The day passed.
So did another, and another, and another.
Dick's family and Cassandra never ended up coming last Sunday because of some emergency they had to attend to. Bruce clarified over and over that it was because of a friend's wedding they had to attend.
But both you and I know he was lying about it. I was pretty sure there was some kind of 'vigilante' emergency, and it was really tempting to go help. But unfortunately, I had no idea where they were.
Speaking of, Damian and I never talked about what happened last Sunday. Lila and the others had moved out the day after, not a single tantrum thrown. Seeing the sausage-hair leave with such a defeated look on her face brought me joy.
Me and the gang left soon after, honestly. It just wasn't home. Jason begged for me to stay, and even promised to get me in the family register, but I immediately denied. You can't really date your adopted sibling, can you?
Back to Damian, I honestly don't even see him around anymore. College had started up again, and he wasn't seen all day, and when he came back, he would just take his car and zoom out to meet Jon.
Or that's what he said.
I hadn't seen Jon since Pancake Day either.
And since me and the gang have been busy roaming the city and visiting different places... (Doing what we actually came here for.) I can't blame Damian either, since it wasn't like I was making time for him either.
Isabella had practically joined us on our adventures since, firstly, she knew more about Gotham anyway, and secondly, she had to shut down her cafe for a few days for a health examination.
The others made it a point to tell Bella about each and everything Lila had lied about and had done to us, which made her seethe with anger. "I'm glad I stood up to her." she said, when the list was over.
But unfortunately, there was no end to that list.
Maybe we finally had another group member, and I didn't have to third wheel, no, seventh wheel alone. I could finally hang out with someone when the others were on a date. Or I could find a boyfriend, that would be a good idea too.
Boyfriend.
What a word. Honestly, Damian is the first one that comes to my mind when I think of this, but then I wonder. Will he ever like me? What if he regrets what happened that day? What if it was a one-time thing?
I shook my head in a frenzy.
I was going to drive myself crazy; I had no need for Scarecrow's toxin. I looked at the date on my phone. It was Friday already, three days since we saw any of the Waynes, except for Bruce, who appeared on the Billboards here and there.
I sighed.
Today was important.
Today is the day the Miraculous team will have their first night of vigilantism in Gotham. After a long and hard discussion in the mansion, we all agreed to do so. Why? Joker had broken out once again, and I thought this could be a good practice session.
The miraculous team was back in business.
.......
"Marinette, you okay?"
A familiar voice, that of Alya's, broke me out of my thoughts. I blinked, turning to the woman standing in front of me. Alya stood in front of me, her hair tied back, and black eye shadow around her eyes.
"Hmm?" I turn around to face Alya. "I see you're getting ready." I say, smiling. Alya chuckles lightly. "Of course. We should be more careful here after all, far away from Bruce's face recognition." she jokingly, says, while I frown.
"The magic will keep us safe." I say, seriously. "I know Mari, but it can never hurt to be careful." she says, laying a hand on my shoulder. "Speaking of, when are you getting ready? It's almost time, Mari." Alya speaks.
"Huh?"
I look at the time in confusion. It was about 15 minutes before we had to leave, and I was still in my pajamas with messy hair, sitting and staring at my computer screen. "I... didn't see the time." I said, absentmindedly.
I look at my screen, where many tabs were open, organized quite messily. Most of them were about the Joker, some from the data I had stolen from Bruce. One was the chat messages I had sent to the Miraculous Temple, asking about identity protection magic.
Alya frowns.
"Marinette, are you okay?" the brunette asks me. I look at her in confusion. "Of course I am, Al." I reply with a smile. Alya's frown deepens as she detects my lie.
"Liar. You've been on your computer the whole day, to the point that you didn't notice the time passing. What's going on, Marinette?" she asks. Whether it was because I was overwhelmed with the fact that she noticed, or how concerned she looked, I told her.
"I'm scared, Alya."
"What?" Alya looked shocked, but then she smiled. "Of course you are, Mari. Everyone is." she says. "No, you don't get it." I say, shaking my head and looking away. "You'd think, after all the time in Paris, this fear would run out."
"But this is new, this is Gotham. This is so much more dangerous than Paris, and the fact that it is, scares me, Alya. I'm supposed to be brave, so you can be scared." I say, sighing at the end.
This was Gotham, the city of crime, where thieves and villains had no moral code. It wasn't like Paris, where you de-akumatize someone and the problem would be solved. There was no reset button for damages caused.
People here are out for blood, and there is practically nothing stopping them. I- no, we need to be careful out there. Because, once you're out there, you're on your own. By all means, a fight for your life.
You could get killed out there.
"The world is scary, Marinette." Alya started. "Of course you're going to be scared in a new place, chasing a new villain, fighting in a new way, but if that were to stop you, you wouldn't have chosen to be a hero, Marinette." she says.
I smiled at her. "Anyway, if we were to die, you can bring us back anyway." Alya says again, shrugging. I gasp in surprise. "Just because I can bring you back doesn't mean you can die in the first place!" I let out.
Alya laughs out loud in happiness.
"Of course not, Marinette. I'm just comforting you." Alya said. I grinned. "Thanks, Al." I say, making the brunette smile. "For you, always." she replies, smiling. As we grin at each other, we hear some hushed whispers.
"Can we go in yet?"
"I don't think so."
"They're having a deep conversation."
"But then, why are we hiding here again?"
I roll my eyes at the sound. Pressing a button on my desk, the doors of the changing room slide open, making the others fall onto the ground, as if they were leaning onto the door to eavesdrop.
"What were you doing?" I ask, annoyed. "Uh, you see Mari-" Nino starts, only to be rudely cut off by Chloe. "We were checking the quality of the door!" she piped up nervously.
"All together?" Alya asked. "Yep." Adrien chirped. "That makes sense." the brunette says, agreeing after sharing a glance with me. "Go on, then. Get ready." I say shooing them away.
Chloe and Adrien sighed in relief, walking away. "Hey, Chloe." I called out, making the two blondes pause their motion. "How is it?" I ask, as they looked at me, confused. "How was what?" Adrien asked back innocently.
"The quality of the door. I thought you were checking it." I say, frowning at them. Chloe laughs nervously. "Good. Amazing. Very strong." she said, smiling at me. Suddenly, Alya bursts into laughter from the other side of the room.
I grinned.
"Next time you eavesdrop, do it right." I say, walking past them. I ruffle Adrien's hair on the way out, making him gape at me in shock. I walk into the makeup room, starting to get ready for our rendezvous.
It was time I started getting ready.
.......
Here are the suits of our miraculous heroes:
MARINETTE (LADY LUCK):
ADRIEN (TIGOR):
ALYA (RENA ROUGE):
NINO (CARAPACE):
CHLOE (HONEY BEE):
LUKA (SERPENTIS):
KAGAMI (DRAGONESS):
.......
[Q.] Is Gotham really as dangerous as they say? Can Gotham ever become safe?