Chapter 2

                                    

                                          
 "I told you she was suspicious, Father," she overheard Damian tell Bruce one day. 
 "Why did you say that? You never gave me proof." 
 –ONE MONTH AGO– 
 "Dupain-Cheng?" Damian rapped lightly on the door. It swung open a  little, so he entered to deposit the freshly ironed shirts Alfred had  given him to return. 
 She wasn't there, so he left the pile on the chair. 
 He noticed the book on her bed, spread open halfway through. The  jacket wasn't the same colour as the cover underneath, which was  unusual.  
 Damian picked it up. The jacket said, "10 Ways to Make Friends in  Two Days," but the book inside was titled "Smears, Spray, and Splatters:  The Guide to Determining Blood Spatter at the Crime Scene." 
  Curious.  
 "Who is it?" Marinette's voice startled him. In the dark, he  hadn't seen her come in, and she entered quietly, not with her normal  loose, noisy steps. She'd been hanging out too much with Cass. 
 The fairy lights overhead caught the glint of the knife in her  hand, partially tucked under her hoodie sleeve. He hadn't seen any  weapons on her before. 
 "It's Damian. I'm just returning your laundry. I apologize for prying – I was curious which book you were reading."  
 He set the book down how it had been, pretending he was only  looking at the cover. "If you would like a friend, I have one I would  enjoy giving to you." 
 She cracked a small smile at that and said, "Sure."  
 Somehow the knife had disappeared.  
 "Thanks for bringing my laundry." 
 He nodded and edged past her. 
  Curiouser and curiouser.  
 –NOW– 
 Jason walked into the Manor.  
 "Why did you want this puppy, B?" he called. "Demon Spawn has enough animals running around, don't you think?" 
 He and Marinette met at the base of the stairs, staring at each other. 
 "Aw, no, not another one. Seriously, B?!" 
 "Who are you?" 
 "Jason Todd. Who are you?" 
 "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You're the one that died?" 
 "You're the one that's new?" 
 They nodded at each other.  
 "May I see the dog?" she asked. 
 "It's a Beauceron puppy," said Bruce, entering the foyer. "Hello, Jaylad. Thank you for bridging the dog for Marinette." 
 She looked at him. "For me?" 
 "Yes. I thought you would prefer a puppy so you could train it as it grows. He's currently nine weeks old." 
 "Merci beaucoup!" Marinette flashed the two men a blinding smile  and sat on the last step, cuddling the puppy. "I'm going to call him...  Kismet." 
 "Kismet," repeated Jason and Bruce. "I like it." 
 Jason took her to a couple stores so she could get things for  Kismet while he got to know her. They returned to the Manor a couple  hours later, their arms full of paraphernalia and iced coffees in hand. 
 Marinette set up the crate and bed at the foot of her bed, then  put Kismet in and talked to him, running her hand through his soft fur  as she did so. 
 When Damian heard the news he made a beeline for Marinette. "May I see your new puppy, Dupain-Cheng?" 
 "Sure, but after dinner. Kismet's sleeping right now." 
 For the next several weeks, books on training dogs constantly  arrived in the mail. Everyone loved Kismet, but only Marinette taught  him anything, so he wouldn't get confused. 
 ~ 
 Three weeks after Marinette got Kismet, Damian brought his  only  friend over. 
 "Tt. Kent, this is my foster sister, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and her puppy, Kismet. Dupain-Cheng, this is Jon Kent." 
 "Hi!" 
 She turned to Damian. "Is this the friend you said you'd give me?" 
 "Yes." 
 "Hi, I'm Jon, it's nice to meet you." 
 "Marinette. Superboy, right?" 
 "How'd you know?" 
 "I'm Delphi. And Oracle knows all," she intoned spookily. The boys ignored her dramatics, focused on petting Kismet. 
 ~~~ 
 "Guys, guess what?" Tim was unusually chipper at breakfast a few weeks later. 
 "Lex Luthor got arrested for tax evasion," suggested Dick. 
 "Joker died," said Jason. 
 "You solved the Dicelli cold case," wondered Babs. 
 "Nonono! MDC collabed with Audrey Bourgeois to write a book, and it's being published, to be released in November!" 
 "Who's MDC?" asked Marinette. 
 Everyone gasped dramatically. "Who's MDC?! Only Jagged Stone's niece and personal designer!" 
 "Oh. Her. What's the book about?" 
 "Fashion, obviously, with a guide on how to pick appropriate  outfits and mix-and-match fabrics and patterns. MDC is even gonna model a  couple outfits, though no one knows who she is." 
 "Sounds cool. I should buy a copy." She returned to her breakfast. 
 ~~~ 
 "I'm going to New York for the weekend to visit my friend. I'll be staying with her and her mom." 
 "Alright, have fun." 
 Damian appeared out of nowhere. "You will not be joining Kent and myself at the Titan's base this weekend?" 
 "Sorry, Damian, I already made plans with Chloe. Next weekend I'll  join you again. I thought you disliked me hanging out with Jon  anyways?"  
 Damian mumbled something under his breath, thinking she wouldn't  catch it, but he didn't know she had enhanced senses from holding the  Miraculous. "It's because you two are so oblivious that it's painful." 
 "What was that?" she asked, confused. 
 "I said, you're both so ridiculous it's painful. When you are both hanging out with me, I must experience twice the stupidity." 
 She rolled her eyes and dropped the subject. She didn't have time to get distracted by Damian and his secrets. 
 Marinette took off on her motorcycle, then portalled to New York  City when she was out of Gotham. She arrived at the Style Queen HQ,  where Chloe and Audrey were. Chloe had moved to NY with Audrey when her  parents separated a year ago. 
 "Maribug!" 
 "Chloebee!" 
 The two girls hugged, then went up to where the photo shoot for  the book - "Effortless Style" -  was taking place. Jagged and Penny were  there, as Jagged was in a few photos as well.  
 It was a very happy weekend.