Mokaislife

(Also I’m so looking forward to perpollo finally getting married, I’m genuinely getting giddy just thinking about it!)

PLEASE GO AHEAD, YOU HAVE MY WHOLE PERMISSION!!!

Petty Kingdom

“I’m beginning to take this personally,” Chat groaned peeling himself off the wall that had just interrupted his extemporaneous flight which had taken him through several rooms before making a cartoon like impact against the wall.

“It does seem to be rather uneven,” Red Robin grunted in agreement.  He held his hand out for Chat, still holding his aching ribs from the impact of the energy blast moments before that had blown him off his feet and into Nightwing, both hitting a wall with two resounding thuds, taking both of them out for a short period with likely concussions.

Ladybug cringed and dusted Chat off.  “It really does,” she nodded.  She looked over Chat carefully, letting her eyes linger on any areas that appeared to be more scuffed than the others.  Her eyes finally met his with a question he answered with a small nod and smile.  She nodded back before scanning the area around them for any signs of Klarion or evidence he had used the miraculous he’d stolen.

Not that he had given them many signs before attacking previously.  He was proving to be more problematic than they had anticipated, especially considering the Miraculous team’s experience with illusion, but it was taking them time to adjust to the familiar tactic being used against them.

Klarion, however, did not appear to need the same adjustment period.

Petty Goods

I managed to forget my computer when I went home for my dad's Celebration of Life so I'm behind on my plans so today's prompt isn't right, but I'll catch up.

Ladybug glanced around the ship… plane? batplane? whatever the Bat’s flying vehicle they were currently meeting in was called, taking in the optimistic look from the Bats, or at least two of them.  She couldn’t see Red Hood’s expression under the mask he was wearing but she didn’t think he would be capable of ‘optimistic’, an observation reinforced by the way he was precariously perched in a chair, legs propped on the table in front of him.  Nightwing and Red Robin, however looked chipper and hopeful.  She hated to let them down, but she would to protect her team.

“I’m not saying we don’t want to help,” Ladybug assured Nightwing.  “I’m just saying… it’s not the best time.  There are some…” she scrunched her face as she considered how to phrase her next words just right to not reveal their personal information but convey the severity of their concern.

She glanced at Carapace quickly and then looked at the other members of the Miraculous team before looking back at Nightwing. “…personal changes that have come up and um… we would like to focus on that particular change.  Changes!” she corrected quickly.  “We would like to focus on those changes.  And a mission may put undue stress on the… um… change.  Changes. …in a delicate time.”

“Dieu, Ladybug,” Rena scoffed.  She rubbed her hand over her forehead.  She looked at the team, her gaze lingering on Carapace for a moment before moving to Ladybug.  “I think the change can withstand a few hours away.  It’s not going to… fail because we left the city for a few hours.  If it does, it would never have survived anyway.”

Chat and Carapace both stepped forward, mouths open, but before they could say anything Red Hood spoke up, his voice booming through the space, derision echoing from the walls.  “I think your date can wait a few hours to save the world, don’t you?”  Ladybug whipped her head toward him, her face instantly contorting.

“We can certainly appreciate personal lives affecting your vigilante activities,” Nightwing spoke up quickly, exhaustion and a bit of panic edging into his tone.  He stepped forward interrupting their line of sight, a hand raised in both directions in a conciliatory gesture.  “We wouldn’t ask if we didn’t think your skills would be an asset.  Please listen and then decide.”  He ignored Red Hood’s scoff as he nodded to Red Robin to continue, but he purposefully bumped into Hood’s chair, causing him to flail out his arms to keep from falling.

“Okay,” Red Robin stated loudly before Hood could react.  He clicked a button on his tablet and the main cabin screen behind him blazed to life, a dizzying cacophony of code moving too fast to read, files with seemingly arbitrary names, and randomly, a movie summary appearing.  And in the middle, a Map of the Yucatan Peninsula.  The screen suddenly zoomed in on a spot along the coast, and a series of photos popped up around the map, most panels of variations of green, but a few LIDAR and infrared images emerged between the overhead photos.

“This is the site the rogue team we are following has infiltrated.  It is in the ruins of an as yet undiscovered by archaeologists, Mayan kingdom.  This particular Mayan kingdom, or city-state, had grown particularly strong around 350 CE before their sudden and inexplicable downfall only 15 years later.  It appears this rogue group, or rather the archaeology student helping them, believes it was due to a sacred relic.  And as no other city-state rose to sudden power in the aftermath of their collapse, they theorize the relic stayed in the city.  Hidden.  They’ve been searching for it for the past 3 months and apparently are getting close.” 

“And you believe this item really exists?” Rena asked.  “Not just fallacious philosophical fantasy?  People really like to write off ‘primitive’ cultures’ advances as due to outside influences because they couldn’t possibly have done it themselves.”

“Oh, it exists,” Red Robin grinned, his excitement at a mystery and making a larger archaeological discovery than his parents ever had, boiling over.  “Both the bigotry and the item.”  He pulled up a picture of a relief depicting Mayan hieroglyphs.  “From the analysis we’ve done, this is the depiction of a bat above a depiction of a ruler wearing a rather pronounced lip plug.  Sound familiar?”

Ladybug shook her head as she fought a returning smile in favor of a professional expression.  “And we believe it actually has power?” she asked. 

“Do you think you would be here if we didn’t?” Red Hood glowered.  “Do you think we go out of our way to make our lives more difficult?”  Ladybug quirked her head to the side and opened her mouth to respond but before she could, Nighwing cut in.

“We do,” he confirmed shooting Hood a pointed glare.  He snapped his head to the rest of the figures as they all let out loud snorts at his inadvertent confirmation.  “Think it has power,” he qualified, annoyance clear in his tone.  “They did an analysis of the area and found there to be a magical signature.”

Ladybug nodded and settled on the edge of the table, as far away from where Hood had positioned himself as possible.  “Do you know what kind of magical signature?”

“I’m going to guess it was Miraculous magic if we’re here,” Chat reasoned, his voice level and forcibly calm as if he could disseminate his serenity into the group.

Ladybug raised an eyebrow and turned back to the map, moving closer to the images and examining them more closely.  “You are giving them too much credit,” she singsonged.

Red Robin cleared his throat and took a breath before answering.  “We are still uncertain,” he admitted grudgingly.

She looked at Chat and motioned toward Red Robin with a look that clearly said ‘see?’  “Never trust a Bat.”

Red Robin rolled his eyes at her and slapped her hand away playfully.  “But…”

“We will happily contact a Lantern or Zatanna is you’re too preoccupied to help save civilians,” Hood growled.  “I thought that was your whole schtick.”  He looked her up and down lazily.  A condescending smirk settled on his lips.  “You’re a hero, you like showing how good you are by saving people.  Trying to prove how much better you are than the rest of us.  Brushing them off to get laid wouldn’t exactly live up to the hype.”

Ladybug raised an eyebrow and quirked her head to the side like she was accepting a challenge.  “Ooohhh,” Rena bubbled.  She settled into a chair Carapace held out for her to watch the chaos unfold.  She leaned in close to him when he took the seat next to her, like she was preparing to start gossiping, as though she intended to keep her voice low, a proposition nobody believed.

“We’ll happily contact a Lantern?” Red Robin muttered quietly to Nightwing.  “Which one?  Which one would we happily contact?”

“They’re not all terrible,” Nightwing offered weakly.

“Name a good one,” Chat asked popping up between them.  Nightwing opened his mouth then closed it quickly.

“Hush,” Carapace chastised with a pointed glare that ignored Chat’s eye roll.  “This is just getting good.”

Rena leaned forward to add her own chastising glare to support Carapace’s.  “We don’t have much to keep us entertained lately.  Let us have this.”

Red Robin sighed and turned away from them, closer to Nightwing as if his voice didn’t carry across the room.  “I’m just saying I’m not going to be the one to deal with them.  You’re taking the lead on that,” Red Robin finished quietly.

Ladybug ignored them and prowled closer until she was a few steps in front of Hood who sat up straighter in greeting of she approached, smirking as he leaned in toward her and abandoning all pretenses of disinterest.  “I don’t know about the rest of them,” she vaguely motioned behind her, “but I don’t have to try to prove to anyone how much better than you I am.  The evidence comes naturally and in abundance without ever trying.”

She leaned forward at the waist like she was addressing a child, though the glint in her eyes was savage.  “Because I live up to my hype,” she purred.  “All of it.  Unfortunately, so far you have too.”

The comment struck straight to his ego.  His smirk widened and he leaned back, arms behind his head and legs propped back up on the table, the picture of a man who had earned his reputation.  “Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment,” She looked him up and down, her lip curled up into a sneer that got deeper the longer she looked.  “Though I imagine someone like you thinks it is.  All brawn, no brains, and not even one of the strongest League members.  Your greatest contribution is as bait.  More likely to use brute force than strategy.  More likely to distract than act.  More likely to destroy than save.  And no moral compass.”

“Hey!” Chat squawked.  “Let’s not disparage destruction, please.”

Hood’s smirk dropped into an annoyed sneer.  “I’ve seen the hype you claim to live up to.  Your moral compass hardly points north.”

“Okay, maybe we should focus here,” Nightwing interrupted quick and loud before Hood said something Nightwing couldn’t unhear.

“Boo,” Rena jeered.  She looked around for a few seconds then under the table before leaning toward Carapace.  “Do you have anything I can throw at him?  There’s nothing here I can use.”

Carapace shook his head and looked around like he was taking in their environment for the first time.  “It really is eerily clean around here, isn’t it?” he noted.  A visible shiver ran down his spine.

“It’s clean,” Red Robin defended.  “Do you not have clean vehicles?”

“We don’t have any vehicles at all,” Chat shrugged.

Ladybug’s cheeks managed to return to a normal color during their interaction, becoming just slightly rosy instead of her entire face and neck matching her suit as it had moments before.  Her eyes narrowed at Hood, completely ignoring Nightwing unsuccessfully attempting to move between them.  There was nowhere for him to stand unless he wanted to straddle Hood’s legs. 

“I’ve seen some of yours too, honey,” Ladybug sneered.  She ran her hand along his boot, ignoring his body tensing under her, until she shoved his legs off the table.  “Awfully optimistic.  From what I’ve seen you’ve been closer to death much more often than a stable or healthy relationship.”

Hood shot to his feet the second his feet hit the floor, towering over her menacingly ignoring Red Robin choking quietly and loudly whispering, “Well, she’s not wrong.”  Rather than cower at his attempted intimidation, Ladybug stood straighter.  “Aww, sweetheart, I love the effort, but I’m taken.  Maybe try flirting with someone a bit more desperate,” Hood snarled.

“I didn’t know there were people more desperate than you,” she scoffed.  Her expression somehow managed to cool even more.  “But clearly there must be if someone agreed to date you.  But I guess someone had to take out the trash.”

Hood took a step closer, his hand clasped tightly around the handle of his gun.  “Right!” Red Robin announced loudly.  He shoved Nightwing between Hood and Ladybug and pushed at her shoulder to turn her back toward the screen to focus on the mission at hand.  Without looking, he already knew the thunk he just heard was Nightwing shoving Hood back in a seat.

She continued the eye contact with Hood for a beat to drive home her point before allowing Red Robin to redirect her and focus back on the pictures.  “Where are they focusing their searches?” she asked curiously staring at one particular image that seemed like a typical overhead jungle shot, just like every other one.  However, this one was a wider shot of the region.  Like the others, there was the tapestry of green over the vast majority of the image, but this one was wide enough to include the surrounding area including a bit of the sea in the corner and a small cenote just before the sea.

She stepped closer to the image, not reacting when Chat stepped behind her close enough his right shoulder was bolstering her left shoulder like a support structure.  He raised a hand to trace a slightly darker green square near the center of the image and traced a dark line leading from the square.  Ladybug nodded.

“That’s the temple,” Red Robin stated.  He stepped up to the other side of Ladybug, but unlike Chat, he gave her a bit of space.  “That’s where they’ve been focusing.  There are quite a few smaller structures and what looks like a road out, but they have only been looking at the temple in the center of the city-state.”

“We agree that is the most likely spot,” Nightwing spoke up.  He moved to the other side of Red Robin and pulled up another image on the main screen.  This one was a closer picture of the temple, giving a better idea of its dimensions.  He expanded it so everyone in the room could see it clearly.  “We know the Mayans had a pantheon and believed in Magic and the power of magic rituals.  Temples were where kings preformed their magic ceremonies and where priests lived.  It is likely the temple is where the relic would be kept.”

“Believing gods have powers and actions we perform can affect those powers isn’t magic.  It’s religion,” Ladybug noted distractedly.  She quirked her head to the side still studying the original image to the side of Nightwing’s image and flicked the touch screen to examine the other images, quickly flicking through them when they didn’t show her what she was looking for, until she arrived back on the original image.

“Yeah, but this object had powers that allowed them to manipulate the world around them and gave them the power to gain enough influence to become the leading kingdom in months,” Nightwing shrugged.

Carapace stepped up next to Chat and shook his head distractedly as he expanded one of the shots from a lower angle.  “According to Frazer, Ladybug is right.  That’s the difference between magic and religion.  Magic attempts to impact the natural world directly, religion attempts to impact the natural world via gods,” he offered.  “Both use objects to channel that impact.”

Red Robin, Nightwing, Rena, and Chat stared at Carapace in surprise, Chat with his jaw on the floor.  “That’s right,” Rena nodded absently, eyes never leaving Carapace, though the look had shifted from shock to awe.  “He’s right.  That’s what Frazer said, though there are concerns about his theory as seriously compromised due to bias.”

“What is happening right now?” Chat muttered to nobody in particular.  He shook his head like he was trying to rattle them into the appropriate slots.  When they still hadn’t placed neatly, instead stacking on top of one another like a rookie Tetris game, he looked over to Carapace searchingly.  “How… what?  You never paid attention in World Religions.  You tried to copy off me!  How do you people know these things?  None of you studied.”

“I studied,” Ladybug scoffed.  “I have a degree in…” she glanced around at the Bats watching them with varying amounts of amusement.  “A degree,” she finished defiantly.

“Not in Religious Theory or even History!” Chat exclaimed.

Carapace shrugged.  “I’m married to her,” he motioned to Rena who had taken the opportunity to join the group at the monitors.  “I picked up a few things.”  Chat stepped back and rubbed his temples, reevaluating his world view but Rena grinned sappily.

“Awww, babe,” she kissed Carapace on the cheek.  “Now if you could pick up your socks as easily as obscure religious theory…” she added tiredly.

“Don’t you call what you do magic, not religion, and didn’t you say there are gods involved?” Red Robin asked dryly.

Carapace opened his mouth but snapped it closed quickly, the only sound in the chamber was Ladybug’s snort.  Red Robin raised an eyebrow at her and she gave an acknowledging shrug.

“Okay, that was a fun aside and I love a philosophical debate,” Hood grunted.  “But, regardless of Nightwing’s nationalistic bigotry,” he ignored Nightwing’s scandalized gasp, “we would like to get this object before the rogues do, and we have an even larger problem that we are going to have to clean up.”

“I thought you liked being part of the problem, because then at least someone let you be part of something,” Ladybug drawled.

Chat stepped between Ladybug and Hood, non-discretely pushing her back with a hand to her face.  “What do you think it does?” he asked loudly.

Red Robin snorted at the glare Ladybug shot Chat but quickly shook his head and sobered up.  “It appears to make people… agreeable.”

Carapace blinked.  He looked to Chat and Rena, who just shrugged, for insight.  “Agreeable?  Like nicer?  That doesn’t seem like a bad thing.  In fact, I’d like a bit more of that.”  He glanced to Ladybug and Hood so quickly it would have been missed if you weren’t paying attention, which the subjects of his observation weren’t as they were glaring at each other.

“In this vehicle, if possible,” Chat mumbled so only Nightwing could hear.

“Like they do whatever they are told,” Red Robin clarified.  “No resistance.”

Ladybug let out a long breath and nodded.  It was sounding more and more like a miraculous.  “Submission,” she stated like it was already a conclusion.

“Yep,” Nightwing nodded.

Ladybug met the eyes of each of her team members, receiving a nod from each, lingering on Carapace for a few seconds longer waiting for him to give a nod before agreeing.  When he finally raised his head almost indiscernibly, lips set in a thin line, obviously not happy with the motion.  She turned to Red Robin and nodded.  “Okay, Captain.  We’re in.  If it’s miraculous magic, we should hopefully be able to detect the object quicker.”

“Yeah,” Hood snarked.  “That’s why you’re here.” He stood up aggressively and stalked past her toward the cockpit.  “That and according to your hype you’re the Queen of Submission, so we figured this was your kingdom.”

Ladybug turned bright red instantly with a loud squeak.  Red Robin gave her a sympathetic pat as he passed her to join Hood.  “Make sure to buckle, Red Robin is a great pilot but turbulence over the Atlantic is a bitch and take offs and landings are always rough,” Nightwing advised gently.

“Well, I can’t call it that now,” Chat grumbled. He buckled his seatbelt without making eye contact with anyone. “How about we go with Capitulation instead?”

“Agreed,” Carapace nodded.  “Until we hear otherwise, we refer to this as the Miraculous of Capitulation.”

“Agreed,” Nightwing called back before shutting the cockpit door.

Red Robin kept his eyes forward as he powered up the plane, but a smirk pulled at his lips, and when he shot Nightwing a knowing look, it was not only returned, Nightwing sported a smirk of his own.  “So, you’re seeing someone, Little Wing?  Since when?  Or do you mean like… do you see someone with us now?” Nightwing asked overly innocently.

“Fuck off,” Hood fumed.  He tugged at his seatbelt with significantly more aggression than required until the belt almost tore from the seatback.  “You two seem awfully chummy,” he growled at Red Robin.

He shrugged.  “Yeah, we would.”

He could feel the glare pointed at the back of his head.  If Hood had been a super, Red Robin had no doubt he would be dead… well long ago, but definitely now.  “Why is that?” he asked in what was clearly barely controlled rage.

Red Robin snorted.  “Because we’re friends?” he answered like it was the most obvious response possible.  “We went to see a movie the other day.”

Nightwing turned to him then, eyebrows raised in surprise.  “As civilians?”

“No, in our suits.  Apparently, it’s something they do in Paris frequently.”  He looked over at Nightwing.  “Chat and Kon came, too.  It was fun.”

“How sweet,” Hood sneered.  “A double date.”

Red Robin actually glanced back at Hood to give him an incredulous look.  “I’m not dating anyone in that group.  If you’re jealous maybe try…”

“I am not jealous!” Hood scoffed.

“Riiight.  Because you’re seeing someone,” Red Robin nodded amused.  “How’s that going?  When do we get to meet them?  Or do imaginary significant others not get to meet the family?”

“Leave the poor confused, frustrated, man-child alone,” Nightwing chastised more than a little cheerfully.  “Focus on getting us there in one piece.”

><><><><><><><><>< 

“That was barely enough time for a nap,” Rena yawned after they landed a short time later.  She stumbled down the gangplank to the ground, bumping into Carapace along the way and almost knocking him off, and would have if Red Robin hadn’t steadied him.

“I’m so sorry for being so efficient,” Red Robin chuckled.

Ladybug snickered and ruffled his hair as she passed.  “How dare you.”

Hood stomped past them to exit the plane.  “They probably aren’t used to a leader who is.”

“So, are we ready?”  Carapace asked after everyone had exited the plane.  “The little…” he examined the smaller transport vehicle with blatant skepticism, “… thing is safe?”

“Yes,” Red Robin answered confidently.  “We’ve used the skiff a lot.”

Carapace nodded mindlessly for a few seconds before looking up again with a concerned expression.  “And any new info before we move?”

Nightwing raised an eyebrow at the unexpected concern from the typically laidback hero.  “Uh… you feeling okay there, Carapace?”

Carapace’s eyes darted quickly to Rena and back.  “Uh, yeah.  Yeah, just, you know… want to make sure nothing gets blown up this time,” he joked.  His voice clearly going for light and airy but not quite achieving it.

“Right,” Nightwing drawled.  He continued staring at Carapace, examining him like he was looking for a crack in the façade that he could wedge open.

Ladybug rested her hands on his shoulders with a sympathetic look.  “It’ll be fine.  Red is monitoring and will notify us if anything changes.  You can trust him.”  She took in and harshly let out a breath at Hood’s grunt.

Instead of nodding in agreement, Red Robin focused on his wrist monitor.  “Well, that's not good,” he grumbled.

“Did you want to elaborate on that, just a bit?” Rena sighed.

“No,” he answered distractedly.

Ladybug waited a few beats for him to elaborate but when he continued to examine his wrist monitor, she groaned and threw her head back.  “You know I love you, Red.  But I hate it when you speak.”

“Thanks,” Red Robin looked up from his monitor long enough to glower at her.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hood sneered.  “She lied.  She doesn’t love you.  Nobody does.  But everybody does hate it when you speak.”  Despite his proclamation, he moved next to Red Robin so he could look over his shoulder at his monitor.

Nightwing rolled his eyes and stepped up to the other side.  “What did you find?”

Red Robin took a breath before answering.  “It appears the goons are working with the Joker,” he said gravely.

“The Joker?” Chat asked looking between the Bats.  “That sounds much better than you’re acting like it is.”

“No, Joker is bad.  Real bad,” Nightwing grumbled.  He peeked over Red Robin’s other shoulder.

“Are you certain?” Hood asked, his previous glower disappearing in an instant.

Red Robin looked up just long enough to raise an eyebrow before returning to his monitor and typing more buttons.  “Oh, now you’re dying for me to speak,” he snarked.  Finally, he grunted and turned off his wrist monitor and stalked back toward the ship.

“Shut up,” Hood snapped trailing after him.  “Are you positive?”

“Yes,” Red Robin hissed back.  “When am I not positive?  Or wrong?”  He played the audio feed he had just intercepted on the main computer.  There were a few moments of silence before a staticky voice broke in, “Tell the Clown we don’t have it yet but we think we’re close.  There’s nothing for him to see yet.”

The first voice was cut off by a second more aggressive, unmistakable voice.  “Then perhaps it’s time to replace you with someone who can find a single object in a TINY CONTROLLED AREA IN LESS THAN 3 MONTHS.  I will be there in two hours.  I expect you to have it for me.”

Red Robin cut the audio and looked at the other Bats with a litany of raised eyebrows, furrowed brows, rolled eyes, frustrated grunts, and exasperated sighs, until Hood apparently couldn’t take it any longer.  “I’m just saying, we should fall back and reassess!”

“Since when do you want to reassess instead of taking him on?” Red Robin scoffed.

Chat stepped forward and placed a hand on Ladybug’s arm and gave her a pointed look.  The effect was immediate.  The aggravation that had been clearly building, finding a home in her stance eased.  It didn’t disappear completely, but she no longer looked like she was going to snap.  “How does this change our plan?” he asked purposefully.

“It means we have a time limit for our search.  The Joker is dangerous.  He really enjoys violence, both physical and psychological.  Complete and utter devastation,” Red Robin answered.  As he spoke, he watched Hood become increasingly rigid.  “And he has a particular taste for doing it to Batman.”

Nightwing shook his head staring at the reports on the screen.  “How did we miss this?”

“We didn’t miss shit,” Hood barked.  He shoved Red Robin hard enough to not only knock him off balance, it knocked him to the ground.  “How did you miss this!”

Red Robin stared at him open-mouthed for a few seconds trying to let the sudden aggression.  Hood had never responded that way before to a sudden update in information.  Not even when the Joker had been involved.  “They never mentioned the Joker,” he answered carefully.  He rose slowly, hands raised to defend himself if he needed to.  “None of the messages mentioned the Joker.  They all went to an intermediary who must have been delivering the information to the Joker.”

“It must have been too much to resist,” Rena mused.

“What?” Chat asked.

“It’s a bat miraculous, right?  And Sub… Capitulation.  The poetry of using a Bat themed magic object to force him into… ah…” she looked at Carapace with a smirk, “submit.”  Carapace shivered in disgust while Chat wrinkled his nose.

Nightwing dragged his hand down his face.  “Fuck, that makes sense,” he groaned then stepped forward with a shake of his head.  “He said two hours, so let’s take those two hours before he gets there to search and after that, we can reassess.”

“And if we miss our window?” Ladybug asked carefully.  “If we go over two hours and we’re still there when he gets there?”

“We won’t be,” Hood stated definitively.

Red Robin sighed and bobbed his head to the side.  “It could get bad, but you’ve seen bad.”

“If you’ve changed your minds, you can stay here,” Nightwing offered.  “The main ship will be camouflaged and it’s completely secure.”

“You’re staying,” Carapace said instantly to Rena.  She opened her mouth to object, but he shook his head, lips set in an uncharacteristically firm line.  “No.  We aren’t debating this.  You’re staying.”

“More people will make it go faster,” Rena answered petulantly.

“No,” Carapace answered firmly.

Rena sighed but nodded.  “Fine.”

“Okay,” Nightwing chirped with a clap of his hands, “with that odd interaction done, we should get going.  We’re on a clock now.”

“We shouldn’t go at all,” Hood argued.

“We will be careful,” Nightwing assured him.  “We will be careful, stay out of their notice and be gone before the Joker arrives.  If we haven’t found it, we’ll reassess then.  But we do not have time to argue about it now.”  He stepped up to Hood and lowered his voice so only he could hear it.  “I know you’re worried, but we don’t have time, and she can protect herself.”

“I’m not…”

“I don’t care,” Nightwing cut in.  “We’re doing this.”  He backed up still looking directly at Hood as he announced to everyone, “Let’s get on the skiff.”

Ladybug and Chat looked to Red Robin for some insights on what was happening, but he sighed, shook his head, and motioned toward the skiff.  They looked at each other for a second to confirm their decision and finally followed Red Robin into the skiff.  Chat ducked just before entering through the open back ramp, causing Ladybug to snicker mercilessly at him.  “It’s like a full meter taller than you.”

“It’s… deceptive.  Shut up,” he grumbled as he shoved her to move past her.  He moved just in time to get out of Hood’s path as he stomped into the skiff, making no secret of his displeasure with the decision.

Carapace finally followed, the last to join, but only got as far as the doorway, taking a spot next to Ladybug to watch Rena as long as possible.  The ship jerked slightly as the skiff detached from the main ship and rose above it.  “Are we sure it’s safe to leave her there alone?” he asked nervously, eyes still not leaving Rena even as they rose higher.

Nightwing patted his shoulder.  “She will be safe in the vehicle.  It is cloaked and impossible to get into without permission.  Honestly the safest place on the entire peninsula right now.”

“I just really don’t like her staying there alone,” he grumbled.

“I know you’re worried,” Ladybug soothed, “but she will be safe we’ll make sure.  We can…”  Whatever plan she had come up, she never had the chance to reveal.  Carapace watched in horror as Ladybug fell from the plane and Hood lowered his leg to take her place next to Carapace.  “Problem solved,” he announced calmly like announcing he’d buckled his seatbelt.

Carapace stared out the rear of the plane wide eyed, mouth agape.  He woodenly took two steps to the side, making plenty of room for any bugs that might decide to fly onto the plane.  Instead, a bat stepped into the open space.  Carapace continued staring out the back, eyes never breaking their focus until the door finally closed.  Finally, he turned and met Chat’s eyes, a knowing look passing between them, before turning his gaze on Red Hood.

“Did it feel good?” he asked, his tone seemingly filled with genuine curiosity.  He nodded to himself before Hood could respond.  “Yeah, I bet that felt good.  I bet you're flying real high right now.”  He suddenly stopped nodding, his smile turning into a grimace as he sucked in a breath.  “I'm happy for you.  I'm happy that your last moments on Earth are joyous.  ‘Cuz she is going to kill you.”

He paused and looked at nothing as he moved his hands as if trying to help form the right words out of air.  Finally, he appeared to have figured out the words.  “Are you sure that I can't just… you know… kick you off of something high before that happens?  Please?  It would make my last moments happy.  You know, before your family kills me like Ladybug's going to kill you.”

Hood stared at him for a few deadly silent seconds before slowly turning toward the front of the skiff and walking with measured, solid steps away from Carapace’s pleading looks.

Chat stepped up next to him and threw his arm over his shoulders and shook his head.  “Guess he’s just not a boy’s boy.”  He shot a big smile at Carapace.  “But, hey!  Bro time!  You know, before she kicks our asses for abandoning them.”

Carapace scoffed and made his way to his seat.  “She won’t kick our asses.  M… she isn’t like that.  She’ll just ignore us for a while until we make it up to her.”

Chat shook his head with a snort and plopped down into the seat next to him.  “I wasn’t talking about Ladybug’s reaction to leaving Ladybug behind.”

Carapace’s head whipped toward the back of the plane.  “Oh.  Oh shit.”

“Yep,” Chat nodded.  He clapped a consolatory hand on Carapace’s shoulder.  “I’ll pray for you and your home life after this.”

><><><><><><><><>< 

“You just proved my point,” Ladybug screamed at the retreating vehicle.  She glared at it as it pulled away.  “See?  Never trust a bat,” she hissed to Rena who just shrugged.

“Guess they thought we needed some girl time,” Rena sighed.

Ladybug snorted.  “Think they think we’re going to have a pillow fight?”

Rena snickered.  “Can you imagine their faces if they came back and we were in our underwear surrounded by feathers?” Ladybug’s face instantly flushed red, but Rena continued as though she hadn’t purposefully caused her to turn that color.  “Think they realize you could have gotten back on that ship if you wanted?”

“Chat and Carapace definitely do,” Ladybug scoffed.  She made her way back to the computer and pulled up the image she had been looking at again.

“But you were just so excited to spend time with me?” Rena asked innocently, knowing full well there was more to the story if Ladybug hadn’t gone after the skiff.  There wasn’t a chance she would have allowed herself to be treated that way unless she had a plan.

“If it’s as dangerous as they said, I don’t like you staying alone,” Ladybug answered distractedly.

“And,” Rena prompted.

Ladybug whirled toward her with a devious grin.  “And I think I know where the object is and they are way, way off.  And since we aren’t allowed to check there first…”

Rena raised an eyebrow, but her lips raised up into a matching smirk.  “We’re going to solve this whole damn thing on our own purely out of spite, aren’t we?”

“Damn right,” Ladybug nodded.  “Taking advantage of my most powerful tool… and Brian is studying Mesoamerican Archaeology.  Did you know the bat is associated with the underworld in Mayan mythology?  Now, do you want to walk a few miles or take the plane?”

><><><><><><><><>< 

“Have fun storming the castle, boys?” Ladybug asked, an unsettingly smug grin on her lips when they returned one hour and fifty-two minutes later.  She leaned against the edge of the table, throwing a green object up and catching it with the same hand, seeming to have finally found something in the ship that could be thrown.

“It was a temple,” Red Robin grunted as he passed by her to collapse into one of the seats at the table.  He eyed the projectile warily as he passed, fairly confident it would be used against Hood, but not entirely so.

“It was unproductive is what it was,” Carapace mumbled, settling into the seat next to him.

Ladybug turned toward them with an exaggerated pout.  “Aww, did you not find what you were looking for?  U2 has a song about that.”

“We searched everywhere,” Chat groaned.  I even detransformed and asked Plagg to look.  He laughed and said it wasn’t there.  When I asked if he could sense it, he said not to worry about it.” 

“Huh,” Ladybug hummed, lips quirked to the side mocking imitation of thought.  “Strange.”  She threw the object up and caught it a few more times while she pretended to think.  “Wonder what he meant.”

He huffed and leveled Ladybug with an exasperated look.  “I think your little god needs to speak to my little annoyance.”

“Either way, it wasn’t there.  It seems like it was a wild goose chase after all,” Nightwing sighed.  “We used all kinds of analytic tools to find it, and the magical signature was exceptionally weak.  There was nothing to follow.”

“Oh, it wasn’t a goose,” Ladybug grinned.  “It was a bat.  They were right about that”

Red Robin blinked at her.  “It was a…”

“You found it,” Chat observed.  Not a question.  Her smug grin was an answer in itself.  He let out a pained groan and dropped his head.  Karma.  That’s what it was.  It was karma for allowing her to have been kicked out of the skiff.

“Duh,” she grinned.

“Where is my wife?” Carapace asked suddenly looking around anxiously.

“You found the item?” Hood demanded.  He stepped up behind her close enough for her to feel his anger rolling off him like heat waves.

She turned toward him and quirked her head to the side and opened her eyes wide and innocently.  “What, like it was hard?”

“You’re unbelievable,” Red Robin huffed but his lips quirked up.

She looked over her shoulder with an even smugger grin.  “Thank you,”

“Not a compliment,” Hood growled.

“It kind of was,” Red Robin mumbled quietly, making sure not to meet Hood’s eyes and garner his ire.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Hood thundered.  “After everything we said, you went in and risked your lives!”  He moved to crowd Ladybug but before he could Carapace stepped in front of her and grabbed the jade lip plug from her hand.

“You brought my pregnant wife into the temple!  Right into the danger?” he bellowed.  Red Robin and Nightwing leaned back in their chairs while Chat grimaced.  “And you still haven’t told me where my wife is or if she got hurt because of your moronic decision!”

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, challenge in her eyes.  Everyone braced for the response, but then she took a deep breath and her eyes softened.  “We didn’t go to the temple,” she quietly stated then smiled gently.  She walked to the display and pointed at a picture.  “Cenote.  The Maya believed Cenotes were paths to the Underworld and many rituals were performed there.  If the miraculous had to be in this kingdom and wasn’t in the temple…”

“Then it had to be in the cenote,” Nightwing nodded.

Ladybug nodded, but her eyes never left Carapace.  “We never went near the temple.  We didn’t have to.  Also, beautiful place.  You should check it out.”

“Oh,” Carapace uttered quietly, the word coming out like a relieved breath along with all of his bluster.  He looked up to finally meet her eyes, a glimmer of regret showing through. “Ladybug…”

She snorted and waved him off.  “Don’t worry about it.  You were protecting your family.”

“Yeah, but…” he let out a long, frustrated breath and ran his hand over his face.  “I shouldn’t have accused you of doing something that would harm her or our baby.  I should know better.  I DO know better.”

“It’s fine.  I understand.  Your wife though…” she grimaced.  “Questioning her judgement… Good luck with that.”

“Oh yeah… oh shit.”  His eyes opened wide and he pulled his shield close to his chest, a figurative shield against the anger he knew was coming.  “Oh, I messed up.” 

“And announcing the pregnancy to everyone before she could…” Chat grimaced.

He joined them with a matching grimace the entire team matching.  He turned to Hood “You sure I can’t… you know…” he mimed kicking him hard and something falling.  “You know… before I die?”

Hood stared at him with what was clearly a deathly glare under his mask.  He continued the stare for a few seconds then grunted, turned, and walked away.  “Fucking dumb ass heroes…” he grumbled under his breath.

“Rude,” Carapace harumphed.  “Everyone else has gotten to do it except for me.”  He nearly jumped out of his shell when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  “Dieu, Dudette.”

“Rena’s in the cockpit,” Ladybug said after watching Hood stalk into the cockpit.  “She was a bit tired after getting the miraculous and she wanted to take a nap.  It has the only chairs that could fully recline.”

He nodded.  “Thank you.”  He turned to Red Robin.  “Think you can get us home without waking her up?”

Characters/Pairings: Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Rating: Teen and Up

Summary: Luka should be sleeping.  It’s a big day tomorrow, after all.  Except his sister’s banging on his door after midnight with a special delivery…

Author’s Notes/Warnings: I was watching a clip from Fjord & Jester’s wedding, and it got me kicking something stupid around, and I was bored on hold entirely too long today.  Oops?  😂

“Big Day Tomorrow”

Luka was not expecting the knock on his door at…nearly one o’clock in the morning.

The Cat’s Out of the Bag (And In the Bakery)

by LynnaEvan

Damien Wayne is in Love……he has no idea what to do Using Google for help seemed like a good idea, it was not, he has regrets….now he is trending on twitter ( he should have killed Drake when he had the chance )

Words: 1694, Chapters: 2/2, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, DCU

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Tim Drake (DCU), Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Batfamily Members (DCU) & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Additional Tags: Twitter, Social Media, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne is Bad at Communicating

A Stitch in Time and Textiles

by LynnaEvan

At age 22, Damian Wayne is patrolling when a chronological anomaly drops a fierce, dark-haired, blue-eyed fourteen-year-old girl right in front of him. She wears a modified Robin suit, wields a stylized bō staff, and calls him “Baba.”

Words: 4660, Chapters: 2/15, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, DCU

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Original Child(ren) of Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug and Damian Wayne, Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake (DCU), Alfred Pennyworth, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon, Tom Dupain, Sabine Cheng

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne

Additional Tags: Time Travel, Age Difference, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug is Called MDC, Soft Damian Wayne, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Future Fic, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne-centric

House Of The Bats

by LynnaEvan

Damian Wayne accidently becomes an amalgamation of Daemon Targaryen and Daenerys Targaryen……..(pfft….I mean bio dad Jason Todd)

Words: 27927, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, DCU

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, M/M

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Jason Todd, Roy Harper, Lian Harper, Mar'i Grayson, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake (DCU), Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Slade Wilson, Rose Wilson, Tom Dupain, Sabine Cheng, Kagami Tsurugi

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Lian Harper, Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Batfamily Members (DCU) & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Batfamily Members (DCU)

Additional Tags: Biological Parent Jason Todd, Crack, The Superior Billionaire Grandpa Wars, Game of Thrones References, welcome to westeros, English Is Not the Author’s First Language, used ai for translation so bear with it, Batfamily Crack (DCU), Crack Treated Seriously, House of the Dragon References, Damian Daemon Daenerys Targaryen Wayne™, Marinette Rhaenyra Jon Snow Todd™

According to the Press, We’re Eloping

by LynnaEvan

While attending a high-profile international gala in Paris, Marinette saves Damian Wayne from a targeted assassination attempt by the League of Assassins. To throw off the media and protect her from the League, Damian panics and tells the press she is his secret, long-term partner.

Words: 5170, Chapters: 1/15, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, DCU

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake (DCU), Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Alya Césaire, Sabine Cheng, Tom Dupain, Alfred Pennyworth

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Batfamily Members (DCU) & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Additional Tags: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne is a Menace, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Strong Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Confident Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Sarcastic Damian Wayne, Snark, Banter, Flirting, Humor, Suspicions, Social Media, Press and Tabloids, Twitter, The Ladyblog (Miraculous Ladybug), English Is Not the Author’s First Language, fic is translated so put up with it or dont read

Her and Aphrodite would be looking for him everywhere and make it everyone's problem.

Zeus made the mistake of stating that Ares disappearance didn't matter and should be looked at as a good thing and Persedea took that personally on her husbands half.

The Goddess of Loyalty proceeded to take a play out of Demeter's book and take all Loyalty from the Earthly planes until Ares was found.

The amount of wars that broke out as friends became foes, neighbours turned against neighbours, sons slaughtered fathers and the people revolted against their godly appointed kings shook the very foundations of society and disrupted almost all forms of worship.

Aphrodite and Persedea both fueled the flames of wars in order to sustain Ares wherever he was being held. Acting to fulfil prayers made to the War god in order to keep his worship strong whilst everyone else's faltered.

When Zeus tried to order the young goddess into compliance Persedea threatened to start stripping loyalty from immortals.

With every god now trying to find the lost God, it wasn't long until Ares was found.

Hermes who found and freed his brother was met with gratitude from the usually gruff God and his two Goddess.

A friendship would form from this incident that was unexpected but valued greatly by both sides. The two men would lean on that bond when later ones wife and the others son disappeared and the other gods refused to act.

Despite most moving on from the incident Zeus never forgot what Persedea had done, nor what she had threatened to do.

The only relationship worse affected than the one between king and subject was that between father and daughter when Persedea learned that the jar that had imprisoned Ares had been provided to her giant half brothers by none other than her own Father.

Persedea did not blame him for gifting them the object, she blamed him for not telling her once it became apparent that Ares was missing.

Time and again Poseidon's actions had only brought Persedea strife and she had accepted it as the fate of being an unwanted daughter begot of his enemy.

"Kym." sighs her father, already exhausted at just the sight of her.

Its the sigh that does it.

Not her bloody sisters body, not her nephews raging or the subsequent arrest.

Poseidons dissapointment

Her fathers dissapointment.

Because that's all she is, all she will ever be to them or anyone else now that the one person who saw her for who she is was dead.

Kymopoleia has long accepted that for whatever reason her father; who can accept his most monstrous children from the canablistic cyclopses to Scylla; will never care for her but right now?

With her Essence scraped raw from loss, her ichor singing with barely restrained grief and a storm rising inside her that might tear her apart?

Right now its all too much for her fragile control.

The tears she has been successfully holding in up until that moment begin to fall and her voice breaks as she tries to speak but for Dionysus's sake she ignores the growing feeling of humiliation at crying where others can see and soldiers on.

If her head wasn't such a mess and her vision wasn't beginning to blur she might have noticed the panic in her fathers eyes as he finally took in her dishevelled state.

Might have heard Tritons sharp intake of breath, Rhodes panicked clicks or Beth's soft whimper.

Might have seen the alarm in her mothers eyes at seeing her fiercest baby break.

But Kym sees and hears none of this.

"Please," she begs, shame crawling up her throat as she falls to her knee's but she choaks it down and focuses on what brought her here.

For so long her pride was all she's had but she here and now she would forsake every scrap of it if it meant saving her nephew, the last piece of her little turtle left in this world.

"Please Father. I'll do anything, I'll- I will leave and never come back if that's what you want but please don't let them kill my Nephew. Dionysus is all I have left and he isn't going to fight it. They're going to sentence him to death and I can't stop it so please. I know- I know you don't care about us but- but please. I can't- I can't lose him too. Not after Perse- I can't- please"

Poseidon reels as if struck, and Kym can only hope that he lets the audacity of her asking him to intervene in Olympian justice slide given that it's on behalf of his grandson whom he claims to adore.

When she finally chances a look up at her lord father there is an emotion in his eyes that she cannot place and for a brief instant it looks like he intends to say something yet the words seem stuck in his throat.

Eventually the moment ends though and the great deity that has haunted so many of her dreams and nightmares turns from her with a nod and muttered words too quiet for Kym to hear over the pounding of her own Ichor before ordering Triton to follow him up towards the Surface and Olympus.

In the wake of the king and crown prince rushing out without word or explanation it isn't hard for Kymopoleia to sneak back out the way she had entered.

Her M- The Queen and princesses might have tried to stop her, no doubt to sort out the details of her permanent banishment but they are all waylaid by panicking courtiers and guards who are desperate for explanations.

Relief on Dionysus's behalf settles in her bones as she realises that Poseidon had accepted her desperate bargain, even as a weary acceptance of her fate seeps into her essence.

Now that Persedione is gone and unable to provide her with scraps of power a permanent banishment from Atlantis will kill her.

Yet, strange as it is she cannot bring herself to care.

Before, Fading meant a drawn out, agonising end and abandoning Persedione but now?

Her sister is dead and with this bargain the Storm goddess has cut herself of from any form of worship she might have left.

Fading will be quick, perhaps another century or two before it consumes her entirely. Less than that if she finishes it herself like Persedione had done.

The surface has forgotten her, Olympus never truly knew her and Atlantis had never truly accepted her.

Leto and Persedione have never met.

Leto took one look at how her baby boy raged as he talked about his new wife, saw the writing on the wall and promptly refused to meet the woman.

One of the monkeys may be hers but as far as she's concerned this is not her circus.

Zeus caused this, he can deal with the fall out.

A cowardly response perhaps but there's no world where Leto doesn't side with her son and she knows and accepts this truth about herself.

Unlike Artemis she isn't selectively blind to her son's faults, but she is mother and a mothers love is unconditional.

Leto knows that if she ever meets Persedione she will certainly like the goddess and guilt over what she's allowed to occur will set in and she doesn't want to deal with that.

Leto has gone to great pains to never interact with Persedione and her resolve only strengthens once she learns that the woman is good friends with Hera, you know the goddess whose husband she had an affair with.

Whether a God, Goddess, Titan or Titaness... Most immortals are inherently selfish creatures. It's a necessity if you wish to survive eternity.

Leto does not want her happy life with her children and later grandchild (much like Athena doesn't accept asclepius, Leto does not accept Dionysus) to be affected by the situation occurring between Apollo and his wife.

in progress bookmark for one of my FAVORITE daminette series, Apron Strings by dreamsof_moonlight on AO3!!

link for anyone that wants it to the fic <3