#alya redemption

[trashyangelic]

Got an idea if anyone wanna test this out as a prompt for miraculous ladybug!

This got me thinking for a while after the incident with the theft as in Lila placing her necklace just to frame Marinette for stealing. Salts are Lila, Damocles, Bustier, and Adrien.

What if there is a possible way that Damocles has been using the school funds for his favorite sport team and his superhero owl stuff instead of upgrading the school like the lockers, fixing the CCTV cameras that is all over the school grounds for safety reasons, and the clubs equipments that the students even Marinette made a complaint about it?

As for Chloe and Sabrina not realizing what is going on in their school but after they had witness that the lockers were not upgraded as they should be when hearing this from other students outside of their class it became highly suspicious to them now.

Even Alya realize what is going on in the school but she had no proof to show it after she knows that Marinette is Ladybug from Season 4. Alya is still pissed at Lila for lying to her and for trying to make her best friend to look as a bad guy when its the other way around. But when Marinette told Alya that Adrien's knows but also told her about the advice he gave her just only made Alya really mad as hell.

Anyway, Alya told Marinette otherwise to record anything that Lila says to her without her knowing it so that way they can find a way to show proof in her blog hopefully it will help save their classmates from Lila's clutches without Adrien's help. Alya told Nino everything last night he was not happy being lied for so long he agreed to help but was upset that Adrien knows but did nothing to help.

Now for Bustier lets say she knows that Lila is lying but decided to give her scot-free but scold Marinette as she did this before in her teenager years where she is the bully while her classmates are the victims to her. Unfortunately for Bustier she is a criminal in the shadows but also mastermind of manipulation where she turn out to be a prisoner who had escape in her teenage years and changed her full name without getting caught again. Back then she was blacklist on her first try when becoming a teacher after ignoring of joining the Anti-Bullying Course she got into a lot of trouble with the school board that time before moving to Paris.

Damocles doesn't even do fact-checking on both Lila and Caline's background when they decided to change names to save their facade behind the mask.

So what do you guys think? Are you willing to take it and try it cause I don't mind reading your progress on this but be sure to tagged when its completely done? Sorry if its too much to ask.

[aliensunflower-fics]

CHANGING FACES Chapter 3: Where Are We Going

[ Prefer to Read on Archive of Our Own? Link HERE! ]

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After years of dealing with each other Lila Rossi win's when she  convinces Hawkmoth that Marinette is Ladybug. In order to throw off  suspicion and keep the Miracle Box safe Marinette and her supportive  parents leave Paris and head to Gotham of all places. In this new place  away from her friends and her unhealthy routines Marinette is forced to  confront herself and change for the better. Helping her on her journey  is a surprising new friend and potential ally. When Alya missing her  friend learns about the chance to win a free trip to Gotham she  convinces the class to work hard to qualify. When her new life clashes  with her old one will Marinette be able to hold on strong to her new  confidence or will she crumble under the pressure?

( This fic will be for the most part comedic, fluffy, and sweet, with  only a bit of seriousness to tie it together. With only the mildest salt  because I don't think the class or Adrien are bad people just that they  can be naive and selfish thanks to the canon writing. I hope you enjoy  reading this work and have fun with me on this journey. )

CHAPTER 3:

Where Are We Going

Marinette felt tired. Not the kind or tired that could be slept off but something DEEPER. It was an exhaustion that seeped deep into her bones and left her feeling heavy. Her limbs felt like rocks and her fingers ached. Her mind begged for the sweet escape of dreamless sleep. Yet voices tickled the edge of her conscious mind slowly leading her back to the waking world. Whoever was talking was trying to be considerate of her, speaking in hushed tones with all the lights but a small table lamp off. 

 Blinking slowly, Marinette’s groggy mind took in the hideous pattern on the hotel's cheap curtains and the smell of cheap greasy takeout pizza somewhere in the room. Finally her ears seemed to pop and the whispered voices of her mother and father hit her brain causing her muscles to relax. They were here, they were all safe, as Marinette’s eyes drooped she smiled contently ready to let her mind drift away to the black seas of sleep once more. That is until she heard Tikki’s signature squeaky voice thanking ‘Tom’ for the sugar cookies. All at once Marinette felt wide awake and bolted upright, shocking everyone in the room into silence. 

 There on the other side of the hotel room sitting in the too small, too cheap wooden chairs eating cheap pizza and terrible store bought sugar cookies and holding a conversation like old friends was Marinette’s dear parents, her kwami and Trixx who looked like they were delighted by everything. 

 The silence stretched for a moment or two before Sabine sighed, shook her head and smiled warmly at her daughter. 

  “I think we have some things to talk about mon petite choux, but first why don’t you grab a bite to eat you must be hungry and its going to be a bit of a late night.” 

 At her mothers words Marinette felt her breath hitch as she swallowed down her panic, with a small nod she inched closer to the end of the bed nervously taking the offered slice of pepperoni pizza. It was lukewarm and greasy but biting into it felt like heaven as her body finally registered just how hungry she was, as usual her mother was right. For a while Marinette just ate her pizza with her parents while the Kwami nibbled on their provided cookies. It was strange and peaceful. As Marinette finished up her second slice and reached for her third the silence was finally broken again by her mother who seemed to know what she said while her father still languished in uncertainty.

  “Marinette… We… We just want you to know. How proud of you we are.” 

 Marinette swallowed hard and looked away, unable to make eye contact with her family.

 “H-How did you figure it out? Kwami can’t tell others who there chosen are a-and… I thought- at least Fu told me that magic was protecting my identity?” Marinette heard her father’s nervous throat clearing as Tikki swallowed down her cookie and hovered up to Marinette eye level.

  “They figured it out earlier after you fell asleep, Marinette. I let them see me and told them who I was. It all seemed to fall into place after that.”

  “But…Tikki WHY? T-The rules w-we cant just… Have… Have I not been a good enough Ladybug? Are you leaving?”

 Tikki gasped in horror and flew over quickly soothing Marinette by hugging her face.

  “No, no! My little bug it's nothing like that I… I decided you needed some help. Marinette you have been doing such a good job and you have been doing it all alone for so long. Master Fu was foolish to think anyone could or should carry such a heavy burden without support and we should have broken the rules a long time ago!”

 Marinette nodded numbly trying to process Tikki’s words. She did not want to admit it but she’d been drowning for so long that as horrible as it felt to have her identity exposed as terrifying as it was to go against the rules she felt relief flooding her system as she exhaled a shaky breath.��

 “How much did you tell them?” At this her father let out an awkward cough and shifted in his far too small hotel chair trying to get comfortable. 

  “She told us a lot. Marinette sweetie… We're not mad. We could never be mad, you’ve been so strong and so brave, your mother is right, we are so proud of you.”

 Marinette felt her face flush and her eyes burn as hot tears gathered in her burning tired eyes. She had never once become Ladybug for the praise or fame she had never expected or wanted it, and in fact she had many times resented being Ladybug hated the lies and the act she had to put on each and every day to keep others safe and to keep them out. But hearing her parents tell her how proud they were felt like a weight being lifted off her heart. A broken hiccup left her body and Marinette realized she was crying.

  “M-Mom Dad… I’m- I'm so sorry! I n-never wanted to lie I-I had to I-I’m sorry im so so sorry.”

 “Oh non! No no no my little one my sweet pastry!” Marinette felt the warm heavy arms of her father envelop her as he moved to the bed, the cheap mattress dipping under his weight causing her to fall into him. “You don’t need to apologize for anything.”

  “Your friend Tikki told us about the rules the previous master put in place. She told us about everything you have been through. Our big strong girl. If anyone should be sorry it's us. We should have known it was you, even with magic guarding your identity how could we be so blind.”

 Marinette sobbed harder at her mothers words, opening her arms to accept her mothers embrace as she cried harder.

  “B-But I’m the reason Hawkmoth burned down our home! I’m the reason the bakery is gone! I-Its all my fault!” 

 Marinette felt her mother stiffen at her words and was shocked when her mother pulled back and grabbed her face firmly into her calloused hands forcing Marinette to stare into the fiery eyes of her mother. 

  “Marinette Dupain-Cheng none of this is your fault! That reject Disney villain has been tormenting Paris for years! He has killed people with his akumas and never once shown remorse or guilt for using even babies to achieve his goals! And you, our brave beautiful girl, you have saved people's lives over and over, you have given up hobbies, concerts, and your own peace of mind to be a hero. Your father and I are scared for you, were angry at Hawkmoth, we wish we knew sooner but angry? Never, not with you my beautiful little peanut.”

 As her mothers words sunk in, Marinette felt a fresh wave of tears fill her eyes and she threw herself into her mothers arms while her fathers large warm hand rubbed circles into her back. 

 They let Marinette cry until she was done and had her breathing back under control at which point they gave her water and more food. While she drank and ate, a sudden thought hit Marinette.

  “What are we going to do now?” 

 Tom and Sabine exchanged a look before nodding and smiling at each other. As Sabine got up to retrieve something from there meager belongings Tom beamed warmly at his daughter though Marinette did not miss the tired bags that hung under his eyes.

  “Did we ever tell you about how we met my little choux bun?” 

 Marinette’s eyebrows creased together as she thought about it. 

  “You met… At college right? Dad was doing a baking course and mom was studying business. Mom had been working herself too hard and not eating so her blood sugar totally crashed and you found her half collapsed on a bench and offered her pastries right?” 

 Tom chuckled fondly at the memory and nodded. 

  “Yes, that's right. But do you know WHERE we met?”

  “Where? … Dad, what do you mean? Wait… You didn’t meet in Paris?” 

 Sabine giggled at her daughter's shocked expression and sat next to her once more, opening the old family album that had been lucky to survive the fire in a fireproof safe. As she flipped through the pages Marinette took in all the familiar pictures of herself and her family, the bakery, and her childhood from her first time making cookies to her first tooth, but as they flipped to older pictures Marinette began to see more things she did not recognize. Her parents' marriage, a small private affair in some miscellaneous park. But then they flipped past even those going back to even younger images and Marinette realized quickly what her father was hinting at.

  “These pictures… You guys met in… America?”

 Sabine smiled warmly as she touched a picture of her and Tom’s first cake together. “We met in Gotham.” 

 Marinette sucked in a breath of air as her eyes widened. She looked between her parents' confusion and questions evident on her face. After a brief silence Sabine cleared her throat and flipped back to some older photos and began her tale.

  “When I was little, your grandma had very big dreams for me. She wanted me to become a big shot business woman, make lots of money and take care of the whole family. She made me study endlessly and never cared about my own dreams and passions. Just like your great uncle I liked to cook but your grandma did not care. I worked hard and got accepted into an American college. I knew how dangerous Gotham was but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get far away from your grandma and your great uncle encouraged me. He told me I needed to free myself and learn what I wanted to do. The rest you know, I was studying so hard I never ate and then your dad found me.”

 Marinette nodded slowly then looked at her dad curiously. He smiled and leaned over to flip the albums pages before pointing at a beautiful old building with a much younger Grandma Gina and Tom in front of it.

  “As you know your Grandma Gina and Granpa Roland had a rocky marriage. Your grandma liked to go fast, and she liked to see the world and everything in it. Your grandpa thought moving that often wasn’t good for me so he refused to go, this made their relationship rocky, they were always fighting. Finally your god-father Alfred got in the middle, he suggested a compromise. A second home somewhere fun and exciting for Gina and we could spend our summers there. Grandma chose Gotham the same place Alfred lived and I spent my summers there growing up even after the divorce. So when it was time for me to go to college I decided I wanted to live in Gotham and attend the college baking course. And then I met your mother.”

 Marinette mulled over the new information carefully taking in the photos carefully. 

  “How long did you and mom live there?”

 Tom chuckled slightly and flipped through several pages until they landed on a photo Marinette had never seen before. She was a newborn baby in her mothers arms as her parents were posed in front of an old bakery. Marinette realized that it was the same building as the earlier picture with her grandma and her dad.

 “I was… BORN THERE?” Marinette touched the image in awe and then felt a sting in her heart, “Why didn't you ever tell me? Why not talk about it? H-How did it never come up once when grandpa Alfred came to visit!?”

 Sabine exchanged a look with Tom before she cleared her throat. 

  “We… Your father and I… We loved Gotham. It is a gloomy place with a lot of crime and problems but the people there are GOOD people. They protect their own, and they work hard to try and make their city better. It was the place where we met, the place we got married, and the place where we had you, our beautiful little girl. But…”

 Marinette felt her stomach drop. “But?”

  “It is dangerous there Marinette. And when you were still just a baby you and your mother got pulled into a bad attack, you both came out okay thanks to Batman but we realized then that our life wasn’t a safe one to raise a baby in.”

 Sabine nodded gravely to her husband's words. 

  “Your father and I both knew how to defend ourselves. We even taught other people self defense on weekends at the local gym as volunteer work. But you were just a baby and we got scared about losing you. So we made the decision to abandon our lives in Gotham and come to Paris. We always told ourselves we’d go back to Gotham someday when you were older and until then we didn’t talk about it, not because we didn’t want to but because I wasn’t ready yet I got so scared remembering almost losing you and when we were finally ready to tell you and move back to Gotham you… Met Alya.”

 Marinette blinked confused and furrowed her brows. “What does Alya have to do with this?”

 “Well…” Sabine looked over at Tom who took over the conversation.

  “You had been getting bullied by Chloe all those years. We were doing everything to get you out without pulling you from Dupont because we knew it was one of the best schools, but it wasn’t working. We saw how your confidence was dipping and how you were so unhappy so we thought that maybe it was time to make the move. You were 12 and knew how to defend yourself thanks to all your lessons with your mom and me. But then you came home from your first day of school and you were so happy.”

 Sabine smiled fondly. “You had made a friend and you were talking about how excited you were, then you ran for your class president position and won and we saw how you were blooming and we could not take that away from you so we pushed Gotham aside.”

  “But… But you both love it there?! Why would you do that why didn’t you tell me at least I-I don't understand-”

  “We didn’t want you to make a decision for our sake.” 

 Marinette snapped her mouth shut, denial dying on her lips. She knew exactly what her parents were talking about. Since Lila had begun manipulating the class and having them ask more and more of her, Marinette had learned that she had a serious problem standing up for herself. If her parents had approached her wanting to move to Gotham when she was younger even with her Ladybug responsibilities she would have folded like a deck of cards and likely stretched herself thin trying to make everyone happy and do everything. 

 “We wanted you to have a choice about the move. And you have always been so caring and considerate of others and if you had known how much me and your father loved Gotham we knew you’d agree to move even if you didn’t want to. So we held off saying anything and we were just happy to see you become so confident and happy.” Sabine bit her lip and chewed at the loose skin. “Recently… We had seen how stressed you were becoming, and how your friends were treating you. Before all this happened we were planning on telling you again and asking you if maybe you’d like to move to Gotham, but now with everything… Well the conversation happened a bit sooner than we had planned. But what do you say Peanut? Wanna go on a new adventure and move to Gotham?”

 Marinette nodded slowly and looked at Tikki and Trixx on the table who had been enjoying there cookies in relative silence the whole time.

 “Tikki, what do YOU think?” At the name the small god blinked her antenna twitching.

  “I think you need to be the one to decide Marinette this is your life, and you are our guardian. We trust you because you have always taken such good care of us all these years.” 

 Marinette flinched at Tikki’s words and dug her nails into her skin. She wanted to deny Tikki’s words but she knew the tiny god was speaking from the heart. Marinette often gave the kwami freedom, she talked with them, she was their friend and guardian and she valued them as people, something Tikki and the others had told her was rare so even though Marinette did not believe in herself she believed in the honesty behind Tikki’s words.

  “I… I’ll need to use the horse Kwami Kaalki to travel back to Paris whenever an akuma happens.”

  “That's not a problem, you have the same blood sugar problem as your mom so we can inform whatever new school you go to that you might need to leave class at times to take care of that.” 

 Marinette blinked, shocked at her dad's willingness to lie but then she snorted and smiled. It felt nice having someone to help her guard her secret identity.

  “If Marinette leaves Paris Hawkmoth will stop suspecting me as Ladybug so that's a bonus, I’d be able to decompress after fights and let myself feel emotions without worrying about akumatization. I also won't have to worry about the bakery getting crushed by another toddler akuma.”

 Tikki and her parents watched her in silence letting her talk herself through her thoughts and plan as she often did when processing her stress and fear.

  “Gotham has some of the best schools, and I’d be living in Uncle Jagged city AND in grandpa Alfred’s city… But… But where will we live, how will we make money, and what about school and then there's Alya and everyone back home and what if Ladybug gets to Paris too late??”

 Before Marinette could spiral further her mother took her hands and squeezed hard pulling Marinette out of her downward fall as she tools several deep breaths and focused on her mother who was guiding her through the breathing slowly.

  “You don’t need to worry about all the details, Marinette. We still own the old bakery from the pictures, your father and I could never bring ourselves to sell it so we kept it. It will need a bit of paint and the Marinette touch but it's got good bones and it's a bigger building.” 

  “As for school, well… You may not know this but your godfather Alfred is the butler and in many ways the father and grandfather to a very rich and influential family He’s told us all about Gotham Academy and I know my beautiful incredible daughter will be a perfect fit.”

  “Gotham Academy? Are you sure we can afford it? And don’t tell me your gonna have grandpa Alfred ask his employers for a favor! I don’t need or want the help of some rich people we don't know.”

 Sabine laughed openly at Marinette's pouty face. “My daughter? Need a hand out? No, but Alfred has told us all about the scholarships there. You are as brilliant as you are talented even if it is a bit past the start of the school year I’m sure we can get you one and if not we will find another school that recognizes what a talent you are.”

 Marinette’s cheeks flushed red at her mothers teasing proud words and she pulled nervously on her long dark hair as she bit her cheek and thought about it.

  “What about… Alya and my friends? Moving it sounds so amazing, a fresh start, somewhere new, the ability to let myself feel, and the distance from Hawkmoth it all sounds incredible but… What if I lose everyone here?”

 Tom squeezed his daughter's leg comfortingly and smiled at her warmly. “Do you think Alya and the others are the type of people who will just forget you?”

  “... No… I trust Alya. It's… Someone else I don’t trust and I’m worried what that person will do.”

 “You're talking about that Lila girl again aren't you?” Marinette nodded stiffly, leaning into her mother for comfort.

  “If she hasn’t succeeded yet, then I don’t think you need to worry. BUT if she does succeed then painful as it may be you will learn who your real friends are, but what you need to decide now is where you trust Alya to be your friend even if you're across an ocean.”

 Marinette took a moment to think, letting her mothers words hit her fully. Alya was her friend and despite all the damage Lila had done and all the problems shed created Marinette still cared about Alya and valued her friendship and she knew despite everything that Alya felt the same. They were bffs and for now Marinette was willing to trust in the bonds she’d made and believe that Alya would be there for her ocean or not. 

 Marinette took a deep breath and felt her heart and mind settle. She knew what was best now, for ladybug, for the kwami, for her family, for paris, but most importantly what would be best for herself and who she wanted to become moving forward. 

 Looking at her family, Marinette smiled warmly.

  “Gotham, sounds perfect.”

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( I hope I’m releasing the chapters at a good steady pace and that you guys like it so far feedback and comments are always appreciated and thank you for your patience with my spelling and grammar english is not my first language! )

[haphira]

Miraculous Ladybug and the Valiant Annuler     By: Haphira

35. Digging Your Head into the Sand – the aftermath of Alya's video  

When Ladybug saw the new post for the Ladyblog on her patrol, she quickly stopped and hid to watch the video.  

To say she was shocked was an understatement. Marinette was hopeful, for the first time in a long while. Alya was actually correcting her mistakes and fixing things. Marinette knew that this was the biggest, most courageous thing Alya had done in her life. Admitting she was wrong? Admitting she made mistakes? Marinette was so relieved that Alya finally saw the truth. Marinette wasn’t sure how she was going to act around the girl when school started up tomorrow but she knew if Alya needed her, she would be there. She didn’t know in what capcity yet, that would take time. Taking a moment to breathe, Ladybug finished her patrol and headed home to get some rest before this eventually blew up and caused an Akuma.  

Alya didn’t expect the backlash of posting videos that she didn’t verify to hit so quickly. The next morning had her phone blowing up with notifications from the Ladyblog. Her phone was buzzing so much she had to mute the app.  

Alya thought she had been prepared, she knew she would lose followers and the criticism would hit hard, but she thought some people might understand where she was coming from, she had so many wonderful, famous friends! It wasn’t that large of a leap to think that Lila did the things she said she did.  

Alya sighed as she opened the message app on her phone, the class group chat was blowing up too. She really didn’t want to deal with it but, she dug her hole and now she had to fix it. Surprisingly there was a text from Nino. Alya felt her heart stop for a moment when she read his message.  

Nino <3: I saw the Ladyblog, can we talk sometime today?

Either this was going to be a good talk or a bad talk, But Alya knew she had to face him. With shaking fingers, she replied.  

Alya: Yeah, would lunch work?

After getting a confirmation, Alya opened the class chat to see what was being said. There was a lot of back and forth about what was true and not. And a lot of questions asking if Lila was lying. In her video, Alya didn’t say that Lila was lying, she skirted around it saying she didn’t have enough evidence to back up the claims. She didn’t call Lila a lair but hinted that people should take what she says with salt and do their own research. Everyone in class was conflicted, angry and confused. No one knew who to believe.  

Alya was angry and guilty, she was mad at herself, but mostly she felt guilty for not believing her best friend and not doing her own research. When Alya trudged up the stairs to school, lots of people were pointing and talking about her and Lila. It seemed like most people were confused and conflicted. Alya didn’t have the energy to deal with them. When she reached the classroom door she heard loud talking on the other side. Nervously she opened the door, and saw Nathaniel, Kim and Max talking to themselves. Chloe and Sabrina were off together, not a surprise; Rose, Mylene, and Juleka were all talking, Nino was sitting in his seat by himself, so Adrien hadn’t shown up yet, and Ivan and Marinette were missing too. Which left Lila, but Alya didn’t see her either. After a moment of standing in the door way, Alya headed to her seat.

Her movement must have caught someone’s eyes because the next thing she heard after sitting down was her name being called loudly.  

“ALYA! Is it true? Is Lila a lair?” More voices joined up, stating their opinion, to the point no one could be heard.  

“Enough!” A familiar voice called out, silencing everyone. Marinette stood in the door way, early for once, glaring at everyone.  

“Don’t hound her, the video Alya made on the Ladyblog already explained everything, if you still refuse to believe it then that’s your fault.”  

“But Marinette-!”

“I told you all from the word go, that Lila was a liar, and now Alya has shown the proof, yet you still want to sit your head in the sand and ignore what is in front of you. Wake up!” Marinette huffed, she stomped to her seat as everyone was stunned into silence. Marinette didn’t look at Alya but Alya felt Marinette did more for her than what she deserved.  

“Thank you,” Alya said quietly so that only Marinette could hear. Marinette nodded and got her books out for class. The rest of the class realized that the conversation wasn’t going to continue and all sat when the teacher walked in the class. Lila never arrived to class.

When the bell for lunch rang Alya nervously looked at Nino who was slowly packing his things up, he glanced at her and motioned his head for her to follow. Alya got up and followed, not noticing how Marinette saw the interaction. Marinette wished them the best; they really were a cute couple and headed off to the cafeteria.  

Marinette was only sitting for a moment with her lunch when a shadow fell on her lunch, she looked up to see Juleka and Rose standing there.  

“Marinette, I’m so sorry that I never listened to you,” Rose stated. Ah, the apologies were coming, Juleka must be emotional support for Rose.

“I was a bad friend and I should have given things more thought.” Rose continued. Shaking with tears in her eyes, threatening to fall but they never did.

“I understand if you can’t forgive me, but you deserve an apology, I’m sorry.” Juleka landed a hand on Rose’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

“It will take time for me to forgive you, you have Prince Ali’s number, you could have talked to him and verified. But you never did anything to hurt me either. Give me some time and I think we can try to be friends in the future.” Marinette gave a sigh, Rose looked sad but accepting, and Juleka has a small smile on her face.  

“Thank you for your time, Marinette!” Rose finished and walked away with Juleka trailing after her.

Marinette gave a small smile at the retreating figures and finished her lunch in quiet.  

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34663405/chapters/121157323

chapter 36

[3lmtree]

Miraculous redesign because I believe we are missing out on a true friendship dynamic here. Just scrap the whole series and start again I say.

And yes I will sprinkle in some sexualities.

And please god forbid give them some better outfits….

[marvelousartcatastrophe]

The New York Special of my Miraculous Ladybug rewrite is complete! Go read Miracle Box pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls pls....

Ao3 link to the New York Special

Ao3 link to the first part of this mega fic, Miracle Box:

Wattpad link to the mega fic Miracle Box (includes the New York special)

[galahadwilder]

The Time I Got Reincarnated as an Evil Version of Myself

Chapter 1: Honey Sweet

My AO3 is linked in my bio.

After Catalyst, Chloé’s life only got better. Now a full-time superhero, she managed to finally make new friends, forging bonds with the other members of her team. She’d repaired her relationships with her father and Sabrina, fallen in love, and welcomed a surprise sister with open arms.

Then she wakes up in a world where none of that happened. Where, after Catalyst, she only got worse, and lonelier, and more and more bitter.

The canon timeline, in fact. Or something close to it.

Chloé is the only one who remembers the other world. Her friends hate her, her relationships are destroyed, even her girlfriend has barely ever spoken to her. But that’s okay. Whether good or evil, Chloé Bourgeois has never—and WILL never—let anything stop her.

~

Honeybee claws her way back to consciousness with a splitting headache.

"Urgh," she groans, feeling her throat seize mid-noise as she tries to fight down a vomit. Might be a concussion. "Anyone..." She winces as the word sends pain spiking through her skull. "Anyone get the license on that Akuma?"

Wow. She really has been spending a lot of time with Adrien lately.

She tries to roll onto her hands, to stand up, when she realizes that something's wrong. The ground—the ground is soft. If she got hit hard enough to get knocked down, she should be either on roof or on the street. Neither of which are soft.

Actually, it feels like she's on a bed.

She shoots upright, then immediately regrets it as her brain hammers on the inside of her eyeballs. "Augh!" she yelps, clutching at her forehead.

Then she realizes that what she's feeling is flesh on flesh. There's no spandex. She's ungloved.

She's not transformed.

Her eyes shoot open, and she once again immediately regrets it as beams of light stab between her fingers straight into her optic nerves. She shrieks, covering her head with her forearms.

Yes, that is definitely a concussion.

She carefully cracks her eyes, trying to regulate the stabbing light as slowly as she can. Still hurts, but less, so she's taking the time to adjust. "Pollen?" she croaks.

There's no response.

Immediately, Chloé throws her eyes open, heedless of the pain. Pollen's not with her? Was she—did—did Hawkmoth get her?

It takes her a moment to adjust, before she realizes that she's in her room. Which, okay, that's not great, because she doesn't remember getting her so she must've blacked out, or maybe died, during the Akuma fight, but on the other hand Zoé probably has Pollen right now so at least the Kwami is safe.

Chloé rolls herself out of bed, groaning again at the throbbing in her head. If the Cure went off, why does she still hurt? It usually knits her back together by now.

She stumbles toward her closet, opens the door, and pulls out her favorite fluffy terrycloth robe. She hopes Zoé is back. She wants to check and make sure her sister—and the Kwami they share—are okay.

She makes her way toward the door to her suite, walking as much with her hands on the wall as with her feet on the floor. Her balance is really gone right now. She should probably get back to bed, rest, but she has to check on Zoé. She's not sure why, but she's starting to get the sinking feeling that something is very, very wrong.

Creeping into hallway is easy enough, at least. Her balance is coming back, the vertigo is retreating. She crosses, light-footed, to her sister's door and knocks. Gently, because ow. Sounds are ow.

For a moment, there's no response, and Chloé feels her heart leap into her throat. Then, finally, she hears Zoé's voice: "Who is it?"

"Chloé," Chloé calls back, her throat rasping.

"...Oh," Zoé says. "What do you want?"

"Just checking on you," Chloé says. "Is—" She swallows. "Is Pollen with you? She wasn't in my room when I woke up."

She hears absolute silence from the room, then the sound of her sister's feet padding across the floor. Zoé throws the door open, wearing her favorite yellow-trimmed black silk pajamas—but the glare on her face is significantly less familiar.

"That's not funny, Chlo," Zoé snaps.

Chloé blinks. "I... wasn't... trying to be?" she says.

"Well, good, 'cause you failed," Zoé says. "I can't even tell what you were trying to do." She crosses her arms and leans against the doorway, scowling. "Why in God's name would I have—like, were you accusing me of working with Monarch? Because I have tried to be a good sister, but there's some things—"

"What?" Chloé says. "I just—" She blinks, swallows. "I just wanted to know if you two were okay."

Zoé straightens, stares at her, confusion written in her wide eyes. "I—what?"

Chloé starts to feel her neck heat. "Did... did I say something wrong?" she says.

"You never ask if I'm okay," Zoé says. She reaches out her palm, placing it on Chloé's forehead. "Are you feeling sick or something?"

Chloé leans into her hand, her eyes fluttering closed. "I think I have a concussion," she mutters.

"...How?" Zoe asks, pulling her hand back (causing Chloé to whine at the loss of contact). "Did you fall off the bed or something?"

Chloé shakes her head. "Took an Akuma to the face," she says. "I just wanted to make sure you picked up Pollen after I detransformed."

Zoé's face grows clouded with concern. "Chloé," she says, "you... haven't been Queen Bee for, like, a year."

"I mean, duh?" Chloé says. "I told you, I had to change my hero name to protect my identity." She's starting to wonder if Zoé is okay, now. Does she not remember?

Zoé's face twists back into a scowl. "Oh, now you're telling me that you were Vesperia?" she snaps. "Real funny, Chloé. I'll see you at school." Then she slams the door.

Chloé blinks. Of... of course she wasn't saying that, Zoé is Vesperia. What has her sister so angry?

~

Getting ready for the day is been unexpectedly difficult. All of her favorite outfits are missing—in the wash, probably—so she’s stuck with a bunch she doesn’t remember buying. Probably from Daddy. The only lip gloss she’s able to find is that white one she’d stopped wearing months ago when she realized how much it made her look like she was about to demand to speak to someone’s manager—i.e., her mother. (She’d had a full-blown dissociative episode over that one. No way in hell is she touching that particular lip gloss anymore.) She decides that it’s probably a hair down kind of day, though her yellow hoodie seems to be missing so she can’t go full comfy, which is slightly grating.

Zoé doesn't wait for her to walk to school together the way she usually does. Something's really wrong—Chloé must have pissed her off really badly. The worst part is, she has no idea what she even said. She keeps replaying the conversation they had in her mind, trying to figure out what happened, what had triggered Zoé this badly, but she can't. She's stuck on one thing.

Zoé had mentioned someone—or something—called Monarch. She’d talked about them like they were some kind of new villain, almost with a sense of… paranoia? It’s unsettling, a little bit. Chloé can’t help wondering how much, exactly, happened while she was unconscious. Or dead, or whatever.

It’s been a year and she’s still not quite used to thinking that.

She wanders into class holding a tray full of coffees, each of which she’s marked with the animal symbol of one of her friends as a bit of an inside joke—and also to keep them straight, because god forbid she accidentally give Marinette “black coffee or death” Dupain-Cheng some of Adrien’s cream-and-sugar monstrosity.

”Morning, guys,” she says, removing the cardboard cups from her tray and placing them in front of Adrien and Nino. “Coffee’s up.”

The entire classroom falls silent at once, and suddenly everyone’s eyes are on her, pressing on her with the weight of confusion and judgment. Nino and Alya, in particular, seem more baffled than anything else—but Adrien… Adrien seems angry.

”Was… it not my turn?” Chloé says, weakly. Did she do something? Why is everyone so pissed at her today?

“Your turn for what?” Alya says, confused, before she turns her cup and sees what Chloé drew on it. Her face draws tight. “Oh. Thanks. Very funny, Chloé.”

”What?” Nino says. “What did she…?”

Alya points at his cup. “Turtle shell.”

“Oh.” Nino turns a glare on Chloé. “Asshole.”

Chloé’s heart leaps up into her throat, and she swears she can’t breathe. “I—what?” she gasps. “I wasn’t—I didn’t—” What is happening?

Adrien’s face is white as a sheet, now. He’s staring at his cup like he’s been struck dead. She’s not even sure he’s breathing.

”I—I—” Chloé’s starting to feel overwhelmed. Hopeless. Everything’s going wrong today and she has no idea why and oh no, she’s gonna get Akumatized, she has to get out of here before she hurts somebody.

”Scuse me!” she yelps, body-slamming back out the classroom door and dashing toward the second-floor bathrooms.

~

The charm Marinette gave her is the wrong color.

It’s such a weird thing to fixate on, what with everything happening right now, but focusing on that is helping Chloé keep calm. She hasn’t heard the flap of butterfly wings yet, so it seems to be working?

Either way. The Anti-Akuma charm is the wrong color. It’s… yellow. The same yellow as her uniform. Which would’ve made sense for any number of her Akuma forms, except that the one that Marinette specifically gave her the charm for, she had been dressed in a way that was patterned on Ryuuko’s costume, not any of Chloé’s—red, with black and gold accents. This is not her charm.

She hears the door to the bathroom open, and immediately she’s on alert. There are any number of people she doesn’t want to see right now, and if any of them—

“Chloé? Are you… sitting on the floor?”

Oh thank Kwami. That’s Marinette’s voice.

”Sorry,” Chloé mumbles, barely keeping the tears out of her voice. “Trying not to get Akumatized.” She barely looks up as her friend’s pink capris enter her field of vision, though she does hold up the Anti-Akuma charm. “Charm seems to be working okay.”

”That’s goo—wait.” Marinette seems to dither, stuck between going to Chloé and entering the bathroom stall. “I thought that was a gift from your mom?”

“What? No, you gave me this,” Chloé says, then coughs out a single laugh. “Only thing Audrey ever gave me was mommy issues.”

”I… don’t know what you’re talking about?” Marinette says, unconvincingly.

That makes Chloé look up, meeting her friend’s eyes in confusion. ”Nobody else is here, Mari,” she says. “It’s just us.”

Marinette takes a step back.

Chloé blinks. “What is with everyone today?” she says.

”I don’t… know?” Marinette says.

Chloé sighs, staring back down at the tiled floor. “Did Pollen stay the night at your place? I couldn’t find her this morning and Zoé wouldn’t talk to me.”

Marinette is silent for an uncomfortable amount of time. “Who’s…” she croaks. “Who’s Pollen?”

”Oh, come on!” Chloé snaps, slamming a fist into the tiled floor. “Don’t tell me you forgot. Kwami of Subjugation? Looks like a tiny humanoid bee?”

"You—!" Marinette says, and Chloé is surprised to hear the wetness in her voice. She looks up to see Marinette's reddened face, eyes shining with tears that she's clearly trying to hold back. "Why—why would I—know where—where—where—where—where—"

Oh, no. Chloé knows this look. Something just triggered Marinette, badly, and though she has no idea what, Chloé can't just let her best friend spiral. She reaches behind her and pulls herself up on the sink, staggering into Marinette and sweeping her into a hug. "Hey," she says, pressing her palms against Marinette's back, pulling her in close. "We'll find her, okay? She's—"

The she feels the sink crack against the base of her spine before she even registers that Marinette has shoved her. She slips, pinwheeling, back to the ground, plastic dust raining down onto her head, barely even aware of her own body—the impact drove all the breath, and all the thoughts, clean out of her.

"Don't—don't touch me," Marinette whispers from the floor across from her, shaking, eyes wide. She's thrown herself across the bathroom, too, tripped backward onto her butt. "Don't touch—don't... you..."

Chloé, stunned, looks at her own hands, the dust on them, the deep red scrapes where rough plastic friction burned her skin. She can't feel them yet, but she's going to in less than a minute, and they look... they look painful. Part of her, the ragged, nasty part, the part of her that is her mother, wants to leap up, scream, throw Marinette against a wall, storm into the principal's office and demand she be expelled. She wants to take out the pain of the last few hours on everyone else, because it's always been easier to vent it than feel it.

But more than that, more than anything, she just wants her goddamn teddy bear.

It takes her a moment to realize that she's crying, because it takes her a moment to remember to breathe, but when the breath comes it comes hard and ragged. "I'm—I'm—s-s-sorry," she sobs. "J-j-just want—want—wanted to... to... help."

Marinette looks at her like she's grown a second head.

Chloé, heedless of the scrapes and the dust, buries her face in her hands and finally feels whatever inside of her was still holding together collapse.

Then she hears a very familiar voice in her head. The one she still has nightmares about.

Hello, Princess Solitaire, Hawkmoth says.

@emma-d-klutz @generalluxun @naresar @ninepostsstuff @grotesquewombat @erisluna35 @oblivionhold @all-peristeronic @chaos-has-theories @into-september @claws-and-bee-stings @279ital @drawing2cope

[mattw83]

Miraculous Tales Chapter 12 -  Pg02

Sometimes a little sweetness goes a long way to temper the vinegar within.

A tale of how Chloe’s many false starts in life were just the beginning to a real redemption of heart and hero.

Chloe is questioned about her ‘deed’. while a good turn, experience of others rears its head towards her.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 -   Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 -    Chapter 10   - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12

DeviantArt

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[the-delta-42]

Stuck on Repeat

Stuck on Repeat

Lila’s day started normally enough. Wake up, get out of bed, perform the usual hygiene routine, have breakfast and walk to school. She spent most of her walk fuming about Marinette, Adrien and their oh-so subtle needling of her stories.

She couldn’t see what the fuss was about, it not like their other classmates were telling the truth. Come on, a sentient AI and a rising DJ and Director? Alya was mediocre at best, Nathaniel’s comics were predictable and linear, and it’s not like Myléne or Kitty Section were going anywhere. To Lila, the only ones who were the rich kids, Adrien and Chloé, and an already recognised designer, Marinette.

She hated to admit it, but Marinette was talented, if she hadn’t seen through her lies, Lila would’ve made sure to reel Marinette in. Lila stopped across the road from the school and Marinette’s parent’s Bakery. Marinette was just leaving, a box of Macarons in her hands.

Lila frowned and glared at Marinette’s back, silently wishing harm on her.

Lila was shocked when a car came bombing down the road and hit Marinette with enough force to send her flying over the roof and land with a sickening crunch. There was silence, before the door to the bakery swung open and Marinette’s mother ran out.

A crowd surrounded Marinette’s prone form, with someone calling for an ambulance and Marinette’s mother wailing. Lila didn’t know why she just didn’t walk into school and ignore the crowd.

The ambulance arrived, and a few minutes later, Marinette was pronounced dead. Only then, did Lila move. The school day was downtrodden, Adrien kept casting dark looked at her, as if she was responsible for Marinette being hit by that car.

The day passed quickly and, soon, Lila found herself getting into bed. On one hand, she was down a nuisance, but on the other hand, she was down a distraction. Lila shook her head, before pulling the covers up to her chest and going to sleep.

SOR

Lila woke to her alarm clock going off, which was odd, since she didn’t set her alarm the night before. She shrugged, got out of bed, performed her usual hygiene routine, had breakfast and walked to school.

She stopped across the road from the school and the bakery with… Marinette leaving? Marinette held the same macaron box from the day before, looked both ways and started to cross the road, when a car came bombing down the road, hit Marinette with enough force to send her flying over the cars roof and land with a sickening crunch.

Lila stared at the scene, before pulling her phone out and looked at the date. It was the day before. Lila stared at her phone screen, before hastily putting it away, she looked around and hurried into the school.

The day passed and ended the same way.

‘Maybe this is just one bizarre dream?’ Thought Lila, before she went to sleep.

SOR

Three weeks. Three weeks. Three. Fucking. Weeks.

Lila seethed as she stalked towards the school and the bakery, she’d been stuck in this loop for three weeks. Glancing around, Lila quickly crossed the road and stopped outside the bakery. Marinette stepped out and rushed toward the road, looked both ways, started to cross and was tackled by Lila as a car came bombing down the road.

“What the hell?!” Demanded Marinette, glaring at Lila.

Lila huffed, her eyes dark, “I’ve been stuck living the same fucking day for three weeks. Three! Weeks!”

“What are you talking about?” Asked Marinette, the rage subsiding.

“The same day, for three weeks, I’ve been living this exact day,” Snarled Lila, “I wake up, I get dressed, I eat, I wash, I walk to school and I see you get hit by that fucking car!”

Marinette stared up at Lila, before frowning, “So, you got tired of seeing me die and decided to save me?”

“Don’t say it like that.” Scoffed Lila, “I don’t want to keep listening to your friends crying and bitching about you dying.”

Marinette gave Lila a dead pan expression, “And there goes my hopes of you turning over a new leaf.”

Marinette turned around and walked up the schools steps, “Thank for saving my lif-”

Marinette was cut off by Kim flinging the door open, hitting her in the face and sending her tumbling down the steps and landing on her neck with a sick crack. Lila stared down at Marinette, whose head was jutting out at an unnatural angle.

“You just killed Marinette.” Said Lila, as she looked up at Kim.

SOR

Lila grabbed Marinette’s arm and marched her up to the steps.

“Okay, why are you doing this?” Asked Marinette, as Lila looked at her, “Kim’ll push the door open, hit you in the face and making you fall down the stairs and break your neck.”

As if on que, Kim pushed the door open and bounded down the stairs. Marinette stared at him, before looking at Lila, “How long has this been going on again?”

“I stopped counting on day 578.” Said Lila, guiding Marinette through the school, “You’ve been hit by cars, pushed down stairs, stabbed, shot, beheaded, set on fire, torn apart, had your head crushed and being turned into a hand puppet.”

Marinette stared at Lila, before straightening up, “Okay, anything else?”

“Monarch got your miraculous.” Stated Lila, making Marinette freeze, “I don’t care about his problems, or yours, I just want to eat something for breakfast that isn’t stale cereal.”

Marinette blinked, before swallowing, “Okay.”

SOR

Lila banged her head against the table, Marinette and Alya staring at her, “Why do you keep dying?”

“Akuma?” Suggested Alya, frowning.

“I still think this is some elaborate lie,” Said Alya and Lila together, “Lucky guess. Random Akuma. Stop that. Lila. Lila, Stop. Lila Rossi has a big forehead. Lila Rossi wets the bed. Lila Rossi sleeps with a horses head and every morning when she wakes up-”

“Okay, okay, stop!” Interrupted Marinette, grabbing their shoulders, “I believe you.”

Lila didn’t say anything, reaching out and grabbing the front of Marinette’s shirt and yanked her forwards.

A circular saw blade embedded itself into the wall where Marinette’s head had been.

“Okay,” Said Marinette, looking at Lila, “anything else that I should know about?”

Lila stared at Chloe, “She’d holding a different book.”

“What?”

“Chloe’s holding a different book, she’s supposed to be holding Great Expectations, not Wind in the Willows.” Said Lila, getting up and stomping over to Chloe.

Marinette looked around, before she and Alya hastily followed her.

“Why are you holding the wrong book?!” Demanded Lila, glaring at Chloe.

“What?”

“You’re supposed to be holding Great Expectations!”

“What’s going on?” Asked Ms. Mendeleiev, storming over, just as Marinette tripped over Chloe’s discarded bag, falling over and narrowly avoiding a large arrow.

“What the fuck?!” Screamed Chloe, pulling her legs up as if to avoid something.

“It’s a long-” Started Lila, just as Marinette’s head exploded, “Oh, for fucks-”

SOR

Marinette jerked as Lila jammed a helmet on her head as soon as she tripped over Chloe’s bag.

Moments later, Mendeleiev dragged the four girls out of the library and into her classroom.

“What’s going on?” She demanded, glaring at them.

“Lila says she keeps watching Marinette die.” Said Alya, pointing at the Italian, “Then she started going on about how Chloe was reading the wrong book.”

“I think there might be an Akuma.” Said Marinette, her voice slightly muffled.

“Right.” Said Mendeleiev, before pinching the bridge of her nose, “What else could it be?”

SOR

Chat stared at Marinette, surrounded by Alya, Chloe and Lila.

“You…think there’s an Akuma trying to kill Marinette?”

“There’s an Akuma who’s successfully killing Marinette.” Corrected Lila, “I’ve been living the same day for…” Lila trailed off, before she looked at her hand, “6,498 days.”

“I thought you stopped counting after day 578.” Said Alya, frowning at her.

“I started counting again after Marinette had her head explode.” Said Lila, frowning, “I just want to wake up and not worry about seeing a dead body today.”

Lila then pushed Marinette into Alya, as the ground where Marinette had been standing exploded. Chat zeroed onto the source of the shot, and launched himself towards the Akuma, landing a solid punch on the Akuma’s face. There was a cracking sound, as the porcelain mask broke, the Akuma flew away.

Marinette froze, before running off. A flash of light later, Ladybug caught the Akuma, purified it and looked at the former Akuma. It was a blond-haired, blue eyed man glaring at her and snarling.

“Let go of me, that mongrel doesn’t deserve to live!” Ladybug stared at him, before kicking him in the face.

SOR

Marinette watched her father spit his coffee out as the mug shot of the killer akuma appeared on screen, “That’s Joseph!”

“Who?” Asked Marinette looking up at Tom.

“He used to work for us, before he was arrested for some serious…charges.” Said Tom, “He’s supposed to be in prison.”

Marinette frowned, before looking at the screen, as the man, Joseph, screamed about purity and white superiority.

“What a dick.”

SOR

Lila dropped down into her seat and stared a head of her, both she and Chloe had taken to using the Akuma charms they had to ward off any future Akumatisations. Strangely, Lila felt happier not constantly talking about herself or making grandiose lies to make herself seem better.

She doesn’t dwell on what could’ve been, only that she was glad she didn’t have to eat stale cornflakes again.

[teawinx]

Buncha civilians

Kinda kicking myself for not making a redeemed Lila look, but tbh that’s not really a priority rn. Just imagine her cute and smiling, I know it’s a tough task to ask since it’s Lila, but just pretend for me, okay?

But voila, all the main heroes as civilians, all together. Making sure they all look good together, and are nice and cohesive. Like if this was a proper animated reboot, would they work together as a lineup, that kind of thing.

I’m rambling, I’m sleepy, I want a cookie

[awholelotofladybug]

(Stammering Adrien AU) Socqueline, Alya and Marinette, have you three hung out together ever since you accidentally ran into each other?

"It's been great. We get to hang out all the time, just like when we were little."

"Of course, now Socqueline's gotta share us with all the other girls."

"I don't mind. Actually, I like it. Before, Marinette, Alya, and I mostly kept to ourselves. I'm glad they were able to make more friends after I had to switch schools. It's pretty surreal that we're friends with Chloe, though. Especially considering everything she put us through."

"Didn't stop you from letting me buy that new top for you, Socqy."

"What? I didn't say it was a bad thing."

[trashyangelic]

Requesting a MLB Prompt anyone?

I got a MLB Prompt if anyone is willing to make it here. This Prompt is Lila Salt and Adrien Salt. Alya gets her redemption in this one prompt. I really want a Daminette prompt at least!

Alya heard another lie from Lila saying about being 'Rena Rogue' that literally put her up on edge and realize that Lila was lying to her and to that point where she find out that Marinette was ladybug last week made her wonder what else did Lila lie about.

Marinette is dating Damian Wayne more than 3 years. She thought of keeping this a secret for a while until her classmate Alya saw her video call on her computer with Damian this made Alya to jaw dropped completely.

Lila thought she could get away with her lies but it doesn't seem to work in favor for Alya now. As to some like Alix who had Bunnix telling her that Lila lied to her and Sabrina who had recorded a video of her grabbing an Akuma willingly. But she still has Adrien by side.

Adrien thought that Lila isn't hurting anyone with her lies but he doesn't seem to think it that way. Due to his advice towards Marinette to take a 'HIGH ROAD' he doesn't seem to realize that he is enabling bullies just like Caline Bustier.

As for Damian well he is not very happy when Marinette told him about her old school, her old teacher Miss Caline Bustier, with her class bully Lila Rossi. Thought it was time to get lawsuits and sue the school with a help by his father Bruce.

As Marinette decided to help by making phone calls to Jagged Stone, Penny Rolling, Audrey Bourgeois, and Clara Nightingale. Apparently Lila lied about Audrey Bourgeois when Chloe isn't in the class.

While Chloe decided to call Nathalie to add another lesson to Adrien of how to handle bullying instead of enabling it. When Nathalie heard this from Chloe she wasn't well very happy with Adrien's actions.

Alya had a new ship as in Daminette after Marinette explain it to her what happen with Adrien. She wasn't very happy with the advice that he gave it to her. She doesn't seem to approve Adrien either after Lila told him that Marinette likes him which really pull her off to a protective mode towards Marinette.

[aliensunflower-fics]

CHANGING FACES Chapter 5: Bitter Truths

[ Prefer to read on Archive of Our Own? Link HERE! ]

[ Previous Chapter - Next Chapter ]

After years of dealing with each other Lila Rossi win’s when she  convinces Hawkmoth that Marinette is Ladybug. In order to throw off  suspicion and keep the Miracle Box safe Marinette and her supportive parents leave Paris and head to Gotham of all places. In this new place  away from her friends and her unhealthy routines Marinette is forced to  confront herself and change for the better. Helping her on her journey  is a surprising new friend and potential ally. When Alya missing her  friend learns about the chance to win a free trip to Gotham she  convinces the class to work hard to qualify. When her new life clashes  with her old one will Marinette be able to hold on strong to her new  confidence or will she crumble under the pressure?

( This fic will be for the most part comedic, fluffy, and sweet, with only a bit of seriousness to tie it together. With only the mildest salt  because I don’t think the class or Adrien are bad people just that they  can be naive and selfish thanks to the canon writing. I hope you enjoy  reading this work and have fun with me on this journey. )

CHAPTER 5:

Bitter Truths

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was leaving Paris… Kind of. Thanks to her job as Ladybug a part of her would always remain attached to the place she’d called home for 16 years. But while Marinette knew her leaving was not the end of her time in the city of romance, the same could not be said for her friends and classmates. And while they were able to put on a brave face in front of the baker's daughter and act okay their real feelings bubbled under the surface.

_____________

Alya had not been taking the news well. Marinette had been the first friend she’d made in Paris and though they had not spent much time together lately they still texted, hung out and cared for each other. Alya knew that Marinette was someone you don't meet very often, someone genuinely caring who’d give you the shirt off their back. Of course things were not always perfect but even when they got rocky Marinette never stopped caring and neither did Alya. And maybe that was why it was so hard not to view Marinette leaving as a betrayal.

Alya KNEW it wasn’t. She knew that Marinette had many bad akuma experiences, she knew her friend had been struggling with her mental health, she knew that Marinette had a breaking point. She knew and yet… She had not stepped in to try and help. Alya had seen how hard Marinette had worked for others, how much she’d given, how much she sacrificed, how tired she was getting. Alya wanted to make up excuses for herself, she’d been too busy to help, or that Marinette was a big girl who could advocate for herself, or that their classmates never meant any harm by it so it wasn’t that bad. But the truth was; Alya didn’t want to talk about it or meddle or change things, she convinced herself that her friend would be fine, that she was truly some civilian superhero who could handle it all because she always did!

And then Marinette told them she was leaving. And it felt like ice water being dumped on Alya’s head. She felt so angry, so betrayed, so hurt. But then Marinette had cried and Alya’s anger evaporated as she listened to her friend. Marinette didn’t want to leave them or lose them. But she needed to leave in order to save herself. Not just from Hawkmoth and the akumas, but from the unhealthy routines she’d allowed herself to get caught up in. And Alya knew, she had to let her go. They would stay friends of course because no way was Alya abandoning someone as great as Marinette, but maybe a little distance could be something good for them? So even if it hurt and even if Alya wanted to hold on to her friend and never let go. She would.

In the remaining time they had left Alya stuck close to Marinette inviting her over for sleepovers, sitting with her in the back of class, dragging her to fun hangouts after school. Sometimes while they were together laughing until it hurt Alya would forget Marinette was really leaving then her parents would call to ask about furniture in the new Gotham house and Alya would feel reality come crashing back down. Some Days when Marinette could not hang out because she needed to prepare things for her move Alya would go home and sit in front of her computer working on her blog and in this loneliness Alya could admit that a part of her had still not accepted that Marinette was really moving.

Deep down Alya somehow still expected everything to go back to normal, that a miraculous cure would fix the damage or that the class would band together like they always do to fix it! But it was a normal fire and so no Miracle Cure fixed the empty space that once held the best bakery in Paris. And as for the class well… It had always been Marinette who led the charge to fix whatever was wrong and restore the status quo and now she was abandoning ship. Sure Alya could try to take over Marinette’s old post but… She had no idea how she’d even begin to fix this mess. And even if she could fix it would Marinette even want to stay?

_____________

Nino was observant, more observant than people tended to give him credit for, and so as much as he wanted to say that Marinette moving was a shock he had not seen coming… It wasn’t. Nino had known Marinette longer than most of the class, he’d seen her deal with Chloe’s constant harassment, Bustier's overbearing expectations, Adrien’s naive but harmful requests, the class's constant requests and herd mentality, and finally Lila’s honey coated hostility.

Honestly, Nino could not really understand why he’d never done anything to stop it all. When he was little he could chock it up to fear after all Chloe was a tiny terror and Nino a shy boy, but as they got older and Marinette became more and more like family to him… Why? He could not claim he hadn’t seen it and heck when it came to Lila and Marinette clear aggression Nino was more aware of it then even Alya had been as he’d been willing to see that Lila wasn’t the perfect angel she claimed, she could be just as jealous and petty as Marinette could. Yet still he’d said nothing and done nothing to protect his friend.

Somedays when things were going wrong and Marinette seemed overwhelmed he’d think about stepping in to help, but each time he’d find himself prioritizing something else, a date with Alya, a rare hangout with his bro Adrien, or an urgent music commission, and by the next day when he had the ‘time’ to help Marinette it was already over and done. Eventually Nino just figured that Marinette never really needed the help, Alya and the class had him convinced that she was a supergirl that her complaints and distress were just venting but that she’d be fine. And she always was so sure that him stepping up to help her would just get in her way.

Well now Nino knew better. Every hang out they left Marinette out of so she could ‘work’, every stressful task they’d passed off on her thinking she was better at it, every snide comment or petty jab they let her handle alone. The bakery burning down was just the last straw on the mountain of reasons why Marinette had to put herself first, get on a plane and say ‘later guys’. And honestly Nino didn’t know how to handle it.

In the time they had left Nino felt himself retreating just like he’d always done. He let Alya monopolize the last of Marinette’s time and he just left the asian girl alone like he always did because she was fine, she was always fine. But he could not deny the slight hole he felt forming as what was an old dear friend, no maybe even more like a sister packed up and got ready to leave. Saying goodbye and ‘i'm sorry’ felt too hard so Nino instead made her a playlist of all her favorite songs to keep her company on the plane ride to America. It was the least he could do.

_____________

Bustier could hardly believe her star student was leaving and she’d gotten the news before the class had in a rather harsh meeting with the Dupain-Cheng parents. Bustier wanted to consider herself a good educator; she knew she had a very hands off approach, believing in the philosophy that teenagers needed the space to make mistakes and grow and choosing to impart messages of kindness and patience into her students. In her mind she was shaping future adults who would make the world a kinder, more forgiving and patient place. But the Dupain-Chengs did not seem to agree.

In the hour long meeting they had they tore into herself and poor Mr. Damocles blaming the both of them for putting too much pressure and work on kids, not being harsher on bullies, and ignoring the mental health of their student body. Bustier did try her best to explain her philosophy to the two angry parents but they just would not listen. In the end they got nowhere and simply demanded Marinette’s paperwork so they could have it translated for her new American school.

Bustier of course did not want Marinette to leave, she was the golden standard for what a student should be, well minus her tardiness and occasional distracted nature. She was a real go-getter, who relished and loved the extra work that challenged her, not to mention that she was a prime example of Bustiers philosophy, a beacon of maturity and forgiveness. It would be a true shame to see her go.

_____________

For the students of Bustier there was a deep sadness that took root in the class in Marinette's last month.

Rose did her best not to cry or react negatively trying to be a beacon of joy and excitement like always but she could not fully hide how much she’d miss Marinette. Who had always defended her and treated her with respect and care. Rose knew that Marinette was the warm beating heart of their classroom, the one who made things feel fun and special. Without her they would be like every other class… Only with more akumas.

Juleka who handled the news better had wished she could say that she saw it coming but she didn’t rather Luka had as he’d warned his sister years ago that someone like Marinette would one day hit her limit and need to prioritize herself and when that happened the class would be left floundering. She was more than a little annoyed he was right and more then a little sad though she did her best to respect the twin tailed girls choice.

Kim and Max both tried to play it cool acting like they were fine with the change but they were both failing miserably. Kim, who had grown up with Marinette, broke down in tears twice looking at old kindergarten pictures. Max meanwhile tried to remain logical and cool about everything but could not help his obvious moodier and more bleak outlook on life. He and Marinette may not have been close but he would never forget how she always looked out for him and helped him.

Ivan and Mylene, the couple Marinette helped get together in the first place, were gripped by a deep sadness. Marinette was the one who helped them find the spark they needed to start dating, she had also helped out during misunderstandings and fights the two had. When Mylene was scared or anxious she knew she could just phone Marinette and the girl would help talk her back into a more relaxed state. And Ivan knew he could truly relax around Marinette without fear of judgment. They wanted to respect Marinette’s choices but still they struggled to be happy for her.

Nathanial and Alix both buried their feelings in their hobbies. Alix pretended she was cool with everything while obviously dodging any talk about it and skating around claiming she needed practice for an upcoming competition. Nathaniel meanwhile kept quiet but insisted he was fine if asked. Yet in his art that he worked on so diligently one could not help but notice that the new hero for he and Marcs comic looked suspiciously like Marinette.

As for Chloe and Sabrina, well the class just assumed they didn’t care. But this wasn’t quite the truth. Sabrina liked Marinette and appreciated the girl for how often she tried to help her out of the bad relationship she and Chloe had built for themselves. She was sad to see Marinette leave but was able to respect the decision fully aware as to why it was happening and why it was for the best. Chloe meanwhile did her best not to care but she did. Truthfully her life had not been going great lately and while she managed to keep it hidden from her classmates the truth was she was facing consequences behind the scenes for her previous actions and a lot of therapy to boot. Chloe had been wanting to apologize to Marinette but her therapist had told her that doing so would only serve to make HER feel better not Marinette and that the best thing she could do was to leave the girl alone. So even if she’d regret it for the rest of her life Chloe shut up and left Marinette in peace.

_____________

Adrien wasn’t sure what he was supposed to feel when Marinette announced her plan to leave. The first emotion he’d registered had been guilt, followed by sadness, and anger, and then more guilt, before it all settled into a comfortable numbness as he shoved his negativity down and plastered a fake smile on his face. Why was he getting upset? There was no reason to get upset! Because there was no way that Marinette was really leaving! … Right?

Marinette was their class president, their everyday ladybug, she was kind and resourceful and forgiving… well she was mostly forgiving. Sure she hadn’t really spoken to him after last years ‘incident’ but she still gave Adrien pastries on Fridays with the rest of the class and she never snubbed him at hangouts. So surely she would forgive him any day now and they would go back to being friends… Maybe even more? And well that couldn’t happen if she just left them so this had to be a joke, or a silly idea her parents were talking about right?

No, there was just no way she was leaving! Marinette would do what she always did and she’d find some way to raise money to fix the bakery and it would be just the same as before and she’d stay in Paris. But as the days turned into weeks and Marinette booked her flight, showed off pictures of their new home in America. Well Adrien started to feel doubt creep in and the guilt he’d suppressed came flooding back. A tiny little voice in his head could not help but ask if the reason Marinette was leaving was all his fault.

He hadn’t meant to hurt her so badly. He really did think that Lila had changed when he believed her words. It was just a dumb mistake really! And it had been over a year so surely Marinette could not still be mad about it… Could she? Eventually as Marinette’s last week in Dupont dawned, the bitter memories filled Adrien’s head like a ghost.

 It had been a little over a year ago. Lila, having been attending Dupont for a while, had as far as Adrien knew stopped telling lies. She still bragged about her fabulous life and the people she met with her connections as a top Gabriel model but she seemed better and Adrien was honestly a little proud of her and the changes she’d made to become a better person. He was also proud of Marinette for listening to him and giving Lila the chance she needed to grow as a person.

With what he thought as peace and harmony completely restored to his class and life Adrien was shocked when one day as he arrived at a modeling shoot he discovered a crying Lila hiding in his changing room. Lila and him weren’t friends, not really but seeing the girl sobbing as she clutched her phone mascara running down her face Adrien could not help but pity the girl. After getting her to calm down enough to talk to him Lila confided in him that the reason for her hiding and crying her eyes out was her mother canceling their plans again.

And wasn’t that just relatable? Adrien knew very well what it was like to reach out to a parent only to be met with disappointment and canceled plans. As Lila cleaned the ruined makeup off of her face the two spoke openly about all the things their parents had ‘forgotten’ or missed or canceled and Adrien found himself laughing a little as he let some of his perfect boy persona drop. Adrien loved his other friends, sure but they could not really understand what it was like to have a parent like Gabriel Agreste but Lila did.

After that Adrien found he enjoyed photo-shoots with Lila a lot more. It was wonderful having a friend on set. They’d vent about their absentee parents, joke around about the over dramatic camera man, and confide in each other over how their other classmates were wonderful people but just didn’t ‘get’ what it was really like to be them, living with such high expectations. Slowly without realizing it Adrien started to take Lila's side in every small argument or fight. Even when he knew Lila was being a bit catty with Marinette he would still defend the Italian feeling annoyed with Marinette for being so patty. Where he would previously track Marinette down after these types of fights to comfort her and tell her they weren't a big deal he was now ignoring the Asian girl feeling like she was unfairly judging Lila.

It was around that time that he learned about Marinette’s feelings for him. It was an accident of course, he had forgotten his book-bag and when he'd gone back to get it from his locker he somehow walked into an argument between the girl squad and Marinette. He knew eavesdropping was bad but he could not help it, and so he was shocked as he realized the girls were trying to come up with an ultra romantic plot for Marinette to confess her ‘love’ for none other than himself! Adrien Agreste.

Now Adrien has always been loyal to his dearest Ladybug but the superhero had made it clear she was not interested, so why shouldn’t he take a chance on Marinette? She was plenty pretty and kind besides the idea of dating sounded fun and it's what normal kids his age did. He had an extra hop in his step as he went to the photo-shoot that evening thinking about Marinette and her future confession. His extra pep must have been noticed by Lila who could not help but inquire.

That was when Adrien made a second mistake in trusting Lila. She congratulated him but Adrien noticed the obvious strain in her voice and concern on her face. Curious what was wrong he tried to ask Lila what it was wrong but she dismissed the question claiming that Adrien would never believe her anyway. When he pushed harder Lila blended her face into the perfect picture of concern and care.

 “Well yes Marinette is very sweet and all but, well are you sure she really likes you for you Adrien? She might just be a fangirl in love with the idea of ‘Sunshine Agreste’. I just don't want to see you get hurt.”

That small seed of doubt had all it had taken for Lila to get her claws into Adriens mind. In the following days as Marinette worked up her courage to confess, Lila, like the snake she was, whispered into Adriens ear bringing doubt to every kind and sweet action Marinette made.

 “Adrien you didn’t confide in Marinette about your true feelings toward your father, instead you confided in Chloe and me.”

 “Marinette can hardly hold a conversation with you because she's so starstruck about your dad, does she care more about you or his fashion brand?”

 “Just ask Alya but Marinette is very jealous and possessive of you. Is that really love or just a superfan who wants to date you Adrien?”

 “I just don’t want to see your heart get broken. Marinette is a good person, we both know that but maybe dating her is just a bad idea for both of you. Wouldn't it be better to just stay friends?”

Each carefully crafted word blinded Adrien more and more to Marinette’s true nature. Where he once saw a cute kind girl with a crush on him he now saw a slightly obsessed super fan who needed to understand that he would never date her and that she needed to apologize for her possessive and jealous antics toward his friends!

The following Monday when Marinette finally gathered her courage after what Adrien only later found out from Alya was YEARS of hardcore crushing to finally confess the true depth of her feelings to Adrien with a cute box of handmade pastries and a pair of hand knit mittens. Well he didn’t give the response Marinette was hoping for. Truth be told, the response he gave in return was harsh, and mean. Honestly Adrien could hardly remember now what he said at the time but he knows he went too far, he accused her of being shallow, a super fan who only wanted to date him because of his dad, he demanded she apologize to Chloe and Lila for her actions while jealous. And finally he told her that he didn’t even want to be her friend not until she worked on becoming a better person.

Adrien hadn’t realized what a stupid mistake he made until after Marinette ran off sobbing with Juleka and Rose in hot pursuit. Nino and Alya had looked at him in horror and anger. And the class besides Chloe and Lila avoided him for the rest of the day. He still did not fully register what an idiot he was until a day later when Alya took the initiative at lunch to trap him and interrogate him. Adrien never admitted that it was Lila who planted the ideas in his head even under Alya’s death glare but he did learn that he had been an idiot he learned about all the previous failed attempts, about how long Marinette had tried to win him over, how many times she’d sacrificed her own happiness for his. It was a bitter pill to swallow and with Marinette refusing to speak, look, or be within 5 feet of him, apologizing was something Adrien found hard to do.

But the hardest part of apologizing was actually DOING it. Admitting that maybe he’d been fooled by Lila again was not something he wanted because they were friends now and Lila didn’t mean it right? She’d just been looking out for him; she didn't know that Marinette was sincere. But if Adrien told Marinette that he had no doubt the girl would only get angry. But apologizing without bringing up Lila meant he would have nothing to say, no proper explanation to give, and with how crushed Marinette seemed and the death glares fierce but small Rose gave him each time he tried to get close to Marinette kept him away. He’d apologize later when things were less awkward. That's what he told himself anyway.

But it had been over a year now, and he had no apology to give and Marinette kept her distance and her silence to herself. And now… Now she was going to Gotham City all the way across the ocean in America.

 And so Adrien had to wonder. Did he help cause this? Did Marinette want to leave because of him? From what Nino told him he wasn’t the cause… At least… He wasn't the ONLY cause. But the idea of Marinette leaving them forever only communicating via her computer left Adrien’s stomach turning. Maybe if he just apologized… Maybe she’d change her mind? The two of them could catch up and make up for lost time, they could date, and fall in love and she’d stay in Paris for him. She just needed to forgive him already and talk to him. Surely she would do so surely she didn’t mean to leave Paris with their friendship in such a sorry state right? But as Marinette’s last week came and went and the whole class went to the airport to see her off bright and early in the morning Adrien simply stood by confused about how it was all playing out. Everything had always worked out before, Marinette was supposed to rally everyone together and fix it just like always. So then… Why didn’t that happen this time?

As Marinette turned one last time to blow the class a kiss and wave goodbye he watched her disappear into the crowd with her parents. Adrien held his breath and waited. Waited for her to run back to them. Waited for things to go back to normal like they were supposed to. He waited… And waited… But she never came back.

_____________

Lila should have been celebrating right about now. She’d done it. She had gotten Marinette to leave, and not even just leave the school, no, she got the little goody two shoes ‘better than you’ BRAT to leave the whole country! This should have been her moment, her time to gloat and grin and shine in all her victory because she had finally WON.

But as Lila sat lounging on her balcony sipping her delightfully fruity and expensive sparkling water and reading texts in the class group chat and receiving videos of the last pathetic tearful goodbyes the class was making with Marinette at the airport the model could not help but feel robbed of her victory.

Marinette was supposed to leave, tail between her legs, tears in her eyes, running away from Paris like a whimpering pathetic mutt to some backwater little town where she would languish in obscurity and nothingness for the rest of her days. But instead of that delightful scene Marinette was leaving Paris very much still loved by her friends, heading off a bigger more beautiful bakery and home, in fucking Gotham City no less.

Lila felt her grip on her champagne flute tighten as she downed her sparkling water and seethed. It just had to be GOTHAM didn’t it. That putrid black stain on her otherwise flawless life. At first Lila was sure that Marinette had figured out about Lila’s past in the city of bats, something that should have been impossible as her name had been concealed in all the records and news broadcasts due to her status as a child at the time. But there was still a risk that Marinette had found something so Lila manipulated the sheep into asking Marinette questions and getting answers out of the stupid girl.

But according to the intel Alya gathered Marinette was actually BORN in that vile place. Because of course she was. There really was just something about Gotham and the people it made, it was like they were designed to see through her lies and ruin her perfect life. If only that horrid place and its horrid people would just sink into the damn ocean. Honestly its like the Joker wasn’t even trying to destroy the place with how much he failed. Pathetic honestly.

Throwing her cell phone onto the table with a clatter Lila sighed and leaned back in her chair letting the sun warm her skin. She should be celebrating, she reminded herself. Marinette was gone one way or another, and Gotham would hopefully eat her up alive and spit her out the same way it had her. Maybe if Lila was really lucky the idiot Parisians would be robbed or taken hostage by Two Face and Marinette would disappear for good. Yes, this was a good thing in the end Lila reminded herself letting a smile slip onto her lips.

Come Monday she would be the new and un-opposed queen of Francois Dupont and all the gullible rich talented little idiots that attended.

She had won. Just like she always did.

( Thank you all for the continued support and feedback about this fic I’m sorry for the slow update. I have a weak immune system and get sick more often then I’d like so I am trying to take better care of my health. Next chapter we will be switching to Damians POV so I hope you guys will like that! Reblogs, comments, art, whatever is always appreciated and loved )

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[haphira]

Miraculous Ladybug and the Valiant Annuler     By: Haphira

34. Called Out and Caught Up - News crew does their business good, and Alya feels remorse and does her research  

“Heads up!” Hachi shouted.  

The Akuma flew by as Ladybug ran after it, dodging chimney tops and ledges. The team moved in place surrounding the Akuma, as Ladybug called her Lucky Charm, a rope. Seems straight forward, the Heroes danced around the Akuma, calling out to them confusing them and giving Ladybug the opportunity to sneak up and tie up the Akuma.  

Overall, the battle only took 10 minutes, which Ladybug was pretty sure was a new record. Ladybug raised her fist out as the others joined her in a celebratory group fist bump.  

“A word, Ladybug?” A voice called out; the group turned to see a news crew running to them.  

“Just a moment, Ladybug, this has been the fastest Akuma battle to date, care to- Oh.”  

The news anchor stopped short when she saw the group of new heroes and no Chat Noir. She recovered quickly.  

“I assume this new team of yours is the reason for how quickly the Akuma battle ended?” Ladybug squared her shoulders and stepped closer to the news reporter to answer.

“Yes, this is my team: Sionnach, Hachisasare, and Dìonadair. Expect to see them more often, if that’s all, Bug Out!” Ladybug threw her yoyo to leave, and her teammates followed suit in different directions. Ladybug landed nearby to listen to the news crew a moment without being spotted.  

“Did you get their names down?!” A murmured confirmation was heard before the reporter squealed.

“Oh, this is great! New team members AND their names?! Ladybug was very generous today, let’s make sure we get this right.” Ladybug was curious, would they do a good job or turn this into another Tabloid piece?

“What about ‘Chat replaced, 3 new heroes!’” one commented. Ladybug froze and dread filled her stomach.

“NO. Not doing that Jake, get your head out of your ass. We are not doing a slam/tabloid piece on Ladybug. She deserves better than that.” Ladybug smiled. This reporter was a good one. In a flash of light, Marinette stood, in place of Ladybug. Digging around in her purse for a treat for Tikki, Marinette listened once more.

“-present the new heroes as the help Ladybug wanted and got. It’s time we support Ladybug as a person, not just an idol.”  

Marinette almost cried at hearing that. Finally, people were starting to take her seriously. Nodding at Tikki, Marinette transformed once more and jumped on the roof tops to home. She would give this small news station a chance, and maybe endorse it too... speaking of which, Marinette frowned as she passed by Alya’s window, the girl looked hard at work on her computer. Marinette still needed to have a few words with her concerning the ‘Lila at the boat’ thing.  

Humming to herself, Ladybug lands on her rooftop and releases her transformation. The spring day was wonderfully warm, and Marinette knew it would be a good time to sketch for a while then address Alya in the late afternoon. She set an alarm for 4pm and got the things she needed for a designing afternoon.

Marinette set herself up on the balcony chair and thought about a certain blue hair guitarist that she drew inspiration from, prompting three pages full of designs; from clothes to hats and jewelry, Marinette was on a roll.  After what seemed to be no time at all, Marinette’s alarm went off.  

The beeping noise drew Marinette out of her headspace and back to the present. After putting everything away, Marinette messaged Alya.  

Mari: Do you have time to talk?

Alys: What’s this about?

Mari: What happened at the boat on Friday

Marinette bit her lip as she watched the bubble pop up with the dots moving, showing that Alya was typing. This went on for a few minutes before a message finally delivered.  

Alys: Yeah, meet me at the park in 20

Marinette closed the app and tossed her phone into her purse and motioned Tikki inside. She walked down the stair to the living apartment space where her Maman was relaxing.  

“Oh, hello, sweetie. What are you up to?” Sabine asked.

“I’m going to the park to meet up with Alya.” Marinette must have let some emotion slip because Sabine furrowed her eyebrows in concern.

“Everything alright?”

Marinette debated for a moment, but her parents were trying to be better, opening up to them would probably help.

“Not exactly, but it will be once we talk.”  

Sabine softened, “Okay, if you need any help or advice I’m always here.”  

Marinette smiled and waved her mother goodbye as she strolled out the door. When she reached the park she saw Alya already there, waiting at their usual bench.  

Alya glanced up when Marinette drew nearer, the expression on her face was one of regret and guilt. So, this might be a decent conversation.  

Marinette sat down next to the ombre haired girl but left a foot of space between them, Alya glanced at the space but made no comment. The silence stretched between them but Marinette spoke up.

“You brought Lila to the boat, when I had specifically asked that you not do that.” Marinette was proud of how she controlled her voice. No wavering, no outright anger, just stating a fact.  

Alya bit her lip and nodded. “That was a shitty thing for me to do.” She acknowledged. Surprise filled Marinette's face.  

“I thought that... well I wasn’t thinking, which is the problem.” Alya sighed. “I’ve been a shit friend to you,” she continued, rubbing the back of her hand holding her phone. “You set boundaries and I ignored them, and with the way things played out at the boat, you were right to.”  

Alya glanced at Marinette then looked back down at the phone in her hands. Marinette wasn’t sure what to make of this new side to Alya, she was nervous to try and trust the reporter again.  

“I’m sorry, I should have never invited Lila to the houseboat.” Alya apologized.  

“You also owe apologies to Luka and Juleka,” Marinette commented softly, Alya froze then hunched into herself. “But, thank you for apologizing.” Alya nodded and straightened up.  

“It seems that I have work to do,” she paused and turned to face Marinette, “Can we talk again soon?” Marinette nodded, knowing there was going to be more to talk about and deal with when it came to Lila, but this was a good step in the right direction.  

Alya stood up and walked back to her home. Her sisters were out with Nora so she had time to do some research. Sitting at her computer Alya got to work.  

An hour later, Alya stared at the screen, willing her eyes to see something that wasn’t there. She finally looked up Lila’s “adventures”. The only thing to pop up in support of Lila’s claims was the Ladyblog. Nothing with Prince Ali, nothing with charity events, no drives events or stories on news about Jagged, well only that Jagged was allergic to organic flour and the only pet he had ever had was Fang.  

Alya slumped in her chair, Lila was a liar. She had pushed Marinette away for some pretty stories and believed it was all due to some jealousy. Alya sighed and rubbed her forehead, she glanced at the blue folder Nino had given her; evidence of Lila’s lies, all compiled by Marinette.  

Oh god, Nino, she had yelled at him the last time they talked. Alya knew she had a lot of making-up to do. To both Nino and Marinette, but first she needed to make a video for her blog. A big, “I messed up and didn’t do my research, I'm going to be better and make it up to you” kind of thing. And a lot of apologies to make, but those would have to wait until she could do them in person.  

Alya set up her camera and jumped right in, “Hey, Ladybug fans! I’ve got an important announcement to make…”  

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34663405/chapters/120176353

Chapter 35 

[mymiraclebox]

What would be your hero lineup? (canon & yours)

I have so many different her lineups for so many AUs... (also Fox!Nino for the win!), so I'll do the major hero lineup that I have for this AU. :)

—

Ladybug - Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Ladybug, Guardian)

Black Cat - Adrien Agreste (Chat Noir, Co-Guardian)

Dragon - Kagami Tsurugi (formerly: Ryuko, currently: Seiryu)

Cobra - Luka Couffaine (Viperion)

Rabbit - Alix Kubdel (Bunnyx)

Bee - Chloe Bourgeois (formerly: Queen Bee, currently: Honeybee)

Fox - Alya Césaire (Rena Rouge)

Horse - Max Kanté (Pegasus)

Monkey - Lê Chiến Kim (Roi Singe)

Mouse - Markov (Computer Mouse)

Ox - Sabrina Raincomprix (Anoa)

Rooster - Nathaniel Kurtzberg (Red Quill)

Turtle - Wang Fu (Jade Turtle), Nino Lahiffe (Carapace)

—

Wolf - Anthony Walker (Timber, OC)

Platypus - Rosalyn Walker (Guardian, OC)

Kangaroo - Anthony Walker (Joseph, Guardian, OC)

Swan - Liam Roberts (Tundra Swan, OC)

—

Thunderbird - Aeon Hill (Ampere)

Bear - Honaw (Grizzly, Guardian)

Eagle - Jessica Keynes (Eagle, Co-Guardian)

Bison - Olympia Hill (Victoria) 

Deer - Zoe Lee (Melodie)

Falcon - Claude Copiar (Eye of Ra)

Goose - Barbara Keynes (Emperor)

Owl - Allan Gavroche (Masked Owl)

*Honaw is my name for the monk/Guardian that appeared at the end of the New York Special. Allan and Claude are based on some of the Quantic Kids.

—

Jaguar - Zeltzin Lopez Yectli (Ocelotl, Guardian, OC)

—

Panda - Spoilers.

Raven - Spoilers.

Unicorn - Spoilers. :)

[superhero-smackdown]

[dessarious]

Guilt and Consequences Pt21

Beginning   Previous  

"So how many times have you been thrown out of schools exactly?" Izzy seemed to be taking this whole thing fairly well, but Lila hesitated.

"Twenty-six." Sabine's eyes widened at the number, but Izzy laughed.

"We're definitely related." At Lila's confused look, Izzy kept going. "I've been thrown out of just about every boarding school in the US and five in Europe. Of course, mine were because of grades more than anything else."

"But you're smart."

"That really doesn't matter when you refuse to do anything but doodle on tests and homework. It was my form of willful disobedience for my grandparents pulling me out of the public school I was in. Not the brightest thing to do, but I was hurting and extremely pissed off about being pulled out of what was left of my life." She frowned at the ceiling. "If not for Aunt Penny, I probably would have done worse."

"Who?" Lila's question made Izzy's eyes light up.

"That's right, you only met her a couple of times when you were really little. She'll be so happy when she hears you're alive. She's Dad's sister. Well, adopted sister, but that's beside the point. I'll text her to see when she's going to be in Paris next."

"That wouldn't happen to be Penny Rolling, would it?" Lila almost choked at the question, but Sabine sounded amused.

"Yes actually, do you know her?" Lila heard laughter and turned to see Chloe and Marinette on the stairs.

"I guess you are actually connected to Jagged Stone, Rossi." Chloe's tone was dry. Lila groaned.

"Alya can't find out about this. It'll just make her more determined to believe I was telling the truth all along." Wait... Jagged and Penny both loved Mari. "She's going to hate me." Izzy just looked confused, but Sabine rolled her eyes.

"No, she won't. You're family, and it's not like you were purposely trying to cause harm."

"Jagged Stone loves Mari just as much as he does Ladybug. There's no way they're going to be okay with me."

"Wait, your daughter is the little designer Penny told me about?" Great, even Izzy knew about Mari's talent. She'd be lucky if Penny even acknowledged her, let alone wanted anything to do with her. Sabine nodded with a proud smile.

"They don't need to know what happened, and it was all a big misunderstanding anyway." Chloe scoffed at Mari's declaration, and Lila just wanted to bash her head into a wall. Mari was the only one who could possibly consider what happened a misunderstanding. Even Izzy was looking at the girl like she had a screw loose.

"I'll talk to Penny and explain things. It will be fine, I promise." Izzy's words should have been comforting, but Lila just felt sick. The fact that she had to be explained to a relation didn't say much for her. "Why don't we head out to get your stuff? We'll worry about the rest when it happens."

"I suppose." Izzy frowned at her and Lila had a feeling she knew that she'd be worrying about it, regardless. When she stood, she pulled Lila with her before turning to Sabine.

"We'll be back later, but I'll probably take Riley out for dinner after we're done, so it won't be quick." The woman just smiled at them.

"Of course. Have fun." The smile Izzy wore worried her. It was more manic than anything else.

——————————————————————

"You're not going to tell me what happened, are you?" Lila had come back into the lobby to find the staff cowering behind their desks while Izzy glared at them from near the doors. She'd rushed her out to the car before Lila could say anything.

"It's nothing you need to worry about." She got into the backseat as the driver held the door. She hadn't expected it, but it made sense that Izzy had a driver. Especially in a place she didn't know well. It still felt weird, especially with the man eyeing them like he expected an explosion. Whatever happened, it must have been loud enough for him to hear it. "You just need to worry about where you want to go to eat after we get you a camera and a new laptop just in case she can track that as well."

"I've been through everything on there and haven't found anything suspicious, but most of my stuff is backed up so it's not a big deal either way." She didn't mention that she hadn't stored anything she considered important on anything but flash drives and SD cards she could hide easily in years.

"I'll keep your old one with me just like your phone, so you'll be able to get whatever you need from it. I just don't want to risk her finding you."

"You really don't need to buy me a new one. I'm sure I can use Marinette's or go to a library if I have to for anything while you get things figured out." Izzy sighed.

"It's not about what you can work with. I want to get you whatever you need or want so that you don't have to go without anymore. Just let me try to assuage my guilt, please." The last part sounded almost desperate, so Lila dropped it. She wasn't certain how to feel about someone spending so much on her, but if it made Izzy feel better it seemed like it would be okay. "You're thinking too hard again. I can see it."

"Is there something wrong with me?" She winced as soon as the words came out. The question had been floating around in her head as long as she could remember, but she hadn't meant for it to come out.

"Why do you think something is wrong with you?" Izzy's tone was off.

"I... I don't understand things I should. Even when I was little, I acted differently from how everyone thought I should."

"Being different doesn't mean something's wrong with you. You see and relate to the world in a way most people don't." Lila could only frown at her. That certainly sounded like something was wrong. Izzy sighed. "Riley, everyone sees the world differently. I see it in terms of how much I can piss off my grandparents. Your friend Marinette sees it in terms of design. Mine is certainly less healthy, but that doesn't make either inherently wrong."

"How do I see it?" It was a stupid question. How was Izzy supposed to know that?

"Why and how." Izzy's words sounded like a statement, not a question, and that just confused Lila more. "You look at everything around you and ask why and how it works. You ask why things are the way they are. You ask how things can be different. It's against your nature to just accept things at face value. It's why it never even occurred to you that lying to those nitwits would backfire."

That was... an interesting theory. It seemed true to a point, but if she wasn't affected by something, or wasn't interested in it, she ignored it. If it became an issue, she'd research it. It was why she'd read so many books on psychology to try to understand the way her mother was with her. It hadn't helped at all, but she did try.

"Would it be easier if I just accepted things?" Izzy frowned at her.

"Easier for who? No, never mind. First, you would go insane if you didn't pick things apart. Second, giving other people the advantage like that is a terrible idea. If you don't look past the surface, it can be dangerous. Look at our father." Lila blinked in confusion at the tone.

"You blame him?"

"I don't want to influence your opinion of him, but all he had to do was look into her actions, or what she was doing with his money. He never did. Misplaced trust is the quickest way to get hurt. Look at Marinette." Lila tried to remember anything from the time before her father died, but there wasn't much.

"I don't remember him spending time with me. I do remember you arguing with him. He always said you were too cynical." Izzy winced.

"He was of the opinion that I didn't like your mother because I was jealous of the time he spent with her, and nothing I said would get him to think otherwise. I think he tried to not spend individual time with you because he thought it would make me angry. If I'd realized that at the time, I would have tried to do something about it."

She didn't know how to respond to that, but luckily they made it to the electronics store. Maybe she could come up with something if she had time to process. The store wasn't bad. She found a nice camera, and Izzy insisted on buying extra lenses for it too. Their computer selection wasn't great, but they had the components to upgrade or build yourself. Lila protested, but Izzy said buying everything she needed to build a desktop would let her get what she wanted (even though Izzy seemed set on getting the most recent and powerful components) and it would give her something to do while she had to hide at Mari's house. Besides, she shouldn't need a laptop until her mother was dealt with and they could get her a new one then. Lila didn't really think she needed two, let alone three, computers, but Izzy seemed so excited about it.

When they finally left, Izzy asked her if she'd figured out where she wanted to eat. Lila mentioned a cafe nearby she wanted to try, just to make sure they didn't end up in some high scale restaurant. She really didn't want to be stared at because they weren't wearing the right clothes, and she'd heard good things about the cafe.

"Lila!" How could her luck possibly be this bad? "Why haven't you been at school?" Seriously? She turned to look at Alya and Nino walking towards her. Alya's older sister was sitting at a table nearby. Fantastic.

"She's transferring to a different one." Alya glared at Izzy and Lila didn't even want to know what was going through her mind. Izzy, on the other hand, seemed to just dismiss the girl.

"Who are you?" The demanding tone just got an eye roll, and Lila could practically see the steam building in Alya's head. She really didn't want to deal with her being Akumatized again.

"Izzy's my sister. If you don't mind, we'd really like to eat in peace." She didn't know where the words came from, or the cold tone, for that matter. Izzy wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. Alya and Nino both just seemed stunned. She tried to walk away before Alya found her voice, but she didn't manage it.

"You don't need to transfer. Whatever Marinette threatened you with, we can help." Lila could only groan and bury her head in Izzy's side. It shouldn't be possible for someone to be this stubborn about something so stupid.

"Oh, you're that classmate." Alya bristled at Izzy's tone but didn't have time to respond. "Look, you really need to drop this. I don't hold out any hope you'll listen to reason, but if you don't stop this nonsense, I'll be sure to get restraining orders for both my sister and Marinette. They don't need all this stress."

"I'm trying to help her." Alya's indignant tone caused Izzy to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"No, you're not. You're trying to prove to yourself that you were right to believe Riley, and that your opinion of Marinette is justified."

"Who's Riley?" Yeah, this was just going to make things more complicated.

"I am. My mother changed my name a long time ago, but I prefer Izzy use the name I was born with." They didn't seem to know what to do with that.

"Why would she change your name?" Nino at least just sounded confused. Lila wished she had an answer for him, but she didn't actually have a clue what her mother's reasoning was.

"It doesn't matter. And it's really not the point." Even Lila could hear how drained she sounded. "I made a huge mistake lying to you all and assuming you'd call me on it, and I own that. But you need to stop blaming Marinette, of all people, for my bad behavior and your ignorance." She only just noticed that Alya's sister had walked over, and she seemed extremely confused.

"What happened with Mari? You never said anything."

"She's been bullying Lila ever since she transferred."

"Marinette? Tiny ball of sunshine that wouldn't stand up for herself over anything, but always helped and stood up for her friends? That Marinette?" Oh thank god, someone else could see the insanity. Alya blinked at her for a moment, as if trying to get her brain to reset.

"She's jealous because Adrien likes Lila more than her." That just got another frown, and Lila fought not to gag at the thought.

"That doesn't sound like her. Didn't she help the model when he wanted to date someone?" That definitely sounded like Mari, but Lila hadn't heard about it. Must have been before she came or while she was out of school.

"That's not the same." She actually stomped her foot when she said it. Rather than responding to her, her sister turned to Lila.

"Was Marinette bullying you?"

"No. I lied, and she called me on it. That was it." Well, that was all Mari did, at least. Alya looked like she was going to argue, but her sister shot her a look and her mouth clamped shut.

"Why don't you two go back and sit down?" Alya pouted, but she and Nino did go back to the table. "I'm Nora." She held out a hand and Lila just blinked at it. Izzy shook it instead.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Izzy, and this is my sister Riley, er, Lila. Have you decided what you want other people to call you by chance?" Lila just shrugged. Nora just seemed to roll with it.

"Did I hear something about restraining orders?" Lila cringed, but Izzy just sighed.

"Look, I know that Riley isn't innocent in all this, but your sister is blatantly refusing to believe she was wrong about her. She's already attacked Marinette once with some of their other classmates and I'm not about to risk it again. That girl has dealt with enough because of this nonsense."

"They did what!?" More than a few patrons side eyed them at Nora shout. "Do you have proof of that?"

"There's a video if you'd like to see it, but as I said, right now, everyone just wants to be done with this. Marinette doesn't want to get anyone in trouble, but neither her mother nor I are going to let this continue. If you can just get your sister to calm down and back off, it would solve a lot of problems. Marinette and Lila are both transferring to a different school and that should be the end of this."

"Mari's transferring over this?" Nora ran a hand down her face. "Alya doesn't do calm, but I'll talk to her and our parents. My mom's been trying to get her to agree to therapy for all the hero chasing she does, but I'll back her up this time. If what you're saying is true, she needs it more than I thought. I would like to see that video though, no offense." Izzy just pulled out her phone. When she'd asked for the video while they were talking earlier, Lila hadn't thought much of it. She certainly hadn't expected to need it so soon.

"Of course." She handed the phone to Nora and Lila just waited. She seemed far too calm, but she developed a twitch in her right cheek as she watched. When she handed the phone back, her expression was blank.

"Thank you. You can tell Madam Cheng that Alya won't be bothering her daughter again."

"I'm sorry." It took her a second for Lila to realize the words came from her. She'd been thinking them since this conversation started, but she hadn't meant to say them. Nora cocked her head in confusion. "None of this would have happened if not for me."

"Alya is old enough to make her own decisions. Regardless of what you told her, her actions were her own and completely unacceptable. Her being so suggestible is another thing we're going to have to address. Thank you for bringing this to our attention." She sounded grim, and Izzy frowned at her.

"You don't seem surprised."

"Tempers run in our family. It's why we've all been Akumatized except mom. My outlet is sports, and we thought Alya's was her blog and running after the heroes. I'm not surprised that this happened, but I can believe she'd do that to Mari, especially after everything she’s done for her."

"Maybe being Akumatized has something to do with." Yet another thought that she didn't expect to come out of her mouth. Nora frowned at her. "It's just that everyone in the class has been Akumatized, except Marinette and Adrien, and they're the only two that know I was lying. Well, Adrien knew because Ladybug called me out in front of him, so maybe not. But maybe being taken over like that leaves people vulnerable to suggestion. It would explain why he tends to go after the same people so much if he basically leaves a door open." Now they were both frowning at her. Nora ended up letting out a bark of laughter.

"Thanks for that thought, kid. Because I didn't have enough to be worried about." Lila opened her mouth to apologize, but Nora put a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine. You might even be right, so that's one more reason to get Alya, and all of us honestly, into therapy. I'll let you get on with your meal." She watched as Nora grabbed Alya and practically dragged her outside, Nino jogging behind to keep up. She looked back at Izzy to find her still frowning at her.

"Is that what you really think is happening?"

"It makes sense logically, but given we're dealing with magic, I don't know. It may just be that he has a limited range or something else entirely as well. I don't have enough information to be certain." Izzy was still frowning at her, but eventually shook her head as if trying to get rid of a thought.

"We'll talk more about this later, but we do need to eat." Lila wasn't certain what else there was to talk about, but she just nodded. "Please tell you you've gotten over your 'I only eat green food' phase." 

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