The day started out simple enough. Marinette, Adrien, Peter, and Bruce were talking to each other outside the school before it started. Adrien was holding a large book, given to him by his father.

"Dad said he found it with Bruce's dad years ago in Tibet. He's already read through all of it and figured I'd like to check it out."

"How much have you read?" Marinette asked.

Adrien put the book aside. "The first few dozen pages. I'm on this page about a Fox-themed Hero. It's actually really cool."

"My father showed me that book too," Bruce said. "It fascinated me. Even gave me a little bit of inspiration, if you catch my meaning."

"Yo, guys!" Nino called out as he came over. "Did you hear the news?"

"What news?" Peter asked.

We're getting a new student in Ms. Bustier's class!" Nino said as he took a head start.

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other. Marinette was always willing to meet new people, and Adrien could always use some new friends. This felt like a good opportunity.

"Well, let's go meet her then," Peter said as the four followed after Nino.

"Don't forget we need to get to our class soon too, Peter." Bruce reminded.

"Yeah, yeah, just a quick pop-in, okay?"

They got into class and saw a girl in a red jacket with brown hair and green eyes talking to Alya and Nino, the latter noticing the four arrive.

"There he is." Nino smiled as he gestured over to them. "Adrien, Marinette, this is Lila. She's new."

It didn't take long for Lila to react to Adrien. She immediately went up to him, getting close to him, too close for the gang's taste.

"Wait...why is my Spider-Sense tingling?" Peter thought to himself.

"Well, Adrien, I think we are going to get along just fine since we have something in common," she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Adrien immediately blushed and smiled nervously. "Oh? That's good! Uh...What do we have in common?"

"Just a personal friend in a little somebody named Jagged Stone, that's all."

"Wait, you know Jagged Stone?!" Adrien gawked, nearly dropping his books. "He's my favorite musician!"

"Wow. Meeting a celebrity is pretty cool," Marinette said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lila said, completely ignoring Marinette before immediately turning her attention back to Adrien.

"Alright, everyone, take your seats!" Ms. Bustier called out as she came in.

"Oh, Ms. Bustier, may I sit in the front with Adrien?" Lila asked. "I have a bad hearing problem in my left ear and need someone I can trust to help me with notes."

She clung to Adrien's arm with a pleading look. Adrien gave an uneasy look, Lila's sudden clinginess feeling sudden and very unsettling. He wasn't the only one as Bruce narrowed his eyes while Peter's Spider-Sense blared wildly in his head, making him wince.

"Well, Nino would have to give up his seat," Ms. Bustier said. "Nino? Would you be willing?"

Nino looked at his best friend and at Lila. He thought about it, and while it would suck not being with his buddy, at least Adrien would be making a new friend. With a sigh, he nodded his head, him and Adrien sharing a look of sadness as he went to the back.

"I don't want to assume, but something's weird about that girl," Alya noted.

"You're not assuming," Bruce simply said as he and Peter left, giving Lila one last glance before heading for their own class.

As the lecture began, Chloe noticed how Lila was still clinging to Adrien, so she leaned toward Sabrina.

"Something bugs me about that Lila."

Eventually, the class ended, and the students made their way to their next class. Adrien made his way out the door, not realizing that he had left his new book for Lila to discover. Her prying eyes lead her to open it.

To say things got better throughout the day would be a lie.

Marinette tried to spend time with Adrien during passing periods and lunch but found that he was often with Lila, whether by choice or not, Marinette couldn't tell. She tried to get involved and be friendly towards Lila, but each time, Lila just brushed her off.

Marinette could understand the appeal of having someone to relate to, but Lila's behavior seemed unusually unfriendly to her, especially since they had just met. But she would keep trying. That's when she heard Lila talking to Aurore Beauréal.

"Yeah, I got the tinnitus in my right ear while I was hanging out with Prince Ali and Ladybug. I know her, you know. She saved my life once. Now we're friends. Though, if you ask me, there are way better heroes out there, like that Spider-Guy."

Marinette gasped when she heard this. Switching from the left ear to the right? That could have just been a slip of the tongue, but the story had changed entirely, not to mention the part about Ladybug. Marinette knew for certain that that part was a lie. She had to do something. She had to confront her about this.

With a deep breath, Marinette steeled herself and walked up to Lila.

"Funny, when you said all this in class, you said it was your left ear, and that you met Jagged Stone backstage, and I don't remember anything about…" she said just before Lila's hand was brought over her mouth.

"Could you excuse us?" Lila said to Aurore before dragging Marinette into the bathroom, just as two other girls were leaving and two certain older boys were walking by.

"Marinette?" Peter wondered worriedly as he snuck by, Bruce narrowed his eyes as he took out something from his back pocket and pressed a button on it.

"Hey! What's your problem?!" said Marinette, prying Lila's hand away from her scowling mouth.

Lila sneered at Marinette. "What's your problem? You've been stalking me all day."

"I wasn't stalking anyone. I was trying to talk to Adrien, because he's my friend, and I'm also trying to be yours, but you keep blowing me off."

"Oh," Lila said before smiling a little too sweetly. "Well, okay, sure. We can be friends."

"Fine by me, but you need to stop lying," Marinette said, crossing her arms.

Lila glared at Marinette. "How do you know I'm lying?"

"Lila, you told Aurore a completely different story than the one you told in class, and even added Ladybug into it."

Lila rolled her eyes. "Okay, Little Miss Honesty, so I make a few stories up. It's not my fault if people are dumb enough to believe them. People love my stories because it's what they want to hear. I know how to work a crowd, and I can make it so everyone loves me, and hates you."

Marinette silently gasped as Lila backed her into a corner. She was catching a glimpse of Lila's true colors, and she didn't like it.

"So, you can keep this our little secret, or you can risk testing me, but I warn you, it won't end well for you," Lila said as she turned on her heel and left. "And you might as well forget about Adrien because, by the end of the day, he's going to be mine."

Marinette just stood there, shaking. Just how much of Lila's threat was worth worrying about? The idea of this girl manipulating Adrien and the rest of the school against her was terrifying.

"Marinette, are you okay?"

Marinette felt relief wash over her as Peter and Bruce came in, followed by Alya and Chloe.

"Normally, we'd tell you to stay out of the girl's bathroom but this is important," Chloe said with a scowl. "I knew that girl was trouble!"

"H-How much did you all hear?" Marinette asked.

"Enough," Alya said. "We saw you and her coming our way, and I thought there would be trouble."

"I got a bad tingle and I needed to come over and see what was up," Peter said.

"I had a hunch myself, but that just confirmed it." Bruce added.

Alya then walked over to the wastebasket and took her phone out of it as Chloe did the same.

"Chloé and I hid our phones in the wastebasket, and put them on record."

"I also had a little recording of my own," Bruce said, revealing a small black cube-like device that played a perfect recording of Lila and Marinette's conversation.

"Chloe and Alya working together? But you HATE each other." Marinette said incredulously.

"Let's just say recent events have called for a truce of sorts," Chloe said, silently remembering the time she was kidnapped just a few nights ago. "Besides, she's trying to deceive Adrien. I can't let that slide."

"Neither can I," Bruce said, unconsciously cracking his knuckles as he did so.

"Trust us, Marinette. We'll share this with everyone else in class." Alya reassured.

Marinette sighed. "I just hope this ends well."

All of Ms. Bustier's Class had been gathered by Bruce and Peter to meet at the Grand Paris. After learning the truth, Adrien was pretty mad at Lila when she approached him to return his book earlier.

"I can't believe she would lie like that!" Adrien snapped with his fists clenched. "She even went on about being a descendant of Volpina, the Fox Superhero from the book, and how she knows Ladybug, Chat Noir, Spider-Man, and Batman!"

"I can't believe she'd lie about knowing Prince Ali!" Rose said sadly as Juleka patted her shoulder comfortingly. "And she seemed like such a nice girl, too..."

"To be fair, a few of us did take her stories with a large grain of salt," Max said, fixing his glasses. "But of course, her making up that story about Volpina was an obvious lie."

"Yeah, she probably just read through the book before giving it back to me," Adrien said. "I showed her the recording and told her she should admit the truth to everyone, but she… she just got all defensive. And then she told me she didn't need a lecture."

"Sounds like this girl is someone who's never been told 'No' before." Peter frowned. "Man, that's so annoying."

"I really wanted to hope she was nice but that girl is bad news," Alya said, shaking her head.

"She even accused me of pretending to be nice and actually just being a spoiled Daddy's Boy at home who never had to work for anything in his life." Adrien frowned.

"Dude, not cool!" Kim said.

"Why that...that...UGH!" Marinette shouted before biting down on her phone.

"Well, if she doesn't want to come clean on her own, then we'll have to do it for her," Nino said.

"I've already sent the recordings to Principal Damocles and the other teachers," Bruce said. "My friend Lucius Fox works pretty well with this kind of tech."

That's when Adrien's mother popped her head out the door of the hotel.

"There you are, Adrien. Come on in, sunshine. I have a big surprise for you." Emilie said with a big grin on her face.

Adrien looked at the others, who shrugged. He then followed his mother in with curiosity about this sudden surprise, followed by his friends. They went in, and right there, talking to Mayor Bourgeois and Gabriel was Jagged Stone. Adrien nearly screamed as he rushed over to the rock star.

"No way! No way!" said Adrien as he stood there, mouth agape. "I must be dreaming! Jagged Stone! I am such a big fan! I can't believe I.."

Adrien was cut short when Jagged Stone turned his head and looked at the boy. The musician's eyes popped wide open.

"Little Adrien Agreste?! Is that really you?!"

"Jagged Stone knows Adrien?" Alix asked Mylene, who shrugged.

"Blimey! I almost didn't recognize you! Look at you! You've gotten so big! C'mere, little bloke! Give your Uncle Jagged a hug!"

Adrien found himself in a state of stunned silence as his favorite rock star hugged him tightly.

"U-Uncle Jagged?"

Jagged broke the hug. " You don't remember me, do you? Oh, what am I saying? Of course not. You were only four."

"Emilie and Jagged are old friends," Gabriel explained as he walked over. "They've known each other since they were your friend's age, Adrien."

"The last time I saw you, you were only up to my knee," Jagged said, ruffling Adrien's hair, who honestly could not believe his own ears. Was Jagged Stone, the rock star, really talking to him as if they were family?

"Wow, Lila wishes she had this kind of connection," Nino said as he came over.

"Who's Lila?" Jagged asked.

"Some new girl at our school. She's been telling all sorts of crazy stories and she even claimed to know you," Chloe said.

Jagged raised an eyebrow at this statement. "Well, I don't know anyone named Lila."

"I tried confronting her about it, but she threatened me," Marinette added.

Jagged was understandably aghast. "That's terrible! If you ask me, you should let the word out."

"Trust us, that's the plan," Bruce said as he showed his Recorder Black Box, Sabrina nodding as she showed her phone as well.

Jagged then took Marinette to the side. "You know, I admire someone who's willing to call out a lying bully. How would you like a little job while I'm here?"

"Really?" Marinette beamed. "I'm listening."

Everyone was in class and Lila hadn't arrived yet. They were all quite anxious about what was to come but soon, Lila arrived and was greeted with some sour looks.

"Who spit in everyone's cereal today?" Lila asked, a hand on her hip.

"Because we know you lied," Rose said, crossing her arms and scowling.

Nathaniel glared. "Yeah, and that you're a bully."

"We know what you said to Marinette the other day. Not cool!" Kim said.

"And I heard what you said to Adrien," Sabrina said. "How dare you accuse him of being a spoiled brat when you're one yourself, Little Miss 'Daughter Of A Diplomat'!"

Lila began to break out in a cold sweat as her eyes shifted back and forth. She could feel every eye in the room looking at her, and not in the way she liked.

"None of you have any proof! For all you know, they're the ones lying, not me!"

"Oh really?" Bruce said as he came into the room, having been lying in wait as he dropped his Black Box Recorder onto the teacher's desk, the play button already pressed.

It said loud and clear what Lila said to Marinette the other day, and just as Ms. Bustier came in.

"Lila Rossi, am I hearing all of this correctly? Is there something you would like to say to your classmates?" the teacher asked, a stern but still gentle look in her eyes.

"Oh, busted!" Peter said, peeking out from behind the door with a trollish grin.

Lila looked back and forth in a blind panic before bolting out of the room, which made most of the class feel somewhat bad for her, especially Adrien.

"Lila, wait!"

The young Agreste heir ran after Lila, Marinette, Alya, Nino, Bruce, and Peter following close behind. After scouring the entire campus, they eventually found Lila in the cafeteria, angrily wiping mascara-stained tears from her eyes.

"Lila!" Marinette said as she and her friends rushed towards her.

"What do you want? Are you here to gloat?" she asked, turning her back on them.

"Hey, did you really think we liked doing that?" Peter retorted.

"Listen, Lila, we're sorry, but the thing is…" Marinette said, only to be interrupted.

"Keep your little fake apologies," Lila said, standing up and pointing a finger in Marinette's face. "The last thing I want is for someone to lecture me! So just leave me alone! I hate you! All of you!"

Lila then stormed off, crying the whole way as Adrien and Marinette watched her leave sadly. It was true that she deserved to be called out for what she did, but in their rush to do it, they didn't think about how upset Lila would be.

"It's not your fault," Bruce said. "There are people that are just like this."

"Yeah, sometimes you can help them out...other times, things don't work out the way you want 'em to." Peter frowned, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, girl. Maybe we should have gone about this another way," Alya said to Marinette.

"Something in my gut tells me we'll be hearing from her again, and not in a good way," Nino said.

Lila sulked by herself, thinking of how she was doomed to be alone. And all because a boy she liked and his crush ratted her out, even if they did attempt to try and be her friend if she told the truth.

"Well, whatever! I'd rather have no friends at all than be friends with them! I don't need anyone!" she snapped, burying her face.

"Yeah, it sucks when the whole world is against you, huh? When you're just trying to make your mark on the world."

Lila perked up and looked to see a man standing before her. He seemed to be of middle age but looked quite handsome with dark brown hair and a scruffy beard.

"Who are you?"

"Quentin Beck. You know, special effects movie maker, stuntman, and aspiring actor." The man introduced himself. "And you, Lila, are definitely one I can respect."

"Respect?" Lila asked as she stood up, Quentin smirking.

"Yeah, then again, my kid has to get it from somewhere, right?"

Lila stared at the man in confusion before her eyes widened in recognition, remembering a picture her mom kept on her desk showing her and a man smiling together. The man perfectly fit Quentin's depiction.

"Wait...you...?"

Quentin just smiled and spread his arms out. "What? Not gonna give your dear old Dad a hug?"

Lila beamed and hugged the man tightly as he returned the embrace before separating, a devilish smirk on his face.

"See, I have this plan in the works that I think you might love. And I've heard about what's been going on at school...I think I can help with your problems."

Lila thought about it and was happy to get a shot at getting this kind of power.

"Deal."

Since Gabriel is a good guy in this story, I needed something else for Lila to have the chance to antagonize Ladybug and Chat Noir as well as Spider-Man and Batman. And who better for someone who uses tricks and lies then the Master of Illusion himself...MYSTERIO!