Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I think it's a bad idea. The energy here is weird and you're Tikki's holder.”

Marinette frowned at Plagg. “I don't see why I shouldn't try.” 

“Destruction. Chaos. No balance. It's a bad idea, Pigtails.”

“Well, I'm open to actual ideas or suggestions.”

Plagg grumbled but remained silent. Transforming was the only option Marinette could see. An accidental Miraculous swap combined with a weird teleporting Akuma had landed her somewhere in America, based on the language and the accent, just as she'd run out of time and detransformed. And now Plagg didn't want to let her shift back. He didn't know where they were any better than she did but claimed that he didn't like the vibe. 

“Look kid, my Kitten can hold the fort till we find a way back home- Tikki will make sure he takes care of the city. Just walk until it feels better. Then you can become Lady Noir and get a hold of Mister Bug and find a way home.”

With a grumbling sigh, Marinette started walking. There wasn't much she could do until she knew where they were anyway. Plagg nestled in the bottom of her purse grumbling and complaining with every step. 

Slowly the long, low buildings and the stench of the harbor gave way to taller and more compact structures. They were closing in on a city. 

“Any difference?” 

“No.” Plagg’s voice was listless, Marinette pursed her lips. Plagg looked a little green, and sort of droopy. 

“Are you okay?”

“I don't like this place. It's getting worse. Try walking in another direction.”

Marinette’s throat was parched and the idea of walking all those hours again, only to end up back where they started made her feel dizzy. 

“I need water first, Plagg.” Marinette panted, “I'll drop before we make it back.”

“Humans. Such pathetic creatures.”

Marinette scowled at her companion. This was all his fault! She could cover a lot more ground much more quickly if he wasn't being so difficult. 

She passed a dark alley quickly, making her way towards lights that hopefully indicated the sort of establishment that would sell a bottle of water. This city was dark and gloomy and she couldn't wait to leave. 

A piercing scream tore through the night. “Noooo!” 

Marinette froze at the anguished cry. She peered down another alley and saw a little girl pulling desperately to get away from a large man who was holding her by the wrist.

“Plagg, we have to help!” Ducking behind a large dumpster she ignored the Kwami when he tried to talk her out of it. “Claws out!”

That was the moment when everything went wrong.

Instead of feeling strong and powerful when the magic washed over her, Marinette felt small and disoriented. And wet. Ew! She leaped out of the puddle that was touching her paws.

Paws? 

Plagg had been right. Transforming was a bad idea. A terrible idea. She wasn't Lady Noir—Catlike hero— she was a furry cat-cat. 

Claws off! The words echoed in her mind but all that came from her mouth was a dissonant “Mreow! ” 

A whimpered cry caught her attention, and she turned back to see the man raise his hand to strike the girl who hadn't stopped her struggle to escape. She might not be Lady Noir, but deep down Marinette was a hero regardless of form, and this form had claws. With a spitting hiss, she jumped into action and clawed at the face of the hulking figure before he could hit the child who was now several feet taller than she was. 

With angry-sounding curses, the man let go of the child and swung at the cat attacking his face. It was easy work to hop nimbly out of the way. Marinette clawed at his legs until he tripped and fell, then she ran after the kid who had been smart enough to flee at the first opportunity. 

She scampered after the little girl down the alley and into the street, where a woman was frantically yelling. 

“Tinaaaaaa!” The little girl launched herself into the arms of the woman and Marinette felt relieved. She had made a difference here. Her actions, however unexpected, had saved a child. 

The woman's fast-paced speech left Marinette feeling lost. Her English wasn't good enough to keep up. She could handle most interactions with tourists at the Bakery, but she used subtitles on other media. 

She canted her head when she heard the little girl say ‘kitty’ along with her tearful ramblings, and slowly approached when Tina pointed at her. “Good Kitty.” 

The woman snatched the girl up, barely acknowledging Marinette as they walked away. Rude.  

“Thank you, Kitty!” Tina’s little voice called out as the mother-daughter duo made rapid progress away from Marinette and the dark alley. 

Placated by the child's words, Marinette relaxed a little. Unfortunately, nothing else had changed. She was still a cat. Now what?

When the sun had set and she spent a shivering night in a cardboard box, only to watch the sun rise pale and distant again, Marinette had to accept that she was stuck as a cat. Either Mister Bug had failed and Paris was in ruins, or the cure had not extended to whatever darkness had caught her in this bizarre form of her transformation. She groomed herself awkwardly, and hope built within her when she discovered the ring hidden under her fur around the ankle joint of her paw. She pawed at it, hoping that if she could just get it off, she would be restored. Oh! What she would give for thumbs! Nothing she did worked to shift the ring over her paw. She needed help. But she couldn’t let just anyone take the miraculous off of her. She had a vague worry that if she did manage to get it off while in this cursed place, she might not transform back correctly, so when her first attempts failed, she quit trying.

She spent a few listless days wandering the grim city. It didn't take long to discover that it was the street kids (who could barely take care of themselves) who were the most likely to feed her scraps of food or offer her fresh water. She did what she could to help them in return. She purred for the littlest ones who seemed scared and curled up with the kids who didn’t seem to have a place to sleep at night, keeping each other warm. 

“That's Gotham, for ya.” 

Marinette knew where she was now. Anytime something went wrong, she heard the same phrase. And this place, Gotham, seemed like a trouble magnet. It did come with its own heroes though. She had learned some of their names by watching them work. She had also learned that the big hulking one and the ‘small’ stoic one would feed her if she scratched the bad guys. 

The big one, Red Hood, also fed and cared for little kids who were lost, scared, or worse. Marinette had been appalled at how the children of Gotham lived. It frustrated her that there was only so much she could do.

The smaller, grumpy one- called Robin, fed and petted any animal that came along. It was cute to see the gruff little vigilante reduced to polite admiration of any rooftop cat or alley dog. Marinette was glad to be a cat when he was around because based on what she heard him say into his comms, he wasn't nearly as kind to his compatriots as he was to the stray animals in the city.

The first time Robin spotted the black cat he had been surprised. 

He paused in midstep as something small and black flew through the air before landing on the petty crooks he was fighting. It was a cat- and it had just blinded one of the would-be thieves. Hoping his uniform would protect him from a rabid animal, he continued the fight, subduing the criminals with relative ease. As soon as they were all zip-tied, he turned to the now docile cat. It no longer seemed as if it wanted to attack. He pulled a few treats from his belt and dropped them in front of the animal before radioing in for assistance to haul the criminals away. 

These days, he almost expected it. The cat had been showing up to fights all around Crime Alley. It never attacked the vigilantes, but had become impressively good at slowing down their opponents. Todd had informed him that the same cat seemed to befriend the most downtrodden of the street kids. So it was kind as well as vicious and intelligent. He offered it a treat whenever he saw it now. Tonight things were slow, and the pretty little cat found him as he surveyed the city, curling up in his lap as they watched over Gotham together. Damian pulled off a glove to stroke her soft fur, and delighted in her contented purrs.

Marinette spent days trying to figure out where Robin lived. It wasn't that she wanted to discover his identity - she just needed a place to stay. And if that place had a computer, she might be able to contact Chat Noir somehow, and maybe they could find a way to fix this and go home.

In the end, she was no match for the speed of the motorcycles they used and decided to use her form to her advantage. 

Mrow. Meow. Purrrrrrrrrr…

Marinette wound her way around Robin’s ankles, trilling as she went. Once he picked her up, she climbed onto his shoulders and settled comfortably around his neck, keeping up the purring. Adoption was the only answer. As suspected, the vigilante didn’t set her down but brought her with him. Only, he didn’t go to a home anything like hers- he went to a cave . It was a lair. There really wasn’t a better description for it. The lair had multiple motorcycles, the batmobile, impressive costume displays, and a T-Rex skeleton. And taking up nearly a wall, was a huge computer. It was perfect! Once Robin moved to change, she hopped off his shoulder and curled up on the still-warm hood of the Batmobile. She would bide her time until no one was watching.

Nervous about following the vigilantes into wherever they went when they left the cave in civilian clothes, Marinette shied away from the tunnels. She could leave the cave if needed, but she didn’t know what would happen if she ended up in a house. Robin didn’t seem to mind her prowling around the cave and never pushed her to follow him. Her plan had one flaw- there were a lot of Bats. Birds. Whatever. The cave seemed as if it were never empty. How was she supposed to use the computer and contact Chat Noir (currently Mister Bug) if she was never alone?!

Robin had brought a food and water dish down for her to use the first time she refused to follow him past the cave. And she had a bed before lunchtime the next day. It was, well not warm, but dry in the cave- and the food was more consistent if rather boring. But she missed the kids on the streets. She even missed scratching bad guys to help the vigilantes. In a word, it was lonely and boring. Sure, the Robins played with her- but they didn’t spend a lot of free time lingering in the cave. They sparred and planned- but clearly, their downtime was spent wherever the tunnels led. 

Someone called Agent A had been their man in the chair for her first few days, and he seemed so starched and polished, she was sure he wouldn’t want a stray cat pawing at him, so she had made herself scarce while he was in the cave. Tonight it was different. 

There was a red-haired woman in front of the computer tonight. Her fingers flew over the console and she fed useful intel through her headset to the vigilantes in the field. Marinette slunk slowly towards the wheelchair and pawed at her knee. 

“Mreow!”

“Well, hello there, kitty. Did Damian bring you home?” Marinette curled up in her lap and watched carefully. When she finally got her chance, she would know how to use the giant machine. 

In the meantime, she listened. Oracle, Babs, Barbara? Fed information to the heroes out in the field and Marinette used her limited understanding of English to decode sentences, picking up more and more as the days went by. When the language started to feel comfortable, she decided that if she ever made it home she was going to take an English class for an easy passing grade. 

Once, when Oracle (Barbara’s code name) turned her back for a moment, Marinette jumped up onto the keyboard and tried to open the Ladyblog, but found it was ‘Restricted in your Country’. With a low growl, Marinette looked for a VPN. Surely a computer like this wouldn’t let country restrictions be a problem! 

“No, no, Kitty.” Barbara scooped her up and off the keyboard. “What did you step on? Restricted access, huh?” Marinette watched impatiently as Barbara muttered to herself. Maybe all she had to do to make the right person curious and they would inadvertently help her…

“Oracle! We got a problem here.” Red Robin’s voice cut the silence and Barbara was all business once again. The Ladyblog window was shunted out of the way to make room for blueprints as Oracle relayed the needed information to the team outside.

Tim was curious too. Marinette jumped onto the desk when Red Robin enlarged the abandoned Ladyblog window after his return for the night. “What’s this Babs?”

“Oh. I don’t know. Damian’s rescue cat opened it by accident. I was going to take a look, but I forgot about it when you called for help.”

Robin approached and scooped Marinette up. “She is a smart cat. Why do you think it was an accident?”

His team looked at him.

“She’s a cat.”

“A cat that attacks villians and comforts children. Tt. You should appreciate that intelligence comes in all forms.” 

Marinette purred in his arms. Robin really was rather nice- once you got to know him. 

“What did she find?”

Tim tapped a few times, turning on a VPN set to France. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look.”

Marinette felt her whole body tense as the Ladyblog loaded, depicting the last battle where Lady Noir was seen vanishing after being hit by a beam from the Akuma called Displacer. 

“Looks like a hero blog. It’s run by a minor.”

“School project?”

“Could be. If it’s a student project that could explain the restriction.”

“Looks too good to be made by kids. Those battles almost look real.”

“Yeah, its good work. If it wasn’t for the fact that we know there isn’t a rampaging villain in Paris, I’d believe it.”

Marinette’s purr turned into a frustrated growl as the debate continued around her. She jumped out of Damian’s arms and onto the keyboard, navigating to another video. When Tim tried to shoo her away, she batted at the mouse, pulling up another clip. 

“There’s an awful lot of footage here for a single school project,” Babs interjected. Marinette stopped, sat, and stared at the trio before glancing back at the monitor. 

“Your cat is weird, Damian.”

“She is clever. We should look into this.”

“Sure, I’ll add it to the list,” Tim said. But then he closed the window and pulled up the reports for the evening. Marinette dashed across the keyboard with a hiss, messing up his work.

“Hey!” Tim swiped at her, but Damian blocked his arm. 

“Do not touch my cat.”

“She started it!”

“Grow up, Drake.”

Marinette sighed in her mind. Back to square one. She glanced at Damian, glad she couldn’t blush. It was sweet that he had protected her. Tim wouldn’t have hurt her, but it had been scary to see his arm moving at her so quickly. 

Damian studied the cat who had taken up residence in the cave. There was something about it. He liked it- but he liked all animals. She was smart. She barely tolerated Drake, so she amused him- though he knew she liked Todd nearly as well as himself. He had mentioned feeding a little black cat that seemed to enjoy assisting him during fights. He reminded himself that she had followed him home, not Todd. She was clearly a very intelligent beast. Although she seemed skittish about entering the house. He couldn’t understand. She was friendly and affectionate but refused to be carried beyond the cave. 

He glanced back at the computer. He hadn’t seen the web address before Drake closed it, and though he knew that Timothy would get to it eventually, he was annoyed that he had put it off in lieu of other things. Damian decided to look into Paris himself in the meantime. Just in case. The cat was rather clever after all.

It was locked. A growl escaped her throat. Marinette had been so excited when the cave was empty and she finally had her chance to send a message. But the hulking ‘Batcomputer’ was password protected just to get passed the screen saver. These bats sure were paranoid. There was only one thing for it, she needed to gain access to the rest of the house- assuming that was where the tunnels went.. 

It wasn’t hard. She just pulled the same trick, winding herself around Robin’s—Damian’s—ankles when he went to leave the cave in his civvies. 

“Tt. Are you ready to join the household, then?” 

Marinette purred her assent when he scooped her up. 

The purring was short-lived. Agent A—called Alfred inside the house—had very specific guidelines about pets in the house, and Marinette had to suffer through a bath and flea medication. That had been a close call.

“What is this? Is it too tight?”

Damian tugged the ring around her leg gently, and Marinette’s ears went flat as she let out a low growl. The warning sound took up residence in her throat like an angry purr, and Damian pulled back. 

“Be calm. Let me make sure you are not wounded.”

Marinette cautiously let him inspect the paw, she let up the growling but left her ears flat against her head. She needed the ring off but wasn’t ready to give up her identity. She was vastly outnumbered here. The idea of transforming while in a house full of foreign vigilantes was terrifying.

“Alright. I don’t see any infection. You can keep it.”

“Mreow.” Marinette relaxed her ears and Damian huffed.

“Tch. You are a rather clever cat, aren’t you?”

It wasn’t long before she was lumped in with two other household pets. A large dog and another cat. Mutual disdain was quickly settled upon between herself and Alfred the Cat, and Titus was friendly and accepted her easily. His gentleness and giant size reminded her of her Papa.

Marinette’s heart clenched whenever she thought of her parents. She had been missing for weeks now. Were they okay? If she could get her hands on a laptop or something, maybe she could find a way to message them as well as seek help from Mister Bug.

The Batfamily, for that is what they were, were no less paranoid in their home than they were in the cave. Every laptop and tablet she found was password protected. The house was huge. Bigger even than Chloe’s hotel. She explored all the nooks and crannies in her search for a way to contact Paris. She found another route—a small tunnel possibly made by rats at some point—between the house and the cave that didn’t require the opening of the clock. 

The newfound freedom also granted her access to the city if she was willing to make the journey from the cave. She liked sneaking into the batmobile and helping fight against villains again. Of course, each time she joined the vigilantes she had to suffer the indignity of a bath upon her return to the manor. It was worth it. Every time a little kid petted her or gathered her into a hug she felt good about making a difference. The Bat Clan could scare off bad guys well enough- but their costumes were scary to some of the kids they helped, and Marinette liked offering her support to the shaking children. 

She ignored every name the family tried to give her. She was a cat, so she half-heartedly responded to ‘kitty’, but she wasn’t about to accept a name that wasn’t hers. She was a person! Even if no one knew it. Until the day Jason came over. 

“That the sidekick cat?”

“Yes, Todd. This is the cat that has assisted us as of late.”

Marinette studied the newcomer. She had figured out all the rest of the vigilantes, but Red Hood never stayed at the manor. So this must be him. She hopped into his lap and curled up. Next to Damian, he was her favorite. 

“What do you call the fuzzball?” Jason asked as he stroked her fur. Marinette stretched her claws, digging the pointed tips into his legs. She was not a fuzzball. She was a HERO. Thank you very much.

“Ow!”

“She has refused all attempts at naming.”

“Huh. Well, add Fuzzball to the list of rejects. Tiny, vicious creature.”

Marinette let another claw prick his leg. She was actually impressed by how well he handled her attack. Jason hadn’t chucked her out of his lap, he just kept petting her. 

“You’re like some kind of angry Fairy.”

“Mrow?” Marinette thought of her Nona’s nickname for her and pulled her claws in, resting her head. 

“How about Pixie? You can be our little avenging fairy.” 

Marinette purred. Close enough. It was better than ‘Kitty’ anyway.

Damian was surly. Even to Pixie. Because of Pixie. He had been rather satisfied that she had chosen him over Todd to follow home, but maybe that had been a matter of timing. Why hadn’t she liked any of the names he offered? 

He felt bad about his petulance a day later when Pixie watched him warily before jumping up to his bed to curl up a few feet away from him. Before he had started storming around the manor, she would curl up in his lap and let him talk about his day. 

“Sorry, Pixie. I’ve been unpleasant. It was unfair to you.” 

“Mrow.” She slowly climbed into his lap and let him stroke her soft fur. He accepted her forgiveness and told her all about the idiots in his class and their foolish teachers. 

As much as he loved his other pets, there was something about the little black cat that comforted him. He was glad she had found him.

Marinette prowled the kitchen as quietly as she could. Pets were not allowed in Alfred’s kitchen. But the kitchen had Alfred’s tablet in it. The one he used for recipes and other simple household things. Nothing worth encrypting. She leaped silently onto the counter and approached it where it stood in its stand. She batted at the screen and it lit up, a recipe still displayed over its surface. Perfect! All she had to do was navigate to the Ladyblog and leave a message. Something Alya could tell Mister Bug about so that they could find her. 

It wasn’t easy typing with paws. Thankfully the touchscreen recognised the pads on her feet. Marinette concentrated carefully, enabling the VPN first. Then she had to work to get the address right. There! www.ladyblogparis.fr, she hit enter just as hands clasped her body and pulled her from the counter. No! “MREOORW! ”

“Alright, Kitty. You don’t want to be here when Alfred returns.” Tim dropped her unceremoniously onto the floor by the door and she glared at him. How dare he?!

Tim—Red Robin—turned his back on her, pulled a mug from a cupboard, and filled it with coffee. As soon as his back was turned to return the carafe to the coffee maker, she jumped onto the counter with a spitting hiss and batted at the mug, shoving it onto the floor. She jumped down and fled the kitchen as it shattered, leaving Tim to deal with the mess. His shouts followed her, but she ignored him. He kept messing everything up!

He was out to get her. For every happy moment Marinette spent fighting bad guys with Robin or Red Hood, there was another frustrating moment where Tim got between her and sending a message. He shooed her away from the bat computer more often than she could count, slammed laptops shut if he caught her sniffing around them, and was generally a wretched grump of a Bird. Of course, she repaid him by knocking over each and every one of his coffee cups as she found them. 

Marinette was getting desperate. One day, she carefully pried the letters c,h,a,t,n,o,i, and r off of every keyboard in the house. If they wouldn’t let her use a computer, she would try communicating with her hosts directly. 

“What the hell happened to my laptop?”

“Which of you idiots messed with my keyboard?”

Tim, Jason, and Stephanie were arguing in the living room when Marinette rode into the room on Damian’s shoulders. 

“What are you imbeciles arguing about?”

They started shouting over one another and Marinette leaped onto the sofa and dug out a couple of the letter keys she had stolen and stashed. She picked them up with her teeth and placed them on the coffee table, spelling out her simple request, before she climbed up Damian and dropped an extra ‘c’ into his hand. Hopefully one of them was smart enough to get what she was telling them. 

“What the hell.” They were all staring, bouncing between her, the words on the table, and the letters in Damian’s hand.

Damian reached up and stroked her, “Such a clever kitty you are Pixie.” She purred, any second now…

“Why the hell does Pix speak French?”

“Tt. She did not speak .”

“Hey! Can you spell purple? What’s purple in French, guys?” 

Tim backed away. “There is something very wrong with that cat.”

Marinette groaned in her mind. She had written chat noir. While being a black cat. Of course, they didn’t get it. She needed a new plan.

It had been weird at first. Sleeping in a room with a boy. Damian’s green eyes were kind when she curled up on his bed and he petted her while chatting about his day. She liked him when he was home, comfortable with his animals or paints. Now, after nearly two months of sharing his space, she was used to it. She often fell asleep to the sound of his voice and the feel of his hand resting on her back. 

She liked watching him paint. He was very good, and he expressed his feelings best through his art. Damian was not a good communicator. Once she had gotten comfortable following English, she had begun to notice he spoke much differently than his family. And no one in this house was as expressive as her family. There was more unspoken camaraderie than verbal affection, and while Marinette could tell that they cared for each other, she wasn’t entirely sure they were communicating that very well to one another. But Damian’s art spoke volumes. She could tell when he was troubled, or when he was at peace, just by looking at his work. 

He was preparing to start something new now. She watched as he set up a fresh canvas and prepared his palette. 

Beep! Beep Beep!

It was the all-hands bat alarm. Damian slid the loaded palette onto his desk with a frown and left without a word, the door slammed shut behind him before Marinette managed to make it off the bed. She was stuck. Unable to help her Robin. She sighed. Then she spotted the canvas and paints. It was time to be direct. And maybe accept that she might have to give up her identity to a houseful of vigilantes.

It was crude at best. And she had made a mess out of his room. There was no way to paint cleanly when you had to use your paws. The towel she had dragged from his bathroom was ruined- but it had helped to mitigate the destruction to the carpet. Damian’s once blank canvas now had an awkward ladybug in one corner, with the words, ‘Help- Trapped. Ladyblog, MisterBug. Ring’ scrawled across it. It was legible, but only just. She swiped her paws at the towel once more and then jumped onto Damian’s pillow to wait. 

“What. On. Earth. Pixie, how did..?”

Marinette stretched lazily as she woke from her nap. She kneaded the blankets in front of her but stopped when she noticed the colors staining her paws… Oh. Right. She looked up into the shocked face of Damian, who was glancing between her and the canvas. 

She gave him a baleful look and pointedly began using her teeth to pick the dried paint from the fur between her claws. 

“You’re more than a smart cat, aren’t you?”

“Mreow!”

It was about time. She jumped onto his laptop and stared at him. Maybe she could do this without revealing her identity to everyone .

Still looking between her and the canvas, Damian opened his laptop and keyed in his password. “Alright, Pixie. What is it?”

Marinette navigated to the Ladyblog again. She wanted him to understand that her previous actions had not been accidental. 

“Continue.”

She pulled up a Word document and started typing. It was slow and awkward, but Damian was patient, something she very much appreciated at the moment.

‘Ladybug in Paris. Temporary Lady Noir. Akuma. Stuck in Gotham. Stuck as cat. Need help. Ring off. Not in Gotham. Afraid it wont work right.’ 

She hesitated, looked at Damian’s wide-eyed expression, and added one more thing. 

‘Marinette’

She knew his secrets. It was only right that she offer up one of her own.

It took only a second for Damian to take over the computer. His search for Marinette and Paris turned up a story of a missing teenager. A teenager who had been missing since the date stamp on the latest Ladyblog fight scene. 

“Are you the missing girl?”

“Mreow!”

“And the hero, Ladybug?”

“Meow!”

“Did you come here to spy on us?”

Marinette hissed, before settling into a low growl at the accusation. She did not like the insinuation, even though she could appreciate it. If she had brought a cat home only to find it was a boy in disguise, she would have been scared and angry.

Damian glared at her. “It’s a fair question.”

She stopped growling but kept her ears flat and stared at him.

“Why are you a cat, and why are you in Gotham?”

She held his gaze for a moment before she used her head to push his hands away from the keyboard and slowly tapped out an answer. 

‘Akuma sent me to Gotham. Gotham broke the magic. Transformation went wrong.’

“Gotham interfered with your magic?”

“Meow!”

“And the ring controls your magic.”

“Mrooow.”

Damian studied her for a second. “Why did you not let me remove it weeks ago?”

Marinette managed a huffing sound that was almost a sigh. She typed one word- ‘Scared.’

It was the easiest explanation for everything. She didn’t know what would happen if the ring came off in Gotham. She hadn’t been ready to share her identity. She was still scared, but she was more afraid of being stuck forever. The trust she had decided to place in him was still only a hesitant flutter in her chest. What he did next would determine whether or not she had made the right choice.

She waited. Damian was thinking. Processing. He kept looking between her and the evidence. The painting. The laptop. 

“If you were a spy, you would not have revealed yourself to me. I believe that you are stuck.” He ran a comforting hand down her back. “I am sorry you have been afraid.”

Marinette breathed out in relief. Now all she had to do was get a hold of either Mister Bug or her family and find out if removing the ring would work. 

Damian had left a cryptic message on the Ladyblog, asking about a lost cat that the Akuma might have displaced before leaving with Pixie on his motorcycle. He planned to try removing the ring outside of the city. 

When the small black cat had first appeared during fights, he had been worried it was rabid, then he had been concerned that it would be hurt. The cat had quickly proved her mettle by attacking villains and siding with his family. It had been an uncommon creature from the start. He had been pleased when it came home with him. Happy when the others could see how clever she was. Surprised when she kept following them out to fight crime. Confused about the odd situation in Paris. He had thought she was a special cat. He had not suspected her of being human . The information on the missing teenager told him they were the same age—seventeen—and the photo told him that she was pretty. He didn’t know how to feel about the realization that a pretty girl had been following him around as a cat.

He felt conflicted about the idea. He liked his cat. She listened to him. But there was a weird feeling deep in his belly when he thought about her being a person in disguise. It felt like betrayal, and he didn’t like it. How would he feel about the girl once the ring was off and she was restored? How would he feel if he removed the ring and she remained a cat? Marinette clung to his shoulders as he rode, he could just feel her consistent purr in addition to the vibrations of the engine and road as he covered the miles. He would find out soon enough.

The silence felt oppressive after the sound of the engine. Damian had stopped at a little wooded park somewhere between Gotham and Metropolis. The only privacy they had was the cover of the trees, but no one could see them from the road or playground. Without Plagg to advise her, Marinette could only hope that they were in a safe enough place to try breaking the faulty transformation. She held out her ringed paw to Damian, her ears twitching nervously.

“Ready?” Damian took hold of her paw and gently tried to work the ring off of it. 

“Oh!” Marinette spoke for the first time in months as pink light flashed around her. Instinct took over and she caught the exhausted Plagg when he fell into her hands. Her eyes sought Damian, and she froze when she saw him holding the ring. Nervousness warred with fear and gratitude.

“Thank you.” Marinette looked up at Damian. He might have been the smallest of Gotham’s vigilantes, but he was still marginally taller than her. 

“You are welcome. This is yours, I believe.” 

Marinette felt the tension drain out of her as Damian offered her the ring. She had trusted the right person. With the ring back on her finger, she looked to Damian and decided to offer the only olive branch she had in her possession. 

“Would you like to meet Plagg?” She held out the exhausted-looking Kwami and Damian’s awed expression shifted from her face to the being in her palms. Unfortunately, Plagg was not in the mood to be introduced. He glanced at Damian for just a second before turning on Marinette.

“I told you not to transform in that place Pigtails! I’m starving! Do you think I like being trapped as a mortal cat?! Stuck with you for ages. Months and months without cheese! You’re lucky we survived. As it is, I am unlikely to recover.”

Marinette frowned at Plagg when he folded his paws, drooped into her hands, and sulked. She glanced back up at Damian. “Sorry about him.”

“Are you well? Does it need food?” Damian asked hesitantly, holding out a chunk of cheese that Marinette had thought to ask him to bring before they left. 

Plagg was little more than a blur, as he bolted from Marinette’s hand to claim the offering. “Well! I’m glad someone around here knows how to treat the god of destruction!”

“Plagg!” 

Marinette’s scolding was overshadowed by Damian, “It was Marinette that requested I bring the cheese.”

Marinette smiled gratefully at Damian, but his eyes turned away from her. Her heart sank.

Her breath came out in a whisper, “Sorry. It was never my intention to infiltrate you guys. I just wanted to find a way home.” 

“Tch. I understand. It was an intelligent course of action. I am sorry it took so long before we understood the situation.”

“Damian. I really appreciate all you did for me. I know it was different for you, but you felt like a…friend. And I’ll miss you.”

“You were an excellent cat.” Damian ground his teeth. “I will miss you as well.”

Marinette couldn’t help it. She threw her arms around the boy who had cared for her, rescued her. Damian froze for a brief second, but then his arms wrapped around for a beat before releasing her again. Marinette stepped back, blushing at her own actions. 

“Maybe, we could assist you in ridding Paris of your villain.” 

Marinette’s head snapped up. “You want to help me?” 

“It would be wise to keep in touch since you know our secrets.”

Disappointment overrode her joy. “Oh. yes. Of course.”

“And, I would like to find out if I still enjoy your company,” Marinette beamed at Damian’s admission, “Though it remains to be seen whether or not your company will still be pleasurable now that you are not a cat.”

“Alright, Alright! No more flirting!” Plagg jumped between the two of them, obviously fed up. “Transform already and call the kid. I do not want to end up back in that wretched city.” He whirled on Damian. “If you want to help, that’s fine. But come to us. Gotham is disgusting.”

Marinette glanced at Damian, pointedly ignoring Plagg’s accusations of their flirting. “I should try to call my partner.”

“Of course.” Damian stepped back but watched curiously as she turned to Plagg.

Marinette took a deep breath. Hopefully, this didn’t go sideways again. “Plagg, claws out!”

The magic that rushed over her that time felt familiar. Right. Powerful. Marinette smiled at the way Damian gaped at her. She fought against the snarky confidence that came with Plagg, but couldn’t hold it in. 

“Like what you see, Birdy?”

Damian gulped. “You have always been a very pretty cat. That has not changed.”

Lady Noir extended her baton, opened the messaging function, and tilted her head at her new friend. “Hasn’t it?”

Damian snapped his mouth shut, and Lady Noir grinned as she went to tap Mister Bug’s contact, but stopped, surprised to see both Rena Rouge and Pegasus active as well. She opened a link to everyone. 

“My Lady! Are you alright? Where have you been?” Chat’s frantic questions were interrupted by Pegasus's calm interruption. 

“I have a lock on your position, LB. Is it safe for us to come to you?”

“Yes. Make sure to avoid Gotham City. It is nearby and wreaks havoc with the Miraculous.” 

“Will do, see you in a moment.”

Damian was starting to wish he had come as Robin. His plan to help the girl trapped as a cat had turned into a Superhero Meeting, and he did not like feeling like an outsider. The group was speaking in rapid-fire French, and Damian followed along, frowning when he realized just how dire Marinette’s position appeared to be.

“...What do you mean, everyone knows?!”

The fox hero looked at Lady Noir sympathetically. “Sorry babe. It’s just that once Displacer was defeated, and Mister Bug cast the cure, everyone he had zapped came back. Except for you…and the civilian you.” She glanced nervously at Damian, but Damian held his ground. “I grabbed the box before Hawkmoth could put two and two together.”

Marinette exhaled. Thank goodness Alya had known where to find the Miracle Box. 

Mister Bug jumped in, “When I saw Rena online, I contacted her. Found out she had secured the box. Most of the people who had been hit by the Akuma said they ended up far away, so I re-instated Pegasus so we would be ready once we found you.”

The Horse hero—Pegasus—interjected. “Not everyone knows. Just anyone who cares enough about both your civilian self and who noticed Lady Noir get zapped. Shadowmoth knows. It looks like your room was ransacked within hours of you being reported missing.”

Lady Noir sagged as the realization hit. “I can’t go back. The box isn’t safe. I’m surprised It’s been safe with Rena this whole time. If Shadowmoth knows who I am, he knows who I’d be most likely to trust.”

She turned to Rena, eyes pleading. “Are my parents..?”

“They’re fine. I’ve been keeping an eye on them. I think they know, and they are worried. But he hasn’t come after them. And my room was searched. After I got the box, and we realized that Shadowmoth was on the right path, we started moving it around every night.”

Mister Bug waited half a second before he blurted out, “So, where have you been, and what do you mean you can’t come back?”

Damian decided to enter the fray. If he was to help Marinette, he needed to be a part of the conversation. “She was a cat.”

Mister Bug gestured to her black suit, “Obviously.”

Lady Noir jolted and exclaimed in English, “You speak French?”

Rena gave him a once over and leaned into Marinette and whispered, none too quietly, “Who’s the hottie?”

Pegasus glanced at Lady Noir in surprise. “I did not know you spoke English.”

Damian pulled out his cell phone, and pulled up a photo of ‘Pixie’. “She was a cat.”

“My Lady! You were adorable!!” Damian scowled when the spotted hero pulled Marinette into a hug but felt slightly better when she shifted away. He should not feel possessive about this girl. She was practically a stranger... Who had fought by his side, listened to his thoughts, and slept in his bed. 

Lady Noir gestured to Damian. “This is Damian. He’s my friend. He took care of me while I was stuck as a cat.” She pivoted to Pegasus. “I learned English by listening to Damian and his family.” 

Damian nodded to them and turned his attention back to Lady Noir. “Do you require a place to stay? We have plenty of room, as you know. We can work together to stop your villain so you can return home safely.”

“What!? No. You have to come back to Paris!”

“I can’t keep sleeping on your pillow, Damian.”

“WHAT?!” Rena’s voice scared away the birds and Mister Bug just stared at them in shock.

Marinette scoffed at her friends, “I was a cat.”

“We do have guest bedrooms. You would have all the privacy you need.” 

“And your family?” Marinette reminded him.

“Tch. My family might not even notice. But we could tell them whatever you are comfortable with. My father is no stranger to taking in people who are hiding from villains- whether it be on a temporary or permanent basis.”

“Wait!” Mister Bug yelled. “We can’t just leave you here! Your parents are worried, school isn’t the same, and I miss you! Can’t you just give the earrings to someone else? Pick a new Guardian and come home?”

Damian tensed when Marinette flinched. Tears glistened in her eyes before she choked them back. He wanted to protect her. Even though she looked nothing like the little cat he had cared for, nothing like the vulnerable girl he had glimpsed before donning her magic. There was something her friends didn’t know that scared her…

“I can’t. I don’t want to forget.”

“Forget what?” 

Marinette stared at the ground. “When Master Fu gave up the guardianship, he lost all of his memories associated with the Miraculous. I have had Tikki with me every day since we met. I would forget everything from the last four years. It would be like I was thirteen again.” 

Silence surrounded them, and Damian made a decision. “Then you must come back with me. Your life is too valuable to throw aside.”

Marinette was shocked. She had been impressed that the stalwart Robin had been as courteous as he had been once he discovered she wasn’t a real cat, and now he was offering a home with him until it was safe? 

“I can’t take Plagg back there. Gotham made him sick. Claws off.”

The other heroes stood slack-jawed as she transformed, but Damian smiled when Marinette glanced at him as herself. She tried not to blush. Green eyes might always be her weakness. 

Damian broke the shocked silence, “Why ‘Pixie’?”

“Huh?”

“Why was Pixie an acceptable name?”

Marinette laughed. “Oh! My Nona calls me her little Fairy. It seemed like the best offer I was going to get.”

Mister Bug finally found his tongue, “That was weird. It was one thing to know who you were, it’s very different to see it. I can’t believe you’ve been in school with me all this time. I guess you need these.” He gestured at his earrings before dropping his own transformation. “Spots off.”

“Woah.” Marinette wasn’t alone- Both Rena and Pegasus were startled by Adrien’s appearance. Marinette’s mind reeled with the realization, and she was grateful her crush on him had died out a while ago. 

Plagg was on him in a flash. “Oh, kid! Thank goodness. You have got to get me out of here. Did you bring camembert? I need proper sustenance before I perish!”

“Tikki! I’ve missed you.” Marinette hugged her Kwami to her chest before glancing at Rena and Pegasus. “We should bring the box here for safekeeping. I just need to see how Tikki feels about Gotham. Plagg could tell something was wrong before I transformed.”

She turned to the Kwami, who was practically inhaling squishy cheese pulled from Adrien’s pocket. “Sorry, I didn’t listen to you Plagg.”

“Yeah, kid. I know. You had to be a hero. It’s why you were chosen.”

It took some doing, Damian could only safely fit so many people on the motorcycle at a time, and Marinette didn’t want any of the transformed heroes running into the ‘Gotham danger zone’ while transformed until they had a better idea of what would happen. In the end, Marinette had Pegasus open a portal so she could steal her Vespa, and they were able to double ride back toward the city. It was weird giving up their identities- even though she trusted Damian. Her team didn’t know he was a vigilante though, so she was careful to not use their names for now. 

They eventually determined that only Plagg was so terribly affected by whatever was wrong with Gotham. Tikki said it didn’t bother her at all and Kalkki only looked disdainfully at the idea that she could be hurt by a city. 

Trixx didn’t like it. They wrinkled their nose. “It doesn’t hurt. But it feels wrong.” 

Marinette was glad that Pegasus could come for her if needed, and that she could transform safely into Ladybug while she stayed in Gotham. 

“Rena, can you tell my parents I’m safe? Confirm my identity and tell them I have to stay away until we catch Shadowmoth?”

“Of course! You want me to tell them as Rena?”

“Yeah. Let’s try to keep as much of our identities under wrap as we can.” Marinette felt shaky about all the reveals that had happened in such a short period of time and was desperate to reign it in as much as possible. Just because Parisians who knew her, or about her disappearance had likely figured out her identity, that didn’t mean they shouldn’t be wary or careful. 

Max transformed back into Pegasus to take Chat Noir and Rena Rouge home, while Marinette watched them go. She would call her parents as soon as she found a way to set up her phone to work in the United States. In the meantime, she would follow Damian home and find out if his family was as willing to host an interloping hero as he seemed to think they would be.

Chapter Text

Marinette parked her Vespa in front of the Manor and stared up at the imposing building. It had looked huge as a cat, and that was not at all diminished by being human. 

“It looks bigger. How can it look bigger?”

Damian moved to stand next to her. His presence was comforting. “Are you ready to ‘meet’ them?”

Marinette took a deep steadying breath to prepare herself, but let it all out in a whoosh. “What are we going to tell them?! Why on earth would they let me in? I don’t have a story. Or a suitcase. I need a plan . What are they going to think?!”

Damian’s eyes were wide as she rambled, but he waited patiently for her to stop. “I have already texted the family chat. They know that a villain is after you and that you require sanctuary. Anything else you need can be provided.”

Marinette took a few more deep breaths. Damian had taken care of her before he knew the stakes. Surely he wouldn’t mislead her now. She could trust him. Much more than he could trust her . She had joined the household under false pretenses, and now she was about to do it a second time.

“Okay then.” 

Damian was watching her carefully. “You were a lot quieter as a cat.” 

Marinette flushed with embarrassment and barked out a laugh. Damian’s knack for speaking his mind was oddly refreshing. “I wish I could say I’m making up for months of not being able to talk. I mean, it’s true, but I would be like this regardless. It won’t be long before you regret offering your home to me.”

“Tt. Just because you have a lot to say does not mean you are less pleasant to be around.”

Marinette smiled at him. “Thank you, Damian.”

Texting ahead with the basic cover story had made it easier to avoid an awkward in-person explanation.  Damian simply mentioned that their temporary ward was a bit overwrought by everything, and would need some time to acclimate to her new surroundings. On a less positive side, it also ensured that the whole family was there to greet her. Curiosity was a Wayne Family curse. Damian glared at the menagerie awaiting them the moment Alfred opened the door. If Marinette had been unfamiliar with his family, she would have been completely overwhelmed. 

As it was, she paused for a moment, taking everyone in. Damian gently pressed a hand against her shoulder blade to keep her moving. The action seemed both natural and invasive. He had spent hours caressing her over the last couple of months, but Marinette was no longer a cat. She was a pretty girl who might not feel comfortable being touched by a boy she barely knew. Much to his surprise, Marinette relaxed into his touch before he could pull away. 

He liked that she felt comfortable with him, so he left his hand on her shoulder as he guided her through the throng and into the house.

“This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Tim’s mouth dropped open. “You’re the missing girl. The one from Paris. Do your parents know where you are?!”

Damian nearly laughed when he saw Marinette eye the coffee cup in Tim’s hand. He had noticed her propensity for knocking over his cups. Of course, knowing now that his attempts to protect their computers had been thwarting her from escaping her predicament, it made sense. 

Marinette pulled her eyes from the cup and looked Tim in the face, “Um, I think so? I haven’t talked to them directly yet, but a friend promised to make sure they knew I was safe.”

“Would you mind letting Marinette settle in before you bombard her with questions?” Damian asked pointedly. 

“Excellent suggestion, Master Damian,” Alfred agreed. “If you will direct me to your luggage, I will show you to your room, Miss.”

Marinette faltered, clinging to the sewing basket Rena Rouge had given her. “I uh, I don't have… um. I had to leave quickly.” 

Stephanie squealed, “Shopping trip! I'm going to call Babs!”

Bruce stepped in, “Please don't fret about anything, we are more than happy to take care of your needs while you're visiting. You don't know Stephanie yet, but she'll take good care of you and make sure you get what you need.”

Damian interjected softly, “I am willing to join you if you wish.” 

He had to work not to flinch when every eye turned on him in disbelief. He had not kept his displeasure to himself about similar outings. 

“You don't have to do that, Damian,” Marinette whispered. 

“Would you be more comfortable if I did?”

She nodded once, and relief flooded Damian. He didn't want her to be too far away from him. There was no reason for her to be anything but safe with any of his family, and she knew it as well as he did. “Then it's settled.”

Tim looked askance before he left the room, muttering about how weird Damian had been acting. “First with the cat, and now a girl?!”

Shopping started out smoothly. Stephanie was hilarious, and Barbara had great taste and enough tact to send Damian to choose a lunch spot so they could make sure Marinette was able to purchase any undergarments she needed with minimal embarrassment. She couldn't help but appreciate the girls. Of course, once Damian was out of the way her buffer was gone as well.

Stephanie sidled up to her while she looked through a selection of bras. “So. What’s with you and Damian?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Stephanie giggled, “Maybe you wouldn’t know this, but Damian is usually more…reserved with people. But you’ve just met. And he calls you by your first name. He touches you. Hell! I’ve never seen him volunteer to go shopping in my life. It’d be easier to give a cat a bath than drag that kid somewhere he doesn’t want to be.”

“I guess I noticed the way he prefers the use of last names, but I didn’t really think about it. He’s just nice. Rena probably asked him to keep an eye on me.”

“Who’s Rena?”

“Rena Rouge. She’s the hero that handed me off to Damian for safekeeping.”

Babs rolled up behind them, “What’s the deal with Paris anyway? We’ve noticed some news clips, but It’s hard to tell what’s going on.”

Marinette looked around the lingerie department, it wasn’t busy but it wasn’t empty either. “Maybe we could chat about this later?”

“Right! Of course. So, underwear?”

Lunch was good, Damian had found a dumpling place in the mall that reminded Marinette a little of her uncle Cheng’s cooking. Before long they were back to choosing a wardrobe for Marinette.

“What colors do you like?”

Marinette looked up from a rack. “I like pink. Especially in my clothes. But I usually pair it with a  neutral, like black or grey.” Her eyes flicked to Damian. “I like green too, but I don't wear it very often. I wear red on occasion.” 

Stephanie grabbed a couple of tops with a grin, “Okay! Pink for sure. Some red. I bet you'd look gorgeous in blue. And you should try purple! It's the color of royalty, you know.”

“One of my friends back home wears a lot of purple…” Marinette paused as she pulled a black shirt depicting cat ears and whiskers and a thought hit her. This was why she made plans! She needed to get a hold of Adrien! Chat Noir could not reappear in Paris after Lady Noir had vanished and disappeared! 

If the Ring was back in circulation, Shadowmoth would know that the Miraculous was back, would know that he could get to her. There was no point in threatening her family if she wasn’t around to do something about it, but the tenuous peace that had hovered over Paris since her disappearance would break the moment Shadowmoth knew that both the Earrings and the Ring were accessible. 

Damian was watching her, but so was Stephanie. “That is so cute! Do you like cats? Damian has cats. He might even share them with you.” 

Marinette smiled at Stephanie’s exuberant chatter, but looked quickly to Damian, desperate to communicate somehow. He came through for her.

“Are you well, Marinette, or do you need a break?”

“Oh. I’m good. I just need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back?”

“I will escort you.”

Barbara looked up from a lapful of clothes. “That’s a good idea. Stephanie and I will pick out a few more things for you to try and Damian will make sure you don’t get lost. You can meet us by the dressing rooms.”

Marinette nodded nervously. It was a good excuse, simple but effective.

Damian’s hand found a place on her shoulder as he led her away and it reminded her a little of how she used to ride around wrapped around his neck. It felt safe. Right. Was that weird? She glanced back at the girls and both of them were staring at Damian. Was he really so different when he was with her?

Damian wasn’t sure what had made Marinette start to panic, but he could tell something was off. As soon as they were out of earshot of the girls, he turned to Marinette. “What is wrong?”

“Chat can’t fight!”

“What do you mean?” 

“The Ladyblog. Every battle they have had since I vanished was... easy. Mister Bug handled several of them before anyone managed to record what was happening. Shadowmoth knows I got hit. He knows I’m missing, that the Ring is out of reach. He still wants the Earrings of course, but he needs the Ring too! He’s been waiting for a Black Cat to show up again. The moment Adrien transforms he’ll know I’ve been found. Regardless of where I am, he will know I’m not lost anymore!”

She was right. Her safety and that of the Box were dependent on the villain not knowing she had been found. “What do you need?”

“I need to get a hold of Adrien! I could transform- but he would have to be transformed to answer! That and I don’t want Ladybug to be sighted in Gotham…”

“You have a phone correct? Can you not simply call your friends?”

She shook her head. “I need a new SIM. Mine won’t work here.”

Damian smiled. That he could handle. “Come with me.”

Ten minutes later, Marinette had a US-based SIM card in her phone that would easily allow international calls- all connected to the Wayne family plan. She stared at her phone for a second.

“This is so weird. We were always so careful about our identities- the only way to contact each other was while we were transformed.”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “That must have been difficult.”

“Sometimes. Yeah.”

Damian felt puzzled as the moment stretched and Marinette didn’t start dialing. “What is it?”

Her face flamed. “I’m still not sure why I was chosen to be a hero. When I’m Ladybug, I feel confident and capable, and when I’m Lady Noir I feel powerful and a little sassy. But me? Marinette? I’m just a girl who fell all over herself whenever a cute boy was around. I’ve been over Adrien for ages, but I still feel nervous about calling him.”

Damian didn’t like the way he felt when Marinette admitted to having once been interested in her blond friend. It stung. It shouldn’t, but it did.

“Would it be easier if you transformed?”

“Yes, and no. I think I need Tikki’s advice, so I should just suck it up.” She looked at him and Damian felt his heart soften at her expression. “I think being around you makes me feel calmer, sort of. Not completely chill, of course, ‘cause you’re hot, and hot boys make me stupid, but I’ve always felt safe around you.” 

Damian stared at her in wonder as she finished her little speech with her eyes firmly on her phone, before punching the call button on Adrien’s contact. 

Marinette thought he was attractive. And more than that- she felt safe with him. She had seen him fight Gotham’s villains, seen him cranky over petty jealousy, and she still felt comforted by his presence. He used to stroke her fur, run his hands along her back, and listen to her purr. That was clearly no longer an option. But maybe, since she seemed to appreciate the kind of affection that came with physical touch, he could still offer her reassurance. Damian gently draped an arm over her shoulders as she put the phone to her ear and was rewarded with a bright smile and the subtle weight of her leaning into him. 

Damian only half paid attention to the conversation- she was asking Adrien to get Pegasus to bring him to Gotham for a Miraculous swap and explaining the conclusions she had come to. In the meantime, Damian was having a personal crisis. 

He had brought home a clever cat and had been as affectionate with Pixie as he’d ever been with any of his animals. And then in what should have been a startling betrayal, he had found out that his kitty was a human girl. There had been a whirlwind of crazy plans and meeting Parisian Heroes only to bring her back home with him. The feeling of affection he felt for Pixie should have shattered with her transformation. But it hadn’t. Was it part of the Miraculous magic? Was it simply Marinette’s magnetism? Why did he care so much? She had helped. Even while stuck as a housecat in a foreign land, this beautiful, heroic girl had worked to take care of the people around her, to assist unknown vigilantes. Maybe there wasn’t much difference between Pixie and Marinette after all. Only that now his desire to touch her felt drastically different than it had when she had been a cat.

“Can they come by the manor later?” Damian was ripped out of his reverie by bright blue eyes and a simple question.

“Yes, of course. Dinner should be finished by eight this evening. The family will assume you are tired from travel. Will Pegasus be able to pinpoint your location well enough to land inside your room?”

“If I’m transformed, then yes.” Her attention drifted back to the call, “Did you hear that? Let’s do 8:30, EST, just in case. If an Akuma shows up before then, call me right away and we’ll do an emergency switch. Thanks, Adrien.”

They rejoined the girls, made final selections, and headed back to the manor, where Damian finally relaxed, he liked knowing that Marinette was safe. Whatever he felt for her, he knew she was worth protecting. Whether she be cat or girl or superhero.

“How..?”

Marinette stopped still in the doorway of her bedroom. Damian had shown it to her before they left for the mall, but it had been transformed in the few hours they were gone. When they first arrived it had looked like a standard guestroom, lovely in the way moneyed homes were, but generic. Now it looked like a whole new room. Rose-colored curtains hung in the windows and pale pink shaggy rugs covered the dark hardwood floors. There was a drafting desk and a sewing machine taking up opposite walls, where natural light could reach the workspaces. The white bedspread had been replaced with a cozy pink and brown quilt and there was a dressmaking mannequin standing in the corner.

Damian peered over her shoulder as she finally made her way into the room, “Do you sew?”

“She is a designer, Master Damian.” Alfred followed them into the room with a tea service complete with cookies and placed it on her bedside table. “I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of altering your room, Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

“No, of course not. It’s beautiful. How did you know?”

“It was quite simple, Miss. The only luggage you brought was a sewing box. That combined with a quick perusal of your Instagram account was very enlightening.”

Marinette’s eyes flicked to the sewing box, but it looked untouched. It sat exactly where she left it. “This is above and beyond anything I ever dreamed of.”

“I hope your stay will be comfortable, miss.”

“Thank you, Monsieur Alfred. But please call me Marinette.”

“Of course, Miss Marinette.”

Damian followed Alfred out with a nod and a promise to grab her for dinner, and Marinette put away her purchases quickly, relieved to see the Miracle Box safely ensconced inside the sewing basket. While grateful to be human again, she missed how simple and easy life had been as a cat. Her responsibilities were back, and with them the stress that had become the hallmark of being both Ladybug and Guardian. 

Tikki zipped around the room and admired the sewing machine. “This seems like a good family to stay with Marinette!”

“Yes. I think so.”

“So what is it you haven’t told me?”

With a sigh, Marinette sat with Tikki to share her tea and cookies while she explained her last few months. How she had been a crime-fighting cat and adopted by a vigilante before managing to communicate a way to get back to normal.

“You can’t go out fighting crime while you’re here, you know. Shadowmoth will find you!”

“I know Tikki. I’ll focus on keeping the Miraculous safe. Don’t worry.” As much as she wished for a normal life sometimes, she hated being sidelined.

“Do not be surprised if you are bombarded with questions. Dinner is likely to feel like an interrogation.”

Marinette fell into step with Damian, “A friendly one, I hope.”

“Tch. You are far more optimistic than I.” 

Marinette grinned. Damian was … funny. She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t trying to be, but that didn’t change the fact that he was. She held back a giggle but fired back.

“Maybe you could use a little more optimism in your life.”

“If you are offering to be my optimism, I will accept your offer.”

Marinette felt her heart speed up as Damian led her to the dining room. Was he flirting? Or was it wishful thinking on her part? Her thoughts stuttered, did she want him to flirt with her? 

Yes. She did. 

She had liked Damian while she was a cat, and being human did not make her want to be around him any less. The analytical part of her brain told her that this was not the time or place for a new crush. She was far from home, separated from her family, and suddenly in close quarters with a cute boy who was willing to help her. No wonder she was smitten. But maybe Damian was to be the bright side of all the crazy? Was her optimism warranted, or misplaced?

“Where’s Pixie?” Marinette nearly choked when Tim joined them.

“You know that Alfred does not tolerate pets at the dinner table.”

“That didn’t keep you from wearing that cat almost everywhere you went the last few weeks.” Tim retorted, holding his coffee mug close to his chest while glancing around nervously. 

“Pixie?” Marinette’s voice came out in a squeak.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t met Damian’s crazy cat yet.”

Damian huffed. “Tt. She is not crazy. She is smart and capable.” 

Marinette flushed at the sideways compliment. While her actions as a cat might be considered particularly intelligent, they weren’t necessarily all that impressive considering that deep down, she had still been human.

“Just keep her away from my coffee.”

Marinette choked on a giggle and uncharacteristically, Damian snorted.  Tim gave him an odd look before pulling away to take his seat.

Damian was right. Everyone at dinner was curious about her and the situation that brought her to Gotham.

The cover story Damian had used was a variation on the truth. Shadowmoth believed her to be a target due to the timing of her disappearance caused by a recent Akuma attack. She wasn’t currently safe in Paris and needed a place to stay. The family had been led to believe that Damian had happened upon her talking to Mister Bug and the other heroes and offered his home. 

In a nutshell, their excuse was Sheer Dumb Luck. It was thin. Vague. Luckily, it was the Paris situation that garnered most of the attention and drove their questions.

“So how long has this villain been bothering the city?”

Marinette tipped her head, “Four years? I was thirteen when Ivan turned into Stoneheart… so yeah. Four years.”

“What do you mean someone turned into something?”

It always sounded insane. The explanation of Akumas and the Miraculous heroes. She could see it in their faces. Except Tim. He looked almost giddy. The look of a detective who had found a source of information.

“So the footage on the Ladyblog? Is that accurate?”

“Oui! My friend Alya runs the blog. Her footage rivals the news broadcasts sometimes. It freaks me out when she runs into the danger zone, but I’ve quit trying to stop her. If she survives, she’ll be an amazing journalist.”

“So everything bad that happens in your city is because of Magic?” Bruce Wayne was scowling and it made him look intimidating. Marinette tensed up. Knowing that he was Batman didn’t help. 

“Umm, I guess? But so is the good stuff.”

He all but scoffed, “Good magic?”

“Well, yes. Ladybug—or Mister Bug lately—can fix all the damage caused by Shadowmoth. All of our heroes are friendly and optimistic. They help keep our spirits up. Which is important, because all it takes is a bad mood to turn someone into an Akuma. The biggest problem with Shadowmoth is that nobody knows who he is. He hides behind his temporary creations and rarely fights himself. If we could figure out who he was, I think the heroes could stop him easily. I’m hoping to be able to do a little research while I’m here. Maybe help out a little somehow.” She shrugged as noncommittally as she could.

“I see. That is commendable.”

Tim had been listening with rapt attention. “Would you mind if I helped? I like trying to solve mysteries.”

Marinette smiled. “I’ll take any help I can get!” Damian would make sure the Bats were on it, but now she had the Wayne side interested, and an open line of communication. Hope rose within her like a shimmering bubble, this might work out after all.

Marinette transformed as soon as they got to her room. She had half an hour to plan before Pegasus, Adrien—and knowing Alya—Rena showed up. 

It was still strange to suit up in front of someone. Damian already knew, but she couldn’t help but watch his reaction as the magic shimmered around her making her feel invulnerable once again. 

“Right. Let’s get to work.” The calm confidence of Ladybug slipped over her like a second skin. She could do this. Plans were her thing. Unfortunately, Plagg was going to hate it.

“It’s interesting to see the way your Kwami affects you when you suit up.” 

Ladybug looked at Damian. He had been watching her take notes,  plan out what she wanted to tell her team, and map out ideas for discovering Shadowmoth’s identity. 

“It feels weird for me too.” She shrugged. “It’s like their personalities amplify the corresponding parts of myself. So while I’m still me, I’m the me that is most like whatever Miraculous I’m using. I’m particularly suited to Tikki, so this feels a lot more natural than when I have Plagg.”

“So earlier, when you were Lady Noir…”

Marinette blushed at the reminder of her boldness. “Earlier I acted on impulses I might normally have ignored. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t myself.”

Whatever Damian might have said next was cut off when a bright portal opened up in the middle of the room and three of Paris’ finest stepped out.

“Chat! Why are you suited up?!”

“Sorry M’Lady! Plagg hated the idea of coming back, and I couldn’t think of another way to shut him up. Don’t worry. No one saw me. We are all about that clandestine life these days.” 

“Well, at least we know that just coming here doesn’t turn you into a cat.”

Chat Noir beamed. “See! It was a good test. And if it went pear-shaped you would have known how to fix it.”

“That would have been awkward considering we are in a home with my temporary guardians, and I don’t know about you, but I think I want to keep a lid on any more reveals for the time being.”

Rena shoved Chat off to the side and wrapped Ladybug in a hug. “My turn! You guys argue too much, I’m just glad to see you!”

Chat had filled Rena and Pegasus in before they portalled over, so it was just a matter of fine-tuning the details. 

“We need to keep the Ring and Earrings separate. Which means Plagg and the Ring have to stay here with me.”

“Why not just keep him safe in the box?”

“I talked to Tikki earlier. In order to maintain balance, if either the Black Cat or the Ladybug is active, the other one has to be too. I don’t have to transform with him, but I need to be wearing the ring.”

“He is going to complain so much.”

“I know.”

“Tt. It might not be as bad as he imagines.”

The heroes turned to look at Damian, who had mostly been observing. “The house is not technically in Gotham. Bristol is close, but we are not within the city limits. There is a chance that the effects will be lessened. You were unable to escape your predicament because you could not speak the magic words, and I did not understand the full situation- removing the ring might very well have worked had we tried it here.”

“Let's find out. Claws off!”

Adrien stood in Chat Noir’s place and Plagg fell to the floor in a faint.

Rena laughed. “What a drama queen! How do you deal with him?!”

“Bribery Mostly. I hope you have access to camembert cheese, M’Lady.”

“Uhhh.” 

Damian nodded. “That can be arranged.”

“Spots off!” Marinette unfastened her earrings and handed them to Adrien. “I’m putting Paris in your hands again. Stop by the Bakery if you need cookies. Macarons are Tikki’s favorite.”

Marinette scooped the limp black Kwami into her hands. “C’mon Plagg. I need you to tell me how it feels here in comparison to Gotham.”

He looked up at her weakly and moaned, “ I thought this was Gotham.”

“Tch. We are in Bristol.”

Plagg perked up immediately. “Well in that case… No. I still feel sort of crummy. It’s not nearly as bad, mind you. But it could be risky to transform. I’d give you a fifty-fifty shot between hero and housecat at any given moment.” He zipped into Marinette’s face and waggled his paw at her, “If you do do something stupid, at least lover boy over there knows know to get you back.”

Marinette couldn’t look at Damian. Having Plagg around was going to be mortifying.

“Oh!” Rena jumped. “I have something from your folks.” She shoved a box and a book into Marinette’s hands. “They sent all sorts of goodies and your sketchbook. They love you, and are worried, but they also said that they are proud of you. Oh, and they got a burner phone so you can call or text them. They wrote the number on the inside cover of the sketchbook. We don’t know how powerful Shadowmoth is when he isn’t terrorizing the city, so they don’t want to risk you being tracked through them. Your folks are smart.”

Eventually, it was time for goodbyes. Pegasus promised to keep everyone connected as needed and Rena squeezed Marinette half to death. Adrien looked a little lost, claiming school was no fun with Marinette gone. He rallied a little once he called on Tikki’s spots. They had a plan. The Miraculous team would keep Marinette informed of anything they learned and Marinette would share anything the Waynes discovered on this end. All they needed now was a little bit of luck.

It was almost scary how quickly she was accepted by the family. They had been easily distracted by the danger she was in and settled their focus on protecting her and stopping Shadowmoth instead of looking too closely at how she had ended up with them. 

But Marinette didn't feel quite right about the fact that Damian wasn’t planning to tell his family that she knew their identities. 

“They will be insufferably controlling if they know that you know.” 

“Don’t you think they will be more help if they know? It will be very cloak and dagger around here if they are trying to keep their houseguest in the dark.”

“Do you wish to share your identity with them ?”

Marinette shrugged uncomfortably, “Which one? The fact that I'm a hero or the fact that I used to be your cat?”

Damian rolled his eyes. “I had been thinking of your hero identity. But Todd, at least, will notice that Pixie is missing, eventually.” 

Marinette pondered the question. She would rather not, and while she was used to lying to protect her identity, it felt worse to lie to a family of vigilantes who were trying to help her. 

Damian of course did have a point. If the family found out that she had discovered their identities before she had earned their trust, their paranoia was likely to get in the way of the Paris investigation.

“I guess your plan makes sense. I just hate lying, but ever since I met Tikki, it seems to be unavoidable.”

When Monday rolled around and Damian had to go to school he hated it. Leaving Marinette alone felt wrong. Classes had never felt more tedious, which made Damian chafe with guilt because Marinette was worried about passing the Baccalaureate when (if!) it was ever safe for her to go home. 

Marinette looked wistful when he told her had to go to school. “I've missed months of class, and it's not like I can transfer my records and attend school here. I've ‘disappeared’. I hate that my life is on hold.”

Damian pondered her distress as he filled out yet another odious worksheet he could have done in his sleep. There had to be something they could do from Gotham to keep her in good academic standing. 

At least one of her hero friends mentioned they had been classmates. Could he send her the work to keep her up to date? Maybe she could turn it all in at once after everything was over.

The thought of Marinette returning home to Paris bothered him too. It was an impossible situation. Helping her successfully meant finding and apprehending Shadowmoth. Once the villain was stopped, Marinette would be free to return to her family and her life… but that would mean Damian would lose her. 

“Monsieur Alfred?”

The gleaming kitchen welcomed Marinette as she wandered into it. She wanted to be able to do something while the rest of the household was at work or school. Alfred was at the counter preparing something that was likely to be delicious.

“Yes, Miss Marinette?”

“Is there a time I could use the kitchen without being in your way? I would like to do a little baking if that’s all right.”

“Certainly. I’ll be finished here in about an hour if that is acceptable.”

“Excellent! Thank you, Alfred.” She stepped back as Tim walked in and poured himself a cup of coffee. 

“Ah, Master Tim. I thought you were going to the office today.”

“Not till Later, Alfred. I needed to finish up a few things first…”

It was irresistible. Tim turned away from his coffee to talk to Alfred and Marinette was compelled to reach out for it. Snagging the handle, she inhaled the aroma of the fresh brew and walked out of the kitchen while taking a sip. Ahhh. It was good.  It was kind of a pity she had spilled so much of this in recent months.

“Hey! Where’d my cup go?!” Marinette picked up her pace when Tim’s voice followed her out of the kitchen.

“Maybe you should try getting some sleep, rather than drinking more coffee, Master Tim.”

It was as natural as breathing. Damian sat on his bed with his sketchbook in hand while he talked about his day. Marinette was sitting cross-legged next to him, with her own pencil in hand, listening while she designed. 

Every once in a while, Damian’s hand would rest on her knee for a second before he pulled it back with a grunted apology. 

“I don't mind, you know.” 

“It is inappropriate. I do not wish to make you uncomfortable.”

Marinette glanced away from her design, “But Damian, I'm not uncomfortable.” 

“It would be one thing if we were da-

A tall figure in the doorway interrupted Damian's point and Marinette's eyes met Jason's with a baleful stare. He looked back at her as he entered the room, his brow furrowed in concentration. Marinette tracked his movement and he froze. 

“Pixie?!”

Damian leaped from the bed, crossed the room, and shut the door before Marinette managed to react. 

“What the hell, kid! What kind of magic are you dealing with? One minute I hear that B has another kid in the house and now I'm looking at your cat - only she's a girl.”

“She has always been a girl.”

“That's not what I meant, and you know it! Does B know?”

Marinette swallowed thickly and shook her head. “Just Damian. And now you.” 

Damian shifted so that he was between them. He didn't think Jason would hurt her, but he wasn't about to take any chances. Jason finally pulled his eyes away from her and looked at him sternly. “Is she safe?”

“What are you insinuating?”

Marinette found her voice and interjected before Jason or Damian could start yelling. 

“It depends on what you mean by that. I know your identities- as you know. We have fought together, after all. But I would never tell anyone. So you are safe from me. However, there is a villain out to get me who wants to rewrite the fabric of the universe, so I am not safe.”

Damian blinked in surprise as an oppressive silence blanketed the room. Rewrite the universe?

“I guess I haven't given you all the details.”

Damian clenched a fist for a split second before he relaxed and sat down. “No. It appears you have not.”

“Wait. Before you two start debating the fate of the universe or whatever the hell that's about. Are you a cat or a person? Originally, I mean.”

“A person.”

Jason looked at Damian. “Did you know?”

Damian let derision fill his words, “Yes. Of course, I knew. I willingly aided and abetted a magical cat girl for fun.”

“It's not a stupid question. It's no secret you prefer animals to people,” Jason insisted.

“I was unaware of her status as a person until she spelled it out for me.” 

“...spelled…?”

“I might be a normal girl, but I make a rather intelligent cat,” Marinette pointed out.

“Why become a cat? What am I missing here?!” Jason begged, looking back and forth between them.

“Oh! No, I didn't mean to turn into a cat. That was a weird fluke. I was stuck.”

“How?”

“I, uh, got tangled up in some magic that was allergic to Gotham.”

“But you're French, right? You've got the accent and the story is that you’re some kind of refugee from Paris.”

“Well, yes. That's all true. An Akuma sent me to Gotham and the magic went weird, and I was stuck. It's just that I arrived sooner than the rest of your family believes… and I know a lot of their secrets. It wasn't intentional! I was just trying to find a way to get home, and I figured the Bats might have a computer or something.”

Damian stared, how had she maintained her secret for so long? She rambled at the smallest provocation. “Tt. I see now why you didn't want to lie. Secrets are not your strong suit.”

“Hey!” Jason reached out and patted Marinette on the head, “Be nice to her.”

Damian bristled, but Marinette ducked her head away and Jason froze. “Okay. That was strange. Are you sure you weren't a cat first?”

Damian scowled at his brother, “Why are you here, Todd?”

“I wanted to see if Pixie wanted to rough up some bad guys… But I guess that won’t be happening. Unless..?”

“Uh. no. I don’t think it would be a good idea to mess with it. Sorry, Jay. Wish I could.”

“Alright. Well, you two keep outta trouble. I’m gonna bounce.”

There was a moment of silence. Marinette nibbled on her pencil.

“What were you going to say before Jason barged in?”

Marinette kept her eyes on her page and her heart hammered in her chest. She thought he might have been about to say that their behavior was better suited to a dating relationship or something, and curiosity was running through her veins.

“I-”

“Dinner!! I talked Alfred into making waffles!” Stephanie's blond head bounced into the room and she grabbed Marinette by the hand.

“Don't you ever leave, Brown?”

“Not when there's waffles!!”

There had been a lot of drawbacks to being a cat. Harassing Tim was not one of them. Tim often had more than one mug of coffee at a time, and it was easier than anything to lift a fairly fresh cup and walk off with it. If anything, stealing his coffee was more fun than spilling it had been. Especially since she knew Alfred had gotten stuck on cleanup occasionally. The last thing she wanted to do was make Alfred’s life more difficult.

“Hey, Marinette. Want to go over some Shadowmoth notes with me?”

“Sure! I’d love to see what you’ve got.”

“Wait, is that my mug?”

Marinette looked at her coffee before turning her baby blues on Tim. “Sorry! I didn’t know this cup was special. Should I not use this one in the future?”

“What! No, it's fine. I just thought…you know what- never mind. Let me show you what I’ve found, and you can tell me any other details you have.”

The top suspects were tall, reasonably wealthy men who had the time to spend harassing Parisian citizens at all times of the day, and a physique that could fit the bill. Andrè Bourgeois, Gabriel Agreste, and Vincent the Italian Photographer were all on the list. 

“I used to think that anyone who hadn’t been akumatized was our best bet. But now I think that he could have easily Akumatized himself to avoid suspicion. That makes it harder to narrow down.”

“What does it feel like?”

“What?”

“Being Akumatized. Sorry, if you don’t want to answer, I’m just curious.”

“Oh. I’ve never actually been Akumatized. There were a couple of close calls, but I avoided it. Some of my friends have been. Some people don’t mind talking about it, but some people feel guilty and hate the reminder. Most people don’t remember the actual akumatization, just the way they felt as it was happening, and coming out of it to discover what they did.”

Tim tapped away on his computer, filling his notes with whatever he thought was useful, and Marinette set down her now-empty cup and picked up Tim’s. Still warm. She finished it off and set it back down. 

“Okay, so big question. Other than the terrible way he’s going about it, does anyone know why this guy can’t be allowed to get his hands on Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculi?” Tim asked as he reached for his cup. He frowned when he found it empty.

“It’s hard to know- he hasn’t sat down for interviews or anything like that, but from what I know the two together will grant a wish.”

“What’s so wrong with that?”

“On the face of it, nothing. But in reality? A couple of things. First, anyone willing to Akumatize a kid having a nightmare should not be allowed to make something otherwise unattainable come true.”

“Right. And the second?”

“I think it’s like those old stories about the Djinn. You know outside of Disney’s Aladdin, most Genie stories go very badly.”

A gruff voice interrupted her, “That’s true.” Marinette looked over her shoulder to see not only Jay- but Damian and Bruce listening in as well.

“So, one concern is that there will be an evil butterfly effect. This guy might just want to be rich. So he makes a wish and now the world’s poor population will have increased tenfold or something. Maybe he wants to bring someone back to life. But that means that someone else dies- or worse. There was one story about a man who set the Djinn free, only for his wife to fall in love with the remorseless Djinn and leave her husband. It’s impossible to do good without wrecking something else. Creation and Destruction in balance with each other.”

“You said one concern. What’s another?”

Marinette met Damian’s eyes. She couldn’t know this, but she needed the Bats to be thinking about it. “I’ve heard it suggested that making a wish would rewrite the universe. Everything we know would be changed to allow for the one change, no matter how big or small the wish. Shadowmoth has hurt a lot of people. I for one don’t want him to have that kind of power.”

Marinette gathered the empty coffee mugs amidst the horrified silence. “I’ll take these to the kitchen for Alfred.” The Waynes could use a moment without their guest to process her news. Maybe once Tim moved the intel from his home computer to the powerhouse that was the batcomputer, he would find something new.

The garden was soothing. Marinette’s sketchbook was sitting, closed, next to her. She couldn't draw. Paris felt far away, but Gotham—or the Waynes at least—were worming their way into her heart and she didn’t know where she belonged anymore. She tipped her head back and leaned against the bark of a sturdy tree, basking in the paltry sun that eked its way through Gotham’s miry sky. 

“You look very pretty today. Your presence is far superior to that of a cat.”

Marinette smiled as Damian’s voice washed over her like a balm. “Don’t let Alfred the Cat hear you say that.” 

“But it is true. You are beautiful.”

“Damian! You can't just say stuff like that.” Marinette pressed cool hands to her warming cheeks. 

“As you wish.”

Marinette froze. The movie made perfect sense now, Buttercup never stood a chance. “You can't quote The Princess Bride at me if you aren't flirting. It's unfair.”

Damian huffed, “I am unfamiliar with the movie, but you are incorrect if you believe I was not flirting with you. Unless you would rather I stopped.”

“Yes! I mean no. Don't stop. Please. Continue flirting.”

“As you wish.”

It was over. Marinette was gone for this boy. He had found her kryptonite and she didn’t want to fight it anyway. She let Damian help her up from her spot and they both blushed the whole way to dinner. Damian didn’t let go of her hand until she reached her seat.

John Constantine arrived surrounded by a haze of smoke with a scowl plastered on his face. 

“You lot owe me. Paris is a fuckin’ mess. Weird ass magic all over the place. It's nuts. Old shit too. Nothin’ I can do ‘bout it.”

Damian stiffened at the announcement. What was the lout doing here? He should have entered through the cave. Both men turned when Marinette walked into the room. “I made pastries! Does your guest want some?”

John looked at her then rounded on the rest of the assembled family. “Why the hell did you send me all the way to Paris when you have an expert here already?! The girl is drenched in that trippy magic. There's nothin’ I can figure out that she can’t know already.”

He turned and tore the door open, pausing just before he stormed out. “You still owe me!”

Damian wrapped an arm around Marinette as the family turned to her and she sighed. “Guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh?”

Jason laughed so hard he had to sit down in an effort to catch his breath.

Bruce raised an exasperated eyebrow. “Well, what was that all about?”

Marinette’s expression morphed from resigned to stunned. “Who was that?”

“Mr. Constantine is something of a magic expert…we called him to ask about possibly better understanding the Paris situation.”

Damian could practically see the gears turning in her head. 

“... He could feel the Miraculous on me…Wait!”

She bolted for the door and tore it open, Damian was right on her heels. 

“Wait! Please!”

Constantine spun around, his coat billowing almost dramatically. “What is it, kid?”

“Does the magic on me feel different or stronger than the magic on anyone else in Paris?”

He narrowed his eyes, “Why?”

“Because, whoever Shadowmoth is, he has direct access to a Miraculous. Almost everyone in Paris has been affected by it, but not everyone has had direct contact. If you can sense the difference, then you can help us! Because whatever you feel on me, I can't sense it. I might be able to guess where it came from, but I didn't know I had a magical…. whatever.”

“Scent. Signature, use any word you like, kid.”

He shifted uncomfortably and Damian waited, surprised that Constantine hadn't bolted yet. 

“He's not immune to Pixie's charm any more than we are,” Todd snickered, coming to a stop right behind him. 

Damian glanced at Marinette and realized that Todd was indeed correct. Imploring blue eyes had captured the dusty magician as only Marinette could do. 

“You want me to wander around that stinkin’ city like some kind of magical metal detector?!”

“We can hit specific targets- suspects. You don't have to analyze everyone. Tim and I have been making a list. If you can tell the difference, all we have to do is compare them to ‘normal’ citizens and known Akumas and past Miraculous holders. Please, Monsieur Constantine?.” 

“You know one of the heroes?” Bruce was standing rigid behind them. 

Marinette glanced over her shoulder and answered, “Everyone in Paris knows that Chloe was Queen Bee.” 

“There's more to it than that, isn't there girlie?” Constantine was studying her carefully.

Damian grabbed Marinette’s hand and squeezed it gently, trying to reassure her. 

“I, uh, used a Miraculous once. I was Multimouse. It was a one-time thing.”

Bruce’s eyes were mere slits, “Do you know who any of the other holders are?”

She shrunk back from the ice in Bruce’s tone, but there was steel in her voice. “I can’t answer that.”

Constantine started laughing, but the rest of the family was staring at her wide-eyed.

“I don’t like that you’re withholding information-”

“Father! You should respect what she is protecting.” Damian interjected quickly.

Jason twitched his shoulders, he was grinning, thoroughly enjoying the show... “How about the Bats, Pix? Do you know who Robin is?”

Marinette straightened, her eyes flashing. “I won’t answer that either.”

“Ha! Ha.Ha. This is almost worth the headache that shitty overpowered magic gave me.” Constantine cackled. “Well, little bird.” Damian glared. “You found one hell of a girl. Spine of steel, heart of gold, and she wears sweetness like a cloak. You’re one lucky son of a-”

“I am aware.”

Everyone else was staring at Marinette and Damian. Shock appeared to be the general consensus among the family expressions, though Tim looked calculating, “Did Jason call you Pix?!”

“I believe this matter would be better discussed indoors, Master Bruce. Master Constantine, may I take your coat?”

“I’ll come inside, but you aren’t touching my coat!”

Amidst the flurry of rentering the house, Tim leaned over and whispered in Marinette's ear. “You stole my coffee, didn’t you?”

Chapter Text

It took a while for the insanity to die down. While accusations flew around the room, Marinette tried to find the right line. How much should she share? Could she hold anything back at this point? Did she need to? If Monsieur Constantine could actually pick Shadowmoth out of a crowd, this could be over quickly! Maybe even painlessly. She glanced at Damian who had found her hand and was holding her close. She wished she could sneak away and talk to him before confronting the rest of the Bats. If only Jason hadn’t thrown her to the wolves by taunting his family with the idea that she knew their secrets in addition to knowing so much about the Miraculous. If it wasn’t for the sanctity of the Miracle Box, she might not even mind sharing the rest. While she was wracking her brain to remember if anything on the Ladyblog had ever confirmed that Ladybug had become the Guardian, the shouting subsided and silence fell over the crowd. Everyone was staring at her expectantly. Waiting for answers to questions she hadn’t listened to. 

Marinette turned back to the dust-covered Constantine. If he could truly pick a Miraculous user out of a crowd,  It might be worth the danger of jeopardizing her secrets. 

“You haven’t told me yet if there is a difference. Is my ‘magical signature’ different from other Parisians?”

“Caught that, did ya?” Constantine smirked and Marinette waited.

“John.” Bruce’s voice was low, and his expression was filled with distrust. 

“She’s smart. I’ll give you that.” He glanced at Marinette with a longsuffering sigh. “Yeah. I can see a difference. I couldn’t tell you what that difference means, mind you. But I know the strongest bit comes from the ring on your finger.”

She resisted the urge to hide her hand when every eye in the room dropped to her hands. “So if you knew you were looking for a broach or a pin- do you think you would be able to pinpoint that in a crowd of people also covered in the remnants of Miraculous Magic?”

“Don’t know kid.” Constantine shrugged. Won’t know till I try.”

“But if we could test it?”

“I’ll do your test and I’ll be your Magic Detector in Paris- but you’ll owe me.”

“What?”

“A favor. When needed.”

“I won’t do anything that endangers the Miraculous.”

“Hmph. Fair enough.”

Marinette Finally turned to Bruce, crossing her arms to mimic his pose. “Do you want to do this up here, or in the basement ?”

Pandemonium erupted once again at the thinly veiled confirmation that she knew their identities, but despite the chaos, Bruce held his ground. “Why should I trust you?”

“For the same reason I chose to trust you. Because I’m one of the good guys.”

“You’ve been spying on us!”

“No. I have been hiding behind you. No one has heard about you from me. The Paris team knows nothing about the family I’m staying with beyond the fact that it sometimes harbors those in need. Now, is that still true, Monsieur Wayne? Or should Monsieur Constantine and I find another place to work from?”

Damian cleared his throat and squeezed her hand. “Sorry, Robin, Constantine, and myself.”

“C’mon Pix!”

“And Hood.”

“Wait! I want to finish what we started.”

“And Red Robin.”

“Enough!” Bruce barked, silencing the room, “What is your plan for this test?”

“I call the heroes, have them come here, along with a couple of past Akuma victims who have never held a Miraculous. We have some of them suited, some of them not, and see how sensitive Monsieur Constantine’s gift is.”

“And why did you suggest the Basement?”

“Because I figured that you would want to be suited and masked for this. Some of the Parisian heroes are going to be revealing their identities in order for this to work, but that doesn’t mean I would ever offer yours up against your will.”

“Clever girl.”

“That’s brilliant! Can’t argue with that logic, B!”

Bruce raised his hands for silence, “And if it works? How do you propose we gather enough suspects to test them?”

Marinette smiled, that was the easy part. She was lost in Gotham, dependent on Damian and his family for everything, but Paris was her city. “If it works, then we crash the Fashion Junket at Le Grande Paris Hotel next month, where Tim and my top three suspects will all be in the same place, along with countless other candidates we might not have considered.”

Bruce frowned, glaring for a moment at Damian before looking back at her, “We were told you needed a place to stay because a villain was under the mistaken impression that you were the girl he was looking for. Is any of that true?”

“I am the girl he’s looking for. We couldn’t risk him knowing the ring wasn’t lost. After the accident that trapped me here and caused my reveal, it became evident that I needed to stay lost. Once he’s apprehended, I can get out of your hair- cowl. Whatever”

Bruce glowered at her, but Marinette just waited. She wasn’t going to give any more than she already had. She could do this from anywhere Constantine was willing to go. With Pegasus on her side, location didn’t matter.

Damian was a solid presence next to her while time seemed to stretch. She was thankful for his support because Bruce was kind of scary when he wasn’t being all conciliatory and welcoming. 

“Fine!”

Marinette jumped at Bruce’s sudden exclamation, and the tension in the room shattered.

“Everyone in the cave in ten. Suited up. Apparently, we have allies incoming.” 

“Damn, Pix. You know how to work a room.”

The family scattered and Marinette was left with Damian, she breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. But Damian. If I turn back into a cat when I try to transform, you’ll help me get the ring off, right.?”

“Tt. Of course.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and they headed to the cave after a brief detour to Marinette’s room.

While the Bat clan was suiting up Marinette texted her team.

MDC- All hands in Gotham

MB- formerly know as CN- what do you need?

MDC- I need you to bring my parents and either Juleka, Luka or Nino- whoever is free. Maybe even all of them.

RR- What is happening?! Nino is busy. I'll see about nabbing a Couffaine 

P- is your location our entry point?

MDC- We think we have a way to find SM. 

MDC- I need my parents, Rena, Peg, a Couffaine, and Adrien on location to test a theory.

MDC- Pegasus, I’ll transofrm in a second so you can zero in on my location. It’s a lair btw, so play it cool. Batman is here.

RR- WHAT?! OMG

MB- formerly know as CN- you want me untransformed?

MDC- Yeah, if that works

P- Give us 10

RR-15! I need tohit the Bakery and the Liberty 

MB- formerly know as CN- I can swing by the Liberty

RR- tnx! 

RR- heroes assemble!

RR-  At the bakery!

MDC- see you soon

No fewer than six vigilantes and a surly magician were staring at her when she looked up. Aw crap. She didn’t want to transform in front of all these people. It wasn't revealing or anything, but she felt like she was being put on the spot. And of course, there was no guarantee the transformation would even work right. 

Babs- Oracle- wheeled away from the computer and pushed her way through the assembled crime fighters. “All right. Give the girl a little privacy! Let’s not forget human decency.”

Robin gestured to the changing rooms, “Feel free to use whatever space you want.” 

“Thanks, Robin,” with a grateful smile Marinette slipped behind a door to tempt fate.

Plagg was already glaring at her. “Fifty-fifty chance kid. And that’s not a guarantee! You could try it ten times before it goes right.”

Marinette kept her voice at a whisper, sounds echoed and carried oddly in the cave, “You heard that guy! He knew about the ring, he could feel it. This is our chance to finally stop Shadowmoth. Then you can go back to Paris.”

“Not just me, pigtails.” Gotham had done nothing to improve Plagg’s personality.

Marinette pouted, “I know.”

“You can’t stay with him, you know. Gotham is no place for the Box.”

Marinette choked back unexpected tears at the idea of leaving Damian. “Now is not the time. Claws out.”

Magic washed over her and she took hold of the strength that came with the familiar black leather. She took a breath before stepping out of the changing room to meet the waiting vigilantes and wait for her team.

“Oh. my. Gawd.” Spoiler looked from her to Robin, and then to Batman. “You Wayne boys really do have a type, don’t you?”

“Tch. Don’t be ridiculous. Lady Noir spends most of her time as Ladybug. She is nothing like Selina.” 

With a flirtatious smile at Robin, she clicked open her baton and pinged the team. ‘Ready when you are.’ She flipped it closed again and walked up to the wary-looking Red Robin, took a steaming mug right out of his hands, and took a sip. 

“You make really good coffee.” With a quick pivot, she joined Robin, leaning against him while enjoying Tim’s coffee. 

“What is happening here?” Batman boomed.

Red Robin was still grasping the air like it was his cup, and Hood was bent double in laughter. 

“She’s my favorite. I don’t even care. Oh my God. Red, she owns you. Pix. That was amazing .”

Damian leaned in to whisper to her. “As hot as that was, did you have to choose that moment to steal his coffee?”

Lady Noir pecked his cheek, “Sorry. Little Birdy. I’m just feeling a little catty at the moment.”

Damian shrugged off the mortification of being compared to his father and slipped an arm around the black-clad hero leaning against him. He hadn't decided how he felt about Marinette while she was Lady Noir. He felt both intrigued and uncomfortably flustered in her presence. She was so different from the slightly awkward but adorable girl he was falling for. And yet, it was still her, all wrapped up in a confident and undeniably attractive package. 

“Details please!” Babs clapped her hands, grabbing the attention of the room. “All I've been told is that we have company coming and that our new friend here is a hero.”

Lady Noir stepped forward, suddenly all business. “I'll share the details of the test once my team arrives, but until then all I think you missed was the fact that I'm the missing hero whose identity was discovered by Shadowmoth and that Monsieur Constantine is our possible key to finally putting a stop to the Paris situation.”

Red Robin interjected, “Don't forget the fact that you're Damian's cat!”

Spoiler gaped, “Wait! Is that why Hood called you Pixie?”

“Uhh. I don’t know if we have time for that conversation.” Marinette’s nervousness bled through her Plagg-induced confidence and Damian stepped up.

“Lady Noir’s time as a cat was unintentional and not malicious in any way. We rectified the situation and are taking care to prevent a reoccurrence.”

Hood grinned. “So you could be a cat again?”

The air shimmered and Lady Noir pulled away from his side. Damian frowned but let her go when she whispered softly, “Do you want Rena to figure out that Damian is Robin in three seconds flat?”

A handful of heroes and French citizens stepped out of a shimmering portal before the air snapped shut behind them. 

Pegasus was instantly riveted by the massive batcomputer. “Wow. I would love to see your setup sometime.”

Babs, looking very much like herself but for the domino mask obscuring her eyes, grinned. “I’m sure we can arrange something.”

“Yes, this is all very fascinating. I’m not gonna hang around all day. So let's do this test so I can be off, aye?” Constantine injected belligerently.

He was ignored. Two of the civilians had wrapped their arms around Marinette in a tight group hug, and two more looked like they wished they could as well.

“Maman! Papa!” Tears dampened her face when Marinette felt her parents wrap their arms around her. 

“My baby! How we have missed you.”

When her parents finally released her, she found herself momentarily trapped by both of the Couffaines. 

“You’re alright!”

Lady Noir stepped back and took a breath. “Yeah. It's been crazy. She glanced at the siblings. “Sorry to leave you both in the dark. Once we knew Shadowmoth knew who I was, it was important that no one know I was okay.”

Juleka asked quietly, “So you know who he is now?”

“No, but I have a plan to find out. Luka, can you put this on?”

The blue-haired boy accepted the bracelet and put it on his wrist with a nod. 

She turned to Constantine. “Assembled here are a mix of people who have been exposed to Miraculous magic in a variety of ways. Shadowmoth has had direct contact with the Butterfly broach, and he may or may have not been akumatized.I need to know if you can sense the difference between a Miraculous holder who has or hasn’t been akumatized, or even whether or not someone has ever used a miraculous.”

“What am I looking at here, girl?”

“You tell me. I will tell you that there are two among us who have never been akumatized- in this timeline anyway. There are two people who have not used a Miraculous. Obviously, three of us are transformed, and there are two people holding a miraculous that isn’t in use, and one person who has used a miraculous, but isn’t wearing it now.” 

Juleka and Luka glanced at each other in surprise, while Tom and Sabine looked shocked. “You’re all kids! You shouldn’t have had this much responsibility all of these years.”

Lady Noir winced. “I’m sorry I had to lie to you about all this. I didn’t like keeping this secret, but I was led to believe that it was the safest- the only way.”

Constantine cleared his throat. “You can catch up later. Anyone with one of your magic charms is easy. The blond and the blue-haired kid have magic earrings and a bracelet, respectively. The fox girl’s is her necklace and the horse kid’s is his glasses. The girl with the purple hair has been touched with a few different magical signatures, so I think she’s been Akumatized and has used her own magical artifact in the past. Your folks have both been Akumatized, and that's it for them. Oh- and you and the blond don’t have any of the Akuma magic on you. Congrats.”

Marinette’s heart raced in her chest. It was perfect. “You can tell the Akuma magic apart from the rest?”

“Sure. Now that I know what it looks like.”

“Wow. Okay. So the only thing we can’t test is whether or not Nooroo’s broach feels the same as the Akuma magic, since it comes from him.” 

“Don’t fret about it. I should be able to sense the difference thanks to your purple-haired friend. Even if the flavors of magic were the same, there are differences in the intensity.” 

“We just need to plan the sting!”

Constantine growled. “Batman will tell me when and where to meet you. I have no desire to plot. See you in six weeks, kid.”

The magician strode out of the cave without a backward glance, and Lady Noir squealed. They were going to trap Shadowmoth and Paris would be free!

“Claws off.” Plag pouted, but accepted a platter of cheese wedges from Alfred and Marinette threw her arms around her parents again. 

The Parisians couldn’t stay long. The heroes could be needed in Paris at any moment, and even they weren’t, their parents would wonder where they were. Damian watched the blue-haired boy watch Marinette with a heavy heart. His feelings were obvious, and the spike of jealousy he felt was greater than the fleeting feeling he’d felt about Adrien. He tamped it down by clinging to every little glance Marinette sent his way. 

Before they left, Oracle gave Pegasus a quick rundown on the bat computer specs, earning herself a new friend. The rest of the heroes took a few minutes and chatted quietly with the vigilantes, strategizing and swapping war stories like old friends.

“It’s easy isn’t it?” Luka took a seat next to him and Damian frowned.

“What is?”

“Falling in love with Marinette.”

“I’m not-” He stopped. He was. “Yes.”

“She deserves to be happy. I see how she looks at you, and you have the chance to make her happy. Don’t blow it. Assuming she knows who you are under the mask, you can start without a mountain of secrets between you.”

“Tt. You do not think you have a chance now that those secrets are out of the way?”

“Maybe I did once. I lost her because I wanted a truth she couldn't share. I know her secret now, but she knows you.”

Damian was buoyed by the admission. He tried to extend an olive branch. “Maybe you will find love elsewhere.”

Luka chuckled darkly. “Could you see anyone else after being with Marinette? I tried. I’ve looked. No one measures up. I’ve got my guitar. That’ll have to do for me.”

Damian grunted. No, he could not imagine noticing anyone else now that he knew Marinette.

Luka stood, following the shifting of the crowd when Pegasus moved to open a portal. “Don’t get me wrong. If you do something stupid, I’ll be there. Hoping.”

It was late. Marinette was tired. Exhaustion seeped into her soul. She didn’t want to leave her spot on Damian’s bed to go to her room to sleep. He eyes drooped closed, and she let herself slump over until her head was resting on Damian’s knee. He stiffened for just a second before she felt his hand run over the top of her head in a gentle caress. 

“It has been a long day.”

“Mmhmm.”

“You should get some sleep.”

Marinette struggled to speak through the sleepiness, “Don’t wanna go.”

“I don’t want you to go either.”

She sighed contentedly, glad he wanted her around. “I suppose it would be ‘inappropriate’ for me to stay.”

“Tt. Only if we aren’t dating. Otherwise, it’s only to be expected.”

Marinette twisted so she could see Damian’s face. His green eyes looked dark and nervousness flashed through his thoughtful expression. 

She smiled, some of the haze melting away. “I think dating sounds like a good idea.”

“So you don’t have to move?”

“Because I’m falling in love with you.”

“In that case…” The room spun for a second as she was suddenly shifted to a sitting position when Damian pulled her into his lap, his face was suddenly very close to hers “…Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”

A delightful fluttering feeling rushed through Marinette and drove away her exhaustion and replaced it with anticipation. “Yes.”

Damian’s lips were soft, reverent, and a little hesitant. Marinette’s heart soared when his hand found a place on her neck and held her close. She wrapped an arm around him and returned the kiss, delighted when his hesitation vanished. 

She’d been falling for a while. Landing was even better than she had anticipated. 

Time moved on. Marinette made plans for the Fashion Junket that would be the undoing of Shadowmoth. She designed and sewed appropriate attire for their attendance. Bruce procured the necessary invitations to get them in. Damian bemoaned every second he had to be away from the house- school, and even patrol felt like a waste of time when Marinette wasn’t with him. 

Dating was fun though. They sat, curled up on his bed, the corner of the sofa, or under a tree in the gardens and he listened to her dreams for the future and told her his own thoughts. He shared stories of his life before Gotham and Marinette told him about becoming a hero with nothing but a pair of earrings and righteous indignation. He took her out, and showed her the good parts of Gotham. The Botanical Gardens. His favorite tea house. He made her laugh by stealing Drake’s coffee and handing it to her. He painted her, bent over her sewing machine while Titus lay at her feet. Both of his pets seemed to understand that she was Pixie; Titus adored her, but Alfred the Cat never warmed up to her. He memorized the feel of her lips against his and dreaded the day she would move back to Paris as eagerly as he anticipated taking down the villain who had plagued her.

Damian could feel Marinette’s eyes on him. He could tell she wanted something, and if he gave in and looked at her, he would agree before he even knew what it was. The family was planning one of their inane movie nights and he had planned to hide in his room and paint without distractions. Per usual. Only there was nothing usual about having a girlfriend who lived only a few doors down. Not that he would change anything. 

“Why don’t you like movies?”

He gave in. Set the blank canvas on his easel and abandoned his empty palette before turning to lose himself in the imploring eyes of his girlfriend. “Movies, some of them anyway, are fine. My family is absurd- no matter what they choose to view.”

“Mon Coeur, Would you watch the ‘Princess Bride’ with me?”

He sighed. She was irresistible when she used French endearments. “With you, yes. But I feel as if you are asking me to watch it with my entire family.”

She grabbed his hand and he pulled her close. “I’ll be there too! I can protect you, you know.”

“You are as likely to tease me as they are.” He couldn’t stop the smile her delighted giggle caused. 

Marinette stretched up onto her toes and kissed his jaw. “Pleeease.”

He never stood a chance. Damian claimed her lips in a brief kiss. “As you wish.”

The kiss that followed his promise was worth everything his family threw at him (literally and figuratively) when he joined them in the home theatre. And Marinette kept her promise. She shut down the attempts to tease him when he first arrived, and protected him from the inevitable popcorn barrage.

Stephanie had begged to go out. Just the girls. If Marinette’s plan worked, she would be leaving Gotham soon (six weeks was nothing!), and they needed to get girl time in while they still could. Plagg had grumbled about being dragged to the city just so Marinette could go out to eat and see a movie, when the manor had a perfectly good kitchen and home theatre. 

“But we need Mani-pedis!” Stephanie’s enthusiasm was undamped by Plagg’s most dramatic of complaints, and Marinette was excited to get out of the manor for a while. She missed the freedom she’d had as Pixie. Gotham felt small as human that didn’t belong. The manor felt confining- no matter how much she enjoyed Damian’s company.

But Gotham was Gotham. Her shopping trip had gone uninterrupted, a near impossibiltiy if you asked just about anyone, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise when Two-Face decided to make trouble. But despite the whiny pocket god of destruction in her purse, Marinette had carried the embodiment of luck for years. She was returning to the plaza to meet the girls from a quick detour to the restroom when she heard the end of his speech. He was going on and on about chances, fate, and probability- a silver coin flashing as he flipped it smoothly between his fingers. 

The plan came to her effortlessly. “How about we tweak the odds a little Plagg?”

“No! C’mon Pigtails. You don’t wanna do thiiiiis!” The angry Kwami was sucked into the ring as Marinette requested her claws. The world shifted, but she remained focused on her goal. The coin. Two-Face was looking for an answer in head or tails. But what if he didn’t get either?

An eerie laugh rang out as Harvey Dent flipped his coin high, and his finger tightened on the trigger in anticipation of the result. 

Marinette was a blur of black fur as she zipped across the pavement and sprang at the shining coin, batting it out of the air and to the ground where she pounced on it. She used her sharp teeth to grab the coin and bolted .

“Stop that cat!” Success filled her as she ran, and with Two-Face and his goons distracted and hot on her tail, the hostages made a quick escsape. She had missed this. Helping people was exhilarating. The city passed in a blur while she ran full out, heading toward Crime Alley. No matter what the Bats patrol routes were tonight, Hood was predictably easy to find. All she needed was - 

Thud.

Oomph.

Skidding to a stop, Marinette dropped her coin and turned around to see Two-Face laid out flat with Red Hood standing over him. Perfect. Jason had ratted her out- told the family about her little magic cat problem. She should take his help and call it even, but that wasn’t going to happen. She leaped up onto Hood’s shoulder with a meow while he tied up the Rogue. 

“What are you doing here Pix? I thought you were out with the girls.”

“Mreow.”

“Right. Well, you wanna patrol with me till we get you back to Rob?”

“ Mow!”

She was very helpful for the first little bit. She sharpened her claws on the faces of two would-be kidnappers before enacting her vengeance on Jason for his betrayal. Oh, she didn’t hurt him. Just his jacket.

It was easy. One minute she was riding on his shoulder, the next she had dug her claws deep into the leather of his jacket in the middle of his back where he couldn’t reach her no matter how he twisted. She carved long deep gashes into the leather while he yelled, contorting himself in a desperate attempt to grab hold of her.

“Get off, Pix! What the hell...”

“ RRRRRoowrrrrr. ”

There was something satisfying about the sound her claws made as they carved through the thick leather and exposed the kevlar beneath.

“Alright! I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you Pixie in front of everyone like that. Shit!”

A grappling hook landed nearby and Robin swung onto the roof. Marinette froze, maintaining her unreachable position on Hood’s back.

“Robin!” Get your girlfriend off my back!”

“Tt. I have no doubt you deserved it, Hood.”

Marinette made a little trilling sound and hopped nimbly off of Hood’s back to wrap herself around Robin’s neck, feeling delightfully satisfied by both the tattered appearance of Hood’s coat and the way Robin blushed when she cuddled up to him. She relaxed when Robin ran a gentle hand over her and settled in with a rumbling purr.

Robin tapped his comm with a glare at Hood. “I've located Pixie. She is safe. Hood was accompanying her this evening. She will join me on patrol for the rest of the evening.”

It was late when they arrived back at the manor. Marinette basked in the tiredness born of a good night's work. She loved running with Robin and his flock. While the Bats cleaned themselves up, she slipped into Damian's room to wait and fell fast asleep on his pillow. 

Wakefulness poked at Marinette in the form of sunlight streaming through Damian's curtains. She felt the rise and fall of his chest under her, where she was curled up, still in cat form.

“ Mrow .”

“Good morning, Marinette. Are you ready to be yourself again?” 

Marinette stretched and held out her right paw, willing the transformation to work without the drive halfway to Metropolis. 

“It's too early to be up.” She yanked the curtain closed and cuddled back up to Daman, where he willingly wrapped an arm around her. 

“It's still early. We can sleep for a while longer.” Marinette felt him kiss the back of her head and she drifted back to sleep. 

Marinette felt safe and content. She was wrapped in something warm yet solid. “You are purring, Habibti.” 

She stretched, relishing the way Damian’s arms tightened around her.

“What does that mean?”

“I don't know why you are purring. You are human.”

"No, ‘habibti’."

“Beloved.”

A smile curled her lips and she turned in Damian's arms to kiss him. 

“I like the way it sounds.”

“I like the way you purr.”

Everything was ready. Marinette would attend the Junket with them, flying under the radar by blending in with the family as Cass- who was out of town on an extended mission. Dick came from Blüdhaven to keep an eye on Gotham while they were out of town. He showed up a day early to meet the girl who had stolen his little brother’s heart.

Damian arrived home from the last day of school to find Marinette telling Dick about how they met. And apparently, she was trying to get him killed.

“I was living on the streets when we met, you know. There was an Akuma called Displacer and I got zapped to somewhere around the Harbor. It was night. I was more than a little freaked out. I didn’t speak more than a little English and I wandered around for ages. I found more kids in the Alley and they took me under their wing. I helped however I could and they helped me. Then I met Robin. He was so nice to me, I sought him out whenever I could. Eventually, he took me home with him and let me sleep in his bed-”

“What?!”

Damian had felt rooted to the spot during her out-of-context retelling until he and Dick both lost it simultaneously. 

“Marinette. You can’t tell it like that.”

“Baby Bird? Do we need to talk ?”

“Sorry, Mon Ceour, it’s just so much funnier this way.” Marinette wrapped her arms around him before turning back to Dick to explain. “I was magically enchanted into a cat. Damian didn’t know I was a person for months.”

Dick rubbed the back of his neck while he processed the new information. “So Damian adopted you thinking you were a cat?”

“I was a cat, but yes. Then he broke the spell.”

“And now you're dating and fighting crime together?”

Marinette nodded, “Yup! Although, I helped him fight bad guys while I was a cat too.”

“Huh?” Dick looked flummoxed. Damian found he enjoyed teasing him a little.

“Pixie’s use of tooth and claw is unparalleled,” Damian confirmed.

“Who’s Pixie?” 

Marinette beamed. “I am. Jason named me while I was a cat.”

“Take it easy kid.” Jason nudged Damian, dragging his attention away from Marinette. The hotel ballroom was resplendent and filled to the brim with the moneyed and fashion elite of Paris. “We need people to believe she’s our sister until Constantine pinpoints Mothman. And the way you’re looking at her cannot be called sisterly affection.”

Damian grunted. “I need to make sure she isn’t recognized.” He hated having her in harm's way like this. She was armed once again with Tikki’s earrings, and Plagg was safely ensconced in Adrien’s pocket. But it felt like someone would notice exactly who the black-haired girl with the Wayne family was at any moment. And it didn’t matter who the villain was. If anyone shouted her name, everything would come tumbling down around them.

“Then stop drawing attention to her. You look like you want to drag her to the nearest closet and ravish her.”

“Todd! Do not be crass.” 

Damian’s eyes drifted back to where Marinette was standing with Brown. She was dressed in a slinky black dress that Cain would have liked, and it fit her like a glove. She had all the physical allure of Lady Noire while retaining the confident sweetness of Marinette. And Damian was finding it difficult to not ogle his girlfriend. He hated that Todd’s childish accusations were not far from the truth. The sooner Constantine worked his magic, the better. 

Damian stiffened when the accursed magician took hold of Marinette’s elbow and asked her to dance. She nodded and it took everything in his willpower to allow it. This was the plan. A turn around the ballroom and Constantine could point out anyone with a Miraculous signature and Marinette would know if it was someone she had trusted to carry one. Once it was over, Marinette would be safe and he could stop trying to pretend she was his sister.

“Ya clean up good, kid. You don’t look all that much like Cass, but she hasn’t been to any overseas functions like this, so this lot won’t know. Your little bird might give you away though.”

Marinette peered over Constantine’s shoulder to see Damian watching her closely. She tried to smile at him, but his attempt to return it looked stiff.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s just worried I’ll paw at you.”

She looked at the magician sharply, but he just laughed. “I’m not as much a lout as I let them believe. I just like to be left alone.”

Marinette nodded and tried to keep her face turned toward her dance partner to help maintain her thin cover. They worked their way around the room slowly, and Marinette grew increasingly worried that her awkward waltz would be the thing that gave her away.

Constantine nodded, “Over your left shoulder. Don’t look, I’ll spin you in a second. There’s a couple near your blond friend. One of them is wearing one of your charms- it’s either the cravat or hidden under it. The other has definitely worn one before, but she isn’t wearing it now. Both of them feel like they have been Akumatized.”

Marinette forced herself to wait until Constantine gave her a nod as he turned them. Gabriel and Natalie. Shadowmoth and Mayura. Gabriel’s Akumatization all those years ago had been a ploy. 

Marinette hissed, “Gabriel Agreste! He was on our shortlist.” 

“I can give you ten seconds.”

“What?”

“Grab it …” The magician reached up, pressed his finger to his lapel pin, and drew a single drop of blood. “Now!”

The room went still. Silent. Time had ceased. Marinette stepped through the dancers, reached under Gabriel’s cravat, and grabbed the butterfly pin hidden there, and an awed-looking Nooroo slipped into the safety of her clutch. She jumped back into place just as time caught up with them. She stumbled slightly, unable to remember what step she had been about to take before time stopped. The dancers resumed their movement and John led her across the room before he spun her into Damian’s waiting arms. “One favor, girlie.” Then he was gone.

Damian caught her gently and swung her back onto the dance floor more gracefully than Marinette thought she was capable of. “What happened?”

Marinette tried to cap her excitement and kept her voice low. “He found it! Damian. Nooroo is safe.” She felt choked up with relief.

Who has it?”

“I do! Constantine did something with a pin. Time stopped for a few seconds and I grabbed it. We need to get out of here. I want to search the house for the Peacock.”

Damian shuddered infinitesimally, “Blood Magic. Whose house, Marinette?”

Her euphoria dropped into her stomach. “Adrien’s. Shadowmoth is his father, Gabriel Agreste.”

Pity for the blond spread through Damian as he led Marinette out of the room. It was hard to be a hero with a villain for a parent. Maybe a friendship with Brown or Cain would be beneficial to him.

The moment they left the hotel, Rena Rouge and Pegasus dropped from the roof and joined them. 

“What’s the scoop, LB?”

Marinette held up the broach and Nooroo slipped bashfully out of her purse. “What do you say, Nooroo? Do you want to help us bring Duusu home?”

“Excellent job,” Pegasus noted proudly.

“OMG! You did it! Girl! Who had it? How did you get it?”

“Gabriel. Nooroo, can you tell us what he wanted the wish for?”

“Of course, Mistress! I’ll do whatever I can to help. He wanted to revive his wife. Emilie lies beneath the house in suspended animation. Neither alive nor dead.”

“What?” Marinette whirled and Nooroo froze, fear written across his face. “Sorry Nooroo, I didn’t mean to scare you. Poor Adrien.”

The butterfly Kwami nodded and Damian wondered what Marinette was thinking. “How can I be of assistance?”

“Would you wield Nooroo? His transformation includes a sword and allows you to create temporary heroes if needed.”

“Tt. Of course. I will help whichever way I can.”

He took the broach reverently, Marinette was trusting him. “Hello, Nooroo. Thank you for being willing to work with me.”

“Greetings. I hope that I am able to aid you. To transform, all you have to do is say ‘Wings Rise’.”

“Spots on!”

“Wings Rise.”

The tyranny of Paris had ended.

Thanks to John Constantine’s little time trick, the showdown they had spent weeks planning was anticlimactic. Duusu was easy to rescue with Nooroo’s knowledge of the Agreste Mansion and the police couldn’t argue with the attic full of butterflies or the basement containing the body of Emilie Agreste.

The hardest part was telling Adrien. His life shifted dramatically with his father in jail. Marinette tried to be positive and encouraging about his move to England to be with his Aunt Amelie and cousin Felix, but losing Plagg was a tough blow. She wouldn’t have worried about Adrien and Plagg staying together if he was going to be in the same country as the Miracle Box, but the idea of inadvertently losing a Miraculous terrified her. Marinette was not willing to lose her memories if she proved to be an unreliable Guardian.

She had experienced a moment of panic when the dust first settled. The Wayne family, sans Damian, had returned to their hotel, the heroes had turned their Miraculous over to Marinette (Alya had eyed Damian teasingly and threatened to vet him if he planned to keep seeing her best friend) and Damian walked her home to surprise her parents. 

She stopped outside the side entrance to the bakery and wrapped her arms around Damian fiercely. He held her close, keeping her grounded. 

“How are we going to do this?”

“If you don’t have a key on you, I am sure your parents will come if you knock.”

Her tears were lost in a sudden laugh. “You know that isn't what I meant.”

“I do. I would also like to remind you that not only do you have a pair of glasses that make it possible to step across the world in an instant, but my father owns a private jet. I’ll not let something like an ocean get in our way, now that I have found you.”

Hope rose up and she looked up at the boy she’d fallen in love with, “You’ll visit?”

He kissed her, softly, then a little desperately, and she clung to him.

“Often. And it is summer break. I am hoping to convince Father to let me spend it in Paris.”

“Will you stay with me tonight?”

“Habibti, I would love nothing more, but I do not wish to incur your father’s wrath before we’ve been introduced.”

“Oh. Right. I guess you’d have a better start by being the guy who drops me off unexpectedly after keeping me safe for months, than the guy they find sneaking out in the morning.”

“I do not sneak. I would stay and defend your honor to the bitter end.”

Marinette took a deep breath and smiled at him. “I guess you better heroically return me to my family then.”

Damian kissed her again, and she felt her heart fill her chest.

“I love you, Damian.”

“And I you, Marinette.”