Chapter Text
Marinette wasn’t quite slammed to the ground, though, admittedly, that would have been easier, considering she was used to that. No, she was just torn from her world and time and space and whirled through a damned somewhere that wasn’t anywhere at all because all she could feel was blankness. She flew through it at alarming speeds, whizzing through something that felt like thin fabric, through and through and through-
And then she slowed, landing on her feet with her knees automatically bent to break impact, somewhere in the middle of a dark alley.
Her transformation fell away with a flash of light and Tikki collapsed, Marinette barely managing to catch her before she tumbled to the ground. “Tikki!” She cried, feeling somewhat distressed but mostly just confused.
The small creature curled up in Marinette’s hands, small whimpers escaping her. Her body was almost freezing and the color of her skin seemed to be vibrating.
Marinette could do nothing but keep watching, mild horror rippling across her body even as she hurried to pull Tikki close, offering her as much warmth as possible. She would be okay. She had to be okay.
“Tikki? Marinette whispered.
The Kwami still did not reply.
Swallowing, Marinette deposited her carefully into her pocket because the bag she was luckily still wearing was no doubt not warm enough, and kept one hand tucked inside with her, stroking her every few seconds and making sure if Tikki even shifted, Marinette would know.
Then she allowed herself to focus on where she was, if only because the trip to this damned place had made her sure it was nowhere near her world.
Her world! Even a few hours ago, she hadn’t even considered the multiverse might be real, and now she was stuck in a place that was not even slightly her home.
Did a version of her exist here? Did Tikki? Did Plagg and Chat and-
Chat! Marinette wanted to slap herself. Chat… he’d looked at her with such horror when she’d been hit, and since she obviously wasn’t back there already, the battle was either still going on (doubtful. An enraged Chat Noir was much more vicious - he had destroyed the world in that alternate future timeline, hadn’t he?) or Chat hadn’t been able to reverse the spell. Which made sense, considering it was always her who did so. In fact, could the entire thing even be reversed?
She highly doubted it.
It had obviously been a fluke, and a bad one at that, which trashed Hawkmoth’s plans, too, considering he needed both the creation and destruction Miraculous to do whatever he needed to do.
… Bright side, the big old supervillain wasn’t getting what he wanted.
Not so bright side, Chat had to deal with whatever fallout came next on his own.
Even less bright side - Marinette was stuck in a damn world she had no idea about and had no way to get home because her Kwami was sick and there was probably no Master Fu here.
Master Fu! On the other hand, maybe there was a Master Fu in this world. Or the order of guardians! If she could find them, they might be able to help her. They might be able to get her back home. And if not that, at the very least (and most definitely Marinette’s first priority), they’d be able to help Tikki.
Marinette allowed herself a short, decisive nod.
She had to find the guardians of the Miraculous.
Of course, she realized as soon as she started walking to one end of the alley, that meant she needed access to a computer to figure this world and possibly book tickets to Tibet.
Right. Fun.
She pursed her lips and walked decisively out of the dark. And then she stopped still… because she was not in beautiful, perfect Paris anymore. There was no Eiffel Tower in the distance, no friendly joggers or pedestrians waving hi, no somewhat manageable traffic. No, it was the dreariest place Marinette had ever seen, with skyscrapers on every corner and gothic architecture lining all the buildings.
It was, suffice to say, disgustingly dark.
Marinette hated it immediately.
She swallowed and wondered if Paris even existed here, wherever she was. Did she? She’d thought about it just five seconds ago, but even the idea of thinking of it now made her sick to her stomach and- and-
And, she realized with hilarious aplomb, she was sick to her stomach because she had just realized what her being here meant. Everyone who had been hit by the Akuma would stay gone - and Kwami, she didn’t even know if their destination had been this world - and they’d be filed as missing cases, and everyone would worry and-
And her Maman and Papa.
Marinette felt her stomach, still reeling from the realization, begin to churn, her mouth curling down into a frown she couldn’t quite control. Her parents would have no idea where she was. Her friends wouldn’t, either, because she wasn’t hit in front of any of them. Marinette wasn’t hit at all. She was worried about Chat, too, but her partner was strong enough that he wouldn’t break down. Strong enough that he would at least wait and try and find a way before he had to do that.
Her family and friends? They were strong, but not that strong. She never would want them to be, to be so stoic about losing anyone. But the fact that they’d have no idea…
She wasn’t worried about them realizing she was Ladybug, not with all the other disappearances, too. But.
She swallowed.
And the other Kwami, she thought belatedly. They’d never know, not unless someone opened the Miracle box to let them out. Chat had known she was the new guardian, but not that she was Marinette. He’d have no idea how to find the box, no idea how to get the mirculouses to get the backup he would need, especially with her gone.
God, how could everything be so messed up?
Tikki trembled, and Marinette stilled, holding her breath. Tikki didn’t seem to realize.
Instead, before Marinette could even think about what to do for Tikki now, there was a shrill scream piercing the air a few minutes away from her and she flinched. Then, sending a quick apology to her unconscious Kwami, she sprinted in that direction, through the alley and closer and closer-
And she came across two women being accosted by two men, though a third one stood some ways away, hissing as he rubbed at the upper half of his face, turned away from Marinette but nearly weeping.
Marinette felt viciously proud because that was most certainly from the can on the ground a few feet away from the two women.
One of the women stood in front of the other, with dark hair and dark eyes glinting wildly under the flickering light of the street. “Leave us alone!” She spat, and Marinette realized, with a sinking heart, that she was speaking English.
So were the goons. “We were tryna be nice,” The bigger of the two idiots replied, trying to be intimidating.
Not France, then.
“Bat- Batman will get you!” The second girl mumbled, voice low.
(‘Batman’? Chat would be proud. Then again, they’d both named themselves in the most generic ways possible.
Hmm… was there even a Bat Kwami? That might be interesting.)
She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and focused again on the situation at hand. There would be time to speculate on the existence of Kwamis later. Right now, she had to help these two women, and she had to do so without the help of Tikki because of obvious reasons.
She let her eyes flicker over all of the surroundings and tried coming up with a plan. There was no lucky charm, but she’d have to make do with what she had. And that meant…
“Batman don’t care ’bout bitches like you, sweetheart. He goes after the big guns.” The relatively smaller man taunted. “Face it. You’re alone. Might as well-”
Marinette darted out of the shadows, leaping up behind the bigger man first and kicking him between his legs with all her might. A strange shriek ripped from his throat and the other man instantly turned, pointing his knife at Marinette, but she ducked down and sidestepped, easily picking up a rusted rod she’d spotted on the ground earlier (refusing to think of how many tetanus shots she’d need after this) and swept the knife away, then hit him on the side of his head. He swayed, blinking, and Marinette automatically hit him behind the knees, making his legs buckle.
The bigger man had somewhat recovered by now, and the third person was also looking up from the far corner of the street because of the commotion, so Marinette fell to the ground, swept up the pepper spray, and as the enraged idiot kneeled down to punch her, maybe (who even knew at this point), she sprayed, waving so it was in his eyes, his nose, and his mouth. Triple the hurt, she reckoned, triple the reward (for her).
He roared and flung out his hands, and, not expecting it, Marinette wasn’t able to dodge. His fists hit her in the face, and without her suit, she was sent careening away, her shoulder hitting the wall hard enough for instant pain to shoot through her body. It wasn’t as bad as some of the scrapes she and Chat had gotten into over the years, but they’d also gotten those fixed with Lucky Charm, and without that–
But she had no time to think about it because the other two had recovered; one of them had grabbed the taller of the girls, even as the other one had disappeared (At least she got away, a small voice said in Marinette’s mind), and they were now advancing on her.
“A do-gooder,” One said. “How saintly.”
“You can take the oth’ one’s place,” A second sneered.
Marinette bared her teeth, feeling surprisingly calm in the face of such a situation, even though, as Marinette, she hadn’t ever experienced it before. As Ladybug? Sure. But Ladybug had a magical armor that absorbed most of her injuries, gave her superstrength, and, most importantly, superpowers. Marinette had none of that.
But, she also noted, she still had someone to protect.
“Let her go,” She said in her strongest voice.
One of the men perked up. “An outta townie, huh?” He said. He sounded disgustingly delighted. “No one’s gonna–” Out of the blue, he collapsed on the ground and screamed, hands reaching out to clutch his knee as he swore faster than Marinette could keep track and even attempt to understand, and though she had no idea what had hit him, she could make a guess – there had been a glint of metal in the low light and the thwip of a blade.
“What do we have here?” A smooth voice asked, and Marinette’s head snapped in that direction, only to see a slender man come out of the shadows, his face covered is a dark red domino mask. He was wearing a costume with a cape, though she wasn’t able to make out much of the design in the darkness. “I guess you forgot this is Batman’s city, didn’t you?”
One of the men stepped back. The one on the ground whimpered some more. It was only the last one, who was holding the woman, who didn’t move, though whether it was by fear or choice stood to be confirmed. “Do– Don’t come near!” He shouted. “This ain’t your place to interfere, Robin!”
“You’re hurting someone,” The new guy said. “That’s all the justification I need. Let the lady go, and maybe I’ll be nice.” He smiled, and it was so polite that it would have been terrifying if he hadn’t been on Marinette’s side.
“Shit,” The man in the back swore. “I ain’t messing with the bats!” He spun on his feet and made for the opposite exit to the alley, only for Robin to throw the same bladed weapon that had felled the first guy – who, surprisingly enough, was cowering silently next to the wall – and he crumpled, a scream leaving his mouth with enough pain that it almost satisfied Marinette.
The hostage-taker seemed to realize that his friend had fallen and glanced behind him in a knee-jerk reaction. In that second, Marinette darted forward, taking the chance to punch him in the throat. His hands loosened as he choked, and she yanked the woman away, pulling her back and rushing to where Robin stood.
The man lunged forward, but before he could reach her, Robin stepped forward and parried, knocking him away with a fluidity of punches and kicks that made Marinette almost jealous. She’d never learned martial arts professionally, and for all of Chat’s fencing skills, neither had he. So seeing someone with actual skills in the department…?
She gasped lightly, and Robin, who had now moved on to dragging the now-felled man to the other two and tying them up, looked back at her and the other woman. “Are you two okay?” He asked. “Sorry I was late. Your friend out there flagged me down and told me you needed help.”
“Lara!” The black-haired woman burst. “Is she okay? Where is she?”
Robin straightened and came closer. “Don’t worry,” He assured her soothingly. “She’s fine. You can go get her. And if you need me to, I can help you home. These guys won’t hurt anyone else.” His expression darkened – what they could see beyond the mask, at least. “I’ve already alerted the Gotham police, and they’re on their way.”
“Oh,” The woman said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Red Robin.”
So not just Robin, then, Marinette mused.
“It’s okay,” The woman continued. “Lara and I’ll get back fine. Our place is close by.”
Red Robin smiled charmingly. “Alright. I’ll have some more patrols around this area for the next few days, just to be sure.”
The woman nodded, smiled, and rushed off, sparing no glance behind, leaving Marinette with a stranger. A hero, of course, but a stranger.
… then again, at least she knew how to refer to him. She didn’t even know the woman’s name.
“Um,” She said, remembering to translate mentally. “Thank you. For helping.”
Red Robin tilted his head. “You’re welcome,” He said distractedly. “Are you from out of town?”
The French accent, Marinette thought deprecatingly. “Oui. Yes.”
“Right,” He said, sounding perfectly controlled. “Tourist?”
Marinette wondered how she was supposed to explain that.
She seemed to have hesitated a moment too long because Red Robin’s frown grew pronounced. “Do you need help getting back to where you’re staying?”
Marinette bit the inside of her cheek and decided to tell the truth. “I don’t– I don’t have anywhere to stay,” She said.
“Ah,” The man said, and then he was silent for a few seconds as if thinking something over. “Do you–” He stopped and rubbed the back of his head. “I can help you get in touch with your family,” He offered.
Marinette shook her head. “It’s fine,” She said thickly. “I don’t– I don’t have anyone.” Not in this world.
If anything, this just made the hero frown even more. “How did you…?” He trailed off, looking at her with critical eyes.
Marinette said nothing, carefully tugging at the base of her shirt.
He sighed. “Look, I know CPS isn’t all that great, but you shouldn’t be out here. Not at night, and especially not these days. There was a breakout at Arkham recently, and it won’t be pretty if you end up anywhere near the impact radius.” He spoke slowly as if he knew she was struggling to understand.
Marinette winced, even as part of her wanted to rant at the man that she was a hero, too. “Not CPS,” She said immediately because she knew what that was from learning about America, and she did not want to be caught in that mess before she attempted to get home. Besides, she already had parents, even if they were in another world.
Red Robin pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay,” He said. “Fine. You should at least stay off the streets, though. I know about a shelter a while away. You can stay there for the night, and we can see what else to do tomorrow.”
Oh, Marinette was definitely going to vanish before that. But for now, he was right. She nodded. “That works,” She said.
Red Robin’s shoulders untensed. “Good,” He said. “I’ll take you there.” He spared another moment to confirm whether the goons were tied up, cocked his head until even Marinette could hear the telltale sounds of a siren, and then led her out. “I’m taking you to a Wayne shelter,” He explained as they walked. “Unfortunately, they’re one of the few legitimate ones.” He grimaced. “Some of the others tend to be fronts for trafficking.”
Marinette’s stomach rebelled at the thought, and her hand immediately went to where Tikki was still curled up, the only modicum of relief in this strange, dark world. “Oh,” She said limply. “I didn’t–” She shook her head. It’ll be fine, she told herself, and somehow, she felt better.
Red Robin looked sympathetic. “Gotham… takes a little getting used to,” He admitted. “I can guess why you’re… well, anyway,” He said. “It’ll be fine. The shelter will get you what you need, and we can see what more to do tomorrow, okay? You don’t have to worry. You’ll be fine.”
Marinette nodded.
They continued walking.
“So,” Red Robin asked a few minutes later. “France?”
Marinette nodded again. “Paris,” She said, and her voice went soft in a way she had no idea how to hide.
“Mmm,” He said. “That’s got to be interesting. Big city, that one. I’ve been a few times.”
Marinette perked up. “Really?” She asked. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Not like–” She reddened slightly. “Pardon, I did not mean to say bad about this place.”
He chuckled. “No, it’s fair,” He said. “Like I said, it takes time.” He rolled his shoulders. “I’ve fallen off many a gargoyle trying to do that,” He joked. “Though the other guys might argue it was my lack of sleep.”
Marinette wrinkled her face. “Other guys?” She asked.
He hummed. “Right, out of city.” He slowed his pace. “There are a few other heroes in the city,” He explained.
“Like Batman?”
“Like Batman,” He agreed. “He’s got a sidekick and a few other partners–” He winced. “Okay, don’t mention that I called him a sidekick.”
Marinette nodded, a small bit of amusement flickering through her.
He shook his head. “Anyway,” He said, coming to a stop, and pointed at the building a few doors down. “That’s the one. We’ll talk more tomorrow, okay?”
Marinette gave a short nod, even as guilt at the lie – a necessary lie, she consoled herself – wrapped around her shoulders. “Bye,” She whispered, and he melted back into the shadows.
Taking a deep breath, Marinette squared her shoulders, walked to the building and up the stairs, and then she rang the bell.
A few minutes passed without any reply, but just as Marinette was about to give up a bad day to a bad end, the door creaked open, and a woman peered out, something Marinette couldn’t see clutched in one hand. The woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Who are you?” She asked.
Marinette’s eyes widened. “Er… isn’t this the shelter?” She asked weakly in reply.
“Yeah.” The woman said, softening. “What d’you need?”
Marinette nodded. “I was wondering if you… had space?” She wrung her hands in front of her. “I don’t… I don’t have a place to stay,” She swallowed again. “Red Robin told me that you took in people.”
For a moment, the woman stared at her, eyes narrowed, and Marinette knew she was seeing her clothes and her general Not Homeless™ (probably) demeanor. But then she nodded and pulled open the door, ushering Marinette in quickly. “We don’t have a lot of space left these days,” She explained as she locked the many multiple locks on the front door. “But you got yourself a spot on the floor if you want it.” She hesitated. “Got rugs coverin’ everything.”
Marinette didn’t hesitate. “Yes, thank you,” She said instantly.
The woman hummed, then stopped and pulled open a door, ushering Marinette inside to what seemed to be a kitchen. “Reckon you’re hungry,” She said, changing the subject. “We might have a bit left from dinner.”
Marinette’s eyes widened, and she nodded jerkily. “Thank you,” She whispered.
The woman smiled. “It’s my job,” She said automatically.