I don’t understand why people write so much about Maribat, not Abribat, for 7 years? There are more Maribat fanfics than a few Abribat fanfics, but seriously?!
You guys know Marinette has loving parents, close friends, a great talent, and a wonderful life, right??? I understand she’s the main character in the show.
But what about Adrien?! I mean, hello! He's the one who is suffering. He was neglected, his mother passed away, locked up in a house like a jail cell (Episode: Sandboy and Confrontation), abused by his father (Episode: Cat Blanc), hasn’t been fed much, was forced into being a “perfect” doll for a model, and didn’t learn anything from outside in Paris.
Can he get adopted by Catwoman or Batwoman? Or Batman, if you want to?
It was like she was being held deep underwater with only a pinhole of light remaining.
She tried to reach it, but it was like walking through mud.
By Kwami, did she try.
But it was impossible.
"Mari!"
She felt a light touch on her skin, and suddenly, all that held her back was gone.
But the momentum remained.
Marinette jolted upwards, flailing and gasping as if she had just ran for her life. Her eyes were wide open, her pupils dilated.
Marinette was panicked. Nothing was registering.
Tikki!
Marinette reached out to her bond with Tikki, but felt nothing there.
Marinette swallowed thickly.
No. She couldn't lose herself. She had to be strong. She was the Guardian.
It seemed like a lifetime, but only a couple seconds had passed.
She touched her ear, and they were there.
She calmed down.
"Are you okay, girl?" Alya asked.
But was this Alya? She looked different. No scar on her brow from chasing her superhero stories in Metropolis. No exasperation in her eyes. Only concern.
"...Alya?"
"Did you have a nightmare, girl?"
"Yeah, dudette, you woke up like a riot."
"Nino?"
"Are you okay, Mari?"
She turned her head towards the voice only to see a vastly different Adrien, one with the same haircut from lycée.
Lycée?
It clicked.
Marinette looked around, and her friends were all looking young, and they were all together, the same as they were before university.
"Mari?"
Adrien touched her shoulder, but she jerked back.
"I--"
"Attention, all passengers. The train will be arriving at London St. Pancras International station shortly. Please be mindful of your belongings."
London?
"Mari?" Adrien looked at her with unconcealed worry. "What happened?"
"What's happening?"
Alix popped up behind Adrien. "We're headed to Felix's class for the sponsored graduation trip. You should buddy with me for today, Mari."
Marinette looked the ex-rabbit miraculous holder in the eye and saw something there.
"...Sure."
Marinette and her old classmates stepped off the train and onto the busy platform.
They shuffled through the crowd with Alix leading Marinette along, as she was still dazed over the circumstances.
"Fe!" Adrien shouted, bringing Marinette back to the present.
Marinette turned her head only to see Felix smirking at her, but she blinked and it was gone. Felix was looking at Adrien, deep in conversation. She must have imagined it, still as confused as she was.
Marinette turned to Alix only to see mirth in her eyes.
Marinette furrowed her brows.
"Spill it. What happened?"
"I don't know as much as you think I do," Alix admitted. "Older me only told me to tell you not to worry about Tikki and Fluff; they'll be alright."
"And this is our graduation year?"
"Yup, we're now on the London trip."
"The one sponsored by the Waynes?" Marinette sneered.
Alix raised a brow at her tone but thankfully chose not to question her.
Alix didn't answer her question, but Marinette didn't need an answer anyway. She remembered this trip all too well.
After all, this was where they began.
Marinette was quiet as they traveled to the hotel. Her friends kept throwing her looks of concern, but she didn't have the mind to respond. Her head was swirling with questions only the kwami could answer.
By the time they arrived, Marinette was already bouncing one foot in impatience. As soon as Mme. Bustier dismissed the class, she sped to the room she was assigned to.
She dug through her luggage, throwing clothes around without a care in her hunt for the miracle box.
The door lock clicked into place, and Alya entered with her key, accompanied by Alix, Adrien, and Nino.
"What in the world..?"
"Bugaboo, what happened?"
"Mari..."
"I'll explain later," Marinette said without stopping. "There's something I have to ask Plagg."
"Aha!" Marinette finally excavated the disguised miracle box from the bottom of her bag. She opened it and put on the cat miraculous.
Plagg appeared with a whoosh. "Bug! Are you okay?" The little god looked at her, worry clear in his green eyes.
Marinette let out a bone-deep sigh, crashing out onto the carpeted floor without a care. "What exactly happened, Plagg?"
"Sugar cube was being stubborn, and Fluff was encouraging it," Plagg grumbled. "I told them to talk to you about it! But Tikki wouldn't listen to me. Well, that's because Fluff said you wouldn't have listened to us anyway."
"Listened to you about what?"
"Just, you know..." Plagg flew into Adrien's hair, his eyes darting back and forth. "Things..."
"Things?" Marinette's eyes narrowed.
"Look, bug," Plagg redirected, "the bottom line is that Tikki and Fluff turned back time for you. So now, you're filled with enough energy to ping sensors an ocean away if you can't mask it."
Marinette's breath hitched. No. No time for panicking.
"Then, they already know?"
"No, no, no," Plagg reassured hurriedly. "Don't worry, the others and I took turns masking it the entire time. But you'll have to wear my ring for a more permanent solution."
Marinette let out a crazy laugh. "You should have started with that, Plagg."
"You have to put your earrings away too. Tikki needs to rest in the box, and you already know what happened last time..."
"Right, right," Marinette said quietly. "Last time..."
"So..." Adrien interjected. "What happened last time?"
"Yeah, dudette, we're worried."
"You've been acting off since you woke up. And then, Alix got involved. And now, turning back time," Alya rattled off before looking her squarely in the eye. "And who're "they" and why were you so panicked?"
"They're... Well..." Marinette trailed off, her eyes avoiding Alya's.
"Oh, I'll say it," Plagg grumbled but you could hear the worry underneath. "It's just her ex-husband and his family."
"Ex-husband?!" Alya shrieked.
"Just?" Adrien gestured with air quotes.
Nino's brows creased together, "To be clear, we're not talking about you know who, are we?"
"Who?"
"No."
Marinette and Alix responded simultaneously.
"That's good."
Marinette could see Nino visibly relax at Alix's words.
"Nino," Marinette looked him straight in the eye. "Who?"
Adrien cut into the conversation, "Just someone who we thought you'd end up with, my lady."
"Adrien..."
"Girl, what's more important is what's going on now. Spill. What happened in the past future."
"It's a long story."
"We have all day."
Marinette took in a shaky breath, "I met him on this trip."
Adrien looked at her encouragingly.
"He's..." Marinette hesitated. "Well..."
"Someone from Felix's class? From the school?" Alya immediately questioned.
"No..." Marinette sighed.
But before she could say more, Alya immediately followed up.
"Wayne's side?"
Marinette grimaced at the mention of that name.
"Yeah, Damian."
"No, no, Mari," Adrien was looking at her that way again. "Don't tell me your ex-husband is Damian Wayne?"
"Yeah," Marinette let out a strangled laugh. "Him."
"I've met him. He's not a good match for you."
At those familiar words, Marinette's brave face cracked, and her eyes welled up with unshed tears.
"That's what you said last time too. But I was acting like a fool. No, I was a fool, a love-struck fool. I should have listened to you, chaton."
"Bugaboo, you couldn't have known..."
Marinette shook her head at that.
"You know," Marinette let out a sarcastic half-smile. "Alya and you all held interventions. Again and again. You all knew he didn't love me. But I just couldn't see it. Or rather, I didn't want to believe it. After all, Tikki told me he was my soulmate. We were a perfect pheromone match, and my inner omega really liked him. And he was nice, you know? Sometimes."
a try at writing a prologue for a wip of mine i'm still undecided about, would love to hear thoughts on this
for context: omegaverse setting, trying to do the neglected wife trope
None of her friends liked her husband. That should have been the first red flag.
"Isn't he," Adrien grimaced. "Too... abrasive?
"I know he seems rough, but he can be soft. Sometimes."
"Mari—"
"I like him," she cut him off. "And he likes me. Aren't I lucky?"
She couldn't forget the way Adrien looked at her. Like she was insane. And pitiful. Insanely pitiful. Pitifully insane.
She didn't understand it then.
"He's the lucky one, bugaboo. You're too good for this world, never forget that."
But it seemed everyone else did.
"We're holding an intervention!"
"Alyaaaa! Again?" Marinette whined, not wanting to listen to another three-hour lecture on why they think her husband didn't like her (rude) or on divorce procedures (informative but unnecessary) or on why whirlwind romances never last (depressing).
"Yes, girl, again," Alya put her hands on her hips. "Again and again until you get it!"
She didn't care for the topic then, letting in the hundred reasons why she should leave in one ear and out the other.
"He looks at you wrong, girl. Love doesn't look like whatever this," Alya waved her hand, "is crudely imitating."
"Alya..."
But it seemed it was she who was blind while everyone else was awake.
"Perfect matches are ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloé scoffed. "You've been dimming, Dupain-Cheng, and you aren't seeing it."
Marinette couldn't get a word in before her bully-turned-acquaintance hung up the phone
It was ironic, looking back, that Chloé cared more about her friends' concerns than her so-called husband.
Being with him always felt like taking one step forward but four steps back. That should have been the second.
It was one of the rare times her husband and she cuddled in bed. Marinette was very happy then.
"So... Adrien stopped by today."
Her husband didn't respond more than nuzzling further into her neck.
"I, just— Do you think—" Marinette took a deep breath.
Her husband raised a perfectly arched brow at her.
"When do you think," Marinette swallowed thickly, "we can mark each other?"
"Tt. We talked about this already."
"I know, but—"
"I would like for us to get to know each other more deeply."
"There won't ever be a perfect time, you know? We're married already, and I know it was fast but—"
Her husband silenced her with a deep kiss.
"We will. Just wait."
And with that, the two of them got carried away. Or rather, her husband was pulling all the strings, and she was letting herself go with the flow. Perhaps, deep down, Marinette knew she couldn't push further anymore. Or she was too scared to push further, worried about him pushing her away again if she tiptoed too close to him.
After all, the last time she pushed, he asked her if she didn't trust him, if she couldn't respect his choice, if she couldn't understand.
But she did! My kwami, did she understand him, respect him, trust him. She loved him. So she let it be, waiting for him to be ready on his own terms.
But, deep down, she knew. There was a wall between them, and she couldn't keep up with the pace her husband was building it higher.
She could only try her best. She could only show up. She could only be there whenever he looks back.
But when she heard him say, "I only married her to control a variable." That was it.
Chapter 14 (this is extremely late but I have been very busy (sorry))
Enjoy this chapter, which is 2k words of Thana having a breakdown and Jason being Jason.
After the intense reunion and the following conversation, unforunately Jason's sister and her freinds had to say good bye and make their way back to their hotel. Jason and his siblings would've preferred to keep all six of them in the house with them but, they knew that technically the six were tourists and even though Thana was as Alley as the rest of them she was only person.
It was like losing a limb, watching his baby sister walk away from him, but he knew she was possibly one of the most protected people in this god forsaken city. Between the Birds, they really needed to come up with a new name for themselves, and her various Aunts and Uncles scattered around the city, she would be fine. Hopefully.
Jason got Damian tucked into bed, with Tim and Steph staying in that night since they had had to interact with the Parisians, before they went down into their new cave. He was lost in thought, not really thinking much about where he was going or where he was, so the noise of what could only be extra people in their cave made him stop.
Standing in the middle of the cave was six figures, dressed in what looked like street clothes, although had to be reinforced in some way. They ranged in colour, going from yellow to brown to teal to red to blue-green to purple, but looked like they fit together.
Jason was immediately on edge, not knowing who they were or how they got into the cave. He had to protect his siblings and his son, so he pulled out a gun which had been hidden in a secret compartment in the wall closest to him.
"Who are you and how did you gain access to this place?" Jason deepened his voice as he spoke, trying to make it seem like Red Hood was a different person.
"Oh Robin," the figure in purple, who seemed to be one of the shortest members of the group, seemed to not be taking this seriously, "you didn't think you could keep us out. Did you?"
That, that made him pause. The only people who knew he was Robin was his family. The only one who actually got away with referring to him as Robin was his baby sister. "Pix?" Jason was hoping and praying that it wasn't actually his baby sister. He was praying to every single deity in the multiverse, he didn't want this life for her.
"Hey Jay," she offered a cheeky grin, the same grin that got them into but also out of trouble so many times. "This is my team, I'll see if you can figure out who's who."
Jason looked over the gathered heros, seeing bits and pieces that reminded him of someone he'd met just earlier that day. "Desgracia? That's the name you chose?"
"Figured if it was the name she picked I might as well make it my own." Jason's baby sister seemed embarrassed, rubbing the back of her neck with claw-tipped fingers. Claw-tipped fingers?!
"Excuse you, why do you have claws?" Jason snatched her hand away from her neck, carefully so there was no possible way that she could nick herself even through the suit. "Don't you remember how sharp they can be even on accident? Aunt Lina would be so upset if you gave yourself scars to match mine."
The heroes in yellow, teal and blue-green snickered at that, as if they shared the sentiment. Looking at them closer, Jason could only assume the rest of the heroes were his sister's friends. "Okay, before the rest of my team gets down here, why don't you tell me everyone's names?"
The hero dressed in red, but oddly with pops of yellow, stepped up next to Desgracia. Showing a united front to the foreign, to him, hero. He smiled, a bright cheery smile the likes of which were popularized by Dick as Robin, as if to disarm him. "You can call me Monsieur Punaise."
Jason nodded, offering a hand to the other hero. "Red Hood." He offered his sister a smirk. "You just seem to surround yourself with red heroes."
Duke chose that moment to appear behind Jason with a smile. "Or yellow. Yellow is clearly her favourite colour. Seeing as how I am clearly her favourite brother."
"Hi Glowstick." Desgracia reached a hand out to cup Duke's cheek, a smile on her face. "Don't you know that it's not nice to sneak up on old people like that? You couldn't given him a heart attack."
Jason gasped, a hand dramatically pressed to his chest. "Are you insinuating that I am old?"
The yellow hero, fox themed with brown hair, stepped up to Desgracia's left side. "I am Renarde véloce, as our fearless leaders have failed to mention."
The teal hero, reptilian themed possibly, stepped up behind Desgraca, a step behind her and Monsieur Punaise. "Our people know me as Althaeban." The blue-green hero, possibly bovine in inspiration, stepped up beside Althaeban, behind Desgracia and Renarde véloce. "This is Con bò."
The brown hero, also possibly reptilian themed, stepped up to the right of Monsieur Punaise. "Sup. I'm Salihafa." She leaned against Monsieur Punaise's side, showing that even though they were heroes, this group were friends first.
Several pairs of feet sounded on the stairs, voices drifting down to them. The rest of the birds had finally figured out who was going on patrol that night it seemed.
"Here comes the calvary." Duke gave a laugh before going over to the locker room to get ready to go on patrol.
Tim, Steph, Cass and Wally came down the stairs, clearly being the members of the family going out that night.
"Is there anything going on to- hello people who are not my brother." Steph stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes flicked across the group, noting the closeness between two of her more prickly siblings and one of the unknowns.
"As far as I know," Desgracia looked at Steoh, a Cheshire Cat grin on her face, "the only thing going on in the known criminal underworld is poker night at Aunt Harley's and spa night at Uncle Ozzy's."
Tim nodded, that had been what he'd heard as well. "And how do you know this?"
"We were invited, to both events, but we chose to be here instead." Renarde véloce tossed her hair over her shoulder before glancing down at her claws. "Because Orchid decided this was the better place to be."
-*-*-*
Thana threw Chloé a dirty look, knowing why she'd chosen that name. She looked back at her brothers before looking at the other members of their team behind them. "Hi, I'm Desgracia."
"Okay, you have us at a severe disadvantage." Wally shuffled awkwardly next to Cass, as if he didn't know why he wasn't really all that upset about them knowing their identities. "You know who we all are but we don't know who you are."
"That's because our identites are hidden behind strong ancient magic which can only be bypassed by a few situations." Monsieur Punaise looked at the gathered heroes. "Granted, this isn't just our secret to tell."
"We have agents active in Paris in our absense and we can't put them in jeopardy." Con bò crossed his arms over his chest, his tail whipping quickly behind him. "If you can figure out our identities, then we can confirm them. But our fight doesn't end with just the six of us."
Thana leaned back against her boys, feeling Kim drop his left arm to better support her. Nino took a step closer to Kim, pressing his left hand to her side and tapping a slow rhythm. Chloé stepped closer to them, causing Adrien and Alix to close ranks around them. The six Parisian heroes were basically one unit at this point, offering reassurance and comfort to each other.
Jason and Duke glanced at the rest of the birds, and a Flash, before turning back to look at the Parisians. Twin grins were on their faces, mischievous grins that reminded Thana so much of her time on the streets that she just knew they were up to no good. "I don't know. It might be too difficult for them to figure you guys out."
"They are kind of bad at discovering people's identities." Jason agreed with his brother. They needed to give them a challenge, otherwise they wouldn't take it seriously.
"Oh, you're on." Tim snapped, turning to the group across from them.
Thana stood up straight, refusing the make it easy of the other group. The impromptu cuddle broke up just as quickly as it started. She knew without having to look that the other four had broken off from her and Adrien to mill about the cave.
She flashed her brothers a grin before getting a good look at the group across from them. She watched as the other group seemed so used to working together that they just seemed to meld together into extensions of one person. She hoped her team would get there one day.
Cass seemed to be observing the lot of them, seeing more than they did. Thana watched as she signed rapidly, only picking up one sign. She held her hands in loosely closed fists with her pointer fingers extended. She started the sign with her right hand pressed to the side of her face before bringing it down onto her other hand.
Adrien moved just enough in the corner of Thana's eye to draw her attention. Adrien had taken a half step in front of her before Wally could get too close.
"Sorry, sorry. It's just, crazy. I feel like I know her." Wally held up his hands in submission.
Thana shrugged, catching Cass do the same signs again and again. It didn't seem like anyone was listening to her. So, Thana walked closer to her and smiled. She wracked her brain trying to remember any of the ASL she learned. She hesitantly finger spelled out hello, before looking at Cass with an open expression.
Cass smiled warmly at her, before repeating the same signs again. She seemed to be looking at Thana expectantly before realization dawned on her face. She started over, with the one sign Thana had caught earlier before looking at Thana. At Thana's frown, Cass seemed to take a moment to think it over before point at herself, making the sign again and then pointing at Jason.
"Does that sign mean, sister?" Thana kept her voice quiet, to keep it from traveling. Cass shot her a grin before making the sign again then pointing between Thana and Jason. Thana smiled at Cass before looking around at the rest of her team. "Who do you think the rest of my team is?"
Cass seemd to study the other members of Thana's team for a moment, taking in all of their mannerisms. No matter how much they worked on it, some of their personal mannerisms came through in their hero personas.
Thana looked at each member of her team, seeing the way that Chloé stood with her hip cocked and Kim was rocking on his heels and Nino was drumming his fingers on his thighs. Adrien wasn't exempt from the bleedover, he kept running his fingers through his hair and Alix could not help but to use her throwing disks like fidget spinners.
Cass turned to look back at Thana, a gentle smile on her face. Cass started by mimicking Adrien's mannerisms before finger-spelling his name. Thana nodded, a smile on her face. Cass then mimicked Chloé before finger-spelling her name. Thana's smile grew as she nodded.
It went on like that, Cass mimicking a member of the team and then spelling their name. Thana's smile only grew, having found a way to communicate with one of her brother's sisters.
"I'm surprised," Thana leaned towards Cass, bumping Cass' shoulder with her own, "you've barely known us an afternoon and you correctly identified the members of my team."
Cass shrugged, leaning into Thana's space. As if it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Our parents barely even notice when we disappear to go to the fights." Thana nodded towards Chloé, "her parents are famous where we live. His too." Thana nodded towards Adrien.
Cass looked like she couldn't believe that, as if the idea of a parent not knowing that their child was out on the streets helping and taking down criminals was something she could not comprehend.
Thana had a realization, the knowledge overcoming her. "He's Batman? He let my sperm donor free and he let Steph's dad free. Does he even do anything in this city or is it left up to the GCPD?"
Cass watched as most of Thana's team seemed to gravitate towards her, it seemed almost coreographed with how easliy and quickly it happened. The other two members of the team were a step behind the first three, but all six of them were soon so close the lines between them blurred.
Jason took that moment to realize what had happened. He seemed to appear out of thin air in front of them. "What's going on?"
"Someone needs to take care of the damn furry before I do it." Thana growled, a deep noise that rumbled through her chest.
"We have to be strategic about it. He has friends in high places, namely the other members of the Justice League."
"The Justice League?" Adrien tilted his head as if he should know that name.
"With Wonder Woman and Aquaman?" Nino offered, a glint in his eye.
"They're allied with us." Kim seemed to surprise Jason. "Hippolyta was a Ladybug, her daughter is allied with us by default. Atlantis only stands because the Miraculous saved the people from the sinking."
Here's chapter 13, only almost 15 months after chapter 12. Whatever. I hope you enjoy this beast of a chapter.
It is like 4400 words, give or take.
Enjoy ~
Thana could not believe her eyes, she hadn’t seen her beloved Uncle Jerome in so many years. She had missed him in all of the years she’d been abroad, she knew he wasn’t always a very good person but she loved him.
Jerome had looked out for her in the daylight, when her other aunts and uncles were busy plotting or doing their day-to-day lives. He had made sure she never intentionally crossed paths with the man who once was his brother.
Jon and Edward looked on with smiles, glancing at Thana’s friends. “This is Jerome Valeska. One of us, Thana’s aunts and uncles.”
Kim nodded, throwing a glance at Thana. “Mèo con has always told us all about all of you. She pulled up pictures on the internet of all of you.”
Edward laughed, looking at Jon, “That is so like her.”
Adrien and Alix looked around the room, not actually knowing many of the people inside. They hadn’t been a part of Thana’s group for that long, so they did not know all of the lore.
---
When the group met back up with the rest of the class, almost nobody had even noticed they’d been gone. The group of friends slipped into the class effortlessly, Jon and Ed melting into the background so as not to strike fear in the hearts of the Gothamites. The only member of the class who even noticed they hadn’t been there the whole time was Alya, but that was mostly because she had taken a picture at the beginning of them running around the park, and the six of them hadn’t been in it.
Thana smiled at the girl, not offering anything in response to her accusatory glance. She turned away from the other girl, not giving her another glance. She walked over to Kim, wrapping her arms around his midsection, and resting her cheek on his back. Kim patted her hands, settling one on top of hers, before going back to his semi animated conversation with Max. Nino and Chloè were spinning Adrien and Alix on the merry-go-round, going faster and faster with each rotation.
Sabrina looked on in jealousy, remembering the days before Marinette arrived at their school when she was Chloè’s best friend. She turned back to Lila when the other girl sighed dramatically. “What’s wrong Lila?”
“I just wish you guys could meet my boyfriend.” Lila waited for them to all turn to look at her, a sly smile spreading across her face. “He's really torn up about not being able to be here with us today.”
“Boyfriend?” Mylene asked, twinning her hand with Ivan’s out of habit more than anything. “Who’s your boyfriend?”
Lila covered her confident smirk with her hand, eyes glinting at Marinette over the top of the class’ heads, before glancing at her audience. “You might have heard of him actually.” She watched them all lean in to hear what she had to say, “his name is Tim, actually, Tim Wayne.”
Thana looked over when she heard the name Wayne, knowing that her brother had once called the Wayne patriarch his father. She narrowed her eyes at the other girl, and went to walk over towards the larger group of the class when her friend cut her off.
“Isn’t he gay? Or at least with a guy?” Chloe wasn’t even looking at Lila, instead scrolling through something on her phone. “Yeah, he’s been out as bisexual for a while and is publicly in a relationship with a guy.” She turned her phone to show the class the photo Tim had posted to his social media of him with a guy.
Lila scowled at the other girl, not liking that she was contradicting her. “Of course he has that posted to his public social media. His father isn’t all that okay with our relationship, given my family.”
“Are you insinuating that Bruce Wayne, the man who publicly adopted a Romani boy, an African-American boy and a Eurasian girl, is a racist?" Alix asked the Italian girl, looking her up and down with an incredulous look on her face.
“No,” Lila immediately backpedaled, a sheepish expression on her face, “I just meant, given that my family isn’t rich like his.”
“I’m sorry,” Adrien butt in, “are you insinuating that the same man with a Romani son, two sons out of the poorest neighborhood in the city, a Eurasian daughter and several charities being supported solely by him to help people in the worst situations is classist?”
“No! No, of course not.” Lila frantically waved her hand in front of her face.
---
The class was sitting uneasily in the lobby of the hotel waiting for Mlle. Bustier to join them so they could go on their next tour. Lila was desperately scrolling through social media, looking for someone, anyone, that she could pretend to be dating.
Nino kept an eye on the Italian girl, not trusting her to not start lying about someone else his friend cared about. He knew what that look on Lila’s face meant, it meant she was looking for her next target. Kim, beside him, had kept them all up to date on the different faces Lila made. Adrien and Alix, slumped on either side of Chloè on the closest couch, were barely awake. Chloè, however, was wide awake texting on her phone, keeping the team left in Paris abreast of the situation in Gotham. They were waiting for Thana to come back from the bathroom and join them when Mlle. Bustier finally came downstairs.
Mlle. Bustier glanced across the room, seeing who she thought was the entire class, and smiled. “Okay everyone! Let’s get on the bus and go!”
Kim frowned, noticing that Thana hadn’t come back from the bathroom. But, before he could point it out, Mlle. Bustier ushered the class out to the bus. “Mlle. Bu-”
“Not now Kim, we need to get going or we’ll be late for our tour.” Mlle. Bustier brushed off Kim’s comment, and every subsequent comment he tried to make as she rushed the class onto the bus.
No more than a minute later Thana came out of the bathroom to find the hotel lobby empty. With a sigh, Thana decided to make her way to their destination. They were touring one of the Drake Industries properties which the current CEO, Tim Drake-Wayne, had repurposed into a more community focused building. The first floor was essentially a food court, the second floor was a dedicated teen hang-out area, and the other three floors were full of free housing options.
---
The bus pulled up in front of an older five storey brick building, and the class disembarked. Most of the students were looking around the neighborhood, but two students were glaring daggers at a girl leaning against the wall.
Thana just smiled at Lila and Alya, waving impishly at the two girls. “Did you miss me? Or did you just think I wouldn’t make it here on time?”
Mlle. Bustier got off the bus and looked around before stopping. “Oh, Marinette, how did you get here?”
“I walked, since some people left me at the hotel.” Thana dismissively looked at her fingers, making sure her manicure hadn’t gotten ruined on her trek across the city. “It’s whatever, not the first time I've had to get from that side of the city to this side.”
Kim, Nino and Chloè fell in around Thana, Adrien and Alix close behind them, not giving Alya or Lila an opportunity to get to their girl.
The class was greeted in the lobby by their tour guide, a bubbly blonde girl with bright blue eyes. “Hello,” the blonde girl chirped, “I’m Stephanie, you can call me Steph, and I’ll be your tour guide today.”
Thana took in the other girl, remembering that the tabloids had said that Bruce Wayne had a blonde almost daughter, or was it daughter-in-law, mixed in with all of his kids. She thought the other girl, Stephanie, might be the blonde girl but didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Stephanie seemed nice, she seemed to know what she was talking about as she led the class around the building.
Kim, Nino and Chloè stuck close to Thana’s side, knowing how hard it was for their friend to be in Gotham. They knew how hard it was for her to be in the same city as her brother but not be able to stay with him. Nino made sure his headphones were fully charged, Chloè made sure to bring her biggest pair of sunglasses with them today, and Kim had pulled on his biggest and softest hoodie before they left the hotel that morning. They would always take care of their girl, no matter what country they were in.
---
Lunch time in the renovated Drake Industries property was paid for by Wayne Enterprises. Even though it wasn’t a WE property, Mr. Wayne still paid for their lunch as their host.
Thana and her friends were the last ones to get their food, though on purpose, and were attempting to find a table to sit at when Stephanie came up behind them.
“Don’t want to sit with your classmates?” Stephanie didn’t seem like she meant it maliciously, almost like she genuinely wanted to know.
“Oh,” Adrien began, ever the peace keeper, “no. No we don’t. We don’t all get along.”
Stephanie seemed to take that in, before nodding. “Well, do you want to eat lunch with me?” She gestured to the only empty, or mostly empty, table in the whole room. There was one guy sitting at the table, a thin wiry guy with dark hair, who looked up when they approached.
“Hey Steph.” The guy waved before looking back down at his phone.
“Tim, CEO of Drake Industries.” Stephanie smiled at Thana and her friends as she introduced the guy. “Tim, the only cool members of the Parisian tour group.”
“Tim, Tim Drake? Like, co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises Tim Drake?” Alix asked, just a hint of wonder in her voice. “That’s cool, thank you for letting us tour the building today.”
“You’re welcome.” Tim looked at Stephanie, a question clear in his eyes.
Thana smiled at the two, seeing how close they were in their ability to communicate with just a look. They reminded her of how she used to be with Jason, and even how she used to be with Duke. “Are you two close?” The question just slipped out, she wasn’t even really thinking about it. “You remind me of people I used to know and a person I used to be.”
“Timmy’s my ex-boyfriend, but he’s also basically my brother at this point.” Steph smiled, laughter in her eyes. “You remind me of someone I know.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Tim asked, mischief in his eyes.
“Definitely.” Stephanie turned to Thana’s friends, “are you free after this?”
“After this? Wayne cancelled the rest of the tours scheduled for today, so our teacher is probably just going to take us to a local park again.” Nino rolled his eyes, before looking back to the duo. “Why? What’s up?”
“Do you want to come to a house warming party with us? Our brother just bought a new house and is throwing a party tonight with all of our friends and family. It’d be cool if you could come.” Stephanie fiddled with the hem of her shirt as she rushed through her question.
Chloè looked to either side of her, at her friends, before nodding. “Sure. We can come. We can sneak off without our teacher knowing. And besides, Fragolina can get us anywhere in this god forsaken city.”
Thana let out a low chuckle, barely audible if you didn’t know she made the noise, and Tim and Stephanie snapped their heads to her so fast Kim was almost concerned for them.
“Did you happen to know anyone named Todd?” Tim was hedging a bet that this was the sister Jason always talked so fondly of. And if this was her? He needed to know now so he could properly enjoy watching the way Jason’s face was going to pale and then go so red.
“What’s it to you?” Thana was defensive, and rightfully so. The last person she didn’t count as a friend to ask about her brother had boldly said that he didn’t count since they didn’t have the same parents. “Why should I tell you anything?”
Tim and Steph shared a look before nodding. “You’re Thana, Jay’s baby sister. Daughter of Mad Hatter.” Steph smiled at Thana, a soft smile that was accompanied by a knowing look. “I’m Stephanie Brown, also Jay’s sister. Daughter of Cluemaster.”
Nino and Kim had started to move in front of Thana, forming a human shield, while Chloè grabbed Thana’s hands. Thana reached across the table to grasp Steph’s hand, an intense look in her eye. “If you’re Jay’s, then you’re also Duke’s, right? How is the Glowstick?”
“Duke’s fine. How do you know him?” Tim asked with suspicion in his voice.
“Met him on the streets, scrawny little fuck stalked me over half of this city before I took him to Ozzy.” Thana smiled at the memory of her little brother. “He stuck to my side like a burr until the fuzz got me.”
Kim slung an arm around the girl who was his sister, pulling her into his side to offer whatever comfort he could.
-*-*-*
Tim had given Babs access to his phone’s microphone forever ago. So when Steph invited a group of Parisian’s over to the house for a house warming party, Babs already knew about it. And since Babs knew about it, the whole family knew about it. Cass and Duke were blowing up the group chat, speculating about why they were having the house warming now and not after they’ve officially moved in. Babs, Tim and Steph were telling them the bare minimum, just enough to keep them from digging deeper.
Steph was bouncing excitedly in the lobby after the tour ended, Tim standing just a step behind her, while the Parisian students were milling about waiting for their bus.
“You’re going to explode.” Tim was probably replying to something someone said in the groupchat.
“Am not.” Steph flipped off Tim before watching a bus pull up outside of the building. “Looks like the kiddies’ ride is here.”
Thana, Chloè, Kim, Nino, Adrien and Alix drift away from their classmates as they walk out the door. They seem to be able to blend in with their surroundings, which is something Tim and Steph are kind of proud of. When the last of their classmates get on the bus, the group seems to relax as though they no longer have to worry about keeping their guard up.
Tim clapped, mostly to get their attention partially because he needed to do something, before walking towards the door. “Let's go kiddies.”
“You’re literally younger than half of us.” Alix chirped with a grin. Her red plaid flannel over a white tee paired with ripped baggy jeans matched well with the rest of the group.
Chloè was the most dressed up of the bunch. She had a white and blue plaid tank top under a raspberry red oversized ruffled shirt that hung off her shoulders with light-washed high-rise jeans. Adrien wore a cropped sweater the same shade of raspberry red as Chloè’s ruffled shirt with dark-washed low-rise jeans. Kim wore a crimson hooded sweatshirt with a pair of loose-fitting jeans, while Nino was in a crimson sweater with baggy grey jeans. Thana, however, was in a black cropped tank top with a crimson bat across the chest under a ratty looking crimson jacket over dark grey cargo pants.
They looked good, Tim could admit that, they looked cohesive. Maybe they should look into wearing more coordinating clothing.
They walked from the Drake Industries building towards the house in Old Gotham. Making light conversation as they went. There was a lot they didn’t know about Jason’s, and as it turns out Duke’s, sister. They didn’t know that she’d been shipped to Paris, or that her adoptive family ran a bakery even if she spent most of her time with the various members of her friend group.
The house was bumping when they got close. The music loud enough to be heard down the block, with cars filling the driveway and overflowing into the street parking. Tim turned around and walked backwards towards the house in front of the Parisians.
“Welcome to Casa Todd.” Tim smiled, wide.
“Todd-Hood.” Thana muttered just loud enough for the others to hear.
“Casa Todd-Hood,” Tim amended, “where the wayward birds have taken roost.”
Steph led them through the front door into what could only be called a foyer. There was what looked to be an office to their right when they walked through, into the great room. There was a spacious kitchen to their right, only separated from the great room by a giant island. Most of the attendees of the house warming party were in the great room.
They looked like they were at home. Steph wished this was their home. They would fit in so well with the rest of the birds.
---
Duke found her first, to no one’s surprise after they found out about it later. He couldn’t believe his eyes, at first, when he finally saw her for the first time after so many years.
“Chick?” Duke’s heart was pounding out of his chest, hoping and praying that it was who he thought it was.
“Only one person in this whole god damned city gets to call me that and you are defini- Glowstick?” Thana had started before she even saw him. She always got defensive before anything else. “Oh my god, Glowstick!”
Duke had less than half of a second before Thana was attached to him. It reminded him of how it used to be, except it was wrong. The last time he had her in his arms, they were much closer to the same height. She was even taller than him, back then.
“Thana, oh my god, Thana. I missed you so much. How’ve you been? Where’d you go?”
“I missed you too, so so so much Glowy. I missed you every single day I was gone. Always trying to figure out how I could get away from them. I was in Paris. Paris, France. With my Ma’s cousin and her husband.” Thana pressed her face into his chest, likely to hide the fact that she was crying. “I was so afraid for you, Glowy. I didn’t know if they would let you stick around after I got nabbed.” Thana pulled back just enough to hold Duke’s face in her hands. “Let me look at you. It’s been so long, I need to make sure nobody messed up your face. If they do, I’ll have to beat them up.”
Duke chuckled, a wet chuckle that betrayed the tears clinging to his eyelashes. “Nobody messed up my face. Uncle Ozzy let me stay in the Iceberg Lounge, even in my yellow. Uncle Jon and Uncle Ed kept me safe when they could. I was alright. I was worried for you too, you know.” Duke turned his face into her hand, her very small hand, seeking the comfort he knew she would offer. “Nothing was the same without you here.”
---
Cass watched her brother fall apart, watched as a small girl who could only be Thana put him back together. She decided right then, watching as Duke all but melted into her embrace, that the other girl needed to stick around. Anybody who could make her little brother stop worrying about everything and just be a kid, was alright in her books.
Cass flagged down one of her siblings, who just happened to be Tim accompanied by Damian, to relay just that.
Tim smiled and nodded. “I know what you mean. She’s Jay’s little sister.”
Damian turned to look at the girl they were discussing. She seemed to hold herself like a warrior, or an assassin from the League. She was acceptable, so acceptable in fact that Damian slipped away from Tim and Cass to observe her closer.
Damian knew that Duke could feel his eyes on him, but he didn’t really care. He wanted to get to know his aunt, and if he had to do a little bit of recon first, that wasn’t going too far.
---
“Who’s the little kid circling us? Friend of your’s?” Thana watched her little brother, saw the moment he realized exactly who was circling them.
“You might as well come meet her. She doesn’t bite.” Duke sounded defeated as he beckoned Damian closer. “Thana, this is your nephew, Damian. Damian, this is your aunt Thana.”
Thana smiled at Damian, making the younger boy feel at ease. Damian realized then, why his Baba and his Uncle Duke cared so much about her. She was nice, and she really cared about the people she considered hers. Damian decided that she could stay, that he would find a way to make her stay.
Damian nodded to himself before darting off to go find his Baba. They needed to discuss his aunt and what steps his Baba was taking to keep her with them.
---
Jason was, honestly, not doing so hot. He can’t believe he let his siblings talk him into throwing a house warming party. The only good thing about this is Selina and all of the aunts and uncles had come out to support him and his siblings. He even heard that Alfred was planning on stopping by at some point.
Damian appeared out of nowhere, and attached himself to Jason’s leg. “Can we keep her?”
“Keep who, Kutlat Saghira?” Jason ruffled his son’s hair. “As far as I know we’ve already kept all of the ladies you’ve met aside from your mom.”
“Ammti.” Damian pushed his head into Jason’s hand, seeking more of the attention Jason just dispenses. “She’s here.”
“Ammti? Who do you- Thana?” Jason almost blue-screened from the knowledge. “You saw my sister?”
“Ammti’s with ‘ibn ami. On the other side of the living room.” Damian let go of his leg to grab his hand. “You have to see Ammti. Right now.”
Jason let Damian pull him through the crowd of people, mostly aunts and uncles with a few friends sprinkled in, as he was still not fully there. He didn’t even notice when the noise cut out around them, he just looked up into his baby sister’s eyes and froze dead in his tracks.
“Jay-Jay?” Thana’s voice was thin and quiet, so thin and quiet. She didn’t sound like his baby sister, she sounded older and more world-weary.
“Pixie?” Jason doesn’t even register when he starts moving. He doesn’t even register what’s happened until he’s got his baby sister, his son and his brother in his arms. “Oh my god Pixie.”
“Hi Jay-Jay.” Thana was quiet, way too quiet. His baby sister was not quiet. His baby sister was loud and full of life.
“What did they do to you?” Jason pulled back from his sister, looking over her face seeing all of the ways she’s changed but also seeing all of the ways she’s stayed the same. He knew she was doing the same to him, knew her eyes were lingering on the scars from Selina.
“Tried to make me something I’m not.” Thana gave a short chuckle, smiling up at him for real. “Tried to make me some pastel pink Parisian girl.”
Jason and Duke barked out a laugh, harsh and startling to the Parisians around Thana. “Didn’t they get the memo? You’re as Alley as the rest of us.”
---
Jason, his son, his siblings, Thana and her friends found themselves sequestered away in the master bedroom less than ten minutes after the dramatic reunion. Jason got a good look at his sister and her friends, seeing pieces of her but also himself in the group of teens.
“Jay-Jay, this is Kim, Nino, Chloè, Adrien and Alix.” Thana smiled, a small secret smile, before looking at the assorted members of his family. “Where’s your brother-in-law? And his kids?”
“Who are you talking about?” Dick was too quick to reply, giving away that he knew exactly who she meant.
“Alix said she ran into Blue over there with a red-haired man and four kids not that long ago.” Thana smiled down at Damian, not quite knowing who he was yet.
“Only three of those kids are Dick and Wally’s-” Jason started.
“Wait, Wally?” Nino cut in, excitement clear in his voice. “Like Wally West? One of the guys behind the Flash?”
“Sorry about him, he’s just really into superheroes.” Kim smiled.
“Ammti.” Damian pouted from his place half hidden behind Jason’s legs. “You’ve been gone a long time. I am Damian. Baba is my father and you are his sister so you are Ammti.”
Thana smiled and then crouched down to be eye-level with his son. “It’s very nice to meet you Damian, my name is Thana. You remind me of someone I met once. A long, long time ago.”
Jason paused before deciding to just rip off the bandaid. “Biologically, Kutlat Saghira is Bruce’s.”
“I would never tell someone they remind me of the overgrown furry. No, there was this one very pretty lady. I met her one night earlyish into you being Robin. He has her eyes.” Thana glanced up at Jason, her eyes flicking behind him to someone else before returning to Damian. “She was nice, when I met her again in Paris.”
“You saw Talia in Paris?” Dick all but shouted, causing Thana’s friends to surge forward and form a human wall between her and Dick.
Damian squeezed through the human wall, seeking out his aunt. “Did you really?”
“She was nice. Reminded me of Aunt Selina.” Thana cupped Damian’s cheeks, seeing the clear resemblance in his face to the pretty woman she’d met on the rooftops of Gotham and then again on a rooftop in Paris. “She sought me out. In Paris. Came looking for me before we got on our plane. Told me to keep an eye out for her son and his kid.”
Jason froze, he didn’t know that Talia thought that about him. He figured she would’ve asked someone to keep an eye on Damian, but him? He didn’t realize that Talia felt like that about him, didn’t realize that maybe he had more than one mom in the game.
“Granted she came to me when I was Desgracia and not myself, so take that with a grain of salt.” Thana shrugged before looking back at Jason. “We’ve got a lot to talk about Jay-Jay. A lot has happened since I last saw you.”
There’s a thing I’ve seen in some Miraculous Ladybug - DC crossover ‘Damian and Marinette are twins’ fics where the League of Assassins possessed the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses when Marinette was young.
And whenever I see that, I always wonder… then how the hell did Gabriel get his hands on them?!
Is he (or Emilie) an ex-assassin? Did he somehow track down and rob Ra’s al Ghul? Or did someone else steal it and he got it from them? What would that mean for his skill level (since in canon he’s kinda dumb)?
Also, how did Ra’s react? Is he trying to track Gabriel down? Could the situation somehow connect to why Marinette ended up in Paris?
