Black Alley

Echoed Back To Me

Tim watched as Marinette chugged her still steaming coffee. "You okay there Marinette?" Tim asked.

"Oh, hey Tim. Yeah, I'm fine," Marinette replied. "Are you sure?" Tim asked. "I just stayed up too late last night. Someone should take away my phone at night because I stayed up on YouTube all night because of clickbait titles," Marinette said.

"He asked if, you were sure. Not your whole life story, Pixie Pop," Jason said, popping into the kitchen.

"I'm too tired to make a comeback," Marinette said. "I want a nickname for you!" Marinette whined.

"You know what? You're Jayjay now," Marinette said. Tim choked on his coffee, stifling his laughter.

"Really Pixie? A five-year-old could come up with that name?"

Tim chuckled. "I'm calling you Timon," Marinette told Tim.

"What? They are both small," Marinette told Jason. Jason burst out laughing. Dick entered the kitchen. 'What's going on in here? Are we having sibling bonding time, and no one told me?" Dick joked.

"Marinette here is just giving us nicknames," Tim said. "Hey! My turn, I want a nickname," Dick whined. Marinette tilted her head, pondering her answer. "You can be Dicky Bird," Marinette said.

Tim dropped his coffee as all three of them stiffened. "Why? I mean, where did that name come from?" Dick asked nervously.

"Cause you're so chirpy. Like a bird," Marinette said, "I've been spending too much time with Adrien."

"Speaking of the blondie, where is he?" Jason asked. "His father came to Gotham. He snuck out of here a little bit earlier," Marinette said. "Did he go by himself?" Jason asked.

"No, Alfred was up, and he offered to drive Adrien to the airport," Marinette explained. Marinette's phone rang. "Oh, I'm going to take this. I'll see you guys later," Marinette said, before answering the phone. "Bonjour, Alya, comment ça va?"

Jason let out a sigh of relief. "That nickname came completely out of nowhere," Jason said. "I thought she found out," Tim said. "You guys think we're being careful enough?" Tim asked.

"I'm sure we're fine," Dick said, "I'll talk to B about it later."

____________________

Marinette let out a content sigh as she hung up the phone. She would see them later at the hotel. Marinette was happy that Lila hadn't said anything about the Waynes. Marinette decided to use her happiness to her advantage.

She took her sketchbook and went outside, into the garden. She was surprised about how clean the garden looked but she supposed if you had enough money...

She found a nice shady part in the garden, although it didn't really matter because Gotham was always cloudy, even in the summer.

She didn't know how long she was out there, according to her playlist. She had finished four songs and was halfway through the next. She had only finished one design and just started a new one when she heard the sound of bells jingling.

She looked up to see Titus running towards her before she was tackled by the big dog. She giggled as the big, black dog licked her. "Hi, Titus. Who's a good dog?" Marinette said as she petted the dog.

A whistle blew in the air and Titus stopped. "Come here, Titus," she heard Damian say. "Hello, Damian," Marinette said.

"What are you doing here, in my spot?" Damian asked. "I didn't know it was your spot, Marinette said. "I would appreciate it if you moved," Dami replied, just as stone cold as she had ever known.

Marinette got up and collected her stuff. "Goodbye," Marinette said, before turning around, but before she took a step, she turned back around. "What did I do to make you hate me so much?" Marinette asked.

"What?" Damian asked.

"What did I do that made you hate me so much that you can't even talk to me like a decent human being?" Marinette demanded. "You barge into this family like you are something. I am the only blood child, and you are hiding something, I will find out what it is!" Damian said.

"So that's what this is about? You're FREAKING jealous?" Marinette exclaimed. "Excuse me?" Damian said in disbelief.

"Oh my god, dude, if you want to be the only blood child that bad dude, tell me. Crap, I would've left a long time ago, if that's all you wanted. Have a good day, good life and all that crap," Marinette said, turning around and heading back into the manor. Marinette quickly checked to see if anyone else was in the house. Marinette quickly started packing up her stuff.

According to a note Alfred left on the counter, he had gone to the store to buy more groceries and everybody else was out and about. Marinette packed Adrien's stuff in the bag too. They would go back to the hotel room, and she would use Kaalki to go back to Paris.

Honestly, she was leaving everyone behind. She didn't want them to know about their connection anyways! Plus, it's not like they loved her anyways. They didn't even know her. She barely saw Bruce, Tim was always at work, she didn't even know where Dick headed off to, and yes Marinette knew Jason didn't have the best relationship with the rest of the family. It was painfully obvious, by his mannerisms. And of course, there was Damian. And they were hiding stuff from her.

She knew they weren't going to tell her everything, but she could tell whenever she walked into the room that they didn't want her there. They grew quiet or changed the topic. Usually at night, she would try to talk to them, but they quickly ended the conversation and ran off.

It's not like she really needed them. She had gone her whole life without them. She didn't need them now (besides Jason, but she knew she shouldn't pick favorites).

She called an Uber. Luckily, it got there fast. She texted Adrien, saying that she got her stuff and his and was going back to the hotel. Her heart clenched as she put the suitcase and the overnight bag into the trunk.

I don't care, she chanted in her head, I don't care.

She walked back into the van. "Kane Hotel, please," she said as she put on her seatbelt. "Oh sweetie," Marinette froze. She recognized that voice, "Next stop, my circus!"

It was the last thing she heard before a cloth was put over her face and she promptly knocked out.