#how dare you guys inspireme

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Welcome To The Show

Summary:

Scenario 1: Introduction Description: Kill one living thing before the time runs out! Time limit: 10 minutes Penalty for lack of completion: Death Reward: 1000 Coins per kill

(ORV Maribat au)

Adrien had spent many hours reading online. It was better than laying there, in the dead of night. Wondering if his father really loved him if he kept him locked up in this house. Wondering whether his mother’s disappearance was as sudden as his father claimed. Wondering why, if both him and his father were at home as often as they were, Adrien never seemed to see him.

Was it him? What did he do? Could he fix it? Please, tell him how –.

No, he would much rather peruse the internet for content.

This was how he found the story. Three ways to survive the apocalypse. Or Ways of Survival, for short.

It was a work created by an online novelist, who dropped thousands of words weekly. They were, perhaps, a little wordy, a little too concerned with sidestories and lore and fleshed out too many side characters and all the like, but… Adrien couldn’t help but be enchanted. His heart practically jumped out of his chest every time his email got a notification that the work had been updated. There was something about the writer’s specific style that kept him coming back, over and over again, week in and week out. Kept him commenting on what he liked and what his theories were every chapter.

He was the only one reading. Had been since practically the start. After about fifty updates, people started to dwindle… and, by the hundredth, he was the only one. Adrien understood, most people had lives, but he didn’t. Not outside of this story, at least.

That would have discouraged many writers, and yet his writer kept going. After a while, it started feeling like the writer was specifically writing for him.

It felt like a love letter made for him, personally. And he was happy to respond in kind, professing his own love in the comments and in occasional donations when he thought his father wouldn’t notice the chunk taken out of his bank account.

And now it was done. The final update. 3049 updates later. After years and years and years…

Here it was.

But the ending was… strange. Sudden. He never truly got to know just what the Ways of Survival were.

Just that, apparently, he would survive having read this story.

Funny, tongue and cheek. But still strange.

He frowned to himself. Maybe he had missed something? Maybe the author wasn’t all that good at endings? Maybe the Ways of Survival were supposed to be implied?

Well, he could always reread it later, for now he would write out a quick comment:

OmniscientReadersViewpoint: I’m sure it’s a huge weight off of your chest to get this thing done with. I can’t wait to reread it all over and over again!

And, for the first time, he got a response.

TSL123: Thank you for always reading my work. Can I have your email address? I’d like to send you something to thank you.

His heart pounded in his chest as he, slowly, letter by letter, typed out his email address. He looked it over multiple times, making sure that he had spelled it right.

And then he hit send.

It didn’t take much longer than a minute for his email to get a notification.

[email protected]: My story has won a contest, and must subsequently be taken down. I would like to give you this copy for safekeeping.

Adrien’s eyes widened as he quickly opened the attachment, and found the story there, as promised. Had the author been refraining from publishing for his sake? And now giving him a free copy so he wouldn’t have to pay for the actual thing?

He smiled. He would have paid millions for the copy, if asked, but he appreciated the gesture. He hugged his phone to his chest, falling back in bed and staring at the ceiling.

And it was then that he was hit with one, very important question:

What now?

He probably should move on at some point. Read something new. But how could anything else compare?

A new hobby, perhaps? But were there a lot of things he could do without leaving his room? Maybe he could get into the fencing classes or modeling his father made him do, but he doubted it, if he hadn't found a passion in it after all these years then he probably wouldn't start now…

He was pulled from his musings by a brilliant purple light. He groaned and peeked one open, half expecting Nathalie to be shining a flashlight into his face to see if he was alive without touching him, only to find something similar to a screen hovering in front of his face.

For a second, his eyes couldn’t really focus on the words. Instead, they slid off, to the strange shape of the screen. It was shaped… like a butterfly?

His eyes snapped back to the white text.

Scenario 1: Introduction Description: Kill one living thing before the time runs out! Time limit: 10 minutes Penalty for lack of completion: Death Reward: 1000 Coins per kill

This… had to be a joke, right? The same format, the same words… it was all reminiscent of the first chapter of Ways of Survival. Someone had to be messing with him. But how could it be a prank? He slowly reached out to poke the screen in front of him, expecting his hand to go right through it, because it had to be the product of a nearby projector or something, but instead he hit something that was very similar in texture to glass.

He gripped the sides of the butterfly, dragging it down to inspect it, looking for a string that might hold it up, and yet… there was nothing.

And, as the shockingly sharp glass began to split the skin of his palms, making blood spill over the sides, staining the otherwise pretty purple, he realized that it couldn't be a dream, either, because his hands hurt.

He tossed the glass to the side, but it didn’t even give him the relief of shattering on the ground, instead disappearing the second it was out of his hands.

But whatever. He was on a time limit.

Stuffing his phone in his pocket, more on instinct than anything, he rushed out of his bedroom.

Okay. Okay. Okay. He knew that the doors and windows to get out would be locked.

A butterfly of purple light fluttered by:

Gabriel Agreste has completed the mission! +1000 Coins!

+1000 Coins for a First Kill Bonus!

Already? Thought Adrien.

He swallowed thickly. His dad had probably noticed the same thing he had.

The rules said to kill a living thing, not necessarily a person.

He swung a hand out, trying to swat the little butterfly, but it had dissipated into thin air before he’d even gotten near it.

Yeah, that would have been too easy.

The ladder to the attic rattled loudly in the otherwise silent house, he didn’t even let the thing fully click into place before he clambered up it, eyes flickering around desperately in search of any kind of movement among the dust.

But he couldn’t find anything. Just a chair, some boxes, and old pictures of his mother that had been left to gather dust.

Why was it that the one time he actually wanted to see a spider, there weren't any around?

The ladder creaked again, and Adrien whipped around.

Nathalie.

He was almost relieved to see her alive. It meant that his dad hadn’t murdered her without hesitation. It meant that his dad had likely found a bug to squash. It meant that, maybe, his dad might have been innocent in his mom’s disappearance.

Almost relieved.

For Nathalie had a knife clutched in trembling hands and tears spilling down her cheeks.

It didn’t take a genius to see what was going on.

“Miss Nathalie…” Adrien began carefully, holding up his empty hands placatingly, backing up slowly, until he couldn’t anymore, blocked by boxes and the damned chair. “I’m going to find bugs for us to kill, we don’t have to do this…”

Nathalie shook her head. “Time is running out,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“So am I.”

She lunged for him.

Adrien hit her with the wooden chair.

The chair shattered upon impact. Her body was flung to the side, glasses skidding across the ground, her thin form splayed across a pile of boxes. The knife clattered to the floor. Blood spilled from the wound.

The last piece of the chair slipped from his fingers.

He couldn’t seem to stop staring at her glasses. Laying on the wood, one of the lenses cracked. Blood beginning to spill down a nearby box to puddle at the feet of the glasses frames.

Purple light curled itself by his arm.

Special skill (4th wall) activated.

Nathalie started to lift her head, groaning.

Adrien knelt to pick up the knife.

He… should have felt worse about it.

He didn’t feel much of anything.

It didn’t even, really, feel like him. It felt more like he was reading about two characters. Distantly, he might be a little sad, but overall it was… fine. He was assured in the fact that it wasn’t really real, and that the person he was reading about was messed up because they were written to be that way not because of him, and that he could always just close the book for the night and go home.

Adrien Agreste has completed the mission! +1000 Coins!

Scenario over!

A few Kwamis are interested in you.

Kaalki has sponsored you +500 Coins!

He dismissed the screens with a lazy wave of his hand. For half a second, his eyes caught on the red staining his skin.

Oh. He had been bleeding earlier. It probably wasn’t good that he’d also gotten Nathalie’s blood on his hands.

He grimaced and cut the end of his shirt up to make two thin strips of cloth to wrap his hands in. It now looked like his tee was a crop top, but he didn’t particularly care as he tied off his hands.

Someone popped into view. It was a tiny person, no larger than the palm of Adrien’s hand, old and probably the type to hobble around with a cane if it were not for the fact that it was a mystical being and could fly.

“Hello! My name is Fu!” He said, coming to hover by his face. “Congratulations on completing the first Scenario! And thank you for not being annoying about how it had to be fake and all that like everyone else, the Kwami get upset when I kill too many potential Incarnations, but sometimes it’s necessary to prove a point. You get me, right?”

Adrien nodded, only half listening, his gaze flitting around in search of anything that might be of use.

Well, the boxes were all clothes and random trinkets his mom had left behind, and the photographs… well, he supposed he could shatter them for glass shards, those could be weapons, but it seemed redundant when he had a knife.

“Ah, I knew you’d understand! If only you’d tell my bosses that! Ha! Now, before your next task, I’d like you to – you’re not listening, are you?” The being pouted.

He scooped up Nathalie’s glasses and then turned to face him, sending a smile worthy of the model he was. “I’m listening. Second Scenario soon. I need to choose a Kwami to sponsor me.”

“I… never got to the sponsorship part,” Fu said, backing up just slightly, seeming confused.

“Context clues,” Adrien sighed, looking up at him. “How do I pick?”

Another butterfly popped into being, and he looked over the list of names that meant little to anyone besides him and, possibly, depending on which Reincarnation he was on, the Batman.

It was longer than expected, but likely nothing compared to the one that Batman would be seeing.

Kaalki

Probably because he was rich. Kaalki was known for liking upper-class people. Choosing them would not give him a leg up over anyone in Bristol.Plagg

Powerful, but dwindles your sanity every time you call upon their power.

Trixx

A good power, almost too good, to the point where it had had to be nerfed by making their Incarnation’s teeth just a little too sharp. Which, of course, would put everyone on guard once they realized what Trixx’s holders could do.

Longg

He didn’t know why they were interested in him, but he didn’t think he could live up to their standards.

Plotter

Adrien stared at that name for quite a while. It was different than the others, missing the five-letter naming scheme, and he didn’t recognize it in the slightest. He hesitated for just a moment, almost tempted to click on it just to see what he would get, but decided against it just as quickly.

He stared at the options he did know for quite a while before selecting Plagg. He had a few theories about his Fourth Wall ability, and he would love to know whether it would counter Plagg’s drawbacks at all.

It wasn’t like he was going to last long, anyways. He wasn’t delusional. It was the apocalypse, and he wasn’t a main character, he didn’t have the same kind of plot armor that Batman did. Chances were, his death was imminent.

So, he really wouldn’t have to worry about his sanity for long.

Besides…

“So, do I head out for the second Scenario now, or…?”

Fu looked at him for a long moment. A purple screen of his own, though infinitesimally smaller, appeared by Fu’s head, and he scrutinized it for a moment. The screen disappeared, then rematerialized, then dematerialized, then he checked again…

He looked at Adrien.

“Why is there no information on you?”

“Why would I know?” Adrien lied. It was almost definitely because he wasn’t an actual character, and therefore no profile should exist for him. “You’re the one with all the fancy stuff.”

Fu frowned at him for just a moment more, before dismissing both him and the screen with a wave of his hand.

“Sure. Head outside, the next Scenario will be starting soon.”

Adrien shoved Nathalie’s glasses and his knife into his pockets as roughly as he dared, and then made his way out of the house.

A few other people were poking their heads out.

Adrien hesitated in the doorway. He glanced back, listening for anyone in the house. But his father was nowhere to be seen.

Not unusual, but… he had hoped that, maybe, his father would have come out and, now that they had both lived through a life and death situation, realize just how precious Adrien was to him. Like in the movies.

But, unfortunately for Adrien, this was very real.

Scenario 2: Get to Gotham! Description: The bubble surrounding the Gotham-Bristol-Burnside area is shrinking by the second! Get to a safe zone in Gotham before time runs out! Time limit: 1 hour Penalty for lack of completion: ???? Reward: 1000 coins

He sighed.

It really was just like the book.

Kaalki’s teleportation would have been good right now. But it was doable, Batman had completed this stretch many-a-times, and had only chosen Kaalki once, on his first Reincarnation.

Besides, Adrien had Coins, and knew how the Store worked.

He pulled up the Store, and started investing in his Stats. His base score was… well, about expected. He did fencing, but only once a week, and he spent the rest of his time reading.

There was a Sanity score, too, which… was a little foreboding, even when at 100.

500 Coins into endurance, definitely, and another 250 coins into speed just to make sure…

Speed: 7 -> 8 Strength: 6 Endurance: 3 -> 5 Sanity levels: 100

He scrolled through some lower-level items, and then opted for a rebreather for 100 Coins.

There. And he still had 650 Coins left!

Yeah, that should be enough. Hopefully.

He glance back inside his house. Still nothing to indicate Gabriel Agreste was even alive, though Adrien knew he had to be.

He shook his head. No use stalling any longer. He started jogging. The bridge on its own was a 30-minute walk, and it wasn’t a nice stroll to the bridge itself, either. Making it in an hour would be difficult.

A couple of people passed him, running at top speed, but he would catch up soon enough. Rich people weren’t known for being extremely athletic, and endurance would be a problem in this Scenario…

His eyes found their way to a young boy who had popped into thin air next to him. The boy was small, probably six or so if Adrien had to guess. He wore a set of pajamas adorned with tiny Spongebobs and Patricks. This clashed terribly with the blood caked underneath his fingernails and the hefty lead pipe he held over his shoulder like a baseball bat. He panted heavily, sweat making his black hair fall in limp ringlets around his face.

Was that…

Character profile: opened.

Character profile?

Tim Drake, 8 Speed: 3 Strength: 4 Endurance: 2 Kwami: Kaalki Special skill: Picture Perfect (Unlocked) Other skill(s): none at the moment

Oh, that was helpful.

More importantly.

He was right! That was –!

Your understanding of this character is high. Would you like to make a bookmark?

Shut up, cryptic but also somehow helpful screen, he’s busy.

Holy crap. That was Tim Drake.

Adrien fought the urge to squeal.

He neared him, blood-covered hands behind his back. Everyone alive now would be murderers, for the most part, but he didn’t know whether Tim had come to that realization yet, and he didn’t want to risk scaring him.

More than necessary.

“Hey, are you good?”

The kid swung at him.

Adrien dodged easily, having been more than ready for that. “You have to up your Endurance in the Store, if you want to use your power more,” he repeated the words he knew would work, for they had worked thousands of times for Batman.

He found himself quietly wondering which Reincarnation Batman was on. Obviously, if Adrien could help it, this would be the last, but he hoped for the first as well. Less trauma, more idealistic, less likely to kill himself after any one thing went even slightly wrong… yes, that Reincarnation would be the easiest for Adrien to help with his expansive knowledge of the world he had found himself suddenly thrust into.

But, for now, he would help Tim.

Tim, who was eyeing him warily. “Store?”

“Mhmm. It should appear at your fingertips if you ask it to.”

Tim glanced at him, and then at his hand, and then back at him. And then, hesitantly, his other hand still holding his pipe in a vice grip, he lifted a hand and said “Store, please.”

It wasn’t necessary to say it aloud, but Adrien didn’t correct him. God, this scene was even cuter in person.

The 4th wall is shaking.

…

The 4th wall is restored.

Adrien glanced at the screen out of the corner of his eyes. Hm.

Nevermind that for now.

Tim hesitantly used all of his Coins to up his Endurance to a 6, and instantly relief washed over him, the tension in his shoulders lessening visibly. He smiled at him. “Thank you. How’d you find that out?”

“Well,” said Adrien. “Once you hit sixteen, you get this magical ability to know everything.”

Tim squinted at him for a minute. “Dad does say teens are know-it-alls…”

“Exactly,” Adrien said, fighting off a laugh. “Once you’re my age, you can know-it-all, too.”

“Like curse words?” Tim said, his eyes gleaming.

“Especially curse words,” Adrien said solemnly.

Some Kwamis have taken a liking to your new friendship.

Tikki has sponsored you +500 Coins.

Secretive Plotter has sponsored you +100 Coins.

There it was, the true way to get Coins. Scenarios were good and all, but could last several days. No, what you needed to do was get Kwamis to watch you, and get them to root for you.

Plagg urges you to hurry along.

And the Kwami you choose as your Sponsor has the most weight on your decisions. Money was great, and could buy you either good items or stats, but when you were an Incarnation then you would have to abide by the rules of your specific Kwami, because they were the only one that could give you a buff. And a buff could be the difference between life and death.

“Are we on a gameshow?” Tim asked, eyeing a screen of his own, though Adrien couldn’t see it. “They’re cheering for me.”

“Something like that,” Adrien said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “If they’re cheering for you, then you’re doing good. If they’re not, then you need to do something good.”

Tim nodded diligently. “You sure are smart, Mister!”

“Adrien is fine, and thanks, but I’m just well-read,” Adrien said, his lips twitching into a kind of grin. “Can I know your name?”

“Oh! Tim! Tim Drake!” he stopped walking to stick a hand out.

Adrien took his small hand in his, and then tugged his arm, forcing him to walk again. “We can do formalities when we get to a safe zone, yeah?”

Tim looked at their interlocked hands for just a moment before breaking into a wide smile.

“Okay, Mist – Adrien!”

The Kwamis are cooing over you.

Tikki has sponsored you +500 coins.

Adrien and Tim shared smiles as they stepped onto the bridge with thirty-five minutes to go.

No wonder Batman kept choosing Tim. The kid really did pick up things fast.

Speaking of Batman choosing Tim…

“Who are you?”

They both whipped around.

“Tim!” Tim squeaked.

The man’s eyes lingered on Tim for a moment, then trailed to their interlocked hands, then found its way to Adrien’s face.

“I don’t know you.”

“Adrien Agreste. Now you do.”

Batman didn’t seem particularly amused by the joke. He stalked towards Adrien, only to stop when Tim held out his pipe, stepping between Adrien and Batman oh god.

Adrien placed his hands on Tim’s shoulders. “Hey, hey, no, we’re not threatening the very scary man, okay?”

Tim frowned up at him for a moment.

“I’ll be fine. Head across the bridge, okay?”

Tim looked skeptical for just a moment. He glanced at Batman, then Adrien. There was a… very visible strength difference.

Adrien pulled out his knife. “There. I’ll be alright. Head over, okay?”

Wayzz has sponsored you +1000 Coins.

Plagg is calling you a self-sacrificing idiot.

Tim sent him one last, wary look before teleporting halfway down the bridge.

Adrien dismissed the screens with a wave of his free hand, stuffing his knife into his pocket once again, and then looked at Batman.

“Why are you here? Nothing I did up to this point should have caused any changes.”

Adrien shrugged. “No clue.”

You are under the scrutiny of a Lie Detection skill.

You have passed.

Adrien smiled. “Glad we’ve cleared that up, can I go now? Time’s a-ticking, y’know.”

Batman raised an eyebrow. “No, because you brushed past the words ‘Nothing I did up to this point should have caused any changes’ without blinking. How do you know about my Reincarnations?”

“I –,” Adrien said, backing up a step. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I just didn’t want to make things awkward by asking!”

You are under the scrutiny of a Lie Detection skill.

Whoops.

You have failed.

Adrien swallowed thickly. It suddenly dawned on him just how intimidating Batman was. Well over six feet tall and approximately 200 pounds of pure muscle. Dark hair throwing his eyes into shadow. And advancing on him very quickly.

He had to fight an instinctive urge to test out the power Plagg had given him. Because, chances were, the spell would bounce off of the man’s plot armor, and if it didn’t then he would experience hell in the next Reincarnation. If he would even be there for it.

And… a hand gripped his shirt, and Adrien might have squealed over the man being so close to him and real, but knuckles pressed against his windpipe, and he was far more concerned with trying to keep his feet on the ground. His hands scrabbled at the one on his collar, desperate to loosen his grip. Fruitless in his attempts.

He should have invested some money into Strength.

The 4th wall is shaking.

Great, thanks. Just what he needed.

His mouth went dry.

Step by step, Adrien was forced closer to the edge.

“WAITwaitwait, I know the future!” Adrien screamed, desperate as his heels passed over the edge.

Batman paused.

His eyebrows knit together.

You are under the scrutiny of a Lie Detection skill.

You have passed.

“A prophet,” Batman mused aloud.

“If that’s what you want to call it,” Adrien said.

Batman stared him down for just a moment.

“Oh, really? You say you know the future?”

His grip shifted to hug Adrien’s throat, and he lifted Adrien straight off of the bridge, letting him dangle.

The water really was oh-so-far away.

“Then prove it. Will I let go, or not?”

Adrien, shakily, removed one of the hands that had been scrabbling at Batman’s.

He flipped him off. “Just drop me already.”

For just a moment, Batman, the man known for caring about nothing other than his goal, Vengeance personified, Bruce Wayne… smiled at him.

“Perhaps you are a prophet, after all.”

He let go.

~~~~~~~~~

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#ttt #tag team tournament #maribat #rare flair #bruce & adrien #ig #how dare you guys inspireme