Chapter 28

Marinette/Ladybird's P.O.V:

Robin and I were the first ones back, with me only beating him to the cave by a few seconds.

"Welcome back." Oracle turns around to greet us. "You did good out there tonight, Ladybird."

"Thanks." I grab Robin's hand and drag him to the Bat computer to talk to Barbara. "Did the others do anything interesting?"

"They may have found something." She turns back around to the computer. "But we will all debrief when everyone gets back."

"Okay." The three of us make small talk while we wait for the others to arrive. Not even 5 minutes later the four come riding in on their respective bikes and in the Batmobile.

"Good." Barbara looks at everyone around her. "Now that we are all here, we can start. Nightwing and Red hood along with Robin and Ladybird all dealt with minor situations today. Good job to the four of you for de-escalating the situations. Now on to more serious matters." Oracle pulls up a picture of an ancient looking golden yen and yang pendant. "This as an old Chinese relic being held on display at the Gotham Museum. Batman and Red Robin caught sight of a few of Two-Face's men on the northern part of the city and was able to listen in on their conversation. Apparently Two-Face and his crew are planning on robbing the Museum for this artifact. It will be worth millions on the black market."

"My class is going there tomorrow." I said worried.

"Yes." Oracle nodded at me. "We know. This is why we will need to formulate a plan to intersect them and protect the people inside, plus the artifacts."

"Okay." I had on a very determined face. "I'm ready to help in whatever way I can."-------------"Hey, Marinette." Chloe greeted me as I met up with my class.

"Hey, guys." I briefly hugged all my friends. "Are you all ready for the last tour of the trip?"

"We sure are." Max nodded. "This is the place I've been the most excited about."

"Yeah." I look around at all the cameras. "Me too."

"Marinette." I heard Oracle speak up from the ear piece I am wearing. "Stay calm. Still no sign of them yet. I'll let you know when it's time."

I slightly nodded towards a camera as I followed my class inside the front doors.

"Today, students" Madame Mendeleiev spoke up from the front of the class. "I will need all of you to stick closely together. Our tour guide today will be Mr. Smith." The man to her right waves to the class. "He is the Museums historian and he can tell you just about anything you could possibly want to know about this place and the items inside of it."

"We caught sight of him on a traffic camera about 5 blocks out." Oracle speaks up while the class begins to follow the tour guide. "Are all entrances still covered?"

"Front door is covered." Red Hood speaks up. "Nightwing and I are on it."

"Back entrance is secure." Red Robin confirms. "Robin looks ready to pounce."

"Hold you position." Batman orders. "I have the rooftop covered."

"Alright." Oracle responds. "Ladybird, do you remember where the exits are?"

I nod.

"Good. On my mark I will need you to slip away and go where I tell you to. I'm still not sure which entrance they will be heading for. They are about 2 minutes out."

I nod again and wait. Just as I pass the restrooms, Oracle gives me the go ahead. "Front entrance. They have weapons."

"Excuse me."I get my teachers attention. "Can I go to the bathroom?" I give her an innocent smile.

"Hurry up, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

"Thank you!" I make a beeline for the bathroom and look around quickly to make sure no one else is around. "Spots on."

After my transformation, I climb into the vent that I know was going to be there. Remembering the blueprints that Oracle showed me last night, I make my way to the vent that will drop me off at the front door.

I drop down and walk outside just in time to see the whole Batfamily fighting with Two-Face and his men. I can hear all the sirens off in the distance getting closer. There are about 10 men, including Two-Face himself. I see one of the men aiming his gun at Red Robin and I unhook my yoyo to throw at the man. It wraps around his wrist and I yank it back just in time as the bullet ends up lodging itself into the wall next to me.

Running full force at the man, I sweep his legs out from under him and punch him swiftly in the face to knock him out. I kick the gun away from the unconscious man and turn to face my next opponent.

"Batman got another one, did he?" Two-Face aims his gun at me. "Like we don't have enough Bat freaks around here. Tell you what." He reaches inside his pocket and pulls out his infamous lucky coin. "How about I flip a coin to see if I shoot you or not. Heads you die and tails you live." His mangled face had a lopsided grin that made my skin crawl.

"You don't want to make luck-based decisions about me." I step closer to him.

"We'll see about that." He tosses his coin into the air but before he can catch it again, I throw my yoyo at it, making it fly off course.

Two-Face expression morphs into anger as he lifts his gun to aim but I'm too quick. I duck below the shot and run behind him. I climb onto his back and wrap my legs around his neck to put him in a chokehold. I lean back to throw him off balance and grab his arm with the gun in one hand and elbows him in the side of the head with the other. Two-Face reflexively drops the gun and I take this opportunity to tighten my hold around his neck. He tries to shake me off but no avail and not long after he goes limp. Standing up, I look around to the rest of my team and see that they have already taken care of all the men. Police have already begun to arrive and started to put up caution tape. I can also see some news van pulling up, ready to report on what happened.

"I need to get back." I whisper to Batman.

"I've got you covered." Oracle speaks up through the comms. "Your class has been sectioned off in the west wing and all the doors are locked because of the Museums emergency shutdown. They think you are stuck in the bathroom. After a talk with the police, you can go back through the vents to be with your class again. I'll open up the doors when you are back in there."

"Good." I let out a breath that I was holding.

"Hello, Batman." Jim Gordon ducks under the caution tape to greet him. "I see you found the missing man of the hour." They all look over to see the police handcuffing the men along with Two-Face. "We will make sure he stays in Arkham this time."

"Thank you, Jim." Batman keeps a neutral face.

Jim turns to look over at me. "You are a new face I haven't seen. Jim Gordon." He holds his hand out.

"Ladybird." I shake his hand. "Pleasure to meet you." I smile brightly at him.

"Likewise." He can't help but to smile back. Jim then turns back to look at Batman. "So, who took down the big guy in the end and what was he after?"

"We overheard some of his men talking about an old Chinese relic he was planning to seal. It's resell value on the black market is tremendous and we believe he had his eye on it because of its symbolism of two sides, Yin and Yang. Ladybird was the one to actually take him down in the end."

Jim writes all this down as Batman speaks. "Thank you, Batman." He turns back to me. "And good job Ladybird. I hope to see you around more often. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go deal with these criminals." He walks over to talk to the other officers.

"Hello, I'm Valerie Vale, a journalist for the Gotham Gazette." A woman on the other side of the tape yells for our attention as she takes pictures of the scene around her. "Who is this new hero that has joined the team?"

I look over at Batman and sees him give a curt nod to speak to the woman. "I'm Ladybird." I say to the woman as Batman steps beside me and the rest of the team follows suit.

"Can you tell me what happened here, Ladybird?" Valerie takes a picture of the group.

"Once Commissioner Gordon has everything checked out, I'm sure he will give his speech to inform the public." I knew better than to let information out without all the police work being completely finished. "Just know that the situation has been handled and that everyone is safe."

"Should we expect to see you around Gotham more often?" Another reporter chimes in as he catches wind of the conversation.

"You may see me around here and there." I smile at the reporters and an onslaught of camera clicks and flashed start up.

"No more questions." Batman guides his family and I away and they all grapple up to the roof of the museum.

"You did very well Angel." Robin smiles at me.

"We all should be going now." Batman points to a vent on the roof. "Take this vent all the way back inside before he helicopters show up."

"Okay." I smile back at them all. "I'll see you all later." I make my way into the vent and crawl my way back to the restroom.

"Are you ready for the lockdown to be released?" Oracle asks from the ear piece.

"Spots off." I detransform and give Tikki a cookie. "I'm ready."