#lila rossi exposed

[mochinek0]

Reunion

No one from Françoise Dupont High School expected Marinette Dupain-Cheng to walk into the ten year reunion. As far as they knew, she hadn't been invited. Marinette strode in, with her head held high, and walked right up to Lila Rossi.

"I want to thank you for being such a bitch to me, Lila." Mari smiled, "You changed my life for the better."

"E-Excuse me?" Lila questioned.

'There' no way that forcing her out of school and isolating her gave her an amazing life!'

"That whole shit about telling people what they wanted to hear." Marinette began to explain, "I got really tired of defending myself and being told that I had to 'love you' to make you a better person by the staff. I got tired of being stacked with doing shit for free: all that babysitting I never said I would do, the banners, uniforms, clothes, fundraisers! It was exhausting for a fifteen year old."

Mari smiled, "Once you turned everyone against me, I realized how much free time I had! I signed up for homeschooling and worked extremely hard to graduate early. I even skipped a couple grades. It turned out that my husband's family were huge fans of my designs, so they offered to pay for my schooling if I moved."

"Husband?" Lila asked, concerned, "I didn't realize you had gotten married."

"Yeah." Marinette stated, "We met when I was seventeen and got married when I was nineteen; we have two kids."

Lila looked up and down at her arch-rival. Aside from a growth spurt and a larger chest, Marinette didn't look like she had changed at all. She looked like she was in her early twenties!

"So, thank you for bullying me." Marinette continued with a smile, "It was the best thing that could have happened to me."

Lila stayed silent. She didn't know what to say to that. None of her other victims had ever thanked her. She could feel eyes on them. She knew people were listneing in on their conversation. If she started to make a scene, it wouldn't end well.

"We'll, I'm married too!" Announced Lila.

"Oh, congrats." Marinette smiled, "Where is the lucky person?"

Lila spotted a tall, dark, and handsome man walk into the venue.

"There he is." Lila smiled.

Lila watched as her prey came towards them.

'Just a few more feet and I'll be able grab him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind playing along for a few minutes.'

Lila reached out a hand to grab him, when he put his arm around Marinette's waist and kissed her.

"Hello, Habibiti." he spoke.

"Everything okay without us at the company?" Mari asked.

He sighed, "Yes. It was just Grayson being himself."

Marinette giggled, "I'm sorry, Lila. This is my husband, Damian Wayne. Where were you saying your spouse is?"

Lila plastered a smile on her face, "They just stepped out. They had their cellphone out. It must be an important client. We're both models."

'There's no way she is married to this guy! The sooner she leaves, the sooner I can tell everyone I recognize him as an actor.'

Lila couldn't believe her luck. Adrien had just walked though the doors.

'Marinette was obsessed with him for years! Her fake marriage will be exposed and I can get the guy to stay with me. It doesn’t matter how much she paid him. I'm sure I could pay him more.'

"Marinette!" Adrien shouted.

He was quick to run over and hug her, pulling her away from her husband.

"Agreste, put my wife down." Damian growled.

Adrien turned his attention to Damian and froze.

"Hey, Wayne." He smiled, before looking around, "Where are the kids? Where's my neice and nephew?"

'Kids? They're really married and have kids?'

"They're with my parents, Adrien." Mari answered, "I'm sure they're being fed sugar and will pass out soon."

"So, is that an invite?" the model asked.

"To my parent's place for sweets?" Mrs. Wayne questioned, "You live here! They call me like once a week saying you were at the bakery!"

Adrien chuckled, "No. What about my time with the kids?"

Marinette looked to Damian, who shrugged. She turned to Adrien and shot him a look.

"Tell you what, you can see them in two days." she replied, "A whole day with Uncle Adrien."

'Uncle Adrien?'

"Really?" Adrien cried out, happily.

"But, you got to plan it." she answered.

"Disneyland Paris?" the Agreste heir suggested.

"Fine." Marinette growled, "But if you lose one of my kids, again, I will hurt you."

Adrien glanced towards Damian.

"Adrien, if you think my husband is scarier, just because you have seen his sword collection, you're wrong." Marinette Wayne declared, "You lose one of my children, I will hurt you worse than my husband could ever imagine."

"Got it." Adrien smiled, "Plan awesome VIP experience for the kids!"

"Great!" Mari smiled back.

"Man, you moving really toughened you up." the model winced.

"I punched my brother-in-law the first day there because I thought he grabbed my ass." Mrs. Wayne spoke.

"That is still one of my best days ever. No one has underestimated you since." Damian stated, before kissing her head.

"So, what are you doing here?" Adrien questioned, "Didn't you graduate like two years before us?"

"Oh, I just wanted to thank Lila for bullying me and getting me homeschooled." Marinette smiled, "It sucked that she bullied me, at the time, but if she hadn't done that, I wouldn't be with Damian and we wouldn't have our kids."

Adrien quickly turned to Lila, "Thank you for being a bitch to my best friend. I love my niece and nephew. Marinette, do you think we should get her like a fruit basket or something?"

Mari laughed, "We have dinner plans so we're gonna head out. Enjoy the reunion, Adrien."

Adrien took a step back and eyed Marinette's dress. It was a short black bodycon dress with puffy transparent sleeves. He eyed the black heels, warily.

"Dressed like that?" he questioned.

"Eyes on my wife's face, Agreste." Damian growled.

Adrien rolled his eyes, "She's all yours. I don't think I've ever seen you dressed like this, is all. You think you'll be able to take care of the kids dressed like that?"

Marinette answered, "They are staying with my parents tonight." before walking away.

Adrien watched as Damian placed his hand at Marinette's waist, likely making sure she didn't fall in those heels.

Adrien smiled, evilly, "Hey, Marinette!"

The designer turned to look back at her friend.

"I want another neice or nephew!" he shouted.

Marinette's face morphed from shock to embarassment, before she quickly glared at her best friend. She squeaked as she was quickly lifted into her husband's arms.

"Damian, you put me down!" she snapped at him.

"No." her husband responded.

"Why not?" she growled.

"Adrien won't get his wish if you're in jail for harming him." Damian smirked.

Marinette buried her face in her husband's chest and remained silent.

Adrien laughed as Marinette was carried out of the reunion. Nino walked up to him, confused.

"You….You kept in touch with Mari?" he questioned.

"Of course!" Adrien smiled, brightly, "I helped her with her math sometimes and she talks with Father about designing. She's my best friend."

"Designs?" Rose asked.

"Marinette is a fashion designer in the states." he answered, "Her husband's family runs an international company. She occasionally designs for their clothing line, but they do other stuff, too. Marinette has an office in their building, but she mostly does custom work. I think last year someone asked for a wedding dress. It was around $25,000."

"Seriously?" Alya asked, full of surprise.

"Oh yeah!" Adrien smiled, "She's an amazing deisgner. A lot of her dresses and suits have been coming out on runways and red carpet events."

"You're forgetting that she bullied Lila!" cried Sabrina, "She was mean to her! How can you be friends with her?"

"Actually, it was the other way around." Adrien stated, "Lila once claimed that Mari pushed her, after school, so hard that she injured her knee and was forced to walk home with a limp. I tried to tell you that Marinette couldn't have done it; Marinette had been with me the day before. You told me I was just confused. You never let me speak. You just decided Lila was right."

The class just stared at him.

'Had they really done that? Had they ignored Adrien when he tried to defend Marinette?'

"You never listened to me or Marinette when we told you about Lila being a lying bitch." he shrugged.

"But you're married!" Kim shouted, "How can you choose Marinette over a model?"

"I didn't. I'm bi and dating a male model from my father's company." Adrien announced, "Lila was fired when she was sixteen. Wasn't Lila held back a grade? Why is she even here? You didn't graduate with us or even from this school."

"It was a computer error!" Max spoke up, "Lila said that-

Adrien rolled his eyes, "Her mother called Natalie and declared she was owed a meeting with my father. She said we ruined Lila's future by forcing her to model. She threatened to sue the Gabriel brand until we showed her the 'signatures' on the forms. Turns out, Lila forged those so her mother's hands were tied. Her mother started shouting how she should send her to boot camp, back in Italy, as the left the house."

One by one they turned to look at Lila.

"i-I wanted to see everyone." she whispered, weakly, "I missed my friends."

"Thank for stopping by." Adrien stated, "You can leave now."

"Adrikins!" Chloe shouted.

"Chloe!" Adrien called back, "I missed you. We loved that spa treatment. You're the best!"

Chloe smiled and pulled Adrien away from the rest of the group to socialize with the other students.

"You still talk to that trash?" they heard Chloe ask.

"Rossi?" Adrien questioned, "Nah. You missed Marinette by a couple minutes. She came here and thanked Lila for being a raging bitch. The rest of them were still trying to kiss ass."

"The queen, herself, and I missed it." the Bourgeois heiress teased.

"Date night." Adrien quipped, "She brought Damian and the demon brigade."

"I missed the little ones?" she screeched.

Adrien laughed, "They're with her parents. Better book your time with them before they leave again. Oh, and Mari is already threatening bodily harm if anything happens to them."

"You lost one last time!" Chloe cried.

"I said I was sorry!" Adrien rebutted.

Chloe scoffed, "You're lucky you didn't die that day."

"I know." Adrien sighed, "Would it be weird if I put them on one of those kid leashes? I feel like they would fuck with me and purposely try to get lost to see me sweat, again. Honestly, I don't know if it's a mini Damian or mini Marinette. Don't get me wrong, Damian is frightening and he could probably work in the CIA torture room, but seeing Marinette pissed off, scares the living crap out of me. She's creative and could probably make something specifically to hurt me."

Chloe looked up from her phone, "I bought you the leashes. They'll be here tomorrow. You're welcome."

"Chloe." Adrien replied, "You didn't answer me."

"I was frenemies with her for years, Adrikins." Chloe answered, "Mari will find some way to hurt you and she wouldn't need her godly husband to do it. You have every right to fear for your life for pissing her off. Look at what happened to the idiot brigade: they believed a liar and bullied her. None of their dreams came true. The Waynes own half the companies those idiots wanted to work for. I wouldn't put it past Damian to rat those losers out to his family and have them blacklisted. You have seen how overprotective he is of their kids; he's the same way with her."

"True." Adrine sighed, "He still yells at me when I hug her."

"Idiot." Chloe declared, rolling her eyes.

The class looked at each other before pulling out their phones. They looked up Marinette and the Wayne family. The class shifted nervously as they realized what Chloe had said was true. The Waynes and Marinette owned their jobs. They were all comfortable with their jobs, but they weren't anything to brag about. They had all wanted bigger and better things at thirteen.

None of them were the doctors, rock stars, DJs, journalists, environmentalists, or the Olympians they thought they would be. They worked desk jobs or became something close to what they wanted. Lila knew she would never model again when Gabriel told her that he was going to blacklist her. The Waynes owned everything from food to biolabs to steel to shipbuilding and aerospace. Lila silently left the reunion as everyone came to terms that their dreams ended long ago.

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[sturchling]

Lila believes herself to be the Queen of the school

Turns out that she only has power on her class but her delusions don't let her see it

Until the end of the year dance, where she realices that only her class voted for her to be the Queen

And after she doesn't get akumatized (maybe because some other queen-wannabe was or because Gabriel isn't in París) she throws the biggest tantrum in the history of Dupont

Meanwhile Marinette is enjoying her night with her new friends

Lila was so excited for this weekend. It was the end of the year dance and everything was going to be perfect. Her dress was gorgeous, a Gabriel original that he gave to her so she could show off his newest designs before they were officially released to the public. She had Adrien as her perfect date, though he had been reluctant. But a little pressure from Gabriel and Adrien fell in line. And with everyone believing her lies, she was one of the most, if not the most, popular girls in school. She was a shoe in for Queen of the dance. Everything would be perfect, at least so she thought.

What Lila didn’t realize is that only the class believed her lies. Everyone else in the school saw her for what she was. A ridiculously bad liar and nothing more. In Mrs. Bustier’s class Lila may be popular, but with the rest of the school? She was low man on the social ladder. Her reputation was only damaged more when Marinette was practically forced out of Mrs. Bustier’s class because of the lies.

Marinette didn’t purposely bad mouth Lila, but word did get out of what exactly she had been doing to Marinette and the school hated her all the more for it. Marinette was close to everyone, and always so kind, so the rest of the school was outraged at what had been done to her.

As the day of the dance drew closer, everyone grew more excited. The end of year dance was always great. Time came for the dance’s court to be announced. Each class nominated one boy and girl to be a part of the court and have a chance to be crowned king and queen of the dance. Of course, Lila and Adrien were nominated from Mrs. Bustier’s class.

Marinette rolled her eyes seeing them on the ballot, but focused more on cheering on her new friend Carrie, who had been nominated for Marinette’s new class. Marinette also finished up the dresses and suits for her new friends, so they would all look amazing on the special night.

Soon, it was time for the dance. Lila arrived with Adrien and was immediately crowded by her minions. So busy with them, she didn’t even notice that the other students practically avoided her at all costs. All the focus of Mrs. Bustiers’s class was on Lila, and that was how she liked it.

Then Marinette and her group arrived. They were gorgeous in their new dresses and all eyes turned to them. A large crowd gathered around to look at the dresses, and even a few of Mrs. Bustier’s students started looking towards Marinette. Lila glared at the young designer for taking the spotlight off her, but brushed it off. As she started spinning a tale to get the class’ attention back on her, she let her mind wander. Not like Marinette actually matters, she can have this one. All attention will be on me where it belongs soon enough, when I become queen.

Soon, it came time to crown the king and queen. Adrien won king in a landslide, not that he particularly cared, but he smiled and accepted his crown anyway. Lila sat preening, waiting for her name to be called next. “And the queen of the dance is- Carrie!” Lila was shocked in silence, as was the rest of her class. How could she lose? She is one of the most popular girls in school.

But she didn’t panic, she just let the anger and rage consume her, and waited for the butterfly. He always showed up when she was angry. So she waited. And waited. And waited. But it never showed. What she didn’t know is that Gabriel had left town to go to fashion week in New York. She was on her own. No helpful supervillain or butterflies to help get her way this time. So, as Carrie began to speak and accept her crown, Lila stormed the stage.

“I demand a recount! This can’t be right! I’m the most popular girl in school! That is my crown, I should be queen! How could some nobody like you beat me!?” Lila stood there, expecting some push back, but also for the school to rally around her. Mrs Bustier’s class agreed and called for a recount as well.

Mr. Damocles just sighed. “If you insist, we can do a recount, but it will be quick. Almost everyone voted for Carrie, only your class voted for you Mrs. Rossi. Now, if there is nothing else, please get off the stage and let Carrie finish accepting her crown or you will be removed.”

The whole school was laughing at this point, laughing at her. How dare they laugh at me. Lila furiously whipped around and glared at everyone. “Stop it! Why are you laughing?! Stop that right now!” Someone in the crowd called out “We are laughing at you for thinking we would fall for you lies like your class did. They may believe you, but you are a pretty poor liar.”

The laughing continued, as Mrs. Bustier’s class looked around confused and asking why they thought Lila was a liar. Lila saw everything crumbling around her, but she couldn’t let this go. She couldn’t just stop here and focus on keeping her class in her thrall instead of getting this crown she had already lost. So she continued yelling and screaming about how it wasn’t fair and she deserved that crown. She threw a tantrum that would put Baby August, the frequent akuma, to shame.

It ended up that Mr. Damocles did have to have Lila escorted out of the dance and then up to his office to call her mother and discuss her behavior tonight. As she was taken out of the hall, she was still kicking and screaming, yelling about how it’s not fair and she never loses. By this point, Carrie had her crown and was back with Marinette and the rest of her friends. The small group just watched the show unfold with smiles on their faces. Forget the band, this show of Lila’s tantrum was the best entertainment they had all night.

[sassyduckqueen]

The Fox and The Fae

Ok so this is my take on a modern day fairytale kind of story. Would you guys like some more chapters? I've currently marked it as a one shot but I'm thinking about adding some other chapters focusing on Alya, Chloe (or Zoe possibly) and maybe some other characters and the deals (or curses) they make with or from Luka.

=====================================================

Lila looked around with an expression of disgust on her face as she walked down the steps towards the Seine. It was the last place she wanted to be, especially with how unsightly it was but she was desperate. In her mind, she believed that she should be worshiped by all who saw her. She was a goddess and deserved to be treated as such. However, her life was not what she envisioned at all. She was almost 21 and she still wasn't famous or adored. She still wasn't filthy rich or had a hot and rich guy on her arm. The media had no idea who she was and she was working as a lowly advert actress and a small time model when she deserved to be up there with a A listers. Well, that life wasn't good enough for her but she didn't want to have to work for it. Oh no, Lila believed that what she wanted should be handed to her on a silver platter. She was destined to be one of the elite and she knew it. However, her usual methods of cheating and leeching off others didn't working in the way she wanted so she had to come up with something, which is what lead her to The Seine or as she called it the slum area. Paris itself was home to many supernatural creatures and she had tried every trick in the book but they weren't good enough. Nothing was. She had been to several of the supernaturals in the city but they could only offer her charms to briefly improve her luck or a hex that will curse her enemies. Some had offered her spells to bring in some positivity or some had done rituals for her but none of them lasted and she wanted something more effective and permanent. She wanted her name to be remembered forever and for anyone who had tried to cross her to get exactly what they deserve and suffer. Naturally there had been some in her life but one stuck out. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. A half breed witch who tried to expose her in their school and was currently living a good life. Well, that wasn't fair which is what lead her to here. Of course, she wouldn't be seen dead here normally but she had tried everything else so now she was going to the place where she knew someone would be able to help her. However, she went in disguise. She couldn't risk been seen here plus the Seine was rough. It was home to the low class humans, witches and worst of all the fae, an extremely attractive race with a reputation worst then werewolves. The fae were treated poorly, forced to live in awful conditions and were labeled as scum, tricksters and other degrading names. Despite this, they were one of the most powerful race when it came to using magic and the only creatures that could give her what she wanted. Due to been very unpopular in Paris, they were hard to find but she had managed to track one down with the help of her sheep, Alya. The fae supposedly lived in a houseboat in the Seine river and was her last hope. However, he had a rep of been a bad guy and been extremely dangerous but Lila didn't care. She wanted her promised life and would do anything to get it. She came to a stop as she saw the boat she was looking for, frowning to herself before she took out a fox tail pendent and put it on. One of the reasons why people didn't like the fae was because of their ability to detect when people were truthful or not. No one quite understood how it worked but faes were said to be able to look into the very soul of people and that made them uncomfortable, which was why Lila had the pendent. It had a powerful charm on that would protect from the fae's truth seeking eyes. Satisfied with it, she stepped over to the boat and climbed onto the gangplank before heading onto the boat. She grimaced at the scattered boxes and papers that littered the deck but shook it off. She walked over to the entrance to the cabin and began to descend down the stairs into darkness.

  "Hello?" She called, looking around but she couldn't really see anything. "Is anyone home?"

  "Oh, we have a visssstor," A voice hissed, making her jump and look where it came from. Instantly, she saw two glowing eyes that were teal green in color and snakelike.

  "I don't recall having any visitors," A second voice added, though this one sounded more human. It was actually a very nice voice. It was softly spoken and almost musical. Almost instantly, she felt her body relax as she walked over, unconsciously drawn to it. Another reason why people hated faes. They were naturally seductive with how they were and how they spoke. "And what do you want?"

  Oh, she could listen to that voice all day... but she needed to remember why she was here.

  "I..." She mumbled, shaking her off the fog in her mind and putting on her innocent act. "I hear you have the power to give people their hearts desire,"

  "Hmm," He replied as she watched. The eyes moved suggesting the fae was getting up before a light came on, revealing a large amount of snake tanks and a young man. Lila studied him as he glanced at her. He was very attractive but the fae were supernaturally beautiful. His hair was black with teal blue highlights and his skin looked slightly tanned. He wore black ripped joggers and a white tank top, showing off his toned arms that had tattoos of snakes going up them. It was clear that the fae had snakelike features too. The most obvious was his eyes but he also had a number of green teal scales across his arms and neck. Lila felt a little uncomfortable as she glanced at him but that discomfort turned to fear as she felt something sliver over her feet. She looked down and screamed as she saw a snake that looked up at her and stuck its tongue out. She felt panic rise as she wanted to kick it but before she could, the fae was in front of her. "Not fond of my reptile friends hmm?"

  "I... I'm afraid of snakes," She gasped, actually telling the truth for once. The fae smiled at her before turning away. "Could we go outside?"

  "Why? They're not going to bite and most of them aren't poisonous," He replied, looking back at her. That's when she noticed the snake resting around his neck. It would have been beautiful to anyone not afraid of them. It was teal green with dark teal diamonds across it's body and a hood around it's head like a cobra. His eyes searched her features, making her feel like he was searching her soul before they flickered down and landed on her foxtail pendent before he sat back down and glanced at her. "Well, aren't you here for a reason? Tell me what you desire, Little Fox,"

  "I... I would like to be famous," She replied, trying to seek shy and meek. "It's been my desire-"

  "So you want a little fame?"

  "A little fame? I want more then just a little fame!" She gasped, pinching her nose before realizing she almost lose her cool. She took a deep breathe and shot him a smile. Not that he was looking. He was holding one of his snakes and sticking his tongue out at it in a playful manner. It made her feel sick when she saw it was forked. "I mean I want to be the most famous person on the planet if you can do that. I really want my name in every newspaper and to be up there on the red carpet with all of the A listers. I want to be so famous no one will ever forget my name,"

  "Interesting," He replied as she took a breathe. "I can definitely do that. Is there anything else you want?"

  "Oh yes, there is," She replied, ready to turn on the water works. "T-There's this woman who has been making my life awful since high school. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She use to bully me and she constantly makes it hard for me to reach and work for companies. I'm sure she's had me blacklisted. I can't even order of her website because of this,"

  She began to cry, making the fae frown but not for the reasons she thought. He heard the name Marinette Dupain-Cheng before. He was sure she was a friend of his sister and Juleka had said she was nice. He turned his attention to Lila. Depending on what she said depended on what he could do.

  "I'm sorry... I just..." She sniffed. "I j-just want her to finally get what she deserves. I've tried to be the bigger person but... she just doesn't stop,"

  "I see," He replied, frowning. He wasn't sure he believed her but he couldn't tell with her pendent on. Luckily, she had said 'get what she deserved' which meant he could easily work it so he doesn't harm her. 'Getting what she deserves' can be considered a grey area, meaning he can do anything he wanted as long as he deemed it 'what she deserved'. Yes, he could still honor the contract without harming anyone. Sure, he had cursed a few people but he didn't like to if he didn't have to. "Well, I can easily do those things. Fame and fortune. It's yours and getting even with this person. Easily done,"

  "Really?" She gasped, surprised. "When can you do it?"

  "I can start immediately. Of course, it will take a little time for your fame to skyrocket but I promise it will," He replied, making her frown a little. "It's only natural that I have to make some spells and pull some strings but of course, none of this can happen until we've discussed a price that is,"

  "A Price?" She questioned surprised. She had heard Faes didn't charge a fee. "I was unaware,"

  "Of course, my services don't come free," He replied, smirking. She frowned as if she hadn't expected that. "All magic comes with a price, Lila and fae magic is typical expensive,"

  "Expensive?" She echoed. "I don't have a lot of money,"

  "My price is fairly simple in it's nature but still rather costly," He replied, waving his hand. A contract appeared out of thin air, making Lila gasp. "€150. Once you sign the contract, it can't be altered or amended,"

  "That's all?" She asked, making him nod. She would have to live with all her fame and her enemies getting what they deserve. It sounded like a fair price to her. "That seems pretty cheap and fair to me,"

  "Then if you're satisfied, sign the contract," He smiled, holding out a pen. Lila snatched it out of his hand and grabbed the paper, signing on the line at the bottom. As soon as she did, the contract and pen appeared in the fae's hand. "Excellent! Glad to do business with you, Little Fox,"

  "Oh thank you so much!" She gasped, smiling before she left as he smiled back. As soon as she did, the smile left his face as his snake moved around his neck.

  "She wass wearing a protection amulet," The snake hissed. "Are we sure she's telling the truth? Should we grant her wissh, Luka?"

  "A deal is a deal, Sass," He replied, folding up the contract and putting it with the others he had. "She will have her fame and Miss Dupain-Cheng will get everything she deserves,"

  ~A Couple of Weeks Later~

  Since making the deal with the fae, Lila's life had dramatically improved. She went from been a barely known actress to an A-star Celebrity. Woman wanted to be her and men wanted her. She had adoring fans who screamed her name and cried when she walked past. She had landed herself in a relationship with a pretty handsome man. She was on top of the world and richer then she had ever imagined. She had it all but it wasn't enough. She could have all the money and fame in the world and it would still not be enough because Marinette Dupain-Cheng hadn't suffered yet. Her business was still successful. She hadn't been made an example of nor had she disappeared of the face of the earth. If anything, she was getting more popular. To say Lila wasn't happy was an understatement. Sure, the fae had told her that it would take sometime but she wanted her nemesis to fall now! Which was why she was storming towards the fae's boathouse to demand he destroy her life. She stormed onto the boat and stalked into the living area, where the fae was sat with his snakes.

  "Hello, Little Fox," He stated, making her glare at him. "Something wrong?"

  "Wrong?!" She screeched, making him frown. "Wrong?! You were suppose to punish Marinette and make her suffer!"

  "Hmm I don't recall that been in the contract," He replied, making her grit her teeth. "But I don't really see the issue. You have your fame and fortune. Why fixate on Marinette?"

  "Because I want her to suffer!" She screamed, stamping her foot before she pointed at him. "That was part of our deal! You need to honor it! My wish was for her to suffer!"

  "Incorrect," He replied, causing their contract to appear in a puff of teal smoke. "I have it right here and it states 'I want Marinette to get what she deserves' nothing more, nothing less. Since you failed to specify exactly what that was, I decided the best course of action was to leave her alone since that's what she deserved,"

  "What?!" She screamed. "You useless puck!"

  The entire room's feeling changed as soon as that word left her mouth. The term puck was considered extremely offensive against the fae. It basically implied that they were nothing but pranksters and trouble makers. The fae's eyes turned green and more snakelike as Lila stepped back, realizing her mistake before she ran out of the boathouse. The fae's eyes narrowed as he watched her scamper out. She thought she could run from him but that wouldn't help her. He had cursed people for less.

  "Luka," Sass's voice made him look over and stroke the snake's chin. "Are you ok?"

  "I'm fine, Sass," He replied, looking at the contract in his hand. "Isn't the first time and won't be the last I've been called that but like the last time, her deed won't go unpunished,"

  "What do you intend to do?"

  "Lila asked for fame and for this girl to get what she deserved right?" He answered, making the snake nod. "Well then I think Miss Rossi should get exactly that. By the time, I'm done with her, she'll wish she never met me but first I think it's time I paid Miss Dupain-Cheng a visit to determine exactly what she deserves. Though I have a feeling it won't be what Lila envisioned,"

  "And the fame part?"

  "Oh, I'll give her a week to enjoy her new lifestyle while I deal with the second part of her contract. Once that's done, Lila will go down in history. Everyone will know her name and never forget her," Luka replied, making the snake look at him but the devious smirk on his lips told him that it was as simple as Lila been famous for been an actress. "She will get exactly what she wanted whenever she wants it or not,"

  "She'll learn the hard way why one should not make themselves the enemy of a fae,"

  ~Marinette's Shop~

  Marinette hummed to herself as she flicked through the magazine she was reading. Lila had been on the front cover but despite what people now believed about her, Marinette wasn't mad. She was actually happy for Lila. She had never wanted to be her enemy and just didn't get why the girl couldn't be honest. Even after Lila had tried to destroy her, Marinette had given her a second chance. Come clean to the class and all will be forgiven. She had done the same with Chloe so she could do the same with Lila. Unfortunately Lila decided not to and proceed to turn almost everyone against Marinette. Something that lasted through her adult life too. Even after they had left school and moved on their careers, Lila chose to slam her at every chance she could. Whenever it was a snide comment when she saw her, whispering horrible rumors about her to her ex best friend who would then post said rumors on her news blog or just leaving a bad review on her shop, Lila was determined to ruin her. Luckily, she still had a small number on her side but she had lost a lot of 'friends' to Lila over the years but she guessed they weren't her true friends anyway. If they were, they wouldn't have believed Lila nor encouraged her to do the embarrassing and frankly creepy things in her attempt to get the attention of Adrien Agreste, one of the few faes in the city who weren't treated badly. That was probably because he was rich and part of the seelie court, which was also known as the summer court but he didn't stay by her side, despite insisting he was. No, he insisted she take the 'high road' and got annoyed at her when she decided not after losing her crush on him. Honestly, she didn't see what her younger self saw in him. She was grateful to the people who did stay by her side though. One of the people who did side with her was part of the seelie court just like Adrien but she was treated badly due to her choice of lover. Her name was Rose and her girlfriend was Juleka, the other person who stayed on Marinette's side. The thing was Juleka was half fae, half human. She didn't fit in anywhere. She was considered a freak to most witches and humans for been half fae, she didn't fit in with the seelie court as her family were part of the unseelie court but she didn't really fit in with them either. Though from what she had told Marinette, none of her family members fitted in with the unseelie court despite been full bloods either. In school, she was picked on for it, especially by Chloe, though the blonde had since changed her tune after been cursed by Juleka's brother. According to her, her brother was one of the most powerful faes in the unseelie court and had cursed Chloe with a karma spell. To say it humbled her was an understatement and she wasn't the first person to be cursed by him nor the last. Apparently, he had cursed the musician XY and his father, Chloe's own family and a number of other people but from what Marinette had heard, most of them deserved it. That didn't mean she wasn't afraid of him. She had made a mental note to never piss him off if she met him. Of course, his curses had put him at odds with the magical councils yet he got away with it. She was pretty sure he only got away with it because they were scared of him and because none of his 'victims' had been mortally wounded nor were they really victims. It had turned out that each one of them had done something wrong. XY and his father had stolen music and other creative ideas from a number of musicians, Chloe's family were corrupt to the bone and arguable to blame for Chloe's own behavior. Sure, she was partly to blame as well but she never would have become that bad in the first place if her parents hadn't given into her every whim. His other victims were far from innocent too. They ranged from criminal gangs to other corrupted politicians. Either way, his curses had been blessings in disguise. Chloe had since became a way better person, her family humbled, the artists that had their work had their thieves brought to justice and their work returned to them and the victims of the other cursed got justice. All in all, it worked out for the better. The bell rang, making her jump a little and look up.

  "Hi, welcome-" The greeting died in her throat as she stared at the very fae she had been thinking about. Luka Couffaine, Juleka's older brother. She never thought she would ever see him in her store. From what she knew, he tended to stay at his boathouse at the Seine, preferring to deal with his magic and his snakes but she had seen enough photos of him to recognize him. As she stared at him, the fear she felt disappeared and was replaced by attraction. She knew fae were extremely beautiful. Rose, Adrien and Juleka all were but Luka was something else. Not only was he gorgeous but he had an air about him too. Everything about him screamed hot. His hair, his body shape and his eyes. Oh his eyes. They were so hard to look from. They were snakelike but ocean blue in color. As he stepped into the shop, Marinette couldn't help the little whine that escaped her lips. She felt like she was in the presence of an actual god. The pictures she had seen did not do him any justice at all. "H-Hi, can I help you?"

  "Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" He asked, making her want to faint with just the way he said her name. She weakly nodded and tried not to faint as he tilted his head to the side as a smile appeared on his lips. "Well, Juleka never told me how pretty you were,"

  "I... um..." She blushed as he smiled. "S-Same here,"

  He chuckled as she went bright red before he closed the door.

  "I need to talk to you about a recent contract of mine," He stated, making her frown. Luka was what you might call a deal maker but it was rare for a witch to get involved with it. She walked over to the door and moved the sign to say closed. "Is there somewhere private we can go?"

  "We can talk in the back," She replied, making him nod and follow her as she lead him to her reading room. "So this contract-"

  "I was contracted by one Lila Rossi to make her famous and to give you 'what you deserve'," He stated, making her frown. So that's how Lila got famous and now he was here to act Lila's revenge. She frowned but she wasn't surprised. She closed her eyes, waiting for him to curse her but when it didn't occur, she opened her eyes and found him look at her with interest. "There's more to the story,"

  "Oh?" She asked, feeling a little silly.

  "Don't feel silly. It's a natural reaction to assume I'm here to exact her 'vengeance' and technically I am here to honor that part of the contract," He replied, making her gulp. "However, Lila failed to tell me exactly what she wanted. She told me to 'give you what you deserve'. I decided to leave you alone but apparently that wasn't good enough for her so she came by and demanded I do my job,"

  He rolled her eyes at that.

  "She was extremely angry that I had decided that course of action to the extend where she called me a 'useless puck'," He explained, making Marinette gasp and began to apology to him. He held up his hand, stopping her. Though he appreciated the sentiment. "You do not need to apology for her. I simply came here to talk to and determine exactly what I should give you,"

  "Give me?"

  "Part of Lila's contract was to 'give you what you deserved' which is why I'm here. I need to determine exactly what that is since she never actually said," He explained, making Marinette nod. "But in order to do so I need to know the full story. Why does Lila Rossi hate you so much?"

  "Because I caught onto her lies," Marinette sighed, making Luka frown. He had suspected that Lila had been lying but hearing it from someone else annoyed him more. This was no longer just about contracts and magic. This was now about pride. Lila thought she could fool him and get him to do her dirty work while getting to live a good life. Well, not on his watch. "That's why she wants me to get what I deserve. She's made it her mission to destroy me,"

  "So she does lie. How disappointing," He muttered, frowning. It wasn't a surprise. Faes themselves couldn't lie and had to tell the truth but they also couldn't stand liars. "That explains her pendent,"

  "So what are you going to do?" She asked as he made a face. "I know a little about contracts and I know they are unbreakable. Whatever you do, she'll use it to her advantage as long as she has that silver tongue of hers. It's her biggest strength. I know from personal experience. No matter what I did to show people the truth about her, she always spun it to make me look like the bad guy and she'll do the same to you. You try and break the contract, she'll made it so you're the bad guy. You try to alter it and she'll make you look evil. You have no choice but to honor it in the way she intended,"

  "I see," He muttered, making her frown. She would have some sort of punishment. "Then I'm going to honor it,"

  "Then please don't be too harsh on me," She muttered, closing her eyes as Luka stepped closer to her. "I accept whatever you decide to curse me with,"

  "I'm not going to curse you," He replied in a gentle voice, causing her to snap open her eyes. "Did Juleka tell you why us unseelie are hated compared to the fae of the seelie court?"

  "No?"

  "It's because people believe us to be malicious," He replied, making her frown. "But the truth is we're not. No fae is benevolent or malicious. We simply grant what we are asked to so when I say I'm going to honor her contract, it will be done to the exact detail,"

  "But isn't that giving her what she wants?" Marinette asked, confused. "She'll be happy with it. I suffer and she gets to be the most famous person,"

  "Oh, I doubt she'll be happy with what she gets, Marinette," He smiled in a dark manner. "You see we unseelie are what you might call tricksters and mischievous. We have no rules nor do we play to others. Lila thinks she can control me but she can't. Personally, I don't like it went people act entitled nor do I like been insulted so it's my duty to punish her for her entitled and frankly awful behaviour. Lila wants fame. Well, I'll make sure no one will ever forget her name again. She wants you to 'get what you deserve' then I'll do exactly that. She's going to get exactly what she asked for whenever she liked it or not,"

  "I think I understand," She replied, nodding. "I'm just sorry you had to take her job,"

  "Hmm, I'm not," He replied, shrugged. "Paid for food for a week. Besides, I get to punish one of the wicked again and I know exactly how to turn this around without breaching my contract with her. Starting with you,"

  Marinette closed her eyes as she expected him to reign down fury and fire on her but to her surprise, she simply felt his lips brush against her cheek as he placed a gentle kiss there. She opened her eyes as she felt magic flow through her body but it didn't feel wicked or cursed. It felt... good and light. Like she was on cloud nine. It continued to flow even as he pulled away.

  "As par to my contract, I have given you what you deserve," He stated, making her look at him. "Which is a blessing of prosperity. May your future be a bright one,"

  "A blessing?" She asked, generally surprised. "But isn't that breaking your contract?"

  "No, it isn't," He smiled, making her blush a little. "Lila only said to give you what you deserved. She never said what that was,"

  "Oh," She replied before smiling brightly. "Then thank you,"

  ~One Week Later~

  Marinette couldn't help the massive grin on her face as she walked through the Gala, getting everyone's attention. She got endless compliments and couldn't believe her luck but when she thought about it, she knew it was because of Luka's gift. Apparently, this was his definition of 'what she deserves'. In other words, success and happiness. And happy she was. She had never had such a successful run before nor had she been in the spot light like this. She just wish she could thank her fae friend. After all, he had been the one to change her life.

  "Marinette!" A familiar voice called, causing her to look over and see Adrien. If she had been 14 years old again, she might have fainted from his amazing smile but she was over him these days. Having said that, he still looked beautiful, just not as otherworldly as she once thought. "Wow, you look amazing,"

  "Thank you," She smiled but it didn't last long as Lila stormed over.

  "Marinette," She grinned falsely. On the outside, she looked happy for her rival but on the inside, she was fuming. Apparently, that stupid fae had helped Marinette become a sensation overnight, despite her contract with him. Anyone who was anyone wanted a MDC original, which was why Marinette was here and Lila hated it. She had gotten an invite because she was the current it girl. Anyone who was anyone knew her name. She was so famous that she couldn't walk down the street and she loved it but tonight someone else was outshining her and that someone was Marinette. Lila had to admit she looked amazing but it wouldn't last long.  It enraged her that Marinette was stealing her limelight and she was determined to destroy her but she would wait til Marinette lose her defense pose. "I heard you've been getting more successful recently. Oh maybe we could work together. With my status and your designs, we could do great things,"

  "Oh, I'm not interested Lila but thank you," Marinette replied, making Lila grit her teeth as she stepped forward.

  "Listen here, Dupain-Cheng," She hissed, getting closer to her. "There is nothing special about you as I know for a fact you had that puck help you but he also helped me and I intend to keep my throne so either you get in line or I'll destroy you again,"

  "I'm not afraid of you, Lila," Marinette replied back. "And his name is Luka. Yes, he gave me a blessing and maybe that's why I'm successful but unlike you, I'm grateful for his help,"

  "Typical," Lila gasped, turning on her heel and walking away from Marinette. Marinette shrugged and turned back to people as a waiter came by with glasses of red wine. Seeing her chance, Lila took one and was about to 'trip' into Marinette, planning to ruin her dress with the wine but before she could, someone caught her by the waist, removed the glass in her hand and pulled her into a dance, making her glare at Luka. "You! You broke-"

  "Now, now. Don't make a scene," He replied as they glided across the floor. "There are a lot of cameras and I'm sure you don't want them to see you arguing with the son of Jagged Stone now, especially if you decide to use those racial slurs again,"

  "I-" She gasped, glancing around and saw he was telling the truth. Of course he was. Faes can't lie. "You stopped me from ruining her. If you hadn't cheated-"

  "I did no such thing," He replied, making her grit her teeth. "You were the one who didn't say exactly what to do with Miss Dupain-Cheng so I improvised,"

  "So you made her more successful?!" She gasped in annoyance. "That is not what I wanted,"

  "I care not for your wants but for the contract's words. It said to give her what she deserved and that's what I did. If anyone is to blame, it is yourself for not been exact in your wording," He shrugged, making her gasp in annoyance. "But relax. I'm not here to cause any trouble. Actually, I'm here to grant the final part of our contract,"

  "I'm already famous!"

  "Are you?" He questioned, making her look around. Despite dancing with him, no one seemed bothered by her. All eyes were still on Marinette. "Seems like to me no one's really paying attention to you,"

  She gasped as she realized he was right. She was famous but not enough. She turned to him with a begging expression.

  "You need to honor-"

  "Don't worry, Miss Rossi," He smiled but to her surprise, he roughly grabbed her arm, causing it to feel like it was burning. "I'm here to make sure everyone remembers you forever,"

  The way he said it sent a shiver down her spine and she panicked, trying to pull her arm away from him as it continued to burn before he suddenly let go.

  "That's our contract fulfilled," He stated, walking away from her and picking up a glass of wine from a nearby waiter. He held up the glass to her with a smirk on his face "Have fun now,"

  With that, he turned on his heel and walked over to Marinette, causing the witch to smile as she greeted him. Despite his promise, that annoyed her and if he wasn't going to punish Marinette, she would. She began to storm over but was stopped by one of the other people there.

  "Oh, isn't Marinette such a darling?" She asked, mistaking Lila for one of the crowd who was admiring the girl. Lila couldn't believe her luck. She could easily corrupt this person's mind. "I would love one of her design,"

  "Oh, she is the most talented designers in the world and I hate her for it," She stated, surprising herself and causing the person to look over at her before shaking her head. "I mean we were in school together and she was always so nice to other people, it made me sick. She told me to stop lying so I destroyed her life and turned most of her friends against her,"

  "What?" The woman asked, looking wary as Lila covered her mouth.

  "I didn't mean that," She gasped, thinking she was able to lie. "I mean I totally meant it. She was such a goody two-shoes and I hated her guts. I even framed her for stealing another person's designs once. Her class actually believed it. They were so stupid. All that to do was turn around the sketch and they would have seen her signature. The best part is she wasn't the first person I did this too,"

  At this point, everyone was looking at Lila with shock and disgust, apart from Luka. He simply held up his glass to her as she glared at him. She had realized that burning feeling he had created was a curse. A curse of truth but all she had to do was remain quiet until it lifted.

  "I caused a girl to kill herself," She suddenly blurted out, causing a number of people to gasp. "I laughed at her funeral and pretended I was crying,"

  Lila clapped her hands to her mouth but it didn't stop her from talking. One by one, all of the lies she had said throughout the years came out in front of everyone at the gala including the cameras that were filming everyone. People were whispering to each other and pointing at her. In sudden realization, Lila realized that everyone was no longer looking at Marinette but in fact were all looking at her. They were taking her picture and the cameras and reporters covering the event were filming her too. She knew by morning her career was over and it only got worst as security came over.

  "Miss, come with us please," They stated, making her look at them.

  "What?!" She gasped, annoyed. "Do you know who I am?!"

  "Yes, you're Lila Rossi and due to your confession the police have been called," The man answered, making her go pale. "Come quietly,"

  "Quietly?! You stupid buffoon!" She screamed, despite trying to act 'innocent'. "I am Lila Rossi! I'm the best thing here and you think you can force me from here?! I deserve to be here!! Not these morons! Me! I'm the Queen! You should be begging for my attention!!"

  Apparently, whatever Luka had done to her didn't just cause her to tell the truth but to drop her act. However, the security guard didn't care and went to take her arm, causing her to hit him which only made the situation worst. Soon, her downfall was filmed by all the cameras and bystanders as she was frogmarched out, shrieking like a banshee. Actually, scrap that. Banshees had nicer voices. Luka smirked as he watched her spill more lies and cause a scene, enjoying it.

  "What did you do to her?" Marinette asked, causing him to turn his attention to her.

  "I gave her a blessing,"  He replied, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "Unlike yours though, I gave her a blessing of truth. She can't lie about anything now. Not through words or through her personality. I would guess that she is going to be trending on social media. She wanted to be famous after all,"

  "That is brilliant," Marinette smiled before turning to him. "Thank you for my blessing by the way. It's really helped my business take off but I feel kind of bad that I'm riding on your magic for all my success. I wouldn't have gotten this far without it. Is there anyway to thank you?"

  "You know I only gave you a little boost of prosperity right?" He asked, making her look at him. "Everything else was all you.. but I would love to get to know you better if you're interested and if you insist on thanking me, you could get me a danish from your parent's bakery. They're my favorite treat,"

  "I would you to get to know you better as well," Marinette flushed, making him grin. "And getting a danish wouldn't be a problem... want to dance?"

  "I would love to," He smiled, taking her hand and leading her onto the dance floor as they heard Lila screeching in the background. By tomorrow morning, she would go down in history as a spoiled diva but not just that but people would post about her. Her previous victims would reveal how she was and the hashtag 'LiarRossi' would trend, occasionally making a comeback when something new was revealed. All the crimes and fraud she committed to would come to light, along with every bad deed she did and she would realize with growing horror that Luka fulfilled his contract perfectly. After all, he promised to make her famous and now she was. She would never be forgotten for a long time. The best part was he had brought her to the height of fame which made this so much more better. You see Fame is tricky. Once you're famous, everyone watches you every move and with how famous Lila was, people from all over would learn of her misdeeds, spreading her story all across the world. The newspapers were going to have a field day and her name would forever be remembered as a famous liar. He would make sure no one would ever forget her. After all, she asked to be known by everyone and that's exactly what he gave her. Of course, that doesn't mean he wasn't grateful to her. After all, if he hadn't taken her deal, he might not have finally gotten a chance to meet Marinette and now he had. He hoped Lila was satisfied with the outcome. He sure knew he was.

[trashyangelic]

I got another ML prompt that anyone is willing to do it as a grant. This is a Gabriel Redemption + Lila Gets Busted.

i have one in mind for lila gets busted but also arrested for theft. but this is no adrienette but a Lukadrien. As for Marinette well she is paired with Felix after leaving Paris to a Fashion School in London with her parents that is moving the bakery there. (Felinette)

┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁۪ ｡˚ ✧

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞'𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥'𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬?

While Gabriel realize his sketchbook went missing on his desk from the last meeting with Ms. Rossi but something came up online where Nathalie turn on the news on her tablet for him to see that Lila delivered his designs to a Fashion Competition as her owns which really start to piss him off wanting to fired Lila Rossi in public for stealing his sketchbook in his desk were there is a secruity camera in plain sight and take back the deal he made with Rossi from the start.

After he realize that Ms. Rossi only wants his money and his son which really made mad, why Adrien you ask well Chloe send a video from her phone back in the school where Lila forced sexually harrassed his son but also threaten him too that put him on edge for life. He will try and moved on from his wife Emelie to Nathalie but he had gave up his and the peacock miraculous as he send it back to Ladybug after all she is the guardian. He will also try to retact to his son like he use to when Emelie was alive.

Where he found out himself that his son is dating Jagged Stone's son Luka Couffaine well he has no problem with his son's relationship and decided to accept him. Plus he supports the Gay and the LGBTQ though.

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Hey, Little Songbird

Final Chapter - AO3

Three days after the defeat of Gabriel Agreste and the arrest of Lila Rossi, Felix was invited out for ice cream by his classmates.

A little flustered, he’d agreed without thinking. Rationally, there was little reason to why Lê Chiếninvited him to join, and even less of a reason why Felix accepted. There was still too much to do in the wake of Hawkmoth’s arrest; lawyers to speak to, statements given to police and press alike, entertaining his mother who’d overtaken his home to take custody of Adrien… Frivolities like ice cream socials couldn’t be entertained.

Despite that idea, Felix found himself smiling under the sun, surrounded by classmates as they all took turns at the food cart.

Couffaine and her girlfriend—a few days of diligent study only unearthed a few of his classmates names, not all—stepped out of his way, a sundae to share between the two. He approached the ice cream stall and—“Where is your menu?”

The man, Andre or something similar, smiled merrily. “Ah, so this is your first time at Sweethearts Ice Cream? Allow me to explain.” Picking up his scoop, Andre started to fulfill his order despite Felix having never ordered anything. “Sweethearts Ice Cream has a special ablility; to connect the hearts of two people in love. The harmony of two hearts in love influences the flavors of the ice cream. And there!” With a flourish, Andre offered him his waffle cone ice cream. “Blackberry for her hair, blue bubblegum for her eyes, and black cherry for her secret you keep in your heart.”

“…This is a terrible business model.” Despite his words, Felix paid the man and took his cone. “I don’t even know who this could refer to.”

“Really? You have no idea?”

Nearly dropping his ice cream, Felix whirled around. “M-Marinette!? When did you get here?”

“Just now,” she said, squeezing up beside him at the counter. “Hey, Andre.”

“Marinette! You’re ready to give Sweethearts Ice Cream another chance then?” Andre grinned at them both. “Or… would you two like to try my Couples Sundae? It’s free for new lovers.”

Felix flushed, a protest frozen in his throat. Fortunately, Marinette could still speak. “No, thank you,” she said, voice pitched higher than usual. “Just a regular ice cream, please.”

“Of course, of course.” Changing his scoop for a fresh one, Andre started on a new waffle cone: a base of yellow with dark chocolate, with a scoop of bright blue on top. “Banana for his hair, cotton candy for his eyes, and…” He flipped the cone over and dipped it in chocolate, “…a dark chocolate shell, since you broke through his.”

Blushing, Marinette accepted her ice cream. Felix offered her his arm and escorted Marinette towards a bench separate from the class, who were watching them. Lê Chiến even offered Felix a grin and a thumbs-up, to which he awkwardly returned with a nod.

“How…” She paused to take a bite of her ice cream, dark chocolate snapping between her teeth. “How has everything been? I’m sorry for not being in class the past few days, but it’s been so busy…”

“I can only imagine.” Marinette—or rather, Ladybug—has been in and out of the police station as often as Adrien was, giving her statement. Between that and the press conference Mme. Bustier stopped class to let them watch yesterday, if she’d spent more time as Marinette than Ladybug these last few days, Felix would French-kiss Rossi. “It’s been quiet, especially once Ladybug announced that Gabriel was Hawkmoth. Ms. Bustier tried to make us talk about our feelings, but everyone’s still a bit too shocked to discuss it.” After all, it wasn’t every day when you discovered your classmate’s father was the terrorist who turned you into a supervillain. Reporters had hounded their class from the moment the news dropped.

They were even worse towards his family.

“The school’s talking about shipping in a therapist for us,” Felix explained. “Not only that whole Akuma Class nonsense, but also because we were in direct contact with a terrorist for months on end. So, you have that to look forward to when you get back.” Rossi was allowed unrestricted access to vulnerable minds for over half a year. There was no doubt his class needed therapy… including Marinette.

“At least she’s been expelled from the country,” Marinette said, sighing. “Honestly, that was harder than giving my statement ten times over. The Prime Minister wanted her trial on French soil. I had to argue with the Prime Minister! All for Lila.”

“Why?” Felix would never do anything to help Rossi.

“News of her involvement is going to drop any day now. People are already trying to attack Gabriel in his cell; when the mob of public opinion finds out about her, they’ll start trying to get her too. At least this way she’ll be tried back in her home country, by people who were never directly affected by her actions.”

Felix didn’t like it, but “It’s understandable. People are also trying to get to Adrien, despite his innocence.”

Marinette nodded, half-expected that. “How is Adrien? I haven’t heard from him at all.”

“One of his photographers leaked his phone number, so Mom took his phone away so he wouldn’t have to read all the vile filth people send him. He’s getting a new one soon.”

It wasn’t that Felix didn’t understand why people were so upset. Gabriel turned Paris into a battleground and friends into foes, but… the police had already released a statement denying Adrien’s cooperation regarding Hawkmoth, yet there are still hateful phone calls and texts coming in at every hour from people who wanted someone to blame. At least Mother was keeping a record of who sent the more illegal messages: the threats, the doxing, the… suicide baiting.

Their family lawyer would be well fed in the coming months.

It was hard with Adrien in his house. Awkward. Despite Adrien’s frame-job, he was still family, and Felix was someone who supported his family. But that didn’t mean Adrien was forgiven. Felix didn’t forgive, and he’d never forget.

Surprisingly, the tabloids were kind towards Felix. He made no effort in hiding his involvement in the case, both as the whistle blower for Hawkmoth and as a hero involved in the final take down. Mother had cut out some particularly flattering articles out to hang in their manor parlor, but fortunately the threat of arrest and restraining orders kept most of the rats away.

“How’d Adrien take it?” she asked.

Felix bit his ice cream, so he’d have time to answer. Damn that ice cream man. It was delicious. “He didn’t believe it at first… didn’t want to believe it. He’s seeing a therapist on Friday.”

Marinette wrapped her hands around her ice cream cone. “Poor Adrien…”

“He’ll recover; he’s stronger than you think. He’s already made plans to hang out for the weekend.” He gestured at Alya and DJ Boy, leaning against each other and sharing a sundae. Alya caught his eye and waved. “Everyone’s going to be okay now.”

“Yeah.” Marinette drank in the sight. Not just Alya and her paramour—though they earned a smile for finally making up—but their other classmates as well. Felix had never been invited to a class outing before, but even though they’d broken up into subgroups of couples and friends, everyone looked happy. “We’ll recover.”

The sun shined down on them all, warming skin like a heated blanket. Felix studied the melting treat at hand. “So. Ladybug?”

She flinched.

“I haven’t told anyone,” he reassured. “I understand why it’s a secret. I understand why you didn’t tell me. But…” He sighed. “I’ve been keeping this to myself for days. Can you please just… confirm?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes.” She peeked at him from the corners of her eyes. “This is me, confirming. Yes.”

Okay. A shiver ran through him. Marinette was Ladybug. His best friend was a superhero and trusted him enough to be a superhero too.

He was in love with Ladybug.

As was Chat Noir. And half of Paris. Shit.

“So, what gave me away?” she asked.

“Little things. Nothing anyone else could put together.” Little things that added up into the big picture. The way Ladybug knew he’d worn a hoodie earlier that day, the inherent trust she had in a man she previously punched in the face, the way she looked at him. But most importantly, Felix felt that she’d wanted to get caught, that Marinette had wanted him to know she was Ladybug, and that was what removed the block in his mind preventing him from realizing.

“Small mercies,” she muttered. “Did you really think I was Rena Rogue?”

Felix hid his face in his ice cream. “…It made sense at the time?”

She laughed at him. “Alya’s never going to let you live that down.”

Alya? Why would Alya care—? Oh. He felt his face growing red and it had nothing to do with the weather. “She really won’t, will she?” He asked, sounding faint.

“Yeah, you really dropped the ball on that conclusion. You should have heard her complain! “Your boy is so stupid, how do you even stand him?””

And now Felix was blushing for a different reason. Her boy?

“—I tried to keep her from talking about it in front of the other temporary heroes, but I think Viperion knows. Carapace definitely does.”

“Did she complain in front of Hawkmoth too?” he grumbled, wishing he was wearing a hoodie to better hide his face. “Throw Rossi into the loop while she’s at it? Maybe my mother would like to know all my follies?”

“Oh! Speaking of your mom—” Marinette pulled a chain out from under her shirt. His breath caught in his throat. She’d kept it on her person? “You can finally return this to her.” Threading the wedding ring off her necklace, she placed it his hand, its matching pair resting on his finger.

He squeezed it, the smooth ridges cutting into his palm… and returned it to her. “Keep it. It’s exactly where it needs to be.”

“What? But this is the entire reason you were here!” She tried to give it back again. “It’s your family ring!”

“It’s my family’s wedding ring,” he corrected. “And while most would consider this too forward of an approach, the realization that you’re the most eligible bachelorette in Paris is making me react… strongly. So, I was thinking about a spring wedding? After we graduate Lycée, of course, so it would be a long engagement—”

Marinette covered his mouth, face blush red from the tips of her ears to the neckline of her shirt. “What!?” She asked, voice cracking. “M-M-Marriage!? Felix, we can’t…”

“Well, yes, not right now. That’s why I said after Lycee.” Obviously. “I don’t see what the issue is? My family has had arranged marriages for centuries, and we like each other. Right?” Had he misidentified her feelings? She always acted sweet with him and blushed when he flirted, but what if he was wrong? What if he humiliated himself and ruined their friendship in one swift move—

“Of course I like you, but you haven’t even asked me out on a date yet!” She burst out, causing the rest of the class to glance over. She buried her face in her hands and continued, voice muffled, “Dating comes before marriage; I can’t believe I have to explain this to you!”

Oh. That was the issue. Gently pulling her hands away, he dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief. “I’m sorry, Marinette. I got ahead of myself.” Alya glared at him from over Marinette’s shoulder. Nosy overprotective reporters, getting in everyone else’s business… “I didn’t mean to pressure you. What I mean with the ring is… a promise. I would love to be in a relationship with you, if you’d have me.”

She looked up at him from underneath her lashes. “A promise?”

“To stay by your side and support you in your endeavors.” His family’s marriage vows echoed in his mind, passed down from his grandparents, from his grandfather who was so in love with his grandmother that he couldn’t think of a world where she wasn’t his equal. “As long as you stay by my side and support me in return. To lift you up through the hard times and rejoice with your success. To be equals in all things. That’s what I want to promise you.”

Tears budded in her eyes. “To stay by your side… to be equals… that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Then, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend? And going out on a date with me?”

Her tears ran down her face, but her smile lit up the entirety of Paris with her joy. “Yes. I’d love to, Felix.”

Taglist: @graduatedmelon @novicevoice@dur55@kris-pines04@18-fandoms-unite-08@moonlightstar64@bee-a-garbage-shipper@sol-o-shade@kittyotakunoir666@tinyterror333@allieoftheenemy@marichat00@xgxmxtx@two-faced-biatch@feliciakainzofspades@evil-cricket@emilytopaz@spicybelladonna@chocolateherringtacofan@user00000003@wannajointhecrabcult@happymonster-pants @duquesapincarrasca  @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen  @sxltinette @kittydemon9000 @thetrashypanda423 @unoriginalmessess @toodaloo-kangaroo @troycattribunny@nikipuppeteer

[pearl-star]

A Nudge in the Right Direction

Summary: What if Adrien's high road advice wasn't the only way he helped Marinette? Sure he could wait for Lila to expose herself, but that didn't mean that he couldn't help speed up the process.

(Cross Posted on Ao3)

“Just take the high road and ignore her, Marinette. Lila will lie herself into a corner soon enough.”

Marinette looked at him, like she wanted to speak out but held herself back. Instead curling in slightly before nodding. Adrien worked to keep his perfect model smile on his lips even as he wanted to frown.

“And if she does anything else to you, like with trying to frame you or anything at all, let me know okay?”

She nodded again, biting her lip this time. He nearly narrowed his eyes at her action but refrained. She waved goodbye before walking away. Once she was out of sight, Adrien dropped his smile and frowned.

“Something happened.”

“Really? I never would have guessed.”

Plagg’s sarcasm was not needed, so Adrien grabbed some cheese and held it out for the kwami to take. He held it in his nubs, but didn’t eat it. Instead Plagg looked at him expectantly. 

“You’re not really gonna keep quiet about this, right? Lila only confronts people when no one else is around. She could easily save herself given how stupid the class has been so far.”

Adrien let out a dark chuckle, something the kwami only just started to get used to hearing as of late.

“Oh, she’ll expose herself eventually. But that doesn’t mean I can’t help along the way.”

Plagg gave him a look over, shrugged, swallowed the Camebert whole, before responding.

“Sometimes I worry that you and your cousin switched.”

Adrien sighed at the reminder of his family member. He and Felix had a strange relationship. With Felix’s dad dead, and Adrien’s own father not helping the already tense situation, he really couldn’t blame his cousin for acting out. Did he think what his cousin did was wrong? Yes. And Adrien will be keeping an eye out to ensure that his cousin had no chance of doing anything like that again in the future.

“Don’t compare me to him. At least I’m not taking my frustrations out on others.”

“The sculptor.” Plagg sing sung.

“I was being a hypocrite.”

“And you flirting with Ladybug?”

“To be fair I was both way too over excited and also didn’t know how normal crushes should be expressed. Plus I’ve toned it down. I can’t stop completely though or else she’ll think something is up. Remember when I actually listened to her and stopped calling her bugaboo? She brought baked goods and hot chocolate to patrol every day and continuously apologized to me. I tried to tell her that I was just listening to her but she still thought that I was mad at her.”

“Ladybugs,” Plagg sighed, “they’ll take on the weight of the world and refuse to let anyone else share the load if my black cats don’t stop them.” 

Adrien heard his phone dinged, letting him know that his bodyguard was waiting to pick him up, so he began to leave the school.

“I’m trying to do it slowly with her. But I think dealing with Lila will help both her and Marinette. I would ask Alya to see what actually happened, but since she fully believes Lila I don’t want her blaming and attacking Marinette.”

Whenever Marinette first called out Lila, Alya had been switching between giving Marinette the cold shoulder or insisting that she needed to get over her jealousy. He didn’t understand why Alya would think that Marinette was jealous of Lila of all people, but he couldn’t exactly ask her when he was expected to be nice to Lila. And nice he would be.

He smiled as he thought about his plan. It could backfire, but he was smart enough to know when to be careful. And the only person who could ruin it for him was Lila, and she would have to expose herself first. And if she tries to drag him down with her? Well, she would already be established as a liar by then anyways. 

He opened the limo door and sat down, looking out the window as his bodyguard began to drive off to his next photoshoot. Adrien smiled to himself. Yes. Who would think that he, sweet sunshine boy of Paris, could be capable of ruining someone’s life? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First step of his plan: figure out how to use Lila’s newest modeling gig to his advantage. Adrien honestly had no idea why his father decided to take on Lila as a model, but it was clear that she wasn’t the best at it. Okay she was straight up awful at it. She was too focused on hanging on him to actually listen to Vincent, and his photographer was getting frustrated. 

As easy as it would be to just continue down this path until he would eventually get akumatized, Adrien didn’t want that for the man. He was the one of the few photographers that Adrien enjoyed working with. And even if Vincent wasn’t his favorite, he shouldn’t just sit back and let someone get akumatized. 

So Adrien did what most people would expect him to do: he mediated .

“I just think that if Lila got more training then shoots would be quicker. If father is planning on keeping Lila on as a model, it would be best to improve her modeling now rather than later. I’m sure Lila will be fine going to a couple lessons a week to help gain those skills.”

He kept a small smile on his face as he looked at Nathalie. He knew that she probably didn’t like Lila all that much, considering the stunt that the girl pulled that caused both her and his bodyguard to get in trouble, so if Nathalie decided to increase Lila’s workload a bit extra then so be it. 

“I’ll bring the suggestion up to your father. I believe that there was already some consideration to prepare her for doing interviews for when the photos from her sessions get released.” 

Adrien mentally made a note to check when the photos would get released. Lila gaining more public attention, especially in the beauty world, would only aid him. 

“Thank you, Nathalie. I should go practice piano before my fencing practice. The last shoot ran into my usual practice time.”

Nathalie nodded as she tapped something into her tablet, and Adrien made his way to his room. Usually, unless he had a performance coming up, he just put on piano music on his phone and did something else, but he needed to stay in Nathalie's and his father’s good graces. No one could get suspicious of him, otherwise he would get locked down again. 

So he played. Starting with warm ups, then transitioning into some classical pieces while occasionally shifting into music from Kitty Section. He never got to go to performances, but Luka had given him all of the piano sheet music just in case. Luckily he was working on more traditional music when Nathalie knocked on the door.

“I spoke to your father.” She said as she walked into the room. “And he agreed with your idea to give Lila extra lessons. And since some of the recent photo sessions have been running into your other activities, you will not be helping Miss Rossi in these lessons. Your current activities are taking top priority. I will be sending her the plans later today once they are made.”

“Thank you Nathalie. And I can always give Lila quick tips while on set when needed.”

Nathalie nodded before making her way out of the room. Once the door was shut, Adrien smirked. Depending on how much trouble Lila is during those lessons, and how much Nathalie wants to be spiteful, this could keep her plenty distracted. It would also give her something to brag about at school, which will hopefully keep her attention away from Marinette. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks after the lessons got implemented, Adrien could tell that they were happening. To the untrained eye Lila looked perfectly normal. But on closer inspection, you could see the smudges where her concealer and setting powder were not applied properly to her eye bags. And the only lessons being done were on how to model, they haven’t even gotten to all the interview stuff yet.

Sure she had something to brag about, but it didn’t give her time to hang out after school. He didn’t know if Nathalie knew his friends’ schedules, but Lila’s lessons were all placed during the times when they would meet up. And the more Lila tried to get out of them or reschedule, the longer and more lessons there were. 

She was improving slightly. Oh, not in skills. She was still mediocre at best, but she didn’t hang on him as much or try to prolong shoots. She still hung on him, but Adrien guessed that Lila got told that the longer shoots ran on for, the more lessons she would have to do. Either way it saved him more time. Having to catch up on his lessons and homework as Chat Noir was hard enough. He really didn’t need prolonged photoshoots too.

The only downside was that Lila was getting frustrated. Despite her fake smiles and cheerful persona she put on during school, Adrien could see the cracks in her facade. He wouldn’t really care, Lila getting frustrated and snapping out would be a good thing, except that with Adrien paying more attention to her he noticed exactly how Lila was deciding to channel her frustrations. 

All it took was Marinette having a slight limp and claiming that she tripped, after Lila had left the classroom beforehand, and her reaction to Adrien asking if Lila did something to clue him in.

He frowned at the bluenette, not bothering to try and coax the truth out of her and instead being direct.

“Marinette, I can tell that she did something to you. I already know that she pushed you, but I would also like to know what she said to you.” Seeing how she seized up, he quickly added, “If you’re comfortable with telling me.” 

The pigtailed girl looked out from under her lashes and gave a small shrug. 

“I-I’m fine Adrien. Really, it’s… nothing.”

She lasted another ten seconds under the lie, as well as the stare he was giving her, before rubbing her arm and sighing. 

“I’m not comfortable with saying it.”

Adrien wanted to push more but refrained. Instead he chose to gently touch her shoulder and try to massage out her tension.

“I’m sorry that she hurt you. I’ll keep a closer eye on her and make sure she doesn’t do anything else. But please do let me know if something else happens, okay?” 

The look that Marinette gave him, like she was finally getting a breath of fresh air, made his stomach drop. The fact that a small promise like that made her look like he was gifting her the stars told him that whatever Lila said was bad. And Adrien, despite being a hero, was fully considering the petty way of handling things. 

“Thank you, Adrien. I really appreciate it. I promised my parents that I would help out at the bakery, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

The blonde waved cheerfully as the girl departed. Once out of sight, he put on a devilish look and glanced down at his kwami who had popped out of his bag.

“So, Plagg, you were talking about ways to mess with Lila. Can you run those by me again?”

The crackle the miniature god gave was heard throughout the school, and no one knew that it was the sound of a death sentence. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Adrien walked into school all smiles. To the untrained eye, he looked perfectly like his normal self. Except, if someone really paid attention, you could see the slight glint in his eyes, as well as how his smile held an edge to it that he was fighting back behind his perfect demeanor. 

Marinette was already in the classroom as well, and she walked in with Alya which would be good for later. And later seemed to come sooner than expected. About five minutes after Marinette walked in, Lila walked in. It took all of Adrien’s acting gained over the years to keep a straight face.

Plagg’s little pranks, which he had green lit the day before, were already taking full effect. Lila looked like she went through a storm and just survived. Her hair was a frizzy mess, her makeup was barely hanging on, and her shoulders were tense with obvious stress. If Adrien had any sympathy left for her, he would wish her luck getting put together before someone posts a photo. However any cares he had left to give flew right out the window the moment she decided to go after Marinette. 

Adrien had half a mind to take the photo himself. And if it wasn’t for Chloe who snorted a laugh and whispered at Sabrina to post a pic, then he might have too. Instead Adrien played the oblivious boy who was raised to be a gentleman.

“Lila, what happened?”

“It was…” 

She drifted off, looking at Marinette and then him. He didn’t give her any glares or anything, merely blinking back. She would have to show her hand first. He wasn’t about to defend Marinette if Lila wasn’t accusing her, she could find an excuse for that. But it seemed like she had second thoughts.

“Nothing. Just a bad hair day.” 

Adrien was shocked that she didn’t try to blame Marinette somehow, but didn’t put his guard down. After all, she had taken her frustrations out on the bluenette just the day before. He’d need to keep both girls in his sights, and preferably have Nino or someone else with him. That way Lila can’t twist any narrative. 

Through the day, he kept his eye out, and he noticed a lot. He’d been only focused on keeping Lila away from Marinette, and thus usually kept his focus only on the liar. Looking at Marinette showed him things that he didn’t notice before. Like how Marinette no longer had lunch at school, or how she’d leave the group once Lila pops in and brings the attention onto her, or how she was always double checking her bag and where she was walking.

It was all tiny things that he never paid attention to before, but now with context painted a bigger picture. And that made him smile all the more when he checked his phone and noticed the photo that Chloe posted of Lila trending. The caption wasn’t too shabby either, and Adrien had to refrain from liking the post. He took that energy instead and used it to distract the class and make sure that none of them, especially Lila, checked their phones. 

So it was only at the end of the day, and when Lila shirked, that the photo was discovered by the rest of the class.

“How dare you post that photo! I demand that you take it down immediately!”

Lila’s outburst surprised the rest of the class, but when Alya glanced at Lila’s phone she immediately defended her.

“Lila’s right Chloe. You can’t just post things like that.”

“Oh, like I haven’t done worse. Maybe don’t have such an awful appearance when showing up to a public place. Besides, me taking it down would do nothing. It’s the internet. Nothing ever goes away. Have fun with that.”

Before anyone else could try to protest, the blond and Sabrina left. It was after they left that the rest of the class started to see the actual post. Adrien, having to act like he cared, moved to “comfort” Lila before pausing at his phone going off. He checked it and felt relieved. 

“Hey dude. What’s up?”

He tilted his phone so that Nino could see the message.

“Oh, that seems bad. Are you gonna be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He waved goodbye, happy to see that Marinette had already slipped away from the classroom. Hopefully she was heading straight home. That didn’t mean that Lila couldn’t blame her for something even if she didn’t see Marinette, but at least it stopped her from being able to do something to Marinette directly. 

He walked straight outside and to the car. Nathalie was waiting for him inside, a tablet with his dad’s face already cued up.

“Good afternoon father. Is everything alright?”

“Your friend, Chloe, seems to have posted a photo of Lila.”

“People were talking about it at the end of class, but you texted me before I could see it for myself. Is there something wrong with it?”

“Yes, but don’t worry. Don’t comment on the photo, both in person and online. I’ll have things taken care of by tomorrow. For today she won’t be attending the photoshoot. We have another female model coming instead. Do not disappoint me.”

“Of course, father.”

And thank you for the free out. Adrien highly doubted that everything would be taken care of by tomorrow, Chloe would definitely make sure that there’s talk about it for at least a week. But the biggest plus was that he wouldn’t have to deal with her for this shoot, meaning that maybe he could actually work on homework and get to bed on time. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As predicted, talk of the photo didn’t die down by the next day. In fact, more fuel was added to the fire, courtesy of the one and only Lila Rossi. At the same time that his father had been saying that things were under control, Lila had decided to take matters into her own hands by responding to Chloe’s post. 

One thing that’s important to remember is that Lila had only been receiving lessons on how to model, not how to conduct oneself online. As such, she didn’t know when to recognize bad press, and how to respond to it. 

Gossip sites, fan girls, and everyone else on the internet loved to tear famous people apart. They criticize them no matter what. As such, people would ignore many of the rumors and insults posted online. Responding would not only show people that you cared, but they could take what the original post said as being true. 

Lila responded to Chloe’s post like that of a teenage girl, and as such her attempt to deal with the situation fueled more fires than it put out. It also didn’t help that Lila had used her official model account to respond, which only shared it with more people. The social media team caught what she did and deleted the comment within five minutes of her posting, but the damage was done the second she hit post.

Lila didn’t show up to school the next day, not that much of a surprise. What was a surprise was that Adrien himself still went to school. He had assumed that his father would have put him on lockdown while he figured out what to do with the fires that were burning, after all there were photos of him with Lila at multiple places. But perhaps he thought that if things continued as normal that it would go away. Either way it saved Adrien the trouble of trying to sneak out of the mansion and to school.

All the rest of his classmates, sans Marinette, were already in the classroom with the majority looking at Chloe. The blonde didn’t seem to mind, smugly smiling at her phone. Alya, by far, looked the most put out. She had her tablet out and was furious typing on both that and her phone. Nino was sitting by her, trying to comfort her.

“Alya, what’s wrong?”

“Lila’s lied about everything.” Nino answered. “Some people started sending hate to the Ladyblog for the interviews Lila did.”

“I should have fact checked. Now I’m trying to do damage control.”

Adrien did feel sorry for Alya. When he was planning to take down Lila, he didn’t think that anyone else would be negatively affected. Of course, he didn’t have regrets on Lila getting dragged socially but he should have thought about how that would have affected his classmates. So Adrien decided to try and help out.

“Apologizing and taking down the interviews would be good. And while I don’t know exactly what the comments are saying, I’m guessing they’re saying to fact check right? Next post you do, make sure to include sources. That would probably help fend off those comments, but from my experience some people still like to troll.”

Alya did smile a little at that. Hopefully she’ll be able to learn from this and prevent something worse in the future. Just as the bell rang, Marinette ran into the classroom. 

“Sorry I’m late, Miss Bustier. I had to help my parents fill out-”

The excuse immediately got interrupted by the rest of the class springing up and practically tackling the girl in apologies. Marinette seemed confused before realization slowly crossed her face as she picked out her classmates' words as they overlapped one another. Bluebell eyes locked on to green ones, but Adrien didn’t try to approach her. He wanted to speak to her, but the things he wanted to say couldn’t get back to his father. 

So it was only four classes later, when Adrien broke off from Nino to exchange books and Marinette managed to sneak away from Alya that he got to talk to her.

“I told you. Her lies would come out eventually.”

Marinette gave him a look that he wasn’t used to. Usually there would be a blush covering her face, her eyes wouldn’t be able to look at him for longer than a moment, and she would be jumpy. While there was a light blush on her cheeks, her posture was perfect and her expression was a bit playful.

“And this all happened on its own? No one did anything to speed this up?”

“No, I don’t think so. I mean, I guess Chloe did the work. After all, she did post that picture which caused things to roll down hill for the better.”

“Adrien, I know that you did more than you let on.” Her expression shifted a little more into what he was used to seeing. “I just wanted to say thank you. You trusted me the whole time, and you kept your promise. Let me know if there’s any way to thank you.”

Seeing as she already knew the truth, he decided to jump on her offer.

“Actually there is one thing. Do you think you could… keep me out of this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Please don’t tell anyone that I was involved in this, both about knowing about Lila’s lies beforehand and me helping to get her exposed. I don’t want to even imagine how mad my father would be if he found out about the latter.”

Marinette opened her mouth, concern clear in her eyes, but she held herself back. It was for the best, honestly. His homelife was no one’s concern.

“Of course. And if you ever need anything, let me know.”

He nodded, although he suspected that he wouldn’t take her up on the offer. Marinette was busy enough already, and her keeping this all a secret was the best thing she could do for him. She looked back one last time before dipping out of the locker room. Plagg emerged moments later. 

“Well, looks like you did it kid. The liar’s gone and your princess will be fine.”

“Not yet.”

The kwmai’s smug smile was wiped off, surprised at the statement. 

“What do you mean?”

Adrien exchanged his books before walking back to the classroom.

“Just because Lila got exposed doesn’t mean that she won’t hurt Marinette again. I need to make sure that she isn’t in Paris.” A notification on his phone had him pausing in place. Once he looked down at it, he smiled. “And I have a feeling I know exactly how to do that. Plagg, claws out.”

One fast Lila-akuma take down, and a sneaky little live stream from his staff, caused Lila to be outed in a much worse way. He watched as she got dragged off in handcuffs, screaming nonsense about diplomatic immunity. Ladybug stood by him, and although she looked put together on the outside he could tell she was shaken up.

It did make sense though. He didn’t expect Lila to just admit that she’s been working with Hawkmoth willingly to them. 

“Don’t worry, Ladybug, the police can handle this.”

“I knew that she hated us… but working with Hawkmoth?”

“She admitted it herself. Besides, she’ll get escorted out of Paris and can’t work with him anymore.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. What if Hawkmoth has other allies that we don’t even know about?”

Is that seriously what she was worrying over?

“He does. We know about Mayura, and there might be another person or two that’s helping him in the background. However it doesn’t really matter to us yet. We don’t tell people about magic or the miraculous since it could get back to Hawkmoth anyways, so we don’t have to change anything.”

“But what if people try to say that others are working for Hawkmoth?”

“There would have already been rumors about that. I think the real thing we should be worried about is if Lila’s mom really is an Italian diplomat. If so, then there’s gonna be political trouble.”

Not that it was really an issue, since Adrien did do his research. No one in Lila’s family was a part of the government. Her mother was just someone who worked in a company that opened up a branch in Paris, which was why they traveled. He would have approached things much differently otherwise.

“I didn’t think about that.” Ladybug muttered, flipping open her yoyo and typing something on it. After a minute she flipped it shut. “I don’t see anything on the official Italian embassy site but…”

“Then it should be fine. Lila probably made up what her mom’s job was to make her stories seem legit and get away with more things. The police will clear up any rumors about that later. For now we should get going.”

They had taken turns to recharged earlier, so that Lila wouldn’t be let out of their sight, but they did have to get back to their civilian lives. Not like it mattered much for him. School was over the moment the alert went out, and his father and Nathalie will be too busy with the mess Lila caused to worry about him. 

“Yeah. I’ll see you at patrol tomorrow unless another akuma pops up.”

“Sounds good.”

Chat made his way over the rooftops before dropping down and hiding in the alleyway near the school. He detransformed and had a piece of camembert ready.

“Now Marinette’s safe.”

“Is that really the first thing you’re gonna say? There’s nothing else that you think you should be concerned about?”

“You mean with Lila being a willing accomplice of Hawkmoth? Yeah, I mean it’s messed up but it didn’t surprise me. I guess I feel a bit bad for her mom.”

“I’m talking about yourself, kid. Your father decided to take Lila on as a model. You don’t think Lila being outed as an accomplice of a supervillain will come back to bite you in the butt?”

Why was everyone worrying about the wrong things? Adrien’s seen the posts and comments. He’s seen as not just a hot model, but also a victim. Yes, he knew what Lila was doing to him was sexual harrashment and yes, some of his fans knew that as well. If any backlash falls onto the brand because of Lila, then it would fall directly onto his dad. 

“I’ll be fine. I can handle anything that happens.”

He’s been doing it all his life, going through the motions and trying to make due while not letting others know what he’s actually thinking. It’s what gets him through the days spent in the mansion, it will get him through the final couple years that he’s trapped there until he turns eighteen. 

But Plagg didn’t know all that. Adrien hadn’t found a time or a need to tell his kwami that, so Plagg didn’t know how capable he could truly be. 

“You should try accepting help sometimes. I’m sure pigtails wasn’t just talking nonsense when she offered to help you earlier.”

But for as much as Plagg didn’t know about him, he did know a lot of other things. Things that Adrien didn’t like to focus on.

“If anything goes bad, then I’ll reach out to her.”

It was enough to appease the kwami, and Adrien walked out of the alley way and back through the school via the side entrance so that his bodyguard wouldn’t realize that he’d been anywhere else. Once he looped around and got inside the car, he checked his phone. 

So far the rumors about Lila being a daughter of a diplomat got squashed, and his father had released a public statement about not knowing all of Lila’s dealings and taking extra precaution for all his employees. There’d probably be more issues to deal with in the future, but for now all was well. All Lila needed was a little helping hand to push her off the cliff that she climbed up herself. 

[seeyabythemarina]

Lila's Pet of Horrors

Count Ds shop is now in France and is gaining popularity of pets how are so helpful people are feeling less stressed. Lila decided to buy one to keep her followers. She heard of their are exotic pets so she want to use her Gabriel status to get one. Meeting D she says she want one of his most rare, expensive, and exotic pets. D say he doesn't think she could care for it, but Lila threaten that she's th face of Gabriel and could shut this place down if she wanted to. D frowns but agrees and takes her to the back.

I made prompts for 2 pets.

Truth spider:

D bring out a container holding a spider. After jumping back Lila say she wanted a cute pet not some freak spider. D says it a very special spider and few are left in the world. Lila looks close at it. It was kinda cute and furry and the coloring was unique. What the heck, Lila will flaut it for a while and if the doesn't go when she'll squash it and claim it was Marinette. Taking the spider and signing the contract she goes home.

At school her sheep were surpa8sed she got a spider, but Lila claim she doesn't like how misunderstood the creature were and people talked about how generous she was. They also could she it wasn't that creepy and how pretty it was. Juleka was especially interested and focus on Lila for days as she talked about how she was a friend of the petshop owner and gave her this spider.

When she got home she threw the spider haphazardly and watched TV. She remembers that petshop said she had to feed to spider bugs, but no wayward Lila doing that. She'll just give it some crumbs latter. This goes on for a few days and the spider isn't eating but Lila doesn't care. One night the spider gets out of the cage and hunger for blood goes to Lila bitting her she sucks out some blood. In the morning Lila is tired but ignored it for the attendion of her class. When she comes to school she was about to start lying but suddenly start telling the truth about her truancy, bullies, and lies. She tries to back track but can't. Everyone is shocked and teacher that her to the principle wjo call her mother. Lila tries to explain but all she can say is how she hated ladybug and is working for hawkmoth. Then she goes to jail, but what of the spider.

Elsewhere

When tikki saw the spider she immediatl5 recognized it and told Marinette how truth spider are spider whose venom can mess with the brain ability to lie. Marinette asked if that meant the spider bite could make Lila admit to truth to everyone and tikki agrees. Mari likes this because tikki also explain they'll bite people for food of their not feed enough or if threaten.

Lila trial is fast as she keeps admitting everything even past victims. Marinette not wanting the spider to possibly be thrown out offer to take it back to the shop. When she arrived she talks to the owner about it and after eating some sweet leaves. When she looks down she see tikki with tears. Tikki say she looked around the shop and saw so many of her creations that are now gone. Mari asks if the shop was magic and if she should investigate. Tikki says no as hawkmoth is a bigger problem and the shop isn't a threat. Happy that the shop is the reason Lila is gone Mari decide to leave it alone. Back at the shop D was smiling. He had felt the energy of the creator tikki on mari and is even more happy he gave the truth spider to get rid of that girl.

2. Kitsune

Seeing d bring out a fox with 9 tails Lila smirked. This is what she wanted. A fox for a sly beaty like her. Paying for the fox she leaves. It wouldn't be obvious to Lila but the fox was so not happy to be with her. Her classmate were in awe especially alya with the fox. They ask if it's a real kitsune Lila make of show of calling it a fox with a mutation, but suddenly implies it was magic properies(which is weirdly true). Lila enjoys her day and can't wait for tomorrow. To bad she didn't notice the smirk growing on the foxed face. She didn't appreciate this false vixen and would enjoy showing her true deception. In the morning Lila couldn't fine her phone and after looking found it not charged. Lila was confused as she rememebr charging it. Shrugging she goes on with her day, but that was the start of it. Lila found her things missing or broken but when she looked again that were fine. She also saw someone stalking her but looking around they were gone. Lila tried to ignore it but the weirdest thing happen later. Lila was in the bathroom applying make up when Marinette came in. Lila starts making fu. Of her on how she taking her friends, but Mari just stares. Lila is then shocked when Mari right hooks her and leaves. Lila is stunned as she feel her eye swelling up. Looking in the mirror she sees a huge black. It hurt so much Lila was acully tearing up for real. She never expected someone goody goody as maribrat to hurt her for real. She swears Mari will pay and for once Lila doesn't need to lie. Going to the room crying she states that Mari assaulted her when she was in the bathroom. She expected comforts and yelling at Mari but the surprised when the class look at her weirdly. They say .ari has been hear the whole time, but Lila swear she saw her. And even gave her a black eye. The class then ask what black eye. Looking in the reflection like seeing she didn't have a black eye. Llla back tracks and trues to salvage things. The class are wary of her the rest of the day. Lila is getting paranoid and when she starts rambling her mother tries to ask her what's wrong and lial reveals herself. Afterward lila is carted of to a mental asylum and the fox goes back to the shop

Elsewhere

With the tricks being played on Lila adrien immediately assumes it plagg. While laughing plagg states while he wishes it's not him itsthe acually kitsune. Adrien Consider trying to stop it but plagg says that he shouldn't try and beside everything is just in Lila head and she wont get hurt. Adrien believes it and leaves it alone.

[iwasbored777]

Is there anything funnier than canon Chloé's reaction to Lila bullying Marinette compared to fanon Chloé's reaction?

[vintage-retro-queen]

Paris Reacts to Watch Us Work

Akuma Class

Another weekend, another week without any way to watch a new episode of Total Drama.

They all were at the park, sitting there, bored out of their minds. That was until they heard a crash far away behind them. They turned to see an akuma attack from Copycat happening.

Even though Alya was excited and wanted to get great material for her blog and get Ladybug's trust to have her endorse the blog again. But when she realized and remembered that her phone was still confiscated by her parents, her excitement and happiness both went down the drain.

That was until a lava red portal appeared, and there came out Ladybug, and now seeing her new look, it looked like she combined two miraculous, one which was obviously the Ladybug earrings and the black cat ring. And along with Ladybug, was an unfamiliar girl that is dressed in a very odd outfit. They then hear the unfamiliar girl talk aloud in a deep-strong British accent. "Oy! Are you talking about us?" "And who are you?" "Your worst bloody nightmare."

The girl then throws something at Copycat that wraps around the Copycat's waist and holds him tightly. "GET OVER HERE!" the girl yelled, pulling Copycat over to her. She then aimed her hands at Copycat, which froze him into ice. The class looked shocked, surprised, and amazed at the scene they were watching.

However, the whole class was not as shocked as Adrien was when he saw Ladybug using both hers and his miraculous at the same time. And if that wasn't shocking enough, she has a new, different heroine fighting along with her and not having him have his miraculous back and save the day with her and not with some stranger.

After returning everything to normal and Theo returns to a normal Parisian citizen, Ladybug, and the unfamiliar girl does a fist pound, saying something that the class couldn't hear. They tried to head over to Ladybug, but a lot of people beat them to the punch.

"Ladybug! Who is this with you?" "All you mates, can call me Anarchia." The unknown girl, Anarchia, said, introducing herself. "How did you meet Anarchia?" "She was there for me when I was on patrol." "An armed picket-pocketer was spotted, and I quickly caught 'im 'round the same time she showed up." "She was very useful for a lot of other things aside from akuma attacks." Adrien couldn't believe that Ladybug trusted a heroine who might not be from Paris without even telling him and ever getting his consent first. "Is it true that you stopped endorsing the Ladyblog?" "Sadly, yes. Only because of various reasons. One of them is one person claiming that she is my 'best friend', which is not true because I never have any time hanging out with civilians." Alya's eyes widened after hearing that. After hearing those words come out of Ladybug's mouth, it felt like her whole world started to fall apart. However, Alya was not as shocked as Adrien was when Ladybug exposed Lila's lies. 'I thought she was going to let that go. Why can't people see that it doesn't hurt anyone?" He thought. That was until they heard Anarchia talk, "Some cottonheads never understand what the real world works and never fact checks like they are supposed to." hearing that felt like a stab to the gut to both Adrien and Alya. "Not to mention, some bloody cottonheads always lose their minds over what wanker tells them what they want to hear. That, and they never got to wake up and smell the real scent of tea to face reality." A couple of eyes widened in shock hearing that. However, before they can say anything, Anarchia continued, "However, speaking of facing reality, I do recommend this brilliant site and app I have endorsed back in London. It is called Face Reality. Because I have heard they are having some of their best reporters start here in about the next week." Alya's eyes widened upon hearing that. Face Reality was one of the world-known news blog-media industries for children, teens, and young adults. Not to mention her competition for the title of Best Blog-Media in the news world. "Are you kidding me?!" she gawked in disbelief. They all tried to get to Ladybug to see what she was doing with a different heroine. But as soon as they got to the two, the sun was already setting, and Ladybug's earrings started beeping. "Well, I say it is time for us to leave. Good day." Anarchia said, grabbing some keys, pressing one button that summons a black motorcycle, automatically driving to her, and stopping and staying by her side. As Anarchia gets on, she drives off along with Ladybug, as she uses her yo-yo, saying a quick 'Bug out', and the two leave. "Ladybug, wait!"

Unfortunately, it was too late, and the two were gone.

When Monday came around once again, they all heard the rest of the students chattering about the new episode of Total Drama.

"I'm so happy for Marinette!"

"I know, she's now one of them. That's amazing!"

"Her mom and dad must be very proud of her right now."

"Yeah, and her diary box was such a blessing in disguise."

"Yeah, and thank goodness too. Who knows what would've happened if it didn't trap Heather's hand."

"And Harold's music playing was awesome. Sure beats you know who's."

"And the MetaBetas performing there? They were amazing."

"Yeah, especially their hoodies. They look so cool!"

"More like epic if you ask me."

"You should've seen Duncan's face when he saw Marinette onstage."

"Yeah, the guy looked like one of those guys who has his eyes on the girl of his dreams."

"Not to mention the drooling he was doing."

"Honestly, I think Trent would be a perfect match for her."

"Yeah, he snagged an extra muffin for her."

"And he sang a song all about her. And it was actually for her too! So romantic!"

The class groaned and whined about how it was unfair that they got to watch the new episode and they couldn't. Even Adrien thinks it is unfair. Not to mention that Ladybug has his miraculous and has a new partner siding with her. And if that wasn't bad enough, Ladybug exposed Lila in the worst possible way. He knows that when the time comes, he will have his miraculous back and try to make Ladybug see the light and ditch that wannabe partner, Anarchia.

Celebrities + Friends and Family

It was another special weekend for all of the celebrities, friends, and families in Paris, France.

They're all getting together at the hotel, getting ready to watch the new episode of Total Drama. As they were all getting together, they were not even unaware of a familiar blonde ponytail girl getting ready to watch the new episode herself.

Two weeks ago, she noticed a lot of people coming to the hotel very often. At first, both she and her father thought that the people needed a place to stay, but when Chloe started to hear that Marinette was sent to a camp in Muskoka against her will by their classmates, that was where she drew the line. She even gives Adrien a friendship suspension until he learns to grow up and face the real world after demanding the whole truth from him, which causes him to fess up everything to her and Sabrina. Sabrina couldn't even believe it herself after hearing the whole truth from Adrien. And since Chloe was still mad at Adrien for letting Lila get off scot-free without any consequences, she decided to give Sabrina a break from everything and deal with things her way. Sabrina was surprised since this was the first time she saw this new side of Chloe, but Sabrina knew that it was only because of Lila's tactics she took it. However, Sabrina was still surprised about this new side of Chloe. Chloe told her father everything, and he couldn't believe it himself. As a result, he sent out the board of governors and education to investigate College Francois Dupont and sent the students of the school to another school that has the highest security and staff members that will have students full-on under surveillance until then. The mayor and Chloe herself were surprised to know that they were not the only ones who had called the board since a bunch of other concerned students and families were aware of it all as well. And since Sabrina once told the mayor about most of their classmates talking down about some people and some things both in person and online via social media, he not only sent temporary transfer notices to the families, he also sent another notice to all the families about checking on their kids and their electronic devices to see if they're doing anything bad without any of them knowing. 'I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Dupain-Cheng definitely deserves better than all of this. Besides, nobody messes with Dupain-Cheng's life but me! What those losers did was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!' she thought to herself with a huff while changing channels to the one that shows Total Drama.

Meanwhile, with everyone else, as they are getting ready to watch the new episode, Luka is talking to Zoe, Mirelle, Aurore, Kagami, Marc, Soqueline, Jessica, Aeon, and Fei about their call with Marinette and her friends in Muskoka. They all talked about how amazing Marinette was doing there and how the campers there were really good friends for her. All except Heather since they now know her true colors. However, they were glad that Lucy was officially the one to put Heather in her place, even if it was with her anger getting the best of her. After their talk, the show finally starts.

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the Killer Bass finally dodged their pathetic losing streak against the Screaming Gophers. There were bruises, tears, risky moves, and dangerous alliances. And in the end, it was Noah, the Know-it-All, who didn't see it coming." "Well, I can understand that he's not a sports person, but he could've shown some spirit or something at least." one of the fame-rising football (soccer) players said, shrugging their shoulders. "Well, everyone has their own opinion and choice of things." another one said. "This week, another challenge will send one more camper on a cruise to Loserville, population...four. Who will sink and who will stay afloat? Find out right now on Total Drama Island."

After watching its usual theme, they watched as they now see Lucy and Marinette on the steps of the Killer Bass cabin, reading, scribbling away on a sketchpad, and listening to music. "There she is! There's my favorite little lady!" Jagged cheered. They then hear someone speak on the radio. "Alright! That was Start Again by Alayah. This next one was from 1985. A love song for the late lucky girl and New Rustale's beloved sweetheart, Luci Grassette. This is Our Perfect Love by Perfection Division in 198.6 EPIC!" "Oh! I love that song!" "I hear it's good." "I haven't heard that in a long time." "Man, I miss hearing Perfection Division." a lot of the celebrities, parents, grandparents, and other adults explained, remembering the song and band. Hearing all of that from the adults got all of the children and teenagers now intrigued about the song and band. They then quiet down as the song starts on the show.

This one's for you, Miss Grassette!

Our love for you is like the most perfect,

Your face reminds us of your gorgeous self,

Together, we are like Vicki and J.D.

Oh darling Luci,

Our beautiful,

Our glamorous,

Our perfect companion to our longing-yearning souls.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

We love our perfect times,

But not as much as we love being with you!

Oh darling Luci,

Your eyes are like our favorite candy that will never fail, You're like the most beautiful princess to ever walk New Rustvale

Your loving pretty face,

Your breathtaking soul,

Your gorgeous eyes,

Your glamorous princess being...

How can we look at another when our perfect love is so strong?

We love you Miss Grassette!

"Man, it feels good to hear Perfection Division, their singing, and Our Perfect Love again." "I know, right? It's been years since I heard their songs." "Years? For me, it feels like centuries." "Luci was so lucky to have a song about her." "She was." "That was pretty catchy." "It was, wasn't it?" "I can see why our families love it." "Yeah." Socqueline smiles as they all complimented about the song and band she and her family listened to back at the family store.

"Alright! That was Perfection Division! Can you feel the love? Because I certainly can."

"Yeah, that was a great song," Marinette commented. "Yeah. That Luci girl must've been so lucky to be featured in a song like that." "Yeah...she was." all of the teenagers and children in the room then turn to notice their families and other adults' faces looking down and sad. Some with sad smiles and some with a single tear or two falling from their face and onto the floor. Before any of them ask what happened to Luci Grassette, they hear the guy on the radio talking still. However, the guy talked in a heartbroken, melancholy, and grieving tone. "You know, it's hard to believe that it's been twenty-something years since we lost all the five members of Perfection Division in a horrific hit and run." The teenagers and the children were shocked to hear that. "That's awful." one of the girls said, putting her hand to her heart in a heartbreaking way. "It was," Nadja said mournfully, holding her daughter Manon tightly. Manon felt sorry for the people losing a great boy band and a girl who was a respected member of the community and loved by all, even people from all over the world, along with her (Luci Grassette) older brother. After a moment of silence for the late girl and the late boy band, they all hear Chris McLean talking on the loudspeakers. "All right, campers, enough beauty sleep. Time to show us what you're made of." "Welp, time to get going, Nettie," Lucy said, getting up and closing her book with a 50s diner-themed bookmark in the pages she was in. Marinette nods and gets up from her spot as well. They all then watch as the scene changes from the girls getting up from the steps of the Killer Bass cabin to a stage. "Are we gonna see a musical? I love musicals. Especially, the ones with singing and dancing." Lindsay said, feeling excited. "Um, that's exactly what musicals are, Lindsay." "Marinette, saved you a seat." Trent said, making Marinette and Lucy walk to him and Gwen. "Oh, thank you, Trent," Marinette said happily. Marinette sat down next to him while Lucy sat down next to Gwen, and the two girls started having a conversation about their favorite horror films. The four of them were not even aware of Cody trying to impress the girls but ended up falling on his seat, yet still trying to look cool.

Chris then got everyone's attention and talked to them: "Welcome to our brand-new, deluxe, state-of-the-art outdoor amphitheater. Okay, this week's challenge is a summer camp favorite: a talent contest." "Yes! Awesome," said Owen. They all then see Lucy's eyes widen in surprise. They all looked confused about why she looked surprised until they then watched her confessional. "Well, that was unexpected. I haven't performed in a while since the last tour incident when the MetaBetas and I were performing in a small town. We were finished with our performance and when my friends and I were ready to head into the bus, some people were talking while we were walking. They were talking about, I don't know what, but frankly, I don't even want to know. At least, and as long as it doesn't involve me in any more dramatic situations than it did back in freshman year. But anyway, it sure has been a while performing. I honestly can't remember the last time I performed, really." "Huh, that is weird." "Yeah, I wonder what those people were talking about." "I guess we'll never know." "Yeah, but I do know that it's true that it sure is a while since Lucy and the other MetaBetas performed." "That's right. I think the last concert the girls did was last summer, I believe." Penny said, trying to remember when the last time the MetaBetas performed. After that, they continued watching the show.

"Each team has eight hours to pick their three most talented campers. These three will represent them in the show tonight. Sing, dance, juggle. Anything goes as long as it's legal." Chris explain, signing a 'Got my eyes on you' to Duncan, causing him to snap his fingers with a frown. "I wonder what Duncan was thinking about doing?" "I don't know. I just hope it's nothing bad." "Hope not." Chris continued, "You will be judged by our resident talent scout, former D.J., V.J., and rap legend, grand...Master Chef who will show his approval via the Chef-o-Meter. The team that loses will send one camper home tonight. Good luck." with that, Chris headed off the stage.

After that, they watched as Heather blew a whistle. "Okay, I'm the team captain, so here's how it's going to work," she said until Gwen cut her off. "Wait, who said you were team captain?" "She did. Just now," said Lindsay. "Lindsay, Beth, and I took a vote, and I won." "Threatening them to vote for you isn't exactly democratic." "I'm with the bambina on that," Lucy said, agreeing with Gwen. "You said it, girls." one of the celebrity girls said, crossing her arms. That was until they saw Trent walk over to Marinette, holding a muffin in his hand. "Hey, snagged you an extra muffin." "Oh, thank you," Marinette said. They all smile at that scene until Beth then walks over to them, talking to Marinette and Lucy. "Hey, Lucy, Marinette. Chris was hoping to talk to you about something. He's saying that there's an urgent call from someone." "Oh, jeez. It better not be about Slick and Brutus trying to get all the action figures in stores to find another legendary collectible again. I swear those two just won't knock it off." Lucy said, unamused, as she and Marinette headed over to the location Beth gave them. After they leave, Heather starts talking to Trent. "Trent, you're cool with me leading this project, aren't you?" "Right on. Go for it." Trent said with sarcasm. "Good. Beth, Lindsay, and I will be the judges."

After watching some of them do their special talents, the celebrities, families, and Marinette's friends suddenly heard a crash coming from outside; they all looked to see that it was another Akuma attack happening from none other than Copycat. Again. As they all watch as the akumatized person attacks the city, demanding Ladybug and Chat Noir's arrival and surrender, they notice a lava-red portal appearing. There, they see Ladybug come out of it. They looked surprised to see her come out of a portal that they had never seen before. Not to mention that she has a different look because, from the looks of it, they see that she is using both her miraculous and the black cat miraculous.

They understand that she's using both of them only because she announced once that Chat Noir is permanently retired due to various personal reasons. Of course, a lot of people respect that since someone shared video proof of Chat Noir being incompetent and not saving others in the past akuma attacks, such as the Syren debacle, the second Gigantitan incident where Gigantitan threw Ladybug's Lucky Charm at a room in the Dupain-Cheng bakery, which turned out to be Marinette's bedroom, and the last one where the akumatized person shot some bullets that stopped people and make them freeze like statues, unlike him, Ladybug saved some from getting shot and getting them into safety while he just did nothing but pout and sulk about Ladybug not accepting his love. Looking back, some felt disgusted about themselves for thinking that the two were a cute couple and they were an item. After all of that, Ladybug got the cat miraculous back from Chat Noir and has used it along with her miraculous ever since.

However, the only thing they don't understand is how the portal appeared and why Ladybug was using it. That was until they saw an unfamiliar girl walking out of the portal after Ladybug.

"Who is that?"

"I have never seen this one before?"

"Is she a new partner of Ladybug's?"

"I don't think she has a miraculous on her."

They then quiet down their chatter when they hear the new girl calling out aloud in a deep-toned, strong-British accent. "Oy! Are you talking about us?" "And who are you?" "Your worst bloody nightmare."

The girl then throws something at Copycat that wraps around Copycat's waist and holds him tightly. "GET OVER HERE!" the girl yelled, pulling the Copycat over to her. She then aims her hands at Copycat, which froze him into ice.

Everyone looked shocked, surprised, and amazed at what they were seeing with their very eyes. "Whoa! Did you see that?!" "She stopped the akumatized villain easily and faster than ever!" "That's a new record right there!"

After Ladybug turned everything back to normal, all of the celebrity newscasts, media, and press quickly ran out of the hotel for a quick interview of Ladybug and her new partner. When they got to her, they asked the two a lot of questions. "Ladybug! Who is this with you?" "All you mates, can call me Anarchia." The unknown girl, Anarchia, said, introducing herself to them all. "How did you meet Anarchia?" "She was there for me when I was on patrol." "An armed picket-pocketer was spotted, and I quickly caught 'im 'round the same time she showed up."

"She was very useful for a lot of other things aside from Akuma attacks." they were all very impressed with this new heroine, even when she seemed to be from another country, and whether it was an Akuma attack or not, Anarchia was very useful to stop it. "Is it true that you stopped endorsing the Ladyblog?" "Sadly, yes. Only because of various reasons. One of them is one person claiming that she is my 'best friend', which is not true because I never have any time hanging out with civilians." hearing that was very understandable. Knowing that Ladybug would never have time for anything else. Mr. Ramier and others who were having their troubles, maybe, but a civilian saying that they are best friends, which is not even true, and possibly putting a target on themselves without even knowing, that was another story that was a whole other bad level. Anarchia then tsks, saying, "Some cottonheads never understand what the real world works and never fact checks like they are supposed to." 'Ain't that the truth.' one of the news interns thought. "Not to mention, some bloody cottonheads always lose their minds over what wanker tells them what they want to hear. That, and they never got to wake up and smell the real scent of tea to face reality." 'You said it, Anarchia.' another one thought to himself. 'Tell it, girl.' the third one thought to herself. "However, speaking of facing reality, I do recommend this brilliant site and app I have endorsed back in London. It is called Face Reality. Because I have heard they are having some of their best reporters start here in about the next week." they were all intrigued with the recommendation Anarchia told them. They continued with the questioning with Ladybug and Anarchia until sunset, and Ladybug's earrings started beeping. "Well, I say it is time for us to leave. Good day." Anarchia said, grabbing some keys, pressing one button that summons a black motorcycle, automatically driving to her, and stopping and staying by her side. As Anarchia gets on, she drives off along with Ladybug, as she uses her yo-yo, saying a quick 'Bug out', and the two leave. The newscasts, media, and press also left, happy that they had an interview with Ladybug and her new partner Anarchia, not even aware of some people running and stopping behind them.

As they all head back into the room, satisfied with their interview with the two heroines, the show was still on. However, they missed almost half of the show. "What did we miss?" one of the intern reporters asked. "Not much, really. Although I think the Killer Bass are going to lose this one for sure." one of the wunderkind rappers said, crossing their arms. They then see that Trent is next. "This one goes out to someone special here at camp. Last name initials, D and C." everyone's eyes widened in surprise hearing that. Even though they can tell that most of the campers on the show are more focused on winning the challenge, the celebrities, families, and Marinette's friends know who Trent is talking about. Luka and Kagami could tell that Gwen knew about it as well after seeing her smile proudly at him while crossing her arms. After hearing the song, they were all amazed. They were so amazed that they even applauded Trent along with the other campers. They all then decided to take a quick snack break and continue watching the show later. As they snack down, they talk about Trent's song for Marinette.

"That song was amazing."

"Yeah, Trent did wonderful there."

"That was so sweet of him singing a song for Marinette."

"Marinette must be really lucky by now."

"Yeah, and I wonder what's taking her and Lucy so long though."

"I don't know. They're sure taking a while with that phone call."

"Maybe it is about those two Slick and Brutus guys and the action figures."

"Oh boy. I can't imagine what that phone call is like right about now."

"It's probably for the best we don't wanna know."

"Agreed."

After their opinion and the snack break, they continued watching the show.

"Welcome back! Okay, so in a strange turn of events, Bridgette's chunk-blowing test registered two thumbs up by Grandmaster Chef." "Bridgette's what blowing?" "I think it's best to leave that unquestionable." "But it's not enough to pull ahead of the Screaming Gophers who hold the lead with Trent's love song. So without further delay, here she is for the leaders...Heather." when Heather appears, she explains that she's going to read something. And then, reveals a box that is holding a book. Tom and Sabine's eyes widened when they realized what that book really was... "THAT'S MARINETTE'S DIARY!" they all gasped in shock and fear, worried that Heather might read something humiliating from Marinette's diary. However, as Heather places her hand on the diary, the box quickly closed in a milisecond, trapping her hand inside along with the said diary. And when it did, Heather started screaming. Even though they should wince from Heather's hand getting stuck, Gwen, the celebrities, families, and Marinette's friends all sigh in relief, knowing that Marinette's secrets are safe from Heather's scheming grasp. They all then watch Marinette's and Lucy's confessionals.

"Probably should've warned the girls that I have a box for my diary. But in this case, I'm glad I brought the box with me." "Glad you did, Marinette," Socqueline said, with Luka, Fei, Zoe, Kagami, and Tomoe nodding in agreement. "I guess one of them must've told her what happened while she and Lucy were having that phone call." one of the gaming celebrities guessed. "See, that's exactly why I don't bring a diary around me anymore. What Heather did, that's the reason." "I can't imagine what happened."

"Alright, it's down to the final act of the night," Chris announced. "Can Geoff and his rad stunts turn it around?...I seriously doubt it. Let's find out." "Why would he think that?" Just then, they see Geoff jump and break his skateboard. "Oh, that's why." "Now what? We have to send someone out there, or we're going to lose this." Bridgette said. They then watch as Marinette walks in. "There she is!" "Boy, that must've been a really long phone call." "Hey, guys." "Marinette! Thank goodness you're here. You and Lucy got to help us!" Bridgette said. "Katie and Sadie are covered in barf." "That only leaves Tyler, Duncan, or Harold. We already know Tyler stinks. What can Duncan do again?" "Carve a picture of his own skull into a tree?" "Oh, that's what Chris was talking about." a famous nature activist said, now understanding. "How the heck is going to do so in a stage when the trees are planted to the ground?" one of the wunderkinder questioned, looking not surprised. "What are we going to do?" Courtney asked, panicking. Geoff then noticed. "Wait, where's Marinette?" Bridgette and Courtney now noticed that he was right that Marinette wasn't there anymore. "Where did she go?" Just then, they all hear music playing. They watched Bridgette and Courtney look to see Harold start playing some music with his keyboard. The spotlights then shine on four girls, which turn out to be Marinette, Lucy, and the two girls of the MetaBetas, Angie and Malviña. Who are otherwise known as Miss Maleficent and Queen Red Hood. Everyone looked shocked and surprised to see them onstage. That was when the girls started singing.

Lucy: Never gets old no matter how much I'm told I'm amazing

Angie: You're amazing

Lucy: It's hard to get tired when I'm always on fire I'm blazing

Angie: Ooh, you're blazing

Malviña: All my greatness. It doesn't come for free. All my talent. It doesn't grow on trees. Take a breather. They'll take it all away.

Marinette: If the top is where you wanna stay

All Four: You gotta work hard. To make it look easy. You gotta live fast. To keep making that money. If you want to be as famous as me. You gotta work, gotta work, gotta work. Watch me work.

Everyone looked surprised and amazed, seeing Marinette perform with the MetaBetas, while the campers, too, looked surprised. Their singing and dancing were all in sync. They were even surprised with their outfits. They were wearing hoodies in their colors. Angie in purple, Malviña in black, Lucy in navy blue, and Marinette in pink. On the back of their hoodies have their logos in silver, and their stage names in rhinestones.

Angie: Haters want to be me or be with me yeah, they're fr-fr-fr-freaking

Lucy: Yeah, they're freaking

Angie: I just keep on working, lurking, smirking when they think that I'm peaking

Lucy: Never peaking, yeah

Malviña: All my greatness. It doesn't come for free. All my talent. It doesn't grow on trees. Take a breather. They'll take it all away.

Marinette: If the top is where you wanna stay

All four: You gotta work hard. To make it look easy. You gotta live fast. To keep making that money. If you want to be as famous as me. You gotta work, gotta work, gotta work. Watch me work.

After they ended their performance with a pose of their choice, there was a quick pause in the audience in front of them until the campers all started to cheer for their performance. Everyone else also cheered and applauded the five for their outstanding performance.

Chris then walks up to them, clapping. "Wicked music playing, dude. And MetaBetas, a very outstanding performance." "Hey, it's what we do." Malviña said, "And a perfect way to help endorse Total Drama." Angie added. "Especially with our newest member of the MetaBetas. Our very own Knitting Fairy." Lucy happily announced, wrapping an arm around Marinette. Marinette giggles as she waves to the others, causing them to cheer more about Marinette now being a new member of the idol group. Everyone cheered as well. "Alright, Marinette!" "Our little girl, a new member of an idol group!" "That's my Marinetta!" Marinette's friends cheered, feeling very happy for her. "And we would like to thank Harold for taking part in aiding our performance." Harold smiled and nodded to the girls as thanks and a way of saying 'happy to help.' "Congratulations, Marinette, for now being in their group. And check it out. Grandmaster Chef has declared his winner. Even though they held the lead, the Screaming Gophers have been trampled by the Killer Bass."

After a while of cheering, they all headed home for the night, still feeling happy for the girl for both winning the challenge for the team and being a new member of the MetaBetas. Meanwhile, in her bedroom, Chloe still watches the show, not surprised to know that Heather got some of the campers to vote off Justin. But she then watches Gwen's confessional. "If that evil little cow thinks she's getting away with this scot-free, she has another thing coming." Chloe then watches as Gwen knocks on the guys' side of the Killer Bass door. Harold answers, and Gwen asks him, "Did you say you brought a red ant farm with you?" "Yes." After that, while everyone was asleep, Heather ran out of the Screaming Gophers cabin, covered in red ants, screaming and trying to get them off of her. Chloe then laughs at Heather while she trips and falls. "Serves you right, Heather! Nobody messes with Dupain-Cheng but me!" she said.

??? & ???

The two of them watch as Lucy squints her eyes, trying to sleep while Heather is still screaming. "Man, I thought I was done with this when I was at that sleepover with Kit, Mills, Jade-Jade, and Sonya." she whisper-mumbled while putting her pillow over her head in order to drown the noise. "I can never forget the time she ranted on about what they did." one of them said, remembering the times she ranted. The second one nodded as they looked at the tablet that showed the account of Lucy and the rest of the MetaBetas. "At least we now know how to get in touch with her. Call the number. With this, we will finally get to her." "Of course."

Desc Prologue Get to Know My OC Chpt 1 Reactions Pt 1 Chpt 2 Reactions Pt 2 Chpt 3 Reactions Pt 3 Chpt 4 Chpt 5 Reactions Pt 5

[moonetta-art]

I rlly hope when we get lila’s reason for being evil/backstory it’s a whole episode long and it recontextualises the whole show and has this massive plot twist that shocks us all and-

[mochinek0]

Daminette December 2023: 29-Disappointment

Marinette watched in disappointment as everything about Françoise Dupont was revealed. She thought she would feel justified, feel happy. Instead, she felt nothing. Caline Bustier had been fired in the middle of class. Lila had been arrested. They didn't tell the class anything; they just told them their parents were there and they had to speak to them before they left. Even their parents seemed confused.

Adrien stood with Natalie in a line. Everyone was spaced out. They had all been told that the students weren't allowed to talk to each other and if a pone was seen, it would go straight into police custody. Adrien looked behind him to see Marinette leaning against her father's large frame and her mother stroking her hair.

Once they were led into a room, they were all let out through a different direction to make sure there wasn't anything yelled out. When it was Adrien's turn, they quickly learned this was mostly about Lila Rossi. Natalie began to ask questions of her own, as they had hired her. At the end of the session, they were told to head straight home. No one was allowed to stick around on campus. As they got in the car, Adrien asked if they could stick around.

"No. The officer said we should head straight home, Adrien." Natalie stated.

"Please. I just want to talk to one person." Adrien spoke, " They were behind us in line so they should be coming out soon."

"We will wait ten minutes and not a second more." she declared, "If an officer tells us to leave before the time is up, we will leave."

"Yes, Natalie. Thank you." the model, smiled.

Just before the time was up, Marinette and her parents walked out of the school. Adrien perked up and unbuckled his seatbelt. As he reached for the car door, another car showed up. A guy he had never seen before, quickly walked out of the car and hugged Marinette. He watched as the guy kissed her head before turning to Tom and Sabine. He could barely make out what was being said.

"Let's go, Angel." he said, "Tom and Sabine said I was to take you away for a few days. How are you feeling?"

"Disappointed. I feel nothing." she answered, causing her parents to tear up.

"Where will you go?" he asked her parents.

"We will be closing the bakery for a week." Tom replied, "We'll be with some family memebers."

"I've already gathered her things." he spoke.

"Thank you, Damian." Sabine smiled.

Damian took ahold of Marinette's hand and led her to his car. It didn't take long for them to drive away.

"Adrien." Natalie called out.

"Uh, we-we can go." he whispered, "I'm sorry for wasting your time. I can ask at a later date."

The school was declared closed for a week. No one still knew what was going on until Tvi did a special on their school. It was under investigation. Their principal couldn't show specific footage to the school board or police. He was arrested for money laundering, as he had never updated the school's equipment as he stated he had. Once he was arrested, they began to dig into the footage and found many inconsistencies, regarding some students. Tvi went onto explain there had been expulsions that were never approved of by the board. The board was now frantically expunging records and reaching out to families. During the special, it was announced that a student had been arrested for lying to not only the school, but also the staff. They announced that a few of the students' parents were now suing the young girl as she took money and items from their classmates, claiming to be well connected with celebrities. They had also claimed to put money towards charities of their choice or would help them get their dream job. Dupont was called a school of dreamers and nativity. The class couldn't help but think of Lila, Marinette, and Ms. Bustier. When they had been questioned about Lila, they instantly got defensive and threw Marinette under the bus as a bully. They were quickly finding out, they had made the wrong choice and Marinette was rigth about Lila all along.

Adrien had snuck out and was hoping to meet up with some of the class for answers. He had no idea his father was one of the people suing Lila, once he had learned she had lied on her resume and forged her mother's signature. The model hoped he could talk to Marinette, as well. He never expected to see her outside of a hotel.

"Hey, Marinette!" He called out, "Did you tip off the school board?"

"No." She answered.

"Then, how did they know?" he questioned.

"Because of you." Mari replied.

"Huh?" he asked, not understanding.

"This ended exactly they way you wanted it to." she continued, "You wanted me to let Lila lie and she would catch herself in her own web of lies. Her going to jail, being sued; this is all your fault. All I wanted to do was tell her lying could get her in trouble. I wanted to make sure everyone was cautious about what she said. They could have double checked, knew she lied, and then went along with her lie, for her sake."

Adrien looked at her, surprised.

"This isn't you, Marinette." he replied, full of disappointment.

Mari shrugged, "Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. I don't really know anymore."

"Wh-What do you mean?" Adrien questioned.

"I put up with Chloe, with the teachers looking past my harassment for year, with Lila defaming me." Marinette spoke, "I feel nothing, anymore, Adiren. I don't know how to be happy anymore."

Adrien wasn't sure how to reply, when Damian walked out of the building.

"Are you ready?" Damian asked Marinette.

She nodded her head.

"Wait! Mari-" the model began.

"Go inside." Ordered Damian.

Marinette nodded again and went inside, past the security out front.

"Leave her alone." Damian growled out.

"Who are you?" Questioned the model.

"Her boyfriend." Damian stated.

"No. She would have told Alya and Alya would have told Nino. Nino would have told me." Adrien babbled in shock, "She would have told her best friend-"

"The same 'best friend' that pours drinks on her head and her sketchbook?" Damian retorted, " The same one who trips her in the halls and steps on her hand until she had to wear a brace and couldn't design? The same one who would drop her sisters off without any notice because Lila needed her?"

"That girls isn't friend, Agreste. She is a bully." Damian stated, "My girlfriend is seeing a therapist because of your idiotic high road philosophy. Do you have any idea what it was like to come to Paris, to surprise her, and instead, I find she swallowed a whole bottle of pills! She was dying when I found her."

Adrien paled at the thought.

'Marinette tried to kill herself? I'm to blame for all of this?'

"You almost got her killed. Would you have done the same, seeing as how you were 'in this together' with her?" The Wayne heir continued, "I'd tell you to stay away from her, but her parents signed over guardianship to my father so that she can get out of Paris. She won't even be in the country by Friday. Marinette will get the help she deserves."

"You silenced her. You made her feel useless. You made her feel like trash. You are lucky you have nothing tying you to her harassment or I would be suing you; trust me, I looked." Damian concluded.

"Huh?" Adrien asked, still in disbelief.

Damian rolled his eyes, "I called the board when My Angel was in the hospital. Did you know that Lila isn't even her real name? It's Cerise Lerouch. She is signed up at another school, here in Paris. She was never a transfer student from Italy, just a girl who likes attention. All those 'trips out of the country' was just her going back to her other school because she wasn't 'sick' anymore. In fact, she wore a wig and contacts to your school, every day."

Adrien remained speechless.

The Wayne heiress sighed, "I do not understand what she saw in you."

"Who?" The model questioned.

"Marinette. She was in love with you. I believed I had competition and would have to strive hard to earn her favor. All I ha e seen is a boy who is completely and utterly disappointing. " Damian announced, "Be sure to tell your little friends that the only thing they have done is earn the wrath of the Waynes. Same for the supposed 'best friend'. My family owns her dream job and now she'll never have it. How disappointing for her."

The young Wayne turned away from the model and entered the hotel. After a moment, he tried to run in after him, only to be told 'only people with special clearance were allowed in'.

Unfortunately for Adrien, the entire Lila Disaster had only fueled his father's intentions of keeping him homeschooled. He still kept in contact with Nino, but the others were busy with their own things. Nino had told him Alya had hysterical after learning she was being sued by the Waynes. They were suing her for emotional distress, for all the babysitting she had forced on Marinette. Alya had to pay all the money she never gave Mari, once her parents found out. Marinette had kept a detailed planner listing what times and when Alya had dropped off the twins. She had even recorded the twins, asking what Alya had told them and why they were dropped off. Her parents were upset with her and grounded her for the rest of the year. They weren't going to be able to go out on dates and she was now the twins sole babysitter. Nino recanted how Alya said her family was disappointed in her. They were barely looking at her and the twins kept crying how they preferred Marinette. She had also learned that she was blacklisted from the Daily Planet. After that, she shut down and barely said a word.

Nino went on to explain that he was trying to get music files he had given Lila because she knew some DJs. Other classmates were learning that what she had promised them, wasn't true. Juleka had called her father, Jagged Stone, and asked him about knowing Lila and saving his kitten. She quickly filled him in about her tinnitus disability when he didn't remember her, but he claimed to never own a cat of any sort. Even Jagged Stone was looking to suing Lila. After Juleka told Rose, she quickly emailed Prince Ali and was anxiously waiting for a response back. Ivan and Mylene had given Lila money for charities, but were unlikely to see any of their money back. Nathaniel had given her some art to hold for when she went to America to give to her connections. Nino told Adrien they were signed in invisible ink so it was being looked into.

The class itself was slowly falling apart. Max was worried about his grades and how a new teacher would approach everything so he asked to transfer to a private school. There was no evidence he had participated in the bullying so he had been free to leave. Kim no longer had someone to help him focus so his grades fell and he was cut from the team. Kim no longer bet on anything and was even spending less time with Alix. His relationship with Odine was falling apart. There were whispers of the Mayor being tied with Damocles about the money laundering and hints of an investigation looming over his head. Chloe seemed upset and waas pouting, but never answered what was wrong. It wasn't until later he learned that Sabrina had transferred school to the other side of Paris. Adrien couldn’t believe all the chaos that was caused because one person had lied.

Adrien had finally broken down and cried. Natalie found him and once he had calmed down a bit, she asked him to explain.

"I messed up." he sobbed, "I knew Lila was lying, but I used Father's logic: lies don't hurt people. I didn't think any of this would happen. Marinette tried to commit suicide and is now moving out of Paris. Alya is depressed. Lots of our friends are trying to sue Lila and get their things back. Some changed schools. Others are flunking! I got blamed for Marinette and her boyfriend said ther was nothing to stick to me so he couldn't sue me."

Adrine cried himself to sleep. Natalie informed Gabriel and it was only then he saw how naïve he made his son, by keeping him home. He was grateful that ther was nothing holding Adrien accountable, but he knew he needed to do something fast. He called up his sister-in-law and pleaded with her for Adrien to attend school with his cousin. As much as he hated it, Felix would help beat the naivety out of his son.

Meanwhile, in Gotham, Marinette had moved into the Wayne Manor. All the Waynes had been very welcoming. Damian had even introduced her to Jon; Damian explained that Jon also helped him express his emotions. She had an appointment for a therapist next week.

TAGLIST: @maribat-calendar-events @animeweebgirl@a-star-with-a-human-name@meme991001@vixen-uchiha@abrx2002@alysrose-starchild@fandom-trapped-03@dood-space@moonlightstar64@saltymiraculer@marveldcedits20@09shell-sea09@icerosecrystal@animegirlweeb@insane-fangirl-of-everything@blueblossombliss@nickristus-dreamer@megawhitleycalderonpaganus@missmadwoman@meira-3919@princessdaisysolosyourfaves@blep-23@fangirlingfanatic@darkhinauniverse@ravenr22@im-a-satanic-ritual@ravennm84@bianca-hooks123@a-slytherinish-gryffindor@starling218

[sturchling]

Could you please write a salt fic where word of Lila’s lies about knowing various people and helping with their work (like Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale) reaches them and she gets sued to hell and back, which exposes her? Bonus points for Alta redemption.

Lila never thought about the long term. When she told her lies, she only cared about the here and now. She wanted attention that minute and she didn’t care how she got it, or what story she told to get it. But she should have been more careful. Maybe if she had, this wouldn’t have happened.

Alya had been a little suspicious of Lila for the last week. She didn’t want to accuse her of anything, but her stories were beginning to sound far fetched even to her. The lie that really made her start doubting Lila was from two weeks ago. Jagged Stone had just released a new single, featuring Clara Nightingale.

It was a major hit, everyone was talking about it all over the world. When the class came back from the weekend, they were all buzzing about the song. Lila should have thought before she spoke, but as usual she didn’t. All she knew is that the attention wasn’t on her right now, and she can’t stand that. “I know! The song is amazing! I actually helped write and coordinate the song”

While the class fawned over this new story, Alya hesitated. She was pretty sure she had read somewhere that Jagged had brought back his original song writer for this new song, since that writer had worked with both musicians before. Alya almost said something, but stopped herself and thought it through. If she accused Lila without proof, that wouldn’t go well at all and no one was likely to believe her. And besides, if she wasn’t remembering correctly and Lila wasn’t lying, it would be wrong to accuse her.

So Alya resolved to investigate like any good journalist would. First, she went looking for that article. She quickly found what she was looking for, and the article did specifically say that it was Jagged’s original writer who wrote this song, not Lila. Alya was sure this would be enough, but then she thought it over again. She realized she would need more proof. Lila could just say that this article was inaccurate, or some tabloid that got it wrong. Alya needed iron clad proof that couldn’t be refuted.

Deciding to go straight to the source, Alya went to the Grand Paris hotel where she knew Jagged was staying. If Jagged said so, there would be no doubt that Lila was lying. Alya arrived at the hotel and after some convincing, Penny let her into Jagged’s suite. Alya told the two everything that Lila had claimed about the new song. By the end, the two looked livid and Alya reconsidered if this was a good idea. Why if they thought she was lying? Or what if Lila was telling the truth and she had just insinuated that Lila was a liar to a close friend? But that wasn’t what happened. Instead, Penny simply told her “Thank you for bringing this to our attention, it will be handled.”

The next day, Alya was still wondering what Jagged was going to do. But she didn’t have to wait long. Just after the class came back from lunch, the door burst open and in walked Jagged and Clara. They wasted no time, walking straight to Lila and dropped a large stack of papers on her desk.

“Lila, we have heard from a little bird that you have been claiming to have written our latest song. That is simply untrue and you know it. So not rock’in. So considered yourself served and we will see you in court.” Lila was shocked and tried to stutter out a defense. She had never considered that her lies would get back to the celebrities she was lying about! She begged for them to reconsider, she apologized, and tried anything she could to get them to drop the case. But they wouldn’t and left her sitting at her desk, terrified and wondering what would happen when her mom found out.

The class, at this point obviously knew that Lila had been lying about this and probably a lot of other stories too. The class was glaring and yelling at Lila, furious that she had been tricking them this whole time. Meanwhile, Alya sat back, satisfied with her work. She thought things through, worked like the journalist she wanted to be, and had uncovered the truth. If only Lila had thought about the long term before she spoke, like Alya had. Maybe then, she wouldn’t be getting sued and still be happy. Maybe next time, she will think ahead.

[elixiroasis]

“It’s just-” she breathed out before steeling herself, “Whenever I begin to try and tell someone about her lies she just- just pops up out of nowhere! It doesn’t matter if I’m in class or the locker rooms or- or in the toilets, and it’s been happening way too often to be some weird coincidence so I feel like she’s... done something.”

“Hmm... You really think so?” Adrien said as he directed his gaze towards Lila.

Or

Lila goes entirely too far when attempting to keep her lies a secret so Adrien and Marinette can only do one thing.

Take her down.

Ft. Sleuthing (with a sprinkle of the Ladynoir dynamic as civilians), Lila getting slapped in the face, and the entire school witnessing her oh so sweet downfall.

(aka my first miraculous fic lmao :3)

[trashyangelic]

𝟬𝟵𝟬𝟮𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 : ᴍʟʙ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ ʀᴇᴏ̨ᴜᴇsᴛ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢs : Felinette, Lukloe, Adrigami sᴀʟᴛs : Alya Salt, Bustier Salt, Lila Salt ʀᴇᴅᴇᴍᴘᴛɪᴏɴs : Adrien Redemption, Chloe Redemption

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔢𝔱𝔰!

Marinette and Chloe had transffered out of Francois Dupont into a school where Kagami and Luka went. Marinette is friends with the Quantic Kids who had help her grow confident and clearly has a crush on Felix Fathom who is Adrien's cousin. Chloe has a crush on Luka while Kagami is working on Adrien though his advice which ticked her off and gave him other options why his advice doesn't work for the school with a help by Chloe.

Adrien redeem himself thanks to Kagami for the help but has feelings for Kagami for quite a while but doesn't like when Alya forced him to like Marinette since he considered her as a sister figure instead.

━ ━ ━  ━ ━ ━  ━ ━ ━  ━ ━ ━  ━ ━ ━

Meanwhile at the Francois Dupont, Mylene's dad decided to take a break from his teaching but didn't like how Damocles abuse his power as a principal he has been filing a complaint towards the School Board about him and Caline as he had seen both of them ignoring the school laws that was in the pamplet for students who is entering their school.

So he remembered his job was to check the secruity cameras. Clearly the secruity cameras weren't even broken but its still ongoing so he decided to investigate it himself why Damocles didn't bother to look at the cameras when it comes to bullying.

Until one of the clips with Lila Rossi caught him in action. He made copies for the Authories and the Police included. One of them was Lila grabbing the Akuma and willing to aid terrorism with Hawkmoth and the second one was to accus cheating and theft to Ms. Dupain-Cheng that really pissed him off. That would explain why Ms. Dupain-Cheng transferred out of this toxic school. Her parents weren't very happy with Lila, Caline, and Damocles for this mess.

There were the other two of Adrien being Chat Noir and Marinette being Ladybug which surprised him alot but since Adrien is no longer Chat Noir which caught him very suspicious about this but had seen videos from Aurore's blog that Adrien sexually harassed Ladybug & Marinette. He is still not happy with Adrien's father.

While Marinette's Parents along with Jagged Stone work in the shadow in order to get lawsuit towards Alya Cesaire and Lila Rossi for most of it.

━ ━ ━  ━ ━ ━  ━ ━ ━  ━ ━ ━  ━ ━ ━

Hope you can make this happen. If any of you are available to make a miraculous ladybug prompt in your profiles!

[aliensunflower-fics]

CHANGING FACES Chapter 3: Where Are We Going

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

[ Previous Chapter - Next Chapter ]

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

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

CHAPTER 3:

Where Are We Going

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “What are we going to do now?” 

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

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

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

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

 Tom chuckled fondly at the memory and nodded. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “How long did you and mom live there?”

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

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

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

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

 Marinette felt her stomach drop. “But?”

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

 Sabine nodded gravely to her husband's words. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Looking at her family, Marinette smiled warmly.

  “Gotham, sounds perfect.”

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

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Hey, Little Songbird

Chapter 33 - AO3

Ten minutes.

Ten minutes of keeping Rossi pinned to the ground while she hissed and spat at him, struggling against the superior strength of the Peacock Miraculous. Ten minutes of kneeling on her torso, unable but not incapable of fighting while King Monkey and Chat Noir picked off the rest of their akumatized classmates. Ten minutes of waiting, Rossi’s connection to Hawkmoth flashing for a few moments before extinguishing.

It was the longest ten minutes of Argus’ life.

The doors of the gym slammed open. Argus couldn’t spare a glance, but multiple people ran into the room, one coming up right behind him. He braced himself. “Oh thank god.”

“Ma—” Argus turned his head to look, but instead of who he was expecting, it was Ladybug behind him. Several police officers had arrived with her. “Ladybug. Did everything go well?”

She nodded, smiling. “Both Hawkmoth and Mayura were arrested and no one was hurt. And now—” She walked around him, so Rossi could see here. “It’s your turn, Lila Rossi. Are you going to surrender the akuma?”

“Never!” She snapped, spit foaming in her mouth. Argus wrinkled his nose.

“Hard way it is, then.” She glanced at Argus. “Do you know where her akumatized object is?”

“No idea. Everything about her is so ugly, it could be anything.”

Rossi hissed at him, trying to bit his arm. He slammed her head back into the floor, cracks radiating out on the wood under her.

Ladybug appraised the akuma. “There really is room for taste. But when Rossi was akumatized previously, the object was…” Reaching down, Ladybug plucked a necklace off Rossi’s neck. He hadn’t noticed it before due to the ugly prom queen aesthetic, but a dainty, tasteful necklace had been there the whole time, hidden in the ruffles of the bust. Ladybug snapped the necklace in half, and a black butterfly flew out. “This.”

Quickly catching the akuma, a loveliness of ladybugs washed over the gym and into the world outside. Damage from the battle healed, cracks fading and shrinking. His classmates transformed back into their normal selves, dazed and confused. Rossi, too, transformed back to normal, with none of the confusion previous akuma victims had. Instead, she continued to glare up at Argus and Ladybug, hands balled into fists (thumbs tucked under her fingers like she’d never learned to punch before, and the sadistic part of Felix really wanted her to try).

Ladybug helped Felix to his feet. His knees cracked from kneeling for so long. “Your costume looks good on you,” Ladybug said suddenly. He blinked at her and she flushed. “It’s… You kept the hoodie look. It suits you.”

What?

What??

Before Felix could truly question whatever that was, Rossi crawled to her feet. Her face had smoothed into false gratitude, a simpering smile trying to placate her audience. “Oh, Ladybug! Thank you so much for saving me—”

Ladybug stepped aside for the two policemen, who hauled her to her feet. She complained about the rough, only to scream when handcuffs clicked around her wrists. “Lila Rossi, you are under arrest for terrorism against the citizens of Paris. Everything you say can and will—”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Rossi sputtered, trying to pull her other wrist free before it was locked behind her back. “I was an akuma, I can’t be held responsible for helping Hawkmoth! If I need to be arrested, so do they!” Unable to gesture with her hand, she kicked in the direction of dreadlock girl, goth girl, and boy with a skull on his shirt. They looked horrified at the prospect.

He really, really needed to learn his classmates’ names.

The police officers didn’t look inclined to answer, but Argus was ecstatic to inform Rossi of what was going on. He was a hero, at least for the day; he couldn’t let someone walk away ignorant after all! “So, that wasn’t you in the video I took? The video where you can clearly see someone who looks exactly like you snatches an akuma out of the air and negotiates with Hawkmoth for better powers?” He looks back at Ladybug, who was giving him a look. “Oh dear, we ought to go out and search for this mysterious doppelganger then. But… the doppelganger theory doesn’t explain the mountain of other evidence for more crimes we found on you. Whoops.”

“You—” She lunged for Argus, but the officers hold her back. “You ruined my life!” She spat.

Chat Noir approached, crossing his arms, and glaring at the girl. “Ironic, coming from End Days herself.”

Argus snorted. “I know, right?”

Rossi was dragged away by the bobbies, screaming at the top of her lungs about diplomatic immunity and that she’d been framed. Argus rolled his eyes. Turning back to the heroes, he flinched, finding Chat Noir staring at him with an unidentifiable expression. After a few seconds, the hero spoke. “I don’t like you.”

“Chat—”

Argus cocked an eyebrow. “And why should I care?”

Chat Noir glared. “But, you did good in your first fight against an akuma. And hopefully, your last.”

“That was hardly my first fight against an akuma, remember?”

He stepped into Argus’ personal space, staring him down. Argus stopped breathing. “I won’t forget.” He stepped away. “But I guess you were lucky enough to find some people willing to tolerate you. That’s probably the reason why you’re not a loser anymore.”

“Chat Noir!” Ladybug stood in between the two, glaring at her partner. “There was no reason to say that to Argus! He’s the only reason we were able to defeat Hawkmoth!”

Chat Noir’s face darkened, and he looked away. “Yeah.” Like it was planned, Chat Noir’s Miraculous beeped, though the Ladybug and Peacock stayed silent. Ladybug must have recharged on her way over, and Argus never used his ability in battle—Duusu hadn’t even explained how, claiming that it was dangerous—so he was the only one who had to leave or risk his identity. Ladybug offered him a fist bump before he left, and Chat looked like he was about to cry. “Meet me in the usual place? Tonight, at ten?”

“Of course, Chaton. Take all the time you need.”

The black cat hero raced away to parts unknown after whatever that was (although, the dark part of Felix’s mind already had a suspicion he really didn’t like). That left Ladybug alone with the three temporary heroes, along with the three victims. She cleared her throat. “Thank you, everyone. With your help, we managed to finally arrest Hawkmoth—”

“So, who was it?” Chloe asked.

“You find that out tomorrow, with the rest of Paris. I believe a press conference is already in the works for the morning” Ladybug didn’t seem to care about the interruption, used to how Chloe acted. “I need to collect your Miraculous now, but Queen Bee, Argus, since you both have public identities…”

“You want ours back first before collecting the others,” Argus finished, snatching the Bee Miraculous out of Chloe’s hair. She yelped as she detransformed, and Argus tossed the hair comb to Ladybug. There was no sign of a kwami; did that happen when the Miraculous was removed without the transformation phrase? If so…

“Why you do that!?” Chloe screeched at him.

“Don’t act like you were going to return it willingly,” Argus spat back.

King Monkey agreed. “Yeah, you were probably planning to crash another train to impress mommy dearest.” He held out a fist to Argus, and the Peacock hero reluctantly tapped it.

Ripping the brooch off his chest, Argus turned back into Felix and he tossed it at Ladybug. She fumbled, bouncing the jewelry off her arms and chest before clutching it in a move so familiar it was burned into his retinas. “You don’t want to say goodbye to your kwami?” she asked.

Felix snorted. “If I never had to see that hyperactive monster ever again, it would be too soon. Keep the horrible thing.”

Ladybug nodded, gesturing for King Monkey to leave with her. She looked back at him over her shoulder. “I’ll see you soon.”

Felix nodded. And it would be soon.

As in, the next day of class, soon. They sat next to each other, after all.

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