#maribat chloe bourgeois

[leadenn]

Hello welcome to my Chloé, Adrien, Jon, and Damian being childhood friends agenda. Chloé and Damian fucking hate each other until they're 13 and form an alliance against Gabriel bc they both hate him more than they hate each other.

Bruce knows Gabriel bc rich people stuff, so when he had another accidental child acquisition arc he figured Damian could use a friend or two his age (Jon, Chloé, and Adrien)

Damian dislikes this at first, but then he doesn't hate being around Jon and Adrien. Chloé is a different story. She's a spoiled brat, he hates her, and he doesn't understand why killing her would be a bad thing. The feeling is mutual.

Jon and Damian have comical little shenanigans hiding their hero identities from Chloé and Adrien, and they have to do the same shit except hide it from Jon and Damian once they get their miraculous.

I can imagine them all going on vacation together or something and going over the various ways to hide shit from each other

Damian: I open the doors so you can't rip them off the hinges by accident- Jon: I did that twice. Damian: Because Agreste said something you considered "cute" and you were flustered enough to behave like a barbarian. Do you have any other comments? Jon: You know you're only allowed to have two weapons on your person, right dude? Damian: Tt. Yes. Jon: Do I need to check your pockets? Damian: *pulls out an unrealistic number of knives from his pockets, and reaches into his socks to pull out more knives*

Meanwhile in paris Chloé: You don't need to lecture me about making sure Pollen behaves. She's never done anything wrong ever. Adrien: You and her came up with the idea to pretend Pollen is a wasp and have her try and sting Lila in front of everyone Chloé: Yes, and? It was funny and she totally had it coming. Adrien: ... Chloé: Don't fucking say it- Adrien: Beehave. Chloé: If Pollen and I can't do the wasp thing YOU CAN'T MAKE BAD PUNS-

[dessarious]

What Makes a Family? Pt27

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Marinette walked down the stairs to find Cass scowling at Bruce and signing rapidly. Selina was whispering with her Maman, who looked far too amused, so Cass had to be laying into him pretty hard. Damian was looking on in confusion, but the other boys were nodding along with whatever her twin was saying. She really needed to have Cass teach her to sign. Chloe appeared next to her.

"I'm actually learning new terms. You sister is extremely creative with swearing." Of course, that would be what impressed Chloe. Mari had to wonder how much of it was just not knowing common terms, so she made up her own.

"I don't want to mess up her relationship with him." Chloe scoffed.

"Given the way the others are reacting, this isn't the first, or worst, of his overstepping. I'm thinking this is a long overdue rant."

"You did what when I was with Babs?" Dick's indignant shout startled most of the room. "Yeah, I'm never bringing anyone home ever again. Not unless I've been married for two years." Mari sent Chloe a questioning glance.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Yeah, if Chloe was saying that... she really didn't want to know.

"You've never known when to butt out, old man. The difference this time is that you don't have any right to butt in in the first place." Jason's tone was downright hostile.

"She's my daughter."

"A biological connection doesn't mean you own me. I'll be eighteen in three months anyway and I'm completely financially independent, so if you want any type of relationship with me, it's going to be on my terms, Mr. Wayne. Those terms will include not interfering in my relationships with others, romantic or otherwise, and not telling me how I'm allowed to live my life." He looked like he was going to argue, but Cass signed at him before standing beside Mari. He looked at the boys for help, but the only one not glaring at him was Damian.

"Marinette, you're young. You have no idea the danger-"

"Do not pretend you know anything about me or my life, let alone what I do and do not know. I assure you, I know what I'm doing, and Luka and Kagami are not a threat or a problem. If you can't accept that, then you can leave." She hadn't wanted to get to this point so soon, especially since it put Cass's ability to stay in question. Unfortunately, she also wasn't willing to set a precedent with him by letting him think he could act this way with her. She'd been around enough powerful people to know that if she didn't set boundaries now, she'd never be able to enforce them. Jagged was proof of that.

"Perhaps we should discuss this privately." No way was that happening. She could almost see the hero lecture waiting to burst out of him.

"After what you just tried to pull, and your apparent history of browbeating your kids into things, we're not about to let that happen." Tom's voice was harder than she'd ever heard it. "If you won't respect my daughter's boundaries, you'll be asked to leave." The emphasis he put on 'my daughter' caused Bruce to flinch. She would feel worse about it if not for the fact that all her siblings, besides Damian, seemed to approve of it.

"I think we should separate for the time being, and try this again later. Tempers are high, so we all need space to calm down." Sabine sounded cheerful enough, but there was a hard edge to her words that everyone caught. As much as Mari thought it was a good idea, they were in a bit of a time crunch.

"Given that they're only going to be here for a week, it might be best to get things settled. But, if Bruce isn't willing to compromise, there's not much point in continuing this discussion." She could hear how tired she sounded and given the concerned looks at her and glares at Bruce, everyone else could, too.

"By compromise you mean letting you decide everything." The sulkiness in Bruce's voice made her roll her eyes. Yes, this had to suck for him, but he couldn't honestly expect her to let him just take over her life.

"No, but there are going to be things that aren't negotiable. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, and I'd appreciate the same courtesy. We know next to nothing about eachother, and until we do it's not really fair to have an opinion on each other's lives." He didn't seem to know what to do with that. She was sure that, for a man used to being in charge, it wasn't something he had experience with. "I want to get to know you, all of you, but I'm not going to change who I am or how I live my life to do it. If you can't accept that, you can leave."

Cass hugged her from behind, and Mari could feel her twin glaring at Bruce. As much as she had hoped it wouldn't be necessary, it was obvious who Cass would side with in this. Of the boys, Jason seemed firmly entrenched on her side, Dick and Tim were more of a neutral, and Damian just seemed confused, but he'd most likely side with Bruce for the time being. Hopefully, it wouldn't destroy her chance of getting to know him permanently. When it became obvious Bruce either couldn't or wouldn't back down, Selina went over to start whispering in his ear. Alfred had been scarily silent through everything, and Mari really wasn't certain what to make of it.

"You need my help." Selina rolled her eyes, and Alfred just shook his head. The man really needed to learn when to back down.

"I need Cass. That's it." He flinched, and even the boys were trading looks. Bruce was closing off. She could see it. "I need to show Cass her new school. Why don't you take the evening to think things over? We can try this again tomorrow when everyone is calmer." Bruce looked about ready to explode.

"That sounds like a good idea. Master Bruce, we should head back to the hotel." The glare Bruce sent Alfred didn't phase the man at all. The stern look he sent back had the boys looking like they were ready to wet themselves.

"Fine." Bruce signed something at Cass and she felt her twin stiffen up behind her. Chloe looked like she was about to start screaming at him, too.

"Miss Cassandra will be staying with Miss Marinette. Indefinately." Alfred's tone was frigid and just about everyone seemed to be cowering or eyeing the man like he was going to explode. Even Bruce hunched in on himself a tiny bit. "Now we really should be on our way."

Mari had a feeling Alfred was going to be having a long conversation with Bruce. She just hoped it had the desired outcome. The man obviously had control issues, and she couldn't afford to have him try to take over her life. She had a feeling she was already going to have a major issue with Batman trying to step on her toes once he actually went through an Akuma attack. She couldn't count on there not being one before he and the others went home. Not to mention, if she'd heard right, he could just use some tech the Justice League had to teleport back at any time. She'd have to ask Cass about that, too.

Selina practically pushed Bruce out the door, while the boys followed under Alfred's gaze. Before going joining the rest, Jason shoved a piece of paper in her hand with a wink. She had a feeling he was one brother she could count on not to run to Bruce with information.

Once they were all out of the door, Mari felt herself relax. She felt terrible that things had gone downhill so quickly, but there really wasn't another option at this point. She couldn't afford to show weakness. There was far too much at stake, both in her personal life and as a hero. Cass tightened her hold on Mari.

"He needs time. He'll calm down."

"Unfortunately, time isn't something we have right now. If this doesn't get better, I'm going to have to force him to leave Paris before Hawkmoth is back in fighting form." She didn't even want to think about how much that would piss him off. She had a feeling Batman's ego wouldn't take too well to being thrown out of a city by another hero. Alfred and Selina would take her side... at least she thought so.

"Alfred will make things right." She wasn't quite sure what Cass meant by that, but she hoped she was right. She opened the paper that Jason handed her and heard Cass giggle behind her.

If you need someone to help you hassle B, give me a shout. ~Jason

It had five phone numbers on it. If she didn't know his 'occupation', it would seem excessive. It did mean she had at least one of her brothers on her side when it came to Bruce though. Whether that was a good thing or not was yet to be determined.

"Why don't we head over to the school? There are a few clubs meeting, so I know the building is open. That way, you can get a feel for the layout before tomorrow." She knew it would stress Cass out if they didn't scope out the building. It was going to be bad enough being around so many new people.

"You don't want to eat first?" Given the looks her Maman was shooting at the door, she was more worried about them running into Bruce than the actual food, but it was a good idea anyway.

"Of course, Maman. We wouldn't want it to go to waste." Especially since she made enough to feed the whole city again. Maybe she should text Jason and see if he wanted to meet them at the school and they could bring him some. "Maybe we could take some to go as well. I wanted to show Cass the houseboat, and if it's late enough, we might stay there." It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth.

"Probably a good idea. It'll give your father and I time to talk to Bruce should he decide to come looking for you." She really hoped he didn't. Her Maman might actually kill him. She would text Selina or Alfred to make sure he didn't come over, but she had a feeling that would have the opposite effect she was looking for. After they ate and while her Maman was boxing up food, her Papa motioned her out into the hallway.

"What's wrong?" She heard the panic in her own voice and her Papa winced.

"Nothing's wrong. I didn't mean to worry you. I just wanted to make sure you were handling everything alright. I know things have been tense, and you tend to overthink everything without letting anyone know." She leaned forward slightly, and that's all it took for him to envelop her in a hug. Her Papa gave the best hugs.

"What if he makes her go back?" She knew it was an irrational thought, but it wouldn't go away. Her Papa hugged her tighter.

"That's not going to happen. We won't let it, and more importantly, Cass won't let it. I truly don't believe there's a force strong enough to separate the two of you. And if there is, Plagg will get rid of it." Marinette started giggling and couldn't stop. It was a little disturbing that she found the image of Plagg getting rid or Bruce amusing, but she was willing to chalk it up to stress.

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[goggles-mcgee]

A Little Birdy Told Me 20

AO3

Beginning Last Chapter

Summary: Damian continues to try and get more information about the akuma class and Marinette while Dick is having an off day and just wants it to get better.

Only one brother gets what they want.

CH 20:

Damian may have jumped the gun on that one. 

He admitted that, willingly, in the privacy of his own mind. 

“To Dupain-Cheng? I mean sure but why would you like to know.” Chloe asked with narrowed sharp eyes.

Bourgeois was sharp, as were all his acquaintances so there was no point in lying, though he was confident he could do so flawlessly, his acquaintances had proved to be somewhat trustful. They all kept secrets if asked unless it was something trivial which confused him to no end. Allegra could ask they don’t tell anyone what she shared with them when it came to her having trouble mentally or her parents fighting but the group would tell almost everyone in the group how Claude had a crush on so-and-so from class-whatever. Richard said that is just how teenagers and friends are but it didn’t make sense to Damian and he tried many times to make it make sense. The only thing that made him feel better is the fact his father also didn’t understand. When he was in med school he told him how his study group kept his fear of bats to themselves but when he admitted to not being a fan of some musician that that information was shared and laughed at, but he stated clearly that the laughing wasn’t at him, just at the information as a study group member had explained. Again. It was strange, but Damian felt like this wasn’t one of those moments that they would share his information with others. 

“It goes without saying that what I tell you does not leave this table,” he began, “I know I said that if I knew something I wouldn’t tell, but given Bourgeois’s forthcoming, I too can be a little forthcoming. Dupain-Cheng is now a ward of my Father for the rest of the exchange.”

Vogel nodded and glared at everyone at the table as if to ward them off even thinking of telling anyone what Damian was saying. It was…nice and appreciated. Vogul reminded him of Cassandra sometimes and it always left him feeling warm yet wrongfooted. The blonde wasn’t his sister but sometimes she felt like it and that also confused him. Nonetheless he gave Vogel a small nod of appreciation. “After the events at Wayne Tower and what followed, it was decided that my father take care of Dupain-Cheng for the remainder of the trip and actual chaperones are being flown in. The original plan of having the class merge with ours has been effectively thrown out the window and negotiations are being made where to place everyone as they will be separated. Dupain-Cheng and her friends will join our class but it hasn’t been decided where Rossi and her sycophants will go.” 

Allaway pursed his lips together and looked deep in thought, it was like he was trying to organize everything that was said and unsaid. He was someone who liked puzzles and mysteries. “You guys are building a case?” It was posed as a question but Damian knew the other boy better. It was a statement. Damian simply leaned back in his chair to give Allaway his attention, it took the boy some time to voice his thoughts so Damian waited before responding. “The question is, who is the case against?” 

“I would think that obvious by now Allaway.” Damian scoffed. 

Allaway stared at Damian intensely until he let out a deep sigh, “Yeah, I know, I was saying it to be dramatic.”

“You’re always dramatic.” Damian countered.

“No. That’s Claude.” Allaway shot right back.

“Guilty!” Hardy sing-songed. Damian conceded. Hardy was always dramatic. Every announcement he made to the group or even the school was so rich in dramatics that Damian wondered if the boy practiced what he said every day to make sure it was the perfect amount of dramatic or if it was something instinctual. Damian felt like it was the latter. Sometimes Hardy’s dramatics confused him but Vogel was good at explaining what the dramatic boy was saying, she was basically the Hardy Translator.

“We are getting off topic.” Bourgeois sighed. “You really want to know everything that witch did to Dupain-Cheng, Wayne? Then you better buckle in and take notes.

Damian nodded and pressed the hidden button on his watch that Lucius Fox and his son Lucas upgraded at Bruce’s request, that would record the rest of the conversation. Though he did take out a notebook and pen, he never wrote in pencil, writing in pencil showed you were not confident in your writing or knowledge. He was trying to break out of the habit though as it was one Ra’s made sure ‘stuck’ with his heir. His grandfather would never settle for anything less than perfect and the one time Damian took a test in front of his grandfather and used a pencil, he was punished. Damian hid a wince at the memories of that particular lesson and instead stared at his watch, it was a replica of his Grandfather's watch , the one he wore when he was murdered. It was a bit morbid but it was the thought behind it that made it one of Damian’s most prized possessions. 

It had been a little after he had been…introduced to his father and a little before his father’s seeming demise at Darkseid’s hand that Bruce had taken Damian aside into his study to talk to him. Damian thought it would be another reprimand of his methods but had been surprised when Bruce handed him a small box with a bow on it. He had been so hesitant, so wary, so suspicious that his father had gently taken the box from him and opened it to show a watch. A rather nice watch though Damian had noted its somewhat dated design. Like someone had purposefully made it look vintage.  “ It’s made to look like my father’s watch, your grandfather, though I have no doubt you were…informed of my parents before you came here -”

“ I know everything about you, Father, and my grandparents .” Damian had interrupted, eager to prove his knowledge, his worth. 

“ I don’t doubt that, Damian, but you were told about them by people who did not know them. That makes all the difference. There is time for stories so you get to know them like I knew them but this is the first one I will tell you. ” Bruce had looked sincere yet a bit uncomfortable, Damian had chalked it up to his father’s weakness of not getting over his parent’s death. Such a weakness was not allowed in the League, but Damian had said nothing of the fact even if he could. Richard had been teaching him just because you could doesn’t mean you should. It was confusing but his father seemed to agree with the sentiment so Damian was doing his best to learn it. 

His father continued. “ When my father was ten, his father bought him his first watch. I never met my grandfather, but when I was young, my father told me grandfather wanted to start a new Wayne tradition. When the heir of the family turned ten, they would be gifted a watch. I’m afraid that the reason is lost in time and forgotten memories but my father wanted to continue this tradition. I got my watch on my birthday and 9 days later my parents died. My father had been wearing his birthday watch that night .”

Damian hadn’t wanted to interrupt but he did want to touch the watch and his father seemed to understand that so he passed back the gift and watched as Damian had caressed the face of the watch with his thumb. 

“ I admit that I have bought your brother's watches as well but I know you are struggling to accept them. I won’t lie and say I understand but I want to feel connected to them, to me, to this family. I wasn’t able to give you a watch on your birthday but I am giving it to you now. I had this made for you in the image of your grandfather’s watch because I want to show you how important you are to this family and me. I could have easily given you a new watch as I had your brother’s but you deserve a connection to your roots. I hope you like it. ”

Damian had only nodded but the small smile his father gave in return had filled him with such warmth he hadn’t known what to do other than let his father put the watch on him. Later, Alfred would explain that Bruce had the watch built with many hidden features to keep Damian safe and to make sure his son wouldn’t be without a way out of a situation. The watch was made to resemble the Rolex Submariner that Damian had seen in a case along with a broken pearl necklace and some loose grimy pearls. He knows they were keepsakes of his grandparents that Bruce kept in a protected case in the Cave. He didn’t really believe it would make him feel any more connected to the Wayne name than him already being Bruce Wayne’s biological son but wearing the watch and seeing the original in its case when he was down in the Cave actually did make him feel connected in a way he couldn’t explain. Thus it became one of his most prized possessions much like his first straight double edged sword his mother gave him for the earliest birthdays he could remember. 

Damian inhaled slowly then exhaled to bring himself out of his memory before he looked up at Bourgeois and gave her a short nod. “Proceed.” 

___________________

Dick was doing all he could to relax and show Marinette the company’s botanical gardens as it was something she had wanted to do. It was good to see her smile and flit from plant to plant like a little honey bee or something, but Dick couldn’t get rid of his tension completely. He was always like that after dealing with Two-Face even if it wasn’t the usual confrontation between the two, i.e mask to two faces but it still left him feeling the same. Angry, restless and most annoyingly, scared. He wasn’t the same little scared Robin but dealing with Two-Face always made him feel like he was. He thought he worked past all that! But seeing Marinette in his arms with a gun pressed to her head brought uncomfortable flashbacks of a different tiny black-haired blue-eyed child. A child who got cocky in his skills as Robin and helper of Batman. He could still feel the long-since healed injuries throb in phantom pain. Dick couldn’t help the flash of another black-haired blue-eyed child, older than the first when he learned that being Robin wasn’t magical or whimsical. Thinking of that never did him any good, if anything it brought about an enormous amount of guilt and anger that Dick didn’t know what to do with. 

“Mari-gold?” A very familiar voice pulled Dick out of his thoughts and he cursed himself for being so distracted. 

“Ivy!” Marinette shouted out in glee as she ran to hug the woman she had seen fairly recently. It made Dick smile though, this kid loved with her whole heart and it was something he admired. 

“Now what are you doing here, Sapling?” 

“I came here with Mister Dick and Mister Tim. Though we lost Tim pretty early on.” Oh yeah, they did. Though Dick was willing to bet Tim just went to the coffee shop nearby, he seemed to have a built in radar for knowing where they were no matter what part of town they were in. It was kind of funny though since Tim wasn’t even a big fan of coffee, he more so just needed the caffeine. The guy preferred tea but he was really particular about which places made the best tea, specifically a good ol’ Dirty Chai. 

“And what brings you to the Gardens today, Ive?” Dick asked, deciding to partake in the conversation. 

“Oh just making sure they are doing okay and to give the workers a restock of my special fertilizer.” That made sense, Ivy was, on-the-down low helping the Wayne Botanical Studies team. While Harley helped them more with their night time business, Ivy was content to help in the more official business. With the occasional helping hand stopping a threat if they “got in over their heads.” Her words. 

“You make your own fertilizer?” Marinette asked. Look, Dick was also curious about that but after finding Ivy and Jason talking one night with these big-ass smiles on their faces, all teeth, he was like 80% sure that fertilizer was some of Jason’s…problems. But there was no way in hell that Dick was going to try and confirm that, and he sure as hell would not be telling Bruce that little theory. 

“Yes! It takes time but it-”

“My Passion Lily! I got your Matcha Lemonade and look! I found a wild Wayne.” They were interrupted by Harley, which was not a surprise, and she was dragging a resigned looking Tim with her. 

Ivy merely huffed out a laugh at her wife before taking the offered drink with a kiss to Harley’s cheek. “Thank you, Peanut, I also found a wild Wayne and a little Sapling.”

“Mari-Doll!” Harley squeaked out before almost knocking the poor girl off her feet in her hurry to smother the girl in a hug. Surprisingly they didn’t fall over. 

“Hi Harley!”

“You guys saw each other the other night?” Tim said, confused. 

“And?” Marinette and Harley asked in unison. It made Dick giggle and helped relieve him of more of his pent up tension. 

“Well since we're all here, why don’t we walk around together?” Dick offered. “Bruce wanted Tim to get some fresh air so try not to let him sneak off again.”

Tim gave an offended squawk which had Marinette laughing once more. “I’m fine!”

“Yeah, okay Timmy-Boy.” Harley said with a scoff as she laced her arms together with Ivy and Marinette. “And I’m the Queen of England.”

“You do need some time outside the Manor Tim. It’s not healthy to stay cooped up.” Ivy said as she happily walked with Harley and Marinette. Though she did grab Tim by the scruff of his shirt and manhandled him toward Dick. He looked very much like a cranky kitten. 

“What is this? Pick on Tim day?” 

“I believe Damian has that scheduled for next month.” Dick wished he was joking.

Marinette obviously noticed he wasn’t if her raised brow was anything to go off. “Oh?”

“He stepped on Titus’s tail three months ago, on accident.” Dick explained. “But Damian is very good at keeping grudges and he’s very good on cashing in on favors.” 

Tim merely whined in response and Dick couldn’t help but pity his brother for a second before he remembered how Tim used him as a human meat shield when Condiment King randomly joined in on a fight against some robbers. Apparently he was also planning on robbing the jewelry store after keeping a low profile from his then-recent prison break. Needless to say it took Dick forever trying to get the mustard smell out of his costume once again and had to beg Alfred for help once again. Even though Alfred refused to help with cleaning anything CK contaminated, it spiked his blood pressure or something like that. Dick thinks it’s because of all the first times he helped clean them up when the rogue had been new on the scene. That had been a long month and Dick had seen how Alfred got more and more annoyed each time they came home covered in mustard, ketchup, you name it. It was awful. Truly. So Dick didn’t feel all that bad. Stephanie was already coming up with a list of things to tease Tim about. She specifically waits for the days Damian declares will be Pick-On Drake Days so she has lists on lists compiled for that very reason. She hoards them and never shares until the scheduled day. Duke surprisingly joined in too and started making his own list. 

“He’s very dedicated.” Marinette giggled out.

“That’s one word for it.” Tim grumbled. 

From there they had a good time touring the different gardens with Ivy acting as a somewhat tour guide and Dick could see it was really helping Marinette unwind as well. The interview with Jim and Harvey had really gotten her tense which was totally understandable, it would be intimidating for anyone. Tim tried to escape a couple times but after Dick teasingly asked if he should get Tim a child-leash and Ivy offered to make one out of vines he stopped. He even seemed to be relaxing a small bit. It was nice, really and it seemed to be something that Dick needed too without realizing it. Eventually they went out for lunch and after they went their separate ways. The drive back to the Manor had been nice too, normal traffic and a nice playlist helped. Tim and Marinette had even made some good conversation, though Dick got worried at the mention of PowerPoints. He hoped it was nothing serious, but the fact that Tim found someone as obsessed with planning and making PowerPoints was a little frightening. Maybe more than a little, Dick could only take so many Tim PowerPoints. He loved his brother, dearly, with his whole heart, but his PowerPoints were long and…thorough. He even tested people on the more important ones with a freaking Kahoot match. Cass and surprisingly Damian always won those. 

As they made their way into the manor Dick was pretty much planning on taking a good, lengthy nap to catch up on the sleep he hadn't gotten last night. His brain felt fried and scrambled, like it couldn’t decide whether to sink into the depressing thoughts from before or just remember the good time at the gardens they all had, even Tim surprisingly had a good time. As he sunk into the couch in the family living room his mind seemed to settle on both. His eyes closed and he saw Marinette laughing and smiling at their afternoon activities, then it would flash to her being held against Two-Face. He could hear the rogue’s laugh deep in his bones, then it changed to the Joker’s unique cackle. Marinette changed from her to him to Jason at blinding speeds. He could hear Marinette’s voice firm and confident in contrast to the fear in her eyes when she told him there was no time and that she would lead Scarecrow away. He could hear her yelling and telling Alfred she and they weren’t safe. He heard his own cries and shouts mixed with Two-Face’s voice. He could hear what he imagined Jason sounded like when the Joker beat him to death. He could hear the accusations of others about his jealousy of Jason being adopted. 

That unfortunately brought up memories of the talk he had had with Bruce once upon a time about Jason and adoption. It felt like he had had to fight not only tabloids but even Bruce about nonexistent hatred. Dick never hated Jason, but he had been so caught up in his anger with Bruce that he let it affect his and Jason’s relationship. He had just been so angry and it wasn’t an excuse but sometimes it seemed like he was even trying to justify his actions to himself. Though there was some jealousy and hurt there that he didn’t know what to do with, okay he did know what to do but the fact it would have to involve talking to Bruce and Jason was not something that sounded fun nor easy. He liked a good challenge but that idea sounded impossible. Like yes, he was Bruce’s son now but for so long he was just a ward, like Marinette was now, he called Bruce dad, they lived together, they fought crime together, they took care of each other, and yet it took years for Bruce to adopt him. But Jason? Dick knew Jason was Bruce’s son, his first son, his favorite son. Jason got the Bruce Dick had always wanted and it had hurt. Jason’s death had impacted Bruce more than his parents. That was a fact. 

And…And Dick had no idea where this was all coming from. He knew he didn’t know Marinette well as her class’s tour guide but seeing her held against Two-Face, mere centimeters from danger had thrown him. She reminded him too much of himself and too much like Jason before his death. She wasn’t a Robin, she would never be a Robin, but she had been a hero like one. She saved her people as fiercely as a Robin protected Gotham and its people. She took the weight of her world on her shoulders, much like a Robin. She was a child turned soldier due to circumstance just like a Robin. Marinette was a Robin in soul with no Batman to guide her and maybe that was for the best but looking at how lost she looked when she spoke about the ‘akumatizations’ in Paris, Dick wished she had had her version of Batman. A mentor who could aid in the fight, who shared the knowledge and responsibility. Yes, there were other heroes, they were like her version of Teen Titans, but that’s just it she was just barely a teen, a child, when she took up the mantle of hero. And from the pictures Tim showed the family of the other heroes, it wasn’t hard to guess that the other ‘Holders’ were teens themselves. Seeing as Adrien was also a teen and a former hero. 

Dick, in a weird, roundabout way, felt responsible for Marinette. As soon as she looked at him with hope, determination and fear in her eyes he was hit by a wave of protectiveness for her. She looked at him like Damian did when he first complimented and criticized his work as Robin, he and Marinette had also pulled off a plan as smooth and seamless as Dick and Damian had been when they were the Dynamic Duo. Or as Dick liked to call them, The More Dynamic Duo. He knew his family was kind of freaked out by how well Marinette and Damian seemed to get along, but not him, sure he teased a bit but he just had a feeling they would be friends. Damian had been trying to get himself out there and make friends and he did have some! He just called them acquaintances right now but Dick knew it wouldn’t be long till they were bumped up to friend status. Though Jon would always be Damian’s best friend even if they weren’t in the same school anymore. They still video or phone called every day and they played games with each other online. Which games? Dick could never remember but the point was, Damian had grown and was very capable of making friends, it just took him some time. 

Speaking of time , Dick thought as his gaze lazily glanced at the clock on the wall. If he slept now, he knew he would not go to bed after patrol tonight. So with much reluctance he pushed himself up and off the couch. He figured he could see if Marinette wanted some company and maybe the two of them could get some tea and snacks from Alfred and tour more of the manor when they were done. It would help in the long term of Marinette’s stay so it was productive! When he got to her room he saw that the door was slightly open but it was still he knocked, if he could dodge a Pennyworth Lecture he would even knock his own bedroom door. As he did so though, the door opened more and with it came an overwhelming energy that left him feeling suppressed yet energized. He wasn’t around magic a lot anymore, but it always left him with the same feeling so he ditched being a gentleman and waiting for an answer and just barreled into the room to see what looked like a closing portal. 

“Shit!” That would be a dollar in the Swear Jar, but that wasn’t important. What was important however was the fact Marinette was missing, a portal had seemingly opened in her room and closed, and…and there was a note on the bed? 

‘Dear Any Wayne That Finds This,

Actually, are you all Waynes? I never asked, I should have asked. Anyways, please don’t freak out if you come to my room and I’m not here. Ladybug needed my help back in Paris and opened a portal to get me there. I shouldn’t be too long and hey! Maybe I’ll be back before anyone reads this but if I’m not then just don’t worry. Ladybug will return me once the akuma is dealt with.

 -Marinette who is very sorry if someone does end up reading this and is pleading they don’t worry or get angry.’  

“Double shit.” Dick said as he read over the letter. 

That was another dollar for the Swear Jar. 

_________________

Dick “Flying” Grayson @toflyistofall

Oops.

____

Bruce Wayne @therealbrucewayne

RE: Dick “Flying” Grayson @toflyistofall

       Oops.

Richard John Grayson-Wayne. What did you do?

_____

JBIrd @sidesteppeddeath

RE: Bruce Wayne @therealbrucewayne

       Richard John Grayson-Wayne. What did you do?

Ha! You got full government named Dickie! @toflyistofall

_____

Dick “Flying” Grayson @toflyistofall

RE: JBIrd @sidesteppeddeath

       Ha! You got full government named Dickie! @toflyistofall

Oh come on! I didn’t even add tags! How did he respond so fast?

#hahaimindanger

Next Chapter

[ectmills]

Desperate Measures

Look, Chloe was trying to be better, she really was. But she’s no good at being nice to people and she’d long since burned through whatever good will was left in her class, so what was left but to play to her strengths?

Time to use money and connections to get things DONE. Ladybug needed help and the Justice League has some nerve not to even notice what’s going on in Paris.

So she let herself be dragged to some event in Gotham, didn’t really pay attention to what it was. Her first plan was to get kidnapped herself, but apparently stomping around asking where she can find Two-Face doesn’t cut it. So onto plan B.

How was she supposed to know that asking someone to give Batman a message the next time he gets kidnapped was a faux pas in Gotham?

On a completely unrelated note, Tim is having a terrible night and would very much like it if his siblings would stop laughing.

[batfam-maribat]

Chloe: Are you sure you aren't dating Jon?

Adrien: If I am I certainly wasn't informed.

Marinette: To be fair, if any of us were dating anyone without realizing, it would be you.

[sugarfluff59]

Guys I have an idea for a new daminette fic.

Ok, so what if Marinette decides to go to Gotham University rather than ESMOD or any university in Paris after defeating hawkmoth, because she needs some time away from the toxic environment. And you know the usual her losing all her friends due to Lila except for Adrien (he finally realised his mistake and came around), Chloe, Luka and Kagami.

They will all be about 18-19 years old, and all are very successful already. Marinette will be a singer, designer, model in secret so nobody really recognizes her or knows that she is filthy rich.

She is very pretty and smart, and when she starts studying at Gotham University many boys (good and bad) are in love with her and try to win her heart and make her theirs.

Damian in this fic is only sweet and caring toward her and cold towards everyone else as he fell in love with her on first sight, and thus also tries to make her his girl, and is kinda obsessed with her.

This fic, will not really involve much about the bats and miraculous as Marinette renounced her guardianship and gave the miracle box back to the Order which she had restored. So basically, she does not remember being ladybug in this fic and her memory is altered by other memories which never really happened because of the miraculous magic to cover up the gaps.

She will be a very girly girl in this fic who kinda needs to be protected and Damian was assigned as her protector by Bruce secretly as she is staying with the Waynes, because she was adopted by Jagged Stone and Penny Rolling (who asked Bruce to be her host during her stay in Gotham), after her parents fell for Lila's lies.

Anyways that's all, and since I don't possess a single writing bone in my body, I hope someone likes my idea (which is honestly inspired by multiple different fics) and decides to write it.

[e-does-stuff]

Wip of character sheets for my fic, Someone Get This Kid a Support System. Not a redesign, just different outfits and stuff! SGTKSS is a maribat crossover, so keep that in mind if you check it out lol.

Hopefully the quality is better if you click 😭

Also I haven't drawn Damian before please go easy on me y'all

Part 2 can be found right here if you're interested!

[noisydreamlandkoala]

The Queens Court

CHAPTER SIX: EXPLANATIONS

YOUROFFICIALREPIRTER@BLONDIE

Our residence bonde does not seem that exited for the choice in court members.

#youllbesurprised

After hackling  Chloe into an agreeing on having Juleka as a probationary member of the group they sat in a circle, some on the floor, chaise, bad and any chair available awaiting for Marinette's explanation. Marinette sat between Felix and Luka fidgeting nervously.

Both boys saw this and grabbed a hand next to them gently squeezing it in comfort, whilst glaring at one another. Chloe of course still found her friends predicament amusing and couldn't help but throw a smirk at their direction. She enjoyed chaos and this right here was filled with it.

"Can yall stop trying to figure out who's dick is bigger than who's for five minutes," Chloe huffed with a smirk and mischievous look in her eyes. Marinette narrowed her eyes at the sight.

"What do you say Marinette," Luka whispered into one ear.

"Wanna check so we can end this fued once and for all," Felix whispered into the other causing Marinette to squeak as she turned bright red while Chloe cackled. No nope, this was not happening, they were now working together?

"No nope no," Tim said shaking his head. "As tge second most chilled brother *Duke clears his throat*, third most chilled brother I would like to say that I will burry you alive watch it"

Marinette took a deep breath attempting to chase away the redness on her cheeks.

"So some of you need to be briefed on my past, others need an explanation of why I broke the group up or why I cut half of yall off for three years-"

"Cause your original reason is unbelievable," Chloe added causing a few of the group members to sneaker.

"Then they are those who want to know about the Lila situation," Marinette continued ignoring her best friend. "So all in all I need to start at the very beginning of my life."

"Let me assist you," Jason says clearly in a rush. "Bruce was irresponsible, she was the consequences of that mistake now let's get to this Lila chick."

"Baby bat you need to calm down and let her do this in her own pace," Dick says causing the dark haired boy to huff.

"So as Jason so helpfully put in," Marinette said causing Chloe to snort. "I'm Bruce Wayne's child, my father and mother were in a brief relationship that resulted in my birth. Sadly she lost her life when she gave birth to me. She left me to my father at the time, but he still had a few things going on in his life so my aunt took me in with promises of letting me visit during summer and winter break, you know for the holidays,"

"So you grew up in Paris?," Aurora asks eyes shinning.

"No I grew up in China," Marinette answers with a small laugh. "That's how I met Marc, he's part of the rich dangerous family community."

"Oh," the blonde simply says allowing the girl to continue her story.

"So Sabine Cheng raised me, allowing me to do a bit of back and forward between China and Gotham," she continued. "Galas were a big part of the agreement I had galas both in China-"

"Which is where we met," Chloe added before muttering. "I brat"

"And Gotham-" She continued without missing a beat.

"White is where I fell for her," Felix says throwing a smirk at Luka.

"I actually remember a lot of fighting during that day," Dick says causing a few giggles to erupt from the room and an annoyed look to cross upon Felix's features.

"Yes it was hate at first sight," Chloe cackled.

"Though it kind of ended when he saw her punch a grown man in the balls," Babs adds.

"My all time favorite Gala moment," Jason says dabbing fake tears with a fake hankerchief.

"I was never officially introduced to society as either a Wayne or a Cheng for the first couple of years because both parties wanted me in the spotlight thinking I was still too young," Marinette continued.

"Especially since mother was heiress of their entire family fortune," Chloe adds.

"And her Father was one of the richest man in the world and she was at the time his only know heir," Felix continues.

"It's a good thing you weren't there when Damian arrived actually," Tim quips in.

"Otherwise he would have killed you," Stephanie says side eying tge boy.

"Another thing that helped was that I was 2 years older than you," Damian mutters.

"I thought you were going to bring up gender," Jeleka mutters somewhat drawing attention to her once more. The girls ability to dissappear and be forgotten was honestly scary.

"My mother raised, I learnt quite awhile ago you do not underestimate the opposite gender," The boy said with a winch.

"What happened with his mother?" Aurora asked.

"We don't talk about that," multiple voices echoed.

"Alright," Aurora says putting her hands up in surrender, being a reporter didn't mean she was stupid. Something told her if she continued to dig she wouldn't leave to tell the story.

"So when Damian was forced to go to School, he dragged me along stating her wasn't going to suffer it on his own," Marinette says. "So I relocated to Gotham."

"And we followed," Chloe and Felix say at the same time.

"Felix followed Marie around like  a puppy dog at the time and took her relocation as an excuse to finally be close to her," Chloe continues with a smirk.

"And Chloe was obsessed with the bluenette and wanted everything Marinette," Felix laughed as the blonde girl blushed.

"You had a crush on her?" Kagami asks causing the blondes blush to intensify.

"Yes but I got over it when we were 12, I kind of knew I stood no chance," she admitted glancing at the blonde boy sitting next to the bluenette before her eyes trailed towards Luka. "Though maybe I should've tried harder."

It was obvious she was trying to shift the attention from her anger to the possibility of the blonde boys anger. But Felix did not take the bait, he smirked at her clearly counting this encounter as his victory.

"Don't worry I felt something for Marinette as well it's nothing to be embarrassed about," Kagami says offering the blonde an awkward nudge, she was clearly not used to social interactions. Chloe stared at the girl who was already staring at her, the two kept eye contact for longer than was considered friendly.

"Wait you two are gay," Aurora shouted shattering their moment causing Felix to chuckle.

"Yes/I'm bi," Chloe and Kagami answered causing the blonde to squeal.

"Ok so I had been dragged to school against my will," Marinette said continuing with the story. "Which was annoying because I had spent my whole life being homeschooled,"

"More like being groomed to one day take over the world," Chloe mutters.

"You'd think being raised by mafia leaders is bad," Marc shivered. "The mafia is scared of the Chengs"

"Well so we sort of took over the school, we were groomed to be leaders and became just that as soon as we entered the social environment we did just that," Marinette continued on ignoring the interjections.

"Plus Marie wanted to rid the world of all evil," Felix says with a smile. "And I'd follow my queen to the ends of the earth."

"But it soon became too much for me, somehow information about me was leaked, paparazzi was everywhere all the time and the kidnapping attempts," Marie says.

"On the plus side you got Harley and Ivy to completely adore you," Dick interjected earning a small smile from the girl.

"Yeah but I was young and at the time I wanted at least a shred of normalcy," Marinette says. "So for my 11th birthday I asked for them to make it all go away."

"And they delivered," Jason says with a bitter smile knowing very well he was one of the reasons she wanted to escape Gotham, well at least his death was.

"So they moved me to Paris where my Aunt had gone after falling in love with uncle Tom," she continued. "We gained different allies to help me blend in,"

"And where she went we followed," Chloe says pointing to Felix, Marc and herself.

"We once again took over our new school," Felix continues.

"Riding the school of all that is bad," Marc continued on.

"Picking up strays along the way," Chloe says eyeing Nathaniel before tearing her gaze away from him and muttering. "Though some of them did not deserve it."

"The world soon forgot of Marie Wayne, for I had disappeared just as soon as I had appeared," Marinette continues. "Life was okay for about three years before I had someone say something that haunted my everyday living."

"'don't you regret it' those four simple words got me thinking about everything, what if I was doing the world more bad then I was good," she said voice cracking as a single tear slipped down her cheek." I was destroying lives, people were afraid of me, I felt like an oppressor, a villain. And I felt as though no one truly knew me, they just knew the ruthless queen."

"So you asked the gang to split apart," Chloe says with a tinge of guilt finally realizing her friends inner temoil.

"Yeah not my finest moments, I'm sure if I had talked to yall-"

"We would have told you how wrong you were," Jason finished off for her.

"And how much good you'd actually done for us," Aurora says clearly heartbroken at her queens mental state.

"We bow down to you Marinette because of your kindness," Juleka surprisingly says followed with a bow.

"Because of your heart," Felix says following the Goths example.

"Your melody," Luka says with his bow.

"Your bravery," Kagami says.

"Your loyalty," Chloe says with a smile as the rest of the group added their own compliment followed with a bow.

"I'm very grateful for this show of affection," Marinette laughs feeling a bit lighter then she had in years. "But I'd really like to continue this story."

"Yes we're getting to the Lila girl," Jason says firmly followed by a few growls from different members of the group.

"Yes well a few months after the group split, I was honestly ready to come to yall and burden you with my feelings, then a certain incident happened and it completely broke me," Marinette says causing Felix to look away in guilt. "It wasn't even the person's fault it was all a misunderstanding that communication could have solved"

"Communication is a new court rule," Chloe declared.

"So I spent the next couple of years as a shadow of who I used to be, I ignored all that was wrong and made friends who did nothing but walk all over me," Marinette says tears flowing once more. "I did everything for those people, I even went as far as losing myself and the threw ne aside over the words of some liar who can't even style her hair!"

"I'll brief everyone on the rest, you don't need to continue Marie," Chloe says earning a greatful smile from the crying bluenette who was now squeezed in between her suitors.

"Thanks Chlo," she says causing the blonde to beam at the nickname.

"Yeah, yeah you softly," The blonde said feigning dismissal. "Let's plan our revenge."

YOUROFFICIALREPIRTER@BLONDIE

The court is out for blood.

#lrwerecomingforyou

***

[disorganizedkitten]

It started with Chloe. It spiraled from there. Afterwards, Paris is still it's own bubble. With akuma, most dangerous people are barred from the city. But the big thing is, they're not alone anymore.

[bat-in-the-machine]

In the new chapter of Miraculous World Tour: Gotham, Wayne Enterprises opens its new fashion division, headed by MDC, and a columnist for Style Queen magazine manages to catch Marinette on her first day on the job! Interview below the cut!

[snip]

STYLE QUEEN BEE Living the Dream: MDC Unmasked

Chloe Bourgeois

Word travels fast in fashion, technology, and big business, so when your Queen Bee got word of Wayne Enterprises' new fashion division, to be headed by none other than elusive fashion newcomer MDC, well, loyal subjects will know I had to get to Gotham as soon as I got the word. One might say I made a beeline, if one were Parisian Hero Chat Noir (or Bludhaven vigilante Nightwing). Once I arrived, all I had to do was check in with the front desk clerk at Wayne Enterprises, a charming young woman who absolutely rocks the executive look and deserves a better position than front desk clerk, and she put me in touch with the up-and-coming fashion mogul almost immediately.

MDC has led something of a charmed life, subjects, as your Queen Bee can attest. I've told you about all the brushes with fame and glory I've had throughout my childhood, but none of those compare to the absolutely meteoric rise of fellow Parisienne Marinette Dupain-Cheng, otherwise known as MDC and, if rumor is to be believed, the newest Wayne. If you've been reading Style Queen Bee since my debut, you'll remember that I haven't always been the shining paragon of magnanimity that I am today, and I am ashamed to say that my relationship with MDC was antagonistic, and that it was entirely due to my own ego that it was. As soon as I walked into her massive office in the executive suites of Wayne Enterprises, to be greeted not only by the elusive fashionista but also the head of Wayne Enterprises' security division as well as two members of his elite team, acting as personal bodyguards, I knew that the chickens had come home to roost.

To her enormous credit, when MDC recognized me, she actually smiled, and your Queen Bee knew she had an interview.

Miss Dupain-Cheng, thank you very much for seeing me on such short notice. On your first day in the office, if I hear correctly.

Not at all, Chloe. I see life in America has been treating you well. And yes, this is my first day in the office. I confess to a bit of confusion as to how you knew I was here.

Well, any Parisian, fashionista, or Jagged Stone fan knew that MDC was in Gotham and was caught up in that nastiness during Jagged's concert. Can you tell us about that?

(awkward chuckle) Kwami, that was a nightmare. Literally. Everything was going brilliantly, and then suddenly it wasn't. I was back in Paris and surrounded by akuma, fighting them off - I sincerely hope I didn't severely hurt any of the rockers who rushed the stage under the influence of the Fear Toxin.

I suppose that your brief stint as the Parisian heroine Multimouse influenced your hallucination, then?

Oui, it did.

Queen Bee's Proclamation: Marinette Dupain-Cheng, much like yours truly, was a temporary wielder of a Miraculous, who was unfortunately unmasked due to my own indiscretions that caused me to have my Miraculous revoked.

I apologize if I'm bringing up painful memories. If it makes you feel any better, I do regret getting you pulled from the team over what I did.

Not at all. Ladybug made it clear that my time as a heroine was to be temporary, and I was very grateful for that - between MDC, normal schoolwork, assisting at the Boulangerie, my duties as Mme. Bustier's class representative... Let's just say that even with the powers of the Mouse Miraculous, there was only so much of me to go around.

Let's talk about MDC. Anyone who knew you in collége (middle school for you Americans) knew you had design talent. How did you get your professional start?

Oh, you were there for that, actually. If you'll recall, there was a class project day where we were assigned to work at Le Grand Paris and your father assigned me a position as Uncle J's gopher?

You're kidding. Did he know you were related at the time?

Oh, Uncle J isn't my biological uncle. At the time he was M. Stone. In any case, he assigned me to find him a pair of Dame de Fer sunglasses, and-

Oh, Jagged's signature French Flag Eiffel Tower sunglasses!

Yes! He wasn't at all happy with the original, understated glasses I found for him, so I set out to make some sunglasses for him. I made the tower design much larger, patterned it after the French flag, and he fell in love.

I seem to recall that at his next show, he performed a song dedicated to Ladybug herself. I don't suppose Lady Luck ever told you what that was about?

In fact, I was there for part of that whole thing. Uncle J had a stalker at the hotel, a self-styled superfan who was akumatized after Jagged declined to pose with him. Uncle J is usually so accommodating, but I suppose the young man simply got in the way at the worst time. In any case, he was akumatized and became the villain Pixelator, and Ladybug and Chat Noir saved Jagged from him.

How does it feel to have your first professional design associated with Ladybug?

Miraculous! (laughter) Honestly, it's an honor to be associated with the heroine of Paris, and as much as she loves the City of Light, having her song associated with the Eiffel Tower and the French flag like that? I like to think she's proud of that, as well.

After the sunglasses, Jagged next turned to you for the album art for his Rock Giant album. Was it a very drastic change for you to switch media from accessories to painting?

Not as much as you'd think. While at heart, I am a designer, sometimes I feel compelled to do design outside of fashion. I have designed furniture, clothing, accessories, two-dimensional art, three-dimensional art... When a creative impulse takes me, I find I can do almost anything to make that vision a reality.

From there, you went on to design tour outfits for Jagged, and later for Clara Nightingale. Did "Uncle Jagged" put you in touch with her?

No, actually, Clara and I met when she came to Paris to film the video for her song "Miraculous."

Oh no. Dupain-Cheng, I am begging you not to tell the rest of this story.

(laughter) Okay, fine, if you don't want me to talk about it, I won't.

Unfortunately, my editor will never forgive me if I let it go at that. So please, do go on and don't spare us the details.

Clara had the brilliant idea that instead of casting based on appearance or skill, she would cast the role of Ladybug based on a test of character.

Ah, so that's how you got the part! Adrien (ed. note: Agreste, former child fashion model) always called you our "Everyday Ladybug."

Indeed he did. He still does, in fact. But yes, Clara "accidentally tripped" when walking past the candidates, and because I rushed out of line to stop her from falling, she chose me to play the part of Ladybug in her video, alongside Adrien as Chat Noir. Anyway, the shoot almost got cancelled and Clara was akumatized because of it, but in the end, we did finish the shoot and I had my brief stint in the limelight.

I should mention that "the shoot almost got canceled" should be rephrased as "Chloe Bourgeois went whining to daddy to get the shoot canceled" because I was a terrible child.

Don't beat yourself up for what you did as a child, Chloe. I'm not sure that "humble" suits you, regardless. Humble Chloe? Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!

You shall be hearing from my lawyers regarding the unauthorized use of my trademarked catchphrase.

(laughter)

It was about then that MDC started wearing the mask, right?

Indeed it was. I started doing more and more work that put me adjacent to the public eye, and I was really uncomfortable with that. Not to mention, I was still underage at the time, and it seemed like a good way to protect my identity.

How did your parents take your secret meteoric rise?

Maman et Papa have been nothing but supportive, even when my design work took me away from the Boulangerie. They always said they were so proud of me no matter what I did, and the fact I was chasing my dreams made them even prouder.

And now we get to the juicy bit. Family relations.

Oh, the juicy bit! (laughter) Please, do go on, I'm curious what the rumors have been.

There are a number of rumors surrounding yourself and billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne: That you're a secret love child, another adoptee, a legitimate heir raised in secret away from the Wayne family name... In addition to those rumors, there are the rumors that followed your childhood, that Bruce Wayne was a regular visitor to your parents' home every summer.

Up until Papillon started his attacks, yes. He and my parents were old friends, so I would see Uncle Bruce once or twice a year. Apparently, when they met, he was backpacking across Europe anonymously, not touching his bank accounts or anything, and they were just opening up the Boulangerie, so they let him stay with them while he was in France. There was nothing untoward about the relationship they had, and I genuinely hope to quash any rumors to the contrary.

So the rumors that Wayne had a paternity test performed in secret...?

Actually true, and the results were extremely weird, because Uncle Bruce's insistence on not touching any Wayne money during his travels actually led to a positive test result. He had taken to donating sperm to finance one leg of his trip, and my parents had ended up using donor sperm when they were having problems conceiving.

You're kidding.

What are the odds, n'est pas?

Only you, Dupain-Cheng.

What is that supposed to mean?

You dated Adrien Agreste. You dated Luka Couffaine. You traipsed your way by pure accident into being celebrity adjacent every day of your life since you turned thirteen, and now you've stumbled into being the next Wayne. Is that how you ended up becoming head of Wayne Enterprises' newly christened fashion division?

Yes and no. I'm not going to lie and say that Uncle Bruce doesn't occasionally stack the deck in favor of his children - whether or not they're legally his. Everyone in Gotham knows he does. However, the relationship between WE and MDC was actually initiated by Lucius Fox at the behest of Timothy Drake-Wayne, prior to anyone learning about my relationship with Uncle Bruce. Originally, there wasn't going to be a fashion division, but MDC was going to be acknowledged as an affiliate of Wayne Enterprises roughly equivalent to a division of the company, but more autonomous - Uncle Bruce is big on autonomy. Once he learned of the genetic relationship, Uncle Bruce decided that wasn't sufficient and that instead of being his honorary niece, I was going to be his daughter by hook or by crook.

If Wayne wasn't going to have a Fashion Division prior to your joining the family, what was the nature of your relationship with the company as MDC?

Tim (Drake-Wayne, co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises) was a fan, first of all. Secondly, I had been looking at WE for a while and had contacted M. (Lucius) Fox (head of R&D) about MDC providing custom designs to demonstrate the practicality of some of the company's experimental fabrics as a sort of covert body armor for celebrities and bodyguards. The material was incredible. Lightweight, adaptable. I was fascinated with the possibilities, and M. Fox and I came to an agreement that I would provide some demonstration pieces. I'm afraid that I can't get into any greater detail about the nature of the project or the materials used without violating some rather airtight NDAs, however, so you'll have to wait for the press release from WE.

Are you suggesting that Wayne Enterprises would sue the newest Wayne for violating an NDA?

On the plus side, I suspect that if they did, the Wayne Enterprises legal department would argue both sides of the case, just for fun. This company is a delight to work for but it is also a logistical nightmare.

Apart from the (apparently classified) project, what's next for MDC?

Honestly, I'm hoping to get some one-on-one time with Gotham's vigilantes, see if we can't bring their aesthetic into the twenty-first century before it ends.

Oh? Are we about to hear a classic Dupain-Cheng takedown of the vigilantes' costumes?

Not a piece-by-piece breakdown. This is an interview, not a Twitter thread. However...

Please go on. Do you have a favorite and a least favorite design?

Ironically, both are Nightwing. His latest costume is a delight. Streamlined design, incorporating his logo into the design so seamlessly it almost doesn't appear to be a logo. Black and cobalt blue go well together, and no Parisian can fault a domino mask without incurring the wrath of the entire city. His first costume, on the other hand, was an affront on the senses. I have heard it referred to as the "Discowing" suit and I can see why - it looks like someone decided to combine a leisure suit with a gymnastics unitard, with a plunging neckline so drastic I wonder that he didn't accidentally flash half of Gotham.

What do you think of the newest?

Signal? His suit looks like it was designed by Palmer Technologies and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Has anyone seen him and the Atom in the same room before?

What about Gotham's Rogues? Better or worse design than Papillon's Akumas?

That's a loaded question. Since Papillon designed all of the Akumas prior to his defeat, one has to take them all as a single fashion line, whereas the Rogues don't all go to the same designer. They don't, right? There isn't some Gotham Rogue fashionista making all of these garish outfits for them, right? I swear if there is, then I would beg the Bat Clan to focus their efforts on that individual first and foremost, and spare the citizens of Gotham from a psychological assault the likes of which have never been seen outside of Paris.

Any favorite Rogues?

I'm not sure they count, but the Sirens have impeccable fashion sense. Doctor Isley's living dresses are absolutely to die for even when they're not made of lethally poisonous plants, and Doctor Quinzel has the punk aesthetic down to an art form - which, done properly, it is. Catwoman's catsuits are a classic, and the woman knows how to accessorize.

Miss Dupain-Cheng, it has been fantastic speaking to you, and I cannot express how grateful I am that you've taken time out of your undoubtedly busy workday to speak with me.

It is no bother at all, Chloe. It's been wonderful to see you again.

And with that, your Queen Bee took her leave of the up-and-coming fashion superstar, grateful and humble as always for the opportunity to interview the Queen of Second Chances. MDC has been a rising star, and while there are those who would claim that she is doing so riding the coattails of her famous biological father, it could just as easily be said that Wayne Enterprises has hitched their wagon to the star that is MDC to give their nascent fashion line a much-needed boost. Either way, look forward to great things from MDC and Wayne in the future. Any thought that they won't be on the cutting edge of both fashion and technology moving forward is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

[trying414]

MARIBAT PROMPT

Okay so I am super far behind on Batman WFA, and I decided to catch up.

I just read (S2) Ep. 81 - Holding Hope (Part 2)

And the little girl's name was Chloe

The little blonde girl

With the ponytail

WHAT IF THAT WAS CHLOE BOURGEOIS?!

Either pre-adoption by Bourgeois or post-losing Bourgeois???

That was all. Someone else can take it and run with it.

[lunarianillusion]

Nothings better on a cold december night then to watch some movies with your loved ones.

This is part of my selfmade challenge weekly fancember. This week is maribat.

So i’ve been gone for a while because of live, school and writers/art block but will be trying to get back into the swing. I’ll also be posting more none maribat related art so hope you enjoy that to😊

[dessarious]

What Makes a Family? Pt28

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"Well, this is it." Marinette didn't know why she was so nervous about this. It was just a school. A school with great access points and camera blind spots. So, wonderful for hero work, but pretty terrible for student safety. Bruce wouldn't try to pull her out because it was less secure than the fortress Cass said her brothers went to, would he? Worse, he could insist on installing updated security and make her life a lot harder. Note to self; do not let Bruce know anything about her school life.

"You need to unclench Dupain-Cheng. You're making me nervous and that doesn't happen." Chloe's dry comment at least let her breathe again. "And I thought I hated this place." The way she muttered it, Marinette was fairly certain Chloe didn't mean to be heard.

"It's not that. I just occurred to me that Mr. Wayne might check security measures if Cass is going here and that could be... inconvenient."

"Yeah, Damocles doesn't say no to powerful people, especially if they're willing to foot the bill. You're going to want to get ahead of that." Great, if Chloe was onboard with her paranoia, she needed to start planning. Wonderful.

"If he does, I'll have Alfred make sure there are holes. The roof for sure." Cass was studying the building with a trained eye.

"You're sure that will work?" Bruce didn't seem the type to allow holes, especially if he wasn't the one using them.

"I'm sure." Cass gave her hand a squeeze and Marinette relaxed slightly. Given Hawkmoth's tendency to attack during school hours, they needed safe ways to leave the building.

"Alright, let's get you familiar with the layout. While I have no intention of being separated while we're here, I'd rather you be comfortable navigating the building on your own." Cass gave her hand another squeeze in response. Marinette wasn't certain why she was so reluctant to have Cass here, but she knew it would only get worse when it was full of people.

Marinette felt even more on edge as they entered the courtyard. The only thing that kept her from noping straight out of there was knowing that Luka, Kagami, and Chloe were watching their backs. The five of them should be able to handle any threat. It didn't stop her from jumping when a voice sounded from above them.

"I can't believe you asked me to meet you in a school." Jason sounded disgusted, and when she looked up, she was met with another surprise. Damian was next to him, scowling down at her. Well, there went her hopes that Bruce wouldn't get involved. As they walked down to meet them, Marinette tried to come up with a Plan B.

"I also asked you to meet me in an hour, so we would be on our way out." She did not want the boys to come along on the tour, given she'd planned on giving Cass a rundown on the best places to disappear and show her the massive gaps in the limited security. "Why don't you two stay here and eat with Luka, Kagami, and Chloe? I'll give Cass a quick tour and we'll be back in fifteen minutes."

"Why did you invite us here if you didn't want to spend time with us?" She wasn't certain what to do with Damian's tone, but his tense stance screamed hurt. She really didn't know what to do with that.

"I do want to spend time with you, which is why I told Jason to be here later so I wouldn't have other things to do."

"And yet you only invited him." There it was. She debated how much she should say.

"I did. He's the only one who seems completely supportive of my boundaries with Mr. Wayne, and he's also the only one who's given me their phone number. I was hoping to get advice from him and Cass about how to approach everyone. I have a feeling that I'm going to have a tense relationship with Mr. Wayne for the foreseeable future, but I would still like to have a chance to get to know the rest of you."

Damian was scowling, but he seemed to be looking through her. Marinette glanced at Cass and her twin offered a comforting smile. Jason, however, seemed to be holding his breath. Eventually, Damian pulled out his phone and handed it to her with a new contact open. She put in her number but left the name blank so he could put in what he wanted. That got a raised eyebrow.

"I do not understand why you're so insistent on shutting Father out. He has a lot of experience that could be valuable to you. You should listen to him." Well, she didn't think they'd get here this quickly.

"Two reasons. First, he's not offering advice. He's trying to control how I live because he thinks he knows better than me. Second, have you ever heard the phrase, take advice from someone who has the life you want?" Damian shook his head. "Well, I don't want M. Wayne's life. Given his romantic history, he's the last person I would want advice from. Yes, he seems to have settled at the moment, but his current relationship with Selina in newer than mine with Luka and Kagami. Given what happened at my parents' house this morning, I certainly don't want his advice on how to have a relationship with the rest of you. My business is exactly where I want it to be, and I can scale it up whenever I'm ready, so I don't need his input on that either. While I wouldn't mind talking to him about it, he seems the type to simply try and take over."

Jason was nodding along to everything she said, but Damian was still scowling at the floor. Cass started signing at him, and his expression turned more neutral.

"Why are you so certain he's wrong?" He at least sounded interested in her answer.

"About my significant others, or in general?"

"Both."

"Well, I know Luka and Kagami, and he doesn't. Not to mention he hasn't given a reason that he distrusts them, so I have no reason to trust his instincts over mine. As for everything else, I'm not certain he's wrong. But until he's willing to have a discussion with me instead of trying to tell me what to do, I'm not going to listen to his opinions on things. Especially things he knows nothing about."

"Good for you. He'll steamroll you if you give him an inch." Jason sounded... proud maybe? "Demon Spawn is still at the stage where he thinks B can do no wrong. He'll learn." Marinette winced.

"Please don't call him that around me. My Maman isn't the only one that doesn't like insulting nicknames. And at his age, his Papa should be infallible. Honestly, I should not have had that discussion in front of any of you, but especially not Damian. And I am sorry about that." Both boys were just staring at her like they couldn't comprehend her words. Given that Cass had laid into Bruce with everyone present, maybe they didn't. Finally, Jason cleared his throat.

"Trust me, you want witnesses. And you don't want other people's opinion of you to be based only on B's grumblings. While most of us know better than to trust outside opinions, you don't want anyone biased against you because he complained."

Marinette managed a distracted hum as she thought of the implications. Not only with Bruce's family. Batman was well respected and a leader of the Justice League. He could cause her an innumerable amount of headaches. She might have to introduce herself to them before he had a chance to claim she was inexperienced, or worse, inept. One more problem to worry about.

"I'm sure it will be fine. I've overcome people thinking badly of me based on other's words before. I can do it again." She could tell her tone was off by the way Jason studied her. It didn't help that Chloe was muttering curses in most modern languages. Cass leaned into her side.

"We should look around. You two stay here." Damian still looked like he wanted to argue with Cass, but Jason grabbed his shoulder and squeezed hard enough that the boy was glaring at him instead.

"You know I'm not going to turn down food. Come on Dem-uh, Damian. They be back before we're finished, and you can keep grilling them then." The Boy let out an annoyed noise, but didn't protest. Chloe herded them back outside, while Cass tugged Marinette further into the building.

"You don't like it here." Marinette could only offer her twin a strained smile.

"It was better when Chloe was still here, but it's my last year."

"We'll make it better." Marinette let out an amused laugh.

"I'm sure you're right. I hope the fact that Alya has figured out Lila's been lying all this time will help, too. Though it could complicate other things as well." Cass hummed in acknowledgement. Given she hadn't met any of the class yet, she had to take Mari's word for everything. "Come on. I need to show you the best places to be able to disappear."

While the school wasn't small, it still only took them ten minutes to do a walk-through. It was honestly a little depressing how little security she had to point out. Between that, roof access, the bathrooms, and that one classroom that for some reason was never in use, she covered all the easy, safe escape points. When they made it outside, Jason was joking around with the others. Damian was studying everyone, but he did look less hostile.

"How's the food?" Marinette could tell how Jason felt by the grin he turned on her.

"It's amazing!"

"It is adequate." Jason looked like he was about to argue with Damian, but Mari waved him off.

"Adequate because you've had better or simply because you don't like this type of food?" Damian blinked at her, and she had to wonder if people ever asked about his preferences. He hesitated before answering.

"The spices are not to my tastes." She started talking with him about foods he did and didn't like. Jason was looking at them like they'd each grown two heads. She had to wonder why a civil conversation caused such a reaction, but that was a later problem. Right now, she just wanted to keep Damian talking to her without hurling threats.

Talking about food led to him being a vegetarian, which led to his pets. Soon she was cooing over pictures of them all while Damian detailed how Alfred the Cat tripped up just about everyone in the family. Pretty soon, they were talking about the logistics of having pets on a boat with Luka. She hadn't really considered it, but she had always wanted pets.

"Cats have a long history of being on board for vermin control. It would probably be good to get them as kittens, so it's easier for them to acclimate. I could be more help if I could see the vessel."

"Sure. I have plenty of pictures." Jason and Damian both frowned at her, but she couldn't completely read the expression.

"Why not just show us?" The way Cass was glaring at Jason, Mari knew she wasn't reading too much into his tone. Before either of them could react, Chloe let out a snort of laughter.

"Because no one wants to drive that far right now, given we have school tomorrow. Their 'not a yacht' is too big to get here from the ocean, so it stays on the coast." The fact that they almost always went there using Kaalki wasn't something she needed her brothers finding out just yet.

"Not to mention it's her choice to invite you to her home." The warning in Cass' tone seemed to surprise the boys. Mari was going to have to be careful coming and going for a while. The Bats were almost certain to break into it at some point in the near future. Probably more than once. It should take them a few days to find it, given it wasn't in any of their names. Of course, that would shoot up a whole different set of red flags. It also meant Bruce would almost certainly tell the rest of them she was Ladybug. She'd have to talk to Cass about outing the Bats to her team, so they were prepared. It wasn't the way she wanted it to happen, but there wasn't much choice. Chloe would probably put it together on her own once she caught up. It was widely known that Batman and Catwoman were an item.

"I'd love to have you guys over, but probably not this visit since you're planning on leaving before the weekend. That and I honestly don't have the energy for whatever lecture Bruce is going to come up with for why it's irresponsible to buy something that expensive so young, let alone with other people."

Damian looked thoughtful, but Jason had a guilty expression. Apparently, she couldn't trust him yet. She really didn't want to have to start lying to people again. Why couldn't anything just be simple?

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[goggles-mcgee]

A Little Birdy Told Me 19

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Summary:  Just another day at Gotham Academy, well, Damian wished it was. His acquaintances seem to like to make it anything but.

Damian was not having a good day despite his father’s wishes. For the record, he did try to have a good day, it’s not like he purposefully went into the school with the intent to not, but it seemed like any good luck he had had in the last couple of days (which wasn’t much mind you) ran out. The whispers were what had tipped him off to begin with, usually he could brush them off as nonsensical youth gossip and carry on but the stares coupled with the whispers put him a bit on edge. He hadn’t done anything to his knowledge to warrant the behavior he had observed when he walked in but he didn’t let it show that anything was amiss. He merely strode to his locker and dropped off his afternoon class books before shutting it and locking it swiftly. Damian had tried to be nonchalant about his locker in the beginning, but when it had been broken into in his first week he had been livid, and upgraded the security courtesy of Drake. Apparently some schoolmates just wanted a peek into the newest Wayne’s locker and see if there was anything damning they could use against his Father to sell to some tacky tabloid. Needless to say, he and his father had been less than amused and in Damian’s case, hopeful that he would not have to stay in the ridiculous establishment. 

As he had said, luck was not on his side back then, so why would it be now? 

“Oh our favorite and sometimes benevolent Ice Prince of Gotham Academy.” an annoyingly familiar voice sang out as the body it belonged to slumped against the locker next to Damian’s. “Have you heard the latest gossip, my liege?” 

“Hardy. How many times have I told you I do not listen to drivel?” Damian replied in the most monotone voice he could pull-off. The one that made Drake throw pillows at him because he disliked how robotic it made him sound. 

“Oh, of course, of course Milord. But…this “drivel” as you call it has to do with you.” Claude Hardy, active member of their drama club, well-liked, class clown and as always an avid gossiper told Damian. Damian didn’t talk to him a lot, or well, it was better to say he tried not to. With Hardy came Allegra Vogel: accomplished flutist, ballerina, the queen of gossip and his class’ president, Alan Lopez: writer, soccer player and like his friends Hardy and Vogel, a gossip and Sebastian Allaway: one of the school’s best track members and whose parents own and run The Cottage, the restaurant that replaced Bamonte’s Restaurant after Don Maroni died and The Maroni Family dissolved (assumedly). An odd group of…almost friends, more so associates maybe to him, he wasn’t sure yet if they were friends but Damian would admit they were entertaining at the least.

“Can you never just get to the point, Claude?” The newest addition to the friend group, and Damian’s associate circle asked dramatically. Damian’s gaze shifted to look over at Gotham Academy’s latest transfer Chloé Bourgeois. Nicknamed Queen Bee by the friend group, but Damian noticed she always smiled sadly when she was called that. Perhaps her friends noticed too because Queen Bee quickly shortened to just Queenie. Both nicknames were ridiculous if you asked Damian, he somewhat disliked nicknames. It was fine when Dick did it, because he did it out of affection, Jason did it to be a dick and Tim did it to be annoying. Well that was his theory in any case. 

“You missed it too Queenie!” Hardy helpfully pointed out. 

“Traffic was worse than usual but I’m not that late Drama King. English hasn’t even begun.” Bourgeois snarked back.

“Bourgeois has a point. The school day has barely begun, how have we missed anything vital?” Damian asked with a furrowed brow as he closed his locker and led the group in the direction of their English class. 

“It’s sad how you both don’t get here early enough to socialize like proper socialites,” Hardy sighed dramatically before he perked up and looked at them with a glint in his eye. One Damian was not a fan of as it often painted trouble for him. “That class exchange thing, the one Damian’s father is funding, the class arrived the other day and oh boy was Headmaster Hammer not amused!”

Damian stiffened but kept walking, the news startled him but he was not going to let it show. He could not let anyone know he knew about the class already and especially not about Marinette. “Oh? I thought they were supposed to start next week? That’s what Father said. I would also like to point out that one cannot be late to gossip as I was not here to begin with.”

“Exactly. At least Wayne has brain cells that work.” Bourgeois teased. 

“Are we teasing Claude?” And now another person was walking with them and Damian had to resist the urge to sigh loudly. It was too early to be this social. 

“Don’t we always Allegra?” Bourgeois asked as though the answer was obvious which to be fair it was. The group did tease Claude an absurd amount, but he just made it so easy. 

“Oh yes of course. How silly of me to forget.” The other blonde responded with a teasing laugh.

“Why are you guys so cruel? I’m just here, existing. I’m just a little guy.” Claude pouted. 

“You are taller than us.” Damian pointed out a bit bitterly. He was of average height for his age but it seemed like a lot of his male classmates surpassed average in grade school. 

“ANYWAY. Sir Ice Prince and Queenie, you both weren’t here on Friday-” 

“I had an appointment, I told the group this on Thursday.” Bourgeois interjected.

“I didn’t want to leave Richard alone after what happened at Wayne Tower on Thursday so my father excused me from class.” Damian threw in, in some way it was the truth. Dick had been rather…wound up after the situation at the Tower and the run in with Brat Chat hadn’t helped anything. He may be playing it off but Damian knew his older brother well and he knew that Dick was holding everything in still. So it was no surprise that Dick was sticking around Marinette more than the rest of them. He was worried about the girl, that much was clear and it didn’t take a genius to guess it was because he felt responsible for her being Fear Toxined when he was there and able to do something, but the fact of the matter was there really wasn’t much he could have done. Dick was stubborn though and would continue to blame himself until Dupain-Cheng was safe or until Damian could beat sense into him. He had no problem exercising the second option. Dick was too hard on himself. 

“That’s understandable. How is he doing?” Vogel asked softly. 

“Better.” He replied honestly. 

“I’m glad Dick is doing better, but you and Chloé really did miss one hell of an…interesting day.” Hardy continued. Damian merely hummed in response, he knew it was futile to try and argue that he was not interested because Hardy didn’t care. Or just didn’t believe him; either option was equally annoying. “Like I said, that French class the school is doing the exchange with arrived on Friday. Like the whole class. I can tell you guys now, they did not make a good impression on our dear schoolmates.”

“Oh…yeah…the class exchange. You said they’re French?” Bourgeois asked nonchalantly, though Damian could see her body stiffen as stutter as they walked before she collected herself. 

“Yeah. I thought they’d be nice to speak with. Especially this small group that had been discussing music but…” Vogel scrunched her nose up, it made her distaste well-known. Though, Vogel was not one to hide how she felt to begin with so the expression wasn’t a surprise. Especially to Damian who had knowledge of the class already and he knew he wouldn’t like most, if not all of them. “Instead of telling me about their songs and band and such they only spoke about this girl in their class. I swear, you would think she was newly Sainted or the like with how they looked at her and talked about her. It was like experiencing a cult without actually being in the cult.”

“Oh yeah. It was some real Jim Jones’ shit.” Hardy readily agreed.

“Language.” Damian couldn’t help but quip. He was too used to telling Jason, Tim and Steph that so they would have to add to Alfred’s ‘Swear Jar.’ 

“And the teacher acted like their behavior was normal!” Hardy continued as though he hadn’t heard Damian. Brat. “She acted like they were perfect little angels.”

“It was disturbing.” Vogul shook her head.

“The teacher…” Bourgeois was inspecting her nails, feigning disinterest but Damian could see the subtle shake in her hand. “What was her name?”

“Why? Think it might be your old one Queenie?” Hardy asked with a smile but the twitch of his brows told Damian he was worried about the answer Bourgeois might give. “What are the chances of that?”

“Just- What was her name, Claude?” 

“Uh, something with a ‘B.’”

“You’re beyond help Claude. How do you not remember?” Vogel asked.

“Look. In my defense, I don’t like her and I don’t pay attention to things I don’t like nor care for.”

“You’re horrible. Her name was Caline Bustier. Her class was supposed to be placed in ours but apparently now, that’s not even certain. I think I heard someone say Headmaster Hammer was not at all pleased with how they came in and demanded their schedules. I guess their class president was supposed to be present but she was not there. Word on the street and from the horse’s mouth is that she went missing after the whole Two-Face, Scarecrow situation at The Tower.” Vogel was as connected as ever. Damian was impressed she had all that info already given it had only been a few days since everything went down. Not to mention a weekend passed, which meant some of her sources were not available to talk with, or so Damian assumed. She probably had them all on speed dial for all he knew.

Another thing he observed? All of them looked at him like he had answers. He did, but he wasn’t going to say anything, it was for Marinette’s safety after all. So he sighed like he did best, “Even if I knew something, I wouldn’t tell you.”

They nodded. “Fair.” Hardy said with a shrug, he was used to those kinds of answers. He would have to be since he had been bugging Damian since he started at Gotham Academy. 

Bourgeois had stopped walking and though he wanted to just head into the classroom, it was quite literally fifteen steps away from them and if he went ahead it would be incredibly rude to ignore whatever was bothering the girl. Alfred impressed upon him how a gentleman behaved and leaving Bourgeois in this situation was most definitely against Alfred’s teachings. As though the man himself was watching him, Damian stopped walking and barely held in his complaints. His grandpa was terrifying when he wanted to be, especially when it came to manners. Damian shuddered at the memories of Alfred’s etiquette training but managed to hide it as he turned to face Bourgeois who honestly looked close to passing out right there in the middle of the hallway. “Bustier?” She gasped.

“Chloe?” Vogel asked as she placed a hand on the other blonde’s shoulder. 

“Oh my god, they are your old class.” It was a statement rather than a question from Hardy. The Style Queen Heiress’s reaction was all the answer they needed but she did give a stiff nod. The answer was…interesting to say the least but it also put Damian on edge. If that was her old class then she must have known about Lila Rossi, granted she had been at their school for about a year now but due to the family’s research, Damian knew the Lila situation had been going on for about four years. So Bourgeois had been in that class when it was happening, Damian knew the school sounded familiar, he just couldn’t remember why. He, of course, had done his own research into Chloé Bourgeois when she had been announced as the new transfer student but admittedly he hadn’t dug too far as Dick and Alfred told him that was not the way to make friends. He couldn’t help being cautious, it was a skill he had to learn very early in the League, so anyone new that came into his life he couldn't help but be suspicious of.

Honestly, he did the bare basics of a background research on Bourgeois that the fact he was being surprised by a fact he could have found out if it weren’t for ‘manners’ and ‘courtesy’, he would have found out about Bustier’s class before the exchange program was finalized. He could have prevented so many annoyances by arguing with his father about them. Though that would have meant never meeting Dupain-Cheng… he didn’t know how to feel about that. “We can speak about this after class. The bell is about to ring and I for one would rather not be counted late while I have the ability to be on time in mere steps.” Damian announces as he walked on, he would gather whatever information he could from Bourgeois at lunch, he had time. 

_______________________

[LUNCH]

Chloé took a deep breath in to calm herself for what felt like the millionth time that day. Ever since she found out her former class was the one that won the spot for the Gotham Education Exchange she had felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest all day. She didn’t want to face them, she wasn’t ready to face them, ever since her move to Gotham Chloé had changed and she knew it was for the better. There was no Hawkmoth in Gotham, so no reason to not feel, and well, Jean-Claude made her go to therapy and though she found it ridiculous to begin with, she had to admit it did actually help if you put the work in. It was the end of collège for her when she realized just how absolutely miserable she was. Her parents’ fighting had gotten worse, her classmates were all sheep, she knew that before but she thought they had grown some kind of backbone when Marinette started standing up for herself but then that liar joined the class and things changed. It was terrifying to see just how fast everyone turned on the person they called their ‘Everyday Ladybug’. If they turned on her that fast, what would happen to Chloé? 

What happened was nothing she hadn’t expected. Much like Dupain-Cheng she had been sent to the back, at first she had been there with Sabrina but by 4’eme* the redhead had left her. She had the mercy of not being targeted by some of the classmates “pranks” like Dupain-Cheng had been but no one spoke to her, no one acknowledged her unless they absolutely had to. Chloé had tried to get her dad to do something about it but that was when he and her mother’s fights started getting bad and they paid less attention to her. The only one who seemed to care what was happening to her was Jean-Claude, he tried to help as best he could but there was only so much he could do. She thought Mme Bustier would do something as she had always been on her side but when Chloé tried to complain she was hit with that good old infamous ‘good example’ bullshit. It was like a slap to the face. Usually hearing that would have brought a smug smile to her face because it wasn’t her getting that talk, she was the one who got her way and the others were supposed to be the ‘good examples’. 

It threw her for a fucking loop is what it did and it sent her in a deep depression. She was so used to getting her way by throwing tantrums, throwing money or just in general throwing something someone’s way, then all of a sudden she couldn’t get her way by doing what she used to do and she was lost, utterly lost. Her mother and dad kept fighting, sometimes she expected it to get physical with how close both got to one another while shouting and maybe that was the one saving grace that never happened but she never wanted to see her mother throw her heels at her dad ever again. That was as physical as it had gotten and it scared her because one of those times one of the heels almost hit her when she tried to enter the room and beg them to stop fighting. That was the last time she tried. By her last year, 3’eme, they had at least taken to fighting with each other through their assistants and poor Jean-Claude in a ridiculous imitation of Mlle Sancoeur (she never did like when Chloé called her by her first name despite the fact she has known her since Chloé was in diapers.) But when they got lawyers involved they didn’t fight over one thing, one important thing, her. 

No. She was thrown around like the shared house furniture trying to be divided, except where they argued about who kept what piece of furniture, they argued why the other should keep her. They did it with her in the room. It was then that she realized that neither of her parents’ really loved her, oh she always knew with her mother there was never any love, but when her dad didn’t fight for her? It hurt more than she cared to admit and that was the day of her final akumatization, Folk-Tail. From pictures she had seen her hair had grown down to her feet in its ponytail but it took on the likeness of a scorpion’s tail, her skin had turned gray but it looked like she had cried after just putting on mascara that was definitely not waterproof since she had black streaks starting from her eyes going down her face, she wore what she always imagined Princess Potentilla wore when she was made to live in the small house by her jealous mother and on top of her ponytail sat a crown of forget-me-nots. The tale of Princess Potentilla and Prince Narcissus had always been her favorite fairytale. It was no surprise that her akuma had been fairytale based since at that moment in time all she had wanted was for her life to be like the fairytales Jean-Claude had often read to her. She just wanted a happy ending. 

Apparently her power was to assign roles to people, roles of famous fairy tale characters or creatures that she felt they reflected. Since she herself had been a sad reflection of Potentilla, her father was of course King Cloverleaf and her mother Queen Frivola. Those she did not personally know were given basic roles like a villager or the like. She had gotten to most of her class given they were hanging out at the park that day in celebration of their last year of collège. It was no surprise that she found out Lila had been turned into the Big Bad Wolf, what did surprise her was that she had hit Dupain-Cheng and the girl had become Melinette, the helpful, powerful fairy from her favorite story. It shouldn’t have been so surprising and yet it was. It was after she had been defeated that she reflected on it all, her akuma had been surprisingly truthful with what she herself felt but was too scared to acknowledge. Her father was only interested in what had his attention like the glory of being Mayor and his true love running his hotel much like King Cloverleaf loved being King but only because it gave him the means to hunt to his full pleasure. Her mother was a vain woman who cared too much about her reputation much like Queen Frivola who thought herself the most beautiful woman and threw the most lavish balls but when she saw the beauty of her daughter, she hid her from the kingdom out of jealousy. She had no Prince Narcissus. Yet she had Marinette, determined, helpful, kind Marinette who was very much like Melinette, the fairy who raised the Prince. 

If she had hit Hawkmoth with her ‘tail’ he for sure would have been Grumedan the Evil Enchanter. It was that akumatization and everything else going on around her that made her snap. She didn’t want to be like her mother or her father. Hell, she had spent so many years trying to be like her mother in an attempt to get the woman to just get her name right! Chloé didn’t even know who she really was but she wanted to find out and she knew that wouldn’t happen in Paris. She broke down to Jean-Claude about it all, she cried for the first time in a long time, she didn’t care if she got akumatized again, she wanted to cry, she needed to cry. That was when Jean-Claude took charge, he yelled at her parents, demanded a meeting with them and the lawyers outside of Paris because he knew emotions would be high and he demanded parental rights over Chloé. In some ways it shocked her and at the same time it didn’t because he was always the one taking care of her. He wanted her. He cared for her. Chloé had zoned out after his demand because she was just so overwhelmed, someone actually wanted her; she missed the fight and following negotiations. Since her parents didn’t want to take care of her Jean-Claude would be her parent, they wouldn’t change her name since Jean-Claude fully expected her parents to still provide for her.

Oh she knew they fought that with everything they had but Jean-Claude told her after the fact that he essentially blackmailed them. If they provided for her by sending money to her and Jean-Claude after their move and if they kept her as their heir for their respective businesses until she was old enough to decide if she wanted to take over either business, then he wouldn’t go to the media with some illegal stuff he knew had gone on and absolute neglect the put their child through. They folded quickly since there was nothing more important to Audrey and André Bourgeois than their reputations. Before she knew it, after all the necessary paperwork was completed, she and Jean-Claude moved in with his sister Margot in Gotham, New Jersey. It was quite the move and it was hard to adjust but Jean-Claude was patient with her but firm, they arrived in the summer which was the perfect time for her to start therapy apparently. She thought it would be hard adjusting to Gotham and its unique brand of crime but it really wasn’t. Costumed weirdos running around causing havoc? Old news. No Miraculous Cure? Now that, that was scary and took time getting used to. 

All in all she thought she was getting better and growing. She had friends, actual friends! She liked hanging out with them, listening to them, just in general being with them, she didn’t have to fake anything around them. Sure she had a hard time with Damian but that was just because he was so standoffish and kind of reminded her of Felix which wasn’t great but she was starting to separate the two in her mind. Though both boys were fond of their families, Damian wasn’t as conniving as Felix nor as fake, he was simply blunt and in some way it was refreshing. She liked their little odd group of friends and one acquaintance who was becoming a friend and she didn’t want anything ruining it. Especially not her old class but she was still fragile and they had the power to set her back and she didn’t want that at all. But Chloé Bourgeois was not someone who bowed to anyone and she wouldn’t start now but…she would talk to Jean-Claude about it all and maybe see if her therapist would be available for more sessions or even on speed dial. 

“Chloé?” Allegra’s voice tore through the murky fog that her thoughts had become and she finally realized she had somehow made it to their table. 

“Hey. You okay Chlo?” Sebastian asked. 

“This is about your former class, is it not?” Damian asked but the way he said it made it sound like it wasn’t a question. It made her wince.

“Damian. A little more tact next time please.” Allegra said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“But he’s not wrong is he?” Claude asked next. 

Chloé looked at her friends and tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, her hands clenched and unclenched around her lunch tray that she hadn’t noticed she didn’t set down and she took in another deep breath. “I am…I’m scared. I was not the best person to them as I’ve told you all before, I was a bully. But towards the end of my years with that class things changed. They changed. They didn’t speak to me. At all. Me and Mari-another classmate, we were isolated, basically banished to the back to be all but forgotten. Well…I was. Dupai-the other classmate, she wasn’t as…fortunate?”

“Fortunate?” Allan echoed.

Chloé nodded. “I would take my fate over hers any day. I was forgotten in a way, but they did bad talk me and insult me when they knew I could hear but they never acknowledged my existence. It was like I wasn’t there in the room while they were talking. But Ma-my classmate, they bullied her, worse than I ever did and I admit I bullied her for years. While I did it out of jealousy and to just get her mad or in trouble, they did it to break her. I did nothing to help. I was going through things, yes, but that’s no excuse and I don’t know how I’m going to face any of them.” 

It was quiet. Awkwardly quiet. Chloé was close to just pushing away from the table and just storming out because everything she was feeling was too much but a small yet loud ‘Hm’ stopped her and called her attention. It came from Damian who was staring at her with his calculating eyes that gave her the creeps from time to time. It was like he was trying to pull your secrets out of you with his eyes. She stared back at him as he stared at her and leaned his elbows on the table, interlocking his fingers and resting his face on his hands. “So you know Lila Rossi. Tell me about her and everything she’s done to Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” 

Well that was not what Chloé expected him to say.

________________________

Chloe Bourgeois

@Bee-utifulMe

School is barely halfway over and I’m already ready to call my therapist.

#imdonewithtoday #gothamacademy #itsbarelynoon 

💞MAPS💞

@ImTheMapImTheMap

RE: Chloe Bourgeois

       @Bee-utifulMe

[School is barely halfway over and I’m already ready…]

Mood.

#Iwasnotpreparedforthatenglishtest #TTuTT 

Notes: 

*4'eme (3'eme) are the last two level of schooling in college (French schooling). College typically goes from ages 11-15, 4'eme is for those 13-14, 3'eme is 14-15.

Prince Narcissus and The Princess Potentilla is a fairy tale that you can read here if you would like context -> HERE

Next Chapter

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[natedogx15]

Other idea I always had that, is similar to the last one, but also different is a different take on Maribat. The stories usually follow Marinette leaving Paris to go to Gotham after Ladybug on season 3, and it either focuses on Marinette falling in love with one of the batfamily members, on their return and exposing Lila.

But, what if the focus was on other characters of Paris. Marinette’s friends that stayed behind. She would have left one of them with a miraculous to handle the akumas (probably the rooster because it is capable of doing anything, so it might also purify akumas with some plot changes).

How would Kagami feel after one of her few friends leave? Would she feel betrayed? Would she feel like Marinette was selfish to not warn anyone? How would she handle Adrien allowing Lila to get away with everything?

How would Luka feel with his love interest gone? Would he be resenting the Akuma class for bullying Marinette? Would he have an argument with Juleka? Would this AU’s Truth equivalent be about unmasking Lila?

What would happen to Chloé? She lost her chance of being a hero, lost her status to Lila, and might lose Adrien because of her lies. Would she develop and mature, now that she is the only one against Lila in the class? Would she fight against Lila’s control at school?

It might even be a chance for Sabrina to shine, seeing that, without Marinette, someone needs to take the lead and protect everyone from Lila’ lies.

It could also be the chance for other characters, like Alix, Nathaniel and/or Marc to go after the truth after feeling guilty for what happened with Mari.

This is another interesting idea since any form of this that I saw while I was a fan of Maribat always had it focus more on Adrien or Lila while they were still in Paris.

I would have to say that Kagami would feel betrayed by Marinette leaving her and not telling her until the last minute. It could be if they do meet again and Kagami is still angry with her that Marinette reveals how she didn't tell anyone because she wasn't sure they'd care after how alone she felt from being sided against by everyone she knew. Then when Kagami returns to Paris, her heart feels like a weight falls off her shoulders, and she starts to defrost more.

As for the Adrien situation, Kagami would most likely be angry with him for letting Lila do whatever she wants. She didn't take anything from Chloe, so I doubt she would let Lila walk over her. Though, it would depend on how much knowledge she has about the Lila situation. Kagami goes to the same school as Marinette's class, so she would likely know about the expulsion incident. Maybe not the full details, though, and she'd only really start to get on his case after she meets with Marinette if it happens.

I feel like Luka would have some form of resentment towards the class, but nothing too far against most of them. There may be some tension between him and Juleka if his ability to see a person's song lets him know about Lila's true character and Juleka not believing him. I'm more inclined to trust that Juleka will believe her brother over Lila.

Now, I can definitely see Luka exposing Lila as Truth after Marinette leaves. Gabriel is willing to put his son at risk for a powerful Akuma to defeat the heroes. So, a pawn like Lila wouldn't be a problem for him. No matter how useful she can be. It'd most likely work since Ladybug isn't around, and the Rooster hero is new to the game. I'm not sure how much Cat Noir could do against a villain similar to Truth.

As for Chloe, that is a situation I'm not sure of. With Marinette gone, Chloe would be after a new punching bag in the class, and Lila is the perfect target for her ire. She likes Adrien, made a fool out of Chloe with that Ladybug calling dance, is taking attention away from her, and other things. I don't think she'd attack or expose Lila because of some new form of maturity but more because she wants to put Lila in her place below Chloe. Heck, she could be worst towards Lila because she can't be a hero anymore due to Ladybug going missing, and that angers her. There wouldn't be much the class could do to protect Lila since Chloe would threaten to ruin them too.

I'm not sure Sabrina would really shine in this. Well, on her own, I mean. Chloe would most likely order her to dig up dirt on Lila, and that's how she finds out Lila is lying. So, she doesn't feel as bad about helping Chloe bully Lila.

Honestly, this would more likely put the two in a more positive light because the person they're targeting now is Lila.

I can see the class feeling guilty about how they treated Marinette after she left and Lila's exposure. Maybe they'd get together and make an apology video on the Ladyblog, hoping Marinette will see it if they can't get into contact with Marinette. I'm sure there would be some stubborn ones in class that continue to try and get into contact with Marinette. I'm not sure if they'd feel guilty before the exposure, though, because they may feel like they did nothing wrong until that knowledge hits. They may miss Marinette and everything she did for them, but not feel guilty about their actions.

[mae-dwrites]

Taking Flight - Chapter 4 - Echos

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Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Kno-

The blond chucked a shoe at the door, “I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!”

She hid under her mountain of blankets, tissues littered all around her. How she hadn’t been Akumatized yet was beyond Chloé, she’d been crying and raging in her daddy’s hotel for three days now. She wasn’t proud but it didn’t matter she could just reject the Akuma. At least that’s what she believed, she’d done it once she could do it again.

Only those who had tried to say no knew just how much force Hawkmoth used when forcing Akumatization. Keyword, tried. Chloé had done it but the next moment it truly counted she failed, because she was weak. She had let her emotions get the best of her, and that in turn resulted in her accepting the butterfly’s power. She was, once again, unreliable and that had almost costed Ladybug the war. Ladybug, her hero. The city’s most important hero.

Chloé kicked her coffee table before taking some breaths. She couldn’t get Akumatized again, Hawkmoth may have almost had the perfect plan but it took the wrong, or in the villain's case one right, Akuma and they would win. She refused to be that especially since she almost was due to her selfishness.

That’s all she’s ever been was selfish, that’s all she knew how to be. She threw fits at an early age, instead of being reprimanded or told why she couldn’t behave so or not have what she wanted, what did her father do? He gave her it. Every. Single. Thing. That was after learning about her mother’s affair, before he attempted to but in the end even before she found out he let her have her way.

And from there it festered into something far worse than she would have liked. She certainly didn’t like it anymore, she did it all to feel good. Now? She couldn’t be more ashamed, she felt sick. Again, and again, again.

Chloé ran from her blankets just making it to the bathroom to let up what little food she had eaten since Wednesday. She’d been sick since then, unable to eat, sleep and when she did it wasn't for very long, she couldn't stop shaking at times, she had become sluggish at times not to mention how easily she got dizzy. There was more that she couldn't remember at the moment. Not that it mattered right now, she just got done gagging over the toilet.

Chloé took shaky breaths as she struggled to hold herself up. She finally let herself fall on her butt leaning against the white cabinet in her, usually, spotless bathroom. The lights seemed to attack her eyes, starting another round of her eyes throbbing and a migraine to follow its lead.

She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths, trying to make them shallow. After what seemed like hours Chloé slowly brought herself up and faced the sink.

Everything was too bright, the appliances were all too loud, the people were too loud. Her breathing was too loud, the heavy uneven intake of air made her head feel like thousands of needles were poking the frontal and middle lobes of her brain. The taste of bail had her on the verge of heaving, heaving what Chloé had no idea as it felt like there was nothing left but her organs left. Her limbs felt so weak, as she tried to hold herself up it felt so hard like she had nothing to hold herself up. It was like she was a piece of paper.

Chloé turned the faucet on and started cleaning her mouth off and brushing her teeth. It seemed to help get the taste out of her mouth; the minty flavor sat weirdly in her mouth mixed with her vomit. She could feel the individual parts over her mouth, it felt as though the mint was spreading throughout her mouth when in reality it wasn’t.

Chloé caught a glimpse of her reflection, she would never admit it but it caused her to flinch. Her cheeks were still covered with her emergency mascara she had put on earlier this week. She had run out of her waterproof container so she ordered more of the one she loved. Her eyes were so red from irritation, her hair was knotted so much on the sides(how much had she messed with her hair? It looked so ridiculous now).

She looked so disgusting, if she had the energy or felt like her usual self she probably would have shrieked. She did not have that luxury as she was so unrealistically exhausted. She instead hunched into herself, as if that would make it not look nearly as horrible as she appeared to be. She almost looked as shitty as her entire being felt.

Tears threatened to fall as she looked at her reflection longer.

Where did I go wrong?

☾•☽

An eight-year-old Chloé scrolled through her phone while laying on her bed, she was so happy her daddy let her have her own. Now she could message mommy whenever she wanted to! And of course call either of them when she liked. She didn’t have mommy’s number yet but daddykins said he would deal with that later, and daddy never broke his promises!

Chloé smiled to herself as she searched up her mommy, Style Queen.

At first, it started out fine for the girl, she was simply looking for an image to use for a contact photo. As she couldn’t just take a photo of her mommy, she was away. Also her mommy would have only wanted the best, unlike daddy who didn’t mind weird pictures. It was all fine until she found a picture of her mommy posing with a little girl, a little girl that was obviously not her. Her hair was blond like mommy’s.

Chloé touched her hair, her light brown curls suddenly felt heavy on her shoulders. The other girls face wasn’t as round as her’s, her light blond hair was only a little wavy, her eyes weren’t the bright sky blue like hers. No, they looked more misty, an ocean blue.

Tears welled up in the little girl’s eyes, who was this girl? Who was she to be with her mommy when even she wasn’t! Why was her mommy with this random girl? Who was this girl!

Chloé ran out of her room to find her daddy but couldn’t find him. Chloé fell down in her daddy’s office crying.

Chloé eyes shot open, she wiped her damp face, “Ridculous, utterly…ridculous.”

Those stupid eyes, her mother’s eyes. She didn’t want to think about the girl, she always made her so angry. Chloé couldn’t hold it against her but it was hard not to after so many years letting it grow.

Chloé opened the Ladyblog again, while it had in resent months been a mix of reliable and Lila tales it didn’t really hurt to check it. Also Alya had made a new blog for her other journalism adventures in Paris that were non-miraculous powers related, but then that was mostly taken up by Lila’s face.

Surprisingly enough Hawkmoth still hadn’t Akumatized anyone since last week. It made even Chloé anxious, because he could be trying more drastic measures to get the Ladybug and Cat Miraculi behind the scenes. Chloé would have had her heart set on that if she wasn’t so confident in Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Chloé sighed and laid on her back staring at the ceiling.

What the hell am I doing?

☾•☽

This was certainly not Chloé’s proudest moment, this being the longest she’s gone without a shower, but she was finally able to keep a few meals down. So she decided to take a shower, she felt terrible in her skin after so long.

She let the hot water flow down her, letting it open her face’s pores so she scrub whatever make up hadn’t come off when she had washed it off a few days ago. The heat didn’t make her stomach twist so that was a plus.

“You must be exceptional above all else.”

Chloé’s back straightened at the memory, it was hard for her not to let her mind slip. She tried to focus on the task but it was no use. At least when she sat around in her room she had limitless distractions, and when none of them worked she could listen to the city as it went on.

“The only exceptional thing about you my dear, is your mother.”

Chloé almost slid to her shower’s floor, if she hadn’t caught the rail she probably would have fell. Chloé quickly as she could finished her shower and stepped out and started to dry off and get dressed. Chloé left the bathroom and laid on her bed.

She doesn’t know anything about me…

I can be exceptional with out her as my shadow.