(Summary: Okay, so being in Gotham when your father is also Bruce Wayne? Bad. Being on a tour that's being led by Bruce Wayne? Even worse. And with the Riddler running around with a Miraculous? Marinette's day couldn't possibly get any worse.
Can I just say that it physically pained me to type the word 'sis' in one of the interactions, but Dick's also an absolute asshole who wouldn't hesitate to mock Marinette, so I'm excusing it.)
"Does anybody know why Ladybug showed up?" Alix asked when they got back to the hotel and congregated together.
"She said they think that Hawkmoth is working with some supervillains over here," Alya shrugged. God, Marinette was so glad that Lila was in her room for 'recovery'
"Why?" Kim asked. "I mean, do they even know about Hawkmoth?"
"If Ladybug showed up, then yeah," Alix shrugged.
"That's not what I'm concerned with," Nino said, turning to Alya and Adrien. "So, I know that like, half of us have used a Miraculous at some point, so I know that's where you learned to fight, because that's how I did, but Adrien, bro, how the fuck did you take out that guy? He was like… seven feet tall!"
"Yeah, what the fuck, bro?" Kim asked, slapping Adrien's back good naturedly.
Adrien grinned. "I don't only fence, you know."
"Yeah, you also fight Akumas in your spare time," Marinette muttered.
"Hush, so do you," Adrien whispered back.
"They are so cute together," Mylène said. Ivan smiled down at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"I can hear you," Marinette pointed out. Mylène only giggled.
Alix rolled her eyes. "Marinette, we've been trying to get you two together for years now. You owe us an explanation on how this happened."
Adrien grinned. "'Years' now?"
Marinette stared into his eyes. "Do you want me to pull out all of the dirt I have on you?" Adrien paled as Marinette looked back at them. "There was this one time that─"
"And I think that it's time that you head to bed," Adrien said, pulling Marinette up with him. "Alya, Nino, come on. We still need to talk."
"Ugh." Marinette's groan caused the class to laugh loudly as she was pulled away by her boyfriend.
"Girl, WHAT?!"
Marinette winced as Alya shouted. Adrien rubbed his temple and Nino stared at Marinette in shock, completely unfazed by Alya's exclamations.
"You're Bruce Wayne's─" Marinette's hand covered Alya's mouth. Noises came from it, but none of them were understandable.
"Yes," Marinette hissed, retracting her hand as Alya gaped openly.
"But that means your mom and Bruce Wayne─" and suddenly the hand was back.
"Yes."
"Oh, shit."
Nino looked between them. "So, Dick Grayson knows, but your dad doesn't?"
"Mr. Grayson might've told him," Marinette bit her lip. "But, yeah. I guess."
"God, this trip is really out for you," Alya cackled. "I swear, next thing we know, you're going to end up related to the Queen of England, or something."
Adrien looked up from his phone. "Actually, they're very distant cousins of the Waynes."
Marinette exhaled loudly. "I'm going for a walk."
"You do remember what happened the last time that you 'went for a walk', alone, in Gotham right?" Adrien said, catching her hands in his own grip.
"I do," Marinette said, staring back at him coolly. "I just… need air before tomorrow. And to think. And you know that I can take care of myself."
"I do," Adrien agreed. "I just worry about you, Princess."
"I worry about you, too, Kitty," Marinette smiled, kissing him quickly. "But I also trust you to beat the shit out of anyone who tries to hurt you."
Adrien grinned. "You really know how to assure a guy, Mari."
"I ship it," Alya stage whispered in a raspy, sarcastic tone. Marinette laughed as she left, grabbing her coat on the way.
Going for a walk at night would help. It'd calm her down. She needed to calm down. Walking would help her think. It was best to do it outside, rather than in the hotel room, with Alya staring at her as she paced.
Marinette had just passed by an alleyway when she heard a scream from down another.
'Well,' she considered her options. 'Since they already know I'm in Gotham…'
Marinette quickly transformed, and she was glad she did, too, when she saw what was in the alleyway. There must've been fifteen guys, surrounding a familiar redheaded woman.
"Mlle. Bustier…?" Marinette stared at the group below her.
Mlle. Bustier was backing away from a man in purple and green, his henchmen flanking out as he swung a purple sword from side to side, speaking in a superficial tone. Marinette caught sight of the green skin and instantly put two and two together. Not only was the Riddler akumatized, but he also had a Miraculous.
"I─I don't understand! We had a deal!"
"Yes, we did," The Riddler said. "That I wouldn't harm your students if you brought me a certain Freeze Gun in Wayne Enterprises. Now, two things. First of all, I didn't harm your students. Second, you haven't brought me that Freeze Gun."
"T-that's because it wasn't there. I-it's in Wayne Laboratories. I-I should have it for you by tomorrow."
"I'm impatient," was the Riddler's only reply as he held up his necklace. "A little butterfly gifted me with this. And, I think that you could do with a lack of inhibitions. See, all I have to do is say lib─"
Marinette's yo-yo wrapped around Mlle. Bustier's wrist, yanking her away. "Sorry, I don't think she consented to having her free will taken away."
The Riddler's head snapped up. Ladybug frowned at the sharp smirk on his face. "Riddle me this: why does the little red and black bug think that she could stand against me?" Marinette's eyes narrowed on the sword which swung in a slow, circular ark now. "And you think so little of me, Bug, my intention was to liberate this lovely young woman. She'd have the power to do whatever she wanted!"
"I'm sure," Marinette rolled her eyes. "Are we getting to the part where we fight, now?"
"But Bug!" The Riddler's eyes gleamed sharply as he drew back, his henchmen slowly disappearing into darkness. "We haven't even gotten to the grand finale yet."
She watched as they disappeared warily. When she was sure they were gone, Ladybug picked up her teacher, swinging them onto the roof of the Kane Hotel.
"Would you care to explain why you're working with the Riddler?"
"I─" Mlle. Bustier flinched, sinking against a half-wall. "He t-threatened my students, Ladybug! I couldn't say no! And now he's going to hurt them!" Mlle. Bustier flinched. "The villains here… they're different. They want to hurt people. Hawkmoth only wants your Miraculous, and everyone else is collateral. These… people… they like it. The pain and suffering. They enjoy hurting others. I could not let them near my class!"
"It's okay," Ladybug rubbed Mlle. Bustier's shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay. Chat and I will take care of the Riddler. You don't need to worry. And we'll protect your students. Don't worry."
"Really?" Tears streaked down Mlle. Bustier's face. "You'd really make sure they stay safe?"
"Yes, we would," Marinette nodded.
Mlle. Bustier closed her eyes. "Thank you, Ladybug."
They sat in silence for a long time afterwards, until Mlle. Bustier eventually stood, smiling back at Ladybug.
"Thank you, truly."
"It's no problem," Marinette said, smiling back at her. "Seriously, Mlle. Bustier. No bother, at all. You can always come to me if something is wrong."
Mlle. Bustier approached the door, leaving Ladybug with only a smile and the thought, "Thank you, Marinette."
Ladybug swung down from the Kane Hotel, continuing her walk after she transformed with new thoughts in her head.
When she walked past a certain alleyway, Marinette jumped when she heard a voice coming from behind her. "I thought you'd have learned your lesson about being out at night after the last time we met."
She looked up at Red Hood. He leaned against a neon green sign, hands in his pockets and trench coat billowing behind him softly in the wind.
Marinette crossed her arms, looking back at the vigilante blankly. "What do you know about the Riddler?" she found herself asking.
"Nigma?" Red Hood asked in surprise. "Just another crazy bastard who doesn't know when to shut up. Why?"
"Uh… school project," Marinette excused. Hood didn't look entirely convinced.
"Uh-uh," the vigilante said. "Well, I've been sent by the old Bat to watch over your class, so I'll have to escort you back."
Marinette didn't think that was the only reason. "And you want to know about Ladybug."
"Nope," Hood said, surprising her. "Well, Batman does, so I've decided that I'm not going to ask you anything about her." Hood paused, a hand lifting to his ear. He laughed after a minute of silence, removing something from inside his ear. Marinette couldn't tell what it was in the dark. "Forgot to turn off my comm. Oracle heard all of what just happened. She'll be reporting that back to Batman." Hood said. Marinette could already tell that he was grinning underneath his red cowl.
"How many people are on your team?" she asked curiously.
"I'm not a part of Batman's team," Hood's posture was tense. "I work with them, sometimes."
"And babysit French teenagers for them," Marinette raised an eyebrow.
"Just the ones who wander around in alleyways after dark."
"What's life without a little potential danger?"
"Potentially non-existent," Hood said.
Marinette snorted, holding onto her purse as she turned. "I can make it back by myself, Mr. Hood. Thanks for the conversation, though. It distracted me." Marinette could feel narrowed eyes on her back as she walked away.
Marinette got the feeling that this wouldn't be her last encounter with the vigilante.
"Shit," Jason muttered softly. "I see it."
"Told you," his brother called, emerging from the shadows. "That is definitely something he would do."
"You're sure?" Jason asked, frowning at Dick's police uniform. He quickly removed his cowl, and the domino mask he wore under that. Hey, you could never be too safe . "You're certain that she's his kid?"
"It's on her birth certificate," Dick said. "I knew her mother, Sabine. Seventeen years ago. She and Bruce dated for a couple of months. She was one of Bruce's girlfriends that I didn't terrorise." That meant this woman, Sabine, must've been an angel of some sort, because Dick held a special place in his heart for all of the women Bruce Wayne decided to court. But still. A second secret love child? Or would Marinette be described as the first love child? She was older than Damian, after all.
"Then why'd they break up?" After all, why would any woman break up with Bruce Wayne, other than his evil children?
"Something to do with Two-Face. Although, I'm starting to suspect that maybe she found out she was pregnant, so she ran away without telling Bruce."
Jason rested a hand on one of his guns. "Are you going to tell B?"
Dick stared into the distance, sighing loudly and dramatically. "I don't know. I'd love to ask 'since when did we have another sister', but I don't want to do that to the poor kid without at least having a conversation with her. You should've seen her escape attempts today once she realised that I knew. Seems like she'd plow through Bane just to escape that conversation."
"To be fair, I'd let the Joker kill me for a second time if I were in her shoes." Dick elbowed him. Jason turned his face away, hiding a smirk. Nobody appreciated his death jokes. Well, Demon Spawn cracked his own, but he didn't have a sense of humour, so it didn't count for much. "The trip is two weeks long, right? And they're only on their third day. If she doesn't tell Bruce by next week, then you can do it. Fair?"
"Yeah," Dick ran a hand through his hair. "I looked into their schedule. They have a tour group tomorrow with Bruce. It's complementary, I think. After the whole Joker fiasco. As well as that, they have three other days where they'll be at Wayne Enterprises, not just that initial tour that Tim chaperoned for about… twenty minutes."
"Tim met her?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, he mentioned it during our meeting earlier. You know, the one you didn't bother to show up to. Apparently, she noticed something was up with the Riddler's clothes. From what I've gathered, she's absolutely shit at lying."
"Must come from her mother's side of the family," Jason muttered quietly. "Oh, tell Babs and Tim."
"Why─oh yeah. Shit." There was no way either one of them hadn't looked into the girl after hearing about her suspicious behaviour from Damian. They needed to cover all of their bases. "Hey, uh, could you, um… tell Babs. For me. Please?"
Jason stared at his brother in complete and utter fascination. "You broke up again?"
"We didn't break up!" Dick exclaimed. "I just… cannot interact with her right now without spontaneous combustion."
He sighed. "Dickybird, if you're going to propose to your girlfriend, then I suggest you talk to her, before she hacks your computer and finds out that you've been looking at engagement rings. Also, tell Gordon. Otherwise he'll probably kill you."
"If I ask Gordon for permission, she'll kill me."
"...Fair point."
"I don't think either of you have realised that you left your comms on," a new voice rang out from their ears.
Jason couldn't hold in his laughs as Dick uselessly babbled and attempted to explain what she'd overheard.
Well, at least Bruce hadn't been on. He wouldn't hesitate to ground them both.
And sure, Jason's an adult and doesn't actually talk with Bruce anymore, but he would find a way to do it.
After all, it was Bruce.
"Why is my fencing teacher here?" Adrien asked the next morning.
"Originally it was Damocles, but he broke his leg the day before the trip, so they had to get a replacement, but they couldn't get somebody in time, so they only just sent D'Argencourt down," Marinette said as she tied her shoelaces. She got the feeling that she'd be running around (away) a lot.
"So this doesn't have anything to do with a certain supervillain that attacked us yesterday?" Alya asked, resting her elbow on Marinette's shoulder.
"I don't know," Marinette shrugged as Mlle. Bustier called for the class to gather around the two teachers.
"Alright, since Mr. Wayne has offered to give us a tour of the new Wayne Laboratory Building, I'm going to chaperone half of you for the first two hours, and Mssr. D'Argencourt is going to take the other half on the tour, and we'll switch after that. We've decided to take you to a 'mall', as the American's call it, for some free time when the other half is on the tour. Now, Mssr. D'Argencourt is going to call out for his half of the class, and I'll take the rest of you to the bus."
Shit. So there was no way to get out of this, at all. Marinette was hoping that one half of the class would miss the entire tour and that she could somehow sneak her way onto that side of the tour.
Marinette was put into Group B, Mlle. Bustier's group, which meant that she was going to be stressing for two whole hours about the tour. Oh, this was going to be horrible. And she wasn't even in Adrien's group!
"Chin up, girl," Alya said, putting her arm around Marinette's shoulders. "You may not have Adrien in your group, but you'll still have Lila and I!"
"Right, because that's so─Alya." Marinette looked at her friend seriously. "You cannot, under any circumstances, tell Lila what I told you last night. I know I told you to keep it quiet last night, and I know you understand that, but she cannot know. At all."
Alya frowned. "What? You don't want her to know that you're her future Sister-In-Law?"
"I─" Marinette sighed. "How… how old do you think Damian Wayne is? Remember, we saw him yesterday."
Alya visibly hesitated. "W-well, he looks quite young─"
"He's twelve, Alya," Marinette said. "Twelve years old. And yesterday she said that her Aunt was Martha Wayne's cousin. You know what her lie implied? Incest. And that's fucking nasty, Alya."
"Her lie?" Alya repeated. "Marinette, we've been over this. Lila's not a─"
"Alya, what reason would I have to be jealous over Lila?" Marinette asked. "To be completely convinced that she's a liar? Even Adrien knows it."
"I─I don't─" Alya shook her head. "L-let's talk about this later, Marinette. We need to keep your mind off of your family, so─shit, sorry!"
How ironic was it that Lila Rossi was the only person that could get Marinette's mind off of her fucked up situation? And that was only because Marinette hated that she could tell any lie and get away with it. Marinette hated seeing her friends getting manipulated, so Lila really pissed her off. So much so that she had momentarily forgotten about how she was Bruce Wayne's daughter, and that she was going to be seeing him in about two and a half hours?
"It's fine, Alya," Marinette said, casting a cursory glance around the bus. She could see Lila, Chloé, Max, Nathaniel and Alix were also in the group. They had the smaller group, as D'Argencourt's group had eight students instead. Well, hey, at least none of Lila's die hards were on the bus. Not including Alya, of course. Alix was too distracted by looking through Nathaniel's sketchbook to pay Lila the attention she required, so Lila was currently ranting to Max about this one time that she'd created a device which could cure blindness, but it was still in development so it wouldn't be released for another six years. Looking back at her companion, Marinette was surprised at the thoughtful look on Alya's face. "So, where are we going first?"
"In the shopping centre? I was hoping to check out any fabric shops, but I still need to get souvenirs for Maman and Papa, too."
"Oh, same," Alya nodded. "Nora asked me to get her some new boxing gloves from here. She said the good kind is expensive, so she gave me the money for it."
"What's weird about America is that they don't add tax to the labels on the price," Marinette said. "You have to wonder, do they carry around a calculator or something so they don't give too much or too little?"
"I don't know. Maybe they just do the maths in their head. Or guess. But that has got to be the most awkward feeling ever."
Marinette snorted. "You know that feeling when you have to dig around in your purse to get the money out after they've given you the total? That's the most awkward feeling ever, because you know there are people around and they're silently judging you."
"Oh, stop, I have PTSD," Alya slapped Marinette's arm lightly. "Anyway, what I want to know is how you and Adrien started dating! You still haven't told me!"
She grinned. "Well─"
"Oh, Alya!" Lila exclaimed from behind them. "Come over here! I need to show you something!"
"I…" Alya hesitated. She frowned at Lila. "Can it wait? Marinette was in the middle of telling me something."
"Oh." Lila deflated visibly. "I─I see. If you'd rather be with her, you could've just said so." Lila turned back, returning to her seat with her head hung. Marinette didn't miss the evil eye Lila sent her way. Max immediately noticed that something was wrong with Lila, rushing to her aid in seconds.
Alya grimaced. "Lila─"
"Huh. We've gotten to twenty-three," Marinette said, pulling out her phone and texting just that number to Adrien.
"Twenty-three?"
"The amount of times Lila has pulled you away from me for something 'important'. I mean, if twice is a coincidence, what's this?"
"Twenty-three times…" Alya stared blankly ahead. "Oh."
Marinette suspected that Alya would be lost in her own head for a while. Well, in the name of Lila's lies being exposed, she wouldn't mind. After all, Marinette hated her friends being lied to about how Lila had saved Jagged's cat, how she knew Clara Nightingale, about how she knew Prince Ali, about how she was dating Dami─fuck.
And just when Marinette was distracted, too.
Two hours passed much too quickly for Marinette's liking. One minute she was browsing these purple salt lamps, and the next she was outside of the new Wayne Enterprise Laboratory Building. Marinette had to admit, the building was impressive. It was covered in bluish glass windows. It was long, but not tall. If she had to guess, it was probably three stories. Their class was scattered outside of the building as Mlle. Bustier conversed with a receptionist inside.
"Wow," Alya said, pointing her phone in the direction of the building. "Are you guys seeing this? It's huge! I mean, I knew it was gonna be big, but…" Alya whistled slowly, ending the video as she turned to Marinette. Alya had been recording snippets of their trip, planning to piece them together for her blog when they got back. "Theoretically…"
"Alya, if you make one joke about my father or something I will pulverise you."
Alya held up her hands in surrender. "I was just going to ask if you'd be the one to inherit it, being the older biological child, and all." She paused, looking over at Marinette's shoulder and freezing suddenly. Alya shook her hands frantically, but Marinette was still looking at the building.
"I'm not going to inherit anything. He's not my Dad, Alya. I mean, sure, he fathered me, but it's not… it's complicated." Marinette and Adrien had discussed this the other night. If Bruce were to find out he had another kid, he might fight for custody of Marinette, or at least insist that she spend time with him in America, and Marinette couldn't risk it. Things would get too complicated if Marinette was forced back to Paris because of an Akuma attack. At least for this school trip, they could claim to be making out in a closet or something whenever they disappeared. But Marinette suspected that she'd be under close watch twenty-four-seven if she revealed the truth.
Maybe when they defeated Hawkmoth.
"And here I thought I had gained a new baby sister." Marinette jumped at the new voice, spinning around to see the one and only Dick Grayson.
"I─ah─uh─" Marinette failed to articulate as Dick Grayson laughed.
"I don't know how I didn't see it, kid. I mean, you have all the features. Black hair and blue eyes. Kind of a broad subject, but B stays consistent."
"Um─well, you see, uh─I don't, um─"
"You alright, little sis?," a mocking voice called out from behind her. "You look a little overwhelmed."
"W-well─I─er─don't─um─know?"
Alya stepped forwards."I'm gonna have to ask you to stop breaking my best friend. She's delicate."
Marinette elbowed her, breathing in deeply. "Did you… did you tell him?"
"My brothers and I have decided to give you the honour of doing that," Dick said, leaning against a pillar. Marinette was seventy-two percent certain that the pillar was worth at least three hundred million. It was shiny.
"I'd… I'd rather not."
Alya frowned. "Girl, why not? He's Bruce Fucking Wayne!"
"Actually his middle name is Thomas," Dick interjected.
Marinette shifted uncomfortably. "Don't we have a tour to get to?"
Dick examined her with narrowed eyes. After ten seconds, Alya made up a random excuse, probably sensing that Dick was about to give some sagely life advice and that it wasn't her place to be present.
As Dick opened his mouth, Marinette found herself tensing apprehensively.
"What's the worst thing that could happen?"
"Sorry?" Marinette asked. 'What's the worst thing that could happen? Oh, I don't know. Hawk Moth could attack Paris while I'm away and take Adrien's Miraculous and I wouldn't be able to do anything because I wouldn't be able to escape from playing house with the Waynes?' But as Marinette thought that, something else crept into her mind. 'And that's if he doesn't turn me away.'
"Think on that," Dick said, slinging a bag over his shoulder and walking off. It took all of Marinette's control not to shout, 'that didn't help at all, Dick!' But instead, she had to focus her attention on Alya's swinging from left to right erratically. Mlle. Bustier had left the building, and a familiar man was standing at her side.
"I see we're all here," Mr. Wayne said, frowning at Marinette. She tensed, but tried to remain as calm as possible. Maybe he was still thinking about her running away from Dick yesterday. There was no way he knew. After all, Dick himself had said that he hadn't told, so… he must've been telling the truth, right?
Marinette was going to hope for the best and try to remain as far away from Mr. Wayne as possible.
"Before we start," said Mr. Wayne, turning to Mlle. Bustier. "I must apologise for missing the first tour. Something came up, so I had to send an intern to lead them around the facility." Yeah right. There was no way this was a coincidence. Mr. Wayne knew. He fucking knew. Marinette was so dead. There was no coming back from this. Why else would he show up to this tour, but not the other? But if Bruce knew, why didn't Dick say anything? To make her suffer for not telling anyone?
No, that didn't make sense.
Why was Bruce Wayne on her tour, and not Mssr. D'Argencourt's, if he didn't know about certain familial ties?
Really, what other reason would the Bruce Wayne show up at Marinette's tour, no, invite Marinette's class on a tour, if he didn't have a hidden agenda? It had to be something really important, or else─
Oh, God.
Oh, fuck.
There had to be an ulterior motive, and Marinette thought she knew what it was.
This was about the Riddler's costume.
She should've known something was up when she saw those strange files that Damian had. She should've thought, 'hey, maybe I should keep my mouth shut,', but she didn't, and now Bruce Wayne wanted to know what she knew.
But why?
Why was that even important? Seriously, what would some random CEO want with her thoughts on a supervillains' terrible fashion sense? They all had ugly costumes! This was horrible.
But that was all wishful thinking. Because Bruce Wayne definitely knew that he was her father.
'Is giving my Miraculous to Hawkmoth an alternative option here?'
"Girl, you okay?" Alya whispered, her hand landing on Marinette's rigid left shoulder blade. Marinette sent her a shaky smile and a thumbs up, feeling that if she were to open her mouth right now, any sounds that came out would be several octaves too high.
"I'm just going to lead you around the first few floors," Mr. Wayne said as they passed several doors on their way inside, before finally stopping outside of a room with a large glass fish tank. The container was empty and could probably house Aquaman. The glass was quadruple-paned and if Marinette had to guess, probably bulletproof. She wondered why there was so much security for a random fish tank.
"Where are all the fish?" Alix asked, peering into the tank.
"We have a shipment of all sorts of rare and exotic breeds coming in next week," Mr. Wayne said flippantly. "This building is still new, so a few key things are still missing."
But Marinette was curious as to why there were four, almost concealed lasers on the edges of the inside of the fish tank. A bit much for some 'rare and exotic breeds' of fish, no?
"Oh, cool," Alix said.
Except, it seemed that a few key things being missing was a common thing. In more than one empty room, Marinette could practically feel her Miraculouses powers waning. It seemed that the rooms were reinforced against superhumans, yet each of these rooms were bland and empty, with a reinforced, glass wall separating it in half.
It was almost like a prison cell.
Mr. Wayne didn't let them into these rooms, however. He said they were 'boring' and 'mundane', yet as they passed one particular room with a steel door and another wall of glass, Marinette couldn't quell her panic as she felt her connection to Tikki cut off suddenly. Marinette slipped a hand into her purse, just to make sure that Tikki hadn't disappeared, and another crept up to check on her earrings.
...Why did Mr. Wayne have rooms that could probably hold each member of the Justice League captive?
Marinette received no answer, but she did sigh loudly in relief when they got away from that room. She could feel Tikki again, and not just physically.
They stopped inside a room with a large microscope, a lot of books and a white table in the centre. People milled about, experimenting and all the likes.
Mr. Wayne told them to split off into two groups, so that the scientists working in the lab would have a better job showing them a few cool things.
Marinette was in the bigger group. Somehow, she ended up with Chloé, Lila and Alya as her partners.
"Run me through with a chainsaw, please," Marinette whispered under her breath.
Oh, this was beyond corrosive.
It was…appalling.
As Mr. Wayne chatted amiably with Mlle. Bustier in the corner, Lila told the woman who was showing them a prototype for a new Wayne Enterprises phone model that she was actually related to Albert Einstein through his cousin, so she knew more about what was being said than the actual scientist present. Chloé started whining about her clothes and her hair and her manicure and the temperature and the ugly decor and the cheap materials and basically everything that existed in the laboratory. Marinette suspected that Chloé was afraid that neither Adrien nor Sabrina were present, so this was a defense mechanism, of some kind. Meanwhile, Alya was asking question after question after question.
The poor woman didn't even get the chance to answer.
Marinette needed a break, so she made a quick excuse about needing to use the bathroom and scurried outside.
And here's the problem; Marinette didn't know where the bathrooms were. Mr. Wayne hadn't pointed them out and nobody asked.
Perhaps she could investigate those weird rooms─
"Let me guess, you don't know where you're going?" Marinette must've jumped a mile into the air as Mr. Wayne chuckled lightly at her reaction.
'I'd sooner jump off the Eiffel Tower.' Marinette stared up at Bruce Wayne with wide eyes. 'I'm so dead. Gone. Deceased. You may as well bury me under a pile of dry cement and leave me for the rats.'
"Well, it's a big place," Marinette shrugged helplessly. 'There is no crueler fate than the one I'm about to be subjected to.'
"I apologise if I scared you," Mr. Wayne said. "I've been told that I need to stop being so sneaky."
"Oh, really?" Marinette asked faintly. 'This is worse than Stoneheart. No, the Sentimonsters. No, Mayura. No, Hawkmoth. No, Heroes Day. No, Miracle Queen. This is just… really bad.' "That's cool. So, umm… bathroom?"
"I'll walk with you," Mr. Wayne said. 'No, thank you, Mr. Wayne. Please, just point me in the direction and I'll deal with any repercussions if I get lost. You don't have to worry about little ol' me.' Oh, how Marinette wanted to refute him. How easy it would be. But even as Marinette thought about that, she knew that she couldn't. You can't say no to a billionaire.
(Audrey Bourgeois does not count.)
But even as Marinette nodded meekly, she knew for a fact that every excuse she fed herself was utter bullshit.
"The bathrooms are on the floor below us," Mr. Wayne said as they moved. "We're still doing maintenance, so we haven't gotten to fixing up the lavatories here."
Marinette's eyes narrowed. "If that's the case, then why'd you offer us a tour of this place?"
Mr. Wayne regarded her emotionlessly. "Sorry?"
"Why would you, Bruce Wayne, billionaire, philanthropist and all of those other titles you have, invite a random French class on a tour of their new, unfinished lab? I mean, you hardly offer tours to everybody who's affected by the Joker." So Marinette may have been a bit over-aggressive, but in her defense, she was way too suspicious of all of this.
This facility seemed more like a prison than a science lab. And another thing, something Mlle. Bustier had said, it'd been bugging her for a while. Mr. Freeze's gun, it was here. In Wayne Laboratories. A place that could definitely hold any meta-human or alien that was too dangerous. But why would the Waynes get some supervillain's weapon? Why wasn't it locked away in some underground government facility?
It was all too suspicious, and Marinette was beginning to suspect that Mr. Wayne's presence actually had nothing to do with her, after all.
Mr. Wayne frowned down at Marinette. She shuddered under his imperious stare, but didn't say anything. "My son Damian tells me that you were quite moved by the Riddler's costume yesterday." 'Subtle.'
She rolled her eyes as she looked away from him. "The colours clashed and there was no coordination or balance between the accessories and the clothes." Just like every outfit created by Hawkmoth, the Riddler's clothes and his akumatized form was horrendous. Gabriel Agreste would probably jump off of a building if he saw that. "Why do you have holding cells here?" She really shouldn't know, or ask, that, but when has Marinette ever been subtle?
Marinette felt like her very soul was being examined with the way that Mr. Wayne stared at her. "Why'd you lie to get away from your friends?"
"Why'd you answer my question with a question?"
"You just did it yourself," Mr. Wayne grinned. The elevator dinged as they stepped outside. "Who's Ladybug?"
"Boxer. Who's Batman?" 'I'll ask about your superhero. See how you like it.'
"There's a couple different answers. Dark Knight, World's Greatest Detective, Caped Crusader. Personally, my favourite is 'Flying Rodent'. Why did you run away from my son when he was interviewing you yesterday."
"I was dealing with the stress of meeting a deranged sociopath. Why was your other son looking at military-level files on the Riddler yesterday?"
Mr. Wayne didn't miss a beat. "Damian has a passing interest in supervillains." They stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Here's the bathroom. I trust you can find your way back?"
"Can you find yours?" Marinette raised an eyebrow defensively as Mr. Wayne chuckled. Marinette scurried into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and leaning against a wall.
'Let's not drag attention to ourselves, Marinette. Let's not give Mr. Wayne any indication that you're related to him, Marinette. Let's not make him think that you have powers of any kind, Marinette. Let's be as normal as fucking possible, Marinette.'
Marinette groaned. "Are those instructions too difficult, Marinette?" She grabbed her phone, calling the first number in it. He picked up immediately. "Adrien?"
"Yes, M'Lady?"
His voice was all she needed to calm down. "I think there's more to my─to Mr. Wayne then we thought."
"What made you think that?" Adrien asked. "Was it the prison cells or the fact that they cut off any connection to our Kwamis?"
She flinched. "Well, yes, but I… I think he may be a supervillain."
"What?"
"Come on, it makes sense! Those rooms could probably hold the entire Justice League captive! He has a Freeze Gun! How would he get his hands on a thing like that, if not illegally?"
"Marinette, I don't think… does he seem like a supervillain to you?"
"Nobody seems like a supervillain, Adrien," she snapped.
"My father seems like one," Adrien said pointedly.
"Yeah, but he's not one so it doesn't count."
"That's not the point I'm trying to make, Mari."
She scoffed, loudly. "Then please, enlighten me."
"Are you sure this isn't you trying to avoid the whole confrontation by claiming that he's a supervillain?"
"Yes I'm sure!"
"M'Lady…"
Marinette swallowed. "I'm… forty-one percent sure."
"That's not very sure, Princess."
"I know, I just…" Marinette sat heavily on a toilet lid. She sighed. "Dick Grayson showed up earlier, just before we entered the lab. He told me that if I didn't tell Mr. Wayne by next week, then he'd do it himself."
"You're scared."
"No shit I'm scared!" she exclaimed, scoffing loudly.
"No, that's not what I meant, Marinette," Adrien said. "You're scared that you'll be rejected, so you're going to try everything within your power to avoid being found out."
"No," Marinette said immediately.
"No?" Adrien asked. "Princess, need I remind you that it was I who you had a huge crush on? You would've jumped off of the Eiffel Tower to avoid confessing to me, back then." Marinette couldn't argue with that. "Look, Marinette, I'll stand behind you every step of the way, but I want you to really think about this. We both know you'll regret doing nothing."
"I know that I'll regret saying something, too," Marinette snapped.
"Will you?" Adrien questioned. "I know that you're thinking of all of the bad outcomes, but I want you to imagine what'll happen if Wayne accepts you. You'll get to meet a part of your family that you never knew. And I mean really meet. Not whatever dance you have going on with them right now."
Marinette huffed out a throaty laugh, blinking rapidly. "Do you have notes out or something?"
"You know it." She could hear the grin.
But what if… what if she told Wayne, and he didn't care? And he told her she wasn't valid or something stupid like that? What then?
"Stop," Adrien said. "I can hear you thinking from across Gotham."
"Ha."
"Marinette, it's okay that you're scared, but you also have to face those fears at some point. Or else you'll never forgive yourself."
She frowned. "Why are you so insistent that I tell him?"
"Because I know you," Adrien sighed. "When you left for that walk last night, I talked with Alya. We both realised that you'll never admit to anyone that you actually want to tell him. You're not… you've always been stubborn like that, Bugaboo." Marinette swallowed. "I won't bring it up again if you don't want me to. In fact, I'll find a way to wipe it from my brain if you want me to, but I really need you to think about what you want. If you don't say anything, that's fine. Just like it's fine if you decide to do it."
"Uh-uh," Marinette uttered non-committedly.
"I think you should call your Mom," Adrien said.
"What?"
"She knows the most. She's met both of you. She could probably tell you how he'll react to another kid, and based on what I've heard about Damian Wayne, he won't even bat an eye."
"I…" Marinette sighed. "I'll think about it. Thanks, Adrien."
"No problem, Bug. Love you."
"You too," she said, hanging up quickly.
Marinette dropped her head into her open palms. "Fuck."
She knew that it was because of fear, but that didn't change anything. That fear was hardly unfounded. If Bruce found out, then Marinette would be forming a commitment with somebody outside of France. This trip to Gotham was different than having a father all the way in America. She'd have to visit constantly and would always have to risk her secret identity just to interact with him.
...Would it really be that bad, though?
Yes, yes, it most definitely would. Totally. Completely. And besides, Bruce Wayne was a man who was almost always being targeted by a supervillain. Did Marinette really want that for herself? Maman clearly didn't.
After all, why else would her Maman leave Gotham when she was pregnant? Why else would she never contact Bruce Wayne and tell him?
...Why did Maman leave?
Marinette stood up. Adrien was right. She needed to call her Maman and get some answers.
Huh. Okay then. That was… not what Marinette was expecting.
She had thought that they'd broken up because of something like Maman getting kidnapped or something. That wasn't it.
(To be fair, Harvey Dent, or Two-Face, had attacked her workplace, but that wasn't why she'd left.)
Maman hadn't even known she was pregnant when she'd left.
They'd broken up because of some reporter. A woman named Vicki Vale had found out about their relationship and broadcasted it everywhere she possibly could, portraying Sabine in a terrible light. Gold digger, whore, slut. Maman was called every word in the book. She couldn't deal with all of the hate and backlash, so she and Bruce had made the mutual decision to break up.
So why hadn't Sabine called Bruce and told him that he was a father?
Why, because she didn't have his number, of course!
No, seriously. Upon arriving in France, Sabine's phone had been snatched, and with it went her phone. She had no way of contacting Bruce to say, "Congrats, you're a dad!", so she didn't. Marinette suspected that Sabine had still been bitter about her treatment from the American Media, so she'd unconsciously didn't try too hard to find ways of contacting Bruce. She wouldn't blame her Maman if that was the case.
And then Tom had walked into the call and somehow he'd known why Marinette was so worried and told her that he'd never feel angry if she wanted to have a relationship with her biological father. Marinette had no idea how he'd known─she loved him, but he could be somewhat dense when it came to less obvious emotions.
Marinette took out her phone again, sending Adrien a text saying that she was sorry for being snappish and explaining what had transpired over her phone call with her parents. Adrien sent back an assortment of emojis that Marinette couldn't decipher, but from what she gathered, he was happy.
Marinette still had no idea of what to do, but at least now she would admit to herself that yes, she did want to have a relationship with Bruce, and that she'd been too afraid to even think about it.
She was still afraid.
But that didn't change anything.
Marinette was going to face her fears.
Definitely. Probably. Maybe.
…Maybe Adrien could help her face her fears.
When Marinette returned to the lab, she was surprised to find them gathered around a weapon of some kind. A long gun, probably forty-five centimetres with two big blue stripes on opposite sides lay out on the table.
One cautious glance at Mlle. Bustier in the corner confirmed her thoughts. Mlle. Bustier stood tensely, as far away from the gun as physically possible. Her fists were clenched tightly and her jaw set grimly.
So this was the freeze gun that the Riddler wanted.
Why?
Marinette didn't have time to dwell, because Alya was bounding towards her, grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the table. "Girl, where have you been? It's been, like, half an hour! The tour's gonna end soon!"
"Sorry, Alya," Marinette smiled tersely. "Maman called. I needed to talk to her about…" Marinette looked at Mr. Wayne, who was chatting amiably with one of the scientists. Marinette didn't miss the way he glanced at Mlle. Bustier. So that's what he knew. "Things."
"Uh-uh," Alya nodded enthusiastically. "And you missed the gun! Mari, it was so cool! They froze this huge tub of milk and they let us touch it! It was so cold! Oh, this is so going on my blog!"
"Right…" 'I didn't miss much, then,' Marinette glanced at the frozen vat of milk. 'I have enough experiences with ice themed villains, thanks.'
Alix approached them out of nowhere. Marinette looked at Alix's companions and cursed internally. This was not innocent at all. "That's cool and all, Alya, but Marinette, what did you and Mr. Wayne talk about?"
"Um… huh?"
"We all saw him follow you," Alix said. "Come on, what was it?"
"Nothing, really," Marinette shrugged. "He just gave me directions to the bathroom and we split up. I think I heard his phone ringing."
"Really? That's it?" Alix looked back with a snort. "I told you so, Lila."
"It was just a joke," Lila shrugged. "I didn't mean any harm by it, Alix. You know I'd never seriously imply something so… deplorable."
Oh.
Well, Marinette knew exactly what Lila had been 'joking' about.
Bitch.
"Well then," Mr. Wayne said, clapping his hands together with a smile. "That's all the time we have for today. Let me just say that it was a pleasure to have you all here and thank you for visiting Wayne Enterprises. I'll walk you out."
"Thank god," Marinette whispered to Alya as they left the building. "I genuinely wanted to jump out of a window there."
Alya was humming contentedly to herself. "Do you think 'a weapon that defies quantum physics itself' would be a good way to describe Mr. Freeze's cold?"
"Maybe give a physical description, too," Marinette advised smiling slightly as Alya bounced with every step she took.
When they reached the bus, Mr. Wayne made another speech and thanked Mlle. Bustier. Just when Marinette was just about to get onto the bus (she'd stopped to tie her left shoe─that lace always seemed to come loose) when Mr. Wayne stopped her.
"If you recall anything else about the Riddler's costume that you found interesting, do contact me about it, please."
"Why?" Marinette asked, meeting his stare dead on.
"My son Damian isn't the only one with a… passing interest in crime." Mr. Wayne stepped back with a friendly smile. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Gotham, Miss Cheng."
"Of course," Marinette said with a smile, hurrying into the bus. She dropped into the seat beside Alya. "He is terrifying."
Alya was still distracted. "I'm thinking that the background should be red, you know, to contrast with the whole 'freeze gun' thing?"
Marinette sighed. "Never change, Alya. Never change."
But of course, Marinette never noticed the camera that shuttered closed upon seeing Marinette and Mr. Wayne's interaction.
It would only be a matter of time before a certain reporter got a hold of it.
When they reached the Kane Hotel, Marinette immediately wrapped her arms around Adrien's waist, smiling up at him as he planted a kiss on the crown of her head.
"Sorry for being such an ass," she said.
"I don't blame you, Mari," Adrien said. "Have you made a decision, then?"
"Yeah," Marinette nodded. "I'll tell him. It's my responsibility to do it. I shouldn't just run away from my problems."
"You know I'll always be here for you." And that was the most truthful statement she'd heard all day. If there was one person she could trust to be there for her, it was Adrien. Marinette relaxed in his arms.
"What's up with Mlle. Bustier?" Alix asked, nodding to their teacher who was speaking frantically with Mssr. D'Argencourt, who's hand was on his hip, where his saber would usually be seated.
"I dunno," Kim shrugged. Adrien exchanged a meaningful glance with her. She could take a guess.
"I'll go," Marinette whispered to Adrien, disentangling herself from him and approaching their teacher. "Mlle. Bustier?" she called. "Are you alright?"
"I'm─I'm just fine, Marinette," Mlle. Bustier swallowed. "I'm just trying to… convince Mssr. D'Argencourt that we should order pizza for the class. As a way to make it up to you guys, after yesterday."
Marinette's face betrayed none of her thoughts. "That's a great idea, Mlle. Bustier! But are you sure you're okay? You're pale."
"Well…" Mlle. Bustier sent another pleading glance at D'Argencourt. "I just really think that the class is tired of this hotel. It doesn't feel very safe to have them all cooped up here constantly."
"The class can have it in Alya and I's room, Mlle. Bustier," Marinette said helpfully. "That way, you and Mssr. D'Argencourt can take a break and relax."
"Really?" Mlle. Bustier perked up. "That's… very kind of you, Marinette. Well then, we should order the pizza, Armand."
"Caline, what are you─" Mlle. Bustier was already walking away hastily.
Marinette hurried back to Adrien. "She's expecting an attack. From the Riddler, since she didn't deliver Mr. Freeze's gun." Marinette turned back to the class. "He-ey guys, um, Mlle. Bustier wants us to go up to Alya and I's room because they're ordering pizza for us."
"Nice," Kim grinned.
Alix was already running up the stairs. "Thank god. I'm starving!" Kim raced after her. Max rolled his eyes fondly, following at a slower pace.
"But I'm allergic to pizza─" Lila started off.
"I'm sure they'll accommodate any allergies in student's files, Lila," Marinette shut her down. Lila visibly deflated, but perked up a moment later to say something else. Mylène grabbed Lila's arm and pulled her up the stairs before she could say anything else and Ivan followed, chatting amiably with Rose and Juleka. Sabrina scowled at them as she followed, Nathaniel not far behind.
Eventually, only Chloé, Alya, Nino, Adrien and Marinette remained behind.
"Something's up," Chloé said, frowning at Adrien. "You're doing that thing where you hide your fingers behind your back because you fidget when you know somebody's lying."
Alya turned to Chloé. "How did you─actually, nevermind. You're right. Marinette was definitely lying right there. Or hiding something."
"What?" Marinette pointed back to Mssr. D'Argencourt. "He's ordering pizza, isn't he?"
"Why is he ordering pizza?" Alya pressed.
"Because Mlle. Bustier felt bad," Marinette excused. "Can you guys just go upstairs? Adrien and I will wait for the pizza."
"We'll wait with you," Nino said. Marinette felt mildly betrayed at that. Alya and Chloé? She could accept it. But Nino? And here she thought he was the nice one.
"How will the others get into the room?" Marinette asked. 'Yes! This will work, won't it?'
"We told them to go to Chloé's room," Alya said. "It's bigger and Sabrina already has the key."
"And you're okay with people just flouncing about in your room, Chloé?" Marinette made one last ditch attempt.
"I'll have my daddy upgrade me to an even better room tomorrow," Chloé excused. "Sabrina can keep that one."
"Or…" Alya exchanged looks with Chloé and Nino. 'God, they make a scary team.' "You could just tell us why you're hiding the class upstairs."
Marinette turned to Adrien. A dozen different interactions could have taken place with those vague glances, but they eventually reached a decision.
"We're going to get attacked by the Riddler."
"What?" Alya exclaimed. Unfortunately, she wasn't worried in the slightest. Alya bounced on her toes excitedly, reaching for her phone. Nino took her phone, slipping it into his pocket.
"How do you know?" Chloé asked.
Marinette groaned, quickly explaining what had happened the night before, leaving out her alter ego and her second meeting with Red Hood.
"Oh, shit," Nino said. "So why do you want us to hide away, and not you?"
"Because─" Marinette hesitated.
"We were going to look for Ladybug and Chat Noir," Adrien quickly interjected, his hands in plain view and his fingers still. "But, since you guys probably aren't going to listen to us, you can look for them too."
"Hmm…" Alya crossed her arms. "Fine. C'mon, Chloé, Nino. We'll take the top floors."
"Why would I go with you two?" Chloé demanded, affronted.
"Because we're Team Miraculous and they're Team Civilians," Alya said.
"Doesn't that mean one of us should go with them?" Nino asked.
"I─" they turned to look back at their friends, but they were already gone. "Guess not. Come on, let's beat them. Maybe we can convince Ladybug to give us our Miraculouses." And they disappeared as they headed for an elevator.
Meanwhile, Marinette and Adrien were pressed up against each other in an alcove. "That was close."
"Very," Marinette sighed. "And there I was hoping that they'd all be tucked away safely in my room. Now we have five people to worry about."
"Not to mention all the other residents of this hotel." Adrien's forcefully cheerful grin earned him a flick in the ear. "Ow."
"We're so fucked," Marinette said. "We could evacuate the building."
"It'd work," Adrien said. "Nobody would be searching the rooms for our class if they think they're all outside, but that also works against us in the opposite way."
"Yeah. If they're all gathered outside, it'd be easy to take them hostage… if we transform, we could probably convince Mlle. Bustier and Mssr. D'Argencourt to hide."
"Same with 'Team Miraculous'," Adrien said. "Right. I'll try to deal with all of them, and you can survey the area for the Riddler."
There was no way they came out of this totally unscathed, considering the fact that not only was the Riddler akumatized, but he also had a Miraculous that seemed to rid one of their inhibitions.
Basically, they needed to try really hard to dodge.
After transforming, Marinette was expecting to find a group of goons surrounding a tall, green man. She found a group of goons, but they were surrounding three people. One of the men was short and pudgy, wearing a monocle and holding a walking stick, and the other was… well, half of him looked like your average, everyday man. The other… was grotesquely disfigured and covered in burns. The last was a girl with blonde hair, her pony tails were dyed different colours and her outfits were showy and colourful.
The Riddler was nowhere in sight.
He'd sent Penguin,Two-Face and Harley Quinn to do his dirty work.
How did he even convince them? The major villains of Gotham were famously at odds with each other. They'd never team up. The Joker would never do somebody else's dirty work and Two-Face was the kind of guy who would've been a good leader if he wasn't insane.
Unless… Marinette knew what his Miraculous did. But not what the akuma did. What if the Riddler could control others? That would explain why so many major villains rushed to do as the Riddler wanted.
Okay. Marinette's dealt with akumas who control your actions before. She could deal with this one, too. Definitely. Certainly.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to spy on people?" Marinette whirled around, ready to punch whoever had managed to sneak up on her, but she was surprised to see them back away with their hands raised submissively. Ladybug's eyes narrowed as she examined this stranger.
He wore a black domino mask with an equally black, skin tight suit. A blue symbol sat in the middle of his chest. He held a baton in his hand, similar to the one Chat would hold.
Nightwing.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to sneak up on people?" she asked eventually.
"Yes. I don't listen." Nightwing grinned wickedly. He approached Ladybug lazily, looking over the threshold to glance down at the assortment of villains. He whistled lowly. "What convinced these guys to work together?"
"I don't know," she lied, looking back at them. Harley swung her malette, hitting one of the goons. He went down, hard. Ladybug cringed and really hoped that he wasn't dead. "Are you here alone?"
"Are you?" Nightwing quirked an eyebrow. Ladybug's jaw set grimly as she turned back towards the fire escape. Ladybug took out her yo-yo, opening it to contact Chat. "Huh. So you're not the only 'bodyguard'. To answer your question, nope, I'm not alone. We have… let's see… obviously, we have the big B, then we got Robin─the Red one too─and then there's Hood. I think Black Bat might have even showed up today, too. Spoiler's arm is broken, though, so she isn't here." She relayed that information to Adrien, and just who they'd be fighting today. "So, why don't you guys go and protect that class of yours while we deal with our friends downstairs."
"Where's the Riddler?" Ladybug asked. He couldn't be far, and he was their real problem. But if she took him out, then the people under his control would go down, too.
"Haven't seen him. Why?"
"He's the real problem." She hurried towards the hotel, checking Adrien's GPS. He was six floors down from the roof. That was on their class's floor. Why would Adrien head there? Perhaps he was escorting 'Team Miraculous' back. They'd need to regroup, anyways.
Ladybug pushed open the emergency staircase and quickly descended. A glance back confirmed that Nightwing was following her. As she got to the fourth floor, she was very surprised to see a small child standing guard with his arms crossed.
"Nightwing," the child nodded. He couldn't be much older than Ladybug was when she'd first gotten her Miraculous. He may have been younger. So this was Robin. "So this is Ladybug."
"Yes," she said, advancing forwards. He stepped in her way. "Really?"
"I have not yet assessed your risk level yet. You may be─" Ladybug's yo-yo wrapped around a hanging light behind him, pulling her forwards. She quickly went down to the next floor and was now much more aware of the two vigilantes following her.
"Chat!" Ladybug called upon reaching him. Robin and Nightwing stopped behind her, but Ladybug wasn't much concerned with them. She planted her hands on her hips and glared at her three classmates. Only Nino had the decency to look sheepish. "I don't suppose you three have a reason to be out of Chloé's room?"
"We were looking for you, but then we saw Chat Noir and now we're trying to convince him to look for Adrien and Marinette!" Alya exclaimed.
"And I told them that they're already in Marinette's room, since it was closer, but they won't listen to me."
"That's because you're a pushover," Ladybug said. "Anyways, you three. In, now."
"Um." Nino looked at Ladybug's new companions. "Are they─"
"Not relevant." Ladybug crossed her arms. "Look." She sighed. "This place isn't the same as Paris. Those guys wouldn't hesitate to hurt you, and as your bodyguards, Chat and I will not allow that to happen. Now go."
Chloé scowled. "Well, if you gave me my─"
"Chloé Bourgeois." Chloé tensed as Ladybug stepped forwards slowly. "I still haven't forgiven you for that little stunt you pulled not too long ago. Do you really want to test me right now?"
"I─" Chloé looked down, mollified. "I'm sorry, Ladybug."
"Thank you for that act of maturity, Chloé. Anything else?" All three of them were studiously avoiding her gaze. "Good. Inside, now. And don't come back out until somebody is sent to fetch you."
There was a chorus of "yes, Ladybug" as Chloé swiped her keycard and they filed in dejectedly.
"Ugh." Ladybug rubbed her temple. "Remind me not to have children."
"Oh, Louis, Emma and Hugo will be devastated." Chat laughed as Ladybug hit him.
Robin was observing them through white slits of his domino mask. "Interesting."
"Where are─" Ladybug hesitated, looking over her shoulder. "Where are the teachers?"
"I sent them into Bustier's room a few minutes before you arrived with…" Chat observed the American superheroes coolly. "Our new friends."
"Right," Ladybug nodded. "Anyways, you and I need to go find the Riddler. He has to be nearby."
"I see. I can take the first few floors and the basement and you can take─"
"Aren't you going to guard the class?" Nightwing asked, raising a curious eyebrow.
"Physically guarding the class would be more detrimental in the long run," Ladybug said. "Actually, what is your plan?"
Robin opened his mouth, sneering up at them, but Nightwing dropped a warning hand on his shoulder, the other lifting up to his ear. Robin copied his movement. "Oracle," he said. There was silence for thirteen seconds. "Hm. Gotcha." Nightwing turned back to them, beginning a sentence but he was cut off by Robin.
"Batman wants to know who you both are before we let you do anything."
Ladybug tensed and reached for her yo-yo but Chat smiled lazily at the two vigilantes. "I can see five different ways to escape right now. Do you really want to try this?"
Ladybug grabbed his arm, whispering harshly. "If you even think about using Cataclysm anywhere I will personally give Hawk Moth your Miraculous."
"You're getting unoriginal with your threats, Milady," Chat grinned. He looked back at the vigilantes. "As it is, I'd rather avoid any fighting, so I'll have to request something from you."
"What?" Robin asked apprehensively.
"Well, if we tell you our identities, then you tell us yours." Nobody moved and no sound was uttered. "I thought so. Listen, I know that we're on your turf, but if it were up to us, we wouldn't be here, so─" He was interrupted by a loud bang. "Huh. Seems they've started their assault. Sorry, guys, it's been a real pleasure, but we can't stick around." With that, Chat grabbed her forearm and started tearing down the hallway. Ladybug didn't need to hear their footsteps to know that they were being followed.
Once they reached an intersection in the hallways, Chat and Ladybug split up. She ran towards the fire escape while Chat sprinted for a window. Looking back, she saw that it was Robin who followed her.
Ladybug got off on the third floor, sprinting past doorways as fast as she could. Ladybug whirled left, and skidded to a stop when she came upon a dead end.
"I have you now!" Robin exclaimed. "You didn't really think you could escape, did you?" It was just now that Ladybug noticed something.
"Who the fuck gave you a katana?" she asked incredulously.
Robin looked affronted. "I have the finest of weapons available. I believe the better question is why do you have a yo-yo? It seems impractical."
"You'd think." She unhooked the yo-yo, swinging it lazily. Robin frowned warily at it. Huh. She'd have thought he'd underestimate it. Then again, he'd seen what it could do when she jumped over him. "I thought so too, at first, but then─" she suddenly struck out, hitting something over Robin's shoulder.
Robin whirled around, surprised to see the crumpled lackey at his feet. "You─" he looked back at Ladybug, who was now sprinting at him. Robin moved to dodge, but Ladybug grabbed his arm and pushed him into an open room. Her yo-yo wrapped around the unconscious goon and pulled him inside too. She closed and locked the door. "Why did you─"
She shushed him as footsteps sounded outside the room.
"Well, I never!" A voice exclaimed. "I sent that buffoon up here to look for that stupid class and he's gone and done a disappearin' act on me! Puddin' would be so angry with me!" The sound of something hard hitting the wall. Probably Harley's malette. "Well? What are the rest of you idiots standin' around for! Go find 'em!"
Neither Robin nor Ladybug said a word until they were sure Harley Quinn was gone.
Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief as she surveyed the empty room. "That was lucky."
Robin, however, was less relieved and more contemplative. It was such a shame that he was in this woman's debt (twice now, if you really considered it). Robin frowned.
"I have made a decision," he said. "To let you keep your identity, on the basis that a temporary alliance may be necessary."
"No need to be so formal," Ladybug laughed. She unlocked the door, stepping outside. "But yeah. We both have the same goal, so there's no point in fighting. We have more important things going on right now."
"Indeed," said Robin as they began making their ways at a slower, more cautious pace.
"Oh, and can you contact Nightwing and tell him to stop chasing my partner?" Ladybug asked.
"I have the distinct feeling that Nightwing and your partner have already come to an alliance of some sort."
Ladybug snorted. "Yeah, I see it too, kid."
At the same time, an old man in a pink, fluffy bathrobe stepped out of his bathroom and was less surprised to see his door open than to see the man drooling on his floor.
Meanwhile, Chat Noir had just vaulted himself out of a window, and he easily landed on his feet.
Two unfortunate things occurred.
One. Nightwing had followed him and he also landed on his feet.
And two. They'd landed right in the middle of a group of goons and Penguin was standing right on top of a bin.
Nightwing looked between Chat, the fifteen villains and Penguin.
Chat quirked a grin. "Race you?"
Nightwing copied his expression. "You're on."
Oracle, also known as Barbra Gordon, rolled her eyes as the two began to fight. "Boys."
"Where'd you get your baton?" Nightwing asked upon punching Penguin in the nose, knocking out his monocle. Penguin pathetically fell to the floor, whimpering loudly.
"I'm not sure. Heirloom, I think," Chat lied easily, catching the offered zip ties from Nightwing and starting to tie up the villains.
"It's very durable," Nightwing complimented.
"Thanks. I liked yours too. What's it made out of?"
"No idea," Nightwing said. "What say you that we put our differences aside and deal with everybody else?"
Chat grinned. "I say that this is the start to a beautiful friendship."
"What? What is it?" Ladybug asked, frowning at Robin, who stopped suddenly.
His eyes were narrowed as he turned towards the shadows. "Now's not the time for games, Black Bat."
A girl came out of the shadows with a small smile. She waved at Ladybug, no hostility projected as she approached them. "Hi."
Ladybug smiled back at the girl. "Hello. I'm Ladybug. You're Black Bat, then?" She nodded. 'So she's the quiet type.'
"Any sightings of the Riddler?" Robin asked, his hand lifting to his comm as he asked. Black Bat shrugged as Robin listened to a voice in his ear. "None? I see."
"He'll probably end up making an appearance after all of his people have been defeated," Ladybug said.
Robin paused. "Speaking of, Penguin's down. Your partner and Nightwing are collaborating at the moment."
"Right. Harley should be somewhere on this floor, then, right?" Ladybug asked as they moved into an open room.
"You betcha!" Was exclaimed with a comical level of convenience as Harley Quinn aimed a bazooka at them and the door closed behind them. "And I'm gonna get you back for what you did to my puddin!"
Ladybug froze. Would she really have to use her Lucky Charm to defeat Harley? There's no way that she could fire that bazooka without taking down at least one of them. Robin was in a fighting stance but Black Bat looked calmly up at Harley.
"Not real," she said, pointing at the weapon. Ladybug looked incredulously at her but Robin relaxed instantly. Maybe she knew weapons.
Harley pouted exaggeratedly. "Why d'you Bats always gotta ruin the fun?!" She didn't wait for a reply. "Sic 'em boys!"
Roughly twenty goons pushed open the doors on their left and right, streaming into the room and surrounding them.
"Alright," Ladybug said, settling into a fighting stance and swinging her yo-yo in anticipation. "Let's do this."
It was, in fact, quite easy to take down Harley after her lackeys were gone. She started crying about her 'puddin' again and how she'd failed him.
Ladybug sighed. "You gotta love toxic relationships."
Oracle pressed a button on her comm. "Robin, Black Bat, Nightwing. Batman, Red Hood and Red Robin have just taken down Two-Face. That's all three major villains gone. Go to the lobby floor and be ready. Bring your companions."
Getting to the lobby was simple now that most of the threats had been eliminated.
Unsurprisingly, a rather green supervillain stood in the centre of the room, surrounded by at least sixty lackeys. 'Where does this endless supply come from?' she wondered as they skirted the edges of the room.
"Where are those idiots?" The Riddler demanded. A familiar purple mask appeared over his face. "I see. So the bug and the cat team up with the bats. How… amusing." He twirled his sword exasperatedly. "Well then, Ladybug, Chat Noir. Riddle me what it takes to confiscate your Miraculous?" He chuckled loudly. "Spoiler alert, it's me! And I can even take down Batman in the meantime, too!"
Ladybug turned to Robin. "I need you to cause a distraction over there." She pointed in the direction. "I need to regroup with Chat Noir, but I don't want to initiate the fight yet."
Robin was frowning at something in the distance. "Too late."
Ladybug looked up just in time to see a knife hit one of the goons and then a gun was being fired and Red Hood jumped into the fray. She could hear Batman swear loudly as he also came out of hiding, battling the lackeys. Red Robin and Nightwing followed and then Robin jumped in. Black Bat grabbed her arm, pointing upwards. A certain Chat was sitting on one of the support beams.
"Thank you," she whispered as she swung her yo-yo and watched Black Bat join the fight. "Chat!" she exclaimed as quietly as possible, what with the gunshots echoing around the room.
"Hey, Bugaboo," he said. "What's the plan?"
It was five minutes into the fight when Chat Noir finally jumped down. He aimed a kick for the Riddler's head, yet ended up hitting his chest instead. The Riddler skidded back, his head hitting against a step. He was up in an instant, but he was now hatless.
Good think the Riddler never learned what happened when you broke an akumatized item.
Ladybug swooped down, grabbing the hat and quickly returning to her perch. She didn't destroy it, as she had a certain suspicion and so she called for her Lucky Charm.
A wrench appeared in her hands. She could already imagine the jokes Chat would make.
Ladybug looked around, quickly realising what needed to happen to throw a wrench in Hawk Moth's plans.
"Chat!" she called, pointing to a random stone statue that was in the middle of the room and somehow remained standing. His eyes widened and his sword fight with the Riddler halted as he rolled to the side.
"Cataclysm!" The statue crumpled into ashes, and Ladybug could now easily hit the sprinkler system from her vantage point.
When the water came down, the Riddler looked up and was momentarily distracted.
A moment was all Chat Noir needed to grab the Miraculous from around the Riddler's grabbed the wrench and tossed it towards her.
Ladybug swung up, ripping the hat in two and a butterfly came out of it. Ladybug purified it and was not surprised to see most of the goons blinking in confusion. So they were under his control.
She swung down, landing deftly beside Chat. "Miraculous Ladybug!" She threw the wrench into the air and was not surprised to see the hotel repair itself.
"Good job, Chat," she said.
"You too, Milady," he grinned.
"I thought you two were bodyguards," a voice called from behind them. It was at this moment that Ladybug remembered that they had company. Nightwing was raising an eyebrow at them and then Ladybug realised that she was basically being confronted with the entire Batclan (minus Spoiler, of course).
"Uh─" she glanced at Chat and then back at the vigilantes and at Batman, specifically. Yeah, no. Telling Bruce Wayne that she's his daughter? Terrifying. Interacting with Batman? She would die. Literally.
And so Ladybug did the only plausible thing that came to mind.
She grabbed Chat's arm and she sprinted like hell. She didn't look back to see if they were being followed.
She just ran into the first available unlocked room and after checking that it was empty, transformed back into her civilian self.
"That was so close." Marinette whispered.
"Good reaction," Adrien said. "Let's go let everyone out of their rooms."
"Yeah." She sighed. "I feel like it's gonna be another one of those nights, Adrien."
"Aren't we meant to be on holiday?" he rubbed his eyes tiredly as they ascended the staircase.
"Tomorrow will be better," she said.
Tomorrow was not, in fact, 'better'.
Actually, it was arguably worse.
It was at six in the morning that a certain photograph started circulating the web.
GothamGazette VickiVale · 54m
Bruce Wayne & Sabine Cheng─the Sequel? Read the full article here.
[Image] {Image description: Bruce Wayne smiling at a young Asian girl with similar features to him.}
WinSchott winnnstonnn · 52m
VickiVale She is a kid. Don't be so invasive of her personal space. You have no proof that they're related and considering the way that you slandered Sabine Cheng seventeen years ago, I don't think that you're the person who should be reporting this 'news'.
Grotomon Buboon · 49m
VickiVale yoooooo bruce wayne has ANOTHER kid?! lol
DroopiePie oogggabooo · 45m
VickiVale lol he gotta keep it in his pants
dickgraysonisbae daddygrayson · 45m
VickiVale fake news b wayne is sterline
NightwingxRedHood troollololol · 42m
VickiVale daddygrayson sterile* And he's not. Damian Wayne is literally his bio son
dickgraysonisbae daddygrayson · 39m
VickiVale troollololol lol no
Percabeth gretanom · 27m
I know I'm not the only person who saw that article from VickiVale, right? #newwayne
BatButt LoriGreene · 26m
I jus t put her eyes in a colouf picker with bruce waynes and they the same #newwayne
Lexluthorisababy joannahoran · 25m
LoriGreene that is…. So much effort. Why?
BatButt LoriGreene · 22m
joannahora E
speedy arsOnel · 19m
underthehood lol
Fuckthejoker underthehood · 18m
arsOnel pm
speedy arsOnel · 16m
underthehood oh shiiiit
UnofficialWayne StephBrown · 15m
I leave Twitter for five minutes and suddenly we have a little sister TimDrakeWayne. Is this how AcroDick felt?
GimmeCoffee TimDrakeWayne · 12m
StephBrown We've experienced this before, Steph. Demon Spawn and Cass, remember?
UnofficialWayne StephBrown · 9m
TimDrakeWayne Yeah bit those times were true so this is funny
Drarry4ever yonrowl · 7m
StephBrown TimDrakeWayne wait its not real?! #newwayne
harleyxjoker sjonme · 6m
StephBrown TimDrakeWayne yonrowl courze its real this is just a set up to get us ti think its fake
Drarry4ever yonrowl · 5m
sjonme that sounds like ssooooo much work. just say its not real BruceWayneOfficial
DroopiePie oogggabooo · 4m
yonrowl your balls…. are large. they will not save you.
trappedingotham kennilowe · 3m
yonrowl Like that would work. Nothing less of seven live DNA tests will convince people that the kid isn't Wayne's.
dickgraysonisbae daddygrayson · 1m
yonrowl kennilowe bit uts not real tho so he doesnt need to say that
"Girl?! Girl, get up, now!"
Marinette grumbled incoherently, ignoring Alya's frantic shaking of her upper body. "What?" she asked, drawing out the vowel and ending with a hard 't'.
Alya's phone was shoved under her nose.
It took Marinette a minute to adjust to the sudden brightness, and even longer to read the word on Twitter.
But when she did…
The resounding shriek woke up every resident of their hotel.
Trumbone JenniBrowne · 32m
Okay, wtf is wrong with Vicki Vale? That girl is literally a child. Idk why she's putting a huge target on her back?
Ernon stanmartianmanhunter · 30m
JenniBrowne she's a wayne she'll be fine nothing bad happens to them ever
Broski rollingstones · 26m
stanmartianmanhunter JenniBrowne wtf bro stfu
Trumbone JenniBrowne · 25m
stanmartianmanhunter Right, because nothing bad ever happens to rich and famous people. You better be a troll account, istg.
NightwingxRedHood troollololol · 22m
stanmartianmanhunter JenniBrowne Is no one gonna mention Jason Todd? Literally no one?!
dickgraysonisbae daddygrayson · 19m
stanmartianmanhunter JenniBrowne troollololol thats cause he faked his death to start working for batman lol
Fuckthejoker underthehood · 15m
stanmartianmanhunter JenniBrowne troollololol daddygrayson yes.
DannyDorito bruhsure · 14m
Bruce wayne has another one?! Poor kid
JohhnyZest zzzabatoge · 11m
bruhsure yes, so sad that she now sits in the lap of luxury & will now have zero loans and no debt and shit such a poor, underprivileged kid
IzzieDraws drawingtombolo · 8m
bruhsure zzzabotage dude, b wayne literally abused his kids. You see al thouse scars?
JohhnyZest zzzabatoge · 7m
drawingtombolo the waynes were not abused rbo
TrynaStayAlive nknmonkey · 5m
bruhsure zzzabotage drawingtombolo We don't know if they were abused or not. A lot of the Wayne's (mainly Dick Grayson & JTodd before his death) were famously covered in ⅓
TrynaStayAlive nknmonkey · 4m
bruises in their younger years, but it was also well known that Grayson is an acrobat (check out his old Youtube channel he has so many flips) ⅔
TrynaStayAlive nknmonkey · 2m
and JTodd was always seen hanging around with homeless children in alleyways and stuff
ReginaGeorge meangirlz · 29m
Ew how does he have another #newwayne
Fthepolice tylerspies · 28m
meangirlz well, when a man and a woman love each other very much…
Redvented poptarts · 25m
meangirlz tylerspies lol
mymilkshakebringsall theboystotheyard · 19m
VickiVale what is up with you bro? I checked your article and shes a minorrrrr? remember jason?
luvAAgreste adrienagresteisaking · 35m
VickiVale bro ive been a fan of adrienagreste for years and he has a lot of pictures with MarinetteCheng and she seems so nice leave her alone
tododeku bnhafan3995 · 29m
That awkward moment when you realise that Bruce Wayne has another kid yet he is literally the reason his second one died. CPS better get on the #newwayne case soon
[redacted] area69 · 20m
bnhafan3995 dude.
[redacted] area69 · 19m
bnhafan3995 that is not where it at, my man
Neverseentwoprettybestfriends Inmate209 · 15m
Okay, I know we're all reeling from the whole #newwayne, but I think everybody should check out MarinetteCheng 's Twitter and website and stuff ⅕
Neverseentwoprettybestfriends Inmate209 · 15m
She has a lot of experience in the fashion world, most famously with JaggedStone, a famous rockstar ⅖
Neverseentwoprettybestfriends Inmate209 · 14m
She's frequently featured on her friend's, Ladyblogger 's websites (she has a million different blogs) and is ⅗
Neverseentwoprettybestfriends Inmate209 · 12m
Always hanging out with famous french models such as adrienagreste (hawt). And she was meant to star in ClaraNightingale 's ⅘
Neverseentwoprettybestfriends Inmate209 · 11m
Music video for some fictional superhero, but then convinced her to include all of her classmates. It's adorable istg.
WarriorCats TrinaVega · 9m
Inmate209 I met her once in France. She was helping out in her parents bakery and tripped and spilled flour everywhere. It was adorable and she kept on apologising to everyone.
TaylorSwiftFan30880 TSwizzle · 7m
Inmate209 TrinaVega OMG I met her too! I was in Paris and she was tripped over nothing but then did this weird handspring so instead of falling she just did a flip and then continued running really quickly. I think she was late to school
TaylorSwiftFan30880 TSwizzle · 4m
Inmate209 TrinaVega I got a video too
[Video] {Video Description: Video starts off showing a blonde girl's face before the camera angle switches and you see a black haired girl beginning to trip, before her hand touches the ground and she vaults over the ground. She lands on her own two feet and starts sprinting towards a large building, presumably her school.}
TokyoGhoul3 weeaboooo69 · 3m
TSwizzle goddamn AcroDick has some competition lol
JJJ Spiderson · 2m
TSwizzle I stan already
Redvented poptarts · 2m
TSwizzle MarinetteCheng is my favourite Wayne already
PoisonIvycanrailme leonardisvaldez · 47s
TSwizzle That was… so smooth.
Percabeth gretanom · 22s
TSwizzle I will physically fight anyone who tries to hurt her
BatButt LoriGreene · 8s
TSwizzle gretanom same.
Marinette shook her head frantically. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. This can't be… it can't be real. I don't believe it. It's not… this wasn't supposed to happen!"
"I know, Mari," Alya said, grasping her hand and exchanging meaningful looks with Nino and Adrien. "I know."
"I can't… I can't… no. I don't know what to do. Adrien, what do I… I can't…" Marinette clutched at his arms.
Adrien grasped her arms firmly. He turned to Alya, muttering something before focusing solely on Marinette. Alya and Nino left the room to go find Mlle. Bustier. "Marinette, Princess, please, listen to me. I need you to breathe. Slowly. Come on. In, two, three, out, two, three. In… out… in… out… in… out… in… out…" They repeated the exercise until Marinette's shaking ceased somewhat, her breathing evened out and she dropped her head onto Adrien's shoulder. "There we go… it's okay, Bug. I got you. I have you."
Marinette didn't say a word and Adrien didn't press her on it. She needed to breathe─to come to terms with everything.
He knew that she wanted to tell Wayne, but to have it exposed before she was ready… Marinette wasn't mentally prepared for this. Especially not for it to be released so publicly.
If Adrien had been in her shoes, at least he'd be able to deal with the media attention. But Adrien wasn't in her shoes and the worst thing Marinette had been exposed to were his fangirls.
This… anybody would be terrified of this.
And in Marinette's shoes, anybody would be terrified when D'Argencourt knocked on the door, looking solemnly at her.
"Mlle. Cheng, there is a… visitor for you."
Marinette didn't lift her head so Adrien asked, "Who is it?"
D'Argencourt sent him a knowing look. "Bruce Wayne."
(A/N Shit, shit, shit. When I started this out, I never realised how much I'd need to put into this. The next chapter will definitely be the last, since in it we'll be dealing with all of the angst, the fluff, the reveals, and Lila.
I do have a question for you guys. Why do you think there's more Adrien bashing than Marinette bashing? I mean, anybody who bashes Adrien simply ignores all of Marinette's stalker-ish tendencies (we still love you Mari, don't worry) and completely blows all of Chat's flirting out of the water. Then again, those people also ignore any of Marinette's faults. Honestly, it reminds me of the way people treat Ron and Hermione.
I mean, guys. Nobody likes a Mary Sue.
Anyways, I'm tired and hungry so I'm going to leave you guys with part two of three of the Maribat crossover and hope that you guys enjoy it enough to leave a comment of some kind.
I hope that you all enjoyed and that I didn't have too many mistakes. I did at least half of this chapter in the span of a day and I'm really exhausted now.
Edit from me, three days in the future.
I've reviewed all of your comments and I've come to the conclusion that there is no real reason to hate Adrien, other than the fact that he was given no chances to grow as a character, given that he's not the main character, and he technically didn't do anything that necessarily needed an apology when he told Marinette that they should take the high road. Let's be honest, Adrien's never dealt with a liar, so he doesn't really understand just how badly Lila could manipulate things. As for his reaction to the class celebrating Chloé's (very brief) move to New York, I can understand it, just like I can understand why the class reacted the way they did.
Adrien was disappointed in the class and Marinette. Here they were, celebrating the fact that his first friend was leaving for a foreign country. Adrien definitely hadn't seen the extent of Chloé's treatment of Marinette, and so he didn't realise exactly how justified their reaction was.
RandomInternetStranger (AO3), Mathmf (AO3) and Word concoction ( ) articulate this a lot better than I do in my very sleep deprived state, but yeah.
Also, this is technically a fucking cartoon. Of course Adrien isn't going to apologise when it's never actually brought back into the light.)