#bio!dad bruce

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 37

Chapter 1 Chapter 36

TW: there is some high key anxiety spirals going on in this chapter… like the entire chapter is a string pulled so taut, one more word and it would have snapped.

Marinette blinked herself awake slowly, torturously, her body resisting the effort with its every molecule.  Bringing herself back to sentience was like pulling herself out of an ancient bog designed to capture but never release, her every effort only making the bog’s resistance stronger.  She wanted nothing more than to return to the ambrosial embrace of unconsciousness, but a nebulous pang in the deepest recesses of her brain, struggling just as hard to depose as she was to wake, was telling her something was about to happen.

She finally forced her eyes open with a herculean effort, but the change didn’t seem to affect her vision.  She still couldn’t see the world around her.  It took several long moments and quite a few blinks for her to realize it wasn't her eyes that were the problem, it was the world itself.  It was dark and, even more disturbingly, it was silent.  No indication of even the dimmest of light.  No suggestion of even the faintest of sounds.  Subconsciously, she raised a shaky hand to her face to remove the blindfold or earmuffs or sack that must be there, but her face was just as empty of adornment as the space around her.

It was impossible to tell if she was outside or inside.  She had to be inside though, right? she reasoned with herself.  There was no breeze, no sound, no stars, no indication of life except her own breath which was suddenly getting expelled in ragged gasps and her heartbeat thundering so loudly, she was positive if it were a small room, she’d be able to hear it echoing.

She tried to feel the texture of the ground beneath her feet to get an indication of the type of place in which she awoke because no matter how sensory-deprived a situation was, it still had to take place somewhere, on something.  And a perfectly smooth, level ground would at least let her know she was in a man-made area, which might not give her much, but it would be more than she had.  However, she quickly realized with a harshly sinking feeling that she couldn’t even feel the ground beneath her feet.

She whipped her head around, back and forth in all directions, pushing her senses to detect something, anything, anywhere.

But there was nothing.

Nothing but her.

Her and her heartbeat and the breaths that were getting harder and harder to draw.

It felt like there was a band around her chest constricting until it physically hurt to take a breath.  She looked down to confirm she wasn’t being restrained and mentally cursed when she remembered she couldn’t see anything.  She felt her chest quickly instead, only becoming more confused and alarmed when she couldn’t find any restraint there, just what felt like her pajama top.

Whoever had brought her here, they were significantly better than the Riddler had been.  But no matter how good they were, they had to leave some indication… unless they were magical.  She looked around again, cautiously, slowly this time, almost expecting to find a neon pause sign hanging in the air signaling the return of Lady WiFi.

Scratch ‘almost expecting’, she was full on begging the universe and every power that be, that she would.  She could easily rescue an akumatized Alya.  She wouldn’t even have to fight.  Alya was strong enough that all Marinette would have to do was reason with her.  If she could just get through to her, Alya would do all the fighting herself, and then all this would disappear.

The world would then return to its rightful state, its horrifyingly unpredictable, yet mostly reliable, rightful state.  It was the kind of unpredictable she could usually prepare for.  Not like whatever this was.  There was no amount of extra water bottles, travel fabric cleaner, clean pair of underwear, shark repellant, or extra batteries that would help with this.  She’d gotten out of the practice of anticipating and mentally preparing for the possibility of the most insane unpredictabilities.

That was on her.  It was her fault she wasn’t mentally prepared for whatever this was.  She had allowed Alya and Adrien… and Nino… and Chloe… and Kagami… and even Felix, everyone who knew she was Ladybug, really, to gang up on her and convince her to let her guard down after they’d defeated Hawk Moth the second time.  It had taken them three years of constantly barraging her defenses, but she’d let them succeed.  She had intentionally, slowly forced herself out of the pattern.  But clearly it had been premature.

Now, instead of being cool and confident going into this, she was anxious and jumpy.  Her body was shaking from the force of the blood pulsing through her body.  It wouldn’t help her; it could only hurt her.  She knew that.  To the core of her being, she knew that, but she couldn’t stop it.  She couldn’t just will away the adrenaline and her body was no longer used to controlling the release to keep it below the point of no return.  She wasn’t going to be able to function at full capacity like this.  She couldn’t protect herself or anyone else.

Roy!  The thought struck her with the force of a sledgehammer, forcing the little remaining breath she’d managed to take in, out of her system in the matter of microseconds.  She’d fallen asleep with Roy.  Where was Roy?  She spun around trying to see through the pitch black, swinging her arms out in wild, wide searching circles, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make out anything, not Roy, not walls, not even the ground beneath her feet.

She needed to move.  She needed to get herself out of this or at the very least, into a better position to figure out what happened to Roy and defend herself and him.

She took a tentative step, assuring herself the ground was there and firm before putting her full weight on her foot.  She continued the pattern a few more times, each step as tentative as the last, never allowing herself to become complacent.  She knew better.  But she had to keep moving.  Staying where she was wouldn’t change anything, and she desperately needed to change her surroundings.

The entire act was surreal only serving to make her more confused.  With no sensory input, she couldn’t tell what direction she was moving, or if she was moving in a straight line, or if she was moving at all, just going through the motions of movement without the actual results, like being in a VR game.

With nothing about the environment changing, she decided to change her actions.  She raised her foot to take another step forward but took a step back instead, however she faltered before she could set it down because something did change.

A door appeared.

A perfectly innocuous looking door a few yards in front of her.  Not wood, but made to look like wood, like the doors for the rooms in most American apartments.  Standard size.  Standard color.  Standard knob.  A perfectly average looking door.  Nothing about it appeared abnormal.  Which is perhaps why it felt so unsettling.

Or perhaps it was the nauseatingly purplish grey color radiating from the cracks between the door and its jamb, bright enough for her to make out every mundane detail of the door, yet not enough to illuminate the floor in front of it, if one even existed, which Marinette very much questioned still.  She was standing, and maybe walking, on something but she had no confidence in what exactly that was.

She scanned the area for more doors, or anything really, but there was nothing.  It was still just her… and now a door.  Well, if that wasn’t a sign, or at least an extremely narrowed set of options, to one, she didn’t know what was.  She took a deep breath and another tentative step forward but didn’t seem to move any closer to the door.  It remained the same several yards in front of her, far out of her reach.

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at the door.  There was one, and only one thing she knew about the place she was in, there was no moving forward.  She lifted her foot behind her instead, fully expecting to see another change before she could set her foot down, hopefully, a change she could actually reach out and touch this time.  And as with last time, her move was rewarded with a change before she set her foot down.

Unfortunately.

“Well, well, well.  What do we have here,”

The sound boomed into her, seeming to come from all directions and sending a jolt of fear crashing through her body.  Her heart instantly clenched tight forcing her blood through her veins with such force her skin prickled.  The voice rolled through her with a familiarity she couldn’t place.  The voice was unknown, yet the way it affected her was… not comfortable, but reassuring in a terrifying way.  A familiar unfamiliar.

She froze instantly, waiting.  The only part of her that moved were her eyes, darting around for the source of the voice, but the world beyond the door was just as black as it had been before the voice.  “So polite of you to accept my invitation.  Though it wasn’t exactly your choice, so perhaps I shouldn’t give you too much credit for propriety this time.”  His voice was jeering but directional this time.  She could now hear where the voice was coming from; the door.

She stared intently at the door, anxiety ramping up with each passing second.  She was completely entranced, yet she was only able to register the light around the door beginning to pulse in a rhythmic pattern subconsciously, her pulse increasing to match the light’s while her breathing slowed until it had almost stopped.

The light’s pulse speed continued to increase until it looked like it was a continuous, unbroken light, inveigling her so entirely, she forgot where she was, that she was supposed to be scared, even that she was supposed to breathe.

She was utterly unprepared when the door suddenly erupted open in a burst of light that blinded her and shocked her body into gasping a deep, long, much needed breath.  She narrowly stopped herself from flinching away from the door, or perhaps she did flinch but didn’t notice it, too transfixed by the light and the figure striding confidently forward haloed by a light so bright Marinette couldn’t make out his face until the door closed behind him and a new glow appeared, the origin of which Marinette couldn’t discern.

The light just seemed to exist, only bright enough to illuminate the figure in front of the door.  It took quite a few blinks and head shakes for Marinette to remove the palinopsia of the door’s light and take in the figure, which upon doing, she immediately regretted.

Hawk Moth.

Hawk Moth was standing in front of her, but not a Hawk Moth she was familiar with.  No, it was a new Hawk Moth.  This wasn’t Gabriel or Lila.  This was… she didn’t know who this was, but if the accent of his tinny, discordant voice was anything to go by, he was a Gothamite… or maybe a Metropolian… Metropolite?  From the upper East Coast.  She really couldn’t tell American accents apart yet and honestly had no intention of changing that fact.

Her mind raced as she tried to process the information as quickly as she could, her eyes glazing over as she ran through the possibilities.  Like Gabriel, this Hawk Moth donned a full facemask, though this one was black, covering the entirety of his face like a second skin, moving along with his face, masking his identity.  The only part that was exposed were his empty, dead eyes and contemptuous lips.  Even the distinctive cane was there, slung across his shoulders as he walked.  He could possibly be another rogue, or like Gabriel, a corrupt businessman, one of the hundreds in Gotham that Lucius had warned her about.

But, who it was didn’t matter.  How he’d gotten the miraculous didn’t matter, though that would be her first concern as soon as this was taken care of.  All that mattered was ending this confrontation.  Stopping Hawk Moth yet again, this time before he could do any damage to anyone else, ideally before he could hurt her as well, but she knew better than to hope for that, especially considering her current state.

She was fairly badly injured, she could admit that to herself even if she would never say as much out loud, and the scant hours she’d had since her last fight were definitely not enough to recover sufficiently to fight like she was sure she would have to.  It wouldn’t stop her from trying, she was just self-aware enough to realize she wouldn’t be as effective.

This was a new Hawk Moth though.  He would have a learning curve to overcome.  He might not fully realize the full capabilities of the miraculous yet.  She could use that against him.

“You didn’t really think you could get rid of me, did you?” he mocked.  She scrunched her face in confusion.  If it wasn’t Gabriel or Lila, what was he talking about?  When did she get rid of him before?

“That’s adorable,” he sneered.  “And now you’re here, right in front of me.”  He was now to her right and moving, stalking her, circling her like a predator.  Her eyes followed him until he disappeared behind her.  “The amazing,” behind her, closer, “remarkable,” she closed her eyes to brace herself against the feel of his breath crawling down the back of her neck like hundreds of little spiders, “sanctimonious…” to her left now.  After a beat, she could feel his breath on her face, assaulting her with its fetid stench a few more moments before he continued.  “…annoyingly resilient Ladybug,” he finished, his voice barely above a whisper.

Marinette’s eyes snapped open instantly.  Ladybug.  He said Ladybug.  She had not been Ladybug when she’d fallen asleep.  She’d felt her face earlier and there had been no mask, she wasn’t Ladybug at the moment.  She was Marinette.  How could he possibly know?  Almost nobody knew and nobody who did know would tell. 

Her eyes darted around for him, but she still couldn’t see anything again.  The light that seemed to follow him had disappeared.  She couldn’t feel his breath any longer, which would at least indicate where he was.  He was gone.  Or rather, waiting.  She ratcheted up the tension in her already tense muscles waiting for him to act because that acknowledgement from someone like him never came alone.  It was always accompanied by something.  Whether that was a monologue, a taunt, pain, or if she was really lucky, all three, was the only thing that changed.  She needed to see which one it would be.  As soon as they acted, so could she.

“Look at you,” he jeered, still obscured in the darkness though the derision in his voice registered clearly.  Another door appeared to the right of the previous door just as the sound of his voice faded, identical to the first, lavender light further illuminating the absent ground.  “New city.”  Another door, this one to the right of the second door.  “New country.”  Another door to the left of the first one.  “Even got yourself a shiny new family.”  A fifth door to the left of the previous one, completing the eerie half-circle.

“But it doesn’t change anything, does it?  Because you haven’t changed.  Because you can’t.  No matter how hard you try to escape, you can’t, can you?” he taunted, his voice seeming to come from a different door with each sentence, penetrating through her not just with the tone but with the content, digging into her soul and slicing into her heart.

He sauntered around the center door, cane spinning in circles as he walked, until he stopped in front of her, lips curled in a mocking smirk and eyes shimmering with malice.  “No, princess.  You’re in this forever.”

Marinette froze at the term, the pieces falling into place.  Black Mask.  Black Mask had gotten an akuma.  Somehow this cartoon villain had found a way to get an akuma.  She studied him again.  No, not an akuma.  He got a miraculous.  Which should be impossible.  There were few things of which she was certain, but that was one of them, none of the people who knew where the miraculous were and who she was, would ever betray her… unless he had beaten Adrien to the point that he told.  And that’s what it would have taken, torturing him until he was almost dead and hallucinating before he would have betrayed her.

And Adrien had certainly been beaten to that point when she’d found him.  The only problem was Black Mask had only had Adrien for a day.  That wasn’t long enough to have tortured the information out of Adrien, gotten to the box, and back… unless he had help.

She gasped hard again.  Did that mean he had all of the miraculous that had been in the case?  He must.  There would be no reason for him not to have.  Her heart sank to the nonexistent floor.  This was so much worse than she had thought.  He likely didn’t have any of the miraculous used to rescue Adrien, but the other fourteen would have been there.

“That means whoever you’re with is in it too,” Hawk Moth continued.  His chillingly patronizing smile from earlier in the night had become cartoonishly wide and widened even larger the longer he observed her, like he could tell the effect he was having on her and likely he could.  Nooroo had always given his wielder the ability to sense the emotions of the people around him in order to know who to make a champion.

“And I do mean whoever,” he finished darkly.  He took a step closer, looming over her, his patronizing smile morphing into a menacing glower.  “You really thought you got to have a new start?” he asked.  He backed away from her just enough for her to have an unobstructed view of the doors, allowing her to see the door to the left of the center door open on its own revealing Adrien in a room bathed in blue, looking out the windows running all along the room onto the Metropolis skyline.

“Did you really think you got a new family?”  The door next to it opened revealing table at a bar or club with four figures sitting at it.  She could make out Jason laughing loudly at something Duke had said.  She couldn’t see the face of the man sitting closest to the door, but the frame matched Tim’s.  He was just blocking out the fourth person who Marinette thought might be Damian, based on his hair.  She stared for a few seconds, the vague thought that Damian shouldn’t be there running through her head until she was ripped from her thoughts by Hawk Moth.

“You really thought you got to be happy?”  The door to the right of the center door opened revealing a small, dark-haired figure asleep in a bed, the walls decorated with superhero posters.  Marinette quirked her head to the side as she studied the figure trying to figure out who it was.  It certainly wasn’t her as a child.  She’d never had pictures of superheroes on her walls.  Well, she did, but before they became superheroes.  Who would have bet Kim would become a superhero one day?  Other than Kim himself that is.

“Fall in love?”  The door next to it opened revealing Roy sitting on a fallen tree in the woods, looking out over the Gotham skyline.

“Stupid girl,” Hawk Moth barked.  He stepped back in front of her, so close his breath moved her bangs with each exhale.  “People like you don’t get a happily ever after,” he sneered.  He looked over his shoulder at the first door and tapped his cane twice on what must be the floor.  The environment around Adrien swirled, the colors melding together for a moment before separating again into a new distinctly familiar clean linoleum tiled floor and a sterile metal bed.  A heart monitor created a repetitive, rhythmic, comforting beeping.

Hawk Moth dipped his head to the side in a pale imitation of pity, she could see his pouted lower lip even through the mask.  “Doesn’t look good for him does it?”  He turned back to her with a malicious grin for just a moment before darting his eyes over to the next door and observing the group at the table.

“Well, at least you’ll have a replacement for the other one when he finally… you know…” he jerked his head to the side harshly and stuck his tongue through the hole in his mask.  She blinked and focused back on him again just in time to see him tap his cane again, collapsing the furthest left door into Adrien’s.  Jason, Duke, Tim, and Damian were suddenly standing next to Adrien’s prone body, looking at one another as if in confusion for a few seconds before focusing on Adrien.

“For a while anyway.”  There was a levity in his voice when he spoke that somehow felt more jarring than the scene on the other side of the door.  “There’s a reason the one that’s known you the longest is the one who’s at death’s door.  How long do you think the others have?  Or don’t you care?”

Marinette wanted to argue back but she couldn’t force the words out of her mouth.  It felt like the words were scratching her throat, scrabbling for a way to get out, but couldn’t find purchase no matter how hard they tried.  And what would she say if she could anyway?  He wasn’t wrong.  Adrien had been hurt, tortured, because of her, and it wasn’t the first time.  He had suffered so much, because of her.  Alya, Nino, her parents, her friends, had all suffered because of her.  She had been fooling herself for thinking it could end any other way than with their further suffering.

The latest blow wasn’t even because of the miraculous, it was because of who she was inherently, it wasn’t something she could renounce.  There was no way for her to change it.  It just was.  She was Bruce Wayne’s forsaken daughter.  And now everyone she knew had to deal with the fallout from it, clearly more severely than she would have to, judging by the way Adrien was barely clinging to life in his hospital bed and she was standing just fine.

Hawk Moth grinned widely again as he watched her like he knew and relished every doubt and self-flagellation he was putting her through.  His grin became frighteningly large just before he tapped his cane again and the door closed before collapsing into the center door almost instantaneously.  Marinette’s heart stopped as the comforting electronic pulsing disappeared.  She reached for the door but for some reason her legs wouldn’t move.  She was rooted to the spot.  She couldn’t even try to move to him, to make sure he was okay.

Hawk Moth cackled mirthlessly, the sound coming across harsh and sharp enough it felt like it was burning her.  She didn’t notice him moving until he had moved to the door all the way to the right, until he made a warbling sound and clasped his hands together over his heart, looking skyward in a faux swoon.

He met her gaze in a calculated look.  “Doesn’t even know what’s coming does he?  Too blinded.  Too good.  He’s going to be surprised when he finds out all about you, won’t he?  No, that’s not the word, is it?”  He pretended to think about it for a moment as he sauntered over to her.  “Disgusted!” he exclaimed, jutting his arms out in excitement once he reached her.  “That’s the word.  Because that’s how normal people react to people like you.  No longer break down when you see a dead body do you?  What kind of a person doesn’t react?” he whispered, his putrid breath wrapping around her, the disgust outside matching the disgust inside.

She fought the tears that lined her eyes.  She wouldn’t cry.  Not here.  Not now.  She needed to keep focused, no matter how accurate his words were.  She could cry about it later.  She could remove herself from Roy’s life and handle the fallout after she reacquired the miraculous and minimized the damage to everyone else.

She’d always been able to do it before; contain the emotions until the situation at hand was taken care of.  But her body was resisting all efforts at control.  Something that had become second nature to her years before was seemingly impossible to do now.  She needed to think, to figure out what was going on and how to get out of it, but she couldn't.  Her mind would not focus on the task at hand.  There was too much.  Adrien was taken while hurt.  The Waynes were taken and didn’t know enough about Paris to protect themselves.  Roy was just standing there, completely oblivious to who she was and how she could hurt him.  And she didn’t even know what to think about the girl.  The tears started to fall.

Hawk Moth backed away from her, seeming to moonwalk to the third door in his glee at her distress.  He looked through the door, observing the sleeping child for a few moments with wide eyes before speaking with a sickeningly saccharine voice.  “So sweet.  So innocent.  Her whole world is rainbows and love.  Not a thought of pain beyond a broken toy.  That won’t last long will it, Ladybug?” he singsonged just before tapping his cane again and collapsing Roy’s door into the child’s.

Roy looked around confused for a moment, examining the room like he was trying to reconcile the scene from a moment before with what he was seeing in front of him now.  His body tensing and his eyes narrowed the longer he looked, but his roving gaze immediately stopped when they landed on the figure in bed.  His legs were moving instantly, his bare feet slapping against the bedroom floor.  “Lian!”  He picked her up into his arms, not bothering to waste time removing the comforter, letting it act as another, almost equally futile layer of protection, as he bounced her and rubbed her back while whispering words Marinette couldn’t hear over the girl’s terrified whimpers.

Marinette exhaled sharply in realization.  That was who the child was, though it still didn’t explain her presence, which made her presence that much more horrific.  Marinette hadn’t had time to consider a future with Roy, let alone one with Lian in it, and yet here she was, an innocent little girl in the sights of this madman, because of Marinette.

“Marinette, who is that?” Roy asked voice cautious but tight.  His voice was straining trying to keep his voice even for Lian, but she could hear the effort to keep the terror out.

Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline in shock.  She hadn’t thought the people in the scenes were real.  She thought it was just a view on the scene, like a TV program, designed to do exactly what the director commanded, no interaction with the outside world possible.  This was more like one of the paintings out of Harry Potter.  But if that was true, did it mean none of them were real?  Did it matter if they weren’t?  One of the things she’d learned from her experiences with Hawk Moth… and sentimonsters, was just because it wasn’t “real” didn’t mean it couldn’t hurt her.  It didn’t mean they couldn’t feel pain.

“Hawk Moth,” she answered finally.  She was significantly less successful keeping the horror out of her voice.  She couldn’t move.  Hawk Moth was eyeing Roy and Lian like he was Spike with a new toy to mangle and she couldn’t move.  They were in this situation because of her and she couldn’t move.  She couldn’t protect them.  And she could tell, with absolute certainty, to the marrow in her bones, that whatever akuma he created would not be one of the akuma that were easy, that were scary but essentially unharmful.  No, whatever he created was going to be painful, and most terrifyingly, likely to target that innocent, perfect, little girl.

“Who or what is Hawk Moth?”  Roy moved subtly, but effectively, angling his body so it was between the figure and Lian, but he could still see Marinette if he needed to, though he never removed his eyes from Hawk Moth.

“Yes, Marinette,” Hawk Moth jeered, “who am I?  Tell the man who I am to you?  And what that means for him… and her.”

She glared at him, the only thing she could do.  “He was our supervillain.  We defeated him years ago but… this one is new.  A pathetic knockoff of the original,” she added with a caustic snarl.  “He has the power to create other supervillains called akuma.  They're like rogues with superpowers.”

Roy’s eyes flicked to her for just a moment before returning his intense gaze to Hawk Moth.  “What powers?”

She took a deep breath and considered her answer.  “Whatever powers he decides to give them.  Anything his mind can come up with.  We’ve had everything from giant babies to… I’m not going to give him ideas,” she finished quietly.

Hawk Moth leaned against the center door’s frame, a cocky grin on his face.  “Oh, don’t worry, princess.  I don’t need your ideas.  You know I know how to hurt you without your help.”

Roy nodded absently.  “Like a Lantern but with villains not energy.”

Marinette blinked at him, knocking her out of the mental paralysis at Hawk Moth’s reminder.  That sounded vaguely right.  Alya had babbled about the different American hero powers for hours before she’d come to America, but she really hadn’t paid close attention.  “Sure,” she offered uncertainly, but desperately hoped it wouldn’t make Roy think he knew how to defeat him.

“Right.”  He nodded more determinedly.  His eyes gleamed with a resolution that scared Marinette because she knew that look.  She’d embodied it more than once.  It was the absolute confidence that you knew what to do next.  But he didn’t.  Roy was a civilian and while he may have had experience with some of the Star City or Gotham rogues, he had no experience with someone like Hawk Moth.  “Okay.  How do we handle him or them?”

Marinette shook her head and returned her glare to Hawk Moth.  “We won’t know until he acts.”  Hawk Moth’s lips split in an impertinent smirk in response.

“I need something more than that, Marinette,” Roy gritted out lowly.  “I need to know how to protect my daughter.”

Marinette looked away from Hawk Moth to let her guilt laden eyes meet Roy’s hostile gaze.  She kept her eyes locked on his as she worked through her options, but there was only one.  She'd have to become Ladybug, even if it exposed herself. The Hawk Moth knockoff clearly knew already.  It couldn't get worse than that, could it?

She offered him a weak smile.  “You trust me.  Just this last time.  You let me fulfill my promise.  I’ll protect you and Lian.  Then I’ll make sure it never happens again.”  Her voice was repentant, but when she returned her gaze to Hawk Moth, her features hardened.  His smirk widened like he knew what she was about to do and welcomed it.

The reaction made her falter, the words dying in her throat.  She was playing into his hands.  He knew it and now so did she.  But there was nothing she could do about it.  There were no other options.  She couldn’t move.  She couldn’t fight.  Not as Marinette.  Roy definitely wasn’t prepared for what was about to come.  She’d seen some civilians stand up to Hawk Moth, but none of them won, not without Ladybug or Chat Noir helping.

“Tikki, spots on,” she called out loudly.  She waited for the familiar feeling of the miraculous magic washing over her, but it never came.  She looked down, brow furrowed as she raised her hands into the light enough to see her unsuited hands.  Her hands immediately flew to her ears but her earrings were still there.  That wasn’t right.  There was no way.

Hawk Moth’s barking laugh echoed throughout the area.  She shook her head.  There was no way.  There was no way he could have prevented her from transforming.  So either he did something else, like make it seem like she hadn’t transformed when she did, or he had no part of it but knew what was coming.

It couldn’t have been him though.  She would have still felt it if she’d transformed.  She might not see it, but she’d feel it.  Being Ladybug felt different.  It made her more powerful.  Magic strummed through her veins.  None of that was happening.  So it was something else.  It took a few long, tense moments to remember it was her fault.  She had sent Tikki away.  Her eyes widened with the horror of dawning realization.

“Trust you,” Hawk Moth laughed and pushed himself away from the door frame and toward her.  “I’ll protect you.”  He swooned back in a dramatic half collapse as he mocked her in a high-pitched imitation of her voice.  “And then I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”  He tapped his cane again and Roy’s door collapsed into the center door.

“You don’t get to escape what you are,” he hissed.  “Or rather, you can…” he brought his hands up right in front of her face, so close, she thought he was going to squeeze her face, but instead he cupped his hands together and focused on his joined hands for a moment before looking back up to her, “just not for long.”  He backed away from her slowly, but the look in his eyes made the act seem ominous rather than relieving with the distance would have otherwise offered.

“You know what I’ve always found?”  He stopped in front of the center door and continued talking without waiting for an answer.  “The worst cut is the one delivered by a loved one, or the one you’ve delivered to someone you care about and didn’t even realize you’d hurt until well after the fact.”  He opened his joined hands revealing a group of akuma that he drove toward the center door.  “Do you think they will find the same?”

“No!” Marinette screamed and fought with every fiber of her being to move to protect them, to stop the akumas.  If she could just move, she could do something.

They watched the butterflies flutter through the door; Marinette in stark dread and Hawk Moth in rapt attention.  “Who do you think it will be?” he asked excitedly.  “I’m dying to see.”  He disappeared through the door, engulfed in the overwhelming light.

The door stayed open behind him.  An open invitation she knew she had no option to decline.  She moved closer to the door, knowing with complete certainty before she even lifted her leg to take the first step, that this time her actions would succeed.  This time, he wanted her to reach it.

She paused just in front of the door, trying to glean any clues of what was beyond before she stepped through.  The light was too bright to allow her to see anything, but she could hear voices arguing and she almost backed away again until she heard a wooden sounding cry of “Mama”.

That was enough.  That was the reminder she needed.  She allowed herself the luxury of a single bracing breath and a roll of her shoulders to square them against the other side before she stepped into the light.

And fell.

Tags:

@maribat-bdbwm @jayjayspixiepop @redscarlet95 @alice-hazelwood @deathssilentapproach-blog @unoriginalmess @alyssadeliv @emotionalsupportginger @frieddonutsweets @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @toodaloo-kangaroo @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @iloontjeboontje @wolf-for-life @maribatserver @aespades @prettylittlebutterflie @imarivers8  @certainmuffinbagelcalzone @ritacrow-blog @unoriginalmess @demonicbusiness @kking13 @lady-bee-fechin @blur-of-colours @kittenmywaythrulife @kashlyn @loysydark @nerd-nowandforever @queenz-z @crazycryptidgirl @lilfuturescars @corporeal-terrestrial @ultimatetornshipper @kaitense1 @angie500 @lbcnrrcqb

#maribat #roynette #bio dad bruce wayne #Even the Losers #bio!dad bruce

[sketchdumpbump]

Sibling daminette au where older sister mari tries to even out all the mindset Talia put on Damian where he’s better than everyone in the league by teaching him from right to wrong (or something idk-) so he becomes more gremlin child than murdery gremlin child

The first meeting with batdad lol

Bonus: gremlin goes for sister’s hair

( yes I know I haven’t posted in a while and I’m sorry, I don’t have an excuse other than the fact that I am lazy when it comes to drawing fan art 😅)

#maribat #sketch #doodle #maribat fanart #my art #sibling daminette #platonic daminette #bio!dad bruce #doodle dump

[liquid-luck-00]

My Life is One Complication After Another 5

Chapter 5

I’m going to try to post more this year and finish up a few of my started to fics so sorry for not updating this in a while

First *** Previous

~~~~~~~~~~

In his defense it had been only three hours, but he still doesn't understand how his newest child seems to be completely missing. They had all noticed she was missing during breakfast but none thought much of it. They all thought she was still in her room, when they looked she wasn't there

Queue them searching the entire Manor, while Damian searched the grounds, and Tim trying to trace her locations.

Now that lead to more questions than answers.

The last location her phone showed was somewhere in Starling City at 3:22 am and then it disappeared.

He and Tim were now attempting to trace her, Dick was pacing, while Jason was on the phone trying to call Roy.

The location history made no sense. One minute she is in Gotham, the next time her phone gives a signal she is in Starling, and the next she's gone.

"Damn..." Tim cursed, more to himself than to anyone in particular.

"What is it?" Bruce asked watching the screen.

"She's Pinky, remember." Tim stated as if that made everything make sense.

"Just spell it out Replacement." Jason grumbled still unable to get a hold of Roy, apparently.

"She's the one who erased every mention of a magical war in Paris. We've never interacted with her as Bats, but..." He held up a little red drive. "She put all the information imbedded into this drive, which she gave me the second day we met..."

Timothy's words hung in the air. The unspoken words rang in his mind like an alarm.

She knows.

He was beginning to spiral.

He's only had custody of his daughter for a week, and she's gone. From what Tim is saying she can hide from them if she wants. She could be anywhere. She could have been taken and she knows who they are. He didn't prep her, or even tell her himself.

No. She figured it out on her own and knows they are hiding it from her.

"If I may Master Bruce?" Alfred cleared his throat, effectively pulling everyone's attention. Breaking him from his thoughts, he nodded. "All of you have treated the girl as if she is made of glass."

"She is a civilian, we have..." Dick started but Alfred stopped him.

"Yet, from what I have heard she is not. She knows of your nightly activities." He rose a knowing brow.

"Alfred, you know more, don't you?" Bruce questioned.

"Even if I do. The young Miss should be the one to tell you." With that he turned and made his way back up to the manor.

"Tim keep tracing, Jason get a hold of Roy. I'm going to Starling, maybe Oliver knows where she might be." He grumbled.

---

"Why does everything always seem to be so much easier when you’re here Bug?" Green Arrow asked as the three of them were coming back in from patrol.

"It's the creation and balance of the Ladybug Miraculous. It quite literally tries to even everything out around it. Essentially meaning because there’s usually so much wrong going on in the city. So, it mellows it out to the point where it’s almost nonexistent it seems." She explains sitting down at one of the desks letting her transformation fall.

"I should probably head back." She let her head slightly hang lost in thought.

"Come on Nettie, Bruce is probably looking for you anyways, why don't you come and have breakfast. Laurel's been wanting to see you anyways." Oliver extended an invitation to which she gladly accepted.

Oliver took his car, while Marinette went with Roy on his motorcycle. The entire ride back she leaned into him comfortable and finally having a moment of peace since moving.

She knows her family means well, but they’re almost suffocating. And unfortunately she has a feeling the suffocation isn’t about to end.

The second she stepped in Starling, she remembered to put her phone into an untraceable mode due to miraculous magic. It however didn’t cross her mind to switch that off quite yet.

They rode back to the Queen estate where both Oliver and Laurel were waiting for them. She knows Roy took the long route, in order to help her ease her mind. As soon as she takes off the helmet Laurel envelops her in a hug.

"Nettie, it has been too long. And frankly if these two knuckleheads weren’t going to bring you I was."

"You know I’m only a phone call away Laurel." Marinette laughed, as the first genuine smile came back on her lips for the entire week.

"Why don’t we get some breakfast on and then tell me about all the drama which must've likely kicked up."

"Deal. Berry crepes?"

"If you’re making them, Bug, definitely." Roy leaned over and gave her shoulder a squeeze before settling into a side hug.

She looked up at him and gave him a knowing smirk. "You’re helping Speedy, come on."

She grabbed his wrist and dragged him knowingly to the kitchen.

Marinette would pop in to Starling almost as often as Roy did to Paris, and that would be almost biweekly. So Marinette knew exactly where everything would be in that kitchen. As she quickly whipped up the batter, she had Roy slice up fruits and the jams to create the filling.

The three of them were in the kitchen just casually talking, Oliver had of course gone somewhere that wasn't the kitchen, where he knew he would end up getting scolded by Marinette.

Can he cook, yes, did he usually get into Marinette's way, also yes.

He didn’t come back until they called him back to finally eat something.

They sat and talked until they all realized they were restless. So the four of them got up and left for the rarely used in home gym. Mostly because everyone in the house instead use thugs, mercenary‘s, and other meta-humans as punching bags, so the home gym didn’t get used all that much.

"You and me first, Nettie." Laurel pulled her to the mat in the center.

Kaalki and Tikki were floating around, the latter decided to sit on Roy's shoulder, both nibbling on a cookie. Oliver had disappeared again.

She smiled before falling into position facing Laurel.

---

Bruce didn't get nervous, much less worried, but Oliver was however getting on his nerves.

He has a daughter to find and bring home, and he is not co-operating in the slightest.

Instead of meeting him anywhere, Oliver told him to come over by the estate, which he did. He didn’t even make it inside, seeing as Oliver was waiting for him at the door.

"She’ll be home by dinner." He was nearly expressionless, stating a fact more than anything else, and Bruce hated it.

"I don’t even know how she got here, Oliver. If she’s even still here, I need to find her I..." He spoke in measured breaths, but his mind raced.

"You and the boys are suffocating her, Bruce. She’s not a civilian, you’re just too damn blind to see that. She understands more than you give her credit for."

"Oliver it’s not that I don’t trust her or I don’t see her worth. I..." He was once again cut off by the Green Arrow.

"Bruce talk to your daughter, before she ends up putting you on your ass." With that Oliver turned and went back inside, closing the door behind him. Which left Bruce annoyed and bewildered all the same time.

Of everyone in the league he and Oliver have the most in common. He knows he’s not the best dealing with his emotions or those of others, hell Oliver is not much better. Yet he knows if he doesn't change something, if this continues as is, he knows he might lose his daughter.

But this.

This is his family, his child. But at the same time he really doesn’t know what to do.

His children have always needed him, they needed both aspects of him. But her, she’s different from the others.

That he knows.

And not just the fact that she seems to be able to process her emotions. There’s a weight on her, one he feels he should recognize, but hasn’t quite yet.

So he returned back to Gotham. And the first thing he did was sit at the Bat-computer, and searched the Starling vigilantes. And a recent photo nearly made him panic.

There’s a girl in a dark red and black suit, the plating almost resembling an insects armor more than something man-made. Over her right shoulder was a clearly unconscious Aarsenal, and in her right hand was his bow. On the side was both Green Arrow and Black Canary looking like two immensely proud parents.

All he felt though was anger towards Oliver queen for making his daughter a vigilante. And panic for that exact same reason.

He needs to talk to his daughter.

~~~~~~~~~~

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#maribat #dc x mlb #dc x miraculous #miraculous x dc #roynette #bio!dad bruce wayne #bio!dad bruce #MLiOCAA

[duckytree]

big brother part 7

#you know this is an au because the dick in my main series never calls bruce dad lol #but yeah jason’s bio dad was a dick #wait #dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #red hood #batman #comic #fanart #art #big brother series #duckytree #idk who needs to hear this but don’t actually beat up children #dick isn’t scolding jason cause honestly he’s even more messed up #note: don’t use the g word unless u have ties to it

[ghost-bxrd]

Prompt:

It’s not that Jason forgot, per se.

But between smuggling a toddler out of the League of Assassins, trekking halfway across the world, and finding a suitable hiding place that’s also child friendly… well, it kind of slipped his mind that he’s supposed to be… dead.

Something that comes back to bite him in the ass when he takes Dami out for some ice cream and just so happens to run into non other than Brucie-fucking-Wayne

#look I’ve found a new fave trope and it’s Brucie Wayne having to keep up his act while internally LOSING HIS SHIT #Jason isn’t very into the whole revenge thing here #his mind is 85 parts ‘keep Dami safe’ 5 parts ‘kill joker asap’ and 10 parts ‘avoid bats at any cost’ #Jason doesn’t know who Damian’s father is #dealer’s choice if Jason establishes himself as Dami’s dad or older brother #his build certainly makes him look old enough #if you don’t look at his baby face lol #Jason runs into Brucie and goes straight into survival mode #Damian who is very observant for a toddler immediately clocks Brucie as THREAT based on Jason’s reaction #Brucie blue screens and desperately tries not to lose Jason in the crowd #jason is absolutely trying to lose Brucie in the crowd #while clutching Damian like his life depends on it #for all he knows it does #the visceral terror that your pseudo dad will take away your little brother/baby #Bruce who just wants to know if he’s hallucinating again: W A I T #jason who is terrified of being put in Arkham for killing people: no FUCKING WAY #hm maybe Jason plays the ‘I’m not Jason’ game again #it’s not gonna hold for long #but Bruce absolutely thinks that Damian is Jason’s bio child for a while and he’s on the WARPATH #Jason was sixteen when he died and never showed any interest in dating so literally every red flag is waving in brucie’s mind simultaneousl #or maybe Jason manages to get away and all Brucie is left with is the memory of his supposedly dead son #running away from him #and clutching a tiny kid #prompts #jason todd #batfamily #Damian wayne #batdad #brucie wayne

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC: Two Dads are better than none

This is probably because I have the Bruharvy brainrot rn and Two Face is one of my favorite characters

Danny’s parents wanted a second child, but years of exposure to ectoplasm left them sterile. It turns out that there are some side effects to living with radioactive materials from another plane of existence. 

Their Solution? Cloning

The issue? The sample they got while in Gotham wasn’t exactly “pure.” After getting a blood sample from a fight between Batman and Two Face, things got little cross contaminated. Now what does this mean?

Danny is the biological child of BOTH Bruce and Harvey

Years pass, Danny grows up, Danny half dies, and life goes on.

Until Danny has to flee Amity. Maybe it’s the GIW, maybe it's and identity reveal gone wrong, maybe the Nasty Burger explosion happened and Danny fled to avoid being taken in by Vlad. 

Danny runs. He also discovered who his biological parents were: Bruce Wayne, and Harvey Dent. Between the Billionaire and the criminal, he wasn’t exactly thrilled with the choices, but he still had to choose

So he flipped a coin

Harvey: So you’re biologically me and Bruce’s kid after your parents used our DNA to make a clone

Danny: Yep

Harvey: And between a billionaire and someone considered criminally insane, you chose me? Why?

Danny: ... I flipped a coin.

Harvey: You really are my kid.

#dpxdc #dp x dc #dp x dc prompt #dp x dc crossover #Harvey and Bruce are Danny's bio dads #Danny flipped a coin and is staying with Harvey/two face #Harvey is probably a decent parent if a little unsure how to handle Danny at times #Two face is not a great parent but he's surprisingly trying #Harvey makes sure danny is fed and taken care of #the two face personality would also take Danny on a heist if harvey didn't want him to leave danny alone #It's definitely NOT what Harvey meant #Danny is just adjusting to living in gotham and living with Harvey/two face #eventually they'd have to tell bruce #but they're trying to make things work

[azulhood]

I feel like Jazz should have her own Bio-dad Aus Now Bruce is a popular choice for most bio dad AUs, but let's add some variety. Harley Quinn is another popular choice, it kinda fits since they have ties to psychology. But let me give you another choice. Harvey Dent. Let's say Maddie and Harvey met at one of Brucie Wayne's fundraiser events, they hit it off, get a bit tipsy, then boom. Jazz's born. Jazz looks so much like her mum that Maddie doesn't even think that Jazz is not Jack's kid. (She does notice some things about Jazz that she couldn't have gotten from Jack or her, but admitting that would probably ruin her marriage, so she employs blissful ignorance.) Harvey, of course has no idea Jazz exists. Years pass, truths come out (or not), tears are shed, life goes on. Now Jazz is looking at schools, and she finds a good one in Gotham, you know, the home of her bio dad. She decides to reach out to Harvey. So, she talks it over with Jack and Maddie and they agree to let her go. Now you could have Jack and Maddie know that Jazz isn't Jacks kid and approve of her reaching out to Harvey, just them being supportive. Or, you could have them not know anything, and have Jazz do this behind their backs as an attempt to have a semi decent role model in her life. Your choice. But anyway. Here Harvey is, planning something (Next court case or next crime) and then, out of nowhere, a kid shows up on his doorstep saying "Congratulations, it's a girl, where's that child support?" And he's just so confused, like how did she find him (Tucker of course) and where were her parents? Harvey who's very concerned: ehh, you do know I'm a criminal, right? Jazz: My mum and other dad have a portal to hell in the basement, trust me, you're an improvement. Harvey who's even more concerned about this kid: ??????? Or you know, Slade Wilson is also an option.

#batman #dpxdc #danny phantom #dcxdp #danny fenton #Jazz calmly beating the shit out of Joker: really? this is the most feared villain of gotham? wow #Batman: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUR KID!?! #Two-Face: I DON'T KNOW! SHE CAME LIKE THIS!! #jazz fenton #harvey dent #two face #bruce wayne #Bio dad AU

[adhdslugcrimes]

Dick: Danny, Jazz, sit down we have things to discuss.

Danny, sitting with his new siblings looking at him with those same studying eyes his bios gave him: I don't think I'm going to like this…

Jazz: I'm not afraid to do what I did to our parents if you try anything.

Dick: it's fine I promise, listen I have this streak I love and cherish as much as I do with my mother and father's things, it brings me tremendous joy… and that's the last time I ask Jason to write me a speech, listen kiddos, as your big brother I have this thing for training you to be chaotic little shits, okay? If I don't see another dye box in Bruce's trash what's my purpose in life?

Danny: but… Bruce is really nice to us?

Jazz: Danny, he's doing the bare minimum, we talked about this.

Dick: yeah he's nice and all, and I love him because if I didn't I wouldn't be here anymore for all the things he put me through, but he doesn't get a break and that disappointed tired look is my drug, I have made his biological starfish son more chaotic than any chaotic god that exists, let me mold you to the perfect duo, help your poor old big brother out, please.

Jason: we also get extra cookies the most we disappoint B, Alfred loves this stuff.

Jazz: I'm in.

Danny: really? For a cookie?

Jazz: yes.

Danny: well… would be fun to prank people again, I've missed it… sure.

Dick, pulling out a big book: great, let's get to work, the Gala is happening next month we only have three weeks to train, don't worry with Tim I only had four days we can make this happen.

#dick grayson #Jason todd #danny fenton #jazz fenton #batfam #dc x dp #dcxdp #Dick's purpose in life is make Bruce tired #he fixed his relationship with his dad only to mess him up #and yess jarro is Bruce's bio son too

[bluerosefox]

Mysterious Relations AU

Group Chat: [TwoHalfasMakeaWholeNERD]:

The(Better)Remix:

[Sent Imagine: it was a picture of a painting of two very wealthy adults stood with smiles as their hands were placed on a smiling child, with black hair and blue eyes, between them]

Lol, hey Template we sure you're a Fenton by blood? Cause you're looking very much like a Wayne clone tbh or something!

--

TheOriginal: Firstly WTH THAT'S SO WEIRD. Secondly ELLIE did you sneak into the Wayne's place?! GET OUT BEFORE THEY SEE YOU! We don't need another Fruitloop on our case!

-x-x-

An AU where Ellie travels to Gotham and is just hanging around in human form, got stared at by a lot of the older Gothamites, many of them commenting that she looks like a young female version of Bruce Wayne but with Martha Wayne favoring over Thomas, so being the curious gremlin she is she sneaks into the Wayne Manor (What, like it was hard?) and finds the Wayne family painting.

Ellie being Ellie snaps a picture with her phone and sends it to Danny, jokingly questioning his parentage.

She's so distracted by her messages to Danny she never noticed the elder gentleman standing behind her, ready to ask the young miss if she needed anything.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #dp x dc #crossover #blue rambles #writing ideas #random idea #danny phantom dc #dpxdc #danielle phantom #ellie phantom #Danny looking like a copy of Bruce #meanwhile Dani looks like a female version of them but favoring a bit more Martha #this causes some parentage questioning on Danny's end #is he Bruce's (or Batman's) clone?! #or is Jack Fenton his bio dad at all? #did Maddie have a fling with Bruce? Was Jack in on it too? #Is he adopted?! #Was he an abandoned al Ghul? or was his mom a normal woman? #IDK leaving it open for anyone to play with #Alfred is gonna think he died for a second when Ellie turns around and see's a female version of Bruce but with a bit more Martha in her #none the less he will be asking the young lady to stay #if only so Bruce can see her and will no doubt wanna DNA test #That and the little lady looks like she needs more meals on her bones #tiny head canon. Cass finds Danielle first out of the sibs and claims best sibling asap. This is her baby sister now

[mochinek0]

Time to Go

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

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

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

"What about me, Mother?" Mari questioned.

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

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

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

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

Marinette smiled at the envelope in her hand.

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

Marinette,

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

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

"Maman. Papa." Marinette called out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Damian held up the letter.

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

"So where is she?" Jason asked.

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

Bruce rubbed his head.

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

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

Marinette handed over her ledger of Lila Rossi to Bruce.

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

Bruce looked at it and quickly read through it.

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

Marinette turned to her brother and hugged him.

"I missed you." she whispered.

Damian said nothing, but held her close.

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

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

"Family eyes only." Tom smiled.

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

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

Tom and Sabine smiled.

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

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

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

"Marinette, why-" Caline began to question.

"I resign as class president." Mari announced.

"What?" Caline whispered in shock.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lila paled and sat back down in her seat.

'What?'

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

Lila's jaw dropped.

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

"Huh?" asked Nino.

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

"Excuse me!" Chloe shouted.

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

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

Marinette simply smiled.

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

"I'm-" She spoke.

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

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

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

Chloe's jaw dropped.

'She's a Wayne!'

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

"Very well." Bruce spoke.

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

The class looked at the door confused.

"Chloe?" whispered Sabrina.

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

"Chloe, are you okay?" asked Kim.

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

Lila sat in her seat, enraged.

'What?'

"What?" questioned Alya.

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

"But-" whispered Mylene.

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

"What about her brother?" asked Alix.

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

"That's illegal." Alya claimed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TAG LIST: @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus @missmadwoman @meira-3919  @princessdaisysolosyourfaves @blep-23 @fangirlingfanatic @darkhinauniverse @ravenr22 @im-a-satanic-ritual @ravennm84  @bianca-hooks123 @a-slytherinish-gryffindor @starling218 @stainedglassm @psychicdelusionwerewolf @mysteriouschar @missmadwoman

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

[tofuingho]

I have ANGST!

And a 2 3 4 5 6 7

Imagine, if you will:

Jack and Maddie Fenton are hot af and are okay with a bit of polyamory. They've shared a few people here and there. (This is why Vlad is obsessed with them. They wouldn't sleep with him because Maddie thought it would be a bad idea.)

Including Bruce Wayne.

A bit after that, Maddie realizes she's pregnant. Obviously, they're smart enough to realize that there's a slight chance the baby might not be Jack's.

So out comes Danny and they do a DNA test.

Jack Fenton, you are NOT the father.

They start trying to get into contact with any of the people who could be Danny's dad to get them to do a test.

Test after test comes back negative.

It's down to the last one. The one that won't return their calls. They've tried everything they can think of, short of going to the press.

They send him one last message.

"You have a son. His name is Danny."

They never receive any response.

#danny phantom #dp x dc #dc x dp #dp x dc prompt #danny fenton #batman #bruce wayne #jack fenton #maddie fenton #there's a part 2 to this #but i have to go to work #bruce wayne is danny fenton's bio-dad

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 36

Chapter 1     Chapter 35

The sound of the alarm rang through the visiting room, disrupting the inhabitants’ already fitful rest.  Groans and scuffles from the majority of the people sounded throughout the room, but Conner jumped up immediately, his head whipped around for the source of the alarm. His body immediately, naturally eased into a defensive stance while straining his super hearing, trying to figure out if it was in their room, Adrien’s room, or Roy’s apartment, which he was also trying to keep a watch on.

Bruce joined him just a few beats slower, jumping up and scanning the room with an intense gaze, brain immediately launching into action to isolate the source of the Code Red that awoke him, heart pounding in his chest at the thought that it might be Marinette’s room.  He quickly furrowed his brow and when he could no longer hear the noise, his brain still running too slowly to process what was happening despite the massive surge of adrenaline flowing through his system. Surely, a code red doesn’t just shut off so quickly.

His entire body lurched when the noise sounded again and realization hit a second later, allowing the rigidity to ease out of his frame.  He groaned deeply and dragged his hand down his face, before clumsily grabbing his phone with one hand and massaging the kink in his neck with the other.  The rigidity that had just left his muscles rapidly returned upon seeing the name on his screen.  He mentally cursed.  He was definitely not awake enough for this conversation.  “Sabine, good morning,” he offered, his voice still gruff with sleep.

“Good morning, Bruce… how are you doing this morning?”

The saccharine tone in her voice immediately set him on edge. “Exhausted,” he admitted cautiously. He quickly scanned the room for anything out of the ordinary with a bit more care than the first time.  “Been up all night working with police and waiting for an update, which I have not received yet.  You?”

She chuckled mirthlessly.  “Rather stressed myself, actually.  I haven’t heard a word in hours, Bruce.  This is a bit more severe than just breaking an arm.  I need to know what is going on.”

“I’m sorry, Sabine,” he sighed heavily, his hand resuming his neck massage as he tried to work the kink out.  He was getting too old to sleep in chairs like the ones he’d spent the night in. Probably too old to continue to be Batman as well, but that was not the point at that moment.  “I don’t have any news to give you.  We don’t know more than when we last spoke and even that was just what Alfred was able to uncover.  We haven’t even seen a doctor yet.  We’ve been letting Marinette rest and Adrien is still building up strength.”

Damian pursed his lips and looked away from him, accidentally meeting Chloe’s amused eyes.  He shot her a glare and returned his eyes to his father with a huff.

Sabine was quiet for a few moments before finally blowing out a reluctant breath. “That’s good, I suppose.  I have a few questions, but first, I was hoping you would please tell me where exactly our child is resting.”

“Just down the hall from us here at the hospital,” he answered confidently.  “Did you need the room number?”

“No Bruce dear, I know where Adrien is and I have a lot of questions about him, since the front desk won’t tell me anything other than he is, in fact, there.  I meant my child who isn't in the hospital.  Our child.”

Bruce froze, his hand mid neck massage and his eyes darting to the doorway suspiciously.  “Yes, she is,” he forced out slowly.  “I'm right outside her door.  Well, down the hall from her door, anyway.  We have been all night.  She hasn’t been moved.”

“No, she isn’t,” Sabine repeated just as slowly, but with significantly more confidence.  “They refused to give me Adrien’s room number because I’m not his legal guardian, but they were able to tell me they have no record of Marinette Dupain Cheng or Marinette Wayne.  I thought I’d check both names just in case, because I couldn’t imagine why she would be somewhere else and you wouldn’t have told me.”  Her voice gained a cold edge before continuing, the next words coming out harsh and clear.  “So, I’ll ask again.  Bruce, dear, where is my daughter?”

Bruce dragged his eyes from the doors to Chloe, Max, and Conner, his eyes narrowing as they moved until they settled on them in a cold accusatory glare through nothing more than slits.  “I was told she was here,” he growled.  Dick and Damian stood quickly to join him in his glare.

Chloe raised an unimpressed eyebrow and shifted slightly in her seat, out of her more comfortable dozing position, to face him better.  “I merely said Marinette was sleeping and I wasn't going to let you bother her,” she shrugged with exaggerated nonchalance.

“You said, ‘Marinette is in there’,” Dick hissed, motioning harshly toward the doors.

Chloe cocked her head to the side and pretended to think, her perfectly manicured finger tapping her chin lightly.  “That doesn’t sound like me…” she pointedly ignored Max’s scoff.  “Dupain Cheng would not approve of lying, especially when talking about her.  I believe what I said was that Dupain Cheng was in there.  I never said Marinette was.”

“Who did you mean then?” Dick cut in is ice cold and scathing.

Chloe opened her eyes wide info in faux innocence.  “Adrien, of course.  He hates his last name.  None of us refer to him by his old last name.  He’s essentially Marinette’s sibling anyway, so we all call him Dupain Cheng. What?  You didn't know?  Surely whatever background check you ran on him showed he was in the process of changing his name.”

Markov’s display switched to a furrowed brow, and he bobbed forward, but before he could comment on the inaccuracy of her statement, Max reached up and pulled him back with a quick shake of his head.  For the first time, he didn’t believe facts were an asset. He finally understood Chloe’s philosophy; some conversations were better with fewer facts and more emotions.

“You lied,” Damien growled at her, a flash of something that almost looked like hurt appeared in his eyes so quickly it was almost like it never happened.  

"Told you,” Chloe jerked forward in her seat and pointed to her chest, letting her nail dig into her clothes slightly, “bitch who protects her family. And I might not be blood, but they’re still my family.  We chose each other.  We wanted each other.  We protect each other.  And you all can fuck off."

“She hasn’t been here all night!” Bruce roared.

“Obviously,” Chloe scoffed as she examined her nails, unimpressed and unthreatened.

“You knew,” Dick hissed at Conner, betrayal and fury clear in his tone and stance.

Conner shrugged and kicked his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles as he brought his arms behind him, not remotely remorseful at the accusation. “Nobody asked me.  I tried to tell you that you should go home, there was no reason for you to stay, but nobody would listen to me.  So don’t come at me.  I’m just here for my boyfriend, not your family drama.”  He paused and blinked a few times as the words hit him. His arms quickly dropped as he stood up straight.  “Kind of boyfr… we haven’t defined… Adrien,” he amended quietly, his gaze drifting to the floor.

Sabine cleared her throat loud enough to grab the attention of everyone in the room even without being broadcast.  “Bruce, dear, could you put me on speaker, please?”

Bruce’s lips pressed together so tightly his lips turned into a barely visible white line, but he obliged with an aggressive punch of his finger. “Done,” he barked, hostility clear in his voice.

“Thank you, Bruce.  First, young man who has an undefined relationship status with Adrien but has clearly been there all night, we’ll talk later.”

“We can discuss cake flavors!” a new voice boomed over the phone.  “Or will it depend on the time of year you get married?”  Conner looked over at Max and Chloe wide eyed, not at all feeling relieved by their snickering. Conner opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted.

“Oh, sweetie, it gets so much worse,” Chloe assured him with an unrepentant, saccharine smile.

Max glared at her quickly but turned back to Conner with a reassuring smile.  “They’re a lovely couple.  You’ll love them,” he added quietly.

“I know some people prefer richer flavors during the fall and winter and lighter flavors during the spring and summer…” the voice continued unperturbed.

“Not really the time, dear.  We can get to know him later,” Sabine’s voice cut in. “Chloe, sweetheart, there’s no need to lie to make your point.  Now, where is my daughter?”

“Good morning, Mdm. Cheng.” Chloe addressed the phone with a frighteningly polite, respectful tone that no Wayne had heard from her before.  “We sent her home to rest.  She was pretty exhausted.”

There was a moment of silence before Sabine sighed again.  “So, she’s in her home there?  And I still can’t get her on the phone because?  Isn’t her phone there and charging.  Surely, it’s fully charged by now.”

“She may have forgotten to turn it on,” Chloe answered quickly with a glance toward Bruce so quick it could easily be missed or dismissed as another glare.  “She was pretty dead on her feet, that’s why we forced her to leave, she may have forgotten.  Or it may still be off so she can sleep.”

Sabine let out a grunt of annoyance followed by a few more long breaths before speaking in a resigned tone.  “Yes, I suppose worrying about Adrien would be exhausting for her.  Thank you for making sure she got rest.  Next time please inform me of her location and make sure she turns on her phone.”

“Of course, Mdm. Cheng,” Chloe agreed immediately, relief clear in the easing of her shoulders, but short lived.

“It wasn't the worrying that exhausted her,” Bruce growled, ignoring the way Chloe scowled at him.  “She went after the rogue herself.”

“She what?” Sabine shrieked.

“And survived,” he continued with a hiss.  He walked to the far corner of the room for a semblance of privacy he was well aware he wasn’t going to receive. “You told me she couldn't fight,” he seethed, not bothering to hide the accusatory tone.

“She ca...” she started but stopped short with a long, resigned sigh.  “I suppose she didn't do it alone then?”

“So it would seem,” he agreed harshly.  Kon tried to ignore the way Chloe’s heart raced at the statement, but the look she was giving Max from the side of her eye was hard to ignore.  He raised an eyebrow at them but they were ignoring him, very intentionally so, if he knew how to read their strained muscles, and he usually did.  “So, you knew about her association then.  Why didn't you tell me?”

There was a pregnant pause that dropped the temperature a few degrees.  “I didn't realize having a superhero crush warranted a call but breaking her arm didn't,” she retorted.

“Of course it did,” Bruce groaned in frustration.  “They both did.  What do you mean cr…”

“That’s definitely not what I recall,” she cut in before he could finish.  “I recall getting snapped at that you had more important things to deal with at the time. I recall calling you every time something happened and getting brushed off.  I recall my updates only getting received on your schedule.”

Bruce groaned and dragged his hand down his face. There was nothing he could say to defend himself.  He knew it then and he knew it now.  Nothing had changed.  He almost flew to Paris the next day but had stayed home because Jason had been hurt and needed him.  And he couldn’t tell her the call came in the middle of foiling the Joker’s plan to blow up a chemical plant.  “But I called you back the next day to check on Marinette because it did matter.  I know I did because I always did.  I always called back as quickly as I could. There are things in my life I can’t just brush aside…”

“Marinette should be one of those things,” Chloe whisper hissed to Max, intentionally loud enough for her voice to carry across the room. Bruce let out a drawn-out breath, determined to ignore her, but Damian narrowed his eyes at her and growled. Chloe glowered right back but quickly relaxed her face, massaging the skin between her brows before it could wrinkle. Damian used every bit of self-control to force his body to turn away from her.  She was not the focus.  His father’s discussion of Marinette was.

“But, as I was saying,” Bruce gritted into the phone, “what do you mean crush?  It was more than a one-sided schoolgirl crush that got superheroes to cross an ocean help at a moment’s notice.”

Sabine scoffed.  “I never said it was her crush on him…”  She paused for a moment to let her words sink in.  “It might have started with her crushing on him, but that’s not how it ended.”  He could hear her smirk through the phone, which he did not at all appreciate at that particular moment.  “But, yes, it was more than a crush and it was more than just Chat.  It was the whole team really.”

“Excuse me!” he bellowed.  His voice echoed throughout the room, startling everyone from pretending they weren’t eavesdropping, other than Chloe who hadn’t bothered hiding it.

“They’ve made a point of helping Adrien and Marinette, during the fights and after.  I would call them friends.  Maybe something more.  All the heroes helped,” she clarified.

Bruce fought to process the words.  What the Hell had been happening while his back was turned?  He’d relied on Sabine to keep her safe.  To protect her.  And she’d allowed this association, these associations.  Multiple.  Each one capable of putting her in danger.  Each interaction threatening to drag her into their rogue’s focus.

His inner torment was abruptly interrupted by Sabine’s voice.  “What is your problem with this?  I was under the impression you had a rather close association with superheroes yourself.”

Dick froze and leaned back as casually as he could manage, flicking his eyes toward Chloe and Max to determine how much of the comment they were cataloging. The way Chloe narrowed her eyes fractionally and clicked her tongue was incredibly concerning as was the way Max flicked his eyes up to Markov who bobbed slightly closer to Bruce.

Bruce straightened to a dangerously rigid degree.  “It’s dangerous,” he barked out louder than he meant to, but didn’t feel remotely guilty for.  “They endangered her.”  He seethed in righteous indignation, starting to pace in anger.  “I am heavily guarded and can defend myself.  She is innocent and had no way to protect herself and they didn’t care.  They pulled her in without regard for her.  They only cared about themselves.  Who knows what could have happened because of them.”

It took a moment for Sabine to speak up.  Whereas Bruce’s voice had gotten louder and hotter in his anger, hers had gotten quieter and colder.  Each word was a knife’s edge, cutting unobstructed like slicing through water.  “Marinette got kidnapped a week ago because she is your daughter.  Adrien almost died because of her affiliation with your family and you're going to get mad at our heroes?”

“And I stayed away!  I recognized I was a danger to her and stayed away and I made sure she was protected when she was here,” he thundered, throwing his arms out in fury.  That was the entire reason he’d cut himself out of her life.  He’d lost her entire childhood to prevent exactly what happened as soon as they reconnected.  He’d suffered for twenty years, cut out a part of his soul for her, to keep her safe, and they’d just sauntered in and put her in the middle.  “They put her in danger and didn’t care.  They kept doing it.  They keep doing it.  They call themselves heroes.”

“They are heroes.  Heroes that saved Marinette and Adrien time and time again, physically and emotionally.  Heroes that took time to make sure Adrien was okay and not harassed after his father was taken down for crimes Adrien knew nothing about.  Heroes that stopped to make sure Marinette was smiling more times than I can count.  Heroes that put more time…”

“Supposed heroes that allowed my daughter…” Bruce cut in.

“Our daughter…” she corrected coldly.

“…to saunter into the den of one of the most deranged criminals in the world…” he continued without stopping to give her a chance to redirect his justified anger.

“And clearly kept her safe and saved Adrien while doing it,” Sabine argued pointedly, unwilling to give into him in any way.

“So they got lucky,” he dismissed with a grunt. He waved his hand like shooing away a fly.

“Well, that is Ladybug’s power,” she chuckled mirthlessly.

“She wasn’t there,” he insisted.

Dual scoffs sounded over the phone.  “Just because you didn’t see her doesn’t mean she wasn’t there.  There’s no way Marinette walked into danger and Chat wasn’t there watching over her. And where Chat is, Ladybug is,” Tom chided.

Bruce gaped at the new information, his mind reviewing the video they’d watched earlier in the night, scouring for any sign they’d missed, but there’d been no unexplained destruction or creation, no indication of other powers.  He’d have to review it again when they returned home, or ask Marinette when he found her.  His mind raced to reassess the situation with his new knowledge, trying to pin down how Ladybug and Chat’s presences changed their interpretation.

He tuned back in after a few moments, catching her mid-sentence.  “…don’t like it either, obviously.  I hate it. But I will not let you make them into the bad guys when they’ve never done anything but watch out for and protect our daughter.”  She paused for a few seconds, long enough that he almost started speaking again but she started before he could.  “And they are not the subject right now.  I couldn’t care less right now about the heroes.  What I want to know is how she got that far anyway?  I thought you said you were protecting her.  I can’t imagine letting her go somewhere without protection was part of your plan.”

“It wasn’t!” he insisted offended at the very idea he’d allow his daughter to get herself into danger.  “But she seems unable to stick to a well-defined plan.”  He ignored the loud, offended squawk that Chloe let out and the arm Max threw out to keep her in her seat.  “We were trying to keep her out of it.  She snuck out of a locked room.”

A weighted silence settled after a quiet intake of breath.  The air seemed to turn into ice, freezing everyone in their place, not even able to shift their gaze.  “You locked up my baby?” Tom implored with an eerie calm. His voice rang through the waiting room in a clear contrast to Bruce’s, crisp and demanding without being harsh.

“To protect her,” he clarified indignantly, seemingly the only one in the room who wasn’t heeding the warning tones in Tom’s voice.

“While Adrien was in danger!” Sabine demanded. Deep, drawn-out breaths could be heard for a few moments before.   “And how did she sneak out when you were with her?  Or did the Miraculous Team help with that as well?”

For the first time Bruce’s voice showed a hint of uncertainty.  “I… wasn’t.”

“You weren’t?  Who was?” her voice now repeating the eerie calm her husband had employed moments before.

“Nobody,” he admitted hesitantly.

“Excus…”

“We had someone coming to stay with her.  She wasn’t meant to be alone for long,” he cut in quickly in an attempt to stem the fury clearly building in her voice.

“Someone?  Where were you?  Her father. The one that was supposed to protect her.  The one that was so adamant about being there for her from now on.  Where the FUCK were you?”  Her voice echoed throughout the room, making even the eavesdroppers on the other side of the room shrink back except for Chloe.

“Yes!  Thank you!” Chloe exclaimed loudly, throwing her hands up in relief.  “Fucking finally.”

“Are you incapable of shutting up?” Damian barked. He lurched toward her, aching to continue their previous conversation at the same time Conner leaned in front of her, prepared for the moment Damian launched at her, but Dick held him in his seat, preventing the attack.

“Many akuma have tried,” Max shrugged tiredly. “Very few had succeeded.  I calculate a less than 5% probability of success on your part.”  Chloe glared at him, but it lacked the heat she had unleashed on the Waynes.  She eased back into her seat with a smug uptick to her lips.

“I’ve succeeded with lower odds,” Damian hissed.

Bruce continued with his argument, ignoring the children. “I was trying to save Adrien!  I was working my ass off to find him.  I was working with the police!  I was out there checking out leads.  We wanted to find him as quickly as possible for Marinette so she wouldn’t be so terrified.  We wanted to keep her out of it so she was protected and we could wrap it up quickly.”

Chloe quirked her head to the side at his phrasing. Her eyes slid over to Damian, her mind replaying the almost identical words he had used shortly before.  He was watching his father with rapt attention, almost desperate in his focus, like the outcome of the argument meant more to him than just whether his father was offended.  She scoffed at the proud look on Damian’s face as he nodded in agreement.

“Without her,” Sabine seethed.  “You froze her out… again.  You went and did what you wanted.  What you thought was best for her without asking her.  Without knowing her.”  The silence following her words was electric.  “You know what your problem is?

“You're insinuating there's only one?” Chloe scoffed.  She raised her voice to be heard while she batted away Max’s hand as he shoved her shoulder lightly, more a show than actual objection.

“I was under the impression I had more than one,” Conner agreed.  He determinedly ignored the betrayed glare Dick shot him and the growl Damian aimed at him.

“Beyond not being completely useless in the search,” Bruce asked bitterly.

“Yes, beyond that.  And beyond the whole egotistical, fear-driven, distant bastard thing,” she amended unabashedly.

“I thought that covered it fairly well,” Conner nodded.

“I didn’t,” Chloe scoffed.

“That’s more than one,” Bruce pointed out.

“You are uncompromising.  Which sounds better in theory than it is in practice.  You make these decisions and force them on other people without their input or consent. You refuse to adapt or give at all, no matter how it affects them.  You are so certain, with no evidence mind you, that you know better than everyone else.” Her voice dripped with distain as she addressed him.

She’d wanted him to make an effort, but she wasn’t convinced that was the right choice any longer.  Not if this was the result.  He couldn’t see Marinette.  Not really. He was too caught up in his head. She chuckled to herself bitterly. That was probably where Marinette got it from.  But where Marinette’s inability to get out of her head destructed herself, his was destructing those around him, in this case, Marinette.  They were so similar in so many ways.  That was the potential beauty and strength of their relationship. But it was also the potential devastation of it.  “It's going to bite you one of these days... more so than it already has.  You screwed up.”

She sighed deeply and for a moment it seemed like she was going to say something more, but Tom’s voice came through instead.  “I know you still look at her and see that bright-eyed baby looking up at you like you have all the answers and still needs you to do everything for her, but she's not a baby anymore.  Still bright-eyed, but no longer a baby.  And no longer dependent on you for everything.   You missed those years, Bruce.  You chose to.  She's an adult now.  One you don’t know.  One who can make her own decisions.  You need to learn to respect that, or you are going to lose her before you even have her. And believe me, Bruce, she is worth having in your life.”

The enthusiastic, hopeful tone of Tom’s message was quickly replaced by Sabine’s firm, cold, harsh tone.  “And in case I’ve been in anyway unclear up to this point, you are fucking this whole thing up.  If you do not change, the interactions you’ve had so far will be your last with her.”

“Right, I’m going to go check on my daughter,” Bruce growled, already halfway through the exit doors.  “Goodbye, Sabine.”  He hit the end call button before she had a chance to reply, decidedly ignoring the “Well that was rude,” that followed them out in a sarcastically feminine voice. He was not going to commit murder that night.  But at this rate, it may be soon and at present there were multiple potential targets.

His footsteps echoed through the hallways until he stormed through the hospital emergency doors, quickly making his way to his car.  “Why didn’t anyone know she wasn’t here!” Bruce barked into his com.

Alfred was quick to respond, his voice calm and detached.  “Oh, I must have forgotten to check her tracker… and the hospital records.”

Bruce took a few deep breaths before he was able to respond.  “I've only ever known you to forget things on purpose,” he gritted through clenched teeth.

“Very astute observation, sir,” Alfred acquiesced.

“Ms. Bourgeoise said she went home, but I do not trust her.  Turn the tracker on now and tell me where the Hell my daughter is, please,” he spat out the last word like it burned his mouth as he said it.

“The language is rather unnecessary, sir,” Alfred chastised.  His unimpressed tone coming through clearly and, as Bruce noted angrily, not over the sound of buttons being pushed rapidly on his end.

“It is beyond necessary!” he bellowed as he dropped into his car, barely waiting for Damian and Dick to join before shifting it into gear and pulling away in a random direction, the need to move overriding the logic of knowing which direction to move.

“My daughter is somewhere, unprotected after Black Mask tried to torture and kill her.  Which is what happened after the last time she snuck out.  So, you will have to forgive me if I’m not predisposed toward tranquility just right now.  Or don’t, currently I don’t fucking care.”

He turned so sharply Damian’s head knocked into the window with a loud thud.  Dick craned around to check on him.  He raised an eyebrow and nodded toward his head in silent question. Damian waved him off with a frown but continued to lightly rub his head.  He barely grabbed the grab handle in time to stop himself from being thrown across the backseat when Bruce took another sharp turn at full speed, his seatbelt not even enough to keep him in place.  He caught Dick bracing himself with his arms and feet and quickly emulated the position.

“She is a civilian.  She is untrained.  She is weakened.  And she is a target.”  Bruce’s voice raised with each point but never lost it’s dark, hard edge.  “Highly trained heroes have been beaten into comas they barely survived after getting taken.  Highly trained heroes have been tortured into madness after getting taken. Highly trained heroes have died after getting taken.” He paused a moment to let his words soak in, to let the memory of each devastating loss infiltrate each and every one of them so they could remember what he was trying to avoid, what haunted him at night.

“She doesn’t even have the training they had to defend herself.  She could have died!” he barked again, his voice straining at the edges.  “She could have died tonight, and we would have gotten there too late.  I will NOT bury another child.”  He lowered his voice to barely audible, yet still managed to sound more dangerous than his previous screaming.  “I need to know where my daughter is and I need to know now.  And Alfred, so help me, if something has happened to my daughter, I will fire you.”

There was an audible gasp in the car at his words. When Alfred finally spoke again, his words were as professional as ever but somehow colder than anything Bruce had ever said.  “I’ve been monitoring the situation, sir.  If she gets hurt today, it won’t be from taking a step back to rest away from drama and stress, which is surely what she would have encountered in the hospital.  Mr. Harper has taken her to his home to recuperate and Master Jason has been watching over them all night.  I also believe Mr. Kent has been keeping an ear out for her while he was waiting at the hospital.

“She is safe and protected.  I would never have allowed anything else,” he continued indignantly. “You are not the only one who realizes the stakes and cares for Miss Dupain Cheng.  There is more than one way to protect someone.  There is more than one way to keep them safe, sir.  She is safe,” he repeatedly resolutely yet with disappointment coming through enough to coat the entire car in it until Dick and Damian squirmed uncomfortably.  “And she is safe on her terms.”

“She had better be,” Bruce fumed, punching the accelerator.

Chapter 37

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#maribat #Even the Losers #roynette #bio!dad bruce #bio dad bruce wayne

[raeuberprinzessin]

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

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

Alfred: Very well said, Miss Marinette.

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

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

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

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

[moonlight-stalker]

# 43

Danny the ghost king has died, he died by protecting his people and everyone he loved years later he had been Reborn in a city called Gotham to a gold digger mother that did not care for him at all, she used him to guilt others into giving her money, he lived in a dirty apartment he was glad he had his memories. When he turned 7 he got his ghost powers back when his mom found out she was not happy and a couple of days after she takes him and sells him to a trafficker. He was able to escape and free some of the others but now he has to figure out who his father is and see if he would like to have him.

#My post #dp x dc prompt #Dc x dp #dcxdp #dcxdp prompt #Bio dad Bruce Waney #Danny has his memories

[ghoulisheous]

Bruce Wayne runs into a ghost boy in Gotham. He does what he does best and immediately starts investigating, as best as he can without the suit and without raising suspicion about the Wayne family. Ergo, Brucie Wayne tries to keep the conversation flowing without making it seem like an interrogation. Which is.. granted it's a little hard explain why some rich guy is invested in the afterlife of a ghost. But there's hope that it could be swept under the rug as billionaire eccenticities. And the teen definitely isn't suspicious he's Batman.

Danny is suspicious about why this rich bastard is interested in him. Why another rich bastard is interested in him. But all the man's questions seemed more or less harmless. Until Danny let slip how he protected his town and the man asked who he was working with. Apparently the answer he was looking for was more "adult hero mentoring you" and less "more teenagers." He was.. not happy

Queue the line "You're not my dad."

And.. suddenly Bruce thinks he might be in some very familiar trouble. He swears he never goes out of his way looking for this. But his other kids are going to have a thing or two to say anyway

Or, Danny's suspicions turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy and Batman's adoption instincts kick in. The Brucie Wayne persona is just a hair too disarming. They both have regrets

Self-fulfilling prophecies are a bitch

I really just wanted the line "You're not my dad" and that just being.. an immediate trigger phrase. Bruce is instantly just like "Wanna bet?"

He might as well be a sleeper agent.

#danny phantom #batman #dp x dc #bruce wayne #crossover #ghouly tag #and honestly #they kind of both have self fulfilling prophecies here #bruce attempts a lecture which prompts danny #and danny says juuust the right words to wake the agent #their prophecies play off eachother #the brucie wayne persona is just bumbling enough and just foolish enough to remind danny of his bio dad #bruce wants shared custody #a family can be one bio mom one bio dad #and this random rich guy (not THAT random rich guy) who insists he's father material too

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 82

Lex Luthor is admittedly, a very petty man. A very petty man who absolutely despises a certain kryptonian. So what if he made a clone- the alien got mind controlled practically every other week, could anyone blame him for being concerned?!

He’s more than a little annoyed that said clone was stolen from Cadmus, even though they had assured him repeatedly that they knew what they were doing. Trying to steal Gotham’s cryptid’s child was not a good idea- even he knew that! So of course they take the clone and the kryptonian discovers said clone and… rejects it. Huh. He should probably take advantage of that. 

But he is a petty man. 

If the alien is going to reject the child then he’ll just have to prove to be the better father. He’ll of course be the best father, if only to shove it in the other’s face. Really, how hard could it be?

#dcu #dc #prompts #petty dad au #Luthor: Ah yes I shall take advantage and prove that I am superior in parenting #Luthor: Obviously if I help make the clone sympathetic to humans that is advantageous #Alexander “Lex” Luthor: Oh you wish to be called Connor? Certainly we can put it on your birth certificate even #young justice #lex luthor #connor kent #kon el #superboy #superman #Tim who forced Batman to adopt him: Oh finally an adult that I can bitch about my bio parents about with #Tim: Bruce gets all weird and sad when I try to roast them like being left alone isn't that weird #Bart: No idea what's going on here I was dragged to this way too fancy penthouse for breakfast #Bart: But I'm not going to say no to free breakfast #Connor: I am not doing villain things- i'd have to fight my friends! #Connor: I won't say no to the cash and free stuff and being petty tho