#like even when Hawkmoth had ALL of the other miraculous they still stood a chance cause they had the ladybug and black cat miraculous
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So Felix has been on my mind a lot bc he's a very interesting character whose motivations aren't quite clear. So I was thinking back to the episode Felix (where he was first introduced), and obviously we know he pretended to be Adrien in order to ruin his friendships with the rest of the cast for some reason. We know in the past though that Adrien and Felix used to be close, as they had once pulled a prank on their parents by switching places for a week. So fast foward to when Felix gets caught. Chat Noir, aka the real Adrien, decides to call him out (as he should), and this line really stood out to me:
Though Adrien may not understand all of Felix, including his true motivation behind everything he does, he still knows him better than most of the cast. Now let's see Felix's reaction to that comment.
That looks like someone who just got hit in a sore spot if I've ever seen one. At this point, he is already caught red handed and thus has no reason to act like he's still Adrien. That was a real moment for him, and I'm starting to think the writers put that specific line in on purpose.
The likelihood of him being a senti and knowing that is very high (not gonna say it's official till it's confirmed on the show). I'm thinking that because he knows he's not like a regular human both in personality and in creation, does he want the Peacock Miraculous not only to ensure he has full control over himself, but also to make friends that really understand him? Is him being so rude and cold to most others because of the fact he is secretly jealous of them for being regular humans? Finding out you aren't fully human like everyone else around you is bound to do some psychological damage, and could explain how Felix did a sudden change from someone who was close with Adrien to like a total stranger.
Strike Back also confirms that Felix has had knowledge about the Miraculous jewelry existing since before Hawkmoth became a threat to Paris, as he is seen looking at multiple pictures from what looks like the same book as the one Gabriel has.
Edit: I totally forgot he stole Nathalie's tablet in Risk, but my point still stands that he most likely knew about the Miraculous history pre Hawkmoth because of the fact he knew that the book info would be on Nathalie's tablet. We've never actually seen him look through the book even though he saw it in Risk, therefore logically he would've had to have seen the book beforehand. Mind you, this book had been missing for a long time according to Tikki, so this type of knowledge isn't common knowledge. A lot of the Miraculous knowledge isn't super common knowledge even now in their world bc Master Fu kept the Miraculous hidden and unused for about 170 years. Also Alya can't share all the info she knows on her blog bc it could hint at the fact that she's a superhero (let alone Ladybug's closest helper as of recent).
I say this because of the context between the conversation Adrien and Felix had when they were in his room in that episode and he mentions his Dad's death like it's the first time they ever talked about that. This would explain why Felix was able to deduce that Gabriel was Shadowmoth as quickly as he did.
On the off chance he is not a sentimonster, then I think it would be because he had a similar childhood to Adrien. Though I do think that both him being a senti and having his Dad die could both be the reasons why Felix acts the way he is. Anywho, we know Felix did have a Dad who died around the same time as Emilie, and Amelie does mention the following at the end of the episode:
Based on this line, it sounds like those two had a similar relationship like Gabriel and Adrien do, as Gabriel is often controlling over what Adrien does. I mean, when Adrien talks about Felix's Dad (who is also his Uncle, mind you) he doesn't even mention his name, let alone personality. This is odd considering Adrien is the more sentimental type. Now if he was cold and distant like say Gabriel, that would explain why Adrien hardly mention anything about Felix's Dad as a person.
A theory I have is that based on context clues, Felix was also most likely homeschooled aswell and thus a lonely child. Given his behavior and how implied it is that Gabriel and Felix's Dad were quite similar, it makes sense to me atleast.
While they may have not had the best relationship, Felix still has emotions at the end of the day. I mean we all saw how in Risk he was terrified over seeing Emilie's corpse. He was alone then, so he had no reason to fake that reaction. Also, I don't think it was necessarily because she looks just like his Mom (although that is definately part of the reason). In the episode Gabriel Agreste, he is shown smiling at a painting that is clearly Emilie (as there would be no reason for the Agrestes to have a huge painting of his Aunt). Felix might be a jerk, but it is clear he liked his Aunt and feels bad about her death.
As someone who has had a parent die at a young age, it changes you a lot. Sometimes, it can make you a better person in the long run. Other times, it can turn you into a much colder and darker person. Psychologically speaking, Felix is a complex individual who appears to have gone through quite a bit. We don't know too many truths about him, but I wanted to analyze more of what we do know.
One thing I can say for sure though is that story wise, Adrien and Felix are perfect parallels of one another. For this, I'm gonna ignore the senti theory and just focus on the facts shown in canon. You have one boy who lost his loving Mom, and despite his colder Father, is able to remain positive even if times get rough. Another boy who lost his cold Father, found himself turning colder despite having a loving Mother by his side to support him. It's beautiful yet heartbreaking, and I really hope we truly get to understand Felix more in Season 5. I would definately like to see how he and Duusu get along, and what he does with the Peacock Miraculous.
Once again, this was just a string theories that came into my head so it might be wrong. Ik this post was a bit all over the place, but I hope you atleast understand where I am coming from. Thanks for reading!
#miraculous ladybug#mlb#felix graham de vanily#chat noir#adrien agreste#gabriel agreste#emilie graham de vanily#emilie agreste#amelie graham de vanily#sentifelix#sentimonsters
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Doesn't change a thing
Masterlist
Requested by: @maycat-19-142
Pairing: Felix x Female!Reader
Words: 1559
Request: Felix x Female!Reader snake reader with him finding out his long distance girlfriend is a Miraculous holder with the snake
‘We will be there in five minutes’ Felix texted you,you were already waiting in the train station.
“Y/N can we talk?” Sass whispered,you walked into one of the bathrooms and he flew out.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just concerned about him finding out that you’re a superhero. Promise me you’ll be careful” You were very careful to not let anyone know who you were,but Felix is incredibly smart and part of you was scared that he might find out. You still weren’t planning on telling him,but if he found out you weren’t going to lie to him.
“I promise,you can count on me Sass. We should get back,he’ll be here in two minutes” He stepped out of the train as you walked up to him. “Felix” You ran up and hugged him,which he only let you do because he loves you. Even though he wasn’t into pda,he put one of his arms around you.
“I missed you” He whispered,and you quickly kissed him on the cheek.
“I missed you too”
***
“I hope we get to see some superheroes” Felix said with a smile on his face,he didn’t smile much but whenever he did it made you smile back.
“Knowing Hawkmoth it won’t take long for someone to get akumatized. How long are you going to stay in Paris?” He reached over and held your hand.
“Two weeks,” His mom answered. “But I’ll be busy,so you’ll have to show Felix around Paris” Amelie would always try to do stuff like this,she already considered you a part of the family.
“I’d be happy to do that” The car stopped when the driver reached your house. “I have go get ready,I’ll see in an hour”
“Do you want us to pick you up?”Felix asked,avoiding your eyes. You kissed his cheek,causing him to look up at you.
“I wouldn't want to burden you”
“Don’t even think that Y/N” Amelie quickly said. “We’ll pick you up before the party and I won’t take no for an answer” She quickly added before giving you a chance to respond.
“I’ll see you soon”
***
“So what do you think?”
“You look absolutely lovely” Sass said,you had been talking about Felix. Talking about that you had to be more careful,since he’s so smart. “What will you do if he finds out?”
“Well I wouldn’t lie to him. I trust Felix to keep it a secret”
“Just be careful,it’s better if he doesn’t know”
“You’re right Sass. We should get going or we’ll be late” You opened your bag and let him fly in. Taking one last look in the mirror before you headed out,you opened the door and saw Felix standing there. His hand was raised,he was clearly about to know on your door. He looked you up and down.
“Y/N you look beautiful”
“Thank you” The two of you walked out. You got into the car and soon reached Gabriel’s house. As you got out,you noticed that his tie was crooked. “Felix,wait” You pulled him aside and fixed his tie,you swear you saw him blush.
“Thank you Y/N” Once everyone was inside Gabriel asked everyone to hand in their phones,which everyone did. All the teangers followed Adrien up to his room,you were about to take a step up the stairs when Gabriel said.
“Felix,can I talk to you for a moment?” You instinctively grabbed his hand,Gabriel wasn’t exactly trustworth there was something about him that you didn’t like.
“It’s okay”You let go of him but you didn’t move,you just stood there watching them walk into another room. A few minutes later Felix walked out,he quickly ran up to you and grabbed your hand. You ran up the stairs in the opposite direction of Adrien’s room. Felix quickly pulled you down as you heard a door open. You heard another door open then close and Felix stood up,you followed him to the other door and heard Gabriel say.
“I’d recognize that ring anywhere. He gave me a copy!”He shouthet the last part louder. You knew that there was some argument about the Graham de vanily family rings,but you didn’t fully understand what it was about. Before you could hear anything else you got called by Adrien. You were sitting down with everyone else,Chloe was yelling about something but you didn’t care enough to listen. She stormed out,a few minutes later Felix tried to sneak away but you noticed and decided to follow him. You saw him follow Gabriel into the same room as before,the door was left slightly open which let you look inside.
“You don’t know me at all,where is the real ring?”
“It’s in a safe place and I’m not telling you where it is. What are you going to do now,Shadowmoth?”
“I’m more powerful than Shadowmoth,I have the power to destroy you. I could end you with a snap of my finger”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Would you take that risk,think about your mother and Y/N. If I were you I’d consider handing the ring over” ‘What did that even mean? Was Felix a senti monster? Gabriel Agreste is Shadow moth?’’ Your entire body was shaking,you would’ve stepped in but that last sentence scared you enough to freeze you in place. You were thinking about what to do when you saw an akuma fly past your face and into Felix’s ring. Felix didn’t get akumatized,he broke out of Shadow Moth’s control in seconds. You saw him about to run out and quickly backed away,he stopped for a second when he saw you standing just outside the door.
“Y/N” You could feel the pain in his voice,even though his face was calm. You saw another akuma fly past you and now was the time to get serious. You grabbed his hand and ran towards the door but it was locked,you couldn’t risk Felix especially after what you heard. You smashed through a part of the door,big enough to let you out. "Go hide,I'll follow you" You ran back out inside. "Sass scales slither" You ran from room to room trying to find Gabriel,what he said to Felix pretty much confirmed that he had the peacock miraculous. You peeked into several rooms before you found the right one,you saw Shadow moth standing in Natalie's room. "Second chance" You activated your power before you kicked down the door. You lunged forward and jumped up grabbing the peacock miraculous before he pushed you,your back hitting the window,breaking it. He had transformed back into Hawkmoth. You quickly stood up,you felt so much pain throughout your body. You had the peacock miraculous in your hand,that fall really hurt and you couldn't see Ladybug or Chat noir anywhere.
"Give me back my miraculous,if you know what's good for you!"
"No! I'll never give it back to you!" You shouted back. You saw Felix out of the corner of your eye,running towards you. He stood in front of you and Hawkmoth started running towards you,holding his staff up and tried to hit Felix but was stopped by Ladybug. Chat noir jumped down in front of the two of you.
"Felix right?" Felix nodded. "Take her and get out of here" He picked you up,surprisingly easy. He ducked into one of the alleyways,as your miraculous started beeping.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I'm about to transform back"
"Are you gonna be alright?"
"Yeah" Suddenly he wrapped his arms around you,pulling you close to him. He wasn't the affectionate type,especially with a total stranger. You looked down at the peacock miraculous in your hand,you would've handed it to Ladybug but after finding out that anyone with it could practically kill the one you love. You couldn't do that, you had to keep it,to keep him safe. He hugged you tighter.
"Thank you Y/N"
"You knew?"
"Y/N,who else would fight Hawkmoth,for me?" He laughed quietly. "And you're apparently a superhero"
"Sorry,I had to keep it a secret"
"I had to do that too,so do you wanna talk about it?"
"Well we both had our secrets and now we know the truth. Let me ask you first, does being a superhero change how you feel about me?" You asked.
"No,not in the slightest"
"Felix I don't care if you're a Sentimonster or not,you're still you"
"I know I said this didn't change how I felt for you,but after what you did for me,it did change something. It made me love you even more" For Felix that word was more rare than any precious gem.
"Please say that again"
"You heard me the first time"
"I love you"
"I love you too" He whispered,it was rare to hear it once,let alone twice. He didn't really say it as much as he showed it,but he only did when you were alone.
"We should get back,people are going to start wondering where we are" You said but he still didn't let go.
"Just a little while longer"
#miraculous felix x reader#felix graham de vanily x reader#miraculous ladybug felix#miraculous felix#felix graham de vanily#felix x reader#miraculous ladybug x reader#miraculous ladybug#felix imagines#ml x reader#mlb x reader#domxmarvel
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Thank you @johannaiii for letting me write this!!!! It was so much fun and it was a really good prompt!
Talia didn’t like the process of giving birth, in fact she loathed it. She swore she would never, and she meant never do it again. But when she was giving birth, and she found out that she was having twins, and she got to hold her children that she sacrificed and suffered for, she loved them. When she learned that one of them was a girl, she knew that her father would be furious and demand her death. So she immediately summoned one of the monks from the Tibetan temple that her father was allying with and gave them the girl. She demanded that they train her and protect, and that she would never, ever be mentioned to Ra’s. She even killed the nurses who helped her give birth to make sure that there was no one left who would know. It wouldn’t be hard to find replacements for them anyways, it’s not like their lives were significant. They had served out their use, now there was no need for them. When it was time she presented her son, Damian, to her father claiming him to be the only child and heir to the Demon’s Head. Ra’s was very pleased with her and she felt pride at being able to carry out her task properly that her father was very much pleased with her and her child.
Even though Marinette, as she had named the child before she had given her up, was no longer in the league, she made sure she was still in her daughter’s life. Once every year she left for “training” purposes with Damian and went to the ancient temple in Tibet to visit her daughter and make sure that the two siblings got to spend time with each other. Marinette was growing up so fast and the monks would report to her of her daughter’s progress. They told her that Marinette was destined for greatness and to be a powerful leader, and that pleased Talia greatly. The man in charge of her daughter's training, Master Wang Fu, would show her photos of her daughter and her accomplishments; she wished that she would be allowed to do the same for Damian. But the League and the Temple of Order, while partners, were two separate entities when it came to how they were trained and taught. She smiled as she saw her children sparing on the temple’s grounds, each assessing how strong the other had become since their last meeting a year ago.
They were both 6-years-old now, and Marinette had lost one of her top baby teeth. She wore the traditional light blue training robes the monks wore while Damian wore his traditional black and red armor with his katana sheathed on his back. She watched her children and a small smile graced her lips as she watched the two. They were opposites in almost everything, yet they were still so similar. Damian’s fighting was aggressive and forceful while Marinette’s focussed on out maneuvering and tiring out the opponent from a distance before striking where it hurt the most. Their personalities were like fire and ice with Damian being aggressive and mighty while Marinette was soft and humble. Damian was assertive and forceful in the way he spoke, while Marinette was gentle and descriptive. Though, like she said before they had many similarities that helped to cement their relationship. They both were very artistic, in battle they both would get up and personal with their challenger if given the opportunity, both were very intelligent and soaked everything up like a sponge, and both were highly competitive. The sound of metal being hit together sounded from the training grounds as Damian and Marinette fought with their respective weapons; Damian with his katana and Marinette with her two daggers.
“You’ve definitely improved since the last visit, 'ukht, but so have I.”
Damian announced as he went in to sweep his sister’s legs all while bringing his blade down towards her. Marinette used her daggers to lift Damian’s blade and flipped backwards as Damian tried to perform his strike. She was very flexible and graceful when she was in the air. It sometimes looked as if she were flying when she performed some of her stunts.
“Maybe you have, Xiōngdì, but I seem to still have the upper hand.”
Marinette replied with smugness dripping from her voice as her brother glared at her. Marinette carefully crafted her words to manipulate while Damian spoke his mind and used his to order and command. They were opposites, but they completed each other in a way few will ever know.
The day Damian and Talia were to begin their trek back down the mountain Fu ran up to Damian and placed a piece of paper in his hands. He bowed respectfully to the old man and looked at the picture. It was a picture the old man had taken a few days ago. Marinette was smiling brightly and had her arm around his shoulder while he had his arms crossed in front of him and leaned into his sister’s touch with a small smirk. They were both in their training clothes and stood in front of the mountains that hid and protected the Temple of Order. He smiled at it and glanced at his sister who was waving goodbye with a big sad smile. He simply nodded and left not knowing that this would be the last time he would for many years that he would lay eyes on her once again.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Order, it was gone, destroyed! Marinette felt tears rush down her face as she watched her friends and mentors perish in the flames of miraculous magic gone astray. She could feel the cold wind passing by her as Master Fu dragged her away, but she couldn’t remove her gaze from her home that was falling into pieces. What would Damian think, she had to leave something for him to let him know she was okay! But she was never given the chance because she couldn’t pull away from her master. They were the last ones left, and Marinette couldn’t wrap her mind around it at all.
~~~~~~~~~~
Damian and Talia hiked the trial many months later, and as they neared the top they could sense something was definitely off. The top of the temple would usually be in view by now. When they finally reached the top they froze as they saw the ruins of the burned and destroyed temple in front of them. Talia was the first to break from her daze and ran to the ruins searching through them to find any remains of her daughter. Damian soon joined his mother, but it was no use. Damian and Talia believed the worst had happened to her, and with silent tears flowing down his face he stabbed his sword into the ground in front of the burnt remains and fell onto his knees in front of it. The sword would serve as a gravestone for the fallen warriors here, but it specifically would serve as Marinette’s grave marker. She was a brave warrior, one of the best, and she was gone now. Talia stood by her son’s side and soon kneeled in front of it as well with her hand placed on her son’s shoulder. As they traveled down the mountain Damian swore that he would never be vulnerable again, he would never care about anyone ever again, because the pain he felt was too intense and never wanted to feel it ever again.
So both He and Talia took on more missions, Talia was rarely at the base, always gone doing whatever her father needed. The training in Tibet never happened again, and Damian grew closer to his grandfather. He trained harder, attacked ruthlessly, and channeled all his pain and rage into his strikes. He held onto the photo that Fu had given him of the two of them so many years ago. He had it tucked away in a secret place in his room where no one would ever find it, because he wanted to keep her with him in some way. Never again, he wouldn’t be hurt like before ever again.
~~~~~~~~~~
Marinette lived with Master Fu in a tea parlor under the guise of Marin Fu. She helped him run his parlor and distribute his charms to the people through the teas she brewed while he placed charms on people through the massage therapy he did. Fu let her be home schooled as she already knew way more than any normal school could teach her. She would just be repeating things when she could be learning more new material. She was also taught how to better practice her magic and use the miraculous. She was going to be the new guardian one day, she was going to be the last guardian one day, and that thought scared her and brought back all of the nightmares. She locked that night and anything before the fire back up in her mind only remembering what she needed to when she needed to.
Fu wanted her to interact with people though, so with the money he made he sent her to a gymnastics class where she could still retain her skills and get better at them. She honestly loved the classes and she felt so free when she did them. Nobody could beat her, in fact she advanced to level 10 quickly and was well on her way to the elite by the time she was 13. And that’s when Hawkmoth struck Paris.
Lady Rouge and her partner Chat Noir made a decent team, but he was nowhere near her skill level which often annoyed her. He wasn’t a true black cat, her brother was. He was her balanced counterpart, and this cat was just a stand in. And as time went on the imbalance continued the boy became corrupted by the destructive energy of the ring. She had continually told Master Fu about it, but he would not listen. And then it was time for him to pass, and she became the grand guardian, the last grand guardian. Tears fell down the young 15-year-olds face as she watched her mentor's spirit leave him in his peaceful slumber. He was so old, and it was just his time for him to go, but now she had nowhere to go, but she knew what she had to do.
“Hello, M’lady.”
Chat Noir said in a flirty tone as he spun his staff as if the speed he was doing it at would impress her.
“Hello, Chat.”
She replied terse with her arms crossed in front of her as she leaned on the railing of the Eiffel Tower and gazed at the sky that held little stars due to all of the lights of the city below them.
“Are you not excited to see your soulmate? Come on M’lady,”
He said grabbing one of her hands with a large smile and deep voice,
“let me take you out somewhere, just the two of us.”
It took everything in Marinette not to break his wrist in that moment, but she had to play along.
“Okay.”
Chat’s eyes widened and his leather tail began to move side to side in an excited manner.
“W-wait, really?!”
“You know what, ya. This week has been really tough and I could use it.”
Chat’s smile turned into a smirk and a dark twinkle lit up his eyes. He took a step back and held his hand, his ringed hand, out for her to take. SHe smiled at him gently and innocently and took his hand, and as he was about to pull her forward she took hold of the rings and ripped her hand off, taking the ring with her. There was a blonde boy with green eyes staring at her with shock and hurt written all over his face, then eventually anger.
“I am revoking you from being able to wield the Black Cat Miraculous. You are not compatible to wield this power as you are not my balanced counterpart. The ring has been corrupting and harming you after all of your exposure to it when you are not the right one to wear it while I hold the earrings. Thank you for the help you have given me in the past, but I’m afraid that I can not risk hurting you any longer.”
The boy stared at her with wide shocked eyes and nodded. She could see that he too had now noticed the change as with the ring it didn’t feel like he changed at all. She helped him get to his house and left after shaking his hand and thanking him one last time for his help. And as she was about to leave the property she heard the sound of something above her opening and through the now open window she saw an akuma flying out of it.
She quickly caught the akuma and crashed through the glass window into the dark room. Before Hawkmoth could even realize what had happened she had tied him up in her yo-yo and he was pinned in place with the tight cord. If she pulled it any tighter it would cut into his skin and draw blood. She grabbed the broach from the middle of the suit --which was as hideous as his akuma designs, if not worse-- and watched the man detransform making sure the camera on her yo-yo recorded the whole thing.
“You will be subject to the curse of whatever your abused kwami sees fit for you, and then the people of Paris will have you.”
Was all she said as she brought the man onto his knees so he could properly respect the kwami and the God’s they are. Nooroo appeared and stared down at the man in front of him with an angered fiery glare.
“Gabriel Agreste, you have abused me and my miraculous for too long! I bring upon a curse upon you, that no one will ever believe a word you say, and that your craft of manipulation will only work against you!”
And with that, pain courses through Gabriel and the wings of a butterfly were branded on the left side of his chest just above his heart. She left soon after that and sent the footage for the police. She watched from a distance as the police took him in, and told one of the officers that Adrien was innocent and had no connection to his father’s scheme. Once she was sure Gabriel would not be able to escape his justice she pulled the horse miraculous from her yo-yo and summoned a portal to wherever she needed to be next.
~~~~~~~~~~
Damian was in the cave training when Todd burst in and began to run towards him with a stupid smug grin on his face. Damian rolled his eyes and watched Todd stop in front of him holding something small and flimsy in his hand.
“Demon Spawn,”
He breathed out, his smug smile growing wider,
“Did you have a girlfriend in the league?”
Damian was….confused. He had no such thing, but as Todd showed him the thing in his hand his blood froze. It was the photo of him and Marinette. How did he find it?! Why did he even have it?!
“Give it back, Todd.”
Damian growled lowly hands gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.
“She is! Guys, Damian had a-“
He tackled Jason after that and wrestled the photo out of his grip and held it close to him. He glared daggers at Todd and made absolutely sure that the old photo was still intact. Once he was sure. Todd was back on his feet and Damian had the urge to run him through with his sword for daring to rummage through his belongings and to dare touch his picture. He opened his mouth to spit out fiery words of anger, when a portal opened right in front of Damian. A girl walked out of it and the portal immediately closed. It was absolutely silent in the cave as the other occupants who were also there stared at the person. The girl was rigid as she stared Damian directly in the eyes, and he felt a familiar pull to her.
“Kaalki, Tikki separate. Tikki spots off.”
She spoke quickly, and her voice, and those words, and he knew who she was. But that was impossible, because she had died, hadn’t she?! Arms wrapped around him and he could hear sniffles and he felt his arms wrap robotically around the small frame of his sister.
“Xiōngdì, I missed you so much! I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner! Th-the Order was destroyed and Fu woul-wouldn’t let me leave a message, and-and someone was misusing the Butterfly in France (sniff). And-and…..”
She took a long shaky breath in and sighed,
“I missed you so much.”
It took a while to realize that silent tears were falling down his face, and he hugged her even tighter against his chest. Because his sister, his twin sister was alive, and she hadn’t died in the fire and destruction of the temple.
“It’s okay, 'ukht. I’ve got you.”
They stayed like that for a few precious moments before Todd yelled,
“What the f*!”
———————
Permanent Taglist:
@aespades @adrestar
#maribat#sibling au#sibling daminette#marinette al ghul wayne#marinette fu#damian al ghul wayne#monk marinette#talia sugar#bio!dad bruce wayne#twins au#The Order#mlb x batman#dc x mlb#angst#fluff
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A Failed Betrothal /Betrothal AU: Take Two
So here is the second part of the betrothal AU that I decided to name "A Failed Betrothal. This takes place before Part 1 which in hindsight should have been done first. Part 2 got too long so I cut it and started Part 3. I have no idea and nothing planned on how long this will go. Hope you enjoy ❤.
[Masterlist]
(Part 1)
PART 2
Marinette also wasn't having a good day or a good week.
Lila Rossi had been up to her usual tricks. You know, spewing lies from her mouth. How she met these awesome celebrities during this trip and they worship the ground she walks on for her amazing and humbling help. There were stories of these charities, trips and galas that she had been to or was invited to. She has problems with her wrists and can't do simple stuff like carry her own bag or do her homework. She has tinnitus in her ears so she needs to sit in the front where the only seat available would be next to Adrien.
And for the finale.
The desert after feeding the class a banquet of lies.
"Mari...nette..has been bullying me, she...told..me not to tell anyone..*sobs*..that she would kill me if I did.."
Lila dramatically gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth. Turning on the waterworks for a more dramatic effect. They all ate it up, jumping on the ‘let’s hate Marinette, a bad person’ train.
"She is going to kill me now and I am so scared." That snake managed to snuck an evil smirk past her glaring, oblivious classmates.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marinette, at this point of her life, had frankly given up caring for them due to the class's lack of brain cells and Agreste's spineless 'High Road' Approach.
For Kwami's sake, she went through a brutal torture that was training in some jungle temple in Asia before Sabine Cheng, former mercenary/assassin, kidnapped her (Little Marinette took a risk. She ran away and followed her around until Sabine begrudgingly accepted that she was now the 6- year-old girl's mother because screw it, Tom said he wanted children.) to raise/train as her own while she settled down with a baker whose mother may or may not have ties with the Mafia and other illegal activities.
(Mother-daughter bonding days became much more fun once she had Guardianship of the Miraculous. Sabine was ,at first, furious at Master Fu for dumping everything on the girl and losing his memories before swearing to help protect the jewels. Adopted or not, Marinette is her daughter and no one should let a child, even one with training, fight a war. A good thing to come out of her reveal was that her mother was a great tiger to have as back-up. But now, her training regime had become harder and challenging.)
The point was that Lila Rossi would be dead and body missing since that first time she threatened Marinette in the bathroom. The Italian was in perfect health despite what she claims otherwise, because Marinette didn’t want to be the person she was raised to be and also she didn’t want to disappoint Tikki, she was fond of the little red kwami. But sometimes, she just wanted to give into the urge to kill.
She had met and dealt with unsavory characters of all types and she can safely say that Lila Rossi was a manipulator that thrives on attention and like a parasite, latches herself onto the fame of others. None of the unsavory people she had met get under her skin like Rossi had.
Marinette had enough self-preservation to drop the nice girl act and sometimes let the dragon underneath to surface. She stopped doing last-minute favors and giving away free stuff which Lila uses to her full advantage to further destroy her relationships with her ‘friends’. It was better than sticking her neck out for classmates that were no longer worth her time. Attempts to expose Lila had backfired due to the denial they are in, believing the liar to be a sweet, nice girl living the high life.
Adrien with his rose-tinted glasses firmly stuck to his eyes was not happy at all with her decision. That may also have to do where she suggested he shove his advice after he tried to reason her to take the high road for defending herself for the umpteenth time. She felt like the biggest idiot to ever have a crush on him. Every time, Rossi blames Marinette for a problem, he would shoot disappointed looks in her direction.
Alya being Lila's biggest guard dog tore into Marinette for her newfound 'bad' behaviour. The rest of Lila's supporters backed her up with "How could you do that to Lila","I can't believe you changed." Nearly all her so-call friends had turned their backs and lost all common sense to the Italian's manipulations.
(Alya was supposed to be her best friend, aren’t you supposed to listen to your ‘bestie’ over a complete stranger)
The designer took it all with a bored expression on her face, used to the lecturing which was a waste of time because her behavior isn't going to change, no matter what, Lie-la will keep up the act of being the bully's (*cough*Marinette*cough*) victim.
Her heart that cracks the tiniest bit at the accusations. A small part of her, she admits, is hurt that they think so low of her.Was she really that worthless to them? All those times and efforts helping them out on last-minute favors and giving them free treats. Were they not enough to earn their friendship? Their trust or at the very least, a benefit of doubt?
The only ones who didn’t join the berating to 'correct' the raven-haired girl’s attitude were Chloe (who had proven herself to have changed after the miracle queen incident and Lila stole the spotlight and Sabrina. There were a lot of apologizes, gifts and ‘making up to do’) Alix (she came to her senses when the supposed bullying started) and Nathaniel (Lila blatantly claimed to be the artist for the Ladybug comic to his face).
“Girl, Marinette, are you even listening to me?”Alya demanded.
“Maybe. Did you say anything that doesn’t have to do with Lila or how I did her wrong or how I am no longer the person you knew?”
Marinette knew that being sarcastic would backfire but nothing she does or says will change what they think of her. One word from Lila and they will turn back on her. As much as she hates to admit it, Lila’s threat has fallen through and she was alone. Mostly.
She still had Chloe, Nathaniel, Alix, Luka and Kagami as friends. The trust-worthy and loyal kind.
“Girl,” Alya says in a disappointed tone, shaking her head,“when I look at you, I don’t see that girl who stood up to Chloe the bully-”, Chloe snorted, she had changed but they were too blind and prejudiced against her to notice her efforts, “-Picking on Lila, threatening and harassing her. This isn’t you and you know it. Just get over your jealousy on Lila being close to Adrien and apologize to her.”
If Alya had talked to her in the past 12 months other than demanding things that took away her time or anything relating to Lila, she would know that her infatuation had turned into annoyance.
Marinette sighed, too tired of this routine, tired of trying to knock heads so the brain cells can work again. Apologizing would mean that Lila had won. She was petty and stubborn enough to allow that to happen. Lila said she will take the class and Adrien. Fine, she can have them but Marinette Dupain-Cheng will not admit defeat. Bigger men had fallen to the ravenette for lesser offences. A year has passed since the expulsion and the class still hasn't regained common senses, so they can deal with the consequences after the inevitable downfall of Lila and Marinette will be there to see them lay in the grave they dug.
Steeling herself for the pain that will come with the execution of her plan,
“What if I don’t. I won’t apologize to her because I have not done anything to her or even interacted with her. If I apologize, it would be insincere and a lie. And I hate liars.” The former assassin said evenly.
“Lila is not a liar. I don’t know why you are like this.” Alya said, frustrated.
Marinette knew there would be a small chance of an akuma with Gabriel Agreste having an important meeting to attend on this day that would last for the next hour. This was the small window of opportunity to start the plan and also further confirm the identity of Hawkmoth. Killing two birds with one stone.
“Alya, this has always been me, you just never took the time to get to really know the real me.”, she replied, the last part with an icy tone.
“Well-... I- ..You-, fine, then if you can’t say those simple three words, we can’t be friends. I clearly don’t know what a selfish bitch you are. God, I can’t believe I wanted to be best friends with you. You are now replaced by Lila because unlike you, she is genuinely nice and selfless.” Alya declared. The rest of Lila’s supporters murmured in agreement.
Phase 1, complete. Lure the Lie-la into a false sense of security by making her think she won.
Marinette tried not to show how hurt she was, to be replaced by the scheming bitch. But at the same time she felt relieved, she no longer had to walk on eggshells in fear of losing the friendships of people she used to care about. It felt final as she maintained her stoic expression, hoping they didn't notice the glassy sheen her eyes had.
“Then, it is official. We are no longer friends.”
They haven’t been friends for a long time.
Mme. Bustier finally walked into the classroom to start the afternoon classes, signalling the end of the conversation. After class, Marinette resolves to inform them that she was resigning as class president which she was sure the class will be glad for. She was right.
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Ladybug was, as the Americans say, pissed at Hawkmoth which was nothing new. He had sent out another akuma just as Marinette was back home and trying to relax after the stressful day. The akuma was not any of her ex-friends which she wasn’t sure to be thankful for or not.
Louise Martin was a boy about Luka’s age and mad at his friends who had blamed their fifth loss-in-a-row on him despite the fact that it was his skills that were getting them any progress. They were playing one of those recently released 5V5 skills and strategy battle games. (League of Legends or Mobile Legends. Take your pick, I am going with the latter)
He was akumatized into Hayakuma as proof of Hawkmoth’s lack of creativity. Hayakuma was a bleached out version of Louise’s chosen hero avatar, Hayabusa whose outfit was basically what the media portrays ninjas to look like with some samurai aspects.
Unfortunately, he also had the hero’s ultimate special powers which were making four shadow copies of himself and being able to switch positions with them. Thanks to Rattlesnake’s Second Chance, they know that he can only make a switch once every two minute. Hayakuma also wields a sword, showing off his skills.
Just lovely.
Hydra and Ladybug were the only ones able to counter his attacks with Hydra’s sword and Ladybug’s summoned one. (Let’s go with that headcanon(?)/trope that she can summon weapons for plot convenience and the others can too but just don’t have enough practise yet.)
The others managed to dodge and shield themselves from Hayakuma’s really sharp sword.
The shadows themselves were annoying as they would distract or hinder the miraculous users by grabbing them by their shadows and making them unable to move. Until Bunnix had the brilliant idea of shadow boxing which gave the heroes gain more even ground.
With how strong and handful the akuma was, it was code ‘all hands on deck’. Ladybug, Stinger, Rattlesnake, Hydra, Bunnix, Trickster. Well, nearly every hand. Lady Mǔ lǎohǔ was busy with the bakery. Chat Noir was nowhere to be seen or very late which had been the norm for the last year ever since Ladybug wanted to form a new miraculous team consisting of permanent heroes.
(He didn’t show up for the first few months because the first permanent member was Ladybug’s mother who did not like his attitude towards her daughter. He ran away with his tail between his legs once he found out how she was related to Ladybug. His face when he realized it, was something Marinette will cherish forever)
At least when Lady Mǔ lǎohǔ was around, he would not dare act out of line. When she is gone however, he is back to his old ways.
After saving one of Louise’s teammates from Hayakuma’s sword, they gathered the rest of the team and hid them someplace safe. Using Trickster’s illusions to trick all the shadows and the original to one place, the heroes were going to surround and ambush them and get the akumatized item. The plan would have been a success if it weren’t for Chat Noir hugging Ladybug from behind, making her miss her cue.
“Hey~ Bugaboo~ Did you miss me~? Your Chaton~?”
Thwack! Smack!
Chat Noir was on the rooftop, groaning pitifully in pain. Especially his crotch area. Ladybug glared at him and looked to the ambush point to see the illusions had disappeared and everyone else gone from their hiding place.
She sighed and turned on the comms, (Thank you, kwamis)
“Sting, did you venomed the akuma?”
“No, he escaped before I could. What happened, LB?”
“A certain cat got me delayed. What’s the status update?”
“Hydra is holding him off and Bunnix found that an umbrella is a good substitute for a sword. The rest of us are keeping track of the shadows. They split up but none of them are getting near where we hid the targets.”
“Where are you? I will meet you later with back-up.”
“Near Notre Dame and tell Mama Tigress I said hi.”
“Tell her yourself.”
She looked down at Chat No-, no he is not worthy of being a hero anymore with the amount of times he had derailed and hijacked the plans to defeat the akumas just so he can ‘earn’ Ladybug’s heart.
She looked down at Adrien Agreste, who was sitting and sulking like a child that was unfairly punished. (Once she got over her crush and started looking at the right things that she managed to piece together her ‘partner’s’ identity by accident. Tikki’s confirmation sealed the deal.)
“Chat Noir, this partnership of ours,” she said, gesturing to the two of them, “ is going to change tonight. Meet me at the ‘spot’ at 11 sharp. Now, go home.”
He left with a small glimmer of hope in his eyes at her words. She felt a little bad about the subtle manipulation but with the way things were now, it can’t go on. He was hindering more than helping and the people of Paris that weren’t shipping ‘Ladynoir’ saw that.
As she jumped towards Notre Dame, she called the bakery with her yoyo.
“Mama, are you free now? I need a little help with the akuma and can you bring the horse miraculous.”
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Chat Noir waited excitedly at what they both dubbed at their ‘spot’, in the good old days when it was just the two of them. Maybe Ladybug was finally open to the idea of dating. Or maybe she must have seen what a great hero he is and was going to get rid of the team. Or realized that having her mother on her team was a bad idea. Parents are the worst and they both can be two rebellious teenagers in love. Like Romeo and Juliet. So romantic~.
He was so deep in his daydream that he didn’t hear his lady land.
“Chat Noir.” Startled, he nearly fell off the roof. No, don’t make a fool of yourself in front of Ladybug.
“Yes, Bugaboo.” Hoping she didn’t know that he was very distracted. His attention will always be hers 100%.
“Don’t call me Bugaboo. Tikki wants to talk to Plagg about Kwami stuff. So you go over and hide behind that chimney. Then, we can talk about why I told you to be here.” Adrien frowned and then smiled. His lady must be very embarrassed about her mistake that must be why she is taking her time. He tried listening to what they were saying but the kwamis were talking in their special Guardian Language. Was it him or did Tikki’s voice sound more like his lady’s voice?
Whizz!
Adrien was tied up with Ladybug’s yoyo. “M’Lady? Bugaboo!? LADYBUG! WHAT IS GOING ON?!! PLAGG-”
Ladybug cut in, “Adrien Agreste, you have been slack in your hero duty and choosing your own feelings over supporting your partner, me, the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous and current Grand Guardian, in the efforts to defeat the enemy of Paris, Hawkmoth. Due to those reasons, you are no longer worthy to be the Holder of the Black Cat Miraculous” in one swift motion, she took the ring off his finger, “As such you are hereby revoked of Plagg’s Ring.”
“NO, YOU CAN’T. YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME! I LOVE YOU AND I KNOW YOU LOVE ME BACK. WE ARE SOULMATES, WE ARE MEANT TO BE-”
Adrien went slack at Lady Tigress’s pinch on his pressure point.
“I don’t what you ever saw in the boy.”
“I don’t know either. I think I dodged a bullet here. Can you carry him back to his home? I think I have dealt with enough of him tonight.” Ladybug muttered, as she erased Adrien’s memories of being Chat Noir.
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Tag list: @alysrose-starchild, @buginetye, @lookatthestars1, @blackroserelina, @macncheesemonster, @mochinek0, @myazael, @tonicxworld, @thewitchwhowaited, @t1dwarrior-of-earth, @kissa-chan, @iwantasecretidentity, @theymakeupfairies, @user00000003, @woe-is-me0, @kashlyn, @mochegato,@moonlightstar64 , @greatcatblaze, @moongoddesskiana, @tazanna-blythe.
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(Part 3)
#maridami#maribat#damian x marinette#mlb x dc#Betrothal AU: Take 2#A Failed Betrothal#sorry. No Damian this chapter#there is salt#Alya salt#Adrien Salt#Lila salt#class salt#I don't know if it is mild or not#Marinette is an assassin
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Ruin and Rebirth - Chapter 1
Ruin and Rebirth
Chapter 2
Inspired by @jumpingjoy82 on Tumblr. Thank you for the amazing prologue.
I don’t own the characters, only the plot. Miraculous and Justice League belong to their respective creators
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"It's okay Marinette. Everything is going to be fine. You’re too young to understand, but it was for the greater good."
To young.
TO YOUNG!
It was all the Justice League's fault. If they kept their incompetent asses out of Paris, none of this would have happened.
Apparently, they just spontaneously decided to go through the Watchtower’s recycling bin, and what they found astonished them. Years upon years worth of pleas for help from Paris.
They decide to finally investigate, and it just so happens that it was during an Akuma Attack, and they threw everything the Parisian heroes were telling them out of the window, wanting to do things their own way.
Superman was one of the ones there.
And they learned just how far the Miracle Cure could go.
He decided to use his super strength and threw a car at the akumatized victim, who moved out of the way at the last minute, so the car sailed right through the Tom & Sabine Bakery, promptly, catching on fire, giving no time for the people inside to get out. No one got out alive.
Ladybug froze for a moment, before fighting with more determination than before, knowing that the Miracle Cure would bring them back.
She was wrong, which brings us back to this point.
"I don't give a damn about you so-called 'greater good' and now you’re telling me, that I'm too young to understand, but am I too young to experience it? Too young to actually see everything and everyone I love torn from me because of these heroes?! Why the hell are they here now? Where were they when this first started? What changed? And now, because of them, my entire family is dead!"
After that everything was hazy, but she knew, she hated superheroes.
They never knew when to stop, and just like Chat Noir, they expected to be praised for whatever happens, no matter if there were casualties or not.
The world would be better off without them.
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The sun has long since set over Paris. The fires were still burning in some parts of town. For the first time since Ladybug first appeared, the citizens of Paris felt true fear. It was ironic. They didn’t fear the akuma. They feared the heroes that came to their rescue. For the first time in four years, the casualties were piling up. And the akuma was responsible for none.
True, many of them initially asked for it. With each fight, Ladybug and Chat Noir were taking longer. It’s been obvious for some time that they were slowly being worn out. Some media started to criticize the duo, question their skills, age, their right to act in Paris. They weren’t part of the UN Justice League Charter. Their only real authority came from the trust of the citizens themselves. And that trust was lost. The civilian pleas to the Justice League increased in number and frequency. Under public pressure, the mayor had no choice but to issue an official plea for help.
But then, then… the heroes came.
In retrospection, almost everyone would agree that it was a mistake. Justice League was not used to fighting magical threats. They weren’t practiced in dealing with possessed villains. They didn’t understand. And they treated Ladybug and Chat Noir worse than sidekicks.
That flying chicken even dared to wrap Chat Noir in a metal bar so he wouldn’t get in the way.
Ladybug… tried her best. She allowed herself to trust the new heroes. She stopped saving every civilian from the rubble. She focused on the akuma. If heroes didn’t bother with the lives, it must’ve meant they trusted her cure, right?
WRONG
They were like a tank, riding through the city with a singular goal in mind.
It didn’t help that they deemed the akuma a “world-level threat”. Yeah, right. Stormy Weather was powerful, but the damage could’ve been repaired.
Or so she thought.
The volcanos, the tsunami, the tornadoes, the earthquakes? Those were fixed. The rubble caused by them was put back in place and those who suffered under them were better than new.
But not the damage caused by the heroes.
Not the bakery.
There was no magic in what happened. There was nothing to reverse. Those were human actions. For the first time perhaps, the people could see how much of the damage caused by the fight was the fault of heroes. How many deaths they caused. That is if they admitted, before themselves at least, that it was their fault.
And yet, the so-called ‘heroes’ dared to lecture her about responsibility. About the sacrifice of few for the lives of many. About the innocence of young.
She ran away. She managed to dodge them and vanish. Meld with the crowd when there were no cameras in sight and she was sure they couldn’t track her.
Now, Ladybug stood alone on the top of the Eiffel tower, with her yo-yo communicator in her hand. She sent the message fifteen minutes ago. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but at this point, she no longer cared. There was nothing more for her.
“He thought this was a trap.” A voice spoke from behind her. Ladybug twisted immediately, taking a guarded stance. She was still avoiding the Justice League after all. Before her stood… someone. She suspected it was an Akuma. The woman had pale skin and wore a black dress, black gloves, and a black veil over her face.
“It isn’t. I’m alone. The city suffered enough as it is today. I suffered enough.” Ladybug’s voice cracked slightly.
“I see…” The akuma pursed her lips. For a moment, a purple butterfly appeared over her face before the woman nodded. “Fine. Give me your miraculous and I will take you to him.”
“That isn’t going to work and you know it. You would just leave me stuck here. I’m willing to offer a token of goodwill though.” With that, Ladybug pulled a necklace and dangled it before the akuma.
“Is that…?”
“The miraculous of the fox? Yes. No tricks. I want to negotiate. In-person.” She made sure to emphasize the last part.
The outline of the butterfly appeared in front of the Akuma’s face for a moment before she silently nodded. “I can lead you to him, but not before you reveal your face.”
“Fine.” Ladybug didn’t hesitate. She was past that point long ago. There was no hesitation, no doubt… no regret. Not for her actions anyway. No more.
In the flash of light, instead of Ladybug, Marinette stood before the akuma.
“You’re…” the woman’s voice was stuck in her throat.
“I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
Tikki, floating nearby gasped in fear. The Kwami didn’t get a chance to explain before Marinette resumed her transformation.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
The two leaped from the tower and started to zoom over the city. At first, they remained silent. Neither wanted to speak. It was tense anyway. It was, of course, Marinette who broke the silence first.
“Your… your look. Have you lost someone today?”
The woman didn’t answer immediately. She appeared to be mulling over the question at first. Or wondering if she should answer.
“A… colleague; coworker. He was… a friend of mine you could say. We’ve been working side-by-side for at least a decade.”
“I see…” Marinette pursed her lips into a thin line. “I’m sorry.” She spoke up after a moment. “I imagine you blame me now?”
“No.” The akuma snapped. “You’re just a child. I put the blame where it belongs. With heroes. And with people who chose to invite them.”
“Not hawkmoth?” Escaped ladybug’s mouth before she realized it.
“He… he never wanted this either. He isn’t a villain you believe him to be.” The akuma hesitated for a moment, but Marinette could sense it was her own opinion. She filed it in her brain under interesting.
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When they arrived at Agreste manor, Marinette was surprised.
When they entered the study, she was baffled.
When they went down the secret elevator, she was angry.
When she stood before Hawkmoth, she was furious. And it wasn’t because he was her mortal enemy.
“So that’s why you neglect your only son?!” She screamed at him as soon as he turned to see her. His mouth moved, probably to give some excuse. “I don’t care if you want to rule the world or be a god or whatever. No matter what little sick excuse your brain found to justify your actions. You are not allowed to just ignore Adrien like that! He needs a father. He is a teenager and he needs you!”
“Madmoiselle Dupain-Cheng.” His voice was cold, but in a different way than she ever heard Gabriel Agreste or Hawkmoth speak.
“Gabriel Agreste. And I assume you akumatized your Assistant, Nathalie?” She pointed to the woman next to her.
“Astute observation, Ladybug. You risked a lot coming here to speak with me. I could take your miraculous now, or any other time. You gave me your most precious protection: your secret identity. So… what was that important?”
“I want to know. What is so important to you that you’re willing to go any length to get it?”
“That’s it?” Hawkmoth raised an eyebrow. “That’s all? You’re ready to risk everything over that little piece of knowledge?”
“Yes.” Once more, there was no hesitation. There was no doubt. Her heart had no place for doubts anymore. Her heart was still stuck under three levels worth of rubble.
“And what, pray tell, would you do if I told you?” He asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“That depends.” She could see he was now intrigued, so she started to explain. “On whether I like the goal or not. And on whether you understand fully the implications. If you pass, you will get my miraculous and I will deliver you Chat Noir’s miraculous too. If you fail, you still get my miraculous. But you will never get the ring. I made sure that if something happens tonight, he will retire. He will leave Paris and toss the ring into the ocean in a concrete box. You would be left to torture the city all you wish until the League found you, but the ring’s power would forever remain out of your reach. You would be left with nothing but a criminal record. And your son would sooner than later be left without both parents. Of course, you could abandon your crusade, but then I would’ve won. I’m not a naive girl without a plan. Not anymore.” She spat the last part angrily, but her gaze was not focused on Hawkmoth, but far in the distance.
“I… see. Clever. You’re right. This will probably end tonight.” He looked her over top to bottom. It was the first time he stood so close face to face with Ladybug. His nemesis.
Gabriel wasn’t sure if he was impressed with her, or infuriated. Scratch that, he was sure he was both. She outsmarted him. She was willing to make an ultimate sacrifice for the sake of ending the fight. In that very moment, in her determined expression, he saw a reflection of another headstrong woman he knew. It was as if Emilie’s spirit stood before him.
“So? How will it be?” she asked impatiently.
“Follow me.” He simply motioned for her and started walking.
Soon, the group entered a large chamber, lit by several lights. In the center of a platform in the far end stood a glass coffin. Even from the distance, Marinette easily saw there was a woman inside. She was quick to pass Hawkmoth and get there, even as he was trying to grab her.
When the akuma and Gabriel arrived, they watched as Marinette was carefully pacing around the coffin and muttering under her breath.
“She overused the damaged miraculous.” It wasn’t a question, but Hawkmoth answered anyway.
“Yes. Only the wish can bring her back.”
“You’re one of the biggest idiots in this whole city!” The girl screamed. “She is not dead, you moron. There are literally five different ways listed in the book which, may I remind you, you possess!” She continued to yell at him. “Hell! You could akumatize someone and give him healing power. You know… use the butterfly miraculous like it was meant to be used!” She scolded. “But nooo! You’ve got to be an idiot and immediately go for the most dangerous, imprecise, reckless, chaotic, risky solution there was! I’m sure she would’ve been ashamed.”
Gabriel was at a loss for words. Was it really that easy? It couldn’t have been. He checked several times. He would’ve known. The akuma left Nathalie, who collapsed onto the ground. Some tear stains were now visible on her face. “I… I was just… I did what she told me. Only the wish can bring back the dead.” He stammered.
“She. Is. Not. Dead.” Marinette made sure to punctuate each word. “She is in a coma. She is alive you moron. Tikki! Spots off!” The flash of light signaled the end of her transformation. “Be silent, little one.” She said in a caring voice. She couldn’t bring herself to take her anger on Kwami, but she couldn’t doubt now. “Akumatize me. Give me the power to heal her.”
The corruption left the akuma that was floating in the air, only for Hawkmoth to get his hands around the white butterfly and pour a new dose of power into it. It flew the short distance between them and sunk into Marinette’s purse. She smirked as the corrupted energy passed through her, turning her into an akuma. That is until she could see how she looked.
“I’m not sure how you can call yourself a designer and yet dress me in this!” she complained. Her skin was now deep red, the color of blood, and her clothes turned into a white nurse uniform. Still, she walked to the coffin and easily opened the top. From her purse (now medic’s bag) she pulled a needle and injected the content into Emilie.
When the beautiful woman started to move, letting out an exhausted groan, Marinette sighed in relief.
“Wha… what’s going on… the last thing I… Gabriel!” She bolted upright and immediately moaned in pain. Her hand instinctively flew to her back. “Gabriel Agreste! Did you keep me in this coffin for a whole week!?” She yelled at her husband. “And who’re those two?” She pointed at Marinette, who was smiling next to her, and Nathalie, still exhausted on the floor. “You were supposed to only reveal this to Adrien if anything happened to me. There was no talk about your assistant and… um, who’re you?” The woman turned to the akuma, who sighed and tore a strap of her bag. The butterfly left the item and Marinette reverted back to her normal form.
“I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m… was… used to be Ladybug.”
“But you’re just a kid. And why was Ladybug active… Gabriel!” She roared and her husband took a step back.
Marinette was… surprised. She didn’t expect Emilie to be like that. From what Adrien told her, she was supposed to be the kindest, nicest person in the world. Then again, he might’ve been looking at it through tinted glasses.
“Yup.” The bluenette couldn’t stop herself from commenting. “He decided that the best way to wake you up was to get the miraculi of Ladybug and Black Cat.”
“You nincompoop. That plan was only for when I was dead.” She glared heatedly at her husband and Marinette couldn’t help but be a bit smug. “And you couldn’t get the items from a kid? How many other heroes are there?”
“Only Chat Noir. He’s my age. And I sometimes call in some help from others.” Marinette supplied quickly. She was having entirely too much fun from watching Emilie tear Hawkmoth a new one.
“Two kids! You couldn’t defeat two kids! I leave for just one second and you start getting your rear kicked by kids!”
“He also neglected Adrien for the last two years.” Marinette decided to have as much fun as she could while it lasted.
“Gabriel Agreste. You’re officially grounded until I sort this mess. Now take your secretary and leave. I will sort the mess with you later,” she ordered. Her husband could only nod and leave as quickly as possible.
Marinette was now holding her sides laughing. ”That was amazing. Merci Madame Agreste. I didn’t think I would get to laugh tonight… But this was too good.”
“Oh sunshine, don’t worry. I will get him in line for you. Whoever decided to let kids fight for them was clearly sick or senile.”
“Master Fu was… he made some mistakes. I… maybe if I wasn’t so young…”
“It’s not your fault. Whatever you blame yourself for. You shouldn’t have been responsible for Paris. Or whatever else my husband did. I think some time on the couch will do him great.” The woman got up and walked over to pull Marinette into a hug. She then led the girl back to the (now half-open) coffin and seated them both on the edge. “Why don’t you tell me what ails you? I’m sure I can help.”
For a moment, Marinette looked the woman in the eyes. Then, she started talking. She told her everything.
About a class full of idiots who believed every lie and actively fought against her.
About Lila, who manipulated everyone and did everything to turn her life into a personal version of hell.
About the teachers, who preferred to let her be walked on then do their jobs.
About her partner, the dorky cat who couldn’t take life seriously and at times was immature. She came to like his antics, but he infuriated her as much as he kept her sane.
About the so-called heroes, who came into the city and ruined her life.
About the destroyed bakery. The four bodies inside.
“It was her birthday. Today my nonna had her sixtieth birthday. We were celebrating when the Akuma happened. Except the Justice League came. Funny thing. The cure can return anyone killed by magic. It can’t return those killed by aliens tossing cars around.”
“Do you have any other family?” Emilie asked, worried about the girl. She walked through so much pain in her short life.
“My uncle… but he lives in Shanghai now. Papa was the only child and Maman moved here from Asia… I’m not sure what will happen next.” The girl revealed.
“Next? Next, you will come live with us. No strings attached. I have no need for your earrings or other miraculous and I can keep my husband in check. I owe you that much.”
“I… you don’t owe me anything, Madame.” The girl quickly protested. “You’re not responsible for what happened. I don’t blame your family. Those were the American heroes who killed my parents. They were the ones that destroyed half the city. They are the ones to blame,” Marinette informed the woman in a solemn tone.
“And that’s why I want you to stay with me. With us. I can protect you. Teach you. You can have your vengeance on those who wronged you. I can make you a queen. They will regret the day they wronged you.”
“I… I accept.” Marinette bowed her head.
#miraculous#maribat#justice league#dc#dcu#dc comics#ladybug#evil!Emilie Agreste#hawkmoth#bamf marinette
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A Gift from Mr. Blanc
Marinette's worst nightmares were of Chat Blanc. But that's all they were: nightmares. Until one day where in the stone cold light of day, Chat Blanc walked into the classroom, with a gift in hand.
"This will make you love me again, My Lady."
Ao3 | FF.net
Everyone is on this Chat Blanc train, so I bought a ticket and got a window seat.
--
“Yes, Timestreamer, find me the best Akuma ever created!” Shadowmoth raised a manic fist as the images appeared before him.
The woman who was once Nathalie Sancoeur stood next to him, now transformed into an Akuma with thick glasses, which almost looked like VR goggles.
In a fit of artist’s block, Gabriel Agreste had vented that he had run out of ideas for Akuma. He had to keep going, and the villains couldn’t slack less Ladybug and Chat Noir get the upper hand.
To which Nathalie had said, “well, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.”
She had meant it to be cheeky, but he took inspiration from it in a whole new way. Why invent a new villain when one from a different time is sure to work? Timetagger, an Akuma from the future, had seemed to almost win. Perhaps there were more like him out there.
He only needed someone to see the timelines so he could pick his champion.
So here they were, scanning through endless time streams, looking at massive successes, and massive failures. There really was no telling which one would do the job, but unless Timestreamer’s Akuma was taken or, heaven forbid, the Butterfly was taken, they could send villain after villain after villain.
Yes, this was a good plan!
“That one!” Shadowmoth pointed, the stark white catching his gaze.
“That one?” Timestreamer asked, feeling unease looking into his soulless blue eyes.
“That has to be Chat Noir’s akumatized form. He’s perfect.”
Following orders, Timestreamer summoned the Akuma forward.
From the static images appeared a grainy figure, slowly solidifying into a solid white boy. His expression was one of confusion and disorientation.
“Chat Blanc, I am Shadowmoth,” he began.
Immediately, Chat Blanc snarled. “You! You monster!” And he leapt.
Suffice to say, neither Timestreamer or Shadowmoth were prepared for a full on fight this early in the conversation.
Shadowmoth did have training in fighting, and successfully blocked the incoming swipe at his throat with his arm. However, the claws cut right through his suit and into his flesh, making him cry out in pain.
The next swipe hit true, and knocked the butterfly Miraculous from its place on his collar.
Chat Blanc then plucked the Peacock from his lapel while Gabriel Agreste tried to put pressure on his grievous wounds.
“Why?” Asked Gabriel, “don’t you know I made you? Don’t you know I can give you everything you want?”
Chat Blanc didn’t respond, only snapped the goggles off of a shell shocked Timestreamer. He then touched the black butterfly with his claw, and it crumbled into dust.
Nathalie ran to Gabriel and looked at his wounds. “You need to go to a hospital.”
“No!” He protested, pushing her away. “Answer me, boy! You’re easily the most powerful Akuma ever made. Once you get the Miraculous of Ladybug and this timeline’s Chat Noir, we can make the ultimate wish! Whatever your heart’s desire, it’s yours!” He reached a hand out to the boy.
Chat Blanc, who Gabriel knew as the exuberant and emotional Chat Noir, just looked at him with a sharp, emotionless stare.
“You already took everything from me, Father. This is my one chance to get things back to where they are supposed to be.”
“Adrien?”
The gaze didn’t change, but he did raise an eyebrow. “In my timeline you knew. You knew, and you still hurt me. You hurt her. You turned me, and you forced me to kill. You left me alone in that world for months. Left me to mourn. Cursed me to this form—“ he snarled. “That can’t starve, that can’t sleep, that can’t thirst or drown—“ a tear fell down his cheek. “You left me in a prison where I couldn’t die, and would continue to suffer because of your mistakes.” He gave a hint of a bitter smile. “Does that answer your question, old man?”
Maybe it was just the blood loss, but Gabriel felt some remorse. “I’m sorry, son. Give me back the Butterfly, and I’ll set you free.”
“Not a chance. Ladybug will fix me. And when I give her these, she’ll love me again. And I’ll have all the family I ever need.” With that, he summoned his baton to break through the window, and launched out into Paris.
Gabriel laid still on the ground, holding his chest with one hand while Nathalie gripped his wrist with the other.
“I…what am I going to do?”
“Well, you know Adrien has the ring—“
“No doubt Chat Blanc will tell him everything before we can get to him. I don’t think that’s an option anymore.”
“Then…what would you like to do?”
He spent a long time just breathing and thinking.
Choosing.
“I guess, apologize. And then hope that I haven’t done enough damage to lose the only family I have left.”
“Maybe, if he is Chat Noir, and you explain the truth to him…he’ll tell Ladybug. Maybe she’d help.”
“I doubt she’d do anything to help me, after all I’ve done.” He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “I could just bleed out here. Save him the pain.”
“I won’t let you do that, Sir. As upset Adrien will be, he still loves you.”
“But for how long?”
“I think you should live and find out.”
—
Chat Blanc had never been so happy. He should be upset, angry, sobbing even, but he wasn’t.
He was getting his second chance. Paris was full, alive, teeming with traffic and swearing and smoking and everything foul that wasn’t there in his wastelands.
Hawkmoth was gone, and he was on his way to Marinette. With these, she had to love him, she just had to.
Francois DuPont never looked so pretty. The windows showed bored expressions of dozens of students.
Students that were alive and not submerged under water.
He dropped down in the courtyard, letting muscle memory take him up the stairs to his old classroom. The door was closed, but not locked.
Did he knock? Or did he just walk in? It had been so long…did he introduce himself? Did he apologize for interrupting?
He decided to forgo knocking, and pushed the door open on his own.
All eyes turned to look at him, but his attention was only on her.
Though he did get a glimpse of his own horrified face.
“Chat Noir?” The teacher asked.
“No.” He shook his head. “Not anymore.” He never stopped looking right at Marinette.
“I must be dreaming,” the girl in question said aloud. “I must have fallen asleep, and now I’m having a nightmare.” Tears were filling her eyes as her voice crumbled. “Please tell me you’re a nightmare, Chat.”
“No, My Lady. I’m real.” Did she know him from somewhere? Or was she just assuming he was an akumatized Chat Noir? “But this shouldn’t be a nightmare, Marinette.” His steps were slow and soft, trying not to spook her. “I’m your dream come true. Because it’s over now, and we can be together.”
She stood abruptly, smacking her knees on the desk and almost tumbling. “What are you talking about?”
He placed the Miraculous on the desk. “It’s over now. I won. Hawkmoth is no more, and there’s nothing that can hurt us. This will make you love me again!”
“Holy shit…” Said Alya.
Marinette just stared at them, and then at Chat. “How—?”
“He brought me here. Somehow, an Akuma I guess. He plucked me out of my time, and brought me here. This is my chance to start again, you know.” He grabbed her wrist. “Now our love won’t ruin the world! We can be happy again, My Lady! We can be happy and nothing will tear us apart!”
Adrien, who had up until very recently, by reveal of a certain nickname, thought that Marinette was only just Marinette, grabbed Chat Blanc and yanked him back, forcing him to let go of Marinette.
“Don’t touch her!” He snapped.
“And you—“ Chat Blanc grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. “A little liar with too much self preservation! Why didn’t you act sooner?! Why couldn’t you save her?!”
Adrien clawed at the hand on his throat. “I don’t—know what the hell—you’re talking about!”
“Don’t play stupid, Adrien! It’s not going to work on me, and you know that!”
His voice was just a whisper now, as he attempted to meet Chat Blanc’s gaze. “Whatever, man. But you think outing her is smart? You think that’ll make her like you?”
Chat Blanc crushed harder, suffocating him. “It doesn’t matter with Hawkmoth out of the way! And once I kill you, there will be no competition! She’ll love me for sure!”
Marinette had stashed the Miraculous in her purse once Chat Blanc had turned his back. She was going to attempt to talk him down, but at his threat on Adrien’s life, she realized he was beyond talking.
“Tikki, Spots on!”
Chat Blanc whirled back around, only to get a fist to the face.
Adrien fell on the floor, gasping.
“Are you alright?” She asked, helping him up.
He rubbed his neck sheepishly as he nodded. He knew she was Marinette, but the mask still turned his legs to jelly.
“Why do you protect him, Ladybug? Don’t you know you can just be happy with me?”
Marinette pushed Adrien behind her. “I might be able to be happy with my Chat Noir, but never with you. I love Adrien, and I’ll fight to protect him, even if he doesn’t love me back.” Though it was a brave declaration, she still blushed.
“Ugh, don’t you get it? I am him!”
“What?”
“I’m Adrien! Adrien is Chat Noir! We’re supposed to be together! And we were! We were happy, Marinette! And then—and then you told me you didn’t love me anymore. You almost got akumatized over that…but I saved you.” He snarled. “But he kept us apart. My father knew who I was, and he turned me into this…”
“Wait,” Adrien rasped. “Father turned you into…an akuma?”
“Because he’s Hawkmoth, Adrien. He always has been. Mother is alive, in a coma, in the basement. And he never let you see her, because he doesn’t trust you.”
“Shut up!” Ladybug shouted.
“Even after he knew who I was, he still hit me. He beat me, Adrien, because he doesn’t love us!”
Adrien held a hand over his face, willing his sobs to stay silent.
“We’re just a pawn for him. But…I can make it better. Let me destroy you, and everything will stop hurting. I’ll take care of Marinette, I promise!”
“That’s enough!” Ladybug lashed out and snagged his bell, ripped it from his throat, and smashed it on the floor.
Then she caught the butterfly as it emerged, purified it, and let it go. But she didn’t call for a cure, not yet.
Chat Noir, sans bell, glanced around the room in confusion. “Ladybug? What’s going on? Why are we here? Where’s Hawkmoth?”
She met him with tear streaked cheeks. “You’re in the wrong timeline, Chat Noir.”
His eyes flicked to Adrien, who was clearly shell shocked. “That would make…some sense.”
“You were akumatized, and our Hawkmoth brought you here…probably to recruit you.”
“Did I hurt anyone?”
“You beat him. You beat Hawkmoth.”
“And you tried to take my place,” Adrien hissed, showing his bruised throat.
Chat Noir gripped his hair fiercely. “Oh crap! Oh crap crap crap! I’m so sorry! He’ll be all better once you do the cure, right Bug?”
“Yeah. Physically, at least…but you did say some things that will hurt for a long time.”
“I didn’t mean any of it! I was an Akuma, they lie and say all sorts of things—“
“You told me about Father. And mother.”
“Oh…” he sighed. “Unfortunately, that’s too fresh in my mind to be a lie. I saw mom. He wanted to use the Miraculous to bring her back, but he was so unwilling to listen to me, to even think about working with us—that’s how it happened. He got me.”
“I’m so sorry, Kitty.” Ladybug lamented. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
He shook his head. “It’s over now. If I defeated him, then you don’t have to be subjected to it,” he told Adrien. “I don’t mind taking one for the team.”
“Did you kill him?” Adrien asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Even if he did, casting cure would fix it.” Said Ladybug. “There might be hope for a happy ending.”
Chat Noir took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “My Lady, will you send me back? I have to see her again. My Marinette. I have to see her and make up with her.”
Ladybug patted his cheek fondly. “Knowing me, she probably still loves you. But something happened to make her put distance between you.”
“You’ll be happy together, right?” He asked, pouting.
Adrien slipped an arm around her waist and held her. “I think we’ll manage.”
Ladybug hugged Chat briefly. “Thank you. For all your trauma and suffering, you helped us.”
“You also revealed both of our identities to the class, but that’s the kind of mistake I would make as an Akuma…” Adrien winced.
Chat Noir looked at all the shocked and concerned faces around him. “Wow, look at all these comforting, understanding, and loyal friends you have. Where’s Lila?”
“Out sick today,” provided Sabrina.
“Perfect! Don’t ever ever tell her what happened here. She’s a liar and would tell our identities in a heartbeat for a chance for fame.”
“Not a problem, Kitty Cat,” said Alya, with a wink. “Some of us are pretty good secret keepers.”
“You knew!?” Adrien cried, with betrayal in his voice.
Alya winced. “Ah, yeah…”
“Adrien.” Ladybug took his face and held it with trembling hands. “My kitty, my partner, my best friend, what I’m about to tell you is going to suck and you’re going to hate it, and that’s why I haven’t told you.”
“I’ve already had a lot of bad news dropped on me today, lay it on me.”
She glanced at the rest of the class and then Chat Noir. “Let me send him home, and then we’ll talk in privacy.”
He nodded, not really fond of how much the class had already learned about him today.
Ladybug threw her yo-yo up in the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!”
In a wave of fluttering red, Chat Noir was gone, and so were the bruises on Adrien’s neck.
“Spots off.”
Now, the class started whispering. Up until that moment, shock held them in silence. After all, it's not everyday you find out your classmates are superheroes.
“Miss Bustier, are you okay if we leave for a while?”
The teacher stammered a second, unfreezing from her complete and total shock. “I think it would be a crime to make you stay here today.”
Marinette smiled gratefully, before taking Adrien’s hand and leading him out into the hall. He was silent, rightfully so, and Marinette could only be happy there was no chance of him getting akumatized.
Finally, they took a seat on a bench, and waited for the other to speak.
“I…didn’t think this was how our identities would be revealed,” he breathed.
“I always wanted to tell you.” Marinette insisted, “even though I said otherwise. Tikki and Master Fu were so adamant that I not tell a soul.”
“So why does Alya know?”
She rested a hand on his. “I’ll get to that. But first…Chat Blanc.”
Adrien sat attentive and quiet, holding his accusations for later.
“It started about three months ago, when I gave you that Beret.”
“Beret? The one from the Brazilian fan club?”
“Yeah…except it wasn’t. It was from me. Originally, I left it in your room, with my name on it. My real name. A little while after I left, Bunnix came to me, and explained that she needed my help. She took me into her burrow, and led me to the future…the future where you were akumatized.”
“As Chat Blanc.”
“Yes.”
“That same akuma, that same Chat Noir?”
“I assume so. The moon was destroyed, the city flooded. You were all alone, everyone was gone.”
“Where…where was that Ladybug?”
She hesitated to say it, but admitted, “I found her underwater…cataclysmed.”
“No…I wouldn’t have—“
“I know, Adrien. Chat Blanc was upset about it too. He cried. He wanted my Miraculous to make the wish and fix it.”
“Sounds like an Akuma alright,” he said bitterly.
“At the time, all I knew was that you knew my identity, and you said that our love destroyed the world. So…I assumed that you became akumatized by finding out who I was…and that the beret had something to do with it. So I erased my name.”
“Oh…but Chat Blanc said he was akumatized because of my parents.”
“I didn’t know that back then. I wish I had. As it stood, I was certain an identity reveal would end up with an Akuma.”
“I understand your reasoning…but what about Alya?”
She sighed, the guilt toiling around inside her. “That wasn’t…it was a spur of the moment thing. I was back into a corner and people were getting really worried about me. Worried and nosey…and so I told Alya. Rena Rouge.”
“Ah. I see.”
“I should have told you. I should have told you so you could have told someone. It’s not fair to think I was the only one that needed a confident.”
“If I had to pick someone that wasn’t you, it would have been Nino. So I get it. Really, I do.”
Tears welled up in her eyes regardless. He was hurting so badly, but what could she even do to help?
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“Yes! Yes I do! Adrien, you’re my partner. Yes, keeping secrets can keep us safe for a while, but eventually we’ll run out of trust and then we’ll be in danger again. I don’t want to lose you!”
He gave her a little smile. “I might be upset, but you aren’t going to lose me. I promise.”
She squeezed his hand. “No more secrets. We train as guardians together. I’ll tell you all the auxiliary heroes, and all the formulas and—“ she stopped, blushing.
“What?”
“Ugh…I have to tell you something, since I said no more secrets.”
“Is it bad?”
“…no?”
He turned his hand to squeeze her back. “Okay. Well then, let’s hear it.”
She looked away, too nervous to look at his face. “Gah! This is just as hard as it’s always been!”
“I’m not going to judge you.”
“I know! I know!”
Pretend this is just Chat. She goaded herself.
“I…I’m in…love with you?” She squeaked out. There. The deed was done. She shyly turned to look at him.
Wide, sparkling eyes full of tears, but a big smile on his face. “You mean it? You said as much to Chat Blanc, but I didn’t know for sure…”
“Ugh, right. That.” She nodded. “You were the boy I kept turning…well, you down for. I’m sorry…”
“I’m not!” He chirped. “Marinette, if anyone was going to have a crush on me as Adrien, I’m so glad it’s you. You really know me! You’re special to me, and I always considered you as a friend.”
She sighed, hearing the magic words. “As I’ve heard.”
He frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She blushed again. “It’s just…whenever we had a moment, or I tried to do something special for you, you always remind me that you feel…nothing for me.”
“Wait, what? That’s what you got out of that?”
“That you want me as a friend and just a friend?”
He actually laughed at her and pulled her into a hug. “Marinette, I thought you were nervous around me because you were uncomfortable. I said that stuff to let you know I treasured our friendship. I love you so so much, My Lady. I was deeply in love with Ladybug, and completely in denial with Marinette.”
“Can confirm!” Shouted Plagg from inside his jacket.
“So having you be the same? I’m…I’m so happy!” He hugged her tightly. “Today has thrown a lot of bad things at me, and I’m so worried about what comes next. But with you, I’m sure I’ll be okay.” He pulled away slightly. “You…will stay with me for whatever happens, right? I know Hawkmoth being my dad is kind of a deal breaker…”
Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up into him, kissing him right on the mouth.
He stiffened briefly, before melting against her and pulling her tighter into the hug.
The kiss was perfect, not in execution or performance, but because of the love they felt. Adrien nipped at her lip, and Marinette hummed as she twined her fingers into his hair.
They pulled away begrudgingly.
“You and me against the world, right Kitty?”
“You know exactly what to say to make my heart swoon, my lady love.”
“I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“Kiss me and I’ll get over it.”
“I’m serious, Kitty.” She touched his cheek. “I knew it was going to hurt, and I foolishly and cowardly put it off, hoping it would go away.”
“Marinette, from what you said…it wasn’t just painful for me. It scared you, didn’t it? You said…when Chat Blanc appeared, that you thought you were having a nightmare. Do you dream of him?”
“Sometimes.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Adrien.”
He considered his next move, and decided to scoop her up into his lap. “So, here’s my idea. If you have another nightmare about him, you call me, and I’ll be there in a jiffy.”
“And do what?”
“Hold you. Kiss you. Reassure you. Cuddle with you until you fall asleep. Whatever you need.”
She snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I love you.”
“I love you too, bugaboo.”
Silence lapsed between for a while, as they just sat together, enjoying the warmth of their bodies, and the open air between them.
Marinette sighed. “We should probably go confront your father.”
“Yeah. We should…”
“Could…I offer you a reward if we go through with it?”
“What could possibly motivate me?”
“Once we’re done, and everything is put away…we can find a random, secluded rooftop and…make out for a while.”
Adrien stood, with Marinette still in his arms. “You know how to motivate a man.”
“I’ll be with you every step of the way. Just think about later.”
“One peck for the road?”
“One.”
Adrien held her tightly before dipping her and pressing a sinful, toe-curling kiss to her lips. When he finished a few minutes later, she breathlessly huffed, “that was not a peck.”
“No, but I need the strength.”
“Somehow, it’s a lot harder to stay mad at you. You can put me down now.”
“Nah. Plagg, Claws out!”
“Tikki, Spots on!”
The closer they got to the mansion, the faster Chat’s mood tanked. All the surface level happy feelings had bubbled away, and now he was filled with dread and apprehension.
“I…I don’t want to send my dad to jail,” he said, as they landed inside the walls.
“I know Kitty. I can do the talking.”
“You’re so good at it, Princess.”
She knocked twice, but didn’t wait for an answer before entering.
It didn’t matter. Gabriel and Nathalie were sitting in the lobby, waiting, as it appeared.
“Hello son,” said Gabriel, with not a trace of malice in his voice.
Chat halted, paling considerably. “You know?”
“Chat Blanc revealed as much. What did he tell you?”
“He said that…mom was still alive. You wanted the Miraculous to wake her up.”
“That’s right. But…” he sighed. “Can I humble myself and ask for your help, Ladybug? Can you look at her? Can you see if there’s any hope?”
“I would love to.”
#miraculous#ml#miraculous ladybug#fanfiction#marinette dupain cheng#adrienette#adrien agreste#chat blanc#ladynoir#identity reveal
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Stalker x Stalker, Part 1
Part 1/13, 51.3k words
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Guys, I'm a whole five layers into procrastinating right now. Procrastinating my schoolwork with Alternate Ending, Alternate Ending with Miraculous TikTok, Miraculous TikTok with house chores, and house chores with this... it's like when you do something long enough in a game and you level up at it except instead of getting really good at jumping I'm extremely productive in the worst ways
Nonetheless have some Timinette
Perma taglist: @nathleigh
When Tim learned that his favorite designer was moving to Gotham, he had been conflicted.
On one hand, she was coming to Gotham! Things he ordered wouldn’t take what felt like years to arrive! There was a chance of actually seeing her in person!
On the other hand, why would anyone even want to move to Gotham? Sure, Tim had never left despite his wealth, but only because he’d gotten Stockholm Syndrome-d into liking the place by the time he was legally able to leave. MDC had no such attachments. If she was moving to America then why not pick Metropo -- ew, actually, no, fuck Metropolis -- somewhere safe?
He tipped his head back against the couch to stare at the ceiling for a moment, mulling over his options in his mind.
He sighed and pulled his laptop to himself. He’d watch her for a bit to make sure she adjusted well to Gotham and that would be the end of it.
~
Marinette hummed as she fell back on her new bed.
It had been a long few months for her. She’d thought she’d be happy when Hawkmoth was finally defeated but, in the end, she’d just been bored. It turns out that adrenaline and dopamine are hard to get when your brain is wired for only using them in life-or-death situations.
And what better place to experience life-or-death situations than Gotham?
Of course, it wasn’t as consistent as Paris’ one or two akumas a day, but she could make do. One scrap of adrenaline a week was better than none at all.
So far, though, she hadn't had much of a chance to get that adrenaline. She’d spent the first seven days moving in. Obsessing over what color drapes she should use, obsessing even more about the locks she needed to put on her windows…
But now she was done with all that. And she had underestimated the time it would take to get settled in so she wasn’t going to be getting any commissions for the next week or so. Which meant the boredom was back tenfold.
Until, suddenly, it wasn’t. High-pitched screaming started up, growing in intensity until it was practically rocking the foundations.
Marinette ran to the window and her face lit up when she saw a green gas slowly rolling over the city and heading her way. “YES!”
Tikki gave her a disapproving look.
“I mean… oh nooooo those people are so scared I guess I’ll have to help them.”
She smiled ‘innocently’ at her kwami before grabbing her purse and ducking out her door. She looked around and saw all her fellow tenants looking confused.
“It’s just fear gas, right?” One of them asked.
She didn’t know why they were asking her, she was just even less likely to know what was going on than they were, but she answered nonetheless: “You’d think so, but everyone has gas masks, so… there’s probably something else going on.”
Her neighbors exchanged grim looks before disappearing into their houses.
She shrugged to herself and locked her door. They were dealing with it, probably.
She found a dark alley and did a quick glance around -- left, right, right, left -- before mumbling to transform.
(She made sure that every part of her was covered, despite not really liking the look of it, because there was no way she was just going to step into an unknown gas without making sure that it wasn’t going to hurt her.)
Marinette hesitantly walked towards the green cloud despite her instincts and the people around her yelling that it was a very, very bad idea. She couldn’t feel anything, thank the kwamis, but her suit was steaming which was decidedly not good. She stepped further inside, her skin crawling (she had to hope this was unrelated to whatever acid was in the air).
She kept her gaze up determinedly to avoid looking at all the quickly decaying bodies on the ground as she slipped through the cloud in search of the source of the gas.
She came upon Poison Ivy after an hour of searching. She was, predictably, sitting on a giant flower. Less predictably, though, smaller versions of the flower sprouted off of it and released the acidic gas into the world. She considered just trying to sneak up and cut off all the stems, but decided against it. Even if Ivy somehow missed her doing this, she would probably just be able to regrow everything.
“Hey!” Marinette chirped as she dropped from a roof.
Ivy turned to look at her and Marinette saw confusion make its way across her face. “Who’re you?”
She looked down at her suit. Her entire torso was red with black polka-dots, her arms and legs were pure black save for red fingers, her face was blacked out and almost featureless outside of white lenses over her eyes.
“I’ll give you one guess.”
“... I don’t know. Polka-Dot Man’s daughter or something?”
“No! I’m Ladybu -- wait, did you just say Polka-Dot Man? That’s a thing?”
Poison Ivy shrugged. “I mean, he’s dead, but yeah he was a thing. Anyways, are you on my side or not?”
‘No! Obviously not!’ her mind screamed, but outwardly she just shrugged and said, “Depends, why’re you doing this?”
“Humans are killing the earth, so I found a way to kill humans without killing the earth, too!”
No one could see it because of her suit, but Marinette opened and closed her mouth like a fish for a good minute before she brought her brain back enough to choke out her answer:
“Oh. Bold choice. Really interesting. Um. Consider: no?”
Poison Ivy sighed. “Listen, kid. I like ladybugs, they help my plants, so I’m going to give you one chance here: leave.”
Marinette brought her finger to her lips, tapping the fabric over her mouth repeatedly as if thinking, and then tossed her yoyo and cut the flower that Ivy was sitting on.
Ivy gasped in surprise as she fell, but Marinette’s moment of victory lasted approximately half a second before Ivy was lifted off the ground via vine.
Every single plant in the area suddenly perked up and made a beeline for her.
‘Oh. I’m fucked.’
Marinette jumped to avoid the initial attack and summoned a lucky charm. She looked down at the machete in her hand and her nose scrunched. Great.
A vine wrapped around her ankle and yanked her back to the ground and she hissed out a curse as her legs protested the harsh landing. She had bigger problems than probably broken legs, though, because there were other vines heading her way. She looked at the machete in her hand and swung it at the vine attached to her foot.
Well, at least the machete was sharp, she supposed.
She rolled away from the attacking plants and her legs screamed in protest at the fact that she was putting weight on them, but she took a few quick breaths and bit back bile and continued on like everything was a-okay.
She looked at where the flower had been. Ivy had made a throne of sorts out of flowering vines. She laid across the armrests and conducted the vines attacking Marinette with a lazy finger.
Marinette yelped in surprise when something wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from the plants. She hit ground -- or, rather, roof -- and skidded over the concrete for a few feet before she came to a stop.
Black Bat and Signal. Oh, thank the kwamis. Help had finally come.
“Thanks,” she said shortly, slipping out of the grappling wire.
The three of them made a hasty retreat, disappearing inside a place a few buildings down. An office building, she thought as she dropped herself into a desk chair.
“How do you deal with her all the time?”
“Well, usually, she doesn’t do this much,” said Signal with a half-hearted smile. “It’s been a while since she’s been on the whole ‘kill everyone on Earth’ thing.”
Marinette raised her eyebrows behind her mask but then shrugged it off and took a quick look out the window. Ivy’s plant throne was rolling around on the ground as she searched for them.
“She’s got plants releasing something airborne that apparently kills everything but plants. Best option is knocking her out somehow. You got something in your tool belts for that?”
Black Bat shook her head.
Marinette hadn’t really been expecting them to, but her shoulders still sagged a little with disappointment.
“I can distract her pretty well,” said Signal after a few moments. “You two can work at taking her down.”
She hesitated. “It’d probably be more efficient to have two people as bait. I’ll help you.”
“I don’t like the idea of putting you in danger,” said Signal.
She shrugged. “I’ve already got two broken legs... and I think a dislocated ankle but not really sure on that one.”
“You what --?!”
“You heard me. Hurts like hell. It’s fine, though.”
How did she know they were looking at her with wide eyes when she couldn’t see their eyes?
She leaned back in her chair, twirling her machete absently as Signal and Black Bat talked.
(Well, they weren’t exactly ‘talking’. Black Bat and Signal just looked at each other and made vague hand motions every once in a while. She tried to follow along, but apparently her ability to know every language did not cover bat-ese.)
Black Bat, eventually, gave Marinette two thumbs up and apparently that was all she was going to get because Signal and Black Bat were already heading out the window they’d come in through.
Marinette sighed and followed after them.
Was it easier to dodge when there were two people? Not really. Or, maybe, Ivy had somehow gotten stronger in the five-ish minutes they’d been gone.
The two of them stood back to back, slashing and hacking through as many plants as they could, but there were far too many and they were quickly getting overwhelmed. Marinette barely managed to notice the one trying to snake around their legs before it could turn them upside down. Signal had grabbed her by the shoulder once to keep her from getting clobbered by a vine carrying a bat (which, by the way, what the fuck?!).
She yelped when she felt Signal get torn away from her and turned to watch him get thrown into a car. The metal crumpled under the impact, which did not bode well for the not metal person that hit it.
She managed to weave her way over and cut him out of the vines attempting to cocoon him, then wondered how she was supposed to check his pulse when any exposed skin meant touching acid. Thankfully, though, he stirred and his mask tipped up to look at her.
“’m fine,” he slurred.
She was skeptical, but she stepped back a step.
“Three!” Said Signal suddenly, which would have been helpful if her brain was in fight mode and not ‘help partner’ mode. It wasn’t, so a vine attempted to impale her Dean Winchester style.
The vine did not succeed in its murder attempt, but she kinda wished it did when it sent her flying into a nearby telephone pole headfirst. She groaned in pain and slid to the ground, head spinning with what was probably a concussion if the way her stomach turned meant anything.
She didn’t get to throw up, though, as something came up and blocked her throat. She struggled against the vine around her neck, hands fumbling for her machete at her side. How does one close their hand again?
Nope, those are eyes. Open those again, please. Please?
And then, suddenly, she was able to breathe again. She slumped against the wall and took deep breaths to get her lungs back into working condition.
She peeled her eyes open despite the pain and looked around. Black Bat had knocked out Ivy and was now tying her up. Signal was making his way over, using an escrima stick as a kind of cane.
She shook her head as if trying to clear it and then looked at the ground until she found her machete again. She struggled for a moment to get her body to work enough to reach for it and grab it, but she got there eventually so it was fine.
“Miraculous Ladybug,” she murmured, tossing it and watching it dissolve into ladybugs.
She blinked until her brain started working again and looked up to see Signal and Black Bat both leaning over her. She couldn’t read their expressions through their armor, but she was pretty sure they were more tense than they had been since the last time she’d really looked at them. Which was wild, because the last time they’d been surrounded by acidic gas.
“You’re a meta.”
She gave a shrug. “Kinda. You’re welcome, by the way.”
He sighed. “There’s a no meta rule in Gotham.”
“Aren’t you a meta?”
Signal didn’t answer, just offered her a hand up.
She hesitantly allowed him to pull her to her feet and she stretched out her newly fixed body. Kwami, she wouldn’t take being intact for granted ever again (or, at least, not until the next fight).
Signal and Black Bat had another one of those silent conversations and eventually Black Bat went over and collected Poison Ivy.
Marinette raised her eyebrow at the hand still in hers and Signal sighed and moved his grip up to her bicep.
“Can I take you to see Batman?”
“Do I actually get a choice in this?”
Signal winced. “Not really.”
She sighed. “Thought so. Alright. Let’s go.”
Welp. She’d lasted a whole week in Gotham. It had been fun while it lasted, she supposed.
~
Listen, sometimes you accidentally stumble across someone’s secret identity. It wasn’t like he was trying to figure out who Ladybug was, hell there was no way he could have even known she was going to show up in Gotham at all.
But then a cloud of green gas started rolling towards them while he was… watching over her and he had paled. He didn’t know if it was Joker Gas, Fear Gas, or something of Ivy’s creation, but if there were that many people screaming it probably needed more than just the usual gas mask or respirator.
He hadn’t relaxed until Marinette had ducked out of her apartment and started running away from the gas. Good. Despite her being new, she wasn’t stupid --.
Except then she swerved into an alleyway. Tim’s eyebrows furrowed and he ran across rooftops to where he’d seen her disappear. He saw her look around anxiously, checking for something. She was panicking, he thought -- of course she was, she had no real experience with Gotham’s bullshit.
He prepared himself to drop down, to be all ‘Hello random citizen who I do not know, I’m here to take you to safety’, only for red light to envelop her. He stared in stunned silence as she shifted awkwardly in what seemed to be a knockoff Spiderman costume and then headed out.
Ah. Well, now he understood why she had picked Gotham of all places.
He didn’t get much time to mull it over, though, as the gas started getting closer. He hesitated before calling it in, just in case his family had somehow missed the giant thing slowly taking over the city.
“Hey, so… bad news, guys, there’s apparently something going on downtown. Gas. Seems to work with just skin contact.”
“Black Bat and I are on it,” said Duke.
Tim nodded despite knowing that they couldn’t see it and started working on getting civilians to safety. Most of the bats had some parts of their faces or arms uncovered for reasons to connect with victims, so it was really up to Cass and Duke this time.
He worried his lip anxiously the entire time.
And then the ladybugs washed over the world and he felt his lip tear. Ah. That wasn’t great. Bruce was going to be fucking pissed about the newest illegal meta.
‘Well, guess it’s time to learn how to be a defense attorney in the half hour it takes me to get back to the batcave’, he thought, pulling out his phone…
It took him an hour to get to the batcave, which was both really good and really bad. Good because he’d gotten twice the time to learn defense than he’d thought he would; bad because he was the last one there and Bruce looked like he was about to explode.
Marinette had pulled the top part of her suit down like a hood -- he hadn’t even realized there was a zipper over the face -- and was now sitting on a railing and sipping at a Caprisun beneath a black surgical mask.
She looked up at him briefly when he dismounted Redbird and he watched her eyes narrow just slightly before her gaze returned to the bats on the ceiling.
“Since everyone is here, I suppose we can start,” said Bruce, his voice carefully calm.
Marinette finished off her Caprisun and pushed herself up to stand on the railing. “Hi. Ladybug. French hero. Nice to meet you guys.”
Tim waved at her and she smiled enough under her mask for her eyes to crinkle.
“I know about your no meta rule, but I’m not really a meta. Got magic jewelry.” She pushed some hair behind her ears to show off her earrings. “So I really don’t count myself and you shouldn’t either.”
Bruce shook his head a little. “It doesn’t matter that you’re not a meta on your own, you’re a liability to have in the city.”
Marinette rolled her eyes and wordlessly pointed at Duke, which was a good point.
“We know we can trust him.”
“We can trust her,” Tim cut in. His entire family turned and gave him wide-eyed stares behind their masks and all he could do was shrug. “She’s been doing hero work for four years, if she was going to go bad she probably would have already done so.”
“How do we know she’s the same person?” Asked Bruce.
Tim tipped his head towards Cass.
Cass huffed a little and then looked at Marinette.
Marinette shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. “Um…?”
Cass nodded slightly and then made a motion not much unlike a referee at a baseball game. ‘Safe’.
Everyone in the room visibly relaxed. Marinette, upon seeing this, relaxed herself.
“Seriously, though, don’t you guys want someone that can reverse physical damages on the team, anyways? None of you have powers of any kind except him, it’s probably better to have me for now and risk me turning later than not having me at all.”
Bruce sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. “That’s not the point.”
Marinette rolled her eyes. “Oh? Can someone tell me what the death count would have been for today if I hadn’t stepped in?”
Silence stretched for a few moments.
“Exactly. I get you’re cautious or whatever, that’s your whole ‘thing’, but kwami you’ve passed cautious and gone all the way to paranoid and stubborn. Relax.” She hopped over the bats and pulled the bottom of her surgical mask up to try and take another sip of her empty Caprisun. “Right, someone get me out of here? I’m tired of being questioned.”
The bats were all quiet for a moment as they considered this.
Tim hesitantly raised his hand. “I can take you home.”
She grinned and pointed at him. “Congrats, you’ve officially won second best bat.”
“Who’s first?” Said Tim, who was not offended.
She pointed at Cass. Cass perked up a little.
Ah. He rescinded his offense -- his not offense, sorry -- because, yeah, fair enough.
Marinette smiled and turned to Duke. “I guess you’re going to blindfold me again?”
“Yeah, sorry,” said Duke, rubbing the back of his neck. “Bats orders.”
Bruce grunted, which was B for ‘Yes, but why would you call me out for it?’
Marinette smiled and rolled her eyes. She turned to Steph. “How do you put up with all these guys? You only have Black Bat and she doesn’t talk -- or, at least, I don’t think she does.”
“Oh, there’s more --.”
“Spoiler,” Bruce warned.
Steph rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Yeah, she’s not the only one but the other two are a little… uptight sometimes. Glad to have you on board.”
Marinette looked a little confused but she nodded. “Fair. I like your mask.”
“Thanks! Yours is cooler, though.”
“They’re… they’re the same…” said Duke with a confused frown.
Marinette and Steph both gave him affronted looks.
“Excuse me?” Said Marinette, and Tim was reminded that she was a fashion designer. He silently said a prayer so Duke could get into heaven. “They are completely different! Look at the stitching, hers has a --.”
Bruce strode away, fingers pressed to his temples despite his cowl being in the way, which amused Marinette enough for her to stop chewing out Duke for not noticing the all-important stitching. She shook her head slightly and turned back to Tim.
“You said you were gonna take me out?”
He nodded slightly. After Steph tied the blindfold on Tim led her to Redbird and Cass helped her get on behind him. He made sure that she was holding on tightly before sending his family a tiny two-finger salute and taking off. She buried her face in his back.
He came to a stop outside a cafe and, when he propped his bike up, she pulled her blindfold from her face. She scrunched up her face at the sudden light and he pretended to fumble with the clasp of his helmet to hide his smile.
“I can walk you the rest of the way home,” he said. “If you’d like.”
She laughed a little. “I’m a hero, too, y’know. I don’t need your protection.”
He crossed his arms. “Oh? Then why were you using me as a shield from the wind earlier?”
“Because you assholes didn’t give me a helmet!” She said, giving him a playful punch on the arm. She hesitated. Her head tipped to the side. “Thanks for coming to my defense earlier, by the way.”
He smiled. “It’s nothing, really. And don't worry about B, he’s just a bit of an ass when people first show up.”
“Oh, yeah, thanks, I was so worried about what the guy that dresses up like a bat to fight crime thought of me,” she said, but her shoulders relaxed all the same. She glanced at the cafe he had pulled up to and smiled. “Do you know if this place is any good?”
“I know it has coffee,” said Tim.
“Ah, the world’s second greatest detective strikes again.”
He grinned. “I assume you're the greatest detective?”
“Of course,” she said. She looked inside and tipped her head slightly, considering. “Everyone in there is hipsters, so it’s either really bad or really good. Either way it’s really overpriced.”
He hummed his agreement.
She sighed and pulled her wallet out of a hidden pocket. If they lived in a cartoon a fly would have flown out of it when she opened it.
“I’ll pay,” he offered.
Her eyes widened and her face lit up for half a second before she schooled it into a teasing smile. “Wow, gonna buy me a drink and I don’t even have to pretend to flirt with you? Score!”
“Do that often?”
She batted her eyelashes. “No. I’m a law abiding citizen who would never use creepy old men to give me drinks while underage because America’s drinking laws are bullshit. I’m a hero and I would never break the law. Obviously.”
For some reason, he didn’t quite believe her.
Nonetheless, he just rolled his eyes and led her inside.
#timinette#timari#shutterbug#timmari#marinette dupain cheng#ladybug#tim drake#red robin#stalker x stalker#maribat
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Submitted Prompt: Akuma Rebellion
Heroes' Day AU because the whole Scarlet Moth plan shouldn't have even succeeded.
-
"Hawkmoth, I give you the power to akumatise as many people you want."
Gabriel's magical costume changed as Catalyst boosted his miraculous' ability, and he then spammed the red butterflies and threw them at the population who were still horrified and crushed by the sight of one of their heroes akumatised, and the other turned to ash.
-
As the connection to the minds of the dozens of citizens he turned into akumas was established, he told Nathalie that he will be going to move so he will be able to coordinate his army of akumas, and left his lair, going to the Eiffel tower while calling for a few akumas such as Stormy Weather, Guitar Villain and Prime Queen to protect him and show the news of his appearance to crush the morals of the heroes and the rest of the population alike.
As the trio appeared in front of him, they looked for a few moments in silence as if pondering something before they spoke to him.
"So you are Hawkmoth?"
Stormy Weather asked looking curious.
"Yes, I am, now focus on the battle." Gabriel dismissively answered her before telling her to pay attention on getting the miraculouses, and as he looked away from the trio, he failed to see the trio's faces taking furious expressions.
"Oh, Hawkmoth, you really came at a very good time, now DIE!"
It was only thanks to sheer luck that Gabriel managed to evade the lightning created by Stormy Weather, shocked at the surprise attack, but he failed to get away from Guitar Villain's blast attack and he was forcefully blown away from the tower.
Prime Queen took a phone and used her ability to enter it, and thanks to Robustus having control over almost all the machines, she connected herself with all the screens in Paris, and sent a message to be heard by everyone in the city.
"Hawkmoth had appeared, now's our chance to crush him!"
The akumatised victims stood still for only a second, stopping their fights against the heroes, and then completely ignoring the surprised miraculous holders, quickly ran away from them, moving rapidly towards where their mental link told them where Hawkmoth was thrown into.
-
Akumas, beings that are born due to the Butterfly miraculous, corrupted and used for evil, and created from the negative emotions of people.
They are not, unlike what Gabriel seems to forget most of the time, a bunch of mindles puppets he can control however he likes.
They are created from a living being's desires, wishes and what they feel strongly about when a connection is made, and they will always move to fulfill that desire before anything else.
This is why they don't focus on getting the Miraculous like he wishes right away, choosing to do what they were created to do first, and only caring about what he wanted them to do after their objective was already fulfilled, or their objective itself required that they deal with the heroes, or if their goal was being sabotaged by them.
And this is where Gabriel made a huge mistake, as he didn't account for what their goals and desires will be in this scenario.
They had just saw (the illusion of) their heroes either turned into villains or killed, causing them a great deal of grief and despair, and another burning emotion of pure rage that was already there against the villain who caused all this terror on them.
Him Akumatising them only made them focus on that hatred, to strongly latch onto it, as grief and horror and rage consumed them.
Why would they obey him or care about his wishes?
They loathed him, hated him, they wanted to destroy him, for all the pain he caused them, for the suffering he had them live through, for continuously forcing his will on them, for making them watch in horror as their friends, families and loved ones were turned into villains forced to do his bidding.
Why would they care about this atrocious person or any of his selfish goals?
No.
They won't, what they want is to give him the despair he gave them, to make him regret what he forced them to endure, and he had just foolishly given them the power to do so.
Which is why even as Gabriel was rising up from the ground, still reeling from the shock of all what just happened in these few seconds, the Akumas, his victims who are now determined to finish him off, had already started their rampage against him.
The sky, already full of black clouds, started unleashing heavy rain and lightning towards Hawkmoth's general area, as he tried to escape, but it was already futile, as the water around him started to freeze thanks to Frozer's power, and all the while, Princess Fragrance was unleashing her mind-controlling perfume.
Troublemaker was phasing though the ice directly towards him, with Vanisher alongside her, and Mime was using his ability to create an invisible barrier to lock the villain inside so he won't escape by jumping above, while few others surrounded him so if he was able to break the ice, he will be punched to oblivion by them.
The result was a foregone conclusion at this point.
As that was happening, Robustus took control of the machines in Paris, easily finding Catalyst, who was horrified and angry at the turn of events. Robustus activated the defensive mechanisms in the evil lair, and rockets and machineguns made themselves known, locking on the terrified Akumatized assistant, blowing up the Agreste mansion as a result as Catalyst flew away, injured but not dead, as her Akuma form was weaker than usual due to being created primarily to heavily focus on supporting other's abilities than fighting on her own. But even a weaker Akuma is still stronger than a normal person.
Catalyst fell on the ground, but she was hit by a large wave of water from Syren and was thrown towards Simon Says, who easily used his cards to control her.
The result was that in only three minutes since Hawkmoth's appearance, he was easily defeated by his own "army", and his accomplice quickly dealt with.
Marinette and the rest of heroes looked in bafflement as the Akumas easily defeated the terrorist who tormented the city, as he was forced into giving his Miraculous and his assistant's to the heroes, and exposing his identity as well.
A very poetic ending, wasn't it?
A tyrant ending up defeated by the rebellion from the very people he tormented.
And Marinette and the rest will make sure he won't be able to hurt anyone else anymore after freeing the citizens from the akumatisation.
----
Rewatching the season 2 finale, I never understood how no akuma decided to attack Gabriel.
Like, yeah, if the power of the Butterfly was giving power to someone and completely controlling them, I can understand, but mind-controlling the akuma is not exactly in the Butterfly's powers; Gabriel can talk with his akumas and even hurt them, but not outright controlling them. That was a in-universe rule that was made clear a few times.
But the Heroes' Day blatantly said "screw that!" and magically had all the akumas fully obeying him, when they should be obliterating his sorry butt due to all the trauma he caused, especially since the very reason they became his prey was due to him making them think he literally killed their heroes.
I normaly would have no problem with this; Cool Factor is a normal thing in kid shows, and it is usually fun to see the characters to act like they're playing "make-believe", but this show is wanting us to take it seriously (I recall Astruc literally saying a variant of "it's a deep show" somewhere) while hiding behind the "it is a kid show" excuse to not explain anything awful.
But it also blatantly wants us to ignore the blatant racism, misogyny, and to root for horrible actions and see them as Cool (White Rich Man Gabriel brainwashing people because it's apparently awesome, somehow) and Romantic (White Rich Boy Adrien's harassment of Kid Of Color Marinette, anyone?).
And the writers wonder why some people hate this show very much.
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Protect
For Maribat March day 18 theme protect
Master List
“DEAREST BIG BROTHER! I’M HOME!” A female shout came from the foyer of the manor.
Dick, Jason, Tim, Babs, Steph, and Cass were hanging out in one of the many rooms the manor held. Alfred had just walked in with a tray of drinks but froze at the sound of the voice.
“THE HECK!” Was shouted by the same voice followed by Damian’s voice shouting,
“WHO ARE YOU!?!?! HOW DID YOU GET IN!?!?!”
Alfred was out of the room in an instant. He was not sprinting but he might as well be with how fast he was walking. The batkids immediately followed after him.
They walked in on a sight none of them will ever forget. Literally, Jason had taken a picture. A strange woman who looked like a female, miniature version of Bruce had Damian’s precious katana and seemed to be taunting him with it.
“Miss Marinette!” Alfred called and got both the woman’s and Damian’s attention.
“Alfred!” The woman replied, running over and giving him a hug, katana still in her hand.
“Wait, Aunt Nettie?” Dick spoke up, walking over to the pair.
“Little Wing! Wow, you got so much bigger since the last time I saw you.” She responded, giving him a hug.
“Wait, wait, your Aunt Nettie?” Jason asked, crossing his arms.
“Aww, Little Blue Jay, you don’t remember me?” She shot back, crossing her arms as well.
“Blue Jay, why is that familiar?” Jason muttered to himself, not quietly enough since everyone heard him.
“Aunt Nettie, you only visited once when he was here.” Dick reminded her.
“Oh, well that will explain that. Also how many more kids did Bruce adopt? I thought it was only the 2 of you, the Drake kid, and his bio kid.” She questioned, motioning to each child she remembered.
“The only other kid he adopted is Cass, Steph and Babs are family friends.” Dick clarified.
“Babs, the first Batgirl correct?” She asked, turning to the girl in question. Everyone froze at that, this girl who was apparently Bruce’s sister knew who they were.
“It’s fine guys, she’s known since the beginning of his time as Batman.” Dick assured.
“Yep, speaking of my big brother, where is he?”
“Master Bruce is currently at a WE meeting, but he will be back in time for dinner.” Alfred answered for her.
“How come father never told us about you?” Damian voiced, glaring at her and looking like he wanted to attack her again. Probably because she still had his katana.
“I rarely visit nowadays and he’s probably still upset after last time.” Marinette smirked, like she had won some sort of battle. Noticing she still had his katana, she handed the blade back to Damian.
“Last time?” Tim hesitantly echoed.
“How about Miss Marinette shares the story in the living room? I can bring snacks.” Alfred offered, Marinette looked like she was about to say something but Alfred beat her to it, “You bond with your nieces and nephews, I will be fine.”
“Come on Marinette! You can tell them about how you helped train Bruce! Oh did you bring any kwamis with you?” Dick rambled, pulling Marinette with him into the room they were hanging out in before her appearance.
Once they were all seated Tim started the conversation, “So I’m not hallucinating, you are actually Bruce’s sister.”
“Yes, Bruce is 3 years older than me. I know that he is Batman and you guys are the bats and the birds.” She calmly responded.
“What did Dick mean by you helped train Bruce? And what is a Kwami?” Babs continued.
“Kwami are basically magical beings, kinda like gods, that are bound to jewels called miraculous. Since I’m the guardian I protect these jewels. I trained Bruce by helping my old mentor from Tibet train him.” Marinette explained.
“What happened last time? And why don’t you visit often?” Damian asked, carefully hidden curiosity in his eyes.
“Back in my first year of highschool, Bruce was very protective of me. Like very protective. No boy he didn’t approve of, which meant I could never talk to a single boy, could get within 10 feet of me without him present. Asking me out, out of the question. Pretty sure this one guy, Adam, wanted to ask me out but Bruce interrupted before he could. I never talked to him again after that. I got pretty tired of it so I signed up for the foreign exchange program and went to school in Paris.”
“Wait,” Steph interrupted, “Bruce was an overprotective brother?”
“One of the worst kinds. I’m sure if our parents were still alive he might’ve been worse than my dad.”
“What importance does this have to the questions?” Damian sneered, annoyed that he wasn’t getting any answers.
“Hold on I’m getting there. So anyways it was in my sophomore year of highschool at Paris that a supervillain attacked. He called himself Hawkmoth, he used the butterfly miraculous to transform people into his puppets by using their emotions against them. I didn’t think much of it since it didn’t concern me, my host family agreed thinking it wouldn’t last long. But when I got to my room there was a little box sitting on my desk and that’s where I found the ladybug miraculous. The most powerful miraculous besides the cat miraculous. I told Bruce, he wasn’t too happy about it, but there wasn’t much he could do. So much happened in that amount of time that I don’t think I could summarize it all before Bruce gets back but just know that in that span of time I met the current guardian. Hawkmoth gained an ally who used the peacock miraculous, Mayura. Also a miraculous that could manipulate emotions.
After I and my partner had defeated Hawkmoth and Mayura, sometime during my senior year, we revealed our identities, dated for a few months before I ended things. Then I went back home and Bruce was getting ready to go on his soul-searching journey to be trained by masters or whatever and I suggested he be trained by my mentor who was in Tibet. I went with him, we trained for a couple of months before he left. I decided to stay in Tibet to train to become the next guardian. Eventually my mentor died and gave me guardianship.
Then I returned to Gotham and Bruce had adopted Little Wing over there. So I stayed here for a while before I decided to go around the world doing guardian things. Bruce didn’t like the idea but there wasn’t much he could do. I ended up catching up with an old friend of mine on one of my travels and we started dating before I came back here. That’s when I met Little Blue Jay for the first and last time.
Before you guys had gone on patrol I tried to ask Bruce to give my boyfriend a chance but he didn’t agree. I’ve always been his little sister in his eyes, I think he couldn’t handle the fact I had grown up. Nasty words were exchanged between us and I haven’t returned since. In the end me and him didn’t work out but I couldn’t bring myself to return, until now at least.”
“Why now?” Damian immediately pressed once she finished her explanation.
“Dusuu was missing Alfred. It has been like a decade or something.” She remarked, pulling out a peacock shaped brooch.
“Didn’t you say that the peacock miraculous was evil?” Cass signed, raising an eyebrow at the brooch.
“No, I said it was used for evil. The miraculous are technically neutral, can be used for good or evil. Depends on who is wielding them.” Marinette bit back, as a flash of light emitted from the brooch. Suddenly a small floating peacock creature stood in front of Marinette.
“Is that a kwami?” Steph asked.
“Yes, this is Dusuu, the peacock kwami of emotions.”
“Hello! It’s so nice to meet you!” Dusuu chirped, “Where’s Alfred?”
“I am right here Dusuu. It is lovely to see you again.” Alfred spoke from the doorway, holding a tray of snacks and drinks.
“Alfred!” Dusuu cheered before flying over and hugging the older man.
“In all honesty Bruce doesn’t sound like the best brother.” Jason pointed out.
“I know it may seem like he’s a shitty brother, and at the time I totally thought he was and still is, but I know where he’s coming from. Bruce was always the more reserved and protective out of the 2 of us even before what happened to our parents. I think our parents' death solidified his need to protect me from anything and anyone. And we all know how horrible Bruce is at showing his emotions so I know his heart was in the right place. Plus, we’ve had years to cool off, I’m sure we can have a mature conversation now.” Marinette explained, a fond smile gracing her lips.
Faintly in the distance they heard Alfred say, “Welcome home, Master Bruce.”
“That’s my cue!” Marinette said before bolting off in the direction of the foyer.
“Alfred something’s off, what are you not telling me?” The second those words left his mouth a weight connected with his back, arms wrapped around his neck and a familiar,
“HEY BIG BRO!” Was registered by his ears.
The weight slipped off his back and as he turned around he was met with the familiar sight of his little sister. “Marinette.”
“Bruce.”
“You’re here.”
“I am.”
“I thought-”
“That I was mad at you.”
“You didn’t visit for 10 years.”
“Life got busy.”
They stood in silence for a minute.
“I missed you.” Marinette whispered, so much different from the girl that was telling them a brief summary of her life. She seemed so much more vulnerable uttering those words than when she had revealed why she hadn’t come back in the first place.
Turns out that was the straw that broke the camel’s back as Bruce wrapped Marinette in a hug as tears slipped from his eyes. They could hear him whispering over and over again, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did all those years ago.”
It was weird for them all to see, including Dick who knew how much Marinette meant to Bruce. Bruce kept his emotions so closed up, master of the stoic face, but here he was breaking down in front of the all. Here he was crying and apologizing.
“I believe we should leave them alone for now.” Alfred spoke up heading for the dining room. They followed. Later Bruce and Marinette would join them, a little red-eyed with their cheeks tear-stained, but small smiles on their faces.
It was then that all the batkids knew that they would be seeing this ‘Aunt Nettie’ much more often.
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Look at that, I’m super late again! Nothing new, I think day 14 was a one time thing unfortunately.
I’ve seen a ton of fics where Marinette was Bruce’s older sister but what about where she’s his younger sister? Bruce would so be an overprotective older brother.
I hoped you enjoyed this! I’m planning on making a part 2 of this for ‘contest’. So stay tuned!
@maribatmarch-2k21
#maribatmarch2021#maribat#maribat march#protect#little sister marinette#big brother bruce#part 2 will be contest
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Prologue: The Escape
First - Previous - Next - Masterlist - (ao3)
I saw this fic idea by @messymessyml and couldn’t help myself. I tagged the people who asked to be tagged on the original post; if you want to be added comment or send an ask ;)
Damian is 16 and Marinette is a month shy of 16 at the beginning of the fic.
the characters may be a tad OOC.
TW: Bullying, cursing (it’s censored but still there)
Damian stormed into the cave through the zeta tube. Everyone moved aside; they had not seen a look of such fury since he had first come to Gotham. Despite him not being the violent assassin he was raised to be, Robin found himself nearly following through with his usual threats. Not even bothering to discard his equipment, the heir walked straight to one of the side rooms for private discussions. As predicted, his father followed him. No doubt for a lecture.
Spinning around to face his father, Damian took a deep breath. I can’t lose my head, it won't help my case.
“Father….” there was so much defeat and anger in his voice that the bat seemed to almost reconsider his decision, almost. Robin watched his Father lift his hand to stop him from speaking any further, and begin to address him.
“It was the right call, Damian. It had to be done. You cannot just run around with superpowers. I had to deal with that.”
“It wasn’t your call.” The teen growled. “I had an advantage, Father! It would have been hard for Mother to kill me again! I was safe.”
“You do not need powers to be safe, Damian.”
“I died because I was too slow. It wasn’t your call to remove my safety net! It was mine!”
“I am your father! Everything is my call!” Daman could see that this was going nowhere. Setting his face into a scowl, he left the cave.
Left with his thoughts as he navigated through the maze-like halls of Wayne Manor, the young hero began to negotiate with himself; beginning a difficult game of mental tug-of-war. Weighing the pros and cons proved to be harder than he originally thought; it started with admitting that he may have become attached to his “siblings”, at least more than he would have originally thought he could be. On the other hand, they treated him one of two ways, all of the time; he was always either a child or a weapon. At the very least they should be able to treat him like his actual age! But, they also cared for him a lot… in their own way. On top of that, the manor was a hugely more beneficial environment than the league ever was. His mother would also have a harder time reaching him here. That didn't stop her before. Despite how “safe” this place was said to be, his mother still found a way to kill him for his change in loyalty. If he left, he would surely be caught. If you stay, she will know you’re here and plan accordingly.
Slowly the pros started to outweigh the cons making his decision obvious, he would run away tonight.
It wasn’t until he arrived in his room that he realized he was still wearing his uniform. Not wanting to return to the cave, the heir simply folded the uniform and placed it at the end of his bed. No doubt Pennyworth would retrieve it in the morning. He glanced around his room. There weren't any decorations aside from the occasional painting or katana. Making up his mind, Damian went through his few belongings that mattered. He had to be careful to find ones that would not have a tracking device in them. I’ll have to go to my safehouse for clothes. He gathered up all his weapons that wouldn't be noticed gone and wouldn't be flagged by airport security. Putting everything in a bag, he snuck out his window and took off for his apartment. Leaving only a note that read, I need space, I will be at one of my safehouses, off grid.
___________Marinette pov______________
“You b*tch!” a loud slap echoed across the school courtyard. “Not only are you a liar and a bully, you’re a thief too!” Alya screamed, waving her hands around. “That’s Lila’s life’s work and you just claim it as your own! Lazy, fat, sl*t!”
“But, Alya! I have my sig–”
“I didn’t say you could speak, wh*r*.” Alya said, grabbing the designer’s shirt. “You are going to stand up; walk over to Lila; apologise; and give her her sketchbook back. Understand b*tch.”
“No.” Mari took a deep breath and shoved her building emotions back down into their designated corner. “I will not apologise to Lila because I did–”
“What did you say b*tch!”
“I said no.”
“You piece of sh*t.”
At this point Marinette just tuned her ex-best friend out. She always said the same things. So the heroine only waited.
After school Marinette left for home immediately; she did not want to be in any trouble for being late for her shift. With twenty minutes to spare, the girl leapt up the stairs three-at-a-time to reach her room with enough time for concealer. She would probably be grounded for operating the register with marks on her face. It’s a good thing that my miraculous has healing properties or I wouldn't be able to work at all.
While at the till, a swarm of wasps swept through the shop stinging everyone, except Marinette. As soon as she saw the wasps, she took off for the walk-in freezer in the back of the bakery. Tikki fazed through the door to see when it would be clear to leave the freezer.
“All clear Marinette!” Tikki chirped.
“Thanks.” The hero swung open the door and took off running for the Seine.
Upon arriving at he famous river, Marinette dove into the water scattering the trail of wasps behind her. Pulling out the water powerup, Mari was amazed to discover that even underwater the macaroon did not get soggy, but remained its usual texture and firmness. Calling for her transformation again, Ladybug sprinted to Master Fu’s location unaware of the villain tailing her.
“Master Fu! May I use the snake miraculous?” With a nod, Master Fu pulled out the miracle box and selected the snake miraculous.
“Thank you!” LB called out as she left merging the two miraculous. Lately, Marinette had taken to using the ladybug and snake miraculous together having taken the cat miraculous away from Adrien.
Arriving in front of the town hall, Ladybug surveyed the battlefield. In front of the akuma, Miracle Queen, stood all her previous allies: Adrien, Luka, Ivan, Nino, Max, Alya, and Kagami. They all appear to have been stung by the wasps. At that moment, Hawkmoth arrived bearing the miracle box! Hawkmoth passed the box to Miracle Queen and the students stepped forward to take their respective jewels. All but two, Luka and Adrien. Ladybug had both of those miraculous on her person (the black cat miraculous was in her yoyo) She was about to enter the battle when Master Fu leapt over the building in pursuit of the villain weilding the turtle as Jade Turtle. At that moment Ladybug engaged the various villains calling for her second chance.
As she landed, Pegasus opened a portal to space. Reactivating second chance she tried again, and again, and again, and again. Until she managed to take the dragon and horse miraculous back.
There was a rush of wind and all the holders before her, except Hawkmoth and Myura, were stripped of their miraculous as a light formed above her head. Oh no, Master Fu! The miracle box fell into her hands. Using the destraction Ladybug broke and purified the akuma.
She ran to Master Fu as quickly as she could.
“Master Fu! Are you okay?” She waited with baited breath.
“Hello, young lady, do I know you?” There went any hope I had.
“No, I’m just a concerned citizen.”
I dropped off the miracle box in my room before releasing Tikki from my transformation and entering the bakery through the front. Her parents were there, waiting for her.
“We’ll talk about this later.” Sabine said smiling at Marinette with daggers for eyes.
“Yes, Maman.” Nope. Nope. Nope. Not today. Not ever.
As soon as Marinette reached her room, she pulled out the miracle box, a backpack of clothes and sewing supplies, and her toiletries (she could pull money out of her account later if needed). Opening the box, Marinette took out the horse miraculous releasing Kaalki.
“Master F– where is Master Fu, Marinette.”
“Gone, he relinquished his guardianship when hawkmoth cornered him.” She put on the glasses. “I need an escape; is that ok Kaalki?”
“Of course guardian.”
The girl called for Kaalki’s transformation, summoned a portal, gathered her belongings, and walked through.
Authors notes will be at the end from now on (minus warnings and such)
what should i call this story?
Smiles and love, Jjmjjktth <3 :)
Next - Masterlist
Taglist: @swiftie-miraculer13 @messymessyml
#maribat#marinette#salt#damian wayne#the bats#daminette#paris has a hawkmoth problem#toodles#wip#young hearts are easily broken
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A Blanc Slate, Chapter 1
Marichat May 2021 has arrived and I am once again writing a story by the seat of my pants. XD I will post one chapter a day (hopefully daily?), and each chapter will have 3 prompts. Enjoy ;)
Next >
1. Rain
The clouds were thick and black, shrouding the city in darkness. This was normally when Chat Noir had the best time blending in.
But as he stood before her now, up in the high beams of the Eiffel Tower, his brilliant white suit stuck out like a sore thumb.
She remembered the first time he’d been akumatized and turned into Chat Blanc. His blue eyes had flipped between empty and full of pain. He’d been fighting the akuma the whole time, and it had physically pained her to see him like that.
However, that was the difference between then and now. His normal green eyes glowed behind that white mask. No; that was a lie. They held the same green color, but instead of the vibrant life they normally held, they were empty. Hollow. As if his soul had died.
“Chat Noir?”
Her voice sounded weak to her own ears, and had his kitty ears not twitched, she would have questioned whether he’d even heard her.
With inaudible footfalls, he slowly stepped towards her. Once he was close but still out of touch range, he extended his closed fist towards her.
Normally, that would be a ‘pound it’, but it hurt Ladybug more than she would have thought to know Chat was just wanting to give her something.
She extended her own hand out, and he dropped two things into her hand. Clink clank.
Even in the darkness that hung over Paris, she knew what those were right away. And her gut positively dropped to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower.
“Chat,” she started, words somehow failing her.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he stated, his voice firm but tired. She only could tell that because she’d known him so long.
Her hand around the two miraculouses, falling to her side as she took him in. “If… if I have the moth miraculous, then… how are you…?”
Her words died out, and Chat didn’t add to them, instead turning his head away while his ears flattened back on his head.
Biting her lip, Ladybug fought for anything to say. “Are you okay?”
She already knew the answer. But he still said it.
“No.”
“What can I do?”
“Not much,” he said, taking a step back. “And frankly… there’s nothing I want you to do, either.”
She felt cold begin to hit her face, but the oncoming rain was the least of her worries. Even the fact she held the two missing miraculouses was negligible compared to the weight of her heart breaking at the pain her partner was experiencing.
“Chat—”
“Please, Ladybug,” he growled, ears pinning flat as he shot her a snarl. But it didn’t seem to mesh with the tears that were already forming in his eyes. “I need you to stay out of this.”
“But I don’t want to just sit here and do nothing when you’re—”
“This isn’t your battle to fight!” he shouted, shocking her silent. “Hawkmoth was your battle to fight. Mayura was your battle to fight. But the miraculouses are back in your hands, meaning your fight is over.”
“It’s not over until they’re brought to justice, Chat,” she countered. “And I’m not going to let you just—”
“He was my father!”
Lightening ripped across the sky, followed by thunder rolling through Paris and shaking Ladybug’s entire world.
“It’s personal,” he spoke, his voice steady once again. “And not anything you will muddy your hands with. I won’t let you. You will tell the public that you retrieved the miraculouses and Paris is safe. I will handle the rest.”
“Do you honestly think I’m going to just let you handle it alone?”
“You think I’m not capable?”
“I never said that!”
“It’s better this way, Ladybug,” he said. “That way you won’t be lying to the press when you say you didn’t know Hawkmoth’s real name and therefore cannot release it to the public.”
She grit her teeth. She did hate lying, but in this instance, for Chat’s sake, she’d do it in a heartbeat.
And he should have known that.
“Then what about you?” she challenged.
“What about me?”
“You think I’m going to do this without you by my side?”
“Yes.”
The finality of those words struck her harder than an akuma blow.
His eyes flooded with an intensity rarely seen from him, and Ladybug found herself taking a step back to steady herself.
“Let me finish this,” Chat stated. “And once I do, I’m giving you my ring back.”
“NO!” The panic that suddenly bubbled up felt suffocating. “No. What makes you think you need to surrender it?”
The rain was coming down harder, but Ladybug hardly felt it. She barely acknowledged the fact they were both drenched by now. All that registered in her mind was Chat’s sad and broken expression.
“Sorry,” he whispered, barely above the rain. “But I can’t be your Chat anymore.”
He took a step backwards and away, putting more distance between them before giving her a pained smile. “And… I guess the other thing is I need time away from you.”
“Why?” she begged. She was sure tears were streaming down her face by this point, but her cheeks were so wet that she didn’t know what was her tears and what was rain. “What are you even talking about? I don’t—”
“I know you don’t,” he interrupted.
“Then tell me!” she screamed. “Aren’t we partners?”
He sighed, pained grin still on his face. “We were,” he said. “Until Hawkmoth was gone, right? I’m going to go clean up the mess. Think of it as… as my last gesture to you.”
Ladybug just stood confused. “What—”
“Good bye, Ladybug,” he said, taking out his staff. “We’ll meet again, at least once. I promise. After all—” He waved his hand, the one with his ring, in her direction. “I will be giving this back to you.”
And with a roar of thunder, he was gone.
2. Ghibli
As Ladybug made her way home in the rain, she so happened to catch sight of a figure sitting in the park across the street from her house. Part of her was tempted to stop and rush over to him, but the other half knew better. Considering what had just happened at the Eiffel Tower, she knew he would run from Ladybug.
But maybe…
Would he run from Marinette?
With the idea in her mind, she ran back home, detransformed the second she entered her room, quickly put away the two miraculouses he’d given her, and then snagged a raincoat and an umbrella before running back out of the house.
Checking both ways before crossing the street, Marinette splashed through any and all puddles without care as she ran towards Chat Noir… er, she supposed he was Chat Blanc now.
It didn’t matter to her. That was still her partner no matter what color his suit was. And at the moment, her partner was in pain, slumped over as he sat on the edge of the park’s fountain, his head hung low and ears drooping as rain poured over him.
When Marinette got closer, she noticed his ears twitch before he glanced up and looked towards her. His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing out, princess?”
Princess. That was her nickname. That was also a very good sign. It gave her hope he wouldn’t turn her away.
She flipped up the hood on her raincoat before extending the umbrella out so that it was covering him. “What are you doing out, Chat?”
“Nothing,” he curtly said. “Go home, Marinette. It’s cold out.”
“Exactly,” she countered. “So why are you out here getting soaked?”
He just shrugged. “I have my reasons.”
“Reasons you don’t want to tell me?”
“No.”
“Okay,” she said, wracking her brain for ideas on just how she could convince him to get him out of the rain. “Do your reasons allow you to come inside the bakery, then? Or are you out here punishing yourself for being a bad kitty?”
She tried to make it a joke, hoping it would put a smile back on his face if only for a second. But she instantly regretted her words the moment his ears fell again.
“Chat—”
“Please, just leave me alone.”
Her heart broke all over again. Something in the way his head was bowed just made her want to touch him, want to comfort him. Part of her knew it was risky to push her luck, but the other part, the part that cared deeply for her partner, just wanted to comfort him any way she could.
She patted his head, causing him to startle in a way that shocked her. His eyes were full of panic at her touch and his body was tense, as though he was ready to run.
“Sorry,” she said, tugging her hand away and taking a step back. Please don’t run. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He didn’t relax fully, but the tension in his body did ease a bit, and then he shifted away, out from under her umbrella. “It’s fine. Just leave me alone.” Then he looked up, his eyes locking on something behind her. “You should go back home.”
“Only if you come with me.”
“Marinette.”
“I’m not going to just leave you out here in the rain like some kicked cat!”
Lighting flashed in the sky, shortly followed by thunder, but Marinette hardly noticed. Her attention was fully focused on Chat, who was looking back up at her with some surprise.
Eventually, he sighed, his shoulders slumping with exhaustion. “I’ll escort you; that’s all. Understood.”
Better than nothing, and it still gave her a chance to convince him inside out of the rain. “Understood.”
He stood, but he ended up stumbling sideways two steps as though he was going to fall over.
“Chat?”
“I’m fine,” he said, spreading his feet wide to give him more balance. “It’s…” He forced a smile at her. “Just been a long day.”
Liar, she thought. It’s not just that.
He got close enough to put a hand on her shoulder with the intent of guiding her back towards her house, but Marinette just knew something was off. She dropped her umbrella in favor of holding Chat’s head with one hand while the other landed on his forehead.
In spite of the chilling rain, he was warm.
He stepped away, clearly agitated at the touch—that was the other thing; Chat loved touch, so why was he shying away from it now?—and shot her a glare. “Marinette,” he growled in warning.
“You’re running a fever, aren’t you?” she asked, watching as he swayed unsteadily on his feet.
“I’m fine!”
“You are not!”
“I am!” he shouted, voice firm and strong and threatening. She found herself taking a step back out of shock.
He seemed to notice that because half the fight in his eyes extinguished immediately. “I’m fine. I don’t need anyone. I never asked for help. I don’t want anyone else to end up in this mess. So, leave me the hell alone!”
But he didn’t move. And neither could she.
And when he took a step back, as to be the first one to retreat, he stumbled, landing on his knee.
She rushed to his side. “Sorry, Chat,” she said, grabbing his arm, both to keep a hold of him so he wouldn’t run as well as support him. “But I’m not leaving you alone like this.”
“You should.”
“I won’t.”
“I don’t need you.”
“But you want someone, right?”
“Not in my own mess.”
“But do you really want to fight it alone?”
The only sound that filled the space was the rain that continued to pour down.
And after what felt like an eternity, he eventually spoke. “No…” he admitted, voice quiet and weak. “No, I don’t, but it would hurt worse if someone was hurt because of me.”
She didn’t know how to counter that. All she knew was she needed to get him out of the rain as soon as she could. “Come on, Chat.” she coaxed. “At the very least, let me get you out of the rain.”
He still hadn’t moved from the ground, leaving it up to Marinette to pull him up. He had to lean on her substantially, and she hadn’t even realized he’d been this unsteady on his feet.
Had he been like this just an hour ago when he met her as Ladybug?
She dragged him back to her home, then slowly up the stairs before deciding the best place to dump him was in the bathroom so he could both get clean and warm himself up. She could only hope she didn’t leave her bathroom a disaster as she led him inside. Thankfully, it wasn’t too much a wreck. She sat him down on the edge of the tub, then patted his head. “I’ll go grab you a towel, okay? You just take your time to clean yourself up.”
“Marinette…” he weakly tried to argue.
“Don’t even try with me, kitty,” she warned. “Warm up. Use whatever you need to. I think I have clothes that will fit you that you can change into. I’ll go grab those. Don’t worry about it and don’t even try to argue with me.”
He looked up at her, and she swore she could see the internal debate happening behind those green eyes of his.
Eventually, he sighed. “You’re as stubborn as my lady.”
Marinette smiled, a genuine one. No matter what front he had tried to put up, he still considered her his lady. That gave her hope. “Thanks for the compliment.”
And with that, she walked out of the bathroom and shut the door. Once she did, she heard the water start up.
“Hey!” Chat called out. “Are you still there?”
“Yeah, what do you need?”
There was a pause. “Is… is there any conceivable way I could bother you for some cheese?”
Ah, for his kwami. What did Chat always complain about? Smelling like camembert? She would have to go see if she had any, but she knew any cheese would do. “Sure thing.”
“Thank you.”
Anything for you, kitty. “No problem.”
With that, she started off to collect the needed items only to realize that walking up 2 flights of stair soaking wet was bound to leave dirty, wet footprints on the floor.
Well… guess she knew how Sophie felt now having to deal with Howl.
3. Dirt
Once all the dirt on the floor and stairs was cleaned up, she started collecting the things Chat needed. She did manage to find some camembert in the fridge, though it wasn’t much. Surely it would be enough to restore his kwami, though.
After that she grabbed a towel and change of clothes for him. Who knew what shape his clothes were in, and she wasn’t going to let him get back into dirty clothes after a nice bath if she could help it. Luckily, he and Adrien looked to be about similar sizes, and she had made an outfit for Adrien since his birthday was right around the corner. She knew he was the son of a fashion designer, but he’d also totally egged her on last month when she casually suggested making him an outfit one day. And so, she did.
Now that outfit would be worn by Chat Noir for the time being, but Adrien didn’t have to know that.
Once her arms were full of the aforementioned items, she knocked on the door to the bathroom. “Chat, I have the cheese you asked for, and a towel and change of clothes for you, too. I’m going to close my eyes and slide them in, okay. I won’t look, I swear.”
“Thank you, Marinette,” he said, voice sounding very tired.
With her eyes closed, she cracked the door open and felt around for the counter before sliding the items on top of it. Once she was sure they weren’t going to fall on the floor, she quickly backed out and shut the door again. “There you go. Feel free to ask for anything else, okay?”
“Hey, Marinette?”
“Yeah?”
He was silent for a moment, and she opened her mouth again to repeat herself when he spoke. “I… really appreciate this,” he said. “Sorry for… pushing you away, and I’m sorry if I hurt you. I’m… I’m really grateful… that you did this for me.”
Anything for you, you stupid cat. “You’re welcome, Chat Noir. It’s always an honor to help out the heroes of Paris when they need anything.”
He was silent yet again, but Marinette didn’t quite want to leave. “Feel free to take your time in there,” she said. “And when you come out, I’ll check your temperature again and give you something for your fever if I suspect you have one. Oh! And I know you’ll be careful anyway, but those clothes were actually made for a friend. I really don’t mind you borrowing them for the time being, but once you’re able to return them, I would like them back, please.”
“I’ll bring them back as soon as I can, princess, in the same condition you gave them to me in. I promise.”
“Thanks, Chat. Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“You’ve done more than I deserve, Marinette,” he spoke, voice now solemn. “Thank you.”
You’re hurting, kitty, and I won’t feel like I’ve done enough until I know how to help you through it. “You’re very welcome, Chat.”
#miraculous ladybug#fanfiction#marichat#marichatmay2021#Chat Blanc#hurt/comfort#angst#yeah we're beginning with pain#Will eventually get better ;)
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Salt-Fic September Day 7: I’m Gonna Call You Karen
The class was incredibly excited for next week, when summer break begins. Why? Because their good friend Lila had got them a trip to Gotham for the first week of the break. “I’m very close with the Wayne family. Bruce thinks of me like a daughter. When I asked if we could have a class trip to Gotham, he agreed immediately and offered to sponsor the whole thing. He is excited to have me back in Gotham. I’m even going to the manor for dinner a couple times while we are there.” The class was in awe of this amazing girl, and very thankful to her for getting them the trip. Unlike some other people in the class. Marinette, Nino, Nathaniel, and Alix had all seemed bitter when Lila announced the trip. The rest of the class couldn’t understand it, but they weren’t going to waste their time on their jealous classmates, they had a trip to get ready for.
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What the class didn’t know is that Lila was lying about the whole thing. Marinette is the one who had gotten the class the trip. She was the one who knew the Waynes for several years. Apparently, her mother had studied abroad at one point, in America. While she was there, she meant Bruce and they had been close friends ever since. When Bruce adopted Tim, Sabine started brining Marinette with her when she visited Gotham since the two kids were about the same age. The two kids became close and started a long-distance relationship when they were older. Marinette also became close with Tim’s brothers.
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Marinette had been talking with the family when she mentioned that the class still didn’t have a class trip. The boys immediately suggested a class trip to Gotham and with a little pleading, they got Bruce to agree. Bruce set the class up in a nice hotel in a safe area of the city. He also planned several activities for the class, including a tour of the Wayne Enterprises head office.
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Marinette was so excited to share the news, but realized that if the class knew she had gotten them the trip, they wouldn’t want to go purely because she is the one who organized it. So, Marinette asked Mrs. Bustier to keep it a secret that Marinette had organized the trip. The plan did work and the class was excited for the trip. But there was one problem with Marinette keeping it a secret. It gave Lila the opportunity to regale the class with a new lie. But Marinette was fine with it, so long as the class enjoyed the trip, who cared who organized it?
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The day for the class to leave came quickly and the class gathered at the airport. They chatted excitedly about this new adventure and several of them were happy to have a break from akumas and Hawkmoth. Marinette was worried about leaving Paris, but she had the horse miraculous with her, just in case. They arrived in Gotham and were escorted to the hotel. Lila kept talking up how close she was to the Wayne family. None of the class noticed the looks those comments got from the locals. The locals knew that the Waynes were extremely private and that there was little chance this girl actually knew them. Especially when she kept messing up details of the family, like how old some of the Wayne boys were. But the class was oblivious to it all.
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To keep up the charade, Lila disappeared for a few hours every night, pretending to be at the manor. In actuality, she was hiding in the library where she knew none of her classmates would go during their free time. Meanwhile, Marinette was actually at the manor. She would go over almost every night they were there to be with Tim, hang out with the other boys, or just to have dinner. Marinette was having a wonderful time, despite the mean comments and looks she got every time she left the hotel to go to the manor. Little did she know, this was about to become the best trip ever.
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It was the final day of their stay, and they were ending the trip with the tour of Wayne Enterprises. Tim had promised he would try to meet Marinette at the lunch break, but his schedule was really busy now that he was working with Bruce and helping run Wayne Enterprises. That day, Lila decided that she needed to really impress the class. She planned on throwing the Wayne name around in the Wayne Enterprises building to get the staff there to meet her every whim. That was sure to impress the class.
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Throughout the tour, Lila had been telling crazy stories about ‘her time in Gotham and with the Waynes’. While most people in the building were sure the girl was lying, there were some that tripped over themselves to do whatever the girl told them to do, on the off chance that she did know the Waynes. Then Lila made a major mistake.
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The class was in the cafeteria for their lunch break when Tim and the rest of the Wayne boys walked in. They made a bee line for Marinette and instantly started chatting and laughing with the young designer. This got the class’ interest. Who were these guys, and how did Marinette know them? Lila did not like that the attention had shifted to Marinette. She did not like it at all. Then she noticed one of the guys, who looked about their age, had a Wayne Enterprises badge on. Lila knew that this meant he worked here. Lila knew she had to get rid of these guys to get the attention she craved back, so she made her move.
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Lila walked up to Marinette and her new friends and tapped on the man with the badge’s shoulder. They all stopped their conversation and stared at Lila. Lila spoke with a commanding voice, “I’m thirsty and need something to drink. Go get me some water.” The boys around Marinette looked at this young girl in shock. The man with the badge simply said, “No.” and went back to his conversation. Lila was embarrassed at the response and tapped on his shoulder again. “Look, I am really close with the Waynes. If you don’t do what I say, I can get you fired easily.” The boys looked at each other and started howling with laughter. One of them, with a streak of white in his hair was wheezing and said, “Oh man, that is too funny. ‘I know the Waynes’, yeah right.” The class stood and stared at the group in shock.
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Lila was fuming at how these guys were treating her. Why didn’t they jump to do what she said like everyone else? Lila pulled out her trump card. She tapped the man with the badge one more time and said in a sickly-sweet voice, “I hate to do this, but I’m going to need to speak with your manager.” That started a new round of laughter which confused everyone. The guy with the white streak in his hair gathered his breathe long enough to say, “Oh my god! I don’t you’re your name, but I’m going to call you Karen.” The laughter started all over again when the boys heard that comment. When the guys stopped laughing, Lila asked “What’s so funny?” The man with the badge said, “Getting my manager would be hard to do. My name is Timothy Drake-Wayne and I help run the company. And I have never met you before.” Lila froze in shock. There weren’t supposed to be any Waynes here.
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Alya stood up, ready to defend her friend. “What do you mean you have never met her? This is Lila Rossi. She practically grew up in the manor while her mom was working here. Bruce Wayne considers her to be like a daughter to him.” The man the class now knows is Tim says, “Look, neither me or my brothers here have ever seen this girl. She is a liar. The only person in this room that we consider family is Marinette.” The class stood in stunned silence. How did Marinette know the Waynes? Tim turned back to face the liar. “Miss, I will be nice and not get lawyers involved. But if you don’t stop lying about my family, we won’t have any choice but to get them involved. Now, I believe that you have over stayed your welcome. You will be escorted back to the hotel.” Lila is quickly escorted out by security at Tim’s word. The class couldn’t believe it.
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Alya tried to defend her friend, but was quickly shut down by the eldest of the group. “Young lady, I would recommend you google your friend. That will prove that she is nothing but a liar.” The class pulled out their phones and looked for any proof that Lila was telling the truth. But the only source they found was the LadyBlog. Before the class could say anything to Marinette, she was swept away by the Wayne boys, leaving the class behind in the cafeteria. They tried to speak to her on the way back to Paris, but Marinette decided to stay behind in Gotham for a while longer.
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When she finally did return to Paris, she accepted their apologies, but they weren’t as good friends as they used to be. Lila tried to charm the class again, but the spell had been broken and she had completely lost her control. Lila left the school quickly after that, to try and find a new group of suckers to manipulate. Marinette never heard from Lila again. She eventually moved to Gotham to be with Tim and she was very happy with how her life turned out. But Marinette would always say that the highlight of her life would be watching Lila’s face as she heard Tim’s full name and realized how badly she had messed up.
Hope you guys liked it! @maribat-central-official
#saltfic september#salt september#ml#ml fic#ml fanfic#ml salt#ml salt fic#ml salt fanfic#lila rossi#Lila exposed#lila exposed fic#lila gets exposed#lila salt#ml class#ml class salt#class salt#miraculous ladybug#miraculous fanfic#miraculous fic#miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir#miraculous salt fanfic#miraculous salt#miraculous salt fic#ml x dc#miraculous x dc#maribat#timinette#timmari#marinette x tim#tim x marinette
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Float Like A Butterfly... Chapter 5: So Last Season
Summary: Now that Adrien is no longer Chat Noir he doesn't have to get hit all the time. Unfortunately, his luck doesn't seem to have gotten the memo... Or has it?
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"So, how're you holding up?"
"Please, Adrien, it's my mother! I'm positively ecstatic!"
"Exactly. It's your mother."
Chloe looked down for a second before her eyes snapped back up, any doubts she had hidden in an instant. "She's finally coming back! I'll finally be able to show her what she's been missing." Chloe tossed her ponytail back to emphasize the unspoken Me. "Now, I've gotta go. Sabrina insisted we do an 'emotional support routine' or whatever beforehand. Ciao!"
Sighing, Adrien stared at his phone for a moment before putting it down. He knew Chloe was grateful for Sabrina's help but it was still a struggle getting her to admit it.
Or getting her to admit how much Audrey had hurt her.
It was one thing to travel halfway around the world for your career and leave your daughter behind. It was something else entirely to completely ignore her. In all the years since Audrey left Chloe hadn't received a single birthday gift, phone call or text message. Adrien would know. Chloe would've bragged about it endlessly if her mother had taken so much as two seconds to acknowledged her existence-
Adrien's foot jerked, striking the vanity table and making the connected mirror tremble. Heart suddenly pounding against his chest as tension built up in his forehead. Distressed expression reflecting back at him.
Breathe, Adrien. Breathe.
Slowly, he inhaled.
Then exhaled.
Again.
Good.
He was okay.
Adrien was okay.
Guilt pricked like a thorn for thinking of his own problems when Chloe needed him. Adrien crushed it with his anger and annoyance but it was still there. Like a splinter that wouldn't come out.
I hate you.
Swiping out of the video chat Adrien tapped on Nino's number. It rang... and rang... and rang...
He's annoyed with me. I did something wrong again and Nino doesn't want to-
Adrien smacked both sides of his face. No, dummy! Nino's just busy or something. Stop that!
It wasn't every day a teenage DJ provided the music for Paris Fashion Week, after all. Nino had to make sure all his equipment was working properly.
The door to his dressing room burst open.
"Adrien, your friend Mlle. Dupain-Cheng will be bringing the last article of the new Gabriel line," Nathalie announced. "Your father expects everything to be perfect for Audrey Bourgeois."
"Doesn't he always?" Adrien deadpanned.
Nathalie stared at his watery eyes before typing something into her tablet. "Your performance on catwalks only has a 99% success rate. He expects you'll do better."
Father thinks you're a failure just like everyone else. He-
Shut up! Adrien felt something heavy settle in his chest.
One of the makeup artists came rushing in and Nathalie gestured her towards Adrien. "Touch up his eyes," she instructed and then left.
Jaw clenching, Adrien sat perfectly still as the makeup artist did her job. He was never entirely sure what the staff thought about him. 'Professional' was a word that was tossed around a lot. That used to fill him with a little pride... Before all of this.
The last person to suggest that a thirteen year old mourning his mother wasn't 'professional' so much as he was 'depressed' had never come back to work... Oh. Adrien had forgotten about that.
Finishing quickly, the makeup artist left too. Leaving Adrien with his thoughts. He didn't want to be with his thoughts at the moment. They were distracting and Nathalie had not been subtle.
I hate-
His phone vibrated as it received someone's text.
Ni-Non: hey dude!
Ni-Non: it's crazy over here man
Ni-Non: break a leg! ;)
Adrien smiled as his unpleasant mood faded to the back of his mind... And if he saw similarities between his family and Chloe's, well, that's why he could empathize with her.
Adrien: That's theater but I guess there's not much difference.
Adrien: Thanks. ^_^
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There was a knock at his door. Adrien stopped fidgeting in the awkward suit to go answer it.
"Hello, Marinette." Adrien smiled in greeting.
"Oh, uh, hello!" Marinette gave a small wave as she stepped up the short stairs and-
Adrien braced himself with one foot while his hands went to her shoulders. Steadying Marinette as she quickly removed her weight from him.
"Oh! Uh, sorry." Marinette looked away in embarrassment at having tripped into him.
"... No worries!" Adrien smiled as he shook his head. Marinette seemed... subdued. Reaching down to pick up the hat that had fallen. "Oh, no." The artificial feather Marinette made for his allergies had come loose. "I hope it's not too hard to fix it."
Marinette looked down. "Uh, y'know, it doesn't really matter. This hat is a complete failure anyway."
"What? No, it's not!" Adrien rose to his feet quickly in shock. "Why would you say that?"
"Because... the queen of fashion, Audrey Bourgeois, saw it and hated it!" Marinette's hands covered her face, voice breaking. "I'm sorry, Adrien. I really messed up. I'm a total no talent!" Her arms wrapped around herself in a hug. "Please, don't put it on," she pleaded.
Adrien's heart went out to Marinette as she laid her insecurities bare. "Marinette, everything's going to be fine." He searched for the proper spot to reattach the feather, fiddling with it as Adrien reassured her. "Your hat looks great. I think it's awesome and so does... my father." Adrien cleared his throat as he managed to fix her hat. "Otherwise he wouldn't have picked it for me. Look!"
Putting Marinette's hat on Adrien walked across the dressing room like he was already performing. Striking a few poses to ease Marinette's anxiety. "See?"
It seemed to work as Marinette gave a small smile. "You got that catwalk down," she complimented.
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Really? Thank you."
"Ah-hem," Nathalie cleared her throat. "We have to go." Without waiting for Marinette she turned on her heel and started walking towards the viewing area.
Adrien rolled his eyes but smiled at Marinette's back as she hurried to catch up. Turning back to look at himself in the mirror Adrien scanned his outfit. The suit may have been generic and a few seams too close to last year's entry but Marinette's hat was fire.
"Okay!" Adrien was gonna go out there and make sure they recognized Marinette's talent!
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Holding Marinette's hat to his chest Adrien stuck his head out in a decidedly 'unprofessional' manner. Spotting Marinette's family and a bunch of his friends in the first row. Adrien's blond head caught Nino's eye from across the catwalk and he gave him a thumbs up.
Adrien waved as he ducked back behind the corner before the photographers could take any pictures of the Agreste heir acting like a kid.
You got this, Adrien. Nino's DJ-ing, your classmates came -even though most of them don't care about fashion- with any luck Alix and Kim will tease you about it for the next month.
That would give Adrien the opportunity to dish out a bunch of jokes he never got the chance to use!
The music started; that was his cue.
You got this!
Adrien posed on the runway. Camera flashes already starting. Strutting down the catwalk Adrien smirked at Marinette. See? Stopping at the platform's end he posed in various angles for the photographers. Nino seemed to be enjoying himself too and that made Adrien's smile come much more naturally.
A small eruption boomed behind him and Adrien turned to see Hawkmoth's latest fashion disaster. Gasping, as his heart started hammering in his chest.
"A fashion show without the Queen of Style!? Glitter-ally unacceptable!" The akuma villain announced. "Where's that ungrateful Gabriel Agreste. I demand that he kneels before me!"
Ugh, what has he done now?
"My father isn't here," Adrien snapped in annoyance. Hearing people running for the exits.
"Well, then. If fashion disaster daddy isn't here I'll just have to settle for Agreste Junior! You're fired!"
Adrien's eyes widened as he stepped back. Golden glitter exploding everywhere as his body became numb and his senses dark-
-Glowing ladybugs swirled around him as Adrien had the disorienting feeling of laying down when he could've sworn he'd been standing. Glancing around, Adrien realized he was now at the Eiffel Tower.
"Adrik- Adrien!" Chloe tackled him as he stood, throwing her arms around him. "I was so scared!"
Adrien blinked in surprise as Chloe set her head on his shoulder. Not letting him go... Adrien smiled as he hugged her back. Enjoying this genuine display of affection.
"Pound it!"
Head snapping towards the sound Adrien saw another Black Cat, this one a girl with long, reddish hair, fist bump Ladybug. They grinned at each other in post battle relief.
I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!
A chill to rival Frozer's ice covered Adrien from head to toe. It was one thing to see Ladybug working with a different Black Cat on the news. Quite another to have his replacement. Three. Frickin. Meters. In front of him!
Chloe didn't notice... Or rather Adrien didn't notice when she'd let go to help her mother. Who tried to fire her own daughter as thanks.
Adrien jerked his eyes away from the superhero duo-
I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!
-Away from the Miraculous holders and forced himself to listen to whatever the Bourgeois were saying. Ears ringing as Ladybug and the Black Cat talked about something behind him...
"Oh, mom. If only you knew what a great team we made!" Chloe trailed after her mother as they walked down the tower's stairs; attempting to capture her attention. "We fired a bunch of incompetents. It was awesome. We should really spend more time together! What if I went back to New York with you?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Casserole- Eh, Chloe!" Audrey dismissed. "First I have to get back to Gabriel Agreste's fashion show. And they better..."
Adrien's eyes narrowed as he looked down from the railing, his grip on it tightening. Heat from a growing indignation melting the ice he felt. What did she just call Chloe?
"Adrien Agreste, right? I can give you a lift back if you want."
His tensed body jerked in surprise as Adrien realized Ladybug was standing right behind him. Throat and chest constricting as his thoughts whirled. Spots darkened his vision as he felt lightheaded. Adrien's knuckles becoming white, the metal railing digging into his skin. A single thought rose above the ringing in his ears.
I don't wanna talk to her.
Giving his best model smile, Adrien schooled his features. "Ah, thanks but-" he pointed down, "-I should really check on them."
"O-oh! Of course!"
Ladybug's face was out of focus but Adrien could still feel the melancholy in her voice.
Powering past his queasy stomach Adrien made his way to the stairs. The sound of Ladybug's yo-yo whirring reached his ears; signaling her departure. Adrien took a shuddering gasp as he leaned against a metal pillar for support. Body suddenly limp.
Breath accelerating Adrien tried to calm himself. Why was he up here? Had- Had Audrey's blast mind controlled him? Again!? He couldn't breathe.
Adrien sank to his knees as he felt his skin crawl at the idea of that- that- asshole reaching into his mind and taking away his free will. He hated it! He HATED it!
Gasping as his rage broke him out of the panic, Adrien steadied his breathing... He wanted- no, needed to know what happened... Which meant getting up and moving forward... Forcing himself to his feet Adrien wiped the sweat from his brow and followed the others down.
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"Remind me to tell your father to fire the person in charge of the Eiffel Tower elevators..." Audrie panted. "This is... unacceptable... utterly unacceptable!"
"Of course, mom. Oh!" Chloe glanced down to see what she'd stumbled on.
Adrien looked up as he fanned himself with Marinette's hat.
And dropped it.
He stared open mouthed at the small, black, octagonal box in Chloe's hands. Heartbeat leaping into his throat.
What the hell is THAT doing here!?
"Ooh! What's this?" Chloe turned the box around in her hands but didn't open it.
Adrien suddenly forgot his exhaustion and rushed to her side. The lie coming easily to his lips. "Oh, I recognize that! They sell them at antique shops."
"Ew, it's old! Get it away from me!" Chloe practically hurled it at Adrien.
Catching it easily. A thrill ran up Adrien's arms and down his spine as the box made contact with his skin. The hairs at the back of his neck standing on end.
Chloe dusted her hands and kept walking. Glancing nervously at her mother. Hoping Audrey hadn't seen her with something so outdated.
I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! The voice in his head said.
Shut up, Adrien told it as he stared at the unknown Miraculous in his hand. Heartbeat hammering in his chest. But it wasn't from fear. No, it was... anticipation.
The corners of Adrien's lips curled upwards.
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Notes: Oh, would you look at that. I'm back! It only took... eight months!
#style queen#ml au#adrien angst#adrien agreste#chloe bourgeois#audrey bourgeois#ml fanfic#ml angst#canon divergent au#canon divergence
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Hit on the groom and what became of it - chapter 1/I will keep missing you (if you don’t stop running)
Disclaimer: I don’t own DC or Miraculous. I’m just playing with some crazy concept.
Chapter 1 (here) -|- Next
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Ladybug landed on top of the Eiffel tower with practiced grace. An agitated worry roiling in her chest about the message Chat Noir left her. The urgency was one thing, but he sounded… pained. Like the weight of the world dragged him down type pain.
Marinette knew Chat’s home life wasn’t perfect. Skilled at hiding it, maybe, but details leaked through the cracks. An offhand comment here, a muttered accusation there, a sour face yet again here. He lived in pain and tried so hard to work through it.
She tried to help him whenever she could, both as Ladybug and Marinette. She may not return his feelings, but she always listened. For months during their third year as heroes, she left food on the rooftop when Chat’s suit revealed too many ribs. She wasn’t sure the reason and didn’t dare to ask, lest she learned too much, but she did try to help. There were times she thought she imagined the pained looks, and thin frame, and thinly veiled comments; maybe overexaggerating the situation in her mind, as she often did. After all, he always acted so cheerfully.
Then, Lila happened.
The first strike landed swift, almost deadly, but she survived. It was what followed that made her reconsider. A prolonged fight, where Marinette chose to retain a cheerful mask to hide the pain. Along the line, she considered confiding in her parents. But what could they do? Maybe take her from school, but that would mean Lila already won; the Liar would rule unopposed.
Which left Adrien, her last bastion of friendship.
She still harbored a bit of a crush on him, but it was justified! Like a knight in shining armor, he stood, always ready to defend her. He always ensured her inclusion in class activities and saved her from several catastrophes.
She still stumbled over her words with him, but when it’s minor stuttering or not talking to anyone, she forced herself to adapt. It was nowhere near as bad as it used to be.
With the ability to spend more time with Adrien without acting like a spaz, Kagami also appeared more often, and proved to be a good friend. Marinette found a home with the two awkward rich kids ridiculously clueless and unaware of how the real world functioned. In the end, she even grew to accept Adrien might not be destined to be hers but chose to support him nonetheless.
“My lady?” She was broken out of her musing by a familiar voice.
“Hello, Kitty-cat. I got your message… what’s wrong?” She turned to see Cat Noir slumped over the railing, with his ears tweaking nervously. She didn’t even know he could do it.
“I… I’m sorry my Lady, but I can’t… I can’t continue to be your partner,” he declared.
“What?!” she squeaked. “What happened? What’s the matter?”
“I’m… I’m getting married,” he announced, his ears drooping and tail tucked between his legs.
Oh, that’s… not what she expected to hear. “Married? Congrat…” she drifted off, noticing his sour face. “Chat? What are you not telling me?”
“It’s… I… My…” He struggled to figure out how to say it, but ultimately remained silent for a moment. “There is nothing to be happy about. It’s a… business marriage,” he spat, his eyes narrowing.
“But… those are illegal!” Ladybug protested.
“Not when you make it look like a love match. Especially if you insinuate at a scandal.” He sneered, jumping off the railing and pacing along the empty rooftop. “My father holds all the cards and I… I’m in no position to oppose him.”
“I’m sure we can…”
He sighed, walking over to her. “Please… M’lady. Don’t try to give me hope. I accepted what I must do.” With that, he reached for the ring, but she stopped him.
“Chat. We can try… You’re my friend. You can’t… We will figure it out. Together.” In all they’d endured, suffered, and triumphed - Marinette had never seen him this despondent… this broken.
He sighed, his eyes flat and dull. “There is nothing to figure out,” he said, forcing the ring off his finger.
The transformation fell, leaving Adrien Agreste materialized in place of her long-time partner. Plagg’s sharp cry cut off, as he’s sucked into the ring the second he popped out of it. She stood there, too stunned to notice the blond boy pushed the ring into her palm and closed it.
Marinette wasn’t sure what thoughts decided to rampantly rage through her head, but the train of thoughts probably broke the collective speed limit everywhere in the world at the same time.
“M’lady?” Adrien’s soft voice brought her to earth when she was one step from panic.
“A-Adrien?” She choked on the word.
“You heard about me?” He looked dumbfounded. Ladybug, too shocked to say a word, gestured over to the building line. Even from so high and far away, his most recent billboard advertisement stood visible. “Ah… right.”
“Who… who’s the lucky girl?” Inside her mind, she wondered if Kagami right now faced a similar problem. It was the most logical…
“Lila Rossi,” Adrien admitted, his shoulders hunching.
Marinette.exe stopped working.
A moment passed.
Another.
“Um… M’Lady?” The boy tried to prod his ex-partner to respond by waving his hand in front of her face.
“That… that lying…” Ladybug saw red. This could not be happening.
Adrien nodded, the despondent look on his face growing worse every second.“My father deemed her a suitable heiress to the Gabriel brand… I tried to warn him she was a liar, but he… I think he actually admires her skill…” Tears built in his eyes, and Adrien covertly tried to wipe them away.
“Maybe… maybe you could… I don’t know!” she screamed in frustration. Marinette had several ideas about what Adrien could do, but none of them would help.
Running away would be a problem. Leaking the story to the press would lead to his home life growing even worse. After dealing with Gabriel Agreste’s parenting, she held no illusion Adrien could win a court battle. The rich too often got away with whatever they desired. She could try to sicc Uncle Jagged on the case… or maybe Clara Nightingale… Nadia Chamack would probably love the news-breaking story, but it would all put Adrien in danger. Who knows what would happen before they could obtain results or protection against Gabriel’s extensive reach.
Adrien sighed as if knowing exactly where her thoughts took her. Chat was no dummy, he probably scoured over his options more times than he could count. His resignation, the last resort in a long line of failed plans. “I appreciate you trying, but I already told you I accepted it. Just… take me down, please. I… I didn’t really plan the location well…” He let out a weak chuckle.
“Fine… I’m sorry kitty...” She grabbed hold of him and swung to the ground. Despondently she watched her best friend, her partner, walk away into the night; resigned to a life of suffering and isolation.
There must be something she could do, she thought. She closed a gloved fist around the ring. She was Ladybug, and if she put her mind to it, there was nothing she couldn't do.
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A week later the press learned about the upcoming wedding. Adrien and Lila both left school for home-school. The press and the general public ate up the news story about star-crossed lovers that met in school and became inseparable. It didn’t help that the class kept commenting about how good they were for each other.
Marinette resisted an urge to gag whenever she caught the sound of the vicious lies and propaganda. She was asked for comment only once but chose to refuse. It didn’t earn her any popularity in class. Luckily, she convinced Nadia to stop a nasty side-story about her jealousy from being published.
No closer to a plan, she despondently continued to push through her life without her friend. She, unsurprisingly, hadn’t received a single text or call. Marinette didn’t blame Adrien; his position couldn’t be easy. A month after Adrien departed from her class, Marinette convinced her parents to also home-school her. Without a single friend, the school became a burden. Of course, her reasoning to her parents leaned into her focus on her fashion business. Which wasn’t untrue. It was starting to pick up.
The only upside to this whole debacle was near-lack of akuma attacks. It seemed Hawkmoth found a hobby. Maybe he wrote poems?
Nah. Not his style...
Two months after the announcement Marinette woke to surprise guests: Adrien, his father, and Lila knocked on the bakery’s doors. The bride-to-be in an especially sour mood, as much as she tried to hide it. Gabriel appeared to be devoid of any emotions, as usual.
She seated them on the couch and asked if they would like a drink. She didn’t bother to offer food, not wanting to waste good cake on the likes of Lila and Gabriel. Although, Adrien’s thin cheeks and haunted eyes made her regret the decision.
All of them declined the drink.
“Madame Marinette, I assume you have heard of the Wedding?” The capitalization clearly discernible in his voice.
“Yes… Yes sir!” she corrected herself. Trying desperately to mask her disgust behind a layer of nervousness. She couldn’t risk a glance at Adrien, even if this was the first time she’d seen him since that night on the roof. Making it through the meeting would be hard enough without watching him suffer.
“While initially, I planned to prepare the dress and suit myself, my son convinced me to give a chance to someone else to shine.” Clearly, whatever it was Adrien said, it didn’t include a polite request. “I have seen the dress you made for Rock Star Jagged Stone’s wedding, as well as the suit worn by Nadia Chamack.”
“They are designs I’m particularly proud of, sir.”
Play the part. Play the part. Don’t send him to the hospital. Papa and Maman would be disappointed. Well, Maman would probably join me…
Her homicidal train of thought ended as she forced a smile to appear on her face. Contrary to Lila’s stretched thin lips; Marinette’s smile shines bright and could’ve been mistaken for genuine.
“Indeed… I’ve come to commission you to design and make the gown and the suit for the sweet couple.” He announced like it was the highest honor, but there was an amount of bile in his words Marinette used to think was reserved only for Nino.
“I… I’m… I’m honored, sir!” She beamed. The excitement only half-forced. Her moral compass told her even entertaining the proposal was wrong, but at the same time, her brain furiously flitted crafting possibilities.
Gabriel nodded imperiously as if her acceptance merely added to a foregone conclusion. “Good. My assistant, Nathalie, will sort out the details. Lex Luthor agreed to pay for the pieces as his wedding gift, so do not be afraid to ask for full price.” He informed her t as if he believed she would give him a discount.
For a moment, a singular reckless moment, Marinette entertained the temptation to voice her thoughts about Gabriel being cheap.
She sighed, no, there would be another day for career suicide. The group rose to leave, and Marinette finally glanced at Adrien; his model-trained smile paper-thin. He caught her eyes, and if he radiated sadness two months ago, it didn’t hold a candle to the devastation swimming in his eyes. The exchange broke when Lila gripped a hand tight around his arm and dragged him to the door.
Gabriel handed her a card, and the group departed. Marinette collapsed onto the couch, the makings of a headache building in her skull.
This would be awful.
------------
A week later Marinette held a separate meeting, consisting of Nathalie, Lila, Lila’s mother, and Adrien’s aunt. And her, obviously.
She first asked what kind of dress Lila wanted.
Lila’s eyes lit up in an unholy glee; and she started talking.
And talking.
And talking.
And talking.
After the long and painstakingly thorough description, Marinette felt faint. Several reasons contributed to that, although the most prominent were the materials, the design, and the way she spoke. Obviously Lila had feelings, the kind likely to trigger an oncoming Auma attack if Hawkmoth hadn’t pranced off to who knows where, about Marinette designing her dress.
Marinette was happy Adrien’s aunt pointed out the request’s complete madness, but Lila’s mother waved it off, quick to declare only minor adjustments to the request would be needed.
In the end, Marinette presented several dozen designs, both hers and foreign to have a basis on which she could work. Lila, of course, chose the one that would be hardest to make.
“I’m sorry none of your designs were good, Marinette…” The liar cooed with faked sorrow. She hid a smirk the designer could clearly see.
The notion was born because it was a picture and not a sketch.
Marinette smirked, and rose from the couch, ignoring Lila’s irritated scowl at her non-reaction.
She liked it even less when the girl brought in the ready-made dress.
“I made it as the first design for Penny Rolling’s wedding, based on Uncle Jagged’s suggestions. I should’ve known Penny didn’t approve of his idea, but…” she waved it off.
Lila, now actively glaring at her, sat back on the couch. All of which was mistaken for amazement by the adults.
Marinette ignored the girl’s dramatics, it was the only way she’d survive this meeting intact. “Of course, there still needs to be several adjustments and personalizations. I will also need to order the amber you requested. And the platinum thread. And the white gold. And probably an industrial-grade 3-D printer… Is that covered by the expenses?” She looked at Nathalie, who nodded. “Great! I will need just a moment.”
The women watched as Marinette practically leaped at her notebook and added in adjustments to the sketch. Fifteen minutes later, when she presented a new design, impressing them all (sans Lila, obviously) with the flowing lines and intricate details. They praised her talent (even Natalie), and Marinette played the bashful young designer role to a tee. The liar kept glaring though. She couldn’t back away easily, since she already made a scene about wanting that specific dress. Marinette informed them beforehand she would need to know about her specific wishes before she made any adjustments.
The final design looked pretty much exactly what Lila wanted though, but she didn’t want to give her nemesis the satisfaction. Her entourage did enough of this.
Under the cover of being too emotional, they ended the meeting. Nathalie remained to finish the deal and sign the contract.
After all of them left, Marinette collapsed onto her chair. An hour later a notification from her bank came. She received the first half of the payment. When finished, the dress would officially be the most expensive wedding dress to date. Blessed be Lex Luthor and his deep pocket. She chuckled, remembering how much the billionaire got kidnapped because of his money.
Then, an idea shined in her head.
Oh.
Oh...
She took off her earrings and dismissed Tikki, promising she needed a quick chat with Plagg about a new potential holder. When Marinette put on the ring, the Kwami of destruction popped back into existence.
“So… figured out how to help my chosen?” he asked.
What Tikki didn’t know was when Marinette said she intended to discuss potential holders for Plagg, they really worked on a way to save Adrien. It was their secret since Tikki would most likely disapprove. They didn’t want to risk her disappointment in them. Not until they crafted a fleshed out full-proof plan.
She nodded. “I have an idea. Let’s hire someone to kidnap him!”
Plagg rolled his eyes. “Did they hit you on the head, pigtails?”
“No. But look, the problem is whatever we come up with, Adrien ends up blamed or we land ourselves in jail, right?” The Kwami nodded. “So… if we make sure it’s a very public kidnapping and he disappears, we can stash him away until the heat dies down. After we dye his hair and apply fast-tan, he will look different enough no one will connect the two. I’m pretty sure I could get my hands on fake documents if I tried hard enough…” she trailed off thinking of all the minutiae to coordinate to pull this off.
It would be hard.
But it would be worth it.
Plagg slowly nods. “Okay… Somehow, that both makes no sense and seems perfectly legitimate. It’s also your most chaotic plan to date, Pigtails. Let’s do it!” The Kwami cheered, happy to be soon reunited with his chosen kitten. “But what about the costs!”
Marinette already had an answer in mind for that question. “Even after I subtract the costs of materials and other supplies, the payment for the dress, together with my savings, will be more than enough. Now… let’s go wake Tikki up.”
That… ended with the Kwami of Creation vomiting a pile of handcuffs and other police gear at Marinette.
“Um… Why?”
The little red Kwammi placed her paws on her hips. “Because you should familiarize yourself with those if you plan on going to prison for that plan. It’s no longer just a phone theft, Marinette! You’re talking about breaking more laws than I can count!” She dropped to the pillow below, bemoaning about where she went wrong.
Marinette scooped up her wayward friend and tried to reassure her. “I just need to be careful. I’m pretty sure I can do it without detection. Maman taught me how to not be seen on the internet. Or in general. Come on. I need to order a secure laptop.”
“I will help!” Plagg offered. “I can cataclysm the internet after you do your thing.”
“What?! No! Think of the cute cat pictures!” Marinette protested. “And video games.”
“Relax! It’ll just remove any trace of you doing anything online in the several hours or so…” He calmed her.
Tikki trailed after them, a bundle of nerves and worry. “Plagg! It’s irresponsible! You can’t possibly…”
“Pigtails and I have it all under control. What’s the worst that could happen?”
---------
Turns out, a lot.
Before Marinette put out the hit (kidnapping, she made sure that it was plain as day), she needed to set a price. That one was harder. It wasn’t like you could Google how much you needed to charge to kidnap a celebrity. At least, not without attracting a lot of unwanted attention.
She asked her mother, under the guise of pure curiosity. It was a normal question any teenage girl asked her mother. How much does it cost to have someone killed, how much cheaper/more expensive a kidnapping is, how to acquire fake documents, that kind of stuff. Not suspicious at all.
So absorbed in her rant, she missed a merry glint in Sabine’s eyes. She also didn’t question how her Maman knew those prices.
Finally, she needed to fill the form.
Assignment: Acquisition and Delivery
Asset(s): Adrien Athanase Agreste
Value:
Here, Marinette paused.
Her mom gave her a lengthy lecture about pricing and all. According to her, a professional would take up to fifty thousand dollars for kidnapping and bringing the target to her. Marinette decided, since Adrien was a celebrity, she should double the price. More risks involved, more reward, right?
But, she also wanted to ensure she hired the best of the best. Compare her work to Gabriel Agreste’s, she came to the conclusion ten times the price was reasonable to ensure only the best in the field would take the job.
Then, there was the matter of safety and so on and so on. By the end, she settled on two million dollars, as her asking price for one Adrien Agreste. Plagg sagely nodded, agreeing with her assessment. Tikki didn’t comment, as she wasn’t speaking to the two, but also seemed more accepting after spying on Adrien and Lila’s home life. Not that she revealed that tidbit to either of them, lest they drop the plan and directly go at Gabe and the Liar.
After a few more details and boxes in the form Marinette filled until she came to the end. Only one more detail remained:
Sponsor:
Marinette stared at the word for a moment. After a quick race of thoughts, she typed slowly.
Sponsor: The Seamstress
Perfect. Nothing about this could go wrong.
Of course, how could she predict just how big of a mess she would make?
----------
#maribat#marinette dupain cheng#BAMF Marinette#adrien agreste#miraculous#miraculous ladybug#mlb#mlb x dc#dc#DC comics
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Reflexes
A quick fic inspired by this gif set
Over the last three years of being Ladybug, Marinette had changed in several ways. The two most notable to those around her were both physical. One, she was buff. Like, she could beat Kim at wrestling kind of buff. When she wore bikinis to the beach with her friends, they'd all stare at her abs for a moment. Alya constantly asked her how she had gotten so ripped but never got a straight answer. It's not like Marinette could exactly say that she had gotten strong by fighting villains all day.
The other thing that had become most noticeable was her fighting skills. Few of her friends ever witnessed anything as fighting wasn't a super common civilian issue, but Alya saw her take down a mugger with one hand. Nobody really believed her when she told people about it - "Oh, sweet little Marinette couldn't hurt a fly," they often said - but she still made a note not to startle her or get on her bad side.
One of the most problematic changes that she'd made, though, was her fighting instincts. While it came in handy during fights with akumas, she often found herself judo-flipping her partner, Chat Noir, when he snuck up on her. The worst part was that he never learned to give her some warning, so it wasn't an uncommon occurrence to accidentally throw her best friend off of roofs. Of course, he was always okay. Not only did he have his staff and super-agility, but he'd learned to expect it. That only made her feel more guilty.
~ o n e d a y ~
Ladybug leaned against the chimney of one of the several rooftops of Paris. She was looking down at her yoyo's screen, catching up on some fan emails, while she waited for her partner. Suddenly, she felt the sudden presence of someone behind her, a hand reaching toward her. Instinctively, she grabbed the wrist and slammed the attacker down on the ground in front of her. She kept the arm in her grasp and put a foot on the person's chest to hold them down. The laughter that followed registered before the face did. She immediately let go and took her foot off of the blonde and held down a hand to help him up. Once he was standing again, he worked to control his laughter.
"Stupid cat, I've told you over and over again not to sneak up on me like that! You know that I react like that to being startled," she grumbled, closing up her yoyo and attaching it to her hip.
"I know, I know. But it's kinda funny," he wiped a tear from his eye.
"It won't be so funny when you dull my reflexes and I get my miraculous stolen by a villain," she retorted, pushing him playfully but sternly on the shoulder.
"My lady, you could never be dull, not even your reflexes." His eyes shone with adoration and she rolled her eyes. She had to admit that his flirtiness had gotten a lot sweeter in the past few months as they got to know each other deeper and deeper.
"Yeah, whatever, kitty. Are you ready to go on patrol?"
"With you? Always."
The two leaped from the rooftop and began scanning the streets of Paris for any akumas or citizens in need of help. They helped an elderly woman gather the groceries that had fallen through a hole in her bag and helped prevent a traffic collision. As always, they stopped by the bench where Mr. Ramier sat with his pigeons and chatted with him, bringing him comfort. The man had gone through a lot of trauma, having been akumatized over 50 times. Finally, the sun began to set and they decided to call it a night.
~
Marinette stretched and yawned, extremely tired. As soon as they'd gotten home from patrol, they got an akuma alert and had stayed up until nearly 5 am fighting.
"I don't know how I'm gonna make it through the day on only two hours of sleep," Marinette commented as she messily pulled her hair into her signature pigtails.
"You've got this, Marinette! I know you can do it!" Her kwami pressed against her cheek in a hug and the girl felt energized just from the affection from the small creature.
"Thanks, Tikki," she smiled. Then she opened her bag for her to fly into and headed for school.
"Hey, girl!" Alya called from across the courtyard. She was standing near the stairs talking to Nino. Marinette managed to jog over there and greeted her friends.
"Oh man, you look terrible," Nino commented. Alya jabbed him in the side. "I mean, you seem tired. You okay, dude?"
Marinette nodded. "Yeah, the noise from the akuma last night kept me up," she fibbed.
"Oh that's right, it was right over by the bakery, wasn't it? Did you see that villain though? Hawkmoth is really stepping up his game!" Alya continued to talk about the night's battle, giving Marinette a chance to zone out for a moment since she didn't need a rundown of the battle she'd fought. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She jumped and her instincts took over. She grabbed the wrist of the person behind her before they could even tighten their grip and threw them with a slam onto the ground a few feet in front of her. Then, she processed what had just happened and who she had just thrown. She rushed over to him and offered a hand to help him up.
"Oh my god! ARE YOU SORRY? I mean- I'm okay! I mean... uh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay, Adrien?" He stood up and stared at her in shock.
"I told you! I told you she was a damn ninja! Mylene owes me $10," Alya celebrated. But neither of the pair was paying any attention to her. Marinette was too lost trying to decipher Adrien's gaze and why he had yet to let go of her hand. The bell rang and students filtered out of the courtyard and into classrooms and eventually, the two were alone.
"I- ah, Adrien?" Marinette stammered, her face still a bright red but her thoughts more clouded by confusion than romance.
"I guess your reflexes haven't dulled yet," he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. Marinette paused for a second, trying to figure out why the phrase sounded so familiar before it hit her.
"It won't be so funny when you dull my reflexes and I get my miraculous stolen by a villain."
"My lady, you could never be dull, not even your reflexes."
She felt her knees give out and she fell to the ground. Adrien quickly moved to kneel down beside her. She just stared at the blonde for a while, her eyes wide and brain moving at a thousand miles per minute.
"Chat... Chat Noir?" She finally pushed the words out of her lips, though they were a struggle. It felt impossible. Adrien was so different from Chat Noir. But, when she thought about it, it all made sense. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.
"It's really you, buganette," he whispered into her hair, returning the embrace.
"My kitty."
#ml fanfic#miraculous ladybug#miraculous fanfic#mlb#fanfic#ladynoir#adrienette#ladynoir fic#adreinette fic
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The death we never knew 2
Part 2
@maribatmarch-2k21 Day 14: Death
This is the second part, Part 1, while Reverse Robins I wrote today’s prompt simultaneously and I decided to do both off the same idea also here ya go
~~~~~~~~~~
How did this happen. They had no idea what the akuma could do so they had to act. Unfortunately, the akuma could reverse the age of whoever they hit. For most people it was that they seemed to cease to exist. Except when he was hit, he turned into a toddler, something about the miraculous stopping it enough that he would not go poof. But that lead Bunnix to push him through the Borrow and into the Wayne Manor living room.
"I don't see why we had to jump into another timeline, Bunnix," he spoke up.
"Because whether or not you like it, Hellcat, you can't fight that size or age." Bunnix answered. "There is too much strain on you by the miraculous."
"Fine," He walked towards who he could recognize as an older version of himself (Heretic flashbacks). "Plagg, claws in." In a flash of green there he stood as a toddler version of himself, Plagg flopped on his head. He fed Plagg ad then he addressed his older self, as he removed his miraculous. "This is the Miraculous of the Black Cat; with it you gain the power of Destruction. You will use it to help Ladybug and the court to defeat the akuma. The cure will return you here afterwards."
"What the bat is going on!" One of the others yelled.
Damian had snuck his ring on Big Damian's hand. "Say Plagg, claws out." Big Damian repeated and in a flash of green appeared to be in a more complex version of Hellcat. "To use your power, say 'cataclysm' and whatever you touch will be destroyed."
"Enough of the tutorial, come on Hellcat senior." Bunnix grabbed older him and pulled him through the portal.
---
Damian was left in a silent living room moments before questions erupted.
"Damian?" Father asked, quieting the rest. Damian walked over and sat next to Bruce.
"Yes?" he answered once seated.
"What happened?"
"First where is Marinette?"
"Who?"
"My sister, your biological daughter."
"What! I have another sister! Yes!" the youngest there after him began to jump up and down and doing flips on the furniture.
"Dick?" Damian breathed, the boy in question froze.
"Did you just call me Dick." A smile spread on his face.
"Yes," he was charged with a hug. "Wait if your Grayson, then your Todd, and Drake. I'm the oldest here?"
"Why is that so surprising Demon spawn." Todd asked.
"Because I'm the youngest in my timeline." He shot up and squirmed out of Grayson's hug. "Drake, can I?"
"Sure." He moved the laptop towards him.
He quickly typed in the name Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the name she uses in France. Immediately the first result was from TVi.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was revealed to be the Parisian heroine, Ladybug, who perished shortly after the defeat of the Magical Emotional Terrorist, Hawkmoth, or Gabriel Agreste. Mlle. Dupain-Cheng fought for close to five years along side Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste, Honeybee, Viperion, and Ryuko. The Miraculous Court later revealed the reason for the passing of Ladybug. As many Parisians know, Hawkmoth sought out the Miraculous jewels used by Ladybug and Chat Noir. The court revealed that by combining these two the person is able to be granted a wish. Why are we revealing this? Well in order for Hawkmoth to not get the jewels in a final attempt. Lady bag combined them and hand the wish to release all deities bound to all the Miraculous. However, a price had to be paid, the price was Mlle. Dupain-Cheng's life.
The family was silent for a while as they processed, they had a here sibling/daughter they never had the chance of meeting because she died. Damian tentatively broke the silence.
"Drake," he began. "Were you. Were you tortured and brainwashed by the Joker?" Sure, Damian was still blunt, but he had tact when dealing with sensitive topics. Even if this was spoken slowly and questions laced every word.
"I was. Why is it important?"
"Todd?" with uncertainty he asked another question. "Did the Joker kill you?" Damian shut his eyes as the room went quiet for the second time in fifteen minutes.
"No. I haven't been killed." he answered just as slow.
Damian took a shattering breath.
"Damian what is this about?" Father asked, hesitantly placing his hands-on toddler Damian's shoulders.
"Certain events must and always will play out for the timeline to remain stable. Grayson's parents, Todd being a street kid. Tim figuring out your identity." He looked up meeting his father's eyes. "For you it's to be a witness to your child turning against you and for another to be killed."
"You asked Jay as if he was brought back." Grayson supplied with a hint of optimism.
"He was in my timeline, using the Lazarus Pit."
"Why can't we do that with your sister?" He asked even more hopeful.
A humorless chuckle escaped him. "Apart from the fact my mother would have tried. There are two reasons why Qamari wouldn't have been revived if we try now. One the body has decomposed too much by now and her soul has most likely left completely. And two her soul is that of creation itself. Souls directly linked to the miraculous like hers cannot be revived no matter what, since they are reborn, the moment they truly die."
"But it's not fair that she can't be brought back." Grayson hugged him again.
"Sure, you didn't meet her here, but I know my sister. She wouldn't want you to cry for her. Actually." His head shot up and looked for. "Grandfather can you help me in the kitchen?"
"Of course, Damian," Alfred responded in turn. "May I ask what we are to make?"
"Mari's double chocolate chip cookies."
"Very well."
With that the entire Wayne household marched into the kitchen. Watching enthused as Damian specified what was needed, how much, and when to Alfred. Writing down the recipe for him exactly. Damian didn't cook or bake but he watched Mari to it to the point he memorized her recipes. So, each on a different page he wrote a recipe Mari makes for each one of them, even for the him of this world. Folding each and writing their respective names on their recipes.
"So, you all have a piece of her." He set the stack of cards next to the cooling cookies and stepped away from the counter, anticipating what was going to happen next.
---
A swarm of ladybugs covered him and grew into the Damian they all knew before.
"Why did we all move to the kitchen?" he asked almost immediately.
"Little you gave Alfred your sister's cookie recipe." Todd spoke up. "And he left these."
He handed him a stack of cards.
- From our sister to all of you.
He handed out the cards as they ate the cookies. Sure, he saw his sister again, even if she wasn't the one he lost. But he will never forget her, how could he when he can see a bit of her in each of his siblings.
Part 1
~~~~~~~~~~
Permanent Taglist: @itsmeevie01 @adrestar @miraculouspenta @vixen-uchiha @animegirlweeb @jumpingjoy82 @thedragonbug
Part 2 tagist @thefangirlwholiterallydies
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