Archive of Our Own

Emergency Magic Hotline

It starts because Marinette needs to suddenly explain why her phone goes off with every Magical attack post Hawkmoth. 

See, Marinette needed a heads-up system of a kind, and getting into the ancient texts she found within the Guardian’s temple was… Well, enlightening. Magic was explained to her for the first time in these near ‘user manual’ style tombs and with her own ingenuity she’d finally found a way to make her life easier. 

Ley lines, magical seals, traps that acted mostly as sensors and any number of magical boundaries she could draw all over the city to tip her off if something was happening, they were suddenly so tangible for her. The trickiest part was getting it set up with Tikki to get her liminal-space stashed yo-yo to forward messages to her phone. 

But once she’d gotten it right… Her phone started blowing up with the number of bad faith actors across the city attempting to copy-cat as Hawkmoth.  Number of cults, a number of lone wolves, and any shear possible number of deranged folks that wanted their time in the limelight. Marinette was rushing out of homeroom at least once a week. 

Which was often enough that people started to notice the alarm, and then often enough for them to connect her disappearance with something happening on the news. Turns out, phone notifications aren’t protected under the Glimmer of Ladybug and people were able to connect the dots. 

“Its… uh, a magical helpline.” Marinette replies helplessly to the intensity of Chloe’s stare, the rest of the class watching the altercation with invested intrigue. 

“You’re working a hotline for magic… Like some sort of secretary to Ladybug?” Chloe slowly sounded it out. Chloe trusted Marinette with a greater distance than she’d be able to throw her, but she’d be damned if she was going to be fooled. Marinette could respect that, which is why lying was all the harder. 

“Yeah. She messages me when something is happening and I go to my house and I… uh, try to help.” 

“With what expertise? You’re hardly Sailor Moon.” Lila pipes up from behind. 

“Well, actually Usagi wasn’t really good with understanding magic so if anything-” Adrien, the weeb, begins to try to explain. But Nino clasps him on the shoulder and Chloe cuts out all the background noise with an annoyed hum. 

“How do you know how to help her?” Chloe asks, her tone surprisingly patient. 

“I took a family trip a while back and some of the books mentioned magic. I originally brought them to Ladybug for her to learn from but… I can keep them safer. So I try to help her if I can.” Marinette explains the story as if she wasn’t both people, and feels as though she did it as honestly as she could. 

“There have been a lot of magic cults around lately, I’m sure Ladybug wants all the info she can get.” Alya cheers from Marinette’s corner, but not everyone sees the way Lila glares. 

“Okay.” Chloe says, her tone holding a heavy reverberation of finality. 

“Okay?” Nino asks, willing to be the one to still question Chloe at every turn despite his shelled off nature. Or rather, in addition to his protective nature over Marinette. 

“Who am I to say she’s lying? She’s been doing this for months and its a sensible explanation given only under duress.” Chloe is examining her nails and walking away as she says it, and the rest of the class murmurs in agreement. Chloe likes being the ring leader again. 

“Are we sure Marinette isn’t mixed up in something more dangerous? Like, like what if she was in one of the magic cults and working against Ladybug?” Lila tries to weave. 

“ Marinette joins a cult should be a band name.” Nino replies in full deadpan. 

“Oh it totally should! Maybe a new song for Kitty Section?” Adrien replies excitedly. 

“Oh for sure its an album! I can see the headlines now!” Alya replies back to their little group. 

Marinette playfully groans and then tells them she gives them full permissions to make it the album name if she can lean into the cult iconography for their next costume line up. 

Four years later, they’re all in university for their various passions…And Marinette is still manning the phone line they all presume to be Ladybug’s. Because over time, the phone line went from being just Ladybug’s to Marinette’s Emergency Magic Management Hotline. 

She doesn’t get calls often but most of the time it's people that are desperate to remove curses. A few times here or there it's a been a cult self reporting (the trash can take itself out sometimes, as a treat). 

But it's a quiet Sunday night when she gets a call from a number whose ID reads as “JUSTICE LEAGUE ''.

Last week, a random stranger answered the phone line of one Nightwing himself and talked him through the removal of a death curse as though he had a computer virus. This sent everyone into overdrive. 

Nightwing had been in the North of France on a mission tracking a US politician suspected of numerous crimes (Data backed up by Red Robin, and yes, of course the politician was from GOtham.) when he ran straight into a magic user. The wizard asshole that they had all dubbed ‘Dumb Merlin’ was able to get him in one final shot before Nightwing incapacitated the guy. A local on vacation saw the whole thing go down and offered Nightwing the phone number. 

“This is the Emergency Magic Management Hotline, your operator speaking, how can I help you?” Was all the soft female voice said before Nightwing word vomited in a panic. 

She showed no alarm, traced his steps down to the color of the spell Nightwing saw and then had him draw a symbol and repeat a few words. It took less than ten minutes for the spell to be identified and disarmed. 

Damian listened to the phone conversation for a third time to try and discern more. She had a native parisian accent. She spoke in a decibel range normal for someone in their young adulthood. She was knowledgeable and yet only answered as The Operator.  

“Buddy you need to chill out on listening to the tapes.” Richard speaks softly from behind him, now resting in the batcave’s medical wing for an entirely different injury. 

“Richard, you relied upon a stranger with no credibility to save you and she did. Her potential needs to be investigated and her efforts appreciated.” Damian replies to his eldest brother turned occasional father figure (when Damian disagreed with Bruce- not necessarily every time Father went missing). 

“Aw you want to send her flowers or something?” Richard teases which he knows will only go so far when Damian is already glaring. 

“I want her investigated, recruited and a full member of the International Justice League. And yes, I think sending her flowers for removing a death curse from your moronic self would be appropriate. Perhaps even a gift basket.” 

“Like one of the fruit baskets? With the pears?” Richard further attempts to grate on his nerves, the way that an older brother is obligated to. 

“With the pears.” Damian deadpans. He leans back into his office chair (bat-chair) in front of the secondary computer (bat-computer) and finally one of Timothy’s codes has gone through to track the origin of the call. It’s taken days and has been a constant annoyance for Damian’s search. 

He’s not surprised when Paris appears on his screen, he’d already deduced as much. He is surprised when about one hundred spots across the city all light up as having been the origin. Frustrating but he could work within a web. 

Damian clicks his teeth and sends the data to his older brother for cleaning. Perhaps Timothy could make faster work of it. 

Damian can hear Richard on the phone from the infirmary but since they stopped talking he’d blocked out his brother’s words. 

“Dames!” Richard calls out, and its only a moment before Damian is by his side with an increased heart rate. The idea of Richard in pain or in need was too fresh and-

“Why are you handing me your phone?” Damian asks. 

“I have the phone number in the call logs!” Richard presents as though it were new information. 

“Yes, that’s how we began to search for-” 

“So call her back!” Richard grins. 

“I will do no such thing when I know precious little about the situation or this individual.” Damian refutes. 

“You just need a game plan right? Ask her about the Lazarus pits for Timmy and Jay, they’ll love you for it and we can gauge how relevant her info is to stuff like that. Weed out if she’s part of the Shadows.” Richard stumbles through his thought process and Damian can understand his drug-looped up logic. Truly, Dick had seen better days but he wasn’t going to let lil’ Dami down. 

“...Fine.” Damian begins, to which Richard lets out a woop, “I’ll give her a call. The search will still run in the background and I will record in hopes of catching further details. Father is meant to meet with the JLD in the near future anyhow, I may as well go out of my own way to provide him a topic to discuss with them.” 

“Thats the spirit! And ask what kinds of flowers she likes!” Richard is grinning like the cat that got the canary. Damian rolls his eyes. 

Her phone is going off but god dammit she needs to get this hem double rolled, stitched and pressed before the next hour passes. Monday was going to hurt her deeply, she just knew it. Looking at her phone and seeing the caller ID… Marinette supposed her luck had already run out for Monday and potentially the next year. 

She clears her throat and anxiously slides the answer option across her phone screen. 

“Emergency Magic Management, this is your operator speaking.” She repeats much like she had several times a month since highschool. 

“This is Robin, Leader of the Teen Titans and member of the Justice League.” An overly formal American voice comes through her speakers. She’s a bit shocked, but also a bit relieved given how a week or so ago she had a guy who was clearly a hero on the line. 

“...And this is your operator speaking. How can I help?” Marinette offers his way, trying not to be the one to instigate any further conversation. 

“I have no pressing concern, however, I am in need of aid finding some Magic related information. Would you be able to help with this?” Robin asks, and she can tell he’s a bit worn down. 

“It depends what youre looking for, but I don’t mind trying to help you.” She’s not going to guarantee help after all, but he’s part of the Justice League so she at least has to try. They have like, global impact stuff they respond to! What if this was something like that!

“Great. Now this subject matter may be eclectic, but do you have any knowledge of the Lazarus pits?” the name rings in her ears for a moment. She tries to calm herself with a deep but shaky breathe as she recalls him saying its of no pressing concern. 

“Lazarus like the guy that comes back from the dead right?” Marinette asks aloud more than anything

“Exactly like that.” His deep tone isn’t mocking in anyway, but its not forthcoming. 

Marinette thinks hard about her next words. If he’s not sharing because he’s concerned about her not knowing anything and him giving it away… it would be wise to tell him what she knows. If he knows nothing however… it would be best for it to remain that way. 

“Then it's exactly as the name implies, magic is rarely so ambiguous about the rules it makes when given such powerful nomenclature to cling onto.” 

“You believe it can keep people from death then?” Robin asks, his tone projecting a curiosity that she can’t tell is real or fake. Her money is on the later. 

“More than modern medicine, but hey, better to just get regular check ups in my opinion. Magic that’s life sustaining is often uh, the opposite if you catch my drift. Even being around the stuff is probably going to mess with a person’s health.” 

“...Can you explain that? I was never personally dipped into the pit but-” She can barely believe her ears as he starts and stops himself from confiding that he’d seen the pits. You know, the things of legend!?! 

“If you were around it, uh, my guy you are super cursed. Like, this probably affects everything from mood regulation to sleep habits to oh gosh, i don’t know, liver enzymes.” Marinette begins to word vomit, “Have you ever gotten the curses removed? Or tried to have them washed away? Not like, baptismally or something religious, just like ceremonially?” 

“I personally have not but I have no knowledge of the steps other’s might have taken-” 

“There are others recently exposed?!” Marinette does her best not to shout in surprise but she’s louder than she intends to be. She’s jumped up from her sewing desk and is running around looking for the right scroll from the Guardian’s personal vault that she raided a few years ago. She remembers it was written in an ink that was unnaturally green. 

“There is an… Additional party that was brought back from the dead in his youth.” Robin replies and Marinette thinks she might vomit. She stops looking for just a second to process what he just confirmed for her. The pits were real, really around and really could raise the dead. Fuck. 

“ Oh shit ! Okay, so we need to round up everyone exposed to this stuff, for more than uh, lets say an hour and get them de-curs-ified. Like, as soon as possible.” Marinette starts to explain and- aha! She’s found it! 

“And how would we go about, very technically termed, de-curs-ifying them.” Robin doesn’t sound amused but he also doesn’t sound as alarmed as Marinette thinks he should be. Not a pressing concern he’d said! What a bunch of malarkey! 

“I’m going to send you a symbol over text- you are calling from a phone that can receive photos right? And then you're going to duplicate it, say a few words and then splash yourself with some water. Preferably wherever you’d been exposed to the pit. They guy who was resurrected should probably take a shower.”

“I am on a cell-” Robin begins to reply but Marinette cuts him off “-Great! Sent the photo. Draw it as accurately as possible and then like I said, water. Normal water. Everywhere it touched you or if it was generalized take a freaking shower.” 

“...This is a very simple symbol.” Robin replied, at least indicating that he’d received it. 

“Simple solutions are often the best for the biggest problems. After you draw it, ink is best by the way, but after you draw it repeat a few words. Say a loved one’s name, the place you were born and the place you love most. Say those three things: Name, origin and place over and over like, three times. Then water.” Marinette did her best to explain quickly, the panic making it impossible for her to talk any slower. 

“Name, Origin and place. Three times should suffice?” 

“Three times minimum but repeat it again a few times if you’re not sweating yet.” 

“I should sweat?” 

“Yes, and then water. And then maybe like, a real shower with soap, but thats just good hygiene and not part of the magic bit.” Marinette tries her best not to ramble at the end there but she’s added her two cents before she could stop herself. 

“And how will I know it’s worked after the shower?” Robin asks and she has to admit it's a decent follow up question. 

“It might take a while to notice all the ways your life was impacted by the curse, but rest assured that you’ll probably feel better. Your friend who died will definitely notice changes if he’s been living cursed like that for years. He’s probably going to need support.” 

“Support?” 

“Emotional support.” Marinette says it like its the most obvious thing in the world, maybe it wasn’t? 

“Understood. When should I call back?” Robin confirms before he asks another question that makes her think.

“Call back?” Marinette can’t help but sound confused. 

“With results? Are you not eager to learn if it worked or not?” Robin sounds equally confused with her as she is with him at least. 

“Nooo? I know it will work. You don’t have to call back unless there’s another issue.” Marinette tried to recenter herself. This had been such a stressful call, she certainly didn’t want another. 

“I see… then I suppose I will thank you now. For this aid and for the aid you provided last week.” Robin’s voice is somewhat velvety as he thanks her, and the sincerity makes her blush. Marinette can’t think of another time she’s been thanked while doing this job? This whole call is so weird. 

“...I didn’t talk to you last week?” Marinette can hear herself nervously laughing and it makes her want to die a little bit. 

“You saved someone incredibly important to me and my family. What is your favorite flower? We’d like to send some your way.” Robin asks and if she was blushing before now she’s absolutely become a tomato. 

“What?! I don’t- Uh- not I don’t know- I mean- Well, I do have a favorite but its really- I just” Marinette flusters like she would in grade school and she feels like she’s drowning in embarrassment. 

“Lilies? Tulips? Roses?” Robin sounds annoyed as he starts to list out flower names, ignoring her non-reply.

“Poppies.” Marinette has no idea why she answered him but she did in an instant.

“Understood. Thank you again for you time.” And then the line goes dead. 

Damian does sweat as he holds the symbol in hand and recites the message ( Richard, Nanda Parbat, Gotham… ). He hadn’t anticipated for his body to become so clammy, for the full body chills or the heat of a fever moving through him like a wave. 

He takes a full shower after letting the water run on him- acknowledging its lack of magical purpose as he scrubs his fingers through his hair. 

Damian steps out of the shower, dresses in his pajamas rather than his Robin suit and is still wiping his hair with a towel when Jason calls him. 

“What the fuck did you just have me do?” Jason sounds more scared than angry, and that alone is incredibly alarming.

“It was for the Lazarus’ curse, the magic user I spoke with insisted it was a curse-” 

“I can’t hear the pit.” 

“...You can’t hear the pit?” 

“I’ve heard it in my head since Talia dumped me in and dredged me out, and… suddenly a drawing, a chant, and shower later I'm cured?” 

“She was incredibly certain it would work.” Is all Damian can say in his shock. And then he recalls that she said Jason would require support. “You should come home. Richard will want to know. Timothy will want to run tests.” 

“I… I can’t just come home Damian.” 

“Certainly you can. If anything I must insist or I will inflict myself upon you and traverse the city to you now-” 

“Fine pipsqueak… fine.” 

“I am no pipsqueak.” Damian grumbles. He’d thought literally growing beyond their height would make the allegations die, but his siblings assured him the short jokes would be coming for the rest of his life. 

Ridiculous considering Timothy stood at a mere 5’10. They called him tall for his age at 23, absolutely ridiculous. 

“Whatever, you totally are. I’ll be there in 30. Tell Alfred please.” 

“A please from Jason Todd. Certainly the magic has worked.” 

“Shut the fuck up.” His words were decidedly at their normal level of aggressiveness but his tone was that of nonchalance. 

“At least it didn’t erase your winning vocabulary choices.” Damian deadpanned and then hung up. 

… 

The operator of the hotline had no doubt just cured something long and deeply seeded within Todd. What had she solved within himself? Damian wasn’t sure just yet but… he was grateful. Something had changed. 

Marinette and Alya are having a short coffee meet up when she gets a phonecall from the Justice League Caller ID. 

“So he’s totally going to propose right?” Alya asks after having laid out all her evidence and theories about Nino’s recent actions. 

“Alys, you don’t think that maybe you leave this alone so he can surprise you?” 

“What? Of course not! If anything he’s giving me leads because he knows I’ll follow the scent like the queen of reporting that I am!” ALya explains and honestly, Marinette can see it. 

“Okay then… Yes. I totally think he’s going to propose.” Marinette gives it some thought before giggling along with her best friend. It was so wild that they were able to just… be in love and get married. That they were all in that stage of life. 

Alya starts to go over another point of ‘evidence’ when Marinette can feel her phone buzzing from her purse. 

The caller ID makes her pause for a second… the last call she had with the Justice League took a lot of effort. It was scary even. Could she really handle their call while at brunch? 

“Hold on Alys, this might be something or it might be nothing… Emergency Magic Management, your operator speaking.” Marinette explains before quickly answering the call. Alya always lit up when Marinette answered these calls in front of her. It just fed Alya’s desire to know more about magic and the occult (and made her unreasonably proud of Marinette which was always cute).

 (It’s nice to be appreciated.) 

“Hello, I am calling to request your presence in joining the Justice League at-” 

“Sorry, I’m only operational in France.” Marinette replied honestly, cutting him off before he said anything else to get her hopes up. 

“...You broke a curse from America just three days ago. Are you sure about the bounds of your operation?” The man asks and the skepticism in his voice seems warranted with what he’s telling her. 

“America? What? The guy said he was in the north of france-” 

“That would’ve been two weeks ago, which is correct, Nightwing was in the north of the country however this week you assisted Robin and a few others from here within the United States.” 

“Woah.” Marinette replies genuinely. 

“So would you be willing to come join the JL for a mission? We just want your expert opinion, no additional skills or experience necessary.” 

“Who.. Who am I speaking with right now?” She decides to clarify. 

“This is Red Robin. And I will say I appreciated your server trick for your call origin, that was fun for me to solve.” 

“...Right. Totally. I uh, look I’m at brunch?” Marinette replies and Alya looks like she might hit her. 

“Is that a no for now   or a no forever ?” Red Robin asks. 

“I don’t know yet.” 

“I see. Well, thank you for answering anyway and thank you for the assistance you’ve given us in the past. I believe Robin ordered flowers to your primary residence, so please don’t be alarmed when they show up.” Red Robin explains and then hangs up. 

“...What the fuck.” is the only thing either woman is capable of saying for a moment. 

“So you helped do magic across the globe this week?” Alya asks a little bit too much in her reporter voice for Marinette’s comfort. Alya could only hear the words that Marinette spoke given Red Robin’s voice was in her earbuds but still, her friend could catch on like a shark could smell blood in the water. 

“Apparently.” Marinette says dryly before grabbing a sip from her glass. 

“And who was it that called?” 

“Someone in the hero business. Surely an associate of Ladybug.” 

“Have you heard from Ladybug in a minute? It feels like forever since you mentioned her.” 

“Yeah, I guess I’ve gotten pretty good at fielding calls on my own the last few years.” Marinette shrugs. 

“SO have you heard from her?” 

“I think… I think she retired. It’s been a while. There was that one big cult back in february but with things staying so quiet…” 

“She might be done,” ALya comes to the natural conclusion, and give a short hum before adding, “Well good for her. She’s gotta be around our age and no doubt done with picking up after people. I’m so proud of you for picking up part of where she left off.” 

“Aw Alys-” 

“So who called you? Was it the Justice League?” 

“AH- I MEAN-” 

“It totally was! Was it Batman? No he’s too scary you would have been more polite- was it Wonderwoman? She used to live in France, she probably loves you already-” 

“Alya it was just another hero! I talk to them, like, sometimes!” Marinette replies hastily. 

“...You talk to my favorite types of people and don’t tell me?!” Alya looks genuinely shocked. Marinette starts to feel guilty until ALya snorts. 

“Girl that’s insane. Weren’t you always the one to tell me not to get mixed up in that business unless absolutely necessary?” 

“Yes well you were running into literal battlefields and Im just picking up a phone so I think it’s a little different.” Marinette rolls her eyes.

“Cute.” Alya teases. 

They continue talking about Ladybug for a little while but eventually they go back to their usual topics and its like it never happened. 

But Red Robin’s question rings in her head… Was it a no forever? Did she even realize that they were offering her a spot in the Justice League? 

…Did she want that?

Damian calls the Hotline again after a fight with Drake (he’d lost first name privileges again) about recruiting the young Operator into the Justice League unsuccessfully. 

Drake had insisted that their call was pleasant enough despite the Operator’s surprise at having helped across the world. Damian wonders where else the young woman thought he might be, had had introduced himself as Robin and most knew to associate the bird with the city. Perhaps they lacked decent PR in France. He’d consider visiting if that were the case. 

Still, the house erupts into a fight between himself,  the still infirmary bound Richard, the newly home and calm Jason and Drake’s arrogant self about what next steps needed to be. 

They knew her address, they knew the phone line (mysteriously not registered), and they knew basic demographics given the models they'd run through the bat-computer on her voice. 

Eventually it all culminates to the fact that Robin had had the longest conversation with her, and admittedly more magical problems than them, so he would be the one to call her back. The anxiety that welled up within him was no doubt in part to the sensitive nature of his… condition but also in his new found admiration for the magic user. 

He found her… a bit comical. He appreciated her dedication. He valued that she didn’t waste time with call backs. He respected her craft despite it being the very thing he hated most to deal with in the field. 

So Damian leaves the cave, takes Titus on a nice long walk, returns to a luxurious shower and tries to settle himself. He’ll call her, solve his problems and then recruit her to the Justice League with a full summary of Benefits and assistance packages. 

He dials her number and hesitates only for a moment before pressing call. 

“Emergency Magic Management, this is your operator. Is this one of the Birds?” 

“This is Robin.” 

“Oh good! What the fuck were you thinking?” She demands, her voice genuinely frustrated with him. 

“Towards what matter? The purpose of this call is not related to the previous conversation-” 

“Not the call dummy! I had to explain to my entire apartment building that I didn’t have a boyfriend I just had an overzealous client that sent me HUNDREDS OF POPPIES for no big deal. Robin what the hell!?” 

“It felt like an appropriate number of flowers for the efforts you put forth.” 

“How many did you even order?” 

“300. Although the ongoing florist order will only be for fifty every two weeks.” 

“There’s an ongoing order!?” She practically shrieked. 

“Yes, and we will get to that but for now I have another problem that you might be able to solve.” 

“Cancel the flowers and I might.” The operator replies instantly. 

“What?” Damian feels himself become flustered. 

“Cancel the flowers! I can not, I absolutely cannot explain to my nosy neighbors, my family and friends and anyone else with working eyes that I have this many Poppies in my life ever again.” the operator sounds self conscious and while Damian can respect that to an extent, he’d rather she be appreciated and receive flowers she enjoys. 

“Perhaps I can have the order altered to cycle through more seasonal blooms?” Robin asks, ignoring her other arguments. 

“No- the - the poppy being my favorite flower is not the problem here-” The operator is flustered again, and Damian thrives for this opportunity she presents. 

“Well I'm glad to hear that they are your favorite and they aren’t a problem. I do have a problem however and I’d like to discuss it if you have the time.” Damian completely steamrolls her arguments down, unwilling to hear any more on the topic of her going under appreciated for her work. 

“...Fine. What’s your magic related problem?” She sighs. 

“Have you ever heard of a chaos shard?” Damian begins and he can tell she’s place the phone onto a table. She sounds like she is screaming into a pillow or something soft, the scream is somewhat muffled. 

“WHY!? Why do you know of, much less have interactions with the most insane magical properties? What is the probability of you running into not just one, but two of the most cursed  methods people use to cheat death?” She sounds genuinely out of breath as she yells into the phone. 

“Because I was murdered by my own clone at twelve years old and it was utilized to revive me.” Robin replies. 

He can hear the muffled screaming again. It goes on for longer than he would have expected. 

“Do you suppose the damage is permanent?” 

“You being alive is never permanent. Please stop dying near magical things.” Her voice sounds defeated and horrified at the same time. 

“Technically I have only died near a single magical object.” 

“Cool. Well, congrats on being alive. Did the shard disappear when you came back to the living?” The operator asked, sighing immediately after. 

“It did.” 

“Okay, and what’s the side effect that you think you’re experiencing? You said you were 12 right? It’s been a while then.” 

“A decade ago. I have occasionally had alternating heart rates, met with dizziness and fatigue, where in my heart seemingly coin flips to decide if it keeps up.” 

“Did the chaos shard enter through your heart then?” The operator’s voice is back to being gentle and considerate. 

“It did.” Damian answers honestly. 

“Well, first of all, gross. Im sorry that happened to you. Second of all, I dunno. I think you just need to see a cardiologist. You might have a heart arrhythmia.” 

“...Oh. I suppose I should entertain that and solutions related first.” 

“Really, you should.” 

“I simple thought that because I feel so much anxiety towards magic it was something related.”

“What, do you face all of your fears or something?” 

“I do.” 

“Well, thats honorable and all but fear is natural and keeps us alive. It’s good to be afraid of Magic.” 

“And yet you are not?” 

“No… but that’s because it’s taken as much as it can from me already. Magic is funny about the deals it likes to strike.” 

“I am sorry to hear that.” 

“It’s fine… I chose it I guess.” 

“Did you? Or was it thrust upon you?” 

“...Both. But really it’s fine, I barely even use it most days.” 

“If you’ve already paid your price, would you not like to use it more?” 

“How do you mean?” 

“Join the Justice League. You could serve the world with your talents. We could expand the reach of your hotline all while making sure you made a reasonable salary, had protection at your disposal and any number of additional benefits. Retirement, access to technology, you name it.” 

“Well, I mean its nice of you to offer but there’s not much I would contribute to the Justice League. I’m just a girl with a few answers.” 

“Answers that most would kill for or die without. Please consider it.” 

“Right, uhm, well.” 

“I can cancel the flowers if you’d like, but truly, you deserve to enjoy them.” 

“I don’t know that I do?” 

“You’ve already said Magic took its price from you, and the way I hear it, you’re on the phone with me trying to serve a greater purpose to your community and country.” 

“...Are you always this nice to people?” The operator asks. 

“Never. I would say I go out of my way to never be this nice to people.” Damian replies honestly. 

“...I- I.” She starts and then she stops. Damian can tell she’s contemplating. 

“...Please only call me again next week if there is a world ending problem for me to solve.” She speaks softly and then the line goes dead. 

Fuck. 

The conversations with Justice League Dark were not going well. Fortunately Damian had already had his cardiogram and confirmed a very minor heart arrhythmia by this meeting, otherwise he would have been forced to care more. 

John Constantine was being an ass. The hellblazer was pressed to believe that some stranger over the phone had rid Batman’s kids of their Lazarus Pit related symptoms. From across an ocean no less. Having never met them in person no less. 

Batman was also being an ass, because he’s judging Constantine, the Hellblazer, for not having had the solution in the first place. John’s rant about having the ability to find certain spells within the House of Mystery did not mean he had perfect memory of each one, well that just seemed to make his Father more frustrated. John was basically admitting that he’d never tried. 

TO be fair, when had Batman ever asked him to try? 

Robin sighs again but then Constantine wants to debate the merits of this person’s talents and Damian knows that he’s about to say something unnecessary. Truly, he did not need to defend her. 

“Why not test her skill then?” Robin announces his challenge, making sharp eye contact with Constantine. 

“How do you suppose?” John bites back, but critically, not dismissing the idea. 

“Curse me with something that takes a tremendous amount of skill to remove, a skill I presume you have, and we see how quickly she can cure it. If she’s unable then we have an answer and you cure me without their being repercussions.” 

“That’s unnecessary risk Robin-” His Father begins, but Constantine cuts him off. 

“No, no, the lad has a point.” His rubbing his chin in his hand, “Theoretically I have a death spell that takes over a week to take hold. Its difficult if you don’t know what you’re looking at, but I have all the ingredients and resources to cure it, and the cure only takes two days. I’ve actually cured it successfully several times.” 

“We are not considering this.” Batman demands. 

“Consider that for yourself then Batman. I will choose to take on this risk, she will answer and we will know her merits. There are no long lasting symptoms I assume?” RObin turns to constantine to ask his final question. 

“None.” John has a grin that neither of them like. He’s played larger hands for less with Demons, this was a simple barter for him to make. It didn’t provide either Bat nor bird comfort. 

“You’ll curse me tomorrow then. Tonight I will make preparations for if neither of you are successful.” 

“Now hold on Mate, I’ll be successful. You’re just giving him time to talk you out of it. I’ll curse you now and you call the magic user when you get home.” John demands. 

Batman sighs. “This truly is illogical and immature risk to be taking Robin.” 

“She said to call with a world ending problem, I’ll provide her one and I will recruit her.” Robin smirks. 

He recalls the blue zap of energy that Constantine hits him with and the yell he lets out before hitting the floor. 

Vindictive asshole. 

Marinette’s phone is ringing and she terrified to answer it. 

What if he convinces her? What if she joins him and never follows up on the rest of her dreams? What if she never stops being Ladybug (Even though she knows she never will walk away from the role, not while she’s guardian)? 

Shes surrounded by her favorite red and black flowers, she’s doing her breathing exercises and she’s going to answer this phone call. Damnit. 

“Emergency Magic Management, This is your operator speaking.” 

“Hello Operator.”

“Robin, please tell me you’re dying and not just trying to recruit me.” 

“I am dying and not just trying to recruit you.” He says it verbatim and she laughs for a second before she feels all the air leave her lungs as her stomach drops. 

“...Wait, are you serious?” Her voice trembles slightly. 

“Why would I lie?” He sounds as solid as ever. 

“What happened?” She quickly demands. 

“Work happened. I was hit in the back with a spell.” Robin explains and she feels so guilty that she’s not there and doing more. She knew how to handle magic users! Why the hell was she letting non magic users clean them up when she could do it ten times better! Now Robin is hurt and she probably could’ve taken the guy who got him in less than ten minutes! 

“What can you tell me about the spell?” 

“I feel like death. There was a blue color, bright royal blue. And an near electrical sensation as it moved through me. I passed out almost immediately and now… My fingers are black as though they’d been carrying coal.” Robin explains. 

Marinette is processing what he’s telling her and then she’s springing into action as she looks through her books for any additional reference… if it was what she thought it was… Marinette is trying to read even faster. 

“Oh… Oh that’s very bad.” Is what she manages to reply. 

“I’ve been told.” Robin answers back but he doesn’t sound smug. Marinette decides she likes him infinitely more when he’s smug. 

“Oh, and it was a heart arrhythmia by the way. Cardiologist said its likely to go away.” RObin says and she almost laughs. 

“Well lets make sure it goes away in a normal way and not in a heart stops beating way.” Marinette tries but she feels sick at the thought of failing him. 

She finds a page and… Its a weird solution but its a fast one. Kind of a big band aid solution. 

“Oh, okay. I think i have a good guess on how to cure this. If my first guess is wrong, we go to my second. Robin, if those don’t work…” 

“I have made my-” 

“Nope! If those dont work then we go to my third guess, then my fourth and so on. I refuse to let you die to some punk magic user.” 

“Then we begin with your first guess.” Robin chuckles weakly. 

“We do… okay im sending you another symbol to your phone. Do your best to copy it accurately. It’s going to let me peer into your atmosphere.” 

“You’ll be able to see me?” Robin asks ( If he sounds nervous, its because Damian realizes he’s not wearing a mask.) 

“Kind of, more like it will let me read the energy of the room to see what stage you’re at. A portal portal will come in later.” 

“I’ll replicate the symbol.” And so he does because almost immediately Marinette can feel the tether from across an ocean. 

“Okay it’s working… Robin, you’re going to let me know who did this to you. I am going to make them pay.” Is all she’s able to get out as she processes the complex spell that surrounds the other end of the tether. Its bad… It’s really bad. 

Robin is chuckling. 

“Alright, I have another symbol for you. Draw it and prop it up close to your face if you can. You’ll have to set it down because you’re going to need something else.” 

“What else do I need?” He asks and she can tell he’s already drawn her portal symbol. Its as singular and significant as her cell phone number- she’s knows exactly where it is in the world. 

“A cup with a lid. Or anything that closes. You’re basically going to spit this spell out.” 

“...Spit it out?” 

“Yep. I’m going to cast a counter spell, it’s going to work, and then you’re going to feel the spell that’s all over your body kind of, uh, build up in your mouth. Once it’s done that, you’ll spit into the cup and close it so it can’t spill out.” 

“Should the cup seal?” 

“No, just make sure it closes tightly enough that nothings going to splash out.” Marinette confirms for him. Man, he asks such great questions, even in death. 

It takes him a minute, but eventually he replies that the symbol to her portal is near his face and that he has a cup with a lid. 

“Okay. Perfect. Lets uh, do some in body exercises first.” 

“How do you mean?” 

“Close your eyes and tell me what each of your hands is holding.” Marinette requests, hyping herself up for what she’s about to do. 

“My dominant hand is holding the lid, my nondominant is holding the cup.” 

“THink about how your hands feel. Think about how the texture of the cup feels in your hands and how the shirt you’re wearing feels on your arms. Stay present in your mind.” Marinette commands and she slowly opens the portal. It’s difficult over such a vast difference, but Kalki has appeared and is resting upon her shoulder to assist in pushing his magic through her. 

“Keep your eyes closed and think about the mantra you had the other night… someone important to you first.” 

She can peer into the room now, and she sees Robin’s face. Shes stunned. 

“Uh, uhm, now your origin?” Marinette instructs but she’s shaky. 

“Is everything okay?” Robin asks and she can see his handsome face crinkle with concern. Oh for kwami’s sake… 

“Yes.” Marinette finds it within her to still her beating heart and reply, “Now your home. Picture it and keep you eyes closed.” 

Marinette instructs and she can tell he’s focused behind his closed lids. She takes an even breath, and then leans forward through the portal and presses her lips to his. 

A Guardian’s blessing. 

Kind of a scam way to cure all magic related ailments, but Marinette figures she’s kissed Chat for less terrifying magical boo-boo’s. 

The second her lips hit his, its like a new magic of it’s own is going off. He presses forward, his eyes still closed, and Marinette only reminds herself to pull back after a moment of enjoying it. 

She’s back through the portal and it’s closed by the time she can hear him wretching up the spell and closing the lid of the cup tight with a snap. 

“...You’re gunna want to put that cup somewhere no one is going to open it for at least a week. Hell, if you have access to a yard, I would recommend burying it for a little while.” 

“You kissed me.” 

“Cures happen to come in various delivery mechanisms. This was uh, the most efficient honestly.” Marinette knows that she’s completely red. She wishes that she could see him again. 

“And I am cured?” 

“Do you not feel better?” Marinette feels her stomach drop. 

“I do… however there is a new sensation.” 

“Wait, what? Describe it!” Marinette is panicking agin, but can you blame her?

“I have goosebumps, my stomach feels as though it is filled with air and fluttering. I do not believe my heart arrhythmia is any worse but it appears as though i’m experiencing an increased heart rate very suddenly.” 

“I don’t know what that could be!” Marinette is violently flipping through pages trying to find an answer. 

“... Do you suppose the cure could work twice?” Robin asks and Marinette pauses only briefly. 

“It couldn’t hurt. Close your eyes.” Marinette demands, and pushing through the portal she meets his lips like a magnet. 

Oh. 

OH.

His lips are rough against her own but so warm and without the threat of him dying, Marinette feels herself lean in further. She pulls an arm through her portal, and her hand gently cradles his face as he does the same. The contact is as driven as it is splendid. She pulls back only to breathe but when she does… She’s looking at Robin sans mask and he’s looking at her sans mask. 

“Do you… ahem. We should do this without a call about my impending death or magical hang ups.” Robin explains and she’s not shocked that he’s got the audacity to be smirking at her. 

“Stop having impending death and magical hang ups and I’ll agree.” 

“Consider it done.” 

And with that, Marinette traverses continents as she falls through her own portal and into Robin. 

He comes to find out her name is Marinette, and she comes to find out that the Justice League benefits package comes with a boyfriend if she wants it.