Ladybug In Gotham (crossover fic)

Chapter 26 Cold

Third pov

Marinette had always been cold. Every piece of clothing she's ever made for herself is always slightly more warm than the product you'd find in store.

It got even worse after she became Ladybug.

Ladybugs hate cold.

And right now she was freezing her ass off despite the weight of many blankets on top of her. With quite a bit of effort she opens her eyes to a room she's never seen before. It's gigantic, very fancy and most likely situated in the Wayne manor.

Huh, so they took her here after the Riddler was captured....

The blank in her memory isn't pleasant but at least she can remember a few times where she felt at least a bit grounded.

Damian. Shit! He's probably wondering now. As long as she didn't say anything wrong.

The chill has gone into her bones, she thinks as she sits up. Going by the alarm clock on the nightstand it's the middle of the night.

Tikki should be- wait. Tikki was in her bag... Shit,shit, shit. Where's her bag?

A small feeling in her chest has her getting up on her not so stable legs and leave the room.

As she passed a mirror she noted that she was wearing different, and way too big clothes. She sincerely hoped that it was a girl that changed her.

She did have a few scars from battles she did not want anyone seeing. One in particular was a thin line going from her left hip, up her back and to her right shoulder. It had been a nasty battle.

One she wasn't particularly interested in reliving.

No thank you. Syren was bad enough.

The manor was quiet and Marinette felt pretty sure that it was mostly empty. The people living there out on the streets of Gotham.

She let the feeling guide her to the kitchen where she found Tikki munching on cookies while talking to Alfred.

The teen froze.

Alfred looked at her. "Miss Marinette, I'm glad to see you up. Would you like a hot beverage?"

She nodded slowly and Tikki spoke. "It's okay Marinette, he's one of Dusuu's little chicks."

The tiny godess smiled at her holder as she hesitated at the threshold. She needed to choose herself.

Eventually she moved over to the table and sat down.

"You have had a trying last few years, I imagine you must be exhausted." The kind butler put a cup of hot chocolate in front of Marinette. "Being a holder of Miracoulus jewellery is no task meant for the weak willed or the faint of heart. I must say you and your team are extraordinary."

Marinette shivered as she put her hands on the cup and took a sip. The warm liquid helping the cold in her bones.

"I..." She sighed. "I didn't have much of a choice. It was either accepting it or watching Paris burn."

"And you choose to help. There's nothing wrong with that." He took a second cup he'd made and put it in front of her. She'd already finished the first one. "However, you did so at the cost of your own health. Which brings the question, how are you feeling?"

Marinette shrugged. "I don't know. I can't allow myself to think about it. The outcome would be too risky." She stared at the drink in her hands.

Alfred studied the dark circles under the eyes of a traumatized teenager having to be a hero. "When I was in the army I served in a special unit. I was one out of two to recieve a miraculous. That is how I met Dusuu. He told me everything he knew, and he became my closest friend. When I woke up one day to find that I lost him in battle, I was devastated."

Marinette looke up at him. "Then you won't like where he is now." She bit her lip before drinking the last of her chocolate. "I feel like if I'm going to tell you, you need to know the whole story. Which means we'll be here for some time."

Alfred smiled. "That is no issue for me. However, you young miss will need something warmer than just what you're currently wearing. I will collect a blanket for you."

As he left for a moment Marinette looked at Tikki. "Am I doing right in telling him?" She's tired. She just wants someone to know.

"I think you are, Marinette. I think you are. Want a cookie?"

***************************************************************

As soon as miss Marinette had wrapped herself in the warmest blanket the manor had, a cup of tea in her hands and Tikki took her place on her holders shoulder, she started talking.

"Chat and I didn't get to choose. We were dragged into it. Like I said earlier, it was either helping or letting Paris burn under Hawkmoth."

Alfred frowned. "Didn't the Guardian help you?"

She shook her head. "No. Not until about six months in. He told me not to tell Chat which caused problems in itself.."

Time skip

It took two hours and thirty minutes for Marinette to tell her story and at the end she looked ready to sleep for a week.

"I don't know what to do. It's just getting worse. The akumas are worse then ever and i keep fearing that we'll meet another one like Syren. And i can't, i-i can't handle another like her. I-i-i-"

Alfred put his hands on her shoulders. "Marinette, breathe, you are safe here and that will not change. I promise you."

After a few minutes of hyperventilating the teen was taking deep breaths with Tikki mumbling things to her.

"Syren was the worst one. There was bodies floating in the water, only twenty percent of Paris lived." She gave Alfred a tired and utterly deafeated look. "I can't forget. I can't forget any of them. And i still see them walking around the streets, shopping, going about their daily life knowing what its like to drown. And i can never forget..."

"I'm tired, Alfred. I'm so, so tired."

Alfred gave the girl a much needed hug. "You're not alone in your fight. There are people here you can trust." He told her quietly. Sooner or later she'd need to know the identity of Batman and his sons.... Although, he has a feeling she already knows.

Time skip

When the boys came to get something to eat Damian looked around. "Alfred, where is Titus?" The great dane usually waited for him.

"He and Alfred the cat joined miss Marinette when she went back to bed."

Bruce's eyes widened. They thought she'd at least sleep until the next day. "How is she?"

"She told me many things about the state of Paris, and her career as a superhero." The boy's jaws dropped. "And I think it would be best if you have a talk with her, miss Chloe and master Adrien as soon as possible."

Dick was the first to gather his thoughts. "Why did she tell you that?"

"Because I told her it was safe."

They all looked to the door opening to see a giant ladybug with very big eyes.

Jason looked at Tikki, looked at his cup of juice (no coffee before six, Alfred's rule), then slowly set the juice down and pushed it away from him.

Longest chapter yet.

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