Damian's POV
It's the next day and currently, I am on my way to school. Last night, they interrogated me on every detail of the muggery.
Flashback
3rd POV
He entered the manor, as quiet as possible and walked through the hall.
"Damian, you finally arrived." Bruce spoke, he turned to his direction and he was looking at him.
"Tt. Yes father" He replied. "You're here! I was starting to think that you were hurt or kidnapped!" Dick said, as he ran towards Damian to give him a hug, he sidestepped so Dick hugged the air and he smirked in victory.
"So, back to the issue. The muggery, what exactly happened?" Bruce asked, his tone serious as Damian sighed.
"Well, it started with-" He told his encounter with Marinette with as much detail as possible.
"That and then you landed and interrogated us" He ended. While Bruce and Dick were full in thoughts, thinking things through.
"You mean Marinette fought them all?!" Jason exclaimed, surprising them.
The three men looked at Jason surprised. "You're here?!" Dick exclaimed and Jason nodded his head then turned to Damian for answers.
"Yes, she did Todd" He replied while Jason was bewildered. "That's awesome!" Jason exclaimed amazed and Dick nodded.
"That's interesting" Tim spoke up surprising them all.
"Why is everyone here?" Damian said annoyed and Tim shrugged. "Well, I heard Dick exclaim and then when I came, B here was serious, so I decided to eavesdrop on you three" Jason said and Tim nodded.
While Bruce sighed and rubbed his temple. "How could she fight?" Jason pointed out and Dick nodded, confused too.
"Well, we aren't sure. We wanted to ask her but didn't have time when she just disappeared'' Damian stated.
"She's just like a mini Alfred" Dick commented and Jason laughed while Tim and Damian nodded.
"Yes, she seems so" Alfred spoke, out of nowhere surprising, all five men turned but, he's nowhere to be seen. Classic Alfred, they all thought.
"But still, how could she fight? She's just a civilian right?" Jason questioned. "Yes, it's quite odd" Damian mumbled while thinking.
"Maybe, as you describe the event, it's highly unlikely that any civilian could unarmed the men by themselves and fight them and as you describe, she's skilled." Tim stated while Damian nodded.
"I think she's trained" Dick spoke up and Tim shrugged. "I agree, it's like it's normal for her" Damian added.
"Then, we need more information" Bruce started.
"Wait, but, there is a possibility that she's lucky since it's sloppy men. They probably pointed a gun to you both just to threaten them. But they held no knowledge on using them" Jason pointed out.
Tim nodded in agreement towards Jason's theory, there is indeed the possibility of that being true too.
"He's not wrong, there is a lot of mugger that does that" Dick commented.
Bruce sighed, he was conflicted on what to do. But he eventually decided on being safe and cautious.
"That's true, but it couldn't hurt to be cautious. Find more information, Tim. I still want you to search more information on Marinette" Bruce ordered.
Tim nodded and walked to the Batcave. Then he turned towards Damian. "Damian, I want you to find out how she is trained in combat and is skilled" Bruce said and Damian nodded.
Damian's POV
In fact, I haven't seen Marinette yet, its halfway through the day. Where is she? I thought as I approached Jon who was sitting on our usual table.
"Hey Jon, have you seen Marinette?" I questioned to which Jon nodded.
"Yes, actually, we just finished talking a while ago, until she left. She said she had to take a call" He answered and I frowned.
"What call?" I questioned and Jon shrugged. "I don't know, she had mixed emotions, she seems happy and nervous at the same time" Jon continued.
"I'm going" I stood up and started to walk away. Jon called my name, I turned around and looked at him, anticipating his response.
"Oh no, don't do what I think you are going to do" Jon said while shaking his head in denial to which I smirked.
"You do know we can't do this, we have to take our time and let her trust us when she's ready, she'll tell us, sooner or later. We can't snoop around, it'll break her trust on us" He warned while I shrugged and he sighed.
"You are still going to do it, aren't you?" He sighed while I slightly nodded.
"You do know it is rude to do that, we are supposed to give her some space and privacy, to get her to trust us and to know her better, instead of prying information from her and the outcome would be bad" He stated while I raised an amused brow.
"You also want to know" I pointed out while Jon was taken a back and I smirked in victory since he knew he wanted to know too. Jon stuttered and he thought for a while.
"Yes, but, I do respect her privacy. That's why I am not going to do it" He stated determined while I shrugged.
"Fine by me, I'll do it anyways." I stated and Jon sighed and shook his head in disagreement.
"What if you get caught, you do know the outcome would be severe" Jon stated while I shook my head.
"I never got caught" I smirked while he sighed for the umpteenth time as I walked away.
"Be careful!" Jon shouted from a distance and I nodded while I looked around for her.
Marinette's POV
I was talking with Jon, it was nice, he is a great companion. I haven't seen Damian the whole day, which I am not complaining about. I am quite dreading meeting him since I foolishly fought in front of him yesterday. I like to think I had no choice, which is partly correct, in my defense, I didn't want anyone, me or him, to get hurt. But I could've prevented it. Though I know he wanted answers, I just hope he doesn't piece things up and found out about me being Ladybug and the Guardian. Or worst, that I am an Angel, but that's less likely.
Anyways, we were talking until my phone vibrated and I saw that it was Chloe! Oh no, don't tell me she knew about the muggery.
"Uh, Jon, I am sorry to interrupt but I have to take this call" I said and he looked at me and nodded. I thanked him as I walked away from the table to a secluded place and answered the phone.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Marinette Dupain Cheng!" Chloe shouted from the other line, as I winced slightly on the volume and the use of my full name.
"Yes?" I answered nervously. "Why didn't you tell me that you were in a muggery!" Chloe exclaimed angry and I sighed. I guess she found out.
"Well, it was an attempt, they didn't succeed." I corrected to which she huffed.
"It was still a muggery! With armed men" She argued then sighed.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? If they dare lay a hand on you, I would give them a lovely visit and invite Kagami and Luka, I bet they would love to join me." Chloe said, from worried to mad. Which is a bit frightening.
"No, I'm fine, everything is okay. They weren't professional anyways. And no, you can't visit them, they are in prison and no killing remember"
She grumbled, 'That rule shouldn't exist' 'I would still do it if they did lay a hand on you and Kagami and Luka would also be pleased' While I rolled my eyes, amused.
"You should've told me or either Luka or Kagami." She reprimanded which I stayed silent, opting to listen instead.
"You didn't even call us. It made us worried sick. I just found out a while ago. I called Jagged and Penny to make sure you were alright and you didn't even inform them about it too. They were also worried when they found out." She scolded again and I sighed.
"Yes, I am sorry Chlo, I didn't want you all to worry about me since I'm fine. Where are they anyways?" She huffed.
"Kagami and Luka is currently on a date, but they were worried about you when I called to tell about the news."
"Please tell them that I am fine and that they don't need to worry about it" She grumbled but agreed anyways.
"Oh, and that's why Jagged and Penny called me earlier, they were worried and I was surprised that they knew about the incident. It took me a while to assure both of them that I am fine and that they didn't need to come to my apartment. But how did you know?"
She huffed, "I do know everything that's going there too. I firstly heard it from some people talking on the phone about it. Then I called the some people in Gotham to confirm about it and they told me a summary of the incident"
"I thought it was on news or something" I sighed in relief.
"It wouldn't be good if the world knows I can fight. They could piece one and two together" I continued she supposedly nodded on the other line.
"Yes, and you are lucky I am not there, I would've lecture you on being careless" She said as I rolled my eyes, amused.
"You already did Chlo" I said while she huffed.
"Huh, I do have connections in Gotham that I could use. I should've use it, since you had proved me wrong by getting mugged"
"Chloe, I'm fine!" She sighed, 'Fine, fine, but I'm still using them to keep tabs on you'
"Anyways, I heard you had a companion" Chloe teased while I sighed. I should have known she would find out about that part too.
"Which is a boy. You had a boyfriend and didn't bother to tell me!" Chloe exclaimed, mock hurt while I rolled my eyes.
"Chlo, he isn't my boyfriend. He's just a friend"
(The Iconic Line)
"But still, you were walking together, alone at night. It sounds like a date for me" She continued to teased and I shook my head.
"Chlo, it was an accident" I started.
"I went home late since I had some activities I had to do at school. I was walking back home when I met Damian, he insisted that he accompany me to my apartment and one event led to another"
"Damian, so that's his name. But he also fought too, didn't he?" Chloe questioned while I sighed. "No"
"What?! Then what exactly happened? I want all the details" She demanded and I told Chloe the whole encounter. She was speechless when I finished.
"You fight them all!? They were armed. You seems skilled at combat though. The Marinette I know wouldn't hurt anyone! Well maybe akumas and sentimonsters. But then again, you would protect us from harm anyway" Chloe said, comprehending the new information.
"I know, I know. I was scared that they were going to hurt Damian and me so I fought them. They did attack first and I did warned them" She sighed.
"I'm just surprised and worried but I am happy that you're safe and now I know you could defend yourself" Chloe said relieved.
"Though Damian saw me fight" I pointed out while she gasped at the information.
"I hope he doesn't piece things together" I gulped. "Yes Maribug, you should've been more careful" She reprimanded again and continued to lecture me.
Damian's POV
I saw Marinette's figure from a distance and approached it. As he neared, he saw that she was still on her phone, talking. He decided to eavesdrop her conversation.
"Yeah, how's it going there?" Marinette questioned, he could faintly hear the voice from the other line, which is a female. He assumes she's talking with one of her friends.
"Oh that's great, everyone's doing great?" Marinette questioned.
"That's great. Me? I'm good. I've made some friends. No, I don't have a boyfriend! As, I said before" She said.
"Damian?" She questioned. I froze on my spot thinking she had caught me but fortunately, she wasn't, her head was facing the opposite. Realization hit me, she's talking about me with her friend.
"No, he's just a friend. As I said earlier" She said while she lightly blushed.
"No, Chlo, we are just friends and that's it." She stated and turned towards my direction and spotted me. She froze at the sight of me.
3rd Person POV
Marinette pulled her phone away while Chloe was ranting. "Damian! What are you doing here?" Marinette exclaimed, surprised and nervous.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you but didn't want to bother you" He lied, welll, it's not particularly all lie.
"Oh well then, I suppose you heard my conversation" She said and realization hit her. 'Oh no, I hope he didn't hear them talking about him' She thought, she lightly blushed in embarrassment and smiled slightly at him, hoping he doesn't while Damian looked at her confused.
She brought her phone back after Chloe called her name a few times. "Uhh, I'll call you later Chlo!" She said hurriedly and Chloe argued.
"A friend of mine wants to talk to me right now. Yes, I promise, after school ends and when I have arrived at my apartment. We'll continue there" She said and Chloe reluctantly agreed and ended the call.
"Uh, yeah sorry about that. Anyways, what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked and he looked at her seriously.
"You know combat. How do you know it?" Damian questioned.
She wasn't fazed at his question, she has expected that he would ask her one way or another. Though why is he curious? Why does he need to know? She knew he and his family were hiding some sort of a secret, that may be connected to it.
"Well, there are a few reasons. As you know, I do travel, a lot, so I do need to know some combat to protect myself. It did came useful in attacks. And now in Gotham, I also need to know how to do that to protect myself from the criminals" She explained and he nodded.
'Quite a reasonable reason' He thought about it. While Marinette hoped he believed it.
Actually, it's partly true, she did learn combat before she became Ladybug. She did travel a lot, so she needed to protect herself from harm, so she studied combat (Some basics). But when she did became Ladybug, she needed to train deeper and be better in various combat styles since she had to fight akumas almost everyday. She mastered almost every type, since akumatized victim's fighting style is always different and she needed to be prepared for anything. Now she's in Gotham, the most crime ridden city in the world and she does need to prepare for anything and protect herself from harm. So her reasoning do make a good argument.
"How about you? Do you know anything in combat?" She questioned while he nodded slightly. "As you said, it's Gotham, you need to know how to protect yourself. Especially, that I am the son of a Billionaire" He answered and she nodded in understanding.
She isn't that surprised that he do know combat. Though now she sees it, he's always observant of his surroundings, he knows everything, even the slight change. He had multiple of times pointed it out. He also likes analyzes things and know a lot about them. His posture is always perfect and he also held his ground. I haven't seen him in combat, though she could guess he is trained and skilled. He's like an Assassin. Or maybe he is?
"Why aren't you scared of guns and knifes?" He questioned, steering away from her questioning about him and breaking her from her train of thoughts. But she let him with a note that he does seem to hide some sort of secret.
Though she remained unfazed by the question. "Well, it's not like I've never seen them before. I travel a lot, I've seen lots of them. And in Paris, the supervillains have lots of different types of weapons. Some magical, like magical perfume, magical staff and many more, with different purposes, to guns, swords and knives. It's nothing new" She answered while Damian looked at her as if she grew another head.
'She has seen lots of weapons?! Even magical ones!?' Damian thought surprised.
"Don't be surprised, once the attacks became a normal occurrence, we all grew accustomed too it and it'll be normal. It's nothing that surprised me anymore" She added unfazed while Damian shook his head, he couldn't believe what she had said regarding the weapons.
"How did you unarmed them?" He questioned. "Well, as I said, I travel a lot, so I do need to know that since there are lots of those happening in the world." She answered, though it's true, she do need to take the akumatized objects to defeat them and they protect it at all costs, so it isn't easy but she managed.
"I agree. You need to be prepared" He said and she nodded.
"And anyways, it wasn't hard, they weren't professionals. They were armed just to scare off people but they didn't know how to use them properly" She spoke up and he looked at her surprised.
"Their posture were bad, whether it was handling the gun or their fighting stance" Now that he thought about it, what she said is actually not entirely wrong.
"So, that wasn't a big matter, I suppose this happens often here" Damian nodded at the statement, there are lots of mugging and thieves here, as both Robin and Damian.
Damian got a great idea, "How about a spar then?" This could be a great opportunity to test her skills in combat, whether if she was good or not.
Marinette she winced and gave a small smile, she should've seen this coming, especially from him, he is a competitive person and would love the challenge. But, she couldn't possibly reveal her combat skills, which she is skilled. She could piece things together! Which isn't good.
"Uhh, thanks for the offer but, I'm quite busy this days and I'm not skilled in combat. I'm pretty sure you are more skilled than I am"
"Probably, but I am still curious on your skills" Damian insisted, he was indeed curious in her skills on combat, actually, he is curious about her in general, and her skills in combat could determine a lot of things about her. There is a lot of mysterious about he despite that, he was somehow interested about her. He was quite attracted to her and wanted to find out more about her, and a spar is one of the perfect opportunity too do it.
"Well, we'll just see, maybe I'll eventually accept it in the future?" Marinette offered.
"Well, I'll trust your word for it" Damian sighed helplessly.