Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The day started out as any other. Marinette was late. Again. But this time it wasn’t her fault! Hawkmoth decided that it’d be a lovely idea to akumatize Manon over a nightmare about getting her dolls taken away, so Marinette had to spend five hours chasing after Puppeteer.

She was now sleep deprived and late.

Marinette sprinted towards François Dupont. Energy she wasn't aware she possessed fuelled her footfalls. But it seemed luck was on her side, as Mlle. Bustier was not in yet. A large group of her friends gathered around Lila and instantly her mood shifted. If there was one person that could ruin Marinette's terrible mood, it was Lila Rossi. Marinette would give up her firstborn just to see Lila’s downfall. She knew how wicked she sounded, but she also knew that Lila was lying to all of her friends about everything. She wasn’t about to sit back and watch.

Of course, Adrien’s face popped into her mind, offering her helpful advice about taking the ‘high road’. Marinette loved her kitty. She really, truly did. But that advice was bullshit. Marinette’s opinion of Adrien would’ve shifted considerably when it came to him, if it wasn't for how he'd been raised to view people like Lila. She was as good as a tabloid, so why should she be given the attention she was looking for?

Well, despite how Adrien saw things, Lila Rossi was not a tabloid. She was a living, breathing person who deliberately told lies. Who got Marinette expelled. No matter the fact that she’d been reinstated in the school eventually, the stain was still on her reputation. She saw the looks from other students and even Alya was acting awkward around her. Marinette hated ─ despised ─ Lila Rossi.

After Adrien had realised just how bad Lila was, with a little angry rant on her end, he had immediately withdrawn the advice, and a little comment involving her and the word ‘princess’ was what made Marinette realise that Chat Noir had been under her nose the entire time. Quite ironic, to be honest, especially when she realised that she’d rejected Adrien a million times for… well... Adrien.

Of course, she couldn’t help the small voice in the back of her head, that sounded suspiciously like Tikki, wondering if, perhaps, Lila had a good reason for lying. Marinette almost wanted to believe her lie about that disease she’d told Damocles, but she knew better. She knew that Lila had no reason for lying, except for the fun of it. And that bugged Marinette.

Speaking of the liar, Lila was looking down at Marinette’s classmates like they were mere peasants and she was their queen. Marinette's gut wrenched uncomfortably. “Yeah, last weekend my boyfriend took me on a ride around the Place Bellecour in Lyon, where he’s from.” Marinette sighed, closing her eyes. It was as if Lila was a fisherman─well, woman─and the girls gathered around her were fish. 

“Boyfriend?” Rose asked with wide eyes, falling for the bait. Hook, line and sinker. “I thought you were dating Adrien?”

Lila let out a grating laugh, shaking her head with a fake grin. “No, no. I mean─Adrien asked me out a couple of times─I felt terrible turning him down, really─but I just wasn’t about to cheat on Marc.”

“Marc?” Alya asked, leaning forwards interestedly. “Marc who?”

Lila smiled. "You know the writer, Marc Anciel, right? We started dating a couple weeks ago. Jagged Stone introduced us.”

Marinette had to suppress an indignant screech. Marc Anciel. Marc Anciel. As in, Nathaniel’s boyfriend. As in, a student at their school. As in, Lila just made a huge mistake.

Marinette watched as Alix tensed, Rose’s head tilted in confusion and Juleka opened her mouth to speak, before looking down and mumbling incoherently. Little did Lila know, Marc Anciel was a member of their art club. But Marinette also knew that Lila would simply lie her way out of this if she didn't act soon.

And so, she acted. Marinette shifted in her seat, catching sight of the ginger boy sitting alone in the back of the classroom. “Hey, Nath,” she called, suppressing a malicious grin. Eyes instantly shifted to Marinette, as she wasn’t exactly quiet. “Did you know that Lila is dating your boyfriend?”

Three seconds past, in which Nathaniel blinked dumbly before he frowned, setting down his drawing pencil and closing his sketchbook. “What?”

“Oh, yeah, she just said so,” Marinette said. She glanced back at Lila just in time to catch sight of the horror on her face as she slowly turned white. “Why don’t you tell him Lila? Tell him exactly what you just said?”

“I... I...” Marinette hid a smirk at Lila’s speechless state.

“Girl, what are you talking about?” Alya asked, standing and crossing her arms. “Lila was talking about a different Marc, I’m sure.”

“Really?” Marinette turned innocent, wide eyes on Lila, and only then did she reveal the fire hidden behind her bluebell orbs. “You said that he’s a writer, Lila? What has he written?”

“Oh, he’s written this Ladybug comic and─” Lila got no further than that, as Nathaniel quietly stood, quickly descending the steps.

“Really, Lila?” Marinette asked. “Usually your lies are much more thought out than this. I mean, did you even look at the other name on the comic? The illustrator?”

“W-what are you talking about?” Lila asked, drawing in on herself. She looked around, a decent impression of fear passing over her face. “Marinette, I get that you don’t like me, but─”

“Are you really that stupid?” Alix asked. Marinette raised an eyebrow. She expected Nathaniel to speak before Alix did, but Nathaniel was nowhere to be seen. Oh no. Marinette would’ve loved to stay behind and watch her classmate rip into Lila, but there was a fairly good chance that Nathaniel had believed Lila. 

The second Marinette was out of the classroom, she transformed, sprinting around the school and looking for him. 

Eventually, she caught sight of Nathaniel with his head between his legs, hiding out in the otherwise empty art room. She caught sight of the purple butterfly hovering outside of the window. Marinette made quick work of capturing the Akuma, stepping back outside and transforming, before making her way inside once more.

“Nathaniel,” she exclaimed, crouching in front of him. Marinette took one of his hands. “Nath, don’t believe Lila. She was lying about knowing Marc─she didn’t even know that you illustrated the comic!”

“B-but…”

“No buts, Nath. She said that Marc was from Lyon. Marc hates Lyon… I still don’t get why, but he does! And Marc loves you. He’d never cheat on you. Lila’s just a liar. She doesn’t even know that he goes to school here.”

Nathaniel slowly raised his head. “Y-you really we-were telling the truth about her, w-weren’t you? Sh-she’s been lying from t-the start?”

“Yes, she has been,” Marinette said, wrapping an arm around him. “Now, come on. If Madame Bustier is actually in class, for once, she’ll be wondering where we are.”

Once they reached the classroom, Marinette was vaguely surprised to witness a screaming match taking place between Alya and Alix. She wondered what she’d missed.

Marinette, catching sight of a certain blonde model, began to formulate her plan to end the witch.

Ten Minutes Earlier…

“Are you really that stupid?” Alix demanded, glaring down at Lila. “I mean, come on, what the fuck? Nath has been dating Marc for months. The same Marc who wrote the Ladybug comics! Nathaniel fucking designed them.” 

Alix wasn’t best friends with Nathaniel, but she still considered him to be her friend─and Alix protected her own.

“Alix, I’m sure it’s all just a misunderstanding─” Alya started off.

“What’s there to be misunderstood?” Alix spat, scowling at Alya. “She literally just claimed all of that. And none of that is fucking true, so what else has Lila lied about?”

“I─” Lila was interrupted by Alya.

“Really, Alix? Because you aren’t even letting her explain.”

Lila barely suppressed an eye roll. “Well, if─”

“Because there’s nothing for her to explain.”

“Can I─”

“You haven’t even let her speak.”

“Neither have─”

“So she can spread more lies? Yeah, no thanks.”

“This is─”

“Maybe Nathaniel assumed they were dating.”

“I’d really like to─”

“Marc was the one who asked him out you fucking nitwit.”

“Please, can I just─”

“You’re sure he wasn’t just asking to hang out?”

“Guys, seriously─”

“Considering that he asked Marinette to make sparkly green t-shirts with orange lace and have the entire art club spell it out? NO.”

“Really, this is getting─”

"Shut up!"

The entire class jumped, their heads no longer swinging around as if watching a tennis match. Instead, they zeroed in on a very annoyed looking Adrien Agreste, who was glaring at them. He stood beside Nathaniel and Marinette, an uncharacteristic look on his face. He looked back at Marinette. “Wow─you really weren’t joking about shock value.” He stepped back, bowing dramatically. “Your floor, My Lady.”

Marinette snorted, swatting at him, before taking the ‘floor’. Where the fuck was Mlle. Bustier? “Okay, so now that some of you have realised that Lila only spews bullshit ─ don’t interrupt me, Alya, it’s my turn ─ I think it’s time that we talk." Marinette hopped onto Mlle. Bustier’s desk, crossing her legs. “Right, let’s start out with the obvious ones. Jagged Stone. You’ve never saved his kitten. He has had Fang for the past twenty years. Lila? Anything to say?”

“Yes! Yes, I do!” Lila exclaimed, desperately clinging to any hope of keeping her crumbling crown. “Fang was the name of the cat I saved!”

“Hm.” Marinette frowned. She looked at her classmates. “Hmm. Does anyone want to correct Lila?”

Surprisingly, Chloé was the one who spoke up as she lazed back, having Sabrina paint her nails. “Fang is Jagged Stone’s crocodile. I should know. He ate my designer shoes! They were from Gabriel He murdered six pairs of my babies!”

Marinette almost laughed, if not for the fact that she was dedicated to Lila’s downfall, and this was serious. “Okay... What else have you… oh, right! A napkin can’t gouge out anyone’s eye. It’s impossible. It’s paper. Also, Max was wearing glasses. Need I go on?”

Max pushed back his glasses nervously. “Yes, I must admit that after extensive research, I have concluded that a napkin on its own could not separate an eyeball from the optic nerve. Perhaps if one was holding the napkin as they pulled an eyeball from it’s socket, it might be possible, but otherwise, there was a zero percent chance of me losing my eye. Unless a particularly sharp object was inside the napkin, but─” Kim slapped his hand over Max's mouth.

Marinette sometimes wondered how Max could say so much in one breath, but then she recalled herself speaking about Adrien. It sort of reminded her of that one character from She-Ra. You know, the one who builds things and fell in love with the dictator? Yeah, that one.

“Right,” she said, clapping her hands loudly. Three people jumped, turning away from Max. “On to another point. Ladybug. I mean, guys. Really. I highly doubt that Ladybug would be best friends with Lila of all people!”

“Marinette! How could you?” Lila exclaimed, finally realising just how much she was about to lose. Tears threatened to fall. “I mean, I get that you don’t like me because Adrien does, but─”

“Lila,” Adrien calmly walked forwards, towards the back of the class, where the only open window was with a small plastic jar and lid clutched behind his back. “I'd sooner get akumatized than go out with you.” Panic flashed through Lila’s eyes as she searched for an excuse.

“If Ladybug wasn’t my best friend, then why did she give me a Miraculous?!” Lila desperately shouted.

A few students moved to speak, but Adrien drew a finger to his lips silently, making sure to meet their eyes. Lila was about to dig her hole even deeper. Marinette merely raised an eyebrow. “Miraculous? What Miraculous did she give you, Lila?”

“The Fox Miraculous.” Alya’s arm, that was once wrapped around Lila’s shoulders, recoiled as Lila held up a fake version of her Miraculous. “I’m Rena Rouge!” Nino stood up, stepping away from Lila and taking a frozen Alya’s arm. She walked away mechanically. “What? Alya!”

“Guys, come on,” Mylène nervously said. “I’m sure that Lila didn’t mean anything too bad if she told a fib or two. Not like she hurt anyone, right?”

Marinette let out a sardonic, bitter laugh. “Right, right. Yeah, on the day she came back, she threatened to ruin my life because I noticed that her shit wasn’t adding up. Definitely nothing too bad.” Mylène frowned at that.

“But did you have to be so mean about it?” Rose asked softly. “I mean, sure, she might’ve said some bad things, but that doesn’t mean she was going to do anything, right?” Lila looked up triumphantly, but Marinette shook her head.

“She had all of you convinced that I was evil personified.” Marinette met each of her classmates’ eyes, daring them to disagree. “That first day? I would’ve gladly given up to a new student with a disability. If you had asked me about it. But instead, everyone assumed that I was jealous and overreacting. I was just mad that all of you thought that my feelings weren’t important. But─hey, as long as you’re happy, what does Marinette’s feelings matter? Apparently, they don’t.” Rose’s eyes widened, but Marinette wasn’t finished. “Lila got me expelled. And, somehow, you were all convinced ─ are still, actually ─ that I’m capable of pushing somebody down a fucking flight of stairs! I mean, I never even hit Chloé. So, yes, Rose, I did have to be ‘mean’ about it. Because, otherwise, none of you would have believed me.” Marinette stood from the desk, looking at her classmates. “I do wonder, though. Was it something I said? Something I did? What caused all of you to jump at the chance to believe that I could do any of that, when I’ve always been there to help all of you?”

Nobody had an answer for Marinette. She snorted sardonically, shaking her head. “Of course,” Marinette muttered under her breath. She turned back to Lila. “I suppose you did win. I lost my friends to you. Even now, after learning you lied about everything, they still believe me to be the villain.” Marinette caught Adrien’s eyes, and he knew he wasn’t included in that statement. 

Alya stood up, pushing off Nino’s hold on her arm. “I’m gonna murder you,” she said, staring Lila down. Marinette cringed. Maybe they should’ve gotten a bigger jar. She wouldn’t be surprised if Scarlet Moth decided to make an appearance. “You lying bitch." Alya moved to attack her, but Marinette moved quickly, catching her mid-air around the waist. Alya continued to scream at Lila as Marinette dragged her away. She may have been upset with Alya for not believing her, but she also didn’t want her best friend to have to deal with assault charges.

“Wait, so she really lied about everything?” Rose asked. “Even knowing Prince Ali?”

Juleka snorted quietly. “Rose, you know Prince Ali!”

“I─ oh yeah!”

Marinette opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of an authority figure. “Hello, everyone. I’m sorry I’m late, I─” Mlle. Bustier glanced around the room. “Did I… miss something?”

Marinette didn’t really feel like causing too much trouble. She was satisfied. “No─” Marinette was interrupted by almost the entire class.

“YES!”

“I─oh.” Mlle. Bustier’s eyebrows creased. “I… am going to fetch Principal Damocles. Everyone, return to your seats!”

Once they were all seated, Alix snorted. “I think we all learned a lesson today. Don’t lie about Nathaniel’s boyfriend.”

Kim raised his eyebrows. “So you don’t need a teacher to learn.”

"Yes, Kim, us homo-sapiens are intelligent enough to learn without the interference of an authority figure." Kim dove for Max, who scrambled out of the way. Alix jumped onto his back and suddenly an entire wrestling match had broken out. Sabrina was the referee.

Oh, well. A liar had been exposed and all was right in the world. Of course, Hawkmoth had been strangely quiet, but Marinette wasn’t about to question a good thing.

Three Hours Later…

As Gabriel Agreste awoke, he found himself in a lukewarm bathtub with a feeling that he’d missed something. 

Ah, well, it was probably just the age getting to him.

Of course, he’d later learn just what he’d missed when Lila Rossi called to rant and rave about how she’d been expelled, but Gabriel couldn’t bring himself to care. Nathalie had just walked in, naked.

Chapter Text

Expelled. Expelled. He had expelled her. Expelled! What? Marinette couldn’t understand. 

She looked up at her principal in utter disbelief. He couldn’t just expel her, could he?

Marinette glanced at her classmates. Some looked as shocked as she felt, others looked… satisfied. Like she deserved to get expelled. Kim’s arms were crossed, his face carefully neutral and Max had a small, smug smirk on her face. She breathed in, deeply, ignoring the anger poking through at the carefully constructed walls around her mind, tempting her to scream and shout until she was akumatized so she could get her revenge and─

No. Marinette needed to be smart about this. They wouldn’t let her get a word of defense in for herself. Well… maybe Marinette should use her more dramatic tendencies. She should really start fighting fire with fire.

And so, Marinette’s classmates watched as she snorted, loudly over Lila’s babbling over ‘how she tried to help Marinette, but she never listened!’ , raising a single eyebrow and leaning her back against the far wall.

“What is that English phrase again… ‘innocent until proven guilty’?”

Sabrina scoffed, loudly. Marinette was almost surprised, but Sabrina was currently firmly on Lila’s side─a fact that Chloé hated. “Well, I think you’ve been proven!”

“No, I haven’t. Frankly, I’m disappointed in all of you.” Marinette frowned at them, letting her gaze settle on her teacher and principal. Mlle. Bustier was convinced that problems could be resolved with a simple apology and handshake and Damocles’ spine was as brittle as sand. Chloé leaned forwards, for once interested in the ongoings of their class. Adrien was frowning at Lila, his eyes wide as he considered that she was more than just a tabloid. Nino and Alya were whispering fiercely, their eyes glancing between Marinette and Lila like they were watching a tennis match. Rose looked terrified, Juleka was frowning with creased eyebrows and Alix was scowling in consideration as Max and Kim conspired beside her. Nathaniel’s attention was completely off of the comic he’d been doodling in, and Mylène was still staring at them in shock, Ivan’s comforting arms around her shoulders. 

“Disappointed? You pushed a girl down the stairs.” Kim muttered, louder than intended.

“Yes,” Marinette drawled, her voice laced with sarcasm. “And Lila has all of the cuts and bruises to back up that statement, too.”

Lila’s mouth fell open, fake tears pooling in her eyes. “M-Marinette, I can’t believe you’d say that after you just…” Lila flinched, a sob spilling from her mouth. Marinette had to hand it to her, she was a damn convincing liar.

“I didn’t do anything,” Marinette said. She turned to Principle Damocles. “You haven’t even bothered to check over the fucking security cameras!”

The old man flushed, stuttering out a reply. “W-well th-the evidence is very damning!”

“What evidence?!” Marinette demanded. “An answer sheet for a mock exam being in my bag? Finger print it, I dare you! You won’t find a single of mine on it. Same goes for Lila’s necklace! It’s not a ‘family heirloom’! It was made by Gabriel! And it could’ve easily been slipped into the locker, and you know it!”

Mlle. Bustier frowned. “Marinette, mind your language. I understand that you’re angry, but you have to face the consequences of your actions!”

“Actions? Actions?! ” Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. “That’s bullshit! Lila has had it out for me ever since I called her out on her shit! I didn’t like my friends being lied to and manipulated, so I told her to stop! She says I’m either with her or against her and threatens me! So I’m sorry! I apologise for giving a fuck about my friends! For caring that Lila is manipulating them!”

“Marinette…” Adrien looked at her, shock in his eyes, but dawning realisation was also in the green orbs. “She threatened you?” Marinette flinched, ignoring the disbelieving gazes of her classmates, focusing solely on Adrien. “I… I am so sorry. This is all my fault─”

“How?” Kim asked. “We all know that Marinette was jealous of you and Lila, but that’s not your fault, bro.” Marinette’s eyes widened and she found herself stumbling backwards. Did Kim just out her crush to Adrien?! Oh no. Oh no! Oh no! No! No! NO! This was bad, very, very bad!

Adrien sputtered indignantly. “J-jealous? Of Lila and I? Why would she be─” Adrien cut himself off, looking out the window and catching sight of purple flapping wings. “Akuma!” he shouted, pushing past Nino and towards Marinette. He grabbed her arm, just barely keeping the small demon from entering her left earring. The class looked at the door, where Marinette was currently standing beside Adrien, a purple butterfly aggressively trying to enter her accessories. The only way out would be to go near the akuma! As it was, Mlle. Bustier and Principal Damocles were trying to keep the students calm.

“Shit!” Marinette exclaimed, looking around the room for a jar. “Adrien,” she grabbed his grip on her arm as she dodged the butterfly once more. “Stand beside Lila─make sure she doesn’t go for it!” She couldn’t see any jars to hold it in. Marinette decided to go with the next best option─leading it away. But as Marinette grabbed hold of the doorknob, she discovered that it wouldn’t budge. Marinette could vaguely recall Lila lingering, longer than necessary, near the door as she shut it.

But Marinette couldn’t focus on that. No, she was too focused on the butterfly mask on her face, the voice in her head and her purple purse. Tikki! Tikki was in her purse! And she was wearing her Miraculous!

“Princess Justice…” Hawkmoth sinisterly started. “Wronged by those you only meant to protect… by a liar who manipulates and steals…”

“Marinette!” Adrien exclaimed, rushing forwards. He stood in front of her, grabbing her shoulders, making her face him. “Listen to me! Listen! You’re stronger than him! You can resist him! Marinette, please! Listen to me! You can fight him! Don’t listen!”

“Ah, the dutiful model whom you’re smitten with! But where was he when Lila was pushing you down? Threatening you? Lying? Stealing your friends?”

Marinette reached a hand up to her ears, feeling an overwhelming urge to give Hawkmoth her Miraculous. But she couldn’t! She was Ladybug! She couldn’t be akumatized.

“No!” Marinette gasped, tugging painfully at her head. “No, I won’t!”

“They don’t appreciate you! They don’t care for all of your selfless acts. They─”

“Shut up!” Marinette shouted, squeezing her eyes shut. “Stop! I won’t! I can’t!” Marinette felt her resolve weakening. What would happen to Tikki if she was akumatized? There wouldn’t be any Ladybug to stop her! She couldn’t give in! “ You manipulate and steal! You’re a coward! I won’t become some mindless slave to a bastard too weak to do the job himself!” Marinette couldn’t bring herself to feel bad about her classmates’ flinches at that statement.

“Yes, Marinette! Fight it, fight him!” Adrien encouraged, looking back at his fellow classmates. They were all frozen, even Alya, but she was also recording the encounter, so she didn’t count. Lila was inching towards the front of the class. Adrien narrowed his eyes.

“But, Princess Justice, you─”

“My name is Marinette!” she shouted, interrupting his spiel, reaching down and tearing her purse in two. An akuma flew out, but so did Tikki and a handful of macarons. Lila dived forwards, but it would’ve looked like she had tripped to anyone behind her, going for the akuma. Adrien, however, was ready for her, catching the liar before she could catch the demon. 

Marinette knew she had very little options. The akuma was already flying towards a shaking Mylène. Biting her tongue, Marinette knew what she had to do. “Tikki,” Marinette started, receiving a wide eyed look from Adrien, who recognised the name of Ladybug’s kwami, unbeknownst to her. “Spots on!” 

Gasps rang out through the classroom, but Marinette ignored them. She opened her yo-yo, catching the akuma in one fell swoop.

Alya opened her mouth to state the obvious. “You’re Ladybug! But you’re also─” Alya attempted to mouth her name, but only came back with a garbled sound. 

Many other students tried to state her real name, but the only person who actually succeeded was Adrien. “Marinette is Ladybug,” he whispered, eyes wide. 

“Well…” Marinette looked at the shocked class. “That’s handy.” She extended her yo-yo, taking Alya’s phone from her grasp. She went to delete the video, only to discover that it ended just before Marinette started the transformation sentence. She sincerely doubted Alya had ended it. She looked around sheepishly. “I suppose you’ll believe me now when I say that Lila is not Ladybug’s best friend?”

Alya stumbled forwards in shock. “You’re... you’re…” she flinched, her jaw still dropped. Alya turned to Lila. “That means… you were lying !”

Marinette was feeling rather sarcastic today. “No!” she mockingly exclaimed. 

Chloé suddenly laughed. “You know, Principal Damocles, in light of recent events, you might want to retract your expulsion. I don’t think that Ladybug threw Rossi down the stairs. She would’ve at least broken her neck, knowing how strong she is.”

“R-ri-right!” Damocles exclaimed.

Adrien suddenly laughed. “This is such a coincidence!”

Marinette looked at him curiously. “What’s a coincidence?”

Adrien smirked, an expression she’d seen many, many times, on a certain masked feline. “Well, Milady, I do believe it is when two things happen to coincide.” She rolled her eyes, not quite processing the statement. “Plagg, claws out!”

Marinette stared at Chat Noir in shock. “Holy shit!”

Three days later, Marinette was very happy. Adrien was Chat Noir, she wasn’t keeping secrets anymore and she didn’t have to worry about Lila. See, now that there was an appropriate amount of doubt surrounding Lila, Damocles had called in her mother, who learned just what her daughter was up to. Let it be said, that Mrs Rossi was quite unlike her daughter. In fact, Marinette rather liked the woman’s exclamation of, “that’s it! We’re returning to Italy!”

Well, there could’ve been worse ways to reveal her identity. At least she didn’t have to tell her dad. Weredad was not about to make an appearance, thank you very much!

Chapter Text

Lila lying about knowing MDC was like Lila lying about knowing Ladybug. Marinette couldn’t exactly stand up and proclaim: “Yeah, Lila isn’t actually friends with them, because I am them, and we hate each other.” So Marinette was forced to cringe and suffer in silence as Lila’s lies grated on her ears.

It hadn’t taken too long for MDC to become a household name. After a couple of Twitter shout-outs from Jagged Stone, Adrien Agreste, Audrey Bourgeois and Clara Nightingale had everybody curious about Marinette’s acronym. It wasn’t particularly hard to set up a website─she’d been helping Alya with the Ladyblog for years─and MDC was suddenly the hottest new sensation out there. Of course, that was before the partnership with Gabriel.

Of all her classmates, only Adrien and Chloé knew her second secret identity. Her Chaton had been the one to suggest her actually creating a brand and Chloé’s mother had been all too eager to be known as the mentor of the newest fashion mystery. Marinette had later been approached by Adrien, who’d been approached by Nathalie, about their brands working together on a new line. Marinette needed to focus on that─ not Lila’s yammering.

“Can’t believe Chloé has MDC clothes,” she heard Juleka murmur. Like most of their classmates, she still hadn’t gotten over her contempt for the Mayor’s daughter. 

“She probably started whining to Mommy,” Kim laughed, rubbing his eyes in imitation of a crying baby. Marinette sighed. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Audrey could barely remember Chloé’s name─she could never be bothered to buy her presents. No, Marinette had actually designed Chloé outfit personally, as a thank-you for trying to be a better person. It might’ve actually worked, too. She hadn’t heard Chloé demand Sabrina to do anything today. 

“Actually,” Lila started off shyly. Marinette huffed, rolling her eyes. She wondered what bogus claim Lila would make this time. “I─I asked MDC to make it for her.”

“ What ?!” Alya demanded, her head snapping up. “Girl, why would you do that?”

Lila flinched. Marinette honestly wished Lila would just leave and become an actress. Her claims might actually turn out to be true if she tried. “I─I just wanted to get it for her birthday. I thought, maybe if I got her a gift she’d be nicer!” Marinette suppressed a snort. Chloé’s birthday wasn’t for another six months. Of course, none of their classmates knew that. It was just the kind of thing she learned as Class Rep.

Alya laughed, wrapping an arm around Lila’s shoulders. “Girl, you are far too nice.” 

Rose, however, had fallen for the bait Lila had dropped. “Wait, you know MDC?!”

“I─I...” Lila looked at her hands. “I shouldn’t say…”

Alya shook her head fervently. “No way girl! You can’t drop a bomb like that and expect us not to ask! C’mon, who are they?!”

Lila sighed. “Oh, fine!” she lifted her hands dramatically. “Yes, I know MDC. But you can’t say anything! He would be so upset with me if I told anybody! And I won’t say who he is, either!”

“He?” Alya questioned. “Well, you did just reveal more to us than we already knew. I was beginning to think that he was made up by Gabriel for publicity or something.”

“We all know you’re a conspiracy theorist, Dudette,” Nino laughed, focusing intently on his screen.

“Am not!” Alya argued.

“Do I need to bring up why Lady Wifi happened?” Nino questioned. Alya opened her mouth, then paused and deflated. 

Lila frowned, speaking up. Marinette knew she didn’t like losing their attention for too long. “You know, I really shouldn’t be saying this, but I’m sure he won’t mind, and I can trust all of you with a secret…” Lila leaned in conspiratorially. “You see, MDC and I are dating. We have been for a while. I introduced him to Gabriel and Audrey Bourgeois.”

“No way!” Mylène exclaimed.

“That’s amazing!” Rose grinned.

“You go, girl!” Alya laughed.

“Are you going to the fashion show with him? The one with Gabriel?” Juleka quietly asked. Marinette smirked as Lila froze for a millisecond.

“Uh, yeah, I’m going,” Lila smiled. “But not with him. He really wants to keep his identity secret.”

“Do you think you can get us tickets?” Rose asked, gasping.

“I’ll see what I can do!” Lila laughed. “I’m sure he’ll let you guys sit in the front row!”

“Woah!” Rose exclaimed.

“Awesome!” Juleka murmured.

As others voiced their excitement, Marinette found herself smirking. Maybe─ just maybe ─Lila would come through for once. She caught Adrien’s eye, who only raised a curious eyebrow at her devious expression. Maybe MDC would be making an unexpected appearance, too…

Mlle. Bustier was standing at the front of the class, beaming up at them. “I have a small announcement to make! Last night, tickets to the Gabriel and MDC fashion show were donated to the class anonymously! We’ll be going on Friday night, but I do need you to ask your parents to sign these permission slips…”

Alya was gaping at Lila. “Did you do this?!”

Lila was smiling tightly. She nodded, seeming to come to a conclusion in her head. “Of course I sent them! I’d never go back on my word, Alya. When I make promises, I keep them!”

“You sent the tickets Lila?” Mlle. Bustier asked. Lila confessed that she did indeed, which only led to their classmates fawning over her.

Adrien gestured for Marinette to sit beside him. Nino took notice, quickly swapping with her. He sent Adrien a thumbs up, whispering, “you go, bro!”

Adrien raised an eyebrow at Marinette. “Why, Princess?”

Marinette ruffled his hair. “You’re a clever kitty─figure it out!”

Adrien sighed, bumping her shoulder. “So will we be making up an excuse to not go with them?” 

Marinette smirked. “You’re modeling for it─obviously you won’t be sitting with them.”

Adrien frowned. “Keyword: ‘you’.”

“Well, I’m just a lonely Collège student, kitty. Where else would I be?”

Adrien looked down at her bag, where Plagg had flown to converse with Tikki. “You’ve been spending way too much time with my kwami, Milady. He’s corrupted you.”

Plagg’s head popped up. “Please! I didn’t do anything! She’s naturally manipulative!”

Adrien’s only response was to close her bag. “Fine, Mari… what’s your plan?”

“There’s Adrien!” Rose exclaimed, pointing to him as he walked down the catwalk, sporting a feathered fedora that may have been created because Adrien had realised that he was the person Ladybug had rejected Chat for and he teased Marinette mercilessly for. Most of the outfits had a butterfly theme, a bold statement for an up and coming designer, but one that was recognised, nonetheless.

Juleka shushed Rose, looking on enviously. Marinette would have to make Juleka a model in her next show. She did want to be a model, after all. Alya was filming the show, something she’d normally be reprimanded for, but whenever somebody went to complain, Jean, Marinette’s assistant that Gabriel insisted she’d get, would direct them elsewhere. Lila was, as always, spreading lies, this time about how MDC had wanted her to model, but because of her sprained ankle, she couldn’t. Honestly, that was bullshit. But so were all of her other claims.

Adrien caught her eye, nodding subtly. Marinette took this as her cue, excusing herself to the bathroom. When she’d gotten backstage, she was immediately forced into a dressing room by Chloé. 

“Fix her make-up,” Chloé directed. The beautician made quick work of Marinette, adding eyeline, mascara and lipstick. Marinette had done everything else at home, as she knew she’d only have a short period of time before the next step of her plan. Chloé handed her the dress she’d specifically made for this occasion. “Change, now.” She pulled out the long, pink and white dress that was adorned with silk, embroidered butterflies. There were lace purple sleeves and her white kitten heels were barely two inches, a precaution recommended by Gabriel after he’d discovered her intent for that night. Marinette suspected he was thinking about the seven mannequins she’d knocked down in one go.

“Ready?” Adrien asked, standing behind the curtain with her. 

“As I’ll ever be,” Marinette exhaled, imagining that she was in her suit, facing down an akuma. Yeah. She could do this. Definitely. Maybe. Okay, no. She was going to trip and fall and make a complete fool of herself in front of all of those people and─

“Hey.” Adrien took her elbow, turning Marinette to face him. “Listen to me, Mari. You’ll be fine. Don’t overthink this. Don’t doubt yourself. I know you can do this.”

“R-right.” Marinette smiled. He always did manage to make her feel better. “I can do this. I can do this!”

Adrien smiled, stepping away from her and heading out. Somebody had to be on akuma (Lila) watch. Marinette took the offered microphone, nodding to herself. 

“And now we have MDC, in the flesh!” Marinette braced herself for the looks as she walked out.

It was… pretty great, honestly, to see Lila’s flabbergasted expression. Max’s eyebrows were raised, Alix was grinning, Nino looked supportive, yet still as surprised as everyone else, Nathaniel looked inspired and Alya… Alya looked betrayed. But it wasn’t directed at Lila. No. It was directed at Marinette. She almost aborted the mission, but she couldn’t go back now.

When Marinette reached the halfway mark, she raised the microphone to her mouth. “Well… hello, everyone! My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, or as you know me, MDC.” Lila was looking slightly panicked, but nobody paid her any mind. “Um… I’ll be honest, I was going to wait a couple of years before revealing who I am. But… how do I put this… have you ever known somebody was manipulating people you care about, but felt… helpless?” The few reporters in attendance looked curious at this. “Well, there’s a girl in my class who’s been lying about… everything. Knowing Jagged Stone─”

“Hi Mari! Fang says hi!” The rockstar called. Marinette giggled, some tension leaving her body.

“Crocodiles can’t talk, Uncle Jagged,” she laughed. “But, anyways, where was I? Oh, right! Knowing a lot of celebrities, and normally, that’d be fine, you know? I’m sure loads of people lie about knowing celebrities. But she didn’t just lie about this. No. She faked everything. Illnesses, injuries, charities. She exploits them. And that’s not right, you know? She even managed to frame and get me expelled. It was overturned, but, it’s still there, you know? And this is all because I told her to stop lying.”

Marinette’s classmates began to turn to Lila, frowning as they finally─ finally ─listened. They couldn’t interrupt her, which was why she decided to do this here and now.

“But when I called her out on it… she managed to convince everybody that I was jealous. And that hurt. Here were these people, that I’ve known for years, who I’ve always gone out of my way to help… and they wouldn’t even give me the benefit of the doubt.” Marinette felt tears well up in her eyes. Alya’s mouth was agape, Nino was looking down guiltily and Lila was panicking.

“But no. If I wasn’t jealous of her amazing, fictional life, I was jealous because she was claiming to date this guy I like. And it’s funny, because he’s the only other person who knows that she’s a liar. So… I have to ask. Was it something I said? Something I did? What was the reason that made you refuse to believe me? Did I not provide enough pastries at the birthday parties that I threw for you? Were the school tours I organised not good enough?”

Marinette felt a stab of irrational guilt at their guilty and pale faces. She wondered why she felt so bad that she was finally allowed to voice the thoughts that had been plaguing her for months.

“You know what the funny thing is?” Marinette asked. She looked at all of her classmates. Some looked guilty, but others, like Alya and Alix, were livid. She almost pitied Lila. And it was also ironic that Marinette hadn’t even needed to disprove the lies. They were just listening, and putting things together all by themselves. “I’m only revealing myself because she claimed that I’m a guy who she’s dating. She also claimed that she commissioned an outfit that I made for a friend, and that said friend’s birthday was coming up in a few days. It’s not for another six months.” Chloé sent her a half-hearted sneer. Marinette laughed. “Don’t look at me like that, Chloé. You’re my friend.” 

There were a few beats of silence as Marinette inhaled.

“So, any questions?” she asked. The reporters all clamoured to get her attention, but Marinette’s attention was solely on her classmates.

Finally, Rose raised her hand. “D-do you hate us?” she asked quietly, tears in her eyes.

Marinette couldn’t help the small gasp she let out. “No! Of course not! I could never hate you! I mean, I’m pretty disappointed, but I also still kinda love you guys!”

Next, Max decided to speak up. “To be clear, we are talking about Lila Rossi, who has been claiming rather outlandish things recently and has been claiming to date you, or MDC, Adrien Agreste, Prince Ali and every other mildly popular French male?”

Marinette raised her eyebrows, before she realised what Max was doing. She raised the microphone. “No comment.” This was confirmation enough for everybody, but Marinette wasn’t going to say yes. She wasn’t about to destroy Lila’s life. Okay, maybe just a little bit.

Alya’s arm was raised, a hard glint in her eye. Marinette was certain that her question was going to involve the word ‘murder’ somewhere. “So, I have a series of questions. One, why are you wearing a butterfly dress?”

She blinked. Not what she was expecting. “Well, I guess that I wanted to make a point. Butterflies have had a rather negative reputation lately, but they, themselves, are adorable creatures who haven’t hurt anybody! I think that hating butterflies would be like hating akuma victims. They’ve all been manipulated by Hawkmoth. They’re not evil, he is. We shouldn't judge or hate something because of a factor that is out of their control.”

Alya nodded in satisfaction. Marinette was beginning to think that Alya was doing this to manipulate the reporters. “Two. Why did you decide to reveal Lila here?”

“I never said that I was referring to Lila,” Marinette said, though everyone knew she was. “But… I realised that the only way that any of you would ever listen to me is if we weren’t on equal footing. If you had no choice. Because everytime I had something to say, I was shut down because I was jealous or a bully.”

“Alright then… and my third and final question…” Alya paused, looking down and biting her lip. “Could you ever forgive me?”

Marinette choked on a sob. “Y-yes. Of course I forgive you, Alya!”

If Lila was akumatized and defeated all within the span of ten minutes, nobody commented. And if nobody ever listened to a word Lila said again, nobody brought it up. They did, however, make sure that Marinette knew how loved and cared for she was. And Gabriel, of course, was happy, as sales were rocketing and Adrien was happy because his Lady was happy.

Marinette was happy because, for once, she was listened to.

Chapter Text

Marinette wondered how many people she’d affected in her life. Her, Marinette, not Ladybug. How many people would be affected if she wasn’t there? Once, Marinette would’ve said her classmates, her friends, but now… whenever they looked at her, all they seemed to see was a bully who pushed Lila down a staircase. Even Alya frowned when she approached.

Her parents would probably mourn her loss for a while… maybe Jagged would be disappointed in losing one of his designers… Adrien wouldn’t even think twice, if she was being honest. Sure, she obsessed over him, but to him, she was just a friend, if only out of a sense of duty, rather than genuinely liking her.

And Lila… she’d probably laugh… spin some story to make everything about her. “Marinette felt so guilty about bullying me that she couldn’t live in a world where I was better than her!” That was probably exaggerated, but… yeah.

Tikki would get over it. She was five millenia old and must’ve lost hundreds of Ladybugs. Although, maybe she’d be annoyed by the lack of cookies.

If she were gone… somebody would be there to replace Ladybug. Sure, maybe Chat Noir wouldn’t be happy, but he’d get over it, too. After all, they had to learn to adapt to situations because of akumas. He could adapt to a new Ladybug. 

Marinette fingered her earrings. Did she give them up now? Or wait? Master Fu would realise something was up if she suddenly resigned, and then he’d lecture her about duty or something. But she couldn’t do it with Tikki around. Last time, she’d started shouting so loudly that one of Marinette’s classmates had entered the girl’s bathroom and stopped her. She’d have to take off the earrings first.

Yeah, she should just do it now─

“Marinette! Time for school!” Oh. She’d have to wait then. Oh well. It was just one more day… 

One more day.

Marinette didn’t last a day. She’d just heard Lila lying and all of her friends fawning and she saw the dirty looks and she just couldn’t breathe! Marinette quickly split from the group, which she wasn’t even technically a part of, and ran to an empty classroom. She heard Tikki speaking but the voice she once considered to be melodic was now grating on her ears. Marinette ripped out the earrings, flinging them across the room. The kwami instantly disappeared. 

Marinette reached into her bag, taking out a sharp pair of sewing scissors. Breathing in deeply, Marinette placed them on her wrist, slowly pressing in. As the blood oozed out, Marinette ignored the pain, focusing on the activity. It was simply a means to an end. It would all be over soon.

Of course, Marinette failed to notice the purple butterfly hovering above her. Now, Gabriel Agreste was many things. An emotionally unavailable dickhead was one of those things. But he did have enough sympathy to not want to let… this unfold before his eyes. Akumatizing the girl would do no good… He was fairly certain that this girl was a friend of Adrien’s. She had won a competition of his, about a year ago. And despite the fact that Miss Rossi had informed him of her obsessive compulsions regarding his son, he wasn’t about to witness her death. Besides, if he needed to rationalise his following actions, he’d claim she had too much potential to allow it to be thrown down the drain like this. 

The akuma touched Marinette’s scissors as she was pressing back into her skin. Gabriel had no idea how to go about this. He couldn’t exactly call the Suicide Hotline for tips. Maybe he’d just… speak.

“Hello…” he started awkwardly. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, correct?”  

She let out a dry, ironic chuckle, her grip tightening on the scissors. “Ah, so you’ve finally figured it out, ah?” Marinette asked. His brow furrowed. ‘Figured it out?’ Figured what out? “Don’t worry, Hawkmoth, I’ll be out of your hair soon… do you have any hair? I could never tell. Your transformation doesn’t show it. I mean, Chat and I only wear a suit and a mask, but I have no words to describe your clothing choices. Oh, the earrings should be around here somewhere. I’m sure you’ll find them eventually, but you’ll have to pull some strings, I’m afraid. This’ll be a crime scene, soon.” 

Gabriel was left blinking dumbly. This… child was Ladybug? She was barely older than his own son! He’d always rationalised his actions by saying the two were older than they appeared, but this… had he driven her to this? 

Gabriel didn’t hate Ladybug. Sure, she and her mangy cat were a pain in his ass, but all he wanted was his jewellery. Emilie would never forgive him if he allowed a girl to take her own life because of his crusade.

“You don’t want to do this,” he told her, looking through her eyes and seeing the blood coating her hands. He could see a clock in the corner of her vision. If he stalled long enough… “I understand that my akumas may have hurt you, but─”

Marinette laughed bitterly, a sound that grated on his ears. He’d never heard a child sound so broken. “This isn’t about you, Hawkmoth. If anything, you gave me a reason to keep living. But I can’t… I can’t keep watching her lie and manipulate and hurt them! Even if they hate me, I just… can’t watch it. Th-they hate me. They won’t be sad.” It sounded like she was trying to convince herself of this.

He had to stall… “Who’s been lying and manipulating?” 

“Well, might as well lay it all out for you, I guess…” There was a brief moment of silence as Marinette tried to press down with the scissors again, but he made her stop. “Fine then. There’s a girl… Lila Rossi. She’s been convincing everyone that I’m evil and lying about everything I’ve ever done. No matter how much I do now… I’m just a selfish liar who should just die.”

Lila Rossi… well, it seemed that he needed to reevaluate his contract with her. “Have they ever said these things?”

“Well… no. But I can tell from the looks.” Gabriel frowned. So this was all because of an inference on her part. “And Lila… she managed to convince everyone that I pushed her down a staircase with a few fake tears. And Adrien isn’t going to say anything because I’m pretty sure he’s slightly scared of her─”

“Adrien?!” he asked sharply. “What do you mean?”

Marinette either didn’t care about why he was so concerned or she didn’t notice. “He knows she’s lying. And he said we should take the high road, but I think he’s only like this because his dad doesn’t care about what he wants and is insisting they work together. And I’ve also seen the scars on his arm. She made him bleed once.” Gabriel’s eyes were wide. That… bitch had hurt his son. Oh, he might’ve been mildly annoyed at her unjust treatment of Marinette, but this just pissed him off. 

But while Gabriel was distracted by rage and disgust, he failed to notice Marinette lifting the scissors again, cutting herself deeper than before. 

“Miss Dupain-Cheng!” he exclaimed in horror. Just as he was about to speak, the door to the classroom Marinette sat in was opened, to reveal his son and Adrien’s friend, Nico or something. Marinette dropped the knife, slumping back, probably because of the blood loss. Gabriel frowned, releasing his akuma and willing it to return. Gabriel refused to acknowledge that he didn’t order it to bring Ladybug’s Miraculous to him.

Adrien and Nino had just gotten back from lunch at his parent’s house when they entered the classroom and saw Marinette, soaked in blood, sitting by herself and purple scissors loosely held in her grasp. Neither noticed a butterfly leaving the scissors as she slumped back, unconscious.

Nino released a loud, shrill noise as Adrien rushed forwards. He was, by far, less squeamish. Adrien clamped his hands over Marinette’s wrist, shouting for somebody from the steadily growing crowd to ring 1-1-2. He kept repeating assurances to her, which was useless since she was unconscious. Adrien refused to be separated from Marinette, even when two EMTs arrived on scene, forcing her onto a stretcher and bandaging her wrists. Adrien insisted on riding in the ambulance with them, his hands bloody and shaking. They finally agreed when Chloé stepped in, pulling a status card. 

When the vehicle disappeared from sight, the students of Françoise Dupont were left in nothing but silence.

“Why would she…” Alya broke off, staring at the bloodstain in horror. 

“This is… Marinette…” Nathaniel trembled violently, the only thing keeping him standing was Alix’s vice-like grip on his bicep. 

Kim was as white as a ghost as he looked at the others. “Did… did we do this?” Nobody acknowledged that statement, too afraid of the implications.

“Marinette was always so bright…” Mlle. Bustier frowned, tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe she’d do something like this! It’s horrendous.”

Only one student, Lila Rossi, was not staring at the bloodstain in disgust, horror, fear or sadness. Nobody paid her expression any mind, taking the blank look for shock. This was familiar. She had done this to another girl, too. It was all too familiar… Lila knew exactly how to spin this. This time, she wasn’t going to get blamed for somebody else's suicide. It’s why she moved in the first place.

“This is all my fault!” Lila cried, crocodile tears leaking out of her eyes. “If I had just kept my mouth shut about the stairs and my grandmother’s necklace then she never would’ve felt like she needed to do this!”

Immediately, Mylène and Sabrina moved to console her. Lila was disappointed by her classmates’ lack of reaction, but she supposed they were still in shock. They’d be flocking to her soon enough.

“I can’t believe Marinette would do that to herself!” Rose sobbed, tightly clutching onto Juleka’s jacket. 

“I can.”

There was a pregnant pause as, slowly, everybody turned to face Chloé Bourgeois, who wasn’t paying them any mind.

“Excuse me?!” Alya demanded angrily. “Did you just say─” Alya flinched. “How dare you! Marinette didn’t show any signs─ I… I would’ve seen them!”

“Chloé! Marinette is stronger than you give her credit for! She’d never just─”

“Commit suicide?” Chloé looked up to meet her angry classmates’ gazes. Chloé looked back at the pool of fresh blood. “This is all your fault.”

Uproar was instantaneous. 

“What─”

“Who do you think you are─”

“How fucking dare you─”

“You bitch─”

“You bullied her for years─”

Now, this last one got her attention. “And yet, she never tried to kill herself because of me. I mean, I thought after the first time she had gotten better, but, clearly , not.”

Alya gritted her teeth. “ First time?”

Chloé frowned, looking down at her shoes. “A few weeks ago… I found her in the bathroom. She tried it then, too. I managed to stop her, bandaged her arms. Did you know the Nurse is never at school from eleven to one? Well, she told me why she did it, too.” Chloé looked at them in disappointment. She didn’t consider herself to be a good person, but this was terrible, even for her. “You all drove her to this. I probably was part of the problem, but at least I tried with her. You? All of you dropped her the second someone newer and shinier came around. So don’t spew bullshit and expect cookies coated with sugar. That was Marinette’s job, wasn’t it?”

Chloé turned, stalking from the classroom.

They were, once again, drowning in silence.

It was two weeks later when Marinette finally returned to school. In that time, Hawkmoth had been conspicuously absent and Marinette’s parents blocked whatever messages her classmates had been sending. She’d told her parents it was because she was stressed and tired. They’d accepted that. Jagged and Adrien had both visited. Adrien told her his father had paid for the hospital bills. Adrien also handed her a pair of earrings, saying that Alya had found them and wanted her to have them back. Marinette put them in for the first time three days later. Tikki only had comfort to offer.

When she entered the gates, Marinette ignored the pitiful looks, walking with her head held high. Marinette looked at her classmates. She didn’t want to be around them. Any of them. Marinette had ignored their attempts to speak to her, stalking to the back and sitting alone. When Adrien got in, he walked up to her, sitting in the seat next to her, without any words communicated between the two. Lila had frowned at this, standing and sending a shaky smile to Alya, before walking up to the two. 

“Oh, Marinette!” She went to take the other girl’s hand, but Adrien grabbed hers mid-air, sending Lila a warning look. She internally rolled her eyes. “I’m so sorry that you felt the need to do that! I mean, I know you were upset about Adrien and I, but attempting suicide for attention? That’s not very nice! A friend of mine killed herself a few years ago and it hurts that you tried this over something so… so… juvenile!”

Marinette looked tiredly up at Lila. “Really?” she asked quietly. Marinette shook her head tiredly. “I couldn’t even be bothered to fight with you right now, Lila. Just… go.”

Lila didn't like that response. She knew that her classmates were watching and how bad she must’ve looked to them right now. Lila willed tears to fill her eyes as she looked back, stepping down and stopping two rows later. “I can’t believe you, Marinette! You’re still keeping up this ruse! You did all of that just to get Adrien’s attention and when you realised it wasn’t going to work in your first location, you go to a fucking classroom! And you still sent me that message, too…” Lila flinched back appropriately in time with her sentence.

“Message?” Alya asked, brows furrowed in confusion. “What message?”

“U-um I sh-shouldn’t─”

“No, seriously. What message?”

“S-she sent me a text… telling me to kill myself.” Shocked gasps echoed throughout the classroom. Lila smirked internally. And just five minutes ago, they were so intent on comforting Marinette. Oh, how gullible her classmates were.

“No!” Rose exclaimed.

“Marinette! How could you?!” Sabrina cried, face flushing red in anger. Marinette simply frowned down at them.

“And this is why I did… it,” Marinette stated, voice waving as she spoke. “When she says jump… you ask how high.” Marinette looked at her friends in disgust. “You… you don’t even ask her for receipts! You never asked me why I tried to kill myself! You know why?! You want to fucking know why?! It’s because of you! It’s because of all of you!”

The students flinched back. Adrien carefully laid an arm on Marinette’s shoulder. She slowly sat back. He frowned at them. “Alright, everyone, listen up. I’m just going to say this once. Lila is a fucking liar and a sociopath. If you don’t believe me, look it up. Markov, maybe you want to fact check everything I’m about to say. Lila was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder after she bullied a girl enough to commit suicide . There are hundreds of articles on it, as she’s a diplomat’s daughter, and all. Jagged Stone has never owned a cat, the only stranger Prince Ali has ever invited into his castle is Rose , he also runs charities for children, not the environment and Ladybug and Lila aren’t best friends. None of her disabilities match up with actual ones. She doesn’t even know the proper term for arthritis in children! Fuck, she claimed to have her tinnitus cured, but not a week later, she had it in her left ear, then her right! And there was no way Marinette threw her down that staircase! She didn’t even fucking fall! She just fell and all of you ignored any facts! Check the fucking securtiy cameras! Go on! Nobody ever fucking bothered!”

Lila went to defend herself, but Markov spoke up. “I have been fact checking Adrien’s claims, as well as comparing his voice and facial expressions to my knowledge on the human psyche. Based on my calculations, there is a ninety four point seven percent chance that Lila has been lying about everything, and a hundred percent chance that Adrien is telling the truth.”

Slowly, students turned to look at Lila. Angrily, Alya clenched her fists and shot up.

“...no.” They turned to look at Marinette, who was glaring down at them. “No. Don’t blame Lila for your ignorance. This is on you. You believed her over me! You insisted that I was a jealous, raging psychotic at Lila’s behest! Yes, she’s at fucking fault, but I’m more disappointed in all of you, than her!”

Marinette grabbed her bag, storming from the classroom. Adrien quickly followed her, leaving the class to wallow in self-pity and anger.

Soon, Alya was blankly staring out the window. “We really fucked up, didn’t we?” Nobody answered.

Nobody needed to answer.

They knew the answer.

Marinette did end up forgiving them eventually. It took seven months for them to regain her trust, but they did manage, although Adrien made sure to threaten them each a couple times. Only Chloé remained unimpressed, snorting and saying, “oh Adrikins!” and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Articles were written about Lila, along the lines of ‘Lila Rossi has done it again!’ and so she was forced to move, again.

Gabriel had put two plus two together, realising that Adrien actually was Chat Noir. He had been forced to reevaluate everything, before finally approaching Ladybug and Chat Noir and explaining his plight. Marinette had mulled over this, before realising that Master Fu had mentioned a Miraculous curse! She had convinced him to let the Guardian look over his wife, and Emilie Agreste was soon home with her husband and son. Hawkmoth was no more.

And Marinette never tried to kill herself again. Adrien always watched her carefully when she was holding a pair of scissors, and Gabriel had ever so politely took her scissors from her hands and handed her training scissors, the type you allowed children to use. This mildly annoyed her, but she also knew he was doing this because he cared. The Ladybugs on it were not amusing, though.

All in all, Marinette was happy. Everything was as it should be. Peaceful.

She had heard that with death came peace. Marinette doubted that it was as blissful as this.

Chapter Text

It was refreshing to walk into class one day and not feel your classmates giving you the stink eye. No, really. Marinette didn’t remember a time before this when she could confidently say that she wasn’t the most hated person of the week. ‘This’ refers to the rumours that Lila was spreading about her. Seriously, there was no line she didn’t cross. According to Lila, Marinette was a racist, religiophobic (is that even a word?) homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic bully who didn’t know when to stop. Marinette was half expecting to be proclaimed a Nazi today.

But, what surprised Marinette was that Lila was the one sitting alone. Lila was the one hunching in on herself. Lila was the one on the receiving end of the class’s glares.

Only one sentence came to Marinette’s mind.

‘What… the… actual... fuck?’

Just yesterday, Alya was bragging about how Lila was doing another interview for the Ladyblog. She was meant to be helping Juleka get a job at Gabriel and was talking about how she’d be bringing Jagged Stone to their school dance that Friday. 

Only two people looked as confused as she felt. Adrien, and the devil herself, Lila. 

Marinette decided to approach Adrien, the safer option. “What’s going on?” she whispered, warily examining Alya’s scowl. “Shouldn’t they be worshiping her, or something?”

“No idea,” Adrien said. “Nino won’t tell me what happened. He told me to check the class group chat, but there’s nothing there.” Marinette frowned, pulling out her phone. Adrien was right. The last conversation was two days ago, in which Rose was asking if they had any literature homework. “We could ask somebody else…” Adrien trailed off, catching the hesitant look on Marinette’s face. “...Or not.” Despite their classmates’ realisations about Lila, Marinette didn’t trust them not to treat her any differently. “Sit with me today,” Adrien said, taking her bag from her. Nino seemed pretty content to hover beside Alya. 

“I still can’t believe they’re not treating her like the fucking Messiah…” Marinette muttered, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. 

Adrien looked across the row, an idea occurring to him. “Hey, Chlo, can I borrow your phone?” he asked. Chloé didn’t look away from her nails as she nodded. Sabrina hopped up, taking the phone from Chloé’s pocket and handing it to him. Adrien unlocked the phone immediately. Marinette wondered how he knew Chloé’s password. He went into Chloé’s messaging app, where there were two class group chats. One was titled ‘Collège François Dupont’ , but the other was titled ‘Akuma Class Investigations’ . Adrien quickly screenshotted the latter’s messages, sending them to his and Marinette’s phones before returning Chloé’s.

“They had a second group chat,” Marinette frowned, looking at the roaster she’d just been sent. Everyone except for herself, Adrien and Lila was in the group.

She frowned, going to the next screenshot.

Alya Césaire has added you, Nino Lahiffe, Ivan Bruel, Juleka Couffaine, Mylène Haprèle, Max Kanté, Alix Kubdel, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Rose Lavillant, Lê Chiến Kim and Sabrina Raincomprix to ‘New Group’.

Alya Césaire has renamed the group to ‘Akuma Class Investigations’.

Alya Césaire has changed name to Ladyblogger

Nino Lahiffe has changed name to DJ Turtle

Chloé Bourgeois: Turtle, really?

Chloé Bourgeois has changed name to Queen Bee

Alix Kubdel: ‘queen bee’ really??

Alix Kubdel has changed name to SkaterGal

SkaterGal: whats this about??

Max Kanté: I’m assuming that its purpose is to ‘investigate’ something to do with our class.

Ladyblogger: yip.

Ladyblogger: it's about the whole Lila v. Marinette thing, and their love triangle with Adrien, too

Lê Chiến Kim: whys it called akuma class then

Lê Chiến Kim has changed name to MonkeyMan

Ladyblogger: cause were the akuma class??

Ladyblogger: obviously

The rest of the messages were simply banter, nothing that’d ruin Lila’s life. Marinette frowned, skimming over about five of the screenshots. For the most of it, the class gossiped about how Marinette ‘changed’ and how Adrien was choosing her side over Lila. Eventually, however, Marinette found herself looking at messages from last night.

Ladyblogger: omg guys!! code red! code red!!!

DJ Turtle: what did mari do??

TeddyBear: prolly through lila down stairs again

SmolTeddyBear: threw*, Ivan

Genius: Code Red is reserved for Lila, Code Pink is for Marinette and Adrien is Code Yellow. What happened?

Ladyblogger: so i was talking with my sisters and they talked about how lila made this rhyming game, but they didnt, its an app and i was confused so i texted her and lila said she made it

GayGoth: maybe another game? 

Ladyblogger: nope

Ladyblogger: so i talked to nora and she thinks lilas lying

Ladyblogger: but why????

Queen Bee: Because Lila’s a liar.

Ladyblogger: no.

Rose: she’s not

GayGoth: now you sound like marinette

SmolTeddyBear: Lila isn’t a liar

Queen Bee has sent three (3) new images

Marinette examined the images. One was a screenshot of what popped up when Lila’s name was researched on google. The only result was from the Ladyblog. The second was from an interview Jagged Stone did. He talked about hating cats (except Chat Noir, who was totally rock n’ roll) and being allergic to fur. The final image was from a file, the kind that people their age didn’t have access to. It was a restricted file, but as the Mayor’s daughter, Chloé just had to pull a few strings to get it. It detailed how Lila was expelled twice because of bullying other students and forcing another to commit suicide. Literally forcing.

Marinette felt disgusted as she read over the file. That was… something.

Ladyblogger: omg

Ladyblogger: OMG

Ladyblogger: lilas a liar

Ladyblogger: and she did that

Ladyblogger: to another person

Ladyblogger: FUCK

MonkeyMan: nice summary

MonkeyMan: wait shit.

MonkeyMan: what the FUCK

Rose: think im gonna be sick

GayGoth: even HM wouldnt do that

Artist: does this mean maris been telling the truth???

DJ Turtle: and adrien

TeddyBear: we should probably do some of our own research… 

LadyBlogger: howd you get that file??
LadyBlogger: I cant find anything on it online

Genius: The information was probably restricted from public access because Lila is a diplomat’s child

LadyBlogger: or is she??????

Genius: Yes. It’s in her file.

Rose: we need to apologise to marinette

LadyBlogger: i cant believe this

LadyBlogger: my best friend…

TeenageWitch: can we call? might be easier.

LadyBlogger: yeah

Genius: Alright

LadyBlogger is ringing the group

Video call ended at 03:08 am

Marinette couldn’t believe it. Lila… they knew. They knew! This was… she was probably in shock. How… well, she knew how. Chloé had stepped up and revealed her dirt on Lila. Still… Marinette glanced back at her classmates. Was it rude of her to want them to apologise? Should she wait for them? Or go to them? Neither option sounded particularly appealing.

Adrien nudged Marinette. “Let them apologise,” Adrien said. “They owe it to you.”

Marinette nodded shakily. Yeah. She’d just wait, then…

Apologies did come eventually. At their school dance, Max had sent out a mass text message and Alya hopped onto the stage, explaining just who Lila really was, with the aid of a powerpoint presentation. The last slide consisted of a bright pink ‘We’re Sorry Marinette’ and suddenly Marinette was being bombarded by apologies. She never felt so awkward in her life.

Honestly, this was more satisfying than exposing Lila herself. Knowing that they did it… that they realised that Lila was a liar without her aid.

That was more satisfying than any exposition she led could ever be. Because it meant they had a modicum of faith in her. And that’s all she’d ever wanted.

Chapter Text

Marinette had been running late to school when she had received the text from Adrien. 

Minou: Alya is on the warpath. They’re removing you as Class Prez.

Me: thanks for the heads up adrien

Marinette couldn’t say that she was surprised. She had been expecting something to happen. After all, it’d been a while since Lila had tried to ruin Marinette’s life. Honestly, she wasn’t even mad. Marinette had been considering resigning as Class President ever since they’d stopped treating her as if she mattered. This wasn’t even the worst Lila could do, as proven by Principal Damocles when he’d expelled her. 

And so, when Marinette walked into class, she ignored the glares, holding her head up high as she walked past them. Adrien was sitting at the back of the class. Marinette ran up the stairs, easily avoiding Lila’s outstretched leg. 

“How long?” Adrien asked. 

“Hm… a minute?” she guessed as she plopped into the seat beside him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I dunno. They might last two.”

Marinette laughed, waiting for somebody to turn and look back. “Alya or Lila?”

“I was thinking Sabrina would do it.” Marinette raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, come on. Have you not noticed her new deposition towards Chloé? She’s become Lila’s loyal guard dog.”

“At least she hasn’t stolen the royal guard kitty. ” Marinette scratched under his chin as she spoke.

Adrien scoffed playfully. “That was one time! Not my fault if Malediktator got me!”

Marinette grinned. “Well─”

“Oh, Marinette!”

She looked back at Adrien. “Lasted two minutes, but it’s Lila. We even?” Adrien shook her outstretched hand as Lila stood at the desk she shared with Alya. That was entirely on purpose. She wanted a reaction.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but the class has decided that since you haven’t been doing your job as Class President, that you have to resign.”

Marinette didn’t even tense. “That’s alright. I just hope that everybody realises that not everything is going to be the same, if that’s the case.”

Lila’s eyes narrowed. “They’ve also voted me in as your replacement. You’re not angry are you?”

“Nope.” Marinette popped the ‘p’. “Good luck, Lila. But you should know…” Marinette leaned forwards, clasping her hands together and setting them on the desk. “Alya won’t be able to be your deputy.”

“W-what?” Lila asked.

“Excuse me?!” Alya demanded. “Marinette, it’s not my fault if you haven’t been doing your job! Lila asked me to be her deputy!”

“Did you read the rule book?” Marinette asked, hiding a smirk. “‘If a President is voted out, then their deputy is also not allowed to take up their role again’. You see, Alya, I know you’ve never done anything, but a deputy also has a job. To make sure that the president does theirs, and to help them with whatever project they are working on for the class. Considering that I ‘haven’t been doing my job’, you haven’t either, and so you can’t be Lila’s deputy.”

Alya stared at her in bewildered shock. “T─that’s not true! You’re lying! She’s lying!”

Adrien shifted in his seat. “Max?” He was frantically flipping through the school’s rule book. 

“She’s… telling the truth.”

And an uncomfortable silence settled over them. Adrien leaned down so he could whisper into her ear. “I love you, you know that?” Marinette chuckled, leaning her head against his shoulder.

“I can be your deputy, Lila!” Sabrina exclaimed, bobbing up and down.

“I─uh… thanks, Sabrina! That’s so nice of you!” Lila smiled tightly at her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you!”

Marinette refrained from giggling. Now this would be a show.

The first thing she messed up was Rose’s birthday. Marinette made sure to get to school extra early to see this mess.

When Alya walked in, she looked around with a frown. “ Where are the decorations? The cake? The presents?” Alya looked up, catching sight of Marinette. “Marinette! Why didn’t you get the cake?!”

Marinette shrugged, the picture of innocence. “I was never asked to make a cake, Alya. Why would I do that? I’m sure Lila’s on her way with it now.”

Alya relaxed. “Yeah─yeah, you’re right. She’d never let us down!”

Lila let them down.

When she walked in without a cake in her hands, Alya hurried towards her. “Lila! What about the party!”

“The… party? ” Lila repeated. “What party?”

“It’s Rose’s birthday! You were meant to set up a party for her! Why didn’t you?!”

“T-th-that’s because it’s─it’s Marinette’s job! Yeah. She’s always set up the parties before!”

Stares turned to Marinette in the back, and many people began to scold and berate her. “But Lila, it’s your job.”

“What? Girl, she just said─”

Marinette sent her an icy stare. “Yes, I did set up parties before. But that was because I was the Class President. It stopped being my job when you all fired me. So, yes, it is Lila’s job.”

When Rose entered the room, you could tell the second that she realised there were no decorations, cake or presents. Rose didn’t comment on it, she just dejectedly shuffled to her desk.

Marinette did, however, see the second her posture straightened and the grin that spread across her face as she looked back, mouthing “thank you” to her. Marinette wasn’t mean enough to ruin Rose’s birthday. She had left her present in Rose’s desk, a dress patterned with pink roses, and a box of pastries that individually spelt ‘Happy Birthday Rose!’ with one pastry saying ‘-Marinette’.

Of course, Lila realised that she needed to save face, so she claimed that the party was actually happening after school. She had then made Sabrina go and throw together a rather crappy party. If Marinette was asked to comment on it, she’d say the food tasted like cardboard. By the looks on everyone’s faces, they agreed.

The tipping point ended up being their class trip. 

Marinette had been the one to bring it up, knowing full well that Lila had, once again, messed up.

“Where are we going for the class trip, Lila?” she asked innocently. 

“The class trip?” Lila repeated. “I─I that’s n-not my─”

“Not your job?” Marinette repeated, voice sugary sweet. “But it is, Lila. It’s the Class President’s job to organise the school trip and propose a way to raise funds for it.”

“W-well─”

“Surely you know that, Lila? It was all in the leaflet I gave you.”

“I─of course I knew!” Lila chuckled nervously. “I’ve already organised everything, too!”

“Really, Lila?!” Mylène exclaimed. “Cool! Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise!” Lila exclaimed, her voice tight as she spoke. “You’ll all see soon enough!”

“So you sent your report to Principal Damocles on why it would be beneficial to the school, and you also wrote an essay for the Board of Directors to review so they could check to make sure it’d be safe for the pupils?” Marinette asked, her sugary voice laced with venom. Adrien smirked beside her.

Lila’s eyes widened. “I─I─I don’t─”

“Oh, what am I saying! You’ve definitely done that! After all, it was due last Monday!”

“I didn’t know─”

“Marinette!” Alya exclaimed. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell Lila that!”

“Oh, but I did,” Marinette replied, crossing her arms. “I did just say that I gave her a leaflet that detailed her job as Class President.”

“B-b-but─”

“Are you saying that we aren’t going to have a class trip this year?” Rose asked quietly. She was by far the most disappointed in Lila. Juleka wrapped a comforting arm around Rose, glaring at Lila.

Alya was frowning. “We legally can’t.” She could recall Marinette had everything set up and ready to go before Christmas was even over. “Everything had to be submitted last Monday. They won’t change the rules for us. Maybe for Chloé, but…” the class simultaneously looked at the Mayor’s daughter. She hadn’t talked to any of them, except Adrien, in weeks. They wouldn’t be getting her help any time soon.

“You know,” Adrien suddenly spoke up. He was frowning at all of them, but most specifically Lila. “It really makes you wonder… if Marinette wasn’t doing her job, then I wonder what you’d call this ?”

And with that, Adrien took Marinette’s hand in his, walking out of the classroom to have lunch at her parent’s bakery. Meanwhile, the class was left to think.

That lunchtime, Alya had convinced Sabrina to bring Lila out so that they could plan a ‘surprise party’ for her. Really, she needed to talk with the class.

“What’s up?” Nino asked, taking off his headphones.

“Guys…” Alya was staring at her hands. “I think we really messed up.”

The next day, when Marinette entered the classroom, she was suddenly surrounded by her classmates, who were begging and pleading, rather incoherently.

“Will you─”

“Please─”

“I’m─”

“We’re so─”

“You’re the─”

“Marinette─”

“Lila─”

“We just─”

“Can you─”

“Please!”

Marinette blankly stared at them. “What?”

“I think,” Adrien came up behind Marinette, pressing his hands against her shoulders. “That they’re asking for you to be the Class President again.”

“What?” she repeated. She looked back out at her classmates, meeting their hopeful stares with her own incredulous one. ”No.”

They weren’t expecting this.

“What─”

“You can’t─”

“Please─”

“Marinette, we─”

“We don’t─”

“We need─”

“Lila can’t─”

“You’re─”

“Marinette!”

Marinette didn’t think she needed Adrien to translate this time. “Answer one question for me, and maybe I’ll reconsider.” She critically examined them. “Why?”

“W-well─” Kim hesitated. “Lila has failed at everything.”

“You’re the only one able to do it,” Max stated matter-of-factly.

“You care,” Rose said quietly.

And yet, none of these answers were what she wanted, despite the fact that they were all good answers, they weren’t what Marinette wanted.

“No.” Marinette turned away from them, walking towards her seat.

“Fuck...” Marinette paused. Alya Césaire doesn’t swear. She just… doesn’t. It wasn’t something she did. Marinette looked back to see Alya staring at her critically. “We’re terrible friends, aren’t we?”

“I think she’s got it,” Adrien whispered into her ear. 

“We─you just wanted us to believe you… when you said that Lila was a liar.”

Marinette honestly didn’t expect Alya to be the first one to put two and two together. She didn’t pay attention to Kim’s outraged whispers or Alix’s shocked gasp. Marinette cleared her throat. “Sorry?”

“God… I… how didn’t I see this?! You have no reason to be jealous of her! Shit! We’ve just─ holy fuck… we really messed up, Mari.”

“What are you talking about?” Alix asked, frowning.

“Lila’s been lying… about everything.” Alya looked up to Marinette. “Am I right? Is that the answer to your ‘why’?”

Marinette didn’t expect anyone to actually answer correctly. Marinette turned her back to Alya, continuing on. 

“I am right!” Alya exclaimed. “Lila’s a liar… and we didn’t believe you. And… I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry!”

“What made you realise?” Marinette asked quietly. “What was it that made you stop and think ‘this doesn’t make sense’? Was it the facts that I gave you? The points I made? The fact that I was only trying to expose Lila because she’s been exploiting all of you?!” They flinched as her voice, heavy with emotion, rose. “No. No, that’s not it. It’s the fact that I haven’t been there to give you presents or throw you parties or organise trips for you! Well, I’m sorry! I’m sorry that you’ve lost the walking doormat that is myself! That you’ve pushed me away! That you people voted unanimously that I shouldn’t be Class President anymore.”

Marinette never once looked back as she spoke and walked with a grace none of them knew she possessed. “It’s not even Lila I’m mad at. It’s you. So, no. You won’t be getting a person who’ll do everything for you! And did you know that it wasn’t actually my job to organise your birthday parties or trips?! I volunteered! Because I wanted you to have fun! Because I thought, ‘oh, these guys are my friends! Surely they’ll return the favour.”

Marinette stared at the wall in front of her, wiping the tears that streamed down her face. She turned back to face them. “You didn’t.”

Marinette never did take up the mantle of Class President again. And she did eventually forgive them (Adrien still said they didn't deserve that, but she was also too nice), but even then, she never forgot. And neither did they.

Every day, Alya worked to earn her trust back. As of now, Marinette was finally beginning to smile back at her again. Their other classmates did their bit, and on Marinette’s birthday…

Well, let’s just say that it was a pretty big party. 

And Lila, of course, was removed as Class President. They gave the job to Alya, as she couldn’t be deputy again, but she could still become the Class President. Lila eventually got fed up of their newfound image of her, so she forced her mother to move back to Italy. 

Adrien didn’t really have to change anything about himself, as he was too busy being a sunshine with a crappy father.

And Marinette… as previously stated, she didn’t forget. But Marinette considered the class her extended family.

Family fought. But they stuck together.

Chapter Text

The first person to Tweet about Lila Rossi hadn’t meant anything extremely malicious when she asked about the girl who was draping herself off of Adrien Agreste in their photoshoots. She was curious, and maybe a little (read; a lot) annoyed, but she hadn’t meant to involve Cancel Culture at all. It was an American thing, not to mention that it was rather toxic, and it hardly ever stuck. But her question was the domino that fell, causing a ripple to occur through time.

Essentially, she fucked shit up. For the better.

SuckMySockzz @ZoeyZebra69 · 32m

ok, but like, is it just me or is gabriel’s new muse  basically molesting aa?? #adrienagreste #gabriel #answersplz

AdrienAgresteisBae @AgresteFan309 · 30m

@ZoeyZebra69 not just you. i thot she was a hooker or smt byt my bro says shes 15??? im conserned about what kind of ‘muse she is @gabrielofficial

JusticeForFloyd @JenniBrowne · 29m

@AgresteFan309 DOnt @ yhem they might get mad a t you for saying that and sue

AdrienAgresteisBae @AgresteFan309 · 28m

@JenniBrowne rlly? weird. anyway i have freedom of speech and shit so stfu

JusticeForFloyd @JenniBrowne · 26m

@AgresteFan309 r u american?????

AdrienAgresteisBae @AgresteFan309 · 25m

@JenniBrowne ya why??

JusticeForFloyd @JenniBrowne · 24m

@AgresteFan309 no reason

Wincest @deancasanova · 58m

stop calling gabriel agreste a pedo hes just making close

KingAAgreste @KingAAgreste7 · 57m

@deancasanova idk having a 15 yrold muse sounfs prtty pedo to me #trump2.0

DannyDorito @bruhsure · 55m

@deancasanova its ppl like u who defend pedos that make me sick #trump2.0

JusticeForBreonna @blacklivesmatter870 · 51m

@deancasanova Calling a child your ‘muse’ is obviously going to raise some fucking eyebrows. But watch nothing be done because Gabriel Agreste is rich so he’ll get away with it. #trump2.0

AdrienAgresteisBae @AgresteFan309 · 47m

@deancasanova hes a fuckin pedo stfu #trump2.0

Of course, the butterfly effect affected more than one person.

“Nathalie,” Gabriel called, his eyes narrowed on the tablet lying in front of him. “Could you please tell me why the hashtag ‘Trump two-point-oh’ is trending with my face on it?”

Nathalie frowned, pulling up screenshots of her own research. “I was hoping to deal with the situation without having to bother you about it. People on social media are claiming that you are a pedophile due to your declaration that Lila Rossi is your ‘muse’.”

Gabriel’s mouth thinned. “I see. Well, if this has not died down by Tuesday, do let Mlle. Rossi go as an employee of my establishment.”

“Well…” Nathalie cringed internally. “That’s the thing, sir. Miss Rossi has been… how should I say… milking the situation. She has claimed that you are indeed a pedophile and that you’ve been using her to ‘replace’ Emilie.”

Gabriel’s eye twitched, as he slowly set down his tablet. “Well then, Nathalie. I suppose you should hurry along the proceedings to fire Mlle. Rossi.”

“Ah, yes, sir.” Nathalie paused as she went to leave. “By the way. Many people are… angry with these claims, so you may want to refrain from akumatizing anyone for the time being.”

Gabriel merely nodded, seemingly deep in thought.

He’d have to do something about this.

Lila really made a mistake by going after Gabriel. In doing so, she was going after Adrien. 

“The high road not working out for you?” Marinette asked, leaning her forearms against Adrien’s desk.

Adrien sent the stink eye towards their resident liar, before turning back to Marinette. “I want her destroyed.”

Marinette smirked. “Welcome to the dark side, Anakin.”

MarinetteDupainCheng @MDC · 49m

To all of the people claiming that @gabrielofficial is a pedophile:

[Image] 

(Image Description: A screenshot from Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Tumblr.)

You should all go onto the Ladyblog and take notes of what Lila Rossi says. In it, she claims to be best friends with Ladybug, have saved Jagged Stone’s (nonexistent) cat, have hundreds of disabilities (schizophrenia, tinnitus, arthritis) and she also claims to work on numerous Environmental charities with Prince Ali of Achu (Prince Ali sponsors children’s charities across the globe).

These claims are all false.

Lila is a notorious liar and she has convinced my entire class (that Adrien Agreste is, conveniently, a member of) that all of these claims are facts, despite the reality that a quick google search could easily disprove.

Lila has gotten me expelled (although I was reinstated because of a ‘lying disease’ that she claims to have) from my school because I tried to point out to my friends that she’s a liar. The only person in my class that also knows of Lila’s lies is Adrien Agreste.

Now, Lila is an opportunist. If she sees a way to further herself socially, she will take it. That is why she took a job under Gabriel Agreste, who enlisted her to ‘watch over’ Adrien (see the official statement from the Agreste’s public relations team) . In exchange, Lila would be allowed to boost herself by being hired to work as a model for Gabriel. 

As Adrien Agreste, Nathalie Sancoeur and their security cameras will confirm, the only time Lila was in the Agreste Mansion was when she lied her way into the house. She then proceeded to kiss Adrien, take a picture of it and send it to every girl in his contact list.

Some of you will claim that my statements don’t prove anything, but neither does Lila’s. See, you could easily poke holes in her statement.

She claims that Gabriel forced her into his house on certain dates on September 28 of this year. However, Lila was in Achu from the beginning of September to November 25. The dates don’t match up? Well, it is the same with almost all of her claims. She was in Greece on the fifth of February, visiting America from the middle to the end of March and was in the UK for six weeks of the summer holidays, and specifically, the sixth of June.

Lila claims in the interview that she gave to Nadja Chamack that she ‘remembers every one of those days clearly’. Then how could she forget the dates?

Realistically, she couldn’t. 

But, as I’ve previously stated, Lila is a liar.

Do with this what you will.

@gabrielofficial has retweeted @MDC

@adrienagreste has retweeted @MDC

Wincest @deancasanova · 47m

@MDC knew it

DahliaHawthorne @orIris · 42m

@MDC are you seriously making fun of sexual abuse like this? It’s not funny. We should be proud of Lila Rossi for having the courage to come forwards, not bullying her for it.

JusticeForFloyd @JenniBrowne · 39m

@MDC @orIris but she hasn’t even said anything to make fun of it? she literally just stated facts and provided receipts in the og post?? @ChloeBourgeois literally posted the documents to reinstate MDC in their school and lila claims to have a lying disease in it

AdrienAgresteisBae @AgresteFan309 · 37m

@JenniBrowne tf is chloe boogie?? howd she get it?? I checked her profile and shes a literal child???

JusticeForFloyd @JenniBrowne · 36m

@AgresteFan309 shes the mayors daughter

JusticeForBreonna @blacklivesmatter870 · 33m

@MDC I’m honestly disgusted. Lying about being sexually abused is terrible and possibly even life altering for whoever you lie about. My sister was a victim of pedophilia and the bastard was never convincted, so I really hate when people lie about it, because it can (1/2)

JusticeForBreonna @blacklivesmatter870 · 32m

@MDC mean that in court they’ll claim you’re just lying for attention. I can’t believe how disgusting some people are. (2/2)

Alya Cesaire @Ladyblogger · 30m

@MDC Marinette, wtf? I know that you’re jealous of Lila but you shouldn’t go claiming she’s lying about being abused of all things. I can’t believe you. I thought you’d gotten over it, but clearly not.

MarinetteDupainCheng @MDC · 27m

@Ladyblogger Alya, for the last time, I’m not jealous of Lila. I have nothing to be jealous over. So stop pretending I do.

Alya Cesaire @Ladyblogger · 26m

@MDC does Adrien ring any bells for you?

CheeseMeister @adrienagreste · 22m

@Ladyblogger Marinette and I are literally dating

Alya Cesaire @Ladyblogger · 21m

@adrienagreste @MDC Alya has briefly stopped functioning, it’s Nino. Why didn’t I know about this?

CheeseMeister @adrienagreste · 19m

@Ladyblogger @MDC was afraid of how people would react. Have you realised that Lila is a liar yet? 

Alya Cesaire @Ladyblogger · 17m

@adrienagreste sometime around when she claimed to know Johnny Zest, a famous actor in Hollywood.

CheeseMeister @adrienagreste · 15m

@Ladyblogger do you mean Johnny Depp???

Alya Cesaire @Ladyblogger · 12m

@adrienagreste exactly

“Well, sir,” Nathalie didn’t look up from her tablet as she entered the room. “It seems that I didn’t have to do anything to resolve the rumours.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow, taking the offered tablet from her. “Your son enlisted one Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the girl who won your derby hat contest, to expose Miss Rossi. They were successful.”

“Mlle. Dupain-Cheng…” Gabriel frowned. “The same one Mlle. Rossi claimed was a bad influence on my son?”

“The very same. Also, it was revealed through one of Adrien’s Tweets that he and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng are actually dating.”

“I see, I─” Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. “Why is his name ‘CheeseMeister’?”

PJOreboot2020 @kolinkreevey · 5m

Wait, Lila Rossi??? She was in my class two years ago. She literally bullied a girl to suicide. This is her, right, @IsabellaMarie

IzzieDraws @IsabellaMarie · 49s

@kolinkreevey yeah. thhats lila. she hasnt changed. shes still a liar from what i saw lol. She hasnt changed. sate her sooooo mucj

SuckMySockzz @ZoeyZebra69 · 3hrs

@LilaRossi liar

AdrienAgresteisBae @AgresteFan309 · 3hrs

@LilaRossi liar

JusticeForFloyd @JenniBrowne · 2hrs

@LilaRossi liar

Wincest @deancasanova · 1hrs

@Lila Rossi liar

KingAAgreste @KingAAgreste7 · 57m

@LilaRossi liar

DannyDorito @bruhsure · 55m

@LilaRossi liar

JusticeForBreonna @blacklivesmatter870 · 51m

@LilaRossi liar

pantsonfire @ArianaGrandeFan785 · 49m

@LilaRossi liar

JohhnyZest @zzzabatoge · 38m

@LilaRossi liar

Aristotle @greek&proud · 32m

@LilaRossi liar

Pheonix @wrightworth · 31m

@LilaRossi liar

PJOreboot2020 @kolinkreevey · 31m

@LilaRossi liar

IzzieDraws @IsabellaMarie · 30m

@LilaRossi liar

MarinetteDupainCheng @MDC · 29m

@LilaRossi liar.

After the truth had been revealed, Lila did what she had become quite accustomed to over the years. She fled. Of course, her face was all over social media, all over the world, so there weren’t many places she could go without dealing with further ridicule. Eventually she moved in with her father, who owned a remote private island in the Caribbean. The students of François Dupont never saw her again.

Marinette received many, many, many apologies from her friends, and a fruit basket from Gabriel’s assistant. According to Adrien, he’d only said one sentence in regards to their relationship.

“I approve.”

When Alya recovered from her shock over Marinette and Adrien finally being together, she called Marinette. They stayed up all night talking. All of Lila’s interviews had mysteriously disappeared the next day.

“How’s the dark side been treating you?” Marinette asked, plopping into her chair beside Adrien.

He grinned, holding up a macaroon. “It’s great. It even has cookies.”

Chapter Text

Nobody really said anything, at first. It wasn’t abnormal for somebody to miss a day or two of school. “Maybe she has the flu,” they guessed. “She might be too busy with the bakery.”

But, no. A week had passed by, and still, there was no word from Marinette.

“I went to the bakery the other day,” Alya said. “It was closed.”

“Maybe they went on holidays,” Rose suggested, her eyes shining. “I wonder if they went to Achu! Maybe Marinette will see Prince Ali and─”

“I really shouldn’t say anything,” a quiet voice started off. Adrien Agreste rolled his eyes. And there Lila was, ready to claim something outlandish and untrue. “But I saw Marinette yesterday…”

“You did?!” Alya exclaimed, jumping up eagerly. This caught the attention of the entire class, and suddenly everyone was looking expectantly at Lila. “Girl, why didn’t you say anything?! Where? Was she alright?”

“Um… she was fine, I guess…” Lila bit her lip. “But she was with some guys…” Adrien cringed. Of all the things to claim… Lila chose this? “They were older… a lot older, actually. They had motorbikes and stuff. And… I dunno, I might’ve heard them wrong but it sounded like…”

“Sounded like what?” Alya asked eagerly.

Lila frowned at her fingers. “It sounded like they were talking about h-having sex. With─” Lila flinched, lowering her head.

But the damage was done. Adrien heard the scandalised voices, saw the shocked faces, felt the pity and disgust rolling off of them, and Adrien couldn’t help but feel disgusted himself. These people─they believed this shit?! Adrien couldn’t help but glare at Lila. She didn’t even know where Marinette actually was.

“I can’t even…” Rose shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

“That’s…” Nathaniel looked around, seemingly at a loss of how to react.

“Marinette… wouldn’t…” Alya seemed to be struggling to stay standing.

“Ha! I always knew Dupain-Cheng was a slut!”

Adrien clenched his fists. Chloé… of all people, he had at least expected Chloé to give Marinette the benefit of the doubt. Then again, looking into her eyes, Adrien could tell that she didn’t believe it. Still… the fact that nobody jumped to Marinette’s defence disgusted him.

Adrien stood with a loud, angry scoff. He grabbed his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “You’re all despicable,” he called, walking away from them. 

“What?!”

“Bro! Where are you going?”

“Adrien! Get back here!”

He never once turned to look back at them. They were so quick to fall for such an obvious lie… he was so disappointed.

Adrien wasn’t at school the next day. Lila could be seen glancing guiltily at his and Marinette’s vacant seats every now-and-then. “Don’t feel bad,” Alya said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Really, don’t. I’m sure there’s an explanation to everything. It’ll all turn out fine, you’ll see.”

“Y-yeah,” Lila swallowed. “I just… can’t help but wonder. What if I’d stayed quiet? Then nobody would know and everything would stay the same.”

“No, I’m glad you told us. Really, Lila. Marinette should’ve told us herself, and she shouldn’t have… done that…” Alya’s fists clenched. “I still can’t believe…”

Their conversation was, by far, the tamest. Lila had sewn the appropriate seeds of doubt, and now more than one person was convinced that Marinette participated in ‘unsavory’ activities.

“Can’t believe that Marinette would turn out to be such a slut,” Ivan said, sneering. “I thought she had more class than that.”

Kim leaned back in his seat. “Maybe she’s preparing for Adrien,” he laughed.

“Guys, will you cut it out?” Alix elbowed him. “Slut shaming is not cool.”

Max was frowning thoughtfully. “Have any of you considered the fact that Marinette may not have been willing?”

“What?” His sentence was louder than intended, as multiple pairs of eyes landed on Max. 

“Well, Marinette is fourteen, and if what Lila saw was correct, these men were much older, larger and more threatening. It is statistically more likely that she could’ve been unwilling.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over the class. Alya looked around uncertainly. “B-but that would mean─”

“That she was raped.”

That was the first of many theories to be made.

“Maybe she works for a pimp.”

“Maybe her parents were in debt.”

“Maybe she’s just a whore.”

None of these theories factored in Marinette’s age, living situation or personality at all. The theories created a warped version of Marinette Dupain-Cheng in their heads that weren’t to be contested by any common sense.

That was, until, Adrien returned to school two weeks later.

He stalked into the class, scanning over his classmates. Finding that most of them were there, he called for their attention, glowering with narrowed eyes. 

“Dude, you’re back!” Nino exclaimed.

“I am,” he said. Adrien held up his phone. “Chloé’s been keeping me in the loop, by the way. I have something to say.”

Lila had a slightly panicked look in her eyes. “Look, Adrien, I know that you were getting closer with Marinette lately, but─”

“Don’t give me any of your bullshit, Lila.”

Speaking out against Lila was like taking the spoon out of a grenade and standing still.

The reactions were explosive.

“Dude!”

“Adrien!”

“Bro!”

“How dare you?!”

“Apologize to Lila!”

“How could you even say that?!”

Adrien waited patiently, and when the class noticed his lack of reaction to their outburst, they calmed down a bit.

“Are you done?” he asked. “Alright, good. Now, I am going to talk, and you are going to listen. Considering that none of you have even considered what I’m about to suggest, you better at least let me finish before you attack me without any evidence.” Like you did to Marinette went unsaid. 

“So.” Adrien crossed his arms, leaning against Mme. Bustier’s desk. At that moment, he looked very threatening. “So, I need all of you to realise that your theories are incorrect. Lila never saw Marinette with a group of ‘threatening older guys’, and yes, I do have evidence as to why that is, unlike some people.” Adrien sneered at Lila. 

He pulled a document out of his bag. “Three weeks ago, Marinette was hit after an akuma attack. She had been hiding in an alley to tr─avoid the akuma when she was attacked by a thief. Marinette didn’t see him, so she didn’t react. He took her purse and pushed her. She hit her head in the encounter and got a concussion. Chat Noir found them and went after the thief. He got the purse back, but her phone had been dropped and destroyed in the time being. Marinette slipped into a coma.” He held the document up higher for them to see. “This is the official police report.”

If calling Lila a liar was like holding a grenade, Adrien’s previous statements were like carrying a nuke.

“What?!”

“You’ve got to be joking!”

“Is she alright?”

“What hospital is it?!”

“Why weren’t we told?!”

“Is she awake?!”

“Who attacked her?!”

And yet, only one person seemed to realise the point to all of this. “Oh my god,” said Alya, turning to Lila. She backed away from the girl in horror. “You bitch!” Alya made to run at her, but Kim caught her around the waist. “You lied about my best friend! I hate you! You fucking liar! You tried to convince us she was a fucking prostitute! I’m going to fucking kill you!”

A slow clap could be heard from the doorway. “Good show, Alya. Really, great show.”

Marinette was standing there, using the door as support to stand. Adrien moved over to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. Marinette walked into the classroom with him. “I like that now I’m your best friend. The second you realised that maybe Lila wasn’t the saintly person you painted her out to be.”

“What?” Alya whispered.

Marinette scoffed. “Yes, Lila lied about seeing me with older men, but who was it that believed her?”

“W-well, I─I…”

“Save it,” Marinette snapped. “I was willing to forgive you if someone─anyone─ thought that maybe it wasn’t true. But you were all so ready to give up on me. To call me a slut, a whore. Did any of you truly ever know me?”

Nobody answered. “Alright then. Where’s Mme. Bustier?”

“...Teachers lounge,” Rose said quietly.

“Thanks,” Marinette said, her voice bitter. She turned to Adrien. “Want me to give her your papers?”

“Oh, yeah,” Adrien reached into his bag, handing her a folder. “I’ve already sent the others to Mr Damocles. Want me to get your stuff?”

“Please,” Marinette smiled, before turning and walking away. Adrien lingered, making sure that Marinette could walk before he hurried to her desk, grabbing her copies and books.

“Papers?” Max asked, frowning. “Are you─you’re hardly─”

“Transfer papers,” Adrien said, looking coolly at the class. “Marinette and I decided that it’d be best not to stay in such a toxic environment.”

Nobody spoke. Everybody may have been screaming and protesting internally, but they could only stare helplessly as Adrien went to his own desk, grabbing his books.

When Adrien reached the door, he looked back with narrowed eyes. “Goodbye, classmates. Can’t say I’ll miss you.”

And he was gone.

They never did see Marinette or Adrien in person again. Of course, Marinette went on to become a great fashion designer and Adrien took over Gabriel, but they had other friends, friends who they trusted and who always looked at them positively. And Chloé.

Marinette found herself being happy in a different school, a school where she could be herself and be happy and not have to worry about being judged or lies being spread about her character.

And the best thing of all? Marinette never did have to deal with Lila again.

She did hear a rumour about her being committed to an asylum after lying about having some mental thing going on, though.

Chapter Text

Sure, Marinette knew Jagged Stone, and sure, everybody knew she knew Jagged Stone, but it’s not like she flaunted that fact. If Marinette were to casually mention, “Oh, I’m designing the clothes for Jagged Stone’s next concert,” she’d be accused of lying, or saying things for attention. Marinette nearly snorted. Double standards.

But everything was fine. Marinette was fine. One hundred percent fine. Not like she’d gotten expelled or had her reputation ruined or anything. Marinette was perfectly alright. 

Because even though Lila had claimed to have a lying disease, Principal Damocles had decided not to tell everybody why Marinette was reinstated, for ‘Lila’s safety’. What bullshit. So Marinette was still an outcast. She was still getting stared at and getting notes to kill herself and shit, but it was fine. Absolutely fine.

Marinette didn’t even notice the needle poking into her finger until Jagged was already in front of her, carefully removing it and applying pressure to the small cut. “Ah, you need to be more careful, Mari. You could get seriously hurt with these little trinkets. That’d so not be rock ‘n roll.”

“Yeah…” Marinette had a faraway look in her eyes as she nodded. Jagged’s eyes narrowed.

“What’s wrong, Marinette?”  She shrugged non-committedly. “Ah, ah, ah! None of that now! I want you to tell me what’s wrong, and then I’ll murder whoever needs to be murdered, ‘k, love?”

“No murdering,” Marinette said, looking away from Jagged to the bunched up fabric in her hands. “It’s nothing. There’s just… this girl, in my class.”

“Ah, a bully,” Jagged nodded. “Well, what’d she do?”

Marinette inspected her fingernails. “Got me expelled…” Marinette muttered.

“What?” Jagged demanded. “I’m sorry, Marinette, I think that old age is affecting my hearing. Did you just say she got you expelled?”

“I─” Marinette flinched. “Well, yes, but then she got me un-expelled!”

Jagged wasn’t impressed. “And was she bribed to get you ‘un-expelled’?”

Marinette frowned, tilting her head to the side. “I don’t actually know. I know Adrien said something to get her to do it, but I don’t know what…”

“Right…” Jagged looked down at Marinette. “Just out of curiosity, what else has she done?”

To be fair, when Marinette answered him, she had no idea what Jagged was planning, so you’re not allowed to blame her.

“Hey, Marinette,” Alya said, dropping into the seat beside her. She peered down at her best friend, who was examining a slip of paper. “What you got there?” she asked, trying to get a closer look, but Marinette shied away, hiding the paper in her notebook. Alya’s eyes narrowed. “Everything good?”

“Y-yeah! Why wouldn’t everything be fine?! Everything’s great! I’m great! You’re great─are you great?!” Marinette laughed nervously as she rambled on.

Alya levelled Marinette with a stare. “Girl, what’s wrong? You can’t lie to save your life. Spill.”

Marinette slumped back in her seat and crossed her arms. “I… I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Marinette─” 

“Leave it!” she exclaimed, standing abruptly. “I’m going to the bathroom. Excuse me.”

Alya stared at Marinette’s retreating form in confusion. “Have I done something wrong?” she wondered. 

Alya looked back at her desk and noticed Marinette hadn’t taken her notebook with her. Sure, it’d be an invasion of privacy, but this was also her best friend and Alya was worried.

When she opened it, three slips of paper fell out. The first two had been typed out, possibly to avoid detection through handwriting analysis.

‘Why dont you go kill youreslf whore’

Alya stared at the paper incredulously. Somebody had told Marinette to kill herself… what the fuck?! Alya was about five seconds away from murder.

‘Well, Marinette, it seems like I’ve won. All of your ‘friends’ bow down to me, and Adrien worships me! You should’ve thought twice before challenging me in front of everybody, bitch! Why don’t you just go and jump off the roof? It’d sure make everyone happier.’

There was only one person who Marinette had ever ‘challenged’. But… Lila hardly wrote this. It… was illogical. Lila was too kind to ever write something like this. It had to be somebody else.

But when Alya read the third message, fear solidified in her chest.

‘If you ever need help dealing with that Lila bully of yours, call me.

+33-655-532-293. It’s my private number.

-J.S..’

Alya spent a whole two minutes examining the notes, before quickly scribbling down the number and pushing the first two notes into her own journal. She’d like to dust them for fingerprints using her kit, too. It shouldn’t be too hard to convince Lila to let her take the prints. She was always so giving, so this must be a misunderstanding of some sort.

It had to be a misunderstanding.

Alya didn’t know what she’d do if it wasn’t.

Alya didn’t get around to calling the phone number until later that night. There was an akuma attack, so Alya had been too caught up in that to remember the number. She’d just started her literature homework when she caught sight of the number scribbled in the margin.

Alya inhaled, slowly dialing the number. She was a journalist, she could do this.

The phone was picked up on the third ring. “Hello?! Marinette? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” came the accented greeting.

“Um, Marinette is fine,” Alya started hesitantly. “Actually, I’m a friend of Marinette’s. I was hoping you could help me with something?”

“Help you with what?” the person asked.

“Has Marinette ever told you about a girl named Lila Rossi?” she asked. “And if so, what has she told you?”

The voice quickly told her a lot of second hand stories, each one making her angrier and angrier and angrier. Lila… had done all of that. That was… disgusting. Jesus. Fuck.

“That’s… I…” ‘Why didn’t I listen to her before?’ There was no way Marinette had made any of that up. She wasn’t capable of doing something like that. But that meant Lila was a liar… Alya decided to focus on the least scary topic. “I’m sorry, I never got your name. I’m Alya Césaire.”

“Jagged Stone.” Alya froze. Jagged Stone. The Jagged Stone. She’d been on the phone to the Jagged Stone and hadn’t even known.

“Holy shit!”

Jagged only laughed at her exclamation. “Haven’t heard that one before,” he said. There was a momentary pause. “You run the Ladyblog, don’t you?” 

“Y-yeah, I do!” Wait, if Jagged thought Lila was a liar… and had never met her… and only knew about her through Marinette… that meant Lila had never saved his cat… then she couldn’t have gotten tinnitus... then Lila really was a liar! Shit.

“Hm. I’ve been talking to a couple of my friends who Marinette tells me Lila’s lied about. We have a bit of a plan to stop her lies for good, but your website, the Ladyblog, could really help us out.”

Alya thought about Marinette. Marinette who always goes out of her way to help people. Marinette who gave but never expected anything in return. Marinette who was good.

“I’m listening.”

Two days later, Alya had a folder of evidence under her arm as she stalked towards Principal Domacles’ office. Lila had been all too eager to prove her fingerprint for Alya’s ‘experiment’ and after Alya had shown him a bunch of evidence, Max had agreed to hack into the school’s security cameras and found a bunch of videos showing Lila bullying Marinette. She wasn’t exactly subtle.

Alya would be posting the video on the Ladyblog at exactly eight thirty, so she had another forty minutes to deal with this, first.

She knocked on the door to his office, barely waiting for an invitation to come in before she pushed the door open, walking in. Mme. Mendeleiev and Mme. Bustier were also in the classroom.

“Oh, good. Witnesses. I like those.”

Mme. Bustier looked at Alya in shock. “Alya! What are you─”

Alya closed the door behind her, starting forwards and throwing the folder down onto Principal Damocles’ desk. Alya popped into a chair. “I suggest you read those. I don’t have all day.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Damocles asked. “Caline, control your student!”

“Yeah, you see, Caline isn’t very good at that. Neither are you.” Alya scoffed. “Bullying has been going on right under your noses and you don’t even realise it.”

“What’s Dupain-Cheng done this time?” Mendeleiev asked.

Alya crossed her arms. “ Marinette hasn’t done anything wrong. But Lila…”

“What?” Mme. Bustier asked. “Lila?”

“Open the fucking folder,” Alya instructed.

“Language,” Bustier chided as Principal Damocles opened the folder. 

“Oh my…”

Alya nodded. “‘Oh my’ indeed.”

Alya had been asked to leave so that the teachers could have an impromptu meeting. This was fine. In fact, it was just in time for Alya to upload the video. 

She hurried to the classroom, glad to see that everybody had gotten to school early, like she’d instructed. “What’s up, dudette?” Nino asked.

“One second,” Alya said, opening her laptop. She’d hooked it up to the projector the night before, so she only needed to turn it on. As it loaded, Alya turned back to everybody. “So, I bet you’re wondering why I called you all here today.”

“Yes, we are,” Chloé said, rolling her eyes as she filed her nails.

“I want you guys to watch this video that I just posted on the Ladyblog,” Alya said. “Everything will all make sense in a minute.” Alya looked at the laptop, nodding in satisfaction as it was ready to be played. “You guys may need a little background. See, it all started when…”

Horror built up in Marinette’s chest as Alya spoke. ‘Oh God. Oh fuck. Oh shit. She’s going to tell them about the notes and they’re going to laugh and then everybody will hate me and my life will be even worse than before!’

Eventually, Alya started the video. When she did, she hurried up the steps, standing beside Lila, as if she were guarding her. Marinette was more than surprised to see herself and Lila. Lila could be seen calmly walking down the stairs as Marinette spoke. Lila said something back before sitting on the floor and beginning to shout. Their voices couldn’t be heard, but that didn’t matter since they had all been there for this little scene.

Bold, white writing appeared on a black screen. 

‘Lila lied about knowing hundreds of celebrities. Clara Nightingale…’

Clara Nightingale could be seen dancing in her studio. She paused, looking at a camera.

“I don’t know any Lila Rossi! But from what I’ve heard, she seems kind of frosty!”

Marinette glanced back. Alya’s hand was on a struggling Lila’s shoulder, keeping her in place. 

‘XY…’

“Lila Rossi? Nah, don’t know her.”

‘Prince Ali…’

“Who? I’ve never heard of her. The only girl my age that I am friends with is Rose.”

Rose could be heard squealing, momentarily distracted from what the video meant.

The video went on to list and show more and more celebrities. Marinette didn’t know how she felt. Adrien moved subtly, taking Alya’s seat.

“Did you know about this?” he asked, staring at the video, where Stephen Beseilberg was sitting at his desk.

“No, I had no idea,” Marinette replied honestly. “I think Alya saw the notes─”

“Notes?!” Adrien asked abruptly. “Marinette, what notes?”

“Uhh…”

They were interrupted by Jagged Stone’s face appearing on the video. 

“I bet you’re wondering why the rockin’ Alya Césaire and I have made this video,” he said. “Well, my favourite designer and honorary niece, Marinette, told me that there was a liar and a bully in her class by the name of Lila Rossi in her class. Now, I couldn’t really do anything about Miss Rossi, but then one day, Miss Césaire called me, and told me about these two notes.” Images of the notes appeared on the screen. Marinette flinched, looking away. “Alya’s a budding journalist, I’m telling you. She fingerprinted the notes, and turns out they were both from Lila Rossi! Funny, isn’t that?”

Marinette jumped up. Of course she knew that one was from Lila, but the other one… she’d gotten those notes at the same time… did that mean Lila had sent her all of the notes?!

Jagged continued to talk, but once the video was over… eyes darted between her and Lila. 

“What the fuck?!” Kim demanded, breaking the silence.

“I… uh─” Lila wavered, looking at their expectant and angry faces. She opened her mouth to say something, probably to accuse Marinette of something, but then Principal Damocles’ voice was heard over the loudspeaker.

“Could Lila Rossi come to the Principal’s office? Could Lila Rossi please come to the Principal’s office?”

Alya clicked her tongue. “Yeah, I’m not sure if you know about this, Lila, but bullying is a serious offense.” Alya looked at their classmates. “Chloé, Kim could you accompany Lila there?”

“Why should I?” Chloé asked, barely looking up.

“Because Lila’s not going to trick you with her lies, now is she?”

Chloé considered this before huffing loudly and stomping up, grabbing Lila’s arm and dragging her out. Kim scrambled out after them.

The second she was out of the room, Alya was rushing forwards, engulfing Marinette in an embrace.

“Marinette! I am so─ so sorry for ever believing that witch! You don’t deserve that! I’m so sorry! Please believe me when I say that!”

“I─I believe you,” Marinette said, still staring at the screen in shock. “Y-you believe me?”

“Of course I believe you!” Alya exclaimed. “I can’t believe I didn’t before! It was all so obvious! God, I’m an idiot and I really hope that you can forgive me!”

“I do forgive you, Alya. Don’t worry about that.”

“G-good,” Alya said. She glared at the class. “And all of you! You better apologise to Marinette immediately!”

Let it be said, they apologised.

Lila was also expelled for bullying, so that was something, at least.

Marinette was definitely in a better emotional state than before. She now knew that Alya was a true friend who wouldn’t abandon her.

And her classmates all learned a valuable lesson that day.

Always believe Marinette Dupain-Cheng, because she’s usually right.

Usually. There was still that one time she thought the Dark Side actually had cookies so she’d signed up thinking, ‘oh, more for Tikki!’ and had dived into the Dark Web so Max had to rescue her accounts before she went too deep, but we don’t talk about that.

Chapter Text

Marinette was having a relatively good day. She had a full night of sleep for once, she got to school on time, had managed to have an actual conversation with Adrien and Lila wasn’t in school! Really, nothing could ruin her day.

Until, lo and behold, Lila decided that she could.

It all started when Alya let out a loud shriek. Marinette and Adrien jumped up, searching the classroom and windows for an akuma. But Alya was focused intently on her phone.

“Alya?” Mlle. Bustier questioned, frowning at her student and the mess she’d made. Mlle. Bustier dropped the stack of papers she was holding when Alya had let out an unholy sound. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I─I─” Alya flinched. She held up her tablet. “I...I─somebody posted something on the Ladyblog… it’s… you should put it on the board.”

“What?” Mlle. Bustier asked, but she complied, nevertheless. “What’s so important about this vid─ is that Lila?!” Marinette’s neck snapped up. The video’s thumbnail displayed Lila trapped on a chair, bound and gagged. A man wearing a balaclava could be seen behind her, the knife in his hand pressed up against her neck. The background was a plain grey, but you could vaguely make out water in the left corner.

“HOLY SHIT!” Alix shouted. “Lila’s been kidnapped!”

“Oh my god!”

“No way!”

“We have to save her!”

“Poor Lila!”

“Maybe it’s a film!” Max suggested anxiously. “She said she wants to be an actress, right?”

Marinette swallowed. She really didn’t like Lila, but she didn’t want her to get hurt! “Play the video,” Marinette breathed. “Hopefully it is just a film, but…”

“But…?” Alya asked, looking between Lila’s terrified face on the screen and Marinette.

‘But Lila might’ve said something she shouldn’t have…’ Marinette bit her lip, watching as the video buffered. “Pray that I’m wrong,” Marinette told her, crossing her arms.

“Why?” Adrien turned around. His eyebrows creased in confusion. Adrien suddenly gasped as he realised what Marinette was thinking. His eyes widened. “You don’t think…”

“I do think,” Marinette said.

“Care to fill in the rest of the class?” Nino asked, anxiously looking between them. They were saved the chance to answer them as the video finally played.

“LADYBUG!” The man behind Lila’s voice rang out. “We have your best friend. If you want her back, then you’ll do exactly as I say!” Marinette cursed softly. She doubted Hawkmoth was behind this. He could’ve kidnapped Lila with one of his many akumas, or when she herself was akumatized. “Bring us your Miraculous and we will let her go! You have until sundown! Come alone. You know where to find us.” She didn’t. Marinette had no clue where to find them. She didn’t know who these men were or why they wanted her Miraculous, but she had to figure it out quickly, or else Lila was dead. “I’ll let your friend say hi.”

The man drew his blade over Lila’s face, stopping at her mouth. He grasped at the gag, toying with the edge before pulling it down. “PLEASE! I told you, I don’t know Ladybug! She’s not my best friend! I lied! Please! You have to let me go!”

He chuckled darkly. “No use telling lies, Rossi. We already know the truth. Ladybug will come for you. You’re her best friend, after all.” He looked back towards the camera, grabbing Lila’s neck in his meaty hand and tilting it backwards. “Clock’s ticking, Ladybug. You might wanna get a move on.” And the video ended. Marinette stared blankly at the screen. What would she do? She had to save Lila, but how?

“I─I have to go and speak with Principal Damocles,” Mlle. Bustier excused herself.

“Oh my god!” Rose sobbed. “Poor Lila! We have to do something?”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Kim pointed out. “Only Ladybug can save Lila.”

“Yeah, because she’s her best friend,” Chloé snorted. Marinette exchanged a look with Adrien. She jumped up, heading for Mlle. Bustier’s laptop and turning off the projector..

“No, she’s not,” Marinette said, entering Alya’s profile on the Ladybug and quickly searching for Lila’s interview.

“Marinette! Now is not the time to allow your jealousy over Lila to get in the way!” Alya exclaimed, tone rising scandalously. 

“It’s not,” Marinette said, clicking through the video and plugging in her headphones. Marinette didn’t want them to know what she was doing. She found the correct time stamp eventually.

“Ladybug and I are always hanging around at the Statue of Liberty,” Lila was saying.

“How?” Alya asked. “I mean, that’s in America!”

“Not that Statue of Liberty, silly! I mean on the Seine! You know, Île aux Cygnes?” 

Marinette nodded. That was it. Marinette had recognised the Seine in the background of the video, despite how little you could actually see of it. She’d been yoyo-ing over the Seine for so long that she could recognise it from just the small bit shown. 

“Somebody has to call Ladybug!” Mylène exclaimed. “Maybe she hasn’t seen it yet! Lila could be in so much trouble!”

“Ladybug’s not gonna show up,” Marinette said, her plan formulating as she rose, taking out her earphones. “You guys may not believe me when I say that Lila’s lying, but that doesn’t change the fact that Lila will die because of it.”

Ladybug couldn’t show up. These people had probably accommodated for Ladybug, and maybe Chat Noir, too. They hardly expected her to go down without a fight. It might put Lila in more danger to show up as Ladybug.

Marinette reached under her desk, grabbing her bag. “Marinette, c’mon! It’s Ladybug! Of course she’ll show up! Even if Lila’s lying!” Kim pointed out. “But she’s not lying, so you have nothing to be worried about.”

“Have some faith in Ladybug, Mari,” Alya said. “She’ll save Lila. They’re best friends.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to speak, but Adrien beat her to it. “No, they’re not,” he said. People made to argue but Adrien spoke quickly. “In fact, I think Ladybug downright hates Lila.”

“Why would you think that?” Max frowned curiously as Marinette winced. She knew what Adrien was referencing.

“It’s not important,” Adrien quickly said. “But Kim’s right. Ladybug will still try to save her.” 

“So Lila’s going to be okay?” Rose asked.

Their classmates rushed to assure Rose that yes, Lila would be okay. Marinette grabbed her phone, quickly typing up ‘statue of liberty paris’. The landmark was open. Strange… how were they holding Lila there, then? They could hardly be holding the other tourists hostage, could they? It’d certainly stop Ladybug from fighting the men...

“Who are these people?” Alya wondered, staring at her phone screen with thinly veiled disgust. “Is this guy an akuma or something?”

“Probably,” Nino said. “But what is his power?”

“I don’t believe he is an akuma,” Max said, drawing their attention.

“Course he’s an akuma,” Sabrina scoffed. “Why else would they want Ladybug’s Miraculous?”

“There could be a few reasons,” Marinette said. “Hawkmoth might’ve hired them, or they may be working independently. A Miraculous is pretty valuable, not to mention powerful. They could want to sell it, or use it for themselves.”

“You’ve thought about this a lot,” Adrien observed. Marinette shrugged, forcing back a blush. She looked down at her phone. Nine hours until sundown. Marinette didn’t want to go immediately. She wanted them to let their guards down, and she could do some reconnaissance, too. 

“If Hawkmoth hired them, wouldn’t he akumatize them, in case?” Nino asked.

“That might mess up their mission,” Max pointed out. “The akuma could go rogue and completely diverge the operation.” And besides, Marinette didn’t think Hawkmoth was behind this. He’d been in Lila’s head. He knew how much Lila hated Ladybug. And Hawkmoth probably would have asked for all of the Miraculouses, since she was the Guardian. 

Marinette glanced at the door. From her position at Mlle. Bustier’s desk, she was closest to it, but it was likely that Adrien or Nino would notice her walking out of the classroom. 

“They hardly expect Ladybug to just give them her Miraculous,” Adrien said, frowning. “And there’s no way that Ladybug won’t ask Chat Noir to help…” Adrien’s eyes widened. “They know this.” Marinette smirked faintly. She wondered how Adrien realised that.

“What?” Alya questioned. “B-but they said─”

“Of course they said that,” Marinette scoffed. “But they hardly expect Ladybug to comply. No matter what way you look at it, it’s a trap.”

Alya gasped. “We have to warn Ladybug!”

“I’m sure she knows,” Adrien said. “Ladybug’s smarter than that.” Marinette turned around to hide her blush. 

“Is there any way for us to help save Lila?” Mylène asked. “Or Ladybug, maybe?”

“Doubt it,” Nino said, looking bitterly at his bare wrist.

“We don’t need to be superheroes to save Lila! She’s our friend!” Alya exclaimed, though she was also clutching at her shirt absently. Marinette winced. She couldn’t give any of her friends a Miraculous again after Miracle Queen. Hawkmoth knew their identities, so it’d be too easy for him to akumatize one of them. 

Marinette inched towards the door as Max pointed out the probability of them helping her. Kim argued back, only for Chloé to make a sarcastic comment back and suddenly all of the known Miraculous holders of their classroom were arguing, drawing everyone’s attention. The second she thought nobody was looking, Marinette darted out of the classroom, sprinting down the halls and out of the school. The bakery was just down the road from the school, so Marinette quickly reached her house, scaling a building to her left and hopping onto her balcony. She didn’t want her parents to know she was skipping. 

“Hey, Tikki,” Marinette said, opening her purse. “You hear all of that?” She opened the trap door, dropping inside. 

“Yeah, I did,” Tikki frowned, sitting on a bookcase as Marinette pulled out the Miracle box. She pulled out the Mouse and Fox Miraculouses. “I feel bad for Lila, but I also don’t like her. Is that normal?”

“Completely,” Marinette said. She put the Miraculouses on, waving at Mullo and Trixx. 

“Hey, Marinette! What’s up? Is there an akuma?! A new big bad?! Food?!” Trixx excitedly exclaimed. Marinette tried not to grin, shaking her head with a laugh. Mullo squeaked a laugh as Trixx pealed about. 

Marinette shook her head, opening her purse with a pointed look. Trixx grumbled loudly, but entered the purse obediently regardless. Mullo and Tikki followed. Marinette looked at her purse, only to notice that she didn’t have enough food to satisfy the three. Marinette groaned, opening her door and quickly sneaking downstairs. Fortunately, her parents were still down in the bakery. Marinette left the house through the front door, as neither of her parents would notice her. 

Marinette made it three steps outside when she noticed somebody watching her. Marinette froze, looking back to see Chat Noir watching her suspiciously.

“C-Chat! What a coincidence seeing you here! ...why are you here?”

He frowned down at her, lazily leaning back. “Well, you see, I was just passing through the area when I happened to look through your window, and I noticed something suspicious.”

“Really?” Marinette asked nervously. “Are you sure it was my room?”

Chat ignored the weak deflection. “Why were three kwamis in your room, Princess?”

“Kwamis? What’s a kwami? I had dolls in my room, but no kwamis!”

Chat looked at her blankly. “Princess, I’m not an idiot.”

Marinette deflated, quickly thinking of a lie. “Look, um, I’m not sure if you know, but Ladybug’s out of town at the moment.”

“What?” Chat asked, frowning down at her.

“Y-y-yeah! She asked me to take care of any problems while she was gone, so she gave me a couple Miraculouses.”

“A couple?” Chat asked, peering at her. He examined the Mouse and Fox Miraculous, but frowned as he looked at the rest of her. “Where’s the third one?”

“T-the third one?” Marinette repeated.

“Yeah, I saw three kwamis,” Chat said.

“How could you even see that?” 

“I have lovely vision,” Chat cheekily said. “And stop deflecting.”

Marinette started walking past him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t,” Chat said. “So you know where they’re keeping Lila.”

“Yeah, I do,” Marinette said. “But you’re not going to help me.”

“What? Why?”

Marinette tried to dodge Chat’s hand, but his hand closed around her upper bicep. Marinette sighed. “I need you to stay away from all this.”

“What?” Chat frowned.

Marinette sighed. “Neither Ladybug or Chat Noir can show up, or else this’ll only happen again. I’m not even sure that I’ll be using any of the Miraculouses for help.”

Chat choked on his words. Marinette pulled her arm from his grip. “E-excuse me?!” 

“It might not be necessary,” she shrugged. “Don’t worry, Chat. I’ll be fine. Lila will be back by the end of the day.”

“It’s not going to be easy,” Chat warned.

“Nothing’s ever easy when Lila’s involved.”

Chat’s eyes narrowed at her. “Why do I get the feeling you don’t like this ‘Lila’?”

“Because I don’t,” Marinette said simply. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll leave her with those people, either. Nobody deserves to be kidnapped.”

Chat smiled bitterly. “Even Lila?” he asked, as if he was checking.

“Even Lila,” Marinette confirmed. ‘No matter how much I hate her.’

So it was neither easy or simple. Honestly, it was entirely Lila’s fault that things went wrong.

Things started off so great, too! Marinette had worn the Mouse Miraculous, becoming small and scouting out the area. She had found the growing group of hostages (this was seriously so unorganised. Literally every time a person wandered too close for comfort, two men wearing balaclavas with weapons would walk over to them, threaten them and lead them back to the group. If somebody decided to risk it and scream, their whole operation would be ruined) and where they were keeping Lila. 

Multifox had used her flute, an illusion of two guards walking over to the man in charge of the hostages. “They said to release the hostages.”

“Wha’?” The man asked. “Wha’ are you goin’ on about? I’m under strict orders to keep ‘em ‘ere!”

“Hey, don’t blame me, man! Apparently they caught the bug trying to save her friend.”

“So we got it? The Miraculous?” Another guard butted in.

“Yeah, we got it. The boss ordered us to return to base, but leave the hostages tied up. Somebody will come for them eventually.”

“Right,” the man nodded. “Ah, this is great! We’re gonna be rich!”

“Shut your trap!” the man in charge barked. He turned back to his men, giving his men the order to retreat. One of the Multimice followed after them. 

Simultaneously, Marinette examined Lila’s situation. She narrowed her eyes at the two guards, considering the timer on her Miraculous. It’d be best to deal with this as Marinette, because if any superhero was spotted, things could go wrong.

The Multimouse that had followed the retreating group to their base quickly memorised the address. She examined the illegal guns in the room. ‘How did they even get those? They’re illegal!’  

Maybe a superhero could deal with these. But not yet. She quickly hurried back to where Lila was being held, transforming back into her normal self. From there, Marinette removed the Miraculouses and dropped them in her purse, just in case, stashing them away in a bush. Marinette opened the clasp, letting Tikki out and ordering her to find Chat if anything went wrong.

From there, Marinette considered the guards. If she took down the guard nearest to her, then it was pretty likely that Marinette would be hammered with bullets. No, it’d be best to take the woman on her far right down from behind. Only Lila would notice that, and considering the gag in her mouth, there was no chance of Marinette being found out.

So she took down the first one, and from there she easily took down the second. The third belatedly noticed her, so Marinette took him down, as well. 

Finally, Marinette reached Lila, pulling the gag from her mouth and quickly working on her bonds. “What are you doing here?” Lila hissed.

“I used common sense and realised that since you’re not Ladybug’s best friend, that nobody would be coming to save you. My options were either this or you die.”

Lila scowled. “No, they really weren’t.” Before Marinette could react, Lila’s hand shot out, the punch knocking her backwards. “You’re all useless!” she shouted, standing up and crouching in front of Marinette. “Did you really think that I was kidnapped, Marinette?” Lila scoffed. “Please. We both know who’s really behind this.”

Marinette tried not to gape at her. “Hawkmoth knows you’re not Ladybug’s best friend. He wouldn’t risk her not showing up.”

“I found a higher bidder,” Lila shrugged. She smirked down at her. “He allows much more freedom. And it doesn’t matter whether I’m Ladybug’s best friend. She’d save me anyways. Look at Chloé. Everybody hates her, but Ladybug saves her anyway!” Lila sneered. “She is disgustingly nice.”

“You really think that Ladybug will try to save you?” Marinette asked, clenching her fists. ‘I should’ve known,’ she thought. Of course Lila would do something like this.

“Yes,” Lila answered. “After all, I’m just an innocent Collége student. Imagine how the public would react if she didn’t show up.”

“I’m sure they’d understand,” Marinette scoffed, pushing Lila away from her. 

Lila reached into her waistband, pulling a gun out from behind her. “I wouldn’t try something, if I were you.”

“Planning to shoot me?” Marinette asked, subtly reaching behind her and taking out her phone. You know what the good thing about helping your best friend run a famous blog is? You’re usually signed into the Moderators account when you’re on the website. It isn’t that hard to start livestreaming from there. “How would you spin that story?”

Lila waved the gun around thoughtlessly. Marinette was well aware that she could’ve kicked it out of Lila’s grasp. Marinette set her phone on the barrel behind her, leaning it against the tap sticking out of it. Marinette was curious about what the barrel contained.

“I could say that you were actually the mastermind behind my kidnapping,” Lila pondered. “But that’s just tasteless. Where would you get the connections to have someone like me kidnapped?”

“Yes, because your fictional life is so amazing that nobody would ever kidnap you,” Marinette scoffed drily. “Still, I can’t believe that you’re working with terrorists now, Lila. I had my suspicions that you and Hawkmoth were involved, but this… really? You’re pathetic.”

“I don’t think I’m particularly pathetic,” Lila said. “After all, who is it that your classmates believe? Oh right. Huh.” Lila examined Marinette thoughtfully. “Maybe I’ll just let you go. After all, they’d never believe you over poor, honest, innocent Lila. But…” Lila cocked the gun. “I really hate your guts.”

Marinette dodged the bullet, staring at Lila incredulously. She hadn’t expected Lila to really attack her. Well… the stakes were just raised.

If anyone asked, Marinette was simply defending herself. After all, Lila had shot first.

“Guys!” Alya exclaimed. “My account on the Ladyblog just went live, but I’m not recording.”

“Put it on!” Kim ordered. Alya quickly complied. Adrien peered at the video in concern. That was… he could only see her back, but he was pretty sure that was Marinette. He could see Lila standing across from her, wildly waving a gun around.

“Oh my god!” Rose exclaimed. Marinette moved to the side, her face becoming visible. Lila moved to her left, standing directly across from her.

“What the fuck?!” Chloé demanded. “Is that a gun?!”

“It can’t be a real one,” Alya nervously said. “I mean, Lila’s been kidnapped!”

“How would you spin that story?” Marinette said in the video. Adrien examined the surroundings. There appeared to be wooden barrels lining the right side of the area. It was completely open, but the sun couldn’t be seen from the camera’s position. Adrien could also make out three people, a woman and two men, lying on the floor, unconscious.

“What are they talking about?” Ivan asked.

“I could say that you were actually the mastermind behind my kidnapping,” Lila pondered. Adrien frowned. Did she… had Lila really been kidnapped? “But that’s just tasteless. Where would you get the connections to have someone like me kidnapped?”

“Yes, because your fictional life is so amazing that nobody would ever kidnap you,” Marinette scoffed drily. He looked at Marinette sharply. Was she insane?! Lila was clearly holding a gun! Then again, Adrien would be a hypocrite if he judged Marinette for that. “Still, I can’t believe that you’re working with terrorists now, Lila. I had my suspicions that you and Hawkmoth were involved, but this… really? You’re pathetic.”

“What?!” Alya exclaimed. “Did she just say─”

“I think that they might be filming a movie,” Mylène meekly said. “I mean, there’s no way…”

“Notice that she said fictional,” Max observed. “There’s a chance… but… that’s impossible…” Max bit his thumb, looking at the monitor with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t think I’m particularly pathetic,” Lila said. “After all, who is it that your classmates believe? Oh right. Huh.” 

“What does she mean by that?” Nathaniel asked, with a frown.

“I think it’s obvious,” Adrien breathed, nails digging into his palms.

“No, no, no! It’s not!” Rose breathed quickly. Juleka reached out to her, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend.

They watched as Lila smirked back at Marinette. “Maybe I’ll just let you go. After all, they’d never believe you over poor, honest, innocent Lila. But…” Lila cocked the gun. “I really hate your guts.”

It felt like the world around him stopped moving as that bullet fired towards Marinette. Adrien distantly heard himself shouting out, his voice intermingling with his outraged friends’. Adrien stood up quickly, and he was about to sprint out of the classroom but then Marinette dodged the incoming onslaught.

There was a moment of silence as Marinette stared back at Lila.

“You did not just try to shoot me.” Marinette’s voice shook.

Lila smirked. “Too bad I missed.”

She raised the gun, about to fire it again when a new person entered the room. “What is going on─” Adrien recognised his voice as the man that had given the ransom beforehand. “Lila! What is the meaning of this?! Who is this girl?!”

“Just a classmate of mine,” Lila shrugged, aiming the gun again.

He marched over to Lila. “Give me that!” He snapped. Adrien relaxed for only a second before tensing once more. The man had pulled the safety off of the gun. “I thought you said you knew how to use a gun! If you shot her, she’d probably be fine! And you can’t even aim, either!”

Adrien looked at Marinette. She was backing away from the two, using their distractions as an opportunity to escape. Marinette had just made it to the door when the man looked up.

“Hey!” Adrien blinked, a gunshot echoing in his ears and suddenly Marinette was on the floor, clutching at her leg in pain. “You aren’t going anywhere, bitch.”

Marinette hissed. “Fuck… fuck you!”

“Feisty,” the man chuckled. “I like it.” He looked back at Lila. “Hey, get your phone! You’re clearly not interesting enough for those superheroes to come and save. Maybe they’ll come for this bitch instead.”

Adrien didn’t stick around to hear anymore. His classmates shouts in the background filled his ears as Adrien sprinted from the classroom.

He made it to the locker room when a small black and red kwami appeared in front of him.

“Sugarcube!” Plagg exclaimed. “What are you doing here?!”

Tikki ignored her counterpart, instead focusing on Adrien. “Chat Noir! Marinette is in trouble! You have to go help her!”

“Where is she?” Adrien demanded, calling out Plagg’s transformation phrase.

“Île aux Cygnes! You have to hurry! She’s hurt!”

And so Adrien hurried. When he reached the island, Adrien was surprised at the lack of guards. 

Chat sprinted around the island, finally spotting the barrels that had been seen in the livestream. Chat leapt over them, not even bothering with subtlety. 

Adrien blinked and he was met with a sight.

A truly astonishing sight.

These lackeys did not know how to tie rope. Really. Marinette could easily move her arms. But the minor detail of a bullet in her leg was keeping her immobile.

“I’ve always wanted to see you like this,” Lila smirked down at her. “D’you think Ladybug will come for you?”

Marinette didn’t answer her. There’d be no point. Lila would only find it amusing. Pleading was pointless. The only thing Marinette could do was stew in silence.

Lila groaned loudly. “You’re so boring! You decide to shut up when I win! How typical!”

“Lila!” the man called. “Stop badgering the hostage.”

Lila pouted, turning around and standing in front of Marinette. Her eyes latched on the gun sticking out of Lila’s waistband. Marinette subtly began working on the rope.

“But Jo─ohn! I’ve hated her for ages! I can’t not torture her now that I finally have her all tied up!”

‘John? That’s a start.’

“Correction, I have her tied up. This is my base. You’re just a rather useless contractee.”

“What?! I’m going to get Ladybug for you! And─” Marinette was well aware that Lila was smirking. “Hm, maybe you’ll let me keep this bitch─” Lila kicked backwards, hitting the bullet wound. Marinette gasped, her eyes watering. “─too.”

John frowned, turning away from them. “Sure, if I get Ladybug’s Miraculous, then you can have the hostage.”

Lila smirked. “Lovely.”

The sound of a gun clicking drew their attention. “Yes. Lovely.” Marinette dug the gun into the small of Lila’s back. Lila tensed and John reached for the gun at his side, but Marinette was faster. Her arm whipped out, hand steady as she aimed the gun. Lila moved to get away from her, but Marinette reached up, grasping her dull brown hair and sharply tugging it backwards.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you, John.”

John laughed. “What are you gonna do? Shoot me?”

Marinette pulled off the safety. 

“Yes.”

It’s like an eye for an eye. But in actuality, it was a ‘you-shoot-my-leg-I-shoot-your-leg’ kind of thing. 

John fell to the ground, clutching at his shin. Marinette pushed Lila away from her, hitting her over the head with the gun before limping over to John and taking his gun away from him. Marinette withdrew behind two barrels as she heard two of John’s men amble inside.

Marinette waited until one of them was in her line of sight before firing the gun into the man’s hand. He dropped his gun in shock and pain, staring around in bewilderment. 

“What the─” the second guard looked around.

John gasped in pain as he stood. “Over─over there! Get the bitch!”

Marinette went to move, but she froze when she caught sight of a certain partner of her’s leaping over the barrels surrounding her. Marinette watched as Chat froze, quickly taking in the situation. John and his lackeys stared at Chat in bewilderment.

Finally, Chat cracked a grin. “I’m pretty sure it’s written somewhere that you shouldn’t point a gun at a princess.”

With that said, he sprinted at them.

Marinette closed her eyes, leaning against the barrels tiredly. 

It felt like no time at all had passed when she felt a strange material on her face. Marinette blinked awake.

“Chat?” she asked tiredly.

“Hey, Princess,” Chat said. He smiled slightly. “Thought you said you got this in the bag.”

“I’m fine,” Marinette said, trying to stand. Chat gently pushed her back.

“Stay down for now. You have a bullet in your leg.”

“Oh, really?” Marinette winced. “I never knew.”

“Course.” Chat frowned. “I think we need to put pressure on this. Can I take off your cardigan?” Marinette didn’t answer, shrugging it off for him. Chat looked at Marinette worriedly. “This is going to sting.”

“It’s fi─ ine.” Marinette hissed in pain, sending him a murderous glare.

Chat cracked a grin. “Think of this as a lesson, Princess. Never go somewhere without backup.”

Marinette smiled slightly. “I had backup.”

“Hm.” Chat made a noncommittal sound, looking around absently. “Hey, where’d you learn to fire a gun, anyways?”

“Trade secret,” Marinette answered. She glanced down, instantly tensing as she caught sight of the single pad on his Miraculous.

“Chat, your ring!”

He looked down. “I can’t just leave you here, Princess.”

“I’m fine,” Marinette insisted. “Hurry. Go. I’m pretty sure my phone is still live-streaming.”

“I─” Chat gulped. “Fine.” He quirked a grin. “See you later, Princess.”

Marinette smiled. “See you later, Chaton.”

“I─”

“Holy shit!”

“Marinette is a badass!”

“That was awesome!”

“No, it was terrifying!”

“Holy shit! Guys! Lila!”

“Fuck her!”

“That stupid fucking bitch! I can’t believe she did that!”

“Marinette must be so mad at us!”

“D’you think Marinette will be okay?”

“Is nobody gonna talk about how neither of them noticed Marinette getting up?”

“That was pretty funny.”

“Funny?! I nearly had a heart attack!”

“Remind me not to mess with Mari.”

“Hey, does anyone wanna help me plan a murder?”

“Uh, yes.”

“If we’re talking about Lila, that duh.”

“I totally knew Lila was evil. I can’t believe you losers were too dumb to get it─ oh wait. I can."

“SHUT UP CHLOÉ!”

A little lesson here, when you work with terrorists, the government is very likely to ignore your diplomatic immunity. Lila didn’t realise this, but they ignored her pleas and cries, and so Lila was prosecuted and received an appropriate sentence.

(It would later be revealed that Hawkmoth had adamantly refused to akumatize Lila Rossi.)

John somehow escaped custody, but he was returned black and blue three days later with a bright red bow and a letter signed with a paw print.

The class tried to bake a get-well cake for Marinette, but when that failed, they all began to make Marinette presents using their respective talents.

But honestly, Adrien should’ve been more subtle. A Chat Noir hoodie, really?

It was easy to figure out when she caught sight of the ‘Get Well Soon, Princess’ embroidered in the hem. Later on, Adrien would arrive and insist he’d given her the wrong present. By then, though, it was too late.

Ladybug had a lot of fun berating Chat Noir that night.

Marinette became a worldwide sensation overnight, and try as she might to make the attention go away, people just began following her around. Marinette found herself out hiding with Adrien more often than not.

One good thing that came out of this, though, was that nobody ever tried to kidnap Marinette. They all knew better.

Chapter Text

When you’re famous, there will always be rumours swirling about you dating this person or that. And you know, it’s pretty strange, but you get used to it.

But when Lila Rossi, the living embodiment of a tabloid claims that she is dating you, you’re bound to be a bit annoyed.

To be honest, Adrien was more than a bit annoyed.

It’s the fact that everybody believed Lila. That they didn’t doubt the fake hickeys on her neck or the grating giggles she let out. 

Adrien suddenly understood why Marinette hated the liar so much.

Lila’s final lie was spoken on a day, much like today, which was only yesterday, and it wasn’t even technically her last lie because Adrien had also heard her claim that she was actually Elvis Presley’s sister’s husband’s cousin’s stepson’s dog’s brother’s owner’s second cousin-in-law.

But let's not dwell on those minor details.

“Lila, where have you been?” he heard Alya hiss behind him as Lila walked in after him. Adrien thought that the answer was fairly obvious. After all, he had seen Lila lingering outside the classroom door determinedly. 

“What do you think she’ll say this time?” Marinette questioned behind him as they trudged up to the back row of the classroom. After they had started dating, they had convinced Mlle. Bustier to let them sit together. Of course, they’d given her a bullshit reason, but she believed it because of course she did. Adrien hadn’t really wanted to move away from Nino, but this at least gave them some freedom from Lila.

“Hm, Tinnitus?”

“Too obvious,” Marinette frowned. She perked up suddenly, her eyes sparkling with mirth. Adrien almost missed what she’d said─hey, when somebody looked this beautiful, you can’t just ignore it. “Look at how she’s holding her neck. Maybe she got attacked by a rabid dog and now has some incredibly rare disease.”

Adrien snickered. “Maybe it was a vampire.” Marinette grinned, leaning her head against his shoulder.

A loud squawk from Alya caught their attention. “Girl! Is that a hickey?!”

Lila flushed red, shifting her hair to hide it from view. “N-no!” Adrien didn’t miss the embarrassed look she sent him. He shifted uncomfortably, grabbing Marinette’s hand under the desk.

Alya laughed. “That is definitely a hickey! What have you been up to, girl?”

“N-nothing!” By now, the two had attracted the attention of the entire class. 

“I don’t think that’s nothing,” Rose giggled, grinning at Lila. 

“Who is it?” Alya interrogated. “Is it somebody we know─” Lila averted her gaze. Alya gasped in delight. “So it is! Who?!” Alya cast a suspicious look around the classroom. Adrien could see who Alya was writing off. The obvious ones went first, Nino, Ivan, Nathaniel and Max. Alya narrowed her eyes at Kim for a moment before shaking her head and looking at the back row. “Oh my God! Girl! You and Adrien?!”

“What?” Chloé looked up.

“What?” Adrien winced as Marinette’s grip on his hand tightened.

“WHAT?!” By far, Adrien was the most shocked. He never would’ve thought Lila would try… this! 

“Alya!” Lila hissed. “It was a secret for a reason!” 

“Why?” Rose’s head tilted in confusion.

“Let me guess,” Alix leaned back in her chair. “Adrien’s dad being awkward again.”

“Y-yeah,” Lila blushed, fidgeting with her dull, brown hair. “H-he didn’t want us to tell anyone in case it got to the press. They’re… very persistent.”

“Bro,” Nino looked at Adrien. “Why didn’t you tell me, though? I’m your bro!”

Adrien sighed. “I’m not dating Lila.”

Panic swept through Lila’s face for a millisecond, but she quickly put on a simpering smile. “It’s okay, Adrikins. They already know. There’s no point lying to them.”

“But I’m not─”

“Anyways,” Lila interrupted him. Nino looked suspiciously at Lila, but Lila’s eyes were focused on the person sitting beside Adrien. “Marinette, I really hope you aren’t mad. I know that you─”

Marinette didn’t even look angry. Her expression was icy. Adrien had to suppress a shiver as Marinette leaned forwards, smiling sweetly. “Why would I be mad, Lila? After all, I’m used to this.”

“This?” Alya frowned at her dangerously.

“You know, Lila coming up with something outlandish, you guys believing her, not even bothering to consider the fact that she mightn’t be telling the truth… you know, normal stuff.”

“‘Normal stuff’?” Alya repeated. She scoffed loudly. “Girl, I get that you’re jealous of Lila, but─”

“Look, Alya.” Marinette leaned back, crossing her arms. “There’s no point having this argument because you’re going to refuse to listen to me, get angry at me when I present evidence to you, demand more evidence, and like a hypocrite, tell me that I should check my sources. Even though you’ve never checked your own. So we’re not having this conversation.”

The entire class was speechless as Marinette glared at them. Adrien grinned, leaning down to whisper into her ear, “I’m proud of you, M’Lady.”

Marinette didn’t have a chance to reply as Lila let out a loud cry. “Really, Marinette?! First you call me a liar and now you’re trying to steal my boyfriend! I─I can’t believe you! I thought you were my friend!”

Marinette blinked at Lila. Adrien tried to suppress his laughter, he really, really did. “Since when?” he asked. 

“Adrien!” Alya jumped up. “She’s your girlfriend! You’re meant to be on her side!”

Adrien stared back at her. “I am on my girlfriend’s side.”

“Doesn’t seem like it,” Alya grumbled, lowering herself back into her seat.

“I think it’s fairly obvious,” Adrien said, squeezing Marinette’s hand under the table. He heard a soft gasp and looked across the row at Nathaniel. He grinned, shaking his head at the redhead. Nathaniel’s eyes were wide as he looked between them and Lila. He never said anything, though.

No further argument could be made as Mlle. Bustier finally arrived. 

Marinette turned to him. “We have to do something about this.”

“You know if we tell them we’re dating, Lila will just spin things to make you look bad.”

Marinette smirked. “So we spin things to make Lila look worse.”

Adrien leaned forwards, grinning. “I’m listening.”

When Marinette and Adrien walked into class hand in hand, only a couple of people noticed. Rose looked between them and Lila in confusion, Nathaniel ducked his head as he laughed and Nino gaped at Adrien. When Adrien kissed Marinette’s cheek, Alix frowned and Kim let out a strange noise, loud enough to draw the attention of the rest of the class. 

“Oh my God!” Alya looked at them in disgust. “What the hell?! Adrien! You’re dating Lila!” 

“Is that so?” Adrien asked, feigning interest. “That’s funny, because I don’t remember ever asking her out.”

Lila was quick to summon crocodile tears. She sobbed into Alya’s shoulder. “I─I can’t believe you’d cheat on me!”

“Not cool, bro,” Kim said. 

“Didn’t know you were like this, Agreste,” Alix frowned.

“I─” Nino crossed his arms, looking between them. It was clear that he didn’t know who to believe.

“Cheating isn’t cool,” Juleka muttered.

“It’s not Adrien’s fault,” Lila said.

“Here it comes,” Marinette tried not to grin.

“M-Marinette probably manipulated him into cheating on me.”

“Marinette!”

“Girl! What the fuck?!”

“That’s low, Marinette!”

“I can’t believe you!”

“That’s just wrong, Marinette.”

Nino frowned in confusion. Adrien could see that he definitely doubted things now. After all, he’d known Marinette for years. He knew she would never do something like this. Even Kim and Chloé, who’d know them the longest, didn’t seem to buy that.

Alya stood up. “I thought better of you, Marinette. I know that you’ve had a crush on Adrien for ages, but that’s just wrong.”

Marinette tilted her head. She looked at Adrien. “You wanna handle this, or will I?”

“I want to,” Adrien said. He cleared his throat, frowning at the class. “I said yesterday that Lila and I aren’t dating. What’s so hard to believe about that?”

“Lila wouldn’t lie!”

“She wouldn’t?” Adrien asked, leaning against Mlle. Bustier’s desk and putting his hands in his pockets. “Did I not tell you guys the story of how Lila lied her way into my house, forcefully kissed me, took a picture of it and sent it to every girl in my contact list? It even caused my friend to get akumatized.”

“I─I─you’re lying!” Alya exclaimed.

“Why would I lie?”

“Because you’re cheating on Lila with Marinette!”

Adrien sighed, looking at Marinette. “Who do you think is holding the class’s collective brain cell right now?”

“Hmm… Nino.”

“Alright, Nino. Tell me if this makes sense. Person A tells a group of people that she is dating Person B. Person B says that they are not dating and says that he is standing at his girlfriend’s side. Person B is standing at Person C’s side. Person C has had a track record of claiming Person A is a liar. Person B is also dating Person C. Is there no chance of Person B and C telling the truth?”

“I… oh.” Nino stared at them in shock. “How much has… Person A lied about?”

Marinette smiled. “Oh, you know, the usual. That a napkin could gouge out a person’s eye, that she’s somehow related to a thousand celebrities, despite the timelines not matching up, that she’s also met a thousand other celebrities, despite the timelines also not matching up. That she’s saved a celebrity’s cat despite the fact that the celebrity never owned a cat. Despite the fact that the celebrity owns a crocodile. She’s also lied about having hundreds of disabilities, and if she actually had all of them, there’s a high chance that she’d be dead right now.”

“I…” Nino looked at them in shock. “Oh.”

“What?” Alya asked. “What is it?”

“Lila’s a liar,” Nino said. Marinette clapped sarcastically.

“Bravo! It only took you months to catch on!”

“Lila’s not a liar!”

“Did you not hear a word Marinette just said?”

“Where’s her proof?” Alya demanded.

“Where’s yours?” Adrien shot back. Alya stared at him with wide eyes. “Oh, come on, Alya. You’re always asking Marinette for proof. Where’s the proof that Lila’s telling the truth? It should be online, right? After all, considering all of the celebrities she knows, somebody would’ve written an article on her, right?”

“R-right.” Alya swallowed, taking out her phone. “O-of course. There’ll be hundreds of a-articles on her.” The class seemed to collectively hold their breath as Alya opened Google. Marinette was closing the door, as she noticed Lila shifting towards it. Adrien was also closing the window, in case of an akuma. 

“Well?” Adrien asked.

Alya stared at Lila in betrayal. “I─I checked fifteen different pages. The only one that mentions Lila─ this Lila, not the Porn Star─is the Ladyblog.”

Marinette looked at Adrien. “Did she just say that Lila shares a name with a Porn Star?”

“I think so.”

Meanwhile, their class was exploding as a dozen people simultaneously screamed at Lila.

“How long do you think that will take?” Adrien muttered, trying not to grin.

“A while.”

“We could leave, if you want?”

“Nah,” Marinette smiled, leaning into his embrace. “I’ve wanted to see this for a long time.”

Chapter Text

Big, beautiful blue eyes and dark, almost navy, hair that was perpetually tied into twin pigtails with two shining red bows? A tendency to wear only red and black? Best friends with Lila Rossi, who is coincidentally best friends with Ladybug?

Yeah, she’s definitely Ladybug.

Or, that’s what Alya Césaire thinks. And considering how loud and excited she tended to get with her theories, it was no surprise that the entire class suspected that Akako Coccinelle was Paris’ most famous and beloved superheroine, Ladybug. Nobody may have believed her theory about Chloé being Ladybug, but the second Lila nodded as Akako furiously shushed them, suddenly it was the worst kept secret in Paris.

Interestingly enough, Hawkmoth never targeted the Coccinelle family, or Akako in general.

But there were two people who knew that Akako definitely wasn’t Ladybug. Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And their reasoning behind not believing the duo was sound.

They were, after all, actual superheroes. And by mere coincidence, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was actually Ladybug.

Shocker, I know.

Marinette had been ready to blow a gasket whenever their classmates referred to Akako by a thinly veiled reference to her supposed alter ego. Adrien’s warning grip on her forearm was the only thing holding her still. They had agreed to leave her alone, and alone they left her.

That didn’t stop Lila and Akako from approaching her and Adrien’s table before class began in hopes of starting trouble. After ignoring the taunts and accusation on multiple different occasions, Marinette finally thought, ‘fuck it,’ and looked up at her classmates with a sugary smile. Adrien sighed as he caught sight of her expression, but didn’t try to stop her, either. He must’ve been equally as tired of their shit. 

“Say, Akako,” Marinette flipped through her sketchbook disinterestedly. “Where are you from, anyways?”

Akako certainly spoke without thinking when she said, “South Korea, but my mom’s from Nice.”

Lila looked at her sharply and Marinette raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t Akako a Japanese name?” Marinette frowned at a stray pencil mark, quickly erasing it. She hummed. “Giving a Korean girl a Japanese name. Sounds like something J.K. Rowling would do.”

“I─” Akako looked at Lila, seemingly panicked. “I─I─”

“I thought you were Japanese,” Alya frowned from her seat.

“I mean─”

“She is Japanese,” Lila quickly intervened. “She just wanted to see if Marinette could actually recognise a name from their culture.”

Marinette froze, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Adrien spoke before she found her voice. “Marinette is half Chinese, Lila. Not Japanese.”

“I─” Lila cringed, but she quickly grinned, as if she were telling a joke. “Did I say ‘their’? You know that’s not what I meant. Sometimes I mix up French pronouns. You know how learning a new language is. I meant ‘her’.” 

Their classmates scandalised expressions were gone as quickly as they appeared, with the help of Lila’s lies, but Marinette knew better. She narrowed her eyes at Lila, ready to rip her hair out for many, many reasons, but Adrien’s hand on her knee stopped her.

“Don’t pick a fight when there’s no chance of you winning.”

“Don’t I do that everyday?” she quietly retorted. Mme. Bustier walked in, calling the class to attention. The crowd around their desk swiftly dispersed.

“No. You’ll always defeat him. But Lila…” Adrien sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “She’s never going to learn from her mistakes, is she?”

Marinette bit her lip. “Not unless she’s knocked down a peg… but they’ll never believe that she’s a liar.”

“Not her,” Adrien agreed. “But Akako…”

Marinette’s lips quirked up. “She’s not very good at thinking on her feet. Very unbecoming, for Ladybug.”

“Indeed,” Adrien smirked, a muscle movement that was almost unnatural without his signature black mask. “But if we’re going to do this, no exposing our identities.”

“Of course not,” Marinette agreed, appearing, for all intents and purposes, to be completely focused on Mme. Bustier’s lecture. “We’re just going to expose Lila’s.”

“Who do you think she is?” Adrien asked after they’d finished up with their patrol that evening.

“Who?” Marinette’s feet dangled loosely over her balcony from where she sat. Adrien stood up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Akako. I mean, there’s no way that ‘Akako Coccinelle’ is her real name. She’s either an actress for hire or another one of Lila’s mindless followers.”

“I’d say a follower,” Marinette said. “No actress would have stayed by Lila’s side after what she did today.”

And it had been… something.

Adrien cringed, thinking back to just a couple hours earlier when he and Marinette were just getting back from lunch. Lila had cried and wailed about how Marinette had threatened to disembowel her with a paperclip if Akako didn’t give up her Miraculous. They’d ‘bravely’ defeated the villainess Marinette, and now the entire class believed she was working for Hawkmoth.

“Yeah, Akako had the whole ‘Lila is my goddess and can do no wrong’ thing down pat. No morally inclined actress, no matter their payment, would actually physically harm a fellow actress for a stunt.” Adrien’s hand ghosted over Marinette's stomach, his grip on her tightening instinctively as red, hot anger shot through him. Akako had punched Marinette in the gut when she’d tried to walk past their angered mob of classmates. Marinette would’ve been fine, if there wasn’t a distinctly sharp edge to Akako’s ring, conveniently gifted to her by Lila. And Akako somehow managed to punch Marinette exactly where she’d hurt herself earlier that day… it was entirely too convenient for Adrien’s liking.

“Stop that,” Marinette said, reaching back and carding her fingers through his hair. “I’m fine. There wasn’t even that much blood.”

“None of them even bothered to help you… Kim and Ivan even tried holding me back.”

“Yeah, well… when ‘Ladybug’ shows up and accuses you of being a terrorist, people are going to listen.”

Adrien stood up straighter as she spoke. “Mari, you’re a genius!”

“I am?” she asked, spinning around on the balcony and hopping onto her chaise, where she promptly sat. “Why?”

“All you need to do is show up and say ‘she’s not me’!”

Marinette froze, looking at Adrien like he had grown two heads. “...Shit. How did we miss that?”

“I have no idea,” he shook his head with a laugh. He leaned forwards, kissing her forehead. When Adrien eventually spoke again, his voice was deep with a warning growl.“We’re doing this tomorrow. If I have to see her face again tomorrow I’ll─”

Marinette shut him up with a kiss. “Hush, Kitty. Murder’s illegal, you know.”

“I’m pretty sure vigilantism is too.”

Marinette paused, narrowing her eyes. “We’re not really vigilantes, though.” She looked down at Plagg and Tikki who were lazing about down in her room. “...Are we?”

You know, if Ladybug shows up to your class one day when your classmate is supposedly Ladybug, you’re going to think of three possible explanations. One, it’s an akuma, two, it’s a sentimonster, or three: this is actually Ladybug.

Of all the students of François Dupont, only two didn’t immediately freak out. Adrien Agreste and Alya Césaire. Adrien Agreste, because this was his plan, and Alya Césaire because she knew. She knew something was wrong. Ladybug would never harm a civilian like that. She’d never laugh as a fifteen-year-old writhed on the floor in pain. She’d never accuse somebody of being a terrorist so publicly.

She just… wouldn’t.

“Guys!” Kim shouted. “Don’t worry! Akako can just transform and defeat her!”

Lila looked around, panicking. “B-but then we wouldn’t be able to tell who’s who.”

“We wouldn’t be fighting,” Alix rolled her eyes. She looked expectantly at Akako. “Well? Go on then.”

The students stared at Akako, who shifted uncomfortably. “I─I─I─”

“She can’t transform.” Ladybug’s voice was soft, yet strong and clear. “Tell me, have any of you ever seen her transform?”

“I have─” Lila started.

“Other than the person who somehow knows a million celebrities?”

Nobody spoke.

“Don’t trust her!” Akako shouted out. “She’s an akuma!”

“If I really were an akuma, you’d transform and defeat me, wouldn’t you?”

“I─”

“If you really are Ladybug,” Max started, nervously pushing his glasses up. “Then why have you only showed up now?”

“I didn’t mind at first,” Ladybug said, starting up the steps so that she could be seen by the entire class, her back to Adrien. “After all, her lies were actually protecting my identity. I might never have intervened, because it was rather harmless…” Ladybug glared down at her. “But then, imagine my surprise when I hear that she assaulted an innocent civilian in my name.”

“I─” Akako shook furiously. “She’s a terrorist! She’s working for Hawkmoth!”

“Is that so?” Ladybug smirked, hopping up on Adrien’s desk. “If you really were Ladybug, you wouldn’t feel the need to justify your actions to me, now would you?”

“I─”

“It’s just an akuma,” Lila snapped. “We should all get out of here, before she kills us all.”

This prompted action. Sabrina jumped up, heading for the door.

“Stop.”

Alya’s voice caught everyone’s attention. She swallowed. “Yes, Alya?” Lila was gritting her teeth.

“Ladybug would never… never hurt a person like Akako did… she’d never do that to somebody. She’s never caused an akuma to bleed. Why would she attack Marinette?” Akako shifted uncomfortably as she caught sight of the deathly look on Adrien’s face. “And…” Alya looked at Ladybug. “You’re right. We have no proof that Akako is Ladybug. They only think that because of my theory and…” Alya’s fist clenched. “Lila.”

“She is unnaturally sound of mind right now,” Adrien muttered to Ladybug.

“There’s an easy way to answer this,” Alix said, somehow materialising behind Akako and pulling out her earrings. She backed away before Akako’s fist could connect with her face, dropping them into Alya’s waiting palm. “You do it, Rena Rouge."

“Alright…” Alya put in the earrings. She, as well as several other known Miraculous users gasped in unison.

“Did… something happen?” Mylène asked, peering around curiously.

“It’s what didn’t happen,” Ladybug said.

“There’s no kwami,” Chloé frowned, speaking for the first time in weeks. “It should’ve appeared immediately, but it didn’t…”

“Then… Akako was lying?”

Adrien sat back in his seat, crossing his arms with a barely concealed smirk. “You know, Kagami taught me a few words in Japanese before. I asked her what the name ‘Akako’ means, and it means ‘red’. And we all know that Coccinelle means Ladybug.” Rose stared up at him blankly, still not catching on.

“It’s a fake name,” Juleka muttered into the silence that prevailed. Rose nodded in understanding. 

“Damn…” Kim looked at Akako. “Wait, so you’re Korean, right?” Akako looked around, knowing that she was well and truly trapped. She nodded dumbly, staring imploringly at Lila. “Huh. It really was something J.K. Rowling would do.”

“Why did you lie?” Rose asked, her lower lip trembling.

“I feel like I can help out here,” Ladybug said, smiling at them. “See, Lila’s been claiming to be best friends with Ladybug. She’s also been saying that Akako is her best friend. Akako looks suspiciously like me… are we seeing the pattern here.”

“She lied… for Lila?” Mylène frowned, squeezing Ivan’s hand.

“No. She lied at Lila’s behest.” Max bit his thumbnail. “But why would Lila make her lie? She’s obviously not actually friends with Ladybug, so it stands to reason that she’s been lying about a lot of other things. Which would mean that Marinette has been telling us the truth the entire time, but we haven’t believed her.”

“Come on, guys. This is obviously just Hawkmoth trying to tear us apart by planting a fake Miraculous on Akako.” A bead of sweat dripped down Lila’s forehead. “You shouldn’t believe her.”

“Come on, Lila. We know that you─”

“NO!” A sudden shriek caused Adrien to jerk forwards in his seat. Akako was clutching at her hair, eyes wide and unseeing. “NO, NO, NO! LILA’S NOT A LIAR! SHE IS PERFECT! SHE IS AMAZING! NONONONONONONNONONOO─”

And then she stopped. The class, even Lila, stared at the girl with baited breath, waiting for her to speak once more. Rose reached out to her, opening her mouth to speak, but Juleka quickly caught her hand and placed a hand on her mouth.

And then, she giggled. Just giggled. Hours must have passed before she abruptly stopped once more.

Adrien rose uncertainly, prompting Ladybug to hold onto her yo-yo, eyes darting between the shaking girl and the windows for any sign of an akuma.

Akako started to violently speak, quickly and quietly, but clearly because of the silence in their classroom.

“So what if Lila asked me to pretend to be a stupid superhero? It doesn’t matter. She’s my best friend. I’ll do anything for her. She loves me. She said so. She loves me she loves me she loves me she loves me she loves me she loves me SHE LOVES ME SHELOVESMESHELOVESMESHELOVESMESHELOVESMESHELOVESME!”

Adrien flinched back, grabbing Ladybug’s hand. She stepped back, their joint hands hidden underneath the desk. 

Even Lila looked scared as Akako looked up, smiling sweetly.

“So what if she asked me to kill that girl? I’ll do it. It should’ve worked, but next time it will. I’ll kill her─I’ll destroy her─I’ll do it with a pair of scissors and a smile.” Adrien let go of Ladybug’s hand, tapping her thigh rhythmically. She nodded in understanding, carefully circling the desks. He knew Morse Code would come in someday. 

“I’ll flambe her and feed her to pigs and it’ll be perfect and Lila and I can be happy and alone and perfect because she loves me.” Akako’s head slowly tilted to the side, staring intently at the liar who was trying to hide behind Kim. With Alix’s helpful prompting, he quickly stepped to the side.

“Right?”

Adrien shivered as he slowly descended the staircase. Lila was frozen in place, staring at Akako in fear. Akako began to move.

“RIGHT, LILA? YOU LOVE ME, DON’T YOU, LILA?!”

Lila flinched back at the scream. Akako lunged forwards, her intentions both a mystery and clear as day, but she was stopped as Ladybug’s yo-yo caught her around the waist, pulling her back and away from the students. 

“Lila, Lila, Li-lah, Lila, Lila, LilaLilaLilaLilaLiLaLiLALIlaLILALILALILALILALILALILALILALILALILA!”

Ladybug flinched, quickly incapacitating Akako with a move that could easily knock one unconscious.

And then, the only sound that could be heard was the students’ laboured breathing. 

“Agreste,” Ladybug finally said. “I need you to go out and summon Chat Noir. Somebody… somebody call the police, please?” Sabrina’s phone was out in an instance, ringing her father quickly.

Five minutes of silence passed. Even when Chat Noir arrived, without Adrien, nobody commented. Adrien must’ve filled him in on the situation. He was probably in the bathroom right now. There wasn’t a single conscious person in that classroom who didn’t feel sick.

“Oh my god…” Alya finally said. “‘That girl’... she was talking about Marinette. You asked her to kill Marinette!”

Lila’s lip trembled. “I─”

“Quiet.” The class turned to look at Ladybug. “Not now.”

And so, silence prevailed. 

Even when four guards arrived, barely anybody spoke.

When Ladybug and Chat Noir were finally allowed to leave, Chat only said one thing at first. “I’m surprised Hawkmoth didn’t try to get involved.”

“Be thankful,” Ladybug said, leaning her head against his shoulders.

“Oh, believe me, I’m not complaining.”

By mere coincidence, Gabriel Agreste, who was bathing, couldn’t help but bat at his burning ears.

“Stop that.”

Akako ended up being committed to a mental asylum back in Nice. Turns out, she had run away to help Lila out when she’d asked. Nobody could prove that Lila really had asked Akako to kill Marinette, but her mother had mysteriously gotten a job back in Italy a few days later.

Eventually, the class did manage to speak with each other. It had left most of them feeling sick to their stomachs, but there was also a feeling, like a weight had been lifted from them.

Marinette had recovered from her wound quickly, and had received plenty of gifts during her temporary bed rest, which technically lasted two hours but nobody needed to know that. 

Nobody ever attempted to impersonate the superhero again, except for costume parties, of course, but even then, there was a certain air of awkwardness around the adults whenever the eight year old would run up to them excitedly that first Halloween. When they’d caught sight of Ladybug swinging around above them, they were almost fearful, but turns out she was just chasing another akuma.

But they learned their lessons, regardless. 

Never try to best a superhero.

Chapter Text

“It’s just a coincidence.”

“You have the wrong person.”

“It must’ve been a misunderstanding.”

“You’ve clearly doctored the footage.”

“Lila’s too nice to do that.”

“I’m sure that’s just a look-a-like.”

“Come on, Marinette. Present some real evidence before going off at Lila again.”

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. 

Were they blind?! Seriously! This must’ve been the fifth─sixth?─time that she’s presented evidence of Lila lying, admitting to lying or committing a crime, yet still, they all came up with excuses. Lila didn’t even have to say anything. They just made excuses for her now. Marinette was sick of it. 

Adrien was the only other person who saw through Lila’s lies. He’d also presented a video of Lila lying her way into his house, but Alya had just said, “Aw, that’s so sweet! I wish that Nino cared so much about me!” Nino hadn’t even looked affronted by that sentence. He’d nodded along, agreeing with her. And Marinette had seen all of the shit that Nino’s done for Alya, so she knew that wasn’t true. 

So what the fuck?

How was it that Lila was still an innocent angel in everybody’s eyes, but her and Adrien’s? 

… “Oh.”

What’s one thing that they both have in common? They both knew that Lila was lying. But how? Lila had lied about knowing both Chloé’s mother and father, but she’d never said anything. Lila had commented about how the world famous chef, Marlena Césaire, had catered for her birthday party in Greece, but Alya never pointed out that her mother had never left France. 

It was all too convenient.

Perhaps… perhaps using a Miraculous had allowed them to see through Lila’s lies.

And sure, Chloé and Alya had used a Miraculous before. But they only used a Miraculous periodically, not nearly as frequently as Ladybug and Chat Noir. Plus, they didn’t get to keep their Miraculouses, unlike Marinette and Adrien. 

But that would mean that Lila used magic. Or some form of it. After all, she definitely didn’t have a Miraculous. Only the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses were missing, and neither technically had anything to do with deception. Did other forms of magic exist?

“Tikki,” Marinette started, sitting up straight. “Is it possible that Lila is using magic to make people believe her lies?”

Tikki looked up from her macaron. She frowned softly, swatting at a stray crumb. “Um… I’m not sure if I’m the best person to answer that…”

Marinette sighed. “Please, Tikki. I can hardly ask Master Fu anymore…”

“Well… oh, fine!” Tikki finished her cookie, flying over to sit beside Marinette. “Other types of magic do exist, but only with the help of a Miraculous. Specifically, Hawkmoth’s.”

“What? I already know that. I battle Akumas all the time.”

“No, Marinette. That’s not what I mean. You see, sometimes a person could keep an akuma’s powers, or a specific power, but only if Hawkmoth lets them. I’m not sure if it was with Volpina or Chameleon, but she must’ve retained what ever powers of deception she’d received, somehow.”

“But Adrien and I are able to resist her,” Marinette frowned.

“That’s because of your Miraculouses,” Tikki said. “It allows you to see through her powers of deception. Not to mention that you’ve already seen through it once before, too.”

“And let me guess, it wouldn’t work with Alya or Nino because they only used a Miraculous sometimes.”

“Yeah. And they can’t ever use a Miraculous again, so that doesn’t mean much, anyways.”

“Yeah…” Marinette sighed, her face dropping onto her waiting palm. “So, how do we stop it?”

“Oh no.” Was the first thing Alya said upon spotting Marinette. She knew this look. Marinette only ever had this look when she was about to attack Lila with some fake footage, or something. She wished that Marinette would get over whatever one-sided feud she had with Lila, because Lila clearly didn’t hate Marinette as much as Marinette despised Lila. Honestly, Lila was way too nice about it. She would’ve hated Marinette, had she been in Lila’s shoes. Lila truly was an amazing friend. Marinette was holding a box in her hands. It was long, but not tall. Pink and white decorated the outside. Alya was curious about what it contained, but she knew that it was probably just more fake pictures of Lila committing crimes, or something. Honestly, why the fuck did Marinette hate Lila so much that she’d even doctor photographs of her?

“Anyone have popcorn?” Kim whispered as Marinette stood in front of Mlle. Bustier’s desk, as if she were about to give a presentation. 

“Nah. Want any chocolate?” Alix held up a bar.

“Oh, yeah.” 

“You shouldn’t eat that brand,” Lila butted in as Alix broke off a square. “My uncle’s wife worked at the company before she was hired to work on the third Thor movie. They put dog hair in the chocolate mixture.”

Marinette rolled her eyes as Kim grabbed the chocolate bar from Alix, chucking it into the bin. The two then proceeded to profusely thank Lila for helping them out, and told her what a kind and generous friend she was.

Marinette cleared her throat loudly, giving Adrien a significant look as she smiled up at her classmates. “Hey, guys, could I say something, please?”

“What now?” Max scoffed. “Did Lila lie about knowing Abraham Lincoln, too?” 

Marinette really wanted to point out that Lincoln was dead. She really wanted to. But that would ruin this entire operation.

“Um, no. That’s not what I was going to talk about. I actually wanted to apologise─” ‘You can do this, Mari. Suck it up. This isn’t any worse than when you were forced to apologise to Chloé when she ruined your art project that you spent three months on…’ Okay, so it really was worse. But she could do this. “─to Lila.”  

Shocked gasps rang throughout the class. Lila’s eyes narrowed, trying to find any hint of insincerity. She probably did, but Lila had also noticed that Adrien had been fawning over her lately, and avoiding Marinette. She clearly thought that she knew why this was happening, and therefore, Marinette’s weakness.

“Are you serious, Marinette?!” Alya asked, grinning widely. Finally, finally, her two best friends were about to make up.

“Yes, I am very serious. I realised that maybe I was being somewhat unreasonable, so I’ve decided that I should try to mend burnt bridges… you know?”

“What brought on this realisation?” Max asked suspiciously.

Marinette grit her teeth, looking at Adrien with apologetic eyes. “I watched a movie where these two girls are fighting over a guy, and I realised how familiar it was. I compared that to real life, and… I dunno. Seeing it from a different perspective made me realise how stupid I was being.”

“Really?” Lila asked, looking quite hopeful. Only Marinette saw the wicked glint in her eyes. She was planning already. “You really want to be my friend, Marinette?”

“Yes, Lila, I do. Really.” She stepped forwards, opening the box in her hands as she walked. “I baked these for the class. I really hope that you would accept one.”

Lila stared up at Marinette for a good minute. Marinette tried to remain calm. This was where the entire operation lied. It all depended on Lila’s pride and need to be worshipped getting the best of her. How much of an ego boost would it be to have Marinette, the one person who had vehemently refused to bow down to her, fawn over her? Because they both knew that Marinette would have to treat Lila as if she were a queen, were she to accept?

Slowly, Lila reached a hand out, picking up a pink macaron. She broke it in half, swiping icing from the inside of the pastry. “It’s good to see you’ve finally had a change of heart, Marinette.”

“Yeah, well,” Marinette eyed her carefully, noting the way that Lila sucked her finger. “I realised that I was better off with you, rather than against you.”

“I see that.” Lila suddenly grinned widely, her heated vision clearing up. “I knew that you’d get over it eventually, Marinette. We’re going to be the best of friends.”

“Yeah,” Marinette smiled, equally as fake, but for all intents and purposes, seemingly genuine. “The best.”

It was three tortuous days later that something occurred.

Lila had been telling a story about that one time when she and Obama had been hanging out when Max suddenly gasped.

“Lila, you’re friends with Abraham Linocln, right?”

Marinette covered a smirk. Here it was. Finally. “Um, yeah. Abe and I go way back.”

“Yeah, as far back as the eighteen hundreds,” Marinette muttered. Alya, hearing that, looked at Marinette with narrowed eyes, but she closed her mouth after actually hearing what Marinette said, for once.

“But he’s dead. Very dead.”

“So’s Einstein,” Adrien said, smirking. “But Lila was hanging out with him just three months ago. They invented Calculus, remember?”

“But, no… Newton created Calculus. And he’s also dead… Lila…” Max frowned. “Did you─did you lie?”

“I─”

Marinette snorted, loudly. “Don’t be ridiculous, Max. Lila would never lie. She’d never commit a crime, either. You must have the wrong facts.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, she said that she saved Jagged Stone’s cat, but he’s never had a cat!” Nino exclaimed.

“Really?” Marinette couldn’t help but be a bit bitchy. After all, Lila’s powers only worked when she told people what they wanted to hear. Did that mean that they wanted Marinette to be all the things that Lila had said? Probably not, but she couldn’t help the irrational bitternous. “No! That’s impossible! ‘Lila would never lie!’ ‘Lila’s too nice to do that!’ ‘Come on, guys, you should present some real evidence before accusing Lila of lying.”

“Oh.” Alya looked up at Marinette. “That footage was all real?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…” Alya’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re not Ladybug’s best friend.”

“You don’t know Prince Ali?!” Rose panicked, despite being one of the few people permitted to speak with the Prince of Achu.

Chloé exclaimed. “You’ve never met my parents!”

Accusation after accusation, truth after truth, was hurled at Lila. She could do nothing but shake her head and try to lie her way out of it, but to no avail. Marinette felt a vicious spike of satisfaction when Lila was called to Damocles’ office. They must’ve realised how little sense all of those illnesses made.

“So,” Adrien stood beside her. “How’d you do it?”

Marinette grinned at him. “A Guardian never kisses and tells.”

“Well, that’s─wait. Kisses whom?”

She smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Her boyfriend, preferably.”

Adrien considered that, locking her in his embrace. “Good answer. But don’t think I’ve forgotten, either!”

“Sure, Chaton.”

“I’m serious!”

“Of course you are.”

“Don’t patronise me.”

“It’s Guardian stuff. Completely mundane.”

“Right. And I’m a golden retriever.”

Innocent eyes stared up at him. “You aren’t?”

“I─my God, Milady. You hate me, don’t you?!” he asked dramatically.

“No,” she smiled, pecking his lips. “I love you.” Adrien relaxed, leaning down to kiss her.

Meanwhile, their classmates were staring at them with wide, curious and shocked eyes.

“I… have so many questions,” Alya breathed out.

Chapter Text

Marinette had always known that Tom Dupain wasn’t her biological father. She’d never been told just who her real father was, but that had never really mattered to her. Tom had always been there for her, loving her as if he were his own. Marinette would later learn that Tom physically couldn’t have children, so perhaps that was why he’d been so willing to parent Sabine’s toddler when giving the option. 

But Marinette had never questioned Tom’s love for her, so perhaps that was why she never asked her Mom just who her biological father was.

But that would all change today.

You see, Marinette had been tasked with an ancestry project by Mme. Mendeleiv, which was to be completed before their yearly school trip, and Marinette needed to know key information about her biological father, like his hair colour or his eyes. 

“Hey, Maman,” Marinette started. “I have a question.”

“Is something wrong, Marinette?” Sabine looked up from the dishes she was cooking. Tom was downstairs in the bakery. 

“No, no, nothing’s wrong. Just, you see, well, for science, umm…” she bit her lip. “Mendeleiv wants us to do a project about our DNA and stuff, but to do that, I kind of need to know about…” Marinette muttered something under her breath.

“What was that?” 

“I said… for the project, I need to know about my b-biological father.” Marinette chewed her lower lip nervously.

Sabine merely smiled. She knew this had been coming, some day. It had honestly worried Sabine and Tom when, after fifteen years, Marinette hadn’t asked about her father, but it seemed the day had finally come. Tom had no problem with telling Marinette the truth, but it had been Sabine who’d insisted that Marinette should come to them with her own questions.

“That’s fine, Mari. I’ve been waiting for this.”

“You have?” Marinette asked, sitting beside Sabine on the sofa.

“Of course I have. Now, where should I start?”

“What does he look like?”

“He had… black hair and blue eyes, like you and me. You have the same eyes, you know.” Marinette had always known she’d gotten her blue eyes from her father. After all, Sabine’s eyes were grey. “Last I checked, he’s still in America. Here, let me see if I can find a picture.” With that, Sabine bustled away to a cupboard, pulling out a stack of photo albums and skipping to the purple one.

Marinette looked down at Tikki, shrugging as the kwamii’s curious gaze turned on her. 

“Ah, here’s one!” Sabine handed a picture to Marinette. She carefully took it in her hands, examining every detail.

The background was wet, dreary. The top of a dark, starless sky could be made out, as well as a glowing W off to the left. A young woman, roughly sixteen years younger than the one before her, was standing, her arms wrapped around a man who appeared to be her age, maybe a little young. His free hand was placed in his jacket. Marinette couldn’t make it out from the grainy camera footage, but she was fairly certain that this coat was Versace. Marinette’s eyes travelled up from the man’s expensive clothing to his square jawline to his cornflower blue eyes to the dark black hair. 

And Marinette could be wrong… she really could… the camera quality was bad. It was entirely possible that she was simply imagining things.

“Maman…” she swallowed little moisture. “What’s… what’s his name?”

“Oh,” Sabine smiled. “Bruce Wayne. We met… what was it? Sixteen years ago? Bit of a whirlwind romance, to be honest. This was a few years after he adopted his first son, mind you. But it was─… Marinette?”

Marinette was… a bit overwhelmed.

After all, it’s not everyday that you learn your father is one of the most well known billionaires in the world.

Marinette was just quirky like that.

Marinette was a worrier. It was one of the many facets of her personality. She could have a panic attack over something as little as her crush looking in her direction. So it wasn’t particularly surprising that Marinette could be found hyperventilating in her room not an hour later.

“Bruce Wayne’s my father…” she muttered, over and over again, her voice elevating in pitch every time she spoke. “Bruce Wayne… is my father.”

“Marinette!” Tikki exclaimed. “I understand that this is weird, but you need to calm down! Hawkmoth might send an akuma! Come on, just breathe in with me.”

It took Marinette a second to start copying Tikki’s exaggerated gulps of air, but it worked, eventually.

“I just…” Marinette started, sometime later. “I never would’ve expected…”

“It’s okay, Marinette,” Tikki said, flying up to sit on her desk. “Just because he’s your biological father, doesn’t mean you need to meet him. That’s what you said, right?”

‘That was before I knew,’ Marinette thought. It was much more real, now. She could always imagine that Tom Dupain was her father. Now… she had a name and a face.

But…

“Yeah, Tikki,” she smiled. “You’re right. Nothing’s changed…  nothing’s going to change. Right.”

Well, something changed, anyways.

“We’re going where?” Marinette repeated as Alya jumped around excitedly. Marinette had missed the announcement after an akuma attack, but it seemed that they now knew the top secret location of their school trip.

“We’re going to Gotham City!” Alya shrieked excitedly. 

“As in the Crime Capital of America?” Marinette asked. ‘As in the place where my father lives?’

“Yeah! Oh, this is going to be amazing! D’you think I could put our visit on the Ladyblog?!”

“It’s your blog,” Marinette said, her mind on anything other than Alya’s blog. ‘Stay calm, Marinette.’ Adrien and Nino approached them. “Is this because of that whole ‘celebrating the relations between France and America’ thing?” 

“Yeah, we were originally going to New York, but plans have changed, for some reason.”

“So, my dude here has actually been to Gotham,” Nino announced, his arm slung over Adrien’s shoulder.

“Uh-uh,” Adrien nodded, a slight frown on his face as he looked at Marinette. “You okay, Princess? You’re a bit pale.”

“What?! No! Nope, I’m fine! A-okay! Never better! I’m gre-at!” Her voice cracked as she spoke, giving away how not okay she was. Alya and Nino passed this off as her usual reaction to Adrien, but Adrien frowned again. Marinette cursed herself. Chat always knew when something was wrong… then again, she was hardly the most subtle of people. “So, anyways, tell us about Gotham!”

“It’s very wet,” he told them. “There’s only two sides of Gotham. The crime side and the crime side for rich people.”

“Really?” Alya asked. “So everyone there is corrupt?”

“Not everyone,” Adrien conceded. “I met Bruce Wayne and his kids a while back. They’re cool. The youngest, Damian, was a bit stand-offish, but you know the situation there.” Oh, they knew the situation, alright. Damian Wayne, Bruce’s only biological son, was twelve years old. That made him Marinette’s little brother… oh shit. 

Well, it’s not like they’d ever meet, so it was fine. Even if they were going to be in the same city. Things would be okay. Totally. Definitely.

Marinette was really hoping that her Ladybug Luck would be on her side for the next two weeks.

Somebody would need to remind Marinette to never board a plane again. Ever. She much preferred Kaalki to whatever she was feeling right now. Adrien told her it was jetlag. Lila was trying to call Adrien’s attention, but he quickly side stepped her and approached Marinette.

“Okay, Bugaboo, I know you said not to, but can I Cataclysm her?”

“No, Chaton, as much as I’d love to see it, you cannot vaporise Lila,” Marinette told him. 

“You’re no fun, M’Lady,” he pouted, slipping his arms around her shoulder, playing with her pigtails.

“Stop that,” Marinette batted at his hands. “We agreed not to draw attention to ourselves. Alya’s gonna have a heart attack if she sees us like this.”

“She’s preoccupied.” Adrien nodded to where Alya, Rose and Mylène were fawning over Lila’s latest story. 

“Twenty Euro that she’s claiming to be dating some Gothamite.”

“Thirty that it’s Damian Wayne,” Adrien laughed as they sat in the bus.

Marinette grimaced. “He’s twelve.”

“It’s Lila,” Adrien pointed out. “I doubt she even knows his age. Just that he’s Wayne’s only biological child.”

Marinette bit her lip guiltily. “Y-yeah.”

Adrien’s eyes narrowed. “What is it?”

“What? Nothing. Nothing’s wrong!”

“Lies.”

Marinette swallowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kitty.”

“You’ve been acting weird whenever I mention the Wayne family… and you looked… guilty when I talked about Damian Wayne…” Adrien’s eyes narrowed. Twelve seconds passed before he gasped, loudly. “No.”

Marinette cringed. “Yes.”

“Really?” Adrien glanced around, his voice lowering significantly. “You’re─Bruce Wayne is your father?!”

“How’d you guess?” she asked quietly.

Adrien sighed. “Well, I already figured out that Mr. Dupain isn’t your father. I mean, you’re tiny─ ow.” Adrien rubbed the arm that Marinette punched. “And you guys have the same eyes, too.”

She frowned, leaning her head back. “I only found out a few months back.”

“Really?” Adrien asked. “Does he know?”

“No,” Marinette said. “At least, I don’t think so.” 

“And are you going to tell him?” Adrien looked down at her knowingly.

She rolled her eyes. “In what world would I ever meet Bruce Wayne?” Well, maybe if she became a famous fashion designer, but even then, the likelihood of her meeting the man was very, very low.

“We’re staying at his cousin’s hotel,” Adrien pointed out. “And we’ll be spending four of the days at Wayne Enterprises. Plus, the Wayne’s own more than a third of Gotham.”

“Gotham’s a large city,” Marinette said. “He’s one man. The statistical likelihood of us meeting is practically none.”

“Okay, Max,” Adrien rolled his eyes. “But, purr-haps, you might be wrong.”

“Perhaps,” Marinette said, ignoring the pun. “But that doesn’t mean he ever has to find out.”

“Yes, because that would be a catastrophe, wouldn’t it?” Adrien rolled his eyes. Marinette didn’t know if the pun was on purpose. Never mind. Of course it was. This was Adrien in front of her.

“I’m surprised that your father even let you come here,” Marinette commented.

“So am I,” he confessed. “And he didn’t even send Gorilla to watch over me!”

“Oh shit.” A lot of Adrien’s time was spent trying to dodge that man. “Really?” Marinette asked in disbelief. “He didn’t disagree? We’re going to Gotham!”

“Yeah…” Adrien cleared his throat. “I… may have told him that we’re going to Miami…”

“What?!” she exclaimed, jolting forwards. Marinette ignored the curious gazes lingering on them.

“There are no supervillains there! Besides, I’ll be fine. It’s not like we’ll get hurt or anything.”

“Right…” Marinette frowned. “He didn’t even read the waiver he was signing?” she prodded.

“He was busy,” Adrien defended. “I think he’s planning a trip to New York, and since Nathalie’s been sick lately, he wouldn’t even notice that I left the house, but because of the Gorilla, I couldn’t just not say anything, so I… told a little lie.”

“Sure.” Marinette rolled her eyes. “Definitely a white lie. Miniscule. Not like we’re going to the most crime ridden place in America, or anything.”

“If we’re careful, he’ll never know,” Adrien countered. 

“Maybe,” she said. “Maybe he’ll never know.” She risked a glance back to where Alya and Lila were laughing. “Or maybe he already knows.”

“What? No.”

“Come on, do you really think his little lapdog hasn’t been updating him about every little thing that you’ve done?”

They’d figured out early on that Lila was reporting back to Gabriel Agreste. It became apparent when Gabriel had commented on something that Nino had done in front of Adrien and Lila, calling Nino an embarrassment to Adrien, and telling him for the fifth time to stop being friends with Nino. When Adrien had mentioned this to Marinette, she’d pointed out that this wasn’t the first time that Gabriel had somehow known about something he shouldn’t about Adrien, and since Lila was the common denominator, they’d identified her as the reason behind Gabriel’s knowledge.

“But if he knew, then why did he let me go?” Adrien asked, frowning thoughtfully.

“I don’t know,” Marinette frowned. “Maybe he wanted you to get away from Akuma attacks for a while.”

Adrien snorted. “That’s likely. Nah, if he let me go, this probably has something to do with the contract between Wayne Enterprises and Gabriel… definitely, actually. If his son is on the tour that’s meant to build relations between our two countries, then there’s no way the deal will fall through.” 

“You know this means that he probably has sent the Gorilla?” Marinette pointed out.

“Probably,” Adrien agreed. “But at least now he won’t be able to stop me from doing anything without blowing his cover.”

“Hurrah to fathers,” Marinette drawled sarcastically. “For only they can manage to have such a fucking weird relationship with their offspring.”

“I dunno, my mother is a missing person. Kind of a weirder relationship than an overprotective dad.” Marinette snorted, leaning against Adrien’s shoulders.

“And parents wonder why we’re so fucked up.”

The Kane Hotel was a pretty luxurious place. It was on the nicer side of town and there was no way in hell that the school could afford to send the entire class here. 

“How’d we land this place?” Kim asked, grinning up at the building. Alya was recording the entire time, speaking a million words per minute.

“Chloé,” Marinette said. At the incredulous looks, she elaborated. “She was upset with the original hotel so she had her father tell the school that she was going to be staying here, but she couldn’t stay at a separate hotel from everyone else, so she made her dad upgrade the entire class.”

“And here I thought Chloé Bourgeois did something good for once,” Alya shook her head, turning the camera on the class. “You guys all know Marinette. She helps me out occasionally, when she’s around.” The last word was punctuated with a pointed look.

“Oh, sorry, Alya. We’re not all insane enough to run headlong into danger, every single time an akuma attacks.” Adrien snorted, raising his eyebrow. “Oh, shut up.” She elbowed him.

“It’s pretty funny, Mari.”

“No, it’s really not.”

“Au contraire, Marinette. I think it’s paw-sitively hilarious.”

“I’m going to murder you with a sledgehammer,” Marinette promised, glaring up at him. She needed to tell lies for her identity to remain a secret. Adrien, of all people, should help her, not make stupid jokes about it. 

“Are my eyes deceiving me?” Alya asked, zooming in on them. “Are Marinette Cheng and Adrien Agreste actually having a conversation for once?”

“No, he’s started telling me puns and I’ve realised what a dork he is.”

“Ah, finally!” Nino held his hand up. Marinette quickly slapped it as Adrien let out an exaggerated gasp. 

“You both know you love my puns. Don’t even try to deny it.”

“I am denying it,” Nino crossed his arms. 

Marinette’s eyes rolled as Adrien opened his mouth. She put a hand over it. “If I hear one more cat pun out of you, I’m going to deliver your Miraculous to Hawkmoth myself,” she hissed. Adrien’s eyes widened and he nodded slowly. But once Marinette retracted her hands, Adrien’s lips quirked into his signature smirk.

“Well, Princess, I’m pawsitive that that would be a catastrophe, so purrhaps you shouldn’t do something so clawful. I’d be feline very sad if you whisker my ring away. So, purrhaps if I’m purrsuasive enough, we could come to an agreement, and you can drop this apawling cattitude towards my hissterical puns.” 

“I…” Marinette blinked dumbly at him. “Why…”

“Kill me now,” Nino tiredly leaned against the wall.

Alya was grinning. Oh, God, no. If Adrien and Alya found something to bond over… Marinette would be fucked. Nino seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he frantically shook his head. “You could rival Chat Noir’s puns, Agreste. Do you─”

“Alya!” Lila quickly approached them. Marinette found herself going on full alert as Lila stood directly in front of the camera. “Come over here. I have to tell you about my first visit to Gotham!”

“What? Oh!” Alya was dragged away without another word, but the dirty look and vindictive smirk Lila sent Marinette was enough for her to get her true intentions.

“What’s with that look?” Nino asked, frowning at Marinette. “Don’t tell me─”

“Lila’s a liar, Nino,” Adrien answered absently. “Of course Marinette doesn’t like her.”

Marinette tilted her head at Adrien. “What’s wrong?” she asked. His tone was strangely… toneless, if that made any sense. Probably not, but to Marinette, it couldn’t be clearer. Something was wrong with her kitty.

“Nothing, just… I’m fairly certain that that deal lasted all of two seconds.”

“Deal?” Marinette asked with narrowed eyes. Nino eyed them curiously.

“Ah, nothing, really, I mean it.” Bull. Adrien smiled charmingly at her. “Come on, Marinette. Mlle. Bustier’s probably sorted out whatever issue was with the rooms.”

“Right…” she wasn’t convinced, and by the looks of it, Nino could also tell something was up. 

A tour of Wayne Enterprises was their first agenda, as the school had made some deal with the company to be able to do this entire trip in the first place. As far as Marinette knew, Timothy Wayne was trying to get the company to be more involved with other countries and schools, so they were just hitting two birds with one stone.

“Welcome to Wayne Enterprises!” A cheerful blonde woman beamed at their group. “I’m Samantha, an intern here at Wayne Enterprises, and I’ll be with you guys for the duration of the tour! Follow me!” As she walked, she spoke quickly and excitedly about the history of Wayne Enterprises, even going so far as to bring up Thomas and Martha Wayne’s murders.

“I’m technically related to Martha Wayne, you know,” Lila said. Marinette rolled her eyes. “Her cousin is my aunt. She always tells me about how much she misses Martie.”

Oh God. Oh God. Marinette just imagined what would’ve happened if Lila wasn’t lying for once. They’d be related. Her and Lila. Lila and Marinette. No. Just no. Never happening. 

“You okay, Milady?” Adrien whispered, his hand landing on her shoulder. 

“I’m fine,” Marinette said, taking his hand in her own as they walked. “It’s just… you know, the devil.”

“Ah, right.” Adrien nodded, frowning as he glanced back. Most of their classmates were paying attention to Lila, not the woman leading their tour. And it was painfully obvious. Samantha’s words became few and far in between. Marinette just knew that if they were back in France that she’d be akumatized. She was suddenly much more thankful that they were on this trip, but she couldn’t help but feel bad.

“So, Samantha,” Marinette started off loudly, knowing that she’d gotten her classmates attention. “Is it true that Wayne Enterprises makes stuff for Batman?”

It was an unusual question, for sure, but it worked, as the class was suddenly looking at Samantha with rapt attention. “Oh, well, um… that’s classified, I’m afraid, Miss.”

Alya gasped loudly, her camera zooming in on Samantha’s face. “So you do!”

“Not as far as I’m aware,” Samantha said. “But what I can tell you about the Dark Knight is that he once saved me and a bunch of people here from the Riddler.”

“No!” Alya let out a strange noise. “How’d he do it? Where? Did you have to solve riddles? Did he use bombs? How did the Riddler get you? Was he working with anyone? Was Batman working with anyone? Robin? Nightwing? Red Hood? Red Robin? No? Yes? Was the Joker there?”

“Well, aren’t you enthusiastic,” a new voice joined the conversation. A man in a grey business suit smiled at them. “Samantha, they need you up in communications, along with the other interns in that branch. Get anyone you see on the way, please.”

“Y-yes, Mister Wayne─uh─Drake─sir!” Samantha nervously nodded. “I’ll─what about my group?”

“I’ll lead them around until you’re ready,” Timothy Drake-Wayne smiled. “You should be finished by the time we’re done with the intern’s R&D labs.”

“Uh, yes, sir!” Samantha hurried off before Tim could get another word in edgewise. He turned to the French students, smiling a somewhat awkward smile, Marinette noticed, but his voice also projected confidence. Mme. Bustier frowned at the young man, but she was quickly distracted from a phone call. Marinette assumed that Mme. Mendeleiv was the person currently arguing with their literacy teacher over the phone.

“Hello, everyone,” he said. “I’m Tim Drake, one of the CEO’s of this place, and I’ll be taking over with you guys for the next…” he checked his watch. “Twenty minutes. Any questions?”

Alya’s hand shot up. “Do you know Batman?”

He chuckled. “I… met him once or twice, yes. My family’s a bit notorious for attracting criminals.”

“Got that right,” Adrien muttered in her ear. She elbowed him, trying not to grin. 

“I feel so bad for him,” Marinette whispered as Alya badgered Tim with questions. 

“He’s your brother, I’m sure he can handle it.”

Marinette sighed. “Fuck you, Agreste. Fuck you.” She paused. “Also, he’s adopted. And I haven’t even met my father─you’re full of shit, Adrien.”

“You know you love me,” he smirked widely.

“I’m starting to question why,” she said, just as Lila opened her mouth. “Ah, here we go again.”

“Batman saved me once, too,” Lila said, interrupting Alya’s next question. “It was… three months ago, I think. Dami-boo and I were kidnapped by the Joker, but Batman and Robin saved us from being dropped into a vat of chemicals, like Harley Quinn was. Of course, they never would’ve found out if I hadn’t gotten a message to Ladybug. She contacted them. Afterwards, Batman took me to his lair. There are so many bats.”

The second Lila finished her sentence, the class was suddenly surrounding her, interrogating and fretting over the liar worriedly. Marinette, Adrien and Chloé were the only students not surrounding Lila. Nino stood awkwardly to the side with a frown.

“Is that a daily thing?” Tim asked, watching the gaggle of students in amusement. 

“Try ‘whenever-somebody-takes-their-attention-off-of-her’,” Marinette said, frowning at them. She looked at her adoptive brother. “How’d you know she’s lying?”

‘“‘Dami-boo’ is obviously referring to the… my brother.” Tim paused as he spoke. Marinette suspected that a different word came to Tim’s mind when he thought of Damian Wayne. “And everybody knows that Batman doesn’t exactly stick around for tea.”

Marinette clicked her tongue. “And there I was, buying crumpets.”

Tim grinned down at her. “So why don’t you just call her out for lying?” he asked curiously, but Marinette frowned at the sharpness of his eyes. Tim seemed to be thinking a million thoughts a second.

“Shouldn’t we be moving?” Chloé asked, obnoxiously loud. “If I’m in Gotham, I’m not going to waste my time standing around. Let’s go. Sabrina!” Chloé clapped her hands, leading a charge back towards where they came. Adrien quickly caught her arm, pointing in the opposite direction. She made a noise of contempt, storming down the hallway. 

“She has no idea where she’s going,” Adrien muttered as he followed after the blonde.

“Stay with the group!” Mlle. Bustier called, putting her hand over the phone’s speaker. Adrien stuck his thumb up as he ran after Chloé.

“Come on everyone!” Tim clapped for attention. “Let’s get to the R&D Department. I’m fairly certain that they’re going to be letting you guys build something there, so we should hurry, unless you want to miss it.”

Max was the first to move, grabbing Kim and pulling him after Chloé with a strength nobody had ever seen before. 

“Why are we following Chloé?” Alya asked as Tim strolled easily beside them, hands in his pockets. “We’ll probably end up running into Two Face, knowing her… then again…”

“Alya, just because Chloé has a tendency to cause Akumas, that doesn’t mean she’s going to attract every single supervillain in Gotham.” Marinette frowned. Ever since Miracle Queen, everybody had been alienating Chloé. Sure, Marinette was still pretty pissed, but she also felt terrible about how they were treating her. Chloé had been even more closed off since then, and Marinette was quite aware that she could’ve prevented what happened, but Adrien insisted that with Fu as the Guardian, they never could’ve stopped Chloé from being Akumatized, but she wasn’t so sure.

Alya shrugged. “You never know,” she defended herself.

“Akumas?” Tim asked, an eyebrow poised in interest.

“Oh, that’s─”

“Nothing,” Marinette smiled sweetly, elbowing Alya. She knew about the information block placed on Paris by Mayor Bourgeois. If Superman or Wonder Woman found out and decided to get involved… that wouldn’t be good if they were to be Akumatized. So Mayor Bourgeois had put an information block on any news about Hawkmoth, Ladybug, Chat Noir or Akumas leaving Paris. That was one of the main reasons their tourism hadn’t decreased much, but tourists did tend to tell their families and friends about what they’d experienced, but since Paris always looked fine, hardly anyone ever believed them. “It’s just a word we use to refer to most of the problems Chloé causes in our school. Our friend Kagami, from the other class, came up with it. It’s Japanese for ‘demon’.”

“Interesting,” Tim said, probably taking note of how quickly the words tumbled from Marinette’s mouth. “Well, I should go take charge of the rest of your group. Your teacher seems rather distracted.”

Alya snorted quietly at that as Tim hurried to wrangle the rest of the tour group back into some semblance of propriety. “Thanks for that,” Alya said once he was out of ear shot. “I’m not sure that I’d be able to pay off the fines I’d get for being the person to expose the fact that Paris has a supervillain.”

“I’m not sure that it’d affect our economy too badly,” Marinette said as Adrien dragged Chloé back to the group. “I mean, people still go to Gotham and Metropolis, and those places are notorious for getting attacked by villains.”

“Something about America just attracts bad guys,” Adrien commented as Chloé stood with her arms crossed and lips pouting.

“Maybe it’s the president,” Alya shrugged. “Did you hear that he’s not even going to participate in the next debate because they’re not 'taking enough precautions against aliens'?”

“No way he’ll win,” Marinette said. “He only has bigots on his side. I’m fairly certain the rest of this country is smart enough not to vote for somebody who’d enthusiastically take away most of their rights.”

"Yeah, Lex Luthor is a real asshole. Ten Euro he's arrested by Superman again next month."

"That is not a smart bet," Marinette said.

Adrien laughed as they reached the R&D Department. Chloé split away from them, huffing to Sabrina as she crossed her arms in annoyance. 

“Alright, everyone,” Tim called. “I’ll be going now. Samantha should be back in five minutes, so I’m going to leave you guys here with these interns. Marcus, how about you show them the model you’re working on for your robotics project?”

“Ah, yes, sir!”

“Does he know everyone’s name?” Kim wondered as Tim left them.

“It’s sweet that a CEO knows his employees names,” Rose defended.

“Pretty weird, if you ask me,” said Alix. “I thought all CEO’s are evil overlords and shit.”

“Statistically speaking─”

“Evil is just a concept created by the human mind to excuse people’s actions, we know, we know,” Kim said, wrapping an arm around Max.

Max blushed. “I was going to say that most of the CEO’s of multi-million industries have been consumed by greed and are quite unlikely to remember the names of their employees, especially interns.”

“Huh,” was Kim’s only response.

It was a weird, albeit fun, day.

At least they hadn’t been kidnapped by the Joker and almost dropped into the very same vat of chemicals that turned Harley Quinn’s skin white, only to be saved by Batman and Robin because one of their classmates were best friends with Ladybug, who somehow knew Batman, too.

Marinette was pretty good at ignoring Lila. She’d been doing it for ages, ever since Lila had first started going on about how she saved Jagged Stone’s cat or how she was best friends with Prince Ali. But Lila was really starting to get on her nerves. Marinette knew that it was only a matter of time before she blew a gasket, and that wouldn’t be good for anyone. Marinette certainly didn’t want to add onto Mme. Bustier’s stress, who had looked sick ever since they’d arrived in Gotham.

“I’m going for a walk,” Marinette told Adrien as Lila lamented about how she was the secret heir to LexCorp.

“Are you sure?” Adrien frowned. “It’s pretty dangerous out there.”

“I can handle myself, Kitty,” she said, tapping her earrings pointedly. Marinette sighed, frowning over at Lila. “I just… really need to get away from here. Don’t worry. I’ll be back in twenty minutes, tops.”

“Do you want me to come with you? It’s incredibly dark out.” She smiled at the worried look on his face. 

“I’ll be fine,” Marinette assured him.

“Okay, just be careful, please. Paris and Gotham… they’re different. Hawkmoth seems tame when compared to the guys here.”

“Don’t worry,” Marinette said, leaning down to peck his lips before hurrying out the door. Marinette heard a shriek as she left. Alya had definitely seen that, and she knew for a fact that Adrien was currently being interrogated. Well, she’d leave him with Alya. This was payback for all of his puns.

Gotham really was different to Paris. It was darker, gloomier. Even the light casted by the Kane Hotel did little to deter the constant feeling of wariness as she took her first left. Well, at least she wouldn’t be getting lost. 

Gotham was full of twists and turns. Glass and cans littered the alleyways, a fire was built in a barrel which people congregated around, their hands outstretched in an effort to warm up. Marinette could make out Wayne Enterprises from about halfway across the city. Pollution was heavy in the streets of Gotham. To be fair, Paris was polluted to, as were most cities, but that was nothing when compared to this place. A light drizzle of rain fell down, comforting Marinette as she strolled with her hands in her pockets.

Lila was just… terrible! Seriously! How could she lie about everything? And everyone always believed her. Marinette hated it. She hated seeing her friends manipulated and lied to, and she hated that Lila lied about these celebrities who she knew nothing about! Just last week, Lila was claiming to have been blacklisted by Katy Perry for ‘having a better singing voice’ than her. 

What bullshit.

And Lila’s newest target, the Wayne family, hadn’t gotten the lucky end of the stick.

Sure, Lila was going around saying that she was romantically involved with Damian Wayne, who was only twelve, but she was also implying that Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne’s oldest adopted son, was being a little too ‘friendly’ with a fifteen year old. She claimed that Jason Todd had faked his death on purpose to escape his abusive father, and that the kidnapping was a fake story concocted by the Wayne’s PR Office to avoid any more scrutiny.

It’s true that Marinette didn’t know anything about the Waynes, but she did know that nobody deserved to be the brunt of Lila’s lies. Marinette knew a little too well how that felt.

As Marinette went, she heard a shout for help coming from a nearby alleyway. Marinette’s instincts kicked in and suddenly she was sprinting towards the danger, Adrien’s previous pleas and warnings completely evaporating from her head.

A woman was being surrounded by two dirty, leering men. The shorter one was holding a bright red purse which clearly belonged to the woman. Marinette could understand why she’d been picked by the men. She may as well have been a beacon of colour in a black-and-white film. 

“Stop!” The woman shouted as they rifled through her belongings, dropping a passport and papers on to the floor as one examined her cell phone.

“Say it’d go for… uh… three-twenty, probably,” the shorter of the two said.

“Don’ be daft you fool!” The taller, even dirtier one snapped. “It’s a  knockoff! We’d get one-thirty, maybe.”  

‘I don’t think you’ll be getting anything,’ Marinette thought as she raised her voice. There was a cul-de-sac at the other side of the alley, so the only way for them to escape would be to go around Marinette. That wasn’t likely. 

“Hey!” she shouted, glaring at them.

“Ey?” the short one grinned tauntingly. “Looks like we go’ more easy prey, Vinnie.”

“What are you doing?” the woman hissed. “Run, you stupid girl!”

“Uhh, no,” Marinette said. She glared at the two men. “Return her belongings. Now.”

The dirtier man chuckled. “Yeah, sure, just after we finish with you,” he said, advancing towards Marinette. 

The second he reached for the strap of her purse, Marinette reacted. She lashed out, kicking him squarely into the gut and pushed him back onto the ground.

Purse Pursuer No. 2 growled in annoyance at seeing his friend getting beaten by a tiny teenager. “Ge’ up ya big lump!” he hissed, stomping towards Marinette, dropping the woman’s belongings as he went. She quickly grabbed her purse and phone, pressing herself against the large bin in fear, shaking erratically.

Marinette could’ve easily taken this guy. Seriously. It would not have been hard. All she’d have had to do was land in a solid paunch to the jaw to take him down, but two gunshots rang out. Marinette was splattered with blood as the man fell to the ground, clutching at his shoulder. Blood seeped through a tattered t-shirt and Marinette could see that the man who was already down had blood pooling around his middle. She gaped at the men, looking to the direction of where the bullets came.

The first thing Marinette noticed was the red cowl covering his head. A red bat symbol was prominently displayed on his chest and a ring of black surrounded his eyes. He was holding to smoking red guns and as he jumped down into the alleyway, Marinette couldn’t help but step back in shock.

“You two ladies alright?” A gruff, unfriendly voice asked. The woman whimpered loudly, looking between Marinette and Red Hood before sprinting as fast as she could in her bright pink heels, which wasn’t very fast, but neither Marinette nor the vigilante made to chase after her. 

She stared at him in shock. “Y-y-you k-killed─”

“They’ll live,” Red Hood interrupted. “I didn’t shoot anything vital. I have a little deal with the ol’ Bat. No killing normal scumbags like purse snatchers. Don’t worry, though. I’m completely free to take out any of the big league bastards. Like the Joker.” His voice somehow became darker, bitterer as he talked about that particular criminal.

“B-but─”

“Are you hurt?” the vigilante moved a hand towards where the blood had splattered on her shirt.

“N-no, that’s from…” she pointed to the taller criminal who was writhing on the floor. Marinette flinched. 

“Oh, good, good.” Red Hood stood there, almost awkwardly. 

That was… not how they handled things back in France. They didn't just shoot any random purse grabbers! But this was Gotham, right? Maybe they needed to be harsher in order to keep a tighter lid on the staggeringly high crime rate.

But still…

“S-should we call an ambulance?”

“I have it taken care of already,” he waved a hand nonchalantly. Marinette frowned, but nodded, biting her lip awkwardly. “What were you doing out this late?”

Marinette cleared her throat. “W-well, I was on a walk and then I heard that woman shouting for help, so I went and… yeah.”

“Try not to, next time…” Red Hood frowned. He looked at the shorter man, who still hadn’t gotten up. Marinette would’ve thought he was dead, but she could see his arm moving. “But you seemed to be able to take care of yourself, kid. Good job.” She nodded awkwardly. Marinette had been expecting to be berated not… whatever that was. Marinette was just glad that she hadn’t transformed. That might’ve been a little harder to explain.

“W-well, I should get going…” she said.

“Would you like me to escort you back to your house?” Red Hood asked.

“No, no, that’s okay,” Marinette shook her head. As she left, she smiled tightly. “Um, thank you, for… that…”

“No problem.” Marinette nodded with an awkward smile that could’ve been mistaken for a grimace.

She didn’t say anything, but as Marinette walked, she could feel Red Hood’s eyes on her, all the way back to the hotel.

When she entered the hotel, she was glad not to be immediately accosted by Alya, but she must’ve spoken too soon, because the second she entered one of the lounges that contained their entire class, Alya ran towards her.

“Marinette! Why didn’t you tell me that you and Adrien were─oh my God!”

Adrien took one glance at Marinette and leaped over the couch he was sitting on. He grabbed her hands in his, checking her over for injuries. “Why are you covered in blood? What happened? Are you hurt? Where? Who did this? Princess, who do I have to ki─”

“I’m fine!” Marinette exclaimed. “Don’t worry, it’s not my blood.”

“Uh…” Alix frowned. “Then what the fuck happened?”

Marinette wasn’t allowed to argue as Adrien forced her to sit on one of the couches. Lila glared at her. Marinette already knew that she’d interrupted one of Lila’s stories.

“Did you know that Gotham superheroes use guns?”

The next day was much calmer, fortunately. They’d arrived at Gotham Zoo where Lila told more stories and they’d admired the penguins and otters. It was relaxing and calm and Marinette didn’t have to be saved by any more gun wielding vigilantes.

But the next day? That wasn’t so calm.

Their next destination was Gotham Academy. They weren’t going to be taking any classes or anything. No. They were meant to have a playdate with one of the classes there.

And you know, they were all the same age. It’d be easy enough for the teenagers to bond over something.

But that wasn’t the problem.

It was a well known fact that most of the Wayne children had skipped a year or two. Could you really be surprised to find out that the twelve year old Damian Wayne was actually in a class full of fifteen year olds?

Marinette could tell from the glare that he sent every which way that he did not want to be here. She could also tell that only two of her classmates realised just who the snappish child sulking in the back was. 

Chloé sent Damian a nod of acknowledgement as she scowled at the two teachers and crossed her arms while Adrien smiled warmly at him and waved. Damian’s scowl merely deepened as he nodded back at the two blondes.

“I met him last Summer,” Adrien elaborated at her curious look. “He has some anger issues, but he’s cool all around…” he grinned suddenly. “Hey, maybe it runs in the family.”

She paused, glaring up at him. “I do not have anger issues, Agreste.”

Adrien held his hands up in surrender. “Course not, Milady. I would never suggest such a thing, Princess.” 

“Quiet, please, you young heathens!” Simon Trent, the school’s drama teacher, called out. He was a rather old man, leaning on a walking stick as he grinned maniacally down at them. Marinette couldn’t tell if he needed the stick or not. “Our lovely Mademoiselle Bustier has a few words to say, if you’ll allow her to.”

Mlle. Bustier stepped forwards, her hands clasped pleasantly in front of her as she smiled at them. See, this was the Mlle. Bustier Marinette knew! She was always one to smile and assure them that everything would be okay, even when the chances of that were highly unlikely. Marinette was curious as to what seemed to have their teacher so worried lately.

“Thank you, everyone, for having us today, and thank you, Mister Trent, for those kind words. Now, myself and my students have come here from Paris, in France, to celebrate the relations between France and America. Now, we’ve arranged it so that all of you can interact for the rest of the day, but you will have a buddy that you need to stick with. We want you to get along with each other, so at the end of the day, I’m going to ask you for a fact about your partner. Mister Trent will give you your partners now. Marinette, could you come here?”

Marinette frowned, but approached her teacher as Mister Trent spoke animatedly in the background. “Something the matter, Mlle. Bustier? You look tired.”

“What? No, no, nothing’s the matter. Now, I’m going to have to warn you about your partner. He’s the child in the back. Damian Wayne. Mister Trent warned me that he’s a bit standoffish, which is why I paired him up with you. I think that you’re responsible enough to deal with him and any of his tantrums. But I wanted you to know what to expect before anything. And thank you, Marinette. I can always count on you, can’t I?”

“Y-yeah.” Okay, being in the same classroom? That, she could do. Having to interact with her biological little brother for an undisclosed amount of time? You might as well kill her now.

Maybe the embarrassment would do it.

But Marinette swallowed her pride, approaching the preteen with an awkward smile and an uncomfortable look back at Adrien, who was fending off an overly eager teenage girl. Marinette couldn’t even bring herself to be jealous.

Oh this was going to be horrible.

When the overly happy looking French girl sat beside Damian, it took all of his self control not to send her away. Damian was not in the mood for this ‘friendship week’ bullshit. If you asked Damian, he should be with Father searching for the Riddler, who’d just escaped Arkham. Not having to play house with these French students. Damian could care less if a war broke out between France and England. At least maybe then Father would stop babying him. 

Damian was surprised when the older girl didn’t immediately start talking his ear off─she looked like the type who could speak for hours and never stop─but he quickly became annoyed when all she did was sit still and fidget.

“Are you going to say something or are we playing charades?” Grayson had introduced him to the activity a few months prior. He’d insisted that it would be helpful during patrol, but what Damian hadn’t understood was why they needed to play it with their entire clan. It was rather embarrassing and somewhat… fun.

“Oh! Oh, I’m─I’m so, so sorry! I… I just… you’re─”

“Damian Wayne, I know, my Father’s only valid heir. Is there a point to your babbling?” Grayson was a worthy contender, being the eldest, Todd was completely useless, given that he still continued to work against their Father’s wishes (even if Damian didn’t completely disagree with his methods) and Drake was totally abhorrent, end of story there. 

“I─sorry?” the girl raised an eyebrow, frowning openly at Damian. “You think that’s what I─you know what, never mind. I don’t care. Whatever. Let’s start over. My name is Marinette. I’m my Class’ Representative and I live in a bakery. What about you?”

Damian took one look at the girl and snorted. He was hardly going to humour this girl just to make her comfortable. If she continued yapping, he’d just ignore her. He had plenty of experience, given that Grayson and Gordon never shut up and Brown always found something to talk to Drake about over their comms. When Todd occasionally joined them, he always tried to initiate an argument with Father. Father mainly ignored Todd’s arguments, but he did shut everyone up the second that Todd joked about his death. He did that often. 

Pulling out his phone, Damian flicked through the files that he’d downloaded on the Riddler case. Damian was quite aware that the French girl─Marissa, or something─was looking over his shoulder.

The Riddler had escaped with the assistance of Scarecrow and Joker. It wasn’t any major interference from them. Scarecrow’s newest fear toxin had been released in Asylum and the Joker had presumably provided Nigma with a gas mask, and a necklace of some sort. A picture of Riddler escaping had been captured by Vicki Vale’s contracted photographer. Riddler was wearing a purple and green ensemble, but his trench coat was a long, deep purple, his mask and top hat were a dark emerald green. A magenta sash was wrapped around his hat. The necklace that Riddler wore was long, a bird’s feather on the end. He was holding a long, purple, ancient, traditional Chinese sword. The Riddler’s skin was light green. A normal person would think it was the lighting, but Marinette disagreed.

“Oh my God…” Damian frowned as he looked back at the French girl. She was staring at the Riddler in horror, particularly the necklace. She caught Damian’s gaze and immediately tensed, clearing her throat loudly. “That’s─that’s a disgusting outfit! I can’t believe that anyone, even a supervillain, would wear that!” She spoke loudly, looking pointedly at one of her classmates. Damian knew this one. Adrien Agreste, the scion of Gabriel. Damian hadn’t found him to be too annoying, but he did seem rather afraid to speak his mind. Damian completely disagreed with this mentality. It was Damian’s opinion that if you never spoke up for yourself, then you’d continue to be pushed around. Damian wasn’t the type to be pushed around.

Agreste and his partner, an annoying girl by the name of Jesslyn Rose Turner, approached them. Turner tried to latch onto him as they walked, but Agreste swiftly dodged the embrace in a way that made Damian raise an eyebrow. 

“Hey, Mari, you okay?” Agreste asked, looking at the French girl in concern.

“Yeah, fine. Just… hey Damian, could you show Adrien that picture of the Riddler?”

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

The girl─Marionette, maybe?─grinned sheepishly. It was the kind of grin that most people would think was real. Damian had been raised by the League of Assassins. This girl was clearly hiding something. “I’m a bit of an aspiring designer, so I like to ask Adrien for his opinions on things after I see them, as he’s a model, you know?”

“‘Aspiring’?” Agreste snorted. “Mari, you’ve designed for Jagged Stone!” It took all of Damian’s self control not to ask ‘who?’.

“You know Jagged Stone?” Turner perked up.

“Uh, yeah,” the girl─it had to be Marinette, right?─smiled before turning back to Damian. “So, the picture?”

“Alright.” If these two French students could help the case in any way, then Damian wouldn’t stop them. The Riddler was known for his… well, riddles. There was no way that the flamboyant outfit wasn’t a clue of some sort. Damian clicked on the image so that the outfit could be seen in better detail. Slowly, he turned it around. Immediately, Agreste made a sound that was somewhere between a gasp, a laugh and a whimper.

“You see it too, right?” she asked, the fake smile frozen in place.

“Oh, wow… that’s, uh… very interesting. Yeah, I see what you mean. It’s something else. Very topic-inducing... Hey, Marinette, I think there’s something that we need to discuss… over there.”

Before he or Turner could protest, Agreste and Marinette were halfway across the room, heatedly whispering between themselves.

Unfortunately for them, Damian was capable of reading lips, and he spoke French.

Now, if only they slowed down.

“Impossible… way… how… Hawkmoth… can’t…”

“Might… wrong… I don’t… there can’t… more?”

“I… Guardian… Maybe?”

“There… accessory… outfit...”

“Sword is… yo-yo… flute…”

“It’s possible… Mirac─… Tibet…”

“Hawkmoth… find out…”

“Unlikely… back in France… think that…”

“I don’t… wish Master Fu was…”

That… was a whole bunch of nothing. 

Damian understood absolutely none of what they said, but he did know something.

These two knew something.

When Marinette finally went back to Damian, she was practicing her breathing and trying not to freak out.

The craftsmanship… the effort… the design… it all pointed to something that Marinette did not want to consider, but they had.

But where would the Riddler even get a Miraculous? And how? Marinette was the Guardian. There weren’t any more spaces in the box, except for the missing Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses. Then again, the Rabbit Miraculous didn’t have a place in there, either. 

But how?

In the article that Damian had been reading, it had said that the Riddle had gotten the necklace off of the Joker, but that still raised the question of how?

“Hey, Damian,” Marinette said, trying to remain as nonchalant as possible. “Sorry about that. Adrien and I tend to geek out over jewelry and stuff. Comes with the trade, I guess.”

“You’re hiding something,” Damian accused tactlessly. Marinette hadn’t expected this kid to be so irrational. Even her, who’d acted like a completely uneducated baboon around Adrien, knew that would be a stupid play to make. 

But Marinette wasn’t one to be backed into a corner so easily.

“So are you,” she returned, smiling as she spoke. Damian shifted uncomfortably, looking like an angry kitten as he glared at her. “That was no article you were reading, Damian. Do you really want to go down this road? Or do you want me to ask why you’re looking at clearly classified documents?”

Marinette felt rather vindictive when Damian stared back at her in shock. He quickly composed himself, and what she was quickly learning to be his signature glare was back on his face. 

“What was your name again?” was not the response she had expected.

“W-what?”

“Your name. I don’t remember it.”

‘My brother is a real asshole, isn’t he?’ Marinette thought as she stared back at his distrustful gaze. “Marinette Cheng.”

“Well, Cheng, you should know that I don’t like games.”

“Too bad,” she smiled. “I love them.”

It was after twenty minutes of tense silence that something finally happened. It wasn’t something good, not in the slightest, but it was something.

Because neither she nor Damian had said anything in the past hour, she could clearly hear the conversations going on around them. Specifically, she could hear Lila.

“Yeah,” Lila was telling an American boy named Dwayne. He was hiding the bottom half of his face with his left hand as he shook sporadically. Lila didn’t seem to realise what was happening, as she was too busy with telling her tale, but Marinette could clearly hear his giggles. “I know Damian Wayne. We go way back. That’s probably why it was so natural for us to start dating, but I get that it’s not like that for everyone.”

“Y-you─” Dwayne cut himself off, grinning madly as he choked on his words. “You do know he’s there, right?”

“What?” Lila’s startled expression was priceless. She slowly turned to look in the direction of where Dwayne was pointing. Damian stared back at them boredly, his eyes narrowing in on Lila’s position. “I─I─th-that’s not─”

“You alright, Lila?” Alya’s voice came from the front, her ‘Lila-is-in-distress’ meter going off.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” she chuckled awkwardly, turning back to Dwayne. “You know that was just a joke, right? I knew that he was in this class.”

“Sure,” Dwayne nodded skeptically.

Damian turned to Marinette, a begrudgingly curious expression on his face. “That was not just a joke,” he stated tonelessly.

“No, it wasn’t,” Marinette agreed. At his questioning eyebrow, she continued. “Lila likes to tell people what they want to hear. People like to believe her.”

“You don’t,” he said, frowning as he looked between them. 

“I know that she’s lying,” Marinette said. She sighed as she laid her palm on her forehead. “But it’s not like anyone believes me or anything…”

“Agreste isn’t that stupid,” Damian commented, almost to himself.

“You’re right, he’s not,” she said. “Adrien knows that Lila’s a liar. But that’s only because La─I called her out in front of him, and he realised that she was lying. Only Chloé has also realised that Lila lives, eats and breathes lies, but she doesn’t care anymore.” It was worrying how little Chloé actually cared about this stuff anymore. Marinette wanted to reach out, but she knew that she’d only be shut down. As things were, Marinette was letting Adrien handle that front.

“So you’re not─” Before Damian could finish his sentence, three loud consecutive shots rang out. Marinette jumped in her seat as a green haired, white skinned… thing grinned maniacally down at them. When had the Joker even arrived? Marinette hadn’t seen him enter. She hadn’t even seen the door open.

“Holy shit,” she whispered, staring from the machine gun he held in hand to the three bullet holes in the roof. Three lackeys soldiered inside, each holding a large, terrifying gun in hand. Mlle. Bustier flinched, staring at the Joker in resigned horror. Adrien looked back at Marinette, but she held up a hand for him to wait. She needed to vet the situation. Lila was sitting perfectly still, but Marinette could tell that even she was afraid. Chloé’s eyes were narrowed in annoyance. She probably saw this as having the same level of severity as an Akuma attack. That was stupid. They could come back from an Akuma attack. This… they couldn’t come back from.

“Salut, students! I sure hope I’m not interrupting anything! After all, adolescence is a pivotal moment in life. You never know when you’ll die.” His grin widened, somehow. Rose whimpered and Alya’s hand crept towards their phones. Some American students were shaking and others were crying. Marinette couldn’t say that she was surprised. After all, these guys didn’t have to deal with life threatening situations every other week. “Now… you!” Joker’s index finger landed on Chloé. Marinette cursed quietly. “I want you to come here, and do me a small favour.” She could see the C4 one of the lackeys were holding. Chloé rolled her eyes, but stood and approached slowly.

“Why isn’t he going for you?” she asked Damian quietly.

“He’s probably planning on using me to threaten my Father somehow. Your friend, however…”

Marinette knew that something was about to happen the instant Chloé opened her mouth. “Can we get this over with, you freak? I have places to be you know.”

Marinette saw the second the Joker’s facade of happiness faded, being placed with something darker. It was when Chloé said ‘freak’. Shit.

“Well, don’t worry, sunshine. You may be missing your four o’clock, but you’ll be missing everything else, too.”

Marinette jumped up when he raised the gun, grabbing Chloé’s arm and pulling her out of the way. Reaching for the gun would be a dumb move, but maybe she could take his attention off of Chloé.

“Oh?” Joker’s eyes gleamed with interest as he paused, his lips turning upwards, emphasising the red lipstick on his face. “Well, that’s funny.” He looked at his lackeys. “Right?” They chuckled nervously. He examined Marinette. “Seems that we have a hero on our hands. But you know what the best thing about heroes is? Their downfall.” 

Marinette flinched, expecting for three rounds to end up in her chest, but she was shocked when something was tossed into her hands. She looked down at the C4 she was now holding in genuine surprise. 

Joker smiled. “I want you to place these around this little building. In the walls, on the boilers, et cetera, et cetera. But don’t worry! Nunchucks over there’ll accompany you so you don’t get any funny ideas. Like running. Or calling the Bat. I’ll be the one sending a little message over to him, with the help of my good, personal friend, Damian Wayne.” The twelve year old’s tense posture went rigid as his name was called. Marinette heard the whispers as her classmates whispered amongst themselves, looking from Lila to Damian, but she was too busy staring at nunchucks.

He was tall, very tall, his exposed, bulging muscles were covered in tattoos. A black and blue mask covered his face, but a leering grin and hard, stony eyes stared out of them. His torso was tearing through his thin shirt and his shoes seemed to be a size too small. Marinette could make out a faded scar on his neck. His large hands were holding a machine gun, but it looked to be tiny in his grasp.

...She could probably take him.

Which Marinette did end up doing.

The second they were down the hall from the room, Marinette kicked the man in the face, dropping the C4 on the ground. His mask fell away, showing a scarred face, an ugly moustache and a bald head. Marinette aimed her second attack for the one place men forget to guard, but would always take them down in one fell swoop.

Nunchucks dropped to the ground, clutching his crotch as he writhed on the floor and groaning in pain. Marinette kicked the gun away, but not before grabbing it and hitting him over the head with the butt of the weapon.

“Well…” Marinette looked around. “The fuck do I do now?”

She couldn’t call the police. They wouldn’t be able to do anything but negotiate, and Marinette got the feeling that the Joker wasn’t the type.

Batman was probably on the way, but since the Joker was expecting him, that would be dumb. Not to mention that there were roughly forty hostages in that classroom.

Realistically, she only had one option.

“Tikki,” Marinette quietly called. “Spots on.” Pink lights shone through the corridor as a French hero replaced a student. “Alright… here goes nothing.”

Marinette had just been taken away by this ‘Nunchucks’. Adrien was terrified for his girlfriend, even though he knew that she could handle herself. But there was also the matter of Marinette’s biological younger brother, who the Joker was eagerly staring at. Adrien was fairly certain that the criminal was salivating.

The Joker pranced about, throwing his gun to one of his lackeys. He pulled out a knife, advancing towards Damian. 

“Well, well, well,” Joker said, looking out at them. “What should I do now? Should I tear open your chest? Carve a smile into your face? Or maybe I should just kill you. That would certainly… tear Bats up! Haha! I crack myself up sometimes!”

‘What was the punchline?’ Adrien thought as he stood slowly. Nino’s hand shot out, sending him a warning look. He slowly lowered himself back into the seat, but every few seconds he would scoot towards the brute keeping watch of their side of the classroom. 

Damian stared up at the Joker expressionlessly. Adrien got the distinct feeling that the kid was used to this kind of thing. 

“No? Ya got nothing?” Joker raised his eyebrows in mock sadness. “Yo-you’re just like your father! You never laugh at my jokes! You’re always so stoic!” The Joker jumped in the air, clapping his hands together in excitement. “Oh, I love it! I can always imagine that it’s his chest I’m tearing into when I kill you.” He cracked his knuckles. “Then again, I suppose losing another son at my hands would do it for him,” the Joker said, chuckling. “Hey, hey, give me your phone, kid!” 

The Joker grabbed Damian’s phone from his pocket. It was unlocked for some reason, so the Joker quickly opened an app, snapping a selfie of the two of them. 

He looked at the class expectantly. “Well? What are ya looking at me for? Go like my newest post! It’s on ‘@BatJokes’, where I name dropped ‘@DamianWayne’─that is very unoriginal, kid─on Twitter! But I do get why your nickname is Demon Brat, kid. Your mommy is a work of art.”

“That was Todd,” was Damian’s grumble.

Everybody scrambled to open Twitter, finding the Joker's account and liking, commenting on and retweeting the post.

Joker’sGottaLottaLaughs @BatJokes · 17s

Just my new friend and I, @DamianWayne, hanging out in #GothamAcademy with a lotta French students for #FriendshipWeek . I suggest you get your tushie over here, Batsy. Wouldn’t want another Wayne to end it with a bullet in their head! 

Adrien flinched, quickly checking through other news sources. Nobody had anything up, so nobody knew. Shit. The chances of Damian getting out of this thing alive were slim.

But just as Adrien thought that, he caught sight of a faintly pink light on the other side of the door. It was far away, down the hall probably, but Adrien knew exactly what it meant. 

He quickly texted Alya, which the Joker wouldn’t notice, since most of them were still on Twitter. 

Adrien Agreste: Guy to your left. take him out in twenty seconds. trust me.

Alya Césaire:  risky. u sure?

Adrien Agreste: im sure. youll see why soon.

Ten seconds had been taken up by that minor conversation. Alya looked at Adrien cautiously and to the machine gun in the lackey’s hands. She nodded slowly. Alya had been the best choice of all of the superheroes in the room. Not only was she closest, but she also had the least self-preservation instincts.

Adrien looked at the door, rising slowly. He dodged Nino’s warning hand.

Five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One!

As the door burst open and Ladybug raced inside, Adrien delivered a swift blow to the brute’s stomach and Alya grabbed the other’s gun, twisting to the left and hitting him in the nose with her elbow. Ladybug quickly took notice of his and Alya’s actions as she changed her angle, sprinting at the Joker. He reached out to grab Damian, but the kid ducked down, allowing Ladybug’s yo-yo to wrap around the Joker, causing him to drop the knife as he was incapacitated. Marinette hit the Joker with the yo-yo in the head, and Adrien was surprised at how quickly he fell limply. Marinette must’ve used a lot of force. 

“Oh my God!” Alya exclaimed as she stood over the lackey, his gun in her hand. She quickly dropped it onto him, causing the lackey to groan in pain as he rolled weakly to the side. “Ladybug! What are you doing here?!” Alya’s camera was already pointing at Ladybug’s face.

“Ah─” Ladybug frowned. Behind them, Adrien quickly pointed to his neck. Marinette quickly started speaking in rapid French. Adrien assumed that even the most fluent French speakers in the class wouldn’t be able to understand her. After all, Adrien was French and he didn’t even know half of these abbreviations until he started attending school. “Chat Noir and I are in the area right now. We… have sufficient reason to believe that Hawkmoth is working with a number of criminals from Gotham. Now… I have to go. You know─” she gestured back to her earrings vaguely.

“Wait!” Alya called. “What about Marinette?! She was with another guy─”

“I’ve already taken care of that!” Ladybug exclaimed. “She’s coming right now! Well, bye!”

Marinette swung her yo-yo, using it to propel herself out of the room.

“Who was that?!” Dwayne demanded, staring back at Ladybug’s retreating figure in surprise. 

“Uh─” Adrien looked at his classmates nervously as Marinette hurried into the room. They all looked nervously between themselves, before simultaneously looking at Adrien and Chloé. They were probably the only people who could tell others about Ladybug without getting decapitated by the Mayor.

“That was…” Even Chloé looked unsure of how to answer. They all knew what would happen if this got out and the Justice League decided to investigate Paris.

“That was the class’s bodyguard!” Marinette exclaimed.

“Huh?”

“Sorry?”

Marinette’s smile twitched. “Right, guys?”

“Uh, yeah!”

“Totally!”

“Uh-uh,” Adrien said, looking cautiously at Marinette. “Chloé’s dad, the Mayor, hired her to keep our class safe during Friendship Week. You know how things would go if anything bad happened this week. Relations between France and America would be tense for years!”

“Who was she?” Mr Trent asked. “She looked like quite the connoisseur! Do you know if she acts?”

Adrien tried not to smirk at that, he really, really tried. Marinette didn’t even look at Adrien, she just elbowed him in the gut.

“She’s a cage wrestler,” Marinette explained. See, now would be a good time for Lila to start lying and helping them out , but she seemed content to sob dramatically and shake sporadically in Alya’s arms. “Best there is. Highly respected. But if you’re not from Paris, you wouldn’t know about it. It’s a bit underground, you see!”

Damian Wayne looked at them sceptically, pocketing his phone and crossing his arms. Adrien could clearly see that the kid didn’t believe them.

“Well, we should probably tie these guys up properly,” Marinette said, clapping her hands loudly. Mr Trent took out a packet of zip-ties, and Adrien did not want to know why he just had them on hand, but they were convenient so he let it slide. Adrien may have used six zip-ties for each of the clown’s limbs, but Adrien had heard stories about how much of an escape artist the Joker was, so he was merely being thorough.

And if, upon waking up from his unexpected nap, the Joker complained about how tight they were, and if Adrien were to suddenly become unable to hear, then that was entirely not his fault.

‘This is the third brother that I’ve met since going on this fucking trip,’ Marinette thought as Dick Grayson sat across from her, handing her a steaming paper cup of coffee. All of the students were being interviewed individually, and all of the American students were being picked up first. Marinette had seen Bruce Wayne with his son, but she wasn’t going to think about how they were in the same fucking building.

“It’s Marinette, right?” Grayson asked, smiling down at her. “I’m Richard, but everyone calls me Dick. Richard’s a bit stuffy, you know?”

“Nobody’s hurt, right?” Marinette asked. “After I got back, I wasn’t able to do a proper check because we had to tie up the Joker and his lackeys, but─”

“Everybody’s fine,” Dick assured her. “One of your classmates, Lila, I think, had to be taken to your hotel early because she was panicking so much, but other than that, everybody’s fine.” Marinette almost rolled her eyes, but she also knew how that would look, so she merely nodded. Marinette might have believed that Lila was actually scared, if not for the small smirk she’d sent Marinette as she was given a free ride in one of the police cars. “Now, I have a few questions about today. Are you up for them?”

“Yeah, I’m up for it,” Marinette said. She looked down at the cup of coffee on the school desk. It was a strange shade of brown. Very dark. Marinette preferred the sweeter kind. She couldn’t handle any bitter drinks. It probably came with growing up in a bakery.

“Alright. I understand that you jumped in to rescue one of the girls from your class, Chloé Bourgeois?”

“Yeah, I um… Chloé’s… not the nicest person, you know? She has a knack for causing problems, but she’s not a bad person, at heart. She didn’t deserve to get picked out by the Joker like that.”

“Why do you suspect that she was picked specifically?”

“She’s the Mayor of Paris’s daughter,” Marinette shrugged. “If she was killed by an American supervillain, or if she planted that C4 around the school, then this whole ‘Friendship Week’ thing would be ruined, you know?”

“And is that why you risked your life to save her?” Dick asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No. I just… reacted, I guess.”

“I see,” Dick nodded, writing something down on a notepad. “And this… ‘bodyguard’ of your class, uh… ‘Ladybug’... she saved you from Mr. Oliver Akton, yes?” Marinette assumed this was the name of the lackey who she’d kicked in the place where the sun doesn’t shine.

“Uh, yeah,” Marinette bit her lip. “When he wasn’t paying attention, I opened my phone and asked for her help.”

“Really? And could I have this contact information?”

“Why do you need it?” She asked suspiciously.

Dick shrugged. “We need to cover all of our bases. After all, it’s not everyday that a French pro wrestler takes down the Joker with a yo-yo.”

“Ahh…” Marinette frowned. “Well, you see… we don’t know who she is.”

He sighed, jotting something down onto his notepad. Marinette wondered if he was actually writing, or if he was just scribbling. “We gathered that much. A bit strange, no? That the Mayor hired a random pro wrestler to protect his daughter and her class without knowing her identity?” Marinette assumed that was rhetorical. “But you’re the first person to admit to having her contact information. That could really help us, Marinette.”

“I would… love to help you, really, I would, but… uh…”

Dick smiled at her. “But you can’t for a completely sound reason that you also can’t tell me because none of you are telling me the truth?”

“What?” Marinette’s eyes widened. “N-no. We’re telling the truth! Ladybug is a bodyguard.”

“Then why isn’t she guarding you?” Dick asked. He put down the pen, clasping his hands. “But you don’t need to worry, Marinette. Gordon’s not going to pursue this any further than the routine questions, so this is the last I’ll ask about it.” ‘‘Gordon’s not’. Notice how he doesn’t say that ‘I’m not’?’

“Right.” Marinette bit her lip. “Is there anything else?”

“No, no, you’re fine,” Dick smiled again. His teeth were really blinding. “That’s it for the interview, then. Do you want me to contact anyone? Your parents?” Dick looked down at a tablet in his hands. “Let’s see, Marinette Cheng… Césaire… Couffaine… ah, Cheng! Yeah, your mother and step-father’s emergency contact information is he─…” Marinette cringed. She knew exactly what Dick was looking at. Well, not exactly. Marinette knew that her birth certificate was on file, which Bruce’s name was on, but she also knew that Dick probably met her mother. He would’ve been ten at the time of her Maman’s… tryst with Mr. Wayne, so it wasn’t completely farfetched to say that they might’ve met. “You’re… Sabine Cheng’s daughter?” Dick asked.

“Uh, you know…” Marinette cringed. “I just remembered… I have something to do… over there… now… are we done with the interview? Yes? Good! See you!” Marinette sprinted from the classroom before Dick could get another word in edgewise.

As Marinette was running, she couldn’t help but think, ‘Shit, shit, shit, shit!’ Of all the people… it had to be somebody who more than likely knew… who could put two plus two together… oh shit… she was so fucked.

Marinette slowed down upon entering the next room because she could hear voices, and she didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself. And it was definitely a good thing that she slowed down, because guess who was in the hall she entered? None other than Bruce Wayne. And who was he talking to? Well, Mlle. Bustier, of course! And Mlle. Bustier was waving her over.

“Is something wrong, Mlle. Bustier?” Marinette asked, cringing internally. She ignored Damian’s suspicious gaze and Mr. Wayne’s curious ones.

“No, Marinette, nothing’s wrong,” Mlle. Bustier said, placing her hands on Marinette’s shoulders. “I just wanted to introduce you to Mr. Wayne. Marinette, this is Mr. Wayne. Mr. Wayne, this is Marinette. She’s our Class Representative, and the reason that nobody got hurt today.”

Marinette frowned at that. Both Alya and Adrien had helped Ladybug to take down the Joker and his lackeys.

“Ah, Damian was telling me about you, Marinette,” Mr. Wayne smiled kindly at her. Marinette couldn’t help but notice a fading scar under his ear. “He said that you found something strange about The Riddler’s outfit?”

“Uh, yes,” Marinette cursed internally. She did not want to have this conversation. She looked back at her teacher. “You know, Mlle. Bustier, I should really go back to the rest of the class─”

“Nonsense, Marinette,” her teacher smiled tightly. “Mr. Wayne has offered to give us a complimentary tour of the new Wayne Laboratories Building for tomorrow. Isn’t that wonderful? He’d even be leading it, he says! And he’s offered to upgrade our hotel’s security after what happened today!”

“Y-yeah, that’s great,” Marinette smiled tightly. “But you know, I don’t think─”

She cut herself off as Dick Grayson approached them. 

‘I’d rather give my Miraculous to Hawkmoth than deal with this.’

“Marinette,” Dick said. “We didn’t finish our interview.”

“I think that we were quite finished,” Marinette said, nodding fervently. ‘Oh God, oh fuck!’ 

“Grayson,” Damian nodded beside them.

“Is something wrong, Dick?” Mr. Wayne asked. Marinette quickly twisted out of Mlle. Bustier’s grip, ready to bolt if it was necessary.

“Nothing’s wrong, per se. But I do need to continue the interview with Miss─” 

“We covered all of the questions,” Marinette said, looking at Dick warningly. “I don’t think there’s anything left to talk about, do you, Mr. Grayson?”

“Ye─”

“No? Good. I need to go and water my cat. Yeah! Bye!” She hurried away to the other side of the hall where Adrien, Alya and Nino were standing. “Kill me,” she said, upon arriving.

“What?” Alya asked. “Girl, you were just talking with the Bruce Wayne─”

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you why that’s bad when we get back to the hotel tonight, so please don’t make any other plans because I’m most likely going to have a panic attack.”

Adrien tensed. “What is it? Did they─”

“Dick Grayson knows.”

“He knows?” Adrien repeated. “Did you─did you tell him?”

“No! He saw my file and he knew! And he knows that I know that he knows!”

Nino looked between all of them. “Why do I get the feeling that we do not know anything?” He gestured between himself and Alya.

“Because you don’t,” Adrien supplied.

“What?” Alya asked. “Girl, you told Adrien some big bad secret before me? I’m hurt.”

“That’s nice,” Marinette said, looking warily at Dick Grayson, who was weaving through the crowd. “I’m going to hide in the bus.”

She ran from the room without letting them say anything else. Marinette was well aware of all the eyes on her back.

“God, I am so fucked,” she said upon exiting the academy.

Chapter Text

“Does anybody know why Ladybug showed up?” Alix asked when they got back to the hotel and congregated together.

“She said they think that Hawkmoth is working with some supervillains over here,” Alya shrugged. God, Marinette was so glad that Lila was in her room for ‘recovery’

“Why?” Kim asked. “I mean, do they even know about Hawkmoth?”

“If Ladybug showed up, then yeah,” Alix shrugged.

“That’s not what I’m concerned with,” Nino said, turning to Alya and Adrien. “So, I know that like, half of us have used a Miraculous at some point, so I know that’s where you learned to fight, because that’s how I did, but Adrien, bro, how the fuck did you take out that guy? He was like… seven feet tall!”

“Yeah, what the fuck, bro?” Kim asked, slapping Adrien’s back good naturedly.

Adrien grinned. “I don’t only fence, you know.”

“Yeah, you also fight Akumas in your spare time,” Marinette muttered.

“Hush, so do you,” Adrien whispered back.

“They are so cute together,” Mylène said. Ivan smiled down at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“I can hear you,” Marinette pointed out. Mylène only giggled.

Alix rolled her eyes. “Marinette, we’ve been trying to get you two together for years now. You owe us an explanation on how this happened.”

Adrien grinned. “‘Years’ now?”

Marinette stared into his eyes. “Do you want me to pull out all of the dirt I have on you?” Adrien paled as Marinette looked back at them. “There was this one time that─”

“And I think that it’s time that you head to bed,” Adrien said, pulling Marinette up with him. “Alya, Nino, come on. We still need to talk.”

“Ugh.” Marinette’s groan caused the class to laugh loudly as she was pulled away by her boyfriend.

“Girl, WHAT?!”  

Marinette winced as Alya shouted. Adrien rubbed his temple and Nino stared at Marinette in shock, completely unfazed by Alya’s exclamations.

“You’re Bruce Wayne’s─” Marinette’s hand covered Alya’s mouth. Noises came from it, but none of them were understandable.

“Yes,” Marinette hissed, retracting her hand as Alya gaped openly. 

“But that means your mom and Bruce Wayne─” and suddenly the hand was back.

“Yes.”

“Oh, shit.” 

Nino looked between them. “So, Dick Grayson knows, but your dad doesn’t?”

“Don't call him that." Marinette said sharply. She hesitated. "Sorry. Mr. Grayson might’ve told him,” Marinette bit her lip. “But, yeah. I guess.”

“God, this trip is really out for you,” Alya cackled. “I swear, next thing we know, you’re going to end up related to the Queen of England, or something.”

Adrien looked up from his phone. “Actually, the Wayne butler is a distant cousin of them."

Marinette exhaled loudly. “I’m going for a walk.”

“You do remember what happened the last time that you ‘went for a walk’, alone, in Gotham right?” Adrien said, catching her hands in his own grip.

“I do,” Marinette said, staring back at him coolly. “I just… need air before tomorrow. And to think. And you know that I can take care of myself.”

“I do,” Adrien agreed. “I just worry about you, Princess.”

“I worry about you, too, Kitty,” Marinette smiled, kissing him quickly. “But I also trust you to beat the shit out of anyone who tries to hurt you. So you should trust me, too."

Adrien grinned. “You really know how to guilt-trip a guy, Mari.”

“I ship it,” Alya stage whispered in a raspy, sarcastic tone. Marinette laughed as she left, grabbing her coat on the way.

Going for a walk at night would help. It’d calm her down. She needed to calm down. Walking would help her think. It was best to do it outside, rather than in the hotel room, with Alya staring at her as she paced.

Marinette had just passed by an alleyway when she heard a scream from down another.

‘Well,’ she considered her options. ‘Since they already know I’m in Gotham…’

Marinette quickly transformed, and she was glad she did, too, when she saw what was in the alleyway. There must’ve been fifteen guys, surrounding a familiar redheaded woman.

“Mlle. Bustier…?” Marinette stared at the group below her. 

Mlle. Bustier was backing away from a man in purple and green, his henchmen flanking out as he swung a purple sword from side to side, speaking in a superficial tone. Marinette caught sight of the green skin and instantly put two and two together. Not only was the Riddler akumatized, but he also had a Miraculous.

“I─I don’t understand! We had a deal!” 

“Yes, we did,” The Riddler said. “That I wouldn’t harm your students if you brought me a certain Freeze Gun in Wayne Enterprises. Now, two things. First of all, I didn’t harm your students. Second, you haven’t brought me that Freeze Gun.”

“T-that’s because it wasn’t there. I-it’s in Wayne Laboratories. I-I should have it for you by tomorrow.”

“I’m impatient,” was the Riddler’s only reply as he held up his necklace. “A little butterfly gifted me with this. And, I think that you could do with a lack of inhibitions. See, all I have to do is say lib─”

Marinette’s yo-yo wrapped around Mlle. Bustier’s wrist, yanking her away. “Sorry, I don’t think she consented to having her free will taken away.”

The Riddler’s head snapped up. Ladybug frowned at the sharp smirk on his face. “Riddle me this: why does the little red and black bug think that she could stand against me?” Marinette’s eyes narrowed on the sword which swung in a slow, circular ark now. “And you think so little of me, Bug, my intention was to liberate this lovely young woman. She’d have the power to do whatever she wanted!”

“I’m sure,” Marinette rolled her eyes. “Are we getting to the part where we fight, now?”

“But Bug!” The Riddler’s eyes gleamed sharply as he drew back, his henchmen slowly disappearing into darkness. “We haven’t even gotten to the grand finale yet.”

She watched as they disappeared warily. When she was sure they were gone, Ladybug picked up her teacher, swinging them onto the roof of the Kane Hotel.

“Would you care to explain why you’re working with the Riddler?”

“I─” Mlle. Bustier flinched, sinking against a half-wall. “He t-threatened my students, Ladybug! I couldn’t say no! And now he’s going to hurt them!” Mlle. Bustier flinched. “The villains here… they’re different. They want to hurt people. Hawkmoth only wants your Miraculous, and everyone else is collateral. These… people… they like it. The pain and suffering. They enjoy hurting others. I could not let them near my class!”

“It’s okay,” Ladybug rubbed Mlle. Bustier’s shoulder comfortingly. “It’s okay. Chat and I will take care of the Riddler. You don’t need to worry. And we’ll protect your students. Don’t worry.”

“Really?” Tears streaked down Mlle. Bustier’s face. “You’d really make sure they stay safe?”

“Yes, we would,” Marinette nodded.

Mlle. Bustier closed her eyes. “Thank you, Ladybug.”

They sat in silence for a long time afterwards, until Mlle. Bustier eventually stood, smiling back at Ladybug.

“Thank you, truly.”

“It’s no problem,” Marinette said, smiling back at her. “Seriously, Mlle. Bustier. No bother, at all. You can always come to me if something is wrong.”

Mlle. Bustier approached the door, leaving Ladybug with only a smile and the thought, “Thank you, Marinette.”

Ladybug swung down from the Kane Hotel, continuing her walk after she transformed with new thoughts in her head.

When she walked past a certain alleyway, Marinette jumped when she heard a voice coming from behind her. “I thought you’d have learned your lesson about being out at night after the last time we met.”

She looked up at Red Hood. He leaned against a neon green sign, hands in his pockets and trench coat billowing behind him softly in the wind.

Marinette crossed her arms, looking back at the vigilante blankly. “What do you know about the Riddler?” she found herself asking.

“Nigma?” Red Hood asked in surprise. “Just another crazy bastard who doesn’t know when to shut up. Why?”

“Uh… school project,” Marinette excused. Hood didn’t look entirely convinced.  

“Uh-uh,” the vigilante said. “Well, I’ve been sent by the old Bat to watch over your class, so I’ll have to escort you back.”

Marinette didn’t think that was the only reason. “And you want to know about Ladybug.”

“Nope,” Hood said, surprising her. “Well, Batman does, so I’ve decided that I’m not going to ask you anything about her.” Hood paused, a hand lifting to his ear. He laughed after a minute of silence, removing something from inside his ear. Marinette couldn’t tell what it was in the dark. “Forgot to turn off my comm. Oracle heard all of what just happened. She’ll be reporting that back to Batman.” Hood said. Marinette could already tell that he was grinning underneath his red cowl.

“How many people are on your team?” she asked curiously.

“I’m not a part of Batman’s team,” Hood’s posture was tense. “I work with them, sometimes.”

“And babysit French teenagers for them,” Marinette raised an eyebrow.

“Just the ones who wander around in alleyways after dark.”

“What’s life without a little potential danger?”

“Potentially non-existent,” Hood said. 

Marinette snorted, holding onto her purse as she turned. “I can make it back by myself, Mr. Hood. Thanks for the conversation, though. It distracted me.” Marinette could feel narrowed eyes on her back as she walked away.

Marinette got the feeling that this wouldn’t be her last encounter with the vigilante.

“Shit,” Jason muttered softly. “I see it.”

“Told you,” his brother called, emerging from the shadows. “That is definitely something he would do.”

“You’re sure?” Jason asked, frowning at Dick’s police uniform. He quickly removed his cowl, and the domino mask he wore under that. Hey, you could never be too safe . “You’re certain that she’s his kid?”

“It’s on her birth certificate,” Dick said. “I knew her mother, Sabine. Seventeen years ago. She and Bruce dated for a couple of months. She was one of Bruce’s girlfriends that I didn’t terrorise.” That meant this woman, Sabine, must’ve been an angel of some sort, because Dick held a special place in his heart for all of the women Bruce Wayne decided to court. But still. A second secret love child? Or would Marinette be described as the first love child? She was older than Damian, after all.

“Then why’d they break up?” After all, why would any woman break up with Bruce Wayne, other than his evil children?

“Something to do with Two-Face. Although, I’m starting to suspect that maybe she found out she was pregnant, so she ran away without telling Bruce.” 

Jason rested a hand on one of his guns. “Are you going to tell B?”

Dick stared into the distance, sighing loudly and dramatically. “I don’t know. I’d love to ask ‘since when did we have another sister’, but I don’t want to do that to the poor kid without at least having a conversation with her. You should’ve seen her escape attempts today once she realised that I knew. Seems like she’d plow through Bane just to escape that conversation.”

“To be fair, I’d let the Joker kill me for a second time if I were in her shoes.” Dick elbowed him. Jason turned his face away, hiding a smirk. Nobody appreciated his death jokes. Well, Demon Spawn cracked his own, but he didn’t have a sense of humour, so it didn't count for much. “The trip is two weeks long, right? And they’re only on their third day. If she doesn’t tell Bruce by next week, then you can do it. Fair?”

“Yeah,” Dick ran a hand through his hair. “I looked into their schedule. They have a tour group tomorrow with Bruce. It’s complementary, I think. After the whole Joker fiasco. As well as that, they have three other days where they’ll be at Wayne Enterprises, not just that initial tour that Tim chaperoned for about… twenty minutes.”

“Tim met her?” Jason asked. 

“Yeah, he mentioned it during our meeting earlier. You know, the one you didn’t bother to show up to. Apparently, she noticed something was up with the Riddler’s clothes. From what I’ve gathered, she’s absolutely shit at lying.”

“Must come from her mother’s side of the family,” Jason muttered quietly. “Oh, tell Babs and Tim.”

“Why─oh yeah. Shit.” There was no way either one of them hadn’t looked into the girl after hearing about her suspicious behaviour from Damian. They needed to cover all of their bases. “Hey, uh, could you, um… tell Babs. For me. Please?”

Jason stared at his brother in complete and utter fascination. “You broke up again?”

“We didn’t break up!” Dick exclaimed. “I just… cannot interact with her right now without spontaneous combustion.”

He sighed. “Dickybird, if you’re going to propose to your girlfriend, then I suggest you talk to her, before she hacks your computer and finds out that you’ve been looking at engagement rings. Also, tell Gordon. Otherwise he’ll probably kill you.”

“If I ask Gordon for permission, she’ll kill me.”

“...Fair point.”

“I don’t think either of you have realised that you left your comms on,” a new voice rang out from their ears.

Jason couldn’t hold in his laughs as Dick uselessly babbled and attempted to explain what she’d overheard.

Well, at least Bruce hadn’t been on. He wouldn’t hesitate to ground them both.

And sure, Jason’s an adult and doesn’t actually talk with Bruce anymore, but he would find a way to do it. 

After all, it was Bruce. 

“Why is my fencing teacher here?” Adrien asked the next morning. 

“Originally it was Damocles, but he broke his leg the day before the trip, so they had to get a replacement, but they couldn’t get somebody in time, so they only just sent D’Argencourt down,” Marinette said as she tied her shoelaces. She got the feeling that she’d be running around (away) a lot.

“So this doesn’t have anything to do with a certain supervillain that attacked us yesterday?” Alya asked, resting her elbow on Marinette’s shoulder.

“I don’t know,” Marinette shrugged as Mlle. Bustier called for the class to gather around the two teachers.

“Alright, since Mr. Wayne has offered to give us a tour of the new Wayne Laboratory Building, I’m going to chaperone half of you for the first two hours, and Mssr. D’Argencourt is going to take the other half on the tour, and we’ll switch after that. We’ve decided to take you to a ‘mall’, as the American’s call it, for some free time when the other half is on the tour. Now, Mssr. D’Argencourt is going to call out for his half of the class, and I’ll take the rest of you to the bus.”

Shit. So there was no way to get out of this, at all. Marinette was hoping that one half of the class would miss the entire tour and that she could somehow sneak her way onto that side of the tour.

Marinette was put into Group B, Mlle. Bustier’s group, which meant that she was going to be stressing for two whole hours about the tour. Oh, this was going to be horrible. And she wasn’t even in Adrien’s group!

“Chin up, girl,” Alya said, putting her arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “You may not have Adrien in your group, but you’ll still have Lila and I!”

“Right, because that’s so─Alya.” Marinette looked at her friend seriously. “You cannot, under any circumstances, tell Lila what I told you last night. I know I told you to keep it quiet last night, and I know you understand that, but she cannot know. At all.”

Alya frowned. “What? You don’t want her to know that you’re her future Sister-In-Law?”

“I─” Marinette sighed. “How… how old do you think Damian Wayne is? Remember, we saw him yesterday.”

Alya visibly hesitated. “W-well, he looks quite young─”

“He’s twelve, Alya,” Marinette said. “Twelve years old. And yesterday she said that her Aunt was Martha Wayne’s cousin. You know what her lie implied? Incest. And that’s fucking nasty, Alya.”

“Her lie?” Alya repeated. “Marinette, we’ve been over this. Lila’s not a─”

“Alya, what reason would I have to be jealous over Lila?” Marinette asked. “To be completely convinced that she’s a liar? Even Adrien knows it.”

“I─I don’t─” Alya shook her head. “L-let’s talk about this later, Marinette. We need to keep your mind off of your family, so─shit, sorry!”

How ironic was it that Lila Rossi was the only person that could get Marinette’s mind off of her fucked up situation? And that was only because Marinette hated that she could tell any lie and get away with it. Marinette hated seeing her friends getting manipulated, so Lila really pissed her off. So much so that she had momentarily forgotten about how she was Bruce Wayne’s daughter, and that she was going to be seeing him in about two and a half hours?

“It’s fine, Alya,” Marinette said, casting a cursory glance around the bus. She could see Lila, Chloé, Max, Nathaniel and Alix were also in the group. They had the smaller group, as D’Argencourt’s group had eight students instead. Well, hey, at least none of Lila’s die hards were on the bus. Not including Alya, of course. Alix was too distracted by looking through Nathaniel’s sketchbook to pay Lila the attention she required, so Lila was currently ranting to Max about this one time that she’d created a device which could cure blindness, but it was still in development so it wouldn’t be released for another six years. Looking back at her companion, Marinette was surprised at the thoughtful look on Alya’s face. “So, where are we going first?”

“In the shopping centre? I was hoping to check out any fabric shops, but I still need to get souvenirs for Maman and Papa, too.”

“Oh, same,” Alya nodded. “Nora asked me to get her some new boxing gloves from here. She said the good kind is expensive, so she gave me the money for it.”

“What’s weird about America is that they don’t add tax to the labels on the price,” Marinette said. “You have to wonder, do they carry around a calculator or something so they don’t give too much or too little?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they just do the maths in their head. Or guess. But that has got to be the most awkward feeling ever.”

Marinette snorted. “You know that feeling when you have to dig around in your purse to get the money out after they’ve given you the total? That’s the most awkward feeling ever, because you know there are people around and they’re silently judging you.”

“Oh, stop, I have PTSD,” Alya slapped Marinette’s arm lightly. “Anyway, what I want to know is how you and Adrien started dating! You still haven’t told me!”

She grinned. “Well─”

“Oh, Alya!” Lila exclaimed from behind them. “Come over here! I need to show you something!”

“I…” Alya hesitated. She frowned at Lila. “Can it wait? Marinette was in the middle of telling me something.”

“Oh.” Lila deflated visibly. “I─I see. If you’d rather be with her, you could’ve just said so.” Lila turned back, returning to her seat with her head hung. Marinette didn’t miss the evil eye Lila sent her way. Max immediately noticed that something was wrong with Lila, rushing to her aid in seconds.

Alya grimaced. “Lila─”

“Huh. We’ve gotten to twenty-three,” Marinette said, pulling out her phone and texting just that number to Adrien.

“Twenty-three?”

“The amount of times Lila has pulled you away from me for something ‘important’. I mean, if twice is a coincidence, what’s this?”

“Twenty-three times…” Alya stared blankly ahead. “Oh.”

Marinette suspected that Alya would be lost in her own head for a while. Well, in the name of Lila’s lies being exposed, she wouldn’t mind. After all, Marinette hated her friends being lied to about how Lila had saved Jagged’s cat, how she knew Clara Nightingale, about how she knew Prince Ali, about how she was dating Dami─fuck.

And just when Marinette was distracted, too.

Two hours passed much too quickly for Marinette’s liking. One minute she was browsing these purple salt lamps, and the next she was outside of the new Wayne Enterprise Laboratory Building. Marinette had to admit, the building was impressive. It was covered in bluish glass windows. It was long, but not tall. If she had to guess, it was probably three stories. Their class was scattered outside of the building as Mlle. Bustier conversed with a receptionist inside.

“Wow,” Alya said, pointing her phone in the direction of the building. “Are you guys seeing this? It’s huge! I mean, I knew it was gonna be big, but…” Alya whistled slowly, ending the video as she turned to Marinette. Alya had been recording snippets of their trip, planning to piece them together for her blog when they got back. “Theoretically…”

“Alya, if you make one joke about my father or something I will pulverise you.”

Alya held up her hands in surrender. “I was just going to ask if you’d be the one to inherit it, being the older biological child, and all.” She paused, looking over at Marinette’s shoulder and freezing suddenly. Alya shook her hands frantically, but Marinette was still looking at the building.

“I’m not going to inherit anything. He’s not my Dad, Alya. I mean, sure, he fathered me, but it’s not… it’s complicated.” Marinette and Adrien had discussed this the other night. If Bruce were to find out he had another kid, he might fight for custody of Marinette, or at least insist that she spend time with him in America, and Marinette couldn’t risk it. Things would get too complicated if Marinette was forced back to Paris because of an Akuma attack. At least for this school trip, they could claim to be making out in a closet or something whenever they disappeared. But Marinette suspected that she’d be under close watch twenty-four-seven if she revealed the truth.

Maybe when they defeated Hawkmoth.

“And here I thought I had gained a new baby sister.” Marinette jumped at the new voice, spinning around to see the one and only Dick Grayson.

“I─ah─uh─” Marinette failed to articulate as Dick Grayson laughed. 

“I don’t know how I didn’t see it, kid. I mean, you have all the features. Black hair and blue eyes. Kind of a broad subject, but B stays consistent.”

“Um─well, you see, uh─I don’t, um─”

“You alright, little sis?,” a mocking voice called out from behind her. “You look a little overwhelmed.”

“W-well─I─er─don’t─um─know?”

Alya stepped forwards.“I’m gonna have to ask you to stop breaking my best friend. She’s delicate.”

Marinette elbowed her, breathing in deeply. “Did you… did you tell him?”

“My brothers and I have decided to give you the honour of doing that,” Dick said, leaning against a pillar. Marinette was seventy-two percent certain that the pillar was worth at least three hundred million. It was shiny. 

“I’d… I’d rather not.”

Alya frowned. “Girl, why not? He’s Bruce Fucking Wayne!”

“Actually his middle name is Thomas,” Dick interjected. 

Marinette shifted uncomfortably. “Don’t we have a tour to get to?”

Dick examined her with narrowed eyes. After ten seconds, Alya made up a random excuse, probably sensing that Dick was about to give some sagely life advice and that it wasn’t her place to be present.

As Dick opened his mouth, Marinette found herself tensing apprehensively.

“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

“Sorry?” Marinette asked. ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen? Oh, I don’t know. Hawk Moth could attack Paris while I’m away and take Adrien’s Miraculous and I wouldn’t be able to do anything because I wouldn’t be able to escape from playing house with the Waynes?’ But as Marinette thought that, something else crept into her mind. ‘And that’s if he doesn't turn me away.’

“Think on that,” Dick said, slinging a bag over his shoulder and walking off. It took all of Marinette’s control not to shout, ‘that didn’t help at all, Dick!’ But instead, she had to focus her attention on Alya’s swinging from left to right erratically. Mlle. Bustier had left the building, and a familiar man was standing at her side. 

“I see we’re all here,” Mr. Wayne said, frowning at Marinette. She tensed, but tried to remain as calm as possible. Maybe he was still thinking about her running away from Dick yesterday. There was no way he knew. After all, Dick himself had said that he hadn’t told, so… he must’ve been telling the truth, right?

Marinette was going to hope for the best and try to remain as far away from Mr. Wayne as possible.

“Before we start,” said Mr. Wayne, turning to Mlle. Bustier. “I must apologise for missing the first tour. Something came up, so I had to send an intern to lead them around the facility.” Yeah right. There was no way this was a coincidence. Mr. Wayne knew. He fucking knew. Marinette was so dead. There was no coming back from this. Why else would he show up to this tour, but not the other? But if Bruce knew, why didn’t Dick say anything? To make her suffer for not telling anyone?

No, that didn’t make sense.

Why was Bruce Wayne on her tour, and not Mssr. D’Argencourt’s, if he didn’t know about certain familial ties?

Really, what other reason would the Bruce Wayne show up at Marinette’s tour, no, invite Marinette’s class on a tour, if he didn’t have a hidden agenda? It had to be something really important, or else─

Oh, God.

Oh, fuck.

There had to be an ulterior motive, and Marinette thought she knew what it was. 

This was about the Riddler’s costume.

She should’ve known something was up when she saw those strange files that Damian had. She should’ve thought, ‘hey, maybe I should keep my mouth shut,’, but she didn’t, and now Bruce Wayne wanted to know what she knew.

But why?

Why was that even important? Seriously, what would some random CEO want with her thoughts on a supervillains’ terrible fashion sense? They all had ugly costumes! This was horrible.

But that was all wishful thinking. Because Bruce Wayne definitely knew that he was her father.

‘Is giving my Miraculous to Hawkmoth an alternative option here?’

“Girl, you okay?” Alya whispered, her hand landing on Marinette’s rigid left shoulder blade. Marinette sent her a shaky smile and a thumbs up, feeling that if she were to open her mouth right now, any sounds that came out would be several octaves too high.

“I’m just going to lead you around the first few floors,” Mr. Wayne said as they passed several doors on their way inside, before finally stopping outside of a room with a large glass fish tank. The container was empty and could probably house Aquaman. The glass was quadruple-paned and if Marinette had to guess, probably bulletproof. She wondered why there was so much security for a random fish tank. 

“Where are all the fish?” Alix asked, peering into the tank.

“We have a shipment of all sorts of rare and exotic breeds coming in next week,” Mr. Wayne said flippantly. “This building is still new, so a few key things are still missing.”

But Marinette was curious as to why there were four, almost concealed lasers on the edges of the inside of the fish tank. A bit much for some ‘rare and exotic breeds’ of fish, no?

“Oh, cool,” Alix said.

Except, it seemed that a few key things being missing was a common thing. In more than one empty room, Marinette could practically feel her Miraculouses powers waning. It seemed that the rooms were reinforced against superhumans, yet each of these rooms were bland and empty, with a reinforced, glass wall separating it in half.

It was almost like a prison cell.

Mr. Wayne didn’t let them into these rooms, however. He said they were ‘boring’ and ‘mundane’, yet as they passed one particular room with a steel door and another wall of glass, Marinette couldn’t quell her panic as she felt her connection to Tikki cut off suddenly. Marinette slipped a hand into her purse, just to make sure that Tikki hadn’t disappeared, and another crept up to check on her earrings. 

...Why did Mr. Wayne have rooms that could probably hold each member of the Justice League captive?

Marinette received no answer, but she did sigh loudly in relief when they got away from that room. She could feel Tikki again, and not just physically. 

They stopped inside a room with a large microscope, a lot of books and a white table in the centre. People milled about, experimenting and all the likes.

Mr. Wayne told them to split off into two groups, so that the scientists working in the lab would have a better job showing them a few cool things.

Marinette was in the bigger group. Somehow, she ended up with Chloé, Lila and Alya as her partners.

“Run me through with a chainsaw, please,” Marinette whispered under her breath.

Oh, this was beyond corrosive.

It was…appalling.

As Mr. Wayne chatted amiably with Mlle. Bustier in the corner, Lila told the woman who was showing them a prototype for a new Wayne Enterprises phone model that she was actually related to Albert Einstein through his cousin, so she knew more about what was being said than the actual scientist present. Chloé started whining about her clothes and her hair and her manicure and the temperature and the ugly decor and the cheap materials and basically everything that existed in the laboratory. Marinette suspected that Chloé was afraid that neither Adrien nor Sabrina were present, so this was a defense mechanism, of some kind. Meanwhile, Alya was asking question after question after question. 

The poor woman didn’t even get the chance to answer.

Marinette needed a break, so she made a quick excuse about needing to use the bathroom and scurried outside.

And here’s the problem; Marinette didn’t know where the bathrooms were. Mr. Wayne hadn’t pointed them out and nobody asked.

Perhaps she could investigate those weird rooms─

“Let me guess, you don’t know where you’re going?” Marinette must’ve jumped a mile into the air as Mr. Wayne chuckled lightly at her reaction.

‘I’d sooner jump off the Eiffel Tower.’ Marinette stared up at Bruce Wayne with wide eyes. ‘I’m so dead. Gone. Deceased. You may as well bury me under a pile of dry cement and leave me for the rats.’

“Well, it’s a big place,” Marinette shrugged helplessly. ‘There is no crueler fate than the one I’m about to be subjected to.’ 

“I apologise if I scared you,” Mr. Wayne said. “I’ve been told that I need to stop being so sneaky.”

“Oh, really?” Marinette asked faintly. ‘This is worse than Stoneheart. No, the Sentimonsters. No, Mayura. No, Hawkmoth. No, Heroes Day. No, Miracle Queen. This is just… really bad.’ “That’s cool. So, umm… bathroom?”

“I’ll walk with you,” Mr. Wayne said. ‘No, thank you, Mr. Wayne. Please, just point me in the direction and I’ll deal with any repercussions if I get lost. You don’t have to worry about little ol’ me.’ Oh, how Marinette wanted to refute him. How easy it would be. But even as Marinette thought about that, she knew that she couldn’t. You can’t say no to a billionaire. 

(Audrey Bourgeois does not count.)

But even as Marinette nodded meekly, she knew for a fact that every excuse she fed herself was utter bullshit.

“The bathrooms are on the floor below us,” Mr. Wayne said as they moved. “We’re still doing maintenance, so we haven’t gotten to fixing up the lavatories here.”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed. “If that’s the case, then why’d you offer us a tour of this place?”

Mr. Wayne regarded her emotionlessly. “Sorry?”

“Why would you, Bruce Wayne, billionaire, philanthropist and all of those other titles you have, invite a random French class on a tour of their new, unfinished lab? I mean, you hardly offer tours to everybody who’s affected by the Joker.” So Marinette may have been a bit over-aggressive, but in her defense, she was way too suspicious of all of this.

This facility seemed more like a prison than a science lab. And another thing, something Mlle. Bustier had said, it’d been bugging her for a while. Mr. Freeze’s gun, it was here. In Wayne Laboratories. A place that could definitely hold any meta-human or alien that was too dangerous. But why would the Waynes get some supervillain’s weapon? Why wasn’t it locked away in some underground government facility?

It was all too suspicious, and Marinette was beginning to suspect that Mr. Wayne’s presence actually had nothing to do with her, after all.

Mr. Wayne frowned down at Marinette. She shuddered under his imperious stare, but didn’t say anything. “My son Damian tells me that you were quite moved by the Riddler’s costume yesterday.” ‘Subtle.’

She rolled her eyes as she looked away from him. “The colours clashed and there was no coordination or balance between the accessories and the clothes.” Just like every outfit created by Hawkmoth, the Riddler’s clothes and his akumatized form was horrendous. Gabriel Agreste would probably jump off of a building if he saw that. “Why do you have holding cells here?” She really shouldn’t know, or ask, that, but when has Marinette ever been subtle?

Marinette felt like her very soul was being examined with the way that Mr. Wayne stared at her. “Why’d you lie to get away from your friends?”

“Why’d you answer my question with a question?”

“You just did it yourself,” Mr. Wayne grinned. The elevator dinged as they stepped outside. “Who’s Ladybug?”

“Boxer. Who’s Batman?” ‘I’ll ask about your superhero. See how you like it.’

“There’s a couple different answers. Dark Knight, World’s Greatest Detective, Caped Crusader. Personally, my favourite is ‘Flying Rodent’. Why did you run away from my son when he was interviewing you yesterday?”

“I was dealing with the stress of meeting a deranged sociopath. Why was your other son looking at military-level files on the Riddler yesterday?”

Mr. Wayne didn’t miss a beat. “Damian has a passing interest in supervillains.” They stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Here’s the bathroom. I trust you can find your way back?”

“Can you find yours?” Marinette raised an eyebrow defensively as Mr. Wayne chuckled. Marinette scurried into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and leaning against a wall.

‘Let’s not drag attention to ourselves, Marinette. Let’s not give Mr. Wayne any indication that you’re related to him, Marinette. Let’s not make him think that you have powers of any kind, Marinette. Let’s be as normal as fucking possible, Marinette.’

Marinette groaned. “Are those instructions too difficult, Marinette?” She grabbed her phone, calling the first number in it. He picked up immediately. “Adrien?”

“Yes, M’Lady?”

His voice was all she needed to calm down. “I think there’s more to my─to Mr. Wayne then we thought.”

“What made you think that?” Adrien asked. “Was it the prison cells or the fact that they cut off any connection to our Kwamis?”

She flinched. “Well, yes, but I… I think he may be a supervillain.”

“What?”

“Come on, it makes sense! Those rooms could probably hold the entire Justice League captive! He has a Freeze Gun! How would he get his hands on a thing like that, if not illegally?” 

“Marinette, I don’t think… does he seem like a supervillain to you?”

“Nobody seems like a supervillain, Adrien,” she snapped.

“My father seems like one,” Adrien said pointedly.

“Yeah, but he’s not one so it doesn't count.”

“That’s not the point I’m trying to make, Mari.”

She scoffed, loudly. “Then please, enlighten me.”

“Are you sure this isn’t you trying to avoid the whole confrontation by claiming that he’s a supervillain?”

“Yes I’m sure!”

“M’Lady…” 

Marinette swallowed. “I’m… forty-one percent sure.”

“That’s not very sure, Princess.”

“I know, I just…” Marinette sat heavily on a toilet lid. She sighed. “Dick Grayson showed up earlier, just before we entered the lab. He told me that if I didn’t tell Mr. Wayne by next week, then he’d do it himself.”

“You’re scared.”

“No shit I’m scared!” she exclaimed, scoffing loudly.

“No, that’s not what I meant, Marinette,” Adrien said. “You’re scared that you’ll be rejected, so you’re going to try everything within your power to avoid being found out.”

“No,” Marinette said immediately.

“No?” Adrien asked. “Princess, need I remind you that it was I who you had a huge crush on? You would’ve jumped off of the Eiffel Tower to avoid confessing to me, back then.” Marinette couldn’t argue with that. “Look, Marinette, I’ll stand behind you every step of the way, but I want you to really think about this. We both know you’ll regret doing nothing.”

“I know that I’ll regret saying something, too,” Marinette snapped.

“Will you?” Adrien questioned. “I know that you’re thinking of all of the bad outcomes, but I want you to imagine what’ll happen if Wayne accepts you. You’ll get to meet a part of your family that you never knew. And I mean really meet. Not whatever dance you have going on with them right now.”

Marinette huffed out a throaty laugh, blinking rapidly. “Do you have notes out or something?”

“You know it.” She could hear the grin.

But what if… what if she told Wayne, and he didn’t care? And he told her she wasn’t valid or something stupid like that? What then?

“Stop,” Adrien said. “I can hear you thinking from across Gotham.”

“Ha.”

“Marinette, it’s okay that you’re scared, but you also have to face those fears at some point. Or else you’ll never forgive yourself.”

She frowned. “Why are you so insistent that I tell him?”

“Because I know you,” Adrien sighed. “When you left for that walk last night, I talked with Alya. We both realised that you’ll never admit to anyone that you actually want to tell him. You’re not… you’ve always been stubborn like that, Bugaboo.” Marinette swallowed. “I won’t bring it up again if you don’t want me to. In fact, I’ll find a way to wipe it from my brain if you want me to, but I really need you to think about what you want. If you don’t say anything, that’s fine. Just like it’s fine if you decide to do it.”

“Uh-uh,” Marinette uttered non-committedly. 

“I think you should call your Mom,” Adrien said.

“What?”

“She knows the most. She’s met both of you. She could probably tell you how he’ll react to another kid, and based on what I’ve heard about Damian Wayne, he won’t even bat an eye.”

“I…” Marinette sighed. “I’ll think about it. Thanks, Adrien.”

“No problem, Bug. Love you.”

“You too,” she said, hanging up quickly.

Marinette dropped her head into her open palms. “Fuck.”

She knew that it was because of fear, but that didn’t change anything. That fear was hardly unfounded. If Bruce found out, then Marinette would be forming a commitment with somebody outside of France. This trip to Gotham was different than having a father all the way in America. She’d have to visit constantly and would always have to risk her secret identity just to interact with him.

...Would it really be that bad, though?

Yes, yes, it most definitely would. Totally. Completely. And besides, Bruce Wayne was a man who was almost always being targeted by a supervillain. Did Marinette really want that for herself? Maman clearly didn’t.

After all, why else would her Maman leave Gotham when she was pregnant? Why else would she never contact Bruce Wayne and tell him?

...Why did Maman leave?

Marinette stood up. Adrien was right. She needed to call her Maman and get some answers.

Huh. Okay then. That was… not what Marinette was expecting.

She had thought that they’d broken up because of something like Maman getting kidnapped or something. That wasn’t it.

(To be fair, Harvey Dent, or Two-Face, had attacked her workplace, but that wasn’t why she’d left.)

Maman hadn’t even known she was pregnant when she’d left.

They’d broken up because of some reporter. A woman named Vicki Vale had found out about their relationship and broadcasted it everywhere she possibly could, portraying Sabine in a terrible light. Gold digger, whore, slut. Maman was called every word in the book. She couldn’t deal with all of the hate and backlash, so she and Bruce had made the mutual decision to break up.

So why hadn’t Sabine called Bruce and told him that he was a father?

Why, because she didn’t have his number, of course!

No, seriously. Upon arriving in France, Sabine’s purse had been snatched, and with it went her phone. She had no way of contacting Bruce to say, “Congrats, you’re a dad!”, so she didn’t. Marinette suspected that Sabine had still been bitter about her treatment from the American Media, so she’d unconsciously didn’t try too hard to find ways of contacting Bruce. She wouldn’t blame her Maman if that was the case.

And then Tom had walked into the call and somehow he’d known why Marinette was so worried and told her that he’d never feel angry if she wanted to have a relationship with her biological father. Marinette had no idea how he’d known─she loved him, but he could be somewhat dense when it came to less obvious emotions.

Marinette took out her phone again, sending Adrien a text saying that she was sorry for being snappish and explaining what had transpired over her phone call with her parents. Adrien sent back an assortment of emojis that Marinette couldn’t decipher, but from what she gathered, he was happy.

Marinette still had no idea of what to do, but at least now she would admit to herself that yes, she did want to have a relationship with Bruce, and that she’d been too afraid to even think about it.

She was still afraid.

But that didn’t change anything. 

Marinette was going to face her fears.

Definitely. Probably. Maybe.

…Maybe Adrien could help her face her fears.

When Marinette returned to the lab, she was surprised to find them gathered around a weapon of some kind. A long gun, probably forty-five centimetres with two big blue stripes on opposite sides lay out on the table. 

One cautious glance at Mlle. Bustier in the corner confirmed her thoughts. Mlle. Bustier stood tensely, as far away from the gun as physically possible. Her fists were clenched tightly and her jaw set grimly.

So this was the freeze gun that the Riddler wanted.

Why?

Marinette didn’t have time to dwell, because Alya was bounding towards her, grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the table. “Girl, where have you been? It’s been, like, half an hour! The tour’s gonna end soon!”

“Sorry, Alya,” Marinette smiled tersely. “Maman called. I needed to talk to her about…” Marinette looked at Mr. Wayne, who was chatting amiably with one of the scientists. Marinette didn’t miss the way he glanced at Mlle. Bustier. So that’s what he knew. “Things.”

“Uh-uh,” Alya nodded enthusiastically. “And you missed the gun! Mari, it was so cool! They froze this huge tub of milk and they let us touch it! It was so cold! Oh, this is so going on my blog!”

“Right…” ‘I didn’t miss much, then,’ Marinette glanced at the frozen vat of milk. ‘I have enough experiences with ice themed villains, thanks.’ 

Alix approached them out of nowhere. Marinette looked at Alix’s companions and cursed internally. This was not innocent at all. “That’s cool and all, Alya, but Marinette, what did you and Mr. Wayne talk about?”

“Um… huh?”

“We all saw him follow you,” Alix said. “Come on, what was it?”

“Nothing, really,” Marinette shrugged. “He just gave me directions to the bathroom and we split up. I think I heard his phone ringing.”

“Really? That’s it?” Alix looked back with a snort. “I told you so, Lila.”

“It was just a joke,” Lila shrugged. “I didn’t mean any harm by it, Alix. You know I’d never seriously imply something so… deplorable.”

Oh.

Well, Marinette knew exactly what Lila had been ‘joking’ about.

Bitch.

“Well then,” Mr. Wayne said, clapping his hands together with a smile. “That’s all the time we have for today. Let me just say that it was a pleasure to have you all here and thank you for visiting Wayne Enterprises. I’ll walk you out.”

“Thank god,” Marinette whispered to Alya as they left the building. “I genuinely wanted to jump out of a window there.”

Alya was humming contentedly to herself. “Do you think ‘a weapon that defies quantum physics itself’ would be a good way to describe Mr. Freeze’s cold?”

“Maybe give a physical description, too,” Marinette advised smiling slightly as Alya bounced with every step she took.

When they reached the bus, Mr. Wayne made another speech and thanked Mlle. Bustier. Just when Marinette was just about to get onto the bus (she’d stopped to tie her left shoe─that lace always seemed to come loose) when Mr. Wayne stopped her.

“If you recall anything else about the Riddler’s costume that you found interesting, do contact me about it, please.”

“Why?” Marinette asked, meeting his stare dead on.

“My son Damian isn’t the only one with a… passing interest in crime.” Mr. Wayne stepped back with a friendly smile. “I hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Gotham, Miss Cheng.”

“Of course,” Marinette said with a smile, hurrying into the bus. She dropped into the seat beside Alya. “He is terrifying.”

Alya was still distracted. “I’m thinking that the background should be red, you know, to contrast with the whole ‘freeze gun’ thing?”

Marinette sighed. “Never change, Alya. Never change.”

But of course, Marinette never noticed the camera that shuttered closed upon seeing Marinette and Mr. Wayne’s interaction.

It would only be a matter of time before a certain reporter got a hold of it.

When they reached the Kane Hotel, Marinette immediately wrapped her arms around Adrien’s waist, smiling up at him as he planted a kiss on the crown of her head.

“Sorry for being such an ass,” she said.

“I don’t blame you, Mari,” Adrien said. “Have you made a decision, then?”

“Yeah,” Marinette nodded. “I’ll tell him. It’s my responsibility to do it. I shouldn’t just run away from my problems.”

“You know I’ll always be here for you.” And that was the most truthful statement she’d heard all day. If there was one person she could trust to be there for her, it was Adrien. Marinette relaxed in his arms.

“What’s up with Mlle. Bustier?” Alix asked, nodding to their teacher who was speaking frantically with Mssr. D’Argencourt, who’s hand was on his hip, where his saber would usually be seated.

“I dunno,” Kim shrugged. Adrien exchanged a meaningful glance with her. She could take a guess.

“I’ll go,” Marinette whispered to Adrien, disentangling herself from him and approaching their teacher. “Mlle. Bustier?” she called. “Are you alright?”

“I’m─I’m just fine, Marinette,” Mlle. Bustier swallowed. “I’m just trying to… convince Mssr. D’Argencourt that we should order pizza for the class. As a way to make it up to you guys, after yesterday.”

Marinette’s face betrayed none of her thoughts. “That’s a great idea, Mlle. Bustier! But are you sure you’re okay? You’re pale.”

“Well…” Mlle. Bustier sent another pleading glance at D’Argencourt. “I just really think that the class is tired of this hotel. It doesn’t feel very safe to have them all cooped up here constantly.”

“The class can have it in Alya and I’s room, Mlle. Bustier,” Marinette said helpfully. “That way, you and Mssr. D’Argencourt can take a break and relax.”

“Really?” Mlle. Bustier perked up. “That’s… very kind of you, Marinette. Well then, we should order the pizza, Armand.”

“Caline, what are you─” Mlle. Bustier was already walking away hastily.

Marinette hurried back to Adrien. “She’s expecting an attack. From the Riddler, since she didn’t deliver Mr. Freeze’s gun.” Marinette turned back to the class. “He-ey guys, um, Mlle. Bustier wants us to go up to Alya and I’s room because they’re ordering pizza for us.”

“Nice,” Kim grinned.

Alix was already running up the stairs. “Thank god. I’m starving!” Kim raced after her. Max rolled his eyes fondly, following at a slower pace.

“But I’m allergic to pizza─” Lila started off.

“I’m sure they’ll accommodate any allergies in student’s files, Lila,” Marinette shut her down. Lila visibly deflated, but perked up a moment later to say something else. Mylène grabbed Lila’s arm and pulled her up the stairs before she could say anything else and Ivan followed, chatting amiably with Rose and Juleka. Sabrina scowled at them as she followed, Nathaniel not far behind.

Eventually, only Chloé, Alya, Nino, Adrien and Marinette remained behind.

“Something’s up,” Chloé said, frowning at Adrien. “You’re doing that thing where you hide your fingers behind your back because you fidget when you know somebody’s lying.”

Alya turned to Chloé. “How did you─actually, nevermind. You’re right. Marinette was definitely lying right there. Or hiding something.”

“What?” Marinette pointed back to Mssr. D’Argencourt. “He’s ordering pizza, isn’t he?”

“Why is he ordering pizza?” Alya pressed.

“Because Mlle. Bustier felt bad,” Marinette excused. “Can you guys just go upstairs? Adrien and I will wait for the pizza.”

“We’ll wait with you,” Nino said. Marinette felt mildly betrayed at that. Alya and Chloé? She could accept it. But Nino? And here she thought he was the nice one.

“How will the others get into the room?” Marinette asked. ‘Yes! This will work, won’t it?’

“We told them to go to Chloé’s room,” Alya said. “It’s bigger and Sabrina already has the key.”

“And you’re okay with people just flouncing about in your room, Chloé?” Marinette made one last ditch attempt.

“I’ll have my daddy upgrade me to an even better room tomorrow,” Chloé excused. “Sabrina can keep that one.” 

“Or…” Alya exchanged looks with Chloé and Nino. ‘God, they make a scary team.’ “You could just tell us why you’re hiding the class upstairs.”

Marinette turned to Adrien. A dozen different interactions could have taken place with those vague glances, but they eventually reached a decision. 

“We’re going to get attacked by the Riddler.”

“What?” Alya exclaimed. Unfortunately, she wasn’t worried in the slightest. Alya bounced on her toes excitedly, reaching for her phone. Nino took her phone, slipping it into his pocket.

“How do you know?” Chloé asked.

Marinette groaned, quickly explaining what had happened the night before, leaving out her alter ego and her second meeting with Red Hood.

“Oh, shit,” Nino said. “So why do you want us to hide away, and not you?”

“Because─” Marinette hesitated.

“We were going to look for Ladybug and Chat Noir,” Adrien quickly interjected, his hands in plain view and his fingers still. “But, since you guys probably aren’t going to listen to us, you can look for them too.”

“Hmm…” Alya crossed her arms. “Fine. C’mon, Chloé, Nino. We’ll take the top floors.”

“Why would I go with you two?” Chloé demanded, affronted.

“Because we’re Team Miraculous and they’re Team Civilians,” Alya said.

“Doesn’t that mean one of us should go with them?” Nino asked.

“I─” they turned to look back at their friends, but they were already gone. “Guess not. Come on, let’s beat them. Maybe we can convince Ladybug to give us our Miraculouses.” And they disappeared as they headed for an elevator.

Meanwhile, Marinette and Adrien were pressed up against each other in an alcove. “That was close.”

“Very,” Marinette sighed. “And there I was hoping that they’d all be tucked away safely in my room. Now we have five people to worry about.”

“Not to mention all the other residents of this hotel.” Adrien’s forcefully cheerful grin earned him a flick in the ear. “Ow.”

“We’re so fucked,” Marinette said. “We could evacuate the building.”

“It’d work,” Adrien said. “Nobody would be searching the rooms for our class if they think they’re all outside, but that also works against us in the opposite way.”

“Yeah. If they’re all gathered outside, it’d be easy to take them hostage… if we transform, we could probably convince Mlle. Bustier and Mssr. D’Argencourt to hide.”

“Same with ‘Team Miraculous’,” Adrien said. “Right. I’ll try to deal with all of them, and you can survey the area for the Riddler.”

There was no way they came out of this totally unscathed, considering the fact that not only was the Riddler akumatized, but he also had a Miraculous that seemed to rid one of their inhibitions.

Basically, they needed to try really hard to dodge. 

After transforming, Marinette was expecting to find a group of goons surrounding a tall, green man. She found a group of goons, but they were surrounding three people. One of the men was short and pudgy, wearing a monocle and holding a walking stick, and the other was… well, half of him looked like your average, everyday man. The other… was grotesquely disfigured and covered in burns. The last was a girl with blonde hair, her pony tails were dyed different colours and her outfits were showy and colourful. 

The Riddler was nowhere in sight. 

He’d sent Penguin, Two-Face and Harley Quinn to do his dirty work.

How did he even convince them? The major villains of Gotham were famously at odds with each other. They’d never team up. The Joker would never do somebody else’s dirty work and Two-Face was the kind of guy who would’ve been a good leader if he wasn’t insane.

Unless… Marinette knew what his Miraculous did. But not what the akuma did. What if the Riddler could control others? That would explain why so many major villains rushed to do as the Riddler wanted.

Okay. Marinette’s dealt with akumas who control your actions before. She could deal with this one, too. Definitely. Certainly.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that it’s rude to spy on people?” Marinette whirled around, ready to punch whoever had managed to sneak up on her, but she was surprised to see them back away with their hands raised submissively. Ladybug’s eyes narrowed as she examined this stranger.

He wore a black domino mask with an equally black, skin tight suit. A blue symbol sat in the middle of his chest. He held a baton in his hand, similar to the one Chat would hold.

Nightwing.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that it’s rude to sneak up on people?” she asked eventually.

“Yes. I don’t listen.” Nightwing grinned wickedly. He approached Ladybug lazily, looking over the threshold to glance down at the assortment of villains. He whistled lowly. “What convinced these guys to work together?”

“I don’t know,” she lied, looking back at them. Harley swung her malette, hitting one of the goons. He went down, hard. Ladybug cringed and really hoped that he wasn’t dead. “Are you here alone?”

“Are you?” Nightwing quirked an eyebrow. Ladybug’s jaw set grimly as she turned back towards the fire escape. Ladybug took out her yo-yo, opening it to contact Chat. “Huh. So you’re not the only ‘bodyguard’. To answer your question, nope, I’m not alone. We have… let’s see… obviously, we have the big B, then we got Robin─the Red one too─and then there’s Hood. I think Black Bat might have even showed up today, too. Spoiler’s arm is broken, though, so she isn’t here.” She relayed that information to Adrien, and just who they’d be fighting today. “So, why don’t you guys go and protect that class of yours while we deal with our friends downstairs.”

“Where’s the Riddler?” Ladybug asked. He couldn’t be far, and he was their real problem. But if she took him out, then the people under his control would go down, too.

“Haven’t seen him. Why?”

“He’s the real problem.” She hurried towards the hotel, checking Adrien’s GPS. He was six floors down from the roof. That was on their class’s floor. Why would Adrien head there? Perhaps he was escorting ‘Team Miraculous’ back. They’d need to regroup, anyways.

Ladybug pushed open the emergency staircase and quickly descended. A glance back confirmed that Nightwing was following her. As she got to the fourth floor, she was very surprised to see a small child standing guard with his arms crossed.

“Nightwing,” the child nodded. He couldn’t be much older than Ladybug was when she’d first gotten her Miraculous. He may have been younger. So this was Robin. “So this is Ladybug.”

“Yes,” she said, advancing forwards. He stepped in her way. “Really?”

“I have not yet assessed your risk level yet. You may be─” Ladybug’s yo-yo wrapped around a hanging light behind him, pulling her forwards. She quickly went down to the next floor and was now much more aware of the two vigilantes following her.

“Chat!” Ladybug called upon reaching him. Robin and Nightwing stopped behind her, but Ladybug wasn’t much concerned with them. She planted her hands on her hips and glared at her three classmates. Only Nino had the decency to look sheepish. “I don’t suppose you three have a reason to be out of Chloé’s room?”

“We were looking for you, but then we saw Chat Noir and now we’re trying to convince him to look for Adrien and Marinette!” Alya exclaimed.

“And I told them that they’re already in Marinette’s room, since it was closer, but they won’t listen to me.”

“That’s because you’re a pushover,” Ladybug said. “Anyways, you three. In, now.”

“Um.” Nino looked at Ladybug’s new companions. “Are they─”

“Not relevant.” Ladybug crossed her arms. “Look.” She sighed. “This place isn’t the same as Paris. Those guys wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you, and as your bodyguards, Chat and I will not allow that to happen. Now go.”

Chloé scowled. “Well, if you gave me my─”

“Chloé Bourgeois.” Chloé tensed as Ladybug stepped forwards slowly. “I still haven’t forgiven you for that little stunt you pulled not too long ago. Do you really want to test me right now?”

“I─” Chloé looked down, mollified. “I’m sorry, Ladybug.”

“Thank you for that act of maturity, Chloé. Anything else?” All three of them were studiously avoiding her gaze. “Good. Inside, now. And don’t come back out until somebody is sent to fetch you.”

There was a chorus of “yes, Ladybug”s as Chloé swiped her keycard and they filed in dejectedly.

“Ugh.” Ladybug rubbed her temple. “Remind me not to have children.”

“Oh, Louis, Emma and Hugo will be devastated.” Chat laughed as Ladybug hit him. 

Robin was observing them through white slits of his domino mask. “Interesting.”

“Where are─” Ladybug hesitated, looking over her shoulder. “Where are the teachers?”

“I sent them into Bustier’s room a few minutes before you arrived with…” Chat observed the American superheroes coolly. “Our new friends.”

“Right,” Ladybug nodded. “Anyways, you and I need to go find the Riddler. He has to be nearby.”

“I see. I can take the first few floors and the basement and you can take─”

“Aren’t you going to guard the class?” Nightwing asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

“Physically guarding the class would be more detrimental in the long run,” Ladybug said. “Actually, what is your plan?”

Robin opened his mouth, sneering up at them, but Nightwing dropped a warning hand on his shoulder, the other lifting up to his ear. Robin copied his movement. “Oracle,” he said. There was silence for thirteen seconds. “Hm. Gotcha.” Nightwing turned back to them, beginning a sentence but he was cut off by Robin. 

“Batman wants to know who you both are before we let you do anything.”

Ladybug tensed and reached for her yo-yo but Chat smiled lazily at the two vigilantes. “I can see five different ways to escape right now. Do you really want to try this?”

Ladybug grabbed his arm, whispering harshly. “If you even think about using Cataclysm anywhere I will personally give Hawk Moth your Miraculous.”

“You’re getting unoriginal with your threats, Milady,” Chat grinned. He looked back at the vigilantes. “As it is, I’d rather avoid any fighting, so I’ll have to request something from you.”

“What?” Robin asked apprehensively.

“Well, if we tell you our identities, then you tell us yours.” Nobody moved and no sound was uttered. “I thought so. Listen, I know that we’re on your turf, but if it were up to us, we wouldn't be here, so─” He was interrupted by a loud bang. “Huh. Seems they’ve started their assault. Sorry, guys, it’s been a real pleasure, but we can’t stick around.” With that, Chat grabbed her forearm and started tearing down the hallway. Ladybug didn’t need to hear their footsteps to know that they were being followed.

Once they reached an intersection in the hallways, Chat and Ladybug split up. She ran towards the fire escape while Chat sprinted for a window. Looking back, she saw that it was Robin who followed her. 

Ladybug got off on the third floor, sprinting past doorways as fast as she could. Ladybug whirled left, and skidded to a stop when she came upon a dead end.

“I have you now!” Robin exclaimed. “You didn’t really think you could escape, did you?” It was just now that Ladybug noticed something.

“Who the fuck gave you a katana?” she asked incredulously.

Robin looked affronted. “I have the finest of weapons available. I believe the better question is why do you have a yo-yo? It seems impractical.”

“You’d think.” She unhooked the yo-yo, swinging it lazily. Robin frowned warily at it. Huh. She’d have thought he’d underestimate it. Then again, he’d seen what it could do when she jumped over him. “I thought so too, at first, but then─” she suddenly struck out, hitting something over Robin’s shoulder.

Robin whirled around, surprised to see the crumpled lackey at his feet. “You─” he looked back at Ladybug, who was now sprinting at him. Robin moved to dodge, but Ladybug grabbed his arm and pushed him into an open room. Her yo-yo wrapped around the unconscious goon and pulled him inside too. She closed and locked the door. “Why did you─”

She shushed him as footsteps sounded outside the room.

“Well, I never!” A voice exclaimed. “I sent that buffoon up here to look for that stupid class and he’s gone and done a disappearin’ act on me! Puddin’ would be so angry with me!” The sound of something hard hitting the wall. Probably Harley’s malette. “Well? What are the rest of you idiots standin’ around for! Go find ‘em!”

Neither Robin nor Ladybug said a word until they were sure Harley Quinn was gone. 

Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief as she surveyed the empty room. “That was lucky.”

Robin, however, was less relieved and more contemplative. It was such a shame that he was in this woman’s debt (twice now, if you really considered it). Robin frowned.

“I have made a decision,” he said. “To let you keep your identity, on the basis that a temporary alliance may be necessary.”

“No need to be so formal,” Ladybug laughed. She unlocked the door, stepping outside. “But yeah. We both have the same goal, so there’s no point in fighting. We have more important things going on right now.”

“Indeed,” said Robin as they began making their ways at a slower, more cautious pace. 

“Oh, and can you contact Nightwing and tell him to stop chasing my partner?” Ladybug asked. 

“I have the distinct feeling that Nightwing and your partner have already come to an alliance of some sort.”

Ladybug snorted. “Yeah, I see it too, kid.”

At the same time, an old man in a pink, fluffy bathrobe stepped out of his bathroom and was less surprised to see his door open than to see the man drooling on his floor.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir had just vaulted himself out of a window, and he easily landed on his feet.

Two unfortunate things occurred.

One. Nightwing had followed him and he also landed on his feet.

And two. They’d landed right in the middle of a group of goons and Penguin was standing right on top of a bin. 

Nightwing looked between Chat, the fifteen villains and Penguin.

Chat quirked a grin. “Race you?”

Nightwing copied his expression. “You’re on.”

Oracle, also known as Barbra Gordon, rolled her eyes as the two began to fight. “Boys.”

“Where’d you get your baton?” Nightwing asked upon punching Penguin in the nose, knocking out his monocle. Penguin pathetically fell to the floor, whimpering loudly.

“I’m not sure. Heirloom, I think,” Chat lied easily, catching the offered zip ties from Nightwing and starting to tie up the villains.

“It’s very durable,” Nightwing complimented.

“Thanks. I liked yours too. What’s it made out of?”

“No idea,” Nightwing said. “What say you that we put our differences aside and deal with everybody else?”

Chat grinned. “I say that this is the start to a beautiful friendship.” 

“What? What is it?” Ladybug asked, frowning at Robin, who stopped suddenly.

His eyes were narrowed as he turned towards the shadows. “Now’s not the time for games, Black Bat.”

A girl came out of the shadows with a small smile. She waved at Ladybug, no hostility projected as she approached them. “Hi.” 

Ladybug smiled back at the girl. “Hello. I’m Ladybug. You’re Black Bat, then?” She nodded. ‘So she’s the quiet type.’

“Any sightings of the Riddler?” Robin asked, his hand lifting to his comm as he asked. Black Bat shrugged as Robin listened to a voice in his ear. “None? I see.”

“He’ll probably end up making an appearance after all of his people have been defeated,” Ladybug said.

Robin paused. “Speaking of, Penguin’s down. Your partner and Nightwing are collaborating at the moment.”

“Right. Harley should be somewhere on this floor, then, right?” Ladybug asked as they moved into an open room.

“You betcha!” Was exclaimed with a comical level of convenience as Harley Quinn aimed a bazooka at them and the door closed behind them. “And I’m gonna get you back for what you did to my puddin!”

Ladybug froze. Would she really have to use her Lucky Charm to defeat Harley? There’s no way that she could fire that bazooka without taking down at least one of them. Robin was in a fighting stance but Black Bat looked calmly up at Harley.

“Not real,” she said, pointing at the weapon. Ladybug looked incredulously at her but Robin relaxed instantly. Maybe she knew weapons.

Harley pouted exaggeratedly. “Why d’you Bats always gotta ruin the fun?!” She didn’t wait for a reply. “Sic ‘em boys!”

Roughly twenty goons pushed open the doors on their left and right, streaming into the room and surrounding them.

“Alright,” Ladybug said, settling into a fighting stance and swinging her yo-yo in anticipation. “Let’s do this.”

It was, in fact, quite easy to take down Harley after her lackeys were gone. She started crying about her ‘puddin’ again and how she’d failed him.

Ladybug sighed. “You gotta love toxic relationships.”

Oracle pressed a button on her comm. “Robin, Black Bat, Nightwing. Batman, Red Hood and Red Robin have just taken down Two-Face. That’s all three major villains gone. Go to the lobby floor and be ready. Bring your companions.”

Getting to the lobby was simple now that most of the threats had been eliminated. 

Unsurprisingly, a rather green supervillain stood in the centre of the room, surrounded by at least sixty lackeys. ‘Where does this endless supply come from?’ she wondered as they skirted the edges of the room.

“Where are those idiots?” The Riddler demanded. A familiar purple mask appeared over his face. “I see. So the bug and the cat team up with the bats. How… amusing.” He twirled his sword exasperatedly. “Well then, Ladybug, Chat Noir. Riddle me what it takes to confiscate your Miraculous?” He chuckled loudly. “Spoiler alert, it’s me! And I can even take down Batman in the meantime, too!”

Ladybug turned to Robin. “I need you to cause a distraction over there.” She pointed in the direction. “I need to regroup with Chat Noir, but I don’t want to initiate the fight yet.”

Robin was frowning at something in the distance. “Too late.”

Ladybug looked up just in time to see a knife hit one of the goons and then a gun was being fired and Red Hood jumped into the fray. She could hear Batman swear loudly as he also came out of hiding, battling the lackeys. Red Robin and Nightwing followed and then Robin jumped in. Black Bat grabbed her arm, pointing upwards. A certain Chat was sitting on one of the support beams.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she swung her yo-yo and watched Black Bat join the fight. “Chat!” she exclaimed as quietly as possible, what with the gunshots echoing around the room.

“Hey, Bugaboo,” he said. “What’s the plan?”

It was five minutes into the fight when Chat Noir finally jumped down. He aimed a kick for the Riddler’s head, yet ended up hitting his chest instead. The Riddler skidded back, his head hitting against a step. He was up in an instant, but he was now hatless.

Good thing the Riddler never learned what happened when you broke an akumatized item.

Ladybug swooped down, grabbing the hat and quickly returning to her perch. She didn’t destroy it, as she had a certain suspicion and so she called for her Lucky Charm.

A wrench appeared in her hands. She could already imagine the jokes Chat would make.

Ladybug looked around, quickly realising what needed to happen to throw a wrench in Hawk Moth’s plans.

“Chat!” she called, pointing to a random stone statue that was in the middle of the room and somehow remained standing. His eyes widened and his sword fight with the Riddler halted as he rolled to the side.

“Cataclysm!” The statue crumpled into ashes, and Ladybug could now easily hit the sprinkler system from her vantage point.

When the water came down, the Riddler looked up and was momentarily distracted.

A moment was all Chat Noir needed to grab the Miraculous from around the Riddler’s neck. He grabbed the wrench and tossed it towards her.

Ladybug swung up, ripping the hat in two and a butterfly came out of it. Ladybug purified it and was not surprised to see most of the goons blinking in confusion. So they were under his control. 

She swung down, landing deftly beside Chat. “Miraculous Ladybug!” She threw the wrench into the air and was not surprised to see the hotel repair itself.

“Good job, Chat,” she said. 

“You too, Milady,” he grinned.

“I thought you two were bodyguards,” a voice called from behind them. It was at this moment that Ladybug remembered that they had company. Nightwing was raising an eyebrow at them and then Ladybug realised that she was basically being confronted with the entire Batclan (minus Spoiler, of course). 

“Uh─” she glanced at Chat and then back at the vigilantes and at Batman, specifically. Yeah, no. Telling Bruce Wayne that she’s his daughter? Terrifying. Interacting with Batman? She would die. Literally.

And so Ladybug did the only plausible thing that came to mind.

She grabbed Chat’s arm and she sprinted like hell. She didn’t look back to see if they were being followed. 

She just ran into the first available unlocked room and after checking that it was empty, transformed back into her civilian self.

“That was so close.” Marinette whispered.

“Good reaction,” Adrien said. “Let’s go let everyone out of their rooms.”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “I feel like it’s gonna be another one of those nights, Adrien.”

“Aren’t we meant to be on holiday?” he rubbed his eyes tiredly as they ascended the staircase.

“Tomorrow will be better,” she said.

Tomorrow was not, in fact, ‘better’.

Actually, it was arguably worse.

It was at six in the morning that a certain photograph started circulating the web.

GothamGazette @VickiVale · 54m

Bruce Wayne & Sabine Cheng─the Sequel? Read the full article here .

[Image] {Image description: Bruce Wayne smiling at a young girl, who he shares features with}

WinSchott @winnnstonnn · 52m

@VickiVale She is a kid. Don’t be so invasive of her personal space. You have no proof that they’re related and considering the way that you slandered Sabine Cheng seventeen years ago, I don’t think that you’re the person who should be reporting this ‘news’.

Grotomon @Buboon · 49m

@VickiVale yoooooo bruce wayne has ANOTHER kid?!??! lol

DroopiePie @oogggabooo · 45m

@VickiVale lol he gotta keep it in his pants 

dickgraysonisbae @daddygrayson · 45m

@VickiVale fake news b wayne is sterline

NightwingxRedHood @troollololol · 42m

@VickiVale @daddygrayson sterile* And he’s not. Damian Wayne is literally his bio son

dickgraysonisbae @daddygrayson · 39m

@VickiVale @troollololol lol no

Percabeth @gretanom · 27m

I know I’m not the only person who saw that article from @VickiVale, right? #newwayne

BatButt @LoriGreene · 26m

I jus t put her eyes in a colouf picker with bruce waynes and they the same #newwayne

Lexluthorisababy @joannahoran · 25m

@LoriGreene that is…………. So much effort. Why? 

BatButt @LoriGreene · 22m

@joannahoran S C I E N C E

speedy @arsOnel · 19m

@underthehood lol  

Fuckthejoker @underthehood · 18m

@arsOnel pm

speedy @arsOnel · 16m

@underthehood oh shiiiit

UnofficialWayne @StephBrown · 15m

I break my arm once and suddenly we have a little sister @TimDrakeWayne. Is this how @AcroDick felt?

GimmeCoffee @TimDrakeWayne · 12m

@StephBrown We’ve experienced this before, Steph. Demon Spawn and Cass, remember?

UnofficialWayne @StephBrown · 9m

@TimDrakeWayne Yeah bit those times were true so this is funny

Drarry4ever @yonrowl · 7m

@StephBrown @TimDrakeWayne wait its not real?????!!!!!!! #newwayne

harleyxjoker @sjonme · 6m

@StephBrown @TimDrakeWayne @yonrowl courze its real this is just a set up to get us ti think its fake

Drarry4ever @yonrowl · 5m

@sjonme that sounds like ssooooo  much work. just say its not real @BruceWayneOfficial

DroopiePie @oogggabooo · 4m

@yonrowl your balls…. are large. they will not save you.

trappedingotham @kennilowe · 3m

@yonrowl Like that would work. Nothing less of seven live DNA tests will convince people that the kid isn’t Wayne’s.

dickgraysonisbae @daddygrayson · 1m

@yonrowl @kennilowe bit uts not real tho so he doesnt need to say that

“Girl?! Girl, get up, now!”

Marinette grumbled incoherently, ignoring Alya’s frantic shaking of her upper body. “What?” she asked, drawing out the vowel and ending with a hard ‘t’.

Alya’s phone was shoved under her nose.

It took Marinette a minute to adjust to the sudden brightness, and even longer to read the word on Twitter.

But when she did… 

The resounding shriek woke up every resident of their hotel.

Trumbone @JenniBrowne · 32m

Okay, wtf is wrong with Vicki Vale? That girl is literally a child. Idk why she’s putting a huge target on her back???

Ernon @stanmartianmanhunter · 30m

@JenniBrowne she’s a wayne she’ll be fine nothing bad happens to them ever

Broski @rollingstones · 26m

@stanmartianmanhunter @JenniBrowne wtf bro stfu

Trumbone @JenniBrowne · 25m

@stanmartianmanhunter Right, because nothing bad ever happens to rich and famous people. You better be a troll account, istg.

NightwingxRedHood @troollololol · 22m

@stanmartianmanhunter @JenniBrowne Is no one gonna mention Jason Todd? Literally no one?!

dickgraysonisbae @daddygrayson · 19m

@stanmartianmanhunter @JenniBrowne @troollololol thats cause he faked his death to start working for batman lol

Fuckthejoker @underthehood · 15m

@stanmartianmanhunter @JenniBrowne @troollololol @daddygrayson yes.

DannyDorito @bruhsure · 14m

Bruce wayne has another one??!?!?!? Poor kid

JohhnyZest @zzzabatoge · 11m

@bruhsure yes, so sad that she now sits in the lap of luxury & will now have zero loans and no debt and shit such a poor, underprivileged kid

IzzieDraws @drawingtombolo · 8m

@bruhsure @zzzabotage dude, b wayne literally abused his kids. You see al thouse scars???

JohhnyZest @zzzabatoge · 7m

@drawingtombolo the waynes were not abused rbo

TrynaStayAlive @nknmonkey · 5m

@bruhsure @zzzabotage @drawingtombolo We don’t know if they were abused or not. A lot of the Wayne’s (mainly Dick Grayson & JTodd before his death) were famously covered in ⅓  

TrynaStayAlive @nknmonkey · 4m

bruises in their younger years, but it was also well known that Grayson is an acrobat (check out his old Youtube channel he has so many flips) ⅔  

TrynaStayAlive @nknmonkey · 2m

and JTodd was always seen hanging around with homeless children in alleyways and stuff 

ReginaGeorge @meangirlz · 29m

Ew how does he have another #newwayne

Fthepolice @tylerspies · 28m

@meangirlz well, when a man and a woman love each other very much…

Redvented @poptarts · 25m

@meangirlz @tylerspies lol

mymilkshakebringsall @theboystotheyard · 19m

@VickiVale what is up with you bro?????? I checked your article and shes a minorrrrr???? remember jason????????

luvAAgreste @adrienagresteisaking · 35m

@VickiVale bro ive been a fan of @adrienagreste for years and he has a lot of pictures with @MarinetteCheng and she seems so nice leave her alone

tododeku @bnhafan3995 · 29m

That awkward moment when you realise that Bruce Wayne has another kid yet he is literally the reason his second one died. CPS better get on the #newwayne case soon

[redacted] @area69 · 20m

@bnhafan3995 dude. 

[redacted] @area69 · 19m

@bnhafan3995 that is not where it at, my man

Neverseentwoprettybestfriends @Inmate209 · 15m

Okay, I know we’re all reeling from the whole #newwayne, but I think everybody should check out @MarinetteCheng ‘s Twitter and website and stuff ⅕

Neverseentwoprettybestfriends @Inmate209 · 15m

She has a lot of experience in the fashion world, most famously with @JaggedStone, a famous rockstar ⅖

Neverseentwoprettybestfriends @Inmate209 · 14m

She’s frequently featured on her friend’s, @Ladyblogger ‘s websites (she has a million different blogs) and is ⅗

Neverseentwoprettybestfriends @Inmate209 · 12m

Always hanging out with famous french models such as @adrienagreste (hawt). And she was meant to star in @ClaraNightingale ‘s ⅘

Neverseentwoprettybestfriends @Inmate209 · 11m

Music video for some fictional superhero, but then convinced her to include all of her classmates. It’s adorable istg.

WarriorCats @TrinaVega · 9m

@Inmate209 I met her once in France. She was helping out in her parents bakery and tripped and spilled flour everywhere. It was adorable and she kept on apologising to everyone.

TaylorSwiftFan30880 @TSwizzle · 7m

@Inmate209 @TrinaVega OMG I met her too!!! I was in Paris and she was tripped over nothing but then did this weird handspring so instead of falling she just did a flip and then continued running really quickly. I think she was late to school

TaylorSwiftFan30880 @TSwizzle · 4m

@Inmate209 @TrinaVega I got a video too 

[Video] {Video Description: Video starts off showing a blonde girl’s face before the camera angle switches and you see a black haired girl beginning to trip, before her hand touches the ground and she vaults over the ground. She lands on her own two feet and starts sprinting towards a large building, presumably her school.}

TokyoGhoul3 @weeaboooo69 · 3m

@TSwizzle goddamn @AcroDick has some competition lol

JJJ @Spiderson · 2m

@TSwizzle I stan already

Redvented @poptarts · 2m

@TSwizzle @MarinetteCheng is my favourite Wayne already

PoisonIvycanrailme @leonardisvaldez · 47s

@TSwizzle That was… so smooth.

Percabeth @gretanom · 22s

@TSwizzle I will physically fight anyone who tries to hurt her

BatButt @LoriGreene · 8s

@TSwizzle @gretanom same.

Marinette shook her head frantically. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. This can’t be… it can’t be real. I don’t believe it. It’s not… this wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“I know, Mari,” Alya said, grasping her hand and exchanging meaningful looks with Nino and Adrien. “I know.”

“I can’t… I can’t… no. I don’t know what to do. Adrien, what do I… I can’t…” Marinette clutched at his arms.

Adrien grasped her arms firmly. He turned to Alya, muttering something before focusing solely on Marinette. Alya and Nino left the room to go find Mlle. Bustier. “Marinette, Princess, please, listen to me. I need you to breathe. Slowly. Come on. In, two, three, out, two, three. In… out… in… out… in… out… in… out…” They repeated the exercise until Marinette’s shaking ceased somewhat, her breathing evened out and she dropped her head onto Adrien’s shoulder. “There we go… it’s okay, Bug. I got you. I have you.”

Marinette didn’t say a word and Adrien didn’t press her on it. She needed to breathe─to come to terms with everything.

He knew that she wanted to tell Wayne, but to have it exposed before she was ready… Marinette wasn’t mentally prepared for this. Especially not for it to be released so publicly.

If Adrien had been in her shoes, at least he’d be able to deal with the media attention. But Adrien wasn’t in her shoes and the worst thing Marinette had been exposed to were his fangirls.

This… anybody would be terrified of this.

And in Marinette’s shoes, anybody would be terrified when D’Argencourt knocked on the door, looking solemnly at her. 

“Mlle. Cheng, there is a… visitor for you.”

Marinette didn’t lift her head so Adrien asked, “Who is it?”

D’Argencourt sent him a knowing look. “Bruce Wayne.”

Chapter Text

“Mlle. Cheng, there’s a visitor for you.”

“Who is it?”

“Bruce Wayne.”

Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne is here. That is not good. That is terrible. Marinette couldn’t deal with this right now.

Adrien’s hand landed on her shoulder. Caution oozed off of him. Mssr. D’Argencourt looked rather uncomfortable with the situation at hand. 

“Marinette,” Adrien started. “You don’t have to─”

“Tell him I’ll be down in five minutes,” Marinette interrupted, imperiously staring her teacher down. D’Argencourt frowned at them, but after a brief moment of hesitation, he complied.

“Marinette.”

“Adrien.”

It was funny how easily Marinette went from a panicked mess to angry. She was so, so, so angry. Marinette hadn’t wanted this. She’d wanted to tell Mr. Wayne on her own terms. In her own time. Sure, she’d been given an ultimatum from Dick, but that hadn’t been as bad as this. Having her secret exposed so publicly… what’s next? Would the whole world find out she was Ladybug?

“Are you sure?”

She snorted. “No.” Adrien moved to sit in front of her. Distantly, she heard the door open and close. That was probably Alya. “No, I’m not sure at all. But if I don’t do this… what do you think he’s heard about me?”

“‘Heard about you’?” Alya quoted, dropping onto the bed beside her. Nino handed Marinette a bar of chocolate. It was French. He’d probably sneaked it from France with him. She loved this brand. “Girl, what do you mean ‘heard’? Has he heard that you’re a fantastic designer? That you’re in league with Gabriel and Audrey Bourgeois? That you’ve designed entire tour outfits for Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale? That your parents own an amazing bakery in the heart of Paris that everyone knows? Girl, there’s nothing but praises that are being sung about you out there.”

Bullshit. Marinette’s seen the Tweets. The articles. There were a couple that were more glowing than they should be, but a lot of them also detailed how Marinette was a ‘gold digger just like her whore of a mother’. That was a direct quote from some gossip rag. Marinette knew what these people thought of her. There was no doubt in her mind that Mr. Wayne had seen all of these and had come to his own conclusions about her.

Well.

Her gaze hardened.

Well.

She’d just have to prove him wrong then. 

“I’m not sure I like that expression,” Nino muttered. 

Adrien frowned. “What are you planning?”

Marinette ignored them, looking down at her outfit. “I’m getting dressed. Adrien, Nino, out.” Nino left willingly, but Adrien protested. Marinette knew that he was just concerned for her, but she pushed him out of the door nonetheless. Before she shut the door in his face, she said, “I need you to trust me on this, Minou.”

Adrien sighed, pressing his lips to her wrist. “I will always trust you, M’Lady. But I’m worried. About you.”

“I’ll look after myself,” she assured him. That seemed to assuage Adrien, as he pressed a final kiss to her temple and muttered a final reassurance to her that everything would turn out okay.

Alya crossed her arms. “I, for one, do not believe you for a second.”

“Then don’t,” Marinette said, picking up a pink t-shirt. “Yay or nay.”

“If you wear that I’ll be forced to disown you. Try the blue dress.” Marinette picked it up but decided she didn’t like it. She grabbed some dark blue jeans with gold stitches on the pant leg. “You know as well as I do that you’re going to have seventeen heart attacks during this encounter.”

“Yes.” ‘Which is why I’m going to pretend that he’s an akuma and do my best not to run screaming.’ “But I don’t exactly have a choice, Alya.”

“You always have a choice, Mari.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes, pulling on a red cardigan. “How’s the class reacting to this?”

“As well as expected… Lila’s upset.”

Marinette sighed. “Why?”

“She didn’t know you were her boyfriend’s sister. I’d be upset too if Nino lied to me about something so important.”

“Damian Wayne is twelve, Alya,” Marinette said. “Do we need to have this conversation again?”

Alya sighed. Marinette pulled open the door a tad forcefully and hurried towards the elevator. She slipped a hand into her purse. Tikki patted her finger reassuringly. Alya followed Marinette, catching up in seconds with the way she was running. Marinette jammed her finger into the elevator button. 

“Look, Marinette, I’m sorry. That was… insensitive of me to bring up Lila at a time like this. I know how you feel about her.”

“No, Alya. You don’t. I thought that maybe ─ maybe ─ you realised that something was up with her after yesterday, but clearly you’re still on the ‘Lila can do absolutely no wrong and Marinette is very jealous of her’ train. Use your fucking brain, Alya, and then we’ll talk. Maybe you should do some of that ‘investigating’ you’re so fond of. But I hear ‘evidence’ has been thrown out the window these days.”

“Marinette, you’re not─” 

The elevator opened and Marinette stormed out. She could see the rest of her class sitting in a lounge to her left. D’Argencourt was waiting for her in front of the reception. A young man with blue eyes, a streak of grey hair and steel capped boots stood behind him. Marinette frowned. Was it just her, or did he…?

She whirled around when Alya grabbed her wrist. She could see some of her classmates standing from the lounge in the corner of her eye. Lila was being comforted by Rose and Mylène. “What? Am I listening? You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Alya?”

“That’s not what I was going to say─”

“Then what were you going to say, Alya? Was it that I’m not giving her a chance? Could it be that I’m jealous of Lila? Maybe I’m not serious. Yeah, that’s what you were going to say. Clearly, clearly, this is all a hoax! I mean, why would I dislike Lila? It can’t be all of the lies, can it? No? Then what is it, Alya? What is the fucking reason that you can’t see it after all of the facts have been shoved right in your face?”

“You don’t─”

“‘You’, ‘you’, ‘you’. I’ve noticed a pattern, Alya. You always have to blame others for your mistakes. I mean, there’s no way that you could be wrong, so therefore I mustn’t have the facts straight! I obviously don’t know what I’m talking about! I must be delusional, because Alya Césaire is never wrong! I mean, just look at when you thought Chloé was Ladybug! Or when you decided that you needed to post that picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing when we still don’t know the context! And don’t forget about when you believed I was capable of pushing Lila down a flight of stairs! Or stealing her necklace or those test answers! ‘You give me evidence, Marinette’, you told me when there was literally no proof of Lila knowing Jagged. Or Prince Ali. Or Ladybug.”

Marinette shook her head, backing away from Alya. She started back towards the elevator. “Mari─” Alya shouted after her.

“Don’t bother,” she called over her shoulder. “Mssr. D’Argencourt, tell Mr. Wayne that I’ll have to reschedule. Now isn’t a good time.”

Marinette disappeared behind elevator doors and Alya was left standing helplessly in the lobby. 

They were all too distracted to notice a certain liar slipping away, and when she placed a call to a certain supervillain whose identity she was determined to figure out (for her own personal gain, of course) nobody knew.

Marinette returned to her room, grabbed a hat and her Jagged inspired sunglasses and cracked open her window. She squeezed through it, jumping from one ledge to another and completely ignoring any safety violations she committed as she landed on one an American-style bin. You know, one of those really big green ones that are always in alleyways? Yeah, that one. They’re very useful when you’re escaping from awkward situations. 

Just as Marinette was about to exit the alley, she heard a man talking and when her name was mentioned, she couldn’t help but pause and listen. “This is the place she’s staying at, right?”

“Dude, have you not seen the security the Wayne’s have posted around?” their friend asked. “It’s like a fortress there. Your only chance of getting in is if you’re, like, the Queen of England or something. Even the reporters up front couldn’t get in. Vicki Vale couldn’t get in. This is suicide.”

“And? It’s worth the risk. If I get even a picture of her, my career will skyrocket. You want that for me, right?”

Marinette drew back, frowning and ducking behind the large, green dumpster. She barely even noticed as she drew up her knees and let her head rest between them and wrapped her arms around her legs.

“Okay,” she exhaled. Marinette hadn’t been expecting that. She knew that people were really enthusiastic about it on Twitter and stuff, but… holy shit. She didn’t think that people would actually try and take pictures of her, and stuff.

But she should’ve known. After all, she remembered that time she and Adrien had been chased around Paris by his fangirls. And the Waynes were, like, gods compared to the Agrestes in terms of popularity. Marinette shifted as she heard footsteps approaching her, but relaxed once she caught sight of steel capped boots. Marinette didn’t look up to meet Red Hood’s gaze.

“We have got to stop meeting like this,” she said. “If once is an accident, and twice is a coincidence, then what would you call this?”

“A pattern… a choice... enemy action… at the end of the day, it’s suspicious,” Hood said, leaning against the wall opposite her. “Why do you always end up in alleyways?”

“Why do you lurk in alleyways?”

“It’s part of my aesthetic. What’s your excuse?”

Marinette snorted quietly, rolling her eyes and ignoring the question. 

The silence that filled the alleyway was almost serene. Marinette appreciated it. She could still see Hood’s boots and knew that he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. She sighed. This whole situation was a fucking mess. It would have been messy if this hadn’t gotten leaked to the public. Now it was just a huge fucking pile of shit. 

Marinette didn’t want this. She had wanted to think and plan and possibly even avoid the inevitable. She’d never wanted her secret to be exposed like this. 

If the reaction was this bad when she’d been revealed as simply being related to a Wayne, then what would happen if somebody discovered she was Ladybug? God, she’d never be able to breathe.

To the silence, she admitted, “I don’t even know where to go from here.”

“You don’t need to know anything just yet,” Hood said. “You don’t even need to go and see Wayne for now. But you do need to take care of yourself and establish your boundaries. Maybe go talk to that friend you fought with.”

“How do you…?” Marinette looked up, taking in Red Hood once more. You could just barely see that, under his many layers of clothes, he wore a collared white shirt. A shirt she’d seen on a man with steel capped boots not twenty minutes ago. She frowned. “How long does it take you to put on your vigilante clothes, anyways? Because that’s like, twenty layers and last I saw you were only wearing a white shirt.”

Marinette wished he wasn’t wearing a mask so she could see his face. The way he stilled and his head tilted down slowly to focus entirely on her was utterly hilarious.

He sighed. “You’re telling me my clothes gave me away?”

“I’m a designer,” was her only response. Despite Marinette now knowing his face and that he had some kind of connection to Bruce Wayne, he didn’t reach up to remove the helmet from his head. That was probably smart. With all of the reporters milling about, all it took was one person spotting them to completely fuck everything up.

Hood crossed his arms, tilting his head and leaning back. “I see that you’ve inherited his IQ.” Marinette didn’t know what that stood for─she was rather fluent in English but the acronyms always got her. What does ‘TTYLXOX’ even mean? “You’re not what I expected.”

“Huh?”

“When I heard that Bruce Wayne had another kid,” he clarified, “I expected you to be a homicidal maniac, like Demon Spawn, but you’re somewhat well adjusted in society. You must’ve gotten it from your mother.”

“Really?” she asked. “Mr. Wayne always seemed so… professional in pictures.”

“Plainly for pictures,” Hood said. “He’s the most emotionally stunted man you’ll ever meet.” ‘I definitely inherited that.’

“How do you know him so well?” Marinette asked. “Is your day job being a bodyguard for Bruce Wayne, or something?”

Hood snorted. “I don’t work for Bruce Wayne. Sometimes, I cooperate with him and his family.”

“Like you do with Batman?”

He laughed again. “Exactly like that, actually.” A water droplet dripped onto her head from above. Marinette picked herself up off the ground, glaring up at the dark clouds. Gotham’s weather was horrendous? Why had they come here again? Any other place in America would’ve been better. Except, like, Florida. Something about it just just scared Marinette. The amount of horror stories Marinette had found by searching up ‘Florida Man’ on the internet was enough to scare even Hawkmoth.

Marinette hummed, shifting to hide her purse from view. “I’m gonna go back to the hotel,” she said. “Thank you for talking to me. It really helped me feel better.”

Hood observed Marinette indifferently. “You’re a horrible liar.”

“What?”

“Did I stutter?” he asked, taking five steps to the left. Hood was now standing in front of the alley entrance. Not like Marinette would’ve taken that escape route anyways. She wasn’t going to run right into a crowd of reporters. She wasn’t that desperate yet. “You, Marinette Cheng, cannot lie to save your life. I’d almost feel bad for you, but you just told me a lie.” Marinette crossed her arms and glared back at him. “Where do you plan to go, if not the hotel?”

Several beats passed and Marinette couldn’t think of an excuse. Hood’s stance suddenly relaxed as he exhaled loudly and leaned against the alley wall.

“You know what, kid? You can go.”

“I… can?” 

“Yes. As long as you tell me where you’re going.”

“Why?” Marinette asked, narrowing her eyes. “So you can follow me?”

“If you’re not back at the hotel by seven in the evening, I’ll come looking for you. And I will find you.”

Marinette regarded the vigilante. “Aren’t you working for Bruce Wayne? Why would you let me go? Gotham’s hardly the safest place for a teenager.”

“Oh, so you’re smart enough to realise that.” She could feel his smirk from here. Marinette stared into his mask, where she assumed his eyes were. It would be really awkward if she was actually staring at his forehead. Or his eyebrows. Red Hood sighed. “I… know what it’s like to need to get away. Especially when you’re a teenager and nobody listens. And I also know that if I don’t let you do this, you’ll run off without telling anyone and get yourself killed.”

“Speaking from experience?”

He tilted his head. “I even died.”

“You… what…” how the fuck did he die? How was he here? Was that even possible? Marinette had brought people back from the dead before, but that was during akuma attacks with her Miraculous Cure. How was that even possible?

“Crazy, I know. As far as the world knows, I died in a terrorist attack in the Middle East and─”

Marinette stopped listening. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit! That meant… this was… he was…

“You’re Jason Todd!” she squeaked, waving her index finger around wildly as her legs bent slightly and her body reared backwards. It must’ve made for a very amusing sight.

Jason Todd paused. “Okay, I know for a fact that my clothes didn’t give me away this time.”

“W-wh─you─how are you alive?”

“Some pit made out of magic and assassins. How’d you figure it out?”

Marinette started pacing. “I knew I recognised you from somewhere, but I didn’t know where, and then you started talking about your death… when I first found out about Bruce Wayne being my… thing… I did some research… and yeah. I didn’t realise it was you, though. You look different then you did when you were a teenager.”

“Death does wonders for the complexion.” Marinette glared at him. She paused.

“Holy shit, that makes you my brother!” Jason merely snorted. Marinette shifted uneasily, tapping her index finger against her palm. Beats of silence passed between them. The chattering of reporters grew louder. An eagle passed overhead, squawking loudly. “So… I’m just gonna…” she gestured about vaguely. A crushed red can clattered past them. Rain pattered onto Marinette’s face. “Yeah.”

“Back by seven!” Jason called, lifting a grappling hook. “If not, I’ll come get you.” He was gone without another word. Marinette didn’t even mention where she was going. 

Marinette opened her purse. “My god, Tikki. What do I do?”

She ended up in an extremely shady part of Gotham. No, it was literally shady. There were shadows everywhere. This place was like… Nico di Angelo’s haven. Everywhere you looked was darkness. And criminals.

She supposed that’s why it’s called Crime Alley.

It wasn’t anything very special. Dilapidated buildings littered each side of the street, a flickering street lamp on the very end of the alley. A silver plaque sat on a bench, opposite of a dimly lit clinic where she could see an old woman tinkering about through the open blinds. 

Marinette approached the bench, frowning down at the silver ornament.

‘In Loving Memory of Thomas and Martha Wayne’

It was a simple thing. Most plaques had some sort of message engraved into it. Something that the person had done. But it wasn’t mentioned that they were parents. That they had been friends to everybody in Gotham─the saints and the sinners. That they were some of Gotham’s most famous elite.

But she supposed that was the point. Everybody knew Thomas and Martha Wayne. It was sort of a crime not to.

It was almost weirder for these two to be her grandparents than for Bruce Wayen to be her father. Thomas and Martha Wayne were like saints. They were celebrated every twenty-sixth of June and on their birthdays they were mourned. Even now, decades later, people still visited this memorial. Bouquets of red and pink littered the bench. 

Marinette wondered what it would be like to know her grandparents. The closest thing Marinette had to a grandfather had been Master Fu, and he was more of a mentor than anything. Gina and Rolland Dupain were lovely to her, but they were barely in her life. Gina would sometimes show up for her birthdays and would leave before the day was over. She hadn’t even known about Rolland until Tom’s birthday. And nevermind Sabine’s mother─they’d never even met. Marinette knew her great-uncle better than her only living grandparent. She didn’t even know her name.

Marinette fingered the necklace that hung loosely around her neck. She should probably leave now. It was getting late. 

Just as Marinette was going to transform with the Fox Miraculous, she caught sight of a person shrouded in black directly to her left. Marinette hadn’t even heard them approach! 

She tried to punch them, because there were many possibilities for who this person could be and Marinette wasn’t about to take any chances. 

Her fist was caught in a gloved hand. Marinette’s eyes widened, but before she could react, her hand was released and the person stepped into the light.

Oh.

Cassandra Cain-Wayne smiled back at her. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she breathed. “I─uh─wow, um… hi?”

Cassandra smiled, ducking her head and looking at the bench. “Strange.” Her fingers moved as she spoke. Was she… signing?

“I don’t know ASL,” Marinette said. That’s what it was called, right? For some reason, a lot of English dialects had different types of Sign Language. Since they were in America, it must’ve been American Sign Language. That made sense, right? For all Marinette knew, she wasn’t even signing. Cassandra frowned down at her. “I mean, I know a bit in French─we had to learn in school─and I know the alphabet, but I’m not sure if the signs are different, because I know that American Sign Language originally had a lot to do with FSL, but overtime it grew and changed and… I’ll stop talking now.”

Cassandra giggled softly. “It’s okay.” She pointed at Marinette. “Funny.” 

“I… thanks?” Marinette glanced around. “So… what are you doing here?” Cassandra pointed at the clinic across from them. “Ah. You know the owner?”

“B’s godmother,” Cassandra nodded.

“Oh.” Marinette nodded, smacking her lips together with a loud pop as she glanced around. 

“He is not angry,” said Cassandra, trailing her fingers along the bench.

“What?” Marinette’s head snapped up a bit too quickly.

“B. He is not angry. With you.”

“I─I didn’t…” Marinette cleared her throat. “Good… that’s good. Um… I don’t really want to see him yet.”

“Why?”

A knife clawed at Marinette’s throat as she desperately searched for the right words. “It’s… um… well, you see, I… don’t… I’m not ready?”

“You are scared,” she observed.

“What?” She drew out the vowel. “No. I’m not scared. I’m just… wary. Of… new things?”

“He is… also wary. This is different.”

“Different?” Marinette asked.

“Damian challenged our brother to a…” Cassandra’s face scrunched up. 

“Duel?” Marinette guessed. Cassandra grinned, her eyes shining as she nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, duel. When he first showed up. It was funny.”

“That’s one way to find out you have a son,” Marinette muttered. “But, wait. So he just… showed up on Bruce Wayne’s doorstep, attacked one of his children and Bruce just… accepted him?”

“No,” Cassandra said. “More happened.” Well, obviously it was more complicated than that. Cassandra examined her with eyes she’d seen on every member of Bruce Wayne’s family. The eyes were tired. They’d all seen more than they should at their ages.

Marinette recognised those eyes.

She cleared her throat. “I should go back. To the hotel. It’s nearly seven and Ja─I promised to be back by then.”

“Yes,” Cassandra nodded.

Marinette smiled at her. “And… could you ask him to give me some time? A few days, maybe?”

“He will do it,” Cassandra said. “Goodbye.”

“See─” Marinette blinked and she wasn’t entirely shocked when her adoptive sister disappeared into the shadows. “...You.”

“If I ask where you’ve been, would you tell the truth?”

“Crime Alley.” Marinette flopped onto Adrien’s bed. “Can I room with you tonight?”

“Everybody was looking for you,” he said, ignoring the question. “I had to tell Mlle. Bustier that you were hiding in my room to stop a manhunt.”

“And what did Nino say to that?” 

“He’s currently comforting a crying Alya.” Adrien smiled suddenly. “I can’t fault you for that.”

“What?” Marinette had expected Adrien to be pissed about that whole shitshow.

“Because it worked,” Adrien said. At Marinette’s look, he elaborated. “After you left, Alya was… distraught.”

Nobody said a word as the elevator doors closed. Eyes fell on Alya. Everybody missed as three people disappeared. Adrien Agreste, Lila Rossi and the man who was there to bring Marinette to meet the Wayne’s were gone. 

Alya took one look at all of the gazes trained on her and turned tail and fled. She took the stairs, hopping up two at a time. Her boyfriend followed, but Alya didn’t wait for him.

Eventually, she ran headlong into a certain model. Alya gasped loudly as she was knocked onto her back. Adrien barely stayed standing. 

“Sorry, I can’t wait! I have to go find Marinette!” Alya exclaimed, hopping up. Adrien grabbed her arm just as she started to sprint.

“No. You don’t. We need to talk, Alya,” Adrien growled. Nino looked at him warily.

“Bro…”

“I have to talk to her─”

“Not until you see all of the facts,” he said. Adrien fished into his pocket, unlocking his phone and entering an app. “If Lila has so many connections, then she must have a Wikipedia page. I have one. Chloé has one. Even the fourth Jonas brother has one. So there’s no way she, who is best friends with Ladybug and who saved Jagged Stone’s cat and who is involved with hundreds of charities worldwide, doesn’t have at least a Wikipedia page, right?”

Alya didn’t reply. She shakily typed in Lila’s name, making several typos as she did so.

Articles popped up. Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Ladybug. LADYBUG’S BEST FRIEND. The REAL Reason Ladynoir Aren’t Together. 

What website were these from? Why, the Ladyblog, of course. Alya frantically scrolled through the results, even going so far as to venture onto the second page, which nobody ever did. The only other things to pop up were a bunch of Social Media accounts. Mainly Facebook.

“I─I─” Alya cleared her throat. “I need to go and do research. Excuse me.”

Alya handed Adrien his phone, sprinting back to her room. “Dude…” Nino said. He sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not mad at you. Or Alya.” Adrien looked down the hallway where Alya had disappeared. “I believed her too, at first.” He cleared his throat. “You know she threatened Marinette?”

“What?” 

“On her first day back, when she was akumatized into Chameleon. Marinette didn’t tell me that, though. If she had, I would’ve… I don’t even know what I’d have done.” Adrien frowned. “It’s not me who deserves an apology.”

“You’re right,” Nino said.

“Go to Alya,” he said. “Make sure she’s okay. That she doesn’t try to make excuses for Lila this time.”

“I don’t think she will,” Nino said. “I mean, you saw her face…”

“Yeah.” Adrien had also seen Marinette’s face not ten minutes ago. She’d been absolutely devastated at Alya’s behaviour. “I did.”

“Oh… wow.” Marinette stared up at Adrien. “And… have you heard back from Alya yet?”

“Nino called me.” He sat beside her on the bed. “She took it… better than I expected. From what I could hear in the background, it was like when Wrong-Hordak realised that Horde Prime was full of shit.” Despite the situation, Marinette found herself laughing. Adrien had been the one to introduce her to that show and she absolutely loved it.

“I have to talk to her, don’t I?”

“Not yet,” he said. “You deserve a few minutes of rest before that landslide.”

“If I take a few minutes to rest, I’ll end up going insane,” Marinette said. “Have the vultures disappeared?”

“No,” Adrien said. “But only guests are allowed in at the moment. You’re safe.”

“Good,” she said. Marinette picked at a loose thread on her jumper. “Good.” Adrien slowly settled beside Marinette, lying flat on his back and wrapping his arm around her waist. She stared up at the ceiling above them. 

Marinette missed these moments. When they’d take a few minutes to just sit with each other and truly listen. They didn’t need to talk to know what the other wanted to say. What they really needed. The last time they’d done this… god, Marinette didn’t even remember. It must’ve been before they revealed their identities to each other. Back when they were just Ladybug and Chat Noir. Marinette didn’t know how to label what that had once been. Maybe ‘partners’ was the correct term. What she did know, was that if one person was never going to change, never going to leave her, it was Adrien. Chat Noir. 

“Nathalie called me,” Adrien broke her reverie. 

“I thought she was sick.”

“She was,” Adrien agreed. “She’s better, I guess.” Adrien sat up, kneeling in front of her. “She and father know I’m in Gotham.”

“What?” Marinette jolted forwards, nearly colliding with Adrien. She looked at him worriedly. “A-and do you have to─”

“He’s not making me leave,” Adrien hurried to assure her. “But…”

“But.” Marinette frowned. 

“You’re the reason,” Adrien said. Marinette raised an eyebrow. “They know about… yeah. He and Nathalie want Wayne Enterprise to form some business deal with Gabriel, and they think that if you and I are… entwined, then they’ll have more reason to accept.”

Marinette couldn’t help the bright grin on her face. “So they want you to seduce me, your girlfriend, in order to do something business-y?”

Adrien ducked his head, smiling. “Yeah. Pretty much.” Marinette broke into a fit of giggles, collapsing onto his torso.

Marinette didn’t need to voice the fear she’d felt at the start of the conversation. Marinette didn’t know what she’d do without Adrien. He’d been her rock throughout all of this. Even when Alya wasn’t there for her, Adrien stuck by her. So if Gabriel had decided to take Adrien away, Marinette had no idea what she’d do.