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Damian sighed as he rolled his neck in his stiff Robin armor.
There are times he felt like he wasn't outgrowing the outfit fast enough . He was certain Dick would have a laugh about it if he heard him say that. It was close to midnight, so most of the city was asleep. Showing up during the day in his alter ego would ruin whatever element of surprise and, more importantly, Hiro had a curfew and bedtime, courtesy of his Metropolis family. Being locked inside the Le Grand Paris Hotel was also unbecoming of the night creature he was.
He opened a window and jumped out into the windless night. He swiftly takes out his grapple hook and aims it for the nearest building and flings himself from chimney to chimney until he reaches a somewhat familiar site. The Bakery.
Dupain-Cheng wasn't proving to be a useful ally yet. With no information on Hawkmoth or Blackfire, his time in Paris was easily turning into a deadlock.
He leaps into the balcony and heads towards the door on the floor, pausing upon realizing that it's covered in wrapping paper. 'She's strange,' he thought to himself as he reached for the handle.
Just before he could pull it up, he hears a thud from below, prompting him to pull out his sword for action.
"Don't make me hurt any more than I need to," an unfamiliar voice echoed as grunts rang out into the air.
"You think you can get away with this," she said in between huffs. "Just wait until I get up, you little alien!"
Without hesitation, he pulled the handle and dived into the opening with the katana ready to strike. As soon as he saw Marinette trapped under her own bookshelf, he cut her free and saw a little black sphere zip around through the corner of his eye.
The moment it stood still, he swung his sword around, cutting through it, to leave black dust dripping onto the floor.
A quick glance back, and the girl seemed unphased. She picked herself up and placed her hands on her hips.
"Robin, I didn't expect you to come," she said softly.
"What was that thing?"
"A really annoying roommate," Marinette sighed as she watched the black dust collect itself and form the kwami into shape again. "Please don't hit him again. He'll just get more of his mummy dust everywhere."
"Mummy dust?!" It cried. "At least the pharaohs didn't force me into submission. Teenage girls should be sweeter and understanding."
Marinette sidestepped Robin and held the kwami up from the ground using her thumb and index finger.
"You're going to pay for the bookshelf, you greedy little kwami," she said in a low voice before turning around to Robin and giving him a nervous smile that could be read as 'Everything's totally fine.'
"Is this your... little friend?"
"Not yet," she deadpaned as she brought her ring up to the creature.
"Robin met Plagg. Plagg, this is Robin."
The small cat-like thing waved at the boy after it gave up its struggle between the girl's fingers.
"I think he would be dressed up as a bird," he whispered loudly.
"Those are baseless rumors," she said through her teeth.
"Totally overdressed for the weather and that katana of his, overkill."
"Wait until you see the inside of his car - "
"You know that I can still hear you two, right?" Robin snaps, causing the pair to fall silent as he placed the katana back into its case. "Seeing that you are unharmed, I'll leave you," he paused. "And your little acquaintance be."
"Wait!" Marinette called out as he climbed up the stairs that led to the balcony.
'If he came here, then there was surely something he wanted to discuss,' she thought to herself.
"Are you going out on patrol?"
"It's fine. I can go at it alone," he said as he continued his ascent and aimed his hook to the adjacent building.
Marinette furrowed her brows.
"Come on, Plagg. We gotta go after him and tell him what we know."
"Are you sure we can trust this guy? He really does seem like he wants to work alone on this. Maybe we can compare notes tomorrow."
"There's no time for that," she shook him vigorously before he waved his stubs in defeat.
"Fine, fine! Now pay attention to the rules, or else I'll consider relocation."
She nodded furiously as she began stretching.
"When you transform, your senses might shoot up for some time, so don't try to move or anything until your mind settles. Try not to fight anyone out there. Your sleeping habits don't really spell out top-notch shape, and you might throw a weak punch, and I can't bear to feel that."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'm just following Robin. No big deal, but if I need to step in, I'll do the best I can," she shrugged.
"This isn't your normal Ladybug stroll, Marinette . I'm talking about world ending powers here, so under no circumstances must you use the cataclysm. "
"But I can just clean that up later," she whined.
"As Ladybug? Or did I recall that you and Tikki aren't on friendly terms at the current moment."
She bit her check.
"Frankly, with no lucky charm, no one's going to clean up after your mistakes. You're officially going out there as a one man act. You're the guardian now, kid."
She closed her eyes and solemnly nodded. He was right. She can't rely on the earrings forever. That's how Chat Noir managed to fight without her in the beginning.
"Know how to sure use the staff?"
"No," she said hurriedly as she paced on the spot. "But I'll figure it out on eventually. It's the first day on the job all over again."
"I'm sure you might actually pull over a half decent job," Plagg grinned. "Ready?"
"Always," she beamed. "Okay, Plagg, Claws Out!"
With the sound of her voice, Plagg's eyes went from blue to green as he was sucked into the ring. A neon green light enveloped Marinette's body as she closed her eyes and basked in the power.
