I regret nothing.
---
The GCPD police officers told Marinette that Jason Todd was dead. Beaten to death in a fake Robin suit.
By the Joker.
Marinette couldn't breathe when they told her.
Beaten to death.
It hadn't even been painless.
Her heart had been beating far too fast.
Her head was pounding like a line of a thousand drummers.
Her breathing kept coming out in short bursts. Like something was blocking her air.
The world was tilting.
Marinette was panicking.
The voices of the police officers talking to her turned to distant murmuring.
The sharp scent of blood filled her nose, making her gag and choke.
The cold metal chair that she sat on seemed to disappear.
And suddenly she was falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
And Marinette was screaming.
Screaming for her brother. Her twin. Her best friend. Her partner in crime.
But the screams seemed too real to be a memory.
And it wasn't her screaming.
And then Marinette remembered.
Gardens. Friends. Explosion. Scarecrow.
Fear toxin.
And screaming, but it wasn't Jason's name she was screaming. She wasn't even the one yelling out.
It was Chloé.
Chloé was screaming her name.
But why?
Gardens. Friends. Explosions. Scarecrow. Fear toxin.
Oh.
Marinette wouldn't open her eyes.
Because she knew exactly what she would see.
Jason.
Lying still, covered in blood.
Dead.
It was a nightmare she used to have for the months following her brother's death.
Marinette began to tremble, she fisted her hands and took a deep breath. It didn't work. Her breathing became erratic. She could feel her heart racing.
The second he injected her with fear toxin, Scarecrow dropped her so he could take a step back and watch.
"Open your eyes, little hero. The real Red Hood would have opened his eyes."
His voice was enticing, she wanted to comply, to open her eyes.
"Don't, Marinette!" She heard Adrien scream before a sharp thud sounded and he went quiet.
Someone hit Adrien.
Fury boiled Marinette's blood. No one hurt her partner. No one.
Marinette's eyes snapped open.
And she saw Jason lying in front of her.
But it wasn't just him. Adrien, Kim, Chloé, Nino, Tom and Sabine.
They all lay dead around her. Their blood was all pooling together.
Marinette pulled herself up, shaking all the while. She stumbled backwards, eyes wide.
And then she heard the laughter.
That sickening, mad laughter.
Marinette whipped around to see the Joker standing over Jason, laughing.
Laughing.
Laughing.
She knew he was the one that killed Jason. The GCPD officers told her.
And then she saw it again, in the newspaper. Black and white and bloody.
Marinette growled and took a step forward.
That bastard.
He killed her family, her brother, her friends.
So she was going to kill him.
Marinette lunged forward with a snarl.
And she grabbed Joker by the throat.
"You fucking bastard!" She screamed, slamming her fists into the Joker's face.
His laughter had seized and now the green bastard was gasping for air as she wrapped her hands around his throat, squeezing with all her might.
Faintly, Marinette heard someone call her name.
"Get her off of me!" the Joker screamed. Someone grabbed Marinette's hood and yanked.
She didn't move.
Marinette bared her teeth at the Joker, more animal than human, and let go of his throat to punch him in the face again.
"Marinette!"
That made Marinette pause.
It sounded like Jason.
"Pixie!"
Marinette whipped her head around to see Hawkmoth rushing forward, an Akuma at his heels. The Akuma was Syren, the mermaid that flooded Paris and killed almost two million people.
That day was horrible. Two million dead. Marinette broke down that day, even after Syren was defeated and she used her Miraculous Cure.
Two million dead.
And now her friends and family were too.
Hawkmoth ran forward and tackled her while she was frozen, throwing her off the Joker.
"No! he killed Jason! Let go of me!" Marinette screeched, tears leaked down her face. When had she started crying?
"Pix, I'm here. I'm right here." Hawkmoth whispered. No, no-- who was this man to call her that? Only Jason called her that.
Marinette screamed and attempted to get away from him, but his grip was firm.
He was going to kill her and take her Miraculous and hurt Tikki--
Marinette could distantly hear the Joker being subdued, but she couldn't see with her face pressed against Hawkmoth's chest.
"Bug? oh my god, please be okay!" She could hear her friends--her dead friends--surrounding her.
"Marinette! It's okay, Mari, I'm here. It's me okay? It's Chloé, your Bee." Chloé's voice was broken, but how was she talking?
"No!" Marinette cried, "You're--you're dead. You're not here." She was sobbing now, clutching at Hawkmoth. She squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered.
"Nette, It's us. We're not dead." Nino said softly.
"Pix, it's okay, you're okay." Hawkmoth murmured to her, petting her hair the way Jason used to when she was sad.
"No, no, no, no, no." Marinette was shaking her head and mumbling frantically.
"It's gonna be okay, Pix. Batman will be here in a minute with the antidote."
"No! Batman doesn't help! No, no, no--"
Batman didn't help when Willis and Catherine Todd died. He didn't help when they had to live on the streets or steal to survive. He didn't help when Jason and her were separated.
And he didn't help when Jason was murdered.
Marinette was shaking violently.
She couldn't breathe, she couldn't--
Something pricked her neck. Marinette sucked in a breath as her vision tilted.
Her heart rate slowed. Her breathing evened out. Marinette stopped shaking so much.
She stilled completely.
And slumped over into Chloé's arms.
---
Jason didn't know what to do. Marinette was half-conscious in the blonde girl's arms. The girl was stroking Marinette's hair and murmuring sweet nothings to her. She had tear tracks leaking down her pale face.
"Hood. Let's get her to an ambulance." Nightwing placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. When Jason looked up at him from where he sat on the ground, the look on Nightwing's face was full of pity.
That snapped Jason right out of it. He brushed Nightwing's hand away and glared at him.
"Yeah, let's go." He said a bit gruffly. If Jason's voice was watery, that was his business.
When Jason tried to scoop Marinette up, the blonde glared at him. Marinette's other friends gathered around the girls like a shield, sending him equal glares.
Jason blinked, "I'm just going to take her to an ambulance to be checked out." He hoped he didn't sound as annoyed as he felt.
"We're coming too." The tall black boy said, he was dressed like Replacement.
Jason huffed but nodded, but when he tried to pick up Marinette again the buff boy dressed like Batman blocked him. The boy crossed his arms and glared at Jason.
"I'll carry her."
"Fine." Jason bit out. Even if they were Marinette's friends, they were starting to get on his nerves.
The group passed Marinette's other classmates, they were almost to the ambulance when one dark-skinned girl with glasses stopped him.
"You're Red Hood! Can I get an interview for my blog?" The girl asked, she already had her phone out and aimed at him. It was cracked and had a few glass chips falling off. She must have tried to film Scarecrow like an idiot.
"No."
The girl looked aghast. "What? But I--"
"I'm kind of busy here if you can't fucking see." Jason growled. Marinette needed help and this stupid kid wouldn't let him pass.
"With Marinette?" The girl looked past him at his limp twin. She scoffed and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Oh she's fine, she's always been such a dramatic attention seeker."
Rage boiled up inside of Jason, he would've punched or shot the bitch if Nightwing hadn't walked over and grabbed his arm.
"Don't, She's not worth it."
And for once, Jason listened. Marinette needed him more than this fucker needed a punch to the skull.
Jason turned back to Marinette and her friends, who were all looking just as murderous as he felt. Especially the boy dressed as Red Robin.
The tall, buff boy set Marinette down in the ambulance to be checked out by a paramedic.
After the paramedic was done, Marinette took four minutes and thirty-four seconds to wake up. Jason counted the whole time.
Before he could step forward to talk to his twin, Batman placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You want to tell me what's going on with you?"
Jason flinched. "I--she's, we're--ugh." He couldn't say it. How was he supposed to tell Batman that she was his twin sister that he never thought she'd see again? How was he supposed to explain to Batman that he kept her a secret for five years?
"Is she your girlfriend?" Batman asked, his eyes remained fixed on Marinette. The blonde girl was hugging her fiercely like if she let go Marinette would disappear.
The boys stood around her, waiting for their turn for a hug.
Jason wanted a hug.
"Ew, B. She my--" Jason made a face.
"Sister. They're twins." Nightwing said, appearing on Batman's other side.
Jason glared at him. "I was gonna tell him!"
Nightwing shrugged. "I didn't really think you would."
For the first time since Jason met him, Batman looked shocked. Even when Jason died he had remained stoic, but now? Now he looked genuinely surprised.
"You have a sister? And you didn't tell me?"
Jason crossed his arms and gave Batman a pointed look. "I didn't trust you when we met. And then I died and stuff."
"Why weren't you together when I found you?"
Jason flinched. He really, really didn't want to talk about this now. He just wanted to go talk to Marinette.
"Can we talk about this later?" Even to himself, Jason sounded tired.
Batman sighed but nodded. "Fine. Meet me at home in an hour."
With that, he left, leaving Nightwing to elbow Jason in the ribs and grin.
"Go talk to our new sister! I can't wait for B to adopt her!"
And then he left.
Jason sighed and stepped towards his sister. He couldn't make sense of his jumbled emotions, they were all too entangled.
"Bug, I'm so glad you're okay! We were so scared!"
Jason heard the blonde boy wail to Marinette, hugging her around the neck. Marinette patted him on the back and smiled gently. She was obviously used to her friend's dramatics.
"Marinette? Can I talk to you?" He could do this. He was Red fucking Hood. He was a a vigilante and past crime lord.
He could talk to his sister.
Marinette looked at him curiously and was about to respond when the dark-skinned boy and the tall guy stepped in front of her.
"Why? She's still recovering." The dark-skinned boy said, narrowing his eyes.
"It's really a private matter."
This wasn't working.
Jason sighed and tugged at the bottom of his jacket.
"Guys, it's fine. He's not gonna hurt me." Marinette said, staring up only to wobble.
Jason lurched forward to catch her. "We can talk here, don't waste your energy."
Marinette bit her lip and nodded.
Her friends were hesitant to leave but one look from Marinette sent them trudging away. The blonde girl gave Jason the 'I'm watching you' gesture and kissed Marinette on the cheek.
The two sat in silence for a moment. It was too awkward. Why was it so awkward? Oh wait, maybe because he was a stranger wearing a fucking helmet.
"So...what did you want to talk about?"
"I--" Jason cringed. Why did this have to be so hard?
He sighed. What he was about to do would compromise his identity.
Jason reached into his jacket pocket.
And he handed her the clip.
Marinette stared at the clip in her palm for what seemed like hours.
Her mouth was open in shock. She wouldn't stop blinking.
Slowly, as if unsure, she turned to Jason, who steeled himself for what was about to happen.
"Where did you get this?"
"You gave it to me. The day we were separated. I was going to help you put your hair up but the crowd swept you away."
Marinette was silent. She stared at Jason like she wasn't convinced.
"You're dead."
Well, that wasn't what he expected her to say.
Jason put his head in his hands and groaned.
"Well, it didn't stick."
"You're fucking with me." Marinette bit out, she wanted to bash her head into a wall.
How could Red Hood know so much about her?
"If I was fucking with you how would I know you and I were homeless for years after Catherine and Willis died? Or that you wanted to steal the Batmobile's tires before I talked you out of it? Or that I called you Pixie Pop to annoy you? Or that--"
"Okay I get it!" Marinette jumped to her feet, wobbling a little but catching herself against the ambulance door.
Jason looked up at her, hoping that even through the helmet she would understand that he wasn't lying.
What if she didn't believe him? What if he fucked up his last chance to get his sister back?
"What can I do to prove it to you?" Don't say nothing, please don't say nothing.
"I-- I don't know."
Jason wanted to cry.
"License? Birth certificate? Weird adopted parents?" Jason was pleading now, he didn't care about his dignity.
"Show me the picture. If you were really Jason then you'd still have it."
The picture. The picture!
Jason was smiling hopefully as he reached into his pocket for where he usually kept the photo.
But it wasn't there.
Because Dick still had it.
Dick still had it.
Jason was desperate as he searched all his pockets just in case.
"Fuck, fuck. I gave it to Dick so he could confirm it was you and he never--fuck!"
Marinette was unimpressed.
"Give me twenty minutes. I can go get it! Dick still has it!"
Marinette crossed her arms. "Why?"
Fuck, why did she have to be so stubborn?
Oh yeah, because she was related to Jason.
"Twenty minutes!" Jason called out as he bolted away.
---
This was fucking insane.
Red Hood couldn't be Jason. Jason couldn't be Red hood.
Jason was dead. And Red Hood most definitely was not.
But Marinette waited anyway.
She really, really wanted Red Hood to be right.
It didn't stick.
That's what Red Hood said.
It didn't stick.
She kept waiting.
Once her friends realized that the vigilante was gone, they came back over to bring her back to the hotel for some rest.
"I can't leave. It's important."
"Bug! You just got hit with fear toxin! You need to sleep!"
"Adrien, I'm fine. And I need to wait."
Chloé sat beside Marinette and wrapped an arm around her. "Why? What's going on?"
Marinette just shook her head. She didn't like withholding information from her team, but she needed to be sure it really was Jason before she told them.
It was just too important.
Marinette gripped the clip tightly. It was her biggest piece of evidence that it really was Jason under the helmet.
Hope wrapped itself around her heart and squeezed.
Twenty minutes.
It didn't stick.
It was such a Jason response.
Even when they were kids, Jason had always tried to make light of bad situations. He would joke and poke fun at anything that would make Marinette frown.
Marinette waited with her friends, Tikki had come out to sit on her shoulder, cuddling her gently.
Five Minutes.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.
Twenty minutes.
Marinette was sitting nervously. What if he didn't come home? What if he brought a different picture?
Twenty-five minutes.
Thirty.
Fourty.
He wasn't coming.
---
(:
--Lemon