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comics-and-fanworks · 1 year ago

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Hi! I found this Drabble and was curious on how you’d write your own story around it because of how amazing you are! So, if it’s not too much trouble, do you think you could write a Maribat story around this prompt please? Thank you!

“It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it. Of course these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered. She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair. The rise and fall of his chest. The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear. It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty apartment living room. It had been another dream of something that was impossible. She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread. But she longed to make that dream a reality.

It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying them was that in every one it was the same boy. Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them. Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment.”

Hi! So sorry for taking so long! I’m currently in college and it’s killing me slowly, there’s been a lotta ups and downs, and my mental health is realistically not where it should be. Thank you so much for being patient with me, I really should have gotten this done sooner. Also I didn't know which batboi you wanted so I put them all on a wheel and spun it. I also rewrote some of the scenes in Miraculous like Lila's first appearance to make her a bit craftier and such.

I love this prompt! Thank you for suggesting it to me and for your sweet words! I hope you like this super cute Soulmate AU!

Also heads up this is super long and only loosely adheres to canon! The thing is so long because it took so long for me to get this done, one thing led to another and here we are. This thing is pages long and has 23,741 words. P. S, some of this was written on my phone sorry if the formatting is inconsistent! Also, let me know if I miscalculated ticket prices or made mistakes, and I’ll fix it! How I did the math was I googled a Disneyland Paris ticket price, took the highest value, multiplied that by the number of students going (They had a pass for ages 3-17 that I used for the students), and then did adult ticket prices for the two teachers. I multiplied those by seven days and added the results. My result came up to about 9,667 not including tax, so I chucked on a few extra thousand to account for Lila pocketing some of the money.

TW: swearing, mentions of bullying, and minor violence, hints of PTSD, mentions of death

~~~~~~~~

Marinette knew the minute she had her first dream about him. She was sitting on a couch in a library working on her designs. A faceless man approached her, holding two mugs, and set one down in front of her, gently kissing her head. Despite her inability to identify this man, she felt safe with him and could feel love and affection swelling in her chest. He set his mug down and sat beside her, chuckling as she snuggled up. In comfortable silence, they worked on their own projects, not a care in the world.

When Marinette woke up that Saturday, she immediately called Alya. "Girl guess what? I just had my first soulmate dream!" She quickly removed the phone from her ear, correctly predicting the excited shriek from Alya. "Oh my gosh, Marinette! This is amazing! Did you see his face? Was it a guy? Was it Adrien?" Marinette jumped out of bed, an extra bit of pep in her step. It was going to be a great day, she knew it! "Yes, it was a guy. I couldn't see his face though... so that rules out Adrien." She hadn't even thought of that. Everyone knew that you wouldn't see your soulmate's face in your dreams until you met them! She would have to face the reality that Adrien was not meant to be hers. Alya heard her tone change, and thought quickly, "That doesn't necessarily mean that! People are reporting that they haven't seen their soulmate's face even though they had already met them in real life because the time wasn't right! Maybe Adrien is your soulmate but now isn't the right time because his supervillain of a father who could make Hawkmoth look like a saint won't let him date. Or girl have you considered that your soulmate could be a superhero? Lois Lane stated that she knew her soulmate before she saw his face in her dreams because he had a secret identity that obscured it! Your soulmate could be Chat Noir," Marinette made a face as she styled her hair, " or one of the vigilantes from Gotham! The way I see it is that you have three options. 1. It is Adrien, it just isn't the right time. 2. You haven't met them yet. 3. It's a superhero." Marinette laughed, "What if they're a supervillain?" "No way girl. You’re too sweet and pure for a villain. Anyways-" An Akuma alarm sounded, cutting their conversation short. "Welp, that's my cue. I gotta go Mari, duty calls!" And with that, Alya hung up to chase down the Akuma, while Marinette shouted out, "Tikki! Spots on!"

There she was, hiking through the woods with her soulmate. She still couldn't see his face, but she immediately knew why they were there. He wanted to show her someplace special, somewhere he'd never taken anyone before. Eventually, they found a stream, and she turned to see her partner rolling up his pant legs and taking off of his boots. "Throw a stick in the water to see how strong the current is. If it's too strong we'll have to turn pack." His voice was slightly garbled so she couldn't identify it, but she could clearly hear what he said. Picking up a stick she tossed it far out into the creek, watching as it lazily floated away. With that, she took off her own hiking boots, and the two made their way into the creek. The water was cold and she almost lost her footing, only to be caught by strong arms and pulled against her soulmate's broad chest. Marinette couldn't help the blush rising to her face as he held her. She could feel his gentle breath by her ear, along with the steady rise and fall of his chest. She could fall asleep listening to his heartbeat. He whispered, "Careful love. I don't want you getting hurt." He helped her stabilize and the two continued to make their way up the creek until-

Marinette woke with a start to the sound of her alarm clock. She cursed the thing, of course, it had to go off when she was getting to the good part. She realized as she rushed to get ready for school that she was able to identify something about her soulmate, they were both adults in this dream. She had been having them for a few months now, but this was the first time she could figure out any detail about when they would meet. It also didn't rule out any of Alya's theories either. She kissed her Maman and Papa and sprinted to school, thanking her lucky stars that she wasn't late. However, she was in for a surprise when she arrived at Mrs. Bustier's classroom. There was a new girl sitting in her seat, while the whole class gathered around her. Alya noticed her and waved her over. "Marinette! This is Lila Rossi! She just transferred here and she's from Italy! Guess what girl? She knows Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale too! She saved Jagged's cat and he wrote a song for her, and she taught Clara some of her most famous dance moves! She also works with Prince Ali on environmental charities!! She's so amazing!" Marinette paused. Jagged Stone doesn't have a cat, he has Fang the alligator, and Prince Ali focuses on charities for children, not the environment. She could also remember Clara doing all of her own choreography, so her suspicions were already raised. She had serious doubts about the girl in front of her, and despite wanting to voice them she held her tongue. "It's very nice to meet you, Lila! I'm Marinette the class president, welcome to Dupont." Lila looked her up and down and gave her a saccharine smile which only raised Marinette's suspicions even more. "Hello, Marinette! I hope we can be good friends! Alya tells me you like fashion, I happen to be a personal friend of Hubert de Givenchy, so maybe I can introduce you to him!" Marinette's eyes narrowed, Hubert de Givenchy had passed away in 2018, and if Lila really knew him she would have known that. Her classmates looked on with bated breath, clearly believing Lila knew these famous people.

"Oh, you knew him?" Lila nodded, "I was so sad to hear when he passed away in 2018. He really was an inspiration of mine," Marinette said, watching as Lila's eyes widened, but was impressed with how quickly she recovered, "Oh I know! I misspoke earlier, I meant his nephew!" Before Marinette could reply, the bell rang. Alya turned to her and said, "Marinette I hope you don't mind. Lila has really bad tinnitus from when she saved Jagged's cat from getting run over by a plane. She struggles to hear so we gave her your seat." Marinette looked around and noticed no one was in their normal seats. If Lila had her seat, it meant the only place left to sit was alone in the back. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I really would have appreciated it if you waited for me to get here. I have no problem with Lila sitting there if she needs it I just wish you would have-" Lila cut her off with fake tears, "Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to cause problems I just wanted to be able to hear the lessons! I can move to the back if that makes things better." Shit, she was good. Marinette looked around at her classmates who were now glaring at her. Did they not hear what she said? She had no problem with Lila sitting there if she needed it, she just wished someone would've let her know! "Don't worry Lila, you can stay there it's not your fault. I guess Marinette has decided to have an attitude today," Alix said, glaring at Marinette. "I just said I wished someone would have let me know!" Marinette shouted. "Girl it's just a seat it's no big deal. Why are you acting like a child about this?" Alya crossed her arms looking at her. "It's not even about the seat," Marinette started, "It's about you making a decision that affects me without talking to me about it!" "Well, we figured that since you're our Everyday Ladybug you'd have no problem with it. Come on Mari, you're supposed to be nice." Adrien scolded, and before she could defend herself the second bell rang, signaling the start of class.

She dreamed of walking down the streets of Paris, her soulmate nowhere in sight. However, she felt happy, it was a good day. She was going to her favorite bulk fabric supply store and texting some friends about the project ideas that danced in her head. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, she knew this path by heart. She was planning on buying fabric to make a new spring line when she ran straight into someone, how embarrassing. Looking up, there was her soulmate, with his clouded face. He chuckled and asked where she was going in such a rush, and she stuttered out an apology. He offered to walk with her, making Marinette smile, they must have done this before many times.

The next few months were rough. Later that first day she had gone to talk to Alya and had presented evidence to prove Lila was a liar, but her best friend had simply shaken her head and told Marinette that jealousy was not a good look on her. Marinette had been stunned, she had nothing to be jealous about until Alya told her that everyone could see Lila had a crush on Adrien. Alya's words still burned in her brain, "I can't believe you Marinette. To try and ruin another girl's reputation because of a crush. You need to take a good look in the mirror." Marinette couldn't fathom why her best friend wouldn't listen to her and decided to go for a patrol as Ladybug. Then while she had been passing by the park, she had overheard Lila telling Adrien that she was the fox hero, Volpina. She had to say something, Lila might not realize how much danger she was putting herself in by making those claims. So she swung down, (and tried her best to keep her cool) and explained to Lila that there was no fox hero and that if Hawkmoth had overheard her she could be in danger. Of course, that caused Lila to get akumatized. To make things worse, a couple of days later Lila had cornered her and threatened her! Despite everything, she still believed her classmates would come around and see the truth.

That was exactly five years ago. Marinette really should have had less faith in the people around her. Lila got her expelled, Alya disavowed their friendship, and Adrien betrayed her worst of all. In his endless quest to avoid any confrontation, he pressured her to keep quiet, and when she didn't he turned his back on her. Marinette had quit trying to expose Lila years ago, but the brunette had kept her promise. Adrien just watched as their class left her out of their plans, destroyed her things, and ripped up her work, among other things. When she confronted him about why he was allowing this to happen, he just shook his head and told her it never would have if she had done what he said. Her heart shattered, and she prayed that her soulmate wasn't Adrien. The only people she had in her corner were her parents, Luka, and Kagami (who had quickly seen through Lila's bullshit after she'd tried to lie her way into Marinette's room), Nino, and Kim (they snapped out of it after Lila accused Marinette of pushing her down the stairs), and she had the newfound support of Nathaniel, Juleka, and Rose. The last three didn't want to rock the boat or have Lila's wrath directed towards them but had expressed seven months ago that they figured out Lila was lying, but after Marinette was nearly knocked into the path of an oncoming car, they began to be more vocal in their opposition. Chloe had also stepped back from tormenting Marinette, the two girls never talked, but were never hostile. Her friends couldn't do much while they were in school, and since they were busy with their own lives, Marinette truly felt alone. Even under the mask as Ladybug she was alone, witch Chat Noir had gotten so frustrated with her constantly refusing his feelings, that he'd almost completely stopped showing up two years ago. Her only solace was that Paris seemed to be on her side with that one, and whenever Chat Noir did emerge he was met with anger from the citizens he'd broken his oath to. On top of all that, Marinette hadn't had a soulmate dream in years, which terrified her to her core. Did her soulmate die?

"Tikki, I haven't dreamt of him in years! What's wrong with me!?" Marinette sobbed, holding onto a pillow on her bed. Most of her days ended like this, with tears. The Kwami were kind enough to protect her from akumas during these times, after realizing that Marinette was only putting herself at risk by bottling up her emotions. Her room had changed since the Lila Era began. She had taken down all of her photos, save a few, her bright pink walls seemed to lose their hue, and she only ever designed for commissions, simply because she knew she needed a portfolio for college. Tom and Sabine had tried their hardest to get their little girl out of Dupont, but her transfer papers kept getting "lost." They tried to get her into therapy, but with Hawkmoth around every therapist had a waitlist that was beginning to enter into years. Tikki was growing more concerned with each passing day, her Chosen was close to breaking. "Oh baby bug, there's nothing wrong with you! Soulmate dreams are different than regular dreams because they're tied to real people in this world. The interesting thing about them is that they show up when you need them." "But I've needed them! I need to know I'm not alone, that I haven't been abandoned, and that the universe doesn't hate me enough to take away everything," Marinette just sobbed harder before she froze, "What if Adrien really is my soulmate and that's why I'm not having dreams? I'm unlucky as it is, so this would be on par for me," Tikki was horrified that Marinette would even think that, and before she could say anything, a new voice cut her off. "No. That brat is not your soulmate, I won't allow it." There was Plagg, in her room, holding a familiar silver ring in his paws. "Pigtails after what he's done to you, as Adrien and Chat Noir," Marinette and the other Kwami gasped, "I won't let him. I won't let him hurt you anymore! Marinette I am so sorry, I should have done this a long time ago, but I let my gluttony and my pity for the kid cloud my judgment. I let him fail you inside and outside of the mask, Kitten I promise you I will never let a black cat holder hurt you again." Plagg nuzzled against her cheek, gratefully accepting Marinette gently kissing his head letting him know all was forgiven. "Besides! His karma is coming for him, but I have to warn you too. He's going to try and pursue you romantically because he doesn't like who his soulmate is." Marinette perked up at that, "Adrien knows who his soulmate is?" Plagg nodded, "Yep. One Lila Rossi. A liar and an enabler, how fitting. He had rejected her because at the time he was still convinced that Ladybug was his soulmate, but now that that's not true, he's turning his attention toward you. He found out from Alya that you had a crush on him, and so even though he knows you aren't his soulmate he's going to try and pursue you anyways." Marinette's brows furrowed, deep in thought. No wonder Lila was so obsessed with Adrien, and it explained why she wanted to get close to him. What Marinette needed was a plan, so she hopped out of her bed and made her way down to the kitchen where her parents were talking. "Maman, Papa. Would it be alright if I took a mental health day tomorrow?" Her parents seemed to light up at the thought, seeing this as an opportunity to give their child a break from her tormentors. "Of course! In fact, why don't you take the whole week off? You're ahead on your work and haven't missed any school this year. We'll call the school tomorrow and take care of everything." Sabine said, right before she and Tom were tackled by their daughter for a hug. With time to plan, Marinette made her way upstairs to begin her work.

It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it. Of course, these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered. She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair. The rise and fall of his chest. The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear. It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty room. It had been another dream of something impossible. She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread. But she longed to make that dream a reality. It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying it was that it was the same boy she had dreamed of before. Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them. Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment. Marinette quickly snapped out of her sorrow when she had a realization: She had dreamt of her soulmate again! She couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face. A knocking on her trapdoor snapped her out of her thoughts, and her mother's voice brought her back to reality, "Marinette sweetie? Are you up? I have some news. We couldn't have timed this better, it's your spring break, so we don't need to worry about problems from Damocles or Bustier! Also, your class has left for their trip, so there's no way you'll bump into them! Alright, that's all I've got, go back to sleep." Marinette couldn't sleep, not after hearing that great news! The kwami were already waking up and grabbing their food from the minifridge she kept in her room, while Marinette dashed to her wardrobe. She had made herself an outfit a while ago but was too afraid her classmates would ruin it. It was a short light pink sundress, perfect for today's weather. She was going to spend the day out on the town enjoying her life. She had a considerable chunk of fun money saved up from her commissions and decided that she deserved a self-care day.

She had just left her favorite brunch spot and was making her way to her fabric shop of choice, texting her friends who had gone on the class trip. Marinette was the only one who was purposely excluded from it, and while her friends tried to drop the trip, Mrs. Bustier made them go because if that many people dropped there would be no way the class would hit their fundraising goal. Marinette was pretty sure some of that money was going straight into Lila's pocket, but she wasn't class president and had no way to get her hands on the class's records. Marinette didn't know the average price of sending 13 students plus two teachers to Disneyland Paris, but 12,000 euros seemed like a lot. And the worst part: she was still expected to contribute! Marinette was so wrapped up in the sheer ridiculousness of it all, that she didn't realize where she was going until she ran right into someone! As she began to fall, she felt a strong arm grab her by the waist and suddenly she was standing upright and looking up at the man she had just run into. He was stunning, at least 6'2 with medium-length dark hair he kept neatly styled. His tan skin radiated warmth, and his muscles were clearly defined by the dress shirt he was wearing. As her eyes trailed up from his sharp jawline, she froze when she saw his eyes. They were a rich green, held a deep, almost mysterious gleam, and were as sharp as a panther's. Like the cat, there was something wild about his eyes, hidden just below the surface. The only thought running through her head was a simple, 'He should be Plagg's next holder.' Suddenly the man staring at her let out a deep chuckle that rumbled in his broad chest, "What's the rush little Lily?" His voice was deep, with a sort of sharpness to it, like this kind of conversation was new to him.

"I, I am SO sorry sir! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ran into you! I hope I didn't mess up your outfit!" Marinette was in full panic mode, the most attractive man she'd ever seen in her life and she just made a fool of herself. Instead of the rage she expected and was used to, he only smiled, "No harm done. I don't have anywhere I have to be, and besides you only bumped into me, you didn't spill anything on me. Can I ask where you're going? My family has just arrived from the U.S. and I was exploring the city." Marinette blushed, he looked so intimidating, but so far he'd been nothing but kind. Still, she had learned never to drop her guard, but... If he wasn't from here she supposed it wouldn't hurt to be polite. "I'm going to some of my favorite fabric shops in the fashion district... I'm a clothing designer and I was going to pick up some to start working on a spring and summer collection," She decided to take a gamble, "If you have nothing to do I can show you around." He smiled, "I would love that Ms...," "Marinette, and you are?" "Damian." Marinette smiled as the two began to walk toward the fashion district together, "Well it's very nice to meet you, Damian, even if it was in interesting circumstances."

When Damian heard his father talking about going to Paris to investigate the Hawkmoth situation, he quickly volunteered to go along as well. His official pitch was that he was closest in age to the young heroes of Paris, and would have an easier time getting them to talk. He also said it would look good to add a bit of international travel and education abroad to his resume. However, he had a secret reason for wanting to go to Paris: to meet his soulmate. Younger him would have scoffed at the thought, but he was not the same person he was when he first came to his father. Thanks to his brothers and Jon (mostly Jon), he had grown as a person, and now that he was close to graduating high school, he was beginning to think about the rest of his life and how he wanted to spend it. Of course, there were the staples, going to college, starting at least 5 charities for animals, and inheriting the cowl, but a part of him wanted more. A part of him didn't want to be alone. So he started looking back at all the soulmate dreams he'd been having since he was thirteen. Even though he'd dismissed it at that age, he at least had the foresight to write everything down, and using his Batfamily-honed detective skills, he deduced his soulmate was somewhere in Paris. One dream stood out to him, he was standing on a sidewalk in Paris when his soulmate crashed into him. From the way she spoke in the dream, he deduced that this was when they would meet. So there he was, standing on the exact sidewalk in the exact spot. He knew how ridiculous he must've looked as he texted his family, his official story being that he was going to look for clues about the heroes. Right as he was about to reply to a snarky text from Tim, he felt a small mass crash into him with way more force than it should have. He quickly spun around and caught the woman, and as he stabilized her he was able to get a good look at her. The first thing Damian noticed was how small she was, at least compared to him, however, she did have quite a bit of lean muscle. Her skin was pale, with a slight pink undertone to contrast her shoulder-length ebony hair. Her cheeks were lightly dusted pink with small patches of freckles, and her lips were ruby red. She almost resembled a porcelain doll. She was gorgeous, but what really took his breath away was her eyes. Framed in long dark lashes they were a beautiful deep blue. They reminded him of an ocean, deep and rich and sparkling under the sunlight. This had to be his soulmate. He learned her name, Marinette, and she invited him to go with her to the fashion district. Damian was content, while she may not recognize him as her soulmate yet, it was undeniable that she felt the same pull towards him that he felt towards her.

Before she knew it, Marinette had spent her entire spring break with Damian. She couldn't help it, she felt drawn to him, like she needed him to breathe. What surprised her the most, was the dream she had the night after she met him. She was sitting atop a building as Ladybug, watching the sunset, and next to her with the black cat Miraculous, was Damian. They watched the sun sink below the horizon, and suddenly the sky erupted into fireworks of all colors. The show ended with a sentence spelled out in fireworks "Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit." She knew the moment she opened her eyes that Damian was her soulmate, and from the texts, she'd received, he knew it too. The two of them agreed to take it slow, they were still very young and had just met. However, as the mini vacation went on, the pit of dread in her stomach began to grow, and she would have to return to school. She had told Damian what was happening with Lila, Adrien, everything. Needless to say, Marinette was surprised when he told her he would be in her class, and that he wouldn't let them do anything to her (Little did they know Tom and Sabine heard them, and Damian had just won their approval). So when he arrived to pick her up, he made sure they got to Dupont early. Marinette gave him a tour, and as they were walking he stopped to talk to people. "Don't you normally hate talking to people?" "Normally I do my Lily, but in this case, I do not mind. However, I do have an ulterior motive. By talking to these people, I've created an alibi. Look over there," Marinette looked over and saw Sabrina and Alix watching them and whispering, "Those are two of that liar's sycophants right? Well now that they've seen that you spent your time before class giving me, a new student, a tour, if Lila claims that you did something to her, two of her own followers have seen evidence disproving it. So either they mention that there's no way you could've done it because they saw with their own eyes that you have not even interacted with her, or they say nothing and you know what kind of people they are." It was brilliant. Marinette was a little miffed she hadn't thought of it before. The two walked to class, and Marinette whispered, "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Adrien will give you the most problems. I heard from a friend that he was interested in me, even though he already knows who his soulmate is." "Is it Lila?" "Yes. I know enough about her to know that she's incredibly selfish, she hated it whenever Adrien gave me any attention, because-" "Because he was her ticket to fame and fortune, and if he had picked you she would be locked out." "Exactly. I do not doubt that the second she hears your last name, she won't give a shit about Adrien and will focus her full attention on breaking us apart." Marinette was shocked when Damian told her his last name, she may be oblivious but even she knew who the Waynes were. Plagg joked that it was the Universe trying to make up for how shitty it had been to her. She was not expecting the wicked grin Damian gave her as they arrived at their classroom. "I would like to see her try."

Before the two could reach their seats in the back of the room, Marinette was yanked away from Damian by Kim and Nino, "We don't know who you are but you don't deserve her!" Kim shouted, holding onto Marinette. "Yeah! Mari's the nicest dudette the world has ever seen, if you hurt her we'll kick your ass!" Nino said as he put himself between Damian and Marinette. There was a small moment of awkward silence before the group laughed. Marinette had warned him that her two best friends would try something like this, especially after she told them that he was her soulmate. Taking their seats at the back of the class, the group chatted about their spring break, until Lila walked in with the rest of the class. She readied a fresh accusation to fling at the ravenette but caught herself just in time. WHO was that gorgeous man sitting with Marinette? He put Adrien, a freaking model, to shame. Everyone else seemed to share that sentiment, and Alya was about to start demanding answers when they were spotted. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as the man glared at them. Marinette waved to Rose, Juleka, and Nathaniel, who quickly took their seats near the group of outcasts while Damian Batglared the rest of the class. "Can I help you?" He asked in an icy tone, one that demanded immediate answers. Alya balked, "We, we were just curious about you, since you're, um, a new student here." Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, "My name is Damian Wayne, yes, from that family. I came to Paris with my father for a business trip, and to find my soulmate, Marinette," Little mutterings of "no way," "That's impossible," and "I didn't think that bitch would have a soulmate," filled the room. "I plan on staying until graduation, and from there I will be going to college with Marinette. Let me make one thing clear: I will not hesitate to retaliate against anyone who tries to hurt my soulmate in any shape or form." Nathaniel could be heard whispering, "Oooh, I like him," To the rest of their little group, who nodded in agreement. After waiting for a second for anyone to challenge him, Damian turned back to Marinette, and almost like a switch flipped, began showing her pictures of his cat.

Lila couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Damian Wayne was in her class, the richest, most eligible bachelor in the world was in her class... and his soulmate was fucking Dupain-Cheng! She swore this had to be some sick joke. There was no way that THE Damian Wayne (whom she had instantly recognized because she had seen him once at a charity ball her mother had taken her to and committed his face to memory) had someone as pathetic as Marinette as his soulmate. The universe truly was cruel. She'd thought she was lucky when she found out Adrien was her soulmate and was devastated when he told her over the break he was going to pursue Marinette. But now? Now Lila knew she must be the luckiest girl in history! Glancing over at Adrien confirmed her belief, the dumbass pushover glared at his rival, and she knew he wasn't going to back down. This was perfect. All she would have to do is separate Marinette and Damian, use the mountain of evidence against Marinette that she made over the years to convince her future husband that his soulmate was no good, and then bam! In a few short years, her name would be Delilah Wayne! Adrien's persistence would only help her case, especially with Marinette's former crush on the blond it would be so easy to frame her for cheating. She would have to be careful though, just from the look in his eyes she could tell he would be much sharper than the rest of her classmates had been: he would be her greatest challenge yet. For now, she would bide her time, and perfect her plan.

Lila made her first move at lunch. She and Alya were sitting at a table, observing Marinette and her friends talking with Damian. "He's so kind to them, why is he such an asshole to us?" Alya muttered. Ah, an opening. "Well, I don't think it's really his fault. I mean he did say that he had come to Paris to find his soulmate, and well, Marinette IS a pathological liar," Lila said as she picked at her food. Alya nodded, "I just can't understand why they still hang out with her! They know what she does to you, they know she's a bitch!" "I think it's a mix of sunk cost fallacy and denial Alya. Nino and Kim have known her since they were little, so I think the reality of Marinette being a bully just can't compute for them. As for Juleka, Rose, and Nathaniel, I think they feel indebted to her or something," Alya nodded, agreeing with her logic. "Girl you're so in tune with people it's crazy!" 'Yes I am,' Lila thought, 'You have to be able to read people to trick them.' "Alya... Can I tell you something? Something bad happened between Adrien and me over the trip." The reporter's head snapped around to her, "What did that bastard do?" Lila began to channel the sorrow she felt when Adrien confronted her over the break, "He... He told me he didn't want me!" She wailed, just loud enough for Damian to overhear, "He called me a liar and all of these awful names, and he told me he was in love with Marinette and that he knew she felt the same for him! He told me if I told anyone about this he'd ruin me!" She cried. It was amazing that Adrien had just handed her this opportunity, completely unaware that he'd done so. As Alya promised revenge against Adrien and the whore who stole him from Lila, the girl in question carefully glanced over to see Damian looking right at her. Perfect. When Lila had decided on this plan, she decided the initial bonding point would be that they had both been betrayed by their soulmates. If Damian was emotionally vulnerable he would be that much easier to manipulate, it would also be the perfect story to pitch to the media as well, they were both betrayed by their soulmates and fell in love!

Lila was quiet for the rest of the day, waiting eagerly for their classes to end. She had a feeling that Adrien would make a move and wanted to be there to see what she'd have to work with. She made an excuse to leave class early and quickly hid behind the stairs. She had to wait a bit for them to leave and spent the time doing research about Damian on her phone. So he loved animals, was passionate about the arts, and was a master swordsman and martial artist. He also spoke seven languages including Italian!! Lila sighed, he was perfect. Finally, the bell rang, and students began making their way out of the building. Lila knew Marinette usually spent some time helping the art teacher before she left, so she was certain Adrien would wait for the girl. Risking discovery, she poked her head out and saw her plan falling into place. Adrien was standing at the top of the stairs, clearly waiting for Marinette. He was muttering to himself, about how it wasn’t fair, about how he couldn’t understand how Marinette could trust a stranger she’d just met. Lila had to keep herself from letting out an amused snort. Isn’t that rich considering their class’s track record?

She had to wait for about fifteen minutes before she heard laughter coming towards the entrance of the school, it was Marinette, laughing at something Damian had told her, “Oh my gosh, are all your brothers on crack?” she gasped for air, “Sometimes it feels like it,” Damian chuckled. The two were about to walk down the stairs when Adrien stepped in front of them. “Hi, Mari. Can I talk to you, please? Alone.” Wow. Lila didn��t know Sunshine Boy could have such venom, she figured he must’ve been directing that at Damian. Lila could only imagine the glares between the two boys, not daring to poke her head out now and get caught, however, when she thought she heard footsteps back into the school she took out her phone and pressed record. “Why? So you can pressure me into silence again? If you need to tell me something, say it now because Damian and I have plans.” Lila had known about Adrien’s high road advice, and that Marinette had been so in love that she listened. She doubted the ravenette would fall for that now. Lila waited with bated breath to see what Adrien would do, and could not believe what she heard. “I think you should stay away from him. You only just met him, he’s probably lying about who he is Mari. You saw how he treated our friends-” “He has been nothing but kind to MY friends. That’s so rich coming from you Adrien. Lila comes along and lies about everything and it’s totally fine, I meet my soulmate and now suddenly you care about honesty?” “It’s a different situation and you know it Marinette. Lila’s not hurting anyone and if you expose her she could be akumatized.” “What about me Adrien? What if I’m akumatized because of the lies that have ruined my reputation, my belongings are destroyed, when I’m being excluded from practically everything? Do I not matter to you?” “What- no Marinette you matter to me! Besides it’s not that bad and you’re our Everyday Ladybug so-” “SO WHAT? So I’m supposed to accept being mistreated and abused? What are you even here for Adrien?” Lila could tell that Marinette was losing her patience and for a moment, she genuinely wondered if this would be what got her rival akumatized. Adrien took a deep breath, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend.” Perfect! Adrien had given her just what she needed. Lila kept recording because even if Marinette didn’t respond how she wanted, she might say something Lila could doctor later. And it would seem that Marinette was finally shaking off her shock, “Are you crazy? Adrien, I haven’t loved you since we were thirteen, since you made it clear that not rocking the boat was more important to you than me. Besides, I’ve met my soulmate, and yeah we haven’t known each other long, I want to focus on getting to know him.” Adrien did not back down, “Come on Marinette! I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I know we’re meant for each other. The reason I know he’s not good for you is that you’re MY soulmate!” Wow. Lila wasn’t expecting such a bold lie from the blond, he must have been banking on the fact that Marinette had no way of knowing that Adrien was HER soulmate. Now that she had what she needed, she carefully snuck through the bushes and as soon as she turned a corner, she booked it for home. She wasn’t going to risk slowing down to look behind her, she figured since the two were still arguing that she’d successfully completed her mission. Soon it would be all over the media, ‘Model Adrien Agreste Ditches Soulmate for Useless Nobody: How Lila Rossi Saved the Day and Won Damian Wayne’s Heart.’ Lila knew she had a lot of work to do, and couldn’t wait to get started.

After a long day, Damian returned to the upscale apartment his father was renting during their time in Paris. Marinette hadn’t been joking, her class was a nightmare! Damian had been skeptical at first, no way people could be that ignorant, but after what he saw today, he realized it ran deeper. They looked at Lila the same way people looked at him: They wanted something. Marinette had told him that Lila lied and faked evidence conveniently showing she knew famous people in their fields of interest, so it was likely they followed her because they wanted her to boost their careers. The Ladyblogger, someone who should have known to fact-check followed Lila like a sycophant, either knew she was lying or was really bad at her job. Then there was the other big problem in the class, Adrien Agreste. He seemed to believe he was entitled to Marinette’s love, despite his soulmate making it clear she wanted nothing to do with the blond. He had texted Nino about the Adrien-Marinette situation, and the DJ had filled him in. Marinette used to have a crush on and did some very crazy things to get his attention (Nino had also admitted the class had pushed her into some of the crazier situations), but Adrien either ignored her or was oblivious. At the time this was going on, he had a massive crush on Ladybug and still had a crush on her until recently. Googling the Parisian hero, he found a few things that made his blood run cold. First, Ladybug had stated that she would never date a civilian (smart) in an interview. Second, the videos he’d seen from when Chat Noir was acting showed the hero displaying the same entitled behavior Adrien did, along with a couple of the same speech patterns and body language. Finally, Ladybug and Marinette looked very similar. There were some differences, but he couldn’t deny that the two could be sisters. A theory was forming in his head, Adrien had been Chat Noir, and after being rejected constantly by Ladybug, decided to set his sights on someone who looked similar to Ladybug. It was clear he still believed Marinette was a sweet, naive girl who would never say no to him, so he potentially thought he could pressure her into accepting his feelings.

Damian was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice that his father and Tim had returned home, however, they certainly noticed. Bruce decided that this was one of those moments where Damian might need some fatherly advice, and Tim decided he wanted to hear whatever was giving Demon-Spawn trouble. It must be interesting. “How was your day Damian? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you lost in thought,” yes he could. It was right after Damian had been brought back from the dead. He watched his son’s head snap up, “I… I’m fine. My day was fine.” “No, you’re not fine. Something’s been on your mind since B mentioned going to Paris, so you can either tell us what’s up or I’ll hack your phone.” Dammit, Tim not now. Damian sighed, surprising both that he wasn’t putting up more of a fight. “The reason I wanted to come to Paris was that I had figured out my soulmate was here.”

Tim dropped the coffee mug he was filling, and Bruce stared at his son in shock. “Oh my gosh! Did you meet them yet? What are they like? When will we meet them? How did you meet them-” “Tim.” “Sorry B,” “Start from the beginning Damian.” “I met her last week. She was going to buy fabric and bumped into me. We spent every day of her spring break hanging out and getting to know each other, and I was lucky enough to be in her class at the school you enrolled me in. I also found out she had been having trouble with some of her classmates,” “Is she drama-prone?” “Tim let him talk,” “Not necessarily. She’s being bullied and has been for the past few years. Her classmates are the typical users we encounter at Galas and believed her bully because she promised them she had connections. My main concern isn’t the bully, I can deal with her, but a boy in her class has begun to show some alarming behavior... From what I’ve figured out, he was the hero Chat Noir, and I think he’s become obsessed with Mari- my soulmate because of how similar she looks to Ladybug. From my information, I know that he has never shown any interest in her before and that when they were younger she used to have a crush on him. I also know that for whatever reason he’s no longer active as Chat Noir.” “So your theory is that because he no longer has access to his obsession that he’s shifted targets to someone he thinks he still has power over in order to pressure her into fulfilling his fantasy?” “Yes. However, I don’t think he’s realized that. I think a part of him genuinely believes he has feelings for her. I did some research on him, and he grew up with a very controlling and sheltering father, so he’s still incredibly naive, that or he’s so deep in denial he’s become delusional. He still seems to believe that staying silent about my soulmate’s tormentor purposely lying to ruin her reputation and all the physical torment she’s receiving is the right thing to do.” Bruce raised an eyebrow and Tim clutched at his pearls. “So how do you plan on handling this?” Bruce was worried, they needed to find out why Chat Noir was no longer active, if Damian’s theory was true and the former Hero of Paris got akumatized he could still be a massive threat. However, Damian was his father’s son, “I looked into some of the old posts on the Ladyblog before it… strayed. From some clips, I think my soulmate might actually have a connection to Ladybug.” Tim raised his eyebrow, “Damian it’s not that I don’t want you to be happy, but she sounds a little too good to be true. An amazing talented woman who just happens to know celebrities and heroes? Isn’t that the same thing that girl with the weird hair on the Ladyblog claims?” “Well, my soulmate can actually back up her claims. Her class has had the most akumatizations minus the pigeon man, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Ladybug noticed, and my soulmate is connected to one of the most popular boulangeries in Paris that Ladybug has been seen stopping by. I was going to go out on patrol, and if I couldn’t meet Ladybug that way I’d find a way to see if my soulmate could get her attention.” Bruce nodded. The spotted heroine had been incredibly elusive, and he was beginning to suspect magic was involved. He gave Damian his blessing, and as his youngest son left to get ready for patrol he and Tim turned their attention to a new mystery: Figuring out who his son’s soulmate was.

Paris was beautiful at night. Damian stood atop the Eiffel Tower, looking out over the city. He could almost run the path between his classmates’ homes by muscle memory alone. While he may not like them for their treatment of Marinette, he knew his soulmate still cared about them to some degree, and if anything happened to them it would kill her. He was debating swinging by Marinette’s home but decided against it. While he felt like he could trust her with his life, their relationship was still too young to bring the baggage of a hero into it. He almost didn’t pick up on the gentle thud behind him, and when he turned to snap at Tim for bothering him, he froze. “Mari? My Lily?” He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing in front of him was Ladybug… who looked exactly like Marinette. Her costume had changed since her initial debut, but there was no doubt who the woman in front of him was. This whole time his soulmate was also the hero they were trying to contact. “Damian? You’re Robin?!” “And you’re Ladybug.” That seemed to snap Mari out of her stupor, “I can explain! Please don’t be mad!” He would address that last bit later, but for now, he just leaned against the railing and watched as she began pacing back and forth. He’d wait all night if that’s what Mari needed to get her thoughts together. “I became Ladybug when I was thirteen. I was chosen by the Guardian of the Miraculous, and he snuck the Ladybug Miraculous into my bag.” “Forgive me but what’s Miraculous?” “Oh right,” He watched as Marinette took off the red and black earrings, “Miraculous are magical objects that are often worn as jewelry. Each Miraculous is connected to a Kwamii, and each Kwamii is the embodiment of a fundamental force of the universe,” A bright red flash came from the Miraculous, and next to Marinette was a floating Ladybug-like creature. The little Kawaii-thing flew up to him, and he carefully held up a hand to allow it to land. “Hello! Damian Wayne, Robin, Son of Bruce Wayne, Grandson of the Demon, and Heir to the Cowl. I am Tikki, the Kwamii of Creation! I am bound to the Ladybug Miraculous that my Chosen uses, and am the source of her powers! If you’ll excuse me I’m going to refuse with Marinette, it’s awfully chilly up here.” With that Tikki zipped back to Marinette, as soon as the two touched a bright red flash appeared and Ladybug stood before him again. “The previous Guardian, well long before he left and left the title and other Miraculous to me, lost two Miraculi, the peacock and the butterfly.” “Which are being used by Hawkmoth and Mayaura.” “Exactly.” Damian nodded, their theory was correct, magic was involved with the Paris situation.

“Lily, didn’t you used to have a partner?” He watched his soulmate huddle into herself and immediately got off the railing to comfort her. “I did. Chat Noir wielded the Black Cat Miraculous of Destruction. He was my other half, my balance. Over time he got it into our head that because our Miraculi were complimentary, that meant we were soulmates. He began flirting with me constantly, calling me these embarrassing nicknames even when I asked him to stop, and would needlessly throw himself into danger to try and impress me. Eventually, he got tired of me turning him down, and he started missing battles and patrols. When he did show up he’d just get in the way, saying he’d help me again if I admitted we were soulmates. It got so bad his own Kwamii took the Miraculous back from him and brought it to me. I used to have temporary heroes I could count on, but they’re out of the question because their identities were exposed or they’ve chosen Lila’s side.” Damian hugged her tightly, he wasn’t one for physical affection but she was the exception. “So you’ve been alone this whole time? Oh my, Lily I’m so sorry,” he sighed, “Does Adrien know you’re Ladybug?” Marionette’s eyes widened, amazed he knew who Chat was. “Not that I’m aware of. He thinks we look really similar, but he’s seen Ladybug and I in a room together so I doubt he thinks we’re the same.” Damian nodded, “Mari I promise you I’ll help you through this, I just need you to trust me. My brother Red Robin and my father Batman are here-“ “BATMAN IS HERE?!?!” “- yes love. We’re here to help you take down Hawkmoth. I’ll help you take down Lila and figure out how to deal with Adrien, and then as soon as we graduate I’ll steal you away to Gotham.” He looked into her eyes and watched as a hopeful spark began to reignite.

It was time for phase two of Lila’s plan. She was going to paint herself as Damian’s ideal woman, not by exactly mirroring his interests, he’d catch on to that. A good idea would be to lean into his love of animals. She had researched some well-known animal charities, and even though she really hated getting dirty, she had gone to a volunteer event the other day. Sure, the puppies were super cute, but Lila would rather spend her time working on her manicure. But now she has photos, timestamped photos. She took extra care to make sure her hair and make-up were absolutely perfect, checking on her secret weapon one last time before she left. She was going to save it until she absolutely had to, it would be either her killing blow or her final saving play. As she walked to school, she mentally mapped out her plan for today. She would brag to her class about her volunteer work, and show them the photos on her phone, then she would spread a rumor about seeing Marinette talking and being affectionate towards some random guy. ‘Lila Rossi!’ she thought, ‘You can do better than that! He would see through that in a heartbeat, they spend all of their time together.’ She decided to settle on making Marinette look bad. She’d have to be sneaky, Damian was clearly aware of her tricks and would be on guard, but Lila still thought she had a window of opportunity to convince him Marinette was the evil one. She went into a coffee shop and ordered an iced coffee, Lila wasn’t going to drink it, it was simply a prop she’d spill on herself as a direct result of Dupain-Cheng. She hated to sacrifice her favorite outfit but consoled herself with the knowledge that this would be rags compared to the luxury she’d wear as the girlfriend of a Wayne. Now she just had to decide how she’d spill the coffee, would she make it look like Marinette shoved her? No… too complicated. How about tripping? That won’t work, the little brat’s gotten too smart and now specifically looks for it. She would make it look like Marinette ran into her, and while it wouldn’t do as much damage as she’d like it to, it would be good to show Damian that his soulmate was WAY too clumsy to represent the Wayne Family. She was excitedly daydreaming about all the galas and events she’d go to, hell maybe she would start an acting career! Lila was so caught up in her fantasies that she almost ran into Alya! “Hey, girl! Don’t you look lovely today!” Lila smiled, “Hey Alya! I think you’ve got me beat today! Have you seen Damian? I’m worried Marinette might have said some things about me… and I wanted to talk to him and show him I’m not the person she says I am.” Alya scowled at Marinette’s name, “Ugh I bet she did! But she’s not here today. Her parents called and said she’d gotten sick over the weekend. Damian called in sick as well, and come to think of it, Adrien isn’t here either! Today should be an easy day for you!” Lila had to force a smile, this screwed up her plan damn it! Oh well, maybe if she got the chance, she could poke around Marinette and Damian’s lockers to see if there was anything she could find, it would also be a good chance to strengthen her hold on the class. If Lila is anything, it’s flexible, and she would never let an opportunity slip by.

Damian was looking around Marinette’s room, marveling at just how much his soulmate had accomplished. It looked less like a bedroom and more like a design studio, with mannequins adorned with projects ranging from just starting to fully complete, the walls papered with designs, and the occasional photo of friends or loved ones. Just underneath the papers, he could see the faint hint of a light pink painted wall. Bolts of fabric were arranged against another wall, organized by color and material, as well as a massive piece of wall art made to conveniently store different yarns. There was a closet filled with cases of embroidery floss and other art supplies. Under Marinette’s loft bed was a table with two sewing machines, a modern one able to do large-scale embroidery and Esme. Esme was Marinette’s pride and joy, a vintage singer sewing machine that was practically indestructible. Esme has been through everything, leather, denim, silk, you name it she’s sewn it. When she wasn’t in use, she was kept on her own table, in a place of honor within the room. Beside Esme was a vase of white lilies he’d given her, and a massive book. This was Marinette’s logbook, in which she kept meticulous records of everything: Who commissioned her, how much they paid, what they wanted, how much of each material she had, where it was, and other expenses. It seemed like wherever Damian looked, he saw something new. She made clothing, shoes, hats, jewelry, accessories, and the evidence of that was in her controlled chaos. Even though it was smaller than the Manor, he loved it, he loved everything about Marinette’s home and her family. They were warm and inviting, and it was reflected in their home, and in the daughter Tom and Sabine had raised. Marinette’s room was like her, bright and full of unique colors and energy. She was currently moving Esme to her spot of honor, and opening a special compartment in her desk. From the compartment, she pulled out a vintage sewing box that looked almost ancient (I’m sorry but they made the Miraculous box an EGG when they could have done something that could blend in).

As soon as Marinette opened the box, sixteen bright lights shot out of it, flying around the room. “Alright everyone listen up!” Mari clapped her hands together to get the light’s attention. They eventually came to a stop in front of her, and Damian looked at them in shock. There were… SO many Kwamii, and apparently there was supposed to be more his soulmate had to recover from around the world. “This is Damian, my soulmate. He’s-” Marinette was cut off by the excited shriek of some of the Kwamii, “He’s going to help us take down Hawkmoth and Mayaura and rescue Duusu and Nooroo. He and his family are superheroes from Gotham and-” “He’s going to be the next Cat,” Plagg interrupted, the seriousness of his tone taking everyone by surprise. The cat Kwamii flew over to Damian, holding a small ring. “The Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous are connected. One cannot be active for long without the other.” Damian’s eyes met Plagg’s, “And how do you know I am compatible with the Miraculous? I am Marinette’s soulmate but that doesn’t mean I am a match for you.” Plagg cackled, flying around Damian, who stood with his arms crossed, “You’ll do just fine! Much more serious than my last holder for sure! You are more compatible than Adrien was for the simple reason that you are deeply connected with Destruction itself. You come from a tragedy on both sides, a father driven to fight an endless war to avenge his parents’ murder, a mother who needed a pawn and heir to an empire of assassins. Not to mention, the Lazarus Pit.” Damian froze at the mention of the pits, and for a moment, he could almost feel the blazing fire of twisted life rushing through his veins. “Damian? Are you alright? Plagg? What did you do?” Marinette gently rested a hand on Damian’s cheek, she could tell he was reliving something… Plagg simply flew back towards the box. “I’m doing things differently this time Pigtails. I had some time to think… I need to be more responsible for you and for future cats and bugs. Nothing should be hidden between partners, and I know you love him, I know he loves you, but there are people in his life who will not approve. I think he should be the one to tell you when he’s ready. It’s a conversation that needs to be had for both of you. There can be no more secrets.” And with that, the Kwamii flew back over to Damian and gently placed the ring in his hand. The weight of it seemed to snap him out of his flashback, and he looked down at the ring in his hand. He remembered what he’d seen from the videos, he knew the basics of the Black Cat’s powers, and combined with his training, he would be formidable. “I’ll do it. What do I have to say to transform?” Plagg smirked, “Alright kid, all you’ve gotta say is, Plagg claws out!”

Alya was out with her class, chilling in the park after school. They had stopped and gotten smoothies and were working on their own projects in comfortable silence. Alya was busy chasing two leads: What were the Waynes doing in Paris, and where was Chat Noir? Sure, he didn’t do much in most Akuma fights, but he was still one of the heroes of Paris! Come to think of it, no new heroes had been called up since Hawkmoth discovered their identities. She had to take a little bit of pride in that, they were so good that Ladybug couldn’t find any good replacements. She thought about asking Lila for the inside scoop, but with how stressed her bestie had been lately due to Adrien and Marinette’s actions she decided against it. That was another mystery: Marinette. When had the switch flipped? What caused the switch to flip? Was she always like this and Lila was just the first to uncover it? She was also curious about Damian, why would nobody Marinette have such an impressive soulmate? She figured his bad attitude was Marinette’s fault, although, from the articles on her laptop, he’d never been the most approachable or friendly. ‘An asshole for an asshole,’ she thought. Although she’d noticed Lila had been eying Damian since he arrived, maybe she was giving him the benefit of the doubt? Alya shook her head and went back to her research. Something had happened to Chat Noir and Ladybug has been silent about it. She had her theories, and normally she’d run them by Nino, but since the two had broken up all those years ago… Alya sighed. Marinette split the class in two and nothing has been the same since. The Girl Squad was disbanded, she and Nino broke up, and class events rarely hit their goals because if the bully wasn’t invited, her supporters wouldn’t go either. Alya groaned and shifted positions, she NEEDED to finish her research about Chat Noir's disappearance. It’s been forever since she uploaded Ladybug and Chat Noir content to the Ladyblog, even Alya would admit her blog had started to shift towards Lila content only. Just as she was beginning to give up, a message popped up on her screen.

Hello Ladyblogger. I have some information you might be interested in.

Alya stared at her screen. Was this a scam? She tried to click off the message, but it stayed. She should close her computer, and ask Max to take a look at it, but… what if this person was an inside source!? Carefully she typed out a reply.

Who is this? Why should I trust you?

Her elusive new friend was quick to respond.

That’s funny. You were so quick to trust before. What changed?

She didn’t know if she should be freaked out or offended, but her curiosity would get the best of her.

I got betrayed by someone I thought I could trust. Now what do you want?

Oh, you got betrayed alright, or to be more exact, you’re currently being betrayed, you’re just too deep in denial to realize it.

‘What?! What could they possibly mean by that?’ Alya thought as her eyes narrowed and she looked around at her friends.

Look if this is you Marinette I don’t want any of your bullshit.

My name isn’t Marinette. It’s Red, and I happen to know about Chat Noir’s whereabouts or his lack thereof. But, if you want the file, you’re going to have to do me a favor.

Oh shit. There were many things Alya was willing to do for a lead, but she had a couple of lines that she refused to cross.

Oh Yeah? And what kind of favor is this?

I need you to look into your class’s multiple akumatizations.

The feeling of wielding a Miraculous was exhilarating. Domain’s whole body was practically vibrating with an energy he’d never known. It felt like everything was amplified, he wanted to, no he needed to run, and could feel his senses sharpening and his emotions, or at least how he felt them, intensify. ‘This must be what Starfire feels like,’ He thought as he admired his new suit. It was all black with acid-green accents and made from the same material as his Robin suit. Instead of a belt tail and ears, he wore a long cloak with a hood, and two tiny bits poked up to form the ears. The cloak was lined in gold and the ears were tipped in gold as well. A solid black domino mask hid his identity, and his eyes were a bright shade of acid green to match the accents on his suit. The suit itself was made of a similar material as his Robin suit and was solid black, but if you looked at it in the right light, leopard spots were visible. He’d said to hell with the bell, and holding his cloak on and the sash-belt that doubled as a tail were held in place by a deep green cat’s eye gemstone His boots and gloves were solid black, and fitted with braces for extra support when landing. At the tips of his gloves were retractable claws that glistened in the light, and they were slightly curved so he could use them to grab onto buildings and climb. He still had the baton, but a sword was really more his style, but even still he marveled at the magical weapon. “Before you make your debut, you should come up with a name so you aren’t put on the spot like I was,” Mari said as she looked him up and down in the new suit. Damian thought for a moment, “Panthère de Nuit. Night Panther.” his soulmate let out a pleased hum, “Letting Hawkmoth know he faces a more dangerous apex predator?” “Indeed my Lily,” Marinette smiled, and with a quick, “Spots on,” the two were ready to begin Damian’s first patrol as Paris’s new hero.

The two heroes raced along the rooftops, with Panthère de Nuit easily keeping up, a credit to Damian’s training and time as Robin. The two finally came to a stop on a rooftop near the Eiffel Tower, they could see their class in the park below. “Okay, the second Alya sees us, she’s going to try and flag us down for an interview. Do you want to speak with her?” Damian thought for a moment and shook his head. “No. Since Lila has taken over her blog, I don’t think she is a reliable source of information. I do not trust your local news here as well, they seem to lean into rumors. Is there anyone reliable we can talk to?” Ladybug looked around and spotted a familiar parasol. Aurore. The two had gotten to know each other better since Marinette distanced herself from her classmates, and she found out that the blonde ran her own Ladybug-themed blog called On the Spot. While Aurore didn’t get the close-up Akuma footage that Alya had, she was far more accurate in her reports. She recorded information such as the time of akumatization, rough location, and the direction the akumas had been seen traveling from. She had meant to begin working with Aurore and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to start. “See that girl over there? The blonde one? She runs her own blog, On the Spot, and while it’s less popular than the Ladyblog, it is more accurate. We can talk to her, but we need to make it look natural, so our class doesn’t think we ignored them.

As luck would have it, an Akuma decided to make an appearance. Frozer was back and seemed to be determined to turn Paris into a winter wonderland. “He has ice powers similar to Mr. Freeze, and the Akuma is in his ice skates,” Marinette said as the two rushed into battle. “The easiest way to get the skates would be to immobilize him. If we could somehow trip him, you could cataclysm the skates and release the Akuma.” Damian nodded, “Not my first time dealing with ice-themed villains. I can distract him, while you try to use your yoyo to catch him off guard. Do you want Batman and Red Robin to help with this?” “No. If Hawkmoth finds out they’re in Paris, he’ll for sure try to target them. Please be careful,” Damian gave her a reassuring smile. “Darling I promise I’m not the type to pick fights I can’t win.” With that, he leaped into action. Frozer had sent a blast of ice towards his classmates, which Panthère de Nuit skillfully blocked with his blade. The world around them seemed to, well, freeze as everyone took a moment to process what just happened. “And who are you?” Frozer asked as Hawkmoth’s signature mask appeared over his face. “Panthère de Nuit, the new black cat.” Frozer laughed, “Oh? So Ladybug’s finally replaced that mangy feline? Well no matter, you’ll be just as easy to defeat!” With that, several more blasts of ice were thrown at Damian, who easily dodged, blocked, and reflected. Frozer seemed to pale, if that was even possible, and began to back up for a hasty retreat. Damian couldn’t help himself, “What’s wrong? Not used to fighting a competent Cat Miraculous holder? Too bad.” His eyes met Ladybug’s and he nodded, the sound of her yoyo zipping through the air, and the thud from Frozer hitting the ground confirmed their plan had worked. Damian simply waltzed up to Frozer, and one Cataclysm later, a dark butterfly made a break for it, only to be caught and purified by Ladybug. “That was amazing! I didn’t even have to use my Lucky Charm! Well, I still have to reverse the damage but, you know!” Ladybug exclaimed as she did just that. Damian looked at his ring to check how much time he had before he transformed back and noticed the little pawprint was still full. Weird, he’ll have to ask about that later. A crowd of people had begun to gather, including their classmates and Aurore, Ladybug noticed her and smiled, which encouraged the blonde to ask her questions. “Hello, Ladybug! Great job with the Akuma, that has to be a record!” “Thank you! Aurore is it? Of On the Spot?” The blonde nodded excitedly, “Although, I can’t take all the credit. My new partner was amazing!” Damian sensed this was his cue, and stepped up to answer Aurore’s next question, “Who are you, and what happened to Chat Noir?” With one last glance at Ladybug, Damian spoke, “My name is Panthère de Nuit, and I am Ladybug’s new partner. Chat Noir, as well as some of the temporary heroes, have been permanently retired. The Black Cat Miraculous was taken from him by his Kwamii, who felt he was no longer worthy to wield it,” This was met with cheers from the surrounding civilians. “I promise to do a better job and be a reliable and competent hero that Ladybug and all of Paris can count on. All I can say to Hawkmoth and Mayaura is that your days are numbered.” And with that, the two heroes left to roaring applause.

Adrien was watching his TV in horror. Plagg, not Ladybug, not the Guardian, PLAGG had taken his Miraculous. His own kwamii had betrayed him, did Plagg even have the power or right to take the ring from him? And now, he was seriously in a bind. If Plagg took the ring, it was safe to say that Ladybug had no idea who he was, and most likely had no idea who her new partner was so he couldn’t ask her to get it back for him. Not to mention the last time they spoke, they weren’t exactly on good terms. Yeah in retrospect skipping patrol and all those akuma battles wasn’t his best idea, especially because that soured his relationship with the people of Paris. If his dad had taught him anything, it was that public opinion mattered a lot, and now he couldn’t exactly count on the public’s support for Chat Noir. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, his best chance of EVER getting a Miraculous again was to pretend to support this new cat, and hope that gets him Ladybug’s attention. Adrien let out a groan and flopped on his bed, his whole life was a mess. Plagg had taken his ring and hadn’t even given him a chance to fix his mistakes (He’d been given many chances), Lila was his soulmate and causing trouble in the class, and then Marinette shows up one day with Damian Wayne claiming to be her soulmate! He’d looked it up, and it really was Damian Wayne, and not some imposter using his name, but it was still so frustrating! He couldn’t figure out just why Marinette was so smitten with the man when he seemed like such a terrible fit for her! Marinette was kind, compassionate, and warm while Damian was cold, selfish, and quite mean. Adrien had been nursing a small crush on Marinette for a while and had known about her crush on him before Alya told him. He still loved Ladybug but realized after a while that she really might not feel the same way, and he couldn’t help it when a brilliant girl like Marinette was in his class. It didn’t hurt that she and Ladybug could be sisters, but he just figured he had a type. What he couldn’t figure out was why she was so focused on Damian when she’d been in love with him for years! “Calm down Adrien,” he muttered to himself, “Mari’s always been a hopeless romantic, so it’s probably just the fact he’s claiming he’s her soulmate.” He also needed to do something about Lila. Sure, he still believed the high road was the best way to go, but he had never expected things to escalate to the point Lila and their class were physically harming Marinette. Walking over to his closet and pulling out a whiteboard and some markers, he began to work on Operation Win Back Marinette.

Across Paris, another student was working on a plan: Alya. She had been working on her newest lead, and chatting with her new friend, Red. True to his word, Red had given Alya information about Chat Noir and Panthère de Nuit. What she knew so far was that Chat Noir’s behavior had gone on longer than anyone in Paris had realized, and that this was not Panthère de Nuit’s first time as a hero. In return, she had compiled a list of all her class’s akumatizations, and why they were akumatized. She slowly began to notice four outliers in their class: Marinette, Damian, Adrien, and Lila. Damian she could explain away easily, he had just gotten to Paris and hadn’t had the chance to be akumatized yet, but that was where easy ended. Marinette had a few failed akumatizations, in which she was always able to break out of Hawkmoth’s control. Alya chalked it up to Gina teaching her some meditation methods she used, but what was harder to explain was why Marinette was almost akumatized. The first time made sense, she had just been expelled, but the others were a complete mystery. Adrien hasn’t been akumatized (I’m not counting Cat Blanc or Ephemeral), but it almost seemed like the akumas never targeted him. She had seen him express negative emotions before. Then there was Lila Rossi, who had been akumatized into Volpina a scarily high number of times. Drawing from her own experience as Rena Rouge, Alya knew that the Fox Miraculous was all about illusions, and an Akuma based off of a Miraculous will share its powers, but in a weaker state. Come to think of it, there were times Lila was akumatized into Volpina that didn’t fit. She would be crying because Marinette had bullied her, and still turn into Volpina. Alya knew that you would only turn into an akuma twice if you felt the same emotions both times, such as Mr. Pigeon, so something wasn’t adding up. Opening her laptop, she typed out:

Red? Are you on? I have a few Questions.

She waited nervously, tapping her fingers on the desk as she checked her phone.

Yeah. What’s up Ladyblogger?

Alya could’ve kissed her computer, she felt like she was closer than she’d ever been to uncovering something big.

I was going back through the list of my class’ akumatizations and noticed a couple of outliers. Do you have any information on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, and Lila Rossi?

I never thought you’d ask. Here’s what I have.

Red sent over a bunch of files, with a ton on Adrien and Lila, and very few on Marinette.

Why does Marinette only have like, three things?

She isn’t a public figure like the other two, well at least under that name. Ever heard of MDC? That’s her. You aren’t a true celebrity if you don’t have an MDC original.

Marinette was MDC?! This was news to Alya, but she guessed it would make sense. Marinette had stopped making them things a few years ago, saying she was too busy. If she was covertly running a fashion empire that would explain it. However, one last thing still haunted Alya, especially as she began to click through the files on Adrien and Lila. She paused for a moment, Red had sent her camera footage from the day Marinette was expelled, but why was it labeled as Lila’s file? As she pressed play and began watching, she began noting some inconsistencies. Before returning to the video, she typed out one last message.

Red? I’m starting to think I’ve been lied to.

For the next week or so, all anyone would talk about was Panthère de Nuit, and the hype was justified. He’d been spotted a few more times since Frozer, at Akuma fights and on patrol, and was just as skilled as his first fight. Videos were made speculating about his powers if he had any new ones, and where he could have possibly gotten the skills he used in his fight. The most popular theory came from Aurore, who hypothesized that Panthère de Nuit was not new to being a hero. The public was still a little apprehensive, since they remembered what they’d been through under Chat Noir, but were rapidly warming up to the man. Of course, a certain someone claimed to have more info than she did. Marinette sat in her spot with Damian by her side and rolled her eyes as Lila went on and on, “I’m so happy I was finally able to convince Ladybug to replace Chat Noir! I’ve been telling her for years that he isn’t a good partner, but she’s so sweet and sentimental, so she was hesitant to get rid of the partner she’s had since the beginning. Maybe now that he’s not around to get jealous, I can convince her to give you all your Miraculous again! Well, some people might not be worthy of wielding one, but that’s their own fault.” The class snickered and shot looks at Marinette and her friends, who simply ignored them. Lila had no way of knowing that some of the class would never wield any Miraculous again, their identities had been exposed and it was too much of a risk. Lila went on and on, even when Ms. Bustier came in and tried to start class. However, someone caught Marinette’s attention: Alya. Her former best friend was sitting with her laptop open to the Ladyblog analytics page, and she was watching Lila with narrowed eyes. She would occasionally stop and type something out. Her concentration seemed to stop when Adrien walked into the room, and Marinette quickly looked away to avoid eye contact with either. Damian shot a glare at the blond who was trying to get Mari’s attention, and the ravenette paid him no mind. Nino (Who still had connections in the Adrien fan club) had informed her that the model talks about her at his shoots, and when people ask if they’re dating he never denies it. “He’s trying to create a public narrative,” Damian had explained, “If the media picks up the story and the public catches on, it could spread like wildfire. Remember how everyone thought Ladybug and Chat Noir were in love and destined for each other? That resulted in people pressuring Ladybug to admit feelings she didn’t have.” The group nodded, clearly understanding that Damian was worried the same thing would happen to Marinette.

Adrien made his next move at lunch. Marinette and Damian, along with their friend group were going to spend their lunch at a nearby cafe. The group didn’t want to deal with Lila, and wanted to be able to discuss their topic privately: Reopening an investigation into who Hawkmoth is. Marinette had a theory board about it that she had made with Alya when they were younger, but the two stopped when they had their falling out. As they were leaving, Adrien approached them. “Hey, Mari! So where are we going for lunch?” I know a great place-” “We? Dude, you haven’t been caught dead anywhere near us since middle school,” Nino practically growled and crossed his arms. The ending of their friendship had been… explosive. Nino had gone to Adrien after he figured out Lila was lying, hoping to gather support to expose Lila and save his childhood friend’s reputation, and was horrified to find out that Adrien knew and pressured Mari to keep quiet. The following argument resulted in Nino being akumatized into Maskless, who was determined to “remove the masks” and expose people for who they truly are. It was a difficult fight for Ladybug, and after it was over, Nino disavowed the two boys’ friendship for good, the last thing he’d spoken to Adrien before now was, “I just can’t be friends with someone who would sacrifice a friend to avoid having to deal with a little discomfort. Talk to me when you grow a spine and maybe I’ll forgive you.” And the future director had kept his promise. This was the first time he’d spoken to Adrien in years. The callout seemed to catch the blond off guard, and he stumbled out, “Well uh, my father wanted me to talk to Marinette about an internship, so I was going to do that today at lunch. So Mari where do you want to go eat?” And with that Adrien made a move to grab Mari’s wrist, but was blocked by an angry Kim and pissed Damian. “Didn’t your dad teach you it’s rude to grab someone without consent?” Kim snarked. Nathaniel, Rose, and Juleka nodded, with Juleka working up the courage to add, “You’re forgetting that you aren’t the only model in the class anymore. I’m in the same gossip circles you are now, and I know you’re trying to make people think that Adrienette is a thing.” “That’s not true I-,” “Enough,” Marinette cut in, Adrien gave her a hopeful smile, while the others snickered. “Adrien, I already have plans with my friends and it would be rude of me to cancel at the last minute. Plus I seem to remember two very important things you’re conveniently forgetting: First, the conversation in which I very clearly told you I wasn’t interested, and second, the letter I received in the middle of class a year ago from your father telling me I’ve been blacklisted from the company. And from the looks on both your and Lila’s faces I can conclude you both had something to do with that. If Gabriel wants me to work for him, he needs to start by addressing the elephant in the room and the damage he’s done to my career before I could even graduate. Come on guys, we need to actually get something to eat before lunch is over,” and with that, Marinette and her group sidestepped a disappointed Adrien and made their way toward a cafe.

After they’d gotten their food, they got to work on their theory of who Hawkmoth was. “Here’s the list of people I considered before I knew for sure he had a partner,” Marinette set a stack of papers down, “And here’s the list of suspects after I had to start over once Mayura came onto the scene.” That list was twice as long and seemed to radiate an aura of frustration. The others each took papers and began crossing out people that they knew couldn’t be Hawkmoth. “Soooo… I think we can rule out some people based on the fact they don’t have time to be Hawkmoth or Mayura. Like we know they aren’t any of our parents because they’re too busy with work,” Rose chirped as she crossed off names with her sparkly pink Pom Pom pen. “So I hate to be that person but are we sure Mayura is Hawky’s only partner?” Nathaniel asked, playing with a pencil. Damian nodded, “Surely he has to have someone else. He can’t guarantee that someone in Paris is going to feel upset enough to attract an akuma even though Paris is a big city. It would make more sense if he had someone working to actively cause akumas,” the group seemed to be stuck for a moment after the obviously innocent people have been ruled out. The problem with Akumatizations is how little solid evidence is left behind. Hawkmoth can emotionally hijack someone and leave behind no DNA or fingerprints, or really anything.

Damian had (and none of them except Marinette knew this) checked the databases the Justice League and Batfamily kept on the various super criminals of the world only to have it turn up empty, so the group was stuck… until a new voice cut in, “You’re assuming he’s smarter than he really is. I should know, I’ve helped him before.” Chloe and Sabrina stood in front of their table, with the heiress making a point to sit herself down at the head of the table and continued, “Be honest with yourselves, I’m not the only person with an attitude problem in Paris who didn’t care how many akumas I caused. There are many more who don’t care, and those people are the backbone of Hawkmoth’s operation whether they realize it or not. Unless you and Ladybug have a plan to make everyone in Paris act as sweet as pie, you need to stop acting like Hawkmoth is a genius. He thrives off dumb luck and takes advantage of problems others cause.” Marinette froze at the mention of her alter ego, “Why do you think I know Ladybug?” Chloe snorted and gave Marinette a look, “Dupain-Cheng you got that wannabe reporter an interview with her! Despite your family’s lack of financial wealth, you have connections coming out of your pigtails. If anyone in this hellhole keeps regular contact with Ladybug it would be you. Anyways, Hawkmoth isn’t the brains of the operation, that could be Mayura if she would stop going along with all his ridiculous schemes and grow a backbone. In the few times I’ve willingly helped him, it was clear that his plan was only cobbled together at best and completely on the fly at worst.” “Why did you help him in the first place?” Rose blurted out, and realizing her mistake she quickly covered her mouth.

Chloe simply sighed, “I guess I do owe you all an explanation since I was responsible for most of your akumatizations. When I agreed to help him, I was at my lowest. He prays on weakness in any form it comes in. I was always taught that I was born lucky, and everyone else was just lucky to be born- yes Kim I know what show I’m referencing- and for the longest time I believed it. I believed I had the right to act the way I did, and my parents encouraged it, but as I started getting older, it became clear that I didn’t inherit my mother’s talent so she started distancing herself from me. My father tried to fill the void by just giving in to everything I wanted. I know he loves me, but he wanted to be my friend instead of my parent, and that whole dynamic messed me up even more. Then I met Marinette fucking Dupain-Cheng, a girl who my parents taught me to consider less than dirt beneath my feet… but she somehow had everything I wanted,” Chloe clutched the smoothie in her hand, and couldn’t meet Marinette’s eyes, “Your parents love you so much, and are so involved. They made it to every event our class had, while mine couldn’t be bothered, they encouraged you when you failed and promised to help you, while my mother would scream at me and tell me I was a waste of her time. They helped you learn how to deal with your problems instead of paying them to go away. I was and still am, so jealous of you Marinette. I’d give anything in a heartbeat to trade places with you, but instead, I did the only thing I knew how to do: I lashed out. I made your life hell for years, long before Lila came around, in fact, I’m surprised that you didn’t dump our class sooner. In all the years I bullied you, not a single one of them helped you, they avoided you, and the second you stood up to me they tried to act like all those years just disappeared,” Damian, who was mainly focusing on how Marinette was reacting, quickly noticed the shame on the faces of their friends. While he wanted to rage at them for what they’d done to his soulmate, he stopped himself, he knew he couldn’t now that he was Panthère de Nuit if Hawkmoth found an opening… He focused back in on Chloe’s story to try and calm down, “Anyways, when Ladybug came onto the scene, I immediately latched onto this idea that if she was my friend, all my problems would be fixed. I would have an amazing friend who would get my parent’s attention and make all my problems go away, but I screwed it up royally. When I found the Bee Miraculous, I thought it was a chance to redeem myself. I should have just returned it to Ladybug instead of causing that train accident, I thought if I showed her that I could be a hero then maybe she’d accept me. She kept giving me chance after chance, and I kept fucking up because I would let my ego get the better of me. When I lost the Bee Miraculous, when I realized Ladybug wanted nothing to do with me, and when I realized it was all my fault, I broke. I was convinced that I was destined to destroy anything good in my life, and that was when Hawkmoth approached me about becoming Miracle Queen. I was so emotional that I forgot who I was talking to, and gave him everything he needed to convince me to join him. After that… I was bitter, bitter at the world, Ladybug, Zoe, you name it I was upset at it because something had occurred to me during that time. I realized that I was never born lucky, that’s you Marinette, I was actually the one lucky to be born- shut up Kim let me have this- even though you were going through hell, you still had people in your corner who support you unconditionally. I know Ladybug hates me, I know you do too, but if she really wants to defeat Hawkmoth all she needs to do is get him at his lowest, and Mayura will follow him down.” With her speech over, Chloe and Sabrina simply got up and left, leaving a stunned table in their wake. “Get him at his lowest…” Marinette murmured to herself, and she kept muttering it all the way back to school.

As the school day neared the end, Marinette had gone to the restroom, promising to meet Damian by her locker. As the Wayne heir waited, he heard a gentle, ‘ahem,’ and turned, expecting to see his soulmate. Instead, he felt his blood pressure spike as he was face to face with the ravenous wolf that looked at him as if he were a gullible lamb, a.k.a, Lila. She looked a mess with puffy red eyes and mascara streaks down her face reaching her chin, it was clear to anyone she had been crying. Damian narrowed his eyes, this might not be one of her fake crying episodes, but it clearly was still a carefully laid trap. They were alone, with no witnesses to watch what was about to go down. Lila hesitantly held her phone out to Damian, and tears began rolling down her cheeks again, “I… I thought you should know,” she sniffed, pressing the play button. Damian listened with a raised eyebrow to the conversation Lila had supposedly recorded, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend,” Adrien’s voice could be heard loud, and clear through the recording, Damian opened his mouth but Lila cut him off, “There’s more hang on,” Soon after, his Lily’s voice could be heard, “Adrien, I have loved you since we were thirteen-” With that Lila stopped the recording and began to cry, “I know Marinette’s probably told you all these nasty things about me… but it felt wrong to say nothing and let her keep manipulating you like this when I know what I heard.” With that, Lila went back to sobbing and wailing about how her bully ‘stole’ her soulmate and was a filthy cheater. If anyone else was around, they would have caught the Bat Glare Lila herself was too wrapped up in her act to see. Damian wasn’t surprised Lila stooped this low, in fact, he wasn’t surprised she didn’t stoop lower and try to fake a pregnancy or something, but it dawned on him that this was the perfect opportunity to end Marinette’s torment and he decided to take it. “Oh, you were there for that conversation too?” Lila froze, and looked up at him with fresh tears still rolling down her cheeks, “E-excuse me?” A deep laugh that rumbled like thunder cut through the tension. “Do you seriously think I would have let Adrien speak to my Lily alone when I knew he would try to pull something? And do you seriously think I wouldn’t consider the possibility someone could have been listening in,” With that, Damian pulled out his own phone, shooting Lila a vicious smirk. “Let me fill you in on what you conveniently missed,” As he pressed play, the smirk only grew as he watched the color drain from Lila’s face and his voice played from the speaker, “Agreste there is no way you are her soulmate. I saw Marinette in my dreams, and she saw me in hers. Besides, I know your soulmate is Rossi. She was determined to make a scene today at lunch, and it tipped me off that you would try something like this. I suggest you listen well Agreste because this is the only time I will be kind enough to give you some advice. Leave Marinette alone. All you have done is hurt her and allow others to hurt her. You have stood by and watched as a petty ectoparasite burrowed into Marinette’s class and allowed her to spread her manipulative disease. Even if by chance you have somehow seen the light and exposed the truth tomorrow, which we both know you will not do because you are too much of a coward and care more about what other people think of you, it’s too late. You have blown all your chances, and Marinette is far too good for you, someone who will throw her to the wolves to avoid a minor inconvenience. So stay away Adrien, if you know what is best for you.” With that, Damian placed his phone in his pocket and looked back at Lila.

“You know, I really ought to thank you, Rossi, you tipped me off to Agreste’s plan and allowed me to collect evidence to foil your own. I have that entire conversation recorded from the moment he approached my Lily, and I have already been recording this one too,” Lila’s eyes widened and she looked like she was about to faint, so Damian moved in for the kill, “Do you really think you’re the first one to try and pull a stunt like this? I am from one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the world, did you really think you would be the first to lie about my soulmate? How convenient, you happen to have a recording of Marinette supposedly accepting a confession from Adrien, and that you finally worked up the ‘courage’ to tell me the first moment I am alone and Marinette is not here to defend herself. I will give you some credit though, your editing skills could fool someone who is not looking for signs of manipulation, and could have definitely fooled our gullible classmates, which brings me to my next point,” Damian channeled his rage into a calm, icy glare, “You will cease tormenting my soulmate immediately. I am not afraid to expose your lies and underhanded tactics to our class, but let me give you some more incentive. Before, Marinette did not have the… legal resources to handle you properly, but I have my family’s lawyers on speed dial Rossi. Marinette is not my wife yet, but the same protections that cover the Wayne family extend to her. So if you know what is good for you, you will shut your mouth and never speak ill of my soulmate again, or my lawyers will see what other secrets you have been hiding.” Taking that as her queue to leave, Lila booked it toward the exit like the devil was on her heels. Operation: Lila Wayne was clearly dead in the water, and Damian would be sure it stayed that way. Once she was gone he took a deep breath and got his emotions in check, just in time to see the love of his life jogging towards him. “Sorry! I realized while I was in the bathroom that I left some stuff in the art room!” He smiled as the familiar feeling of warmth returned to him. It was wonderful, being in love.

Alya just got finished pacing around her room for what felt like the hundredth time. She stared at her computer, open to the video she had yet to publish, and the one that would be the final nail in the coffin for her career. She knew deep down she had to do this, it was the only way to atone for all she’d done. A chat popped up on the screen from Red:

Are you okay Ladyblogger? I know this is a tough decision, and I’m here for you.

Alya smiled, over their many late-night conversations, Red had become a good friend and close confidant. She’d never meet up with him in person, that was online safety 101, but he’d helped her come to some difficult conclusions.

Yeah. Just trying to settle my nerves a bit. I know I have to do this, it’s the right thing to do, and lately, I’ve struggled with that.

You’ve got this. I think it will go over better than you think it will.

With that, Alya closed her eyes, counted to ten, and pressed the upload button. A video titled after one of the worst things she’d ever said was now on the front page of the Ladyblog, a video she could never take back.

Marinette and Damian were in her room, munching on a variety of cookies and discussing their plan to end Hawkmoth’s reign of terror once and for all. Their brainstorming was interrupted when a notification popped up on Marinette’s phone, and a new video had been posted to the Ladyblog. The two shared a look and a shrug, sure, why not? It wouldn’t hurt to see what Lila was saying now, instead, they were met with a thumbnail of Alya sitting at her desk, and a video called ‘A Good Reporter Always Fact Checks’ was staring back at them. Damian pressed play, and the two sat back to see what this was about.

“Hey everyone, it’s the Ladyblogger. This video is VERY different from what I normally post, and it needs to be because I have a lot I need to say. Many years ago, when I was just starting out I posted a video about a girl named Lila Rossi who claimed that she was Ladybug’s best friend. That video has been removed, but at the time I thought nothing of it. A girl who was my friend confronted me about it, and rightly, called me on the fact I had no evidence to prove anything Lila had said. Instead of fixing my mistake, I told her that a good reporter always fact-checks, but that wasn’t what I did. I am here today to apologize to her and to all of you for failing you. I neglected to do the right thing and gave a liar a platform to spread dangerous misinformation, but I also took that liar’s side and turned against the best friend I’ve ever had.

I met Lila Rossi when I was thirteen, and I along with most of my classmates naively believed every word that came out of her mouth like it was gospel. She told us that because her mother was a diplomat, she had gotten to meet and work with all these famous people and that she could talk with them and help our careers. We were so excited, there was someone who could help us reach our dreams and she was doing it out of the kindness of her heart. Hindsight really is 20/20, and looking back there was no way any celebrity in their right mind would be that deeply involved working with a teenage girl to the extent Lila claimed. I can’t speak for my classmates but I know a part of me kept believing her because the fear of pissing her off and then it all turning out to be true kept me loyal to her. I was a coward and afraid that if I questioned her I would lose out, and that later turned into fearing what I’d done in her name if it turns out she was lying. This resulted in me interviewing her and publicizing her lies and misinformation, giving her a platform to fuel her own ego. To put it simply: I didn’t fact-check, and now everyone is paying the price. I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so, sorry. Taking her videos down doesn’t fix the damage she caused, and just saying I’m sorry won’t either. It sounds cringy but I promise to do better, but I don’t expect you all to stick with me now that I’ve proven not to be a reliable source. For accurate, truthful information, check out Aurore’s blog On the Spot. She’s a great reporter and has done a much better job than I did. I would also like to apologize to Ladybug, and not just for giving Lila Rossi a platform. I want to apologize for all those shitty things I did to try to figure out her identity and push LadyNoir even after she clearly expressed multiple times that she was uncomfortable. Most importantly, I want to apologize to my former friend and ex-boyfriend,” Marinette’s eyebrow raised a bit, “They caught on to Lila’s bullshit years before I did and tried to snap me out of it because they cared about me. But instead, I dug my heels in and participated in icing them out from the class, and stood by while they were harassed. I broke up with my boyfriend over this whole mess because I was appalled he’d take Lila’s “Bully’s” side when the truth was that they were the ones being bullied. All I can say to them is that I’m sorry and that they don’t have to forgive me. My teacher taught us that we always need to forgive and be the bigger person, but forgiveness isn’t something owed, it's earned. I’ve acknowledged my wrongdoings but I haven’t yet begun to work to make things right. So to that girl who was my best friend and one of the best people I’ve met: I should have trusted you. This isn’t your fault, it’s mine, and I am so sorry for what I’ve done.” Marinette sat and stared, stunned at Alya’s admission and watching in awe as the blogger exposed Lila’s lies to the world. Out of all the people to do it, she never thought it would be Alya, Lila’s self-proclaimed BFF. However, it also meant the last variable in her plan was taken care of, so walking over to the Miraculous box, she took what she needed and gave a variety of Miraculous to Damian. Standing on her toes she kissed his cheek and whispered, “Text Red Robin and Batman, tell them to meet us at the Eiffel Tower at Midnight. And if you would be so kind, please take these Miraculous to their most recent holders. I know I said I retired the old heroes, but we’ll need most of them again. I have one errand to run, and I’ll meet you there.” Damian nodded, and kissed Mari’s forehead, “Be careful my Lily.” and She hesitantly broke away from his embrace, transformed, and snuck out through her balcony.

Alya was scrolling through the comments on her apology/Lila Rossi exposè video, it was a habit she never could break. Yes, there were quite a few harshly criticizing her, and a couple were straight-up name-calling, but the majority of people were happy she’d seen the light and were encouraging her not to give up on her dream. Her phone was blowing up with texts and calls from her classmates (and quite a few angry voicemails from Lila), but she couldn’t bring herself to care. A part of her felt at peace, even though she mourned the loss of her dream. A knock on her door snapped her out of her spiral, it was probably her mom coming to give her a pep talk and reassure her she did the right thing. But as she opened the door to her room, a familiar set of pigtails nearly made her jump out of her skin. “Hi… I came to talk,” Marinette said, and Alya moved back to let her in. This felt so right, but wrong. It called back to the many sleepovers they had, laughing about boys and reading superhero comics, but this time it was like two opposing soldiers laying down their arms in a tentative truce. Marinette decided to break the awkward silence, “So I saw the video. I have to admit, I certainly wasn’t expecting you to expose Lila like that.” Alya gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Neither did she. She’s been blowing up my phone with voicemails calling me every name she can think of and promising to ruin me. Well, she’s too late 'cause I already did that.” Marinette looked over at the comments, skimming through them. “Not necessarily. You apologized, admitted you were wrong, and have already begun working to undo some of her damage,” “But that doesn’t excuse what I did to you, to Nino, and your friends.” “No, it doesn’t, but you’ve owned up to it which is admirable. What snapped you out of it?” Alya smiled softly, “I made a friend who got me to stop and think… and also got me access to the school’s cameras. I don’t know how much of the video you watched but I played the video from the day you got expelled and it showed Lila framing you so Damocles and Bustier are in some hot water right now.” Marinette laughed, genuinely, it felt so strange for Alya to hear, “About time! I can’t help but wonder how many other people they messed up, besides us.” “Oh, a lot. I plan on exposing more, but that’s a problem to take out another day.” Marinette perked up a bit, “Speaking of taking out problems, I need your help with a big one.” Alya nodded eagerly, ready to make up for her years of inaction. “I asked Aurore to post this too, but I need you to post this article,” Marinette handed her a piece of paper to read, as she read, her brow furrowed a bit, “You’re not planning on taking on Hawkmoth, are you? Oh my god, you are. I don’t know what secret weapons stash the Waynes have but-” “Tikki spots on,” Standing there, in her room, was Ladybug, where her former best friend once stood. Before Alya could find her words Maribug, no, Ladynette, no, Ladybug cut her off, “I have a plan but I’m going to need Hawkmoth to panic thinking the Miraculi are slipping out of his grasp. We need this to bait him out.” Alya was stunned, and began to stammer, “Of course! I-” “You said you wanted to work to make things right, so if you’re willing,” Marinette held out an oh-so-familiar fox necklace, “I’ll need Rena Rouge’s help too.”

Chloe was sitting in her room with Sabrina, pretending to be invested in whatever show they were watching. In her mind she kept replaying that day she spotted Marinette and her group in her favorite cafe. The conversation she had… she had never expected to spill her heart out like that. Her mother always told her that she could never be vulnerable, she could never let others see any weakness, and yet there she sat pouring out her heart. Eventually, Sabrina had to leave, they did have school tomorrow, and the heiress was left alone. Alone was something familiar to Chloe, especially since her Icarus Moment, as she called it, was something she dreaded. She knew her parents would leave her out to dry in a heartbeat, she knew Zoe had her own life and that the two sisters would never be close, and she knew all her daddy’s employees would quit the moment they found something better. All she had left was Sabrina, so she clung on for dear life. She’d stopped treating her friend like a servant a long time ago, and even when she was at her worst, Sabrina stuck by her. Initially, it was out of fear, Sabrina knew that if she was going to swim with sharks it was better to be a remora. She had many chances to leave but stuck around time and time again and Chloe realized that maybe Sabrina really did care for her. Then there was the hot mess that was Adrien. He’d tried to give Chloe the “Her lies aren’t hurting anybody” speech a while ago, but the heiress wasn’t having it. This girl had humiliated her and needed to pay. She and Sabrina decided to gather information, and that was how they overheard Adrien making Marinette agree not to do anything and later Lila threatening Marinette.

Chloe had always felt a little bad for the baker’s daughter, she was madly in love with Adrien but had no idea what he was really like, he could be incredibly manipulative if it meant avoiding an uncomfortable situation. She knew that Marinette wouldn’t trust her to outright accept help from the heiress, so she decided to back off entirely, a cease-fire of sorts. It helped that this coincided with her revelation that she was jealous of Marinette and her family. When Damian Wayne joined the class and declared himself Dupain-Cheng’s soulmate, Chloe thought, ‘About damn time.’ She’d seen how the former class president was treated and knew she most likely had another major stressor (Chloe theorized she was Ladybug’s woman in the chair, working behind the scenes), so she was a bit relieved to see the universe finally being kind to the ravenette. Unfortunately, it also marked the turn for Adrien to go off the deep end. He had confessed to Chloe before that he knew about Marinette’s crush, but that he was pretty sure his soulmate was Ladybug, and he’d also said that she’d be his second pick if that didn’t work out, and she certainly got an earful when he found out his soulmate was Lila. After she and Sabrina returned to school after their run-in with the Mari Squad, Adrien stopped her and asked her to help him win back Marinette. “Agreste,” She remembered snapping, not bothering with any nicknames, “You’ve lost your mind. Dupain-Cheng finally, FINALLY has something positive working out for her and you, one of the main sources of all her anguish think you can just waltz back in? You don’t really love her Adrien, you said it yourself she’d always be your second choice, and when your first choice fell through and your soulmate turned out to be Lila you sought out your consolation prize. Let me give you some advice: Life isn’t a fairytale, you can’t expect Marinette to wait for you forever or to completely throw away her life for you.” She doubted Adrien would get the message, but at least she tried. If she was naïve, Chloe would wonder if this marked the start of the end of their rivalry and the beginning of a new friendship, but the logical part of her knew that the damage she did was too great. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a sound coming from her balcony. She groaned and got up, thinking a pigeon had crashed into the door and was now stunned on the floor. But when she opened the door, she was shocked, there was Ladybug and Rena Rouge on her balcony. Ladybug smiled gently, and in almost a whisper asked, “Is Queen Bee available?”

The three women arrived at the Eiffel Tower just before midnight. Their arrival was acknowledged by a majority of the Miraculous team and Red Robin. Batman stood back, silently observing. Marinette could feel the nerves rising in her stomach. There was Batman, in person, and he was here to help her. Alya seemed to be going through a similar mental process, trying desperately to act professional and not fangirl, until Red Robin greeted her, “Well, well, well. Gotta say I wasn’t expecting to see you here Ladyblogger!” Alya’s jaw dropped, “Red??” Tim threw his head back and laughed, “Yep! I needed some information for our investigation, and figured I’d help you off the sinking ship in the process.” Before Alya could reply, Batman spoke, “Speaking of information, we were able to figure out That Hawkmoth and Mayura are Gabriel Agreste and his assistant Nathalie Sancoeur by hacking into various cameras to track the akumas, and from there we monitored his activity through his security system,” “For the record I’ve seen better security from Rogues like Crazy Quilt,” Red Robin interjected, Batman sighed and continued, “We have solid evidence that will hold up in court, so our main objective will be to catch him,” the Dark Knight turned to Ladybug, “So I’m assuming you called us here because you have the plan to do that.” Ladybug nodded and stepped forward to begin to tell the team her plan, “So as most of you know Hawkmoth and Mayura get their powers from the Kwamii within their Miraculous, that’s the same thing that gives us our powers,” She clarified for the Gotham heroes, “All we have to do is remove the Miraculous from them, and their transformation will be dropped and they’ll be powerless. However, the tricky part is actually getting them to come to the fight themselves. The nature of their Miraculous allows them to create minions to fight for them, hence the Akumas and Sentimonsters, so it’s very likely that they’ll try and distract us so they can escape. We have a mostly full Miraculous team, minus the mouse, rabbit, ox, and horse, but those can easily be given to other holders to fill that void,” The group felt a mix of emotions at the realization that some of their classmates had still yet to try and make amends for what they did, but knew that it was for the better until they could fully trust the former team members again. “So in order to get them out, we need to get them to their lowest, a point in which they’ll be so desperate that they’ll feel like they have no choice but to face us themselves, and we’ll do that by making them think that everything is slipping out of their grasp.”

Adrien had just gotten home from school, and turned on the TV in his room, flopping down on his bed. His day was AWFUL because the night before Alya had made a video on the Ladyblog exposing Lila completely out of the blue. Needless to say, the class was furious, and then their fury was directed at him when they found out he’d known the whole time and the things he did to keep Marinette from exposing Lila. He’d tried to argue that yeah he’d made a mistake, but no major damage had been done and that the small stuff could be fixed, so they should all just move on and be friends again. That had only added fuel to the fire, and all of this was before Marinette and Damian walked in. Adrien could practically feel his blood pressure rising at the thought of his rival’s name. He’d changed Marinette, encouraged her to stand up for herself, and in Adrien’s opinion was shaping her into a toxic person, but it seemed like he was the only one who could see it! More and more people gravitated to Mari like moths to a flame, and she was enjoying quite the popularity spike while he and Lila were seemingly deemed the school’s outcasts. If he still had his ring he would go to her as Chat Noir and demand that she stop the bullshit and fix everything, but he couldn’t even do that. Lila had contacted him, screaming that he’d ruined her plan to split up Dupain-Cheng and Wayne, and if he’d just followed her lead, he’d have what he wanted and she’d have what she wanted. For once he wished he listened to Lila, especially when she told him that Damian had a recording of his confrontation with Marinette and her rejection. His lawyers explained that there was nothing he could do, the Wayne family was a legal juggernaut so even if they did have a valid case, they would simply be able to drag it out until the Agrestes had no choice but to drop it, the same thing Gabriel had done to countless people before. They drilled into his head that any move he made against Damian Wayne would bring the wrath of his lawyers and that for once, Adrien was in a position of weakness.

He was brainstorming ideas on how to convince Marinette to leave her soulmate when the TV switched over to breaking news. “Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit will be meeting with members of the Justice League and Justice League Dark today in order to transfer over the Miraculous to the hero teams. According to statements from Ladybug posted to the Ladyblog and On the Spot, ‘Hawkmoth’s attacks have become far more brazen, and in order to assure the safety of Paris, I felt it was necessary to entrust the Miraculi, including the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, to people who can properly protect them,’” The screen cut to Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit handing over what was supposedly the Miracle Box to the superheroes Batman, Red Robin, Zatanna, and Doctor Fate, The box was almost in Zatanna’s hands when a loud boom caught the attention of the heroes, and as the camera turned to show what they saw, Adrien gasped. There were Hawkmoth and Mayura on the back of a massive multi-headed dragon Sentimonster, with an army of akumas and amoks floating around them, ready to turn at least half of Paris into their own army. A burst of fire was shot from one of the heads of the dragon, with Ladybug, Panthère de Nuit, Batman, and Red Robin easily dodging. Zatanna and Doctor Fate, along with the Miracle Box disappeared in the familiar smoke of an illusion from the Fox Miraculous breaking, in fact, the whole area seemed to disappear, and when the smoke settled, it showed the heroes and villains trapped in a large Shell-ter. It struck Adrien that this was never a poorly executed plan that Hawkmoth discovered, this was an ambush. Realistically, he knew he shouldn’t get involved, he didn’t have a Miraculous and would be putting himself in great danger. However, he was convinced that if he showed Ladybug that he could still be a hero, she would have to give him a MIraculous, and he could prove to Marinette that he was the best match for her. So he left for the battlefield.

Everything so far was going according to plan. Hawkmoth and Mayura had taken the bait and were now trapped in the Shell-ter with the Heroes. Rena Rouge was working overtime, creating illusion after illusion to confuse the devious duo. Carapace’s Shell-ter was holding strong, preventing anyone from entering and potentially getting akumatized. Vipereon was given the rabbit miraculous as well and was currently hopping between dimensions and using Second Chance to reset the fight and figure out the next moves they should make. King Monkey (with help from the Mouse Miraculous), Pigella, and Caprikid were using their respective powers to work with Batman and Red Robin to try and throw off Hawkmoth and Mayura’s concentration. Meanwhile, Ryuko, Panthère de Nuit, Purple Tigeress (also using the Ox Miraculous), and Rooster Bold were handling the massive dragon Sentimonster. Ladybug herself was along the outskirts of the battle, with Miss Hound and the “new” Bee hero Swarm. Ladybug was using her yo-yo to get her allies out of the way of various attacks, and waiting for the signal from Vipereon to use Lucky Charm. Swarm was waiting for an opportunity to use Venom to stun either Hawkmoth or Mayura, while Miss Hound was using the Horse Miraculous to teleport around to take shots at hitting the villains’ Miraculous. All of the heroes were connected with earpieces so they could communicate and monitor how each other was doing, and so far everything was going smoothly.

For the first time in forever, Ladybug was beginning to feel hopeful that this nightmare would be over soon, when Miss Hound caught everyone’s attention, “Ummm… Why is Adrien trying to get in? Does he know that Hawkmoth is his dad?” Red Robin dodged an attack from an enraged Mayura, and quickly answered, “Not that we’re aware of. Although we did find out that he was Chat Noir, so maybe he thinks he can help,” Ladybug sighed and declared she would handle it, swinging off to the border. Sure enough, there was Adrien, banging on the Shell-ter, and he perked up as soon as he saw her. The only thing standing between the former partners was a magical green wall. “What are you doing here Adrien? It’s not safe!” Ladybug crossed her arms and glared, she did NOT have time for this! “I’m here to help My Lady! So tell Carapace to drop Shell-ter and let me in,” The blond boy shot her his best Chat Noir smile, while Ladybug simply raised an eyebrow, “I can’t do that Adrien. Lifting the shelter would allow thousands of akumas to escape and terrorize Paris. It would be too much of a risk and put too many people in danger. Besides you don’t have a way to fight, so you wouldn’t be any help.” She hoped that would put an end to it, but she was wrong, “But I can help! If you give me a Miraculous I can help you defeat Hawkmoth. Please Ladybug we’re partners, we’re soulmates! I should be there fighting with you!” Adrien was persistent she’d give him that, but there was no way she’d let him in, potentially ruining everything when they worked so hard. “No Adrien, I will not be giving you a Miraculous! Every single one of them is in use right now and to take one away from someone would put them in danger. Besides, you already blew your chance when you were Chat Noir! You proved that you were never in it to protect people, and you were barely a decent partner! There were several times Hawkmoth almost won because you were goofing off or just didn’t even show up. Finally, you aren’t my soulmate, you never were. Just go home, go home, and sit this one out,” That seemed to cause him to only get more upset, “This is because of the new cat isn’t it?! He’s convinced you I’m some awful person so you’d give him the Cat Miraculous instead of me! It’s mine, not his! Master Fu chose me! I am the real holder of the Cat Miraculous, so you have to do what’s right and give it back if you’re such a ‘real hero’!” Ladybug sighed, “And Plagg, the Kwamii of the Cat Miraculous took it away from you because he felt you were unworthy to wield it. Why would I give it back to you then? Leave Adrien.” With that, she turned away, ready to rejoin the battle, but stopped dead in her tracks, “I should have known all along Ladybug, you aren’t a real hero. You’re just a narcissistic, pathetic, lonely girl pretending to be this great, benevolent hero because, in your real life, nobody loves you. Nobody wants you. I used to think I was your soulmate, and it’s clear I’m not because there’s no way such a vile person like you could ever have one. This is the only way you can get attention, and you strung me along in the process! If anything, you’re just as bad as Hawkmoth!” Adrien spat, before storming off. Ladybug took a deep breath, fighting back tears. It hurt to have someone she cared about, and used to love say such vile things about her, but now was not the time to lose focus, she had a battle to win.

Diving back into the fray, she quickly tugged Caprikid out of the way as Hawkmoth tried to strike him. “You good,” He asked as the two regained their footing on a building, “You left your earpiece on so we kinda heard all of that. Panthère de Nuit looked ready to kill him at one point, and the rest of us would back him up if you want.” Ladybug chuckled a bit, “Thanks but the Miraculous Team is adopting the Bat’s no-killing rule. I’ll be okay, no, I’ll be amazing once we end this!” “Then I’m happy to inform you that it’s time for Lucky Charm,” Vipereon chimed in, “Swarm! Miss Hound! Take the shot! Lucky Charm!” Panthère de Nuit Cataclysmed the Sentimonster, causing cracks to form, destabilizing Hawkmoth and Mayura, with some help, the Amokized pendant was caught and quickly broken. Swarm hit Mayura with Venom, and her Miraculous was taken with Miss Hound’s fetch, leaving a defeated Nathalie, and Hawkmoth standing alone. Ladybug would have to move quickly so Hawkmoth couldn’t Akumatize Nathalie, and looked down at the Lucky Charm in her hand: A lily. Looking around, she quickly developed a plan, Grabbing a few supplies, she made her way to the tallest point within the Shell-ter, and set a trap for the Akumas. Sure enough, the allure of a flower overpowered Hawkmoth’s control over the butterflies, and as a result, they left the villain powerless. The heroes were quick to surround Hawkmoth, and with no Akuma and nowhere to ruin, it looked like his reign of terror was over. “You’re done Hawkmoth, you lost,” Ladybug declared as she jumped down to meet the villain. His cane, which contained a small blade, was ripped out of his hands by Batman, who did not want to risk the former villain attempting to stab Ladybug out of desperation. Seeing as he had no way out, all Hawkmoth could do was sigh in defeat and remove his Miraculous. Once it was securely in Ladybug’s hand, Carapace let the shelter down, and one Miraculous Ladybug later, the destruction of the battle seemed like a distant memory.

It was like waking up from a dream. For a moment, no one said anything, what was left to be said? News helicopters were now flying overhead, as people began to gather around. A few stunned police officers made their way to the front of the crowd to arrest Gabriel and Nathalie, and as they were marched away the crowd erupted in a roar of jubilation. The Miraculous heroes were quick to leave the scene, and not a moment too soon, since their transformations dropped shortly after they landed on a distant roof. As the rest of her team celebrated, Marinette turned to look at the Eiffel Tower, where it all started five years ago. It didn’t feel real, Marinette looked down at the celebrating crowd below, she was happy, but she also felt lost in a way. Being Ladybug had been such a huge part of her life, and she hadn’t really planned what she’d do once Hawkmoth was defeated. She was snapped out of her thoughts when a familiar arm wrapped around her waist, “Hey,” Damian murmured. She could feel a smile growing on her face, “Are you doing okay my Lily? I thought you would’ve been celebrating as well,” Marinette leaned into his side, “I feel like I won the lottery… but I’m not sure where to go from here. I’ve been Ladybug for a good chunk of my life, all the plans I made revolved around being Ladybug and responding to Akumas. Now I don’t really know what to do with myself,” “Come to Gotham,” Tim shouted at the pair, effectively ruining the moment. Damian turned, shooting Tim a glare over his shoulder. “He’s not wrong you know,” Batman started, getting everyone’s attention, “You’ve proven yourself to be incredibly capable, and now that the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous are back in your possession, the threat they pose has been taken care of. We would be honored to have you join us and the rest of the Gotham Knights.” Marinette was stunned, she stammered over her words trying to piece together a sentence, “I, I don’t know what to say-” “How about yes?” Damian asked as he leaned in for a kiss. “Alright then. yes. “ Marinette responded as her eyes fluttered closed. Before their lips could meet, the moment was ruined, “Get a room!” Tim called, resulting in a groan from the couple, and laughter from their friends.

Marinette took one last look around her bare room, almost everything was gone except for her bed and a change of clothes. This was her last night in Paris for a while, maybe forever unless she came back to visit. In the month since Hawkmoth’s defeat, all of Paris had been in a state of constant celebration, and tonight there was supposed to be the biggest party of all: to wish Ladybug good luck and farewell as she joined the Batfam and by extension the Justice League. She would be the only hero moving up to the big leagues, with the rest of the Miraculous holders involved in the final battle releasing a statement that they would be permanently retired until further notice. They cited that it would be too dangerous to have so many Miraculous out and active on a permanent basis, potentially giving supervillains multiple targets to go after, and the potential danger each Miraculous could pose if they were to fall into the wrong hands. They wished Ladybug well and stated that they’d always be ready if she needed them again. Panthère de Nuit was publicly revealed to be Robin, the vigilante from Gotham, along with a slightly watered-down version of why the Bats were in Paris in the first place. No one really cared about the schematics, Hawkmoth was gone, and people could live their normal lives again. Marinette plopped down on her bed, sighing as she watched the Kwamii fly about the room. There really was nothing left for her in Paris, Hawkmoth and Mayura were gone, the rest of her class finally apologized, Lila was exposed and she’d just graduated high school alongside her soulmate. All she had to do now was go to college in Gotham, build her fashion empire, and help defend the world whenever she was needed. She was excited, who wouldn’t be? That excitement was dampened by a sense of melancholy, Paris was her home and she had so many good memories here, some she could remember vividly, like her soulmate dreams. “Hey Tikki?” The little Kwamii paused, floating over to her champion, “Now that I’ve met Damian, am I going to stop having soulmate dreams? I mean I’ve never had them consistently before… but it would be weird for them to suddenly stop right?” Tikki sat for a moment in Marinette’s hand, pondering her chosen’s question. “Well, it depends. Soulmate dreams work differently for different people, but you primarily seem to get them when you’re in a situation relating to hope. When you’re either full of hope or desperately need it, that’s when your dreams seem to come to you. They act like a promise, a promise that all will be well. So I imagine that you may occasionally have one when you need it most or when you feel particularly hopeful. Anyways, I hope you’re ready, it’s almost time for the party to start!” Tikki cheered as the Kwamii surrounded the two.

Damian sat atop the Eiffel Tower as Panthère de Nuit, he watched Ladybug (It’s Lady Miracle now, he reminded himself) as she made her way across the rooftops to him. She was followed by cheering from the crowd of people, who all seemed to surge forward towards the celebration. Occasionally she would stop to pull a few people out of the crowd who looked like they were having trouble, but nonetheless, she was making good progress. She landed next to him gracefully, and he stood to meet her. “Hello my Lily,” he whispered as he pulled her into an embrace. “How was your last day in Paris?” She hummed contentedly as she kissed him, pausing a moment to snuggle closer. “It was good. I finally got apologies from the rest of the class, and anyone else who believed Lila. I only had to deal with Adrien for a few minutes, he tried to convince me to stay in Paris and go to college with him instead of leaving for Gotham. Papa showed him the door. And I also finished up the last of my packing! I’ve never seen the room so empty, it’s kinda scary.” Damian sighed, It seemed like Adrien would always be a pain in their sides, he couldn’t do much, but he seemed determined to be a constant presence in their lives. The two decided they wouldn’t focus on it now, they had a celebration to attend to.

The heroes wove their way through the crowds, talking to people, and occasionally stopping at vendors to purchase some snacks or merch. Eventually, the two made their way to where the old Ladybug and Chat Noir statue stood. There were plans to take it down and replace it. “It should just be a statue of Ladybug, I only came to help defeat Hawkmoth, but she has been fighting him the whole time,” Panthère de Nuit explained to the mayor and various sculptors and architects that were discussing it. Ladybug was munching on a chocolate croissant from her parents’ booth, when someone spoke, “So this is it huh? You won and now you’re just packing up and leaving?” She turned to see Lila standing there, arms crossed and looking a mix between furious and annoyed. ‘Annoyed Hawkmoth didn’t drag me down with him,’ Marinette thought, swallowing the bite of croissant. “Hello, Lila. Yes, I got invited to join the Justice League, so I’ll be spending a few years in Gotham training with Batman. How about you? Got any plans?” It was a bit of an antagonistic question. Since Gabriel Agreste was exposed, the brand Gabriel had been in a perpetual death spiral. Adrien, with the help of the board of directors and some lawyers, was able to stabilize the company, but it was going through a serious rebrand and may have to downsize. So Lila’s future as a model was shaky at best. Lila however, did not show any uncertainty, “Oh I’m probably going to continue modeling, after I finish college that is. Who knows, maybe I’ll leave that behind and branch into acting. Now,” her gaze hardened, “Let’s drop the pleasantries shall we? Hawkmoth is gone, so I expect I won’t be having any more trouble with you-” “Unless you decide to work with a terrorist again. The only reason you haven’t been arrested is because there isn’t enough evidence Lila.” “And it's going to stay that way. You have no reason to go snooping around my life anymore, and besides,” Lila shot her a smirk, “I’m sure the Justice League wouldn’t like it if it got out that their newest member was stalking an innocent model, accusing her of outlandish crimes.” Ladybug laughed, “Considering some recent revelations about you I don’t think I’ll have a problem convincing them you’re anything but trustworthy. So stay out of trouble, because you’ll certainly end up getting in over your head, and someday no one will be around to bail you out.” Lila made a sound similar to an outraged chicken, and placing a hand over her heart she cried, “Is that a threat?” an obvious attempt to make a scene. Ladybug simply shrugged, “Nope. It’s a warning. Do with it what you will,” and with that, she walked over to Panthère de Nuit, and the two swung back up to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks. The show was amazing, the symbols of all the Parisian heroes lit up the sky, and Marinette contentedly sighed as she leaned into Damian’s side. Life was good. After a couple of minutes, the grand finale began, with the final fireworks spelling out: Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit.

#marinette deserves better #adrien salt #lila salt #maribat #class salt #chat noir salt #adrien salt prompts #bustier salt #daminette #gabriel salt

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thecourtscorkboard · 13 days ago

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Farewell, My Turnabout (2-4: PART ONE)

Justice for All comes to its end in one of the series's most beloved cases: the truth behind an award show murder, the fate of a famous actor, and Maya's life are all on the line in Farewell, My Turnabout.

Welcome to 2-4, the final case of Justice for All. At an awards ceremony that we were graciously invited to by a previous client, an actor is murdered and another actor is arrested for the crime: and an acquittal is the price for Maya's life.

I don't want to waste too much time setting up for 2-4: it's a case I have a lot of thoughts about, so let's just jump into it!

THE CORE CAST:

Phoenix Wright: Phoenix, still recovering from the trials and tribulations that were 2-3, is invited to an awards ceremony by a former client. Unfortunately, he's wrapped up in a murder nearly beyond comprehension.

Maya Fey: Maya is invited alongside Phoenix to the awards ceremony: and she's ecstatic, given that this is an awards ceremony all about the Samurais!

Pearl Fey: Although she may not know what an 'award' is, Pearl is happy to tag along to a once-in-a-lifetime event: and she takes the role as our main assistant!

Miles Edgeworth: The glorious return of Miles Edgeworth is what defines the climax of this case, and he wastes no time stealing the spotlight and returning as the ultimate arbiter of the law.

Franziska von Karma: Although she's not the lead prosecutor, this case is still Franziska's: and she serves a vital role in its conclusion and introduction!

THE MAIN CAST:

Dick Gumshoe: Gumshoe is really putting in the hours here, starring as the lead detective and a close partner for this mystery!

Matt Engarde: A world-famous actor known for his role as the Nickel Samurai. He's been arrested for the murder of a rival actor, and there may be more than meets the eye...

Adrian Andrews: Matt's assistant and a tragic character in her own right, Adrian takes her role very seriously. Perhaps a bit too seriously. ADRIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

Will Powers: WP returns as our inviter and as a star witness, pun intended! He looks pretty good in that suit of his, doesn't he?

Wendy Oldbag: Stop the presses! The windbag wants to speak! Oldbag returns in full security guard fashion, starring a brand new outfit to boot!

Lotta Hart: As Lotta's final appearance in the main series, she marches into the scene with southern bravado and a knack for photographic journalism!

THE SECONDARY CAST:

Shelly de Killer: A mysterious assassin. He trusts those who trust him, but when those rules are broken...

Juan Corrida: A famous actor known for starring as the Jammin' Ninja and the victim in this case.

Celeste Inpax: Juan Corrida's former manager. Although she's been gone for two years, her impact is still felt on her protégé, Adrian...

Director Hotti: Eugh.

A BRIEF RECAP

An awards show is nearing its conclusion. The finalists are being announced and everything is coming to a head: the winner of this year's Hero of Heroes Grand Prix is... the Nickel Samurai out of nowhere with a steel chair, stealing the Jammin' Ninja's thunder!

I fuck with this design.

Investigation, Day One

Maya is enthralled by the awards ceremony: which makes sense, given that she's a massive fan of the samurai shows. Phoenix is decidedly uninterested, and Will Powers is happy that the actor behind the mask is doing the series justice: we learn that he invited us here as thanks for our defense in 1-3! Pearl is very confused but happy to be here as usual.

Maya immediately notices that something was off about the Jammin' Ninja: he wasn't carrying his guitar. WP agrees with her, but Phoenix brushes it off. It's clear that he very much wants to go home, but WP interests us by talking about a press conference involving the Nickel Samurai confessing to something. Talking with him a bit more, apparently the Nickel Samurai is so successful that they're making a movie out of him: Maya tells us that the new actor's name is Matt Engarde, and apparently the Nickel Samurai is in a heated competition with the Jammin' Ninja. They even air at the exact same time! Even Matt and the person who plays the Jammin' Ninja don't like each other. If you present WP's profile to him before we leave Pearl tells him that he looks very nice, which makes him happy.

Anyways, before we're dragged off by Maya to the lobby, we visit the hallway. Matt and another actor's, Juan Corrida's, doors are right across from each other, and it's clear that whoever this "Juan Corrida" fellow is... he's much more well liked. Apparently, Maya's been infodumping 24/7 about Matt Engarde to Phoenix: she's that big of a fan, huh?

Anyways, we head back to Viola Hall and are dragged off by Maya to see the post-ceremony show! Before we leave, however, WP gives us a ticket to the press conference. When we get to the lobby, however, the PA system blares that the conference is cancelled. Why? It's a police matter!

The low blind.

A security guard tells us to stop while we're going to check it out and gets into a very long today about the youth and- oh you've gotta be kidding me. It's Wendy Oldbag! Apparently, after she got fired from Global Studios, she tried to be Edgeworth's bodyguard: but he flatly turned her down. We get a little more information out of her—apparently there's been a murder! Here, at the Gatewater Hotel!

Maya manages to convince us (read: blackmail us) into sneaking away under the guise of going to the restroom. When we get to the Viola Hall, where the ceremony took place, it looks like nothing happened here, but before we leave a bellboy stops Maya. Apparently, she's got a phone call: it could be somebody from Kurain Village!

The high blind.

Maya decides to go with the bellboy to answer her phone call: we head into the hallway. This must be where it happened! After all, Dick Gumshoe and Lotta Hart are battling it out. Wait. Lotta's here? She's happy to see us, and Gumshoe confirms that a murder has happened inside of the room he's guarding: Juan Corrida's! Apparently, Matt Engarde—the Nickel Samurai—is being accused of "bumping off" Juan.

We ask Gumshoe why Matt got arrested, but his lips are sealed. We can't risk any leaks, and Pearl tells us that if Maya knew then she'd force us to take this case: which is... rather true. We head back to the lobby and tell WP what happened: and he understandably nearly buckles over. Before he leaves, WP gives us a small transceiver. Apparently, somebody told him to give this to us. Sure enough, it starts beeping...

...And on the other end is a mysterious voice alongside an all-too familiar one screaming for help: Maya has been kidnapped!

The cards are dealt.

The kidnapper has a simple demand. We will achieve a total acquittal for Matt Engarde in the first day of trial. If we do not, Maya will be killed. If we do, then she will be returned to us. Before he hangs up, he tells us his name: "De Killer". Pearl becomes completely inconsolable and we rush to Detective Gumshoe while WP looks over her: he's quick to tell us, though, that Matt Engarde is likely guilty. And if he wasn't, then why would there be a kidnapping?!

Gumshoe does tell us one thing, though: there's so much evidence that it was Matt Engarde that it's almost weird. De Killer did say something about Matt being set-up, and Gumshoe tells us that we can begin our own investigation after cooperating with the police.

Meanwhile, we slip into Maya's shoes and come face-to-face with De Killer.

Red! The blood of angry... er, assassins?

He reassures her that she is not his target: and she will not be if Phoenix manages to get an acquittal. He then contacts Phoenix: this takes just place just before their first conversation.

The next day, Phoenix and Pearl wake up without getting much sleep. Gumshoe was kind enough to go home with Pearl and Phoenix, and we stiffen our upper lip to be strong. For Pearl's sake! Before we leave, Pearl asks us a question: if we represent Matt, then what do we do if he is our murderer? It's a heavy question and one we're not prepared to answer, so we rush down to the Detention Center. We just can't wait to talk to Matt.

When we talk to him, we learn one thing about him: he's a moron. He thinks we're insurance salespeople, then fire extinguisher sellers, and only after we tell him we're a lawyer (and he talks to his manager) do we get a chance to interview him. It's not much of an interview, though: he doesn't answer our questions at all, and he's ready to show us out until we bring up De Killer's name.

Why does this rattle him?

Matt unexpectedly agrees to take us on as his attorney. Before we leave, we use the magatama to see if he did kill Juan: and when he says he did not, there's no chains or locks in sight. I guess he really didn't kill him! This is good—we've got an innocent client!

We head back to the Gatewater Hotel with one goal in mind: find the real killer. When we get to the lobby, we run into Oldbag, but it turns out that she's only heard everything from Lotta. It turns out she did see something very important, though: but when we try to pry, she's hiding it behind four psyche-locks! I guess we'll have to come back to her later. We run into Lotta in the hallway, and she's accusing us of stealing her camera: we're fervently denying it, but that brings us to another mystery. Where is her camera?

In any case, 'tis time for us to get investigating. One thing's for sure: if Matt was the killer, then he'd have to cross the hallway. Nobody saw him do this that we know of, so that's another layer of... if not proof that he's innocent, then at least a growing certainty. We take note of Lotta's missing camera and talk to her about what happened when Juan was murdered: she was here until Matt was arrested, but says she might've left here for a little bit to look for other stars to take pictures of. There was some big scoop that she was on the lookout for, but when we try to press her on that...

There's a joke to make here, but I don't know what it is.

Oookay, well. Time to make like Liz Truss and leaf. I guess it's time to put the pedal to the metal: let's go inside Juan's room. It's absolutely stuffed with, well, stuffed bears. Gumshoe is quick to inquire about Maya's safety, but we unfortunately have nothing to report: he asks if we're doing okay, but we don't respond. He tells us that we're totally allowed to investigate the crime scene and he'll give us all the information he can and gives Pearl a map: d'awww, he's a good guy.

When it comes to the cause of death, it's pretty obvious. Gumshoe gives us a picture and there's a knife sticking out of his chest. There are fingerprints on the knife, as well: and the current theory is that they're Matt's. Greeeeeeeeeeat. When it comes to Matt's actual arrest, Gumshoe tells us that he's got even more evidence. There was a button that got ripped off and landed in his Hakama, and furthermore he's got a witness: the Wicked Witch of the Witness Stand herself!

We run out of things to talk to him about so we get to presenting. He tells us that the transciever uses radio waves and he'll let us borrow a radio wave scanner: hopefully that'll work. There's also a suspicious guitar case on the scene. It's wet, but only on the top of the lid, with no water inside the case itself. Furthermore, there's no guitar! There's also a wine glass on the table filled with tomato juice: Pearl asks us a good question. Why is it that this is the only thing still intact? We get to talking with Gumshoe, and he tells us that Franziska also noticed that: which means Franziska is at the hote-

Gumshoe's beeper goes off, and on cue:

I was starting to miss her!

Franziska catches Gumshoe before he can run away and she tells us that victory will be hers this time: she's offended when we ask if that's all she's after, though, and storms away after throwing something at us. It looks like... an autograph? Signed "Juan", to... "My Dearest Wendy". Hm.

Maybe she does have a soft spot for us.

Before we leave to deliver the autograph, we stop in Matt's room. There's somebody in here before us: this is Ms. Adrian Andrews, Matt's manager. She's clearly very down-to-business, so down to business we get: interviewing her is a bit of a hassle, but she's quick to give us some information. She was eating dinner with Matt the night of the murder, did some errands to prepare for the post-ceremony show, and went to check on Juan when she found his body.

Apparently, Juan didn't have a manager. When it comes to the press conference, she didn't really know what it was about either: she was just told to put one on. When it comes to Juan, she's clearly not a very big fan of his. Or Matt's, for that matter. She equates them to children, always bickering about every little thing, and we get a hunch that she knows a little bit more than what she's telling us. We try to pry, but she gives us psyche-locks!

Oh, well. In any case, we know what to do with the autograph Franziska gave– er, threw at us. We move to rush back to the lobby and confront Ms. Oldbag, but before we do we're stopped by WP in the Viola Hall! He tells us a bit about the Nickel Samurai, which is focused on three brothers—the Aluminum, Tin, and Nickel Samurai—all being in love with the same woman. Pearl asks WP for more information, but he tells her to tune in: and she considers it. He tells us about the Jammin' Ninja as well, which is about a ninja who can't ninja becoming a big pop star, which Pearl also considers watching. They run at the same time, it appears.

When we run into Wendy, it is pitifully easy to break her four psyche-locks. All we have to do is give her the autograph Juan made for her and she spills the beans!

She looks like an alien. Or an insect.

We get to talking with her. She tells us that she straight-up saw Matt leaving Juan's room the night of the murder: ten minutes before his body was discovered, no less! She's going to be a witness in court tomorrow, and she's going to work overtime to get Matt declared guilty. Greeeeeeeeat. Apparently, Matt created some sort of scandal that Juan got wrapped up in: something to do with Adrian, no less. When it comes to what it actually was, though, she isn't sure. It'll come up in next week's tabloid.

Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat.

Fantastic. This was a huge waste of my time. (you did not read mine!) We go back to talk to WP about this "scandal", and he gives us more information. Apparently, Adrian and Juan were meeting in secret: and even more than that, the tabloid is hinting that they could even be lovers! He gives us the clipping and we have enough evidence to break apart Lotta's psyche-locks, so let's go do that!

Running into her in the hallway, we get to crackin'. She was here to get the drop on this "scandal"! We're right on the money, and her psyche-locks are broken after we substantiate our claim with the newspaper clipping. There's apparently a note on the story in her camera case. Another reason to keep an eye out for it, I guess.

Welp, there's one place to go now. Gumshoe told us to meet him at the Criminal Affairs Department, so that's exactly what we do. He is not happy to see us. Or, I guess more accurately, not happy for us. All of the evidence is pointing towards Matt's guilt: it's an airtight case, as far as the LAPD is concerned. The fingerprints did turn out to be Matt's. Furthermore, Oldbag's testimony is also damning. We try to pry for more information, and eventually we get to talking about the scandal.

Two years ago, a woman committed suicide: this woman, Celeste Impax, was Juan's own manager. Furthermore, she was Adrian's mentor. No wonder she hated him. Before he can tell us any more, Franziska barges in and fires Gumshoe! She begins to berate us for interfering, as if we didn't interfere then she would've won...

...says somebody finishing her sentence for her.

The great revival.

Franziska snaps at Edgeworth, but he keeps uncharacteristically cool: and, when she storms out in a huff, we get to snapping at him. Phoenix starts shouting at him, saying that he thought Edgeworth was dead and that he never wanted to see him again. Edgeworth coolly responds that he won't be showing up at tomorrow's trial, and thankfully given that he's not in charge of this investigation he's able to give us a little more information. Before we ask him, though, he reminisces about the von Karma creed: and we berate him for leaving because he lost his perfect win record. Edgeworth tries to correct us and asks why we stand in court. When we say it's to save our clients' lives, he has the audacity to tell us that we still have a lot to learn.

Sigh. In any case, it's time to get talking about the case. Edgeworth is happy to give us information on Celeste. Apparently, after she killed herself, her suicide note vanished. It was highly likely she did write one, given the ink on her fingers, as well. When it comes to who hid it? Well, it had to have been Juan. He was the one who discovered her body, after all. Edgeworth gives us Celeste's suicide report and we get to flipping: this is only part one, and Edgeworth gives us part two...

...it's an attempted suicide report and the victim is Adrian Andrews. This is shocking information! Adrian has an incredibly dependent nature, Edgeworth tells us—she latches on to authority figures in attempts to emulate them as she has very little self-confidence of her own. Celeste was the person she had latched on to, and when Celeste died she felt like she had nowhere else to go. Without somebody to anchor herself to, anxiety and desperation take control of her life: even with counseling, she's very clearly putting up a façade.

We head back to Matt's hotel room to talk with her. Franziska is there before us, and we learn that little beeping sound is a tracking device she planted on Gumshoe to know his every move. Okay, sure. Assault and battery, clear familial issues, and now stalking?

...I can fix her.

Anyways! It's time to break Adrian's psyche-locks. She knows the reason he was killed: she had to get close to Juan? Why? For Celeste's sake. She had to find the suicide note! She's uncharacteristically enraged to hear us talking about her, and when we finally tell her that we know about her dependent nature she folds: this is, indeed, why she got close with Juan. We're even going further than just this, however—Phoenix accuses her, to her face, of murdering Juan.

And yet she still denies it...

There's little else we can do today. We head back to the office and De Killer is on the line! We ask to hear Maya's voice and he relents: she tells us to talk to Mia, and Pearl channels her for us! Mia tells us that Maya is safe. She also left her a note: a smart use of spirit channeling! She didn't see the face of her kidnapper, however.

For the last bit of this investigation, we actually play as Maya. Scurrying around in the dark, we find a small card: it's similar to the one Adrian has, complete with a pink shell decal. Maya skillfully uses it to jimmy open the lock on her door... and investigation comes to a close!

Trial, Day Two

Before trial begins, we're called by Shelly de Killer. Apparently, he's given us a present: he's vague about it, though. Weird, as per usual. Maya is okay, but hasn't been fed at all. Thankfully, Mia's by our side this time, and when we go into trial we learn what this "present" of his really is.

In my favorite moment of this entire game, Franziska von Karma has been shot.

The flop.

This must be De Killer's gift to us. Franziska is one of the top prosecutors in the country: who could take her place?

Well, one person could. Edgeworth gives us the good news—she is alive and in stable condition. Just like her father, she was shot in the right shoulder: unlike her father, she is currently undergoing surgery. Edgeworth tells us that over this past year he has been undergoing a journey—and hopes that by the end of this trial we will understand the truth he has reached.

Gumshoe is called to the stand and lays out the facts of the case before us. After this trial, he's to turn in his badge: after a brief pep talk by Edgeworth, however, he gets out of his funk and is ready to testify. He tells us what we already knew: the murder took place during the awards show, Juan was murdered, and there was nothing suspicious about the guitar case.

After pressing Gumshoe for more information, we learn that only the victim's fingerprints were on his guitar case. We also learn that the cause of death wasn't stabbing: it was strangulation. Juan must've been stabbed after he died. Gumshoe's testimony comes to an end and we're given a new one on why Matt was arrested.

We get more information on both the knife—which, again, bears Matt's fingerprints—and the button found in his hakama. He slips up, though! He says that the murder was premeditated. We know this isn't true: after all, the knife he used was from the Gatewater Hotel! This was an issue in 1-5, if you recall.

When you commit a murder, you don't forget the murder weapon!

Edgeworth shuts this contradiction down, however. Juan's knife was present at his table. Whose knife wasn't present at his table? Matt's. Edgeworth says that a verdict could be reached if we have no new evidence to present—is he throwing us a bone? There's one thing that's piquing our attention. Remember the glass filled with tomato juice?

It's completely undisturbed in the crime scene photo, just like Pearl picked up on. Edgeworth brushes this off. Adrian Andrews, who discovered the body, must've simply put it down without thinking. We ask for proof, and Edgeworth gives it. Only Adrian's fingerprints were found on the glass! His Honor is ready to pass judgement but Edgeworth mysteriously stops him. He has another witness!

Oldbag takes the stand and Edgeworth is, understandably, shocked that it's her under that helmet. She gives her testimony about seeing Matt leaving Juan's room right after the murder supposedly took place: when we get to pressing her, she says that she definitely saw that bright red racing jacket of his. That can't be true, though. Juan's button landed in the hakama of his costume: if he was the murderer, then he'd have been wearing the Nickel Samurai outfit, not his racing jacket!

We ask for more testimony. Oldbag says that she did see the Nickel Samurai and got mixed up. There's a plain contradiction there, however. The Nickel Samurai costume has gloves. So, then, how did Matt's fingerprints end up on the knife?

Edgeworth says that the initial intent behind Matt's visit to Juan's room may not have been murder. He visited Juan, took off his gloves to relax, and then killed him. This can't be possible, though!

When you don't commit a murder, you don't bring a murder weapon!

We're going to fish for a turnabout now! There's a compelling theory brewing in Phoenix's mind. The real killer brought the knife in an attempt to frame our client! Who's the real killer? There's only one answer, and Oldbag even tells us that she was waiting for her. It's Adrian Andrews!

Oldbag is ready to testify to why she was waiting for Adrian. She was waiting to see if the scandal was true! How did she know about that, though? After all, the tabloid's gonna be published next week! Unless...

...remember Lotta's missing camera? Oldbag folds. She did steal Lotta's note! It was in the camera case We know she stole more than that, though.

I love how clearly desperate, tired, and pissed off he is here.

Oldbag finally confesses and shows us the camera. She says that she stole it to check for photos: His Honor orders the bailiff to do so as well. Edgeworth tells us that there's only one photo worth showing—the Nickel Samurai leaving Juan Corrida's room. His Honor is ready to pass judgement once more. After all, Matt himself said that during the time of the murder he was in the Nickel Samurai costume!

There's one thing off about this photo, however. The Nickel Samurai in this photo is holding up their hakama pants. The hakama is too long! This wouldn't be the case if it was actually Matt. It's his costume! Furthermore, in the poster, you can clearly see the Nickel Samurai's socks. The costume is too large for whoever is wearing it! There's only one person who could have access to the suit and be too short to fit in it comfortably.

Adrian Andrews.

Mia picks up on something, though. Edgeworth is unusually calm. When we formally indict Adrian, His Honor says that he'll call a subpoena: and Mia points out that this will take one more day! We desperately beg His Honor to keep this trial going. Edgeworth agrees with us and tells us one thing.

Everything is going according to plan.

Court is adjourned for a brief recess. In the Defendant's Lobby, Matt is shocked to hear that she was behind Juan's murder: but we have motive with the suicide note. But who told us about that note, Mia asks? Edgeworth did.

When court reconvenes, we're left with a sinking feeling in our stomachs. Adrian tells us that she had been seeing Juan and knew about the rivalry between him and Matt. Adrian testifies about when she discovered the body—she was in a state of shock, and when she felt she was about to faint poured a glass of tomato juice. Mia tells us that the key to breaking through her testimony is disrupting her pacing. To be blunt, unlike other witnesses she's smart.

Our main strategy, then, is to press. As we press, we notice that she's getting more nervous: she's starting to stumble over her words as we press her about her state of shock and the glass of juice. When we get back to talking about her state of shock, she lets it slip that she made a mistake! She shakily answers that she knocked the flower vase over—this is an obvious lie if I've ever seen one! Adrian says that she knocked it over and that it fell onto the guitar case: but we know this isn't possible, as the guitar case is wet and has glass on the outside, not the inside!

Why would she lie about this?

Other than the vase, Adrian testified, she didn't touch anything at all. Why, then, was the guitar case closed if it was open in the picture? We ask Adrian to testify about the guitar case: this might be the key that blows the whole case wide open! At least, that's the façade we're putting up. Edgeworth knows we're grasping at straws. Frankly, we can't believe we're grasping this far, either.

Adrian's pacing is definitely disrupted now: her testimony, that she opened the guitar case for some reason after she found Juan's body, is riddled with holes. Her fingerprints weren't found on the guitar case, after all! This isn't strange, she argues back: she was wearing gloves. This can't be true, though! After all, her fingerprints were on the glass of tomato juice!

Mia tells us that we're definitely on to something: there must've been something else inside the guitar case. It all clicks into place! It makes perfect sense for one thing to be inside of the guitar case. The Nickel Samurai costume! Edgeworth and His Honor are both incredulous, but we have an idea. There was something Matt was going to confess at a press conference when he won the award: but what if it wasn't Matt in the Nickel Samurai costume?

He's exhausted, isn't he?

We make an outrageous claim: that Juan Corrida was going to wear the Nickel Samurai costume and hold a fake press conference! This! This is our turnabout! It wasn't going to be a confession. As Edgeworth notes, this would be public disclosure! Andrews tells us the truth: we're right on the money. The press conference was set up by Juan! "If he lost the Grand Prix, then Matt was going down with him," she says. Adrian says that Juan must've had a pretty big secret if it was going to ruin his career.

His Honor asks if Adrian knows what the "secret" is. She claims she doesn't. She's asked to testify one last time about why she's been behaving like she did—she says it was all to protect Matt, given that she's his manager and the button and knife are proof of his guilt. We press her and she tells us that Matt's motive was about the press conference: but she can't prove it. When it comes to the button, she says that it was torn off during his fight with Matt.

This, alas, is not possible. There's blood on the button, after all. This wouldn't be an issue if he was stabbed before he died, but he wasn't! He was strangled first and then stabbed. This can only mean one thing. The button was torn off deliberately! Why was the button ripped off? There's one answer. To frame Matt!

Everything is falling into place now. All of the evidence did seem too perfect, remember? We finally openly accuse Adrian of murdering Juan. If asked if we have any evidence, we say we have all the evidence! Adrian's perfect framing is coming back to bite her in the ass. The knife used to stab Juan's body? It was taken from Matt's room. Of course it'd be covered in his fingerprints! The only one that could take the knife from his room, and know which knife to take, would be her.

Furthermore! The only people that could've removed the button from Juan's costume were his killer and the person who found the body. We know Matt didn't: after all, why would he incriminate himself?! The guitar case is also proof. Who could've known there was a spare costume inside of the case? Two people: Juan Corrida and Adrian Andrews!

Edgeworth objects. Adrian's fingerprints weren't found on the guitar case! This is elementary. She used a towel or a cloth to hide her fingerprints: but the tomato juice? That was deliberate! After all, she needed to create the appearance of being a "dazed witness"! Finally, look at the picture of the Nickel Samurai leaving Juan's room. If somebody was too short to fit in the costume, like Adrian, then they'd have to ride the pants up to walk properly!

We can't: for Maya's sake!

Adrian refuses to testify any more: she's pleading the fifth! It must've been Franziska. Remember that they were talking in Matt's room yesterday. Edgeworth says that everything we've proven so far is simply circumstantial. With Adrian refusing to testify and Edgeworth shooting down our argument, we've ended up in the worst possible situation! His Honor says that the court must be adjourned today for further investigation. No! This can't be how it ends!

We beg His Honor to keep proceedings going. When Edgeworth interjects, we get to begging him. Edgeworth says that there is one more thing we can do: have Adrian testify to something unrelated to the evidence pointing towards Matt. What about the juice she poured?

Adrian testifies that she thought Juan was just sleeping. This is why she poured the glass of juice: she poured it for him. This can't be right. After all, there was a knife sticking out of his body! Her entire testimony was a lie. A lie that has proven one thing: she had to have been Juan's murderer!

Court's proceedings are coming to a close, and we've done it. We've done it! We've found who the real killer was and saved Maya's life. When it comes to the matter of the evidence, Adrian still refuses to testify: in that case, court today is over. Which is... weird. Why isn't Adrian confessing? That's what murderers have always done in the past.

...Is she...?

Edgeworth objects, stating that a verdict now would be immature. If Adrian isn't going to testify about why she tried to frame Matt... then he'll do it himself. She's still steadfastly refusing to testify: she's in complete denial that she'll be found guilty! It must be Franziska's influence—her dependent nature has caused Adrian to latch on to her!

Edgeworth tells us that we have a choice to make. Think about what the witness did and did not do: what kind of man are we? We have to win an acquittal for Maya, but we just... we just can't let the truth die. Adrian refuses to testify when we try to force her, however, and Edgeworth does the unthinkable.

He tells the truth about Adrian for her. Her attempted suicide in the past. Her dependency issues. Adrian begs him to stop: when it comes to this all being revealed, she'd rather...

Edgeworth's gambit.

Adrian tells us the truth. She did try to pin the crime on Matt... but she also discovered Juan's body. Adrian is livid: she's swearing at Matt, calling him a scumbag who's trying to flee from the truth "just like last time". This testimony is airtight. It must be the truth. It is impossible to indict Adrian on anything outside of fabricating evidence to get Matt convicted.

An extra day is called for further investigation.

Court is adjourned.

Before we leave, Edgeworth asks Adrian about the card in her hand. When she says she found it next to Juan's body, he demands she give it to him: apparently, this is a major piece of evidence.

In any case, however... court is adjourned.

And we didn't win an acquittal.

This is my favorite sprite in the entire trilogy.

Investigation, Day Two

Pearl is understandably inconsolable. Gumshoe swings by the offices to talk to us: apparently, now that he's out of a job, he's offering to work for us and help in our investigation. Hey, I won't turn him down. He's just as shocked as us to have heard Edgeworth say he didn't care if Adrian killed herself. We get to asking about Franziska, and she's in good condition: apparently, she was shot in the shoulder. Just like her father.

We play with the idea of visiting her at the... Hotti Clinic, eugh: apparently Phoenix does care about her. If you present her profile to Gumshoe, he tells us that he worries about her. Aw. If only Franziska knew that she had people who cared about her...

In any case, we go down to Hotti Clinic to check up on her. Edgeworth is worried sick about his sister to the point of not knowing that this man isn't Director Hotti: Franziska whips him out of the way. Huh. Well, at least she's still her old self. There's a funny bit here where Phoenix gets embarrassed after Franziska notices he brought her some flowers. See? He does care!

An unlikely friendship, perhaps?

Franziska says that she was going to run the trial today anyways (she's obviously lying, mind you) and Edgeworth dragged her here. Edgeworth says that getting her to the hospital was the logical course of action and that he had to clean up the deal she made with Adrian—she denies that she made such a deal. She calls Adrian weak and storms off, flippantly ignoring the fact that she had manipulated her into nearly being declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit.

When Franziska leaves, we're left alone with Edgeworth. Edgeworth says that the reason he did what he did was because he puts himself on the line and expects everybody else to do the same. When it comes to the card, though... Edgeworth swears us to secrecy. This is tippity-top secret information.

The card is a literal calling card: property of an assassin named Shelly de Killer. The name "De Killer" is an old one, dating back over a hundred years—the latest in the line, Shelly, leaves the card as proof that he committed the murder for his clients.

Before we leave, Edgeworth speaks up. He noticed how we were acting in trial today: desperate. We tell him the truth—Maya's been kidnapped. He's shocked and promises to put together a team to rescue her: we snap at him, telling him that we don't need his pity and that we don't believe that Matt hired De Killer to kill Juan Corrida. Edgeworth goes to prepare his rescue team and gives us a letter of introduction to be allowed to investigate the hotel.

She's still alive, thankfully!

Once we're done talking to Edgeworth, the scene cuts to Maya's perspective. Breaking out of her room with the card, we find ourselves in a room with a bunch of electrical equipment. A satellite dish, a computer, a picture of Celeste Impax, a weird little stuffed bear, and a bunch of video tapes. When we're done investigating, De Killer suddenly appears. He's rather impressed with our escape, but asks us to cooperate. Dead men tell no tales, after all...

We go to the detention center, but visiting hours are over. There's a message left for us by Matt, though: to feed his cat Shoe. Well. Pearl pushes us to feed Shoe, but before we do that we head over to the hotel to investigate. Apparently, Edgeworth buttered Wendy up in his letter of recommendation. Nice. Before we go any further, Wendy tells us that we're not allowed to go into Matt's room. Bummer.

Anyways, before we do anything else, we should probably feed Shoe. When we turn the light on, Matt's butler, John Doe, greets us. He looks oddly familiar, doesn't he?

Where have we seen this face before...?

John is reluctant to give us information about Matt: he doesn't pry into his master's affairs, as it were. He's rather reluctant to talk about anything, as a matter of fact. When we leave, John tells us that people aren't as they appear to be: a strange thing to say, wouldn't you say so?

Heading back to the hotel, we get into the hallway and meet with Lotta. Apparently, the info she made up about Matt foisting Adrian onto Juan? Hogwash. Balderdash, as it were. Great. When we go into Juan's room, Oldbag is waiting for us! Weirdly enough, all the bears around the room are presents. Apparently he fought and befriended a bear at one point. Weird, but okay.

De Killer calls us on the transceiver: we ask to speak to Maya, but the transciever fades away into static! We do manage to get one more day, though. Heading back to the office, Gumshoe is waiting for us. He offers to make dinner, but we're not hungry, and we ask him if he could look at the transceiver. Oddly enough, it's perfectly fine—he suggest electromagnetic interference. He explains it to us: it's like using a cellphone next to a computer making the screen blurry, and when Pearl doesn't understand that, we tell her it's like using the dryer next to the TV and the TV starts acting up.

Gumshoe suggests that some other device messed up the transceiver: like a listening device. And where did the transceiver get messed up? Juan's room! We've got a lead: FINALLY! Gumshoe races to break into the precinct and steal a bug sweeper and we rush to Juan's hotel room. Gumshoe couldn't get a police bug sweeper, but he did manage to find his own: one he whipped up in elementary school. Huh! Guy's handy with electronics. It'll go off on anything that emits electromagnetic waves, but it'll work to find any listening devices!

I'm more impressed that he made it in elementary school. Given he's in his 30s and JfA takes place in 2017, he made this stuff using equipment from the late 80s or early 90s! That's impressive!

We take a good look around the room and find something: a small video camera in the eye of the giant stuffed bear along with a transmitter and a timer. It transmits radio waves: there's no actual video on it. The timer on the device says it was set to start recording at 8:00 PM—around the time Juan was killed! This camera could've caught the murder on tape!

Gumshoe takes the camera and has a great idea: he's going to go to different electronic shops and see if he can't find who bought the camera! Edgeworth shows up and chuckles at Gumshoe's inefficiency: he overheard our entire conversation, it seems. The bear is custom-made, he tells us, and only a few are exported overseas. He takes the stuffed bear and tells us that he can find who bought it: he should still have enough time.

Going back to the office, we start bouncing theories off of Pearl. All the signs are pointing towards Matt being the person who hired De Killer: we head back to the hotel to see if we can find any more clues and find Oldbag investigating with the bug sweeper. She's ready to tell us more scandalous details about Matt. Apparently, Juan was engaged to Celeste. We knew that already, but Celeste killed herself three days after the marriage announcement! What in the world?!

Juan called off his engagement with Celeste for some reason. We head back to the police station one last time, and the Chief tells us that they've got a new witness. Great. Great! Fuckin' great. Edgeworth does us one more kindness and lets us visit the detention center even though visiting hours are over.

Heading back to the detention center, we're giving the option of talking to either Matt or Adrian. We talk to Matt first, and when we ask him about what the "secret" Juan wanted to reveal is...

This must be the key to everything.

We decide to talk to Adrian instead, and she gives us more information. She tells us that the reason she wanted to get her hands on Celeste's suicide note was to burn it: she didn't want anybody to ruin her memory by spreading lies about her. Adrian tells us that she didn't frame Matt—she just planted evidence to make it more obvious that he's the killer. We have no information right now, so heading back to the Police Department, we run into Will Powers: he's tomorrow's decisive witness.

When it comes to his testimony, WP can't say anything, but when it comes to Matt? He's a playboy. Every women swoons over him... except for Adrian. Besides her totally being gay, there's another obvious reason there: he had something to do with Celeste's suicide, didn't he? He's practically begging us to ask him about Celeste's suicide, so we do. He tells us some of Celeste's last words: "It looks like I got caught up with a truly insidious man." Perhaps something on that note incriminated Juan?

After we're done talking to WP, we get a phone call from Gumshoe. He's in a hurry: Edgeworth's gone and done something! He's found the person who bought the spy camera and the bear. It was... Matt Engarde. He even has the receipt to prove it.

It's undeniable now. Matt Engarde hired Shelly de Killer. It's time for us to go back to the detention center and confront him. His psyche-locks are hard to crack: he recorded Juan, he gave the bear to him, we have the receipt, and we know why he recorded everything. He wanted a video of Juan's death.

Finally, we've uncovered the truth... and Matt Engarde introduces himself.

The river.

He knows all about Maya's kidnapping. He knows that we can't possibly say that he's guilty. Engarde leaves, triumphant, and Edgeworth shows up. We have a conversation with him back at the precinct—we can't get Engarde acquitted. That's no proper defense. But Maya's situation... he asks us why we fight, but before we can get into a proper conversation, we're interrupted by De Killer.

De Killer explains why he kidnapped Maya. He had to take care of Matt: he's his client, after all. When he hangs up, we hear a meow: was that... Shoe?

We've met De Killer?! We rush back to Matt's house and find it empty. Dammit! He was here! We were face-to-face with him! Police units rush to Engarde mansion with us. We're too late, but we do get to investigate: we find the bear figurine and the tapes, but we're too late. The video's been taken.

We also find a message from Maya. She wants us to get Matt declared guilty. But we can't do that! We need to save her life. Dammit! There's only one thing we can do. We head back to the detention center and confront Adrian: she has a psyche-lock, and we break it. Adrian tells us the truth—Celeste killed herself because of Matt, who lied about still having a relationship with her. In her suicide note, she wrote down all of Matt's misdeeds: but Juan hid it, waiting to disclose everything in it at the perfect time. This must've been the "secret" he was going to reveal at the press conference.

With all of the information gathered before us...

Investigation comes to a close.

Trial, Day Two

Before trial, Matt taunts us and Mia talks to us. Matt calls us again and we scream into the receiver, causing Gumshoe to be rather hurt by what we have to say. Gumshoe? Oh. He's calling us. He's back on the investigation team and chasing after De Killer: he tells us that the plan in motion is to make the trial last for as long as possible.

With Gumshoe, Edgeworth, Maya, Pearl, and Mia at our backs, it's time for court!

Edgeworth brings up De Killer's calling card. Once it's established that Juan was assassinated, he calls WP to the stand. On the night of the murder, he visited Matt's room! WP testifies that Matt was talking to somebody. There's a trap here: and we need to fall for it, Mia implies. WP says that Matt gave the bellboy a tip, and when asked about something he found strange during said tip-giving he remembers what it was: a fat roll of cash. This was payment.

Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeat.

WP testifies that he saw the bellboy leaving Juan's room. Pressing him, we learn that the bellboy came out of Juan's room empty-handed: we have to pull some cheap tricks here. We point out the tomato juice, but Edgeworth counters: the bellboy was wearing gloves. Black leather gloves!

We're really grasping here...

A large wad of cash and black gloves is enough to convince His Honor that this bellboy is suspicious, however. WP testifies further, saying that the bellboy gave something to somebody in Matt's room after leaving Juan's room: when pressing him, we learn that WP can't remember who took it or what was given. Something was removed from the crime scene—this is added to WP's testimony, and we present the figurine we found in Matt's house.

This is damning proof that Matt was his client, wasn't it? We ask His Honor to stop his judgement—there are questions that need to be answered still! Who took the bear? Well, WP says it was the Nickel Samurai. Shit. Well, there's an issue with that. Matt was arrested at the hotel: so how could he take the bear home?! Edgeworth counters. We admitted to him that the butler was Shelly de Killer, after all.

We grasp at the tiniest of straws by claiming Adrian Andrews is the real client. The courtroom is turning against us, but we weather the abuse: we're doing this to save Maya. Edgeworth notices our logic has flaws... but he can't deny the possibility! He's letting this trial go on, thank God. He's prepared to challenge our theory and calls the only person who could dispel it to the stand: Adrian herself. Court is adjourned for a brief recess.

During our recess, we notice Pearl isn't channeling Mia anymore: a more powerful force has taken over her spirit. Gumshoe is calling us—he doesn't have any more leads and we snap at him for it, but Mia suddenly comes back. Maya was channeling her, and she was able to see something Maya couldn't: a circus tent! Gumshoe tells his team to search in a 300 foot radius around the Berry Big Circus: that's about how far away Mia thinks it was. Earlier on, it's actually mentioned in an optional examine conversation that the Berry Big Circus has just opened back up. There was also a small mailbox and Mia thinks it might've been an office building. Mia tells us how Maya's doing: she's being deliberately starved by De Killer. Is this how he intends to kill her?! That bastard!

Nevertheless, court reconvenes. Edgeworth asks her if she's seen the bear before: Adrian answers she has, and a desperate Phoenix is shocked. Adrian testifies that the figurine is actually a puzzle, and to unlock it you have to take certain pieces out in a certain order to reach its hollow center. Without knowing the order, you can't solve the puzzle, and therefore cannot open the container. Smart.

Not the first place I would've started.

How does she know about this puzzle? Simple. She bought it. It was meant to be a present for Juan during her scheme to get closer to him. Only she and Juan knew that it was actually a puzzle, which meant Matt didn't. This is interesting. After we press every statement, all eyes are on Adrian: she unlocks the puzzle box...

...and inside is Celeste's suicide note.

Adrian says that she looked all over for the bear after discovering Juan's body, but couldn't find it. There's only one thing we can do: read the contents of the note. Adrian knows she can't stop us and Edgeworth tells her that he can't be persuaded to stop anyways. His Honor reads the note aloud: inside the note is a detailed account of the abuse she went through under Matt, how she was engaged to Corrida, and how Matt destroying everything led her to end her own life. This is Edgeworth's motive: Matt killed Juan because he needed to get rid of that note by any means necessary.

We know we can't stop. We have to keep going: Gumshoe hasn't called anybody yet. Right as His Honor is about to declare his verdict we counter—there's no proof that Matt knew this was a puzzle box! Edgeworth shows us the spy camera, however. Wait. Isn't that in our possession? He explains that this is another spy camera of the same make and model that he found in Matt's mansion.

Mia tells us that there's one piece of evidence Edgeworth hasn't had the time to look further into: or ignored to. The suicide note itself. We point out one thing—there is no proof that this is Celeste's. The handwriting hasn't been analyzed, after all!

And with that, we've reached the end of Part One! Part Two can be found here.

#ace attorney #phoenix wright #miles edgeworth #maya fey #review #mystery #case discussion #justice for all #case review

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swiss-mrs · 11 months ago

Text

Theater Kid

Rating: PG-13, Pure Fluff, All Major Characters are 18+ (Seniors in HS)

Reader/OC Description: Reader is African American/Mixed. Reader’s Hair is Usually Braided. Body shape/type is not detailed.

Synopsis: Being known as part of the designated nerd squad didn't leave Dave in the best light at school, but some nerds are more acceptable than others, specifically pretty, talented ones.

Warnings(?): Minimal Adult Language, Not Much Kick-Ass, Just a Whole Lotta Awkward Teenage Dave, Reader’s Parents are described (Mom is Black, Dad is Ambiguous), but They Are Not Explicitly Labeled Biological. Reader’s Parents are Not Together, but They Have a Healthy-ish Parent-Daughter Relationship. Somewhat of a Lengthy Play/Musical Description.

This is written in second POV, but No Use of Y/N.

Musical Soundtrack

Dave stood in the hall, staring at a particular poster on the school's bulletin board. ‘Millard Fillmore High Presents The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. Just underneath the word ‘Staring’, he saw your name listed second. He vaguely remembers seeing the Disney cartoon as a kid and recalls Esmeralda as one of his sexual awakenings, but that was about it. Of course, that's who you were staring as.

Dave was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the jocks who he clearly caught the attention of. As they passed, one of them snuck up behind Dave and threw a basketball at the back of Dave’s head, knocking his glasses right off his face. A chorus of laughter could be heard behind him. Dave rubbed the back of his head, bending down to pick up his glasses. The laughter was cut short by the sound of a loud smack and a rogue basketball.

“Oh no! Are you okay?” A feminine voice rings through, grabbing the attention of everyone in the hall. “You're not hurt are you?” Dave's eyes adjust as he puts back on his glasses and looks over to the commotion, finding the guy who hit him on the floor with a bewildered look on his face. Above him stood you, clutching your textbooks to your chest.

“Uh, yeah, no. I'm cool. Just…tripped?” He replies, looking around as if he'll find the reason he's suddenly on the tile floor.

“Be more careful, stupid.” You say with an innocent pout before walking off, in the direction of Dave. The jock’s buddies and a couple other students laugh at him as he scrambles to his feet. They all continue down their path in your opposite direction. Dave thinks he's hallucinating for a second, but you seem to be waking straight for him. “Are you okay?” Your voice carries a tone different from the one it held earlier. It was softer, genuine. Dave stares at you wide eyed like you've just seen through his power of invisibility. The pause between you was long, long enough for your face to contort further with concern. “Hello?” You wave a hand in front of his face, the other hand still gripped tightly around your books. Dave blinks rapidly for a few seconds. “Wow, he hit you pretty hard.” you say sadly.

“You- You saw that?” He says starstruck. You scoff.

“Of course. Why do you think I tripped him?” You retort, putting your hand down, letting it fall at your side. Dave stared at you, gaping. There's no way. Not only are you acknowledging his existence, you're talking to him. Not only that, but you also stood up for him. What? “Jeez, I think he might’ve given you a concussion. Let's get you checked out.” You place a gentle hand on his shoulder, turning him slowly and leading him to the nurses office. The short walk there was spent in silence with Dave staring down at you, you occasionally looking up to him with concerned eyes. As soon as you both walk through the doorway of the office, your name rings out from the nurse herself. The graying brunette rounds the corner of her desk and greets you.

“How ya doin, superstar? You alright?” You let out a sigh of a laugh and return her soft smile.

“Hi, Nurse Patty. I'm perfectly fine.” You look up at Dave and pat his shoulder, his eyes still on you. “This guy on the other hand.” You look back to the nurse. “That jerk, Matthew, hit him pretty hard on the back of the head with a basketball. I'm just concerned. Do you mind checking him out real quick?” Nurse Patty glances up at the taller boy.

“Not a problem at all.” She replaces your hand with hers, “Right this way, kiddo.” She says guiding him to one of the private rooms. His eyes continue to follow you as he is led away. Patty notices and calls you over, keeping you from leaving. She sits him down on a bench and starts rummaging through her tool drawers.

“Yes, Ms. Patty?” You reply, coming to her call but staying in the doorway of the room.

“Would you mind staying here for a few while I do his check up?” You open your mouth to protest as the bell rings, announcing tardiness for the current class period. “I'll get you a slip.” She says before you could counter, giving you a knowing look. She holds a suspiciously smug expression on her face. You scrunch together your brows and squint your eyes at her. You don't know what she's up to, but you can't help but let a small smile creep onto your lips. Her aging features were just too cute to decline, her plump cheeks pushed up even further by her grin.

You shrug it off, breaking eye contact with her, and silently make your way over to the metal chair in the corner of the room. You place your backpack on the floor next to you and let your textbooks rest on your lap. You look up to catch Dave still staring at you, but this time his eyes quickly avert your gaze, a warm blush dancing across his face. Patty grabs his attention.

“Alright, hun. I'm gonna do a few tests, just follow as best you can.” She starts, beginning to run through the series of minimally invasive tests. It takes a few minutes, but each chance he got, he would sneak a glance at you. You were sat there, watching him. God, you were just so pretty. Your hair was braided away from your face, the loose braids in the back gathered into a messy bun, a few strands sticking out strategically. You had one braid framing the front of your face, of which Dave desperately wanted to move behind your ear as an excuse to touch your face. You wore black leggings that flared out at the bottom, falling over your dirty and well-loved black and white converse. You had a large black hoodie that was half zipped up in the front. He found it cute how the sleeves of your hoodie constantly fell passed your hands and the legs of you pants seemed just an inch too long, constantly getting caught under the back of you shoes. He mindlessly completed each task he was half paying attention to.

“Welp, seems like you're just fine, young man.” Patty interrupts his trance. “Maybe he's just lovestruck.” She chuckles. Both you and Dave look at her wide eyed, but she pretends not to notice and continues with her tasks. This time when your eyes meet, you both quickly look away with heated faces. She walks out of the room and to her desk. You quickly gather your things and follow suit. You and Dave nearly trap each other in the door frame, neither of you wanting to be left alone in the awkward silence. Dave takes a step back and silently motions for you to exit first, mumbling an apology.

“Alrighty, my dears.” Patty says, eyes still trained down as she scribbles on two pink slips. She looks up at you two, standing side by side on the other side of her desk. She hands one slip to you and one to Dave. “Here ya go!” She looks over at Dave, “If you notice any worsening symptoms, come back to see me.” She turns to you, “Thank you for bringing him in, sweetheart. It was a pleasure to see you as always.” She gives you a sweet smile and wiggles her brows. You squint at her. That was suspicious. Dave mutters a small thank you, and you give her a smile, still squinting at her. You exchange your goodbyes, and you and Dave file out of the office. You both start walking in the same direction to your next class. You look up at him as you walk, his eyes scanning over the pink slip.

“You sure you're alright?” You break the silence. Dave jumps as if he didn't realize you were still walking beside him. His eyes dart back and forth between you and every other thing in the empty corridors.

“Uh- Yeah, I'm ok. Thanks.” He says, subconsciously rubbing the back of his aching head. “It's just a bit tender, but I'll be fine.” He drops his hand back to his side, his hand grazing yours. He flinches away, apologizing. You let out a scoff of a laugh, giving him a curious look. He’s so odd. He continues to avoid your stare as you squint at the side of his head. “Why’d you help me?” The strange question breaks your stare, taking you off guard.

“Uh… well,” It was now your turn to struggle to find words. “That’s a weird question…” You turn your head, looking forward as you two slowly make your way down the empty hall. You shrug, “What was I supposed to do? Just let some jackass be a bully without consequence? Don’t think so.” You raise a brow and hold your head high. You notice out of the corner of your eye that it is now Dave’s turn to stare at your profile. “Why are you so surprised that someone stepped in?”

“No one ever does.” He shrugs. The way that sentence rolls off so easily and nonchalantly pierces your heart, and you glance over to him before switching your gaze to the ground with a heavy feeling in your chest. Dave looks down shyly, running his fingers up and down his backpack straps nervously, “And, you know, you’re, well, you.” You are taken aback. You look up to him with furrowed brows, confused, wondering if you should be offended or not.

“What is that supposed to mean?” You ask. Dave stutters, trying to find the right words.

“Well… I mean... You know... You’re just so… Uh…” He huffs out an uncomfortable, humorless laugh, gripping to his backpack straps for dear life. “I don’t know what I’m trying to say.” He lets out a sigh, “You’re just, you know, really pretty, and, uh, kinda popular, and I, uh, I guess it’s just a bit of a shock that someone of your… status?... would give me the time of day, let alone stand up for me.” You tried not to focus on the fact that he just called you pretty. You look down at your feet.

“That’s sad…” You say just above a whisper. You look up at him. “I’m sorry I never stepped in sooner. I mean,” You look back ahead of you, “I’ve never been one to watch idly while douchebags try to run things, but I guess they’re just a little more well behaved when they realize they’re around me.” You shrug and look down, ashamed.

“No, no, no! Don’t blame yourself! I’m not blaming you. I just…” he lets out a heavy sigh, looking down, defeated. “I finally get a chance to talk to you, and I’m really screwing this up right now.” He says out loud, more to himself. He glances over to you, nearly tripping over his own feet when he sees the wide eyed, innocent, kicked puppy look on your face. He quickly steadies himself as you slow to a stop.

“Finally get to talk to me?” you look up at him confused. You turn to face him, he does the same. He curses under his breath.

“I need to learn how to keep my thoughts in my head.” He says nervously. “I just, uh… I’ve… admired you?... for, like, a while now.” You avoid eye contact, eyes darting wildly, “I mean, your performances are always so fantastic!” he backpedals, a bit louder than intended. You let out a soft sigh of laughter.

“Well, thank you. I’m actually headed to the theater right now.” You say and point to the door behind him.

“Oh!” He jumps out of the way. He glances through the small window and is met with the sight of some kids in mismatched capes ‘fighting’ with plastic swords. It genuinely looked like an easygoing, fun (and slightly nerdy) environment. Dave felt a small pang of longing in his chest, wishing he had a group to belong to like this.

“Will you come see the musical? It’s the largest production of the year, and we only get to do one of these every two years. It’ll be my best performance. I promise.” You grin up at him.

“Of course!” He says a bit too quickly. “I- I can’t wait.” He says, trying to redeem his everly excited exclamation from earlier.

“Good. I’m excited. Esmeralda is like my dream casting. I have to nail every show. Do her justice.” You look straight ahead with a happy yet determined expression. Dave finds your determination utterly adorable. He looks at you longingly.

“I can't wait.” He sighs out in an almost whisper. You switch your gaze to him and smile brightly.

“I’ll save you a ticket.” Daves brows shoot up. “See you around, Dave.” you say before opening up the door. The class erupts with a chorus of dramatic, accusing ‘ooo’s at your presence, mocking your tardiness. You hold up your pink slip with a smirk, getting a couple of playful scoffs and eyerolls, the class half upset they don’t get to see you get in trouble. Dave stands there even after the door shuts behind you, awestruck. You… You know his name? You know his name!

Dave breaks out of his trance by the sound of the final bell to dismiss class. None of the kids in the theater room actually leave as they all have a theater club immediately after school, but the rest of the classes are soon to empty, flooding the hallway. Dave looks around him, ignored by everyone passing by. His face lights up. He couldn’t think of a better way he could’ve spent his final period of the day than by getting to talk with you alone. He carries a happy grin on his face as he makes his way down the hall to meet up with Todd and Marty. You know his name.

》》》

Tonight is opening night. Tonight is opening night! Dave didn’t even bother leaving the school that day. He didn’t even care that he had 4 hours to kill afterwards. He wanted to be the first person in the theater to ensure he had the perfect seat. He even gave a half-assed excuse, so he can ditch Marty and Todd. They already made a comment, questioning him for wearing one of his ‘nice shirts’ to school today. Thankfully, they didn’t see the flowers he hid in his locker. He didn’t need them making fun of him ‘simping’ over the female lead of the school musical.

He spent hours in the school library, reading and rereading his favorite spiderman comic he kept on him. He finished all his homework and eventually moved from comics to doodling in his notebook. He started out by sketching himself in his ‘Kick-Ass’ costume, but his pencil soon switched over to doodling a girl with varying braided hairstyles, even sketching his cartoon version of you with ‘Kick-Ass’, drawing out his dreams of sweeping you off your feet like Peter did with MJ.

His eyes found the clock hanging on the library wall, and he decided it was time to pack up and head down to the school’s theater. Though it was 30 minutes prior to showtime, there were already people gathering by the theater entrance. Some were students, some seemed to be parents. Dave noticed a dark-skinned woman with long straight braids and a hot pink beret talking excitedly to a dark haired man. She was standing and talking with her hands while the man sat on a nearby bench, seemingly ignoring her and focusing on reading through the laminated playbill. “I can’t believe my baby gets to play her dream part in her senior year! My girl is so talented!” She squeals excitedly, causing the man to wince at her loudness. “Aren’t you just so proud of her?” She smacks the man’s plaid sleeve covered arm. He looks up at her annoyed.

“Of course, I’m proud of her. She’s a natural talent, and she’s flourishing. I’m just not as hyper as you.” He quips, almost offended by the question. The woman scoffs and rolls her eyes, killing her mood.

“Boy, whatever. Maybe you should try to be a little less depressed looking.”

“I’m here for my daughter. She knows good and well I am happy for her.” He retorts, going back to busing himself with the playbill.

These were your parents, Dave realizes. His heart pumps hard in his chest as he passes them. It’s not like he needs to go up and introduce himself. It’s not like he’s your boyfriend. Jesus, you couldn’t even be considered friends, barely acquaintances. His panicked thoughts are interrupted by the sliding of the box office shade opening, the student behind the glass announcing the booth’s opening.

A group of 5 students who were obviously together were first to line up and get tickets. Next was your parents. Behind them was a single, balding man with glasses holding a clipboard and tablet, probably someone’s dad? David guessed. Dave lined up just behind him. The line quickly moves up, and he finally gets to the glass. “Just one, please.” He says shyly.

“That’ll be $7, please. Name?”

“Dave? Dave Lizewski.” He says, more so coming out as a question. He reaches in to hand the brunette his cash.

“Oh! Nevermind!” The student says, looking up from her paper. “Here.” She takes a ticket and a playbill, handing it through the hole in the glass barrier. “You already have a ticket saved for you.” Dave’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, taking the ticket from her.

“Th-thanks.” He says shyly. She gives him a kind, customer service-y smile, and he walks off, heading into the theater.

The house lights were warm and dim, just bright enough to find a seat without tripping over anything. Dave noticed the group of friends that were first took up most of the front row, off to the left of the stage. Your parents were 3rd row back and centered. The man he saw earlier was seated at the end of the aisle, not far from the entrance, busying himself on his tablet. Dave decided to pick a happy medium, choosing a seat in the middle, two rows behind your parents. It gave him a perfect view. He was far enough to view the entire stage without straining his neck but not too far that he would have to strain his eyes to see. Perfect.

It didn’t take long for the theater to fill up. The seats right next to Dave remained empty, but besides that, the theater seemed nearly sold out. Dave felt a slight pang of pride. His girl who isn’t quite his girl brought this kind of crowd? Of course she did. She deserves it. The lights began to dim, and the theater began to silence. Slow claps and cheers started as the spotlight grew to show some of the choir students walking onto the stage. They were dressed in old looking robes. As they walked out, they began singing in Latin harmonies. Dave sat back in his chair ready to be fully immersed in the story. He recognized the two boys who came out next as one senior and one junior in the drama club. The spotlight brightened on another senior boy and then two girls, keeping this same pattern as each individual sung their lines.

As the prologue comes to completion, the introduction to an adult hunchback begins. The lyrics strike a chord with Dave. He feels sorry for the character. He’s already fully immersed in the play before you even appear on stage, growing a jealous dislike for the Captain.

The guy who played him was a senior, Andrew Samonsky. A tall and handsome dirty blonde with hazel eyes. He recalls overhearing some of his female classmates gushing over him. He fit this Captain character well, overconfident and a little douchey.

Not long after the Captain’s introduction, you finally appear, popping out of the crowd of actors on stage. You start dancing with your tambourine. Dave’s heart dropped to his stomach. Your usual braided style was replaced by long black and brown waves that fell just passed your waist. He noticed the chunky waves were mixed with braids, giving you what Dave associated with a bohemian goddess look. He sat up in his chair as soon as he saw you, entranced by your dance moves and angelic voice. Your teasing and playful act made his heart flutter.

Soon your first proper solo came, ‘God Help The Outcasts’ you’d sing. The message of the song, your voice, and your emotion nearly brought tears to Dave’s eyes. He was thanking the powers that be in the back of his mind that Marty and Todd didn’t tag along with him. He would never live this down. His heart only wrenched further when your duet with Quasimodo came. Not once in his life had he regretted his decision to quit choir back in middle school, but right now? He never regretted anything more. Dave desperately wished he could be up there with you, sharing these moments, up close and personal.

The entire play was spent with his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. He was focused hard on the story and on your performance, especially at the turn of the story. His chest burned and his brows grew closer together when he realized you, well Esmeralda, were being hunted down for being such an angel, all because some religious, rapey dickhead couldn’t keep it to himself.

When your song with the Captain came, he felt another pang of jealousy, not liking that your story was being driven into a love triangle. He wanted you to end up with Quasimodo. Give him a chance. He needed you to end up with Quasimodo.

Dave was genuinely taken aback when you were caught. Things were no longer looking up, and he didn’t like it. He was frustrated. There’s no way you don’t get a happy ending.

Your next big song came, ‘Someday’. You sang with such sadness. There was this dark and contradicting mixture of hope and hopelessness. Man, Dave was really grateful for his lone attendance. He was really tearing up now. Even though he wasn’t a fan of that Andrew guy getting to hold you, your heartfelt performance was too emotional for him to get taken out of the moment. Even from where he sat, he could see tears welling up in your own eyes. As the song came to a close, Dave took a deep breath, blinking his tears away. He looked around him, preemptively embarrassed for crying in public, but the embarrassment quickly dissipated when he realized he wasn’t the only one affected. Several faces in the crowd were damp with tears of others who let them fall freely. Dave sat back, sighing as he gathered himself. He focuses his eyes back on the stage, allowing himself to get drawn back in by the hunchback’s defeated solo.

Dave resonated with the scared, misunderstood character, but god, he wanted to smack the shit out of him and yell at him to go save you. He watched as you held a brave face, tied to a stake, ready to burn. His body flourished with violent fire. He wanted to kill that creepy ass priest, his leg shaking anxiously as he watched the finale. Finally. He mentally thanked the hunchback for ridding the fictional world of that asshole. His leg ceased its movements and sat idly as the story closed. You were badly hurt, weakened from the flames. You were dying. Dave frowned, quickly losing all anger. All of it was quickly replaced by a wave of sadness as he watches your limp body get lifted up by the hunchback and carried to the back, disappearing off stage. You died.

Dave listened solemnly as the story came to an end. Slowly, the actors on stage filed off the stage in lines as they sang their final melodies. The crowd erupted in loud claps and cheers, giving a standing ovation.

The choir of townspeople and background characters reappeared back on stage first, then the gargoyles, then the gypsies, then the lead fool/gypsy guy, Clopin. After him was the senior who played Frollo, still dressed in his old man get up, then Andrew aka Captain Pheobus. For him, lots of high pitched cheers could be heard, Andrew’s little fanclub. Then, finally, it was your turn.

You came out, walking side by side, down the middle of the stage, with the senior who played Quasimodo. The crowd gave you both a long, loud cheer. He could hear your mother’s, “That’s my baby!” above the rest. It brought a small smile to his face. He joined in, letting out a loud ‘woo!’. Dave never raised his voice, so the sensation was a bit unfamiliar, but he had no regrets and didn’t hold back. He had an overwhelming feeling of pride supporting you. He watched you and the shorter, brown haired boy next to you bow with big smiles on your faces. You took the hands of your neighboring actors and lifted your arms, the entire cast bowing in unison.

The cheers went on as the cast exited the stage and the house lights came back on. As Dave was dead center, he didn’t have anyone waiting on him. He sat back down and waited for his row to empty. He was one of the last people out, your parents not far behind him. He smiled, laughing under his breath, hearing your mother gush over your performance. Even though he couldn’t see him, he could tell your dad was probably trying his best to ignore the woman.

As soon as he makes it outside the theater and back into the halls. He debates on whether or not he should just leave or if he should wait around and see if he can find you. Some of the audience has mostly dispersed, but a few parents and students hang around, waiting for the cast to empty into the halls. Dave comes up with a quick plan. He’ll wait.

He sits on a bench, close enough to spot you when you come out from backstage, but far enough that he can make a quick exit if things start to look like he won’t be welcome. A few feet away, he notices your dad finds a seat on the bench next to the theater, the same one he sat at earlier.

Daves looks down at his backpack and opens it up, pulling out the assortment of flowers he brought you. Thankfully, they weren’t too squished. He sat, bouncing his leg as he waits. About 15 minutes go by, and most of the people in the hall have left by now, their friends and family members already appeared from backstage. The crowd had dwindled down to about 8 people, Dave, your parents, a redheaded girl with an older couple, and two other girls. Dave didn’t realize, but your mom had passed by him a minute ago to use the bathrooms that were just on the other side of him. “Look at all that beautiful hair!” Dave looks up to find your mom walking toward him with a big smile, exiting from the ladies restroom. His brows raise, and he points a finger at himself. “Yes, you. Oh my goodness. I love your curls. You are so handsome, and those eyes!” She holds out a hand towards him but restrains herself from the urge to reach out and touch his hair. She purses her smiling lips, squinting at him. “You don’t have a girlfriend do you?” She asks, pointing at the flowers in his hands. He smiles shyly, her squinting eyes reminding him of you. You definitely must get that habit from your mother. He chuckles awkwardly and shakes his head.

“No, ma’am.”

“And a gentleman, too? Good! My daughter is single, you should meet her. You definitely seem like her type.” She exposes, laughing a little. “She’s a sucker for nerdy boys with curly hair and glasses.” She continues. Dave’s heart flutters, and his shocked expression causes your dad to pipe up. Dave looks over at the older man.

“Leave the kid alone. I’m sure our daughter won’t want you playing matchmaker.” He spares an awkward glance over in Dave’s direction. Dave felt a small wave a calm wash over him. Apparently, your dad also shared a little awkwardness, and it strangely brought Dave a sense of comfort. Your dad wasn’t a stereotype hard-ass that would rather die than let Dave near his daughter. Good to know.

Your mom rolls her eyes at your dad’s comment and continues on with the conversation. “Did you enjoy the show?” She asks.

“Y-Yes, ma’am. It was amazing.” That answer seemed to please her.

“Right! It was fantastic! My daughter is the lead. I’m so proud of her. Everyone did so well. She has dreamed of playing this role since forever, and she completely nailed it.” Your mom has a proud smile, and Dave breaths out a laugh, nodding in agreement.

“100%. She did wonderful. Definitely deserves to be on Broadway or something.” He says with a smile.

“I agree! She said there was going to be a scout here, scouting for future talents to qualify for a college scholarship. She wouldn’t stop worrying about tonight. To think she was so nervous and she completely nailed it!” Daves brows shoot up, again. That must’ve been who the guy in front of him in line was. A few squeals interrupt them. The two girls Dave noticed earlier jumped up out of their seats and ran up to you as you round the corner. Those must’ve been friends of yours. Dave allows himself to stare now that all eyes are off him. You were makeup free, fresh faced, and your hair was still wavy and long. You had on a pullover hoodie and leggings similar to the ones you wore the other day. They talked loudly of how great you were, causing you to smile wide and laugh. You turn to your dad, and he gives you a big hug. Dave stands as your mom starts walking over to you.

“Good job, munchkin.” He says calmly. Even Dave could feel the warm sincerity in his voice.

“There’s my superstar!” Your mom shouts, next to give you a big hug, rocking you back and forth. “I knew that wet and wavy crochet look would be perfect!” She adds, touching your hair, causing you to roll your eyes with a small smile.

“Mo-om!” you say in a playfully whiny tone. Dave couldn’t help but smile watching your biggest supporters praise you. He stood back as they all talked about the play and how proud and blown away they were at your performance. You seemed busy, and Dave felt as though he might be intruding, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Instead, he chose to stay back and wait for his turn patiently.

After a couple minutes, your two friends gave you a quick hug, saying something about catching up with you later before leaving. Your parents, your mom more so, continue to talk about how great you were, your dad checking up on you, knowing how nervous you were prior to the performance. You say some reassuring words to him to let him know you’re okay. Just then, you finally look in Dave’s direction. When you catch his gaze, a bright smile breaks out on your face, nearly melting Dave where he stood. Your dad follows your gaze, noticing you tune out your mother’s words, distracted. He notices Dave, the flowers in his hands, and the shy look on his face. Your dad places a hand on your mothers shoulder, effectively shutting her up as this was out of the norm for him.

“We’ll be waiting for you up front, munchkin.” He says, gently ushering your mom away. She was confused and a bit offended at first, that was until she followed your dad’s gaze, quickly getting the message. She bites back a knowing smile and reiterates your dad’s words.

“Good job, sweetie.” She gives you a kiss on the cheek before they both walk away. As they walked away, another squeal broke out. The redheaded girl from earlier runs up to Captain Andrew himself, jumping into his arms and giving him a kiss, what Dave presumes are his parents walking up to the guy shortly after. Dave refocuses his attention to you as you close the distance between you two.

“Hi.” You say shyly, biting your smile. Dave studders.

“H-Hi.” You two stare at each other for a few seconds before he breaks the trance, looking down at the flowers in his hands. He shoves them abruptly into your arms, the sudden movement taking you aback. You allow your smile to grow as your eyes dart back and forth from the flowers to an awkward Dave.

“Thanks, Dave.” You laugh out in a sigh, biting your bottom lip as you smile down at the flowers.

“Your problem!” He says a little too loud. Your smile falters slightly, and your jaw drops a little.

“What?” You laugh out, confused.

He stammers “Uh, no, uh- shit.” he curses under his breath before letting out an awkward laugh. “I- I, uh, I couldn’t decide between saying ‘You’re welcome’ and ‘no problem’, and it came out as ‘Your problem’. I’m so sorry.” He rambles on nervously, a horrified look on his face. You giggle and shake your head.

“Do you have this hard of a time talking to all girls or just me?” You look up at him with an amused look on your face, trying to contain your smile. He smiles shyly, looking down.

“Technically, all girls, but you’re special.” he sways awkwardly, shifting his weight from side to side, glancing over his glasses at you. You lose control of your smile and allow it to grow so wide it scrunches your nose and narrows your eyes, lighting up his world.

“You know, if you keep making comments like that, I think you’ll break some hearts.” You say, leaning in to nudge his arm with your shoulder. He chuckles, shaking his head.

“I don’t want to break hearts. There’s only one I’m after.” Your brows shoot up, a shocked and impressed expression on your face.

“Wow, you’re a quick learner.” You laugh out. “That’s a good one.” You and Dave share a short laugh.

“Thanks.” He looks back down, all boldness leaving his body. A male voice interrupts your moment, Felipe the Janitor. He’s always been nice to Dave.

“Alright, we gotta start locking up.” The short, chubby man motions for all of you to start heading to the front doors. Dave quickly picks his backpack up from the floor and slides it on, the other four people walking to the front a few feet ahead, you and Dave following not far behind.

“So…” You start, Dave’s eyes finding you, “you got any plans after this?” You ask, looking down shyly at your flowers. Dave shakes his head, shoving his hand in his pockets.

“No, not really. Probably, just gonna go straight home.” he admits, opening the door for you as you two make it out of the front doors and into the crisp night air.

“You gonna catch a ride with your boy, babe?!” Your mom yells over to you from her car, halfway out the driver’s seat. Your eyes widen in embarrassment.

“MOM!” She raises her hands in surrender and sinks back into the car. Your dad could be seen shaking his head in his car, parked right next to hers. You wince and look over to Dave.

“Sorry about that.” You let out a big sigh.

“It’s okay. Your mom is actually really nice.” He says. Your face drops.

“My mom talked to you?” You ask, horrified. He chuckled.

“Yeah, just for a little bit after the show while we were waiting for you.” He held a small smirk, deciding not to bring up the little secret she shared with him about your ‘type’. You close your eyes and shrink a bit, wincing.

“Oh no.” You strain out, with a frown. He lets out another chuckle.

“Nothing bad. I promise.” He looks over at your parents as they wait. “I don’t want to keep them waiting for you. I don’t actually have a car.” He admits. You lose all embarrassment and look at him with furrowed brows.

“You’re walking? This late?” You ask in disbelief. He shrugs.

“Yeah, it’s how I get around.” You scoff and shake your head.

“Yeah, no. You’re riding with me.” You say firmly. “I’m not just gonna let you walk.” Before he can protest, you’re grabbing his arm and dragging him behind you towards your mom’s car. You let go of his arm as soon as you guys are across the lot and in front of your parents’ cars. You walk around to your dad’s driver’s side. He gave you another ‘good job’ and a ‘smell you later, munchkin’. You gave him a quick ‘thank you for coming’ and ‘goodnight’ before walking over to your mom’s car. “Hey, mom? Can we give Dave a ride? He’s on foot.” You tell her, and she is quick to gasp.

“Of course!” She looks at him through the windshield, “Get in, babe!” You look back at Dave as you round the car and wave him over. You get into the passenger’s side, and he sides into the backseat.

“Thank you, ma’am.” She waves a dismissive hand.

“Don’t mention it. What do I look like letting a little boy walk home alone at this time of night. It’s cold out!” She replies. Your dad pulls out of the lot first, your mom following behind him. Your mom turns on the radio, playing one of her favorite CDs, Mariah Carrey’s ‘The Emancipation of Mimi’ album. “Sing it, baby!” She says to you. Dave chuckles from the backseat and looks over at your shrinking form in the passenger seat.

“Mom, please.”

“She used to sing to this album as a little girl right in that seat. Every morning to school. No wonder she’s got such a beautiful voice. She was born singing along to Mariah.” Dave can barely see you anymore. You’re shrunken down so much. Dave can’t help but smile at your embarrassment. You were just too cute. “Are you going to the after show party too or am I taking you home, young man?” Dave looks over the passenger seat to get a better look at you. You look over your shoulder at him.

“After every opening show of our performances, we usually gather at Brandy’s house and throw a bonfire. I was going to ask if you wanted to join earlier…” You trailed off, giving him a look, silently asking if he wanted to go.

“I-I wouldn’t want to intrude.” He says. You sit up properly and turn to face him a bit more.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re welcome to join if you want to. ” You look down shyly, “But, I understand if you’d rather go home. It has been a long day after all.”

“I’ll go.” Dave rushes out. Your mom looks at him through the rearview mirror with a knowing look. You look back up to him with a hopeful smile.

“Yeah?” He nods. “Great!” You turn back around in your seat. “To Brandy’s, mom!”

“You got it.”

The rest of the drive was spent with your mom belting out Mariah as best as she could, you humming some of the songs to yourself as you looked out the window. Dave watched you the whole 15-minute ride there. The only time Dave takes his eyes off you is when you pull up to Brandy’s house. It was a stand alone, two story house, easily a multimillion dollar property. He shouldn’t be surprised, Brandy Radke was a well-known, wealthy kid. “Here we are.” Your mom announces, pulling up right along the curb to let you and Dave out. “I know you will probably catch a ride with your friends after, but let me know when and if I need to pick you up, and don’t get into any trouble.” Your mom calls after you through the rolled down window as you and Dave exit the car.

“Thanks, mom!” You shout back before grabbing Dave’s hand and leading him up Brandy’s front porch. You knock on the door, and an older lady opens the door, yelling your name and bringing you into a tight hug.

“Glad you could make it, leading lady!” The woman releases you and looks over to Dave with a smile, “And who is this?”

“This is Dave. He came to support me tonight, and I thought I’d bring him as my plus one. Hope that’s okay.” You reply. Dave looks down at your interlocked hands.

“Of course! You know we always have extra food!” She moves out of the door frame gesturing for you both to enter. “Everyone is already in the backyard.” You thank her as you pass, leading Dave through the house. Dave looks around as he’s being pulled, enamored by the nice interior. This was moons away from his place. As soon as you two reach the screen door leading into the backyard, loads of cheers could be heard, the group of teenagers chanting your name.

“There’s our Esmeralda!” A strawberry blonde girl with wavy locks down her back stands up and starts walking over.

“Hey Brandy!” You go in to hug each other. Dave misses the touch of your hand as soon as it leaves.

“Who’d you bring with you?” She turns to face Dave with a curious look on her face.

“This is Dave. Dave, meet Brandy.” The green eyed girl greets him. Dave was already well aware of who Brandy Radke is, but, of course, she had no idea who he was, even though they had two classes together.

“Hi.” He returns.

“Well, make yourself at home, girly!” She gestures, heading back over to her spot around the fire. You start walking over to an empty spot, grabbing one fold out chair and placing it next to another, Dave following like a lost puppy. You take a seat and look up at him with a smile, patting the empty chair beside you. He does as you command and sits down. As soon as he’s sat, Mrs. Radke appears seemingly out of nowhere, startling Dave. She hands a plate of grilled food and a canned drink to each of you before disappearing back into the house to chat it up over a beer with the small group of adults inside.

“Oh, hell yeah.” You say over your food before placing the can in the cup holder of your chair. Dave looks over at you, watching you take a bite. You hum. “I am starving. This really hits the spot.” You giggle shyly when you notice his stare. He smiles, mimicking your actions. He hums as he tastes his first bite, nodding.

“Oh, yeah.” He chuckles. “This is amazing.” You both share a laugh with stuffed cheeks.

An hour passes quickly with Dave watching you interact with your fellow castmates, friends, and friends of friends. Suddenly, someone calls out to him. “So,” He looks over to find none other than Andrew Samonsky looking at him, his arm draped over the shoulders of the redhead from earlier. “Since when was Dave Lizewski into musical theater? I thought you were just a comic and science nerd.” He teases.

“Oh come on. We’re theater kids. We’re all nerds.” You but in, glaring at Andrew with a raised brow. The corners of Andrew’s lips tilt down and he raises his hands in surrender.

“No harm, no foul. I’m just askin’.” You squint at him, daring Andrew to try something. Dave speaks up.

“Well,” He looks over to you, “I was invited to the show,” He pauses before looking back over to Andrew, “and, you know, it would be rude of me not to show.” He concluded.

“Yeah, she saved her one family-friend ticket for him.” A girl adds, he notices her as the one who was running the ticket booth. You were met with a chorus of ‘ooo’s and kissing noises. You shake your head.

“Oh my god, you guys. Shut up.” You roll your eyes and turn your head, looking out to the trees lining the backyard.

“Didn’t your little boyfriend show up, too?” Another kid asked one of the other girls, one Dave recognized as one of the gargoyles. Another round of ‘ooo’s sounded off as everyone got back to talking. You sigh, thankful that the attention was taken off of you two. A sudden wave of confidence hits Dave.

“So,” he says quietly, just enough for you and only you to hear. You turn to look at him. You cock your head to the side, urging him to continue. “Your mom said you like nerdy boys with curly hair and glasses.” He smirks innocently. Your face drops, and you bring your hands up to cover your face.

“Lord have mercy.” You whisper, the words muffled by your hands. Dave chuckles. “I’m so sorry about her.” you drop your hands to your lap. He looks down at your fidgeting hands and fights the urge to grab your hand in his.

“No need…” He pauses, contemplating his next words, “Was- Was she right?” He asks softly, still looking down at our lap. You turn back to the trees, trying to hide your face from him. You were utterly embarrassed.

“What would you do if I said yes?” Dave stills, his long pause feels like a rejection. Your nose started burning. You felt like crying.

“I-” He starts slowly. “I don’t know…” Jesus, he was shit with words. He wanted to punch himself in the face for how bad he was fumbling this.

Your wandering glance at the trees turned into the thousand yard stare, trying to fight your tears off. Dave watched as your hands stilled before gripping tightly to one another. He couldn’t stop himself. Dave reached out and forced his hand in between yours, prying them apart and taking your right hand in his left. He wrapped his fingers around your palm and gave your hand a light squeeze. Your head turned slightly to look at your connected hands. Dave’s heart tightened seeing the nervous and sad look on your face. He sighs. “Look, remember what we established earlier? I’m terrible at talking to girls, and you aren’t just any girl to me.” He ducks down to try and make eye contact with you. “You’re you. You’re the star of Millard Fillmore. You’re going to be a superstar after graduation. You’re- You’re going places, and I’m just… me. Just Dave.” He shrugs. “You deserve the world, so much more than I can give you.” He leans back, still holding your hand. He reaches his other hand up to mindlessly scratch the back of his head. “You don’t know it, but,” He lets out a huff, an awkward laugh. “You’re everything to me, and I- I’m nothing to you. I- I’d just bring you down.” his hand drops to his lap. “You- You don’t want that.” It’s your turn to squeeze his hand.

“Don’t tell me what I want.” You say, determined. You sigh and turn in your seat, facing him as best as you can in your flimsy camping chair. Your eyes dart across his face. “If- If I’m as great as you say, we should try this. Whatever, this,” You gesture between you two, “is.” You pause, sighing. Your eyes flutter in soft, rapid blinks. “I like you Dave. I really do. You’re sweet and cute, and ever since I first saw you walk into our home ec class in sophomore year, I knew, if I had the chance, I’d put on my big girl panties and ask you out.” Dave looked up at you with wide eyes. He could've sworn he was dreaming right now.

The soft glow of the flickering fire danced across your skin, bringing out the richness of your eyes. You looked ethereal. “So,” you started again as you stared into each other’s eyes, “bullshit high school popularity status aside, all fallacies about you aside,” You raise a brow, squinting slightly and giving him a barely there, reassuring smile. “What would you say if I asked you to give me a chance and go out on a date with me?” You searched his eyes. He stared back, surprised at your boldness.

“Yes!” He blurts out, a little louder than expected. Thankfully, the loud conversation and laughter of those around you provided cover, so he didn’t bring much attention to you two. “y-yeah, yeah, yes.” he sighs, trying to calm himself. Your smile grows, bringing light to his world once again. It’s contiguous. He smiles in return, albeit a bit more restrained and shy than yours. You bite your lip, and in the blink of an eye, you lean forward and plant a quick kiss on his cheek. It happened so quickly that Dave thought he hallucinated the interaction. He blinks a few times, eyes following as you lean back in your seat, avoiding his eyes and blushing. Dave’s face breaks out on a huge, dorky grin. He leans down and plants a quick kiss on your cheek as well in a wave of confidence and excitement. Your eyes widen, and you bite back your smile. Dave mimics your posture, slowly leaning back into his chair, but he leans back a little too hard, causing the front legs of the flimsy thing to lift off the ground. A split second heart attack occurs, but thanks to his quick reflexes, he leans back forward and catches himself. You can’t help but lose it, breaking out in a hearty laugh. Once Dave regains his composure, he joins in.

You two laugh like maniacs, stuck in your own little, happy world. You get a couple weird looks from the others, but you two ignore them, painfully happy tears brimming your eyes. Your laughter becomes contagious to the strawberry blonde seated a couple feet in front of you. Brandy shakes her head and turns back to face the fire. “You guys are such weirdos.”

This seems very self insert 😅 but idc. let me be. Hope you enjoyed!

As usual, proper moodboard under the fic tag.

P.S. reader's Esmeralda look is giving Doja/Tinashe 2021 MTV VMAs Red Carpet

#dave lizewski swiss fics #dave lizewski x you #dave lizewski x reader #dave lizewski fanfic #dave lizewski #kickass #dave lizewxki x black reader #kickass x reader #aaron taylor johnson #theater kid swiss fic

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