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Just one more thing before I go
Before I let you take the throne
You go right and I stay left
And if you ever get too close
You'll know my name before I go
Lila growled at the television screen as the crowd roared with joy at the announcement of Marinette’s name.
That was supposed to be her onstage they were cheering for, not that designer brat. What was so great about her anyways? She was way too much of a goody-two-shoes to actually be nice. Lila knew she had to be hiding some big secret.
A pathetic baker’s daughter, now a so-called “superstar sensation?” That little gold-digging skank probably used her boyfriend’s money to claw her way to the top. She might even be blackmailing him—after all, why would someone as prestigious as Dick Grayson settle for her? Everyone was so enamoured with her innocent angel act that they were blind to her dark side.
Lila was the tiniest bit impressed by how the baker girl managed to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes. She followed in Lila’s footsteps and played the people around her like the dumb sheep they were, no doubt spinning stories about how she was the victim to make them pity her. What a hypocrite .
They loved me then, they love you now
But don't forget there's one more round
Oh, the pain, I know it well
But it hasn't kept me down
You think you've got me figured out
It had been so easy for Lila to take away Marinette’s friends.
A few sugary words and fake tears was all it took for them to stop panting after her like rabid animals and lay themselves at Lila’s feet. They practically begged to serve her.
How annoying could the baker girl be to have a whole class turn on her that quickly? It was embarrassing, really.
The most fun part was seeing her devastation at losing her best friend, the stupid journalist who couldn’t even do her job correctly. Lila laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of her own lies, yet they seemed perfectly legitimate for someone who claimed to be a fact-checker.
The class’ dim-wittedness almost took away the fun of her manipulation game, but she couldn’t complain when the product was so much better. She got to see Marinette sit alone during lunch, miserable and pathetic. Every day she trudged into class with bags under her eyes, probably a result of bawling over her terminated friendships.
While the brat cried over her ripped sketchbooks, Lila got to fake sympathy and laugh about it when she returned home.
Lila had done it—she had broken Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
You thought you had me
You thought that I was done, but
I'm stronger up against the ropes
I am a, a fighter
Before this fight is over
You'll know my name before I go
Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
You'll know my name before I go
This was all thanks to fucking Ladybug. Fucking Marinette Dupain-Cheng, except Lila couldn’t tell anyone those two were the same person because that bitch had put some voodoo spell on her.
She had been so close to getting her hands on those magical jewels, to finally achieving victory when the perfect hero Ladybug had to screw it up.
Lila had done exactly what she needed to end Marinette’s career once and for all: she planted evidence of her stealing Gabriel Agreste’s designs. It was absolutely foolproof!
She even had Hawkmoth’s help, not that she needed it. He was only another pawn in her game. Once he obtained the Miraculouses, Lila would swoop in and snatch them from him.
When the goody-two-shoes didn’t react to her accusation, Lila should have known something was wrong. It should have been a warning, but she assumed the girl was tired of fighting. It was futile, anyways. All the odds were against her.
Lila wailed about Marinette’s horrendous actions, kicking her usual dramatics up a notch to appease the audience. Soon enough the competition was called off, the designer handed off to the police for questioning. Usually they wouldn’t be called in for something as trivial as this, but Hawkmoth needed this scandal to be big and Gabriel had the influence to make it happen.
Lila went home and slept peacefully, the realization that Marinette hadn’t turned into an akuma never crossing her mind.
Just one more thing before I go
Before the final curtains close
There's no tellin' what comes next
But these tired hands will show
You'll know my name before I go
Just one more thing before the end
No, time has never been a friend
To the dreamer, to the lover
To the one who needs to wait
Now watch out kids, here it comes
I say when I am done
In less than 24 hours after the competition, Lila was being dragged out of her house in cuffs and sent straight to jail.
Apparently, Ladybug had given the police force indisputable evidence that she was conspiring with Hawkmoth. No amount of tears or protesting could convince them to let her go.
Lila’s punishment was a lifetime in jail for a list of things she had done throughout her life, which traced back to childhood. There was no way she could bail or get out of it, especially since her most prominent crimes were aiding and abetting a terrorist and attempting to kill Paris’ “beloved hero” on multiple occasions.
She was thrown in a dingy prison cell in confinement, and no one spoke a word to her. The guards wouldn’t break no matter how hard she tried to bribe them or convince them of her innocence. It was infuriating.
After what seemed like weeks of a mindless routine, a figure in red spandex stopped in front of Lila’s door. Ladybug.
She growled and lunged at the heroine, vengeance on her mind and nothing else. The metal bars didn’t let her get any further.
“You,” she snarled, teeth bared in an animalistic way. “How did you know? I had that Dupain-Cheng girl! She’s a mess now. How did you figure it out?”
Ladybug looked at her, gaze icy. Her next few words were slow and deliberate.
“I was never tired because I had spent the night crying, Lila. I was doing research to take Hawkmoth down.”
It took a few seconds for the words to register, but the moment they did Lila’s eyes widened in recognition. A mixture of white-hot rage and bone-deep loathing coursed through her veins, igniting her very core.
Marinette was so stupid. She just gave Lila the very information that could destroy her.
She opened her mouth, about to shout out her knowledge for the world to hear, but a warm tingling sensation washed over her body. The words didn’t come out.
Lila tried again.
Marinette is Ladybug!
Silence.
“What did you do to me?” she spat, then recoiled at the words that came out.
“Don’t bother,” Ladybug said, eyebrows set grimly.
She surveyed Lila for a few seconds, no doubt judging her disheveled state. It wasn’t her fault the uniforms were so ugly—Lila would never choose such a revolting shade of orange for her jumpsuit.
“You didn’t have to lose the war.”
The words were a reference to the dispute that had occurred they had first met. They were accompanied with a look of pity.
Lila sneered in response, and the heroine gave her one last scrutinizing glance before turning away. She looked as if she wanted to say more but then walked out without another word.
The guards replaced her, and Lila was alone once more.
You thought you had me
You thought that I was done, but
I'm stronger up against the ropes
I am a, a fighter
Before this fight is over
You'll know my name before I go
Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
You'll know my name before I go
Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
You'll know my name
After Ladybug had stopped by, Lila seemed to realize her innocent guise wouldn’t work. She went into hysterics, screeching and clawing at her cell without restraint. She cursed to the heavens, swearing revenge on Marinette and Ladybug.
That all took place nearly a year and a half ago.
Now, Lila was still in jail.
She still hated Marinette Dupain-Cheng with a passion, but decided to put those feelings on the back burner in favor of playing the long game.
She started to mellow out and reduce her fits, in hopes that they’d slacken the guards around her. It seemed to work, since now she was living in a larger cell with a few other inmates.
Lila didn’t like them, but at least they didn’t try to talk to her.
They were currently gathered around a TV, watching some awards show performance, while she was on her bed, thinking of ways to escape.
That is, until the words “Marinette Dupain-Cheng” followed by a roaring crowd reached her ears.
She whipped around as fast as a snake, just in time to see the lights dim and her mortal enemy appear onstage in a fancy dress, holding a microphone.
She opened her mouth, looking directly into the camera, and angelic vocals spilled out.
Just one more thing before I go
You thought you had me
You thought that I was done, but
I'm stronger up against the ropes
I am a, a fighter
Before this fight is over
You'll know my name before I go
Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
You'll know my name before I go