#platonic timari
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Wrong Wayne
Marinette was shocked when she got to work that day, at Wayne Enterprise. Someone had set up a desk and laptop, outside of Damian's office. Some random girl was sitting there, smiling.
Marinette walked over to the office and the girl jumped up from her desk.
"Mr. Wayne, isn't in." she smiled, "Do you have an appointment? I can let him know who you are when he arrives."
"And you are?" Marinette questioned.
"I'm Damian Wayne's newest secretary." she answered.
Marinette turned around and pulled her cell phone out. She immediately began to text Tim.
Coffee Buddy: We have a sitch in front of Damian's office. Bring up CCTV.
Espresso King: Who is that?
Coffee Buddy: Claims new secretary. Send security up and look thru footage. Must have moved someone's desk cuz I can still see my desk in the office.
Espresso King: Got it
Not a minute later, Damian stepped out of the elevator.
"Mr. Wayne, I-" the new secretary began.
"Who the fuck is this?" Damian asked.
The secretary panicked, "I-I didn't get her name! I'm very sorry! I-"
Damian glared at her, "Did I ask you? Marinette, who the fuck is this?"
"She claims to be your new secretary." Marinette answered, "Damian, you didn't tell me you were firing me."
The girl paled, further.
"You-You're stuff was cleared out!" she shouted, "It should be obvious now that you're no longer needed here!"
Marinette sighed, "My stuff is in Mr. Wayne's office."
Damian opened the door, allowing the girl to peer inside. As Marinette stated, there were two desks. One by the door, which she could tell belonged to his actual secretary. The other desk by the windows, must belong to Damian.
"Why?" she questioned.
"I'm barely here." Damian stated, "Marinette does most of the work to keep me updated. I'm here only when I need to be and only then."
Mari smiled, "You have a meeting in ten minutes. I left the details on your desk last night. It's with the board of directors for the new animal clinics on 5th and Main. There's a list on top of important bullet points for you to scan over on the first page."
Damian nodded as he headed to his desk. He picked up the packet and quickly started to read it over.
The lady looked around when security got on the floor. Marinette stood by as they put her in handcuffs.
"Why are you doing this?" she screamed, "I work for Mr. Wayne."
"No, you don't." stated Damian, "I do not know who you are. I tell every secretary, I fire, when it is their last two weeks. Miss Dupain-Cheng is by far, the best person to do the job assigned to her. I have no intention of letting her go."
"You bitch! You can't separate us now! We were meant to be!" the lady shouted, "You helped me that day at the Gala.. You picked up my bracelet after that jerk threw it!
"I rarely attend those annoying things." Damian spoke, "When I do, I tend to stay away from people. The last thing I would do is go out of my way for some trinket."
"We were ten." she smiled, "It was like a dream come true."
"I never stepped foot in Gotham until I was ten." the Wayne heir replied, "My first gala was at age thirteen."
"N-No!" she screamed, stomping her foot, " We met when we were ten!"
"You are likely thinking of one of the children my father adopted; liekly Drake." Damian announced, "He was the youngest Wayne before me."
"Drake?" the girl questioned.
"Timothy Drake-Wayne is the current Co-CEO with Mr. Bruce Wayne." Mari declared, "Timothy Drake became a Wayne at age twelve. Before that, he was heir to the Drake Industries. Mr. Wayne took him in after his parents past away and his step-mother was admitted to a facility in Bludhaven."
"Sharing my life story, Coffee Buddy?" Tim questioned, announcing himself, "We found out who the mystery secretary is. Her name is Maybel Evergreen. Her brother is a night guard. We're having GCPD heading to pick him up now."
"No!" Maybel screamed, "He didn't know about this! I told him I had a lot of work to do and wasn't given my badge, yet! He really thinks I work here! He's a single dad of a two year old. Please, I'll-I'll tell you everything just don't involve him!"
"We'll see if that's true." he spoke, walking away.
He made a call to GCPD to pick up the girl and leave the brother for leverage.
As he walked back to the sobbing lady, he looked her over, closely.
'She seems familiar.'
He snapped his fingers, gaining everyone's attention.
"Gold bracelet with opals." He called out.
"Told you." Damian muttered.
The lady looked at him shocked and nodded.
"Why did you harass my younger brother?" Tim questioned.
"Actually, she mixed you two up." Marinette explained.
"Us?" Tim asked, "Me?"
Damian sighed, annoyed, "She claims to have a crush on you since you helped her that day with her trinket. She wanted to 'help' you, too."
Tim blushed, "Oh, um, that's nice, but I'm afraid I'm seeing someone. His name is Bernard."
"Oh." she spoke, looking down at the floor.
"If you still....want to help, you can always apply." Tim offered.
"Really?" Maybel asked.
"You're dedicated; that's for sure." Tim chuckled, "You do still have to go to the GCPD and they can figure out what the damage is. Next time, just apply. I cannot guarantee that you will work with me, though."
Maybel smiled, "Thank you."
"Damian, you have a meeting in three." Marinette announced.
Damian locked the office and left with Marinette at his heels, reading over the packet.
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#marinette dupain cheng#damian wayne#tim drake#wayne enterprises#dc x mlb#mlb x dc#misunderstanding#secretary marinette#wrong wayne#infactuation#bi tim drake#maribat#marinette x damian#damian x marinette#platonic daminette#platonic timari#big brother tim#mochinek0
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Work burned me out, middle management positions are draining. What was supposed to be an angsty oneshot is now… yeah I’m continuing it. Not a full series, just a two-parter… hopefully.
Edit: I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK THIS CLUSTERFUCK OF AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER IS, but BUCKLE IN BECAUSE IT PROBABLY DOESN’T PASS SAFETY REGULATIONS! HOOOOO BOY
Part 1
—*—*—*—*—*
“…” she stared at the being in front of her, face frighteningly blank. Next to her, Bruce fidgeted.
“I’m not going anywhere, so you either gotta learn to love me real quick or get lost quicker,” the child snarked from where he was sitting upside-down on the bat computer chair. “And don’t call me Richard, my name’s Dick.”
“I don’t remember you working with a fetus, Batman,” Marinette slowly drawled, emphasizing the vigilante’s name despite none of the three of them being suited up. Dick shot up with a cry of indignation.
“I am not a fetus! I’m fifteen! I’ve been Robin since I was twelve!”
“Nope,” Marinette countered, unmoved. “I started out as Ladybug when I was twelve, and I was never as small as you,” she blatantly lied. Dick was already taller than her, which wasn’t much of an achievement considering that she was five-foot-one-inch tall. “You are six years old, tops.”
Dick let out an almost inhuman screech of complaint. Even as he rambled on angrily about how wrong she was, Marinette only nodded as if he proved her right about something.
“That was a good squawk though. Definitely a birdie.”
It took another twenty minutes before Dick ran off to tell on Marinette to Alfred, giving her and Bruce some alone time. With which she used to whirl to him and immediately hiss in equal parts fury and worry;
“Please tell me he wasn’t—“
“The timeline is gone,” Bruce reminded her, bracing her by putting both his hands on her shoulders. “He doesn’t remember.”
“Still!”
He let out such a heavy sigh that he seemed to deflate with it, his dark circles growing more pronounced.
“He wasn’t supposed to be,” he admitted softly. “When he turned sixteen, last time, I allowed him to form his own team of teen heroes. Supervised from afar by myself of course, not that they knew that. I had given them the order to stay back and guard their city, but they disobeyed me and snuck onto the battlefield anyway.”
Marinette rubbed at her temples, nodding. “Teenagers have a habit of doing that. This time around, can we ask Bunnyx to supervise them? She has all the energy of a teenager, so she’ll fit in, but the maturity of someone trusted to guard all the timelines.”
Bruce paused, thinking of what little he knew of the pastel rabbit themed hero, and then reluctantly nodded. “That… might be for the best. And giving them more opportunities to train with…” he hummed, hand on his chin. “I might actually change things up, in that case. Instead of jumping to put teens on their own in a tower, the old Justice League headquarters is more protected. And if we started with the ‘sidekicks’,” he gave very purposeful air quotes, “of other Leaguers, it would create a better support system than letting teenagers run around with… really, not enough regulation.”
“Gotta love hindsight,” Marinette agreed with a nod. “The whole teenagers by themselves thing only worked for my team because we were overly traumatized and each saw different apocalypses before we turned sixteen. Bunnyx could fix them herself back then, but still.”
“Best to do better by the new generation,” Bruce agreed with her unspoken statement. “I can still put that old team together again when they’re older, support their development elsewhere in the meantime.”
“Oh, and now that we’re done on that topic,” Marinette snapped her fingers before pointing to the staircase that Dick had disappeared up. “He’s going to make my life a living hell, isn’t he?”
Bruce groaned, offering her a lopsided grimace of apology. “He’s a menace,” he agreed. “He’s scared away any woman I’ve brought to the house, even though most of them are completely platonic. I have to make the press believe the whole playboy thing somehow, and inviting my friends over to chat is the easiest way to do so without breaking hearts for real. Dick hasn’t caught on yet,” Bruce rubbed his forehead. “His antics to scare away Selina Kyle are legendary already, and she’s sapphic. She couldn’t be attracted to me if I was the last man on earth.”
“Could have fooled me,” Marinette teased, suddenly impish. “She’s catwoman, isn’t she?”
Bruce narrowed his eyes, saying only: “Chat Noir. Year one.”
It was Marinette’s turn to grimace. “Point taken. But in my defense, he took way too long to realize he’s gay and watched too much anime at the time.”
Bruce let out one of his unfairly charming chuckles, changing position so that his arm was around her shoulders and pulling her to his side. She fit there surprisingly well, for someone almost half his size. She leaned into him, and the both just soaked in the comfort of one another for a long moment.
“You know,” Bruce started for a while. “If you want to stay in Gotham, we can make you another alter ego so that you don’t accidentally lure Shadow Moth here. Tell that fox of yours to make it seem like you’re in Paris and take some of the weight off of your shoulders for a change. Blackmail Constantine into charming some jars to keep the butterflies in until you can purify them.”
“Hmmm.” She closed her eyes. “Ladybird sounds nice. Fits with the bird thing that Robin has going for him.”
Bruce laughed. “That’ll really annoy him,” he warned, amused. Marinette’s close-eyed smile was pure mischief.
“That’s the whole point. I’m not letting a fetus win against me, bat-boy.”
—*—*—*—*—*
Marinette wasn’t speaking to Bunnyx. Bruce didn’t know what they had said to one another, but he could guess it had to do with Jason.
With his baby, who he just buried. The boy Marinette had thought of a son ever since he first brought him home. She had even smoothed things over between Dick and Jason, which he had considered nothing short of a miracle at the time.
But that miracle was nowhere to be seen now, with Marinette every bit as despondent next to him as he was. He wanted to be angry with her, he did, but he couldn’t. He had seen her blow up at Bunnyx, seen her try to hold her status as Grand Guardian over the bunny holder.
Bunnyx had simply said that she wouldn’t answer to Ladybug until after the grief passed then, and ran away into her burrow.
“Is this the payment?” He heard her whisper, her voice hoarse and broken. “For the do-over? We passed the old timeline. We took down Shadow Moth. Is this the price?” Tears dripped down her face silently, she didn’t seem to notice them. “Was I not a good enough mother? Should I—“ she stopped herself, shaking her head. He didn’t ask what she was about to say. Maybe he should have.
—*—*—*—*—*
Tim was great. He was too much like Marinette at times, which made Bruce’s chest ache, but he was a great Robin. A great son. His experience with Marinette proved priceless when it came to helping curb Tim’s overworking habits and caffeine addiction.
But not even Tim could find where Marinette had disappeared to, even with his detective skills surpassing Bruce’s already.
Tim was the first son of his that didn’t get to grow up with Marinette at all.
—*—*—*—*—*
“It’s fine, Baobei,” she whispered, stepping to the side. Behind her was the waterfall that hid the tunnel to the Batcave. “He’s not the one to blame. He did his best, even now he’s doing his best.”
“Then why does—“
“Because other people need him, and he has too big of a heart to turn them away,” her mouth tilted a little, smile lopsided and sad. “Timothy didn’t replace you. He just forced Bruce to live again. Bruce didn’t kill Joker, because he didn’t want to taint another child with the sight of murder.”
“And you?” The voice was dark, deadly, gruff. Older, and yet… so achingly familiar. She smiled at him again, soft and sad and… proud.
“I don’t have one,” she lied. She had tried, tried so hard. Bruce had gotten in her way first, and then the very same desire to not taint more children with the image of death.
But her baby needed a scapegoat, and she was willing to throw herself on the fire for him.
“That’s why it’s fine,” she repeated. “If this is what you want. Just, please. Let it end with me.”
This time, Marinette made sure she had the Time miraculous safely in her pocket. Nobody would interfere with this.
The bullet sent her into the flow of the waterfall, red flowing behind her like the carpet she used to walk down with Bruce whenever she released a new collection. She felt no regret as she closed her eyes and fell.
—*—*—*—*—*
The shot hadn’t been fatal. Red Hood might have been mad with Pit Rage, but his fondness for his only true mother figure was ever present. He simply wanted to see if she was serious about taking that shot.
His regret was immediate when she didn’t even try to dodge. The bullet had only grazed her shoulder, but she didn’t seem to notice that. She had been so ready to die— to let him kill her— that she had passed out before hitting the water. He dragged her to the Batcave, knowing he had a lot to answer for.
Bruce wished he could have found her sooner, found both of them sooner. But at least they were back.
—*—*—*—*—*
“… I mean,” she rocked on her heels. “You are growing a bit old for Robin…”
Tim glared at her, not appreciating the insight.
“Bruce is stuck in the timestream, and you aren’t doing a thing about it. I don’t hold your opinion very highly right now,” he snipped back. She snorted, glancing away.
As if that little stunt to “kill Batman” could ever fool her. She’d been there for the real thing, thanks, she could spot a fake a mile away. “He’s got Bunnyx going to find him. She owes me big time, let her do the heavy lifting for a change.”
“How many years have you held that grudge?” Barbara asked, eyebrows raised as she wheeled herself towards the bat computer. “Even Jason thinks you should have let it go by now.”
Marinette scoffed at the exact same time as a certain someone tutted next to her, making them look for a moment like a perfect pair.
Crossed arms, a scoff, annoyed glare? If a DNA test hadn’t already proven otherwise, they might have thought Damian was hers.
“Fetuses don’t get to judge me,” was her only argument before she turned on her heel and walked away.
“I am not a fetus! Lady Marinette, I am ten years old!”
—*—*—*—*—*
Bonus:
Jason was curled up around Marinette, despite being told numerous times not to crowd her on the med-bay bed. He argued that he shot her, so he gets to nurse her back to health.
Did she use her blood, tainted by years of use of the Ladybug, to purify his pit madness? Yes. Had he figured that out yet? Nope.
“Love you, Mom,” he murmured in his sleep. Marinette, who had been awake for about an hour already, smiled to herself.
“Love you, Baobei.”
#maribat#mlb x dc#ml x dc#dc x mlb#dc x miraculous#platonic jasonette#platonic daminette#platonic timari#platonic dickinette#brucinette#idk what this is#enjoy anyway
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Ugly Mugs and Icy Dips
Part of the midnight snack series, set after Stress Baking but before/during All because of a cookie!!
Masterlist
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The Ugly Mug Cafe is… not the prettiest of establishments. The chairs didn't match, the tables were wonky, but it held a warmth and homely feel which very rarely existed in Gotham, especially in the East End and this close to the Bowery.
It was run by a gruff ex-con Gothamite who took care of his city's people but was willing to let those smuggled or hiding in the Gotham gloom without the relevant papers work with minimal fuss, as long as they could use his dragon beast of a coffee machine he would happily have a blind eye. The staff ended up being mainly either fellow ex-cons or students, willing to work the unsociable hours that were required for opening early and closing late.
With it being owned by a hardy Gothmite that exuded malice towards anyone who stepped out of line and didn't abide by his rules and ran by bitter overworked students or limited break ex-criminals who held no humour for robbery attempts, the cafe ended up a fairly neutral ground. Fights, thefts and robberies were minimal and it helped that the coffee was good. Really good. The pastries and cakes were improving in quality. And had a quirky secret menu for those in desperate need of a caffeine fix and those loyal regulars who The Ugly Mug employees deemed worthy.
Despite all the rough and sharp edges the cafe held, students adored the place during finals week where the special coffee kept them going on all nighters. Commuters favoured the place as it helped soothe their frozen bitter souls as they moved from the rough outer city edges and went further in for work.
And Tim.
Tim- Red Robin had found the place after a particularly grueling patrol.
Patrol had ended up with all bats hands required at the docks to deal with Scarecrow and a shipment of chemicals. During the last part of the fight Red Robin had taken a plunge in the docks murky water and well, by the time he had managed to get back to land the fight had ended with him being cold wet, cold and extremely grumpy at all of it. All he really had wanted to do was to get out of his costume and soak in an over-heated bath with a giant, steaming cup of coffee, or tea, in that moment he wasn't fussy. As long as it was hot and caffeinated he'd make do.
Somehow, Tim had got slightly disoriented on the way past Jason's domain (he would completely blame the icy dip he'd taken and not the exhaustion) but had stumbled upon this golden cafe. He had stumbled in to meet a coffee angel sent by the gods. The dark haired heavenly woman took one look at his pathetic looking vigilante self and started moving around the counter working the coffee machine with precision.
The aromas that filled the small run down space enticed Tim further into the building. The coffee sprite placed a concoction that was more than just coffee in front of him in the most hideous cup he'd seen in a while as he dripped onto the tiled floor. It was in that first sip that Tim's world narrowed down to this establishment. It was his new home. The brew was his new fuel. His life source. The celestial being behind the bashed up counter was the cardinal of the coffee gods. He'd worship with her for more of the sweet bitter nectar that he held in his hands. The coffee was the most magical and revitalising drink off menu that Tim had ever been blessed with. This was HIS coffee haven. His safe space. His daily stop to make it through the day in both faces of his life.
From that moment on, Tim knew that he was going to be visiting this place regularly. He was going to get to know the coffee padre.
What Tim hadn't been aware of completely was that as he cherished the coffee before him the barista had disappeared, returned and mopped around the vigilante and could hear his whispers of love to the steaming drink. Her angelic laughter and mischievous smile drew him from the trance that he had entered.
"I would not say the coffee holds secrets to the universe Monsieur Red."
It wasn't good really to lose complete awareness without backup and all because of a hot drink in a grotesque ceramic vessel. A blush grew under the mask that Tim wore, hopefully hidden, but if not he'd blame the warmth of the establishment pushing the cold that ached in his bones away.
"I might disagree. This is amazing, I can feel its power tingling in my toes."
"That might be more to the fact you look like a drowned rat and are warming up rather than the coffee, non?"
"Nope. Definitely the coffee. Nothing to do with the dip I took in the harbour."
"The harbour?"
The woman raised her eyebrow, opening the sapphire eyes further, from behind the counter as she started to move about puzzling Tim.
"I… yeah… wouldn't recommend midnight swims in the harbour this time of year."
Snorting with a huffed amusement, a plate with a reheated pastry appeared before Tim as the woman returned to cleaning behind the counter.
"Being Gotham, I'd say midnight swims any time of year aren't recommended."
"True. This is Gotham. You've picked that up quickly, it's not often non-Gothamites get the city's quirks. What made you choose this hell hole to work in?"
"Small gods, a slice of chance and fate."
It said everything and nothing all at once. Tim couldn't help but smile wryly at the barista before him. They fell into an easy teasing conversation that cemented the idea that this was his place. That this unusual, witty barista was going to be his friend and coffee dealer.
Given that The Ugly Mug coffee stop was not really on route to Wayne Enterprises from either the Manor, the Wayne City Apartment and it was tangential on route from Tim's nest, so getting there regularly in either persona's meant planning. Which was exactly what Tim excelled at. Subtly hints and some slight manipulation with planting the seed of thought meant that now his patrol routes passed close enough to the cafe at least 4 times a week. Getting up a fraction earlier and sacrificing more of his sleep was a forfeit he was willing to take to get this blessed nectar (he just needed to be cautious about hiding this information from his family). He'd also been able to task an intern to use his work driver and collect a midday pick me up from the establishment.
All in all, even though he had taken a dip into the freezing waters of Gotham docks (and ended up with a stubborn cold that took forever to shake), that evening had been a blessing in disguise.
Convincing Alfred that Tim would drive himself to the office this morning was hard. Tim claimed it was due to him wanting to pick up some paperwork and to talk to some heads of areas. Alfred's disapproval resonated off him since Tim was 'meant to rest' and recover from bruised ribs and twisted ankle. Tim ended up deploying Tam's disappointment and threat of maiming Tim that eventually convinced the elder man, with also the promise he would come straight home afterwards.
Free from Alfred's hawklike eye, Tim drove to his favourite location swiftly. He would go to the office, but first he needed to catch up with the devil in disguise, his favourite dealer to get the precious nectar he required.
Parking nearby, Tim turned to walk towards the cafe where he spotted the man lurking outside watching through the window.
Tim had been observing the man make this daily trip for about 3 months. The male always waited outside until he had spotted the caffeine cleric blessed to earth by the coffee gods before storming inside. He was meticulous in ensuring that she would be the one to serve him and then order the same bland unimaginative order everytime.
Tim followed behind the insipid man who suddenly darted in like it wasn't obvious he was waiting outside. Tim joined the small queue observing the situation, his mouth salivating with a pavlov response to the smells of coffee and sweet pastries. He grimaced watching the scene unfold in front of him.
It was painful just watching the unimpressive man flirt hopelessly with the coffee artist, who pointedly ignored the attempts and stuck studiously in just focusing on getting through the orders of the morning rush. It baffled Tim as to why anyone with any brains would come in at peak(ish) time to flirt with working servers and hold up the queue of tired, grumpy commuters.
Tim could easily admit that his dealer was cute, in a sister kinda way. Tim knew, from conversation with the blessed coffee provider, that the sharp wit and passionate fashionista was destined for greater things. She was worth more than serving coffee, baking delectable treats and being tied down with a partner of mediocrity who thought an espresso and a cappuccino to go was the height of coffee.
Tim's attention was drawn back to the situation occurring in front of him by the blonde customer in front snorting in amusement. Tim watched the car crash with a suppressed horror as the man leant on the counter and oggled the caffeine magician.
"Next!"
The vapid man stepped towards the counter.
"What can I get you?"
"I don't have caffeine in my system yet but you've just jumped started my heart. My usual please, sugar."
"And what's your usual?"
The cocky attitude the man held stuttered as an eyebrow raised waiting for his response. A pink dusting grew on his cheeks as the queue sniggered at the awkward exchange.
"An espresso and a cappuccino to go please."
"Name?"
"Marc, with a C. The C is for cuteness just like you."
"Oo-kay. One espresso and one cappuccino, coming up. Please wait by the end counter, please."
Dismissing the embarrassed man, the Caffeine Queen handed the order to her colleague then turned to the customer in front of Tim who wasn't even trying to cover their sniggers. The cropped haired blonde gave her order to Marinette who smiled in fake serenity as she put the order through the till before going to retrieve a pastry for the woman.
The fake smile morphed into an honest devil's grin as she eventually got to Tim. Her true chaotic nature resonated around the room causing Tim to send her a smirk.
"Tim!!! Your usual? Wide-awake poison? Or did you want to try something new like Finals Week Brew? Or I can make you my specialty, Hawkmoth Demise?"
"Morning Marinette. As tempting as the Hawkmoth Demise is… I'll stick with Wide-awake poison please. How are you this fair day my caffeine cleric, priestess of the grounds, goddess of the beans?"
"Oh you know, bitter souled as the roasted waters I brew. Is this to take away or will I be honoured with your presence for a while?"
The pair snorted at the jokes that jovially passed between each other adding further dramatics where they could as they ignored Marc's ever growing glare.
"Take away my fairest Barista. As much as I would desire to rest my weary soul in your presence, a quest of paperwork awaits me. To achieve this quest I require your blessing. I would be nothing without your magic caffeine potion."
Laughing and seeing as Tim was the last in the queue, Marinette moved to make his personalised drink as her colleague continued to make both Marc's and the blonde's before him.
"Cark? A espresso and cappuccino to go for Cark?"
No one moved. Tim watched as Marc bristled and had to hide his face and hope he could keep the giggles in.
"Oh Dan, that's Mark's with a C's drink. Not Cark. It is an unusual pronunciation of the spelling."
Marinette's cheerful voice drifted over the counter as the man turned beetroot and an ugly expression grew on his face. Marc snatched the drinks with a growl and stormed out of the cafe snarling at people in his way. Tim really hoped this wouldn't bite them on the proverbial later as the almost stalker left the premises.
"Maybe he should choose a more sensible coffee name with that kinda spelling Mare."
"Hmm probably."
Letting Marinette continue drink making, Dan called out for an Ash to collect their drink before noting the blonde staring at Marinette's pastry like it held the answers to the universe. Shaking his head Dan moved to the counter to serve the new crowd that had started to form.
Tim watched the blonde gaze at the treat, ignoring the world around her while Marinette flitted about making his life source essence. Finally, with a flourish, Marinette produced the largest possible takeaway cup of coffee with dragons and knights doodled across it.
"Sir gallant Tim. The potion for your epic journey."
Coughing politely, Tim tried to hurry Ash along as she continued to be entranced by the pastry in her hand. Tim could see Marinette smirking at him, like this wasn't an uncommon sight. Given how he reacted the first time he had found the place, maybe it wasn't that uncommon. The pastries were as good as the coffee since she'd started working at the Ugly Mug. The woman suddenly moved, drawn out of her daze and grabbed Ash's drink and moved to sit further within the cafe. Smiling in amusement, Tim shook his head and finally moved to get his precious nectar.
"My thanks dearest Caffeine Cleric. You're a blessing to the universe."
"Don't you forget it."
"I would never."
"Seriously, Marinette. Your coffee is the best. It's the highlight of my day."
"You say that all the time."
"It's the truth."
Smiling back with fondness, Marinette shook her head and handed Tim his drink.
"See you about Tim. Go tackle those papers and office mumbo jumbo. You know where to find me."
"Always. See ya Marinette."
With that Tim grinned while sipping his coffee and moved to leave his mini safe haven. Sighing in relief from the coffee flooding through his system before sighing again, bracing himself for the outside world.
Pushing the door open, Tim left the safe space of the best coffee establishment in Gotham. His family must never know about this place. He would set the world on fire to protect the hideaway cafe that was unobtrusive but homely to those who knew it's existence.
The Ugly Mug and its staff may not know it but as well as being neutral grounds due to the gruff owner and sassy worn out staff, it was under the protection of Red Robin - and Tim.
#maribat#maribat au#platonic timari#platonic maribat#dc x ml#dc x mlb#dcxml#dcxmlb#ml x dc#mlb x dc#mlbxdc#mlxdc
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The Bird’s Baby Bug
Chapter 2
Ch. 1
Tim: 19
Mari: 10
Three in the morning, it was three in the f*ing morning and Jason was not having it. But unfortunately for him, whoever was calling wouldn’t stop! Fine, Jason would answer the phone, but he wouldn’t sound happy doing it!
“What the f* do you want?” He growled, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. Tonight was supposed to be his night of d*it.
“Jason, Jason thank G*.” Tim gasped in relief, it honestly shocked him. He and the replacement were definitely not on the best of terms, so why would he sound so relieved that he answered his phone. “Before you hang up,” he rambled quickly, “I could really use your help. This isn’t about me, it's about a kid that The League of Assassins kidnapped.”
Jason froze at that, what the f* was the replacement doing in The League of F*ing Assassins. “I’m sorry, but what now?”
Tim sighed through the phone, like he had any right to be exasperated like he hasn’t been radio silent for over six g*d*ng months and called him –the guy that has tried to murder him on multiple occasions–for help . “Look, it's a long story, but I need to get her out before Ra’s comes back, I’ll explain everything then. Sending my coordinates now.” Jason was about to respond, before he could the quick beep, beep, beep that singled the end of the call echoed in his ears. Son of a b*!
Jason glared at the phone, like he could will Tim to magically appear out of it so he could strangle him, but nothing happened. With one last sigh, Jason got out of bed and began to get ready to return to one of the many places that haunted his nightmares. Making a few calls to his lieutenants, telling them to make sure everyone stayed in line and demanding updates every night, he grabbed his emergency duffle bag and headed out.
_______
Tim didn’t want to admit how attached he became to the small girl over the span of a few hours. She was so small, and despite the horrors she had been forced to endure she was one of the sweetest people he’s ever met. Having learned that she had (unsurprisingly) not been allowed any form of education in her captivity, he had taken it upon himself to become her tutor while they waited for Jason. They drew, he helped her with numbers, helped her with her English and French, and when she was asleep in his bed, he would continue his investigation into Bruce’s whereabouts.
He had been tracking Jason’s progress through a code that he had activated on Jason’s phone when the man had picked up. It had taken him nearly three days to get here, and if everything went according to plan, he should be here within the next three hours. On the third day Tim began to explain in heavy detail to Marinette how he was going to free her from this Hell Hole and how she would go with his brother until he finished his mission here.
“So you’re leaving me?” Marinette whispered in broken English, her voice breaking slightly, though no tears welled in her eyes. Tim felt awful, but if he wanted to find Bruce, destroy the Pits, and avoid Ra’s; then this was his best course of action.
“It won’t be for very long,” he whispered, gently tucking a strand of her long dark hair behind one of her small ears. “I’ll be back before you know it, and Jason will take great care of you. He’s very protective of kids. Don’t tell him I said this,” he whispered into her ear, a mischievous smirk on his lips, “Jason may seem like a baddy, but he’s really just an oversized teddy bear.” (A teddy bear that would actually tear anyone and anything apart if he so felt like it.)
His heart melted when Marinette giggled, and goodness he didn’t want to let this small bean go. He quickly pulled the small child against his chest, giving her a tight embrace, relieved when she quickly returned it rather than shrinking away like she had a few times before. “You’re so brave Marinette. Never forget that.” He whispered.
The two stayed like that for only a few moments longer before he slowly pulled away with an affectionate hair ruffle. The moment was curtly interrupted when his door was forced open, and Tim knew who it was before he even turned around. There were only two people that existed on this base that would dare come into his room unannounced.
“Detective.” Ra’s greeted stoically. Tim cursed under his breath, Ra’s should have been gone for at least another day. Tim turned around, keeping Marinette tucked behind him. “I see you’ve met my little pet project.” He stated, never taking his cold gaze off Tim. Tim glared back at the man; his resolve to save the small child growing stronger the longer Marinette held onto the back of his shirt, tightening her trembling grip like it was her only lifeline. “I would ask you please return it to me, it is a very important asset that I would like to keep close.”
The sound of Marinette’s whimper made Tim feel almost animalistic with the need to protect. It was as exhilarating as it was horrifying. “No,” he snarled, “I don’t think I will. I’m sure that you have enough of her blood to fill each and every one of your Lazarus Pits to the brim.” He growled out, reaching for the bo staff at his side.
“Don’t be ridiculous Detective”, Ra’s sighed sounding almost exasperated, though he didn’t come any closer…yet. “Surely you know the reason we must keep her close, despite her blood’s usefulness.” Unfortunately Tim did understand what Ra’s was getting at. He had been reading through any and all files that pertained to “Subject E131”. Ra’s intended to use Marinette as a weapon; training and enhancing her powers so that she could use her control of plant life–and maybe even animal life–to use against his enemies—in other words, a better “model” of Poison Ivy. He wouldn’t let that be her fate, she would not be another pawn in Ra’s sick games.
“Yes, but I’m afraid that I can’t let that happen.” Snap . His staff snapped open, ready for whatever Ra’s had planned. Ra’s simply smirked, a twinkle in his eyes that sent a shiver down Tim’s spine.
“Very well Detective, have it your way.” Ra’s was fast, faster than Tim was expecting, but not fast enough. Tim shot his staff into the air, blocking the blow before using the momentum to push Ra’s sword away from him.
“Is this child really worth the risk of not being able to see your father again, Detective? Without my help, he’ll be lost forever.”
Tim ground his teeth, he wouldn’t let this manipulative ba* invade his mind. If he was as great of a detective as Ra’s claimed him to be, then he didn’t need Ra’s. He would find Bruce on his own, and show everyone that he wasn’t crazy. He would protect this child, because she deserved to feel safe.
He looked around for an opening while gently bushing the small child away from, but still behind, him. He couldn’t risk her safety more than he already is. Jason was out there, he would be here soon. He just needed to stall Ra’s and make it to the drop off point.
Ra’s attacked once more, this time trying to move around him, switching their positions so that Marinette would be right behind Ra’s. Tim wouldn’t let that happen though. He kept his feet solidly on the ground pushing against Ra’s momentum. The sound of Ra’s blade against his staff was a sharp clash as each fighter swung and danced around the other. “It is such a shame, Detective. I truly thought that you would join me as my right hand.”
Tim felt a vicious smirk fall onto his lips—the same smirk he used to strike fear into Gotham’s criminal underbelly—, “Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t murder those who stand against me.”
“Maybe now, but you could learn. You could come to see how efficient it is when you are trying to truly bring order to the world.”
“Yes, because torturing kids is definitely the “best way” of creating “order”.” He growled, ducking under Ra’s sword before throwing a right slam towards Ra’s abdomen.
Beep Beep
Jason was 30 minutes out. He must have been pushing his bike for all it’s worth if he got here that fast, Tim thought while using a downward thrust. Ra’s jumped back, surveying the room. He watched with glee as the cruel, condescending smile on Ra’s face fell away into a frustrated sneer.
“Where is she?” He demanded coldly.
Tim’s smile grew. “What, you thought I didn’t have a plan for if you came back early?” Tim had discovered a trap door under the bed that led to a small cave right at the edge of the base. Exactly where he told Jason to meet them. Ra’s must have forgotten about it with how big the base was, or simply did not believe that Tim would have found the small passage.
“I see I’ve underestimated you, Detective.” Ra’s sneered.
Tim simply chirped, “Your mistake.” Before he launched into a series of strikes, no longer afraid that he’d accidentally hurt Marinette. Ra’s blocked his strikes, only allowing him to get two or three before Ra’s countered him blow for blow. Tim allowed himself to be spun by Ra’s attack, following the movement so his back was to the door, just as he planned. Before Ra’s could strike down his next blow Tim was moving, running out of the room and through the seemingly deserted corridors.
He needed to distract the others, keep them far away from Mari and the drop off point, so he was strangely relieved when swarms of ninjas began to attack him. Though when he noticed Ra’s was not in the midst, he could feel a panic course through his muscles. What if he had found the passage? What if he had gotten there before Jason and had taken Mari? He would never be able to forgive himself.
Tim ducked past the blades and throwing stars; cursing when one of them grazed his unarmored forearm. The long gash stretched down his arm allowing warm blood to trickle down onto the stone floor. It didn’t matter though, because he had to keep fighting. Had to protect Marinette so that she could live her own life.
So he kept running, kept defending, kept ducking, and he kept fighting back.
“Red Hood to Red Robin. Red Hood to Red Robin, the package has been picked up.”
Tim nearly collapsed in relief, but considering he was still in the midst of battle, he decided that doing so would be a terrible idea.
Suddenly, the sound of gunshots hung heavy through the halls. Ra’s didn’t allow the use of guns, especially on base, and Tim only knew one person that could sneak in here without a problem while using that kind of weapon. The brief moment of his distraction cost him as the back of a hilt was smashed against his head. Tim collapsed, his body feeling heavy and sluggish.
“Tim!” Someone shouted, and suddenly, the pounding in his head cleared. A warmth surrounded him, just like when he had first met Marinette, except there wasn’t any excruciating pain like something was growing in him. Wait, oh sh*.
“Jason!” Tim screamed, jumping back onto his feet with renewed strength and pushing back the other ninja, as he moved toward the echoing sounds of gunshots rather than away. Before he could even round the corner he saw Marinette staring at him with haunted, watery eyes.
“They were going to take you next! You promised they wouldn’t take you away like that!” She sobbed, hugging herself. Tim felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. He extended his arms out, fully expecting her to shrink away. But she didn’t, she ran into his arms and let him pick her up, wrapping her legs around his chest when he moved her so she was situated against his left hip.
“I’m sorry, Sweetie. It won’t happen again now that I’ve got my little lucky charm back.” Marinette giggled lightly through her tears. But in all seriousness, Tim was absolutely terrified. She shouldn’t be here, she should be on her way back to Gotham right now with Jason! He was going to kill Jason. Tim touched the small device in his ear, turning his mic on. “Hood, I thought I told you to get her out of here. You said you picked her up!”
He could hear the reverberations of round after round leaving the chamber while Jason replied, “the Little Pixie said she wouldn’t leave without you. Screamed when I tried to touch her. Figured as long as she stayed with me she’d be fine while we rescued your sorry a*.”
“Well she didn’t stay by your side, you arrogant jerk.”
“Oh don’t even Mr. I’m-going-to-work-with-The-League-of-Assassins-with-no-bad-consequences-directed-towards-me. Seriously, what were you thinking ?”
Tim felt his jaw clench, shoulders tensing, as the memories of everyone telling him how he was crazy, how grief made him insane, how he simply wasn’t in his “right mind”. No one would listen, no one trusted him, but he was right ! He knows that he’s right! He didn’t respond.
“No excuse? What, did you want a taste of what it’s like on the other side? See what it’s like to-“
“ Shut up , Jason. The only reason I called you is because you know this place better than the others and I trusted you to have this child’s best interest in mind.”
It was silent over the line, well except for the resounding bullets, but it didn’t last long. “Let’s just get the h* out of here.” And that was that.
A few minutes later, he found Jason surrounded by bodies of ninjas, surprisingly not bleeding out. “Rubber bullets.” Jason informed, “Kid doesn’t need to see that.” Tim bites his lip before he can say: she’s already seen far worse . Tim gave Jason a sharp nod, and they were moving out. Tim followed closely behind Jason to wherever he had parked their getaway vehicle, hugging Marinette tighter to him as they ran. He was honestly surprised to see one of the Batplanes carefully concealed behind the large jungle canopy. He was honestly expecting to see one of Hood’s bikes. He was even more so when he saw Babs waiving towards them in her wheelchair.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, Boy Wonder .” She shouted, her voice filled with so much unadulterated rage that Tim actually feared for his life for the first time that day. He didn’t have time to hesitate though, who knew what or who was hiding in the jungle or coming after them. Adjusting his grip slightly on Mari he ran the rest of the way to the plane only letting himself relax his grip when they were in the air and flying far away. When he looked out the window, all he could see was Ra’s standing right where the plane had just taken off, sword raised in a challenge. If they had been even a few moments later, they might not have escaped.
“T-Tim?” Marinette whispered into his ear, startling him slightly. “Can I be put down now?”
“Yes, of course.” Tim said, quickly setting her down before he kneeled in front of her so that he could check her over for any injury. “Coming back for me was risky and irresponsible. You could’ve gotten taken again. I don’t think I’d ever be able to live with myself if that happened.” He stated as he patted her down, if one of those ninja hurt even a hair on her head he was going to-
“Ahem.” Tim’s face shot up at the sound, forcing him to meet Barbara’s cold and curious eyes. “Would you like to introduce us, and maaaybe explain why you’ve been radio silent for the past six months . Tim glared at Babs, but she held his gaze.
Sighing he turned away from her and looked at the small child, silent tears falling down her face. Tim felt his shoulders fall. He opened his arms and prayed that she wouldn’t flinch away from him like she had many other times before. When Marinette flung herself into his arms, filling the cold void with her warmth while her tears soaked his robes, he couldn’t have felt more relieved.
“I’m sorry for getting mad, Honey. You scared me, and I just want you to be safe. I-I never want you to go through what you went through there ever again.” He whispered to her in French.
“You know what they did?” She gasped back in her native tongue, her voice still so broken and raspy. “You took me away.”
Tears of his own fell down his cheeks as he lifted her off the ground. “It’s okay baby, you’re safe now.” He turned to look at Babs and Jason, who were looking away silently, giving them as much privacy as they could while still keeping an eye on the two. “Hey, there’s some snacks in the back, do you want to grab some?”
She sniffled, wiping at her eyes before giving him a small nod. Once her feet hit the floor, she moved to the back of the small plane where the small snack drawer sat.
“She was one of Ra’s experiments.” Tim stated before either of the two could say anything, trying to discreetly wipe at his eyes while still watching the small girl. “She’s a meta who has the ability of creation, very powerful. Ra’s put her under hundreds of different experiments and documented the results, taking and using her blood to reverse the Lazarus Pit side effects before turning her into a human weapon..”
Tim took in a shaky breath, his heart melting when he saw Marinette’s wide eyes when she pulled a bag of pretzels. She looked like she had just found lost treasure from an old chest. “She was 7 when they took her, she was trapped there for 3 years. Killed her parents and showed her the recording of their death to get the reaction they needed. I downloaded her entire file. It should finish downloading onto your computer in the clock tower in the next half hour.”
Marinette raced over to him holding a small pack of chocolate covered pretzels while hugging a second one close to her chest. Tim gently took it from her with a small, ruffling her hair in the process. “Thanks Mari. Why don’t you go sit down. You never know when there will be turbulence.”
Marinette hesitated, looking at him expectantly. “I’ll join you soon. I don’t plan to let you stay by yourself for very long.” With one more silent nod she moved to the front of the plane where there were four seats available.
“Tim, you do realize you’re 19, right?” Jason said, helmet and mask fully removed.
“Yes?”
“Okay, so then what’s your plan here? B’s not here to take her in,” Tim flinched at that. Bruce would be back, he would bring Bruce back! “I don’t think Dickie will take her either what with the Demon Brat, I-“
“I’m not entrusting you with her.” Jason shot him a sharp glare.
“Alright you dick, well what’s your plan then?”
“Well, I’m about as rich as Bruce, I am currently CEO of his company, and The Nest would only need to be restocked and a room redecorated…” Tim started mumbling, mind starting to wonder as he thought of everything he would need to do to make The Nest more… child friendly.
Snap snap. Startling back into the moment Tim glared at Babs for destroying his train of thought. “Focus Tim. So what I’m hearing is, you want to adopt her?” She asked incredulously.
“Yes, as soon as I bring Bruce back.” Tim agreed matter of factly causing both Jason and Barbara to flinch.
“Tim…” Babs began, her tone tired sounding.
“Don’t”, Tim growled startling all occupants on the plane, except Mari, she fell asleep. Tim had changed a lot in the last six months, and he knew exactly what was needed of him.
He was so close to finding Bruce. He just needed to find one last piece of evidence and he’d be able to bring Bruce back. Tim had found out that the man was stuck in a timestream and that he had been leaving clues that only Tim could find. He was going to bring the closest thing he had to a father home, and nobody was going to stop him.
“I know he’s still alive, and I can prove it. I have the files and physical proof to do so. I’m not crazy!” His breath was coming out in short puffs, his eyes were narrowed, and he could feel his clenched fist shaking at his side.
“Okay, Tim. We believe you. Just calm down.” Barbara began. She was talking in her victim’s voice and while Tim hated that it was directed towards him, he couldn’t help but take a little comfort in the smoothness of her words. Slowly he let himself relax, taking longer breaths as he calmed down.
“I’m fine. Just drop me off in Uganda and make sure Marinette’s safe. I’d prefer that you look after her,” he stated as he made eye contact with Babs, “keep her away from the Demon Brat and all. But I understand if you truly, 100% without a doubt , believe that Dick would be able to care for her better until I return.”
“What about me? I could watch the little pixie.” Jason grumbled as he stared at the limp form of the small girl.
“I trust you about as much as I can throw you Jason.”
“At least I know how to actually cook.”
“Boys.”
“I can learn!” Tim replied indignantly.
“BoYs.”
“Not without burning down your entire kitchen you couldn-“
“BOYS!”
Both snapped their necks to look at Babs. Letting out a long agitated sigh, “First of all, I’m not going to just drop you off in Uganda just for you to go off the radar again.” Tim was about to protest but she held her hand up, silencing him. “Before anything else is decided on I’m going to look through all of your evidence, then once we see that we can come to a decision on what happens next. Does that sound fair?”
Tim wanted to argue more, force them to relent until they just did what he asked because he was so close . But he held his tongue and gave a curt nod. “Fine, but I’m going to go whether or not you believe me.” Without another word he stalked over until he was sitting next to Marinette.
He watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest, her face soothed over in sleep, and her head was tilted so that it was leaning against her shoulder at an uncomfortable angle. Gently, Tim guided her head until it rested against his chest. He felt her stir slightly, but instantly relaxed when he began to run his fingers up and down her back. Her hair was far too tangled and would definitely need a professional stylist to fix it before he felt comfortable enough running his fingers through it without causing any pain or discomfort.
When he looked up Babs and Jason were gone, the door to the cockpit left slightly ajar. Tim squeezed his eyes shut as he let out a long sigh that rattled his bones. With his free hand he rummaged through his leftmost bandolier and pulled out a small red button. Opening his eyes he stared at the small device, a devious smirk forming on his lips as he pushed the button.
Long live The League of Assassins, and long may it burn.
All he needed to do now was free Bruce. With that finished Tim closed his eyes, letting the gentle weight of Marinette comfort him as he let sleep finally take him over.
END
Taglist:
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#maribat#mlb x batman#dc x mlb#marinette dupain cheng#angst#fluff#tim drake#ra’s al ghul#the league of assassins#accidental parent acquisition#platonic timari#jason todd#barbara gordon#red robin comics#protective Tim Drake#hurt/comfort#lots of hurt#check out my Ao3#This is the end folks#cute timari#timari#platonic maribat#timinette#platonic timinette#tim drake is red robin#tim drake is a menace
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A Thousand Years ch. 16
AO3 (Also, just realized the last part I posted here was chapter five. Oops. Chapters 6-15 on AO3. My bad)
Slowly, Marinette blinks, her eyes opening slowly as she wakes up. She smiles softly at Dick, taking a moment to just soak in his eyes. They were the most beautiful color she’d ever seen, and she treasured mornings like this. Mornings where they could both take time to wake up, and get lost in each other’s eyes.
“Morning.” Dick says, his voice slightly husky. Marinette smiles sleepily at him.
“Morning.” She says back lightly, letting out a soft sigh as she just watches him. It was peaceful. It was quiet. It was-
“You both have obligations besides staring grossly at each other.” Damian huffs, throwing their door open. Marinette snorts, burying her head into her pillow as Dick sighs.
“Buddy, it’s Saturday.” He tries. Damian scoffs.
“Just because it is Saturday does not mean that you should waste your day away in bed. Come along, we are having brunch with Todd and Drake.” He says. Marinette’s eyes widen and she sits straight up in bed.
“We’re what?” She asks, wracking her brain for the information about brunch. How could she just forget something like that? They must’ve had it planned for-
“Indeed. I called them earlier and they both agreed to come. Drake said he’ll bring coffee and Todd is bringing some sort of sweet breakfast casserole. I believe he said it’s a French toast bake, but I doubt there is anything French about it.” Damian says, tilting his head and frowning. “Is that Richard’s shirt?” He asks. Marinette feels her face heat up as she tries to come up with something to say.
“Sure is, kiddo. Why don’t you head into the kitchen and make sure Titus and Alfred the cat have had their breakfast while M and I get ready for brunch?” Dick suggests. Marinette lets her shoulders slump slightly as she feels the relief wash over her as Damian nods and leaves the room. Dick glances at her, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Not a word from you.” She warns, trying to suppress a smile. Dick just grins and leans forward, giving her a quick kiss before leaning back and stretching.
“Suppose we should get up and get everything ready for brunch.” He says with a soft sigh. Marinette nods, though she can’t help but wonder why Damian would choose today to have a family brunch.
---
“I’m sorry, what?” Dick asks, quickly glancing behind him to make sure Marinette was still in their bedroom getting ready.
“I don’t see what the problem is, Richard.” Damian huffs. Dick takes a steadying breath.
“Dames, what if she says no?” He asks. Damian scoffs.
“I feel that is unlikely.” He says, his chin upturned.
“And why do you feel that? We haven’t even been together a year, yet Dames. These things-”
“You were planning on asking her to become one of my legal guardians, were you not?” Damian asks, and Dick freezes.
“How- Damian, were you looking through my files again?” He asks, running his hand over his face in exasperation.
“It pertains to me, so I fail to see why you’re so upset about this, Richard. Obviously, I would be fine with it. Marinette is-” Damian pauses, and Dick glances at his kid again. He takes in the slightly confused look on his face, but doesn’t miss the determination in his eyes. “Marinette is already a mother figure in my life. Much as you have become a father figure. And I don’t understand why you would be worried about asking her to be your wife.”
“Dames, buddy, can we please drop the subject? I promise I’m not saying no. But I am saying that I don’t think we’re ready for that yet, and I don’t want to risk losing her. You understand that, right?” Dick asks quietly, practically pleading. Marinette was going to be out any minute and he didn’t want her to hear any of this conversation. Damian scowls, but nods.
“Fine. But you get to tell Todd and Drake about the change of plans.” He says before his face evens out. “Marinette, I would like to assist you in preparing a savory dish for the brunch.” Dick turns and glances at Marinette, trying to read her face to see if she’d heard any of the previous conversation. But instead of looking shocked or freaked out, she just smiles and nods.
“Of course, Dames.” She says, nodding towards the kitchen. Dick lets out a breath as the two walk away. He barely has a minute to breathe before the door swings open and Jason and Tim barge in.
“We’re here! Con-” Tim starts to say, but Dick darts forward and covers his mouth with his hand.
“Wait a-” Dick gasps and yanks his hand back. “Did you lick me?” Jason snorts, holding up a hand for a high five, which Tim gives him.
“You’re the one who covered my mouth, Dick. Now why are you acting so weird?” Tim asks, frowning. Dick sighs.
“I didn’t propose. Damian was trying to set it up, but I told him that it’s not time yet.” He says quietly. Jason snorts, shaking his head.
“Never thought I’d see the day where Demon Spawn tried to be a wingman.” He says. Dick grins, shrugging.
“He’s honestly not half bad. But I just- I can’t ask her something like that. Not when…” Dick trails off, thinking back to the conversation he keeps putting off. Tim frowns.
“You still haven’t told her?” He asks. Dick shakes his head.
“If you don’t, you realize the Gremlin will, right?” Jason asks. Dick scoffs, shaking his head.
“He wouldn’t do that. He knows how important that secret is.” He says, a wave of doubt washing over him as he looks between Tim and Jason. “He wouldn’t, right?”
“Dick, have you seen the pie plate that Alfred- oh. Hey guys!” Marinette says, grinning as she walks in, a bit of flour on her face.
“Hey Marinette.” Tim says, grinning as he holds up the cup carrier. “I brought caffeine.” He adds. Marinette grins, taking the cup he offers her.
“You’re a lifesaver, kid.” She says with a grin, taking a sip.
“Marinette! I have located the pie plate!” Damian calls from the kitchen. Marinette grins.
“And that, gentlemen, is my cue. Quiche will be ready in about an hour.” She says, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away. Dick watches her walk away, and makes a resolution. He’d tell her about Batman. Today.
---
Marinette tries not to stare at Dick as they sit with Damian and watch a movie. Apparently, “Big Hero 6” was on the list of movies that Damian had never seen. And Dick thought he would really like it. But ever since brunch, Dick had been fidgety. She could almost constantly feel his stare on her, but the second she looked at him, he’d look away. And she’d caught him opening his mouth several times, then shutting it just as quickly. Trying to put her focus back on the movie, she can’t help but smile softly at the interactions between the main character and his older brother. The older boy was so supportive, and looking at the two reminded her of the relationship between Dick and Damian. Slowly, she gets lost in the story of the movie and stops focusing as much on Dick’s fidgeting.
“I wonder why Tadashi didn’t bring Baymax to this expo. You would think there would be a section for students. He and his friends-” Damian’s rambling is cut off as there’s an explosion on screen. Marinette’s heart stops, frowning as the movie takes a turn she hadn’t expected. Damian glances at her, and Marinette does her best to give him a reassuring smile before gently wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He leans into her slightly, both of them silent as the tragedy plays out in front of them.
“I thought this was a superhero movie.” Marinette says softly to Dick, unable to stop a few tears from escaping as Hiro disappears into his grief.
“Superheroes aren’t immune to loss.” Dick says, his voice full of emotion. Marinette thinks back to everything that happened in Paris and nods slowly. He was right, after all.
“Shh. I would like to see how this plays out.” Damian requests quietly. Marinette gently squeezes his shoulder before settling back and putting her focus back on the movie. She would also like to see how Hiro was going to overcome everything.
---
Dick watches nervously as Marinette shuts Damian’s door. Jason and Tim had offered to take his usual patrol route so that he could talk to Marinette without risking Damian barging in. And now that he was asleep, it was time. But he was scared. What if Marinette hated him for it? What if she decided she didn’t want anything to do with him? What if she hated him? He’s so lost in thought, he almost misses Marinette grabbing his hand and tugging him back to the couch.
“What’s wrong?” She asks gently, a worried frown on her face. Dick opens his mouth to say that nothing’s wrong, but she cuts him off. “My love, you’ve been fidgety since Tim and Jason left. And you look worried. Let’s figure this out together, yes?”
“I have to tell you something. And I’m afraid you’re going to hate me.” Dick says, hating how weak his voice sounds. Marinette nods slowly.
“Okay. Um. You’re kind of scaring me.” She says, and Dick can practically see the million worse case scenarios running through her head.
“I’m Batman.” He says, wincing slightly at how abruptly he said it.
“You’re what?” She asks, blinking rapidly.
“I’m uh, I’m Batman. I mean, I wasn’t always. I was Nightwing, and before I was Nightwing, I was Robin. But then Bruce-” Dick sucks in a breath, hating the tears that he can’t push away. “Bruce died. And Gotham was falling apart so I- I became Batman.” Marinette blinks.
“You’re Batman?” She asks. Dick nods slowly. She frowns. “Damian is Robin, isn’t he?” Dick purses his lips, and nods. Marinette tilts her head. “Jason is Red Hood, and Tim is Red Robin.” She says. Dick blinks.
“What-”
“It’s what makes the most sense. Based on body type and personality. And the fact that Tim told me to call Jason if I was ever in Crime Alley and needed help.” She says, shrugging. Dick huffs out a laugh, shaking his head as he swipes away the tears.
“You’re uh, you’re taking this very well.” He says. Marinette winces, and for a split second, Dick worries that he’d made a mistake. That maybe she wasn’t taking it well. Or maybe she was-
“I was Ladybug.” She says. And this time, it’s Dick’s turn to just blink in shock.
“What?”
“In Paris. I was uh, I was Ladybug. And Adrien, he was Chat Noir.” She says, her voice full of pain. And suddenly, everything makes sense. Why Paris was such a touchy subject. Why her nightmares of the place were so bad. Because she remembered everything, and she had lost everything. All to save her city. Dick pulls her into a hug, breathing a little easier as she relaxes into his arms.
“The one time I thought I was dating a civilian.” Dick laughs, shaking his head. Marinette snorts.
“You and me, both.” She says. Dick leans back on the couch, and Marinette cuddles closer to him, tightening her hold. “Are you and Damian safe?” She asks, after a few minutes of silence.
“As safe as vigilantes can be. Both of our suits have kevlar and plenty of body armor. I wouldn’t let him out unless I knew he would be as safe as possible.” Dick says softly, trying to reassure her.
“Mmmm. Coming from the man who wore nothing but a leotard and cape when he started out.” She teases. Dick chokes.
“You’re familiar with Robin’s looks?” He asks, and she hums in response. Dick’s favorite suit comes to mind. And he suddenly remembers his loving girlfriend is also a fashion designer. “I don’t suppose you’re familiar with Nightwing’s looks as well?” He asks, clearing his throat. Marinette snorts.
“If you’re referring to the suit with the deep V, yes.” She says and he sighs, waiting for her to tear it apart. “But I won’t say anything bad about it, because you like it.”
“Really?” He asks, looking down at her. She grins up at him.
“Yup. But I will say a deep V is an awful choice when going out to fight crime. It practically gives your enemies a target of one of your weakest areas.” She points out. Dick shakes his head, unable to stop his grin as she laughs softly. It was okay. Everything had worked out.
Next
#maribat#maribat dick grayson#maribat marinette dupain cheng#dickinette#maribat damian wayne#maribat mominette#maribat jason todd#maribat tim drake#platonic daminette#platonic jasonette#platonic timari
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Hi! I just wanted to ask if you had any maribat angst fics you could recommend?
Maribat Angst Recommendations
My first request! How exciting! Now the angst in these aren't much (except the third one), might make a part 2 when I dig through all the posts I've liked. For now, this is what I've gathered.
Siblings don’t shake hands, siblings gotta hug! by @timinette-is-best
Family Doesn’t Run Away, Family Cuddles
Friends Don’t Move On, They Stay Together
Tim hesitated a little but nodded silently and gripped his hands together. Marinette wanted to scream, because of course he had abandonment issues. She was going to kill whoever hurt her —she didn’t know who was older, she’d have to ask— brother in such a way.
“Tim, I promise that I will be back, and I’m not trying to get away from you. I want to get to know you, I just need to take care of this, okay?”
Tim could feel tears stinging at the back of his eyes at her words. How long had he been waiting for someone to say that to him? That they weren’t going to run from him, that they would stay, that they actually would come back?
“Okay.”
Useful by @soulmate-game
Part 2
She had brought him to an abandoned area far from any activity, where a body would take ages to find. She had then disarmed herself of her only weapon, her magic suit, and had gotten on the ground in total submission.
She had purposely given him the perfect setting to kill her, where there would be no witnesses and plenty of time before her body would be found for him to escape. That realization hit Damian square the chest, leaving him breathless for a moment.
“I am not here to kill anybody,” he reiterated, his voice noticeably much gentler than before.
Day and Night by @unmaskedagain
“I think I’m doing both,” Marinette answered honestly. Her throat dry, and tears burning in her eyes. “Running away from everything, and still doing the right thing by leaving a bad situation.”
Tim nodded. He was in the same boat. “Where you coming from?” Though he figured France from her accent.
“Paris. And you?”
“Gotham.”
“No one waiting for you?” Marinette asked. He shook his head. “Me either. Aren’t we a pair?”
A Moment Too Late by @justcourttee
Part 2
The next time she would contact him would be her last. She tried to reach out, ask him if he was okay, but the sentiment only fueled his rage.
“Don’t you get it? I never wanted this bond! I begged you mercilessly to leave it alone. I begged you to shut up, but you just couldn’t could you? I lost everything because of you, you hear me Marinette? If you just would’ve shut your damn mouth, I would still be able to see my mother. I hope you never use this bond again, I never want to hear from you again.”
There was no response, but it didn’t bother him. This was what he wanted for so many years, for her to never utter a sound to him again. It was a blessed day, one filled with silence as he entered Wayne Manor for the very first time.
Remember some chapters are longer than others (个_个)
Taglist:
@the-dumber-scaramouche @white-flutterby @acount-is-secret-but-needed @dagnysdawn @storylover04 @xxwisegirlxx @lostinday @gingerdaile @solangelo252 @jintana-critical @leftguard66 @stormiclown @chaoticmistake @jeminiikrystal @secretlawyercolorscissors @miraculous-ninja @soloist7 @d-starfairy @literaryhiraeth @mlbfanficwriteranddumper @patton-ly-absurd @anime-rae @doll246 @rowanyx @naturegreenr @naturegreenr-2 @maribatcrossoveronly @musicalspirits @caffeinetheory @demonicbusiness @seraphichana @vixen-uchiha @nugget-consumer-9000 @ghostdragonfang @smartlanceisreal @heckofhell @just-a-bottle-of-chaos @iamablinkmarvelarmy @madhatter-crazyasahatter-blog @pleasentlysurprised @chocolatecatstheron
#maribat fanfic#fanfiction recommendation#fanfiction recommendations#marinette deserves better#mlb x dc#dc x mlb#platonic timari#maribat tim drake#maribat marinette dupain cheng#platonic daminette#maribat angst#tim drake deserves better#maribat daminette#maribat damian wayne#maribat damian al ghul#damian x marinette
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friendlyweds
Go read if u want
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Marinette: What's disrespectful is that you're still treating me like I'm seven!
Jason: So what are you now, eight?
Marinette: I'm seventeen!
Jason: Well, you look eight.
#maribat#dc x mlb#mlb x dc#maribat incorrect quotes#marinette x batfam#platonic jasonette#timari#timinette#dukette#daminette#maridami
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Hiccups
Original prompt from @san-fics though some changes have been made.
Marinette has hiccups and her friends try to scare her all day but it doesn't work. Unexpectedly, A teen approaches, turns her to himself and kisses her deeply, shocking her. The hiccups are gone...
Masterlist Ao3
Marinette groaned in despair, or tried to before yet another blasted hiccup cut her off.
This had been going on since the start of school. Even Adrien had tried to help her by pulling his appear out of nowhere trick. Which worked only in the way that it scared her. The hiccups, sadly, had stayed.
It had gotten so bad that their teacher gave up trying to teach after lunch and just had her classmates try to come up with a cure.
Alya told a nightmare inducing story. Girl really had a talent as she probably wouldn’t be sleeping for a week.
Alix and Kim tried to help her drink a glass of water upside down through a paper towel. Effective water boarding method but it did not cure her.
Rose and Mylene tried to help her with meditative breathing exercises. Effective for dissipating her anger towards Kim and Alix, but again, no help with her hiccups.
Max started calculating percentages and organized the chaos that was her friends. She made a note that he was the most helpful even if technically he didn’t contribute a cure.
Chloe and Sabrina even stepped up to help with an offer of hot sauce. Apparently eating a spoonful is supposed to help, but all it did was make her mouth burn and eyes water while she continued to hiccup.
Thankfully Max set up Nino’s cure attempt next, a spoonful of honey and peanut butter. The science behind 8t was the same as the hot sauce, but again, no cure. At least it stopped the burning. She had actually thought for a moment that it had even cured the hiccups, but alas, it had only slowed them.
Ivan gave her a couple hits on the back as if she was choking and finally Juleka silently handed her a paper bag to breathe into.
All failures to cure this horrible le annoyance. Nothing worked. Science failed them, even her magic pocket God had failed her. She just wanted to go home and hide I her bed.
Her friend’s were having none of that, they would cure her, they weren’t quitters. So as they argued out what to try next, she decided cloud gaze and ignore her hiccups.
At least that was the plan until she heard the sound of small wheels rapidly approaching. She tried to figure out who it could be. Alix, the usual culprit when it came to rollerblading the school, was in sight. An echoing hiccup escaped and shattered her train of thought. Kim, the other possible suspect was also in sight.
She was forming a suspicion when an impossibly louder hiccup leapt from her. This one must have been bad because even her friends stopped their pointless arguments.
No, that wasn’t it. They were dodging out of the way of a skateboarder. A vaguely familiar looking dark haired skateboarder who was coming to a stop in front of her.
Her friends started to mutter questions. She opened her mouth to try and answer some of them when the skateboarder grabbed her around the waist and dipped her into a kiss.
She paled and the teen grinned widely before quickly riding away. Bastard.
After a moment to realign reality she took off after him. She could deal with her stunned classmates after she caught the bird.
“Tim you bastard!” She had to catch him and murder him before Kon heard what he had done.
She put on another burst of speed before tackling him to the ground, now several blocks away from her school. “How dare you kiss me like that when we both know you’re in a relationship!?”
Tim had the nerve to grin, “It cured your hiccups.”
She sputtered, they were gone. “but Kon...”
“Is the one who dared me to do it.”
“You weren’t supposed to sell me out.”
She swivelled to look at the teen in his signature leather jacket walking up behind her. “I almost had a heart attack because of your stupid dare. I thought you would kill us.”
Kon just chuckled as he helped bother her and Tim to theor feet.
Tim offered her a hand, “truce.”
She just glared at both of them.
Kon held his hands up in surrender, “Look, Nettie, we are in town to grab some info for a mission, just us, no other heroes. We came looking for you to grab permission since Paris is your jurisdiction.”
“We were trying to wait patiently, but your friends didn’t look like they would let you go anytime soon.”
She glared even harder at Tim, not really mad anymore but she wanted him to squirm.
Tim didn’t even flinch, he knew her too well by now. “Our plan B was to swoop in as heroes to steal you.”
Of course it was, she pinched her nose with a sigh. “Fine you have my truce and my permission to carry out your mission on two conditions.” She waited until both boys nodded. “ One, I get to come along to observe and keep an eye out for akumas. I refuse to have an even more overpowered superboy or a super Robin.”
They looked at each other before turning to her and nodding.
“Second, you get to explain to my classmates why I am not dating the “hot boy” that kissed me.” She waited as her words sunk in.
“Merde.”
“Good luck Tim, it was nice knowing you.”
She grabbed Kon’s arm before he could take off. “What makes you think that you aren’t going to help him?” She put on her sweetest smile as she steer3d the young super back towards her school. “My friends would eat poor Tim alive if they thought he was making excuses or using me. They will never believe him unless you are there to back him up.”
“Fuck.”
Tim smiled and laughed as he trailed after them.
Sure they were technically here on a mission, but it was nice to see her best friend and his boyfriend. Maybe if they weren’t pressed for time, she could arrange for a contest between Kim and Kon or a skating race between Tim and Alix.
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15. Anti-hero!Mari (Red Robin!Mari) w/ Robin!Tim
Here's Mari being a spiteful little shit <3
______
"I remember when we first met." Red Hood- no. Jason nodded at Tim.
"You and Red Robin?"
"I was concussed, so I wasn't thinking that fine. She spoke to me in french and it's not exactly in my first 10 languages, is it replacement? So I was standing there, watching this tiny french thing talk to me as if I understood shit. She seemed taller then too."
"Oui, cause I was, you dumbass." Marinette drops down beside them, french accent already present and thick on her tongue.
"Oh great, you're alive."
"My exact reaction to you, my favorite boss" back to an all-American accent.
"So I take it that french is one of your top 10 languages?" Tim asked her.
"I AM french."
Tim snorts at her, arms crossed. "And why would you give me a hint to your identity? I don't believe you"
Red Robin smacked his arm. "You Americans, so dumb. If I wasn't so kind, I would pretend that I've never spoke English or learned English in my entire life."
_________
He's staring into the fire, watching it dance, swiping at the air like a whip and going down like a flower shying into itself as the moon rises. It's patterns kept repeating, like it was a dance. A hypnotizing one.
It whipped again, and it reminded hood of a hissing snake, a warning before going for the kill.
"Hood! Tell Robin that what he's saying is a lie!"
"But it's the truth! You *can* sue anyone, there just isn't a big chance that you'll win! The best chance you have is suing someone for an injury!"
Hood ignored the sounds of their voices, focusing on the drip of the candle wax, dropping quicky into the hard bundle of melted wax at the foot of it, about to create another layer as he watched more wax drip from the newly created stem of the candle.
"Hood!"
Inner peace, it's what he needed to control his pit rage. It helps to put all his rage and energy into the details of every small thing he can focus on that doesn't anger him
"Red Hood! Notice me!"
"WHAT." Hood snapped at Marinette.
"Tell Robin he's wrong."
"No. He's probably right anyway."
"Oh, just as right as you when you decided to have me steal one of his robin costumes?"
"That was you?!?" Tim spluttered beside her.
"You have no evidence, I'm not guilty no matter what you say" she hissed at him.
"You literally just said you stole it!"
"Where's your proof!"
'Where's my gun so I can shoot both of these dumb fucks' Hood bitterly thought as he sighed into his hand.
______
"Red Robin! No!" Tim grabbed the match that Marinette held as she looked at him in surprise and confusion.
"Why not! It's just a car! Take it as protest, I'm just making a point for the authority!"
Tim threw the match far away from him and her. "Jesus Christ, what are you, French?"
Red Robin managed to look offended. "Oui! And you, American? Set the car on fire!"
She said in a thick heavy convincing french accent. Tim scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Haha, very convincing. Now, we don't set cars on fire."
"Then, gather a crowd! We shall shake a building, tilt it until all the cars have fallen out! People are so stupid and weak, non? We shall show them true riot! Be the leader to a newer better generation!"
'Wow' Tim thought. 'She's really pushing it with the french thing.' "What, are you saying we should kill the rich next?"
"Oui! We start with them!" And there was a glint to her eye as she took another match out from somewhere.
"Red, no."
Is this what Dick feels taking care of Damian? Tim doesn't want to be an older brother, thanks. Take the thing away he can manage.
#MARINETTE IS A LITTLE SHIT#Maribat tim drake#maribat tim drake wayne#maribat jason todd#platonic jasonette#romantic timinette#timari#timinette#jasonette#tim drake x marinette#marinette x tim drake#dc x mlb#mlb x dc#dcu x mlb#mlb x dcu#batfam x mlb#mlb x batfam#batman x mlb#mlb x batman
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Yes, I know AO3 is back up. But I gotta finish what I started.
—*—*—*—*—*
The Heroes’ Game
Prev ….. Next.
Chapter 2:
“There has to be a way to turn this off,” Marinette seemed to be talking mostly to herself. After the bat boys made sure the three traffickers were picked up, they relocated Marinette to the empty rooftop of a building they owned. Not that she knew that, but it was the best way to insure nobody came up to see them. The smaller girl was pacing, despite the disorientation that came with seeing herself pace as she paced. Robin seemed to feel that same disorientation, rubbing his forehead in what could have been pain but was probably annoyance as well.
Batman and Nightwing could only watch as words tumbled out of the girl’s mouth faster than they could comprehend all of them. It was such an odd sight; a silent Robin brooding in place and rubbing his temples while the small Asian girl in pigtails rambled and paced.
They could hardly believe they were soulmates, but if Robin hadn’t denied it yet then it had to be true.
“At least it isn’t a physical mark,” Batman managed to interject into Marinette’s panic. She looked up at him, instantly cutting off her verbal vomit. “But how about you two explain exactly what your mark is so we can understand?”
“Yeah, don’t leave us hanging,” Nightwing agreed with a smile. Sure, it was incredibly inconvenient and not at all ideal for one of them to meet their soulmate in uniform. But, none of them exactly had a say in that. The best they could do was roll with the punches and Nightwing wasn’t gonna let a little right hook from Fate keep him down for long.
“It’s annoying,” Robin surprisingly answered first, lowering his hand to cross his arms over his broad chest again. Marinette turned to him, just then realizing that Robin hadn’t looked away from her for longer than a few seconds since their bond had first formed. “Our vision is cut in half, like a two-player game screen. One side is my usual point of view, the other side is the point of view through her eyes.”
Batman and Nightwing tensed, processing. Marinette didn’t notice, considering she had narrowed her focus back onto the concrete of the roof below her and decided to contribute to the explanation.
“I think that’s exactly what it is,” she agreed, unknowingly making everyone look over at her. “I didn’t notice it before, but— look, Robin. In the bottom left hand corners,” she pointed to something only Robin and herself could see. “It says Player One and Player Two. In red and—oh, those are hearts instead of colons.”
“So much for hoping this was at least platonic,” Batman groaned, running a hand over his face. He was happy that Robin had a match, sure, but that didn’t exactly make things easy. Nothing to do with superheroes and their soulmates was easy.
“I think…” Marinette narrowed her eyes as she focused on the red font. The spot after the colon had a flashing cursor. “I think it’s waiting for us to introduce ourselves,” she looked up to her newly found soulmate with expectation. He avoided meeting her eyes, and said nothing. Puffing out her cheeks, Marinette decided not to be put off by his behavior and straightened her spine. Taking several confident steps forward, she held out her hand to him. “Hello, Robin. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I am from Paris, France. My class and I are here on a month-long field trip thanks to one of us winning the Wayne Enterprises scholastic competition last month.”
“Wait a second,” Nightwing interjected, eyes narrowed behind his mask. “Are you being humble? Because the guest speaker at the Wayne Gala at the end of the month is the winner of that competition and her name has already been released as Mari—“
Cue the frantic arm waving and full face blush. “Ah-Ah-Ah yeah, that’s me. But I don’t like to brag, so I didn’t want to say it! You know, I didn’t want to come off as full of myself or a-anything. It’s really embarrassing having to make a speech,” Marinette’s head dropped at the reminder. “Ohhhh, I’m gonna make a total fool out of myself! I should tell Monsieur Wayne I’m not comfortable making a speech. Yeah— oh, but how could I possibly just say; ‘sorry, Mister Wayne, But I am a chronic clutz prone to embarrassing myself and think that making a speech at one of your galas would be a huge mistake,’ oh I sound so lame—”
“Hey,” Robin’s voice cut through the rambling, and Marinette looked up. “Look. It has your name after Player One now. Stop thinking about useless things and focus on how to shut this off. Soulmate or not, we can’t have you finding out who we all are after only a day.”
Nightwing walked over and threw an arm over Robin’s shoulders, even though the older male was still focusing on Marinette out of the corner of his eye. Most people would be offended by the way Robin spoke, blunt and sharp at the same time. But Marinette hadn’t started rambling again, instead the girl stood calmly. Her breaths came slow and regular once more, and her eyes held a scarily familiar focus. Maybe they really do belong together. Huh. Who would have thought his soulmate would be so adorable? And humble. Kind of a mess though, but a cute mess. “Hey, the girl introduced herself and you didn’t even shake her hand. Come on, fill in your name Player
Two!”
Robin scowled. He had already deduced that being Player Two was likely due to the fact that Marinette had been the one to initiate the contact that awakened their soul bond. Didn’t mean he liked being second in any respect. His soulmate was also a wreck. All the rambling and random switches in and out of panic. It was aggravating, but…
But he watched the stern focus in her eyes as she thought about how to temporarily shut down the connection they had. And he had been watching her the whole time. Analyzing her body language. She was easy to rile up, sure, but her panic was never all consuming. Robin could see that her feet always remained firmly planted, her stance fluid and firm. She was always ready to defend herself, whether she knew it or not, regardless of the surface-level panic she might have been experiencing. Even after only twenty or so minutes of interaction, Robin could tell that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not a 2-D character. She was layered, with secrets and complexities that he was willing to bet few people saw or knew about. Maybe that’s why he walked over to her, and extended a hand that she readily grasped after a brief moment of disbelief.
“... I’m Robin.”
He watched the twitch of her eyebrow in exasperation, hiding his amusement under a perfectly developed poker face. The writing on the bottom of his POV’s side filled in; PLAYER TWO: ROBIN.
“Great,” Marinette deadpanned, looking very unamused. “What if that never changes, huh? I’m not asking you to reveal your identity or anything. Soulmates or not, you don’t owe me something that important. Especially not right away. But you could have at least given me the first letter of your real name or something.”
“You’ll have to earn that,” Robin retorted with a cocky grin. To his pleasant surprise, Marinette responded by cracking her knuckles.
“You know, this layout looks suspiciously similar to a combat video game,” she hinted heavily. Robin adjusted his stance and his smirk widened into a grin.
“Oh? You’re right. Ready to lose?”
“No,” Batman interrupted, one heavy hand suddenly on both of their shoulders as the teenage soulmates snapped out of the challenging connection they had made. “Not today. Miss Dupain-Cheng—“
“Just Marinette, please, Monsieur Batman.”
“... Marinette. You said your class left you behind at the hotel, right? Any idea where they would be now?”
Marinette pulled out her phone to look at the time, frowning. “It’s been about an hour. They’ll probably stay at the museum for another hour, and then they said we would all get dinner at the restaurant across the street.”
Batman nodded, filing that information away. “Good. Then we have about an hour for the two of you to figure out your bond before we need to drop you off in front of the restaurant to rejoin your class.”
“And have a chat with your teacher about taking roll call and properly taking care of her students while in the most dangerous city in the world,” Nightwing agreed, furious at the fact that any student would be left behind to potentially wander such a dangerous city, like Marinette did. Though, considering who her soulmate was, she probably only felt safe to wander due to confidence in her ability to protect herself. Confidence that they all saw was fairly valid.
That being decided, the two soulmates sat down. Batman, knowing it was unnecessary for both him and Nightwing to watch over the teens, left to resume patrol. Nightwing stayed. Someone had to watch the teen’s backs as they focused on figuring out their bond.
And that led to Marinette and Robin both sitting cross-legged and staring at one another without a clue about what to do. After a minute of silent staring, Marinette shifted and her nose scrunched up.
“Uh,” she said as she was struck with her usual timidity at the awkward situation. Here she was, sitting and trying to figure out her soul bond with a guy she just met. One of Gotham’s heroes, no less, which really was more of a relief than anything. At least he would understand her once she eventually revealed herself as Ladybug to him, and she understood him. She shifted her weight again, unable to move her gaze from Robin’s emerald green eyes. “How about we just… start by meditating? That should help, right?” She watched as his green eyes widened slightly in disbelief, and saw herself fidget again from his point of view.
“You meditate?” He asked, clearly not having expected that. Marinette sighed, relaxing into the change in conversation.
“Yeah. I mean, most of Paris meditates now. When your emotions can be used to turn you into a temporary supervillain because of a crazed maniac with a magic artifact, you tend to look for ways to manage your emotions and keep yourself from being vulnerable.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Nightwing asked, and Marinette could tell that he was shocked even despite the mask. “What are you talking about?”
It was Marinette’s turn to be confused, her brows furrowing as she looked between the two males and realized mon dieu, neither of them know what I’m talking about!
“Oh my god,” she said in English. “Paris, we’ve been attacked by a supervillain for the last three years,” she said slowly, but still no recognition. In fact, that only seemed to shock the heroes more. Marinette’s face grew more grim as she decided to completely fill them in. “Three years ago, one of my classmates randomly turned into a huge rock monster. Because of it, Paris’s primary two heroes showed up for the first time to defeat him. When he turned back into a normal boy, the true villain projected himself in front of the Eiffel Tower. His name is HawkMoth. He got hold of a magical artifact called a Miraculous. His Miraculous allows him to corrupt something, in his case butterflies, and use that corrupted object to take advantage of people experiencing negative emotions. His corrupted object takes advantage of those negative emotions to turn the person into a supervillain, giving them powers and essentially brainwashing them into causing havoc. He bargains with them, convincing them that he’ll allow them to get their revenge in exchange for them bringing him what he wants,” Marinette took a breath. “The Miraculous That the two heroes of Paris use. It’s where the get their own powers,” she explained. “Ladybug, the leader, uses the Ladybug Miraculous. It holds the power of creation. Her partner, Chat Noir, uses the cat Miraculous, which holds the power of destruction. If you combine the powers of those two Miraculous, you can make a wish. They will literally manipulate reality in order to grant the wish,” Marinette looked down to her lap, clenching her hands into fists. Through her soul bond with Robin, she could see herself trembling in anger. “But it always comes with a price. The Miraculous uphold the balance of the world. If they grant a wish, they will also balance that wish. If you, for example, wish for the cure to an illness,” Marinette swallowed, “then maybe you will unleash a brand new illness that gets brought to your city by rats and wipes out around forty percent of the population in Europe.”
“The Black Plague,” Nightwing gasped. “That was from a wish made using these— Miraculous?”
Marinette nodded gravely. “Yes. A wish has also caused the sinking of Atlantis, the wipe out of most of the Native American population in North America from illness, it was the final straw to begin the First World War. You cannot make a wish without consequences,” she stressed. “That is why Ladybug and Chat Noir work so hard to keep their Miraculous away from HawkMoth. But they haven’t been able to discover his identity yet. Nobody has,” Marinette’s shoulders slumped. “Which means Paris can only endure as it gets hit every few days by a new supervillain and new powers. Luckily, one of Ladybug’s power is the ability to reverse any damage that happens due to a Miraculous. It will completely reverse environmental damage, magical effects, injuries, even deaths that occurred from misuse of a Miraculous,” Marinette didn’t notice how both men stiffened at that last admission. “But the most we can do is try to police our emotions as much as possible, keep ourselves from being overcome by negative emotions for very long, so that Hawk Moth doesn’t have the chance to use us. Thus, meditation.”
Silence reigned for a long moment before Nightwing punched the concrete under him, making Marinette jump. What—?
“How did we not know?” The older hero growled, making Marinette’s eyes shoot wide open. Huh?
“You really never heard about this?” She asked cautiously, frowning. “Ladybug called the Justice League for help back when this all first started, but she was waved off as if it was all a prank. She tried again later, only to get the same treatment. I thought you would have at least heard about that.”
Nightwing and Robin both shook their heads. “No,” the older of the two refuted. “Nobody from the League told any of us about a prank call, and usually we’d hear about that. Not many people risk prank calling the heroes of the world, after all. And that doesn’t explain how international news never covers that. Even if the effects are reversed, you’d think someone would report about villains in Paris.”
“Someone does,” Marinette said, tilting her head. “The Ladyblog used to be the only one, you can find it online. It started out as a really trustworthy source of information on everything happening in Paris with its heroes and Akumas—Which is what the temporary villains are called. But lately, the Ladyblog has been…” Marinette’s face twisted into a scowl. “...not the most reliable news source. But Ladybug herself started a new news app, AkumaWatch, that most of Paris has downloaded by now,” Marinette pulled out her phone to show them. Pulling the app up, she turned the screen so they could see. “This tab holds footage of past or currently occurring attacks. This tab holds resources for calming techniques, and sources for therapy or other emotional aid for anyone who needs it. This tab has self defense techniques and the location of all the Akuma Shelters in the city so people can evacuate as quickly as possible. And this tab,” she clicked on the second to last one, “is for anyone who sees an Akuma, which looks like a corrupt purple butterfly, to take a picture of it. This allows the Akuma Alert to narrow down the area that the attack begins in, so that people know where to avoid most,” she explained. “The last tab is for any PSAs or other public statements that any of Paris’s heroes or public figures have to say about the attacks.”
“You know a lot about this,” Robin mused slowly, Marinette fully aware of how his gaze remained on her face as she closed the app and put her phone away. Robin was equally aware of how she stubbornly looked anywhere other than his face. Marinette shrugged.
“I helped make the app. Besides, Ladybug occasionally lands on my terrace and we’ll talk when she doesn’t have something better to do. I wouldn’t say we’re friends, exactly, but I think she just likes having someone other than her teammates to talk to about everything with,” Marinette rubbed the back of her neck and smiled sheepishly. “I’m a pretty good listener.”
Robin and Nightwing traded glances, before they both looked back at her.
“Okay…” Robin said slowly. “Let’s try meditation.”
Eager to get away from the previous topic, Marinette easily agreed and both teens adjusted their posture, got comfortable, and closed their eyes.
As usual both of their visions went completely black, but only for a moment. Once they had both sunk into their meditation, their vision came back to show them in what they immediately, intrinsically knew was a shared mindspace.
No longer was their vision cut in half like a game. Instead they saw only from their own point of view, like normal, which was disorienting in and of itself after half an hour of seeing from two points of view at the same time.
The mindspace was mostly white, and it seemed to go on forever. But there were things there. Everything that belonged to Marinette was on pink space, like the floor or sometimes walls and ceiling of the area around that object decided to create a small piece of solidity to emphasize it. Solidity that happened to come in the form of pink. Pink floor in a patch of space, or a cube of pink floor, wall, and patch of ceiling. Likewise, the spots that belonged to Robin were backdropped by green. And the. There were spots that merged both colors, indicating that it was shared.
Like the giant sparring mat in the center of the room, where the floor beneath and around it was an attractive swirl of pink and green as if the two colors chased one another, creating a design that seemed wholly and completely right. Belonging just to Robin, though Marinette was able to walk over and gently run her hands over them, was a rack of weapons—primarily swords. There was also a couch, a computer, a large bookshelf, a wall of batarangs, and a TV that they apparently shared just like the sparring mat.
Amongst the pink items were things like a kitchen— a whole, fully stocked kitchen— a sewing station and matching rack of fabric, a computer of her own, a few potted plants, and a loft bed.
After taking the time to absorb their surroundings, Robin turned to Marinette to find, with relief, that they were both dressed exactly as they were in the physical world. Marinette wasted no time heading over to the shared television, a large flat screen, and sat down on the ground in front of Robin’s green-backdropped couch.
“What are you doing?” The boy asked in exasperation as Marinette turned on the piece of technology. “This isn’t the time to play around. We’re trying to figure out how to control this bond,” he reminded her. Marinette nodded, not looking back at him.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing. Look, our vision mimicked a video game, right? So where better to find clues than the mysterious TV in our mindspace. I mean, it technically doesn’t actually exist, since this isn’t the physical world, so it won’t have any normal channels or shows on it. The TV is connected to our minds. What better place to look for— I knew it!” She shouted in glee. Sure enough, when Robin walked up to her and sat down on the sofa that belonged to him, he saw it. The screen of the TV was split in half, but both sides were dark. In the bottom left of each side of the screen were the very familiar red words and heart-colons;
PLAYER ONE: MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG
PLAYER TWO: ROBIN
The TV showed the view from their eyes. It was the link between their mindspace and their vision in the real world.
“Okay…” Robin mused slowly, reaching forward to grab the green controller on the stand that held the TV. Marinette grabbed the matching pink controller. “So this works like a video game, after all.”
“At least partially,” his soulmate agreed. “It’s mostly a mind link, right? We share a mindspace, which isn’t too odd for soulmates,” even if it was on the rarer side of the spectrum, “But it looks like our minds are even connected through our physical vision. Here, let’s see if this game of life has any instructions,” the girl pressed the center button on her controller, which pulled up an Options tab on the screen. “Yes!”
“Here, let’s look at the list of controls,” Robin suggested, clicking the appropriate option on the screen. The “game title” was boasted in bright red at the top of the “controls” list;
Soul Team.
Marinette’s eyes widened at the title. “Oh,” she said, her voice surprisingly quiet. “It’s… like it’s saying that we’re each other’s backup, no matter what,” her soft voice echoed in the room, striking an odd chord in Robin. “We can always see when the other person is in danger, or what they’re facing, and go to help.”
“Look at this,” Robin pointed to one of the “controls” lines near the top. “Switch vision mode between Split Screen, Audio Only, Personal Mode, or Sleep Mode. It looks like we can only switch modes here, in the Mindspace,” he pointed out as he read. “We don’t have to agree on the setting, but aside from Sleep Mode, Which activates automatically when we fall asleep, any mode one of us chooses still affects us both.”
“Audio only just lets us hear what is going on around the other person,” Marinette read, humming in thought. “We can use that as a step two, right? Like, we can start on Personal Mode, where we only have our own Point of Views, but once we get more comfortable we can switch to audio mode every now and then.”
“Maybe,” Robin agreed reluctantly. Audio mode shouldn’t be too bad… possibly. Once again, his green eyes strayed to his soulmate. Completely unaware, for the first time in a half hour, of his stare, Marinette just continued reading about everything their soul bond entailed.
Analyzing her like this, Robin was just… calmed, in a way. Visually, Marinette was pretty. She had gorgeous sapphire eyes, clear like a pristine lake, and midnight black hair that shimmered blue in the right lighting. Sure, it was pulled into childish pigtails at the base of her neck, but it didn’t seem to detract from the surprising maturity in the girl’s posture. She was clearly a childish person at heart, and easy to excite if their interactions thus far were anything to go off of, but there was a hidden maturity there. A hidden knowledge, amongst her many subtle layers and complexities.
Perhaps that was the first similarity that Robin noticed between the two of them. She had what seemed like a very straightforward personality at first glance— the awkward, shy, clumsy, excitable girly girl, just like he was the cold, arrogant, mysterious bad boy on the surface. But she held more than that, secrets and deeper parts of herself that she kept hidden flawlessly. Robin doubted even her closest friends noticed much of what lies beyond the surface of her character.
“It seems like this bond is supposed to ease us into getting to know each other,” Marinette’s voice brought Robin out of his inner musings. “We can’t hear each other’s thoughts, no matter what, which is usually the feature that comes along with shared mindspaces. But we can adjust the level of privacy we allow one another, and we can meet here when we sleep. It’s less like the bond between gamers, and more like the bond is meant to act like an ice breaker. Like… an activity for us to get to know each other, almost.”
“Our soul bond is a team bonding activity,” Robin surmised in a deadpan tone, completely done with the logic of the universe and the way it liked to play with him. The laugh that Marinette let ring out only partially made up for his annoyance.
“Oui, Oui!” Marinette agreed emphatically before standing up frantically in realization. “Oh! I forgot to ask, do you speak French?”
Robin grinned and nodded. “I do, actually. I suppose that is at least convenient. My first language is Arabic, however. I don’t suppose you speak that, do you?”
Marinette’s shoulders slumped. “No. But I do speak Mandarin! And Cantonese, which is actually my first language. I’m still working on Mandarin, though. I’ve only been learning it for about two years, but I can hold a decent conversation.”
Damian nodded, tilting his head. “I am fluent in Mandarin, but my Cantonese can use some work. We can benefit each other in that respect, at least.”
“So we have plenty of languages to choose from!” Marinette said cheerfully, punctuating her words with an excited clap. “That should make it easy to keep people from eavesdropping on us all the time, at least. If we ever spoke to each other in front of my class, for example, Cantonese would be best to use. They all speak French, for obvious reasons, and several are fluent in English, and one of them is fluent in mandarin, but I don’t think any of them know Cantonese. After I help you get fluent, maybe you could teach me Arabic?”
And for the first time in Damian Wayne’s life, the sparkle of excitement in a girl’s eyes completely drained his will to argue. Grimacing, the boy agreed to teach her Arabic after they helped each other become fluent in the type of Chinese that they, respectively, needed help with.
This is a problem, Robin thought in despair. She’s already becoming a weakness.
—*—*—*—*—*
#maribat#mlb x dc#ml x dc#dc x mlb#dc x miraculous#platonic jasonette#platonic dickinette#platonic timari#romantic daminette#daminette#damian x marinette#damimari#marinette x damian#maribat fic
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What.the.actual.baguettes Bruce?!
This was meant to be a short fic to get the idea out of my head. It grew.... Oops
Masterlist
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The chaos finally rested on the battlefield. World weary, drained from the prolonged battle, the heroes slowly regrouped together to take stock of the end. Red Robin had come with the bat’s this time rather than the scattered remains of young justice, so slowly started to limp towards his siblings. He could see Kon with Kara fussing over Jon who he waved at and nodded to Bart who was near the other Speedsters.
The big three founders were all huddled together supervising the villain of the day with a petite woman who looked exhausted. The battle had been hard and Bruce, no Batman, ended up reluctantly calling in the Justice Leagues ‘last resort’. The last resort was led by the petite woman and her team were a welcome relief tipping the battle into their favour finally. Her team were currently scattered around searching for survivors and any lost stray villain underlings.
The woman picked up her yoyo of a weapon, which she now treated as a phone, and nodded to whatever she was hearing and hang up to throw the yoyo into the air with another battle cry. Ladybirds flew our righting the damage, mending wounds, setting the battlefield to how it was moments before the first weapon fired.
Red Robin blinked in surprise at it all as his leg was surrounded and finally less battle damaged with only the hints of pain where it was previously.
“I hate magic. It’s fricking creepy!”
Red Robin raised his eyebrow at Red Hoods comment, though he didn’t disagree, hobbled closer to him. As the magic wash faded the woman in question’s costume fell away leaving her standing there in what looked like pyjamas looking very out of place next to the giant founders towering above her.
“Yeah, it’s unusually for B to have this, magic or whatever as a last resort. I thought his typically avoided backup plans that didn’t involve him or something based on understandable science.”
Nightwing stated leaning against Red Hood while staring in confusion at their father. Red Hood shoved Nightwing off his shoulder roughly to watch Red Robin. Red Robin instead of joining in the banter was focused, puzzling out, what was happening with the big three. He could feel Hoods concerned gaze on him as he froze in shock when the woman turned to stare at the ex-Robins, her eyes narrowing as she storms up to Batman.
Ignoring Superman and Wonder Woman, she grabbed Batman’s cloak, yanking him down to her height growling at him in a manner very similar to Hood at times.
“You promised that you would keep an eye on him.”
“I am keeping an eye on him.”
“B! That.is.not.what.I.meant.and.YOU.know.it. So, I’ll say again. What.the.actual.baguettes.is he doing here?!”
“He refused to stay out the field.”
The punch that followed echoed around the area as Batman clutched his jaw clicking it. Wonder Woman placed a hand on Superman’s shoulder stopping him from interfering as Batman cautiously let the tiny woman hiss at him.
“You’re the croissant adult!”
“Ladybug...”
“Oh, mille feuille! If CPS wasn’t so bad, I’d have called them on you years ago! Argh!!”
“Ladybug...”
“Why hasn’t it been sorted! You insist on dancing about in lyrca wearing underwear on top of tights and ploughing money into Gotham like it’s going out of fashion, So,” jabbing her finger into his chest forcefully, “why that macaron hasn’t CPS been reformed! And the people using it!”
“...Ladybug...”
She ignored his potential response as she turned and marched straight towards Red Robin, who still had not moved since her de-masking. Signal having made his way towards the collective of ex-Robin looked on worriedly as she muttered about ‘irresponsible, self-indulgence, no impulse control rich kids’.
“Should... Should we be worried that she just punched ‘the Batman’ with no regrets.”
“Nah, I kinda like her. She ain’t putting up with his cack!”
“Hood! B... I...”
As Nightwing flummoxed, the identified Ladybug stood in front of Red Robin and started to fuss over him in a motherlike manner with tunnel vision solely focused on the young adult in front of her.
“M, I’m ok.”
“Shhhh mon chou! I need to check. I’m so sorry I left and didn’t take you with me. I should have pushed harder to stay or keep you.”
If she held super powers, superman laser beams would have been aimed at Batman with the glare she sent him over her shoulder as her blonde partner made his way towards the big three, most likely to try and smooth over the unexpected attack on Batman.
“The person I asked to keep an eye on you is blind and I should have reported him to CPS if they weren’t so awful.”
Tim shook his head in fondness letting her examine him to her ensure his health met her satisfaction, ignoring his siblings' questioning faces from behind her. Once she was done, she fiddled with her small pink bag which he’d not noticed beforehand and pulled out a macaroon and stuffed in his mouth.
Rolling his eyes at her antics, Tim crunched upon the macaroon and wrapped his arms around the woman, resting his head on top of hers just sighing. He took in her familiar vanilla scents and the flavours of almond and pistachio macaroon dancing on his tongue. It was like coming home, though it felt strange to now tower over the short woman, he finally felt he could relax. Everything about her was unconditional. He didn’t need to be Timothy Drake (-Wayne). He didn’t need to be (Red) Robin. He didn’t need to be the perfect heir, the perfect student, the perfect vigilante. She was happy with just him.
“M, he has looked after me. He took me in when my parents died. I’m ok.”
“He did an awful job at it. I should have stolen you when you turned up with your suitcase packed too instead of telling you to go back to your ice queen mother.”
Tim didn’t respond and just held her closer as he melted into her hug. The constant buzz of worry he’d learnt to ignore finally quietening.
‘The cold anger his mother showered around the mansion chilled Tim to his core. His mother was fuming. Miss Marinette according to her was a harlot who was trying to weasel her way into the elite, using the Drakes as if they were nothing.
He didn’t understand it, Miss Marinette regularly met her friends with her cultural greeting, she had explained what a la bise was to him. Her friends were really nice to him, often asking him about his interests and what he was up to at kindergarten.
They tease Miss Marinette and about being mother and son when he snuggles into her when he was starting to feel tired, which seemed to be one of the issue of her behaviour at gala’s that Mother had; allowing the Drake heir to act his age, that Miss Marinette didn’t deny or push that he wasn’t her son. None of it made any sense.
Apparently last night was the final straw according to Mother and that Miss Marinette was too ‘loose’ for her son to be around. That her flirting(?) was inappropriate. That too many of socialites spoke to her with a familiar ease which was a detriment to Drake Industries and that she HAD to go.
Tim understood all the words, but it just didn’t make sense.
Asking Mother why she was upset was a HUGE mistake. Telling her that Miss Marinette acted like his mother (as she did based on his understanding, she collected him from school like the other mums, she cooked him dinner, she read to him and put him to bed like all his friends mothers did) was a definite bad move as Mothers frosty glare froze Tim’s soul. Her cruel response was to tell him he was old enough to not require an Au Pair and the coddling anymore that he would be over seen by the housekeeper Mrs Mac instead before sending him to his room.
Creeping down his wing (which he shared which Miss Marinette, the opposite side of the mansion to his parents) Tim peeked through the door crack of Miss Marinette’s and listened to the one-sided conversation as Miss Marinette argued with someone on the phone while chaotically throwing items into her bag with a frustrated energy.
“This is your fault!!”
“Because it is!!”
“Ignore me! Like you’ve done so for years!”
“Yes!!! I’ve lived here that long and manged to slip you’re notice and now you owe me this big time.”
“I didn’t need you to know.”
“That was the past!”
“Misma, haven’t you noticed the change?”
“Yeah - not all your doing you lycra clad baguette!!”
“... it’s gonna get worse now too...”
“I can’t!”
“Why?! You’re asking me why?! Oh, mille feuille! Because I’m being fired because of you and your interfering nosy face!”
“I can’t B. Not unless I want to be blocked and banned.”
“They have influence too. And given I worked for them and the field they work in, I’m pretty sure that they have that upper hand. Given my task, I just - I can’t risk it.”
“... I’m not going to misuse them, especially after everything. What’s happened happened. It’s set in stone, this has to happen now and it's all your fault!”
“Can you promise me, please. I wouldn’t asked unless I had to. As one last favour for old time sakes.”
“I love him. Please. Keep an eye on him, please. I need to know he’s safe.”
“He’s my son in all the ways that matter. Please Bruce.”
“Thank you, that’s all I ask for.”
Tim watched as she ended the call and throw the phone on the bed and put her face in her hands. The soft sobs that echoed around the room sent his stomach twisting. She cared for him. She wanted him safe. She was making sure that someone, even at a distance, was going to look out for him. Even if she didn’t work for his parents. None of his memories of love were fake. She truly cared. Insisting a Bruce looked out for him.
Based on the previous night, Bruce was likely to be Bruce Wayne who had slipped into his parent’s conversation. They had insisted Tim played Timothy Drake to meet some of the investors of D.I, so Miss Marinette stood in the background waiting and ready to take him away once he had performed his purpose. When they were distracted, Bruce had whisked Miss Marinette onto the dance floor.
He knew his mother was angry that Miss Marinette had left her station so that Mother had had to deal with Tim for that one dance, but it really wasn’t Miss Marinette’s fault, she could hardly refuse the gala’s host a dance. Tim understood his mother upset that Miss Marinette’s outfit had stolen some of the gossip attention to begin with. She was fuming that there were more whispers about Mr Wayne dancing with the help. The comments on how Tim’s dark hair and blue eyes matched the dancing pairs seemed to have her narrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth.
Almost as quickly as the tears came, Miss Marinette’s stopped, as she took a huge sigh and forlornly looking around the room and restarted to pack again. Biting his lip, Tim’s body felt wrong, a whole set of unease settled in him so slipped away to his room to muse.
In his room, Tim sat on his bed wrapping the blanket Miss Marinette had made him and stared into space. All the warmth and stuff he cared about within the room came from Miss Marinette. The bestest, softest blanket. The stars positioned in real constellations on his ceiling. The books that he was actually interested in and not what his parents thought he should be interested in. Actual toys, to play and use. Everything that made it feel like a home rather than a museum the rest of the house felt like.
Tim’s mother may think that he was too old to have an Au Pair, but he didn’t feel like that. He liked having someone to talk to who listened to him about his day. Who encouraged his interests (and knew what they were). He didn’t want to live in an empty museum by himself. Father had said she had until this evening to leave, which meant if Tim moved now, he’d be able to pack a suitcase too with all his key possessions and join Miss Marinette. Mother and Father shouldn’t mind since they were never around. It’d also make Mrs Mac’s life easier too.
With his decision made, Tim smiled to himself as he got to work.’
“I wanted to go with you. You were more a mother to me than she was.”
“Hmmmf! Should have got Fe to look into rules about me adopting you instead. Then I wouldn’t have to have asked an idiot to do instead.”
Tim glanced over her head to see Felix and Batman approach the group. Batman waved the other hero families away indicating he had it handled, wanting them to focus on the villains they’d just taken down. His siblings on the other hand were curiously watching the events pan out. He was sure if they could get popcorn they would have by now and watch like the rubberneckers they were.
“It was nice that the person leaving me didn’t want to go for once.”
“Oh mon Chou!” Marinette pulled back and looked at him, “They hurt you didn’t they. *He’s* hurt you too, all of them. I’m sorry I left you sweetheart. I’m not going to leave you this time.”
She pulled him further into her arms if it was possible, the pair sharing the pain of leaving but slowly healing.
‘His bags were all packed just like how his parents usually had them. Tim, with care, took them down the stairs to the grand entrance and placed them next to Miss Marinette’s surreptitiously. His parents would never notice the small cases with the rest of Miss Marinettes belongings.
With Marinette coming down the stairs with her last bag, Tim ran and launched himself into her arms holding her close. Her hugs always felt like home. Her floral perfume never managed to hide the smells of freshly baked treats. The thought of having them and being with her permanently sent a small thrill down him.
“I’ll miss you mon Chou. I promise that I’ve asked someone to keep an eye on you and I will come back as soon as I possibly can. I don’t want to leave you. Never my bebe.”
“Timothy! This behaviour is unacceptable. Come stand with me and your father and unhand that woman.”
His mother spat out with such hostility that Tim flinched at her words, clinging tightly to the one person he knew solidly cared for him.
“Oh darling, mon tresor, you need to let go. I love you darling, but I can’t take you. I don’t want to leave you bebe, but I have to. Please, mon Chou, you have to go back to your parents.”
Tim shook his head into Miss Marinette’s shoulder, tears silently streaming down his face as he felt her breathe hitch and body shake as she tried to supress her own threatening tears.
“Timothy!”
He felt the claw like hands reach his shoulder and wrench him away from Miss Marinette. His mother towering over the pair in full icy glory. Her nails dug into his skin she tore him further apart to stand near his father. Miss Marinette carefully and ‘apparently’ calmly stood with dignity and gazed at his parents, her eyes softening when she met Tim’s own watery blue eyes.
“Thank you for allowing me to work for you both. Timothy is a wonderful child, and I will miss him. Goodbye!”
His parents held a firm grip on Tim as he sobbed watching his maman pack her bags into a waiting taxi and drive away.’
“Marinette, my Duchess, you’re not adopting strays. This one has a home already.”
“But Feeeeeeeeeeeee!”
Shifting her hands up to his head, Marinette pulled Tim down and kissed his forehead in her motherly fashion before letting go to look at Felix with a pout. Tim held a tender grin upon his face at her behaviour reminiscent of how he remembered her being. His regular tension easing into a relaxed stance more akin to what he was like all those years ago.
“Sup Replacement. Gonna explain what’s happening?”
The laser sharp look Red Hood got from his comment from the woman in question had him gulping as her aura screamed protective mama bear. Having met many of those in crime alley, he took a step back as could predict what a powered up one could do. Nightwing moved subtly, along with Robin to support Hood in case things went sour.
“Oh right, well, ummm, guy’s I’d like you to meet Miss Marinette or M, my Au Pair before my parents fired her due to B interacting with ‘the help’. She stole the show upsetting them.”
“...”
Tim sighed at his siblings' blank faces as they tried to understand what he was saying. Was it really that hard to read between the lines? They had all experienced Gotham’s elite and socialites' shark-like behaviour. Just because Bruce was not like that doesn’t mean they hadn’t seen the cut throat nature that occurred.
“My Mother didn’t like to be upstaged. M could do that with ease, grace and have the elite and business partners eating out her hand without even realising it. Mother hated that she worked hard to get that kinda respect and well, M is just M. That gala was her final straw.”
“Lies, mon Chou. I worked for it. I just was in Gotham while she globe-trotted making it easier to make those connection.”
Before Tim could reply and sing M’s praises further and probably fall into a disagreement of each of them singing other’s strengths. Felix placed a calming hand on Marinette’s shoulder as Batman who was brooding in the background deflated for some reason.
“Nice to meet you again Timothy. I must say you’ve grown into a formidable man. Wayne Enterprise got incredibly luck with you at the helm.”
“Fe, shhh, I’m stealing him. I need Max so I can ferry him away and go … chat... with Alfred and Bruce.”
Felix raised his eyebrow at her comment while Batman gulped in a very unlike Bruce or Batman like manner.
“Really now. And how are you planning to steal a very prominent and public figure?”
“Same way I did Adri, with love and affection while obliterating the opposition by tearing them a new one!”
“Ahh yes, fighting words again. Should I be worried by the Bat’s heart eyes on you again.”
“No love, he’s a flirt and doesn’t know what’s good for him until he’s lost it. So, *I’m gonna make him understand*”
“... La... *cough* Marinette...”
Bruce (as despite being dressed as Batman, was very much in a Bruce headspace) look flustered and worried. Tim took pity on Bruce remembering the strange lingering gaze he gave him and Marinette at the gala, remembering the strange fondness for ladybirds in the garden and his current Bruce-man state.
“You don’t have to do that M. I... I know my value, my place.”
Felix looked at Tim sharply now and his siblings with Bruce making a choking noise with a critical eye before nodding to himself. Nightwing shared a concerned look with Signal and Blackbat at Bruce-man's behaviour, hoping they had a clue as to what was happening. Felix pressed a gentle kiss into Marinettes hair with a frown aimed at Bruce.
“I’ll be back with Max my love.”
“Not to be a downer or anything but could someone tell me what is happening?”
“Spoiler, umm, this is M my ex au pair. B got her in trouble, so my parents fired her. I tried to go with her, had a suitcase packed and everything. When my parents said to say goodbye, I did it to them and ran to M asking if she needed help getting our suitcases to the car... my parents didn’t take it too well...”
“Your parents are not parents mon Chou. They’re DNA doners and I’m doing right from my mistake back then.”
“Mistake?”
“M want’s to take me with her properly this time. And doesn’t have my Mother to grab and pulling me away.”
“Tim, sweetheart, why didn’t you say any of this when you first came to the manor?”
“Because you knew B. I knew M asked you to keep an eye on me, so it wasn’t hidden. I never needed to sneak out to take pictures or be Robin, my parents weren’t there. You must have known this, you promised her on the phone you’d be there.”
Bruce let out further pained noise as Marinette lips tightened at his unsettled expression.
“You didn’t know about the child abuse. Despite the fact I tipped you off. YOu, YOu, Croissant!!!! Abandonment and neglect!! Come on now Bruce!!”
“I check if he was ok at every gala he went too and took him in after his mother died and his father was in a coma, Mare... And I tried to put him off being Robin. I knew you’d not like that, but Alfred kept encouraging it.”
Marinette growled a deep angry sound as two portals appeared next to her. She grabbed Tim, pulling him into another quick hug, and she shoved him to one of the portals into the arms of a red headed woman with a man with headphones and another blonde male. Before the portal closed another Asian looking woman stepped out. Everyone bar Marinette and Bruce tensed.
“Felix suggested I came with you before you blow a gasket Mari-hime.”
“Ta, Kagami.”
Marinettes hands shook as she breathed heavily though her nose trying to centre herself as Tim’s portal closed leaving a concerned bat family, a calm cold woman and a hot head woman trying to calm down from being on a warpath.
“Alya, Nino and Sunshine are looking after the boy. Plagg wanted to join you with Tikki but Felix is banning him. Something about you being trouble as a cat and likely to cause too much destruction.”
“Hmmm, probably right. Did you grab any more macaroons Gami?”
Kagami passed Marinette a box which she slipped into her purse before rounding her attention to the remaining bat family who were in a defensive stance waiting on Batman’s commands, though the glances sent they sent to Nightwing suggested that most seemed to think that Bruce was compromised.
“You’re a complete unproven loaf Bruce! Child soldiers really?! After everything I told you and Alfred! You should be ashamed.”
“Marinette! They chose this life, I tried to stop them and when it failed, I trained them so at least I could keep an eye on them like you asked me too. I’m tried! I promise.”
“Your promises mean nothing at the moment. I filled my side of our agreement! I’ve stopped Gotham sinking further from afar since you caused me to leave. I helped stop the end of the world (again) and kept the balance and you can’t even look after a small collection of children.”
“Haaaa, small collection, he has an adoption problem lady!”
“So does Mare, she has a habit of adopting emotionally stunted rich kids as siblings to mother...” Kagami tilted her head at the Batman, “except this one it seems.”
“I do not!”
“Agreste, Graham de Vanily, Culpa, Bourgeois, Couffaine-Stone, Kante, Myself... now Drake.”
Spoiler looked at Hood raising her eyebrows in growing concern as to what was happening. By now it was just them left in a fully non damaged park, with the Supers taken the remaining villains back to the Watchtower with the Wonders escorting them and Speedster, Arrows and Green Lanterns taken off elsewhere now. They were trained experts as a family, and the ‘last resort’ had just stolen one of their own, but they had no support in it went wrong, and despite these two looking non-threatening, they had seen how dangerous they could be just earlier.
“Luka’s not stunted!”
“He communicates with music and not words.”
“... fine! I don’t agree but that’s not the point! This, this baguette is dense! Bruce! Round your family into the portal, we’re going back to your emo den. We’re due a conversation, and this one needs to be done with Alfred, about being the ADULTS and about PARENTING! Just cos mob bosses and villains wearing fancy dress seem to be your focus doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pay attention to the experiences of the average Gothamite. Sheesh! With how many baby soldiers you’ve created I sure you could have had one specialising in child endangerment!”
“I like her!”
Bruce grunted at Hood’s comment, knowing his son was smirking underneath his helmet, but signalled to his family to walk through the portal back to the Batcave, dreading the impending dress down he was about to receive. Bruce could see Spoilers eyes dancing with humour since the cat comment had been dropped and Robin eyeing him suspiciously with eyes darting between him, Marinette and the siblings that seemed to reflect similarities to the older pair. Hopefully the dressing down will distract them from the ribbing and challenge they may pose.
“And speaking of balance.”
“We’ve not spoken of balance Marinette.”
“Shh, I’m talking Bruce, I know you try and actually do a lot of good, but you do realise that being morally grey sometimes would help solve some of the misma issues you know.”
Jason’s head turned back to look out of the portal at Bruce and Marinette with focused interest as Bruce was ushered through by Marinette with Kagami leading the rear.
“Marinette... please...”
“Just saying, maybe a few... mmm... extreme fancy dress monsters removed would help balance the city out a little more. Less loss of those considered good to balance the bad?”
Kagami laughed at Bruce’s distressed expression, knowing that Marinette was deliberately prodding him as her mother henning feelings hadn’t really subsided with all the young vigilantes around. Her strong opinion of parenting never really fades after all the mess Gabriel and Fu caused. He maybe the Bat, their past meant nothing to her if he went against her own morale code, Kagami predicted all hell was about to be let loose. As the portal closed, whispers of a shout could faintly be heard.
“Can she adopt me too!”
#maribat#dc x mlb#mlb x dc#maribat au#ml x dc#dc x ml#all platonic#platonic timari#platonic brucinette#platonic jasonette
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The Birds Baby Bug
Chapter 1
TW: Mention of attempted suicide
Ao3
Marinette: 10
Tim: 19
The halls were a blur as she ran past them as quickly as she could on her shaky legs. All of them seemed to blend together, though some of the doors turned into different colors signifying what their purpose was supposed to be. Her door was red and yellow. Her door, and so many others’, was a curse she had finally been able to break free from. She swallowed the bile that climbed up her throat when she thought of the things they did to her behind those doors. The needles, the scent of bleach, and…no! She couldn’t think about that now. She needed to run, run, RUN! She could feel the magic that flowed through her, it wanted to escape, to be used, but she shoved it down. The entire reason she was here was because of the magic, the curse that flowed through her very blood. Blood they constantly took and took and took from her.
Her body was weak, she didn’t know where she was going or how she had even gotten this far. She was hungry, her limbs ached , her head pounded in time with her racing heart, but she wouldn’t slow down. If she dared to stop moving for even a second she might as well have signed her own death certificate. Her dark unkempt hair flew behind her, falling into her wild blue eyes before whipping back when she turned a corner.
She needed to escape. She needed to get out. She knows that if she’s caught that she won’t be killed, she knows that she will wish that they had killed her by the end of the punishment. She quickly took another corner, bare feet pounding against the cold stone floor, yet they still barely made a sound. She could feel the spark of her magic at her fingertips, begging to be released as adrenaline pulsed through her system, feeding the spark. But she couldn’t. She didn’t know what would happen if she let even the smallest speck loose.
It didn’t matter though, because as she took the corner she bowled into someone knocking both of them over due to her velocity. Her body ached from both the force of the fall and the magic that crawled at her skin like ants, fighting to be released. She tried to push herself up, tried to move so that she could get her former momentum back, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t hear the footsteps, but she felt their presence, could hear the breath of the assassins that were coming to retrieve her. She didn’t want to go back, she would rather die than go back! She could feel the outline of a sheathed knife pressing into her side, so with nimble fingers she grabbed it and held it to her chest, right above her heart.
She watched all of the dark shadows pause, the person behind her as still as a statue.
“I’ll do it!” She screamed almost hysterically, her hands shaking despite her best efforts. “Don’t come closer! I won’t go with you again! I won’t be used anymore!”
She kept the tip of the knife pressed to her chest, the small, sharp point nearly breaking her skin. Her breathing was quick as she stared around the circle of ninjas. The man in the green cape, she had never learned his name, was nowhere in sight. She could feel one of the men cloaked like shadows step forward. He continued to creep closer, and closer, and with all of the nerve she could muster she lifted the small blade and thrust it towards her chest.
Hope, excitement danced in her mind, at last this torment was about to come to an end. But it was swiped away as the man she had forgotten that she was still sitting atop of rolled over and pinned her to the floor. Shock filled her before she realized what was happening and tears fell down her cheeks. The pulsing thrum of her magic burned, it burned so badly she felt like she was set ablaze, she hoped that it would kill her from its intensity alone. But it didn’t. The eyes that looked down at her were wide and frantic, filled with fear and a deep sadness. She hated it.
“Leave, I’ll take care of this.”
She wanted to roll her eyes, but she could feel the shadows creep away on their silent feet, following his command. The man stared at her a few moments longer before sitting up, legs still straddled around her waist.
“I’m going to get off you now. I don’t know who you are or what they are after you for, but please don’t run.”
Marinette glared at him, if she had any moisture left in her mouth she would spit at him, but the rest of her moisture left when her tears had fallen. His warning didn’t matter though, she doubted that she even had the strength to move. After a few moments she felt the weight begin to lift and despite every nerve, every thought telling her to run , she couldn’t push herself up.
When the boy was fully off of her she nearly breathed a sigh of relief as the agonizing pain slowly began to recede. The man—no, a boy—stared at her with wide, concerned eyes, though she could see his curiosity as bright as day (she hadn’t seen the sun in so long…). He tilted his head slightly, which created the perfect angle for her to truly see his face in the torchlight.
He had hair dark as night, eyes as blue as the sky, and skin as pale as clouds on a summer day. At least, that’s what she thought as she hadn’t seen the night in probably years…
“Hey, a’e ‘u ok’y?”
Everything was starting to blur together, his voice fading in and out as her body shut down. Not again, please not again! She needed to get up, she needed to get out of here once and for all. Even if they were telling the truth when they said they killed her family, that there was a tracker in her blood, chemicals running through her that would cause her death if she ever tried to escape by herself.
Her body was heavy as it laid across the stone floor, the man’s desperate gaze never leaving her. She thought he might be trying to talk to her, but her ears were ringing too loudly for her to hear everything. Each blink grew heavier and heavier until it all went dark. The last of her control on her magic slipped and she could feel it flow out of her like a fast running stream. Then everything went dark.
_______
Tim stared at the small girl in both shock and horror. Quickly he went to check her pulse point and was relieved when he felt her pulse. It was slower than was normal, but not deathly so. Once he had made sure that she was truly okay, he studied the small girl to see if he could find any clues for who she could be.
She had long dark dark hair covered in tangles and knots like it hadn’t been brushed in years. Her skin was pale, paler than his (and that was saying something), he couldn’t see her eyes but he was pretty sure from his brief glances that they were some shade of blue. She was wearing a typical dark blue hospital gown that went just above her ankles. The gown itself was large and flowy making it hard for him to see her rib cage without having to touch her. Her skin was littered with small red dots as if she had been stuck with multiple needles. Each of the dots were at different stages of healing making him wonder how long she had been here. With the utmost gentleness he picked up her wrist and noticed the large cuff-like bruises that wrapped around her wrists; a light purple with specks of greens and yellows. They had barely begun to heal. When he laid a gentle hand against her ribs he nearly pulled back as he could feel her ribs even through the thin fabric. Tim was going to be sick.
The girl could be older than 8, but depending on how long she’s been here her growth could have stunted placing her at maybe 10 or 11.
He kept his hand against her chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of her chest, but there was something else. She was hot, burning even. It was unnatural, wrong. A tingly sensation crept up through his arm and Tim quickly shot his hand back, holding it close to his chest. He could feel an invisible energy moving along his body easing his tense and sore body, then there was a pain in the right side of his body. He held back the panicked and pain filled noises that threatened to escape his throat. Maybe there was a reason the other leaguers were after her, maybe he should have let one of them stay.
The pain only lasted for a minute at most, and then it was gone. And he didn’t just mean the sudden pain in his abdomen, but all of the physical aches and pains he had received from his training and missions. In fact, it felt like something internally was different. He glanced at the small child, still asleep, before he carefully lifted his shirt to look at his chest. All of his scars were…gone. Every single one of the scars he had ever received throughout his life, even the cut from his splenectomy, were completely erased from existence.
He looked back at the unconscious girl, so small yet seemingly filled with a large power. She was a meta, and it looked like she had some sort of healing power. Tim wondered why until he remembered the Lazarus Pit and its side effects. Ra’s owns the pits; but if he could find a person, or rather a power, that could heal him without the pit and its side effects, he would do anything to extract it for himself.
The best thing for him to do would be to take and hide her in his room, then come up with some sort of extraction plan while Ra’s was still gone. But if Ra’s were to find out that he stole one of his “prizes” he would stop helping Tim; which would make it 10x harder to destroy The League of Assassins from the inside out.
Tim glanced down at the small unconscious child, body littered in scars of her own, none healed despite what just happened. Bruce’s face flashed in the front of his mind, and he knew that Bruce would never forgive him—nor would he forgive himself—if he didn’t help this child right away.
Tim took a steadying breath, and carefully picked the small girl up. He expected for there to be something else, something to what he had just experienced. But there was nothing; in fact the only thing that happened was she subconsciously leaned against him. His heart melted, a protective surge running through him as he hugged the small girl closer. He could feel each and everyone of her ribs against his sternum, her face hallowed out with dark circles he hadn’t noticed before under her eyes. She looked dead, but she was breathing, and that’s all that mattered. At least that’s what he kept repeating to himself. He just needed to get to his room, request extra food and water, then he’ll come up with a plan. He just needed to get her to his room first.
_______
Tim didn’t have a plan. The girl was still asleep, tucked into his bed barely moving. Tim was currently hacking through firewall after firewall to discover where Ra’s kept his files on the child. Ra’s might be old-fashioned with his methods—he definitely had a paper file somewhere—but he also knew that the man knew when he needed to adapt. After hours of hacking, the child still asleep, he finally broke through the correct wall and was honestly surprised at the amount of information that began to download to his laptop.
Marinette Gina Dupain-Cheng (Test Subject E131):
Immediately, the name set off an alarm bell in the back of his mind, though he wasn’t sure why yet.
Meta Gene: Confirmed
Age: 7
Sex: Female
Parents: Deceased
Power: Life & Creation
Trigger: Currently Unknown
Test #1 Conducted June 6, 2016 18:35
This was three years ago. Another alarm bell, and a shiver down his spine at the implications.
Before the test began one sample of 5 mL of blood was extracted as the control group while E131 was asleep. The subject had a heart monitor attached at the pulse point at the right bicep. Average vital patterns ranged from 86-98 BPM. When they awoke, tests immediately began. This test was specifically focused on narrowing out and separating the Meta Gene for further observation. Past observations of the subject have shown that they hold the power to revive dying and even completely dead plant life, even renewing the soil life.
Subject E131 was locked in a 80cmx80cm room with no restraints and in the same clothes they arrived in. Subject awoke at 18:53 alarmed, vitals immediately spiked up to an average of 110-120 BPM. Subject immediately began to call for their parents for two minutes and twenty-five seconds. During this time E131 began to cry hysterically, no change to the BPM.
Tim paused his reading, he needed to take a breath. This was wrong, this was all so wrong. She’s just a child, she was seven when all of this began. But he needed to keep going, he needed to know what had happened so that he could properly help her.
When it appeared that her BPM was going down, it was decided that at 18:58 there would be another blood draw while the subject was conscious. When medical entered the room, subjects BPM spiked once more. Subject tried to evade medical, including fighting back when restrained, spiking the BPM to 115-135. Another 5 mL of blood was taken before the subject was left alone.
Blood work:
Blood Type: A+
Meta Gene: Dominant
Resting Systolic Blood Pressure Average: 93
Resting Diastolic Blood Pressure Average: 76
Stressed Systolic Blood Pressure Average: 127
Stressed Systolic Blood Pressure Average: 86
Analysis:
It was found that when the subject was asleep the gene was left neutral, floating through the bloodstream and helping the cells in the body reproduce and remain healthy. The blood that was taken when Subject E131 was on high alert showed a higher amount of the gene being produced, as though protecting the host. .05 mL of blood from each vial were placed in the soil of two different pots, both with the same dead plant and soil. The plant with resting blood revived in 30 minutes while the plant with the stressed blood revived in 15 minutes. It begs the question, what else can E131’s blood revive, what are the side effects, what triggers their power, and how fast can we make the revival become?
Tim felt sick. Three years, she had gone through this for three. Years. But he had to know more, he needed to know what exactly he needed to do to get back at Ra’s for these horrors.
Marinette Gina Dupain-Cheng (Test Subject E131):
Meta Gene: Confirmed
Age: 8
Sex: Female
Parents: Deceased
Power: Life & Creation
Trigger: Emotion Based
Test #96 Conducted December 25, 2017 14:15
Subject E131 no longer has the same emotional reaction to the video of her parents death. Where once they would fly into a fit of rage and sorrow, creating life out of seemingly nothing; they remain numb and limp. Today we will try something new. Something more advanced now that we see the subject's basic capabilities.
Subject was placed in a room full of small animals ranging from chicks, to rabbits, and a small tabby kitten. The subject was slow to trust the animals, but after nearly thirty minutes of nothing happening, they began to play with the animals. It was agreed upon that the subject be allowed to spend time with the animals for three hours. While the subject was in a state of bliss, blood was pulled from E131 from the automatic needle attached to their bicep. Subject showed no reaction to the extraction.
Once the three hours ended, all animals were killed right in front of E131. Subject had the intended reaction as they began to scream and cry, emotions spiking into a high. Leaguer, who was heavily injured in battle, was sent into the room while E131 was at the peak of their emotional state. When the Leaguer exited the room five minutes late, they were completely healed¹ .
Analysis:
We have taken the blood samples from the two emotional peaks and added them into two different samples of the pit before using the pit and blood concoction on two dead rabbits of the same height and weight. The rabbit with the distressed blood sample created a single heartbeat in the dead rabbit before it flatlines once more while the one where the subject was happy created no signs of life. The hypothesis was that the subject's heart rate did not reach the same peaks as the fear sample. More tests will be conducted around this.
*Footnote¹
Leaguer was put under observation for two months with biweekly check-ups. There were no harmful side effects, but the Leaguer seemed to have a higher pain tolerance and faster healing process for a short period of time.
Tim read and read and read through each and every report. Electrocution, starvation, hypnosis, forced to watch death, etc.
Test #254 Conducted April 2, 2018 14:15
Subject was so distressed that a dead animal that was hidden in the corner was revived from the dead. …Sample showed the highest positive effects in removing pit side effects.
Test #317 Conducted July 13, 2019 01:15
Age: 10
This was last week.
Subject has been shown to wield more promising results in a dream-like state. 10 mL of Fear Gas obtained from Scarecrow from Gotham, New Jersey USA was used on the subject. Emotional response was not as high as it was as high as it was in Test #315 despite a higher amount of gas being released. Subject attempted to stab herself with an imaginary knife. …Blood from peak emotional outburst was able to revive a dead rabbit with no help from the Lazarus Pit. Subject E131 will have their blood extracted and placed into the Lazarus Pits in two weeks time. The next and final test will see if emotional outburst will be able to revive a human from the dead without blood sample or Lazarus help.
Tears streamed down Tim’s cheeks in a never ending stream. How-how was anybody this heartless, this cruel? How was she still alive?! Tim turned to look at the small child only to see them staring right back at him.
“Hey.” Tim whispered, his voice cracking slightly. He didn’t care though, what mattered was making sure that he saved this small child and made sure that Ra’s would never be able to get his disgusting hands on her ever again. The child didn’t speak, only watched him with wide, fear filled eyes.
“Are you thirsty? I had some food and water brought up for when you woke up.” The only reaction he got was her pulling the covers closer to her chest. Slowly Tim stood up, telegraphing each of his movements as he approached the dresser next to the bed where the food and water were located. “Do you want me to try it first?”
Hesitantly she nodded. Tim gave her a small encouraging smile before he took a large sip of the water and swallowed it. He waited a few minutes for her to see that there were no side effects from it before slowly placing it back on the dresser for her to take by herself. Then he picked up the food, which consisted of rice and beans with a little bit of some sort of meat, and mixed it together before getting a bit of everything on his fork and taking another large bite. Once again they waited about five minutes before he set the plate back on the dresser and he took a few steps back.
He watched her eat, she appeared almost ravenous, so much so he had to remind her to slow down a few times worried that she’d choke. Tim’s heart ached with the fierce want, no need to protect this small vulnerable child. He was 19, he could legally adopt her, especially since the League had taken both of her parents, meaning she was an orphan. But he was getting ahead of himself, before he could even plan giving her a new life, a life that she deserved, he needed to find a way to get her out of here without being on the receiving end of Ra’s rage.
“More?” She whispered. Her voice was cracked, brittle sounding. It broke his heart, and he prayed to whatever God existed that the damage could be repaired.
“I can’t get you any more food right now. You're too malnourished, and if I give you more than that you could get really sick. I can get you another cup of water though, but that will have to do so we don’t accidentally cause your electrolytes to crash.”
The small girl nodded as if she understood him, but he didn’t think she fully did, after all she still only had the schooling of a first or second grader. There weren’t any files that showed they had tried to school her after all.
“Wh-”, she fell into a coughing fit, and it took everything inside of Tim to stop him from rushing to her side. “What’s your name?” She croaked out. Blue eyes dull and full of pain.
“I’m Tim.” He whispered, trying to encourage her to do the same so she didn’t hurt her voice anymore.
“Why are you here?” She whispered back. That small gesture eased some of the weight he hadn’t even realized he was carrying.
“I’m trying to find my dad, and they’re offering me help. How did you know I wasn’t one of the ninjas?” He asked softly, making his voice only sound curious.
She pointed to her face before replying, “No mask, different robes, and y-you talk to me.”
Marinette fell into another coughing fit after that, her skin looking even paler than when he had first found her. Tim clenched his fist against his knees as he was seated on the floor. Was this what Bruce felt when he saw Dick and Jason? This overwhelming need to protect such a small child when so much bad has already consumed their life? Did Bruce ever feel this way about him?
“What’s your name?” He asked, he didn’t need her knowing that he knew about the worst years of her life.
“E-...No, that wasn’t…Ma-Marientte. Mama always called me Marinette.”
Tim now understood why Jason did what he did. He wanted to kill these Ba*, but more than that he wanted them to feel the same agony they made her feel first. Then suddenly a face flashed before his eyes followed by a name, and hours and hours of research that lead to a dead end. A Paris cold case he had stumbled upon a few years ago when he was checking in on the city where he received a good portion of his training.
Marinette Gina Dupain-Cheng, presumed dead as her parents and grandmother were brutally murdered by an unknown person for unknown reasons. Only problem was, they had never found Marinette’s body. But he had, and she was still alive .
“I’m going to get you out of here.” He whispered, shocking the young girl as her eyes seemed to grow as wide as saucers.
“I’m going to get you to safety and you’ll never have to worry about whether or not you’ll be another experiment again. I’m sorry it took me this long to find you,” Tears began to well in his eyes. If only he’d been smarter, there had to have been something that pointed to the League that he had overlooked. Bruce would be so disappointed in him, Ra’s was probably laughing his a* off. “I’ll take care of you. I will protect you. I won’t let them hurt you ever again.”
She just stared at him, face blank and passive. It was as if she were seeing something that he simply could not. Then tears spilled from her eyes and Tim couldn’t restrain himself as he moved closer to the small child, but never touching her. But it didn’t matter because she launched herself at him, holding onto his shirt in a vice-like grip. Tim quickly wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry. Tears fell out of his own eyes.
“...You talk to me.”
When was the last time she had heard anyone but herself, felt a touch from another person that wasn’t cruel or fake, treated as a human being. He thought back to his own empty house. The cold haunted rooms that echoed with nothing but the ghost of a 9-year-old boy that wasn’t even living. Parents that only cared about him when he messed up, only touched in public or as a warning.
“You’re safe now. I promise it.” He whispered, holding the girl as close as he dared in fear of injuring her further. He would protect her, be the guardian that Bruce was for Jason and Dick. The shadow that haunts the dreams of those who dare hurt what was his. Marinette Drake had a nice ring to it, but only if she too agrees. Jason’s never going to let him live this down. It would be worth it though, because she would be safe.
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#maribat#platonic timari#familial maribat#found family#child!marinette#tim Drake is red robin#marinette dupain cheng#angst#fluff#mlb x dc#mlb x batman#hurt/comfort#emotional hurt/comfort#Bruce Wayne is stuck in the timestream#Lots of hurt#torture tw#TW: attempted suicide#league of assassins#psychological torture#no miraculous au#marinette is a meta human#Tim Drake would be a great dad!#experimentation#marinette needs therapy#protective#tim drake#protective tim drake#Suffer
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A Guide to Love and Coffee Ch. 12
Teenagers
AO3
Prev
A few days after her run in with the bats, Marinette was back in France. Not in Paris, though. As much as she needed the Justice League’s help (well, mostly Batman), she didn’t trust them to keep their emotions in check in Paris. Which led to a meeting in Versailles.
“How’re you holding up?” Chat asks softly as they wait for the League to show up. Marinette sighs, letting her shoulders slump slightly.
“It’s hard being needed in two completely different time zones. And I’m not needed there like I am here but…” She trails off, shrugging sadly.
“But you’re happier there.” He says. Marinette winces.
“I know I told Maman that I wasn’t going to move there permanently, but there’s just something about it.” She sighs, thinking of how much Gotham had grown on her.
“Are you sure it’s just Gotham and not a certain somebody?” Chat asks, wiggling his eyebrows. Marinette snorts, shoving him gently.
“It’s not just him.” She says. And it’s not, but Tim is definitely a positive of staying in Gotham. Suddenly, they’re not alone. Batman grapples over to their building, along with Wonder Woman, a Green Lantern, Flash, Captain Marvel and Superman. Marinette tries not to look at Superman for too long. His face was way too similar to Clark’s, and she was trying to convince herself it was just a coincidence. Something she wouldn’t be able to do if she looked at the man for too long.
“Hey, do I know you?” Green Lantern asks, his eyebrows wrinkled together as he stares at her and Chat. Marinette has to bite her tongue from saying something rude. Taking in a deep breath, she lets it out slowly as she nods.
“Yes, actually. Every time I called the Justice League to request help for Paris, you are the one who answered. And you are the one who told me that I needed to ‘get a hobby’ and ‘stop calling all the time’ without ever coming to Paris.” She says, not even trying to control the amount of disdain in her voice. She strongly disliked this Green Lantern. She knew there were several, and she just hoped that the others weren’t as obliviously destructive as this one. He frowns.
“Okay, hold on a minute-” He tries to say, but Wonder Woman whirls on him, her eyes dark.
“Are you telling me you never personally came to Paris to check up? How many calls for help did you ignore?” She asks, not raising her voice but still holding enough anger in her tone to make the lantern flinch.
“I called every time there was an attack for almost a year. There were some days that there were multiple attacks. The mayor called several times as well, but he was ignored too.” Marinette pipes in, trying not to let her frustration with the Green Lantern negatively impact the rest of the meeting. She really did need help figuring out who Hawkmoth was.
“And how long has this been going on?” Superman asks, his voice soft. Marinette spares a short glance at the man- she really didn’t like how much he looked like her Uncle, she really didn’t want to know if her Uncle was a hero- before answering.
“Four years.” She says flatly, trying to ignore the small whimper from the man.
“Superman.” Batman says lowly, putting his hand out as if to block the man from going towards Green Lantern. Oh crap.
“But it’s fine. We’ve managed, and there haven’t been any lasting physical effects.” She reassures them. Chancing a glance at Superman, she frowns at the look on his face.
“What about…what about mental effects?” He asks, his voice tight. Marinette thinks of the nightmares and the increased anxiety since the appearance of Hawkmoth. She sighs.
“I’m not going to lie, there have been lasting mental effects. It’s almost impossible for there not to be when emotions are being weaponized. But we’re doing the best that we can. People are coping. They’re adapting.” She says, trying to reassure him. She watches him warily as he turns and glares at Green Lantern.
“We WILL be talking about this later.” He says shortly. Green Lantern pales, but nods. “We are here to listen to you now. Whatever you need, we will do our best to help.” Superman promises. Marinette lets out a small sigh of relief before straightening and nodding. Time to talk logistics.
---
Clark’s jaw clenches as he continues to watch through the distress calls from Paris. He manages to find footage from battles as well, posted by a teenage blogger. The more he watches, the more he wants to hurt something. His family has been in danger for years. Why didn’t they say anything? Why is he only hearing about it now?
“Are you okay?” Bruce asks quietly, his voice less gruff than normal, walking into the room. Clark sends his best friend a look.
“Would you be okay if you found out one of your kids was living in a city where they were being attacked daily because of emotions and you did nothing for years?” He asks. Bruce grunts.
“Fair enough.” He sighs out. “But Ladybug’s powers, they fix everything. I know they don’t fix any emotional issues-“
“Did you know Marinette has always suffered from nightmares? Ever since she was a little girl, she’s had horrible nightmares. And now she lives in a city where those nightmares could get her friends or family killed- even temporarily- if some psycho with powers decides to take advantage of her.” Clark says, trying to control his breathing. He was beyond angry. It wasn’t just worry for his family’s physical safety, but their emotional safety. Conner had come to him with worries about Marinette and her lack of a sleep schedule. Was that her way to cope and keep the nightmares away? How long has she been sleep deprived in an attempt to not be akumatized?
“All we can do now is try to help Paris’ heroes. And try to keep something like this- a situation going unchecked for years- from happening again.” Bruce says firmly. Clark nods in agreement, then sighs. He couldn’t just move past this. He needed Hal to know that he messed up. Big time.
“I’m going to go talk to Hal.” Clark says. If Bruce didn’t have his cowl on, he’s sure the man would have a raised eyebrow. “He needs to understand that this can’t happen again.”
“Agreed.” Bruce says.
“I’d also like to ask him some questions. Like why the hell he thought sweeping this under a rug was a good idea. Will you go with me?” Clark asks. He didn’t like losing his temper, and would prefer to have someone there to keep him in check. Bruce nods, clenching his fists so that his knuckles crack.
“Of course.” He says. Clark blinks at him.
“Bruce, I need you to be good cop.” He says. Bruce shakes his head.
“I’ve never been good cop in my life.” Bruce says simply. Clark snorts, feeling slightly lighter. He’d feel even better after he had the chance to interrogate Hal.
---
Marinette sighs as she hears the akuma alert go off. She was home for fall break (she couldn’t actually afford the trip, but Mr. Wayne had insisted for some reason) and was finally spending time with Adrien outside of hero work, but of course something had to ruin it.
“Chin up, M. Maybe it’s just a small one.” He says, trying to be optimistic as usual. A loud explosion from the direction of the bakery makes her pale.
“Let’s fix this quickly.” She breathes out, grabbing her best friend’s hand and tugging him to a safe place for them to transform. She knew that she could fix the damage. That even if the explosion had done something to the bakery, it could be undone. It didn’t mean that it hurt any less knowing that if she had just defeated Hawkmoth years ago, that none of this would have happened.
“Hey,” Adrien starts, squeezing her hand gently. “We’ve got this. Don’t let yourself spiral now.” He says quietly. She nods, breathing in deeply before letting it out shakily. They had this.
---
Clark was losing his mind.
“Let me go, damnit!” He yells, pounding on the containment cell. “I have to go to them.” He yells, ignoring the bitter tears. He’d just watched the bakery crumble. His brother’s bakery. The camera had been able to pick up his brother and Sabine just as they were about to leave the bakery. Just as it collapsed. He knew they were gone, but Marinette- she still had a chance. He knew she was in Paris for her fall break, but he wasn’t sure if she’d been out with friends or at home when- when it happened.
“Clark, you need to calm down!” Bruce orders, his voice a low growl. “You know damn good and well that you can’t go to Paris. Can you imagine the kind of destruction Hawkmoth would use you for?” He asks.
“But Marinette-”
“You can’t do anything to help her if you get akumatized, Clark. Right now, Paris’ heroes have a perfect track record. If you charge in there, angry, they might lose. And nothing would be fixed.” Bruce says firmly. Clark’s shoulders slump.
“Could I at least try and call her? I- I need to know.” He says. Bruce nods.
“You’re connected.” He says after a moment.
“Call Sunshine.” Clark says, listening to the sound of the phone ringing echo throughout his cell.
“Hi! This is Marinette! I can’t come to the phone right now, but I’ll try and get back to you as soon as- Oh shut up, Conner. I do not sound like a robot! I- Oh crap. Um, I’ll call you back!” Marinette’s voicemail message ends, and Clark orders the phone to hang up before he has to leave a message. After all, Marinette hadn’t talked to him about the situation in Paris. What was he supposed to say? I saw the bakery fall on your parents and I just had to make sure you were okay?
“Incoming call from: Kiddo.” Echoes throughout the cell. Clark turns to Bruce who simply shrugs.
“Accept call.” Clark says.
“Dad? Dad, please tell me it’s not true.” Jon rushes out, his voice frantic.
“Calm down, what are you talking about, son?” Clark asks, suddenly worried for his youngest.
“Damian said that there’s a supervillain in Paris and he told me that he knew how to watch the news in Paris so we hacked into the news and-” Jon stops and takes a deep breath, his voice breaking as he adds: “It’s gone, Dad. The bakery is gone.” Clark inhales sharply, turning and glaring at his best friend. He didn’t want the boys to know about this. He didn’t want to chance either of them running off to Paris. Because they loved their Aunt and Uncle, but with Marinette in Paris…there was no telling what the boys would do.
“Son, it’s going to be okay.” Clark says, ignoring the fact that he still doesn’t feel like it’s going to be okay. “Ladybug and Chat Noir, Paris’ heroes, haven’t lost yet.”
“There’s a first time for everything.” Jon says softly, sending a stab of pain through Clark’s heart.
“Stay with Damian, Jon. Don’t do anything silly. It’s going to be okay.” Clark says, and now he’s trying to convince himself too. Everything would be okay, right?
---
Five hours. Marinette slumps onto the bean bag chair in Luka’s room, exhausted, but happy to see how relaxed Adrien was as he cuddled up with Luka.
“That was a rough akuma.” Luka says, a knowing look in his eyes. The three had never had the ‘hero’ conversation, but she was almost certain that Luka knew. After all, he had the snake Miraculous for a couple years. Until he had to give it back to go on tour with Jagged. Marinette just groans, sinking further into the bean bag. Sighing, she grabs her phone out of her purse, eyes widening at the number of missed calls from her cousins. On top of a missed call from Clark.
“M? You okay?” Adrien asks. She frowns.
“I- I don’t know yet. Excuse me.” She says, moving out of Luka’s living room and into the small hallway. After he graduated, he bought an apartment. Apparently the ambiance of the city was better for writing new music than the house boat had been. Deciding to start with the call that concerned her the most, she calls her Uncle.
“Hello?” He says, answering almost immediately.
“Hey Uncle Clark. I was just calling to check that everything’s okay. I have a ton of missed calls from you and Kon and Jon. I was just making sure you guys are okay.” She says, nerves shooting through her. What if Ma fell? What if Pa-
“Oh, we’re all fine.” He says. Marinette lets out a breath.
“Really? Even Ma and Pa?” She asks.
“Yes, Mari, we’re all fine. How’s Paris?” He asks, changing the subject. Marinette laughs lightly.
“It’s uh, same old same old.” She says, deciding not to go into details. “Are you sure the boys are okay?” Clark laughs awkwardly.
“Oh, uh, yeah. They just…miss you.” He says, his voice going up slightly at the end. Marinette frowns, but decides not to mention it. He’d say something if someone was actually in danger or hurt. And it’s not like the Kent side of the family were the only ones keeping secrets. She definitely had plenty of those, too.
“Well, I’ll be back tomorrow evening. I have plans with Tim for dinner, but maybe me, you, Lois and the boys could grab breakfast on Sunday?” She suggests. She wasn’t sure what was bothering her cousins and Uncle, but she did miss them. She’d seen them way more over the last couple of months than the last two years combined.
“That sounds do-able.” Clark says, and if she had to take a guess, she’d say her Uncle was smiling. As she hangs up, she can’t help but think about the sheer number of calls. And the fact that they came after she had her meeting with the Justice League about the situation in Paris.
Special one-shot, set immediately after this chapter
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Maribat Media Poll Sunday: #0
This is the official start of a new standard for this blog. Weekly polls!
These polls will be just about anything you can think of.
They will be centered around Maribat, if that was not already clear, but feel free to leave some polls you would like to see either in the replies, reblog, or an ask!
Note: If you leave it in an ask, please specify that it is a poll request.
Here's a 'mini' poll to start us off! (check below line)
If you have any pairing that is a rare pair, poly ship or bio parent that got you into the fandom, shoot that relationship out! Do so however you feel comfortable (in tags or reblog)
Extra Special Challenge: If you happen to remember the exact piece (fic, artwork, drabble, incorrect quote) or the author/creator of the piece, give them a shootout in a reblog of this!
Alternative to Special Challenge: If you can't remember who/what you got you into the fandom, shootout the creators or friends that have helped instead!
#Maribat#maribatmedia#maribat media#mlb x dc#maribat rare pairs#daminette#jasonette#timari#dickinette#Cassette#Maribat Poly Ships#Maribat Media Poll Sunday#Maribatters#Bugbats#Thank you to Oz the creator of this fandom for giving us this amazing place#Thank You Oz!#Maribat poll
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