Inconsistency

by Gale-Dragon

Tired of all the Dupont Staff salt and incompetent teachers? Well, it's time for a Lila's Lies are Exposed fic that removes the over-saturation of salt by having the teachers do their jobs to both protect their students and discovers the extent of Lila's lies. Guest-staring some fang-tastic characters working as Private Investigators!

4. Chapter 4

Inconsistency, chapter 4

~}I{~

It hadn't occurred to Adrien that he had never been inside a hospital before until today. Never went for an annual check-up, his Father always had a doctor come to the mansion when it was necessary. Adrien couldn't recall his Father calling for an ambulance when his mother collapsed the first time or the second time, and certainly not the third time.

So being in a hospital now should have been overwhelming, and over-stimulating... But that didn't register in Adrien's brain right away. As of now, Adrien Agreste was more worried about Ms Seras, who was still in the emergency ward. His thoughts just kept cycling back to his mother and how she vanished after a bad fainting spell.

Al's gentle hand was placed on Adrien's shoulder. The blonde teen snapped back to reality as he turned to see Al sitting next to him with a worried expression painted all over his face. The blonde man kept that hand on the teen's shoulder when he asked, "Are you sure you're okay? You're shaking pretty badly." When Adrien said that he was fine and wasn't shaking, Al told the teen to hold his hands out in front of him, palms open and flat.

Adrien did just that. To his shock, he saw not only his hands shaking but also his arms. Adrien quickly hugged himself in a futile attempt to stop the shaking.

This worried Plagg, never seeing his Holder this shaken up. And he knew the kid had his fair share of terrifying events... But this... This felt different... It WAS different.

Al asked the teen if it was alright for him to hold him in a hug. When he got a nod, the silver-eyed slowly and gently wrapped an arm around Adrien. Al carefully nudged the teen closer for a better one-armed hug. Adrien practically leans into the gesture immediately, almost nuzzling the adult's embrace. This almost instant acceptance of a comforting gesture made Al wonder if the near accident spooked the teen more than he was letting on or if this teen didn't get a lot of that at home.

'Now isn't the time for that,' Al told himself as he refocused on soothing the teen in his care. The blonde man looked up to see Nino approaching and asked, "How's the arm?" Adrien looked up at this.

Nino rubbed the brace wrapped around his left wrist when he said, "Sprained, but nothing too major. Just gotta keep the brace on for a few weeks." He moved to sit on Adrien's other side when he asked, "Any news on Aunt Seras?"

Al looked over at the light in the operating room that glowed a bright shade of red. The adult's lips pressed into a line before he said, "They're still trying to get whatever toxin nearly killed her out of her system..."

Adrien looked up at the man when he asked, "I thought a stake through the heart, decapitation and crosses were the only thing to kill a..." He trailed off, still unsure about the fact that vampires are real.

Al glanced to the side with a weary chuckle when he said, "Well, the first two are guaranteed on almost every living species, but the cross part... The symbol at it is doesn't have any effect, it's a combination of the belief in the religion, their god or gods and the symbol to focus that repels vampires. Crosses can't kill us unless someone decides to use it as a stake." He took a deep breath before he said, "Vampires are a lot more resistant to poisons, venoms, toxins, and drugs than humans are, but if enough gets into our system we Will suffer the effects."

Nino put those facts together the fastest when he said, "So for Aunt Seras to almost... Die after taking one sip of that coffee..."

Plagg poked his head out of his hiding spot when he commented softly, to not draw any outside attention, "There had to be one hell of a dose of whatever was put into it..." He looked up at Al when he asked, "Do you think that whoever spiked the coffee knew that Seras was a vampire?"

That was when Adrien realised something when he said, "But... Ms Seras could walk in the sunlight without a problem..." He looked at Al when he said, "So do you. How?"

Nino explained, "Well, it's been ages since those 'Myths' about vampires were once fact. But as the years passed, the 'monsters' adapted to blend in among humans. During this, each generation born became more resilient to what would've hurt them in the past. For vampires, they are now able to walk outside during the day."

Al nodded when he said, "Very true, but we're still quite susceptible to sun and heat-related ailments if we're outside during the day long enough. However, Me, Lily, and D are Half-Vampires/Half-Human or Dhampires so we are naturally more resilient to normal vampiric weaknesses but we're still affected by them with enough time."

Now Adrien was understanding this a little better.

That was when Nino stated, "But since humans still think that today's vampires still can't come out during the day... I don't think anyone who was possibly stalking Aunt Seras would've clocked her as a Vampire unless they saw her doing something 'superhuman'. So they wouldn't have given her THAT big of a dose off the bat...'

THAT was the biggest problem out of this entire scenario that bugged the small group. The dose of whatever was put into Seras's drink. While the 'how someone was able to sneak it into the tumbler' was an easy 2nd, the amount of the dose was no doubt tea that to a Vampire had they drank more than that first sip. Therefore, that same dose would've certainly killed a human instantly or within a minute of drinking that same first sip... ... ... That... Did not make any sense... Sure, maybe that would've made sense if it had been a dozen or so brews of coffee, maybe, but a single tumbler? That's more than Overkill.

"Mr. Dracool?"

Plagg ducked back into his hiding spot as Nino, Adrien, and Al turned toward whoever spoke. Standing a few paces away was a man slightly above average night, bright blue eyes, white hair that was slick back neatly with two strands of his bangs forming a 'V' over his head, a plain face with a small rounded nose, had a lean build, wearing a black shirt paired with a leather jacket with red trims and white lines along the helms, had on a pair of light grey slack, and black sneakers. This man took a few steps forward when he introduced himself. "I am Homicide Officer Prowl (1), I will be working on your sister's case," he said in a monotone and formal tone.

Al raised a brow in bewilderment when he said, "But... Seras isn't dead..." His attention then snapped to the red light above the operating room. It was still glowing. That meant the surgery was still ongoing.

So why was a homicide officer working a case that wasn't considered a homicide?

Officer Prowl stopped about three paces away when he stated, "The Crime Lab has confirmed that Ms. Seras Dracool's cup contains an extremely high level of potent painkillers, more than enough to kill at least 15 adults." The officer tilted his head to the side slightly before he inquired, "The paramedic who called the police to investigate the car mentioned that you wanted the cup examined. I am here to question you about that."

'He's blunt,' the four individuals thought at the same time as they stared at the Officer.

After Nino, Adrien, and Al explained their reasoning as to why they thought Seras's tumbler was spiked, the blonde man asked the officer why a Homicide was investigating this case.

Officer Prowl finished taking notes on the statements when he said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Given that the dose of the painkillers in the remainder of the coffee was Over-Lethal as the Analyst puts it, coupled with the fact that Ms Dracool was at the wheel when she overdosed and put countless people in danger, including all of you. We found that that situation could not be categorised as anything other than a wide-scale potential homicide."

Adrien leaned into Al's side at those words, not at all liking what was said. It finally sank in that the car he was in could've killed people had Uncle Al hadn't acted. That people were in danger and he couldn't do anything about it.

When he sensed the change in mood from the younger blonde, Al hugged the blonde teen before he asked the officer, "What else do you need to know?"

Officer Prowl nodded when he stated, "I would like a list of individuals that would hold a grudge against Ms. Seras Dracool due to her occupation as a Private Investigator. and a list of individuals that don't get along with her." The officer glanced at the teens before looking at Al when he asked, "Do you want to continue in a more private setting?"

Al caught onto what the officer was trying to do and stated, "They know."

Adrien and Nino were confused by this before Officer Prowl stated, "I see. And you're okay with them being here?" When Al said it was okay, the officer stated, "Even though I've taken into account of Ms Seras Dracool's vampiric attributes and resistance, the level of painkillers was still too much to ensure a fatal ingestion."

Nino and Adrien were a little taken aback by what was said, not just the facts. Al noticed and explained, "A lot of people in hospitals and law enforcement are well aware of the supernatural. Their main duty for beings like us is to ensure that we aren't found out by the masses while converting certain things so it looks like it is that of a human."

Officer Prowl then stated, "Before anyone comments about it being a lie, I will ensure that it isn't. Converting something that has happened to a supernatural being to the human equivalent is similar to converting currency or measurements."

Nino couldn't help but say, "I always wondered about that."

The red light over the operating room switched off and a doctor in green scrubs walked out, removing the surgical mask as she made her way over to the waiting family, ward, and officer. The doctor smiled when she said, "The process was a success and Seras is out of the danger zone."

Relief washed over the teens, the blonde man, and the Kwami at these words.

The doctor let out a deep breath before she said, "I'm going to be blatantly honest with you Al, the only reason Seras was able to survive long enough to receive the treatment in time is the fact that she is a full-fledged vampire. Had she been human or a fledgling, She would've been dead on arrival or had died on the scene." This got a terrified reaction from Adrien and Nino while Al reacted with a scowl.

Officer Prowl was eerily calm and collected when he stated, "That much of a lethal dose in a mouthful, huh." The doctor nodded before the policeman stated, "I am going to need that toxicology report. converted to that of a human if you can."

The doctor nodded when she said, "That's being worked on as we speak." She turned her attention to Al when she asked, "We had to remove Seras's prosthetic during the process, so would you like that given to you or do you want to keep it with her?"

Al thought about it for a bit when he muttered, "Since there was a photo shoot today... So..." His eyes widened when he looked at the police officer when he said in a tone of realisation, "Give the prosthetic to Officer Prowl! That particular one has a hidden camera near the shoulder joint so there's a chance Seras recorded something important without realising it."

Officer Prowl raised a brow when he asked, "Why does she have a prosthetic with a hidden camera?"

Al explained that Seras uses that prosthetic when a job involves reconnaissance, surveillance, information gathering, or if the client requests it. He also explains that she will switch to that prosthetic if she finds something suspicious during a job.

That was when Adrien asked, "But if that's the case, then why was she wearing it to one of the photo shoots? Nothing suspicious was happening there:"

Nino folded his arms when he stated in a deadpanned tone, "Except for Lila always feeling you up on set and apparently her finding out some facts that the CPS is currently investigating." Adrien now had an 'Oh yeah' expression when he realised what was said.

Officer Prowl raised another brow when he asked, "Was that necessary to reveal? That doesn't have to do with this case... Does it?"

Al let out a sigh when he explained, "Since you are going to be looking into everyone who could have a motive to kill Seras, then you're going to find out about this sooner or later. So, might as well tell you now." He took a deep breath, exhaled, and said, "Seras suspected and proved sexual abuse on the photo shoots of the Gabriel Brand, and that ended up leading to discovering some..." Al glanced down at Adrien at this. He gave the younger blonde another hug before looking at the police officer, who was taking note of what was being revealed, and said, "Emotional neglect on Agreste's end... So... Seras took the proper measures and reported her findings to the CPS."

Officer Prowl finished writing this down, and he asked, "And that is how Adrien Agreste came to be in your care, Mr. Dracool?"

Al nodded before he added, "Seras also filed a sexual harassment report with the Gabriel Brand. That pre-dates the CPS report." He glanced at Adrien again when he said, "I don't know the finer details, but the model that it was filed against is named Lila Rossi."

Nino scowled when he almost growled out, "Lying bitch is also a classmate of ours."

"Nino! Language!" Al chided.

Nino argued, "But it's warranted!"

Al frowned when he scolded, "Maybe, but I rather you not insult dogs."

Officer Prowl carefully went over the information before cautiously asking, "Mr. Agreste, have you been having problems with this Lila Rossi? Both on these photo shoots and at your school?"

Adrien shrunk a bit before he said, "Uh, yeah. For me, she constantly pushes into my personal space... I've been... Taught that I shouldn't be rude to girls because they are touchy-feely, but I didn't like or want the attention even though I... Never voiced it..."

The doctor looked very concerned about this information while one of Officer Prowl's brows twitched when he questioned, "Interesting... Data that the CPS will need...But what did you mean by 'For me'?"

Nino explained that Lila has been basically bullying their friend Marinette under their class's nose by making a snide comment and causing events that she could twist to make Marinette look bad. The red-capped teen then commented that Lila even tried to frame Marinette for theft a few days ago. Nino then scoffed as he folded his arms and said, "NOW Lila is claiming that Marinette is being petty for wanting actions done to earn her forgiveness, not pretty words. Like! Come on! Nette is literally telling people point blank what conditions are needed to get her forgiveness and Lila is trying to make THAT a bad thing!"

As Al calmed Nino down, Officer Prowl tapped his pen on the pad when he stated, "So, what you are saying is that this Lila is petty and vindictive. Given this... Information, she will be on this suspect list until proven otherwise."

Adrien's lip twitched a little when he said, "Not to be a downer... But...Lila and her mother will be out of the country for a week... So..."

Officer Prowl gave a nod before saying, "Then we shall ensure that she will be interviewed the moment she returns. By then, we will have a better idea of what questions to ask her."

After a few more questions, Al realised that he needed to tell the rest of his siblings about Seras.

~}I{~

After relaying to her father that Adrien hadn't heard anything from the Gorilla, Marinette was officially uneasy about this issue. Tom even more so. Sabine joined in on this when they told her and said, "Given he's more of a father to Adrien... I would think he would've at least stayed in contact with him..."

Marinette could feel bile bubbling in her gut when she commented, "So if the Gorilla isn't contacting anyone since this... "Family Emergency"... Do you think that..."

The Dupain-Cheng family looked at one another before they concluded that they needed to file a Missing person's report. From her hiding spot, Tikki's suspicions about what the Gorilla is... Or maybe was if the theory of the Kwamis of Creation and Destruction is correct.

~}I{ The Next School Day }I{~

Miss Bustier broke the news about the near accident that Nino and Adrien were in and that the two teens would be in later today. Chloe was livid when she heard, questioning how she wasn't told about it sooner.

Marinette pulled the mayor's daughter back down in her seat before she asked the teacher, "Are they okay?"

Miss Bustier gave a small nod when she told her class, "They're fine. A little bruised and shaken, but fine." She gave her students a small smile when she added, "I'm sure they'll appreciate it if someone would take notes for the morning classes for them." This helped ease the class, but Miss Bustier wished she could do more.

Marinette didn't like the news but was glad that Adrien and Nino were okay. As class started, the bluette was thankful that she didn't have to deal with Lila for the time being. 'I just need to think of a way to talk to Juleka,' Marinette thought as she glanced up at the board.

Tikki, on the other hand, wondered if that accident was really an accident.

}{ About Three Hours Later }{

Greta dropped off Nino and Adrien at Dupont. As they got out of the car, the mother told them that Al would be picking them up and told them what car to look for. The teens nodded and bid her goodbye. As they walked into the school, Adrien asked, "So... Should we tell the class about..."

Nino nodded when he said, "Yeah, they're going to ask about the accident. Just... Don't tell them about the vampire stuff, alright."

Adrien somewhat gripped his sweater's helm when he admitted, "I should've done something to help stop the car... I'm supposed to be the hero..."

Nino placed his braced hand on the other's shoulder and said, "Dude... It was... Unexpected and given how fast we were going... I think it would've been even more dangerous if you had gone all hero and tried to get out to stop the car.."

Plagg then commented softly, "Not to mention, you would've blown your identity if you did that."

Oh, the teens hadn't thought about that.

They arrived at their class during the break between classes. They were surrounded by their classmates and were bombarded with questions. After calming her class down, Miss Buster told them to ask the questions one at a time. So they did.

The first question was, "Are you two sure you're alright?"

Nino and Adrien told the class that they were fine. Still a little uneasy about the whole thing, but fine. Aside from Nino's sprained wrist.

The next question was, "How did the near-accident happen?"

The two teens were quiet for a bit, silently debating how much they should reveal. Adrien and Nino looked at each other when Adrien said, "Uh, well, as long as we don't talk about the... Type of... You know... Officer Prowl said we could..." Everyone seemed to miss Marinette raising an eyebrow when the name of the officer was mentioned.

Nino nodded before he explained to the class, "Someone spiked Aunt Seras's coffee tumbler and she ended up ODing at the wheel after one sip." He rubbed the brace when he added, "If Uncle Al hadn't been in the car with us... I don't think that..."

Oh, that didn't go over well with the class, especially the more sensitive ones.

Chloe was the one to practically shout, "How could that happen?! Where were you guys before that?!"

Okay, maybe not the calmest question asked, but no one could blame her.

Adrien answered by saying, "Well... Our best guess is that someone took advantage of the commotion at the shoot and spiked Ms. Seras's coffee..."

Nino then added, "It was the only time she was away from her tumbler."

The following question was, "Commotion? What happened?"

Adrien and Nino explained that the trailer that held the clothing for the shoot collided with the fence of the park where the photo shoot was. They explained that no one knew what happened, but the collision made the clothing for the rest of the shoot unusable, thus cancelling the rest of the shoot. Nino then added, "Aunt Seras filed an incident report, and I'm sure it'll be investigated in-house."

Adrien nodded when he commented, "Since the clothing got ruined, the trailer got wrecked, and the public property got destroyed."

Max raised a brow before he asked, "Don't you think that that was a little too much of a coincidence?" He laid out the whole scenario. An event on set happened right when everyone got drinks, which caused them to leave their drinks to investigate, giving someone the perfect opportunity to spike one person's drink out of everyone there.

Mylene placed a hand on her chin when she asked no one in particular, "Does that mean that... Someone was stalking Ms. Seras and caused that to happen so they could..."

That was a valid inquiry... A plausible inquiry… And uneasy inquiry…

}I{ Meanwhile }I{

There was someone else who thought that the whole thing with the clothing trailer was too much of a coincidence…

Officer Prowl finished interviewing the employees who were at yesterday's Gabriel Brand photo shoot. He looked over his notes. All statements taken were consistent. The officer's eyes narrowed as he came to one particular note that moved someone up on the suspect list. Lila Rossi.

According to the employees working yesterday, Ms Rossi wasn't scheduled to model yet she arrived on set to essentially 'socialise' and inform them about her week-long trip with her mother. The officer closed the notepad as he thought about the odd comment the Gabriel Brand employees consistently said even though they were worded differently.

"She was yapping pretty loudly, so it was hard to Not be aware she was there."

Officer Prowl narrowed his eyes when he thought, 'She wanted attention on her...' Something was off about this as he called his partner for the assignment and asked if they had anything new.

"Found a used stirring spoon near where the water table was," The partner said, before adding, "I thought it was odd that it was there, so I collected it and then asked the lab rats to take a look at it."

"And?" Officer Prowl asked into the phone.

"It had coffee and a lot of painkillers caked on the spoon end, so we know it was used to blend the painkillers into the coffee. There were also two pretty clear prints and a partial on the other end," the partner said, their tone gave the impression that they were smiling. They then said, "On a hunch, I compared them to the unknowns on Seras Dracool's tumbler, and they were a match."

Officer Prowl raised a brow before he asked, "Did you run them through AFIS (2) after that match?"

The homicide officer heard his partner say, "Of course, but it's still running so we're going to have to wait until we get a hit."

Officer Prowl nodded, thanked his partner, and told them that he wanted the people he interviewed to come into the station to get fingerprinted and that he would see them later after two more interviews. As he hung up, he made his way back to the hospital.

}I{ Back at Dupont }I{

The teachers informed the students about the Mandatory Lecture in two days. They hammered in that they had to attend and that only major emergencies will be the only acceptable excuse to Miss it.

Of course, Alya asked about Lila missing it, but Miss Bustier informed her, and the rest of the class, that an email had been sent out to all parents and guardians about the Lecture. With the permission flyers to record the lecture for future reference and classes.

This made the girls happy and relieved. Well, most of them. The guys simply asked what this big lecture was about, but Miss Bustier told them that it was important and something they all needed to know about.

Well, it wasn't a lie per se, but she didn't want to tell them right away to avoid them thinking they already knew that stuff and tune it out when it happened. The Teacher wanted to make sure her Class wouldn't bring things to distract them during the lecture.

}I{ Elsewhere }I{

Seras's eyes slowly opened. Everything was blurry, so she tried to move her right hand to rub her eyes. But she couldn't move it, so she tried her left hand. And no movement. Oh, right, she turns the cybernetic prosthetic off when she sleeps…

Wait... Seras doesn't remember going to bed…

The blonde blinked her eyes to somewhat clear the blurriness. She saw a blurry black figure by her bedside. "P...ip?" Seras got out weakly. Nausea started flooding her body. Why did she feel that?

"Don't move too much or make any sudden movements," Said the deep voice coming from the black blur.

"D?" Seras got out weakly as she recognised the voice. As her vision cleared, she noticed she was wearing an oxygen mask. "Huh?... Wha...t... Hap... pen..ed?" Seras asked weakly, wondering how she got to this state. Seras glanced down and saw her right wrist was tied to the railing on the bed and had an IV drip inserted into her veins. Ah, that's why she couldn't move that… But why did she need an IV? Did she get heatstroke or something?

D stared at the second oldest of his younger sisters with a relieved sigh before he told her, "You're in the hospital, and had to undergo a rigorous detoxification procedure."

"Huh?" That was all Seras could get out. She didn't understand. She didn't do anything that would warrant a process like that let alone a rigorous one. Detoxification? Did she unwillingly ingest something poisonous? Seras couldn't understand what was going on.

D then looked up and stared at the doorway. Seras slowly turned her head in that direction to see what her oldest brother was looking at.

Officer Prowl gave the two Vampires a stiff nod before he asked, "May I come in and ask a few questions?" D nodded and the officer walked in.

"Who... Are... You?" Seras asked. The guy wasn't in scrubs, a white coat, or a hospital gown, so he wasn't a worker or patient of the hospital. Officer Prowl introduced himself, with his official title. "Hom..icid? Who... Died?" Seras got out in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

D placed his right hand on Seras's when he asked, "What is the last thing you remember? Don't strain yourself if you can't."

Seras stared at her brother's hand on hers, surprised that he was doing it. But she tried to think back, but everything was muddled. Seras could see a few flashes of memories, not a lot but she told her oldest brother and the police officer what they were.

The first memory was her inspecting a room with clothing scattered everywhere that appeared to be dirty, wrinkled, torn, or any combination of the three.

The second memory was her grabbing her tumbler and heading to the car with Adrien and Nino.

The third memory was Al sliding into the passenger's seat.

The final memory was everyone agreeing to head to the Drac-U-Allies office to get something analysed.

That was all she could remember, but... Seras had a strong feeling that there was something else. Something nagging in the back of her mind... But... Things were just so hazy… Urg, why did she feel so tired?

D rubbed his thumb gently over Seras's hand when he said, "That's good for now, Seras. Don't force yourself to remember. Rest for now."

"Wait... I still... Have a... Job..." Seras got out, oddly tired for some reason.

D squeezed Seras's hand when he said, "I'll continue that in your place. You focus on resting and healing."

Seras couldn't keep her eyes open anymore for some reason. Why was she so tired? Her eyes closed and stayed close, falling asleep in a dreamless sleep.

D and Officer Prowl stayed for another minute before they quietly left the room. The police officer looked at the ravenette when he stated, "I can assign someone to guard her if you wish."

"That won't be needed," D stated calmly, before glancing into his sister's room and adding, "As long as no one who enters gets harmed physically." Officer Prowl glanced into the hospital room and saw the shadow of the bed slithered under the structure.

The homicide officer raised a brow before he commented, "Interesting." The door to the room was closed and Officer Prowl asked the oldest Dracool sibling, "Have the rest of your siblings been told?"

D nodded when he said, "They have and have been by last night, but they are keeping busy today. To cope with what happened and to complete the open jobs." He glanced at the door to Seras's room when he stated, "Al only told us that someone spiked Seras's drink with... A far higher dose than needed..."

Officer Prowl nodded when he stated, "Correct, and that extremely high amount is what's bothering everyone at the station, even if you include the supernatural part of this case."

D's lips pressed into a line before he asked, "What was the drug?"

"Your brother didn't tell you?" Officer Prowl asked, a little surprised that the guy didn't inform his brother.

D shook his head when he said, "He didn't, Al said that you told him not to tell anyone what kind of drugs."

Officer Prowl now understood what was going on when he stated, "I did ask him and the two teens with him not to tell anyone about the painkillers to keep that information out of the hands of the guilty party, but I somewhat expected them to tell close family members."

D's attention was piqued when he asked, "Painkillers?"

Officer Prowl nodded when he stated, "Correct." He noticed the slight change in the ravenette's face and then asked, "Is that important in some way?"

D's expression hardened when he stated, "It is. Yesterday I had a meeting with Gabriel Agreste." He narrowed his eyes when he stated coldly, "He informed me that one of his employees witnessed Seras taking painkillers on the job." D narrowed eyes seemed to glow a soft shade of red when he added, "Since he didn't have anything other than the words of one employee, I assumed that it was a baseless accusation... But now..." The glow in his eyes faded.

Officer Prowl furrowed his brows when he asked, "Hmm... When did Mr. Agreste receive that accusation?"

D's expression was unchanged when he stated, "That very morning, apparently." He then added as he folded his arms, "I don't believe that it was pure coincidence that the accusation and Seras's drink getting spiked happened on the same day."

Officer Prowl narrowed his eyes when he stated, "Nor do I." He placed a hand on his chin before he added, "However... If Mr. Agreste was that fast to accept the accusation without much proof..." The Officer quickly went over the facts of the case in his head, sorting through the pieces of information involving the sexual harassment case and the CPS. Officer Prowl looked at D when he stated, "Seems like I'm going to have another round of questioning for the Gabriel Brand employees."

D only pressed his lips in a line. His eyes glanced to the hospital door his sister was recovering in and saw a small pool of shadow peeking out from under the small opening at the bottom of the door. The shadow slid back into the room when it seemed to have noticed the attention from the oldest Drac-U-Allies member. D made no notion that anything was unusual about what he saw.

}I{ Back at Dupont, 30 Minutes Later }I{

Damocles walked into Miss Bustier's class and told Adrien and Nino that the police wanted them to come to the police station after school. When the class asked why, the Headmaster responded that they need elimination prints and another round of questioning. The Headmaster told the two teens that their ride has been informed of this and will pick them up on time. Adrien and Nino nodded.

Max pushed his glasses up when he stated, "Seems like the police found more evidence and they are trying to eliminate the individuals that have done nothing to aid or hinder the case."

This was a good thing.

}I{ Meanwhile }I{

Lila deleted the email from Dupont with a scoff, only reading the title of it. 'I guess I planned my Me Time more perfectly than usual. Now I don't have to waste time on some boring, worthless lecture,' Lila thought with a satisfied smirk. That was when she decided that today would be the perfect day to put her deviously perfect plan that would completely ruin that goody-goody's life and livelihood. The best part of this was that Lila would have the perfect alibi and no one would ever suspect her! The liar smirked when she thought, 'And everything is ready to go.'

}I{ Elsewhere }I{

The Dupain-Cheng couple took the non-busy hour to go to the police station to file a Missing person's report. They went in completely prepared. They had a copy of the Gorilla's driver's licence, that they made when they had to card him when he bought the bakery's Hard Liquor infused baked goods. A good picture of the bodyguard. A detailed list of the jobs and duties the Gorilla did. And lastly, why they believe the Gorilla was Missing.

Officer Roger Raincomprex looked over the items before he told the Dupain-Cheng couple, "Okay, We'll assign a detective to help locate Mr. Marques Garde (3)." He then took the items, bid them a good day and they'll keep them updated and left the desk.

Tom and Sabine left the police station, passing by Vincent and a few Gabriel Brand employees who were going into the building. The baking couple let out a sigh as they made their way back home. Sabine got an email from their daughter's school. Of course, Tom's mind went through worst-case scenarios, but his loving wife calmed him down and showed him the email.

The email was a standard notification informing parents and guardians about a Boundaries Lecture the school was going to have, giving the basic details about the group doing the lecture, what will be talked about, what examples to expect, the time of the lecture, how long it will be, and that there will be a Q&A at the end.

Tom had to re-read the listed reasons why the school was having this lecture to ensure he was understanding the situation. The taller baker looked at his wife when he asked, "Dear, has Marinette... Talked to you about getting any... Unwanted attention?" He didn't want to think that his child, or anyone's child, might be going through something like that.

Sabine shook her head before she said while ushering her husband to walk and talk, "Not about that, fortunately. But she had voiced her displeasure about that Lila girl." Tom frowned at the name. Sabine saw, nodded, and stated sternly, "I know, and she has also told me about how often she's on top of Adrien, who always doesn't seem to want that attention."

Tom raised a brow when he asked, "If he doesn't like it, how come he lets her do it?"

Sabine tapped her chin when she said, "I don't know, but he might be one of the students that spurred the Dupont staff to have the lecture."

Tom's lips pressed in a line when he stated, "I wish I could say I'm surprised, but from what I've gotten from Marques... I'm more disappointed that Mr. Agreste is so... uninvolved in Adrien's basic social needs..."

Sabine raised an amused brow as they continued their way back to their bakery and said, "Sounds like you and Marques had a lot to talk about." She saw how quickly her husband's expression changed and placed her hand on his arm when she told him, "The police will find out what happened and hopefully bring him back."

Tom was quiet for a bit before he finally said, "I hope so... If not for my peace of mind, then at least for Adrien." Sabine nodded in agreement.

~}I{~

Al ran a hand through his hair as he asked the person on the other end of the phone, "Alright, let me know once you have confirmation." He listened to the person speak and then said, "Are you sure?" Al took a deep breath before adding, "Granted, I'm sure Dupont will be more than happy to talk to any family of Lila by this point, but... What has been found out so far..."

"I've made my resolve, and I am willing to go in and talk to them," Antonio's voice came through the phone. He sighed before adding, "As soon as the judge voids those divorce and custody papers, I'll let you know and I'm going to Dupont."

Al nodded out of a subconscious habit before he said, "Understood, however... I'm telling you now that it has been confirmed that the contact information on Lila's file is false."

Antonio Rossi let out a sigh before saying, "I'm not surprised by this point, not after what I've learned from Lila's prior schools... Dupont got that file, right?" Al closed his eyes when he said, "They're on the way as we speak." He sighed before he said, "An... Event occurred and things are going to be a little slow on our end for a while..."

Gods, the Drac-U-Allies team were still hurting from nearly losing their middle sibling. Yes, they were relieved that she made it through that whole ordeal, but it still felt like a knife through the heart. Right now, they were waiting for Seras to feel well enough that she doesn't pass out every few minutes she's awake.

"I understand," Antonio Rossi said through the phone.

Al had one last question for his client. "Do you... Want to talk to Cecilia before Dupont?" He had asked in a cautious tone.

Mr. Rossi passed the background check. No warrants, no arrests, no domestic violence, no other flags. Heck, the guy didn't even have a parking ticket. The only issue that was found on the guy's record was the 'no show?' on the child custody document, but from what Al had learned... There were more than a few 'issues' regarding that, not just the 'No show'.

The line was quiet for a few seconds before Mr. Rossi finally said, "As much as I want that... I think it would be best to do that after... Dupont has the solid proof they need… So they can… Convince her that our daughter isn't as angelic as she thinks…"

The blonde man couldn't help but say, "I suppose that's... Fair. Especially since my younger sisters are still investigating her..." Al technically knew more than he was letting on, but he was still waiting on Laura and Bella's final verdict.

The two said their goodbyes with Mr. Rossi telling Al that he'll keep him updated on the legal paperwork before the call ended. The blonde man let out a sigh before he created a group call and waited for the other two to join.

}{

Laura heard the incoming call tune on her Bluetooth. She pressed the answer button before she continued what she was doing while she watched Cecilia Rossi from where she was.

}{

Bella was watching the monitors with a raised brow when she got a call. She kept her eyes focused on her task as she answered her phone.

}{ Phone conversation }{

Bella: "Hello?"

Laura: *whispering* "Hello?"

Al: "It's me."

Al: "Mr Rossi is willing to talk to Dupont once the judge back in Italy makes their ruling to overturn the divorce papers and the child custody papers."

Laura: *whispering* "That's good. We'll let Dupont know when we get a chance."

Al: "You following Mrs. Rossi today, Laura?"

Laura: *whispering* "Yup, and so far, she's going about her day as if nothing's wrong. I was also able to overhear her talking to co-workers about her worries about Dupont."

Al: "And what would those 'worries' be?"

Laura: * whispering* "How often they've been closed since she and her daughter arrived in Paris."

Al: "Hm? Didn't Dupont tell you two that the reason Lila was out of school so often was because she and her mother had been travelling for her occupation?"

Laura: *whispering* "Correct. Apparently, Lila has been telling her mother that her school has been closed while she's telling the school that they're travelling by posing as her mother. It's starting to become clear who the school really needs to investigate."

Al: "Hm... Apparently so..."

Al: "Hang on, Bella? You still there?"

Bella: "Huh? Yeah, Yeah, I'm still here..."

Laura: *whispering* "You okay? You sound distracted."

Bella: "Somewhat... I'm watching Lila... Doing something weird..."

Al: "Hm, can you describe what she's doing?"

}{

Bella relayed what she was seeing on the monitors. On the screens, Lila was setting up the posters she recently bought and was using her computer's web camera to hide the edges of those posters. From what can be seen on Lila's computer, it looked like Lila was outside somewhere in the world.

}{ Phone Call }{

Laura: *whispering* "Why would she be doing that?"

Al: "Please tell me you're recording this?"

Bella: "I am, only because it's weird."

}I{ At Dupont }I{

Miss Bustier was usually a cheerful and understanding teacher. She did her best to accommodate her students so they could flourish in her class.

But this time around…

Caline was watching as Alya happily setting up the projector and camera with Rose and Juleka, reviewing what the blogger had told her.

"Lila wanted to Skype with the class from Hawaii and tell us about what has happened so far."

That... Couldn't be possible... Miss Bustier knew that Lila Rossi wasn't travelling. The teacher politely excused herself and told her class that she was trusting them not to cause too much of a fuss while she was gone.

However, others were having doubts for a different logical reason.

}{ Dudes Only Chat Group }{

Maximum Overdrive: "Guys, is Alya sure that Lila is in Hawaii?"

Turntables: "According to the texts from Lila... Yup."

Turntables: "Why?"

AI Am I: "I believe we will have our answer once the Skype starts."

Smoll Warrior: "Uh, mind filling us in on what you two dorks are questioning?"

LB Artist: "Wait a Second... Isn't Hawaii 12 hours behind us?"

Maximum Overdrive: "Correct."

Anything's Possible: "Hang on... Isn't it almost lunchtime?"

Rad-E-Cool!: "Which means that it's almost midnight in Hawaii."

Teddy Bear: "..."

Teddy Bear: "Okay, either Lila's internal clock is still on our timezone and is Skyping when she knows we're at school, or she's lying about where she is..."

AI Am I: "If we see if the skyline is night in Lila's Skype call, then she's in Hawaii. If it is the day... She isn't."

Anything's Possible: "Dude... If she is lying about where she is... Then why would she? She doesn't need to."

LB Artist: "If that is the case, then it's because she wants to. And wants to make everyone believe she's travelling to exciting places."

Maximum Overdrive: "Given what we've learned so far, I wouldn't be surprised if that is true."

Turntables: "But there's one thing that's bothering me about that..."

Turntables: "If Lila isn't where She claims to be... Then where are the Rossis?"

AI Am I: "Good question."

}{ Damocles' Office }{

"Are you sure?" the Headmaster asked the redheaded teacher with a stern look.

Miss Bustier nodded when she said, "I am sure." She folded her arms when she stated, "Listen, I'm aware I can be lenient and think the best of my students, but I am not naive." She pointed at the office door when she added, "We know Lila hasn't been travelling and isn't out of the city, but most of my class is setting up a Skype so Lila can tell them how her 'trip' is. They are willing to have their lunch hour in the classroom to listen to her!"

Damocles narrowed his eyes when he said, "And you can't refuse without tipping your hand or riling their emotions to attract Hawkmoth's attention."

Miss Bustier nodded her head when she said, "I feel sick that I have to let Lila lead my students on like this... But... Yes, I don't have a good alternative excuse to deny the Skype call… At least not in a way that Max couldn't fix in a few minutes…"

Damocles placed a hand on his chin when he commented, "Hm, let me call the PIs on Lila... If anything, this will be more evidence against her..."

While this was true, it didn't make Miss Bustier feel any better.

}{ Cafeteria }{

Marinette decided she didn't want to listen to Lila yap about whatever nonsense she could think of. So she was eating lunch in the cafeteria with some unusual company... Chloe, Sabrina, and Adrien were sitting at the same table as Marinette. The bluette felt a little uneasy about this whole thing. On the one hand, Adrien was sitting with her and she wasn't all nervous and stuttering. But on the other hand... Chloe and Sabrina were also sitting at her table.

Since no one knew what to say, Chloe started the conversation. "I know school can suck, but at least we're learning stuff that's supposed to help us in the future."

Adrien raised a brow when he asked, "Why are you bringing that up?"

Chloe shrugged as she rested her chin on her knuckle and that elbow on the table and said, "Because that leach is sucking up a lot of that time yapping about a bunch of nonsense to have people pay attention to her all the time."

"Leach?" Marinette and Adrien questioned in confusion.

"Lila," Sabrina stated in almost a nonchalant tone.

"Oh..." Adrien and Marinette vocalised, now connecting the dots on the nickname.

Chloe sighed in annoyance before she glanced at the bluette when she asked, "So any idea on why that leach tried to frame you for the thievery? Very poorly might I add."

Adrien was shocked at the accusation while Marinette had a more conservative look when she asked, "How did you come to that conclusion?"

Chloe raised a brow when she said, "You don't seem surprised by that."

Marinette shrugged when she stated, "Max talked to me about that. He pointed some things out about Lila's behaviours and voiced his suspicions about them." She let out a low growl when she almost hissed out, "I can't believe she tried something like that!" Marinette let out a sigh when she said, "If it hadn't been for that person who 'found' Lila's stupid necklace... Her sick little plan would've worked..."

"At least until someone points out that your locker can't be locked and that anyone could've gotten in," Chloe commented snarkily.

Sabrina shrank a bit when she said, "I was going to do that if Lila's necklace was in your locker." She sat up when she added, "I mean, come on! It's not like it was a secret or anything that your locker couldn't be locked! Anyone can just open it and can just take or leave something in there without any problem." Sabrina twiddled her thumbs when she said a little timidly, "But I didn't have to do that since apparently, both happened on the same day... I think..."

Adrien was a little dumbstruck during this conversation when Chloe said, "Sabrina, I'm pretty sure that whoever 'found' that leach's necklace probably witnessed her planting it and took it out before she could do that whole 'she stole my necklace' skit."

Marinette rolled her eyes when she stated in a deadpin tone, "That wouldn't surprise me if that was what happened..." She glanced at Chloe when she asked, "So what got you thinking she planted her necklace in my locker?"

Chloe folded her arms when she stated, "She claimed to have left her tacky bag in Miss Bustier's class the whole time during lunch when you supposedly had the opportunity to take her necklace, but I know I saw her bag under the table. Conveniently out of view of everyone. I only noticed it because unlike most of them, I kept my distance from her so I could see it from where I was sitting."

Adrien put the pieces together when he said, "So when you heard that Lila left her bag in the class during lunch..."

Chloe placed her arms on the table when she said, "At first, I was confused, since I saw her bag with her, but when I heard that claim of theft, I'm like, seriously why would Dupain-Cheng want a tacky necklace that would totally clash with her outfit? Then after the locker thing..." She shrugged when she added, "Listen, I'll admit that I don't have the best history with everyone and I've done things I shouldn't have, but I have standards. And framing someone for something major... No, just, no. That's a dick move on so many levels."

Adrien, Marinette, and Sabrina stared at Chloe at this. Somewhat surprised by both the pure logic of that and the use of a swear word. The bluette managed to get over the shock the fastest when she asked, "And... Did you tell the teachers about your... Points?"

Chloe shrugged when she said, "Told Ms Mendeleiev during yesterday's break, since well, she took the whole thing seriously and wouldn't brush my comments off as 'adding fuel to the fire'. She told me that she already figured as much."

Sabrina shrugged her shoulders slightly when she commented, "I guess the staff are now aware of the animosity Lila has for Marinette..." She glanced at the bluette when she asked, "I take it that you're getting a new locker?"

Marinette rolled her eyes when she stated dryly, "Do you really think I'd keep that unlockable locker after it got broken into twice in one day, especially after that little incident with my purse." She huffed before she added, "I was assigned a new locker, one that can lock, and I got a lock that requires the key and my thumbprint."

"When did you..." Adrien couldn't help but ask.

"Max made one a while ago, he gave me it when he heard I got a new locker," Marinette said with a shrug.

"And he... Just gave that to you?" Sabrina asked, trying to understand why someone would give away a rather specialised type of lock the moment of hearing the news of their friend getting a new locker. Even if they are friends, it's a little much to be doing that…

Marinette folded her arms when she stated, "After an incident like That, I probably would've made one myself. One that would've left a nice little impression on anyone who would try to break in." Sabrina flinched at that, remembering the device that protected the bluette's diary.

Chloe blinked at that when she said, "Oh... Kaaay... So he gave it to you so you would have your things protected and didn't want you getting in trouble for... Modifying your new locker." Marinette shrugged.

Adrien finally connected the dots before he got out in a pale shock, "Hang on... Why the fucking hell would Lila frame M'Lady like that?!"

Now the girls' eyes were on Adrien. All were utterly dumbstruck at the fact that the blonde model swore. And twice.

Sabrina was the one to say, "Unh... The only ongoing issues between Lila and Marinette that I know of... The lying callouts and the constant clinging Lila does with you..."

Adrien raised a brow when he asked, "Wait... That's it? Nothing else?" He was expecting more incidents, arguments, or disagreeing events that happened. But just those two things? Adrien didn't understand how those were enough to earn so much ire from someone. There had to be more going on between Marinette and Lila.

Chloe blinked a few times before she said, "Um, yeah, as far as we're aware..." She looks at the bluette when she adds, "Unless something happened that we don't know about."

Marinette shrugged when she stated, "Then your guess is as good as mine. I've been avoiding Lila when I can."

Sabrina tapped her chin with her left index finger when she mused, "Well, that could factor into her reason to hate you, but certainly not enough for a frame job…"

Adrien folded his arms when he almost hissed out, "As if I couldn't dislike Lila any more than before..." He slumped slightly when he added, "But seriously, what was Lila thinking? She made a false accusation, a major one at that. Did she not think of the consequences of that stunt?"

Marinette couldn't help but wonder if Adrien had always acted… Like this or is this a recent behaviour? But for some reason, it felt familiar to her…

Sabrina thought back to that day before she stated in a slightly concerned tone, "Hm, given her performance and reactions... I don't think she even thought her little ploy could fail..."

Marinette couldn't help but feel her stomach churn uncomfortably. She let out an uneasy groan when she said, "I think adding locks to my bags was a good idea after all..." She let out a growl before she stated, "I'm NOT letting any of my things out of my sight, at all! If I'm not using it, it's staying locked in my bags! I won't give Lila ANY opportunity she can use!"

Chloe couldn't help but comment, "I totally can't blame you..." She then had a look that appeared to be a mixture of confusion and intrigue, "Wait… You can attach locks to bags?"

Marinette nodded when she said, "Yeah, it's not that hard, but you have to use them on strong material and make sure that the locks fit with the designs already on the bag." Chloe, Sabrina, and Adrien were oddly impressed by this.

}{ Back in Miss Bustier's class }{

Lila was happily relaying her travels to her class through Skype, happily commenting on the beautiful Hawaiian weather. Luckily for the members of the Dudes Only Chat Group, the liar didn't seem to notice that they were texting each other.

}{ Dudes Only Chat Group }{

Maximum Overdrive: "She's not in Hawaii..."

LB Artist: "Yeah, it's looking like a nice, bright DAY there..."

Anything's Possible: "Hey Rad-E-Cool!..."

Rad-E-Cool!: "Already sent a pic of Lila in "Hawaii" with a summary of what she's yapping about to Dad."

Rad-E-Cool!: "He's adding this to their not-so-little case file..."

Teddy Bear: "I would say I'm surprised, but that would be a lie..."

AI Am I: "This might not be a good time to be talking about that sort of thing right now."

Teddy Bear: "You got the point at least, right?"

AI Am I: "Affirmative."

Smoll Warrior: "Okay, this is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! We are Giving Up our lunch hour to do what we want to talk to Lie-la and she can't even be honest with us about where she is and what she actually did!"

Turntables: "Did you... Just use Chloe's?..."

Smoll Warrior: "Hey! It's true! It's ridiculous!"

LB Artist: " Smoll Warrior has a point you know..."

Maximum Overdrive: "True, and this is something that the staff can't overlook."

AI Am I: "Agreed, if Lila isn't being honest in this Skype call, then how many of the Skype calls in the past were also dishonest?"

Anything's Possible: "Yeah, most of those were during class! We took time out of OUR learning to accommodate Lila when she's travelling!"

Anything's Possible: "Which isn't so much accommodation as it is enabling if that is true! And as much as classes can suck, this isn't right on a few levels!"

Turntables: "Totally agreeing with you on that, but what's bothering me is where Lila actually is?"

Turntables: "Since Lila isn't in Hawaii, then where is she calling from?"

Rad-E-Cool!: "Nino, can I ask why you're focused on that?"

Smoll Warrior: "Yeah, I would think that it would be the lying and wasting our time that would get everyone upset..."

Turntables: ".."

Maximum Overdrive: "Nino... Does this have to do with that gag order from the CPS?"

Turntables: "No, but..."

Anything's Possible: "But... Something else important?"

Turntables: "... Yeah..."

Turntables: "Lila was at that photoshoot... And since the police are investigating the spiked drink thing... They needed to talk to everyone who was on set. Me and Adrien included. The only reason they haven't talked to her is because she's travelling..."

AI Am I: "Nino... You aren't speculating that..."

Turntables: "Given the Locker Incident, I don't think it's that much of a stretch, but... The dosage of drugs in Aunt Seras's tumbler was enough to kill 15 adults! The only reasons why she survived were because she only took a sip of it and how fast she got medical attention. Aunt Seras might not be on Lila's good side, but there's no way Lila would put that much drugs in her drink or endanger Adrien in that way..."

Anything's Possible: "That's... A fair point..."

Rad-E-Cool!: "... I'm taking a screenshot of what Nino texted and sending it to Dad."

Rad-E-Cool!: "Not because I think Lila did that, but the fact that she might be involved in it."

Rad-E-Cool!: "Keyword: Might!"

Maximum Overdrive: "Better to have too much evidence and not use all of it than not have enough evidence and need it, right Rad-E-cool!?"

Rad-E-Cool!: "Correct."

Turntables: "I feel yah, I don't want to think Lila had a hand in what happened, but her past actions prove otherwise."

Anything's Possible: "It seems like the dosage level is the only reason you're ruling Lila out."

Turntables: "Guys, the dosage was Over-lethal! If Lila was involved she would've planted drugs in Aunt Seras's bags! Not dump it all in her drink! Plus Lila goes for framing people in a bad light, not killing them!"

LB Artist: "Okay, settle down there DJ. We were just asking."

Turntables: "Shit! Sorry!"

Rad-E-Cool!: "Can't blame you for the reaction, but... Keep your rl actions more subtle. Lila's still on Skype and she could notice."

Anything's Possible: "Nino, read, I was only pointing the whole dosage level because that is what caused the whole near accident and could've killed Ms Seras. It is an important thing that certainly can't be overlooked or downplayed."

Anything's Possible: "Plus, whoever spiked Ms Seras's drink didn't just put her, Adrien, Nino, and Mr. Al in danger... Though we have no idea if that was intended or not..."

Smoll Warrior: "Okay, major Yikes right there!"

Smoll Warrior: "Wait a second..."

Smoll Warrior: "Hey Nino... Where did your Uncle Al stop the car after Ms Seras... You know..."

Turntables: "Uh, in front of the pyramid in front of the Louvre..."

Smoll Warrior: "Oh shit! Your car was the one Dad and Jalil were talking about this morning! And I think it was on the news last night!"

Smoll Warrior: "I can't believe it took me until now to put those facts together!"

LB Artist: "Did either of them mention seeing Adrien and Nino on site?"

Smoll Warrior: "No... they didn't tell me... But now I know what I'm doing when I get home."

LB Artist: "My best guess is that they didn't tell you because they didn't want to worry you."

Teddy Bear: "Probably..."

Teddy Bear: "Oh wow... Lila's still yapping..."

Maximum Overdrive: "Should we find that concerning?"

LB Artist: "Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth."

}{ Miss Bustier's Classroom }{

No one outside the chat group was none the wiser about the conversation. At least, for the students currently in this classroom.

}I{ With Bella }I{

The purplette was watching the monitors in confusion. Sure she could probably take a step away from the screens to get something since she was recording this, but it was just too weird.

On the monitors, Lila was chatting in front of her computer with the posters of an island as the backdrop. From what Bella could see of the computer Lila was using, she was on some sort of Skype call. It was all a very strange thing to see.

Bella scratched her cheek as she did her best to read Lila's lips. 'Is she telling a story to people over Skype?' the purplette wondered in confusion. She may not be able to read every lip movement made in the monitor, but she was able to get enough to understand what was being said.

Still... Why do all this on a Skype call?

That was when Bella's cell phone rang. She checked the caller ID before answering with, "Hello?"

The voice of Damocles came through the phone by saying, "Hello, sorry for calling out of the blue, but I have a rather important question that you need to answer."

Bella subconsciously nodded when she said, "Sure, ask away and I'll try to answer it to the best of my ability."

Damocles thanked the purplette before he asked, "This may sound peculiar, but... Is Ms Rossi Skyping right now?"

Bella looked at the monitors when she said, "Yes, she is." She paused as she realised that the headmaster shouldn't have known about her target's current activities. She raised a brow and asked the headmaster, "Wait... How did you know that?"

Damocles was matter-of-fact when he stated, "Ms Rossi's homeroom teacher came into my office to inform me that Ms Rossi was Skyping her class from Hawaii. And since all the staff of Dupont are well aware that Ms Rossi isn't out travelling."

Oh... That explains the Skype question...

Wait...

"So that's why she bought the tropical island posters. She planned to use them as backdrops to pretend that she was travelling," Bella commented as she stared at the monitors. watching Lila talking away. Bella frowned when she asked, "Please tell me she isn't interrupting the class lesson."

Damocles replied, "This time, no. It's their lunch hour."

Bella raised a brow again when she parroted, "This time?" Her teal eyes went wide before she asked the headmaster, "Wait! Are you telling me that she had a Skype session with her class when they're supposed to have a lesson?"

Damocles replied in a conflicted tone, "To be fair to on Miss Bustier's end, she and everyone here assumed that Ms Rossi and her mother were actually travelling and had a limited time to contact her class... We as a school had assumed it was true since the paperwork for the temporary leaves had been properly filled out by who we assumed was Mrs. Rossi..."

Bella followed the line of thinking when she finished, "At least until we confirmed with the Rossi's landlord that they had never been travelling… Or that Mrs. Rossi worked for an embassy."

Damocles' tone didn't change when he stated, "Correct... However, since this is an official investigation by the school and is ongoing... We cannot disclose any details to any of the students to prevent any type of information contamination or cause any of our students to become targets for Akumatization."

Bella narrowed her eyes as she continued to watch Lila through the monitors when she stated, "That also means that you can't deny the Skype calls without giving a legitimate reason as to why and without having to tell them anything to do with the investigation."

The purplette could hear Damocles sigh. Some sounds on his end made the PI think the headmaster was shifting the phone. Damocles then said, "Pretty much... Miss Bustier isn't exactly happy that we have to let Ms Rossi lead her classmates on, and I can't blame her..."

Bella couldn't help but pity the Dupont staff yet she was glad she wasn't a part of that.

Damocles let out an uneasy hum before he said, "Um, this might be a stretch and I hope to God that it's unrelated, but... The painkillers that Ms Rossi bought and crushed to plant... What happened to those?"

Bella raised a brow as she looked through the exchange notes that the sisters left each other when one was watching Lila and wanted to leave some important but quick notes regarding what they saw. The purplette found the note regarding painkillers and read it to the headmaster, "According to Laura... Lila seemed to have planted or ditched them before she got to the Gabriel Brand shoot a few days ago... Since according to Seras, she didn't plant them on any of the Gabriel Brand employees. They all confirmed that only their stuff was in their bags."

"Seras?" Damocles's voice parroted in confusion, before he asked, "Are you talking about Adrien Agreste's new driver?"

Bella belatedly recalled that Al's new ward was a student there before she said, "Um, yes. She's mine and Laura's older sister. It's sheer coincidence that our jobs mix..." She then almost growled out, "I still can't believe that skit happened."

The line was dead silent for a solid minute. Bella almost thought the call got dropped when Damocles told her in a deadly serious tone, "Ms Dracool, go to the police, ask for the person in charge of your sister's case, tell them what you and Laura were working on, and give them Everything you've found about the Rossis. I'll prepare our file for them to pick up when an officer arrives."

That flagged a concerning issue when Bella asked wearily, "Um... Why?" That was when a pool of dread welled up in the purplette's gut. The crushed-up painkillers, them not being in the bag after Lila left the photo shoot, the words Al told them about Seras's tumbler being spiked with an over-lethal dose of drugs that nearly killed her, and the seriousness in the headmaster's voice. "Oh... Gods..." Bella got out in utter shock, and other emotions came to the surface. She then said in that same tone, "Do you really think that... That a teenager could do such a thing?"

Damocles was honest when he stated, "I certainly don't want to, but given what we've gathered so far... I, unfortunately, can't say that she wouldn't try..."

Bella bit her lips before she said, "I'm going to contact Laura and we'll head to the police station as soon as we can... But Gods! What the hell was Lila thinking?! Putting all those in a single drink?!"

Damocles was quiet for a moment before he said, "I wish I knew as well..." He sighed before he told the PI, "Make sure you tell the police to come by Dupont for the copy of our file."

Bella glared at the monitors when she got out, "Understood, and don't worry, neither I or Laura will do anything to Lila."

Damocles was quiet yet again before he said, "Just let the police do their job, so yoursister gets the justice she deserves."

Bella closed her eyes when she said, "I know..." and with that the call ended. The purplette quickly went to text Laura. They needed to go to the police with what they had. Bella also kept an eye on the monitors while she did her task.

}{ With Lila }{

Lila smiled as she closed the Skype with her gullible little pawns. She then smirked as she opened one of her throwaway emails, typed in Miss Buster's email in the recipient tab, then opened her little 'Ruin that goody-goody's life' file, did a quick copy and paste, and then sent the email. Lila then sent the second part to herself before she closed her laptop and took the device back to her room. While she was there, she snatched a piece of paper as she placed her laptop on her desk. Lila also picked up a chocolate brown, lightweight jacket with a high collar and casually put it on. She admired herself in the mirror before she shoved the paper in the jacket pocket so she could place a matching Fedora on her head.

Lila smirked at her reflection before she left her room, on her way to implement the next phase of her perfect plan.

}{

Bella saw this and quickly sent a quick coded text to Laura that signaled that Lila was heading out. She quickly dawned her own disguise and made her way to the main lobby to wait for Lila to show.

Once Bella spotted the chocolate-coloured jacket and hat she saw in the monitors, she discreetly followed.

}I{ At Dupont }I{

Miss Bustier was more than suspicious when she got an email from an unknown sender, and she was certainly concerned when she saw the contents of the email. The redheaded teacher didn't want to believe what this email was telling her and she most certainly didn't want to report this to the headmaster, but school protocols were not an option.

All Caline could think, 'By the heavens! Please have the Dupain-Chings have an innocent explanation for this.' As she did her job, and went to Damocles's office for the second time within the hour.

}{

Alya belatedly realised that they forgot to tell Lila about the near-accident Adrien and Nino were in. As the blonde model, Chloe, Sabrina, and Marinette walked back into the classroom, Alix gave a shrug when she told the blogger that they can tell Lila next Skype call.

When everyone was back in their assigned seat, Sabrina asked where Miss Bustier was. Rose responded that the teacher stepped out again, but wasn't sure about the reason as to why. They all glanced at each other before they concluded that they should self-study until their teacher returned.

Then about five minutes later, Miss Bustier came back, but it wasn't to continue the class.

"Marinette, can you come with me for a bit..." The redheaded teacher told the bluette with a concerned look on her face.

Marinette looked at the teacher in confusion when she asked, "Um, sure. Uh, is everything alright?"

Miss Bustier glanced to the side when she said, "I... Hope so... " She ushered the bluette to follow. Marinette was still confused when she grabbed her bag and purse and then left the classroom with the teacher. Miss Buster told the class to continue with their self-study until she came back.

Everyone glanced at each other at this... Weirdness...

For some reason... Adrien didn't have a good feeling about this.

}{

From the corner of the ground level of the school, in a spot that couldn't easily be seen from the first floor but could see the walkway of the first floor, Lila smirked in glee when she saw Miss Buster escorting that goody-goody to the headmaster's office. The very same office she saw the goody-goody's pathetic baker parents go into just a minute ago.

Lila then waited. She watched as Miss Bustier open the headmaster's office door and ushered the goody-goody in. She watched as the goody-goody paused in surprise, obviously confused as to why her parents were here rather than at the bakery. She watched as the teacher and the goody-goody go into the headmaster's office. As soon as Lila saw the door close, she quickly made her way to the school's bulletin board.

With a malicious smirk, Lila pulled four tacks off the board, pulled the paper out of her jacket pocket, and pinned the paper up in a way that everyone could see it. She took a step back to admire her devious work.

Unbeknownst to the liar, Bella was just outside the doorway to the school. The purplette was taking pictures of Lila's deeds with the pocket camera's zoom feature. After she took a snapshot of Lila taking a step back, Bella noticed one of the subjects of the photo that was on the paper Lila pinned up. 'Huh? Is that D?' the purplette thought as she tried to look at the image through her camera a second time, but she didn't have time to do that. The moment she saw Lila turn to retrace her steps to leave, Bella quickly ducked out of sight.

Lila left the school, feeling very proud of herself for another ploy well-done. So she decided to celebrate with her favourite meal from McWendy King, again, and then she was going to splurge a bit before going back home. Lila was none the wiser about the PI following her the entire way. And she certainly didn't notice the PI taking pictures of her posting the same photo she sent her teacher and pinned to the school bulletin board on the comment section of the Dupain-Cheng's bakery website while walking to her usual McWendy King.

Bella raised a brow at the actions of the liar, and as much as she wanted to look back on the image that was posted in the school, she knew she had to keep on Lila until they returned to the apartment.

}{

"Are you sure you want me helping you on this?" D asked Officer Prowl as they walked onto Dupont's grounds. Just missed seeing Lila and Bella by a solid 30 seconds. The half-vampire then stated, "I'm sure it would be a conflict of interest if I'm involved in your case."

Officer Prowl let out a breath before he stated, "I am aware, but despite the odds, you were the only 'Extra' guard available at the moment."

D raised a brow slightly when he asked as they entered the school, "Really?"

Officer Prowl nodded when he stated, "Affirmative." He glanced around the immediate area, looking for a member of the Dupont staff when he added, "The full moon is in four days and the majority are preparing for it while the ones that are unaffected by it are already on other cases." D made no attempts to respond to the statement.

Fred walked into view and noticed the two men immediately. He made a beeline towards them when he asked them, "Excuse me! Why are you on school grounds?"

The homicide officer flashed his badge, introduced himself, and asked where Adrien Agreste's class were. Fred let that sink in before he asked if this relates to the near-accident the teen model was in. Officer Prowl nodded when he explained that he needed to talk to the teen in question and his classmates. Fred was unsure about the talking to the class part, but he escorted the two to Miss Buster's classroom.

"If neither of you mind, I would like to sit in on this," Fred stated as they climbed the stairs.

"That is fine, we need an adult present for the students anyway," Officer Prowl stated as D followed. The bulletin board was just out of view of the three men on their chosen path.

}{ Meanwhile }{

A CPS worker was reviewing the Agreste case. Combing over every little bit of information to ensure they had everything right. There couldn't be anything missed, not on something on this level.

The CPS worker paused when they came to the newly arrived update. Ms Seras Dracool, the reporter for this case file, was hospitalised! The CPS worker immediately started reading the update, taking careful note of the timeframe and the reported cause of the hospitalisation.

"Massive amount of drugs found in the tumbler cup?" The CPS worker mumbled when they came to that particular piece of information. The CPS worker tapped their chin as they repeated the sentence, trying to place the odd information. The CPS worker snapped their fingers before quickly flipping back through the data and stopping at one particular piece of information. The CPS worker narrowed their eyes at the accusation Gabriel Agreste filed against Ms Seras Dracool. The CPS worker tapped an index finger on the line that showed what the accusation was about taking drugs on the job. The CPS worker read the full statement and raised a brow at the strangely short length of it. The CPS worker placed a hand on their chin as they got to the part of the accusation that detailed the reason for making it. One person claimed to have seen Ms Seras Dracool taking drugs on the job... That was it... There was nothing to back that claim in any way... Just one statement from one person...

The CPS worker scrunched their face at the rather... Underwhelming accusation... No surprise the charge was dropped immediately. But still... That's one hell of a coincidence... Wasn't it?

The CPS worker looked at the date the accusation was filed. "Wait a second..." They mumbled before they quickly moved to look at the new data and opened it to the page they were reading just moments ago. The CPS worker's eyes scanned the page until they came to the piece of information they were looking for. The CPS placed the new data next to the open file and looked between the two dates. Their eyes narrowed and a hand was on their chin, the CPS worker knew this couldn't be a coincidence.

The same day... Both happened on the same day...

The drug accusation was made on the late morning and then Seras Dracool's hospitalisation for a drug overdose happened that late afternoon almost early evening... An overdose that was not by Seras Dracool's will...

The CPS worker leaned back in their chair as they thought about the data.

According to the reports, Ms Dracool ODed after one sip from her super spiked coffee... Coffee that she didn't drink right away but later when she was driving... Why did she wait that long to drink her coffee? According to the statements from the three passengers, one of whom was Adrien Agreste, she didn't know it was spiked until it was too late...

The CPS worker tapped their chin before they picked up the phone and called police HQ. They asked to talk to one of the officers working on the Seras Dracool case. When they got someone, they had one question to ask.

"Do you have any idea why Ms Dracool waited so long after getting her coffee to drink it?"

The CPS worker made sure to explain why they were asking. The person answering gave the CPS worker a surprisingly logical answer, "Actually, we just found this out ourselves. According to her siblings, Ms Seras Dracool likes her coffee lukewarm."

This piece of information was a major factor in both investigations. But it raised two other questions that needed answers... Did the person know this and did they care about the potential risks involved?

The two people conversed on that both wondering if this had to do with the Agreste file. The timing made sense, and Mr. Agreste was certainly quick to accept one claim without confirming that it was true...

"You know what, you don't mind me sharing your theory with the officers in charge of this case? Because it makes a lot of solid sense," the officer told the CPS worker. They then asked, "Can you send us a copy of your findings? You can continue your work case in the meanwhile."

The CPS worker happily agreed to this, letting the other person know that it might take an hour to do so since it was a big file. The officer told the CPS worker to take their time because they wanted this case done right. With that, the call ended and both started on their respective tasks.

}{ Back at Dupont }{

Fred walked into Miss Bustier's classroom and noticed that the teacher in question was absent. So Fred asked the students where she was. Mylene told her father that Miss Bustier asked to speak with Marinette and left the class a few minutes ago. Fred raised a brow at this, unsure what to think about it, but he ushered the two men in. No one saw the police officer raising his brow at the comment as well. Adrien and Nino were surprised to see Officer Prowl so soon while Kim was surprised to see D on school grounds.

The two, mostly Officer Prowl, explained why they were there. The majority of the class was confused by why the officer wanted to talk about Lila. D offered to wait outside the classroom while this was happening. Fred opted to stay since the students needed an adult present for the questioning. "First question, can you tell me what Ms Rossi is like? One at a time Please," Officer Prowl stated in his usual stoic tone. As the students gave their answers, the homicide officer watched all of them with a critical eye. This is how he noticed that the male classmates seemed to be a little reluctant to agree with the females and that four of the girls weren't so talkative regarding Lila. Officer Prowl will have to talk to those students in private.

Right outside the classroom door, D stood guard. To keep everyone inside safe and anyone who isn't supposed to be there out. Obviously, not the most exciting thing to do, but given the crime itself, it was needed. Though the raven-haired man didn't seem to care that the current task was boring.

Suddenly, D's cell phone rang. The raven-haired man was quick to fish out his cell to see who was calling. To his surprise, it was Marinette. D answered the incoming call with a simple, "Hello?"

Marinette's voice came through the phone, but she sounded a little nervous when she said, "Um, Mr. D... This is going to sound weird but it's kind of important.."

D was calm and logical when he asked, "What is it?"

There was a sound, probably from Marinette shifting her phone, before she asked, "Um, could you come to my school? Within the next hour or less would be best."

That was a rather weird request. D raised a brow when he asked, "Why?"

There was a shifting sound coming from the phone before a new voice came over the phone. It sounded like an older man, certainly not Tom Dupain. When he stated, "Sir, I am Mr. Damocles, Headmaster of Francois Dupont and it would be in both yours and Ms Dupin-Cheng's best interest to come as soon as you can so we can discuss your relationship with her."

'Dupont's headmaster?' D thought as he glanced around the area, wondering what the odds were that this was happening while he was on the school's grounds. Thinking both logically and quickly, D asked, "Mr. Damocles, could you take a step outside your office for a moment?"

D could hear the headmaster's confusion when he asked, "Um, okay, but... How did you know we were in my office?" Sounds of footsteps could be heard coming through the phone.

D answered calmly, "If you and Ms Dupain-Cheng wish to discuss such a topic then the best location on school grounds to guarantee privacy would be the Headmaster's office."

Damocles let out a hum when he said, "I suppose..." A door opened and the headmaster took a step out as he continued, "That makes sense, but why did you ask." Damocles then noticed D standing in front of Miss Bustier's classroom as he continued speaking in a disbelieving tone, "Me to... Step Out..."

D gave a small wave with his right hand that still held his cell phone.

Miss Bustier, Tom, Sabine, and Marinette poked their heads out to see what was going on when Damocles asked into the phone, which somewhat caused an echoing effect for the PI, "Uh, why were you already on school grounds?" All in the office were pretty surprised that the raven-haired man was already there.

D replied into the phone, "Officer Prowl will explain that when he finishes with Adrien's classmates." Damocles dumbly nodded when he heard. D then quickly poked his head into the classroom he was guarding to inform Officer Prowl about what was happening.

The homicide officer raised a brow when he stated in a confused tone, "Um, okay, but can you tell the Headmaster I need to talk to him afterwards."

D gave a nod of confirmation when he said, "If any emergency happens, you know the signal." Officer Prowl gave a nod in return before the PI ducked out, closing the door behind him. D then made a beeline towards the headmaster's office.

Damocles allowed the PI to enter first before going in himself and closing the door behind him.

}I{ At the Agreste Mansion }I{

Gabriel fell on top of his bed with a loud groan. Never has he ever felt so drained before. 'Dear lord, Emilie! Why did you keep using this if it drained you This much!' the white-haired man thought as he rolled onto his back, eyes closed.

"Gabriel..." Nathalie's voice came out in a timid and worried tone.

The fashion mogul slowly opened his eyes to see what he suspected, Nathalie looking down at him with a worried look. Gabriel rubbed his eyes when he said weakly, "Ury, don't worry, I'm not going to be using the Peacock Miraculous again anytime soon… And I'm going to take a few days off from the Butterfly Miraculous just to be on the safe side." He let out another groan before he got out, "Damn... That used a lot more energy than I had anticipated..."

Nathalie sat on the edge of the 'bed when she said gently, "I speculate that the Peacock Miraculous took more energy because it is broken..." She placed a hand on her boss's arm when she added, "That and you aren't used to making something so complex almost from scratch."

Gabriel let out a sigh before he said, "True... And I hope this one won't go rogue like the last one..." Nathalie nodded in agreement.

}I{ Ten Minutes Later, Dupont }I{

Officer Prowl finished writing down his notes before he stated, "Thank you for your cooperation. If I have any more inquiries that require a more in-depth questioning, I will contact you for a one-on-one, with your parents or legal guardian present." He closed his notepad when he added, "Please continue your studies and become productive and law-abiding citizens of Paris."

No one was sure if the officer was attempting to make a joke or was being serious. As Miss Bustier's class got ready to change classrooms, Adrien's phone rang. The blonde model could feel himself blushing as he fished his phone out of his pocket, well aware of the eyes now on him.

After checking the caller ID and seeing that it was Nathalie, Adrien answered with a confused, "Hello?"

Nino somewhat leaned closer to listen in on the conversation when Nathalie's voice came through the phone, "Adrien, please be outside the school at the usual time."

Nino raised a brow when Adrien asked in confusion, "Um, why?"

"So Mr. Garde can pick you up as usual," Nathalie said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Adrien and Nino gave each other very confused looks as they processed that... News... When did the Gorilla came back? And why was he picking the model up? Weren't they informed about the investigation from the CPS?

"Um... I kind of already have someone picking me up..." Adrien told the secretary, trying to keep his tone level. But everyone in the classroom could see that he was quite unsure of what he was hearing.

Nathalie's voice sounded unconcerned When she stated, "Since your regular bodyguard has returned, we no longer need the Drac-U-Allies service. And your Father will no longer have to worry about that driver who is addicted to painkillers."

Both teens listening to the phone could feel their hearts stop as their chest contracted at what they heard. The others inside the class immediately saw this and were officially worried, the two adults being the most concerned.

Thinking that he was mishearing what was said, Adrien asked the secretary, "Um, can you repeat that last part?" Internally, he was hoping that the woman misspoke because the implication if she didn't was...

"Ah, right, you haven't been told. But yesterday, we received a statement from a Gabriel Brand employee who witnessed Ms Seras taking painkillers on the job," Nathalie sounded displeased when she said that. She huffed when she stated, "Anyway, you no longer have to worry about her. See you when you get home." With that, the call ended.

Neither Adrien's nor Nino's expression changed as the blonde slowly lowered his phone and let that hand rest on his desk. The phone then slid out of Adrien's numbing fingers and landed on the desk with a gentle clink. The teens' minds were going several kilometres per second, both combing over how Nathalie AND Mr. Agreste knew about the painkillers. Then their minds went back to the near-accident, especially the cause, and wondering how Neither Nathalie nor Gabriel knew about such a public incident.

"Nino, Adrien, are you two okay?" Rose's voice came through, snapping the two out of their thoughts.

Adrien started shaking. He knew that the only people who would know about the very drug that nearly killed Seras would be him, Nino, Plagg, Uncle Al, the police officers investigating the case, and... whoever had a part in the plan to spike Seras's tumbler with painkillers... And if Nathalie And his Father knew about the drug that never had the name made public... Adrien didn't want to think that his father and the secretary had a part in it, but... The facts were there and were undeniable...

Nino noticed his buddy's internal conflict and was quick to say, "Akuma lookout protocol! Chloe, Sabrina! comfort Adrien for a bit!"Normally, the mayor's daughter wouldn't have taken orders from the laid-back teen, but Adrien was visibly uneased at whatever he was told... So Chloe complied, switching places with Nino as Sabrina took Adrien's other side. Both immediately went to soothing the blond model as everyone else grabbed random items to use to try to detain any Akuma that may fly in. Fred quickly grabbed an eraser near the blackboard.

Officer Prowl raised a brow at what he was seeing as Nino rushed over to him. The red-capped teen motioned the taller man to lean down so he could tell him something, to which the policeman did. Nino quickly whispered what Nathalie said, making sure to use his left hand to block anyone from reading his lips. Officer Prowl was stunned at what he heard. He pulled away slightly when he asked the teen, "Are you positive?"

Nino gave a shaky nod when he said, "Yeah… I'm sure..." He ran his right hand over his face when he got out in uneasiness, "But... Damn it! I knew the dick was a hard-ass prick! But that's a whole new level of!" The red-capped teen might have Mr. Agreste on his hit list, but he never thought the guy would be a part of something like that.

Officer Prowl placed an oddly gentle hand on the teen's shoulder, Nino was a little surprised by this. The taller man then stated, "I understand your conflicted emotions, but I shall take the appropriate measures to ensure that the guilty party is held accountable."

This made Nino feel a bit better. But one glance at Adrien reminded him that the information didn't just affect him...

Alya was looking a little lost as she glanced between Adrien and Nino as she kept her grip on the book she was holding. From what she could tell, someone called Adrien, most likely Nathalie given the ride thing, and said something that... Spooked him and Nino pretty badly given their reactions and actions... It made Alya wonder what was said and why it scared the two…

"Are you sure you're good?" Chloe's voice cut through the air like a knife. It was so... Weird hearing her sound concerned and caring...

Adrien opened his mouth, about to say that he was fine like he was told he should. So he didn't make everyone worry about him. So they wouldn't become targets for Hawkmoth! ... "No, I'm not okay," was what came out of Adrien's mouth instead as he ran a hand through his hair worriedly. He let out a low whine when he added, "We were nearly in an accident that could've killed so many people! Someone spiked Ms Seras's drink with a dose that nearly killed her had she drank more than one sip, which was how the whole near accident happened! My Father and Nathalie didn't even notice that I haven't been home in almost a week! They haven't even realised the CPS is investigating Father! And worse yet! They might be involved in the spiked drink incident!" Adrien rubbed his face and felt that his cheeks were wet. Had he been crying? ... Maybe he was still shaken up from the near accident and then finding out his father and the secretary might be involved just pushed him over the edge.

Chloe wrapped her arms around Adrien's shoulders, gently and loosely, when she asked in a more genuinely concerned tone, "Feel better now you got it all out?"

Now that the mayor's daughter mentioned it... Adrien did! It felt like a huge amount of weight he had unknowingly been carrying was just lifted off him! It was freeing!

Chloe gave the model a gentle hug when she said, "Yeah, I know. As weird as it sounds, it helps."

Adrien smiled when he said, "Yeah, it does. I'm surprised it did."

Officer Prowl was the one to state, in his usual stoic tone, "From what I am aware, 'venting' is a way of 'letting off steam' in a healthy and non-violent way. While loud, it aids in the release of any pent-up anger, worry, aggravation, fear, or any combination of those." Everyone in the classroom couldn't help but stare at the homicide officer when they heard this... Interesting tidbits of information.

Fred couldn't help but glance around the classroom, trying to see if there were any signs of black butterfly wings. But there were no signs of any... This was a good thing, wasn't it? Fred lowered the eraser he was holding as he looked through the windows to the outside. No sight of an Akuma... He moved to the windows to see into the school grounds. Still no signs of an Akuma, but... Fred cranked his neck to peer down at the ground level, more specifically, the small group gathering in front of the bulletin board.

Officer Prowl moved to see what the part-time teacher was looking at when he asked, "Is that normal for this time of day?" when he saw the crowd.

"No... Unless..." Fred got out of his eyes narrowed, thinking carefully over what could possibly draw so many students. Not a lot of good ones. Fred signaled Miss Bustier's class to follow him as he and the officer moved to Have the Class. Mylene, knowing her dad, nodded at her classmates and urging them to follow.

While they were still on edge due to having someone that would draw Hawkmoth's attention, they followed anyway. Even Adrien and Chloe, who released her hug on the blonde male. Everyone still kept a grip on whatever they were holding for the Akuma prevention protocol.

When the group got within hearing range of the bulletin board, they heard Aurora commenting, "At least he's hot." One of her classmates hushed her.

Fred got the attention of the group in front of the bulletin board by saying, "What's going on here?" He folded his arms when he got a reasonable distance from the students of the other classes. Fred watched their expressions as they glanced at one another. The part-time teacher narrowed his eyes when they turned their attention to the bulletin board, more specifically, one particular picture that certainly wasn't there the last time anyone had passed the board. The moment Fred saw that image, he strode over to the bulletin board. The students parted to give the part-time teacher the path needed. Fred's narrowed eyes scanned the entity of the paper with the scandalist image and then read the typed sentence under the image.

The main subjects of the image was of Marinette in the embrace of an older man with long raven hair, with his left arm over the teen's shoulder and his right hand moving to tilt the teen's chin up. Marinette seemed happy while the man seemed neutral. The man's bare left hand appeared to be twirling the bluette's hair on that side. They appeared to be sitting in a cafe with the other patrons paying no mind to the pair. The typed sentence under the image reads, "Dupain-Cheng in the company of an older man! If she's willing to do this kind of behaviour outside of school then what kind of message is she sending about our reputation?"

The teacher was not amused by this, not even the slightest.

Fred removed the pins that held up the paper, tacked them back on the board as he took the paper with the image, and looked it over again. Now that he was giving the image a closer look... He was seeing a few spots right behind the two subjects that looked more pixelated than the rest of the background. 'So this image has been altered, but how much?' Fred thought before he turned his attention towards Officer Prowl and asked, "What do you know about Mr. D?"

Officer Prowl raised a brow when he replied, "I do not know him well on a personal level, but professionally, he is Private Investigator with a spotless record." He then asked, "What about that image prompted you to ask about him?"

Fred moved back over to the homicide officer, passing the confused students as he did. The part-time teacher then showed the image to the officer, whose brows went to his hairline when he saw the subjects. "That image has clearly been doctored to create some sort of scandal," Officer Prowl stated with a tiny hint of a growl, after a moment to regain his composure after looking slightly surprised expression.

It was Fred's turn to raise a brow when he asked, "How can you be so sure about that?"

Kim managed to get a look at the image, and surprise wouldn't be the emotion he was feeling when he shouted, "What the Hell?! There's no Fucking way that's real!"

"Language!" Fred stated almost automatically. He paused when the words sank in before he asked the tall teen, "Hang on, Kim, how do You know for sure that the image is fake as well?"

"What's going on out here?" Damocles's stern voice boomed from above. Everyone on the ground level looked up to see the Headmaster looking over the first-floor bannister as he gazed down at them. Miss Buster came into view, curious as to the commotion as well. D and the Dupain-Cheng family slowly came into view at the bannister, all four looking confused as to what was going on. The students below were utterly shocked to see the man in the photo in person.

The Dupain-Cheng family looked surprised when they saw the homicide officer when they exclaimed, "Prowl?!" But, "Uncle Prowl?" from the youngest. The officer gave the three a friendly wave as everyone else looked a little surprised by this information. Tom blinked away his shock when he asked Officer Prowl, "Who died that involves Dupont?"

Officer Prowl shook his head when he stated, "Fortunately, no one has, but due to the possibility of causing multiple deaths, I have been assigned to lead this case." He took a breath before he glanced at the paper in Fred's hands when he added, "Though it seems that someone thought that that image would be humorous."

Damocles raised a brow when he asked, "What image?" Why did it feel like he had indigestion right now? The moment Fred turned the paper to the headmaster and the teacher could see, both Damocles and Miss Buster gasped. Now the Headmaster was furious when he got out angrily, "We received that very photo a while ago and we had just confirmed that that image is fake! How did you get that?"

Fred pointed at the bulletin board when he explained, "It was pinned to that, for everyone to see." He glanced at Kim and Officer Prowl when he added, "And I'm not the only one to think this image is fake."

Damocles narrowed his eyes as he and Miss Buster rushed down to get more information at a more comfortable distance. D and the Dupain-Chengs followed, not as frantically but still in a hurried motion. Damocles explained as he closed the distance, "A thorough talk between Mr. D and the Dupain-Chengs about the image and their reactions to it is how Caline and I figured out it's fake. So how did you three come to that conclusion so quickly?"

Fred held up the image and pointed at a blurry section behind the image of Marinette and D when he stated, "I noticed pixelation in some areas when there's no reason to have it. Since their all focused right behind the, uh, main subjects, it is logical to assume that whomever… Created this image did not notice them before or after printing it out." He then looked at the tall teen and the policeman when he added, "However, Kim and Officer Prowl knew at first glance that this image was fake."

Kim looked at D when he stated, "No offence, Mr. D, but you're a bit of a touch-phobe." He then pointed at the image when he added, "So you having that much physical contact with someone is pretty much impossible."

D shrugged his shoulders slightly when he stated, "None taken, though the phobia part is a bit much. I'm not afraid of touch-contact, just not a fan of it." Kim rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous smile at this.

Officer Prowl glanced at Marinette when he stated, "While I know Pixie-nette has a romantic interest in someone, I do know that they are much closer to her age."

The teachers, the Headmaster, the Miracuclass, and the rest of the students were confused when they all got out in confusion, "Pixie-nette?" D only raised a brow.

Marinette turned pink when she slumped and said in a tone that made it seem like she wanted to crawl into a turtle shell and stay there for the next year, "Uncle... I told you not to call me that in public!" Tom gave his daughter a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

Officer Prowl then looked at D when he stated, "However, there was something in that image that couldn't possibly be real..." He took a breath before he asked, "D, could you take your glove off?"

The raven-haired man started on the motions when he stated, "I was going to do that if Mr. Damocles was still unconvinced the image was fake." He carefully pulled the glove off his left hand. Once it was off, all but the police officer stared at his left hand in a mixture of shock and disbelief. Although Max and Markov were staring in amazement and fascination.

Fred turned the image back around to look at the left hand that was clearly visible in the pose D and Marinette were in before looking at the PI's real left hand. "Well now..." the part-time teacher got out before saying, "I believe that is solid proof that this image has indeed been altered."

"Most certainly," Damocles stated unable to take his eyes off D's left hand... His clearly cybernetic hand. It looked like the same type of cybernetics that Seras had for her prosthetic arm. D did a few test motions to check for any flaws that needed to be maintained.

As D slid his glove back on his left hand, he stated, "My best guess is that whoever created that fake image copied and then inverted my right hand due to my left being out of sight."

Fred couldn't help but say, "My issue is why someone would do this kind of thing and why put it up in the school and send it to Dupont's Headmaster..." Sabine's phone made a dinging, signalling that there was some kind of alert.

Miss Bustier's lips pressed into a line before she said, "The image was sent to me, not Mr. Damocles..."

Fred raised a brow at this before he noticed something in the background of the image. He took a closer look and noticed that there was a handwritten menu board with the cafe's name and a date on it. Fred read those somewhat out loud, wondering if that was accurate.

This got Kim's attention when he asked to look at the image. Fred handed it over. Kim took it and immediately went to look at the cafe in the background. The tall teen's eyes went wide when he got out in disbelief, "Nette! Mr. D! I think this is an edited picture of the two of you during your meeting for the confirmation for the commission designs!"

Marinette asked Miss Bustier to look at the image sent to her. The redheaded teacher complied and the bluette quickly zoomed in on the cafe in the background. D looked over the designer's shoulder when she said, "Kim's right! That is the cafe we agreed to meet at." Marinette moved over to the menu with the date and said, "And that's the date we agreed on!"

Miss Bustier looked at Kim when she asked, "How did you know that?"

Kim pointed at himself when he said in a serious tone, "Because I was asked to attend. Mr. D kind of hired me to keep unwanted attention away."

The redheaded teacher looked at Marinette and D for conformation. Both gave a nod. Miss Bustier narrowed her eyes when she looked at Kim when she asked, "So you can vouch that Mr. D and Marinette weren't as physically close as the picture depicts." Sabine's phone dinged again.

Kim's lips pressed into a line when he said, "I most certainly can!" He looked at the image in his hands when he stated, "But I'm sure Mr. D's left hand is rock solid proof this shit is fake."

Fred took the image before the tall teen could crumble the paper out of anger when he stated, "I understand your frustration but this is still evidence."

Sabine's phone dinged an alert again. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to see who wanted her attention so badly. To Sabine's surprise, it was the Comment Content Regulating Program that Max created for the Dupain-Cheng's bakery website to ensure everything was kept family-friendly. Apparently, the program flagged a comment as high priority, concerning, and needed the Administrator to look it over, immediately. 'Odd, the program has never don't that before,' Sabine thought when she checked what the alert wanted her to look at. The moment she saw what the flagged comment said and saw the image that was attached to it, the mother couldn't stop herself from exclaiming, "What the hell?!"

Tom and Marinette were quick to move to Sabine's side, asking her what was wrong. Instead of telling, due to her own shock, the mother showed her husband and daughter the image attached to the flagged comment. Both gasped in shock and dismay at this. Miss Bustier peered between the father and daughter to see what was going on and lo and behold, a very familiar picture was staring back at her.

The redheaded teacher couldn't help but comment in dismay, "This most certainly can't be a coincidence!" She turned to explain to her co-workers what this fuss was about, the reactions were as expected, even from the students.

Officer Prowl somehow materialised next to Tom when he stated, "It seems that the Comment Content Regulating Program for the bakery website did its job more than perfectly." He looked at the Dupain-Cheng family when he commented, "I certainly do NOT want to think what could've happened if you didn't have that in place... Especially for Pixie-nette..."

Marinette hugged herself when she got out, not even caring that her uncle used the nickname she found embarrassing, "I... I... I don't understand! That meeting! That meeting was around two weeks ago! And... And! It was completely innocent!" Sabine was quick to embrace her daughter, to comfort and ease her.

D placed his right hand on his chin to think, carefully going over all the facts that came to the surface regarding this fabricated image. He narrowed his eyes when he finally stated in a stoic and serious tone, "This image was clearly created to emotionly and socially harm Marinette Dupain-Cheng." D glanced at Miss Bustier when he asked, "The first of this image was sent to you, not the Headmaster, correct?" The redheaded teacher gave a solid nod. D then looked at the group of students that were still somewhat standing in front of the bulletin board when he asked them, "Was the image posted there before your last class or after?" The students quickly murmured to one another before they agreed that the image wasn't on the bulletin board before they went to their last class. D then looked at Sabine and Tom when he asked them, "How many people know that all your comments are reviewed before they are posted?"

Tom shrugged when he said, "All our regulars and semi-regulars know." He sighed before he rubbed the back of his neck when he added. "We didn't want to do it, but we've got some, uh, not-so-appropriate comments that started some... Unneeded drama... We had to shut the comments down for a bit due to those. We then implemented the Comment Content Regulation Program to ensure that those kinds of things don't happen again. It's been working and I sure as hell glad it caught THAT horrid image!"

D narrowed his eyes when he stated, "So, whoever is targeting Ms Marinette knows about her whereabouts and the school environment but has little information about her outside the school.'' When asked how he figured that out, D answered, "The image was sent to Miss Bustier rather than the Headmaster, meaning that whoever this unsub is not only knew that Ms Marinette attended Dupont but also knew who her homeroom teacher was. Then there's the fact that the unsub was able to post the image in a spot where everyone in this school could see it yet get around unseen tells me that this unsub knows both the layout of the school and the schedule for it. And the fact that the unsub tried to post the image directly on the Dupain-Cheng's bakery website shows that they knew that it was owned by Ms Marinette's parents and tried to use the comment forum to further their goal, but they didn't know that the comment are regulated, meaning that the unsub doesn't go to the bakery often enough to know this fact or has never been to." He glanced at the paper in Fred's hands when he added, "Since I have no connection to Dupont and I'm a semi-regular customer of Tom and Sabine's... My best speculation about why I was used was simply out of convenience for the unsub, nothing more..."

"Does it matter? That is still a shitty thing to do," a voice from the entranceway of the School stated in anger. Everyone turned in that direction to see…

"Uncle Al?!" Nino exclaimed in shock.

Yup, Al of the Drac-U-Allies was standing in the entranceway holding a manila envelope and had a disturbed look on his face. He glanced at the envelope in his hands before he said a little sheepishly, "Oh, this is for Mr. Damocles for the job he hired Bella and Laura for. They would've brought it themselves but they're a little busy right now." Al then glanced at Officer Prowl and asked in confusion, "Um... Why are you here?"

The homicide officer didn't show any hint of emotion when he stated, "Talking to the classmates of Mr. Agreste and Mr. Lahiffe about Ms Lila Rossi." Without even looking at his notes, he stated, "They have told me quite a lot about her." He then glanced at the fabricated image Fred was holding with narrowed eyes when he added in a cold tone, "It seems my improv interviews here was beneficial to proving that my precious little niece and your brother are innocent of what that wretched thing is depicting."

Al walked over to the Headmaster with his lips pressed into a line when he said uneasily, "Still... The whole send that fraud to the teacher, bakery, and then pinning it in the school for everyone to see... And then the implication on the Drac-U-Allies end..." He cringed when he added when he handed the envelope to Damocles, "Even if that might not be the target of this unsub if some of our clients saw that page..."

Nino shuttered when he got out, "Okay, yeah, that would not only ruin D's rep but it would be a nasty blow to your PI business."

That was when Chloe finally spoke up by saying, "Okay, this is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! Who in the actual hell would want to do such a low triple dick hit move like this crap?! Especially against Dupain-Cheng!?" She then pointed to D when she snapped, "And you are a little too calm and matter-of-fact about something that could've also ruin you too!" Given the current topic and mood, no one chided her on the foul language.

Al glanced to the side with a nervous look when he explained, "D... Isn't good with expressing his emotions... And he's... pretty much logic-driven rather than emotion-driven..."

Aurora couldn't help but say, "Wow, really? I... Didn't think there were actually people like that..."

Tom took a deep breath before he asked the raven-haired man, "D, would it be alright if we hire you to find whoever tried to do..." He pointed at his wife's phone, probably more on the offending fabricated image still on the screen, when he continues, "THAT to our daughter?!" Sabine was more than happy with that idea.

D nodded when he stated, "Understood, I'll give you the number for the Drac-U-Allies and you can submit your request."

Al gave his brother a look when he asked, "Are you really going to have them do that?"

D stared at the blonde man when he stated in a deadpan tone, "Do you want to get on Lily's bad side by not following procedures?"

Al's eyes widened at the realisation before having a rather fearful expression when he got out, "Oh... Good point…"

Everyone glanced at one another in confusion as Nino asked, "Should I be worried about... That?"

Al shuttered slightly when he said, "Only if you do something stupid, endangering, or don't follow pre-established rules..." He let out a sigh before he said, "If you steer clear of those, you'll be good." Nino was still not so sure about this. As D gave Sabine a card for the Drac-U-Allies. Al asked Officer Prowl if he could have a quick word with him. Damocles then asked if it would be alright to talk to the homicide officer afterwards, quickly adding that since his school seems to be somewhat involved in the case.

Officer Prowl agreed to both, bid the Dupain-Chengs a see you later, and went to the side with Al. Fred told D that he'll make a copy of the bulletin board image while Miss Bustier offered to send the email she received to the Drac-U-Allies to use to help find whoever was behind this issue. D accepted these. The students went back to class, all muttering amongst each other about who could want to ruin Marinette like that, all in disbelief.

Al brought Officer Prowl to a corner where they could see if anyone was trying to eavesdrop. In a serious tone, the blonde man stated, "I got a call from Mr. Agreste's secretary on the way here."

Officer Prowl raised a brow and asked, "About?"

Al folded his arms when he stated, "To end the contract for Seras's service since the Agreste's usual bodyguard is back." He narrowed his eyes when he added, "She also made a nice little remark about allowing our workers to take painkillers on the job."

Officer Prowl narrowed his eyes when he stated, "That matches what was told to Mr. Agreste and Mr. Lahiffe." He glanced to the side when he remembered what the red-capped teen told him and stated, "Hold on..." Officer Prowl turned his attention back on the blonde man when he asked, "Was the Agreste household informed about the CPS investigation and about the current custody of Adrien?"

Al nodded with a serious expression still on his face when he stated, "They were. By physical mail, email, phone message, and in person meeting." He shrugged when he added, "I'm not going to try to understand how anyone could ignore all those alerts, but... I'm more concerned about how they aren't aware of the near-accident and what happened to Seras." His eyes glowed red when he stated, "Given that it was on the news last night and there was a re-cap this morning."

Officer Prowl couldn't help but agree that that issue was concerning.

}I{ Meanwhile }I{

A CPS worker rang the doorbell to the Agreste mansion as they quickly looked over the notes made by the prior CPS worker who made the last house call.

Refusal to allow entry, refusal to listen to the reason for the visit, and no response in the form of any means of communication sent.

The CPS worker raised a brow at the notes and wondered why the Agrestes were so uncooperative. This was going to end worse for them.

The security eye on the gates rang to life and extended so it was face-to-eye with the CPS worker. Nathalie's voice came through the speaker under the camera's eye when she said, "State your business for being here."

The CPS worker cleared their throat when they said as professionally as possible, "Madame, I am here for an important meeting with Mr. Agreste."

The security eye made no motion when Nathalie's voice came through asking, "Do you have a scheduled appointment?"

The CPS worker shook their head when they said, "No, but-"

"Are you from the financial division of the Gabriel Brand?" Nathalie's voice asked in a stern tone. The security eye was still unmoving.

The CPS worker shook their head when they said, "No, but-"

Nathalie's voice interrupted again when she asked through the cyber proxies, "Are you an employee of the Gabriel Brand?"

The CPS worker shook their head when they said, "No, but-"

Yet again, Nathalie's voice interrupted by asking through the security proxie, "Are you with the police?"

The CPS worker shook their head when they said, "No, but-"

Once again, Nathalie interrupted by asking through the proxie, "Are you from any news media?"

The CPS worker shook their head when they said, "No, but-"

Nathalie's voice cut the CPS worker off by stating through the security eye, "Then your request for a meeting with Mr. Agrette is denied."

The CPS worker held out a hand when they tried to get out, "Hang on! I'm here for the well-being of Adrien Agreste!"

Nathalie was unwavering when her voice came out of the little speaker, "Adrien is perfectly fine. He has everything he could possible need. Now please leave before I call the police. We don't need Adrien coming home to a fuss." With that, the security eye retracted to its dock.

The CPS worker was both confused and concerned. They narrowed their eyes at the gate before they slid a formally typed envelope into the mail slot before they walked away. Once they were on the street corner, they made a note of this interaction. Underlining the sentence about the Agreste household not being aware that Adrien hasn't been living in the mansion for almost a week. The CPS worker then added a note that the Agreste household wasn't aware of the official investigation. The CPS worker glanced at the mansion with narrowed eyes.

This was certainly not going to end in the Agreste's favour. Not even close.

}I{ Back at Dupont, an Hour Later }I{

The last hour was very productive for the adults at least.

The Dupain-Chengs called the Drac-U-Allies office, explained their situation, and what they wanted to be done. Lily approved of the job and allowed D to do it. On the condition that everything will be kept professional, of course. Fred gave the PI the original forged image after making a copy of it for their investigation and Caline forwarded the same image that was sent to her, which included the sender's email. Sabine ended up forwarding the 'Comment and image' to the Drac-U-Allies email.

Al decided to stay on school grounds while he contacted the CPS. He stood right outside the front of the school so the students wouldn't overhear his conversation.

Damocles and Officer Prowl had their conversation in his office. That wasn't a pleasant thing for the Headmaster, but it was a necessary thing to do. Mind you Damocles didn't WANT to think one of his students could do such a thing, but past actions, the active acquisition of the painkillers, and the compounding coincidences couldn't be ignored. Officer Prowl, on the other hand, had more information about one of his top suspects and had started theorizing that she might have been working with Mr. Agreste. However, the fact that Lila Rossi wasn't actually travelling with her mother, had falsified her contact list, and the ongoing attempts to manipulate everyone around her disturbed the seasoned homicide officer.

After closing his copy of the information gathered on Lila Rossi, Officer Prowl let out a breath before he stated, "This sort of thing is something I've only seen with adults, never a child..."

Sitting in his chair behind his desk, Damocles replied, "I'm sure you have more experience than I do regarding that, but..." He sighed before adding, "What I can't believe is how she was able to... Keep her mother out of the loop about school since, What I assume to be, day one..." Damocles glanced at the original copy of the file when he said, "Especially since Bella and Laura Dracool have confirmed that Mrs. Rossi does love her daughter..."

Officer Prowl kept his expression neutral when he stated, "From what I've read, you will be talking to Mr. Rossi soon. Perhaps he will be able to help with easing Mrs. Rossi into understanding what her daughter has actually been doing." Damocles sighed as he pitched the bridge of his nose, then said, "I hope so... I can tell you that sending this report to the school board isn't going to be... Pleasant..." All the homicide officer could do was agree.

}{

The students, meanwhile, were speculating on who could've wanted to... Ruin Marinette's life like that... And also kept an eye out for an Akuma.

Come to think of it...

"Is Hawkmoth on vacation or something?" Sabrina commented before she waved her hands in a defensive manner and added frantically, "Not like I'm complaining! This is a good thing! It's just! Well... Today wasn't exactly full of positive things..."

Kim clicked his tongue in annoyance when he commented, "That's the only good thing to happen..." He let out a low growl when he added as he curled his hands into fists on top of his assigned desk, "I can't believe someone would try to twist that innocent meeting into something so! Arrg!" Max placed a hand on the taller teen's arm from his seat.

Alix scoffed when she stated, "Not to mention how badly it could've been had Officer Prowl, you, and Mr. D not been here today." The pinkette let out a sigh when she added, "But it seems fate is in our favour... Or at least in Marinette's favour."

Chloe couldn't help but ask the bluette, "Speaking of, how is that homicide officer your uncle and what's with the cute Pixie-nette nickname?"

Nino and Kim avoided eye contact when Marinette stated, "Uncle Prowl is Papa's younger brother and like heck I'm explaining the nickname." She gave the red-capped teen and the athlete a 'You say anything, I WILL hurt you' look after she finished speaking.

The rest of the class had mixed expressions regarding this particular piece of information.

That was when Mylene asked the blonde boy and the red-capped teen, "Um, speaking of calling... Adrien, Nino... How are you feeling after that... Phone call?" She shrank a bit before adding, "Um, if you two are fine with sharing..."

Adrien rubbed his face while Nino pitched the bridge of his nose. The blond couldn't help but groan out, "I still don't know which is worse... My Father having a hand in what happened with Ms Seras or the fact that Neither he nor Nathalie had noticed that I haven't been living at the mansion for a week!"

Ivan raised a brow when he asked, "What do you mean by that last one?"

Realising that the cat was mostly out of the bag, Adrien decided to explain, "Well... Ms Seras felt that my home life wasn't... Healthy or safe. So she reported her findings to the CPS and they have launched an investigation." He sighed before he added, "And while the investigation is ongoing... I been currently living with a CPS-approved foster parent... I'm currently his only ward."

Nino sighed when he said, "Which was probably planned, to be honest." He glanced at his classmates when he stated, "Since the last thing the CPS needs is a media storm about the investigation. That could impede the investigation in so many ways." Nino gave them a look that clearly stated that they shouldn't say anything about it outside the classroom or tell anyone who doesn't know about it.

It was quiet for a moment before Chloe asked, "Is... This foster parent nice?" Adrien smiled for the first time in a while when he nodded.

}I{ With Bella }I{

The purplette was wondering if Lila had any guilt about lying to her school and mother since she and her sister learned about the false contact information and the lies about the travels. But given what she was seeing...

Bella snapped another picture of Lila browsing the jewellery section of another store when she thought, 'It feels like this is an ordinary day for her… It was like her brief stop at her school didn't even happen... Or that it was a school day...

Bella snapped a series of pictures of Lila purchasing a pretty but fake pearl ring and a nice looking cubic zirconia necklace. The purplette watched the liar with a raised brow the moment she lowered her pocket camera. Bella isn't much of an expert regarding fashion, that was more Laura's thing, but she was sure that the fake pearl in a probably false gold ring band would clash with the zirconia set on a silver-coloured necklace. 'Though I'm pretty sure she isn't going to wear both at the same time,' the purplette thought as she continued to follow the liar out of the store.

As Lila finally returned home, Bella had a thought. Thinking back to the posters that were later used to fake being in Hawaii... The purplette had a feeling that there was a good chance that the jewelleries were also going to be props in the liar's next tall tale to her class.

Bella frowned at the theory as she walked up to Phantasma.

The woman in blue noticed the look on the purplette's face when she asked, "Did something happen?"

Bella sighed as she semi-slumped over the front counter and then said, "Besides finding out some more things that's got Dupont having to involve the police... We almost lost Seras yesterday..."

Phantasma's eyes went wide when she gasped out, "Oh shit! What happened?!"

Bella let out another sigh when she asked, "How much do you know about the near-accident in front of the Louvera?"

Phantasma shrugged her shoulder's slightly when she replied, "About as much as anyone else outside the investigation or the ones immediately affected. This morning's recap revived that the driver's drink was spiked with a huge amount of drugs... Hang on..." The woman in blue paused, now realising why the other was bringing the topic. "Was Seras the driver?!" Phantasma gasped out in shock.

Bella nodded sadly when she added, "And Al was in the passenger's seat..." She let out a low growl when she stated, "If he wasn't, then it would've been a full-blown accident and I'm sure there would've been fatalities!"

Pantasma now had a hand over her mouth, no longer sure what to say about that. The only thing the woman in blue could do was place a comforting hand on her friend's arm.

This helped the purplette. She felt a little better when she said, "Seras manage to pull through. She's not going to leave the hospital any time soon, but at least she's out of the danger zone." She sighed again when she asked, "The recycling bins are going to be collected tomorrow, right?" Phantasma nodded in response. Bella took a deep breath before she said, "Well, looks like we'll find out if Lila's the Recycle Ruiner or not... But given that the rubbish is the same as the ones in her room's bin... It's more likely than not that she is."

Phantasma was quiet for a while longer before she finally said, "Under normal circumstance, I'd tell the parent or legal guardian about their child's misdeeds and let them resolve the issue, but... Given what you found out for Dupont..." She sighed before she added softly, "Cecilia's heart is going to be shattered into so many pieces..." Bella could only nod in response.

}I{ Elsewhere }I{

A picture frame fell to the ground, landing glass down. The sounds of glass cracking filled the air.

"Oh dear! Cecilia! I'm so sorry!" a co-worker gasped out when they realised what they did.

Cecilia was quick to move to the fallen item and carefully picked it up to inspect it. She was relieved that the photo was undamaged but disappointed that the photo frame's glass was indeed broken.

The co-worker moved to look over Cecilia's shoulder to check the damage. The co-worker wasn't superstitious by any means, but they couldn't help but feel a little creeped out by the shape of the cracks in the glass.

A spider web... The cracks looked like a spider web... And it covered the entire picture of Lila. The 'centre' of the web was right over the girl's smiling mouth. The co-worker couldn't help but grimace while Cecilia looked relieved as she carefully removed the picture of her daughter, not even paying any attention to the cracks.

Cecilia smiled at her co-worker when she said, "Thank goodness, the picture of my little Angel is undamaged." The co-worker forced themself to smile as they agreed, still not sure if the cracks in the glass was a sign or a warning.

}I{

As the school day came to a close, the majority of the Students left. The students who stayed were the ones from Miss Bustier's Class and Kagami. The reason they stayed was because they were still worried about the 'Fordged picture' thing. The Dupont staff members were still on school grounds, of course. But they had a more job-related reason to stay. Tom and Sabine came back to Dupont to pick up Marinette, more out of worry about their daughter and to prevent any attempt for whoever was targeting Marinette to pervert any more innocent interactions. Al pretty much remained on school grounds, his reason was to meet with this bodyguard and inform him of the situation and to get him to report it to Mr. Agreste. Officer Prowl and Damocles's meeting ran a little longer than planned, so that was why the homicide officer was still on campus. Damocles made sure to call Bella and Laura to inform them that they didn't need to visit the Police to give them a copy of their findings. The rest of the Dupont staff were told about the 'Forged Image Incident'. Of course, they had their suspicions, but no proof. D returned to get the elimination fingerprints from everyone who touched the original hardcopy of the forged image, which were Fred and Kim.

Everyone was still a little on edge. Despite all the negative emotions that happened, there wasn't hide nor Wing of any black butterflies... That should've eased everyone, but it didn't. Was Hawkmoth planning something? Was he betting something in place? Waiting for something in particular? The lack of Akuma was just as bad as an Akuma! Who would've thought?

Nino was talking to Adrien about seeing if they could reason with the Gorilla about the whole CPS thing. Tom overheard and asked the two if Mr. Garde was back. When they replied, saying that Nathalie implied that he came back today, Tom pulled his phone out to check his messages for any new texts from Marques. there were none. That was... Very weird... There was no other word for it.

Al overheard this and asked Tom if he knew Mr. Garde. The baker explained how he became friends with the bodyguard and why he was worried about him when he had a 'Family Emergency'. Al couldn't help but find those facts odd...

Since the PI has dealt with missing person cases in the past and knew most of the tale-tell signed that the 'missing person' is no longer among the living. And from what Al had just learned, there was a strong possibility that Marques Garde was dead. The blonde man placed a hand on his chin when he thought about the one thing that bolstered that theory. 'If Mr. Garde is still alive, then why hasn't he contacted anyone during the 'Family Emergency'?' Al thought as he tried thinking of the logical routes for reasons why the bodyguard wasn't reaching out to the high-priority contacts he had. None of those either didn't fit with the situation at hand...

Something wasn't adding up here...

Soon enough, a silver car pulled in front of the school and the familiar figure of the Gorilla stepped out of the driver's seat. It felt... Strange seeing the guy again... But... Something felt off about him... Really off.

Tom smiled when he waved and called out to the bodyguard, "Marques!" The Gorilla only glanced at the taller baker. He didn't make any acknowledgement gestures to Tom, not even a second glance. Tom appeared both dismayed and confused. The bodyguard usually gave him a nod or a small smile when he was on the job, but there was none of that... It felt like... The Gorilla didn't know who Tom was! Sabine seemed to follow her husband's expressions when that information sank in.

For some reason, Adrien... Didn't think the person coming towards him was Marques Garde... Sure the guy looked and moved like the Gorilla, but... Something about This man just somehow told Adrien that it wasn't Marques Garde... The blonde model took a step behind Nino, who was also thinking something about this man was off.

Marinette watched as the bodyguard came closer and couldn't help but notice that somehow the man's presence felt different... A lot different from what she was used to feeling from the man... It unnerved her...

The Kwamis of Creation and Destruction knew right away what was off when they both thought in shock, 'He is!'

Al was quick to notice how the others were reacting to the bodyguard's presence and wasn't liking what he was seeing.

"Seems something wrong with that man," D whispered into his brother's ear.

Al wasn't surprised by the older man's sudden appearance behind him when he whispered back, "Agreed. Be ready to act, but don't 'Hurt' him." D nodded before Al moved to intercept. once he stood in front of the bulky man, blocking his path towards Adrien, and stated in a formal and stern tune, "Excuse me, Mr Garde, but I cannot allow you to take Adrien Agreste into your care as of now."

The Gorilla glared at the blonde man.

Unwavering, Al continued, "I am not sure if you have been informed, but the CPS is currently investigating Mr. Gabriel Agreste and has gone through the legal process to have Adrien Agreste removed from Gabriel Agreste's care, in order to keep him in a safe environment during the investigation." The blonde man then waited for a response from the bodyguard, any response.

The only thing the Gorilla did was try to move around the PI. The blonde man quickly moved to block the man.

To everyone who had met the Gorilla before, couldn't help but find him acting very odd... Like the man in front of them was someone else wearing a costume of the guy and was poorly trying to act like him...

The PIs were able to pick up on the uneasiness.

Al blocked the Gorilla's attempt to get around him yet again when he stated, "Mr. Garde, I know you are following Mr. Agreste's orders, but I insist that you contact him and inform him of the current situation."

The bodyguard didn't seem to be paying attention to what was being said, or he didn't care, as he tried to get around the blonde man yet again and got annoyed when he was blocked again.

'That's odd?' Al thought as he blocked the bodyguard from going around him. He narrowed his eyes when he thought, 'I don't hear a heartbeat coming from him... That certainly wouldn't be possible for a living being…'

The Gorilla seemed to finally have gotten fed up with this and aggressively shoved Al out of the way, hard.

Al was a little stunned by this action, but ultimately, he wasn't harmed. 'That would've certainly hurt a human,' the blonde man thought before he quickly moved to grab the bodyguard's arm. Mind you, he wasn't going to hurt the other, only stop him from getting closer to his ward.

Apparently, the Gorilla didn't seem to think that. The bulky man turned and threw a punch at the PI.

Al saw it coming and quickly dodged before he moved behind the bodyguard. The PI wasn't Planning on harming the guy, his goal was to restrain and subdue him. Al used some quick motions to lock one of the other's arms behind his back.

That was when a struggle ensued. The Gorilla trying to break out of the grip and Al keeping the grip intact. Everyone, even Officer Prowl and see, watched this in a state of shock and dismay. The homicide officer and the other PI were more confused than anything since Al had superhuman strength, he wouldn't have to struggle with restraining a human no matter how strong. Yet Al seemed to be having a bit of difficulty with this bodyguard.

D was about to intervene when Al managed to pin the Gorilla to the ground, hard. Within the next three seconds, a white mist emitted from the bodyguard's body. Al made a surprised gasp when the person under him suddenly vanished and fell to the ground. D paused in his action. Everyone from Dupont, the Dupain-Chengs, and Officer Prowl gasped at what they were seeing.

Al sat up, confused as to what happened. He looked down at the slowly dissipating mist as he wondered what in the world this person was. When the mist finally cleared, a single white feather lay on the ground where the Gorilla's chest hit, a ring of keys and a wallet layed were the bodyguard's pockets were when he hit the ground. 'Is that?' Al thought as he slowly reached for the feather and picked it up. He twirled the feather slightly as he analyzed it. Al then got to his feet as D moved closer to him.

Both PIs gave each other a look, a look between siblings when they knew something wasn't right before both turned their attention towards the group still standing in front of Dupont. The utterly shocked group who had witnessed the most bizarre thing in the world. which might've been the case despite what they have seen since Hawkmoth came into the picture.

Al eyed the white feather that was being gently held between his thumb and index finger before he looked at the Dupont group and the homicide Officer. In a serious tone, the blonde PI asked, "Can everyone Please tell us when the last time you saw or communicated with Mr. Garde? And I mean the one before Seras took over his driving duties."

That was when D added in his usual Stoic tone, "One at a time, please."

It took a minute or so before the question sank into the minds of the Dupont group, but once it did, they all nodded as they moved back into the school. The PIs followed, after Al picked up the key ring with the key to the silver car the fake Gorilla drove in.

}I{ Meanwhile }I{

Since Nathalie was busy and Gabriel was still resting, neither noticed that their new Gorilla has already been destroyed.

}I{ An Hour Later, Dupont }I{

Officer Prowl hung up his cell phone when he told the present company, "Officer Raincomprex finished running a background check on Marques Garde." He nodded at the Dupain-Cheng couple when he added, "He used the information you submitted for the missing person's report, so he thanks you for it."

Tom and Sabine would've felt good about something like this, but given the situation... They couldn'thelp but feel uneasy.

"What did daddy find?" Sabrina asked, looking like she was expecting the worst but hoping for the best. She was fidgeting her fingers and her lips were pressed in a line.

The corners of Officer Prowl's lips twitched downward when he stated, "Nothing." He took a breath before he added, "No birth certificate, school record, work record, legal name change, and no record of a legal driver's licence."

Nearly everyone shouted at the same time, "Are you telling us the Gorilla/Marques doesn't exist?!"

"Legally speaking. Officer Raincomprex is now doing a more thorough search on the guy in the hopes of finding something about him," Officer Prowl stated in a flat stoic tone. He turned his attention to Adrien when he asked the then, "Do you know how long Mr. Garde has been in your father's employment?"

Adrien was raking his brain over that question. He didn't know when Gabriel hired the bodyguard. The man has always been there, protecting him from any threats. Adrien had a harder time trying to remember a time when the Gorilla wasn't there... . . ...Now that he thought about it... When he was little, he thought that the Gorilla was part of the family... It wasn't until Adrien turned 9 and Gabriel made him start modelling for his brand that he was finally told that the Gorilla was his bodyguard and not a family member... But... The man was always there for Adrien, even when his parents weren't for some reason...

Adrien eyed the closest wall when he finally said, "I... Don't know... He was always there... As far back as I can remember..."

Chloe couldn't help but say, "I can back that up... I can't remember a get-together where the Gorilla wasn't there to keep an eye on us..." She slumped a bit before she added, "He... Played along with some of our games when we were kids..." Chloe couldn't believe that the same person who would do that and protect one of her friends wasn't who he claimed to be...

Officer Prowl placed a hand on his chin when he mused, "So, he was employed when you were at least two..." He took a seat on a school bench.

Al couldn't help but comment, "Considering the fact that Mr. Agreste would have been competent enough to run a basic background check on someone to watch over his child..."

"At least back then," D slid in without warning. Al gave his brother a raised brow before he thought about those words and then had a 'You know what, fair,' expression on his face and body language.

Sabrina looked almost ready to faint on the spot. However, no one knew if it was because her father found nothing on a case, literally nothing, or the fact that one of the frequent people in her life had a fake identity. Sabrina then looked at Chloe and Adrien, who were getting hit a helluva lot harder by this than her.

Sabine placed a hand on her husband's arm, knowing how much he considered the Gorilla a friend. Tom gave his wife a small smile as he patted that hand. The two then noticed something behind Officer Prowl.

The homicide officer noticed and before he felt a pair of arms wrapping around his shoulders from behind. Officer Prowl sighed before he stated in a stoic tone "I'm on duty."

"Ah know~," The person behind Officer Prowl said, somewhat hugging him. This man was shorter than the homicide officer if he were standing, had dark skin, greyish-black hair that was staged in dreads that reached a little past his shoulders, wore a bright blue visor that matched Officer Prowl's eyes, wore a white shirt that had a few speckles of something sparkling that didn't seem a part of the design, black cargo slacks, and a pair of black combat boots. This man's ears appeared to be pointed, small nose, and a very welcoming smile.

Marinette waved at the man when she said, "Hi, Uncle Jazz!"

The guy, Jazz (1) apparently, gave the bluette a pleasant nod before he grinned at the Dupain-Cheng pair, "Ah dropped by the bakery fur somethin' sweet, and imagine muh surprise when Ah found it close in tha middle of the day, so Ah followed Tom and Sabine's spirit remains and here Ah am!" Jazz happily explained, waving one arm as he told his story and keeping the other around an unamused Officer Prowl.

Ms Mendeleev raised a brow when she inquired, "Spirit remains? What on Earth is that?"

Jazz removed his arm from the policeman as he moved over to the Dupin-Chengs and said, "Ah guess tha best way ta explain it would ta compare it ta footprints on tha ground but with one's spirit energy." When he got in range of Tom and Sabine, he gave them both hugs when he said, "And Ah just followed them here." Both the Dupain-Cheng pair welcomed the embraces. When the hugs ended, Jazz asked them, "But, in all seriousness, what happened fur yah ta be here for so long? Pretty sure school ended a while ago." He tilted his head to the side slightly when he added, "And why are yah all ask in' questions 'bout a Golem?"

"Golem?" Damocles asked with a raised brow.

Al held up the evidence bag with the white feather that appeared when the fake Gorilla was defeated when he said, "He's talking about this." He then half folded his arms when he added in annoyance, "Which he really shouldn't be talking about in front of those who aren't aware!"

Jazz didn't seem concerned when he said while he ruffled Marinette's hair, "Oh, it's fine ta tell'm this. They're connected to the Miraculous in one way or another." He looked at the feather when he said off-handedly, "Ah see, if tha Golem came from tha Peacock Miraculous, then it would be a Sentimonster."

"Jazz! I thought we discussed this!" Officer Prowl stated sternly, glaring at the man with the dreads.

As Jazz told the homicide officer that it was fine and that he was telling him now, the Dupont group was wondering about those words. However, Adrien and Marinette couldn't help but think, 'Wait... Does he know?!' Both heroes stared at the strange man. When Jazz noticed, he flashed Adrien a smirk and gave Marinette a pat on the back as he moved back to Officer Prowl when he stated, "This group is goin' ta be involved in tha Magical Realm soon enough, so might as well let'm in on that side of things."

Miss Bustier couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by that?" She was so confused. First, Adrien's original bodyguard returned and it turns out that it wasn't the real one, and now this person was saying strange things.

Officer Prowl sighed, somewhat giving up on reasoning with the man with the dreads, and explained, "Jazz is in charge of the well-being of all Magical and Supernatural Creatures that live and dwell within Paris. He is also a known expert in magic and known knowledgeable on all he protects." Tom rubbed the back of his neck as Sabine avoided eye contact with everyone for some strange reason.

Okay, that was... Informative…

Alya raised a brow when she asked, "Wait, so you know about the Miraculous?"

Jazz slung an arm around Officer Prowl's shoulders as he slid next to him on the bench and said, "Pretty much, but tha Kwamis are tha best part of'm." The homicide only kept his arms folded during this whole thing. The man with the dreads then added with a huff, "While that whole Order that kept the Kwamis under their conrtol got what they deserved, tha current guardian an't taa bad. Little paranoid, but helluva lot better than his predecessors." He did a one shoulder shrug on his free side when he stated, "But tha jerk that's using poor little Nooroo could've learned a few things if he takes tha time ta listen. But then again, tha fool's not only misusin' that Miraculous but also cousin' so much unneeded stress ta everyone."

Fred raised a confused browwhen he asked, "Hang on, does this mean that you know who Hawkmoth is?"

Jazz leaned back with a sigh before saying, "Ah an't gonna tell yah who he is if that's what yah askin'. The guy's got his rights as Ladybug and Chat Noir got theirs. And unless any of them do somethin' ta tip the Scales of Balance or break any of tha Law of Magic, Ah'ma not allowed ta interfere in their battle." He somewhat leaned his head on Officer Prowl's shoulder when he added in a more humorous tone, "Ah know yah want ta have him arrested, but yah know how it is."

Officer Prowl let out a breath before he stated, "I'm well aware. However, if Hawkmoth ends up killing someone, you have to reveal his identity."

Jazz shrugged when he said casually, "Fair enough." He then looked over at the PIs when he asked, "So, what'cha doin' askin' about tha person that tha Sentimonster was created to pose as?"

So the two half-vampires explained. Well, more Al than D.

Officer Prowl let out a sigh before stating towards the other sitting next to him, "Please be reasonable when you're bartering a price." He seemed to know what the other was thinking.

Jazz somewhat nuzzled the other's cheek when he said, "Ah'ma always reasonable. Humans tend ta be a little picky on how they should pay."

Max was the one to ask, "What are you two talking about?" Markov seconded the question.

Jazz gave a wide grin, somewhat reveling his semi-jagged teeth, as he pulled his arm away from the homicide officer when he stated, "Ah can help yah find the real Marques Garde." He kept that smile on when he added, "Ah know a couple of locator spells, but Ah'ma gonna need something of tha guy." Jazz explained that items that are kept and used by someone can collect a good amount of the person's spirit reverence, which makes them great for locator spells.

Al couldn't help but comment that it would be hard to get those kinds of items since no one knows where the real Marques Garde lives or if Mr. Agreste kept anything of the guy.

That was when Adrien remembered something he witnessed about a year before his mother dissareared.

}{ Flashback }{

Adrien was heading to the Manson's garage, looking for the Gorilla to pass on a message from Nathalie. When he came to the doorway, he paused. Confusion spread all over his face as he silently watched.

The Gorilla was closing a lid to something that was literally inside the driver's seat. The cushion was opened like a hinge on a door, with the hinge on the front. This caused the seat cushion to almost touch the wheel.

Adrien didn't know the car had a secret compartment like that. But the location seemed a little weird... So he just watched as the Gorilla shut the compartment with a click and then did something out of Adrien's sight, probably locking it if the sound was anything to go by.

The Gorilla made a sighing sound as he stood up. Still unaware that the teen was there. At least until he got the bodyguard's attention.

}{ End Flashback }{

Adrien got Al's attention before he explained about the secret compartment in the bodyguard's car and thought that something in it might be something he accessed a lot.

It was certainly worth a shot. The car was here and Al had the keys to it.

}{ About 15 Minutes Later, Miss Bustier's Classroom }{

After skillfully removing the secret compartment in the car, even if it took longer than expected, Al placed the heavy-looking metal box onto the teacher's desk.

Officer Prowl couldn't help but comment, "This looks custom-made." He placed a hand on his chin when he muttered, "Not to mention the modifications to the car to house it..."

D couldn't help but add, "It is an odd place to hide something of value."

Al nodded in agreement as he unlocked the box with one of the keys on the car key ring. Chloe, Adrien, and Sabrina were right up in front of the desk to get the first look inside. Al didn't tell them to take a step back nor did he try to reason with them too. He knew why they were this close and he could not blame them.

With that, the box was opened.

The teens quickly peered inside before all their expressions contorted into confusion at what they were looking at. Al glanced inside the box before he raised a brow and said quizzically, "Those are... Not the type of things that people would keep in a safe."

Inside the box was a smaller fireproof box, an empty perfume bottle, a card that looked like it was from Valentine's Day, a scrapbook, a neatly folded piece of paper that looked like it was a decade old, a picture book with a cat knight on the cover, a friendship bracelet made with orange and bright blue string, a yellow gorilla keychain charm, an action figure of Superman, a silver tie pin, a star-shaped cell phone charm, and a framed photo. The items seemed neatly organised in some way, and they were oddly cared for.

Chloe reached in and took out the empty bottle of perfume in disbelief when she got out, "He... kept this? I... Don't understand..."

Rose took a step forward when she asked, "Did you... Give the Gorilla that?"

Chloe's eyes stayed on the bottle when she said, "It... It was supposed to be a gift for my mother... But she deemed it unexceptional so I couldn't give it to her..." Everyone sort of glanced at each other at this, none were sure how to process that titbit. The mayor's daughter stared at the bottle when she added, "I... Saved up my allowance for it and I just couldn't toss it because it wasn't exceptional enough... So I gave it to the Gorilla on a whim and told him that he could use it so he wouldn't smell like a gorilla..." Chloe couldn't believe that he kept it after what she said to him, let alone treasure it.

Sabrina pulled out the Valentines' Day-like card, stared at it for a bit, and finally said in disbelief. "He kept this too? It's not...Really work keeping... I just gave him this so I wouldn't get teased..." She opened the card and read what she had written so many years ago. Sweet and admerational, just like she remembered it. Sabrina couldn't help but smile a bit.

Adrien was next to pull something else out. The neatly folded paper. He carefully unfolded it and was surprised when he saw the image on it. On the inside of the paper is a child's drawing of the Gorilla and a tiny Adrien. The blonde model remembered when he drew this... He was 5 years old and he had some free time before his next lesson, so he did a nice drawing… "He kept this too?" Adrien got out softly in disbelief, surprised that the bodyguard kept a drawing from a child for almost a decade.

Al glanced at the teens with a raised brow before looking back inside the box when he asked, "So... Everything in here are things you three gave him?"

Adrien, Chloe, and Sabrina looked inside the box again. Aside from the fireproof box and the scrapbook, everything were things or trinkets they had given to the Gorilla. A lot of the items were from Adrien, which makes sense given the bodyguard was with him almost all the time.

D glanced inside the box before he stated, "It seems Mr. Garde treated these trinkets as priceless treasures... How unusual..." He reached in and pulled out the scrapbook. D looked at the cover before opening it to the first page. He raised a brow at what he was looking at before he turned to the next page.

Jazz looked into the box, let out a whistle, and then said, "Nice little collection of keepsakes. Took great care of'm taa." He smiled when he said, "And they're perfect for Locator Spells." Jazz pulled out the framed photo and looked at it with a fond smile. The photo was of Marques Garde standing next to a happily smiling Adrien with an amusement park in the background.

Jazz stared at the photo for a bit before he furrowed his brows. His brows then shot up before they tilted, outer corners down while the inner corners rose.

Adrien looked at the man with the dreads when he asked, "Um, can you use these to find the real Gorilla?"

Jazz nodded when he said, "Ah can..." His eyes focused on the photo.

Adrien's eyes moved to the side when he asked in a nervous tone. "Um, Officer Prowl said something about payment for the spell... Um, I have money to pay..." He placed the drawing on the teacher's desk before looking at the older man when he asked, "So... How much?"

Jazz lowered his head slightly when he placed the framed photo back in the box. Officer Prowl appeared surprised at the gester before he lowered his gaze to the ground. Jazz took a deep breath as he looked up at the ceiling when he said in an oddly calm tone, "Nothin'... Yah don't have'ta pay any thin'..."

That... Didn't make any sense... D seemed to understand what those words meant and asked, "Can you at least locate his body?"

Oh! These words had a very clear message.

Jazz shook his head when he stated, "The one yah want to find is no longer of this world. Both in mind, spirit, and body."

Al couldn't help but get out in a determined tone, "How can that be? There are always traces of a body to find no matter how thoroughly someone tries to destroy one!"

Jazz said nothing as he turned his attention to the white feather in the evidence bag. Al and D noticed as the blonde moved the bag. Jazz's attention remained on the feather.

Al's eyes widen, as well as everyone else's, when he asks the man with the blue visor, "Are you saying that! That the real Marques Garde was a!"

Jazz nodded before he turned his attention towards Officer Prowl when he stated in a serious tone, "It seems the police will be gettin' their wish."

Officer Prowl made no attempts to respond as now everyone's attention was now on a wailing Adrien.

The teen model sank to the floor, hands clenching his head, his eyes were wide with his pupils so tiny they were practically pin pricks, tears streaming down his cheeks, and mouth open. this news...This news had just... Revealed so many things... All hitting Adrien Agreste like a cannon to the heart... There was no way the model could keep this internal torrent bottled up... He couldn't nor did he want to...

Nino walked up to the blonde male before kneeling and then wrapping his arms around the other. The red-capped teen held the teen model in a gentle hug. He didn't say a single word, only offering comfort to his friend. Chloe was next to comfort herchildhood friend, joining Nino in hugging Adrien but on the model's other side. She understood his pain. Understood why he was so upset. Chloe was also trying to process this information, but it was too clear that Adrien wasn't handling this well.

The rest of the students started gathering around Adrien and joining in on the comforting hug. The adults watched this and then gave each other looks that they knew the others could understand. They needed to keep an eye on the teens and keep an eye out for any of the black butterflies.

~}I{~

Laura entered the unit she and her sister with a pleasant greeting. She took off her disguise before joining the purplette in front of the monitors.

Bella greeted her sister before she filled her in on what happened with Lila. The purplette couldn't help but scowl at the part that the liar could be involved in what happened to Seras.

Laura gasped in shock before she got out, "I can't believe I didn't think about that the moment I saw her tossing the bag!" She ran an aggravated hand over her head when she stated angrily, "I wrongly assumed that she was going to plant the painkillers! Not once did I think that she could've dumped all of it in Seras's drink!"

Bella placed a hand on her sister's shoulder when she said, "You didn't know she would've done that, and as far as we knew, it was more likely and logical that she would plant the painkillers not use it." She then pulled Laura in an one-arm hug when she added, "Plus, She's a teenager, and you cannot tell me that you would've thought she would've dumped all the crushed painkillers into one drink."

The pink-and-black-haired woman felt a little better. Laura hugged her sister back when she said, "So, the officer in-charge of Seras's case went to Dupont and he has the observation notes and photos we took." Bella nodded. Laura sighed when she said, "Well, that's one less thing for us to do..." The loli-wearing woman couldn't help but ask, "But why did Lila go back to Dupont when she told them she was travelling? Even if it was a quick stop."

Bella pulled away when she Said, "I'm not sure to be honest. All she did was pin a picture on a bulletin board." She reached for the camera when she added, "I managed to snap a pic of it. Haven't been able to to really look at it." Bella scrolled through the pictures when she stated, "But I could've sworn I saw D in it... Found it!"

Laura and Bella huddled over the screen as the purplette zoomed in on the image Lila pinned to the bulletin board.

Both squinted when Laura commented, "It Does look like D, but..."

Bella nodded, "It is a little blurry and I only got that side of the image..." She looked at her sister when she wondered, "But why does Lila have an image of our brother and why post it inside her school?"

Laura bit her lip when she suggested, "Maybe we can ask D if he noticed anyone taking his picture without his permission and maybe a connection to Dupont."

That was a good start. They would do it the day after tomorrow at the Drac-U-Allies office. They needed a break from the Rossis,and after getting proof that Lila was the Recycle Runner or not, they're taking some time off this job. Beside Damocles said that they already did a lot for the school, so they could have a day.

~}I{ An Hour Later, at Wang Fu's Massage Parlour }I{~

The Guardian of the Miraculous Poured three cups of freshly brewed tea. One cup for him, one for Wayzz, and one for the rather unexpected guest that found him.

Jazz picked up the teacup and took a small sip as Wang and Wayzz took their own cups to drink from. The one with the blue visor let out a soft breath before he finally said, "Since it'll be best if we strike tonight, Ah'll get straight to the point." Jazz looked at the guardian when he stated, "Ah need'ta borrow tha Miraculous yah have so Ah can make a team ta take down Hawkmoth in tha most efficient way. Don't worry, tha Ladybug and Black Cat Holders will be part of tha team, and yah are gonna get tha Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous back in tha end."

Wang Fu was very unsure and rather suspicious about this. Not because of who was sitting across from him but for the reason. The Guardian of the Miraculous narrowed his eyes when he asked, "Why are you suddenly interested in taking down Hawkmoth after all this time? As far as I'm aware, as long as individuals with magic follow the Laws of Magic you don't get involved unless there is something major enough to tip the Scales of Balance."

Jazz took another sip of his tea before he stated, "Yah're right, and tha reason Ah'ma involved is 'cause Hawkmoth broke one of tha Magic Laws." He placed his cup on the table when he said seriously, "He technically broke it a while ago, but Ah found out today that he did." Jazz sighed before he added, "Ah can't keep track of everyone under magic's domain in Paris 24/7... No one can..."

Wang still had his suspicions, but...

"I'll allow this, on one condition," the old human stated in a stern tone. He narrowed his eyes when he said, "I go along to see which Holders you choose and which Miraculous you give them! And I'm helping with the takedown so I can get the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous back!"

Jazz flashed a grin when he said in a chipper tone, "Sure thin', 'cides I don't think it'll be a true battle of tha Miraculous without ya."

Wang Fu readily agreed to that, not wanting the two wayward Miraculous to fall into another pair of hands with dark motives. But for some reason, the old human felt like he'd just been played…

}I{ Nino's Room }I{

The red-capped teen was sitting on his bed as he stared at the silver ring in his hands. The brace did little to obstruct his movements, even if it wasn't as fluid as he wanted. Nino was somewhat in disbelief over this whole thing, but he couldn't blame or fault this decision.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Plagg asked in a worried tone.

Nino looked at the Kwami of Destruction when he said, "I'm going to admit... I'm kinda 50/50 on this..." His eyes were back on the ring when he said, "On one hand, I'm going to be the Black Cat Miraculous Holder for a while, but on the other hand..."

Plagg floated over to the teen and sat on his shoulder when he said, "Yeah... I wish it was under better circumstances too..." His whiskers drooped when he added, "I hope Adrien will be alright after... Everything settles..."

Nino slipped the Miraculous on his right ring finger when he said, "I couldn't agree more, little dude..." He glanced out the window. The waning moon was rising over the horizon. The red-capped teen sighed before he got out, "On the upside… I get to kick Hawkmoth's ass twice as hard."

Plagg couldn't help but snicker at that.

~}I{~

To be continued.

~}I{~

1… I have no real excuse for adding these characters other than using them because I love them and their dynamics, and as a fun little Easter Egg for another Miraculous Story that I'm working on. If you follow me on Tumblr, you know which one! PS; If the scenario sounds familiar, I swear it's a coincidence that I realised at the end of writing this chapter! But I'm sure Jazz and Ariel would get along just fine.

2… AFIS = Automated Fingerprint Identification System. The Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is a biometric identification (ID) methodology that uses digital imaging technology to obtain, store, and analyse fingerprint data.

3… I had to give the Gorilla a legitimate name, and I happened to like the idea that his given name is Marques.

~}I{~