Two days later, Alya and Nino were hunched over their desks, heads down and lost in thought as it had been several days since anyone had seen either Marinette or Adrien, and no one knew whether they were even going to come back to school.
The day before, shortly after 12:30, Chloé had been called out of class only to return 45 minutes later with a very smug look on her face, which no one paid any attention to. Even if the 'queen bee' knew anything about Adrien's whereabouts, everyone knew she'd never tell them, so no one even tried to ask if she knew anything.
Both Alya and Nino knew that they had royally messed up, Alya more than anyone, especially when her parents had received the legal injunction on her behalf as a minor. Once the ramifications had been explained and passed on to the journalist, she began to reevaluate the events of that day in the bakery. What she found was not something she was proud of.
In hindsight, Adrien was right, as much as it pained her to admit it. Nothing he had said had been false in any way, she and Nino had indeed put off studying to make out. She also had been a bad friend and had taken Lila's word over Marinette's even though the bluenette had offered proof.
Alya sighed and put her head on the desk, only lifting it when the door opened and closed behind several classmates who were all whispering and pointing to the back of the room. Starting to turn in that direction she was interrupted when Lila came strolling in and sat down next to her, not even stopping her conversation with Nathanial about how she could help him get his comic published by Marvel or DC. Eventually, she turned to face Alya and began to talk all about how she had been up late the night before helping Jagged Stone plan his concert. Alya, just like before, was sucked into the story and forgot all about her classmates pointing behind her.
As class started, Alya forgot all about the whispers and pointing as she was enthralled by the life that Lila lived, however, her reverie was broken when the teacher began to call the roll.
When she called for Adrien and he replied 'here', Alya's head whipped around so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. There, in the back row, were Adrien and Marinette, sitting at their seats as though they hadn't been out for several days. Chloé smirked at the shocked looks on several classmates' faces, Alya, Nino, and Lila especially.
Marinette had her head down on the desk and looked to be asleep, while Adrien had his arm folded across his chest. He was wearing his now signature black shirt and pants, the only new thing was a few new silver rings on his fingers.
For his part, Adrien just stared straight ahead, daring anyone to approach him. No one even thought about it, mainly due to the fact class had started, but also because of the glare that was turned toward the rest of the class.
When the teacher called Marinette, the girl only raised her left hand and mumbled a muffled 'here' which caused Adrien to snort before controlling himself.
As her hand went back to cushion her head, Alya caught a flash of metal in the light as it glinted off several rings on her hand. Alya shrugged it off and turned back to the front as the teacher began the lesson, Marinette enjoyed accessorizing from time to time.
Adrien gently nudged Marinette awake, and her head slowly rose to take in her surroundings. Realizing it was the desk she had been sleeping on she slowly sat up and stretched before smiling at Adrien and starting to take notes.
As the clock slowly ticked the minutes away both Adrien and Marinette found it more and more difficult to focus on the lesson as their closeness made them want to hold hands and revel in their new relationship. However, the need and desire to stop the menace that was Lila stopped them from holding hands under the desk where no one could see.
So, it was with great joy that both stood for the lunch bell and casually made their way out of the room, talking about the lesson as they made their way to the cafeteria for lunch today. It had been decided by all that they should be seen at the school as much as possible to not only gather more lies from Lila but also to dispel any assumptions about their relationship. Nathalie determined that if Marinette and Adrien were seen together as 'just friends' then no one would question all the time they had been spending together.
As they gathered their lunches and made their way to a table they were followed by stares, everyone seemed shocked by them being back in school. Ignoring it they settled at a table near the wall, that way they can have their backs to the wall.
"So, did you understand any of that math?" Marinette asked as she pushed her mashed potatoes around the plate.
"Honestly," he replied as he looked up from his salad, "not really. As I said before, precalculus is a pain."
"Ugh," she replied as she buried her head in her arms again. "Maybe we can get that tutor to help again?" she mumbled from her arms.
Adrien snorted as he took another bite, however, a drawn-out sigh caught his attention and he turned to look at her.
"Thinking about the history assignment?" he asked with a grin, his eyes narrowing slightly when he saw Nino and Alya look up from where they were sitting with Lila and the rest of her sycophants.
"Why do we have to write a paper on the revolution?" She grumbled from her arms.
"Because they told us to?" He replied with a snarky grin, Marinette only rolled her head and stuck out her tongue. Adrien laughed as he took a bite of salad, pleased that he could finally eat something with taste, even if it was a salad.
"Did you notice that Alya and Nino both look miserable?" he asked as he ducked his head to give the appearance of looking over the assignment.
"I did," she replied as she sat up and looked at her paper to hide her response.
"I think a little time, and the injunction, got them thinking," he replied as he pointed to a random spot on the paper. "But it looks like it didn't last long."
"I noticed that they were sucked into her lies as soon as her mouth opened."
"Her earlier lie was about Jagged again," Adrien said as he took his phone out to show that he had recorded her very loud conversation.
"I just wish we were able to record what she's saying now."
"Yeah, but we have to do what we can. Let's finish eating and then actually do this homework," he said with a shoulder bump. She laughed at this and picked up her fork again.
.o.0.o.
After class, Adrien and Marinette were talking and laughing as they walked to the bakery.
Following the wedding, it had been decided that until the public ceremony, Marinette would keep her room at the bakery but also share Adrien's in the mansion. All involved agreed that moving Marinette out would raise too many suspicions, but that it would also give them a safe place to go once school ended.
As they walked they were careful to not hold hands, instead, they held the straps of their bags or put their hands into pockets.
Marinette laughed at a pun as the Gorilla took up position behind them as they left the school grounds. Once the group was safely at the door of the bakery, the Gorilla handed Adrien a folded note before finding his normal table and settling in. A smile graced his face as Sabine sent one of the staff over with a plate of his favorite treats.
Adrien smiled at the man before leading Marinette to the counter, the note tucked into his pocket as they ordered.
Once they were seated with cups of coffee in hand, Adrien removed the note and unfolded it. He chuckled as he read it before placing it on the table and smiling at Marinette.
"Remember at lunch when you said you wished we could record her lies? Well, your wish has been granted, my Lady. It appears as though we now have a man on the inside."
Marinette's brows rose as he chuckled and passed her the note, a grin taking over as she read it.
"Really?" She asked as she read the note several times to make sure she didn't miss anything.
"Really," he replied as he took the note and returned it to his pocket. "He sent me a note in the papers that Nathalie retrieved from the school for us. I didn't mention it before because I had to test him, to make sure he was serious. Apparently, he was."
Adrien smiled as he took his phone from his pocket and sent off a quick text, he received a reply almost instantly.
A few minutes later, time in which Adrien had picked their food up from the counter, the door opened and a very nervous Nino walked in. Seeing the couple, along with their bodyguard who was now keeping a very close watch on him, he ducked his head and slowly approached the table. Adrien rose and pulled a chair over to the table.
Nino carefully set his bag on the floor and placed his hands in his lap, his head still lowered.
Adrien and Marinette both let him take his time as they could tell this was difficult for him.
"First," he said in a small voice, "I wanted to apologize to you both, I know I can't apologize for Alya's actions, but I can for mine. What you said the other day was entirely true and she knew it. I've also been thinking about what you said about Lila and decided to do a bit of digging on my own. You were right about that too, everything she said was a lie, Jagged Stone doesn't even have a cat."
Nino could hear Marinette's eye roll as it screamed 'duh'. He gave a small smile before continuing, eyes still turned to face his lap.
"After that, I kept going and found so many lies, I just couldn't believe it. I had to do something, so I made sure that my note got slipped into your papers. When you sent me a text I started making recordings of Lila and her lies."
"And no one is suspicious because you are always on your phone doing something music-related," Adrien replied as he sat back and crossed his arms.
"That's right," Nino replied as he finally looked up, instead of looks of anger or indifference, he found smiles from both his friends.
"Clever," Marinette said as she looked at Adrien who nodded.
"I've already uploaded the recordings from the last few days to a cloud storage, I'll send you the link."
"Thank you," Adrien replied as he uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. "I know this isn't easy on you."
"It's not, especially when Alya keeps getting sucked back into the lies, for a moment this morning I thought she might have a revelation, but then she got sucked into the lie about Jagged's concert."
"I'm still not sure why people keep getting sucked into her lies," Marinette said as she leaned forward and took Nino's hand in hers. "Nino, you were my best friend for so long, but with the betrayal with Lila, I can't call you that anymore. Because of her, Adrien became my best friend when I lost you and Alya, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to get what Alya and I had back."
"I understand," the bespectacled boy said as he turned his eyes back to the table.
"But, once this is all over, I want you, I, and Adrien to all be friends again."
"I'd like that," he said as he looked up again. "I need to go, Alya will be looking for me and I can't be caught here."
With nods from the others, he rose and made his way out of the bakery.
"Well," Adrien said as the door closed, "that makes things interesting. I'll have to forward the link to Nathalie."
"Yeah," Marinette said as she looked where her former friend had vanished. "But it does bring up a good question, why does everyone believe her lies without question."
"I doubt it's Hawk Moth," he replied as he took a bite of his lunch. "He's been quiet for a while, and I don't think even his powers could do something like this."
"Well, we'll figure it out later. Let's finish up then go study, that math is going to be the death of me."
Adrien laughed at her reply before taking a bite and following her lead in making the meal disappear.
.o.0.o.
At dinner that night with Marinette, it warmed Adrien's heart to think she'd be with him always now, he brought up the topic of the link to Nathalie.
"Yes," she answered as she placed her napkin down after dabbing her lips clean. "I looked the files over before forwarding them to Legal. The contents are exactly what your friend indicated, recordings of the various lies that Ms. Rossi has been telling, many of which revolve around Jagged Stone and his upcoming concert. Additionally, there were several that were obviously lies regarding her perceived relationship with you Adrien."
An eye roll from the model was the only response.
"We have forwarded the relevant recordings to the various individuals implicated. We are waiting to hear back from their representatives."
"Did you send the ones about Jagged to him?" Marinette asked as she looked at the table in thought.
"We have, we are still waiting to hear back from his people," Gabriel answered.
Marinette looked up with a smirk as she looked at Adrien, who only laughed when he realized what she was going to do.
"You are brilliant my Lady," Adrien said as he kissed her knuckles as she pulled her phone from her bag with the other.
"Why, thank you," she replied with a grin.
"Would someone please let us know what you are planning?" Nathalie asked with some bemusement.
"It's quite simple, Nathalie," Adrien replied as he released Marinette's hand so she could use the phone. "You happen to be looking at Jagged Stone's official designer and honorary niece."
That little bit of information, after absorbing it, made grins grow on both faces.
"Penny?" Marinette asked once the line connected. "Is Uncle Jagged there? He is? Great. Yes, it's about the recordings you received. No, I'm with them right now actually. Sure, I'll put you on speaker."
Marinette set her phone on the table and turned the speakerphone on.
"It's on Penny," the younger girl said as she sat back and grinned.
"Ms. Rolling? My name is Nathalie Sancoeur, I am the personal assistant to the Misters Agreste."
"Ms. Sancoeur, thank you for bringing these recordings to our attention. The implications are rather grave should they be leaked."
"Yes, that was our belief as well," Gabriel added as he leaned forward alongside Nathalie.
"Mr. Agreste," the assistant greeted, "it is an honor, I just wish it had been under different circumstances."
"Yes, we all feel that way, Ms. Rolling," he added in greeting.
"I know that our legal department has sent you several items regarding Ms. Rossi in the past, but as of yet we have not heard anything back."
"I do apologize for that," she replied as the sound of shuffling papers was heard, "we did receive them, and I forwarded them on to the label's legal department, but with the current tour I have been too busy to follow up."
"That is something that we all understand, it is similar when planning a show," Gabriel explained.
"No doubt," Penny replied as she continued to sort papers. "It was luck that Marinette called, Jagged and I were about to settle in for the evening. If you don't mind me asking, sir, how do you know Marinette?"
"Well, that's a complicated story," Nathalie responded with a look in Marinette's direction.
"I trust them both," the bluenette said as she took Adrien's hand in hers and smiled.
"She is married to my son," Gabriel replied, "however, it is not something we want to expose to the world right now. In light of the ongoing lies from Ms. Rossi, the safest course forward was for my son and Marinette to marry in secret to be able to fend off the more intimate lies that have been told. I trust you understand how important this is to everyone here that this remains between us for the time being?"
"Of course, Mr. Agreste," the assistant responded without missing a beat. "I know Jagged will be overjoyed to hear the good news. You can count on us to keep the secret for as long as needed. Now, regarding the issue of the other recordings, how can Jagged and I be of assistance?"
"Well," Adrien answered as he sat forward and grinned at those assembled. "We have a plan, and we could use your help in gathering help."
.o.0.o.
"So, everything is going well?" Sabine asked Marinette as she and her daughter enjoyed lunch together the next day. Adrien had been called to an impromptu publicity photoshoot for the new Adrien line and had to leave Marinette earlier that morning.
"Everything is going well, mama," Marinette replied as she sipped her tea, a smile on her face as the light caught in her ring.
"I'm glad you are happy with Adrien," the elder Cheng replied with a smile, "but, I meant all the school drama."
"That's a bit more complicated," Marinette replied as she sighed and set her tea down. "Nino is working as our spy, gathering recordings we can use against Lila. Those will be a big help since it should be able to easily disprove almost everything she says. Jagged and Penny are using their connections to build a legal team and case among the celebrities that Lila is claiming to know. It's slow going, but Nathalie has assured me that everything is happening and moving along just as it should."
"But?"
"But," Marinette parroted as she leaned back, "I just want this to all be over. I just want my life to go back to normal, well, as normal as it can be given I'm now secretly married to the love of my life."
Marinette gave a small smile again as she sat and thought.
"Things are just changing so fast, it's hard to keep up sometimes, and with Hawk Moth being so quiet recently, it's strange getting through an entire day of school without him attacking."
"Yes," Sabine replied as she took Marinette's empty cup and placed it into the sink. "The news has been talking about that as well, some think he's gone for good. Others think he's planning something huge ad it's just a matter of time before he strikes."
"Well," Marinette said as she stood up and stretched, "I hope he's gone for good. I'd better get back to school, thanks for lunch, mama."
"Anytime," the elder Cheng replied as she hugged her daughter. "Will you be okay going back to school?"
"I'll be fine, mama," she answered as she pulled away and grabbed her bag. "Adrien left the Gorilla to make sure I was okay. He's keeping his distance and recording everything secretly, but he's there just in case anything happens. It was Gabriel's idea to record it."
"Your husband comes from a very smart family," Sabine replied with a laugh.
"Of course he does," Marinette said as she headed out the door, "he married me, didn't he?"
Sabine's laughter followed her down the stairs to where the Gorilla was waiting at his usual table in the bakery. With a smile, he rose and opened the door for her.
"Thank you," she said as she headed out into the bright Parisian day.
As she walked she enjoyed the freedom the short walk to school gave her, she could take a few moments to enjoy the fresh air and just decompress on the walk, and knowing the Gorilla was nearby in case anything happened filled her with a sense of peace.
She was just about to enter the school grounds when she was grabbed from behind and slammed against a bench.
"What are you doing with Adrien, I thought I told you to stay away from him, he's mine!"
"He's my friend, Lila, I can hang out with him if I want to," Marinette replied as the other girl shoved her arm into the bluenette's throat, making it hard to breathe.
"No, you can't," the other girl replied as she pressed harder, traces of black starting to creep into Marinette's vision. She knew the Gorilla would step in as soon as she was in true distress, but right now she hoped the other girl would leave soon.
"Adrien is mine, Marinette, do you understand? Mine and no one is going to take him from me. I'll do whatever it takes to claim him and there is nothing you can do about it."
Lila released her and stepped back; Marinette sagged onto the bench as she took deep breaths.
"I'll see you in class, remember what we talked about," Lila threatened as she fixed her hair and walked away.
Rubbing her throat as the girl disappeared, she looked up as the shadow of the Gorilla loomed over her. Offering her a hand he helped her to stand, a scowl on his face as the other girl vanished.
"Please tell me that you got all that on video?" Marinette asked as she straightened her bag and clothing. The Gorilla nodded as Marinette sighed.
"Good, when she slammed me onto the bench she pushed us onto the school grounds so the Legal team can now get the School Board involved," Marinette replied as she reached into her jacket, pulled the small tape recorder out, and stopped it.
"And this audio will perfectly match up with the video you took." She told the bodyguard with a grin. She removed the tape and handed it to the man before replacing it with a new tape and putting it back into her pocket. "Will you please make sure Nathalie gets all these while I finish up the day?"
The bodyguard nodded and stepped away from his charge. She smiled up at him before heading into the school grounds.
For his part, the Gorilla returned to the car to upload the new material to the private cloud drive that housed the rest of the gathered evidence. The small tape was placed into a digital converter and digitized before being added as well. Once he was done he sent a text to Nathalie explaining what had happened and that the documentation was uploaded.
Now that he had accomplished that he sat back and waited for Marinette to get done with school so he could take her home.
He knew that Adrien would be livid when he saw the attack on his wife, and the Gorilla couldn't wait to bury the monster that was Lila Rossi, the sooner the better. For now, all they could do was wait until all the pieces were in place legally.
For Marinette, the day progressed as normal, everyone ignored her, and she was content with that, especially since it meant that Lila was too busy spinning her lies to bother her.
After each class, Marinette would approach the teacher and ask for copies of the homework for Adrien since he was out for work-related matters. After a few strange looks, mainly at why she was getting his work and not Nathalie, the various teachers gave in and handed her the requested documents, she was still one of the best students in the school despite everything with Lila.
Using the explanation that they were study partners may have helped that along, especially since most of the teachers had seen how close he and Marinette had been getting recently.
Finally, the last bell rang and Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as she quickly packed her bag and made her way to the classroom exit. As she moved through the other students making their way out of the school she tried her best to ignore the whispers she could hear. Apparently, another one of Lila's lies about her had been spread already, and like the virus it was, it had infected the entire school already.
Tuning out the hurtful words she was almost to the door when the figure of Mr. Damocles appeared in front of her.
"Ms. Dupain-Cheng," he begins without giving her a moment to compose herself. "I want you in my office this instant."
"What?" she asked in surprise, "why?"
"That is not your concern right now," he starts to say only to be cut off.
"Actually," a voice speaks up from the crowd that had gathered, the mob parting as Max stepped forward. "By law, she is entitled to know why you want to detain her."
Needless to say, Marinette was surprised, Max had firmly been on Lila's side the last time she had checked, why was he standing up for her now?
"Mr. Kanté," the principal starts, "it is not your place to inform me of the law and I expect you to remember that."
As he finished talking a heavy hand landed on his shoulder before he could even complete his reach for Marinette's arm to drag her away.
Looking up the small man shrank in fear as he kept looking up and up until he finally reached the face of the Gorilla, which was set into a very unhappy look. In his other hand, the principal noticed a phone with a video chat open and streaming.
"You are incorrect," the voice on the other end said as he glared at the principal, "it is your student's place to keep you accountable to the law. As such, you are not to touch that girl nor speak to her until she has a guardian present as she is still a minor."
"Mr… Mr. Agreste," the man stutters out as he finally overcomes the shock of seeing the elusive designer's face before him.
"That is correct," Gabriel replies as he continues to glare at the man, "As Ms. Dupain-Cheng is a minor and her parents are not present to represent her in whatever it is you are so upset about, it falls to me to do so. As per her internship contract, her parents have authorized me to act as her guardian when they are unable to do so. Adrien's bodyguard will accompany you to the office while I remain on the call, he will act as my proxy for as long as needed."
Mr. Damocles could only stutter as the Gorilla gently led Marinette toward the offices leaving him to catch up to the hulking man, the crowd in front of him parting like the Red Sea to allow him and Marinette passage.
Once in the office, the Gorilla pulled a small phone stand from his pocket and placed it a safe distance from Damocles so that he couldn't 'accidentally' disconnect the call.
As they were sitting Marinette had started her tape recorder as well, just in case.
"Now," Gabriel began as he faced the principal, "what is all this about? You are keeping Ms. Dupain-Cheng from a very important appointment with the company."
"Well… it's been brought to my attention that during lunch period Ms. Dupain-Cheng cornered and assaulted another student in the restroom."
"That is a very serious allegation," Gabriel said after a moment to take it in and stare at the cowering man. "Do you have any evidence?"
"We have a statement from the victim stating that…"
"Yes, all well and good, but do you have any real evidence? Eye-witness testimony or perhaps a report from the nurse?"
"There… there were no witnesses, and I didn't feel that it warranted the nurse checking the injuries out, they were very obvious."
"Mr. Damocles, do you have any medical training?"
"What?"
"Do you have any medical training?" Gabriel repeated.
"N…no."
"So, you are telling me that with no medical training, you felt qualified to assess the legitimacy of injuries sustained during the alleged incident where there are no witnesses but the victim?"
"I…"
"Am I also to understand that you, with your lack of medical training, determined that the victim's injuries should not be checked over by the school nurse whose job it is to evaluate and assess any injuries sustained on the school grounds?"
"Well, you see..."
"It is also my understanding that the school is equipped with security cameras in the corridors and that those cameras also include the comings and goings of students into and out of the restrooms, am I correct?"
"Yes."
"I do hope that you watched any security footage that may include Ms. Dupain-Cheng before you decided to confront her and embarrass and humiliate her in front of the entire school."
"I didn't see the point; the victim was very clear about what happened."
"I see," Gabriel said as he sat back in his chair. Marinette knew from his voice that he was beyond angry.
"So, you are basing this entire allegation off the word of a single victim with no corroborating evidence?"
"The victim has no reason to lie…"
"Everyone has a reason to lie," Gabriel cut him off before he could go on, "the only question is finding the motivation to do so. Given the current toxic environment that my son has mentioned is being directed at Ms. Dupain-Cheng I can only conclude that the victim is one Ms. Lila Rossi."
Mr. Damocles' jaw dropped open before he stuttered a response.
"How… how did you..."
"How did I know? I didn't until you just confirmed it. Mr. Damocles, Ms. Rossi has been on a smear campaign against Ms. Dupain-Cheng since the day she started. I highly advise that you check those security cameras and do some investigation before bringing such serious allegations against another student, especially when I happen to know that Ms. Dupain-Cheng was not even on campus during lunch. She had gone to the bakery for lunch where she met her mother for a meal in full view of all present at the bakery. Adrien's bodyguard escorted Ms. Dupain-Cheng both to and from the bakery and numerous witnesses can attest to this. We will be taking Ms. Dupain-Cheng with us as she is already very late for her internship due to your stupidity. Please expect my Legal department to be putting in a call to the school board to discuss your obvious unfitness to be principal if you refuse to perform any investigation and take the words of a single person as hardclad evidence."
The Gorilla rose and offered a smile and his hand to Marinette to help her from her chair.
"One last thing," Gabriel said as the trio was on their way out, "I expect a public apology to Ms. Dupain-Cheng tomorrow, or you will very quickly find yourself unable to find any gainful employment within the whole of France."
Once they were in the hallway and alone the Gorilla turned the phone to face Marinette.
"We will be speaking more about this tonight, for now, you do have a meeting to attend regarding your designs. I will see you shortly."
With that, Gabriel disconnected the call and the Gorilla returned the phone to his pocket. Marinette smiled at the man as she turned off her recorder.
"Shall we go?" she asked as she forced a smile onto her face, the recent events had shaken her, and she needed to be out of this place.
The Gorilla nodded and led the way back to the front doors, to her surprise a few people were waiting for her. Unsure of their intentions she partially hid behind the Gorilla as they approached the doors and the trio waiting there.
"Marinette," Max began as he took a step toward her, a glare from the Gorilla stopped him in his tracks, but he didn't back up. Swallowing he spoke again.
"Marinette, about what happened today…"
"Not here," she said as she looked around her protector to her former friends. "We can talk in the car."
Silently she led Max, Nino, and Juleka toward the waiting car. The Gorilla unlocked it and opened the door for them. Marinette smiled at the man as she climbed in, the others followed a bit more slowly.
Once inside she discretely thumbed the recorder on again. The Gorilla locked the door and started the car once everyone was inside, turning the air conditioning on to a comfortable level.
Marinette was silent as she waited for them to speak, here in the car, she was in control, and she had nothing to fear.
"Marinette," Max began after clearing his throat, "Nino's been talking to us recently, and, well…"
"I managed to convince them that Lila is lying about everything," Nino said when Max, for once, could not find the words to explain.
"They realized how true it was today when Lila spread the lies about you attacking her, we all saw you leave the campus before she got 'attacked' so we know you didn't do it," Nino explained.
"I had Markov scan her for injuries," Max explained as he pulled the scan up on his phone. "She's not hurt at all, it's just stage makeup."
Marinette looked at his phone before looking up at him. She studied him and the others for a moment before speaking.
"What made you guys realize that Lila was lying?"
"For me, it was when she claimed she could get us all backstage passes for Jagged Stone's show since she was best friends with his son," Juleka answered as she looked down at her hands. "I asked her how she knew his son, Lila said that they had met at a show in Nice and had dated in secret but broke up because he didn't want to disrupt her schooling when he went on the road with Jagged again. When I asked when it was she claimed it was a year ago. Marinette, Lila said she couldn't remember his name when I asked. We've never gone on tour with Jagged, how could we when Luka and I didn't even know Jagged was our father until Luka's Akumatized Truth form made Jagged tell us only a few months ago? Even then it was never announced to the public that Jagged had kids. Luka has never even been to Nice. She didn't even know Penny's name! I can't believe I fell for her lies!"
Juleka sat in silence as she thought about all the lies that Lila had told, giving Max time to speak up.
"It was when Markov scanned her today and found no injuries of any kind," Max said once Juleka had stopped speaking and had begun to fidget with her hands. "He even scanned her to see if she had any other injuries we could not see, but he didn't find anything. If she had been as close to the jet engine as she claims she would have suffered permanent damage to her ears, they were fine when Markov scanned them. A bone density scan also showed no signs of arthritis nor any sprains or breaks, old or new."
Marinette was silent for a moment as she absorbed it all. She reached out and took Juleka's hand.
"To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't catch on to the kitten lie since you know Jagged is deathly allergic to fur now that he's taking an active part in your life, even if it is secretly. I know you haven't had a chance to spend much time with him since he's on tour and you did just learn he was your dad a few months ago, but that's not just something you forget." Marinette gently chided the distraught girl.
With a sigh, Marinette released her hand and sat back.
"I'm very surprised that Markov never said anything to you about her health," she said as she addressed Max.
"Well," Max began sheepishly, "he did try a few times, but I ignored him. He also tried to convince me that you didn't take the necklace, his scans didn't show your fingerprints anywhere on the necklace, only Lila's. But as before, I was too taken by her lies and just ignored him."
Marinette watched him for a moment once he stopped speaking, her eyes eventually jumping from one to the other and then back again. This continued for a few moments, bordering on the point that the two under scrutiny were starting to shift uncomfortably.
"Can I trust you?" she asked Max and Juleka directly, she knew they could trust Nino already. "Can I trust that you won't fall under whatever spell her lies are spreading? Can I trust you with something very important?"
Twin nods were the reply.
"Adrien and I are building a case against Lila that will bring her down and destroy all her lies once and for all. Nino has been helping us, can I count on you two to help as well?"
"Of course!" Juleka replied as she sat up straighter.
"Affirmative," Max replied as he leaned forward.
"Good, what we need is evidence; video, audio, and digital, anything that can incriminate Lila. I can't go into too much detail, but if you get anything give it to Nino, he knows how to get it to us."
"You can count on us," Juleka replied with a predatory grin.
"I'll have Markov keep tabs on her as much as possible."
"Great," Marinette replied as she reached into her pocket and turned the recorder off, taking it out and removing the tape, she passed it to the Gorilla, ignoring the looks Max and Juleka gave her.
"Now that that's out of the way dudette," Nino said as he grinned at Marinette. "What's going on with you and Adrien? You've been spending a lot of time together, and his bodyguard is practically your bodyguard now. And that thing with his dad, that was crazy!"
"That surprised me too," Marinette admitted, "but as Mr. Agreste said, I am working at the company, he was just protecting an employee. As for the Gorilla," Marinette gave the man a smile which he returned to the shock of the others who had always known him as a stoic, stone-faced man, "That was Adrien's idea. He and I have known Lila was lying since the start. Since he couldn't be here today he made sure his bodyguard was able to watch out for me. Besides, Adrien's my best friend, the only one I've had for a while, and we trust each other and look out for each other."
Turning to face the Gorilla, Marinette spoke directly to him.
"I'm sure that thing with Mr. Agreste was because of you," she said as she looked right at him, the stoic façade giving way to a small smile.
Marinette laughed and hugged him as best she could.
"Thank you," she told him to the shock of the others as his smile grew. "Adrien was right, you are the best."
He blushed as Marinette let go and turned back to the others, as she did the Gorilla tapped his watch. Marinette sighed as she knew they needed to go.
"Unfortunately, I have to go, Mr. Agreste is waiting for me, and since I am working for Gabriel they gave me some projects I need to work on for the new spring line."
"You'll have to tell us about the internship another time," Nino said as they gathered their bags. Marinette didn't say anything in response, just sat and thought.
The Gorilla turned off the car and unlocked the doors before exiting the vehicle and making his way around to open the curbside door. The other teens nodded and filed out, the Gorilla closing the door behind them and returning to the driver's seat, starting the car once again. Marinette stopped them before they had gone too far, rolling the tinted window down enough to be able to speak.
"When things settle down a bit at school and work, Adrien and I will invite you over, we can tell you all about my work at Gabriel, we do need to have a long talk about a lot of things. Just remember to be on the lookout for Lila, you can't treat her any differently, she'll begin to suspect something is up."
Marinette rolled the window up, and with a sigh nodded to the Gorilla who started pulling out into traffic, the three teens disappearing into the distance behind them.
Marinette sighed as she relaxed into the seat, closing her eyes she let the motion of the vehicle lull her to sleep.