Of Glitter and Gold

Chapter 8

People followed the heir as he walked stoically towards the exit of the school, before he exited the Wayne boy put on his winter coat. The futility of stalling the inevitable ate at him, there was nothing he could do but walk into the trap. Damian could have sworn he heard someone say 'dead man walking.'

As the door to the school opened, Damian was ready to either dodge whatever was thrown at him or run to the car depending on what he saw.

The boy took a step into the biting cold of the outdoors. It was late November, thick clouds promised snow as December neared. Damian was walking towards his car when Marinette approached and matched his fast pace.

"What's the rush, Damian?"

"It's cold."

"Yes, it is. You left your notebook in class, you should go get it, we have a quiz tomorrow." Damian glared at Marinette's smug smile before turning back to get his notes, leaving the rest of the school confused.

Marinette approached the old man.

"Hello again."

"Hello, is there something else for me to wash."

"He might need a new book bag if he can't find what I put in it." Marinette chuckled. "I'm Marinette by the way."

"Alfred Pennyworth, are you sure there is nothing else in store for the young master?"

"Well... how does he feel about cats?"

"Has one at home."

"Well then I think he'll like this next part. Maybe he'll keep one." Alfred lifted a brow at the short girl as Damian walked out, this time annoyed enough not to unconsciously step over the tripwire a friend of hers set up while Damian went back into the school- he was sprayed in what Marinette knew was aerosol catnip. That coupled with the smell of fish and the strays Marinette had been luring towards the school for two weeks with lots of food and love converged on the boy, following him as he walked to the car. If looks could kill Marinette would have been on the ground, stone cold.

Damian grumbled as he tried to walk away but they followed, he almost stepped on one but stopped short and lifted it out of the way with a pat.

"I heard you were a fan." Damian glowered at her.

"I already have my fair share of pets-"

"Let me guess your own pure-bred stallion!" Marinette mocked the excitement as she cut him off. "Jeez, take a shower." Marinette plugged her nose mockingly as she walked away without letting the boy finish. One of the cats must have nipped at the boy because he practically hissed. People laughed and gave the girl high fives as people recorded Damian shooing the cats away. He handed his driver the stinky bag.

That'd teach him to mess with her hot chocolate.

Red Robin was half asleep, going through every documented case of a female hero in the last three years. Batman had been pestering Tim to find out who she is before coming to Gotham since Nightwing let her get away. There were way too many people playing hero, none so far seemed to be on the same caliber as Ladybird.

The vigilante's had to admit that since her arrival, petty crime had gone down considerably but getting people to talk about their feelings couldn't be that effective a tool. Could it? People commit crime because they think it's easier than working and they make the choice to break the law, they know what they're getting themselves into.

The third Robin hears the elevator open when a now familiar face appears. It was Ladybird, formerly Ladybug, hero of Paris. Stopped a magical butterfly terrorist that manipulated people's emotions by turning them into monsters. She had magic earrings that let her fix the damage done while she was 'transformed.' She was only a kid when she first started, handling villains as crazy, though not as directly homicidal, as villains in Gotham. Many 'akuma' attacks were mass casualty incidents- Ladybug's earring brought all the people killed because of the attacks back.

"Anything new yet- you found her?" Jason approached the bat-computer as he read over the information. "Do you have any footage of her fights?"

"Yeah, it was documented by the local news and some girl's blog. Why didn't we know about this? It looks like she became active pretty young, and with no known mentor."

"Says here she had a partner but that after she single handedly defeated the terrorist both dropped off the face of the earth."

"I'll start a file, can you see if anyone moved from France to Gotham recently?"

"Wasn't she from Paris?"

"Better to be safe than sorry." Jason nodded and left to pull immigration and customs records. "Go back at least three months, look for someone in the family- the girl's too young to move here alone."

"What if she got adopted or something?"

"Good point." Both boys went to do their work, Batman would be pleased to know they got her ID- sorta.

"Anything new on the Ladybird situation?" Bruce asked, checking up on Tim. He stopped short when he saw him and Jason working together.

"Yeah, used to be the hero of Paris. We're trying to find out who she is." Jason spoke up, showing Tim a picture of another girl in the age group. "We've gone over everyone that's moved from France to New York State in the last six months and can't figure out who it is."

"Doesn't she use magic earrings?" Tim asks, the second Robin nods. "What if the magic helps keep her identity under wraps? We've been comparing Ladybirds pictures to these people for hours and we can't see her even if hair and eye color change." Red Hood nods, it makes sense.

"At least we have her old hero identity, we can use it as leverage." Red Robin supplies before going to get another coffee, getting ready for dinner and patrol.

Red Robin was looking over the shopping district when he saw Ladybird land in front of a boutique. He silently makes his way towards her but notices she is admiring the store. He swoops down and lands next to the girl. She stood defensively but didn't seem surprised.

"Relax, I' m not gonna do anything." The girl drops her stance, eyeing him like he might do something.

"So... you're from France?" Red Robin awkwardly started.

"I don't know, are you from Gotham?"

"I don't know, should we start calling you Ladybug?"

"No, I need to distance myself from Paris. People might piece together my identity." So there are crumbs left to find.

"Do your parents know?"

"Do yours?" Ladybird shoots back defensively, they don't have a clue. Tim flinched.

"Oh. sorry." Ladybug sounded genuine, looking at the ground as she fiddled with her hands.

"It's alright. Why'd you move?" She gave him a look that said 'Really?' Red Robin chuckled.

"Right, stupid question. Why Gotham?"

"Better than where I used to be."

"Paris can't be that bad-" Ladybird cut him off, she didn't want to talk about Paris.

"It wasn't the city, it was the people. Anyways, you need to look into the Cobblepot crime family. They're planning on kidnapping one of the Wayne's."

"Which one? Why don't you?"

"The youngest, I think, the source mentioned a school. Because I am new to Gotham, I'm not stupid enough to get myself mixed into something I'm not ready for. I've been working my way up but this plan has been in the works for a while." Red Robin nods, Ladybird turns to yo-yo away.

"Wait. Thanks for the help, we've noticed the drop in crime."

"Like I said, if you help in the rehabilitation process you won't have to deal with the same criminals over and over and over again." The girl swings away, in the direction of Wayne Enterprises.