"Again." Shiva's commanding voice rang through the training room. "Straighten your hind leg to maintain your balance."

Three year old Marinette obeyed, launching her small body into another series of attacks on the training dummy with her fists.

"Again. Your form was sloppy."

"Again."

"Again."

"Again."

The pattern continued until she was too exhausted to hold herself up and collapsed. Shiva tutted. "Still weak. I suppose we will have to end there for today. Dismissed."

Marinette painstakingly picked herself off the ground and made her way back to her tiny living quarters.

.o0o.

Marinette parried another strike from her trainer, unflinching as the blades clashed millimeters away from her face. Her five year old arms shook with the effort to hold the blade there, and she ducked and rolled when the strain became too much.

She turned just in time to meet another strike before knocking her trainer's blade to the side and slashing with her own katana. They trade blows back and forth until she sees another woman with auburn hair enter the courtyard, followed by a boy that has her hair and facial features.

The moment of hesitation is enough. Her trainer's katana slashes across her chest, tearing through her skin and flesh and definitely scraping a lung. The pain is something she has never felt before, and she had already gone through the first round of torture resistance.

It burned, and she couldn't breathe. The last thing she sees before everything goes black is Lady Shiva's frown, the boy's look of mild curiosity, and the concern that flashed through the auburn-haired woman's eyes before she stuffed it down.

.o0o.

Marinette woke in the sickly green waters of the Lazarus Pit with a new bloodthirsty voice in her head. The first healer that came to check on her was murdered with her bare hands. As was the second, and the third.

It took months to learn to control the voice, the urges to kill. When she realized she had taken another three lives, she cried, but only when she was alone. Crying is a weakness that she could not show.

She returns to her room after another day of training to find the auburn-haired woman from a few months ago sitting on her bed.

The woman introduces herself as Talia al Ghul, and tells Marinette that she is her mother.

Her grandfather is the Demon's Head, and the boy she saw, her twin brother, Damian, is his heir.

Marinette asks why she is ranked so low if her brother is the Prince. Talia's eyes harden.

"Ra's is a fool. He believes that women are not worthy of power, and can do nothing to maintain it. But you will prove him wrong, daughter. I refuse to raise an unworthy child."

Marinette trains harder after that.

.o0o.

But harder isn't always enough.

The second time she died, it wasn't because she was not a capable fighter.

The second round of torture resistance took place a year and a half after her first death. She withstood the pain, only letting out the tiniest whimper in the beginning, which earned her another ten lashes, but in the end, her body gave up from the injuries.

She bled out, still bound in chains, and woke up in the Pit again, the murderous voice back with a new vengeance.

Marinette accidentally took another life, but she promised herself it wouldn't happen again. She would gain control of this madness. She would.

She refused to think of what would happen if she didn't.

.o0o.

When she turns nine, Lady Shiva deems her worthy enough to claim her spot as the Princess of the League, and so she moved into the larger quarters, meant for the family of the Demon's Head.

Talia was proud, but she did not outwardly express it. Marinette read it in her body, the way she was trained to.

Her twin brother was... distant. He refused to accept a sibling, refused to accept that she can be the Princess while he is the Heir. He acted just like Ra's, the man he will grow up to replace.

Marinette supposed they saw her as unworthy not only because of her gender, but because of her deaths. She thought that Damian might have died too, had the trainers not been too afraid to kill the Demon's Heir. She doesn't point it out. It wouldn't do her any good.

One month after she moved in, Ra's demanded that she spar Damian. Talia and Ra's bore witness to the spar.

Damian drew his katana, scowling at her all the while. Marinette remained unfazed and took her own battle stance opposite him, feeling the comforting weight of her steel war fans in her hands.

They launched at each other at the same time, slashing and parrying and slicing and dodging. Damian gives her a shallow cut on her right cheekbone. Marinette retaliates with a slice on the forehead. The spar goes on for three hours before Ra's ends it, having seen that there will be no winner.

Ra's was hard to please. Marinette did pass his judgement for being worthy in battle, but he would never fully accept her the way he did his grandson. That was alright by her. Ra's was not the kind of person she wished to have the opinion of anyway.

Damian was also a lot more willing to talk to her after that spar, and Marinette finally learned what it was like to have a companion her own age, even if he was a bit arrogant and rude at times.

.o0o.

Marinette flies awake with a start, and for a moment, she forgets where she is. Wayne Manor. Father. Safe.

"Good morning, ukhti." Damian greets, rubbing the last bits of sleep from his eyes. "Did you sleep well?"

Marinette snorts derisively, sliding easily off the top bunk and landing lightly on the floor. "Do I ever, akhi?"

Damian's face softens. "It is still early. Would you like to spar to get your mind off things?"

"Of course." Marinette gives her twin a rare smile. "We must change into more suitable clothes first though."

Ten minutes later, the twins silently creep out of their room and start the hunt for the training room, exploring the Manor as they go. It takes half an hour to find the correct location. Marinette and Damian occupy opposite sides of the sparring mat as they start warming up.

Marinette relishes the pull of her muscles as she stretches, the feeling grounding her into reality. Once they finish, they settle into their fighting positions, each eyeing the other apprehensively.

Damian makes the first move, as the more aggressive of the two. Marinette swiftly dodges his fist and sends a quick kick to his chest. He catches her foot and uses her own momentum to throw her over his shoulder. Marinette twists as she falls, and hits the ground in a perfect three-point landing. She lunges again, and Damian charges forward to meet her in a whirl of fists and kicks, blocks and blows.

At some point, they notice Alfred enter the room, but he merely stands off to the side and watches, so they continue sparring. Not long after, he is followed by a lithe young woman with short black hair, a pale teen who has massive eye bags, and a familiar man with a white streak in his dark hair.

Cassandra Cain. Timothy Drake. Jason Todd. Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood. Alfred clears his throat, and both of them part, barely even sweating.

"Is something the matter, Pennyworth?" Damian asks in a snobby tone that makes Marinette want to smack him over the head (didn't his training ever cover socialization? Hers definitely did, but maybe that's because she was a female.) so she does so.

Being treated as a prince from birth certainly inflated his ego. Damian glares, but does not retaliate. Good. He knows he is being rude.

"I wished to inform you that breakfast is ready and the rest of the family wanted to come and meet the two of you." Alfred says neutrally.

Cassandra then gives them a friendly smile and a wave, while the boys stay where they are, calculating eyes roving over them. Marinette can't really judge them for that- she has already scanned all of them for weaknesses too, though there weren't many.

Damian sniffs. "I do not see why Father chooses to keep these imbeciles around now that he has a blood son and blood daughter." Marinette smacks him on the head again, because his attitude is getting a little irritating.

"They are not here for you to demean, brother." She hisses in Icelandic. "Father has deemed them family because they have proved themselves worthy. You well treat them with respect, or I will treat you the way you treat them." Damian grumbles, but thankfully quiets.

Marinette quickly gives the others a small curtsy. "My apologies for my brother. He can be quite abrasive, but he is learning. It is an honor to meet those whom our father considers family."

Cassandra responds first, patting each of them lightly on the shoulder, making sure to keep her posture relaxed and non-threatening. "Sister. Brother."

Jason and Damian stare each other down, and Marinette internally sighs. Men and their need to have... what was that phrase I read online? The biggest penis energy? Jason breaks the silence.

"Damian al Ghul. Ibn al Xu'ffasch. Grandson of Ra's al Ghul, Heir to the Demon's Head. Never knew you had a sister."

Damian shifts protective towards Marinette. "I learned of her existence last year."

"Wait, wait, wait." Timothy frowns. "Grandson of Ra's al Ghul? As in the grandchildren of the man who is not only obsessed with Bruce, but also the head of the League of Assassins? These are assassin children?"

Cassandra frowns, hurt. She points to herself. "Assassin child."

"I've been in the League too, Replacement." Jason shrugs.

"No, you don't understand." Timothy shakes his head. "These are Ra's grandchildren, kids that Talia gave birth to after some questionable activities with Bruce. Who's to say that Ra's didn't plant them here as moles? Why should we trust them?"

Marinette feels a pang of hurt against her will. "Ra's al Ghul may have been my grandfather by blood, but he was never more than any other assassin in the League to me. He was the one who took me away from my brother at birth. He is the reason why I have been died twice and been revived both times by the Lazarus Pit. He is the reason why I only got to meet my twin last year, and you think I would work for him, act as a spy for him, when I finally escape the League to live with my father?"

"Whatever." Timothy spits. "I still don't trust you." He pivots and walks out of the room.

Marinette reads a fear in his body language, but it isn't fear of their skills, or fear that they might kill him. It's a fear of being replaced, and suddenly, she understands.

"...You don't plan on betraying us, right?" Jason asks suddenly.

Damian huffs. "Tt. Of course not, Todd. I wish to become Batman one day, and betraying Father's cause would be extremely counterproductive to my efforts."

Sometime during their encounter, Alfred had disappeared. Cassandra heads to the exit, and gestures for them to follow. "Come. Breakfast now."

Timothy does not show while they eat, and neither does Father. Alfred nearly has an aneurysm when he learns that Marinette has never had chocolate (a side effect of being a low-ranked assassin) and immediately starts stuffing chocolate-covered pastries into her hands.

"I insist that you try one." Alfred says. "You will find it quite delicious." Marinette obediently takes a bite, and a delightfully rich flavor fills her mouth.

She has never known that food could taste so good, and says as much. Alfred's pleased face, Damian's small smile, and Cassandra's grin make her feel warm inside. Evidently, there is a lot she doesn't know about the world, but she is excited and willing to learn.

.o0o.

Marinette and Damian carry out their plan after the rest leave for patrol (sans Jason, who was still benched because of his ribs) and believe they are asleep.

They change into the darkest, most flexible clothing they can find in their room and silently slip out of the window after disabling all the alarms. Wayne Manor's security measures are evaded with some effort, and they are out in the midst of Gotham City in almost no time at all.

Ubu has not tried to hide at all. He is entertaining two women when they burst in, already having disabled the cameras around the area just in case.

"Leave, harlots." Damian spits at the women, as Marinette charges the much larger man. Her steel fans glint in the light as she slashes.

Ubu does manage to escape the apartment, but the twins easily catch up to him even though he runs through the traffic. The drivers don't seem very disturbed. It must be a normal occurrence in Gotham, to see a hulking man running from two children with swords and fans.

Damian tackles Ubu, but after a half-hearted attempt at interrogation, in which the man purposefully riles him up, he raises his sword, the angle indicating he intended to kill him.

"Akhi, no!" Marinette cris, and she sees a blur of blue and black as her brother is tackled, sword flying out of his grip. She snarls, flicking open her fans and ready to hurt whoever attacked her brother, but stops when she realizes who the man is. "Nightwing."

Richard Grayson sighs. "The psychos keep getting younger."

Damian growls, launching himself at the larger man with a battle cry. The fight lasts about six minutes before Nightwing manages to tie her brother up, hanging from a streetlamp with a gag in his mouth. Marinette was trying to get them to stop all the while, to no avail, and she didn't want to step in for fear of hurting either brother.

Nightwing turns to her. "Do I need to tie you up the hard way too?"

Marinette rolls her eyes. "Thank you for finally acknowledging my existence. If you had actually listened, Nightwing, you would know that your offer is not necessary. My name is Marinette. My twin is Damian, and we are Bruce Wayne's biological children. Hello, older brother."