the opportunity to create (to save and to raise) | mommynette by mistake |
tw: mentions of human trafficking, mentions of past torture and abuse
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It was a regular check out in the rings.
Marinette was okay with illegal fighting rings, as long as minors weren't allowed in.
She had morals, or at least acted like she did.
No selling drugs to kids and she could turn a blind eye to human trafficking if they could prove the people were deserving of death row.
They had a list to follow and many names were powerful and deserved to be beaten to death.
"Boss, we found something you might want to see," one of her lackeys called out.
The miraculous were long locked away, and Paris had forgotten about the horrors of six years ago. Forcefully, of course.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was dead and May Cheng was born from her ashes, the leader of the Order.
The dark corrider smelled like marijuana and blood, as expected from a place like this. Her steps echoed in the dark as she walked forward.
"Here," Dean motioned to a secluded spot, a room only big enough to fit an adult or, in this case, two kids. "League children," Dean informed.
The bigger boy held the smaller one in a tight embrace. Marinette chuckled.
They were covered in filth and dust, barely skin and bones, but branding the League's insignia on their necks like a badge of honor.
"Take them back to my place. Buy some clothes and food on the way. We can't let them starve," she told Dean, already turning around. Talia wasn't the type to let her discarded personnel alive. She wanted May to find them. "And find a way to get rid of those marks. They're an eyesore."
She was direct and cold, already turning around to leave.
"Wait!" the bigger boy screamed in her direction. She looked at him over her shoulder, an eyebrow up. "You're May, right? " she nodded. "Can... Can we go with you?" he was trembling, and the kid in his arms seemed to be asleep. She chuckled softly, turning back to them and crouching to his eye-level.
"Sure, if you can keep up," she pulled his left wrist and cracked it. The boy screamed in pain and she could see tears in his eyes before he looked up at her.
"It... It doesn't hurt anymore," he wobbled. She smiled and he didn't put up a fight when she carried the little kid he was holding.
"Names and age. Quick," she demanded, getting up.
"Jason Todd, 14," he answered like the little soldier May knew he had been trained to be. "And Damian Wayne, 6," Marinette looked at the kid in her arms, a little too small to be 6 years old already. Talia was always a piece of work when dealing with children.
"May, 20. Now, let's go. I'm hungry," she ordered. "Dean, you clean up Lane's mess. I'm going home," was her last order before guiding Jason outside of the falling building and into her reinforced car. Damian was laid in the backseat while Jason sat on the passenger seat.
The silence was deafening, and Marinette knew Jason was just gathering the courage to ask her something. Instead, she made the first question.
"What happened?" he startled, fidgeting with his fingers.
"Talia said she needed to move some things forward and Damian and I were an obstacle, so she..."
"She left you behind in an illegal fighting ring to fend for yourselves. Sounds like her," Marinette drove outside of the city and into a retired residential area, far from the loud noise of the center of Paris.
Jason's french wasn't bad, but she was sure he wasn't taught the language more than enough to survive.
The remaining time in the car was spent in silence, as the buildings turned into trees and they finally arrived at the Manor in the middle of nowhere.
"You can try to runaway if you think you can survive with nothing for a good few kilometers," she teased, parking in the underground lot and carrying Damian into the house. "Come on. I'm starving."
It was a mansion, and Jason couldn't stop himself from looking and wanting to touch. He refrained himself as much as he could while following May through the stairs and into the bathroom of a guest room.
"Wash up you and your friend. I'll find you some clothes," she lowered Damian gently into the empty bathtub and rubbed Jason's hair before leaving.
Jason could hear her lock the bedroom door when she left, and he was pretty sure they were on the third floor with the amount of steps they went up.
There was no way out once in the wolves den.
Jason left the bathroom to fuss the wardrobe and cabinets in the room. A few towels and bathrobes clearly too big for them, but better than the dirty clothing they were wearing.
He didn't waste time, undressing Damian and turning on the water on the bathtub only enough that he could wash the kid clean.
The soap smelled like citrus and the shampoo like coconut milk. It was ten times better than marijuana and sweat.
He also rubbed off the hena tattoo from Damian's neck as best as he could before draining the tub and drapping a towel over the boy and carrying him into the bedroom, onto the bed and under the blankets.
Damian was burning with fever.
Afraid of wasting time, Jason didn't care enough to wash up, but used one of the smaller towels to try and bring down Damian's fever as best as he could.
"I am back!" he could hear the woman's voice again, and the sound of the keys clicking against each other.
In a desperate attempt to protect Damian, Jason put himself between the bed and the door as it opened.
"I think these will work," May walked in without a care in the world, holding two paper bags and a small first aid kit. "What do you think you're doing?" she tried not to laugh by Jason's stand. He clearly wanted to protect Damian, but it was also noticeable how little training he had in the League. He maybe had the mind of a child soldier, but not the combat training of one.
May disregarded his stance and pushed Jason to the side, pulling the blankets off Damian and fussing with the towels the boy was wrapped on.
"Don't touch him!" Jason yelled, jumping on May. She just shoved him aside. She had enough when he tried a second time, and she used the ribbon that was holding her hair to tie his hands together on his back.
"Shut up, kiddo," she ordered, back on unwrapping Damian. Once the kid was fully naked, and Jason was screaming profanities in english against her back, she dropped the content of one of the paper bags on the bed. Children's clothes.
She properly dapped Damian dry before gently dressing him up on clean underwear and a Stitch onesie that seemed a little too big on the boy.
She then proceeded to open the first aid kid and stick some cooling pads on Damian's forehead.
When May turned in Jason's direction, he felt his blood run cold in his veins.
"Please, please, don't..." he started crying. She didn't give him a second thought before dragging him by the shirt into the bathroom while holding the second paper bag. Jason was a head smaller than Marinette, but she could tell the kid would get big once puberty properly hit.
"For fucks sake, shut up!" she yelled, in english this time. The scream caused Jason to finally stop, the tears still running down his face. Marinette sighed and finally untied his hands, giving him the paper bag she was holding. "Here. Wash up and change. We need to talk about some rules," and then she left the room, closing the door behind her.
pt2