La Red
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D/C: I own nothing.
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A/N: In my profile, I have a link to a discord for La Red. Go check it out!
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Ladybug paced around a balcony, waiting for Chloe to show up. She reached up to her hair and thank Tikki repeatedly for the fact she managed to retain her old hairstyle as Ladybug. This will help with keeping her identity separate, as her new hairstyle is vastly different. Still… there will be a time that could change…
That day is not today to panic about that. Right now, Ladybug is going to panic for a whole other reason. Chloe wants to talk to her. About what? She doesn't know, but it was enough to bring in a sense of panic for the ladybug themed hero.
Glass doors being slammed open made Ladybug jump in surprise. Chloe looked around and when her eyes landed on Ladybug, her entire expression changed. Went from determination, shock, confusion, caution and back to determination. "Come in, we need to talk."
The next thing Ladybug knew, is that she and Chloe were sitting across of each on different couches. Chloe wanted, needed, the room between them as she attempted to gather up her thoughts.
"During the time I spent in America, I did my best to improve myself." Chloe began, she tucked her legs underneath herself and clutched a pillow against her chest. "I am trying, but it's not like I can turn a switch on or off. But what I am trying to say is like… I'm trying!"
"I know that, Chloe."
"No, you don't, no one does…" Chloe said to herself, burying her face into the pillow.
Ladybug remained quiet, waiting patiently for Chloe to continue talking.
Chloe slowly raised her head and looked over at Ladybug. "Why did you decide to still have me help you fighting Akuma's? After what I had done?"
"I believe people deserve second chances?" Ladybug replied honestly.
"Then what happened to Rena?" Chloe questioned, causing Ladybug's eyes to widen. "You got me and Carapace to help you and that alley cat? Carapace and Rena Rouge are a package deal, yet as of who knows, that is no longer happening?"
"…Rena ruined her second, third and fourth chance…" Ladybug replied glumly. "She is no longer part of the team after much consideration."
"… I also took note how you no longer do any interviews for the Ladyblog? The only time you do any interviews is with Aurore, with that new show of hers."
"Uh…" Ladybug does not like where this is going. "I'm… no longer in talking terms with Alya due to her insistence that someone else's words are worth more than my own."
"Lila Rossi?"
"She has yet to contact me on whether or not any of Lila's claims are true or not." Ladybug deadpanned. She rubbed her forehead thinking over her own words. "FYI, I am not friends with Lila Rossi, and I have a massive grudge against her as she has been picking on a close friend of mine."
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Chloe asked. "Let me guess… Lila is targeting her and turned everyone against her?"
"How did you…?" Ladybug attempted to say.
"I know people like Lila." Chloe said, with a shrug. "Politics are filled with people like her, always telling people what they want to hear to get them on your side. Since she came into the picture, I've been taking note of several things."
"Like?"
"I… I believe the reason you longer trust Rena has to do with her blinded trust with Lila."
Ladybug's eyes widened, trying to piece together what Chloe just said to her. "How…?"
"Alya Césaire was Rena Rouge." Chloe said with so much determination, that it had Ladybug wondering how long the blonde has been thinking about this. "It makes sense. Alya has been constantly up Lila's butt since the liar got here and Rena has been making less appearances. It goes together…"
Ladybug felt herself go pale and her mouth went dry. "Ho-How did you came up with that?"
Chloe placed the pillow next to her, stretched out her legs and placed them on the coffee table as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Alya made a stupid comment that connected the dots for me. 'I will never do that, revealing my identity to the world. She always takes whatever opportunity she could get in an attempt to one up me. Judging by your silence… I'm right."
Ladybug's silence spoke more than anything else she could say.
"Look, I'm not going to say anything… I just need answers." Chloe said, she didn't look delighted over the fact she just found out the now former identity of Rena Rouge. If anything, she had an aura of newfound determination surrounding her. "This leaves for the main reason I asked to talk to you… If Rena was Alya… that means Nino is Carapace."
Again… Chloe was met with silence as her answer.
"You already know what I'm going to ask next, don't you?" Chloe challenged Ladybug, quirking an eyebrow towards her direction.
"I trust him." Ladybug replied quietly, not knowing what else to say.
"I don't." Chloe stated curtly. "For all we know, he's still siding with Alya and back stab Marinette. Yeah, I am trying to be friends with him for her sake but there is still a risk."
"…Why are you trying to be friends with Marinette?" Ladybug asked, genuinely wondering that herself.
"… In complete honesty? Its' for Sabrina's sake." Chloe responded with a halfhearted shrug. She visibly deflated in her seat. "And for my own too. That and Lila needs to be taken down several pegs. I'm the queen bee and bees protect the hive. Far as I know, Marinette is part of that hive and I need to make sure nothing will come to destroy it. Which brings us back to Nino… is it safe for Nino being around Marinette? Or to have Carapace still running around?"
"To be perfectly honest, I trust him. More so than I do with Chat Noir nowadays…" Ladybug replied, Chloe snorted at the mention of Chat. "Which is why I made Carapace a permanent miraculous holder…"
Ladybug didn't see as Chloe's mouth drop at her words and even more so when she brought out a familiar red wooden box. "Including yourself. Congrats… Queen Bee… or would you prefer to be called something else?"
-.-
'How dare she say that!' Lila seethed; it took her forever to calm herself down before she made her way back to school. She had planned to take another break from it, but her stupid computer has been acting up lately and it made it difficult to use it to her own advantage. This only resulted with her having to go to school until she could find a way to get out.
Lila stopped just a block away from the school, she took in a deep breath before she jogged the rest of the way with a smile on her face. She needed to gather up information and the only way she was going to get that, is to play it up to everyone's emotions.
Jogging up the way to school, Lila spotted Mireille walking on her own. The perfect opportunity to start off with her plan. "Mireille! Mireille, wait up!"
Mireille paused, she looked behind herself to see Lila. Her expression went from pensive to complete dismay and back to pensive. "Lila. What could I do for you today?"
Lila forced herself to not backtrack at Mireille's behavior. Aurore's words suddenly appeared into the forefront her mind, but Lila waved it away. "I had wanted ask you if you have spoken to Aurore?"
Mireille tilted her head to the side in confusion. "I talk to her frequently, especially more so considering we both work at the local tv station… and being in the same class also helps too."
"Oh…" Lila wrung her hands together, she looked around as if to make sure they were not being overheard by someone. Her voice drops down to a whisper as she got closer to Mireille. "It's just that… I've overheard her talking about how she's still bitter towards you becoming a weather girl."
Mireille blink slow, taking in Lila's words. She leaned in close to Lila and also whispered to the brunette. "I was the one that told her that she shouldn't put you on live television if she wished to keep her spot on that new show of hers. Your words will end her career before it even gets started. I simply wonder what makes you believe you could use those honeyed words against me… I know how the industry works and it's filled with snakes, I know one when I see one."
Mireille leaned back and clapped her hands together, she exclaimed in a loud enough voice to draw attention to them. "Alya! How's the Ladyblog been doing?"
-.-
Walking into the school, Lila did a double take of everyone around her. She was still surrounded by a lot of people, but paying closer attention, they mostly compromised of most of her classmates. Only them. No one else from this stupid school. Closer attention, she could see many of them laughing and pointing at her. The further Lila and her followers walked to their class, she started to hear the whispers and they all focused around her supposed truths.
How did she not notice this before?
"Are you okay, Lila?" Rose asked, taken note of how distracted Lila has been acting since she walked into the school that day.
Lila smiled sweetly at Rose. "I'm okay, Rose. I got a phone call from Jagged Stone, we were going over about his next tour~"
Even with her lackies cheering her own, Lila could hear the snickers in the background. Once again mocking her. Turning around to see who it was, and her blood ran cold to see Mireille and Aurore, snickering around their own respective classmates. It only got worse when Aurore gave her a short wave and mouthing the words-
'I warned you.'
-.-
Alix knew she couldn't confront Lila outright. That would end badly for everyone involved. That and she promised to leave Lila be and that Marinette will take care of her in due time.
'Due time my ass…' Alix inwardly growled to herself, she looked over to see several of her classmates fond over Lila while another good portion were sitting at their desks, trying to get ready for the day.
Alix did a double take when she saw the current state of several of her classmates. Mylene and Ivan were huddled together, with Ivan trying to coax Mylene from whatever her funk is. Mylene look like she's going to break at any moment as she is looking through her calendar. This was completely out of the norm as Mylene would be fawning over Lila at this point in time.
Adrien… he's wincing everytime Lila snuggles up to him. Nothing out of the norm there. Considering Alix is the reason behind each wince. A dark chuckle slipped through Alix's lips, if the guy wasn't so much of a pushover, none of this would have been happening in the first place. If he had not forced Marinette to take the high road and be at her corner than Lila's, none of this would be happening.
That goes double for Alya. Alix had spent the entire night rewatching every video in the Ladybug that contained anything related to Lila. Video after video, she saw through all the lies each video contained so much crap that it's a wonder the Ladyblog is still considered a legitimate source that is everything related to Ladybug and Chat Noir. There's so much stuff there that even if Alya turns a new leaf, her reputation is good as gone. At this point, she's just putting the cherries on top with insisting Lila is right and everyone else is wrong.
Alix grinned to herself, thinking of Alya's short live career as a reporter. Now she will pay big money to see that. Looking over at the clock, it was just about fifteen minutes before the start of class. Marinette, Nino, Chloe and Sabrina are nowhere to be seen.
Five minutes before the start of class, Miss Bustier is getting class ready for the day when it happened…
Laugher could be heard from the other side of the closed door. The door swung open and revealed the four missing classmates. Nothing out of the norm as of recently, but what made everyone's jaws to drop are the massive makeovers their classmates had done to themselves.
The first one to walk(marched) into the classroom room, is Chloe. Her blonde hair is now styled in a messy low ponytail, using a yellow scrunchie to keep it in its style. She now has on a large yellow knitted sweater, a pair of dark washed rolled up jean shorts, knitted over the knee socks and a pair of suede leather ankle boots. Framing her face is a pair of circular wired framed glasses, red lipstick and her nails are painted with yellow and black strips. "Sabrina, give me my backpack!"
Sabrina hurried into the classroom, with a complete change of her looks too. Her hair was now styled in a half-up crown braid, black rim glasses and her lips lightly tinted a pale peach. She is wearing a deep red cable knit loose sweater, black fitted jeans, and a pair of black suede moccasins. Hung over her shoulders is a leather backpack purse. She is carrying, what everyone assumes to belong to Chloe, a leather backpack.
Sabrina handed the backpack over to Chloe; the blonde opened the backpack to pull out several packs and placed it on the desk. "My homework."
"Even when you try to be nice, you still make it sound so grating." Nino said as he walked into the classroom. He now has on a black knitted beanie with a brim, a short sleeved black t-shirt, dark washed jeans and a pair of white shoes. He still has his book bag but what did catch everyone's attention is a very expensive looking watch on his left hand.
"Be nice, Nino. Chloe is trying to be nice… Unlike some people." Marinette walked into the classroom, earning many gasps from everyone. Her hair is no longer in its usual pigtails, her hair was now in a stylish stacked pixie-bob with long bangs. She is now wearing a loose beige one buttoned blazer, underneath it she has on is a short loose white top, light colored jean shorts, and a pair of white and beige colored loafers. Marinette has on black mascara; light pink lipstick and her nails are painted a neutral pink. Strapped around her is a soft pink leather backpack and the purse she's never seen without. "Whom shall remain nameless."
Chloe rolled her eyes at Marinette's words. "Watch it, Dupain-Cheng."
"I'm quaking in my shoes." Marinette flicked her bangs out of her face, still getting used to her new haircut. She ignored the look and questions that were thrown her way as she walked up to her seat in the back.
Nino, for his own part, raise an eyebrow at Alya when she attempted to ask him what was going on as he attempted to get to his new seat. In response to her questions, Nino simply ignored her and quietly walk to his seat next to Marinette. The last thing he needed to do is to start more drama with Alya over something that really did not concern her anymore. Taking his seat next to Mariette, he wondered how much longer it will be until everything comes to light.
-.-
Alya knew those trolls are somewhere in her blog, they could be anyone at this point. There has a been a decline in views in all her newer videos and it doesn't help how Ladybug has now been completely ignoring her. She still doesn't understand why she took away the Fox Miraculous forever from her. There was no way she could ask Lila about it, as far as Alya knew, she doesn't know about her being the Fox Miraculous holder…. Now former Fox Miraculous holder…
It hurts, more so considering that Nino is still out there helping Ladybug as Carapace.
Just as much as seeing Nino now hanging out with Marinette since the breakup. Nothing made sense in that and Alya thinks there more to it than what meets the eye. She suspects that they have been seeing each other behind her back. Lila told her she, herself, has suspicions but was waved of. Alya should have listened.
'There you are…' Alya found one of the many trolls that prowl around her blog. She clicked on the profile and found herself in a very odd place.
TBC.
R/R.
