#lila exposed aftermath

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Reboot: Miraculous: Heroes of Miracles: Kagami Tsurugi

-Kagami is introduced in Season 2. Though Adrien, Felix and Chloé met her when they were kids.

-Kagami was chosen to be Masqué’s Champion. And she was trained since she was five. Mastering the Zodiac created Variation of the Guardians martial art. (I’m changing mirakungfu because it sounds dumb. The Guardian’s martial art is called “Endless Flow” Fist) This fighting style is the “Endless Impact” fist.

-Kagami goes by the name of Ryuuko when using the dragon miraculous. Just like in the original show. But her outfit is more based off Samurai, and more draconic in appearance.

-Kagami is usually very stoic, and her meeting Adrien again helps her come out of her shell.

-She and Marinette end up developing a close friendship, which is funny because Ryuuko becomes Ladybug’s rival

-Ryuuko appears in season 3, and she shows up saving Agent Volpina.

-Kagami is the most sheltered character, as she was raised basically to be the Enforcer of Masqué. And the heir of the Tsurugi.

-Kagami starts getting encouraged by Felix, Adrien, and Marinette to have more fun.

-Felix figures out she is Ryuuko, and asks her what’s up with that. After she saved him from a collapsing building

-Ryuuko thought she would need to end Felix after. But he told her he would “figure a way to free her”. He wasn’t scared, he was determined.

-Kagami eventually tells her mother she doesn’t want to be Ryuuko anymore. That she wants to be her own person and not the person she is making her be.

-Tomoe believes she is doing everything that’s best for her daughter, until Masqué captures her and decides to punish her like a traitor. That’s when she realizes her mistake

-Kagami ends up telling Alya and Felix everything she knew about Masqué. Unfortunately the Leader of Masqué showed up and kidnapped her. She gave Felix her miraculous, looking at him

-“You better keep your promise”

-It was around this time that Lila had seen Kagami in the cell. Lila was already going through her issues of what she discovered.

-Kagami talks to Lila telling her how they were both tricked and they need to escape.

-Lila ends up unlocking Kagami’s cell and leaves. Saying “it may be a lie, but it’s all I know”

-Kagami ends up leaving and fighting some of the “Masks” (servants of the organization)

-When she was getting overwhelmed, when Dragoknight shows up.

-“I kept my promise afterall.”

-Kagami and Dragoknight make their way to see Chat noir fighting Hawkmoth. They help him overcome Him and take the butterfly miraculous. Unfortunately he escapes.

-Dragoknight was going to give Kagami the miraculous, but she says it’s a good look for him. Adrien gives the butterfly to Kagami, saying he and ladybug could use the support.

-Sasakia makes her first appearance.

-Dragoknight does get bested and the miraculous is taken by the Head of Masqué. But gets saved by Sasakia. Who helps him escape.

-Sasakia also gets her mother out, who ended up blinded by the aftermath.

-Masqué crumbled and most of the people involved were arrested. Tomoe making a plea deal in exposing them.

-Kagami ends up going to school with the group from season 4 onwards. She ends up dating Felix shortly after this.

-In season 5, Kagami is focused on being an Olympian, and has focused on Fencing and Archery. She is the number one candidate in France currently.

Funfacts

-Kagami is the second oldest of the group, only being a month younger than Nino.

-Kagami Knows 4 languages. Japanese, English, French and Italian.

-Tomoe was the third highest in Masqué. And Kagami would have taken her place should they had stayed.

-Kagami trained for years before receiving Longg. And actually receiving the miraculous a little before Marinette and Adrien. Making her the one of the group that had a miraculous the longest.

-Kagami has a habit of comparing situations to manga or dramas. As that was her main exposure of the outside world. (Often reading in secret)

-Kagami is the most skilled physical fighter of the group, as she was trained from a young age.

-Kagami technically knew Lila the longest, but met Felix first.

-Kagami can easily bridal carry Felix

-Kagami is very blunt and has no understanding of sarcasm originally.

-According to Fu, Kagami is likely the most dangerous miraculous user if left unchecked.

-Kagami and Lila are the only ones of the team that know “Endless Impact” fist

[pokefan531]

[MMD] Block Party Panel Incident - Aftermath 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_deVQ3tlzno

(After the success of destroying the Aqua Team Hunger Force Panel from August (from CN100eg's video The Block Party Panel Incident, the evils are celebrating their victory despite the police getting the out from the convention center)

Lila: OH YES!!! We got them back!! Iris: Hmm... Yeah. We got that frylock Pokemon and ruin their panel! Err: Excellent! I'm so happy you both manage to cause destruction with fire and beat up Frylock for that hate message he sent to us! Lila: Exactly! Hehe! Well, we succeed this time! Guess a few of my success brought you to feel some achievement, Iris. Iris: Yeah, but it's gonna take a lot more for me to be satisfied. Ignignokt: Well it did for us!! He exposed us for the bomb incident, but... thanks to you guys, we did a payback to him and his two idiots! Lila: Well it was just the two of us, but yes! Iris: That fry Pokemon deserved so much payback I finally pulled my revenge for sending us on an island where I was stuck in from Hano Grand Resort 5 years ago! Lila: Yeah! Err: We'd at least rescue you two, because since we had an online chat in Spring, we are now on your side for you both! Iris: Yeah!! Ignignokt: That'd teach the lesson for ATHF Trio and ones who are close friends with him in that place with red head scientist! Lila: Hehe! Since we already became a team, not only we will get more revenge on them, but also the Pokemon Studio too! Iris: OH YES!!! We shall go after the Pokemon Studio someday...only if we are strong enough for THAT CHAMP!!! I HATE HER AS MUCH AS ASH KETCHUM AND FRY POKEMON!!! Ignignokt: If you can't take her alone, we can take him together!! Err: But, we do need more teammates for this to happen! Lila: Oh don't worry. Ghetsis told me the same, but he give me a list to look for each new member around the world. Like three strong members. One is from my former school, other is from an ancient Japanese palace, and other from a video game world. So, that way, the so called "Iris's Team" will be ready to take down the Pokemon Studio, and ATHF Trios. In fact, we can do revenge on anyone we want! Ignignokt: Sweet!! Seven of us will soon to be masters! Iris: We shall find these missing pieces one by one! Err: That's right! One plan succeed against Frylock, more plans to go! Lila: Oh yes!

Now onto the hospital after the incident of the panel, Konata, Arezu, and Mona from Wacky House visited to see Frylock, but he's out cold.

Konata: Dang! Frylock is down. Although the doctor says he would recover in weeks, thankfully. Arezu: So a box of french fries is alive? Wow! A new discovery! Mona: With that in mind... Frylock is in a temporaily coma. Right now he's dreaming about saving the closest friends from Iris. Konata: Oh yes. Iris caused a fire again, but don't worry. Wallace and his firefighting crew came in to wash off all the fire in the convention center. Mona: Yeah, but for Frylock tho... at least he's alive. Still cruel how he was knocked out by Iris and her assistant. Arezu: Well... I'm thinking about something to help him a bit. How about Potato Mochi? Konata: Frylock wouldn't want to eat anything with potatoes. Arezu: Actually... we can use them to rub it on parts of his body, where it has injuries. Konata: What a great plan. Arezu: Is it a good idea, Mona? Mona: On my predictions... he would recover from the potato mochis by being covered by it. Although the main source would be the gem from his back. But no worries, it regain energy on its own so it repairs itself. Konata: Excellent! Arezu: Sweet! Let's go get the potato mochis!

And all three of them rub it on him, and rinse him off and Mona sees his gem glow once. Mona says it's far from bring back to normal state, but it's working at least.

Happy Birthday, CN100eg!

Credits: Iris - Dargliger01 (Edited by me) ATHF Models (Frylock and Mooninites Ignignokt and Err) - MrWhiteFolks Arezu - Pikapika-2000 Mona - Otakilos Alley - ignas1000 3D Custom Girl Nurse's Room

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Letters to Lovers (And the Aftermath of Cherry Wine)

by whoscountinganyway

Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Damian Wayne are pen-pals for three years as their schools get in contact to prepare Francoise Dupont a trip to Gotham for all the nearly bilingual students. During that time, Marinette never expected to fall in love (and Damian never expected to fall with her).

Once he finds out about Lila and all of her lies — manipulation — he just knows the perfect way to stop her.

His Angel is never going to be hurt again. Damian is going to make sure of it.

Words: 3243, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, DCU (Comics), DCU, Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Super Sons (Comics)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, Gen

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne, Lê Chiến Kim, Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Luka Couffaine, Chloé Bourgeois, Kagami Tsurugi, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Bernard Dowd, Roy Harper, Selina Kyle, Batfamily Members, Justice League (DCU), Batman Ensemble

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nino Lahiffe & Lê Chiến Kim, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Batfamily Members & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Jonathan Samuel Kent & Damian Wayne

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Pre-Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Pen Pals, Domestic Fluff, Aged-Up Character(s), Protective Damian Wayne, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Past Character Death, Akuma class salt, Kwamis Are Gods, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Visits Gotham City, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Implied Sexual Content, learning to be okay with touch, and gentleness, Slow Burn, which means I know this fic sounds like i'm ranting, but there is plot here

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/46250341

[sturchling]

hey im new here on tumblr do i make my request here? , if yes then theres this mlb salt idea and it wouldnt leave my mind , what if the class was a mariharem and when lila came they broke up with her for"not being the nice girl they used to know anymore",and instead of being heartbroken marinette felt relieved like a burden got off her shoulder,she moved to ms.m class and peoplesaw this as achanse to become her new harem,lila get exposed,the class try to get back with her but her new harem prote

Sorry it took so long. Hope this is the kind of story you were looking for. Let me know what you think. Welcome to tumblr!

Mrs. Bustier’s class all loved Marinette, and they had all been collectively dating her for a long time now. She is such a talented designer and so passionate about her work. She was an amazing leader too, and was a great class rep. Always willing to lend a hand to anyone who asked, Marinette was so sweet to everyone she met.

-----------------------

So imagine the class’ confusion when Lila kept telling them about how Marinette was being so cruel to her. The class didn’t want to believe their sweet Marinette was capable of being so mean to someone. It just didn’t seem like her. Maybe Lila was confused? Maybe she misunderstood things? The class just refused to believe such a preposterous idea like their Marinette being a bully.

----------------------

Then Lila showed them proof. Threatening and mean emails, texts, and notes, all from Marinette. She had pictures of bruises and scrapes, from where Marinette had pushed her around. They were horrified by what they saw. How could Marinette do this? They knew they had to put their foot down, they loved Marinette, but this was too much.

---------------------

Marinette came in the next day and the class told her they were all done dating her. They couldn’t stand by while Marinette did these horrible things. So they weren’t going to be seeing her anymore. They had also decided to remove her as class rep for the time being. 

--------------------

Marinette was upset by what had happened, but also saw it as a chance for a new start. She had been wanting to leave Mrs. Bustier’s class for sometime, but had stayed. She stayed for them. On top of that, she was the class rep. She felt that she couldn’t leave. But now, there was nothing holding her in the class and she could finally escape the liar.

-------------------

Marinette put in for her transfer to a new class and was quickly approved. She moved to Mrs. Mendeleiev’s class by the next week and was quickly accepted into her new class.

-----------------

The rest of the school were shocked by Mrs. Bustier’s class and how they dumped Marinette. But they saw this as an opportunity to finally get closer to Marinette themselves. Her new class quickly came to a similar arrangement as Mrs. Bustier’s class and started dating Marinette themselves. Marinette and her new class were very happy together.

-------------------

About a month later, Lila was revealed on complete accident. Alya had thought she would gather Lila’s celebrity friends for a party in her honor, since Lila had just got nominated for an award for all her acts of service. But all Alya got were confused replies, asking who Lila was. 

----------------

The class was shocked their friend had been lying the whole time, and were horrified to realize they had left Marinette for now reason. They immediately went looking for Marinette to apologize and ask for her to come back to them. But when they found Marinette, she was surrounded by her new class. 

-------------------

They tried to approach Marinette and get her back, but her new class circled around her and wouldn’t let them close to Marinette. They tried to apologize, to beg for her to come back. But she politely told them no, and her new class pushed them back, keeping them away from Marinette.

-------------------

The class had lost the kind young designer, and they would never get her back. Marinette was happy with her new class and Mrs. Mendeleiev’s class was thrilled to be close with Marinette, growing to love her more with each day. Marinette was happier than she had been in a while. Meanwhile, Mrs. Bustier’s class lamented the loss of the girl they loved. 

[bigfatbreak]

I want to see the aftermath of Lila being exposed by lady clarity, I mean she’s useless to Hawkmoth now right?

(Also I use voice to text for this and it corrected hawk moth to HOK mouth)

its not Hawkmoth she needs to worry about, honestly.

...needless to say, Lila won’t be getting any Akuma’s to exacerbate her tantrums anytime soon, either.

[drpepperwithcream]

Gang of Secrets Aftermath

Because I want it and I’m a writer so *hands you head canon post on a silver platter*

Alya hugs the absolute crap out of Marinette as she ends up sobbing into her shoulder from stress and exhaustion.

Alya is soothing Marinette, eyeing the widows, doors, and every crack an akuma could squeeze in through.

Even long after Marinette has stopped crying, they were still hugging. She took comfort in Alya’s arms around her.

“...Alya?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Alya squeezed her tighter. Marinette deserved this.

“I’ll always be here for you, Marinette. Don’t you forget that.”

They pulled apart, Marinette wiped the tear stains off her cheeks and she huffed out a small laugh.

“I’m surprised you’re taking this so well.”

“I’m holding it in. You really needed a friend.”

Marinette smiled as she braced herself. “You can let it out now.”

Alya breathed as she stood up. She went over to Marinette’s computer and pulled up a picture of Ladybug and made it fullscreen. She looked at Marinette, then to the Ladybug picture, then back to Marinette.

*inhales*

“I... I can’t believe it! My best friend! You- You’re Ladybug! How could I have not seen it? I mean I know I couldn’t have seen it, but you’re fighting Hawkmoth and saving Paris everyday!” Alya stammers. “When? Wait I know when, but how? I just- It’s been you this whole time. Everything makes since now, you being late, odd excuses, why you picked me to be Rena Rouge. I feel like my brain is exploding!”

Marinette laughed.

Alya replayed today’s events and relaxed. “But wait, Ladybug said that she’s now the guardian when she-you gave me the necklace, which makes you the guardian. What does that even mean? Actually, no don’t tell me, it’s probably incredibly important and stressful, and you’ve been having a stressful time, I don’t want to add to that.”

Marinette sighed. “No, it’s fine, it just means I have a lot of responsibility now on top of being Ladybug.” It felt so weird to say that to her best friend, but it felt like a huge weight was being lifted off her shoulders.

“I’ll help you in any and every way I can, you can count on me.”

“Thanks Alya.”

Alya goes home and marinates with this new information.

She swore on her life that she wouldn't tell a single sole this information

As she’s pacing in her room, she’s debating on completely deleting the LadyBlog.

She ends up spending hours completely reformatting the website. Taking down the “Who’s Ladybug” posts and adding a couple of mental health posts. She makes a post about giving back to Ladybug and Chat Noir by working together to figure out who Hawkmoth is.

As she’s reviewing her LadyBlog, she finds a few old videos The first one was Ladybug noticing her in a sea of reporters and commenting her on her work on the LadyBlog (The Mime episode). Marinette did that for her, and she smiled at how sweet that was of her to do.

The second video was her first actual interview with Ladybug (also Mime). She remembered how Marinette thought she deleted the first video so she stole her phone to try to recreate it, and when she couldn’t she gave her a surprise. Alya didn’t even know how she managed to convince Ladybug to give her an interview back then but now it’s obvious. Marinette is such a good friend!

The third was about Lila, talking about how Ladybug saved her and how close the two of them are. And suddenly Marinette’s hatred for Lila made sense.

“That Bit-!”

Alya deleted the video and whipped out her phone.

Mari, I am sorry for ever trying to defend Lila and that it took me this long to realize that she’s a liar.- A

Oh yeah, I couldn’t exactly tell you that I knew that she didn’t know Ladybug because I am Ladybug-M

Again, sorry for being stupid.-A

It’s okay, at least you know now-M

Dang all the lying she’s doing for attention, I almost feel bad for her-A

Alya remembered what Lila had done.

Wait no I don’t! She got you expelled and nearly akumatized by Scarlet Moth! What a lying snake!-A

She also threatened me in the bathroom that she’d make everyone turn against me if I tried to expose her and her lies and it made me so angry that I was almost akumatized by Hawkmoth -M

I’m actually going to push her down a flight of stairs! I don’t care that you have your ladybug powers, you can’t stop me!-A

Nino also messages her, noticing the website change. Alya said that she wanted to use her skill to find Hawkmoth and help Paris civilians. Nothing more.

She spends the rest of the night staying up late researching ways to control emotions and to keep anger and other strong emotions at bay. If Hawkmoth akumatizes her, it’s all over, and she’s never going to let that happen again.

Alya falls asleep thinking about Marinette being Ladybug this whole time.

And whatever hardships Marinette had to deal with, Alya was ready to give her a boost to fight it all.

Should I write more? I want to write more. I will write more.

[artzychic27]

Anymore headcanons for the Artist Family? Are they rich and classy like the Addams?

They make a ton of money off of Marinette’s commissions, Marc/Nath’s VERY detailed gothic graphic novels, Juleka and Rose playing music at funerals, and Alix’s demolition business

The converted funeral home they live in is spacious and could be mistaken for a mansion

Rich people dining! Five chandeliers in the dining room, black as night table with thirteen candelabra made from ashes found in the embalming room, old caskets converted into cabinets, doilies spun by spiders, and a tigers head hanging on the wall

One of their Kwamis, I’m thinking Screech, takes a human form and drives them around in their car, a 1940 LaSalle Meteor Hearse

One of the teachers fainted when they came to school in that

Juleka: They’re clearly jealous.

Alix: Yeah! Not everyone gets to carry around the dead wherever they go!

There’s a ton of rooms in the house

The crematorium has been converted into a dungeon filled with vintage weapons they bought from museums

Marinette: How much for the battle axe?

Museum Director: Excuse me? I’m afraid these aren’t for sale.

Marinette: *Pulls out a massive wad of cash* Let’s try this again, shall we?

They gladly donate stacks of cash to local museums with torture and Black Plague exhibits. There’s even a couple of wings named after them

The embalming room stays, because who doesn’t enjoy a good embalming room?

Their closets are filled with 17/18th century gothic and modern gothic outfits

Marinette/Juleka/Rose/Marc/Nathaniel/Alix

Marc and Nathaniel rent out the catacombs once in a while when they’re on dates

Nathaniel: Look at you. Midnight, candle light, surrounded by death.

*An explosion cuts them off as they’re about to kiss*

Marc: One home, the six of us, and so many windows.

Rose and Juleka do the same but with cemeteries

Juleka: It’s shame we can’t watch the departed decompose above ground.

Rose: *Pulls out a shovel* Wanna watch now?

Learning about their wealth, Lila tries to kiss up to them by boasting about being related to H.P. Lovecraft. That didn’t end well

Nathaniel: The man is a notorious white supremacist. (Look it up)

She tried again

Lili: I-I meant I was related to Edgar Allen Poe! You see, he’s my great, great grandfather, and I actually dabble in a little poetry myself.

Marc: Poe had no children.

Marinette: But if you were his descendant, you would have an extra row of teeth or a tail, or you aren’t able to taste salt.

Lili: Excuse me?!

Marinette: One word. Incest.

Lila: You’re one to talk! Your brothers are dating each other! And so are your sisters!

Alix: We all just happened to choose the same last name. None of us are related by blood, that’s just be gross, Lila.

Gabriel, having heard of the Artist’s wealth and influence from one of Lila’s tantrums, tries to take Marinette under his wing, maybe convince her to get a museum to name the historical fashion exhibits after the Agrestes

Marinette: I would rather wear pastels than work for a man who hires a leech with no professionalism, regard for personal space, and no understanding of the word ‘no’.

Gabriel asks forces Adrien to be friends with the six of them

Adrien: Hey guys-

Marinette: Your father sent you to befriend us and increase his wealth?

Adrien: *Ashamed* Yes.

For the Artists, this means war. And they never lose

They send Adrien back to the mansion looking like a Cyber Goth (He requested the look) Nathalie nearly had a heart attack and Gabriel fainted

Adrien’s new look starts a Cyber Goth fashion trend which the Artists are loving. (They accept all types of gothic fashion)

Lila would rather puke than wear those outfits, but Gabriel needs to appeal to the market by showing off his new (reluctantly made) cyber goth line. She’s expected to wear the outfits all day until a new trend comes along.

One day at a photo shoot, she confronts Adrien and threatens him to start a “more fashionable trend” (Knowing her, it’s just a bunch of burnt orange and rompers) or she’ll have his father take him out of school

Unbeknownst to her, Adrien “accidentally” left his phone on a livestream. Everyone heard her calling goths freaks, demented, mental patients, and a bunch of other anti-goth stuff. Thus ended Lila’s modeling career

Akuma, goths join the fight, Lila exposed, all is well

Aftermath: The Artists won the war. Gabriel faints agin. Lila is a pariah. And Adrien switches from Cyber to Pastel Goth which Marinette’s dark little heart can’t resist

[yannowhatigiveup]

T.W.A.A: The Pseudologist

Part 1

When I posted the first part, someone on AO3 asked if I could write the aftermath. *cue the endless amounts of ideas that I can’t write* So here’s my attempt. There will be more to this in povs from other characters

edit: so I have returned after gaining energy (This was posted when I was running on an unhealthily low amount of sleep, written when I was basically asleep) and I have to say this is the worst one shot I’ve written so far. Bruh my wips are better than this

edit2: I’ve gone back and edited this a bit.

———

Lila Rossi moved to Paris for one reason and one reason only, Adrien Agreste. She knew how famous the boy was, how rich he was too but the most important factor: how oblivious he was. From what she gathered, the boy was locked up in the house for most of his life, if not, all his life. The brunette knew he was probably longing for friendship, freedom, love, and affection. He had all the attention he needed, why would he want more? Lila considered this when she transferred to Françoise Dupont, she'd need attention to gain his attention. She knew what she had to do.

It started with one rumour, one lie. But it slowly lead to more, subtle lies that at first glance would seem believable. She gained the attention she wanted, she gained the attention she needed and much faster than she originally intended. But she wasn't complaining. Alya had played a vital role in her spike of popularity, the reporter girl was the one who spread Lila's words, it had worked great in the liar's favour. Lila even used Ladybug as a way to get recognition, the superheroine had no idea this would be going on so she couldn't expose the brunette. Or that's what she thought.

As Lila observed the students. She took note of the blonde, easily identifiable as Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of Mayor Bourgeois. The girl grew up surrounded by politics, if anyone could spot out a lie it would be her. Lila knew she had to be careful, but since she was known as a bully, not many would believe her words. There was someone else who posed a threat though. Someone Lila didn't take notice of until Ladybug had confronted her. A certain Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

The bluenette caught Lila's attention due to her similarity to the spotted heroine, the same heroine Lila had learned to resent. They weren't just similar in appearance-wise, their demeanours were similar as well. The only difference? Ladybug tried to make amends with Lila. Marinette, despite having no reason to, had no intentions of making friends. The brunette knew she would either be a powerful ally or a dangerous nemesis, considering the fact she was popular, well-known, and well-loved. Lila hoped that this Marinette would not be the latter. Deciding to find out for herself, Lila approached the bluenette in the bathroom. Any friendliness that was once in brunette was obliterated, Marinette knew her lies were just that, lies. Lila knew she had to do something before the blue-eyed girl could expose her. And of course, she devised a plan, but she needed Adrien's influence.

Soon enough, both Agrestes were on her side. Adrien, because he did what his father asked and he hated conflict, and Gabriel for real reasons unknown to the brunette, but she concluded it to be to remove his son from bad influence though she couldn't be sure. Having both on her side made her rise in popularity much easier. She developed a following of mindless fools, completely at her mercy, and disposal. Now to have something to fall back on, Lila began turning the Queen's workers against her.

Chloe was her first target. First, she drove Sabrina away from the blonde, convincing the policeman's daughter that Chloe was using her. The blonde had done in the past but had stopped after some classmates intervened and Lila assumed it would work. And it did. It worked splendidly and the girl had left her best friend with a violently hurtful speech. Like planned, Chloe was alone. However, the blonde managed to make amends with a certain blue-haired girl, it was something very unexpected. Lila didn't like it. She didn't like it at all. The two people she was weary of managed to team up. Lila knew she had to do something about it so she targeted the easier prey of the duo, Marinette.

The bluenette had already gained some distrust from her classmates after she was temporarily expelled, and after she became friends with Chloe, all Lila had to do was add more fuel to the ongoing fire. Small rumours here and there, just to increase the distrust. One day when she realised she had the perfect opportunity to begin Marinette's true downfall, she took it. A bold move it was.

She accused the bluenette of beating her up, with the motive of 'telling others what she had said to Lila herself', sometime before school. Just Lila's luck, the girl arrived a bit later than usual, only adding to the growing suspicion of Lila's words being true. When the classmates approached the bluenette, she obviously denied their accusations. But with her lack of a witness and Lila's smart move to shed tears, Marinette got slapped. Hard across the cheek. It looked like it hurt and it sounded like it hurt but obviously, she looked hurt with betrayal. Alya had been the one to do it. Lila couldn't help the victorious smirk on her face.

From there, the abuse towards the bluenette and the blonde increased. Chloe got the lesser part of it but that didn't mean that Lila spared her. Marinette took both the physical and verbal abuse, much greater amounts than the blonde. But she was resilient. It reminded Lila of someone she knew back in her old school, in Italy. Unfortunately for them, Lila forced them to their fate. And she planned to do the same to Marinette.

Lila watched how Marinette would be abused, yelled at, humiliated, anything to make the girl feel horrible in any shape or form. The brunette watched the strong wall around the girl crack, it took a long time to get to that moment and when it finally arrived, the liar celebrated. The mayor's daughter confirmed her suspicions when she hovered over the younger girl even more than Lila thought was possible. Chloe's protectiveness would easily stop Marinette from breaking, Lila needed to make her turn to dust. And the only way for that blonde barricade to turn to dust would be to get rid of her.

Lila's lackeys laid off the blonde for a while, as ordered by Lila herself, she needed to talk to Chloe one on one. Face to face. One rival to another. The liar was sure that her words and her words alone would drive the blonde far from Paris, crying to her mother and father, begging them to send her away. At first, her words were meaningless to the blonde. That was until Lila threatened to do unspeakable things to Marinette.

"You listen and you listen good" Lila backed Chloe up against the bathroom corner. "You know how far I'm willing to go, don't make Marinette be my first victim. It'll be your fault if it is." Lila hissed the words, quiet enough that no one would hear but loud enough for Chloe to know that she wasn't at all messing around.

Lila smirked as Chloe's brave façade obliterated in front of her eyes, tears the blonde didn't even know she'd shed were dripping to the floor. Satisfied, Lila turned away with a flick of her hair knowing that Chloe would no longer be an obstacle in the way of the final target.

The liar always found it so incredible how Alya, one girl, one clueless girl, was able to be the best pawn in someone's downfall. Even more so when that 'someone' was the pawn's best friend. It was always a beautiful sight, seeing Alya ripping out more and more out of Marinette's heart. Lila had to give credit to the reporter girl, she had given Lila a quick and seemingly effortless rise to power.

Now with Chloe out of the way, Marinette was truly at the mercy of Lila and her loyal minions. The bluenette had virtually no one, she was isolated and excluded from any good feelings in the classroom. From that moment on, the bullying worsened to a height higher than the Eiffel Tower itself. The worst part? Marinette remained resilient, it frustrated Lila to no end. She had to go bigger, wilder. Crazier.

Lila lost count of the many times the bluenette was sent to the hospital, all she knew was that the expenses from all the hospital fees should be growing exponentially. This meant that all she had to do was convince the two bakers that they are wasting their money on a problem that wasn't there to begin with. One day, after a beating that happened bi-weekly, the liar went over to the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie knowing she would find two working parents and a lack of the bluenette's presence.

"Hello Mrs Cheng, Mr Dupain" Lila used her worried voice, one that parents would easily recognise as a voice filled with anxiety and uneasiness. The two bakers quickly got to her side as if she were their own daughter, it nearly hurt.

"Hello, Lila dear! Is there something wrong?" Sabine was acting so much like a worried mother that it almost guilt-tripped Lila out of abandoning her plan. The keyword is almost.

"I just wanted to know if you were okay with Marinette, you know, taking your money even though there's no need for there to be any hospital bills" The liar played the concerned classmate like the many times she did before. Lila herself had projected this image so often that she believed she had perfected the act.

"Money? Hospital bills? What are you talking about Lila? Is there something wrong with Marinette?" She hadn't expected the parents to not know that their daughter was healing at the hospital, or that she was even at the hospital at all. Lila knew that despite everything, Marinette wouldn't steal from her parents, but they wouldn't know that. It provided the brunette with the perfect opportunity. Either Marinette was paying with her own money or-

"I thought- she said you gave her permission to use your money to pay for her hospital bills. Well... there aren't any hospital bills so I wanted to make sure you knew. O-oh no I-I shouldn't have said anything, now Marinette is gonna b-beat me up" Lila brought out the fake tears and hiccups that would fool all who laid eyes upon her. Marinette's parents fell straight into the trap.

She saw the two adults exchange a glance before Marinette's father spoke. "We had no idea, thank you for telling us, Lila. We'll make sure she doesn't harm you again, okay?" Tom handed her a box of pastries and wished her well.

Once she was out of sight of the bakery, the disguise she wore dropped. Instead, it was replaced with the smug smile she always wore when things went her way. If others knew what she was doing, who knows what they'd do. But she didn't bother thinking about that, or the fact that she could have forever crushed the relationship between Marinette and her parents. All she wanted was popularly and to be on the arm of Adrien Agreste.

It took her two years to get to that point, but most of the soul-crushing came in the next year.

~~~

The brunette was walking down an empty, quiet street not far from her house when she heard Alya's voice. It wasn't usually in the friendly and star-struck demeanour that Lila was used to hearing. Naturally, she became curious. When approaching the location of where the reporter's voice was heard, she came across an impressive scene.

The young bluenette was bleeding, beaten to a pulp by her classmates. Lila remembered that she had come up with a lie, a very violent one. This must've been her classmates' retaliation since Lila would never truly ask for them to attack Marinette. She would pretend to stop them from doing so. That reminded the brunette that she never got into any of the beatings before, she'd only watch similar to Adrien. She couldn't let her classmates have all the fun, right?

Being careful not to be seen by Alya and the others, Lila snuck into her house, her mother working late as usual. The brunette looked around the kitchen, searching for something in particular, her hand going in and out of each cabinet, searching. When she found it, she headed back to that alley. Making sure to stay in the dark, Lila waited for their classmates to leave before making her presence known. The girl looked pathetically weak, it was pitiful.

"Oh, Marinette" Lila began, hands behind her back, her voice laced with the truest concern she had in a long time. However, seeing the girl flinch at the sound of the newcomer's voice made Lila proud of herself. Proud in the fear she managed to flood into this girl with her vocalisation alone. "If only you accepted my proposal, this never would have happened."

She now stood, towering over the bluenette who was curled up on the floor. Despite her injured position, determination reeked from Marinette. "No, I will never support your lies." The blue-eyed girl spat with such venom that Lila took a step back in surprise. She recovered quickly, however.

"Fine" Lila spat back, taking out the shiny object that was once hidden behind her. "Be that way, but don't say I didn't warn you"

The liar approached with such a deadly glint in her eyes that it shook Marinette to her core. Lila toyed the small dagger in her hands before slashing the bluenette's right thigh. It wasn't as deep as Lila intended but the blood still made her shiver, but a little blood wasn't going to stop her. Instead, the blade went into Marinette's thrice. Whatever cries of pain and agony the bluenette had made, went unheard by Lila, she'd completely blocked out any noise that would distract her from the task at hand. Before finishing, she gave the bluenette a slash on the back. Lila, satisfied with what she had done, pressed Marinette's head against the wall, her blood-soaked knife resting at the girl's neck.

"I warned you," Lila whispered, slowly stepping back. With an exhale from her lips, the girl walked out of the alley, keeping the blade out of view.

She didn't turn back around to see whether or not the girl had listened. Lila ran back to her apartment to clean up. Her breath quickened as she watched Marinette's blood go down the kitchen sink, her hands shaking as she rinsed the knife under the cold running water. Lila thought she had disposed of the evidence and she quickly got changed, reaching for the house phone when she was done.

"Bonsoir, I need an ambulance immediately." Lila spoke into the phone. The next few moments she talked to the operator, spinning up a story about her witnessing an attack. After the ambulance arrived, Lila ended the call, watching from her apartment window as they picked Marinette up on a stretcher and drove away.

The liar made sure to injure the bluenette but she didn't want to kill her, she wanted Marinette to live and suffer in pain. Whatever happened next was meaningless to Lila, all that mattered was she got the fun she wanted. She didn't need to do anything else other than that.

~~~

A few days after that incident, the beloved boy Lila fantasized about had changed, and not for the better.

Lila noticed how Adrien grew colder, more unlike himself. More... distant. True he still had the money and the fame but the attitude she fell in love with was gone, and she watched it fade away. While she did want to be with Adrien, she wanted his love for her to be genuine, or at least somewhat genuine. The liar now didn't feel the same tingling safeness she once felt by his side. Instead, she grew weary of the blonde model. She knew that if her gut instinct was correct then she couldn't be seen around Adrien anymore, it would be too dangerous. However, she had worked too hard to get to where she was, Lila would be damned if she let all that go to waste.

Hesitantly, Lila moved on to someone else, moved on to a much bigger fish. Damian Wayne.

Damian Wayne, the biological son of one of the richest men in the world. That alone caught Lila's eye, she wanted wealth and power. Another reason was, from what rumours had told her, Damian Wayne was incredibly handsome, probably ten more times as such than Adrien Agreste. Lila then realised just how much she was missing out on. She needed to get in the Wayne Family one way or another. So she gave subtle hints, ones that Alya would be able to pick up on.

And like the decent reporter she was, Alya soon concluded that Lila had wanted and Alya spread the rumour throughout the classroom, every single naive classmate believed said story. They even approached her about it to which she 'accidentally' revealed some information known to only her and the Wayne Family. Her classmates absorbed the lies like how sponges absorb water. Her plan was sold.

Passing by the familiar bluenette, Lila couldn't help but whisper. "Do you ever wonder what it's like to fall off a great height?" She didn't expect Marinette to reply, she thought that the girl would ignore her completely. Much to Lila's surprise, Marinette replied.

"Oh I do" the dull-eyed girl replied, using the same tone that Lila had. "I wonder all the time"

She wasn't sure how or why, but Marinette's reply made Lila shiver. Whether it was the sheer seriousness it was said in or the extreme satisfaction that she had managed to get the girl at a breaking point, Lila didn't know and she didn't plan to find out. She was just glad that Marinette didn't bother to point out her obvious lie about Damian Wayne.

Her plan had worked. It had. Chloe was sent to live in the States, Marinette would soon be wiped off the planet entirely and she had managed to wrap the whole class around her finger. As dusk fell, Lila felt victorious after noticing the bluenette wasn't attending the charity event the Mayor had organized. The brunette had dressed in an orange dress, it was a high low dress which complimented her quite nicely but the colour was not doing her any justice.

She was only there due to the fact it was mandatory, there would be well-known and rich people there and she didn't want to take the risk of being exposed. Luckily, all those she noticed weren't people she had lied about. The brunette had completely zoned out the Mayor as he said his evening speech, until he uttered a single phrase that made her blood pressure drop.

"And finally, I'd like to thank the Wayne Family for joining us this evening"

Lila, like many others in the room, whipped their heads around towards the table Mayor Bourgeois's where aimed to. The eldest man there, though not grey, lifted his glass filled with champagne, saying thanks to Mayor Bourgeois. The rich family who she was lying about regularly, were here at this very event. She was screwed.

"You gotta introduce me to your honorary family, girl!" Alya's excited voice snapped her out of her shocked state. At that moment, Lila concluded, she was absolutely fucked. Before she could protest, Alya dragged Lila by the hand and over to the table at which the almighty family was sitting. As they turned their hands to the two girls, the brunette knew she was as white as a ghost. "Hello Mr Wayne, My name's Alya and I'm your honorary daughter's best friend and I was hoping-"

The man lifted his hand, prompting silencing the girl, and turned to another occupant at the table. Lila recognised the person instantly, it was Marinette.

"Marinette," Lila noticed Alya's expression changed from excitement to shock and finally, anger. Whether it was pointed at the bluenette or the brunette herself, Lila didn't know. "Is this girl you're friend?"

Marinette's gaze hardened on both Lila and Alya, flickering between the two of them. This was the first time Lila would ever admit that she feared the bluenette, her life's work was about to get shattered because of her. "No," Marinette stated.

Alya must've thought that Marinette got onto the Waynes' good side. The reporter tried to defend Lila's honour before getting instantly shut down by Bruce Wayne.

"It would be appreciated if you did not talk about my honorary daughter and future daughter-in-law in that manner. In fact, we should be leaving. Miss Rossi, I will not tolerate your lies. You will receive a lawsuit for defamation and slander. Have a good evening." Lila watched, pale-faced, as the family left. She never thought getting sued was possible, she had diplomatic immunity! The moment they were out of the hall, Alya's head snapped in her direction, rage oozing out of her eyes. The brunette tried to get out of the situation to no avail, the class was glaring daggers into her head. The reporter grabbed Lila by the arm and dragged her to the lobby, the class followed suit.

"Care to explain to me what the fuck that was?!" Alya's harsh words almost made the brunette stumble, had Marinette always dealt with this?

Lila tried to defend herself. "I can expl-"

"NO! You will not explain shit to me when I know for a fact that you're lying! You're nothing but a filthy, dirty, liar!" Lila felt this situation was fitting, Alya was the one to initiate her rise in fame, if anyone were to cause her downfall it would be her. But would she tolerate her dear reporter pawn? Of course not.

"You're no different, Alya!" The brunette knew she was taking a big chance, her attempt to distract the enraged reporter might turn out deadlier than intended. "You're the reason I managed to get this far! Without you, I'd be nothing! I need to thank you, actually, for shoving your best friend aside who was only trying to get you to see the truth. You're just as bad as I am, Alya."

The flash of hurt that appeared on the reporter's face was priceless, even more so when she ran off to cry. Lila thought she would be able to escape from the hotel and back to her house only to be kicked off her feet. Letting out a cry of pain, the brunette quickly stood up to face her attacker, it was Kim. Alix came over as well and slapped Lila into oblivion. Many more were about to unleash the anger of her on her only to be stopped by Nino.

"Don't make us any worse than her than we already are" the boy shouted at them, reaching forward to block Alix from attacking Lila again.

She took this opportunity to escape, back to her only safe place, her home. She ignored their shouted profanities as she ran out of the hotel. It felt as she was running a marathon, not risking a look back in case any of her classmates followed her home. Once she reached her apartment, Lila let out a big sigh of relief, still clutching her cheek in pain. The confrontation from the class had allowed her to forget the gift the Wayne Family had left her, that was until she realised her mother was home.

"Lila Rossi!" The Italian froze at the sound of her mother's infuriated voice. Lila trodded to the living room, her mother was standing in the middle of the room, seething with her phone in hand.

"Mamma?" She replied timidly, letting some of her hair loose to cover her red cheek.

"Don't 'Mamma' me, Lila! What is the meaning of this? Lawsuits! From the Waynes! Do you realise how much money this will take to pay back?! Not only that but I am just learning about your behaviour towards your classmates! I am incredibly disappointed! You are to be sent back to Italy to live with your father! Then maybe you'll learn how to pain this all by yourself!" She had never seen her mother as livid before, nor had she known that her mother would've found out as fast she did.

"But Mamma, I'm only sixteen!" Lila pleaded, there was no way she could do this by herself.

"Unfortunately, I know! Your father and I have agreed to pay with your money for university, which means you will be responsible for paying your own tuition fees. Also, regarding your behaviour towards your classmates, you have been given a permanent record on your student portfolio. Any school you try to apply will know of your actions. Do you know how hard it will be to get into any school now?" Lila's mother sat on the sofa, dragging a hand down her face. "I am very disappointed, Lila. Very disappointed."

Her lipped quivered as she ran to her room and cried. Her life was over in a matter of seconds. Entirely, she wasn't sure who to blame. Alya, the one who caused her popularity and defeat. Marinette, the one who pointed out the lies at the very start and got onto the Waynes' good side. Or Adrien, the boy whose mere existence derived her to make such irrational decisions. But she knew, she knew, it was solely her fault.

Lila had forgotten. When you add fuel to the burning fire, you get burnt. Her life would never be the same, all the work she had now gone to waste. And Damian hadn't even spared her a second glance.

[disillusioned41]

Democracy Now! Sep 7, 2021

“Some Kids Left Behind”: After 9/11, No Safety Measures at Stuyvesant H.S. Led to Sickness & Death

As we look at the public health crisis that followed the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City, we speak with Lila Nordstrom, a student in 2001 at Stuyvesant High School, which neighbors ground zero and was reopened while the site was still burning and releasing toxic smoke and dust. “Our school wasn’t just next to the World Trade Center site, but we were also in the center of the clean-up operations,” says Nordstrom. “There were not any safety precautions being taken to protect us as we walked to and from school. The building that we were attending school in smelled like smoke 24 hours a day for the entire length of time.” Nordstrom is one of the voices in the new PBS documentary “9/11’s Unsettled Dust” and author of a new book titled “Some Kids Left Behind: A Survivor’s Fight for Health Care in the Wake of 9/11.”

For the 20th anniversary of 9/11 comes an awe-inspiring account of the schoolchildren poisoned by the toxic air left in the wake of the Twin Towers’ destruction and the survivor who fought for health care for them in front of Congress and against the odds.

On September 11, 2001, high school senior Lila Nordstrom watched from her classroom’s window as the Twin Towers, mere blocks away, fell. Weeks later, at the urging of local officials and assurance from the EPA, Lila and her three thousand classmates were returned to their school—even though the air was thick with toxic debris, dust, and smoke.

In this remarkable, empowering memoir, Lila shares how the illnesses and deaths of her classmates related to the effects of the 9/11 cleanup spurred her into action. She created StuyHealth and became involved in the fight for the Victim Compensation Fund, working alongside first responders and heavyweights like Jon Stewart, Hillary Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi, proving at every turn that her survivor community also deserves recognition and mental and physical health care and that her voice too deserves to be heard.

This timely tale reveals how tragedy lays bare the American health care system and how corruption and misinformation continue to fail victims of tragedies. An honest, at times humorous guide to advocating for one’s self and one’s community and navigating the cutthroat world of legislation and health care, Lila's story begs us to consider how we as a nation treat our vulnerable communities and how all victims of all disasters deserve care, truth, and respect. Also included is a section on the meaning of advocacy work, what it means to be an active citizen, and how to support a cause you believe in.

Democracy Now! Sep 7, 2021

“9/11’s Unsettled Dust”: Bush’s EPA Hid Health Risks from Toxic Dust at Ground Zero & Thousands Died

As this week marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, we look at an enraging new documentary, “9/11’s Unsettled Dust,” on the impact of the toxic, cancer-causing smoke and dust that hung over ground zero and how the Environmental Protection Agency put Wall Street’s interests before public health and told people the air was safe to breathe. One of the key figures in the film is Democracy Now! co-host Juan González, who was among the first to expose the public health and environmental crisis at ground zero in a series of reports for the New York Daily News. He says the intense backlash from the mayor’s office and federal officials “cowed” the newspaper, but he has no regrets. “My only mistake was believing that it would take 20 years for people to get sick,” González says. “It took about five years for the deaths and the severe illnesses to really become apparent.” Director Lisa Katzman says she made the film because she was a resident of Lower Manhattan who saw the attack and its aftermath up close and wanted “to address the lack of accountability” from city and federal officials. “The same people that were always touting 'Never forget! Never forget!' and constantly reminding us of the heroism of these responders were unwilling to do anything to actually help them,” notes Katzman.

[intercoursefluids]

Reviews Part 2

@fangirling-101 Thank you for all of the recommendations!

Welcoming Change - I am in love with this, the scene with the art room and how he was worried if she would accept him really tugged at my heart, the smut was a nice touch but the aftermath of that was EVEN BETTER

Nannynette - I love how protective Marinette is over Mar'i it's so cute and the fact that she thinks Tim and Kon are together is just glorious especially with Kon trying to wingman for him and ending up just cockblocking best bro has me dead

Love In the time of Taco Trucks - Taco trucks are where love will begin and end, this is not up for debate

Homecoming Confessions - Not entirely sure who Wally is since it's been a hot minute since I was submerged in the DC fandoms but I can recognize good fluff mutual pining anywhere

Birds of a Feather - This was beautifully heartbreaking with the separation and the routine in his honor *Chef's kiss* Beautiful, I also love me some good old exposing Lila too, nice touch

[goggles-mcgee]

How would you plan to expose Lila’s lies in Gotham, and the way it affects her mother?

Answering this one as I got two asks that are asking this! Not to be too spoiler-y but she gets exposed in a lot of ways, first and foremost she gets exposed by an Akuma, then during the aftermath of the Akuma, public figures that Lila had lied about knowing and had slandered or had used their name to get things start calling their lawyers. Bruce and the boys help speed things up when he makes a public announcement about Lila's lies. Bruce has already started to open an investigation on the school but once he finds out about Lila he gets the Regional Council involved because he suspects that if she was able to pull all this off then her mother may be negligent.

All of it hits Mariella Rossi (or Terina I'm still trying to decide which I like better) at the same time. Somewhat anyways. She finds out what her daughter had been up to when she finally gets an email from the school, really from the school board, telling her that Collège Françoise Dupont is under investigation. She is thinking that finally something is being done about the always Akumatized principal, but then she gets caught up in the akuma which i will not say more about as it is major spoilers and I just want to keep y'all in suspense!

Because of the Akuma she learns that everything her daughter told her is a lie, and when the Akuma is dealt with she finally meets the heroes who help confirm that her daughter isn't who she thought she was. Then come the lawsuits that honestly blindside her since she didn't know her daughter's lies had reached that far. And then comes the agents from the Regional Council when they go to investigate her for Child Neglect! At that point it's too much, because she really tried her best with Delilah, despite being a single mother, she thought she was doing good. And as you could guess she does become Akumatized...and she may or may not find out from our favorite butterfly maniac that her daughter has worked for him willingly!

[anjuschiffer]

Amira Wayne - Chapter 19

There’s no way I’m going to keep dragging out this chapter... so here’s the next chapter! Enjoy :3

Chapter 19: Discovery

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P.Tag: @theatreandcomicfreak @damianette-is-life @toodaloo-kangaroo @elijahcrevan @vixen-uchiha @nathleigh

Tag: @we-want-mini-mini @ramos123 @bluesimani @redscarlet95 @greatcatblaze @promiswords @fantasiame @corabeth11 @anonymously-odd @alexandriamw @officiallydarkgeek @galla02006 @maleive07

Special thanks to @m3owww for helping me with translations!

-

MASTERLIST | FIRST | PREV | AO3

The dreaded school bell rang, signaling everyone that school was over.

Despite Christmas being right around the corner, no one was in the Christmas spirit. After all, how could they after what happened?

“Adrien, Sabrina.” Miss Bustier brought to attention, watching as the two glared at Lila as she walked out the classroom with a few of the girls of the class. 

Lila shrunk into herself, a single tear making its way into her eye as she felt Adrien’s eyes burn at the back of her head.

“Yes, Mlle Bustier?” Adrien asked once he saw Lila out of vision, noticing that Nino was waiting for him right outside the classroom. Ever since that day, the trio of friends traveled in a pack, leaving no one by themselves. 

“I was wondering if you could take some classwork and some break work to Chloe, seeing as the two of you are close friends.” Bustier handed a few papers to Adrien, Adrien gently placing them inside his bag. “And Sabrina. How is Marinette?” She dared to ask after handing Sabrina a large manila envelope. 

With Chloé not being in school, Sabrina had to step up as Vice President and do the Class President’s job of dropping off homework to those who missed class. 

Mlle Bustier didn’t expect for Sabrina to scowl, an expression she never saw on the girl ever since she first started teaching her seven years ago.

“Mlle Bustier, shouldn’t you have already made a home visit by now? Actually, in this type of situation, you should’ve done a home visit the day after the incident. But you didn’t. It’s been two week since then.” Sabrina recalled, taking the manila envelope and walking out of the class, waiting next to Nino.

Adrien didn’t miss the way their teacher shrunk into herself, before attempting to bounce back up.

“I’ll try and make a visit later on today. Ever since the incident, the school-“

“Sabrina has a point, Mlle Bustier. With all due respect, I think you should’ve already visited Marinette and have checked for yourself how she’s doing. After all, that’s part of your job.” Adrien bluntly stated. “And a piece of advice? I know you’re trying to act as if all of this isn’t bothering you, but I suggest you stop acting as if nothing happened. Yes, the akuma happened two week ago, but everyone is still recovering from it.

After all, those memories don’t disappear no matter how long ago it happened. So if you would excuse me, I have some dear friends to visit.”

—

It’s been two weeks since the Banshee incident...that’s 14 days since both Marinette and Chloé haven’t been at school...and 14 days without a single akuma attack, the longest period of rest the team had ever had since given their miraculouses. 

When Chat Noir raced to initiate Plan B with Ryuuko and Osprey, they were halted due to someone else beating them to the Eiffel Tower. 

A guy their age had been the one to get rid of the akuma that had been controlling Marinette and not only that. He had also used Ladybird’s power to reverse the aftermath of the battle and bring back Marinette.

While from a distance he could easily be mistaken for Ladybird, up front, you could tell it wasn’t her.

Said one-time vigilante cradled Marinette in his arms, something that broke Chat upon seeing how shaken she was about the whole thing.

Usually all of those affected by Hawkmoth’s manipulation wouldn’t remember a single thing about their akumatization...but Chat knew…

Something caused her to remember every single detail.

“Who-” Chat Noir started, only for the ‘new’ Ladybug to cut him off.

“Ladybird was the one who told me to finish the job for her. She too had been affected by Banshee’s powers before she was even able to transform. She also told me to relay you a message. Do not worry about her identity being exposed, for she was wearing a mask before giving me her miraculous.” The guy didn’t take off the miraculous, making Chat wonder what exactly was going on.

Where was Ladybird? “Ladybird?” Crap, he said that outloud. “Don’t worry too much about her. She’ll be back the next time the Ladybug miraculous is in use.” Lifting Marinette with ease, Chat wondered if that was because of the magic or because he was able to easily do so himself. “Meanwhile, I’ll take her home. Want to lead the way, or?”

“I’ll lead.” Chat solemnly said. “Just make sure you don’t drop her.”

“Roger that.”

After dropping Marinette to her home, Chat never saw that guy again. Not like he had all the time to mull over him. 

He had to ensure Chloe and Lila’s safety as well, although he didn’t want to do so for the latter. 

He first met up with Gris, who had moved Lila inside the Montparnasse Tower. While she wasn’t psychically hurt, mentally, she was greatly injured. 

Chat explained to her of the next step they were going to take next, explaining how she will have to go to mandatory therapy sessions to ensure her well-being, how he will be escorting her to each one personally so that she doesn’t try and worm herself out of them when she said she didn’t need it. 

“You may think we’re only doing this out of duty, which you’re not wrong, but it is also something Ladybird herself wanted to incorporate in Paris. Something about the lack of a rehab system in Paris.” Chat answered when Lila asked why he was bothering to make sure she was fine. “Also something about preventing a second ‘G.’”

After setting up the next therapy sessions with Lila, Chat and Gris headed over to where Ryuuko and Carapace were dealing with Chloe’s rattled behavior.

“She’s inconsolable.” Ryuuko said when Chat asked why Carapace had a shield around him and Chloe. “She tried to run off multiple times, but we always managed to keep her contained.”

“Let me get someone who can help us.” Chat left the group, dropping his transformation in a safe area before returning as Adrien. “Chloe!”

At the call of her name, Chloe stopped clawing her way from the force field Carapace had placed up, looking over to Adrien. 

She threw herself at him and started to cry into his shoulder, crying how she saw her parents abandon her, how her friends also abandoned her. How she witnessed her best friend’s deaths, Adrien not noticing the way the team stiffed upon hearing their civilian names being said. 

Before spiraling into more crying, Chloé mentioned being a failure of a friend, as she couldn’t stop Marinette from becoming an akuma. 

Adrien didn’t once let go of Chloe, telling the team his gratitude for helping her. 

He guided her to her home, wondering where things were going to play out now that the team took the largest blow yet in their fight against Hawkmoth.

But for now, he knew he had to stay by Chloe’s side. 

---

As Sabrina sat on a kitchen stool, she scrunched up the manila envelope in her hand as her thoughts went back to what caused Marinette to lash out the way she did and caused her to turn into Banshee. 

If only Lila didn’t lie about knowing him. If she didn’t lie about him, then her friends wouldn’t be-

“-Sabrina. Sabrina dear, are you alright?” Sabine asked, worried.

“Mlle Cheng! I’m sorry! I got lost in my thoughts and-”

“It’s alright. I’m guessing that’s for Marinette?” Sabine gestured towards the envelope in her hand. 

“Yes. They’re homework assignments and a few notes from Mlle Bustier.” Sabrina said, handing them over to Sabine. “Oh! Here are my notes for her. She’d probably find these more useful than-”

A scream pierced the kitchen air, Sabrina watching as Selina appeared out of nowhere and rushed up the stairs with two other women right behind her, Sabine quickly grabbing her phone and dialing a number. “Mlle Cheng, what is going-”

“I’m sorry about this Sabrina, but you’ll have to leave. Now.”

Without another word, Sabrina nodded, grabbing her bag and started to head downstairs when she spotted M.Wayne go upstairs, two others right behind him…

Was that Oliver Queen?!

Sabrina watched as the trio walked right into the Dupain-Cheng home, wondering what M.Wayne, M.Queen and the other man were doing there.

What is going on?

--

Selina sat on the chaise lounge, Amira letting out shuddering breaths as she laid against her chest.

When Selina had heard Amira’s screams, she felt her heart stop for the umpteenth time that day.

Ever since that day, ever since the day of the appearance of Banshee, Amira had restless nights, recurring nightmares throughout the day and refusing to see anyone except for Selina and her two therapists. 

“Poor pumpkin.” Harley sympathized, draping a blanket over Amira and Selina. “She shouldn’t have to go through all this. She’s just a kid.”

“To think you’re stupid boyfriend-” Ivy started, making sure that the daisies scattered around the room were doing all right...until Harley jabbed Ivy at her side. 

“Pammy,” she gestured to a silent Selina, “sure, Brucie had some fault to this, but it wasn’t-”

“I know, I know.” Ivy sighed, spraying some water on the daisies. “The tiny magically butterfly-”

“Listen, I didn’t convince Bruce to let you two out of Arkham so that the two of you would shit on the man I’m about to marry and what’s he done.” Selina sighed. “I’m sorry, Ivy. It’s just- Bruce could’ve prevented all this if-”

“Of course he could’ve! If he weren’t such an idiot!” Ivy growled. “Selina, seriously? What do you see in-”

“Pammy, Pammy! Remember? Magical butterflies? Get mad and they’ll come for ya.” Harley reminded Ivy, placing her hands on Ivy’s shoulders. “How about we take a stroll and enjoy the sun a bit, eh? After all Brucie did promise us that he’d-”

“Alright. But just until I calm down, alright? And then back to our hotel, okay? Not fond of the fact of being mind controlled by a stupid butterfly man. Haven’t been there and don’t plan on-”

“Then we better get going Red!” Harley grinned, guiding Ivy to the hatch before stopping to turn to Selina. “Selina. Everything is going to be alright. and if you need us to talk some sense into that boy of yours, Ivy and I have your back.”

With that, the two were gone, leaving Selina alone.

Selina pushed a few strands away from Amira's face, placing them behind her ear. Because Amira always kept a straight face and would directly tell you her opinions, that led many to think she was mature for her age. But they were wrong about that.

She was still a child…

A creak at the floor snapped Selina from her thoughts, watching as Bruce peaked into the room.

“How is she doing?” Bruce asked, eyeing the bean bag and bringing it close to where Selina was. He tucked away a loose hair strand from Amira’s face, watching as she flinched from his touch. 

He watched as his daughter turned away from him and snuggled closer against Selina. 

“Not any better since that day. Even Harley is having trouble getting through to her. Doesn’t help that Amira knows her background with the Joker. Doesn’t trust Harley one bit.” Selina looked over at Bruce before breaking the silence. “You can’t keep in doing this to her Bruce.”

“Selina, she’s my child. My daughter. My one and only daughter.” Bruce reasoned. 

“Bruce. She’s 13. Turning 14 in half a year. She’s not the tiny girl who-“

“I know.” Bruce quietly said, dropping onto the bean bag. “I know Selina, but even so, I can’t help but keep treating her as one.” Bruce places his hand over hers. “You’ve seen first hand the cruelty of Gotham. No one is safe from it, not even Batman. Bruce Wayne? He’s been a target countless times. 

I’ve been held at gunpoint, kidnapped, taken as a hostage, mugged so many times I’ve lost count. To top it off, I’ve been stabbed once when Amira was just a toddler and on the brink of death.

Can you imagine what would happen if word got out that I have a daughter?”

“You’re worrying too much Bruce. And if you’re worried about her safety, you can just-“

“I should’ve worded that better. What would happen if word got out that I have a biological daughter?” 

Selina remained quiet. “The media and people alike swarmed Dick when word got out I adopted him years ago. It’s only gotten worse for him now that he’s 18. Families sending invitations to dinner, some asking for some meetings to see me over how WE should merge with theirs...Dick even gets gifts sent to his apartment, which thankfully he tells the delivery man to always send back or use it for themselves. Marriage is the last thing that should be in his mind.

Right now he’s worried about Slade who made an appearance again at Gotham. We aren’t truly sure why he is here, but perhaps he’s back to trying to “claim” Dick as his successor. He’s been at it the moment he found out we got rid of the Court’s eyes on Dick.”

Selina didn’t know what to say, after all, she was there when it happened. 

“When word got out that Jason has also been adopted, do you know how many attempted kidnaps were stopped? How many people who he trusted before stabbed him in the back to try and get some ransom off a planned kidnapping?

And then there’s Tim. There’s rumors already floating of how he will be the newest addition to the family. The walls have ears and I’ve already heard the upper ring of idiots planning on a way to get a hold of Tim. 

Not only will Tim be part of Wayne Manor, but he is also still a Drake. Can you imagine the golddigger's imagination growing wild at the thought of Tim having both family’s wealth once he’s older?”

Bruce dug his face into his hands. “Selina, these are happening to my kids, my kids who aren’t biologically mine. So what awaits for the one who is biologically mine? Will it be just as terrifying as the dangers my other kids face, or will it be worse?

I don't want her to be thrown into that kind of life. Not her. I just...I just want her to be able to live her life as a proper child. Without the limelight, without the multiple targets that would arise to her back when-”

“So you believe that keeping her hidden was the best thing to do.” Selina concluded.

“She’s safe inside.”

“But is she happy?” Selina watched as Bruce tensed up at those words. “Bruce, look at her.” He did. “Do you call this happiness?

She took upon a mantle so that she can get your attention, your acknowledgement of her existence. Why? Why does she have to prove this to you? Her father? A father who claims that he adores and loves her to pieces? Do you want to know why?” 

Bruce remained silent. “Your love for her caused you to deprive her of the same love you claim to have on her. Your ambition to keep her safe caused you to stray from her, causing her to stay at a large mansion occupied with two people: herself and Alfred. 

How was she supposed to see your love for her when you spent the entire day at work and then dived into vigilantism in the night?” 

Selina carefully slipped Amira off her, allowing herself to sit properly on the chaise lounge. “You made things worse once when you dismissed her approaches to you, dismissing her from joining training, letting her-”

“I let her join-”

“You let her train when you realized she was opening up to her brothers, not before then. I get it, you wanted them to get along, but not letting her join from the get go wasn’t the decision you should’ve made. You should have-”

“She wasn’t ready.”

“How would you know that before even letting her have a go at it? She already knew the basics-”

“Knowing the basics won’t do you much and you know that Selina, better than anyone else. She didn’t have Dick’s flexibility and precision, Jason’s strength and quick thinking. She only knew the basics and that’s it. If I had allowed her-

“Mu’quin?” Amira groggily asked, turning to look at Bruce and Selina with glassy eyes. She missed the gaped mouth from her father and Selina’s wide eyes.

When did she know Mandarin? “Mu’quin?” Amira asked again once she pulled herself closer to Selina, laying her head on her lap. “Ma’ma, don’t...go.” Amira slurred as she went back to sleep, never seeing the look on Selina’s face.

Bruce watched as Selina fought back tears, her hand placed over her mouth as she let out a shuddering breath. She kept blinking in hopes of getting rid of the tears, but her efforts were in vain.

Tears slid down Selina’s face as she stroked Amira’s hair, watching as she comfortably rested.

Bruce continued to watch the interaction between Selina and his daughter, happy to see how close the two have gotten despite the short time spent with one another…

“Selina.” Bruce looked at his soon-to-be-wife, holding her hand in his own. “I’ve made a decision. I’m staying in Paris.”

—

“It got quiet.” Oliver obviously stated. “ Think-”

“I don’t even want to know about what happened in there.” Barry cut off, running a hand through his hair.

“Everything good?” Oliver asked, noticing Barry’s unusual quietness. “Another meta-”

“Ever since the incident, Wally hasn’t been...himself.” Barry confessed. “He’s refused to take time off missions, constantly finding something to do. When it isn’t that, he’s always here, staying by -”

The apartment door cracked open, causing Barry to shut his mouth and for Oliver to turn to see who just entered.

“Well, speak of the devil.” Oliver muttered. “Wally, what brings you here?”

“I came to visit a friend, although the question stands. What brings you to Paris?”

“He’s here with me.” Bruce informed, Wally snapping his head to the man. “I asked him-“

Wally uppercutted Bruce the moment he stepped off the stairs that led to Amira’s bedroom. Bruce stumbles back as the pain spreads around his face. 

“It’s all your fault!” Wally screamed, about to punch him again, only for Barry to hold him back. “It’s all your fault that Amira is like this!” 

“Woah, Wally, calm-” Barry tried to speak, only to turn to Oliver for help. With a nod, Oliver began to search for a tranquilizer on him. 

“Calm down?” Wally screamed. “Barry, he’s the reason why Amira got akumatized!” Wally snarled, trying to pry himself from Barry’s grasp. “If only he had let Amira say goodbye to her brother, to give Jason a proper goodbye! If only! But you didn’t.” A dry laugh escaped him. “No, instead, you sent her here, with her bottled up emotions...here! An ocean away from her family, her friends! People who cared about her!”

Bruce remained silent, Oliver watching the revelation with wide eyes. “Did you know how worried I was about her when I heard she was no longer a moment away but now an ocean away? Amira, being sent away like she was some kind of- some kind of, ARGH!” Wally yelled, not noticing how Barry had already let go of him.

Instead, Barry let him empty out his heart. After all, he needed it, just like how Bruce needed to listen to the consequences of his actions. “That day she was brought to HQ against her will, when she connected the fact that Kid Flash was me, she threw herself at me. At first I thought it was because we hadn’t seen each other in a while, that she was relieved to see me. But no, it was more than that.

 She cried. And let me tell you something, she rarely cries.” Wally told Bruce, feeling his fists starting to hurt. “She always has a stoic face on, always having her guard up in public in case others want to try and make a fool of her. A mechanism she always has on to fool everyone, even herself. 

So can you imagine the feeling I felt when I saw her crying not only in front of me, but also in front of Superman? In a place she wasn’t familiar with?” 

Oliver watched as Bruce shrunk into himself a bit. “She was hurting Bruce. Not only because of Jason’s death, not only because she didn’t have someone to lean on, but because of you. 

You keep pushing her away, telling her ‘no’ to anything she could come up with to try and stay by your side. How do I know this? Because when we were younger, Dick always told me how he felt guilty for being the one to worsen your relationship with her. He always blamed himself for everything wrong that went between you and her.” Bruce’s eyes widened. “Didn’t know, did you, Great Detective? 

If you didn’t know that about Dick, then what about Amira? While you believed to have been protecting her by pushing her away from anything related to vigilantism, she ended up misinterpreting your good intentions. Every time you told her ‘no,’ do you know how she saw it? What she ended up thinking in her mind?

That being your blood child wasn’t enough to get your love. That she had to do something to prove herself worthy of your attention, even a crumb. So if anyone’s to blame for the current situation, it’s you.”

Wally let out a huff, feeling his chest thousands of times lighter. “If only you gave her the love she deserves, the life she was meant to live, then none of this would’ve happened. Hope you’re glad with the way things turned out.” Wally huffed, grabbing his bags. “When I come back tomorrow, I better not see your face unless it’s an apology to Amira.”

A laugh escaped him. “Then again, it would take more than an apology to fix this bullshit.”

With that, Wally left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Oliver and Barry didn’t budge, instead, the two men stood there, not knowing what to do when they saw their friend with a hung head.

“Hey, Bruce, you-”

“First Harley, then Selina and now Wally.” Bruce listed. “How was I the only one-”

“Love is blind.” Oliver spoke, finally finding the energy to approach Bruce. “Even parental. All you can do now is move forward.”

Bruce could only nod.

“However, this doesn’t mean you’re off the hook Bruce.” Oliver crossed his arms. “How the hell did you manage to hide your daughter’s existence for the past…” Oliver trailed.

“13 years,” Barry filled in, “she’s turning 14 in July.”

—

Amira let out a sigh the moment she woke up, rolling to her side, away from the afternoon light…

She quickly picked up her phone, noticing that it was already the next day. She placed it back down, wondering how she slept through most of the day. Then again, it was silent in the apartment for once…

Silence...she probably alone...or so she thought.

“Amira.” She flinched, sitting up to prevent another disadvantage. “Amira, how are you?” Slowly, Amira turned her attention to her father. She looked away, hating that tears started to pool in her eyes. “Amira.”

When was the last time she ever heard her name spoken so softly by her father?

“You were right, you know.” She whispered, sitting up. “As you always are. After all, you are the greatest detective in Gotham...and possibly the world, because yes, I know of the countless times you’ve helped the Justice League solve a case they were stumped on. It’s all Wally would talk about sometimes.”

“Amira.” Bruce was about to get closer, but stood by the bed when he watched her curl into herself, her body tensing. “I...I was actually...wrong.” That caught her attention, Bruce watching her loosen her body a bit.

“You? Wrong? Since when?”

“All this time, I thought I could keep you safe if I kept you hidden from the world and yet, it still managed to find you. Or rather, you managed to find it.” Amira watched as her father finally decided to sit at the edge of her bed, the mattress sinking under him. “You managed to prove me wrong, not only once, but multiple times. 

The first time was when you accepted Jason into the family. Then when you finally pushed aside your grudge and accepted Dick into the family. When you accepted him as Robin. Then after his death, you managed to accept his death and move on from it. To be honest, I envied how easily it looked.”

“Even though it wasn’t. I’m still trying to move from it, even now.” Amira added meekly. 

“Then when you came to Paris and continued to move forward. You took up a mantle without a doubt and went with it. You’ve saved countless lives, protected an entire city...all without me. Without my help or intervention.��  

Bruce finally decided to sit down once he saw the opportunity. “You see Amira, I never thought you were ready to become a vigilante, to fight against the cruelty of the world, to live in it and yet...you proved me wrong. You’ve shown me that you were already ready to live in this society riddled with obstacles. You showed me that you were capable of adjusting to whatever was thrown your way...of acting accordingly to society. 

You’ve shown me that you’re no longer the tiny, defenseless infant brought to our home all those years ago. You’re no longer the waddling toddler who had to be spoon fed and changed, having to be supervised 24/7 or else you would fall and earn a new scrape. You’re no longer the girl who struggled to reach the edge of the Batcomputer’s chair nor the girl who couldn’t swing a proper hit.” Bruce wiped away a tear that slid down Amira’s face. “You’re now my pride and joy, a young lady who can easily defend those around-”

“I can’t!” Amira confessed, wondering if her father’s hand had always been this warm...this caring. She pushed it away. “You’re wrong! I can’t defend myself, I can’t defend those-”

“Yes…yes, you can…” Bruce tried to assure, but it made Amira panic even more. “You have a team, don’t you? A wonderful team at that.”

“Didn’t you see what happened to me? I allowed myself to get akumatized. I-I failed.”

“Amira, you didn’t, you couldn’t-”

“I knew what Hawkmoth was capable of and yet I allowed myself to-”

“Amira,” Bruce called to attention. “This wasn’t your fault.” That shuts her up.

“It wasn’t?” She scoffed. “Who let their emotions get the best of them? Who let themselves get a lie get under her skin? Who let themselves get akumatized so that they could get revenge on that little-I am the leader! 

I should’ve known better than to let him take advantage of me! But what did I do?

I let him. 

I let him use me, manipulate me, manipulate my emotions, my anger to his benefit. I let him get the better of me and he got what he wanted. He got the strongest akuma he had ever wanted. 

He destroyed my team’s confidence, our strength.” Bruce watched as his daughter stayed quiet, looking down at her hands with disgust. “All it took was one slip up...and that’s probably why you’ve been here all this time, isn’t it? You stayed so that you could take me back to Gotham, isn’t that right?”

Bruce remained silent. “Well, isn’t it?” 

“No.” Bruce didn’t miss a moment. “After seeing how well you’ve been handling this situation, of how proud I am of you finding your suspect on your own, I’ve decided to stay. I’m going to help you take down Hawkmoth, Amira. 

Even if it’s the last thing you want from me.”

Amira watched as her father left, watching as she was left alone once again. 

Tikki flew out from her hiding spot, quickly pressing herself against Amira’s face. 

“Are you okay?” Tikki asked. Amira didn’t respond. “Amira, we need to talk.”

“That we do.” Amira looked at Tikki with glazed eyes. “Tikki. Spots on.” Heading to her skylight, Amira hesitated to open it. 

How will the Parisians react to seeing Ladybird again? 

That didn’t matter. After all, this will be the last time any of them will see her. 

—

A knock came from the door, Chloé not budging from her place in her bed. Then her phone buzzed, but it went ignored.

She was surrounded by post-it notes and papers, Ladybird’s pictures mixed with class notes and online articles trying to find who it was behind the black mask. 

She kept sitting as the door opened, Chloé not lifting her eyes once, listening as footsteps approached her. 

“So, what did Mlle Bustier say this time?” Chloé asked, picking up an article that analyzed Ladybird’s appearance based on people who’ve seen her after she would detransform. They only got one of the details right. She did indeed have green eyes. 

“What she said last time: an excuse for not coming. Now I see how easily it was for you to push her around.” Adrien yelped when Chloé threw a pillow at him. “Hey! I’m only the-“

“I’m not like that anymore.” Chloé muttered, jotting down something on her phone. “I’ve changed.” She hated it when people said she ‘hasn’t changed in the slightest,’ that she was still the same old Chloe. 

“I know.”

“I’m changing. And for the better!” She quickly added afterwards, remembering her last therapy session she had just two days ago. Gris had dropped her off, but Chat stubbornly made it his duty to wait for her and drop her off. She thanked him when he dropped her off and bid her a good night. 

“I know.” The two friends sat in silence, Adrien watching as Chloé kept lifting papers and setting them down. A vast difference to the Chloe who didn’t move a muscle a day after the akuma attack. The Chloe who would wake up nightmare after nightmare, begging those around her to come back. “When do you plan on visiting-“

“I...I don’t know.” Chloé breathlessly said, Adrien regretting asking her when he saw her hands shake. It would always happen no matter where she was. As long as Chloe remembered the events of that attack, it would happen without question. “Every...every time I gather the courage to see her, I see her.” Adrien watched as Chloe’s eyes began to cloud. “I see Marinette, I see her glaring at me, looking at me in disgust. Just like how my mother would look at me whenever I would...I would try to get her attention.” 

Chloé trailed off, shrinking into herself. “She would then pick me apart, telling me every visible flaw she could see before turning around and leaving me. Just like-“

“But you know she would-“

“I know she would never! But seeing that, seeing her walk away from me so easily, without turning back, without shedding a single tear,” Chloé let out a sniffle. “It hurt. And what’s even worse, Sabrina and you would follow her. You guys would walk away from me and leave me.

You guys left me...without a second thought...”

“Chloé, you know we would never do-“ Adrien said with a hug. 

“I know.” Chloé sunk further into the gesture. “I know you guys wouldn’t. But I can’t help but-“

“It will never happen.” Adrien promised. “We won’t allow that to happen. Ever.” Chloé would only him as Adrien rubbed circles on her back, the two continuing to sit in silence. “You know…” a hum. “What if we threw a Christmas party?”

“A Christmas party?” Chloe asked for clarification, already planning for it. “That...that would be...nice.”

“Exactly!” Adrien smiled, now holding Chloe’s hands. “It can just be us! And of course, Nino, Sabrina and Marinette! Just us and that's it. A party amongst friends!” He watched as Chloe’s lips turned upwards. She was on board. “So? What you think?”

“Let’s do it.” Chloe said with a smile, getting off from her bed. “I could use the change of pace.”

“Okay then! Want to make the invitations or plan out the-”

“Why would we need invi-” Chloe started, only to stare at Adrien with wide eyes. “No way.” Adrien simply grinned.

--

Once Adrien had left, telling Chloe his plan, Chloe started to clean up her bed, throwing discarded plans into her trash bin while she took a pile of post-it notes to another part of her room. Or more specifically, her closet.

She picked up a control, the back panel of her wardrobe opened up, exposing an all-points bulletin, photos of Ladybird scattered around the wall, red threads crossing each other. Notes and pieces of news articles were firmly placed alongside the photos, a few of them crossed out or labeled ‘debunked’.

Chloe placed a photo of Bruce Wayne near the index card where the name ‘Amira’ was written. Unlike the other photo Chloe had of Bruce, this one showed him entering the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. It was from earlier today. And unlike the other photo Chloe got from the media, this photo was taken by Sabrina.

Whether this was the first time he’s been there or not, one question remained.

“Why exactly are you here, Bruce Wayne? Are you the reason why Ladybird has not been appearing for the past two weeks?” 

--

Days went by when Adrien decided to visit Marinette again, surprised to see the Dupain-Cheng residency filled to the brim with...strangers.

“Adrien. What brings you here?” Selina snapped him from his trance, not blaming the kid for gaping at the sight of the apartment. 

Dick came unannounced to visit Amira for the upmteenth time that week, this time bringing Kor’i and Roy along. They were busy chatting with a disinterested Amira. Bruce was trying to scold Dick for it, to let Amira settle for the evening, but with Wally just a few feet away, it wasn’t exactly easy. Barry, Oliver and Dinah were chatting away with Ivy and Harley, the adults not giving a care in the world about releasing information about their other ‘job.’

“I came by to see Marinette.” Adrien quietly said, his eyes catching how Marinette perked at the sound of her name and how Wally turned to him as well. “But it seems like now’s a bad time. I could-”

“Nonsense, come in. Ignore the others. Marinette could use an excuse right about now.” Selina pulled him in, closing the door behind him. Adrien watched as Marinette weaved her way towards Adrien, Wally right behind her. He watched as the trio they left behind either smirked or smiled.

“Adrien. You literally texted me just an hour ago.” Marinette brought up. “You could’ve-”

“Are you doing anything for Christmas?” Adrien asked, earning a tilt of a head from Marinette and quirked brows from Wally before his eyes studied him. Adrien felt a shiver down his spine. “I just wanted to invite you to a Christmas party, of course! It’s just going to be us and a few friends! Your friend could come as well, if he wants to!” Adrien quickly added.

Ever since he met Wally, something about him threw Adrien off. At first, he thought it was because he was Marinette’s friend from the States. Wally himself had said he was on Winter Break and decided to spend it with Marinette so that they could catch up...until the attack happened. So Adrien brushed his worry as just a concerned friend thing. But ever since Bruce came into the picture, Wally had gone...aggressive. 

“I…” Marinette started, looking over to Selina. “Can I think over it?” Marinette asked, Adrien noticing Wally gave Marinette’s hand a squeeze. “If that isn’t too much to ask.” Adrien smiled.

“You got two days to think about it. Use all the time you need!” Adrien chirped, waving goodbye to everyone before leaving the apartment.

“Are you sure about this Amira?” Wally asked her, Amira noticing his concern. “You don’t have to force yourself to-”

“I’m not forcing myself.” Amira confessed. “I...I do need time to think about it though. I don’t want to make any mistakes while choosing their gifts.”

“You’re getting one for me too, right?” Dick asked, Amira turning to see her brother by her side. 

“I’m not going to if you continue to pester me about it.” That earned a dramatic gasp from Dick.

“My own sister!”

While Wally smiled at seeing Amira starting to act like herself again, he couldn’t help but continue to stay on high alert. 

Ever since the akuma attack, something has been off and he didn’t know why. 

Seems like only time will tell.

--

Two days came sooner than wanted, Amira standing outside the bakery bundled up with Wally by her side, the snow welcoming them. 

While her father didn’t want her to go, nonetheless with Wally, Selina managed to convince Bruce to go back to Gotham, telling him that Gotham was never uneventful during Christmas Eve nor the day after. Begrudgingly, Bruce went, dragging Dick, Ivy and Harley back with him.

Selina assured Amira that she had nothing to worry about, to go to the party and have fun.

“Are you sure you want me to go ahead?” Wally asked, managing to maintain the stack of gifts in his arms balanced. “I can just zoom there, drop off the gifts and then walk you-”

“Wally. I’m going to be okay.” Amira assured him. “I just want to walk there by myself. Think about a few things before facing...everyone.” Wally’s mouth formed a thin line. 

“Amira, you don’t-”

“I’m not forcing myself.” She cut him off. “I do want to see my friends again...after all, it’s been almost three week since I’ve seen any of them.” Wally sighed in defeat, bouncing the gifts before taking a step forward. 

“Fine. But seriously. If you end up not wanting to go, just call me or text me. I’ll be here in a heartbeat and keep you company back home.”

“I know you would.” She watched as Wally began to walk away. “Wally.” He stopped, watching as Amira skipped towards him. 

“Yeah.”

“Thank you, for always being by my side.” Amira said with a smile, placing a knitted hat on him. “An early Christmas gift...for you.”

Feeling the tips of his ear begin to burn, Wally turned away from her.

“Thanks...I’ll see you there, okay?”

“Yup.” Amira watched as Wally walked towards the Agreste manor, letting her smile drop.

She walked towards the park nearby, listening as her foot crunched the snow beneath her. She continued to walk, going as far as reaching the carousel in the middle of the park. The carousel was perfectly still, it’s lights lowly dimmed, allowing Amira to see the untouched snow surrounding it. She looked behind herself to see that the only tracks in the snow were her own...so then...why was she still able to hear the snow crunch?

“Amira.” Amira regretted not keeping a weapon on her, cursing herself for going soft. “Amira.” The voice said again, Amira picking the voice coming from her right. But no one was there, not even a pair of footsteps. But this voice...it sounded the same as the time she was- “Amira.”

Swiveling so that she was now facing the path that led to the park entrance, Amira locked eyes with a woman she swore she never saw before...and yet…

She seemed familiar. Amira felt like she had seen this woman before, an odd memory flashing before her eyes as she remembered having once seen this woman. But where?

“Why do you know my name?” Amira asked, her mind running through different plans in her head on a way to escape and tell Wally or Selina about her dilemma.

“It’s been so long, Amira.” The woman said, approaching Amira, not making a sound as she made footprints in the snow. How Amira hated that the woman ignored her question, but it intrigued her to know that they did indeed meet once before. But then the questions still remained. Who was she? And how did she know her name? “The last time we saw each other, you were just a child, an infant. Barely able to walk, even babble.”

Amira watched as the woman got closer to her, now circling her. “You were such a quiet baby, never fussed about anything.” Amira watched as the woman placed her hands on either side of her face, her brown eyes analyzing her. “Now look at you, all grown up. Just how many milestones have I missed?”

“You still haven’t answered my question. Who are you?”

“I thought you would’ve already had your answer by now.” The woman said, letting go of Amira only to pull her into a tight hug. “I’m your mother, Amira. My name is Talia Al Ghul...and I’m your mu’quin.”

Just as Amira was about to ask if she was Talia, she felt herself limp and soon, she saw black.

--

Wally stood at the entrance of the Agreste manor, tapping his foot as he checked his phone for the umpteenth time. Something was wrong.

“What’s taking her so long? It’s literally just a few blocks from-”

“Is Mlle Dupain-Cheng still not here?” It took everything in Wally to not immediately turn around and glare at the man. While the man did take the time to greet him, there was no way Wally was going to buy his act, especially when Gabriel looked like he had seen death and just got back.

“I’m going to go look for her.” Wally muttered, quickly putting back his coat and hat and going out to look for Amira. 

Going back to where they saw each other just minutes ago, Wally noticed that her footsteps lead straight to the park, deciding to follow them. But when he got to the end and noticed that the footprints didn’t continue to anywhere, Wally panicked. Using Speedforce, he quickly zoomed around the park, looking for any trace of Amira, but found none.

“Where did you go?” Wally asked no one, feeling his head begin to hurt, finding it harder to breathe. His head began to ring and then it happened. He saw Amira reaching out for him before being dragged away.

It was happening again…

He couldn’t protect Amira… he failed her yet again.

A scream pierced that Christmas Eve’s cold air, the scream carrying out to Christmas Day itself.

What a wonderful gift to start Christmas Day.

NEXT

[flightfoot]

What salters tend to forget is that Lila is a vindictive person. As much we would like for Lila to get expose the aftermath is not going to be easy. Yes Lila can get expose and loose credibility but she will get Marinette in sort of of way. To put it simply Lila is vengeful. In real life you cant expose people just like that. You have to be cautious. Something that Marinette lack of it.

Agreed. It’s part of why Adrien’s line about humiliating Lila just making her hurt more, and that not turning her into a good person, is important not just for Lila’s sake, but for Marinette’s as well. You have to be cautious when dealing with Lila, and yeah, that’s ironically something Marinette’s pretty bad at - she tends to just charge in to try and do what’s right, but sadly that just doesn’t always work. Something Adrien is well aware of, living with his father.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Letters to Lovers (And the Aftermath of Cherry Wine)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/PKA6csq

by whoscountinganyway

Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Damian Wayne are pen-pals for three years as their schools get in contact to prepare Francoise Dupont a trip to Gotham for all the nearly bilingual students. During that time, Marinette never expected to fall in love (and Damian never expected to fall with her).

Once he finds out about Lila and all of her lies — manipulation — he just knows the perfect way to stop her.

His Angel is never going to be hurt again. Damian is going to make sure of it.

Words: 3243, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, DCU (Comics), DCU, Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Super Sons (Comics)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M, Gen

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Damian Wayne, Lê Chiến Kim, Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Luka Couffaine, Chloé Bourgeois, Kagami Tsurugi, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Bernard Dowd, Roy Harper, Selina Kyle, Batfamily Members, Justice League (DCU), Batman Ensemble

Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Nino Lahiffe & Lê Chiến Kim, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Batfamily Members & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Jonathan Samuel Kent & Damian Wayne

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Pre-Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Pen Pals, Domestic Fluff, Aged-Up Character(s), Protective Damian Wayne, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Past Character Death, Akuma class salt, Kwamis Are Gods, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Visits Gotham City, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Implied Sexual Content, learning to be okay with touch, and gentleness, Slow Burn, which means I know this fic sounds like i'm ranting, but there is plot here

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/PKA6csq

[sturchling]

After the lasso of truth incident the class is facing their usual salt punishment. Lila expelled sent 2 reform school. Alya confronts Mari mocking her happiness and blaming her 4 karma. Mari calls her out saying she's no different than Lila they were basically twins even after Lila left she still lashes at Mari out of jealousy, resentment and 4 supposedly ruining her life when she brought it on herself. Alya stands angry tears fuming based of mean girls scene

Here you go! Hope you like it! Also used something @wannajointhecrabcult commented on the first part for a bit of dialogue. It made me laugh so much when I read it, I had to share it.

 It had been a week since the lasso incident. Lila had already been sent back to Italy and was now being closely monitored by her grandparents, so she could not cause any more damage. The Akuma class was dealing with their punishments well, for the most part. Nino and Rose had finished their in-school suspension and had apologized profusely to Marinette. Both in the required letters, and in person several times. Marinette had accepted their apologies, but had told them it would be a while before she trusted them again. Adrien had finished the assigned extra courses, and realized that the way to deal with tabloids and paparazzi, is not a good way to handle bullies and liars. He also apologized to Marinette, explaining why he had thought the ‘high road’ was a good way to deal with Lila. While Marinette was still hurt that Adrien hadn’t helped her, Marinette did understand why he hadn’t. Ivan, Mylene, and Max were still suspended for three more days, but they had already written their apologies to Marinette and had already paid her for the damages that they had caused. 

 ------------ 

Overall, most of the class had realized that they were wrong and felt bad for what they had done. There was one person, however, who had yet to realize that they were in the wrong. Alya still had two more weeks of suspension, and even when she got back to school, she would be in detention after school for a whole month! Not only that, but Alya had to use all her money to pay Marinette back for everything that she had destroyed. To top it off, her parents had made her delete her blog! That was the pinnacle of her journalistic career so far! All because Alya had posted stories exposing Marinette. Sure, Lila may have been lying, but it had inadvertently revealed Marinette’s true self to Alya. It was all Marinette’s fault that they class was being punished. If Marinette was truly kind, she would have stepped in on their behalf and talked Damocles out of these ridiculous punishments. Alya could have understood a few detentions, but all of this was just ridiculous. Alya was going to make sure Marinette knew how Alya felt about her. Alya got out of the house by telling her parents that she was going to go give the reparation money to Marinette’s parents. But, Alya had other plans. Then, Alya set out in search of Marinette.

 ------------ 

Marinette was just sitting in the park near her home. She had wanted some inspiration for a new design and thought this park would be a great place to go. Little did she know, that Alya was about to appear and shatter the quiet afternoon. Marinette was much happier now, after the whole Damian bringing the lasso of truth to her school thing. She had asked him after how he had gotten a hold of the lasso of truth. He had responded, “My father may or may not know Batman who may or may not know Wonder Woman who I may or may not have asked to borrow her lasso of truth” Marinette just stared at him for a moment, which made Damian worry that Marinette had realized his secret, but she just responded, “Oh. Seems legit.” After what had happened, a lot of Marinette’s class had genuinely apologized to her. Of course, apologies wouldn’t just magically fix the damage done to their friendships, but Marinette and the class were at least being civil to one another again. Marinette was happier than she had been in a long time. But there was one person that Marinette hadn’t heard from since the incident. Alya. But Marinette was fine with that. She wasn’t going to push Alya for an apology. Marinette looked up from her sketchbook when a shadow fell across it, and saw Alya. And somehow, Marinette knew that Alya wasn’t there to apologize. 

------------ 

Alya saw Marinette sitting in a small park, just sketching. Alya marched over and stood in front of Marinette. Marinette looked up at her apprehensively. Alya snidely said, “Don’t you look happy? Your little friend got almost the whole class in trouble. This is all your fault. You whined to your friend and caused all this mess. You got Lila sent back to Italy. You got the rest of us suspended. A real friend would have stepped in and stopped Mr. Damocles from punishing all of us. It was your fault we went after you anyway. You just kept flaunting your success. You ruined everything! You got my blog taken away! You ruined my life! This is all your fault!”

 ------------ 

Marinette stood up, slamming her sketchbook closed. She was fed up with everything that had been happening, and Alya’s little rant just now was the last straw. “It is not my fault that you guys decided to bully me. That is on you. The rest of the class has already apologized. They realized what they did was wrong. You are the only one who hasn’t figured it out. Some small part of me thought it was just Lila that made you act like that, but it wasn’t. You and Lila are one and the same. Both of you are just consumed with jealousy, and can’t get passed it. You take out your anger and jealousy on innocent people. You and Lila could be twins, you behave so similarly. You said that I ruined everything and that it is all my fault, but you brought it on yourself. You didn’t have to do the things you did; you could have talked to me if you were feeling jealous or insecure. Instead, you lashed out and threw a tantrum. I didn’t get your blog taken; you were the one who was posting false stories about me online. I didn’t ruin your life, you messed it up yourself. See you around Alya.” With her piece said, Marinette gathered her things and left Alya standing there in shock. Marinette was almost out of the park when Alya snapped out of it. She whipped around to glare at the young designer as she left, with angry tears filling her eyes, still refusing to admit that the young designer was right about everything.