#next akuma battle will be happening off-screen

[runawaycatwalker]

Part 29. Jumping to Convictions

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Description below the cut

A swarm of magical ladybugs sweeps over Carapace’s body and unpetrifies him

A close-up of Carapace’s hands as he falls to the ground and lets out a ‘gasp!’

A close-up of Carapace’s eyes, dripping with tears.

Carapace: Adrien...?

Cut to a frazzled Rena Furtive, gripping her flute as her mind races.  Carapace lands on the roof behind her.

Rena Furtive: Is there any other plausible explanation for... that?  Was I just seeing things?  Could there have been some sort of doppelganger...?  Maybe Chat's been in hiding at Adrien's and borrowed the ring...?  Can I let myself believe he actually pulled off that insane plan to replace himself without anyone knowing...?

Carapace: Rena?

Rena jerks as she turns to see Carapace approach her with hand outstretched.

Rena Furtive: Carapace!  What—

Carapace: Did anyone come near me after I got hit by the akuma?

Rena Furtive: I don't know?  Not for sure.  After you fell to the ground, I couldn't really see you, and then the last few minutes of the battle were... distracting.

Carapace covers his mouth, eyes widening in horrified comprehension.

Rena Furtive: So the only one I saw remotely near you was Catwalker.  I think he stayed there a couple minutes before going after the akuma?

Carapace: Then that means...

Carapace pleads with clenched fists in front of him.

Carapace: I think we've been entirely wrong about Catwalker.  Rena, I heard... I don't think I'm even allowed to say what.  And maybe it was a trick, or a side effect of the akuma, or whatever, but...  I believe Catwalker is completely on our side.  I really do.

Carapace, with sad puppy dog eyes, gives a ‘nod’.  Rena looks down at her flute as it lets out a loud ‘BEEP!’

Rena Furtive: You really think we can fully trust him?  Then— Sorry, I'm getting a call from Ladybug.  I need to take this.

A holographic screen pops up from Rena’s flute, on which Cosmobug’s angry face appears.

Rena Furtive: Hey, La—

Cosmobug (over phone): I AM GOING TO MURDER CATWALKER IN HIS SLEEP!

Rena Furtive: Back up.  What happened?

Cosmobug (over phone): The Lucky Charm worked! It led me to Adrien!

Rena Furtive: Isn't that good news?

Cosmobug (over phone): It was until I turned my back for one minute and he vanished all over again!

Rena Furtive bewilderedly watches the screen as Cosmobug goes on a tirade.  Behind her, Carapace trembles as he puts everything into forcing down the immense urge to open his big mouth.

Cosmobug (over phone): And immediately afterward, I see that Catwalker used a space power up to follow me here!  I just know he hid Adrien away somewhere to keep me from helping him!

Cosmobug fumes and clenches her yo-yo hard enough that if it wasn’t magical, it would have broken into tiny pieces.

Cosmobug: This has to be the final straw!  Catwalker is officially the most malignant person I've ever met!  (Besides Shadowmoth!)  (And Gabriel Agreste!)  (And Mayu—!)

Rena Furtive (over phone): Ladybug!  Listen...

Rena holds out her hand and glances behind her shoulder.

Rena Furtive: I was just talking to our informant.  They now believe that Catwalker is actually safe for us to trust.

Cosmobug (over phone): You can't be serious.

Rena Furtive: Completely serious.

Carapace silently looks away, his hood hiding the expression on his face.

Cosmobug (over phone): This is still the same person who couldn't stand Catwalker, right?  What could have possibly changed their mind?

Rena Furtive: I'm not sure.  They didn't think they could tell me their reasons.

Cosmobug (over phone): If they're telling you that, then they were probably blackmailed into claiming Catwalker's all sunshine and roses, so we can't trust—

Rena Furtive: I saw something too.

Rena looks out towards the city from atop the roof.

Rena Furtive: I don't think it was the same thing my informant heard.  And maybe I can't quite rule out the possibility that Catwalker tried to bamboozle us both while we believed he didn't know we were observing him.  But if even part of what we witnessed was real?  Catwalker is a far better person than any of us have given him credit for.

Rena holds up a finger thoughtfully.  In the background, Carapace looks on in bewildered ‘???’, an expression that reads ‘What on earth do you know about my best friend that I don’t???’

Cosmobug (over phone): Is this about his secret identity?  Did you recognize his face after seeing him detransform?

Rena Furtive: No, nothing like that.  I don't have a clue what his real name is.  But... I think I know a... pseudonym he used in the Ladyblog community at one point?

Cosmobug pokes toward her yo-yo screen, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Cosmobug: Just because he acts one way online, that doesn't mean it's who he really is.

Rena Furtive (over phone): You trust Chat Noir despite knowing nothing about the life he lives outside of the mask.

Cosmobug: That's different.

Rena Furtive (over phone): It's close enough.

Rena Furtive (over phone): Close enough that I think you should give him another chance.

Cosmobug looks away, biting her thumb nervously.

Cosmobug: I don't know... there are so many unknowns... I don't think I can work with Catwalker if I have any lingering doubts about him.  It's not that I don't trust you, it's just hard to trust at all.  This all was so much easier when it was just me and Chat, and I never had to question him on anything.  I just knew.

Rena Furtive (over phone): Then talk to him.

Rena looks at her screen with optimism and encouragement.

Cosmobug (over phone): What???  I can't just 'talk to' Chat Noir!

Rena Furtive: Sure you can!  You could meet up with Chat Noir in secret!  You always do better when you have his support, so why not let him support you?  He might even have answers!

Cosmobug (over phone): But I don't have a clue where he is or how to contact him!

Rena Furtive: Didn't Catwalker tell you that he could bring Chat Noir back safely?

Cosmobug (over phone): That doesn't mean I believed him!

Rena Furtive: If anything, we've proven that Catwalker can do things without anyone noticing.

Cosmobug (over phone): Mayura noticing isn't the problem—it's Catwalker.  What he'll do to Chat Noir without anyone knowing...

Rena smiles and waves away any doubts.

Rena Furtive: I'm not saying you have to trust Catwalker without taking any precautions.  I'll stake it all out and make sure everything's safe and that no one intervenes!  All you'd need to do is make sure that the Chat Noir who shows up isn't his evil twin or something!

Cosmobug looks away in thought.

Rena Furtive (over phone): I know it seems risky, but it's worth the risk, Ladybug.  You need to see the boy who used to be your partner again.  And I'd bet anything that Chat needs to talk to you too.

Cut to Cosmobug flying towards the Eiffel Tower, from the top of a long, thin, silver rod protrudes out to the side.  At the end the rod is a black, gray, and green blob.

Catwalker is lies on the end of his baton, his belt tying his body to the rod with his arms bound behind his back.  Cosmobug hovers a few feet away from him.

Catwalker: You didn't find Adrien, I take it?

Cosmobug: No.

Catwalker: I'm sorry.  Can we talk?

Cosmobug: No.

Catwalker looks up towards her uneasily.

Catwalker: Have you decided what you're going to do with me?

Cosmobug: Send Chat Noir back.

Cosmobug, eyes shrouded, makes her demand.

Cosmobug: Midnight tonight, on the rooftop where I first told him I had feelings for another boy.  I need to talk to him in private before I decide your fate.  He'll come alone.  Tell him to not be seen.

Catwalker’s eyes shine as he tries to contain his excitement.

Catwalker: Of course.  He'll be there.

Below is the same image as above, only without text:

[hellishere7980]

IMW Chapter 12

It was unreal. God-like. Terrifying.

The Justice League was close to having a meltdown before Red Robin cut it off by showing another bit of footage. Dated one day after the Stoneheart incident, it was a press conference with Ladybug and Chat Noir as they explained what had happened.

Despite calling each other partners, Ladybug was the clear leader between the two. It was obvious with how she spoke and answered questions, how Chat Noir deferred to her, and how they stood, despite being side by side. Ladybug naturally drew people’s attention to herself as a leader did; exuding quiet confidence and strength.

By the end of the footage, Batman’s mind was whirling with the information he had just learned and all of the implications that it must have had for Paris.

The city had been under the control of a magical terrorist who could turn them into akumas for simply feeling a negative emotion. No matter a person’s age or gender, no matter if they were awake or asleep, they weren’t safe to feel anything.

It was horrifying. Not only for the victim, who didn’t have any control over their actions and had no memory of what they did, but for the people caught up in the attack.

Was Isa ever used like this? No, not the time.

They died, were injured and watched their loved ones be killed, only to come back and repeat the process the next time Hawkmoth made an akuma. They remembered everything and had to live with the aftermath as they tried to not feel anger, sadness, grief or anything they would have felt, for fear they would be turned into an akuma.

It was horrifying. And Nightwing, Red Hood had the same expression as him. Guilt, fear and fury.

Red Robin gave them very little time to process that information, cutting off many conversations amongst themselves as they tried to make sense of it all as he continued and they were forced to focus or get left behind.

The first six months seemed to be filled with Paris falling into its new normal of living with a magical terrorist that preyed off their emotions and getting to know and trust their heroes, but by the time winter became spring, the city had put their full support behind Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Watching the footage and reading the reports on the akuma battles as Red Robin split the screens so he could read off the Timeline page while they matched the akuma on the Akuma and Amok page, Batman became more certain that Ladybug was the leader.

Chat Noir constantly deferred to her during battles and she was the one that always developed the plan, using whatever object her magic gave her to her advantage in some of the most creative and tactically brilliant ways Batman had ever seen.

She also had a greater understanding and grasp on her weapon. Using the abilities of her yoyo to accomplish feats Batman was astonished to see a yoyo perform. She was also the better fighter, despite Chat Noir almost always being the offensive part of their duo.

When Red Robin made it to the seven-month mark, the Timeline marked it as the start of the Era of the Temporary Heroes.

It gave them all pause, and Batman agreed with The Flash as the metahuman hero muttered that calling something the first in situations like this normally wasn’t a good sign.

As they got further, he was proven correct.

Rena Rouge was foxed themed, her magic allowing her to cast illusions and she was the first temporary hero to be introduced. Carapace was only a month after her and was turtle themed, his magic meant he was able to cast an impenetrable shield while Queen Bee followed two weeks after, four weeks before the first Heroes Day.

Queen Bee was a disaster. She deliberately endangered hundreds of lives so she could save them to appear heroic, then revealed her identity for clout. Ladybug was openly livid at her fellow hero, but she paid little notice other than to fawn over her in hero-worship.

The Justice League viewed the clip in disbelief then tried to theorise how the hell Ladybug and Chat Noir could have not known that she had the capacity to do something like that. But, when Superman asked Red Robin if Queen Bee’s identity was known to the public, the younger hero said yes.

Queen Bee only fought in four battles, one of them being the Scarlet Swarm akuma battle on the first Heroes Day.

The footage from that battle had left the entire Justice League in stunned horrified silence. The casualties reached close to a million and destruction was city wide with the battle ending three hours later as Hawkmoth fled with the help of a previous unknown ally called Mayura.

Viperion was brought in less than a month after the Heroes Day Scarlet Swarm. The snake themed hero had the most interesting and dangerous magic Batman had seen of the Temps so far; being able to reset time back to a specific place was not something to take lightly.

King Monkey and Pegasus followed in quick succession and were monkey and horse themed respectively. The former could summon an object that affected the functioning of another’s powers while the latter could create portals to anywhere.

The last temporary hero was Ryuko, a dragon themed superheroine that could become one of three elements; water, wind or lightning and she appeared four months after Heroes Day.

Like Ladybug and Chat Noir, the temporary heroes all had enhanced physical abilities and senses but were lower in the hierarchy, deferring to Chat Noir when Ladybug wasn’t there.

Hawkmoth did the same as Mayura and her magic became a prominent feature in his attacks, creating sentimonsters to help his akumas.

He hated magic.

Ladybug or as she now went by as Lady Miracle continued to train.

It was astounding how much respect the people had for her.

The Ladyblog was all the evidence the Timeline gave despite the vague accusation, and it was all the Justice League needed to prove that fact. The last thing that happened between the press conference and the attack on the First Wave was the increase in the support behind the ship “Ladynoir” as the cat themed hero stepped up his flirting and became more vocal in his declarations of love, especially in front of people and cameras.

Each time he did so, Ladybug turned him down, telling him that she was a professional and did not date colleagues or she cut him off as he told reporters that they were dating and set the record straight.

Batman wished people in the Justice League, himself and his clan included, followed that same principal. The way Chat Noir’s flirting was put in the Timeline had alarm bells ringing in Batman’s head, especially since it was accompanied by percentages of how it had increased. While it could be a closely followed love story between two heroes for someone to see how it progressed, the tone suggested otherwise.

When Shadow Moth did attack, the battle was marked on the Timeline. Ladybug was impaled and pinned to the ground and Chat Noir was nowhere on scene.

The made it's way towards the hero when Ladybug kicked it square in the face and sent it flying back.

And Batman would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed and a little scared.

[artzychic27]

What happened to the recess class in paintball game, did they get out or something?

*The Recess Class are minding their own business in the waiting area when the Akuma Class and Science Kids return*

Gia: Hey, guys! How’d it go?

Denise: *Takes off their mask* I kinda wish we were timing that.

Jean: Still, one of our best. So, are you guys ready?

Akuma Class: …

Adrien: For what?!

Sabrina: Is it too late to run?

Victoria: You wusses got nothing to worry about. The winning class gets to face us in the next round.

Austin A: And now that you pansies are out, we all get to go fucking feral without hurting your precious little heads.

Marinette: Excuse me?!

Nino: That wasn’t them going feral?!

Mireille: Nah, did you see those guns? Come on!

Simon: And my usual paint grenades are more, uh… Ah, what’s the word?… More war-like.

Marc: Hey, but since you guys lost, you can watch our match and see the slight differences when we go against M. Grotke’s students.

Austin T: Yeah, and it’s ttally fun and safe. And you know? I feel it brings all of us close together.

*Later*

Austin T: *Lets out a battle cry* YOUR ASS IS MINE, JEAN! * Shoots at Jean, who ducks and rolls into a river and starts throwing paint grenades*

Gia: BEHIND THE SHIELD! NOW! *Austin T gets behind her shield as multiple lavender explosions go off*

Lacey: *Putting Mason in a headlock and holding a gun to him* DROP THE GUN!

Spinelli: STAY! FUCKING! COOL!

Marc: *Pointing his gun at Gerard trying to climb over the fence* GET OFF THE FENCE! GET OFF THE DAMN FENCE!

Gerard: IF I DIE, YOU’RE COMING WITH ME! *Shoots at Marc with a small paintball gun, but he narrowly dodges each one*

Zoé: DIE, GERARD *Throws a bolo at Gerard’s ankles so he trips and falls hard on the floor*

*The Akuma Class sit in the waiting room and watch the viewing screen with horrified expressions*

Alix: Why are they using weapons?!

Ivan: Apparently, they’re permitted when they play!

Nino: We go to school with animals!

*Ismael mercilessly shoots Austin Q in the forehead… Then shoots him in the back and legs*

Sabrina: Good Lord.

*Denise who has their ankle caught in a rope trap, shoots at the rope and tucks and rolls onto the ground. Hearing a twig snap, they shoot Rochelle down*

Juleka: You have to admire their skill, though.

*Some time later, the game finally ends close to the evening as a draw due to Marc and DJ as the last two players shooting each other at the same time*

Spinelli: Hey, guys, no hard feelings, right?

Aurore: Oh, you just wait when we kick your asses next time.

Spinelli: *Laughs* As if!

Max: How can you all be so calm after that?! What you just went through was a… A grueling, I wouldn’t even call it a sport. It… Why?!

Austin B: We all find that sports requiring strategic and quick thinking, camouflage skills, and the threat of danger help sharpen our skills w for in case of Akuma attacks.

Marinette: Oh. I guess that-

Reshma: Yeah, and it’s a great way to get out all the rage we feel towards you lot.

Akuma Class: …

Marinette: One more time?

Austin A: Yeah, you guys cause so many Akumas, we can’t keep track. And we’re the ones running and hiding for our lives because some of you just love pissing people off.

Victoria: And you guys get re-akumatized, which is always fun, because I do so enjoy turning into a singing servant for a perfume-spraying princess and getting shot by an arrow that makes me hate my friends.

Mindy: So… Yeah, paintball and dodgeball are sort of stress relievers for us. We admit, it’s not perfect and sone of us end up in the hospital, but it’s better than yelling at you guys and getting you akumatized again.

Alya: Th-that is so-

Rochelle: Valid? We’re aware. Now, we’re gonna get milkshakes. Nath, you coming?

Nathaniel: Yep.

Alix: Wait! You’re going with them?! Why?!

Nathaniel: Where was I during Zombizou?

Akuma Class: …

Nathaniel: That’s why. *Follows the Science Kids and Recess Class out of the paintball arena*

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 13: To the Death (Death)

AO3

Prev

Their last few days in Gotham went by smoothly. No rogue attacks, no akuma tacks. The only negative was Mr. Wayne refusing to allow her on patrol again because she was “injured” and “could have died.” Gotham has been nice for the most part and was full of surprises, but Marinette was relieved when the plane landed in Paris. The entire trip moved to the back of her mind, almost like a dream. Like it hadn’t really happened. Until Hawkmoth sent out his next akuma.

---

Taking in a shaky breath, Marinette blinks back tears. Everything was suddenly real. Hawkmoth might win.

She despised akumas with weapons. Specifically, the lethal weapons. Creative weapons or blasters she could handle. No problem. Legitimate swords or guns? Not so much. Instead she was left with a feeling of dread and uncertainty.

Pushing forward, she’s just about to call her lucky charm when she feels it. Choking slightly on the blood- why is there blood- she looks down at the sword sticking out of her chest. Oh. That’s why there’s blood. Blood. She coughs, wincing as she watches the blood pour out of her mouth. Huh. That’s not right. She almost hears Chat screaming. But why? Why does he sound so upset? Why- Oh. OH. She’s dying. She realizes this with a start as the world around her darkens and she begins to sway. She’s dying, and Hawkmoth is going to get her Miraculous. Hawkmoth is going to win. Oh, no- please-

“Chat.” She manages to say, watching as he runs towards her and scoops her up, carrying her out of the way of cameras and prying eyes. A place she can stay. A place where Hawkmoth won’t take her Miraculous. He won’t. He can’t. She frowns, black spots covering her vision, but not enough to hide his tears.

“Take them. Save them.” She manages to say, shaky hands reaching for her earrings. His lips move, so she knows he’s saying something. She wishes she could hear it. Wishes she’d thought of this possibility. She thinks Chat will win. But it’ll be so hard. She should’ve wrote a will. Should’ve planned ahead. Should’ve been more like her father. She blinks at Chat- Adrien- and realizes he’s still talking. She hopes it’s not important, that maybe he could tell her later. Her thoughts continue to jumble, just like her vision. Shifting into one incoherent mess. Words become shapes, pain dulls until she’s numb. Until she can’t feel it. Until she closes her eyes and lets the darkness carry her away.

---

Immediately after finding out about his Parisian daughter, Bruce Wayne had installed the akuma alert system in the Batcave. And on his phone. He wanted to be absolutely certain that he would know what was happening when, and maybe even find some way to help. Do something. Stop the emotional terrorist that had taken over his daughter’s childhood.

Sitting in his study, he takes a swig of coffee, thankful for a relaxing Saturday. He wanted to avoid WE, stay as far away as possible. They’d been bombarding him with questions about Marinette and the (true) rumor that started when her class first arrived in Gotham. Wanted to know if it was true, what they could say, what the official statement was. He wasn’t sure. He wanted Marinette to be able to make that decision. But it wasn’t something you could just ask after only a week of knowing each other.

A shrill ring breaks him out of his thoughts and he glances at his phone. That’s odd, he thinks, looking at the screen. Until he reads closer and realizes why it looks different. The Parisian news stations, who had never seemed too distressed by attacks before, were urging people to hide. Not just shelter in place. But hide. Making up his mind quickly, Bruce makes his way to the Bat Cave. Sure he couldn’t jump over to Paris to assist his daughter in battle, but he had to know that she was safe. He had to know Marinette would be okay. Miraculous cure or not. Walking into the cave, he’s unsurprised to see Tim already there, the news feed pulled up on the largest screen.

“It’s not looking good B. Casualties have already passed fifteen hundred. LB and Chat both look exhausted and the fight just started.” Tim informs him, frowning into his unnecessarily large cup of coffee. Bruce simply nods, trying to ignore the sudden tension in his jaw.

“How’s she holding up?” Dick asks, arms crossed as he walks in, Damian trailing in behind him.

“She’s giving ‘em hell but she also took a coupla good hits.” Jason says, watching his phone as he walks in through another entrance. Bruce’ chest feels warm at the obvious concern and care his sons have for their sister. He had no doubt that Cass (who had returned to Hong Kong before Marinette returned to Paris) was also watching the stream. Although not necessary, it was still nice of them to check. To care. As the fight goes on though, Bruce becomes antsy. The cameras are too far away to pick up the conversation between the heroes and the akuma, but it doesn’t look good. Marinette looks anxious, nervous, almost frenzied. All emotions he’d never seen on her (as Ladybug).

“Call your lucky charm.” Damian hisses, glaring up at the screen. Bruce silently agrees. As odd as the power was, it hadn’t failed her yet. There’s no- his blood freezes. The world shuts down as he tries to remember how to breathe. To remember that it’s okay to breathe. Because standing in front of the akuma is his daughter. With a sword protruding from her chest. The entire cave is silent, everyone waiting. Trying to process. The sword is pulled back and Bruce watches, sick to his stomach as blood falls out her mouth. As she sputters, more blood falling out. The dazed look on her face as she sways on her feet, not quite seeing her surroundings breaks his heart. She stumbles, her legs giving out, and he stares, unable to look away as Chat Noir manages to grab her and swing away.

“Shit.”

“She did not even dodge! She could have-”

“She’s not- she’s okay, right?”

“Is she-?” Bruce is barely able to hear the chaos around him. Barely able to focus on the video in front of him. He lets out a shuddering breath, turning his complete focus to watch for her to come back. Surely someone would heal her. The Miraculous cure could heal her. It had to. He desperately watches the screen, waiting for her spotted costume to come back. She had to come back. He sees spots, but squints. Something’s wrong with the spotted costume swinging towards the fight. The colors are right, but the flash of blonde hair and distinct male figure- it’s not...it’s not her. Not Marinette.

“It appears Mr. Bug is on the scene. Ladybug is down. I repeat, Ladybug is down.” The news anchor reports, a distraught look on her face. But the look on her face is nothing in comparison to the agony that shoots through Bruce. How? Why isn’t she up? Why would Adrien use her Miraculous? Why not heal her now, let her finish her battle? Unless...could she not be healed? Was the Miraculous cure unable to bring the Ladybug holder back? No. No, he couldn’t think that. Couldn’t accept that. She had to be okay. He couldn’t lose a child. Not again. Never again.

“The Cure will save her.” Damian says stiffly, tugging Bruce from his thoughts. He looks over to his youngest, torn by how young Damian suddenly looks. How broken he looks, staring at the screen in front of them. Braving a glance at his other sons, Bruce suddenly feels sick. His phone rings suddenly, and Bruce jumps, hoping the name- but no. It’s Cass, requesting a facetime. He answers, giving his daughter (is Marinette okay? Will she be okay? What if he loses her right after finding her?) a quizzical look.

“Little sister is okay, right?” She signs furiously, a frown on her face. Bruce grits his teeth, trying hard to push down the emotions threatening to overwhelm him.

“I’m not sure.” He answers, leaving his tone flat and without emotion. He couldn’t break. Not right now, not when his children looked so scared. Not when they all looked horrified. He couldn’t afford to be scared or horrified too. He had to hold it together. Even if he was screaming on the inside. Screaming and begging and pleading with whatever powers there were. Pleading for his daughter’s life. For her to wake up. For the Cure to work on her. He watches and waits. Wincing as Adrien is thrown around even more than usual. His hands twitch, wanting to do something, anything to help. Bruce finally stands, ready to put on his suit and just take the damn Zeta tubes to Paris. Who gives a damn about Hawkmoth, his daughter needs him. He’s just about to walk away when he sees it. The pure white butterfly flying out of Mr. Bug’s yoyo. Bruce inhales sharply, watching the wave of light and tiny ladybugs sweep across the city. He watches as Adrien slides the victim a card before swinging away. Watches as he doesn’t reappear. The camera zooms in to the area he’d flown off to, but there was nothing. Zooming back out, the camera focuses back on the news anchor.

“And that’s another akuma, taken down by our brave heroes. Back to you, Jean Marc.” She says with a tense smile. And the footage cuts out. It’s no more. No one moves. No one speaks. Everyone just stares at the blank screen. The screen where they’d watched Marinette be stabbed. Where they’d seen a sword go through her chest. Bruce clenches his jaw, trying desperately to stop himself from crying.

“I’ll be back.” He says gruffly, leaving his seat to go and put on his suit. There was no way she was gone. He wouldn’t accept it. So, he was going to go to Paris. He’d find her and wrap her up in some goddamned bubble wrap and make sure that his daughter didn’t get stabbed again. God, she has to be okay. His thoughts are frantic as he moves swiftly towards his suit, his thoughts only of getting to Paris. Getting to Paris, and finding Marinette. A sudden flash of light brightens the cave and Bruce instantly gets into a fighting position, watching the light turn into a circle. A portal, right in the middle of the Bat Cave. His breath catches as he watches two figures fall through the portal. Adrien, obviously still in spots. And the girl next to him….he frowns, not quite recognizing her.

“Kaalki, dismount.” The girl says, a soft light flashing over her. Bruce freezes, eyes scanning his daughter as she smiles awkwardly. Glancing over her, reminding himself that she’s there. She’s alive. He crosses to her in three large steps and drops to his knees in front of her so that they’re on eye level.

“Never do that again.” He begs, voice breaking slightly as he wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. She’s alive. She’s okay. She’s alive.

---

Marinette buries her face in her father’s shoulder, tightening her hold on him. He was the only parent that knew she was Ladybug. The only one who would be affected by seeing her stabbed on live tv. Coming to see him directly after the battle was all she could think of when she woke up. She knew she had to see her dad and her brothers. Reassure them that she was still there.

“I’m so sorry Dad.” She chokes out, tears running down her face as she remembers the pain of being stabbed in the chest. The way her vision went dark. The way the blood felt as she choked on it. She squeezes her eyes shut, breathing shakily as she holds onto him for dear life, barely registering when more warmth surrounds her. She doesn’t have to open her eyes to know what it is. Her brothers, all hugging her. Surrounding her, making sure she’s there. She sighs in relief, glad that they’re all there. Glad that she’s able to hug them again.

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[yannowhatigiveup]

My One And Only - Chapter 15

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My gosh, wow! Thank you so much for 100 followers! I never expected to reach this far. And with this chapter, we’ll have finally caught up with it on wattpad!

TW: Injuries being described

The situation in Paris was much, much more serious than they assumed.

————————————————————

Red. He saw red. Ladybug, his Angel was hurt, stabbed, for all of Paris to see. He couldn't stand there and do nothing, oh no. He wouldn't. Damian had to think quickly but logically. 'Father told me I wasn't allowed to bring my Robin uniform but even if I did the citizens would be suspicious. That means...' His eyes landed on the silver ring that was laying peacefully on the coffee table. He reached out and placed it on his right ring finger. It turned a dark grey as a black blur escaped the ring with a green light. It was another kwami, similar to Tikki but it was black and more cat-like. Damian presumed this was 'Plagg', the kwami Tikki talked about earlier. The black kwami yawned and assessed his surroundings in a flash.

"Look-"

"Who are you? Where's Pigtails? How'd you get the miraculous? Do you have any cheese? I'm hungry" Plagg interrupted. The Robin vigilante wasted no time.

"Damian, With an Akuma, She tasked me to take care of the ring and we have better things to worry about your hunger!" He shot back, his voice getting louder after each statement.

"What could be more important than cam... men... bert..." the kwami's voice trailed off as he noticed the screen. Césaire had stopped recording, thank god, but the screen still showed the last frame of the video, it was extremely far from a pretty sight. "This is bad" the kwami panicked.

"Yes, there's no time to lose! Tell me, what do I need to do" he looked at Plagg straight in the eye, showing that he could be trusted.

"To transform you say 'Plagg, Claws Out!'. You have a power you can call upon, 'Cataclysm', and you'll be able to destroy the first object you touch. But it only works once then you have five minutes before you transform back, Make it count!" The kwami was frantic, nothing like this had ever happened before in previous battles.

Damian was already making his way to the balcony "Plagg, Claws Out!" A dark green light engulfed him. He was covered in a black suit, black boots, black gloves with sharp retractable blades, 'Oh how much fun that'll be using them'. He also had a black cape with a hood similar to the one with his Robin costume but instead he had cat ears poking through, a dark grey baton appeared in his hand as well. Almost instantly, he mastered the weapon and launched himself in the direction that Ladybug went earlier. 'I'm on my way Angel. When I get my hands on Hawkmoth, I'll make him suffer. I promise you'

~~~

Ladybug had the situation under control. She had. Something had changed. Hawkmoth must've found a way to boost his powers, it was the only acceptable reason. Otherwise there was no way to penetrate the indestructible suits that the miraculous provided. Yet here she was, forced to watch the horror on her citizens face as a long blade protruded through her chest. The blade held her in the air as she was stabbed from behind. Their expressions, being outsmarted by Hawkmoth and the pain from the injury itself was unbearable for the spotted heroine. She then came to the conclusion that the blade was slowly draining her energy. Hawkmoth planned to have Guerrier collect her miraculous only after watching her suffer. How sickening. 'Hawkmoth, you bitch'

She had to get out of there. She needed to get out of there.

Mustering all the strength she had, she swung her foot at the figure behind her in a strong, hard kick. The long blade was quickly sent back along with the Akuma and Ladybug stumbled forward, one hand on her chest the other swinging her yo-yo to create a shield. Since she was weakened, Guerrier was only sent back a few feet but her kick not only had strength but pure determination. While the Akuma was distracted she looked at the distraught citizens around her.

"For your own safety, please, leave this area!" She tried to sound controlled but instead her voice had a big edge of fear. All the citizens, nonetheless, left. Though, she could see them peaking behind the buildings. Suddenly, Guerrier regained his footing.

Ladybug's eyes shot back in his direction, the nad on her chest clutched into a fist. The miraculous magic was healing her, but it wasn't healing fast enough. She was losing blood. Fast. She tried to use her own powers but that too was draining her energy, the energy couldn't afford lose. She could feel her heartbeat in her ears, she could hear it slowing down. She was panicking, she needed energy to call upon her Luck Charm, she needed energy to fight the Akuma and she needed energy she heal herself. She didn't have enough energy for any of that.

As Guerrier began to approach, her blood was luckily never on the blade, she braced herself for another fight and her vision started to get blurry. just as he was about to go for another swing, a dark grey pole shot out of nowhere, sending the Akuma far from Ladybug. Though she couldn't quite see, she recognised the aura that surrounded the black-hooded figure who was now standing defensively in front of her.

'Damian' she didn't have the strength to speak, she hoped that whatever telepathic link they had the other day would appear again now.

'How are you holding up?' The sound of his voice made relief wash over her like a waterfall. She stopped using her energy on her yo-yo and focused on healing her wound instead.

'Better now that you're here' she stumbled onto her knees, knowing it was safe to do so. 'Remember not to hurt the Akuma too much, Hawkmoth is the real villain here'

'I know' his voice echoed in her ears, 'Speaking of the Akuma, where is it?'

Ladybug's eyes snapped open, observing the fight between the cat and Guerrier. She remembered the blade. The blade that the Akuma was holding. The blade that impaled her. 'It's in...' Now filled with an unusual amount of spite, she snarled "The sword, Noir"

The black-cat themed hero understood immediately and, swiftly but carefully, aimed for Guerrier's hand. In the mean time, Ladybug had enough energy to safely call upon her Lucky Charm. She was given a piece of equipment that she had seen Sabrina's father have. She wasn't sure how to use it as it was still in 'testing phase' as said by Officer Raincomprix. Her Ladybug vision then kicked in and the item as well as Guerrier lit up, she knew what to do.

'Get him to attack you in a high guard motion'

The hooded hero understood the demand immediately and used his pole, now transformed into a 'Cat-ana', to get the Akuma frustrated. It worked perfectly as the black fencer had the sword and the blade above his head, ready to swing. Ladybug then used the moment of vulnerability and threw the lucky charm as if it were a boomerang at the Akuma, the two ends with magnets snapped together, holding Guerrier's arms in place. Though she couldn't see his face, she could tell he was mad. Very, very mad.

Not wanting to waste a moment longer, Damian swiftly grabbed the sword by the handle and swept the Akuma's legs so it hit the ground and had no means of escape. "Cataclysm" It was the first thing he had actually said with his voice during the entire battle and Ladybug has to admit, his voice seemed deeper and huskier. The sword in his other hand had disintegrated to dust, the purple butterfly fluttered from the remains. When Damian had first heard of it, he was completely unconvinced something such as a butterfly could cause devastation. But now, he sensed the ghastly energy that reeked from the creature, it was overwhelming. He only broke out of his trance when Ladybug's yo-yo caught the flying organism and he went to the akumatized victim to take the object Ladybug's Lucky Charm had summoned.

He handed her the item and placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her body as she threw it in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" A bunch of bright magical ladybugs swarmed around the area, fixing and healing anyone who got injured, Ladybug included. But the pain didn't quite stop, so she clutched her chest where the wound once was. The Akuma, now destransformed, was a person around their age, it appeared that he was rejected from the fencing club. This theory was confirmed when Adrien, Ladybug was too exhausted to notice him, ran about to the boy.

"Maxime! Maître D'Argencourt said you can join the fencing club" Ladybug and the black-cat themed hero didn't bother to hear what the boy said in reply but Damian did speak to Adrien.

"Make sure he gets to where he needs to be, safely, Adrien" the new hero spoke as the ladybug hero fell back with pure exhaustion in his arms. After seeing the blonde nod, Damian carried Ladybug in his arms and not wanting to waste any more time, used his pole to launch them in the direction of the hotel. Adrien watched wearily at the two heroes until they were out of viewing distance.

As soon as Damian landed on his hotel room balcony, both his and Ladybug's transformations fell. He was still carrying her bridal style and walked inside, gently placing her down on the bed, being mindful and anxious about her injury, while Plagg closed the balcony door. Tikki circled her owner who was now drifting in and out of consciousness. He kneeled by the left side of the bed as Tikki used her kwami magic where the wound once was, Plagg slowly floated to hover next to his new chosen. When Marinette's eyes fluttered upon, both kwamis rejoiced and hugged both her cheeks. She moved so that her body was sitting comfortably with her legs in front of her, she then turned her head slightly towards the black-haired boy who was sitting besides her.

"Dami-"

He cut her off with a gentle hug and he made his way to sit beside her. "Malaki..." the perturb and pure solace in his voice made a lump form in Marinette's throat. He buried his face further into her neck. "You scared me damn it"

She let out a humorless chuckle, her hand unknowingly reached to stroke her fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry..."

Damian pulled away and lightly placed his hand to turn her face. He crashed his lips onto hers and Marinette melted into the kiss. He then pulled away but kept his forehead on her's, their breaths mingling. "Don't apologize when you are not at fault". He opened his eyes to look straight at her. "I know the wound itself is gone, but what about the pain?"

She smiled lovingly at him. "The pain's subsided, for now" Marinette pulled her shirt down a bit to inspect the area surrounding her injury. All that remained was a fading bruise where the wound once was. The bluenette let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry I couldn't heal it fully Marinette" Tikki's voice cut in. "This is your first physical injury from a miraculous so I didn't want to put any more strain on your body"

"It's fine and, thank you Tikki" Marinette reached out to pat the small kwami's head.

"Well to bring some good news" Plagg butted in. "We found my true chosen"

"Really?" Marinette tilted her head.

"Yep it's Damian, the lover boy here" the black kwami flew over to make himself comfortable in his black hair, ignoring Damian's growl, almost camouflaged completely. "I can feel the destruction in his soul like how Tikki can feel the creation in yours Pigtails"

"Yep!" Tikki chimed.

"Now that's over with, I want some Camembert" The black kwami kept chanting 'Camembert' and Damian sighed while getting off the bed to order some.

"Is food all you ever think about?"

"I can't control my hunger, Sugarcube!"

The bluenette watched the two kwami's banter, amused, and began to fully process the akuma attack. To think she was so close to death made her terrified, but she tried to think of the positives. Like how she and Damian could communicate without speaking, per se, or how he managed to call upon a weapon she had never seen before, his Cat-ana. She concluded it was the work of true miraculous magic and didn't question it further. She had something else she needed to think about. 'How do we fight Hawkmoth now? Obviously he's found out how to make his akumas stronger but he wouldn't go for the strongest one first without testing it. That would just be stupid. This akuma must've been a trial run' The thought worried her to no end. 'We were able to fight him off today but that doesn't guarantee us the win each time just by ourselves'

Soon, Damian returned with some Camembert and, unexpectedly, some cookies. When both kwamis flew to the plate and eat, the black-haired boy sat back down next to Marinette. "What are you thinking about?"

"If the Akuma today was just a test run to try out his new powers, Hawkmoth's akumas are going to get deadlier" The bluenette stated

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

She was silent for a few seconds, contemplating her answer. "I believe we should have some others join us on the field, as permanent holders" Damian nodded. "But we can deal with that later, right now I'm tired. Hold me please" the bluenette mumbled.

Damian adjusted himself so that Marinette could lay comfortably on his chest. "Rest well, mon cœur" he hummed and the bluenette slowly drifted to sleep, listening to his heartbeat. Damian averted his eyes to the ceiling, now was the time he could unleash a tiny amount of his anger. His hands turned to fists as he resisted the urge to punch the mattress. He blamed himself for Marinette's injury. 'Maybe if I could have convinced her earlier to use the miraculous then maybe she would not have gotten hurt' Damian forced himself not to dwell on the 'what if's and instead focused on the now, on Marinette. He could kill Hawkmoth later.

~~~

Adrien returned home from fencing class. The newest member, Maxime, was first denied entry which resulted in him getting akumatized. The blonde didn't expect the Akuma to be the danger that it was. Usually he would've jumped straight into battle but since he didn't have his miraculous anymore, he was forced to watch. Forced to watch as Ladybug struggled alone, forced to watch as she got injured. He hated not being able to do anything, not being able to save his friend and former partner. Luckily the new black cat stepped in, that was the only good thing he saw throughout the entire battle, except the end of it when the heroes won.

Adrien watched as the new black cat user stepped into battle, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous that he had been replaced so soon but he quickly pushed that feeling away. He wasn't the true user and this new hero probably was, he had no right to any entitlement of the miraculous. The blonde watched in awe at the new cat's fighting style, he looked as if he had been training his entire life for battle. Adrien also didn't fail to notice how Ladybug and the Cat were communicating, non verbally. There may have been words exchanged but Adrien never heard them as he was watching from behind a nearby building. This assumption was correct when Ladybug spoke to the hero verbally.

"The sword, Noir" the snarl coming from Ladybug was frightening to say the least but she did just get stabbed, he couldn't really blame her. The blonde noticed how some citizens around him shivered at the tone of the spotted heroine's voice.

The blonde watched as the new hero, Noir?, fought, more dueled, with Guerrier and couldn't help but be in extreme awe and admiration of this hero's skill. 'Where did Ladybug find him? He's incredible!' Paying even more attention to the battle, Adrien watched as Ladybug used her Lucky Charm to hold the Akuma's arms in place and how Noir swiftly stole the blade.

"Cataclysm"

'Well damn!' Adrien thought.

"His voice is hella attractive, I wanna marry it" he heard a citizen whisper, voicing his own thoughts. Though it did seem bad that that was the only thing they could think about, they had a point.

The usual actions after taking down the Akuma were done, the bright ladybugs healing everything damaged. Adrien ran up to the deakumatized victim.

"Maxime! Maître D'Argencourt said you can join the fencing club" He wanted to distract the boy from the fact that he had done something very wrong during his time of being an akuma, not as if he can remember it anyway. As he was about to leave, he heard Noir's voice again.

"Make sure he gets to where he needs to be, safely, Adrien" The blonde nodded, seeing that Ladybug was exhausted and probably needed to rest. He watched as both heroes bounded away, his gaze resting on where he last saw them both, only snapping out of the trance when Maxime asked what happened.

Adrien hoped that Ladybug wasn't too injured, she's far too valuable and important to be lost, especially at the beginning of, what looks like, Hawkmoth's new rise of power.

"Something tells me things are about to get a lot more serious from here on out"

———

Taglist: @little-bluestar, @miracleofadisaster, @frieddonutsweets, @jjmjjktth, @genderfluidmoma, @starlit-dreaming, @icerosecrystal, @lolieg, @kashlyn, @mochegato, @eggadoodle, @walkingthroughonautopilot, @toodaloo-kangaroo, @lady-bee-fechin

[sariahsue]

A Cat of Their Own - Ch 1

Sabine checked her phone again in anxiety. There hadn't been an akuma attack in the last two days, which meant that one would begin any second. She'd been telling herself that every few minutes since breakfast. Tom was playing video games with Marinette, hunched forward over his controller. He was supposed to be getting information out of her, but it didn't look like he was trying too hard. Sabine watched them while she stirred the soup. Steam rose off the surface in faint curls and twists.

The phone screen lit up, and she grabbed it. An emergency alert. An akuma had been spotted. Civilians were advised to shelter in place until Ladybug and Cat Noir had dealt with the problem.

It was the same message that she'd read dozens of times (and ignored more often than that), but now it made her mind numb with fear. But she had to go through with their plan.

"Oh, there's another akuma attack." Her voice sounded hollow and forced. To her dismay, Marinette immediately paused her game and turned around, eyebrows pinched with concern.

"Where is it?"

"Parc Montsouris," Sabine said. "I just got the text."

Marinette looked out the window, her face steely, game controller forgotten next to her. Tom and Sabine shared a worried glance.

"Dinner won't be ready for another half hour," Sabine said, then took a deep breath to keep her voice from shaking. This was the most important stage of the plan. "Did you finish all your homework?" Please. Please, say yes. 

"Oh, uh, now that you mention it, I do remember that I forgot to do something." Marinette waved goodbye quickly, then bolted up her stairs, letting the trapdoor thump loudly behind her. Sabine came to sit next to Tom, soup completely abandoned.

"It's looking likely," he said. Sabine could only nod. Her fingers were cold, and she flexed them to try to bring life back to them, but it didn't help. Her whole body felt numb, and she wondered if she would actually go into shock.

Tom reached for the remote and switched to the news. Cat Noir flitted across the screen, fighting a giant frog monster by himself. He jumped off window ledges and rolled across the empty street to avoid a steady stream of some type of red projectile.

The camera was far away, and the angle was bad so it was difficult to tell, but he looked like a teenager himself. He was thin and lanky, like he was in the middle of a growth spurt.

"We could still be wrong," Tom said.

Nod.

Ladybug swung into view amid scattered applause. Cat Noir dodged a jet of steaming red goo that shot out of the akuma's wide mouth and shouted hello to his partner. She waved back, her cheerfulness jarring against the backdrop of the fight and Sabine's own dread.

"Do you want me to check?" Tom asked.

She couldn't even nod. The screen had her transfixed. She barely registered the shift of the sofa and the creak of the floorboards under his footsteps.

Tom reached the top of the stairs. "Marinette?" No answer. He knocked on the trapdoor, and it sounded hollow. "Marinette?"

Sabine closed her eyes as the trapdoor creaked open and Tom's footsteps disappeared into their daughter's room.

Faint screams and gasps from the television filled the room while Sabine sat and waited, holding her breath. She didn't even hear Tom come back down.

"She's not there," he said, sitting down next to her and grabbing her hand. "And the skylight's propped open."

She squeezed back tightly. "That basically confirms it," Sabine finally said. "Our daughter is Ladybug."

Tom sighed. "Yeah."

On the screen, reporters were running for shelter, hiding behind cars and in recessed doorways, Cat Noir was yelling at civilians to stay out of the way, and bright red puddles sizzled on the cracked pavement.

"What are we going to do?" Sabine asked. "How did this even happen?"

The questions she wanted to ask were why Marinette had never told them, and how could they have not noticed for so long? How was Sabine supposed to keep her own child safe?

The camera shook as the crew set up again, much farther away, but Sabine wished they could do one closeup shot of Ladybug's face. Maybe they'd made a mistake. One good look at her face, and Sabine would be able to prove herself wrong about the superheroine's identity.

The battle had looked fine up close, but from a distance it didn't look like it was going well. The super duo was on the defensive and having a hard time avoiding the frog's goo. The akuma had covered most of the available surfaces already, so they had fewer and fewer places to safely land. Ladybug hung from a lamppost. Cat Noir was just above her, perched on top of the light her yoyo was connected to.

The cameraman crept closer and closer, finally stopping when he was a mere twenty feet from the fight, and Ladybug yelled at him. Sabine squinted at the television, but the image changed too fast, focusing instead on the monster. It was a little smaller than a car. Its muscles rippled as it stalked toward the two heroes.

"We should turn this off," Tom said, though he made no move for the remote. "She's going to be fine."

"No, I need to watch."

They flinched and gasped for the next few minutes, and Sabine shrieked when Ladybug slipped and got hit in the chest. It knocked her to the ground, but she sprung back up before Cat Noir could reach her, even though he ran at top speed, ignoring the spray aimed for him and almost getting hit himself.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Fine just... Ugh! Gross!"

"You could say you're in a sticky situation," Cat Noir said, before laughing loudly at his own joke and his partner's predicament. Sabine's heart was still pounding as she clamped down on Tom's hand.

Ladybug's face tightened with the effort of holding in her laughter, then scooped a bunch of the stuff off her stomach and reached to touch him. Thick strands of it hung off her fingers.

"Oh no, not slime!" Cat Noir jumped back, dodging both Ladybug and the akuma, who shot another mouthful at them. "Slime! Whatever will I do?"

Tom pulled Sabine closer. "Well, it doesn't look like a very dangerous one."

She was sure he was trying to reassure himself as much as her, but she wasn't having any of it. "They should be taking this threat seriously," she said. "If they're overconfident..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, so it hung in the room along with her dread.

Sabine was unfortunately right to worry. The frog reared back on its hind legs and came down on the street so hard it cracked the pavement, letting out a wide stream of the goo. Ladybug, still distracted with teasing her partner, didn't react fast enough. Cat Noir did, and he jumped forward fast enough to shield her, though he got a faceful of slime. He spat it out on the ground while Sabine and Tom leaned forward in their seats, desperate to know if he was all right.

Ladybug just patted him on the back and laughed while he wiped his face with both hands.

"See?" Tom said. "See? He's fine. They're both fine."

"That thing can break pavement. What if it had landed on them?"

But the atmosphere changed as their daughter laughed with her friend. They seemed so earnest in their amusement and maybe even relaxed. The voices of the onlookers and reporters changed in response, becoming less strained. A few people laughed along with them.

The news report itself even changed. Cat Noir tried smearing the goo on a camera as a warning when it got too close, smiling the whole time, while Ladybug rolled her eyes at his antics.

Her parents watched their exchange in interest. Despite the levity they were injecting into the fight, Cat Noir was obviously still very protective of their daughter, which they were both grateful for. He pushed her out of the way of another jet of slime when she was distracted by her own Lucky Charm, and he didn't hesitate to continue fighting without her while she took a few minutes to set up a trap for the monster. They didn't miss the adoration on his face as he watched her.

Ladybug – Marinette – was protective of her partner too. When the monster got too close to him, she would yell out a warning. When it landed on top of him with another sickening crack, she dropped the trap she was crafting and leapt forward to wrench the monster off of him. To anyone else, Ladybug still looked calm and in control, but to her parents, they saw the panic that briefly flashed across her face when she realized her partner might be hurt.

That delay made the fight take a little longer than it might otherwise have been. At the end, Ladybug dashed off, hand over an earring. Cat Noir waved at her as she left, a hesitant smile on his face, then turned and comforted the frog victim, who was now nothing more than a disheveled and confused-looking man in his fifties.

"She'll be coming home soon," Tom said. "Should we go up there and wait for her?"

"Not yet," Sabine said.

The reporters were trying to get close again, no doubt to interview Cat Noir and the latest victim. The poor man looked shaken, and Cat Noir did his best to shield him from the reporters, finally picking him up and carrying him away.

"We need to talk to her about this," Tom said.

They fought against impossible odds with laughter, though they were both just children. And Cat Noir cared about their daughter so much, that was plain. How deep did that go?

"We need to talk to him too," she said.

Read Chapter Two

***

Author’s note: This is a reblogging of an old thing that I originally posted two years ago. I’ve altered it slightly. (Content-wise, nothing is different.) If you’re curious, the original can be found here.

Chapter two is almost completely done, and I think chapter three is in okay shape, so hopefully those updates will both be next week. 

@tbehartoo​ @redhoodsdoll @salsyy301 @lunadensmidnightprowl

[consumeconstantly]

Bring Me To The Precipice of Victory

1| 2 | 3(you are here) | 4  | next

Summary: When Batman departs— just for a short time, just to patch things up in Gotham— things go horribly, horribly wrong in Paris.

He doesn’t know if he can come back from realizing that Marinette and Ladybug are one and the same (and that his daughter has died more times than he can count.) (all biodad bruce are posted in chronological order but can be read as stand alones)

______________________________________________

The moment of peace, of solidarity, that Batman shares with Ladybug up on that rooftop at night means the world.

After a minute or two, Ladybug pulls back, tear tracks down the sides of her face, eye and nose red. She takes another minute of silence,hugging herself in the muggy Parisian air. When she next opens her eyes, Batman can almost imagine that Ladybug never cried at all. 

But he knows that's not true. Ladybug seemed so fragile in his arms. He can imagine— he can imagine Dick in her place, broken over Jason’s death. Tim losing his parents. All of his children facing insurmountable odds with no team by their side. Alone. 

Ladybug is not alone, but functionally, she may as well be. He’s watched the fights. He’s analyzed them. Ladybug is always, always the leader. She strategizes with Ryuko and Viperion, but Ladybug is who everybody looks to for an answer when things don’t work out the way they want them to. She’s the one with the plan, the backup plan, the out. She’s the one who swoops in to save the day.

She’s also the one who has racked up the most hours on the battlefield. Even Chat Noir, her partner, only has three quarters of the hours that she’s put in. For most of the other members of her team, she puts in double, sometimes even triple of what they do. Over the course of six years, there have been a little under two thousand battles, lasting from under an hour to over five hours. Ladybug has shown up for every single one, without fail. That’s not even counting the patrols that they do; although Ladybug is given a lot of flack for not patrolling as often as Chat Noir, there’s a fundamental difference in how they patrol. Ladybug is methodical, Chat Noir is volatile. 

He’s not a bad superhero when it comes down to battle, but the two of them are fundamentally different. Ladybug sees her time as a superhero as a duty. Chat Noir seems to view it as a time to unwind— and while that’s worrying, considering the information he’s gathered on the Miraculous Team so far points to the majority of them beings teens or young adults— it’s not what is needed to deal with the Paris situation. 

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to see these differences is during patrol. Chat Noir uses patrol time almost seems to be an outlet for stress. He entices whoever he’s on patrol with to race to random places in Paris with no rhyme or reason. Whenever he comes across crime, he stops it, but Ladybug— Ladybug searches for crime.

Ladybug has a team and she trusts them with her life, but she cannot trust them to be responsible. That is perhaps the worst possible thing that can happen. And through the videos that he’s watched, it’s clear that the hours she puts in do affect her, and fairly heavily. 

Whoever she is, she’s young. Too young to be in battle untrained, because they are untrained— despite being in the field for years, all of their basic form lacks and tells anybody with an experienced eye that they’ve never had formal training in martial arts. 

When Batman and Ladybug leave the roof, they leave on a better note than where they started. Batman is still upset that Tom and Sabine are dead, but he cannot attribute it solely to Ladybug’s negligence. He admires the young heroine for rising to the occasion when there was nobody else to help. He has no doubt that with the resources and training that he can provide him and his operatives already on the case, Hawkmoth will be revealed in no time at all. 

He’s right, but in the worst possible way. 

It’s largely a mistake on hiss part-- he gets a notification that the Joker broke out of Arkham again, and Hawkmoth and Pavona are missing for the time being. Though Ladybug has made a mistake in not taking Pavona out immediately, she and her team have won every akuma and sentimonster battle. The logical course of action is to go where the most danger is. 

Bruce does not have any predictive powers. There is no way for him to know what’s going to happen. But when he and his team finally catch the Joker and put him away again-- a feat that takes just a little under twenty four hours, extreme concentration, and a good number of injuries-- Batman finally gets a chance to breathe. The adrenaline from facing off against the Joker’s latest scheme fades. Batman reclines in a chair as Alfred binds his  wounds and passes him pain relieving pills while he gets stitches in his abdomen. 

He checks the news in Paris. 

He almost drops the device that he’s using to view the news. 

Marinette’s existence has been hidden from his family. With Dick, he was more concerned about his existence as Robin, rather than informing him that he had a sister. As soon as he started contemplating bringing up Marinette, Batman and Robin had a bad break. Then Jason came along, troubled and angry. Bruce didn’t want to introduce Marinette into the mix then because he was volatile. 

Jason died due to Batman’s incompetence. Bruce grieved the loss of his ward; Batman was never allowed to mourn the loss of his second Robin.

Tim felt unworthy as the only child Bruce didn’t pick up off the streets, and Damian-- well, Damian was Damian. First he had a superiority complex the size of the Grand Canyon, and once he got accustomed to how they handled things in the Wayne Manor-- though Tim would argue that Damian is still not used to this kind of lifestyle-- he overcompensated every single mission and needed a remedial course on How to Interact With Other Humans 101. Add the overarching concern of Marinette being exposed to his vigilante life style and being unprepared for it, and he was never able to tell his children that he had another biological kid. A daughter.

When the news that Sabine and Tom died reached his ears, he told everybody he had business in Paris without elaborating what. With Wayne Enterprises opening a Paris branch of their R&D specialising in European artifacts, it was easy to draw connections that weren’t there.

“Bruce, you need to relax. Business in Paris can be dealt with later, you need to take the time to heal,” Tim says.

A clip in his shoulder from a bullet, knife wounds on his torso and legs, a sprained wrist. Whatever chemical experiment the Joker got his hands out still pumping through his veins. “I need to go-- it’s important--”

The pain relievers Alfred gave him earlier were also a sedative. 

Tim catches him before he passes out.

#

He wakes up three hours late through sheer force of will.

“Paris!” Bruce jolts upright, still in costume, lying prone on a medical cot in the Batcave.

The first thing that catches his eyes is the red and black flying across the screens.

Ladybug.

His kids are all watching the screens with abject horror. 

“Is this,” Tim wets his lips. “The business trip that you were on?”

Bruce drags himself out of bed, adrenaline washing out any residual pain. He doesn’t have the capacity to respond, he needs to get to the zeta tube, he needs to get to Paris, Ladybug is bleeding, the city is in shambles, and Marinette-- 

One of the news sites up on the screen declares the arrondissements that are obliterated. The one that houses Tom & Sabine’s Boulangerie is amongst their number. An approximate death toll fills the static.

-- Marinette is likely among those lost. He has lost another child due to his inaction. Due to his inability to push through, to look forwards and predict the future and the consequences of his actions. Marinette is another Jason, but if Ladybug doesn’t get it together, she’ll be gone permanently. And Ladybug is little more than a child. She can’t handle it, not by herself, not with her team. She needs an experienced hero, and Batman will be there for her, be the one leading the charge against Hawkmoth as the civilians hide in their homes and pray for her Miracle Cure to reverse the damage.

Dick places a hand on his shoulder. Bruce tries to shrug it off, but his fingers dig into the place where the bullet clipped his flesh. The pain is just a reminder that if he does not get to Paris now, there will be thousands-- no, millions-- more who feel this pain. How did Marinette die? Was it an akuma? Did the rubble of one of the destroyed buildings fall on her? Did Ladybug even try to protect her?

“I need to go,” Bruce growls.

“You can’t. While you were out, the majority of the Justice League prohibited all travel via zeta tubes. Nobody can get into Paris right now.”

Bruce knocks Dick’s hand off his shoulder and turns to his eldest. At the very least, Dick and the rest of his children look solemn. Damian’s gaze is fixed to one of the screens that shows Ladybug. “A city is in danger, millions of lives are at risk, Marinette--”

His daughter is dead. He can’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Standing by idly is the last thing he’ll let himself do.“Who put out the order? I’ll get them to reverse it.”

Dick moves so he’s between the zeta tube and Bruce. “B, you don’t understand. If you go to Paris right now, you’ll get akumatized.” 

“I can handle my emotions.”

Jason points at the upper right section of screens that’s replaying past footage. “I wouldn’t bet Paris’ survival on it. Not when more level headed superheroes got on the scene first and failed. They really don’t need any heavy hitters getting akumatized. Not when Superman put three members of their team out of commission.”

Superman arrived on the scene first; it took a matter of seconds for him to get akumatized. He was responsible for razing down three arrondissements in no time flat. Ladybug had to call for a Lucky Charm in order to get her hands on some kryptonite, which forced her to recoup after her time ran out. 

Black Canary arrived next. Then Red Tornado. 

Both were akumatized in mere minutes. 

“After Red Tornado got akumatized, Wonder Woman led the charge to put the rest of the zeta tubes on lockdown,” Duke says, grim. “All we can do now is hope that these Parisian superheroes can pull off a win.”

Bruce stumbles over to get a better view. He remembers Ladybug, small and slight in his arms. A child, crying over the loss of her pseudo parents. 

A warrior, bloody and bruised and broken.

She is one of the last ones standing.

King Monkey and an ox themed hero both died at Superman’s hands. The former got in the way of his laser beams, the latter a victim of super strength and getting thrown through two buildings and having their necks snap at an unsightly angle. Chat Noir was also sent hurtling through the air, and the only reason he was still alive was because Ladybug alighted from the sky and grabbed him before he got sent through a building in his unconscious state. Black Canary came shortly after, apparently informed of the Superman situation and carrying kryptonite. 

She didn’t last for long either. Almost immediately after helping Ladybug and Ryuko bind Superman in such a way that he couldn’t escape, 

Pegasus got hit by Black Canary’s sound waves and Chat Noir’s residual injuries from his fight with Superman forced him into a state of unconsciousness. Queen Bee and Carapace were able to pull off a win against Black Canary, but not without serious injuries. Ryuko faced off against Red Tornado alone, which normally would have been a thing of awe, but in the grander scheme of things, was a huge issue, as without her, the Miraculous Team functionally lost all of their heavy hitters. Rena Rouge and several Miraculous users that clearly had never been in battle before were the ones left to hold their own against the scores of akumatized Parisians.

The only ones left to hunt down Hawkmoth and Pavona were Ladybug and Viperion, and the former was already on her third use of Lucky Charm.

Ladybug pulls out her communicator, dodging an attack.

“Can we get sound on this?” Jason grips the closest table.

Dick shakes his head. “Zatara says there’s already enough interference just trying to get these images. And for some reason, Dr. Fate refuses to get involved with any of this.”

Bruce’s phone rings. He doesn’t pick it up on the first ring, too focused on the ongoing battles. He does take his phone out of his pocket to silence it the next time, but when he presses the sound off, an image comes through.

“Bruce.” Ladybug’s image comes through crystal clear, and it doesn’t make him feel any better. Ladybug, blood dripping from her mouth, costume torn open, hair burnt, wild eyed. 

He opens his mouth to speak, but the image goes blurry as she moves to avoid several attacks pointed towards her. 

“Before I go, I--”

“Watch out, LB!” Bruce lifts his eyes to the screen that displays Ladybug and Viperion in battle. The spotted heroine gets pushed out of the way of a laser, but the snake themed hero takes the hit.

The ambient noise coming from his phone is strong; he can hear blades clashing in the background as Chat Noir, already on his last legs attempts to hold off Darkblade. Screaming from civilians, a strangled sob from Ladybug. “Viperion.”

Ladybug comes back into view. Blue eyes filled with rage.

“If this doesn’t end in our favor, you need to make sure that Hawkmoth and Pavona do not acquire both the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous. Do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.” She blinks, retreats into herself, and Bruce wonders if he’s seeing the girl behind the mask. 

“And If I don’t get to see you again--” If I’m dead, the words go unspoken, “I really did want the chance -- I-- you’re a good man. A good father. Your daughter-- she loves you. She really, really does. Stay safe.”

The transmission cuts off. On the screen in front of him, Ladybug closes her communicator, closes Viperion’s open eyes, and strides to the epicenter of the akumas. Blue fire flashes in her irises, and for a moment, she’s staring directly at the screen. And Bruce knows those eyes. He knows them. 

The next second, all of the computers simultaneously die.

Bruce is numb. No-- no.

He is nothing.

#

All his children-- no, not all his children, Marinette is missing, Marinette is Ladybug, and she’s out on a field that he can’t see grappling with magic forces strong enough to incapacitate Justice League members like their powers and abilities are inconsequential-- stare at him.

“That was… Ladybug?” Tim’s brow furrows. It’s clear that he’s thinking up a hundred different reasons why Ladybug and Batman are connected, why he’s the last person she calls before going into a battle that could very well cost her her life.

“My daughter.” The words are ash on his lips. An existence he’s never acknowledged. Not out loud. Saying it brings a sense of finality to the room. An impending death. “My daughter.”

Nobody asks how long he’s known or when he met her or why he’s never brought it up before. Everything is fuzzy. Floating. 

For a while, there’s silence. 

“Zatara says there’s too much interference to get the picture back up,” Dick opens his messages, frowning. 

Damian still stares at the screen Ladybug looked at directly, frozen.

Bruce picks himself up and moves. He may not be able to use the zeta tubes, but he has a private jet and a license, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t do something.

#

It takes two hours too long to get to Paris. He shaved five hours off the flight length due to superior technology, and another hour and a half off due to sheer force of will. 

The landing is not a pretty thing, but Paris is already in shambles, and there’s no way that the ATC will approve his landing, so Bruce picks out the flattest looking spot of rubble before his jet meets the ground.

According to Tim and Duke, who stayed behind in case this turned out to be an attack spanning multiple cities, the battle ended mere minutes before they landed. Dick manages to get Zatara to broadcast the image in the cockpit of the jet, and on the screen lay three prone bodies. Gabriel Agreste, whose body type fits that of Hawkmoth, Lila, and a third that Bruce does not recognize. 

A bone sticks out of Marinette’s arm, the connected hand crushed and hanging limp. The opposing ankle is twisted almost fully backwards. She is covered in blood and ash and filth. There is no victory in her eyes. Only weariness.

In her good hand, she holds her yoyo. 

She raises her eyes skywards-- the roof of the Agreste mansion is blown clean off-- blinks slowly, and throws the yoyo into the air. 

“Miraculous Cure,” her lips read.

The corpses in Paris rise from the dead. Rubble reforms into buildings. The ashy haze that covered the city disappears.

Ladybug looks like she wants to disappear, too.

She collapses, instead.

Nobody is there to catch her when she drops to the floor. 

@biodad-bruce-month

Maribat tag list(to be added onto this pls send me an ask/dm): @our-precipreciousss @my-dear-friend-anxiety

Who Are You (and what will you become) tag list (to be added here just comment): @anjuschiffer @theunquiet-dead @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @cresentmo0n @allulily @myazael @zalladane @rebecarojas07 @keepingupwiththemalfoys  @frieddonutsweets @all-mights-asscheeks @thornalchemist23 @trippingovermyfeet @jiso-lee @redscarlet95 @ira-sairain @screechingflapbiscuitpeach @ramos123 @cutechip @theunquiet-dead @sleep-deprived-aroace @enternalempires @lilkymilky @woe-is-me0 @officiallydarkgeek @miyla-lokidottir @queencommonsense @demonicbusiness 

mb for not doing tag list right away i forgot i had these cued up already

[ashbrea381writings]

Flying Blind: Chapter 2, Meeting the Bats

“Bunnyx? Should I be concerned?” Ladybug asked, turning to look at the person behind her. Bunnyx was obviously a good five or so years older than the rest of the team, and Batman would have shrugged it off if it weren’t for the next words from Bunnyx’s mouth.

“Nah, I wanted to be at this meeting since current me wasn’t.” Bunnyx pulled up a chair and flipped it backwards to sit on it that way. “To explain, Batman, I can’t tell them too much or the timeline would become unstable, and that really isn’t good. I help where I can and where they are going astray from the correct timeline.”

“Who is to say the correct timeline?” Robin asked. “Couldn’t you nudge it into a more favorable outcome?”

“Not without disappearing. Back to the Future style.” Bunnyx commented bitterly. “Been there, almost disappeared, it sucked. But I can tell you this, LB, it’s okay to trust them with the info you’ve got so far. They’re very helpful.”

“Thanks Bunnyx. Sticking around?” Ladybug asked, handing them a plate with some pastries.

“For the best pastries in Paris for free? Yes, for sure.” Bunnyx started laughing as they took the plate and took a few steps back. “I’m probably gonna let you all strategize without me though, I just wanted to hear the convo I missed the first time ‘round.”

“Oh please, you know they would feed every one of you guys for free if you asked. Unless you’ve had a falling out in the future I don’t currently know about?” Ladybug teased, loosening up more than she had so far.

“Nah, but at the point I’m at, I’m trying not to drain them, you have no idea how much time travel makes you hungry.” Bunnyx chuckled. “Besides, with the rest of these guys stopping by constantly, I’m surprised they even manage to make any money.”

Ladybug shook her head but didn’t comment, turning back to Batman and sighing. “We also have a friend who cannot always help out in battle for civilian reasons. That is Tempest, who has the ability to transform into three different forms; lightning, air, and water.”

“And you’re all about the same age?” Batman asked, his frown deepening.

“More or less, within about a year and a half from oldest to youngest.” Chat confirmed as Ladybug nodded. “We try not to advertise our real ages for both identity reasons, and to try and control just how many people don’t want us doing this due to our ages.”

“And you have no mentor? No Adult to pull you out if things get rough?” Batman’s voice was incredulous, and he sat up even straighter in his seat.

“Unless you count Bunnyx who jumps back from the future now and then to check in.” Chat joked, poking said hero in the ribs.

“Watch it, Kitty-Cat, I can and will send my younger self something embarrassing about you.” Bunnyx slapped his hand away, but sounded bored.

“Who gave you your powers then? You said before that you got your abilities from items?” Robin asked, leaning forward and bracing his arms on the table.

“Like I said, he gave up his memories to protect more of the artifacts.” Ladybug sighed, “The items in question are individually called the Miraculous. There is a box that I have custody of that usually holds them. I won’t say how many there are. Right now I’m letting each person here use one, Chat and I were picked by the former Guardian. When Hawkmoth found out the identity of the former Guardian, he attempted to find out our identities too and wanted to steal the box for himself.” Ladybug stood and began to pace slightly in the little room there was. “During the battle, Chat and I were able to retrieve the contents, and the former Guardian transferred his title to me. The magic of the Miraculous wiped his memories to keep the secrets of the Miraculous from ever being taken from him.”

“So not only are you a superhero as a teenager, but you guard a set of ancient artifacts that each hold incredible power?!” Batman stood abruptly. “If there is some sort of title involved, who gave that title to your mentor?”

“People who are a combination of long gone or not welcome here due to antiquated ways.” Ladybug snapped harshly. “Do not presume to know what is going on with us. Age does not mean wisdom, just that you assume you know what is best for other people.”

Batman took a step back and sighed. “I am angry on your behalf that you were put under this amount of pressure.” He took a moment to calm himself and shook his head. “Am I correct to assume that Hawkmoth is of a similar age to me?”

Ladybug studied Batman for a few moments, sharing glances with a few of the other teammates who all made some sort of gesture or facial expression that they understood among themselves. “Roughly, yes, we cannot be precise but I would judge you and him to be within 3 or so years of each other.”

“What other information do you have? We might be able to help figure him out.”

“It will be difficult, the magic of the Miraculous makes it difficult to pinpoint an identity, and tends to make you want to drop the search. Although, there are some exceptions. Rena figured Carapace out after meeting him in the mask twice.” Ladybug pointed out. At that comment, Rena chuckled and elbowed a blushing Carapace.

“Not fair, LB, you know why it was that easy for her to figure me out.” Carapace muttered, pulling his hood lower over his face.

“My point is, maybe someone with an outside perspective would be able to push past it.” Ladybug shook her head at her friends. “Here, this has everything we’ve observed about Hawkmoth, and information that will help you to identify him more easily. Some of that information covers Miraculous holders in general from our own observations about ourselves. Don’t look into our identities with this, just Hawkmoth.”

“What kind of information?” Batman asked, taking the flash drive.

“How much of a height difference we have when we transform, how much things like hair and eye color change, Chat is an exception for the eyes part.” Chat gave a bow as Ladybug said his name. “It also has Hawkmoth’s approximate measurements from what I’ve been able to figure out the few times we’ve seen him in person. He’s a very tall, slender man.”

Batman handed the flash drive to Robin, who plugged it into a screen on his glove, asking quietly, “Hmmm, how accurate are these measurements and how did you get them?”

“I’m good at sizing people, there’s a civilian reason for it that I won’t name. I could probably give you yours if you wanted.” Ladybug chuckled.

“She’s nearly dead-on, actually, I’ve seen it in action.” Chat added, smirking. “Like that time she figured out who was who at a costume party.”

“That was one time and it was a bet, King Monkey should have known better than to challenge me, he’s known me for years.” Ladybug sniffed. “Besides, it was a good team-building exercise for me to identify you guys in the crowd while you switched costumes.”

“Team building exercise?” Batman seemed unconvinced.

“We’d only just decided that we all needed to know who each other were. So we went to a big costume party with several quick change outfits and tried to identify each other so we’d always know who was who even if we switched Miraculi.” Ladybug explained.

“You all know each other as civilians?” Robin asked, looking shocked.

“After what happened with the former Guardian, I was rather… Stressed and didn’t have a way to tell anyone why it was so bad, so I confided in Rena, and she basically told me that it was time we all knew each other. She’d known Carapace from the start and he found out about her shortly after, so it was something that just made sense. We coordinate better now and know what’s going on in each other’s lives and can adjust for it.” Ladybug shrugged. “We know if one of us is sick, or busy, or can’t get away from civilian life long enough to handle Akuma’s now. We’re more coordinated in our plans and can cover for each other both as heroes and civilians.”

“Do your families know you’re all doing this?” Batman asked quietly, seeming to think about the situation.

“One of us has parents that know, I won’t say who.” Ladybug crossed her arms and stared the Bat down.

“And what do they think?”

Chat chucked, “They’ve basically adopted everyone who wasn’t their kid already and told everyone to stop by anytime. They also keep an eye on the news and give excuses for the one that’s their kid to make sure they get to be at Akuma fights when they’re needed for it.”

“They also offered to patch us up if there’s ever an injury that the Cure doesn’t fix. We haven’t run into that problem yet though.” Honey Bee added, making a gesture like she would start touching up her manicure before being stopped short by her gloves. “By the way, Bug, you need to teach us how to adjust our suits manually, you said there was a way.”

“That’s an entire Saturday on it’s own, Bee, save it for the next girl’s day.” Ladybug waved her off casually.  “Now, I’m sure you guys have what you need to start the investigation with you?”

“Yes, we’ll keep you posted.” Batman held out a comm unit to Ladybug. “The batteries last three days, if it takes longer than that I can meet you here to switch out. It’s also undetectable while you’re wearing it and muting it and turning it on and off is intuitive.”

“MmmmHmmm, I’m willing to bet it’s also a tracker. Pegasus, take a look?” She passed the device to said hero and he plugged it into a small tablet he pulled out of a pocket.

“There is the ability for it to track movements, but that was disabled before I even touched it.” Pegasus handed it and Ladybug tucked it into her ear, testing the settings a bit before leaving it muted but on.

“I know how important secret identities are, the tracker is only in there because it’s the same type as what Robin uses and I’d rather not have him injured somewhere and not be able to get ahold of him.”

“I still don’t like the tracker either, B.” Robin muttered, causing the Miraculous holders to chuckle.

“We can track each other when we’re suited up.” Ladybug swept a hand around the group. “It’s useful to know when each other is on the way or where someone is when you need to meet up.”

“Anyway, we all have places to be, so we’ll check in once and a while through LB to see how it’s going.” Chat said, cleaning off the table and tucking the dishes back into the baskets they came from. “Bee, here’s yours, I think you’ll be missed sooner.” He passed one off the Honeybee who promptly zipped away on her top, waving as she passed over the building. “LB, delicious as always, I need to convince them to teach me their ways.” He sighed, handing Ladybug a basket.

“Don’t be shy, if you ask I’m sure they’d show you. They don’t have anyone willing to take over when they retire, and it might be good for you to have a job like a normal person.” She laughed, taking the larger basket and setting it on the ground before wiping down the table with a cloth she’d pulled out.

“Don’t think I won’t… Next time I’m home alone for the weekend, I’m there.” He laughed and collapsed the table after she wiped it. One by one, the other Miraculous holders put away the chairs and helped Chat wrangle the table into it’s storage shed.

“How often do you guys do this?” Robin asked, watching as the other heroes took off in separate directions.

“As often as we have the time and can get away from our civilian lives. Since we all know each other, it isn’t as hard as it was.” Ladybug shrugged, ruffling Chat’s hair.

“We keep it to a reasonable amount of time and not everyone is always able to make it, but it’s always a nice way to get in some bonding time with the team.” Chat added, pushing Ladybug’s hand off of him. “We’re basically family to each other at this point, so we don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t spend time together. I gotta run, it’s almost time for my next thing.” He sighed and launched himself up with his stick, waving at them and running across the rooftops.

“We’ll be in contact, and I’ll be listening on the comm.” Ladybug pointed to her ear where the device was invisible to any who didn’t know it was there.

With that, the rest of the remaining heroes left, leaving Batman and Robin in a closed-off alley with a beautiful garden and a small shed. “Want me to check what else is in the shed?” Robin asked after making sure his comm was muted.

“No, there was nowhere to hide anything, it’s only big enough for the stuff that’s in there and they left it open the whole time we were talking.” Batman sighed and looked at the sky that was going pink with dusk. “Let’s get to the hotel.”

[miraculouscontent]

Didn’t Need Burrow (May 3rd-May 22nd)

Anonymous said:

Don’t Need Burrow to know that Ladybug’s distrust of Volpina will be played off as though she was simply jealous of her because she thought she was going to steal Adrien/Chat, even though she didn’t like Chat! Oh, but she did, she didn’t know it yet. That’s why she kissed him in Dark Cupid!

Not like she didn’t have a bunch of other reasons to distrust Volpina.

(the show also does this a lot where Marinette has an extra reason on top of “““jealousy,”““ like in “Oni-Chan” where the thing she was concerned about actually ended up happening, but the fandom boils everything down to jealousy anyway)

Anonymous said:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Su Han will take the Miraculouses from all the girls because he thinks girls don’t have the “physical and mental fortitude” to be heroes, giving them tto guys instead. The girls will find out about each others’ identities and join in the battle to get their Miraculouses back without any powers, led by Marinette, despite the fact that the genre of Miraculous Ladybug is supposedly Magical GIRL and thus the girls being powerful should be a given

(there was another part to this but I didn’t get it all so I clipped this ask a bit so it could work alone)

tbh the true ending should just be Marinette and the girls kicking each misogynist to the curb without any powers, and Su-Han goes last.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Luka and Zoe, from their styles and hints like the ice cream Luka holds in Truth and the flower on her shirt.... I'm sure at this point the writers will either send him on a tour with Jagged, or make him Zoe's bf offscreen somehow... Also more torture for Mari mentally :)

Of course. :)

Gotta make sure Marinette doesn’t have any choice but Adrien. :)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe will be Adrien's new love interest because she's "very sweet". Mari will be okay with it because she feels the Guardian must be alone. (And she's still punishing herself for hurting Luka.) The New-Bee and Chat also bond, making her feel even more alone. (But now Lila can't claim she's jealous and her hold over the class is lessened as Zoe becomes more popular.)

I’m super not here for Marinette punishing herself (and the show possibly presenting it as her “growing up” and “doing the right thing”) and for Ladybug getting jealous over the playboy cat.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Prince Ali/Rose turns out to be endgame, while Rose/Juleka gets Lukanette'd -- their relationship happened mostly off-screen and we only see them pulling apart. Juleka has to let Rose go so she can live out 'every girl's dream', possibly even being put on a bus/written out of the series.

In which the Couffaines aren’t allowed nice things because they’re poor-coded.

Anonymous said:

I can’t believe the Pig’s weapon is ACTUALLY a tambourine. I’ve had that down as my guess for the pig miraculous for ages but I never thought I’d actually be right. On that note - Didn’t Need Burrow: the Ox’s weapon will definitely be a hammer, and the Goat’s might be a shepherd’s crook or grappling hook, and the Rooster’s could be a horn.

Congrats on being right!

We’ll definitely see on the whole weapons things.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: That Rose's mysterious sickness from "Guiltrip" episode will be ignored in other episodes.

Honestly, it was ignored in “Guiltrip” too. Rose’s illness seemed to be related to headaches and then they literally have her headbanging in her transformation.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: After "Guiltrip", the dynamics of Juleka and Rose's relationship will revert to the "romantic standing next to each other somewhere in the background".

Just look at them doing [friendly task]... romantically!!

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Tikki's comments about not really understanding love are later treated as her being in denial about her being in love with Plagg. Because the two of them are 'soulmates' *just like Adrien and Marinette*, and there's no such thing as a PLATONIC bond. Plus, it's denying another feminine-identifying character the right to define and declare her own feelings -- she's not ALLOWED to not love him that way! If she says otherwise, she's either in denial or mistaken! Or both!

[flashbacks to “Animan” where Alya denies feelings for Nino as being “like a brother to her” and then gets together with him at the end of the episode]

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In the upcoming Mr. Pigeon episode, Chat Noir's behaviour toward Mr. Ramier in Lies will not be brought up at all.

Yeah, this is why I knew writing “Lying on the Job” was the right choice. :P The show wasn’t going to do it.

(part of me hopes that this acts as a jinx but I doubt it)

soap-lady said:

Didn't Need Burrow: It will be revealed Adrien always knew about Mari's crush. He tells Plagg it's because not only would rejecting a friend be hard, her akuma would be even scarier than her dad. He later admits at the end of the episode to Plagg that having an "awesome person like Marinette" crushing on him makes him feel good about himself. The show will frame this as charming rather than egotistical.

wow i hate it

throw the whole man away, Marinette

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The "reverse love square" will happen as a result of Adrien being drunk on a love potion/under the control of a spell which makes him fall for Marinette. This will result in Marinette being uncomfortable with Adrien's relentless pursuit of her...AGAIN...which is, of course, played for laughs...AGAIN. Her friends will probably shame her, saying, "why are you so upset? You used to like Adrien and now he's returning that affection! What is WRONG with you, Marinette?". Meanwhile, during battle sequences Chat Noir will be less playful and intrusive of Ladybug's personal space because he's in love with Marinette now and not her, which is good(minus the"in love with Marinette" part, obvs), except that it will cause Ladybug to suddenly fall in love with the new Chat Noir who is being respectful(and "just like Adrien used to act"), and she'll act like a giddy schoolgirl over him, which will be used to humiliate her for comedy as Chat treats her like a freak now. And no, the show will NOT "call him out" for suddenly being averse to the affections of the "girl of his dreams" but will treat him as justified, because guys who pursue girls are gentlemanly and entitled to love back, while girls who pursue guys are pushy and obnoxious. There will even be a lesson on how you shouldn't have to put up with unwanted advances. Chat will be the one to learn it. There will also be a lesson on how you can't force someone to love somebody else. Adrien will be the one to learn it.

Wow, how’d you get the synopsis to Season 5? Impressive! (⊙o⊙)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat will complain about Ladybug not trusting him, so she tries trusting him with further responsibilities which he then shirks, blows off and whines about. Naturally, Marinette is Wrong for DARING to think that her 'partner' should share more of the burden -- no, she HAS to carry everything herself and enable him to keep treating their duty as a game! It's not FAIR for her to expect anything more from him--!

oh my god

he would *gestures loudly to “Lies”*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat Noir will *deliberately* mess up a vital task that Ladybug assigned/entrusted him with, either to punish her for some petty/imagined slight (which is treated as Incredibly Serious and Deserving his retaliation) or because he simply doesn't want to have to deal with the extra responsibility. Much like somebody who 'never learns' the right way to load a dishwasher/do laundry/other chores so that somebody more responsible is forced to pick up their slack.

Sounds about right.

“Bonus” if Chat Noir is presented as in the right because Ladybug’s task was “too difficult”/”she didn’t instruct him right”/”you can’t expect him to be perfect on his first try,” or Chat Noir’s shirking is treated as “payback” for something she did that he maybe doesn’t even know about.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette gives up on becoming a fashion designer because her duties as Ladybug/Guardian take priority. Tikki protests not for Mari's sake, but because she enjoys her creative drive/justifies it as a form of honing Marinette's creativity. Thus the lesson is not that Marinette was Wrong because she deserves to have things that make her happy/goals outside of her duties, but because she can fold them into her Greater Purpose.

Miraculous: Tales of Marinette Not Being Allowed to Be Happy

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat Noir will be (temporarily) killed during one of his 'Pity/Praise Me!' stints, because he decides that he can't function without Ladybug kissing his ass and she's too busy fighting the akuma to coddle him. Naturally, this is presented as Marinette's F-Up of the Week that she must fix at all costs and apologize for, insisting once more that she 'can't do this without him' despite being constantly forced to do this without him.

It’s Ladybug’s fault that Chat keeps sacrificing himself, obviously! She’s just not telling him not to in the rIgHt wAy, and she should be

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Ladybug will finally learn the truth about how Theo was akumatized, but Chat Noir will insist that he didn't lie and that she really WAS to blame for it. And anyway, that was 'so long ago' that she's not allowed to be mad over it anymore. (Bonus: this or other episodes will have callbacks showing that Adrien is still salty over things like being 'stood up', with HIS frustration presented as perfectly valid, as there's no expiration date on HER screw-ups.)

[flashbacks to “Stormy Weather 2″ where Plagg retcons Ladybug’s avoidance of Chat’s date as her standing him up]

+ Yeah, I don’t see Adrien not having expiration dates on his mistakes, and his are always for the better (i.e: stealing the book in “Volpina,” which was wrong obviously, and then Marinette covered for him immediately to get him back into school).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloe is given a 'redemption arc' after all... in the vein of her falling for Kim or some other male character and being convinced to change her ways for/by them. On top of being grossly sexist, this lets them slam Marinette even more, painting her as a failure who couldn't help Chloe despite that never being her responsibility in the first place.

“Bonus” if it’s Luka who does it.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Rather than confirming Juleka/Rose, CHLOE is officially revealed to be a closeted lesbian, retconning all of her bullying into the tried-and-trite 'They're only tormenting you because they LIIIIIKE you'. Bonus points if this is used to reinforce the notion that Chloe is irredeemable because 'Evil Jilted Lesbian can't be saved by Hetero LI'/she lied about crushing on Adrien/other toxic and heteronormative bullshit. AND her evilness is Mari's fault for not loving her back!

It’s always Marinette’s fault for not loving people back.

Also, this just reminds me of how much I hate the “lesbian bully” trope fdkjgdfgdfg.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat Noir throws another Pity Me Party in the middle of a fight; Ladybug is sniped by the akuma while scolding him to stop fooling around. Naturally, this is presented as HER fault for not immediately accommodating his demands for attention. After saving her, Chat mockingly echoes her words about concentrating and keeping her head in the game.

╰（‵□′）╯

EVERY TIME!!

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloe gets another chance at redemption by learning how to mimic Adrien/Lila and feign niceness. Whether or not her 'redemption' sticks depends upon her patience level; if she sticks to it and 'grows' into another Lila/holier-than-thou lecturer like Adrien, it's considered good (and Adrien gets full credit for helping her change 'for the better'), but if she goes back to being *openly* judgy and bitchy, it's another sign that she's 'irredeemable'.

Ugh, when Chloe’s options are either to be a Lila or an Adrien. All I feel is disgust.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The Love Square is reversed when Adrien learns Ladybug's secret identity and decides to focus on pursuing her as Marinette. Mari is put off by his advances/still convinced that she can't HAVE a romantic relationship with all her other responsibilities, and is further distracted and concerned by Chat Noir growing distant (as he's bitter over his failures and taking it out on LB/holding a grudge after learning she confided in ALYA and not HIM).

i hate it

And of course the method of “now she’s not interested so I’M interested.”

Anonymous said:

Didnt Need to Burrow: Despite being 'twins' with Juleka, Luka will never show up in another episode. Ever. And the only mentions of him are only about the breakup. Even in Juleka-centric episodes, Luka will only be a passing mention. Oh, and Juleka will 100% stick to just mumbling outside of episodes where shes akumatized. Because gIrL poWeR

I’m honestly just--expecting Luka to have like one/two episodes, maybe to get a charm, and then he’s gone forever.

I don’t know if it’s a mercy or an insult, but the constant mentions of the break-up between Marinette and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-Outside-Of-Spiting-Him definitely are an insult.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: "Gigantitan <insert high number>" episode

NO

NO

ANYTHING BUT THAT.

Anonymous said:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Ladybug and Cat Noir will be able to power up in some way, but they have to form a special bond (this is implied to be a romantic bond). They use this power up to defeat Hawk Moth. bEcAusE tHe pOWeR oF “LoVe” cOnQUerS aLL! Bonus if the characters imply that Ladybug should’ve accepted his affections sooner (Adrien won’t be mentioned at all, i wonder why:p)

I’m cringing so hard right now. I hate everything about this because you sound so correct.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: Lila will be written out/ret-conned from a show because she was only a Unredeemed!Chloe stand-in for time of Chloe "redemption arc". Every speculation about Lila (next Hawkmoth etc) will be applied to Chloe instead as a "plot twist".

I’m half-expecting that she’ll get akumatized as a season finale bad guy, then just immediately move.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need Burrow: Alya is the one who comes up with the akuma repellent charms and Marinette is going to be jealous that Alya is so much a better guardian. Alya'll also probably be able to wrangle the kwamis better than Marinette.

Honestly I might as well just put this one on the card right now. :P

Anonymous said:

Didnt Need Burrow: When Ladybug tells Chat that she told somebody her secret identity, hes gonna be mad, talking about how she broke his trust and the show will portray it as her fault for breaking under the pressure of being guardian. Meanwhile the fandom is gonna be mad at Ladybug. Ignoring, of course, the entirety of the New York Special.

We could sum up the fandom card as just, “Adrien is right and a sad uwu sunshine child, Marinette is wrong and OP and doesn’t give Chat the respect he deserves.”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Rose's 'mysterious illness' will naturally flare up during times where Pigella might have been useful, with Ladybug getting blamed for her flare-ups/worsening condition.

BANNED

I HATE IT DX

Anonymous said:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Building off of the “Adrien knows about Marinette’s crush and manipulated her for it”, any time Marinette does something Adrien doesn’t agree with or disagrees with Adrien himself, Adrien will play the cute, naïve, sad boi we all know and “love”, complete with Bambi eyes and gratuitous long eyelashes, forcing Marinette to give in to what he wants. This is treated as cute, quirky, and hilarious, never abusive, selfish, or misogynistic.

I mean, considering Chat Noir and “Chameleon,” yeah.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: a) Episode, where Chat Noir is even worse than in "Lies" b) Situation where Chat Noir during meeting with Ladybug is like always (M'lady, Bugaboo, unwanted psychical contact etc.) then Ladybug reveals that she recognized him as impostor because "real Chat Noir never will be so pushy" (bonus points if false Chat Noir is akumatized Felix) c) Writers somehow manage to put both above options in one episode (obviously with real Chat Noir being even worse than his impostor)

“Copycat” but worse

differenttriumphdragon said:

Didn't Need Burrow to somehow correctly predict Zoe's identity as a joke based solely on some blurry pictures and an offhand comment about "secret siblings". Like, a YEAR or two ago.

I’m guessing this is referring to the writers creating her?

Because yeah, probably.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: We will get Lukagami. One of the reasons will be the clash of the Tsurugi-Motto of "No Second Chances" and Luka's snake power of "Second Chance" resulting in some weird sparks flying.

*puts head into hands and groans loudly* kill meeeee

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: The Multimouse!Mylene's model will be based on the Multimouse!Marinette's model (in the same way that the Rena Rogue's model is based on the Volpina's model)

plz no

plz

Anonymous said:

Didn't need burrow: Guilt trip hints at Adrien having actual depression, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but knowing the show, two things will happen: 1. His depression will only exist to make people feel bad for him instead of exploring his mental state and seeing him working through it, and 2. his depression will be magically cured when the LS becomes canon because "true love heals all your mental issues".

All of the above, yes. :|

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Ladybug gets a fresh new look (for the sake of more Real-Life ML Merch), and Chat Noir gets sulky about it. Both because he didn't get an upgraded appearance at the exact same time (despite doing absolutely nothing to earn it), and because he didn't get any input on her new look. So he passive-aggressively complains about the change, saying he preferred 'classic Bugaboo', and Marinette is presented as Wrong for not letting him dictate her power or appearance.

*stares at “Mr. Pigeon 72″* I’m waiting.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need burrow: Imagine after you made that fic where Bustier and D'argencourt get the miraculous they reveal in the show that Bustier's husband/boyfriend/fiance is D'argencourt.

I WILL DIE.

OF LAUGHTER? OF PAIN???

THE ANSWER IS “YES.”

“Bonus” if it’s a DJWifi dynamic where Bustier can get D’Argencourt to do whatever she wants and suddenly becomes aggressive/upset when he doesn’t, which D’Argencourt immediately folds to (because the only “““girl power”““ the show knows is “lol girls are scary when they’re mad”).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The Love Square gets 'Reversed' via Alya deciding that Marinette MUST have a crush on Chat as well, since she personally ships LadyNoir. All insistence to the contrary is waved off as denial, and Alya is bound and determined to hook up her BFF with ONE of her crushes, come hell or high water. Thus, Mari gets shoved towards Chat in much the same way she's forced towards Adrien, creating much awkward hilarity at her expense.

Marinette’s entire being: i want to go home

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya learns about Marinette getting jilted by Chat Noir during 'Weredad', possibly from Tom and/or Sabine.  She rubs this into Mari's face as proof positive that she really DOES have a thing for Chat, crowing about how she 'does her research' while teasing her about her awful luck with guys. This casual cruelty is 'balanced' by her insistence that she'll help her hook up with ONE of them by forcing her towards both.

Alya, looking at her plans and just shrugging: Hey, now her odds of getting a guy are doubled as far as I’m concerned.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will insist that all of Marinette's romantic woes are her own fault due to her being interested in multiple guys. (Mainly meaning Adrien and Chat Noir; 50-50 on whether she acknowledges Luka's existence as more than just proof of her 'fickle heart'.) She 'supports' her by shoving her into humiliating scenarios with her love interests, blaming all her failures on her 'divided loyalties' and giving her grief for being a 'dirty two-timer' that can't even get off first base.

Yyyyup.

And of course Luka would only be mentioned to shade Marinette.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Tikki will keep nagging Marinette about her inability to solve her romantic woes until Mari snaps that Tikki doesn't know what she's talking about, throwing her own words about how kwami don't understand love back in her face. Naturally, this is Mari's Mistake Of The Week, as Tikki is driven to tears over the rebuke and all the other kwami get pissed off at Marinette for upsetting her, giving her grief until she apologizes.  Tikki barely apologizes in return, if at all.

Ugh, I am just dreading an almost-inevitable “all the kwami are mad at Marinette” episode, since Marinette literally cannot escape from them since the Miracle Box is in her room.

Anonymous said:

(Mylene's personality anon) Don't Need a Burrow: Mylene's "Marinette's trait" will manifest in Multimouse!Mylene's introduction episode.

Mylene: Soon, I will have successfully swiped a personality trait from each of my friends to form one of my own.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: Characters who are popular fandom choices for alternate Miraculous Holders (Bee!Aurore, Fox!Lila, Cat!Felix etc) are akumatized into evil versions of Core Five Miraculous Team (Ladybug, Cat, Fox, Turtle and Bee)

Season 2462 finale.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: There will be more immediate self-contradictions, where Marinette is berated about how something she's doing/done is Wrong, badgered into following somebody else's 'good advice', and then promptly punished for doing so when the results blow up in her face.  These turnarounds will become so fast that they happen within the same episode.  Naturally, this is treated as entirely her fault.

At the rate her treatment is escalating, I would be 0% shocked. Still disappointed, but not shocked.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: It will turn out that the mysterious future Hawkmoth successor that Timetagger talked about is simply the Shadow Moth.

I laughed at this one so hard because it’s so accurate. I don’t know for sure if it’s a reference to the whole “new villain who’s been around since the beginning who just turned out to be Shadow Moth” thing but omg.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The akuma-resisting pendants are used as an excuse to push Marinette even further past her breaking point, subjecting her to ever worse humiliations and traumas.  If the fact that she basically NEEDS the pendant to survive is ever brought up, it's in a chiding way; obviously, as Ladybug, she needs to be mentally stronger than this and not rely on a 'crutch'.  Nobody else is insulted for needed the pendants' protection.

Imagine the pendants as metaphors for medication and this takes on a whole new meaning.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a counterpart to "Chat Blanc", one episode visits a Bad Future where Marinette was akumatized.  Naturally, this is depicted as entirely her fault, with both Maris being raked over the coals.  No matter what the breaking point was, it's treated as though it was petty and pathetic for her to let it effect her so much.  For bonus points, this was at a point after she got the pendant, but she accidentally ditches or pitches it while reacting to whatever broke her back.

Especially with the reveal of two new seasons, I’m very much expecting Marinette to get akumatized at some point.

“Bonus” for a “Miracle Queen” set-up where Adrien needs to wear the ladybug miraculous and is suddenly good at it despite being awful at it before, ala Snake Noir.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will wind up making most of the anti-akuma amulets.  This is purely so that, when they inevitably fail, she can be blamed for it.

It’ll probably be like--Marinette needed to do something specific to make the pendants and they’re “only as strong as she is.”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The Love Square gets reversed when Alya decides she ships LadyNoir more than MariAdri, pushing her newfound agenda over her BFF's protests.  Meanwhile, Adrien reveals that he knew all along about Marinette's crush, starting to pursue her because he just doesn't uNdErStAnD why she's pulling away, feeling entitled to having her chasing after him even if he never intends to actually reciprocate.  Marinette is caught in the middle and blamed for all this drama.

Marinette, counting down the days where she can finally drink alcohol.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: One or some of Adrien/Chat Noir's past lies gets revealed to Marinette/Ladybug... for the sake of a moral about forgiveness and 'letting things go'.  Meanwhile, he continues to grouse and hold grudges against Ladybug for her supposed slights against HIM without being seriously challenged.

I’m seething.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette is shown a 'better world' wherein she never developed a crush on Adrien.  In this 'better world', Ladybug and Chat Noir are romantic partners.  Bonus points if this pushes forward the agenda of reversing the Love Square by getting Marinette to start seriously considering Chat as a potential love interest, treating this as her 'missing the point' of what she was shown... even if the goal was rather unclear beyond guilt-tripping her for having FEELINGS and DESIRES.

The true goal/moral is that Chat’s feelings are valid while Marinette’s are not.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: Hawkmoth will somehow get Black Cat Miraculous and attack as Moth / Cat Fusion (Cat Moth?). After defeating this form, Black Cat Miraculous will be taken from him and without any questions returned to Adrien. Whole thing will happen in one episode.

“Bonus” if Hawk Moth just stumbles upon the ring and doesn’t question it.

Anonymous said:

Didn’t Need Burrow: All Ladybug and Black Cat Holders are soulmates/ have gotten romantically involved. This gives Chat even MORE motivation to invade LB’s boundari-I MEAN to pursue her. Also, LB reacts in horror to this (who wouldn’t?) but its played for laughs.

At this point, I feel like this is the only way for them to push the love square as hard as possible. “Chemistry” has just flown out the window and they need a crutch.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need a Burrow: Reveal that Rose has rich parents because ML writers can't make sad blond(e) character who doesn't have rich parents (and also to increase the "You see! They love each other despite so many differences between them" factor of JuleRose)

Zag, “Stop Giving Rich Kids Sad Backstories” Challenge.

Part of me imagined an episode that just shipbaits JuleRose constantly, with Juleka constantly asking Luka and others advice on “getting closer to Rose,” which just ends up being Juleka asking Rose to be best friends.

[purrincess-chat]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Spite Playlist: Remix CH3

It’s akuma time! This chapter hurts worse down the line, if you can believe it. I have a lot up my sleeve for Alya and Marinette this go round ;)

-------------------------

Previous   First   Next    AO3

Chapter 3: Ignorance

Nino entered the locker room, nodding his head to the beat playing in his headphones. Alya was taking the whole Marinette situation hard, so he wanted to make sure she was okay. Maybe they could go out for some ice cream to cool off, then try talking to Marinette about what happened. Surely, there was an explanation for it.

As he rounded the corner of lockers, his eyes widened with terror. Red lips upturned into a sinister smirk, and Hawkmoth’s newest creation stared back at him with a set of familiar hazel eyes.

“Alya?” he gasped.

“Not anymore.” She trailed her thumb over the small pitchfork in her hands. “I’m Backstabber, and I’m going to get revenge against my so-called ‘bff.’”

Nino turned to run, but Backstabber launched a pitchfork straight into his back where it disappeared with a spark. She paced over to him, lifting his chin as tiny devil horns matching her own appeared on his head.

“Now,” she cooed. “Isn’t there something you have to say to your best friend?”

♪♫♪ Let It Die ♪♫♪

Across the street, Adrien and Marinette sat in her living room, picking away at their homework. Adrien was in her living room. Sitting on her couch. Drinking her tea. He was too beautiful for words, his gorgeous green eyes scanning over his maths problem. His face alone made her regret ever leaving Francoise-Dupont. How was she going to survive without seeing his radiance every day?

Marinette was too busy memorizing the rhythm of his breathing to focus on her work, the memory of his arms wrapped around her still fresh. He’d cradled her in his arms. Of course, it was because she was ugly crying, but she would ignore that detail.

Adrien was too perfect for words. How did she ever think that he would abandon her when she left? Their friendship meant a lot to him. She meant a lot to him. It was a fact that she’d spend hours dreaming about. One day he’d hold her in his arms and whisper those three beautiful words. Then they’d get married, have 3 kids and a hamster named-

Adrien’s phone rang, snapping her from her trance, and her heart sank. It was probably his father demanding that he come home like normal, but to her surprise, Nino’s picture flashed on the screen.

“Hey, Nino, what’s up?”

“Ya know what, Adrien? I’m tired of your goody-two-shoes act, pretending you’re all innocent,” Nino said.

Adrien’s eyebrows raised. “What are you talking abou-”

“I’m gonna tell your dad to start homeschooling you again so the rest of us don’t have to put up with you anymore.” Nino hung up with a maniacal laugh.

“What was that about?” Marinette asked.

“I don’t know,” Adrien said, staring down at the screen, “but it can’t be good.”

“You don’t think he was akumatized, do you?” She reached for her purse.

“If not him, then probably someone else, I should get home before things get too crazy. I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will handle everything soon, so stay inside where it’s safe, okay?” He shoved his tablet and textbook back into his school bag quickly. “See you around, Marinette.”

“Uh, yeah, see ya…”

Marinette reached for her purse the moment the door shut behind him. “Let’s get out there and capture this akuma before Nino gets to Gabriel Agreste. Tikki, transform-”

Before she could finish the phrase, the front window of the living room shattered, and Marinette shielded her face from the debris with a yelp. Her purse tumbled under the coffee table out of reach.

“Hey, Marinette.” A familiar face loomed over her with a twisted grin. “Remember me? Your bff?”

“Alya?” Marinette gasped, stumbling over the side of the couch. “What happened to you?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” She readied another pitchfork. “I’m not Alya anymore. I go by Backstabber now, but I bet you know all about that sort of thing.”

Backstabber tossed a small pitchfork and caught it again as Marinette inched toward the stairs.

“What are you talking about?” She needed to reach her purse, but Backstabber was closing in.

“You know what you did,” she snarled. “I’ve got a pretty pitchfork here, how would you like to shove it into my back? Oh wait, you already did!”

Marinette turned to dash up the stairs, narrowly dodging the pitchfork as her parents burst through the front door.

“Marine- Oh!” her dad gasped before taking a defensive position between Backstabber and the stairs. “I won’t let you hurt my daughter!”

“If you knew what she was really like, you wouldn’t bother protecting her.” Backstabber’s eyes narrowed as Marinette’s mom entered the room. “But tell me, daddykins, can you protect your wife and your daughter?”

With a flick of her wrist, Backstabber launched another pitchfork at Marinette’s mom. Her dad jumped in front of her, turning his back and taking the attack himself.

“Dad!” Marinette gasped as two horns appeared on his head before she retreated through the trap door into her room.

“Tell me, Marinette,” Backstabber continued, pursuing her calmly as Marinette scrambled to the loft stairs. “Did you ever consider me a real friend?”

“Of course, I did!” Marinette paused halfway up.

“Then how could you abandon me?” Backstabber palmed another pitchfork. “How could you leave without telling me?”

“How could you abandon me?” Marinette shot back, eyes stinging. “How could you take someone else’s side over mine? How could you put me in the back of the class by myself and not even apologize?”

“Lila was right about you. You really are just an attention-seeker, always playing the victim,” Backstabber said.

Marinette clenched her jaw before crawling over her bed and through the skylight onto the balcony. She climbed over the wall, wobbling as she made her way out onto the rooftops.

“You know what I think?” Backstabber called, and Marinette spun around to face her. “I think you’re the real liar. Always running late, making up excuses, disappearing suddenly, so what secrets are you hiding, Marinette?”

Before Backstabber could attack, Chat Noir smacked the pitchfork from her hand with his staff. “It’s dangerous to play on the roof. Someone could fall,” he said with his usual taunting lilt.

“I don’t think Marinette can sink any lower.” Backstabber glared through her. Marinette’s hands clenched into fists at her sides.

“What happened to you two? I thought you were best friends,” Chat Noir asked, taking a defensive stance in front of Marinette. “Not too long ago you were putting your neck on the line to save her, and now you’ve turned your back on her?”

“She turned her back on me!” Backstabber shouted.

“Only because you were being a bad friend!” Marinette shot back.

Backstabber flinched, squeezing her eyes shut before she unleashed a slew of pitchforks with a growl.

Chat spun his staff to deflect them as Marinette cowered behind him. She needed to find a way out of this to transform. Maybe Ladybug could talk some sense into Alya, but her purse was still down in the apartment.

“Ah!” he hissed as a pitchfork grazed his arm.

Marinette cupped her hands over her mouth in horror, but nothing happened. “Why didn’t it transform you?” she asked, closing her eyes and picturing her dad. “Of course! Her attacks only work if they hit you in the back.”

“Then I guess we’ll have to keep this battle face-to-face,” he said, wrapping an arm around her, “but first I should get you to safety.”

“Not so fast, kitty!” Backstabber growled, charging in, but he dodged out of the way before she could strike.

Landing in the street, Chat Noir set Marinette down and brandished his staff once more.

“Go! I’ve got your back,” he shouted as Backstabber gave chase. “Cataclysm!”

As Marinette ran up the street, Chat Noir touched his palm to the concrete, opening a crater to the sewers to distract Backstabber while Marinette escaped. She needed to meet up with Tikki before Chat Noir changed back.

Ducking back into the bakery, she tiptoed around the counter and pressed a hand to the side of her mouth. “Tikki?” she called in a hushed tone, creeping over to the backdoor.

“Marinette!”

She jumped as her kwami phased through the floor and flitted into her face.

“Thank goodness.” Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. “Come on, let’s go before Backstabber gets the best of Chat Noir. Transform me!”

Chat Noir’s cries echoed between the buildings as Ladybug stepped out of the bakery, and with a practiced toss, she created a net between two light poles with her yoyo to catch him.

“I see this battle is really flying by,” she said as he climbed down.

“Yeah, and we need to move quick. I don’t have a lot of time left.” He held up his ring finger where three pads flashed.

“Oh look, the cockroach has joined her mangey stray,” Backstabber cooed.

“And she’s about to kick your butt.” Ladybug charged in.

With each strike, Ladybug scanned her person, trying to figure out where the akuma could be hiding. Nothing stood out besides the intricate brooch embedded in her suit. Alya never wore jewelry, and Ladybug couldn’t fathom why the akuma would be there. As she dodged another swing, a familiar photo of the two of them nestled inside the jewel stood out. Back flipping out of the way a few times, she pressed her hands to either side of her mouth.

“Chat Noir! The akuma is in the photo in her necklace!” she called as Backstabber crossed her wrists to block his staff, forcing him back a few paces.

“What’s the plan for getting it because I’m running out of time,” he said urgently—his last two pads flickering.

“Lucky charm!” She caught the two necklaces as they fell from the sky, turning them over in her hands to read the two halves of a heart together. “Best friends forever… What am I supposed to do with this?”

She glanced around with a pensive frown, singling in on the photo in Backstabber’s necklace and the tears bubbled in the corner of her eyes.

“M’lady?” Chat Noir dodged another pitchfork.

“Go! I’ve got this.” She ordered, but he eyed her skeptically, his ring flashing.

“Are you sure, m’lady?” he asked.

“Positive.”

Chat Noir glanced between them with a conflicted frown before vaulting himself into the rooftops.

Ladybug took a stance in front of Backstabber in the middle of the street. “Just you and me now,” she said with a gentle determination.

“How do you expect to beat me with that?” Backstabber scoffed, cocking a hip to one side.

“Not with this.” Ladybug shook her head. “With words. You’re upset that your friend abandoned you, right?”

Backstabber seemed taken aback. Her jaw clenched as Ladybug held up the necklaces.

“She’s your best friend, and right now you’re hurt and confused, but have you considered that maybe she’s feeling the same way?” Ladybug continued.

“She left me!” A tear rolled down her cheek. “She didn’t even say goodbye!”

“Don’t you think she has a reason? Best friends don’t just abandon each other.”

Backstabber weighed it before shaking her head. “What reason could she possibly have had?”

“There’s a lot you probably don’t know about your friend. Secrets that she wishes she could tell you but can’t…” Ladybug averted her gaze. “I’m sure you’re both hurting, and Hawkmoth took advantage of that, but you’re stronger than he is, Alya.” At the sound of her name, Backstabber flinched, and Ladybug paced over to place her hands on her shoulders. “I know you are.”

Backstabber searched her gaze, lips quivering, shoulders shaking. She hugged her sides as hot tears spilled down her cheeks, sinking to her knees. Ladybug crouched beside her, fastening one of the necklaces around her neck before opening the clasp of Backstabber’s locket and removing the picture inside. Ladybug stared at it with a frown before ripping it down the middle, separating the two smiling girls and freeing the black butterfly from inside.

“No more evildoing for you, little akuma.”

♪♫♫ Miserable at Best ♪♫♪

When the doorbell rang, Marinette stood up from the couch and straightened her blazer. She took a deep breath before striding over to answer it. Miraculous Ladybug set everything back to the way it was, but there were some things that her superpowers couldn’t fix. This time she would have to face them herself.

“Hey…” Alya gave a half-wave when Marinette opened the door.

“Hey,” Marinette replied.

“Sorry about earlier,” Alya said with a wince. “I was upset about you leaving, and I guess Hawkmoth could sense that.” When Marinette remained quiet, she bit her lip. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Marinette averted her gaze. “I didn’t want anyone to make a fuss because I’d already made up my mind.”

“Why did you leave?”

“Because-” Her words caught themselves on the tip of her tongue.

What was she supposed to say? That it was because her friends abandoned her? That her friends trusted a stranger over her when she’d proved to them time and time again that she was trustworthy and honest? That she didn’t say anything because her friends would have tried to guilt her into staying because she couldn’t provide them a believable answer for why she was leaving? Even now she couldn’t think of a viable way to prove to Alya that Lila was lying, since she was so insistent on Marinette having evidence. Alya wasn’t one to take her word without proof even though she seemed to have no trouble doing that for Lila. Marinette wasn’t sure which was worse: Alya’s lack of trust in her or her overabundance of trust in Lila.

“Because of Lila?” Alya asked, and Marinette fixed her gaze on the door handle. “Why are you so bothered by her? She’s never done anything to you, and all you’ve ever done is accuse her of lying about everything.”

Marinette wanted to tell Alya the truth more than anything, but given her track record, she didn’t think it would do any good. She couldn’t prove that Lila had threatened her, and even mentioning it would seem like another vain attempt to defame her. As much as it pained her, Marinette didn’t have an answer for Alya. If she was so bent on having concrete evidence, then there was no point in trying to come up with one, so she simply shrugged.

“I don’t know what has gotten into you, girl, but it’s not healthy,” Alya said. “If you’d just give Lila a chance, you’d see that-”

“No,” Marinette said firmly, and Alya’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Sorry, but I won’t play along with her.”

“Play along with- this isn’t a game, Marinette! She’s just a person with an exotic life,” Alya chided, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Honestly, it won’t kill you to try.”

“I can’t be friends with her.” Marinette shook her head.

“Why?” Alya asked. “Give me one good reason why. I’m sure if you tell her about Adrien-”

“It’s not about Adrien.”

“Then what?” Alya held her arms out. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous of her getting attention from everyone.”

Marinette recoiled at that, eyes stinging. The fact that Alya even mentioned that proved that Lila had her hooks in too deep. Alya couldn’t be saved. As much as it pained her, there were some villains out there that even Ladybug couldn’t defeat.

“I’m not jealous of her, but I am a little hurt that my best friend is siding with someone she barely knows over me,” she said with more bite than she intended.

“Can you blame me with how sketchy you’ve been acting? What proof do you have?” Alya shot back, hands balling into fists when Marinette shifted her weight. “Lately, I feel like I don’t know you as well as I thought I did, girl.”

“I’m starting to think the same,” Marinette said.

“Then I guess we shouldn’t consider ourselves bffs if there’s so much we don’t know about each other!” Alya retorted. “Maybe we shouldn’t even be friends at all.”

Marinette suppressed a sigh, heart sinking as she held Alya’s gaze before three of the most painful words passed her lips. “Maybe we shouldn’t.”

Alya took a step back, jaw dropping. Her eyes burned into Marinette’s, fresh tears bubbling in the corners. Marinette wore a steely mask, relaying no emotion despite the hammering in her chest. She bit her lip to hide how it shook.

Alya finally flicked her gaze to her feet, rubbing at her cheek before a tear could escape. “Well, I guess that’s that then,” she said. Alya turned and stormed down the stairs.

Marinette closed the door, lingering with her hand on the handle. Her shoulders shook, and she sank to the floor with a whimper, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. As it turned out, the high road was far lonelier than she’d ever imagined, but there was no going back now. She’d made her choice.

[mickylikesstuff]

Status Online: Chapter 4: Blood Sky

Previous

Next

Masterlist

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FLOOR1

AINCRAD

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The Last bell rang throughout the floor and clouds are pushed by the strong wind at dusk.

Gamers in Sword Art Online are all gathered in the plaza in the <<Town of Beginnings>>. Confusion and panic fill the hearts of the gamers within the area as they cannot exit the Plaza. Akuma no Midori just finished taking down a hidden starter’s quest that was the << Herald of the Wolves>>, much of his surprise he was unexpectedly teleported to the <<Town Plaza>>. At first, He was expecting an intervention for taking down a hidden quest early, but why is the whole gaming population of SAO here? Akuma Damian somehow unconsciously holds his weapon under the black cloak he acquired

Red Valkyrie on the other hand has a sense of uncomfortable nostalgia. Max’s Akuma was like this. Yet she did not sense magic or a strong malice intent, Hawkmoth received his punishment that ended the terror of Paris 3 years ago. Valkyrie snaps out of her thoughts and begins to look for Pico and Lavender. Her head clear and breathe steadied, Ladybug Valkyrie begins to look for the siblings among the thick crowd, clutching the sword at hand.

Suddenly their world turns blood red. The once orange sky filled with red hexagons that have the stamped {WARNING} sigils in them. These shapes surrounded the plaza like a dome and then merge into a singularity, but what terrifies the gamers most is the gigantic looming thing that is above all of them. From the Red sigils came a red creature that somehow got into the dome and transformed into a singularity. From the blood slimy creature turned into a grim reaper. The titanic humanoid figure that is robed in red, and face unseen hovered the thousands of people

A booming deep voice sounded the place.

< Attention, Players. Welcome to my world. >

Red Valkyrie turned pale as she had an idea of what is happening. She can’t move in fear and shock, she can only be frozen stiff of what the looming figure says next.

< My name is Kayaba Akihiko. >

< As this moment, I am the only person who can control this world. >

Akuma gazes up to the creator of this world, Damian did not meet Kayaba Akihiko before. Yet his greeting seems something off…

Gamers are whispering to each other as the man Kayaba sends his greetings.

< I’m sure you’ve already noticed that the log out button is missing from your main menu screen >

< I assure you, It is not a defect >

“~We’re trapped here, no it can’t be…~” Akuma quickly turned to the woman who spoke French. That voice… she … wait her words hit him as he remembered Dick’s warning earlier. He watches the tears fell from the other gamer beside him as her face froze in fear. But if what she concludes is true then… This is bad.

Anxiety attack, she is having an attack. What kind of trauma can this event trigger her? ‘I have to calm her down before she does something stupid’

< I repeat. There is no bug >

< This is the feature of Sword Art Online >

“~Please no. Not again~” Akuma can’t stop himself from holding the weaponed arm of the gamer beside him in a steady firm grip. “Miss, you need to calm down and wake up. Please”. He goes to block her sight of Kayaba and starts rubbing her arms, hoping that will snap her out of it.

< You cannot log out of SAO yourselves >

“Miss… Red Valkyrie Wake up!”

Marinette untangled herself from her headspace and looked at the man in front of her. It is his green cool eyes that made her realize a hooded man is holding her steady. Mar Red Valkyrie lets go of the sword she is holding and collapses to the man. Her legs bucked down like they lost their strength and she tried to calm down by taking steady breaths.

< And no one on the outside can shut down your nerve gear >

< Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the nerve gear will act as a powerful microwave, >

< Destroying the brain, ending your life >

.

“HAHA, dude you know April fools is over right”

“What a terrible prank”

“Fix the bug already!”

.

The people are in denial trying to counter that that is a prank and waving off Kayaba’s words. Some try to leave the plaza, but its exits are blocked. Klein tried to deny such a claim, but Kirito only confirmed that the existence of the Internal Battery of the Nerve gear can fry them to their death.

< Unfortunately, several players’ friends and families have already ignored this warning  >

< And attempted to remove the Nerve Gear. >

< As a result, a whole 213 players are forever gone >

< From Aincrad and the Real World >

.

News reports floated around the plaza for everyone to see:

.

<[Beaking News: Killer game]>

<[Where is Kayaba Akihiko]>

<[Game to Death Battles!]>

<[2 Players killed by Death game]>

<[200/10,000 Death and Rising from Sword art Online]>

.

“Tch. Bastard!” The Green-eyed man holding Red Valkyrie exclaimed as he seems to sink in into the situation. Eyes filled with condemnation and his body is shaking in rage, He holds Valkyrie tight. When she looked at Kayaba, news reports that are published about the deaths because of the nerve gear. 'Father, please be safe...'

“Calm Down” She tried to help him. She looked at his ID. ‘Ironic, an Akuma is trying to help me this time’ “Midori no Akuma-san, CALM DOWN.” She commanded him. That in turn made Dami Akuma looked at her, and closed his eyes to compose himself.

.

< As you can see, News organizations from across the world are picking up on this, and are reporting the death totals >

< Thus, It’s safe to assume that the danger of your nerve gear being removed is quite small >

< I do hope you’ll relax and attempt to finish the game. >

.

When Akuma calmed down, He let go of Valkyrie. Steps away from her a little once he is sure that she is all right. He was ashamed that in turn, he needed her back then. The woman then slowly grabs his hand and interwinds their fingers. She looks at him straight in the eye, no longer held with fear but a gaze of a warrior replaced with experience as she analyzes the reports floating around the plaza. He wishes that he was surprised at her actions but he must have been tired to take his hand back. All he can do is to follow her gaze.

.

< Its important that you remember this clearly >

< There is no longer a method to revive someone within the game. >

< If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be lost forever. And spontaneously, >

< The Nerve Gear will destroy your brain. >

.

“It’s a Death game now” “A bastardized survival of the fittest” Akuma and Valkyrie spoke together. They knew as hero/vigilante that their line of work is by far a death sentence, but in these elements, they cannot control anything. Damian has no contact with his family and team. Marinette took off her miraculous. With their chances that Cass and Kagami can call their families and friend to help them out.

“Even pro gamers die in the games. The chances of everyone’s survival are slim to none” Valkyrie said the situation is now heavier. “This is our life now? Are we just dolls for this monster!?” Akuma now wants this man to suffer after what he pulled.

.

< There is only one means of escape. >

< COMPLETE THE GAME >

.

The whole plaza fell silent and listens to Kayaba’s words. ‘Complete what now?!’

.

< You are now presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor 1 >

< If you make your way through each dungeon and defeat its floor boss, you can advance to the next level. >

< Beat the final Boss on the 100th floor, and you will have cleared the last hurdle. >

.

“Clear a hundred Floors? That’s impossible. The Beta-testers never made it anywhere close to that!” a Red head man spoke among the crowd. Akuma now notices Kirito behind them. He pushes to the crowd, approaching the other Beta-tester. When He reaches to his student, “Kirirto!” Akuma called. Kirito in turn in relief to hear her mentor’s voice.

“Sen- eh…Akuma-san” Kirito and the Red-head now see two gamers approaching them. Did Akuma-san bring a friend? The woman seems to be confused. “Are you alright?” Kirito asked.

“No” Akuma answers. Yup this is sensei.

Red Valkyrie is drag by the man among the crowd to what it seems like his friends. “Will you please, Let my arm go” She spoke up. Akuma blinked at the woman then he noticed his hand holding hers and deliberately lets her go. “Where are the others?” Akuma questioned Kirito. “I haven’t seen them from the start” Kirito answered is in a grim expression.

.

< Finally, I’ve added a present to your item storage, from me. Please see for yourselves. >

.

All the Gamers are now opening their [Inbox storage] and what they saw is a... "A mirror?” Kirito questioned. Voicing the thoughts of all the players. Akuma is skeptical, he handles the mirror and looks that the woman. She is just as curious as he is.

Then suddenly the redhead glowed blue and shines in a blinding light.

“KLEIN!”

“GET BACK! KIRITO!”

Akuma instinctively grabs Valkyrie and Kirito and uses his cloak to protect the three of them, despite their protest. But it turns out that all of them are glowing and somehow changing? All of them closed their eyes until the light is gone.

“What’s happening!”

“Your Glowing, I’m GLOWING!”

“WAAAHHHH!!!”

All the gamers glowed until the light died out. Revealing people in different avatars or more likely their real appearances.

“Are you alright, Kirito?” Klien approached the Big man that took Kirito and that lovely lady. Under the man-Midori no Akuma’s cloak is Kirito and Red Valkyrie well… based on their IDs who are both adjusting their eyes. They looked at Klein but is not really Klein. His previously long red hair is now short and he has a goatee.

“Y-Yeah…Who are you?” Kirito is sure that he heard Klein’s voice but who is this? And why is his voice turned higher? Didn’t he change the settings?

“And who are you?” the not Klein asked too. Kirito then looks at the Mirror. His face… His IRL Face, not the custom avatar is showing. He became smaller and lanky, his hair is shorter and his eyes are wider than the olive-shaped eyes he had.

“And you guys are?” Kirito looked where Klein is looking at. “That’s Akuma’s ID…” Kirito now sees the changes. Well, subtle changes. Akuma-san is exotic, to say the least… Now lean muscled, and big about 6ft. His green eyes became more vibrant, is it even possible to have sharper eyes? His skin is dark and his hair chopped short. He does not have his scar on his face anymore.

His Friend, on the other hand, has changed a lot, Klein has to gaze at her ID twice “Red Valkyrie-san?” as he checked on her. She lost her pink hair and now she has long black hair that flows to her back. She looks Eurasian, Big blue eyes, slender yet muscled too, she lost a couple of inches.

The two adults looked at their mirrors, they are now at their changed avatars. The gamers are now scared and confused about what happened. Surprise and resignation wash her as Valkyrie takes a deep breath. Akuma doesn’t really care about his appearance. But under his clothes, he is worried about another thing. ‘Can they scan my scar?’

“Which means…”

“You’re Kirito?”  "You’re Klein?”

Both the boys now realize what happened. “But, How?” Yet Klein is now really confused.

“That scan… The NerveGear covers your entire head with a high-density signal device, So it can see what you look like.” Kirito started to explain. “But our body shape…”

Klein continues “When we first used the NerveGear, we have to calibrate it, right? You have to touch your whole body all over."

“O-oh right, that must be where it got the data.”

“But... But… Why? What the hell’s the point of all this?” Klein tries to concentrate and come up with an answer but with all the changes and revelations, he wants to keep up.

“I’m sure he’ll tell us.” Kirito points the grim

Akuma and Valkyrie gaze at Kayaba in such hatred. ‘I won’t back down to a Hawkmoth wanna be!’ ‘I’ll get you for this!’

.

< Right now, you’re probably wondering why I’ve done this. >

< “Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online go such lengths?” >

< My goal has already been achieved.>

< I created Sword Art Online for one reason...To create a world and play with it.>

.

“Kayaba” Kirito grounded himself. In his anger, he gripped his fist tight.

.

< And Now, it is complete. >

< This is ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch >

< I wish you all the best of luck. >

.

And at the end of the message, Kayaba disappeared in red smoke through the gaps of the sigils above. After that, the sigils disappeared. The dusk shines on the plaza once more.

Time stands still to the frozen crowd. Their mind is racing in thoughts of their family, friends, love-ones, their priorities, and their jobs. All players are equal on this floor that starts at 250HP, If they have carelessly done stupid and make the wrong decisions they will… DIE!

.

.

.

This isn’t a game anymore...

This is real, this is reality…

A simple strike will kill me.

A poison will end me.

When I Die Here, I Die for real!

.

.

.

After they realize what they have done... Panic and chaos ensued

They started wailing, cursing, begging they have done it all.

And nothing changes.

.

“AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

“LET ME OUT!!”

“I HAVE A FAMILY! Let me go!”

“I have a meeting after this!’

“NO NO NO NO NO !!!!”

.

In the crowd, Akuma, Valkyrie, Klein, and Kirito acted fast. When the barrier is broken down, The beta-testers took their partners and ran towards the exit. Away from the mob and panicking people.

“Come with us, Now!” Akuma places his hand on Valkyrie’s shoulder and gestures to follow him. There is something about the Red Valkyrie that made him pay attention to her. At least let him try little to guide her.

“Alright.” Valkyrie follows him as the four of them sprinted out the Plaza. She might be in trouble taking a stranger’s hand. Yet it felt right and somehow made her safe and sweeps her off beyond the disorder.

-------------------------------

Running out of the marketplace and she cannot help herself to leap from stall to stall, use railings and streetlights to launch herself, and uses the roofs to gain more ground. Jumping, rolling, sliding, grappling and other actions help her think. When she concentrates on her actions her thoughts follow that makes no room to be distracted by fear and distress. Parkour, is somehow an effective therapy that made Marinette Dupain-Cheng less a target from Hawkmoth’s influence.

‘That was interesting. So, Kayaba did successfully make a VR world into reality. After he created the Cardinal System, he used the beta-testers to report for configurations, glitches, and repairs in the system. Does the if the system…’ She thought as leaped to another roof. ‘The system must also be self-updating, thus the progress of each gamers’ account is not easily erased’. ‘If survival is what we need then we have to be stronger, Wait ... we?’. Red Valkyrie pauses on a street where the man- Akuma also stopped in front of her.

In this quiet intersection, she is alone with a man, ' a handsome man... Bad Marinette! SNAP OUT OF IT '  She's not sure if she can blush in the game but she would be completely flustered at the closeness of this giant that is looking down on her.

Akuma is looking at her with indifferent eyes, yet his voice dripped in curiosity. “That was an interesting run. ~ Mademoiselle  ~” The man said. His brow was raised as he fully looked at her once again.

Previous Next Masterlist

[runawaycatwalker]

Part 8. Coming Apart (Maternal Instinct, part C)

<<First | <Previous | Next>

Description below the cut

Author’s note: This comic page is structured with a left side and a right side that sometimes interact with each other and sometimes does not.  The format of the Image Description will jump around accordingly.

(Image Description starts for the left side of comic)

The akumatized phone continues to emit magical tendrils as it falls through the sky.

Maternal Instinct (akumatized!Nathalie) and Ladybug share a look before they race towards where the phone was last spotted.

The phone faces a reflective surface and it zaps itself away.

Ladybug: Where did it...?

Ladybug kicks against Maternal Instinct's sentimonster (Mothership) and ties the akuma up with her yo-yo with an excessive amount of string.

Maternal Instinct: Mothership—

Ladybug (interrupting): Oh no you don't!

Ladybug ties Maternal Instinct to the gates of the Agreste mansion.

Ladybug: You aren't going anywhere!

Close up of Maternal Instinct as her hands are tied and her mouth is gagged.

Ladybug: You can't follow him!

Ladybug looks off to the side with a close-up of the third spot on her earrings disappearing with a "beep!"

Ladybug (internally): At least... Not until my yo-yo disappears...

Ladybug taps at the earpiece that's still in her ear.

Ladybug: Catwalker?

(Image Description jumps back to the top of the comic, this time following the right side)

An establishing shot of Emilie's stasis pod.

Catwalker: Mother?

A close-up of Catwalker's face in shock.

A close-up of the lower half of Emilie's face.

Emilie's hand touches Catwalker's upper back, bound there with magical tendrils.

Catwalker: You're...

Catwalker tries to move away but he's stuck in the stasis pod and the magical tendrils prevent him from letting her go.

Catwalker: I can't...

Catwalker contorts his hand as his ring charges with power.

Catwalker: Cataclysm!

Emilie's stasis pod crumbles to black dust around an unharmed Emilie and Catwalker.

Catwalker looks away as he starts to scramble away, Emilie being dragged behind him.

Catwalker (internally): Why?

A side-view of Catwalker looking towards the earpiece in his ear.

Ladybug (over comm): Catwalker, are you there?

Catwalker touches his earpiece, his eyes full of relief.

Catwalker: Ladybug?

(Image Description shifts to covering both the left and right sides of the comic)

Ladybug looks forlornly to the sky, holding the ends of her yo-yo's string that is the only thing keeping Maternal Instinct in check.

Ladybug: I've tied up the villain for now, but the akumatized object teleported away and I have no idea where it is... and I still have no idea what's really happened to Adrien, and Chat's still gone, and I lost you too, and your mom now knows who you are, and everything's a disaster--

Catwalker lays on his side next to Emilie, reaching away from her.

Catwalker: You haven't lost me...  My.... my mom hasn't noticed me.  I can't really explain why not.  But my identity is still safe.  It's not a total disaster, Ladybug.  Everything's going to be fine, I promise.  You can still save the day.  You always have.

A close-up of Ladybug looking right next to a close-up of Catwalker looking left.

Ladybug: But how?  The phone could be anywhere by now and I don't have enough time to find it—as soon as I change back, the villain will escape again.  And if I ask the other heroes for help, they'll probably end up zapped to their mothers too.

Catwalker: I may not be beside you right now, but I'm still here for you.  And not just me—compromised or not, you still have a multitude of people who can help you.  You don't have to solve it all by yourself, Ladybug.

Ladybug looks at her lucky charm (a bobbin) in realization.

Ladybug: Or maybe I can... Okay, I've got a plan.  But I'm going to have to go radio silent to pull this off.  You'll be okay without me?

Catwalker forces a smile, touching the back of his neck.

Catwalker: Nothing to worry about!  It'll just be me and my mother here, no one else around, doing absolutely nothing. Good luck!

(Image Description returns to splitting left and right halves, again starting on the left side)

Ladybug wears the Mouse miraculous.

Ladybug: Mullo, Tikki, Unify!

Multibug is wrapped in her jump rope to activate her power.

Multibug: Multitude!

An army of Multimouses charge in every direction.  Multibug (the copy that still has the Ladybug miraculous and therefore the only one with spots) holds the bobbin above her head while a couple Multimouses keep the yo-yo strings secure.

A close-up of a Multimouse.

Multimouse: Multibug, I found the—

The Multimouse falls into the phone's magical tendrils.

Multimouse: Aack!

Cut to Sabine Cheng, startled to have a Multimouse suddenly appear, attached to her arm.

Multimouse: Sorry! Don't worry about little ol' me! Just helping Ladybug!

Multibug converges on the phone, using the bobbin's thread to Lasso!, Yoink!, and Flip! the phone. Two Multimouses throw the yo-yo at the phone with a Crack!, causing the akuma and amok to emerge from it.

Multibug poses as she holds the yo-yo string above her head.

Multibug: Time to de-evilize!

The yo-yo cleanses the akuma and amok.

Multibug throws the bobbin in the air.

Multibug: Miraculous Multibug!

(Image Description jumps back up to the top of the last split, following the right side this time)

Emilie and Catwalker lay on their backs together, with Emilie still on the destroyed stasis pod and Catwalker laying in the grass.

Catwalker: That was Ladybug. She's amazing, Mother.  You would have loved her.

Catwalker: I'm sorry I ran away.  I couldn't think of what else I could do.  My friends are going to believe it's all Father's fault when he didn't do anything. It's just... it's been hard to be his son after you...  But that doesn't mean I don't love him anymore.  He just... misses you.

Catwalker curls up in fetal position facing towards Emilie.

Catwalker: I guess he's the one who left you here... wherever 'here' is.  A garden, I guess?  You would have loved being in a place like this.  I just wish I'd known how to find you.

Catwalker looks down at Emilie's face, his free hand starting to reach towards her.

Catwalker: And now that I've run away, it'll be impossible to ask Father why he hid you here.  So I guess this is the only time I'll be able to tell you that I—

A swarm of magical ladybugs sweep in, restoring Emilie's stasis pod to perfect condition and depositing Catwalker alone outside.

Catwalker: —love you, Mother.

(Image Description resumes covering both left and right halves of the comic)

A shot of Catwalker's feet, with Multibug looking at him from behind as she calls over her earpiece.

Multibug: You're safe! No time for the 'Pound it!' today, but I'm sure you're exhausted.  Go home and get some rest!

Catwalker looks completely burnt out on what has been a strong contender for the worst 24 hours of his life.

Catwalker: Sure.

A shot of the ladder going down from an open manhole.

Catwalker (internally): Home.  Rest.

Catwalker curls up in the same spot in the sewers where he went with Ladybug during Heroes' Day.

Catwalker (internally): That sounds nice.

Below is the same image as above, only without text: 

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

Involves following Fandoms

1. Miraculous Ladybug

2. Percy Jackson

3. Harry Potter

4. Batman/Justice/DC

• Percy, Harry, and Marinette have been internet friends since Mari first received her miraculous.

• The boys are one year older than Mari. So they were 14 and she was 13. So start of Titans Curse, and the Goblet of Fire. This is set during the summer. Before Percy heads for camp, he convinced one of the Hephaestus kids to make him a phone to keep in contact. When Harry returns to school he finds the room of requirements amd finds out his laptop works in there.

• They meet on Mari's vlog where she is complaining about how the adults in her life always let her down.

• Harry agrees whole heartedly Percy says the only person that doesnt let him down is his mom.

• Soon they are best friends and always in contact with they others, Sally and Paul meet them after summer is over and gain two more kids.

• They all tell each other their secrets and try to help each other the best they can.

• They become Instagram famous together and are seen as a trio always posting screen shots of them video chatting.

• Percy and Mari are helping and supporting Harry through everything that happens while he is at Hogwarts.

• Around this time Lila comes into the picture, at first the boys encourage her to fight back. However after she sends them screenshots from her 'friends' they encourage her to drop them all together.

• Mari distances herself from the class and focuses on learning more from Master Fu, while also growing her clientele. She goes from Jagged and Clara, to multiple celebrities from all over. She even designs for some youtubers. She meets the Wayne's when they commission her for one of their galas. She hits it off with Tim when she chugs a pot of coffee infront of him before doing his final fitting.

• Percy takes a quick trip to Gotham once the Wayne's return and interrogates/threatens Tim about Mari.

• Mari and Tim's friendship continues to grow as they text and call all the time.

• Harry and Percy support Marinette when she becomes the Grand Guardian. Percy asks Chiron about the Miraculous and discovers multiple books on them. He convinces Annabeth to copy them and has Hermes send them to Mari. While Harry finds a former Guardian in Knockturn Alley and informs her of the new Grand Guardian he gets Mari the potions she needs for the Kwami.

• Percy and Mari in courage Harry to discover more about his family and to start at Gringotts. Harry discovers his families position in the wizarding word, and how much has been kept from him.

• Harry and Mari encourage Percy to learn even more about his powers. Soon he has control of small storms and has learned how to travel in an instant through mist.

• Harry becomes emancipated at 15 and takes over Lordship of Potter and Ravenclaw. He was surprised to find out his mother was actually adopted into the Evan's family after her parents were killed. Petunia didnt know she was adopted.

• After Kronos is defeated they make plans to finally meet up, boys are 16, Mari 15, they agree on Paris because Mari doesn't feel comfortable leaving her city in case of attack. They meet up a few weeks before school is set to start for Percy and Mari.

• Harry floos to his family home in Paris and opens the wards before messaging Percy saying it safe. Percy mist travels in to his house and immediately drops his bags hugging Harry tightly. Before they both hurry off to the Bakery.

• Mari's parents are very nice and loving but they expect their daughter to be an adult and handle things without them.

• They are surprised when two boys rush into the bakery and their daughter squeals throwing herself at them in a hug. Completely ignoring Alya, Adrien, and Nino.

• Mari completely ignores her old friends refusing to even let go of her boys. She quickly introduces them to her parents before dragging them up to her room.

• For a short while they just pile on to her bed cuddling together happy to be with each other in person than through a video call. After half an hour they finally get up and let Mari pack a small bag.

• She says goodbye to her parents telling them shes going to be spending the night at a friends before they all hurry to Harry's house. Once Mari puts her bag in the living room they change into fancy clothes and head off for dinner reservations at Le Grand Paris.

• They enjoy a quiet dinner together and while they're eating dessert Chloe comes to their table to say hello to Mari. She warns Mari that their class plans on ambushing her at her parents bakery to guilt her into catering their end of summer party, because Lila's baker fell through.

• All four of them laugh at it and Mari pulls out her phone sending her mother a quick message. Telling her to not give her class a thing unless they pay.

• After Harry pays much to Mari and Percy's annoyance they say goodbye to Chloe and leave the restaurant. While walking back to Harry's they are all hugging each other. Mari is in the middle and Percy and Harry's arms are around her wasit and she has hers around them. Lila sees them passing and is quick to take multiple pictures.

• The next day she has the entire class convinced that the three are in a relationship. Lila also convinces them that Mari pushed her down and the boys threatened her.

• Alya is akumatized through her anger, Paris is surprised when two new heros join Ladybug.

• The two new heros are Anaklusmos, Percy using Kaalki because once Kaalki saw Percy he knew that he was the son of his favorite God, and Chimaera. Harry using Ziggy.

• Percy's hero outfit consisted of tight black pants and a long sleeve black shirt. Underneath a dark brown breastplate and greaves. His hair was slightly longer and even wilder than usual and sunglasses hid his eyes from the world. His weapon is a sword.

• Harry's hero outfit was black and white. He wore a white sweater with black assents, black jeans, and the outer coat to battle robes that was black on the outside and white on the inside. He has a mask in which one side is black and the other white. His miraculous transform into small goat horns when in use. His weapon is a staff, because he is a wizard he is able to use the staff as a wand, and it is untraceable.

• Ziggys transformation phrase Ziggy lets climb. Ziggy lets rest.

• Kaalkis transformation phrase Kaalki lets gallop. Kaalki halt.

• Ziggy will be the miraculous of terrian. Harry will be able to use unbreakable vines to either hold akuma or stop larging things from falling.

• They are quick to defeat Alya taking her down before Chat even finds a place to transform.

• Once defeated the trio returns to where they were relaxing along the Seine. Both Mari and Percy giggle at Harry who readjusts his new hair clips blushing slightly. While Percy simply pushes the glasses up to rest on the top of his head.

• They get lunch before Percy mist travels all three of them to Disneyland, where Mari pays for them all to get in.

• There first picture together at Disney is post on each of their Instagrams and their fans go wild after realizing the trio finally met in person. Soon their Instas are filled with different pictures of all of them.

• Meanwhile Alya is blowing up Mari's Insta demanding answers as the class is on the way to the bakery. They try to convince Tom and Sabine to cater but are brushed off by them. The class is upset and demands answers and are not happy to be told that they wont cater because Marinette isn't going to the party and asked them not to.

• The trio finish the night with a picture of them hugging with fireworks in the back. Percy is wearing little mermaid ears, Mari is wearing Ladybug ears, and Harry is wearing sorcerer mickey ears.

• They spend the entire week together and Mari introduces them to her friends in Paris with a promise of coming to their home countries to meet their friends and family next time.

• When Percy and Harry are set to leave they have a long conversation with Kaalki and Ziggy and decide to allow the two Kwamis to stay with their holders. Kaalki is very attached to his new foal and wishes to remain with his chosen. Ziggy is also attached to her kid and wishes to help Harry in anyway possible. Percy and Harry not just swear to protect their Kwamis, they agree to start a new Order of the Guardians. Mari agrees and soon they are planning lessons so she can teach them the language of the Guardians.

• When Harry returns to England he seeks out the former Guardian and infroms her they are starting a new order. The former Guardian takes Harry under her wing and teaches him things, which he teqches Percy and Mari inturn.

• The trio is happy until one day when instead of Percy answering the call its a crying Sally. Sally explains that Percy went missing and no one was able to find him. On top of that Olympus is on lock down.

• Mari and Harry go months without a word from Percy and everyone around them notices their drop. Tim flies out to Paris more often just to keep Mari company when he can. While Harry closes himself off from everyone but Mari.

• A full year passes and in that time Mari has stripped Chat of his miraculous and found a temporary holder in her friend Marc. Harry watched Dumbledore die and is getting ready to fall into hiding, when they finally hear from Percy who had just won his second war.

• The entire time Percy is asleep Kaalki is protecting him and when he wakes up Kaalki informs him of his name and tells him some of his past. Kaalki doesnt have to stay hidden around the demigods because Kaalki is a god himself and the demigods know this. Many Romans are surprised to see Kaalki never leaves Percy's side.

• At first Percy wants to immediately alert his friends but he can barelt find the time and o ly managers to tell his mother that he is alright.

• When the war is over he wastes no time traveling to England and tackling Harry in a hug before taking both of them to Paris. He leaves so fast her doesnt even return to Olympus for the rewards. So in the middle of their hugs and tears Zues/Jupiter transports them to Olympus. Right after he has to deal with a very pissed of Kwami of creation. Everyone watches Tikki tear into Zues while Mari Harry and Percy simply sit in front of Posiden's throne hugging each other tightly.

• For Percy's wish he once again turns down godhood and requests that the roman and greek camps to work together, and makes a personal request to Hecate for both he and Mari to be given Magic. Hecate agrees under the condition that Percy helps Harry take down Tom Riddle and that Mari helps once she is done with Hawkmoth. Posiden pulls them aside and informs Mari that Gabriel is Hawkmoth Nathalie is Mayrua. Once they are done Percy introduces Mari and Harry to the 7 and his cousins before they head off to meet Sally and Paul in person.

• After meeting Sally all three head to Gotham and meet with the Waynes and Mari and the boys find it funny that the only people that knew of Mari and Tim were Bruce and Alfred.

• Mari tells Tim the complete truth and how within the next few months she may die. Tim takes it and in turn tells her about him being Red Robin, then asks her to marry him. She agrees and they have a wedding at Wayne manor the next day.

• Harry meets Kara and his attention is stolen by the blonde. They gets along amazingly and exchange phone numbers. Harry even introduces her to Ziggy who also likes Kara. What really causes Harry to fall for her is when she wraps her arms around his waist and flies up into the air. Both of them bonding over their love of flying while Harry tries to stop out his blush over he lifting him like it was nothing.

• Percy returns to England with Harry and they go in the hunt together while Mari takes a final stance against Hawkmoth.

• Mari defeats Hawkmoth and Mayura unmasking them on national tv right before the battle of hogwarts happens. Once she is done she infroms her parents that she finished her last year of Lycée online and was traveling to England.

• Mari arrives in England after Percy and Harry sneak into Hogwarts. With the help of Tikki she finds her way to Hogwarts and finds her boys.

• Mari is heartbroken when Harry says goodbye to Ziggy and places one hair clip in Maris hair and the other in Percys. He tells them how much he loved them and asked them to say goodbye to Kara for him.

• Percy forces himself to stay strong but breaks when he sees Hagrid carrying Harry's body. While Harry jumps up both Mari and Percy are crying as they fight harder.

• The next day on the front page of the Prophet theres a picture of the three of them in the great hall after the battle curled together and hugging each other.

• After the war the trio goes to Gringotts and Harry has Percy and Mari officially adopted into the potter family before they return to Gotham. Mari and Tim had a bigger wedding for the public announcing to Gotham that they were married. It became known as the wedding of the century because both of them wanted to keep the Wayne families persona. Marinette drops Dupain-Cheng and becomes Marinette Potter-Drake-Wayne.

• Percy walks her down the aisle before sitting down and Harry is standing as her 'maid of honor' Percy takes Annabeth as his date and Harry takes Kara.

• After their honeymoon traveling the world Percy and Harry reveal that they both moved to Gotham. Both are going to catch up on their school work and then go to college. Meanwhile Percy begins campaigning for a cleaner Gotham. He uses a Sanddollar to clean the waters and instructed the Water nymphs to immediately alert him if someone attempts to dump. That when Gotham gains a new hero Anaklusmos. A few months later Chimaera and Ladybird join the scene as well. They focus more on the petty crimes and keeping the city cleaner while the Bat fam focus on the really bad guys.

• Mari joins with Wayne Enterprises and grows her own Fashion empire, while Percy gets his degree in marine biology and Harry in teaching.

• A few years later Mari has all but forgotten about her old class until she takes a trip to Pairs with time to visit her parents and Chloe and they find a class reunion at Le Grand Paris. Lila and Alya try and put Mari down, and are surprised when she laughs. She kisses Tim cheek softly before turning to them, and introduces herself and Tim. Leaving the entire class in shock. They watch Mari walking away with Tim as Chloe walks through the doors to them a bounce in her step.

[highonchocolate]

Take Two: The Guardian in Gotham Chapter 2

First   Previous   Next   Ao3

Barging into the locker room, the four were met with a scene that was straight out of a horror movie. The four teens felt tears come to their eyes at the sight of their friend. She was lying on her right side, curled up on the floor, surrounded by a small pool of blood. Her raven hair, normally pulled back in her signature pigtails, was messy and strewn around her head as if someone had grabbed her near the scalp and yanked. Her left arm was loosely curled over her abdomen, limply wrapped around her. The other arm was awkwardly bent at an unnatural angle-definitely broken. They looked lower and saw her legs. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, and the left leg was fractured. You could see the jagged edges of the break through her skin. All in all, she made for a wonderfully horrifying sight. 

The four stood there. Stricken. Taking in the sight of the strong, bubbly girl lying so lifelessly on the ground. All of them angry at themselves for not staying behind to protect her. It was then, standing in an empty locker room, with the iron tang of their best friend’s blood filling the air that they all silently swore to make Lila Rossi and her gang of mindless sheep pay.

“I know it hurts to see such a strong pillar of kindness looking so broken, but you must remain strong, and help her as much as you can.” It was Tikki’s gentle words that broke them from their murderous trains of thought. They immediately snapped into action. 

“Luka, Kagami, you both need to go to the bakery and explain to the Dupain-Chengs what happened. Adrikins, you need to explain to your father why you ditched your photographer, and ran out in the middle of a shoot. Tikki and I will take our Bug to the hospital. Got it?” Chloé ordered, once again taking the charge of the situation, even as she pulled out her phone. Navigating to the camera app, she angled it to show all of Marinette’s injuries and quickly snapped a couple of pictures from different angles. Looking away from the screen and seeing the incredulous stares of the group, she rolled her eyes and responded “For photographic evidence of her injuries! Obviously.” She huffed “You’re all ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! Now what are you waiting for? A royal proclamation?! Shoo!” 

At the sound of her exclamation, everyone rushed off to help Marinette.

---

Kagami and Luka immediately ran out of the school to the bakery, already worrying about the potential double akumas they might have to battle later. Dashing across the seat, they silently decided that Kagami’s blunt words were not ideal in explaining this to Tom and Sabine. The chime of the bell above the door alerted the woman in question to their presence. Making her way around the counter, she turned to greet them with a bright smile, before it dimmed to a frown at their grim faces. “Kagami, Luka, what’s wrong?” She questioned, wiping her hands on a small towel. The two in question silently exchanged looks before turning back to the small woman.  

“...It’s Marinette” Luka finally answered, fiddling with his guitar nervously. “She got assaulted by-” 

“It was that Lila girl, wasn’t it?” Sabine hissed. Glaring venomously up at them. 

“Yes it was, how did you know?” Luka questioned, shocked and taken aback at the woman’s statement.

Sabine smiled sadly, her eyes alight with fury. “I know my daughter. The instant she came home from school with that fake smile, trying to hide her torn sketchbook, I knew something was wrong.” Shaking herself out of her quiet contemplation, she directed her stare back to the two teens “Now, can you show me what’s wrong and tell Tom and I what we need to do?” 

Kagami was the one who responded this time. “We can show you the image, but you need to ensure that you won’t let your emotions get the best of you. The last thing Marinette would want to hear after getting discharged from the hospital is that her parents became akumatized.” She bluntly stated, pulling out her phone and handing it to the woman as she spoke. 

“I understand.” Sabine nodded, taking the phone from the girl’s outstretched hand. As she looked at the gruesome picture, she felt her heart break. That was her baby girl, and her so-called friends had done that to her! Looking at the two in front of her, she felt nothing but icy determination to make that liar’s castle of lies come crumbling down. 

“One of you stay and inform Tom, the other come with me. We’re going to the hospital.” She said as she handed the phone back to her daughter’s friends. Looks like she had some calls to make.

As their taxi drove to the hospital, Sabine punched in a familiar number and waited patiently for the other person to pick up. The ringing of the phone was abruptly cut off and replaced with a loud and cheery voice. 

“Sabine!” Gina exclaimed over the noise of honking cars. “How are you? And how is Marinetta?” The former quickly debriefed her mother-in-law on the situation regarding her granddaughter. She finished explaining as they pulled up to the hospital, and walked into the hospital as she waited for the older woman’s response.

“Well then! This simply must not do! I can get in contact with one of my friends in the States, and if all goes well my leetle fairy can stay with his family!” Gina exclaimed decisively. “I’ll call you back!”

Ending the call, Sabine walked into the waiting room and sat next to Luka and Chloé as she waited for her daughter.

---

As Luka and Kagami ran out of the locker room, Chloé looked at Adrien to see him already on the phone with his father. Closing out her photos, she quickly opened up her phone keypad and dialed 15. As she explained the situation to the officer on the other end of the call, she carefully monitored her injured friend. Ending the call she sighed and looked at the red goddess hovering near her worriedly. “Tikki,” she addressed the Kwami “you can hide in my jacket, or somewhere with Marinette. The ambulance should be here soon.” The small being looked at her gratefully before flying down to her chosen and placing a feather-light kiss on her forehead. Zooming back up to Chloé, she quickly settled in the blonde’s ponytail with a small thanks.

As she started to climb into the back of the ambulance, she was stopped by an officer demanding she go home. Looking at the man, she mustered up the coldest glare she could create and looked directly at the terrified fool. “For your information,” she sneered, pushing past him into the vehicle. “I am Chloé Bourgeois, and that girl in there is my best friend, so you will not keep me from her or I will make your life very difficult. Do you understand?” She hissed, slamming the door behind her. As they drove away she caught a glimpse of his pale, terrified face before they turned the corner. Smirking to herself, she turned to her friend’s prone body lying on the stretcher, and immediately sobered up and reverted to her take-charge daughter of the mayor persona. She quietly sat in the waiting room as Marinette was rolled into the ER.

---

Even as Chloé was issuing her orders, Adrien was already unlocking his phone and calling Nathalie. He stood anxiously on the steps as he waited for her to pick up.

“Adrien? Mme. Tsurugi had informed me that Mlle. Dupain-Cheng was injured at school. While I admire your concern for your friend, that does not excuse your behavior during the photoshoot.” The older woman’s emotionless voice greeted him as he opened his mouth to explain.

“But Nathalie! She wasn’t just injured! She was assaulted! You should see the pictures of how she looked!” He responded angrily as he texted her the image.

There was silence on the other end of the line as she looked at the image.

“...I see. I will show this to your father. If the Dupain-Chengs agree, he would be happy to pay for her hospital bill. Do you know who did this?” The secretary’s voice was as apathetic as usual, but there was an underlying tone of concern and anger.

“We think it might have been Lila,” Adrien responded hesitantly. “I saw her outside the school when we entered, and she has been bullying Marinette for a while...There’s a hidden camera we planted in the locker room. Could you pull up the footage and see what happened?”

Yes Adrien. You also have permission to go to the hospital, but make sure you practice your piano when you get home.” 

“Thank you Nathalie.” He responded, before he heard the dial tone as she hung up.

Placing his phone in his pocket, he looked down at the reluctant green-eyed Kwami in his jacket before transforming into Chat Noir and bounding across the rooftops to the hospital. 

---

Kagami and Tom came running in just as Marinette’s name was called. They stood next to Sabine, Luka and Chloé as she was wheeled into the room. She had a black brace on her right wrist, and another on her left leg. She had several scrapes and bruises, and there were bandages everywhere, but she was alive. As the nurse rattled off the medical report: broken ribs and wrist, a fractured leg, as well as bruising on her arms, abdomen and face; the group felt their fury grow. Marinettte, sensing this, quickly smiled up at them and asked if they could stay the night for a movie marathon and sleepover. 

Chloé promptly burst into tears and clutched her uninjured hand. “Oh MariBug, I’m so sorry this happened to you!” she croaked out through the tears.  “It’s not your fault, Chloé.” Marinette gently assured her. “It was Lila’s.” 

As they settled in amongst the many blankets and pillows with their food in hand, her statement was met with many calls of agreement, as well as complaints about the bully in question.

---

In Italy, Gina Dupain pulled out her phone and dialed a number she never thought she’d use again.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end is quiet and dignified, with a hint of a British accent.

“Hi, Alfred. I need a favor.”

---

Hanging up the phone, Alfred Pennyworth mulled over the interesting and saddening conversation he had just had with his old friend. Nodding to himself, he walked out of the room to find Master Bruce. If the image she sent him was anything to go by, Gina’s granddaughter desperately needed to get out of Paris.

As the Batmobile pulled into the garage, he walked over to Master Bruce and explained the situation. Although he was reluctant at first, once he saw the horrifying image, he went from unsure to furious at the thought of some teenagers doing this to their classmate! He didn’t even hesitate when he told Alfred that he would gladly have her stay in the Manor. With that reassurance, Alfred walked back upstairs to inform Gina.

---

In Paris the next morning, at around one AM, the movie marathon was still going strong when Sabine and Tom opened the trapdoor and peeked through. Marinette craned her head to look over from her position in the cuddle pile/blanket fort hybrid. “Maman? Papa?” She questioned. “What’s wrong?” Sabine smiled gently. “Nothing’s wrong mon bébé, it’s just…” she trailed off, unsure on how to proceed.

“How do you feel about going to Gotham, to stay with your Nonna Gina’s friend?” Tom cut in.

“His name is Alfred Pennyworth, and he works for Bruce Wayne.” Sabine added, smiling hopefully.

Marinette blinked confusedly as her Chloé and Adrien shouted with excitement at the sound of the name.

Well that was unexpected.

---

Bonus:

Marinette: *thinking* Bruce Wayne...

Chloé: *rolling her eyes* Only one of the richest men in the world!

Marinette: *thinking intensifies*

Adrien: *confused in cinnamon roll* Buginette how come you don't know who he is?

Marinette's Brain: error file not found

Marinette: *sweats nervously* Um... he's not big in the fashion industry??

Chloé and Adrien: *facepalm*

---

 Note: I update weekly, the thing is I had posted Chap. 1 to Ao3 last week, and so I posted both this week to catch up

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 25: Fighting Alone (Grounded)

AO3

Prev

Marinette was exhausted. Adrien’s father had sent him out of Paris for a week for some fashion show that he couldn’t be bothered to go to in person. Instead, he had Natalie with Adrien. Since Marinette herself wasn’t in Paris, she usually wouldn’t mind Adrien’s week-long trip. Except, she wasn’t in Paris. And now, neither was Chat Noir. Which means for nearly a week, she’d been sneaking out of her dad’s house at random times to do patrols in Paris. Luckily, there hadn’t been any akuma attacks. She knew her dad would be beyond angry if she was the only one to show up for an attack. And if he knew that she knew about Adrien’s absence ahead of time and didn’t ask any of her family to help? She’d been in big trouble. Even more if he knew she’d been not only going on patrol in Gotham under his supervision, but also in Paris. Getting next to no sleep. So yeah, she was ready for a nap. Just as her eyes are about to close, the shrill akuma alarm screams from her phone. Groaning, she sits up. 

“Marinette, you’re exhausted.” Tikki admonishes her, her tiny arms crossed. 

“Tikki, I have to do this. I’m sorry, and I promise I’ll sleep when we get home.” Marinette says, giving her friend a pleading look. Tikki huffs, letting her little arms drop. 

“Fine, but when we get back you are going to talk to your father and stay home from patrol tonight.” She says. Marinette frowns, but quickly agrees. It never went well arguing with the goddess of creation. 

“Tikki, spots on!” She says, letting the warmth of her transformation flow over her. She glances at Kaalki. “Ready?” She asks. The Kwami nods and Marinette combines the transformations, quickly opening a portal and dropping into Paris. She could do this. 

---

The sudden blaring of the akuma alarm breaks Bruce from his thoughts. He raises an eyebrow and quickly pulls up the newsfeed of the attack, letting it play in the background as he continues working. 

“Ladybug has just arrived on scene! No direct confirmation on the akuma’s powers yet. We just have to hope it’s a weak one today folks as it appears speculation is correct and Chat Noir is not currently in Paris.” The reporter says, making him snap his attention to the video. His jaw tenses and his phone starts ringing and flooding with text messages. No doubt the boys were also watching the video. He answers the phone as he swiftly walks towards the elevator. Work could wait. Right now he needed to get home and take the Zeta tubes to Paris. 

“Hello.” He says, not even bothering to look at the caller id. 

“How many of us are going to Paris?” Dick asks. Bruce frowns. 

“I will be going alone.” He says. Dick snorts. Bruce hits the button for the garage, shifting impatiently in the small space. He could’ve taken the stairs, but he had a reputation to uphold. He couldn’t sprint down the stairs like he could as Batman. People would talk. 

“Yeah right, B. There’s no way you’re gonna get Jay and Little D to agree to that. You know the three have been attached at the hip lately.” Dick reminds him. 

“Will you please monitor the tubes until I get there? I don’t want your brothers rushing off and doing something stupid.” He says. 

“Sure can, B.” Dick says. Bruce hangs up the phone and stares at the number indicating the floor the elevator is on. The second it switches to ‘B’, he’s prepared and storms through the door, not slowing until he’s in the car. He pulls up the news feed immediately, pushing down on the gas as he drives through the city. 

“It’s been confirmed that the current akuma has a sword and appears to be skilled with the weapon. Ladybug herself has urged citizens to remain in their homes until this battle is over.” The reporter says. Bruce curses under his breath and pushes the gas pedal down even more. Almost there. Almost there. The car alerts him to a phone call and he answers. 

“Father, why have you locked us out of the Zeta tubes?” Damian demands, his voice harsh. “The akuma has a sword, Marinette is not skilled with a sword yet.” 

“Damian, I don’t want you or Jason going to Paris. I already told Dick that I’m the only one going.” Bruce explains, pulling the car over at the front of the manor and switching the call to his cellphone as he rushes into the house. 

“Yeah B, that’s what Dick said before we tied him up. But how the hell did you lock us out of the tubes? Even Timmy can’t figure it out.” Jason says, and Bruce freezes. She wouldn’t. She…. she couldn’t, right? 

“Jason, untie Dick and have him put in my alternative password.” Bruce orders, rushing through the manor to get to the entrance of the cave. If his suspicions were right, his daughter had managed to shut down the Zeta tube in the Batcave. And maybe even halted any attempts to enter Paris. 

“Still not working, B.” Tim’s frustrated voice comes through the phone. Damnit. Bruce storms into the cave, slipping only a domino mask on. Protocol be damned, his daughter was in danger. He hangs up the phone as he storms in, walking past his sons and straight to the tube. He quickly changes the destination to the watch tower and steps through, ignoring his son’s protests. Once at the tower, he tries Paris. And then he tries again. How the hell had she managed that? He quickly returns to the Batcave, looking at his sons with a tense face. 

“Somehow, your sister has cut off the Zeta tubes’ ability to go to Paris.” He says with a clenched jaw. 

“Why the hell would she do that?” Jason asks, looking both angry and hurt. 

“Does she not trust us?” Dick asks, frowning. Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose, trying hard not to yell. He wasn’t mad at his sons. They hadn’t done anything. His youngest daughter, on the other hand. 

“I’m sure she does. But I’m also sure that this is her idiotic way of keepin all of us safe. Even if it’s a danger to her.” Bruce says, glancing at the giant computer screen where the battle was playing out live. The boys had muted it, and Bruce was glad. Glad that he didn’t have to listen to the reporter constantly mentioning that this was dangerous and that Ladybug was alone. She didn’t have to be alone. But she was, and he had no way to help her. 

---

Damian Wayne is not one to give up. He had been trained by the best of the best his entire life, and he refused to back down from a fight. Especially one where his sister was so obviously unqualified. His thoughts rush through his head as he attempts to find a different path, a different way to go and assist his sister. He nods slightly as it comes to him. This could work. 

“I will be upstairs, if you need me.” He informs his family, ignoring the questioning. They would only slow him down. He remains in his uniform though, no need to cause panic while he goes through with his plan. Once he is out of the cave, he calls out: “Jon? I require your assistance.” He walks outside the manor and stands just outside the front door, waiting for his acquaintance- friend- to arrive. 

“What’s up?” Jon asks, hovering slightly above the ground. 

“We are needed in Paris and the Zeta tubes are down. Care to join me?” Damian asks, and Jon grins. 

“Let’s go!” He says excitedly, grabbing Damian and flying away from Gotham. Damian briefly wonders if he should have told his Father his plan. After all, he had his own friend- acquaintance- with the ability to fly. Hmm. He doesn’t bother thinking on the subject long as the Eiffel tower comes into view. He scans the ground quickly, looking for the tell-tale red and black of his sister’s uniform. 

“Have you spotted Ladybug?” He asks Jon. He had shown Jon videos of previous battles, in case he ever needed assistance to find Ladybug rather than Ladybird. 

“Found her! Wanna drop in?” Jon asks. Damian nods and Jon flies over, the two landing right behind Ladybug. She whirls around, a shocked look on her face. 

“Really, Robin?” She snaps. Finally able to look at her up close, instead of through a screen, he is able to see the exhaustion on her face. And how worn down she looks. 

“You blocked the others from assisting. I had no such trouble. Now, let's finish this.” He says, pulling out his katana and shifting his position. She could be angry at him later, right now they had a job to do. 

---

“-and reckless, and totally irresponsible and-” Damian cuts off her ranting. 

“Are we still discussing my actions, or yours?” He asks, quirking an eyebrow. Marinette glares at her little brother, dropping down to sit on her bed, slouching her shoulders. She was tired. 

“There’s a reason I blocked the Zeta tubes from going to Paris during attacks, Damian.” She sighs, running a hand over her face. She cared about her brothers and her father and Cass. She really did. But while she loved them, Paris was her fight. She needed to get through the battles alone. Or with Adrien.

“No matter the reason, it was still reckless. And Father-” Damian starts, but is cut off. 

“Is very angry.” Her dad says, and Marinette winces. She turns towards her door, smiling awkwardly at her dad. 

“Hey, Dad, uh, fancy seeing you here.” She says, laughing awkwardly. 

“How long has Adrien been away?” He asks. 

“Only a week.” 

“And you have been patrolling both Gotham and Paris during that time, correct?” He asks, and she sighs. 

“Yes.” 

“I see. How much have you slept this week?” He asks. She opens her mouth to respond when Tikki zips out. 

“Twelve hours. Total.” She rats her out, and Marinette huffs at the Kwami. Traitor, she thinks, but doesn’t say it. 

“You also messed with the Zeta tubes.” He says and she purses her lips. 

“Paris is my fight, Dad.” Marinette says, standing by her decision. 

“You made it nearly impossible for any of us to help you. What would have happened if this had been another akuma that killed you? Marinette, no one would have been there to take the earrings. No one to cast the cure. You would have stayed dead, Marinette. And we would have been stuck here watching it happen, unable to protect you.” Her dad lectures her, and she can tell by the tension in his shoulders that he’s mad. Really mad. More than the Batmobile incident or the sneaking off to the Watchtower. Really, really mad. 

“But-” She starts, almost glad when he cuts her off as she didn’t really have a good comeback for him. 

“You are grounded. You have to take one of us with you to Paris when there’s an attack until Adrien returns. And you’re benched on patrol here. If you insist on patrolling in Paris while Adrien is away, you will also take one of us with you. Do I make myself clear?” He asks, and she wants to argue. She’s a hero, she knows the risks. She knows that she could handle that akuma alone and if she couldn’t, she would have brought in a temporary hero. She would’ve been fine. But then she looks at the tension in his shoulders and remembers the time that her whole family watched her die. On tv. Remembers that her dad has had to go through the death of a child too many times, even if they’d all come back (and formed the aptly named chaos trio), he’d still had to watch them die. So she decides she’ll accept the punishment, will go along with the new guidelines. If only to give her dad a little peace of mind.

Next

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

[quickspinner]

A for Effort

Written for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Sprint Challenge. This week’s challenge was a round robin, and I got to write with @sapphicmarinette and @ladycat1! 

Our prompt was Ladybug Juleka and Black Cat Luka are superheroes who keep having to rescue their respective pink damsels in distress...but I read it completely wrong and I was the first sprinter, so we have Black Cat Juleka and Ladybug Luka instead! We had to take a little extra time to do this because after our allotted 3 sprints we had the first half of a chapter of a multipart epic, so we had to do some last minute brainstorming to reign it in....but I really hope one of us chooses to expand on it further because it’s such a fascinating idea!

Thanks for writing with me friends! 

Luka and Juleka trooped into their room, one after the other, and both of them flopped on their beds with identical groans of exhaustion. 

“When we find Hawkmoth,” Juleka mumbled, “I get first dibs.” 

Luka snorted, but for once, didn’t rise to the bait of their typical post-battle debate. “I can’t believe you did that.”

Juleka frowned. “If I hadn’t jumped in front of it, that blast would have—”

“No, not that,” Luka interrupted, and then sat up and flopped in the other direction on his bed so that he could look across at her. Juleka looked over and knew the smirk on his face was trouble. She started turning red, and Luka laughed. “See, you know exactly what I mean,” he chortled, flopping onto his back. Juleka glared at Plagg, who was snickering from his perch on her foot. 

The kwami’s only response to her glare was to shove more of his disgusting cheese in his mouth. Juleka groaned, and pulled a pillow over her face. “I can’t believe I did that either,” she muttered. 

“You kissed her hand .” Luka grinned, handing a giggling Tikki another cookie. “You swept her up in your arms, carried her to safety, and then you got all up in her face—” 

Juleka folded her arms over the pillow and screamed. 

“I’m dying to know what you said,” Luka added.

“NO,” she barked, and he chuckled. 

“And then you took her hand and you—”

“What about you?” Juleka said suddenly, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and sitting up, hurling the pillow at him all in one smooth motion that he had to admire. 

Until her words hit him. “What?”

Juleka smirked. “ She was there again too.” 

Luka’s ears went red, and Juleka smirked wider. “Is that why you tripped over that fire extinguisher?” Juleka asked innocently, and cackled when he threw the pillow back at her.

“I really hope she didn’t see that,” Luka muttered, slapping his hands over his face and dropping back on the bed. “I just wasn’t expecting to see her there!”

“Especially not wearing that outfit,” Juleka snickered. 

“Oh my God,” Luka groaned. He definitely hadn’t expected to see her in that sweet little red and black spotted dress. “I thought I was going to die. Worst hero death ever.” He couldn’t help the goofy grin that wanted to tug at the corner of his mouth. “Just imagine if your little blonde pixie—” 

“Her name is Rose .” 

Luka rolled over to look at her. “Imagine if you showed up and Rose was wearing that dress, only in black and green.” He raised his eyebrows. “With kitty ears .” 

Juleka blushed again, and sighed. “It’s a good thing we have practice today,” she muttered.

“Tell me about it,” Luka agreed. “I’m gonna be playing this out for days .” He frowned, and Juleka raised her eyebrows as his expression grew thoughtful. “There sure are a lot of akumas coming out of that school,” he said at last.

“Well, the mayor’s daughter does go there,” Juleka pointed out, rolling her eyes.

“True. I’m glad you didn’t end up going there. Still.” He shook his head slightly. “Maybe we should go over there sometime and...I dunno. Investigate.” He cringed slightly at the sound of himself. He was good at making plans in the moment, but when it came to the larger goal of capturing Hawkmoth over time, he felt pretty deficient. 

Juleka pretended not to notice his insecurities. “It might be worth it, I guess,” she shrugged, and then gave him a sharp look. “And if we just so happen to run into a pretty blue-eyed, black-haired girl—”

“Or a blonde,” Luka grumbled, picking at the rips in his jeans.

“I don’t know if you’re a genius or an idiot,” Juleka muttered, and then sighed. “All right. I’m in.” 

 ***

A few days later, Juleka texted him a flyer. Gaming Tournament 15/2, at Collège Françoise Dupont, students 13+ from other schools welcome! Luka had agreed that it was the perfect time to investigate. They’d have a reason to be there, and they’d be able to go as civilians, not Misterbug and Lady Violette. Going as superheroes would mean the public would be watching— Hawkmoth would be watching. There would be more breathing room as Juleka and Luka Couffaine.

On the inside, Collège Françoise Dupont seemed fine. The hallways were clean, the furniture was in good shape, and the adult who greeted them at the door seemed perfectly pleasant. 

The gaming tournament was held in the library, with a big projector screen on one wall with rows and rows of audience chairs. The two gamers would sit on two separate seats near the front, with everybody watching them. Luka realized that he might not want to play a round, with all those strangers staring at him, but he signed up his name on the registration sheet anyway.

The room was dark to accommodate the bright screen, so Luka actually couldn’t distinguish the faces that were not directly in front of him. It made him feel more at ease, at least. “Have you seen Rose?” he asked.

“Not so loud,” Juleka hissed, socking him in the shoulder. Luka laughed good-naturedly, even though it hurt. “She could overhear you and then wonder how I know her name.”

“Hey, I just thought you wouldn’t want me to say ‘blonde pixie—’”

“Shut up,” Juleka replied with a huff. “Come on, let’s sit in the back.”

“Sure,” Luka agreed, deciding that he had filled his annoying sibling quota for the day already. He followed her into the back row, which was currently empty.

“Hey, that’s her,” Juleka said, and Luka followed her gaze to find Rose. Rose was talking animatedly to another student and holding a gaming controller. She must be going in the next round, which meant that Juleka would be distracted for the next ten minutes. Maybe now would be a good time to leave the room and scout around a bit.

“I’m gonna look around a bit,” he told Juleka, who nodded and gestured him off. He considered saying something along the lines of we’re not here just to watch pretty girls play video games but then decided against it. It was not like there was an akuma, after all. It was okay to let Juleka have fun for a night.

Luka slipped out into the hallway just before the next round started, letting out a sigh of relief the moment that he was on the other side of the door. The bustling atmosphere of the gaming room wasn’t a bad thing, per se, but he certainly lost his taste for it after a while. Especially since it was a room full of strangers.

After he took a moment to calm his breathing, he tried to think of what he should be investigating. How far could he wander and still be able to claim that it was to ‘look for the bathroom’? Maybe just this first floor, then.

“Can I help you find anything?”

He recognized that voice. Of course he recognized that voice.

Luka schooled his facial expression into something neutral and unaffected before he turned around. “I was just getting some air,” he told her. “Thank you, though.”

“I understand,” she said. It was a little surreal, seeing her in a quiet environment. There was no akuma threatening her or the rest of Paris. It was just the two of them in an empty hallway, and she had absolutely no idea who he was. “Sometimes it gets a bit too loud for me in there, too! Are you a student here? I’ve never seen you before.”

Luka only let it hurt his feelings a little bit. “No, I’m not,” he told her. “Um, we actually came because my sister was thinking of transferring here. Do you…do you like it here? Are the students nice?” The concept of Juleka transferring to this school was only a half-lie. On her worst days, when she’d come back from school with a clear air of frustration, she’d mutter about transferring somewhere better. Certainly never to Collège Françoise Dupont, though.

She lit up, as though it was the best question that she had ever been asked. He found himself proud that he had been the one to put that expression there. “Oh! Yes! I’d say that the majority of students here are super sweet! There are a few students who…struggle with manners, I suppose, but I think it’s dealt with well. I’ve also heard that there’s less drama in the other classes. I happen to have a few… conflicting personalities in mine. What’s your sister’s name? I should introduce myself.”

“Her name’s Juleka. She’s a little shy,” he said. He wondered about this class of hers. Was the mayor’s daughter in it, like Juleka suggested? How many of them made up the akumatizations? Luka debated the social etiquettes of it, and then asked, “What’s yours?”

“Oh! I’m Marinette.”

“Luka,” he introduced himself in return. Marinette. It was a pretty name for a pretty girl. “Well, I’m certainly honored to have met you, Marinette.”

Something about his words made her stumble, but she seemed to recover quickly. “Have I… have I met you before?” she asked.

Luka paused.

Yes. He wanted to say. You’ve met me in my superhero form. But he knew better.

“I’m...not sure.” he answered instead. “I don’t think so.”

Marinette shrugged, and wrapped a lock of her hair around her finger. “Oh, okay. For some odd reason, your face looked familiar,” she explained. 

Satisfied with her answer, Luka nodded, then stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Are you playing in the tournament?” he decided to ask. Marinette’s face lit up once again, and Luka couldn’t help but suppress a tiny smile at how cute she was.

“Oh yes! I’ve actually loved to play video games since I was a little girl! Are you playing in the tournament?” she asked. Luka nodded in return.

“I’m not that great at gaming though. Not really anyone in my family. We’re more music-oriented.” he said. 

“Music? Do you play any instruments?” Marinette asked, and Luka internally winced at how off-topic the conversation had gone. After all, he had come here to investigate the number of Hawkmoth akumatizations, not chat about instruments. Nevertheless, he answered. 

“Yeah. I play the guitar—actually both Juleka and Ma do too.” He answered. Marinette nodded, an awkward silence falling over them.

Gesturing back to the hallway that led back to the library, Luka shuffled his feet a bit. “Well I should go back in there now,” he smiled, “Since the tournament is done, you know.” he said. Marinette chimed in a ‘me too’, and the two walked silently to the library. Parting ways at the doorway. Luka quickly paced to Juleka, who was still ogling at Rose, and tapped her on the shoulder.

“The game’s over, Jules. You don’t have to keep staring at her like that, y’know.” he said, rolling his eyes, and Juleka turned around and shot him an irritated look. 

“You didn’t have to say that so loud, you know.” she mumbled, causing Luka to smile. “Anyways, see anything interesting while you were looking around?” she asked. Luka shrugged and shook his head. 

“Not really. Met Marinette though,” he smiled, a grin appearing as he recited Marinette’s name.

“Who’s— oh.” the words dying in Juleka's throat, as she saw the dark-haired blue-eyed girl grab a game controller and a nametag with the name ‘Marinette’ on her.

“So that’s why you didn’t see anything worthy to investigate. You were distracted. ” Juleka smirked, and Luka gave her a look TM . “Anyways, this school seems pretty tame. The only thing that hints upon the reason for the number of akumatizations that happen here is the mayor’s daughter—Chloe Bourgeois. I heard a few kids talking about her here. A real big drama queen—and a huge school bully.” Juleka shrugged, and Luka nodded. That made a lot of sense. But it wouldn’t really help in the long run finding Hawkmoth. Perhaps Hawkmoth’s civilian identity was linked to some students at this school. Or maybe he worked here. That would be a valid reason for him targeting most students at this school.

Luka jerked suddenly as his name was called, and he turned around automatically. The organizer was standing at the front with a clipboard and—and Marinette was approaching him. Luka’s gaze snapped up to the board they had set up and saw his name across from Marinette’s.

Oh— 

“I’m going to kill you slowly,” Luka said conversationally as Juleka began snickering behind him. “Tikki, what the hell happened to that whole ‘good luck’ schtick?”

There was a high-pitched but quiet giggle from his hood. “It all depends on your point of view, doesn’t it,” Tikki whispered as Luka made his way mechanically to the front. 

He was going to have to play in front of all these people, and against her , and oh this was possibly the worst idea he’d ever had. 

“Don’t worry,” Marinette smiled at him as he sat next to her. “I’ll go easy on you.” She winked, and smirked , and Luka was pretty sure his soul departed the building at that point.

His body, however, was still stuck there, and he tried to get his head in the literal game so he didn’t look like too much of a fool. 

Marinette was really good, though. Luka had good reflexes and excellent hand-eye coordination, but damn . Some detached part of his brain noticed that Marinette was a tactical thinker, and he had to appreciate that. He wondered briefly what she would do with, say, the mouse miraculous, that they rarely used because it was physically weak but in the hands of someone like Marinette, it might really be— 

He stared at the flashing screen dumbly for a moment before he realized that his thrashing was finally over. He mustered up a grin for Marinette and turned to congratulate her, and froze when she held her hand out to him. 

He had never touched her without his suit in the way. 

But if he didn’t, she would think he was a sore loser and—

Luka swallowed and shook her hand awkwardly. Her hand was tiny in his.  

“Good game,” he managed to say, letting go of her as quickly as he could. 

“You did pretty good!” Marinette smiled encouragingly. “Especially if you don’t play that regularly.” She made a face and Luka felt his own turning red. “Sorry you had to go up against me in the first round, though. Luck of the draw, I guess!”

“It’s all good, I was only playing for fun anyway,” Luka said, hoping he sounded, if not smooth, at least natural . “It was kind of a whim. Sometimes I just get these crazy ideas, and you know, why not?” He clenched his teeth against any more babble. 

“It’s good to be spontaneous,” she said kindly, and Luka tried to think of a way to make a quick exit. He didn’t know why he ever thought it was a good idea to meet her in his civilian identity, she must think he was so lame—

Her head tilted slightly and she gave him that look again. “Are you sure we haven’t met before?” she said, scrutinizing his face, and Luka was suddenly looking at her lips and remembering how she’d kissed his cheek the last time he’d saved her and he needed to get out of there now .

“Uh...I mean well— you wouldn’t know!” Luka managed to stutter out, but then slammed his out shut, realizing what he had just said. 

Idiot. 

He had practically given himself away! Sweating nervously, Luka glanced around— anywhere but at Marinette’s face —to find an escape.

“Wait... what?” Marinette asked, bewildered. “What do you mean?” she asked, slowly, as realization struck on her face.

Crap! He felt a hard tug on the back of his hair and knew that Tikki was also freaking out back there in his hood. Ugh, he had to do something!

Luka fidgeted nervously, panic coursing through his veins. He silently prayed that somehow an akuma would appear so he could leave. Fortunately, luck was on his side as a bell rang through the school indicating that an akuma had appeared. Finally. 

“I s-should really get going! Ma doesn’t like it when J-Jules and I stay out during akumas!” Luka rambled, running up to Juleka, and grabbed her hand. Marinette pulled a skeptical face as she saw Luka leave. 

“What was that all about?” asked Juleka, as the two ran into an alleyway to transform.

God, he was so screwed.