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Maribat

Isabella (Marinette) Martha Wayne Sequel 1

Marinette Wayne (Re-vibed by the same author) - Chapter 1 - Awaken7980 - Miraculous Ladybug [Archive of Our Own]

Begin Again Sequel 2

A new Awakening - Chapter 1 - Awaken7980 - Miraculous Ladybug [Archive of Our Own]

Whatever It Takes

“Come on guys think!” Dick, encouraging everyone, and while he did nothing. “We need to look at cameras, witnesses, and everything in between!”

“Hey Dickie, why don’t you make yourself useful and get us something?” Jason said, shaking his head at his older brother. “Or are you just going to act like a coach and a cheerleader at the same time?”

“Coach and cheerleader… I know it! COACHLEADER!” Dick said doing a cartwheel.

“If you’re gonna make horrible names, at least pick one, which is the least horrible.” Tim said, while his eyes were glued to the screen. “How about Cheerch?”

“Ceerch?” Damian asked. “Seriously, that’s the best you could come up with?”

“I’ve been running on—“

“Yeah, what have you been running on Replacement? Let’s tell the mother hen present. That’s exactly what you want to happen don’t you? Getting tranquilised and then dragged to bed?”

“Come on guys, don’t fight!” Dick said, jumping around

“Oh yeah, Mr. Controller.”

“How much head away have you made?” Bruce as he entered the bat cave.

“not much, I’m afraid father because these morons insist on wasting the time doing stupid shenanigans.” Damian said, rolling on his chair to face his father.

“Oh yeah, and what’s the deal with her anyway?” Jason asked, looking at him. “ If she doesn’t want to be found, why find her? She’s not in a cult. Is she?”

“I don’t know, dude.” Tim said, scrolling up. “50-50 chance, I think.”

“Don’t you dare think such a thing, she's too smart.” Damian said, jumping to his sister's defense.

“I don’t even know what she looks like? How am I supposed to ask around the Crime Alley to see if anyone saw her?” Jason asked.

“Here.” Bruce said, handing him a photograph.

“Wait a minute, she looks familiar.” Jason said, squinting at the photograph.

“I hardly think so.” Damian said. “You were too low the food chain to ever meet her—“ “SAPPHIRE?!” Jason said his thumb, covering the face of the girl in question in the photograph.

“Yes, that was her code name.” Damien said, rolling his eyes.

“Am I the only one in the dark, here? Why would she have a code name?” Dick tilted his head while he hung upside down from the trapeze bar. “Aren’t you guys interested in blood relations and all?”

“Grandfather was.” Damian said. “As long as it was related to males. Mother was accepted out in the open, simply because he couldn’t hide her. Mariam on the other hand, well. Everything about her was planned, including the fact that she would not be simply given privileges based on her birth. Would have to earn them.” Distaste was clear in Damian’s voice.

“Are you sure this is her?” Jason asked, looking Bruce in the eye.

“You know her from the league.” Bruce didn’t question it. He simply stated it.

“She was my handler, and she got me out.”

“WHAT?!” Everyone shouted (Bruce loudly growled).

“Her name was Sapphire. She always wore a mask, but I recognise those eyes anyway. She was one of the best.” Jason said, looking up at them.

Bruce gave out a long sigh. “I’ll call Talia.”

In Paris.

“Are you sure you're allowed to teach me this sort of stuff? Isn't there a sort of NDA that you have to sign? You can't just go around giving out these secrets for free.” Mariam said as food taught her the guardian language.

“As I have stated previously, the Guardians have all died and I'm the last remaining one. It is essential for me to pass on the knowledge.” Fu said, looking at her superiorly.

“Yeah, just think, if they had been alive, you would have been sued by now.” Mariam said, slightly smirking at him.

“Can we please focus on the task at hand?” Fu asked, looking up at her in frustration.

“How about no? The kwamis have already taught me this. Did you really think they didn't understand the language which the Guardians had been using in front of them for thousands of years? Kids learn language this way. And you are talking about celestial beings. I can't decide if you are this dumb or was your whole society this dumb.” Mariam said, getting up. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Just can't say things like that and expect everything to be NORMAL!” Fu said, looking up at her in agitation.

“I can and I will. Who treats beings in such a manner? Locking them up in a box. You realize such treatment was given to the worst traitors in the league.”

“WHY DON'T YOU GO BACK TO THEM?” Fu said as he stood up. “Ohh wait.” He said mockingly. “Maybe it's because you KILLED THEIR LEADER.”

“At least I didn't do it UNINTENTIONALLY! At least I knew what I was doing! I had the guts to say what was wrong while you just listened. You know there's a word for people like you, though you might not know it. It's called being an ENABLER.”

“DON'T YOU DARE TALK LIKE THAT WHILE YOU STAY UNDER MY ROOF.” Fu growled at her.

“I didn't beg to be here. The only reason I stayed here was to protect those beings from people like you. They are not objects.” Mariam gritted back. “Don't forget you were the one that said ‘I can make use of you.’ we both know i'm just a way for you to preserve your… CULT!”

“SILENCE!” Fu shouted at her.

“OR WHAT?! YOU'RE GONNA LOCK ME UP? KILL ME? WELL, GETTING THE LINE BUDDY.” Saying that she walked out.

He always knew it would be a bad idea. Even when she was Ladybug. He first saw her on a screen on Tim’s laptop. Gorgeous blue eyes. Freckled skin like chocolate chips on a cake. A deep commanding look on her face, which he usually saw on the faces of seasoned heroes like Batman or Superman or Wonder Woman. She looked around his physical age. Not that it was a true measuring unit. He'd been around for a couple of years and still looked 18. Yeah, but the first thing that came into his mind when he saw her was the word ‘pretty’. More specifically, that she looked pretty.

But he never had an opportunity to directly talk to her. Wonder Woman, Zatana and John were in charge of the communication from the Parisian heroes and the Bats were only backing up as detectives, aiming to find her villain. He first had the opportunity to meet her when she first stepped into the tower as ‘Lady Miracle’, finally defeating her villain.

They were all standing around in the watchtower as she and Wonder Woman walked in. His surprise must have shown on his face because Rob was trying to elbow him in his gut to get his mouth closed and Clark and Jon were smirking at him.

Wonder Woman gave them a quick review of the situation in France and then the main founders left for their meeting while the ‘sidekicks’ hung around as so helpfully said by Green Lantern(Hal- the git). The younger school-going superheroes were also sent back. Yeah, but it gave the young heroes a perfect opportunity to chat with Lady Miracle. Which Bart helpfully emphasized by running up to her first.

“Hey, what's up? How are you doing?” Bart said, shaking her hand. Classic speedster style.

If Lady Miracle was shocked by it, she didn't let it show on her face. “Yeah, I'm doing good. Defeated my villain and all. Finally my schedule was cleaned up a bit.”

And of course, that had to catch Nightwing’s attention. “You mean to tell me that you didn't drop out of school?”

“Why would I?” Lady Miracle asked.

“So how did you take care of the akuma-ta-ta?” Bart asked.

“First of all, it's Akuma. Come on, say it with me a–”

“A–” Repeated Bart.

“Ku–ma”

“Ku-maai”

“Close enough.” Lady Miracle said with a smile.

“Anyway, getting back to the topic.” Red Robin said. “How the hell did you manage that?”

“I made up excuses like– ‘Miss, I wanna go to the bathroom.’ or ‘I need to help my parents out at the–their business’ or something.” Lady Miracle said, shrugging her shoulders.

“So you mean to say your parents know?” Nightwing asked.

“WHAT? No. They don't know. Hopefully they'll never find out.”

“But why not?” Superboy(elder) asked.

“I really don't like talking about it, sorry.”

“No problem.” Superboy answered before one of the detective boys could jump in and insist on an answer.

“We all have something we don't want to talk about, right Red?” He said, giving the boy in question a pointed glare.

“Yeah, right. Totally.”

This was a bad idea. He had a sinking feeling he would be back on that question the moment he got the chance. But there was a really pretty lady in front of her and maybe he would not get a chance to ask her out later on, so-he-probably- shoulddoitnow. Why on Earth was he rambling? He was supposed to be the smoothest talker in his team for God's sake! He stopped as he felt a touch on his forearm. He lived up to see Lady Miracle smiling at him curiously.

“You were rambling.”

He gulped. Quite visibly. This fact was verified by the snickers from his team. Whole herd of betrayers, that lot.

“Are you fine?” Lady Miracle asked.

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” He replied, trying desperately to gain some swagger back.

She certainly let go of his arm as she heard the door open. More specifically the meeting door. “Let’s go see my new room.” She said, slightly tilting her head over the door where all the senior founder members were coming out of.

“Wait a minute, You're joining Young Justice?” Superboy asked, looking down at her and confusion.

“Yeah, didn't you hear, Wonder Woman? Wonder Woman is supposed to take me to the Young Justice headquarters.”

Apparently his lack of awareness was too much for his so-called teammates (Betrayers, as he had previously established) because those goons burst out LAUGHING.

“Ah, I've never seen Kon so FLUSTERED in my life.” Red said, trying to get his laughs under control, pretending to wipe a fake tear. Dude wore domino masks! And his (Robin’s) life was about to get VERY short.

“Ohh I'm gonna enjoy having you around.” Cassie said, lightly patting Lady Miracle’s arm.

The meeting got over and they were all on their way to the Young Justice cave. Correction Batman, Wonder Woman, Lady Miracle and the Young Justice were on their way to the Cave.

Although it wasn't clear enough from Lady Miracle’s face, it was easy enough to tell that she was excited. No, excited wasn’t the word. Terrified? Yeah, that was closer. And to be fair, they were the upcoming heroes who were eventually gonna be the new Justice League. That makes them sound like rich kids ‘heirs to huge empires’ club. Whatever.

Jon’s mind was distracted. Will she date him? She was very pretty smart, and he was pretty sure many heroes would try to ask her out. Not that he owned her, but he really really wanted to date her. He tried to ease his mind as he heard Lady Miracle’s gasp as she first saw the cave.

And the days flew by.

Surprisingly, Lady Miracle, fit right in with Red Robin and Superboy. They were all around the same age group. She and Red Robin, specially bonded over coming up with ridiculous ideas during battles. It didn’t help that her superpower only spurred them on. Stupid polka-doted stuff that made everything more risky. They would come up with ridiculous angles and what not to take down simple villains! Too bad, he loves them. He did, because those mini-heart attacks were never easy on the kryptonian.

I won’t bore you with the fluffy details. This story isn’t about that. The story isn’t about the happily ever after. It’s about what comes after the happily ever after.

So let’s turn up the speed of the story.

Lady Miracle and Red Robin went on a couple of dates, but they decided they were better off as friends. Sometimes, when people have too much in common, it doesn’t fit right. After that Kon finally picked up the courage to ask her out, and it was a whirlwind from there. Happy days, passionate nights (or days, depending on their mood). Meeting the parents. Well Connor’s parents. Lady Miracle’s parents, as she told them, didn’t believe her, and they had a fall out. Something personal she said and they dropped it. Meeting Martha and Jonathan. Meeting Jon. Meeting Lex, Clark and Lois. Her revealing her identity. Her story. Kon getting down on one knee. Both of them, laughing in their wedding pictures. Marinette with their baby boy in her arms. Jon and Tim’s awed faces as they finally held baby Andrew. Tim crying as Kon and Marinette asked him to be the Godfather. It all flew by in a whirlwind.

Their are happily ever after.

Wise men say that there is a definite point, a decision that turns one fates’ around.

And to understand that point, you need to look at the line before and after it.

Someone rang the doorbell. The whole family Had gathered and were eating an amazing dinner courtesy of Alfred. Alfred, Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, Bruce, Selina and Talia were there to celebrate the newly turned 9 year old boy's birthday.

Someone rang the doorbell. Everyone was on high alert as Alfred walked out of the kitchen to answer the door and everyone else followed.

On the other side of the door stood Mariam.

“Ukhti!” Damian exclaimed as he rushed past Alfred and hugged her.

“Mariam?” Talia said, stepping forward. “But you–”

Damian moved aside and Talia speed-walked past him and grabbed her daughter in a hug. “I thought I lost you.” She whispered in Mariam’s ear. 

“Mother, you can't be free of me that easily.” Mariam replied, smiling.

“I believe we have a cake to cut, don't we? Let us take this inside, shall we?” Alfred said and they all trooped back into the dining room.

“Where have you been?” Dick asked.

“Somewhere safe.” Mariam replied. “Oh! Least I forget it.” She said, sliding a beautifully packaged box towards Damian. “Happy birthday, Damian.”

Damian slowly under the ribbon on the gift box and opened it to find a sketchbook and a set of pencil colors. He looked up questioningly at Mariam.

“You know, I'm traveling around, trying new stuff.” Mariam began. “I found out I really liked drawing. So I thought you would like it too. I mean, it's practical. It takes up little to no space. It comes easily to us. And it's basically like drawing the layout of a building, but with more details and smaller objects–”

“And more pretty” Selina added.

“It's fun, trust me.”

“Mm-hmm.” Damian said, inspecting the pencil colors. “They are of admirable quality.” 

“Well, of course they are.” Mariam replied. “I’m the one who picked them.”

“How exactly did you pick them?” Bruce said.

“What do you mean, Father?” Mariam asked, although her eyes were still fixed on Damian's joyous expression.

“I mean That Talia didn't give you any money.” Bruce continued.

“How would you know that?” Mariam asked.

“Because I told them, daughter.” Talia said.

“Well, can't argue with that.” Mariam said. “But you know, getting money isn't exactly hard. And I have sufficient training to get a job, you know. I mean, I've seen people less qualified than me earning nicely.”

“Well, I agree.” Damian said. He had set aside his gift along with his other gifts. “League education is nothing to be laughed at.”

“Yeah, but still, you shouldn't have to do this.” Talia said with a mocking smile. “Isn't that right, daughter?”

“Ha, ha, ha.” Mariam gave a light laugh. “Walked right into that one, I did. But it's fun. Genuinely, it's a lot of fun.”

The rest of the conversation ended in favor of Damian's celebration. Or “Successful completion of nine years of existence.” In Tim’s opinion.

Afterwards, they all left for patrol. Mariam was wearing a basic outfit of Batgirl's costume with Nightwing as her buddy.

After the patrol winded up, they all met at the rendezvous point on top of the Wayne Enterprises building. All happily looking down at the smoke filled the city with blinking lights clearing up at them. 

“Mariam?” Talia said, turning towards her. “Why do you insist on this?”

She turned away from the look and looked deep into her mother's eyes. “Insist on what, mother?”

“Insisting on living on your own when there are two houses perfectly capable of taking you in. You don't need to stay with me, You can stay here with your father if you want.”

“Is it wrong to insist on it if I have a perfectly valid reason?” Mariam asked.

“What is this perfectly valid reason ukhti?” Damian asked her. “What is this reason that justifies you staying away from us?”

“Simple.” Mariam said, moving towards the edge of the building. Everyone saw it and their muscles tensed. “I knew Grandfather was gonna die before he died.”

“What?” Bruce growled.

“I'm the one who killed him. I-I” Her breath hitched. “He was coming after you, Mother.”

“What are you talking about?” Talia asked. “You mean to say that your grandfather was coming after me?”

“He intended to.” Mariam replied.

“You could have talked to me about it.” Talia said, throwing up her hands in frustration, her voice reflecting her anger.

“I'm sorry mother, but it would not have yielded any results.” Mariam said, looking deep into her eyes. “All this while you couldn't see what was happening. Actually, you could see, but you refused to understand it. Grandfather, he was sending you into dangerous missions, treating you so horribly. He would have had you married to somebody in the League But was simply scared that his son-in-law could be a potential threat. A potential heir to the throne. You give up on so many of your dreams. Just do not anger him. And for what?” She scoffed. “Only for you to be thrown away once you have trained your replacement? Once you had trained me? Couldn't you see that, mother?”

Talia stood speechless. 

Mariam continued. “I couldn't let him take you, Mother. I regret what I had to do, but I will not apologize for it.” She took a small step back and stumbled on the edge. “But I apologize to you all.” She said in a whispered voice that carried through the silent night despite the traffic below. With that, she turned around and dropped from the building. 

All those on the roof rushed near her in a desperate attempt to grapple her to safety. She hadn't taken her grapple. But they saw no sign of her.

They all stumbled back near the center of the building. Everyone still reeling in shock. They were shaken out of their thoughts when Oracle’s voice chimed in in the comms. “She just dropped by with the uniform and left.”

“Team head back to the Cave.” Batman said and hence, the night ended.

Mariam's second visit came a day after Bruce's birthday. 

They all had come back from patrol and were winding up for the night, when they heard light footsteps. All except Damian drew their weapons and stood ready.

They all waited breathlessly as they saw the shadow of a human coming closer.

“Mariam!” Damian exclaimed.

As she came into proper view, she gave all of them a meek smile. “Happy belated birthday, father.” She said as she stopped walking.

“Mariam?” Bruce asked not believing himself and how could he? After they had made her run away?

“In flesh.” Mariam said, giving a light chuckle.

“Why have you come now?” Damian said, cutting into the conversation. “Why didn't you come yesterday when it was actually Father's birthday?”

Mariam's fingers lightly fidgeted with the ribbon on the gift before answering. “I didn't want to ruin his birthday like I ruined yours.”

“Mariam,” Bruce said. “Never think that you would ruin my birthday. You are always welcome here.”

They all moved upstairs for a nice cup of tea before bed. 

“How long are you gonna be staying here?” Tim asked as he happily munched on some chips which Alfred had provided.

“Just a couple of hours. I'll be meeting with Mother afterwards.” Mariam replied.

“Mariam?” Bruce said.

“Yes, Father?”

“There's something I need to discuss with you.”

“Sure.”

“Let's go to my study.”

As they both got up, Damian blurted out, “I wish to go to visit Mother too.”

Bruce said, “It's fine by me. Will you be able to take him with you, Mariam?”

“Yeah.” She replied.

“Yeah?” Dick asked. “Since when did you start saying yeah?”

“I've been traveling. It's fun to see so many people. I picked up some words.” Mariam said before following Bruce out of the dining room.

Later, when they were in his study, he motioned her to sit down and he sat down opposite her. “Mariam, your mother and I have been talking.”

“About what?”

“About the fact that you're not staying with any of us. If there's a reason then please let us know.”

“I–” She said before taking a deep breath in and continuing. “I just want to see what a normal life feels like.”

“If you want a normal life, you can find it here.”

“I don't think I can. Believe it or not, Father, life as a billionaire's daughter does not qualify as normal.”

“There is also another reason. Isn't it?”

Mariam drew a deep breath in. “Promise me you won't tell anyone.”

“My lips are sealed.” Bruce replied, slightly leaning forward, trying to give an encouraging nod.

“Ra’s Al-Ghul was my grandfather. E-even though he treated me and mother horribly, there was still a sense of respect I had for him. Was it because it was ingrained in me or simply a respect for his skills? I can't seem to define it. But what I do know is, deep down, I did consider him f-family. I did consider him my blood. And–” She again drew a sharp breath in. “I can't seem to get rid of the guilt. I cannot wake up every morning and see his eyes in Mother’s and Damian’s. I-I didn't mean to kill him, but he was hurting the people I loved. Even heard from some of his trusted advisors that he was considering-g” 

“Considering replacing mother with you?” Bruce prompted.

“Yes, he was considering replacing mother with me. I couldn't risk that.”

“It's alright.” Bruce said, gently patting her shoulder, trying to comfort her. “Everything will be fine.”

From Plymouth, she made her way to London.

London. It fitted her. The clouds stopped the blinding sunlight from ever reaching the ground. Like a tamer version of Gotham. Obviously the crime rates were not near each other, but at least the atmosphere matched. Dark. Cloudy. Cold.

Six days after Ra’s Al-Ghul died.

One day she was sitting in the park when she came across a curious old woman. Mariam was just sitting on a bench, minding her own business when an old woman with a smiling face and a funny little bun came along and sat beside her on the bench. 

“You like the clouds, I see.” she said.

Normally Mariam would not have replied, but it was days since she had a decent conversation with anyone, soo…

“It keeps the heat down.” Is what she said in response.

“Heat in London?”

“If the clouds weren't here, it would be a nice warm day with blinding sunshine and what not.”

“True.”

With that, they both sat in silence. Soon it was lunchtime and the old lady got up.

“What would you like to have for lunch?” She asked.

“How do you know my mother has not made lunch for me already?” Mariam asked, assessing her from the corner of her eye.

“Because most kids who are to eat at home start looking around for their mother as soon as it dawns lunchtime.” The old lady asked, smiling at Mariam. “I was thinking. Sandwiches would make a splendid lunch. What do you say?”

“No, thank you.”

“Look, child. I can tell that you have some sort of training. And that you are on the run.” 

Mariam tensed.

“I'm not here to hurt you.” The old lady continued. “This is me trying to return- more accurately, pass on the favor. Someone much dear to me also suffers through this.”

“So this is your way of easing your guilt? You couldn't save your loved one, so now you're trying to save me? I don't need to be saved.” Mariam said, getting up.

“My Fu is alive, thank you very much.” The old lady replied, frustration seeping into her voice.

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Nobody should leave a child on their own.”

“Child.” Mariam let out a sarcastic laugh. “Haven't heard that in a while.”

“Come on, young lady. I think you would like to meet Fu.”

And that's how she met him. That's how she met Wang Fu. The Guardian of the Mother Miracle Box. That's how she learned the old lady's name. Marianne Lenoir. Curious little coincidence there. Marianne, Mariam. But her life was nothing if not a coincidence. Her birth to her survival. Coincidence.

Meanwhile, in America (Batcave)

“You realize, Bruce, she doesn't have that level of training!” A female figure said. Her frustration evident through the huge screen in the Batcave.

“Talia, I know you don't like the sound of it, but it fits.” Batman said, his cowl off. “Tell me, who else would have the training? We both know it's not that simple to kill Ra's Al Ghul. All his assassins always sweep a perimeter wherever he goes. They are constantly on rotating grounds, otherwise it would have been so easy to kill Ra's Al Ghul.”

“Bruce, you talk like I don't know that.” Talia said, the sounds of swords clashing behind her clear enough to echo through the batcave. “Oh, and I wish they would stop fighting already!” She said loudly, shooting a dirty look over her shoulder where the sound of swords was coming from. “Continuous clash. Even though they know they are outnumbered, they can't give up.”

Nightwing came from behind to stand beside Batman's chair. “Those rebel groups have not quite burned down yet?” 

“They would have, but they refused to change. Normally there wouldn't be so much rebellion if I had just inherited it, but father with all his ‘females are inferior’ complexity which By the way was known throughout the league. Those groups are simply unwilling to have a female Demon Head.” 

“It doesn't help that the League of Assassins is changing its aims, does it?” Nightwing asked with a sad smile.

“No it does not.” Talia agreed, slightly shaking her head. “How I wish she was here.”

“I'm sorry, Talia.” Bruce said. “But she simply vanished.”

“And that's what confuses me.” Talia said. “She doesn't have that level of training that she can simply disappear off the bat–”

“Pun intended?” Nightwing asked with a sly smile.

“No.” Talia said, rubbing her forehead. “Coming back to the topic, she couldn't have killed Father. You realize to kill him somebody would have had to throw the stone based on their pure aim and–” She threw her hands up in frustration. “It's not as easy to aim with a stone as it is to aim with a gun. Whoever did this had remarkable marksmanship.”

“There's no point in fretting over it, Talia. We have our systems up. I will check daily but I think we should trust her enough to know that she knows what she's doing.” Bruce said.

“Wait a minute. Hold up.” Nightwing said, turning towards him. “Where was this trust when I used to disappear?”

“Girls are more mature.” Bruce mumbled.

And the night ended with Nightwing's offended sounds and Talia's soft laughing.

Bonus:

Mariam looked at the floating green turtle creature in front of her. She stared at the creature, and the creature stared back at her. Fu and Marianne looked in anticipation from behind her.

Mariam turned to look at them, pointing at that floating green turtle thing. “ What in the unholy hell is THAT!?

Bonus #2

“So,” Mariam said as she and Fu made their way back to the massage parlor after bidding Marianne farewell at the train station. “How many Kwamis are there?”

“You are not ready for that information. Just as we don't put the noodles in the water unless it's boiling, you'll have to show patience before you are taught about the miraculous.”

Three days after Ra’s Al-Ghul died

She was shaken out of her thoughts as the train rattled to a stop. Such broken down trains were very uncommon to see in the USA these days, but okay, illegal businesses aren't meant to be all hi-fi and attention catching. She got up to the train onto the station, ensuring that her bun and cap were securely in place. The reason she picked this place was? You ask? Well, the only way to defeat the bat-technology was to use technology they were not accustomed to. Sadly, there wasn't much technology, or frankly, no technology that the bats weren't used to, so she used the next best thing- outdated technology. Awfully hard to make the technology corporate and a perfect grainy cover to always keep people in doubt. A lady, maybe in her 30s, looked over curiously at her.

“Are you fine, dearie? Is there someone you're looking for?” The lady asked.

She'll give up her favorite dagger if people agreed that it didn't sound creepy. Who asks a young girl if there is someone going to pick her up? That's like asking for a kidnapping. Or maybe a robbery. She'll give her the benefit of doubt.

“Why don't you mind your own business already? Desperate is not a good look on you.” She let a nice New York rockin’ accent slip in.

“Excuse me?!” The lady said, completely mortified.

“Excused.” Mariam replied while turning away.

The lady got up, huffed, and walked off, muttering something along the lines of, “Kids these days. They have no respect. No wonder the country is–”

Now before you get all judgey. This is simple human psychology. A person would be more cooperative to help find a victim if the victim was a sweet little girl. That sparked human pity. Nobody would go too much out of the way to help her rude little brat they saw on the train. While it's sad that this is the situation of the society, it's true. And she had tried it enough places to know that it worked like a charm.

Soon, Mariam got off the train. She made her way to a boarding ship that was leaving for Spain. In about 5 hours. Not her smartest choice to go there, but… She'll have time to find something in one of the boxes to wear! Shopping malls were not guaranteed to have outdated cameras. Grainy surveillance could very much stop a person from being caught shoplifting. As Mariam was looking around the boxes, she found pale pink leggings. Perfect. She thought. No excessive fabric to ruin motion. She snooped through a couple of more boxes and found a black T-shirt with purple lines on it. Another great find. These clothes are the definition of an ordinary outfit. She got into the box, changed, and then got out.

I'll just lay down for a little while. Mariam thought. Frankly, running around like a demented hooligan did tire her, despite the level of stamina she has. As she leaned against one of the crates in the shadows. She tried to think why she wasn't in her comfy bed in the league. Sure, it was just a futon on the floor, but it beat the wood scraping her back any day. Right. She thought. Just killed their Leader, so… May not be so open to the killer.

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Can it be called ceiling if it's the ceiling of a ship? Does English have a different word for the ceiling of a ship? I don't think so. Oh, good. I'm procrastinating. This procrastinating will definitely reduce my effectiveness. And now I sound like Mother. This will be the news of the town. Trained assassin killed due to negligence caused due to procrastination. Procrastination: The number one enemy of mankind. Huh, sounds like a good title. Again procrastinating. Mariam sternly told herself. Stop procrastinating. OK, deep breath in. Deep breath out. Feel your toes. Do not faint down. Mariam tried to calm herself, repeating the chant her mother taught her as a young kid whenever her focus would go off stream.

You just killed your grandfather. You declared your mother the head of the League of Assassins. You did not stay with your father or your mother. Instead, you chose to flee because you're too much of a COWARD to-look-your-brother-and-mother-in-the-eyes, because-they-have-the-same-EYES-as-your-grandfather.

She let out a sigh.

No good overthinking it now. I decided all the pros and cons before I did it. Who knows maybe this new ‘Life’ may not be so bad. It's not like I'm abandoning them. I'll still go visit and… It will work out. Hopefully. She drew a deep breath in. The breath out. No mother to help you out of a panic attack. Mariam told herself. You're on your own, kid. You can handle this. (Taylor Swift pun intended.)

With that, Mariam got into the crate, making sure that she had proper air circulation and that the crate would not shift with the ship's movement. She allowed the gentle to and fro motion of the sea to lull her into sleep. A sleep filled with green eyes, golden goblets, and murderous intentions, popularly known as her grandfather, Ra’s Al-Ghul.

She got up after one hour. League training ensured that she was always aware, even while resting. She went back to sleep. This continued to happen throughout her journey through the Atlantic Ocean. Food had never been a concern. She had too good of a stamina to let her awareness be affected by it. Soon she was woken before her one-hour gap due to the shouting above deck.

Two possible reasons. She thought. Number one, we are being taken over by pirates. Or we have arrived at our destination.

The latter reason turned out to be correct. She got off. There was a beautiful Spanish sunset. Looks like any sunset. Mariam thought in the privacy of her mind. She got off and made her way to the nearest train station.

“Excuse me?” She asked the man sitting at the counter In passable Spanish. “When does the train leave for Plymouth?”

“The day after tomorrow, kid.” The guy replied back.

He didn't even look up. Mariam thought, scrunching her nose at the man. Too busy playing Galaga underneath the desk, I see. (Avengers, pun intended.)

“Is there any way to reach there earlier using layovers?” She politely asked. This statement, however, got the guide to look up and squint his eyes at Mariam.

“Why?” He asked.

None of your business is what she would have said. Buuuut, she wanted the guy to be cooperative. So instead, she said. “It's for a school project. Our topic is to find out the difference between a straight path time and a layover path time.”

The guy looked at the chart in front of him and said, “There is a way, but it will take you about 7 hours more.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, replied and left.

Six hours later, she was asking a different counter guy for a layover ticket to Plymouth.

Dear mother, I know you're mad at me. I was supposed to stay with Damien. Stay ‘safe’ as you put it But there is still a weak point I need to cover. You said our aim was to get Damian to safety. Mother, you and I both know he is not completely safe. Safer? Yes. But not completely safe. You know, I promised to myself that I would do whatever it took to keep you both safe. This is my way of doing it. Go ahead and say that ‘You don't need to do it’. But I know I need to do it. So, forgive me, mother, for disobeying your direct orders. I was following the order you gave me a long time ago.

I love you, Mother.

You always said that repeating something again and again reduces the value of your words. These three words I will never tire of speaking to you. Because you gave birth to me. You kept me safe as much as you could. You snuck in and stayed with me when I was sick. You are my mother.

You always said, “Mariam, You are my daughter. Be brave.”

Now I'm saying, “You are my mother, Trust me.”

Trust me to know what I'm doing.

Your daughter, Mariam.

Talia fell down crying after reading the letter. The woman who never shed a tear even after being stabbed and shot.

Bruce stepped forward and supported her to a chair.

— — — — — — — —

“M-Mother?” Damian asked as Talia was about to get back into the car.

“Yes, Damian.” Talia said, smiling at him.

“Don't worry.” Bruce said, standing beside Damien. “We'll keep a lookout for Mariam.”

Talia just nodded and was about to get into the car when a notification chimed up in the bat computer.

Facial match: Ra’s Al-Ghul Location: Gotham Harbour, Dock #7

They all looked at each other as they rushed to put on their costumes. Dick dragged Damian with him to at least make him wear a basic black Kalver uniform. Soon enough, they all took off. Dick and Tim on the nightcycle and the R-Cycle. Bruce, Damian and Talia in the Batmobile with Alfred manning the comms. After breaking some traffic laws, they pulled up at the Gotham Harbour in under 20 minutes. They all stepped out and saw Ra’s standing on a cliff while his personal helicopter, ready for takeoff, waited below in the sandy area.

“Well.” Ra’s said, turning towards them. “I expected that pusillanimous girl of yours to do this.” He said to Talia. “But you? You failed to achieve the low expectations I set for you. This has gone on for long enough. If you so desperately wish to get out of the league, then fine. The league has no place for cowards like you and your daughter who can not even respect their blood. Come along, Damian.”

“NO!” Talia And Damian said together.

Ra’s opened his mouth to say something else but just then a stone was catapulted from the nearby higher cliff which hit Ra’s, the momentum throwing him off the cliff and onto the spinning blades of his helicopter.

Everyone else remaining on the cliff were stunned and watched in utter shock as they heard the sound of flesh being sliced and falling into the slightly acidic waters of Gotham Harbour. As the men in the helicopter jumped out, arrows from the nearby cliff, although from a different area, claimed their lives as they fell down in the pools of their own blood.

All of them stood motionless. Then Batman said, “Whoever did this, the intention was not to harm us yet. Proceed with caution. Robin, Damian, check if there are any survivors. Talia, Nightwing and I are going to check the cliff from where the attack came.”

After spending hours, they couldn't find anything. Just a note that said.

I Bow to thee, Talia Al-Ghul. The Demon Head of the League of Assassins.

“What does this mean, mother?” Damian asked when they showed the note to everyone back in the Batcave.

“This is an ancient ritual.” Talia said looking at the note with something akin to silent horror. “Whenever a Demon had died and the heir took the place as the next Demon Head, all the people of the League of Assassins were supposed to pledge their loyalty to the new Demon Head. They used to bow as a symbol for accepting their superior.”

“But didn't Ra’s say that you were not to inherit the League?” Bruce asked. “Because you are a woman.”

“I know that.” Talia said.

“OK, OK, you are the new Head.” Dick said. “Got it. What are we gonna do now? I think that Mariam might have done it—”

Talia said, “She wouldn’t kill her own Grandfather.” She took a deep breath in.

“I still think the League isn't a fit place to bring up Damian. I still wish you would keep him here.” Talia said, looking at Bruce.

“That would be my absolute pleasure.” Bruce said. “But I want to know one thing.” He continued turning towards Damian, kneeling down to his level, “You wanna stay here, Damian?”

Damian looked deep into Bruce's eyes. “Yes, Father.”

“Well, that's settled!” Tim said. “He gets to stay with us. And you,” He said to Talia. “Get to head the league. Fun.”

Talia gave a light chuckle. “I will leave now.”

And so the days went by. Damian adjusted in his new life as the new Robin after Tim gave him the mantle. Talia went on to Head the league, changing the name from League of Assassins to League of Shadows. When Damian called her about it, she replied, “A new change of aim, means a new change of name.”

“Master Bruce, in quite a lot of cases, you have not been ready for something yet, you took it on beautifully. Some mistakes did happen, but your imperfection is a part of you. I believe you'll know what to do with Damian and how to do it. You both are more similar than you think.”

“I'm not just talking about Damian, Alfred. That girl, Mariam. My daughter.” He said, gesturing towards the blank screen off the Batcomputer.

“I meant it in both cases, Master Bruce.”

Bruce sighed.

“It will be better in the morning.” Alfred said, gently directing Bruce out of the Batcave.

“Good night, Alfred.”

“You too, Master Bruce.” Alfred replied, gently turning off the main lights of the Batcave, leaving the softly humming machines in partial darkness.

Bruce shifted on his pillow his hand reaching out blindly to shut off the alarm clock. Soon the annoying ringing stopped and his muscles started losing the tension in them. Normally, Alfred would come and knock on the door, effectively waking Bruce up. But last night, before he went to bed, he set up the alarm purposefully so that he could have some time to actually process all that happened last night.

Okay. Bruce thought. I apparently have two kids. Their mother is Talia. They have grown up in the League of Assassins. That gir-Mariam most probably treated as horribly as Talia had been by Ra's Al Ghul, and Damian must have been treated like me when I was in that demon’s good books as his potential heir. Okay, Lot to unpack. I can't even decide how to treat them because I don't know if this assumption is true. Well, Bruce thought, getting out of bed. The only way to find out is to actually talk to him.

He went about dressing up for the day with a turtleneck sweater and some slacks. He called up his secretary, (If there are any gods up there, bless that guy who put up with him) and told him that he won't be able to make it today.

He got out of his room and was walking down the corridor towards Damian's guest room. He made a mental note to make sure he has an actual room if he is going to stay here. He turned around the corner to see Alfred about to knock Damian's door in order to get him up.

“Alfred!” He whisper-yelled.

The man in question turned around and raised an eyebrow.

“I was thinking I could get him up.” Bruce said as soon as he came within normal hearing range of Alfred.

“Good morning to you too, Master Bruce.”

“Sorry- Good morning, Alfred.”

Alfred just gave him a smile. “You see, Master Bruce? I told you that you would do what's best.” He turned around towards Tim and Dick’s rooms. “Be sure to come down with the Young Master in 20 minutes for breakfast.”

Bruce hummed in response and slowly opened the door. He saw that the boy had thrown off his sheets and was curled up in the bed.

“Damian?” Bruce hesitantly asked.

The lump on the bed shot up the dagger in front of him in perfect stance. Bruce put his hands up. They both stayed still in that position for 10 seconds before Damian lowered the dagger. “Sorry, Father.”

“No-no, it's all right. Good morning. How did you sleep?”

“I slept well.”

“Good. How about you change and we go down for breakfast?”

“Very well.”

Bruce smiled and turned around. Damian saw him hesitating for a second before Bruce gave him a soft smile and walked out of the room.

Damien scanned his surroundings before slouching back into the bed. I am at my father's house. I am safe here. I am at my father's house. I am safe here. I am at my father's house. I am safe here. He chanted back to himself willing his heart to slow down. He looked out of the window to see the Manor gardens. Mother had always claimed that those were quite pretty, maintained by his father's dear friend who was also his Butler.

He got out of the bed, and walked over to the closet, which had one pair of clothes in every size. Hmm. He thought. That is actually a practical way. He picked up the pair, which he thought would fit him best, walked into the bathroom, scanned for bugs and then changed. As soon as he opened his bedroom door, he saw Grayson who was comfortably leaning against the wall. As soon as he saw him, he stood up straight and gave him a smile. “Hey, Damian. Good morning.”

“Good morning, Grayson.” Damien replied back.

Dick shot him an amused look. “You can call me Dick.”

“No.” Damian said. “I'm not going to use degrading terms in reference to you. My sister did tell me to play nice, didn't she?”

“Actually, Dick is short for Richard.”

“Still is a derogatory term. However appropriate you may decide it to be in your case.”

They both turned around at the sound of laughing. Tim was laughing and desperately trying to make sure that his coffee didn't spill over. “I–” He said to Damian trying to catch his breath, “I like you.”

“Oh my!” Dick exclaimed dramatically. “Betrayed by my own teammate.”

“Come on, let's go, drama queen.” Tim said, shaking his head. “You're going to make the guy think you're actually a dick.”

After breakfast everyone headed down to the cave to find where Mariam could have gone. Well, at least Bruce and Tim were trying to find out where Mariam had gone. Dick and Damian were sparing after Damian refused to join in the search for his sister stating that it was a useless cause since ‘She has been trained. She knows how to protect herself. And the best thing about her is that she knows how to pick her battles.’

While this display of was enough for Dick and Alfred, Bruce and Tim still insisted on trying to find her. They were all interrupted by the soft rumbling of a car as it pulled into the parking lot of the bat cave. The Three resident bats, feeling a sense of Deja vu, slipped on their domino masks. Dick stood in front of Damian, blocking him from the view of the car by his lean frame. A female figure stepped out from the driver's seat. She stepped ahead and the light revealed her to be Talia.

“Are they here?” She asked, her eyes scanning The Cave.

Dick stood aside and Damian started walking towards his mother. Both mother and son met midway and hugged each other.

Talia whispered into Damian's hair, “You're safe. Oh, thank God–whoever is up there, you're safe.”

After she released Damian, she looked up around. “Where is Mariam?”

Bruce stepped forward towards them. “She took off as soon as she dropped Damian.”

“WHAT?!” Talia screamed. “SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO STAY HERE. WHERE IS SHE?”

Bruce hesitantly began, “We couldn't find her. We're scanning through security cameras. We tried to match number plates. Nothing came up.”

“She wasn't supposed to leave?” Damian asked. His head turned up facing his mother.

“No. This is all wrong. She was supposed to stay here, with you.”

“She left a letter.” Tim said waving the piece of paper in question around.

“Huh?” Talia said.

“Yeah, she left me one too.” Damien piped in.

“Show me.” Talia said while getting up.

Tim handed her the envelope. She slowly opened it up and began to read. The letter was in Arabic.

Chole?

Cassandra?

Jason Peter Todd?

Robin?