause after all, and Batman was known for his “good causes”.  Looking around he didn’t see anyone so he quickly got to work.  After years of doing this, he was able to remove and hide the first three tires.  He was headed back for the forth when he heard a deep voice say,

“Coming back to finish?”

He jumped and held his tire-iron out in defense when his eyes landed on the big bat himself.  He turned to run, but wasn’t able to get far as the dark figure lured over him and grabbed the hood of worn out red hoodie.  He wasn’t afraid though, he couldn’t afford to be afraid, he needed to find his sister d*it!

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Tightening his grip on his weapon he grit his teeth.  He wasn’t going to get out of this, and it would do more harm than good to attack him. He would just have to find a few more different cars to steal from.  With a sigh he said,

“I’ll put ‘em back.”

Batman raised a brow and stepped aside and released his hood, but still kept close enough to grab him if he tried to run again.  He got the tires out of their hiding places and quickly reattached them.  Once he was done he tried to leave but the stupid bat grabbed him once more.

“Come with me.”

Oh no.  He had to get away now .

“Like h***.  I put ‘em back now, leave me alone.”

It seemed he didn’t have a choice though as he was thrown into the Batmobile and the hatch closed when the Bat was in too which meant that he no longer had a way of escape.  The next thing he knew was the car was speeding off at nearly impossible speed and soon after he was in a dark cave.  The hatch opened, but Jason didn’t dare get out now.  He only dared to peek out slightly where he saw an old nicely dressed man standing and waiting there for them.  

“Oh goody, company.”

The old man said with a heavy British accent.  He stayed on guard, he doubted that any good could come from being taken by The Batman.

“Please do follow me.”

The man said again, as he turned to walk away.  Jason turned and saw Batman staring at him, he quickly followed the old guy not wanting to be near Batman in case he got any other ideas.  He followed him to some stairs and stayed a few feet behind him as he followed to make sure there weren’t any traps.  He was led to a hall that looked extremely fancy.  He felt out of place in his torn up hoodie and torn jeans.  He was led to a room where the man opened a large door and walked inside first, as if to demonstrate that there was not a trap there.

“Welcome to Wayne Manor young master.  My name is Alfred Pennyworth and I am at your service.  I will try to find some suitable clothes while you go wash.  I will also provide a warm meal, please ask if you need anything.”

After that he walked away.  Wait.  Did he say Wayne Manor?!  As in playboy Bruce Wayne’s manor?!  He hesitated before he cautiously went into the room as there was still a chance that there was some type trap set in place for when he entered.  The room was big, too big for comfort.  It was cold, then again he’s always been cold since he lost his Pixie Dust.  Some stupid Captain Hook took her from him.  He needed to save his Pixie back!  He looked around the room looking for any  recording devices.  When he found none, he went to the bathroom and did the same thing before he dared to even touch his hoodie.  When he was done looking and concluded that there was indeed nothing there, he stared at the large bathtub/shower.  It was big, fancy, and filled with bathing supplies.  Maybe a bath wouldn’t hurt, he honestly didn’t remember the last time he took one.  

He closed and locked the door, checking multiple times that it was really and truly locked, he stripped and stepped into the warm water of the shower.  He washed his hair multiple times until brown and gray stopped coming out from his hair.  It felt nice to be clean again, he would have stayed in the warm water for the rest of his life if he were able.  But the thought that somewhere out there, his sister could potentially be being beaten, dead, or worse…raped, filled his mind and all he wanted to do was get out and go back to searching for her.  He needed to get back to his safehouse where he kept all of his cash.  He just a little more then he could find her!  He could nick something from the manor here, he doubted the man would miss it, and that would be more than enough to pay for the investigator!  But, that’s not what ended up happening in the end.

________ He lived with Bruce for about a year and became his Robin a few months after he took him in that fateful night.  It was August when he felt small aches and pain in random places.  He was used to it as he sometimes felt them before he got adopted by Bruce, but they felt more frequent now.  He often felt uneasy, but it wasn’t the manor, it was something else.  He just didn’t know what yet.

________ He didn’t fully trust Bruce yet, even after a year of being with him.  He didn’t want to tell him about his sister, but he must have known about her by now.  He highly doubted they hadn’t checked his background, yet Bruce had never mentioned anything about her.  He did all his research for her at the library, he refused to risk it.  He didn’t want his sister roped into his new crazed life if he did find her.  He knew she’d try to get herself involved if she knew.  He was able to narrow down his search, but he still hadn’t found her!  He hired the investigator, a better one than the guy he was going to use from before, but he hadn’t been much help yet.

________ Gotham Academy was …interesting.  He hated the uniforms, but he was just happy that he was able to go back to school.  Unfortunately it was very uptight, and everyone there were snobs that looked on him even though he currently had the highest marks in almost all of his classes.  He knew he didn’t belong there, he knew he was just a street kid who got lucky, but dang it if he wasn’t going to take advantage of everything he could get before Bruce finally saw that and kicked him back out onto the streets.  He hoped beyond all belief that his sister was ok, that may be she too was at least receiving a good education wherever she was.  He hoped she got lucky and was able to escape if she was put into a horrible place like his thoughts often imagined.  She would probably fit in here.  She always had this magical way of attracting people to her.

________ Bruce just didn’t seem to understand.  These people were ruining Gotham!  It was best to take them out before they do any more harm to the city because he knew that they wouldn’t be prosecuted.  The system was too corrupt!  He’s not saying they need to kill them, just make sure that they can’t hurt anyone else by giving them a permanent injury or two.  Gotham will never get better if they keep breaking out of the revolving door that is Arkham and Blackgate just to continue to hurt more and more people.  As he was looking through some information on the Batcomputer he noticed a file off to the side.  It was information he had gathered from Jason’s search for his sister.  Bruce had been going through his information even when he wasn’t using any of his personal things to do his own search for her.  There was a message from the investigator he had hired that stated that it appeared that she had been taken to Ethiopia.  Why would Bruce hide this from him?  There were notes next to the message saying how it might not be true, but he didn’t want to risk it.  He didn’t have time to waste, he didn’t have time to ask Bruce to take him there, and didn't want to risk him saying “no” when she was so close!  So he left, he was going to bring her back to him even if it was the last thing he did.

________ It turns out what he did was a terrible decision.  He didn’t think that the man would trick him so that he would run right into the Joker of all people.  Now here he was beaten to a pulp by the Joker by a crow bar about to die in an empty warehouse with the only thought being that he needed to escape so that he could find his sister.  He didn’t want her to find out that he died if she ever returned.  He just wanted to see her smile one last time.  The bomb slowly ticked down as memory after memory played through his mind as he wiggled the locked handle that lead to the outside world.  Tears slipped down his cheek as he chanted over and over in his mind,

“Sorry Pix, I wasn’t able to find you, I’m so sorry.  Please be safe, please be alive, keep going for me.”

3…

2…

1….

Batman was moments too late.  The bomb exploded and with it Jason.  

________ Marinette was now 23-years-old and aching in the invisible grief that devoured her life.  She just wanted to go home.  There was nothing left for her anymore in Paris.  She had taken the black cat, butterfly, and peacock miraculi back and made sure that Gabriel and Natalie were placed behind bars for their crimes.  Now that she and her class were adults she no longer had anyone to protect.  So with the money she saved from commissions she bought a ticket and flew back to Gotham, back to her home.  She had to see if her brother, her Peter that made her want to fly away, was still there, still looking for her.  She was bouncing in anticipation, she couldn’t wait to see him after so many long and painful years.  She just knew she’d recognize him if they crossed paths, she just hoped he’d recognize her.

It was night, which was a terrible time to be out.  She didn’t mean to leave this late, but she was held back at the grocery store line.  As she walked back to her apartment, pepper spray clenched tightly in hand, she listened for even the smallest of sounds as she continued her walk past the alleys.  When she began to hear footsteps behind her she turned a corner and waited for the person foolish enough to think they could trick her.  Never again she told herself.  Never again would she fall victim to another person’s schemes to use her for their own personal gain.

The sound of footsteps stopped at the mouth of the alley and when she saw the figure turn she sprayed the pepper spray in the person’s eyes.  She heard the giant man scream in pain as she kicked him in the groin and kicked his temple successfully knocking him out.  She knew how to play dirty, she knew playing dirty was the only way to survive in this place.  She looked up and saw a figure on the roof above her.  She looked up the vigilantes here to see what she had missed, there had been three new Robins since she had been taken, and one of them went missing, many theorized he was killed.  The original moved on and became Nightwing.  But the one on the roof was definitely not the current Robin.  This one was big and had a hideous red helmet covering his head.

“Hey, are ya gonna come help?”

She called.  He had been watching her for a bit, and she didn’t know why.  When the figure landed beside her she studied him closely still on guard.  It seemed he was watching her just as intently.

“New here?”

He asked, the helmet distorting his voice to sound more cold and mechanical, yet he still sounded almost familiar.

“No, I lived here for the first eleven years of my life.  Was taken and shipped to Paris while on the streets.”

He also felt familiar.  Something in the back of her mind said that she could trust him, and she had learned early on in her time as Lady Beetle to never ignore her instincts.

He lifted his hands to touch his helmet in certain places at the back of his head as if to take it off.  She got ready in a battle stance and prepared herself.  But she wasn’t prepared.  No.  She wasn’t prepared at all.  There he stood.  She didn’t need to see his eyes to know who he was.  He had his face, there were even a few scars on his face where she had patched him up.  She knew this man in front of her, she had known her for all of her life before she had been stolen from him.

“Peter?”

“Pixie Dust?”

She broke.  She ran into his arms and sobbed.  He held her tightly to him as well, gently swaying them side to side for a bit before he leaned down and whispered,

“Can I take you back to my safe house?  We can talk there.”

All Marinette could do was nod against his chest.  Goodness he had gotten so tall!  With that confirmation he quickly lifted her in a backward piggyback hold and ran back to his safe house, to their safe house.  

“I d-didn’t mean t-to be taken.  I t-tried to fight.  I-I…”

“Shhhh…. It’s ok Pix.  It’s ok now.  I’ve got you.  I know for a fact it wasn’t your fault.”

Tears fell down both the siblings' cheeks as they were finally reunited.  

“I’m s-so glad I f-found you.”

“Me too Pix.  I never stopped lookin’.  I swear it.”

“I know.”

Now, Red Hood had plans that night.  He was going to stake out a warehouse near Crime Alley where people thought that they could bend his rules then plot a course of action to teach the morons a lesson on why you follow the Red Hood’s rules; but when he saw familiar dark hair, when he saw those blue eyes in the dark, when he saw her take down the man with moves that he had taught his sister, he just had to be 100% sure.  He needed to check to make sure it was really true.  So when he talked to her, listened to her voice, saw the freckles on her face, the familiar scars from when they were on the streets, he knew that whatever his plans for the night were, they were not important anymore, in fact he could always deal with the fools tomorrow.  He had his sister back and she had her brother back, and if Marinette had any say in what would happen next he knew that they would rule the Underground together.  She had been just as intricately involved as he had when they were on the streets.  She knew what the drug trade was like, what criminals were like when they thought they could do whatever they wanted with no consequence.  They both lived through the consequences of those exact actions. If the bags under her eyes and the aged look of a warrior returned from battle had anything to say, she’s seen more than they ever should have while she was away.  For now though, for now they could simply exist together.  Brother and sister reunited after so many years of loss.

Jason hummed a gentle song to his sister, as he continued to rock her as she cried deeply into his chest.  He ran his fingers through her hair, she used to love the feeling whenever he did it before, and placed gentle kisses on the crown of her head every so often.

“I missed you.”

She would whisper.

“Me too.  I’m so glad you’re back.”

He would whisper back.

“I love you Peter.”

“I love you to my Pixie Dust.”

And it would repeat until the early hours where they both fell asleep desperately clinging to the other as both prayed that this wasn’t a dream and that they were indeed reunited at last.

~End~

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[lazy-alex]

For Maribat March Day 2: Circus

"Inside the tent"

(Note: hinted sibling brucinette)

Quickly slipping on her heels and her coat, Marinette got off the car. Sending a kiss to the cheek to her pesudo father, she said a quick "Thank you alfie! " and ran off.

She cursed her heritage for making her wear heels, she lifted up her dress just below her knees to run faster.

"Shit! Im so late!"she whispered as she moves closer to the circus tent.

By the time she arrived at the entrance, she heard a sudden snap.

She let out a loud gasp as two of the trapeze performers came falling into the ground.

Oh no not again.

Screams erupted around the tent as the two performers hut the ground. There was no way that they would survive that.

Marinette couldn't just stand there and do nothing, so quickly scanned the area for her brother, who came earlier than her. Seeing no sign of him, Marinette assumed that he must've changed into his 'costume'.

While scanning the area, she almost missed the hint green, red, and yellow at one of the towers. Looking at the corpses again, she noticed that they were the Mary and John Grayson, the flying Graysons, they are famous for their quadrapole flip. They travel the world with the circus with their son-

Shit the son!

Marinette rushed into the ladder and started to climb to the top. She realized that her shoes were slowing her down so she disposed them immediately.

Thank god, those were a headache.

When she arrived at the top, She removed her coat and wrapped the traumatized boy as fast as she can. She can hear his quiet sobs as she carefully pulled him into a hug.

Marinette rocked herself back and forth to calm down the sobbing child, singing the lullabies she heard as a kid.

A few moments later, she looked at the chaos below them and she noticed that the bodies were moved somewhere else. Most of the people have left already. There were police sirens outside the tent. It is most likely that they forgot about the boy, since they haven't found them yet.

Remembering her own parents death, she couldn't help but feel sad for the child she's holding. So she held him closer, and continued to sing lullabies until he fell asleep.

.

@maribatserver

Not edited 💀 im in a rush