Chapter Text
If Marinette knew this was going to happen, she would have turned the man down. Hell, if she knew this was going to happen, she would have never sent in that stupid essay! Because now she's here. In her front room listening to her mother gush about 'Opportunities' while starring into the eyes of this... of this demon because he can be nothing else! She was free! She had spent eight weeks in a literal hell and made it out alive, well she thought she had, but apparently, Mr Wayne wasn't as willing to let her go as he was when her class first turned up. The Wayne brats all smirked at her as her father accepted the monetary grant that came with her new scholarship at the Gotham Academy of the Arts.
This was exactly why she hadn't told them when she was leaving; she had clung to the childish hope that once she was out of America (because just leaving the state wouldn't be enough), she would be safe. That the giant body of water would deter them from following. That maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't even realise that she was gone. Mr Wayne's smile was all teeth as he informed her that she should pack extra clothes for her trip back to Gotham, it might snow which could ground planes during the winter holidays. But don't worry, if she gets stuck she could just spend Christmas with them. Bastard. And do you know what's funny? What takes the god damned cake in this whole situation? This is ALL LILA'S FAULT!!
---Nine weeks earlier---
Gabriel Agreste is an asshole, in and out of his stupid butterfly costume. She's putting it out there in the universe because this is bullshit. She dodges another jet of LAVA!!!! With a growl, Viperion watches her warily as the string of her yoyo glows red with her BURNING hatred for the Agreste patriarch. It's been literal years, YEARS! since he started this, you'd think that he would take the hint by now? She's not giving up her miraculous that's a lie because as soon as she rips that brooch off Agreste's chest she's shoving her earrings in the guardian's face with a plane ticket somewhere far away from her. Is she still bitter about being forced to fight an adult at twelve years old with no training whatsoever? Very, sometimes it keeps her up at night because she's so bitter. Especially after he tried to force guardianship onto her a few years back, she can barely make it day to day with the current level of stress she's experiencing due to Chat dispersing (giving his miraculous to his father because he has the spine of a jellyfish), Lila making her life a living hell and Miss Bustier giving all of her work to Marinette because she's just that bad of a teacher. Another jet of lava streams past her face, burning off one of her pigtails.
"THAT'S IT, AGRESTE! FUCK WHAT THE GUARDIAN WANTS! I'M TAKING YOU DOWN!!!!" She shouts making the Akuma freeze and a purple mask appear over its face, but she doesn't care; she's already making her way to the Agreste manner with vengeance on her mind. Chat Noir meets her in the Agreste driveway with his baton out, the Akuma closing in at her back. She cracks her knuckles. "Long time no see Kitten, how's that team switch going for you?" She dodges the lava jet aimed at her back.
"Pretty good Bugaboo, perks are great. You should switch too, not fighting constantly is great for your health." He takes a swing at her.
"You say that and yet you keep swinging that metal stick in my face, I'm not quite sure you mean it," She dodges more lava.
"I'll happily put the baton down as soon as you take your earrings out, M'Lady. I love you, I hate having to fight you." She huffs as she deflects another blow with her yoyo.
"Cut the shit Adrien, you don't love me. You’re obsessed with me, big difference cat." He growls at her and lunges just as another lava jet speeds towards her, she can't think of a way to dodge them both which means she's going to have to take the lava blast. There is no way she's letting Adrien touch her. Just as she angles herself towards the blast, she gets tackled by King Monkey. She can't help but shout. “You’re all late!" As they both hit the ground, Carapace jumps in front of them and uses Shell-ter to protect them as Bunnyx swans out of a Voyage portal behind them.
"A wizard is never late, nor is she early, she arrives precisely when she means to," She says as she helps them up.
"You're not a wizard Bunnyx, you're LATE. What was the hold-up? I made a clear announcement about my intentions!" She says as Ryuko uses Water Dragon then body slams the Akuma, Queen Bee and Viperion attack a hissing Chat Noir.
"The guardian wouldn't give up the miraculous so we had to stage a jewellery heist," Pegasus tells her helpfully, she can see Master Fu hogtied in his studio before Pegasus drops the portal.
"...Well we're all fucked, might as well bring this asshole with us, huh," She says. King Monkey and Bunnyx snort as Mayura storms out of the building.
”Don't worry LB, we got this one. Go kick butterfly man’s ass." She nods and Carapace drops the Shell-ter. Carapace, Bunnyx and King Monkey launch themselves at the woman while she darts past and into the building.
It would be a maze if she didn't already know the blueprints (she had so much time now that she wasn't stalking a model). The blueprints don't point out the fully functional weapons system though, that is an unpleasant surprise that Marinette does not appreciate in the slightest. She spots the fight outside through one of the windows as she jumps out of the way of a laser, the Akuma is defeated and in its place is a giant snow monster that Bunnyx, King monkey and Ryuko are fighting. Viperion, Pegasus and Carapace are fighting Mayura. Queen Bee and Chat Noir are no were to be seen though which is worrying, a black blur darts past her and she gets ready to attack until she notices the long blond braid...
"Queen Bee?" She asks.
"Chatte Bee now Ladybug, keep up. Here," Chatte tosses her the fox miraculous, Trixx pops out of it looking extremely upset.
"Return me to the guardian right now!"
"Oh be quiet! I've got to go, Ladybug. Adrien said that he's kidnapped Marinette and was keeping her somewhere in here, so I grabbed the mouse. I'm sure she'll want to join the fight when I find her. She's got to be pissed, bye!" Chatte Bee turns down a different hallway before Marinette can stop her.
"Return Me!" Trixx yells.
"Sorry about this, I promise to return you right after. Trixx merge." Once the change takes place she uses Mirage to make herself invisible then takes a slightly longer route to Hawkmoth's lair, it manages to trick the weapons system which she is eternally grateful for. She kicks in the lair door. "GABRIEL AGRESTE, I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU!" She yells then dodges the sudden cane that appears in her vision.
"How did you find out?" He hisses as he attacks her, she raises an eyebrow.
"You bought all of the butterfly farms in Paris. How am I the ONLY one to figure this out?" She counters before she dodges again.
"That doesn't matter now. Soon I will have your earrings and the wish will be mine!" He boasts, then goes to swing at her again, she darts forward and punches him in the face before he's even started his downward ark.
He squawks in surprise and starts to fall, she grabs the brooch and lets gravity do the work. It's Gabriel's ugly red jeans that hit the floor, not for long though. She stuffs the brooch into her yoyo then drags him and his stupid duck butt hair out to his driveway. The fight with Mayura seems to be over as well, she watches as Ryuko yanks the dying woman's brooch off. Revealing her to the crowd of reporters just beyond the front gate, she drops Gabriel next to the woman and puts one of her boots on his back to stop him from running. Pegasus quirks his lip upwards then flicks his wrist, a hogtied Adrien falls through and lands next to him. He looks so pleased with himself that she has to smile. She sticks her fist out and the others smile as well.
"POUND IT!"
As soon as the police have cuffed the Agreste's and Miss Sancoeur, she lets them take her (and the other heroes) statements of what happened then she turns to the reporters and Alya.
"Now that myself and my team have taken back the miraculous we will be retiring, effective immediately." The crowd screams out their protests as they all walk through the Voyage portal. Master Fu stands on the other side just out of view, not at all hogtied and very angry. He opens his mouth, most likely to yell at them so she opens her yoyo and chucks the brooches at him. "You're welcome, Guardian." She growls then turns to her team. "Thank you all for what you've done today," She says then she drops her transformation, Trixx looks angry and Tikki looks disappointed in her. She ignores them both and chucks their miraculous at Master Fu as well. One of Tikki's earrings hits him in the eye, and she feels accomplished.
"Well that's why I couldn't find you," Chloe says, also chucking the three miraculous in her possession at the guardian. Soon he's being pelted by everyone's miraculous, when everyone has run out they all let out a collective sigh of relief. Their job is done and they have hopefully made it clear that they won't be picking it up again. Master Fu opens his mouth again but is cut off this time by Kim.
"So who wants to go to the movies to celebrate not having literal gods bossing us around anymore?" They all agree and leave Master Fu's studio as fast as they can. Marinette looks to her laughing teammates and smiles, she's looking forward to being JUST their friend.
Chapter Text
This... This is not happening... How The Fuck Is This Happening! How? Can someone explain this to her because she's having some trouble here? She’s at the trials of Hawkmoth, Chat Noir and Mayura. Everyone is at the trials of Hawkmoth, Chat Noir and Mayura. It's being televised because the biggest courtroom they have is too small to fit the whole of Paris. You'd think that this would mean that Lila's bullshit would be questioned by SOMEONE after she PUBLICLY ADMITS to working with Hawkmoth! For YEARS! She had too much hope in the general population because EVERYONE but her team friends are buying her sob story of trying to save Adrien from his abusive father! It does not help that Gabriel seems to be agreeing with her! What the Fuck? Does no one remember the look on Chat's face when he realised that he COULD Cataclysm people? Do they not remember all of the dates she had to go on to stop people DYING BY HIS HAND? Has the Oblivio somehow reappeared and wiped everyone's memories? Every word out of her mouth makes Luka and Alix tense, no one on the team she and their friends don't blame them as the two who had time at their fingertips for so long. They have both seen unspeakable things in the line of duty and this bitch has been the cause of most of them.
Adrien ends up cleared of all of his charges and he has the nerve to look her straight in the eye and blow her a kiss. They have to drag Luka, Alix and Chloe out of the courtroom to stop them from getting arrested for assault. This is by far the worst team bonding trip friendly outing she has ever been on and her team friends agree; they end up at Chloe's hotel playing GTA 5 and angrily running over blond men and brunette women. It makes up for the fact that tomorrow is Monday and that means most of them (Luka and Kagami are sooo lucky) will have to sit in a room with the two terrorists and pretend that they don't know. It is going to SUCK. It ends up being a sleepover after Marinette convinces everyone’s parents to let them stay the night at the hotel; they do normal teenager things after looking up what NORMAL teenagers do. They stay up late watching a combination of scary and corny movies, play games like never have I ever and truth or dare. Then when that gets boring horror movies can't scare them after what they've seen and the only things they haven't done are things most other teenagers have. It's depressing. They curl up with each other and cry until they pass out. Luka walks them to the school doors and Kagami walks them to the class doors but after that, the rest of them are on their own, they are the first ones there and don't want to deal with the rest of the class so they all scramble for the seats in the back. It's going to disrupt seating arrangements which may cause fighting but they don't care... This is not what happens which is highly suspect, their classmate's file in and just... sit in different seats... Not even Alya raises a fuss. Then Adrien and Lila walk in and suddenly Marinette realises that they didn't fight because they wanted the seats closer to the terrorist couple. Well, that works out then. She relaxes, causing her team friends to follow. Miss Bustier walks in and other than a confused glance doesn't do anything about the new seating arrangement. The class is long and boring, Marinette is glad it's over which is where her luck runs out.
"Marinette, could you stay behind pleased?"
She sighs. "Yes, Miss Bustier." Her tea Friends look like they're going to stay so she smiles and waves them on, she's got this. They nod and leave. Once they are alone Miss Bustier pulls a packet out of her desk draw and hands it to her.
"I want you to enter the Thomas and Martha Wayne contest, one student from a class must write an essay about why their class should be the one to go." She blinks at Miss Bustier then looks at the packet in her hands.
"...What is the Thomas and Martha Wayne contest?" She finally asks.
"It's a summer internship at the main Wayne enterprises building in Gotham."
Marinette can feel her eyebrows rising. "...In Gotham? The place in America that has the highest crime rate? That Gotham?"
Miss Bustier looks unamused. "Yes Marinette, that Gotham. I'm sure getting us this trip won't be too much trouble, it is your job as the class president after all." Miss Bustier then stands and ushers her out the door before she can protest... Well, this is going to end poorly.
Why does her class deserve to go to Gotham other than the fact that around half of them were heroes who had witnessed unspeakable horrors and saved Paris? She has no idea, it's not like they do much outside of being sheep, terrorists, or heroes. She has to text her tea friends for ideas before she's even gotten the first line done, this is ridiculous. They come through for her with a stream of accomplishments of their other classmates so all she has to do is somehow make them into a ten-page essay which is harder than it looks. It takes her hours to finally have the first draft, she sends it to her te friends so they can proofread it, then incorporates the changes they have made before she sends it off. She has the sudden feeling of dread as she clicks the 'send' button like she is making a horrible mistake but she can't take it back. The email is gone, off to join the probable thousands that have been sent to the same place. Her only comfort is that it is very unlikely that she will end up winning.
... So she won... This is both unexpected and highly upsetting, this whole thing makes her feel like she's falling into some kind of trap but there is nothing she can do. As the contest winner, she is the one who gets emailed the plane tickets and weekly allowances... yay... Now she HAS to interact with her class. Thanks, Mr Wayne, just what she's always wanted. The flight is also on Saturday night so that they can sleep off the jet lag on Sunday. Then straight to their internship on Monday at seven am sharp. She has never hated her teacher more than she does right now, watching her bumble through her explanation of their trip. The ONLY upside to this is Chloe and Kagami dragging them on a shopping trip because they point out that one afternoon is not enough time to pack for eight weeks. They all complain the whole time but sleep easier than most of their classmates that night.
The flight is awful. Marinette spends the whole time on edge, but nothing happens. She's not sure if that's worse or not. The hotel is nice though so there's that, before she goes to pass out in her room she hands out the first week’s allowance. Two hundred each, she makes sure to count each wad in front of everyone before she hands them over so that no one can accuse her of stealing *cough Lila cough* then turns and leaves. Adrien has been rather insistent that he gets her alone and she's not planning to let that happen any time soon. She hopes this doesn't go as badly as she feels it will. Only time will tell at this point.
Chapter Text
Nothing happens on Sunday except Marinette relentlessly internet-stalking her new bosses so that they can't surprise her except her ordering room service so that she doesn't have to interact with anyone; it's pretty good, so that is another tentative point in this trip’s favour. Then her alarm is going off at five in the morning and any points this place had been dashed to the rocks with her general will to live, but she drags herself up and gets dressed. She's the first one on the bus at six with a cafeteria coffee. She chugs it as soon as she sees Lila and Adrien, she doesn't want to end up wearing it on the first day after all, as Adrien sits next to her. Because of course, he does.
He puts his hand on her thigh and leans in so he can whisper into her ear. "You've been doing a very good job of avoiding me M'Lady but that ends now. We're in a new place with new rules." He tries to slip his hand further up her leg, but she grabs his wrist and squeezes. Hard. He leans back and winces, she turns so that they are face to face.
"You're right Chat, there are new rules here. What you don't seem to get is that I'm going to be the one to write them so this is how everything is going to go. You are going to keep your fucking hands off of me or I'm going to RIP them off, Kitten," She hisses, digging her nails in to drive the point across then turns back to the front as nothing happened.
Having to constantly kill your emotions so a terrorist doesn't turn you into a fashion disaster does wonders on one’s poker face. The bus fills up and they set off at six-thirty, Adrien wisely keeps his hands to himself for the twenty minutes they are forced to sit next to each other. Her te friends watch her like hawks the whole time and immediately surround her as soon as everyone steps off to walk into the building. Her fingers itch for her sketchbook but she ignores it easily, she's here for business, not art. They are all led into a conference room by a few employees who then stay at the back of the room, there is already one employee in the room. Her name is Jaga Eun-Ji and she says that she's happy to meet them. She does not look happy to meet them. She looks sorry for them which does not bode well, her wince as she reads off who will be interning with Accounting is a dead giveaway of how she feels about them. Marinette is not in Accounting thankfully? She ends up in R&D with Lila of all people which might be worse? Jaga didn't wince when reading her name off so she thinks that she might be okay? One of the employees in the back comes forward to take her and Lila to their new floor, her name is Rati Gualberto and looks how Marinette feels.
R&D is, in simple terms, a complete shit show. Things and people fly everywhere with little care for where they land. Marinette sighs then crack her knuckles and get to work. She's been running numbers for Neilos Nithya for at least a few hours when someone stumbles up to her. She turns, half expecting Neilos with more data for her but is instead met with Tim Drake, co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises, third eldest child to Bruce Wayne, adopted, likes his coffee as strong as legally possible. It only takes a second for this information to flicker through her mind before she gives him a pleasant smile, he doesn't return it.
"Good afternoon Mr Drake, how may I help you?"
He grunts. "I asked the intern over there to get me a coffee but she said that you were already about to go. I want one as black as my shrivelled up the soul and as large as you can make it brought up to Mr Wayne's office as soon as humanly possible."
She nods because no one says no to the co-CEO except Lila apparently, but that will come to bite her in the ass she's sure. "Of course, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you while I'm away from my desk?"
He looks at her more clearly then nods. "My new brother is making his first public appearance today. I need something subtle to make him stand out for the right reasons. Gilad Samira in PR has the list of approved questions that need to be in Mr Wayne's office an hour ago and Roland Shyam in HR has the intern case files that I need to review before the day’s up." He looks like he's challenging her so she smiles brighter and nods.
"I'll get right on that Mr Drake. Do you have a way for me to get up to the executive level? My current pass won't let me get that high." He watches her for a moment then takes a pass out of his pocket. He reaches out and drags her closer to him by her ID badge necklace and clips it on. She's so close that she can smell the faint scent of leather. He raises his eyes so that they meet hers.
"I expect that there won't be any delay." He smirks as her jaw twitches.
"Of course not, sir."
He nods then lets her go and walks away. Lila looks pissed but everyone else looks like they pity her, Neilos sits in the seat she just vacated and picks up where she left off in clear dismissal. Well then.
The new Wayne from what she found out online was a Duke Thomas, sixteen years old, adopted by Bruce Wayne after the Joker drove his parents insane. She grabs him a yellow silk tie while she gets him and the rest of his family their preferred coffees and teas she refuses to make them all sit there while Tim is the only one with a drink then makes her way back to WE to hunt down Roland and Gilad. She goes after Roland first because she does not have the time or energy to look through the intern files and can therefore stick them under the drinks, he doesn't want to give them up at first since she is an intern but one look at her second badge has him practically throwing them at her. Gilad is glad to be handing the questions over, he agrees with Mr Drake's statement about them needing to be there this morning. She makes sure to read them very carefully, she feels like she's going to need them. The elevator up to Mr Wayne's office has to go up so high that it takes her five minutes to get to the office from the moment she stepped in, she uses her foot to lightly tap on the door then waits. It's pulled open by Bruce Wayne, co-CEO, thirty-seven years old, fake playboy. He smiles at her but his eyes are sharp.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" He asks politely.
"You can, sir, if you let me in so that I can put all of this down that would be great. Mr Drake asked me to get him some things before your press conference this afternoon. It starts in an hour," She said with a smile, he raises an eyebrow and looks behind him.
"She's telling the truth B, let her in. She has my coffee." Mr Wayne chuckles and moves out of her way, she walks towards what she assumes is Mr Wayne's desk.
"Mr Drake, I have yours, Mr Wayne's, Mr Grayson's and Miss Brown's coffees as well as Miss Cain's and Mr Thomas' teas." She hands out the individual cups. "The pre-approved questions for the press conference," She hands this one to Mr Thomas. "The intern files for you to review after the press conference," She hands the stack of files to Mr Drake. "And Mr Thomas' way to stand out." Before anyone can say anything she pulls up the collar of his button-up and slips the grey tie off.
"I'm not doing the press conference," Mr Thomas growls, she sees the slight darkening of the skin on his neck though.
"I see, well it would be a shame for you not to wear the tie I got you just because you’re scared of a group of fussy white people. You'll just have to wear it around the office." She nods like it's already been decided as she pulls the silk tie around his neck and starts tying it while he splutters.
"I'm not scared of white people, chick! I just don't want to talk to those vultures!"
She nods again. "Very reasonable thing to not want to do, but I think that you are forgetting two very important things, Mr Thomas." He glares at her and she finishes tying his tie and tucking it in.
"And what is that?" He hisses.
"One, you aren't there for them. They are there for you and two, your family is going to be there with you every step of the way." He blinks at her like he didn't expect her to give him a real answer when he doesn't speak turns to the rest of the room’s occupants. "While I'm here, is there anything else you would like me to do before I return to my desk?" They all stare at her in various levels of shock before Mr Wayne's eyes turn calculating.
"And where would that desk of yours be, exactly?" He has a fake paparazzi smile on his face and she feels like she's made a mistake somewhere but also can't answer him.
"In R&D Mr Wayne, next to Mr Nithya."
He nods. "Is there anything personal down there?" Red flag. RED FLAG!
"No Mr Wayne, I've not had a chance to get anything yet."
He smiled brightly and clapped his hands. "And you’re new! Perfect, you can use the desk outside until I find someone permanent, can't you?" He leans forward slightly, his eyes fucking twinkling. "I need some help keeping on top of things until then. You've been a great help so far and you've not set any roots yet. Please?"
She could feel tense, she could see it in his eyes. She couldn't say no. This Bastard! She plastered on a smile that dripped poison. "Of course, Mr Wayne. I'll get settled in while you look over the questions."
He takes them off of Mr Thomas and holds them out to her. "Since you’re filling in I think you'll need to memorise these more."
She doesn't take them, just smiles. The last person to try and play this game with her is in jail for terrorism, the boy currently trying is about to lose his hands. Mr Wayne is going to get a rude awakening if he thinks she will fold first. "I've already memorised them on the way up, Mr Wayne. I'll be at my new desk when you need something." She turns and walks out, she hears him chuckle as she closes the door. Fuck, he just played HER!
Chapter Text
The press conference starts in half an hour, it should take ten minutes to get there but a quick look at traffic tells her it will be more like twenty. She formulates a plan of attack then goes and knocks on the office door. It’s one minute before she gets a reply.
"Yes?" Mr Wayne asks with a different paparazzi smile, she's going to have to number them and find out what they mean. Yay, more work...
"It's time to go to the press conference Mr Wayne, have you all read through the approved questions?" His smile changes but is still fake, twenty-eight minutes left.
"We're still reading them, we'll be done soon." He goes to shut the door in her face, NO ONE shuts doors IN HER FACE! She puts her foot in the doorway if he scuffs her new shoes she will not be held responsible and pushes the door back open. He blinks in surprise at her strength but she ignores him and steps into the room, she does a quick sweep to see what she needs.
"Well, that is understandable seeing as you only just got them. I would be happy to go through them with you all." She says as she takes Mr Drake's coffee, Miss Cain's tea, as well as Mr Wayne's, Mr Grayson's, Miss Brown's and Mr Thomas' phones. She makes a show of plucking up the list of questions then walks out of the room. "I'll be waiting in the parking lot for you all, Mr Wayne. We wouldn't want to be late for Mr Thomas' first public appearance. First impressions and all of that." She waves the hand with their phones in a vague gesture as the elevator doors are closed. Twenty-five minutes left.
The security guard is very helpful, his name is Jørg Marcius and he is the guard on duty here on weekdays. She can tell that he feels sorry for her when he points out the car the Wayne's will be taking. It's annoying how much she GETS their pity for her now, she would pity herself if she had the time. They have twenty minutes left when Wayne's exit the elevator and stroll towards her. She makes sure to smile brightly at them as she hands over their respective items. The driver looks like he's going to die of shock at the fact that they are relatively on time, she clicks her fingers in his face then smiles at him. He looks at her like she is some kind of god, then jumps into the driver's seat. She brushes the look off and gets in the car. The only seat left Miss Brown has decided that she needs to stretch across a few has her squished between Mr Drake and the window. When she's settled and the car is on its way she lets her smile sharpen.
"Now, let's talk about those questions."
Traffic isn't as bad as she thought it would be, and they arrive with two minutes to spare. As they stand behind the curtain waiting for the room to fill she does some last-minute fixes, straightening slightly crooked ties and readjusting little strands of hair so that no one has anything to judge them on. She does Mr Thomas last.
"You're going to be fine." She says gently as she gives him a real smile, he swallows then nods. As she stands to the side while the Waynes take the stage, she notices a glint in one of the buildings across the road. She gets out a sharpie and writes a message on the back of the question sheet, then she turns it and holds it up until the glint disappears.
Everything goes well for the first half an hour; the press stick to the approved questions and Mr Thomas seems to be relaxing so of course, her luck decides to turn. The doors to the conference room are kicked open and Scarecrow walks in with a bunch of goons, she quickly assesses the situation and finds her eyes drawn to the Wayne's. They have the same look in their eyes that she does when she needs to turn into Ladybug but is trapped. Well, fuck. She readjusts her calculations with the new information then acts. With everyone frozen the clicking of her heels seems to echo around the room, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room to her. The glint is also back but she doesn't think that they would do anything. Her message had been VERY clear after all.
"Good afternoon, Dr Crane. I'm sorry to tell you this after your dramatic entrance, but I'm afraid you're not on the list of approved journalists I have so I'm going to have to ask you to leave, If you give me your number I think we can work out an appointment. What newspaper are you working for?" She holds her pen over the clipboard in her hands, everyone just stares at her before Scarecrow chuckles. It grates on her ears but she doesn't flinch, just waits for him to make her move.
"I don't work for a newspaper my dear I-"
She cuts him off. "Well, then I have no idea why you would be at a press conference, Dr Crane." She has his full attention now, good.
"I'm here for a test, little girl, and you look just perfect." He pulls a needle out of his pocket and jabs it into her neck, nothing happens at first then slowly the people around her start changing. They're turning into the broken and bloody members of her team, fun. She raises her hand and yup, she's Ladybug. The Scarecrow has also changed, he's now Chat Blanc. She's not surprised, not really. The unspeakable things Adrien did to her as Chat Blanc will haunt her until the day she dies, but that doesn't mean she's going to let him win, she raises an eyebrow like she isn't looking into the eyes of a monster.
"That was very rude, Dr Crane. Is there anything else you are here for today?" Voices whisper around her, begging her to save them, screaming at her for being useless, crying out in pain and hopelessness. She ignores them all, she's sixteen, their weight should have never been on her shoulders, to begin with. Chat Blanc looks at her like he's confused, then he smirks and tries to stab her with another needle. She grabs his wrist and SNAPS it. The howl of pain is worth it.
She leans in so she's right in his face. "The funny thing about this is that while you look just like him, Dr Crane, you are not him. And that means that you can't hurt me as he could, nothing you do will EVER COMPARE to what he did to me so I suggest you stop trying." She drops him as the akumas rush in, they don't point their weapons at her so she assumes that they might be police. She is proven correct when they swarm Chat Blanc and drag him away, the voices are louder but she ignores them again and makes her way to the front and onto the stage where the Wayne family lies dead. That's fine, that's what Miraculous Ladybug is for. "Now I know that this has all been very exciting, so I would like to call a half-hour break so that the lovely officers of the GCPD can take statements and hand out cures to anyone else affected by Dr Crane's fear toxin. I can not currently hear you due to the effects, so if you could all raise your hands if you agree that would be wonderful." Slowly the broken bodies of her teammates weakly raise their arms to show agreement, she nods then makes her way back to the edge of the stage and waits.
It turns out that the Wayne's are undead which is fun, watching Miss Cain dragging her guts across the floor is just what she needs. An Akuma makes its way over to her, she doesn't remember their name but she knows that they were scared of needles and decided to make everyone else scared of them too. Just what she needs the person holding the antidote to look like. Thanks, Crane, fuck you too. She physically fights the urge to dodge, most needles from this Akuma were filled with acid. The voices die down as soon as the needle is in her arm which is good, they were getting quite loud. And slowly people fade back into who they should be, everyone is staring at her. It makes her turn to the very much alive and worried Mr Wayne.
"I did ask for a break right Mr Wayne?"
He looks at her like he's truly seeing her for the first time, shit. "You did."
She sags a little, not enough to be unprofessional but close. "Oh good, the voices were getting so loud that I wasn't sure if I said what I meant. How much time do we have left until the press confidence reconvenes?" And now the rest of the Waynes are looking at her like that too, great Marinette. Now they are MORE interested in you, this is shaping up to be a great first day. The glint is back so she just flips the sign and holds it up again. Mr Grayson sees it and chokes on the air then spins around to scan the building. He won't find anything, the glint is gone, but this does catch everyone else's attention. Mr Wayne takes the sign off her as she turns to the officer. "Good afternoon officer, my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Would you like my statement now or after the conference, I know that half an hour is not a lot of time to interview an entire room. If you need to, I could convince the press to hold off for an additional half-hour but Mr Wayne has an afternoon appointment he can't miss." She ignores the rest of the Waynes as they scan the buildings across the way.
"Good afternoon to you too, Miss Dupain-Cheng. My name is Commissioner James Gordon. The time you've given us is fine, you were the only one affected by the toxin so that has saved us time. I have a few questions to ask you, though you don't have to answer if you don't want to."
She nods. "I'll answer what I can, Commissioner Gordon."
He nods back and flips his notebook open. "Several of the journalists have told us that Scarecrow kicked the door in and that you calmly walked over to him and asked him to leave. Is this true?"
"Yes, he was not on the list of approved personnel, so I asked him to leave"
Commissioner Gordon raises an eyebrow at her but continues after he writes her answer down. "This is the point where Scarecrow injected you with the fear toxin?"
"Yes."
"I've been told that it didn't affect you until he tried again, this sometimes happens if a dose is weak, but one of the journalists heard him say that it was a new one and those are usually quite strong."
"That's wrong." His and the Waynes eyes snap to her.
"The toxin affected me immediately, I just knew that it would upset him if he thought that it didn't work. Dr Crane is all about results after all... You can ask, Commissioner."
He they watch her for a moment. "Would you be comfortable telling me what you saw? Not many people can do what you did."
"The journalists turned into my friends on the brink of death, they Wayne's were all butchered, and Dr Crane took on the appearance of the man who kidnapped, tortured, and raped me. He did a very bad impression though. You won't find anything on it I'm afraid, his father covered it up very well." ‘It was a different timeline that only she and Alix remember.’ He they don't look happy with that explanation at all. She doesn't care because she's still in Hawkmoth avoidance mode and mostly numb.
"Can I have a name for this man?"
"NDAs, I'm afraid." 'She could still feel Fluff's magic curling around Chat Blanc in her mind.' "Is that all? I need to get everyone seated again."
He looks resigned but closes his notebook. "Yes, thank you for your time Miss Dupain-Cheng."
"And thank you for your service Commissioner Gordon" She smiles at him like she hadn't just spent time living a nightmare then turned to get the press conference back on track, she did not want the Scarecrow attack to be the last thing on the reporter's minds when they left.
The car ride back to WE is silent but that's fine as it gives her time to internet stalk look up who Mr Wayne is meeting this afternoon. Mr Wayne tries to send her home when they get back but she informs him that as his new temporary assistant it was her job to make sure he went to his afternoon meeting, she wasn't going to let herself be the reason he skipped out. She won, but it didn't feel like winning. She spent the bus ride back to the hotel listening to Lila complain about her not turning back up after going to get a coffee and ignoring the glares the others gave her. She waited until her room's door was closed and locked before she collapsed and let everything out. What a shitty first day indeed.
Chapter Text
Tim just wants some coffee, that is all he wants. He has spent the entire night doing the job of Tam the secretary because she quit (the only reason they let her leave was that she was pregnant, THE ONLY REASON), and now he's standing there looking at this intern who just said no, NO! Like he's not the Co-CE-Fucking-O! He growls and she suddenly looks scared. Good. Who the fuck is this idiot anyway? She flinches when his growling gets louder and points behind him, saying that the girl sitting at the desk was about to leave for coffee so it would make more sense if she went. He turns and storms over. Tim needs coffee more than he needed to yell at idiots; he would make her pay for this later. The girl at the desk is not an idiot like the first one, she recognises him immediately. He informs her as to why he's so far into the department and his coffee order and is surprised when she asks what else she can do to help him. He finally focuses actual energy on looking at her and fuck him. She is gorgeous, her blue/black hair is in a bun with two loose strands framing her face. Her eyes look like a clear sky and the red on her lips is practically sinful. Her business suit shows off her curves and her heels make her legs look like they go on for miles. He distracts himself by telling her what else he needed to do as Tam's replacement with an added note about the intern files he's planning to make that girl's life HARD, but he can't help himself when she asks about clearance. She is both beautiful and smart, which isn't fair god damn it. He yanks her forward by her ID lanyard and makes a show of attaching the new one. She smells like a bakery, why is she so perfect? He takes a peek at her when he's done and smirks at the dilation of her pupils. He's not the only one then. Ha! He turns to leave; he'll give her an hour and if she's not back by then she'll just be another disappointment.
She's knocking on Bruce's office door twenty-five minutes later with not only his coffee made to his high expectations but also with everyone else's preferred drinks too, even Cassandra who changes her preferred drink with the days of the week! She also brings the questions, the intern files, and a yellow silk tie in the exact shade of Duke's Signal suit, though she doesn't look like she knows that. She proves herself even more perfect when she convinces Duke to do the press conference despite his stage fright. He shares a look with Bruce because at this point, he's only known her for a total of five minutes and he's already in love with her. Bruce nods back and after a brief pause to admire how perfect she is, he asks her about where she's currently stationed in the company. It's a surprise to learn that she's new. He didn't remember anyone requesting a new hire, but that just means that they don't have to make her unlearn a habit from her department. He falls for her even harder when her smile turns dangerous in the face of Bruce in all of his dumb playboy persona glory, her gentle shutting of the door sounds more like a violent slam in their minds but the fact that she's not going to put up with Bruce's bullshit is just the cherry on top of the cake at this point. Dick turns to him as soon as the click sounds.
"OMG, you like her!" He shouts happily, Tim ignores him and takes a sip of his coffee. Even this is perfect, what the hell is he supposed to do?
"Marry her," Cassandra says, his eyes snap to her and find her staring into her takeaway cup with a look of wonder. He has never seen her look like that before and it is both wonderful (because now he's not the only one who sees how perfect the new secretary is) and terrifying (because Cassandra now knew how perfect the new secretary was and he can't compete with her! He can barely compete in general!). Cassandra looks him straight in the eyes. "Marry her, Tim, or I will kill you. I will not lose the one person who has found me the perfect tea. Do. You. Understand. Me?" Tim just nods because no one denies Cassandra and frankly, it makes him more confident knowing that Cassandra would be helping him woo the young woman. The conversation turns to chat about patrol to keep Duke's mind off the press conference until they hear a knock at the door. Bruce answers, it's the new secretary informing them that they need to leave. Bruce tries to shut the door but she just shoulders past him then robs them blind and tells them she'll meet them in the parking garage. Everyone is frozen. No one expected it, this woman...
"I'm going to marry her, dad."
Bruce turns to him and smiles. "Good luck." Tim just nods, he's going to need all of the luck in the world to get this goddess to fall for him after all.
She spends the ride down to the conference hall grilling them on the answers to the approved questions until they don't sound rehearsed then when they get there, she fixes a few little things about their appearance before sending them onto the stage. He doesn't hear what she says to Duke but he looks more confident as he walks up so Tim assumes it was good. The first half of the press conference goes well, after a few glances at the secretary Duke loosens enough that he could be mistaken for a natural. Bruce even looks proud, which is the universe's way of saying that they shouldn't have let their guards down. Scarecrow kicks in the door with his army of goons and Tim realises that they are trapped, all of them are on the stage in full view of everyone in the room. There is no way any of them can sneak off without someone noticing. One look at Bruce tells him that he knows this as well. Suddenly, he hears the clicking of heels, His eyes snap to the sound and his heart stops. What the hell is she doing? She walks straight up to Scarecrow and... nicely asks him to leave? He looks to the rest of his family to see if maybe he's been dosed already but they all look just as confused as him. He turns back to her just as Scarecrow stabs a needle into her neck. He tries to rush forward but Stephanie holds him back... she doesn't react other than to look at her hand and Scarecrow tries again, this time she grabs his wrist and breaks it. She pulls him in and says something into his ear then drops him when the police storm in. She calmly walks up to the microphone and asks for a break so that the police can take statements. There is a brief murmur about her not being affected until she cuts them off by asking them to raise their hands because she can't hear. It makes him worry about what she's being forced to listen to. Any thoughts about her trauma being only auditory are cut off with her reaction the Commissioner Gordon coming up to her with the cure.
Once the toxin is clear from her bloodstream, she shocks everyone in the room with her extreme level of professionalism... Until she holds up her clipboard and Dick starts choking and searching the buildings opposite them. Bruce gets curious and takes the clipboard off of her as she turns to talk to Jim. Tim looks at it and freezes.
'Hello random sniper, it is very important that nothing happens to derail this press conference. If you try anything and I mean anything, I will hunt you down, rip off your head then shove it so far up your ass that your mother won't be able to tell the difference. UNDERSTAND?'
How the fuck did they miss a sniper? How did she spot it? He focuses back on her conversation, her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It's as beautiful as her. Finding out that someone hurt her and not only GOT AWAY WITH IT but also trapped her in a FUCKING NDA, makes him angry. He spends the rest of the press conference and the drive back to WE furious. He waits until she goes home for the day then punches a wall. Bruce looks just as pissed.
"Tim?" He looks up.
"Marry her," Bruce says then starts scanning surveillance footage on the buildings across from the conference hall. Well, at least their possible marriage had the approval of his family.
Chapter Text
When Marinette's alarm goes off at five am, she considers smashing it. Seriously consider it. She has her phone in her hand deciding on whether to toss it at the wall or drop it on the bed when a knock at the door decides for her. The phone is smothered under a pillow as she gets up to go see who dares to knock on her door this early. It's Adrien because why not? It's not like she had any hope for today going better than yesterday. He gives her a once over and his eyes darken when he sees she's wearing a silk nightgown blame Chloe and Kagami who bought their luggage and everything in it. She glares at him.
"It's five in the morning, Agreste. What do you want?"
He smirks and leans in. "I want many things princess, you rank quite high on that list." He strikes fast, wrapping one hand around her neck and then digging the other in her hair. "I'm sick of waiting for you to get the hint." He hisses, then yanks her forward as if he's about to force a kiss on her but is stopped by a gun pressing itself against his head. Inside Marinette is planning her revenge because she warned him! Outside she's her overly professional self.
"Let her go!" The gunman growls Adrien's eyes are wide as he releases her.
"Don't kill him," She says as she looks at the gunman, it's Red Hood, lovely. Just what she needs after finding out her bosses were the Bat-family; she has a theory that he's Jason Todd due to the bat on his chest but she hopes that she's wrong. She's looked up how long it takes to get an accidental death report overturned and is NOT looking forward to it. Red Hood turns to her and she thinks that if she could see his face it would be incredulous.
"What the hell do you mean don't kill him?!? Do you have any idea what..."
"I know exactly what he was going to do, Mr Hood. That does not mean that if you kill him I will not be late to work!" Both of them can't see Red Hood's expression but his silence speaks volumes stare at her in shock before Red Hood holsters his gun.
"Scram!" He growls at Adrien. Adrien looks like he's going to snap back so she cuts him off.
"Do you remember what I told you about the rules yesterday?"
He pales slightly then leaves, shouting, "This isn't over Princess!" over his shoulder. She ignores him and turns to go back into her hotel room.
"Wait!" Red Hood stops her.
"Yes, a sniper?"
He freezes. "How the hell did you know it was me?!?"
"The only people who know of me here that use guns are Commissioner Gordon and the sniper from yesterday. It wasn't that hard." When he stares at her she thinks? She sighs. This is making her fall behind. "Come in, you can tell me if I do the makeup well enough to hide the bruises around my neck." She turns and walks into the room and hears the door click shut as she takes her clothes for the day into the bathroom to get changed.
He doesn't say anything else but he does give her a thumbs up when she walks out and shows him her neck. She gets him a cafeteria coffee then leaves him near the back door and makes her way to the bus. She sits next to Chloe who spends the twenty-minute bus ride complaining she was one of the unlucky few who ended up in accounting. Marinette lets her complain without saying a word. It has only been one day and she already feels like there is not enough time in the world to go over all of her complaints. Once they enter the building she walks past them all and heads to the executive elevator, Lila spots her and calls security. The receptionist, Calista Purdie, steps in front of her and looks at her as if she was going to ask her where she was going until she spots the second badge she has and goes white as a sheet. She stutters out an apology for getting in her way and almost bursts into tears when Marinette smiles at her and tells her that it's alright, the two security guards (Martín Cloudsounds and Feidlimid Emma) who were originally called to escort her out end up escorting her to the lift. As the doors close she hears Calista yelling at Lila.
"How dare you waste Miss Dupain-Cheng's time like that! Do you know how much work she has to do?! If I hear any of you interns bug her again I'll inform Mr Wayne! Now stop gawking and get to work!" Marinette's not going to lie, she has a silly smile on her face most of the ride up. Miss Purdie is her new favourite person.
The office is empty when she gets there. You would think that this would make Marinette happy. You would be wrong. Mr Wayne and Mr Drake have a meeting with the department heads in three hours, and they are supposed to be in the office getting ready fuckers! She storms around her new desk and searches for anything that could help her, then she makes a list. She needs ALL of the department reports because it's likely the Waynes forgot them; coffee and incentive to get their asses moving. Aha! In one of the drawers is a number for emergency Wayne wrangling help, perfect. She transfers all incoming calls to her cell phone just in case someone needs her while she’s out then walks back to the elevator.
"Good morning, Mr Pennyworth! My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm sorry to call you so early but you wouldn't happen to know where I could find Mr Wayne and Mr Drake would you?"
Marinette stalks through the departments collecting the information she needs and assuring the department heads that BOTH co-CEO's would be in the meeting coming up before lunch, people scramble to get out of her way and one employee even grabs Alya and yanks her away with a look of terrified awe as she storms past. She doesn't have enough time to care because according to Mr Pennyworth, both co-CEO's haven't even GOTTEN UP YET! If they think that they have gotten some pushover who will sit there and look pretty to be their secretary, then they have another thing coming: Marinette Dupain-Cheng does not half-ass ANYTHING! She storms up to Jørg Marcius with a stack of files she knows no normal girl her age would be able to carry.
"No time to chat Mr Marcius, I need your driver with the loosest driving regulation morals, ten minutes ago!" Jørg blinks at her, then points out the driver that drove her to the press conference yesterday. "Thank you." She stalks over the driver who hurriedly stubs out his cigarette when he sees her. "Name?" She asks as she shoves the files into the back of the car.
"J...Jérémy Shelagh." He stutters out, she nods.
"I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I need you to ignore every single red light we see to and from Mr Wayne's residence, can you do that Mr Shelagh?"
Slowly an excited smile grows on his face. "Can I ignore speed limits as well?"
She looks him in the eye as she climbs into the car. "I would be very disappointed if you didn't!"
He jumps in excitement before he dives into the driver's seat. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Then they shoot out of the underground garage.
She spends the first ten minutes of the journey skimming through the reports and getting updates from Mr Pennyworth before she makes Mr Shelagh stop so she can get the Waynes their preferred drinks. Once the drinks are secure, she informs Mr Shelagh that he can go again. They narrowly avoid crashing, hell, they narrowly avoid a lot of stuff. Mr Shelagh is a very good driver. She gets a transferred call at the halfway mark of their journey.
"Good morning, this is Marinette speaking. What is the purpose of your call?"
"I would like you to transfer my call to Mr Wayne."
She makes note of his accent in the back of her mind. "I'm afraid that Mr Wayne isn't in the office right now, would you like me to take a message?"
"Put my son-in-law on the phone Marinette."
She blinks once. "Can I have the name of your son or daughter to confirm what you're saying?"
"Talia al Ghul," He sounds smug, probably thinks that he's going to get his way. She moves the phone from her ear and puts him on a loudspeaker then she opens the internet and DIGS. About thirty seconds later she hears someone shout in what she thinks is Arabic, she memorises the words she hears so that she can find someone to translate later. "What Do You Think You Are Doing Marinette?" He hisses back angrily, it doesn't matter. She's found what she's looking for.
She pulls back and cuts off access so that they can't follow her then turns off the speaker. "I'm doing what I told you I was going to do Mr Al Ghul, I assume you’re calling to set up a meeting so that you can introduce Mr Al Ghul-Wayne to his father? I'm afraid that due to schedule I can't have Mr Wayne fly out to you but I can have you, your daughter, Mr Al Ghul-Wayne and up to five bodyguards flown out here. Mr Wayne has fewer scheduled meetings next week so that would be the best time, is that OK for you Mr Al Ghul?" The line is silent, when she still doesn't get a reply she continues. "If next week isn't good for you we can set it up for the week after?"
"No... Next week is fine, the earlier the better," He sounds resigned, good. No one intimidates her.
"So Monday at eleven am? I'll have your flights booked early Sunday so you and your bodyguards can get settled. How does eight am sound?" She hears him murmur to someone then his voice comes out clearly.
"That will be fine, I will be going with my daughter, grandson and five of my elite guard."
"Perfect, I'll email you the details tonight"
"You don't have my email Marinette"
She smiles at his smug tone. "I'll email you tonight Mr Al Ghul, have a wonderful rest of your day." She hangs up then sighs. More Waynes... She opens the file in front of her, even with the extra speed of ignoring the law she still has five minutes until she gets to Wayne Manor. They had better be ready to leave when she gets there or she swears to GOD she will kill them.
She spots Mater Fu as they turn a corner, she flips him off before he's out of sight.
Chapter Text
To: All WE Employees [All Departments]
From: Human Resources
Subject: New Interns
Just a friendly reminder that the new interns will be arriving on Monday. Each department has been sent a list of the interns they will be receiving.
We have high hopes for this year's winner of the Thomas and Martha Wayne contest but we all know that expectations and reality sometimes differ.
Should we have another 'Summer of 09' incident, please contact us as soon as possible, to help ensure the process goes smoothly.
We hope you have a great day!
—HR
To: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: Kidnapped Intern!
Is there some way I can file a formal complaint against the co-CEO for stealing the intern who did the work I asked her to?
She was so professional that I kind of forgot she was an intern, which is a miracle because one of our experiments just came out as a success! Then all of a sudden Mr Drake swoops in and sends her out for coffee and she never returns. This can't be allowed right?
Thoughts?
—Neilos
To: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
From: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
Subject: Not Even Close
On record. No, having an intern get him coffee and other things is not something that can be grounds for a complaint. It is mostly what interns are for.
Off record. You wouldn't happen to be talking about Miss Dupain-Cheng would you? I met her earlier and her deadpan is a work of art. And if the email I just got about her run-in with Scarecrow is true I can safely say that you will NEVER be getting her back.
Seriously it's kind of intimidating.
—Roland
To: All WE Employees [All Departments]
From: Human Resources
Subject: New Interns—First Day!
The first day with our new interns has come and gone. Now, we know that it would be unfair to judge them by experience, but it IS enough time to make a first impression. Tell us what you think of them. Positive and negative. We like to have the whole picture here at WE.
In other exciting news, it would seem that Mr Wayne and Mr Drake have taken on a new secretary, Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her first day has been less than great though with a run-in with Scarecrow at Mr Thomas' first press conference. We have been informed that she was the only one affected by Scarecrow's fear toxin and still managed to keep the press conference on track, before and after the cure was administered.
While we at WE are sad to see Tam leaving us we are also happy to be having Marinette joining us. We hope that everyone tries to make her second day better so that she does not think that horrible events like that are a daily occurrence.
Again, we hope to hear from you about your first impressions of the new interns.
Have a great day!
—HR
To: All New Interns [All Departments]
From: Human Resources
Subject: Resource List For Our New Interns
We at HR would like to congratulate you on winning the Thomas and Martha Wayne contest. We would like to give an extra congratulation to Miss Dupain-Cheng who was the one that wrote the essay that caught our eye. We understand you may have some trouble adjusting to the work here at WE's Gotham branch due to cultural differences, thus we have compiled a list of therapists with experience in depression, anxiety, and other related issues to help with the transition. You should be able to reach them if you're logged into the system.
However, please note your coworkers will need to be alerted if you do this; for instance, if said triggers relate to being easily startled, or certain types of body language that are being perceived as threatening, and you will be asked to please get a diagnosis and seek out treatment as well.
Also: you may have noticed there are several groups and unofficial clubs, such as the Dick Grayson Appreciation club, the Army veterans' club, or the WBAC; you are welcome to create your own if you wish. The process to start one can be found here, and you can contact us for further details.
We try to be as supportive as we can, but for that, you need to work with us to help.
Thank you, and have a great day!
—HR
To: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
From: Rati G. [Mechanical Engineer, R&D Department]
Subject: What The Hell
Hey boss, did you find out what happened to the competent intern because I'm hearing this awful rumour from HR that the Wayne's have laid claim to her.
Also wanted to mention that the not-competent intern messed up Brenda's data so we have to experiment again.
I can't even.
—Rati
To: Rati G. [Mechanical Engineer, R&D Department]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: Oh God
It wasn't the one with the explosive gel, was it?!? That was the one Dupain-Cheng was working on before she was stolen from us (It is sad to say that HR was not lying and we can't file a complaint either, I checked).
Also now that I think about it, please tell me it's not the one with the nanotechnology. I cannot ask Nerio for another billion, he already said that if I did he would feed me to his snake.
His snake is over 30 feet Rati, I can't die like this!
—Neilos
To: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
From: Rati G. [Mechanical Engineer, R&D Department]
Subject: I Will Mourn You
Maybe if you tell him it was the intern’s fault he will let you live? You could offer her up instead, I'm sure with what Nerio's like, Orca would enjoy eating incompetent people more?
…
You were a good boss while it lasted.
—Rati
To: Rati G. [Mechanical Engineer, R&D Department]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: #ThereIsHope
I just heard that Dupain-Cheng is going to be sitting in on the Department Head meeting, I'm saved! I'm sure she liked me before she was kidnapped so she won't let Orca eat me and there is a good chance Mr Drake will be there. He likes the nano experiment so he might even push Nerio to fund it again. Sure, I'll have to sleep with one eye open for the rest of my life but FUNDING WILL BE OURS.
Having a science geek for a co-CEO is the best!
—Neilos
To: All Security Employees [Security Department], All I.T Employees [I.T Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Umm…How Do I Say This?
Does anyone have any idea why Mr Wayne has us looking for NDA's involving Dupain-Cheng? I know that she's a new hire but I was informed that she was good at her job.
Anyone who knows what happened to prompt this is welcome to share.
Everyone else has their orders.
—Ankit
To: All Security Employees [Security Department], All I.T Employees [I.T Department], Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Jørg M. [Parking lot Security, Security Department]
Subject: She's Not At Fault
When the Waynes returned from the press conference they were PISSED and Dupain-Cheng was emotionally dead. Mr Wayne was gentle with her, tried to get her to go home and everything but she refused and stormed off to make sure everything was ready for Mr Wayne's afternoon meeting.
I was curious so when they all left I asked Jérémy what had happened, apparently Scarecrow attacked the conference but only managed to get Dupain-Cheng. Jérémy said it was terrifying because she didn't even react, looked the scarecrow in the eye and called him rude. She broke his wrist when he tried to dose her again then walked up and called for a break like she wasn't tripping on fear toxin but that's not the worst part.
She was pulled over to the side by the Commissioner after she had the cure and Jérémy overheard her say that Scarecrow took the form of the man who TORTURED AND RAPED her. She told them that the case had been dismissed and she was forced to sign an NDA so he's STILL out there.
She's a good kid, she didn't deserve that.
—Jørg
To: All Security Employees [Security Department], All I.T Employees [I.T Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Wait What
This is unacceptable.
I want everyone on this! I do not know Dupain-Cheng but she is a member of WE and no one survives fucking with WE.
I want that bastard’s head.
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: All Security Employees [Security Department], All I.T Employees [I.T Department]
Subject: WHAT
Sir, yes sir!
—Security, I.T
To: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: Dupain-Cheng
I have no idea how she's done it, but Wayne approval has jumped by 32% and it's only her first day! We Can Not Lose Her! Is there some way we can legally stop her from leaving with these fools at the end of the summer?
Asking for a friend.
—Gilad
To: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
From: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
Subject: Dupain-Cheng
On record. Legal has told me that kidnapping a minor is seen as a crime and could hurt the company.
Off record. Millaray is working on it.
We have eight weeks, let's get this done before Waynes notice that she could leave at any moment.
—Roland
Chapter Text
Marinette is out of the car before Mr Shelagh has even fully stopped it; they have two hours left and she made a promise. The door is opened by a shocked Mr Pennyworth before she can even knock and she fights the growl at the energy pulsing off of him. The same, yet different. He is the first to recover.
"Good morning Ladybug, you are here to collect Masters Wayne and Drake correct?" He steps aside to let her in.
"Retired Ladybug, Peacock. And that is why I'm here. Could you take me to them? I trust they have gotten up by now."
He nods and leads her further in. "Retired Peacock, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I hope the trip here was to your liking, I thought I saw Mr Shelagh behind the wheel. Did he follow the law this time?"
She lets her lip quirk upwards for a second. "Of course not, Mr Pennyworth. I was in a hurry," She catches his lips twitch before they arrive at the dining room.
"Master Wayne, Miss Dupain-Cheng is here to see you," Everyone at the table snaps their eyes to her.
She wastes no time in walking up to the co-CEOs. "You have a meeting in two hours, I will be in the car outside to take you to WE so that you can attend on time. If you are not both in the car in the next five minutes you will have to wait until Monday to learn what Damian likes and dislikes." She then turns and stalks out.
"Who's Damian?" Mr Wayne asks curiously just before she leaves the room.
She pauses then turns back to him. "Your biological son, Sir," Then she's gone. It takes them two minutes to get to the car, both look super-secret identity serious so she adjusts her posture slightly. "Mr Shelagh?" Mr Shelagh's eyes meet hers. "Same again."
He smirks at her through the mirror. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!" He slams his foot on the accelerator, almost sending Mr Wayne and Mr Drake to the floor.
"What do you mean biological son ?" Mr Wayne hisses.
She raises an eyebrow. "Exactly what I said, Mr Wayne. On the way to get you, I got a call from his grandfather. He wanted to speak to you but I told him you were unavailable at the time, he told me that he was your father-in-law," Here Mr Wayne freezes and goes pale. "I asked him to tell me the name of your spouse, he did and then I looked it up. During my search, I found out about Damian. When confronted, he admitted that this was why he wanted to talk to you. So I-"
He cuts her off here. "Get my jet ready with a course planned for the Caribbean sea."
She blinks at him. "No."
Now it's his turn to blink. "No?" His tone is low and dangerous. "Your job is to do as I say." He growls.
"No, my job is to make you do your job. Do not underestimate me, Mr Wayne. Did you think that I would hold one of your sons in front of you like some sort of cruel joke? You will not be flying over there, they will be flying over here. You have a meeting scheduled with Mr Al Ghul, Miss Al Ghul, Mr Al Ghul-Wayne and their five bodyguards on Monday at eleven am. This will give you and the rest of your children time to buy Mr Al Ghul-Wayne some welcoming gifts." Both men blink at her before Mr Wayne falls back into his 'dumb playboy' act.
"You mean it will give us enough time for you to buy him a welcoming gift," He smirks at her as he reaches for a file, Mr Drake was already reading one.
"Naturally. Price limit?"
"He's my son ."
She nods and gets out her phone. "One from each of you?"
" Naturally ."
She raises an eyebrow at him, his smirk grows. "Of course, Mr Wayne. I'll have them ready for his arrival. A gift for Mr Al Ghul and Miss Al Ghul as well. It wouldn't do to be rude after all." He nods then turns his attention to the file as she starts typing. She has the perfect gifts for the youngest Wayne and his family.
They get to Wayne Enterprises with an hour to spare illegal driving could only get you so far in morning traffic. This is fine though, she still has time. She calmly walks stalks with the aura of a feral tiger to the meeting room with the Waynes on her heels; Mr Drake opens the door for her which is nice, then the three of them get settled. She smiles at each department head as they freeze in the doorway, there are the ones she knows:
Roland Shyam - HR
Neilos Nithya - R&D
Gilad Samira - PR
Jérémy Shelagh - Transport.
The ones she doesn't know introduce themselves without prompting:
Ankit Grier - Security
Nerio Cristiana - Accounting
Millaray Vladimir - Legal
Lucius Fox - BR&D
Leo Sundar - Production
Jeetendra Sudarshan - Marketing
Mechthild Narcisa - Purchasing
Loane Erwann - IT
Amala Jerrard - Customer Service.
Both Mr Wayne and Mr Drake seem smug when they all tell her that they already know her name, she just smiles and opens the first file. She feels like someone is tightening a noose around her neck. The meeting is a success with everyone leaving on amicable terms even with Mr Cristiana looking at Mr Nithya like he wanted to feed him to his snake half the time Orca spends half the meeting wrapped around her neck, it's the best! Mr Wayne even gives her the rest of the day off to shop for gifts for Damian, he doesn't have any more meetings today and has promised to do his paperwork so she agrees. Damian is going to love the gifts as much as Mr Wayne is going to hate them.
Mr Shelagh drives her as he won't have anything else to do until the Wayne's are ready to leave. First stop, Dick's gift. She buys most of a high-end art store -two sets of everything so that he doesn't run out then has Damian engraved into it all to make it personalised. The store owner promises that she can pick it all up anytime tomorrow.
Second stop, Stephanie's gift. Damian is going to be coming from an extremely hot country to Gotham where it's a miracle if it doesn't rain, so she buys him lots of soft and warm jumpers as well as some stylish raincoats. She grabs a couple for Ra’s, Talia, and the bodyguards so that they don't have to suffer.
Third stop, Duke's gift. A top of the line smartphone and laptop so that they can all keep connected: with the Wayne's if he returns home, or the Al Ghul's if he stays here.
Fourth stop, Cassandra's gift. This one is a bit harder to find than the others, but with all of the crime, it would make sense to have a Katana shop away from the public. After bartering with the owner, she managed to have a custom blade made with a handle in muted Robin colours. A nod to both sides of his family. She has katanas made for Ra’s and Talia as well for their actual gifts. An olive branch in the terms of their business. The owner tells her that she can collect them on Thursday.
The last stop is Bruce's gift. His gift turns into two when she steps into the office of the zoo manager, he has a pair of baby panthers whose mother died shortly after birthing them. They are tiny and adorable and the zookeeper tells her that they don't have the funds to take care of them, so she agrees to take them off the zoo's hands for a discount. She promises to collect them on Saturday.
She spends the rest of the night wrapping the gifts she was able to bring home and then passing out, but not before sending Alfred a text asking if he can make sure the Wayne's are out of the house earlier tomorrow. His name in her contacts is a peacock feather in revenge; he had made hers a ladybug first.
Chapter Text
Marinette develops a new level of hatred for Mr Wayne when he calls her at three in the morning. She answers because she hates herself.
"Yes, Mr Wayne?"
"I need a favour, Ma'am," His voice comes out strained and she hears someone grunt in pain in the background, she doesn't recognise them.
Marinette sits up, wide awake. "What do you need, Mr Wayne?"
"Miss Brown has been arrested for assault, I need her out. Now."
"Of course Mr Wayne. I'll have her home soon."
"Good, I'll see you soon." The line cuts out, Marinette grabs her long coat and her heels then darts out the door with her phone to her ear. Mr Shelagh picks up on the second ring.
"Hello?" He says groggily.
"I need you to pick me and Miss Brown up at the GPD ASAP, then drive us to the Wayne residence."
"M...Miss Dupain-Cheng? Shit, I mean yes. I'll meet you there."
"Thank you, Mr Shelagh." She hangs up and opens her phone map, ten minutes away. She can make it in five if she runs. With a plan in mind, she darts off into the night.
She's right, five minutes later she's standing in the middle of the GPD with a worried Commissioner Gordon hurrying over.
"Miss Dupain-Cheng? What happened to"
She cuts him off. "Where is Miss Brown? I need you to take me to her and I need one of your men to get me whatever I need to get her out." Commissioner Gordon opens his mouth but she cuts him off again. "I have to be up and getting ready for work at five am. I like you, Commissioner, but make no mistake. If you make this hard for me I will destroy you." She hisses towards the end, he steps back.
She must be a sight to behold in her nightgown, long coat and heels. Her hair isn't even up! It's too early to care, and by the time she's done everyone here is going to be too scared to mention it. He nods and gestures for her to follow him. On the way, he asks Officer Cash to grab the bail papers. Miss Brown has a split lip and a wrist in a brace; she looks up when they enter. She spots Marinette and smiles for a second but then she freezes, a look of anger crossing her face.
"What happened?" Marinette asks Stephanie.
"Miss Brown dragged someone into an alleyway and hit him with a baseball bat." Marinette turns to the Police officer that spoke and raises an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry but I wasn't asking you, Officer. I was asking Miss Brown who is going to tell me exactly why her father got me out of bed at three in the morning ." Stephanie has the good sense to back out of range.
"I was out with some friends when this guy started flirting with me, I told him to leave me alone. It's girl night and we all agreed not to hook up on girls night."
Marinette nods along. "That's a good rule, keeps you from being separated."
"YES, Exactly! Anyway, I started craving a smoke, so I slip out, then the asshole grabs me by the hair and drags me into an alley. Like WTF, it took me two hours to get ready!"
"And you look beautiful." She adds.
"Thank you, anyway. I was understandably upset so I broke the guy’s hand then asked him what the hell he thought he was doing and do you know what he says?!?" By this point, Stephanie is walking back and forth. "He says that he's teaching me a lesson because I was being a tease, I SAID NO! How the fuck does that make me a tease?!?"
"It doesn't," Marinette says Stephanie's eyes snap towards her. "It doesn't make you a tease if you reject someone, it means that you don't want what they are offering. If they take that the wrong way, then it has nothing to do with you OK? You are not at fault here." Stephanie looks like she's about to cry, Officer Cash chooses that moment to come in with the papers she needs to sign.
She's leading Stephanie out of the GPD five minutes later, she smiles when she sees Mr Shelagh waiting for her. He perks up when he sees them but suddenly becomes angry, that's the second time this has happened... Is it because she's in her nightgown? Just as Mr Shelagh opens his mouth, the Batmobile skids around the corner. Oh great, now this. Batman and Robin get out, take one look at her, and become furious. What the hell is wrong with her nightgown? Stephanie starts making her way towards the Batmobile.
"What are you doing?" Marinette snaps, she doesn't understand why everyone is acting like this. She hates not understanding.
Stephanie looks like a deer in headlights. "Umm... I'm going home?"
"If you're going home why are you walking towards the wrong car?" Marinette starts tapping her foot on the sidewalk.
"I'm taking her home, Ma'am," Batman says, his voice is deep and gritty.
She raises an unimpressed eyebrow. "Are you now? Because I think I would remember Mr Wayne informing me if he planned to have his daughter picked by a nocturnal furry. It's the kind of information that sticks." She turns from his and Robin’s shocked faces to Stephanie. "Now, it's..." She pulls her phone out. "Four am and I have to start getting ready for work at five so I'm only going to say this once. Stephanie Brown, if you don't get in this car right fucking now, I will schedule you so many meetings and press conferences that by the time I'm done you won't even know how to breathe without a prompter. Do I make myself CLEAR! " Everyone steps back shocked then, slowly, Stephanie slides into the back of Mr Shelagh's car. Marinette slams the door shut then walks around to get on the other side, just before she enters she looks the two vigilantes in the eye. "If I see either of you following us, I'll call fucking animal control," She hisses then slams her door. Mr Shelagh speeds away as soon as she's clicked in her seat belt. She sighs then looks to the slightly scared teen next to her. "Officer asshole said you hit the guy with a bat?" Stephanie nods hesitantly. "...You break anything other than his hand?"
"I think I shattered his kneecap?"
Marinette smiles at her. "Good girl. It takes a strong hit to do that. I'm very proud, your father will be too when you tell him." Stephanie brightens considerably, they spend the rest of the ride talking about fashion. It's not until she's walking past the mirror to get in her shower that she realises that the makeup around her neck is gone. She wiped it off before she went to sleep. Fuck.
Chapter Text
She sits calmly at her desk as she works on getting Mr Todd's death overturned. She's making great headway and is sure that he will legally be declared alive again by Friday at the latest, which means she will have all of his documents ready for Monday. It's been a productive morning of ignoring the Wayne's walking past her desk constantly staring at her neck. Nothing looks wrong, of course. Stephanie had asked her once, but Marinette had played it off as a trick of the light and then gave her a stack of paperwork to do that was so big they both had to make two trips to get it into Mr Wayne's office. Stephanie hadn't asked again so she assumed the message had been clear. Mr Wayne has spent the whole time staring at her through the glass wall he asked her to turn off privacy mode today so the glass is no longer opaque, she didn't know the glass did that and now (barring a private meeting) it's never going back. But he's on time and doing his paperwork so she's not bothered, and he can't ask without revealing himself anyway. The rest of the day goes like this and soon it's an hour before she has to leave so of course, this is when Mr Wayne would call her into his office, the rest of the Wayne's have congregated there as well. Fun.
"Is there something wrong, Mr Wayne?" She still needs to collect and set up Mr Grayson's gift before she can sleep.
"Yes, Miss Dupain-Cheng. It has come to my attention that you are covering up an injury, I would like to know how it happened and who did it." They all have their super-secret identity serious faces on.
She looks them all in the eye then gets out her phone. After a few clicks, she nods and looks back up. "The snake that lives in my ceiling bit me. He bit me in the leg after he fell out of the ceiling onto the floor. I tried to hit him with my desk lamp, but I missed and hit my roommate who was playing with a baby doll at the time. I know, don't ask. My roommate was furious and brandished the baby doll at me as a weapon." She looks at the phone again and reads off the rest of the excuse. "Holding the baby doll by her head, he harnessed all of his anger - both from being hit by the lamp AND from being disturbed during his baby doll playtime - into one giant swing at me. He missed me because he has terrible aim, but I tripped on a small orange (NOT A CLEMENTINE! THOSE ARE OUT OF SEASON) from the bowl I knocked over earlier in the day but refused to pick up at the time. Then I fell to the floor. I hit my neck on the snake on the way down." She calmly puts her phone back into her pocket and looks up. Mr Wayne stares at her unimpressed, that's fine. She’s just as unimpressed with him.
"... Marinette, this isn't a joke."
"Do I look like I'm joking Mr Wayne?"
He raises an eyebrow. "So, you expect me to just believe that?”
She raises one back. "Yes, Mr Wayne."
He growls and leans forward. "Tell me who hurt you Marinette, now! "
She watches him. "I'm handling it."
He does not like that answer, Mr Drake leans in and whispers something into his ear which makes him relax. She narrows her eyes. "Very well Marinette, you can go. I'll see you tomorrow."
Her eyes narrow further. "...Yes Mr Wayne... " She slowly turns and leaves, she will stop whatever they are planning eventually.
The shop owner is very nice when she turns up to collect Mr Grayson's gift, it made up for the fact that Nightwing had been stalking her for a few blocks now. They chatted happily as she paid with Mr Wayne's credit card, she left with a business card so that Damian could top up his supplies when needed. Then she made her way to the Wayne residence Bet you didn't expect that Mr Grayson. Alfred had agreed to let her set up the room he chose with the promise that he wouldn't let anyone in if she stayed the night, she had brought her spare change of clothes, new nightgown and makeup to work that morning. She was surprised that no one noticed it. Alfred opens the door before she gets to it, again.
"Good evening, Ladybug, I'll show you the way."
She narrows her eyes before turning and waving at Mr Shelagh. "Good evening, Peacock, that would be lovely. I trust that the Waynes are busy?"
The corner of his eye twitches. "Of course, as per our agreement. I'm not one to break my promises, unlike some. "
She nods. "Cats and Butterflies are quite untrustworthy, aren't they."
"Indeed, I will come and collect you when it is time for dinner, Ladybug ."
"Thank you, Peacock." She replies as she steps into the room and gets to work.
It was done! And very well if she does say so. Maybe she should go into interior design when her internship is done? Alfred chooses that moment to open the door, how the hell does he do that? She steps out of the room with her bag and he locks it behind her.
"We still have some time before dinner, shall I show you to your room?"
"That would be nice... how do you do that, Peacock ?"
He smirks lightly as they walk down the winding halls. "It's a boon from being a true Peacock. I am more empathetic and can tell when people are lying to me."
"Oh?" This was very interesting.
"I'm curious as to what boons you have gained from being a true Ladybug? Something to do with luck perhaps?" She opens her mouth to dispute this as they turn a corner but a wet body crashes into her, they catch her before she falls.
"...Marinette?" She'd look up but she's too busy watching a water droplet make its way down his very muscular chest, it continues its path until it hits his towel.... which is slipping.
She snaps her eyes up and fights to keep her voice level. "Yes, Mr Drake?" He looks confused, no one was told that she was going to be there then. He opens his mouth to speak again when they all hear a soft 'thump', her eyes snap to it due to years of listening out for Chat then immediately snap to the ceiling. Tim hurries to cover himself again but it doesn't matter, she's seen everything. If only he wasn't both her boss and an asshole, hell, with how impressive he is the asshole part might not even matter. He sputters out an apology and darts past her, once they are alone Alfred chuckles. She glares at him.
"So it is a good luck boon." She growls as she storms after him.
Tim refuses to look at her while they eat dinner, Mr Wayne more than makes up for it with the smug looks he sends her every so often. Everyone else looks excited, she wonders how big the hissy fit they are going to throw is when they realise that she's only staying tonight? It makes her smile.
Chapter Text
The previous night had been taxing, Joker had escaped. Again, which meant that Bruce and his kids had all tumbled into bed in the early morning. He can't be blamed for sleeping in a little... OK, a lot but he's the co-CEO, it's not like anyone's going to do anything about it.
So it turns out that being the co-CEO doesn't mean shit to Miss Dupain-Cheng who just walked in, dropped the fact that he has a biological son on his lap then left with the threat of not telling him anything about him if he wasn't in the car when she left again. Finding out that Damian's mother is Talia al Ghul makes him panic, the League of Assassins is NO PLACE TO RAISE A CHILD!!! He feels bad for snapping at her but he was still in shock, she must understand this because she doesn't even complain when he tells her to get the gifts for him. Just encase, he starts reading the reports she brought. A peace offering, she deserves a raise after yesterday as well. He'll talk to HR about it later.
The meeting goes off without a hitch, every time any of the heads would start going off-topic Miss Dupain-Cheng would drum her nails once on the table and people would scramble to get back on track... What happened while he was sleeping because they all seem slightly scared of her. He tells her that she has the rest of the day off to buy the gifts and promises to do his paperwork so that she'll agree, he still thinks that it's too soon after the Scarecrow attack for her to be working. She narrows her eyes at him then nods sharply and walks away, once the elevator doors close he turns then sighs. Tim is sitting at his desk staring at the elevator doors like a lovesick puppy, he snaps his fingers in front of Tim. If he's learnt anything during the day and a half he's known her it's that the best chance Tim has is to be the one she has to manhandle the least.
He's in the middle of a fight with Two-Faces Goons when he gets a call from Stephanie which has him worried because she was supposed to be out with her friends, his first reaction to finding out that she's been arrested is to call Marinette... He made the right choice because when he's finally free to go himself she's already walking down the GPD steps with Stephanie, he winces internally at the fact that she's still in her nightgown but then his whole world freezes. There is a handprint around Marinette's neck, it's a dark purple against her pale skin which means that whoever did it was squeezing hard. What pisses him off the most though is that it looks a day old at best and she doesn't even care, she snaps and yells at him (a Nocturnal Furry? Really? The threat about animal control was just petty) like she isn't in pain. He's had people choke him before and knows how much just talking hurts afterwards, she doesn't even flinch. He has a sinking feeling in his gut that she's used to people hurting her, Tim drives them around until Stephanie calls to tell them that Marinette has left (She made a threat and while it's petty he completely believes that she will follow through). He spends the time driving around getting Ankit and Loane to find out if any Marinette has been mentioned in any domestic abuse cases, he trusts them to get back to him if they find anything. It might even help them find the asshole that trapped her in an NDA.
Stephanie is a lot happier when they arrive, the first thing she does is bounce over to Tim and tell him that if he doesn't marry Marinette she will then tells him what happened. He's impressed when she tells him that she shattered the guy's kneecap, she smiles even brighter when he tells her. Apparently, Marinette already said that he was going to be impressed with her, Marinette also spent half an hour talking about fashion with her and told her that she looked great even after everything that happened. Marinette is getting a raise, a big one and HR won't even complain because Roland is scared of her.
...He has a feeling that telling Marinette about the glass wall is going to end badly for him in the long run but he's worried, Ankit and Loane hadn't found anything yet and she was still acting like it hadn't happened. He waits the entire day for her to tell one of them about it and feels the pit in his stomach grow when she passes each chance up, going so far as to outright deny it then bury Stephanie in paperwork for daring to ask. The excuse she gives him when he finally asks is long and elaborate, he's going to enjoy using it against her next time he's visibly injured, see how she likes it.
"I'm handling it," She says, tone slightly softer in his visible anger at her evasiveness, can't she see that he's just trying to help? That he just wants her to be safe?
"We're setting up a rota to tail her, we'll know if they try again and we'll be able to stop it" Tim whispers into his ear and he sighs and tells her that she can go. She's suspicious of his mood change but does as she's told, Dick waits until the elevator doors shut then he darts into the secret side room to get changed. Whoever has hurt his (soon to be) daughter-in-law is going to regret the day they were born.
Finding Marinette sitting at his dining table in classy casual clothes for dinner is a surprise, a good one though it worries him. What could have happened to make her move in? She was so adamant that she had it handled, was she wrong? She looked OK but he knew by now that her looking fine meant nothing. But his kids were so happy that she was here that he couldn't help but be a little smug. Who could blame him, he was winning this little war she had waged ageist him after all.
Chapter Text
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Millaray V. [Head of Legal, Legal Department]
Subject: Run
Warning! I don't know what happened but Duapin-Cheng is on a WARPATH! I have never seen someone so small install as much fear as she just did to my ENTIRE department WITH A LOOK! Even Chryseis Eoin shrank under it! Chryseis Eoin never shrinks under anything! The woman's a machine!
She's after the reports for the meeting in three hours so for anyone who hasn't been visited yet I strongly suggest you get them out. I have been promised that this isn't going to be another throwaway meeting and this is the first time I'm believing it.
I hope you have better luck than I did.
—Millaray
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
Subject: Too late
We've already been hit, help us mourn the loss of our dignity. It was single-handedly the most terrifying thing to happen to me in my life and I've been kidnapped by Two-face before! But at least she's not mad at the US, apparently, Wayne and Drake didn't turn up this morning.
So when she kills them who's going to be our new CEO? I vote for Miss Dupain-Cheng.
—Roland
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: Same
It's like we were hit by a tornado of rage trapped under a professional smile. We're just lucky that Jeroným Elvar managed to pull one of our interns out of the way. The girl was trying to APPROACH Dupain-Cheng! Does she have no self-preservation? Why are most of these interns stupid?
Seriously Roland, WTF.
—Gilad
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Amala J. [Head of Customer Service, Customer Service]
Subject: Hey!
First of all, I'll have you know that BOTH my interns are great thank you very much. They both like to compete against each other which is the best when we need a department coffee run, so far between them, they can do it all in ONE TRIP! Do you know how god sent that is?!?
Second, Thanks for the warning Millaray. We had everything ready for Dupain-Cheng when she honest to god STALKED onto our floor like a wild jungle cat, Verner 'Avimelekh and Alodia Thutmose got so scared that they held the reports out like shields. She smiled when she took them, WIN!
By the time she makes it to the parking lot, she should (hopefully) not kill the co-CEOs on sight. If she does then she gets my vote for the new CEO.
Get those files, ready guys!
—Amala
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Nerio C. [Head of Accounting, Accounting Department]
Subject: I Do Not Understand
I don't understand what you're all going on about. Miss Dupain-Cheng is delightful and Orca likes her. My interns are quite good as well, one has the outside experience and the other is, quite frankly, a genius. If you lot are having to scramble for your information then that's a YOU problem.
I'll see you at the meeting.
—Nerio
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Leo S. [Head of Production, Production Department]
Subject: That Means Nothing
The fact that Orca LIKES HER makes her MORE terrifying WTF. I was fine with her storming in like a fucking tiger on the hunt then I get YOUR message, Nerio. ORCA DOESN'T LIKE ANYONE! She barely even tolerates YOU!
I can't even
—Leo
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jeetendra S.[Head of Marketing, Marketing Department]
Subject: Oh God
Fuck the snake! Is no one going to mention the fact that she LOOKS LIKE A WAYNE!!!! WTF guys! You can't just NOT tell a man this. And Millaray's description of 'small but terrifying' does not count!
I almost had a heart attack when she stalked through. And an extra FUCK YOU to you, Nerio. No one needs you to rub the fact that you got two of the five only competent interns. I swear if this stupid child tells me that we would sell more if we put some Layla chicks face on our products again HR is going to be involved!
Why do I ALWAYS get the shitty ones?
—Jeetendra
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Mechthild N. [Head of Purchasing, Purchasing Department]
Subject: Well Your Not Wrong
You do have a point Jeetendra and I agree with you, with less swearing of course. Dupain-Cheng does look like a long lost Wayne child. You might want to look into this Loane, if she's Wayne's biological child we legally don't HAVE TO return her?
Also, can I make a move to start calling her the baby CEO? Dupain-Cheng is getting hard to type.
Also also. God, she's scary.
—Mechthild
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: No Dice
I already checked as soon as she walked in and I'm sad to be the one to tell you that she already has a bio dad. D;
And I vote yes, Baby CEO is soooo much easier.
Ankit! Did you find anything about that NDA situation on your end? I'm coming up with blanks.
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: No Luck
Nothing on my end, it's like this fucker buried it or something. The team is going to keep on this though.
When we find this asshole I'm going to have some WORDS with them!
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: The What Now?
I'm sorry? Are you insinuating that our STOLEN intern is involved in an NDA? Why the hell is that a thing?!?
I vote to call her that too. Not to her face though, I don't want to DIE yet.
Also, Roland. Can I exchange my remaining intern for a new hire? Please! I'm begging you! It's been a day and she's already ruined an experiment! I don't even know how she did it, all she was supposed to do was type in some numbers!
Please, Roland!
—Neilos
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Lucius F. [Head of BR&D, BR&D Department]
Subject: Suffer
I would like to move the competent intern number from five to six. MY INTERN has proved to be a great help in carting around equipment and he's a very good DJ. It's such a shame that you got the short end of the stick Neilos, It's almost like the universe is punishing you for picking OUR department's interns while I was sick.
A heads up text would be appreciated next time Neilos.
—Lucius
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: GUYS!!!
THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER! BABY CEO JUST STALKED OVER TO ME AND TOLD ME TO IGNORE DRIVING LAWS! I CAN FINALLY USE MY CHAMPION RACE CAR SKILLS!
SHE IS THE GREATEST!
—Jérémy
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: Baby CEO
Did you just get this text from Wayne as well? Please tell me I'm dreaming and someone hasn't tried to put hands on the baby CEO?
My husband wants to know why I threw my coffee mug at a wall.
—Loane
To: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Baby CEO
If you dreaming then we're sharing a nightmare. I've already sent the emails out, Wayne wants a DISCREET security detail on her twenty-four seven. No idea how we're going to pull it off because she is as observant as the best of us. (It make so much more sense now.)
If it helps, MY husband is mad at me because I put my fist through a wall.
—Ankit
Chapter Text
Marinette's alarm goes off at five am and she ignores it, this bed is sooooo soft and she knows that once she leaves she will never return. Of course, that is when Alfred knocks on her door, only he would be this much of an asshole.
"It's time to get up Ladybug. I shall have breakfast ready in an hour" She doesn't move, if she pretends that his boon doesn't tell him that she's awake then maybe it'll be true. "... Would you get up faster with the knowledge that Master Drake likes to eat breakfast topless?" He chuckles as she snarls and tosses a pillow at the door. Well, she's wide awake now! She waits for his footsteps to reseed then gets up, this is what she gets for making deals with Peacocks.
The shower is just as heavenly as the bed and she has to fight herself to leave, this isn't fair. Why do these assholes have such nice things? She is tempted to just wear the towel to breakfast because it's so comfortable. She decides to cover her necklace of bruises at the dining room table to save time prompting the Wayne's to stare as she expertly blends it into non-existence. Alfred takes one look and puts a cup of warm honey milk next to her elbow.
"I see the cat decided to try and take more than was offered. You are dealing with this accordingly I assume Ladybug." Everyone freezes and stares at Alfred in shock, Mr Wayne's coffee is halfway to his mouth.
"Of course I am Peacock, the cat will regret the moment he was born when I'm done. Things like this should be nipped in the bud" She smiles pleasantly at him, Miss Cain slowly puts her tea down and slides it away from her weary.
"That is true though you seem to be playing a long game."
"Well my first hit somehow missed due to rashness so I'm taking my time with this one"
"Aha, I see. I had the same problem with the butterfly, slippery little things, very hard to pin down though very satisfying when you finally get them."
Mr Wayne's cup 'clinks' as he sets it back down. "Alfred? Marinette?"
They both turn to him. "Yes, Mr/Master Wayne?" They say together, Mr Grayson looks at his drink like it's drugged.
"... Have you met before?"
"We first met on Tuesday. Is there a problem Mr/Master Wayne?" Mr Wayne blinks once then shakes his head. They both nod.
"Well, I must be getting back to my duties Ladybug. Do keep me updated on your progress with the cat."
"I will, have a wonderful rest of your day Peacock." He waits for her to down the honey milk then takes the empty cup and leaves, at that exact moment she gets a text from Mr Shelagh. She stands too. Mr Shelagh is here, I will be waiting in the car. Don't belong." As she leaves she hears Mr Grayson wondering if quick breakfasts were going to be a continuous thing now that she's moved in, she smirks to herself as she walks to the front door. It's the little things in life that make it worthwhile.
The ride to WE was spent in calm silence, she had been squished against Tim again but she didn't mind. Red tipped ears were a good look for him. The workday was calm as well, a couple of people came up to her with coffee's throughout the day (Chryseis from Legal, Verner from Customer Service, Jeroným from PR, Rati from R&D and Setareh from Accounting) which was nice, she makes sure to smile brightly at them which makes them giddy... she has no idea why and just carries on. Her walk to the katana shop was nice as well excluding this one part where she punched this guy claiming to be a Joker in the face after he grabbed her ass. Zhi Jing was a very kind old man who made her sit down for traditional tea with him, his wife, his daughter, his son-in-law and his three grandchildren. It was a great way for her to test her Mandarin. The katanas were beautiful as well though he made four not three. The two for Ra's and Talia were pure black with a small inscription on the blade that could only be seen if it was turned a certain way 'اتصال دمي بدمك.' (The connection of my blood to yours). While Damian's handle and sheath took on the muted Robin colour's, the blade shared the same black as his mothers and grandfathers. Another nod to both sides of his bloodline. The fourth katana's handle was crimson with black underneath that could be seen through the gaps like spots, the sheath was black with what looked like red mist curling around it but it was the blade that made it look soooo good. It looked like it was made from redwood and it was gorgeous, she almost didn't want to tell Zhi that he'd given her one too many but she couldn't do that. It looked like it cost a fortune. Zhi laughed when she told him then rapped three of the four blades for her, his wife strapped the red one to her back before she could protest. She was lightly shoved out of the shop with the demand that she return for tea next week, all she could do was blink as they locked the door behind her and flipped over the sign in the window that now stated that they were closed. Well then.... that happened.
She should have known that her luck today was too good to be true. She felt it as soon as she got to her hotel room door, she walked in calmly and placed the three wrapped katana's in the hidden place she had stuck Stephanie's gift then as quick as lightning she pulled out her new katana and placed the tip to Master Fu's throat.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed.
He looked startled for a moment then became serious. "I need Ladybug...."
She cuts him off. "No"
He rears back slightly. "No? You don't understand..."
"You Don't Understand! Did my toss the earrings in your face not give you enough of a clue? NO!" She keeps the blade trained on him because he's ruining her good mood god damn it!
"Someone keeps taking the rabbit miraculous!" He yells.
"Well, they obviously keep returning it too so I don't see the problem." She hisses.
"That's not the point! He..."
"What does Fluff have to say?"
He ignores her. "His name is Tom House and he...."
"What Does Fluff Have To Say!" He glares at her and she scoffs. "Oh, I get it. You're not mad because Fluff's getting out every so often, you're mad because some guy has been walking into wherever it is you're staying to play with a rabbit then leaving without the rabbit! "
"This is serious Marinette."
"Sure."
He glares harder. "I need a true holder to..."
"Then go bug Mr Pennyworth." She snarls as she Finally managed to shove him out of the room. "Asshole." She whispers as she sheaths her katana, it glides in like the sheath isn't there. Man, she loves this thing.
She does a sweep of her room and freezes, one of her suitcases isn't where she left it. She growls under her breath as she stalks over to it and pulls it open, she expects to see the miraculous box because this would be the kind of underhanded trick Fu would pull. She does not expect to find herself down a lingerie set but she knows exactly where to find it. She checks and packs up everything in the room and leaves it locked in the bathroom then storms to Adrien's room and bangs on his door, as soon as he opens it she presses her katana to his neck.
"I want them back. Now!" She snarls.
He holds up his hands with a smug look on his face as he stands there hastily putting on boxers and nothing else. "I have no idea what you're talking about Princess but if you want to do a body search I won't stop you." She glares and presses the blade harder against his neck, he rolls his eyes and sighs before reaching INTO HIS BOXERS and pulling them out. He then drops the cum covered lingerie into her outstretched hand with hooded eyes, she fights every urge in her body to stop herself from beheading him RIGHT NOW and steps back. She makes sure to give him a little cut before she steps back a second time to give him room to shut the door. He smirks as he slowly shuts the door, making sure she has a full view of him reaching into his boxers before the door clicks shut. One day she's going to cut this fuckers dick off and see how smug he is then.
The lingerie goes into the first bin she passes and after thoroughly washing her hands she calmly walks to the front desk and explains what has happened with Adrien's name left out, she has planned for that motherfucker. The receptionist is horrified when she learns what has happened, even more so when Marinette gives her name over. Suddenly she's being escorted to the Honeymoon suite by Gaius Márcio, the hotel Very big head of security, for free as an apology about what happened. She tried to explain that it wasn't the hotel's fault but they wouldn't take no for an answer. The room is great and the bed feels almost like the one in the Wayne residence, she's almost asleep when she gets a text from Chloe telling her that they are going to a club tomorrow night to celebrate surviving their first week and that they all need to be wearing the party outfits she and Kagami got them all. Lingerie included and Marinette wasn't allowed to back out. She sighed then pushed herself up, guess she was going lingerie shopping. Yay...
Chapter Text
She goes through three lingerie shops with nothing to show for her efforts, she stands in front of the fourth swearing that it will be the last. It's tastefully decorated and the pieces look well made but nothing stands out to her. She turns a corner and comes face to face with Miss Cain holding a collar, leash and a riding crop all in black with hints of the Superfamily blue... she wants to say that she wouldn't have expected this but Miss Cain gives the clear aura of someone who likes to be in charge.
Miss Cain raises her eyebrow. "I will admit that I did not expect to find you here after you didn't return home with us."
"This is a surprise I will admit, getting new supplies?"
Miss Cain smirks as her thumb runs over the collar. "He is very good at breaking them. Why are you here?"
Marinette makes a note to look into this man she's seeing. "I'm looking for a new lingerie set, my old one... became unusable."
Miss Cain narrows her eyes before they widen slightly, Marinette is worried when they start sparkling. "I have the perfect set." She says then pulls Marinette further into the store, when they stop her jaw drops.
"Is this..."
"Yes," Cassandra says with glee.
"These are..."
"Yes!"
"Do the Bat-family know that there is a lingerie section dedicated to them?" She asks in wonder as she reaches out for the Robin one, the colours are darker than the original to the point that if it wasn't for the crimson R it could be passed off as nothing to do with him. It's very well made as well and the fabric is soft to the touch. She can feel Cassandra smirking behind her.
"Some do, some don't. I think that would look good on you."
Marinette thinks it over, what eventually makes her take it is the look on imaginary Tim's face when he sees her in it. Just before she leaves she turns to Cassandra. "If you never saw me here then I never saw you, deal Miss Cain?"
Cassandra shakes her hand. "Deal"
She falls into her bed when she returns to her room, her outfit for tomorrow is sitting on one of the chairs with her new Robin themed lingerie. She buries her face into her pillow, why the hell did she buy it? She was supposed to be killing her small not small at all crush on one of her bosses. This Was Not Killing It! This Was Adding Fuel To The Fire! God, she was such a mess. She forcefully shoves the thoughts from her mind and falls into blissful slumber.... until she was woken by her phone ringing, she glares at it until she realises that it's Alfred.
"Yes, Peacock?" She says groggily.
"Would you mind telling me why the Guardian is standing on Mr Wayne's front steps saying that you sent him Ladybug?"
She whines sleepily at Alfred's pissed off tone, he's going to make her regret this. "I was trying to get him to leave me alone. I didn't think he would find you."
"... So he's been bugging you?" His tone is soft and deadly at the same time, she contemplates lying and saying no but remembers that he can tell the difference.
"I saw him on my way to the Wayne residence on Tuesday before we met and I found him in my room when I got back today."
"... I see. I apologise for calling you so late Marinette, have a lovely night."
She blinks at the use of her name then smiles. "You to Alfred, sorry about this."
He chuckles, it has a dark undertone to it. "Don't apologise for needing help, never for that." He hangs up before she can reply, she falls back to sleep feeling lighter.
Her alarm wakes her up at five am and she feels less angry about it than before, it's FRIDAY! Once she's done today all she has to do is collect the cubs and Jason's paperwork plus maybe talk to the Al Ghul's over the phone when they land! It's going to be great! She even wears lingerie under her work clothes so she has to spend less time changing when she gets back. Her team friends chat excitedly around her as the bus makes its way to the WE building, she gets swept up in it and has a bright smile on her face as she walks into the building. Lila and co seethe behind her as she waves at Calista, Martín and Feidlimid. The security guards smile and nod back while Calista waves happily. Mr Wayne and Tim aren't there again but this time she doesn't have anything pressing for them to do so she doesn't mind, she'll let them sleep in today. They turn up at twelve with lunch, Tim smiles at her as he leans in to give her some. Their hands brush as he hands it over and she feels sparks dance along the trail he left, maybe wearing the lingerie themed after he wasn't the best plan. She soon forgets about this when he sits on the edge of her desk and starts talking about photography, it's a hobby of his when he's not working. Soon she's smiling at him and sharing her passion for fashion design while they eat. She doesn't realise the time until her alarm goes off to remind her to get back to work, he takes her rubbish so she doesn't have to get up then grabs his pile of paperwork of his own free will! She might be in love... Fuck.
IT'S OVER! SHE'S COMPLETED HER FIRST WEEK! She smiles as she tells Mr Wayne and Tim that she will see them on Monday, they don't seem happy about it but agree. Tim gives her a smile that does things to her as the elevator doors close, she is so fucked. Chloe and Alix hug tackle her when they see her and drag her onto the bus, the stress of the week falls away as she sneaks them up to her new room. She doesn't tell them how she got it and they don't ask. Getting ready is just as fun and everyone is super jealous of her Robin themed lingerie set they don't ask what happened to the one Chloe and Kagami got her. Once she sees herself in the mirror she has to blink, she has NEVER looked this sexy before. Chloe stands behind her looking smug as Alix steps out of the bathroom with the same look on her face as Marinette, Kim and Max choke at the sight of her which makes her smug. Nino sighs and shakes his head then drags them all into a group photo to send to Luka and Kagami, they sneak out after so that no one knows what room she now has.
The club is filled with a crowd of no so happy people, the DJ didn't turn up. Kim immediately volunteers Nino and the club is desperate enough to let him try, the look on their faces when Nino kills it with the first song fuels Marinette's joy. The crowd goes wild and she and her team friends hit the dance floor, after the third song Max smirks and hands out fake ID's. Alix full-on snogs him then drags them to the bar, they buy a load of shots. Making sure that they send some Nino's way, he toasts them before downing the three they send him in quick succession. The crowd love it and cheer louder. She's six shots down when she spots him, he's sitting at the bar surveying the crowd. She sees him look at the people around her and relax slightly, she sighs and downs her shot before she makes her way over. He smirks at her lewdly to cover his panic at her approach but she ignores it.
"Good..." She pulls out her phone to check the time and blinks. "Good morning Mr Todd" He freezes as she pulls out a business card and starts writing on it. "You will be at WE and outside Mr Wayne's office at noon on Monday for your paperwork then you'll be attending a meeting with the head of BR&D." She hands the frozen man the card with the details on it then leans in close and whispers in his ear. "If I have to find you I will rip off your head and shove it so far up your ass that Mr Wayne won't be able to tell the difference." She turns and makes her way into the crowd with a parting, "See you on Monday Mr Todd." She smiles when she hears the glass in his hand hit the floor, this was a great night.
Chapter Text
She wakes up to knocking on her door and covers her head with her pillow, she feels like she's dying. NEVER AGAIN! The door opens putting her on edge for a second until she feels Alfred's aura.
"This will help." He says gently, she slowly moves the pillow away from her face and looks at him. He's holding out a cup of slightly steaming liquid, he waits patiently as she slowly sits up and takes it.
"What happened? Why am I here?" She crocks out after a few sips, it's a tea blended with spices she doesn't recognise.
"Well Master Wayne is waiting for you in the dining room to give you the full story but the short version is that Batman and Robin brought you here after you drunkenly beat up Two-face and his goons while they tried to kidnap Catwoman."
She blinks up at him in confusion then sighs. "Great, one more thing to worry about."
"Not necessary, I've taken care of our Turtle problem." He smiles at her look of wonder and gently pats her head. "He's currently on a flight to Germany with instructions not to return unless he wishes to see the power of a true Peacock. Come down when your ready but be careful, Master Wayne is very unhappy." She sighs again and finishes her tea, she feels brighter and more connected to those around her.
She narrows her eyes at him as the tips of his fingers give off a little dark blue shimmer for a second, he smiles back as if nothing happened. "Will you teach me how to do that?"
His smile brightens. "Of course, I do wonder what side effects a little creativity would have on people." She chuckles as he leaves. Her alarm goes off telling her that she has to go and collect the cubs and Mr Todd's paperwork at some point today, she sighs and grabs the clothes left for her they look like Stephanie's then goes hunting for a shower.
Her still being slightly hungover is the excuse she'll use if anyone asks why she doesn't lock the bathroom door and she's sticking to it. She's stripped down to her Robin themed lingerie with her hand frozen on the clip of her bra as she stares at an equally frozen Tim who's pupils are getting so big that the blue has turned into a ring around them, then he breaks the tension by taking a step forward. She stays where she is as he takes another one, still riding the high of Alfred's magic and drowning in the emotions crashing around Tim. She blinks and he has her pinned to the glass wall of the shower with her hands above her head, not one to give in without a fight she presses her chest into his topless chest. His eyes darken as he growls then he kisses her like she's the air he needs to breathe, she gives as good as she gets when she lightly bites his lip then flips them. He hisses at the sudden cold glass on his back and lets go of her wrists to wrap his arms around her back to pull her even closer, she threads her fingers through his hair and pulls so she can get a better angle. He flips them again and lifts her so she has to wrap her legs around his waist, he grinds against her and she swears if he doesn't ...
"Hey, Tim? Do you know....." They freeze as Mr Grayson walks in. Tim slowly turns and sends the poor shocked man a death glare. "... you know what? Never mind, it's not important. I'm... I'm just gonna go..." He darts out of the room and she sighs.
"That was probably for the best, I have a lot to do today." She says as he puts her back down, she gives him an apologetic look. He gives her a small smile in return then reaches behind her for a cell phone.
"Dick left his phone in here and I was coming to get it." He nods to her before he leaves the room, she follows him to the door and makes sure to lock it this time... She turns the water from hot to cold and gets in.
The Wayne's sit across from her as she sits at the dining room table eating breakfast, replying to worried texts and setting up meeting times for all of the things she has to collect. Mr Wayne in particular looks extremely unhappy with her, she sighs and puts her phone down.
"Okay. So what did I do?"
The Wayne's blink in shock as Mr Wayne leans forward with narrowed eyes. "What Did You Do? " He hisses as she stares at him blandly.
"I don't remember anything after my eighth shot, Mr Wayne" His eyes narrow further, oh boy. Here we go.
Seven hours earlier
"And he just turned up in your room?" Chloe exclaimed as she leaned on an equally annoyed Nino, Marinette nodded and took a glop of the vodka in her hands.
Alix made grabby hands for it. "I'm not drunk enough to deal with the Guardian. We just dropped that fucker."
Max nods. "There's an 82% chance that he's going to bug us next to get to you."
"Great, just what I need right now. Another thing to worry about" She grumbles.
Kim snorts and pats her back. "Don't worry, I'm not afraid to punch an annoying old man." He boats and Alix pretends to swoon, Nino laughs as flags down a passing taxi. It turns out to only have five seats, Nino almost sends them away but then Marinette hears a scuffle in one of the alleyways near her.
"You guys go ahead, I'll get the next one. Promise." They try to complain but then Chloe pukes on the sidewalk and Max passes out, she promises to text them when she gets in then waits for them to drive away then goes after the sound.
There is a group of men with half-burnt clothes and faces surrounding a woman pretending to be Chat Noir. The main looking one holds up a gun and presses it to the woman's head. Marinette sighs as she takes off her heels and enters the alley which catches everyone's attention, the main guy opens his mouth but she's faster. Launching one heel into his face before using the other to smash the closet goon in the face, the Chat woman kicks the main guy in the stomach and disarms him before she tackles him to the ground. The fight descends into madness from there, Marinette somehow loses the shoe she was using as a weapon but finds the one she tossed. The Chat woman has claws which are cool and don't mind when Mari picks her up and tosses her at a group trying to rush them both. When it's over Chat woman hands her the bloodied shoe she lost and waits for the police with her, Marinette even convinces her to stay and give a statement before she runs off.
Batman and Robin turn up as she finishes and Commissioner Gordon leads her over to them. "Fair warning, Batman. Miss Dupain-Cheng is drunk right now."
She tries to deny it but the world starts to get fuzzy around the edges, Robin catches her as she falls. She looks him in the eye then kisses him, he looks shocked. "My hero." She purrs just before she passes out.
Present time
Once Mr Wayne is done with his rant she sits and processes what she just learnt, she opens her mouth but an alarm on her phone cuts her off. She turns it off and sighs.
"I'm sorry for worrying you all, I had a stressful week out of work and I took my night off too far. I'm afraid I need to leave though, I have to go collect Mr Wayne's gift then get some paperwork for a new hire I'm meeting briefly on Monday." She makes sure they know how apologetic she is.
Mr Wayne watches her for a moment then he sighs and nods. She smiles at them all as she walks out and finds Mr Shelagh waiting for her in the driveway. She gets into the car and sets off to her first destination.
Chapter Text
Mr Shelagh doesn't take her to her first pick up meeting, instead, he takes her to a garage where the rest of the transport department is standing behind one of the sexiest looking motorcycles she has ever seen. It was blood red with black detailing and so new that it practically glowed, she can't help but let her fingers trail over it. Uncle Jagged taught her how to ride them 'Motorcycles are Rock n Roll Mari!', he had even paid for the test when she had turned sixteen. After a moment she turned back to Mr Shelagh.
"Why are we here?"
He smiles back at her and tosses a set of keys at her, she catches them without looking away from him. "We're here for your first raise, I figured that you would want to drive yourself to and from work. And I know you have a license."
She blinked at him as the rest of the department got in their rides and drove away with bright smiles. "I can't accept this." She steps forward to hand the keys back but he just gets in his car.
"If you don't you'll be late for your pick up, SEE YOU MONDAY!" He shouts as he drives away.
She watches him drive away with excitement, her eyes snap to the motorcycle with glee. She'll get them back for this of course but right now she has this perfect creation of nature to test run, she practically runs to it. She sits on it and reeves the engine, oh god it sounds like a dream. She is going to have sooo much fun! She zips down the roads of Gotham like she was born on them and makes all of her paperwork appointments on time despite car traffic. It's great! She's kind of sad that she has to go to the zoo on foot but she knows that she can't put two black panther cubs on the back of a motorcycle, that would be cruel. She parks in the hotels parking lot and carries the paperwork up to her room, she'll go over everything when she gets back to make sure that nothing is missing. The walk to the zoo is quite nice, she spots Adrien across the road at the same time he spots her, she can tell by the look on his face that he didn't expect to see her. Lila and her puppets are with him, he must tell them about her because soon the whole group is stalking her, Joy. She ignores them as people stop and stare, it must look weird seeing a girl being followed by a crowd of malicious teens, though this is Gotham so...
She makes it to the zoo right on time, the zookeeper in charge of the panther cubs is there on time as well! The woman looks at the group behind Marinette wearily as she leads her further into the zoo, Adrien, Lila and co keep a few steps behind her the whole time. The zookeeper sags in relief when they cross the 'employees only' door and the group can't follow.
"D...do you want us to call the police?"
Marinette smiles at her. "Maybe after I've left, I don't have the time to deal with a police investigation right now but if you want you can give Commissioner Gordon my number so I can do the statement over the phone?"
The woman looks relieved and takes her number then takes her to see the cubs, they are just as cute as before and she's tempted to keep one. Damian doesn't need two black panthers... No, she spends so much time working here that she wouldn't be able to care for it. When she's gotten the cubs into a travel cage the zookeeper informs her that they have called her a taxi and that it's waiting for her outback, she smiles brightly and thanks to them all before taking her leave.
She's been going through paperwork for about half an hour while the cubs explore when she gets a call from an unknown number.
"Hello, this is Marinette. Who am I speaking to?" She says as she flips through a couple of pages.
"Hello, Miss Dupain-Cheng. It's Commissioner Gordon, the zookeeper gave us your number after calling us about a group of teens stalking you. Would you be able to answer a few questions?"
She feels a smirk grow on her face as she puts the papers down. "Of course Commissioner Gordon, I have a request though. Could you not tell the Wayne's about this? Or the Bat-Family? I don't want to have them worrying about me on top of all their other duties."
"Of course, Miss Dupain-Cheng. This is a police case, which means that it will be private."
She nods though she knows he can't see her. "Then I hope you're sitting down because this is a long story. It all started when I was fourteen and Lila Rossi transferred into my class..."
Marinette wakes early Sunday morning to a phone call transferred from her desk at WE, she blindly reaches for it as the cubs use her as a pillow.
"Hello. This is Marinette, who am I speaking to?" She says as cub one takes offence to her being awake and tries to smother her.
"Good morning Marinette. I was wondering where you were?"
She blinks awake at the sound of Ra's al Ghul's voice in her ear. "I'm in bed Mr Al Ghul seeing as it is my day off, is Mr Shelagh not there yet?" She hears a little 'tt' in the background and assumes that he has her on a loudspeaker.
"He is here but I expected you."
"I'm afraid that I don't know how to drive a car Mr Al Ghul and I am quite sure that the seven of you won't fit on my motorcycle, however, I knew that this may happen so in the back of Mr Shelagh's car along with Miss brown's welcoming gift to Mr Al Ghul-Wayne is an apology gift to you, your daughter and your guard. They should be to all of your measurements." She hears quiet rustling from what she assumes is one of the guards searching the back seat. "It gets very cold and wet in Gotham, I know that you're not used to such things where you live so I thought I would make it a little easier." The line is silent for a while but she stays on knowing that they were just inspecting what she'd gotten them.
"...You will be there to pick us up tomorrow, Marinette."
"Of course Mr Al Ghul, I was already planning on it. Welcome to Gotham." She clicks the phone off before he can reply. Is using power plays against the head of the league of assassins a bad idea? Of fucking course. Has she had enough sleep to care? Not at all. She rolls over and lets the cubs get comfortable before she drifts off again.
Chapter Text
Waking up and finding Marinette at the breakfast table wasn't something he ever knew he wanted so much, just the domestically of it. Having her in arms reach. It was marred by the fact that she was covering up the angry-looking bruise on her neck, if he ever found out who put it there he would... wait? Why was she leaving? He refocuses on the conversations around him, everyone looks deeply shocked.
"What happened?"
Dick looks at him like he's grown a second head. "What do you mean? How are you not shocked? Alfred and Marinette just had a conversation where they called each other by nicknames!!!"
Tim blinks then snorts and pushes himself up so that he can finish getting ready. "Funny, and next you'll be telling me Marinette owns a katana and a motorcycle." He says with a fake laugh as he grabs his coffee and leaves, he's not going to be the reason that Marinette is angry at the family. He ends up seated next to her in the car again which is more distracting than he will admit. It ends all too soon as they pull up to the building, the glass wall between her desk and the office remains clear throughout the day though so he lets himself be content with checking up on here every so often.
Returning home and finding out that Marinette hadn't moved in was a punch to the gut, 'she was only staying the night, 'just setting up one of Master Al Ghul-Wayne's gifts'. Alfred's words swim around his head on patrol that night, she wasn't safe! That asshole could be hurting her and fuck, no one would ever know unless she made another mistake! If he hit harder during fights then well, no one had to know.
He wakes up late and panics, he was supposed to be at the office hours ago! Marinette is going to be so mad. He scrambles to get ready and has to slow himself down, he's noticed that she has an eye for fashion and him turning up to the office rumpled will surely be a death sentence. Bruce convinces him to get a shared lunch for them both, surely if she's been waiting for them then she must be hungry? It is without a doubt the best idea Bruce has ever had in his life. Not only does he accidentally brush his hand against hers but he managed to get her to call him TIM! MORE THAN ONCE!!!! It's great, he makes sure to grab his paperwork before he enters the office because he still feels bad about not turning up all morning.
As he sits over his papers he runs over all his interactions with Marinette, in all but the one they just had she's been nothing but professional... he wonders if he imagined the widening of her pupils that first time they met, he decides to test it so when she's leaving he sends her the smile that always pulls his occasional bed partners in. SUCCESS!!!!! He sees it in the flicker of emotions on her face as the elevator doors shut, now that he knows for sure that whatever feelings are growing in his chest are at least somewhat recuperated he can start planning.
Patrol is slow that night which is why hearing the Two-face was apprehended after trying to kidnap Catwoman is such a shock, he jumps into the Batmobile before Bruce speeds off. They find police tape, Two-face unconscious in cuffs, no Catwoman and a very drunk Marinette. Tim doesn't notice at first, too busy looking at what she's wearing. Holy Fuck, whoever convinced her to wear a leather mini skirt and a dark red crop top is his favourite person. She tilts forward and he rushes to catch her, she smiles up at him then drags him to for a breathtaking kiss.
When she pulls away she whispers. "My hero." Against his lips before becoming dead weight.
Bruce glares at the fake ID the whole way back home as Marinette sleeps soundly in the back seat, Tim sighs as he drives. He can already hear the lecture she's going to receive, the one he has used on each of them after finding them out and drinking while underage. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.
"Tim...Tim..... Hey, Tim?" Dick says as he pokes him, he glares.
"What?" He hisses.
"I think I left my phone in the bathroom, can you go and get it?"
He glares harder. "And why can't you get it?"
Dick smiles brightly at him. "It is my job as the eldest to be here to laugh at anyone who gets the underage drinking talk."
Tim growls at him until Alfred walks past. "Miss Duapin-Cheng is awake now if you would like to check on her before Mr Wayne tells her off Mr Drake. I'm sure she would appreciate it." He sighs and gets up.
"DON'T FORGET TO LOOK FOR MY PHONE!" Dick yells after him.
She wearing his colours... SHE'S WEARING HIS COLOURS!!!! He can't help himself when he pins her, she kissed him last night wearing his colours under that skimpy little outfit and it's all he can think about. She presses herself against him and the last remaining thread holding him back snaps, she kisses like he's the centre of her entire world and it's intoxicating. So much so that he accidentally lets her gain the upper hand and is pinned to the cold glass himself, he didn't know that this was a dominance battle but he's not planning to lose. He flips them again and picks her up so he can free up one of his hands, she wraps her gorgeous legs around his waist and he grinds himself against her as he gropes for the shower door. God. He is so close to having her that he...
"Hey, Tim? Do you know....." They freeze as Dick walks in, suddenly Tim remembers why he entered the bathroom in the first place. Tim slowly turns and glares at his older brother until he runs out of the room. The mood is dead, Dick has murdered it just like Tim is going to murder him. He grabs Dick's phone and says goodbye to Marinette then storms down the hall, Dick shrinks back when he storms into the room. He stalks straight up to Dick and drops the phone into his lap then leans in close to his face.
"You're dead" He hisses then sits into a chair on the opposite side of the table.
This is the fucking worst.
Chapter Text
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
Subject: MAYDAY
Wayne just walked in and SUGGESTED that I give Baby CEO a raise! A big one! Went on this long speech about 'how hard she's been working' and 'how we don't want her to feel underappreciated' like I'm not getting everyone's update emails! How the fuck am I supposed to raise zero????
I NEED IDEAS!!!!
—Roland
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Millaray V. [Head of Legal, Legal Department]
Subject: We can't start paying her
We legally can't put her on our payroll until the internship is up and both she and her parents sign a part-time work contract as well as a temporary guardianship transfer form.
We can however give her gifts so long as they don't come from money set aside for payroll.
All I can do, sorry.
—Millaray
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Nerio C. [Head of Accounting, Accounting Department]
Subject: I Have A Solution
I have calculated what her pay would look like based on Tam's old payroll then added the raise Mr Wayne requested. So if a department buys her a gift be sure to invoice me (via my home email as you should know) and I'll add the right amount onto the employee bonus (which I can hand out at any point) for the year.
You are welcome.
—Nerio
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Mechthild N. [Head of Purchasing, Purchasing Department]
Subject: Plans
So, does anyone know what she likes? That is a big number and it needs to be at zero before she leaves or we figure out how to get her to stay.
Everyone in my department has agreed to pitch in.
—Mechthild
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: It's Not Stalking I Promise
Okay, so from what I've found she has a motorcycle license, she runs her own clothesline, her parents are bakers, her uncle is a world-renowned chief, her grandmother likes to travel the world and her grandfather served in the army with Alfred Pennyworth! And this is just the tip of the Iceberg, she's her classes president, donates obscene amounts of her commission money to mental health charity's, is Jagged Stone's niece and also his AND Clara Nightingale's personal designer.
Does any of that help?
P.S. She has a wicked garden growing on her roof, Poison Ivy would be proud.
P.P.S. Ronald, did you know that Agreste was on trial for domestic terrorism?
P.P.P.S. Did ANYONE know that Paris had superhero's and villains?????
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
Subject: What???
No, I did not know that! How the hell did I not know that!?!?
How did we miss this? I want a DEEP background check on every single one of these interns. WTF.
—Roland
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: I Agree
This needs to be contained before word gets out, I'm sure no one needs to be reminded that hiring TERRORISTS is bad for the companies image.
On a more pleasant topic, the Wayne's have been invited to a gala next Saturday. We all know that if Wayne has his way then Baby CEO will be going as Drake's date, we can all see the way he looks at her, don't lie. The theme is going to be 'morning royalty' as morbid as that is so my department has decided to reschedule all of the press conferences next week to the week after, we will also be giving the Baby CEO the materials to make their outfits. As the owner of her own fashion line, I assume it would feel like some sort of insult to wear another's clothes?
One hint to Wayne and he'll give her all the time she needs.
—Gilad
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: I've Got One!
My department is calling dibs on the motorcycle! The new Suzuki Hayabusa 50th Anniversary Edition just launched and I'm not going to lie. It looks perfect for her!
...We may have already bought it for her before the raise situation but this is as good as an excuse as any to give it to her :D
The French must stick together!!!
—Jérémy
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Amala J. [Head of Customer Service, Customer Service], Leo S. [Head of Production, Production Department], Jeetendra S. [Head of Marketing, Marketing Department]
Subject: Not Sure
We would like to request more time to think about what to get her as we have decided to pool together, we'll get back to you when we figure it out.
We have seven weeks after all.
—Amala, Leo, Jeetendra
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: PR
Don't forget to make the fabric's piercing and bulletproof! This is a Lex Luthor Gala and we ALL know how the last one turned out...
We would also like time to think about what to get Baby CEO.
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department], Lucius F. [Head of BR&D, BR&D Department]
Subject: The Gifts
We have decided to make Baby CEO something so we will be invoicing for supplies instead.
LF: Does anyone know about this new hire Baby CEO just told me I'm meeting on Monday?
NN: What? I'm the one who needs the new hire! What the hell?
LF: Suffer.
—Neilos, Lucius
---
@GothamForLife
Holy Fuck! I think I just spotted a new Wayne and she's Hot AF.
#BlackHairBlueEyes #WayneFeatures #NewestWayne?
---
@GothamnitesUnite
Out at the club and the DJ doesn't show up! You would think that would be the end of the night right? Wrong. Turns out this French kid is a DJ back home, everyone's sceptical because he doesn't even look like he can drink yet but then BAM. One song and the whole club is jumping! I gotta go to France man, shit.
#FrenchDJ'sAreAwesome #HowOldIsThisKid? #WhoCares!
---
@IWorkTooMuch
Double Newest Wayne Spotting! I'm at the bar in this club and this HOT Guy sits down next to me, Black hair, blue eyes. And I'm like OK, new Wayne, that's cool. But then this HOT Woman comes up with the most seductive walk I've ever seen and get this! Black hair, blue eyes!!!! And I'm like, shit, is Wayne a rabbit or something? And the best part! She walks right up to new Wayne one and hands over a businesses card then whispers something into his ear that makes him DROP HIS GLASS AND BOLT OUT OF THE CLUB. That man is about to have the best or worst night of his life.
#BlackHairBlueEyes #WayneFeatures #NewestWayne? #IWantToBeTheFillingInThatSandwich
Chapter 19
Summary:
And the first week is OVER!!!! Welcome to level TWO :D
Here's a short interlude because Mari is still in charge of handing over the weekly allowance DX
Chapter Text
Marinette sits in the hotel's restaurant with her katana on her back, two black panther cubs on dog leashes playing with each other at her feet and a huge wad of cash sitting at her elbow. The table had been set up by the hotel and only had two chairs, one for her and one for whoever sat across from her. Her team friends are first down, they take her job seriously and each takes a turn sitting down so that she can count this week two hundred dollars. When that's all done they offer to stay with her but she sends them off, she's going straight back to bed as soon as she hands the last of it out and they have plans to sightsee. They all give her a quick hug and the cubs a quick pet before they leave.
She's just finished lunch when Lila, Adrien and the sheep come down. The cubs start growling lowly which sets the security mulling around on edge, animals are better judges of character after all. They go to crowd around her but are stopped by the security guards, Marinette watches impassively as they argue. She just wants to be asleep. They keep arguing for half an hour while she goes through her emails, the Wayne's have been invited to attend a Gala on Saturday. She has been invited told by Mr Wayne to attend as well, PR has also sent her a bunch of fabric and accessories to make ALL of the Wayne's and her outfits. 'Morning royalty' huh? Sounds fun, also sounds like she's NOT going to be able to go back to sleep, yay. The Wayne's have included Ra's, Talia, Damian and two of the Al Ghul's guards to the list though she won't have to take anything for the guards, she asks for a plus one for Jason but no one needs to know that until tomorrow. She looks up when someone sits down, it's Rose who looks disappointed with her. Marinette raises one of her eyebrows then counts out the money, once she's done she waits for Rose to take it. Rose looks unsure in the face of Marinette's 'I don't give a fuck what you think' face and slowly takes it. Marinette gives her a look when she doesn't get up that has she scampering from the seat, this continues until she gets to the three she's been dreading. Alya is the one to sit.
"I can't believe you girl! Leaving all of the departments to work for Lila so that you can go and whore yourself out in some back alley!" Marinette raises her eyebrow then slowly counts out Alya's two hundred without taking her eyes off the bespectacled girl, she doesn't say a word because why should she waste them? Alya grows angrier with each note laid in front of her to the point that she looks like she's ready to jump across the table by the time Marinette has laid down the last note. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself slut!" Alya finally yells only to jump back when the cubs try to attack her.
"هدوء." (Calm) Marinette says gently as she pets their heads, currently the only word she knows in Arabic but she's sure that it is going to be the language that Damian trains them in. They settle under her touch but keep up their low growling, they are young so she will let them have this. "I have a lot of work today so I'm just going to let you watch me split the rest."
She ignores their protests and splits the remaining four hundred into two piles then gets up and walks away, Adrien tries to grab her but both the cubs lunge at him making him stumble back, he trips over Alya and falls straight on top of Lila. Marinette keeps on walking, the receptionist calls her over to inform her of the package that has been delivered to her room and to wish her a happy Sunday which she returns before continuing her way to her room. The cubs are overjoyed to be let off of their leashes and go running through the room, she chuckles then sits at her desk, pulls out her sketchbook, and gets to work.
...So her alarm to get ready for work has gone off and she's been cutting fabrics... all night apparently, this is the one day she needs to bring her A-game and she's not slept... This is not going to end well. She makes her cafeteria coffee extra big and extra strong then just sits on her motorcycle and slowly drinks it. Mr Wayne can deal with her being a little late with all of the work he's just dropped on her. Despite her mood, she ends up at WE on time, has she mentioned how much she loves this bike? Once she gets to the office she holds her hand up to stop them from speaking.
"OK, so this is how today is going to go. You each have a small pile of paperwork to do before the Al Ghul's get here then I won't give you any more until next Monday. Mr Wayne, today is pretty packed for you. So you'll only be seeing Mr Al Ghul-Wayne from eleven till twelve today until the workday ends, I've done this so that you can have the rest of the week off to spend with him. Everyone else's schedule will be the same except press conferences which PR has rescheduled for next week, be sure to thank them if you see them. I will be going to collect the Al Ghul's by request to bring them here then while you have your meeting I'll be moving the rest of the gifts to the Wayne residence. Miss Brown." Stephanie snaps to attention. "The gift you have gotten Mr Al Ghul-Wayne is high class warm, waterproof clothes. He will likely be wearing them so don't act surprised. I will text you each of your gifts just before they are reviled so you can prepare your reactions, that is everything."
They all look at her unwavering face in shock then slowly make their way into the office to get started. Marinette goes through her emails and makes calls until her alarm goes off informing her that she needs to leave, she knocks on the glass wall then waves before she gets into the elevator. Here we go!
Chapter Text
It's halfway to their destination that she realises that Mr Shelagh is driving her the wrong way, she sighs.
"Mr Shelagh, would you like to tell me why we're heading to my hotel and not the one the Al Ghul family is staying at?"
He shrinks under her glare. "We are going to the hotel the Al Ghul family is staying at..." Her glare sharpens and he shrinks further. "He... He was terrifying okay! One of the women he was with put a sword to my throat and he told me that if you didn't recognise my name or if you didn't answer he was going to have me KILLED! And you did which was great but then on the way to the hotel you booked them Miss Al Ghul started asking me questions and I was so relieved at how nice she was being that I let my guard down." She stays silent and Mr Shelagh refuses to meet her eyes. "... She asked about you and I may have... gushed a bit." She raises her eyebrow wishing she had another coffee. His eyes quickly meet hers then he darts them away again. "... Okay, I gushed about you a lot, but your awesome so it's NOT my fault... I might have mentioned the bruise around your neck and how it didn't seem to phase you even though it looked like it hurt. Then suddenly Mr Al Ghul is thanking me for showing them the sights and telling me that he's just re-booked the hotel so that they are staying in the same one as you. I tried to complain but the little kid got out a sword! So... I just took them... I'm sorry."
She sighs and leans back in the car seat, she should have slept. "It's OK Mr Shelagh, the Al Ghul family owns a security business so they're used to throwing their weight around. I need to get a few things from my room anyway." He doesn't look like he believes her but it's not her job to cover for Ra's and his little band of assassins so she doesn't care.
When they pull up Mr Shelagh decides that he wants to wait in the car, she lets him know that she wants to do that too. The receptionist stops her to tell her that Mr Al Ghul called down, he wants her to collect them from their room. Well played Ra's, you'll pay for that. She smiles and nods before getting into the elevator. She feels it as soon as she steps out, it feels like her mixed with the aura she felt off of Plagg that one time she was Lady Noir. It reaches for her in interest but she ignores it and carries on to her room, the cubs are still asleep which is good. She gives them each a little pet then she straps her katana to her back and gathers Mr Todd's paperwork, Cassandra's gift and Mr Wayne's gift to Mr Al Ghul and Miss Al Ghul. She sends Cassandra a quick text informing her of what her gift is then ignores the pings off her phone and steps out... The Al Ghul's are outside of their room watching her like hawks, she smiles professionally at them and ignores the feeling of safety from the pulsing of Tikki's magic trying to connect them.
"Mr Al Ghul, Miss Al Ghul, Mr Al Ghul-Wayne." She nods to each of them as she shuts her door.
"Ladybug." Ra's says almost like a prayer, the magic tries to latch on again but she mental brushes it off.
"Marinette now." She says because there is no use denying it, then she steps forward and holds up Mr Al Ghul's new katana. "A gift from Mr Wayne." Ra's raise a disbelieving eyebrow but takes the katana and unsheathes it, he twists it slowly to inspect the blade then freezes when the inscription makes its self known. His eyes dart to hers then he sheaths it again, he un-clips the katana on his back and hands it to one of his guards then places the new one on his back. She waits until all of the clips are in place before she turns to Talia. "A gift from Mr Wayne." Talia takes it faster than her father and wastes no time in looking for the inscription, she lets out a disbelieving laugh when she finds it that has Marinette thinking that she may have missed something in translation before copying her father. Once done, Marinette turns to Damian. "This one is a gift from your other sister, Miss Cain." He nods and takes it, she's happy to see that he is wearing the clothes she got him.
Once he has copied his mother and grandfather and the three old katana have been put back into their room she leads them to Mr Shelagh's car. Mr Shelagh looks at the group behind her in fear so she makes sure to smile at him reassuringly before they get in. The ride is silent in the beginning as the Al Ghul's and co stare at her neck, she ignores them and sends Mr Wayne a text telling him what his gifts to Ra's and Talia were then ignores his responses as she did with Cassandra. She has not had enough coffee to deal with them at the moment. Talia is the one to break the silence.
"Marinette, it is lovely to finally meet you though I seem to have been miss informed. I was told that someone had tried to choke you and lived, surely I heard wrong." Her words come out half worried half dangerous purr.
Marinette meets her eyes. "I'm afraid that what you heard is true Miss Al Ghul, I am dealing with it but it is a slow game I'm playing. I will be fine, I assure you."
Talia's smile sharpens. "Talia, please. We family after all." The magic makes another try for a connection but she blocks it, it's very tiring and she doesn't know if she'll make it to the end of the day if they keep it up.
"Of course Miss Al Ghul." She then turns to Damian, cutting off the conversation. She'll probably regret it later with the way the guard tense but the caffeine in her blood is dwindling. "How are you liking Gotham so far Mr Al Ghul-Wayne? Have you had a chance to look around?"
He regards her like he's not sure if she's important enough to talk to and she doesn't feel the magic on him, his mothers comment about her being family must sway him. "It is cold and wet."
She laughs a little which makes him scowl. "It is, I'm still getting used to it."
"So you lived somewhere warm before you moved to Gotham, Marinette." Ra's interjects, she smiles her 'I can and will eat you for breakfast' smile at him. The guard tense further, one moves but Talia intercepts her.
Marinette ignores them and keeps her eyes on Ra's, she misses the slowly growing interest of Damian. "I did Mr Al Ghul but I decided that I needed a change of pace." She can tell that he fishing for information but she won't be handing any over, she likes her parents alive thank you very much.
They pull up to the front of the WE building before Ra's can press which she's thankful for. Calista stops her before she gets to the elevator. "Your noon is here Miss Dupain-Cheng." Well, there goes her privacy.
"Thank you for telling me, Miss Purdie. Have a lovely day." Mr Todd is an hour early, great.
"You too Miss Dupain-Cheng."
She leads them all into the elevator then presses the button to go down. "I'm afraid that we are going to have to take a quick detour, I'm sorry for the inconvenience." She tells them, the doors open and she steps through before they can reply. Is she being unnecessarily petty? Yes.
She stalks through the R&D Department with the Al Ghul's on her heels, she makes note of the fact that both Alya and Adrien are there talking to a sobbing Lila. She would wonder what she had done now but she's too busy to care, she walks through the fallout bunker door that separates R&D from BR&D.
"Mr Fox? Our new hire has turned up, would you like to go up to meet him with me?" They both know that she's not asking for any other reason than to be polite.
"He's an hour early." Mr Fox says but he puts down what he was looking at and makes his way over.
"He is." She agrees as they walk back out. Her trio of annoyances notice her and she sighs in her head, Alya and Lila's eyes light up with excitement while Adrien watches her like he's starving. As they start storming over as Marinette's phone rings, It's Manon. "Hey, Manon, what's up? Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" The employees around her look shocked at her unprofessional tone.
"I... I had a nightmare and... and moms asleep. She has to get up early for work tomorrow and I don't want to wake her up." Manon's voice is thick like she's been crying, and Marinette lets her professionalism drop. The whole room goes silent, the annoying trio as well because of the katana to their throats.
"It's okay sweetie, I'm always a phone call away. Do you want to talk about it?" She writes a message asking Mr Fox to get the papers he needs ready and stabs it onto the end of one of the katana's then uses her fingers to move it so that it's in his line of sight, he nods and breaks away.
"...No... Could... Could you sing to me? I'm tired."
"Of course, tell me when you're ready." She writes another note asking security to escort Alya and Adrien back to their departments and stabs it onto another katana, the whole of the Al Ghul party look at her in shock.
"I'm ready." She waits for security to disappear with the two before she starts.
"Where the Northwind, meets the sea"
Mr Fox comes back with his papers.
"there's a river, full of memory"
She pulls the notes off of the Katana and motions for them to be put away.
"Sleep my darling safe and sound, for in this river all is found"
She starts walking towards the elevator.
"In her waters, deep and true"
She turns and walks backwards as she motions for them to follow her.
"Lie the answers, and a path for you"
She spins on her heel and dodges Lila's foot as it sticks out to trip her.
"Dive down deep into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned"
She snatches the knife one of the guards tosses at Lila and sticks it into her bun.
"Yes, she will sing to those who hear. And in her song, all magic flows"
She writes Lila a note that makes her pale.
"But can you brave what you most fear? Can you face, what the river knows?"
She continues towards the elevator without a look back at the girl.
"Where the Northwind, meets the sea. There's a mother, full of memory"
She enters the elevator and waits for the rest of them to pile in.
"Come my darling homeward bound. When all is lost, then all is found."
She listens to Manon's breaths for a moment to make sure that she's asleep then she hangs up and presses the button for Mr Wayne's office, no one says a word the whole ride up but Ra's and Talia's magic make several attempts to connect with hers. She can hear the shouting as they get closer and she sighs, as soon as the doors open she shifts the paperwork into one arm and draws her katana. She places the tip to Mr Todd's throat.
"Please put the guns down Mr Todd." He finches a little at her voice and his eyes dart to her, his grip tightens and she raises her eyebrow. After a moment he snarls and slams them back into his holsters.
"Why are they here?" He hisses at her and he tries to make himself seem bigger, he fails.
"Because it's a weekday Mr Todd, now. Here is all of your documentation restating yourself as 'Alive'. The American government apologies for the mix-up." She shoves all of the papers in her hands into his arms then grabs his elbow and moves him so he's standing in front of Mr Fox. "This is Lucius Fox. He will be the one interviewing you for the position you applied for."
"... I didn't apply for..."
She cuts him off with a sharp smile. "I have high hopes for you Mr Todd. Do not disappoint me." Mr Fox takes his arm and leads him into the elevator with a nod to her. She turns to the rest of them. "I hope you have a lovely meeting, I'll be here at twelve with Mr Al Ghul-Wayne's next gift. Goodbye." She enters the elevator before any of them can utter a reply and sends the three of them down.
Chapter 21
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The ride down is blissfully silent, not for lack of trying on Jason's part. Mr Fox seems to understand that she's on the edge of professional and I'll kill anyone who breathes wrong and keeps him quiet. It's nice, she can close her eyes and it's like she's alone. Mr Shelagh is waiting for her when she steps into the parking lot, he looks relieved to see that she's alone.
"Mr Shelagh?" She asks as she gets into the car.
"Yes?"
"I need everyone to call me Marinette while the Al Ghul's are here, could you spread the word?"
He's so shocked that he stops at a red light so he can turn and look at her, she meets his look with an unimpressed one of her own. "... Yes Mi... Yes, Marinette..." She nods once then starts texting the department heads warnings about Tim's gift.
As soon as the car stops she's out and making her way to her room, the cubs are awake and happy to see her. So happy that they don't even fight the leash which makes her day ten times easier, she grabs the packet containing part of Tim's gift and Duke's gift then heads back to the car.
It's by chance that she spots it on the way back and extreme luck that she's not given Mr Wayne his card back.
"STOP! Park right here, I'll be right back Mr Shelagh. I promise." The car comes to a screeching halt in the tiny parking space, she has no idea how the car fits. All she knows is that Mr Shelagh is a REALLY good driver. The store is gently lit with a soft orange glow, if she didn't know better she would say that it was lit with candles. And it smelt of old paper and fresh ink. The old woman manning the desk smiles at her like she's family, though Marinette supposes that she is. True holders had that effect on each other after all.
"Welcome to my little book store little Ladybug, a world where your imagination..." She feels the soft flutter of wings on the back of her neck and I tiny little giggle. "comes to life! "
Marinette can't help but smile. "I'm retired I'm afraid Fox but I'm glad to be here. I'm looking for a few gifts for my boss's son from my boss and the rest of his children as well as a gift from that son to his newest little brother. I'll take what you recommend."
The Fox laughs and steps away from her desk. "You are not retired little Ladybug, a side effect of our exposure is that we are never retired unlike those who don't hold the truth of what they wield. My name is Lucia Apollonia but you may refer to me as Fox. It is what I am, no?" Lucia reminded Marinette of her Nonna Gina, both strong Italian women who didn't take anyone's shit. "Now come, tell me about these boys you are shopping for and the ones buying the gifts. I will find you what you need little Ladybug."
"Well Fox, Jason was presumed dead for a long while when in reality the hospital made a mistake and he woke up with amnesia that has recently been cured..."
It takes her a ten-minute explanation of all of their characters for Lucia to know what to pick but Marinette is really happy with the result and for the fact that Lucia has decided to come with her to the Wayne residence so she can 'set up the best area for them to read their new books.'. She cannot wait to see Alfred's face when he opens the door. Mr Shelagh is extremely relieved to see her as the cubs have taken to using him as a climbing frame in their boredom, it's so cute. When they arrive at the Wayne residence they find Alfred standing at the end of the driveway, he looks amused.
"It would seem that your boon has struck again Ladybug, I had no idea that there were others in Gotham until you showed up. It is lovely to meet you, Fox. I am Alfred Pennyworth." Mr Shelagh trips as he gets out of the car due to his shock.
“Nor did I Peacock, Lucia Apollonia. Ammaliato. Now, why don’t you help me bring these things in so that our little Ladybug can go back to work, Bello.” Alfred chuckles and takes Duke's gift and half of the giant pile of books leaving Marinette with only the cubs. She blinks... this is not what she was expecting to happen but she’s not against it. Alfred deserves a happy ending and it looks like Lucia is determined to give it to him.
“Come along Ladybug, you wouldn’t want to be late and miss the chance to stare at Master Drake,” Alfred calls, Lucia’s eyes snap to her with a mischievous sparkle.
“Oh? Have you found your vero amore? How darling! You must tell me everything while she is gone Peacock! I must know if he’s worthy of her.” She’s changed her mind, this was a horrible idea, these two should have never been introduced. She sighs and walks the cubs in, this is her life now she supposed.
She gets back ten minutes before twelve with Tim and Mr Todd’s gifts and sits at her desk to order everyone lunch, due to Mr Todd turning up an hour early Mr Wayne has another hour he can spend with Damian. Switching the glass to clear is a habit so she doesn’t turn around to check on them. Mr Todd comes in with the delivery men and Mr Emma looks secretly pleased with himself, she smiles. Looks like he got the job, not that she had any doubt. She instructs the delivery men to leave the food and drinks then waves at Mr Emma as he takes them back down.
“So how did it go Mr Todd?”
He tries to scowl at her but she can see the spark in his eyes. “... Why am I here?”
She lets her smile soften a little. “Because this is your family Mr Todd and they deserve to know that you’re alive just as much as you deserve to know how much they love you. Which leads me to this.” She hands him the rapped up a book that Lucia picked out, he looks at it confused. “This is for Mr Al Ghul-Wayne. A gift from you, welcoming him into the family.” His eyes meet hers for a second then he turns away, his knuckles turning white from gripping the book so hard. She’s glad that it’s a hardback.
She waits for him to turn back to her then she gathers the food and knocks on the glass, Mr Wayne looks a little resigned as he opens the door though it transforms into a blinding smile when she tells him that his lunch meeting was cancelled meaning that he can stay with his family until one (What they don't know won't hurt them). He tries to get her to eat with them but she refuses as she still has emailed to go over. Once sitting back at her desk she stares Jason down until he hands over the book, she doesn’t know what he says due to the soundproofing but whatever it is caused Mr Grayson to burst into tears and drag him into a hug so she assumes that it’s good. It only takes ten minutes for her luck to take a turn for the worst, a new record. Adrien and Lila step out of the elevator which should not be possible because the only badges that can use that lift are Wayne’s badges, the head of department badges, a random security pass that changes each day and her pass. She ignores the feeling of dread that tries to claw its way up her throat and takes a sip of her coffee.
“So this is where you’re hiding princess,” Adrien says causally as he walks over and sits on the edge of her desk, the same place that Tim sat which makes her unreasonably angry. He leans forward to play with a strand of her hair and she leans back, suddenly very aware of the clear glass wall behind her.
Lila scoffs. “Oh don’t act like you don’t want his hands on you whore. We all know how much you like to spread your legs. I mean, it’s the only thing you have to offer that’s worthwhile.” Wow, projecting much.
“As much as I want to be having this conversation, I have work to do. Can we get to the point where you tell me what you want so I can say no and we can all get on with our lives?”
Lila leans forward and places her hands on Marinette’s desk, Marinette wonders if Mr Wayne will get her a new one if she asks nicely. “What I want is for you to give me those baby panthers whore.” So creative, she’s so offended. Leaning away from Lila leaves her open to Adrien who grabs a lock of her hair and uses it to pull her closer. These two have either grown balls the size of the building or are so stupid that they have forgotten that the wall behind her is made out of GLASS!
“What I want is for you to be a good girl and give yourself to me already.” She glares at him as Lila smirks at her.
“And you’re going to give us these things because it would be just awful if the public found out about you being Wayne’s personal assistant wouldn’t it? If you know what...” The door behind her is kicked open by a fuming Jason, Adrien lets go of her in shock.
“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE YOU LITTLE FUCKING SHIT!!!” He snarls as he storms over and grabs the front of Adrien’s shirt, he lifts him off the ground like he weighs nothing. The rest of the Wayne’s and the Al Ghul’s come streaming out of the office as well, damage control time.
“Mr Todd, please put Mr Agreste down. All he’s done is touch my hair.”
Jason turns angry eyes onto her and opens his mouth, he snaps it back shut when he sees the confusion on the faces behind her. His eye starts burning with fury, Oh dear. “Call security, Marinette.” He hisses as he drops Adrien, she sighs and nods. Five minutes later Mr Emma is escorting Lila and Adrien back to their departments, it turns out that Lila stole Mr Nithya’s pass so she is now under a house arrest type of thing at the hotel until it’s decided what to do with her. Once they are gone Jason drags everyone back into the office and makes the glass opaque, she sighs and texts Commissioner Gordon an update on her case. Two minutes later Mr Wayne comes out and asks tells her to come and eat with them in the office, once she’s sat at the table Damian proceeds to climb into her lap then continue reading his book like nothing is wrong. She sighs again and starts eating, they can never know that she’s not a permanent member of staff. She can tell that they’ve grown attached... she’d be lying if she said that it wasn’t starting to become a two-way thing.
Is this what Stockholm Syndrome feels like?
Notes:
Ammaliato = Charmed
Bello = Handsome
vero amore = True Love
Chapter 22
Summary:
Here's a long one because I want to finish Monday already.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
She spent the rest of lunch absentmindedly brushing of magic adoption attempts, she almost missed one when they tried together Ra's was a sneaky bastard. But soon it was over. She tried to focus as she texted Tim the information on his gift but... This is the closest she'd seen Adrien get to Chat Blanca, the thought of punishment for hurting her was being overpowered by his want. She was brought out of her head by a frantic text from Tim begging her not to do it, telling her that he would get her anything she wanted. Any other time she would have pulled back, would have taken his offer and let him off the hook but she needed him to do this. She needed to be alone for a little while so that she could drown Adrien, Chat Noir and Chat Blanca from her mind before she became a sobbing mess. So she ignored the text, going so far as to place her phone screen down on the table. It felt final like she was cutting him off from her. It was fine, he deserved someone who wasn't so fucking broken anyway.
She pushes her chair back and gently places Damian on the floor as she stands, everyone looks at her and she has to fight the flinch at how much blue she sees.
"Lunch is over I'm afraid which means that Mr Wayne needs to get ready for his next meeting." Damian looks annoyed so she makes sure to smile at him, she pushes as much warmth as she can into it. The slight green glow sets her on edge. She needs to stop connecting them to the cat, they are nothing like him and her stupid mind won't make her feel different god damn it. "Don't worry Mr Al Ghul-Wayne, because it's time for another gift." His scowl dies as she receives another frantic text, she hands him the information packet and watches him flick through it. Halfway through his eyes are practically sparkling, the smile he sends Tim when he looks up is as sharp as the blade on his new katana.
"I accept." He says as he keeps his eyes locked on Tim's, Tim is the first to break as he closes his eyes in dismay. Damian smiles more viciously, he then turns to her. The change in his demeanour happens so shockingly fast that she half wonders if the look he sent Tim was real or not... His mother and Grandfather trained him well. "Are you coming with us Marinette?" He asks sweetly like he was born and raised as a little angel.
She makes herself seem softer, two can play at that game kid. "I'm afraid not Mr Al Ghul-Wayne, I still have work to do but I will be going with you to the Wayne residence when the workday ends." He watches her for a moment then softens his body language to match hers, it's a little stiff which makes her smile. She crouches so that she's at eye level with him. "You're loosening your shoulders too fast." He freezes, eyes going slightly wide at the criticism. "Here, look." She stiffens then slowly losses her shoulders, she makes it slightly more exaggerated so that he can see exactly how it's done. He copies her, he's more fluid this time. She smiles brighter. "Perfect, now. I believe that you have a company-wide tour to go on, you don't want to miss anything do you?" He still looks a little put out about leaving Mr Wayne so she lets her smile turns a tad bit mischievous, leaning in and whispering in his ear. "Go have fun tormenting your big brother." When she pulls away his sharp smile is back, any hint of an innocent child gone. He nods then stands at the door, starring Tim down and tapping his foot.
Tim gets up and puts on a bright paparazzi smile, as he's about to walk past her he places his hand on her shoulder and leans in so he can whisper into her ear. "I accept your declaration of war and will be responding in kind, Darling." Then, for some reason, he locks eyes with Damian and kisses her cheek. Damian goes dead-eyed before slowly smiling... Marinette has no idea what's going on and she not going to touch it with a ten-foot pole.
Once they left she turned to everyone else. "Let's get the rest of this day done shall we?" She waited for them to nod then she let herself fall back into work mode, no matter how much she pushes Adrien and the Chat's stayed in her mind. She guesses that today was going to be one of her bad days. Joy.
The whole day passes at a glacial pace, her mind makes it worse. Every shadow is Blanca come to take her away again it whispers, every noise is Noir stalking you it warns. Every blond is Adrien waiting for the right moment to strike it screams. She's going insane, she just wants to curl up into a ball and cry. She hates him, she hates him she hateshimshehateshimSHE HATES HIM! Fuck being late! She should have let Jason shoot him when she had the chance! She should have... The door to the office opens and Mr Wayne steps out shaking the hands of the investors, she stands and plasters on the Wayne paparazzi smile No.3TM as they walk past her and into the lift.
As soon as the door closes he sags and looks at her hopefully. "Last one?"
Her smile becomes a little more real. "Last one." She agrees. They wait for the lift to come back up then make their way to the parking lot.
Mr Shelagh is waiting with the rest of the Wayne's and the Al Ghul's, he perks up when he sees her. She and Mr Wayne make it halfway to the car when someone drives their car through the barrier, does a U-turn the narrowly misses hitting her the look on the drivers face when she didn't move an inch fills some of the broken cracks in her soul, tosses a bomb out the window with a 'Joker sends his regards' then drives away. She's so emotionally dead at this point that she doesn't see the problem in walking right up to the bomb and cutting its wires with the throwing knife still in her bun. She then picks it up like it isn't something that can kill her and walks straight up to Mr Marcius who is sitting in his security box.
"I want R&D and BR&D working together to find out what is in this and a way to track the components. While they are doing that I want security and IT to find out who that was and how they were able to even get in, and while we're at it I also want our cleaning team to get rid of the mess the driver made." Mr Marcius nods and pulls out his radio to relay her requests, she puts the bomb onto his desk and walks straight back to Mr Shelagh's car. Just before she gets in the hands the throwing knife back to its owner with a nod.
The drive is quiet, she hates it. Why can't they say something? Anything? She'll even settle for a lecture at this point. The quiet reminds her of the box, she hatesithatesithatesit. They pull into the Wayne residence and she pushes all of her emotions down so that Alfred doesn't notice how far she's falling. The looks on Wayne's face when they spot Lucia gives her a little spark of happiness, the very obvious hickey on her neck makes it grow.
"Hello, my dears, which one of you strapping young men is Jason?" Lucia asks as she stares right at him, Jason looks like a deer in headlights. What amuses her the most is that he looks to her for approval, at her nod he steps forward. Lucia walks up to him and honest to god pinches his cheeks. "Così bello, you look just as my little Ladybug described you." Jason opens his mouth but Lucia keeps on talking. "A man who has been hurt by the world around him but is still strong enough to keep fighting for what is right, someone who has been beaten down to the ground but refuses to stay there. A man with a will of iron but the soul of a poet. Sì, she has described you well." Everyone is frozen as Jason starts crying, Lucia pulls him into a hug and he clings to her.
Marinette and Alfred lead everyone else into the foyer to give him some privacy. Alfred puts his hand on her head and gives her a smile before going to break up the whispered argument between Ra's and Bruce, she makes out the words Peacock and Fox as well! Before Jason walks in as nothing happened. He walks straight up to her and pulls her into a bone-crushing hug for a moment before letting her go. Now that everyone is inside Marinette claps her hands together.
"Three gifts are left Mr Al Ghul-Wayne so I'm going to give you a choice. Mr Wayne's gift is going to be last but you can choose if you want to see Mr Garyson's first or Mr Thomas'."
"Mr Thomas'." She nods and starts leading them down the hall, as she walks she texts Duke his gift. Once they enter the living room Duke walks over to the wrapped gift and hands it to Damian, Damian looks a little confused when he opens it so Duke explains after a quick text from her.
"So, it's like something to keep you connected. It's super powerful and has great reach so if you're staying here without your Ma and Grandpap you don't have to worry about poor connections if you want to call them. Same the other way around. That way, no matter where you are you won't be losing contact with half your family..." He tails off at the end as Damian lets his fingers glide over the laptop box, Damian gently puts it back on the table and nods his thanks. Duke's eyes flicker gold for a second Marinette pretends not to see then a bright smile covers his face. Damian also pretends to ignore him and asks to see Mr Grayson's gift, Marinette leads them to the art room.
Mr Grayson lets out a little glee filled gasp as he reads her text. Alfred pulls out the key and opens the room, it's just as beautiful as she remembers it and everyone seems to agree. The ceiling to floor windows face the sunset casting the room in a soft glow, she's very proud. Once everyone has looked around Lucia leads them to the library, Marinette sends everyone a text just before they turn the corner of the last bookshelf... She's shocked at how beautiful Jason's new personal section of the library is, soft leather chairs, strong hardwood tables, some of Lucia's table lights and a whole bookcase that is practically empty. The only books on the shelf are the ones she bought from Lucia today but Jason doesn't seem to care, his fingers traced the book spines in wonder.
"A welcome back home gift from your family," Marinette says when no one speaks, his eyes snap to her. His eyes are misty as he visibly swallows. He's overwhelmed, a lot has happened to him very fast today. She understands god does she understand. So she does what she has wanted someone to do for her all fucking day, she moves attention away from him so he can breathe. "One gift left now, then dinner. Shall we go?" Everyone nods. She leads everyone back into the living room then makes them wait, the cubs are still the cutest thing. She takes a picture of them and sends it to Mr Wayne then she scoops them both up and walks back, her phone starts exploding with texts. He should know better by now. As she steps into the room Damian drops the mug in his hands onto the table and launches himself at her with wide eyes, one of the cubs bats at his hand playfully and he melts. Mr Wayne looks shocked and reined.
"What are their names?" He whispers in awe.
"What do you want to name them."
His eyes widen, Mr Wayne closes his eyes in pain.
"... Omen and Grimm."
She smiles as she hands the cubs over. "Be sure to thank your father." She says. The look on Mr Wayne's face when Damian actually walks right up to him and says thank you with the soft posture she taught him makes her feel slightly better.
Dinner was quite subdued if you didn't count the Omen and Grimm running around everyone's feet. Once dinner is over she's convinced told outright to stay the night, she would argue but she can still feel the emotions from the day fighting her control. So she just nods and makes her way to the room she was staying in last time, she passes out in her work clothes... She wakes with a scream on her lips, she should have known that this would happen with how her day was. FUCK. Okay, deep breath in, hold for three, and out... Fuck she needs a drink. She stumbles out of bed and walks out the bedroom door, it would be alright. She had more than enough from commissions to pay for a bottle of whatever she found. The halls twist and turn as the shadows seem to grow, she ignores it all and soon finds herself at the door of a cellar. Promising, she opens the door and descends into the darkness... Score, it's a wine cellar! She uses the light from her phone to scour the shelves for the youngest bottle then looks it up, once she has the price she takes out Mr Wayne's card and copies the details so she can transfer the money over.
She's four bottles and an empty bank account down when the cellar door opens again, she looks up from her fetal position on the floor. Fat tears still streaming down her face, she can't make out who it is or how many of them there are but they have black hair and she knows that black hair is safe. She blinks and the person is crouching in front of her.
"Marinette?"... It's Dick, she... she can tell... from his voice. She starts crying harder. "Hey, shh, shh. It's OK Marinette, it's OK. What's the wrong sweety, shhh." He whispers as he slides the bottle out of her hands.
"I... I just... I just want him to go away." She sobs. "I want to be safe and happy! Why won't he LEAVE ME ALONE! " She tips forward and clings to Dick's shirt, he slips one arm around her back and the other under her legs then push himself into a standing position. Lifting her off the ground.
"It's OK, it's OK. You're safe here, you're safe with us. We'll keep you safe." He says as he starts carrying her up the stairs.
"NO! He'll hurt you! You can't! Please!" She clings to him desperately, trying to make him see. Chat was dangerous in all of his forms, she couldn't put everyone in danger like that! She winces at the light from the hall. He takes her into the living room where everyone else is, they all look at her in shock. She lets go of Dick and reaches for Alfred, almost tipping out of his arms. "Tell Him! Tell him that he can't!" Alfred is by her in seconds as Dick readjust his hold on her.
"What can't he do Marinette?" Alfred's face is worried, so worried. But she can barely make it out with the darkness seeping into the corners.
"He... He wants to get in the Cat's way! Alfred, you have.... you have to tell him! I don't want him to die, Alfred please!" Dick stiffens as the darkness consumes her.
Notes:
Così bello = So handsome
Sì = Yes
Chapter 23
Summary:
Welcome back to Monday guys... I forgot that we had to do reactions so bare with me. It will be Tuesday soon I promise :D
Chapter Text
Ra's sits in the back of the car twirling his phone in between his fingers, he had just gotten off the phone with Marinette who should have been the one to collect them. She had hung up on him twice now and he could tell that his chosen assassin's and grandson were outraged but all he could feel was amusement, he could have brushed it off as the attitude of an overworked assistant as the old one had been the same way until she was informed of who he was but she knew. She had made it clear when she had ripped through the league online defences like they were paper and yet, unlike the last one who had fallen under the pressure of the game of power like a stack of wet cards Marinette stayed strong and uncaring. She had won twice now but she would not win a third, it was time he stopped playing with his food. He was almost six centuries her senior after all. He met Talia's eyes for a fraction of a second but it was enough, she was his favourite child for a reason after all.
"Mr Shelagh was it? I'm sorry about how we acted at the airport, it must have been a misunderstanding." Shelagh raises a disbelieving eyebrow at that, he believes that Marinette wouldn't make that kind of mistake. Interesting, she inspires loyalty from those lower than her. "It is just that we were hoping to meet Marinette in person to see what she was like, father has only talked to her over the phone... Oh! I know! Why don't you tell us about her so that when we meet her we can avoid further offence." Talia continues, Shelagh's eyes light up. He respects Marinette a lot, to an almost worshipping level. Ra's stops spinning his phone, if she has a following like this within his son-in-law's company then he may have to give her another point in their game.
"She's the best, everyone loves her. She's so efficient with her time but she also makes sure to ask how everyone is doing when she has broken and she remembers EVERYONE'S names. I also respect her a lot for still acting so professional even with her injury, not many people would still turn up to work with bruises that bad but she acts like they aren't even there. It's amazing." Are his eyes narrow, someone had hurt his opponent?
"She's bruised?" Talia asks in concern and Shelagh hisses.
"Yeah, last time I saw it it was a dark purple with that sickly looking yellow around it. If I ever find out the identity of the guy who thought he could try and choke her to death I swear..." Someone had tried to KILL his opponent? Well, that just wouldn't do. The only one allowed to kill Marinette was him.
It doesn't take him long to switch hotels, he feels a bubble of his true magic pulling him to the Grand Gotham Hotel. Specifically the presidential suit. He feels a little giddy when the booking is confirmed, it is the same feeling he had when the new true Ladybug used their power for the first time... what if... no, the world would never be that kind. There was no way that his new opponent was the new Ladybug... but it would explain why her power plays were met with parental amusement and not plans of revenge... he would see, he had been waiting for his Ladybug to be reborn for over six hundred years. He could wait a little longer.
They were next door to him, he could feel them through the walls and he could tell that Talia could too. The magic of the pits was created by a Cat and a Ladybug after all and all of his blood but Damian had been overexposed to it by now, it makes him proud of his grandson that he had not needed to use the pit since even Talia had to use it twice by the time she was his age. No one says anything when he sleeps against the wall, it has been so long since he was close to the other half of his soul.
She is so small and young that she doesn't even notice that he is her Cat, his tiny little Ladybug who looks like she hasn't slept. He reaches out to her with her own magic when she shies slightly away from his true magic, the pretender must not have used it wisely. He intends to formally adopt her but even in her tired state she easily brushes him off, she is strong for her age. Lots of raw power even if she doesn't know how to use it correctly. If he had been trying she wouldn't have stood a chance. He makes a game of it so that she recognises different magical connection techniques.
The Katana's are a shock, but the craftsmanship is excellent and the meaning clear. He puts on the gift from his Ladybug because he does not doubt that this is really from her, sealing their alliance. He will have to get her a gift in return but it will be no hardship, he will not let her slip out of his life like his last Ladybug.
The first step in his plan is to find out more about her though she proves to be difficult to get information from, he does learn that she is adorable when she's trying to be intimidating. Like a baby panther puffing up her fur, it's so cute that he links their magic. He uses his true magic so that she doesn't notice, she is also too tired to focus on any magic that isn't her own. He'll work with her on it, can't have his daughter being unable to defend herself after all.
He sees the same look of worship on the face of the receptionist as she addresses his tiny Ladybug and the look of wonder when she replies with a smile, he has not been her father for long but that doesn't mean that he can't be proud of how well she's stealing the company from his son-in-law. They have to take a detour to their meeting but it is worth it to see the look on his grandsons face when she starts singing to the child does he have another grandchild? over the phone while stabbing notes to the end of his elites katana. She also displays great reflexes when she dodges the sausage haired girl while catching Nizar's knife, he can see the look on Nizar's face when she sticks it into her bun. It had been a present from the man's wife. She writes the Sausage haired girl a note that terrifies her then continues on her way, he is curious so he snatches it off of her when his little Ladybug back is turned.
'The gloves are off, Hawkmoth can't save you from me now. Oh, and don't fuck up any more projects or I'll let Mr Cristiana feed you to Orca.'
As soon as the elevator doors open she has the blade of her katana too... Talia's prodigy? If he were a lesser man he would laugh, she was good. Too good to be working as an assistant of all things, does his son-in-law even know what he has walked around his office? The pure power he's wasting? He barely waits for the elevator door to shut before he turns to the man.
"Where the fuck did you find a Ladybug?!?!"
Chapter 24
Summary:
Happy Birthday Panda_neard_8of9
:D
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ra's can't help but close his eyes at the stupidity of his son-in-law who has no idea what he's talking about, his Ladybug has been sitting in an office doing mundane things like paperwork and scheduling meetings! He lets the silence speak his distaste for him.
"Father, I have decided that I will be marrying Marinette when I am of age. See to it that you have a replacement for her by then." Damian says bluntly which causes the detective to choke on his coffee, a pleasing sound.
"I'm sorry baby brother but I already have a claim to that title. But I'm sure she would be a great big sister." Ra's opens his eyes again and watches in amusement as Damian subtly starts slipping his new katana out of its sheath.
"Oh? Has she agreed? I did not see a ring on her hand, is that not what you do here?"
"Doesn't look like your getting there on your end ether brat." Tim hisses making Damian smile, Ra's is proud of how sharp it is.
"Mother, would you be willing to read the inscription on the katana Marinette gave you?" Ra's sees the smug look flicker across his daughter's face as she unsheathes her new katana and translates Arabic for everyone.
"The connection of my blood to yours." Bruce's face goes through several emotions at the reveal making Ra's truly question how he ever could have gained the title of 'world greatest detective'.
"Damian, I'm sorry to say this but that wasn't a declaration of marriage," Bruce says gently.
"Tt' I know that father, I'm not stupid. It was a declaration of an alliance, which often ends in one person from one side being married to one person from the other. As you well know Father." Bruce blinks back shocked, it makes Ra's feel smug. Damian, too it would seem. "I was simply stating that I have gotten closer to having Marinette as a wife than my big brother and I've only known her for less than an hour. How long have you known her again brother? " Tim opens his mouth but Cassandra puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He glares at Damian but closes his mouth, if Ra's knew that introducing Damian was going to be this entertaining he would have done so years ago.
The rest of the hour they spend waiting for his Ladybug is spent idly chatting, suddenly the glass wall becomes clear setting his elite on edge until they see that it was just his Ladybug. Both Damian and Tim perk up a little then glare at each other. Bruce sighs when she knocks on the door signalling the end of the hour but he gets up anyway and opens the door to a smiling Ladybug with his daughter grumpy prodigy behind her.
"Don't worry Mr Wayne, it would seem that your twelve o'clock has been cancelled so you have another hour. I would use the time to congratulate Mr Todd for passing his job interview with flying colours."
Bruce gives her a real smile which he then turns on Jason. "Did you? This is great! Come in! I see that you brought in lunch. Marinette, you should join us."
His Ladybug smiles but shakes her head. "I'm afraid that I have a few more emails and calls to make but I promise that I will eat." She takes one of the take out boxes from Jason and nods at them all before she sits back at her desk.
It is both surprising and not to see Jason holding out a gift to Damian.
"So... okay look. I'm angry at everyone right now, really fucking angry. But at the end of the day, Bruce is still my father, Cassandra and Stephanie are still my sisters. Dick, Tim and Duke are still my brothers. You are still my brother, so here. Welcome to the family." Ra's watches Damian open the gift and almost laughs, it's the first book of the 'Art of War' series in the original Mandarin. He can see the little quirk of Damian's lips as Dick drags Jason into a hug.
The happy atmosphere is ruined by Jason spotting something happening on the other side of the glass, Ra's managed to catch a glimpse of a blond pulling HIS Ladybug by her hair before Jason is kicking down the door and yelling at the boys face. He doesn't get up as the situation looks to be under control, a decision he regrets when Jason shoves everyone else back into the room and activates the privacy mode.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING HERE!" Jason yells right into Bruce's face.
"He's an intern, so is the other girl," Tim adds as he pulls out two files from a huge stack. "Agreste, Adrian and Rossi, Lila. Part of the French class that won the Thomas and Martha Wayne competition" He adds, Jason snarls.
"Does that file happen to mention the fact that the fucker is a sexual predator? Or that he tried to choke Marinette? How the fuck did he even get up here?" Everyone freezes as the glass in Bruce's hand shatters.
"How do you know this Jason?" Bruce asks while Ra's nods Nizar and Tasnim who start looking up the names.
"Because I was the one to stop him." He growls.
Bruce nods then pick up his cell phone. "Jim, Good afternoon! I'm afraid that this isn't a social call. I have just gotten some new information about Marinette's attacker, I've been reliably informed that the man's name is Adrien Agreste from France and...
Oh, you already knew that?...
An ongoing investigation?...
And she told you what just happened too?...
That's great, I was worried that she was hiding what had happened because she was covering the injury. Sorry to bother you, Jim...
If you need anything at all to speed your case along I'll be more than happy to cooperate with the GPD...
Yes, of course, I can send you the CCTV footage. I can also send you all of the footage of them interacting with her since they got here...
You'll have it all by the end of the day. Have a good day Jim"
Bruce hangs up and walks up to the office door. "I know you said that you still had work to do Marinette but I feel that it would make everyone feel better if you came in and ate with us." His Ladybug looks rescinded but agrees, it fills Ra's with a smug glee as he sees Damian climb into his Ladybug's lap as soon as she sits down. The glee is replaced with pride as his Ladybug teaches his grandson how to properly imitate innocence, the one thing all of his league always falls short in. The look of pure horror on his son-in-law's face as his elite copy her movements as well is priceless.
The main event of the tour that his Ladybug forced Tim to give them is learning that the Agreste boy is interning on the Purchasing floor, his elite track the boy the whole time while Damian keeps his hands clenched tightly around his katana but soon it is over and they are waiting in the parking lot with everyone but his son-in-law and his Ladybug. They don't take long which eases some of the tension inside him, being far away from her after finally finding her makes his skin crawl. Ra's is sure that Bruce won't mind him moving to Gotham with Talia and Damian if she decides to stay here, it would keep the family together after all. He is quite impressed with how his Ladybug handles the situation with the bomb and he can tell that Nizar is pleased with the return of his knife.
Ra's can feel the presence of the Peacock and Fox as soon as he steps out of the car, both true holders also seem to work for his son-in-law which annoys him to no end. How has he managed to accidentally stumble across FOUR true holders during his life with no magic at all when Ra's has spent six hundred years looking and only found the first this morning? He could have sworn that he paid the price for sinking Atlantis already.
The Panther cubs his Ladybug gives his grandson, as well as the look on his son-in-law's face, is the second-best part of this trip in Ra's opinion, it makes him happy to see his daughters and Grandson so happy. Dinner is also great with the cubs brushing up against his legs and purring, at one point he leans down and scratches one under the chin making it purr louder. As soon as dinner is finished his Ladybug goes to bed somewhere in the good mansion, she needs to sleep. The Peacock's and Fox's eyes narrow on to him as soon as she's out of earshot, he smirks right in their faces. Let the fun begin.
"What are you doing here Cat" The Fox hisses, Bruce's eyes go wide then narrow. He goes to speak but is cut off.
"Different Cat Master Wayne. But I am curious as to what you think you're doing? Does she even know what you did?" The Peacock says, Ra's leans back and lets his true magic loose.
"I don't know why your both so defensive, I'm just here to introduce my grandson to his father, Fox. As for my Ladybug, I'm sure she's figured it out when she wakes up Peacock. She's very smart after all" The Peacock glares so he just smirks wider.
"Okay enough!" Bruce shouts making the three holders turn to him.
"Do keep your voice down Detective. My youngest daughter is sleeping"
The Fox snarls at him. "She's not your daughter! She has no idea that you bound yourself to her!" Bruce's eyes widen again along with the rest of his children but he ignores them and turns to a betrayed looking Damian.
"Don't worry, she's not your aunt by blood. You can still marry her." Damian tilts his head then nods and goes back to giving the cubs belly rubs, Tim chokes on his drink.
"I said enough. Now, Alfred. Can you please tell me what the hell is going on?" Ra's meets the eyes of the two other holders then reaches his magic out, they meet him halfway.
Fox. Should we tell him?
Peacock. I think we should wait to see what our Ladybug wants to do. It's her secret as well.
Cat. I agree, what kind of father would I be if I spread my daughter's secrets.
F. Oh, soffocati su un cazzo Gatto.
C. Child.
The Peacock cuts the connection while the Fox glares.
"I'm afraid that as it is also Ladybug's secret we don't feel comfortable sharing it without her say so but we would be happy to table our argument so that you don't feel left out Master Wayne." The Fox huffs but then looks away from him.
Ra's lets his smile sharpen. "Yes, let's. Now on to more important things. What would it take to get you to relieve my daughter from her working contract so that I can take her to Nanda Parbat." Bruce's eyes narrow until he's looking at Batman instead. His smile sharpens.
Notes:
Oh, soffocati su un cazzo Gatto. - Oh choke on a dick Cat.
Chapter 25
Summary:
Happy Birthday Panda_neard_8of9
:D
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Jason is having a roller coaster of a day which to be honest started a week ago when he was about to kill Bruce. He had clocked the new PA as soon as she entered the room then made what is probably the biggest mistake of his life, he brushed her off as not a threat. She proved him wrong not even two minutes later with that sign, he still has no idea how she spotted him. He was three buildings away! Then she just walked up to scarecrow, took a full dose of fear toxin and acted as nothing happened. Jason is man enough to admit that he had been so very wrong about the tiny girl which is why he follows her and is appalled to see that she doesn't even go home after the press conference, who the fuck is she!
He won't admit it but he falls asleep waiting for her to leave WE which leads to him missing her leaving AND he doesn't know her name. He spends the night breaking into Commission Gordon's office to look up the report for the scarecrow attack. Marinette Dupain-Cheng huh. He doesn't find an address for her which is suspicious though her name does ping in a hotel, more suspicious. He scales the back of the building then waits in the shadows, he plans to search her room after she left. A plan that is dashed to the rocks when some blond trust fund bitch knocks on her door then attacks her, what the fuck. He almost shoots the fucker, almost because she stops him 'doesn't want to be late to work' she says like her neck isn't already turning purple. He almost does it anyway but remembers his plan so he lets the bitch go then accepts when she lets him into the room.
While she's getting ready in the bathroom he carefully goes through her things, the picture that slowly starts painting its self fills his gut with dread. The room is bare like she hasn't been here long, which connects to the fact that she's not registered as Bruce's PA yet. All of her stuff is new meaning that she must have left without it, even her suitcases, possibly in a hurry or was unable to take anything. In the bottom of one of her suitcases she has a bunch of cash wads, he counts one since they are all the same size and estimates that she has around $21,000. The thing that brings it all together is when she comes out of the bathroom looking like nothing happened, her neck is so expertly covered that she must have had a LOT of practice hiding injuries. She's running, from someone who hurt her. He finds himself ordering his men to keep a watch for anyone who expresses an interest in her general appearance outside of Gotham since her name is most likely fake and because it's obvious she's not from here, asks them to take a special interest in New Orleans due to the french twinge in her ascent.
It's how he ends up in this new club as Jason and not Red Hood watching her dance and drink, she looks like she needs it to be honest so he won't judge even though she's not twenty-one. Except he seems to underestimate her again because she's somehow figured out who he is even while she's well on the way to being plastered, she fucking swaggers up to him wearing HIS colours and defies all expectations by scheduling him a meeting. A MEETING OF ALL THINGS! Then threatens him into agreeing to go and swaggers away again, he's a little turned on... okay, he's a lot turned on but he has enough self-preservation to know that she would eat him alive so he leaves runs with his tail between his legs to mentally prepare himself for being at WE again, it'll be a Monday so it's unlikely that anyone will be in Bruce's office anyway.
He's wrong, he's so so wrong because as soon as he steps off the elevator he meets the eyes of his shocked family. He's not ashamed to admit that his first reaction is to draw his guns, looking at Bruce and seeing all the people he replaced him with hurts when it's this close. He does not expect the katana, also don't expect to see fucking Ra's and Talia ether. He doesn't expect to find out that she's somehow managed to get his death overturned or that he's here for a job interview but he should know better than to hold any expectations to her by now. He tries to talk to her several times in the elevator but Lucius keeps cutting him off.
"One thing you will learn very fast here Mr Todd is that when Miss Dupain-Cheng tells you to do something it is better for everyone to just do it. Now, Miss Dupain-Cheng has reminded me that you were able to get three of the Batmobiles wheels off in twenty minutes. Care to try again with the new model?"
Her being genuinely delighted that he got the job makes him feel a little warm inside, her calling him family even more so. It reminds him so much of the rare times his mother was sober and happy that he has to turn around to stop crying, the effect she has on him is ridiculous. She practically shoves him in the office with everyone's lunch then abandons him for emails which is fine, the glass is clear so he can still check on her. None of his men has heard anything yet which means that whoever she's running from must be planning something, there is no way in hell that anyone is going to just let a girl like her go without a fight. His paranoia pays off because when he checks ten minutes later he sees a blond prick yank her close to him by her hair, his rage increases when he realises that it's the same blond prick that attacked her last week. How the fuck did he find her! How the fuck did he even get up here! She stops him, again, and he's hit with the horrible realisation that no one knows. That she's not told anyone that she was attacked or who her attacker was, he's about to clear that up real quick.
He watches security take the two interns away with dead eyes then drags his family into the office and slams his hand on the privacy setting with more force than necessary. The realisation that she had told someone, that she had told Gordon and even opened a criminal case against the blond makes him sag with relief. Watching replacements face when the demon spawn climbs into her lap makes him smirk, seeing the jealousy turn to horror as she announces his gift to the demon spawn makes it grow. He has no idea what is going on there but fuck if it's not the most amusing thing, Talia gives him a look before she leaves which he's expecting. She gave him a job and he's not going to complete it now, he's realising that she might not have wanted him to now anyway. Throwing him into Bruce's path so that he could kill the older man might have been her twisted way of apologising for dumping him into the pit, somehow knowing that he wouldn't succeed but would be on Bruce's radar.
The bomb is a surprise but how she handles the situation isn't, by now he's learnt to expect only the most Badass things from her. It's not even him overreacting, his previous interactions with her are prof that terrifying and Badass are her Only settings.
Meeting Lucia and finding out what Marinette thinks of him is overwhelming, so overwhelming that he bursts into tears like a little kid, it's not fair, how does Marinette keep making him feel like a little kid whose mother is proud of him? He hugs her as soon as he sees her because how can he not when faced with everything she's done for him in the short time she's known him... and everything she continues to do. He has his section of the library with soft orange fairy lights and personalised books, only eight so far but all of them are perfect.
Dinner is quiet but that's mostly because everyone can see that Marinette's falling asleep at the table and no one wants to spook her by being too loud, once she goes to bed Ra's, Lucia and Alfred start arguing. No one has any idea what they're arguing about except that Ra's seems to think that Marinette's his daughter. They refuse to explain as well leading to Ra's starting an argument with Bruce about who gets to keep Marinette.
It's entertaining for about two hours but then it gets dull, he looks up when Dick taps his shoulder. "I'm going to grab us a couple of bottles of wine to celibate you not being dead. Do you have a preference?"
Jason feels a smirk growing. "Expensive." If he can't kill Bruce he could at least bleed him dry, Dick laughs and pats his shoulder before he leaves.
Jason expects a bottle of wine with Dick's return, he does not expect a panicking Marinette who is drunk off her ass crying to Alfred about stopping Dick from being killed. It ruins the whole night for him and has him subtly texting his men to hurry the fuck up in finding the fucker she's running from. Alfred takes her words as permission to talk about what they were arguing about before because they are connected. While Dick gently gives Marinette to Tim, Damian takes offence for some reason and climbs over Tim to curl up in her lap. It looks like Tim wants to shove him off but then Omen and Grimm jump up too and he's stuck.
"To understand why Marinette is so worried we need to... explain somethings about our pasts and the shared history they have." Alfred begins.
"I thought that you said that you only met Marinette on Tuesday?" Bruce says.
"I wasn't lying, we physically meet for the first time on Tuesday... magically, well... That's a different story." Magically? That can't be the word that left Alfred's mouth, it's Alfred.
"At the beginning of our world, two basic concepts were made, creation and destruction. The two concepts along with others that appeared slowly grew stronger as our race did until they were powerful enough to become being in their own right but to be truly real they needed a connection. Some believe that this connection was created by a man who bound the concepts to jewels but that just strengthened the bond, the true connection came when the concepts broke off a piece of themselves and gave them to creation to plant into humans." Ra's says casually like he isn't telling them that gods are real and like to hang around jewellery.
"Nineteen concepts, nineteen souls. Spread across the world. A true connection between humans and gods. Demi-gods if you like. The children grew older and died as all humans do but the gods did not lose their connections because they had created a fail-safe, while most souls passed on these didn't. They were instead reborn, again and again." Lucia added.
"So... you're telling me that the four of you are reincarnated souls bound to gods..." Bruce says slowly and all three of them nod.
"Now that we have covered the basics" Alfred starts.
Jason hears Stephanie whisper. "That's the basics? "
"We can go into what is happening with Marinette, you see the jewels weren't created by a true holder so everyone can use them if they have them in their possession. We are family, no matter how much some of us may annoy the rest..." Ra's smirks. "and therefore can't hurt each other. Others do not have that restriction." Here all of them looked bitter.
"I was chased out of my homeland by a dog because the current guardian is an Idiota who keeps losing the jewels." Lucia huffs.
"I was betrayed in the war by a butterfly who stole my jewel and sold it while I slept," Alfred added.
"I sank Atlantis after a snake killed my mother, then I took her jewel of creation and made a wish. The boon was the creation of the pits but the cost was that she was unable to use them which is why I asked for them in the first place." Everyone but Alfred and Lucia look at Ra's in shock.
"Of course that was you," Lucia mutters, Ra's sends her a sharp smile and Alfred sighs.
"And now Marinette is dealing with a cat that doesn't want to take no for an answer. The reason she is so scared is that the black cat is the concept of destruction, with the black cat jewel anyone can turn anything into dust. And yes, that includes people." Now Jason feels sick, no wonder she ran if the guy was killing people who tried to help her, he gives his people a warning so that they don't get themselves disintegrated. That is the last thing he needs.
In the time that he's been texting and the rest of the family Marinette seems to have woken up a lot soberer than she was before, still in her weird snuggle pile she looks straight at Ra's with wide eyes. "Holy fuck! You're my CAT."
Notes:
Idiota. - Idiot.
Chapter 26
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Marinette feels like her mind is swimming but she's warm and her cat is here so she's not worried... wait What? She halts her magic She can FEEL her magic, this is so strange. and reexamines her surroundings. It's slow going because she is still drunkish but she does eventually notice him, he's... oh! He's destroying the alcohol in her system! No wonder everything is less hazy, she focuses more on it and feels it shift from protective to playful god this is so weird. It bats at a little bit of magic she didn't even realise she was sending out then curls around her with what she thinks is a purr? A magical purr? It doesn't matter. She feels safe like she's being hugged by a parent. The purring grows and shifts, she gets the sense that it's trying to say something but she's too young to understand. She has no choice but to open her eyes... and meet the playfully glowing ones of Ra's al Ghul. She blames the alcohol still in her system for her unprofessional exclamation. He chuckles and leans forward, his smile is dangerous but she feels oddly safe under it.
"You're my CAT."
"I am my little Ladybug. I'm glad you're awake enough to notice." She huffs and tries to cross her arms only to realise she has a lap full of a sleeping child and his two sleeping cubs... also that she's in the lap of Tim with no hope of escape... Shit.
"Okay fine, so why am I not where I fell ... Oh..." She suddenly remembers the nightmare and the drinking... and crying all over Dick because she forgot that she took Adrien's ring. "... So I'm going to make the executive decision to ignore everything that happened after I fell asleep the first time." She says hoping that they will play along, please, please play along.
"Overruled," Bruce says casually, asshole. Well, looks like she's not getting out of this talk. Time to pull a Lila and hope that she can twist it enough that Alfred doesn't notice.
"Fine, Mr Agreste grabbing me triggered some memories I hadn't been able to forget since Scarecrow and I had a nightmare about the guy that took me that one time. I wanted to forget it so I found the wine cellar and bought some of it off you then drank too much and forgot that the asshole was gone so I panicked. The end."
They all watch her for a moment until Alfred speaks up. "They know Marinette, it's alright, to tell the truth."
Her eyes go wide and she twists to face him, accidentally waking up Damian. "What do you mean they know!! How the fuck do they know!"
Lucia tuts at her. "Onestamente bambina, what were we supposed to do after they watched you drunkenly crying because you thought they were going to die."
Marinette blushes. "How much do they know?" She asks.
"Only the basics," Alfred assures her.
"Oh, so they know that we aren't human. And they're okay with that?" Her question is met with silence.
Ra's chuckles. "The other basics little Ladybug."
Dick seems to be the one to recover first. "You're not human!!!! I... What????"
She closes her eyes and sighs. "We are ideas created by other ideas." She says eventually it's really weird how she just knows this now, where the hell is all of this knowledge coming from?
"Let us move away from the glaringly obvious and back to the fact that someone hurt you using MY jewel shall we. I would like a name and a location, now." Ra's says as his eyes meet her's.
"How is them not being human obvious?" Dick whispers.
"How is there more than one basic?" Stephanie whispers back.
She refuses to be the first to break on this, she can't let Adrien be punished for what he did as an Akuma as much as she hates to admit it. Having him punished for everything else, sure, he's done those things with his whole mind intact. Ra's raises an amused eyebrow.
"I asked you a question daughter."
Are her eyes narrow as the truth of his statement lets itself be known, when the fuck had he managed that? "And I'm choosing not to reply." His eyes narrow as well and the playful nature of his magic shifts, now resembling more of a big cat than a house cat. She raises her eyebrow.
"... You know what? I see it." Jason says suddenly breaking them both out of their standoff, she tilts her head asking him to continue. It's strange the pull she feels to him, he's older but he feels younger. Like a kid who hasn't met his full potential yet. "You guys being father and daughter, I didn't get it at first but now I see it." Bruce looks betrayed for some reason and Ra's smiles victoriously... For some reason it reminds her of her boon, maybe she's meant to tell them? Not all of it but maybe she can let them help her hold this bit... Maybe she's supposed to...
"...I was pulled into a timeline where the one using the cat jewel was corrupted, his power was limitless and he didn't care how he used it. I was given the Ladybug jewel and asked to defeat him, I was told that I was the only one who could. He had killed the previous person with the Ladybug jewels but... he took a liking to me. He asked me to join him and when I said no he decided to convince me. He said that we were soulmates..." She's cut off by Ra's vicious snarl, she opens the eyes she didn't know she closed and finds him sitting on the floor in front of her.
He gently starts petting her head. "He was a liar little Ladybug. You and I are soulmates and I can assure you that it means nothing romantic. Soulmates never are, it would be like spiritual incest. Do you understand?" She nods, the very small part of her that was scared he was right disappeared with Ra's' words.
"I..." she tries to continue but is cut off by a barrage of blue bubbles streaming out of her mouth, every time one pops it says spoiler and harmony of voices. She only recognises a few, her's, fluff's, Alix's, Talia's and one that sounds sort of like Tom Hiddleston? When the hell did a movie actor get the rabbit?
The other holders glare at the bubbles. "I didn't know you encountered a rabbit? " Ra's says angrily, she huffs again and swats at him. He swats back with his magic that is suddenly playful again, she rolls her eyes. If only his league could see what a brat he is, she bets that none of them would take him seriously.
"Be nice, she had no idea what to do okay. It was her first world-ending event and she needed the help of a true Ladybug to overpower a corrupted cat jewel. I won in the end so..."
Bruce's eyes go wide. "Her FIRST world-ending event!!!"
"Rabbits are the concept of time Master Wayne, it is extremely rare to see one outside of a world-ending event," Alfred says like he's talking about the weather.
"How does no one know about this?!?!"
Alfred raises his eyebrow like he doesn't believe that Bruce asked something so stupid but he answers anyway. "Because the current rabbit at the time, true or not, selects the best true holder for the job. It was the Cat jewel that was corrupted and as much as we ALL hate it only a true ladybug could have defeated them. Now, seeing as it's midnight and we've not been interrupted by a rabbit. I think that it's time to go to bed, you can ask us more questions in the morning." Alfred claps his hands then scoops up Omen and Grimm so that Damian can get off her lap and she in turn can get off Tim's. No one gets a chance to say anything else as Alfred expertly shoos them into their rooms.
Marinette is just about to fall asleep when someone knocks on her door, it's Damian holding Omen and Grimm. "... I was worried that you would have another nightmare so I've come to protect you." He says simply. It's so cute that she has no choice but to let him in. Once the four of them are comfortable on her bed she kisses his forehead.
"Thank you, Damian." He falls asleep with a smile and she follows soon after, the rumbling purr of Omen and Grimm chasing the last of Chat Blanca from her mind. Lucky boon strikes again.
Notes:
Onestamente bambina - Honestly child
Chapter 27
Summary:
Happy birthday Naluforever3!!! <3
Chapter Text
To: All WE Employees [All Departments]
From: Human Resources
Subject: New Interns
It's the start of our new interns second week which is usually when they start coming out of their shells. Help them feel comfortable by including them in idle chit chat or inviting them to lunch (making sure to follow all guidelines in both situations, no one wants to have another 'Spring of 05' incident)
In other news, we have been informed by Miss Dupain-Cheng that we have some special guests touring the building today, they are the heads of an overseas security company. We expect department behaviour to be up to the high standing we promote here at Wayne Enterprises.
Again, should we have another 'Summer of 09' incident, please contact us as soon as possible, to help ensure the process goes smoothly?
We hope you have a great day!
—HR
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: LIAR
Do not listen to HR guys! Or baby CEO!
These guys are not 'heads of an overseas security company'! They are assassins! They would have KILLED me if baby CEO hadn't picked up her phone on Saturday. I am not joking. Do not get on their bad side!
Here's hoping that baby CEO keeps them in line. Fucking hell.
—Jérémy
To: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
From: Calista P. [Receptionist, Front Desk]
Subject: Red alert
Hi, just felt like you guys needed a heads up. Miss Dupain-Cheng just walked into the lobby looking like she hasn't slept... she's also just accepted an energy drink the size of her head, downed it then crushed the can in one hand and walked into the elevator. This feels like it's falling into 'Sleep Deprived Drake' mode.
Good luck.
—Calista
To: Calista P. [Receptionist, Front Desk]
From: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
Subject: Shit
Thank you for the heads up Calista, S.D.D mode is a serious issue if un-mentored. I'll make sure that everyone knows so that we can follow the proper procedure.
Thank you again.
—Roland
To: All WE Employees [All Departments]
From: Human Resources
Subject: Possible S.D.D
We in HR have just been informed that Miss Dupain-Cheng is exhibiting signs of S.D.D mode, while this hasn't been confirmed we would like to remind you of the S.D.D protocols just encase. We understand that everyone is on edge already with the news of today's special guests but we here in HR feel that being prepared will ensure smooth sailing.
Protocol one. All caffeine on the floor that the subject (Miss Dupain-Cheng) is on must be expertly hidden or thrown out.
Protocol two. Areas that can be considered safe and out of the way of foot traffic must look extra appealing for spontaneous naps.
Protocol three. In conjunction with protocol three, all dangerous areas or areas with a lot of foot traffic are to look as unappealing for naps as you can safely make them.
Protocol four. If your floor is chosen as the prime napping spot you will be given a new floor and location where you may continue working.
As per S.D.D guidelines, you will only have five minute's to vacate the floor before the blackout mode is activated so make sure your interns are out as well.
Stay informed and stay safe!
—HR
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: The Background Checks
Okay, guys, so this is a lot of reading but I got everything I could over the weekend. May have to update them if I find out more but I'll keep you all updated.
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: Wish me luck guys
I have been summoned by the baby CEO to come with her to collect the assassins. I'm worried about what she's going to do when she realises that they are staying in the same hotel as her. If this is how I die tell my dog that I love him.
—Jérémy
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: Wait
Are you telling me that ALL of the competent interns are superheroes?
—Gilad
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: Yes
From their last interview, it would seem that all of them (including the two not in the winning class) have formally retired but yes, they were all heroes.
No one can tell the Wayne's.
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: More Importantly
Are telling me that we have a SUPER VILLAIN working in PURCHASING OF ALL PLACES!! Do you know how big of a security risk that is!!!
I want eyes on him at ALL times.
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Mechthild N. [Head of Purchasing, Purchasing Department]
Subject: I Agree
I would like to second that. I feel very uncomfortable with having an actual supervillain wandering around my workers, is there some way we can fire him BEFORE he does something?
Funny that this isn't even the weirdest set of interns we've had. Remember the group from 2015?
—Mechthild
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: Missing Pass
Has anyone seen my pass? I put it down on my desk so that I could work on that gift for baby CEO (I didn't want to accidentally melt it) but when I came back it was gone.
On a side note, Brenda found out that the intern was the one to ruin her experiment and spent ten minutes yelling at her which was satisfying but now two other interns are down here while she cries and I think one of them is the supervillain one?
A little help here?
—Neilos
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Millaray V. [Head of Legal, Legal Department]
Subject: Hands Are Tied
Until Mr Agreste does something we can't legally do anything BUT watch him, sorry Mechthild.
Once he does something though we can bury him.
—Millaray
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: Gifts!
We the I.T Department have decided to hack all of the baby CEO's electronics to improve the security and make it hackproof (I know, hacking to make it unhackable. Sounds suspect but it will work I promise).
To solve the money issue we will be invoicing for our time and any accessorise we add. Sound good Nerio?
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Nerio C. [Head of Accounting, Accounting Department]
Subject: Fine.
So long as you remember to email my home account I don't see the problem with invoicing for time spent.
I shall be giving her one of Orca's babies once they hatch as well as supplies and exotic pet insurance for a year.
—Nerio
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Plans
Losing one of the passes that have access to Wayne's floor today of all days is NOT OKAY.
You will find it Neilos.
BEFORE the assassins arrive or we will be having words.
I did not know that the gifts could be time, my department would like to offer up defence lessons. It could easily be suggested in response to the Scarecrow attack on her first day.
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: I'm Alive
Not that any of you guys care but I lived through baby CEO finding out that the assassins are staying with her. She also seems to be fighting S.D.D mode but I don't know how long that will last.
...
Also, she now has a katana, who bought her a katana?!?!
—Jérémy
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: Question
...
So did you find anything that suggests that baby CEO has a kid? Just asking since she just walked through the department singing a child to sleep over her phone while the 'not' assassins trailed behind her like ducklings.
...
Also, I think that my intern is going to get murdered, she tried to trip baby CEO up IN FRONT of the group of people who not moments before had swords to her throat.
Can I please have that new hire? Please!
—Neilos
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Lucius F. [Head of BR&D, BR&D Department]
Subject: No
I'm afraid that Mr Todd has already integrated with the department during the interview, he is very talented and we are happy to have him.
You seem to be getting the short end of the stick a lot here, Neilos.
Such a Shame.
—Lucius
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: I'm Sorry?
Did you just say 'Mr Todd'? Like the same Mr Todd, that's DEAD and BURIED!
God this is going to be a PR nightmare!
—Gilad
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: Heads Up
Baby CEO is making a company-wide request to have us all call her 'Marrinette' while the assassins are here!
She also now has baby panthers and a maybe kidnapped old Italian lady?
Also, also. She, Mr Pennyworth and the Italian lady is calling each other by nicknames. I'm scared.
—Jérémy
To: Marinette DC. [Intern, Wayne PA]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: New Hire
Hello Miss Dupain-Cheng, I would like to request a new hire for my department as it has become difficult since you were stolen from us.
If you cannot do this I understand but since you were able to do this for Mr Fox I was hoping that you could do this for me as well?
Again, if you can't that is fine. Just thought that I would ask.
—Neilos
To: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
From: Marinette DC. [Intern, Wayne PA]
Subject: New Hire
I understand the strain that has been put on your department and will do my best to get you a new hire of your own. Be warned that this may take some time as I refuse to hire sub-par staff.
Let us hope that luck is on our side and we find someone to fill the spot soon.
Have a good rest of you're day.
—Marinette
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Pass Found
Neilos, your pass has been found in possession of your intern Miss Rossi on Wayne's floor after she and Mr Agreste spent some time harassing baby CEO.
She has been placed on house arrest until legal can sort out what to do with her, as Mr Agreste wasn't the one with the pass we've had to realise him on a probationary period.
The Wayne's are NOT happy, the assassins even less so.
Because yes, they were there too.
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: Update
Just got asked by Wayne to gather as much security footage of Rossi and Agreste interacting with the baby CEO as I could then to send it to Gordon at the GCPD.
So in other news, no one is allowed to let the Wayne's see ANY of the footage. It shows Agreste choking her, breaking into her room and stealing her underwear then giving them back covered in jizz when she confronts him among other things.
I do not need to tell how bad it would be if ANY of them saw it.
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: ...
...
Pull up footage from Paris as well Loane, Agreste may be our NDA guy too. No one is that comfortable with their exploits unless they think that they won't get caught.
I want him gone.
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department], Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department], Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department], Lucius F. [Head of BR&D, BR&D Department], Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
From: Jørg M. [Parking lot Security, Security Department]
Subject: Urgent Request From Miss Dupain-Cheng
Some guy in an armoured car just drove through the security checkpoint and tossed a Joker bomb at Miss Dupain-Cheng. She's disarmed it and wants R&D as well as BR&D to take a look at its continence. She's also requested that security and I.T find out who the guy is as well as put in a call for the cleaners to clear up the mess. I've already notified the GPD who will be sending Commissioner Gordon.
—Jørg
To: Jørg M. [Parking lot Security, Security Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department], Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: Urgent Request From Miss Dupain-Cheng
We'll have the information you need by the time the Commissioner gets there.
—Ankit, Loane
To: Jørg M. [Parking lot Security, Security Department]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department], Lucius F. [Head of BR&D, BR&D Department]
Subject: Urgent Request From Miss Dupain-Cheng
Sending someone up to collect the bomb now.
—Neilos, Lucius
To: Jørg M. [Parking lot Security, Security Department]
From: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
Subject: Urgent Request From Miss Dupain-Cheng
Sending cleaners your way.
—Roland
Chapter 28
Summary:
TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chapter Text
Marinette wakes on Tuesday at 5 am feeling lighter than she has in years. She reaches under and annoyed Grimm who does not appreciate the sudden vibrating under him and turns off the alarm. Damian sleeps soundly curled up to her side, he looks so cute and peaceful that she can't bring herself to wake him so she just writes him a note and carries everything she needs for the day into the bathroom. Alfred and Lucia are waiting for her at the breakfast table when she arrives.
"You do know that you going to work after what happened last night is going to cause a house riot don't you Ladybug," Alfred says as he places warm honey milk at her elbow while she checks her emails and waits for Mr Shelagh.
She raises an eyebrow at him. "The alternative being not turning up to work and causing a company-wide riot?"
"There are assassins currently under this roof."
"And I'm 90% sure that Nerio Cristiana and the rest of his accounting department are retired assassins."
Alfred watches her for a moment then nods. "You are correct, have a good day Ladybug." As soon as the words are out of his mouth she gets a text from Mr Shelagh saying that he's outside, Alfred needs to teach her how he does that.
"You as well, Peacock. Are you coming with me, Fox?"
Lucia snorts. "And miss them all running around like a bunch of headless chickens? I think not. Do fave fun at work though"
Marinette lets out a little laugh as she walks out. "Send me pictures!"
Mr Shelagh meets her outside of his car with an apologetic expression and a very large coffee, black and made out of only espresso shots. She lets out a pleased sigh as she takes the first sip making Mr Shelagh light up happily. Tim will never know she takes her coffee the same as him, never. The ride is peaceful until she gets to the main lobby and Calista tells her that her seven-thirty appointment is waiting for her... Marinette smiles and thanks her even though she doesn't have a seven-thirty appointment then ignores her scowling class and gets in the elevator. She finds Mr Grier waiting for her, she smiles again.
"Good morning Mr Grier, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the head of security?"
He smiles pleasantly at her. "The security department and I would like to offer you some self-defence lessons, not because we don't think that you are capable. You have more than proven that you are. It's just that my department would feel better if you knew a few tricks, especially with the week you've just had."
She huffs a little. "My weeks not been that bad."
He raises an eyebrow then holds up his hands. "You sassed Scarecrow straight to his face." He puts down a finger. "You sassed a sniper." He puts down the next finger. "You were choked outside your hotel room." Another finger goes down. "You let Red Hood into your room." Down goes his pinky. "You punched the Joker in the face." His first hand is closed into a fist. "Your room was broken into, twice." He puts down two fingers. "You got drunk and beat up Two-Face and some of his goons." Another finger. "You've adopted a bunch of assassins." The pinky goes down. "You were attacked at your desk." He puts his thumb down.
"I was not attacked, Mr Grier."
He looks her in the eye. "You were attacked at your desk and one of Jokers goons tossed a laughing gas bomb at your face." He sticks his thumb up and she huffs again. "... It would make everyone feel better." He says and she throws her hands up.
"Okay, fine. I'll let you guys teach me self defence."
He smiles brightly at her, how does a guy so big look so much like a puppy. "Wonderful, how does Sunday sound?"
"Sunday is fine Mr Grier."
"Great, I'll email you the details." He says as the door opens, he doesn't step out with her.
The man... well, the teen sitting in front of her desk has black hair, hazel eyes, tan skin and a cheeky smirk that makes her want to bang her head against a wall.
"You're late Ladybug. I was expecting you here twenty-seven seconds ago."
Her eyes narrow at him. "I'm retired Rabbit, go find someone else to save the world."
His grin grows. "Not here for that."
She pauses briefly then continues around her desk and sits opposite him. "Then what are you here for?"
"I'm on holiday." He says as he slides the folder in front of him towards her.
She opens it because she's curious then almost immediately regrets it. "... How much of this is real?"
He smirks as he leans forward. "All of it."
"... And you expect me to believe that you're eighteen in light of all this because?"
He leans back in his chair casually with his cheeky smirk still in place. "Time doesn't flow in the burrow."
She narrows her eyes again. "And how long have you spent in the burrow?"
He sighs dramatically. "Long enough to want a holiday, let some of the older me's look after this multiverse for a bit."
She snaps the folder shut. "And your idea of a holiday is to work in a corporate building?" He raises his eyebrow at her then takes a slow look around her section of the Wayne office before looking at her again. "... Okay fair, one moment." She picks up her desk phone and calls Dr Nithya, he picks up on the second ring.
"This is Dr Nithya, head of R&D. I'm currently in the middle of something so this better be important."
She can't help but raise an eyebrow even though he can't see her. "Dr Nithya, I have your new hire if you would like to send someone up to get him." The line is silent. "... Dr Nithya? Are you still there?"
"... Miss Dupain-Cheng?"
"Did you not get Mr Shelagh's email Dr Nithya?"
"NO! I mean yes! Yes, I did I'm sorry Mi... Marinette.... and for the way I talked to you."
"That is fine, who will you be sending?"
"...What?"
She closes her eyes to hide the way they crinkle in amusement. "To collect your new hire, Mr Tom House."
"... You got one already! I mean yes. I mean Rati... Dr Gualberto. You... You remember Dr Gualberto right?"
"Yes, Dr Nithya I remember her. Tell her that I look forward to seeing her."
"I WILL! I mean, yes, of course, Mis... Marinette" The line clicks off and she can't help but laugh softly.
She points her pen at Tom. "Not a word of this."
His grin is bright as he holds his hands up. "Won't tell a soul and for what it's worth, I'm sorry about Friday"
She tilts her head to the side. "What?"
He winces a little. "I don't do anything but someone needs to say it."
She narrows her eyes. "Why?"
He pushes himself up and walks to the elevator. "Can't say, rules you know." For a fraction of a second, a blue chain appears around his throat but then it's gone, she understands thought. He gives her another cheeky smile. "See you Friday Ladybug." He says then he turns just as the elevator doors open, he doesn't even give Rati time to say hello to her. Just steps in and presses one of the buttons. "Hi! I'm Tom House and I'm going to be working with you through at least five world-ending events! We're going to get along great." He says as the doors close.
Marinette leans back in her chair and pinches the bridge of her nose. "See you then Rabbit." She grumbles then unlocks her computer and gets to work.
The rest of her workday flies by with a break at lunch when she gets a bunch of pictures from Lucia, all of them make her laugh but her favourite is the one where Tim and Damian look like they are yelling at each other while being rugby held by Mr Wayne and Miss Al Ghul who look to be having a casual conversation. Her happiness at seeing her motorbike is immeasurable, she missed it so much. She takes the long way to the hotel so that she can enjoy it and ends up helping the cops by punching a getaway driver through his window as she drives past. Her good mood is almost ruined by Lila. She's parked her darling motorbike that she might like more than most people at this point and enters the lobby only to see Lila crying surrounded by her idiot class, she also sees Ra's, Talia, Damian, the cubs and the Al Ghul bodyguards enter. They all focus on her class with narrowed eyes, when did her job mean stopping mass murder? She walks towards the elevator making sure to step down harder so that the clicking of her heels echos and draws everyone's attention, Ra's and Damian light up when they see her and her classes eyes narrow. Lila smirks at her but that is fine, Marinette is about to wipe it right off her face. Her friends give her a look asking if they should get involved and she gives them one back saying 'No, I got this. They nod and head to the elevator so that they are out of the firing range. There is no Hawkmoth to stop her from defending herself now and maybe showing that she has this handled will stop Ra's from entering protective father mode which she knows will only end in death. Just to make sure she's not tempted she un-clips her katana and holds it loosely in her hand.
"GIRL! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE JEALOUS DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN LIE AND GET LILA FIRED! DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT WILL LOOK ON HER RECORD?" Alya yells as she gets right up in Marinette's face, the bodyguards move closer and it seems that Lila's spotted them because she suddenly becomes pale.
"A...Alya, it's OK. I'm not upset, let's drop it." She stutters out but Alya ignores her.
"No, Lila! This bitch has been tormenting you for too long and it's time for her to pay." The others nod behind her and Marinette can feel a little spark of excitement grow in her stomach, it's been so long since she's had a good fight... Tom might be more right about her internship being a holiday than she thought, damn. Alya throws a punch and Marinette lets it hit, can't claim self-defence if she's not hurt. She cuts Ra's angry snarl off by tossing her katana at him as a smirk curls up on her lips, Alya steps back suddenly not sure. Too late.
"My turn" She whispers then launches herself at the bespectacled girl.
It turns into an all-out brawl between her and her class, they get a few good hits in but by the time Commissioner Gordon and the Bat-family burst in she's the only one standing. Commissioner Gordon raises an eyebrow at her as Damian jumps into her arms and cries about how scared he was when they viciously attacked her for no reason at all. He even goes so far as to pull out the Bambi eyes as he asks Commissioner Gordon why anyone would do that, she has never been so proud of anyone in her life. A quick look at Ra's and Talia shows that they feel the same. She feels great with her split lip, broken rib and busted knuckles because in that short fight she managed to punch Lila and Adrien in the face six times, EACH! It makes up for the fact that she has to go to the hospital and the heavily hinting from the bats that she would be staying with them for the foreseeable future. She thinks that she might have a concussion because when Robin's thumb wipes the blood off her lip her whole head gets fuzzy and she swears she hears Damian growling.
She is about to fall asleep on her hospital bed because she did have a concussion and they want to monitor her overnight when her window opens, she sighs.
"Visiting hours are over." She grumbled not even opening her eyes, she doesn't need to.
"I know." Ra's says as he sits on the edge of her bed, she huffs and cracks an eye open just in time to see him lean over and kiss her forehead. "You fought very well today my daughter and I am proud of you even if you refused to let us help."
She can't help but sleepily smile as her world darkens. "Thanks, dad." She mumbles before she's out.
Chapter Text
She wakes up on Wednesday at 5 am to her alarm and finds out when she goes to turn it off that Mr Wayne is forcing her to have a day off, in retaliation, she checks herself out and walks to the hotel. She's told that the Wayne's have checked her out and brought everything in the room to the Wayne residence. 'That's fine' she thinks with a clenched fist and walks down to the parking garage, her motorbike is still there thank god. She rides it to the Wayne's faster than is legal and is met by an unimpressed Alfred at the door.
"Everyone is looking for you."
She raises her eyebrow. "Why? Apparently, it's my day off. Why should they know what I do on it?"
He raises his own. "You know why Ladybug. Discharging yourself after a head injury is dangerous and could lead to serious problems."
She huffs and looks away. "... I'm fine"
He sighs and lets her in. "You may be now but that could change very quickly, the brain is very sensitive. Other people have a right to be worried if you won't." She feels bad about letting her anger get the better of her. "Now come along, Jason is waiting for you."
She shoots him a confused look. "Jason? I thought you said that everyone was looking for me?"
His lips quirk slightly. "Everyone but Jason, I made him stay behind."
She tilts her head. "Why?"
He stops them both in front of a door she doesn't recognise and looks at her with a smile. "I don't know." She has no idea why that makes him happy, his smile grows a little. "You must understand Ladybug. Rarely, I don't know something." He opens the door before she can reply. "Master Todd? Ladybug has arrived, could you watch her for me while I inform the others?"
Jason practically sprints out of the room. "You're okay! What the hell were you thinking?!?! You have a fucking head injury Mo... Marinette!"
She winces. "I'm okay, I'm sorry for worrying you."
He sags a little. "I just have bad experiences with head injuries you know."
This time she flinches but is saved by Alfred. "I've been told she will be making your outfits for the gala on Saturday, it would help me greatly if you watched her when she worked on them, Master Todd." Jason nods right away and follows as Alfred leads her to a new room... that is filled with top of the line sewing equipment and all of her fabrics. She opens her mouth to complain but Alfred is already gone, she sighs and enters the room with Jason on her heels. Time to get to work.
When she's finally got the bases sitting pinned to manikins she feels accomplished. Jason also seems impressed as his fingers lightly hover over one his one funnily enough though he doesn't know that yet.
"Wow, these look great mom." They both freeze, him probably because he's embarrassed and her because of how right it feels. He's older than her but he feels younger though she doesn't know why. It doesn't matter because he's withdrawing so she does the only right thing she can do in this situation.
"Thank you, son, do you want to see the sketches of what they'll look like when they're done?"
His eyes are slightly cloudy but the tiny smile he gives her after a moment will be one of her cherished memories for the rest of her life. "Sure... mom." He melts when she smiles and beckons him over.
Marinette.
Cassandra.
Stephanie.
Tim.
Talia.
Dick.
Ra's.
Jason.
Bruce.
Duke.
Damian.
"These look fucking great!" He exclaims as he looks them over making her smile.
"I'm glad you like them. Now, let's go eat, we've been in here for a while and I'm sure you're hungry." He doesn't protest, just carefully puts the sketches down and follows her.
Everyone is at lunch and angry with her, Bruce goes on a long rant about how dangerous it was for her to check herself out as everyone else adds their bit in. By the end, she feels properly chastised and has no choice but to apologise. Lunch is quiet after that but it's made better by the fact that Tim finds her hand under the table and holds it through the whole meal and then follows her to her sowing room after Jason reluctantly hands over babysitting duty.
He's really sweet, refusing to let her carry anything and helping her pin fabrics together but the best part is the little touches. His fingers would brush hers or draw little equations on her arms and shoulders. He would brush his arms against her's or he'd sit close enough that their legs would be pressed together. It was great... Until he upped the ante, Suddenly touches lingered and pressed slightly harder. He's lean in, pressing his chest to her back so that he could whisper praise about her work in her ear. She ignored it thinking that he was just trying to distract her only for him to go further, light kisses to the back of her neck, hands lightly trailing up her legs only to pause before they got anywhere unappropriated. By the time he was walking her to her room she'd had enough, as soon as they were outside her door she pulled him into a kiss. Pouring all of her frustrations into it, he melted into it until her hand closed around her door handle. He covers her hand with his preventing her from opening it and breaks the kiss, she opens her eyes and is met with his smug ones. This set her on edge.
He leans in and gives her neck a light nip before whispering. "My rooms two doors to the left, come by when you've surrendered." He lets her go and steps away with that stupid smug grin.
Her eyes narrow. "Surrender." She hisses and his grin grows.
"Yes love, you may have been the one to start this war by making me give the Al Ghul's a detailed building-wide tour but I plan to finish it. So, when you're ready to surrender I'll be two doors to the left waiting to humbly accept."
Her eyes narrow further than she plasters Wayne Paparazzi smile No.3tm onto her face. "And when you decide to surrender I'll be here." She says as she leans forward, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Waiting to punish you for daring to think you could stand a chance." She whispers against his lips before she opens her door, steps into her room, then shuts it in his face. She goes straight to bed knowing that she will need to be in top form so that she can make Tim's life a living hell.
The fucking Asshole.
Chapter Text
Marinette wakes up on Thursday at 5 am and checks her emails, nothing important is going on so she sends out an email to the department heads informing them that she's taking another day off. She gets many good wishes back so she assumes that they will be fine without her for another day, now to inform everyone else. She gets dressed like she's planning to go to work then makes her way down to breakfast, she texts Mr Shelagh to let him know that the Wayne's going to work today will be ready for pickup at 6:30 am. The Wayne's are waiting for her and they all look tense, they have great survival instincts.
"Marinette..." Bruce says wearily, She looks him straight in the eye as she sits down.
"I'm going to work Mr Wayne." She says blandly. Did she say 'Inform', what she meant was 'Haggle'.
"I feel like it would be best if you took another day off."
She takes a sip of the honeyed milk Alfred gives her. "And be two days behind, I don't think so Mr Wayne."
"... What do you need to do?" There we go! She spots Alfred snap his eyes to her then place a finger to his lips. Having an ally is great.
"There is a few stacks of paperwork, department check-ins, a meeting that was just scheduled about what to do about the interns that got arrested and the ones who didn't..."
"Done." He says cutting her off.
"...Done?"
He nods. Hook. "We'll take care of all that if she takes the day off, between everyone I'm sure we can do it all." He's giving her a look that says he's not going to budge. Line.
"Not Jason. It's his first day working in BR&D and I don't want his performance to come into question. He starts just after lunch." She says, Jason gives her a little smile. Bruce sees and he folds like a stack of cards.
"Of course, Jason's job is extremely important." Alfred swoops in and collects the dishes as she gets a text from Mr Shelagh. Sinker.
"I accept your terms, Mr Wayne. I suggest you don't keep Mr Shelagh waiting, he's outside." She watches his eyes widen a little then almost turn into slits when he figures out that she was never planning to go in the first place. He pushes himself up and locks eyes with her.
"Well played." He says then walks out with the others following, she gives them a ten-second head start then gets up and follows them. She catches Tim right as he steps out of the house, perfect.
"Tim! You forgot something!" He turns to her confused which is when she strikes, she wraps his tie around one of her hands and uses it to yank him in for a toe-curling kiss. He drops the briefcase in his hands and wraps his arms around her, she gently nudges it out the doorway then lets go of his tie. She lets her hands trail down his arms until she gets to his wrists then she pulls his arms off of her, he breaks the kiss and makes a questioning noise. She leans slightly around him and nibbles his earlobe then whispers. "You know where I'll be when you want to surrender love." She releases him and steps back into the house, watching his eyes widen in realisation as she shuts the door makes up for last night. It does, she turns and finds a frozen Jason. He blinks twice before he speaks.
"... What the fuck was that?" He doesn't sound disapproving, just curious.
Her smile is slightly sharp when she answers. "He started it."
Jason blinks again then nods slowly. "...If you guys get divorced I'm living with you"
She laughs. "Of course," She says as she makes her way back to her room to get changed into something more comfortable.
Her room looks the same as she left it when she enters which is why it's such an unwelcome surprise to turn around after getting changed and find it different. The miraculous box sitting on her bed as well as the sudden power boost she gets by just looking at it can only mean that Fu must have figured out how to transfer guardianship without her permission. That fucking asshole.
Just then Alfred opens her door. "There is a Rabbit here to see you. He's claiming that he's on vacation."
She sighs and pulls out the Peacock miraculous. Alfred's eyes light up when he sees it. "The miraculous is broken but I figured that you would still want this." He takes the box from her and opens it, as soon as he touches the miraculous it glows and fixes itself. She blinks, well, not so broken anymore. He smiles brighter as he takes it out and pins it to his chest, Duusuu pops out and looks confused until they see Alfred. The sequel and fly into his chest, he pets them as they cry happily.
"Shall we go and see the others. I'm sure they would like their jewels back."
She can't help but smile and nod, she may not want to be a hero anymore but she can't deny that she missed Tikki so much.
She's juggling the miraculous box in one hand, walking behind Alfred and trying to find her earrings when she trips and accidentally sends the snake miraculous flying. She panics until Jason appears and tries to snatch it out of the air. He misses and it somehow ends up around his wrist, the effect is intimidating.
His eyes widen as Sass pops out. "Ah, my Ssssnake. I have misssssed you!" Sass smiles as they sit on Jason's shoulder. Jason looks so confused and Marinette steps up to help before she can help it but this all just makes so much sense.
"You're like us, the pull you feel to us is because you're family son. You're our Snake."
He blinks up at her shocked but she can see that he knows she's telling the truth, he opens his mouth but Sass cuts him off. "Sssssecond chance. It isss the power of Ssssnakesssss." Jason freezes, she smiles gently at him while pretending not to know what Sass is talking about.
"Come Snake, Let's go to your section of the library so that the Fox and I can explain." Alfred waits for Jason to nod then he turns to her with an outstretched hand, she hands him the fox miraculous and smiles as they both leave.
She heads to her father's room and knocks on the door, he opens it and she can see the giant pile of blankets sitting in a sunspot behind him. "Here Cat." She says as she hands him the ring. His suddenly wide smile shocks her for a second but she understands, she can't wait to talk to Tikki.
Plagg looks grumpy when he pops out until he sees Ra's. "KITTEN! Oh, how I'm missed you! None of the false kittens was any fun!"
Ra's laughs. "Humans are a boring race I've found my friend, thank you daughter for the gift you've given me. If you'll excuse me, I have a lot of catching up to do." He leans forward and kisses her forehead then gently closes his door.
She finds Tom in her sewing room with a bunch of fabric in his arms, he smiles brightly at her and shouts. "TRADE!" Before dumping them in her arms and swiping the pocket watch.
Fluff pops out and smiles. "It's been two days!"
Tom smiles brightly back. "Same!"
"I thought I wasn't seeing you until tomorrow Rabbit ?" She says and she gently puts the fabrics down.
"I forgot about the suit! I don't usually forget about stuff but I have so much in my head that I need to make room, you know?" He says as he puts the watch in his pocket.
"The suit?"
"Yup! You didn't think I was going to miss the current family passivity aggressively ruining old Lexy's Gala, did you? Not a chance! Anyway, got to go. I have a job now and one mustn't be late!" He runs out with a quick poke to her side making her sigh again. Guess she's making another suit. She puts the miraculous box down on her workbench and finally gets out Tikki's earrings.
Tikki's bright smile makes her laugh and hug the kwami. "I've missed you so much" Tikki cries out making her smile wider.
"Me too, I'm sorry I threw your earrings into Fu's eyes"
They laugh. "I'm sorry I was upset with you."
She sticks her finger out. "Truce?"
Tikki laughs again as they put one of their paws on it. "Truce! Now tell me everything!"
This makes Marinette laugh as she sits down to get these outfits finished. "Well, I won the class a summer internship with Wayne Enterprises and..."
Marinette spends hours chatting with Tikki and finishing off the gala outfits getting most of the work done on Tom's and decides that she needs a break. She leaves Tikki's earrings so that Tikki can also chat with Ra'sApparently his mother was a true Ladybug as well and Tikki missed him then sets off on her motorbike for a pre-dinner ride. It's great until she feels a prick in the back of her neck and her world starts darkening, she managed to roll off of the motorbike to avoid crashing herself but the last thing she sees is her beloved bike heading straight for the side of a building.
Chapter Text
Marinette wakes up on Friday? Without her alarm... that can’t be right. She didn’t sleep through it, she’s woken up for it before... OK, what was she doing? Um... she convinced Bruce to do her work for her... Oh, Fu remotely made her the Guardian somehow... and Jason was a snake?... Yeah! Jason was a Snake! How did she miss that? Doesn’t matter. What happened next?... Come on Mari! You can... She made out with Tim in front of the Wayne’s before Jason was the snake! Well, she was in the lead now she guessed. No! Don’t pause! What happened next?... Tikki was there and so was Tom! Why was Tom there? It wasn’t Friday yet... was it?... No, it was Thursday. Umm, why was he-is Suit! He forget and so did she. She completed every else’s and made a good bit of headway with Tom’s and decided to go for a ride... HER MOTORBIKE!!!! Her eyes snap open and she finds herself sleeping in a bed she doesn’t recognise, her eyes do a quick sweep and find that she’s in a room similar to her hotel room. So similar that she wouldn’t be able to tell if she couldn’t feel that she’d never been there. It brings her back to the fact that she had been staying in the honeymoon suite and she was wearing this of all things. The logical response to this is to figure out where she is... so she boots down the front door... and find herself in some sort of lab, this is not good.
This of course sets of an alarm. She listens for a moment then runs in the opposite direction of the sudden footsteps. She makes it down two hallways until she hears them coming in the other direction, she darts into the closest room and shoves the medicine cabinet in front of it then she turns and is met with a group of surprised scientists and a baby hooked up to a bunch of tubes. She snaps out of her shock when a strange purple liquid starts slowly going down one. She snatches a forgotten scapula up and points it at the nearest scientist.
"Stop the liquid." She growls, the scientist opens his mouth but then a distorted voice comes over the speakers.
"Do it." The scientist nods then press a button that freezes the liquid in its tracks, the rest of them start unhooking the baby who smiles brightly at her. Marinette knows that she's not leaving without her. Once they are done they back away giving her room to approach the baby and feel like they weren't going to jump her as soon as she tried. She wastes no time in crossing the room and picking the baby up, it's a girl. A tiny little girl that Marinette loves so completely that she forgets where she is for a moment. "Fascinating, you recognise her as your daughter even though she looks so different." The voice says snapping her out of her trance, she glares at the speaker in the corner of the room. "... Right! First I'd like to apologise for how you got here, I promise you that I only asked for you to be brought here so that we could talk businesses but it would seem that my men took that the wrong way."
She raises an eyebrow as she snatches a discarded lab coat to wrap the baby in. "... Say I believe you, what business are you talking about and why do I suddenly have a daughter."
"Well you see, I've taken notice of you these past few weeks. You've done a very good job as Wayne's PA and I was wondering if you were looking to move companies, the pay is very generous and the benefits are amazing if I do say so."
"And my daughter?"
"Oh! Well, I tried looking you up since Wayne Enterprises refuses to name you in any statements but Bruce Wayne doesn't have a PA. So when you arrived, I'm still sorry about that, I had some of your blood taken so that I could identify you. Imagine my surprise when it came back as not human and not Kryptonian. I really couldn't help myself, I had enough Kryptonian DNA for one more clone and I decided to use the blood sample I got from you to see if it was a match and it was. I didn't mean to make the baby but I might have gotten a bit carried away." Well shit, this was not good at all.
"So, you want me to work for you?"
"Yes, being an alien aside you are good at your job and it would only be an asset to have you on board."
She mulls over everything he's just said then straightens. "Mr..."
"Luther"
"Mr Luther, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to deny your job offer as I'm currently quite happy with my current position at Wayne Enterprises." She hears him sigh over the speaker.
"I understand, I'll try again in person tomorrow. Dr Tomás will show you out." The speakers cut out and a mosey woman slowly comes up to her while the others move the cabinet, she stays a respectful distance away as she walks Marinette to the exit of the building. She speaks for the first time after Marinette has left the building.
"Jyoti." Marinette turns to the woman in confusion. "My name, it's Jyoti Tomás. Just encase you change your mind about working for Mr Luther." Dr Tomás then shuts the door and leaves. Well then.
The baby in her arms giggles, recapturing her attention. She smiles as she walks up the road. "Hello my little Cherry Blossom, aren't you just the cutest thing." The baby giggles are louder.
"You are and your mother is late again, by thirty-two seconds this time. She developing a tardiness problem, yes she is." Tom says in a baby voice from her left making her jump, she spins to face him and finds him holding a cute baby dress while leaning on...
"MY MOTORBIKE!!" She cries happily making Tom laugh.
"I wasn't about to let motorbike-kun die. I also brought presents for my niece, here. Chop chop, we have a schedule to keep."
She raises an eyebrow but accepts the nappy and outfit. "...Motorbike-kun?"
His eyes light up. "Yes! Now say it again but this time shout it in despair."
She finishes dressing her daughter and tosses the lab coat into the storage compartment under her motorbike seat. "No."
He pouts. "Killjoy." He mumbles then brightens. "Oh! Here." He says before he whips out the dragon miraculous and quickly wraps it around the babies throat, the connection is once again immediate and she glares at Tom as Longg pops out and nuzzles Blossom.
"Really? You couldn't wait until we were anywhere else?"
His smile turns cheeky. "No time like the present, now hop on and call Tim. The lot of them have been freaking out all night, it stopped being entertaining hours ago. Left pocket."
She gets on the back of her motorbike and after she settles her giggling daughter she pulls out her phone. It's off but not out of batteries which is good, she turns it on and finds three hundred and sixty-two miss calls. Before she can look at them another call comes in, it's Tim.
"... Marinette?! Is that you?" He sounds extremely frazzled.
"Yes, it's me." She says as Tom starts driving them somewhere.
"Are you OK? Where the fuck have you been!?!?" He shouts and she closes her eyes for a second.
"... I was at a surprise job interview."
"... What?..." His voice is suddenly dead, she hears noises that sound like people running and assumes that they heard him shouting. They start talking but she can't make out what is being said, she hears Tim's response loud and clear though. "She was at a job interview." He hisses venomously and the voices cut out, she sighs.
"A surprise one that I turned down I'll have you know." She looks down at her daughter. "... But I may need some legal help."
"What kind of help?" Bruce asks, apparently she's on loudspeaker now.
"I may have suddenly acquired a biological daughter that I need airtight documentation on..." No one makes a sound so she continues. "So my not human DNA was compatible to someone else's different not human DNA and Mr Luther has the self-control of a toddler." It's still silent. "... She's also our dragon." She hears Alfred sigh.
"We will meet you on the WE Legal floor Ladybug."
She sighs in relief. "Thank you, Peacock." The line cuts off just as Tom pulls into the WE parking lot. She looks down and smiles. "It'll be OK my little Dragon." She says gently as she gets off the motorbike.
Chapter Text
Tim wakes up on Tuesday with Marinette on his mind, big shocker there. She's somehow gotten past all of his defences and settled herself in his heart, the worst thing is she doesn't seem to care. He knows that it's her professionalism because of how she reacted in the bathroom but it's hard to keep telling himself that when the fucking demon brat worming his way into her heart because she thinks he's some adorable angel. He snarls and tosses his pillow at the wall, the brats have only been here a day and Tim's already losing! This can not be allowed to happen, it can't. He has to find a way to keep her attention and he knows just who to ask. He does not expect to see Damian leaving her room all ruffled like he just woke up but it sets him off when Damian's eyes meet his and the little fucker smirks.
"Oh, I wouldn't look so smug little brother. I'm the one who saw her in her underwear and guess what." He leans forward so he's right in the now fuming boy face. "Their Robin's colours." Several emotions flash across the brats face before he settles on rage and launches himself at him with a loud war cry.
The fight is broken up by Bruce and Talia who hold them out of arms reach of each other while they talk about bath bombs of all things. It's extremely embarrassing when they are both forced to apologise to each other and is only made better by the fact that Damian looks like someone has stabbed him. As soon as he's released he storms into the Batcave and dons his Robin suit and makes his way across Gotham, he practically bangs the door down when he arrives. When Catwoman finally answers it's with a smug smile.
"Well well-baby bird, what can I do for you?" She purrs.
He grinds his teeth. "I need your help."
She mock gasps. "You need the help of little old me? What would Batman say?"
"I don't plan on telling him."
Her smile turns mischievous. "Really? How delightful! Just for that, I'll help. What do you need?" She purrs again.
"Advice."
"Oh? On stealing? Forgeries? Ways to..."
"Girls!" He blurts out then shrinks a little at her shocked expression then hurries to panic explains. "Just one though, I'm really out of my depth and I have no idea how to keep her interest or how..."
"Stop," She says as she holds up one of her hands and he shrinks a little more but then she steps aside and motions for him to enter. He sighs and does so. "So, you need help talking to a girl? No wonder you asked anyone but Batman. Sit." She gestures to her couch, he sits and is swarmed by her cats as he always is when he visits. "Tell me about her" He tilts his head not getting the point and Catwoman sighs. "If I'm going to help you I'm going to need something to go off of. So details."
He sits back and closes his eyes as he thinks about her, getting almost crushed by cats in the process. "She's kind and helpful but she takes no one shit. She's also good at getting what she wants, morals are damned. If she wants you in the office at then nothing will stop her from getting you there. She has this little tick where her nose will twitch once if she's annoyed and when she smiles, really smiles, it lights up the whole room leaving you wondering how you ever lived without her pocket of sunshine. It's almost as good as kissing her but..."
"Wait! You've kissed this girl? Why do you need advice if you've already got her?"
He opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling. "Because I don't, yes we kissed twice and it felt like every moment in my life was leading up to it each time but I don't know how it feels for her and after how closed off she was yesterday. I just... I don't know how to keep her interest"
She hums thoughtfully. "You said that she's good at getting what she wants right?" He nods. "How good?"
"Very."
"Then make it hard for her." He blinks as she slowly smiles and leans forward. "She's kissed you twice so she's at least somewhat interested in you. Use that. Start slow, little touches here and there to get her attention, up the anti until she's frustrated then don't let it go further. Make it into a game of sorts or a competition, it will not only get her competitive side going but it's guaranteed to keep her thoughts on you as well. In-between your game let her get to know you and by the time you lose, because by the sounds of her you definitely will, she's been hooked. If it starts to get a boring call a rematch."
He blinks as he takes in all of this new information then a plan starts to form in his mind. "I did accept her deceleration of war, it wouldn't be too hard to change that plan since I haven't started it yet. Thanks, Catwoman." They keep talking for a while about random things until he gets a call from Bruce. "Yes?"
"Marinette is in the middle of a brawl with most of our interns."
Tim splutters. "She's WHAT?!"
Bruce sighs. "I've been informed by Talia that it's her against all of them and she's winning, Ra's is very proud." Tim gets up gently removing the cats and runs out the door with a quick wave to an amused Catwoman.
When he gets there Marinette is the only one left standing and even though Damian is hugging her he can't help but be in awe of her beauty, he almost kisses her when she's finally allowed close but remembers that he's in the mask and she doesn't know who he is so he settles for gently wiping the blood on her lip away. Hearing Damian growl is always a bonus.
She has a concussion among other things so she has to stay overnight at the hospital, she's supposed to stay two nights but he can see the look in her eye. She'll be out in the morning, which is why he insists that if they're going to move her in then they need to move her stuff over tonight. He's proven right when he's in the office the next morning doing his paperwork and he gets a panicked text from Dick saying that she's checked herself out, he ignores it and carries on knowing that she would kill him if he left work to look for her and ends up getting back to the mansion just before lunch, he managed to pull Cassandra and Duke aside so that he can ask them to distract Damian after lunch. They agree easily and give him smirks... He might regret this later. That's a lie because having Marinette all to himself while he watches her work in heaven, he almost forgets the plan. Almost. He starts slow and finds that Catwoman was right, proven by the way she kisses him outside of her door. It sparks something deep in his soul that he can get her to break her professional facade, to get her wanting him so much. He almost gives up then, before the game even begins but it would kill him if all he ended up being a passing fancy for her so he stops her and pulls away. He tells her the rules of the game (really there is only one rule) and watches the emotions on her face shift around... He may have made a mistake, he's man enough to admit that. Challenging Marinette was the worst possible mistake he has ever made, the way her eyes almost glow when she promises to punish him sets his nerves on fire and the kiss she gives him in the morning ends with a door in his face... Mistakes were made. He needs to think of something, anything to get himself back on top or he's going to fall fast.
She's not there when he gets home, she's not but the new hire in R&D is smirking in the face of Ra's katana on his neck. Jason looks just as angry with both his guns pointed at the teen.
"... can't kill me anyway Snake." The teen says to Jason who just looks more pissed.
"Do I look like I fucking care Rabbit? Ladybug has been kidnapped! And you know exactly where she is so you are going to fucking tell us or we will find a way to hurt you!" The teen gust gives him a cheeky grin and opens his mouth, bright blue bubbles stream out making Ra's snarl and slam his hand into the chair next to him.
Tim watches it turn to dust as he storms away with a loud. "Come Snake, we'll find her ourselves." Tim comes to several realisations at once.
One. Jason responded when called Snake the same as when Marinette responded when called Ladybug.
Two. Jason called the teen Rabbit in the same tone.
Three. Jason is wearing a bracelet that Tim has never seen before.
Four. Alfred told them all that Rabbit's only turned up if the world was ending.
Five. Marinette was kidnapped and the Rabbit couldn't tell them!
The teen suddenly meets his eyes and laughs. "There's a box filled with jewels on Ladybug's bed. It'll be a nice surprise if she saw you wearing one." He says then salutes him and falls backwards, a bright blue hole opens under him then snaps shut when he's gone. Tim blinks and looks around, he's the only one left in the foyer... He walks to Marinette's room, he has a feeling that denying the Rabbit will only cause problems. When had this become his life?
Chapter Text
Damian wakes up on Tuesday and finds out that Marinette isn’t there, it annoys him until he sees the note she left him.
‘Sorry I couldn’t be there when you woke up but I had to get ready for work and couldn’t find it in myself to wake you when you looked so peaceful. I’ll see you in the hotel after work if you’re still staying there, if not then I’ll make time to visit before Friday. Thank you for protecting me last night, you did a very good job.
Marinette’
Damian gently folds the note and puts it in one of his dagger sheaths for safekeeping then goes to inform his mother and grandfather that he wishes to stay at the hotel. He doesn’t expect his rival to be so close nor does he expect him to be so vulgar, how dare he go looking through his future wife’s underwear! And how dare he flaunt that they are the colours that should be his by birthright!... So he may have tossed all of his training away and launched himself at his rival but... he couldn’t land a hit! And not because his rival was dodging! He just physically couldn’t and his rival seemed to be having the same problem! Mother and Father broke up the fight if anyone could call it that when no one was hurt and he was forced to apologise, it was humiliating. Only made worse by the fact mother carried him to his grandfather's room, his grandfather is less than pleased to be woken up before noon.
“Explain” He grows and Damian does because while Ra’s is his grandfather he is also the demon head and no one says no to the demon head without severe punishment. Not that he’s ever done that to Damian, he finds as many reasons to avoid punishing Damian as possible and when he has to it only ever goes as far as his paintbrush’s being confiscated for a time. After a while, his grandfather stops him. “You couldn’t hurt him?”
Damian nods. “It was like something was stopping me.”
His grandfather watches him for a moment then stands. “Hit me.”
Mother’s eyes widen. “Father! You cannot! He will...”
“Quite! Damian, we have both made excuses as to why we should not spar over the years but now that time is over. Hit Me!”
Damian trembles, he doesn’t want to disappoint his grandfather but he can’t make himself move. No matter how he tries he just can’t. His grandfather sees this and raises his hand to strike him, the hand comes down fast and mother abandons her training to try and stop him but Damian doesn’t flinch because he knows that the blow won’t land. Somewhere deep inside him is a voice that seems amused that a house cat is trying to hit him. His grandfather’s hand stops frozen an inch from his face, his grandfather’s face breaks out into a blinding grin and Damian can’t help but match him while his mother looks on confused.
Until she’s suddenly not. “He’s one of you! Why did you not tell me, you bastard! I thought you were going to hit him!” She yells in anger, grandfather chuckles.
“Even if he wasn’t I would have stopped short Talia. It was his reaction I was looking for, deep down we all know that we can’t hurt each other, did you not see how amused he was?”
She grows at him. “You will not do that to me again.”
They both nod then Damian remembers Marinette’s note. “Can we go back to the hotel? Marinette said that she would meet us there after work.” Grandfather smiles but does answer leaving the choice to mother, a silent apology.
Mother sighs but nods. “Of course we can, it gives us more time to convince her to return with us.”
They don’t get the chance to convince her to come home with them, they don’t get the chance to do much of anything because as soon as they see her she’s being dragged into a fight by a large group of people whom Damian realises are most of his father’s new interns. Damian is enthralled as he watches her dominate the makeshift battlefield and he has never wanted anything more than to have her standing by his side. She is beautifully covered in the blood of others. Damian sees his chance to get a step ahead of his rival when the Police arrive with his father and throws himself into her arms, he knows how much she loves it when he pretends to be an innocent child to manipulate others so he pretends that she’s just been horribly attacked and that he’s never even seen a sword. It works, the police fall over themselves trying to get her attackers away while the main one crouches and tries to explain to him that some people are just bad while his father watches him disapprovingly. It doesn’t matter because Marinette is beaming at him and her approval is worth more. His rival ruins it by touching her with that lovesick look on his face, how dare he pull her attention away!
She has to stay the night at the hospital which is fine because Nizar and Tasnim have gathered all of the information they can on Agreste and Rossi, Damian can feel the little bubble of excitement he gets every time he begins a hunt. Kamil, Abdur-Rashid and Zainab guard Marinette from the shadows while Nizar and Tasnim kidnap Agreste and Rossi from their cells. His fingers itch for his katana as his heart rate slows as the two teens struggle in their binds, grandfather drives his katana right through Agreste's back making the boy scream. It lessens Damian's excitement somewhat but he can't fault him because Agreste was the one who wielded the black cat jewel in Paris meaning that he was the one who was corrupted. The one who hurt Marinette when the Rabbit had dragged her into it, his grandfather is aloud his revenge and well, Agreste isn't the only one who hurt his beloved. He crouches in front of Rossi and adopts the innocent posture that Marinette taught him. His grandfather, mother, Tasnim and Nizar are careful not to look his way so he can have his fun. When Rossi looks at him he quickly puts his finger to his lips and cuts her binds, he then leads her out as quietly as he can. He hears his mother shout about her being gone when they are almost out which makes him smile, she's the best. Rossi jumps like a rabbit and bolts out the door, he follows and unsheathes his katana. This hunt is extra exciting because not only does he have to find her before the GPD but also before their father. It lasts an hour and makes his blood sing but then it's time to strike. He leaves Rossi's decapitated head on her prison bed while Nizar and Tasnim dispose of the rest of her. He curls up on his bed and falls asleep curled up with Grimm and Omen.
He wakes up on Wednesday around lunch and finds Marinette sitting at the table, he's informed that she ran away from the hospital after her father forced her to take the day off. He tries to leave with her to see what she's been doing but is stopped by Cain and Thomas who want permission to use his art room, he can't let them be in there by themselves and he knows that saying no won't stop Cain so he has no choice but to go with them. He ends up with a painting of Marinette, he thinks that she'll like it but he's tired so he'll show her tomorrow. Cain and Thomas leave when he asks them to which is good, he feels like a father would be mad if he stabbed people on his property. He takes a nap then quietly makes his way back to the GPD, security has gone up but that doesn't matter to him. He makes his way into Césaire's cell and waits in the dark for her to notice him, it takes a while since she spends most of the time crying. She jumps when she sees him but wisely keeps silent at the site of his katana, he watches her for a moment to see if she'll do anything stupid then sheaths his katana when she doesn't.
"I have a gift for you, Miss Césaire"
She flinches when he says her name, he gets out the information packet Nizar and Tasnim did on Rossi and tosses it on her bed. "..W...What is this?"
His smile is sharp as he leans slightly into the light, the only thing visible is his smile which makes her flinch. "You're a reporter aren't you? Figure it out." He doesn't leave until she's distracted by the file and smiles wider when he hears her scream of rage from outside.
"Did you need to do that?"
His eyes snap to his father who is standing by the Batmobile. "Yes," His father sighs and opens the passenger's door, he climbs in without a fight. He can always come back tomorrow to continue his game.
"I don't want to see you back here."
"Yes, father."
"I mean it, Damian."
"Yes, father."
"... What did you do to make her that mad?"
Damian whips out the soft innocent smile Marinette taught him and turns it on his father. "I just gave her a file on Rossi, I thought that since she was the girl's friend she'd want to know more about her." The rest of the ride is silent.
His father stops him just outside his room. "Damian?"
He looks up. "Yes, father?"
His father smiles then kiss his forehead. "I'm proud of you," He says then leaves. Damian curls up with Omen and Grimm with a smile on his face.
It's Thursday and Marinette has tricked father into giving her another day off, he goes to check on her but she's busy and he doesn't want to disturb her so he does another painting. This time it's of a memory of a location he went to with his mother, he likes how this one turned out. Once he's showered he goes looking for Marinette but she's already left, he does find a box sitting on her workbench. He doesn't recognise it but it must be Marinettes's so he carries it into her room and places it on her bed but he can't seem to leave, he doesn't want to open it because it's her's but at the same time it feels like he needs to. Opening it wins out, he can always look then close it again and she'd never know. He ends up taking out a panjas bracelet, he really can't help it. The tiny creature that pops out smiles and purrs, He knows that they are Roarr and that they are a part of him. It's strange but exciting, he closes the box and hides away in his room so that they can talk. It goes well until grandfather (Cat) and Todd (Snake) come in and tell him that Marinette (Ladybug) has been kidnapped. He grabs his katana and follows them, time to start a new hunt.
Chapter 34
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Blossom smiles brightly as the head of legal stares blankly at her. "... So she's your biological daughter and you want documentation to prove it so that the father can't try and take her from you?"
She nods. "Yes, Miss Vladimir."
Miss Vladimir takes a deep breath then calls over one of her junior lawyers. "Miss Rahmi, I need the heads of HR, PR, IT, Security, R&D and BR&D up here now. And make sure that Dr Fox and Dr Nithya bring as many different DNA tests as they can carry." Miss Rahmi nods and rushes out, Miss Vladimir then turns back to her and takes out a notebook and a pen. She places the pen on the paper. "Tell me everything"
She keeps her face straight as she goes over everything while she lets Blossom play with her fingers, Tom has decided that he's bored and has taken to build the Eiffel Tower out of paper clips. Miss Rahmi returns a few minutes later with the heads requested then is sent back out to gather all of the legal paperwork Marinette needs to prove that she's Blossom's mother. Mr Grier reads over Miss Vladimir while he types out a message on his phone. Mr Shyam the head of HR and Miss Samira the head of PR discuss how to spin the story in a popular light since Marinette's taking Blossom to the gala tomorrow. Dr Nithya and Dr fox take the various tests with slowly growing shocked faces and relay the information to Miss Erwann who types everything they say at the speed of light. By the time everyone gets there she's signing Blossom's birth certificate she looks up and is shocked by the sudden Tiger and Mouse, it's so distracting that she doesn't notice Tom picking up Blossom and holding her out like a shield against Ra's and Jason. Not so distracting that she doesn't notice Tim yanking her out of her chair and kissing her right in front of everyone.
"This better not be part of your game Mouse or I swear..." She whispers against his lips.
"It's not, I promise." He whispers back, he goes to pull her into another kiss but is cut off by a violent snarl. He glares at Damian as she pulls away.
"Hey Tiger, sorry for ignoring you. Are you okay?" She asks softly, his glare lessons.
"You were kidnapped," Damian says and his voice shakes just the tiniest bit, she out of Tim's arms and hugging him in seconds.
"Shh little Tiger, I'm okay. I'm safe and I even got a Dragon out of it so everything is okay." She says as she pets his head, he lets out a little rumble and closes his eyes. "Wanna say hi to her?" His eyes snap open and he nods, she stands and holds her hand out to the still glaring Tim. "Come on Mouse, let's go rescue my daughter." His glare disappears and he takes her hand.
Blossom is a giggling mess as Jason spins with her, Having her two kids like each other is a great feeling. Having Blossom like Tim is even better. She's dragged to lunch in Bruce's office after thanking the heads and the legal floor for the help, they smile back at her and promise that they are happy to help. Lunch is messy, Blossom decides that she doesn't not being able to eat solids and is determined to make sure that no one else can either. Marinette feels sorry for the cleaning staff, she does. On the plus side Blossom tiers herself out so she can focus on making her a dress and finishing Tom's suit, downside is she's 90% sure that this means that Blossom's going to be up all night... She hates being right, at around one in the morning Blossom wakes up crying. She managed to get her settled again but there is no way Marinette is going back to sleep so she decides to call her parents, it was 5 pm there so they should have closed up the bakery by now. The phone rings a few times before her mother picks up.
"Hello, Sabine Cheng here. Who is this?"
She closes her eyes and holds back a sigh. "Mama..."
Her mother cuts her off. "Mama? Who's that? You couldn't possibly be meaning me. I would have to have a daughter who called at least ONCE in the past two weeks while she was alone in THE MOST DANGEROUS CITY IN AMERICA!"
"I'm calling now mama."
"Do you have any idea how worried we are! Luka's just had to fly to Gotham to bail his sister out of jail for ATTACKING YOU! And then we get a call from the POLICE COMMISSIONER saying that he's worried because the two classmates you have a case about have GONE MISSING AND THE ONE's HEAD TURNED UP BACK IN HER CELL! MARINETTE WHAT IS GOING ON OVER THERE?!?!?"
She blinks in shock and makes a mental note to call Gordon about this. She takes a deep breath, she can't lie to her mama but she also can't tell her about Ladybug... So she just tells her everything without mentioning her superhero identity. "... Adrien raped me as Chat Noir which was why I was so upset that he was let off, when we got here he started harassing me with the help of Lila. It got to the point where someone else called the police because they were scared for me and then they called me so I told them everything because I was sick of holding it in, the police commissioner opened a case against them and I think Mr Wayne has been helping them. The reason they attacked me was that Lila lied about why she was fired, I didn't know that they had disappeared or about the murder until you told me."
Her mother suddenly puts her on hold and Blossom starts fussing again so she gets up and starts walking her around the mansion and singing as she goes. She doesn't notice that she's drawn a crowd or that she's no longer on hold.
"...Are you OK darling? Do you need us to come and get you?" Her father asked gently and she laughs wetly.
"No papa, you don't need to come and get me. I only told mama the worst bit because I know you guys like the bad news first."
He hums thoughtfully while her mother sniffles in the background, she feels really bad for just dumping all that on her so suddenly. "Okay, what are the good parts?" He sounds a tad desperate
She feels really bad. "I was put into the R&D department and I managed to work there for a whole hour before I was kidnapped by one of the co-CEO's and now I'm both co-CEOs personal assistant until they find someone to fill the position who has, you know, the actual qualifications to do the job."
Her mother laughs a little. "That's my 花. You always were a hard worker."
"Thank's mama. I also got a motorbike and a katana! They are both cool." Her mother swears in Mandarin while her father laughs. The mood has lighted which is good because she's not sure how they'll take the next bit. "I'malsosortofmaybedatingtheco-CEOwhokidnappedmefromR&DandIhaveadaughter,hernameisBlossomDupain-Chengandshe'sreallycute."
The laughing and swearing cut off abruptly, here we go. "Could you repeat that and maybe breath in between Marinette" Fer father says as she steps out into Wayne's back garden, she leaves the door open so she doesn't wake Blossom with the sound of it shutting?
"...I'm also sort of maybe dating the co-CEO who kidnapped me from R&D and I have a daughter, her name is Blossom Dupain-Cheng and she's really cute."
"MARINETTE! You can't sleep with your boss! We raised you better than that!"
"Oh My God mama, I'm not having sex with him! ...We're in this weird game of chicken about it but that's not the point."
"How is that not the point! Do you know what kind of scandal that will cause if it gets out?!?"
"Yes, mama. I am well aware that it will cause a scandal though he's seventeen so it wouldn't be as bad. It's just..."
"It's just WHAT Marinette?"
" ... He does his paperwork without me asking him to and I don't even have to use the laminated paper or the highlighter! And he can passive-aggressively shut down people better than me! He's funny without trying and has this magnetic pull about him that's just... I don't know. He's super professional and it feels really good to be able to break him out of it. He's also kind of an asshole but at this point, it just adds to his charm..."
"Oh, Marinette..." Her mother sighs making her wince.
"This can only end badly Marinette, what happens when the internship ends and you have to come back to Paris?" Her father adds, she sits on the grass and closes her eyes.
"...I don't know papa..."
"I think you need to end whatever you have with this teen before you get too invested..."
"What if I'm already invested in him, papa? What if I can see myself growing old with him every time I close my eyes? What do I do then?" He doesn't have an answer for her, she doesn't expect him to. She's so fucked at this point that it's not even funny. Blossom yawns then shiver.
"Was that?"
"Blossom? Yeah, listen. I've got to go but I promise I'll call more often OK?"
"Of course, goodnight sweetheart."
"Good night mama, papa." She hangs up and pushes herself up.
She turns to head back inside and is surprised by Dick, Jason, Cassandra, Stephanie, Duke and Tim. Fuck. She opens her mouth to explain what she was doing or to ask what the fuck they were doing following her. She's not sure which at this point but Stephanie cuts her off by taking Blossom from her with a cheeky. "You're welcome." She doesn't understand until she and Tim are the only one's left outside, suddenly he's dragging her into a toe-curling kiss that takes her breath away.
He breaks away after a while and puts his forehead on hers. "I surrender." He whispers, it feels like she's been struck by lightning. "You fucking cheated and used feelings. I surrender! I can't..." She cuts him off with another kiss, threading her hand in his hair and yanking him close. He moans a little and melts. She keeps him there until her need to breathe outweighs her need to see him fall apart under her then drags him to her room.
(SMUT ATTEMPTS!!!!!!)
As soon as they are both in she lets him go and shuts her door then she turns back to him. "Shirt off and on the bed." She says simply and watches him scramble to comply, tossing his worn shirt onto the floor as he goes. She walks up casually and picks it up when she approaches him, she lightly drags her nails over his chest as she leans in. "Hand by the headboard." His eyes go a little wide but he does it, she straddles his hips and leans over with the shirt. She gives him a questioning look and when he swallows and nods she uses it to bind his hands to the headboard, she then leans back so she's sitting up straight.
"Safeword?" She asks, he blinks at her with wide eyes. "Do you have one?" She asks again.
"... No?"
She sighs a little. "Traffic lights then. Green means that you're good. Yellow means that you need to take a break before continuing. Red means that you want to stop. Got it?" He nods and she tuts. "Repeat it for me."
He swallows but does so. "Green means good. Yellow means break. Red means stop." He says breathlessly, she leans forward and kisses him.
"Good little Mouse." He whines and she smiles... then she gets off of him completely and grabs a small computer table that she sets up just over his chest, he blinks up at her in confusion as she puts her laptop on it and goes to plug it in.
"Wha?..."
She smiles at him as she strips down to her underwear and sits back on his hips. "Did you forget little Mouse?" She says as she slowly starts rocking making him throw his head back. "This is a punishment." His eyes snap open and he stares at her in slowly growing horror, she smiles sweetly back. "Now be good little Mouse. Since I'm awake I may as well get some work done. Maybe if you behave this won't have to end as a punishment." Her smile brightens at the look of pain that crosses his face when she opens the laptop and boots it up.
She sets a steady rhythm as she answers emails and goes through reports, she makes sure to ask him his colour now and then. Every time he says green he sounds more and more pained like he wants to say yellow but he wants to be good for her as well, it's so sweet that she only goes through half of the reports instead of all of them before gently shutting the laptop. His eyes snap open at the sound and she finds out that he's crying.
"Colour little Mouse and don't lie."
"G...Green" He whimpers.
"You sure little Mouse?" She asks and he nods frantically, god he looks so beautiful like this. She smiles and gets off of him so that she can put her stuff away, he cries at the loss and she gently shushes him with little kisses. "You're so good for me little Mouse. So good. You took your punishment so well. I think you deserve a reward, would you like that?"
He nods as he cries. "P...please. Please. Yes please," She gives him another kiss that has him straining the shirt holding him then she pulls off the rest of their clothes. She climbs over him, lines herself up and then bottoms out in one drop. The shirt holding him rips in two and he's suddenly sitting up and kissing her as she starts to bounce. When they both need to breathe he starts kissing down her neck, he gets to a spot that she didn't know existed that makes her buck against him. He refuses to move on until she's losing her tempo then he flips them while she's sidetracked making her back hit the bedsheets. He hooks her leg over his hip and changes the pace too hard and fast making her cry out, he bites her neck and she has no idea how he switched from Sub to Dom so fast but her is here for it fuck.
"So beautiful" he growls into her ear sending shivers down her spine.
"Spread out bare and all mine." He picks up the speed and she tumbles over the edge and into an earth-shattering orgasm, he follows her with a snarl before he collapses onto her. They both breathe heavily into each other's necks, after a while Tim pulls out and uses the shredded remains of his shirt to clean them both up then pulls her into his chest and pulls the covers over them. She gives him a lazy kiss then passes out.
Notes:
花 = Flower
Chapter Text
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: Crises Over
The panic is over, it looks like baby CEO has slept! I gave her the 'Mr Drake special' coffee just in case. She looked very happy.
I wonder what happened?
—Jérémy
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Yes!
Baby CEO just agreed to the self-defence lessons. We will be meeting on Sunday for the first class.
Find anything on Agreste, Loane?
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: No luck
Sorry, I've got nothing on the NDA's Ankit but I think it might be a front, I've been looking through the footage and found something. There is a turning point where one-moment baby CEO (as Ladybug) is annoyed by Agreste (as Chat Noir) and the next she can't stand him touching her. Miss Kubdel (as Bunnyx) also tries to keep him away from her suddenly. From what I can tell Miss Kubdel has time powers? So I think that Agreste did the rape, tortured and kidnap her but Miss Kubdel reversed time and stopped it. It would make more sense than NDA's that I CAN'T FIND HEADS OR TAILS OF!
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: Some One Kill Me
Seriously, please. I have made the worst mistake ever.
—Neilos
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Nerio C. [Head of Accounting, Accounting Department]
Subject: Done
That can be arranged, Orca's babies will be hatching soon. Free food is always appreciated.
Why exactly am I killing you?
—Nerio
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: Not You
Anyone but Nerio can kill me.
So I got a call and I was in the middle of the exploding cherry lip gloss experiment when I got a call, I was annoyed so I said that if it wasn't important then to hang up... Then I hear baby CEO on the other end.
—Neilos
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Lucius F. [Head of BR&D, BR&D Department]
Subject: Why Must You Be Like This
So you're telling me that you insulted baby CEO... Sometimes I wonder how you got this job Neilos.
—Lucius
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: Hey!
She still gave me the new hire so she can't be THAT mad at me... right?
—Neilos
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Lucius F. [Head of BR&D, BR&D Department]
Subject: Sigh
I stand by my statement.
—Lucius
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: New Interns
I have just been informed that a number of our interns have been arrested for publicly attacking the baby CEO in the lobby of their hotel.
The competent interns stayed out of it and the baby CEO was the only one standing.
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: Are You kidding Me
Why are they like this? Roland, why have you done this to us?
Ankit, do you know how bad it was and how many witnesses there are?
Is my job not hard enough?
—Gilad
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
Subject: This Is Not My Fault
Can everyone stop blaming me for this year's interns! If it's anyone's fault then it's baby CEO's. I'd also like to remind you all that baby CEO IS an intern as much as everyone likes to pretend that she's not.
This is bullying!
—Roland
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: It Was Bad
The hotel staff and some of the people staying there but that's not the worst part because the assassins were there as well. When the fight finished and both the GPD headed by Commissioner Gordon and BATMAN arrived the tiny assassin threw himself into baby CEO's arms crying about how she had been VICIOUSLY ATTACKED and even went so far as to ask the Commissioner why anyone would do that meaning that there are several videos of a bloodied baby CEO cuddling a crying child while the Commissioner is crouched in front of them explaining that sometimes PEOPLE ARE JUST BAD.
Baby CEO has also been taken to the hospital for a concussion.
—Ankit
To: All PR Employees [PR Departments]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: Mother Fucker!
That's it! I'm assigning baby CEO her PR team! I should have done it when I saw Drake watching her in that Department Head meeting but I was busy!
Jeroným
Laila
Theodotos
Tomo
Crystal
You're looking after the baby CEO. I don't care what you have to do but baby CEO is to be painted as both the victim and also a strong independent woman who takes no shit. We play this like we play the Scarecrow attack.
Raphaël
Arístides
Pran
Mila
Adria
You are being moved back on Todd since he's alive again. The story is that Wayne's where given a fake body while Todd was actually in a hospital across the city under a different name, he had severe amnesia and has only recently gotten his memories back. No one gets close to the possible 'mob boss' thing, understand?
Kaniehtiio
Beauregard
Teja
Ziba
Brijesha
You guys are being transferred to the assassins until they leave, the tiny one looks exactly like the painting of child Wayne if they gave him a tan. If I'm right then we have another Wayne running around and we need to be on top of it.
—Gilad
To: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
From: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: On It
You got it, Ma'am. One badass motherfucker coming right up!
Side note, should we start looking at wedding venues?
Boss Lady looks like a Spring wedding type of gal.
—Jeroným
To: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
From: Raphaël S. [Jason PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: Easy
Miss Dupain-Cheng has done most of the leg work for this one so it should be easy. I'll just email her asking for the script then we can flesh it out.
—Raphaël
To: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
From: Kaniehtiio J. [Al Ghul PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: Yasssss!
We get the ASSASSINS! This is going to be a riot!
No more Dick who ALWAYS does what he's told! Time for some fun!
—Kaniehtiio
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Agreste and Rossi have escaped custody.
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: Uhhhh...
I put the word out and one of my team got back to me... Apparently, a tiny assassin was HUNTING the Rossi girl through the streets of Gotham...
What should I do?
—Jérémy
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: Nothing.
My team is systematically wiping all camera sightings of all the assassins as we speak. Tell your guys to stop looking.
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: ...
... Done, business as usual then.
—Jérémy
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Marinette DC. [Intern, Wayne PA]
Subject: Day Off
Good morning everyone, as you may have already heard. I was in the hospital overnight on Tuesday, I was also absent on Wednesday. If it is possible, I would like to take today off as well. If that isn't possible then I understand and will be in the office at 7 am.
Kind regards.
—Marinette
To: Marinette DC. [Intern, Wayne PA]
From: All Department Heads [All Departments]
Subject: Of course
Take all the time you need Miss Dupain-Cheng. We understand that head injures can be difficult.
We all hope to see you soon!
—Roland, Neilos, Gilad, Ankit, Jérémy, Nerio, Millaray, Leo, Jeetendra, Mechthild, Loane, Amala and Lucius
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: RED ALERT
BABY CEO HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED! THIS IS NOT A DRILL PEOPLE! THE WAYNE'S ARE LOSING THEIR SHIT OVER HERE!
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: Guys!
Some guy dressed like a male version of Miss Kubdel in her super suit just walked through a blue portal with baby CEO's motorbike and POLITELY ASKED that we stop looking for her, said that he would be coming back for the bike in the morning before he got her then he dropped a vile of BLOOD in my hands and laughed about GODS WALKING AMONG YOU and walked right back out!
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: ...
The Wayne's aren't going to be happy Loane, you know this right?
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: No, Really
Don't you think I know that Ankit?!? What the hell am I supposed to do?
I'm dropping the blood in for R&D/BR&D to look at tomorrow.
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments], All Security Employees [Security Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Baby CEO Has Been Found
Baby CEO has turned up on the legal floor with a biological daughter that she didn't have yesterday. She was grabbed by Luther's men because he was trying to poach her. During that time Luther took a blood sample and decided to create another clone. Her daughter's name is Blossom and she is to be protected at all costs.
Am I clear?
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: All Security Employees [Security Department]
Subject: Baby CEO Has Been Found
Yes Sir. We'll be creating a watch to keep them both safe.
—Security
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: Background Check Update.
So in light of the new information, I've updated the baby CEO's background check.
... Has anyone noticed anything weird about how baby CEO acts around certain people? Because... okay, remember that rabbit man that gave me the blood sample last night? The blood came back as an unknown species and we just took some of baby CEO's blood along with baby Blossom's and they came back the EXACT SAME!
But that's not all! She introduced Blossom to us as, you know, Blossom but called her dragon when talking to her. And she kept calling the guy she walked in with rabbit, not only that but when Drake stormed in and made out with her she called him mouse. Mr House (the guy she walked in with) picked up Blossom and shoved her at Todd and the head assassin after he called them snake and cat, they both called her dragon even though THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THEY HAD met! Baby CEO even turned around and called the tiny assassin tiger?!?
What worries me is that the rabbit man said that GODS WALKING AMONG YOU.
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: I've seen it too
Remember when I said that baby CEO, the Italian lady and Mr Pennyworth were calling each other nicknames? Baby CEO was calling them Fox (Italian woman) and peacock (Mr Pennyworth) while they were calling her ladybug.
... You don't think ...
—Jérémy
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Tom H. [Biomedical scientist, R&D Department]
Subject: XD
Now we're getting somewhere :D
Ever wonder why Marinette and Tim prefer Coffee when it's offered to them :P
Four world-ending events left XP
—Tom
Chapter 36
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Marinette wakes up warm and safe, lulled by the rise and fall of her pillow as well as the soft tapping fingers on the glass. She lazily opens her eyes and tilts her head up, it's still dark outside but she can see Tim by the illumination of his mobile. He looks down when he feels her shift then smiles when he sees that she's awake, he keeps typing even while he's not looking. It's incredibly hot.
"Morning." She says making him chuckle.
"Good morning." He rumbles, she can feel the vibrations in his chest.
"What are you doing?" She asks curiously.
"Nothing too interesting, just going through some reports and answering emails." He says with a hum, eyes going back to his phone.
She feels a slow warmth start to curl in her stomach. "It's Saturday." Her voice lowers slightly but he doesn't seem to notice, too absorbed in what he's reading.
"...Yeah... I always read the weekly reports on Saturday."
Wow, Marinette didn't know that she a workaholic kink but here it was, slapping her in the face. "... how important are those reports?" She asks.
"Hmm, not that important. I like being informed about what's going on in the company." He says, still slightly distracted.
"Good." He looks towards her in confusion, she crawls on top of him and kisses him deeply. He drops his phone and rolls them over so that he's the one on top, what a great way to start the day.
Marinette sits at the dining table with Wayne's and Blossom as they eat breakfast, they all watch her and Tim with expectant expressions. In response they both keep things strictly professional, Dick is the one who ends up cracking as they all eat the last bite.
"Did you guys have sex or not!" He cries out, Alfred frees as Bruce spits out his coffee.
Jason makes a face like he's swallowed a lemon. "What The Fuck Dickhead! Do I look like I need to know anything about my mother's sex life!" This causes Stephanie to splutter and gape while Cassandra simply raises an eyebrow.
"Mother?" She asks calmly causing Jason to huff and cross his arms.
"We all have to slot in somehow." He grumbles.
"...But you're older than her," Duke adds.
"He's not," Tim says as he scrolls through his phone, his eyes flicker to her for a second before he types. Cute. Everyone looks confused.
"Age for us is determined by how long we have been connected to our jewel's," Alfred informs everyone as he collects the plates (and Blossom's bottle).
Bruce looks thoughtful. "So Ra's is the eldest in your family because he's had the jewels the longest?" He says thoughtfully.
"No, Mr House is the eldest, Mr Al Ghul is the second eldest. Then it's Mr Pennyworth, Miss Apollonia, myself, Mr Todd, Mr Al Ghul-Wayne, Mr Drake and Miss Dupain-Cheng. And no, Mr House isn't the oldest because he's the Rabbit, It's because out of all of us he's the first to touch his miraculous." Marinette says as she gently burps Blossom who giggles.
"Wait! So your older than Jason who is your son and Jason is older than Tim... does that make Tim a sugar baby?" Stephanie says with a smirk, Jason scowls at her and opens his mouth but Marinette cuts him off.
"I'm broke so it would make me a cougar instead. Jason, do you mind watching your sister while I deliver the Al Ghul's their outfits for tonight?"
"Sure mom." She smiles at him and hands her over as she gets up to leave, she hooks her fingers under Tim's chin and gives him a quick kiss as she goes.
"Wait! What do you mean? Why are you broke?" Bruce asks as she's about to leave the room, she turns slightly towards him as she answers.
"You have very expensive wine Mr Wayne, I have a few things to do today so I'll be arriving back here with the Al Ghul's just before we need to leave for the gala. Your outfits are on your beds." She then leaves before anyone can reply.
Just before she leaves she hears Dick yell. "SHE KISSED YOU!" She rolls her eyes.
The first stop is the delivery of Tom's suit, she finds him feeding the ducks at one of Poison Ivy's parks. He looks uncharacteristically pensive so she just places the suit down next to him and walks away.
"How do you start a conversation with your wife if she hasn't met you yet?" He asks, she gives him an encouraging smile.
"Hello."
He blinks then laughs. "Yeah, okay smart ass. I'll meet you outside the Wayne's." He says then grabs the suit and burrows away.
She lets her magic guide her when she goes looking for the Al Ghul's, It leads her to a cluster of abandoned warehouses, she sighs before getting off her bike and picking up the outfits.
"ANYONE WHO TOUCHES MY BIKE WILL LOSE THEIR HAND. NO EXCEPTIONS!" She shouts as she walks away, as she gets closer to the warehouse she can feel Ra's in she spots Tasnim Ziya al-Din standing guard in front of her bike. The warehouse she enters is surprisingly well lit and empty. Her heels click loudly as she makes her way across the room, following the little trail of magic until she finds a trap door. She stomps her foot on it twice then takes a step back, it takes forty seconds for it to be opened.
Zainab Nadya eyes her wearily. "You are not supposed to be here أميرة"
"The gala is today, if the Al Ghul's can't wait a day to entertain themselves then that is their problem, not mine. You will let me in so that I can get everyone ready Ms Nadya." The assassin's eyes twitch slightly, she understands. They have never introduced themselves to her so she shouldn't know their names. Zainab bows her head and steps to the side letting Marinette climb down the steps, the hall she's led down is also well lit. She recognizes some of the markings as she's seen them sowed into the outfits the Al Ghul's first arrived in, she wonders how long the League of Assassins has been in Gotham.
Nizar Ridwana and Abdur-Rashid Lamia stand in front of the door, both men watch her approach silently. "لماذا الاميرة هنا يا زينب؟" Nizar asks when they stop in front of them.
"تعرف أميرتنا أن رأس الشيطان موجود هنا وتطلب الحضور معه." Zainab answers, Abdur raises his eyebrow then knocks on the door behind him.
It opens revealing Kamil Karam. "صرح رئيس الشيطان أنه إذا لم يكن هذا مهمًا ، فسننضم إلى القط المزيف." He growls out before he spots her, he freezes.
"أميرتنا تطلب الجمهور برأس شيطان.لا يبدو أنها لن تقبل أي إجابة." Nizar tells him, Kamil gets back to himself and nods before shutting the door. Marinette raises her eyebrow and taps her foot.
"The demon head is being told of your arrival أميرة" Nizar adds, she should make a point to learn Arabic soon.
The door is opened again by Kamil who steps to the side. "I will take you to the demon head أميرة" She nod and walks forward, she sees Zainab turn around and go back towards the trap door before Abdur shut the door behind her. Her walk with Kamil is silent, at the end of the new hallway he opens the door and waves her through.
"M...Marinette? Please! Help me!" Adrien cries out from where he's chained to the base of the platform the Al Ghuls are on, she ignores him just like she ignores the forty assassins bowing around her and walks forward.
"Ladybug! What a surprise! What brings you to my meeting?" Ra's says pleasantly, he doesn't move closer though he looks like he wants to. As she gets closer she finds out why Damian is curled up asleep on the back of his robe. It is the cutest thing.
"M'Lady! Please! I'm begging you!" They both ignore him.
"We have a gala to attend tonight if you forgot. I made your outfits so you will be going on time." She says as she stops by the platform, Ra's smile brighter.
"Why are you ignoring me!?! You're my soulmate Princess! YOU CAN'T LET HIM DO THIS TO ME!"
"I'm afraid that I'm a little busy at the moment my Ladybug. Dealing with the false one, it may take some time to properly deal with him. Why don't you get ready with Talia and our Tiger. If I am done in time I'll join you." She narrows her eyes at him, he's using Adrien as an excuse. A look at Talia confirms this.
"AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE DONE FOR YOU! THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT ME! I LOVED YOU WHEN NO ONE ELSE WOULD YOU FUCKING WHORE! WHEN I GE..." She cuts Adrien off by pulling out her katana and slitting his throat, Ra's' smile steadily grows as the blood splatters up her leg. Adrien gurgles and clutches his neck until he collapses, no one looks at him as they didn't look before. Adrien ends up dying trapped, alone and forgotten. Everything he always feared.
"You did that on purpose." She states, her voice having the tiniest tremble. She can't tell if it's from horror at the fact that she's just killed someone or relief that now Adrien will never be able to hurt her.
Ra's leans down and gently cups her face. "You have done well my daughter." He whispers. "You truly are an Al Ghul."
"مرحبا بك يا ابنة الشياطين!مرحبا بكم الأميرة مارينيت!" The assassins shout, still bowing.
She glares up at him. "... we will discuss this later dad, right now we have a gala to prepare for."
He chuckles as Talia picks up Damian who is somehow still asleep. "Let me show you to the family wing, we have much to discuss now that you are properly recognized as Marinette al Ghul." He takes her hand and follows Talia out of the room, Marinette doesn't even fight his magic as she is dragged along. She just became a murderer... she needs all the comfort she can get.
Notes:
أميرة - Princess
لماذا الاميرة هنا يا زينب؟ - Why is the princess here, Zainab?
تعرف أميرتنا أن رأس الشيطان موجود هنا وتطلب الحضور معه. - Our princess knows that the demon head is here and is requesting audience with him.
صرح رئيس الشيطان أنه إذا لم يكن هذا مهمًا ، فسننضم إلى القط المزيف. - The demon head has stated that if this isn't important we will be joining the false cat.
أميرتنا تطلب الجمهور برأس شيطان.لا يبدو أنها لن تقبل أي إجابة. - Our princess requests audience with the demon head. She does not look like she will take no for an answer.
مرحبا بك يا ابنة الشياطين!مرحبا بكم الأميرة مارينيت! - Welcome demons daughter! Welcome Princess Marinette!
Chapter Text
Marinette hates this. They are on a time limit and need to get ready but here she is, wrapped in a blanket and curled on her father's lap like a child! He rocks and pets her head while whispering in Arabic. She memorizes every word because she feels that they are important. Talia had gently woken Damian up and spoken to him in quickfire Arabic before leaving the room, Damian has been curled on top of her ever since. She hits her fatherly affection limit when Ra's starts a purring.
"We need to get dressed, I refuse to be late." She whispers, she meant to say it louder but she can't.
"We have time little Ladybug, your older sister is running a bath for you. Until then just relax." He rumbles, half words and half purr yet she understands him completely. He wraps her in a blanket of magic, it feels safe. She hates it.
It takes Talia another five minutes to come and get her, in that time Damian had gotten bored and had told her about his hunt for Lila. She can't do anything but tell him she is proud, he looks so happy that she can't bring herself to tell him that he shouldn't be killing people. She also knows that this isn't the first time blood has been on his hands, she had internet stalked looked him up in the Al Ghul's servers. Ra's lets her go only when Talia is close enough to stop her from running, not that she was going to. Time limit remember. The room Talia leads her to is just a very large bath with a door. Talia helps her out of her clothes because her hands are too shaky then helps her in, Talia then strips herself and enters. It's quiet as they sit there and soak then Talia swims over.
"There is a reason I decided to bring Damian to Bruce." She says softly as she grabs a sponge and holds onto Marinette's leg, she doesn't fight though she wants to. "Father is a dangerous man as I'm sure you can tell and he wants Damian to be his heir, the head of the league of assassins when he dies." She gently rubs the sponge against Marinette's leg, slowly removing the blood and letting it swirl around in the water. "I want him to have a choice, unlike myself and my other siblings. Life or death, father or mother. I know it was cruel to try and make him choose, I know it makes me a bad mother that I hoped he wouldn't choose me... I did not expect you." She mummers as she lathers the sponge in a Jasmin scented soap and starts washing Marinette, Marinette stays still. Knowing that whatever Talia is saying is important to her. "Even before we entered America you controlled the narrative, swept in and ordered my father around like you'd been doing it your whole life. I hated you for it because I knew that with you around there would be no choice, you would find a way to let Damian have both of us and no one could stop you. I was right but I was also wrong." She lets the sponge float away as she grabs a bucket and fills it up. "Do you know how the demon head is chosen?" Marinette shakes her head, Talia starts rinsing her off. "For a new demon head to emerge they must kill the old one. Damian loves his grandfather, it would have killed him inside to be the one to kill him.... but now he can't. Well, now we know that he can't... Thank you." Talia slips behind her and starts massaging shampoo into her hair. "You took away the choice like I thought you would but in a way that has saved my son's life. So thank you."
"You don't need to thank me, Talia, it's what sisters do after all." She says and Talia laughs.
"You truly are a marvel. Do you feel better?" She thinks about it, it's weird but she does. Between the cuddles and the warm bath, Adrien's death had lost most of its meaning in her mind.
"I do, here, let me." She says after Talia rinses her hair, she swims after the wayward sponge and brings it back. Talia raises an eyebrow but relaxes as she lathers the sponge up and starts washing her.
Once they get out of the bath they help each other with hair and makeup, she looks a lot more dangerous while Talia looks softer. It feels a little like last Friday with her tea friends but more intimate. Ra's and Damian meet them outside the warehouse, they look great. Damian grabs her hand and pulls her towards the car they suddenly have, she looks over to her bike and finds Tasnim still standing guard surrounded by four blood pools with drag marks leading into another warehouse.
"Can you ride it?" She asks, Tasnim nods once. It hurts but she refuses to leave her bike here. "Can you drive it back to Wayne's residence?" Tasnim gets on her bike and drives away without a word, she lets Damian pull her into the car. Damian doesn't let go of her hand the whole way and even helps her out of the car, it's so sweet. Tim is frozen with his mouth hanging open while Blossom laughs and makes grabby hands at her, Damian finally frees her as she makes her way over.
Tom stops her and whispers in her ear. "You forgot something in your room, I left it on your bed." Then he makes his way over to Stephanie and bows at the hips, he straightens out and places a kiss on the back of her hand while he looks her in the eye.
"Hello." ... Oh Fuck! Stephanie blushes a little.
"Do I know you?" She asks, she doesn't break eye contact.
"Not yet. Do you want to?" She blushes a little more and Marinette can't continue watching, she gives Tim and Blossom a peck on the cheek as she rushes towards her room to see what she left behind. It must be important if Tom is telling her to get it. On her bed sits Pollen's hair comb and Stompp's nose ring, nothing else... so they are meeting their Bee and Ox tonight? She puts the comb and the nose ring in her clutch and leaves again. She hopes it's not Luther, she does not need his brand of crazy in the family.
Chapter 38
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Marinette comes back down and finds chaos, Bruce and Ra's are at each other's throats as are Tim and Damian. Tom and Stephanie are gone, Jason and Dick are trying to shush a crying Blossom and the rest are just sitting there doing nothing. Does no one remember that they are on a time limit here?
"What the hell is going on!" Everyone freezes.
"Ah, daughter. I..." Ra's starts
"Silence." She growls as she takes Blossom and starts gently bouncing her.
"Marinette, did you...." Bruce starts, she shoots him a glare.
"I said silence! None of us has time for whatever petty bullshit your pulling. Is Stephanie with the Rabbit?" She asks Jason, he nods. "Okay, I don't have to worry about them being on time. Everyone get in the cars." No one moves. She closes her eyes with an angry sigh. "Do you like paperwork, Mr Wayne? Is That what this is? You want me to bury you under mountains of paperwork? Because I can and I will if that is what you want." She opens her eyes and makes eye contact with him, "Get. In. The. Car"
She and Blossom end up back in the car with Ra's, Talia and Damian much to Wayne's annoyance but she is so sick of today that she brushes it off. Let them sulk, she has no idea why they're arguing again anyway. Blossom and Damian detract her the rest of the way by being cute, it's over too soon in her opinion but it is what it is. The man at the door smiles at them as he takes their invitations, he lingers a second on hers then hands them all back and lets them in. Luther embraces the theme he picked and has the whole venue looking like a funeral wake.
It doesn't take her long to notice five very important things:
One. The Al Ghul's and the Wayne's, despite their anger at each other, have decided to keep her in the centre of their group. It's highly annoying that they think that she can't defend herself and she can tell that Longg and Tikki agree from the energy radiating from her purse.
Two. A beautiful redhead has been watching her since she stepped into the room. She hasn't taken her eyes off of her once, she thinks the starring might be due to the slight pull on her magic, it must be confusing for the woman. Maybe, she'll have to talk to the woman soon.
Three. There is a painting hanging on the left wall, three paintings from the entrance, of Tom and Stephanie having sex. She knows it's them because she can see Tom's pocket watch sticking slightly out of the trousers on the paintings floor.
Four. Damian had been staring at a black-haired, blue-eyed boy since they walked in. The boy looks to be about his age, if slightly smaller and is very cute. She feels the slight pull that she has gotten used to.
Five. A man is staring at Cassandra like she's the air he needs to breathe. She would be worried but Cassandra gets a soft look in her eyes for a second every time she meets his... Oh! This must be her mystery lover, she makes sure to memorize everything about him so that she can find him later. They need to have a chat.
She runs through several calculations in her mind before she settles on one. She turns to Jason with a light smile. "Snake, darling, would you and Mouse take your sister to get some milk? I don't want her left alone and you guys want to keep me in a cocoon." He looks a little sheepish at being caught but nods and picks up Blossom, he ends up taking Duke with him as well. Three down. She turns her attention to Cassandra and nudges her gently in the back. "I'll cover for you." She whispers, Cassandra waits for a second then taps her thigh and walks off with the excuse of going to the loo. She watches the man almost jump to follow her out of the room. Four down. She circles closer and points out the artwork causally to Dick, he agrees that most of it are very well done until he spots it. He breaks away from her to harshly whisper in Bruce's ear, suddenly they are heading over with slightly angry expressions. Six down.
"You're welcome," Tom says from behind her, she turns just in time to see Stephanie's new necklace as they dance away. It's the lost Heart of the Ocean, at least she now knows why it was deemed lost. Well played Rabbit, well played. Eight down.
For Damian she simply reaches into her purse and pulls out the first miraculous she comes across and hands it to him then nudges him in the boy's direction, Damian looks at her then the hair comb in his hand before his eyes light up at what she's suggesting. Talia and one of Ra's elite follow him. Eleven down. She looks to Ra's who is extremely amused by her whole plan.
"Tell me my Ladybug, why should I leave you here alone in enemy territory?"
"Because of my Cat. I need to speak to someone in private and you owe me one for tricking me earlier."
He raises an eyebrow. "I did not trick you. I let you do what was natural to an Al Ghul when faced with an enemy."
She narrows her eyes at him. "You knew that I was coming. You knew that he was the one to hurt me. You knew that I wasn't about to let you use him as an excuse to hide away and plan the murder of the rest of my classmates while I was stuck here unable to do anything." Every word out of her mouth makes him smirk harder.
"Very true ابنتي." He says with a purr before he pets her head and walks away from her. His elite following on his heels. She sighs to herself and makes her way over to the redhead.
"May I have this dance?" She asks, the redhead watches her for a moment before she slowly takes her hand. Marinette leads her to a more secluded area of the dance floor before falling into a semi walts, they stay quiet for a little as they get used to the steps then she breaks the silence. "Who are you and why have you been watching me?"
The woman raises a single eyebrow before she answers. "You noticed. Хороший. I am Aesara Lyov, the head of your new security detail." Marinette blinks a little in shock, she had a security detail? Aesara must be able to read the confusion on her face because she adds. "You get attacked a lot Мэм. You also now have a daughter to worry over. Let me take care of this part of your life so you can focus on the other parts, Да?" The Russian accent curling around her words draws lustful eyes, not that Aesara seems to care. Marinette sighs as the song ends, Aesara had a point as much as she hated it. Before Aesara stepped away she scooped out the nose ring and dropped it into Aesara's hand, it felt like a magical explosion to her with the Bee activating at her back somewhere at the same time but the only outward signs that anything happened was the very slight widening of Aesara's eyes for a fraction of a second. "Понятно, хорошо сыграно. Let us return to the family Ladybug, we have much to discuss."
Marinette starts walking towards her group but stops when Damian steps into her path with their Bee. "Ladybug, this is Jon, our Bee." She smiles brightly at the boy who seems to be a big ball of sunshine, he smiles brightly back as he almost jumps in place. Damian looks at him with a fondness which just makes it better.
" Hello Bee, it's lovely to meet you. Tiger, this is our Ox Aesara." Aesara nods sharply at Damian, his smile sharpens as he looks her over.
"I approve. Ladybug, there is another reason I stopped you before we went back." He stops like he isn't sure about something so she smiles kindly at him and nods for him to continue. "I'm very sorry but I don't think I can marry you anymore." She blinks once, twice before his words register. He must take her silence as sadness because he's quick to let go of Jon and take both her hands into his. "I know that hearing this must be very upsetting and I'm very sorry but I..." The very tips of his ears go a tiny bit red and his eyes flicker over to Jon. "I think I've found someone else. Please don't be sad though! I'll still be in your life! Just as...as a brother instead!" He seems so happy to find a solution to his made-up problem that she just has to go with it. This whole thing is super cute.
"I understand, Tiger. It will hurt for a little bit knowing that you will still be here for me helps a lot. I hope that whoever it is that you've found makes you happy." He smiles up at her then let's go and grabs Jon's hand again.
"He does. Let's go back now, father has been trying to murder our Rabbit for a while now."
Damian is very correct in his statement if the look on Bruce's face is any indication. She ends up planting herself in between them for the rest of the night. Jon and Aesara are accepted into the family with open arms, Jason takes a liking to Aesara and sticks close to her. Aesara's only response is a raised eyebrow, Jason seems to take it as a challenge much to Aesara's annoyance. Tim seems endlessly amused at Damian's ending of their secret engagement (so secret that SHE didn't even know about it.), Tom and Ra's are enjoying spinning circles around both Bruce and Luther when he turns up to try and talk to her. She smiles politely and denies his offer of moving to his company before leaving him to them. She also gets to talk to explain in great detail what would happen should he hurt Cassandra in any way, Conner, before they leave which is great.
Bruce only lets her get back into Ra's' car with the promise that they would all be spending the night at his mansion, Ra's agrees with a smirk. Aesara ends up also getting into Ra's car since no one wants to be separated from her yet. Marinette is so busy getting Blossom into the car without waking her up that she doesn't notice that Jon is also sitting in the car until they have already driven away, she meets his sad eyes before she glares at Ra's.
"Please, please tell me I'm not witnessing a kidnapping right now." She growls quietly at him, Damian answers before Ra's can even open his mouth.
"It's not a kidnapping if his parents don't care enough to call to see where he is." Jon looks sadder at the mention of his parents and checks his phone, no calls or texts. Okay, now she's mad.
"Little Bee, do your parents do this often?" He doesn't look at her as he nods, he's completely different from the bubbly boy she met earlier and it makes her heart hurt.
Aesara leans forwards in her chair and Marinette is a little shocked to see the soft smile on the aloof woman. "Little Bee. Хочешь, чтобы я тебя усыновила? В конце концов, мы уже семья." Marinette has no idea what she's said but everyone else seems to, even Jon. Great, another language she has to learn.
"Я ... Да, я бы очень этого хотел. Thank you, Ox" It seems pretty settled as Aesara reaches forward and ruffles his hair, he beams at her.
Bruce isn't happy about Jon being there until Aesara introduces him as Jon Lyov, her son. Marinette just hopes that he doesn't find out that he only became her son half an hour ago. She's not ready for that fallout. She ends up sleeping in Tim's room again but they are both so tired that all they end up doing is sleeping. Tomorrow she has to find out exactly what the security staff at WE think is light defence training, somehow she doubts that it will be anything light at all.
Notes:
ابنتي. - My Daughter
Хороший. - Good
Мэм - Ma'am
Да? - Yes?
Понятно, хорошо сыграно. - I see, well played.
Хочешь, чтобы я тебя усыновила? В конце концов, мы уже семья. - Would you like me to adopt you? We are already family after all.
Я ... Да, я бы очень этого хотел. - I... Yes, I would like that very much.
Chapter 39
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Aesara, Marinette finds out, is the one who will be training her in the coming weeks. She finds this out at 5 am when Aesara walks into Tim's room, lifts her right out of the bed, then walks away. Mr Shelagh waits for them in the parking lot with a massive coffee and some workout clothes, he is nice enough to not look at her in her tiny nightgown which is nice of him. She's never had to get changed in the back of a car before and finds it to be quite difficult.
"Our Кот and тигр have agreed to watch our little ones each Sunday so you do not have to worry," Aesara says as she pulls on the tracksuit pants.
"Our Tiger is fine, it is the father I worry about."
"Whatever could be the problem Божья коровка? I thought he was just the head of a security company? "
She narrows her eyes at Aesara's neutral expression. "...Fair."
Training with the W.E security staff in a nightmare, family or not Aesara refuses to go easier on her. From running to jumping to surprise hand to hand combat. By the time it's over Marinette might hate Aesara a little, just a tad, but then Aesara's pressing a mug of vodka spiked coffee into her hands and they are friends again.
She gets so busy during the week with all of the press conferences and 'planned' public outings that it's Thursday before she knows it. Thursday comes with her remembering that she promised to have tea with her katana maker only to not go. It also helps that she's trying to find any excuse she can to be out of Bruce's range, he's had this look about him since Saturday and keeps trying to get her alone so they can 'talk'. She doesn't want to talk, she wants to do her fucking job. No one seems to remember that she has a life outside of them nowadays. Chloe has demanded that she spend the weekend with them since Luka had stayed after shipping his sister off and had brought Kagami along with him.
"No," Bruce says when she tells him about her tea plans.
"I'm only telling you out of formality. I'm not asking." She says as she finishes typing her third placement rejection text to Mr Luther's assistant Miss Violet Petrova (How he ever got her phone number is a mystery that she is highly displeased about) before adding the woman to her friend's group chat. She quite likes Miss Petrova and so she's invited her to their weekend semi party, it might be the push Miss Petrova needs to break out of her shell.
"You both live in my house and work for me..." He starts only to have her cut him off.
"My living situation is one you forced on me and I could quite easily find a new job. Mr Luther has sent me a text every day with new sorts of enticing offers." She intones as she puts her phone back into her pocket. He doesn't look like he wants to budge so she sighs and decided to distract him while she goes down to the nursery floor to pick up Blossom. "What is it you wanted to ask me?" He blinks, confused making her sigh again. "You've been dying to ask me something since Saturday. What is it?"
Realization crosses his face for a second before it smoothes out. "Did you kill someone on Saturday?" It's her turn to be shocked and confused.
"... Why are you asking?" He does not like that answer.
"Ra's has called you his daughter many times but Saturday was the first time he called you an Al Ghul."
"And that is significant because?" She asks, he gives her a look like she's supposed to know what he's talking about. She does, of course, she had personally ripped through Ra's al Ghul's servers, at this point she might know more about Ra's and his spider's web than Bruce... But if she reviles that then she reviles that she knows who Bruce is, who his family is. Her job isn't just to get him to do his own, it's also to protect him so she just gives him Press Smile 1(TM) and says in an airy voice. "I don't know what you implying Mr Wayne, Mr Al Ghul is just the owner of a security company after all." Several emotions flicker over his face but he doesn't have time to answer because she's stepping out at the nursery floor and pushing the button to send him the parking lot with that same press smile. She has a tea to get to after all.
Notes:
Кот - Cat
тигр - Tiger
Божья коровка - Ladybug
Chapter 40
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Marinette loves her mother. She really, really does but sometimes...
"... you said talk later I assumed you would be calling on Saturday! Sunday at the latest! A week later!" Her mother yells down the phone, Marinette cringes as she holds the phone in one hand and Blossom in the other. The only saving grace was that Blossom was so tired from playing at the Wayne nursery she wasn't being fussy.
"It's not been a week Mama." She argues as her heels click along the pavement.
"It's Thursday Marinette, you called on Friday. It's been a week!" Her mother yells. "Why am I having to wait a WEEK to know anything about my apparent Granddaughter!"
"I've been busy semi running a multi-billion dollar company Mama. Mr Wayne doesn't make my job easy. This is as soon as I could call and I'm literally on my way to a meeting." Someone's shoes start clicking in time with hers and people start darting away from them with looks of horror. Great, just great.
"... Fine but I want to know everything AND I want pictures. The first time I see my granddaughter will not be weeks from now." Her mother demands, Marinette barely hears her over her hyper-awareness kicking in. Plans are made and discarded in seconds. She settles for pretending she doesn't have a dangerous person next to her, if she can get her mother off the phone before they attack her she'll call it a win.
"I agree to your terms Mama, I'm coming up on my destination now but I promise to call you Saturday. We'll video chat over lunch." She says calmly like goons in clown masks aren't slowly slinking out of alleyways.
"Fine, but I want the pictures before that. I love you 花."
"I love you too Mama, tell Papa I said hi." She says then hangs up. She casually re-adjusts Blossom so that she's sitting on her hip before she speaks. "You know, it's rude to eavesdrop on others conversations." She keeps looking forward without a care in the world. She counts nine goons so far.
"It's also rude to start a conversation without introducing yourself sexy." The man laughs, Aesara is never going to let her go anywhere by herself ever again.
"So we're both assholes, good to know. Is there any reason you decided to bug me or were you just bored?" She has now calmly walked past the katana shop. She hates having to double back for anything.
"Not much of a reason other than the general desirer to have you chained naked to my bed." Violent amusement curls around his words just as Batman lands in front of them, Robin lands behind him looking furious.
"Oh thank god!" She cries out in relief, everyone tenses ready to attack. It's like they don't know her at all. "Robin! Catch!" She shouts before gently tossing Blossom to him, she laughs brightly the whole time she's in the air. She doesn't wait to see if he catches her because she knows that he will. (She would never be able to let her go if he couldn't, they can't hurt each other after all) Instead, she finally turns to the man next to her and punches him in the throat.
He drops to the ground with a choked command to grab her. The goons advance and she falls into a fighting stance. She's about to kick some ass.
Notes:
花 = Flower
Chapter 41
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
*CRUNCH*
Tim watches in awe as Marinette slams the heel of her palm into good three's face. Blossom giggles and pets his face, it reminds him of the fact that she had trusted him enough to toss her over to him.
*CRACK*
Goon one tries to jump her but she spins viciously, striking his leg with a kick strong enough to break the bone in goon one's leg. He feels like it should be weird that he doesn't have a parental connection to Blossom when he's so gone on the baby Dragon's mother, all he feels is fond tugging when she laughs. Like an uncle or a cousin, he likes her but there is this odd divide between them.
*SCUELTCH*
Marinette spins again and sucker punches goon four in the gut. He didn't have this divide with Jason but then again Jason felt like a brother, he almost snorts while trying to imagine Jason calling him dad. Ha!
*THUNK*
She slams goon six's face into her knee when he tries to rush her. He hadn't really thought about it actually, what the family connections would look like for him. There was Marinette of course and he knows that he loves her, but the others? He had been looking at this like Marinette was the centre of the web but she wasn't, was she.
*SHINK*
Goon two pulls a knife but Marinette expertly navigates it into the thigh of goon five. Okay, sure. Marinette is the centre of a web, but there is more than one web he finds now that he's focusing on the strings that attach to them all. He loves Marinette and he's sure that she loves him (like 62% sure but it's more than half so he's taking it) but that's the only connection he has to her web. He's finding out that the strings of his web are vastly different.
*CLANK*
Goon two tries to stab her again but she kicks up a crowbar and cracks it into goon two's knife, sending it into goon seven's gut. So he's brothers with her son and an uncle to her daughter, unexpected but right all the same. He supposes he shares her view of Alfred and Lucia as their grandparents as he's sure most of them do. Ra's is more like an annoying uncle than anything and as much as he detests it Damion feels like a brother. Tom is firmly in the category of an annoying cousin, Jon felt like another brother and Aesara feels like an older sister.
*CLICK*
Speaking of his newly acquired scary Russian sister she's now materialised out of thin air and joined the fight with a fucking war hammer. Smashing it into goon nine's side as he cocks his gun before pointing it menacingly at the still downed joker.
"Если ты продолжишь охоту на мою дочь, я тебя раздавлю." Aesara growls before spinning on her heel and flicking Marinette on the forehead. "You're left was open for half of the fight, we will work on it божья коровка."
Marinette pouts but doesn't fight it when the scary Russian sticks close to her, instead she smiles up and him and extracts a still giggling Blossom from his arms. "Thank you, Robin, for keeping my daughter safe. I hope the rest of your day goes better." Marinette purrs before her eyes move to Bruce. "I trust that I can leave this mess to you? I have an appointment."
"You need to stay so that Commissioner Gordon can get your statements." Bruce growls, still annoyed that she was ignoring him. He sighs in his head. After all, he knows that she's only making Bruce's life hard because he pissed her off as Batman the last time they met.
She, predictably, waves him off like he's nothing special. "Commissioner Gordon has my cell phone number, if he has questions then he can call. Have fun babysitting bat." And then she's strolling away like nothing happened.
"You are so whipped." Mullo giggles into his ear.
"So?" He asks making Bruce turn his scowl onto him. Mullo giggles more but stays hidden in his hair.
Notes:
Если ты продолжишь охоту на мою дочь, я тебя раздавлю. = If you keep hunting my daughter I'll crush you.
божья коровка = ladybug
Chapter Text
To: Marinette DC. [Intern, Wayne PA]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: Luther Gala
Wayne Approval has jumped up 6.2% since the gala. Those outfits you made looked stunning as well.
Well done Miss Dupain-Cheng.
—Gilad
To: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
From: Marinette DC. [Intern, Wayne PA]
Subject: Luther Gala
Thank you, Mr Samira, I'm glad that I could make your department's lives easier for a weekend. From what I read in preparation for the event it usually ends with your team working overtime to put out fires.
While we are talking are there any more upcoming events I should prepare for?
—Marinette
To: Marinette DC. [Intern, Wayne PA]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: Luther Gala
There is nothing pressing this week but I'll send Mr Elvar up with next weeks rota when it is finalized.
Have a lovely day.
—Gilad
To: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
From: Marinette DC. [Intern, Wayne PA]
Subject: Luther Gala
I look forward to reading it.
Have a lovely day as well.
—Marinette
To: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: Request from Baby CEO
Jeroným, Baby CEO wants next weeks rota. I'm splitting your team to help finalize it, you'll be taking it up to her when it's done.
Use this opportunity to introduce yourself to her, it may be good for her to know that she had a PR team.
—Gilad
To: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
From: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: Request from Baby CEO
You got it, Ma'am. I know just who to pick, I'll have it to her by Friday at the latest.
You know how Fox News are...
—Jeroným
To: Laila V. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department], Theodotos E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department], Tomo R. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department], Crystal S. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
From: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: SOS
Boss Lady is requesting next weeks rota and IT IS NOT DONE! This is not a drill team!
It's knuckles to the grind time!
Laila! Keep glued to Boss Lady's online presence, a toe out of line and we go to war.
Theodotos! You were great at the gala, Boss Lady even spotted Securities plant but not you. Keep it up.
Tomo! I want you on phones, get iron clad agreements to the schedule. If they back out last second it's on them, not Boss lady.
Crystal! It's time. I know you've wanted to do this for a while but now you have the green light. Go nuts.
I'm going to finish off our story for mini Boss Lady. We need to get ahead of the curb before someone starts claiming an affair.
—Jeroným
To: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
From: Laila V. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: SOS
I've already kidnapped Miss Sæwine and Mr Deimos from the I.T department.
Nothing's getting past us.
—Laila
To: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
From: Theodotos E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: SOS
Thanks, Jeroným! It was hard getting an invite but it was worth it.
Did you know that Luther has a painting of Brown having sex on his wall? We may need to do something about that before Wayne gets arrested for murder.
—Theodotos
To: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
From: Tomo R. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: New Interns
Why?
Why do you hate me so?
Was it because I ate your sandwich that one time?
I SAID I WAS SORRY!!!!!
...
...
You've broken my heart, Jeroným, I hope you're happy while I painfully rangle feral cats.
—Tomo
To: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
From: Crystal S. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: Are You kidding Me
Oh my god... OH MY GOD!!!!
I... I get to do it?! I get to do the thing?!
Oh. My. God!
I love you and your stupidly handsome face!
AHHHH!!!!
This is the best day ever!!!!!
—Crystal
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Hey Kit!
I've got good news, bad news, and great news followed by not so great news. What do you want to hear first?
—Aesara
To: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Bad news first Sara.
I have no idea why you always ask when my answer never changes.
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Hey, one day you'll want some good news first Босс.
Dupain-Cheng spotted me during the gala and now knows that we have a detail on her, she doesn't know how big it is though.
—Aesara
To: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Damn it, how'd she take it?
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
Subject: Update
That's the good news!
She accepted it, more for her little Dragon than anything else but a win is a win.
—Aesara
To: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Oh thank god, I was thinking it was going to be like when we had a detail on Todd. All the fighting and disappearing took years off of my life.
What's the rest of the news you have for me Sara, and how much am I going to want to drink afterwards?
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Well, I may or may not have adopted a boy whose parents still haven't noticed is missing despite it being two days. He's really the sweetest little worker Bee around.
... How mad do you think Ms Vladimir is going to be?
—Aesara
To: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Did... Aesara, did you just admit to kidnapping a child?!
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Of course not, Ankit!
I admitted to adopting a child (through less than legal means).
Dupain-Cheng approves.
—Aesara
To: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Update
...
Sara, this is highly illegal. You do know this right?
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Audio file
I'm not giving him back to them Kit.
Я бы убил их первыми.
—Aesara
To: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: Update
I'll take care of it, keep him out of public view until Millaray and Loane tell you otherwise.
You're very lucky that Dupain-Cheng's daughter will be a biological match.
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Aesara L. [Dupain-Cheng Security Team, Security Department]
Subject: Update
Will do.
Ты лучший Kit.
—Aesara
To: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department], Millaray V. [Head of Legal, Legal Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: ASAP
I need a favour.
Baby CEO's security team head has acquired a child that she needs air-tight paperwork on.
Audio file
—Ankit
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Millaray V. [Head of Legal, Legal Department]
Subject: ASAP
I'll add it to the air-tight paperwork Baby CEO needs for her daughter.
Miss Lyov does realise how lucky she is that the two children share a father, right.
—Millaray
To: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: ASAP
Those fucking assholes!
Who does that to a kid?! And to not even notice he was missing for the past two days... I'll make it happen.
In other news how mad do you think Mr Wayne will be if we help Cain speed towards marrying The Kent's older son? I don't like the thought of leaving him alone there.
—Loane
To: Millaray V. [Head of Legal, Legal Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: ASPA
She knows.
She's waiting for you're go-ahead before taking him out in public.
—Ankit
To: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: ASAP
Make a plan and run it by Baby CEO when you're done. Miss Lyov says that she approves of the relocation of Jon Kent so she'll likely approve of this too, with her daughter sharing DNA.
Cain looks like she really loves him according to her detail's reports so I don't expect too much of a fight from her.
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: The 'are they gods or aren't they gods' debate
Baby CEO has completed her first self-defence lesson with flying colours, which is to be expected given her background in Paris. However, she spent the whole time referring to Miss Lyov as Ox and Miss Lyov, in turn, referred to her as Божья коровка.
Miss Lyov has also taken to wearing a nose ring. Has anyone else noticed odd jewellery on our (quite possibly) gods?
—Ankit
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Jérémy S. [Head of Transport, Transport Department]
Subject: The 'are they gods or aren't they gods' debate
Mr Pennyworth has a new brooch I've never seen before and Italian lady has a foxtail necklace.
—Jérémy
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Gilad S. [Head of PR, PR Department]
Subject: The 'are they gods or aren't they gods' debate
Ms Jeong (who's heading the assassin's PR team) insists that the little assassin now has a panja bracelet he refuses to take off.
The head assassin also now has a paw print ring.
—Gilad
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Roland S. [Head of HR, HR Department]
Subject: The 'are they gods or aren't they gods' debate
Drake stopped by with a new pendant necklace.
—Roland
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Lucius F. [Head of BR&D, BR&D Department]
Subject: The 'are they gods or aren't they gods' debate
Mr Lahiffe has become fast friends with Todd since Todd came in to work with a new bracelet, he asked Todd how 'Sass' was then said that he was friends with 'Wayzz'.
They have been eating their lunches together ever since.
—Lucius
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Neilos N. [Head of R&D, R&D Department]
Subject: The 'are they gods or aren't they gods' debate
Mr House keeps playing with his stopwatch and sending me cheeky looks. If he wasn't so good at his job I'd complain.
I swear sometimes it glows blue before he stops an experiment from blowing up.
—Neilos
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Millaray V. [Head of Legal, Legal Department]
Subject: The 'are they gods or aren't they gods' debate
When Baby CEO came by to ask for my help with young Dupain-Cheng, young Dupain-Cheng was wearing an adorable little choker necklace.
—Millaray
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Loane E. [Head of IT, IT Department]
Subject: The 'are they gods or aren't they gods' debate
From the videos I managed to dig up Hawkmoth, Agreste Sn, kept demanding Baby CEO's earrings.
So the jewellery is a factor then? We're confirming this?
—Loane
To: All Department Heads [All Departments]
From: Ankit G. [Head of Security, Security Department]
Subject: The 'are they gods or aren't they gods' debate
Nothing is confirmed yet but it doesn't seem like a coincidence.
We'll figure this out.
—Ankit
To: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
From: Theodotos E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: I love Boss Lady
Boss Lady just tossed mini Boss Lady at Robin then beat the shit out of Joker and his goons, with a last-minute assist from the head of her security detail.
—Theodotos
To: Theodotos E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
From: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: I love Boss Lady
...
I love this job.
Get Laila to add this to Boss Lady's 'Badass bitch' statement.
—Jeroným
To: Jeroným E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
From: Theodotos E. [Marinette PR Team, PR Department]
Subject: I love Boss Lady
On it!
:D
—Theodotos
Notes:
Босс - Boss
Я бы убил их первыми. - I would kill them first.
Ты лучший - you're the best
Божья коровка - Ladybug
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