Amira Wayne - Chapter 22
...two years huh?...
My god, this took waaay to long to write. So many scenes were deleted, revised, trashed... I realized I added a story event way too early and then that affected the entire flow of everything, hell, an entire arc was deleted because i didn't realize my mistake until chapters later...(I was planning on Mari/Jason/Wally/Damian taking the fox miraculous but eh, there goes that...)
Anyways, I'm finally back (for now) to write Amira Wayne! (Unless my new job also starts taking a toll on my mental health like my past one...) We have roughly four chapters left? Maybe five? Six? I know for sure that there’s an epilogue tho. So for sure four.
Really want to thank everyone for their patience, so please enjoy this chapter and see you in the next :D
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P.Tag: @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan @vixen-uchiha @nathleigh
Tag: @we-want-mini-mini @ramos123 @bluesimani @redscarlet95 @greatcatblaze @promiswords @fantasiame @corabeth11 @anonymously-odd @alexandriamw @officiallydarkgeek @galla02006 @maleive07 @jayjayspixiepop
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Chapter 22: Family, Friends and Identites (1)
MASTERLIST | FIRST | PREV | A03
Amira woke up with a start, wondering how she arrived on her bed. The last thing she remembered was hugging Mama and...crying.
Is that why her throat was dry?
“Feeling alright?” Wally spoke up, Amira noticing that he was bringing in a tray of food. “It’s one in the afternoon.” He provided when he saw her searching for her phone. He watched as she opened it up, only to scrunch her nose at whatever it was she saw upon opening it before tossing her phone aside.
“Day?”
“Still Christmas if you’re wondering. Everyone is downstairs.” Amira opened her mouth before closing it again… “We were just seconds behind when we found out where you were…” A silence fell over them.
“Is…is she here?” She dared to ask, seeing Wally shake his head before letting out a small sigh.
“Before we left her place, she asked us to give you this.” Wally motioned to a wrapped present on the floor after placing the tray down, Amira taking the envelope he handed towards her. “Or rather, she told me to personally hand it to you. Didn’t say what the contents were.” Wally leaned against the ladder he had halfway climbed.
“I see.” Was all she could say as she held the envelope in her hands.
Was it okay for her to open it right now?
Did her father know about it?
“So Talia Al Ghul, huh.” Wally said again, Amira looking at him. “Didn’t expect that twist.”
“It wouldn’t have been a twist had Ra’s allowed my parents to be together.” Wally tilted his head. “They eloped a year before I was born.” Wally fell from the ladder, causing Amira to rush down and help him get up. “You alright?”
“They were going to get married?”
“They planned it. But it never got further than that.” Amira elaborated, staring at the letter in her hand.
‘Because Ra’s forbade them to see each other again. He locked her mother up within her own home to prevent her from seeing her father,’ she wanted to add, but stopped upon remembering the threats he told Talia.
How he used her as a hostage despite being miles away. How he threatened to kill her if Talia dared to step out of line. How he arranged a marriage with another man, the same man who-
“-ease! Amira!” Wally frantically yelled, Amira snapping out of her thoughts, looking at Wally whose eyes held panic. “Can you hear me? Answer me, please…”
She reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze.
“I’m still here…” At least for now. “I just...remembered something that my mother told me about her father...that’s all.” She said, relaxing her hand in his.
She didn’t expect him to hug her, Amira hugging him back after her initial shock.
“I was worried.” She felt him hug her tighter.
“I figured...sorry about that.”
“I thought-“
“But I’m here...and alright.” A chuckle escaped Wally.
“A bandaged hand and a bandage on your face doesn’t exactly scream safe you know.”
“Better than actually being dead.” She joked, only to feel him tense. He took a step back to look at her, cupping her face in the process.
“What do you mean by that?” Amira placed her hands over his.
“I…Didn’t I-“ Wally shook his head, lowering his hands, holding hers as he did.
“You passed out after Selina went to find you.”
“What about Tim? Did he say anything? Because I’m assuming he did if Selina found out I was coming back via zeta-“
“He only told us that. That you were coming back.” Wally tightened his grasp on Amira. “Amira, what exactly do you mean ‘not dead’? What happened at the manor?”
Amira pursed her lips before sighing.
“Where should I start? From the moment I stepped into the Cave or how I got these injuries?”
“Probably from the Cave.” Just as Amira was about to retell the story, the duo heard rapid footsteps rushing upstairs.
“Marinette!” Chloe yelled, Amira flushing red when she realized she was still holding Wally’s hands, taking a step back, only for the two to get tackled by Chloe. “Marinette!”
Chloe proceeded to cry, clinging onto Marinette, Wally giving her a small smile as he helped the two back up. “I missed you!”
“Guess I’ll leave to-“
“Chloe! You can’t just- Marinette!” Sabrina was about to scold, only to join Chloe in the group hug. “You’re al-you’re not alright! What happened to your hand? Your face?”
“Got in a fight with someone and sprained my hand a bit, but I’m alright. And before you ask, no. It wasn’t from the person who “kidnapped” me.” Marinette clarified when she saw anger flash in Sabrina’s eyes. “These were from someone...else.”
Wally narrowed his eyes. “Wally, you don’t have to worry about them anymore. They should be in Arkham right about now.” She assured in English, risking the chance that Sabrina might possibly know the language. As for Chloe, Amira could only hope for her to ignore the comment.
“I still want to know what happened.”
“I’ll tell you later. For now,” She gestured at her two friends still hugging her. “Let’s go downstairs. I think it’s about time we let the others know I’m okay, don’t you think?”
-
Tim watched as Bruce frantically stuffed a bag together, watching as he finished placing a silver case over his luggage.
Amira’s sudden appearance in Gotham and then Ra’s appearance with Damian at the manor followed by Slade’s raid…something was up.
Bruce let out a huff, still attempting to process everything that happened last night, which only reminded him that he needed to make sure he had to be prepared for anything coming their way…especially Amira’s.
Of course, his concern caused him to shut Alfred’s attempts at a proper conversation. He knew Alfred was trying to tell him something, but that could wait.
He needed to go to Paris to make sure Amira was alright.
Bruce’s panicked state also caused a certain someone to want to be filled in with the details, disguising his interest with curiosity.
“Father, why can’t I go?” Damian asked for the umpteenth time, Tim wondering when he was going to stop.
Seriously, it was starting to become annoying. He’s been at it for the past ten minutes.
“I already told you. You are to stay here and wait for my return.”
“I can help.”
“Damian, I already told you no.” Bruce sternly reminded him.
“Just-“
“I said no and that is final.” Bruce sternly said, Tim watching Damian promptly shut up. After a very long silence between the two, Damian let out a small huff.
“Very well then.” He made his way to the Batcomputer. “Seems like I have no choice but to stay behind.”
Bruce felt something off, but thought nothing much of it.
“I should be back within a month or two. Or less.” Bruce pulled the last of his luggage closer to him. “Tim.” Tim straightened. “J’onn will be here shortly to help cover for me until Dick returns. Make sure to show him the ropes.”
“Understood.” Tim answered, only then wondering why J’onn was going to come if- no way. “Did you-”
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.” Bruce reminded Tim, ruffling the boy’s hair. “I’ll be there without hesitation. And if I can't, don’t hesitate to contact Barry or Clark…maybe Oliver if the situation becomes dire.”
All Tim could do was nod as Bruce vanished through the Zeta tube, never feeling the glare he was getting from Damian.
As he watched his father leave, Damian swerved back to look at the screens in front of him, eyeing the one at the corner, watching as his father left the Parisian telephone booth and walked in a straight line towards a hotel named Le Grand Paris.
Who knew it was so easy to track a single person miles away with the help of a few buttons.
What are you hiding, Father?
-
The sounds of the twins screaming and squealing made Alya groan upon waking up. It didn’t help that she couldn’t find her phone that was constantly going off.
She was sure she had left it beside her pillow last time, having dozed off upon rewatching some of her blog videos while the rest of the family socialized with one another in the living room just hours ago.
Alya let out a sigh when she saw it on the floor, picking it up while more messages kept coming in. She let out a small smile as she looked at her phone, the class group chat filled with everyone saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to each other, pictures of themselves with family, pictures of their gifts or of them enjoying their day.
Even Lila had posted a small Christmas breakfast picture, Alya glad she was finally warming up to them...
If only the class would accept Chloe, Sabrina, Adrien and Marinette just as easily.
Alya had tried to change her classmates’ view on the outcasts, but the class wouldn’t budge.
Chloe had been a brat since their first year in élémentaire, Sabrina being seen just as equally of a brat as she was always tagging along with her. Adrien being Chloe’s childhood friend gave the class a bad impression of him and they didn’t try to get to know him once they knew that. They rather save the trouble of knowing whether or not it was true opposed to knowing if he was anything like Chloe. And then there was Marinette.
Thanks to the incident on the first day of school, the class was actually intimidated to approach Marinette, fearing that her demeanor would influence those around her in a bad way, just like it had towards Nino. Ever since Nino started to hang out with her, he has been more opinionated, always taking her side instead of theirs, always bringing up opposing arguments instead of trying to accept their side.
So in fear of having themselves manipulated by the Gothamite, the class chose to stay away from her. Completely.
When Alya saw that the class wouldn’t change their impressions, she gave up.
As long as she knew that Marinette wasn’t that bad of a person the rest had painted her to be, Alya could tolerate the other three. Especially when she found out that Marinette was on to something in regards to Lila.
Will you really blindly accept the words of a person without doing any type of investigation?
Ever since Marinette told her that, the words ate at Alya’s conscience.
After jotting down everything that Lila had ever told her, Alya quickly went to research about each claim Lila had spoken since she had arrived at the school, with each passing tale showing that Lila’s trips and stories didn’t add up. Not even remotely.
With a bit of research done, Lila was telling the truth about constantly traveling thanks to her mother’s job, having a hard time making friends as she never stayed in the same school for more than half a year. That Lila did actually travel to Achu, but she never met Prince Ali. How she actually met stars on red carpets, but wasn’t actually close with any of them despite the various photos she’s taken with them. (It was nice to know that with a bit of money and a fake smile, you could trick others into believing a fake relationship between two people.) How she never went to Gotham, completely debunking her story of being at the Gala.
After all, the guest list of the event was revealed the day after, the article also listing the top five donors for M.Wayne’s latest foundation created by his son Jason Todd.
The evidence of Lila’s tales went on for another two pages, but that was enough for Alya to show Marinette that she was still determined to be an actual reporter. Of being someone who snuffed out the truth to share with those around her.
Now, all she had to do was show it to her.
Quickly scrolling through her contacts, it was only then that Alya realized she never asked Marinette for her number, panic rising in her as she tried to think of a way to tell her-
Of course! She could always just visit the bakery!
Grabbing her coat, Alya didn’t care if she was still in last night’s Christmas outfit, shouting a ‘goodbye, I’ll be back’ to her parents and older sister as she ran to the Dupain-Cheng bakery only to stop midway.
How did she forget?
Ever since the incident...Alya never talked to Marinette...never checking in on her...not even once…
She had been so busy trying to figure out what Marinette had meant by the speech the moment before she got akumatized that she never checked in on Marinette the minute the incident was over…because according to Marinette, Jason Todd was dead even though the article covering the gala said otherwise…
According to the article, Jason Todd was alive.
So then...what was the actual truth?
Could Marinette be the one who wasn’t telling the truth? Or was she? Was Marinette even trustworth-
Alya slapped her cheeks with her hands, letting out a whine despite it not hurting.
Why was she thinking that way?
Right now, Alya had to check on her friend...after all, just what kind of friend doesn’t check in on a bestie after a traumatizing event...who does that?!
But this was it! This was her chance! She could fix that right now… right?
Mustering the courage to mend her mistake, Alya braced herself for a possible lecture as she made her way to the bakery, only to stop once again when she saw an ever so familiar figure make their way in the same direction she was going, or so she thought.
She watched as he turned a corner, his luggage leaving small trails in the once fresh snow.
But even if M.Wayne wasn’t heading towards the bakery...
What was he doing in Paris?
—
“Recognized. Batman. 02.”
Bruce quickly placed a hat on as soon as he stepped out of the phone booth, hoping that no one nearby would recognize him. After all, he was expected to be in Gotham all day in preparation for the End of Year Gala.
Without a moment's hesitation, Bruce quickly checked into Le Grand Paris, much to the surprise of the receptionist.
He wheeled his luggage into Selina’s forgotten suite, sorting his items a bit on the bed before unpacking a few things into the case he had compiled at the Cave.
Scurrying his way back downstairs and out into the snow, he made his way to the only bakery he knew in Paris: Tom & Sabine's Boulangerie Pâtisserie.
—
“Nino! Nino, look!” Nino slowly blinked, trying to keep up with Adrien’s enthusiasm. “Nino, isn’t this the best present or what?” Adrien squealed, a hamster shoved into Nino’s face, Nino only then finally processing what was going on.
He quickly pushed himself up the sofa, almost slipping off it when his back hit the wall.
“Dude, don’t just shove that in my face!”
“But Bruno has the cutest face I’ve ever seen! Just look at him!” Adrien exclaimed, snuggling the hamster close to his cheek. “Best Christmas present ever!”
“Will your dad let you keep him?”
“If he dares to try and take Bruno away from me,” Adrien let a grin rise to his face. “He’d better be prepared to have a brunet for a son.”
Nino gawked as Adrien then lit up as he thought of something, watching as he ran up to Selina and motioned to Bruno, once again thanking the woman for his gift.
Nino watched as Selina smiled and nodded as she proceeded to take out her phone and show him something that caused Adrien to squeal in delight.
Nino allowed himself to smile, his attention from Adrien shifting to elsewhere when he heard footsteps descending from Marinette’s room.
“Baguette!” “Dudette!” Nino and Adrien cried as Marinette stepped down the last step, tackling the poor girl as she tried to process what was going on.
“Are you okay?” “I’m so glad you’re okay!”
“Hey! Give her some space!”
“Chloe, you’re literally clinging onto her.”
“Hey, um, can I-”
“Well, I was here first!”
“I haven’t seen her since yesterday!”
“Dude, none of us have!”
“Guys, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Your face!”
“Your hand!”
“Should we track the perpetrator down?” “Did you fight your kidnapper on your own?”
“Guys, can I-”
“Everyone!” Wally finally spoke up, making the group stop. “Marinette needs some space.” The quad of friends looked at their friend, noticing her staring off, quickly backing up from her, allowing Wally to guide her to a seat in the living room.
They watched as he coaxed her into looking at him and when she did, Wally spoke to her before she seemed to have snapped from her state, looking at her friends before looking at the floor.
“Sorry…about that.” Marinette spoke up, lifting her head up to look at the worry on her friends’ faces. “That…that’s never happened before…”
“We should be the ones apologizing.” Sabrina said, quickly standing up and sitting next to Marinette, placing her hand over hers. “You just got up and-”
“-we’re just glad to see you again.” Adrien softly cut off, giving her a small smile, everyone nodding their heads in agreement.
“Gave us quite the fright there.” Nino admitted, “not exactly the best way to start Christmas, as far as I know,” he said, letting out a nervous laugh, hoping to lighten the mood.
“That’s right!” Sabrina cheered up, clapping her hands together. “This is your first time celebrating Christmas with friends, isn’t it Marinette?” Marinette stared at her wide eyed, looking at Chloe and Adrien for confirmation and when they nodded, she stood up.
“Presents. Let’s hurry and exchange presents.” Marinette declared, Wally stifling a laugh at her panicked demand.
“Adrien already opened his!” Nino snitched, getting a ‘hey’ from said boy.
Marinette watched as everyone soon got up to grab the gifts they had brought for each other, feeling Wally reach over for her hand, tugging her to sit back down.
“Are you sure you’re okay? We don’t-”
“I’m fine.” Amira assured him as she sat back down, watching as her friends exchanged gifts with each other. “Plus, I owe them for ruining-”
“You didn’t ruin anything. After all, you didn’t expect that to happen. Hell, none of us did.”
“Still,” Amira watched as Chloe shrieked upon Adrien introducing her to Bruno while Sabrina squealed at the beret Chloe had gotten her. She yelled about having wanted it for a while and how it was made by some high end designer. “I ended up ruining Adrien’s hard work in planning this out for us.”
“If anything, I think it brought all of us closer.” Wally countered, noticing Jason peeked from the doorway of the apartment. “Closer to the point of unbreakable.”
Amira followed Wally’s line of view, getting up when she saw Jason, causing everyone to freeze.
“Well, don’t stop the party because of me,” Jason stepped forward with a wagon filled with presents, Amira noticing Dick quickly making his way out of the apartment with a phone pressed to his ear. “If anything, let’s get this party going!”
Who was Dick talking to?
-
Alya rang the bell for what she believed to be the third time, glancing to her sides as she waited for an answer. When no one came down, she rang again, now starting to get anxious.
Why was no one answering?
As far as she knew, Marinette was still home, at least according to the conversations she eavesdropped from Adrien and the rest of the group before break had started. According to Adrien, Marinette didn’t have any plans for the holidays. No family visits, no party -zilch.
So then, why wasn’t she-
“-haven’t come down yet?” A voice spoke up from behind Alya, Alya quickly jumping once she registered the voice. “Sorry about that! Didn’t mean to scare you.” The woman apologized, stretching out her hand towards Alya. “I’m Barbara. What about you?”
“Alya…” Alya answered cautiously, shaking Barbara’s hand. “Wha-What were you trying to ask me earlier?”
“Oh! Simply asked if the person you were trying to ring had come down yet, but judging from the fact that we’re still out here, I’m guessing no.”
“She should be here though.” Alya persisted, staring at the complex’s door. “Marinette-”
“Marinette?” Barbara chirped, Alya wondering how this lady knew her friend. “As in Marinette Dupain?”
“Y…yes…although her full name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng…”
“Oh that’s right, Tom married Sabine- anyways, what a coincidence. I’m also here to see Marinette so don’t worry!” Barbara gave Alya a grin, motioning to a box with holes she had held close to her chest. Rustling was heard coming from within the box, perking Alya’s curiosity. “Someone should be coming down to-”
“Babs! You got it!” Dick cheered, causing Alya to jump upon hearing English, wondering who this was.
“Dick!” Dick? Wasn’t that like, an offensive term -insult maybe?- towards another person back in America? “What took you so long? I’m freezing over here!”
“Sorry about that,” ‘Dick’ said, sheepishly grinning as he offered Babs to walk into the building, only then noticing Alya. “And who might you be?” ‘Dick’ asked in perfect French.
“I-I’m Alya, sir.” She noticed him flinch, his smile becoming strained. “I’m Marinette’s friend from-”
“Mimi’s friend?!” Dick squealed, Alya registering how quickly his mood changed upon mentioning- Mimi? Who was Mi-
“Come on Dick, A- who’s this?” Another voice joined, Alya quickly noticing the other boy who she guessed followed ‘Dick’ downstairs. His red hair clicked something in her mind. Why did he look kinda familiar?
“My name is Alya! I came to talk to Mari-”
“Come on you bozos! Let the girl in already!” Barbara scolded, “It’s already as cold as it is and you’re making it worse by leaving that door open.” She then motioned to the box in her hands. “Also, I need one of you guys to take a video of Amira’s-”
“Who’s Amira?” Alya asked, causing the other three to momentarily freeze, blocking the entire staircase.
“Ah, good question.”
“You see-“
“Cesaire.” Chloe cut off, causing everyone to jump. As if her tone of saying the other girl’s name wasn’t hostile enough, Chloe’s glare clearly told them she wasn’t exactly on good terms with Alya. “What are you doing here?”
“I should be asking you that.” Alya asked, also glaring back at the other.
Oh…it's mutual. “Why are you here?” Alya frowned when Chloe scoffed at her.
“Why should I be telling you my business? You should be minding your own bees- oh my- he’s rubbing off me.” Chloe cleared her throat, “I’m here because of a Christmas party that Adri-”
“Christmas party? But I thought Marinette-”
“What is everyone doing here?” Selina barged in, sighing as she caught onto the situation with a single glance. “Dick, Wally. Head back to the party. Babs. I need you to tell these two girls that if they want to fight, to take it outside. I’m not going to let them add more stress to Ami-Marinette’s-” Selina noticing the two girls perk at the name, “-day. She’s still recovering and she needs to relax, not find out that two of her…classmates are fighting right outside her home.”
With that, she stepped back into the apartment, leaving the three girls to handle the situation.
“I’m guessing you two aren’t exactly friends, but are with Marinette…right?” Barbara asked, just to confirm her theory.
“Of course I am!” The girls said in unison.
“For Marinette’s sake, Selina wants the two of you to settle your argument outside. Marinette is still recovering and she wants to make sure Marinette doesn’t get any more stress than what she already has to deal with already. Although to be honest, I think the same can be applied to me.”
“You?” Alya asked, wondering once more what this woman had to do with Marinette.
Giving the younger girl a small smile, Barbara gave her answer.
“We…We didn’t exactly last see each other on good terms… I… I stole something very precious to her without knowing…or rather…she found out I was the one who stole something precious from her without me knowing..” That’s all Barbara told them as she continued to walk up the stairs. “Come on now, we got a party to get to…or do the two of you actually plan on going outside to duke it out?”
Both girls looked at each other and huffed, following the older one into the apartment.
Guess it's a truce for now.
-
Why did the universe hate her so much?
“Nino, what are you doing here? I thought you weren’t friends with Chloe?”
“Alya? I thought you were at home, celebrating with your family? And for the record, I'm friends with everyone in this room, except Bruno. He still has to prove himself.” Nino gestured to the hamster in Adrien’s hands.
“Leave my child out of this!” Adrien cried.
“Adrikins, he’s a ra-” Chloe started, only for Sabrine to cover her mouth.
“Don’t you dare call Bruno a rat unless you want him to go hysterical.” Sabrina warned her.
“Dick…I thought Jason-” Dick quickly silenced Babs by screaming and pulling her to the kitchen.
“Is that the girl who you said became Batg-” Amira never saw Wally throw a pillow so quickly at another person without hesitation, watching how Jason almost fell back from the impact.
The room had gone almost silent, no one knowing what exactly to do.
Amira could only stare as she watched her friends and family bicker and whisper to each other, occasionally looking back at her.
Were they talking about her?
Why were they looking at her like that?
Did she do something wrong?
Should she not have done any of-
“-mira. Amira, māomāo, what’s wrong?” Selina quietly asked her, snapping her from her thoughts. Selina didn’t expect her to tackle her, wrapping herself around her waist. “Amira, everyone’s worried about you. Are you alright?”
Amira could only shake her head in response, feeling a lump in her throat. “Do you still want to continue the party?” She nodded, even though it was a hard thing to do. “Do you want to open Alfred’s present first?” Amira quickly whipped her head to look at her, Selina letting out a chuckle upon seeing her sparkling eyes, failing to see Adrien’s eyes widened at the mention of the name.
“Yes please.”
Amira watched as Selina motioned Barbara to come forward, noticing a large box in her hands.
“Hi…Marinette.” Barbara managed to say, carefully choosing her next words. “Alfred sent you this. He said to not worry what your father will say about it. After all, B can never say no to him.” Barbara tried to smile, but faltered. “Marinette, I …I have so many things I want to talk about and I-”
“If you’re asking me to forgive you for what you did to me back in Gotham…about the thing you did behind my back,” Amira started, placing her hands over Babs’. “I already forgave you for that,” Amira admitted, taking the box and placing it on the sofa. “Coming to Paris gave me time to think things over and…you’re doing a good job of-”
Amira was tackled into a hug, not helping letting a smile out.
“I’m so sorry Mars.” Babs squeezed her tighter. “Thank you for forgiving…I missed you…”
“I missed you too, Babs.”
“Come now māomāo,” Selina coaxed, not noticing the way Adrien’s eyes twinkled, his smile turning into a grin. “Let’s see what Alfred got you.”
Amira nodded, carefully opening the box, letting out a gasp at the sight of her latest friend.
“What in the Gods’ name is that?!” Chloe shrieked upon laying eyes on the creature.
“A cat!” Amira cheered, bringing the sphynx cat out of its box, Sabrina letting out a coo when Marinette let her near the feline.
“That’s a cat?” Nino whispered to Adrien, who held his hamster close to his chest.
“Kitten here is a boy, if you’re wondering.” Selina chirped in once she examined the cat and held it towards Amira, Amira giggling when the cat licked her. “What are you going to name him?”
“Liebling.” Amira confidently spoke, cradling the cat into her arms. “His name shall be Liebling.”
“Does this mean we’re going to start opening up the gifts?” Nino softly asked, feeling a hand on his shoulder, only to find Adrien give him a grin.
“You bet and Nino, you’re gonna want to sit down for yours.”
While everyone started to gather around the Christmas tree to hand each other their gifts, Alya simply stood near the kitchen, watching as everyone mingled with each other, laughing with one another.
Was she the only one who thought she was friends with Marinette?
Just what exactly was she to her?
Weren’t they friends?
-
Quickly making his way to the Dupain-Cheng residency, Bruce couldn’t help but notice the laughs and cheering echoing through the hallway as he entered the building and then into the apartment moments later.
Christmas music was playing in the background, the living room decorated from wall to wall in ribbons, reindeers, snowflakes…the list went on.
As he entered the room, he could feel the warmth radiating from the children chatting with themselves.
He also couldn’t help but notice gifts unwrapped and already in use.
Chloé proudly wore a black cape wrap, yellow fluffy trimmed the edge of it. She had a few presents at her feet as she spoke with Sabrina who sported a cyan beret, a few embroidered mice motifs around the front of the beret.
Adrien had already opened his, the hamster Selina and Amira haven chosen rested on the boy’s lap, Adrien coaxing the tiny rodent to eat another piece of vegetable.
Nino still looked starstruck from his gift, hesitating to place his fingers on the brand new DJ controller Adrien had gotten him, bringing his hands closer to it before quickly flinching away from it. Seems like he was also jittery around the camera bag by his feet as he stopped himself from stepping on it, Bruce noticing the separate lens bag nearby. Perhaps Chloe got him that.
“You just missed the first few rounds of present exchanges.” Selina whispered as Bruce placed his silver case down. “And you just missed Babs as well. She says Merry Christmas.”
The kids haven’t noticed him. Good.
“Where’s Amira?” He dared to ask, feeling an all familiar pair of eyes boring through him, causing him to become unsettled.
“Well, thank you for asking how I am doing.” Selina stated, digging her nails into his arm when she hooked her arm into his. She then pecked his lips. “As for Amira, she’s in her room with the boys and Babs; she wanted to quietly give Dick his gift without any prying eyes that weren't family.” Selina added, Bruce noticing how she was no longer digging her nails into his arm but was now grasping it tightly.
“What’s wrong?” He softly asked her, taking her arm off him and now holding her hand, which she quickly jerked away from. “Selina?
“What exactly happened at the manor last night?” She growled. “Amira came back crying which wasn’t something I was expecting. She even came back with injuries…what happened within the hour she was gone?”
“She didn’t tell you?”
“I wouldn’t be asking if she had told me, now would I?” Bruce sighed.
“Slade-”
“What the fuck was he doing there?”
“-appeared in the manor last night and wreaked havoc.” Bruce decided to cut her off. “However, he wasn’t after Dick this time. He was after Amira.”
“He’s the one who injured her?” She hissed.
“Actually. He was after Ra’s Al Ghul’s…heir.” Bruce managed to say, observing her facial expressions. He watched as her anger diminished a bit, watching as her brows furrowed, her frown growing deeper as she tried to work out what was on her mind. “Selina, what-”
“Talia,” he stiffened. “Talia found Amira and-” Just as he was ready to bolt to their daughter’s room, Selina stopped him. “Bruce, she's fine. She was fine after meeting Talia, but- actually, she gave us a heart attack since Talia thought it was a good idea to kidnap-” Selina had to use more force when Bruce darted for his daughter’s room once again. “Bruce!” She hissed. “She needs space right now.”
“Selina, I need to make sure-”
“She needs time to process everything she’s been through this past day.” Selina held tighter onto Bruce’s hand. “She just meet her mother, found out that Jason’s alive, found out-”
“What…did you say?” Selina blinked, watching as Bruce began to blankly stare at her, his eyes narrowing, questioning if he heard what he heard was truly what he heard. “Selina. You-”
“Didn’t- didn’t Amira tell you? Because that was the whole reason why she went over there.” She quickly added because she knew Bruce and she knew what he was capable of when his eyes would grow dull like they just did.
He slowly shook his head. “ What about Alfred?” He was about to shake his head once more until something seemed to have popped into his mind. “Bruce…Jason-”
“What about me?” The boy in question asked, having just turned the corner, his eyes closed as he held a small gift out for Selina. Bruce froze upon hearing a voice he didn’t know he had forgotten how it sounded.
But…it couldn’t be… “If this is about not getting a gift from any of us, I’ll have to let you know that I do indeed-'' he said, opening his eyes. “-do have a gift for- Pops?”
Jason stared at Bruce, noticing the tears that swelled into his eyes.
“Jay.” Bruce dared to ask. “Is that-” He didn’t need Jason to confirm anything. The minute Jason tackled him, Bruce knew. This was his son.
Is his son.
This is the son that had managed to slip through his fingers.
But not again.
Not this time.
He won’t let any of his kids leave his grasp. Ever.
“-bother you mlle, but do you know if- M.Wayne!” Alya squeaked out, managing to shift everyone’s attention to the reuniting duo. Bruce noticed Adrien, Nino and Sabrina’s clear shock, but Chloe’s…
Why was she glaring at him? “What are you-
“Dad?” Dick arched a brow, Bruce feeling like a deer in headlights, turning to see Dick and Barbara stepping out of Amira’s room. “Weren’t you supposed to be in Go-”
“What’s going…” Amira trailed, freezing when she saw her father standing before her. “…on.”
“M. Wayne…“ Wally spoke, his eyes clearly showing his annoyance with the man.
“I thought you said you trusted me in traveling by myself, Pops.” Jason spoke up, Bruce grateful to have at least one person by his side.
“I do.” Bruce tried to pick up, hoping the others didn’t notice the way his voice cracked. “But I couldn’t help but wonder if you were doing okay, so I came to see how you were doing.” Jason gave him a smile, causing him to smile back.
“Hmph. Not even worried about his future wife I see.” Selina pouted.
“Selina, that’s not-”
“Why don’t you two go and talk things out between each other?” Dick suggested as he guided the two towards the room Selina was staying at within the Dupain-Cheng residence. “Pretty sure there’s some things you two would love to talk about, right Jason?” Jason could only nod as he looked over to his sister and mouthed a ‘I’ll be back’ to her as he followed their parents and older brother.
The remaining teens looked at each other, Alya feeling a bit out of place now that the center of attention was shifted onto her.
“Alya.” Marinette spoke up, making the girl jump. “What-”
“We need to talk.” Alya blurted out, noticing all eyes on her. “Alone. Please.” Marinette turned to see the others, noticing Wally and Chloe glare at her while the others wondered what Alya wanted to talk to her about.
“Can you wait a bit longer?” Alya pursed her lips. “Give me ten minutes and we can talk. You can wait in my room if you want while you wait.”
“Alright.” Alya agreed. “Ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes.” Marinette said back, watching as Alya walked up to her room.
“Are you sure about her?” Wally asked. “She didn’t exactly came here to-”
“We’ll see what she wants in a few. For now I just want to spend a few more minutes with my-”
“Marinette.” Selina spoke up, Amira turning to look at her, eyeing the gift in her hands. “I know we haven’t spent much time together, but Merry Christmas.”
Amira took the gift, carefully sitting down as she stared at the box. “I asked your father what would be a nice gift for you and after he told me about a few things you liked, the two of us came up with this.”
Amira lifted up the tissue, feeling her eyes begin to tear up. She felt tears fall when she lifted the stuffed animal from its box, a drawing from her childhood now psychically resting in her hands.
Amira pushed back the hood from the doll’s head, causing her to tear up even more.
Her friends watched in complete shock.
This…this was the first time they…that they have seen Marinette cried…ever…
And over a plushie at that.
How important is it to her?
What did it mean?
“He still remembered that?” Marinette softly asked no one, bringing the doll close to her chest, as if afraid it would disappear if she didn’t hold on to it for dear life.
She didn’t know her father still remembered that drawing form years ago.
It was months before Dick joined the family, maybe years…how did he remember when she barely did?
She had to be roughly five years olds, maybe younger…she couldn’t exactly really remember how old she was when it happened…
-
“Papa, look what I made!” Amira ran to her father’s desk, quickly climbing onto his lap, careful to not wrinkle the paper in her hand, laying it nicely on top of the various papers adorning her father’s work desk. She missed the huff that escaped her father. Instead, he greeted her with a tired smile, shifting her a bit so that he could get a proper view of the paper she finished putting over the company’s latest project.
“Oh? Is that me?” Bruce asked his daughter, keeping a chuckle in when she pouted. “I like the new cape-”
“No Papa! It’s me!” Amira corrected, pointing at the oddly drawn human. “And my name is Chickadee! Your new sidekick!”
She pointed at the head. “My hood looks just like your costume but when I take it down!” She points at another face she drew, where only the eyes and hair were drawn. The lower part of the face was covered by what he assumed to be a mask. “Bam! I have another mask to cover my face! You always said it’s important to cover our identities! But I don’t want to put something over my head because I have long hair and it might make it hard to place a mask over my hair with a mask like yours.”
“Oh that’s a good thing to think about.” Bruce complimented, his heart swelling when she beamed at his compliment. “What about the cape? Did you make it shorter so that you won’t trip on it?”
“Yup! But I didn’t want to take it out because I need something to cover me when I got outside in the cold. But I don’t want to have a jacket because I think fighting in a jacket isn’t as cool as fighting in a cape. But the rest of my costume is inflated so I don’t freeze to death.”
“Inflated?”
“Yeah, when it’s nice and toasty inside your clothes even though it's very thin?” When Bruce still seemed confused by her statement, she decided to elaborate. “It has the fuzzies inside?”
“Oh, insulated,” Bruce corrected. “I think you meant insulated. Inflated is what happens when you put air inside something like a balloon.”
“Ohhh… well, that. My costume still keeps me cozy and I like it. Do you like it?” Amira asked him, Bruce noticing her fidget with her hands.
“I like it very much.” He easily answered, kissing the top of her head, earning a giggle. “I can’t wait to have you as my sidekick.” Amira gasped, turning to hug him.
“You really mean it?”
“When you’re old enough you join me.”
“Really, really?”
“Really, really.” Bruce assured, chuckling when Amira cheered, getting off of him and deciding to jump around his study in celebration before she gasped. “What’s wrong?”
“I have to tell Grandpa! After all, he helped me pick my name!”
“He picked your name?” Amira nodded, grinning from ear to ear.
“He said it would be a nice name because I remind him of the small chickadees outside in the garden. Curious and active.” Amira headed for the door, before turning to the door. “But I like the name because it reminded me of when we went watching birds together and tried to make bird calls together.” She gave him a large smile. “I wanna do that again soon!” With that she left the room, heading to the kitchen where Alfred was surely awaiting her.
Meanwhile, Bruce lifted the drawing up, smiling as he kept staring at it. Opening up a drawer, Bruce placed the drawing alongside the other drawings Amira had made throughout her life. When he tried to close it, he noticed the drawing stick out.
“I think I’m going to have to store them elsewhere…”
-
“Amira, are you sure you’re alright?” Wally whispered to her, Amira finally snapping from her thoughts.
“Yeah…I’m fine.” She looked down at the doll, her mind suddenly remembering her old Batman plush she last saw in the manor. “Just feeling a bit nostalgic.”
“Hey, whose gift is this? It’s the only one left under the tree.” Nino asked, holding up a small gift, everyone wondering who it was for. “There’s no name on it.”
“Oh, that’s for everyone.” Marinette quickly chirped, placing Chickadee to the side, quickly jogging up to Nino and opened up the box. “I got these bracelets for you guys.” The others quickly gathered around here, Marinette feeling her heart soar when she heard Chloe and Sabrina gasp when she opened the box open.
“Oh my, Marinette! They’re so pretty!” Sabrina cooed, her eyes following the bracelet Marinette lifted from the box and placed into her hands.
“Is that my name?” Nino asked in amazement when Marinette placed a different bracelet into his hands, feeling the weight the small box in his hand had. He couldn’t take his off the gleaming polished silver laying in his hands.
“Mine has my name too!” Adrien squealed when he got his, quickly taking it out the box and looped it around his wrist. “Chlo, help me put it on!”
“Adrikins, give me a moment! I’m still putting on my own!” Chloe panicked as she almost dropped her bracelet.
“Chloe, look! We all got matching items!” Sabrina squealed, trying her best to not tackle the girl.
Marinette watched as the friends put the bracelets on, showing them off to each other. “Seems like they like it.” She told herself, feeling something slip around her wrist.
“You have to wear yours as well māomāo.“ Selina told her, clasping a matching bracelet. “It suits you nicely.”
“I would’ve gotten a rose gold one, but I like the silver one better.” Amira told her, looking at the tiny chain around her wrist, the three small diamond “beads” twinkling in delight. “Also, the rose gold suits Sabrina while the pure gold one suits Chloe. I’m glad the boys like their bracelets; I didn’t think they’d like the ID bracelets that much to be completely honest.”
The ringing of a phone cut the excitement, everyone taking out their phones to see who was receiving a call.
“Oh, it’s my mom.” “Dad?” “Hmph.” Nino, Adrien and Chloe said at the same time, each going to different corners of the room to answer the phone.
After a while, each of them said their goodbyes on the phones before turning back to the rest.
“I have to go.” The three of them said in unison.
“My dad just texted me when I’m coming back home.” Sabrina sheepishly added.
“I guess is had been a few hours since you’ve
“How am I going to take this home?” Nino wondered as he watched the rest easily pick up their gifts.
“We can send it over kiddo.” Dick popped out of nowhere. “Don’t worry about it!”
“Ahhh thank you again Marinette!” Sabrina thanked, squeezing Marinette. “I’ll cherish this forever!”
“We have to do this again.” Adrien vowed.
“That we do.” Marinette agreed. “We should get Kagami to join us as well.”
“Maybe we should invite the others as well.” Wally suggested, Marinette clearly knowing who he was referring to.
“Only if they promise to be on their best behaviors.”
One by one, the friends bid their goodbyes, Marinette waving them goodbye as Adrien and Chloe got into a car and drove away. As for Sabrina and Nino, Selina offered to drop them at their homes, Dick promising Marinette that he will make sure Selina doesn’t try to speed through the city and scare her friends.
With just her and Wally left at the apartment, there was only one last thing to deal with.
“I’ll be right here if anything happens.” Wally reminded Amira as she walked up the stairs that led to her bedroom.
“I know.”
-
She really didn’t know anything about Marinette, now did she?
Upon entering the room, Alya wondered how much the others knew about Marinette.
Did they know this much about her while she knew nothing?
While the room looked small, there were so many items that laid around that cleared showed her interests.
Starting off with the gifts she got today.
A brand new duffel bag from Kagami (the girl had given Adrien the responsibility of handing it Marinette for her), a set of gouache paints from Adrien, an assortment of hair accessories from Sabrina, some roller skates from Nino, a designer leather jacket from Chloe and lastly, the hairless cat sleeping by the window sill.
Alya knew Marinette was into fencing since she was there when she first started the sport at their school, but she didn’t know she was into art and fashion.
She didn’t take Marinette to be an art person to be honest.
Definitely took her for an academic, the small bookcase with workbooks justifying her assumption.
Diagonally, there was a bean bag sitting next to a makeshift work area, monitors displaying different charts of who knows what on one side while the other had pieces of electronics scattered about.
A cork board barely peaked from behind the clutter of lamps and circuit boards, diagrams and blueprints pinned carefully onto it.
Small stacks of notebooks could also be seen laying around the desk, an array of post it notes scattered about to add to the chaos.
Right above the desk was Marinette’s bed, plain beige sheets and few pillows could barely be seen from where Alya stood. And if she tippy toed just a bit, she could barely make out the corner of what she believed to be another cork board.
To her right, there was the entrance of what seemed to be another room, but judging from the curtains hanging by the doorway and a small ottoman next to a full length mirror, Alya assumed it to be a walk-in closet.
Right outside the closet was a whiteboard, half of it having a to-do list and covered with reminders on post-it notes.
Speaking of boards, Alya couldn’t help but realize the odd number of them in the room. There was a cork board by the bed, one by the desks, the white board in front of her and then another she saw as soon as she entered the room.
Wasn’t four boards too much?
Then again, Marinette was a bit over the top with her organization.
“Ten minutes, just like I promised.” Marinette said, making Alya jump. “So what brings you here, Alya?”
Alya watched as Marinette nonchalantly sat by her desk, shutting a journal closed. “I’m pretty sure you’re not here to wish me a me-”
“Just what am I to you, Marinette?” Alya quickly blurted out.
“What?”
“What am I to you?” Alya asked, biting her tongue to keep herself calm. “I came here because I wanted to apologize to you for not visiting you. To apologize for being a terrible friend, only to see you happily spending time with,” Alya motioned to the hatch, trying to point at it only to end up with a balled fist. “I thought I was your friend!”
Alya hated that Marinette didn’t react to anything she’s said so far. She hated that she kept sitting there, just staring at her. “I thought I knew you the most compared to them but, they’re here while I’m not.
You told me that you weren’t doing anything this Christmas or rather over winter break and yet I come here and see you do just that?” Oh god, Alya could feel her gut twist. “Why didn’t you say you were doing something? Why didn’t you invite me?
I would’ve come!” Alya exclaimed, feeling her throat grow dry. Marinette simply stared back at her, which made Alya start to finally tear up. “Why aren’t you saying anything?!”
“I was waiting for you to finish.” Marinette simply answered back. “So, are you?”
“What kind of person says that?! What kind of fr-“
“Are you?” She asked again. She took Alya’s angry silence as a yes. “I didn’t invite you because it wasn’t my idea to host a party at the-my residence.” She corrected herself. “Adrien had originally hosted it at his place but after last night's incident, they decided-“
“Last night?” Alya asked, only then noticing the bandage on Marinette’s hand and the bandage across her face. Why hadn’t she noticed it before? “What happened last-“
“I got kidnapped.” Marinette bluntly stated, as if it were the most common thing in the world.
“What?”
“I got kidnapped on my way to Adrien’s. Thankfully, thanks to Selina and the rest of her family, I-“
“Are you okay? What about your parents? Are-”
“My parents weren’t here when it happened. They had gone to China to visit family for the holidays. And before you say anything, I wanted to stay behind to spend time with my friends rather than go overseas to a place I’m not familiar with and most definitely spend time with people I do not know. Because of that, Selina offered to look after me and is blaming herself for letting me get kidnapped.” Marinette clenched her hand. “She shouldn’t feel that way. She didn’t know that would happen…”
A silence filled the room, Alya wondering what to say, what to ask. Because, what the hell? She can’t take back what she said, she wouldn’t have said that if she knew that Marinette had been abduct- “So, what’s the real reason you’re here Alya?”
There was that question again…
“I came because I wanted to apolo-”
“If you were truly here to apologize, then it would’ve been the first thing you would’ve done upon seeing me.
But you didn’t. Instead, for some reason, you decided to lash out on me about a party I did not organize and therefore did not invite you to.
If apologizing was what you came for, you wouldn’t have brought up your anger of being left out…it were as if apologizing was a secondary excuse and not the prime reason for you being here.
So tell me, what was the actual reason you decided to come today to see me?”
Right…that’s another reason why Alya slightly hated Marinette when she first met her. For some reason, she was able to see right through you…and she really hated that…
“You were right about Lila.” Alya confessed. “I dug up everything I could about her and you were right. She was lying about everything. The majority of the so-called things she supposedly did while traveling, she never did any of them! She never met Prince Ali, she doesn’t know any celebrities personally, she was never in Gotham. Mari, she couldn’t even tell me the name of the person who donated the most for the new charity. Lila-”
“You wanted to talk to me about Lila?” Marinette concluded, causing Alya to freeze. “You came here, today to talk about-”
“At first, yes. Yes, that’s why I can but then I realized how horrible of a friend I was.” Alya grabbed Marinette’s hands, “I…I’m sorry for never asking you how you were, for not once checking on when you needed me the most! After all, what kind of best friend-”
“Best friend?” Alya didn’t expect Marinette to let out a small laugh, or rather, a scoff. “Alya, we may be friends, but, truth be told…I don’t think we know each other that well to call us ‘best friends.’
“I know that now; when I stepped into your room, I realized there was still so much I don’t know about you. But even so, I-“
“Alya you said it yourself; you never once checked up on me after the whole Banshee incident…it's been well over two weeks since then - it’s almost the end of the month, Alya. I turned into Banshee almost a month ago…
Where were you during all of this?”
“Marinette…I-” Marinette shook her head, prompting Alya to keep quiet. But she didn’t. “You opened my eyes…about a lot of things.
But more than anything…you made me realize that everything isn’t what it seems to be…”
“Just like I’ve told you before.”
“And while you made me realize that Lila’s words were lies… what about yours?”
Marinette stared at Alya, her gut starting to churn uncomfortably.
“What do you-“
“You said Jason died almost a year back and yet…he’s downstairs. A-and I know you’re not someone who would just lie- my god Marinette! You’re the most blunt person I know! You always say what’s on your mind, the truth, the obvious! So I never doubted the words you said while you screamed at Lila that day, because I didn’t have to be somebody close to know to recognize the pain in your words, the agony in them as you defended Jason…but then…
As I search up on the different events Lila claimed to have done or gone to, I find out…that Jason is alive?”
Oh…oh…
“Alya- I- I don’t know how-“
“And then to top it off, while researching about last month’s gala, turns out Jason had prepared a video explaining the creation of the latest found-“
“Video?” Marinette asked Alya, taking her by surprise. “What video?”
“The video? You know, the one where-“
“Show me this video. Please.”
Alya started to type up something in the search bar, pressing enter that loaded a few videos to choose from.
Clicking the first one, it showed a teen posting about the gala, Amira watching as the teen vlogging their adventure around the ballroom. She watched as Alya scrubbed through the video, the screen going dim for a while as a screen projector started to play a video.
A video of Jason greeting the guests and explaining the purpose of the Catherine Todd Foundation.
She watched as Jason spoke with pride, watching as she bid the audience goodbye with a large smile on his face…
“Marinette…are you okay?” Alya asked, her eyes darting from Marinette to the now black screen.
A laugh escaped Marinette, which then turned into full on laughter.
“Marinette?” Marinette noticed the fear in Alya’s eyes, how Alya was ready to sprint if necessary.
“Is that fear I see?” Marinette started to settle down, stepping away from Alya. “Of course you’re terrified of me…after all, who wouldn’t be terrified of the girl who became one of the biggest threats to Paris since Hawkmoth first appeared?
“Marinette…what are you talking about? I’m not afra-“
“You are. Or rather, everyone is. Banshee…she’s the worst thing Hawkmoth has ever created and that’s not going to leave anyone’s mind any time soon…”
“What? Marinette, Banshee-“
“-wasn’t me? Of course it was. I was her while she was me…
Banshee was an extension of my feelings at that time and…I don’t blame the people for fearing that girl…”
“Marinette, no one knows it was you. You-“
“But the damage has been done.” Alya watched as Marinette pulled up various online articles and forums on her computer, each one having the same subject in their headliners: Banshee.
Every article had different blurry pictures of her akumatized form from different angles, different locations. Some had clearer images of what seemed to be Marinette surrounded by the Parisian vigilantes while others had videos of the streets of Paris covered in fog with a single white figure walking through the scene. “The whole world knows how dangerous Paris has become…and it’s all my fault.”
“I- Didn’t…how?” Alya stuttered, watching other cities and nations' reactions to the akuma situation, watching how they were quick to demonize Marinette, or rather Banshee, without knowing the full situation. “Isn’t the identity-”
“-Of the Victim supposed to be protected from society? The videos from the akuma attack are supposed to be limited to that of just Paris?” Marinette completed, looking back at the screen in front of her. “I thought so too…but from what my lawyers told me, it seems that when Banshee appeared, there also happened to be some sort of security breach of the city’s internet that allowed all of these photos and videos to be posted without the government’s consent.
So while my identity hasn’t exactly been exposed to the world, some people in the city of Paris do.
Who exactly, that I’m not sure about. But for the time being, my lawyers said I should prevent myself from going outside for the next few months while the situation gets sorted out…”
“A security breach…” Alya repeated to herself, watching as Marinette kept staring at the screen. “Is this…is this your first time seeing yourself-” Marinette nodded her head.
“To think I did all of this…” Alya watched as Marinette continued to stare at the screen. “I don’t even remember half of this…”
Remember…remember?
“Marinette…” Should she really ask her? “What do you mean by that? You…remember what happened while you were akumatized?” Alya never saw Marinette whip her head so fast.
“I-I didn’t,” Marinette eyed the hatch, quickly going to open it when Alya stepped on the door, the hatch shutting with a loud thud.
“Marinette…you remember your akumatization, don’t you?”
Marinette remained silent. “Marinette, please. Just tell me the truth. Do you remember everything that happened while you were akumatized?”
Marinette’s silence told her everything, Alya holding her hands gently. “You do, don’t you?”
Marinette’s squeeze told her everything. “Does Chloe-“
“Chloe doesn’t know.” Marinette answered quicker than what she wanted to. “Nor does Adrien. Nor any of the others… I…I don’t want to burden them…”
“Marinette. While you were with your therapist, didn’t they tell you anything about-“
“My therapist was supposed to know what to do in this situation?”
“Yes! That’s the whole reason why attending each session is important-“ Marinette’s frantic eyes made her stop. “You…you are going to therapy…aren’t you?”
“Alya.” Marinette distantly spoke, letting go of her hands. “I-I…Alya. I don’t…
What- I don’t know what to do.”
“Marinette.”
“It’s been days since I’ve been seeing a therapist and yet…I can’t bring myself to tell them what I need to say. What I want to say.
Everything- I wish I could say what I want to but just- argh!” Marinette let out a mixture of a growl, a sigh and a huff though Alya really didn’t know what to make of it. “Why can’t I just forget it all? I don’t want to remember this at all! I wish it never happened!”
“But it happened, and we just…we just got to power through it.”
“Like you did when you became LadyWifi?”
“Exactly. Sometimes, sometimes I wish I at least remembered doing some of the things I did.
It’s hard to believe otherwise that it was indeed me.
Having to go to therapy and finding out about the trouble you did…it was as if I was going to court for a crime I didn’t know happened.” Marinette didn’t know what came over her, but she brought Alya into a hug before pushing herself when she realized what she did.
“About earlier,” Marinette fumbled. “I don’t think I would consider you my best friend, but…you're definitely a friend. What type of friend, I don’t know but just know that-“
“I’m okay with that.” Alya cut her off, giving her a smile. “I just have to work my way to being your close friend one day.” She opened up the hatch, ready to leave.
“Alya!”
“Yes?”
“Would you like some pastries?” Marinette asked, pink dusting her cheeks. “I still have left over from yesterday and I don’t think I can finish-”
“Sure thing!”
-
After giving Alya some leftover pastries from the bakery, Amira had one last friend to send off home.
“Get there safely.” Amira softly said, handing Wally over his bag.
“You can come as well, you know.” Wally offered.
“You should spend New Years with your family. After all, you haven’t seen them in a while.” She encouraged. “Besides, we always have the zeta tubes to see one another. They don’t.”
Wally huffed, looking at the phone booth before looking back at Amira.
“I can always see them after the New Years.” He said as he held onto her hand. “I can still-“
“Wally. I’ll be fine.” She tried to say in a steady tone, only for her voice to tremble towards the end.
“Amira, you know…just say the word and I’ll-”
“I know.” Amira tried to say with a smile. “But I can’t keep you from your family any longer than I already have.”
“Amira, I can-”
“It’s going to be alright…I’ve got my team to help.” She reassured. “My dad is also here if anything goes wrong.” Wally frowned at that. “Wally, I’ll be fine, really.” He sighed.
“Promise me you’ll call me if anything-”
“I will.” The two stared at each other before Wally gave her one last hug.
“Seriously. I’m just a call away, okay?” He felt her nod, finally letting go of her. “I’ll see you when you take down the big man, okay?”
Amira smiled as they waved each other goodbye, watching as Wally entered the phone booth and closed the door behind him.
A slight glow emitted from the booth, signaling Wally’s departure, Amira letting her smile drop.
“I don’t think I can hold up to that Wally.” Amira let out a dry laugh. “How can I defeat Hawkmoth when I no longer have possession of the earrings?”
-
It was already 9 in the morning, Damian finding himself wondering what to do. He had already spent most of the early morning watching surveillance footage of the last place his father was seen entering, which honestly was a waste of time. Ever since his father entered the bakery, he hasn't walked out.
He was starting to get annoyed with having nothing to do. Sitting in front of the Batcomputer was starting to become draining.
“Master Damian,” Alfred spoke up, Damian turning a bit to see Alfred standing right beside him.
“Pennyworth.”
“I believe it would do you some good to exercise your body for a bit.” Alfred suggested, setting down a single cup of tea.
“I don’t believe I asked for-”
“I took it upon myself to also create a simple layout of the mansion.” Alfred took out a folded sheet of paper. “If you choose to explore it to your heart’s content as a choice of stretching the body. After all, you have the run of the mansion and sitting at the computer is not good for a growing boy such as yourself.”
Damian eyed the paper, deciding to take Alfred’s offer and ignore the insult.
“I guess I will explore the mansion for a bit.” Damian concluded, getting up from the chair and taking the paper from Alfred. He opened the paper up, exposing three floors worth of blueprint layout of the mansion. While glossing over the maps, Damian couldn’t help but get intrigued by the archive room on the first floor. “Perhaps I shall wallow into my father’s family history.”
With that, Damian walked away from the Batcave, hoping to entertain himself by learning his past.
“Happy hunting, Master Damian.”
-
Amira quietly shut the door behind herself, letting out a sigh she didn’t know she was keeping in for a while.
She could hear the chatter of the boys playing in the living room, laughing when she heard Jason curse at Dick for throwing a turtle shell at him.
If Dick was back, then Selina also had to be back…
“He’s finally back.” She told herself, feeling something rise to her throat. Without another moment, she raced to her room, feeling the tears already falling down her face.
She quickly wiped them away with each one that fell, trying to regulate her breathing as she did so.
With a final deep breath, she found herself with a clear head, noticing she was sitting at her desk, her mother’s envelope peering from underneath a book.
Just as she lifted it up, her father decided to check on her.
“Can I-” Amira hesitantly nodded, motioning him to join her. “What do you have there?” Bruce watched as she hesitated to speak.
“Talia gave it to me.” She watched as fear crawled into his eyes, watching as he grabbed her shoulders with an immense grip.
“What did she say to you?”
“N-nothing much.” Amira winced, feeling her father’s grip get stronger. “You’re hurting me.” Bruce quickly let go of his daughter, bringing his hands back to side.
“I’m sorry. I-Just…She should’ve just talked to me first. She knows she could-”
“Whether it was yesterday or some other day, she would’ve found me at some other time.” Amira lifted the wax seal from the envelope, wondering what her mother could’ve left behind. “And, well…she gave it to Wally once they found her location after she basically kidnapped m-”
She didn’t expect her father to basically tackle her, pulling her into his embrace. She tried to wriggle herself away from his hold only for him to hold on tighter. “Let go.”
He didn’t. “Let go.”
He didn’t budge. “Dad! Let go! Please!” Amira had to push herself off of him, her eyes growing wide when she saw his face. “You’re crying…”
She never saw tears on her father’s face before. As in, falling down his face- because tearing up, yeah he has done that before, but literally crying?
Never.
“Ah, sorry. I-” Bruce tried to apologize, but it was as if he spoke some secret code that caused more tears to pour out. “Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that.” Amira corrected, deciding to sit back down instead of approaching him.
Silence filled the room, Amira wondering what to do. Should she try and ask him if he was alright? Coax an answer as to why he was-
“I should’ve been there for you. I never should’ve left for the gala. I should’ve stayed. You were in danger and I just-”
“Dad, please. Calm-”
“Did she plan this? Was Ra’s visit to the manor also-”
“Mother didn’t know about-”
“Did she do anything to you? Did she offer you-”
“Dad!” Amira cried, panicking as she saw her father spiral down his thoughts, wondering if she should call Selina or try and do something herself. “Dad, please!”
“Ra’s. He probably-”
“Dad, please! Can you hear me?”
“He knew. He knew where you were all this time. That piece of-”
“Dad! Look at me! Please!” Amira begged, holding her father’s face between her hands, hoping that he would see her. “Please, just look at me.”
She watched as his eyes started to clear up, watching as more tears pooled. He quickly turned away from her. “Dad?”
“I failed you.”
“What?”
“I failed you…” he said a bit louder than before, now looking at her. “I told myself, promised myself that I would protect you no matter what, that I would do whatever it would take to keep you safe…instead, I’ve done anything but that.
Even with all the tools at my disposal, I couldn’t keep you safe while under my watch…”
The room went silent.
“Ever since I was a child,” Amira started, trying her best to be mindful of her next words, “you’ve always told me to always be on my guard, on the lookout for any suspicious thing.
You’ve taught me to be wary of strangers since I was four. To read a situation when I was five. We created safe codes for each other when I was six. When you let me join your training sessions with Dick, you’ve taught me basic self defense…
You did your best in training me to defend myself. I-”
“But it wasn’t enough.” Bruce almost yelled. “You got kidnapped…twice already and then got into an altercation with Slade just-”
“But that wasn’t your fault. No one-”
“I could’ve prevented it if I had more eyes-”
“More eyes doesn’t always guarantee-”
“Amira, you could’ve lost you today.” Bruce bluntly stated, Amira not realizing that her father was holding her hands, noticing how they shaked.
Or maybe…maybe it was her hands that were the ones that were shaking. “And it would’ve been all my fault…my fault that I let someone close to me die again…my fault for allowing my one and only daughter to die within my arm’s reach…and that would’ve been more terrifying than anything else in the world…
Not even my own death would atone for that…
Amira…losing you, leaving you has been my greatest fear since you were brought into my life.” Bruce confessed. “I don’t ever want you to suffer as I did as a child, to be left by yourself at some of the most important times of your life…
That is why I’ve always tried to keep you within my reach…to keep you safe…
I don’t ever want you to become a target by just simply being my daughter…
I just want to let you live your life with no worries…as any child should…as is your right…”
Amira simply stood there, processing all the information her father just told her, connecting the newly given information with everything she knew about her father’s past as well as her mother’s past…everything behind her father’s choice made sense…and yet…
“Don’t you think I should’ve had a say on those things as well?”
“What do you mean by that?” Amira opened her mouth to speak only to close it again. “Amira, just say it. I won’t-”
“Shouldn’t I at least have been given the chance to say how I want to live my childhood? To use my name as that- my name?
Yes, I know that our last name is a giveaway; that it would make me a bigger target. But why couldn’t I still use my name: Amira? Why did you choose to call me Marinette?
Why couldn’t I be ‘Amira?’
I grew up knowing that I was ‘Amira Wayne,’ that I was the sole daughter of the Bruce Wayne. That I was ‘Amira.’ But then ‘Marinette Dupain’ came along and that’s who I had to become for everyone else except for you, Grandpere and Dick.
Jason…he met me as Marinette and then Amira but even then!
I never felt like Marinette. And even though I didn’t feel like ‘Marinette,’ I don’t feel like ‘Amira’ either. Especially now that I finally met my birth mother…someone who you rarely talked about and I should’ve known about!
I could’ve cared less about Ra’s Al Ghul, but Talia? The woman who risked her life to have me? Who risked her life to bring me to you?
Don’t you think I deserved to know about her? Or at least know her name?”
Amira watched as her father wiped away a tear from her face.
“I know now that I shouldn’t have.” Bruce confessed. “I should’ve never kept her away from you, I should’ve told you about the one of the most amazing women I had the pleasure to meet.
Perhaps if I had told you the stories of our adventures while in the League of Assassins, you would’ve seen the same smart young lady I see in you today.”
“So tell me then, Dad. Tell me about the woman named Talia.”
“I think we should do that some other time, not now.” Bruce looked at the envelope that rested on the desk. “For now, you should probably read the letter Talia left for you, don’t you think?”
-
Damian pocketed the needle back into its place as he pulled the archive room door open, surprised to see that there wasn’t a speck of dust in the room.
“Seems like Pennyworth is really worth his salt.”
As Damian quickly toured the room, at moments stopping to pick up a book or item that caught his attention. Sadly, it piqued his curiosity for a moment only to realize it wasn’t something worth reading or observing any further.
It wasn’t until he was about to leave when he noticed a tarp from the corner of his eye.
The canvas tarp barely peaked from behind a few stacked boxes located at the corner of the room, Damian carefully moving the boxes to get to the tarp.
Realizing he couldn’t exactly just move the covered item to the center of the room, Damian decided to then and there reveal the item.
The portrait he saw wasn’t something he was familiar and yet…
-
After a bit of coaxing from her father and an agreement for him to tell her his side of how he met her mother, Amira finally decided to listen to her father and open the envelope.
“You don’t have to share with me that’s inside…I just want to be here if you need me for anything.” Bruce assured, remaining where he was seated.
She opened it up, wondering if what she saw was indeed what she thought it was.
“She gave me a credit card and a set of coordinates with a date.” Amira told her father, showing him the black card and the piece of paper with the date and location. “My dearest Amira, I know this won’t make up for the time we’ve lost with one another, however, I hope my most prized possessions can help you find some answers you were looking for during the years we were apart.
If my possessions do not hold the answers you’ve been looking for, always know that I am more than happy to answer them directly if you ever wish to know.
With that, stay safe and know that I will always hold you close to my heart, baobei.
With love, Talia.” Amira softly ended, finding herself dragging her finger over her mother’s name.
Without another second to lose, Amira got up to look for the box Wally showed her earlier, lifting it and setting it onto her desk.
Carefully unwrapping it, Amira didn’t expect to see a photo album sitting inside the box. Lifting it out the box, Amira opened up the album, not believing her eyes.
“Is this me?” She asked ever so softly, continuing to turn page after page, filled with baby photos of herself from when she was born to the last day she was with her mother.
When she got to the last page, Amira froze.
There, centered in the middle of the back of the album was one of those photos you’d place in a wallet.
A photo that couldn’t be any bigger than five centimeters in height and yet…
“I can’t believe she still has it despite its condition.” Her father commented, making Amira turn to him, taken aback at the softness of his eyes. “We took this picture years ago.”
The tiny photo was crumpled up, its edges worn and even had creases right down the middle along both lengths, the paper starting to break from all the folding. “We took this picture the day you came to the manor.”
-
“Take care of her.” Talia told Bruce as she cupped his face with a hand, bringing herself closer to him and giving him a kiss. “Goodbye, habibi.”
Bruce watched as she took in a shaky breath before promptly turning away and headed for the door.
“Talia.” He barely croaked out, but she kept walking away.
“Talia. Wait.” Bruce warbled a bit louder, grasping her hand, his fingers intertwining with hers, her back still turned towards him. “Stay. Stay for a while.”
“Bruce.” Talia said with a breath, not daring to open her eyes. She needed to go. Now. “I have to-“
“Just for a few hours.” He gave her hand a firm squeeze, which in turn squeezed her heart.
‘Please don’t do this to me Bruce.’
“Please.” He begged of her.
‘Don’t make me do something that will cause our daughter harm.’
‘Please.’
Amira’s cooing snapped Talia from her turmoil, finally turning and making eye contact with her daughter.
Amira smiled and gurgled upon seeing her mother, stretching out her hands in hopes of getting held, not comprehending the tears that streamed down her mother’s face.
Giving into her heart, Talia took Amira into her arms, holding her tightly against her chest, Amira giggling upon successfully getting into her mother’s embrace.
“Just…just a few more hours. Just a few more.” Talia agreed, walking up to Bruce, resting her head on his chest. “I want to relish these last hours together...this time we are together…as a family...”
“As do I.” Bruce replied, hugging Talia and in turn, hugging Amira. “But, there’s something else I want to do as well.” Talia looked at her Beloved, wondering what his next words would be.
As if to answer, a knock came at the door, followed by a gentleman walking in with a large case in his hand.
“Master Bruce. It’s a pleasure to meet you again.”
“Sam. Hello and I apologize for the short notice.” The elderly man chuckled, Talia’s “How did you manage to get him?” getting ignored.
“You know nothing is ever short noticed with you. There’s always a good reason for these types of things.” With that, Bruce smiles.
“Sam, I’d like for you to meet Talia...and my daughter.” Sam gawked at Bruce, his head turning as he looked at Bruce and then at Talia before his eyes landed in Amira.
Letting out a hearty laugh, Sam patted Bruce’s shoulder.
“Consider this session on the house! Let me get the camera set and I’ll call you when we can start!” Sam grinned as he walked out the room, heading to the portrait room.
“Camera?” Talía asked, Amira reaching out for her mother’s hand.
“I know it’s sudden. And I know that the future is unsure, but,” he pressed his forehead against Talia’s, looking down at their daughter. “I want this moment to live on forever, even if it’s in the form of a photo.”
It took a while for those words to sink in, but when they did, Talia couldn’t help but let out a laugh, her eyes stinging as she held onto Amira for dear life and held Bruce’s hand tightly, afraid this blissful moment might disappear if she let go of either of them.
“Alright Mr.Wayne!” Sam popped in a few moments later, graphite smeared on the side of his hand. “We can start the photo session!”
-
Damian could only stare at the portrait staring straight back at him, looking at the three subjects of the incomplete painting, a single photo taped to the side as a reference of what the complete portrait was supposed to look like.
At the right center, he could clearly identify his father, looking extremely young, his hair lacking a single gray hair and not a single wrinkle near his eyes. His eyes…they had a shine to them that Damian couldn’t exactly pinpoint an emotion to, eyes that bore something in them as they looked at the other two subjects of the painting. There was his sister, who had to be roughly half a year old, judging from the clothing she was wearing and the roundness of her cheeks. She had a huge smile, a smile Damian wondered if her current self was capable of the same thing. And then there was the person that held his sister with gentle arms, a person that Father held close to him with a smile.
Her skin reminded him of his sister’s and his own, her smile…a smile he saw only once on Ra’s years ago…but…
“Who are you?”
-
Alya grinned, humming as she walked back home. She also couldn’t help but notice the lightness in her steps, the skips adding to the euphoria.
Maybe it was because she got some homemade cookies from Marinette. Maybe it was because she made up with Marinette. Or perhaps she was finally able to talk to someone else aside from her therapist about her akuma-
Akumatization…
How did she know?
How did she know-
Alya snapped from her trance, realizing she had already closed the apartment door behind her. That she was already home.
But the question remained.
How did she know about her akumatization?
Alya let go of the bag, the cakes and macarons inside meeting the floor with a loud thud.
Alya dashed for her room, ignoring the yells she got from Nora about no shoes inside the house.
She stripped her coat off of her, flinging her hat and scarf to the side.
She quickly got into her chair, turning on her laptop as she kicked her boots off. She muttered under her breath as she clicked on the mouse as if that would make the laptop boot up any faster.
Once loaded, Alya started to put it to work, quickly opening windows and tabs, the clicking and clacking of her keyboard and mouse filling her room.
She adjusted her glasses as she scrolled and dragged between articles and her spreadsheet, skimming through the paragraphs of words that didn’t have a smidge of what she was looking for...
Which exactly answered her question.
“How did she know I was LadyWifi?” Alya found herself whispering, scanning for any possible answer to her question.
All that stared back at her was the website of the most reliable blog aside from her own: Beetle and Cat.
Beetle and Cat was created the same day Ladybird appeared, but unlike Alya’s blog, B&C was more on the informative side. More focused on giving news about the fights and uploading crisp full length videos of every public speech Ladybird had given.
Articles, on the other hand, Beetle and Cat had all 63 akuma incident reports and 2 programs Ladybird and Chat Noir had done since they’d become the vigilantes of Paris. Sure it was two, but it really impacted the city.
Out of the two programs, the very first is the most important one: the Akumatization Protection Program that-
“They may have the answer.” She muttered to herself, quickly clicking links until she found a hyperlink titled “Know Your Rights to Therapy: Citizens.”
Clicking it, Alya was redirected to a medical website.
“Creations Medical?” Alya asked no one, wondering who would ever call their pharmaceutical branch such an odd name.
She was met with how to apply for therapy with the assistance of Creations Medical and how to use the Akumatization Protection Program to have your fees waived, even if you weren’t akumatized yourself.
“Under Section 4 of Article 1 of Protections and Rights of the Manipulated, anyone and everyone involved in any of the incidents created by Hawkmoth are granted therapy. Creations Medical will cover all expenses, including transportation, medication and relocation if needed.
If you are a civilian that was affected by any previous incident and wish to-”
“What is “Protections and Rights of the Manipulated”?”
Whipping up another tab, Alya typed the document to the search bar, but nothing.
All she got were brief mentions of the article and a summary to its main points and that was it.
That it was the concluded agreements between the vigilantes of Paris and Parliament. But that was all.
No full article, no blurry screenshot or blurry photo, nothing.
So then…does it actually exist?
Alya sat there for a while, wondering what to-
She quickly grabbed her phone and texted Max, mentally scolding herself for asking Max to help her hack into a government document.
She explained to him her situation, quickly lying that she wanted to use it to update her blog regarding the therapy program but needed full access to the document to give the public an informative page.
She tapped her desk as she waited for an answer, not expecting Max to send a pdf back so quickly along with a ‘you owe me’ as well.
Quickly opening up the pdf, Alya didn’t need to search far for what she needed.
Protections and Right of the Manipulated
Ladybird and Chat Noir vow to protect Paris until the threat is no more, however, the citizens are always a priority before their own.
As so, gathering here today, XX of September of the year XXXX, are Ladybird, Chat Noir and Parliament of Paris to discuss and establish the rights of those who have fallen under the manipulation of the city of Paris’ current threat: Hawkmoth.
Article 1.
Section 1:
The vigilantes, Ladybird and Chat Noir, as well as the Parliament of Paris agree to keep the identities of those manipulated by Hawkmoth a secret.
Through thorough investigation, all citizens who have gone under Hawkmoth’s mind control do not recall any conversations nor actions they have done once Hawkmoth has gone into contact with them and once he leaves the mind of the person controlled.
Therefore, it was concluded that citizens were being controlled beyond their will and therefore should not be held accountable for the actions. In other words, the citizens are innocent and are victims of Hawkmoth’s criminality. As thus, Victims of Hawkmoth are not the criminals in any of the incidents that have occurred under mind control and their actual identities should not be revealed to the public to protect the citizen.
Not exactly what she needed, but even so, it was something. Scrolling some more, Alya found what she needed.
Article 2.
All citizens who fell under Hawkmoth’s control are protected by the Akumatization Protection Program (APP). Under this program, the government cannot, under any circumstance, hold a citizen accountable for an incident without the approval of Ladybird and Chat Noir. Nor can the government approach the civilian without either vigilante present.
Furthermore, the government cannot disclose the name nor picture of the akumatized civilian to any media outlet. Under the case that the government does, the law will be involved.
This also goes for any identification that has been leaked by any media outlet and any bystander of these incidents.
Any media, bystander or eye witness that has evidence will also be warned of the consequences of revealing any akumatized civilian’s identity and will also be dealt with by the law should a civilian’s identity be revealed.
If there is no bystander or eye witness, the only people who should know the akumatized civilians’ identities and therefore interact with them are Ladybird and Chat Noir, with exceptions to their other team members.
In other words… no regular civilian should know an akumatized civilian’s identity…
Especially for her case…after all…she was by herself when she got akumatized…
So no one should know LadyWifi was her…
No one…besides…
“Besides-” Alya stared at her screen, hating the answer that had unraveled before her.
She shouldn’t have- she shouldn’t- but she did.
She knew who did…she knew what this meant…
She knew…she knew something she should’ve never figured out…
“Marinette is Ladybird,” Alya found herself whispering to herself, feeling a lump in her throat. “Marinette is Ladybird…oh god…Marinette is Ladybird…”
Alya held her head in her hands, still trying to process the information. “This isn’t good. Of course it isn’t. When she finds out that I kn- oh god…” Alya felt the blood drain from her face as she recalled the latest akuma…
The akuma where Marinette let out her feelings show… “oh fuck.”
As much as she wanted to tell someone that she knew who was the person behind the mask, Alya didn’t need to be reminded of the dangers of doing that.
Paris didn’t need another Banshee incident…
Nor another LadyWifi…
Alya stared at her screen, hoping the words on the screen would help her come up with a way to deal with all this.
“Just what the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
As if on cue, Alya’s phone goes off, making Alya jump in her chair.
Quickly picking it up, she let out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding in, relieved to see that it was just Chloe sending something to the class-
Of course!
Just as her finger was about to tap Chole’s name, Alya stopped.
But would she? Would she even try to hold a conversation? There was only one way to find out.
Alya quickly tapped on Chloe’s number, tapping the call option and bringing her phone next to her ear.
She waited as the ringing kept going for a few seconds, biting the tip of her thumb’s nail until a click was heard.
“Cesaire. What do you want? Was not bothering-“
“It’s-It’s a-about Marinette.” Alya could hear Chloe’s breath hitch. “Can we talk?” Alya held her breath as the silence remained on the other end. “Chloe? Are you th-“
“In my room, at the hotel. We can talk there.”
NEXT
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