#at least it's implied that Lila has some sort of mental issues as well

[muggle-born-princess]

Are you Cedar Wood from Ever After High because you're speaking the truth.

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

TUA ENTERTAINER AU

(friendly reminder to remember that celebrities are people too! be respectful of and kind to them, both online and in person! ^-^)

(Talk Show Host) Vanya Blues is the host of a late night talk show called The Sleepy Show with Vanya Blues. She does what typical talk show hosts do - talks to her guests, makes up fun games, and brings attention to social issues. The staple of her show is that she plays violin for the last seven minutes, lulling her audience to sleep. Beyond her own show, she’s hosted events like the Emmys and the Oscars throughout the years, and often works with mental health support services, as her traumatic past of childhood isolation and abuse is well-known. She’s had a couple bouts of scandals, as her anger getting the best of her often leads to violence, but while these scandals tend to put her on hiatus for awhile, she always comes back stronger than ever. Though she’s not known to have many friends in the celebrity world, her favorite guests have her personal number: Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, and Ben. As for her personal life, she keeps it intensely private - it’s known that she has a wife and a son, but nothing else. At least, not until Leonard, one of Vanya’s abusive ex-boyfriends and a paparazzi nut, manages to get some photos of Vanya with her kindergarten teacher wife Sissy and their son Harlan, whom they won in a court case against Sissy’s abusive ex-husband Carl. It would’ve been fine, if he hadn’t released them to the entire world - but he did, and now no one in Vanya’s family is safe.

(Rockstar) Diego Towblaerman is professionally known as “Batman”, a rockstar and teenage heartthrob beloved by the media. (He’s not a teenager, but all the people who wanna sleep with him are.) He always wears leather and black, except around pride month, when he can commonly be seen wearing shirts, jackets, pins, and other materials sporting his bisexual pride, as he’s been out since the beginning of his career. He’s rebellious and intense, but also pretty laid back and incredibly kind, known for conversing easily with any fans he comes across and helping out in the small places where he can. He plays guitar, plenty of different types and models, and also the drums and piano, though those spots in his band are filled by other people. Eudora is his pianist and second guitarist, and his adopted sister. She helps produce his music and manage his behavior, and their relationship and dynamic is well-loved by the public, especially as Diego often brings Eudora as his plus-one to award shows. Also in his family is his mother, Grace, who he often has lunch with and shouts out on social media, mostly about the orphanage she runs that he grew up in. (Unbeknownst to him or most of the others, all of the other six passed through that orphanage at some point in their tumultuous childhoods.) There’s also Lila, his girlfriend of a few years and his band’s awesome drummer. She’s as badass as Diego - she rides a motorcycle, can pack a punch, and heads a lot of organizations against sexual assault, since she grew up in a bad home in a bad neighborhood. (What people don’t know is that their relationship is a PR thing for both their benefits, and that Lila and Eudora have been together for nine years and Diego is married with two children. Best be keeping that out of the media, me thinks.) Lastly, though, is the mystery member of Diego’s posse - someone they only know as “Séance”, from the countless number of songs Diego has written about him. Love songs. All happy ones, too, and listed as tracks two and four on his albums. Now, there are only two clues as to who this person might be. One: Diego is rather impatient when it comes to assholes, and there are plenty of videos out there of him punching and cussing out people who harass him or his friends - but most notably is the viral, dark and blurry video of him having to be pulled off a guy by a bunch of shouting people, only one of whom’s voice is clear: a soft, sweet, scared, Gogo. No one saw who it was he was defending - Diego made sure to drape them in his own scarves and jackets and go out the back way, but there’s a soundbite from the same night of what sounds like two people sharing a kiss, Diego’s voice smiling around the words I’ll see you at home, baby, and the sound of a car door slamming. Lila, when asked, only smirked and answered that she was probably too wasted to remember this. The second clue, and perhaps the most interesting, is the sheer number of quote tattoos Diego has, none of which he will explain. Only a few people in the entire world know what the quotes are from - a shipping cult of fans on tumblr, only about a hundred of them, who all found and liked a post that pointed out that all of the quotes only have one thing in common, besides being forever embedded in Diego’s skin: they’re all the words of beloved comedian Klaus Hellbyes.

(Actress) Allison Charmors is known for being so kind and charming that no one has ever said no to her. She’s also a bit of media darling and nightmare simultaneously: they adore her, and all of her work with human rights organizations, but they’ve also had to deal with more of her troubles than anyone else they document. She’s often labelled a “maneater”, as her on-and-off relationship with Luther Monkman still follows her around, she and her first husband Patrick divorced and he got full custody of their daughter, and then she bounced around with a couple of other men. (And women too, but nobody else knows that. She wears pan pride colors sometimes, but has never outright stated or implied it beyond a couple of unfiltered jokes in interviews. She dated Natalie Portman once, if anyone cares.) Allison never settled down with anyone until Ray Chestnut came along - a BLM leader and proud LGBTQIA+ and Me Too ally. They met when Allison helped out at one of his demonstrations, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. The media is fascinated with their easy-going relationship and relentless work and support for and of minority groups, their most recent project being a protest against Islamaphobia. Everyone keeps waiting for them to fall apart, but it’s been five years and they haven’t yet. Also in Allison’s lane are Klaus and Vanya, the latter of whom she had a huge falling out with a couple years ago, though nobody knows what about. The two of them often cameo in the films she helps direct, most of them winning a multitude of awards. They’ve also been caught on video with her a couple hundred times, especially in all the scandals she’s been involved with where she’s assaulted someone for their racist and sexist behavior. But even with her history of assault, serial dating, and bribery, the public still adores Allison beyond belief - and so does her family, even if nobody really knows who that is. Most curious, though, is her history of film - she’ll only ever participate in trilogies.

(Comedian) Klaus Hellbyes is the comedian of his generation, and probably of the generation below his too. He’s famous for his dark morbid humor and NSFW improv jokes, and also for swearing consistently in live interviews on shows where you’re not allowed to swear. He has an odd fashion sense and rejects any and all gender roles, mouthing off at anyone who dares to comment on it. (He only ever paints four out of his ten nails, for some reason?) He’s known for his witty comebacks and scathing sarcasm on social media, and for being incredibly protective of others, especially teenagers who are targeted by trolls on online platforms. He runs a staggering number of pride organizations and does anti-racist work, often organizing pride events across the country for people who can’t be out to their families or communities. Beyond his social justice work, Klaus works to bring attention to mental disorders and trauma, especially in youth. He’s open about his own childhood, running from foster home to foster home and never being adopted, though he makes it clear that he made himself a family with a few very special kids along the way. He speaks publicly and often about his own struggles with anxiety, depression, anorexia, self-harm, PTSD, and suicidal ideation, always addressing any videos or accounts of him having panic attacks onstage, going out in short sleeves with fresh bandages on his wrists, and his ribs showing through his skin when he goes swimming. He’s taken hiatuses and spoken out in support and defense of other celebrities and people going through the same sorts of things, and makes it clear that his self-healing comedy has never been about the fame for him. He’s a good friend of Taylor Swift’s and once got drunk with Ed Sheeran, and he often goes on Vanya’s show to discuss mental health with her. While he often makes fun of the other six, he’s incredibly respectful in his comedy, as it’s never about his hatred of a person but rather his love for them. Whenever he speaks about social justice issues, he makes it clear that he speaks for his love of humanity as a whole rather than his hatred of any one individual. He’s admitted to being a huge fan of Diego, and has disclosed that they’ve met a few times, but is frustratingly vague about the circumstances of their friendship. Most people suspect they became friends at one of the many foster homes each is known to have been in. As well as his well-known friendships with Allison and Vanya, Klaus is known to hang around with Luther and Five, usually by getting ice cream and riding trains. Klaus’ two most famous relationships are complicated - there’s Ben, and there’s Dave. Ben is who Klaus has mostly lived with for the past eight or something years, the two of them open about being queerplatonic partners, though Klaus keeps having to explain what exactly that means to them and to the community as a whole, knowing that it differs for everybody. Dave, however, is who brought him into the public eye - Klaus met him in the army, and they were married in between tours. On one of those tours Dave was shot and killed, and Klaus has been open about his struggle with grief ever since, using Youtube as a platform for coping with his pain. He wrote a book about two characters based on them falling in love during the Vietnam War, which became a bestseller, and, on the third anniversary of Dave’s death, released the special that launched him to fame, an in-depth look at grief through a lens of comedy and appreciation for all the good moments shared between them. It’s become a staple of pop culture, and is still often quoted and referenced today, making Klaus one of the media’s most frequent topics of conversation.

(Author / Artist) Five di Sappears is known for his work across multiple genres, and the mystery that is everything about him as a person. His family, including his parents, is an incredibly well-kept secret, the only person known to be related to him being his sister Aidy, who Five has proven he will protect with violence if necessary. As a thirteen-year-old genius psychopath (not ACTUALLY), he’s a controversial figure, though his talent will never be denied. While he’s violent and aggressive, his horror and thriller novels have never failed to top the charts. While his sanity is questionable, his art is beautifully crazy and nonsensical without a single metaphor within it. While he’s proudly asexual aromantic and has gotten into physical and verbal altercations defending that, his romance novels published under the pseudonym Evipha Murdress are hailed as some of the most honest portrayals of love that literature has to offer. He can sing like fucking hell too, and is considered a trans icon, though he keeps his chosen name as much of a secret as his dead one, offering only the explanation that he fears for the safety and privacy of his family should it be released to the public. (His name is Aidan Alone, off the record.) Agnes is his kind and well-loved publisher (owner and founder of Donut Publishings! Books guaranteed to put a smile on anyone’s face!), and Dolores is his best friend/partner/comfort mannequin, which greatly confuses the public but doesn’t concern Five. She travels everywhere with him, and often cameos in the movies made off his books, and he’s gotten into plenty of fistfights over her. He doesn’t care if you don’t understand her importance, you don’t touch her. Hazel is his bodyguard and Cha-Cha is the main actress in his horror and thriller films, all of which are directed by the Handler, who produces his movies and likes to change the details behind his back no matter how hard he tries to make her adhere to what he’s written. Unfortunately, he can’t report or remove her, because she’s offered Hazel and Cha-Cha handsome salaries to hand over whatever information they know, including photos they’ve taken of when Five’s parents come to see how his projects are coming along. They blackmail him into silent fuming, but that all backfires soon enough - Five gets into a car accident in which he takes the brunt of the impact for Aidy, alerting the world to Klaus and Diego’s relationship and Five’s parentage when they come screaming from their cancelled events and into his hospital room, without concern for the millions of photos taken and only worry for their beloved son. No matter. Five will just kill anyone who dares to say a word. After all - those rumors that he writes his novels based on his own murders are not exactly unfounded.

(Influencer) Ben Deadengon is one of the most subscribed-to Youtubers out there, famous for his videos about human rights, kindess, and positivity. He often features Klaus as a guest, since they’ve lived together for a long, long time and are committed partners who like to help each other out, but those videos usually dissolve into them dressing up as pirates and princesses and improving stupid skits. (Not that anybody has any complaints.) He runs a lot of charities, which means that he has indeed met the President, and he’s one of the most beloved and scandal-free people on the Internet, though he’s often involved himself in Klaus’ controversial shit in defense of his partner. He’s been on Broadway and travelled the world, but his main claim to fame is that he was in an accident in which he died for six minutes before coming back to life, therefore earning him the moniker Six. Curiously, the moment he gasped out his second first breath happened exactly as Klaus touched him, prompting a lot of conversations and theories about them being soulmates or some shit, despite soulmates not actually existing (as far as they know…). But Ben’s happy with his life, as it is - he has an at-home butterfly garden (seriously, his windows are all screens and there’s plants and butterflies fucking everywhere, I’m not kidding) and a lovely(?) niece and nephew he gets to babysit when his beloved partner is out. That’s the good life, baby. Plus, ya know - he’s not dead. So that’s automatically awesome.

(Athlete) Luther Monkman is one of the largest men in existence, all of his muscle earned in his rigorous training for the Olympics. He’s won one gold medal every time the tournament comes around, and he plans to keep on doing so. So does Reginald - his abusive trainer and professional cheater. Luther also works with Pogo, a kinder coach who tells him to always believe in himself, but is also frustratingly defensive of Reginald’s horrifying practices. But Luther himself is well-loved - he’s awkward and handsome enough to be a teenage heartthrob, and he’s been single since Allison left him for the last time, though they’re still good friends. He’s known as a gentle giant, having lunch with Klaus and Vanya often and enjoying a bickering and competitive yet loving relationship with Diego. He’s completely free of media scandals, a complete sweetheart - until he’s caught on video choking a guy against the wall, and shit hits the fan. (Nobody cares about Five in the background of the video, standing behind Luther with his fists clenched and his Adam’s apple bobbing under bruises.)

Welcome to my world, bitches.

[nobodyfamousposts]

Missing 3.4 Final

Good news: No more Lila!

Bad news: Cliffhanger.

Fair warning: This is a good 40+ pages.

Adrien arrived at school early that morning with a plan and a hope. He would have also had a speech already typed out if Plagg hadn’t forced him to go to bed. And it wasn’t like the akuma fight had left him with much time to really plot anything out, either.

That was the other thing taking up his focus. Ladybug had been acting strange recently, but it really showed last night. She didn’t cast her Lucky Charm. She had done nothing for Alya as the akuma victim despite having plenty of time to at least talk to her. She had also been particularly stand-offish with him during and after the fight, even disregarding their standard fist bump.

It was worrying. And Plagg’s strange silence on the matter wasn’t helping.

It threatened to eat away at his mind, and admittedly had to some extent. But if there was one thing Plagg had been useful for, it was keeping him grounded.

“You can only focus on one thing at a time. Focus on the here and now.“

In the here and now, Ladybug was not here and there was nothing he could do about her current state. Nor was there much he could do for her today, especially once he reached the school. However, Alya still needed him, and he would be going to school where he would be in a prime position to at least try to help her.

There was no way of knowing how much he could do or what he could accomplish. But he was bound and determined to try. For Alya. For Nino. Even for Marinette, despite her no longer being there.

“Mr. Agreste? The Principal will see you now.”

Adrien took a breath.

It was time to step up.

Damocles blinked in surprise when he entered.

“Mister Agreste, is something the matter?”

“Yes.“ He said, mentally preparing himself for the conversation. “I have something to tell you about yesterday‘s incident.“

To his credit, Damocles had listened to him this time. And he did seem rightfully angered when Adrien told him what he had heard. But his expression at the end of Adrien’s tale was apologetic and did not in any way suggest any sort of action would result.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Agreste. While that does shed new light on things, that does not in any way justify the assault of a student.“

“Sir, I don’t believe that Lila was assaulted in the first place. Or at least if she was, it was by her own hand.“

He appeared skeptical. “But why would she do such a thing?“

“Because Lila is a liar.”

The man’s eyes widened in shock. “What?!”

Adrien took a breath. Don’t back out now, he told himself. You’ve already started and gotten this far. Alya is counting on you.

“Lila is a chronic liar and has shown a tendency to target people who call her out on her lying. She first became an akuma after Ladybug confronted her in the park about her claiming to be her best friend. She became an akuma again and pretended to be me after I told her I would be happy to be her friend but asked her to stop lying the first day she came back to school. She had been making comments and spreading rumors about Marinette after she started pointing out issues with her stories. And now she’s claiming Alya attacked her during an incident when Alya was calling her out on her lies.”

“But you weren’t there for the actual assault.” Damocles countered, skeptical of what he was being told. “So how can you prove that she didn’t hit her?“

Adrien’s eyes narrowed. “With all due respect, sir, where is your proof that she did?“

The man appeared affronted at that. “Well, Miss Rossi did say—

“Lila Rossi is a pathological liar. Her word can’t be trusted.” Adrien insisted firmly. “And Alya just spent all of yesterday telling you she didn’t do it.”

“But Miss Rossi’s cheek was marked.”

“Which was at best circumstantial evidence, and something she could easily have done to herself.”

Now it seemed that Damocles had enough. “Young man, that is quite the accusation!”

“So was her claim that Alya struck her.” Not that they bothered to appropriately investigate it in the first place. “And that wasn’t the first wild claim she’s made.”

“Be that as it may, some minor stories don’t disprove this incident occurred.”

“But they do imply a trend.” Adrien argued. And really, it was more than just a simple trend by this point. If he had plotted it all out, he was sure this was probably her norm. And it made him all the more regretful that he hadn’t spoken up about it sooner.

He had failed to stand up for his friends before. First with Nino and his father. Then with his other friends and Chloe. Then with Marinette and Chloe. And then again with Marinette and Lila.

He wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time.

“Sir, she’s lied about Marinette before. You know this. Three lies in one day: Accusing her of stealing the test answers for a mock exam, of pushing her down the stairs, and then of stealing a family heirloom. All of which were lies used to wrongfully hurt and humiliate Marinette. And nobody listened to Marinette back then either, just like you didn’t listen to Alya yesterday.”

“She has a condition—”

“The condition is just her lying.” Adrien emphasized. “If you know this—if she told you about this supposed condition of hers, then couldn’t it have been a part of the situation yesterday?”

Damocles frowned at that, clearly having forgotten that matter. “But there was the mark!”

“And with Marinette, there was the test answers and the necklace. Lila still admitted to those claims being false. Why couldn’t this be false, too?”

He hesitated. Because yes, these were all things that didn’t add up. They were issues that the Principal and the school should have looked in to more, and really should have handled better. At least better than just disciplining each girl based solely on the word of one person. Especially when it’s the same person both times.

Damocles appeared uncertain, but still seemed unwilling to budge on his position. Emboldened, Adrien cut him off before he could try to make further excuses.

“Sir, with all due respect,” Disregarding that the man before him was far from deserving of any such respect at this point. “I understand that you want to be a hero. And as the Owl, you have supported people. But your actions as a Principal have been lacking at best and at worst, have been clearly biased and unfair. If you really want to help at making things better, wouldn’t it matter more to do so in the role you already have?

It was probably the meanest that Adrien had ever allowed himself to act towards an an adult—especially an authoritative figure. But it was also the most honest, and he for once didn’t regret it.

Damocles looked shocked. Possibly that he was being spoken back to. Possibly the fact that the one doing it was Adrien. He opened his mouth to respond.

Only to be cut off by the door to his office opening.

“Excuse me, is this where the meeting is supposed to be?”

Both Principal and student turned to the doorway to see a middle aged woman. She in turn seemed confused upon seeing them, glancing between the two uncertainly. “Is this a good time?”

“Oh, is the best time!”

Before either male could speak, Chloe Bourgeois appeared at the door, politely (and wasn’t THAT well out of the ordinary for her?) encouraging the woman further into the room and all the way to the Principal’s desk. To the further confusion of everyone besides Chloe, two police officers as well as a man in a semi-formal if not somewhat cheap looking jacket entered the room after. One of the officers quietly shut the door behind them.

Damocles frowned in a mix of bewilderment and annoyance from that bewilderment. “Miss Bourgeois, what is the meaning of this?”

Chloe merely sauntered to the desk, smirking.

“Principal Damocles, may I introduce Mrs. Rossi. Lila’s mother. She has a rather...interesting perception of what’s been going on at the school for the past few months...”

_______________________

“I was so scared! I had never been attacked by an akuma like that before. I’m just lucky that Ladybug got to me in time.”

Not even a day after causing the akuma in question (who had never even gone after her) and already she was back at it as bad as ever. Watching the ease with which she fluttered her eyelashes and quivered her lip was enough to make anyone want to break something.

Alix was finally getting a sense for how frustrated Marinette had to have been for all those weeks when she was the only one to have known the truth. Seeing the way Lila teased and manipulated her classmates with falsehoods and promises she clearly had no intention of keeping was infuriating and it took everything Alix had not to scream at times.

Nathaniel at least had been a comfort—a stable source of sanity and reason during this time. Someone to assure her that no, she hadn’t gone crazy (yet), everyone else was just being that stupid.

But Marinette...for all that time, Marinette hadn’t even had that much.

Given all this, part of her was wondering if what Lila had said was right and Marinette hadn’t decided to run away due to everything.

Part of her wouldn’t blame her.

As much as she wanted to call Lila out on her bull, she knew even without Nathaniel’s grip on her arm, that doing so at this point would be a bad idea. Lila would simply cry and act as the injured party, then Alix would no doubt find herself next on the list of people to suddenly be removed from the school thanks to Lila’s unsubstantiated claims.

It didn’t help that both Rose and Juleka were fully entrenched in Lila’s stories. Kim was there as well and seemed sympathetic to Lila’s fake tears. Ivan and Mylene were also present, though they appeared a bit withdrawn as they stood further away from the small group and were giving each other wary glances rather than respond to anything Lila was saying. Even Sabrina was there, though she was standing off to the side and was doing something on her phone.

Alix had to wonder what that was about, but was in no position to ask. At least, not without the risk of drawing everyone else’s attention. Especially Lila’s, whom was the one person Alix needed to not be noticed by at this time.

Because if Lila did notice her and try to speak to her directly regardless of the reason, Alix couldn’t promise she wouldn’t start verbally tearing her a new one.

Alix and Nathaniel agreed to try and discuss the matter with their other classmates. But with Lila present, that was no easy task. Especially since she would comandeer their attention. Trying to tell everyone the truth up front was pointless with Lila present and in a prime position to retaliate. And trying to get each of them alone would only get Lila suspicious.

Honestly, Alix just wanted to forego the subterfuge and out Lila anyway. And her stupid story and dramatics weren’t helping with that!

“She’s truly a great friend!” Lila continued, dabbing at her completely dry eyes. “Once she heard about the akuma, she came to check on me first.”

Alix rolled her eyes. It took a less than gentle nudge from Nathaniel to keep her from scoffing outright.

Fed up, Alix turned away and headed for the front hallway. She could wait for any of the others outside and away from all that drama. In particular, she had been hoping to talk to Adrien or Nino. Nino at least should be able to give an update on Alya. And Adrien could give Alix some peace of mind by confirming Alya’s version of events. Then maybe they could go to Damocles or work together to convince the rest of the class.

At the very least, they could make things easier for Alya’s return by ensuring their friends knew what really happened.

“Alix, you need to calm down.” Nathaniel’s voice cut into her thoughts as he caught up to her in the hallway.

“I am calm.” She retorted as she spun around on him. She wasn’t blisteringly angry like she was yesterday, at least. That was calmed down, right?

His deadpan expression made it clear he wasn’t impressed and certainly didn’t believe her. He was right and she knew it. She sighed and took a few seconds to clear her mind.

“You’re right.” She admitted. “But listening to that? Now that we know for sure, it’s just…”

Why had they ever believed her? How had they ever fallen for it? It felt like such a waste and hearing Lila keep it going made Alix want to start yelling.

“I know.” Nathaniel agreed, fists clenched tightly around his tablet. “I’m upset, too. But the only thing getting angry will do is attract an akuma.”

“And that would be bad because…?”

“It would give her more ammo.”

Oh.

Yeah. There was that.

Confronting Lila won’t work. They both knew that. Marinette had surely tried, and it hadn’t made a difference when none of them believed her. Granted, that wasn’t truly their fault for not knowing, but it did mean that repeated attempts even by other parties were not exactly guaranteed success.

Still, they had to try.

And it was fortunate perhaps that a certain genius arrived at that moment, offering the first one they could try to convince.

“Max! We need to talk to you about Lila!” Alix called out as he approached.

Max glanced to his bag, appearing uncertain. “Can it wait? I have something else that is rather pressing to attend to.”

“No, it can’t. It’s about what happened yesterday.”

He frowned, his gaze falling back to Alix. “You mean the akuma attack.”

“Are you okay? We heard Lady Wifi made a comeback and that she targeted you.” Nathaniel cut in. Alix would have been annoyed, but her friend had been kidnapped and she had been just as worried about him as well.

Max hesitated. Possibly due to the shock? Or trauma perhaps?

“It was...harrowing, yes.” He finally stated. “Fortunately, Ladybug and Chat Noir were able to restore her to normal and then Chat Noir escorted me home.”

“But do you know what caused the akumatization in the first place?” Alix asked him.

“I assumed it had to do with Marinette’s disappearance.”

Both of the other students blinked in surprise at that. It wasn’t quite what they expected, though it did make sense for Alya to focus on helping her friend.

Still, they needed to focus. “Yesterday, Lila got Alya suspended by making a false claim of being attacked.”

Max tilted his head. “You are certain the claim is false?”

She nodded. “Yes. I spoke with Alya after the fact and she not only insisted she didn’t do it, but that she wished she had.”

That seemed to get his attention. “But why would she regret that she hadn’t harmed Lila?”

“Alya found out that Lila has been making up everything.” Nathaniel told him.

“It was a bunch of lies. All of it!” Alix exclaimed. “From her charity work to her celebrity friends and even that whole napkin thing—”

“You mean her joke?” Max asked.

THAT made her freeze. “What?”

“She claimed to have saved me from a napkin.” He pointed out. “What was that supposed to be if not a joke?“

Of course. Of freaking course the class genius knew and completely mistook the entire situation.

Alix groaned. “It was a lie, Max.“

“Oh.“

A pause followed.

“It wasn’t a very good one, was it?“

Looking back, it hadn’t been. Which only made it all the more vexing that they had believed it.

Nathaniel seemed torn, looking like he wanted to laugh while also trying to hold himself back from slapping his forehead in exasperation.

Max glanced between the two, taking in their expressions and seemed to catch on.

“I apologize. I misread the situation.” He had thought it was a joke that everyone else was already aware of, and only played into that. He hadn’t realized that it was an actual manipulation tactic on Lila’s part and that everyone had been fooled, or that he had helped her to fool them. In a way, he blamed himself for this discovery coming too late.

“It wasn’t your fault, Max.” Nathaniel told him.

“Yeah,” Alix agreed. “We all misread things. Just...in different ways.”

“I guess the question now is what will we do about it?” Nathaniel asked.

That, they weren’t sure. The obvious thing to do seemed to be that they needed to inform the rest of their classmates about Lila. But would they be believed? And if they were, how would they react?

Lila had manipulated them all, yes. But other than getting special treatment for a time, there wasn’t much that any of them had truly suffered at her hands.

No. The ones who had suffered had been Marinette and now Alya, both of whom had found themselves targets of Lila’s more malicious tactics once they had called her out on her lies.

Looking back, the circumstances of Marinette’s expulsion from the school, however temporary, had been not only unfair but also clearly orchestrated. There was no way Lila could have known about the test answers and her necklace being with Marinette unless she had seen it or seen to it personally. Marinette had never been the type to willfully steal another person’s possessions as far as they knew. And she CERTAINLY had never cheated. Nor would there be any benefit to stealing test answers for a mock exam that had no real weight.

Marinette was smarter than that.

She was also smart enough to not just have the test answers plainly visible at the top of her bag the day after the exam. That was just sloppy work, and Marinette was often paranoid when she thought she was doing anything wrong. If she had done it, she wouldn’t have been so clearly surprised.

Lila had been the one responsible. She set Marinette up for no other reason than to hurt her. She had told lies and attempted to frame her.

Alix could have forgiven the girl for trying to play herself up. She was a new girl at a new school and surrounded by strangers who had been involved in amazing things. Alix could understand her trying to lie if she thought it would help her fit in. But Lila’s antics went well beyond simple self-praise, and she could not forgive her for trying to drag other people down. And especially not for trying to frame Marinette for things she hadn’t done and get her expelled just for not buying her bullshit.

And now that she had attempted the same with Alya, it was more than clear that Lila’s actions were dangerous and not simply a one-time affair. She’d attacked Marinette. Then Alya. And thinking back, that one creepy akuma Adrien-look-alike had probably been tied to her as well, meaning she’d had some issue with the blond despite whatever interest she appeared to have in him.

“We need to let the others know.” Alix stated. “And from there, we can work out what to do with Lila.” They would have to. Because her tactics would get notably worse once she was aware they knew the truth about her. And given the response from Damocles and Ms. Bustier…

Yeah, they wouldn’t be able to count on the school officials to actually help them.

To her surprise, Max backed up a step.

“I’m sorry.” He stated. “I want to help, but there is something very important that I have to take care of first.”

Nathaniel frowned. “Can’t it wait? It would really help us out with convincing the others if you were there with us to confirm the truth.”

Max shook his head. Whatever was going on, he was insistent. “I will join you as soon as I can, but this is something I must see to immediately.”

He looked back to the window, noting the approach of Alya and her parents to the school.

“It’s important.”

_______________________

Alya hadn’t known what was going on. Her parents had gotten a phone call requesting they come to the school for a meeting in regards to her suspension. Her hope was that Nino or one of the others had spoken to Principal Damocles on her behalf and perhaps he would be showing leniency regarding her suspension. Or that she would at least be given the opportunity she had been denied previously to actually be able to tell her side and reveal Lila for the lying faker she was.

To her irritation, only her parents were invited inside the Principal’s office while Alya herself was asked to wait. Whatever was going on inside, it looked like a full house. She noticed a number of people sitting and standing around the office, including a couple of police officers (which was concerning). She had maybe all of a couple seconds to notice Adrien was in there and see him give her a shaky smile before the door was closed in her face.

She sighed and took a seat. There wasn’t much else she could do. Whatever the door was made of was pretty good material, because at best she could only pick up some sounds of murmuring on the other side.

She just hoped that whatever was going on would work out. And that maybe if she could get a chance to actually talk, that would be real swell.

“Alya. You’re back.”

The whispers that had followed her and her parents through the halls indicated that news of her presence would no doubt reach the class soon enough. She was even expecting that one of them would approach her, hopefully to check on her or get her take on what was happening.

But it wasn’t Nino who was there to greet her. Or Alix. Or even Adrien.

It was Max.

Alya didn’t remember much from her time as an akuma, but it didn’t take long for her to hear how Max of all people had been her target.

“Alya. It’s good to see you back to normal.”

She winced. “Max, I am so sorry for kidnapping you. I don’t even remember what I did, but I’m really sorry—”

Except his words cut her off.

“I’m not.”

Startled, she drew back and frowned in confusion. “You...what?”

He pushed up his glasses. “Last night, you kidnapped myself and Markov and took us to the the TVi station. You then had us hack the cellphone tower located there.”

She jerked back in shock.

“I did...why?”

He looked up at her, his gaze a strange mix of sympathy and pride.

“You were trying to find Marinette.”

Everything. Everything just stopped.

She had...

Even as an akuma, she had done all that? Gone that far? Not to get revenge on Lila or the school like she’d thought...

...but to search for her best friend?

As if sensing her confusion, Max explained. “You had us hack into the cellphone tower to try and locate her cellphone signal. It was...weak. And strangely disrupted. But we found it. And once you had it, you vanished.”

“I see.” That was some of the night accounted for, at least.

“From what I gathered, there was something strange going on with Marinette’s phone. It wasn’t ‘on’ and wouldn’t let you teleport directly to where it was, so you couldn’t find it. However!” He raised a finger. “While her phone didn’t give off a physical location, the signal was still there. That was what you had us track and that what what you were trying to locate last night.”

On the one hand, Alya was impressed with herself for managing this as an akuma, as well as Max and Markov for their efforts. On the other hand, she had still been an akuma and kidnapped her friends—regardless of the reason.

“At least now I know what I did.” She admitted. “Still, I should never have put you in that position.”

“But if not for you, I never would have been in that position.”

She frowned, confused. He made it sound like her kidnapping him wasn’t actually a bad thing.

“Under your orders, Markov and I had hacked a cellphone tower.”

She nodded, still confused. He had already explained that. What was he trying to say?

Max gave her a rather odd look.

“I’m sure you understand, legally speaking, that such an act is a crime and not something I would do were I not coerced.”

“Of course—”

“So you understand, legally speaking, that anything I happened to find was only because an akuma ordered me to.”

“Well, sure—”

“And certainly not because I took advantage of an opportunity to look up some additional information the akuma did not necessarily ask for but would have wanted had she known.”

It took a moment for the full meaning of his words to register.

She gaped.

He coughed. “Legally speaking, of course.”

“Of course.” She echoed numbly.

Because Max was telling her something. It wasn’t something she was sure she wanted to hear or not.

“Now IF by some bizarre luck I had gotten access to some extra data, I could hypothetically have gained some intel that might be of interest to select persons who knew Marinette rather well.”

That certainly got her attention.

“And IF such data existed in my hands, those select persons would be better able to make use of it.”

Her eyes widened. He wasn’t really...was he?

“Especially if one such person was an investigative sort who would have the skills and inclination to use the data appropriately.”

Oh god, he was!

“Though if that person should get caught, they certainly didn’t get any data from me. And it would do well to remember that lest a number of computer viruses be needed to completely erase their blog and entire online identity to remind them.”

Alya nodded. She barely even took notice of the threat. Not that she had any intentions of ratting our Max. Or even letting anyone know she had it in the first place.

“Of course, that’s just hypothetical.” Max reminded her.

“Of course.”

Max gave a resolute nod. He glanced around for any possible witnesses, and upon ensuring they were alone, he gave her a keychain.

It was cute. A little cartoonish kitty that smiled up at her with such innocence. She recognized the type of keychain it was though. Beneath that adorable exterior lied a usb device.

“Good luck.” Max whispered.

‘Bring her home.’ He left unsaid.

_______________________

Nino sighed once he’d reached the school. He’d been hoping to meet up with Adrien first thing, just to have a buffer and friendly support if nothing else. But the blond was nowhere to be seen and his attempts to call him went straight to voicemail.

He hoped he was okay. While they had talked things out the day before, he knew Adrien was still pretty sensitive.

There was nothing for it, though. He would just have to wait and see his bro when he got there.

...and try to survive in the meantime.

Nino was admittedly less than happy when he arrived to the school knowing Alya wouldn’t be there.

But seeing Lila sitting on the bench surrounded by his friends and lamenting over the ‘horrible akuma that tried to attack her the night before’?

He could see why Alya had lost her cool yesterday.

“Oh, Nino!” She exclaimed when she saw him, sending the rest of the class looking his way. She seemed to actually draw back from him as if uncertain, something he could now tell was method acting and a play for sympathy. “I’m so sorry for what happened yesterday. I never wanted Alya to get in trouble.”

Of course she didn’t, he thought sarcastically. She only lied about Alya attacking her to make herself look like a victim when Alya called Lila out on her crap.

He couldn’t quite bring himself to speak out. It was like he couldn’t form the words. Both Rose and Juleka were staring at him warily. Kim was frowning, though his focus seemed to be on Lila. Ivan and Mylene were giving him sympathetic looks. Sabrina was there as well, close enough to be “with” of the group but far away enough to not actually be part of the conversation.

He clenched his fists around his bag straps.

“Lila, dude...er...ette.” He started, trying to be as polite as he could bring himself to be. “It’s early and I’m just really not up for talking about it if it’s all the same to you.”

Lila gasped. “You don’t think she was right to hurt me, do you?”

It felt like all the air was being sucked out of his chest as everyone around them gasped at that and stared at him in shock.

“What?! No! No one deserves to be hurt!” Rose insisted, coming up to Lila’s side. “Right, Nino?” She added, looking up at him expectantly.

“Whatever happened yesterday wasn’t cool.” He replied, neutrally. Hoping that she would simply leave it at that.

But that wasn’t good enough. She covered her eyes and gave a wail.

“You do blame me!”

“I didn’t say that.” He insisted.

“But you didn’t not.” She shot back with a small sob that drew the classmates close to her. Rose put a hand on Lila’s shoulder in comfort while Juleka sent him a clear frown.

Oh god. It was like nothing he said could be the right answer or even just left alone. Anything he tried to say would be twisted and turned against him.

Was this what had happened with Alya?

Was this how it was for Marinette?

Or hell, Adrien? It was little wonder he was so scared to speak up then! How could he when it was like this? When Lila made it this hard to even dare to speak.

That was why...

He took a breath and straightened his cap, readying himself for what he was about to do.

“I shouldn’t be expected to apologize for what other people do.” Nino stated flatly. “But even if that were the case, I would still stand by Alya before I ever bow to you.”

Lila reared back in (fake) hurt. The others all stared at Nino in shock or outrage.

“Nino!” Kim gaped.

“How could you!” Rose exclaimed, tearfully.

Juleka’s frown grew into an outright glare.

Ivan and Mylene though…

They were gazing at each other, hands clasped. On the cusp of a decision. One he hoped was in his favor.

“You’re just as bad as Alya!” Lila cried out, hiding her eyes behind her palms. “You and Alya both!”

“Say that to me without covering your eyes and I may actually believe you.”

“You may want to check her hands first.” Came a voice from behind him. Nino looked over his shoulder to see Alix and Nathaniel arrive, the girl giving Lila a particularly dirty glare. “I wouldn’t put it past her not to be using some sort of eyedrops to complete the look.”

“Please.” Nathaniel said with a roll of his eyes. “With her level of acting, she’s probably taught herself how to cry on command.”

Nino hadn’t been expecting either of them to speak up on his behalf, but he was certainly grateful as they both seemed to be in his corner.

The air wasn’t nearly as oppressive now. He could speak and let his voice carry. He turned back to the others, resolute.

“Lila’s a liar.” Nino announced to the group present. “She’s lied since the first day she came to our class. She’s not Ladybug’s friend and she never spoke to her about looking for Marinette—both Alya and I can confirm this when we spoke to Ladybug during the search we did two days ago.” Around him, he saw eyes widen in shock and Lila’s in fear.

Seeing the response, Nino felt emboldened. “Alya didn’t do a damn thing to her and I would bet my hat that Marinette never did either.”

“Just because she’s your girlfriend doesn’t mean she’ll tell you the truth!” Lila insisted.

“I trust her more than I’ll ever trust you.” Nino shot back. “Especially after what you’ve put her and Adrien both through yesterday.”

Lila’s head shot up in surprise. Sure enough, her eyes were glistening and Nino had half a mind to follow through with Alix’s suggestion to check her hands for eyedrops. “What...what are you talking about?” She demanded.

Alix actually let out a huff. “So she really did say it, then? That Marinette ran away because of us?”

Lila paled as the other students nearby gasped. Nino wanted to sag in relief. It seemed that Alix had spoken with Alya and was at least willing to consider her report on the events.

Nino nodded to her. “Yeah. Adrien himself confirmed it to me yesterday when he ran away after Lila told him that.”

“How cruel!”

“Why would you say that?!”

Lila coughed. “That’s not true! You’ve got it wrong! That is not what happened at all!”

Nino crossed his arms, glaring at Lila. “That’s not what Adrien says.”

“He misunderstood!”

“And his report matches Alya’s.”

“She’s twisting things!”

That seemed to get the others thinking. Ivan and Mylene both had heard Adrien’s account first-hand. They knew the truth of what Lila had said to instigate the situation even if they weren’t sure whether the attack itself had actually happened. As such, they both looked ready to speak up.

Except…

Kim stepped forward first.

“So, I wasn’t going to say anything,” He said, directing his words at Lila. “But there are a lot of things that haven’t been adding up here for a while.” He rubbed the back of his head, uncertainly. “Your injuries have been all over the place, and I’m talking literally. Your tinnitus would switch ears. You claimed a wrist injury but never wore a brace for it. And when you fell down the stairs, you didn’t have any scratches or bruising afterwards. There were too many and they were never consistent. There just never seemed to be a good time to ask and I didn’t want to make assumptions.”

He shrugged to the others, apologetically. “But if we’re getting everything in the open, I couldn’t help but notice how Lila’s injuries were suddenly not a problem during our search party for Marinette.”

Lila froze. “What?”

Kim frowned. “You went out of your way to join us, Adrien’s group specifically. And you had no issue keeping up with us until he left and you were suddenly too weak to continue. But up to that point, you didn’t seem all that inclined to help with the search. If it was your injuries, that’d be one thing, but instead of bowing out yourself, you kept trying to get the rest of us to drop it.”

“What? That’s not true!” Lila insisted.

“Looking back, she had seemed pretty intent on trying to stop us from helping in the search.” Nathaniel noted.

“Hey yeah! Weren’t you saying you had Ladybug helping in the search?” Alix questioned. “Was that even true?”

“It wasn’t.” Nino insisted. “Ladybug herself said she had only just heard about the case from Chat Noir.”

“That was before I talked her into it.”

“It was after you said you spoke to her.” Nino cut her off. “And what’s more, we outright asked and she said she doesn’t even know you!”

“She was lying!”

“Just like Alya was, right?” Alix mocked. “And Marinette. Tell me, Lila. How many people are suddenly going to become liars if they point out holes in your stories?”

“She was just trying to protect me!”

“If you needed to be protected, why announce your friendship and make yourself a target in the first place?” Nino questioned, glaring at Lila. “Wouldn’t a real friend of Ladybug’s not put her in that position?”

Lila glared at him with such hatred that Rose found herself backing away in fear. Even Juleka seemed surprised and uncertain.

“It sounds a lot like you didn’t want Marinette to be found.” Came a quiet voice, drawing eyes to Ivan. “If you lied about Ladybug looking for her, then telling people she ran away…”

“That’s not it at all!” Lila exclaimed, losing the hateful glare and trying to make herself look innocent. “You can’t take Nino or Alya’s word for it!”

“We’re not. We’re taking Adrien’s.” Mylene cut in, glaring at Lila in distaste. “He told us what you said. How you started the argument yesterday. Honestly, if Alya HAD slapped you, I wouldn’t have blamed her after hearing some of your comments.”

“And it says something,” Alix mused, “that NOT hitting you is the one thing Alya regrets.”

“So you’re taking her word for it then?” Lila demanded angrily. “She has no proof!”

“To be quite frank,” Nathaniel pointed out blasely. “Neither do you.”

Lila’s ire only grew at that. “What?!”

Ignoring the way everyone stared at him in bewilderment, he merely shrugged. “I mean, there’s no proof other than your word that Alya was the one who assaulted you.”

Lila gestured to herself, angrily. “I’M the one with the injury!”

“Yes.” The artist noted. “On your right cheek, from your report.”

She frowned in uncertainty, able to tell that he seemed to be leading up to something but not sure what. Many of the others appeared confused as well.

Nathaniel pointed to Lila’s face. “Alya is right handed. If she slapped you, her reach should have gotten your left cheek.”

Eyes widened and immediately sought out Lila’s face. Lila jerked back and covered her cheek, but the damage was already done. And if anything, her instinctual reaction only drew more attention to the placement of her right hand over the remaining mark on her face.

“Wait—you mean Lila did that to herself?!” Kim demanded, outraged.

“Of course not!” Lila cried out, but no one really listened.

“It’s circumstantial at best.” Nathaniel admitted. “But from an artist’s eye, the mark and scratch on her face fits more in lines with the awkward placement of her own hand rather than that of someone else.”

It was true. His attention to detail wasn’t definitive proof of anything. But it was enough to make the students doubt.

And sometimes, a little doubt went a long way.

Lila knew that full well.

“Y-you’re just making things up!” She hissed.

“It’s merely an observation.” Nathaniel stated. “I can’t prove it, of course. But your response is rather telling…”

Lila grit her teeth. She had to get things back under control. “Why wouldn’t I be upset? How am I supposed to respond when all of you are ganging up on me and accusing me of awful things!”

“We’re not accusing you.” Ivan stated flatly, uncomfortable but steadfast.

“I am.” Alix cut in.

An emotional appeal often worked in her favor. When someone would confront her with the truth, crying and acted as the wounded party would often draw the attention of others and gain her people willing to defend her.

She gave out a sob. “I thought...I thought you were my friends!”

“Funny.” Came a voice. “I thought you were mine.”

Everyone spun to see Alya arrive. Max trailing along behind her.

“Alya? What are you doing here?” Nathaniel asked, more confused than anything.

The other girl shrugged. “My parents and I were called in to talk to Principal Damocles. I don’t know why.”

Lila drew back in apparent fear. Though whether it was of the growing force against her or any genuine concern that Alya might supposedly hurt her was anyone’s guess. “You’re not supposed to be here!”

Alya simply stared down the Italian, undeterred. “I’m where I need to be.”

Max shifted his glasses. “We overheard the commotion from the Principal’s office and came over to investigate.”

That it sounded like the potential for an akuma in the making didn’t need to be said.

“Here to attack me again?” Lila asked, making her voice quiver. It was enough to elicit some sympathy and make a few want to move to her side to protect her.

They had to hold themselves back.

“Marinette was right. You lie as easily as you breathe.” Alya said with a roll of her eyes. “I never attacked you in the first place. Heaven knows I should have. At least then the suspension would have been worth it.”

Murmurs broke out around them.

“How could you?!” Lila cried out with a sob.

“No. How could YOU?!” Alya retorted angrily. “I trusted you! I believed in you! I stood up for you and defended you, even when you didn’t deserve it and I had no basis! I…” She choked, gritting her teeth. “I admired you! I wanted to believe you. And you made me want to do better. BE better.”

Nino reached out a hand to comfort her, but it was Alix who held him back, shaking her head slowly.

Let her speak.

She needs this.

“Every time you came to me, I listened to you and took you at your word. All the things you said. About yourself. About Ladybug. About Marinette and how she had been acting. I kept trying for both of you, even when I felt like I was being torn apart.” She clenched her fists, her muscles tightening.

“Do you have any idea what that’s like? Being stuck in the middle between two people I care about. Both of whom I care about. Both telling me bad things about the other? I didn’t want to believe either of you because I wanted to believe in you both. But I kept getting pulled in two different directions until I couldn’t take it anymore. in the end, I was forced to pick a side, and I chose you.”

She glared at Lila with disgust.

“I chose wrong.”

Alya shook her head, chuckling bitterly.

“All this time, I’d thought Marinette was the one being unreasonable, but she had you pegged all along, hadn’t she?”

She took a breath. “I wish I’d listened to her sooner. But the sick thing? The truly disgusting thing that I hate myself for is that even now, even more than that, I wish that she hadn’t been right about you.”

“Alya!” Lila cried out, scandalized.

“Don’t.” She shut her down. “You’re a horrible person and a worse friend. You’re not capable of even being a friend at all. Not to me. Not to anyone.”

And how sad was it that Alya wanted that to not be true?

Alya would have done anything for a friend. She would have moved mountains and scoured an ocean. When Alya put her mind to something, she put her ALL into it to see it through. It was part of the reason she had been so forceful with Marinette in her pursuit of Adrien. And in turn why she had been so adamant on Marinette having undeniable proof about Lila.

“Lila lied to us all. But I’m just as complacent in her getting away with it.” Alya admitted to the others. “I told Marinette to check her sources when she tried to warn me, but if I had checked mine, we would’ve known about this from the beginning.”

“To what? Bully Lila?” Rose asked, clearly uncomfortable.

She shook her head. “No. To know not to simply believe whatever she says without checking first.”

They never had to believe Marinette without question. Their “Everyday Ladybug” never wanted that from any of them. But at the very least, they should have listened and considered her point, if only enough to investigate matters themselves and try to discern the truth.

Marinette deserved that much, at least. Hell, THEY deserved that much. They all deserved better than to be fooled like this. They should have at least looked. That way, if Marinette had been wrong, they could have explained their discovery to her and worked things out. And if she had been right, they could have confirmed it. Either way, there had been other means they could have resolved things.

No one had to be hurt and this whole divide and drama never needed to happen in the first place.

Lila realized she was losing her influence. Individually, none of her classmates had enough to truly counter her. But now that they were all here and collaborating, it was becoming increasingly clear to them that her stories weren’t adding up. She could lose her standing. All the relationships and benefits she had put such effort into.

“I can’t believe it. You’re really letting Marinette corrupt you!” Lila wailed. “And I thought her bullying couldn’t get any worse once she was gone! Now she has you bullying me for her!”

Alix scoffed. “You’re really trying to say Marinette was the one bullying you?”

Ivan nodded. “Yeah, Marinette has been bullied by Chloe for years! She wouldn’t do it herself.“

“Actually, statistics say—”

“Max.” Alix cut him off, exasperated. “I’m sure your statistical information is very interesting, but it’s not the point right now. Especially if you know Marinette is telling the truth.”

He coughed. “Duly noted.“

With that, the pinkette turned back on Lila. “We’re not all completely blind. Even if I didn’t necessarily believe Marinette that you were lying, I could read situations. Marinette never liked you and never bothered to hide it, but the thing was, you clearly never liked her either. Only you tried to be sneaky about it.”

Lila gasped and held her hand to her chest, as if asking whether Alix could possibly be referring to herself.

“Don’t act shocked.” Alix snapped. “If you don’t like someone, you should be glad not to deal with them. Marinette was certainly less tense when you weren’t around, and she simply focused on having a good time with us. But you? You never stopped poking or trying to start something.”

“That’s true.” Mylene agreed. “If you weren’t bragging about yourself, you were complaining about her. In some way, anything that happened had to be about you.” And wasn’t she just kicking herself for being one of the ones to get onto Marinette for her attitude against Lila, now that she knew the truth?

“I was only trying to be part of conversations.” Lila countered. “I never meant to come off as self-absorbed. I just wanted to fit in—”

“That is by no means the point here!” Alya hissed out. “You’ve been lying this whole time!”

“No.” Ivan stated flatly, to Alya’s surprise. “The problem isn’t that Lila has been lying. The problem is that it is clear she has been doing so maliciously.“

“That’s right!“ Kim added in agreement. “Lila hasn’t only been lying about herself and her accomplishments to make herself look better. That at least would be understandable, even if still not OK. The problem is that she’s also been lying about other people to make them look worse. She did it to Marinette. And now she’s done it again to Alya.”

That got the other students thinking. About Lila. About her claims. About their interactions with her. And now Lila could see she was truly losing her hold on them.

Lila hunched over, looking wounded. “Guys, this is ridiculous! Doesn’t it seem strange that this is happening now? Alya is Marinette’s best friend! Of course she would have reason to be antagonistic towards me! Marinette’s loss has been pretty hard on her.” She said, sounding overly sympathetic. “But that’s not justification for her to attack me and accuse me like this! Are you all really just going to take her word for it and do the same? After everything we’ve been through?”

It seemed they were. Looking around to her classmates, she saw guarded expressions and wary looks. She noticed Max standing somewhat in the back and away from the rest, and her expression brightened at the realization.

If she could get the genius of the class to openly confirm her, surely the others would believe it. He was the smartest kid in class, after all.

“Max! Come on! You remember how I protected you, right?”

But the boy only narrowed his eyes at her.

“The throw of the paper napkin had neither the trajectory nor the force to touch me. Even if it had, it was a napkin. The probability of damage was minimal.”

Lila gaped, more shocked that he was against her than the logic he was pointing out.

“But...but your eyes!”

“I had incorrectly assumed your antics at that time to be a joke of some sort, albeit a poorly humored one I did not understand. It was a napkin. I was wearing glasses. It wouldn’t have scratched my lenses, much less touched either of my eyes. At most, it might have left a smudge—hardly life threatening to warrant praise for catching it.”

“I was only trying to protect you!” She insisted.

“Interesting, given that the napkin ball had clearly been targeted at you.” Nino commented.

“Which Marinette threw to intentionally agitate my injuries!” Lila accused, trying to shift the focus to Marinette’s wrongdoings in an attempt to deflect.

Kim frowned. “Yeah, injuries or not, that wasn’t cool of her. But it was a napkin and she was trying to prove a point. It was only once she announced what she was doing that you suddenly acted like you were in pain.”

“Also, I think we need to reiterate that it was a NAPKIN.” Alix gestured with her hands to emphasize the sheer silliness of the entire thing. “It wouldn’t have injured you if you hadn’t caught it. And if it was bad enough to cause you pain by holding a napkin, it should have been in a brace. So why wasn’t it?”

Lila huffed. “I hadn’t wanted to cause a disruption.”

“Like requesting the seating chart rearrange was? Or having us carry things for you?” Nathaniel asked, annoyed.

Kim shook his head, honestly disappointed. “You know, we’re a good group. If you had just asked for help, we would have given it. You didn’t need to lie.”

“I’m not a liar!” Lila shouted angrily.

Everyone took a step back at that, automatically wary.

Rose looked around at each of her classmates. All of them, every one of them seemed to be angry with Lila. Each of them seemed so sure of her being the one in the wrong.

“Rose, you don’t believe them, do you?” Lila asked, near begging with tears in her eyes.

The poor blonde floundered. She wanted to believe Lila. But they were her friends and they were all so very angry and insistent that Lila was lying. She didn’t know. She just didn’t...

A arm wrapped around her shoulder and gently pulled her away from Lila. Rose looked up to Juleka in surprise. The goth girl merely kept a heated glare on Lila.

“You don’t touch her.”

This was it. It was official. Lila had actually lost her hold on all of them in the span of a day, and the worst part was that she had no idea how it all fell apart.

“I can’t believe it.” Lila gasped out. “After everything I’ve done for you—”

“You really haven’t done anything for us.” Nino pointed out. “I mean, sure, you’ve made promises and offers...and they sounded great and all. But this ‘friendship’, if you could even call it that, was generally more about what we could do for you rather than the other way around.”

“Oh, I should be the one saying that!” Lila bit out angrily. “All you did was take Marinette’s seat to get to sit next to your girlfriend and carry things for me. That was hardly any real effort on your part. And in return, you were the ones only being nice to me to use me and my connections.”

“But we never asked you to, Lila!” Rose cried out, getting everyone’s attention. The blonde was still crying, and sounded angry for once. “You’re the one who brought up the people you knew and how you could introduce us! None of us even cared about your connections and famous friends until you started offering to introduce us to them!”

Juleka hugged Rose tighter.

“I just...I just don’t understand why you had to do this. We were happy to be your friends! You only ever needed to be yourself! You didn’t have to lie!”

There was silence.

And then a hiccup.

Lila dabbed at her eyes. “I’m sorry everyone. I was new and scared. You were all so amazing and I was trying to fit in. I only wanted to make friends.”

“Can the crap.” Alya snarled. “There’s trying to make yourself look good to be liked and then there’s the way you’ve been manipulating everyone and actively targeting anyone you don’t like.” She shook her head. “You wasted no time turning on me when I called you out.”

Nino’s eyes widened in horror as he remembered something else Adrien had told him. “That creepy Adrien-akuma was you! You attacked him and turned into him to make him look bad as payback because he knew you were lying and asked you to stop!”

Lila froze, panicked. “I would never—!”

“Don’t.” Nino snapped. “Adrien already told me how you lied your way into his home and got to his dad.” He was still kicking himself for his part in that and helping Lila to emotionally manipulate Adrien.

“You probably faked the accusations against Marinette, too!”

“You got her expelled!”

There were too many accusations coming from too many people all at once. Lila appeared overwhelmed and was clearly struggling to juggle them all.

“It was an illness.” She explained, trying to appear calm. “The Principal knows I couldn’t help what I said. I explained everything and helped her come back. Doesn’t that prove my intentions?”

“Not when you’re the one responsible for it all in the first place.” Alya snapped.

Max looked through his phone, frowning. “That only explains what you said. But that doesn’t explain how or why you got the test answers in Marinette’s bag. Or your necklace in her locker.”

Alix rolled her eyes. “And I’m pretty sure there is no illness that makes you walk down a flight of stairs and conveniently fall to the ground with no injuries before crying and accusing someone of pushing you.”

“Sounds like a whole bunch of lies. All targeted at one person.” Alya stated flatly.

“The one person who wouldn’t go along with you.” Kim added.

“How convenient.” Nathaniel sniped, feeling just a little petty after everything.

Lila crossed her arms over her chest as though she were trying to protect herself from physical blows instead of words. “I was only protecting myself.”

Everyone bristled at the sheer audacity.

It was Nino who broke. “No! You don’t get to make yourself the victim here! No one told you to lie! No one made you slap yourself and accuse Alya. And no one forced you to do those things to frame Marinette! That was all you!”

“You can’t even say they were threats to you.” Ivan pointed out. “We all believed you, remember? You knew that.”

“They’re the liars!” Lila shouted. “They’re the ones making things up just to hurt me!”

Nino stares at her incredulously. “Do you really believe your own lies that much?”

Finally…

Finally, a break in the mask.

“And now you sound like Marinette.” Lila scoffed. “Always with the goody two-shoes act. ‘We can only be friends if you stop lying, Lila!’” She sneered at the memory. “Are you all really that pathetic?”

“So Marinette was right!” Kim exclaimed.

“Yeah, we kind of already knew that.” Nathaniel reminded him in annoyance.

He simpered. “Well, it seemed right to confirm it.”

“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?”

“Make it official, you know?”

Alix groaned. “Guys, not the time!”

“It just goes to show that your friendship really is conditional.” Lila said, crossing her arms and looking away, appearing hurt.

“Honesty isn’t too much to ask for, Lila!” Alya shouted.

“Yeah, it’s kind of the basis for any sort of relationship.” Kim added.

“Don’t kid yourselves.” She scoffed. “If that was true, you would have believed Marinette, who had been nothing but honest with you.”

The class as a whole glared at her.

“We’re not going to forget who was the one instigating everything here.” Juleka told her, sounding cross.

“It’s not like it matters now anyway.” Lila stated, snidely. “Everything’s been said and done.”

“Au contraire!” Came a new exuberant voice.

Everyone turned in pure confusion to see Chloe approaching the scene with all the grace of a queen—or at least someone who seemed to think of herself as one.

Needless to say, the assembled students were mostly less than impressed. The one exception being Sabrina for obvious reasons, who brightened upon Chloe’s arrival.

Nobody was happy about this.

Except for Chloe, who approached the group with a smirk and stopped a few strides from Lila.

“Chloe Bourgeois, protector of the weak and Savior of Paris!” She announced pompously with a flourish. “You may bow at your leisure.”

Lila stared, more annoyed than anything. “Are you serious?”

“Chloe, this really isn’t a good time.” Kim started, only for the blonde to cut him off with a fierce grin.

“Oh, but it’s the BEST time!” Chloe said, downright gleefully. “I couldn’t help but overhear your mention of Lila’s antics and it made me wonder about one thing that stuck out to me in particular…”

The rest of the class frowned, glancing at each other in confusion before turning back to Chloe.

“You all said Lila had been lying about getting Ladybug involved in the search for Marinette. Which Ladybug, of course, denied. Then later, she said that Marinette had run away. She said this to Alya and to Adrien.”

Lila raised an eyebrow. “So? She probably did. It’s not my fault if they can’t handle the truth.”

Alya looked furious and even Nino seemed half inclined to start shouting.

Chloe, however, merely tapped her cheek, the picture of obliviousness.

“The truth? You seem so sure of this.”

Lila shrugged, uncaring. “What’s your point?”

“I just have to wonder if perhaps this little ‘Runaway Marinette’ story wasn’t something you told anyone else? Like say...the police?”

THAT got everyone’s attention.

“After all, everyone in the class had to have been called in for questioning by the detectives investigating her case. Since you’re all ‘oh so close’. And if that’s the case, Lila...was that the story you told them?”

“I never told them she ran away. I merely mentioned catching her with an older man and implied a couple of reasons she may want to leave together. Is that a crime?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure it is.” Max retorted, angrily.

Lila looked away, flipping her hair without any concern. “I only told them what they needed to hear. Isn’t that what I’ve done for everyone? It’s not my fault if they act on it.”

Alya stared in growing horror. “Wait...you lied to police about Marinette running away?!”

“What the hell, Lila!” Nino shouted, downright furious. The rest of the class wasn’t too far behind him on that, and it almost looked like a brawl was about to break out.

Lila, however, simply shrugged. “Well, why wouldn’t she leave? I mean, after the way you all treated her, who would want to stick around?”

The classmates winced at that. Several lowered their heads. A few others only glared more hatefully at Lila.

But Alya wasn’t taking it. At all.

“No. No, no, no. You are not turning this one around on us because there is nothing we’ve done that compares to you lying to police about our friend running away!”

“Wait, so not only did Lila lie about Marinette being a slut, she lied to police about it?!” Kim questioned, getting him many dark looks from the other classmates. But he took no notice of this, instead glaring at Lila and looking angrier than they’d ever seen him.

Which rather said something. Kim was often foolish, and at times hurtful. But he was never angry the way he seemed to be now.

Alya frowned at him. “Are you trying to imply something, Kim?” Because it sure sounded like he was minimizing the issue of spreading false claims about a girl in that fashion. Reputation and relationships can easily be destroyed by things like that, and Lila was certainly manipulative enough to try it. Whether police were involved shouldn’t discount that.

Kim shook his head. “Marinette is 15. If Lila had convinced the police Marinette was the type, they could peg her as a runaway and write her off as eloping.”

That certainly got everyone’s attention.

“That would result in her disappearance being deemed intentional and reduce the resources spent trying to look for her!”

“Lila, what the hell?!” Mylene demanded, shocking everyone. The girl never cursed. She never even raised her voice before!

“Mylene...”

“Who does that? What kind of sick freak even does something like that?!”

Ivan grabbed Mylene and pulled her into a hug as she started to heave. It hurt. It was sick.

This was...this was beyond what they had been expecting.

“And what can you do about it?” She smirked. “Nothing.”

Silence.

“Sabrina? Did you get all that?”

The red-head smiled and nodded, holding up her phone. “We got it all, Chloe!”

Lila froze, paling at the implications. “What?”

Chloe only smirked. “I should really thank you, Lila. Who knew you were one to brag so much? I think this should be more than enough evidence.”

Lila gaped at them in horror. “You...you can’t record me! It’s illegal to record someone without their consent! You—you could have edited that!”

But Chloe’s smirk turned downright devious. “It’s a good thing that this isn’t a recording then.”

“MISS ROSSI!”

Lila jumped and spun towards the direction of the Principal’s office, where Damocles and several other adults stood, all of whom were looking rather furious. Adrien was there as well, though he had separated from the group to make his way to his classmates, appearing relieved and disbelieving all at once.

“TO MY OFFICE NOW!”

The class glanced around in confusion, uncertain what had just happened. Looking to Sabrina, Alya noticed the other girl’s phone in hand, with the screen still on. Not recording, but rather in the middle of a call.

On speakerphone.

“Lila.” A woman said, approaching the girl and looking rather cross. She must be Lila’s mother. Their appearances were similar enough. “Young lady, you have some serious explaining to do.”

Alya’s eyes widened as it hit her. Sabrina had been on the phone this entire time. She had been on the line with Damocles’s office. Where everyone including Damocles, her parents, and all those people were.

Everyone in that office had heard them. Who knows for how long? But at least enough for sure for Lila to implicate herself.

Lila shook her head. This wasn’t it. This couldn’t be it. She could still find some way out of this. It wasn’t over for her yet!

“Excuse me.”

Everyone looked to the entrance to see a mostly professional-looking woman entering the room. What did not appear professional, however, was her purple hair. As well as her clicking of a pen, which may have been a habit or nervousness.

Juleka gasped upon seeing her, recognizing who she was. The other members of Kitty Section weren’t far behind, getting some looks of confusion from others in the class.

The woman took no notice of this, merely glancing around at the class.

“I am looking for a Miss Lila Rossi?”

Lila’s expression immediately shifted to something pleasant and seemingly innocent—at least to anyone who didn’t know better. She stepped forward with a polite smile. “I’m Lila Rossi. Can I help you?”

“Yes.” The woman replied. Her glance slid over to Mrs. Rossi standing next to her daughter. “Actually, am I correct in assuming you are her mother?”

Mrs. Rossi frowned. “I am.”

“All the better then.” The woman stated as she handed over a folder. “Your daughter is being sued for defamation of character.”

Everyone gasped at that, but none were more shocked than the poor mother herself. “I’m sorry?”

“Your daughter’s report to police implicated Jagged Stone in a crime. One he did not commit and one that was, quite frankly, disgusting to him.”

Whispers broke out around them. Jagged Stone? Lila had lied to police about Jagged?

Mrs. Rossi opened the file and read through the documents before her face paled and her mouth opened in horror.

“We will be seeing you in court.” Penny stated before turning around. Seeing the familiar teens nearby, she gave them a small smile before going on her way.

“Lila. Rossi.” The woman hissed, glaring at her daughter. Lila actually seemed frightened for perhaps the first time. “Come here. NOW.”

That was it. The final nail in the coffin.

And just like that…

It was done just like that…

Lila was clearly enraged, but forced herself to calmly walk by everyone and head to the Principal’s office where the group of adults and police were waiting.

Everyone moved aside to let her through, willing to watch her walk of shame and bear witness to her upcoming judgement. Lila refused to look at any of them, keeping her head straight and her eyes forward.

She passed Chloe last.

“I’ll find a way out of this, mark my words.” Lila hissed to her as she passed.

Chloe smiled back.

“After everything I’ve done, there’s no shovel that will unbury you.”

She leaned in close to Lila’s ear.

“This was for Adrien, you bitch.”

Because how dare she—HOW DARE SHE make Adrien cry like that!

Lila meanwhile marched to the Principal’s office, seething internally. She was guarded on all sides with no way to slip through or make an escape. And nowhere to go if she tried.

She was trapped. Finished.

Though there was one thing she could do...

Lila allowed her rage and indignation to build.

No doubt Hawk Moth would sense the emotion and send an akuma for her.

She still had avenues to change things in her favor.

_________________________

“It seems Miss Rossi has gotten into a bit of trouble.” Hawk Moth mused from his lair.

“Still...we might as well make some use of this.” He said, summoning a butterfly to his hand and about to infuse his power into it when—

“Sir,” Nathalie interrupted, appearing at his side. “Audrey Bourgeois is calling. The Style Queen magazine can’t seem to finish publication for the expose on the latest runway show. She says they’re missing key pieces.”

If he were a lesser man, he would have rolled his eyes.

“Can’t it wait?”

“No, sir. She is very adamant to speak with you directly on the matter.”

“What is the issue? Everything she needs should be available.”

“That’s just it, sir. It isn’t.”

That got his attention.

“What?”

The butterfly was released from his grip.

_________________________

The group watched as Lila trudged to the office where the Principal was waiting. She entered, but not before sending one final glare back at Chloe and the class. Damocles ushered her in fully and shut the door behind him.

Alya sighed, releasing not only a breath but all of the anxiety and turmoil she had been holding in.

Catharsis.

With Lila’s exit, there was an absence or at least a lessening of the tension none of the class had known they were being suffocated by.

“Does anyone else feel like a lobster that just escaped a boiling pot back into cold water?” Kim asked.

Several chuckled.

“That...is quite possibly the most apt metaphor for the situation.” Max said with a small smile.

His choice of words was silly, but he certainly wasn’t wrong in his description. Lila’s manipulations and poisoning of the class had been going on for so long and slowly getting worse over time. None of them had even noticed just how much more stressful and tense things had been getting with her there. Not until they were faced with the prospect of her leaving and found themselves feeling relieved. It wasn’t quite the sort they were hoping for, though.

They weren’t glad it was over. The relief was less a feeling of freedom and more a sense of uncertainty. Just because a poison is gone doesn’t mean a wound isn’t left behind.

It was sad, as she still had been someone they considered a friend. And there was also a sense of hollowness. They had been lied to, manipulated, and turned against a friend. Lila being revealed didn’t undo any of that.

All it meant was that they had lost a friend. A bad friend who clearly hadn’t returned the sentiment, sure. But knowing that didn’t erase the feelings they’d had. Because they had all cared about Lila. And it hurt to lose that, as one-sided as it may have been.

Now that the source of the toxicity was outed, all that was left was to clean up the pieces and try to work out which pieces were hers or theirs.

“You know this doesn’t fix things.” Nino said to her, tentatively. “That her being gone doesn’t make things better.”

“Yeah.” Alya admitted. “But at least she can’t make things worse.”

Because Lila had been actively sabotaging any efforts. Trying to limit their attempts to search and lying to police to put them on the wrong trail. Enough time had been wasted because of her. How far would it have gone if they hadn’t learned the truth when they did?

_________________________

Ultimately, Lila left the school not with a bang, but with a whimper. Granted, the whimper happened to come with a police escort, but the point remains.

When Lila first arrived at the school, she was surrounded with rumors and speculation. And now that she’s left the school, it was much the same.

Only the rumors and speculation were not nearly as in her favor this time around.

“I heard she assaulted another student.“

“It was sexual harassment, I think.”

“No, she had something to do with that girl who disappeared.”

“I heard she was involved in human trafficking!”

In the end, no one outside of the class and the administration knew for sure what had happened. Lila remained shrouded in mystery, but it was a much less appealing one than when she first came to their school.

Honestly, it was less than Lila deserved after everything. Alya wasn’t sure she was satisfied with that.

But with the ensuing investigation and charges against Lila that no amount of lies could pull her out of, she would have to be.

_________________________

“I’m sorry.” Adrien said, speaking just above a whisper and barely enough to be heard.

“What for, man?” Kim asked, concerned.

“I knew.” He admitted. “I knew all along that Lila was lying and I never said anything to anyone. If I had, maybe things wouldn’t have gotten this far.”

Nino immediately moved to stand next to his bro, placing an arm around his shoulders in support.

Several among the class glanced at each other, unsure. Yes, it would have helped to know, and they were admittedly put out that he hadn’t told them.

Alya shook her head. “Honestly, I’m not sure it would have changed much.”

Nino looked up at her in surprise. “Alya?”

“I mean…” She shrugged. “Lila was good at lying. Like...really good at it. Maybe it was our fault for not investigating more thoroughly, but if we had all known the truth, that would have just caused her to up her game.”

Adrien hung his head, remembering how Lila had been akumatized into Chameleon and abused his friends.

“If you think about it,” Mylene noted with a frown, “she went pretty far to implicate Marinette and get her expelled just because she knew the truth. If she’d do that to her, there probably isn’t much she wouldn’t have done.”

Max nodded in agreement. “Her methods were precise and well thought out. She performed a three-pronged attack to discredit Marinette. It was no wonder her lies were easily believable.”

Rose shuddered. “That’s scary to think about.”

“But Adrien, I’m trying not to be upset...but why didn’t you say anything?” Alix asked.

Kim frowned. “Yeah. I mean...I think a few of us suspected something was up, but we didn’t know for sure like you did. Why not tell us?”

Adrien winced. He opened his mouth but couldn’t speak. He just couldn’t find the words to explain.

It was all the more reason why he was so grateful for Nino, whose gentle presence kept him stable and who knew perfectly well when to speak up and what to say.

“It wasn’t that he didn’t think we’d listen to him, it was that he honestly believed he wasn’t supposed to say anything in the first place. That he wasn’t allowed to.”

The others stared.

“That’s messed up, man.”

Adrien winced again and looked away. “I’m sorry.”

“Look, Adrien.” Kim said, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Chloe—and now Lila aside, we’re a pretty chill group. If something’s going on, we WANT you to tell us.”

“Yeah.” Nathaniel agreed with a gentle smile. “We don’t want you or anyone else to force yourselves to be okay with something when you’re not.”

Rose sniffled. She wanted to be supportive, but it was clear she was still hurt by the whole thing. “It kind of hurts to think that you don’t trust us.”

Mylene frowned at that. She understood Rose’s feelings, but at the same time, she understood Adrien’s as well.

“To be fair though…he wasn’t wrong to think that way.” She drew back when the others turned to her in surprise. “Well, if you think about it, we haven’t really been the best at listening to each other either.”

“Maybe if we had, everything would still be okay.” Juleka mumbled as she turned away, echoing what everyone else was thinking.

“No!” Came an unexpected voice.

She spun in surprise, and quite frankly everyone there was surprised as well to see Adrien glaring at her and looking angrier than they’d ever seen him.

“Their only fault was trusting and trying to help someone who never deserved it.” He forced a smile. It was hurt and frustrated, but it was still real. “You guys...you’ve been nothing but awesome this whole time. To me and to everyone you’ve met. You were kind to Lila because that’s how you are with everyone. Lila was the one in the wrong for taking advantage of that. But all of you…”

He raised his head. “Look, we fell for some lies and trusted the wrong person. We all did, even if we realized it sooner or later. That doesn’t make anyone here bad, it just makes you kids.”

They stared.

Nino gave him a side-look. “Speak for yourself. You’re more of a kid than any of us.”

Adrien blushed as the others laughed.

It was dumb.

It was silly and childish.

And yet for the first time, Adrien wondered if maybe things would be okay.

_________________________

Adrien sighed as he fell onto his bed.

After all was said and done, it had been a long...long day.

But at least the truth was known. Alya’s suspension was lifted. Lila was gone. Chloe...he probably owed her a new wardrobe. And Marinette was finally vindicated.

…

...Marinette…

“Kid? You okay?

“I wish Marinette had been there.” He whispered.

Plagg said nothing.

As his own eyes closed, Adrien never noticed how the kwami’s eyes glowed fiercely as he looked out to the city.

It was only once Adrien was asleep that Plagg phased through the window.

_________________________

Plagg was patient. But there was only so long he was willing to wait.

Seeing Adrien like that...trying for her when she wasn’t there? All while unaware how close she was? Uttering his wish like a shameful secret he wasn’t allowed to have?

Something had to give.

And his own curiosity burned for an answer.

He found her lazing on a rooftop. Not even her own balcony, but a random roof of no significance.

“What are you doing?” Plagg asked her.

It meant so many things.

Why didn’t she return home?

Why was she staying out as Ladybug?

Why was she letting everyone think she was missing?

But Ladybug seemed altogether unconcerned.

“I’m patrolling.” She stated.

Which was...not the answer he wanted. Or really any answer to any of the questions he wanted.

“What?”

“Since I have nothing else to do, I’ve been keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Being out like this now, I can try and locate any akumas before they affect someone. Perhaps I can even determine where they may have originated from.”

That was…

Well, it was smart, actually. At least in the sense that she could gather intel and was trying to track down Hawk Moth. He’d give her credit for that, at least.

But it was a simplistic plan littered with holes. Paris was a big city and it would be a matter of luck if she happened to be in an area close enough to catch the butterfly before it reaches its target—assuming she even sees it at all since akumas ARE butterflies and let’s face it, they aren’t the easiest things to pick out and keep track of in the first place.

Then there was the matter that if she was staying transformed, that was taking up a lot of time and energy on a plan mostly counting on chance. Tikki may be a being of energy and power, but she needed fuel to keep it up. And even transformed, Marinette was still human, and thus susceptible to normal human needs like hunger, thirst, and sleep.

And that wasn’t even getting started on the wave of upset that her disappearance had caused, which would just give Hawk Moth more potential targets to choose from like her friend. Alya had come close to track Marinette down that day. There was every chance that more of her loved ones could be akumatized into Champions with any array of powers that might allow them to locate Marinette.

Then if they find Ladybug in the process? He’d said people were blind, but it wouldn’t take that big a leap for someone to put the clues together. And the last thing they needed was for that someone to be Hawk Moth.

“Nice plan.” He deadpanned. “Very clever. Just one little problem: what about Marinette?”

He felt something. A tickle in his throat as he said it. But he shrugged it off and continued to focus on the girl in front of him.

Ladybug scoffed at that. “What about her?”

His frown only grew. “Don’t you think she should be making a reappearance at some point? You know...got a lot of people rather worried about her.”

His kid included.

But Ladybug…

She just shrugged it off.

“She’s just some girl who got lost and is causing people to worry. It’s not like it matters.”

Not like it matters? What foolishness! What outrage!

“Of course it matters! YOU’RE—”

He felt it in that moment. Like a collar around his throat. Unseen but clearly felt as it started to tighten in warning.

Plagg froze, his eyes wide in shock at the sudden sensation as he realized it for what it was. Familiar...but never in this way. Never like this.

But there was only one thing it could be.

“What is it?” Ladybug asked, frowning at him in confusion at his sudden silence.

No.

He opened his mouth, feeling the sensation again. Stronger this time.

Marinette.

No.

Marinette.

It shouldn’t be possible.

Marinette!

She was right there!

You are Marinette!

It was her! She was RIGHT THERE! She was the only one there with him!

“You are—”

He cut off, choking as that damned magical binding tightened and transformed his words while still in his throat. He knew this feeling. He knew this magic. He hated the feeling of it every time.

He didn’t want to believe it. There was no way it could be right.

But logic and possibility didn’t matter as he was forced to gag out the physical remnants of what only seconds ago had been her name. The true name of Ladybug. The name of a Miraculous user.

A name he could not speak to someone who did not already know it.

He gaped at the green bubbles.

This...this made no sense!

It was her. He could feel Tikki’s magic. He KNEW this was Ladybug. And Ladybug was Marinette.

So why…

Why would that binding activate now?

“Plagg?”

“I...I have to go!” He shouted quickly before taking off.

He had to get to Adrien.

He had to see Fu.

Whatever was going on…

It was worse than he’d thought!