"Mrs. Rossi?" Mr. Damocles was just as stunned as the teacher. They had tried multiple times to contact Lila's mother, but never succeeded. Here she was, looking annoyed, but she was here.

"What is so important that I had to leave in the middle of an important meeting?" Mrs. Rossi scanned the room and found her daughter. "Lila? What is going on?"

"Mom! They are ganging up on me!" Lila had to go for the defense as soon as possible.

Mrs. Rossi looked at the other faces' in the room. She recognised Marinette, as Lila had shown pictures of her at home. She didn't recognise the other girl, but the man standing beside her.

"General Summers? Was it you who called me here?" Mrs. Rossi pinched the bridge of her nose. Why is he here?

Lila looked afraid. Her mother knew Catie's dad?

"Indeed. I called you here because I found it outrageous that the school would have a meeting regarding student conducts without every student involved's legal guardians present." James looked at the principal, who by now was sweating bullets and shaking.

"Wait? A meeting? About what?" Mrs. Rossi placed herself behind her daughter and looked confused.

"Mom! They are bullying me! They keep saying horrible things about me." Lila put her face in her hands again. Still faking her tears.

"I hope this is a meeting about how you will deal with the bullies, principal. Lila has told me all about how this Marinette and Catie are bullying my daughter."

Marinette managed to stop herself from making any sounds. Oh, the ironi.

Catie, however, did not. She made a loud scoff, but wasn't embarrassed or ashamed. Instead, she waited for the obvious question.

"What is so funny? General, is she your daughter?" Mrs. Rossi was getting annoyed, but hoped this situation would be dealt with once and for all.

"This is indeed my daughter, Catherine. She has a few things to say in her defense of that accusation. As do I." James put a comforting hand on Catie's shoulder. He wasn't mad that she had responded, he wanted to do the same.

"Go on then. What would you have to say for yourself?" Mrs. Rossi urged.

"Fine. I don't know what Lila has told you at home, but here at school she has told some… Very interesting stories. Have you ever traveled to the kingdom of Achu? Did you know that Lila saved Jagged Stones' imaginary cat from a running airplane and got tinnitus from it? Or how about Lila staring in a film and being a close friend to Steven Spielberg? Could you confirm that Lila has arthritis? Did Lila go with you when you went to Germany, just a few weeks ago when Lila was absent from school? These are but a few things she has told in school."

Mrs. Rossi didn't know what to say. This was the first time she had even heard of these things. "Don't be ridiculous. What nonsense is this?"

Lila shrunk in her chair. She couldn't say those things were true in front of her mother, but she didn't want to lose this fight. Could she gaslight her mother? She had done it once, and it worked then.

"But mom! Don't you remember when we flew from Italy here? How there was an announcement about a celebrity flying with us? Or that an animal had escaped?" Lila knew that her mother had so much in her head already, she wouldn't remember the opposite.

"No. I don't." Mrs. Rossi hesitated. Had it been like that? It had been a long time ago. She tried to think but couldn't remember.

James shook his head. How could this woman who works for the embassy be gaslighted by her own daughter? He knew that there would never be any announcements like that, ever. These adults were far too gullible for their own good.

"Mrs. Rossi. I have to contribute the fact that Lila has claimed she has both tinnitus and arthritis, and we have asked for the medical documentation confirming it." Mr. Damocles felt it was necessary for him to add to the conversation.

"But Lila, why are you saying that? You don't have either of those things." Mrs. Rossi didn't want to believe when a child spoke these outrageous things. But now an adult, the principal. Was it true?

"Mom! Don't you remember, at the airport I got too close to the airplane and it damaged my ears?" Lila cried her fake tears. Trying to gain sympathy and confuse her own mother. She didn't care. If her mother found out the truth, she would be destroyed.

Mrs. Rossi was massaging her temple by now. She was starting to get a headache from all this, and now she would have to try and remember details? Or maybe… Lila knew that she had bad memory, so she tried to fake some? Was her daughter gaslighting her? No, that couldn't be…

"Mrs. Rossi. If you still have a hard time figuring out what is going on, then I will show you evidence that perhaps will settle your inner conflict." James said as he handed the principal a USB. Mr. Damocles connected it to his computer and projected a bigger screen beside him. There were excerpts from the Ladyblog, detailing everything Catie just brought to Mrs. Rossi's attention. The mother went pale. Had Catie told the truth?

She turned to look at her daughter. "Is this true?" she demanded an answer.

"No! They must've photoshopped it! Why would I do that? It could damage your career and why would I do that?" Lila grabbed her mother's arm and forced her to look at her. Her eyes were watery, and she gave 'the look'. The eyes that Mrs. Rossi had a hard time saying no to.

Mrs. Rossi turned to James and gave a bored look.

"Really? What are you trying to say with this, General? Don't you have better things to do?"

"You know that family comes first, always. That was a boundary I placed before I even accepted the invitation here. Don't you recall?" He looked at the woman.

Yes, she did. She had been present during their video call where they wanted to invite General Summers to Paris for help. Something Mrs. Rossi had hoped for since Lila claimed the school had been closed for weeks because of an akuma.

"I remember." Mrs. Rossi sighed.

"Really? That you remember? Why can't you then remember all that I've told you over these past few months?" Lila gritted her teeth.

"You were the one who insisted I be invited here, are you not satisfied with what I've accomplished so far?" James didn't take his eyes from the confused and tired woman.

"Wait, you invited them?" Lila broke character and asked. Was it her mother's fault that all of this happened?

"If you have to know, I insisted we ask for help from the outside since my daughter's school had been closed for weeks due to an akuma. I told you I would bring all of these attacks to light during my next meeting, and I did."

"What?! Are you saying this is my fault?!" Lila was pissed. She had lied about the attacks, that the principal was akumatized just so she didn't have to go to school. She vaguely remembers her mother saying something like that, but she never thought anything would've been resolved. Or that anyone would listen.

"Then do you really believe that I would spend my valuable time discrediting and faking evidence instead of focusing on what I'm here to do?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt Mrs. Rossi and Mr. ah… General Summers. But the school has never been closed for weeks or months at a time. Mostly a day or two but never more than that. Ladybug and Chat Noir has made sure of that."

This got Mrs. Rossi's attention once again. "Hold on. You haven't been closed for weeks at a time? But what about Heroes Day? Lila told me you were akumatized and that the school had been out for a long time." She then turned to look at Lila who still hid her face in her hands.

"About that…" Marinette began but was stopped by her parents. "Really? You still can't figure out what is going on?"

"Wasn't it around Heroes Day you visited Achu, Lila?" Catie finished what Marinette wanted to say. She was given a grateful look from her blue-haired friend.

"What? But you were at home the entire day."

"I was transported there, by Ladybug. I had some charity work there, remember?" Lila didn't lift her face from her hands as he spoke. She had to figure something out.

"What charity work?" Mrs. Rossi didn't want to believe this. She didn't know what was true or what wasn't anymore.

"Ladybug would never transport you there." Marinette said out loud, without thinking. She turned red and tried to find a way to explain this.

"How do you know?" Sabine was actually the one who asked. She didn't know what to believe anymore, either.

"Ah… You see…"

Catie whispered 'Adrien', and that got the wheels in her head turning.

"Adrien told us that… Ladybug had found the interview she did about being Ladybug's best friend. And she had told Lila off in front of Adrien." She managed to get out, and even stop herself from blabbing on more than necessary.

"Is that true, Lila? Didn't you say you were best friends with Ladybug and knew her secret identity? Then why would Ladybug say the opposite, in front of a witness?" Catie looked at her nails as she spoke. She could feel her father's pride getting stronger. She didn't need him to fight her battles, only to back her up.

"Adrien? Isn't that your boyfriend? Why would he say that to them if he's in love with you?" Mrs. Rossi remembered Lila saying something about him being her boyfriend, and that he was totally in love with her. So why would he betray her?

"Boyfriend? He doesn't even like being close to her." Catie scoffed. How easy was this woman to be fooled?

"Is that true, Lila?" Mrs. Rossi could feel her body tense together with the headache. She had no idea this was what she was being called to when she was pulled from her meeting. Still, it seems she should be thankful.

Lila broke down. She started crying, real tears this time again.

James signaled to Mr. Damocles to continue scrolling through the evidence he had collected. When it reached a certain video, James ordered him to stop.

Catie began shaking. It was that incident. She wanted to cry, knowing what it actually was. Marinette grabbed one hand, and James put his arm around her shoulders to protect her. He knew this would be hard for her to watch, and he had wished she didn't have to. But if she wanted to, he wouldn't stop her.

"Wh-what is that?" Mrs. Rossi said, horrified. She knew it was surveillance footage. But what was the meaning of it?

"This, is evidence that your daughter tried to murder my daughter." James said.

"MURDER!?" Every adult in the room yelled.

"Isn't that a little too far?" Mr. Damocles tried.

"I'm certain it wasn't like that." Ms. Bustier tried as well.

"Watch." James said one word. It was all he needed to say before he signaled for the principal to start the video.

The scene was of the crossroads. Several pedestrians stood in wait for the light to turn red for the traffic. Catie could be seen at the edge of the sidewalk. She looked like she was deep in thought, but aware enough to stop.

Then… Lila appeared in frame. She looked like she was looking straight at Catie. She made her way past a few people before she sped up. With her hands stretched out, she clearly pushed Catie out onto the street before she ran back the way she came, disappearing from the screen.

Catie tried to catch herself from the fall, but one could clearly see her foot twist unnaturally and the pain in her face even though the image was from a distance. The oncoming car had stomped on the brakes as evident on the smoke from the back tires, and managed to stop just in front of Catie.

Marinette appeared on screen, running up to Catie and trying to help her.

Mr. Damocles stopped the video.

Everyone was stunned, silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Catie couldn't help the tears escaping, but who could blame her? She had to watch the moment she was injured again. She tried to look away, but couldn't.

"I have all the evidence to convict you of attempted murder."

"Mom, please! It's fake! It's not me!" Lila was on her knees, clawing at her mother's leg. She had been careless. It couldn't end like this!

"Let go of me!" Mrs. Rossi pushed her daughter away. Lila ended up on her butt on the floor, looking in disbelief at her mother. Had she pushed her away?

"I can't believe this…" Sabine said, hugging her husband before she turned to face Marinette. "Marinette, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you."

Tom spread his arms, inviting his wife and daughter into a bear hug.

Marinette hesitated, but was nudged on by Catie. It wasn't her parents' fault really. They had been manipulated and blinded by lies. Lila had played everyone, promising everyone what they wanted to hear. Some of her lies had even been hard to contradict without substantial evidence.

Marinette smiled at her friend, and jumped into her fathers embrace. She had missed his bearhugs.

"It's okay. I'm glad you could finally see the truth." She cried as she felt relieved that finally, it would all be over.

"NO! It can't end like this!" Lila screamed as she stood up. She hoped for a black butterfly, but it never came.

It seemed Shadowmoth had finally come to his senses as well, finally noticing the danger of this girl.

"Lila Rossi. You are hereby expelled with immediate effect." Mr. Damocles had seen and heard enough. He wanted her out of there, and as far away as possible.

"There's nowhere for you to run. I made sure to have police outside if you tried to escape." James closed the distance with the criminal.

Mrs. Rossi was beyond any reason by this point. She wanted to do everything right by giving her daughter whatever she wanted. She had worked hard to support Lila. But it also felt like it was her own fault. Had she been present more, then maybe… Maybe she hadn't done any of this?

"I have to apologize, Marinette." Ms. Bustier spoke up. "I was a bad teacher for not listening to you when you tried to tell me about Lila. I guess I just wanted everyone to be happy."

"Ms. Bustier…" Marinette didn't know where to begin. There was so much she wanted to say.

"May I say something?" Catie sensed that Marinette struggled with whatever she had on her mind. "I just like to point out that there has been a severe unfair treatment ever since I came to the school."

Both Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything in response. They wanted to hear her out.

"I've seen how everyone in school has dismissed Mari whenever she has tried to point out any of her lies. She was blamed for jealousy or being a bully. But it was never the same for me. I called her out many times, with just my words like Mari did. But no one, except Lila, accused me of being a liar, jealous or a bully. May I know why that is?"

There really was no answer to that question. Maybe it was because she was new and they didn't really know her that well. Or maybe it was because of the file of documents she had provided on her first day that made it hard to not believe her.

"I apologize on the behalf of my daughter." Mrs. Rossi finally broke her silence as she turned to face both Catie and Marinette.

"No, you don't have to apologize." Marinette began but was stopped by the woman's hand.

"No, I do. I should have raised her better. Or figured out that she was gaslighting me." She turned to look at her daughter, who by now looked bored and had crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hmpf. Not my fault you were easily fooled." Lila didn't care anymore. It was all over anyway, so why hide her true self?

"No, but thank you. It was your idea that made me finally find out who you truly are." Mrs. Rossi turned her back on her daughter for the final time. She walked up to the general and put out her hand. "Thank you, general. Thank you for finally opening my eyes to the truth. But as I said, had it not been for her then you wouldn't be here right now. I'm glad I fought for your arrival."

James smiled as he took her hand and shook it.

"I'm glad I could be of assistance. Now we are even closer to our target."

This caught the attention of Marinette. What did he mean? They had only stopped a liar. Okay, it was a liar who had been targeted a lot by Shadowmoth, but still. Or could it be… Is that why he hasn't sent any akumas this way? She was certain at first that it was Chat Noir that had stood guard outside, as a request from the general. Well, she would find out during their weekly meeting with the appointed squad during the weekend.

"Come Marinette. I believe we should celebrate this victory. How about we close the bakery for some much needed quality time?" Tom suggested.

"Well…" Marinette looked at Catie. "How about we invite a few more?"

Sabine followed her daughter's gaze. She smiled. "Of course, sweetie. We'll wait outside for you." Then they left.

"I must take my leave as well. I have a meeting to return to at the embassy, but I am certain it is over by now." A small relieved smile could be seen on her lips. She didn't even cast another look at Lila, who was now stomping her feet as a small child throwing a tantrum because of it.

"Mom! You can't just go! Mom! Answer me!" Lila kept screeching.

"Oh, shut up. That's enough for you." To everyone's surprise, it was Ms. Bustier who told her off. They had never heard her break character like that, so it certainly was something to be confused about.

"How dare you talk to me like that?!" Lila was seething.

James closed the distance, towering over the girl who felt herself shrink in his presence.

"It is time to deliver you to the police." He grabbed her upper arm and began dragging her out the door. She screamed, yelled at him to let her go, that this was not the last they would hear from her.

Left was Catie, Marinette and Mr. Damocles and Ms. Bustier.

"I have to thank you Catherine, for opening my eyes." Mr. Damocles stood up and rounded his desk. "I have to do some serious thinking about my role as principal at Collège Francoise Dupont. Especially about the whole zero tolerance for bullying." He winked at Catie.

"Please, Catie is fine. I just wanted to do what I needed. I saw someone taking advantage of everyone and I wanted to correct that."

"I see. Anyway, I'm grateful you did. We are going to take a long hard look at ourselves, me foremost. I believe it is time I stand up for what is right." Mr. Damocles put out his hand, waiting for Catie to shake it.

She did, with a smile full of pride. She then turned to hook Marinette's arm as they walked out together.

"Sir, did you mean that?" Ms. Bustier asked once they were alone in the room.

"Mean what? Take a stand? It is only the right thing to do. Far too long have I looked the other way and let corruption control me. No more. And hopefully, I can have both the Italian Embassy and the military on my side." Mr. Damocles once again took a seat in his chair and began his work.

Ms. Bustier smiled at the principal, as she took her leave. She also had to take a long hard look at how she had treated everyone in class differently. Thankfully, Catie had opened everyone's eyes.

Catie had arrived, shy and quiet. She never bragged, nor spoke about herself too much. She wanted people to get to know her, not her experiences. She had been through so much, be it both good or bad, but she had. And she used that knowledge and experience to make a change. Catie really was an exceptional individual. Humble, kind and just. She never accused anyone outright, she made others' open their eyes by simply planting:

Seeds of doubt.

A/N: There you have it. A few things to consider:

¤ Mrs. Rossi doesn't have an official name, so that it why she remains as Mrs. Rossi. I also found it a good plot twist that it was actually her who called for the military to step in after the lies that Lila told about the akumas. Although I don't really know if it works like that in real life, but it was a fun twist.

¤ Throughout the series I've always had the feeling that Mr. Damocles wanted to do what was right (even before season 5), but didn't know how. So I wanted his 'redemption' be that he will take action against corruption. I also think that Ms. Bustier, even though she always seems so softspoken and kind, could have a brash side. It was kind of funny writing that part.

¤ I believe Marinette's parents are pure deep down. They mean well, but as it stated, Lila had a talent to make everyone believe her by telling then exactly what they needed. They were blinded and manipulated. So one their eyes would be opened, they would turn into the protective pair they once was.

¤ Yes, there will be an epilogue.