Oh, You Don't Have to Do That (Communication)

by Gale-Dragon

An unexpectedly long fic that involves the Miracuclass actually communicating with each other in regards to Lila and figuring out that she's a liar on day one. Let's see how it all plays out.

Oh, You Don't Have to Do That. (Communication)

~}i{~

Gale-Dragon: I have no clue how this story got so long... Anyway, it's a fic where the Miracuclass and the teachers AREN'T dumb down to suit the needs of the episode!

~}i{~

Lila gushed happily when she said, "Ladybug and I are like this!" She then held out both her hands and crossed both her middle fingers over her index fingers. Lila then continued gushing, "We've been that close since we first met! It was an instant connection! We ended up talking about everything about each other in such a short amount of time!"

Alya's voice can be heard saying in a tone that was trying to keep things professional despite the current surge of conflicted emotions, "Oh? Really? That's, um, quite a fast friendship."

Lila giggled when she said, "I know! Even I can't believe how fast we became Best Friends!" Suddenly the whole scene froze. Nino removed his finger from the paused button to look at the still image of the Italian transfer student on his phone screen.

Nino then looked up at his girlfriend when he said in a serious and caring tone, "Alya, babe, you know I love you to the heavens and beyond but-"

Alya quickly interrupted by saying, "I didn't post the interview on the Ladyblog. It's just saved as a draft on my cloud account." She wrung her arms a bit when she said this.

Nino let out a sigh of relief when he got out, "Oh thank goodness!"

Alya waved her hands a bit when she said, "I mean if it were just another "Ladybug or Chat Noir saved me and I want to thank them" type of interview, I would've posted it." She couldn't help but glance to the side for a few seconds.

Nino took a soothing breath before saying calmly, "Okay, I'm glad that you're keeping your integrity as a professional reporter." That was when a confused look appeared on his face when he asked, "But why'd you interview her if you knew you weren't going to post it?"

Alya shook her head when she said self-consciously, "I didn't know Lila would say that she was Ladybug's BFF when she wanted me to interview her..."

Nino raised a brow when he said, "Babe, you don't believe that, do you?" He then moved his hand in a small wave when he added, "I mean, do you really think that the Best Friend of Ladybug, who could possibly know her identity, would just tell some stranger that? Especially if the said stranger has one of the most popular Ladybug Blog in Paris, one that practically everyone goes to and possibly Hawkmoth."

Alya then huffed when she got out, "Of course, I didn't believe that! And even if I did, I'd know enough not to post it! It would've put a target on Lila's back if I did!" She then took a deep breath when she added, "I'm just at a loss as to WHY she wanted me to post it despite the possible dangers."

Nino then asked in a confused tone, "You told her that you weren't going to post it because she's Ladybug's Best Friend?" Things weren't making a lick of sense right now.

Alya couldn't help but say in a slightly frantic tone, "Yeah, I just told her that it would be a bad idea for me to post her interview. Though I didn't tell her that I thought she wasn't telling me the truth."

Nino blinked a few times in confusion before he got out, "Wait, she still wanted you to post it? After you told her this?"

Alya then said in a conflicted tone, "Yeah, in fact, she was pretty adamant that I do. She even told me that she "Talked to Ladybug beforehand and got the okay about this interview because she can protect her" to convince me to post her interview. I mean, she did it in a way that would've made a lesser reporter just post it right then and there."

Nino couldn't help but get out in a concerned tone, "Wait, are you telling me that this new girl, who in a very short timeframe of her being in Paris somehow managed to not only meet but also befriend one of our cities heroes well enough that they would trust her with their identity, and also convinces said hero to allow her to practically broadcast to all of Paris that she is the trusted best friend of Ladybug..." He then took a deep breath before saying plainly, "Alya, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

Alya then stated in a slightly frantic tone, "I know, I told her that I would post the interview after I make sure that it's up to standard just to make her happy and to stop basically hounding me." She looked off to the side uncomfortably when she added, "She even offered to make a follow-up interview if needed..."

Nino placed a hand to his chin when he said in a concerned tone, "Alya... Let's shoot a text to our classmates and get their opinions about this... Just to see if they have some kind of idea as to why she would want people to think she was Ladybug's Bestie." Nino was hoping that this whole thing is just some kind of misunderstanding or something along that line.

Alya finally smiled when she said, "I would really like that..." She pulled out her phone and quickly looked at the Class Chat Group that was made at the beginning of the year. "Huh?" The blogger got out when she saw just how many missed messages in the chat she had. Alya nudged Nino when she said, "Hey, log into the chat. Looks like we're not the only ones Lila's been talking to."

Nino pulled his phone out and checked the chat. He raised a brow when he saw the messages.

~}i{ Miss B Chat Group }i{~

Poison Ivy: Um, guys, not to be rude or anything, but the new transfer, Lila, had told me that she has worked with Prince Ali of Achu in all of his recent Go Green Projects and has ridden in his personal private jet... But Prince Ali only does Children Charities and I'm pretty sure the private jet thing is supposed to be, you know, private, for the Prince's protection…

Gothic Girlfriend: Rose, I'm pretty sure she was lying to us.

Poison Ivy: Well... Yeah, that was kinda obvious, but what I don't understand is why she would lie to Juleka and me about that? I mean, we would've talked to her regardless of whether she was talking about Prince Ali or not.

Tiny Actress: Huh? Did she tell you that? Lila told us that she knew Steven Spielberg personally because she went to Jr High with his youngest son during her stay in America and was practically his God-Daughter. She told Ivan and I that she could introduce us to him if we wanted…

Teddy Bear: Pretty sure his youngest child is an adult… So… Lila's statement is either a lie or she's older than we think…

Tiny Actress: Yeah, and tbh I'm pretty sure Lila was lying to us… Any idea why she would lie about that?

Queen Bee: Oh Pul-ease, you peasants are just so lame!

Sunshine: Chloe, be nice.

Teenage Witch: Chloe's a little annoyed that Lila told us that Jagged Stone wrote her a song entitled "Lila" because she saved his kitten from getting run over by an aeroplane in the middle of its take-off sequence, though she claimed that she got Tinnitus from that whole ordeal.

Rollersnake: I was debating whether or not I should call her out on that or not, but since she's a new student here and I didn't want her to make a bad impression.

Maximum Overdrive: Teenage Witch, you are aware that it is physically impossible for a teenage girl of average height, weight, speed, and overall strength to outrun an aeroplane at the speed needed to take off from the ground, especially w/o authorization to be on an aeroplane track. Also, if one was THAT close to an aeroplane engine without proper ear protection one wouldn't get Tinnitus, they would become completely deaf. The decibels from a plane engine can completely destroy eardrums.

Teenage Witch: Um... I figured Lila was lying because Jagged Stone doesn't have a pet kitten since he has a pet Crocodile and there's no published song by him entitled "Lila"... And now that you're bringing up all those facts... Yeah, things aren't adding up at all with her…

Maximum Overdrive: Oh... That too I guess…

AI Am I: I find it odd that in the span of a school day, our new transfer student has told three rather large lies to roughly 50% of the class.

Maximum Overdrive: I agree with you, Markov.

~}i{ With Alya and Nino }i{~

Alya and Nino glanced at each other before they added their side to this strange Lila tale to the chat, including the interview video.

~}i{ Miss B Chat Group }i{~

Anything's Possible: Uh, okay, that's... Alya, please tell me that you didn't post that on the Ladyblog!

Ladyblogger: I didn't! It's just saved on my cloud rn!

Ladyblogger: Do you guys seriously think I would post something that would either expose the Hero's Identities or put a target on someone's back!?

LB Artist: Given your track record when it comes to the heroes…

Queen Bee: Yeah, you'd totally post anything hero related w/o thinking.

Sunshine: CHLOE! BE NICE!

Queen Bee: What? It's true, isn't it?

Turntables: Alya, I love you, but when you started the Ladyblog you did kind of post anything that even remotely related to the Heroes.

Turntables: But you've been getting better as you honed your journalism skills!

Ladyblogger: Thanx Nino.

Gothic Girlfriend: Okay, I have a question.

Gothic Girlfriend: Does anyone have a clue why Lila is lying to all of us?

Fashion Baker: I just logged into the chat and I was greeted by the recent messages.

Fashion Baker: And what's this I'm reading about a liar!?

Anything's Possible: Uh-oh.

Turntables: Oh... Yeah... Mari HATES liars…

Anything's Possible: Mari, please don't do anything you'll regret!

Rollersnake: You're one to talk. Kim.

Anything's Possible: I'm being serious! Guys remember, Mari HATES liars with a burning passion! Even more so if they're lying to manipulate people!

Turntables: Big Time!

Sunshine: Why?

Ladyblogger: Why?

AI Am I: Why?

Teddy Bear: Oh right, Adrien and Alya weren't here long enough to learn about THAT story… And Markov was created this year, so he wouldn't know about that either…

Queen Bee: I honestly don't care about that old story.

Sunshine: Chloe! I'm being serious! Be Nice!

Teenage Witch: Um, Adrien, Chloe's heard this story before, several times. So she just doesn't want to hear it again.

Sunshine: Oh… She could've added that to her comment.

Queen Bee: No one needs to know my every thought, Adrikins.

Fashion Baker: At least Chloe is upfront about her intentions. Liars DO NOT! And they're even worse if they're manipulating people to do what they want!

LB Artist: Technically, Marinette does have a point.

Rollersnake: Um, I should point out that we shouldn't tell that story when we're trying to figure out the whole thing with our new classmate. Marinette's already jumping on the "I hate her" mentality.

Fashion Baker: Can you blame me!

Ladyblogger: Okay, let's calm down and maybe try to think things through.

AI Am I: Agreed! Can we type down the facts that we know about so far before we make our final decision on Lila?

Maximum Overdrive: Gladly.

Maximum Overdrive: First on the list. Lila told Rose and Juleka that she "personally knew Prince Ali of the Kingdom of Achu enough to work with him on his Go Green Projects and is allowed to ride with him on his private jet". However, Rose already pointed out that Prince Ali has only done Children's Charities and the private jet information is technically supposed to be kept quiet for the Prince's safety.

Maximum Overdrive: Second on the list. Lila told Mylene and Ivan that she "personally knew famous movie director Steven Spielberg because she went to Jr High with his youngest son and thinks of her as his own God-Daughter". However, Ivan has pointed out that Mr Spielberg's youngest child is an adult, making it rather impossible for a teenager to attend Jr High with them.

Maximum Overdrive: Third on the list. Lila told Chloe, Sabrina, and Alix that "Jagged Stone personally wrote her a song and named it after her as a thank you for saving his kitten from getting run over by an aeroplane but got Tinnitus from the whole event." However, I already stated the technicalities about the plane and Tinnitus and Sabrina also pointed out that Jagged Stone doesn't have a kitten because of his Crocodile.

Fashion Baker: The Crocodile is named Fang. And while he's a huge Crocodile, he's more of a dog-in-a-crocodile's body than a snappy croc.

LB Artist: Ah, right. Marinette has done design work for Jagged Stone. She would know that he doesn't have a cat and the name of his crocodile.

Fashion Baker: Yup, and I'm glad you all remembered that!

Teddy Bear: Of course! Those glasses and album cover you made for him was steller!

Tiny Actress: Yeah. Besides, how can we call ourselves Jagged Stone fans if we forgot that he has a pet croc?

Turntables: Too true my dudes.

Teenage Witch: It was how Chloe, Alix, and I knew Lila was lying tbh.

Queen Bee: That and if Jagged Stone is ever going to write a song about someone it would either be about me or the Heroes.

Rollersnake: Well, she has a point, at least about the Heroes.

Sunshine: Chloe, be nice!

Queen Bee: Hey! That wasn't me this time, Adrikins!

Sunshine: Oh, whoops, sorry!

Rollersnake: :3

Anything's Possible: Smooth Alix, real smooth.

LB Artist: Alix, not the time to mess with the rich blondes.

Rollersnake: Lol, I couldn't resist.

Maximum Overdrive: Okay, the final thing on the list. Lila prompted an interview with Alya for the Ladyblog and "revealed" that she was Ladybug's Best Friend. Thanks to Alya's integrity and concerns for Lila's safety, that interview was not posted.

Turntables: I also pointed out the timeframe of Lila's whole story. Pretty sure Lila has only been in Paris for a few days, maybe even a week, so I seriously doubt that Lila could "befriend Ladybug so quickly and well enough to possibly know her civilian identity". Especially since Hawkmoth is still terrorizing Paris.

Teenage Witch: Well, to be fair… Rose did become friends with Prince Ali in a short amount of time. So it is kinda possible for a citizen to befriend Ladybug like that.

Poison Ivy: Totally true! But I do have to point out that while he is a prince, he doesn't have a secret double-life that could end up with a big baddie targeting his loved ones to get magical jewellery that can be used to take over the world if his identity is known.

Juleka: Not to mention, even Chat Noir doesn't know who Ladybug is under that mask and they've been fighting side-by-side the whole time. That has to develop SOME level of trust. So if Ladybug hasn't told Chat Noir her civilian ID, does anyone think Ladybug would tell some random stranger that?

Teenage Witch: 0.o Okay, you have a valid point.

Sunshine: Um, I'm pretty sure Ladybug told Chat Noir that they can do an Identity Reveal after Hawkmoth is defeated. Knowing each other's ID atm is too risky.

Fashion Baker: It must hurt to have to do that to each other even though they can trust each other with their lives, but it is kind of necessary. So yeah, pretty sure Ladybug doesn't know Lila.

AI Am I: Then we have concluded that Lila is lying to all of us. However, we have yet to uncover Why she is lying, especially to that extent?

Sunshine: I've been thinking… What was everyone talking about before Lila started talking to them?

Gothic Girlfriend: I'm pretty sure Rose and I were talking about the positive message that Prince Ali sent to the Environmental Protection Project that Mylene and Ivan are a part of.

Poison Ivy: We were. I remember being super happy that Prince Ali heard of it.

Ladyblogger: I thought he only did Children's Charities?

Poison Ivy: He does, but he does sometimes look into other charities/projects for other things and wishes them the best of luck on meeting their goals.

Gothic Girlfriend: I wonder if Lila doesn't know about Prince Ali's charities when she heard us talk about his message to the EPP and simply assumed that he did Go Green projects?

Poison Ivy: Well… That is a possibility… But she could've just asked us about Prince Ali rather than lying about personally knowing him.

Sunshine: I see. Mylene, Ivan? What about you?

Tiny Actress: Now that I think about it… Ivan, weren't we talking about Steven Spielberg's recent movie?

Teddy Bear: Yeah, we were. And I'm pretty sure we were also talking about how cool it would be to work on one of his movies before Lila showed up.

Tiny Actress: Oh yeah! We were!

Tiny Actress: Ah, THAT'S why we thought it was a little strange Lila brought up knowing him through his youngest child! Although they're an adult!

Teddy Bear: Yeah, it kinda proved that she doesn't know him personally. Though for anyone who didn't know any better, I'm sure they would've jumped on that immediately.

Fashion Baker: I'm still not convinced that Lila's intentions are good if she's lying about these things so far.

Sunshine: I think I'm getting a picture here. Chloe, Sabrina, Alix, by any chance were you three talking about Jagged Stone b4 Lila showed up and started talking to you?

Teenage Witch: Actually…

Rollersnake: Yeah, we were! More specifically debating on which of his songs were the most Rock-&-Rolling.

Queen Bee: Since we were talking about that, we knew automatically that there's no song called "Lila". And to think that Wannabe would actually think we would buy that crud is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!

Sunshine: Chloe, seriously, be nice!

Rollersnake: Um, Adrien, I think this time Chloe's comment is warranted.

Teenage Witch: Yeah, I mean, Lila WAS kinda laying it on about how "Thankful" Jagged Stone was when "She saved his precious kitten" that he "Had to Write Her a Song Dedicated to Her as a Thank You" while sounding like she was being all modist. It honestly felt like Lila was feeding us a real-person fic or something.

Rollersnake: Pretty sure a lesser Jagged Stone Fan would have jumped on that lie almost immediately.

Queen Bee: While you commoners might not be up to my standards in fashion taste, well, most of you anyway. At least you all have a good choice in music.

Sunshine: Chloe!

Fashion Baker: Adrien, I think that was an attempt at a compliment from Chloe. She's trying to be nice, but it's hard to change certain behaviours that you're used to doing for a long time.

Queen Bee: Yeah, you know the saying that "Old Habits Die Hard"? It's unfortunately true. It's HARD to unlearn that stuff!

Sunshine: Oh…

LB Artist: Yeah, these kinds of things take time to change. The best way is to start small and just work your way up at your own pace.

Turntables: Too true, dudes and dudettes!

Turntables: But we're proud of Chloe for choosing to be a better person on her own accord!

Queen Bee: ?

Anything's Possible: Aww, Chloe's blushing!

Fashion Baker: Kim, behave or no sweets for you!

Anything's Possible: I'm behaving!

Fashion Baker: ? Doesn't seem like it.

Turntables: Kim, you need to work on your subtlety.

Anything's Possible: What's subtlety?

LB Artist: Please tell me you're joking.

AI Am I: Umm, can we return to the original topic? Max and I can explain what the word "Subtlety" is to Kim at a later date.

Anything's Possible: Okay!

Maximum Overdrive: Okay. Btw, Adrien, can I ask what you are trying to figure out by these questions?

Sunshine: I think I'm getting a clear picture on why Lila was lying.

Fashion Baker: Besides the obvious?

Sunshine: … Um, do I want to know what this "Obvious" thing is about?

Turntables: NO!

Anything's Possible: NO!

Maximum Overdrive: I think we should wait until we're currently not talking about liars and their reasons they're lying, and maybe wait a month or so after the whole thing settles before we bring THAT story up. For everyone's peace of mind.

AI Am I: Alright, I trust your judgement, Max.

Sunshine: Um, okay?

Ladyblogger: Uh, okay… If you guys think that's best.

Sunshine: Okay, Alya, about the reason why Lila wanted you to interview her, can you tell us?

Ladyblogger: Uh sure.

Ladyblogger: Give me a minute or so to type that out.

Turntables: I might add a few things if needed. More or less on some of the oddities, I noticed in "the interview" now that I'm looking through it again.

LB Artist: You're watching that again? Why?

Turntables: I didn't finish the first watch, but now that I know that Lila was lying to other members of our class, I'm re-watching it completely.

Turntables: I can't help but think that something in that "interview" was… I think the right word to use in this is "Off" but I don't think it would be the right word to use tbh…

Turntables: Idk, something just doesn't seem right about it somehow, and I know it's not the camerawork or anything on Alya's part.

Fashion Baker: I can tell you the reason why something's off.

Fashion Baker: SHE'S LYING! Literally through the entire interview!

Teenage Witch: Um, Marinette, maybe take a step back on the "I hate her because she told a few lies" mentality.

AI Am I: I believe the rest of us can agree with Sabrina's statement.

Anything's Possible: Yeah, I mean, Mari, I love you as if you were my sister from another family, but… Yeah, I'm actually siding with Sabrina on this, for your own sake of course!

Turntables: Ditto… We know you hate liars, but maybe hold off on the hate until we figure out why Lila told us the lies she did. Please!

Fashion Baker: … … … …

Fashion Baker: Okay fine… I guess I am overreacting a bit…

LB Artist: A little, but we can't blame you tbh…

Sunshine: … I want to ask, but…

Teddy Bear: Adrien, for your good and the sake of this mission, DON'T!

Poison Ivy: Yeah, uh, there's no way to sugarcoat THAT STORY, at all!

Gothic Girlfriend: Totally…

Queen Bee: I'm going to have to agree with the others on this.

TIny Actress: To Adrien, Markov, and Alya, once she finishes her text, we will tell you That Story, but not now and not until the situation with Lila is solved. Ok?

Sunshine: … Um, uh, okay…

~}i{ At the Agreste Manor }i{~

Adrien was laying on his bed as he was texting his classmates when he asked Plagg, "I wonder why Marinette hates liars so much that she'll hate them immediately? I mean… I know she doesn't hate others without a good reason."

Plagg lazily floated through the air when he said, "Kid, they said that they'll tell you once this whole Lying Lila thing blows over."

Adrien made a slight show of him sighing when he asked the Kwami in a serious tone, "Come on Plagg, don't you think it's a little strange that Marinette. Marinette! Of all people, would hate someone so much over a few lies?"

Plagg opened an eye when he stated, "Maybe a little, but if I recall." He then floated up to the blonde and playfully poked his nose when he added, "Didn't you tell me that her first impression of you was less than ideal and she disliked you for pretty much an entire day before she became your friend?"

Adrien blushed when he admitted, "Yeah… She thought I put gum on her seat… Not my best first impressions…"

That was when Plagg said, "Though if your girlfriend seems to hate anyone who lies a lot almost immediately, there has to be a legitimate reason." He flopped onto the pillow next to Adrien's head when he added, "Though, from what we know about her, it seems like Pigtails doesn't hate others without a good reason."

Adrien placed his hand onto his chin when he said, "You do have a point… She didn't like Chloe because she was a bully…" That was when the blonde realised what Plagged referred to Marinette as before he blushed again and stated in a bit of a frantic tone," And Marinette isn't my girlfriend! She's just a friend!"

Plagg gave his Holder an 'I-don't-believe-you-at-all' look on his face when he said in a playfully teasing tone, "Yeah, right. "Just a Friend", whatever you say, Kid." The black Kwami's tail flicked around playfully.

Adrien shot a glare at the little Kwami before he got a notification from the chat group. "Okay, Alya just posted her side of the story."

Plagg flew over to look over the blonde's shoulder to read the text when he asked, "What exactly are you hoping to find in that? You seem to have an idea on why Lila is lying, why not share it with the class?"

Adrien glanced at Plagg when he said, "If Lila's interaction with Alya is how I think it was, then my theory is right."

Plagg raised a brow before he read when was sent.

~}i{ Miss B Chat Group }i{~

Ladyblogger: So this morning I was talking to Aurore and Mireille about how my latest interview with Ladybug got so many views and Likes. I'm also sure I was gushing as I talked about Ladybug since Aurore told me to "Chill Fangirl ''. But come on! How could I NOT be excited about Ladybug personally coming to me for an interview! I know I talked a little longer with them before they had to leave for their job before Lila came up to me, telling me that she moved here a couple of days ago and has met with Ladybug and had some interesting things she would like to tell me in an interview. I'm all "Sure" thinking that Ladybug saved her and wanted to shoot a Thank You Interview. I mean, nothing wrong with that and I don't mind making them because Ladybug and Chat Noir deserve to be thanked for all the things they do! Plus, Lila said she was from Italy, so it means more ppl in Europe will know about Ladybug and Chat Noir! So yeah! I was stoked! I set up everything and started the interview, but when Lila started talking… Again, if it were another "Ladybug and/or Chat Noir saved me and I just want to thank them" type of interview, I'd post it w/o much question, but Lila was claiming that she was Ladybug's Best Friend! I can't post that! For both her safety and Ladybug's! I mean, that would definitely put a massive target on Lila's back if I posted that interview! I did my best to be professional during the interview, but I couldn't help but think that either she was lying or just exaggerating her interaction with Ladybug. I mean… Well, I knew that Ladybug and Chat Noir never told each other's ID because of Hawkmoth and they couldn't take a chance on him finding out one and then finding the other, plus Ladybug is super big on keeping their IDs a secret. So Lila telling me that she became Ladybug's most trusted Bestie and could know her civilian ID raised so many marks in the suspicions column. And the major kicker for this whole thing was that despite me telling her that it would be a bad idea, she still wanted me to post her interview! She tried to convince me that it would be okay and that Ladybug gave her the okay and would protect her if anyone were to come after her, she almost had me convinced tbh, but I wasn't posting that interview and simply told her that I'll post it after making sure that the quality was up to standards so she'd stop. Lila seemed satisfied with my answer and before she left, she told me that she'd be happy to do the interview again if needed or do a follow-up interview. I had waaay too much suspicion brewing in my gut, so I showed Nino the interview and told him what happened.

Ladyblogger: Okay, that ended up longer than I originally thought, but hopefully this helps.

Fashion Baker: Thank you for having the integrity and thought process to not post that video of complete and utter lies.

Ladyblogger: Uh, thanks, Mari… Um, I think I felt your anger in that text and I'm hoping it's not at me.

Fashion Baker: It's not. It's towards that liar who is trying to destroy your blog!

Turntables: Mari, please calm down and take a step back. Because you're jumping to conclusions.

Anything's Possible: Yeah, cause Mari, we love you, but you do have a real bad habit of coming to the wrong conclusions when your emotions run high. And Mari, your emotions are pretty high right now and we're only trying to figure things out.

Fashion Baker: I do not!

Turntables: Remember the Gum Incident?

Fashion Baker: … … … Okay, I see your point, but to be fair, Chloe wasn't exactly Little Miss Nice at the time and a lot of her "friends'' tend to be just as bad.

Fashion Baker: No offence Sabrina, Chloe, Adrien.

Teenage Witch: None taken.

Queen Bee: Yeah, I get it, I was not the best person back then. I'm trying to be a better person now, but I can understand the comment.

Ladyblogger: So Adrien, mind filling us in on what you think is up with Lila telling us lies?

Sunshine: I wanted to have all the facts before I tell everyone my theory.

Sunshine: And Alya just solidified it with her story!

Ladyblogger: I did?

Turntables: Adrien, my dude, can you tell us what your theory is? Because I'm not getting a good picture here, especially with Alya's events…

Queen Bee: Yeah, cause I'm drawing a blank on what you're thinking.

Sunshine: I think Lila is lying to make fast friends with the class!

~}i{ Outside the Chat }i{~

All the members of Miss Bustier's class looked at the comment Adrien posted in utter confusion before typing in their responses and asking how Adrien came to that conclusion.

~}i{ Miss B Chat Group }i{~

Sunshine: Guys come on, think about it.

Sunshine: Lila transferred in almost close to the middle of the school year, where everyone has kinda/sort of established their own friend groups.

Sunshine: She's new to both the city and school, she doesn't know anyone here, and she doesn't know how to fit in with her new classmates.

Sunshine: But she wants to belong and have friends in this new place.

Sunshine: So she listens in on her new classmates to find out what they like.

Sunshine: And because she wants to make friends so badly, she lies about having a connection to what her new classmates like so they'd take an interest in her and want to hang out with her!

Sunshine: She doesn't mean any harm by it but she just wants to be friends with our class!

Fashion Baker: Adrien… I think you're reaching on that…

Queen Bee: I… Actually agree with Dupain-Cheng on this one…

Fashion Baker: Really?

Queen Bee: Adrikins, you are waaaay too nice and innocent for your own good!

Sunshine: Hey!

Poison Ivy: But… Adrien does have some valid points…

Teddy Bear: I mean it is a possibility…

Ladyblogger: True, but aren't there better, and healthier, ways to make fast friends?

LB Artist: I think Lila mentioned that her mother was a Diplomat working at the Italian Embassy… Maybe she travels a lot and figures telling tall tales is the fastest way to fit in with the classes she's a part of.

Fashion Baker: Omg! All of you guys are reaching on this!

Turntables: Mari, it does make some sense.

Fashion Baker: … What about the "Interview"? She wanted Alya to post those lies!

Ladyblogger: Um, since she's new to Paris, Lila might not know that the Ladyblog is considered an Official Newsourse and thought it might be a personal blog that only the school knows about. I mean, I didn't tell her that and maybe she figured that it was a fan project.

Maximum Overdrive: Mari, as much as your reasons for disliking liars is completely valid, there are a lot of reasons why one would lie. There is a statistical chance that Lila can be lying for innocent reasons.

Maximum Overdrive: And before you comment, that also means that there is also a chance for malicious reasons.

Maximum Overdrive: However the facts are clear on one major factor, we do not know her reasons for lying nor do we know her as a person.

AI Am I: Agreed.

Anything's Possible: That is pretty true…

Gothic Girlfriend: Max is right. We basically know her the way she knows about us.

Fashion Baker: … …. … … … … That's… … True…

Poison Ivy: Ooo! I have an idea! Let's just be nice to her and do our best to include her in our activities!

Poison Ivy: If we do that then Lila will realise that she doesn't have to lie to us to be our friends!

Sunshine: Perfect!

Sunshine: Um, it might be a good idea if we don't tell Lila that we know she's lying… Don't want her to feel like she's being called out or alienated.

LB Artist: Sounds doable.

Tiny Actress: That can work.

Turntables: Agreed! We can try to be nice to her! Mari, that includes you and Chloe.

Queen Bee: Okay, given that I'm trying to be a better person and I don't have the whole "being nice" thing down… I can't make any promises on that tbh.

Fashion Baker: Well… Most of you know my story, so I know I can't make any promises on that either… I can try my best, but you guys are kinda going to have to prove to me that Lila is actually nice and is just lying to make fast friends…

Turntables: I think that's the best thing we can get atm.

Anything's Possible: Okay, so starting tomorrow we will be nice to Lila, make her feel like she's part of the class, and include her in our activities, right?

Sunshine: Yup!

AI Am I: Okay!

AI Am I: Oh, by the way, Marinette, is your "cold quarantine" almost up?

Fashion Baker: It ended yesterday, but I stayed home today just to be safe. Don't want the rest of you getting sick.

Fashion Baker: Urg! Being sick isn't fun! And it sent me behind in all of my projects!

Turntables: Mari, sleep and your health are waaaay more important than a few projects. Get back in the swing of things and then slowly go back to those projects.

Fashion Baker: ... Fine!

~}i{ Marinette's Room }i{~

Marinette put her phone down and let out a sigh before saying, "They are too nice for their own good sometimes…"

Tikki floated next to her holder when she said, "But they do make a valid point about handling the situation with Lila. And who knows, maybe you can be friends with her once the lying thing is over with."

Marinette stared at the red Kwami with a disbelief look on her face. The bluette sighed again and said, "Well, I guess they know they're being lied to… Still… Even if Lila IS lying to make friends faster… I can't get behind that… My friends are going to have to convince me that she's a good person…"

Tikki patted the bluette on the cheek when she said, "I'm sure they will. Just be a little patient on that, ok?"

Marinette looked at the red Kwami before giving her a small smile and a small nod. She knew it would be difficult for her, but at least she can try.

~}i{ Next Morning }i{~

(Pretty much the same events happen in the Agreste Manor at the start of Vulpina).

Adrien watched from the doorway, but out of sight. Gabriel is talking fashion colours to an employee over the phone while looking through the Miraculous Grimoire, gets angry at the "incompetency", and then opens the secret safe behind the painting of Emilie. Gabriel places the book in the safe before closing it and the painting before leaving. Adrien quickly darts out of sight while Gabriel leaves the home office. Adrien then goes into the home office, stares at the portrait of his mother and wonders why his father has a secret safe behind it. Plagg being Plagg, phases through and opens the safe. The Kwami does complain about there not being any Camembert inside, to which Adrien rolls his eyes at that. Then Adrien sees the book his father is looking through and takes it out and then flips through a few pages. Adrien realises that the book was full of Miraculous Heroes. He knew he needed to get this to Ladybug. Plagg picks up what looks like a peacock pin, looks at it, wonders why it looks so familiar, and then asks his Holder what he thinks of it. Adrien picks up and then looks at the pin for a bit before quickly shoving both it and the book into his pack as he closes the safe door. Just as the book and pin were completely inside, Nathalie walks in and tells Adrien that the car is ready. Soon he leaves the office as Plagg quickly and quietly phases into the bag.

Then Adrien left for school.

}{

Lila frowned as she left her place of residence. It annoyed her that her mother was always so busy with work, but Lila did have to admit that her mother's job allowed her to have a modestly comfortable life. Which was nothing short of a miracle for the now single mother, but it did mean that she wasn't there for her daughter as much as she would have liked. The brunette rolled her eyes when she thought, 'Maybe I shouldn't have caused Mama to divorce Papa, but Papa deserved it for trying to destroy my social life and possible chances of hooking up with a rich boy. It also helped that Mama is just far too trusting of me and believes everything I tell her~.' Lila's only regrets about causing her parents' divorce were the fact that she no longer had one of them being home to greet her when she arrived and the fresh, home-cooked meals. But it was ultimately fine to Lila in the long run, it allowed her to skip a few days of school if she wanted and her mother would be none-the-wiser and her mother always allowed Lila to order take-out from her favourite places if she misses an outing with her daughter or bought all the foodstuff that didn't require much cooking that Lila wanted.

Lila smiled when she thought about how she was going to become queen of the school. A few more well-placed lies here and there and soon all of her classmates will be at her every beck and call. That was something she couldn't wait to happen, it was something she will never tire of no matter how many schools she attends.

Lila preened as she walked into her new school, all her lies have already been told to make her the centre of attention. At least with her new classmates. She'll need to tell a few more lies to the students and teachers outside that little bubble. 'Then the whole school will be eating out of the palm of my hand,' Lila thought with glee as she plastered on a smile as she greeted some of the students that weren't in her class.

Another reason why Lila was happy to be in the class she was in was because she was classmates with Adrien Agreste, the son of the well-known, rich, fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste. The man had status, money, and power. That meant that Adrien had status, money, and power. The things that Lila wanted and as a bonus, Adrien was very sheltered, which will make manipulating him even easier. The fact that he was in the same class as her meant that Lila had the best possible opportunity to manipulate the gullible teen into thinking that she was an amazing person that he had to make his girlfriend. And after scrolling through all of Adrien's social media pages, she easily noticed how much of a fan of Ladybug he was. Therefore, the perfect lie to make Adrien hers was to let him know that she was "Ladybug's Best Friend". Heck, it was the reason why Lila even did that interview with Alya, who runs that Ladyblog that everyone seems to clamour to. 'He'll practically be begging me to be his girlfriend after seeing that,' the liar thought, practically patting herself on the back for her successes.

It didn't take long before Lila reached her classroom. The majority of them happily greeted the new transfer with smiles.

'Too easy, but all according to plan~,' Lila thought with pride as she happily smiled back and greeted her new pawns.

'Perfect! She's feeling welcomed already!' the majority of Miss Bustier's class thought happily, glad their new classmate was already feeling included.

~}i{ Later in the Day }i{~

Marinette took a deep breath as she hustled into the library. She just had to get away from that Liar!

Lies! Lies! Lies! Lies! Nothing but lies came out of the new girl's mouth! The bluette couldn't take it anymore!

But instead of lashing out by calling Lila out on those utter lies, Marinette just removed herself from the situation. She took another deep breath. She had to calm down. She needed to calm down. She couldn't afford to get Akumatized. She also couldn't afford to ruin her classmates' attempt at making sure Lila felt welcomed. Marinette knew that it would take a while before the class's effort to show Lila that she didn't need to lie to them to befriend them took effect, but that didn't mean that she had to like it.

Tikki peeked out of Marinette's purse when she asked softly, "Are you alright?"

Marinette gave an exasperated huff when she stated in an annoyed tone, trying to keep the volume down since she's in the school's library, "No! GAH!" She ran her hands through her bangs in an aggravated manner before getting out in annoyance, again while trying to keep the volume down, "I get it! I really do! It's going to take some time for her to realise that she doesn't have to lie if she is trying to make fast friends, but how the heck can she believe that lying THAT much is the best way to do so!" The bluette let out a soft growl when she got out, "I think that someone who lies THAT much can't be up to any good." She then sighed before telling the red Kwami, "I know the others want to think the best in people and I am willing to give that lair a chance, but it's only for them and I don't have to like it."

Tikki could only offer her holder comfort for this as she patted the bluette's side that was closest to the purse she was in.

Marinette decided to find a nice quiet spot to sketch some designs for a while. Drawing clothing always makes the bluette feel better. That was when she spotted Adrien sitting by himself looking over what appears to be an old book. Tikki peeked out and when she spotted that book, she quickly notified Marinette that she needed a closer look at that book, stressing that it might be important. The bluette gulped nervously before she cautiously made her way to her crush.

Adrien was so engrossed in the book that he didn't even notice Marinette was at the table until she asked him, "Adrien? What are you reading?"

Adrien's head shot up in surprise until he saw Marinette looking at him with a curious look on her face. The blonde blinked a few times when he said, "Oh, uh, I found this book in my father's study and, well, I had to look through it." He motioned the bluette to sit when he said, "Take a look, it's all about the Miraculous Heroes of the past."

Marinette, now completely interested in the book, took a seat next to Adrien and completely forgot about crushing on the boy when she looked at the page the blonde was looking at. "Is that!" She got out as she looked at the drawing of a Butterfly/Moth Holder on the page appearing to use its ability Adrien was on before saying, "Hawkmoth? As… As a hero?"

Adrien nodded when he said, "It seems like it, and look." He carefully flipped to the previous page, showing Marinette a drawing of a past Black Cat Holder using Cataclysm. Then the page before that shows a drawing of a past Ladybug Holder using the yo-yo as a weapon. He looked at Marinette with a serious look on his face when he said, "This book shows all the Miraculous and what they can do, and more!"

"And more?" Marinette vocalised as Adrien carefully flipped to a page with a drawing of a past Ladybug Holder but with fins on her feet and appeared to be underwater. "Hang on! Is this a new Miraculous power?" The bluette asked as looked at the drawing and then.

Adrien nodded when he said, "I think so, but…" He looked down at the image when he said, "The thing I still can't understand is why my father has this in the first place?"

Marinette glanced at Adrien when she thought, 'His father had this book?' before looking at the words written on the page, noting that it didn't seem to be in a language she knew. The bluette carefully pointed at the words, making sure she wasn't touching the pages, when she said, "What language is this? It doesn't look like any Chinese Dialect I know."

That was when Adrien said, "It might be a branch of Chinese. I know it isn't Japanese."

As Marinette and Adrien talked and theorised about what the book's language was, Tikki and Plagg were having a quiet yet important exchange of their own. The black Kwami showed the red Kwami peacock pin he found with the book. Tikki's eyes widened before she motioned for Plagg to get Adrien to bring it to the Guardian as soon as possible. This whole thing happened without either of the Holders noticing.

}i{ Meanwhile }i{

Lila was riding a wonderful wave of success! Nearly all of her classmates were fawning over her! Asking about her and what she did before coming to Paris! Oh! Lila could see just how utterly gullible all of them are to believe every lie she told! That's going to make everything easier to become queen of the school and make Adrien her loyal, doting king.

Oh speaking of Adrien… 'I need to find him so I can make him fall head-over-heels for me,' Lila thought happily as she left to go find him.

The moment Lila was gone, Alix couldn't help but say to the others with a slight huff, "Okay, on the upside, I am glad Marinette was big enough to remove herself from the area rather than calling Lila out on all those lies, but on the other hand…"

Nath sighed before saying, "Yeah, wow, was she lying the entire time!"

Rose made it known that she felt a little guilty about talking behind Lila's back, but Juleka placed a hand on her shoulder when she said, "I can agree on that, but you do have to admit she WAS lying a little too much…"

Ivan twiddled his thumbs when he said, "I think that's the most lies I have ever heard one person tell in a day." Mylene couldn't help but agree with that.

Chloe couldn't help but slide in a comment of politicians being more honest during their first meeting than the new girl. To which some of the others chided to her about being nice, but couldn't help but agree with her a bit. Kim and Max gave each other the side-eye when Chloe brought up that politicians lie at first to get people to like them quickly before they start trying to make good on their words. Mylene commented about how that might be true but it might not be the best example to follow in real life and made a comment about life not being like a tv show.

Alya bit her lip when she said, "Um, speaking of tv… Lila did ask how her Interview did on my blog…"

Nino couldn't help but say, "Alya, you didn't…"

"Of course not!" Alya got out in a huff before saying in a calmer tone, "I made a nice template for that video to make it look like it was posted on the Ladyblog."

Everyone stared at Alya in shock before Sabrina asked in disbelief, "Did you… Lie to her about the status of that video?"

Alya could feel herself shrink a bit when she said, "Well… Kinda, I mean… I figured she would ask about it, so I thought that if I made it look like it was posted and showed it to her, it would make her happy… I do feel bad about lying to her about it, but she was so happy to feel like she was a part of our class!" She then waved her hands defensively before saying, "I can always make another blog for our class that's more for fun and post that video there! That way it's not going to be a lie!"

Miss Bustier's class glanced at one another at this.

It was a good plan, and it can also work to make everyone feel more included as well as make everyone better friends with one another. Yeah, that can work! But they're going to need Miss Bustier's permission first.

}i{ School Library }i{

Lila quickly found Adrien in the library, which made her happy, but… He was sitting at a table with another girl from her class. Lila frowned at the implication. She needed to think of something fast to make Adrien pay attention to her! And just her!

Lila took a deep breath, to calm herself, and then used her brilliant mind to think of something to separate that bluette from her Adrien. That was when she noticed just how engrossed the two were over that dusty old book that they wave gathered around. 'What's so great about some book? It obviously isn't as interesting as me,' Lila thought in annoyance as she snuck closer to her target.

"I know I should show Ladybug this!" Adrien said in a serious tone.

To which Marinette replied, "I agree, but… Is it wise to do that even though…"

Adrien nodded, "I know, I know, but she has to know about this book and maybe she can use it to defeat Hawkmoth!"

Smelling a perfect opportunity to insinuate herself into this and make Adrien fall for her, Lila practically leapt between Marinette and the blonde when she said, "Did I hear someone mentioning something that My Total Bestie needs to know about?" Lila not so gently, or subtly, shoved Marinette out of her seat as she made sure she was as close to Adrien as possible.

Both Adrien and Marinette stared at Lila for two different reasons. For the bluette, the reason was that she was rudely shoved out of the seat she was in and so suddenly. For the blonde, it was because this new girl that he most certainly DID NOT KNOW was suddenly so uncomfortably close to him.

Adrien scooted away from Lila as subtly as he could when he said in an uncertain tone, "Um, hi Lila." The blonde was trying to think about how to be polite to this new girl without trying to hurt her feelings.

Lila moved so she was closer to Adrien when she said, "I heard you talking about wanting to give something to my Bestie, Ladybug. Maybe I can help." She made sure to keep herself close to her target, so he knew just how "willing she was to help him".

Adrien felt uncomfortable with how close Lila was as tried to move away from her when he said, "Um, I don't think that's a good idea." Lila scooted closer to the blonde again, trying to keep herself close to him. Adrien made a face that showed just how much he wasn't liking this kind of attention.

Marinette noticed this, made an audible cough, getting both Adrien's and Lila's attention, and then said as calmly as she could despite the situation, "Lila, our school has a rule about how close students are to one another, excluding emergencies." She calmly indicates the two when she adds, "And you are currently breaking it." Marinette then asked as calmly as possible with a fake smile, "I understand that you're new here, but this school is pretty strict with how much touch contact one student has with another and I don't want you getting into trouble so early in your time here."

The bluette technically wasn't lying about that particular school rule, but as long as the students were aware of how much physical affection they can show with one another it usually wasn't brought up.

Marinette made an obvious glance at Adrien when she added in a concerned tone, "And I think that you're also making Adrien a little uncomfortable." The bluette was hoping that Lila would take a hint and move away from Adrien to give him some space.

Marinette could swear she saw a quick smirk on Lila's face before the new student said in a rather sugary tone, "Oh, I'm sure you're exaggerating, and Adrien doesn't seem to mind me being so~ close to him~." Were the bluette's eyes playing tricks on her?

'Is she being serious?' Both Marinette and Adrien thought at the same time, but for different reasons.

As Adrien tried to move away from Lila when he got out nervously, "Uh, actually, Lila… You kinda ARE being a little too close." Marinette dug into her bag for something. "Can you, um, maybe take a step back?" Adrien asked as politely as possible.

The next thing both Adrien and Lila knew, a student handbook, that was open to a particular page, was placed between them. "It's the third paragraph down," Marinette stated plainly as she tapped that particular section for the two to read.

They read it and to their surprise, much to Adrien's relief, that section was about how much touch/body contact was allowed on school grounds. It was quite detailed on what kind of contact was not acceptable and how many warnings are to be issued before the students are given detention and then parents or legal guardians are called for behavioural problems.

'There's actually a rule on this!' both Adrien and Lila thought, but with different emotions. The blonde was in relief and the brunette in annoyance.

Marinette swore she saw an annoyed look appear on Lila's face for a second before the brunette plastered on an apologetic look when she said in a modest tone, "Oh, my apologies, I was unaware of this rule. It's just that everyone back in Italy is just so physically affectionate with their friends so I assume that everyone is like that." Were the bluette's eyes playing tricks on her again? Making her see what she wanted to see?

'Okaaaaay, that sentence was a little… Strange,' Marinette couldn't help but think suspiciously as she said out loud as she pulled up another chair to use, "I'm sorry to have to break that to you, but as I said earlier, it's a strict rule and I certainly don't want either you or Adrien getting in trouble over this. Even if the contact isn't bad as a whole." The bluette was trying her best to be nice and not snap at Lila for practically invading Adrien's personal space. Marinette tried to tell herself that she shouldn't jump to the conclusion that Lila was trying to get cosy with Adrien and that maybe Lila was just a little too touchy-feely, but Adrien was visibly uncomfortable with Lila being so close to him so the bluette just wanted to make sure the blonde felt better. So despite the bile bubbling up in her stomach, Marinette tried to keep things cordial. She kept telling herself that this was for the rest of her class.

Lila was annoyed that this girl was derailing her chances to get Adrien to fall for her, but it seemed like the bluette was just a stickler for the rules. 'So nothing to worry about now,' Lila thought before turning her attention to the book. "Oh? Is this what you wanted Red to look at?" the brunette asked as she moved the book closer, getting a better look at it.

"Red?" Marinette asked with a raised brow, thinking that the word was a little out of nowhere.

"Oh, that's what I call Ladybug because her favourite colour is red," Lila said rather casually as she flipped through the pages of the book. She stopped when she came to an image of a Past Fox Miraculous Holder. 'Oh! This is interesting,' Lila thought as she ran a finger over the image of the orange colour hero.

This too casual handling of the book horrified Adrien! The book was clearly old and needed to be handled with care! Not to mention that the book didn't even belong to him. He quickly, and carefully, snatched the book away from Lila when he said, "Please be careful with this book! I, uh, it's very old and the images looked like they've been painted on." Adrien tried to control his tone so he both wouldn't draw attention to himself or startle the new girl. He carefully looked at the images, to make sure that they weren't accidentally smudged, when he added, "It's very delicate."

That was when Lila immediately went full-on apologetic mode when she said in a super worried tone, "Oh! I'm super sorry! I had no idea the book was THAT old! Oh, I should have been more careful!"

Marinette couldn't help but think that Lila was overdoing it with the apology. The bluette then noticed a smirk that appeared briefly on Lila's face when Adrien appeared to feel guilty for scolding the brunette when he said, "Um, if you didn't know… I guess I can forgive you… And the pictures don't seem to be smudged, so everything should be fine." He then looked at Lila, who now had the apologetic look back on her face, when he added, "Just be careful when you pick up an old book, okay?"

Marinette wasn't sure what she should do right now. On the one hand, she didn't want to jump to the conclusion of Lila being a bad person because she was lying as she did in the class's chat group and possibly ruin her classmates' chances of proving that Lila might be a good person, but on the other hand… A few red flags were popping up in Marinette's mind that she honestly could not ignore. However, a part of her did think that she might be trying to plant those flags that might not be there, but another part of her was telling her that there was no possible way she was imagining Three quick flashes of quick emotions happen on one person THAT quickly without SOMETHING being suspicious. Her mind couldn't be imagining all of those instances in such a short period of time.

'By this point, I'm just hoping that I don't attract Hawkmoth's attention,' Marinette thought, not liking how she was practically fighting herself on what she should do about Lila. While she kept telling herself that she needed to be nice to the new transfer for the sake of her classmates, she just couldn't ignore the worrying signs she was seeing with this person. Right now, she settled on making sure Adrien was comfortable and maybe found a way to get that book. 'Maybe I can drop by as Ladybug and say I'm just patrolling the area. Adrien seems very willing to just give Ladybug the book,' the bluette thought as she just watched Lila and Adrien talk about Ladybug.

Or rather Lila talks about Ladybug and Adrien listens…

Thankfully, Lila was paying more attention to Adrien and was facing him because Marinette could NOT keep an obvious frown off her face. 'Okay, HOW many times did she say that Ladybug is her bestie?' Marinette wondered bitterly as she looked at Adrien, more to gauge his comfort levels than anything. To the bluette, the blonde seemed to be listening to the brunette out of politeness rather than pure interest, his model smile was proof of that. 'I can't say I blame him, the whole class pretty much doesn't believe that bestie claim… But…' Marinette thought, trying her best to remove the frown from her face before Lila remembers that she was there. 'Why is she smothering that "I'm Ladybug's Best Friend" claim on Adrien so heavily?' the bluette wondered.

As much as Adrien loved his Lady and most certainly wanted to learn more about her, he knew that Lila was probably making up half of what she was saying about Ladybug on the spot. 'She must be really desperate for friends to lie this much,' Adrien thought as he politely kept up the conversation if anyone could call it that. He made a glance at Marinette. 'She doesn't seem to be enjoying the conversation,' Adrien couldn't help but note.

A welcome interruption to this was Adrien's fencing reminder.

Adrien pulled his phone out of his pocket when he said with a soft apologetic look on his face. "Oh shoot, I have to get to fencing. I'm sorry about cutting our conversation about Ladybug short, but Father will be unhappy if I'm late for any of my extracurricular activities." Internally, the blonde was relieved to have a legitimate excuse to leave and be able to take the book away so he can bring it to Ladybug later as Chat Noir afterwards. Adrien carefully placed the book in his bag as he stood up.

Lila, who already formulated a plan to make Adrien hers, knew she needed that book to make her plan work. She stood up just as Adrien was about to leave and "accidentally" collided with him, causing both of them to drop their bags.

Marinette was about to jump in and help when Lila quickly dove down to the fallen items when she nearly shouted a little too dramatically for the bluette's liking, "Oh my! I am Soooo sorry, Adrien!" Marinette looked under the table they were sitting at to see what Lila was doing while Adrien felt anxious about being both being late and maybe attracting the attention from everyone in the library for how loud Lila was being. It made Adrien wonder if either Italy had very different rules for their libraries or if Lila just didn't know how to behave in a library. As Adrien looked around to see if there was anyone who heard, Lila managed to slide the book in Adrien's bag out and moved it to the side as she stood up to give Adrien back her bag. The liar used her foot to move the book more under the table as she asked the blonde, "By the way, there's something else I would like to talk to you about. How about we meet later at the nearby park once you're done?"

Marinette watched this from under the table with wide eyes. This most certainly was not something she was imagining! 'She's! Actually stealing the book! From right under Adrien's nose!' Marinette thought in horror when she realised that the blonde did not realise this was happening. The bluette wanted to call this out, but Tikki whispered to her that they couldn't draw any attention to the book right now and told her to just follow the liar after leaving the library. Marinette bit her lip. She did not want to do this, but… If that book was THAT important, then… 'I am sooo making sure I make a copy and then return the original to Adrien!' Marinette thought as she moved so neither the blonde nor brunette knew that she saw something.

Adrien took the bag and said in a hurried tone, "Okay, sure! I'll see you there!" He then hurried away to get to his fencing.

Lila smirked that her scheme worked, like usual. 'Now for the next step in my brilliant plan to make Adrien mine,' the liar thought as she was about to kneel down to pick up the book, but was interrupted by someone asking "Excuse me, Lila?" That nearly made the brunette jump out of her skin. She quickly snapped to whoever spoke, only to see Marinette standing there. 'Shit! I forgot she was here! Wait? Did she see?' Lila thought when she realised what could've happened.

"Oh, sorry for startling you. That was not my intention," Marinette said when she realised/thought that she spooked the other. She plastered on a smile when she asked, "Um, before you go, uh, would it be insensitive of me to ask if you're allergic or intolerant to anything food-wise?"

Lila raised a brow at this. Not sure what to think about that and trying to gauge how much the other girl saw, the liar stated, "No I don't have any. Why do you ask?"

Marinette tried to do her best to act cheerful when she said, "Oh, I sometimes bring in some treats for my classmates. I want to make sure everyone in my class gets to enjoy them, so I have to ask that question to new students so I know what I'm not bringing in or have to make use of a different ingredient." The bluette had to put up this front to prevent the liar from finding out the truth. But she might as well ask her usual new student question to make sure she doesn't accidentally trigger anything serious later in the year.

Lila quietly gauged the reactions of the other while she talked. 'It doesn't seem like she saw anything, but I'll have to keep an eye on her.' She then plastered on a fake smile when she said, "Oh that is so~ nice of you to do! I look forward to seeing what you bring in!"

Marinette gave a small wave when she said as she turned to leave, "Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe with some treats." She then left the liar as calmly as she could, so as not to arouse her suspicions. As soon as Marinette turned a corner, and out of Lila's range of sight, she quickly pressed her back against the wall and pulled out her pocket mirror. Tikki wondered why she was taking that out, but when the Kwami saw that her Holder was using it to look around the corner to watch Lila without having to peer in physically and potentially getting caught.

Lila smirked once the bluette was gone when she thought, 'The whole class is full of gullible idiots, but that just makes everything easier and I can use them to get Adrien closer to me.' She then bent down and picked up the stolen book. As she flipped through the pages, she walked out of the library. Now for the next part of her plan.

Marinette quickly darted out of sight as Lila walked out. The bluette quickly and quietly followed the liar out of the school. "Tikki, please tell me you at least have some plan on getting that book from that liar," Marinette whispered to the red Kwami.

"Just keep following her for now!" Tikki stated softly in urgency. While Marinette wasn't all that comfortable with the out of character behaviour from her Kwami, she continued to follow Lila at a distance. Not close enough to be noticed but also not far enough to lose the other in a crowd or a turn.

The Ladybug duo followed Lila for a good while before the brunette walked into a nice looking boutique. Marinette kept to the corner near the store to watch the entrance when she asked Tikki, "Why does she need to go in there? She's going to meet up with Adrien soon?" The red Kwami suggested that maybe she was getting some make-up to look nicer. Marinette shook her head when she said, "I know this boutique, they don't sell make-up. Just nice clothing and a couple of Gabriel brand jewellery." She turned her attention back to the entrance when she added, "I don't think she has the time to look through the clothing to touch up her outfit, so by default… She might be getting a piece of jewellery." Tikki did ask if getting jewellery before a meeting was a weird human thing.

Marinette placed a hand to her chin to think when this question was asked. She thought about what she currently knew and what was sold in the shop. A theory sparked into the bluette's brain when she muttered to herself, "That fits, but is she THAT desperate to have Adrien as a friend to do something like that? Or is there more malicious intent to her actions?" Marinette was trying to find a more innocent reason for Lila to basically steal something that belongs to Adrien, look through it, and then go into a boutique to possibly buy something that looks similar to what is in the book…

Tikki was able to follow Marinette's thoughts when she said, "Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with your instincts on her. I think the correct human term for something like this is "She's being sus", correct?"

Marinette smiled at her Kwami for using a modern saying when she said, "Yeah, that's the correct use of that term."

It didn't take long before Lila exited the boutique with her new purchase in a small paper bag with a smug smile on her face. Tikki and Marinette glanced at each other before they continued to follow Lila to the park.

On the way, the liar stopped next to a rubbish bin and held up the book she stole. 'I don't have any more use for this, so~,' Lila thought as she casually tossed the item into the bin before taking a nice looking bottle of perfume out of her bag and spritzed herself with it a few times. 'As useful as that thing was, it had that old book smell. I don't see what the real fuss over that thing was about,' Lila thought as she returned the bottle to her bag and continued on her way to her meeting place with her future boyfriend. She then thought smugly, 'Besides, it's more believable that the school tossed the book because it isn't of any use to them. Ooo, yeah! I can use that to avoid being suspected of stealing that!'

Both Marinette and Tikki had their mouths and eyes open in utter shock after witnessing that deed.

"Did she just!" Marinette gasped out before she rushed towards the bin. Thankfully, the liar was already inside the park by this point and didn't see her. The bluette quickly looked into the bin. She gave a relieved sigh when she saw that only the book was inside. Tikki immediately flew in and pulled the book out, to which Marinette carefully looked over the cover for any damages before placing it into her pack. She then sheathed out quietly, "I can't believe that she did that! She saw how much Adrien fretted over the book! How important it was to him! But just tosses it once she no longer has a use for it!" The bluette took a deep breath to calm herself down before sneaking into the bushes to keep watching Lila, just in case she does something to Adrien.

Lila found a nice bench, unaware that it was in perfect view for Marinette and Tikki to see and hear her. She sat on it and pulled her new purchase out of the paper bag. A necklace of an orange foxtail with a white tip, a near-exact replica of that jewellery in that old hero book. Lila smirked as she put on the necklace before admiring how it looked on her.

Marinette saw this when she said softly to Tikki, "Shit! I was right! She IS going to lie about being a Miraculous Holder!"

Tikki's antenna dropped when she said, "That's bad! And by that, I mean bad if Hawkmoth finds out about that and believes that she is a Holder and Ladybug's best friend! He might kill her when he finds out she was lying!" That was when the red Kwami paused, raised a brow, and asked, "Wait… Why does Adrien's father's fashion company make duplicates of the Miraculous?"

Marinette glanced at Tikki before saying, "I'm not sure about the why, but now that you're bringing it up…" She then shook her head before focusing on Lila when she stated, "Put that thought on hold for now. We have something a little more important to focus on if that Liar is going to go with that lie!"

Adrien arrived a minute later. He sat next to Lila and asked what she wanted to talk to him about. Like Marinette thought, Lila DID use the "I'm a Miraculous Hero" lie. She even tried to say that she was an even better hero than Ladybug, much to Marinette's annoyance.

However, Adrien was already suspicious about what Lila was telling him. Considering the timing of this, her seemingly trying to imply that Ladybug wasn't as good of a hero as her, the fact that she was wearing a Gabriel Brand necklace that she was trying to pass off as a Miraculous, and the fact that he knew she was lying… Yeah, as much as Adrien doesn't care much about modelling for his father's company, he's at least aware of the product they sell, jewellery is included in that. 'Huh? Wait a second…' Adrien thought before saying out loud, "I think I saw this in the book."

Just before Adrien was about to reach into his bag, Lila stopped him with her own hand and said, "Of Course, it's in that book, Vulpina wore it and is one of the greatest heroes of all time~. Heck, she's even more celebrated than Ladybug and the other heroes combined." Lila then placed a modest hand on her chest, to emphasise the necklace, when she said, "In fact, Ladybug reached out to me to come to Paris to help her capture Hawkmoth since I am a direct descendant of the Great Volpina."

That was the last straw!

Marinette quickly transformed into Ladybug and went to confront the liar. She was about to just outright call out the liar for that lie but paused when she saw how excited Adrien was to see her, she remembered that she had a professional job to do as a hero and couldn't be vindictive. So Ladybug took a deep breath and said as calmly as she could, "I was in the area and I overheard someone saying that they were called in by me?" She folded her arms in front of her chest when she scolded sternly, "Listen, as much as Chat and I would love to have more help with dealing with Hawkmoth, I would have to advise against advertising that claim to strangers. If Hawkmoth hears that kind of thing, it would be a disaster, especially if that claim is a lie to gain attention." Ladybug then placed her knuckles on her hips when she stated, "One of our jobs as heroes is to make sure civilians are safe from Hawkmoth's Akumas. Which includes disproving false information that can endanger anyone." The red-themed hero kept thinking to herself, 'Keep it professional! Keep it professional! Keep it professional!'

Adrien was absolutely glad that his Lady was being her wonderfully, heroic self. He knew his Lady cared about the civilians of Paris and wanted to make sure that everyone was safe from danger. Adrien was also really glad that Ladybug wasn't calling Lila out on the lie, which in turn made him fall more in love with his Lady.

Everything took a weird turn when Lila snapped at Ladybug, "What gives you the right to stick your nose in this?! This isn't any of your business!"

Both Adrien and Ladybug were taken back by this outburst. But the red-clad hero recovered and stated sternly, "Normally, I would just leave things to the individuals that tell others those lies, how-"

Lila interrupted in anger when she snapped, "Then why don't you! I have things handled here! I don't need you messing up my chances at making Adrien mine!"

"Hey!" Adrien got out in annoyance. Not the least bit happy about being sought after like some prize to be won.

Ladybug could not hide her thoughts at those words, her face contorted in disgust, as she said, "I was more focused on the "possibly causing dangers from Hawkmoth" side of things, but… *Cringes* I had no intentions of, uh, sabotaging your chances at-"

Lila then snarled out in anger, "Yes! You were! You're just jealous that I have Adrien's attention!"

"Hey, I'm right here, you know!" Adrien said in annoyance as he waved to get the two's attention. He then stated as he folded his arms, "And honestly, Lila, you don't have to lie about being a hero to be my friend." He might as well just say it and try to end this whole thing on a peaceful note.

Except that it didn't.

In fact, it made Lila even angrier as she accused Adrien of believing "Ladybug's Lies" before storming off, much to the two's confusion.

"Okaaaay, I'll bite, what was that about?" Ladybug asked in pure confusion. She was sure she was trying to explain that lying about being a hero was dangerous… 'So how come that liar thought I was trying to sabotage her?' Ladybug thought, not finding one innocent thing that could explain Lila's outburst. 'Plus, there's no way her claiming to "have Adrien's attention" was indicating friendship,' she thought sourly, not the least bit happy that her gut feeling about the liar was true… How was Marinette going to explain this whole thing to the rest of the class without it seeming like her hatred for liars is the thing talking, or that she's Ladybug? Well, at least Adrien is a witness to this claim, but should she bring this up with him as Marinette at school?

That was when Adrien realised that he had the chance to give Ladybug the Miraculous book and told her to wait for a bit while he went to get it. Only to find that it wasn't in his bag! "Oh no! It must have fallen out of my bag when I was at the school's library!" Adrien gasped out in horror. He quickly turned to Ladybug when he stated that his father had a book filled with Past Miraculous Holders and felt that she could use the book to defeat Hawkmoth. He apologised to her for being careless before saying that he'll find the book and raced off back to the school.

Ladybug watched with conflicted emotions when she muttered, "I'm sorry, Adrien, but Master Fu needs to see it." And then took off towards the Guardian's place, to show him the book.

}{

As Adrien raced down the streets, Plagg told him that they needed to go to the Guardian's place to give him the peacock pin that they found. The blonde told the black Kwami that a pin isn't as important as the book until Plagg told him that the pin could be the Peacock Miraculous. That caused Adrien to skid to a halt at these words.

Adrien looked the pin over, it does look like it could be a Miraculous, but it looked damaged… Though the blonde can feel some of the magic leaking out of the pin… Okay, that was worth going to the Guardian. Plus, the Miraculous Book was at the school's library. It would be safe there until Adrien can go back to get it.

"Okay, tell me where the Guardian is, Plagg," Adrien finally said in a serious tone. Plagg was more than willing to tell.

~}i{ A Couple of Minutes Later }i{~

Ladybug found a nice quiet ally close to where Master Fu's place was to de-transform. Once she did, she hustled into the building.

Adrien got into the building Plagg said was where the Guardian was from the back before he power walked to the door number he was looking for.

Both were unknowingly heading towards each other, both focused on finding the correct door number as the Kwamis flew ahead of them. Normally it would've worried the Holders, but the businesses in the buildings were technically closed for the day; there shouldn't be anyone in the hallways right now.

The two Holders were so focused on reaching their destination, that they didn't see each other coming towards them until they collided.

Both landed on their rears before they saw their partner's Kwami, and then noticed each other sitting on the ground behind their respective Kwamis. "Adrien/Marinette!" The two gasped out the other's name in utter shock. They looked at the other Kwamis before looking at each other, and then back at the Kwamis. Both leapt to their feet in realisation when they got out in disbelief as they pointed at each other, "Oh my! You're Ladybug/Chat Noir!"

It was officially a good thing that they were the only ones in the halls.

"Eh-hem, perhaps we should take this… Information inside," Master Fu, who was standing in the doorway of his Massage Parlour. He heard shouting outside his door, so he went to investigate only to see the reveal happen. The look on the last of the Guardians' face showed that he wasn't thrilled that this had happened but knew he couldn't do anything about it.

Marinette and Adrien looked awkwardly at each other before following the Kwamis and Guardian into the parlour.

~}i{ With Lila }i{~

(It's basically the canon Vulpina Akumatization scene from the episode, no need for me to write that out this time)

~}i{ Back With the Heroes }i{~

Master Fu went right down to business, why the heroes were here.

Marinette side-eyed Adrien before sighing and taking the Miraculous Book out of her bag. The blonde, of course, was shocked at this, but then he realised that the bluette didn't have any opportunity to even take the book. So he asked his crush/classmate how she got it, to which Marinette explained that Lila stole the book when they were at the school's library and that she followed her to find an opportunity to take it back. The bluette then proceeded to explain that Lila used the book as a reference to find a piece of jewellery that looked similar enough to the Fox Miraculous so she can pass it off as it, but what got Adrien's blood to run cold was when Marinette told him that Lila threw the book into a rubbish bin when she no longer had a use for it. Tikki was quick to confirm the whole thing, and since Tikki is terrible at lying…

"Adrien, I am so sorry I didn't call attention to her stealing the book at the start!" Marinette stated, trying not to just cry. She then added, "I just! I thought! GAH!" She angrily ran her hands through her bangs before getting out, "I couldn't call attention to myself! But I needed to get the book to Master Fu! And I couldn't tell you that the book was safe!"

Adrien was quick to comfort the bluette when he got out, "You didn't know that would happen, and most importantly, you didn't know that I was going to give you the book anyway." He gave her a shoulder massage to try to calm her down when he added, "Neither of us could've known, and we only acted on what we knew." This helped Marinette calm down a bit.

During this, Wang Fu looked through the book and kept an eye on the heroes. He closed the book carefully when he said out loud that he can confirm that this book is the Miraculous Grimoire. This caused the teens' eyes to snap back to the Guardian. That was when Adrien pulled out the peacock pin and asked the older man if this could be the missing Peacock Miraculous. Wang Fu carefully took the damaged pin from the blonde and looked it over carefully.

Wayzz floated nearby, sensing the small bits of magic seeping out of the pin. "Master! This IS the Peacock Miraculous!" the green Kwami exclaimed with joy. That was when he noticed that the pin had a crack on it and said, "But it's damaged! Oh! Poor Duusuu." Trixx came out of the Miracle Box, much to the dismay of Wang Fu, to confirm the suspicions. This allowed the teens to take a look at the real Fox Miraculous. This solidified that Master Fu had the real Miraculous, so they knew that Lila couldn't use the "She had the real Fox Miraculous" claim again.

Marinette raised a brow when she realised that Adrien had no real reason to have the Peacock Miraculous, so she asked him, "Wait, where did you find that?" When Adrien replied that it was also in his father's study with the book, inside a secret safe, the bluette quickly laid out the facts when she asked, "So, you found both a missing Miraculous and the Grimoire inside a secret safe in Mr Agreste's home office? A safe that you knew nothing about before today?"

Adrien quickly realised the implication when he got out, "Yes… That's bad, isn't it?"

"More along the lines of suspicious than bad," Marinette tried to curve.

That was when Plagg interjected when he said, "Nope, it's suspiciously bad."

Master Fu did put in his theory that whoever had the Butterfly/Moth Miraculous would also have the Peacock Miraculous and possibly the Grimoire. This horrified Adrien, not because of the implications that his father could be Hawkmoth but at the fact that it fits a little too well. That was when Marinette brought up what possible motivation Gabriel had to want the Miraculous of the Ladybug and Black Cat. By this point, Master Fu knew that he had to tell the duo the truth.

That was when their cell phones went off. Informing them of… A meteorite about to hit Paris?

Adrien raised a brow at this when he asked, "Is… This some kind of joke?"

Marinette quickly skimmed through the news when she said, "I don't think so… The news station that Mrs Chamack works at is airing this news… And they don't do that kind of thing, especially at this level…" That was when the bluette realised something before saying, "Wait a second! Wouldn't the space satellites programmed for space watching catch something like that before it even enters the Earth's atmosphere and alerts the Populus about a potential collision well in advance?"

When it dawned on everyone, it was an Akuma!

"You don't think that Hawkmoth is getting desperate enough to create an Akuma that can…" Adrien asked in concern, not liking what he was saying. Even more so since Hawkmoth might be his father.

Marinette understood the other hero's concerns when she said honestly, "Chaton, we can't be sure of that. However, Paris is in trouble so we have to act."

With that, both Marinette and Adrien transformed into Ladybug and Chat Noir. Since they now know each other's identity, to heck with hiding to transform! Well, at least for now.

Master Fu wished them luck and that he'll look through the book. Soon the duo left to fight whatever Akuma was out there.

}i{ About a Minute Later }i{

On the way, the two heroes saw an oddly familiar figure leaping towards the oncoming threat and used a flute to practically bat it back into the sky. Okaaaaay… That was odd… And while the civilians were cheering for this "new hero" and this "new hero" declaring that she was the only hero Paris needed, Ladybug and Chat Noir kept their eye on the meteorite. Which disappeared completely when it came in contact with a pigeon that was just passing by, and the little critter didn't even realise that it was "hit"! That was even odder… Unless…

"You don't think…" Chat Noir asked his partner and crush.

Ladybug side-eyed her partner and crush when she replied, "Given that she lied about being a fox-themed hero… Yeah, I'm pretty sure Lila got Akumatized into some illusion casting Akuma."

Chat Noir frowned at that memory when he got out, "I still can't believe she thought of me like I was something to be owned…"

Ladybug placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder when she said, "If it'll make you feel a little better, you can hit her if she tries anything." Chat Noir couldn't suppress a smile at this. The bluette quickly stated seriously, "However, knowing that she's going to lie to "Ladybug and Chat Noir" about being a hero and try to get our Miraculous, I'd say we let her play her game but be ready to strike the moment she turns on us."

"Oh, you don't need to tell me twice," Chat Noir smirked playfully before adding, "But I know I can't guarantee that I'm not going to hit twice as hard."

Ladybug pretended to think before saying, "I don't think I want to scold you or stop you for that." She then motioned for her partner to follow her as they leapt to the next building to the Akuma-Pretending-to-be-a-Hero.

}{

(I'm going to be skimming through this story's Vulpina)

Ladybug and Chat Noir "meet up" with this "new hero" and ask her some questions, to "get to know her better". They keep up the friendly demeanour to make it seem like they buy the Akuma's lie.

Vulpina, thinking that she's completely fooling the "gullible" heroes, boasted that she had super strength, flight, and enhanced speed. Somewhat rubbed it in Ladybug's face that she is a real hero, much to the red-clad hero's annoyance and it made the bluette question if Lila has some kind of pathological need to make others think that she was superior to them in some way.

Ladybug and Chat Noir obviously don't believe Vulpina's words but play along by asking why she was here.

With a "full-proof plan" in place, Vulpina claimed that she was in the area and figured that she'd help the heroes with their "little problem" with Hawkmoth. She just told the heroes to follow her and she'll help them catch Hawkmoth. She then leapt towards the next building, assuming that the two would follow her without question.

"She's got quite the ego," Ladybug commented with a scoff. Chat Noir playfully chided in, "Yeah, too bad she doesn't have anything to back that ego up." It made the bluette giggle as they "followed" Vulpina, with their weapons secretly ready to use in case she's leading them into an ambush.

Thinking that she had the heroes in the palm of her hand, Vulpina cast an illusion of Hawkmoth a bit ahead of her to lure them into a trap. 'Honestly, Parisians are just so gullible if they're THAT trusting of strangers,' Vulpina thought with a sinister smirk when she heard the heroes land nearby.

Yeah, neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir were surprised when Vulpina told them that she "found Hawkmoth". This whole scenario was screaming "Trap Leading to an Ambush"! This whole thing was waaaaay too perfectly set. Plus Hawkmoth wasn't moving from his spot, not even to look around like he was some kind of posed doll or something. 'Did she think that she could fool us with such a lifeless illusion?' Both Ladybug and Chat Noir thought as they pretended to buy the whole thing while getting ready for Vulpina to finally show her true colours.

Didn't take too long, it was practically a minute after they "gave chase to Hawkmoth". Vulpina was caught waaay off guard by how fast Ladybug and Chat Noir responded to her attacking them, but she managed to slip away.

"Can I be honest with you, Chaton?" Ladybug asked when they realised that the Akuma got away.

"Always M'Lady, especially now~," Chat Noir got out in his usual tone, before realising that he now knew who she was and gave a sheepish smile.

Ladybug rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly when she said, "Did she honestly think we would be THAT easy to trick? I mean, I thought we might've been acting a little too willing to "have her on the team" even though she was a complete stranger. I was worried that she'd catch onto us not believing her."

Chat Noir gave a shrug when she said, "Well, you said it before. She's got quite an ego. Purr-haps she thought that she was the smartest person in Paris and figured she could play us like puppets…" He scratched his cheek nervously when he got out, "I… I'm not sure if it's because she's been Akumatized or if that's how she actually is…" The blonde's cat ears drooped when he added, "If it's the latter, then I was completely wrong about why she was lying and you were right about her motives…"

Ladybug rubbed her arm self-consciously when she got out, "Chaton… Can we… Talk about that when she's not an Akuma running around trying to get our Miraculous? I… Don't want to give her an opportunity she could use…"

Chat Noir gave his partner a small smile when he said, "Yeah, you're right and I kinda do want to punch her again before we talk everything out. *Now back in his hero persona* You know, get all the stress out so we can talk things out calmly." Ladybug giggled before agreeing.

Again, it didn't take THAT long before Vulpina made her next plan to get their Miraculous known. Much to Chat's annoyance, the Akuma's plan was basically to hang an illusion of Adrien off the Eiffel Tower to trade the Miraculous for the model's life.

Chat Noir slumped when he got out, "She… She still sees me as an object to use?" Ladybug gave her partner an awkward but comforting pat on the shoulders. "That's it! I'm making sure I hit her hard!" the Black Cat Holder hissed.

"I'm not going to stop you on that, but how about we wait until she slips up so that she doesn't have "Adrien" hostage?" Ladybug suggested awkwardly, knowing full well that the implication of the situation if they don't pretend that "Adrien" is in harm's way.

Chat Noir's enthusiasm for violence fell immediately when he said, "Oh, yeah… Good point."

(It didn't take too long before they defeated Vulpina. The ending's pretty similar to the canon with Lila snapping at Ladybug for nosing into her business before storming off with her necklace).

}{

On the way back to Master Fu's Parlour, Marinette and Adrien had their talk.

The bluette took a deep breath before she said, "Listen, I'm not happy that I was right about her. I… I know I tend to jump to conclusions especially when my emotions are running high, but considering how it was with you…" Marinette sighed again when she added, "I didn't want to make that same mistake, but I… *Sighs*... Liars are just a bad topic for me and it… Can be hard for me to see past that, even if I know there isn't malice behind it…"

"You were hoping that our friends and I were right about Lila just telling lies to make fast friends, correct?" Adrien guessed. When he saw Marinette nod, he couldn't help but say, "I was hoping that was the case too…" They were quiet for a bit before the blonde asked, "So… How should we tell our friends about Lila?"

Marinette hunched her shoulders a bit before she said, "Maybe just tell them that Lila kept invading your personal space even after you told her that you didn't like it and that it made you uncomfortable…" She glanced at Adrien when she added, "We… We admittedly don't have solid proof that "we know for sure" she's lying for malicious intent and as far as Ladybug and Chat Noir know Lila was just doing those things because she was Akumatized and was just a little bitter about something that Ladybug couldn't have known."

"Right…" Adrien got out as he glanced away. They were silent for a few more seconds before the blonde said, "You know, considering how fast you were to, uh, I guess, went on the attack on Lila being bad because she's a liar in the chat group, I'm… Kinda surprised that you aren't on the "Tell our friends that she's an evil liar" train right now."

Marinette let herself giggle nervously before she got out, "Under normal circumstances, I certainly would be… But…" She was quiet for a few more seconds before saying, "I guess confronting Lila as Ladybug about "putting herself in danger" with the lies she was telling, kind of caused me to see things from a different perspective and thought about how things are seen from different angles." When Adrien asked how so, bluette responded with, "As "Marinette", I disliked Lila because she was lying to my friends, but I tolerated her lies because they convinced me that maybe she could be lying to make fast friends, even though we now know that that isn't true. "Marinette" then found Lila suspicious when she witnessed her steal "Adrien's" book right from under his nose, but despite that suspicion, I let Lila leave because I wanted to know why she took it… However, when "Ladybug" came into play, she wouldn't know that Lila did anything other than lying about being a hero to a civilian and could put her and the civilian in danger, so "Ladybug" had to act accordingly and just scold her for potentially causing an event that could endanger her and others."

Adrien stared at Marinette when he said, "Okay, I'm starting to see what you mean, but how does this involve our friends?"

Marinette glanced at Adrien when she asked, "What do you think would happen if "Marinette" told them what she saw with Lila without solid proof?"

Adrien thought about that for a bit before saying, "Oh… That you might be acting on your dislike for liars and might be jumping to a conclusion to a situation that you might be misunderstanding."

Marinette nodded before saying, "And what do you think they'll say if "Ladybug" told them about Lila being Akumatized into the manipulative Vulpina after being told not to lie about being a hero?"

Adrien glanced to the side when he said, "That Lila might have overreacted to being called out on a lie and Hawkmoth could've just taken advantage of that…" He sighed when he got out, "Now I see what you're getting at… Unless you recorded Lila stealing the book and her buying a necklace to actively manipulate me into thinking that she was a hero and how Lila snapped at Ladybug after being saved, they'll just assume that you're overreacting… Yeah, we don't have anything other than our words that Lila might not be as nice as they want to think…"

Marinette gave her partner a small smile when she said, "But you can tell them about how uncomfortable you were with Lila being too close to you, they'll be more inclined to keep an eye on your future interactions with her and see how uncomfortable you seem to be when she's invading your personal space because that is something that they can see if it happens again. Which, I'm pretty sure is going to happen, unfortunately."

"Okay, that's true," Adrien commented. He glanced at Marinette again before he went into his Chat Noir persona and asked playfully, "So, who's the boy you like that you reject Chat for M'Lady?"

Marinette turned bright red, before covering her face and saying, "GAH! You just HAD to go there! Didn't you Chaton!"

Adrien chuckled when he said cheekily, "Well, now that the cat's out of the bag on IDs, so~."

"It was you!" Marinette finally got out. She whined a bit before adding, "I rejected Chat for you!"

Adrien didn't understand that admission. 'I don't get it? How can you reject me for me?' the blonde thought. That was when it slowly dawned on him. 'She… Was rejecting Chat Noir because she loved Adrien…' He thought as his cheeks turned as red as Marinette's currently were. "Oh… Oh… Uh, wow, uh, just…" Was all Adrien could get out as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck before saying, "I guess it's the opposite for me in regards to you…" When the bluette asked what he meant in a flustered tone, the blonde said, "I called "Marinette" our "everyday Ladybug" because she reminded me so much of the hero partner that I fell in love with."

The two awkwardly eyed each other before looking away and saying at the same time, "This is going to take some getting used to…"

~}i{ The Next Day }i{~

In regards to Marinette/Ladybug and Adrien/Chat Noir's crush on each other, they both agreed that it would be best to get to know each other better as a whole before they even try to couple up. It was going to be a little weird for the first few days, but it would be worth it. Plus it would certainly be hard to explain to their friends how they coupled up so quickly.

Master Fu agreed to make a complete copy of the Grimoire so the original book can be given back to Adrien's father, more to placate the cold man and maybe see if the Black Cat Holder can find solid proof that his father is indeed Hawkmoth. But the damaged Miraculous was staying with him, no questions about that. Though Master Fu did say that he can go out and get a jewellery replica of the Peacock Miraculous and carefully damage it in close to the same pattern as the real one.

As for the situation with Lila… Adrien agreed to tell the others that Lila was being a little too familiar with him and that it made him uncomfortable while Marinette would try to remain friendly and do her best to remove herself from the area if the lies got too much for her. Both did agree to keep an eye on Lila and see what she tries to do with the class while making sure that their classmates don't get led on.

However, things didn't go according to plan…

Much to Adrien's dismay and horror, Gabriel had a hidden camera in his study that caught the blonde taking the pin and book out of the secret safe. The fashion mogul officially banned his son from ever leaving the mansion without his permission or a scheduled fashion shoot. Of course, Adrien DID ask why his father even had a camera in his study as well as a secret safe in his personal study when the entire mansion had the best security measures to prevent any unwanted intruders from coming in and Adrien did comment that he didn't know his father at all and that was why he took the book to try to figure the man out just a little bit.

When Miss Bustier's class learned that Adrien wasn't coming back to school because of a "missing" book and pin, they were both horrified and confused by this. They just couldn't understand why Mr Agreste was being unreasonably harsh on Adrien over an old book and a damaged pin. Marinette's suspicions about Mr Agreste being Hawkmoth only grew as she mentioned to the class that she saw Adrien with an old book in the School's Library and admitted that Lila was there too, she made sure to say that she tried to keep things cordial during the interactions with the brunette. That was when the bluette realised that the liar wasn't in class and asked where she was.

Sabrina explained that Lila's mother called in and said that she had to travel a bit for her job and took Lila with her since she couldn't leave her daughter home alone for a long period. Marinette couldn't prevent herself from blinking in confusion when she told her friends that the whole need to travel thing seemed poorly planned since Lila was only in school for literally a few days. The class did think it was weird but knew they couldn't do much about that.

The class were more focused on trying to find the "missing" book and pin to free Adrien from his evil father's clutches. Marinette couldn't help but think how right her class was if the theory of Mr Agreste being Hawkmoth was correct.

}{ Later }{

After a rather… Odd fight against an Akumatized Gabriel, who called himself Collector, everything has been settled in regards to the Miraculous business. Since Gabriel was Akumatized, it didn't seem like he was a candidate for being Hawkmoth. At least for now.

Master Fu made a complete digital copy of the Grimoire and gave the book and created a duplicate pin to give back to the heroes. To which Marinette snuck the book with the pin inside back into the school's library to "find" so that her class could return it to Mr Agreste… After Markov took pictures of the pages, the others decided to look through it to see what the big deal was and saw how cool the images in the book were. While Max did comment that the old book could be worth a lot, the rest of the class still didn't think it was worth Adrien's freedom.

To say that Mr Agreste was surprised when Adrien's class came to the mansion with his missing items in hand was an understatement. Adrien, of course, was ecstatic that his classmates were here and that they "found" the items. Miss Bustier's class then proceeds to jab at Gabriel for valuing a book and pin over his son. To everyone's surprise, the fashion mogul told the class that the book was the last thing his wife gave him before she disappeared and that the pin was one of the first gifts he gave to her. That was when Adrien proceeded to tell his father that he didn't know those facts and that he wouldn't have taken the items out of the mansion if he'd known. Adrien also let out the comment that it felt like Gabriel didn't think it was necessary to tell him any kind of important information, especially in regards to his mother… Like the man couldn't trust his son at all…

Adrien was allowed back to school the next day, though the class left Mr Agreste some rather unflattering letters about him being more of a business boss caring about a product rather than being anything close to being a father. Gabriel wasn't sure if he should be impressed that the group cared that much about his son or annoyed that they had the gulls to call him out as a terrible parent…

}i{ Master Fu's Parlour }i{

"So my father is off the suspect list to be Hawkmoth?" Adrien asked cautiously.

Master Fu looked over the damaged Miraculous when he said, "For now, but be aware that he is still the most likely one to be Hawkmoth." He then proceeded to tell the two about how wielding both the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous at once can grant any wish but at the cost of something of equal value.

Now the two knew that they couldn't let Hawkmoth have their Miraculous, especially after learning about that. They did suggest maybe bringing out more Miraculous to build a team to help aid in fighting and finding Hawkmoth. Master Fu stroked his beard at this and told them that he'll think about it.

~}i{ 2 Months Later }i{~

Time seemed to go by unnoticed, somewhat. While Hawkmoth was still a pain in the butt for Marinette and Adrien, or rather Ladybug and Chat Noir, everything school and social-wise just… Flowed almost naturally over the past two months.

The two didn't even realise that they ended up as a couple until someone in the class commented that they won the "When Adrien and Marinette will hook up" bet, then had a party celebrating the whole thing. Chloe insisted that the party be held at her hotel, which ended up happening with only a minimum amount of complaints. The two decided to let that slide in favour of keeping the company in positive spirits. Besides, they weren't the only ones in class who had gained a romantic partner, so they didn't see why only they were getting all the attention. Plus Ladybug and Chat Noir felt more in-synced now more than ever!

Everything just… Felt so natural with how everything was going.

The only thing that seemed to interrupt that flow was the skype calls with Lila every two days or so. Miss Bustier thought it would be a great way for her class to keep in contact with her travelling student, and her students didn't seem to mind. Lila was happily telling everyone what she did with her mother in the places that they were currently at, how she was meeting or re-meeting all these famous people. The brunette was more than happy to tell her classmate that she can talk to these people for her friends, but the class always said the same thing, "Oh, you don't have to do that," and then proceeded to say that they were just glad that they were keeping in contact with their friend. Lila always seemed to be surprised by that response but happily replied that she was glad to keep in contact with them too.

~}i{ A Few Minutes Later. Lila Rossi's Room in Paris, France }i{~

Lila closed out of the skype app on her laptop with a confused frown on her face. She then folded her arms in front of her chest when she thought, 'I don't understand.' She pulled up her phone and quickly scoured through her classmates' social media pages, paying particular attention to the influential figures that they seem to adore a lot. 'I know I'm using the names of all the big names they follow,' Lila thought as she scrolled through Ivan's page. She rolled her eyes when she came across another annoying picture of the bulky teen and his girlfriend. Lila moved to Nino's page when she thought, 'They should be begging me to put in a good word for them. So why aren't they?'

That was when Lila saw one picture on the page that sent a flicker of rage throughout her body.

Right there for all to see on Nino's page was a picture of Adrien attempting to draw in a sketchbook while Marinette was posing in a waltz dancing motion with Nino commenting underneath, "A little role-reversal between friends, lol!"

If Lila didn't have any self-control, she would have thrown her phone right into the parallel wall in rage. Some other girl dared to move in on HER Adrien while she was away! Lila scowled as she closed the app and thought over her situation. 'So that stupid blue-haired brat made a move on Adrien while I was away…' Lila thought as she narrowed her eyes at the wall. She needed to think of something to knock that girl out of the position of Adrien's girlfriend, or better yet~.

Lila opened her laptop and quickly went to the school's website to find out who this girl was to see how she can use her oh so gullible classmates to get that girl away from Adrien and make him her boyfriend.

~}i{ Three Days Later }i{~

Marinette rushed into the school in a huff. She was going to be late! And it was all thanks to Hawkmoth being a jerk by creating an Akuma in the middle of the night! She and Adrien didn't get much sleep and had a hard time waking up. Well, at least Marinette knew she had a hard time waking up, she was hoping Adrien's jerkwad of a father wouldn't give him a hard time so early in the morning.

When she entered the classroom, she was greeted by her classmates moving their seats around. Marinette blinked in confusion at this before asking, "Um, guys, why aren't you in your assigned seating?"

"Oh, Lila came back from her trip! So we're moving our seats around so Lila can sit in the front," Sabrina said with a smile on her face.

"Why?" Marinette asked, still confused as to why nearly the whole class was rearranging the seating chart.

Rose was the one to answer, "So she can hear Miss Bustier better during class. She said her Tinnitus was acting up and had a hard time hearing things from the back of the class."

Marinette's left eyebrow twitched before she said, "You guys do remember that she lied about saving "Jagged Stone's kitten" right? So I doubt that she even has a hearing problem."

That was when Nino said calmly, so as not to set off the bluette's anger, "Well, we think that maybe she's just lying about How she got the Tinnitus. I mean, we don't have any proof that she doesn't have Tinnitus and Mari, isn't it better to be safe than sorry?"

Marinette thought about what Nino said for a few seconds. While she was sure that Lila was lying about having a hearing problem, she knew that the red-capped teen had a point. Unless she broke into the nurse's office to look through Lila's medical files to know for sure if she had a hearing problem or not, the bluette had no solid proof that Lila was lying about that… Though, it could be possible for Lila to have Tinnitus or a hearing problem...

Marinette looked at her class. Nearly all of them had pleading looks in their eyes like they were begging her to give the liar a chance. The bluette sighed before saying, "I guess it would be better to make the accommodation, just in case she does have Tinnitus." This made the majority of the class happy. That was when Marinette then stated seriously, "However, that doesn't explain why half of you are moving your seats if it's just one person who's moving to the front."

The class glanced at each other at this realisation. Why were they all moving around when only one person in the front needs to trade seats with Lila?

Adrien walked in with a yawn before noticing the rearranged seating chart. The blonde blinked in confusion before asking, "Am I still asleep or is there a reason why half the class are in the wrong seats?"

After a quick explanation, and realising where Lila would be sitting, Adrien offered to be the one to switch seats with the Italian transfer.

Nino was the first to notice how quick Adrien was to have his seat away from Lila when he asked the blonde what was wrong. Adrien explained that Lila was being a little too familiar with him despite not being friends yet during the few days she was in class before going on that trip with her mother. Nino then asked why he didn't tell them this earlier. Adrien explained that he was going to but then the whole incident with the book and pin, his father getting Akumatize, and Lila travelling with her mother, he honestly just forgot to say anything.

That was when Kim asked, "Okay, we understand, but do you mind if I ask what you meant by Lila "being a little too familiar" with you? Uh, if you're comfortable telling us that." When Adrien said that Lila basically tried to keep close to him almost the way Chloe used to before she started on being a better person. Kim's eyes immediately widened when he said, "Adrien, you sure that that's how close she was to you?" Adrien nodded and motioned to Marinette that the bluette can confirm and said that she even had to tell Lila about the Touch Contact Rule, to which Marinette nodded in confirmation. That was when Kim stated seriously, "Okay, I'm not sure if that's how Lila is with people or not, but Adrien… You shouldn't let people you hardly know or don't like get That close to you, especially if it is making you uncomfortable. Also, if we do anything with you that also makes you uncomfortable, let us know so we don't do it again."

The rest of the class stared at Kim in amazement at this statement.

Kim noticed before saying, "What? I have three older sisters (1) so they gave the load down on what touch contact is and isn't appropriate to do with others, friends, and what kind of signs to look out for in other people."

Huh, that was good to know…

So, everyone moved back to their original seats while Adrien now sat in Lila's seat and left his old seat free for Lila.

When Lila came back, expecting that everyone moved so that she had a seat next to Adrien, she was surprised and slightly annoyed that Adrien was in her old seat and his seat was free for her to use. She kept up the sweet facade, to keep her loyal sheep in her little herd, as she cheerfully thanked Adrien and the class for being so considerate. 'Hmm, maybe this is going to take a little longer than I originally thought,' Lila thought to herself as class began.

Adrien and Marinette quietly glanced at each other, making subtle signs to keep an eye on Lila.

However, these small gestures did not go unnoticed by one classmate.

~}i{ A Week Later }i{~

It was getting painfully obvious to the two heroes that Lila seemed to be manipulating their classmates every day. It was all subtle and easy to miss if you weren't paying attention or looking, but it was there.

Little favours or requests here and there for something or asking the others to do something for her because she, for some reason or another, couldn't do it herself. Miss Bustier's class were nice kids and were willing to help their new classmate, even though they knew she was lying… Heck, Alya even made a separate private (only the class have access to it) blog just to "Make Lila Feel Like a Part of the Class", and has started posting all of Lila's "stories" on it. It frustrated Marinette to see her classmates' kindness being taken advantage of like this! Adrien, as sheltered as he was, figured that his friends would catch on since they knew that Lila was lying.

So the two tried to remind their friends about the lying, separately so as not to seem like they were ganging up on them and so Lila doesn't catch on. They understood the bluette's worries and the blonde's concerns, but they suggested that maybe Lila had a hard time asking for help and, like with making friends, she maybe lied a bit to get the help. The heroes knew that their friends had the best intentions at heart, but… Well, they didn't have solid proof that Lila was indeed manipulating them, which WAS the biggest problem. Everything Marinette and Adrien had on Lila being a manipulative person can only be shown with words, and words alone… Well, at least the class was aware of the lying and that Lila made Adrien a bit uncomfortable…

Sitting at a table at the edge of the cafeteria, out of hearing range of the rest of their class, Marinette and Adrien were tossing around ideas on how they can prove to their friends that Lila was a manipulative liar without making it seem like it was the bluette's dislike talking.

"Maybe we can record her manipulating our friends," Adrien suggested before taking a sip of his drink.

Marinette shook her head when she said, "But that would mean that we have to have our phones out all the time to catch her in the act, which is going to be noticed by everyone. They'll think we're trying to find something that'll make her look bad out of context. Plus, it's illegal in Paris for individuals to record or take pictures of others without their permission." She popped a grape into her mouth before sneaking a grape to Tikki, who was hiding in the purse in the bluette's lap. The blonde couldn't help but smile a bit at what he saw.

Adrien then frowned a bit when he registered the bluette's words before saying, "Good point…" He then popped a little cheese bite into his mouth before letting Plagg take one when he brought the next one to his jacket pocket. Adrien signed when he said, "As much as I hate to admit it… She's pretty good at "it"... And it's kind of scary, to be honest…"

That was when a thought came to Marinette when she said, "Yeah, you're right, she IS a little TOO good at manipulating others."

Adrien blinked when he asked, "Bugaboo, what are you thinking?" He wasn't liking what the other was saying.

With a serious look on her face, Marinette stated, "Think about it. She's a little too comfortable with lying even about major things, she lies without hesitating, she knows exactly what to do to find what people like and tells them what they want to hear so they'll be willing to do what she wants, she goes out of the way to make her lies as believable as possible which does include making sure that no one can check any reliable sources, and she doesn't hesitate or regret what she does or even think about how it'll affect the others around her." She glances at Lila with a frown before saying, "Those aren't things you develop overnight or can do on the first try without getting caught."

As Adrien put the facts together, his eyes widened before he squeaked out, "Are you saying that she's done this kind of thing before?"

Plagg was the one to say, "Kid, given what we know for sure about that liar, I'm pretty sure that Bug is on the right track. That brat HAD to have done this kind of thing before, and a lot of times considering how efficient and quick she is." The black Kwami apologetically patted his Holder's chest when he said, "Listen, I know it might be hard for you to understand, but a bad person doesn't do bad things that you can notice right away as Hawkmoth does. Sometimes a bad person is subtle about the bad things they do, as a snide comment or in this case manipulating your class."

This was making the blonde feel a little queasy.

Marinette looked at Adrien with understanding eyes when she said, "I know it's hard to swallow, but there are people like Lila in the world." She placed a hand on his hand when she said softly, "And you need to know how to spot them so you can do your best to avoid getting involved with them." She shot an annoyed glance at Lila when she added sourly, "But unfortunately, there are times where you can't and have to put up with them." Marinette sighed deeply before she said, "Though I am glad that our friends are aware that they're being lied to at least… I just wish that they would catch onto Lila's manipulations faster… *Sighs* I can't imagine how things would be if they hadn't…"

Adrien cringed at that when he said, "Yeah… They'd think that Lila was this amazing person and hang on her every word. Oh, Yikes! Alya would've posted that "interview" on the Ladyblog without hesitation! That could've hurt her reputation as a reporter and ruined the Ladyblog! This was making him glad that Alya had enough journalism sense to not post that video.

Marinette shuttered when she admitted, "I know that if that lie was plastered on the Ladyblog, it would have driven me crazy. Knowing that Alya did something so reckless, putting a target on someone's back, despite her possibly deserving it, and knowing that I couldn't do anything about it as my civilian self. I mean, I could've gone to her as Ladybug to tell her that it was a lie and it was dangerous to post those kinds of videos, but…" She glances at the class before saying, "Given Lila's personality, I wouldn't put it past her to try to convince Alya that "she and her bestie" had a slight falling out or that "Ladybug was just doing it out of concern for her safety" to keep her kingdom of lies intact."

Adrien did not like that thought at all… Not only would Lila have control of the class if they hadn't caught onto the lies, but if he had seen that "Interview" on the Ladyblog he might've thought that Lila could've been Ladybug's Best Friend! And even worse… Their classmates would've brushed off his lady's concerns as jealousy! (Yeah, Marinette told Adrien about those unflattering moments when they decided that there would be no more secrets between them).

Marinette interrupted Adrien's thoughts when she said, "I know they'll catch on eventually. Plus, Markov has permission to record our friends as long as they're on school grounds! He's sure to ask questions or make a curious comment that will spark everyone's suspicions." The blonde gave the other a small smile when he agreed with that notion.

Meanwhile…

While Lila kept her flock entertained with her tales she kept an eye on Adrien, waiting for an opportunity to plant seeds of doubt so her pawns could do the legwork of splitting him up from that bluette. Unfortunately, aside from their glances at the class, there wasn't any chance to do so. At least until she saw Marinette place a hand on Adrien's. Lila remembered the class telling her that the bluette was a fashion designer. 'Oh! Perfect!' Lila thought before she made a noticeable glance at the two when she said, "Aw~, don't they look comfortable together."

The class turned to see Adrien and Marinette being completely comfortable with each other.

Alya smiled when she said happily, "Totally! I am so glad that they finally got together." While the blogger was still riding that wave of happiness for her best friend, she was still sad that Marinette wasn't trying to become friends with Lila. But… 'I guess that's not going to happen until Lila realises that she doesn't need to lie,' Alya thought logically. She was still curious about why Marinette hated liars so much, but the ones who did know told her it would be best to wait until long after this whole thing cleared before that story was told. The blogger then said out loud, "Not sure what happened to get them to talk to each other without any awkwardness, but I'm so glad it did."

"Oh? What do you mean by "Awkwardness"?" Lila asked in a curious tone. The liar could practically smell the sweet scent of an opportunity to gather information to break the lovebirds up.

Rose giggled nervously before saying, "Oh, you know, some typical first crush problems. It was mostly Marinette having a hard time talking to Adrien directly, that's all." The pink wearing girl had a feeling that the brunette was asking out of curiosity, but… Rose kept the smile on her face, to keep up appearance and to not arouse suspicions.

Lila made another obvious glance at the couple when she said, "Doesn't seem like she has that problem anymore. What changed?"

A small bubble of suspicion boiled in Nino's gut when he said while trying to keep his tone chilled, "It was Adrien's idea. He noticed how flustered Mari was when speaking to him, finally, so he started talking to Mari out of her range of sight and kind of worked his way in the more comfortable she got with talking to him or he got her to focus on something they both were talking about. It was kinda interesting to watch." He kept an eye on the liar's reaction.

'Wait? What!' Lila made a double-take with the information before she asked, "Wait? Adrien was the one to make the first move?"

Kim couldn't help but let out a laugh before saying, "Yeah, it surprised us too when we realised it, but not complaining about it. Especially with the outcome." The jock plastered on a goofy smile before adding, "They're also pretty amazing when it comes to team projects too." The rest of the class agreed on that.

As Lila plastered on a smile to play along with her end goal of manipulating these people, she couldn't help but think, 'Shit! I thought for sure that that blue-haired brat would've made the first move! It would've been easy to get these fools to think that she could've been blackmailing Adrien or leading him on! Now I need to think of something else to use to get these guys to break them up!' Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as she originally thought… But… 'That will only make my goal all the sweeter when it happens~,' Lila thought as she kept the cheery facade up.

One student couldn't help but think something didn't feel right about this whole thing… Something wasn't adding up…

After a few minutes of just chatting and trying to gather more information, Lila noticed that Marinette stood up from the table, told Adrien something, and then headed off towards the restrooms. 'Ooo, I can use this opportunity~,' the liar thought, already forming a plan to get the bluette to break up with Adrien. She waited a minute after Marinette left before she excused herself to use the restroom.

As soon as Lila was out of range, Nino couldn't help but comment, "Dudes, please tell me that I wasn't the only one thinking that Lila was fishing for something with all her questions?"

Kim scratched his head when he stated in a clueless tone, "Not sure what you're talking about, but I thought that she was asking specific questions while making it seem like she was curious and involved in the conversation to get information out of us."

Everyone gave Kim a look before Ivan told him, "Uh, Kim, that's what Nino was talking about." When the tall jock let out an "Oh", the bulky teen then added, "It also seemed like Lila was expecting a different answer when she was told that Adrien was the one who started the relationship."

The class sort of just stared at one another for a few seconds before Sabrina suggested that maybe Lila was a fan of Adrien the Model and thought he was too innocent to initiate a date, though it did sound like she was reaching on that idea... Well… The class couldn't Disprove that notion, but they also couldn't prove it either… Rose suggests that they keep an eye on Lila's interactions with Adrien and try to mediate anything that might be crossing a line. Yeah, they were going to do that.

One among them seems to have a different theory in mind…

}{

Marinette flushed the loo before she opened the stall to exit, only to be cheerfully greeted by Lila, which scared the bluette halfway out of her skin. The brunette quickly apologised for her actions, to which the bluette said as she slowly moved towards the sinks to wash her hands, "It's okay, you just startled me. I guess I somewhat deserved it for startling you in the library when you started. Uh, but in the future, you might not want to wait for someone right outside a restroom stall. It's uh, a little unnerving to be honest." Marinette turned the faucet on when she asked the brunette, "So, are you enjoying your time at Dupont?" The bluette knew she had to keep things cordial between herself and the liar, despite every fibre of her being telling her to call her out. Marinette carefully watched Lila in the mirror while making sure that she wasn't showing Lila anything.

Lila smirked when she said in a slightly high, enthusiastic manner, "Oh! I love it here! Everyone is so nice! I can't believe how fast I became friends with nearly the entire class!"

'Does she not have an indoor voice or something?' Marinette thought as she looked up at the mirror at Lila when she said with a smile, "I'm so glad to hear that. We wanted to make sure you felt welcomed." The bluette knew that the liar had to be in here for something else, and it wasn't to use the facilities.

Marinette saw a quick smirk flashing on Lila's face before the brunette plastered on a concerned look, which caused bubbles of suspicion to boil in the bluette's gut. That was when the brunette said in a worried tone, "Though as nice as they are, they couldn't help but share their worries about your relationship with Adrien."

Marinette could not hide her confusion at the words. She turned off the faucet before turning to the liar when she asked, "What do you mean by that?" 'Though I'm sure I'm not going to get the truth from her,' the bluette thought as she pretended to play along with the liar.

Lila brought her hands to her mouth to hide a smirk while making it look like she was unsure if she should say anything or not before finally getting out in a meek tone, "Well, some of them thought that you might be… Taking advantage of Adrien." She then plastered on a worried look when she said worriedly, "I mean, you are an up-and-coming fashion designer and they're worried that you might be using Adrien for an easy way to get into the fashion industry." Lila's new plan was to make the bluette feel guilty about her relationship with Adrien so that she'll break up with him.

Marinette blinked her wide eyes at this "admission" when she thought in disgust, 'Wow, she actually went there, huh. Too bad I know she's a liar and that my friends celebrated Adrien and I getting together.' The bluette forced herself to put on a sympathetic smile when she said, "Oh, thanks for telling me your concerns, but I think you might have misunderstood what our friends were talking about." She might as well try to keep the whole thing friendly despite the annoyance she was feeling.

Lila, annoyed that the bluette wasn't biting, tried to "subtly" convince her that her friends believe that her dating Adrien was a bad thing for her and her future in fashion. However, Marinette who was equally annoyed at the liar's attempt to cast her relationship in a bad light tried to convince Lila that she was misunderstanding their friends and assured her that she and Adrien are happy together, all while trying to be cordial. As this "bickering" happened, the door to the girl's restroom opened slightly, neither girl noticed.

After another minute of this, Marinette had enough! "Will you just stop lying about my friends!" the bluette finally snapped angrily.

Lila let out an exaggerated gasp when she whimpered out, ready to cry if needed, "Ma-Marinette, how can you accuse me of lying?! I was just telling you these things out of concern for you!" All the while she did her best to make the other girl feel guilty enough to take back what she said.

Marinette let out a sigh, realising that the jig was up, and said while hoping to keep things cordial, "Lila, I knew you've been lying since day one and know my friends enough to know that they wouldn't say the things you are telling me." She looked at Lila, who was sporting a surprised look on her face. The bluette then said as calmly as she could, "Listen, I don't mind if you tell exaggerated tales or just want some attention, but I draw the line with you trying to paint my friends in a bad light!" Marinette took a deep breath to keep herself calm before adding, "And it's fine if you don't like my relationship with Adrien, I didn't expect everyone to be, but can you at least be-"

"Oh just shut up! I don't need you lecturing me on that stupid shit!" Lila interrupted with a scoff, any trace of friendliness was no longer there. The brunette then snapped in annoyance, "I don't need you rubbing it in my face that you've got Adrien Agreste wrapped around your finger." Lila sneered at the bluette when she said in a smug tone, "But enjoy him while you can because he's going to be mine so~ very soon~."

Marinette could not hide her utter shock at this "admission". Not only did Lila show her true colours in a drop of a hat the moment she was found out as a liar, but she also seemed to view the bluette's relationship with Adrien as if it were some kind of ownership of a trophy! This was certainly different from when Ladybug called Lila out of putting herself in danger. Marinette cringed when she told the liar, "Okay, wow, there's a lot of things wrong with what you said." With that cringed expression still on her face, the bluette stated, "I just wanted you to stop making lies about my friends and respect Adrien's choices."

Lila rolled her eyes when she said in a tone akin to her talking about the intricacy of a root canal, "Oh please, don't try to play all nice and innocent. I know you're using some kind of manipulation to keep Adrien interested in you, but I'm telling you now that once he realises how amazing I am he'll dump you like yesterday's news."

'Is she some kind of sociopath?' Marinette thought before she said in a cringed tone, "Again, there's a lot of things wrong with what you said." That was when she stated in an angry tone, "And Adrien is his own person! Not some trophy that is to be owned!" She then fumed when she said, "The only thing "amazing" about you is how much you lie!"

Lila smirked as she waved off the other by saying, "I just tell everyone what they want to hear. Not my concern that you're only slightly smarter than the rest of the idiots in our class."

Now that pissed Marinette off when she nearly shouted, "Excuse me! Did you just call MY friends idiots!? They were the ones who wanted you to feel welcome and included! And you just!" The bluette growled before saying, "You're just taking advantage of their good natures with lies! In the worst way possible!"

Lila waved the bluette off when she said, "So what? Their purpose now is to worship and obey me." She sneered at the bluette as an idea sparked in her brain. That was when Lila said, "How about we make a deal."

Not liking what the other was implying or the fact that it came out of nowhere, Marinette kept her guard up when she asked, "What kind of deal?"

Lila strode up to Marinette as she placed her right index finger between the clavicles of the bluette when she said, "Here's the deal; you break up with Adrien, tell him that you don't think the relationship will work, and steer him to me by telling him how utterly amazing I am. *Smirks* You do this and I won't make the entire class hate you." Lila figured the bluette would go for the deal, seeing how obvious she cared about those idiots. 'I doubt she'll be able to stand having them turned against her,' Lila thought smugly, thinking that she's already won.

Marinette couldn't believe what she was hearing. This person, this LIAR was threatening to turn her class against her if she didn't break up with Adrien and follow her whims! 'She's worse than I ever thought she could be! She's a full-on sociopath!' the bluette thought in a combination of shock, anger, and disgust. Marinette glared at Lila before she swatted the other's hand away when she said, "For the last time, Adrien is not a trophy! And I know my friends well enough to know that they'll never turn against me!" She wasn't going to let this brat of a liar and bully get the better of her.

Lila scowled when she thought, 'Oh great, one of THOSE people. Oh well, more fun for me~.' She flipped her hair when she said with a sneer, "Suit yourself, I gave you a chance to comply. Whatever happens next is your fault." Lila turned towards the door when said with a smug smirk, "I'm going to enjoy seeing those brainless idiots isolate you while they continue to worship me." Neither saw how the slightly opened restroom door closed before Lila exited.

Marinette frowned as she watched the liar leave when she muttered under her breath, "We'll see about that, you sociopathic liar." She quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket and quickly started typing her text to the rest of the class. ``Good thing we didn't add her to the chat group,'' the bluette thought as she finished the text. Marinette hit the send button, after double-checking the wording of the text.

~}i{ Miss B Chat Group }i{~

Fashion Baker: Guys, Bad News! Lila kinda cornered me in the girls' restroom and pretty much insinuated that I was using Adrien to further my career in the fashion industry. Which you all know I would never do! I guess she thought Adrien could do better or something. I tried to be cordial with her by telling her that Adrien and I are in a good relationship and that we wouldn't do such a thing, I really did, but the way she worded some of what she said/lied about pissed me off and I let it slip that I knew she was lying the whole time. Btw, that seems to be a major sour point for her, because she got super mad when I pointed out the lies. I didn't tell her that you all knew that she was lying, but I'm a little worried that she might say some not so nice things about me to you guys because she's mad at me. I'm going to avoid interacting with Lila for a while, to try to keep the peace for our class. So, maybe try not to involve me in any activities with her, at least until we can figure out some kind of medium where it's not going to feel like it's forced. K.

~}i{ With Marinette in the Girls' Restroom }i{~

Tikki flew out of the purse, read the text, before turning to her Holder when she asked in a tone that seemed like a combination of confusion and worries, "Marinette, how come you didn't tell them about the threats and what she said about them?"

As Marinette pocketed her phone, she said, "Trust me, I wanted to, but…" She folded her arms when she added, "Unfortunately, I only have my words that Lila is a manipulating sociopath and if I send them a text telling them all that, they'll worry that me calling her out is because of my dislike of liars and think I'm overdoing it on the "She's a bad person because she's lying" thing. I know I would think the same if it were the scenario with another classmate in my position and me in theirs." Marinette let out a sigh when she said, "But if I admit that I accidentally called her a liar out of anger because she lied about something that got under my skin, got her angry with me, and gives them the heads up that she might say some unfavourable things about me, then they'll be more willing to believe that and will keep an eye on Lila. Which will hopefully allow them to see that she's trying to manipulate them."

Tikki quickly understood that her Holder was right before patting her on the cheek when she said, "I'm glad that you're thinking things through on these things, and I wish that the only threat you can worry about is Hawkmoth."

That was when the two heard a quick gasp from the restroom door! Marinette's head quickly snapped in that direction just in time for her to see the door close. The Ladybug duo's immediate thoughts were 'Oh Shit!' before they rushed out of the girls' restroom to catch whoever was watching, with the Kwami immediately hiding in the bluette's purse. However, no one was there. The bluette quickly looked around the immediate area, hoping to see some kind of clue or sign of whoever was there or where they could've gone. She didn't see anyone…

Marinette bit her lip. She needed to talk to Adrien about this.

~}i{ Later That Day, Hero Patrol }i{~

As expected, Chat Noir asked Ladybug about the text she sent the class earlier. The red-clad heroes told the cat-themed hero the truth. To say Chat Noir was upset was like saying water was a liquid.

Chat Noir couldn't stop himself from hissing out, "I can't believe she would pull a dick move like that! Trying to use our friends to literally try to break us up!"

Ladybug couldn't help but gasp out, "Chaton!"

Chat Noir huffed when he asked, "What? It's true, isn't it? She lied to you about what our friends "Thought" about our relationship and even tried to threaten to turn our friends against you if you don't break up with me!"

Ladybug puffed her cheeks when she said, "That I unfortunately know. I was just surprised that you used the word 'Dick' when you spoke. I didn't think you could use foul language." She then frowned when she added, "I know seeing Lila as Ladybug was one thing, but having to have THAT happen with Marinette just for stating that she knew she was lying and didn't want to comply with her demands… All I can say is, Major Yikes on so many levels." She sighs before adding, "At least I warned our friends that Lila will make some not so pleasant comments about me."

Chat Noir nodded before saying, "Yeah, that will make them take what Lila tells them with a grain of salt and they'll hopefully catch on that she's not lying to "Make Fast Friends" or for "Help". Hopefully soon…"

Things were quiet between them for a bit before Ladybug finally said, "Lila might not be the only problem at school… Someone saw Tikki after Lila threatened me in the girls' restroom."

"You don't think," Chat Noir asked with wide, surprised eyes.

Ladybug shook her head when she stated, "It wasn't Lila, she would've confronted me again and threatened with exposing my identity if it were her. Whoever saw bolted the moment they realised that I was Ladybug."

Chat Noir placed a hand to his chin when he said thoughtfully, "Well, at least we know that it wasn't Alya, Chloe, or Kim who saw. They would've burst in with excitement."

Ladybug let out a muffled laugh when she got out, "Yeah, that's true, and I know I would've had to remind Kim that it was the girls' restroom."

Things calmed down, Chat Noir asked, "I take it that we're going to keep an eye on all our classmates?"

Ladybug responds, "I would say the whole school, just to be on the safe side."

~}i{ At the Same Time }i{~

Ladyblogger has added Queen Bee and Teenage Witch to Operation Adrinette!

Queen Bee: Normally I'd question why you're adding me and Sabrina to something like this, especially since it's no longer needed, but I'm sure that it's because this is the only chat group you have that doesn't have Adrikins and Marinette in it and you want to talk to the class about something that you don't want them to know about yet.

Queen Bee: This has to do with the text we got in the class group and a certain liar's comments earlier today? Right?

Ladyblogger: Yeah… I mean, I get that not everyone would be happy that the Adrinette ship has sailed, but…

Ladyblogger: I somewhat expected everyone at Dupont to be civil since we know Mari and Adrien…

Tiny Actress: Ditto… But admittedly, no one outside Dupont knows that Adrinette happened, and Lila WAS out of Dupont for two months, so maybe she was caught unaware?

Teddy Bear: Mylene, I hate to say it, but I think you might be reaching on that.

Tiny Actress: Yeah… I realised that the moment I sent that text tbh…

LB Artist: Given that Lila DID seem like she was fishing for information during our talk… Yeah, I think she was hoping to find out something to maybe use to break Adrinette up.

Teenage Witch: … Dang, I was hoping that Lila might've been an Adrien the Model Fan…

Poison Ivy: Don't feel bad Sabrina, we all were hoping that Lila might've had good intentions too…

Gothic Girlfriend: I hate to say it, but…

Gothic Girlfriend: I think something else is going on with Lila, and it's not the lies, her making Adrien a little uncomfortable and the little "argument" with Marinette.

LB Artist: Agreed. But how should we handle it?

Rollersnake: I'm thinking that we should keep playing nice with Lila and pretend that we don't know what happened between her and Marinette. The liar is bound to let something slide or we're going to notice something off.

Rollersnake: Oh, make sure to text that idea in the Class Chat Group! We don't want Adrinette thinking that we're not listening to them and/or thinking that we might be siding with Lila.

Queen Bee: Done and Done! A took a screenshot of Alix's plan and sent it to our class text group!

Queen Bee: Also tbh, after the whole Collector fiasco, Adrien has been a bit more…

Queen Bee: How should I word this w/o sounding like a bitch?

Queen Bee: I guess more… Uh… Not liking being left out of things as much nowadays and is actively distancing himself from Gab. Don't think the guy even noticed it, tbh.

Queen Bee: Uh, you know, Adrikins being more involved in school things and has been going behind Gab's back on other things. I don't think he's actively tried to talk to Gab since that day… He barely talks to Nathalie unless needed now…

Teenage Witch: I think the whole "Mr Agreste keeps important items from Emilie in a secret safe that Adrien knew nothing about and not telling him about the existence of the items" thing might've hit Adrien harder than we thought… Can't blame him for feeling that though…

Teenage Witch: On the upside, the Dupain-Cheng's have already unofficially adopted Adrien!

Ladyblogger: OMG! THAT'S GREAT!

Ladyblogger: Hang on… Where's Nino? I figured he'd be all in on that particular piece of info.

Teenage Witch: Kim's also missing… I mean, I see his screen name in the group members, but I don't see him being active.

LB Artist: Maybe they're busy with something and haven't had a chance to see the notifications for this chat group?

~}i{ Meanwhile }i{~

[Three B's Chat Group]

Brawn: Hey Nino, please tell me that I'm not the only one who noticed the wording of the text Mari sent in the Class Chat?

Brain: Yeah, I noticed too, Kim.

Brain: Something else happened between Mari and Lila, and it isn't just the lies and her trying to break her and Adrien up. Something big.

Beauty: You two do remember that I'm in this chat group too?

Brawn: We know, Mari.

Brawn: And you walk right into my plan!

Brain: What plan?

Brawn: Uh, my plan to lure Mari in to tell us what really happened!

Beauty: I second Nino on the "What plan?" statement.

Brain: I'm not surprised.

Brawn: ?ￂﾠ

Brain: But seriously, Mari, what happened?

Beauty: I told everyone in the Class Chat Group. I accidentally called out Lila as a liar when she lied about me using Adrien to further my fashion career, she got really mad, and that I should keep a distance from her. I think she might say some things about me that aren't true and I figured all of you needed to know that so you don't think it's just my dislike for liars. I tried to be nice, I really did, but… She got under my skin with the lies she was trying to use to cause me to break up with Adrien.

Brain: Funny you should mention Lila making lies about you, after her trip to the restroom, she made a rather strange remark about you letting the door hit her when both of you exited.

Brain: We thought it was a little weird and thought it was out of place, at least until we got your text.

Beauty: She… She told you guys that I let the door hit her! But she left BEFORE I did! I couldn't have! She's LYING!

Brawn: That's only part of the "weird" in Lila's statement.

Brawn: If you HAD closed the door on someone, it would've been an accident and you would've certainly apologised.

Beauty: On the one hand, I'm glad that you know me enough to know that I wouldn't do such a thing on purpose. On the other hand…

Beauty: I didn't expect Lila to start making unfavourable lies about me that quickly…

Brain: You expected her to lie about you like that?

Beauty: Uh, I… I had a feeling she might…

Brawn: Just because you called her out on her lies? When was she the one who instigated your response?

Brawn: I know Nino's screen-name in this is Brain and Max is the smart one, but I'm sure that something's not right with that.

Brawn: Also, I'm a little disturbed by how fast Lila was trying to make it seem like Mari's being petty after being called out by accident and only after one time…

Brain: Something tells me that Lila's "Sour" response to Mari calling her out on her lies has a more serious issue than we thought.

Beauty: Oh…! Shit! That's how you guys knew that som-

Beauty: Soggy Macarons!

Brain: So calling Lila out on her lies IS a major issue with her.

Beauty: … …. Understatement…

Beauty: I… I was admittedly taken back by her response… I mean, I was trying to be reasonable by telling her that I didn't mind if she lied for attention and that it wasn't cool that she was trying to sabotage my relationship with Adrien, but…

Beauty: All I can say is "Major Yikes"!

Brawn: That bad?

Beauty: Yeah… I recommend you guys not call her out on lies or note any inconsistencies you hear out loud when she's around, and DEFINITELY don't leave Adrien alone with her! She basically wants the title of "Adrien's Girlfriend" and will actively try to break us up.

Brain: Got it.

Brawn: I'm going to shoot Miss B a message saying that Lila makes Adrien uncomfortable, just to make sure she doesn't pair them up for assignments.

Beauty: Adrien already did, but the more ppl who tell her this, the more likely she isn't going to believe Lila when she tells her "how much Adrien wants to work with her." Which I bet she is going to do.

Brain: Oh great, she's one of THOSE kinds of fans. That kills any innocent intentions of Sabrina's theory.

Brawn: Well law of averages states that there would be at least one of those kinds of fans in an interest. It just sucks that the "fan" had to be in our class…

Beauty: Lol, you've been hanging with Max a lot~.

Brawn: Yeah, I guess so. ?.

Brain: I'm going to let the rest of the class know about this, so everyone is on the same page and there aren't any mixed messages regarding our situation with Lila.

Brain: If Lila is THAT quick to try to paint someone in a bad light for calling her out on her lies, even by accident, then there's something major going on with her.

Beauty: Can I be honest with you guys?

Brawn: Always!

Brain: Totally!

Beauty: I'm… I'm glad you guys aren't brushing this off as me overreacting. I really am.

Brawn: Aww, you're welcome Mari!

Brain: Ditto! And you should also thank that little "Sour Habit" of yours! It only pops up when something serious happens!

Beauty: … Oh yeaaaah! It does. Wow, I guess I'm glad that you two caught that!

Brain: ?

Brawn: ?

~}i{ On the Roof of the Dupain-Cheng Residence }i{~

Marinette tucked her phone away as Adrien said, "Okay, on one hand, I'm glad they noticed there's something else going on. On the other hand…"

That was when Marinette said, "They'll figure it out Lila is trying to manipulate them. Thankfully, it seems like it's going to be sooner rather than later."

Adrien smiled when he said with a nod, "Yeah, it seems like it." He then asked with a short giggle, "Sour Habit? What's that about?"

The bluette let out a weary chuckle when she said, "I guess you can say that it started back in 2nd-grade and it kind of became my saying for something super bad and serious."

Plagg couldn't help but ask, "How?"

Marinette couldn't help but say in a weary tone, "I can tell you but I'm not sure if you're going to believe me."

"Try us," Adrien and Plagg stated at the same time. So Marinette did.

~}i{~

(Besides one member) It didn't even take a week before the class looked over their (quick) notes on their observations between Lila and the Adrinette couple and noticed four rather concerning patterns. They were subtle patterns that could have easily been missed if they weren't keeping in communication with each other during this, but they caught onto the patterns.

The first pattern, and the most obvious one, was Lila making these little remarks and some backhanded comments against Marinette. While Miss Bustier's class knew that maybe a few of those could be explained away by the tension between her and the bluette, not all of them, however. The brunette always seemed to slide in a sny comment against whenever she was with at least one of her classmates. They did either play the sign off by telling Lila that she might be misinterpreting Marinette's actions or pretend that they didn't notice them.

It quickly got concerning when Lila started "claiming" that Marinette was purposefully bringing in baked goods that she couldn't eat. The class felt that these particular instances were a lot more malicious. Especially when they asked Marinette if she asked Lila if she had any food issues like she normally does when new students join the school (without telling her what Lila claimed btw), and the bluette said that she did and stated that Lila told her that she didn't have any food allergies or intolerances. Since Marinette was practically fanatical about making sure that she brings in goodies that everyone can eat, whether she likes them or not, the class was certain that Lila was maliciously lying about their friend… Major Yikes on that as well as wondering what the hell happened between the two for Lila to be so… Vindictive towards the bluette?

Markov kept track of all of these "instances" via the Class Chat Group (which they still have not added Lila to) and gave them a rather surprising number. The poor AI was confused by this and had asked them if the amount of these "Backhanded Notions" was normal to have over an "Unfavourable Argument" that happened recently or simply be in a relationship that another wishes to be in. It was both concerning and weird to the Miracuclass, especially when they couldn't think of a reasonable reason as to why Lila seemed to "hate" Marinette that much to say such malicious things about her, even after Kim and Nino told the rest of the class about the "sour topic" the bluette told them. Chloe, who knew a lot of bullying methods and reasons to bully (which she told the class to not ask about), was drawing a blank onto possible ideas as to why Lila would be so pissed about Marinette accidentally calling her out on her lies and when no one else was around too…

Something was so not right about this… … The class decided to tell Miss Bustier about this, just to be on the safe side and to have the teacher be made aware of the tension between the two girls so that she doesn't accidentally make things worse and can try to find a median between them.

The second pattern seemed to be more "Something That Lila Happen to See/Notice Before it Disappears in a Blink'' than anything to be honest. It didn't happen as much as the first pattern and it could've been passed off as things that just seem to happen when Lila just happened to look or that she was just seeing things. Heck, the Miracuclass would've come to that conclusion if they hadn't been keeping in contact with each other and realised as a whole what Lila claimed to be "noticing".

Lila "always seemed to notice" small instances of "uneasiness" between Adrienette. She "always seemed to notice" how "Adrien flinched slightly whenever Marinette touched him". She "always seemed to notice" the "slightly smug smile Marinette seemed to have when no one was looking". She "always seemed to notice" the "tense moments when she saw a slight disagreement". She "always seemed to notice" a "slight discolouration on Adrien's skin, like he was wearing make-up to cover a bruise"... All of them simply told Lila that she's just seeing things, more to prevent the liar from trying to push the subject further.

The class texted about it in the Class Chat, a lot of them stating how "Off and Weird" it was that "only Lila seemed to "notice" these things". Marinette and Adrien could not hide their dismay and confusion at these moments, not to mention explain that what Lila claimed never happened. Nino and Kim did remind the class that Lila DID want the position of Adrien's Girlfriend. It didn't even take that much thinking after this comment was made before the class settled on the notion that Lila was trying to make it seem like Adrienette was having some "subtle" problems and needed to be broken up. Which the class did think was a rather odd and unnecessary way to try to insinuate a breakup… Unless…

Was Lila trying to make the class think that Adrinette were bad for each other and goad them into making them break up? Well, Lila DID seem to want to become Adrien's Girlfriend, but would she stoop low enough to use THAT method?

The moment those questions were asked, Marinette finally revealed the "Lie" that Lila used to try to get her to break up with Adrien nearly two weeks ago. The Miracuclass, of course, went absolutely ballistic at this revelation. Adrien managed to play the part of the loving and concerned boyfriend by asking why Marinette didn't tell them this when it happened, leading the bluette to "explain" that if she had said it when it happened then the class would've thought that she was overreacting to misunderstanding to what Lila was saying and possibly jumping back on the "Lila is evil because she's a liar" train. All realised that the bluette was right (except for one who knew the whole time).

Okay, that's a pretty major and very concerning red flag! Something that they did ended up telling Miss Bustier about this as well, just in case things might get worse and they needed a responsible adult to jump in.

The third pattern seemed to only happen whenever Lila was with the other girls in Miss Bustier's class. It was something that raised a few more red flags as well as suspicions. Lila seemed to have a rather "bad habit" of letting things "slip", or at least that's how it appeared to be… She always let it 'slip' that she and Adrien have been "Seeing Each Other". The girls were quick to ask "in what way" the first time this happened, Lila quickly told them that it was just friends and that they hit it off pretty well and that they were keeping their "friendship a secret" because it would've made "Marinette jealous if she found out". It was a rather odd thing if the girls were being honest, they knew that Adrien didn't like Lila and didn't want to be alone with her no matter what. And after the girls asked the guys about Adrien's whereabouts after Lila told them a few of "her and Adrien's outings", they quickly realised that Lila was lying to them when the guys told them that Adrien was with them when Lila claimed to be with him… It wasn't hard to figure out why. Lila was trying to lay the groundwork to make it seem like she and Adrien are friends and then later become secret lovers, all while planting seeds of doubt about Marinette… The girls couldn't help but think how underhanded that ploy was.

Adrien was disturbed by this when the girls told him, the guys, and Marinette. It was a good thing the model told Miss Bustier about Lila making him uncomfortable because the teacher alerted them to the fact that the liar told her that "Adrien was willing to tutor her in some of her classes". The teacher admitted that she found that rather odd since Adrien was telling her a different story. Miss Bustier did tell them that she told Lila that while she was glad that Adrien wanted to help but he already had too many obligations to do so. That made the class glad the teacher did that because Adrien most certainly DID NOT want to be around the liar more than needed. The class then told Miss Bustier what Lila was trying to do, which did not amuse the teacher. The redheaded woman agreed to run some interference if Lila tried this ploy again, much to Adrien's relief.

The final pattern that practically everyone noticed ever since Lila's video calls to the class, even the students outside the Miracuclass noticed, was how often Lila wanted to "reward" her classmates for "being so helpful and nice" to her. At first, it was a little concerning to the Miracuclass since it seemed like Lila thought she was "obligated" to thank them in that way. They always answered the same with "Oh, you don't have to do that", in the hopes that the brunette would understand that the "rewards'' weren't necessary to be friends. Lila always seemed confused by that resonance but she then giggled it off and responded by saying that they were such good friends. But…

Lila kept trying to offer "rewards" for their helpfulness and kindness. It almost got to the point where the Miracuclass thought it might've been a part of the lifestyle Lila grew up with or that it might've been a big part of her culture and started to feel bad about having to reject the "rewards", however… When Lila offered to have Jagged Stone listen to the latest Kitty Section album so he can give them some pointers, offered to have Steven Speilgburg take a look at Nino's latest movie project, and offer to tell Ali of the Kingdom of Achu about how helpful Rose was when it came to her projects (all separately, of course)… Something started to stink.

After going over the facts and comparing notes, the Miracuclass managed to get themselves involved in a Gabriel Brand shoot, when a cold virus took down at least half of the staff (don't worry the person in charge of the shoot paid the members of the class for their hard work), to ask Adrien and Marinette some specific questions. Questions that surprised the duo when they were asked, which in turn, caused them to accidentally confirm what the class had theorised.

No one was upset that the two didn't tell them, they understood why neither said anything about it. Nino and Kim were oddly proud of Marinette for not going on the warpath when she discovered that Lila was in fact using lies to manipulate her classmates. The bluette did admit that she wanted to but she thought things through and decided it would be better to send that text she made to the Class Chat Group. Which both explained why Marinette was avoiding Lila, gave them the heads up on what Lila might do, and had them be kept aware of what Lila has been doing.

Well, it worked and now the whole class was aware of Lila's true nature and why she was so quick to paint Marinette in a bad light after her lies were found out, somewhat. However…

"We still have to play nice with Lila so we don't tip her off," Alix stated in an annoyed tone.

Alya was the one to say, "Unfortunately, we have to…" She let out a growl when she got out, "So everything she did since she arrived was to manipulate us into thinking she was this amazing person and basically wait on her like she was royalty?!"

"Seems like it…" Juleka commented in a sour tone. The goth sighed before saying, "I'm glad we realised she was lying… I… Don't want to think about what could've happened if we didn't…"

Rose couldn't help but add, "Yeah, and that we were also talking with each other to keep track of what Lila was telling us." The pink wearing girl looked at her classmates when she added, "It was thanks to that that we were able to find out what she's been doing."

That was when Sabrina said, "We need to tell Miss Bustier this. Lila disliking one student and trying to break up a couple is one thing, but trying to manipulate us? That's something else entirely!"

Marinette felt guilty for bringing this particular fact when she said, "Um, not to be the one to play devil avocet or seem like I'm saying "now you know how I feel", but other than your words… Do any of you have any solid proof to show that Lila is in fact manipulating you guys?"

Alya quickly jumped on their chat group with all the evidence they had gathered. That was when Marinette told them that while they had the notes to use to prove that Lila didn't like her and that she was actively trying to break her and Adrien up, the manipulation thing was circumstantial at best. Sabrina did confirm that Lila can easily claim that her offering "rewards for their friendships" is cultural for her and brought up how she and the bulk of the class thought it might've been the case.

The others were quiet at this realisation. Marinette and Sabrina were right, Lila can and probably will spin her attempts of manipulation as "Culture Kindness"...

In the end, the Miracuclass concluded and agreed that they'll continue to "play nice" with Lila, try to curb her intentions of breaking up Adriette and her hatred of Marinette, and keep notes of all of Lila's attempts at manipulation.

~}i{ Later That Day }i{~

Lila was compiling an email to her oh so gullible teacher about a week-long work trip to England using the fake email she created to pose as her mother from the comfort of her room. The liar decided to give herself a week off from school to relax and create more ploys to turn the class on that goody-goody bluette and make Adrien hers. As much as Lila adores the fact that practically all of her classmates were completely gullible, she can't help but feel a twinge of annoyance by the fact that they don't seem to believe all her little quips against the bluette.

Lila rolled her eyes before she double-checked the email. She smirked as she sent the email. Now all she needed to do was invent something to tell her mother. She scoffed before settling on telling her mother that the incompetency of Ladybug cause the school to shut down, again. Lila smirked at the thought of being able to dig at that nosey, self-righteous, annoyance.

She then frowned when her thoughts went back to her classmates. Lila was doing everything right to ensure that they become perfect pawns for her to use, but the one thing that just couldn't understand was how none of them wanted the "rewards" she was offering. Granted Lila wasn't going to follow through on those anyway, but it was still so weird that none of them WANTED the "rewards" especially if it involves the things and/or people in their interests. Their annoying response was always "Oh, you don't have to do that".

Lila tapped her finger on her desk when she thought, 'I guess it is a good thing that those fools are gullible if none of them wants any connections…' She just couldn't understand her classmates' strange behaviours. Lila shrugged it off when she concluded that it didn't matter since she had control over them.

Now, to turn her attention to more important matters.

~}i{ 4 Months Later. With the Miracuclass }i{~

As it turned out, collecting evidence for proof of manipulations was an agonisingly slow process!

Well, it felt like it was sluggishly slow… It didn't help with their progress that every month Lila's mother seemed to have some kind of work-related trip that lasted a week. Don't get the class wrong, it was a nice break from dealing with Lila but it did slow down their progress. Though, Alya was the one who always seemed to be getting bombarded with selfies and pictures from Lila during these trips.

The liar told the blogger happily that her grandmother gave her a priceless family heirloom after her "last trip to Italy", which looked suspiciously like the Fox Miraculous. Alya showed the image of the foxtail to her friends and asked why it doesn't feel like it could be an heirloom since it looked a little too new. Adrien frowned when he heard the claim and told the class in a completely innocent tone, "Huh, that's a coincidence, it looks a lot like one of the necklaces from last year's Spring Jewellery Collection from Father's Company." Which caused the class to quickly look up and compare the official image and Lila's "heirloom". No one was THAT surprised that Lila would do such a thing, the thing that bothered them was Why she would even be implying that the object was an old heirloom when it wasn't. The class somewhat settled on Lila just doing it for attention, but the heroes believed that Lila was going to pull the whole "I'm descendant from Vulpina" skit again but with the whole class.

}{

It was during Lila's latest "trip with her mother" that Nath cracked a rare joke with the class. "You'd think she and her mum were taking holidays with how often they're gone," the redhead snickered out as he drew in his sketchbook before adding, "Or at least that's how it seems. Wouldn't surprise me if Lila was lying about where they were going."

Wait a minute… That was when the class paused in what they were doing before looking at each other. When they thought about it… Considering how often Lila lies and what she tends to lie about… Could Lila actually… Be… Lying about having to go on these trips with her mother?

}{

"I'm sorry children, but I do have confirmation emails from Lila's mother about these trips for her job," Miss Bustier said, sitting at her desk as she looked at her students. She gave them a sympathetic look when she added, "I know that you all are worried about Lila's, uh, animosity towards Marinette and, uh, your little side-project regarding Lila's "other" behaviour problem, but unless she can convince her mother to allow her to stay with a trusted friend during these work trips you're going to have to wait for Lila to return before you can continue."

Yeah, the teachers of Dupont have been told about Lila's "antics", more to keep them aware more than anything since they cannot act on certain things unless there is proof. So Miss Bustier knows that Lila is lying and "maybe" trying to manipulate her students, as well as the class's "project for proof".

Alya shook her head when she said, "Um, that's not what we're asking." She took a deep breath before getting out, "We're asking if you know for sure that Mrs Rossi is the one sending the emails."

With that sympathetic look still on her face, Miss Bustier said, "I can. I called the phone number for Mrs Rossi on file to confirm and talk to her about the make-up work Lila has to do during the trips, per school guidelines. I talked to Lila's mother." The teacher took a deep breath before saying as calmly as possible, "Also, I had asked Mrs Rossi if she knew that Lila had, uh, issues with any of her classmates."

The Miracuclass glanced at each other before Adrien asked, "And what did she say?" Though it did sound like he had some suspicion in what that answer might be.

Miss Bustier took another deep breath before saying, "You've been keeping track of all of Lila's "snies" against Marinette and keeping tabs on all of their interactions, right?" When the class nodded and explained that it was more to keep proof that what Lila was saying/claiming about Marinette was fake. Miss Bustier pinched the bridge of her nose in slight frustration when she said, "Apparently, Lila has been telling her mother that Marinette is this vindictive bully who is determined to make her life miserable just because she was being nice to Adrien…"

There was a nice little outburst from Miss Bustier's student at this.

That was when Marinette got out in anger, "How can she say that kind of thing about me to her mother?! Even if I wanted to, I couldn't since she is nearly always with other classmates and I need to remind everyone that I've been going out of my way to avoid her to keep the peace in the class! And even when we're in the class together, SHE'S the one always making the backhanded comments towards me!" Adrien quickly rubbed the bluette's shoulders and did his best to calm her down. It worked, but Marinette couldn't stop herself from slumping down into the nearest seat, Adrien kept to her side. Normally, the class would've cooed at the loving display, but given the topic…

Miss Bustier had an uncharacteristically sour look on her face when she said, "Oh, I'm very aware of the situation, and I am quite appalled by what Lila has been telling her mother. I asked if Mrs Rossi could come in for a parent/teacher conference when she gets back so that we can deal with the situation better since there isn't much that can be done over the phone. I am also hoping to have her in so I can talk to her about Lila's "other behaviours" that she's been doing at school."

Ivan raised a brow when he asked, "You didn't tell her about Lila trying to break up Adrien and Marinette, the lies, and the manipulation?"

Miss Bustier explained that two of those issues were more "needed to be shown proof or be made aware of" whereas bullying was something that can be discussed and maybe fixed verbally. The lies could just be, unfortunately, written off as a way to get attention so it doesn't HAVE to be discussed unless it WAS leading to confirmed problems. The teacher then said, "I honestly think that Mrs Rossi might need to have a nice long talk about her behaviour and be properly punished for her wrongdoings." Miss Bustier sighed before saying, "I know that you all have the right to make that theory of Lila just staying home for one week out of the month, but even if she did lie to her mother about school possibly being closed, surely her mother would've called to confirm that claim. However, her mum is confirming these trips by email and by phone, so as far as the school is concerned, Lila is with her mother on these trips."

The Miracuclass glanced at each other.

Well, if Miss Bustier confirmed all this with Mrs Rossi… Then the trips have to be the one thing that Lila is being truthful about… Right?

~}i{ Lila Rossi Residence, The Day Before }i{~

Lila hung up with that gullible but annoyingly diligent teacher with an annoyed huff before placing her mother's "missing" phone in a pillow with a zipper.

The liar scoffed when she thought in annoyance, 'What kind of school requires both an email and a call from a student's parents for any missed days?' Not that it mattered to Lila, she had the phone her mother registered with the school and altered the email contact they had so she would be getting the emails rather than her mother, it was just that the liar could have used the time needed for the calls for something more productive.

Lila opened a notebook and quickly flipped through the pages until she came to the most recent one. It was a rather detailed timeline of a rough schedule activity and pictures of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. What the bluette might be doing during a certain time, who might be with her, and most importantly where she might be. Lila narrowed her eyes at the make-shift schedule in annoyance. It angered her that she had to resort to this rather time-consuming method to discredit and destroy the bluette, but her gullible classmates still refuse to take any bait the liar was trying to plant.

Lila growled when she thought, 'I should've been trying to figure out how to make Adrien mine months ago not having to thoroughly scrutinise that annoying goody-goody for even the slightest opportunity to smear her!' As much as it pained the liar to admit, but the bluette was right about knowing that her so-called friends wouldn't turn against her.

Lila bit her lip as she looked over the schedule yet again. She had to use most of her "days off from school" to practically stalk Marinette after school let out to make this handwritten list of activities. The liar knew she needed to keep a distance away so she wouldn't be spotted yet close enough to see what was going on during these. After all, the last thing she needs is for any of her classmates to see her in Paris when she's supposed to be out of the country. Though admittedly, tracking the bluette during the Akuma Attacks was practically impossible due to the chaos and the fact that Marinette always seemed to disappear completely during them, but those didn't matter since they didn't provide Lila with anything she can use.

This week, however, was just going to be for Lila to construct her full-proof plan to destroy Marinette's reputation so badly that there wouldn't be anything salvageable for her and to relax afterwards.

~}i{ Three Days Later }i{~

Alya, Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Rose, Ivan, Sabrina, and Max were sitting in one of the bigger seating areas in the bakery just working on the school project that they had. Chloe, Juleka, Nathaniel, Kim, Alix, and Mylene were at the local library for their project. Ms Mendeleiev assigned their class two projects, splitting the class in half to do the projects. In all technically, Lila was a part of Chloe's group but since she's currently travelling with her mum. So the science teacher sent the absent girl her section of the project, expecting Lila to return with her side of the project done and ready to be presented.

The project at the library ended up learning something quite different…

"Why are you guys still working on your sections of the project? We should be working on integrating the sections together today," Chloe asked Juleka, Nath, Alix, and Mylene when she saw what they were working on. The blonde raised a brow when she said, "I finished my section yesterday and I kinda thought you guys would've been done before me. And before anyone asks, yes, I actually did it myself, Sabrina didn't help me at all. She has her own project to work on." Kim looked up from the laptop he was at when he heard.

Mylene shrank a bit when she admitted that Lila asked her to do a bit of her section because she was too busy helping her mother to do all of her part of the project, the rainbow-coloured haired girl said that she accepted since it was just a small part. The moment Alix heard this, she said that Lila asked her the same thing. This caused Nath to admit in suspicion that Lila made the same claim to him. That was when everyone turned to Juleka, who was sporting a rather shocked look on her face. When the goth realised that all eyes were on her, she readily admitted that Lila asked her to do a small part of her part of the project for basically the same story she gave the others.

At this realisation, the group quickly put the project pieces they were currently working on together and discovered that it was Lila's entire part of her project.

The group stared at each other in disbelief. Lila… Basically unloaded her part of the project on most of her group mates…

Oh, Wow! It was a good thing Chloe asked her question, or else this could've easily slipped under the radar. Though, to be honest, this could've easily been discovered later in the project when they were going to compare notes when the project was going to be put together… Did Lila honestly think that she could get away with this and not be discovered? … .. … Apparently so.

Kim cringed when he asked his group mates, "Please tell me you kept the emails or texts from Lila regarding this? Because this is not only proof of her manipulation but also proof that she is bunking off school work." They stated that they did because Ms Mendeleiev will notice if "someone helps on homework and/or project", so they kept the proof they needed to show that they'd been asked to help. Well, it's more accurate to say now that it was proof of Lila's manipulation.

Chloe folded her arms with a frown when she said, "Wow, just… Wow… I'll admit to having Sabrina do some of my work in the past, but at least I was honest about it and looked it over when it was done… But this! Not cool!" She looked at her group mates when she asked, "Seriously, did she think that you guys wouldn't talk to each other about the project or accidentally let something slip?" No one noticed a silver, bee-shaped, hair-comb gleaming in Chloe's hair.

Juleka brushed her purple bang out of her face when she said, "It seems like it… … …" She sighed when she added, "I feel stupid for falling for that…"

Chloe softened her eyes when she said, "No, you aren't… Lila… Technically wasn't lying but she wasn't exactly being truthful either… It's what's called "Half-Truths" since she wasn't completely lying… She asked you to do a small section of her part of the project, she sent you a small part of the project when you agreed and you just assumed that she would be doing the rest of her part… It's a reasonable assumption…" She unfolded her arms and rested them on the table when she added, "She did this to almost everyone in this group. I guess she didn't ask me to help because she knew I would say no and I guess she didn't ask Kim because she assumed he'd be the one most likely to expose her little ploy."

Kim scoffed as he turned his attention back onto the laptop screen when he stated, "Probably thinks I'm a stereotypical dumb jock with a big mouth or something like that." He quickly typed something before reading whatever was on the screen.

Alix raised a brow when she asked, "What are you doing?"

Kim proudly smiled when he said, "Oh, just a little extra credit for that World Relations discussion Miss Bustier wanted us to do." He turned the laptop around so his group mates could see what he was doing when he explained, "I'm in a Text Webinar with a retired Diplomat. We can text our questions about what he did during his time as a diplomat or about the job and he answers them." He turned the laptop back around and focused on the screen when he added, "The reason why it's a Text Webinar, is because the site has an automatic translating program so everyone can understand the questions and answers in the language the device uses. And before anyone asks, yes I triple-check the credentials of this guy and he's a real retired diplomat with over 30 years of experience."

Chloe let out a short snort when she said with a sly smirk, "Someone has been spending a lot of time with Max~."

Kim had a somewhat goofy yet dreamy look on his face when he said, "Yeah, I guess so." He looked at the laptop screen with that look still on his face. Then suddenly, the look vanished and morphed into a look of confusion when he said, "Whoa, wait a minute." Kim quickly used the mouse to click on something and then started typing.

The rest of the group looked at each other, a little confused and concerned at the sudden shift in mood in the jock. They quickly and quietly stood up and moved so that all of them were standing behind Kim to see what he was doing. What they saw was rather surprising. The group watched the computer for easily 10 minutes of Kim typing in his questions and the retired diplomat responding, those answers relieving the truth.

"Hang on! If all this is true then…" Nath got out as he looked at the rest of the group and they looked at him, except for Kim who kept his eyes glued to the screen and kept typing.

That was when Chloe asked, "Hey, how much does the library charge to use the printer here? I think we're going to have to print this whole thing for Miss Bustier. I'll pay for the whole thing, no argument there." No one fought the blonde on this, they didn't want to, not because of the cost but because of what they have uncovered.

~}i{ Meanwhile at the Dupain-Cheng Bakery }i{~

Alya, Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Rose, Ivan, Sabrina, and Max were currently taking a break from working on their project. They were mostly talking about the new heroes that Ladybug and Chat Noir added to the team. Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Honeybee. Only Marinette and Adrien noticed the teal turtle-shaped charm on Nino's left wrist and the pure orange fox-tail necklace around Alya's neck. While the Ladybug and Black Cat duo still haven't found out who saw Tikki, they were still adamant about adding more heroes to their ranks. Everyone was in a bright, cheery mood until Alya got a text.

Alya looked at her phone to see who it was. The smile disappeared when she read the text. Nino looked over his girlfriend's shoulder to see what was wrong as Alya responded to the text. The laid-back teen quickly mouthed "Lila" to the others and they groaned in annoyance. The liar seemed to think that the blogger would post anything on her blog and always sent her selfies during her "Trips", dropping hints that she should post them. Too bad Alya didn't have that kind of blog and had the integrity to not post non-hero related things on her Ladyblog. However, the private blog she made for the class WAS to placate the liar on finding out that they know the truth.

Sabrina slumped when she asked, "What did she text this time?"

Alya turned her phone to her group mates when she said, "She seems to have a lot of free time for someone who is helping her mother on a diplomacy trip, working on a class project, and catching up on the school work she's missing." On the blogger's phone was a picture of Lila making a peace sign with the Sydney Harbour Opera House in the background of this apparent selfie, her Foxtail Gabriel Brand necklace clearly on display. "Seriously, this is the 3rd selfie she sent me this week. I get that she loves the attention that I seem to be able to "bring her" with "the blog", but she is kinda overdoing it and I do have other stuff to do…" Alya stated with a huff. She then added, "It's starting to feel like she thinks that I'd drop everything for her. Though it wouldn't surprise me if that were the case with her."

Ivan raised a brow when he looked at the image and asked, "Hey, do you mind if I take a closer look at that?" Alya nodded when she handed her phone over to the bulky teen, who went to examine the image immediately.

Rose tried to look over Ivan's shoulder when she asked, "What's wrong with the picture? Looks like any other selfie with a famous landmark in the background."

"Except…" Ivan muttered as he zoomed in on the background of the photo, looking for something particular. When he didn't see what he was looking for, the bulky teen said, "There aren't any pedestrians in this selfie." He zoomed out of the image to see it as a whole again when he added, "A live selfie at a famous landmark with not even one person in the background? I get that people would avoid being caught in someone else's picture, but if you aren't aware that it's happening you don't move out of the way. That's kind of strange, even on an off day."

That was when Adrien asked with a raised brow, "You don't think she took that in front of the real Sydney Harbour Opera House, do you?"

Ivan handed Alya's phone back to her when he asked her to send a copy to Markov to analyse. The blogger nodded when she did just that. Sabine walked over, to see how everyone was doing when she saw the image of Lila on Alya's phone. Mrs Cheng raised a brow when she asked the blogger if she knew that girl on her phone. The group looked up at the bluette's mother when they explained that the person in the picture was Lila, a classmate of theirs who was currently travelling with her diplomat mother and asked the Chinese woman why she was asking. Since as far as they knew, Lila would never come to the bakery owned and run by Marinette's parents. And while the bluette HAS told her parents about Lila, she never told them what she looked like.

Sabine folded her arms when she said with a thoughtful look on her face, "Well, a lot of our regulars have noticed this Lila girl loitering outside the building across the street a good number of times just watching our establishment, usually with her phone in her hand." She looked at the group when she added, "They've pointed her out when they're here. She looks just like the girl in that picture."

The group looked at each other before Max asked the older bluette, "Did you or Mr Dupain confront her or talk to her?"

Sabine shook her head when she said, "That was the oddest thing. We thought that she might've been unsure if she wanted to come in or not, so at the start, either Tom or I went out to talk to her but the moment she saw us, she scurried away. The first few times, we assumed it was because she was shy but she always did that whenever we came out of the bakery. It honestly made us wonder why she even bothered to come by."

Marinette had a worried yet unnerved look when she asked her mother, "Maman, how come you didn't tell me about this?"

Sabine's answer was simple when she said, "Neither of us knew that she was a classmate of yours, let alone that girl that seems to hate you for calling her out, and she wasn't watching the bakery every day." The mother tapped her left index finger to her chin to think before she said, "I might have to ask Tom and the customers who saw this Lila girl to be certain, but I'm pretty sure that she would be watching our bakery a few days every 22-25 days or so."

The group looked at each other at this, all thinking that that was a rather odd time frame.

Sabrina was the one to ask if the bakery had any security cameras or CCTV. Sabine nodded but said that they didn't have cameras in the front of the bakery for legal reasons.

}{ About 10 Minutes Later }{

Max hooked up his laptop to the main storage for the security footage for the bakery and quickly ran the facial recognition program that he had originally made for Markov to help him identify his friends, to find all the sections that had Lila in the frame. The program found several images with the liar, just standing outside almost out of view of the cameras inside the bakery, but she was in the cameras' view often enough to get caught on it.

Adrien couldn't suppress a shudder when he said, "Okay, this is a whole new level of unwanted attention from Lila. She's been following me when I come here!"

Max quickly re-ran the program again in a new tab, this time to find Adrien and then compared the two. Sabrina looked over the techie's shoulder when she said, "Huh, that's weird. Adrien isn't in the bakery on some of these when Lila's stalking outside."

Ivan scratched his head when he asked, "So does that mean that she wasn't stalking Adrien? But if that's so, then why is she even hanging outside the bakery?"

Max thought about something before changing the facial recognition that was searching for Adrien to search for Marinette. The difference was astonishing!

Rose gasped out when she nearly shouted, "Lila was stalking Marinette?!"

"WHAT?!" Tom, Sabine, Alya, Adrien, Marinette, Rose, Sabrina, and Ivan snapped out in shock. Not at all liking or expecting the news. Marinette was utterly stunned while Adrien felt even more disturbed.

Alya then stuttered out, "B-b-but! That doesn't make any sense! Lila practically has a vendetta against Marinette! She wouldn't stalk her!"

That was when Nino suggested with a cringe, "Uhh, dudes, I kinda think that maybe Lila's stalking Mari to find something she can use to leverage her." It was obvious that the normally chilled teen wasn't liking the idea he was coming up with.

Marinette let out a small growl when she got out, "Urg! That makes surprisingly too much sense with Lila." The bluette ran her hands through her bangs when she said in an annoyed tone, "I don't get it?! Why all this animosity just over me calling her out on her lies ONCE and, believe it or not, I was the one trying to reach a medium with the lies!"

Sabrina folded her arms thoughtfully before saying, "And this is also way too much to be over Adrien as well… At least by average psychological standards…" The orangette quickly tried to think of police procedures and laws before finally saying, "Given that this is no longer on school grounds, it's no longer just a problem for the school. I'm pretty sure that this can be legally charged. Since Lila is somewhat stalking a classmate continuously and possibly taking pictures of said classmate without their knowledge if the customers and the security footage are accurate." The orangette looked over at the Dupain-Cheng family and said that she can ask her dad to help them file stalking charges if they want to do so.

Adrien cringed at what the orangette stated before raising a brow in confusion when said, "But when did she have the time to do this? She was usually either at school, with at least one of our classmates outside of school, or on trips with her mother."

Rose placed a hand to her chin when she said, "Yeah… It doesn't make any sense that she's able to do this without any of us knowing… Unless…" Her blue eyes snapped to her friends when she said, "She lied about hanging with some of our friends to do this?"

Okay, that makes a lot more sense, to be honest, but that doesn't explain the weird timeframe for the stalking…

"Huh? That's peculiar," Max commented when he looked at the still frames of the security feed. Ivan walked over to the techie when he asked what was weird. Max typed on the computer and pulled up a couple of the still-frames with Lila clearly in them before saying, "Take a look at the timecode on the images." Everyone did by looking over Max's shoulders.

"Looks fine to me," Tom said before adding, "We made sure to get a security system that could show an accurate time frame."

Nino stared at the dates recorded on the image for a bit before realisation hit him like lightning. "Alya, have you been keeping track of the dates Lila was travelling with her mum?" the red-capped teen asked, his posture uncharacteristically stiff and rigid.

Alya nodded when she said, "Yeah, kinda unwillingly since, well, as I said earlier, she's been sending me all of her selfies- Wait a minute…" The blogger quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket before scrolling through it in a way that made all her movements seem like blurs. She then started glancing between her phone's screen and then the dates on the security images. Everyone else in the room slowly caught onto what was going on as Alya was looking more and more unnerved, except for the Dupain-Cheng couple who was watching all this in confusion. "Oh, God…" The blogger finally got out, her eyes widening in utter shock.

Max bit his lips when he said softly, "Yeah, I thought as much…" He took a deep breath when he asked Marinette's parents if he could make duplicates of the security feed to give to the school and to add to their legal file in case they want to press charges against Lila. The Dupain-Cheng couple were fine with it but under the condition that the group tells them what's going on at the moment. With that, Max said, "Because the dates stamped on these security feeds are when Lila was supposed to be out of the country with her mother."

Sabine blinked in confusion before saying with a huff, "Well, clearly she hasn't been with her mother travelling if she's standing outside our establishment during that time frame."

That was when Ivan gasped out, "I knew it! That selfie IS fake! And possibly all the others!"

That was when Alya asked Max, "You think Markov will be willing to analyse all the "selfies" Lila sent me?" The techie nodded. It would be even more proof of Lila's manipulations.

~}i{ The Next Day }i{~

To say that Miss Bustier was feeling a whirlpool of confusion, anger, dismay, and sorrow was the definition of Understatement when her class brought her this solid evidence of Lila's deceit. It took everything the teacher and her student had to make sure Hawkmoth didn't try to Akumatize her. However, it didn't work so well, but at least Ladybug "happened" to be in the area to catch the corrupted butterfly before it could have a chance to possess the teacher.

The red-clad hero did ask what happened since the red-headed teacher doesn't usually get upset. To which the class explained what happened. That was when Ladybug commented, "Wait, you mean she did more than lying about being a hero?" When asked what she was talking about, the red-clad hero explained that she overheard Lila telling another person that she was this so-called amazing hero named Volpina, throwing in that she tried to pass off a foxtail necklace as a Miraculous, and scolded her for that lie, since that could put a massive target on her back. Adrien confirmed this, which caused the others to ask why he didn't tell them earlier. The model explained that he didn't because he wasn't sure they would believe him at the time and the fact that Lila pretty much referred to him as an object made him uncomfortable.

If Lila wasn't already on everyone's hit list, she certainly was now. And this also explains why Lila was trying to pass off the necklace as an "Heirloom", to lay the groundwork so she can claim that "She's a descendant of a Hero" to them. Well, now, Ladybug wasn't thrilled that the liar was going to try that claim again, but she didn't seem that surprised. The hero said that Lila seemed to go into a nasty fit when she scolded her for lying, Ladybug admitted that she thought it was weird because unbridled anger and hatred isn't the usual response to a hero scolding someone for trying to put a target on their back. Adrien backed up this claim, adding that the liar accused the hero of trying to "sabotage her attempt at me". To which the model cringed when he said that and Ladybug threw in that she didn't even know that that was what the liar was doing when she arrived, just that she was lying about something that could get Hawkmoth to target her.

Huh, so being called out on any lie, in general, seems to be an instant "Hate Trigger" for Lila, no matter who it is or what the lie is about and will go out of her way to make their lives miserable… Okay, that's one hell of an issue.

A little later after Ladybug left, Ms Mendeleiev came in basically to confirm if all the evidence was indeed real and to talk things over with Miss Bustier and M Damocles. Since this WAS a rather SERIOUS issue that did not just involve the school.

Due to the two teachers having to have an improv meeting with the principal, their respective classes were basically free to do what they wanted so long as they didn't make a fuss with the other students.

}{

"You've got to be kidding?" Aurore asked with a raised brow and a disbelieving look on her face. She blinked before getting out, "This sounds like something out of some kind of plot for some B-rated movie involving civilians figuring out a bad guy's plan."

Nino looked at his friends when he said, "Oh trust us, THIS wasn't how we thought we would find solid proof that Lila is a manipulative little bitch."

Marinette gasped when she said, "Nino!"

Nino huffed when he said, "What? It's true! And you have every right to tell us that you told us so, Mari."

Marinette let out a nervous chuckle when she said, "Well, yeah, but I was more surprised that you're using foul language." Nino let out an "oh". Normally such banter between classmates would be more playful and fun but after yesterday… No one in Miss Bustier's class was in the mood for that.

Mireille was the one to ask, "So, Lila was posing as her mother by email and by phone to bunk off school to basically stalk Marinette, huh?"

"Please don't remind us of the latter," both Marinette and Adrien stated in a sour tone. Well, not like anyone could blame them for feeling that way.

Alix scoffed as she folded her arms, "You know with how much she's lied during her stay here, I've always thought that she might've lied about her mum being a diplomat, but now I don't even believe that she's even from Italy!"

"Or that her name is even Lila Rossi…" Rose said as she slumped where she was sitting. Her usual cheery self wasn't even present at all, and it honestly frightened Ms Mendeleiev's class. Juleka wrapped an arm around the pink wearing girl.

Marc was tapping his notebook with his mechanical pencil when he asked, "I'm going to guess that what you guys found out was bad, huh?"

Nath, who was sitting across from Marc, huffed when he said, "Let's just say that what we found out only added more to how much Lila doesn't care about others except what they can do for her." The artist didn't even have his sketchbook out, which was very concerning to the writer. Marc placed a hand on Nath's, trying to comfort the other a bit.

Jean Duparc raised a brow at this when he asked, "What do you mean? Didn't she just bunk off school? I mean, she posed as her mother to do so, and kinda used some of her "off-time" to… Um, research. But how does this information show how Lila doesn't care about others?"

Miss Bustier's class proceeded to explain the real parameters of a Diplomat's job. That the only travel that they are to do is between the host country and the home country. If it's found out and proven that one of their ambassadors or diplomats are using embassy funds to travel for pleasure or using embassy funds for personal things, the person will be fired and be forced to pay restitution. If it's suspected that one employee is using embassy funds, there would be a very thorough investigation with the employee being suspended without pay until the investigation reaches a conclusion, and depending on that depends on the fate of the employee.

Now Jean Duparc understood what the other class meant. If the embassy had found out about "Lila's Travels with Her Mother for Work" when there was no documentation of these travels, her mother would've been suspended without pay. And it would hit Mrs Rossi harder if it felt out of nowhere to her.

Miss Bustier's class then explains the facts regarding truancy as a whole. Lila actively falsified information regarding her mother's contact information, she posed as her mother via email and phone to trick the school so they wouldn't note her absences (though these days are still marked a Missed Days), and because Mrs Rossi never once bothered to contact them at all to confirm any "closed days" is somewhat proof that Lila must've told her mother something that would make her not call the school to confirm and let her stay at home.

Mireille's eyes were wide in shock when she gasped out, "She! She! She's manipulating her own mother!? And actively telling tales that could get her mother in major trouble with her job if they find out about her "travelling tales"!? How can someone do that to their own mother?!"

Chloe scoffed when she said, "By this point, I seriously doubt that her mother even works at an embassy of any kind." No one chides at her to be nice since, by this point, everyone just believes that Lila couldn't even tell the truth to save her life. Chloe folded her arms when she commented, "But it does make me wonder what Mrs Rossi is like if she doesn't even bother to contact the school for literally anything after all this time." She looked at her class when she added, "I mean, think about it. Lila literally takes two entire months off school not long after she enrols and then takes a week off from school each month once she gets back and the lady doesn't think that it's strange for a school to have THAT many days off? Even as lax as Daddy was when it came to, well, being an attentive parent, he still made sure I got my education and attended school every day unless I was sick and kept up with what's going on at school."

Yeah, Chloe is making a good point.

That was when Ivan put in, "But does she not call because she doesn't care and is willing to let Lila do what she wants or is Lila telling her mother something that would prevent her from checking the school?"

Alya slumped back in her seat when she said, "So everything to do with Lila has to be taken with a major pinch of salt." Nino wrapped an arm around his girlfriend. That was when the blogger said, "Speaking of, anyone got any idea on how we should handle her when she "returns" from that "trip" of hers? Because after what we've found out, I don't think I can keep up the whole "Being Nice" with her anymore."

Max was typing on his computer when he said, "Given the information we discovered and submitted to the teachers, I calculate that we may not have to do that for long." The techie looked over what he had on the laptop when he said, "Also due to the current severity of the situation, I wouldn't be surprised if Lila does do time in juvie for the stalking, falsifying information, and the severe truancy."

Sabrina did comment that Max had a point but did put in that the juvie is going to have to be outside Paris due to Hawkmoth still running rampant. "I don't want to jinx it, but I wouldn't be surprised if Lila gets Akumatized willingly if given the chance," the orangette stated with a slump.

~}i{ Later that Day. Lila Rossi's Residence }i{~

Lila smirked smugly at the plan written in her "Stalking Notebook", now completed and thoroughly full-proof. 'After this goes into effect, no one is going to trust that annoying goody-goody,' the liar thought with glee, already imagining the outcome of this perfect plan that couldn't possibly fail. She then looked over the class itinerary with that smug look still on her face.

The words "Mock Literacy Test" was circled in a red marker.

'That day will mark the end of that goody-goody,' Lila thought.

~}i{ 3 Days Later, Dupont }i{~

Despite their emotions and even though they now knew her true character, Miss Bustier's class managed to "keep playing nice" with Lila. Which was a good thing because the liar didn't seem to suspect that anything was off with her classmate, or maybe she did but didn't think it important enough for her. While the class did worry about Lila catching on, they were able to pull it off. Or Lila could have that big of an ego that she couldn't possibly imagine that anyone else in the class would catch onto her kingdom of lies… … It might be the latter if some of the class was being honest…

But it somewhat helped that it was Lila that was doing a lot of the talking, mostly about how happy she was to receive her "heirloom necklace from her grandmother". The class have conversed in the chat about how much she seems to be buttering them up so that the whole "Descendant of a Hero" lie would be more believable or something like that.

The teachers and staff, meanwhile, were doing everything they could to try to find some sort of real contact information regarding Mrs Rossi, but it seemed like Lila seemed to have altered all her contact information BEFORE she even came to Dupont. A call to Lila's prior school confirmed as much when they gave them the same issue with trying to reach the liar's mother or anyone on her emergency contacts… Which was rather concerning on a legal and well-being level…

Time to make a new plan.

}i{

The mock test went as well as any other non-mandatory but important for some reason. Well, the teachers found the mock test to be an important material review… Though admittedly some of the students don't take these seriously and sometimes flunk them on purpose.

Anyway, the mock test came and went without a hitch or any sort of trouble. Miss Bustier was able to grade her class's test when they were with Ms Mendeleiev for the regular classes.

The redheaded teacher sighed when she used a red pen to circle a 0 on the last sheet of test papers with a frown. Caline knew that Max could give her the exact odds of someone getting a Zero on any 'multichoice' type of test, but even she knew that it was damn near impossible to get a zero on those kinds of tests even if someone were to randomly bubble in all the answers unless it WAS on purpose. The redheaded teacher just didn't expect THIS student to be the one to do such a thing. She then wrote on the paper in that same red pen above the name written on it, "Lila, this is no longer funny. I told you to take this test as serious as you would any other test and you purposely failed it. You are currently the furthest behind in schoolwork, and this particular test was to gauge just how far behind you are. Therefore, I have no choice but to have your mother come in for a rather long parent/teacher meeting to talk about maybe holding you back a year or even have summer school."

Caline huffed as clicked the pen and placed it back in the nice little pen holder she got from one of her students for her birthday. She was not the least bit amused by this, not at all. Caline took a deep breath, to calm herself down. In all honesty, she was hoping that M. Damocles' plan to get Mrs Rossi in for a parent/teacher conference works since it was clear that the contact info was completely fake. 'What Lila needs is a nice serious consequence for all her actions,' Miss Bustier thought as she straightened out the test papers before placing them in the top left-side drawer and then locked it. She'll hand them out tomorrow as scheduled. Caline then placed the answer sheet in the top right-side drawer and just closed it.

The mock test was over and all the papers were graded so there was no need to lock up the answer sheets.

Miss Bustier stood up, stretched, and then left her classroom to get something to eat and maybe talk to M. Damocles about his plan. More so that they were on the same page and that there weren't any surprises.

}{ 30 Minutes Later }{

After having told the PE teacher that she needed to use the restroom, Lila immediately hustled towards Miss Bustier's classroom. She knew that everyone would be in their respective class so no one would notice her. She smirked as she strode into the room and went to the teacher's desk.

Lila opened the top drawer on the right and almost had a maniacal grin on her face when she saw the test answers on top of all the other items inside. 'Wow! This teacher is just too trusting as well as being gullible!' the liar thought as she practically snatched the sheet of paper before shoving the drawer closed, not realising that the drawer didn't close all the way due to the force. She was going to plant the answer sheets in Marinette's bag right away, but the bluette currently had her bag with her so that had to wait. Lila quickly folded the paper in fourths before shoving it in her pocket and exiting the classroom to head back to PE, not noticing that a security camera was aimed right at the classroom she was just in.

She almost had trouble controlling her giddiness when she came back. Her perfect plan was smoothly coming into place, as expected.

}i{ After School Hours }i{

Caline felt a lot better. The Headmaster's new plan was reasonable and easy to initiate. It should be put into effect tomorrow morning. Hopefully, the end result would be Mrs Rossi coming in for a long-overdue parent/teacher meeting regarding her daughter's behaviours and future schooling since Lila had a whole lot of legal issues to deal with. Miss Bustier sat in her chair to gather her belongings to head home. That was when she noticed that the top left-side drawer wasn't closed all the way. 'But I'm sure it closed,' Caline thought before she quickly opened the drawer. She gasped out when she saw that the answer sheet wasn't where she put it.

Someone broke into her desk! And stole the answer sheet for the mock test! Caline paused when she realised, 'A test that I have already graded…' That didn't make any sense. The redheaded teacher folded her arms as she stared at the open drawer. Since Miss Bustier already graded her mock test WITH the answer sheet in hand, that means that the answer sheet was stolen AFTER the test was given… 'Why would anyone steal the answers to a completed test, and a mock one nonetheless…' Caline thought as she placed a hand to her chin.

She needed to talk to the other staff about this…

~}i{ The Next Morning }i{~

Fred Haprèle was waiting outside the Police Department, waiting with the officer that would be accompanying him when he had to confront Mrs Rossi. The officer was mostly there to explain the legal trouble Lila was in so the mother thoroughly understood the severity of it. The school had two addresses in Lila's school files. The home address of the Rossis and Mrs Rossi's work address. 'But with all the lies and manipulations, I have doubts that these are even accurate,' Fred thought as he looked at the two addresses and underneath the two was a note to look up the Italian Embassy's address if the addresses above turn out to be false and ask if they have an employee by the surname of Rossi. 'Well, I guess this will be Ms Rossi's final chance of honesty. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if she fails,' the part-time teacher thought as he quickly skimmed through all the accumulated evidence against the Italian student. Fred couldn't help but cringe at the sheer amount of offences. 'Does this child not have a conscience?' Fred couldn't help but wonder.

"Mr Haprèle?" Officer Roger asked as he walked over to the part-time teacher. When Fred nodded the two went off towards the first address, the residence of the Rossis.

}i{ At Dupont That Very Moment }i{

Lila smirked as she left the locker room. Her "evidence" was in place to be easily discovered by the teachers once she claimed thievery, again not noticing the security camera that was aiming at the entrance of the locker room. 'Now all that's left to do is sneak the answer sheet into that goody-goody's bag,' Lila thought smugly as she slipped a note into Miss Bustier's message box. The liar smirked as she turned to head to class when she thought, 'Honesty, I think the only thing that would actually be a challenge in this would be trying to hide my joy when my perfect plan succeeds.'

Lila smirked when she saw Marinette coming into view, then frowned when she saw that she was coming in with Adrien. But then thought that after today the model would be hers. Lila smirked as she quickly moved to "Accidentally" bump into Marinette. Once she did, she smoothly slid the answer sheet into the bluette's bag without notice. It annoyed Lila that Adrien was quick to be by Marinette's side to ask if she was okay. But the liar quickly spun the whole "collision" as a complete accident despite the feeling. Once she heard her classmates buying that, she told them that she'll see everyone in the class and then sauntered off, already internally patting herself on the back for a successful accomplishment of the bluette's complete downfall.

The moment Lila was out of range, Alya stated, "She did that on purpose, didn't she." The others nodded in agreement at this.

That was when Adrien couldn't help but say, "I'm not sure if it's me, but… Did she seem a little… Too happy that we all "Bought" that whole "Accident" claim? I mean, she almost skipped away."

Something was up…

Marinette quickly looked over her clothes first. No tares or liquid splatters, so that's in the clear. The bluette quickly checked the pockets of her jacket and slacks. Only her phone was in them, thankfully. She looked in her purse to see Tikki hiding, her wallet, some wrapped candy for her and the Kwami, house keys, a small sewing kit, and her pocket mirror. All items were nice and organised in the handmade organiser so Tikki had enough space to be comfortable while keeping the important stuff in easy reach for her. "All my important belongings are where they should be. Okay, that only meant that Lila didn't pickpocket me… She obviously couldn't take anything out of my bag since it would have been noticed." Marinette then glanced towards Miss Bustier's classroom when she asked out loud, "So if she didn't take anything from me, why was she so giddy?"

Everyone glanced at each other before shrugging, agreed to keep an eye on Lila, and then started heading to class. However, one of them paused when they noticed Miss Bustier reading a letter from her message box with a critical eye. This student quietly walked towards the teacher, making sure to keep out of sight while doing so.

"So, that's the story," Miss Bustier said in an uncharacteristically stern tone that made the student shutter. That was already not a good sign. The redheaded teacher let out a huff when she added as if she knew what was going on, "Framing Marinette for theft and cheating, huh, Little "Ms Anonymous". Well, I'm not going to do things the way you were clearly planning for." The student ducked out of sight as Miss Bustier made a beeline towards Ms Mendeleiev's classroom.

The student poked their head out of their hiding spot when they thought, 'Frame Marinette for theft and cheating? Ms Anonymous?' After quickly putting the facts together, the student thought in shock, 'Oh Crap! That's what Lila did!'

}{ 5 Minutes Later }{

"Ms Dupain-Cheng," Ms Mendeleiev said as she walked into Miss Bustier's classroom.

"Yes?" Marinette asked, wondering why the science teacher was asking for her.

Ms Mendeleiev nodded before saying, "There's a slight clothing emergency in my classroom and since I know you always carry around a sewing kit and know how to use it, would you mind helping out quickly?"

Marinette blinked in confusion a few times before saying, "Uh, sure. How bad?"

Ms Mendeleiev motioned for the bluette to hurry when she said, "Not too bad, but it's causing a fuss. So I would like you to be quick about it so we can get back to the lesson plan." While Marinette was still a little confused, she grabbed her bag and followed the science teacher out of the class.

Adrien gave a slightly exaggerated, dreamy sigh when he said, "Isn't it great! Even the ever logical science teacher of Dupont recognizes Mari's talent." He knew he was playing it up a bit, but it was all in good fun and to cheer up the class a little bit. Nath rolled his eyes as he playfully nudged the model with his shoulder as (almost) all the rest of the class chuckled/giggled. Adrien only smiled at this, glad that his idea was working.

Lila only smirks, thinking that they're going to be singing a different tune so very soon. This did not go unnoticed by Nino (since he's her seatmate), whose suspicion about what she could be planning was growing.

}{ A Minute Later }{

A pale Marinette could only stare in utter shock and disbelief at the answer sheet in Miss Bustier's hand. An answer sheet that was certainly NOT in her bag when she packed it earlier when she was home.

Miss Bustier watched the bluette's reaction before saying in a rather serious tone, "Seems like I was right. This was planted in your bag." She carefully handed the piece of paper to Ms Mendeleiev, who was now wearing a pair of latex gloves. The science teacher carefully took the paper by the edge before bringing it to her desk. The strict science teacher then proceeded to pull out a fingerprinting kit and started dusting the paper when Miss Bustier asked the still shocked bluette, "Answer me honestly, was your bag ever out of your sight?"

Marinette could not trust her voice right now, so she only shook her head in response.

Miss Bustier thought carefully before asking, "Did anyone get close enough to possibly sneak something into your bag?"

That was when Marinette realised what happened earlier. The bluette growled when she snapped, "So THAT'S why she was so giddy!" Marinette then proceeded to explain what happened before she arrived in the classroom and wondered why Lila seemed so happy despite not taking anything from her.

Miss Bustier folded her arms when she said, "Well now, that's just adding more to the rather long list of things I need to talk to Mrs Rossi about. And to clarify, I know for sure that none of my students touched that sheet, so if Lila's fingerprints are indeed on that, then she was the one who stole it out of my desk after the test."

That was when Marinette realised that all of the redheaded teacher's words pointed at the sheets being planted on her when she said, "Oh, so that's why you're sure I didn't take the answer sheet."

Miss Bustier then pulled out the note she found in her message box when she said, "Since I used the answer sheet to grade the papers AFTER the test, it confirms that they couldn't have been used DURING the test. Therefore this "anonymous person" claiming that they "witnessed you stealing the answer sheet before the test" is not only a false testimony but also added to the framing aspect of this ordeal. It also proved that "Ms Anonymous" was the one who stole the answer sheet out of my desk."

"Ms Anonymous?" Marinette questioned before realising what was going on.

Lila… Was trying to frame her for stealing the test answer AND then using it to cheat… … … … … How can Marinette NOT be rightfully enraged at this?

"The windows are completely locked, Caline. Just make sure you lock the door on your way out, and I have plenty of containment objects here just in case a pesky little Akuma gets in," Ms Mendeleiev said, not looking up from what she was doing. Miss Bustier nodded before she left the classroom, making sure that the door was firmly shut before locking it closed. That was when the science teacher told the bluette as she carefully lifted the now visible fingerprints off with clear tape, "Ms Dupain-Cheng, the items you might need to let out your frustration and anger are in the closet marked with a Yin-Yang symbol."

Marinette quickly went to the marked closet, opened it, and saw that it was neatly stocked with foam pillows, comfy blankets, stress relief balls, and one of those standing punching bags. Leave it to Ms Mendeleiev to think of ways to release stress and anger in the logical sense. Marinette quickly pulled out the punching bag, stood it up so it wouldn't hit anything if knocked over, and just started beating on it.

}i{ Hawkmoth's Lair }i{

The circular window opened, causing the white butterflies to scatter at the sudden flow of light.

Hawkmoth cackled maniacally when he got out in utter excitement, "Yes! Yes! Finally! Ms Dupain-Cheng is filled with so much rage, and rightfully so~. Oh ho ho! She will be my masterpiece and will get me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous!" He held out a hand for a white butterfly to land on. Once it did, the villain covered it with his other hand and focused the negative energy on it. The butterfly turned black with a purple highlight. The corrupted butterfly then took off when Hawkmoth said with evil glee, "Fly away my horrible little Akuma and darken their hearts!" (2). He already had a nice power set for this so very creative individual that she can use to the fullest to defeat the heroes.

With that, the Akuma flew out the small opening of the round window made for the butterflies towards its target.

}{ Dupont }{

Miss Bustier walked into her classroom with that serious look still on her face. It made the whole class uneasy. Well, all but one.

Miss Bustier stood in front of her desk when she stated in a tone that could easily rival Ms Mendeleiev's no-nonsense one, "Class, I have some troubling news regarding the mock test we had yesterday." The class murmured a bit at this, except for Lila who was well aware of the situation. Miss Bustier folded her arms when she said in that same tone while keeping a critical eye on her students, "The answer sheets to the mock test were stolen out of my desk."

'That's it! All according to plan, as expected!' Lila thought in an evil glee in her eyes, something Nino did notice.

Miss Bustier continued, not changing that tone, "And this morning I found an "Anonymous" note in my teacher's message box "claiming" that they saw one of my students stealing the answer sheet before the test." The classes couldn't hide their dismay at this!

One of them! Cheating! Not even if hell froze over! Especially on a mock test!

Well, except for Lila who was thinking, 'That's it, now just announce that it was that goody-goody and say just how disappointed you are in her!' She wasn't hiding her glee as well as she thought she was, because Nino noticed and was wondering if she was either some kind of sadist or had a hand in whatever this was…

'Wait a second… Oh, Shit!' Nino thought as he subtly scooted away from Lila. Now he realised what she had done. 'That little lying bitch! THAT'S why she was so giddy!' Nino thought in horror as the teacher continued.

"However," Miss Bustier stated with no change to her tone or facial expression. She then added as her eyes narrowed dangerously, "I am quite sure that this "Anonymous" person is the one to steal the answer sheet from my desk and then plant it in the bag of the individual that they're accusing."

'YES!' Lila thought in glee before the teacher's words sunk in and then her thoughts were, 'Wait! WHAT!' Her eyes widened in pure shock at the realisation that the teacher wasn't following the perfect plan that she created. 'How did she? She's supposed to believe that that goody-goody stole the answer sheet to cheat!' Lila fumes as the other student yammered in confusion, asking the teacher what happened and why she would think that.

That was when Miss Bustier explained that she graded the mock tests as soon as they left the classroom with the answer sheet in hand. Therefore the answer sheet was stolen out of the teacher's desk long after the test had happened. So when the note appeared in her box "claiming" that they "saw this student stealing the answer sheet before the test", Miss Bustier finally understood why the answer sheet was stolen.

Miss Bustier's eyes scanned the class when she stated in an icy tone, "I know who stole the answer sheet and now I know why. Quite frankly, I am truly and utterly appalled by this scheme to discredit a fellow student." Her eyes narrowed when she stated in that no-nonsense tone, "However, I am willing to offer one last chance for this individual to come clean on their own accord, privately if you want, before all the evidence comes in and solidifies your guilt, I will be willing to negotiate that you get detention until you graduate and a note on your permanent record of you being untrustworthy. But if you do not come forward by the time that happens, your parents or legal guardian WILL be contacted and WILL be coming here to discuss proper consequences. Legal consequences. The Principal has already been notified."

Adrien was utterly and completely shocked that a fellow student would do such a thing! And purposefully! 'What kind of person would do something like that?!' was what the blonde model thought before remembering that Marinette still hasn't returned from fixing the clothing emergency. 'Wait…' Adrien thought as he thought about the whole thing. Marinette was asked to leave with the science teacher before class started, then Miss Bustier comes in and announces that someone stole the answer sheets to the mock test the day before, and then the teacher explains that the answer sheet was planted in to frame a student long after the test was finished… Adrien paled the moment he put the facts together… 'Someone… Was… Attempting to frame Marinette of stealing and cheating…' the blonde thought in horror. Someone was trying to frame his lady as something she was most certainly not!

'Wait…' Adrien thought suspiciously as he slowly turned his head towards Lila. Nino noticed the blonde model's gaze before he flicked his eyes at the liar and then back at him. Adrien gave a slight nod that Nino responded with a subtle hand sign that told him that he agreed.

Soon Miss Bustier started the class, but not in her usual chipper character.

The class felt their phones quietly vibrate a few seconds later. They carefully checked the message that they received.

}i{ Miss B's Chat Group }i{

Ladyblogger: OMFG! LILA PLANTED THE ANSWER SHEET IN MARI'S BAG! THAT'S WHY SHE WAS SO GIDDY AFTER COLLIDING WITH HER! SHE F-ING THOUGHT THAT HER FRAME PLAN WOULD WORK!

}i{ Classroom }i{

Everyone quickly glanced at Alya, who was currently glaring daggers at the liar (which made the class glad that Lila was sitting in the front of the class), with her phone in hand. Nino knew he couldn't be seen on his phone, since he certainly didn't want Lila reading the texts over his shoulder, so he carefully signalled his girlfriends that he couldn't look at the Class Chat. Alya saw the signal and quickly shot another text.

}i{ Miss B's Chat Group }i{

Ladyblogger: Since Nino is that liar's seatmate, he can't be on his cell run.

}i{

That class quickly glanced up at the teacher before texting quietly.

}i{ Miss B's Chat Group }i{

Sunshine: I'm going to murder that liar! She tried to frame MY Princess!

Poison Ivy: Count me in!

Gothic Girlfriend: Ditto.

Rollersnake: I have ropes we can use!

Ladyblogger: Hey! Sign me up! Bitch isn't getting away with this!

LB Artist: I know some creative methods of torture.

Tiny Actress: …

Teddy Bear: …

Anything's Possible: I can't believe I'm being the voice of reason in this, but guys this is getting a bit out of hand.

Queen Bee: Wow, just, wow…

Teenage Witch: Uhh, guys…

Sunshine: Sabrina, don't try to stop us!

Teenage Witch: What if I told you that murder might not be needed?

Queen Bee: Explain.

Teenage Witch: Miss Bustier said that she KNEW who was framing Marinette and had solid EVIDENCE to prove it.

Queen Bee: Ah, the power of wording! Looks like Lila is going to get her due this time around!

Sunshine: … Can we still murder her if she tries to lie her way out of it?

Anything's Possible: … Adrien, you're scaring me.

Anything's Possible: Because we KNOW she's going to try to lie her way out of this.

Sunshine: Pur-cisely!

Queen Bee: I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm agreeing with Kim on this, Adrikins.

Sunshine: Can you blame me?

Tiny Actress: No, but I think the murder thing is a little much.

Teddy Bear: And a little out of character.

Sunshine: Ah, sorry…

Sunshine: I just want that liar to pay for what she tried to do to Mari!

Teenage Witch: Well, it seems like Lila isn't going to get out of this unscathed even if she DOES "admit" to her misdeeds, and I'm pretty sure it'll be worse for her if she tries to lie her way out of this.

Queen Bee: That is if Lie-la follows the rules.

Anything's Possible: I heard the principal had a plan to get Mrs Rossi in today, so hopefully, she does and Lie-la has to take the consequences. All of the consequences.

LB Artist: Considering that the email and phone number on file are fake, how is the school going to get in contact with Mrs Rossi?

Anything's Possible: The addresses on file and then the police do some kind of citizen search if the addresses are also fake.

LB Artist: Not a bad plan. Honestly, I hope it works.

}i{ Class }i{

That was when M. Damocles walked in and told the class that he would be doing some interrogations.

Lila frowned, 'Damn it! I can't believe my plan failed!' That was when she realised, 'But, only the first part…' She couldn't help but smirk. Again, Nino noticed and wasn't liking what that was implying.

}i{ Meanwhile }i{

Marinette slumped to the ground, finally exhausted all her anger. Mind you she was still upset, but she was in control.

Ms Mendeleiev draped a blanket over the bluette's shoulders, before sitting next to her, and asking, "Would it be alright with you to talk about this whole thing?"

Marinette huffed when she said, "There isn't much I can say that you probably already know about…" The bluette rubbed her face when she said, "At least everyone isn't assuming that it's my dislike of liars."

Ms Mendeleiev then said as calmly as possible, "Ms Dupain-Cheng, given what has happened so far with Ms Rossi, this issue has far since superseded what happened in the past." The science teacher took a deep breath before asking, "Is there anything that happened between you and Miss Rossi that you hadn't already told the people you trust?"

Marinette sighed before finally admitting to someone other than Adrien about what really happened between her and the liar. How Lila threatened to turn her class against her a week after the liar returned after her "two-month trip". The bluette told the science teacher the whole restroom confrontation. Why the liar initially confronted her, the lie she tried to use to break her and Adrien up, the argument where she tried to "convince" the liar that she was mistaken, then the fact that the liar refused to lighten up on the "the class think you're using Adrien to further your career" lie caused her to snap and reveal that she knew that Lila was lying the entire time, and then the whole real character reveal when she was trying to find a medium about the lies. "I was just trying to set some boundaries on what she shouldn't lie about! Namely lying about my friends, trying to break me and Adrien up, and to just be cordial," Marinette got out in annoyance before growling out, "Urg! She told me that I was "only slightly smarter than the others"! GRR! She just saw everyone as pawns for her to use for her pleasure!" Ms Mendeleiev was calm during this hold thing when she placed a hand on the bluette's shoulder and asked if that was all. Marinette nodded when she said, "Believe it or not, but that's pretty much it… I guess when the class named Lie-la's rage when being called out on her lies a "Hate Trigger" couldn't be more right." The bluette sighed as she gripped the blanket tighter.

Ms Mendeleiev raised a brow at the notion when she said, trying to put the facts together, "It seems like Ms Rossi has quite an issue with having her lies revealed, no matter how small the lie is…" That was when the science teacher felt her phone vibrate. 'Odd, who would text me during school hours?' Ms Mendeleiev thought as she pulled her phone out to check who it was.

}{ Teacher's Chat }{

The Owl!: Sy-Fy, I have a question that you need to answer.

}{ Science Class }{

Ms Mendeleiev raised a brow at the text.

"What's wrong?" Marinette asked when she saw the look on the science teacher's face.

Ms Mendeleiev said as she texted back, "Not sure, but Damocles seems to have an inquiry."

}{ Teacher's Chat }{

Sy-Fy: I'm currently with Ms Dupain-Cheng. She's pretty upset that "someone" tried to frame her.

The Owl!: That's who I wanted to ask about.

Sy-Fy: Hm? Explain.

The Owl!: The day before Caline's mock test, after classes were done, you asked her about doing a commission, right?

Sy-Fy: I did.

The Owl!: So she was with you between 15:00 and 16:00?

Sy-Fy: Yes, she was. Why are you asking?

The Owl!: Did she step out of your classroom at any time?

Sy-Fy: No, we were talking about the commission the whole time to get all the details in. Again, why are you asking?

}i{ Outside the Principal's Office }i{

M. Damocles' eyes narrowed at the answer he'd just received before glancing in the slightly open door to his office to see the back of a hunched Lila Rossi sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

What the principal could not see was that Lila was smirking smugly.

M. Damocles' eyes narrowed in suspicion at the liar before replying to the text.

}{ Teacher's Chat }{

The Owl!: Can you bring Ms Dupain-Cheng to her locker? Don't open it right away, inspect the door first for any tampering.

Sy-Fy: You're not answering my questions.

The Owl!: I apologise, but I need to make sure that your actions are unbiased.

Sy-Fy: Unbiased for what?

The Owl!: If my suspicions are correct… I think you'll find out soon enough…

The Owl!: Text me when you find during the inspection.

Sy-Fy: Is there a reason why you're keeping me, of all people, in the dark?

The Owl!: Yes, but again, I need to have an unbiased eye during this.

Sy-Fy: … … Fine.

The Owl!: Thanks.

The Owl!: While I'm thinking about it, would you check the school's security feed after you finish with Ms Dupain-Cheng's locker? I have a sneaking suspicion that we're going to need those later.

Sy-Fy: You forgot the password to the Security Program again, huh.

The Owl!: I… Might have…

Sy-Fy: Seriously, how can you create computer codes, run them, and run computer algorithms, but can not seem to remember a password to the Security Program?

The Owl!: I haven't the foggiest…

}{ Science Classroom }{

Ms Mendeleiev tapped her phone to her chin before she told the bluette, "M Damocles seems to have some kind of suspicion that involves your locker…"

Marinette raised a brow when she asked, "My locker? Why?"

Ms Mendeleiev pocketed her phone as the two stood up and said, "Not sure. He asked to inspect the exterior of your locker before we examine the interior." The science teacher thought about it for a bit before asking the bluette, "You've had problems with people breaking into your locker before, correct?"

"Yes," Marinette said almost immediately. She then replied more thoughtfully, "It used to be just Chloe in the past, you know before she worked on being a better person. I haven't kept any of my projects there since. But lately, I've noticed that the books I tend to keep in my locker have been moved or were in a different spot. I thought it might've been my imagination a few times, but… I left a little invisible trap, you know something that's hard to miss if you're not looking for it, to tell me if someone that wasn't me has been snooping in my locker." She draped the blanket on a nearby desk as she and the science teacher walked to the front of the class to leave.

Ms Mendeleiev picked up a clear glass container when she asked as she unlocked the door, "Did the trap trip?"

Marinette nodded as they walked out of the science classroom when she said, "It did." That was when the bluette realised, "Oh! I asked Max if I could borrow a micro, motion-activated camera so I can catch the person breaking into my locker!" Ms Mendeleiev paused in her movements when she asked when the camera was installed. "Two weeks ago, I haven't gone through the footage since my little trap hasn't been tripped recently," Marinette said, stopping to keep up with the teacher.

Ms Mendeleiev couldn't suppress a smirk when she said as she started walking, "I believe I know what M. Damocles is looking for and what we might find in your locker." Marinette was still a little confused as she followed the science teacher.

}i{

The Akuma slowed in its speed, unsure where to go since the anger it was honed on withered enough so it couldn't be sensed.

Hawkmoth was cursing up a storm. He thought he finally had the perfect opportunity to Akumatize Marinette Dupain-Cheng! But yet again, the girl eluded his grasp. However, he was aware that the bluette should be at school, so he directed the Akuma to head towards Dupont to wait for the perfect opportunity to possess her.

~}i{ Elsewhere }i{~

Fred huffed as he ran a pen over the "work address" of Mrs Rossi, annoyed but not surprised. Lila had completely falsified all of her contact information. Roger was currently having a nice little rant moment over the legal trouble that this teen was in. Fred was just utterly appalled by Lila's actions regarding her contact information. The part-time teacher couldn't help but think, 'Honestly, if something bad had happened to her at school, we wouldn't be able to get in touch with ANY of her relatives to let them know what happened.' After Roger calmed down, they moved on.

Soon, the two arrived at the Italian Embassy with minimum trouble. Must have helped that one was a police officer. They walked up to the front desk and Fred asked the receptionist, "Excuse me, but do you mind if we ask you a few questions? It won't take long."

The receptionist glanced between the part-time teacher and the police officer before saying, "I suppose if it's not going to take long and it doesn't have to do with the personal lives of our staff, then it should be fine."

Fred nodded before asking, "Do you have an employee by the surname of Rossi?"

The receptionist raised a brow before glancing at Roger and asking, "Is that why you have an officer with you? Someone wishes to pursue legal action against the Embassy?"

Fred and Roger blinked in confusion before the part-time teacher asked in confusion, "I'm sorry, why would you think that we would want to do that?"

It was the receptionist's turn to blink in confusion. They then asked with a brow raised in suspicion when they asked, "If you aren't here for that, then why are you asking for Signora Rossi?"

The actor/part-time teacher placed a hand to his chest when he said, "My name is Fred Haprèle, and I am a staff member of Collège Françoise Dupont, the school Signora Rossi's daughter attends." The still confused receptionist asked why they didn't just call Signora Rossi instead of coming to the Embassy in person. Fred said as calmly and politely as possible, "Unfortunately, that's one of the many reasons why I am here. We believe the phone numbers and email we have for her on file were… Altered without her knowledge." Fred took a deep breath when he added, "Up until recently, we believed that we were in contact with Signora Rossi. However, certain events brought to light that we all were misled about who we were corresponding with."

The receptionist shook their head slowly in confusion when they said, "That's odd… I distinctly remember Signora Rossi telling me that she was worried about her daughter's schooling because it was closed so frequently and that she wished that the school would get in contact with her."

Fred and Roger looked at each other at this. The officer was clearly surprised by what he heard while the part-time teacher had a more 'I-thought-as-much' look. That was when Roger stated with that look still on his face, "We can assure you, Dupont has not been closed for any extended period!" When the receptionist asked how he would know, the officer stated as he regained his composure, "My daughter is also a student at Dupont, and I haven't heard anything about the school being closed via email or phone calls they send out."

That was when Fred added in as he folded his arms, "Per school guidelines in regards to school events, emergencies, and confirming absences. Provided we have the correct information regarding the parents or legal guardians of our students." He then stated as calmly as possible, "Again, the inaccurate contact information for Lila Rossi is only a part of why I am here."

That was when the receptionist looked at Roger and then asked with a raised brow, "If you are here on behalf of the school, then why do you have a police officer with you?"

Fred glanced at Roger before stating, "He's here because the majority of the reasons involve some serious legal issues that might need to be explained. Two of them being truancy and falsifying documents." The receptionist let out a shocked 'excuse me?!' before asking what that was about. That was when Fred explained, "The person we originally thought to be Signora Rossi via email and phone calls was Lila posing as her mother to confirm any "travels" and "ailments" she had during the school year."

The receptionist was utterly dumbfounded by this information. "Oh!" they finally vocalized before adding, "Oh! That! That certainly is serious!" They then picked up the phone on the desk and stated as they dialled an extension number, "I'll let Signora Rossi know she has important visitors, and that she might want to take the rest of the day, or possibly the week off."

~}i{ Dupont }i{~

Lila was slowly losing patients, she's been sitting in the principal's office with that owl-obsessed man for 15 whole minutes and no one has come in to tell her that they found her "heirloom necklace" in Marinette's locker. 'Arg! What is taking them so long? My face is starting to hurt from keeping it in this emotion!' Lila thought as she lowered her head to let her face rest from keeping it in the "pity me" expression up for such a long time.

M. Damocles kept a watchful eye on the student before him. The hero enthusiast couldn't help but feel as if something was off about her. Something about how she was trying to keep one solid emotion on her face seemed… Planned… That was when his phone's screen lit up in an alert without making a sound. The principal quietly checked the alert.

}{ Teacher's Chat }{

Sy-Fy: Did Ms Rossi accuse Ms Dupain-Cheng of stealing her necklace?

}{

M. Damocles narrowed his eyes when he read the text before glancing at Lila quickly and then back to the phone. The principal quickly and quietly texts his response.

}i{ Teacher's Chat }{

The Owl!: Ms Rossi "claimed," that Ms Dupain-Cheng stole her heirloom necklace the day before the mock test and thought that accusing her of "cheating" was her only option to have the "thievery" revealed.

Sy-Fy: … Even if that was true, which I seriously doubt by this point. Wouldn't it be less of a hassle and more to the point to just straight up tell a teacher "when it happened" so that a proper investigation can happen? Because this whole "stealing the answer sheet to a mock test to frame a student she dislikes" severely backfired on her and it is CERTAINLY going to be marked on her permanent record.

The Owl!: Funny you should mention it, I happened to ask her that. Minus the "student she dislikes" part. Do you want to know what she told me as to why she didn't?

The Owl!: She "thought" we wouldn't believe her since Ms Dupain-Cheng "gloated that she had the entire staff wrapped around her finger".

Sy-Fy: …

Sy-Fy: Please tell me you are attempting to make a joke to lighten the mood…

The Owl!: Sadly, I am not.

The Owl!: Obviously, I didn't believe that.

The Owl!: While Ms Dupain-Cheng is a favourite student among the teachers, she doesn't flaunt it or even uses it to her advantage. Don't think the thought ever even occurred to her, to be honest.

Sy-Fy: … … I would ask if Ms Rossi honestly thought she could goad us into following her ploy, but I'm sure she did.

The Owl!: Apparently.

The Owl!: So the necklace you found, where was it?

Sy-Fy: In Ms Dupain-Cheng's locker, it seems to have been purposely placed so it would fall out of the locker when the door was opened. Quite a coincidence, don't you think?

The Owl!: I figured as much.

Sy-Fy: You mentioned that the necklace was an "Heirloom", correct?

The Owl!: Yes, Ms Rossi claimed her grandmother had it in her family for generations and that she finally inherited it. Why?

Sy-Fy: … The necklace is probably a maximum of a year old.

The Owl!: How can you tell? And so quickly?

Sy-Fy: Unless Ms Rossi had a family member that had the name "Gabriel Brand" and has kept it in pristine condition for generations using some secret method, I'm certain the necklace isn't an heirloom.

The Owl!: Gabriel Brand?

The Owl!: Wait…

The Owl!: Oh! Ms Rossi is trying to pass off a necklace she got here in Paris as a priceless heirloom so we'd try to hurry through this whole thing w/o double-checking anything, huh.

Sy-Fy: Apparently. But so far it's only adding more to the severity of offences she has committed.

The Owl!: Seems like it.

Sy-Fy: This might be considered overkill, but Ms Dupain-Cheng had a hidden camera that caught whoever planted the necklace in her locker. Though I'm sure it'll only show us what we already know.

The Owl!: Given the situation and Ms Rossi's tendency to lie, I'd say there's no such thing as too much evidence.

Sy-Fy: Way ahead of you.

}{

M. Damocles' eyes flicked up at Lila briefly before they focused on the papers on his desk. He picked up a pen and started writing the whole "stolen heirloom" thing down and what it was truly about. 'Honestly, what is wrong with this child?' the principal thought wondering what the real story behind all this animosity was since it seemed to him that all this was way too much just to be over a call out over a lie and a boy.

Lila was starting to think that something was up. 'Shit! Why isn't anything happening according to plan!?' Lila sheathed out in anger.

M. Damocles happened to glance up to see a rather interesting look on her face. "Is there something wrong, Ms Rossi?" he asked her in a tone that was peppered with suspicion.

Lila quickly realised that the principal was suspecting something. She needed to do something to throw that off her and try to find out why the hell her plans aren't working! Lila then wrapped her arms around her lower stomach when she got out in what she hoped sounded like a pained grunt, "Actually, I kinda need to use the restroom. I've been holding it in for a while and I don't think I can hold it anymore."

M. Damocles narrowed his eyes on this. While he was sure that she was lying to get out of his office, the implication that could happen if it were true wouldn't sit well with him. So he decided to set a time limit on this. M. Damocles told Lila in a serious tone, "I'll let you leave for the restroom, however, if you are not back in my office in 15 minutes you step out, you WILL be in worse trouble than you are already in. Understand, Ms Rossi?"

Lila let out a pained grunt when she said, "I understand, sir." She then slowly stood up and headed towards the door, all while trying to keep up the facade.

As soon as Lila closed the door when she left, the principal grumbled that he needed to find a way to remember the password to the Security Feed.

}{

The little Akuma slipped into the school. Its orders were to find Marinette Dupain-Cheng and try to possess her.

}{

Lila fumed as she walked down the hallway, trying to find that goody-goody and try to force her to admit "all her wrongdoings" to the staff. 'There has to be something I can use to make that stupid bluette pay!' The liar thought as she kept looking without letting anyone know that that was what she was doing. Lila cursed the idiots who didn't follow her plans!

That was when Lila noticed a black butterfly fluttering about, looking for something or someone.

Lila's mood immediately shifted into one of pure malicious glee. Excited that now she had a perfect opportunity to completely ruin that goody-goody's life for good!

Lila immediately rushed towards the Akuma, lept to catch it, and shoved the startled little creature into her earrings. The purple outline of a butterfly/moth appeared around her eyes like a mask as she smirked maniacally as the familiar feeling of the link appeared.

Hawkmoth: "Hey! What gi-"

Lila quickly interrupted the terrorist by saying, "Give me the appearance of that goody-goody so I can destroy her life!"

Hawkmoth: "I don't see why I should, Vulpina. Besides, you weren't who my Akuma was targeting." That was when he thought, 'Goody-goody? What is that supposed to mean?'

Lila let out a growl when she snapped, "So what! I am far superior to whoever you wanted. Just give me what I want!"

Hawkmoth: "I would disagree. You hardly managed to trick the heroes when you were Akumatized and you weren't even close to getting their Miraculous."

Lila growled when she snapped, "Not my fault those stupid heroes didn't think that I can be an amazing hero!"

Hawkmoth: "That sounds more like you overestimated your plan than the heroes."

Lila snarled, stomped her foot in anger when she snapped at the villain, "Just give me what I want!"

Hawkmoth: "Again, why should I?" He couldn't help but think, 'What is wrong with this child?'

Lila scoffed when she explained that the goody-goody deserved it for calling her out.

Hawkmoth: "... Wait, all this hate and animosity towards this "goody-goody" is over that?" He then thought, 'Oh goodness! There is no way I'm giving this child any type of powers if a reason like that is enough to earn her ire!'

Lila scoffed out, "No one calls me out unless they want their lives ruined."

Hawkmoth: "... Young lady, I'll admit I do things that would be considered dubious, but what you're doing is something that even I condone. I would also recommend that you schedule an appointment with a certified therapist as soon as possible and see them regularly. Now if you excuse me."

The Akuma released the item it was in and attempted to fly away, but Lila snatched it out of the air and shoved it back into her earrings. The purple outline appeared around the liar's eyes again.

Hawkmoth: "Listen, I am not helping-"

Lila then snapped, "Just make me look like that goody-goody so I can ruin her life and make Adrien mine!"

Hawkmoth: "For heaven's sakes! I am NOT giving you anything for your petty revenge! I have standards for my Akumas!" He then thought, 'I am willing to admit to using the Style Queen's pettiness for Akumas, but not this brat's pettiness! Especially on THAT level!'

Unbeknownst to Lila, she was being caught in the middle of this "conversation" by a certain student who saw Tikki and the security cameras nearby. 'Oh my! She's! She's actually conspiring with Hawkmoth!' this classmate thought in horror, but then realized that the terrorist didn't seem to want to work with her. 'Huh? Seems like Hawkmoth does have some standards on what is Akuma-worthy… I guess that's good… Maybe…' They thought as they kept watching the whole thing from where they were hiding.

That was when the classmate saw Lila growl out, "What is it about that annoying goody-goody that everyone likes?!" That was when Lila rolled her eyes before snapping, "Duh, wasn't I clear about that annoyance being a goody-goody?"

The classmate rolled their eyes when they thought, 'Given that you didn't call Marinette by her name once during your talk with Hawkmoth, not exactly.' That was when they realised, 'Wait! Hawkmoth wanted to Akumatized Marinette!?'

After a few more minutes of just watching Lila "negotiate" with Hawkmoth, much to the classmate's horror the terrorist seemed to finally agree to the liar's demands, with a few conditions it seems. Lila smirked with evil glee when she said, "Oh don't worry I don't need powers to accomplish this, and you can have that goody-goody to use as you please after I'm done with her." With that. A black ooze festered out of the earrings and engulfed Lila's body.

The classmate couldn't help but gasp at what they saw.

}{

A phone vibrated for an alert and the text was looked at. After the text was read, the owner of the phone exclaimed in shock, "WHAT THE HELL!? LILA WAS AKUMATIZED TO LOOK LIKE MARI!? WILLINGLY!?"

"Wait? WHAT!" the rest of the class exclaimed in shock. That was when Miss Bustier got a text from Ms Mendeleiev sending her the same alert since she's currently watching the security feed.

Sabrina's hands flew to her mouth when she got out, "Oh my God! Oh my God! She! She! She really did!" The orangette was completely shocked that her jinx came to reality.

Chloe held up her left index finger when she said as calmly as possible, "Hold up. Lie-la was willingly Akumatized to look like Marinette, right?" When everyone responded with a nod or a yes, the mayor's daughter then said as she laid out the facts, "So she accepted the Akuma, Akumatized into a Marinette look-alike on school grounds, where there are security cameras mounted practically everywhere but the restrooms, locker rooms, and inside closets…"

There was a moment of silence before Juleka suggested that Lila probably didn't know that the school has security cameras. Sabrina then added, "How? I mean, the school has it written in the Student's Handbook and was on the enrollment paperwork... Well, I guess she didn't read either if she doesn't know and the teachers don't talk about it a lot…"

Oooooooh, Wow. The schools are going to have a LOT of proof for the police when they get here.

}i{ With the Real Marinette }i{

The bluette practically raced out of the room Ms Mendeleiev was using to try to find a place to transform and get that Akuma before Lila ruined her! 'That sociopathic, spiteful, egotistical bitch!' Marinette sheathed in anger, not believing that the liar had sunk to a whole new level of low.

"Marinette!"

The bluette's head immediately snapped towards whoever called her, hoping that it wasn't because of the liar.

Max was running up to her with Markov flying close behind. The techy let out a breath of relief when he said, "Good! We found you before you left!" As Max got closer to Marinette, he asked, "Judging by the look on your face, I take it that you were with Ms Mendeleiev when you saw the security feed of Lila accepting the Akuma and turning into you."

Marinette let out an uncharacteristic growl when she said, "Yeah, and I would rather not get into a tyred about that while she's possibly going around the school to make me look bad!" She huffed when she added, "Well, we have the security feed to prove that it's her, but still…"

Max glanced at Markov before finally saying with a sigh, "Mari… I already alerted our class about Lila's current appearance, I even alerted the other classes. Uh, so if you're trying to convince me to leave to warn our friends so you can find a place to transform… It's not going to work, and it would be difficult to explain how Ladybug arrived long before the Akuma Alert is sent out."

Marinette stared at Max with wide eyes and a shocked expression on her face. When the realisation hit, she managed to get out, "Y-you w-were the one who saw Tikki!"

Max glanced to the side as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly when he admitted, "I… I saw how you and Adrien were making these subtle gestures that day… I also thought the timing of Lila leaving for the restroom after you left was a little too planned… I calculated a 79.256% chance of something happening so… I certainly didn't expect a reveal of Lila's true character or seeing that little fairy, uh, Tikki, right? …"

That was when Markov said, "As important as this conversation is, I believe the Akumatized Lila takes a higher priority right now."

Right, that did…

Marinette pointed a finger at Max when she said, "This conversation is not over." The techie nodded an 'Understood' before they all rushed off towards Miss Bustier's classroom.

}{

Akumatized Lila thought everything would've gone perfectly. All she had to do was go around being a complete jerk to everyone, break Adrinette up, and they will all blame the goody-goody for all of it. No one should've known that she was Akumatized to look like that goody-goody… 'So how the hell did they know?!' Akumatized Lila thought as she ran as fast as she could away from her classmates, who were chasing her down in anger for her antics.

One of the Akuma's brows twitched in annoyance when she thought back to when she tried to "break up with Adrien", how suspicious they seemed the moment she opened her mouth. The model was the most suspicious, especially with all his questions… Akumatized Lila growled when she thought, 'Seriously! It's like those idiots had planned for something like this!'

Suddenly! The Akuma collided with something, or rather, someone. Much to her dismay, Akumatized Lila ran right into the real Marinette.

"Lila! Of all the crap you pulled this is by far the worst!" Marinette snapped angrily when she saw her look-alike right in front of her.

The two bluette leapt to their feet before the fake physically attacked the real, much to everyone's dismay. It didn't take long before the entire school came out of their respective rooms to see what was happening. The two Marinettes were able to hold each other off, but the real one dropped her purse during the scuffle. Max quickly picked up the bag.

That was when Miss Bustier snapped, "That's enough!" Causing the Marinettes to pause in their actions. The redheaded teacher looked between the two bluettes. 'Shit! They could practically pass as identical twins!' Caline thought when she couldn't tell which one was Marinette and which one was the Akuma.

Miss Bustier's class tried their questions again to figure out which one was the real Marinette, but the fake would always attack the real every time she tried to answer and mixed the two up so no one would know who had just tried to speak.

But that was when Kim had an idea. "Hey Nino, you remember when we were kids and made plans when there was a takeover of look-alikes?"

Nino looked at the tall athlete with a raised brow when he said, "Dude, we were kids when we came up with that…" That was when he thought about it for a few seconds and realized, "Oh, the test for finding the real Mari is something we can still do."

Kim rubbed his hands together with an evil grin when he said, "Yup, and it'll also work as a punishment for the Fake for pulling this crap." Nino nodded with a 'Too true, Dude.' While Adrien asked what the test was.

The Marinattes couldn't help but glance at each other at this.

~}i{ Rossi Residence }i{~

Mrs Rossi opened the door and let Roger and Fred in when she said, "Make yourselves comfortable while I make some tea. Since school is over, Lila should be home soon… We can talk to her here before I bring her to school tomorrow for that overdue parent/teacher meeting…" She couldn't have felt more betrayed in her life. Her own daughter was doing so many terrible things at school on top of causing legal issues that had to get the police involved. 'How could Lila do this to me…' Mrs Rossi thought solemnly as she prepared the tea for the men.

Fred felt sorry about what he had to tell the mother. She seemed like a good person and was doing what she could to support her and her daughter, but… The woman needed to know, so she can at least put in some preparation for the eventual fallout. Fred took a deep breath before saying, "Signora, this question is off the books but I would still ask that you be honest. But how come you never checked anything Lila told you?"

Mrs Rossi placed the tray of tea down in front of the two when she said sadly, "That's the thing, I never thought that she could lie to that extent, or even about major things… And she always seemed reasonable when she told the lies" That was when the realisation hit her. She covered her face with her hands when she swore something in Italian before she got out, "Antonio! Lila told me that he was having an affair at work!"

Fred raised a brow when he asked, "He's your ex, right?"

Mrs Rossi nodded when she said, "Yeah… He was my husband, but… Lila… I can't believe that she… Lied to me about that! He loved her! How can she do that to him?!" Now that Mrs Rossi thought about it…

That was when Fred thought of something before he asked, "Signora, did your ex mention something about Lila's behaviour before her telling you those lies? Particularly regarding the schools she attended?" That was when a look of realisation appeared on Mrs Rossi's face.

Roger quickly asked, "Um, do you mind if I look through Ms Rossi's room while you talk? Before she returns. It's more to gauge how much of what she's done was pre-planned." When Mrs Rossi gave him permission and where her daughter's room was, the officer headed towards the room as the woman and Fred continued their conversation. Roger opened the door calmly to get a look at the room before entering.

The room seems to be messy, with things such as papers and textbooks on the ground, a zebra-striped bed in the corner with the poster that she used to fool Miss Bustier's class with. Each wall of her bedroom is painted a different colour, with magenta, purple, sky blue, and possibly black or dark purple. A single tall window is located on the pink wall, along with many masks. Next to that, on the sky blue wall is a poster of Achu. A small drawing of a person lies next to that, with her bed below. A dresser is located at the foot of her bed with many products. Her bedroom door is painted a light purple with colourful frames outlined in dark brown and pink with a white square inside. On the floor, there is a rectangular magenta rug with papers and notebooks scattered around it. There are also notebooks, papers, hats, blankets, textbooks, and blankets spread around the room. On the bed, was a zebra-striped comforter with two pink pillows. A lamp and a stuffed bear are also located on each side of her bed. In the end, there is a pink striped blanket dangling over the end with various items scattered around below. Lastly, a desk stood parallel to the bed that had a notebook and a pink pillow close to the edge of the desk.

'Why is this room so dark?' Roger thought before turning the lights on and brightening the room greatly. 'Much better,' the officer thought as he took a step into the room when he spotted the masks. 'Hmm, the masks are an odd interest, but it kind of fits with Ms Rossi's tendency for falsehoods,' Roger thought as he panned around the room. He frowned when he saw a dartboard with images of Ladybug and Marinette on it with darts stuck to them. 'That is also quite telling,' the officer thought before his eyes landed on a desk and the notebook on top of it. Roger walked over to the desk when he thought, 'Considering that all her other notebooks are on the ground, this one has to hold some value to Ms Rossi.' He slipped on a pair of latex gloves before he picked up the notebook and opened it to a random page. What he saw written inside made him freeze.

Written inside was nearly about Marinette Dupain-Cheng with a few pictures of her stapled to the pages. Roger can tell that the subject didn't know that her picture was being taken. Roger flipped through the pages, only to see more and more details about the bluette's daily life. The officer than just flipped through the notebook until he got to the last thing written inside. Roger's jaw dropped and his face paled at what he read. 'She! She! She planned a frame job!? On Ms Dupain-Cheng!?' The officer carefully reread what was written and released, 'Wait a second… Isn't that mock test today?' When he realised that that was true, he immediately thought, 'Shit! I need to tell Fred this so he can call the school!' He snapped the notebook close, keeping it tight in his grip since it was proof that Lila thoroughly planned to discredit a fellow student, and quickly turned to leave the room. Only to accidentally knock over the pillow propped on the desk, it landed on the ground with a metallic sound. "Huh?" Roger vocalised when he realised what he heard. He looked at the pillow with a confused look on his face. He knelt, tucked the notebook under his left arm, and picked up the pillow. The officer could feel the odd weight on the pillow as if there was something inside it. He carefully felt the pillow and found a small, rectangular shape inside. Roger then found the zipper, pulled it open, and then took out the object hidden inside.

'A cell phone?' Roger thought when he saw what he pulled out. He tapped on the screen to wake the phone up and saw that there were several missed calls from the same number and unopened emails. Roger narrowed his eyes when he saw this and thought back to the data Fred showed him. 'This has to be the cell Ms Rossi has been using to pose as her mother when the school called,' the officer thought before he stood up and left the room to tell the part-time teacher, so he can call the school and to add more to their quickly growing file.

~}i{ Dupont }i{~

The two Marinettes were sitting in chairs in front of a table with almost the entire school watching them like eagles, making sure neither made any suspicious moves. Currently, they were waiting for whatever test Nino and Kim had in store to find the real Marinette and simultaneously punish the fake, whatever it was.

Akumatized Lila knew she couldn't do anything right now, knowing full well that if she did anything it would out her as the fake. 'All I have to do is pass whatever test this is,' Lila thought as she glanced around the cafeteria. That was when the liar thought, 'Wait, did they even say what the test was?'

A few minutes later, Ms Mendeleiev walked into the cafeteria with a cup in each hand while Kim, Nino, and Adrien trailed behind her. Soon, the science teacher placed the two cups in front of the bluettes without a word. The cups were 3/4th of the way full with some kind of bubbly, green liquid.

The two Marinettes looked at the liquid in confusion when they asked, "What is it?" as they looked up at Ms Mendeleiev.

The science teacher smirked when she said, "Just something I cooked up in my class." She folded her arms when she added, "I made it for something else, but I believe it'll work to smoke out the fake while sparing the real one. All the two of you need to do is drink them."

The two Marinettes looked at the green liquid with a not so sure look on their faces.

Kim folded his arm when he said with a smug smile, "Here's the deal, ladies. Drink the stuff and we'll find out who the fake is, if one of you doesn't drink it then you're the fake, and if Ms Fake tried to bolt… Well, let's just say that you'll be at the bottom of a pile of Dupont students."

'He's bluffing,' the Akumatized Lila thought as she and the real Marinette picked up the crazy green drink. Both inspected the drink and sniffed it. The Akumatized individual thought, 'Strange, it smells like the candy coating on sweets…' That was when she realised, 'Oh, I see~, that goody-goody loves sweet stuff so she would enjoy this drink. I just need to pretend that I like the drink. Wow, that's a pretty dumb test. I mean, it'll be too easy to pass this.'

That was when the two took a large gulp of the drink. Which was a rather big mistake on the fake's part.

The fake dropped the cup as her lips pressed firmly together as her face also pinched together when she started visibly shaking. The fake then keeled over and collapsed to the ground as the overpowering flavour of the drink knocked her out.

Marinette finished off the drink before placing the cup down when she asked, "Okay, I finished the drink. Um, what's supposed to happen?" Nino smirked as he pointed to the Akuma laying on the ground, twitching occasionally. Marinette looked at the now unconscious fake when she vocalised, "Oh, wow! How powerful was this stuff?"

Ms Mendeleiev gave a proud smile when she said, "It's just a concentrated sour flavouring that I was working on." She looked at the Akuma on the ground when she added, "Though it seems like it might've been a little too concentrated for someone who can taste sour normally."

Adrien looked at Marinette when he said in amazement, "Wow, you really can't taste sour."

Marinette nodded when she said, "Nope. Not at all." She looked at the unconscious Akuma before adding, "Um, I think we need to tie her up before she wakes up… Maybe remove the Akumatized item while we're at it…"

A couple of minutes later, the Akumatized item was removed and destroyed, the Akuma was in the container that Ms Mendeleiev had on her, and Lila was tied securely to a chair. M Damocles was currently going through the security feed to add to the rather thick file for Lila Rossi that was eventually going to be given to the police once they arrived.

Alya couldn't help but talk to her boyfriend, athlete, and the bluette about the whole "test" that they used to find the fake. By this time Max gave Marinette her purse (with Tikki hiding inside). The explanation was pretty simple, Marinette was born with partial Ageusia (3) and wasn't able to taste anything sour. Something that was discovered in the 2nd grade when Marinette accidentally grabbed the batch of experimental sourdough buns instead of the regular one for her class, she was the only one who didn't know she was eating sourdough, or that it was sour enough to make the other kids in her class have fish faces. Although she did wonder why everyone was making such strange faces. Kim and Nino threw in how bizarre the whole thing was to the 2nd-grade class.

Soon, Roger and Fred returned to Dupont with a rather furious yet distraught Mrs Rossi and even more evidence against Lila… None of the other teachers or Miss Bustier's class was surprised that there was even more proof that Lila was stalking and actively planning to frame Marinette… What surprised them was the fact that Lila kept all this in a notebook in her room out in the open, where her mother could've easily found it… And the phone that Roger found hidden in a pillow did belong to Mrs Rossi, however, the mother told the part-time teacher and police officer that she lost the phone a little after she enrolled Lila at Dupont but claimed that she sent in the paperwork to update the contact information. When Fred asked if she sent the information in via email or if she had given the paperwork to Lila to bring in… The Italian lawyer paled when she realised what her daughter did and how she was able to keep her in the dark about school…

Miss Bustier's class felt sorry for the woman… It was clear that she loved her daughter and was doing what she could to provide for her… Yes, she seemed like she was a bit of a workaholic, but she tried to spend as much time as she could with her only child… The class did notice how Mrs Rossi glanced at Adrien though she didn't say anything. They assumed that Lila told her that he was her boyfriend or something along that line…

Roger told the school that he called in another officer, to help with taking Lila to juvie to await the eventual trial after all of the evidence is turned in for review. Which might take a while to go through in all honesty. Outside of Paris' boundaries to avoid Hawkmoth Akumatizing Lila…

As Lila came to, her mother quickly darted out of sight. Mrs Rossi was just so unsure about having to confront her daughter about all she has done, at least right now.

Lila blinked as she tried to remember what had transpired. When she did, that was when she noticed her whole class glaring at her. The liar glared back when she remembered that horrible test to practically smoke her out. "That was a nasty trick!" Lila snarled out.

Chloe scoffed when she said, "Oh, that's rich coming from you, Ms Fake." She then folded her arms when she added, "Especially after that stunt you tried to pull."

Lila, thinking that she still looked like Marinette, rolled her eyes when she got out in a snobbish tone, "So what. Did it ever occur to you brainless idiots that maybe that goody-goody isn't as nice and innocent as she seems?" This earned glares from the students of Dupont.

Adrien growled as he wrapped a protective arm around the real Marinette when he got out, "Funny, that description seems to fit you a helluva lot more."

"Adrien!" Nino got out in shock.

Adrien couldn't help but get out, "What? It's true, isn't it?"

Nino shook his head when he said, "Nah, that part is true. I was surprised about the foul language. Pretty sure your old man's not going to be happy about that." He more or less laughed that last part out. Adrien and Marinette glanced at each other before allowing themselves to let out a little laugh.

Lila glared before she snarled out, "Get Away From That! That! That Goody-Goody! You Belong to Me!"

That was when Marinette snapped back almost immediately, "How many times do I have to tell you?! Adrien is His Own Person! Not Some Trophy to be Owned!" She then growled out, "No one in this school is yours to play with!" Adrien quickly jumped into the argument, throwing in that he was not an object and didn't like being thought of as one.

That was when Lila snarled out, "Don't play that ploy with me! You're nothing compared to me! I'm the most amazing, prettiest, and smartest person here! I can do whatever I want and no one is allowed to go against that!"

Everyone could not suppress their glares when Marinette snapped back angrily, "Think all you want about yourself, but that does NOT give you the right to treat everyone like playthings!"

As the whole "Conversation" between the three happened, Mrs Rossi could only watch in horror as she watched her daughter act this way. Her body was paralyzed in shock at this reveal of the true nature of her daughter.

The longer this "conversation" went on, the more the people of Dupont thought it was a little weird just how much Lila was… Behaving like her real self rather than that farce that she uses, or even tries to pretend that she doesn't know what's going on like someone who just came out of an Akumazation… And right in front of everyone too… Hang on, did she think she was still Akumatized? Some of Miss Bustier's class glanced at each other at this, but Adrien didn't seem all that surprised if he was being honest.

That was when Miss Bustier finally told the two to stop talking before she said when she folded her arms, "Lila, enough! You are already in more legal trouble than Hawkmoth has Akumatized people since he started. Don't add more to that list."

Lila rolled her eyes with a scoff before she said, "Oh please, you gullible twit, did you just assume that I'm Lila just because that worthless goody-goody said that I was Lila. Honestly, I didn't think you were stupid on top of being gullible."

Miss Bustier, as well as the rest of the school, let out a gasp at this statement. Ms Mendeleiev placed her hands on her hips when she stated, "Well now, this is just one more thing to add to that rather large file of offences, most of those fall under legal trouble. Serious legal trouble, Ms Rossi."

Lila scoffed when she said, "Oh here I thought you were supposed to be the smart one of all these dimwitted teachers." This caused a lot of the students to scowl at that.

Ms Mendeleiev was unaffected by this when she folded her arms and stated with an unamused look on her face, "Hardly an insult from you. Especially when you consider all the rather… Oh, what's the best way to put it where there is no possible means of misunderstanding? Left copious amounts of evidence of your little Frame Job, one rather strong and compelling piece being the recordings from the schools' security cameras." The science teacher then motioned for Fred to show Lila the Akuma trapped in the jar, before she said, "And they caught you snatching the Akuma out of the air and placed it in your earrings. I'm sure the authorities would love to see that."

Lila paled when she saw the Akuma. Her eyes quickly darted down to see her clothing instead of Marinette's. The realisation that she practically exposed herself bulldozed into Lila's head faster than people start screaming when they realised that there was an Akuma.

Ivan folded his arms when he glared at Lila when he said in an eerily calm tone, "So, this whole time you've been here at Dupont, you've thought of us as idiots? Even after we were nice to you the entire time?"

Alya folded her arms when she added, "Given what she's been doing. Yeah, I'm pretty sure she did." This was making the blogger glad she made a private and non-professional blog that she can remove without much trouble, but that blog is going to have to be used as a rough timeline of Lila's Lies for the police. Alya couldn't help but think, 'Thank goodness I didn't believe her lies and made that fake blog or else my Ladyblog would've been in shambles."

Lila scoffed, realising that there was no longer a point in keeping up the facade, when she said, "Duh, you morons were just so gullible and easy to manipulate to do whatever I wanted. Except turning on that annoying goody-goody, that was the only annoying thing none of you would do! If you all had done that then I would've had to stoop to doing this! I would've been the queen of this school and Adrien would be mine if everything had gone according to my plans!"

This appalled everyone, Adrien especially. Ms Mendeleiev let out a stiff sniff when she said, "Don't try to blame others for your actions. Though, given what you've already done and tried to do, I doubt you'll even bother to learn that." The officer who Roger called walked in. The science teacher then said, "Which I'm sure isn't going to go over well once you have your day in court."

As Roger and the other officer took ahold of Lila, the liar snarled out, "I'll never see the inside of a stupid courtroom! My mother will make sure of that! And she'll sue all of you for defamation and wrongful accusations!"

Fred spotted Mrs Rossi peeking out from the corner she was hiding behind, but was still out of Lila's sight, when he asked, "And what makes you so sure that your mother would do such a thing?"

Lila smirked when she sneered out, "Because my gullible mother is my best pawn! She will never think I would ever do anything you claim that I've done! She'll make sure that this school is buried for trying to hurt her Precious Little Angel! And she'll make sure that all of you idiots live in poverty for the rest of your lives while you all pay me for your incompetency!"

To say that everyone was appalled by this was a literal understatement. None more appalled than Mrs Rossi…

The police took Lila away, out of the school, forced her into the police car, and drove off. It was assumed that they were heading to a juvie centre outside Paris…

Max stood next to Marinette and Adrien when he said, "I don't think that having Lila outside of Paris is necessary, given how reluctant Hawkmoth was to Akumatized her." The techy glanced at the bluette when he said, "The only reason he even agreed to work with Lila this time was that he wanted to Akumatize you, Mari. He must've locked onto your anger after you realised that Lila was trying to frame you and sent an Akuma…"

That was when Marinette realised that he was right when she got out softly, "Who wouldn't have been enraged over something like that?" Adrien wrapped an arm around Marinette to comfort her when she added, "On top of everything she has been doing… I just… Stopped thinking about preventing Hawkmoth from getting to me… All I felt was anger towards Lila for setting up such an underhanded thing…"

Adrien then said with a lowered gaze, "I'm glad that Miss Bustier graded the test as quickly as she did and caught onto the whole thing, or else Lila's plan would've worked… And it… Scares me just how easy Lila was able to do that… And just how easy it would've been for the teachers to believe that…"

Ms Mendeleiev overheard the conversation before she said in a solemn tone, "Why do you think Dupont has security cameras? To prevent such a thing from happening and that the true guilty party is punished accordingly… Though to be honest, I think what helped with keeping us teachers on alert was being aware of the problem between Ms Dupain-Cheng and Ms Rossi." She looked at the Miracuclass when she added, "Because of that, we've been keeping a close eye on Ms Rossi and making sure we've been keeping the security feed involving her for proof of her behaviours so that we can show her mother. So that we can have a proper parent/teacher meeting regarding that and find some sort of solution to it." The science teacher then looked towards a rather distraught Mrs Rossi, who was currently being comforted by some of the other students and teachers, when she added, "However… Even under those circumstances, given how Ms Rossi viewed others, I doubt the realisation of her daughter's true nature would've been any easier for Mrs Rossi…"

That was true… There wouldn't have been an easy way to break that kind of news to anyone about that situation…

That was when Adrien said, trying to lift everyone's spirits, "At least it's over and we don't have to deal with Lila anymore."

The rest of Miss Bustier's class looked at the blonde model with conflicted emotions. That was when Ms Mendeleiev said in a surprisingly caring tone, "Mr Agreste… Unfortunately, all of you are going to have to be interviewed regarding Lila and then summoned to Lila's eventual trial for your testimonies… So, it's not over until the judge and jury make their decision. Though in all honesty, with all the evidence they'd have to be utterly incompetent fools not to convict Ms Rossi."

Adrien realised that that was true and lowered his gaze.

Alya folded her arms when she asked, "I take it that another officer is going to be coming by to take our statements and gather all the evidence that we've collected?"

Ms Mendeleiev nodded when she said, "Yes, so I'd suggest letting your parents or guardians know what's happening so they don't worry when you don't come home at the usual time."

Oh right… The teens better do that.

~}i{ Three Days Later }i{~

Max was on his computer in his room, going over his codes when he heard a tapping on his window. The techie blinked in confusion before he heard the tapping noise again. Max quickly turned his attention towards the window to see Ladybug and Chat Noir waving at him. He stood up from where he was sitting and walked over towards the window. Max unlocked the frame, opened the window, and said, "I was wondering when you two were going to drop by. I almost thought you forgot about the conversation, to be honest."

As the heroes climbed through the window as Ladybug said, "No I haven't, but I'm sure you're aware of what has been happening the past few days." Chat Noir closed the window behind them.

Max glanced to the side when he said, "The police are being thorough… Not surprised, given that Lila was colluding with Hawkmoth… They don't want to leave any stone unturned so to speak…"

Chat Noir was the one to add, "Must be the reason why Hawkmoth has been inactive the past few days. He doesn't want to get involved in something that could get him caught. Works well for us, since we haven't been in the mood to deal with him…" His ears drooped when he said softly, "I don't know whether I should be thankful or disappointed…"

Max pushed his glasses up with an unsure look on his face when he said, "Um, Adrien, while Hawkmoth does deserve your fury… The Akumatize person shouldn't be the one taking that…"

Chat Noir looked at the glasses-wearing teen with a shocked expression on his face. The black cat hero eventually managed to get out, "H-how?" He quickly glanced at Ladybug, who shook her head in response to the unasked question.

Max sat back down in his chair as Markov glanced around from where he was when the dark-skinned teen stated, "To put it simply, I put the facts together." He took a calm breath when he said, "I noticed that Marinette and Adrien became a couple roughly the same time Ladybug and Chat Noir became in sync with each other… Then all these subtle gestures between Marinette and Adrien, and then the whole "bathroom confrontation" and then seeing Tikki... I… Admittedly made an educated guess on Chat Noir's identity based on the factors I knew…" He then turned his attention to his computer and quickly pulled something up.

The heroes glanced at each other before they walked closer to the other teen as he moved away from the screen to show them what he had pulled up. To Ladybug and Chat Noir's shock, it was a scene from the security feed from the school, more specifically, the scene from the library where Lila stole the Miraculous Grimoire from right under Adrien's nose and that Marinette saw the whole thing. As the video played, Max explained, "I originally looked through the feed to find out how a book without a library tag was filed to the shelves, because as inefficient as our school's library can be there's no way they would've done such a thing. So imagine my surprise when I found this and then Marinette putting the same book that Lila stole on the shelf to "find" the next day."

That was when Ladybug asked, "How come you didn't… You never…"

Max rubbed his arm when he said, "I wanted to, but… I wanted to talk to you about it in private and… Well, between school, Akumas, and you not being alone unless it somewhere I couldn't get to… I didn't have a chance…"

That was when Ladybug said, "So when you saw Tikki… I finally made sense to you."

Max shrugged a bit when he said, "Well it explains why you disappear during the Akuma attacks, but not your actions to basically "cover-up" what Lila did." He quickly pulled up the video that showed the moment Marinette took the Grimoire out of her bag and slid it onto a shelf in the school's library. Max pushed his glasses up before he said, "Given that you saw Lila steal the book, but didn't call it out… You have the book the next day would be more than a little strange." That was when he added, "Also, you might want to come up with a plausible story as to how and why you did that when the police eventually bring this up."

"Noted," Ladybug said thoughtfully with a nod before she went into hero mode when she said, "But for the reason why we're here…"

Max nodded when he said, "Me knowing your identities…"

Chat Noir couldn't help but ask, "Have you told anyone about that?" He glances at the AI before saying, "Besides Markov."

Max glanced at Markov, who glanced back, when he shook his head as he said, "I haven't. I'm well aware of the implications if I say anything outside my room… I rather not chance that Hawkmoth could find out." The techie looked at the heroes when he added, "On top of the fact that both of you are my friends, I would rather not put either of you under more pressure than you already have."

The heroes felt relieved at this. They glanced at each other before Chat Noir asked Max, "So, how would you like to join the hero business?" He glanced at Markov when he added, "Both you and Markov."

Max blinked in confusion as Markov illuminated a question mark emoji on his screen.

~}i{ A Month Later }i{~

Lila stewed in the room she was in as her appointed lawyer went over what she should do when she appears in court. The lawyer sighed when they saw that their client wasn't paying attention to anything they have been saying. They pinched the bridge of their nose. This is the 3rd time they had to explain how she should behave in court to this person, and she isn't even trying to listen. The lawyer took a deep breath before saying, "Ms Rossi, this trial is important and how to behave during the process is even more so."

Lila scoffed before saying, "Oh please, I can get out of whatever they accuse me of."

The lawyer sighed when they muttered, "Not with all the evidence they have against you…"

Lila scoffed again, not believing that she has to explain things to someone whose job it is to know this kind of shit, when she stated, "I'll claim that that shit is fake, easy as that."

The lawyer rubbed their temples in annoyance when they said, "All the evidence? All the recordings, videos, pictures, correspondences, and witness statements? You're just going to say that it's all fake?"

Lila rolled her eyes when she said, "Duh. I already have a plan in place, of course, but that's a general idea." She inspected her nails when she added, "I would've assumed you would already know that all that stuff is fake. They don't have anything powerful enough to keep me here any time after that unnecessary trail."

The lawyer couldn't believe what they were hearing from this teenager's mouth! The lawyer has defended more than their fair share of guilty criminals who were well aware of what they've done and how evidence works, the majority of them being adults, but this teen! 'Does she honestly think that she can get off by just claiming that all that very solid and thoroughly scrutinised evidence is fake?' The lawyer thought in disbelief. The lawyer sighed before saying, "Ms Rossi… That's not going to work… Especially when you claim that without proof."

Lila scoffed when she stated, "As I said before, I have a plan in place. It'll make the judge throw the whole thing out and I'll be out before the day is done and my mother will sue that goody-goody and that horrible school."

The lawyer sighed once again when they thought, 'It's official, this child is just ignoring just how severe this whole thing is and how strong the evidence against her is.' The lawyer just packed their things as they thought, 'This is also proving that she doesn't have any guilt over what she's done, just upset that she got caught.' As they walked to the door of the room, they told Lila, "Fine! If you don't want to listen to me, then do your little ploy. Defend yourself in this. I'll let the judge know that's what you want to do. I'll also let them know that you're ignoring my advice."

Lila waved the lawyer off when she scoffed out, "Whatever. I don't see why you're here and not my mother anyway."

The lawyer said nothing as the officer opened the security door. The moment the door was firmly shut tight and locked, the lawyer let out a frustrated breath when they said, "If it wasn't official then it should be now! That teenager is a sociopath! She doesn't feel a gram of guilt over what she did, just that she was caught!" The lawyer then looked at the officer escorting them out when they asked, "Did anyone even tell her where her mum stands in her trail?"

The officer looked at the lawyer when they replied, "She was told when they informed her that you were representing her for her defence…"

The lawyer scoffed when they stated, "She thinks she can do my job better than me."

The officer raised a brow when she asked, "She's going to defend herself? With all that evidence against her?"

The lawyer sighed when they said, "She's just going to claim that it's all fake… I don't think that's going to go over well with the judge when she does it… And if she's going to do what I think she's going to do, then she's not going to win a single case of that trial." The officer only shrugged and said that they wouldn't be surprised.

~}i{~

Wang Fu was watching the telly with a rather pleased expression on his face as the newsfeed aired. He was glad that the individuals that Ladybug and Chat Noir chose to be heroes alongside them were working well as heroes.

Carapace, Rena Rouge, and Honeybee were already excellent choices. Now Ladybug and Chat Noir found a rather brilliant holder for the fixed Peacock Miraculous and a rather intelligent yet odd holder for the Mouse Miraculous. Azure Feather and Micro Machine Mouse were great additions!

Wang Fu couldn't help but smile when he thought, 'Yes, Ladybug and Chat Noir will make great Guardians of the Miraculous.'

~}i{~

Over the next month, Ladybug and Chat Noir added more heroes to the team (and revealed IDs to each other once trust has been established). And ever since they started adding heroes, they've been collecting evidence as to who Hawkmoth is. Most of it came from Adrien, who has been keeping up on investigating his father… He just came back to why Gabriel needed to have security cameras in his study when the mansion had the best security available to prevent any intruders from entry, well, any regular non-enhanced in any way intruders…

The crowning piece of evidence that Gabriel was Hawkmoth was when Adrien saw his father use some kind of secret elevator in the study. From the doorway to avoid being seen by the security cameras and the man. And after finding where Nathalie stored the recordings to that camera, which didn't have much of a password to protect it from unwanted access, he gave a copy of them to his fellow heroes. It was both a relief and a little unnerving that it was that easy to get the footage… It was like neither the fashion mogul nor the secretary ever thought that Adrien would ever look through the security feed…

It was an unpleasant reveal but it wasn't that much of a surprise, to be honest…

The Heroes decided to let their black cat calm down before they make their plan and see it through…

~}i{ A Week Later }i{~

A New Chat Group has been created. New Chat has been renamed to Class of Heroes.

Fashion Baker changed their screen name to Bugs-the-Thing. Sunshine changed their screen name to Cat's Meow. Ladyblogger changed their screen name to Foxtrot. Turntables changed their screen name to Hero-in-a-Shell. Poison Ivy changed their screen name to Pink Power. Gothic Girlfriend changed their screen name to Roaring Hearts. Teenage Witch changed their screen name to Howling Good Time. AI Am I changed their screen name to Squeak Squeak. LB Artist changed their screen name to Spurred On. Teddy Bear changed their screen name to Get the Horn. Tiny Actress changed their screen name to Horsing Around. Anything's Possible changed their screen name to Monkeying Around. Maximum Overdrive changed their screen name to Sentimental Blue. Rollersnake changed their screen name to Time & Time.

Kagami has been added to Class of Heroes. CN Writer has been added to Class of Heroes. Pulling at the Heartstrings has been added to Class of Heroes.

Kagami changed their screen name to Rayquaza. CN Writer changed their screen name to Parkouring Writer. Pulling at the Heartstrings changed their screen name to Rewinding Snake.

Queen Bee: OMG! Kagami you play Pokemon!

Rayquaza: Yes? How is it that you were the one to find out so quickly?

Queen Bee: Your new screen name! Duh!

Cat's Meow: I know what we're doing after we take down Hawkdick!

Bugs-the-Thing: Sure, we can compare our Pokemon teams after we defeat Hawkmoth. But first thing's first.

Bugs-the-Thing: Is everyone clear on the plan?

Squeak Squeak: I know I am!

Sentimental Blue: I have already created doubles to established alibis. Just say the word and I'll send them out.

Monkeying Around: No one has changed what they told the family what they "would be doing" when we're taking down Hawkmoth, right?

Pink Power: Nope! The time and location for Juleka and my date are still the same!

Roaring Hearts: Yup~.

Foxtrot: Same with Nino and I!

Hero-in-a-Shell: I made sure to play my date plans up a bit to make sure Chris remembers and doesn't try to pester me or Alya.

Foxtrot: Same with me and the terror twins!

Horsing Around: Max, you made sure to make our doubles are going to be able to handle the volunteer work?

Get the Horn: We just don't want the other volunteers to think we're slacking off and get suspicious.

Sentimental Blue: Don't worry, I made sure they can handle the work. Thanks to your rather detailed list of things that you two would be working on.

Horsing Around: Your welcome!

Get the Horn: Glad it helped!

Time & Time: I know I don't mind missing my brother's boring lectures.

Spurred On: Don't get too excited about it, it'll make him suspicious.

Parkouring Writer: And I doubt the Senimonsters will be able to handle one of Jalil's interrogations.

Time & Time: Yeah… Good point… Thanx for reminding me.

Queen Bee: At least we can help keep you reminded.

Howling Good Time: I was actually looking forward to it… I'll just have my double record the whole thing so I don't miss out.

Time & Time: That's a pretty good idea! Just in case something happens during the lecture that we should know about.

Queen Bee: Great thinking Sabrina!

Howling Good Time: ?

Rewinding Snake: Max, you sure my double is going to be able to handle Ma and what we're supposed to be doing?

Sentimental Blue: Long as you keep your double's Amok, he should. Once I give it to you of course.

Rewinding Snake: Good. The last thing I need is for Ma to think that I hired a body-double to get out of today.

Roaring Hearts: I can vouch that that would be a bad thing.

Rayquaza: So my double should be able to get through my fencing practices if I hold her Amok?

Sentimental Blue: She should, just make sure you invoke your fencing skills into the Amok.

Rayquaza: Sounds doable. I do hope my mother doesn't notice should she pop in on practice unannounced.

Squeak Squeak: If I have her schedule correct, I do not calculate that she will.

Bugs-the-Thing: Hopefully she won't and our plan will go off without a hitch.

Cat's Meow: I know I've already asked this, but is everyone okay with basically fighting my dad?

Hero-in-a-Shell: Dude, I've been waiting to kick your dad's ass since you told me that he never let you have a birthday party, or even celebrate your birthday appropriately! No way I'm letting this opportunity slide!

Cat's Meow: That long?

Get the Horn: Adrien, no offence, but before the whole Bubbler incident, when was the last time you had a birthday where you had fun?

Hero-in-a-Shell: Please don't remind me of that… Urg! I looked like a clown!

Roaring Hearts: At least you weren't an actual clown…

Cat's Meow: … I'm thinking that your Akuma looks were on purpose to try to deflect suspicions from dad's identity…

Bugs-the-Thing: Yeah… I'm sure he would go with the whole "What competent fashion designer ever make outfits like those" claim… Honestly, it fooled me…

Squeak Squeak: Then that play was successful, in a way?

Squeak Squeak: But that aside, everyone prepared for the day we take down Hawkmoth?

Rewinding Snake: Yup!

Pink Power: Totally!

Roaring Hearts: Yup!

Horsing Around: Yes!

Get the Horns: I am!

Time & Time: I can't wait!

Queen Bee: Believe it or not, but kicking gab's ass was always on my to-do list~. So I'm waaaay in on this!

Bugs-the-Thing: I've been prepared!

Cat's Meow: I know I should be conflicted about this, but I'm more than ready to take him down!

Rayquaza: My blade is ready.

Hero-in-a-Shell: I've been waiting to take down Hawkdick and Mr Agreste! Now I can do both at the same time!

Foxtrot: I'm with Nino!

Spurring On: I'm in!

Howling Good Time: Yup!

Parkouring Writer: I know I'm in!

Monkeying Around: Ready and waiting!

Sentimental Blue: As am I.

Bugs-the-Thing: Okay. We'll strike when Chat sends us the signal!

~}i{ The Next Day }i{~

The Heroes put their plan to take down Hawkmoth into action!

The result ended with the emotional terrorist being taken down without Paris knowing. Yes, Hawkmoth did put up a fight but he lacked the combat skills to face multiple opponents at once on his own. Made scenes since the guy has been in the shadows 90% of the time since his debut. Nathalie, of course, tried to help her boss but was paralyzed by Honeybee's Venom. When the two were captured, they were tied up, and the Butterfly Miraculous was removed from Gabriel. It was a successful win!

Things got a bit awkward when the Gorilla came in for work after the whole thing was completed. Then again… How would you react if you walk into work and see the heroes of your city having your boss and his secretary tied up like criminals? … Though to the bodyguard's credit, the first thing he did was run right towards Adrien's room to see if the teen was alright. Guess it was a good thing Chat Noir "left early" because the Gorilla burst into Adrien's room and startled the teen (Plagg just managed to hide when it happened). The bodyguard was just relieved that his ward was alright… Physically at least. Gorilla then started prepping for an emotional fallout when "Adrien finds out his father was Hawkmoth".

Well, at least Adrien doesn't have to pretend to be shocked and horrified when that happens.

The Heroes agreed to wait a few weeks before they announced that they defeated Hawkmoth, to give the Gorilla time to prepare a safe place for Adrien to stay and work out all the legal issues with the Gabriel company for the inevitable backlash that will happen when Paris eventually find out that the owner was Hawkmoth. Mostly involving the employees' wellbeing and making sure that they find work afterwards.

The next day, as far as Paris was aware, Gabriel was being investigated for child neglect with Nathalie being a co-conspirator.

~}i{ 2 Weeks Later }i{~

The Trial of Lila Rossi ended up being one hell of a split in regards to how the whole thing was handled. The prosecution was professional and had mountains of thoroughly researched evidence.

The defence, however…

Well, since Lila decided that she would represent herself… She cried a lot of fake tears, made a lot of accusations of betrayal, did a lot of trying to goad her former classmates into making the reactions she wanted, and has made many claims that the evidence is fake on her part… The judge had to tell Lila MULTIPLE TIMES that she was out of turn and asked if she had proof of all her accusations when she made them…

Yeah, it was rather obvious as to which side was more prepared for this trial…

As the trial continued, Lila finally realized just how much evidence there was. The bulk of it came from her former classmates and was thoroughly scrutinized by the police. Lila did try to keep up with her plan, but the judge kept shutting her down with one simple question, "Do you have proof of your claim, Ms Rossi?" It was a simple question that held a lot of power in the courtroom. If the answer was 'no' then the whole statement was shut down immediately, but if the answer was 'yes' then it was expected to present the proof right there on the spot. Though if no proof was presented, then the statement would be shut down as well. Lila learned rather slowly just how powerful that particular question was… Every claim she made was shut down as soon as it was revealed that she had nothing to back them up, even when she took the stand to defend herself…

When the trial came to its conclusion the charges were given the verdict. Truancy, forgery, slander, stalking, framing a fellow student, collusion with a terrorist, assault, and malicious intent… The verdict for all of the charges against Lila Rossi was consistent across the board. "Guilty". Which surprised no one but Lila.

As the police officers readied to cart off Lila to be kept under lock-&-key outside Paris, the lair then shouted out at her former classmates, "HOW THE HELL DID YOU FIND OUT?! THERE IS NO WAY YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN I WAS LYING! I HAVE NEVER MESSED UP IN ANY OF MY LIES! SO HOW DID YOU KNOW?! HOW DID YOU ALL KNOW?!"

The Miracuclass glanced at one another before Nino decided that he would be the one to reveal everything when he said, "Lila… We've known you've been lying the whole time you've been at Dupont…" He looked at the others again, to make sure it was already with everyone before he explained, "We… Decided to… Not tell you that we knew and just be nice to you… To make you feel welcomed and included… We originally thought you were just lying to make fast friends… But you made it very clear that it wasn't the case."

Lila was quiet out of shock at this revelation before she got furious when she snapped, "OH SO YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD LEAD ME ON?! LIKE YOU WERE BETTER THAN ME?!"

The Miracuclass couldn't help but feel the conflicting emotions of disgust and pity at this outburst. That was when Adrien said, not the least bit happy to explain this, "Lila, I was the one to suggest that you were lying to make friends faster… I was the one who thought you were so desperate for friends… And I was the one who… Suggest that no one tell you that we knew so you wouldn't feel alienated from us…" The model then glared at the liar when he added, "I can't believe how naive I was to think that someone who could lie that much could ever want friends THAT badly!"

That was when Rose added in a downcast tone, "We were hoping that you would realise that you didn't need to lie to us to be our friend if that were the case…"

That silenced Lila as the police took her away.

The Miracuclass glanced at each other uneasily when Lila finally realised that she was being taken to serve out her sentence and started kicking and screaming that Hawkmoth would get her out by the end of the day.

The moment they could no longer hear Lila, the class get out a sigh of relief… It was over… It was finally over… They officially didn't have to deal with Lila anymore.

~}i{ A Week Later }i{~

That was when it was announced to all of Paris that Hawkmoth and his accomplice have been captured. Almost as soon as the news was announced, the entire city celebrated, for at least a week. The heroes made their appearance a few times to try to answer the questions as much as they could without revealing Hawkmoth's identity.

It was soon afterwards that Master Wang Fu officially handed the title of Guardian of the Miraculous over to Ladybug and Chat Noir.

~}i{ 25 Years Later }i{~

The Heroes were still active, still fighting crime when they could while simultaneously maintaining thriving careers and happy families. It helped that their children were friends and the heroes had each other to help out when needed.

When the Heroes had their high school reunion, they brought their children. To meet their old schoolmates, teachers, and show them what they did when they were their children's age. Everything was full of fun and remembrance until Emma, Marinette and Adrien's daughter, and Xavier, Kim and Max's adopted son, found an old picture of some of their parents in the school basement and brought it to their parents.

"Maman, Papa. Who's this girl with the Aunties?" 13-year-old Emma asked innocently as she pointed to an unfamiliar girl in the old class photo. Well, at least unknown to her.

Xavier then added as he pointed to the images of all his friends' parents, "We can identify everyone else in this picture but her. Therefore, our parents should know her and can explain why we don't."

The parents stared at the picture before Marinette took it out of her daughter's hands when she said in a rather surprised tone, "I thought… The police took everything related to her…"

Adrien looked over his wife's shoulder to get a better look at the picture before he said, "Or that the school tossed whatever they didn't take…"

Daisy, Rose and Juleka's daughter, was the one to ask, "Maman, Mummy, was she a bad person?" Her parents could only look at each other, unsure how to answer the question.

Alya was next to look at the photo before she said, "Wow… Has it been that long since any of us thought of her?"

Nino wrapped an arm around his wife when he said, "Well, none of us had a reason to think about her… Nor did anyone want to…" Alphonse or Al for short, Alya and Nino's son, looked at his parents and wondered what happened.

Nikki, Nathaniel and Marc's adopted daughter, was the one to finally ask, "How come no one is answering the question?"

Amadeus or Ammy for short, Ivan and Mylene's son, looked at the parents when he asked, "Was she a villain?"

That was when Madame Mayoress Chloe said as she fixed her son's, Charlie, hair when she said, "Let's just say if any of us had the chance to deal with either Hawkmoth or Lie-la, I'm sure we all would choose Hawkmoth without question." That seemed to be unanimous among the adults.

"What happened?" Sabrina's daughter, Maggie, asked curiously, trying to understand why the adults' mood changed so suddenly.

The parents looked at each other. Maybe it was time for them to finally talk about Lila to their children. After all, it was the reason why they were so big on keeping in communication with each other… And after a rather long talk, especially with each parent throwing in their opinions and viewpoints, the children now understood.

"Now that explains why all of you told us to keep in touch with one another," Hyuugo, Luka and Kagami's son, commented as he fussed about fixing one of Emma's braids. The younger bluette didn't seem to be thrilled about it but conceded since she knew he would do it anyway. Louis, Luka and Marinette's son, snickered at his siblings' antics. Emma shot her brother a glare, which silenced him.

Kagami noticed that Marinette's collar was crooked, so she went to fix it when she stated, "However, despite how that loathsome individual was, it did provide the opportunity for some of us to confess feeling for one another."

Marinette patted Kagami's hand with a weary smile when she said, "Well, you aren't wrong. Though I'm pretty sure it just showed just how important keeping in touch with your inner circle is."

Luka wrapped an arm around Adrien's shoulder, making the blonde blush, when he added, "Which allows them to support you when your song is feeling down, and encourage you to follow your heart." The musician softly pecked Adrien's cheek, causing him to blush a little more. Marinette and Kagami giggled at this as their children made exaggerated gagging noises (4). Well, Emma and Louis did, Hyuugo was pretty stoic during this.

Xavier looked at the picture of most of his aunts and that Lila girl, all were smiling at the camera. Now that the teen knew about the deception the liar tried to do, the picture felt so fake now... Kim took the picture away, placed it image down on the closest table when he said, "Glad that liar finally got her due. Hate to think about what could've happened if she didn't."

Max placed a hand on Kim's arm when he added, "Let's not let Lila ruin the event. Alright? I can put on that playlist that everyone likes." Nino was all for it.

Kim hugged his lover when he said, "Oh, you don't have to do that~." He then nuzzled the shorter one, causing Max to let out a small smile.

With that, the reunion continued, leaving the sour memories behind and the bright futures for the Heroes with their families. Yeah, their children will soon find out about the Miraculous and the hero business.

~}i{~

The End.

~}i{~

1) Hehe, a slight reference to a certain author who has Kim having three older sisters in their Feral Jocks Miraculous story~.

2) I know that in English Hawkmoth says, "Fly away my little Akuma and evilize them/him/her!" However, I prefer the rough French translation, which is "blacken their hearts", though the word Darken seems to have a stronger impact than Blacken and is more grammatically correct than Evilize. So I'm using "Darken their Hearts" because I like it a lot more and it's my story, so I can write what I want!

3) Ageusia (from negative prefix a- and Ancient Greek γεῦσις geûsis "taste") is the loss of taste functions of the tongue, particularly the inability to detect sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, and umami (meaning "pleasant/savoury taste"). It's a slight headcanon for this story that Marinette can't taste anything sour. It's more because I wanted to do the little "test" for a while and thought Marinette having partial Ageusia would be the best and funny way to figure out who was the Akuma while sparing the real one.

4) …. What? I like the Luka/Adrien/Kagami/Marinette pairing… Don't judge me!

~}i{~