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Published:
2020-12-26
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2021-01-22
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8/?
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Red And Blue : The World of Echo

Chapter 8: Of Rescues and Respite

Summary:

The Natur Geliebt are safe, and the pack meets Ra's al Ghul. But what is this strange feeling in Ra's' chest when he sees their guardian. And why is he so attached to these kids?

Chapter Text

The rescue goes off without a hitch. With the miraculous holders paralyzing or incapacitating with no mercy and Rogue, Lance and Jason knocking people out (Or in Jason's case, shooting with extreme prejudice), it's easier for Echo, Kurt and Gar to go and find everyone. They can feel them. With six months of training together and learning more about how to find each other without dream fasting, it's almost too easy. Follow the signal to a large metal door, break a man's wrist and use his thumb to open the door, steal a few key cards off some guards who've been paralyzed by Abeille and open the cells holding the Natur Geliebt. It isn't difficult to get to them, though getting out proved to be a bit more difficult. Kurt ends up porting out to the cargo ship docked just a little ways away from the entrance in order to give them someone to feel for to get out. A few more guards show up on their way out, but they're no obstacle. Just a minor annoyance.

Echo and two of her sisters walk together, and the newly freed girls talk animatedly, while she stays silent and smiles at them. She seems relieved, and it's easy to see how much she loves them. Their parents were both killed in the capture, and that leaves their eldest sister Carina as the pack leader, though she has no authority over Echo herself anymore. The younger would still follow Carina if she asked, so it seemed a safe bet for them to talk to. It Rogue who bit the bullet, walking beside her for a moment or two before she spoke.

"Does Echo- . . . I mean, have you ever known her to be . . . excessively violent?"

The girl chuckled softly, and her voice was oddly soothing. A comforting, warm tone that wrapped around one's being like a hug. 

"Echo used to cry when my father brought home dead animals for supper. She hated when our brothers and sisters would fight too, although it's normal for the young. For any of us really. It's no surprise she found people to care enough to help her. She's always been magnetic that way."

Rogue swallowed hard.

"But I saw . . . I saw her kill someone. He threatened Jason, and Echo reacted so fast. She . . . she cut into him with her nails, she slit his throat with her tail-"

"Merely protective instinct. She would've dropped to all fours and bared her teeth first, which is a warning. Next, she would release menacing pheromones and her tail would harden and sharpen. Her tails would grow and sharpen and then she'd wait for her opponent's next move. Did anything happen right before she attacked?"

She didn't seem worried, and Rogue thought back to the event itself.

" . . . He cut Jason."

Carina seemed to have expected this, nodding serenely.

"If her opponent drew first blood, his death was inevitable. You have a green with you, and they are also known for having extremely strong protective instincts and little mercy when it comes to those instincts. If Echo hadn't done it, your friend would have."

The thought sent a shiver down Rogue's spine.

"I guess I should be grateful they'd want to protect us."

Carina nodded again.

"Yes, it is rare for a Natur Geliebt to become attached to humans. You are fortunate to have three. It is a great honor to have even one. You and your friends will be welcomed by our people always. Because with so long spent around them, you almost smell like one of us."

Somehow that was scarier than actually watching that man die.

~~~~~

The Natur Geliebt are taken back to their village, where the assassins piloting the jets leave them with what will hopefully be enough to feed them until they're stocked for winter. The summer is just beginning, but already they have lost time they would have spent beginning to hunt for winter. They seem to be happy enough beginning to clear out the wreckage and rebuild. They stay for about three days, helping with the reconstruction before they leave for Paris. Another call to the professor reveals that Ororo landed there yesterday and will be waiting for them. So the miraculous team tells him where to send her to find their mentor. Hopefully they'll get along, but just in case they ask the assassins piloting to get them there as quickly as possible. Which turns out to be a lot quicker than one would think. Within nine hours they're landing in Paris and darting over the rooftops and through alleyways until they reach a rather large house.

The Miraculous Team leads them in through a side door, though they had de-transformed several blocks before. Their mentor, who had been sitting on a large cushion with his legs crossed, opened his eyes. They glowed white for a moment, but he blinked a few times and they faded to a warm, tired jade. Standing, he held out his arms, which Marinette and Manon ran into, the rest approaching at brisk walks or light jogs. They all seemed so happy to see him, chattering excitedly. He chuckled softly.

"Now now my children, we'll have plenty of time to talk. Over dinner, actually. Talia and Ororo have been preparing tonight's dinner since they both arrived this morning. I suspect it will be most enjoyable. For now, why don't you introduce me to your friends."

He turned a smile to the pack, who stood awkwardly by the door. Felix cleared his throat. Well this would be interesting.

~~~~~

Ororo had welcomed the pack with a bright smile and warm hugs, though she held Echo a little longer than the rest. She tightened her arms just a little.

"I know what happened on that ship. It doesn't make you a bad person darling. I promise you it doesn't."

Echo froze, eyes tearing up.

"You're not . . . you're not scared?"

Ororo chuckled warmly.

"No darling, I'm not afraid. You do not ever have to worry about scaring me. Garfield told me what happened, and I am so proud of you. Protecting the people you care about is nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing. I promise you."

She moved back a bit, looking Echo in the eyes and brushing away the tears there.

"Echo, you will never have to worry about what I will think if your heart is in the right place. I may question the why, but I will always ask for your reasons. And I will never judge you."

Echo's lip quivered, and she dove back into Ororo's arms. To her credit, the woman just rubbed her back, whispering soft assurances. In the doorway, where he'd shoo'd away everyone else to give them some privacy, Ra's al Ghul felt his heart ache for this girl. He remembered his first kill. And he remembered Talia's. And Damian's. It was never easy. But then, that was why he'd began the League of Assassins. Because it wasn't easy. The people he trained learned to do the hard things. Maybe he could teach her. Or at least help her. He was at least going to try. It was as he thought this that Ororo caught sight of him. She smiled, and he felt his heart skip a beat. As it had every time he'd opened his eyes these last few hours to see her. How strange.

Shaking his head, he smiled back and pointed towards the kitchen. She nodded once, and gestured for a moment. He simply shot her another smile and headed out, unable to stop thinking of the image of Ororo comforting that girl. She'd make a wonderful mother. The thought turned the tips of his ears red, and he was glad his hair covered it, it had gotten a little shaggy lately, the white stripes barely visible as the original dark color grew out. Still, Talia smiled knowingly as he entered the room. Spine stiffening, he pursed his lips.

"Not a word."

She just shrugged her shoulders.

"I didn't say a single thing."

She looked far too smug for his liking.

~~~~~

Dinner was actually surprisingly pleasant. It had been decided that Ororo and the pack would stay with Ra's and the Miraculous team (Most of them). Marinette's parents had essentially let her raise herself, and they had believed a girl named Lila when she lied about Marinette to her faces. Realizing they didn't really know their daughter, they believed her. So when Ra's had come and pointed out all the ways they had failed their daughter, Gina right behind him, they had asked if he thought he could do better. And when he and Gina both said yes, they had been quick to sign over custody of their "problem child". Nino was much the same way, but unlike Marinette's parents, they believed their child over a stranger. They paid closer attention for a while, and were assured that they made the right decision. He was a good kid. Nathaniel's parents were divorced and his mother had been an alcoholic. She had died of alcohol poisoning and his father in a car crash, leaving him an orphan, quickly taken in by Ra's. Luka was legally an adult and lived here of his own volition. With Ra's refusing to let him pay rent, he'd snuck money into the man's pocket and anywhere Luka knew he would find it, really. eventually Ra's had agreed to let him do the grocery shopping for the house, which he did with some help from Marinette.

Chloe's parents barely knew she existed, and that was just fine by her. She'd taken the necessary tests to skip a couple of grades and graduated two years early. Now she was taking business classes at a local university. She was priming to take over her father's business. He'd promised her that when she graduated next month he would give her the hotel as a graduation present. Felix . . . was an enigma. He had a mother who loved him, but she had been feeling sick recently and gone to stay with his grandfather in Edinburgh, sending him to stay with his uncle and cousin for fear of him catching whatever it was that was ailing her. His father had tried to do much the same to them before he'd died, but his mother hadn't let him. Now that it was her, she did what she wouldn't permit her husband to do. The hypocrisy of it all stung almost as much as his uncle not caring at all and his cousin ignoring him for the most part, skulking around in sullen silence. Nathalie was pleasant, and so was Laurent, but those were the only bright spots he'd been able to find until he'd run into Marinette and Ra's. 

Manon, being just ten and always with a babysitter while her mother worked too many hours and found too few stories, was grateful her mother was on a trip right then. She'd been left with Luka, who her mother found capable, and would be here for another week before her mother returned to resume their regular schedule. All in all, if the members of the team didn't live in this place, they spent most of their free time there. And now, they opened up their home to their new friends.

Well, Chloe thought, looking between Echo and each of the boys whose hearts she'd unknowingly stolen, this was going to be a disaster. But at least it would be fun to watch.

Across the room, Lance Alvers found that he couldn't agree more.