Fanfic Author: AU Where Everything Is The Same, Except The Wise Cracking/ Sarcastic Character Is Treated

Catfamily

Thanks to {•.•} on Ao3 we have a title for part 2 of Paris meets Selina Kyle!

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-So Selina now has her 2 wonderful children she adopted

- She decides to stay in Paris for a bit and teach them how to fight because honestly these were kids

- Of course she insisted on the whole you need to support each other as civilians to be a better team so identity reveal!

- That kind of killed their crushes on another because Adrien is Chat and Ladybug was Marinette

- So know that they know they have fully embraced their chaos child personalities and are living life well

- Of course then Lila decides to start her whole smear campaign of Marinette and Adrien is like nope not my sister

- Selina also gets another Kitten when Chloe joins in the Catfamily (because Chloe deserves a redemption arc)

- Queen Bee is also back in commission after heroes day due to a lot of miraculous magic and using the name Abeille

-Luka and Kagami are inducted to the Cat family shortly after

- The Catfamily is also considering Nino, Alix, Kim, and Max for possible membership due to them having seen the light

- And part time miraculous users Kagami and Luka are also being considered

- All in all the heroes of Paris are now Selina's kids and she now has a magical artifact that turns her into a cat hero

-She loves being the holder of the Tiger miraculous!

- Selina decides it's time for Bruce to meet his new step children

Selina- Brucie guess what? I took in a couple of strays!

Bruce- That's nice Selina, what type of cat are they?

Selina- Only one of them is a cat. A nice black cat to be precise.

A bewildered Bruce- Wait did you adopt a dog?

A delighted Selina who is acting like she is an offended Victorian maiden- Heavens no! I adopted children Bruce! To think you thought I would adopt a dog of all things! I thought you knew me!

Dick who just fell out of the celling- You adopted what!

Jason and Tim who fell out of the clock- She what!

Barbra, Stephanie, and Duke who are in the now open doorway- Children!

Cass signing- Congratulations!

Damian as he steps over Jason and Tim who are on the floor- Honestly Father you really thought she would adopt a dog?

-Cue a bunch of shenanigans as Adrien, Marinette, and Chloe meet their step-bat-family

-Marinette and Chloe totally drag their fashion choices with Adrien adding in occassionaly

-Bruce is appalled to find out Selina know has a magical cat artifact along with a hero identity that is protected by magic! And apparently she has magical powers now? Who thought that was a good idea? And why is she a magic cat hero!?!

-As you can see Bruce is not taking this new development well but his children are exited about the whole magical powers bit

-Damian likes all three of his new step siblings since they have their own city and hero legacies and won't take his

-Also Marinette makes amazing pastries and appreciates his drawings, he and Chloe have a mutual respect, and he can appreciate Agreste's fondness for felines and can you talk to them?

-The rest of the Batfamily  love their new French step siblings too

Anyway I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update. Everything has been so crazy since Covid started, but now it has calmed down a lot soo. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed part 2 of Selina in Paris! Happy Valentine’s Day guys!

Aella <3

Edit I totally forgot to add the tag list when I first posted this

Tag List

@g-arya @maribat-is-lifeblood @trashystar420 @novicevoice @dreamykitty25 @loveswifi @zotinha456

She's a lil' thief

Batfamily: *Somehow watching the TV like a normal family, Mari is cross-legged on the floor*

TV: Reports of a new cat theme thief has taken Gotham by storm, jewelry owners are encouraged to lock down their shops...

Batfamily, aside from Jason: *Stares at Jason*

Jason: *Looks down at Mari* Really funny guys, but it wasn't me. You're going to assume its me because I control the underground.

Marinette: *slides out from under their noses as Jason speaks only Alfred sees her*

Jason: You know, I have half the mind to report any of you to Gordon, but why do I want lose the blackmail material I have on you.

Marinette: *Takes Damian's katana, Tim's coffee mug (it was almost empty), Dick's motorcycle keys, and Bruce's sunglasses*

Jason: Like seriously, you're letting the actual thief get away with your stuff... You all disgust me.

Marinette: *Nowhere in the room, but there is a flash of light outside the window*

Jason: *Proudly smile as the batfam looks confused*

TV: Breaking news! The GCPD is on a high speed chase with the alleged cat themed thief in what looks to be on a black sports bike... and is that a katana on their back...what will they steal next?

Dick: That looks like my bike.

Damian: That's my katana!

Tim: *confused as he looks at where his cup was formerly placed at* Where's my coffee mug?

Bruce: *Sighs on the verge of breaking down*

Can we just have a moment of silence for T'challa and the inevitable mockery he'll have to face once Cats (2019) came out in the MCU.

---

T'challa: your life of crime is OVER, Carl, give it up. Even your gods can't help you now. Any last words as a free man?

Carl the villain: you were great on Cats

T'challa:

T'challa: on what-

---

*later that day*

---

T'challa: Shuri. I need your help.

Shuri: I'm busy go away

T'challa: no listen I told today's villain to speak his last words as a free man and he wasted it on "You were great on Cats" so is that some kind of new-age white people phrase or some-

T'challa:

T'challa: why are you laughing

Just had my nth conversation with someone about mask-wearing today - yet another well-intentioned moron who was like 

‘But the virus is gone now’ (it isn’t) 

‘But the mask is uncomfortable’ (ventilators are worse)

‘But you’re young, you won’t die’ (having this thing could impact my health for decades to come + it’s my responsability to protect those who’re more vulnerable than I am because that’s how society works)

‘But are you going to live in fear for the rest of your life’ (taking concrete safety measures actually helps me feel more in control and less worried)

‘But are you going to give up everything and stay inside like a rat’ (no, but I’m definitely going to decide what’s worth risking my health for, and shopping for bread rolls is not very high on my list of literally-to-die-for activities)

‘But what if they never find a vaccine’ (then we’ll get used to the situation just like we got used to a thousand other things like seat belts, bike helmets, and increasingly weird true crime podcasts). 

I know it’s tiring to have people call you paranoid all the time - but you’re right and they’re wrong. Check the news, keep a safe distance from others whenever possible and keep wearing your mask!

(Btw that thread is full of interesting stuff.)

Please reblog this. This legislation is horrifying.

Here is a petition you can sign. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-congress-dont-threaten-streamers-with-prison-time-keep-sopapipa-like-copyright-provisions-out-of-the-must-pass-spending-bill

actionnetwork.org

Tell Congress: don’t threaten streamers with prison time

A dangerous new bill could see streamers fined up to $30,000 and charged with felonies for posting memes or videos with copyrighted content.

Reckless Rescuer

I literally just came up with this idea at midnight last night when I was just starting to go into fever dream mode so... This will be interesting. You asked to be tagged so here you go @justconfusedperiod!

Imagine that Marinette never became Ladybug.

Master Fu chose actual adults to go save Paris while Sabine and Tom gave Marinette combat training.

Despite not being a hero Marinette was still caught up in a lot of akuma attacks (Because Hawkmoth is a bitter ass) so she learned how to use everything and anything to her advantage.

Even though she's crafty Marinette still dies in akuma attacks and gets revived by the Miraculous Cure at the end of the day.

As sad as it is, she becomes used to dying.

That doesn't mean that she TRIES to get hurt during attacks, it just means that she expects her life to end one day because of an akuma or something and for her to not come back, so dying isn't a fear for her anymore.

She also builds a tolerance for pain during attacks where she doesn't die, but still gets very injured.

It's amazing how trauma can practically destroy someone's life while others are just so desensitized that it doesn't affect them anymore.

One day the Dupain-Chengs move to Gotham to both expand their business, and to get away from a certain magic fueled fashion disaster.

I mean, seriously.

You're supposed to be a designer but here you are walking around looking like a cardboard candy cane beige toothpick of a man.

Don't get me started on what the heck happened with Hawkmoth's costume.

What is that?

Are you wearing a silver condom on your head or what??

Anyways, Marinette attends Damian's school and they bond over being the only one's not overly worried about danger in certain situations.

At one point Damian thought that she might have been a hero or something but threw that thought away when he witnessed her somehow fall UP a staircase. (I've actually done this before. Surprisingly it's pretty fun.)

All was fine and dandy until one afternoon when they were walking to Neti's place after school to work on a project.

They were walking through a less populated part of the city and were passing a shoe store when two thugs held them at a gunpoint demanding for their cash.

The youngest Wayne was fully prepared to attack the men when Marinette started scolding them for being rude?

Marinette: Hey! You can't just do that! Do you know how rude it is to interrupt someone's conversation?! Apologize right and leave us alone right now OR ELSE.

The two men just looked at her for a moment before doubling over and bursting out in laughter.

After all, what can this tiny school girl do to hurt them?

The first guy calmed down and was about to threaten them again when all of a sudden a pink flat was thrown at his face.

Because of he was unprepared and because of the force behind the flying shoe, he was knocked over and fell to the floor with a thud.

The second guys turned to look at the girl who just threw her shoe at his partner when he was suddenly wacked in the face as well.

So there they were.

Two teenagers, one with no shoes on, in front of a show store with two thugs at their feet.

Truly a sight to behold.

Marinette turns to Damian and asks him for his shoes.

When he doesn't respond (he's in shock) Marinette just shrugs, turns around, and SMASHES HER ARM THROUGH THE GLASS WINDOW OF THE SHOE STORE TO GRAB A CROC AND CHUCK IT AT THE FIRST GUY AGAIN BECAUSE HE WAS GETTING UP.

She then turns to the second dude who was on his knees and says in a dark tone, "You better go and leave us alone before I get my hands on a pair of iceskates. Got it?"

He nods his head and scrambles to run away from the short girl with pigtails that just single handedly smashed her arm through glass and was somehow not wincing in pain from her many bleeding cuts and she threw shoes at them.

His partner frantically got to his feet and followed him.

After making sure that the two would-be-muggers are far away Mari turns to Damian and waves her still bleeding hand in front of his face.

"Heelllooooo? Anybody home?"

She then shakes his shoulders a bit.

Damian, now no longer in shock, starts freaking out about her injuries.

"oh...my...gosh....oh my gosh... oH MY GOSH YOU'RE BLEEDING EVERYWHERE!! OHMYGOSH THAT WAS SO RECKLESS OF YOU, YOU COULD HAVE DIED AND OH NO YOU JUST STRAIGHT UP BROKE A GLASS WINDOW WITH YOUR BARE HANDS!! YOU FUCKING IDIOT YOU'RE HURT! WE NEED TO GETYOUFIRSTAIDOHMYGOSH!!!"

She tries to get him to calm down but that honestly makes him freak out even more.

"HOW ARE YOU NOT REACTING TO THE PAIN OF CUTTING YOUR ARM WITH MULTIPLE PIECES OF GLASS?!? YOU FREAKING THREW SHOES AT THEM! SHOES! WHAT IF YOU FREAKING DIED FROM THAT?!?"

"Well that would make it the 2615th time."

"...."

"....."

"Excuse me but wHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE 2615TH TIME YOU DIED?!??!??"

Marinette was trying to get him to breathe since he was almost on the verge of a panic attack when the owner of the shoe store came out with a first aid kit.

The elderly woman proceeded to patch up Marinette's arm while thanking her for scaring away the muggers.

"Those two just keep scaring the customers away so I cannot thank you dearie enough!"

"Oh, it was no problem ma'am. They really needed to learn some manners anyways!"

"They really are so rude aren't they. And there we go! Your arm is all bandaged up. I would be careful with it if I were you."

She old lady then turns to Damian who has calmed down a bit now that Marinette's arm is bandaged.

"You've got quite a wild girlfriend here. Be sure to watch out for her safety or else you're gonna lose her."

That causes the two teens faces to burn red.

"Oh no you've got it wrong. She's not my girlfriend although I do agree that I should start looking out far her health more." He turns to Marinette as he says the last bit.

She just replies with a sheepish smile and a shrug.

"She's definitely going to give me gray hairs early."

The store owner gave Marinette and Damian a knowing look before sending the two on their way.

On the walk to Marinette's house Damian kept scolding her for her brash decisions and worrying over her arm at the same time.

At one point Damian asked her if she could actually feel the pain from her cuts or not and she just replied with "I got injured a lot when I lived in Paris so I have a high pain tolerance. This isn't even the worst wound I've ever gotten."

Needless to say, that did not reassure Damian at all.

When they did reach their destination they ended up deciding to finish the project on another day to let Marinette's arm heal a bit.

He calls Alfred to pick him up and when faced with the butler's questioning stare he just replies with "Too much excitement for today."

Before the limo drove off Marinette ran outside to the car and handed Damian a bag full of pastries.

"Consider this an apology for making you freak out so much."

He nodded and took the bag but still told her "You're an idiot you know right?"

"Haha. Or so I've been told." She shrugs. "See you tomorrow in class if you're not too traumatized!"

"Tt. We live in Gotham. It's gonna take more than that to truly scar me. Although I have to say, that's the closest someone's gotten in a long time. Don't do it again."

"No promises!" Marinette yells as the limo drives off.

That night Damian got a nightmare filled with shoes.

Marinette is now known and feared throughout the more amateur criminal community.

True to her word, Marinette tried to reduce the amount of risky choices that she took.

I mean, there was that incident with the llamas, trumpets, and skateboards but we don't talk about that.

Her safety streak ended when Damian was kidnapped.

And by the Joker no less.

Ya, no.

She's not just gonna stand by while her friend litteraly gets kidnapped by a clown man thing when she could do something about it.

The Joker called the Waynes through a video chat and threatens the dump Damian into a pool filled with unidentified and possibly contaminated water until they give him half a million dollars.

And because it's a two way video chat and all of the Waynes (except Damian) are there they can't 'call the batfam' to save him.

Because they were all so busy panicking and Joker was busy laughing, no one but Damian noticed a dark silhouette sneaking around in the shadows.

The moment he saw them he immediately knew who it was.

'Oh no. ThaT'S MY IDIOT!!'

Marinette noticed Damian's panicked stare on her and just, gave him a thumbs up? Before going back into the darkness.

'Oh no oh no ohnoohnononono what's she doing?!' He thought to himself as he heard quiet shuffling in the shadows.

Going back to the screen, Bruce was about to send the money when all of a sudden a bright light was turned on from behind the Joker to the left.

And they weren't expecting what they saw.

There under the light was someone in a Barney the Dinosaur costume sitting in a rainbow bumper car with a radio and a bag filled with something strapped in the passenger side.

TrULy RaDiAnT.

The purple dino turned on the radio, (which was playing the Barney theme song) made eye contact with the clown, and promptly said "Beep beep bitch." in a robotic voice (there was a voice changer in the costume) before driving full speed at him.

At first the Joker tried to run away from the vehicle but for some reason the bumper car was extremely fast and RAN HIM OVER before turning around,

AND FUCKING DOING IT AGAIN!!

Double oof.

They did this around 12 times before the Joker managed to push up from under the bumper car at the perfect time.

Marinette did a backflip (dramatics are guaranteed) as she jumped out of the rainbow ride while simultaneously throwing the radio at the Joker at full force.

The Joker, not expecting that, was thrown against the base of a wall.

He got up just in time to see his attacker pull out a shoe from the bag and chuck it at his nuts.

*cue everyone either laughing at his pain or wincing in sympathy*

The Barney pulls out a sandal from the bag and throws it at his face and uses a black stiletto to pin the clown's arm tO THE FRIGGING WALL when he reaches to touch where the flip flop hit him.

(Is there a difference between sandals and flip flops?)

She then uses another stiletto (a red one this time) to pin his other arm and pulls out YET ANOTHER SHOE (a rainboot) to hit his face.

...again....

This time he gets knocked out though so there's that.

...

....

.....

The power of FOOTWEAR!!

The purple and green dinosaur goes to untie Damian while his family just watch through the screen with their jaws on the floor, still processing what the actual heck just happened.

They get snapped out of their shock when the youngest Wayne launches himself into the Barney's arms and starts rambling about how worried he was and did the store owner give you all those shoes and why the heck did you follow me here.

They don't know what they were expecting the person under the Barney costume to look like but they definitely weren't expecting a young girl with pigtails wearing stilts to come out.

Apparently she needed them to fit into the suit.

Damian: How did you even know I was in trouble?

Marinette: I sorta have a six sense for this kind of stuff. It's disappointing that I didn't get to use all of my amo though :(

Damian: Wait. You brought MORE shoes?

Marinette: Yep! And a couple other things as well. Like this trumpet case, and this bowling ball, and this duck themed alarm clock (I have one lol), and oh! Wait a moment would ya?

*walks over to the pool and dumps around 30 bath bombs in*

Marinette: There! Now this place will smell super nice!

Damian: Did you just dump a ton of bath bombs into a pool of unidentified liquid?

Marinette: Yep!

Damian: Let me rephrase that. Did you just dump a ton of bath bombs into a pool of possibly chemically contaminated water which could possibly have a bad reaction to the bath bombs which could possibly explode or just generally be the death of us?

Marinette: ........

Damian: ........

Marinette: ......

Damian: ........

Marinette: ....well it wouldn't be the FIRST time I-

Damian close to tears: yEs I KnOw PLeaSe StOp ReMinDiNg mE.

Ya so this was just a random idea I had and that I will probably not be adding to but y'all reading this are more than welcome to! If you do continue or make your own little spins on this please tag me! I would love to read them :D

Broke : Alfred was Duusu's former user.

Woke : Alfred was Sass's former user.

Just hear me out.

Isn't it suspicious, how Alfred just seems to know everything.

How he predicts the outcome of a situation before it happens.

How he's always so intuitive about every single thing?

If Marinette gets extremely cold in the winter and Adrian can purr, Alfred can be a fricking half pychic. f i g h t m e

Stick it to Rainbow Capitalism!

Since rainbow capitalism sucks, here are some small queer shops to support this coming pride month instead of giving all your money to Disney and Walmart!

Pride bows!

All the buttons you could ever need or want!

Dice and dominoes!

Bottle charms!

Armour-inspired jewelry!

Stickers, stickers, and more stickers!

Black queer art prints!

Shoelaces!

Hats!

Patches!

Cross stitch!

Earrings, earrings, and more earrings!

Bat dolls!

Bracelets 1 and Bracelets 2

Dragon dolls!

Sweaters!

Queer Goats!

Abrosexual pride!

Do no harm, take no shit!

Pride moths!

Misc. Identity merch!

Chocolate!

Pride shrimp!

And finally, it's not specifically queer, but these shops do custom flags!

If you have a shop or know a shop you want to promote, please reblog with a link!

Sister of the Bat

I love siblings!Brucinette, especially Marinette being the older sibling. (Maybe I am projecting as the eldest child and enjoy bullying younger brothers in general.)

So hear me out.

Marinette is adopted by the Waynes when Bruce is like 9 or so.

She is older by like 2 years and her parents died. Bruce's parents took pity on her and took her in.

Gina takes Marinette with her as she travels around after Tom and Sabine dies in an accident and one of their stops is the Wayne Manor because Gina is good friends with Alfred.

Thomas and Martha offer to adopt Marinette to give her a stable home life and Gina accepts.

Bruce acts very much like Damian and demands her to get out of the mansion and insists that she is not family, much to his parents' dismay. He refuses to acknowledge her as a sister.

Marinette at least tries to be nice and be friends with him but her wellspring of patience can dry up and she later starts to call him 'demon brat.'

Marinette was there the night outside the cinema. The two siblings got a little closer after it and at least, stopped fighting each other on a daily basis. Alfred wishes it didn't take Thomas's and Martha's death for the two to get along.

Deep down, Marinette blames herself for what happened that night because how else can you explain why everyone she sees as a parental figure dies. Bruce doesn't blame her though.

So fast forward to when Marinette is 14 and she goes on an exchange program to Paris to visit her hometown. It took a lot to convince Bruce to let her leave Gotham and promises to come home for the holidays.

Hawkmoth happens. Bruce figures out that she's Ladybug when she refuses to come home for the holidays and investigate why.

He comes to Paris to help. Alfred follows to keep an eye on the two and also wants to know what the situation is since he used to be a miraculous holder.

Alfred had a 'talk' with Fu about putting responsibilities of a city on the shoulders of one of his wards. He also nearly got akumatized when Marinette was made Guardian and had more responsibilities on her young shoulders but managed to calm down.

Hilarious scene I thought of. Alfred cocks his shotgun, threatening to shoot Su-Han when he shows up and fires a warning shot to make a point.

They stayed in Paris for 2 years. Moving into Marinette's old house when the exchange program ended.

Bruce gets tempted to use the earrings and ring to bring his parents back but ultimately doesn't upon finding out about the consequences.

Of course Bruce is going to get a miraculous. I was thinking the rooster or the dog. And the weapon is a boomerang. Oh wait, how about the horse. It sorta works?

Hawkmoth gets defeated. Gabriel goes to jail. Adrien gets his mother back. The Wayne siblings and Alfred move back to good old Gotham.

(I realized that this got longer than I expected.)

Time skip to a few years later, when Marinette goes to Tibet to be trained as a Guardian and Bruce follows her not long after to learn how to fight and figured the Temple was a good place to start.

After she finishes her Guardian training, they both travel around, sometimes going their separate ways and meeting up again once a few months. Marinette only sometimes trains with some of the masters Bruce was learning under, she mainly goes around looking for lost Miraculous and righting the balance in places.

Of course, Marinette gets on the first plane to Nanda Parbat to knock some sense into her dumb brother, the moment she found out that Bruce was training with the League of Assassins.

"Okay, I left you alone for a week and the next thing I know you are in the League of Assassins. THE LEAGUE OF ASSASSINS LED BY RA'S AL GHUL. What the hell were you thinking, Bruce?! Does Alfred know about this?"

"Well, it is the League of Assassins. Assassins, Mari. I need to know every form of fighting so I can be Batman."

"I am sorry. Bat-what?"

"Batman. The identity I created so I can fight in my crusade against crime."

"Right.... That totally makes sense. But why a bat? I thought you were scared of those. I literally hung pictures of bats in my room so you would stay out. I even made a bat plushie named Terry. You remember Terry, right?"

"Yes and I hated him. The point is, I chose a bat as a sign of overcoming my fear and using it as a symbol to strike fear in the hearts of my enemies and as a symbol of hope for the innocent."

"Did- Did you just.. have an answer ready for when people ask you why you are dressed as a bat furry?"

She stuck around to pester Bruce into quitting the league and simultaneously mess with Ra's at the same time.

She used magic to keep herself hidden and succeeded to stay that way until Bruce left.

She's also the reason why Bruce hates magic.

Marinette went back to Gotham first and set up a fashion empire.

Bruce comes back and starts being Batman.

Marinette at first tries very hard to respect Bruce's decision to do this mostly on his own. Until an incident where he got stabbed and instead of resting, he goes out.

So tired older sister Marinette puts on a black kelver suit with bits of red as a homage to her time as Ladybug, a domino mask with white lenses and a cape with a red hood (Hawkmoth had ruined cowls and she later changed it into a kelver jacket with a hood because despite the dramatic effect it brings, she was not great at jumping around rooftops with a cape which made Bruce takes great pride in showing off how great his cape is any chance he gets)

She went out to make sure Bruce doesn't get killed. (No miraculous because she doesn't want people coming to already crime-filled Gotham for them)

People called her 'Red Hood'. (Joker uses that alias because he wants to taunt the Bat after hearing rumours that 'Red Hood' was dead. Jason took it because it's the name of the one person who pisses Bruce off and gets under his skin more than anyone.)

Batman has that deep and gruff voice to disguise his voice while Red Hood uses magic to distort her voice enough that it was still understandable but drove shivers down people’s spines.

She was there first hand and managed to record a lot of failed or dramatic moments Batman has. Blackmail...

Bruce is stubborn. He tells her that he has everything handled while getting his ass kicked. Mostly he gets the villain of the week tied up in an hour and Marinette leaves to go deal with something else in another neighbourhood.

Not very often there are cases where Bruce is obviously very tired and needs help but is too stubborn to ask for it. Marinette asks if he needs help and he says no. She lets the fight go on for like 15 minutes, casually leaning against the railing or wall and in one case, eating chips and sharing it with a barely conscious henchman before asking him again. And joining the fight whether he said no or not.

-------

The nature of their relationship is questioned as they are seen together often enough.

That came to light when Penguin was dangling Red Hood above a death trap and threatened Batman that he was going to kill his girlfriend unless he met the demands.

“Ew…” “What the-. No!” “Gross. I would rather die, thank you very much.” “She’s my sister.” “My standards are way higher than that.”

“Oh. My apologies. But still the same sentiment. Do it or she dies.”

“No.” Batman answered.

“Kwamis, if this is about the cookies, I said I was sorry, Baby Brother.”

“The sign clearly said ‘Do not Touch.’”

The two clearly adult, usually serious and fearsome vigilante bicker like children.

Penguin cleared his throat after being frustrated at being ignored, “Hello, still here by the way. And I thought he was the older one.”

“He wishes.” Red Hood snorted, already freed and ready to kick some Penguin’s ass.

“Oh no.”

------

Joker thinks he is Batman’s arch nemesis. And for the longest time, was the only Gotham Rouge who has never faced Red Hood. (Marinette knows about the Joker but due to the circumstances and dislike for the man’s fashion choices, has never met the ‘Clown prince’ in person.)

But Joker doesn’t pay attention to frivolous gossip of the Gotham underworld much. So as far as he knows, there was only one vigilante in town and that was the Batman who is his equal and vice versa or so he thought.

That illusion was shattered, the moment another figure appeared from the shadows while Batman was busy trying to deactivate the bombs on the hostages.

“Yo, Demon-Brat, Need help?”

“No.”

“Who is this, Batsy? Your sidekick?”

Red Hood looked offended, “I find that very offensive.”

Batman sighed, “The bane of my existence.”

It was Joker’s turn to be offended. He puts on a hurt face, “But I thought I was your arch nemesis, Batsy. What about all those fun times we had?”

“Sorry, Jester. But me and Bats have a longer history.”

“It’s the Joker. You nitwit.”

“Nitwit? Come up with better insults, you second-grade clown. I have seen birthday clowns scarier than you. And it’s the green wire that you need to cut.”

“Who are you anyway?”

Red Hood took a bow. “The name’s Hood. Red Hood. I am here to make sure the Demon-Brat over there doesn’t get killed, dressed as a bat furry. Now, any last words?” She aimed her guns at the Joker.

“Oh. I think I will like you.”

[Fight scene as Batman frees the hostages and then, they fight the Joker together.]

As Joker is led into the car that will take him to Arkham Asylum, “I don’t like you.” He said as he glared at Red Hood.

------

Batman is working on his latest case in front of the Batcomputer when his phone rang from a number he wished never called.

He answered it.

“Hey, Bruce, I am going to be in town for the next few days. This is a heads-up, in case we ever ran into each other.”

“Understood. Is anyone new going to show up during your stay?”

“Maybe. That remains to be seen.”

“Tell me when it happens.”

A small laugh at the other end. “Same old Brucie.”

Alfred enters. “Is that Miss Marinette?”

“Hello, Alfred. Nice to know that you are well.”

“Miss Marinette, it would be nicer if you come by the manor. It’s rather empty without you.”

“I would love to, Alfred but my schedule is rather packed and I am pretty sure the manor is full of strays that Demon brat had brought home over the years.”

“They are not strays. They needed someone to train them properly and they agreed to be adopted.” Bruce still hasn’t figured out how he has so many kids. One day, it was just him and Dick and the next thing, kids come and go from his house. But he wasn’t going to let her know that.

“Sureee…”

“Miss Marinette, it’s been so long since we last saw you. I am confident that you and Master Bruce can remain civil for a few hours. Please come by.”

A short silence.

“Do it for me. Please.” Alfred added.

“For you Alfred, I will come over sometime in the afternoon tomorrow but I cannot promise anything else. Goodbye.”

“Good Day, Miss Marinette.”

---

The next morning, Bruce wasn’t in a good mood and the kids tried to figure out why. Bets on Jason or Damian.

Alfred on the other hand looked almost giddy with excitement, cleaning up the manor with a vigour.

When he was asked, he answered “Miss Marinette is back in Gotham. She’s coming over for a visit today.”

Dick and Jason seemed to understand what Alfred meant.

“Wait, she’s back. Does Bruce know she’s going to be here?”

“He and the Miss have agreed to be civil towards each other.”

“Well, I am going to the kitchen to make some popcorn. This is going to be good.” Jason said, gleefully rubbing his hands together as he walked away.

All the other kids looked confused. “Who’s Marinette?”

Dick answered,“She’s well...if there was anyone in the entire world who can drive Bruce mad, it’s her. I swear he came close to breaking the no-kill rule every time she visits. Last I heard she was in Australia.”

“Why does Father dislike her that much?” Damian asked.

“She was the original Red Hood.”

“I thought Jason stole that name from the Joker.” Tim scratched his head.

“Well, the Joker stole it from her to taunt B. When B started off, Batman had...um...a partner. This was way before my time. Her methods were a little conventional. She prioritizes the innocents but she broke the no-kill rule a few too many times. Nearly killed the Joker once.”

“So what happened?”

“They argued a lot. Fought nearly all the time. By the time B had Jason for like what? a year?, she moved out of Gotham and rarely came back. The last time was Jason’s fifteenth birthday before he died and we never heard back from her again, except for a few birthday presents”

“Why isn’t there any picture of her? Why have we never heard of her before?”

“Bruce likes to pretend that she doesn’t exist because...well... you’ll see.”

------

Jason to Dick later. “You didn’t tell them?”

“No. Would you tell them about her and Bruce?”

“I see your point. This is going to be epic. We are totally recording, right?”

“Way ahead of you. Cameras in nearly every angle of each room, plus hidden microphones for audio. Babs is making sure they are all in working order. Thank Bruce paranoia at times like this.”

Doorbell rings. “And Action.” Jason said as he and Dick took out their phones to get some first hand footage. Extra blackmail is always handy to have.

Alfred opens the door to reveal a woman in red, wearing sunglasses. Outside, a red and black motorbike was parked. Her hair was dark and hung loose down her back. She takes off her glasses to reveal bluebell eyes that held the same steely glint as Bruce but they softened at the sight of the old butler.

“Hey Alfred. Long time no see.” She warmly said as she hugged him.

“Miss Marinette. I must say that I miss having your charm around the manor.”

Seeing Dick and Jason in the hallway. “Boys, look at you. You have grown so much. Dick, I see you finally got rid of the mullet.(It wasn’t that bad, Dick said under his breath) Jason, see, I told you that you will get bigger than me one day.”

“Hey, M / Aunt Mari” They hug her.

“Jason.” Her tone changed and he froze, she sounded pissed. “You name stealer.”

“I wanted to make you proud. I was very mad at B back then and I thought why not use the name that pisses him off the most. And you were my favourite auntie.” He tried to explain himself. Maybe he should have asked her first before using her name.

Marinette thought about it for an antagonizing long time watching him squirm, “Hmm….Valid. In that case, you can be my successor.”

“Always knew I was your favourite nephew.”

“Hush, that’s our secret. Now where are all the other strays Brucie has.”

The other bat kids had appeared from where they were.

“Oh… are these the new strays that Brucie brought home over the years?”

“I am no stray. I am Father’s blood son and his heir. You will treat me as such, woman.”

Marinette mutters under her breath, “No doubt about it, you are Bruce’s son. Can’t believe that Demon brat actually got a kid with his DNA. I thought for sure that he was going to keep adopting kids with some resemblance to him.” Jason laughs.

“I am Tim. And the Demon spawn over there,” He gestured towards said kid, “is Damian.” At the nickname, she raised an eyebrow and looked at Dick. He nodded. She chuckled.

The excited blond woman hugged her next, “Hi, I am Stephanie, unlike the others, I came in and never got adopted.”

“Smart girl.”

Stephanie pointed towards Cass, “and this is Cass. She doesn’t talk much.” Cass settles for a wave.

“I am Duke. The family’s newest addition.”

“The only ones not here are Babara, Harper, Colin and Kate.”

“Kate as in Kate Kane?”

“The one and only.”

“Oh. I have to meet up with her at some point.”

“Come on now. Let’s not loiter in the hallway. I am sure Miss Marinette would like some tea. And remember your promise.”

“I promise my best.”

“I hope your best is enough. Master Bruce is currently in the study.”

“Great. I don’t have to deal with his annoying face.”

They moved to the living room. Marinette, Jason and Dick catch up on what happened over the years. Mostly on Jason’s and Dick’s part.

Bruce finally comes down the stairs and the room falls silent. The atmosphere suddenly felt thick and hard to breathe, the moment the two made eye contact with each other.

“Marinette. You are still here.”

“Disappointed, Demon Brat?”

Everyone looked shocked, except for Dick and Jason who had started recording on their phone the moment Bruce showed up.

Marinette stood up with folded arms and a murderous glare on her face when she saw what Bruce was wearing. Bruce on the other hand smirked, wearing clothes that clashed terribly and was an absolute eyesore, especially to a fashion designer’s eye.

WTF was happening???? Was running through most of the bat kids’ heads.

“You are doing this on purpose. You are trying to piss me off.”

“You started it by not leaving the moment the amount of time warranted for a visit has passed.”

“I didn’t come here to see you. I came here for Alfred and stayed for them.” She pointed her thumb in the kids’ direction. “You should have stayed in your little man cave, Bats.”

“How about you scurry back to Europe where you belong, Bug, before I eat you.”

“Aw...Look at the cute baby bat, baring his non-existent fangs.”

“I am a full-grown man. You onesie wearing imposter.”

“I was thirteen year old! Thirteen! If we are going to rip each other’s first suits, then let’s talk about that fashion disaster you wore when you first started out. That cape was a walking hazard, much less be used to run around rooftops. It’s a miracle that you can still walk after that accident. And the ears. You looked like a fucking Rabbit.”

“You are one to talk. That cloak incident in the winter gala of- .”

“That doesn’t count. I only fell down because you stepped on it. If memory serves, you embarrassed yourself in front of Miss Kyle by falling face first into the fountain and ran away from the gala, that same day.”

The insults and jabs went on and on. Stories full of blackmail were exchanged.

Jason and Dick are delighted at the blackmail material and grinning like maniacs.

The rest were still in shock at Bruce’s behaviour. This is way different from the Brucie Wayne persona and a far cry from the stoic Batman.

“Face it, Baby brother. You can’t just admit that I am wayyy better than you.”

‘Baby Brother’, Tim mouthed. He looked at the two eldest for answers but were of no help as they try to capture the best angle for their video.

He vaguely remembers the name Red Hood appearing in the news along with Batman and Robin and there being a second Wayne when he was younger.

He thought that they would be exes or something that worked together but the sibling rivalry in front of him made so much sense now.

“I can beat you in a fight any day, Brucie.”

“Well, I am Batman.”

“And I have been doing this hero shtick since I was 13. So weapons or no weapons?”

“No weapons. Alfred won’t appreciate new scratches in the living room. Freestyle, all out brawl, first one pinned or knocked out loses. right here, right now. No hitting the face or between the legs.” He said, taking off his silver glittery suit jacket.

“I like the sound of that.” She said as she took off her red coat and got into a fighting stance. “Give me all you got, demon brat.”

Dick and Jason made sure to clear out the room and continued filming from the stairs.

“She’s like our aunt?” Tim asked.

“Adopted. Like us.” Jason grinned, as Marinette got cornered and did a flip to get out “I like to think that the adoption genes from Thomas and Martha were passed down to B and doubled to explain why there are so many of us.”

“Why has Father never mentioned her to us before?”

“Would you talk about us to your pets if we were living far and far away?” Dick asked.

“You and maybe Cass and Thomas. The rest of you. No. I wouldn’t. You make a good point, Richard.”

The two siblings downstairs had abandoned fighting the proper way and were wrestling on the ground like five years old.

“Master Bruce. Miss Marinette. I expected better from both of you. You are supposed to set a good example for the children.” Alfred had arrived.

They both stopped and broke apart, looking sheepish under Alfred’s disappointed gaze.

“Sorry Alfred.” They both apologised and glared at each other.

“I guess I miss you,” Marinette said first, “Demon Brat.”

“You weren’t miss as much, Imposter.”

Alfred cleared his throat. The two siblings sighed.

“I am sorry for calling you an Imposter and that was very rude of me.” Bruce ‘apologised’ like he had recited that particular sentence too many times.

“I am sorry too for calling you a Demon Brat despite the accuracy of the statement and I endeavour to do less of it in the future, Bruce.”

“Well since dinner is nearly ready, both of you clean up the mess and come to the dining room.”

“Alfred, I really can’t stay-” Marinette started.

“You are staying, Miss Marinette. It has been years since you were here.”

“Fine, because I love your cooking nothing else and Brucie better change his clothes.”

“No.” Bruce replied childishly.

------

At the dinner table,

“So Aunty M, can I call you that?” Tim asked.

“It’s fine. What do you want to ask?”

“I heard you and Bruce talking about magical butterflies in Paris and you starting your um hero career when you were 13 because of it.”

“Oh.” Marinette’s hand on her fork tensed a little. “Wasn’t expecting that but I can see why you are curious.”

“Now that I thought about it, you never told Jason and me the entire story about it.” Dick said.

“You are right. It’s more of the entire incident left too heavy of a mark for me to talk freely about it.”

Bruce looked her with worry in his eyes, “M, you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.”

Marinette took a bite first while she gathered her thoughts first. “When I was 13 years old, I went on a student exchange program to Paris so I can learn more about my home town….”

She told them about Hawkmoth and the magical earrings she received. The responsibility of the entire city that came with it.

“You don’t sound happy about having magic powers.”

“Well, it happens when you are a just kid with already enough trauma on her plate from four parents dying in front of her. Then, you get chosen to be a hero by some old man just because you decided to be a decent human being and help him cross the street. I repeat, chosen, no training, no information on what exactly was going on. Dropped some magic earrings. which the bad guy clearly wants, into the hands of a child and pushed her out the door to fight in a long tiring war. He got amnesia halfway through the entire thing and left for London. I was young back then but didn’t know any better. At first, it was really fun. Then... If Bruce wasn’t so stubborn and stayed in Gotham like I wanted him to, I might have came out of it way worse.” Her voice was soft as she seemed lost in some painful memories.

“I already lost my parents. I didn’t want to lose another family.” Bruce said.

Marinette smiled, “Yeah. I am thankful for your help. I couldn’t keep you out of superheroing if I tried and Alfred and I tried a lot.”

A few of the Batkids sent smirks towards Bruce to remind him of how they got adopted.

“So how did Bruce help you out?”

“Well, he was more of the Oracle in the situation, tracking down Hawkmoth. Alfred and me kept him from going out, no matter how much he wanted to join the fights. But…” Marinette smirked and Bruce stiffened as he realized what she was going to do.

Marinette moved forward and ‘whispered’, “You should know that you kids aren’t the only ones who parkoured around rooftops in brightly coloured bird-themed suits in your preteens.”

“No way...The Batman was like your Robin?!”

Bruce dropped his face into his hands. “Mari, stop.” He hissed.

“What? I am simply enlightening the children on their heritage.”

Alfred comes in to take away the plates, “I also recall the young Master sneaking out many times to accompany you on your night patrols.”

“Alfred!”

“Nearly forgot about that. There are times where he followed me in his pjamas and a table cloth as a cape when he can’t find where I hid the Miraculouses. Can’t keep him down even when he got sick and was loopy from the medication.”

“Is this the same Mr. Lecture-us-for-not-wearing-our-proper-uniform-when-we-patrol and sneaking out to patrol?”

“One time, I got sick so Bruce wore the earrings to be Ladybug and he had this entire speech prepared for when he take down an akuma that he did in front of the mirror.”

“I thought that you were asleep.” Bruce mumbled in embarrassment.

“You aren’t as quiet and sneaky as you thought you were. Also Chat showed me the video of you taking the akuma down and how he found you when you were practicing the yo-yo.”

“He what?!”

“I also told him to sent it to Alya.”

“No!” Bruce stood up and hurried towards the Batcave. “How did I know about this?”

“Who’s Alya?”

“My reporter friend. Back in the day, she ran the Ladyblog, where she posted information and videos about akuma attacks.”

“So you are saying that there is a video of a tiny Bruce in a red with black polka dot suit, running around Paris on the Internet.”

“I think there are a few featuring him in his Chick-lad suit too. It was the cutest thing ever. Wanna see?”

“Aren’t you worried about him deleting the blog off the internet?” Tim asked as Marinette looked through her phone.

“My brother may be good at hacking but he can’t reach the level of Max Kante who made an AI at fourteen and coded the Ladyblog. Besides, Alya has back-ups and I have back-ups too. Mostly footages of Chick-lad in action.”

“Show us.” they all demanded.

------

In the next JL meeting,

“So regarding the problem in the-” Batman was saying as the presentation screen blacked out.

“On it.” Cyborg said as he got up to make it work again but the screen flickered back on before he can do anything.

‘Batman.’ A voice that suspiciously sounded like Nightwing narrated as clips of Batman fighting on the streets of Gotham, driving the Batmobile, facing off many Gotham Rouges and posing with the other Justice League members played. ‘The Dark Knight of Gotham. The Caped Crusader. Thought to be smartest and most dangerous member of the Justice League.’

‘But all heroes made their start somewhere...’

A news clip played showing Paris being wrecked by an akuma and Nadja reporting the scene. English subtitles are inserted for those who don’t understand French. Most of the members are confused as Batman felt horror beginning to set in. He might not be able to show his face to the other heroes again after this stunt his children had pulled.

The camera zoomed in on the girl in red and black fighting the orange-skinned person with a rope weapon of some sort. Wonder Woman gasped as she recognised a Ladybug user. Then, a younger boy with yellow and red feather designs, slammed into the akuma. The video paused right before the boy made impact with his mouth wide open. A circle is drawn around the boy dressed as a rooster? and an arrow pointed towards him with the words ‘Batman, aged 11’ next to it. ‘Former alias: Chick-lad’ was under it.

Red Hood’s voice was soon heard. ‘This is the infamous Dark Knight in his humble beginning. Before Gotham, there was Paris. The city of Love had dark days upon it. The young boy took up the mantle of Chick-lad and fought the demons that plagued the cities in a rather startling bright yellow. He fought alongside Ladybug who is most known for being the leader of the team that lead the charge. But we are not focusing on her right now. We are going to show you the brave chicken who had feathers on his suit.’

“No. No. No.” Bruce said as he desperately tries to turn the documentary or whatever it was off. Green Arrow and Green Lantern had began recording on their phones. Superman tried not to laugh at his friend. Cyborg looked like he can’t comprehend the boy on the screen was the same dark, not as intimidating anymore, figure in front of him.

Cue clips of Chick-lad in action and dramatically saying a lot of cheesy one-liners and puns as he try to take down akumas by himself with his bow and arrows, much to Ladybug’s visible frustration. Some horrible attempts at trick shots with the bow.

Videos of Ladybug scolding a self-satisfied but bloody Chick-lad on irresponsibly using his powers to tie up citizens for simple crimes like littering.

------

An amused Ladybug filming herelf,

“Hi, Ladybug here, on the 17th June of 19**, Robin Hood over there decided that he was going to see how many cars he can carry.” (LB calls Chick-lad Robin Hood as a nickname in the suits because of the bow.)

Camera switches to said hero under a bus and 5 cars, struggling to hold it up.

“On a good day, he can’t lift 100lbs for two minutes. But with the added Miraculous strength we can lift more than a ton for over an hour. Let’s add more and see what the limit is, shall we?”

“Ladybug, no. Help me. I can’t carry it anymore.”

“No..*Laughs* oh shit. Wait. Hang on. I am coming. Don’t you dare drop that. The Miraculous Ladybug is not for fixing the things you broke.”

Scene Cut.

A masked boy in a black cat suit was filming this time. “Bonjour, beautiful City of Lights, Chat Noir here, LB is taking medical leave due to her illness but her replacement is filling in the meantime and unfortunately, he’s not..the best with the yo-yo.”

The camera move to show Chick-lad in a red and black form-fitting suit with some armour. He was suspended in mid-life, tangled up with strings and hanging from what looks like the structure of the Eiffel Tower like a bug trapped in a spider web. He was furiously trying to get free but gets more tangled up in the strings.

“Paris is doomed.” Chat Noir deadpanned before asking, “Should I be getting LB, little chick?”

“No. Do not get my sister. I told her that I can handle Paris while she is incacipated and I will....once I get out of these stupid things.”

“Don’t diss the yo-yo. It did nothing to you.”

“It’s a horrible choice for a weapon. Bows and arrows are way better.”

-----

Green Arrow laughed, “I have to get a recording of that.”

Batman had given up trying to turn the thing off (he cursed his decision to make the screen battery-powered so it didn’t turn off when he pulled the plug) and was face-down on the table with sympathetic pats from Wonder Woman while she fan-girled in the moments when Ladybug is on screen.

Flash had gone and gotten popcorn for everyone.

-----

Someone filming Chick-lad as he taunts the akuma and evading its attacks until a yo-yo wrapped around him and pulled him out of the akuma’s range. The camera followed his trajectory. There was a pissed Ladybug on a nearby rooftop, now holding Chick-lad by the back of his suit.

“CHICKEN-LAD FOGHORN LEGHORN THOMAS WA- BUG. You are in so much trouble.”

“There was an akuma.” He weakly said

“You were grounded by Al and I can handle the akuma.”

“Well, Ladybug.” The akuma said, “Prepare to be-”

“Shut it. Can’t you see that I am talking to this little superhero here who is supposed to be at home because he is grounded?” The akuma obeyed and awkwardly stood around.

“Al was worried when you disappeared. Stop being so reckless, you piece of drumsticks.”

“This is rich coming from the girl who lets herself get eaten by a T-Rex.”

“It was part of the plan and you mister are going home right now.”

“No.”

“Do it or you ain’t getting any of Al’s snickerdoodles.”

“Fine.”

-----

“Hey, Robin Hood! Whatcha thinking about?”

Chick-lad was in a familiar pose of Batman when he is in his brooding mood.

He didn’t look up, ignoring his sister. Ladybug placed an egg under him as the camera shakes from suppressed giggles.

“Are you brooding again? I swear it’s hard to...no way.” Ladybug said in faux surprise.

This got Chick-lad’s attention. “What?”

“There’s an egg under you. How is there an egg up here?!”

The tiny hero stood up, “Har Har, no way I am falling for that... Holy shit, that’s an egg. How is it here?”

“Unless…”

Chick-lad looked horrified. “No…I mean there is no feasible way that I..”

“You laid an egg!”

“No no no no….nuh uh...I did not lay an egg.”

“I mean you brood all the time and the pro-long use of the Miraculous does give certain characteristics to our human bodies.”

“Your weird craving of aphids is a way different territory than me laying an egg. I laid an egg, Ladybug! I can’t do that. I am a healthy male Rooster.”

“That’s your own child you are talking about.”

“I am not ready to be a father.” (The caption ‘said the man who proceeds to adopt a gazillion children’ appeared under Chick-lad.)

“Well, what do we do with it?” Chick-lad asked as he tentatively picked the egg up.

“We could eat it. Omelet for breakfast sounds good.” Ladybug suggested.

“No. We are not going to eat my kid.” “So you decided to be a responsible father, then, little brother.”

Chick-lad caressed the egg like it was a precious baby, “Help me hide it from Alfred. I will do anything.”

“Deal.”

Screen cut to a dark screen like a camera was hidden inside a bag.

“-ONE WEEK! THAT’S SEVEN DAYS, 168 HOURS, 10080 MINUTES OR 604800 SECONDS!”

Someone was laughing very hard.

“THAT’S HOW LONG YOU WATCHED ME BABY THAT FAKE EGG AND MADE ME THINK I WAS THE FATHER. FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK, YOU WATCHED ME SING LULLUBIES AND TELL STORIES TO IT.”

“Fatherhood suited you.”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT YOU EVEN GOT ALFRED IN ON IT!!! ALFRED!”

“He thought this might make you learn to be more responsible. And hush you don’t want to wake up little Eggbert.”

“You are the worst.”

Ladybug cackles, “I know.”

------

The compilation lasted 20 minutes before it ended with a side-by-side comparisons of the various poses by Chick-lad, next to a Batkid trying to recreate it.

Batman stood up with every shred of dignity he still had left, “None of you will breathe a word about what happened today.” and walked out of the room.

“How is it after being embarrassed like that he manages to still scare me?”

There are a few inside jokes made from that ‘presentation’. Phrases like ‘the chicken grew up to be a bat’ baffled other members’ who didn’t see it. Until Oliver and Hal did a movie night and showed them the video that Oracle emailed them.

Ollie got a recording of a young Bruce saying “Bow and arrows are better.” in French on his phone. It’s one of the phrases in French that he knows. He says it everytime Batman has a disagreement with him. (Bruce once took out a custom bat-bow and arrows in a meeting and did an awesome archery trick that narrowly missed Green Arrow by a millimetre and proceeds to say that his skills are ‘rusty’.)

Later, he would tell newbie heroes that Batman once said, “C'est un choix d'armes horrible. L'arc et les flèches sont meilleurs.” and that means, “It’s a horrible choice of weapons. Bow and arrows are better.” in French. Bruce walked by once and told the newbie that it was taken out of context and that the horrible weapon in question was a yo-yo.

Wonder Woman passed her number to Batman to give it to Ladybug in front of everyone.

“Hey, Supes, who’s that?”

“It’s Batman’s sister, apparently. Used to be a superheroine with some magic earrings about twenty years ago. And those earrings used to belong to Diana’s mother.”

“Batman has a sister? And there’s two of them?”

-----

Stephenie had tried to fight crime with a yo-yo. It went horribly for everyone involved.

Damian asked to spar with Marinette before she left. She beats him with a custom yo-yo since she rarely uses the Miraculous nowadays. She left it for Damian as a very late or early birthday present.

Damian had trained himself to use it as a weapon since if his aunt can do it, so can he and carries it around because it has benefits like ‘it’s a toy, Father. It’s to entertain myself in that boring prison they call school.’

He also learned how to do tricks with it. He took down some would-be kidnappers with the yo-yo as Damian Wayne. (Stephanie was jealous of how good Damian was and asked him to teach her.)

------

Marinette and Bruce finally made up (skipping over the angst plot) and there were more visits from Aunty M. She does turn down being a vigilante again, choosing to focus on her new role as co-CEO of Wayne Enterprise to lighten the load but made a special appearance on a very busy night.

“Eddie! How are you? I see you are still doing purple on green.”

That voice. Whoever said that Batman was scarier one was wrong. The OG Red Hood was the one who plagues his nightmares to this day.

The Riddler turned around, hoping he was wrong. The rumours said that she was dead. But dying meant nothing to the Bats since the second Robin came back to life and was the current Red Hood.

There was a chilling sound of metal against concrete walls. “Eddie…”

“You can’t be real. You can’t.” His men were looking at him like he had gone mad. They had never seen their boss this terrified before. A few older ones from the early days dropped their weapons and run off.

Out of the shadows, a figure in red stepped out and the metal of her gun glinted under fluorescent light.

“I left Gotham for a nice vacation and what do I see after 5 years of absence? Idiots like you who still pairs green with purple.”

Riddler gets on his knees and began begging for mercy. Riddler’s goons get knocked out by the other bats as OG Red Hood tore into his fashion choices.

-----

“I mean I don’t get why people is getting so worked up over this new Red Hood.” A newbie henchman said.

“There’s another one? Did the current up and one die again?” Penguin asked.

“No. I think they are sharing the name. The old one is still around but there’s another one with the same name. She’s the one without a helmet and wears an actual red hood. I heard rumours that she has a voice of a demon, literally. They also say that Riddler surrendered himself when she showed up on the scene. You okay, boss?” he asked a very pale Penguin.

“She’s back. I thought she left for good. Batman probably welcomed her back with open arms if she is back on the streets catching the likes of us. Pack your bags, boys. We are moving out of Gotham.”

“Why? And where to, boss?”

“Anywhere but here.”

“Come on, Boss. She’s just another Bat. More work for us but we can handle her.”

“You fools. That woman is the Red Hood. The Original before there were any Robins working for Batman. When the name Batman was nothing more than a myth, a bogeyman for criminals, she was Bloody Mary story. Say her name three times and she will show up to hunt you down. The Red Hood you know now is great at catching criminals yes but she is the predator and we are the prey. She will stop at nothing, I repeat nothing to catch us. With Batman, he will let us get away to save the innocents. With her, I once left her with a ticking time bomb stuck to several hostages and got on a train to Chicago. Do you know who I saw when the train pulled into the station? She was standing on the platform, with that red hood over her head, waiting for me.”

“Aren’t you a little old for campfire stories, Oswald?” The voice asked with amusement from behind him. The same voice that had Riddler screaming for the hills. Penguin turned very pale.

“You are not getting me this time.” Penguin snarled as he called for his men and activated the bomb under his club.

“None of that now.” She grabbed the remote and de-activated the bomb. She then grabbed his collar and put a gun to his head.

“You remember what happened to the old Black Mask the last time I was here, right? When Batman was less tolerant of people breaking his no-kill rule. I will make you join him if you don’t call off your men and give me the information I came here for. I will even spare you from paying for your medical bills if you cooperate nicely and turn yourself back into Arkham.”

Penguin agreed, begging for his life.