Bruce wasn't sure what he was expecting when Marinette Dupain-Cheng handed him a USB that she said would explain the situation in Paris, but ultimately he wasn't expecting...this.
It was terrifying to think of the impact this particular villain had and what would have happened if the miraculous team hadn't stopped her before she left Paris.
Mothers Wrath's punishers and seekers had been relentless and the people of the city of lights had spent an entire week hiding in fear and trepidation. There hadn't been many fatalities, in fact only one, but the crudity of the punishers' actions were frankly horrifying.
Bruce didn't know which was worse, the fact that all the terror Mothers Wrath spread with her warriors was in fact the result of a villain taking control of three innocent civilians who only wanted to protect their daughters, or the fact that the only fatality was one of the original heroes.
Looking around, he noticed that the rest of his family felt the same way he did, horrified by the extent of the Paris villain's powers and furious that unsupervised children were their only line of defense and that the Justice League had not answered the call.
"How the hell did we let this get past us?!" Jason angrily demanded, pounding the table.
"Bruce! We have to help!" Dick exclaimed, sounding a little calmer, but to those who knew him it was obvious he was holding back.
"That was horrible! And the women he manipulated were civilians!" exclaimed Duke, sounding concerned, "Can you imagine if that madman ever allied himself with someone like the Joker?"
"Thanks, Duke, that mental image is going to give me nightmares until New Year's" complained Stephanie.
"Not good, not good at all" said Cassandra staring at the screen.
"On the one hand, I'm surprised that whoever Ladybug is working with has been able to hide all the recordings of this disaster, on the other hand I wonder how Marinette Dupain-Cheng has access to the only copy," said Tim as he watched the USB with a mixture of terror and fascination.
"You better not be insinuating that Ma.... Dupain-Cheng is working with Hawkmoth, we've already dismissed that theory." Damian threatened.
"Ok, let's calm down a little bit, first of all, I think Ladybug knew that Marinette had chances to meet us in Gotham, maybe she gave her this as a proof that they need support." Barbara said in a conciliatory tone "Secondly, probably the best person to hide that information was Marinette, remember that her own mother was part of the Akuma that caused the most damage to Paris. Also, this was listed as the most important Akuma since Hawkmoth's first attack."
"Babs is right, poor girl, her mother apparently just wanted to protect her and ended up causing a siege to the city - said Dick with a compassionate voice."
"I have a question, why was this "Akuma" the most important one?" asked Duke confused "I mean, from what we have seen there was only one casualty, but other akumas have a high casualty count."
"They killed the faith of the people of Paris" said Alfred, who spoke for the first time in the night. From the moment he watched the recording of Mothers Wrath's attack, Alfred had been silent, he had tensed up when Mayura appeared, but said nothing until that moment "Until that moment, the people of Paris saw Ladybug as invincible, but it took her more than a week to beat that Akuma and she lost her original partner."
Everyone started to argue about what to do, while Bruce remained silent. Alfred seemed particularly affected by the whole mess.
"Alfred, are you all right?" asked Bruce gaining everyone's attention "Something seems to be bothering you."
"I'm sorry, Master Bruce, it's just..."
Everyone looked at the butler expectantly.
"I already knew about the existence of the miraculous."
"How?" asked Bruce.
"In my youth, I was entrusted with the peacock miraculous."
"The one worn by the crazy lady with the fan?
"That's the one, master Jason," he replied with a smile, "Duusu is a sensitive soul and I resent what he is being forced to do."
"What do you mean?" asked Barbara.
"Miraculous are pieces of jewelry capable of bringing powers to their holders, but those powers don't come from the jewelry, they come from the kwami linked to the jewelry. Duusu is the kwami of emotion, his power is to create a sentimonster in order to help protect someone in times of distress. In ancient times, Duusu's powers protected villages from natural disasters and combined with the power of the butterfly, they were able to defend entire cities." Alfred explained, then turned to look at the screen where all the damage that Hawkmoth and Mayura had caused was reflected, with fury and regret he said "I can't believe that someone is abusing the powers of the kwamis for selfish reasons, poor Nooro and poor Duusu."
"You said someone entrusted you with the miraculous. Who was it? Do you think they're working with Hawkmoth?" Tim asked cautiously.
"Never, Fu was a bit naive, but he always protected the miraculous with zealous care."
"So what happened, how did Hawkmoth and Mayura get their miraculous and who gave the miraculous to Ladybug's team?"
"I'm afraid I don't know, something must have happened that caused the butterfly and peacock brooches to get lost and get into the hands of those people. However, I think it's safe to say that both Ladybug and Miss Dupain-Cheng have had contact with the guardian of the miraculous."
"What makes you think that?" Kate asked.
"The way they both fight, according to the recordings of their first encounter with Miss Dupain-Cheng and her friends, all three showed hand-to-hand fighting skills, but Miss Dupain-Cheng's style as well as Ladybug's are the kind of style that only a guardian of the miraculous knows."
"We know there is a connection between Ladybug and Marinette Dupain-Cheng, wouldn't it be possible for Ladybug to learn and teach Marinette?" Tim asked.
Alfred shook his head.
"Not on that level, I think the connection between the two of them is related to the guardian."
"Marinette said the guardian is gone." Cassandra said.
Alfred seemed saddened at Blackbat's words, possibly his friend was already dead, but then.... Alfred seemed to have an epiphany, a worrisome epiphany.
"Alfred, what's wrong?" Bruce asked worriedly.
"It's nothing, Master Bruce. The only thing that matters now is to help catch Mayura and Hawkmoth."
Bruce knew Alfred had an idea of what was going on, but decided not to push, he had seen the saddened expression of the man who raised him and decided to respect his wishes. Alfred would talk when he felt it necessary.
Meanwhile, the Wayne family butler was spinning a troubling theory on his mind... if Fu was no longer the guardian, that meant he had found a successor, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng seemed to know a lot, too much for just a civilian contact.
"Please Fu, tell me you didn't drag a child into the middle of all the chaos of the order, tell me you didn't leave such a responsibility to someone who hasn't even reached adulthood" thought the butler as he left the cave.
Meanwhile, all the other members of the family remained in the cave. They had to make a decision.
"We're going to help them, right?" asked Duke, breaking the ice.
"Of course, this level of threat must be neutralized as soon as possible" said Bruce observing how his children ( both official and unofficial) seemed ready to jump into action "But we must decide how to do it."
"I have a suggestion" said Jason raising his hand.
"No murder" said Bruce quickly, Jason lowered his hand a little but still held it up "No dismemberment, torture or "mysterious disappearances" either."
"Killjoy" growled Jason, lowering his hand.
As the others continued to argue, Damian stared at the screen thoughtfully. He clearly remembered the night he met Marinette and the girl's plea for help, it all made sense.
Damian wasn't sure how much information Marinette was hiding, he knew she was still hiding something, but he didn't know what.
That just made him admire the girl a little more.
Literally every member of her family, including her grandparents, her best friends, everyone had been a victim of Hawkmoth at least once.
But not her, and something told Damian it wasn't because Marinette's life was peachy.
Just then, he received a notification on his cell phone. He had given his contact number to Marla the day before, so she could let him know of any inconvenience with the deliveries to the shelter, so he frowned when he received her message, but after reading it he relaxed a little.
"Thank you so much for your help Damian, I know we've asked you enough, but could you help us today? Charlie and Henry stayed over last night and apparently they got sick. The workmen are coming today to repair the shelter so the animals are a bit agitated and Joana and I won't be enough."
Damian frowned, he wanted to keep researching about the situation in Paris, on the other hand, maybe it would be better if he went out for a while and cleared his mind. Learning about Mothers Wrath, even for someone raised by assassins, had been an unpleasant experience.
He showed the text message to his father, who nodded as Damian walked away, the others so caught up in their discussion that they didn't notice.
"This is going nowhere, if we want to help we need a plan" said Barbara with frustration.
"Well! I am coming up with ideas!"
"All your ideas are highly illegal Jason."
"Well I don't hear you giving any suggestions, replacement."
"Shut up already! You're giving me a headache."
"Sorry Duke, but this is our family, insanity is part of it - said Dick, trying to lighten the mood and failing.
Everyone started arguing again, until Bruce got everyone's attention.
"Listen, I understand how you feel and I would like nothing more than to go right now to Paris to put an end to this problem, but that is not an option, at least not now. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was very clear with her requests, let's concentrate on that and then we will see what to do. I will schedule a meeting with all the League members and talk to Diana about Marinette's request."
For the first time since the whole mess had started, everyone agreed to drop the subject. Bruce, satisfied with his family's reaction, walked out.
"Well, now that Bruce is gone, let's move on to the other topic," said Jason seriously, "Demon spawn doesn't stand a chance with Pixie Pop."
"Who is 'Pixie Pop'?" asked Tim.
"The little French girl."
"Why, Jason?"
"It fits her, she's petite, she's adorable, and she seems to be neck-deep in this whole magical mess. Which is why the little monster doesn't stand a chance with her."
"What are you talking about? Haven't you ever heard that opposites attract?" Stephanie snorted.
"That doesn't apply here!"
"And why not?"
And so the discussion resumed, meanwhile, Damian Wayne was already arriving at his destination with no idea of the big show his family was staging.
Out of sight, out of mind, and murder not committed.... or something like that.
*******************************
Damian quickly arrived at the Gotham City animal shelter still thinking about what he had learned. Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her friends had arrived in Gotham with a great burden on their backs and for the first time he wanted to help, not to gain the recognition and respect of his father and his family, not because it was expected of him either, he wanted to help the girl who had traveled to the most crime-ridden city in the world to beg for help for her city.
He was so engrossed that he almost fell when he entered the shelter and collided with something, or rather someone. He was about to complain to the person responsible for his near fall, when a soft female voice with a French accent interrupted him.
"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and... Hi Damian! Good to see you!"
Marinette smiled at him as she stood up.
"It's nice to see you again, you should be more careful."
"I'm so sorry about that!" said Marinette blushing, normally, Damian was annoyed to see girls blushing, usually the blushes were followed by unpleasant squeals, but Marinette didn't squeal, she just held out her hand and smiled at him again. Wouldn't her cheeks hurt?
"No problem, but you should be careful, you might hurt yourself."
"Don't worry, I'm tougher than I look" she answered still smiling at him, seriously, wouldn't her cheeks hurt?
"Of that I have no doubt, angel" he answered her softly, without even realizing his slip.
"Angel?" asked Marinette while blushing.
Damian cursed inwardly. What was happening to him?
"I'm sorry, I..." he tried to explain himself, but he was interrupted by Marinette.
"It doesn't bother me! I think it's cute, all my friends have some nickname for me," she explained "I was just a little bit surprised."
Damian watched her and decided not to explain further, partly because he himself couldn't understand why he had called her "angel".
"Well, I'm sorry I took the liberty of giving you a nickname without your permission."
"Well, you're forgiven, it's a very nice nickname."
" By the way, what are you doing here?" he asked trying to divert the subject.
"Well, we have an agreement with Marla, Chloe has to come and help for the next month in order to keep the Duchess."
"Duchess?" Damian asked raising an eyebrow.
"Duchess Cleopatra Abelia Bourgeois" answered Chloe's voice carrying her kitten in her arms.
"I told you that name sounds like a mouthful, Chloe."
"I don't care, I like it, she likes it, my mom likes it and the people like it."
"Apparently, she did a poll on her Instagram account, but I already told her she had to pick a name, not give her all three" Marinette explained seeing the confusion on Damian's face.
"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, she is my partner from now on, she deserves a name worthy of her position."
"Oh Chloe!"
"Anyway, what are you doing here, Wayne?" Chloe asked curiously.
"Mrs. Hernandez contacted me asking for help."
"Who is Mrs. Hernandez?" Marinette asked in confusion.
"That would be me, honey, my last name is Hernandez." replied Marla approaching the teenagers. "Thank you for coming Damian, I wasn't sure whether to call you because you helped us yesterday, but Henry insisted that you replace him."
That was odd, why would the young college student have insisted on Damian's presence? But then again, Henry Williams was an odd one.
Leaving aside the oddity of Williams' request, Damian was actually glad to have an excuse to help out at the shelter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng's presence was a welcome surprise.
Now he just had to think of a way to get her to talk about the situation in Paris without arousing suspicion.
"So, how can I help?" Damian asked Mrs. Hernandez.
"Well, you and Marinette can help us move the animals to the other side of the shelter while Chloe and I deal with the workers."
"Great! I'm good at being the boss!"
"Chloe, be nice."
"I don't know what you mean by that, I'm always nice."
Marinette sighed at her friend's antics Then, both teenagers moved towards the animal cages.
While there, Damian noticed that all the animals were getting up to meet them. Damian visited the shelter constantly, so the animals were used to his presence and most greeted him with excitement, but Marinette hadn't even been in town for a week, so it was kind of hard for him to understand why the animals seemed so happy to welcome her. Honestly, he was a little jealous.
Putting that aside he concentrated on his mission, gather information at any cost.
The question was how to do it?
He immediately ruled out the interrogation methods he knew because the majority (if not all) involved physical or emotional pain to the victim, and something told him that if he tried that with Marinette, things were going to go very wrong.
Before Damian could ponder his options any further, Marinette spoke to him.
"Are you a permanent volunteer at the shelter?" she asked him while carrying a cat.
"Not exactly, I usually spend a few days after school, but I'm not registered as a volunteer."
"I see."
"What about you?"
"Well, not at this shelter, but at home I volunteer at Brigitte Bardot's foundation."
"I see," Damian replied as he tried to think of a way to continue the conversation, "Do you have pets?"
"No, unfortunately, as my parents have a bakery at home, it's not possible for me.
"I understand" and now what? Before he could ponder what to say, Marinette spoke again.
"Do you have any pets?"
"Yes, a Great Dane, a cat, a turkey and a cow" there was also Goliath, but he didn't know how to explain the existence of a bat dragon.
"A cow?"
"Yes, I rescued her from a slaughterhouse." he said without giving her any details and Marinette decided not to ask for details "After that, I decided to become a vegetarian."
"That's very sweet!"
Damian frowned, he was not sweet. Marinette seemed to guess what he was thinking because she snickered.
"Why do boys get so bothered by being told they're cute?"
"I can't generalize, but in my case it's because that's false."
Marinette let out another giggle, to Damian's surprise her giggles weren't that annoying, it would probably be less so if it wasn't at his expense.
They both continued talking while moving the animals around and keeping them happy.
Before they knew it, it had already started to get dark.
Damian was a little surprised to realize how quickly the time had passed.
He walked Marinette and Bourgeois to the exit where a stern looking woman and a young girl, also stern looking, were waiting for them outside a car.
"It was good to see you again Damian."
"Likewise, Marinette, will you be back tomorrow?"
"I don't think so, I have to go buy fabric for all our dresses."
"By yourself?"
"Don't worry, I'm a big girl."
"I know, but..."
"He has a point, Maribug" said Chloe with a smile that Marinette knew meant trouble "Gotham is a dangerous place, something could happen to you."
"But I need to get started, I already have the designs in mind but I can't work without fabric, plus you have to keep volunteering here to make sure Cleopatra is yours and Kagami has fencing training" complained Marinette "Besides, I already told you I can take care of myself."
"Which doesn't mean you have to" said Tomoe approaching the youngsters "I promised your mother I would take care of you and pissing off Sabine is not in my plans."
The girls and Tomoe started to argue, while Damian watched, starting to feel uncomfortable, before thinking about it, he intervened:
"I can go with you, if you wish."
They all fell silent and turned to look at him, the two Japanese females, with a stern expression, while Bourgeois looked at him with approval and Marinette looked confused. Meanwhile, Damian was having an inner debate, what the hell was wrong with him, why had he offered to help a complete stranger? A stranger who was interesting, but still?
"You don't have to bother, young man..."
"Damian Wayne, ma'am" said the young man.
"Tomoe Tsurugi" answered the woman with a stoic expression, in fact, the only thing that had shown Damian that she recognized him, or at least his name, was her raised eyebrow. "I hope you understand young Wayne, that my duty is to protect these young ladies, which is why I don't consider it wise to leave Marinette with someone I don't trust, no matter who it is."
"I understand, however, it seems to me that the other options you have would be to allow her to go alone, or overburden the young lady with stress" Damian commented, still wondering why he kept insisting "Besides, we would not be going alone, I can ask some adult from my family to accompany us" preferably Alfred (again, why did he keep insisting).
The woman seemed to consider it.
"Please Tomoe, I promise to be extra careful" she said with a pleading look.
"Marinette, I guess puppy dog eyes don't work on her" Chloe 'whispered', in a way that everyone heard her.
Tomoe kept her stoic expression directed at the boy, before letting out a sigh.
"You will still have to ask your parents for permission Marinette" said the woman, causing the little French girl to smile, "I hope, young man that you will take care of Marinette with the respect she deserves."
"I will, madame."
"Good."
Without further ado, the woman got into the car, followed by her daughter, who gave him a threatening look, and Bourgeois, who gave him a mischievous smile.
Damian didn't know which reaction was more annoying.
"Thank you for offering to accompany me."
Marinette's sweet voice made him give her his full attention.
"You didn't have to, but I appreciate it."
"Gotham is a dangerous city and you are interesting, it would be a shame not to be able to talk again."
Marinette let out a giggle that made Damian smile.
"Is it okay if we meet at about ten o'clock in the morning?"
"Sounds perfect, then I'll pick you up at 10:00 AM."
"You don't have to, we can meet somewhere."
"Marinette, it's no bother at all."
"But..."
"Please."
Marinette stared at him for a few seconds, which for Damian took forever, inspecting him with her blue eyes, until she smiled.
"Ok"
"Thank you."
The two teenagers looked at each other for a few seconds in a comfortable silence, until the shrill voice of Chloe Bourgeois popped their bubble.
"Let's go now Marinette, you can talk to your 'friend' later!"
Marinette blushed a little and gave Chloe an annoyed look, which only made the blonde start laughing.
"Talk to you later, thanks again."
Before she could think about it, Marinette stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek before running off.
Damian stood, watching as the car drove away, dumbfounded by the heat he felt where Marinette had kissed him.
Well... apparently he had plans for Monday, plans, it wasn't a date, no matter what he knew Lucy would tell him.
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
No, I wasn't dead, just incredibly unmotivated.
I'm so sorry I didn't update sooner, but I just couldn't do it, I had the ideas in my head, but every time I tried to write, I got stuck and frustrated, I even thought about dropping the story.
However, when I was about to give up, I watched the movie Encanto with my family, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Lyn Manuel Miranda is a genius and his songs know how to awaken my creative side. I started listening to songs from musicals and reading books that I had wanted to read for a long time.
But then, just when I was ready to start writing again, my computer died, so I lost my progress.
And to top it all off, in March someone I considered my almost-grandfather died and that really affected me. I'm sorry you had to wait, but this person was very important to me.
That almost made me give up, I just couldn't writte anything when I was feeling like that.
Then, as my mental state was already somewhat fragile, I got upset because I found out that one of my childhood friends was getting married and didn't invite me to the wedding, which made me realize how much I had distanced myself from my friends. I'm also the only one in my group of friends who doesn't even have a boyfriend and people love to talk.
At work I had problems with a nasty guy who, besides being sexist, had started harassing a coworker I care about.
It has not been an easy year.
Please understand that I have adult obligations and writing is more a way to release stress and share with others some stories in my head, but I can't be writing as often as I would like.
Thanks for your understanding.
What did you think of the chapter? Excited about the non-date?
I hope you like it, thanks to all those who commented.
I hope you like the chapter.
See you next week.