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Marinette wasn’t happy.
She hadn’t been for the past couple of days.
She’d been made out to be a bully by her friends and Lila, her hero partner refused to accept that she didn’t reciprocate his feelings, and everyone she knew had abandoned her. Over a lie.
Well, almost everyone. She was lucky to have Félix, Alix and Luka on her side. Those three had been her only friends during this, listening to her vent and offering advice, but it wasn’t enough.
She was beginning to feel resentment for her so-called friends, the ones who left her for Lila, the ones who expected her to just get over it, and let Lila continue on (cough, Adrien, cough). The fact that Alya decided that Lila was way better than Marinette really hurt too.
It just wasn’t fair.
Alya was supposed to be her best friend, so why did she abandon her at the drop of a hat? Alya had abandoned her and ignored her for someone who just kept lying, and the self-proclaimed reporter wasn’t even talking to her anymore at this point. It hurt.
She wiped back her tears, but they kept pouring down her face. Her friends tried so hard but it still hurt.
“Marinette, are you alright?” Marinette looked up to see Félix beside her, his brows furrowed in worry. When the ravenette shook her head, Félix shuffled over. He wasn’t good with the emotions of others, but the girl needed the comfort.
“I…I’m sorry,” he murmured to the ravenette, causing a sad, wet laugh to leave her lips that made the usually stoic teen feel anger towards their classmates.
“Don’t be, Félix. At least you haven’t abandoned me,” Marinette mumbled bitterly, hugging her knees tightly. “It seems everyone is eager to drop someone who they’ve known for ages, all over someone who they had only known for a week. What did I do to deserve that, Félix?” She asked him, her eyes filling with tears again.
Félix found himself at a loss for what to say. How could he make her feel better about all this? What could he even say? “Marinette…” he murmured, reaching for her when his eyes flickered to the sky. His eyes widened, and Marinette’s gaze moved upwards too.
Panic set in, and the pair scrambled off the seat they were on as the butterfly got closer and closer to them. It was heading their way, and both of them knew it was only a matter of time before the butterfly got to them.
With a determined yet pained look on her face, Marinette pulled out her earrings and held them out for Félix. The blond’s brows furrowed again and he looked at Marinette imploringly. “These can’t get into the hands of Hawkmoth, Félix. Please. Take them and put them in,” she begged her friend desperately.
Félix, confused by her words, nodded and began to put the earrings in. Thankfully his mother had forced him to pierce his ears; he’d just put the second earring in when Marinette had pulled away from him, holding her head in her hands.
He was on high alert now. He moved to her side but she only pushed him back, yelling, “Go! She’ll help you! Run Félix, please! I can’t stop him much longer!” Seeing his friend in so much distress hurt, but he knew she was right. He scrambled to his feet and ran, missing the butterfly fusing into the ribbons Félix had gifted her so long ago.
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“Truth Serum, you have been betrayed and have had your friends lied to. I’m giving you the power to expose the ones who wronged you, but in return, you must do something for me…” Hawkmoth cooed into Marinette’s mind, and the temptation was too much for Marinette’s tired mind. She needed to prove something.
“Yes, Hawkmoth… but we’re doing this my way.” A smirk graced her lips and she transformed.
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Félix crawled underneath a table, panting heavily. Damnit, Marinette had been akumatized. What was he to do? Who was she? Who was Marinette talking about?
“Hello Félix, it’s nice to meet you, I just wish it was on better terms.” His eyes snapped to the side, where a little…creature…floated beside him, and his brows furrowed. He could tell the thing was concerned for Marinette too, but…what was it?
“What are you?” Félix asked the creature, but it only shook its head at him.
“There’s not a lot of time to explain. Do you know how Ladybug’s powers work?” The creature asked hurriedly, and Félix, having seen Ladybug use them quite a few times, nodded. “Good. I’m Ladybug’s kwami. I give her her powers.” Wait…that meant Marinette…
It made so much sense now. Marinette was Ladybug. How he hadn’t known that was beyond him, he was usually so perceptive. His eyes snapped to the creature. He knew what he had to do; he had to help Marinette.
“Tell me what I have to do,” he spoke determinedly, and the creature smiled. They would save Marinette yet.
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Her eyes snapped open, and she glanced around at her surroundings. Her target wasn’t here. What a shame, she would have to go find her little friend. She stood up and dusted herself off. She purposefully made her way to where she knew the girl would be.
She found the girl sitting with her classmates, all of them laughing at something she’d said. Well, she'd see who was laughing once Lila was exposed.
Within the blink of an eye, Lila was trapped within her ribbons, and Verity finally let out a cold laugh as she pulled the girl towards her. “Hello Lie-La, did you miss me?” she asked the brunette sweetly as she struggled in her constraints.
“M…Marinette? What are you doing?! Let Lila go!” Alya cried out in shock, and Verity turned her gaze to her. The bespectacled girl found herself freezing over, as the look her friend had given her was cold enough to pierce her heart.
“It’s Verity, thank you very much. And no, I don’t think I will. After all, I need to prove that Lila is a filthy liar. And you, my dear Alya, are going to be quiet and record every single second and put it on the Ladyblog, do you understand?” The way she spoke was so unlike her, so cold and distant. It scared Alya, but she nodded, shakily bringing out her phone and beginning the recording for the blog.
“Excellent. Now, do you want to confess before I make you confess, Lila?” Verity turned back to Lila, her lips curling up into a predatory smile that frightened her, but she tried to stand her ground.
“C-confess what? I’ve spoken the truth the entire time! You’re just a big bully,” Lila mocked Verity, whose smile only grew darker, tighter.
“Oh, so you're saying you're not the one who threatened me in the bathroom, tried to ruin my reputation, and turned my friends against me? Really? Well then, I'll just force the truth from you.” Verity reached out and touched Lila, causing her to glow a vibrant pink. “Now, Lila Rossi, did you really get tinnitus from rescuing Jagged Stone’s lost kitten on an airport runway?”
“Marinette, stop this! You're bullying her, you should be better than this!” Alya cried out, and Verity gave her such a cold gaze that Alya felt she couldn’t breathe.
“I believe I told you to be quiet, Alya. Besides, I'm only doing what you should have done. Fact. Check. Your. Sources. Now, Lila, did you save the kitten?” Verity turned to glare at Lila, who was struggling with words.
“N...No..” Lila was glaring back with hatred in her eyes, and Verity’s lips curled into a smirk as she heard a gasp from one of her classmates. Oh, this was just too good.
“Really? So, you don’t have tinnitus? And Jagged doesn’t have a kitten?” the akuma asked innocently. Everyone watched as Lila struggled against Verity’s power before finally…
“No, I don’t, and Jagged never had a kitten.” Verity was pleased to hear the gasps from her classmates.
“So you’re a liar then. What else did you lie about? Did you ever have a sprained wrist? Did you ever really meet Prince Ali? Were you ever really Ladybug’s friend? And did you threaten me in the bathrooms when I said I didn’t believe you?” Verity’s smile grew tighter and darker as Lila’s face grew more pale by the second. She didn’t want to reveal this! “Go on, tell them, Lila. Tell them the truth!”
“I…I never had a sprained wrist. Nor did I meet Prince Ali. I wasn’t friends with Ladybug… and I threatened Marinette in the bathrooms.” Lila bowed her head in shame, and Verity let out a delighted laugh.
“Was that so hard?” She cooed before turning to her classmates. “You see? She’s nothing but a liar, and you all believed it. I tried so many times to tell you all. I had people on my side who knew the truth too, but you all demanded proof. Not once did you all question whatever she said. Not once did any of you think ‘What if Marinette’s right’? I’m disappointed in all of you.” Verity felt pleasure knowing that her classmates looked so uncomfortable, so disappointed in themselves.
“But you know the worst thing? Someone else knew she was lying and did nothing.” They gasped again, and she so loved those gasps. “Oh, of course there were people who did believe me from our class and actually helped me, but there was someone else in our class who wanted me to not tell anyone, to let her get away with her lies, even though they hurt me. You want to know who that person was?”
“Marinette.”
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“Tikki, spots on.” A bright red flash encompassed Félix, and as the light dissipated he looked down at his hands. This was actually real. Marinette was Ladybug. She was akumatized, and she trusted him enough to give him her miraculous during this time. He clenched his fists tightly.
He would do her proud.
He crawled out of his hiding spot, making it to the door and peeking out. The first thing he saw was Marinette holding a terrified Lila up in the air with her ribbons. He smirked slightly as he crept out. He could hear all that Marinette was saying, and although he knew he should deal with this quickly, he also knew that Marinette needed to expose the lying witch that was Lila.
He paused when he heard a scuffling against the ground and turned back to see a glaring Chat Noir, who was ready to fight him, it seemed. Oh lord, here it comes. “You’re not Ladybug.”
“An astute deduction, Chat Noir. I’m not your Ladybug, no. She is out of town and asked me to fill in. We need to help her by getting the akuma,” he nodded his head towards Marinette, causing the cat hero to frown and glance over. After a few seconds, Chat Noir looked back at him, his eyes cool.
“I don’t trust you, but I’ll help Marinette.”
“The feeling is mutual. For Marinette.” The cat hero’s eyebrows raised in surprise before he narrowed his eyes at him.
The two made their way to her, one scowling, the other with determination burning in his eyes.
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Everyone turned upon hearing an unfamiliar voice, and gasped when a boy in a red and black spotted costume walked up to the akuma with determination in his eyes, a scowling Chat Noir in tow. Was this another akuma? No… Chat Noir was beside him. But where was Ladybug? “Marinette, enough.” The tone of this Ladybug was soft, filled with worry.
Verity seemed to scowl and dropped Lila as she faced the new spotted hero. “It’s Verity, thank you very much,” she spat, and the boy smiled slightly.
“Verity. Truth. Fitting, hm?” Félix said, earning a smirk from the akuma.
“I’d say so. Now, how about you tell me your truths, hm?” Then she launched herself at him, but he just barely rolled out of the way. “Come on, lemme just get a few truths from you!” The pink butterfly appeared on her face and she snarled. “Fine, Hawkmoth, we’ll do this your way for now.” Jumping back from the pair, her ribbons extended again as the spotted hero threw his yo-yo.
Their fight was like a graceful dance. Verity would dodge his attacks and he would dodge hers. She’d reach for the earrings, he’d dodge and go for something he thought might be her akuma item. This dance went on for a while, even when Chat Noir joined in. Verity seemed to be holding her own just fine, and Félix knew he needed to do something, fast.
He threw up the yo-yo and called, “Lucky Charm!” When a long ribbon fell down into his hands, he looked at it with confusion. He looked around, looking for an answer when a lightbulb went off in his head. He looked to Chat Noir and called out, “I need you to distract her!” When Chat Noir nodded, both of them went their separate ways to fight Verity.
As Chat Noir distracted Verity, Félix looked for an opportunity to strike. He watched for a few moments to figure out what her akuma weapon could be when he noticed the cat hero was caught in Verity’s ribbons. Just as she was about to take his miraculous, he realized he needed to take a chance. With a fling of the yo-yo, he watched as Verity dodged with a laugh.
“Really? Using your yo-yo against me? That’s not going to w—” Verity didn’t get the chance to continue boasting as she felt something tie her up. She looked down with wide eyes as she saw the red and black ribbon that was wrapped around her. She looked up in time to see the spotted hero leap towards her.
With quick thinking, she ducked, narrowly dodging him. She smirked up at him, thinking herself victorious until she saw what was in his hands.
Her ribbons.
“NO!” She yelled out, struggling against the ribbon to get her own ribbons back, but it was too late, and he tore ribbons in half in front of her, leaving her to watch as the akuma flew from it.
The spotted hero didn’t leave anything else to chance, quickly catching and purifying the akuma, along with using the Miraculous Cure, returning everything back to normal, including the dazed Marinette who sat there, trying to regain her surroundings.
A hand touched her shoulder, and she looked up and saw the spotted hero kneel down in front of her and give her a gentle smile. Marinette’s eyes widened in surprise, before looking towards the Cat hero and her classmates. “Wha…?” she whispered.
“You were akumatized, Marinette,” he murmured to her, and she looked away from them all. Akumatized. She was supposed to be Ladybug, and she let herself be akumatized.
“I’m sorry for the trouble,” she apologized to him, but he only continued to smile at her. He was about to respond when he heard someone call out.
“Who are you? Where is our Ladybug?” He turned to find it was Alya Césaire, still holding up her phone. Immediately his eyes hardened, and he stood, standing tall.
“That really is none of your business, Miss Césaire. However, she told me to say that she is out of town and she asked me to take over for a bit. You may address me as ‘Spots’. Now, I believe you all owe Miss Dupain-Cheng an apology,” he barked out, feeling a vindictive sort of pleasure when he gazed upon the guilty looks on everyone’s faces, even Chat Noir’s.
A beep notified Félix that his time was running out, and he looked down to Marinette, giving her one last smile before flinging the yo-yo in a random direction and swinging away, leaving his classmates and Chat Noir behind.
Said hero looked over at Marinette ruefully, before turning and jumping away, leaving the class to stare at her with remorse.
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The first one to do anything was Alix, who pushed past everyone to make her way over to her friend, making sure to glare at Lila as she walked over. “Hey, let’s get you away from here,” the pink-haired girl murmured, holding out a hand for the ravenette, who gratefully took it with a weak smile. As she stood, she gave her classmates a disappointed look.
As she turned away from them, she heard a weak, “Marinette, wait.” She turned back to see a few of her classmates looking disappointed in themselves. But she ignored them, and definitely ignored Lila as she focused on who spoke. Nino.
“Yes?” She spoke coolly, and he flinched, not looking the small girl in the eyes. “What is it?”
“I wanted to apologize, dudette. I should have believed you when you said she wasn’t telling the truth, but I didn’t. I let you down. You have every right to be mad at me. At us. I just… I’m sorry Marinette. I really am.” Marinette felt her eyes soften at the apology, but it was going to take her a while to simply forgive him.
“You all hurt me when you sided with Lila, without a smidge of proof,” she noted how many of them looked uncomfortable at that, “and I will admit that I don’t think I can forgive you just yet, but I will in time, even though I shouldn’t.” She spoke gently, seeing them all flinch, some of them even in tears.
As she began to turn, she heard a multitude of apologies from her classmates, but she didn’t turn around again. Instead she let Alix lead her away from the situation, and left her classmates behind with Lila. As she walked, she could already hear the yelling from them directed towards the Italian, and she wouldn’t lie, she felt some satisfaction from that.
“You okay?” Alix asked as she lead them along, and Marinette was silent for a few moments, thinking of a good answer for her friend.
“Not really. But I will be, I promise. I’m sorry if I worried you, Alix.” The pink-haired girl only gave her friend a smile as they walked, a comfortable silence filling the space in between them. It didn’t last long as Marinette opened her mouth to say something. As she did, they heard a yell from a very familiar voice, and she was pulled into a tight hug out of nowhere.
“Marinette, you’re okay. Thank goodness.” Marinette’s eyes widened. Félix. But he… “You had me worried,” he whispered into her ear, and his hold on her tightened just a tad. Marinette felt her own arms wrap around the boy as she let out a sigh.
“I’m okay Félix. Physically, I’m okay,” she told him softly, and he pulled away to look into her eyes. His own were filled with so much concern that it made Marinette’s heart twinge with pain. She never wanted to see that look on his face again.
“Do you need anything?” When Marinette shook her head, he sighed softly, eliciting a snort from Alix. Right, she was still there. Félix straightened up and shot Alix a look, which only made her snort again. “You saw nothing,” he scolded her quietly.
“My lips are sealed, Culpa,” Alix smirked up at him, ‘zipping’ her lips. He mock glared at her, but when he heard Marinette laugh, he knew she would be okay. Not right now, but given time, she would be okay.
“Come on, let’s get to class,” Félix told the pair, gently depositing something into Marinette’s hand while Alix was pulling a face at the suggestion of class. Marinette felt the earrings in her hand and gave Félix a quick smile.
“Thank you,” she whispered, and she got a smile in return; one that made her heart do flip-flops, and her cheeks went pink. Wait…this was the same feeling she’d felt with Adrien before…was this—
Oh. Oh no.
One look from Alix and Marinette knew that her friend knew. The pink-haired girl always seemed to know. She gave Marinette a smirk, one Marinette knew meant that they’d be talking about it later. But for now…
Now she would move forward, one step at a time.
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After classes, she’d been whisked away by Alix, Félix and Luka to the bakery, where Marinette found herself in the arms of her parents, both of them refusing to let go of their daughter for a long while. She’d heard them apologize so many times, for failing to see what she’d been going through, and for not being there for her.
For failing as parents.
Marinette had felt guilty for leaving her parents out of the loop like she had, but she hadn’t wanted to worry them when they had the bakery and so much more going on for them. But by not telling them, she had worried them more. It had brought Marinette to tears as she hugged them back, telling them they hadn’t failed her. They hadn’t. She vowed to be more open with her parents from now on.
After her parents let her go, they let her and her friends go up to her room where they played video games until it was time to go, and all of them were reluctant to leave their friend.
“I’ll be fine. Maman and Papa will look out for me. Okay?” she’d told them with a smile and a hug for each of them. She was thankful for them, truly. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.” She watched them go, feeling the warmth of love in her heart she hadn’t felt since… well, she couldn’t remember. But she had missed it.
Turning away, she walked back into the bakery, her smile growing.
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“Good evening, Chat Noir,” Ladybug chirped as she landed upon the roof next to him, feeling a lot happier than she had at the start of the day. After everything that had happened, she needed the normalcy of patrolling the city to end the day.
“Ladybug,” was the curt reply she got back, causing the heroine to frown in confusion. What brought this on? Where was her bantering partner?
“Chat Noir? What’s wrong?” Ladybug reached out for her partner, a hint of worry in her tone. If her partner was upset, she wanted to know.
"Where were you today?" he asked, finally turning to face her. She could see in his eyes that he was furious. "Where were you today when Paris needed you? When I needed you? Why did you give your miraculous away to someone?" he snapped, and Ladybug reeled back as if hit, frowning.
"Chat Noir, what I do outside of the mask isn’t any of your business. I have a right to privacy," Ladybug snapped right back, standing her ground. She would not be pushed around by her partner.
"You have a responsibility to Paris! You have a responsibility and you didn’t even show up for it, you just shoved it onto someone else without a word to me! You told your secret to someone else, but you’ve never told me,” he spat out, only for Ladybug to glare at him.
“Let me make this very clear. I have a life outside of the mask, and I’m sure you do too. But don’t you dare insinuate I don’t take my responsibilities seriously! You know I take being Ladybug very seriously, and unlike you, I always make sure to fulfill that duty!” He looked like he wanted to cut in, but she raised a hand.
“The reason I couldn’t even make it today was because I was almost akumatized, Chat Noir,” a little white lie, considering she had been akumatized, but it was one that made Chat freeze in shock. “I was almost akumatized, and I needed to give my miraculous to someone trustworthy, in case I did get turned. Luckily I didn’t, but unfortunately Marinette was, and I will apologize to her for not being there. Spots knows me, and he will not betray me. But trust me when I say this, Chat. I take my responsibilities very seriously, and I do not appreciate you thinking that you have a right to know my identity when you have shown me multiple times that you can’t be trusted yet.”
“My Lady…” Chat whispered, reaching for her, but she stepped back, her eyes burning with anger. “I didn’t think…”
“No, you didn’t. You didn’t think my feelings mattered on this, Chat. I have feelings too, you know. I was almost akumatized four times. Four times I was almost found by Hawkmoth. Do you understand now why I had to give it up for the time being? So forgive me for being upset with you for insinuating I don’t take my duty as a hero seriously,” she told him angrily, turning away from him.
“Ladybug?” Chat breathed out, and she shook her head.
“We’ll be talking about this and more, Chat Noir. But right now… just go. Do your part of the patrol,” she ordered him quietly. She didn’t even want to look at him right now. Ladybug heard a soft goodbye from the cat hero and waited for a minute before turning, thankful to see that he wasn’t there.
A soft sigh escaped her lips as she rubbed her temples. She suddenly couldn’t wait for the day to end. She was looking forward to tomorrow. She looked forward to seeing Luka, Alix… Félix….Just the thought of Félix brought a blush to her cheeks, and she shook her head again. Focus. Paris needs her first.
With a determined look on her face, she flung her yo-yo and swung away, prepared for what the future would bring her.