She's Sunshine, She's Grace, She'll Punch You in the Face

Chapter 47: Patrol with Batman

Marinette ended up finishing Dick's turtle neck along with Bruce's handkerchief and Alfred's bow-tie before Alfred came up to bring them down for dinner.

"You know I called your name about twenty times while you were sewing and you didn't answer once, but the moment Alfred called for dinner you were so eager to get up." Damian joked while they were heading to the dining room.

"Sorry." She giggled. "Sometimes when I get in the zone it's hard to get me out of it. Did you want to say something important?"

"No, it wasn't very important but I did find your selective hearing to be pretty funny. Plus, your concentration face is very cute." He smiled at her as she blushed.

"If it isn't Gotham's most famous couple." Dick joked when the teens entered. "You know the paparazzi is still outside."

"I know. It's annoying." Damian rolled his eyes as he sat down. "Which reminds me." He turned to his father. "We will be taking the Lamborghini tomorrow. Its windows have the darkest tint."

"That's fine." Bruce nods. "Tim tells me that the two of you want to make your relationship public. Is that correct?"

"Yeah." Marinette answered. "We were all thinking we would do it at the charity gala next week."

"Keep in mind that when you go back to Paris to finish school that you will probably even have the media follow you. It's not just Gotham that keeps tabs with my family."

"That's okay. It wouldn't be the first time I had to deal with paparazzi back home." She smiles. "I am friends with the daughter of the Mayor and friends with a famous ex-model whose dad turned out to be a super villain."

"Oh yeah." Jason nodded. "I almost forgot about that. Your friend Adrien has a weird life."

"You have no idea." The bluenette giggles.

"He was also your old partner Chat Noir, right?" Tim asked.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"Just a little bit of detective work, although I did take a page from your book." Tim grins.

Marinette was confused for a second before it clicked. "The nicknames!"

"Yep." Tim snatched a plate off the table before Jason could take it. "And I also found it funny that you two had crushes on each other but not on each other at the same time."

"Oh my God, don't remind me." She rolled her eyes as she snatched a dinner roll that Jason was reaching for.

"Okay, you two did that on purpose." Jason looked angrily at the two.

"What are you talking about?" Mari and Tim said innocently in unison.

"I expect this from Tim but come on, Pixie-pop." He give her a pleading look. "I thought I was your favorite brother."

"I told you that I don't choose favorites." She grins as she takes a big bite of food.
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After dinner was over, they all went down to the Batcave before patrol to suit up. Barbara had to make her way in through a secret entrance in the Batcave to avoid the paparazzi out front of the manor.

"Hello, everyone." Barbara greeted as she rolled herself to the bat computer. "Talk about a slow week."

"What do you mean by that?" Ladybird had just transformed when she asked.

"All of our major threats are locked away in Arkham and the ones that are free seem to have turned over a new leaf or have seemed to just give up." The redhead pulled up a list of Gotham's criminals. "We already know what Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are up to. The Joker, Bane, Scarecrow and Penguin among others are all put away. The only one we really need to worry about is the Riddler but people claim to just see him walking around Gotham doing absolutely normal everyday citizen things, like go to the grocery store for eggs and milk or even just walk around the park. It's very unlike him."

"Could he be leaving you subtle clues?" The bluenette looked up at his mugshot.

"We thought of that but nothing is adding up or even forming a pattern. The man is smart though and he could be trying to throw us off." As Barbara spoke, the others gathered around to listen.

"You should send me over everything you have collected on him." Red Robin said.

"Will do. But for now, its patrol time." She tapped on the computer or a second before pulling up the map of the city that is sectioned off into three parts. "Is everyone ready to go?"

"Yes." They all agreed.

"Okay, good. I spoke with Batman here and we are breaking off into different groups today. Nightwing and Robin will take the south end while Red Robin and Red Hood takes the central part of the city. That leaves Batman and Ladybird to take the north. Again, keep your ears out for any information and always stay in touch." Oracle pulled out the box with all the earpieces.

Robin looked a little unhappy about not being with Ladybird but he knew better than to complain. After they took all of their respective earpieces, they split up into their assigned groups.

"We will be taking the Batmobile up to the northside." Batman informed as he walked over to the famous vehicle.

"No way." Ladybird whispered as she started to internally freak out but kept her cool as she followed him.

The inside was just as cool as the outside, with its many gadgets, buttons and levers. It almost looked like the inside of a spaceship.

"What do all of these buttons even do?" She asked.

"Maybe one day I will teach you. Just remember that this vehicle is not a toy. Never push anything unless I tell you to."

Ladybird nodded as she looked around.

The vehicle roared to life and once they were out of range of the Batcave, Oracle spoke up in their ears. "Comm check."

"Robin and I hear you loud and clear." Nightwing informed.

"Hood and I hear you fine too." Red Robin said next.

Batman nodded at her to answer for them. "Uh, Batman and I hear you too."

"Awesome." Oracle responded. "I'll call for periodic check ins. Let us know if backup is needed at your location. Remember to be safe out there."

The drive up to the northside was very quick. She wasn't exactly sure how fast they were going but it was 100% over the speed limit. Batman parked the car in a dark alley and pressed a button to open the doors. Ladybird followed him out and behind her, the Batmobile shut off and went dark.

"You just leave that there?" She whispers.

"The last person who was stupid enough to try to mess with it was Red Hood. Let's just say that he didn't get very far."

"Hey!" Red Hood spoke up over the comms. "That was arguably one of the best decisions I ever made."

"Focus." Batman ordered as he used his grappling hook to climb up to a roof while Ladybird follows.