Ooh... this one sparked some interest! Get ready for a long post on the causes of morality, the effects of trauma on young minds, the consequences of magic, and why I think we frame the relationship between Damian and Marinette all wrong. If you want to read this in a different format I posted it here on my ao3 account. *rubs hands together* Let's begin.
(TW: The character analysis contains talk of trauma and conditioning. The story contains murder, dead children, violence, and mention of gore. The story turned out a lot darker than I anticipated.)
This dynamic is beyond interesting if cast in a slightly more serious light.
Marinette does have a temper underneath her perky and upbeat exterior. She can be petty, mean, and questionably immoral when pushed to extremes; see her irritation with Chole and Lila and hell her first interactions with Adrian, her jealousy with Kagami, and her reaction to inconveniences which is "steal first, ask questions later". But I don't think that's why her sense of morals and framing of justice would be so opposed to Damian, or rather, Batman's moral code. No, all of that they would be okay with. Each and every person of the Batfam has serious anger management issues and breaks countless laws in order to be a vigilante. It's the bigger picture that would cause the problem
Marinette as Ladybug, and as the Guardian has a duty that would require her to think not only of her own morals - which are very justice-based, and trend towards the kinder option, remember we are talking about Tikki's wielder here - but of the greater picture. In short, I think her overall outlook on duty and morality would be a lot like Wonder Woman's. In that she would rather extend a hand in peace before violence, but when push comes to shove there's a reason Wonder Woman doesn't have a Rouge's gallery.
When she has a villain that can not be reasoned with. She ends them. Permanently.
I think that in the end, if it was necessary, Marinette would be capable of great violence and killing. She embodies luck and creation - but with that comes order and balance and sometimes to achieve peace, destruction is unavoidable. That's why Misfortune and Destruction are the opposites for her. With a proper partner, Ladybug doesn't have to do much of that, but on her own as a single Guardian of the Box, she would have to maintain balance.
Plus, the older she gets the more she becomes exposed to the grey realities of the world - especially in a joined MLB/DC universe here (which I like to consider is real-world logic applied to both properties). Defeating Hawkmoth won't be easy. The options are death (unlikely for a children's television show) or facing serious prison charges (unless there's a city/country-wide mindwipe, which... lame.) Even if the option is a prison, a lot of people will call for Gabriel's blood. If he does go to prison the effects of what he's done are not going to go away. How many people are going to suffer in that final battle? How many people will suffer until that battle occurs? How much destruction and violence will be wrought across the city? How many times is Marinette going to have to use Lucky Charm to revive the dead? How many times in the show must that have already happened even though we don't see it on screen? (Because, again, children's show.) What are the effects of years of emotional repression on a citywide scale? On a scale of millions - 2.61 million people live in Paris. Knowing that, at any moment, your own emotional weakness will be turned against you and weaponized to hurt the people around you. It is a cruel reality that will never be fully explored in the show. If carried out to its logical extent the severe repercussions on not only the types of criminals in Paris (which we know Ladybug deals with as they do have a regular patrol, and help the police with those crimes) but also in forming the morality of the superhero, and young adult, who has to deal with that type of climate, that type of pressure, and the trauma remaining once the whole situation is resolved.
Marinette will only grow more and more pragmatic and calloused. Even under the influence of Tikki, one of the kindest beings in the show, I think Marinette's sense of justice will take form in a way far harsher than Batman's strict moral code allows.
Because, despite the joking nature of the original post, she will learn the world exists in shades of grey, and her job, her duty, is to maintain a world of fluctuating consequences, and sometimes that requires harsh and unforgiving decisions. Because it's not justice that ultimately drives her, but balance. (Again, not a conclusion that we will see fully explored in the show - although the episode with Adrian receiving the snake miraculous does a pretty damn good job of it. And that's only a small part of what happens when a Guardian allows her/his personal feelings and morality to dictate a situation. When playing with the powers of gods petty things like feelings of good/bad pale in comparison to concepts like order/chaos and balance.)
Damian on the other hand was taught violence and destruction from birth. That the best enemy is a dead enemy. He had to spend years under his father's strict moral code and his family's love to begin to unlearn that to the point where violence and death were no longer his first reaction. And even then it is hard, which is why he still struggles with it, much like Jason. And so he holds himself so strongly to that moral code his father espouses even though he may see the same grey realities Marinette does, he can only bring himself to act in black and white. Because, to betray that, would be backsliding into the teachings of his mother, grandfather, and the League. To betray that code would mean exclusion from the only people in the world to give him love and acceptance and kindness because of who he is, not what he can do. And if all that requires is adherence to this one rule, Damian will follow it. He has to follow it.
The alternative is too painful, and lonely, to bear.
When placing those two harmonized but different moralities into a situation I think that would create an outcome much different than the general image we have of Damian and Marinette's relationship. In post after post, story after story, we see Damian defending Marinette, Damian fighting, scheming, and sometimes, killing to protect her. Violence against those who harm her, retribution against those who cause her pain. And while yes I do think he would be a protective partner both on and off the field I think we overemphasize his past under his League training rather than focusing on his training and moralization under his father.
Marinette, on the other hand, had no other mentor. Fu? Sure, until his memories are gone. Tikki? An immortal goddess intricately part of yet distant from humanity, kind yet oblivious to the internal moral decisions Marinette might not bring to her attention. Her parents? Unaware their daughter has taken the emotional weight and safety of an entire city onto her shoulders? Alya, Nino, Adrian, hell even Luka, and Kagami? All in the same position Marinette is in. Children having to learn to be moral in a world that has turned upside down and cruel. Where magic negates death, and butterflies are a reason for nightmares and PTSD attacks. Where they wield the powers of gods, power over luck, creation, destruction, time, space, illusion, and the elements? Teenagers?!?! Yeah, no, Marinette is going to come out of all of that with a warped sense of morality and the power to back up her views.
(Not to mention if we add in here my personal Headcanons on why the training of miraculous users starts so young it becomes even more warped. Younger users allow for ease of molding. Why go for an adult who already has a firm understanding of morality and a definitive nature of how the world works? Why not a teenager, a young teenager in the case of Marinette and Adrian, who grow into puberty along with magical connections to literal gods (and we know age plays a part in the miraculous mythos because Hawkmoth literally says he's able to use his powers more effectively than children under the age of majority (or a biologic explanation; when early physical puberty tends to draw to a close in males and females)) their bodies growing up with that power, their minds and morality being shaped by magic and immutable energies of existence. Of course, you go with children for that, fully formed adults wouldn't be able to handle the strain on rebreaking everything they know to be true and entrusting them with cosmic power on top of that. See Hawkmoth as an example (I would also include Nathalie into that, but she's also being affected by a broken miraculous and it's hard to tell what side effects come from that, what come from a cruel purpose, or how much that cruel purpose is actually an example of the magic breaking down a person's sense of morality, place in the universe, and their body in order to house the condensed powers of gods.))
All that being said, this is why the relationship between Damian and Marinette plays out all wrong in our current stories. Damian is not a morally loose, violent defender and Marinette is not a bubbly ball of sunshine who's strong enough to turn the other cheek when bad things are committed against her. Damian is a devout follower of strict moral code he believes is a key to his family's continued love (or if he actually internalizes that code and starts following it regardless of purpose then he becomes a vigilante against the insane and psychopathic villains of Gotham who refuses to kill on the chance of possible redemption in such twisted individuals - or to avoid legal consequences, take your pick.) and Marinette is a heavily traumatized, morally subjective, powerful as fuck, a vessel of a god, defender, and Guardian of several more, who already has a petty and vindictive streak a mile wide.
Marinette is the one who would go too far. Not Damian. He may want to sometimes, may even be capable of it in the heat of the moment, but that's why he relies on the rest of his family to hold him back. Because they are a support system for each other. Marinette doesn't have that, she never has. Separated as she is from the rest of her team simply by being Ladybug and the Guardian. And when she's working with the Batfam? She may fight with them, but there is a separateness to her. She knows Batman doesn't like magic and powers, and so she tones it down. She tones down how much power bubbles underneath her skin, the type of power that makes you sit down, shut up, and listen, the type of power that grants authority. She tones it down.
But she can just as easily use it.
Imagine, if you will, a night in Gotham. It's been a long hectic week. Maybe multiple prison breakouts, maybe even a few Rogues on the loose, but there's this one case that has been on everyone's mind. It's late - even for Gotham - and the team has been hunting down a particularly deplorable human being. Their chase has stretched into the early hours of the morning, and everyone is flagging and ready to collapse from exhaustion. But not yet.
They corner the rat in an abandoned warehouse (isn't that always the case) and the fight is short but hard. It's been a long week. And everyone is tired.
Robin's bleeding from several gashes. Orphan is sporting a broken arm. Nightwing's fighting a severe concussion and a rolled ankle. Red Hood has multiple bruised and possibly broken ribs. Red Robin doesn't even look human, held together with nothing but espresso, spite, and desperation. Hell, even Batman, stubborn and unbending as he is, shows a little limp in his gait as he goes to interrogate the piece of scum holding the key to where the children are.
Thirteen children are missing. The only signs of life have been occasional audio files released to the news media. Sounds of children screaming, begging, crying, and a harsh metallic clack ringing in the background.
Over...and over...and over again...
It's late and everyone is tired. But there is work to be done.
The man laughs through pain. He's not the Joker. He's just your average normal man although he has a hell of a punch and is quick on his feet - not too tall, not too short, friendly-looking even. Until he gets that look in his eye. You know the one, you've seen it before on people on TV and movies, god help you if you've seen it in real life. It's the look that makes your skin turn clammy, that stops up your breath in your throat and makes your stomach flip, it's the look that revels in suffering, there is no empathy, no light in that look. Nothing but deep pools madness, willing and wanting to suck in everything that surrounds them.
Round after round. Question after question. They ask, they threaten, they plead.
He laughs, and laughs, and laughs.
Eventually, the sun threatens to spill out onto the horizon. They've gotten nowhere. A window creaks open on the second floor. The family quickly turns toward the sound, weapons at the ready. They loosen when they see it's only Ladybird.
Dainty feet pad across the concrete floor.
"How's Spoiler?" Red Robin asks.
"Alive." Ladybird states, her eyes drifting over to the man strapped to the chair. "Anything?"
"Hmmm..." Her face is uncharacteristically blank and serene. "Let me try?"
Red Hood lets out a sharp scoff. "This is a little different than your normal fare. He ain't gonna break with kindly asked words and luck."
Ladybird doesn't seem to take offense. "Let me try." This time it's not a question.
There is a momentary pause, everyone looks to Batman. He stares at her, and she stares back. He nods and the family parts, stepping into the remaining shadows that linger as the sun rises. Ladybird approaches the man and stares at him.
"I don' 'hink you can do anythin' to me doll, 'hat your friends haven' tried," he slurs through a mouth of missing teeth and bloodied gums. He looks her up and down with a cloudy gaze and a crooked salacious grin. "Though you certainly pretty, maybe I might be willin' ta trade!"
Robin steps forward one hand on his sword a snarl on his lips, but a single gesture from the woman stops him. Ladybird remains passive. She bends closer to the man.
"I'm going to ask this once, very nicely. Where are the children?" Her voice is light almost as if having a conversation about the weather.
"That ain't-" starts Red Hood before it's ruthlessly stopped by an elbow to the side.
The man laughs. "Nope! Nah! NO!" His cackles grow wilder. Ladybird does not move. Does not say a word until the chuckles begin to fade.
"You'll have to try harder 'an 'at lil'miss."
"Very well, the hard way it is." She brings her hands up and hovers them around the man's head. "Do you know what the difference between probability and luck is?" She shifts her stance, her shoulders straighten, her voice rings. "No? Luck is uncontrollable, it just is. An immutable fact. Something that can or can't happen. It's a coin flip." The hands don't move, but the air around them starts to vibrate, the man's breath gets caught in his throat.
"Probability, on the other hand," Ladybird keeps talking in that smooth serene tone. "Is the chance that something can happen. It has a type of certainty to it. A type of numerical calculation. Probability can be manipulated." The air around the man's head grows more violent, shockwaves pounding against his skull. His eyes roll back.
"We could rely on luck to find where the children are, but I have always been more fond of probability. So, I'm going to ask again."
"Where are the children?"
The man lurches forward, dragging in a gasping breath. "Down, down, underneath-" a harsh gurgling cough escapes his throat. "Underneath here."
"You fucking bastard," spits Red Hood. A scrambling of limbs ensues. A door at the opposite end of the warehouse finds itself kicked open. Footsteps descend into the basement. Ladybird remains standing over the man her face blank, her eyes glowing.
"All underneath," he says, his eyes coming back into focus. "All of my children here ta stay with me forever."
It's only the beat of a moment before a horrified cry fills the warehouse, and then there's a distinct sound of retching.
The man begins to laugh again.
"~Ladybird, Ladybird fly away home~" He sings.
The steps returning to the ground floor are heavy and quick.
"~Your house is on fire and your children are gone~"
"They're dead," croaks Nightwing, stumbling through the door. "Hung up by-" he can't even say another word before he retches on the ground. The rest of the team emerges from the doorway, all in various states of shock and disgust if emotions can even be seen behind their masks.
"~All except one, and her name is Ann, and she hid under the baking pan!~"
"All thirteen?" Ladybird asks her tone flat, but still ringing in an odd expansive manner.
"Hard to..." starts Red Robin, his voice shaky. "Hard to tell. There were certainly... thirteen heads."
"I'm calling the authorities, the rest of you can leave. This place will be crawling with cops and media before the hour is out." Batman growls, but it betrays a tinge of shakiness.
It's been a long week. And they are tired.
The man laughs again. A thin weedy rasp.
"One moment," says Ladybird. Her hands rise again, and the air begins to vibrate. It harmonizes with the sound of the man's laugh.
"What are you doing?" asks Robin.
A tangle of webs erupts from her hands spiraling out into the air around her and the psychopath strapped to the chair. They wave and dance in a non-existent wind, little red lines connecting. All attached to the man.
"They screamed so pretty, so high and loud, but no one came, no one ever comes!" laughs the man.
Ladybird watches the lines as they flutter around her, before looking back at the man.
"You've done this before?"
"Never got caught till today!"
She tilts her head. "And you're proud of it now?"
"It was a masterpiece, oh you should've seen it!"
"YES!" his eyes shine. "I'll wait and wait and wait until I can be free and then I'll gather them up and- URK!"
The human neck is not meant to twist that far.
The man slumps back against the chair. His eyes are still open, staring blankly at the opposing wall now. Face twisted in a malicious grin.
"You killed him," states Batman.
"Oh thank god," mutters Red Hood.
"Yes." Her eyes have stopped glowing.
"Those are your rules, not mine." Her voice may no longer ring but it is firm and steady. Her eyes narrow.
"One more death does not make up for the thirteen lost."
"No. Nor does it make up for the thirty-four other children buried underneath the concrete flooring down there." She steps forward and unties the man from the chair. He falls out and onto the floor. "Dead is dead, and the dead do not hold opinions for the living."
"Thirty-four," mutter Red Robin.
"However, one death more than makes up for the fifty-two other children that would have lost their lives at his hands, had he been allowed to live."
Batman shifts. "You killed him for future crimes?"
She tilts her head and smiles thinly. "I just did."
"We are not judge, jury, and executioner."
"You are not," she agrees.
He stalks forward, pushing into her space. "We are not gods! We do not get to decide when people live or die! We do not impose our own morality on the world when people act horribly! If you do that it makes you no better-"
"You're right, you are not gods," says Ladybird softly. Not even flinching at the angry stance of the man standing opposite her. "But do not insult yourself, or me, by implying that I'm not." Her eyes are glowing again. "I'm not sorry for preventing future suffering." She backs away.
"If you do this again-" he threatens.
"When I do this again. You'll what? Put a stop to me?"
"Ladybird..." starts Robin.
"No," her voice is tight, manic almost. That smooth sereneness has faded leaving the cracked human underneath. "With this power, with this duty, I don't get to have my own moral code. I don't get to decide where to draw the line in the sand and say here; this is where I will not cross. I do not have that luxury. Not as I am." She glares, her voice choked with heavy breaths. "Do not judge a weight you have chosen not to bear."
She turns towards the exit.
It's been a long week. And everyone is tired.
But there is still work to do.
