Old Scars and New Beginnings Pt103
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When Mari came back the next morning, she was concerned. Just about everyone looked half dead. Except Tim, oddly enough. Poor Damian was just a little ball of rage about to pass out at the table, and Cass fell asleep as soon as she sat down. The others were slightly better at hiding it, but they all had dark circles under their eyes. Chloe hadn't even bothered to try and cover hers with makeup.
"Well, I found the evidence that Mari was nowhere near that train station when Rossi went missing. She was saving Adrien from that mob, and more than a few people's videos of it went viral." Babs sounded disgusted as she rolled into the room.
"Why do you need proof of where I was?" Mari knew her voice sounded scared, but she couldn't help it. Didn't they trust her? She thought things were finally starting to turn around. Babs blinked at her in confusion for a moment.
"I didn't realize you were back. Some people made accusations against you, so we needed to clear your name, that's all."
"Oh." Her chest tightened and Mari could feel tears pricking at the back of her eyes. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that." Why couldn't things just go right for once? Why did she always have to cause problems?
"I'm not." Mari could only blink at her in confusion. "None of us are going to stand by while someone tries to drag your name through the mud."
"Because it makes all of you look bad." It made sense. She was connected to them now, so any rumors were going to affect them. Babs frowned at her.
"No. Because I care about you, and I know you don't deserve it. Trust me, if certain things came out about any of the boys, or even Bruce, I wouldn't lift a finger to help because they brought it on themselves." Mari hoped she was joking but couldn't tell. All the girls were laughing, but Bruce just rolled his eyes, and Dick looked betrayed. The other boys were all somewhere between amused and insulted.
"Thank you?" It was a stupid response, but it was all she could come up with. "But what did you mean about Lila going missing? I thought she just got deported." It seemed like everyone in the room was suddenly scowling at the walls or ceiling. Bruce let out an annoyed sigh.
"Apparently, she never made it there. As far as anyone can tell, she got on the train and was never seen again. We haven't been able to find anything on her since." Mari could only frown at the information.
"Lila never does anything quietly. Something must have happened to her."
"Chloe thought the same. As soon as we know anything, we'll let you know, but we don't have anything to go on right now." That was bad. Lila was bad enough out in the open. Mari didn't even want to think about how much damage she could do if she'd learned subtlety.
"Don't worry, kitten. We won't let anything happen to you." She gave Selina a tense smile, but she couldn't help it. Lila Rossi had been the beginning of the end for her. Knowing that she might be anywhere, doing anything, was enough to release nightmares. Hawkmoth had been bad enough, but he wasn't targeting her specifically. Lila had done everything she could to make Mari's life a living hell, and she wasn't certain she could go through that again. She was starting to spiral when Cass came over to pull her into a hug.
Mari burrowed into her, letting the girl's heartbeat soothe her. Cass was a lot like Luka for her. Both were calm in the torrential rain. Both made her feel like things weren't completely hopeless. Most importantly, both made certain she knew she wasn't alone. No one else seemed to understand it. Just being surrounded by people didn't mean anything. It was far too easy to get lost in a group. She'd never felt more isolated than when she'd been the center of attention. Cass understood that better than any of the others.
"We see you. Nothing will change that." Cass' words were soft enough that she was the only one who would hear them. Mari felt her entire body relax. In their talks, Cass had made her see that her classmates, and even her parents, had a specific picture of her in their heads that had very little to do with her. When that illusion was challenged, they had nothing to fall back on except what they were told. Here, she had a foundation. Here, she was surrounded by people who knew who and what she was, even when she forgot. She felt Tikki hugging her side, and it reminded her that no one could take the Kwami again either. No matter what happened, she'd never be alone again.
"Why does everyone look like the walking dead except Tim?" She had no idea why that came out of her mouth. Tim let out an annoyed 'Hey', and everyone else just chuckled or groaned. Bruce ended up answering.
"Well, Babs was dealing with the lawsuits and getting proof of your whereabouts. The rest were watching the security cameras because the search results on who's funding the cult came back. Adrien and Kagami knocked Tim out before that happened." Tim grumbled and Mari could relate. At least they had gotten the mixture perfected on her before they used it on him, though. The first time, she'd been out for three days. It took her a couple of days to figure it out too, since no one else seemed to notice she was missing.
"So who's funding it?" Dead silence, and Cass started rubbing her back. That couldn't be good.
"The cash flow leads back to the League of Assassins. It at least explains why Damian's connected. I'm putting more protections on your Grandparent's house. While I don't think they'll be a target, anyone connected to us is in possible danger." Bruce's words brought guilt with them. They were in danger because of her. Again. Both of them had been Akumatized because of her actions, but at least that had been fixable. If assassins went after them, there was nothing she could do. "We'll keep them safe, Mari. I'll call in reinforcements if I have to." Selina cleared her throat loudly, and Syd let out an annoyed sigh.
"If you were going to force the issue, I don't know why you texted me in the first place. I'll go if I have to." Mari peeked out from her safe spot to find Syd glaring at Selina until she caught Mari's confused look. "She thinks Trixx and I should stay there while this is resolved. It'll add protection and keep me where she can find me. If we're careful about it, the cult shouldn't know I'm there."
It wasn't a bad idea. At least not if they could make sure no one knew where Syd was. She didn't want to deal with the cult, and she still shouldn't be moving around much anyway. If properly fed, Trixx could keep an illusion over the entire house to make sure no one could find it.
"It... I'd feel better if you were there." Syd gave her a small nod. The way her posture relaxed, Mari had to wonder if she was only protesting for Selina's sake. She'd noticed the woman got antsy anytime Syd agreed to something too fast. "The easiest thing would be using Kaalki to transport you."
"Your grandparents don't know about the Miraculous, do they?" Selina sounded confused, but Mari caught Adrien and Chloe trading looks.
"Grand-pere Rolland doesn't as far as I know, but I'd be surprised if Nonna hasn't guessed some of it. After Jason figured out I was Ladybug, I asked the Kwami and they said that once our Miraculous were taken, the protection was extremely weakened. Something else I wish I'd known when picking temporary holders. But honestly, since they're staying in Gotham, and I have a feeling this isn't the last time something like this will happen, I think it would be best they know the truth. About the Miraculous at least."
The reactions around the room varied. Bruce was frowning and Mari could practically see the pro-con list forming in his head. Selina seemed on board with it, but that wasn't surprising since she and Gina had seemed to hit it off. Everyone else seemed on the fence except Cass. She just waited for Bruce to make eye contact before nodding. He sighed.
"It is your decision. It might be a good idea to send Harley and Ivy as well, if they're willing. They won't be happy if they can't check on Syd, and it'll be another layer of protection." Syd grimaced, but didn't object. She could only take so much smothering. Chloe looked less than thrilled with the plan, Mari assumed, because she wasn't involved.
"I'm okay with that, but it's another reason to tell them about the Miraculous. We can all come and go as we need to." That got Syd and Chloe to relax a bit. "Maybe we should invite them for dinner?"
"That's a great idea. Do you think they'd want to tonight? Your grandfather did just fly in." Mari saw Selina roll her eyes at Bruce's question. Given that they'd been trying to convince her to stay until she, Gustave, and Selina walked out the door, she was fairly certain they'd be fine with it.
"I'll text them to be sure, but I don't think they'll mind." She pulled out her phone to find messages from both her grandparents - she didn't even thing Rolland knew how to text - wanting to make sure she got back to the manor okay. She put them in a group chat and answered before issuing the invitation. "They want to know how early they can come."
"Tell them they're welcome at anytime. It'll give us time to talk before dinner."
"They're on their way." She was hoping they weren't sitting outside the gate, to be honest. She was going to tell them about the Miraculous. She was going to have to tell them about being Ladybug. Mari felt her breathing shorten and Cass pulled her back into a secure hug. They were going to hate her.
"Do you want me to talk to them first to let it sink in before you talk to them?" Bruce's voice was far too close, then his hand was rubbing her upper back gently. She couldn't do that to him, could she? It was her problem. "It'll give them a chance to yell at me for letting you go into danger again."
"It's not your fault." She didn't want them mad at Bruce, but she didn't know how to fix it.
"They're worried about you. Even if they didn't have good reason, and they do, they'd be upset with me. I can handle it. You don't need the stress of their immediate reactions." She wanted so badly to just let him handle it, but it was her problem. Her responsibility. "You'll still have to talk to them about it. It will just give them some time to process before you give them an in-depth explanation."
"Okay." She knew it was still a copout, but she really didn't want to face them when they found out what a failure she was. Alfred walked into the room.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dupain are here." Mari couldn't help but curl further into Cass. Bruce let out a breath.
"Show them into my office, please." This was going to be a disaster.
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