(Summary: No matter how many times evidence is presented, Lila has always managed to remain a perfect angel. Marinette is beginning to suspect that other forces are at play.

Sorry for that pause, but after the last chapter... I think we all needed a little break. Not to mention all of the chaos surrounding returning to schools. How long until we're back in lock down, seriously?)

"It's just a coincidence."

"You have the wrong person."

"It must've been a misunderstanding."

"You've clearly doctored the footage."

"Lila's too nice to do that."

"I'm sure that's just a look-a-like."

"Come on, Marinette. Present some real evidence before going off at Lila again."

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.

Were they blind?! Seriously! This must've been the fifth─sixth?─time that she's presented evidence of Lila lying, admitting to lying or committing a crime, yet still, they all came up with excuses. Lila didn't even have to say anything. They just made excuses for her now. Marinette was sick of it.

Adrien was the only other person who saw through Lila's lies. He'd also presented a video of Lila lying her way into his house, but Alya had just said, "Aw, that's so sweet! I wish that Nino cared so much about me!" Nino hadn't even looked affronted by that sentence. He'd nodded along, agreeing with her. And Marinette had seen all of the shit that Nino's done for Alya, so she knew that wasn't true.

So what the fuck?

How was it that Lila was still an innocent angel in everybody's eyes, but her and Adrien's?

… "Oh."

What's one thing that they both have in common? They both knew that Lila was lying. But how? Lila had lied about knowing both Chloé's mother and father, but she'd never said anything. Lila had commented about how the world famous chef, Marlena Césaire, had catered for her birthday party in Greece, but Alya never pointed out that her mother had never left France.

It was all too convenient.

Perhaps… perhaps using a Miraculous had allowed them to see through Lila's lies.

And sure, Chloé and Alya had used a Miraculous before. But they only used a Miraculous periodically, not nearly as frequently as Ladybug and Chat Noir. Plus, they didn't get to keep their Miraculouses, unlike Marinette and Adrien.

But that would mean that Lila used magic. Or some form of it. After all, she definitely didn't have a Miraculous. Only the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses were missing, and neither technically had anything to do with deception. Did other forms of magic exist?

"Tikki," Marinette started, sitting up straight. "Is it possible that Lila is using magic to make people believe her lies?"

Tikki looked up from her macaron. She frowned softly, swatting at a stray crumb. "Um… I'm not sure if I'm the best person to answer that…"

Marinette sighed. "Please, Tikki. I can hardly ask Master Fu anymore…"

"Well… oh, fine!" Tikki finished her cookie, flying over to sit beside Marinette. "Other types of magic do exist, but only with the help of a Miraculous. Specifically, Hawkmoth's."

"What? I already know that. I battle Akumas all the time."

"No, Marinette. That's not what I mean. You see, sometimes a person could keep an akuma's powers, or a specific power, but only if Hawkmoth lets them. I'm not sure if it was with Volpina or Chameleon, but she must've retained what ever powers of deception she'd received, somehow."

"But Adrien and I are able to resist her," Marinette frowned.

"That's because of your Miraculouses," Tikki said. "It allows you to see through her powers of deception. Not to mention that you've already seen through it once before, too."

"And let me guess, it wouldn't work with Alya or Nino because they only used a Miraculous sometimes."

"Yeah. And they can't ever use a Miraculous again, so that doesn't mean much, anyways."

"Yeah…" Marinette sighed, her face dropping onto her waiting palm. "So, how do we stop it?"

"Oh no." Was the first thing Alya said upon spotting Marinette. She knew this look. Marinette only ever had this look when she was about to attack Lila with some fake footage, or something. She wished that Marinette would get over whatever one-sided feud she had with Lila, because Lila clearly didn't hate Marinette as much as Marinette despised Lila. Honestly, Lila was way too nice about it. She would've hated Marinette, had she been in Lila's shoes. Lila truly was an amazing friend. Marinette was holding a box in her hands. It was long, but not tall. Pink and white decorated the outside. Alya was curious about what it contained, but she knew that it was probably just more fake pictures of Lila committing crimes, or something. Honestly, why the fuck did Marinette hate Lila so much that she'd even doctor photographs of her?

"Anyone have popcorn?" Kim whispered as Marinette stood in front of Mlle. Bustier's desk, as if she were about to give a presentation.

"Nah. Want any chocolate?" Alix held up a bar.

"Oh, yeah."

"You shouldn't eat that brand," Lila butted in as Alix broke off a square. "My uncle's wife worked at the company before she was hired to work on the third Thor movie. They put dog hair in the chocolate mixture."

Marinette rolled her eyes as Kim grabbed the chocolate bar from Alix, chucking it into the bin. The two then proceeded to profusely thank Lila for helping them out, and told her what a kind and generous friend she was.

Marinette cleared her throat loudly, giving Adrien a significant look as she smiled up at her classmates. "Hey, guys, could I say something, please?"

"What now?" Max scoffed. "Did Lila lie about knowing Abraham Lincoln, too?"

Marinette really wanted to point out that Lincoln was dead. She really wanted to. But that would ruin this entire operation.

"Um, no. That's not what I was going to talk about. I actually wanted to apologise─" 'You can do this, Mari. Suck it up. This isn't any worse than when you were forced to apologise to Chloé when she ruined your art project that you spent three months on…' Okay, so it really was worse. But she could do this. "─to Lila."

Shocked gasps rang throughout the class. Lila's eyes narrowed, trying to find any hint of insincerity. She probably did, but Lila had also noticed that Adrien had been fawning over her lately, and avoiding Marinette. She clearly thought that she knew why this was happening, and therefore, Marinette's weakness.

"Are you serious, Marinette?!" Alya asked, grinning widely. Finally, finally, her two best friends were about to make up.

"Yes, I am very serious. I realised that maybe I was being somewhat unreasonable, so I've decided that I should try to mend burnt bridges… you know?"

"What brought on this realisation?" Max asked suspiciously.

Marinette grit her teeth, looking at Adrien with apologetic eyes. "I watched a movie where these two girls are fighting over a guy, and I realised how familiar it was. I compared that to real life, and… I dunno. Seeing it from a different perspective made me realise how stupid I was being."

"Really?" Lila asked, looking quite hopeful. Only Marinette saw the wicked glint in her eyes. She was planning already. "You really want to be my friend, Ma-ri-ne-tte?"

"Yes, Lila, I do. Really." She stepped forwards, opening the box in her hands as she walked. "I baked these for the class. I really hope that you would accept one."

Lila stared up at Marinette for a good minute. Marinette tried to remain calm. This was where the entire operation lied. It all depended on Lila's pride and need to be worshipped getting the best of her. How much of an ego boost would it be to have Marinette, the one person who had vehemently refused to bow down to her, fawn over her? Because they both knew that Marinette would have to treat Lila as if she were a queen, were she to accept?

Slowly, Lila reached a hand out, picking up a pink macaron. She broke it in half, swiping icing from the inside of the pastry. "It's good to see you've finally had a change of heart, Ma-ri-ne-tte."

"Yeah, well," Marinette eyed her carefully, noting the way that Lila sucked her finger. "I realised that I was better off with you, rather than against you."

"I see that." Lila suddenly grinned widely, her heated vision clearing up. "I knew that you'd get over it eventually, Marinette. We're going to be the best of friends."

"Yeah," Marinette smiled, equally as fake, but for all intents and purposes, seemingly genuine. "The best."

It was three tortuous days later that something occurred.

Lila had been telling a story about that one time when she and Obama had been hanging out when Max suddenly gasped.

"Lila, you're friends with Abraham Linocln, right?"

Marinette covered a smirk. Here it was. Finally. "Um, yeah. Abe and I go way back."

"Yeah, as far back as the eighteen hundreds," Marinette muttered. Alya, hearing that, looked at Marinette with narrowed eyes, but she closed her mouth after actually hearing what Marinette said, for once.

"But he's dead. Very dead."

"So's Einstein," Adrien said, smirking. "But Lila was hanging out with him just three months ago. They invented Calculus, remember?"

"But, no… Newton created Calculus. And he's also dead… Lila…" Max frowned. "Did you─did you lie?"

"I─"

Marinette snorted, loudly. "Don't be ridiculous, Max. Lila would never lie. She'd never commit a crime, either. You must have the wrong facts."

"That doesn't make any sense. I mean, she said that she saved Jagged Stone's cat, but he's never had a cat!" Nino exclaimed.

"Really?" Marinette couldn't help but be a bit bitchy. After all, Lila's powers only worked when she told people what they wanted to hear. Did that mean that they wanted Marinette to be all the things that Lila had said? Probably not, but she couldn't help the irrational bitternous. "No! That's impossible! 'Lila would never lie!' 'Lila's too nice to do that!' 'Come on, guys, you should present some real evidence before accusing Lila of lying."

"Oh." Alya looked up at Marinette. "That footage was all real?"

"Yes."

"Oh…" Alya's eyes widened in shock. "You're not Ladybug's best friend."

"You don't know Prince Ali?!" Rose panicked, despite being one of the few people permitted to speak with the Prince of Achu.

Chloé exclaimed. "You've never met my parents!"

Accusation after accusation, truth after truth, was hurled at Lila. She could do nothing but shake her head and try to lie her way out of it, but to no avail. Marinette felt a vicious spike of satisfaction when Lila was called to Damocles' office. They must've realised how little sense all of those illnesses made.

"So," Adrien stood beside her. "How'd you do it?"

Marinette grinned at him. "A Guardian never kisses and tells."

"Well, that's─wait. Kisses whom?"

She smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Her boyfriend, preferably."

Adrien considered that, locking her in his embrace. "Good answer. But don't think I've forgotten, either!"

"Sure, Chaton."

"I'm serious!"

"Of course you are."

"Don't patronise me."

"It's Guardian stuff. Completely mundane."

"Right. And I'm a golden retriever."

Innocent eyes stared up at him. "You aren't?"

"I─my God, Milady. You hate me, don't you?!" he asked dramatically.

"No," she smiled, pecking his lips. "I love you." Adrien relaxed, leaning down to kiss her.

Meanwhile, their classmates were staring at them with wide, curious and shocked eyes.

"I… have so many questions," Alya breathed out.

I'm exhausted as I write this. Holy shit. And why is there so much unnecessary sexual tension between Lila and Marinette here?

But has anybody seen the new Mulan movie? (Spoilers, if not). Holy fucking shit, I hate it. I've seen hundreds of movies/tv shows based on the ballad of Mulan. But this… this takes the cake for a bad movie. It's such bad quality for a Disney movie, too. The acting was atrocious and there were so many unnecessary additions to the movie, or omissions, too. Like, where's Mushu? Li Shang? Grandma Fa? Music? And what the fuck was that matchmaking scene? Literally none of that was her fault?! And don't even get me started on the Falcon-witch. Or the arrow-kicking. Or the fake-fighting. Or whatever the fuck that scene with young Mulan was. The parkour… just why? The sliding on the wall? No. Just no. There's so many things wrong with the movie. I'd honestly believe you if you told me it was created by Hallmark.