Chapter Text
Two weeks have passed since Diana spoke to Marinette. Since then, the founding members of the Justice League have been waiting for a response from Ladybug.
All except Wonder Woman are of the opinion that Marinette will not pass the message on to Ladybug. But Wonder Woman was firmly convinced that Marinette would. At least to her, it didn't look like Marinette was lying.
They were in the conference room, where Hal wanted to discuss a topic again "How long does this have to go on?!"
Wonder Woman replied matter-of-factly "Have you learned your lesson?"
Before he could reply, a voice spoke "I doubt he'll ever learn anything."
All eyes turned to a black portal, from which Ladybug emerged, followed by Lady Noire, Multi-Turtle, Multi-Snake, Multi-Fox, Multi Bee and Multi-Horse, only Multimouse was not with them, so that the Justice League couldn’t take advantages of the knowledge that she is Marinette, even though everyone of the Miracle Clones is Marinette.
Before anyone could react, Multi-Turtle shouts "Shelter!", creating a protective shield around a small area around her team.
Ladybug explained without being asked, "Small precaution on our part."
The Justice League members stared in surprise at the suddenly appeared group before their astonishment turned into mixed reactions. Batman gave Wonder Woman a meaningful look while Superman watched the scene with his arms crossed, slightly skeptical.
Wonder Woman, on the other hand, smiled calmly, as if she had expected exactly that.
Batman, always controlled and serious, raised an eyebrow "You just showed up without warning."
Ladybug crossed her arms, "Oh, I would have notified you. But I was pretty sure you would either ignore the message or it would end up in the spam folder."
Flash couldn't help but laugh quietly while Superman and Batman looked at each other briefly, obviously unsure how to react.
"You've kept us waiting for a long time." Hal said sharply, his eyes filled with anger.
"I can say the same to you, except that none of you came to Paris." Ladybug replied matter-of-factly.
Hal grumbled, he wanted to say something, but Wonder Woman's look stopped him.
Ladybug approached the table and created a red chair with polka dots. She sat down. Her gaze wandered to each of the founding members. The determination in her eyes was unmistakable.
The tension in the room was palpable as Ladybug surveyed the room with calm composure, her presence unmistakable. Wonder Woman nodded at her respectfully, while the rest of the Justice League radiated a mixture of suspicion, surprise and, in Hal's case, undisguised anger.
Ladybug leaned back in her chair as if she had full control of the situation, and in a way she did “So,” she began, her voice sharp, “what do you want?”
There was a brief silence before Martian Manhunter spoke “First of all, we would like to apologize,” he began, his voice neutral but still serious “It was a mistake to abandon you and Paris. We should have dealt with the calls for help sooner.”
Wonder Woman nodded in agreement while Superman added, "The one responsible for the failure..." her eyes briefly glanced at Hal Jordan, "has been held accountable. He now has disciplinary tasks that befit his role as a hero."
Hal grumbled under his breath, but turned his head away as Ladybug gave him a piercing look. "Disciplinary tasks? Hopefully something that befits his lack of responsibility." she said coolly.
Superman, always careful to keep his composure, spoke, "We wanted to talk to you, Ladybug. Your skills are impressive, and we think that you and your team..."
"Wait, stop." Ladybug raised a hand and interrupted him. "Before you go on - impressive? Yes, I have saved Paris from destruction several times, while all of you, the mighty heroes of the world, have never shown up. It's almost as if Paris doesn't exist for you."
The founding members exchanged glances, but no one seemed to have an immediate reply. Wonder Woman remained silent, watching the conversation with raised eyebrows, knowing that Ladybug needed to let out her anger.
"That was not our intention," Batman tried to remain matter-of-fact, "but we were dealing with global threats."
"Ah yes, global threats," Ladybug repeated dryly, pointing to the window where the Earth is visible "You know, Paris is part of the world, right? Maybe you forgot that when you were taking care of other matters, like forwarding our messages to the spam folder."
Hal, barely able to contain his frustration, pressed his lips together "You have no idea how complicated our work is. You're just a kid who happened to get some superhero powers."
Ladybug laughed, a hard, cold laugh "And you're a grown man who loses his ring and then cries because he no longer has any powers. So what are you trying to tell me?"
Flash, who had remained calm until now, couldn't suppress a short giggle before he pulled himself together again. Batman shook his head imperceptibly while Wonder Woman looked at Hal warningly to signal him not to push it any further.
Ladybug sighed and leaned forward, her gaze fixed on the group "I'm only here so that you don't visit Marinette again. There is no excuse for showing up at her home without having even the tiniest bit of respect for her life." Her tone grew colder. "And just to be clear. From now on, you will adhere to the travel ban to Paris that applies to all members of the Justice League. Understood?"
The tension grew, and it was clear that none of the Justice founding members had expected to be reprimanded so directly.
Hal finally jumped up. He slammed his hands on the table as he yells "And what about my ring?!" His anger boiled over. "You have no right to take it from me! Give it back to me!"
Ladybug looked at him, her eyes flashing dangerously "Oh, your ring?" She leaned back and crossed her arms. "Even if I gave it back to you, which I won't, by the way, you wouldn't be able to use it. Because I cursed you."
The silence in the room was suddenly oppressive. Hal stared at her with his mouth open, unable to comprehend what she had just said.
"Cursed?" he asked in a horrified voice.
"Exactly. You can't use it again until either two years have passed, the same amount of time I've spent trying to get your attention, or until you learn your lesson and understand what it means to be a true hero." she shrugged "I actually wanted to curse you so that you would never be able to wear the ring ever again, but I changed my mind.“
Hal opened and closed his mouth, unable to respond.
Wonder Woman shook her head slowly when she saw the resigned look on Hal's face.
Superman, wanting to steer the conversation in a more productive direction, spoke up again. "Ladybug, I understand your frustration. But with our help, you could have tracked down Hawk Moth long ago."
Ladybug snorted derisively and crossed her arms. She looked at Superman as if he had just said something particularly stupid "You're right," she looks at Hal with a piercing look, "but a certain someone forwarded my messages to the spam folder. So I had to track him down on my own.“
Superman didn't reply, his brow furrowed as he considered her words.
"But to be fair," Flash said, "you broke into our base and were only able to find Hawkmoth because you used our system."
Ladybug replied as if it were obvious, "In case you haven't noticed, I don't have the privilege of having billions of dollars worth of equipment to spy on every corner of the world like you do. I don't have a satellite network or supercomputers that do everything for me. I did everything I could with very little to protect Paris. Maybe it's not as glamorous as your methods, but it works."
Flash was taken aback. He feels a little stupid for having said something like that. And if he's honest with himself, Ladybug was right to break in here and use their system.
Batman spoke in a calm but firm voice "Ladybug, you should trust us more. We are here to help, not to harm you or your team."
Ladybug slowly turned to him, her eyes narrowed, and a mocking smile played around her lips "Trust?" She laughed quietly and shook her head "You, of all people, Mr. Paranoia, are talking about trust? You probably already have ten plans in mind in case this meeting goes wrong."
Batman said nothing, his expression remained impassive as always, but the slight tension in his shoulders was unmistakable.
"What we're trying to say," Wonder Woman began again, this time more gently, "is that we respect your abilities, Ladybug. Paris is lucky to have you. But we could... work together."
Ladybug gave her a sharp look "Working together? Are you serious?" She shook her head. "Why would I work with a group that has ignored my team, my city and me for years? Where were you when Hawkmoth destroyed my city several times? Or when all of Paris was flooded and several hundred thousand people drowned? Or when I lost my original team?“
Superman cleared his throat, but before he could say anything, Ladybug continued. "Let me guess, you were too busy to deal with a local problem, right?"
"It's not that simple," Superman tried to explain calmly, "we didn't see your cries for help. We have duties all over the world..."
"And that's the point," Ladybug cut him off. "Paris wasn't important enough for you. You overlooked it. Redirected it to your spam folder. And now, after everything we've been through, you want me to join your hero club?"
Batman started to interject, but Ladybug was quicker. "You know what's really ironic? I wanted to admire you. When I started, I thought the Justice League were the ultimate heroes. Heroes who would stand by Paris and me when we called for you. But now, after all this? You're nothing more than a group of adults who think they know everything better. Spoiler, you don't."
Hal couldn't take it anymore. "That's enough!" His voice rose, his anger seething. "You may have succeeded in Paris, but you're not infallible, Ladybug. You could learn a lot from us."
Ladybug looked at him with an icy smile. "Oh really? What exactly should I learn from you? How to ignore cries for help? How to forward messages to the spam folder? How to neglect my duties? Or wallowing in self-pity instead of taking responsibility? Sorry, but no thanks."
Each word struck Hal like a knife in the heart. He opened his mouth, but Wonder Woman put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "Ladybug," she said calmly, "we know you've been through a lot. But you have to admit that the Justice League is powerful. You and your team could make a big difference if you were with us."
Ladybug stood up and moved closer to the table, her eyes on Wonder Woman. "I appreciate your respect, Wonder Woman. But here's the thing, I've seen Earth's Mightiest Heroes not be enough. Power alone isn't enough to save a city or a world. It's about responsibility, about commitment. And what you don't understand is that my team and I have been doing this for years, without you."
She let her words sink in before continuing. "You may be the Justice League, but you didn't save Paris, we did. We saved ourselves. And we'll keep doing that, without the Justice League."
Batman, Superman and Flash looked at each other briefly as Wonder Woman made one last attempt "Are you sure you don't want to join? We could accomplish so much more, together."
Ladybug smiled gently, but it was a distant, determined smile "I'm sure. You don't really want me on your team, you want control over me and my team. And I'm not going to give you that."
With that, she turned and waved to her team "Time to go."
"You sure you don't want to join?" Flash asked, still hopeful.
Lady Noire grinned widely and winked "We'll be fine, Flashhead."
With one last look around, Ladybug disappeared through the new black portal that Multi-Horse opened, followed by her team. Wonder Woman stared at the empty space that disappeared as the portal closed, along with the green shield that had surrounded Ladybug and her team a short while ago, while Hal just clenched his fists.
"She's completely dumped us." Flash muttered.
Wonder Woman smiled slightly, "She knows what she's doing."
"And now what?" asked Superman.
"Now," Wonder Woman said calmly, "we'll leave her alone. Just like she wanted."
The room was quiet, the weight of Ladybug’s words still lingering. Hal opened his mouth as if to argue, but quickly closed it when he caught Wonder Woman’s steady gaze.
Martian Manhunter shifted, glancing at the spot where the portal had closed. His voice was low. "She didn’t just leave us. She shut us out."
"Maybe," Flash added quietly, "but we never gave her a good reason to trust us."
No one responded. For the first time, there was nothing left to say.