#jason todd x marinette dupain-cheng

[unsupervised-meatsuit]

Inconveniences, Cultists, and the Warehouse of Rejected Toys

Cross posted on AO3!

If there was one thought that Marinette could attribute to describe the entirety of this situation, it would be that Thursdays suck.

It is not the most commonly hated day of the week, since that dubious honor belongs to Monday, for rather obvious reasons. Since it is so universally hated, however, it never comes as a surprise when the bad things come out to play. Oh, there was a fire in the office next door over the weekend, and now the air conditioning smells like burnt rubber and brick dust? That's just Monday for you. A villain attack in the warehouse district caused a shipping delay and that package you ordered got lost somewhere? Disappointing, yet unsurprising. The subway is so packed that a sardine tin would be spacious in comparison? Well, that's the subway every day, so it doesn't really count.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are just that, days. Nothing exciting, nothing awful. Middle of the line, going through the motions, monotonous. Whether trudging through or in the zone, things get done and nothing exciting happens. Fridays are, of course, celebrated as the finish line, the checkpoint in the marathon of life that says 'you made it! You can take a rest now'. The final stretch before the glorious work-free weekend. The one where you can go home with the comfort of knowing there are no alarms coinciding with dawns break, just waiting to sneak up on you too soon. No annoying coworkers waiting with their metaphorical talons and too-cheerful-to-be-real attitudes, ready to interrupt your flow at the worst possible moment. Fridays are the tantalizing breath of freedom, just awaiting for the clock to strike.

But Thursdays? Thursdays are the worst.

They are the day you always forget. The one that sneaks up on you, where you wake up with the inkling of hope and relief that the end brings, only to have the crushing realization that it is not, in fact, Friday. Like seeing a finish line on the crest of a hill in front of you, only to watch as the closer you get the further away it seems. The one where you cram every ounce of procrastinated effort into the projects you have been putting off until right before the deadline, wishing for nothing more than an IV drip of straight espresso into your veins, followed by a three century long nap.

The day where you get kidnapped by an evil cult and strung up from the ceiling next to an unconscious vigilante, simply for the crime of being a nice person in Gotham.

Or maybe that is just Marinette.

'Embodiment of good luck and creation my ass,' she thought bitterly, rope digging painfully into her elbows and just below her ribs. 'Oh yea, let's go to Gotham. The city is unbalanced and needs a Guardian to fix all of the curses. That is such a great idea. Nothing bad will happen! Well what do you call this then, Tikki?!' Marinette sighed, the feeling of pins and needles creeping down towards her bound wrists as she swung precariously some twenty-five odd feet above the concrete warehouse floor, trying to ignore the worry she felt being separated from the little deity. Beside her was none other than Red Hood; former(maybe? she's not sure) crime lord, gunslinging vigilante, and too freaking heavy for his own good. Seriously, for someone who uses firearms almost exclusively, there is no reason for him to be so damn muscular. Or tall. Completely unfair for someone to hog all the height like that. It's what got them into this whole mess to begin with!

Well- That wasn't entirely true, but still. If he didn't weigh so much, Marinette could have easily grabbed him and run from the masked, potato-sack-wearing, nonsense-spewing, second rate fanatic occultists before they even knew she was there. But no, Red Hood just had to be the size and weight of a small bear, and now they were both in this mess.

"I should have never gotten out of bed this morning..." She muttered despondently, hearing a groan come from the limp figure beside her.

"Son of a bitch..." Red Hood murmured, voice changer in his helmet distorting the words to be near incomprehensible. The following string of curses as he presumably opened his eyes and took in their predicament was much more audible, however. Looking down, Marinette couldn't even begrudge him the swearing.

The two of them were currently hanging from a catwalk suspended in between two of the six total concrete pillars and directly above where the aforementioned potato-sack-wearing cultists were busy drawing out chalk guidelines for some kind of complex ritual circle. She couldn't quite make out what it was meant to be yet, seeing as it was in the early stages, but she could assume that it wasn't anything good for their would-be sacrifices. They were really dedicated, too, not even glancing up at the vigilante that was giving his best impression of an angry drenched cat. One of them even had a protractor and was double checking all of the angles in the twelve pointed star. Clearly, whatever this ritual was meant to be, it was going to take a while to complete.

Red Hood clearly didn't appreciate the attention to detail, which honestly? Fair. But the way he showed his displeasure at the situation involved thrashing around in the cocoon of thick chains wrapped securely around his whole body. (Marinette was only a little bit jealous at the differing treatment, since if she had more than a single rope wrapped around her torso, it wouldn't hurt nearly as much, but also it would make escape harder.) The thrashing wouldn't bother her if it weren't for the fact that A) they were both tied to a rickety catwalk, and B) every time there was movement on said rickety catwalk, it caused Marinette to bounce around and dug into the already forming bruises on her arms and abdomen.

"Hey, could you cut that out?!" She snapped, wincing in pain. Her voice caused Red Hood to whip his head in her direction and freeze, "You aren't the only one here strung up like a pinata, and unlike you, I'm not wearing any armor. I would personally rather not be split in half and spew my intestines all over the place like a macabre birthday celebration, thanks!" There were several long moments of silence while he stared at her and she attempted to alleviate some of the pressure of the rope. She was unsuccessful, sadly, but at least she was no longer bouncing. After a few moments, the swearing started up again, much more vehement than the last time, though without the accompanying thrashing, thankfully.

Marinette huffed, turning her attention to the warehouse below, allowing him to get it out of his system. It was very clearly disused and permeated with the smell of dust, but not quite abandoned as she would expect. Various sizes of wooden crates were scattered and stacked all around the stained brick walls along with stacks of empty pallets and cardboard boxes. The center of the large building was a two stories tall square, held up by four concrete pillars fading into darkness and broken windows. The empty space was only broken by the catwalks that were claustrophobically close to the exposed, rusty rafters, and a disused... crane thingy on an I shaped track above the two truck-sized doors to the right. In front of and behind them were what she guessed to be offices with windows that overlooked the main floor and connected to the catwalks through discrete side doors. The bottom floor continued underneath the offices where there were stairs resting against the back wall, though they were barely visible through the deep shadows and pallets of stacked boxes.

Directly underneath them, the cultists had cleared out a large area and hung up bright florescent floodlights that cast stark shadows pointing down towards their try-hard craft project. They had a cheap table set up to the side covered in candles, chalk, various liquids, jars, and bowls of different white powders, which Marinette guessed was salt or bone dust or something of the sort. Oh, and rumbling minifridge full of blood bags. There was that, too.

"-toe-eyed shit monkey fuck-tard motherfucking piece of-" Red Hood was still going, but seemed to be somewhat running out of steam. Or different ways to say the same swear words. Or maybe breath, Marinette wasn't quite sure yet.

Down below, the cultists remained focused on their ritual. Or, at least most of them did. Only about four total were actually doing any drawing or plotting out, with exactly twelve seated a little ways away from the star's points, all meditating. There were three more that Marinette could see, and from what she could tell, they weren't very focused on anything work related, if the one holding the weird, green-haired doll was any indication.

Marinette squinted in concentration, calling on her connection with the Kwami to sharpen her senses and hear past the still-swearing Red Hood.

"-whole box full of the creepy little things." The one holding the doll said, her voice disdainful. I hereby name you Dolly, Marinette thought, eyes flicking to the medium sized crate she had pulled the doll from. It had some kind of toy company logo on it, though not one that she recognized.

"Why would you even go looking through those?" the other cultist asked, somewhat judgmentally. And I hereby name you Judgy.

"I was bored." Dolly replied flatly, inspecting the green haired doll in her hands.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching the sacrifices?" Marinette squinted, tensing slightly despite the flare of burning pain it caused, but the cultists didn't even bother looking in their direction.

"No, that is Mark and Jacob's job." She waved dismissively, not glancing up from the doll. 

"Ah." He paused for a moment, before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Who thought it was a good idea to put those two together?"

"No clue. Better them than me, though. I hate watching sacrifices. They always cry and yell at me, or try to beg their way out. It is so annoying. I'd rather just be bored." Judgy nodded in agreement, shifting his weight and crossing his arms. Marinette couldn't help but scoff quietly. As if.

"Well, at least you get to look through dusty crates and find creepy dolls this time." They both stared at the doll for a few moments as Dolly scoffed.

"Yeah, and that totally makes up for the fact that we are a day early. I had to call out of work for this shit." She said sending a small glare at the cultist with the red trim decorating their burlap 'robe' before looking back at the doll. Dolly turned the thing over in her hands before finding something on the back of it. "Oh hey, there is a switch here." 

Marinette could barely hear a tiny click as the switch flipped and the two went quiet as they waited for it to do something. Dolly shook it, but got no response aside from the sounds of chalk scraping concrete, plastic rulers clattering, the constant drone of the minifridge, and the sound of moving cultists that overlayed the faraway screeches and honks of the city outside the warehouse walls. The two(plus Marinette) waited to see what the doll would do for several more moments to no avail.

"Does it need batteries or something?" Judgy asked. Dolly opened her mouth to reply, but didn't get the chance as the doll's eyes lit up and laughed, long and loud, to the cadence of Judgy's voice. It was unsettling, and very clearly reminiscent of a certain clown. The way it echoed around the warehouse amplified the creepiness. It was somewhat comical how Dolly jumped and scrambled to flip the switch back off as almost everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their heads towards her in unison, though. Or, well, it would be if it weren't for the fact that these people had strung her from the ceiling up and were waiting to sacrifice her to whatever entity they worshipped.

Marinette was jolted out of her concentration by a throat being cleared, and her head snapped towards the source. Beside her, Red Hood was looking in her direction(or at her, it was hard to tell with the helmet) and very clearly no longer swearing.

"You done, now?" She sassed, glancing back at the cultists she was so rudely interrupted from eavesdropping on. Dolly and Judgy were looking sheepish(as much as one could look sheepish, wearing *that*) as most of the others glared at them(presumably). The one with the red trim on their potato sack seemed to be scolding them, and about half of the ones sitting at the star's points weren't looking, continuing to meditate unbothered after the initial interruption. Interesting.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." Red Hood said, sounding somewhat uncomfortable, though it was difficult to tell through the voice changer. Marinette didn't look back at him, scanning the warehouse for the two that were supposed to be watching them.

"No, it's fine. Not everyone can be cool under pressure." She said smoothly, squinting into the deep shadows on the ground floor, sharpening her vision with as much of her magic as she dared, though there weren't any people hiding that she could see. They will be somewhere that they can easily see us, but won't have to pay much attention...

"Excuse me?" He asked, taken aback. Marinette began scanning the catwalks above them, craning her neck and analyzing them for hiding spots. Or rather, for comfortable areas to hang out and pretend to be working. Clearly, these cultists have gotten too used to their routine. Which is a bad sign for all the previous sacrifices, but good for us.

"I mean, it's not every day that you get kidnapped and hung from the ceiling, so your reaction is understandable." She turned her head to the vigilante after determining that the lookouts were not visible, who was looking at her, the feeling of incredulity coming through loud and clear.  "Though I would have expected you to be a bit more used to this kind of thing." She spoke with a note of scorn in her voice. He was the one to lead the cultists outside her apartment in the first place. She was just trying to take out the trash when he flopped over unconscious right in front of her. And Red Hood was unnecessarily heavy. And muscular. And well proportioned. And tall. Is that a tailored leather jacket? It looks well made, even through the chains. He would make a great model, honestly. Broad shoulders, long legs, nice chest- Gah! No! Focus!

"Wh- it-, no I am not used to waking up chained to the ceiling." He said with a growl in his voice that she could almost feel in her chest. Marinette suppressed a slight shiver. Why do warehouses always have drafts?

"Really? Huh." She said absently, looking around the grimy and broken windows that lined the upper wall above the truck doors. Unloading dock, I think it's called?  "I got the impression that Gothamites were unfazed by stuff like this." Beside her, Red Hood scoffed, head turning to look below them and presumably analyze the cultists.

"Being kidnapped, sure. Happens all the time. Sometimes, it's even on purpose. Being tied to the ceiling, not so much." The obnoxious red helmet ticked to the side, eyeing her presumably. "What, is this normal where you come from?" From the small huff she could tell the question was clearly meant to be rhetorical, but Marinette answered it anyway.

"Eh, it's not my first time." she looked down at the ritual circle and 'bored' cultists who were completely ignoring the two, having opened up another box filled with what seemed to be... bags of gumballs? Interesting..  "At least it's just cultists and there is no swimming pool full of boiling soup." Marinette shifted, attempting to regain feeling in her fingers without putting her full weight on her bruised ribs. She had never wished to be transformed more than she did right now. Heck, she would even take the old onesie she used to call a superhero suit. She really did feel like she was about to be split in half. "Though whoever tied this rope did a much worse job than Kung Food." She said with a grimace, rocking from side to side and scooching the rope downwards a little bit. It stung, and the balance was a little more precarious now, and she just knew it was going to be hell on her back and core muscles, but at least it didn't hurt as much, so she took that as a win.

"... please tell me you are joking." Red Hood asked with a note of desperation in his voice. She grimaced, thinking back to the wafting steam and the smell of the since renamed 'Marinette Soup'.

"I wish I was." Marinette said, resigned. The thought was sweet in theory but thinking back, having a soup that you almost got cooked into renamed after you is pretty morbid.

"Jesus fucking Christ." He muttered with what she could only assume was mild distress. She knew the feeling.

"It's fine." She said, stretching out her fingers that wanted nothing more to curl in on themselves from the lack of blood flow. Marinette twisted her wrists and reached her hands in a way that just barely let her nails latch onto the poorly tied knot of the hemp rope. Seriously? This is just sad. I don't even need help from the Kwami to get out of this.

"It is very much fucking not." Red hood said pointedly while, assumedly, pinning her with a glare. Not that I can exactly go anywhere yet, anyway.

"I would shrug if I could, but as you can see, I am physically disinclined to do so." She looked at him with a sardonic smile, vaguely gesturing with her head at their general predicament. Eyes unfocusing, she concentrated on the feeling of the rope latched underneath her fingernails and started pulling at it.

"Could you be any more nonchalant about this? That is supposed to be my job." The deadpan response so monotone it sounded nearly robotic through the voice changer caused her to let out a small huff of a laugh. Ow, that hurt. Come on, you stupid rope, work with me here!

"Would you rather I be freaking out, screaming and crying about how we are going to die tragically?" She asked, pulling a face as one of her hands started cramping from the curled position. Ow ow ow ow-

"Absolutely not." Hood said without hesitation. So close... YES!

"Then I don't see what you have to be complaining about here." Marinette smiled triumphantly as she finally felt the rope around her wrists loosen, stretching the discomfort away as much as she could. Red Hood was silent for several long moments as she took in a few deep breaths, attempting to shake the few strands of hair that had escaped her high bun out of her face. Okay, wrists are free. Next are the ankles, then I can slip out of the rope and climb up onto the catwalk without falling to my death/serious injury in the process. Easy peasy. I just need to-

"You are something else, you know that?" He said in a tone that she didn't quite know how to name, distorted as it was. Marinette paused before she could start to move onto the next step, looking into the expressionless helmet of Red Hood that somehow still failed to hide that she had his full attention. She blinked several times, confused. "I don't think I have ever seen such a pretty smile, especially not in a situation like this." He clarified. Marinette couldn't stop the pink rising to her cheeks, and she had absolutely no idea what to do about the sudden flutter in her chest, but what she did know was that this hot vigilante/crime-lord had just(maybe?) given her what sounded like a compliment, and she needed to say something.

"Why thank you. You aren't too shabby yourself." Marinette said, realizing as soon as the words left her that her automatic response might have not made sense.

"... Thanks?" Red Hood said, tilting his head slightly. And then Marinette opened her stupid, stupid face hole.

"I mean- you have quite the impressive mouth on you." She said, followed by a long moment of silence as he stared at her. "WAIT- NO! I didn't mean that! I meant- well- I didn't not meant that, I'm sure your mouth is just fine- but not like fine fine, or it could be, I'm not saying it isn't, it's just with the whole bucket-head thing I can't tell either way so like- I'm not commenting on how nice your mouth is- I just- What I am trying to say is that your ability to use your mouth is what is impressive." The vigilante made a faint choking noise, and Marinette had approximately the half a second it took for her to register what she just said before wishing that she could cataclysm herself in the face. "NO! WAIT! NO! That's not what I meant! It was- talking- using mouth, but not like-" she started sputtering, words tumbling out of her without control, and the faint choking noise coming from Red Hood turned into full blown coughing.  "SWEAR WORDS!" She finally shouted, face bright red and a shrill note in her panicked voice echoing faintly through the warehouse. None of the cultists so much as looked up, clearly ignoring them, for which she was thankful. Oh my Kwami, kill me. Please. Right now. Strike me down without remorse.

Red Hood was gasping for air beside her in between wheezing laughter and coughs that rattled the catwalk above. Marinette honestly couldn't remember a time she had ever been more embarrassed. Not even in Lycée. Honestly, if Hawkmoth were still around, she might be in danger of being akumatized out of pure embarrassment. A high pitched whine escaped from the back of her throat as she glared at the vigilante, trying to hide her misery behind anger.

"Don't laugh at me!" She tried to sound intimidating, but it came out more petulant.

"Fuckin'," he said in between wheezes, "swear words!" If he were standing, rather than hanging, Red Hood would undoubtably be doubled over in laughter. As it was, he was curled up in the air in the shape of an unnecessarily beefy shrimp. Marinette was just thankful that he wasn't looking at her, or she might just explode. In an effort to distract herself, she quickly kicked her legs up behind her and began untying the rope around her ankles, putting her focus into remaining balanced rather than the laughter beside her. Unfortunately, it only took a few seconds and a couple precarious wobbles to free her legs, leaving the loop around her torso and the two free strands in her hand. Oh, and the Red Hood who was taking in deep breaths like it was an Olympic sport.

"I will fight you." She said, something burning in her chest as she glared at him.

"You're adorable." he said, getting his laughter under control.

"I will fight you, and I will win." Her scowl deepened as she glared into the lenses of his helmet.

"I appreciate the threat," he quipped back, voice filled with mirth, "but no offense, you look about as dangerous as a feather duster." Face still bright red and heart still pounding painfully, Marinette's eyes narrowed. Then, she smiled sweetly.

"I take full offense and I will make you eat those words." She said with the full confidence of a Ladybug.

"Uh huh. And how exactly are you going to do that?" Hood said teasingly, sounding as if he were just entertaining her. Her only response was to grin toothily, tip forward, and then fall.

Marinette allowed the precarious balance she had carefully kept for the past however-long it had been to fail and slide through the single loop of rope. The friction of the rough hemp fibers burned as it scraped along her arms, but it was worth it to hear his panicked gasp and the rattle of chains as her bent knees caught the rope(ow- that'll bruise), the only thing keeping her from plummeting two stories. She swung back and forth a couple times, building momentum as she allowed her muscles to relax for the first time since she got kidnapped and Red Hood hissed out something unintelligible from above her. With one last swing and a flex of her poor, abused core muscles, she sat up and grabbed the rope, climbing her way onto the catwalk with little trouble. She let out a small sigh of relief at finally having semi-solid ground underneath her feet. She hasn't exactly been afraid of heights since before her time as a superhero, but being in the air for so long get stressful, especially without her transformation.

"What the hell were you thinking- Are you okay?!" He asked somewhat frantically, the catwalk under her feet swaying as he twisted in an attempt to look up at her. No. That fucking hurt. She smiled before replying cheerfully.

"Of course I am! What, worried for my little feather duster arms?" She dropped the two rope pieces on the catwalk and then reached up to undo her bun which had become tragically loose from the kidnapping.

"Oh, ha ha." he muttered with a sigh of mild relief, "Point made. Okay, so it looks like there is an exit near the stairs which you can go through those offices to get to. It is really dark, so if you are careful and stick to the shadows, you should be able to get out and find a way to call Commissioner Gordon and tell him to-"

"Nope." She interrupted curtly, holding her hair-tie in between her teeth and running her fingers through her hair a couple times.

"-What?" Red Hood asked, tensing. Marinette grabbed the hair-tie before responding.

"I said no, I am not going to do that." She took a deep breath, shaking her head side to side to test the security of her new high ponytail. Good enough. "First of all, you weren't awake when they brought us in here, but those doors sound like hell itself trying to escape into the mortal realm via rusty hinges, meaning there is no way that I can get out without being noticed." Hood grunted disgruntledly, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. Marinette took the opportunity too look over everything from this new vantage point, now just barely able to see into the dirty windows of the offices behind them, one of which had faint light coming from within.

"There are other doors and windows, you could find a way out." he said pointedly, head turning briefly to glance at the rope she had been hanging from previously. She couldn't quite see any movement in them, but the farthest one had a broken window, so she could only assume that the office with the light was where Jacob and Mark were.

"Second of all," she continued, "there are two cultists who are meant to be watching us, and no matter how negligent they are, they still managed to catch you. From what I have overheard, they have done this enough to have a solid routine, so they can't be all stupid. If I were to leave, we would only have a limited amount of time before they noticed." Down below, Dolly and Judgy seemed to have gotten bored of looking through crates and were both hovering over a phone while leaning against the foldout table, watching something. The third cultist that appeared to be on watch had tucked themself into a dark corner and seemed to be taking a nap against a pillar. Perfect, let's hope they stay like that.

"You would still have time to get away and call for help. The streets are a maze, they wouldn't be able to find you once you got away." Red Hood said with a light growl. Marinette could feel the catwalk move underfoot as he shifted slightly, swaying back and forth like a cranky pendulum. Her eyes flicked to each of the cultists down below, all looking consumed by their respective tasks.

"Yes, however, the chances of them just continuing with their ritual and ignoring the missing sacrifice are not great. They could panic and scatter, rush through and sacrifice you with a half done ritual, or any other not great outcome. So again, a time limit. Which brings me to point number three," She said, holing up three fingers. "We are currently in the warehouse district, which is a forever-and-a-mile walk away from anywhere I could find someone willing to lend me a phone. Even if I were to walk right out of here and they don't notice, they would have plenty of time to finish up their evil scheme and get the heck out of dodge before help arrives."

"Drive, then." Hood shot back. Marinette held back a wince, her eye twitching instead, thinking about the last time she drove a car. Or, tried to drive a car.

Marinette and Grandma Gina looked into the turbulent lake, drenched and covered in mud, listening to the slowly approaching sirens, smelling of burnt rubber and smoke. The previous panic fueled screaming echoed in her ears now that it was silent. Her Nona turned to her, pale and somewhat shaky, but with a smile on her face.

"I won't tell your parents if you don't."

"Deal."

"Do I look like I know how to hotwire a car? Or how to pick pocket someone's keys?" She asked rhetorically, already knowing what he thought she looked like. 'Adorable.' 

I'll show him 'Adorable.'

"Then," he said slowly, posture wary and tone frustrated, "What exactly are you going to do?"

"I already told you." Marinette replied, leaning down and looking directly into the glowing eyes of the Red Hood's helmet with a smile, "I am going to make you eat your words." Marinette didn't allow him to respond, standing in one swift motion and walking quietly across the rickety metal and towards the open archway of the offices behind them. 

Time to get to work.

Marinette was careful to keep her steps light an even, hand ghosting over the steel cable railing that ran along the side as she made her way towards the office with the intact, if filthy, window. She was fairly confident that was where the two cultists that were meant to be watching them, Mark and Jacob from what Dolly said, were hiding based off of process of elimination. Once she took them out, she could take her time with the rest since it will be less likely that they will notice her missing. With how adamant these cultists were about not looking up, she could almost think they were video game characters. The time she had spent hanging from that damn rope wasn't completely wasted, as she was able to put together the beginnings of a plan for how to do that without outing her superhero abilities or skills. Sure, what she had said to Red Hood wasn't *completely* truthful, as she was certain she could find a phone and call for help in ten minutes if she really wanted to, but...

"-no offense, you look about as dangerous as a feather duster."

That's not happening. She had something to prove.

Okay, so steps. She thought as she reached the wall of the office and creeping towards the window in a crouch, trusting the darkness and the cultists inattentiveness to hide her. First, take out the lookouts.

Marinette looked over her shoulder and out into the shadowed building, finding the darkest place from the perspective of the window and shifting herself into that space before slowly lifting her eyes over the dusty window ledge. Her gaze flicked quickly through the room, dimly lit by a small camping lantern on an old desk situated just in front of the door with a chair on either side. On the opposite wall was a couch where the two cultists were-

Marinette jerked downwards, flattening herself against the filthy brick wall with a newly bright red face. That was a lot of- Where did they get the- Okay! Not thinking about that! That's fine. This is fine.

…

"At least they won't notice I'm missing..." She took in several deep breaths, staring intently at the patterns of rust on the catwalk's railing. 

"I am never going to unsee that."

After a few long moments, Marinette crept her way around the edge of the office, through the arch and into the hallway. The door to the office the cultists were in was closed, *thank the Kwami*, but the empty one was cracked open. The stairs downward were straight ahead, swathed in darkness and shadows. There was less echo, and it was in general quieter in the hallway except for faint- not thinking about it. 

"Step one, focus on step one." She whispered to herself, straightening up and slipping through the cracked door into the empty office, careful not to catch her clothes on the door handle. This office wasn't as empty as the other one, and seemed to be much more dusty, though that might be attributed to the broken window more than anything. There was a desk in this one as well, though it was pushed against the wall on the far side with paper scattered all over the floor on front of it. Instead of a couch(Not thinking about it), this one had a stack of chairs, a duffle bag, and a hefty looking toolbox. Dumped dead center in the room was a frankly ridiculous pile of guns, knives, and what looked like a miniature version of a harpoon. In a much smaller pile next to it was her purse.

"Tikki!" She whisper-shouted, diving forward and scooping up the bag.

"Marinette!" the small Kwami excitedly yelled back, muffled through the fabric. Once it was opened, she whizzed through the air to hug her holder's cheek.

"Are you okay? Did anyone see you? It's not another Chloe situation, is it?" She blabbed with worry until the Kwami pulled back and smiled reassuringly.

"No. I'm okay, no one saw me." Marinette let out a sigh of relief, slouching where she stood. "Are you okay, Marinette?"

"A little bruised, but fine." She replied, examining her arms for a moment to see what was going to be a line of ugly bruises and some serious rope burn, before turning back to her friend with manic energy. "But, Tikki, I have been challenged!"

"Challenged?" She echoed with a tilt of her head and a sparkle in her eye.

"Red Hood thinks that I am 'as dangerous as a feather duster' which is frankly ridiculous- just because I am small does not mean I am not mighty!" Marinette said with a pout and a defiantly raised fist, to which Tikki giggled.

"So what are you going to do to meet this challenge?" the little goddess asked, floating higher in excitement. In response, Marinette bounced on the balls of her feet with a near feral grin.

"Here's the plan-!"

"Hey, Oracle, have you heard anything from Hood tonight?" Nightwing asked as he swung between two of Bludhaven's buildings and away from a foiled break-in. He was still catching his breath from the quick but brutal fight. He managed to leave unscathed for the most part, barring one lucky hit the woman with a crowbar managed to get on his bicep that left a shallow, if jagged, gash and was already forming a nasty bruise. It was going to make his night job rather unpleasant the next week or so, which wasn't great, seeing as he and Red Hood were meant to bust up a cult that had had been causing trouble tomorrow.

"Last I herd from him, he was chasing you through the house with a serving plate." Came Oracle's quick reply, the sound of clacking keys hiding under her flippant and amused voice. Nightwing rolled his eyes with a fond smile as he alighted upon the edge of a building, taking a moment to sit down and rest.

"Oh, har har. He was supposed to be doing recon for our bust tomorrow, I want to make sure he hasn't gotten himself in trouble." He said, settling down and kicking a leg out over the edge of the roof.

"From what I heard," Red Robin chimed in, "There was no 'our' about it. Hood made it very clear that he was going to go after them without you."

"Mhm," Oracle hummed in agreement, "I distinctly remember something being said about 'forsaken bonds of siblinghood' and that you are 'beyond dead' to him." Nightwing remembered that. He had been so excited at Jason actually referring to them as family out loud that he hadn't really paid much attention to what was actually said beyond that until afterwards, though.

"Oh, please. He was just cranky because he was too slow and I got the last of Agent A's cookies." Nightwing said with an eye roll. "He wouldn't go after a dangerous cult by himself just because of that."

"Are you sure about that? This is Hood we are talking about." Red Robin said skeptically. Nightwing opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off.

"Chatter on comms." Came Batman's gruff voice, silencing everyone. "Oracle, check in with Hood."

"Already done. His comm is off and all of his trackers are showing that he is in his safehouse on the border of the Narrows." She replied promptly, there was a pause as more keys clacked in the background.

"His security system is armed, too, with a window having been opened and closed at around eight forty-seven pm and no activity since." The silence between them was loud as the vigilantes digested the information.

"I'm on my way." Nightwing said gravely as he sprung up from his spot and shot his grapple gun in the direction of his motorcycle.

"Enroute." Batman grunted over the sound of revving engine.

"I'll try and track down his location." Oracle said, her amusement from before gone.

After a few seconds, Red robin chimed in with a deadpan voice.

"Even after all these years, you still underestimate the pettiness of this family."

Nightwing's sigh was lost to the buffeting wind as he swung down to the streets below.

Locking the two lookouts in the office was probably the easiest step of any plan that Marinette has had in years, being able to check that off after simply sliding a chair underneath the handle in order to lock the two inside. Thank all the Kwami I don't actually have to go in there and interrupt whatever it is they are doing... Still not thinking about it!

The next step, while still relatively simple, wasn't going to be nearly as easy.

Step One: Take out the lookouts, Check. Step Two: Gather Supplies.

Which means finding supplies, which means sneaking past the 19 remaining cultists on the main floor without being caught or seen. Simple as can be, but not exactly easy. Add in pilfering through and opening the many crates, some right next to the main area for the cultists? Not easy in the slightest. Thankfully, Marinette wasn't exactly someone to give up that quickly, and she wasn't alone.

There was a quick glimmer of light that burst through the dim room and a tingling feeling in her fingers as the summoning spell completed, burning up the small sticky note she had drawn on and replacing it with the inert foxtail pendant, dark orange fading to a white tip separated by five segments, hanging off of a delicate gold chain. As she pulled on the necklace however, its appearance changed to be purely silver with the segments disappearing, the bright glow of another Kwami appearing before her flashing through the shadows.

"Guardian." the Kwami greeted, bowing respectfully in the air before looking around with his bright purple eyes, taking in the dirty office.

"Hello Trixx." Marinette responded with a smirk, "Ready to cause some mischief?" The Kwami's ears perked up as he smiled brightly.

"I always am, Guardian! What did you have in mind?" He responded eagerly, following Marinette as she crept to the cracked office window.

"Okay, down there are nineteen cultists who we need to take down before they manage to activate their ritual and sacrifice the vigilante who I got captured with." she began, pointing out the shifting shapes moving through the harsh brightness of the floodlights and Red Hood, who was mostly obscured by the rusty catwalks and shadows. "We are going to need to get them all at once, or else we will be caught, and I can't transform without revealing my identity."

"I am happy to lend my Illusions to keep you hidden from their senses until it is time to pounce!" Trixx said eagerly, twirling around in the air, illusory sparks dancing in between his paws.

"Thanks Trixx, but I will be channeling your magic this time, we don't want another dancing Eifel Tower incident." The Kwami pouted, but agreed, diving into the inside of her jacket and joining Tikki in the small pocket dimension sewn in there. Marinette took in a fortifying breath, strengthening her connection to the two Kwami and feeling the magic course through her. She *probably* pull this off without it, but there was no way that she was going to let any opportunity pass her by. She promised Red Hood that he would eat his words, and she was going to serve them to him on a silver platter. With a final exhale, she turned away from the window and went to examine what she had in the room that she could use.

The first thing she checked were the drawers of the desk, pulling them open slowly to make as little noise as possible, despite the rusty ball bearings. It was well worth it too, for the sight that greeted her.

"Yes!" she exclaimed in a whisper, pulling out one of the three and a half rolls of duct tape and an unopened reel of fishing line, ideas already springing to mind. "This couldn't be more perfect!" she whispered with a grin, looking in the remaining drawers. Aside from the various bits of paper, she pulled out a container of thumbtacks and paperclips, six carabiner clips(two of them being broken), an unopened packet of yellow sticky-notes(she already had some light pink ones in her purse, but she wasn't going to pass up more), and an oily can of WD-40.

At the opposite end of the room, were the duffle bag and the toolbox, which aside from the pile of weapons that she assumed to be Red Hood's, seemed to be the only other potentially useful things here. Marinette started with the toolbox, finding a couple of hammers, a mallet, a huge red monkey wrench, some screwdrivers, a jar of assorted rusty screws and nails, and a thing of Allen wrenches. Out of everything, she only took the monkey wrench and set it with the other useful objects on the desk. Next was the duffle bag, which when she opened it, revealed itself to be full of a bunch of other duffle bags.

"Huh..." she muttered, staring at it and running her fingers along the hefty cloth. It's a good thing that it is cloth, and not plastic. Though this does feel like polyester, it won't have that crinkly sound whenever it is moved, so I can use it to transport things from the crates downstairs. With a definitive nod to herself she stood, dumping the extra bags on the desk and pulling the now empty bag's strap over her shoulder.

"Okay, here we go!" she whispered to herself before slipping out of the room and towards the dark stairs.

Jason didn't know whether to be amused, pissed, or suspicious, so for the moment he was settled decidedly on 'bewildered'.

The cult had been somewhat out of the ordinary from the beginning. The string of disappearances that led to him finding them were, sadly, not too uncommon. The cult aspect of it however, was a bit of a shakeup from the usual human trafficking, territory disputes, or straight up murder cases they normally take on. Just different enough to make it interesting. What *hadn't* been ordinary was the glowing tranquilizer darts that could go through his Bat-approved armor. Bruce was not going to be happy about that when he found out. Hell, Jason wasn't happy about it now.

All of his memories from that point on were fuzzy in that familiar way that could only be caused by drugs, but he remembers getting away. At least, he thinks he remembers getting away, but clearly he didn't seeing as he woke up dangling from the ceiling next to some tiny, blue-haired French woman.

A tiny, blue-haired French woman who Jason was stuck watching sneak around the shadowed edges of some warehouse with a duffle bag slung over her shoulder and a smile on her face, surrounded by murderous cultists.

He was surprised with the skill she moved around with. Despite her confidence, he had expected her to get caught near immediately, and was mentally preparing himself for a whole slew of situations that could arise from that inevitability. But, much to his chagrin, she practically waltzed right past the cultists without so much as a curious head turn in her direction. Her style of stealth was much different than what he was accustomed to. She didn't meld into the shadows like the bats did, but she moved silently and with a confident sort of grace, using her surroundings to their fullest. Her path around the edges were calculated, he could tell, keeping obstructions in between her and the cultists as much as possible. She even climbed over and across a few crates to stay out of the peripheral of the two occupied with their phones, keeping her weight on the corners and junctions to avoid making noise or breaking the old wooden boards. It was something that Jason himself wouldn't have been able to do(not that he would need to in the first place), and it spoke of either years of practice sneaking around, or a lot of talent. All in all, he couldn't help but be grudgingly impressed. Not to mention suspicious.

She was clearly more experienced in these situations than he first thought, even including that concerning comment about some ridiculous food based(and possibly cannibalistic, which is a red flag for multiple reasons) villain she mentioned, and the damn Bat Patented Paranoia that Bruce managed to instill in every one of his wards was coming to light. Who was she? Is she a threat? An ally? Or just some random girl with more skills than sense? He didn't know and that was bothering him, so he watched.

It's not like I can do much else.

And he had tried. Despite how easily she had slipped through the rope they tied her with and climbed up with a strength and fluidity unexpected from her tiny frame, Jason remained stuck in his swaddle of chains. After searching for his hidden weapons when he had first woke up and finding them missing, he had reluctantly reached for his backup comm, before remembering the small argument with Dick he had that led him to stupidly spitefully take on this cult by himself in the first place, as well as leaving his comm and trackers in a safehouse along with a rather heartfelt 'fuck you' note. So, there was no way for him to get out, no way to call for his fam- the bats. His whole escape rested on the shoulders of the four-foot-tall-at-best, blue-haired girl with a smile too carefree for Gotham's rough edges and baked-in soot. The girl who was currently carrying around an empty duffle bag doing god knows what as she somehow silently pried open a large crate with confident motions and said mischievous grin, as if there wasn't a cult of psychos one mistake away from catching her.

No, he wasn't worried about her. He was frustrated that he was currently damseled. There is a difference, Dick.

"I already told you. I am going to make you eat your words." 

And... maybe a little intrigued.

Though, despite his years of vigilante experience, time on the streets, growing up in Wayne manor, and his training with the League of Assassins, he had absolutely no fucking idea what she was going to do with a duffle bag full of Harley Quinn inspired rubber chickens.

It took nearly all of Marinette's willpower not to giggle with glee when she found the crates of rubber chickens in her search for the Joker-inspired dolls(Which, seriously, who's idea even was that??). They were about three crates full that she could identify, all with the same logo as the boxes full of creepy-laughing-fake-clown-things and they were all fortunately placed near-ish to the opposite staircase that she came down from. This side of the warehouse was more crowded, mostly covered in pallets of cardboard boxes and some crates interspersed throughout.

This is perfect!

It took her a few trips and a couple close calls to get enough of the rubber chickens up to the office without accidentally setting them off, but thankfully she didn't have to sneak around the main floor for it, using the catwalks above instead. Admittedly, she used a bit of Luck to avoid the overly creaky paths and get away with it, but no one else needs to know that. Gathering up the neon-green-haired-monstrosities was quicker since she already knew where they were, but a tad more difficult seeing as the boxes were just behind and to the side of Judgy and Dolly(She could practically feel Red Hood's stress while she was doing that). For that, she called on more of Trixx's power to stay as silent as possible. Next, she went though the boxes farthest from the cultists, sifting through them quickly and making several trips up to her designated storage office.

Step four of The Plan had gained some wonderful additions in the form of metal BB-gun pellets, jacks, bouncy balls, and the gumballs that she had seen the cultists looking at as well, but she was getting ahead of herself.

There was one thing that she almost passed up, though, but the smallest of tugs from her Luck caused her to take a second look.

And by the Kwami, is she glad she did.

If the abundance of warnings on the package hadn't peaked her interest, the bold lettered label she read afterward sure did.

'FAST ACTING, WATER ACTIVATED SUPER GLUE POWDER'

"Hehehehehehe" Marinette couldn't help but giggle near breathlessly from where she crouched, shrouded in the darkness of the stairs, holding onto the sturdy plastic container with an evil grin.

Bruce loved his kids, he really did.

If he for some reason, in some way, ever lost all of his memories or sense of self, he would remember that. If there were nothing else left of him, be it from mind control, magic, head trauma, or for whatever reason, having to sell his soul to some malicious entity, all it would take is just looking at one of them and he would know.

Bruce loved his kids.

He loved them when it wasn't easy. Through all the fights, be them together against criminals and supervillains, or against each other with harsh words and silent treatments. Through moral differences, his failures and communication issues. He loved them when it was stressful. Through all the injuries and sickness, tough nights on patrol, prank wars that cost him thousands of dollars in repairs or teasing that ends in brawls over the dining table. He loved them when it was easy, too. Family dinners, game nights, public outings, or just working quietly in the same space.

Bruce loved his kids, and wouldn't trade them for anything.

But sometimes?

Sometimes he really wished he could give them back.

"This is Red Hood speaking, bringing you your top of the hour weather report," came the all too glib sounding voice from the speakers mounted in the corners of the warmly lit room. "Be careful out there tonight folks, because it looks like the clouds are heavy with betrayal and the threat of tyrannical and patronizing vigilantes!" The fake newscaster voice called out, echoing around the bare off-white walls that were splashed with black paint. Some were splotches or droplets, abstract Rorschach-esque compositions surrounded by messy and dripping quotes. The section directly opposite the window where he stood read 'Et tu, brute?', surrounded by twenty-seven kitchen knives, stabbed into the drywall.

"Condescension is an epidemic, easily spread through contact of those near you, so he careful to keep limited contact as to not fall prey to it's effects," Hood's voice spoke, glee very clear in his tone. Next to the circle of knives there were two more quotes on either side; 'Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime', and 'For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first.' The second quote he recognized to be from the hunger games, though Bruce couldn't quite pinpoint the origins of first.

"If you are hearing this, you clearly didn't take my message to leave well enough alone seriously," the newscaster voice dropped, leaving Red Hood's sounding all too proud of himself. "To whom it may concern; consider all future collaborations null and voided, you are all dead to me, I never had a family, yada yada, etcetera etcetera. Any who enter my territory are personally liable for any and all actions or damages against them, including but not limited to inconveniences and humiliation via glitter, slime, paint, and dye. Please vacate the premises or suffer the consequences. Have a pleasant day."

"Oh, and tell Nightwing that he is a little bitch."

Bruce spent several moments to just stand in the empty apartment, staring at the pile of trackers on the table laid out in the shape of a middle finger. He sighed.

I love my kids.

Step two of Marinette's plan was coming together well, and she was close to moving on to the next phase.

The good part of hanging from the ceiling for longer than was even mildly comfortable was that she could see a lot with the bird's eye view. Many parts of her plan had gaps when she first started out, since she didn't know all of the materials available to her, but step two fixed that quite easily.

If there was one thing that Marinette had learned from her years as a Superheroine, especially one who fought a villain that preyed on people's emotions, it was how people reacted to sudden danger. Adrenaline does funny things to a person, taking perfectly rational thought and turning it into blind action. Fight or flight is a strong, instinctual reaction for all kinds of creatures, not just humans. When there is nowhere to run? You fight. When there is nothing to fight? You run. And when you run, what is it that you look for?

Step One: Neutralize Lookouts, Check. Step Two: Gather Supplies, Check(mostly). Step Three: The Path of Least Resistance.

There are four main exits and nineteen total cultists on the main floor. Two normal doors on each side underneath the offices that lead out of the building, and two large truck doors. With no real way to predict exactly who would go where, she has to assume that the best case scenario is each door having four or five cultists exit through them, and her traps being able to take out all of them at that number. Realistically, that isn't feasible. It could be all of them go through the same path, and most escape, or it could be that they scatter so far, they bypass the majority of her traps, leaving all of her work to be for naught. With how things were now, there were too many variables, too many obstacles, and too many unknowns. 

But this was Marinette. This was Ladybug. And it was time to do what a Ladybug does best; even the odds.

Marinette crouched on one of the catwalks that was hung in the direct center of the warehouse, just to the side of the cultists' ritual, her small travel sketchbook in hand. She was drawing out her plan and doing her best to ignore the prickling feeling of Red Hood's eyes on her as she marked out the best way to do this.

Two pillars on either side of the circle with the table and minifridge set nearest to the one towards the back side of the warehouse. The other one is down and to the side of the right most truck door, giving the least amount of room for error. To the left, further out and underneath the offices is the door we came in from, and it is the most likely exit that they would choose, seeing as it is at least marginally familiar, easier to open than the truck doors, and second closest. On the opposite side of the warehouse is the other normal door, which has the benefit of being in the darkest section of the warehouse and having a much longer path to set traps up on, but less likely to be chosen...

She leaned forward against the thin railing of the catwalk, staring down at the activity below and tapping her pencil against her chin as she thought. She heard a rattle of chains and couldn't help but lift her gaze to look at the source. The faintly glowing eyes of Red Hood's helmet stared at her intently from where he hung. She smirked at him, giving a little wave with her fingers, before an idea came to her and she looked back to the rightmost truck door.

If I block that one off and make a longer curved path from the side of the circle, it gives more of a chance to take out a few on the path. I could... Yes, that'll work.

Marinette quickly doodled a whole bunch of little boxes on her paper.

Then I could use the fishing line here and here, then all of the jacks, pellets, gum and bouncy balls on this side, then- hmm...

She looked up with narrowed eyes, examining all of the rafters and catwalks above where she was planning for the paths to go. Then smiled. That would work perfectly. Within another minute or so her sketches were finished and she stood, feeling giddy to see the end results of her plan. Before turning back to head down she looked again at Red Hood's intense stare, and gave him a wink.

Marinette spent the next half an hour moving boxes from one pile to another, shifting crates, and pushing pallets to create solid looking barriers, all while trying to remain as silent as possible, and there had only been a couple hiccups along the way. Along with a couple interesting discoveries. The first had been while she was creating the longest path, creating a good number of empty pallets for one of her planned traps.

Marinette had stopped as she brushed up against a solid feeling thing wrapped in plastic, and took a moment to examine the pallet next to her. It was hard to see in the dark and with the little light there was reflecting harshly off of the plastic wrap, so it took her a few seconds to figure out what it was she was looking at. Two adjacent pallets stacked taller than she was(Not that that was difficult, but good luck to whomever mentioned it cough cough Red Hood), completely made up of heavy paint cans. Marinette looked around, noticing that the path she had been making came directly toward the paint can pallets. There was no way in hell that she would be able to move them out of the way, let alone without being noticed, but... She looked up at the catwalk directly above, to the sides where she could curve the path around the bend and at the conveniently placed pillar, and back at the straight stretch of space she had been making. She smiled as another trap added itself to her list.

The second discovery was while she was clearing the shorter pathway towards rightmost door. To counteract the small amount of distance she had to work with, she decided to split this one in half with what was essentially an island of boxes that tapered off just before the doors. She was doing the shorter path first, despite it being closer to the cultists, because where the longer path was meant to go was filled with heavy crates of what she thinks are car parts which, for some reason, smelled faintly like smoke. Add the fact that Nappy was napping against the pillar over there, she didn't want to risk getting found this early. Needless to say, she was working extra hard to make as little sound as possible.

Marinette's heart had leapt into her throat when something shifted under her foot with a faint metal clank sound, very clearly not the solid concrete ground she had been expecting. Her head snapped up as she froze, straining her ears and glancing around her hidden spot in the shadows to determine if anyone heard. She was still for several long moments, sounds of the cultists washing over her, before determining that it was safe. With careful movements and a momentarily stronger draw on Trixx's power, she moved back slowly. Looking down, she found a slightly warped metal plate that was about the same size as her with a handle in one side. Curiously, she shifted the box she had been moving out of the way and gently pulled the metal plate up.

A shadowed abyss. An all consuming void. A dark, dank hole.

It was a maintenance tunnel, right in the middle of her path.

Marinette gently set the metal covering back down, mind racing. What could she do with this? It was much too good of an opportunity to pass up, and thankfully, she had an idea. Near the back of the warehouse, she could remember seeing a pile of cloth tarps. She could use those if she could just find something stronger than the fishing line...

An idea popped into her head. Very likely a bad idea but... well, she's sure Red Hood couldn't be too mad about her taking apart his weird harpoon-gun if it is to save him from being sacrificed, right? He probably has extras anyway.

She glanced up at the vigilante, then went back to moving boxes with a quiet snicker.

Jason still had no fucking idea what this woman was doing, and it was stressing him the fuck out. His escape rested solely on the shoulders of a woman playing high stakes ring-around-the-cultist instead of calling the cops like any sane person would do!

Jason wasn't as stupid to think that she couldn't have found a phone like she claimed. In face, he was certain she already had one in her purse, which, had to be some kind of pocket dimension to fit all that shit inside of it. Why would someone carry around a whole ass sketchbook and unopened roll of fishing line of all things?

(Jason was ignoring the fact that he knew several people who would, could, and have carried around that and much weirder. In all honesty, he just wanted something to be annoyed about. It was cathartic.)

It had been about an hour or so since she practically skipped her way out of being kidnapped like it was no big deal, and he had spent it with nothing to do but become more appalled and concerned by the second. If it weren't for the fact that he was watching this happen live and in the flesh, he wouldn't believe some of the stuff she managed to get away with. 

The blue-haired woman(he really needed to find out her name) had nearly gotten herself caught already. Not by climbing up one of the support pillars like a spider which the ones on watch missed by conveniently turning away from at the right moment, or making a frankly ridiculously sized pile of boxes in front of the truck door which the sound of was drowned out by the fridge seemingly having a mechanical seizure, or even moving a crate right fucking behind two of the cultists who somehow didn't notice because of a supposedly funny video on their phones! No, she almost got caught by a fucking sneeze.

She had been picking up some pile of cloth from a dark corner that she was undoubtedly going to use for some weird-ass thing that would make perfect sense well after he finally managed to finally get the fuck down and out of this god damned warehouse. But, from his vantage point, Jason could see that in getting so comfortable moving around in enemy territory(helped by the fact that she must be the luckiest person in Gotham. Seriously, share some of that with the rest of us, would ya?) the blue-haired woman had gotten complacent.

He winced as the fabric slipped from her fingers and sent a massive cloud of dust right into her face. Both he and the woman tensed as a long moment passed, Jason in anxiousness, while the woman seemed to be winding up, holding her hands tightly over her face. Then, she sneezed, full body convulsing and letting out a squeak that even he could hear from his vantage point.

…that was adorable.

One of the cultists blow looked of from their phone and looked in the direction of the noise, then asked their partner something.

Oh shit-

"Hey, did you hear squeaking?" Dolly asked, head raising from where she was hunched over her phone. Marinette felt panic rising as she dropped into a crouch as fast as she could, pressing her side into the heavy crate beside her, holding her nose and blinking through watery eyes, the dust making her entire face feel as if it were being attacked by tiny, sword-wielding specks.

"No? What are you talking about?" Judgy responded, looking up from his phone, pausing some video that she could faintly hear playing through their earbuds. Marinette's sinuses stung and eyes watered as she took deep breaths through her mouth, full body seizing several times with the force of holding back the sneezes. She made as little noise as possible, slowly crawling around the edge of a box to be out of sight of the cultists. Owowowow, my everything-

"Dude, are you deaf? That sounded like a mouse getting stepped on."

"Why do you even know what that sounds like?"

"I had cats as a kid."

Taking one hand away from her face, she pressed it to the ground to help her do an awkward crab walk further down the line of pallets to a mostly empty one that lead to an enclosed area where she could die in peace.

"So you've stepped on a mouse before?"

"No I- just- shut up and come check it out with me."

"Hell no, I don't want to see any mice. They're like, the size of rabbits in this city."

"Those are rats you fucking dumbass-"

Marinette crouched next to the pallet, taking more careful deep breaths and wiping the tears from her eyes. She watched carefully from her place in the shadows until they were both fully turned away. She was mostly obstructed by boxes but not willing to risk it. After what felt like an eternity, but was likely just twenty seconds or so, her chance came in the form of Dolly opening a box. She practically dove through the gap left for her and curled up on the floor for a while, recovering her senses as Dolly and Judgy talked. Marinette was only half paying attention, lamenting the existence of dust and wallowing until her half-formed bruises stopped stinging, when the shifting of cardboard and something Judgy said caught her attention.

"That is an unholy amount of glitter."

Marinette paused, a grin pressing against her hands.

I take it back. Worth it.

Marinette can't say that she had ever been particularly talented at sneaking around. It just never came naturally to her. Disguises and hiding in plain sight? That's just like an extension of sewing or acting, easy peasy. Hiding? Sure, she's great at picking the right spot and fitting in tiny spaces, it's just an extension of luck and strategy. Sneaking? That's a different story all together.

That isn't to say that she is bad at sneaking, she's just not talented at it. It means that every bit of skill she has was hard earned through extreme situations and years of practice. Being a superhero made her learn a lot of things, sink or swim style, with no safety net to fall back on. So, despite how... unusual and high stakes this situation is, Marinette isn't quite out of her depth yet.

That's what she told herself at least, standing fully upright with a wooden pallet hanging from her shoulders as she walked with it to a dark corner of the warehouse where another fifteen wooden pallets lay stacked, silently begging the universe that none of the cultists look over at this exact spot. Of course, she planned for this particular trap to be set up just before the leftmost exit, meaning she was as far from the cultists as she could be and had many obstacles in between them, making it very unlikely to be seen, but still. The chance was there.

Luckily, this was the last pallet she needed to set up this trap in particular, so she didn't need to haul any more all across the place. And extra luckily(Thanks to the magic she borrowed from Tikki and Trixx, no doubt), no one saw her walk around the edges of their circle and through the now complete pathways. Well, no one except Red Hood, who had been staring so hard at her this entire time, she wondered if he was trying to spontaneously develop the ability to shoot lasers from his eyes. Or maybe telepathy so he could yell at her for 'unnecessary' risk taking, she could only guess.(Well, he may have a point about the risk taking, but there is no way in hell she would ever say that. She was doing this to prove a point, practicality be damned.) She ignored him, as she had been doing since the beginning, setting the pallet down as quietly as she could despite the two stacks both reaching above her head. After a moment to breathe and admire her hard work, she pulled out the roll of fishing line and her extra pair scissors, tying the two stacks of pallets together and then working her way back through the slightly curved path until she reached the pillar.

Trap list;  Web of Ouch, Check.  Series of Unfortunate Tripwires(1), Check.

Onto the next!

Time flew by as Marinette gleefully set up the rest of her planned traps. A grapple gun, disassembled for its wire, and a cloth tarp carefully placed in front of a slick patch of WD-40. A block of wood suck in the opening mechanism of the truck door and a huge, precarious pile of various sized wooden crates that really tested the limits of her Tetris skills. A person-sized mat of duct tape woven together and placed sticky side up after another Series of Unfortunate Tripwires along the winding path to the leftmost door. A wooden wedge carefully positioned underneath the back edge of the two huge pallets of paint cans to slightly tilt them forward, and another paint can tied to the I-beam above and held to the underside of the catwalk by a thin string. Boxes filled to the brim with bouncy balls, gum balls, BB gun pellets, and metal jacks tied above two of the four exit pathways, a stolen steel-toed boot filled with rocks ready to swing at the turn of a handle. And, her personal favorite so far, a wooden plank positioned just above the cultists' plastic table and mini-fridge, piled with the superglue powder and the wonderful addition of rainbow glitter.

She had managed to test the superglue powder on Nappy, using it to fuse his clothes to the concrete he was resting on, and it was wonderful. There is no way that he is getting up with his clothes still intact. She kind of felt a little bad for the ones who are going to get this dumped on them, but oh well. She's sure the hospital will take care of it.

Probably.

She had managed to find a working water spout and long hose, complete with attached nozzle, that would reach all the way to where Red Hood was hanging, so that was one less thing for her to worry about doing herself. The last thing she set up was the discount Joker Dolls and the Rubber chickens while sitting in one of the disused offices. The whole room had become a sort of base of operations, and looked just about as chaotic as the end product of her plan was going to, but Marinette didn't care all that much. To get the effect she was going for just right, she had to be very careful in how she went about it. Packing in the rubber chickens at the bottom of the crate as precisely as possible then slowly lowering heavy bags of all the black and red glitter she could find to make the chickens stay in their deflated state. She carefully poked holes in the tops of the bags with one of the thumb tacks she had found, before carefully switching on all the joker dolls and placing them in the box.

Marinette will admit to using a lot of magic to make sure this step didn't go wrong, but once the four boxes were attached at their points on the catwalk and connected to her activation pull cord, she couldn't help the little giddy happy dance. It was ready!! The only thing left was letting Red Hood know his part, then the trap is set!

Jason wanted to throw his previous resolve to just wait and see how things turn out through the fucking window, because this was getting ridiculous. Patience has never really been his thing, which is becoming more and more apparent to him the longer he is forced to watch the sheer, unadulterated audacity on display.

He will admit to being mildly entertained in the beginning, watching the woman doing whatever the hell it is that she's doing like it was some kind of soap opera. When The Sneeze(TM) happened, he had been near certain she was caught, but seeing as she somehow had to be the luckiest person in the whole god damn world, she got away scot-free as the two cultists with the same skill level and attention span as low level videogame characters got distracted by industrial sized bags of glitter.

Which of course she later took to use for whatever unholy Rube Goldberg Machine she was making, alongside with a mysterious white powder that came from boxes absolutely covered in warning labels.

But the craft herpes and unprecedented luck were not what made him want to scream at her from two stories up and eighty feet away, cultists be damned. No, that urge came from the very familiar line of cordage she had looped through some kind of tarp and tied in knots, knots!! She took apart his grapple gun and used it for some kind of dirty picnic blanket! HIS FUCKING GRAPPLE GUN! The AUDACITY! He was fuming, glaring as she wrapped a hose over her shoulder and started trekking up the stairs and over the catwalks towards him. 

Finally!

"My fucking grapple gun?!" Red Hood hissed with indignation as soon as she was withing earshot, if barely. Marinette huffed and rolled her eyes, adjusting the hose wrapped around her shoulder to let more slack down.

"Well hello to you too." She said, tone filled with sarcasm and sass in equal measure, but internally she was beaming. He's not ruining her good mood when she is so close to success. She gently laid the hose wrapped around her shoulder down onto the catwalk as she crouched, careful not to make any suspicious noise. Not that the cultists would be likely to look up even if they heard it(After being subjected to the eye-searing glare of the floodlights herself, Marinette didn't exactly blame them, though still...), but it doesn't hurt to be careful.

"You took apart my fucking grapple gun?!" He repeated, voice inching higher. Clearly, some people don't think the phrase 'better safe than sorry' applies to them. She looked up at the rafters, rolling her head back in mild annoyance, as she drew on more of Trixx's power to muffle their conversation before taking a dramatic pose and poorly mimicking Hood's voice.

"'Oh, hi Marinette, thank you for risking your life to save me from being sacrificed by these scary cultists, I really owe you one.'" She shifted her stance and changed back to her own voice. "'No problem, Red Hood, I'm glad you understand that sometimes sacrifices must be made for the continued freedom of the innocent.'" She crossed her arms and looked pointedly in the faintly glowing eye of the Vigilante's helmet with a slight pout. She couldn't see it, but Marinette imagined that he took a split second to blink.

"Was that a pun?" Marinette tilted her head, thinking back over her words before silently grinning. "So not only do you take apart my god damned grapple gun, you fucking pun at me about it?!" Marinette chuckled, uncrossing her arms and going back to carefully untangling the hose.

"You can get another one, cant you?" She asked flippantly, Red Hood grunted in displeasure.

"Ugh... Yeah, but that is so inconvenient." If it weren't for the voice modulator, Marinette would *almost* call his tone petulant, but for now she simply thought of it as pouty.

"Welcome to the club." She responded, to which he huffed.

"What, the club for inconveniences and cultists?" She could hear the smirk in his voice, and had to hold back her own.

"Yep." She responded cheerfully instead, "Meetings every Thursday in the warehouse of rejected toys."

"Why Thursdays?"

"Because Thursdays are the worst day of the week." She said with certainty, staring off into the middle distance as she remembered all the bad things that happen on Thursdays.

Well, at the end of it all, this might not end up being one of the bad things after all...

"Isn't that supposed to be Monday?" Marinette rolled her eyes and huffed in exasperation before shaking her head.

"I'm not going over this again." Red Hood leaned his head back, seemingly nonplused.

"Again?"

"Anyway," Marinette continued, cutting him off from speaking further. "I have everything ready except for this one last thing, which I will need your help for." Hood straightened(as much as he could anyway), as if remembering something and his voice pitched slightly deeper in a commanding kind of way. As a former superhero herself, she was very familiar with it.

"Yeah, actually, I'm going to need you to exp-"

"Shush shh shh." Marinette said, waving a hand at him while distracted with straightening the rest of the hose and turning the nozzle to 'shower' mode in preparation to lower it to him. Despite this, she could feel the affront radiating off of the vigilante. She fought down a smile as she continued. "Don't interrupt people, its rude."

Red Hood made a strangled noise, like he was trying to start several different sentences at once but nothing managed to make it past the first syllable, very effectively cutting off his demand for explanations she absolutely wasn't going to give him. She wished that she could see what his expression looked like right now, it would keep her giggling for weeks.

"Okay, so I don't know how much you were paying attention-" That's a lie, she knew he has been watching her like a hawk this whole time, "but you see the boards I set up with the piles of white powder and glitter above their supply table?" she asked, pivoting on the balls of her feet to look at him, wrapped in chains and hanging above a half done ritual circle.

"Yeah?" The word sounded like he wanted to growl it, but was too off kilter to fully manage. She held back a laugh, but couldn't help the smirk that slipped through.

"Well." She said, holding up the hose next to her head for him to see, "What I need you to do, is spray water on the cultists that powder drops on." She finished with a sunny grin. There was silence for several long moments as they stared at each other, sounds outside their little bubble left ignored. Marinette didn't falter, expression as solid as Hood's helmet. When he finally spoke, it was loaded and laced with emotion and demand.

"Why."

Marinette blinked and tilted her head. There were a lot of ways that she could answer him, ways to interpret what exactly he was asking about. Why the water, why him. It could be why she insisted on being so... Cavalier about this whole situation, or why she stuck around to help instead of running. Or, most likely, it could be why go through all this trouble? Why spend hours setting all this up when a single phone call would have gotten them out of this mess in minutes? And yet...

She felt the magic in her chest swirling, Luck and Misfortune dancing across her shoulders. Creation and Destruction chasing each other through the blurry seams of the world around her. Her connection to the Kwami hummed in her ears, and she felt the Balance on the verge of a Shift. Her words here could change the Fate of this city. A small action could tip the scales of Order and Chaos.

No pressure.

"Because," she said slowly, earnestness in her eyes as she stared through Red Hood and into the Destruction and Misfortune clinging to him like leaches, tainting and feeding on the Hope and Safety in his Soul. Magic seeped into her voice, spreading through her like invisible veins of sunlight and guiding her words. "When life takes you down a path that gives nothing but blood and darkness, the only way to make it to the other side is to create your own light."

She got no response, the vigilante seeming frozen by her words, staring intently from behind glowing lenses. She herself took a few moments to collect her thoughts as the Magic dissipated, the feeling of Balance fading to the background, leaving behind no indication on if she said the right thing. 

But she did, she knew she did.

With a comforting smile loaded with memories of long nights, suppressed feelings and more responsibility than any child should ever have to shoulder, she reached down and handed him the hose. He took it automatically, still processing her words. Marinette stood to leave, before looking over her shoulder and saying,

"Enjoy the show, Hood." She smirked at him, turning and walking away. "Maybe you'll learn a thing or two about how dangerous 'feather dusters' can be."

"I got something." Oracle's spoke suddenly through the uncharacteristic silence of the coms.

"Report." Batman ordered, the speed of his reply being the only indicator of his worry, but after knowing him for so long Oracle could read it very easily. Keys clacked rapidly under her fingers as she hacked into phone satellites and pulled up tracking software.

"A phone call, asking specifically for Commissioner Gordon." She paused for a moment, skimming over the auto-generated transcript from the audio file.

"Hn." Batman grunted impatiently. She could almost feel his signature stare through the computer.

"Hold your horses." She muttered quietly, speaking up again shortly after as several blue dots started appearing and disappearing on the map of the warehouse district on her other screen. "Someone called in to report cult activity and kidnapping approximately two minutes ago."

"Is it Hood?" Red Robin asked, voice calm if slightly winded. A quick glance at his body cam footage showed him finishing up a fight with a couple muggers.

"It seems likely," she said, refocusing. "The video feeds I managed to find earlier put him near the reconnaissance point N gave me before he disappeared, and the call claims two people were kidnapped." Her eyes narrowed at the screen, the tracking software taking somewhat longer to pinpoint the origin of the call than normal, only giving her the general area, but...

"But?" Nightwing interrupted, much more subdued than earlier in the night. Barbara smirked a little at his words aligning with her thoughts. She started combing through traffic camera feeds from the estimated time of the kidnapping to pinpoint the location manually as she spoke.

"It was a woman with a French accent who called it in, and from the sound of the audio, she was suspiciously calm. Almost excited sounding, even." Barbara frowned, finding a suspicious looking beat-up brown van and several cars all driving to one warehouse approximately 3 hours and 28 minutes ago. "There was no mention or description of who exactly the kidnapped people were, though the caller implied she was one of them." There were no cameras pointing towards where they parked, and any security the disused warehouse had was either completely broken on or a closed circuit. She started back tracking the path of the van while she ran the license plates she managed to get from one of the higher quality traffic cams.

"Think it's a trap?" Red Robin asked. She hummed, chewing on the inside of her cheek for a moment. She started looking into the warehouse's utilities, searching for any any weirdly high power draws that would indicate a villain lair, but didn't find anything on that scale.

"I'm sending you the address, B." She said quickly, inputting it to the Batmobile's navigation system before answering Red. "There's not enough evidence to say, but I don't think it is a trap, exactly. All the information we have about the cult from previous reconnaissance doesn't indicate them being a setup, and the call, despite specifically mentioning the Commissioner, was for the police, not us." She checked the rout on the Batmobile's map against hers, looking it over for roadblocks.

"But it is suspicious." Red Robin replied, a calculating edge to his voice.

"But it is suspicious." She confirmed. Construction blocked off the block with the most direct route from Batman to the warehouse, looks like a fire in a machinery overlay facility that took out a corner of the building. The traffic cones and interspersed equipment would be little obstacle for Bruce the Broody Dad-Bat, though.

"Enroute, eleven minutes." Said the aforementioned Overprotective Flying Marsupial. Oracle looked at his tracker.

"Take a left in two blocks and you'll be there in eight." She typed in several commands and a new path showed up on his map. "Careful for the piles of bricks." A flash from another screen caught her attention and she turned her head.

Ah, good.

"Red, I'm sending you the address of where it looks like Hood was taken from. N, I'm sending you files for the owners of the cars that the cultists used. None of them have been reported stolen, so see if you can confirm or find anything incriminating we can give to the police." From their body cam footage, she could see Red pulling out his grapple gun and shooting off while Nightwing quickly looked through his wrist computer.

"What would we ever do without you, O?" Nightwing asked with a laugh, the first one since Hood turned up missing.

"Die, probably." Red Robin responded as he leapt off of a building. Oracle snorted.

"Probably." She agreed

Marinette was in position, crouched behind the cultists' table of junk and fridge of dubiously sourced blood. All of her traps were set and ready to go, the few she needed to activate all connected back to this one spot. She went over her mental checklist with a feeling of satisfaction.

Step One: Neutralize Lookouts, Check. Step Two: Gather Supplies, Check. Step Three: The Path of Least Resistance, Check. Step Four: Traps, Check.

It was a simple plan, though by no means easy. The bruises and rope burn had made friends with the muscle fatigue and aching joints from all the crawling, climbing, and carrying that she had done to get to this point. The close calls that made her heart race with adrenaline bled into giddy anticipation for the payoff. Finally, the culmination of all of her hard work was here.

Step Five: It All Falls Down.

She looked up, past the eye watering glare of the floodlight and directly at Red Hood. With squinting eyes and a toothy grin, she shot him a thumbs up. After a moment, he responded in kind, holding up the hose. Marinette looked back down, blinking a few times to clear the spots from her vision and then steeling herself with a deep breath.

Go time.

Creeping forward, Marinette reached the extension cord that powered the mini-fridge. The very same mini-fridge that filled the warehouse with the constant gurgling drone of an appliance on the edge of complete and utter non-function. With a quick and simple yank and a careful dive back behind cover, the warehouse suddenly descended into silence.

"... The hell?" One of the cultists that had been drawing runes into the edge of the circle muttered, looking up at the sudden quiet, quickly followed by the other three.

"What happened?" Dolly called from the other side of the circle, voice echoing as she stood up from where she rested against a large crate with Judgy.

"The fridge just turned off." Drawing Cultist number two said, setting down her protractor.

"Well no shit-" the third one said, before being cut off by the one in the red-trimmed potato sack.

"Figure it out without disrupting meditation, lest our hard work go to waste." He said in an excessively haughty voice that gave her flashbacks of a certain blond. Marinette couldn't see their faces, but from their posture she could deduce that the four drawing cultists and Dolly weren't too happy about this guy. If she had to guess, it would probably be because his version of 'hard work' consisted of sitting with his eyes closed and bossing people around.

Oh well, that's what you get for being in a cult that kidnapped people, I guess.

The four Drawing Cultists made their way over, two stopping next to the table, one going directly to the fridge, and the last hung back with their arms crossed, just beside one of the meditating cultists. Marinette shifted, hand wrapping around the first fishing line, pulling it until it was just taught.

"Hey, who unplugged-" the cultist never got to finish their sentence, as Marinette *yanked* the fishing line and four crates balanced on top of the catwalks above tipped. Then spilled...

Then it all fell down.

----

Jason had never been big on the Internet. Sure, it was beyond useful for investigative work, but from growing up poor, to living on the streets, to being dead, there wasn't much time for him to get immersed in 'internet culture', as Tim called it. But, he did remember one of Dick's attempts at 'brotherly bonding night' where he spent several hours putting up with far too many compilation videos meant to 'catch him up on what he missed while dead'. He remembered them, at this one very specific moment, because of the one 'Vine' Dick showed them of a rubber chicken falling off a roof. It had been mildly amusing at the time, enough keep him around longer than he otherwise would have stayed. He had even laughed a little, and made a joke about it being accurate to what Dick sounded like when pushed off of high places. The responding squawk from his adoptive brother proved his point perfectly, to the amusement of the rest of the room.

Jason was not laughing now.

If he had been asked before to imagine the bone chilling sound of hundreds of screaming rubber chickens falling through a warehouse like an unholy rain, nothing would have come close to the reality. He doubted anything could come close to reality; the single most unsettling sound he had ever heard freezing everyone in place with held breath as the screaming and thwaps of rubber hitting concrete stopped. That was, until the dolls activated.

From inside the dispersed mounds of toys and clouds of glitter slowly spreading over the floor in a way that reminded him of fear gas, more pairs of red eyes than he could count lit up like beacons, followed by laughter.

Screaming laughter.

Jason knows that if he wasn't hanging from chains at this moment, he would either be running or shooting. His fist clenched around the hose in his hand, and water started raining down below him. At the same time, he heard two separate thunks, followed by what sounded like a rain of vaguely spherical objects and confused screaming from below him.

White powder fell in a heap, coating the cultists and spreading over the floor near the table they had set up, and he remembered what the woman- Marinette- told him. Swallowing down the adrenaline induced haze, he aimed the water as the cultists scattered.

It was chaos.

The three cultists closest to the table had the most powder on them, and when they ran directly under the path of the water, something unexpected happened. The first one fell, foot stuck to the ground, and the other two tripped over them and didn't get back up again, writhing where they had ragdolled against the floor, stuck to it like a glue trap. The white powder got on two more, one of the people who were meditating and the person standing next to them. They ran, only getting partially soaked before they were out of range. They ran for the door behind Jason, clothes becoming stiff and sticky with glue, but not managing to fully stop them. They didn't get far, because as soon as they got to the border of the boxes they tripped over the balls of various sizes scattered over the floor. One fell to the side, catching themselves on a heavy crate while the other fell face first into the floor. Neither got back up, despite how much they struggled.

On the path next to them, two more cultists had tried to escape, but instead of sticking to the floor like the others, they slid on it. Crashing into each other, they both fell head first into a dusty tarp that seemed to swallow them whole as they fell into a pit. The cord of his mutilated grapple gun pulled taught, closing around the edges of the tarp, leaving only a single flailing leg sticking out of the top.

Across from him, on the longest and darkest path, the two cultists who were meant to be on watch followed behind a third at a dead sprint. They gained speed unhindered, until they were around twenty feet away from the door when the one in front hit a tripwire, stumbling but keeping momentum. But then they hit another tripwire.

And another tripwire.

And then another tripwire.

They managed to dodge by jumping over the last tripwire, only to miss the clothesline that hit them directly at neck height. The cultist fell, slamming their head on the ground, knocked out cold with a muted thud.

The two behind didn't stop for their friend, simply jumping over the prone form and ducking past the clothesline, speeding up for the last stretch to the door. They almost made it, but we're stopped dead by the web of fishing line and stacks of pallets that collapsed around the two, trapping them in a tangle of limbs and splinters.

Just behind them, almost at the same time another cultists barely dodged a paint can swinging down from the rafters, only to be buried under the resulting cascade of paint cans that spilled from two huge pallets. The one behind skid to a stop and backpedaled, watching four of their companions go down trying to get out that way. They then turned around, seeing a fifth person groaning on the ground stuck to a mat of tape they fell on after running through another series of tripwires and singular clothesline. In a panicked haze, they looked around until spotting a couple of others at the truck door that wasn't blocked off, trying to open it. The panicking cultist rushed over just as they managed to crack it open, incidentally causing a veritable avalanche of boxes and crates to fall on all three.

There were three left standing. The one with red trim, who was yelling obscenities while standing in the middle of their half done ritual, and the two who were walking through the minefield of tripping hazards that got the ones half-covered in glue. They reached the other side without falling within just a few seconds of each other, the one who got there first sprinting forwards and throwing open the door with a screech of rusted hinges.

Then was promptly knocked the fuck out by a boot to the face.

The last one made it out the door, then screamed. Their footsteps fell silent.

Jason was gaping.

Holy... Fucking... Shit...

Below him, he heard cackling. Not the unsettling, mechanical and screaming laughter of the joker dolls, but the nearly evil delighted glee coming from the small blue-haired woman dancing around with a monkey wrench the size of her arm held in one hand. Her high ponytail bounced behind her, covered in cobwebs and dust. Her clothes were rumpled and dirty, and even from this distance her arms looked like she went ten rounds with an octopus and lost. But despite this, she was practically glowing.

"IT WORKED, YES!!! HAHA!" She shouted out, twirling out from behind her wall of boxes, head whipping around in every direction, taking it all in. The lead cultist whirled around, gaze locking onto her.

"YOU!" He shouted in outrage, immediately charging at the much smaller woman. Jason sucked in a breath, whether to warn her or just shout, he is not sure, but the sound never left his throat.

Marinette turned her feral grin on the charging cultist, and when he was in range, swung her heavy monkey wrench and hit him right in the shoulder. Jason could hear the bone snap. She hit him again, this time in the stomach with a forwards jab, then another swing to the knee with a sickening crunch, taking him down completely and then stepping far enough away he couldn't reach her, just in case. She spun, turning to look directly at him.

"You still think I'm adorable and harmless, Hood?!" She shouted up at him, dropping the wrench with a heavy thunk. "I told you that you would eat your words," she threw her arms out wide "Now eat them and weep!" She cackled madly, not waiting for an answer as she turned and skipped away. Skipped.

Jason was left speechless, open mouthed and hanging above the groaning and unconscious cultists who had kidnapped and were prepared to sacrifice him with only one thought.

I think I might be in love.

The Batmobile skid to a stop in front of the warehouse and he practically flew out of it. The outside was dark, but he could see light seeping out through broken and dirty windows and hear a commotion coming from the inside. He ran towards the closest door, only to be mildly surprised as it was thrown open with a near deafening screech of the hinges when he was still a few paces away. The surprise didn't stop, because even as he was getting into a fighting stance, the person(whom he identified as one of the cultists his sons were investigating) was knocked out by a boot swinging down from the crude mechanism he only barely had time to noticed before it activated.

… What?

Pushing his confusion and surprise away, he focused on the second cultist that came running through the loudly closing door. They made it a few steps out before noticing him in the dim lighting. Expression already contorted in fear and panic, the shock of seeing Batman standing in their way was too much, and they screamed.

Bruce punched them in the face, then spent a few precious seconds zip tying their hands and feet so they couldn't escape when they woke up. Creeping forward to the door that was held open by the unconscious body of the first cultist, he peered inside to where he could hear a woman's manic laughter. Once he did, he stopped to take it all in.

His son, in full gear, was hanging from the ceiling, wrapped in chains and holding a leaking garden hose. Below him was a small woman covered in dirt and injuries, laughing maniacally as she stood above an even more injured cultist who was trying to crawl away with one arm, and another pile of people somehow stuck to the ground. He could see a hole of some kind to the left with a single still-moving leg sticking upwards, and to the right two people splayed out like ragdolls. He could hear muffled arguing and curses from the other side of the warehouse, along with creaks of pallets and groaning from underneath piles of boxes. Bruce felt a very familiar feeling creeping over him, one his kids loved to induce for the sole purpose of causing grey hairs.

What the hell happened?

But this time, it wasn't one of his kids who were responsible. He watched as the woman turned, looking directly at Jason and yelling up at him.

"You still think I'm adorable and harmless, Hood?! I told you that you would eat your words, now eat them and weep!" Then she cackled madly, turned, and skipped through to the opposite side of the building.

Well, Bruce thought with a restrained sigh, maybe he was at least a little responsible.

Bruce slid through the door, creeping around the edges of the circle before emerging from the shadows in front of his son. Hood jerked, whipping his head from where he was staring after the woman to Batman. He grunted, clearing his throat before speaking.

"Uh, hi- hey." Jason cleared his throat again, attempting for casual and failing miserably. "How's- uh, how's it goin'?" he stammered, glancing back to where the woman disappeared. Stammered. Bruce didn't answer, tilting his head and scanning the carnage again, before spotting the loop of rope hanging next to his son.

"...How long have you been here?" His tone was harder to decipher with the voice modulator, but Bruce would recognize it easily from any one of his children. Jason was flustered.

"B?" Hood asked, unsettled as a small grin grew on The Batman's face. Whoever that woman was, whatever Jason said to her to cause this reaction, Bruce would likely thank her for the opportunity to get back at one of his children for all the grief they cause him. Uncrossing his arms, Bruce pulled a phone out of his belt pouch. "B? B don't you fucking dare-" He still didn't respond, holding up the device with one hand, and snapping a picture. Ignoring his son's vehement protests, he sent the photo to Alfred with the attached message:

B: please print and frame this for display in the cave.

A: Of course, Sir. I suppose the bulletproof frames will come in useful after all.

Red Hood continued to swear, attempting to spray him with water from the hose he still held tightly in hand. Bruce just put the phone away and reached up to tap his comm with his small smile still in place.

"Oracle, please send Nightwing and Red Robin to my location." He said calmly, concerned exclamations immediately coming through only to be drowned out by Hood's booming voice.

"B, DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!"

#MLBxDC #mlb x dc #jasonette #maribat #Feral Marinette #my writing #this took me literally six months to write #Jason Todd #marinette dupain cheng #Jason Todd x Marinette Dupain-Cheng

[mochinek0]

Time to Go

Marinette had known since she was born that she was the only daughter of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul. She was also Damian's little sister, by three years.

When the strike on Ra's Al Ghul was taken, Talia quickly hid her away. Marinette knew her family's lives were on the line. She knew Damian would be on the front lines and prayed for his safe return. Although she knew she wasn't her grandfather's favorite, she still mourned his death. Damian seemed to take it especially hard.

Talia had told Marinette and Damian that they would be seperated for the time being. She needed Damian to go with his father to continue his training, while she picked up the pieces of the League.

"What about me, Mother?" Mari questioned.

"You will be on a mission, all of your own." Talia explained, "You're mission is to go undercover. You will act as a daughter of other people. This will keep you safe. Not many know of your existence, but I need to make sure all that wish to harm us, are gone."

"I do not approve of this." Damian snarled.

"I understand." Talia whispered, "I have folders for each of you with detailed instructions. Until you are in your new lodgings, you are not to open them."

Marinette nodded sadly and cried herself to sleep in her big brother's arms. She knew it would be a while before she saw him again. Talia gave them their moment. It hurt her dearly to tear her children apart, but Slade had to pay for his crimes. The League had to be rebuilt and become stronger than ever to give them both their inheritance. With Ra's gone, she would train Marinette to become as deadly as her, when she came of age.

Marinette smiled at the envelope in her hand.

'Another letter from mother. I wonder what my orders are this time.'

Marinette,

The time has come for your father to pick you up. He and Damian will pick you up in three days time. Prepare for his arrival.

Marinette smiled, happily. Lila had been a pain in the ass, as of late. Sabine and Tom took everything her so-called friends said at face value. They would laugh at the implications over dinner. Marinette would tell them all of the lies and how brainless the class truly was. They both knew that if Marinette was really bullying Lila, she could have done far worse. Tom and Sabine had disagreed with Adrien's decleration, but told Mairnette to keep the piece while they reached out to Talia. Only her mother's orders were absolute. If her mother said she could kill her, they wouldn't stand in her way.

"Maman. Papa." Marinette called out.

"So, what did the letter say this time?" Sabine asked.

"Father and Brother will be here in three days time to retrieve me." she answered.

"Well, let's start pulling you out of that horrible school and get ou all packed up." Tom laughed, "I'm sure they will be happy to see you."

'Damian, perhaps. Father; I don't know if he even knows of my existence. Surprise, Father.'

Bruce sighed, "What do you mean you have a sister?"

"It's just as I stated." Damian declared, "Mother has insisted it is safe to retrieve her."

"You've been talking to Talia?" Dick questioned.

"No." the young Wayne heir answered, "She gave us both instructions before we left."

Damian held up the letter.

"There are certain dates for me to open these letters." he explained, "Most of them coincide with our birthdays. Today is Marinette's; she turns fifteen."

"So where is she?" Jason asked.

"Paris, France." Damian stated, "She has been under watchful eyes and was assigned to live as a normal child. No assassin work. Grandfather wasn't too happy that he didn't have two grandsons. Mother taught her self-defense, but she helped out around, mostly as a servant. I was to ignore her if I saw her unless we were alone."

Bruce rubbed his head.

"I have already prepared another room, Sir." Alfred smiled.

"Please, don't let there be two of him." Tim pleaded as Bruce stood up and walked out of the cave to pack.

Marinette handed over her ledger of Lila Rossi to Bruce.

"The school needs to choose their staff more carefully." she spoke, "Tom and Sabine have tried stepping in with the Principal, but I bellieve the Board needs to know what is going on under their noses.

Bruce looked at it and quickly read through it.

"I agree." he snarled, "I'll be taking it with me to the board. I need to legally sign you out of that school, anyways."

Marinette turned to her brother and hugged him.

"I missed you." she whispered.

Damian said nothing, but held her close.

Tom and Sabine stood by as they watch the girl they help raise, reunite with her family. Marinette let go and realized they were holding something.

"We have a copy of all of the recipes we've made over the years." Sabine declared, "Both in the bakery and just for the house."

"Family eyes only." Tom smiled.

"Thank you." Marinette replied, taking it and holding it close to her chest.

"I will make sure it is handed over to our grandfather and he will keep it locked up and safe." Damian declared.

Tom and Sabine smiled.

"I need to take my stuff back to the school." Mari spoke up.

"Go." Damian replied, "Father should return soon. I will tell him where you are and we will meet you there. I will put your belongings in the car so we can leave immediately."

Marinette walked into class and handed her class books over to Ms. Bustier.

"Marinette, why-" Caline began to question.

"I resign as class president." Mari announced.

"What?" Caline whispered in shock.

"Marinette?" Adrien called out, "Are you okay?"

"Is this why you haven't been in school?" Alya asked.

Caline laughed awkwardly, "Marinette, I'm sure-"

"I will be leaving this school, as of today." she announced, leaving the class stunned.

"Oh, Marinette!" Lila called out, standing up, "Did I do something? I only wanted to be friends!"

"Yeah!" shouted Kim, "What the hell?"

"I'll be moving in with my birth father and older brother." Marinette stated, "Mother says it is time for me to go with them."

"Sabine kicked you out?" Adrien questioned, confused.

"Sabine and Tom are my guardians, not my parents." Mari declared, "My birth father listened to me. I have always had a keen eye for detail, as many of you know from asking me to design for them."

"Are you till going on about 'Lila stealing from you'?" Alya asked, "We know it was you who stole!"

Lila paled and sat back down in her seat.

'What?'

Marinette looked at Lila and smiled, "Why do you think Ms. Bustier doesn't want me to stop being class president? It's because I make detailed plans for all the school trips, fundraisers, plan the fire drills, and escape routes. I even know where everything in this school is, including the security cameras. I have kept a record of every lie you said sice you got here, where and when. My father turned the evidence over to the Board of Governers."

Lila's jaw dropped.

"If the cameras aren't working, then they'll just go after that gullible man. Pretty sure embezzlement won't keep him in position." Mari shrugged.

"Huh?" asked Nino.

"How many times do you think the mayor pays him to look the other way when Chloe's being a bitch?" Marinette declared.

"Excuse me!" Chloe shouted.

"Maybe Lila can lend you her hearing aids." Marinette retorted.

"This is why you're a bully." Alix glared at her.

Marinette simply smiled.

Bruce and Damian walked in. Chloe smoothed her clothes and fluffed her hair, quickly. She stood up and smiled.

"I'm-" She spoke.

"Your voice is like nails on a chalk board." Damian commanded, "Be silent."

Chloe closed her mouth and sat down in embarassment, leaving everyone speechless.

Marinette giggled, "You always did know how to make an entrance, Big Brother."

Chloe's jaw dropped.

'She's a Wayne!'

Marinette turned and smiled at Chloe, "Goodbye, Daddy's Little Princess." before turning back to her family, "Father, I am ready to return home."

"Very well." Bruce spoke.

All three of them left the class without another word. There was a lot they had to discuss. As far as Bruce knew, Marinette had no idea about him being Batman and Damian being Robin. She had grown up with some semblance of a normal life and he wanted to keep it that way.

The class looked at the door confused.

"Chloe?" whispered Sabrina.

"Shit!" Chloe screamed, slamming her fists onto the desk.

"Chloe, are you okay?" asked Kim.

"No!" she yelled back, "Do I look okay? So you know-You don't know who they are? Of course you Pea Brains, don't! That was Bruce and Damian Wayne. Which makes.....Baker Girl is one of the richest people in the world."

Lila sat in her seat, enraged.

'What?'

"What?" questioned Alya.

"They have more money than mine and Adrikins' family combined." she scoffed, "Her father could buy Daddy's hotel like it was nothing!"

"But-" whispered Mylene.

"Marinette is a Wayne." Chloe stated, "The Waynes own an international business and have their hands in everything. They are old money. Bruce Wayne practically owns a whole city and just doesn't wanna be mayor."

"What about her brother?" asked Alix.

"He's known for being violent and lashing out. He hates the press." she remarked, "One thing about him on social media and he hunts you down and sues you."

"That's illegal." Alya claimed.

"Sorry. Would you prefer to be thrown in jail or settle for a million dollars to delete what you have?" the heiress questioned, "The Wayne family is known for the high IQ and attention to detail, which means....we're all screwed."

The class learned that everything Marinette had said was true. Lila's lies were all exposed. She was expelled and taken to a juvenile detention center, ontop of being sued by various people. Principal Damocles had been fired, as he had zero authority to expell anyone. Their teacher, Caline Bustier, was fired for not doing her job. She never informed the nurse about Lila's illnesses or disabilities, so there was never any confirmation that any of those were true. She also never sent Lila any homework during her 'travels' and so she was far behind the class in her studies.

Chloe believed she was suffering the most. Adrien was no longer in school with her. The people that let her do what she wanted was removed from the school and she was being forced to sell clothes out of her closet because her mother was upset by how much she 'embarassed them' in front of the Waynes.

'Stupid Marinette! This is all her fault! If she had just acted rich, like me, everything would be the same as it always was.'

The class was in disarray. Not only had Ms. Bustier let Lila slide on so many things, she was behind on their lessons as well. They now had mandatory after school tutoring and study sessions. Adrien Agreste had been pulled out of the class due to his high marks. He was also at the level they all should have been at.

"Dude, how did you pass?" Nino asked, "We all listened to Miss Bustier! You're higher than anyone, including Max!"

"Well, I was homeschooled and Natalie was a tough teacher compared to Miss Bustier. Also, I wanted to be at the same grade level as Chloe. I sorta knew mostly everything, already." Adrien admitted, "I actually could have skipped a few grades if I wanted to."

Nino was surprised, "Would you be willing to tutor us?"

"I wish I could but the board made me take a test and Father demanded I answer every question I knew correctly." Adrien sighed, "I'll be going to high school and if I continue the way I am now, I'm set to graduate in two years."

They realized it would never be the same. Everyone else still had four or five years until they graduated. 

Bruce thought that another child would tip the balance of the manor, but he was wrong. It felt like all they had been missing, was her. She adjusted perfectly to the chaos. His sons insisted that Marinette learn self-defense, at the very least. She refused to walk in their footsteps and become Robin or any other sort of vigilante. It hadn't taken long for Marinette to be announced as Bruce Wayne's daughter and Damian's long lost biological sister. Marinette had taken Gotham by storm as Gotham's Angel and was designing under a new alias: Serpentine. She was taking the fashion world by storm.

Everyone loved having Marinette around, but Damian Al-Ghul Wayne knew better. Marinette was as deceiving as their mother. She looked innocent in everything she did, but her mind was a war zone. Their grandfather never appreciated her mind, but he had gotten some of his best stealth mission ideas after talking with her. He could see her slithering into every crack in their new home. She was flexible like Grayson, loved motorcycles like Todd, talked business with Father and Drake. She even won over Alfred, Brown and Cain with her cooking and baking skills.

Damian watched as Marinette smiled at her computer. The look at the screen, the smile; it was his mother's smile. He could see Gabriel stocks were plummeting after their reunion in Paris. Style Queen was barely hovering above water. For Marinette, it was never about becoming Robin. It was about ruling the world and she was going do it through fashion.

Damian would never tell anyone, but he was scared of his little sister and he would take it to his grave. The smile that would lead anyone to death: The Arabian Helen of Troy.

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#marinette dupain cheng #marinette al ghul #bruce wayne #bio!dad au #bio dad bruce wayne #damian wayne #platonic daminette #damian al ghul #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #alternate universe #talia al ghul #class salt #lila rossi #lila exposed #chloe salt sprinkled #batfam #dick greyson #big brother tim #jason todd #alfred pennyworth #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #ruler of fashion #queen marinette #don't mess with marinette al ghul #damian scared #mochinek0

[raeuberprinzessin]

Dick, excitedly showing his newest little sister Marinette the Batcave: This is the Batcave! Overe there is the Batcomputer and here we sharpen our Batarangs. On this side are the Batbikes and if you follow this path you'll find the Batplane. And right here is the Batmobile! Isn't it amazing? We should totally take you on a joy ride with it, don't you agree? What do you say?

Marinette, slowly taking it all in: I feel like you were going for a theme with this ... Let me guess? Moody broody late-pubescent goth?

Alfred: Very well said, Miss Marinette.

Jason, peering at a stricken-looking Bruce: Well, I guess trying to show off how cool you are to your new daughter might not go as planned. Any contingencies, old man?

Tim: Going off of experience, it's having a moody brooding session in the dark cave. You know, like a late-pubescent goth.

Bruce, murmuring: I didn't even name most of these things, why am I getting attacked?

#maribat #maribat marinette dupain cheng #mlb x batman #mlb x dc #maribat bio dad bruce #maribat dick grayson #maribat alfred pennyworth #maribat jason todd #maribat tim drake #maribat bruce wayne #to the justice league batman might be this hyper competent one-person-army #but to his kids he's just their slightly awkward dad #and they roast him into oblivion #that's how they show their love to each other #no one else is allowed to say things like that about him #maribat incorrect quotes #incorrect quotes

[lily-drake]

It’s a Learned Trait

This is my Secret Santa gift to Night_ngale on Ao3! This story is inspired by this photo by @mumblesplash on Tumblr (yes I got permission, and thank you for it!):

For Night_ngale on Ao3:

Marinette had been having a wonderful day with her parents in Gotham, New Jersey.  Her parents had just finished a catering job there and today they had decided to go sightseeing to all of the tourist attractions.  They had taken her to the zoo, to the aquarium, to the museum, and now they were heading to a bo-ton-tanicel-al…. botanical garden!  Both of her parents were holding her hands and smiling brightly at her as they walked the busy streets.  It was such a nice day, absolutely nothing could ruin it for her!

Then an explosion happened, and there was running, and a ringing noise in her ears that just wouldn’t stop, and everything was moving too fast.  

Screams filled the air along with scary high pitched giggling that sent shivers running through her spine.  She clutched tightly to the pair of hands that held onto both of her’s just as tightly, if not tighter, as they fled the crowded streets.  Then they could feel the cool shadow of something big that was coming from up high.  She looked up and felt herself freeze up as a massive piece of concrete broke off of the building they were under and fell faster and faster and faster exactly where she and her parents stood.  She tried to move, she tried to get herself to run away from the danger that she knew even at her age meant that she would no longer be able to wander the Earth; but she couldn’t.  The people kept shoving past her and her parents, keeping them in place as everyone pushed and shoved to get far, far away from the ensuing chaos.  The crowd was too thick, the screams were too loud, the rubble was too fast.  The next thing she knew was two pairs of different sized hands shoved her forward away from the massive pieces of falling debris that was right above them.  She turned to look behind her to see her parents' horrified expressions as they too stared up at the ginormous piece of concrete that was hurtling towards them and so many more people.  People kept almost stepping on her and crowding her vision of her parents and they moved before she could blink.  

Before she could even process what happened next, someone had picked her up and moved her away before quickly covering her eyes.  A few seconds later a loud crash was heard and the ground shook so hard she would have fallen over if the person hadn’t been keeping her upright.  Once the shaking was over the person that had rescued her picked her up, holding tightly onto her as they moved their hand up and the sound of something being shot through the air sounded just above her.

“It’s ok, I’ve gotcha.”

Said a deep gruff voice, though she could barely hear it as the cold wind whipped past her ears biting at her skin.  Her knee length pink dress hugged her legs as her brain refused to function and process the events that had just occurred.  She felt her feet touch solid ground, but her legs didn’t seem to want to hold her as her brain continued to stay offline.  She couldn’t think, couldn’t comprehend, and would the ringing in her ears just stop!  Where were her mama and papa?!  What happened to them?!  

It sounded like someone was trying to talk to her, but she was underwater and she couldn’t hear a thing, she couldn’t even see what was in front of her clearly.  Her entire body felt like it was weighted down, the pressure slowly crushing her.   She couldn’t even think, her brain was just too quiet and the ringing was too loud!  There was too much, too much noise, too much quiet, too much information yet not enough at all!  She kept going down deeper with nothing to ground her fleeting thoughts until she felt something heavy being placed around her shoulders.  Her eyes slowly began to register her surroundings and, after who knew how long, she was met with deep light teal eyes that were filled with worry.  Their face was obscured by a red mask, but she could still make out most of his features.  He had dark black hair with a white streak in it.  She didn’t know why this was important, all she knew was that she had to keep looking at him.  It was like if she looked away from him then everything would get all fuzzy again and she wouldn’t be able to think, and the ringing would take over her again even though it was still there!  Why can’t it stop, just make it stop, she wanted her mama and papa!  Where were they?!

“Hey, things will be ok.”

The masked man gently stated.  He kept eye contact with her, watching her to make sure she didn’t start to hyperventilate and that she wouldn’t go into shock.  He carefully pulled the jacket around her full body, carefully pulling her limp and dysfunctional arms into the jacket’s large sleeves.  He gave her a small reassuring smile while smoothing out the sleeves on the jacket, pressing the warmth of it onto her.  “Can you hold onto this for me?  I’ll be right back, ok?”

She simply nodded her head and held onto the jacket tightly like it was a lifeline.  He slowly grabbed a helmet that was on the ground near his legs and put it on.  “Don’t move ok, you’re safe now.”

He looked back at her then ran and jumped off…., oh, she was on a roof.  When did she get on a roof?  She hadn’t noticed.  She stood completely still, her mind causing the cacophony of noises to fade in and out.  She could hear screams and bangs, then nothing.  She could hear fighting and laughter, then the ringing came back.  The sounds often came close to the roof she was on; the fear of it made her legs so weak she eventually collapsed onto her knees as she clutched the jacket tighter than before.  Eventually her brain finally seemed to grasp the reality around her causing tears to start falling down her cheeks and sobs escaped her lips.  Her parents were dead, she was rescued, but th-they’re d-de-dead!  

Sobs wracked her small frame as the noises continued on for she doesn’t even know how long.  Every time there was a noise louder than the rest she pulled the jacket even tighter around her small body expecting the worst.  She wanted to escape, she wanted to hug her parents, she just wanted to go back home to Paris.  She wanted to go back to the bakery and eat the desserts her parents made, see Nino and Kim and play games with them, she wanted to go to the pretty gardens at the park and lay with the flowers.  

They were supposed to be happy, they were happy when they saw the pretty fishies, they were happy when they saw the amazing artifacts in the museum, papa had held her on his shoulders so she could see the giraffes better when they had taken her to the zoo.  Everything had been so perfect, why did everything change so fast?  Why did her mama and papa have to leave her like this?  Why was there no rain when such a terrible tragedy had just occurred like in the movies?

There was a soft thump that made her wrap the jacket even tighter, if that was even possible.  She didn’t want to get hurt, she just wanted her parents back.  “Hey, thanks for holding onto that for me.”

The man from before said.  She looked up, her eyes watery, making his figure blurry.  She saw him take off the helmet and set it down.  He looked sad and remorseful as he slowly sat next to her, but never reached out to touch her, instead remaining a comfortable presence.  “You from here?”

She slowly shook her head no.  “P-Paris.”

Her voice was cracked and broken.  Her parents had her study English with her French studies because of all of the tourists that came by.  Not to mention Mama said that if she wanted to be famous then she had to know English.  How would she get back to Paris?  Who would take her?  How was she supposed to survive without her mama and papa?!  She couldn’t, she needed them, now they’re gone and she’ll die here because she has nothing without them.  

“Paris is a nice place.  Have any friends there?”

She nodded again, the movement causing the drops on her cheek to drip onto the ground.  He stayed silent, waiting to see if she would do or say anything further.  She was glad he let her take her time, she was tired and her brain was still too loud and fuzzy to really understand his questions immediately.  Dejectedly she replied,  “N-Nino and K-Kim are my friends.  Th-they stand up t-to Chloe f-for me.  Everyo-one else is too scared of her an-and her daddy.”

He reached out to touch her, but quickly pulled back.  He wanted to comfort the small child, but he wasn’t sure how she would respond if he touched her.  She looked so small curled up in his jacket, it would have been cute if it weren’t for the circumstances that led to the scene in front of him.  “Sounds like you’ve got some good people lookin’ out for ya.”

He said, trying to sound reassuring.  She gave a small smile and nodded, “Y-yea.”

“Why don’t we go somewhere safe.  I know someone who will take care of ya for a bit, okay?”  Red Hood asked carefully.  She nodded again and was about to take her arms out of the sleeves of the warm jacket, but before she could fully take it off the man stopped her.  “Keep it, I’ve got a lot of others back home, and this is gonna keep you safe, ok?”

She nodded slowly, letting him adjust and zip it up so the warmth that still lingered in it was all around her.  He slowly stood up, projecting his movements so as to not scare her before he extended his hand for her to take.  She looked at it hesitantly, slowly reaching out and taking hold of his hand as she wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her free arm.  Her hand was so small that when he closed his her entire hand was encompassed by his own. He gently pulled her back onto her feet making sure she was stable before letting go.  “Hop on my back and hold on tight, ‘kay?”

He said softly–just like her mom used to when she was hurt–crouching down with his back facing her so she could climb on.  With a brief moment of hesitation, because what if this was a trap like Mama and Papa had warned her about, she carefully climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck and gripped onto his shirt.  It was a bit hard as there seemed to be something hard sewn into parts of it, but it was okay.  He slowly got up and made sure her legs were wrapped tightly around his torso so she wouldn't slip or fall off.  When he was sure she was secure, he grabbed something from one of his pockets, angled it.  There was a loud bang, like the one she had heard when he had first grabbed her, though that memory felt like it was from so many years ago, that startled her accompanied by a whiz as it shot into the air.  He pulled on the device he was using to make sure it was taught and secure, then he ran and jumped off the building.  

Marinette screamed in fear and buried her face into his shoulder, holding him even tighter than before.  She kept her eyes shut, feeling out the rhythm of run, jump, fall, swing.  Eventually she started to feel a little more comfortable swinging through the air, that was until they started to fall again.  She screamed again louder than the time before and heard the noise of the man’s device again before she felt the taut jolt that signified they were soaring through the air once more.  Slowly, she tilted her head up and saw how amazing the city looked with all of its shining lights so high up in the sky with the setting sun sinking behind the tall buildings.  Wasn’t it just past 13:00 though?  She had just eaten lunch with her mama and papa; hadn’t she…?

Suddenly the lights weren’t as amazing as they were before, they were dull and full of sorrow and loss.  She didn’t want to look down just in case she saw them, they wouldn’t look the same.  She didn’t want to look down because then she might fall, and she didn’t want to fall.  Heights have always been scary.  She held onto the man tighter, scared that if she loosened her grip even the smallest amount, she’d fall.

They continued on in that fashion for a few minutes when the man with the red helmet set her down on a balcony.  It was plain with a swirled black metal guard.  The roof was bland and lifeless with nothing decorating it other than the fence, she didn’t like it.  “I’ve got a friend here.  He’ll watch over you for a while, okay?”  She nodded slowly, unsure of whether she should be relieved someone would take her in or scared that this was all some sort of trap.  She watched and listened as the man climbed down a fire escape and began to tap on a window.

Tap

…

Tap tap

…..

Tap tap tap

Then he stepped back and waited.  Another man with red hair opened the window with a small smile, “What’s up Hood?” He asked in a casual voice.

“I need you to watch someone for me.”

The red-haired man raised a brow.

“Her parents didn’t make it in the last battle with Joker.  Lots of debris, and I don’t feel like having serial-adopter-bats see her.”

“Makes sense.  Where are they?” The other man asked with a small nod, looking around the escape.  The man in the helmet held up one finger and climbed back up to her.  

“Can you come with me please?”

Marinette gulped, unsure of what she should do.  But the man has been really nice to her so far, and he’s even letting her keep his jacket.  Slowly she reached out and took his offered hand, letting him help her down the fire escape to the window.

“Hey,”

The other man said in a soft tone,

“What's your name?”

She looked down, anxiously twirling her foot from side to side.  “M-Marinette.”  She replied quietly, voice strained.

“That’s a nice name, how old are you?”  His voice was soft and gentle and it made her feel a little more at ease.

“Nine.”

“Wow, you’re pretty old, huh?  I’m Roy, do you want to come in and eat something?  I just finished making some sandwiches.”  She looked back at the man that had brought her here and saw him give her a small nod.  She nodded back and shyly followed the red haired man into the apartment building.  “Do you want some water?”

She nodded again, standing near the island counter.  She looked back at the window where the man in the helmet had been only seconds before, only to see that he was no longer there.  The man nodded and quickly got a cup from a cupboard and filled it with some tap water before placing it on the counter near her with a small plate that held what looked like BLT.  “I have a roommate, he should come by soon.  Just as a heads up, ok?”

She nodded, carefully climbing up to the barstool and sat down.  Marinette looked at the sandwich and started picking at it.  She really wasn’t that hungry, but it would be rude to not accept her host's hospitality.  Her mama had taught her the importance of respecting people that were trying to help her, especially when she was at her friend’s home.  Tears she thought she had run out of started to resurface as she thought of her mama.  She sniffled and wiped her eyes before more could escape.  

Roy looked at her worriedly.  From what he had read from the text Jason had sent him, her parents were caught by falling debris from one of Joker’s bombs that the bats hadn’t been able to dismantle in time.  He had been able to pull her away, but her parents along with a bunch of other civilians weren’t able to make it out of the way in time.  Jason said that he had managed to cover her eyes and take her away before she could see anything, but he knew that wouldn’t be enough to stop any type of trauma from forming.  

The girl was so small, he could only imagine what must be going through her mind.  Not to mention she was only visiting from Paris, she wasn’t even from Gotham.  Apparently her parents were catering for one of Bruce’s events, and that was the only reason they had even traveled here in the first place.

“Hey, do you want to watch a movie?  I’m sure we could find something you’d like.”  She didn’t respond right away as she processed what he had asked. It didn’t matter though, he’d give her all the time she needed.

“R-Ratatouille?”  Was her small reply.  A smile graced his lips, as he asked,

“Is that your favorite Disney movie?”  She shrunk in on herself and nodded with a small, 

“Mhm.”

“That’s a great movie, let me ask Jason to pick it up when he comes back.  He should be here soon anyways.”

“Okay.”  

Her voice was so quiet, but he could hear the joy in her voice.  He quickly texted Jason to pick up the movie when he was done debriefing with The Bats and started to make another sandwich since she was eating his, not that he minded of course.  

•         •         •

Jason walks in with a bag full of gummy candy, popcorn, a box of different flavored macaroons, and one Disney movie in its unopened case and plastic wrapping.  He was thankful to see that the small girl was sitting at the counter drawing.  He wouldn’t know what to do if she were still crying.  “Hey, heard we’re takin’ care of another kid?  I bet Lian will be happy to have a new friend when she comes back from her sleepover.”

He called out into the apartment as if he had no idea what had happened only a few hours before.  The little girl startled from her seat, quickly turning to look at him with her large bluebell eyes.  He really needed to keep her away from Bruce, she was perfect Wayne material and he refused for her to be tainted by him and the rest of his adopted child army.

“Yea, Red Hood dropped her off due to….”  He glanced at the girl sympathetically, “The incident that happened earlier.”

Marinette shifted uncomfortably and went back to drawing with a furrowed brow.  There was a heavy silence that filled the room until Jason said, “Well, I bought a bunch of snacks and was told to buy a movie, so….”

Marinette looked up again and hopped off the chair nearly tripping.  She quickly stood up embarrassed as both boys stared at her in worry.

“You okay Marinette?”  Roy asked carefully, walking towards her.  Her cheeks turned a slight red as she nodded.

“Y-yes, sorry.  I’m really clumsy.”  Her voice held a French accent that only made the little girl even more adorable.  Jason gave her a wide smile and gently handed her the plastic grocery bag.  

“Here you go.”

She carefully took the bag with a small, “Thank you”, and started to look through it.  Her eyes shined with childlike glee at the macaroons and they shined even brighter when she pulled out the blue-ray disk.  She quickly ran over to Roy and showed him the movie asking if he could put it into whatever he uses.  

It was interesting to see Roy smile and ruffle her hair.  He looked calm and happy, used to the role of caretaker.  Gently he took the disk, removed the plastic before opening it up, and walked over to the TV in the main room next to the kitchen and popped the disk in. 

“Hey, I’ll go grab some blankets.  Do you want to take your shoes off Marinette?”  He asked gently as he moved toward the linen closet.  She nodded and slipped them off with a slightly flushed face.  She watched as Roy sunk down on the couch where he patted at one of the seats.  Cautiously she walked toward the coach sitting in a rocking chair a few feet away from Roy.  You could never be too cautious, at least that’s what her mama used to say.  “Used to”, that felt wrong. 

When Jason walked back into the room he watched as the small girl hugged her legs close to her chest, face hidden behind her arms.  It was a heartbreaking sight, a sight that felt familiar as it pulled against his heartstrings as he remembered doing the same thing around the same age. 

“Thanks Jaybird.”  Roy whispered as he took the blankets from his hands.  He hadn’t even noticed that he was approaching.  He was out of it today, and not in a good way.  The opening narration of Remmy the Rat began to play through the speakers as Roy slowly and carefully wrapped a weighted blanket around the young girl's shoulders.  He watched as Roy talked to her quietly for a few moments, never initiating touch, waiting to see what she would say or do.  It was always interesting to watch Roy act like a father as he treated his kid far differently than either of his dads had treated him.  After a few minutes Roy stepped away, back to his spot on the couch not saying another word as the young girl collected herself before looking up to watch the movie with tear soaked cheeks that stabbed at Jason’s heart.

•         •         •

It was around the middle of the movie that little Mari fell asleep.  She had slowly begun to relax as the movie progressed until she had blinked a few times very slowly, then her eyes fell and stayed shut. She was emotionally exhausted from the day and had simply passed out, poor kid.

Jason watched the kid, but not in a weird way.  He was worried, and he didn’t know what to do.  The kid was stuck here, despite the fact that she’s not a citizen, and from what little information he could find with little time at his disposal, he couldn’t find any family that could take her now that she was an orphan.  Jason wondered if this was how Bruce felt when he had met all of them before he decided to make them his little band of misfit toys.  He often felt this way when he saw Lian, but it was never as strong of an emotion as he felt now for this child he had only met a few hours ago.

“You look constipated; which means you’re trying a failing to show some form of deep emotion.  So spit it out, what’s going on in that thick skull of yours?”

Roy asked quietly, turning his head slightly to give him a side eye before turning back to the movie.  Jason rolled his eyes and let out a long frustrated sigh.  “I don’t know Roy.  There’s just a lot going on, especially after the last attack.”

Roy quickly paused the movie and turned to look Jason in his eyes.  There wasn’t any pity in his gaze, but there was empathy and an openness that showed he wouldn’t judge.

“It was Joker’s fault.  So many people died because of the Joker, her parents,” he firmly gestured to the sleeping girl with tear stained cheeks sleeping on the small chair, whisper yelling so as to not wake her; “are no longer alive because of his actions today and Bruce still won’t get rid of him.”  Jason took in a deep shuddering breath, he needed to control himself, he couldn’t let the green creep in.  That wouldn’t do anything, it wouldn’t do any good for anyone, especially right now.

“I’ve tried to kill him,”  Jason admitted shakily, “I’ve tried, but he always finds a way to stop me.  I don’t understand how he cares for that-that creature more than his own- than me.”  A heavy silence fell between them only broken up by the gentle snores to their right.  

“I don’t want her to feel this way, I don’t want her to go through the same pain I went through at her age.”  Jason continued.  When I was trying to find out any information on her, a potential family member that could take her home I found that her grandmother on her dad’s side died in a motorcycle accident, her grandfather died of a heart attack, on her mom’s side it looks like her mother was disowned for unknown reasons, which means that they probably would not take in her daughter.  That leaves her with Social Services, and despite Bruce’s efforts I still don’t trust it; or as a street kid.”

Roy contemplated everything that Jason had just told him.  They had been through a lot together, in fact Jason and Star were the reasons that he was still alive, the reason he believed that he was doing a good job at being a father, they helped him keep going when everyone else had given up on him.  Roy glanced at the sleeping girl, then back to Jason.  Jason looked at the girl the same way Roy looked at his own daughter, with a sort of protective love.  Roy could tell that Jason cared about the kid; he probably saw himself Marinette.  It only made sense that he would feel extra protective around the girl as no one would want the same trauma that you’ve faced placed onto another.  

“Well, what do you think is the best thing to do Jason?  I know for a fact that you’re not going to be letting Bruce or any of the other bats, besides maybe Oracle, anywhere near her.  If what you say is true, and she really has no family that will willingly take her in, then what’s your plan?”

Another sigh escaped Jason as he leaned his head back so that it was hanging off the couch. “I don’t know Roy, maybe we can drop her off in Metropolis and let her be taken care of there.  They have a better system and I’m sure she would  be adopted by someone that would love her.”

Roy nodded, he could see the good in the plan, but there was something else.  Jason was still frustrated and didn’t like the idea.  “But?”  He prodded.

“‘But’,” Jason said emphasizing the ‘t’, “the thought of doing that makes my skin crawl in all of the wrong ways.”

Roy hummed.  This isn't some easy or light hearted task.  The kid had just lost both of her parents in the most sudden way possible, then she was taken away from the area and to the house of complete strangers, and to top it off she may never be able to return to her home country; but if she does she would be put into the foster system with no stability ot time to heal.  Of course she also had the possibility of being taken in by her grandparents in China, but there was a chance that they would treat her poorly since they had disowned her mother, and they may only take her in because of obligation.  Nothing about this was easy, none of it was simple.  If Jason wanted to somehow become her legal guardian then he would need to earn her trust, he would have to either legally become alive again or find a believable identity that would allow for him to adopt her.  

There were just so many variables, and it was too late for this conversation, yet not late enough.  

“Lian’s coming home tomorrow, we can figure this out while they play.”

Jason nodded, mostly to himself.  “You’re right.  We need to give her more time to process everything, I still need to process today.”

“Did you have a panic attack?” Roy asked worriedly.  Now that he was thinking about it there must have been lots of explosions, even if most of them were disabled.  Then there was the clown and how he just paraded around on the rooftops.  Jason had had a few before when he returned back to the apartment after a Joker breakout, it was horrifying.  Jason just gave him a sad, strained smile.

“No, thankfully.”

“Right,”  Roy said as he slowly stood up, stretching his arms up dramatically. “Well let's move her to Kori’s room tonight.  She’s still visiting Tamaran.”

Jason nodded, following suit.  Slowly he approached the sleeping girl, televising his movements despite the fact that she was still asleep before gently picking the girl up.  Roy watched with a gentle smile as he slowly walked to Kori’s room, trying not to wake her as he brought her to bed.  He had watched Jason do the same thing with Lian, playing the role of older brother perfectly.  Now, it looked like he might be stepping into a new role.  The same role that Roy carried right now.  But who knew what would happen.  As Roy settled in for the night in his own room a sudden thought came to his mind.  Jason was always complaining how Bruce had a “type” or MO for the people he really cared about; and that was that they needed to have black hair and/or blue eyes.  The girl that Jason saved and now is attached to has black hair and…blue eyes.  He quickly turned into his pillow and started laughing his butt of, hoping that no one would be able to hear him.  A couple tears slipped down his cheeks as he thought to himself, ‘so it’s a learned trait after all.’

Taglist:

@maribat-secret-santa @aespades @adrestar @astrynyx @doll246 @queenz-z @toodaloo-kangaroo @crazylittlemunchkin @seraphichana @miraculous-ninjabird @dorkus-minimus @mysticsoulgirl @ritacrow-blog @snow-leopard-777 @fidget-eep @sometandomstuff333 @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @shreeing @achaoticmess1 @miraculous-ninjabird @liquid-luck-00 @buginetye @stainedglassm @prettylittlebutterflie @laurcad123 @iloontjeboontje @heartsong18 @raeuberprinzessin @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @jennifer-rose123 @moon5608 @corporeal-terrestrial @skitarii-alpha-c6-555 @saltysugarysembei @phantom120 @kking13 @depressed-bitchy-demon @a-slytherinish-gryffindor

#maribat #maribat secret santa 2022 #protective jason todd #jason todd #marinette dupain cheng #child!marinette #adult!jason #roy harper #platonic maribat #platonic jasonette #jason may or may not adopt mari #dc x mlb #mlb x batman #angst #fluff #character death #not major #marinette needs a hug #jason needs a hug #Marinette needs therapy #merry christmas #happy holidays #can’t believe 2022 is almost over #Roy and Jason are not dating #They are brothers #in spirit #the best family #is found famliy #can’t change my mind

[saturnrin]

Okay but.. Jasonette is so good.

Like, Jason Todd is in desperate need of someone he can feel emotionally safe and vulnerable with. Someone he can open up to without judgment. Someone to be gentle and kind and compassionate and loving towards him. And Marinette is all of the above and more.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is so used to carrying everything on her shoulders, being alone, not feeling safe. She's used to being the only one defending herself, the only one protecting herself. Marinette sees herself as the only one she can completely count on.

But, when Marinettes around Jason? She knows she's safe. She can relax because Jason can and will protect her physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. She knows no harm can come to her when he's around, and he knows that she can and will do the same for him.

They know that they can protect themselves on their own, but when they're with each other, they don't have to. When they're together, Jason and Marinette protect one another and trust that they have each others backs.

They're exactly what the other needs.

Plus, I love the idea of Jason reading his favorite books to her.

Sometimes, Jason would go full story mode, doing funny voices and making grand gestures, doing everything he could to make the story more interesting.

Other times, they'd both be cuddled up together, reading the book together, while Jason murmurs the words oh so sweetly into her ear.

It's adorable. They're adorable. I love them.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #ml #mlb #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #jasonette #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #jason todd #red hood

[littleinkling64]

Jasonette post Jason telling her the how-I-met-Batman story:

Jason: so there I was, nearly finished with the fourth tire-- Nettie: ....don't take this the wrong way, but this is sounding very on-brand for you so far

oof it's been a while since I've actively drawn....had some stuff going on so I've been busy lol and wouldn't ya know it, art requires you to actually sit down for a bit :o

but since I'm here, might be a good time to say I'm working on the next tailor drabble! it's happening slowly, but it's happening, so there's that :D

#maribat #mlb x dc #dc x mlb #jasonette #jason todd #marinette dupain cheng #the tailor

[adeva-eira]

Ladybug(to her com): Tikki, call Daddy.

Nightwing: What? You still call your Dad 'Daddy'?

Jason(via com): Heya Pixie!

Nightwing: o-o

Ladybug: ôwô

#dc x miraculous #maribat #marinette x batfam #miraculous x dc #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #marinette dupain cheng #jasonette #dickinette #nightwing #dick grayson #miraculous ladybug #merry fucking christmas #dc fanart #batfam #jason todd #red hood

[ghostdoodlen]

I find joy in taking Tim's coffee away.

Jason had the honors of tranking him.

#maribat #mlb #batman fandom #jason todd #marinette dupain cheng #marinette dupen chang #tim drake #say goodbye to his coffee #alfred is not amused #ibispaintx #mlb x dc #mlb x batman #dc x mlb #coffee #Marinette is tired #i am tired #its 1:52 am #goodnight #my art #Ash's doodles

[queenkaiju]

Lover

Maribat March - Prompt 21

~

Red Hood had only been in control of the Gotham drug scene for a year when she was first spotted. At first, the goon who'd seen her had thought he was hallucinating. After all, this brightly dressed woman just strutted into the Red Hood's lair like she owned the place. Bill had rushed to inform the boss that their hideout had been breached, but he was unavailable. He reluctantly retreated back to his post, anxiously awaiting the alarm. But it never came.

Bill told the other henchman, but none of them believed him. Surely, the intruder would've been caught.

He didn't dare try to tell the boss himself.

Then it happened again, though this time, she stopped to talk. She handed out cookies and told them to tuck in their shirts! The goons couldn't believe it. As soon as she came, the strange pixie left, the people she left behind stunned. Rumors started spreading about the nice woman who licked her thumb to wipe the gunk off of one of their faces.

Everyone believed Bill after that.

Red Hood had an important meeting with other crime bosses, and all the henchmen were in a state of panic, trying to make sure everything would run smoothly. The boss always got grumpy when these meetings came around, and a grumpy Red Hood was a scary Red Hood.

A resounding crash echoed through the warehouse, silence blanketing them all. Red Hood slowly turned the blank white gaze of his helmet toward the source, a poor Bill standing next to a toppled crate of the weaponry shipment… that was supposed to go out tonight.

Red Hood's deep, robotic sigh was heard on the other end of the warehouse, making several of the newer goons require new underpants.

"Oh no, what happened here?"

And just like that, they were saved. There she was, in all her five-foot-two glory, their guardian pixie frowning at the mess. Red Hood sharply inhaled, turning to face the woman. "Marinette?"

For the first time, Red Hood took off his helmet, revealing a baby-ish face, a domino mask, and black hair with a shock of white. Wait, he knew this woman?

Marinette smiled, striding towards him from the doorway she was standing in. "Hey, mon chere."

Mon chere?!

Red Hood cleared his throat nervously, blush rising to his cheeks. "W-What are you doing here?"

Marinette reached into her oversized purse and pulled out a handgun. "You forgot this." She said sweetly, passing it to him. Bill wasn't thinking all that clearly and spoke up over the silence. "You know her, boss?"

"Wha-? Of course I do- wait, do you?!" Red Hood turned toward Marinette, receiving a sheepish smile in return. "Well," She started, hands clasped behind her back. "You're not always available when I come to see you, and I happened to have some leftover cookies from movie night, so I passed them out!" She smiled up at Red Hood innocently, her glasses glinting in the harsh warehouse light. He turned back to her, crossing his arms, and no one would believe Bill when he told the story later, but Red Hood honest-to-God pouted at this small woman. "C'mon, Mari! I've got a rep to maintain here! Doing your whole routine is gonna mess it up!"

Marinette laughed, brushing her short hair behind her ear and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Oh, don't be like that. You're plenty scary, even with my leftovers. Besides, they won't say anything, right?" She turned her gaze to the rest of the warehouse, and all of a sudden her light, bubbly demeanor took on a hard edge. All the henchmen quickly voiced their agreements, eager to leave the strange alternate universe they'd entered, where Red Hood was the least scary thing in the room.

Just like that, her sunny smile was back, relieving the goons. "See? No problem! I'll see you at home!" Marinette breezed out of the warehouse, and Red Hood put his helmet back on, and they were back in reality. "Well?" His modified voice barked out, "we've got shit to do. Get moving!"

Bill was never going to look at Red Hood the same again. Not knowing he had that wonderfully terrifying woman as a lover.

Also, was it just him or did Red Hood seem awfully young?

#batman fanfiction #miraculous fanfic #mlb x dc #maribat #maribat march 2024 #marinette dupain cheng #jason todd #jasonette #bill the henchman is there too #pixie cut mari w/glasses #cus I said so #I would use a different word at the end there #but the prompt is lover so

[jasontoddssuper]

The only valid close relathionship interpretation between Jason Todd and characters who're canon minors is them having the Peter B and Miles dynamic.That is to say,gruff but deep down sweet superhero gets bullied into bringing his sweetness out by kid hero who's infinitely cooler than him and they become a mix between found siblings and him being an additional parental figure to them

"B-BUT AUS MAKE IT OKAY TO-"Nope!!Nuh huh!!!Nada de nada!!!!Jason canonically kills pedophiles so go project your groody little age gap f*tish somewhere else bitch♡Try Slade,we all know he's into that :)

#jason todd #pro jason todd #peter b parker #miles morales #damian wayne #antidamijay #marinette dupain-cheng #antijasonette #danny fenton #antideadonmain #jazz fenton #antiangermanagement #antiproship #batfam #spideverse #atsv #maribat #dc x dp #dp x dc #< i go to neither fandoms but i could respect them if they weren't such self-centered jackasses about it #age cap cw #grooming cw #letters from summer #spiderman #wfa #wfa spoilers #danny phantom #ml #as per always my jason is a bi trans man who's afro-dominican and adhd autistic and mdd

[punkeropercyjackson]

Have you guys noticed that DC fans are like........REALLY against Jason having equal dynamics with his fem love interests instead of being a dommering manly man.First there was Marinette from Miraculous Ladybug and the infantalization she was forced into(which sucks tbh,because i actually think her and Tim would be perfect together,especially black!Tim,but unfortunately literally every shipper of them is a pedo apologist and hella racist)in addition to already being only 14 to Jason's 20s,now it's J///azz who's deadass turned into his therapist by their ship name and is also just 17 and since always it's been those all the same booktok-adjacent white girl self-inserts that made up an entire personality for him and call it a female fantasy but then it's him being an abusive misogynist who only thinks about sex.It's such an appaling contrast to how healthy and balanced his real romances are,ntm all 3 of his love interests have been woc and one a canon butch bi woman too,and i've never understood the appeal of fanon Jason as a black femme who started reading comics because watching Utrh made me selfship with him.And that's also why i'm firmly anti shipping him with Stephanie and Kory because J/S is so corny and stereotypical and deadass a hetswapped and whitewashed version of Stephcass without ANY of the chemistry and he actively rejected Kory nonstop BECAUSE the writers infantalized her for him.This is why me and other Jason stans diss his fanon so much,it's not 'gatekeeping',you're literally turning a male character who respect women more than he does men and has for his entire existense and turning him into the guy from white femcel songs.That's a problem for everyone involved actually!!And it really wouldn't fucking exist if you just ACTUALLY READ JASON TODD COMICS or at least looked for content by people who do(Check my pinned btw)

#jason todd #pro jason todd #black jason todd #latino jason todd #afrolatino jason supremacy #trans jason todd #autistic jason todd #marinette dupain-cheng #antimaribat #ml #antidpxdc #jaytemis #jayrose #stephanie brown #koriand'r #antijaysteph #antijaykory #pro dickkory #stephcass #pro stephcass #summer kent #jaysumm #goth punk jason todd #dc #x black!reader #💌 #summerposting #pro stephanie brown #koriand'r defense squad #jaydana

[sarcasticbambi]

Enchanted Chapter I

Next>

“Why did I agree to come again?”

Was the thought running through the heads of two people, neither knowing how the night would end for them.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you in one of these events, miss…”

“MDC, Monsieur. You can refer to me as MDC”

“Right… MDC you say…”

“...”

“So, what brings you to the Wayne Gala this year? Oh,I hope you understand the curiosity, it is the first time you’re participating in the event after all.”

Just because you make it sound polite, it doesn’t mean you’re actually being polite you-

To say Marinette was done with the fake and pretentious high-class pigs was the understatement of the century. 

Just because you have enough money to be invited here doesn’t mean you’re all that. It just means that M. Wayne will have more money to donate to the associations that will actually use it for something productive.

But then again, she too was invited so it’s not like she can say much. However, she never covered her words with honey to insult someone.

“I’m here as M. Stone’s plus one” “Wasn’t M. Stone’s plus one his manager Ms. Rolling?”

“No! Haven’t you heard? This year he invited his  designer!” 

Here comes the gossip…

“You mean the very exclusive designer known for working with Clara Nightingale and being the only one capable of keeping up with his extravagant personality?”

“I hear they keep themselves anonymous and so never go to galas and such even though many high-profile personalities invite them everytime.”

“THAT designer?”

The way they all turned to look at her could only be described as a predator ready to launch on their prey.

The compliments were very appreciated, even if her confidence sometimes made her think otherwise. Honestly, if it were in any other situation she’d probably be a blushing and sputtering mess, but considering that it came from these old people with nothing to do but flaunt their money all day, well, lets just say that she felt no remorse in putting the mask of professionalism that often came with dealing with annoying press *cough*Alya*cough* as Ladybug. She just wasn’t sure if the red and gold mask was enough to cover the glare she was sure was on her face. It sure wasn’t enough to cover the deadly annoyed aura she emitted.

“Yes, I-”

“M! There you are! Dad and Penny are looking for you!”

“Oh, Luka! I’ll be right with you! I’m sorry ladies and gentlemen, it seems I’m needed somewhere else. Wouldn’t want to leave M. Stone waiting now would we?”

If Marinette saw the pale faces of the people remembering a certain disaster pertaining to the impatience of one Jagged Stone, neither her nor Luka mentioned anything. And so, the pair of best friends left the group of pretentious old people to their gossip and judging words covered with honey so thick it might as well give you cavities. “Is Uncle Jagged really calling for me?”

“No, but I had to intervene, you looked ready to murder those people with your glare alone!” Luka said with a chuckle. “Ugh! Stop laughing, it’s not funny! Why did I even agree to come again! This is exactly why I’ve rejected all of the invitations!!”

“Well, you know how dad can be…” another chuckle

“Don’t I?! He threatened to destroy one of the suits I made him! And not just any suit, but the one specifically  made to open the stage on his upcoming tour!”

“It can’t be that bad, I mean, you made them almost 100% Jagged proof so no accidents could happen right? Even if he tried I’m pretty sure it’d be very difficult to damage them beyond repair”

“Oh no, you don't understand. He threatened to have Fang “play” with the suit! I may have made them Jagged proof, but they’re hardly CROCODILE PROOF!!”

“... You don’t really believe he’d go that far,do you?”

“Oh dear Luka, I don’t need to believe, I know so. And you want to know how I know that? Because he actually had the audacity of sending a picture of the suit dangling in front of Fang and the little menace looking at it like the most delicious snack ever!!!”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

The silence that fell upon them was the comfortable kind, the one that wraps you like a warm blanket on a cold evening. Even though their relationship didn’t work, they didn’t let that get in the way of a very understanding friendship. Both parties know how to appreciate and lift each other up when needed, especially with the weight of the responsibilities held in their shoulders.

“I think I'm going to stay on the side for a bit. I'm pretty sure if I have to continue another one of these fake conversations, I'm going to say or do something I'll regret and maybe get Uncle Jagged in trouble.”

“It’s ok, after a couple months of following dad to these things I know how bad they can be. And by the way, you - more than anyone else really - should know that my dad doesn’t need you being honest with these people to get him in trouble. He gets himself in trouble all the time! Honestly, I can't say with 100% certainty that trouble isn’t somehow his middle name.” The snort that followed this comment was somehow covered well enough to look elegant, how he did it? She’s still trying to figure it out.

“Yeah, I’m well aware” a soft smile appears on Marinette’s face, memories of various chaotic fittings coming to mind when thinking of her honorary uncle. Sometimes she wonders how Jagged and Anarka managed to give birth to the most quiet (and shy, in Juleka’s case) kids she knows, considering their personalities! Kagami is the only exception to the rule since her quietness and composure comes from years of training and discipline.

“I have to go find dad, you know he needs someone to keep him in check and Penny is trying to get a night to herself. Are you sure you’ll be ok?”

“Yes, I'll be fine. Go find him and help Penny keep the few years that Jagged has yet to make her lose to stress” Marinette said with a giggle.

“Ok, but be safe. If you need anything just call and I’ll be right here.”

“I didn’t know I brought my mum with me.” She said with a roll of her eyes “Don’t worry, I’ll just stay on the side of the room, I’ll even text you if I decide to go and check if the gardens are as amazing as they claim.”

“Ok. I’ll see you in a bit then, you know dad wants to introduce you to his friend.”

“Oui, oui, now leave so I can people watch and judge if these macarons are good enough.”

After one last reluctant look at the petite girl he now considers a sister, Luka left to find his dad.

Marinette walks to the table holding the array of snacks and picks up a pink macaron, turning it side to side judging its appearance first and then taking a small bite. It’s not as good as the ones she bakes with her parents back home, but considering all she has eaten in the US in the past week, suffice to say that it was up to her standards. She would not mind having a second one.

Resting her back against the marble pillar at the corner of the room, she settles with people watching for the time being. Wandering bluebell eyes land on the group of kids on the other side of the room where they were playing with each other, before spotting the tall ginger gentleman in a crouch speaking with a little girl. At first she was suspicious, but judging by the little she can see of the interaction - the little girl giggling at something the man said - she relaxes a bit more, guessing it’s someone she knows or is acquainted with.

After people watching for a couple moments more, she gets bored and decides to indeed check the famous Martha Wayne Gardens, perhaps she’ll even get a strike of inspiration, who knows. Sending a message to Luka so he doesn’t worry,  she moves along to the exit, unaware of the little green eyes following her form.

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

Roy Harper was definitely not listening to Jason Todd ever again. No matter what.

“It’ll be fun!” he said.

“I’ll be there with you the whole time!” he said.

“Lian will have fun!” he said-

Ok, that last one is true. She is enjoying herself and playing with kids her age outside of school. But still, WHY DID I AGREE TO COME TO ONE OF THESE THINGS? The suits are uncomfortable, the people are annoying, Jason is off somewhere (probably at the bar avoiding the dangling pieces of meat that can’t seem to understand the word ‘no’) the list goes on and on!

Turning around, Roy leaves to go check on the kids. He knows he doesn’t need to worry, the Waynes would obviously only get the best of the best, security included, so he knows his daughter is in good hands. But he still prefers it when he has eyes on his little girl, no need for unnecessary troubles…

And Jason can make fun of how she has him wrapped around her pinky all he wants, later.

Not like you can say much right, Uncle Jay Jay?

Going up to the little kids group, Lian spots him immediately and runs up to him, mischief clear in the same green eyes he sees everyday in the mirror.

“Hey baby. Everything good?”

“Of course daddy, I’m a big girl now! You don't need to go around worrying about me!” she exclaimed, puffing her little chest up and making herself seem taller to get her point across.

“I know princess. I’m sorry for doubting your capability of not getting yourself in trouble or not creating chaos”

“*le gasp* Daddy!” The grin that appeared on his face betrayed the look in his eyes. He would do anything to protect his little girl, mischievous or not. He’d do anything for her, hunt the whole world down for whatever she asked and from whoever had it, if only to be able to keep that smile on her little face everyday.

“I don’t get in trouble! Trouble is the one to always find me! What do you want me to do, ignore it? You yourself said that it was rude to ignore people..”

Oh Lord. She knew exactly what she was doing, and there was absolutely nothing he could do, so with a resigned sigh he looked up at his daughter again and cleans the little bit of cream from the pastry she was eating earlier.

“Was the cream puff so good that even your cheeks wanted a bite?”

“Yes! You should try some yourself!” The little giggle she released hid the glance she threw at the masked lady on the other side of the room.

“Let's go then.”

—----------------------------------------------

Glancing around, the gardens were indeed quite beautiful. It’s a pity that Martha Wayne passed away, because even though it’s been years since the accident and someone else is in charge of it, it’s very obvious that the foundation of the garden is still the same as it was some twenty years ago.

With the care she is sure the gardens receive everyday, she can see why they’re called the best gardens in Gotham after the Gotham Botanical Gardens. But that is only because it’s Ivy who’s taking care of them - it doesn’t matter how good you may be at caring for plants, no one can beat Poison Ivy’s ability of bringing them to the best of their potential. 

It’s not long after moving around the gardens that Marinette hears her name being shouted from the entrance of it. 

guess it’s time to go back to that insanity. It was good while it lasted

Getting up from the bench she found around one of the several fountains, she fixed her dress and moved back inside.

——————————————-

Seeing Lian try and “sneak” another cream puff from him, Roy decides that that’s enough. 

“Come on little troublemaker, enough cream puffs. Your daddy won’t be able to endure another sugar high session.”

Ladies and gentlemen and non-binary people, this single statement brings forth the most challenging battle Roy has ever fought - and if you know about his… nightly past time, you know that he’s had several and very complicated battles, some even had him on the brink of death!

I introduce you, ‘The Pout’, by Lian Harper!

Obviously, Roy can never say no to his precious little girl. Who would be able to after seeing ‘The Pout’. At this point, not even Jason can say he’s managed to achieve such a feat!

“Princess, baby, light of my life, don’t do this to me. Please!”

“But daddy, just one more!” ‘The Pout’ intensifies…

“You said that last time too…”

“I promise! I’ll even get away from the table! We can go outside to the gardens!” 

If Roy wasn’t so desperate to get his daughter away from the pastry and snacks table, he would have been able to identify the glint that appeared in his daughter’s eyes whenever she was up to no good. But alas, he was too busy.

“Ok honey, one last one and that’s that! You promised!”

“Yes, yes. Now let’s go into the gardens! I saw a fairy move there and I DEFINITELY need to meet her!”

“… a fairy?” The look of confusion on his face spoke volumes.

“YES! She was wearing a gold and red dress! And her hair was so pretty too! It shone in the light! I’m pretty sure only fairies’ hair shines like that!”

Thinking it was another one of Lian’s fairytail settings where he’s required to play along and help her uncover mysteries or save someone (*cough*princess Lian*cough*), Roy just sets her down, holds her hands and guides her to the closest balcony. It’s too cold outside for them to actually walk around the garden, but it’ll be fine to stay on the balcony where they can oversee them. Should be enough for whatever adventure Lian’s mind conjured this time. 

—--------------------------

“Daddy look! It’s the fairy!”

Looking out the balcony towards where Lian's small fingers pointed, Roy finally understood what she meant when she said she saw a fairy. 

There, standing in front of the fountain with a glass of what he can only assume to be the expensive champagne being handed around the party, stood the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid his eyes upon. Luscious strands of midnight hair fell down her back only to stop at the small curvature of her back. The strands were so dark it shone blue in the light of the full moon that for once was visible in the dark, gloomy and foggy sky of good old Gotham.

Her red dress fell down to the crisp grass he was sure Alfred kept at the exact same even height every single time. Whoever made the dress, knew for sure what they were doing, because it seemed to float even though he saw it drag through the grass  when she moved. Although there wasn't much he could make out from the distance he was observing her, he could still see the shine of the gold lining and details in the dress with the small movements she made. 

And wasn't that a blessing. Because when she moved, he was able to see a bit more of her features; the pale skin that seemed to glisten in the moonlight, and the blue orbs that shone as bright as the bluest of sapphires to have ever been found, looked in his direction, and he was sure that time stopped right then and there. 

Like some kind of spell, he was entranced by the beauty that stood feet away from him surrounded by the most beautiful of greenery, making her fit for the word his daughter had used to describe her: a fairy. A Garden Fairy. He should tell Alfred that he did such a good job at keeping the garden in shape, that it was blessed by the presence of the most ethereal of fairies.

After a couple seconds of eye contact, her attention was given to something else - probably someone calling her, from the way she seemed to react. And so, after another glance his way, the Garden Fairy (as he’s decided to call her until he finds out her name) turns fully towards the building and starts walking inside, finally vanishing under the big balcony he was standing in.

“Awww, she left Daddy!” his daughter spoke for the first time since getting into the balcony with him. Or he’s assuming it was the first time, since he was completely  entranced by the Garden Fairy and would probably not have heard any comment from his daughter. Which, by her mischievous smirk, was a very accurate assumption.

“She was very pretty wasn’t she? I told you she was! Did you see her hair? I told you it was amazing! I also want hair like hers!!”

“Yes, yes she was. And you were very right, she does have pretty hair. Maybe we should get back inside to get away from the cold and maybe find this Garden Fairy of yours to get some hair tips?”

“That’s a great idea! Let’s go!”

Picking up the 6 years old, Roy turns around to head into the salon, when his daughter gets his attention again. And the look in her eyes? It spelled trouble.

“But Daddy, I never called her Garden Fairy!”

Next>

#maribat #dc x mlb #roynette #marinette dupain cheng #roy harper #liam harper #wayne gala #wingman liam harper #wingman jason todd #jason todd is a little shit #fairies #marinette is MDC

[mochinek0]

Daminette December 2023 MASTERLIST

ONE SHOTS:

1.) Mystery Theatre

2.) Framed

3.) Manga

4.) Orange (SUB)

5.) More of a Dog Person

6.) Death Match

7.) In a League of their Own (SUB)

8.) Not Soulmates

9.) Gremlin

11.) School Play

13.) Wednesday

14.) Poisoned Dagger

15.) Lost a Bet (SUB)

16.) Pet Store

17.) Bodyguard

19.) Window to the Soul

20.) Cheese Vikings

24.) Archaic

25.) Plain Clothes

26.) Sparkles

28.) I'm Not Crying

29.) Disappointment

30.) Save Some for Me

31.) Charades

TWO SHOTS

18.) Hiding in the Shadows + 22.) You're Drooling

21.) Something Good Coming + 23.) Astrology

MINI FIC

10.) Defeated

12.) Betrayal (SUB)

27.) Be Positive

#daminette december 2023 #daminette #damian wayne #marienette dupain cheng #damian x marinette #marinette x damian #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #Bruce Wayne #dick greyson #jason todd #tim drake #selina kyle #talia al ghul #mystery theatre #radio podcast #ladybug #robin #chat noir #framed #amaya wayne #family portrait #manga #adrien agreste #kagami tsuguri #jon kent #puns #dog person #titus the dog #alfred the cat

[2manyfandoms09]

Lost fic help

Hi, I was hoping someone can help me find a lost fanfic. I'm not sure if I read it here on tumblr or on Ao3. But here's what I remeber.

It's a jason todd/marinette pairing. jason ran away from gotham and ended up living across the hall form marinette in paris. i remember that sabine and tom died at some point and bruce and dick came to visit a married jason and marinette in paris to reunite with jason.

I would be really grateful if anyone could help me find this fic. I really enjoyed it and I want to reread it.

#jason todd #jasonette #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #dc universe #mlb x dc #maribat #batfamily #batfam #dc x mlb #mlb marinette

[lily-drake]

Master List Part 1

I finally have my own laptop so now I can officially do this!

Master List Part 2

Timari

BioSibling!Timari:

Siblings Don't Shake Hands...: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Stay With Me Now

Romantic!Timari:

Happy Birthday Tim!

Hiding in the Blue

Let's Play a Game

Red is My Favorite Color

Escapé

Hide and Seek: Part 1 Part 2 Bargain: Part 1 Part 2

Ditched and Hitched: Part 1 Part 2

Platonic!Timari

The Bird's Baby Bug: Part 1 Part 2

Mistake?

Jasonette

Biosibling!Jasonette:

Happy Birthday Jason!

You Think We're WHAT?!

Peter and His Pixie: Part 1 Part 2

Platonic!Jasonette:

Unexpected Discoveries Lead to...: Part 1 Part 2

It's a Learned Trait

Romantic!Jasonette:

Stars

One of Us Has to Die

Daminette

Romantic!Daminette:

The Floor is Out to Get Me

Kiss the gir-NO!

The Blessed and Cursed

Who Do You Think You Are?!

Robin Hood and His Treasure

Found Family

Forced

Fear Me: Part 1 Part 2

Betrothed: Part 1 Part 2 (What-if ending [non-canon])

The Demon's Queen: Prologue Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25

BioDad!Daminette:

Mommy, Daddy Look! BioFamily!Daminette:

Cousin

Grumpy Cat/Fairytale

Stab or be Stabbed

Photograph

Why Can't Bats Rest in Peace? Part 1 Part 2 Surface Pressure: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Trust Must be Earned: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 LettersPart 8 Part 9

#maribat #mlb x batman #dc x mlb #marinette dupain cheng #angst #fluff #damian al ghul #tim drake #jason todd #damian is the demon’s head #masterlist #timari #daminette #jasonette #dickinette #dick grayson #bio!dad #bio!mom #selina kyle x bruce wayne #selina kyle #the league of assassins #lila salt #lila rossi #class slat #chloe redemption #adrein agreste #adrien salt #sibling au #cassandra cain #bruce wayne

[ggomos-maribat]

Marinette's been enjoying one fanfic as of late

the author makes a compelling story, filled with twists and turns and drama and emotions. She becomes an avid reader and commenter, even conversing with the mysterious writer in the comment threads.

But slowly she realizes some similarities in the characters' banter and fight scenes with her own playful but thrilling interactions with her nemesis, Red Hood. Masquerading as Gotham Rogue Kitty Noir, she begins to investigate these happenings.

#ggomo's prompts #stories ggomo will never write #dc x mlb #dc x miraculous #maribat fic #maribat fanfic #maribat prompt #mlb x dc #jasonette #maribat marinette dupain cheng #maribat jason todd #jasonette prompt