Chapter 4: Karma

Marinette's week started very badly.

For a few days now, she felt very sick. The brunette had caught an infection in her stomach that left her with absolutely nothing to swallow. She also felt very feverish.

Then she had the unpleasant news that someone was stealing her works by posing as MJT. The person in question would have declared herself to be the real "MJT" in an interview. Since then, she had received complaints from some of her buyers who denounced her as a scammer! In addition, some of her regular clients were complaining to her because they had not received their order on time, when she had in fact never received the said commission.

To make things worse, she had to go to an appointment... Specifically at a funeral.

Her parents'.

It's been years now. Fourteen years to be more precise.

They had never come to see her in that time. No phone calls, no letters. Nothing at all.

The young woman had learned of their death only through a letter from a notary. The man told her that her parents had died leaving debts and that as a result she had inherited them as an only child.

It was the only thing left of her parents: debts.

As if that wasn't enough, Jason wasn't there. He was in Gotham, not France. The dark-haired had been gone for 3 months to conclude some commercial agreements with Wayne Enterprise. Since he had officially come back to life, he also had a lot of administrative details to work out. Marinette was therefore left alone to take care of their empire in France.

Because yes, now they were together at the head of a real empire.

"Renaissance" had become a brand that had spread to several cities in the country. They now had several employees at their service. They now had a brand of "Renaissance" coffee that was served in their establishment and had a crazy success. For the occasion, the couple had entered into agreements with several coffee-exporting countries.

She was alone to face this situation.

Throughout the ceremony, the brunette was unable to shed any tears. The only thing that could be seen in her eyes was total indifference.

Right after the funeral ceremony, the first thing the guardian did was to go to the notary to settle the damn debt. She then learned that her inheritance also included the bakery and her parents' apartment.

Marinette didn't look any further, she paid whatever it had to pay.

The brunette didn't feel anything. Just a huge void...

— Sabrina, I'm home!

— Hello Marinette, how did the appointment go?

— Well... I paid what there was to pay. I end up with an apartment and a bakery downtown... As if I don't have enough work as it is.

— I see...

The redhead looked at her for a moment, then approached her, taking her hands on hers.

— Marinette, if you want to talk, I'm here.

— I know Sabi, thank you for everything. I'm going to go to the workshop now. I'll let you handle the rest.

— Alright.

Sabrina watched Marinette leave without a word.

The young woman was a former classmate of the French-Chinese. She had now worked as a butler an assistant in the Johnson-Todd house for almost 5 years. The redhead was clearly the "Alfred" equivalent for Marinette and Jason.

It all started one night. It was practically the closure of the library-café in which Marinette worked that day. The establishment was welcoming its last customers. One of them was Sabrina. Marinette didn't recognize her right away. But what struck her, however, was that she was crying.

When Marinette came to her to talk to her, they recognized each other. The brunette managed to convince Sabrina to come and have a coffee at her house to tell her everything.

Sabrina explained to her then that she was working for Chloe – yes, still. - and that she was in charge of the management of Bourgeois hotels in place of her blonde friend. Alas, Chloe often had fun spending her parents' money in secret. As a suspicion of corruption weighed on the former mayor Bourgeois -thank God, Parisians had finally opened their eyes to the incompetence of the character-, the man had planned to severely punish his daughter. The blonde arranged for Sabrina to be accused of theft. Thus, the money embezzled by the Bourgeois became Sabrina's fault. She now had to face justice...

Marinette at the moment had sincere pity for the poor girl. It was true that Sabrina had never been her friend. From elementary school to high school, the unfortunate girl had always been Chloe's pigeon.

On the other hand, Marinette was extremely angry with Chloe. Ruining her life wasn't enough? She also had to ruin the life of the only person who ever supported her in her life?

After the redhead left, Marinette waited for Jason to return. She then told him absolutely everything that had happened.

— Are you sure you want to help her, Marinette? That girl's just reaping what she sowed... What's happening to her sounds like a payback to me.

— You know Jay, I don't help people because they deserve it, but because it's right.

— Yeah. I'm not convinced.

— I'm not just doing this for her Jason, but also for me.

— Really?

— Yes, really. It's high time someone gave that little pest the beating her parents never gave her! Starting with giving her a little taste of her own shit...

— Oh... Oh... Should I assume you already have something in mind, sweetheart?

Marinette only smiled at him.

Three days later. The Bourgeois family lost all their fortune.

How did the brunette do it?

This will be her secret to the grave.

Unsurprisingly, Sabrina was cleared.

Marinette then took the opportunity to offer the Grand Palace as a gift to Sabrina.

The young woman was extremely grateful to them. But rather than keep the hotel, the redhead sold the building. She then offered the money to the Todd couple. Marinette and Jason absolutely didn't want that money. Sabrina insisted. She then asked to work for them.

Initially a little reluctant, the couple finally accepted.

They didn't regret their choice. Sabrina was a remarkable young woman, once freed from Chloe's chains.

What about the "lovely" blonde? The last time Marinette heard from her was years ago, long before Jason met his family. The young lady worked as a cashier at a supermarket...

Living like the "plebeians" that she despised so much... sweet irony.

The bourgeois couple on the other hand was more complicated. They divorced. André Bourgeois went to prison. As for Audrey, she tried hard to keep her fashion empire, but failed to do so. The former fashion queen became a fashion pariah. At the last news, she had withdrawn somewhere Russia.

-XxxX-

Marinette continued to work tirelessly. Also being MJT, she had several important orders to honor. Fortunately, the Kwamis were there to help her during the creative process.

Sabrina was more and more worried about her.

It was true that Marinette had not slept for almost 3 days... That her damn fever didn't want to go down and that she was eating very badly because of her stomach...

The redhead decided to call Jason to inform him of the situation.

The next evening, Jason entered the apartment.

The brunette almost had a heart attack when her husband walked into her sewing studio.

— Jason?! But what are you-

—You idiot! You should have called me!

The dark-haired took her in his arms and held her tightly against him. Marinette took advantage of this embrace. Damn... she missed the smell of her man so much.

— Sorry Jay... Because of me you had to come back... It was Sabi who called you, I guess.

— And she did well... Mari, did you look at yourself in the mirror?

— Not really, I haven't had time in the last few days...

He laid a kiss on her forehead.

— Come with me, my angel.

Jason forced her to rest. Together they lay down against each other.

For the first time since the beginning of the week, the brunette finally began to relax.

Until a horrible urge to vomit makes her jump out of bed and rush into the toilet...

The next day, a doctor's appointment was made.

-XxxX-

— Congratulations ma'am, you're thirteen weeks pregnant.

Marinette looked at the doctor in front of her with round eyes, her mouth open. Her heart was beating very hard, her hands were sweaty. No, she was clearly dreaming... A beautiful dream, but a dream anyway.

It was the sound of a big "BOOM" that pulled her out of her torpor.

Jason had fallen out of his chair.

Jason had to return to Gotham a short time later. However, the two promised to wait until they were together to tell the Wayne family the good news. Nevertheless, Jason's -very- good mood already left everyone a little suspicious. Dick even ends up making fun of him by saying he was "a Marinette drug addict." It was when Jason started to answer Damian with a huge smile that everyone understood that there was something up with him. Everybody knew those two couldn't stand each other...

When Marinette arrived the following month, she was greeted by a radiant Jason. This had the merit of making her laugh. At Jason's request, the whole family gathered at the mansion. Unsurprisingly, Dick was the first to launch.

— What's up? What do you have to say that's so important? It must be really exceptional, for Jason to have become a teddy bear after returning from France...

Marinette and Jason exchanged an accomplice look before turning to their families again.

— I'm pregnant.

Three, two, one...

— WHAT!?

— OH MY GOD! I'M GOING TO BE AN UNCLE!

— Congratulations Master Jason, Mistress Marinette.

— Baby... I'm going to become... a Grandfather?

— I KNEW IT! Tim, you owe me $20!

— Seriously?!

The news was greeted with joy.

TOO MUCH joy...

Marinette and Jason had to impose a gift quota per person, since they received too many gifts for the baby! Family members, friends, business partners... Even some regular users of their library-café brought gifts!

— Jay... Our daughter already has more clothes than our two dressing rooms combined!

— Hm... We may have to move...

— Or tell everyone to stop! Can you believe Lois wants to have a baby shower?! When we already have more room in our apartment!

— A what?

— This passing party to go from woman to mother... And you get gifts too... And diapers, lots of diapers... There are games too...

— I don't see what the problem is, angel...

Marinette looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Then walked towards the door of what should be the broom closet. As she opened it, bundles of diapers fell out from inside.

— What the fuck?!

— Alfred.

— Are you kidding me?!

— No. There's even more in my studio, I even started filling my parents' old apartment with diapers...

— You filled a 77,74 yr² apartment with diapers?!

— Yes. All the rooms.

— ...

— Did I tell you that Bruce wants to do a Gala in our honor?

— WHAT?! Thank, but no thanks! Stop! I'm calling Bruce right now.

They couldn't get Bruce to change his mind. They couldn't get everyone to stop with the presents...

And Marinette was only 4 months pregnant.

The day of the Gala arrived. And with it came a series of problems.

People Marinette never wanted to see again would be there. However, the mother-to-be didn't want to make a scene. Especially for events that had occurred during her teens. Nevertheless, the brunette had a very bad feeling about it. Especially since she hadn't yet talked to Jason about the "MJT" identity theft story.

So, she decided to consult the Kwami and ask their opinion on this matter. The Kwami all had different opinions. Some told her that this was the perfect opportunity for revenge, others told her that she was now far above all these events. Others thought that something had to be done, but just in case...

The brunette was facing a difficult choice. On the one hand, she genuinely wanted to forget her past. On the other hand... She had not forgotten all those nights crying, feeling alone and helpless... All those times she had been humiliated... Marinette, deep down, wanted revenge.

She passed her hand over her belly and fondled it gently. The French-Chinese knew that. Now she was no longer alone. She had an exceptional husband, a great family, sincere friends, a brilliant career. And soon, she would also have a little girl to cherish...

Marinette ends up talking to Jason about it.

— I think the Kwamis are right.

— About what?

— About everything.

— I'm afraid I don't know what you're getting at, Jay...

— They're right, today you have nothing to envy anyone. On the other hand, it's the perfect opportunity to make them pay for all the humiliation you went through thanks to their shit...

— Mmmm... So?

— We're going to take action, just in case. Maybe over time they've changed, in which case, good. If they haven't...

— Better to go to war with victory assured.

— Yep, that's what it is.

Jason put a kiss on her forehead.

— As for this story of identity theft... I do have an idea of how to proceed, but I would like your opinion on that.

— Oh? The council of war isn't over yet?

— Ahahaha... You're an idiot. So, I thought...

After exposing her entire plan, Jason looked at her for a moment and smiled softly.

— You know, Angel, I'm hesitant to get divorced.

— What?!

— And then ask you to marry me again.

— Y-You... You moron! Don't ever scare me like that again!

— Ahahaha!

— Don't you dare laugh! That joke sucked!

For her plan to work, Marinette still had to warn the Wayne family. She had to tell them what had happened to her as a teenager, as well as the other rather unfortunate events that happened to her afterwards.

Their reaction was unanimous: they were angry.

— Marinette, do you realize how much this suck?! This is extremely serious! [Dick]

— I will immediately ban them from the guest list and blacklist them. [Bruce]

— Personally, I don't think a small visit would hurt them. It's a good thing, it's my turn to patrol tonight. [Steph]

— No, you're not going to do anything.

— Jaybird, you can't be serious!

— I am Roy, Mari already has a plan...

— And what is that plan, Marinette?

At Tim's question, Marinette looked at him with a grin. It had the merit of calming the spirits a little. All shifted their attention to the brunette.

— First of all, I want to be clear, I want to give them a chance. When you're young, you don't always realize what you're doing. I myself have done and say things that I regret today, and I am sure that is also your case.

No one answered anything. But Marinette could clearly see that not everyone agreed with her reasoning.

— However, I know from experience that some people are just bad by nature and only get worse with time, which is why I took the lead. I'm going to kill two birds with one stone...

Once the exhibition of her plan is finished...

— Marinette?

— Yes Timmy?

— I'm glad you're part of the family.

— Thank you?

— It's a plan, both effective and ruthless. I approved.

— Thank you, Dami.

Around her Marinette could see that Bruce nodded with a slight smile. Dick seemed to laugh like a maniac with Stephanie. Barbara on her side smiled amused.

— I think I finally understand why you and Jason are so good together...

— Uh, okay?

Duke, who eventually came out of his torpor, looked almost frightened. Barbara laughed harder.

-XxxX-

In agreement with Bruce, Tim changed the invitations. The invitations from Marinette's former acquaintances were an hour earlier than those of the other guests. In addition, other guests were added to the guest list at the request of the brunette.

Kagami Tsurugi, Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi received different invitations.

Marinette was the one who welcomed the first guests alongside her assistant - and now best friend - Sabrina. The brunette wore a dress made by her, black and red, with a ladybug theme.

Marinette was pleased to see that, just as she had hoped, some of her acquaintances had indeed changed for the better. When Kagami saw her, she hugged her tightly and asked for forgiveness. Henceforth, the young woman bore the surname "Couffaine", and was the happy wife of Luka.

The Japanese woman had finally discovered the truth about what had really happened and had immediately asked for a divorce. Being perfectly aware that her behavior towards her (ex)best friend had been more than unfair, she had never dared to come back to her.

Marinette was delighted to see her guitarist friend again. He was now a well-known singer and musician. Marinette had no trouble forgiving her, for the simple reason that she had never blamed her. The brunette saw her as a victim just as much as her was a victim too.

Then came Adrien's turn. He too had changed a lot. He hadn't remarried since his divorce with Kagami. Seeing her, his eyes filled with tears as he apologized flatly for his behavior. Marinette accepted his apology, but nevertheless, she made it clear to the young man that they would remain only acquaintances. The blond man accepted -he had no say in the matter anyway-.

The guests arrived one by one. Marinette had to leave for a few moments to breathe a little. Because of her pregnancy, even though her belly was not yet very visible, the young woman had cruelly lost her stamina. Sabrina continued alone, welcoming the guests.

While she was resting in a room out of sight, Jason made his appearance. He was as radiant as ever. He was wearing a black suit that Marinette had made for him while she was still "MDC". Underneath, he was wearing a burgundy shirt with a black tie. All his clothes were marked "MJT". He wasn't the only one actually. The whole Wayne family, as well as several close family friends like the Kents, wore original MJT.

After a while, Dick showed up.

— Marinette, Little wing, you gotta come see this...

— What's up, Dickhead?

— Jay... what did we say about those nicknames...

— Just come and see. And Jay, you should listen to your wife...

The dark-haired's only response was to growl at his brother.

When Marinette and Jason arrived in the room, they quickly realized why Dick had come to pick them up.

— I am so delighted to meet the real MJT!

— Ahahahaha! Thank you so much. It's an honor to meet you too, Mr. Wayne.

Lila Rossi.

She gazed pathetically at Tim, who had obviously been the chosen victim to keep her busy.

So, the person claiming to be "MJT" was this plague of Rossi's...

Marinette watched the Italian woman come out lie after lie, while openly flirting with Tim. The brunette felt deeply sorry for her young brother-in-law. The couple then learned from Damian, who was furious by the way, that Lila had enjoyed herself, as soon as she entered, belittling Sabrina who was standing at the reception hall. The redhead was perfectly professional, without losing her temper, she simply pointed Lila in the direction of the reception hall, before gently dismissing her, to welcome the other guests.

Marinette sighed.

A simple glance at his side confirmed that Jason felt the same way. Their eyes crossed and a rictus formed on their respective faces.

Finally, there would be some action that night.

Marinette smiles one last time at Jason before advancing, this time alone, to the Italian viper. Looking at her more closely, Marinette had to admit that she was a beautiful woman. Luckily, she had changed her haircut to make it shorter. The brunette had to admit that Lila's square cut suited her very well. She wore a black dress, very elegant, with a slit on the side. A plunging neckline didn't leave much room for imagination. Marinette immediately noticed the characteristic signature of "MJT" on the border of the Italian's dress. Finally, "characteristic" was a big word. It was an imitation.

— Oh Lila Rossi? How amazing to run into you here.

The Italian turned around sharply and lost her smile, which was meant to be seductive, for a fraction of a second - which neither Marinette nor Tim missed - before taking back her "nice girl" mask.

— Dupain-Cheng? That's... quite a coincidence.

— Actually, it's Johnson-Todd, I'm married now. Hi Timmy, there's Jay looking for you, he had something to tell you.

— Hello Marinette, you look lovely as always.

— Thank you, Timmy.

— Well, I'm not going to make my brother wait any longer. Miss Rossi, it was a pleasure. Mari...

Timothy laid a kiss on her forehead and whispered a "good luck" to her and left immediately.

The brunette's gaze turned to Lila, who looked at her with a deceptively playful look, while Marinette could clearly see the anger in her eyes.

— I see there are things that don't change Marinette. Still flirting with anything that moves.

Marinette smiled at her.

Don't take your case for generality, sweetie.

The French-Chinese chooses not to pick up on the remark and gives her one last chance.

— How are you, Lila? I understand you ran into my assistant Sabrina.

— Oh... So you adopted Chloe's former slave... I'm impressed Dupain-Cheng, you're rising in my esteem.

— You were right about one thing, Lila dear, some things never change... You're still pathetic.

— Be careful what you say Dupain-Cheng.

— Or else what, darling? You'll start crying about how I'm a naughty bully? Unluckily, your sheep group isn't here to watch your back...

Lila's face was deformed with anger. But the Italian quickly recovered, and a bad grin appeared on her face.

— Did you say your last name was now Johnson-Todd? So you're the wife of this pathetic little coffee house owner? You know what I can do? I can destroy the reputation of your stupid establishment. My fiancé is a rich businessman! He's already brought down the Bourgeois. All you have to do is ask Chloe what I'm capable of.

So... Not only is she pathetic, she's a whore. She was hitting on Tim knowing she's engaged...

Marinette looked at the young woman with a completely impassive look on her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that her special guests had arrived. The brunette grinned. She was then joined again by Tim. Lila immediately took back her innocent look.

— Marinette, Miss Rossi, good timing, I have someone I want you to meet.

Tim held out his hand to Lila, who was happy to take his arm and stick to him like an octopus. The Italian then glanced at Marinette with a mocking look. The brunette rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Then, when Lila saw who the guests were, the young woman faded.

He was one of her -many- former lover.

When the man saw her, he did not hide his disdain for a second.

Then, to the Italian's great misfortune, all her former lovers -all rich men- were present. There were also all the people about whom Lila had already told lies to gain special favours. Including people about whom Lila had spread rumours to make them lose their jobs and take their place. Every celebrity she claimed to know was there.

And most importantly, her entire old class from both middle and high school was there. Marinette had contacted them all one by one. Including Alya, and Chloe. These two, Marinette had already taken care of them a few years earlier. Indeed, Alya was the one who reported in an article that it was Sabrina who had embezzled money from the Bourgeois. In exchange, the blonde had guaranteed her a place in a school of journalism -Alya had not managed to get in and was beginning to despair-. Marinette then contacted Nadja Chamac, who was delighted to blacklist Alya. No school of journalism would take her, and as for Chloe... You know the story.

But since none of them knew their misfortune was Marinette's fault... they agreed to come.

She tried to escape, but soon realized that this would not be possible because Tim was holding her tightly.

— Why leave now? Just when things are finally getting interesting.

Lila understood that she had just been trapped.

Bruce approached the stage to get ready to give his speech. At this point, Marinette approached Lila - who was already pale - and whispered to her, so that she was the only one to hear.

— Tonight, my dear, I'll teach you one thing: In life, there are monsters that should not be awakened.

Then she left to join Jason on stage. Bruce formally introduced Jason and Marinette. Presenting Jason as his son who had returned. He then announced the good news of Marinette's pregnancy. Then finally, an interview with Clark Kent and Loïs Lane-Kent was showed, introducing the young couple briefly, their meeting, and above all, revealing that Marinette was "MDC" and now "MJT".

To prove her point, she showed that if she made her clothes alone and by hand, it was because her signature hid a secret. When you put a flashlight on the signature in question, while turning off the light, the signature "MDC" revealed the first name "Marinette" under the light. While the signature "MJT" revealed the signature "Mari+Jay". And only the original creations bore these characteristics.

To throw salt into Lila's wound, Marinette thought it would be good to add at the end:

— And a special thanks to Miss Lila Rossi, without whom I would never have had the courage to reveal the truth.

The guests understood the message very clearly.

Lila runs away from the reception in tears, completely humiliated.

That day the world learned one thing: don't mess with Marinette.

Thank you to everyone who read this fic! Anyone who took the trouble to leave a comment. To all of you I say a big THANK YOU!
See you soon, I hope, for new stories. ^^