Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Friday, at long last. Marinette could not have exhaled a bigger sigh of relief. It was mid-way through the school term, her commissions were ramping up, and Hawkmoth had become frustratingly active. Her duties as class president had only increased as she and her friends neared the end of lycée, not to mention all the studying she was doing for the baccalauréat on top of her regular school work. Commissions were booming now that her popularity as the anonymous designer MDC was soaring worldwide. She wouldn’t give any of it up for the world, but she might enjoy getting more than three or four hours of sleep for once.

There was only part of her life that had gotten easier since that day three years ago when she was entrusted with a pair of spotted earrings and an old god to match. Ladybug started out with one partner, but she now had a whole team to share the responsibilities of keeping their city safe. Ryuko and Viperion became permanent fixtures of the Parisian rooftops, and Bourdonne replaced Queen Bee after the infamous (albeit self-inflicted) unmasking of Chloe Bourgeois. The people of Paris looked to these heroes with pride and trust.

And Marinette Dupain-Cheng, now the Guardian of the Miraculous, looked to her partners with trust as well. She had decided that with her in charge, she could no longer keep secrets from her friends, from her new Order of the Guardians. She discussed it with Chat Noir, and he had smiled and agreed that it was time. And one day, when Ladybug gathered her teammates on a remote rooftop in the dead of night, she said only “I trust you,” before allowing her transformation to fall.

She wasn’t nervous, not really. She knew Kagami and Luka had good hearts, and she had seen firsthand how much Chloe had grown. Those three accepted her civilian self, her true self, without half a thought, and followed their leader in dropping their transformations as well. Chloe got her quips in while Ladybug looked to Chat Noir.

He passed his gaze over the faces of their friends and smirked like he was holding in a laugh. As he said “Claws in,” Marinette could hear the laugh in his voice, an intonation that sounded so very familiar, and oh. Of course.

Adrien Agreste beamed at his friends, both in the mask and out, and said fondly, “I’m so glad it’s you.”

The rest, of course, was history. For the year and a half since then, the five heroes of Paris had kept the city safe from threats magical and mundane alike. Hawkmoth had, of course, gotten craftier and more vicious with his attacks, sometimes choosing to send bursts of weaker akumas over the span of a week, sometimes waiting a month before sending an especially brutal villain their way.

But it was nothing that the Order of the Guardians couldn’t handle. Even though it could get exhausting after a while, which is why the incoming weekend was a welcome reprieve. There was another reason why this particular weekend was so exciting, which was that a new video game, Mindscape, was debuting. It would be released at midnight EST, which was 6:00 in the morning for Paris.

“Today’s the day, girl!” Alya squealed as she flagged Marinette down on their way to the classroom. “We are so lucky that our class won that raffle to get these exclusive passes. I bet I’ll be the first blog to get the scoop on this new tech they’re using!”

Marinette giggled and started to reply, “Super lucky, right? I’m excited too, I heard--”

“You know,” Lila cut her off as she sidled up to Alya. “I’m not saying that I didn’t enter us to get those downloads, but I was a big help with beta testing.”

How she managed to time that comment just as the three girls crossed the threshold of the classroom, and how she managed to know that nearly the whole class would already be there to hear it, Marinette would never understand. She only had to wait a moment before the rest of their friends rushed to the door to thank Lila.

“This opportunity is amazing, we are incredibly grateful!” Max was first in line, ever the technology-enthusiast.

Kim pushed his shorter friend out of the way and vigorously shook Lila’s hand. “You have no idea how many baddies I’m going to blow up because of you.” Lila looked a little overwhelmed as he continued to shake her hand all the while, and she gave him a nervous smile.

He was soon pushed out of the way as Alix muscled her way to the front next. “I definitely owe you for giving me the chance to kick his ass in a brand new way!” She jerked her head to where Kim had landed on the floor, pouting at her.

As the rest of the class who would be joining them in the game’s premiere expressed their thanks, Alya looked on with an affectionate smile. She was so very happy that she now had two kind, selfless best friends. Her smile fell a little as she noticed Marinette stoically edging her way around the crowd and up to her seat, not having said a word to Lila. Alya just wished that her two besties would get along.

Alya put a hand on Lila’s shoulder and smiled her thanks before following Marinette to what was once their shared desk. “You really should thank her, you know,” Alya implored hopefully.

Without turning around to face Alya, Marinette paused and shared an incredulous look with Adrien, who was already seated at his shared desk with Nino. She then shrugged and replied, “Lila never actually said that she got us the passes,” before continuing up the steps to her seat at the back of the class. Alya shook her head and sat down. It was always like this, a cool indifference from Marinette whenever Lila came up. They were both such incredible people, Alya couldn’t understand why they didn’t get along.

As for Marinette, she was semi-content to let Lila be as long as her lies didn’t hurt anybody. Her unrealistic promise to take away all of Marinette’s friends was never fulfilled, and honestly the amount of emotional energy it used to sap from her just wasn’t worth it anymore. Marinette had no idea how Lila was going to get her hands on a copy of the game when Mari was, of course, the one who had won the raffle. She distributed the special access passes herself, and Lila certainly hadn’t gotten one. If this was the way that she wanted to make friends, she would eventually have to face the consequences.

But for now, Lila was basking in her praise. That is, until she glanced at her phone and gave a small gasp of dismay.

“What’s wrong?” Rose asked, concern already etched on her face.

Lila covered her mouth with one hand and started rapidly blinking back tears. “It’s my VIP copy of the game. There was a mixup in the mail and it won’t get here in time for tomorrow morning! I’m so sorry everyone, it looks like you’ll have to do it without me....” She buried her face in her hands and her shoulders trembled with barely restrained sobs.

The class shared a worried look, and Sabrina piped up, “It’s okay Lila, you can borrow my copy.” Lila immediately looked up and surged forward to clasp the hands of her friend.

“Really? But won’t it have the same problem?” Sabrina smiled and shook her head. “Nope, it’s a digital download! I don’t mind, you can always trade it back when your VIP pass arrives later.”

Lila gave her a brilliant smile, any tears long-since dried. “Oh, thank you so much Sabrina! I’ll see what I can do about getting you a VIP pass too once mine gets here.”

At that moment, Chloe walked in, and one look at the scene displayed in front of her had her rolling her eyes at her former best friend. She gracefully swept up the steps to join Marinette at the back of the classroom. Having caught the tail end of the conversation up front, she whispered to her friend, “Aren’t they all digital downloads?”

Marinette, who had started unpacking her bag to prepare for class, inclined her head and gave the blonde a meaningful look that indicated yes, they were indeed all digital downloads. Chloe snickered and started preparing her own side of the desk.

After the fiasco of outing herself as Queen Bee, Chloe had lost the minimal support and tolerances she had been allowed before. It gave her time to truly reflect on how she acted and treated other people. She had since been quietly making amends with those she’d wronged, and the person on the top of that list was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It took time and a lot of effort on Chloe’s part, but she mellowed out and did a lot of growing up. She still spoke her mind, though.

“Huh that’s strange, I got the VIP package too, but mine was a digital pass,” Chloe loudly proclaimed, studying her nails nonchalantly as the rest of the class turned to look up at her.

Lila grit her teeth into a forced smile and replied sweetly, “Well that’s because mine was an original beta testing copy that they had to update for the full game.” She turned her attention to Marinette and a note of false concern crept into her voice. “Oh Marinette, I hope you’ll still have time to come too! I know you’ll be busy this weekend with planning the spring class field trip. It would be such a shame if it didn’t happen because you were too busy playing a video game.”

Marinette suddenly felt very warm under the gazes of the entire class. She stammered out, “Oh-of course we’ll get to go! Don’t worry, I have a meeting with the school board on Monday.” Trust Lila to sniff out the one thing that had slipped below her radar.

Lila’s eyes lit up with an opportunistic gleam. “That’s great! Where will it be?”

“Well, uh, the school board has to review the location, so I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I can tell you that it will be in, um,” her eyes flicked around wildly and landed on the posterboard of different flags from the prior week’s lessons. “America!”

The class burst into excited chatter moments before Madame Bustier arrived and the late bell rang. Marinette released a breath and sagged in her seat. Saved by the bell.

Chloe gave her a sidelong glance and murmured, “America, huh?”

"Shut up,” Marinette shot back.

* * *

Madame Bustier tried to get the class to pay attention, she really did. They struggled through their lessons before lunch, the volume of side conversations between deskmates swelling all the while. The moment the bell for lunch dismissal rang, the students exploded into conversation as they left the classroom.

Marinette waved as Chloe and Adrien walked off to go meet Kagami and Luka at a nearby cafe. She breezed into the patisserie across the street from Francois Dupont and gave her surprised Maman a kiss on the cheek.

“I thought you were going out with your friends for lunch?” Sabine asked, balancing a tray of eclairs on her hip. “I forgot I have to plan our class trip!” Marinette replied cheerfully as she hurried into the kitchen to quickly fix herself a croque-monsieur. She gave her Papa a hug as she finished preparing her meal. He shouted up at her to not make a mess as she retreated into her room to eat at her desk.

She gave a small snort at that. It was nearly impossible for her to make a mess of food when she had over a dozen Kwami there to clean up after her, but he didn’t know that. She greeted said Kwami with a delighted grin and a wave as she set her plate down by her desktop computer.

“Marinette, why are you back so early?” Tikki asked as she exited her chosen’s purse, “is everything okay?” The other Kwami swarmed around her as she woke her computer up and logged in.

The girl waved one hand nonchalantly and opened up a web browser with the other. “Everything’s fine, I just forgot about planning the class trip!” She took a huge bite of the sandwich and started typing furiously. Several Kwami dove after the crumbs that sprayed everywhere.

“Ohhh, I see! Do you have an idea of where to start?” Tikki zoomed around Marinette’s shoulder to hover next to the monitor screen.

Marinette had the same determined gleam in her eye as when she finally found the perfect fabric for a design. She said confidently around a mouth full of ham, “America.”

* * *

By the time the lunch break had finished, Marinette had a preliminary list of cities on the East Coast of the United States. She had researched Gotham first, but it looked far too dangerous and gloomy. Next was New York City, which she determined was too big. Philadelphia was historic, but in a way that would definitely bore her classmates. Boston was too cold despite its excitement. Which left Metropolis as the perfect candidate. It was also protected by the perfect superheroes, Superman and his family, so she was absolutely confident the school board would approve of the city.

Of course, the meeting on Monday would need more specifics than just the city, but she was pleased with her progress so far. Marinette shut down her monitor, grabbed her backpack and plate from lunch, and went downstairs to the kitchen. She quickly scrubbed and dried her plate in the sink before waving to her parents as they bustled around, accommodating the tail end of the mid-day rush.

Marinette walked across the street with a spring in her step and, spotting a tall flash of blue hair, half-jogged up to her group of friends.

“Hey guys, sorry I couldn’t make it to lunch!” She grinned apologetically at Kagami and Luka.

“That’s alright Melody,” Luka gave her a side hug, “Chloe told us you were busy planning your class trip.”

Adrien slung an arm around Kagami’s shoulder and pulled his girlfriend closer to whisper conspiratorially to her, “I hear we’re going to America.” She laughed softly at his antics and at Marinette who stuck her tongue out at him. Kagami then said to Marinette, “That sounds delightful, Marihime. I trust you will still be joining us tomorrow morning?”

Marinette’s eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of playing the game with her friends all weekend long. “Definitely! I’m going to finish preparing for the school board meeting tonight so that we can play the second it comes out.”

“If you can wake up on time,” Chloe teased.

Marinette crossed her arms defensively and stated with pride, “I already set three alarms, thank you very much!”

Adrien burst out laughing at that. “Leave it to our everyday Ladybug,” he winked. Her face flushed as she pouted. He chuckled again and kissed Kagami on the top of her head. “See you later, mon coeur.”

She and Luka waved to the rest of the group as they left to return to their own schools. The three Francois Dupont students watched them go for a moment before returning inside.

“So, you and Kagami have plans?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah! Our parents gave special permission for a sleepover at my place tonight so we can play the game right when it comes out tomorrow.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit he had never quite abandoned. “But I’m not sure how often we’ll be able to be online with you guys after this weekend. You know how busy our schedules are....”

Marinette elbowed him lightly as they walked. “It’s a blessing you both managed to convince your dad and her mom to let you come to the launch at all! We’ll play together when we can, it’s no big deal.”

Adrien smiled gratefully at her and held the door open for both Marinette and Chloe as they entered the classroom. Alya was already there, and once she spotted her best friend (well, one of them), she skidded down the steps with a huge grin and held an invisible microphone up to Marinette.

“Thank you Nadja, and good afternoon Paris! This is Alya Cesaire, and today I am joined by young fashion designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, can you give us an exclusive scoop on the trip you’re planning for your class?”

“Good afternoon Mlle. Cesaire,” Marinette giggled, “Unfortunately, the trip has yet to be approved by the school board so no details just yet. But I can tell you with certainty that we will be visiting the resident city of some popular American superheroes.” She winked as she finished in her best interview voice.

Alya gasped and dropped her pretend microphone as she hugged her best friend. “Really!? Oh my gosh girl, you are the best!”

Marinette laughed and hugged her back as Alya jumped and spun them around. Once they pulled apart, she told the brunette, “As soon as the school board gives me the green light, you’ll be the first to know.”

The late bell rang and the girls practically skipped to their respective seats as Madame Bustier called the class to attention. Well, “attention” in the loosest sense of the word. They struggled once more through the majority of their lessons, but Madame Bustier seemed to sense defeat and she let them chatter excitedly for the last twenty minutes before dismissal.

Kim and Alix were boasting about how they were going to stay up all night, while Max encouraged them to maximize the time they would be able to play the next day by getting a full night’s sleep in before the launch time.

Lila bragged about her role in the creation of the game from its conception to even having suggested the highly anticipated date of release. Adrien pointedly ignored Lila in the row behind his and discussed the music they had recorded and mixed for the game with a very enthusiastic Nino.

Sabrina looked on a little sadly until Mylene, Ivan, Rose, and Juleka invited her to join their Disney movie marathon double-date instead. Mylene was too nervous to play the game so Ivan chose to sit out to support her, and video games weren’t really Rose and Juleka’s style. Sabrina’s face softened as she gratefully accepted their invitation.

Nathaniel turned around in his seat to talk to Marinette about the art rendering and the programs they used while Chloe scrolled aimlessly on her phone.

By the time the bell finally rang, the class was beyond excited to go prepare for the launch the next morning.

Marinette, to her credit, swallowed her enthusiasm and sat down to fully plan out their trip to Metropolis. It was grueling work, researching the safest hotel that was still in a central location. It had to be affordable but not shabby, too, because they had a limited budget. She eventually settled on the reputable Wayne Hotel, apparently part of an enormous corporation called Wayne Enterprises, and then began to build an itinerary with different events from there.

She worked nonstop the rest of the night, with the exception of a brief dinner break, and it was nearly 11:00 at night by the time she finished. Marinette sat up from her desk chair and stretched, then double-checked that her alarms were set before finally heading to bed.

Chapter Text

There was chaos in the Wayne Manor. This was nothing unusual, of course, and today it even seemed to be surprisingly tame. But it was chaos nonetheless.

Timothy Drake-Wayne careened down the spiral staircase, catching himself with a well-timed front flip handspring, and skidded to a halt in the kitchen. Alfred briefly paused to look up from where he was preparing dough for a batch of homemade pasta, then offered the boy a smile and a greeting.

“Good evening, Master Drake. Dinner won’t be ready for another half-hour, I’m afraid.” Tim had opened his mouth to reply when a growl echoed from the nearby ballroom.

Jason Todd-Wayne sprinted into the kitchen brandishing a nerf gun. “There you are, replacement. You won’t get away with beating me this time.” He pulled back the reloader of the play-gun, making a threatening click ring through the kitchen.

“I’m afraid you are both late to the party,” Alfred calmly announced as he mixed ingredients together. “Miss Cain has been here for the past five minutes.”

Cass Cain-Wayne indeed poked her head out from where she had been perched beneath the bar. She gave her brothers a shit-eating grin and wiggled her fingers as way of a cheeky greeting.

Tim gave a groan as he and Jason begrudgingly handed some money over to their sister. “She cheats.” Cass stuck her tongue out at that. “Besides, racing you here was just an excuse to get my mind off waiting for midnight.”

“And because Alfred is the only one polite enough to actually listen to you rave about that stupid game,” Jason scoffed, sitting down at the bar to watch Alfred work.

“--thought I heard voices in the kitchen, oh there you are, little wing!” Dick Grayson-Wayne’s cheery voice came from the foyer, increasing in pitch as he spotted Jason and swept him up into a tight hug.

Barbara Gordon wheeled herself in not too long after, chuckling at the squirming Jason and delighted older brother.

Meanwhile Tim, who had taken offense to Jason’s insinuation, was reassuring Alfred that if he wanted the boys to leave him be he only ever had to ask. “It’s just that I’m so excited for the launch tonight, and you know B is too busy to hear about it.”

Jason had finally muscled his way out of Dick’s embrace as the latter’s attention focused on his youngest brother. “What launch are you talking about?” Dick asked, giving Cass a side hug.

“Oh, tonight is the release of this new VRMMORPG game called Mindscape!” Tim practically bounced as Dick came over to give him his hug too.

Dick gave Barbara a confused glance. “I know some of those words,” he nodded slowly. “So what’s got you so excited? Video games come out all the time.”

Tim rolled his eyes as he sat down beside Jason on the barstools. “Well yeah, but this game has groundbreaking virtual reality tech. Supposedly, the textures took five years and a team of almost 1000 artists.”

Jason put Tim into a headlock and said casually, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard replacement talking about this yet. He kinda won’t shut up about it.”

Cass nodded her head in solemn agreement while Tim struggled to get out of Jason’s grasp.

“Such are the woes of moving out.” Dick shrugged. “Sounds crash though, got room for one more?”

Tim finally shoved Jason off. “I actually bought enough passes that we can all play if you want,” he gave each of his siblings the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could manage.

Barbara snorted even as Dick pumped his fist in the air beside her. She wheeled herself up to the bar to pinch Jason, who was poised to jab his fingers into Tim’s sides. Jason yelped and glared at her as she said, “Sorry Timmy, I’d rather let someone else be the guinea pig for this new kind of tech. Besides, Dad will worry if I let myself get sucked into pouring too many hours into this.”

“Papa Gordon is a force to be reckoned with,” Dick attested earnestly. “Jay?” he prompted.

“Absolutely not,” Jason answered immediately. Tim was quick to protest. “But why? We could spend more time together! It’ll be good team-building.” Jason’s face soured at that.

Dick leaned in and stage-whispered, “Do I have to tell B to force you into family bonding? You know he’ll make you do it.”

Cass covered her silently laughing mouth with one hand as Jason threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, don’t get Bruce involved. I’ll play your stupid game,” he finally relented. Tim grinned at his win, then cast a hopeful look at Cass.

She pulled a face and signed No thank you. Better things to do than watch VR pornos.

Tim’s face blushed profusely as he opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Jason’s cackling. Even Alfred cracked a smile while he rolled the dough onto the ravioli press.

Once Jason quieted down, Tim crossed his arms and said, “Suit yourself. Looks like it’ll be no-girls-allowed anyway.”

“Guess we’d better tell Cassie that, Timbo,” Dick wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, which Tim elected to ignore.

“Speaking of suits,” Alfred said while seamlessly spreading filling in the ravioli and placing another sheet on top of the press, “aren’t you boys going to miss the premiere if it is indeed at midnight?”

Tim looked imploringly at the two girls. “You wouldn’t be willing to trade shifts for your favorite brother, would you?”

* * *

Wally West strolled out of the zeta tube and into the Justice League’s satellite, known to himself and the other heroes as The Watchtower. He was dressed in a casual NASA t-shirt and jeans, slurping a smoothie, and playing a game on his phone.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made him look up. He was greeted with the sight of his old team, Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian, Rocket, Zatanna, and Artemis, waiting impatiently. They were dressed in full hero attire-- he didn’t even realize Artemis still had her costume-- and looked to him expectantly.

“Hey guys, what’s poppin’?” Wally grinned and gave his friends a lazy chin jerk.

“‘What’s poppin’?’ Babe, are you serious? You told us to meet here ASAP for an emergency. So you can tell us what exactly is ‘poppin’.” Ah yes, his Spitfire. Artemis Crock still wasn’t afraid to give him a piece of her mind. But this time it looked like everyone else was on her side too, as they nodded in agreement with her emphatic air quotes.

“Oh, uh yeah, Mindscape is coming out tonight!” He set his smoothie down on the table. “I got us all passes and I’m super stoked for the launch. It’s got this super cool new VR tech that’s basically being released for the first time ever. I got the equipment through my internship, so we’re all set! You guys are totally coming right?” He made finger guns at his increasingly exasperated friends.

Artemis facepalmed. Kaldur’ahm raised his eyebrows in that I’m disappointed in you but I’m not going to say it way of his and said, “Wally, with you and Artemis retired from the life, understand that we took this to be a literal emergency and rushed to your aid. Do not abuse our good intentions.”

“Seriously West, I have a lot on my plate right now!” Rochelle Ervin was also, apparently, a little upset with him. “You could’ve said it was about a dumb game.”

The speedster tried to do damage control with some lighthearted humor. “Hey guys, stay whelmed. I get it, I probably should have given a few more deets about this very-much-not-dumb game, but do you know how many candy bars I had to eat to win these passes?”

“This is why you’ve been spending so much on junk food?” Oh, he was in big trouble with Artemis now. “You probably didn’t have to eat all of them, babe.”

M’gann M'orzz, Connor Kent, and Zatanna Zatara looked similarly annoyed. Well, the girls did. Connor just looked like his usual brand of annoyed, which was honestly a small victory.

“So...” Wally felt a little sheepish now, “who wants in?”

The rest of the group exchanged a look. Artemis was the first to speak up. “Well, you’ve already invested too much of our money in this to turn back now.” She walked up to him and poked a finger at his chest. “But you owe me so many dinners for this.”

He grinned triumphantly. “Deal!”

Rochelle spoke up next. “Me and my plate don’t need any more helpings, thank you very much. I’ll see y’all at the next team reunion!” She flew out through the zeta tube.

Kaldur clapped him on the shoulder. “If you need any assistance, I will be there. But for now I am running Atlantis in Aquaman’s stead while he is off-world, and I must return to my duties.” He then bid the rest of the team farewell and stepped through the zeta tube.

“Haha, he said ‘duties.’” Wally said once he’d left, then winced as Artemis smacked his arm lightly. Lightly for her. Rubbing his arm, he looked imploringly at his other friends.

M’gann and Conner looked deep in a telepathic conversation, which was just awkwardly intense eye contact for onlookers. Zatanna crossed her arms and sighed, “Fine, why not. I didn’t have plans for the weekend anyway. Lead the way to your chocolate factory, Charlie.”

Connor, having caught the tail end of the conversation, looked confused at the reference. He shrugged and said, “I’m in, could be fun.”

M’gann gave her friends an apologetic smile. “Sorry guys, my uncle needs help back on Mars. There’s tensions between the white and green martians again, and he really needs me there to get it under control.”

She gave Connor a peck on the cheek and left to board the nearby Bioship.

“And then there were four,” Wally said with a smile. “Now let’s go make you guys some avatars!”

* * *

Bart Allen could hardly contain his excitement. Scratch that, he couldn’t contain his excitement! “Bouncing off the walls” may be an exaggeration for most people, but he was not most people. Being the grandson of The Flash certainly had its perks, and being able to literally bounce off the walls was one of them.

The cause of his excitement, his friends Timothy Drake-Wayne and Wally West, had just called to ask if Bart wanted extra passes to the premiere of the biggest video game of the decade. And uh, yeah duh he wanted them! He already had one he’d bought for himself, but bringing four extra friends? So totally crash.

He opened up his phone and pulled up the group chat titled Badass Babes.

CrashBandicoot: hey bitchez n babez (u kno who u r), u ready 4 the best videogame of the yr to drop?!

BlueMenace: ese, do you HAVE to type like that?

WonderBabe: yea it’s super annoying

CrashBandicoot: gtta go fast babez

CrashBandicoot: now answer the question

GreenMenace: oh i heard about that! mindscape, right? isn’t it some vr game

CrashBandicoot: yes! nd i got extra tix, so come ovr to cave

GirlBoss: No can do, got research tomorrow!

MaleWife: you always have research bae. sorry little speedster, gotta drive the lady to work

CrashBandicoot: u guys r moding my night :(

BlueMenace: totally not a word but I’ve got you cariño, be there in an hour

WonderBabe: ah what the heck, I’ve got nothing better to do

GreenMenace: always down to whoop ur ass in video games

CrashBandicoot: u wish

CrashBandicoot: roy?

Ginger1 is typing...

WonderBabe: it’ll be fun! more ~mingling~ with kids our age

Ginger2: Hold on, give him some time

Ginger1 is typing...

BlueMenace: Roy, I can pick you up on my way in if you want

Ginger1 has stopped typing.

Ginger2: Um, he says he’ll meet you guys there

Ginger2: He may have destroyed his phone with his “non-typing” hand

GreenMenace: pog

WonderBabe: see u guys soon!

Bart pumped his fist, then ran at top speed to his boyfriend Jaime’s house, where it looked like he was doing homework. Seriously, on a Friday night? Bart had absolutely no qualms about whisking him into his arms and making for the nearest zeta tube.

“Woah Bart, I said I needed an hour!” Jaime protested.

Bart rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but you definitely don’t have anything due tonight, and we have to make your character online before the launch!”

Jaime just looked resigned as they sped into the zeta tube. He knew what he had signed up for.

Chapter Text

Marinette sat on a rock and paddled her bare feet in the water. It was a beautiful day, the sun was warming the top of her loose, dark hair and the ocean in front of her stretched for miles and miles.

A noise disturbed her peaceful moment. A distant cry, probably a seagull.

She sighed and leaned back on her hands to breathe in the smell of--

Marinette choked. Why was there smoke in the air?

The cries grew louder as she looked back at the water before her. She started when she saw that they came from her friends, who were in the now-tumultuous water, trying to keep themselves afloat. They were only a few yards away, she could make it if she just--

A force around her waist tugged her hard as she leapt to her feet. Her face collided with the concrete beneath her-- the top of a building, she realized. If the water level was up this high, then....

From where she lay, she could see directly down into the water. It was no longer clear, but a deep crimson. There were dozens of figures scattered about, some still struggling and some motionless. She scrambled to get up as her eyes snapped to Alya’s hand disappearing below the waves.

That damn force jerked her to the other side of the building, farther from her friends.

“No!” Marinette cried out desperately. The force released her and she whirled to find her attacker.

A flash of red caught her eye, and--

Oh.

It was Ladybug.

Marinette shook her head, not understanding. If that was Ladybug, then.... No, it couldn’t be Ladybug, because she was Ladybug. She fumbled for her earrings, but felt nothing.

Ladybug stalked deliberately up to Marinette and pushed her to the ground. Marinette landed on her hands and knees, both of which were now shaking.

“Look at them,” it was her own voice that spat so harshly from Ladybug’s lips. “ Look at them.” She grabbed Marinette’s hair from behind and forced her head up.

Marinette could now see Adrien, Kagami, Luka, and Chloe in the ocean in front of her. Their lifeless faces floated just below the surface, the bloodied water doing nothing to conceal their frozen expressions of terror.

Marinette sobbed and closed her eyes. Ladybug pulled sharply on her hair again, and looked into Marinette’s eyes.

“Look at them. Don’t you dare take your eyes off the mess you’ve made. You will never be able to save them all,” Ladybug’s eyes, her eyes, blazed with the vehemence of her words. She opened her mouth to speak again, but a loud beeping sound was all that came out.

Marinette gasped and sat up in her bed, the alarm sending her heartbeat into a frenzy. Tikki flew up next to her as she slumped over with a hand over her eyes.

It was just a dream.

Another Kwami must have turned off her alarm because the beeping had stopped, but Marinette could still hear the echoes of her friends’ dying breaths ringing in her ears.

“Marinette... are you okay?” Tikki placed a delicate paw on her chosen’s arm. “We heard you cry out while you were sleeping.”

The girl lifted her head and gave the little god a shaky smile. “It was just a dream.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Tikki floated back down to where the other Kwami were piled on the side of the bed with similarly worried expressions on their faces.

Marinette exhaled a bracing sigh. “Okay.... It was Syren. Or-or Chat Blanc, I’m not really sure.” The Kwami exchanged a look at that. This was not the first time she’d had a nightmare about water. “But Ladybug was there, and she was attacking me.”

Tikki looked especially concerned about that new piece of information. She opened her mouth to say something when Marinette’s phone lit up with a call. The ringtone was Alya’s.

Marinette picked up, trying to control the shaking of her hands. “H-hey girl, what’s up?” Her tone was deceptively cheerful.

“Hey Mari! Just checking to see if you’re awake. Nino and I are ready, he even put on the goggles already!” Marinette instantly relaxed as she heard Alya’s excited voice bubbling out.

“Yeah dudette, they feel really weird. But comfy!” Nino must have leaned over to pitch in.

Marinette shook off the last vestiges of the nightmare with a giggle. “Yeah, it’s kind of tricky to get the headset to fit over your glasses, but you’ll get used to it!”

“Well if you’re not ready yet then you’d better hurry up, girl! The game launches in five minutes.”

Marinette scrambled to check the time. “Oh crap! I gotta go, see you guys soon!” She hung up and rushed to untangle herself from her blankets.

“Good thing you set three alarms, huh?” Tikki followed her down from the loft and watched her brush out her hair.

Marinette stuck her tongue out at the god of creation.

* * *

Red Hood stalked into the Batcave, nearly running Oracle over as she wheeled herself up to her station at the Batcomputer.

“Woah Jaybird, don’t let me get in your way there,” Babs glared at his retreating back. “Asshole,” she muttered to herself.

Jason hurled his helmet onto the floor of the bathroom and began shucking off his suit with far more force than necessary. He started a shower and looked over his new wounds in the mirror. He’d been stupid, so damn stupid, on patrol.

“Red Hood, report in,” Batman’s gravelly voice cut through on his comms. “Hood, you are not to engage alone. What is your location?”

But Jason couldn’t hear him. The only thing he could hear was blood rushing in his ears, but it wasn’t his blood. No, it was the blood of every monstrous, corrupt asshole in this city. And he wanted it to run on the streets.

The Joker had sent thugs out to a meet-up. Well, Red Hood could send them back in a casket. He crouched beside a gargoyle and watched for the arrival of the van he’d tailed. There were only two men. They left the vehicle and waited outside, lighting cigarettes. Too easy.

Red Hood swept down the building, guns never leaving their holsters. He wanted this to hurt. Them or him, he wasn’t sure. But he got his wish as he beat the two men to a pulp. He wasn’t sure how far he’d have gone if not for the arrival of the gang the Joker’s men were supposed to meet with.

They slashed his back with knives. Shallow wounds, easy to manage. By the time Red Hood turned to face them, the others had arrived-- Batman, Nightwing, Robin. And boy were they pissed.

Jason winced as the hot water hit the cuts on his back. He rolled his shoulders and just let the steam ground him. He didn’t kill again, even if every time that green-haired bastard got involved, he went off the rails.

He would get to choose his own path, not the one Bruce wanted for him, but damn well not the one Thalia wanted for him either. This story was his, he reminded himself while gingerly toweling off. Even if he couldn’t look his own reflection in the eye.

He gripped the countertop, staring down as he let his hair drip into the sink. No, he wasn’t feeling desperate enough to see if his eyes were green again.

Damnit, he had to apologize to Babs. He felt calmer now, but he’d been a real dick when he came in. Jason dressed quickly in sweatpants and an old shirt, then padded quietly back to where he knew his sister would be at the computers.

“Hey,” he said, knocking softly when he entered to announce his presence. Barbara didn’t respond for a moment. She was leaning forward in her chair, typing something into one monitor while listening to police chatter, then nodded to herself and sat back.

“Hey.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Robin told me what happened on patrol.”

Jason scowled. “That little tattletale.”

Barbara offered him a reassuring smile. “That little tattletale is the only reason I didn’t hack into your bank account and order a damn pony.”

“Well shit Babs, maybe I like ponies,” Jason snarked back, but his heart wasn’t into it. “Listen... I’m sorry about earlier. If replacement talked to you already, you know what kind of mood I was in, but that’s no excuse.”

Babs turned her chair to face him and held out her hand. He stepped forward and took it, and she said, “We know you’re trying, Jay. Stuff like this? This is who you are. A year ago, you wouldn’t have been caught dead apologizing to me!” She cringed. “Ah, no offense.”

He chuckled. “None taken, it’s about time you started getting in on the undead jokes.” He patted her hand before walking away back to the main space of the cave. “But thank you, it means a lot.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth!” She raised her voice and turned back to face the computer.

Dick and Tim were already waiting in the cave. Tim was fiddling with some beds and what looked like opaque ski goggles. He always fidgeted when he was nervous.

“Hey replacement,” Jason shouted across the room. He noticed Dick bristle, but cut him off before he could get the patented older brother speech. “How much time ‘til the launch?”

Tim’s eyes lit up, and damn him for caring, but Jason just didn’t want them to be afraid of him.

* * *

Connor and Zatanna were washing dishes in the Cave’s kitchen after dinner. Connor heard the distant sound of someone arriving via zeta tube. He let Zatanna know as they finished drying their plates, then followed her to go greet their visitors.

Wally and Artemis staggered into the room, both weighed down by overflowing boxes of equipment.

“Oh thank god, please help me!” Artemis said, spotting Connor. He obliged and easily took the heavy box from her. She rubbed her arms and smiled gratefully as he held it aloft in one hand.

“It must be so handy having him around,” she sighed to Zatanna.

The magician giggled. “It certainly has its perks, but....” She lifted her hands and said clearly, “ Flesruoy egnarra .” The contents of the boxes, some assorted cots, VR headsets, and computers, floated up and placed themselves into a neat formation. “A girl can get by by herself.” She gave Artemis a fistbump.

The zeta tube activated and they all looked up to watch it. The AI announced Wondergirl, and Cassie Sandsmark walked out. She looked up from her phone and waved. “Oh hey guys, whatcha doing?”

Wally zoomed around the set-up Zatanna had created. “We’re just setting up to play this new virtual reality game that’s coming out at midnight! What about you?”

“Oh, what a coincidence, I was just--”

Cassie was cut off by the zeta tube activating again. This time it was Bart, carrying Jaime bridal style, and running at full speed. He skidded to a halt, put a very ill-looking Jaime down, and ran a hand through his windswept hair.

“So totally crash! What’s poppin’?” He made finger guns at Connor, Zatanna, and Artemis.

Zatanna started explaining, “Well, like were just telling Cassie, there’s this new video game coming out at midnight and we--”

She was interrupted by the screech of a green pterodactyl swooping in from the zeta tube. It circled once around the high ceilings of the hollowed-out mountain, then landed and shrank into Beast Boy.

“Just a heads up, Arsenal’s right behind me and he’s a little angry-- oh what are you guys doing?”

Connor was getting frustrated now. “We’re trying to get set up for this new video game that’s launching in five minutes, so if you guys wouldn’t mind--”

A small explosion sounded from the door to the exterior of the island. Roy burst in amidst a cloud of dust.

“Hope I’m not late, I lost my phone.” He sounded like he was in a bad mood.

Bart whispered to Connor, “He means he destroyed his phone.”

Roy dusted off his pants, then looked to Wally and Artemis and asked, “The hell are you doing here?”

“AUGH,” Artemis had had enough. “We’re here to play the video game coming out at midnight! If you want to join us, fine, but if you don’t then get out .” She pointed to the zeta tubes.

Garfield tried to placate her. “Sheesh, it’s just a game! No need to get so worked up.”

Jaime gave him an incredulous look. “Weren’t you just throwing a tantrum yesterday about Bart kicking your ass halfway to Bialya in Smash?”

“...Noted.” Garfield answered.

“Well, looks like we’ve got plenty of hands to help get everyone set up. Let’s get to it!” Cassie expertly maneuvered the two teams away from setting off their more explosive members. They distributed headsets and assigned reclining positions without further delay.

* * *

Marinette put the headset on and laid down on her bed.

“Ready to go back?” Tikki asked her.

She gave the little god a grin. “Definitely.”

In the distance, the bells in Notre Dame chimed six times, but Marinette couldn’t hear them. Her mind had gone somewhere far, far away. Somewhere new.

Chapter Text

Marinette opened her eyes, squinting against the bright sunlight. She stood in a huge village square filled with hundreds of people, the gaps between them growing smaller as more and more players appeared. The sun shone merrily, and an excited chatter began rising in the air. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It felt good to be back.

“Marinette!” She looked around to see Alya and Nino waving a few yards away. She broke into an excited smile and jogged over to meet them. They must have spawned in relative to their actual locations since Kagami, Luka, and the others from her class were already there.

“Hey guys!” Marinette said breathlessly. “Almost didn’t make it. Thanks for the call, Alya.”

The brunette gave her a quick hug. “Anytime, girl. Now you and Lila can show us the ropes!” She bounced excitedly.

Marinette barely caught herself from rolling her eyes and just nodded instead. Of course, Lila would be able to help teach the others how to play. It definitely wouldn’t just be Marinette teaching everybody. Again.

Meanwhile, Max and Nathaniel were remarking on how realistic the textures of the cobbled streets were. Marinette did a double-take when she saw Adrien standing next to them. He had an immensely intricate and ornate suit of armor. There was an excess of spikes, ribbons flowing from every joint, and every inch of him was covered in metal. A tall helmet adorned with skull decals cast a shadow over his grinning face.

“What are you wearing?” She spluttered. He pointed a thumb to his chest with some difficulty, the thick metal creaking with the movement.

“This bad boy is the toughest armor in the game! I may have made a few embellishments of my own, so now I look even cooler .” He stated with pride.

Marinette shot a look at Luka, who wore a light set of simple leathers. He grimaced and shook his head, warning Marinette not to question their friend’s surprisingly atrocious taste in fashion. Or serious misunderstanding of armor weight classes.

“You know you could’ve picked any armor you want, right?” Adrien asked.

“Oh, I know. I crafted this set during beta testing!” Marinette spun around to show the boys, gladly welcoming the change in subject. She was dressed in a light suit of armor, the metal tinted a deep red. Black fabric peeked underneath the gaps, a strong yet flexible design of her own making. A simple grey cloak hung off her shoulders, concealing the quiver behind her back.

While Luka and Adrien complimented her brilliant design, she spotted Lila. She looked a little out of her element, hanging back to awkwardly watch a conversation between Kim, Alix, and Kagami, oddly enough. The three were dressed in heavy sets of armor, lamenting about how there weren’t any monsters to battle yet.

Chloe sauntered over to join them and, having heard how even Kagami was itching for a fight, wrinkled her nose. Marinette giggled to herself. This was going to be interesting, to say the least.

* * *

Jason’s eyes snapped open and he threw out an arm to steady himself. The transition from logging on was dizzying, but the sensation faded with every deep breath he took. He noted the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the air. Damn, even he had to admit this tech was impressive. Dick and Tim stood next to him, wearing blue and red-toned armor respectively. Tim was looking around wildly, grinning like an idiot.

“Timmy!” Cassie Sandsmark sprinted towards them to tackle her boyfriend in a hug. Oh great, looks like the rest of the kiddy patrol was here too. Looking to where Cassie had run from, Jason indeed saw various members of The Team. Connor looked just as nauseated as Jason had felt after joining. Roy stood next to him, unmoving as he stared down at his very realistic-looking hand. Ouch. Jason had to have some sympathy for the poor kid, not that he’d ever tell him that.

Bart and Garfield, on the other hand, appeared to be having the time of their lives. Bart got into a running stance and Garfield gleefully jumped into the air, both falling flat on their faces. Jason snorted as he watched Jaime help his boyfriend up. Jaime asked him, “Whoa there ese, what gives?”

Bart shook his head and muttered, “I don’t have my speed.”

Garfield furrowed his brow and strained his face. “You look like you’re either really constipated or trying to shift,” Artemis informed him.

Ignoring her, Garfield locked his panicked eyes with Connor’s. “I can’t shift either, SB.”

“Der kaolc ym nrut,” Zatanna intoned quietly. When nothing happened, she nervously said, “My magic doesn’t work either.”

Jason rolled his eyes. Goddamn wimps, all of them. “Looks like all you supers will have to stoop to our level.”

“Stay whelmed everyone,” Dick stepped in to mitigate half the group’s outrage. “It’s just a game, we don’t exactly need our other skills right now.”

Before they could say anything else, an enormous bell mounted in the center of the town square began to ring. A hush fell over the crowd. The sky darkened as red hexagons interlocked to create a massive dome around the town.

A tall being flickered to life in the air above them. The hooded figure floated high overhead, their face eerily concealed.

“Attention players,” the figure raised their hands. “I welcome you to my world.” Well that didn’t sound ominous, Jason thought to himself. He felt the mood from the others shift into high alert.

“You may call me the Game Master, and I am the only one in control of this world. You may have noticed that the logout button is missing from your main menu.” The figure paused dramatically. “I assure you, this is no defect in the game. It is all as I have designed it to be. You cannot log yourselves out, and no one outside the game will be able to remove you forcibly. If anyone tries to do so, a transmitter inside the VR headset will emit powerful microwaves into your brain that will end your life.” Shit, shit, shit. This was just supposed to be a dumb game he played to make Replacement shut up about it, what the hell?

“Of the 10,000 players, 215 have already died because their family or friends ignored this warning and attempted to remove their headsets. Media outlets have been reporting on this, so it is safe to assume the danger of your headsets being removed has passed.” This guy had to be joking. Though if he wasn’t, Babs would surely research everything within her power to try to remove them safely.

“One other feature of the game is that you are no longer able to revive players. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will die and the headset will destroy your brain.” Jason’s eyes widened and his head whipped to Dick. He ran a hand through his hair, looking just as horrified as Jason felt.

“The only way for a player to return to the real world is to clear the game. You are currently on Floor 1, the lowest level of the castle. If you make it to the dungeon and defeat the level boss, you may progress to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game.” This motherfucker couldn’t be serious.

The game master, god what a pretentious prick, raised his hands and began to disappear once more. He said, “Good luck, players,” before disappearing entirely. The sky returned to its cheery blue.

 A beat of silence passed before someone started screaming. Then the thousands of players erupted into a cacophony of sound.

* * *

Marinette stood stockstill amidst the chaos. She felt more than heard masses of people panicking around her. Her eyes darted back and forth without truly seeing anything, mind racing to figure out a solution. If there was no way to safely remove the headset, then they’d have to beat the whole game. What about the Kwami? Could they connect with their miraculi? What about the small powers they’d each accumulated over the years? If those were accessible, then they might stand a chance, but god if they weren’t--

A hand on her arm made her snap her head to attention. It was Adrien, his jaw clenched tightly. She gripped his arm in return, the small reassurance barely that. Around her, the new Order looked to their leader for orders, direction. And behind them, her classmates....

Most were white in the face. Max had his hands clenched in his hair and was muttering to himself about the likelihood that the headsets actually could kill them. From the way he was shaking his head, she guessed it was a definite possibility. Lila looked like a cornered animal, twitchy and desperately looking for an escape. Even Kim and Alix wore uncharacteristically serious expressions.

“Well?” Chloe prompted Marinette. The latter took a deep breath. Better focus on solving the smaller problems first. “Your VIP package came with a house on the first floor, right?”

Chloe blinked in surprise. “Yeah, it did,” she replied uncertainly.

“Good.” Marinette whistled and gestured for the rest of her friends to gather around. “Listen up! We don’t know how everyone else is going to react, so it’s best for us to go somewhere safe to lie low for a while. I can teach everyone the gameplay, and we’ll do our best to help beat the game.”

She looked Alya and Nathanial in the eye, since their hands seemed to be shaking the most, and said with all the confidence of Ladybug, “Think of all the bullshit Hawkmoth’s put us through. We are not going to die here. That’s a promise.”

Marinette drew her bow and half-strung an arrow, holding it parallel to the ground. “Chloe has a house on the first level. Let’s go.” She nodded to Adrien, Chloe, Kagami, and Luka to establish a perimeter around the rest of the class as they moved. She exhaled a quiet, shaky breath and led the way out of the square.

The crowd did not part easily. People were sobbing, shouting, hyperventilating. They needed to get out fast before the shock wore off.

Someone stood in front of her. The poor soul was probably just as scared as they were. She put her bow back in her inventory, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

“Excuse me,” Marinette gave a little half-wave to get their attention. “May I please get through?”

“Oh, sorry,” He had a deep, male voice. One hand gestured to the direction she was headed as he stepped out of her path. “Go right ahead.” His hands weren’t shaking as the other crept towards his belt. Not good, not good.

A flash of silver was all the warning she got before Luka pulled her back. A knife collided with his hastily raised shield, shedding sparks as the assailant nearly dropped his weapon in surprise. Marinette dropped down to sweep her leg beneath Luka’s shield, knocking the man off his feet. He gave a shout of surprise as he went down, and Luka disarmed him in the confusion.

“Come on, move it!” Marinette shouted over her shoulder. She re-equipped her bow and surged forward, picking up the pace to get the hell out of there. Such a large group was an easy target, they had to get out of the open and fast. People were starting to react beyond their shock, and more of them were bound to get violent.

Her eyes scanned over the buildings in front of them. There. A momentary break in the throng of players allowed her to spot Slipcut Alley, a favorite shortcut of hers. It was only a few yards away. The alley was too narrow for anything but a single-file line, but it provided cover and was hidden by a spell that only other beta testers would know about. It was their best option.

She squared her shoulders and pushed through the last of the crowd. She turned to face her friends, who gathered around her as they too made it out into the small clearing. Chloe, Kagami, and Adrien were watching the crowd behind them, ready to defend against any other attacks.

Marinette put her bow away one more time and asked, “Do you trust me?”

Shaky nods and wide eyes. That would have to do.

“Then follow me,” she said, and walked straight through the wall before them.

* * *

“Our first step should be finding shelter for the night,” Dick said sharply. “We can figure out the rest tomorrow, but it’ll do us no good if we die tonight.” Tim nodded, ever the protégé.

“And just how do you suggest we do that?” Jason countered. He couldn’t help it if it came out a little accusatory. He did not sign up for a damn death trap.

It was Garfield who had the answer. “Well, in order to do anything, we need money. So we need to start killing some monsters!” He palmed his fist with a resounding smack. “And then we can see about an inn or something.”

Connor rubbed his chin. “That’s not a bad idea, kid.”

“Just tell me where to hit them,” Roy said in a low voice, sounding about as pissed as Jason felt.

“Let’s split into three teams. Alpha squad will be Artemis, Wally, Bart, and myself. Tim, Roy, Gar, and Connor will be Beta. Jason, you’re with Jaime, Cassie, and Zatanna for Gamma.” Great, Jason was the only non-super there. What a grand old time that’ll be.

He made to leave the square, but Dick held his arm. “Hey, I’m trusting you to keep them safe," he kept his voice low. "It’s been a while since they fought without powers, so keep an eye on them.” He then turned to address the rest of the team. “Alpha will take north. Beta, go south and Gamma see what’s west. Meet back here at sunset. Alpha will secure lodging before engaging enemies.”

“What, no pep talk?” Wally elbowed Dick. The latter didn’t crack a smile as he said, “Just stay alive.”

Beside him, Garfield swallowed hard and said weakly, “Noted.”

Jason rolled his eyes and jerked his head in their assigned direction for the other three members of Gamma squad to come with him. He’d follow along as long as Dick made good plans, and Jason didn’t exactly have any better ideas for now.

He put on his very best I know exactly how to kill you and I’ll do it if you don’t get the hell out of my way face and lead the way out of the packed square. The crowd parted easily before him, and they were out on an open street within a matter of minutes.

”Where to first, ese?” Jaime asked, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

Good question. Jason looked around for a map or something that could tell him the way out of the damn town. When he glanced back for a quick headcount and only counted two, he cursed and asked Cassie, “Where the hell is Z?”

She pointed at a nearby stall where the magician was chatting with the vendor. Zatanna waved to them, then sauntered back over to the rest of the team. “The shopkeeper says there’s a bridge further down this street and to the left that’ll take us west out of the town.”

Cassie frowned. “Was that a player with their own shop already? Man, we are behind.”

“Oh, no it was an AI.” Zatanna readily supplied. “An NPC?” She added on seeing the confusion on her companions’ faces. “Honestly, was I the only one to do research on this game before playing it?”

Jaime sheepishly scratched his head while Cassie squeaked, “Well....” Jason had to agree with them, he just did this to keep Replacement happy. And get Dick off his ass, the meddling prick.

Zatanna shook her head. “Look, AI stands for artificial intelligence, and NPC is a non-playable character. They’re computer-generated people, not actual players.”

Jason caught enough to surmise that these NPCs were created by the same maniac that locked them up in here. He crossed his arms and asked, “How the hell can we trust their word if they’re controlled by that fuckin’ game master freak?”

Cassie bit her lip and had the good sense to look concerned.  Zatanna just shrugged and said, “I guess we’ll just have to find out. We can try following their directions but stay cautious in case it’s a trap.”

“Fine,” Jason sighed. “Let’s go.” He was already resigned to the absolute stupidity of the situation anyway.

They made it to the end of the street without incident, and turned where the shopkeeper had directed them to. There was a bridge, spanning a merrily bubbling river, and open fields dotted with trees beyond it. Jason could smell the greenery and apple blossoms from here.

“Wait!” Jaime threw his arm out. He made a face, then sneezed. “Aw man,” he gave a tremendous sniff. “Can’t eben escabe allergies in a video gabe.”

Cassie laughed at her friend and slapped him on the back, which only made him sneeze again. Dumbasses, they didn’t have time for this. Jason rolled his eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time that day and walked up to the base of the bridge. He slowly, carefully stepped across and edged his way to the other side.

The other three followed suit, and upon joining him, Zatanna said cheerfully, “Seems like we can trust the NPCs!”

“For now,” Jason muttered, still not convinced. He turned his gaze to the rolling hills before him, warm breezes sending waves that shimmered through the knee-high grass. He didn’t see any monsters, but there had to be some... right?

He used two fingers to swipe the air in front of him, opening his inventory. At least he remembered that much from the tutorial. He equipped the crossbow he’d loaded in when he created his avatar. Damn, that night in the Batcave felt like it was a week ago.

Jason took a wary step forward, into the grass. “Fan out,” he directed the other three. He didn’t turn to watch as he heard them draw their own weapons and creep up to flank him.

A rustle in the grass ahead had him throw a clenched fist into the air to have the others hold their positions. He waited until the movement stilled, then crept forward a few more steps, careful to keep his footsteps silent. He was within feet of it now, whatever it was. He hoisted up his crossbow to brace it on his shoulder and trained it on the last place he’d spotted movement. There was a sharp inhale behind him, and then Jaime sneezed loudly.

The head of a wild boar whipped up and it lunged for Jason. “Shit!” he yelled. Damn kid and his perfect timing. Jason blindly jumped backward and fired a bolt at the same time. It met its target and the boar shattered into glittering dust that resembled pixels. In front of him, a notification popped up that 20 copper coins, the crossbow bolt he’d shot, and a boar tusk had been added to his inventory. Huh, that was surprisingly easy.

“Wow, that was so crash!” Cassie pumped her fists in the air. “This game is gonna be a piece of cake.”

“Not so fast,” Zatanna frowned. “Remember, this is only the first level. It’s bound to be easy. It’s only going to get harder from here.”

Jason turned around to face them. “And just because that little shit was easy to kill doesn’t mean they all will be on this level.” He noticed Jaime hanging back, looking embarrassed.

“Hey kid,” Jason jerked his chin at him. Jaime's head snapped up. “Do you want to try the next one or wait by the bridge until your allergies clear up?”

Jaime opened his mouth to respond but had to sneeze again. “I think I’ll just waid by the bridge. I’b really sorry guys.” He trekked back to where they’d come into the fields.

“And then there were three. Ladies first,” Jason mockingly bowed, gesturing to the open fields beyond where the boar had been. Zatanna smirked and Cassie stuck her tongue out at him, which he returned with a rude gesture.

Chapter Text

After so much commotion, the silence as they sat made Marinette’s ears ring. She and her Order were gathered in the spacious living room of Chloe’s house. After checking to make sure it was empty, she and the other miraculous holders had reassured their civilian classmates and sent them off to bed. They’d spent the better part of the day getting out of the overcrowded town. Thank Kwami they hadn’t still been traveling after the sun went down, but the noises from the woods still kept them all awake. Kagami had dug out a teapot from the kitchen cabinets and brewed several mugs for those who had needed one. No one was hungry.

Marinette’s hands shook slightly as she sipped her tea. That was another blessing, that Chloe’s VIP pass included a partially stocked kitchen to begin with. They would explore the rest of the house tomorrow, but for now, while the others rested.... They needed to talk.

She set her cup down with a sound that was amplified in the heavy quiet, then took a deep breath. “Okay....” The words felt strange in her mouth. She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Can anyone sense their Kwami?”

She looked around at the blank faces of her friends as they all tried to reach for their respective powers. Chloe’s lip trembled, but her eyes were dry. Luka and Kagami’s jaws clenched, and Adrien frowned as he shook his head.

“None of us can, then,” Luka stated evenly, finally voicing what she’d been afraid of.

Marinette bit her lip. Kagami placed her cup of tea down forcefully. “What are we going to do.” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement.

Marinette rubbed her eyes. Kwami, what could they do? They should count themselves lucky they weren’t dead yet. She could only imagine her Maman and Papa’s panic, but they hadn’t tried to pull her out, so she hadn’t....

They could still die though, if what the Game Master had said was true. If their HP dropped to zero, they would die. There was no Second Chance or Lucky Charm this time. But they were still likely among the best-trained people in the game. Her mind was made up.

“We fight.” She finally said with all the confidence she could muster. “There are thousands of civilians stuck in here with us, so we need to fight for them. We need to beat the level bosses in order to advance, right?” The question was rhetorical, but Chloe nodded and Kagami blinked in affirmation all the same.

“Good,” Marinette stood up. “We will be the ones to fight these bosses. So they don’t have to. Think about it, even without our Kwami, we still have an edge on everyone else here. The faster we beat the game, the faster they can go home.”

“And us too!” Adrien jumped up with a smile. “And us too,” Marinette echoed.

Luka drained his tea and stood next. “So it’s settled then,” he put a hand on her shoulder, steady as ever.

“Indeed,” Kagami rose beside them.

Chloe stared up at them, eyes wide. “You really think we can do this?” She asked in a small voice.

Marinette looked her in the eye and said, “I know we can.” The blonde released a small sigh and stood as well. A gleam of determination entered her eye as she said, “Okay. Let’s go save everyone from this ridiculous game.”

* * *

Jason, Jaime, Cassie, and Zatanna returned to the center of town. It was nearly deserted now, the murky twilight creating pockets of shadows around the square, perfect for hiding lurking figures. But it was nothing Jason couldn’t handle. In fact, with his current mood, he damn well dared them to try.

They’d spent hours hacking away at the wild boars, Jaime even joining in as his allergies permitted him. The four had gained a few player levels and a decent amount of money and loot. But damn if it wasn’t tiring as hell.

His crossbow was much more taxing than using guns, and it used different muscles in his shoulders and arms than he was accustomed to working. He could tell the others were similarly weighed down by exhaustion. Cassie’s whip demanded an endurance she wasn’t used to without her super-strength, Jaime’s throws of a handaxe grew increasingly shorter the longer they fought, and Zatanna wasn’t used to fighting with physical weapons at all. It took everything they had left to drag themselves back into town.

One of the shadows a few feet away swam with sudden movement. Jason equipped his crossbow, arms shaking with the effort of just holding it. Damnit, now was not a good time, but he’d still fight these bastards with everything he had.

He relaxed when he saw it was Dick and the rest of Team Alpha approaching. Putting his weapon away, Jason crossed his arms and planted his feet firmly. Dick better have gotten them those fucking beds for the night.

“We’re just waiting on Beta,” Dick said in a low voice. “Then we can go to the inn and regroup.” The others could regroup. Jason would be heading right to sleep. He stalked over to the brick wall Bart sat slumped against and leaned his shoulder against it. The cool roughness grounded him and kept his eyes open.

He distantly heard Zatanna telling Dick that they had made out okay in the west. Unnecessary talking when there were other players listening nearby. He swallowed against the urge to forcibly silence them that was rising in his blood. It sang with the persistent thrum of battle, unshakable as it was insistent. He closed his eyes and counted his breaths. One. Breathe out and picture a color. Blue. Breathe in. Two. Out. Yellow. In. Three. Out. Green.

He’d barely reached ten by the time Tim led his group back to join them. The song in his blood stilled for now, he pushed off of the wall and followed as Dick and Wally guided them to the inn. He hardly registered his surroundings as they entered and divvied up the rooms. He, Dick, Tim, and Wally were in one room, the girls in another, and the other boys in a third. The place seemed clean enough as he cast his tired eyes around the tavern.

They climbed the stairs to their rooms and settled in each. Dick and Tim sat on their beds talking about going to the other boys’ room-- the largest of the three-- to discuss strategy. Jason hardly heard them as his head hit the pillow and he fell asleep.

* * *

The warmth of the early morning sun on her face woke Marinette up. She stretched and yawned, wincing at her soreness. Sometimes this game was a little too realistic. In the bed beside hers, Chloe grumbled something about the girls’ room having no curtains over the window and rolled over.

Marinette gave a strained smile at that. She quietly dressed and descended the ladder from their small loft to where the rest of the girls were still sleeping, and tip-toed out to the hall.

Down the stairs was the kitchen, empty save for a softly steaming tea kettle that meant Kagami and Luka would soon be joining her. She prepared dough to make fresh croissants as she had every couple of days for the past few weeks since they’d been trapped in the game.

The thought briefly gave her pause, that they’d already been here for close to a month, but she shook it off and formed the croissants onto the baking tray. She slid them into the oven just as Kagami and Luka trailed in from the garden. They’d been harvesting the already-ripe blueberries, and laid a heaping basket of them on the countertop.

Chloe’s VIP pass had saved their lives and then some. It came with a comfortably sized house that included a full kitchen, sitting area, storage room, balcony, two massive bedrooms with enough room to house all twelve of them, a garden ready to be planted in, and stables already stocked with several horses. It really was luxurious, and if they weren’t trapped in the game, she would have found it much more enjoyable.

The property also included a small pond that had proved to give a refreshing swim after training sessions, a well, and a few acres of woods. The latter was where they did most of their monster-training. Marinette had already reached a player level of 10 just by fighting the various denizens of their backyard. The rest of the new Order wasn’t far behind her, ranging from levels 7 to 10 between the four of them.

“Good morning, Marihime,” Kagami inclined her head respectfully, then poured the tea into three waiting mugs. Luka thanked her and shot Marinette a quick smile as way of greeting.

She nodded back and stirred a generous helping of sugar into her mug. The three sipped their tea while they waited for the croissants to bake. Once they were finished and cooling, Marinette and the others donned cloaks to protect against the morning chill and started their brisk morning walk into town.

The dirt path wound down to the base of the hill where several more paths for other player houses split off the main track that they now set on. The lush grass on either side was covered in a slight blanket of mist from the evaporating morning dew. Birds chirped high above, darting between the sparse trees. The walk took about a half-hour, and their tea was nearly finished by the time they arrived at the outskirts of the city.

Kagami polished off her mug and placed it back in her inventory, then rested her hand warily on the hilt of her rapier as they began encountering more people. Their destination, a newsstand, was thankfully not too close to the center of town. The fewer people they encountered, the better.

“Get your daily paper here! New news every day! Two copper pieces for a paper, one gold for a yearly subscription.” Marinette veered towards the NPC shouting her wares.

“Hi, one paper please,” she said breathlessly, and slid two copper pieces onto the counter.

“Here you go!” The vendor, an ample woman of thirty, took the coins and handed Marinette a folded newspaper with a smile. “You know, you’re one of my best customers. I’ll give you a deal,” she winked, “how about fifty silver for a yearly subscription!”

“Oh, that’s very kind of you miss, but I’m afraid we won’t be staying quite that long,” Marinette replied. At least, she hoped not.

“Very well dear, have a lovely day!” The NPC thankfully seemed unbothered, and went back to shouting her prices to the general population.

Luka and Kagami moved from their posts of casually guarding Marinette while she dealt with the woman manning the stall. The three set off back the way they’d come, ready for another day of training and exploring the first level.

Marinette unfolded the newspaper and skimmed the headlines while they walked, trusting her companions to keep an eye out for her. However, they weren’t expecting her to stop dead in her tracks. It took a moment for them to turn around and backtrack to where she stood staring intently at the paper in her hands.

“Holy Kwami....” She said, and read the article title again. “‘Exploration team finds boss dungeon entrance!’” She read aloud.

Luka moved to peer over her shoulder and read it alongside her. “You know what this means?” He asked with a small smile.

Kagami put her hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “We are on the path to ending this.”

* * *

Jason woke up to an empty house. It had only been a few weeks since the start of the game, and his idiot brothers were out in the village. Again. He groaned at the motion of swinging his legs off the bed to sit up. Training to get used to the in-game movements was getting old.

He stood and rubbed the back of his neck, loosening some of the stiffness that seemed to have soaked into his bones. He went downstairs to the spacious kitchen to get some fruits for breakfast. With twelve people to make money and collect resources, the team had made quick work of purchasing a large house to use as a base.

Grabbing a few apples for the road, Jason traced the now-familiar path to find Dick and a few of the others in a communal amphitheater. Bart and Wally were handing out flyers near the entrances, chatting people up and trying to convince them to come listen to where Dick and Tim were speaking below.

Jason took a seat next to Artemis, near the back. “At it again?” He asked her, crunching into his apple.

She was leaning forward to prop her elbows on her knees, her chin resting in cupped hands. “Yup,” she said, popping the “p.” She sighed and sat up. “All week, and we’ve only got a handful of recruits.”

“We’re all in this together after all,” Dick was saying loudly. “So join us to help end this game! I have a plan to train recruits for taking on the first level boss.”

Jason yawned. Same old fuckin’ stupid plan. There’s just no way to make risking your life sound enticing. “The others still out hunting?” He nudged Artemis’s knee with his own.

She nodded in affirmation, looking similarly discouraged and bored. He got up and started to leave, deciding to make himself useful and join the rest of the team in fighting.

“Jason!” A shout made him stop. He looked to the sky and muttered to himself about patience, then turned to face his brother. “Yes, Dick? You’re looking particularly dickish today.”

Dick crossed his arms. “Haha, very funny. If you’re not busy, I could really use you here spreading the word.”

“Look, people just don’t want to go up against something they’ve never faced before. Hell, half these dumbasses haven’t even been in a real fight before.” He shook his head. “This is a waste of time. I’m going to fight some monsters so that I can level up and be ready for when we inevitably face the big bad without these posers.”

Dick narrowed his eyes at that. “Now hold on a minute, we have no idea what we’re going up against here. We need a bigger group before we’re ready to go up against the boss. More than half of us aren’t up to par with our special moves out of the picture, and we’re still trying to figure out the gameplay.” He held his hands out placatingly. “An exploration group just found the probable location of the boss dungeon, so that’s half the battle already. We just need to wait for more recruits and a more solid plan.”

“So how long are we supposed to wait, Dick?” Jason asked incredulously. “A week? A month? A year? How many people are going to die while we ‘figure out' how to do something we already damn well know how to do.” He poked an accusatory finger at Dick’s chest. “We’ve been training for weeks already, we can handle this.”

“I hear you Jay, but we have no idea what kind of a threat this is going to be. We need to take our time and--”

“What you need is a fucking backbone. We’re the best hope that thousands of people have at surviving! I say we train some more and then fight the damn thing ourselves, recruits or no.” He couldn’t believe Dick. Saving people was supposed to be his schtick, not Jason’s. “Hundreds of people have already died, in case you forgot, and this is only the first fucking level. Time is a luxury we do not have.”

Dick looked ready to retort when a young boy came up to him and tapped him on the elbow. “Excuse me, mister? I’m interested in recruitment!”

Jason took advantage of the distraction and stalked off towards the center of town. What a... well, Mr. and Mrs. Grayson picked a damn good name.

If Dick wanted to know what they were up against, then fine. He’d go find out for him.

Chapter Text

It was a good thing Jason hadn’t taken his weapons or armor out of his inventory last night. He opened his inventory and donned a crimson cloak. Approaching the midtown newsstand, he paid for a paper advertising the location of the first level dungeon and continued on his way.

Skimming the headline, it sounded like he had to go to the northeast mountains to find the entrance. The team hadn’t been able to justify buying horses yet, so he’d have to go on foot. Fine by him, more time to walk off his bad mood. And work out a plan.

He’d be in and out, just to see what type of a threat they were dealing with. He wasn’t stupid, but he wasn’t about to just wait around for Dick if he wasn’t going to make a move until they knew exactly what they were facing.

Jason put the paper away and pulled his hood over his head, the red fabric concealing his face. He had reached the road leading north out of town. He took a swig of water from his canteen, which he noted was half-full, and set out.

The walk was almost pleasant, if not for the number of travelers-- both players and NPCs alike-- that he ran into. He couldn’t be sure of their intentions, especially towards a lone player, so he’d duck into the nearest ditch or bush for cover until they’d passed.

The sun warmed his dark cloak, but not uncomfortably so. It felt like springtime here in the game, with tulips and wild daffodils blooming in small clusters by the road. Jason knew he should be back before dark, but that was a long way away. He kept checking his compass to make sure he was heading the right way, but the path was very easy.

In the distance, he began to see mountains. Pulling out the paper he’d gotten from that morning, he checked that the dungeon entrance was along the slope of one of the mountains. When he reached a crossroads, he adjusted his course accordingly.

By then, his anger had all but faded. He still didn’t agree with Dick and he definitely still thought he was an ass, but he didn’t want to rip his head off over it. Literally. God, what a mess.

He stopped to buy some fresh bread from a family farm of NPCs a few miles before the base of the mountains. What a thorough game it was to have given the three children dimples. He wondered how much information their programming gave them. Did they know the players were forcefully kept here? Did they live the same, simple day-to-day lives? Or did they simply stop moving when players weren’t looking, like cheap animatronics.

Jason shook his head. Too much time alone with his thoughts was never a good idea. He almost missed the company of the others. He’d even settle for Garfield, that obnoxious green punk.

He sighed and continued on his way. It wasn’t even halfway, but there was no way in hell he’d turn around now. Every step he took was a step closer to getting out of this... admittedly pleasant hellscape.

A flock of birds lifted off from a field on his right. They swirled about in the sky, fluid as fabric. Each one moved on its own path and yet fit in as part of the whole. He stopped, watching the ebb and flow as they journeyed to find the next field to settle on.

That would never be him, a cog in the machine, no matter how beautiful. He had put his faith in people before and quite literally gotten burned for it. He scowled at the memory, a crowbar and a grin flashing through his mind. No, he was better off fending for himself. Always had been.

He decided to count his steps instead of face his thoughts for the remainder of the trip.

732 steps to the base of the mountain. He picked the leftmost path.

1056 steps until he needed to grapple around a rockslide.

409 steps before the mouth of a cave. The cave.

Jason confirmed one more time that this was the suspected entrance to the dungeon. He put away the paper, took a deep breath, and plunged into the darkness.

It was cold and damp. He didn’t want to risk a light, so he put a hand to the freezing walls as he walked. He tested every step with his toe, trying to avoid potential falls into the darkness in front of him.

Silence drew in around him, heavy and expectant. It dared him to light a torch and rush forward to face the boss himself. He knew it was a bad idea, but it called to the energy humming in his blood.

He breathed and pictured colors.

In and out, he would be in and out, just like his breaths.

It was hard to think of the cave as anything other than the grave he’d once been confined to, but stretching out both arms helped.

In and out.

He pictured blue.

The ceiling seemed to press down on him, nausea rising in his throat.

Blue skies and blue waters. He wasn’t trapped in here, he was free. Free as the birds in the fields.

Just when he thought he couldn’t stand it anymore, he glimpsed a faint light ahead. It flickered around a bend in the cave, and illuminated the stalactites that were over twenty feet above his head.

The cold sweat that coated his back started to dry, the tightness in his throat loosening. Taking in a deep breath of stale air, he surged towards that light.

He rounded the corner, crossbow drawn and ready. The light came from a burning torch, barely a stub left. The sound of metal clashing on metal caught his trained ears and his head whipped up.

An enormous doorway stood in front of him, huge doors left ajar. He saw a flash of movement beyond them. The noises were also clearer now, shouting punctured by roars that shook the walls. Pulling the hood of his cloak further over his face, he silently advanced.

Peering through the gap between the doors, he made quick work of taking it all in. The room was a long hallway, lined with tall columns and lit by torches. There were some rocks scattered about, which would provide good cover from the massive beast before him.

The monster was about fourteen feet tall of ugly with a large, red belly. It wore armored greaves and wielded a huge axe and a round shield. Its face had a dog-like snout framed by a form-fitting helmet. Red eyes glowed from within the helmet, and slobber dribbled from pointed teeth.

So basically a medieval Killer Croc. This was doable.

Jason was about to leave and report back when he heard a shout. “Kitty, ‘Gami, cover me!”

Before he could unpack that hell of a battle cry, a figure in black armor darted out from behind a column. They blew a raspberry at the boss, then somersaulted and wove just out of reach from its enraged blows. At the same time, someone with red and gold armor drew a rapier and began slicing at the boss’s feet.

A slight person with red armor stood from where they’d been crouched behind a rock on the far side of the room. They fired a longbow with devastating accuracy, and Jason watched in profile as the arrow pierced the monster’s eye. They disappeared just as fast.

The boss roared and started swinging wildly. The red and gold fighter danced out of the way, but tripped over a piece of rubble. Jason’s eyes widened as the monster gleefully brought its axe down upon the felled player.

It never met its target. The black-armored person dove over their friend and raised a shield. The blow sent the two flying back to the columns, where they quickly limped for cover.

From Jason’s vantage point, he could see a figure in blue armor dart over to the two injured fighters. They shook their head, then whistled a series of notes. Answering whistles came from the last place he’d seen the red archer, and the three people stayed put.

“Queenie, Maneuver 18!” The archer, a girl he now realized, yelled. A fifth person, this one in golden armor, leapt onto the monster’s head from the top of a column near the ceiling. They took a flail out of their inventory and bashed the boss’s good eye, then flipped down to find cover opposite of the archer. All the while, the archer ran along the length of the hall, firing shots into the monster’s gut.

She slid neatly behind the rocks in front of Jason and glanced at the boss behind them. It was blinded now, bellowing furiously. The girl’s chest heaved with the effort of running.

With three of their fighters out of commission, he didn’t like their odds. Well, so much for in and out. Dick was going to kill him for this.

Jason waved until the girl in front of him noticed the movement. Her mouth, the only part of her face that wasn’t covered by her helmet, parted in surprise.

He somersaulted to join her spot of cover and said quietly, “I can help.” The monster had quieted down now and seemed to be listening intently.

She nodded, then pointed at him and then to his right. Pointed to herself, then to the left. She looked at him to verify he’d understood and he gave a thumbs up. 

She picked up a handful of pebbles and tossed them in front of the rocks they hid behind. The monster pricked up its ears and began advancing towards their hiding spot. She held up a fist to have them wait. The boss grew closer and still she held. Jason could feel its hot breath through his cloak before she finally whispered, “Now!” and launched herself to the left. Jason dove aside just in time. He fired his crossbow at the monster’s chest and could see the girl doing the same on its other side. It had left itself open in burying its axe in the rocks they’d been at mere moments before.

Damn this girl was good.

He watched her exchange her bow for a pair of daggers. The beast’s arms still busied trying to get its axe unstuck, she flipped onto them and ran up its back. Jason fired more bolts into it, keeping its attention while she--

Oh damn. This girl was really good.

She flipped her daggers around and dragged them through its skin behind her as she slid down its back. Then she danced away behind a column, switching back to a longbow and firing arrows into its exposed arms.

Jason grinned, letting the thrill in his blood take over for a moment. He exchanged his own ranged weapon for a shortsword, and started hacking away at the monster’s legs. Where the red archer went high, he went low. They accommodated each other perfectly. He glanced up to see the boss’s HP depleting to nearly zero.

While he swung his sword and dodged out of the monster’s reach, he noticed how much more focused he felt, despite having freed the roaring in his veins. It seemed that the Pit didn’t have as much of a hold on him while he was in the game. A small victory, but staying in control was more than useful here.

The beast turned around just as Jason swung his sword, and it broke against the monster’s shield. A rush of movement beside him was the golden fighter, sinking their flail into the beast’s back. They wrenched it free only to whirl around and use the momentum to plant it in the monster’s stomach.

That blow did it in. It staggered backwards, wounds glowing bright red, and shattered into fragmented pixels. A menu screen popped up in front of him displaying his share of the loot, which looked to be proportional to how many blows he had landed.

Jason looked at the other two. The golden one had already rushed back to where their injured companions were, but the red one remained.

“Thank you,” she held out her hand to him with a smile. He took it and shook once. “It was my pleasure,” he rasped, still catching his breath. He raised his broken sword and asked, “You don’t happen to know a blacksmith, do you?”

She held up one finger, then ran off back into the rubble, searching for something. When she returned, she held the other pieces of his sword. “I can mend it, if you’d like,” she offered, almost shyly.

He nodded and handed his piece to her, hilt first. She assembled all the fragments on the ground, then placed both hands over it and inhaled deeply. As she breathed in, the pieces were pulled inward to their original positions as if magnetized to each other. She breathed out just as deeply, and the cracks between the pieces glowed blue.

The glow faded when she picked it up and handed it back to him. He twirled it around a few times just to be sure, but it felt as good as new. Maybe even better. “That was... amazing. Thank you,” he said, sincerely grateful.

She smiled and replied, “It’s the least I could do. It’s a type of magic I learned called Restorative Alchemy, if you’re interested!” That was definitely something worth looking into. “I also put a little bit of magic in it, so when it’s hit like that again, it--”

“Lady!” A girlish, high-pitched shout came from the player in golden armor. She ran back over to the two of them and tugged the girl away. “Stranger danger!” she muttered pointedly.

The red archer tried to respond, “Well we wouldn’t have won without hi--” But the other girl cut her off, “Shush, we don’t even know who he is!” The archer gave a long-suffering sigh.

Jason took the opportunity to leave while their backs were turned. He’d intruded enough, and he didn’t really care to learn their names.

As he disappeared back into the cave, he thought he heard someone say, “Oh! He’s gone....”

* * *

Marinette watched the doors in the boss dungeon, wondering why that strange man had left so soon. She blinked and turned her attention back to her injured friends. Adrien had taken that hit for Kagami, and even though it was to his shield, he’d need a lot of rest before his arm was in working condition again.

The fight was costly. Luka had run out of healing potions, putting more than half of the team out of commission. It had just been her and Chloe left fighting. She wasn’t sure if they would’ve made it, let alone won without that stranger showing up....

“How’s it looking, boss?” Adrien’s hiss of pain pulled her from her thoughts. She crouched down beside him while Luka treated the arm with what simple herbs he had on hand.

Luka finished tying a sling and stood. “You’re going to be fine. Keep it still for a few days. We’ll get you some health potions when we get back to the house. Kagami, can you stand?”

The girl in question used to column to get up on her feet, but kept her weight off her left. That must have been the one she’d tripped on. “I can stand, but I’ll need help to walk,” she said through gritted teeth.

A costly fight indeed. Marinette moved to slide her arm under Kagami’s and supported her. “We just need to make it back to the horses,” she murmured to her friend.

God, her friend. Her friends had gotten hurt because her plan failed. They had no idea what they were walking into, and she had almost gotten them all killed because of it.

They just needed more time. More training.

The five of them started to limp back to the cave where the light from their torch had almost died out, when a bright light flooded the chamber. It came from behind them, and as they turned to look they saw an open door.

“That must be to the next level....” Adrien said softly.

Marinette looked at her Order, broken as they were, and made a decision. “Another time,” she said. “We’ve done enough for today.”

They still had to make it back and spread the word to the other players. A small smile fell on her face. They could give them this news, give them this hope.

* * *

“You did WHAT?” Dick’s voice cut across the room. Jason had returned to their base after dark, but he didn’t have much choice in the matter. He was tired from walking the entire trip and even more tired from the battle, so his pace on the return trip was a little lacking. But that didn’t mean Dick had to yell about it.

“I helped some people beat the first boss,” Jason shrugged. “I don’t see what the big fuckin’ deal is.” He put his pack down and grabbed some food from the counter.

Dick looked him over and, finding no major injuries, rubbed his hand over his mouth. “What part of ‘wait for recruits’ did you not understand?”

Ah yes, this again. He decided to tactfully dodge that shit. “I only meant to get a look at the boss. You know, do some reconnaissance and then report back? But a group was already there and fighting, and they needed help.”

“So you jumped in to help them?” Tim asked incredulously. “You? Mister Lone Wolf?”

“For fuck’s sake, they could have died,” Jason was getting annoyed now.

Dick gripped his shoulders. “So could you.” He glared as Jason pushed off the touch. “Look Jay, I know we don’t always get along, but I don’t want to... I can’t....” Dick hung his head. “Not again,” he said softly.

“Look,” Jason raised his hands in mock surrender. “I’m not looking to die anytime soon. Repeat performances were never really my thing,” he gave a crooked smile. “But I was fine. The monster couldn’t hold a candle against us.”

Dick didn’t look convinced. “Can you just... tell us the next time you go off on your own?”

Jason barked a laugh. “Not a chance.”

“You’ll give me gray hairs by the time I’m thirty...” Dick rubbed his temples.

“Then we’ll match,” Jason winked and ran a hand through his streak of white hair. Tim snickered and rolled his eyes. Bastard.

Chapter Text

Marinette was up early again. She found herself some breakfast, then went to the stables. The Order had made it back late last night, so they didn’t have time to groom the horses. She entered the first stall and started to brush the first horse. The routine motion let her mind drift, and she thought back to the events of the past few weeks.

Marinette, Kagami, and Luka embarked on their daily ritual of collecting the morning paper from town. It was the day after they’d beaten the first boss, which they had reported anonymously. Marinette and Adrien had agreed that taking the credit would only serve to draw unwanted attention towards their group, which could put them and the rest of their friends in danger.

But it apparently had another unforeseen advantage. As Marinette paid for the newspaper that highlighted their victory, she heard comments from other players around her.

“Are you serious? Some party went rogue and beat the first dungeon on their own ?”

“Selfish assholes, can’t believe they got all that loot to themselves.”

“Well I think it’s good that we’re making progress!”

“Yeah, if you ignore the fact that they didn’t tell us what it was like at all , so now we haven’t got a clue how to face the next one.”

She shook her head in disbelief and glanced at her companions, who looked similarly concerned. They hadn’t even considered that the other people might not want them to take up the battle alone. Or that last comment, that they were actually hurting the other players by not giving them the chance to fight too.

The three remained quiet until they returned to Chloe’s house, or the manor, as they’d taken to calling it. By then, Adrien and Chloe were awake, and followed without question as Marinette ushered the two to join her, Kagami, and Luka out by the well.

She told them what the people in town had said, Luka and Kagami jumping in with additional comments they’d heard from passersby, and they talked it over. Maybe it was worth fighting with other groups. It would certainly beat the first boss.

They decided to try working with others for the next dungeon, but to lead the battle so that the civilians would stay as safe as possible. There were already groups in town recruiting for it and people exploring the second level, so it couldn’t be too long before they found the next fight. They’d be ready this time, they thought.

Less than two weeks passed before they were ready to take on the second dungeon. The Order had spent the whole time training and leveling up. There was hardly a moment where they weren’t fighting monsters or sparring with each other. They became almost more adept with their new weapons than they were with their ones from the real world. Those days of miraculous encounters seemed a lifetime ago.

The Order made preparations with other groups of players, determining strategy and planning to play to each others’ strengths. All the parties assembled at the dungeon and set up to fight the boss.

All things considered, it could have gone much worse. The support teams kept all the fighters’ HP high, and they had whatever cover they needed whenever they needed it. The battle was significantly shorter with around forty players there. But when the other players got hit....

Marinette could still hear the screams of the civilians as they went down. The blood oozing from their wounds was so very lifelike, and there was no cure to sew them shut. Or bring them back if they fell.

Kagami and Adrien were focused on taking what would have been killing blows if the boss had struck anyone but them. Chloe and Marinette drew fire away from the other players, and Luka used his mace and shield to defend his fellow healers. But Marinette saw the pained look on his face at being separated from the rest. She relived the moment Kagami and Adrien went down while fighting the first boss in frequent nightmares, and she knew Luka did too. The two of them had shared a few too many late-night cups of tea while avoiding sleep.

They won the battle, but there were so many wounded, so many close calls. One look at her Order and she knew they felt as lost as she did. Was it worth it? The thought seemed to echo through each of their movements as they returned to the manor.

“Marinette?” Alya’s call shook her out of her daze. She looked down at her hands and saw that she’d finished brushing the last of the horses. Putting the brush away, she returned to the main space in the downstairs of their home.

Home. She supposed that’s what it was now, but it didn’t feel like it. The design of it was very cozy, there was no doubt about that. But she saw it as little more than a place to eat and sleep. There were far more important things she could be doing, sitting down to relax was out of the question.

“There you are,” Alya grinned from the kitchen. “Feels like I haven’t seen you in days!” She carried a simple charcuterie board into the living/dining area and placed it on the table. Nino, Adrien, Lila, Alix, Nathaniel, and Luka were already sitting in the various couches and chairs gathered around it.

“We were just about to have a snack and play some cards,” Alya said over her shoulder as she used a poker to encourage a small fire in the hearth. “You should join us, girl!”

Marinette’s gut response was to refuse, and she waved her hands and made excuses but Luka and Adrien got up and marched her over to sit next to them. “C’mon Buginette, you need this,” Adrien said quietly in her ear. Luka just gave her a meaningful look.

Over-protective mother hens.

She sighed and gave in. One afternoon of cards couldn’t hurt.

Nathaniel was on her other side. While Alya dealt out the cards, Marinette asked him, “How’s the garden coming along?”

His face lit up with a quiet joy. “It’s going great! I don’t know if the weather is going to change, but the onions are taking nicely!” She listened with a small smile on her face as he went on about the different crops he was planting in the garden. He’d really stepped up to grow the bulk of their food, and seemed to genuinely enjoy spending his days taking care of the plants.

She was glad that he could still talk freely to her, even in the game. They’d always been close and it was nice to see his artistic spirit was unbothered by... everything.

Adrien nudged her to play her turn, and she did so quickly. Across from her, Alix and Nino were laughing at something Lila had said, and Alya sat up proudly with a comment that made them laugh even harder.

On Adrien’s other side, Luka had his hands of cards facedown on his lap while he strummed a lute he’d bought the other day. The pleasant melody lifted her spirits and reminded her of happier times.

This is what she was fighting for, she realized. For Nathaniel to take pride in his art, for her dear friends to laugh, and for Luka to play his music. She blinked away the tears that rose in her eyes. This is what was worth fighting for.

Even if she couldn’t bring herself to sew, to create like she used to love doing. Here she just had to be Marinette the friend or Marinette the fighter. It was almost easier, having less to manage. And yet... she couldn’t feel that same joy for herself that she found so precious to her friends. Not until they were all home again. She couldn’t let herself.

* * *

Jason trudged into the base, pack digging into his shoulder with all the loot he’d recovered. He’d spent the past few days camping and level-grinding, which was apparently the correct term for it. He couldn’t even remember what Dick had said to set him off, but he needed to be on his own for a while. The woods were surprisingly peaceful, and he found the time spent by himself in nature to be refreshing.

“Hey.” Dick sounded pissed. The hell was his problem? Jason wasn’t even back long enough to do anything. Jason turned on his heel and raised his eyebrows. “What?”

Dick thrust a newspaper into his hands in response. He folded his arms, clearly expecting Jason to read it right then and there. Jason sighed loudly and slung his pack off. He turned his attention to the paper in his hand.

“Coalition of over forty players defeats second dungeon,” he read aloud. Shit.

“Just thought you should know,” Dick said in his I told you so voice. “When you went on your little adventure, you missed the next boss fight.”

Oh, now he remembered why he left! Because his “brother” is an asshole. “My little adventure was to get experience and level up,” he glared at Dick. “Which is still doing something more productive than just sitting on my fuckin’ hands.”

Dick’s nostrils flared. Good, he was itching for this conversation. “We are not doing nothing. We need more time to practice with the gameplay. Hell, Gar still tries to shift when we spar!” He threw up his hands in frustration. “We’re nowhere near ready yet, Jay.”

“You know, there’s more to this game than fuckin’ sparring.” Jason retorted.

Dicks brows shot up. “Oh, that’s rich coming from the guy who so desperately wants to get back to our lives that he runs off on his own.”

“I can’t stand being cooped up in this damn house all the time! Just because we’re stuck in this game doesn’t mean we have to stop living,” Jason shook his head. “We’ve already been in here for over a month, who’s to say how much longer it’ll be? We can’t just put our fuckin’ lives on hold the whole time.”

“Training to beat the game isn’t putting our lives on hold,” Dick rolled his eyes. “This place is a death trap in case you forgot. We need to train to get our lives back .”

This idiot just didn’t get it. “Oh sure, and in the meantime we can’t have any happiness or fun. Sounds pretty miserable to me.” He picked up his pack. “You can level up without training at all hours of the fuckin’ day, no matter what a certain black-haired, blue-eyed bastard says.”

Jason stormed out the door, bumping into Garfield on his way back outside. The kid stumbled backwards before pointing finger guns at him. “Nice alliteration!”

He ignored him and kept walking down the path that led into town.

“Hey, hey wait a minute!” Seriously kid? He heard that argument with Dick but still couldn’t take the fuckin’ hint.

Garfield caught up to him and said, “You know, for someone who was supposed to have a relaxing vacation, you sure look tense.”

“Fuckin’ excuse me?” Jason growled.

“Wh-what I mean is you’re probably looking for a way to burn off some steam!”

This was getting old. “Get to the point, kid.”

“On the third level, there’s a quest we can do to make our own guild!” Garfield bounced excitedly, keeping pace next to him. Well, a quest would certainly help get this new brotherly stress out of his system. “We want you to join us, pleeeeaaaase?”

“Hold up, who the hell is us ?”

Garfield grinned at him. “Oh you know, just a couple of the guys.”

They’d reached a junction in the path that led to the main road. Waiting beneath the tree beside the signpost were Roy, Jaime, and Bart. The ex-speedster waved excitedly while Roy looked about as pleased to be here as Jason did. They got along swimmingly.

“Hey dudes, everyone cool if Jason joins us?” Garfield reached out to pat his back then hesitated as he thought better of it.

Jaime shrugged while Bart gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. Roy gave him a pitying look, like he’d been dragged into it too.

“Fine.” Jason muttered to no one in particular. “Are we heading out now?”

The other four got their things together. Jaime sent out party invites to everyone to better keep track of each other, which Roy and Jason reluctantly accepted. Garfield pulled up a pamphlet and started leafing through it. Jason spied the title, The Good Adventurer’s Guide to Guilds. Lovely.

“Alright,” Garfield snapped the papers shut and started walking down the path into town. “Let’s go to level three and get this bread!”

Roy narrowed his eyes. “The quest is to retrieve some bread?” He asked incredulously.

“Well, no but yes! But no. Man, we gotta teach you slang,” Bart slung an arm around Roy’s shoulders. The latter pushed him off and Jaime sped up his pace to plant himself as a buffer in between them as they walked.

Dumbasses.

The walk into town was easy, and they used the teleportation kiosk in the town square to get to the third level without a hitch.

The third level had some more interesting terrain than the plains of the first and second levels. Cliffs and quarries dotted the landscape in front of them. The main town itself was built onto a cliff, a gaping valley splayed out before them with minute details.

“Oh wow,” Garfield said. “This reminds me of that one town in France where--”

“Don’t care. Let’s move.” Roy cut him off and stalked down the winding road that would take them down into the valley. Jason smirked and followed suit.

Garfield made a face, then followed them along with the others. He pulled out his pamphlet again, then pointed them in the direction of the quest. Some quarry worker NPC wanted help collecting materials. If they got him everything on his list, he would apparently grant them the rights to start a guild? It made less and less sense as Gar read aloud from the paper.

They trekked on for a few hours, easily hacking apart the common monsters they came across. Between Jason and Roy, the others hardly had time to draw their weapons before the threats were gone.

“What’s better than this?” Garfield put an arm around Jason and Bart’s shoulders. Jaime grinned and put his arms around Bart and Roy. “Guys bein’ dudes!” He finished.

Roy, Bart, and Jason exchanged mystified glances. Roy and Jason had been out of the loop for roughly the same period of time, and Bart had told them before that not much of contemporary pop culture had survived into his future.

Guys bein’ dudes indeed.

Between the five of them, gathering the listed materials and getting them to the worker by sundown was easy. Well, it was easy for most of them.

“You look like a mess, ese!” Jaime exclaimed, seeing a very sticky and scratched-up Garfield. He groaned and replied, “Had to get tree sap. Trees fought back....”

Well, that served the little shrimp right, Jason thought to himself. He and Roy had been collecting gemstones, which could be mined out from the caves littered throughout the floor... or the infinitely more fun way of killing giant gemstone monsters. Take a wild fuckin’ guess which one they chose.

Jason was actually pretty content with the levels he’d gained from the quest. Not to mention getting his excess anger out from talking to Dick. It seemed like whenever he went to the house, there was always some type of disagreement between the two.

Damn. Maybe he should start saving for his own house.

His party currently stood in line at the guild registration office, also located on the third level. The setting sun cast a golden glow over the valley, highlighting the small clusters of houses dotting the countryside.

“Oh crap,” Garfield suddenly said. He danced nervously on his feet. “We did the whole quest, but I forgot the most important thing!”

Roy looked at him sharply. “What’s wrong?”

“We need a name for our guild!” Garfield wailed, clutching his hands to his head.

Seriously? Roy scoffed, “Why not just Justice League?”

Jaime rounded on him. “Are you nuts, ese? We can’t go around calling ourselves the Justice League. Secret identities and all that.”

Garfield paced in line, clearly thinking hard. “Hmm, justice. Juuuuustice. Just-ice. Just ce! Hey, we could do something with that!” He exclaimed.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Yeah that’s great,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “How about On the Rocks .”

Bart put a hand on his chin, looking thoughtful. “Well, we should add a little pizzazz to it, don’t you think?”

“I’ve got it! Rocky Road!” Garfield threw his hands in the air triumphantly. God this kid was excessive.

Jaime and Bart, after the former had explained it to him, voiced their approval. Roy and Jason looked at each other and silently commiserated over their unfortunate situation.

Rocky Road it was.

* * *

“Ugh, that was way harder than it needed to be.” Alya slumped over her battle axe.

Marinette giggled and offered her friend some water. “Well, a ton of other people are starting guilds too! So I guess there are limited resources for a while.”

Nino took the water from Alya after she’d finished with it. He drained it and looked heartbroken until Adrien handed him a new bottle.

The four of them had decided to team up and do the quest to establish a guild. Not everyone in the guild needed to attend the quest to establish one. So when Alya and Nino had approached Marinette and Adrien, asking if the original friend group could be the ones to do it, they couldn’t say no.

“Well, I just wish Marinette had told us about the quest sooner. Then we could have had an easier time!” Lila simpered, sweet as ever. Oh yeah, Lila had invited herself to come along too.

“Weren’t you also a beta tester?” Adrien frowned innocently.

Lila blinked, looking startled. “Oh yes! But you know about my memory issues. I really wish I could remember all these things to help us out,” she sighed dramatically. Typical.

“So!” Marinette decided to move that conversation right along. “We need a name for our guild. Got any ideas?”

Nino rubbed his arm. “Actually dudes, I’ve been thinking of a name for a while.”

“Oh? Let’s hear it!” Adrien smiled and nudged his best friend’s arm.

“Well, I was thinking we could be called Miracle Workers,” Nino began. Marinette traded a look of alarm with Adrien. “You know, because Alya and I used to be miraculous holders? And I thought it’d be kinda nice to honor Chat Noir, Ladybug, and the other heroes. We could use some of their strength right about now.” Oh, that was actually really sweet of him. Marinette offered Adrien a soft smile.

Alya looked at him fondly. Adrien, with a slight nod of approval from Marinette, gave him a side hug and said, “I think that’s a wonderful name.”

Lila tapped her chin. “I don’t know, workers seems a little odd to me. We’re more like leaders or executives .”

“Well, I think Miracle Workers is perfect, babe.” Alya leaned in to peck Nino on the cheek. “Let’s go with that.”

Chapter Text

Marinette was tired. Sure, she didn’t have to be class president, worry about akumas, or study for the baccalauréat, but she was more tired than she’d ever been in Paris. She’d been running herself ragged with training day after day for weeks, waking up earlier and going to bed later than everyone else.

Even her Order was starting to worry about her.

“Hey Mari, let’s go shopping! I’ve heard there’s a really posh fabric district on level 8.” Chloe wheedled as Kagami poured them both a cup of morning tea. The blonde had a sharp look in her eye that meant it was more serious than just a shopping trip, but Marinette wouldn’t budge.

“Sorry Chlo, I want to level-grind so I can prep for tomorrow,” Marinette shrugged and grimaced at her friend. She hadn’t picked up a needle in months, chances were slim to none that she’d start now. And tomorrow was too important to skip training.

Adrien came in from the garden and traded glances with Chloe. He sat down next to Marinette and said softly, “You really don’t have to overwork yourself this much, you know.” He gestured to the four of them and Luka, who sat plucking at his lute. “We’re all here right alongside you, and we always will be.”

Marinette forced a smile. “I know,” she replied. And she did, really. But it was still so hard to let herself relax, even for a moment. She felt more burdened here than as Ladybug. At least back home all they had to do was wait for the next akuma attack. In here, every second not actively spent fighting in the dungeons or leveling up was another second lost in the real world. Another life lost, too.

The newspaper had daily progress updates and blurbs about quests, but every month it also put out a death toll. There were so many names. A good month only had a few dozen. Marinette always read them all, whispered their names to herself as a reminder to keep fighting.

“I should be heading out,” she gulped down her tea and rose from the table. Ignoring the worried faces of her friends, she packed a bag and shouldered a full quiver of arrows. She waved without turning to look behind her and left through the door to the stables.

The roan stallion, playfully named “Rouge” by Nino, had taken a liking to her, so that was the one she saddled up and mounted. They rode into town, where Marinette touched the teleportation obelisk and directed their destination to the thirteenth floor.

She shielded her eyes against the bright sun. The heat rolled off the clay buildings in shimmering waves, carrying with it the scent of spices from a nearby market. In the distance, she could see rolling hills of sand stretching on for miles. This floor was the highest that was open, but the dungeon wasn’t scheduled to be beaten until the next day.

Despite their best efforts to defeat each level by themselves, the Order quickly found that other guilds fought right alongside them. They were much more competent than the Parisians had given them credit for, for various reasons. The game cultivated a cutthroat culture where limited resources served as selfish motivations for players to do as they pleased. Some groups wanted to help, just like them. Others wouldn’t think twice about abandoning allies to save their own skins. Above all, no one wanted to be left behind, not after the fiasco of the first level. And of course, everyone wanted to go home.

When she wasn’t talking strategy with the other guilds, Marinette trained hard to increase her level. She was nearly at level 20, and wanted to be at her absolute best for the dungeon battle. She’d read in the paper that morning that there were scorpion monsters lurking out beyond the limits of the villages. They would be perfect practice.

She spurred Rouge onward down the stone road that wound through the dunes. They’d barely made it out of sight of the village before, sure enough, waist-high black scorpions started tailing them. Rouge tossed his head as he trotted along, sensing something was amiss.

Marinette nudged him into a gallop, which he gladly obliged to get as far away from the threat as possible. But a glance over her shoulder revealed that the monsters were doggedly following. Their pace sped up enough that she could hear the clacking from their many legs scraping over the stones of the road.

Twisting in the saddle, Marinette fired at their pursuers. Her archery skills were her favorite thing to practice. The ranged attacks and versatility were similar to her yo-yo, and moving targets only made it that much more of a challenge.

Her arrows hit their marks, and she didn’t have to turn her head to see the congratulatory loot windows popping up in front of her to confirm it.

More scorpions approached from the sides, which made it even easier to pick them off. Rouge seemed to be enjoying the exercise, never flagging as they bolted across the level. Fending off enemies left and right, dodging fast-paced obstacles, feeling the wind rushing in her hair....

It was the closest she had come to feeling like Ladybug since the game began.

She fell into a rhythm that allowed her mind to wander to Tikki. How was she holding up? Had she found another holder? She would probably need one.... The Order hadn’t talked about it, but they all knew that Hawkmoth likely wasn’t taking it easy on a city devastated by so many deaths and disappearances.

Marinette frowned and swallowed against the lump in her throat. All of the Miraculous holders were here and there was no one left to distribute new ones. She felt so stupidly careless to have left Paris completely undefended.

The next arrow that found its mark sank deeply enough to reward her with a level-up.

Eventually, they reached another village. They stopped for water and some lunch, then kept going onward. By the time the sun was setting, Marinette had reached level 20 and was well on her way to achieving level 21. She felt more ready now, the physical activity having calmed her nerves somewhat.

She and Rouge teleported back to the house just in time for Alix, Kim, and Max to serve dinner. Marinette raised a questioning eyebrow at Luka. She could’ve sworn they’d taken their turn to cook dinner just a few nights ago. Her friend just sighed and mouthed, “Lila.”

Ah, of course.

Lila did deign to come downstairs, allegedly from the girls’ bedroom where she had to take a nap because her vertigo was acting up. Which it only did when there was something she didn’t want to do.

Marinette was the first to serve herself. She piled some of the food from the kitchen onto her plate and took a seat next to Alya. Her best friend was chatting with Adrien and Max about the game plan for the boss fight tomorrow. Listening in to get the context for the conversation, Marinette took a bite of the potatoes.

It was bland.

Terribly, awfully bland.

She hid her face as politely as she could, then stood to retrieve spices from the cupboards in the kitchen. She applied them liberally to her own plate and then to the rest of the serving platters before anyone else could try them.

Upon rejoining her friends at the table, she heard Adrien and Kagami once again shut down Alya’s pleading to join them in the fight. Of their guild of classmates and friends, the Order comprised the only members they’d allowed to fight in the dungeons. Marinette knew her civilian friends were more than capable, hell she’d trusted many of them with a Miraculous at some point or another, but the chance of them getting hurt and dying in the game was too great to take risks.

“What if we just stayed with the support teams? I don’t want to get in anyone’s way, but if there’s something I can do to help I want to do it!” Alya protested.

Kagami shook her head sharply. “Absolutely not. Even the support teams have sustained damage in prior fights. You should leave it to us.”

Lila sat down smoothly on Alya’s other side. “What makes you five so much more competent? Everyone knows how clumsy Marinette is.” She waved a casual hand.

“Well, Kagami and I fence together, and....” Adrien started explaining but trailed off.

“Chloe has been bringing me and Luka to her self-defense classes back home,” Marinette blurted out. She internally cringed at the questioning looks Chloe and Luka gave her. “There’s so many akumas near us at home, we thought it might be a good idea.”

Oh Kwami, she hated lying to her friends. But she couldn’t put them in the line of fire. If something happened to one of them, she’d never be able to forgive herself.

Luckily, it seemed like they’d bought her half-truth.

“Really?” Lila raised her eyebrows.

Well, most of them had.

“I hope that’s really the reason and it’s not just because you guys are hoarding all the loot you get from beating the dungeons,” she sniffed, leaning forward slightly to look directly at Marinette.

Marinette’s stomach dropped. To even think that they could be so greedy and manipulative....

“Oh come on, there’s no way our friends would ever do something like that.” Alya gently put her arm around Marinette. “My bestie is our Everyday Ladybug, and I’m sure she’s going to do her best to help get us out of here.”

Nino and the others spoke up about their support for Marinette and her Order, but she tuned them out. As grateful as she was for her friend’s support, Marinette couldn’t help but feel even more overwhelmed. Being called their “Everyday Ladybug” only served as a reminder of how much they all depended on her.

She finished her meal and quietly thanked Alix and Max (Kim was busy arm-wrestling Adrien). While washing her dishes, she felt herself nodding off. Rouge still needed to be brushed after their long ride, so she shook herself awake and trudged to the stables to do that.

Luka and Chloe were waiting there for her, to her surprise. Luka was already working to brush Rouge’s coat, and Chloe wordlessly took Marinette by the shoulders and firmly guided her upstairs to their room.

“Hey, wh--” Marinette tried to ask before Chloe shooed her up to their loft beds.

Chloe followed her up and said, “You need to rest,” then began tucking her friend in.

Marinette made an effort to protest, but the quilted covers invited her to give in to her heavy eyelids. So she let her friend fuss over the sheets and straighten the duvet.

She hardly remembered whispering her thanks before falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Marinette woke from a dreamless sleep. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so long, or so well. She yawned and stretched with a groan, blinking blearily at the large circular window in front of her.

The window spanned nearly the height of the two stories in the girls’ room. It cast shafts of swirling dust, gilded in the morning sun, across the beds on the floor below. She and Chloe had thought at first that they’d drawn the short end of the stick when Lila had insisted they be the ones to take the loft (the extra climbing would be awful on her knees, you know how it is), but in her grogginess Marinette took a moment to appreciate it.

From her vantage point, she could see clearly out into the front of their yard. The hills of their spread-out neighborhood sloped downward to reveal the mountains in the distance beyond the limits of the main town.

As she watched, small songbirds flitted between the apple trees lining the path. She could hear their soft chirping in the distance, as well at the hum of the beehive that had been growing in their eaves.

Today was an important day, she knew that much, but why...?

Oh no.

A glance at the clock embedded in her player menu revealed that she’d overslept. She was late.

She threw the blankets off and quickly dressed, hopping in place to tug on her boots. She slid down the ladder and rounded the corner of the landing on the stairs, terrified she’d missed her team leaving to fight the boss.

Adrien’s bubbling laughter followed by Luka’s soft chuckle told her otherwise. She breathed a sigh of relief and slowed her pace down the rest of the stairs. Thank Kwami.

In the kitchen, Adrien was holding a yellow hairbrush high above Chloe’s reach while she pouted and jumped to try to grab it. Kagami shook her head while Luka snuck up behind them and plucked the brush out of Adrien’s hand.

Chloe huffed at Adrien when Luka handed it back to her. She began brushing out her already-perfect hair, chastising him. “You know this is my travel brush. I’ll need it for after the boss fight! Kwami knows how utterly ridiculous it will look after that.”

Kagami noticed Marinette's arrival and sidled up to her, hands clasped behind her back. “Can’t imagine why she was ever Queen Bee,” she said drily. Marinette put a hand to her mouth to hide her smile. Kagami’s practical sense of humor had only grown the longer her friends had “corrupted” her, as Adrien liked to claim.

“Melody!” Luka smiled warmly, greeting her with a wave. Adrien and Chloe stopped their play fighting to look at her. They crossed the room in an instant, Adrien’s hands placed lightly on her shoulders and Chloe grasping her hands. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Better than I have in a while, thank you Chlo,” Marinette smiled at her friends.

Adrien glanced over her head to check the clock in the kitchen. “We still have plenty of time, why don’t you have some breakfast.”

“Adrien Elizabeth Agreste, we do not have ‘plenty of time,’” Marinette retorted. “I’ll take some food to go.”

Lila, sitting with Alya on the couches nearby, gave them a questioning glance. Alya quickly explained, “His middle name obviously isn’t actually Elizabeth, but it’s way funnier to pretend that it is,” before hopping up to give Marinette a quick hug.

“Be safe,” she whispered into her hair, holding her tightly for a few seconds. Marinette gave her a tight-lipped smile as they parted, then caught the apple that Kagami tossed her.

They opted to leave the horses, in case some other players tried to steal them while they were busy with the boss fight. The five friends walked to the teleport kiosk in town.

Marinette felt tense and nervous, but couldn’t help relaxing in the presence of her carefree friends. They all joked and made horrible puns (thank you Adrien) the whole way to the thirteenth floor.

Surprisingly, they didn’t run into any other guilds along the winding, cobbled roads of the thirteenth floor. They must have already been gathered at the dungeon since they were approaching the designated meeting time. Marinette hoped they would wait.

The entrance was an ornately carved archway framing a spiral staircase. The steps led into the depths below the shifting dunes. There were lit sconces every so often, affixed to cavities in the curved walls. The steps were made of glass, but the overlapping flights of stairs didn’t clue them in to how deep the passage went.

A hot draft blew up and scattered the sand at their feet. With a glance to her team, Marinette led the way down.

Their boots had little grip on the glass steps, and they had to grip both walls to try to avoid falling. Adrien cracked one too many jokes about it being a “slippery situation” and earned himself a hearty slap on the back that sent him reaching the next landing a little sooner than he would’ve hoped.

Marinette only paid half-attention to their antics, devoting most of her brainpower to going over the plan. Pamphlets in NPC shops said that this boss had ranged area attacks, which wouldn’t mean much until they saw what exactly it could do. She hoped that the extra upgrades she’d given to their armor would protect them from whatever projectiles that could possibly entail.

While her small squad would lead the assault, archers would back them up and hopefully be able to counteract the boss’s ranged attacks. Healers were on deck, of course, and there were plenty of defensive lines with shielding capabilities.

More and more guilds were joining the front lines as the people started to band together. Meetings were no longer the exclusive events they once were, and the plans of when and where to attack were placed in the paper. That meant they’d have some wild cards. Marinette frowned as she considered where they would fit in.

She sighed. Again, they probably wouldn’t know until they were in the thick of the fighting. A glance upward revealed that they could no longer see the daylight warping through the glass steps above them. It couldn’t be that much farther, though it was odd that the air around them was getting hotter, not colder, the farther they went.

Adrien cocked his head and he gestured for the others to quiet down. The five of them had retained some of the attributes lent to them by years of consistent miraculous use, and his hearing was better than most of theirs. They proceeded carefully.

Marinette began to hear it too, a low murmur that sounded like....

Players, dozens of them, were waiting for them at the foot of the stairs. She let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

They were scattered about the long, tall antechamber with golden walls that glimmered in the soft torchlight. Arches, like the one at the entrance far up above, supported the ceiling. Three-meter tall pillars displayed vases and other beautiful decor. There was an open doorway at the opposite end of the room, but they couldn’t see anything beyond it but darkness.

The gentle pressure of a hand at her back told her Adrien was standing by her side. She made eye contact with one of the other familiar guild leaders and made her way over to him and his team.

“Hey Danny, are we the last to arrive?” She greeted her American friend. He ran a hand through his cropped dark hair and his icy blue eyes met hers. “Hey Mari. Nah, we’re still waiting on Crimson Dragon.”

His raven-haired friend Sam shook her head. “They’re always late,” she muttered.

Next to her, their other friend (Tucker, if she recalled correctly) shrugged. “But you gotta admit, they always deliver!”

Marinette had to agree with him there. Thanks to the programming in the system, everyone in the game spoke and understood the same language. That meant that the Miracle Workers had wound up working with both Ghostbusters, Danny’s guild, and Crimson Dragon on several occasions even though they both spoke English as their native tongue. She had to admit she was impressed with how well they did. Unorthodox as they were....

“‘Sup party animals!?” A loud voice echoed down the stairwell. The whole room of players turned to look at the small figure sliding to a halt, boots squeaking against the floor. He tossed the hood of a bright red cloak back and threw up finger guns. “Miss me?”

Next to Marinette, Chloe scoffed in a way that said she most definitely did not. Jake was... quite the eccentric character. The rest of his guild, two very embarrassed-looking girls and a tall boy, descended the stairs as well to join their leader.

“About damn time!” Someone spoke up from the back. Jake’s head whipped around and his eyes flashed. Beside her, Danny winced at his hotheadedness. Before anything worse could happen, Marinette gave Luka a meaningful look.

He gave a sharp, loud whistle that drew everyone’s attention to them.

“Listen up people! We all know the plan. Is everyone ready?” Marinette raised her voice to reach the whole chamber. The atmosphere shifted to a laser focus, and she saw grim nods as people drew their weapons and potions.

A glance to Adrien confirmed that it was time. “Let’s go.”

She and her Order led everyone through the great doorway, and into the unknown.

The boss’s room was an enormous, golden circle lined with torches that flickered to life as soon as she stepped onto the glass floor. She could barely see the far wall of the round chamber. Levels of glass flooring circled up to the dome high above their heads, carved into the walls. A few alcoves dotted the walls, but other than that there was hardly any cover to be found, which was concerning.

A whispering noise thrummed through the chamber, made louder by the acoustics of the massive room. Marinette held up a hand to halt the movement of everyone behind her. She listened intently for the sound to happen again.

It didn’t take long, and it was getting louder now. She jerked her head to Adrien and Kagami, who started silently directing groups to assume their stations. While they moved, Marinette cast her eyes around the chamber. Where was the boss?

A loud hissing sound seemed to come from the floor, and then--

Shattered glass erupted from the floor at the center of the chamber. A colossal golden snake with red eyes reared up and bared its fangs at them. This had to be it. Marinette yelled, “Scatter!” and they all ran for it.

It struck right where she had been standing only moments before. Her boots slipped on the glass as she scrambled to gain purchase and hoist herself up onto the nearest alcove. She managed to do it just in time, the boss snapping at her heels.

She raised her shield and distantly heard Kagami shout for the archers to take aim and fire. A volley of arrows fell on the great beast, and Marinette twisted sideways and crouched to take cover under her shield. Loud hissing meant at least some of them had found their target, and to their credit only a few missed and bounced off of her shield.

“Hey, you big ugly worm! I bet you’re all hot air with nothing to show, huh?” Adrien was bravely doing what he did best. Distracting the villain so that Marinette could come up with a plan. She risked a peek from over her shield to watch the snake whip around to face Adrien, who stood a few levels up on the opposite side of the chamber.

It leaned backwards only to shoot forward a few feet, opening its mouth wide. Screams echoed from the people it faced. Oh Kwami, what was that?

Marinette bolted to her feet and raced up the sloping pathway, trying to get a better angle. She stopped and her eyes widened once she could finally see what was happening.

A cone of air coming from the maw of that thing shimmered with heat. She looked in horror to see that Adrien was shielding himself and the civilians around him as best he could, but those he couldn’t reach shouted in pain as their armor began to melt off. The glass around them started to sag and they screamed louder as the floor bent beneath them.

A blur of motion jumped onto the head of the snake from high above. That was Chloe’s signature move, and sure enough it was her. She landed hard enough to knock the boss’s head down to the ground, its body collapsing probably from sheer surprise.

Or maybe it needed a cooldown time? Shit, this wasn’t good. They knew nothing. They were underprepared and overwhelmed.

Mariniette coughed as sand fell from the faraway ceiling at the impact the beast had made when it fell. Below her, Chloe was hacking away at the monster’s face with her flail. It gave no warning before snatching its head back to knock her off her feet and coiling its tail around her. Marinette cried out wordlessly as her friend was trapped in a matter of moments.

She was still squirming when the monster bared its fangs and let loose another breath of boiling air directly onto her.

Marinette could only watch as Chloe's golden armor heated to a bright red and began to melt, her friend still squirming to get out. A desperate cry fell from the blonde’s lips as the hot metal touched her skin, and still the snake kept going.

She flashed a look to their party’s health bars and saw Chloe’s dropping fast. Too fast. Marinette grabbed a specialized arrow and drew back her bow. When she let it loose, the arrow exploded into goopy foam. She’d aimed perfectly, and the snake’s closed mouth was soon covered in the quickly hardening substance.

She pushed off from the wall and jumped. There was a moment when she was suspended in the air where time seemed to slow down. She saw the snake loosen its hold on Chloe and writhe in confusion. She heard the deafening cries from the wounded, and her name on Adrien’s lips. From the corner of her eye, a glint of metal flashed and she felt a split-second of coldness.

Then the moment was over, and she was tumbling onto the snake’s sinewy form and hoisting Chloe up. She half-carried her as she bounded away from the monster. She could see it shaking its head in her peripheral vision. But that wasn’t important right now.

Luka was waiting for her in the antechamber, out of the boss’s reach. He and several other healers already had potions at the ready. Marinette didn’t wait to see how many it would take to save her friend. She ignored Luka’s shouts and ran back into the monster’s room.

* * *

Well, Jason had finally convinced his stupid brothers to fight on the front lines. But the fact that they expected him to fight with them? Laughable.

When they made it to the dungeon, he had left them in the dust, or sand as it were. He was scouting up onto the higher levels of the paths that led up to the top of the dome when it happened.

Some girl was caught in the hold of the boss, a snake with apparently really fucking bad breath. He tensed as it blew a torrent of hot air right on her, but before anyone could move an arrow flew out and hit the beast smack in the mouth, releasing some foaming substance as it did.

Movement on his level caught his eye a few feet away. Jason stilled and observed as best he could without moving.

Some creep was wielding a metallic blowgun, aiming it dead ahead at the--

No, not at the boss. At the person who’d just fired the arrow, the person who had just jumped into the air and left themselves wide open.

He didn’t even think, he just tackled the sneaky bastard. In the commotion, they dropped the dart they’d been about to fire and it sank into their own leg.

As Jason watched, it didn’t take long for green tendrils to start appearing under the person’s skin. They clawed at their leg, but the movements grew weaker by the second.

And then they stilled.

Jason’s eyes widened as he watched them dissolve into pixels. As he watched his own name in the upper corner of his vision turn orange, marking him as a player killer.

Well shit. Dick was going to be pissed.

* * *

Marinette felt calm. Her hands had been shaking when she’d handed Chloe off to Luka, but now she felt nothing but a cool, calculating rage. As she stalked back into the chamber, she saw the boss struggling under another wave of arrows fired from all around the chamber.

A glance upward and a once-over of the pathways spiraling up the walls of the chamber confirmed all she needed to formulate a plan.

Marinette drew her knives and flicked her wrists. This monster was going to regret that. She broke into a sprint and slashed around the body of the snake. It was fast for its size, and it tried to keep up. But she was faster.

Arrows rained down around them, sticking out of chinks in the beast’s scales like some twisted sea urchin. The boss worked furiously to try to unstick its jaw, but as cracks appeared in the substance holding its mouth closed Marinette distracted it with a particularly deep slash.

It wasn’t ready, not yet.

“Get back to the antechamber!” She yelled to the other players. Most of them ran, but some-- Danny, Jake, her Order-- hesitated.

“Go!” She egged on the monster to move towards her, away from the door, giving everyone a chance to escape. “I have a plan.”

They reluctantly followed the others as they left her alone in the dungeon. Adrien paused, asking her, “My lady, I help with--”

“Go.” She growled, glaring at him as best she could while battling the serpent. He gritted his teeth and retreated with the others, but stayed within view of the battle.

Good. Now she could put her plan into action.

Marinette sheathed her knives and pulled out her bow, then dashed to the sloping walkway. The snake pursued, seemingly going after an easy target running scared.

When she’d nearly reached the carved alcove, she fired an arrow with a cord attached to it. The cord was a special elastic design that could retract but couldn’t be pulled to be any longer. It landed high above her and anchored itself into the wall with a distant click. Then came the tricky part.

Marinette turned toward the giant snake and ran at it. Its red eyes burned with rage and the cracks deepened in the hardened foam still leashing its mouth. Still holding onto the other end of that cord, she gave it a sharp tug that sent her flying through the air, far above where the monster had expected her to be.

The leap carried her to the opposite side of the circular walls. She neatly landed on the walkway about two stories up from the ground. The snake gave a muffled hiss of fury and set out on the bottommost level, steadily approaching her as it wound around the cavern.

Marinette let the cord go and started running.

She kept an eye on the monster, firing a regular arrow at it every now and then to keep it angry. That didn’t seem to be a problem. What would be a problem is if she timed everything wrong, or if the snake caught up to her, or if the ceiling wouldn’t--

No. There wasn’t time for doubt. She had faith in herself, and she could almost hear Tikki’s little voice cheering her on. She thought of Chloe and pressed on even harder.

The beast got close enough that she could smell the reek of it before she fired another corded arrow and launched herself across the chamber again. She gained even more height, and continued the climb to the top.

This only made the boss angrier, but she could tell that it sensed victory. There was nowhere left to go once she reached the top. Nowhere but down, that is.

A third corded arrow brought her to the uppermost levels, and then it was only a short run before she reached the edge of the dome. She was panting for breath and her legs were aching with the effort of so much running, but she wasn’t done yet.

One steadying breath in. Two.

The serpent had nearly reached her. Marinette could see it rounding the final curve that would bring it to her level. She drew her bow back and aimed it at its mouth, counting it out in her head.

She held until the beast was nearly upon her, then fired. The arrow was tipped in lead and easily broke through the already-breaking foam. Immediately after, she fired an arrow directly above her. It hit the apex of the structure holding back all the sand above them.

The beast looked up at the mass of sand falling on it and opened its mouth to fire a hot stream of air.

Marinette didn’t stick around to see how it would play out. She fired one final corded arrow to the side where she could see an alcove in the wall. And there she stayed, facing the wall and shielding her face from the sand pouring into the chamber behind her.

Finally, the avalanche slowed and then stopped. Only then did she risk stepping away from the wall and peering down to see if her plan had worked.

The snake was laying on the floor of the chamber below her. Its form was contorted and broken, speared by great spikes of glass that it had created itself. As she watched, it faded into glowing dust, and a screen popped up in front of her displaying her cut of the loot.

She sighed with relief. Then raced back down as fast as she dared on the dusty glass, anxiety twisting in her gut. She had to see if Chloe was okay.

If something happened to her....

Her thoughts turned to the worst as she neared the bottom of the chamber, no matter how she tried to stay positive. Her hands were shaking when she finally made it to the glass floor and, carefully avoiding the glass spikes, picked her way over to the arch leading into the antechamber.

Adrien was waiting there for her. He embraced her and said, “Don’t scare me like that again,” then let her go to see Chloe.

Tears were brimming in her eyes as she saw her friend, still lying prone on the floor with her head on Luka’s lap. She looked up when Marinette came into her view and sat up with a wince.

“Well,” she said. “I made it.”

Marinette burst into sobs at that and collapsed by her friend’s side, hugging her tightly. She heard Luka softly telling her that Chloe had been at 1 HP, but all the healers put everything they could into bringing her health back up.

It only made her cry harder.

And as she held her friend close, she thought to herself how she would do anything to keep this from happening again. How she couldn’t stand to see her friends get hurt anymore. How she had handled the boss on her own.

There was no Maman and Papa, no Tikki, no Order that could help her. She was alone in this fight, and that was how it had to be.

Chapter Text

Jason was fine. Really, he was. He’d killed before, and he’d probably kill again if the Pit’s hold over him had anything to say about it. But he still didn’t want to face Dick. Even though his reasons were very good and killing the bastard assassin wasn’t his intention. He just wasn’t in the mood to see if Dick believed him or not.

So he took his time getting back to join the others at the manor. He had run from the fight alongside the masses after that one girl almost died.... And then he’d kept running. He didn’t know where he was going, just nowhere near people . Especially his overbearing brothers.

But he hadn’t packed to stay the night out, so he had to return eventually. And guess who was fucking waiting for him?

“Where were you? We were worried sick,” Dick hounded him as soon as Jason walked through the door. He had the audacity to look worried instead of mad, like he actually cared . The boy wonder was perched at the kitchen table along with Tim, who was leafing through a thick volume.

Before Jason had a chance to even think of a snarky comment, Dick stiffened. “Your name....” He pointed an accusatory finger above Jason’s head. “Why is your name orange?” Now he sounded mad. Replacement’s head shot up too, snapped out of whatever focus he’d been in.

“Look, I can explain,” Jason held up his hands in mock surrender. “It wasn’t actually my fault.”

Dick narrowed his eyes. “Tell me everything.”

Jason sighed and sat down beside them, pretending not to notice Tim shift away ever so slightly. He cleared his throat and started from the beginning. “Did you see that archer who clamped the boss’s mouth shut?”

The two boys nodded, looking confused.

“Well, some bastard was aiming a blowgun at ‘em right as they left their guard down. I tackled him, his dart fell and punctured his own skin, he died from whatever poison was on it. End of story.”

Dick rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “No, I don’t think so. Do you remember anything specific about this person?”

Jason closed his eyes, thinking back to the details he’d ignored in the heat of the moment and trying very hard not to sag with relief that they instantly took his word for it. “He was wearing... navy, a dark navy shirt. And there was a weird symbol on his chest, like a skull with only one eye.”

Tim jumped up and ran to their bookshelf, retrieving another massive book. He hauled it back and set it down on the table with a thump. Rapidly paging through it, he found what he was looking for and turned the book towards Jason, the leather binding whispering across the polished wooden surface.

“Did it look like this?” Jason leaned forward to look at it. That was it, alright. He nodded and Tim slumped in his seat. “Shit,” he mumbled.

“‘Cyclops, with elephant skull insignia, is a guild of highly renowned player killers,’” Dick read aloud from the entry beneath the sketch. Well said, Replacement. Shit indeed.

“So there you have it, I saved someone from being assassinated and I’m blameless.” Jason folded his hands behind his head, the very picture of nonchalance.

Tim turned to him. “You said the guy was aiming for the girl who jumped at the boss, right? The one who fired foam at its mouth?”

“Didn’t know it was a girl, but sure,” Jason shrugged.

Replacement looked at Dick. “Wasn’t that one of the higher-ups of Miracle Workers?”

“Yeah,” Dick said slowly. “Actually, I’m pretty sure she was the one who brought down the boss on her own.”

On her own? That was pretty impressive, Jason had to hand it to her. He stood up from his seat and stretched.

“Well gentlemen, now that our business is complete, it looks like your friendly neighborhood hero just earned himself a vacation. You’re welcome, and see ya next week,” he gave them a mock salute and then turned to go up to his room and pack his things.

“Hold on a minute, Jay. Don’t you want to clear your record?” But of course Dick had to go and ruin a good thing.

Jason waved a hand in dismissal. “Ah, who cares. It’s not like it’s anything different from back home.” Not to mention that he’d done a lot worse than accidentally kill one idiotic assassin. He wasn’t sure he deserved a clear record.

Dick gave him that seriously? look, and Tim piped up, “NPC’s and players will discriminate against you. You won’t get paid as well and you’ll have a tougher time getting quests.”

“Fine,” Jason rolled his eyes. “How do I ‘clear my record?’” He air-quoted just to emphasize how dumb this was.

Tim, surprisingly, did not grab another book. “There’s a quest for it, but I don’t know too much about it. I think Level 9 has a really big library that should have more information on it.”

Without another word, Jason turned back to his room, intending to take a hearty bath and pack up for whatever stupid fuckin’ quest he was about to go on, then turn in for the night. He trudged up to the bathroom and let the tub run until the water was warm.

There weren’t showers here in Mindscape, but he was used to taking baths in the excessive amount of clawfoot tubs in Wayne Manor. The first time he’d tried to take one, Alfred had to spend a week cleaning out vomit from between the floor tiles. It just brought back too many memories of waking up fully submerged in a void of sickly green, lungs screaming for air, desperate souls crying out in his ears--

One. Blue.

Two. Yellow.

Three. Orange.

The water was warm enough to start drawing the bath. Jason let the tub start to fill, then balanced on each leg, shucking off his muddied boots and then pants, along with the rest of his clothes. He left them in a heap to be cleaned later.

God, the details of this game were insane.

He sank into the water and scrubbed all over until he was sure he couldn’t feel the phantom touch of congealed blood clinging to his skin. Then he dried, dressed in clean clothes, and packed up a bedroll and some extra equipment. He had no idea where this moronic quest was going to take him, so he packed everything he could think of.

Being a heavy armor class had its perks, nearly unlimited inventory space being one of them. He placed the packed bag carefully on the floor of his bedroom, which he thankfully did not share with anyone, and went to bed.

The next morning, Dick was already gone by the time Jason made it down to the kitchen, but Replacement was there, reading his book again. He might not have even stopped overnight. Cassie sat next to him, also reading a book. Tim looked up and watched as Jason descended the stairs, but didn’t say anything.

Jason had his hand on the front door before Tim finally said, “Hey, please be careful.”

He turned to give him a lazy half-grin. “Aren’t I always?”

He swore he saw a flicker of relief in Replacement’s eyes before he closed the door.

* * *

The ninth floor was officially Jason’s favorite. The whole thing was built like a college campus, chock full of shops that hosted classes for learning and honing particular skill sets, but that wasn’t why it was Jason’s favorite.

No, the enormous, sprawling, acre-wide library was his favorite part.

He entered the building and breathed in deeply. The smell of old books greeted him, and he hid a smile. Being enveloped in that familiar scent felt like coming home.

As long as you read something and stayed quiet, street kids could take refuge in the local libraries of Gotham whenever they wanted. So when his mom was off galavanting or too inebriated to recognize her own son, he found peace in the stacks. It didn’t take long to figure out he genuinely enjoyed reading, and the rest was history.

The spacious mahogany bookshelf gifted to him by Bruce was one of his most prized possessions. It was one of the things he missed the most about the real world. It had been too long since he’d picked up a book for pleasure instead of researching some fictitious monster he had to whack, but this place was going to change that.

He looked around at the signage, beautifully carved wooden placards with golden writing. With players from all over the globe, it appeared that the game master had foregone the Dewey decimal system in place of a catalog of his own creation. Of course.

Asshole.

Jason flagged down an NPC who looked like an employee. She looked pale in the face when she saw him, but she directed him with a shaky hand to the eastern wing and the specific section where questing tutorials could be found. He thanked her and followed her directions to find the place, taking his time to peruse all the books that caught his eye along the way.

And if he picked out a few Jane Austen and Emily Brontë novels to check out alongside the quest book, who’s to say?

It took him about twenty minutes of walking to reach the questing section, then it was a simple matter of searching for the keywords (read: “player” and “killing”) to locate the right book. “Book” was a generous term. These informational publications about the game were glorified pamphlets, but the bindings were beautifully rustic and the pages tastefully yellowed.

He cracked it open, the pliant leather bending easily, and skimmed over the introduction. It sounded like he would have to explore the newest level, which had only just opened up yesterday. Fan-fucking-tastic. It looked to be a frozen winter forest, so he was grateful he’d had the foresight to overpack.

Destination in mind, Jason tucked the book under his arm and marched back to the front desk. He checked out his books, free with the one-time purchase of a library card he was sure would be well-used, and reluctantly left the building.

Outside, the watery sun brightened up a crisp day, the smell of fall leaves and spiced drinks floating in the air. He was about to head to the teleportation kiosk when a figure slunk out from the shadows of the library’s decorative pillars. They stood in his way.

“Excuse me sir, I couldn’t help but notice that you have an orange name,” the oily voice that came out of the unsavory man’s mouth instantly put Jason’s hackles up.

“So I do,” he answered tightly.

“Well, I don’t really mind it. You see, many of my friends are... liberators, in much the same way you are,” the man spread his hands, shifting his cloak in doing so. The insignia on his chest caught the light, silver on navy. An elephant skull.

Great. “I doubt I’m anything like your friends.”

“Actually,” the man tapped a finger to his chin. “One of them met an unfortunate end just the other day. Do you happen to know anything about that?”

“No.” Jason answered pointedly.

“Are you sure?” The man wheedled.

Jason faced him and casually crossed his arms, making sure to flex them. “Are you sure you want to keep asking? People who waste my time tend to piss me off.”

The man shrunk away from the sight of Jason’s generous muscles and the crossbow peeking over his massive shoulders. “No no no, of course not. My mistake.”

He gave the creep one final glower before striding for the kiosk. Just because Jason accidentally killed his so-called friend didn’t give the little fucker the right to harass him.

Honestly, the nerve of some assassins.

* * *

Marinette’s legs ached from her exertion yesterday, exhaustion weighing on her bones. But that didn’t dull her resolve to do everything she could to finish this stupid game. Alone.

Chloe was fine once they got back to the house. She was actually fine right after the battle, but Marinette wouldn’t let herself rest until they were safe from prying eyes. Of course the moment they’d made it back, the rest of their friends bombarded them, eager to hear how the battle went. Chloe joked that she always knew she was “the hottest one in the friend group.” Everyone else laughed, but Marinette only felt herself slipping farther into desperation. She excused herself early and tried to get as much sleep as she could.

She slid out of bed, wincing at the pain that shot through her feet as they made contact with the floor. She packed a bag as quietly as she could, doing her best not to alert Chloe or any of the other girls.

It was too early even for Kagami and Luka, so she quietly packed herself some food and tiptoed out the door. Her plan was to scope out the next level, seeing how she didn’t get the chance to yesterday after the battle.

She hadn’t gotten much sleep, picturing Chloe wrapped up in the grip of that monster and it blasting her over and over again. That thought was what kept her going. She was running on fumes, but she’d done worse as Ladybug, she knew she had.

She could do this. She had to.

* * *

Jason could swear he heard someone else in the snow. It was hard to see anything in the onset of what looked to be a fierce blizzard. But he pressed on, seeking refuge from the storm. If he happened across whoever was crying out and could help them, great. If not, well, it wasn’t his problem. This place was a death trap, and they were all idiots to fall into it.

“Help....” A pause in the howling wind allowed the small voice to cut through, as clear as it was weak. He stopped his trek and peered around him, looking for the source. Then he saw a small movement a few feet away.

A tiny figure curled up on the ground, partially buried in snow. She wore a set of defensive armor, but that metal would do her more harm than good as it grew colder so damn close to her skin. A shock of dark hair was splayed on the snow, tangled and unbound. Her hand was outstretched, the motion that had caught his eye, and its coloration was so blanched and tinged with blue that it nearly blended into the snow. No wonder he hadn’t seen her sooner.

Jason looked to the sky and muttered to himself about not being a damn hero. All the same, he approached the girl and crouched down to place a tentative hand on her back. “C’mon, let’s get you outta here,” he said roughly, then waited for her shaky nod of confirmation before hoisting her to her feet.

He tried to simply have her lean on him as they walked together, but her legs were shaking so badly that they gave out when they tried to support her weight. He looked down at her where she collapsed, her eyes glazed over as the hypothermia began to take hold.

Jason didn’t have a chance to think before his body moved on its own, scooping the girl up into his arms and continuing to trudge through the snow. As he carried her, his mind raced a mile a minute. She was so small, it felt like he was hardly carrying anything at all, yet he could feel hard muscles in between gaps in her freezing armor. What was she doing out here on her own? He glanced down at her face and saw pale lips that were almost purple and vibrant blue eyes that kept shuddering closed.

“Hey, you gotta stay awake,” he prompted. “What were you doing out here in the cold?” If she kept talking, she wouldn’t pass out. But if she fell unconscious there might be permanent damage. No one was sure if injuries sustained in the game would persist if-- no, when -- they got free of the game, but he wasn’t willing to risk it. He had to find shelter soon.

“W-wanted t-t-to help clear th-the level,” her teeth chattered as she spoke. “Didn’t think it would be s-so cold.”

Jason huffed a humorless laugh at that. They all wanted to get out of here, she wasn’t special. “That doesn’t mean you gotta go and put yourself in damn danger like this. You could’ve turned around when you saw the snow, dumbass.”

Her eyes opened briefly to give him a reproachful look. “S-s-so you knew there w-would be a b-b-blizzard, asshole?” Even exhausted, she had some fight left in her.

“Maybe not, but at least I dressed for one.” He retorted, and was about to ask her another question when something caught his eye. A break in the mountain rearing up in front of them. A cave.

“Hey, I think there’s shelter up ahead.” He strode forth with renewed effort, the snow nearly coming up to his knees now.

The girl in his arms gave a huge shudder and then stilled. “G-g-good, that’s good....” Her voice trailed off and her eyelids fluttered closed, snowflakes clinging to her lashes.

“Shit, hey you with me? We’re almost there, just hang on.” Jason had finally reached the mouth of the cave as she fell unconscious. The cave was dark ahead, but he laid her in a hollow on the ground near the entrance. She’d be protected from the wind there while he scoped out the rest of the cave.

He lit a torch and drew his sword, hurrying to explore the cave and hoping against all hope that it was empty. He found it led to a dead-end not too far ahead and there were no visible threats. Jogging back to where he’d left the girl, he mentally took stock of his supplies and decided that the intrusion of including the girl’s pack in their inventory was worth it if it could save her life.

He picked her up again and settled them both down at the end of the cave. Then he began to make camp.

* * *

Marinette woke up in an unfamiliar place with a pounding headache. She struggled to recall how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was a pair of deep blue eyes looking down at her. Without opening her own eyes, she used her other senses to explore her surroundings. She could hear a crackling fire close by, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from it. She was also warmed by the blankets and furs layered around her from head to toe. There was a smell of fresh, mouth-watering food, stew from the gentle sounds of bubbling near where she figured the source of the fire to be. She decided she could risk a peek and slightly opened one eye to take note of where she was.

It looked to be a cave, though there was no entrance that she could see from her angle on the ground. Some of the blankets encasing her she recognized as her own, some were foreign. She had been dead-on about the location of the fire and the pot suspended on a tripod over it. She opened her other eye and another sweeping glance took in two packs, one of them her own, and her discarded armor and weapons. They were across the fire from her, and between her and them sat a man.

He was tall and very muscular, which she could easily discern even from his hunched-over form as he perched on a rock to tend to the fire. There was a brilliant streak of white in his dark hair, and he wore a solemn, thoughtful expression. He was not wearing armor or weapons either, though from his scarred hands it was likely he didn’t need them to take her on in a fight. She couldn’t read his username from here, but the color of it.... It was wrong. She was about to formulate a plan of escape when their gazes locked. She realized his were the eyes she remembered seeing.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. Her eyes widened. Well, there went the element of surprise. She steeled her nerves and asked in her most confident Ladybug voice, “Why did you kidnap me?”

He gave her an incredulous look and chuckled. “Kidnap you? Look little lady, I have better things to do than go around waylaying fair maidens.”

“Could have fooled me with that orange nametag,” she fired back, mustering as much dignity as she could while being fully swaddled in blankets, “but I’m no helpless damsel.”

The man snorted. “Of course you aren’t. Listen, I was just trying to help you out. I found you frozen half to death and kinda assumed you didn’t want to stay that way.” He ladled some of the stew into a bowl and stood up.

“And as for my username,  it was kind of an accident. Long story,” He gestured casually with one hand. “But that’s why I’m here actually, there’s a quest that’ll clear my name.” Well, that was comforting, assuming he was telling the truth. To her knowledge, there was a quest to return a player killer’s name to green, but she didn’t know much about the details.

As he approached her, Marinette squirmed her way out of the blankets and desperately looked around for something to arm herself with. Finding nothing, she backed up until her back hit the freezing cold wall of the cave behind her. Damnit, where the hell was the exit?

The man placed the bowl of stew down on the ground in front of her abandoned nest of blankets, then held his hands up in mock surrender. “You should really eat,” he said simply before backing up to resume his seat by the fire.

She stared at the bowl and weighed the risks of eating something a stranger had prepared for her or starving. She opted to wait and watched as he served a bowl for himself. He ate several spoonfuls before looking up at her again.

“If you forgot about my dashing rescue, you probably have hypothermia. Get back under the blankets and eat, idiot. I’m not going to hurt you.” He broke his intense stare and went back to eating.

Marinette reasoned that he definitely could have hurt her– or worse– while she was sleeping or during the rescue, if he was to be believed about that. And the stew didn’t seem to be poisoned since he was eating it. She scooched back over to the still-warm blankets, nestled herself into them once more, and took a bite of stew.

She couldn’t quite contain her grimace at how bland it was. But she swallowed it all the same. Her companion hadn’t missed her distaste though, and said, “I know it’s not the best, but at least it’s hot. Kinda hard to level up cooking when I’m busy trying to get outta this hellhole.”

“I have some spices in my pack,” Marinette offered without thinking. “I-if that’s okay, of course! I don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything, I’m sure you worked really hard on it.” She fumbled with her words. Probably a side-effect of the hypothermia. Definitely a side-effect of the hypothermia.

He quirked an amused brow and gestured to where their bags lay. “Go right ahead.”

She placed her bowl down and scrambled up, cautiously edging around the fire on the opposite side of where the man sat, and made her way to her pack. She opened it up and retrieved some seasonings, then began adding them to the still-bubbling pot. After she estimated she had added enough to sufficiently flavor it, she stirred the pot and took a sip from the ladle.

She gave it a satisfied nod and offered the ladle to the man to try. It was only when his warm, calloused fingers brushed hers as he took it into his own hand that she realized just how cold she still was. She retreated to her pile of blankets, bringing the spices to liven up the bowl he had served her.

In making her way over to her spot by the fire, she almost missed the way his eyes lit up when he tasted the seasoned stew. Almost. But there was no way she couldn’t have noticed him wolfing down the rest of the bowl at top speed and pouring himself another one.

“This,” he gestured to her with his spoon, “is amazing. Where did you find time to learn how to cook?”

Marinette bashfully replied, “I mean, it wasn’t that difficult. I’m sure anyone could pick it up!” It really didn’t take her that long to pick up, but she also came into the game with some basic knowledge from having grown up in a bakery.

“There’s no way I could learn how to do this. You’re like some magic food fairy. Or a pixie, since you’re so tiny.” He sipped the last dredges from the bowl, completely missing her blush at his flattery.

But then his last statement sunk in and a look of confusion crossed over her face. “Excuse me?” She wasn’t sure if she should feel offended or not.

He shrugged and said, “You know, you’re so small it was easy to pick you up and carry you here.” As if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Marinette felt absolutely mortified, even as she downed a delicious spoonful of stew. “I... didn’t realize you did that. Thank you.”

The man gave her a genuine grin. “I should be the one thanking you for improving my ‘cooking.’” He held up air quotes with one hand. “I’m not usually the one who makes the food at home, so this is amazing. Speaking of which, Alfred would have my head for not introducing myself yet. I’m Jason.” He leaned forward and held out his hand for her to shake it. “That’s my real name, by the way,” he added with a cheeky wink, jerking his head up to his username.

She blushed beside herself and shook his hand. “Marinette,” she offered in return. It seemed only fair to share her real name too, even though it was written above her as well.

He sat back on his rock and looked at the wall in front of him. “Well Marinette, it looks like we’ll be here for a while yet. The storm’s still going strong out there.”

She must have looked confused as she stared at the wall too, because he supplied, “It’s a curtain glamor. Blends into its surroundings and helps keep out the chill. It’s enchanted so anyone outside my guild can’t see through it, so no one will know we’re here. But I guess you can’t see the way out either, huh.”

He stood and grabbed a hold of what appeared to be solid rock, then pulled it aside to reveal the mouth of the cave and the snow swirling into it. The sky was dark now, she must have slept through sundown. He let the curtain fall back into place after glancing back to confirm she’d seen it. He took a piece of chalk from his bag and marked the real rock right next to the curtain with an X.

“Some extra assurance for you, Pixie.” He grunted as he sat back down, pulled his bag over to his feet, and started rummaging through it.

Marinette was a little lost for words. He wanted her to feel safe and know the escape routes, which she appreciated. He was either the worst kidnapper ever or a genuinely good person, despite the orange name. Maybe his claim about it being an “accident” had some merit. Maybe.

“Thank you, Jason,” she caught his eye and offered a tentative smile as he pulled a sleeping roll out of his pack.

He only gave her a short nod. He unrolled the sleeping roll and started to settle himself down onto it. Marinette, with a belly full of warm stew, burrowed herself deeper into the pile of blankets. However, she felt wide awake from her unintentional nap earlier and kept glancing at her companion.

Jason had pulled a cloak over himself and was laying on his back. His deep blue eyes stared blankly at the ceiling of the cave. It was clear his mind had gone far away from that frozen cave in the mountains.

Still, she found herself wanting to talk, if only to fill the heavy silence. “What are you doing here?” She asked eventually.

His eyes regained their focus as he turned his head to look at her. “Spending an isolated, romantic night with a beautiful lady.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You know what I mean.”

He gave her a lazy smile and raised his eyes to look back up at the ceiling. “I suppose I do. Like I said before, I’m on a quest. While I’m here I might as well help clear the new level, same as everyone else.”

That, she could understand. It’s what she was doing here herself, and she was alone so she could protect the ones she cared about. But him? That she’d be interested to know.

“Okay,” she chewed on her words. “But why come alone?”

He heaved a dramatic sigh. “How about we take turns asking questions. I’m here by myself because I can’t stand being around my goody-two-shoes brothers and their friends right now. Now you owe me two questions, so why are you here alone?”

Marinette gazed at the flickering fire and debated with herself about how much she should share. “I want to go home. The fastest way to do that is to beat this stupid game as soon as we can, so less people get hurt.”

He rolled over onto his side to study her face. “Is that why you’re by yourself? So no one else has to get hurt?”

She started, surprised he’d seen through her so quickly, and met his intense gaze. It took her a moment to remember he was waiting on an answer. She looked away at the ground and replied, “Yeah, I guess it is. Back home, a lot of people around me get hurt all the time. As stupid as it sounds, this place is almost safer .” She shook her head, knowing how crazy that must seem to him. “If I can get them to stay in the lower levels, they won’t be in danger anymore.”

“It’s not stupid,” Jason’s voice was soft. “But what is stupid is thinking you have to do this all on your own.”

She looked back up at him defensively, mouth open and ready to tell him exactly what, or who, she thought was stupid when he raised a hand to cut her off. “I know, I know,” he laughed. “Pretty hypocritical of me to say, but at least I’m here to get some space from my dumbass family and go on a quest. You’ve gotta admit it’s counterintuitive to push people away when you’re trying to protect them.”

Marinette took a moment to think on his words. He wasn’t doubting her ability to fend for herself at all, but he might have a point about pushing her friends away. “...Maybe.” She said eventually. “I think I owe you another question?”

He snorted and turned over onto his stomach. “Nice change of subject.” He folded his arms in front of him and rested his head on them. “I got roped into this dumb game for some family bonding. How did you wind up here?”

She giggled at his seeming distaste for his family. “Pure chance, actually. I was lucky enough to be a beta tester a year ago, which let me enter a raffle to win passes for my other friends.” She paused and a frown tugged her lips downward. “I guess if I hadn’t done that, they wouldn’t be here in the first place....”

Jason looked like he wanted to say something, maybe to comfort her, but she quickly bounced back. “Anyway, how old are you?”

He blinked at her surprisingly fast recovery. Years of living under Hawkmoth had given her far too much practice with sweeping bad emotions under the rug. “I’m uh, seventeen. How old are you?”

“Sixteen. I’ll be going into my last year of lycée when we get back!”

He looked confused. “Lycée? Isn’t that French?”

“Oh, yeah it is. I’m from Paris, actually. Where are you from?” She probably shouldn’t have been sharing this much with a strange man, but something in her gut told her that she could trust him. It wasn’t like he could do much harm, or good for that matter, with the information until they beat the game anyway.

“Gotham City, in America.” He seemed just as willing to trust her too, at least with something as innocuous as this. “But hey! That doesn’t count as my question,” he sat up in protest.

“Okay okay, fire away, smartass.” She laughed and raised her hands in mock defeat.

They wound up talking for much of the night, passing the time and sharing stories. Marinette got to hear about his brothers and their friends, and Jason got to experience second-hand some of Adrien’s worst puns and Kim and Alix’s best pranks.

It was nearly midnight by the time the two finally drifted to sleep. Marinette tried her best to stay awake later than him just in case, but it proved almost impossible given her exhaustion. He didn’t seem like a bad person, and from the stories he’d shared about the others in his guild, he was surrounded by good people too.

When Marinette woke up in the morning still alive, in one piece, and not even a little bit robbed, she decided he was a good person. Or trustworthy at the very least. And now she owed him.

He stretched from his bedroll not too long after she roused herself and began packing her bag. He groggily joined her in breaking down camp and dousing the embers that had kept them warm all night.

“Good morning,” She greeted him cheerfully and sent him a friend request. He grunted in response and then gave a huge yawn, blindly pawing at the air in front of him to accept the notification.

“Sorry, ‘m not used to being alive this early,” he mumbled, then chuckled to himself like he’d said something funny.

Boys were so weird.

Marinette chirped back, “That’s alright, I guess I’ll just have to keep you awake while we go on your quest!”

It took him a moment to process what she’d said, but then he rounded on her. “Woah woah woah Pixie, who said you’re coming along?”

“I did,” she responded matter-of-factly. “I owe you for yesterday. Plus someone told me recently that going on quests alone is stupid,” she put her hands on her hips. “So what kind of a friend would I be if I let you go be stupid by yourself?”

Jason just shook his head, but she saw the growing smile he tried to hide. “Fine, but you’d better not slow me down.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it!”

* * *

Jason and Marinette stood outside the temple doorway. It had taken them two hours to walk up the mountain to the spot marked in Jason’s tutorial book. Marinette was so cold, she could hardly remember a time when her fingers and toes weren’t completely numb. Stupid ladybug instincts.

Carved wooden pillars supported an arch. Beyond it was a damp darkness that seemed to draw them in. Marinette looked to Jason and followed his lead when he took a deep breath and marched in.

They lit torches to guide them through what turned out to be a short, primitive tunnel. Beside her, Marinette heard Jason’s ragged breaths grow faster. Just as she was about to ask if he wanted to keep going, the light from their torches illuminated a door.

The dark wooden door was carved like the one outside, but this time there were words embedded within the intricate designs.

“Leave behind that which protects you,” Marinette read aloud.

“The hell do you think that’s supposed to mean?” Jason asked, his words biting but the tone reeking of his desperation to get out.

She thought it over. “Protects you....” She said to herself. “I think it wants us to take off our armor.”

Without a second thought, Jason was unbuckling the straps of his armor with shaking hands. Marinette followed suit, fumbling with her own as her fingers were still half-frozen.

The moment they had both taken off all their armor, the door opened slowly and silently. They glanced at each other before proceeding.

It was a short walk through a similar hallway until they reached the next doorway. It too had a phrase written on it in swirling writing.

“Now shed that with which you protect,” Jason muttered. “That’s gotta be our weapons.”

It took them significantly longer to remove all their bows, arrows, hidden daggers, and then what else lay in their inventory, since they apparently needed everything out from there too.

Jason finally placed his last knife on the ground, and the second door opened the same as the first. It also led into yet another hallway.

The third door had more writing. “Abandon all lies, they do not protect the truth.” As soon as Marinette had finished reading it, that door too swung open.

This time, the room they walked into was tall and had windows overlooking the snowy expanse covering the mountains around them. The architecture was almost reminiscent of a cathedral, and Marinette was drawn back to visiting Chartres on a school trip some years prior.

Jason breathed a deep sigh of relief at having finally reached an open space. But it caught in his throat as he beheld what lay before them.

A great, slumbering beast lay on the huge dais. It had the face of a woman, but the body of a lion and tucked behind it was a pair of huge, batlike wings. It didn’t appear to be awake or aware of the intrusion.

Marinette furrowed her brow and mouthed to Jason What now?

He frowned, then approached the creature. “Excuse me, miss?”
Oh Kwami. She’d teamed up with an idiot.

The beast opened its fierce yellow eyes slowly, then gave a huge yawn that showed off its perfectly white, perfectly long, and perfectly sharp incisors. There was no way they could fight that thing without their armor or weapons. Marinette tried to calm herself down, but she saw melting golden armor flashing before her eyes and felt the panic start to rise in her throat.

Get it together, LB, she told herself.

Meanwhile, the monster had sat up, still reclined, but cat-like in its pose. It was then that she recognized what it was.

“You’re a sphinx,” she blurted out before she could stop herself, then immediately slapped a hand over her mouth. And she had called Jason an idiot.

“Indeed I am, child.” The sphinx’s voice, definitely that of a woman’s, boomed through the empty space. “Now,” it turned its gaze to Jason. “The truth demands vulnerability. Tell me why you are here.”

Jason craned his neck to stare the thing in the face. “I came to clear my record.” His voice was even. He could handle this just fine, but not the cramped hallways from before?

“Why?” The sphinx asked, yellow eyes boring into Jason’s blue.

“Well,” he scratched his head just behind that patch of white hair. “The dude who died, it wasn’t my fault. And I saved someone else’s life by doing it, so I think clearing it is the right thing to do.” Despite his words, Jason seemed unsure of himself, like he didn’t quite believe it.

The sphinx didn’t budge. “I will need more details than that, I’m afraid.”

“Fine. During the last boss fight, some girl left herself wide open to this creepy assassin. I tackled the fucker, his poisoned dart fell and accidentally got him. He was dead before I could even try to stop it.”

The sphinx just blinked at him.

“Uh, and my brother tracked down the symbol from the assassin’s shirt and found out it’s a guild of player killers,” he continued uncertainly.

Once again, the sphinx stared him down without speaking.

“Okay fine! And I guess the girl I saved was the one who took out the boss by herself. So technically, I helped save all those fucking people too.” Jason threw his hands up in frustration.

Marinette froze. The last boss fight.... But she was the one who beat the boss. What was going on here?

The sphinx blinked once more before finally deigning to speak. “You speak the truth. After reviewing the server logs, I have decided to deem your cause worthy.”

“Oh,” Jason paused. “Great. Excellent. Superb, thanks.” Marinette barely heard his awkward comments as she racked her memory for anything that could confirm his story. That cold feeling she’d gotten in her chest when she made the jump to save Chloe... could that have been someone trying to kill her?

Meanwhile, the sphinx reached a paw out to touch Jason’s name tag with just the tip of its claw. A brief flash of light and then its color was back to green again. A great paw waved over both their heads and Marinette felt the weight of her armor and weapons returning. A glance at Jason told her he’d gotten his back too.

“You may use the front door to be on your way,” the sphinx informed them through a huge yawn. A lion’s tail flicked lazily towards a doorway behind the great beast, and it put its head down to go back to sleep.

They took that as their cue to leave. Marinette followed silently as Jason opened the door. It led straight to the mountains outside, and a gust of snow blew in at their feet. She braced herself for the cold once more, and stepped out of the shelter of the sphinx’s cavern.

Jason closed the door behind him, then turned to her. “Well, that went easier than expected.”

“Yeah,” she laughed nervously. “So um, that person you saved, do you know who it was?”

He started trekking through the snow, guiding their way back to the nearest town with a teleportation kiosk. “I didn’t, but my brothers knew of her. Apparently she’s a high-level guild member in Miracle something or other?”

Marinette stopped short. “Miracle Workers?”

“Yeah!” He snapped a finger gun back at her. “That’s the one.”

“I guess I owe you again, then,” she huffed a laugh. Just her luck.

Jason stopped walking too, barely a few feet from where she stood, and looked at her with an adorable expression of confusion on his face. “What do you mean?”

“I was the girl you saved,” she said softly. “And I didn’t even know it. Thank you, again.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck, talk about a hell of a coincidence. You’re welcome, again, Pixie.” He held one of her hands and gave a grandiose half-mocking bow.

She giggled. “Come on, let’s get back to warmer weather.”

Chapter Text

Marinette had been thinking. Jason was right. About a lot of things, actually, but she wasn’t quite ready to face the catch-22 of fighting on the front lines without her friends. No, what she was willing to admit he was right about was that nobody in this game knew how to feed themselves. It had been nearly six months since the game began, yet there were still so many people too terrified or busy to take care of themselves.

But no more.

Marinette had rented a building in the largest town on level 1 for one evening a week. She enlisted Nathaniel and Alix to help her design posters advertising a cooking class. Kim had helped them put them up all over town, though he’d made it clear he was only doing it to beat how many Alix could do.

Oh Kwami, she hoped there would be a good turnout. At the very least, she knew a couple of her friends from the guild were coming as a show of support. They could definitely benefit from the knowledge too, but her goal was to reach a wider audience.

Hence why she was standing outside the door to the rented space, hesitating to open the door. She felt a phantom nudge of encouragement from Tikki, took a deep breath and tugged on the door handle.

It didn’t budge.

She double-checked that she had the right address (she did), and that she’d rented it for tonight (she had). She tried the door again, pulling hard. Maybe it was just stuck? She had one foot planted on the wall and was throwing her full weight into pulling the door out towards the street when she heard someone clear their throat.

Standing beside her was a small group of players. There were maybe five of them, mostly arguing with each other. Marinette slowly looked up to meet the eyes of the hulking man who stood before her.

He had a red cloak thrown over his head, concealing much of his face. Why did that look so familiar? As he shifted his stance, she saw a crossbow slung on his back. Then it hit her, it was the man who’d helped the Order beat the first boss.

He stretched his hand out to her and said, “Need some help there, Pixie?”

Pixie? Just what was he playing at, there was only one person who’d called her that--

Oh.

Just her luck.

She grinned awkwardly and disengaged herself from the door. Jason, she saw it was indeed him as he casually flicked back the hood of his cloak, stepped forward. He gave her a smirk and pushed the door open. It easily swung inwards to reveal a warmly lit hallway.

He gave her a flourishing bow and followed her in. She was glad he’d let her go in first so she could hide the very bright color of her heated cheeks, which was definitely due to the cold weather and no other reason, thank you very much.

She shrugged off her cloak and hung it on the hooks that lined the hall. The rented building was a modified restaurant that she, Adrien, and Kim had spent hours rearranging and modifying to give each cooking station its own ample space, with permission from the NPC who owned the place. The boys had been particularly excited about knocking down the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining space.

A low chatter from the interior told Marinette that there were at least a few others here. Decidedly ignoring Jason and his entourage behind her, she marched into the kitchen with her head held high.

Kagami, Alix, and Nath were waiting, each at their own station. Kagami immediately snapped to attention when she saw Marinette, effectively halting the conversation between them. Marinette glanced around the room and saw a few other players sitting about, maybe less than ten besides the ones she knew.

She took her place at the stovetop in front of all the others and tried not to stare at Jason and his friends as they got settled.

Of course he had saved her life... what, was this three times now? She’d sent him a personal invite to the cooking class since they’d accepted each other’s friend requests, but she hadn’t actually expected him to show.

Or bring friends.

Several sneaky glances showed that the blonde girl and redhead were still bickering, while the boy and girl who both had dark hair exchanged looks of exasperation. A regular occurrence, then. Jason just sat there with his arms crossed, showing off his generous muscles--

Nope, professional cooking class time.

Marinette waited for a few more stragglers to join, then clicked her stove on and poured some oil in a pan. It let out a loud sizzle that stopped the chatter of everyone in the room.

“Welcome everyone! My name is Marinette, and I’m so glad you were all able to make it. Now, I don’t know where everyone’s skill level is at, so let’s start with something simple,” Marinette reached for the fridge behind her. “Who here knows how to make eggs?”

The group wasn’t as hopeless as she thought. Though, like Jason, almost none of them used spices. But they picked it up quickly, and soon they moved from eggs to potatoes to steak.

“Uh miss, could we get a vegetarian option?” A tired-looking boy with a dark mullet raised his hand. Next to him, a boy was staring at the uncooked steak with a trembling lip. Were those tears in his eyes?

“Of course!” Marinette breezed over and swapped their steak for a cut of tofu. She gave the boys a quick rundown of cooking with tofu, then went back to making her rounds with the other players. As she walked away, she heard the first boy gingerly comforting the other who was sniffling, “I just miss Kaltenecker so much.”

She shook her head, puzzled but deciding not to bother. She was about to return to her own cooking station when someone flagged her down.

“Hi there, how can I help?” The girl she’d approached let out an aggravated sigh. “I just can’t cut the fat off the meat! Meanwhile he,” she pointed an accusatory finger to a redheaded boy with freckles across from her. “Is already cooking the second side of his steak.”

Marinette froze slightly, recognizing these people as Jason’s friends. Or his not-friends, if he was to be believed from the other day. She forced herself to relax. Just because they knew this random guy she kept running into didn’t mean she had to be nervous. This girl still needed her help.

She let herself fall into the easy rhythm of showing the girl more steps in detail, bringing out the spare steak to cut it alongside her. The girl did fine with that little bit of extra instruction, and she was soon ready to cook it.

“If you want, we can slice the meat thinner and broil it. It’ll be done faster, probably before your friend over there.” Marinette nodded towards the redhead, who was busy helping the blonde girl beside him.

The dark-haired girl next to her raised her brows. “Oh, absolutely.” Marinette giggled and turned the temperature up, then showed her how to cut the steak. They laid the pieces in the pan and set a timer.

Marinette washed her hands and smiled at her progress, the proud grin reflected on the girl’s own face. “Hey, my name is Zatanna,” she wiped down her hand and held it out to Marinette. She took it and shook. “Marinette, but you probably already knew that,” she beamed.

The girl poked at her steak with a metal spatula. “Wow, you’re really a pro at this. Do you mind if I send you a friend request?”

“That would be great!” Marinette smiled and accepted the invite that popped up. As promised, Zatanna’s steaks were finished before her friend-- Wally-- and she gave Marinette a sly grin as he scrambled to catch up.

Marinette waved her off and walked back through the aisles to see if anyone else needed help. Ah, someone had their hand raised over there--

Jason wiggled his fingers at her.

Ah. Lovely. Deep breaths. She could do this. 

Marinette made her way over to him, determined to maintain an upbeat, professional attitude. He smirked as she joined him at his station.

“Hey Marinette, I think I uh, used too many spices,” he cut off a bite of his steak, speared it on a fork, and offered it to her. Without thinking, she leaned forward and bit the steak right off his fork.

Her eyes widened, both at the realization of the intimacy of the motion and the revolting food she’d just put in her mouth. He was right, it was over-spiced. Making eye contact with him, she nervously inhaled sharply and started choking.

While Jason rushed to grab her a glass of water, she gratefully reflected on the fact that her reddening cheeks would easily be passed off as being caused by her coughing fit. Ah, the simple joys of choking to hide a blush.

He was back soon and offered her the cup. She drank deeply and sighed. That felt better. Now, if only she could avoid future embarrassments....

“Sorry, didn’t think it was that bad, Pix. I don’t suppose there’s any way to fix it?” Jason winced apologetically.

“No no, it’s still salvageable!” She waved her hands quickly in the air. Ugh, so much for future embarrassments. “Here, we can turn it into a stew and add in potatoes to soak up the spices. It’s a trick that works in the real world, but it should do the job here too.”

She started bringing out broth and other vegetables from her inventory. He was quick with the knife as he chopped whatever she handed him. She stoically didn’t show how her stomach fluttered every time their hands brushed in the small workspace. Or let on that she noticed how he hardly watched his own cutting board and instead elected to look at her hands. It seemed to be working well, until--

“You’re frowning,” he noted quietly.

“O-oh, am I?”

“This must be a pain in the ass, huh?” His eyes were trained on the onion he was dicing. “I didn’t expect you to actually start a class given how much work it’ll be, but I’m glad you did. I think a lot of people need this.”

She felt her cheeks warm and turned back to where she was seasoning the pot. “It’s really not a bother, I like helping people. Plus cooking in the game is much easier the more you level up the skill, so I’m really just helping people get started.”

“Modest and beautiful? My my, what a catch,” he cocked an eyebrow and locked eyes with her while dumping the onions into the stew. She felt her breath catch in her throat.

“Oh, u-um, that’s....” Marinette stammered. “Thank you.” She bit her lip. This man would be the death of her if the game didn’t kill her first. Could you die from having all the blood in your body rush to your cheeks?

“Anytime,” Jason smoothly reached around her to put the paring knife back into the block. His chest warmed her back, the closeness taking her breath away.

Marinette was pretty sure she was still trying to find it when he added the chopped onions to the stew. She tasted the offered spoon in a daze, slowly nodded her approval, and came to her senses in the middle of helping Alix add more cooking oil to her pan.

Huh. She gave herself a slight shake, then continued helping people for the duration of the class. And she most certainly did not regret inviting Jason when he threw her meaningful glances from across the room. Not when his lovely blue eyes drew her in, and she could feel herself floating, heart swooning, and--

Nope, not even then.

The end of the class came sooner than she expected, but running around making sure everyone was doing alright took up more of her attention than she had thought. In the hubbub of everyone packing up, Marinette ensured all the work stations were cleaned up, then opened her inventory.

For the first time all night, she made eye contact with Jason first, waiting for him to look up. It didn’t take very long, she noted a slight tensing of his shoulders and the shifting of his watchful gaze around the room.

It finally landed on her, and he cocked an inquisitive brow. Marinette tried not to let her hand shake as she donned her red armor, the one he had last seen when he saved her from the cold.

A slight glimmer of recognition dawned in his eyes, but his mouth fell open when she put on the helmet. He had only seen her in full armor during the thirteenth level boss fight, but he hadn’t known it was her until now.

And she walked out the door with her head held high, not giving him the chance to talk to her. Alix, Nath, and Kagami followed closely, unintentionally blocking him from catching up with her. She allowed herself to smile as they teleported home from the cobbled street outside.

* * *

“Oh, that little....” Jason huffed a laugh to himself. It seemed like fate had brought them together more times than they knew. Or at least, it would seem that way if he believed in fate. He shook his head. Fate or not, that woman was incredible.

He knew there was something special about her, but the way she moved in that first boss fight? He couldn’t get the image out of his mind’s eye: her jumping off the beast's shoulders, slicing her knives down its back all the way down to the floor. Landing perfectly, and gracefully running off to plan the next move.

Jason trailed behind Wally and the others, lost in his thoughts.

“So, that Marinette girl was really something, huh?” Zatanna fell back to walk beside him.

“Hmm.” Jason grunted in response.

“I mean, she was so nice and clever. What a great idea to host a cooking class!” She clasped her hands behind her back. “How did you get that invite again?”

Jason folded his arms and sighed. “If you’re asking, do you even need to hear the answer?”

She smiled at him and shoved his shoulder playfully with her own. “I’m happy for you, seriously.”

“Nothing to be happy about,” he grumbled in response.

“Suuuure,” Zatanna laughed before catching up to the others.

He wasn’t that obvious, was he?

* * *

Jason woke up, the sensation of blood sticking his hands together. Something trickled down his back-- blood or sweat, he didn’t know. His eyes wildly darted around the empty room, desperately trying to find the source of the sickly green light bathing his usually dark room--

Shit. His eyes. He closed them. Thought of colors and numbers and breathed. When he opened them again, the room was pitch black, so dark it felt like it was closing in on him. The blankets on his bed were too close, too hot. Bile rose in his throat. He couldn’t, couldn’t breathe .

Clawing his way out of bed, he stumbled to where he knew the bedroom door should be. Shaking hands ripped the handle open, allowing soft moonlight to beckon him into the hall. He padded quickly, but softly, down the stairs and to the outside.

A small hill with no trees carved out an absence of stars in front of him. He hurried towards it, the cold air reviving his senses and calming his heartbeat. The cool grass numbed his feet as he made quick work of striding to the crest.

When he’d finally made it, Jason stood still and craned his neck up. Eyes closed, he felt the breeze go right through his thin sleep clothes, chilling his still-sweaty skin. He spread his arms as wide as they could go. He was not trapped. He never would be again.

He opened his eyes to see a huge spread of stars. They were different from the ones back home, but he liked them all the same.

There were books of the constellations here, he’d seen Replacement with them before. He should make a note to steal them sometime.

He stayed there until dawn.

Chapter Text

Jason groaned at the persistent beeping keeping him from his sleep. He rolled over, hair falling in his eyes, and lazily swiped at the air above him. Squinting at the brightness, he pawed at the pulsating notification. It was a direct message, marked urgent, from Marinette.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up to read it. He blinked and let his sleepy mind read it over one more time. She wanted him to do what?

* * *

“Jason!” Marinette gave him a grin, blindingly bright against the hazy pre-dawn grays, and stood on her tiptoes to wave at his approach. “I’m glad you made it.”

“It was pretty hard to get back to sleep after someone woke me up at 3am,” he grumbled.

She winced. “Oops,” she offered an apologetic smile.

“Eh, whatever. It’s good to see you, and even better to see you’re not running off to do stupid shit on your own,” Jason gave her a meaningful look.

“Stupid shit is no fun alone,” she stuck her tongue out at him. He huffed a laugh, electing to ignore the bags beneath her eyes.

He followed her as they walked along a winding road that snaked through the plains around them. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of having your company all to myself? Being the only one you invited to this exclusive event?” Jason teased her.

Walking behind her, Jason saw her shoulders tense the slightest bit before she replied, “Maybe, Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes.”

Jason snorted at that. If only Gotham could hear that. He pictured the headline on The Gazette: Red Hood Proclaimed Goody-Two-Shoes by Tiny French Girl!

“So, what is the plan?” Jason asked.

“Well, they don’t want just anyone teleporting to their base all willy-nilly, so it’s quite a long walk until we even get there. It’ll be easier to explain once we’re closer,” Marinette shrugged.

Fine by him. “How long exactly are we talking here? Because I won’t be the best fighter on...” he paused to do some quick math in his head and definitely not on fingers discretely held behind his back, “four hours of sleep.”

She sighed. “I’m not doing much better, so we can take a nap break along the way.” She took a swig from her water pouch and then offered it to him as they walked side by side.

Jason accepted and swallowed a mouthful, wishing it were something a bit stronger. “So, we need to do something to make the time go by. Tell me about Paris.”

“Um,” she hesitated. “Paris is... well, it’s home! And there’s no place like it, that’s a phrase right?” She forced an awkward laugh.

Ah, so not a great subject. “Sorry, it’s just,” she began again, quieter, and more sincere. “It’s complicated. School is hard, my parents’ bakery is always busy, then there’s my commissions and the aku--”

She stopped herself and tensed her shoulders. “Accusations?” Jason prompted incredulously. “Is someone blackmailing you?” He couldn’t imagine the thought of someone even thinking about hurting her.

“What? No, no!” She turned to him and waved her hands frantically. “Nothing like that. Well, there is Lila, but that hasn’t been bad for a while.” Jason noted this Lila person as a potential enemy. But she was clearly uncomfortable talking about whatever she’d been about to say, so he decided to let it go.

“So, a bakery huh? Did you grow up there? Is that how you’re so magically good at cooking?”

She visibly relaxed and a small smile took over her face. “Well yeah, actually, it’s the best bakery in Paris. My parents taught me everything I know! Although food and health regulations on restaurants meant that I couldn’t have any pets growing up since the bakery is attached to our house, and I used to really want a hamster....”

They filled several hours with idle chatting about pets, from hamsters to cats to Sphere, his friend Connor’s totally legal and not-fibbed-about-on-the-spot "armadillo." Once they’d exhausted that, there were other video games to discuss besides Mindscape, the commissions Marinette had mentioned earlier, and their favorite books.

“Jane Austen. Really?” Marinette giggled in disbelief as they set up camp in between several boulders. They were fairly secluded in the woods, several minutes off the path, and had draped Jason’s curtain glamour over the gap between the tall rocks. It felt rather cozy with the late morning sunlight casting a warm, sleepy light over their bedrolls. Marinette could see through the curtain now that they were on each others’ frequent friends list.

“Hey, don’t judge me, Hamster Queen,” he snarked back.

“Ugh,” she groaned, settling down under her blankets. “Don’t call me that, with my luck it’ll be my akuma name if we ever get out of this mess!”

He stopped mid-motion and gave her a look of confusion. “Your what?”

Her eyes widened, exhausted brain seeming to process what she had said. “Oh, um. It’s nothing. Wow, I am SO sleepy!” She gave a huge yawn and stretched her arms comically wide before turning away from him.

Well, that was certainly something to file away for later. Maybe he could find out something from one of her friends, since she clearly wasn’t going to tell him what the hell that meant.

He sighed and hunkered down, hoping he’d finally get to catch up on sleep. Strangely enough, the farther from the rest of the guild he was, the better he slept. Maybe it was time to put his in-game savings to good use, he mused as his heavy eyes drifted shut.

* * *

Jason woke up to the sense that something was very wrong. His eyes shot open and he whipped his head around, trying to gain his bearings and figure out what was going on.

Marinette was sitting up, hands clutched over her mouth. Her legs were folded up against her chest, kept there by pure tension, and she was crying. She looked so small.

“Hey Pixie,” he spoke gently. She didn’t seem to hear him. “Marinette?” He bridged the small gap between their bedrolls with a hand that gently reached for her back. She flinched as he made contact, and started hyperventilating.

“All my fault, it’s all my fault,” she whispered shakily. He could barely hear her with her hands covering her mouth.

He scooched closer and placed both hands on her shoulders. God, they were so small each of his hands covered them entirely. “Look at me, Pix. Breathe with me okay?”

Jason took in an exaggerated inhale. He held it for a few seconds before audibly exhaling. She still wasn’t looking at him, so he gently cradled the sides of her face. Wild blue eyes met his, the fear in them heartwrenching.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you. Just breathe,” he spoke quietly, taking in another deep breath. And another. It took four more before her crying slowed and she started to breathe slowly and deliberately with him.

“That’s it, it’s okay Pixie. You’re safe.” Jason had too much experience with trying to calm himself down from a freakout, he’d be damned if he let her go through this on her own.

“Do you,” he cleared his throat. “Do you want to talk about it?” He finally asked when her legs had relaxed onto the ground and her shoulders had lost most of their tension.

She wiped her eyes. “That might help,” she responded shakily. He sat next to her on her bedroll and put a comforting hand on her back, rubbing small circles.

“There was a stone, um, monster. About four meters tall. And he held one of my friends in his big hand and asked me for my-- for something. I refused, I couldn’t just give him-- H-he got mad and he just squeezed and squeezed until she....”

Marinette’s hands fell onto her lap, limp and lifeless. Shit. “And then,” she began again. Fuck, there was more? “Then my friends were being controlled by Ma-- my other friend, like puppets, the way they moved was so wrong. The things she made them do, and she’s just a kid.” Despite her words picking up speed, a dry sob escaped her lips. Jason reached his arm around her shoulder to hold her closer.

But she wasn’t finished even then. “And the whole world flooded, I hate seeing that. All the people, all the children. Seeing them thrashing around in a panic is bad enough, but it’s worse when they aren't moving at all.” She drew in a shuddering breath, seeming to collect herself and realize how much she was talking.

“I’m sorry,” she spoke quietly, almost sheepish. “This crazy game must be taking a toll on my... imagination.” Except those scenes were far too morbid and detailed for even an over-active imagination to have created. The present tense about the flooding was unnerving, like she’d actually been there to see it. Maybe multiple times. That, and her “imagination” sounded like bullshit if he’d ever heard it.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Jason began slowly. “You can’t help the way you feel, or what you have dreams-- or nightmares-- about.”

She reached out a hand to squeeze his. “Thank you, for listening and understanding.”

“Hey, anything for her royal highness, Queen of the Hamsters,” he gave her a wink, unwilling to let her hand or her shoulder go, even to make a grandiose gesture he was sure would make her laugh.

As it was, she offered him a watery smile. “I feel better now, thank you. Let’s have some food and then pack up. It’s already getting late, and I’d like to be back home before dark.”

* * *

They resumed their path, cutting through the waist-high grassy fields on either side. There wasn’t a single other soul on the road. Seems this area was pretty fucking popular.

After an hour or so more, Marinette stopped suddenly and held out a hand to beckon him to crouch below the grassline with her. She pulled out a map and two neatly folded swaths of fabric from her inventory.

Laying the map on the ground, Marinette spoke quietly, “We’re taking down this player-killer guild. Not killing, but beating them up and looting enough that they’ll be too scared and won’t have the resources to try killing anyone else again anytime soon.”

Jason nodded. She’d told him as much in her message that morning. He studied the map with her, delighted at the excuse to lean in closer.

“I have intel that their fortress is here,” she pointed out landmarks on the map, “And they have watchtowers posted here and here. If either of those see anything fishy, they’ll let the base know and we’re done for.”

“Great, keep quiet and invisible. Just how do we do that in the open here?”

She patted the fabric next to her. “These are cloaks I imbued with some alchemical tricks. They’ll help disguise us, but the quiet part is entirely our skill.”

Jason took the offered cloak, a deep navy with golden symbols embroidered around the hem. It felt lighter than he expected. “So we have some fancy toys. Who do we get to play with first?”

“You take the leftmost watchtower, I’ll take the right,” she spoke with practiced confidence as she threw her cloak around her shoulders and pinned it in place. “Just raise the hood when you’re ready,” she said before doing just that and all but disappearing into thin air.

Jason blinked in surprise. “Well, aren’t you talented?” He grumbled, donning his own cloak.

“Invisible, not deaf,” was the amused reply. “Meet at the front gates.”

And they were off. They followed the road not ten feet more before the cobbled watchtowers were in view. Beyond those, it wasn’t the full length of a football field before the castle-like structure, complete with battlements and curved wooden doors, loomed up into the sky. Marinette had chosen the perfect spot to plan out of sight and earshot. The grasses thinned out here too, giving the enemy the advantage of sight. But it also gave the two of them the freedom to move wherever they wanted without disturbing the brush and giving themselves away.

Really should’ve thought of that before, huh dumbasses?

Jason crept towards his tower and slowly began scaling it. Thank fuck it had stone stairs and not a creaky wooden ladder or some shit. He was as silent as a ghost. Once he got up to the top, it was a simple matter to knock out the two guards and tie them up. And maybe give them a few extra punches for good measure. Bastards.

He disarmed them and hurried quietly down the stairs back to the ground. He looked around for Marinette on his way to the gate, but couldn’t see her. When he was nearly at the enormous wooden gates, he was stopped by an invisible force on his chest in the shape of a tiny hand. Ah, there she was.

Her hand slid down to tap his arm and guide his hand to point to the door. He understood and approached to break it down, but faltered when he got close enough to recognize the symbol on it.

It was an elephant skull.

This wasn’t any player-killing guild, it was the one that had a personal vendetta against both of them, apparently. He marched back to where he’d left Marinette and gently reached around until he grabbed her arm, then led them to hide behind the foot of one of the watchtowers.

“What?” She hissed, yanking her hood down to glare up at him. “The hell is your problem?”

He set his jaw. “Remember that dick who tried to kill you when you took on the thirteenth level boss?” She nodded shortly, intense scowl not fading one bit. “Well, they were in a guild. Cyclops. Their trademark symbol is an elephant skull,” he whispered, gesturing to the very same insignia carved on the giant doors.

She bit her lip. “Then I guess this makes it personal.” Before Jason could get another word in, she had tossed her hood back on and, he assumed, gone back to the doors.

He took a moment to look up at the sky and mutter to himself about having a thing for crazy girls before following suit.

Having no better way of finding where Marinette had gone, Jason slowly extended his arms out and moved them around, trying to feel for where she could have gone. He didn’t have to fucking bother though, as the giant doors suddenly burst inward in a spray of splinters. Focusing his attention on what dangers might be beyond the debris, he drew his shortsword and crept past the wrecked doors.

Hinges the size of his hand on either side of the doorway showed the doors should have opened outward, if someone hadn’t bashed them in. A grin spread onto his face as he processed just how strong Marinette had to be. It disappeared just as quickly as he jumped inside and dashed to where she was whirling around, twin daggers flashing and sparking against the swords of half a dozen goons surrounding her.

She hardly needed his help though, and he was fairly certain the one shitstain he got to take down was some kind of pity prize because she let him. His eyes met hers and he took in her desperately determined look, flushed cheeks, breathing barely labored.

“Let’s go,” she spoke breathlessly. He followed her lead as they cut through wave after wave of grunts, using their cloaks to disappear and reappear where needed. For assassins, they were fucking sloppy. They probably weren’t used to a head-on fight, the poor bastards.

But Jason’s mind was only half on the fight at hand. Marinette seemed out of it, like her nightmare was still bothering her. She wasn’t as calm and calculating as he’d grown accustomed to seeing her fight. This was a volatile expression of her feelings, which was something he could relate to.

Unfortunately, he could also relate to the dangers of lashing out like this. Except she didn’t have the Lazarus Pit’s elixir flowing through her veins, protecting her if she fucked up. So when she did fuck up, he was there to take the hit for her.

* * *

Marinette stood still, eyes wide as she watched Jason fall in slow motion. He’d pushed her out of the way to take the hit for her, a huge slash across his back from a scimitar. His shortsword was buried in an archer on the walls, crossbow out of bolts. Unarmed, he had used his own body to shield hers, it was her fault and he was going to--

“No.” Marinette whispered.

“NO.” She screamed.

She became a living weapon, twirling and slashing, diving and piercing. Weapons broke against her daggers, wooden chests shattered, iron armor fractured, horses cut free and running wild. She cut arrows in half mid-flight, vaulted up walls, left a trail of unconscious players in her wake.

They didn’t stand a chance.

And when all was said and done not five minutes later, Marinette looked down from the battlements at the sad remains of their fort, holding Jason’s sword and her inventory full of the money and weapons of Cyclops. All the downed players around her had around 10 HP except--

She leapt down, not caring about the damage it dealt to her miraculously full health, and rushed to his side. Jason wasn’t moving and his eyes were shut. That blade must have had some kind of sedative coating on it. Tears spilled from her eyes as she frantically searched her inventory for a healing potion, but her stupid hands were shaking, and she dropped them and they broke. All of the potions, gone. And he only had 1 HP left.

Her vision swam and her eyes grew warm from having more tears in her eyes than she could cry. That warmth spread slowly to her chest, down her arms and into her hands. Warm, red light lit up the damp ground, reflecting off the puddles of potions. She raised her hands in wonder, only looking at them for a moment before turning them towards Jason, hoping against all hope for a miracle.

Jason coughed suddenly and she jumped, her vision clearing as she blinked in surprise. His health bar registered as full, but she still hadn’t used any health potions.

“Pixie?” he rasped, holding his head. “What the hell happened to--”

He was cut off by her hugging him, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. He laid a hand on her back, the other still propping himself up.

“The potions....” he began. Marinette looked up at him, a panicked expression in her eyes. How could she even begin to explain the mess of shimmering liquid soaking into the dirt around them?

“How many did it take to heal me?” He asked. She sighed in relief, passing it off as a quiet laugh.

“Not as many as I spilled. Butterfingers,” she gave a half-smile and wiggled her fingers at him. It was technically true, she had broken more potions than she used. But she didn’t have to tell him that she didn’t have to use any potions at all because some butterfly terrorist with a fetish for bad fashion had triggered events that gave her magical healing powers in real life that had somehow bled into the game, but she couldn’t feel them any more and had no idea how to summon them again and didn’t even think she could access them in-game in the first place. Which was cool, that was good, very good that she didn’t have to explain any of those things.

Jason snorted and hoisted himself up onto his feet, offering her a hand to pull her up as well. She gratefully accepted, and they walked out the front doors together, linked by their still-joined hands. She wasn’t willing to let him go, even though she was certain she’d be embarrassed about it later. She still couldn’t believe he had gotten hurt because of her, how could she be so careless? Maybe she really was better off on her own. She dropped his hand and held herself, shoulders hunching inward.

“Hey, stop that.” She looked up in surprise, stopping in her tracks. They were almost past the watchtowers now, where the guards would likely be waking up soon.

“I don’t want you blaming or isolating yourself now, okay?” Jason gave her an accusatory stare. “I took that hit because you would have gotten hurt if I didn’t. Now, if I wasn’t there, you would’ve gotten hurt, on your own, in a guild of murderers.”

That was actually a good point, which she very maturely handled by looking away and pouting.

Jason gestured forward for them to start walking again, sparing a glance up at the watchtowers to see if there was any movement yet. “Also, if you go back to your whole solo act, I’ll go back to mine. So we’ll be doing stupid shit on our own anyway, and wasn’t it you who said ‘stupid shit is no fun alone?’” He stated cheerily. “Fun aside, if you push me away, we’re both more likely to get hurt. I swear to fucking god I will smother the shit out of you if you don’t take me or someone else fighting with you.” He glared without any venom behind it.

“Using my own words against me?” She finally relented, placing a hand dramatically over her heart with a smile. “Is that really what this has come to?”

Jason took her hand and kissed the back of it. “If only to protect Her Royal Highness, Sovereign Ruler of Hamstertopia,” he winked.

Her skin tingled at the contact, the echoes of red light replaying in her mind. “Guess I’m stuck with you, then.”

Chapter Text

Boots crunched over golden and crimson leaves underfoot. And if he had to walk off the path to step on them and make that satisfying noise, of course that’s what Jason Todd was going to do. He used one hand to draw his wine-red cloak a little tighter around himself against a chill breeze that threatened to tear his hood right off. The other was wrapped firmly around a steaming mug of cider, unfortunately spiced and not spiked, but delicious all the same.

He took a swig as he approached the columns of the massive library-- what was soon becoming his favorite place in the game-- and heaved the great door open. He stepped inside, leaves eddying around his feet, and inhaled deeply and gratefully.

Books.

God, he fucking loved books.

Jason was about as happy as he could be. He had just put most of his savings towards purchasing a small cabin on Level 20. It was a solo house, built on commission by NPCs who would keep their mouths shut, and far enough away from the rest of the guild (and people in general) that he could actually sleep at night. One special request he’d made was to add skylights in the whole house. Over the kitchen, the living room, especially the small bedroom. He’d toured the place when it was nearly completed, and the soft starlight it let in was just... perfect.

Afterwards, he’d spent some time walking around the crisp autumn air of Level 9. And now he was devoting the entire afternoon to reading and checking out new books. Literally what could make this day more perfect?

“So there’s this level where all the people are fish and the sea monster boss is crazy strong, no one’s been able to beat it yet--”

“Yeah well, it’s not stronger than me! I’ll kick his ass into Tuesday, just watch.”

“Kim, get down from there, you’re going to get us kicked out.”

Jason looked up from the bookshelf he’d been perusing to see some Vietnamese kid up on a table, making poses like a pro wrestler. A pro wrestler who didn’t have any muscles to show off.

Hands on hips and glaring at the boy stood a shrimp of a girl, with bright pink hair to match. As Jason raised an eyebrow, she taunted, “If you don’t get down from there, I’m telling everyone how you cried when we watched ‘Old Yeller.’”

The boy gasped dramatically. “You wouldn’t dare.”

The girl leaned up on her tiptoes and smirked. “I would.”

Shrimpy was a blackmailer after his own heart, it seemed. Several of their other friends seemed to be milling about, and a few came over to the table Kim was on to see what the commotion was about.

“Kim, what on earth are you doing up there? Get down,” a tired, and very familiar, voice said.

“Aw, but Mari....” He honest-to-god pouted.

“No buts. Down.”

Mari? And that voice.... Jason approached the end of the aisle to get a better look, and there she was. Marinette, in all her tiny glory, holding Kim and the shrimp by their ears.

“Keeping the troops in line, I see?” Jason addressed his friend as he easily shifted his stack of five or six books to one hand to wave with the other.

“Jason!” She blushed slightly (or was that just wishful thinking?) and dropped her friends’ ears. She grinned up at him, all traces of scolding smoothed over by a bright smile. “Um, hey, what are you doing here?”

He gestured to his pile of books. “Same as you, I expect.”

He nodded to the similar stack of books sitting on the table behind her. Glancing at the titles, they were mostly about healing mechanisms in Mindscape. Odd choice, but after their near-miss at the Cyclops fort, he couldn’t blame her.

“Haha, yeah,” she gave him an awkward smile and shifted to hide the books behind her. “It’s raining back at the house today, so we all wanted to take a trip to the library.”

“It was my idea, actually,” a girl with green eyes and olive skin sauntered up to them, eyeing the books balanced in his hands. Jason flinched back and narrowed his eyes as she flipped her long brown hair and nearly hit him in the face. “I just adore old literature.”

Swallowing down the annoyance he felt, Jason sidestepped the source of it and pulled up a chair next to the seat Marinette’s books were in front of.

“I’m Lila,” the supposed-literature buff shoved a hand in front of his face, whether to shake or to kiss, he wasn’t sure. Interesting, that was the name Marinette had associated with “accusations.” Jason filed that away for later.

“I didn’t ask,” he responded coolly and opened up King Lear. It was one of his favorite Shakespearean plays, and this copy in particular was one he’d borrowed and read so much that the library gave it to him, if only so they could buy a copy that wasn’t falling apart at the seams.

The girl made a noise of indignance, but Marinette snorted, so it was worth that much at least. A few more people filtered in from the stacks, joining the group in the open space filled with tables and comfortable chairs. One redheaded girl in particular approached Marinette, glasses frames hardly masking her excitement.

“Marinette, you won’t believe it, they actually have information about all the American superheroes here! They even had a section for the French heroes, but we know all about them, so I didn’t waste my time there. Look at them all!” The girl excitedly waved behind her, where a boy with a red cap was laden with a teetering pile of books. Next to him, a blond boy was similarly weighed down, though he had a few books about local wildlife in the game balanced on top of the editorials and comic books.

“That’s great Alya,” Marinette smiled, then looked at the boys with concern. “Why don’t you guys put those down here?” She quickly cleared a space for them to place the books on her table. They gratefully deposited them and slumped down in the chairs opposite Jason.

“Whew, thanks M. Thought she’d never let us out of there,” the boy with the red cap wiped his glasses on his shirt.

“Eh, we needed the exercise!” The blond boy shook out his hands.

“Easy for you to say, Kitty,” Marinette reached over the table and booped his nose. Jason swallowed the pang of jealousy he felt at their causal interactions. And nicknames. Very familiar nicknames.

“Oh where are my manners,” her eyes widened slightly. “Jason, this is Alya,” the redhead, “Nino,” red-cap boy, “and Adrien.” Blond. Kitty. Potential enemy. “They’re my friends from lycee! Guys, this is my friend Jason,” Marinette continued on cheerfully.

Adrien beamed at him. “So this is the famous Jason who’s been stealing away our Marinette.” His positivity was practically a threat, Jason could feel how much more alert and guarded this boy was compared to their other friends. Marinette buried her head in her book, unsuccessfully trying to hide a blush that reached her ears.

“So! Jason, where are you from?” Alya obliviously cut in, thumbing through one of the very first publications on the Justice League. “I assume Mari told you we’re all from Paris.”

He leaned his chair back to balance it on two legs, replying, “Yes, she did. I’m from Gotham City, born and raised.”

Alya’s eyes locked onto him with an intensity he wouldn’t have expected. He could practically feel a million questions bubbling to the surface, and sure enough, they broke free momentarily.

“Have you ever seen Batman? Or the other Bats?” Alya practically levitated towards him but was gently pulled back by Nino.

“Easy there, Als. Sorry, she’s a big fan of superheroes.” Nino helped her settle back into her seat with a fond smile.

“Vigilantes.”

Even Marinette looked up from her book at that.

“Come again?” Alya blinked confusedly.

Jason put his hands behind his head and leaned back further in his chair. “The Bats are called vigilantes, not heroes. And there’s nothing super about them. As far as anyone can tell, they don’t have any powers.”

Alya’s eyes widened. There was a beat, then she whipped out a notebook and pen and scooched her chair closer. “Tell me more,” she said.

Jason gave her a few details, nothing an ordinary Gothamite wouldn’t pick up on, and even recounted a few incidents he’d been caught up in as a civilian. Alya avidly wrote down every detail, while Nino looked on, only half-listening. For her part, Marinette only pulled her attention away from her books when Jason talked about being in danger. She looked concerned, it was an expression he absolutely adored on her sweet face.

They were just laughing at a story he’d recalled involving the Riddler and a green screen when someone new sauntered up to them. Lila sat on the edge of their table, snatching up Jason’s opened copy of King Lear and placing it on her lap.

“Hey Jason, right? I haven’t seen you around before,” she batted her eyelashes at him. She began idly thumbing through the pages, letting them all fall open until she reached the back cover and snapped it shut.

“I’m mostly on the front lines. What is it that you do?” Jason challenged her.

She laughed and crossed one leg over the other, moving the book-- his book-- to be carelessly held aloft in one hand. “I help out around the guild, doing odds and ends, motivating our fearless warriors.” Marinette snorted, which Alya frowned at.

Lila tapped a finger to her chin. “Though, I could ask the same of Marinette. We hardly ever see you, I hope you’re not just spending all your time here reading,” she put on a faux-concerned look. Ah, so she was out to get Marinette it seemed.

“Let me correct myself. I’m usually on the front lines with Marinette. She and I make a good team,” Jason glanced next to him to catch the small smile blooming on his friend’s face. “Now may I please have my book back.” He finished flatly.

Lila took it in stride. “What’s the magic word?” She asked flirtatiously, lofting the book high in the air, above his reach.

“I fucking said please,” Jason growled, then lunged for the book. He only made it as far as her wrist though, which he barely squeezed before she gave a cry of pain and dropped it.

Of all the fucking things....

Lila cradled her wrist, which definitely wouldn’t even bruise, and started to sniffle. Alya jumped up and comforted the girl, helping her down from the table and guiding her to a nearby chair. Meanwhile, Jason gingerly peered around the table to see the mess on the floor. The book’s binding had come undone, its pages miraculously still mostly in order but no longer held together.

He leaned back with a groan. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.

Marinette stood up and walked around the table to gently pick up the pages, keeping them as close to their proper order as she could. She placed them softly on the table in front of him.

“I’m sorry about her,” she locked eyes with him. She was barely taller than him like this, her standing and him sitting, and looking up at her allowed her bangs to frame her face in a way he’d never seen. She looked so beautiful, it took him a moment to actually remember he was supposed to be talking. It still didn’t fix his favorite book though.

“That’s okay. Hopefully it’ll teach her a damn lesson,” he shot a glare at where Lila sat, being waited upon by a growing crowd.

Marinette rolled her eyes as if she’d been through this countless times before. “We can only hope,” she muttered, taking her seat next to him once more. “Will you get in trouble with the library?”

He scoffed. “Not likely. They actually gave this copy to me since I wore it out so much.” He glanced around to see if anyone else was near them. Adrien seemed to have left, electing to hide rather than be coerced into tending to Lila. “It’s uh, actually one of my favorites. I’ve always had a soft spot for Shakespeare.”

Marinette’s face fell. How could she still be so gorgeous when her eyes were that sad? “I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “W-would you like me to try repairing it for you? I um, I know how to sew and it’s the least I could do since it’s so important to you,” She had started rambling, increasingly jerky hand movements accompanying her speech, “and I can’t believe how careless she was to actually break your poor book, I mean who even does that, so if you want--”

“Yes,” Jason stilled her hands from their wild gesturing, holding them gently. “That would mean a lot.” Her soft blue eyes met his in a tentative smile. “Plus,” Jason said, releasing her hands and leaning back in his chair once more, “then I’ll owe you a favor.”

Marinette reached over to carefully slide the pages in front of her. “Oh really? And just what does a ‘favor’ from you entail?” She teased.

“Whatever you’d like, darling,” he winked at her. She rolled her eyes, but didn’t bother stopping the smile on her face.

“I’ll hold you to that,” she shot back.

He watched as she pulled out a sewing kit and began to thread a needle with thick twine. “Oh, I’m counting on it.”

She shook her head, then a look of concentration overtook her smile as she began to line up the pages perfectly.

He was interested in exactly how she planned to mend the book, sure, but he found that he couldn’t look away from her hands as she worked. They were so small, yet so nimble and they handled the needle and thread with a practiced air. One delicate hand held the stack of pages steady, while the other deftly pierced their edges, doubling back on itself to secure them in place. She worked quickly and quietly, seemingly lost in her own world.

Jason was so fascinated by watching her mending, healing, that he almost completely missed Lila tearfully walking past him, only realizing she and her entourage had done so minutes afterward. He didn’t mind though, he was content to watch Marinette all day. He blinked, realizing that he was exactly that, content, here with her. He fought back a smile as she stuck her tongue out from between her lips. How he’d like to put that tongue somewhere else--

“Done!” She proclaimed, proudly snipping the thread and knotting it off. She handed the book over to him, now coverless, with a grin.

“Thank you, Marinette. Seriously,” he opened the book up to where he’d left off, testing how secure the pages felt. “You did an amazing job.”

She blushed. “Oh, thanks! If it ever comes undone or feels loose, just let me know. I was just kind of guessing since I’ve never actually bound a book before. And you may want to see someone about the cover.”

Jason stared at her. “Really? It feels perfect.” You feel perfect, he thought to himself.

“Oh, that’s great! I hope it works out well for you,” she blushed, trying very hard not to accept his praise. Well, clearly she deserved it, so that was something they’d need to work on. He found himself surprised at how easily he could picture a future with them together, showering her in compliments until she learned that they were all true.

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Dick rang out in his head, Woah there, slow down tiger. Take her on an actual date first. And another voice that sounded a lot like Bruce, If she even wants that much from someone like us . A smaller voice that echoed his own added, Someone like you. All valid points. His smile faltered a little. He would just have to wait it out and see what Marinette wanted. But he... he couldn’t be the one to initiate anything. Not when he was so broken.

He watched her struggle to stack up all her books and return them to the shelves, shaking his head fondly before grabbing more than half of them from her arms, piling them on top of his own. She smiled at him gratefully and lead the way deeper into the stacks.

No, he couldn’t ask that of her, not when she was so perfect. Flirting was all well and good, but he hadn’t expected to care as much as he was starting to. So flirting would have to be as far as he’d let himself go.

Chapter Text

“Hey, wait for me!” Marinette shouted, jogging up to where Jason stood in front of a doorway. It contained an opaque, swirling portal of blue that cast him in an unfairly gorgeous light.

He turned to her with a crooked smile, which seemed to be his signature look. She tried very hard to ignore the fluttering feeling it had started eliciting.

“Hey,” she said breathlessly upon catching up to him. “Sorry I’m late, but I did bring breakfast!” She offered him a large eclair wrapped in a napkin.

He took it from her hands, seemingly unaffected by the sparks she felt as their fingers brushed. “No worries Pix, I only just got here myself.” He bit into the pastry and closed his eyes.

“God, you really do not fucking disappoint,” he practically moaned.

She beamed at his praise, pleased her friend (just a friend, thank you very much) was enjoying it, and started eating the one she’d brought for herself. “So,” she began with a mouth full of custard, “just scouting, right?”

Jason held up a three-fingered salute. “Scout’s honor,” he replied. “Did you read up on the area or get a good night’s sleep like I told you to?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I went to bed when you told me to,” she grumbled. “So lead on, tough guy. You know more about this level than I do.” She gestured to the portal before them as they finished the last bites of their pastries.

“Ladies first,” he gave her a half-bow, grinning all the while.

She sighed and stepped in front of him, drawing her bow. “As you wish,” she smirked, and disappeared through the doorway.

* * *

Marinette’s first thought was this level was so bright, as she blinked to let her eyes adjust. The next thought was abruptly cut off as she took in the scenery. She dimly registered the sound of Jason stepping through the portal behind her.

They stood on an island littered with stones, surrounded by a sparkling ocean. Wooden bridges criss-crossed over to other small pieces of land, but this level had to be more than three-quarters water. The sunlight reflected cheerfully off the gentle waves, but Marinette suddenly felt very cold.

Her hands, beginning to tremble, feeling very far away. The clatter of her bow falling from her grip sounded muffled as the ringing in her ears took over. She quickly blinked away flashes of Paris, drowned, quiet, empty, but not fast enough as her breathing came more and more rapidly.

She felt no pain as she fell to her knees, and only noticed it happened because her worldview had changed, bringing her closer to the water, the water, the blood-soaked water.

The memories, real and dreamt, came flooding in, flooding as Paris had, as her friends had been swept away, the whole world drowned in a single day. Her chest felt so small, so tight, like a fist was clenching her heart and lungs as she found it harder and harder to just breathe.

How could she? How could she take breaths when her friends no longer could? The waves were growing larger by the minute, threatening to swallow her whole. But she couldn’t tear her gaze away from them, not for an instant. She would not look away again, she deserved to face it, to watch the consequences of her failures, the deaths of everyone she cared about and innocents she didn’t even know. She had no right to look away, not when it was all her fault, and the largest wave yet was about to overtake her and by Kwami she was going to let it--

Her vision was interrupted by the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. She still stared, unblinking and numb, straight ahead, so the eyes lowered themselves to meet her own. She saw a nose next, large and slightly crooked, then worried eyebrows that sat above those blue, blue, blue eyes. Faint dimples, moving as silent lips formed words she could not hear. The ringing in her ears was too loud, she thought distantly. Those were such lovely lips, it was a shame to not hear what they had to say.

With enormous effort, she blinked, and the spell started to break. To her surprise, her eyelashes were wet, and as she blinked once more, she began to feel tear stains down her face. When had she started crying?

The ringing began to dissipate, slowly allowing in sounds from the world around her. Gulls wheeling high above, waves gently lapping at the rocks, and a voice. A deep, lovely voice, calling to her.

* * *

Jason absolutely let Marinette go through the portal first because he was a gentleman, not because he enjoyed the view. Or so he would say, if anyone asked him, which no one ever would.

But as he followed her through the portal, he watched as she dropped her weapon and collapsed as if struck. He looked around for any danger, something that could be the source of her reaction, but saw nothing. So why was she....

He rushed to her side, grabbing her shoulder as gently as he could while trying to stifle his panic.

“Marinette?” He called to her. She didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes were fixed forward, blankly staring at the waters. As he watched with increasing concern, her breaths started to come in quick little gasps, and tears began to spill from her eyes.

“Marinette, can you hear me?” He knelt by her side and gripped her shoulder harder than he’d ever like to, but there was still no reaction. Fuck, he had to do something to snap her out of it.

He awkwardly shuffled until he was in front of her, then sat down to level his eyes with hers. He looked at her pleadingly. “Come on, Marinette.”

Her faraway stare started to move ever so slightly, taking in little details of his face. Her shallow breathing was barely audible over the gentle lapping of the waves behind him.

“That’s it, Mari. Come back to me,” he pleaded with her. “You can do this, just focus on me.” She didn’t seem to hear a damn thing coming out of his mouth, but he kept talking. “I care about you a lot, Pix, more than I ever expected to care about anyone. I am not about to lose you. You are so good and kind, you’re selfless and beautiful, not to mention completely badass, I mean how was I not expected to fall for you?”

“I don’t... I don’t deserve you,” his voice broke a little. “No one does. But I am trying to be better, and you inspire me to try even harder. You fix things, Marinette, that’s what you do, it’s who you are. I’m pretty messed up, so maybe you can....” Jason trailed off. This wasn’t about him.

“Look at me, Pixie.” She was blinking now, that was good. “Just breathe, okay? Come on Marinette, you can do this. Breathe with me,” and he took an exaggeratedly deep breath in. She blinked a few more times. She hadn’t moved, but her eyes were still slowly roaming his face. Right now, they were lingering on his lips.

“Aw fuck, Pix, you’re gonna kill me,” he said weakly, trying to lighten the gravity of his revelations. They’d laugh about this later, he knew it, but first he had to get her through this. “C’mon, breathe.”

She eventually followed his example and began breathing with him. Her hands twitched, and then they were moving, grasping at his chest.

He pulled her into a hug, guiding her head so she’d be buried in him instead of looking at the water, since that’s what had started... whatever she’d gone through. She kept breathing evenly and nestled herself even further into his hold.

He looked down and had to stop himself from kissing the top of her head and just hold her instead. They would talk when she was ready. She was so small in his arms, but she smelled so lovely. He wondered if this is what she’d smell like outside of the game, too.

Eventually, she began to pull away from him, wiping at her eyes. She started to speak in a very small voice, “I’m--”

“If the next word out of your mouth was going to be ‘sorry,’ you have nothing to be sorry about,” Jason interrupted her.

Marinette gave a dry laugh. “How about thank you, then?” She offered him a weak smile, hands still resting on his chest. He barely felt their weight.

“You’re very welcome,” he smiled softly at her. “Do you want to talk about it? I won’t force you to, but I’m happy to listen.”

She sighed, “Not today.” She looked so tired. “But soon. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is.” Jason knew a thing or two about needing time to process stuff. His overbearing brothers wouldn’t give him the space to do it, and he’d damn well fight anyone who dared do the same to her. “Think you’re ready to stand up?”

She nodded, moving her hands to meet his as he helped them both to their feet. He regretfully let her warm hands go once they stood up. Was the beach always this cold?

“Do you still want to do recon? We can always go home, grab some tea or go shopping for new cloaks,” he offered, retrieving her bow and handing it to her. He didn’t miss the quick glance she’d given at his familiarity with the idea of reconnaissance, and mentally cursed at the slip-up.

“No,” she said steadily, taking the bow and nocking a precautionary arrow. “I think I need to let off some steam now.” Glancing at their surroundings, she winced, “No pun intended.”

He huffed a laugh. Beautiful and funny, lest she let him forget. “Alright Pixie, lead the way.”

The bridges connecting each island were sturdy, hardly even creaking as they moved across. Most islands were pretty quiet. There were some seagulls circling above and they saw the backs of some dolphins in the distance a few times, but it wasn’t until a few miles in that they found any NPCs.

A colorful, floating trading market bustled with activity. As they got closer, it was clearer to see that the stalls were partially submerged, barnacles showing when they rose above the water, to accommodate the finned NPCs. Mermaids and manatees, sharks and starfish, there were dozens of aquatic creatures dipping between the stalls. Some sunned themselves on the island or the central dock the stalls were tied to, some haggled for the price of shells, fish, and other treasures.

It was so fucking weird.

Marinette seemed delighted about it though and bounced up to one of the vendors selling sushi. She bought several rolls from the aged merman, and came back to Jason with a huge grin on her face. “Lunch!” she proclaimed proudly. You’d never know she had staved off a panic attack just a few hours beforehand.

“Looks great, thanks Mari,” he dug in. He was never a huge fan of seafood, but he was starving after all the walking they’d done. He was either really hungry or this was the best sushi he’d ever had, because it was gone within minutes.

They continued walking past the market, passing by several more similarly structured “villages” on their way. They had yet to see any monsters though, which was concerning.

“Don’t you think it’s weird we haven’t run into anything unpleasant?” Marinette asked him a few minutes after he’d come to the same conclusion. He nodded. “Maybe we should ask the next NPCs we see about it,” she mused, mostly to herself.

That wasn’t a bad idea, Jason conceded. He was starting to warm up to the concept of NPCs, especially after they’d built his new house. God, he was so excited to sleep under the stars.

It wasn’t long before they ran into a family of mer... sharks? They were mermaids with shark fins. Whatever, they seemed nice enough.

“Excuse me!” Marinette ran up to them with a friendly wave. Jason sheathed his sword and followed suit. “Do you folks know if there are any dungeons or hostile mobs around here?”

They looked at each other and shook their heads. “There’s only one place with bad guys around here, miss,” the younger boy piped up. “And it’s really bad. Papa says that’s over to the south, which is why we aren’t allowed to swim there.” The boy’s mother smiled down at him proudly.

“He’s right, we’re not aware of anything else troubling our waters, dear,” she spoke kindly to Marinette, who nodded her thanks.

“Well?” She asked Jason as they walked out of earshot of the little family. “Wanna go see what that’s all about?”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, I’m definitely game. Are you sure you’re up for it?” He asked as gently as he could. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

She flushed at his last remark and stuttered back, “I-I’m fine. Really. If it’s the boss, we should at least see what we’re up against here and report back.” Well, she sounded determined enough.

“Lead on,” Jason said, knowing they’d walk side by side the whole time.

* * *

Marinette was fine. Really. If anyone asked her, which they would, she was fine. She was not pissed as hell, nor was she itching for a fight. No, those would be the irrational reactions of someone who had been unfortunate enough to live in Paris for the latter half of their formative years. She was, in fact, perfectly calm and not at all two seconds away from cutting anything that moved into ribbons.

Luckily Jason didn’t ask her about any of those things, because she was a terrible liar. Small fibs were plausible, yes, and avoidance was practically her middle name, but when it came to emotions.... Well, Hawkmoth had already proven the complexity of human emotion, hadn’t he? Repeatedly?

Great, and now she was anxious and angry and even more inclined to rush to the end of this stupid hell of a video game because Kwami knows what the hell was happening to her city while she was stuck in here wasting time.

Jason held out an arm, peering closely at something behind her. She froze, grinding her internal spiral to a halt. They were crossing a bridge between islands at the moment, lazily heaving waves surrounding them.

“Don’t move,” he said quietly, slowly moving his hand to reach behind his cloak. She swallowed against the blinding hot sunset, its rays baking the back of her head. What had he seen?

She nearly fell off into the water as Jason whipped out his index reader and snapped a picture of her. She glared at him in shock for a few moments before throwing her hands in the air and exclaiming, “What the hell?”

He grinned and showed her the screen. It showed her in the foreground, slightly windswept dark hair and blue eyes lit up by the oranges and yellows of the sunset behind her. The waves were slightly out of focus but added their own charm with sun-touched peaks painted all the way to the horizon. The quality was so good, she could count her freckles if she wanted. She looked... she looked beautiful.

“Sorry to spook you, I thought the view was worth it,” he explained with a glint in his eye.

“Oh, I... well, th-thank you,” Marinette stammered out. “The sky, it looks so stunning. How did you even notice it?” She tried to change the subject.

He gave her a bemused look. “How could you not ?” He swept his arm around. “It’s all around us. You just have to open your eyes.”

Her eyes were open, she wanted to protest. Her mind was just... on other things. And besides, she didn’t exactly have time to smell the roses. As they continued on though, she let herself look around. For potential dangers, of course. One can never be too careful.

All thoughts of danger soon melted away. Jason was right, the sky and the ocean met in a beautiful, flowing landscape hewn of pure gold. The blues and deep indigos of the water had the most perfect contrast against the gilded reflection of the dying sun. Sparse clouds in the sky caught the last few rays of light, floating orange and serene over the waves. And as they walked southward, she snuck in some glances of her companion.

The contours of Jason’s face were bathed in golden light. It caught the facets of his eyes in a way that looked startlingly like the ocean beside them. His black hair looked honey-brown with the light shining through it, and the streak of white at the front gleamed. She hoped the blush on her face could be attributed to the heat of the sun beating down on them.

Then movement caught the corner of her eye. She stopped, tugging Jason’s sleeve to tell him to do the same. She gave him a serious look and jerked her chin, urging him to look behind him. But whatever had caught her eye was gone.

He turned back around with a cocky smile on his face. “Pixie, if you wanted a picture of me, you just had to ask,” and he struck a ridiculous pose, pursing his lips in a way that almost made her laugh.

But she was so sure he’d seen... something.

They kept walking, mostly keeping quiet now just in case whatever that was came back. The sky darkened slowly, bringing with it a sleepy twilight. There were lanterns atop lamp posts interspersed throughout the bridges and islands that came alive of their own accord. Memories of a brightly lit Seine warmed her even as a cool breeze brushed them by. It made her heart ache.

Jason’s sharp inhale brought her back to the present, his eyes focused on the open water in front of them. She followed his line of sight and squinted, seeing the same faint movement as before. As soon as it became clear enough for her to almost discern what the shape was, it began fading away again. Why wouldn’t her eyes focus? Stupid twilight.

“That’s weird,” Jason muttered. Marinette looked at him with concern. From their friendly shoot-offs, she knew his vision was much better than hers, even in the Mindscape.

“What is it? I can’t seem to focus on it,” Marinette huffed frustratedly.

He folded his arms. “It’s too far for me to make it too, but it looks like it’s close to the next island.”

She frowned. Maybe the lighting wasn’t helping them see it clearly. Looking up at the sky, there were wispy clouds drifting over the half-moon. Heavier ones lurked on the horizon, bringing the promise of rain later in the night. Well, that certainly wouldn’t help.

“Let’s get a closer look,” she said, taking off in a jog before he could protest.

The bridge they were on led up to the dead-end island. It was the first they’d seen, all the other ones were connected to at least two bridges, usually more. That did not bode well.

As they approached the edge of the island, Marinette started being able to make out the shape more. It had spikes protruding from a large mass semi-submerged in the water. As she watched, the spikes collapsed and expanded into billowing... sheets?

A boat, she realized in the sudden clarity of the moonlight. It was a huge ship moored barely a mile off the shore. It had just unfurled its sails and started to turn away from them, which was either very relieving or extremely worrying.

It turned out to be the latter as she and Jason hit the ground, cannonballs spraying the sand around them. The sound echoed across the water, and he winced as he met Marinette’s eyes.

As the cannons stopped firing, she used two fingers to point towards the water, indicating they start swimming quietly to the ship. Before she could turn to take off, Jason pressed a potion bottle into her hand. She raised an eyebrow at him, but he only winked and gestured for her to follow as he ran to the water.

After watching him pull the cork off the bottle with his teeth and chug the whole thing, she rolled her eyes and did the same. Marinette took a deep breath before diving in after him, the dark waves swallowing their bright colors.

In the darkness, Jason grabbed her hand and guided it gently to her throat. He tapped twice, but what did that mean? She treaded water next to him, staying beneath the surface. She saw his mouth open in the dimness and intake a huge amount of water.

Panic began to grip her, she needed to get him up to the surface now.

He resisted though, taking in another mouthful of water. Then he motioned at her to do the same. She would have to take a breath at some point....

She shook her head, she wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t.

He pulled out the empty potion bottle and shook it at her, taking her hand again. She really needed to breathe soon. Another squeeze from his hand.

Alright.

She closed her eyes and breathed.

And she didn’t drown.

One more breath.

Another.

A small smile spread across her face and she squeezed Jason’s hand back. Okay, unfriendly ship. Game on.

* * *

Jason was incredibly relieved he’d packed the water-breathing potions. Zatanna had insisted, and he supposed he should thank her when they got out of this. If they got out of this. Breathing while being entirely submerged made the whole “reliving his reliving ” thing more bearable. 

Marinette was a strong swimmer, once she got over the whole “breathing underwater” thing. She could keep up with him, which was certainly something. They were nearly at the ship already, its rotting hull looming over them in the murky waters.

They circled around it, looking for a way up. Marinette pulled them towards the chain of the anchor resting far below them. He reluctantly put a hand on it and grimaced at the slimy texture. That’s going to leave a stain. Delicious.

They began to swim upwards, using the chain as a guide. They breached the surface as quietly as possible, remaining submerged beneath their chins. Jason blinked the water out of his eyes, choosing to look away from the way Marinette’s sopping hair framed her eyes or how it billowed out under the waves.

No, he was absolutely not staring at those things.

They began to climb, Marinette first. They equipped the cloaks she’d made for them when they’d fought the player killing guild, so once they neared the top they just had to pull the hoods over their heads.

Jason gave Marinette a head start after she’d pulled her hood up, so he wouldn’t run into her by mistake. That would be just his fucking luck.

He crested the top of the ship, perching catlike on the wooden railing as he took in the scene. Lit by the light of the moon were a little over two dozen pirates. They looked slightly worse for wear, he thought before seeing straight through the bullet holes riddling one larger dude. Okay, maybe really worse for fucking wear. They took turns stabbing each other-- for practice? he wondered-- and conversations of murders past drifted down from the crows nest towering above the sails. Even the deckhands rushing about looked mean.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand rested on his, but it must have just been Marinette. Or some other invisible asshole. Nah, it was too small and gentle to be anyone but her.

He swallowed the butterflies threatening to erupt in his stomach as the hand led him to a spot behind some barrels. None of the crew were nearby, so they could strategize what to do.

“Did you notice the captain?” she asked under her breath.

He did not.

Taking another look around the ship, he spotted a massive figure at the wheel arguing with one of the crew. The latter had to be at least Jason’s height, but he looked puny next to the hulking captain-- judging by his very fancy, very feathered, very cliche pirate’s hat. The captain turned to face the rest of the ship and Jason caught a glimpse of his face. It looked like portions of his skin had been burned or eaten away, revealing the grinning skull beneath. Fucking nasty.

“So what do we want to do about Ugly and his friends?” Jason said in a low voice.

Silence for a moment.

Then, “Let’s kick their asses.”

* * *

“Interesting.”

A cloaked man shrouded in darkness sprawled in a chair, looking for all the world like a king surveying his domain. His eyes narrowed as they focused on the large screen in front of him. It depicted a scene where two figures, one cloaked in black and the other in red, darted around a ship. They performed admirable acrobatic feats to outmaneuver their numerous enemies.

“They seem to work quite well together, don’t you think?” The man mused.

As he watched, the smaller figure scaled the main mast and got the drop on an enormous figure sporting a tricorn, getting in several deep slashes and even severing an arm before retreating.

A glowing purple mask appeared over the man’s face. “Now now Monsieur, you’ll get your restitution in due time.”

The mask flared in intensity for a moment before the man stood up and roared, “Quiet down! I will have my revenge first.”

The mask flickered and dimmed in submission. 

The man sat once more. On the screen, the two fighters were hugging, surrounded by floating gems containing the spoils from their kills. One of the ship’s sails glowed brightly in the night, a portal to the next level. “I would very much like to see if these two are capable of besting my strongest champion.... I suppose we shall have to wait for the end,” he chuckled gleefully.

* * *

“That was amazing!” Marinette laughed, shoving Jason’s arm playfully. She felt tired from the exertion of the battle, but it was what she needed. The rain that had started near the end cooled them both.

“No, you were amazing,” he replied with a fond smile. “Especially after earlier, I wasn’t sure if you’d even be okay going underwater....” he trailed off after seeing her face fall.

“Hey Pixie, uh, I forgot to mention it but I actually got my own place recently,” he rubbed the back of his neck. She’d almost think he felt shy if she didn’t know him better. Despite her soured mood, the thought warmed her heart.

“It’s very quiet but on a safe level. There’s a ton of windows and a couch to sleep on, plus some towels to dry off obviously, and if you need a place to go to cool down after today, I mean, if you even want to spend more time with me, not that you have to, but I--”

“Jason,” she cut him off with a gentle hand on his arm. “I would love to see it.”

He huffed a laugh and pulled out a teleportation crystal. With a raised eyebrow, he offered his elbow. She took it, thanking Tikki that it was dark enough to cover her blush, and he spoke the destination into the crystal.

A flash of light enveloped them, then all was dark again.

Jason stepped forward, guiding her as she tried to blink away the dark spots in her vision. They were on a hill surrounded by tall trees, deciduous and evergreens. A single-story cabin rose before them, a lantern lighting its doorstep.

He unlocked the door and held it open for Marinette, bringing the lantern inside with them. He locked the door behind them, but she barely heard it as she tried to contain her awe at the inside. A small gasp tumbled from her lips all the same.

It was the definition of cozy, with wooden panels lining the walls and framed trophies from their adventures. She spied the map from when they took down Cyclops together over the couch. Jason made his way to light the fireplace as she took in the small kitchen with herb bundles hanging from the ceiling. And the ceiling itself... oh, it was wonderful. There were skylights everywhere she looked, allowing in the distant light from the stars. She bet he didn’t need a lantern at all to navigate the place in the dark, but was thoughtful enough to bring one to light the way for her.

Jason stood nervously fidgeting in front of the fireplace. She quickly strode over to take his hands in hers, giving him the gentlest smile she could afford while being so, so very happy to see a place that was so him.

“It’s wonderful Jason, thank you for showing me your home,” she said, then paused as she realized how true it was. This was his home, and he had poured every ounce of detail and care into it that he possibly could.

He smiled his gratitude, then took their cloaks to steam by the fire. He showed her to what must be his bedroom. It had floor-to-ceiling windows displaying the woods and thick curtains to shut it out. Then he ran off back to the kitchen.

She shut the door softly behind her, still taking it all in. His bed was neatly made with a thick blue comforter, lit by another skylight above it. The only other things in the room were a chair tucked into a simple desk and a large bookshelf beside them. She ran a finger gently down the titles. It looked like a lot of classic literature, with a penchant for Shakespeare. The only item on the desk was the copy of King Lear she had mended for him, almost in a place of honor. Shaking her head to remove those hopeful and traitorous thoughts, she quickly changed into dry, comfortable clothes then joined him back in the living room.

He was heating up some stew, spiced, by its smell. It reminded her of when they first met.

“Hey,” she greeted him quietly. It took little effort to be heard in the deep silence blanketing the cottage.

“Hey!” he grinned. “Wanna hang your wet clothes up by the fire?” he offered. Marinette smiled and did so, placing them next to his own.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d be hungry, but I’m fucking starving,” he explained as he doled out a bowl and offered it to her.

She took it gladly. “Oh, now that you mention it, I think I am too. Thank you, Jason!” He made a bowl for himself then sat down at the small table with her. There were only two chairs, how perfect was that? She quashed those thoughts and hurriedly put a spoonful of stew into her mouth.

It was perfect too.

He carefully watched her for a reaction while eating his own portion, dipping in some bread before ripping off a chunk and offering it to her.

“It’s amazing,” she said with her mouth full, quick to reassure him (and prove her bad manners, she mentally facepalmed). She took the bread and dipped it into her own stew. That made it even better.

She swallowed. “Guess all those cooking classes paid off,” she joked.

“The student is only as good as his teacher,” he winked back.

She quickly trained her gaze on her bowl instead of the way his blue eyes shone in the silver starlight. Oh kwami, she was hopeless.

Jason insisted on washing their dishes by himself after they had finished eating, practically forcing her to sit on the couch and warm up by the fire. Stupid gorgeous man being a stupid thoughtful host. She was only about 60% sure she could take him in a fight, and it would likely result in a huge mess, so she let it happen.

After he finished, he joined her on the couch for a bit. They chatted a while about his books and who he had gotten to commission the house. It was peaceful, something she hadn’t felt since the game had trapped them there. But they were still trapped. And everyone was relying on her to get them out.

“This has been lovely, but I think I’m tired,” Marinette yawned and stretched her arms behind her. “Is there a blanket I can use out here?” She started looking around the couch.

“I’ll go grab it, but I’m taking the couch,” he stood up to go into his bedroom.

“Wait what?” she blurted out, standing as well. “No way, this is your house, you should sleep in your own bed.”

He laughed from the bedroom. “As if! I’m not letting a lady sleep on the couch, dumbass.”

“So which am I, a lady or a dumbass?” she challenged as he came back with a plush, plaid blanket and an extra pillow.

He contemplated the question, then leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “You can be both, Pixie.”

Her face heated up, definitely about his stubbornness and not at all about the kiss, and she retorted, “Well, I’m not taking the bed.” Very smart comeback, great job Mari!

Jason folded the couch down to form a wide, flat bed. “Then I guess we’re both sleeping on the couch,” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

“Fine,” she crossed her arms and stalked to the bedroom. She heard a sigh of relief that was cut short when she came back with a second pillow under her arm.

She stopped just centimeters short of him and stared right into his eyes. “I guess we are,” she challenged.

He didn’t back away like she expected him to. It almost felt like he leaned in closer, but that must have her imagination. She knew he was taller than her, but standing like this made her realize he was a full head, nearly two, taller. Even though his eyes bored into hers from a foot and some change away, she never once felt like he looked down on her.

No, there was something else in his eyes. Something... more.

She chickened out first, backing away with a smirk. “Shall we?” she gestured grandly to the couch.

He blinked and the unreadable look on his face was gone, wiped away. “Ladies first,” he grumbled.

She did a mock curtsy, then fluffed the pillow and laid down on the couch, scooting to the side closest to the wall. The cushioning hardly moved as he settled in next to her. She burrowed into the blanket, thankful that it was large enough to cover both of them, and laid on her back to look up at the stars.

And avoid looking at her bed-partner’s face.

His ridiculously handsome face.

“You know, if we’re both going to stay in the same spot anyway, we should’ve just taken the damn bed.” She could hear the smile in his voice.

She groaned, “Too late now, it’s sleepy time.”

He chuckled. “Sure, sure.”

They were both too damn stubborn for their own good. She couldn’t help but think maybe that was perfect too.

There was silence for a while. Despite her claims, Marinette felt wide awake. She could feel Jason’s heat beside her, and she was having trouble relaxing being so near to him.

“Wanna hear the constellations I made up for the stars here?” he asked quietly.

A soft smile spread across her face. Why was she nervous? This was Jason, one of her best friends.

“Yeah, I do.”

Chapter Text

Sleeping by Jason’s side was the best sleep Marinette had gotten all game. No nightmares, no waking up scared for herself or her friends. Well, she did wake up a blushing, nervous mess once she realized where she was, that is until Jason rolled over. She’d had to stifle her giggles at his incredibly adorable bedhead so as to not wake him. Then the morning light streaming in through the skylight made her actually feel... relaxed for once. There was something about that little cabin that helped her forget her persistent urge to beat the game. It pushed down the feeling of guilt for taking time for herself. It was hard to leave in the morning, and not just because the cozy pile of blankets appealed to her bug-like sensibilities.

The next week had her lying awake at night in her own bed, missing his warmth and the stories they shared. And the lack of nightmares. Luka had stopped joining her for late-night tea, but her subconscious hadn’t yet moved on. It didn’t take long for her to message Jason about tackling the next level. She’d need to buy some new gear for it though, there was no way she was going to be caught unprepared like last time.

But first she had to navigate the den of wolves that was her friends.

“Where are you going, Marinette,” Kagami asked sharply. The girl in question paused before the door, her hand raised to open it. She reminded herself that they were very caring wolves. But wolves nonetheless.

“They just beat level 67, I need new gear if I’m going to help clear out the next one in a few days,” she spoke without turning to look her friends in the eye.

Chloe and Adrien exchanged a worried glance. “Then give us a few minutes to get our stuff together, we’ll go with you,” Adrien caught Marinette’s arm gently and gave her a pleading look.

She didn’t quite look at his face as she forced a smile and replied, “No, you should all rest. It’s not a big deal, I’ll be back before you know it!”

Luka furrowed his brow and frowned when he heard the discordant notes in her song. It most certainly was a big deal, and Chloe said as much when Marinette went to open the door again.

Marinette sighed and finally turned to face them. “Seriously Chlo, it’s okay. I haven’t actually been getting that much sleep here, so I might as well do something useful if I’m going to be awake anyway.”

They hadn’t known about that, judging by their even more worried expressions at that statement. Good thing she hadn’t divulged the reasons why. They didn’t know about the nightmares that had been plaguing her even since before the beginning of the game. Adrien opened his mouth to protest again before Marinette cut him off.

“Look, I told Jason I’d meet him at the end of 67, so I won’t be going alone. I know you guys don’t like me spending time with him,” she held up her hands to placate their skeptical and outraged faces, “but we can trust him to have my back. I’m sure of it.”

Luka spoke up, “Mari, he’s killed other players. How can you say you trust him after that?”

Marinette fiddled with the straps of her backpack and looked down at her feet. “I told you that was a misunderstanding. Plus I don’t know how to describe it, but we just... get each other, you know?” She stopped fidgeting and squarely stood her ground, looking each member of her order in the eye. “Now I’m going whether you like it or not. I’ll be back tonight to prep and then I’ll head out in a few days.” She added, decisively, “Alone.”

She left and the door closed with a loud click that had a sense of finality to it. The Order stood in stunned and concerned silence until the door opened again, not a minute later. They all assumed defensive stances until they saw Marinette’s signature awkward grin as she poked her head around the door.

“Forgot my arrows,” she said sheepishly, then grabbed the quiver laying on a table and left once more.

Adrien heaved a heavy sigh. “Oh Maribug, what are we going to do with you?”

* * *

Marinette jauntily swung a basket from the crook of her elbow. It didn’t matter that whatever she purchased from the bustling market would automatically go into her inventory, it was the aesthetic that counted. She was currently parsing through different fabrics, having finally picked up the courage to try getting into the clothing design aspect of Mindscape. There was only so much she could do with Alchemy, which relied on objects that already exist. For a while, it was as close to creation as she dared go, but recently she’d been feeling more like herself and was finally ready to dust off her old hobbies.

Especially if they could help her protect the people she cared about.

She was comparing two fabric swatches and could tell the shopkeeper was getting impatient. Deciding to get both of them seemed to placate him, and she backed out of the shop with a smile.

Until she ran into someone, that is.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry--”

“Are you alright? I wasn’t paying attention to--”

The two dark-haired girls apologized simultaneously, then paused to giggle.

“I’m fine, thank you,” the taller girl placed her hand gently on Marinette’s shoulder.

“Me too, I’m so sorry, again,” she paused for a moment. “Wait, don’t I know you...?”

The taller girl blinked in surprise, then lit up with recognition. “Of course, you’re Jason’s girlfriend! I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Zatanna, we met in that cooking class you do every few weeks.”

Now that they were talking, Marinette did remember her but she’d called her Jason’s.... She thought she might explode from being called that of all things. She immediately started flailing her arms and stammering desperately.

“Oh, we’re not like that you see, he doesn’t-- I mean we don’t, well, it’s not!” she hid her fiercely blushing face in her hands and finished lamely, “I think you have the wrong idea....”

Zatanna laughed. “Sorry, sorry. My mistake, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Marinette risked a glance in between her fingers and decided the apology was genuine.

“So, what’s our local Cooking Mama doing in the clothing boutique district? Cute basket, by the way.”

The reference was lost on her, but Marinette replied, “Thank you! I’m actually going to try my hand at creating armor. Clothing design was something I enjoyed in the real world, but it’s been, ah, difficult to want to get back into it here.” She gave a bashful smile.

“Oh wow, no kidding? That sounds amazing!” Zatanna enthused as they made their way to a nearby bench. “Any special occasion?”

“Just trying to keep everyone safe,” Marinette shrugged nonchalantly as if it wasn’t her whole life’s purpose.

“Hear hear,” she replied emphatically. “I’m so glad those enchanted potions I gave Jason helped you guys out in that last level.”

Marinette paused, surprised. She’d completely forgotten to ask Jason where those water-breathing potions had come from. “Wait, you made those?” she asked.

“None other!” Zatanna gave a mock bow. “I’ve been outfitting our guild with enchanted goodies pretty much since day one,” she laughed a little to herself.

“Now that is an amazing talent! I can’t believe that you can make such cool potions like that,” she grinned.

Zatanna looked around, then leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “That’s not all I can do.”

Marinette, who had leaned forward as well, arched a playful eyebrow.

“Have you ever wanted to learn how to enchant armor?”

* * *

It was several hours later that Marinette and Zatanna were found laughing away in the latter’s custom forge. Marinette had never been to the Rocky Road guild house before, so Zatanna gave her a tour. It was a sprawling complex with a courtyard and had rooms, areas, and even entire buildings devoted to everything any of their members could possibly need.

She was introduced to a few of the people who were there. Some she recognized from the cooking class-- she found out their names were Wally and Artemis-- but most she didn’t know. While the tour was lovely, especially with her host, she was most intrigued by the two dark-haired boys that Zatanna gave her meaningful looks over.

Jason’s oh-so-despised brothers, it seems.

Tim was in the study, a veritable library with two-story-tall shelves packed to the brim. He was reading voraciously out of several books at a time and scribbling notes in the worst chicken scratch she’d ever seen. He barely reacted to them being there until Marinette introduced herself by name, then he was all ears. And eyes. Man , that guy had an intense stare. She could practically hear him analyzing her in his head, though she had no idea what conclusion he’d reached until Zatanna led them out into the courtyard and said he’d liked her.

There they met Jason’s older brother Dick, training with a hulk of a boy named Connor and a lean girl named Cassie. They were all really nice, and Marinette felt an instant connection. She even thought she might remember Connor from her cooking classes.

Dick was immensely pleased to know Jason had actually referred to himself and Tim as his brothers. She actually thought he was on the verge of tears, that is until Cassie tried to sneak in an attack on him with a kick to the legs and he had to flip to avoid it.

Marinette’s eyebrows rose to her hairline watching them spar. Dick almost seemed to float through the air, spinning and jumping around his opponent. He was clearly very practiced, and she was impressed.

Zatanna didn’t let her watch for long before steering them to the forge where she finally began teaching Marinette all she knew about enchanting. While it was possible to enchant pre-made armor, she said, it was much easier and more potent to imbue the metal while it was still molten.

With surprising strength, Zatanna showed her how to hammer and shape the pieces. It was much more difficult than she was expecting even with the abbreviated actions common to the game, but her new friend insisted she was a natural.

They were soon joined by a red-haired boy with a seemingly permanent scowl. Zatanna introduced him as Roy, which he acknowledged with a grunt. He was working on a warhammer, melting new steel into the cracks it had sustained from use. He came over to watch once Marinette returned from changing into a sleeveless shirt to hammer away at her own metal.

Zatanna guided Marinette through creating a set of armor entirely from scratch. They’d used some existing molds from a set she’d made before, one for Zatanna’s friend Jaime that they thought might fit Adrien. Roy gave tips here and there on the metalworking side of things, and Zatanna provided her expertise with the enchantments.

Several sweaty hours later, they were proudly brandishing a brand new set of full armor. It had several defensive enchantments detectable only in a faint, pulsating glow emanating from within the inlays of the armor’s decorative designs.

“I wonder if the same technique could be used on fabric while I sew....” Marinette wondered aloud.

“Oh we’re going to be best friends,” Zatanna grinned at her ingenuity.

They were still laughing and chatting later when Jason finally made it back from level grinding. Apparently he stopped by nearly every day before leaving again “once he got sick of them.” Marinette had stopped her work to take a dinner break at some point, having missed lunch while out shopping. And so Jason found the two girls, Dick, and Roy sitting at the breakfast bar without a care in the world, chatting over several plates of Marinette’s home-baked salmon.

“Oh hey Jaybird, you’ve got to try this! Mari’s an amazing cook,” Dick reached over to ruffle her hair, much to her annoyance.

“I know,” Jason grumbled in response, grabbing a plate and dishing himself a portion. “I was hoping to keep her away from you vultures.”

“Aw, is somebody jealous?” Roy pouted teasingly at him.

Jason stood over where Marinette was perched on a stool and placed his plate next to hers, proceeding to eat over her head. “I’ve never been jealous a day in my life.”

Dick snorted at that. “Tell that to Timmy,” he scoffed.

“‘B, he took my spot, make him stop!’ ” Roy mocked in falsetto, “‘That replacement could never be me.’ ”

Marinette peered up at her friend, catching him wince slightly at the dig.

“Whatever, we’re past that.”

Noticing Jason’s reaction, Dick shot Roy a sharp look and agreed in a low voice, “Leave it.”

“So what are you doing here Pixie?” Jason asked before helping himself to another forkful over her head. As fond as she was of their closeness, she really hoped he wouldn’t spill any of the dill sauce on her hair.

“Zatanna showed me how to enchant stuff! I made a set of armor for Adrien, but I’m really excited to try working it into clothing too.” She felt herself start to bounce in her seat but couldn’t bring herself to care. “She even said I’m welcome to come over and work in the forge any time I want!”

Jason groaned and she whipped around to glare at him. “And who let you be friends?” He asked.

“Technically, you did,” Zatanna mused. “You are the one who convinced her to set up those cooking classes, right?”

“My own worst enemy yet again,” he muttered in response.

Marinette giggled. The poor baby .

She stayed and chatted for a while longer, but as the sky began to darken, she excused herself to go back to her own guild so her friends wouldn’t send out search parties en masse.

Jason waved goodbye to her as she used the teleport crystal, and she held in a laugh at the playful punch and thumbs up he got from Roy as she returned the gesture.

When she returned to her own guild house, she was met with her Order standing watch. She gifted Adrien his new armor, which seemed to pacify him momentarily as he animatedly admired it, but she knew she wasn’t out of the woods with the rest of them.

“Will you please talk to us?” Chloe asked earnestly. Marinette winced at that. If Chloe was the one using the magic word, she had to be seriously worrying her friends. Maybe it was finally time to do this. Gods know they wouldn’t leave her alone until they talked. Plus the whole “doing everything on her own” thing wasn’t exactly sustainable. The first time she’d met Jason, when he rescued her in the snow, proved that.

“Okay,” she acquiesced reluctantly. “Can we sit?”

Luka nodded and they all gathered on the couches by the fireplace.

Marinette sighed. This talk was a long time coming, but she wasn’t ready for things to change. She knew it was stupid to just do it all herself, but.... She wasn’t ready to watch her friends get hurt all over again. She kept her gaze stubbornly on a very interesting spot on the floor.

“Look, I can’t shake my instincts from home,” she began, knowing they’d catch her meaning. “I need to get everyone out as fast as possible so things can go back to normal.”

“Marinette,” Kagami began in a tone that indicated she wouldn’t like whatever came next. “We all feel the same way. But the rest of us are not blowing each other off and running headlong into danger.”

“With a stranger, no less,” Luka added.

Adrien chimed in, “You need us as much as we need you. What happened to working together? The Order you made?”

“Okay! I get it,” Marinette raised her hands in surrender. “This doesn’t need to be an intervention. Can we please just have a conversation?”

“Fine. Why haven’t we seen you since level thirteen?” Adrien crossed her arms.

“You see me every day,” Marinette rolled her eyes.

“At breakfast and dinner, if that,” Luka said evenly.

“I’m busy helping at the front lines!”

“With Jason, but not us?” Kagami asked.

“He’s been... he’s different.”

Chloe, who had been quiet for some time, burst out tearfully, “Why can’t you look at me?”

Marinette bit her lip. “I... I can’t see you get hurt like that again.” Her voice cracked. She thought her heart might join it.

Chloe reached for her hands and Marinette tried to control the shaking.

“Dupain-Cheng, do you think you’re the only one who cares? The only one here who wants to save everyone and go home?”

Marinette finally raised her eyes to meet her friend’s and felt her heart clench at the tears he saw in them. “Of course not,” she whispered, not trusting her voice to be any louder than that.

Adrien knelt on the floor in front of her and placed his hands over theirs. “Then let us help you. Please.”

That was all it took for her to break.

She told them of her nightmares and fears. How she had started adventuring with Jason because she didn’t know him and she’d convinced herself that it would make it easier to handle if he got hurt. How she’d realized too late that she’d grown to care for him, but he insisted he was going to keep fighting at the front lines anyway, so she had to stick with him. That earned a facepalm from Adrien, who grumbled that they should have done the same.

Marinette gave a watery chuckle. She really was being silly, wasn’t she? Strength in numbers was everything back in Paris, why wouldn’t it be the same here? Half of the wonderful people surrounding her joined the Order because she couldn’t do it alone. And she’d never been alone, she’d always had Adrien by her side. She squeezed his hand with a small, grateful smile.

She wiped at her damp eyes. “Oh, there was something... else I almost forgot,” she began nervously. Her friends nodded and gestured for her to go on.

“There was one time where Jason almost died. I mean, he had one HP left. I was so terrified I dropped all the healing potions and they broke. But then I reached out my hands and... I accidentally might have healed him?” She finished nervously.

“With Alchemy?” Adrien prompted.

“No,” Marinette bit her lip. “It was more like... like creation magic.”

Her friends stared at her, quiet in thought.

“...Have any of you had that?” she asked them, but she knew the answer from the bemused look in their eyes.

“I looked into in-game healing mechanics, but I couldn’t find anything even close to what happened. What I did,” she heaved a sigh.

“Hey, whatever it was, we’ll figure it out together,” Adrien squeezed her hand back.

Luka tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe it was out of desperation at the situation,” he mused, “like those rare circumstances where mothers get an adrenaline rush and can lift a car to save their child.”

“You do seem to care an awful lot about Jason,” Chloe smirked playfully. Marinette blushed profusely, too tired to deny anything by this point.

“We can set out researching it in the morning,” Kagami reasoned, carefully layering blankets over the others on the couch. “It’s late and we need our rest.”

Marinette was indeed yawning. It would be difficult to swallow back her reservations in the morning, but for now, it was enough to be surrounded by people who loved her. And surround her they did, in a tangle of limbs and floppy hair buried beneath a mound of pillows and blankets on the couches of their living room.

Her eyelids were heavy from crying. She barely stayed conscious enough to lift her head for Luka to place a pillow beneath it. Her friends-- her court,  her Order-- only let her drift off into sleep with the assurance that this conversation was not over until they had fixed things for the future.

She supposed she had bigger problems than her friends caring about her.

* * *

A few days after Marinette visited his guild, Jason was surprised to find a package delivered to the doorstep of his cottage. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, knowing that nobody knew where he lived--

Well, almost nobody.

He gingerly unfolded the card tucked into the top of the wrapping to reveal a flowing script that read, Something to keep you safe. -M . The back stated, P.S. It’s time for you to meet my friends. They insist.

He smiled as he opened the rest of the package, no longer apprehensive but instead excited, and found a striking set of armor with neatly folded clothes to wear underneath it. The armor was a deep maroon with black accents that seemed to pulse with life. The sturdy black undershirt and pants were light and breathable but thick, with shimmering gold detailing the seams and delicate runes stitched into the fabric.

In other words, it was fucking sick.

And he knew exactly who he had to thank for it.