Of Glitter and Gold

Chapter 10

"I said, put down the bags."

"No! HEL-" Robin was passing through one of the usually quieter parts of Gotham, on his way to help Nightwing with a robbery nearby when he heard the voices and then something hitting a wall, the boy quickly changed course and looked down into an alleyway where he saw a large man towering over a girl.

"She said no." Robin spoke from the rooftop above the men before he dropped down and charged the man.

Mark was having a good day, he and his buddies finished work a few hours ago but all hung out at their friend Doug's apartment. Things had been going great for many of the lower level thugs, Ladybird was really turning the city around from the ground up.

"HEL-" Mark stopped in his tracks, his other buddies stopping with him. The voice was too familiar, the tall man had introduced the sweet Parisian to a few of his friends- so they knew better than to mess with the girl.

"Is it just me or did that sound like-"

"Someone's in trouble-"

"Here? It couldn't-"

"Lets go." The group of four immediately made a mad dash to where they heard the noise coming from, when they turned the corner into the alley the men saw Robin fighting someone Mark knew- a guy named Carl, a real perv. Marinette was against the wall, watching Robin knock the guy down with wide eyes- a few tears streaming down her cheek.

"Marinette!" Mark immediately ran to the girl, the other guys immediately jumping at Carl and two other pervs that were with him, watching him get beat up by Robin- she was the only person that treated the guys like real people. She respected them, treated them kindly.

Mark noticed Robin tensed when the other guys joined the fight but seemed mildly surprised when they attacked the other man instead of him. Once the guy was down, Robin had to keep them back from trying to kill the guy.

"He messed with Marinette!"

"The scum deserves it!" Robin seemed to take notice of the situation he was in, the biggest guy in the group comforting Marinette while the others stood defensively protecting them.

"Right... Do you know them?" The boy spoke detached but suspicious.

"My friends." The bat brat lifted an eyebrow at that.

"Nicer than any of your kind." One of the guys bit at the judging vigilante.

"Give the police a full report when they arrive." Robin grappled away, typical, he didn't even care if Marinette was alright.

"You good, short stacks?" Marinette wiped her eyes as she stood, nodding. The girl grabbed her bags. The police arrived and took Carl before taking statements and leaving.

"Thank you for helping me. You all are welcome to free desserts at the bakery, we'll close soon but I'm sure Papa can make an exception." The girl smiled brightly, Mark shook his head with a chuckle. The girl was too good for Gotham.

"Jeez kid, you smile too much." The group began to walk towards Gotham's favorite bakery, the guys ignoring what just happened for Marinette's sake.

"Marinette!" The now familiar Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain rushed out of the bakery and hugged their daughter, before eyeing all the men surrounding her- not judging but discerning what happened.

"What happened? Why did you take so long?"

"A man followed me, but Mark and his friends were there and saved me! Robin was there too." Some of the boys chuckled at how offhandedly she mentioned the latest boy wonder.