''I AM TITAN, AND I WILL GET LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR'S MIRACULOUS FOR HAWKMOTH!''
The heroic duo exhaled at the same time, glaring at the villain from a rooftop.
This was obviously a sentimonster made by lila to look like an Akuma. It was such a pathetic attempt at it, it might just work, thought Ladybug. The ''victim'' was a giant mass of purple smoke that was not destroying anything in particular but was scaring the shit out of people anyways. The citizens of Paris ran towards all directions, trying to avoid the blasts of smoke that Titan was shooting. They did absolutely nothing. Ladybug pondered on the irony of it. Lila's words were all smoke, bluffs. This sentimonster seemed to be made of the same thing the girl was.
''My lady?'' Asked Chat Noir by her side, he was ready to fight, baton out and spinning, waiting for her to decide how to approach this.
''Alright, let's do this'' She said after letting out another sigh.
The heroes were in trouble. Not because of the sentimonster, the fight was the easiest that the heroes had encountered in their careers. Ladybug used her Lucky charm early just to get over with it, got a little paper windmill and knew exactly what to do. Both heroes only had to spin their weapons to produce enough wind to clear up the smoke that composed Titans body, and all that was left was a pocket mirror. The red heroine destroyed it and purified the Amok.
No, the fight was not the problem. The problem was the aftermath. Once the heroes landed in the middle of the street, they noticed Lila talking to a bunch of people and reporters.
''And then I got Akumatized, I'm sorry I didn't want to be Titan, it's just that my house turned to smoke recently… It was so scary I'm not over it yet'' She was lying out of her ass again. She was pretending to be an Akuma victim so her russe would be complete! thought Ladybug, suddenly alarmed after realizing the girls plan.
There were a couple gasps coming from the crowd, and some of them frowned in disapproval at the approaching heroes.
''Oh, um, I should be going…'' Lila said, shaking and looking terrified once she saw Chat Noir. Before she could leave, however, she started coughing. Someone put a hand on her shoulder and she seemed genuinely surprised at the kind gesture, then ran away. Ladybug wanted to follow her, but the crowd was swarming Chat Noir and he was not dealing with it very well.
''Look what you've done!'' Said a man pointing a finger at the cat hero, who just stood shocked with no idea of how to react.
''Hawkmoth was not defeated! you lied!'' Said another one, just as angry.
The protests continued and the heroine could not take it anymore, so she grabbed her partners hand and tugged him to move. He snapped out of the surprise the people's reaction left him in and they both got out, while still hearing screams and protests.
And to put the cherry on the cake, just as they were leaving Ladybug saw Agent A's face down in the street too, looking at her again with his stupid smirk.
The situation back at the classroom was not any better. Adrien and Marinette came back from their ´´bathroom break´´ and entered what was virtually a warzone.
The students were on their phones, and Marinette concluded they all probably looked at the whole fight live on the news. The teacher was late too, so there was no control over the arguments that ensued after the scene.
The fight was between those who believed the heroes still, and those who, with the recent show, lost even more faith in them. Kim, Juleka, Rose, Mylene and Ivan were arguing simultaneously with Alya, Nino, Alix and Max. Nathaniel, Chloe and Sabrina choosing to stay away from the conflict.
''I think Chat Noir is not good anymore, and Ladybug doesn't know what to do with him'' Marinette heard Mylene comment. The quiet girl was with whatever her boyfriend thought about the situation, and Ivan was Lila's biggest fan from the beginning.
''I knew that from the start. His powers are destruction and bad luck, of course he's a villain'' Said Kim, arrogantly sure of his affirmation. Marinette frowned, remembering how the guy just a month ago was claiming that Chat Noir was the cooler hero *Because* he could destroy things.
''You tell them, Alya, you have spoken with the heroes many times. There has to be something more going on that we don't know of'' Said Max after adjusting his glasses. Alya looked a bit trapped there, she was all for stating her opinion but she couldn't really back it up right now. Not without revealing too much.
''Chat Noir is a hero, all of us have been saved by him and Ladybug at least once, we should be grateful for his efforts and have some faith'' The designer said, and Alya gave her a silent ´´Thank you´´ for rescuing her. Kim started laughing.
''Marinette is the most stupid of all of us! she hates Lila so much she's happy that Chat Noir attacked her and now she gets Akumatized for it'' Exclaimed the athlete, taking things a bit too far even for those who agreed with him in some points. He was the only one clapping at his comment.
''She's not stupid, I understand how hard it is to not be blinded by love'' Said Rose, doing her best to be impartial. ''But Marinette, the heroes lied, just like you say Lila does. I'm disappointed that you can't even admit that Hawkmoth was not defeated when it's so obvous now that he's still around'' The usually sweet girl crossed her arms, and Juleka by her side nodded. Marinette wondered, in the middle of her distress, what would Luka think of his sister not being on the heroes side.
The designer felt defeated. She knew she was on the good side deep down, but right now her emotions were wack, making her doubt everything. Adrien didn't seem to be doing much better, the boy had been quiet the whole time, not even bothering to defend his image. He was probably still shocked by all the vitriol that was spit to him after the battle.
The teacher arrived just moments after Marinette was left without words, and they all went to their seats. The blue haired girl decided to look at her classmates one more time as they sat down. Mylene was uncomfortable sitting next to Alix, who just glared daggers at anyone who disagreed with her. Something similar was going on between Max and Kim, she noticed the former being shoved by the bigger boy as he sat down. Juleka and Rose were whispering among each other and nodding. And Chloe? Chloe was looking at Marinette in the eyes.
The blonde had her hand briefly covering her mouth, but when both girls locked gazes, her awe turned into squinting eyes, and then a serious nod. What even was that supposed to mean?
Marinette got a chill on the back of her neck as the rich girl then proceeded to ignore her as always for the rest of the class. She had the whole day to think about it, but it was only when the group was approaching the meeting point with Luka that it came to her.
Chloe knew who she was.
Lila was having another one of those painful coughing fits. Why did she have to get sick now, when her plans were finally progressing?
Her performance that morning was spectacular, she should receive an oscar for being able to both control what Titan would scream for all of Paris to hear, and for acting as the victim after the monster was defeated. Lila stood up once the shaking subsided, and opened a cabinet on her new private bathroom. She was about to take another pill for this stupid cold when she heard a voice.
''That won't do anything for you'' Said someone behind the girl, and it was not Duusu. The little bird ignored Lila now after she did that to her for long enough. The kwami was being too annoying while she practiced making sentimonsters, so Lila punished it with silence.
''Who said that?'' She asked, trying to remain calm. There was no one on the room with her.
There was no answer except for a faint feminine laugh, and Lila's anxiousness grew as she spin around the place, frantically searching the source of it.
''I think Chloe knows who I am'' Suddenly commented Marinette in the middle of their reunion.
They decided to meet somewhere else, since during the day none of their houses was particularly private, and it was still too early for anyone to be sleeping. They chose one of the many deserted alleys in the city, where no one except a lost person would wander to. There was a spot between three buildings that had enough space for all of them to sit in a circle, protecting the kwamis on the center from any wandering eye. It was behind a cafe, and the smell was delicious.
''What makes you think that?'' Asked Luka, genuinely curious. He hadn't told them about his chat with Chloe yet, but he wanted to know Marinette's thought on the girl and this was perfect.
''She just gave me this look today, after the Akuma attack. Like she was expecting more of me, or something like that. I don't know'' The guitarist didn't like how shy Marinette was sounding that day, and Tikki looked at her charge like she didn't either. Sure, the situation was dire, and her boyfriend looked just as depressed, but they had to keep their heads high or Lila would instantly win.
''I think she saw my cataclysm the other day, too'' Commented Adrien absentmindedly. The model probably didn't care much that Chloe knew who he was at this point. Nino, on the other hand, was alarmed.
''What? Dude! She's the meanest girl after Lila, how can you just let her see that?'' Exclaimed the DJ. Alya and Marinette were not on his side, however.
''She has been behaving a lot lately'' Said the fox heroine and her best friend nodded.
''Yeah, and she rescued Adrien that day… I saw the cataclysm too, but was too slow to react. He might have ended all our problems right there if Chloe hadn't said anything'' Said Marinette.
''Bruh, maybe she wanted to save Lila's life. Should have just let Adrien finish her right there'' Joked Nino, but almost everyone else frowned at the comment.
''I think my rep is bad enough already, Nino'' Whispered Adrien with no energy.
Luka was not sure he liked how Marinette seemed to like Nino's distasteful joke. Tikki was not pleased either, but remained quiet.
''Well you guys are right about one thing. Chloe did help Adrien there on purpose. I asked her to watch out for him'' Blurted the guardian, and at least that stopped them from looking so depressed for a moment. They gaped at him, kwamis included, instead.
''You told her?'' Asked Marinette, shocked. Luka immediately shook his head.
''She knew already when I visited her the other night. She told me she wanted to protect her Adrikin's identity at all costs'' He said, and smiled as Adrien instantly relaxed upon hearing that. Plagg was disgusted just by hearing the nickname, though.
''She learned to keep a secret?'' Bit Alya, but she sounded more impressed than snarky to Luka.
''I don't like it, babe. She might turn against us any moment now'' Said Nino. He really didn't like the blonde.
''Leave Chloe to me, I'll deal with her'' Promised Luka, and Adrien dedicated him a cheeky smile all of a sudden.
''You are the other invitation!'' He exclaimed pointing at the older boy. Luka just frowned at the model in confusion, as did the rest.
''Chloe wanted an extra invitation for ´´some guy she just met´´ to the Easter fashion gala. Wait… umm'' Adrien started hesitating once he noticed Luka didn't know what he was talking about. Plagg laughed out loud, and the other kwamis giggled too.
''She has not invited me yet, but thanks for ruining the surprise'' Said Luka in a tone that didn't match his words, while also smiling brightly. Adrien laughed softly, one hand behind his neck in embarrassment.
''My bad... just act surprised when she invites you, will you?. She never had many friends outside of me and Sabrina'' Said the model, and Nino muttered something like ´´wonder why that is´´ jokingly by his side. Alya and Marinette chuckled.
The group conversed casually a bit more, all the gloom gone, to Luka's relief. Sadly he would have to ruin that once more, they had problems to solve, after all.
''So, Lila is using sentimonsters to make Ladybug and Chat Noir look like liars, what can we do about that?'' As soon as he brought out the topic the giggling and joking stopped, but at least the group started looking determined and angry instead of sad and depressed again.
''I think I should have an interview, a real one, with the media'' Suggested Marinette.
''To tell them what? We can't just say the other one was a fake without revealing that the box was stolen…and that might be even worse'' Said Alya. Adrien looked between the two, back and forth, looking unsure.
''Maybe we should say that the recent attack was not Hawkmoth, but Mayura. You guys never really announced that you got her too, and no one asked either'' Said Luka. Marinette, Adrien and Nino seemed to like his idea, but Alya was frowning and shaking her head, her kwami doing the same.
''We shouldn't lie'' Stated the reporter ''Last time we did it it backfired, when we tried to cover up for the attack on Lila's house… I don't think we can fight fire with fire… or that we should'' Trixx had a wide smile and almost looked like he wanted to applaud Alya.
Their hero team end up agreeing with the fox hero that lying would only create more problems and situations for Lila to manipulate, she was the expert on that, not them. At the end of their reunion, the only concrete plan they had was to keep investigating their enemies and to prove to the cameras next time Lila attacks that the enemy was a sentimonster, and not an Akuma, and declare that Hawkmoth was in fact dealt with. That is one thing they could promise to Paris, and Lila would not be able to act as a fake Akuma victims too many times just to disprove it, or she would end up being too suspicious.
Luka split from the group and prepared himself mentally for another session of translating the grimoire. It was the only thing he could do for now, and he was sure as hell not gonna waste anymore ´´time´´.