Chapter Text
"Robin!" The man speaking looked to another, older man and shook his head.
"His comm has been cut off. I can't reach him."
The older man slammed his fist on a table.
"How did this even happen!"
The first man opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by another voice.
"She took him."
They turned to the figure who had walked in.
"Who invited her? Why is it that recently I've been the last to know about things that are happening under my very own roof!" The older man's voice echoed throughout the cave.
"Relax, Batman. We're not here to cause trouble. We heard the news that she's- that she's alive."
Batman rounded in on her. We?
As if on cue, another figure entered the room. The man nodded to Batman, who looked away in annoyance.
As Pegasus reached Rena's side, the first man spoke up.
"I'm assuming the cat doesn't know?"
Rena's eyes darkened and she shook her head. "Who knows what he would do to find her. If he heard that she was lurking around Gotham, the Joker would be the least of everyone's worries."
Red Robin sighed deeply. "That's good. We really don't need anymore unwelcome surprises right now."
Nightwing spoke up from where he was in the shadows. "We need to focus on the present." He stepped into the light and turned his attention to Rena Rouge. "You said that she took him. How did you come across this information? Were you spying on us?"
Rena scoffed. "We don't spy, Nightwing. Unlike a certain flock of birds, we are more civil."
She exchanged looks with Pegasus. "We've been speaking with Robin."
Batman ran a hand down his face. Of course his own son had been keeping a secret alliance away from him.
"For how long?" Red Robin stepped forward, his eyes narrowing from under his mask.
Pegasus was the one to answer. "That's classified."
"Why would he even reach out to you? I get that she's- was your partner, but it would only do more harm telling you about her until we've captured her."
Rena's eyes narrowed. Captured.
"He was seeking our help. I really shouldn't be saying this, but as more advanced miraculous users, we have gained new abilities. One of them being that we can in a way sense another miraculous user. But only when they are transformed."
"Then your help is useless if she doesn't transform."
Rena Rouge crossed her arms around her chest. "She's different. She's Ladybug. We can sense her whether she's transformed or not. The only problem is- "
"The only problem is?"
"We're pretty sure she's jamming our signals. Intentionally or not. If Ladybug doesn't want to be found by her people, she won't be found."
"So once again, you're useless."
Pegasus placed a hand on Rena's shoulder before she could leap forward. She growled under her breath.
Here they were insulting her while she was trying to find her best friend. Her leader.
"Either way, you clearly haven't been doing a good job. It's better to have a few miraculous wielders on your side. She may be a trained assassin, but she is still a miraculous wielder."
Just how much had Robin told them?
"How many of you know?"
Pegasus signalled to him and Rena. "For now, just us two. It would be too emotionally draining for the other wielders to know." His eyes flicked with sadness before it was replaced with something unreadable. "They would be filled with too much hope."
He gave Rena's shoulder a light squeeze before releasing it. "Besides, the rest are too busy trying to make sure Paris doesn't fall. We need the power of creation desperately. We need her desperately. So if she's alive and roaming around, we need the best of two minds, bats and miraculous, to find her."
-&-
Robin's eyes lurched open violently and he winced in pain.
He shook his head slowly, trying to shake off the lasting effects of what he assumed was the dart he'd felt at his neck earlier.
As he pulled himself out of unconsciousness, he slowly looked around, taking in the darkness of what he assumed was an abandoned warehouse.
Because that was the cliché. You get kidnapped, you wake up in an abandoned warehouse.
"We're in a closed down train station." A voice seeped out of the shadows.
He was too disoriented to figure out who it belonged to.
Well at least he'd gotten the abandoned part right.
He pulled against the restraints, identifying the rough texture quickly as rope.
Something told him that this amateur method hadn't been executed by an amateur opponent.
"Who are you?" He winced at the vulnerability in his voice. Whatever was in the dart had been strong.
"I'm surprised I was able to capture you so easily. You're usually more careful."
The voice stepped out of the shadows.
He squinted, trying to unblur his eyes so that he could make out who it was.
When they pulled off the hood, his eyes went wide and his arms instantly rocked against the rope, instinctively trying to reach out to her.
"M-"
"Don't say my name." She stepped closer, finally reaching him, and leaned in. "You don't deserve to."
He couldn't help it when he felt a sharp pain in his chest as their eyes met. His filled with so much confusion and desperation. Hers with so much hatred and malice.
"Why?"
She scoffed and leaned back. His body chased her, but to no avail. His arms hung useless above his head.
"I know what you did. You think because I died, I wouldn't know the betrayal you put me through! The audacity you had to-"
"What are you talking about?"
"YOU LEFT ME!" Her breath came out shaky. "You left me to fend for myself while I was fighting an enemy bigger than the both of us. While I gave my life, you ran like a coward!"
He shook his head at every word. "She's gotten to you. The League has gotten to you. It's not true. It's-"
"Stop making excuses! Talia introduced me to the truth. She helped me see you for who you truly are. A traitor."
Her words were said with so much venom. A sharp contrast to the woman he'd once known.
His eyebrows furrowed. "I know what it's like to be manipulated by the League. I know the tactics they use. I also know that the only way to reverse their brainwashing is by-"
"Love? Is that what you were going to say?" She glowered at him. "The woman you once felt for is gone. The only thing love is, is weakness."
"Actually." He pulled his arms down and rubbed his wrists. "I was going to say force."
Before she could react, he pulled out his hidden dagger and lifted it to her throat.
She didn't flinch as the blade pressed against her neck. She expected nothing less from the Prince of Assassins.
"My mother taught me that knot tying technique. She also taught me how to get out of it."
She smirked. "What are you going to do now, Damian?" She lifted her hands slowly.
He refused to react to her saying his name. Refused to give her the pleasure of seeing him so vulnerable again.
He didn't know how many lies had been fed to her to make her like this. How much training had been done to force out her kindness and replace it with a person willing to kill.
But he knew the League.
He yanked himself back as she reached into her hair and pulled out two long metal needles, her hair tumbling down her back.
He knew their tricks.
"I don't want to fight you, Marinette."
Her eyes narrowed. "Don't say my name."
"It doesn't have to be like this."
"How romantic."
"Please." His hand twitched.
"I'm surprised you've gotten so soft as to beg. Talia told me about how you used to be before Batman."
"I was manipulated."
"You were strong."
"An instinct for bloodshed is not strong."
"But a hand that is willing to strike first with no remourse is."
She threw a needle. He turned his head. The needle flew past his cheek, catching it slightly and drawing blood.
He watched as a drop of his blood hit the ground.
"You should never take you eyes off your enemy. You know this."
His eyes met hers again. Sadness met with anger.
"You aren't my enemy." He retracted his arm and dropped his dagger. The sound echoed around the room.
She narrowed her eyes before she dropped her needle.
"An opponent that yields quickly is no fun."
He stepped forward. "I'm not yielding. I'm just fighting a different fight."
She quirked her brow. "And what fight is tha-"
Expertly, he leaned forward and grabbed her arms, catching her off guard as he yanked her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"It seems my mother didn't teach you everything."
She struggled to win against his raw strength and growled against him.
She looked up at him and glared. "No matter how long you hold me, your people won't find us."
"I'd rather they didn't. It would make this so much easier."
Before she could question what he was talking about, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.
She pulled her head back instantly.
"Love doesn't work on me. There's no point trying to reason with me using such a-"
He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against hers.
"It's funny how we're in this situation. Normally I was the grumpy one." He felt warmth as the nostalgia hit him.
"You made me like this. You betrayed me."
"I died first."
She cocked a brow. "What?"
"You don't remember. I died first. I never ran away. I died. I died, bleeding in your arms."
She shook her head slowly, suspicion crowding her features.
"You're lying. I saw it. I saw you run-"
"You saw crafted memories. When they told you that you were going through mental training, they were really just feeding you lies."
"I remember-"
"We were fighting against the Grim Reaper. Our allies were going down one after the other." He placed a hand on her cheek. "You were being insufferable and stubborn and refusing to run away."
"I couldn't leave you to die." The words left her mouth before she could process them.
Her eyes went wide and she felt a tear drop down her cheek.
She shook her head. "Wha-"
"Subconsciously, you remember." He brushed the tear away.
"No. You're lying!" She squirmed, trying to break free from his strong grip.
"I was screaming at you because I was annoyed that you placed your life on such a low pedestal. Even if I knew I was running into a losing fight, knowing that you were safe would've given me a peace of mind."
She clawed at his armour.
"You were saying something, and then I was hit." Her eye twitched. "The metal pierced me straight through."
Her hands shook.
"Even as I felt my life slipping away, I was happy. Because I knew that there was no one else I would have wanted by my side at that moment."
She screamed out in pain and let out a wail.
"You're lying! She told me you would try this! She told me you would feed me lies! You manipulative-"
"You're in pain because I'm telling the truth. Your subconscious is fighting against the conditioning."
She shook her head violently, her confusion turning to anger. "I'll admit, you're good. I should've expected as much from the Prince of Assassins."
He winced at the title. A sordid reminder of his lineage. His past.
"You're good at manipulation. But I'm better at resisting."
His eyes narrowed. "If you were so good at resisting, you would've used one of the many tactics you know to get out of my grip the moment I had you in my arms."
He leaned down. "Just admit that I feel safe."
Her eyes went cold. "Maybe I was just buying time."
"I don't know what your mission is, but I know that it doesn't involve kidnapping me."
"And how would you know that?"
"Because it would be a waste of your talent and time."
"You're the perfect target for me. A hard man to steal."
His eyes softened at her angry ones. And yet she'd managed to steal his heart.
She rolled her eyes. "Stop looking like a heartbroken puppy."
The hand that had been on her cheek slid off.
Slowly, he released her.
Confused, she stood shellshocked.
"What are you doing?"
"Letting you go."
"I'm the one who kidnapped you, Wayne."
Before she reacted, he leant down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
She reeled back, disgusted.
"And yet you have not killed me."
"I have no reason to."
He picked up his dagger from where it had been discarded and slipped it back into its hiding place, his eyes trained on her.
"Good."
He slipped out. Or rather, she let him slip out.
He could feel it. She wasn't a monster yet. He still had time.