Sin of Reveal

by Gale-Dragon

What would happen if Lila summoned a Lord of Hell to make Marinette suffer? Well, if you're Satan and Asmodeus, you wonder how someone botches a summoning and then just do what is paid for to be done with it. Not their fault that they discover Tikki and Plagg's Holders during this. With a side plot of Chloe learning to be a big sister to 5 siblings! Ongoing story.

6. Chapter 6

~}I{~

Sin of Reveal. Chapter 6.

~}I{~

The night sky glowed over a sleeping Paris. Only the moon, stars, and streetlights were what was keeping the city lit. However, there were still some activities even when mortals slept.

"Is this where Lila Rossi lives?" An angel asked as they looked between the paper and the address of the building in front of them and the rest of the selected flock. On the adjacent building rooftop, one could clearly see the entrance of the one in question.

A 2nd angel confirmed it by saying, "Everything matches." They then looked at Raguel when they asked, "We need to get her to introduce herself, correct, Sir Raguel?"

The Angel of Justice nodded when he stated, "Correct, and if there are any other incidents you can manage to create that will allow us to learn more about her, that's even better."

A 3rd angel nodded when they said, "We'll do what we can before she gets to Dupont."

A 4th angel was looking at the latest Gabriel Brand Magazine when they commented, "That's odd… The photos are… Weird…"

The 1st angel looked at the 4th when they said in annoyance, "Are you really looking at that now?"

The 4th angel looked up from the magazine when they retorted, "We have time before she leaves her home, besides, the pictures are kind of weird for a professional fashion magazine…"

Raguel commented, "Fair point, but I expect all of you to have the events ready to implement the moment our target leaves her apartment."

The 2nd angel looked at the title of the magazine when they asked, "Isn't that the brand that Lord Asmodeus' mortal fashion company is collaborating with to get at the Style Queen mortal's soul and the Lust Demons working on that ended up finding out about some not-so-nice things regarding the owner's child?"

The 4th angel nodded when they said, "The very same."

Raguel clicked his tongue in annoyance when he stated dryly, "Yes… Adrien is currently living with his bodyguard and the Lust Demons are posing as him during the photo shoots." He turned an ear towards the one her heard who was reading the magazine when he said, "Apparently, they've proven that Adrien is being sexually harassed by another model, who is also a classmate of his." He nodded towards the apartment building when he added, "She's the one we're investigating, Lila Rossi."

The four other angels uttered an, "Ew!" At the same time.

The 3rd angel folded their arms when they stated dryly, "Well, now, I foresee her soul spending at least some time in the Ring of Lust when the time comes." They then looked at the 4th angel and asked, "Wait. If Lust Demons are on the photo shoots, then the photos should be exactly what they're supposed to be, so how are they "weird" as you describe?"

The 4th angel handed the magazine over when they stated, "Take a look for yourself."

The others, aside from Raguel, looked through the Gabriel Brand Magazine. The more pages the three angels looked through, the more confused and unnerved they became. Currently, they were looking at a photo of 'Adrien' and Lila wearing matching red-and-grey cardigans paired with matching slacks and a white shirt under the jacket, however, it was kind of hard to see that Lila Was wearing something that matched aside from the colours because she had both her arms wrapped around an unamused 'Adrien's' arm. The next page was a set of semi-casual clothing that 'Adrien' and Lila were wearing, a cyan-and-red plaid shirt with blue skinny jeans paired with a blue vest. Still, yet again, it was hard to tell that Lila's clothing matched 'Adrien's' aside from the colour because she was wrapping her arms around a very uncomfortable-looking 'Adrien' completely. The page was turned, and yet again, the same issue, Lila clinging uncomfortably close to an unwilling 'Adrien'.

In fact… The entire magazine issue had nothing but Lila invading an unwilling, uncomfortable, and unamused 'Adrien's' personal space. With Lila being completely oblivious to her actions as her gaze is always on the camera. There were also a couple of photos where 'Adrien's' image was blurred like he was moving just as the picture was being taken. If anyone had to guess, it felt like Lila latched onto 'Adrien' the second before the photo was taken and he tried to recoil from the actions.

By the last page of the magazine, the three angels reading it looked rather disturbed. The 2nd angel looked at the 4th when they asked, "Uhh, are you sure this is an official magazine release?"

The 4th angel nodded with a potent, "Yes."

The 1st angel then asked, "And that Lust Demons worked on this?"

The 4th angel nodded when they said, "Yes. I don't know how many are working on the shoots Adrien Agreste worked on, but from the photos, I can guess at least seven Lust Demons. And they're the ones posing as Adrien."

The 3rd angel couldn't help but say, "But… All these pictures depict this Lila model invading the personal space of whoever is posing as Adrien. And judging by their expressions, she didn't have their permission to be that close. And there are a lot of sections that are blurred because the subject moved, all on 'Adrien's' images."

The 4th angel nodded when they stated, "Yes, that's why it's so weird. Lust Demons HATE sexual harassment! Like Christmas Rose (1) they would allow it on any job, even more so in the case of a minor."

Raguel let out a low hum before he commented, "I talked to the one in charge of that operation. He was more than displeased by the fact that the boss and apparent father of Adrien refused to believe that Lila was doing any kind of harassment, especially to Adrien." He huffed when he added bitterly, "And worst yet, Mr Agreste dared to accuse the Lust Demons of fabricating all the incriminating evidence they've gathered."

The four angels had varied expressions of confusion and disgust when the 1st angel said carefully, "I know that it's common knowledge in Heaven and Hell that Lust Demons despise sexual harassment and care about the well-being of mortal children, but it isn't the case for mortal humans. However, you would think that with everything this so-called father has been given, one would think he would maybe wonder why a bunch of demons would go out of their way to make one particular worker look bad. Especially one that is underage?"

Raguel nodded when he stated coldly, "Hence why the Lust Demons are compiling an investigation on Mr Agreste. They should be bringing in the Child Protective Service soon enough. It's tricky because the guy is a high-profile mortal, those always take more time to build a solid case against." His attention was on the apartment building again, feeling some negative energy seeping out. He tilted his head to the side slightly when he commented, "Is there something going on with that building? The energy is rather off for this time of night."

Now that the Angel of Justice mentioned it… The four accompanying angels noticed a slightly bad vibe from the building.

They were contemplating on maybe investigating that, but the sounds of an ambulance suddenly pierced the air. They all watched and listened from where they stood. The paramedics rushed into the apartment with their needed gear, then 15 minutes later another set of paramedics went inside with a gurney, and they came out with someone strapped on that gurney within ten minutes. The angels caught a glimpse of an oxygen mask on the face of the person being wheeled out. As soon as the ambulance drove off towards the nearest hospital, the odd energy felt seeping out of the building vanished.

The 2nd angel couldn't help but comment, "Hm, it seems like the energy was from the worried allies of the mortal that was taken to the hospital." The flock were quick to note that there were a lot of humans peeking out of their windows or coming out to investigate what was going on.

Raguel knew it was a logical assumption, but wanting to be sure he called in another angel to keep an eye on the building.

}I{

Jason folded his arms as he stared at the computer screen with a rather puzzled look on his face. Miss Bustier's class told him that Lila was a popular model for the Gabriel Brand and had a lot of fans. Therefore, he wanted to do a little research to see just how popular she was. To get a rough estimate on how big the potential suspect pool for that category of "Super Fans" was. But it seems like the classmates were only right about Lila being a model for the Gabriel Brand...

On the computer screen was, essentially, an online petition to have Lila Rossi fired from the Gabriel Brand and have the owner get a restraining order on her to keep her away from Adrien. The petition had ultimately quadrupled its signature goal of 15000 and there were still three days left until it ended.

And this petition was the last of at least two dozen websites the redheaded man had found that showed nothing but disdain for the liar of Miss Bustier's class, but the petition seemed to be one of the few that had offered up more legitimate reasons as to why Lila Rossi was disliked. Considering that the petition was started by someone from inside the Gabriel Brand, that in itself was a telling.

Jason glanced at the pile of paper that he used to keep note of why the Fashion Fans, Gabriel Brand Fans, and Adrien Fans either liked or disliked Lila Rossi. One sheet was for the more concerning and legitimate reasons, one for petty and minor reasons, and the last for reasons that the fans liked Lila Rossi.

Of course, the list of reasons that fans liked Lila was… Not even close to a fourth of the page… And to be honest, the list felt more like it was pandering or trying to cover up a fallout. It made Jason think that either someone was paid to make these "compliments and praises" or the Gabriel PR Team was forced to make these comments. Either or, that still doesn't bode well for Lila or the Gabriel Brand… It also seemed like if Lila even had any fans, they were really quiet about their admiration for her or were just casual about being fans. But that also implied that Lila might not have anyone who would call themself one of her "Super Fans" or had someone who would want to dress up like her... Which in turn, eliminated THAT theory rather quickly.

The list of petty and minor reasons was a page length that was more of a tally chart. Jason wrote down all the reasons that ultimately had nothing that could come from them aside from minor pettiness and marked a tally every time one of the listed reasons came up. To sum it all up, the redheaded man had a lot of tallies and not a lot of reasons. Jason rolled his eyes after scanning this list, wondering if it was worth asking a dozen or so Envy Demons to look into everyone who made these remarks, to be on the safe side… Well, those demons would get a kick out of this at least, even if the pay for the deed was probably on the lower end of the spectrum.

Now Jason's focus was on the list of legitimate reasons that people disliked Lila, and THAT felt more like a multi-page essay. Hell, he even had sources to cite on that list and he even had photographs as references. But the thing that concerned the redheaded man was the timing of the majority of these legitimate reasons and who was making a lot of these claims… Before the collaboration with the Ash-Mode Brand and from Gabriel Brand employees…

Jason looked over the printed-out photographs that were on legitimate sites that showed why Lila was disliked inside the Gabriel Brand. The redhead placed his right hand on his chin as he used his left to hold up one picture at a time. 'Hmm, while her apparently constant need to paw at Adrien is concerning, it appears that it's not the only issue she's causing. This makes me glad that the Lust Demons have made countermeasures and going forward with the sexual harassment claim when they learned of all that… And on the professional end, I can understand the issue regarding having to work with her…' Jason thought as he stared at a snapshot of Lila pouring some kind of coloured drink all over a rather stylish dress. The redheaded man placed that picture down on the left side and picked up another on the right when he thought, 'However if the Gabriel Brand employees had THIS much trouble Before the collaboration… Why hasn't anyone reported her for all the misconduct? And even more so regarding Adrien? Surely this would've gotten her reprimanded or even fired if anyone had reported her.' The photo was of one of the photographers appearing to be shouting at Lila while she clung uncomfortably close to Adrien. The redheaded man frowned at this image before he placed it down and thought about these facts that would've had any other employee fired a while ago.

Well, Jason knew what he was going to do in the morning, talk to the Gabriel Brand employees about their opinions of Lila and why they haven't sent in any complaints within the company or reported her. He glanced at the clock on the computer monitor and realised that it WAS morning. 5:58, to be more precise.

'Oh! I need to make breakfast for Kathryn!' Jason thought as he placed the evidence down and quickly made his way into the kitchen space of the hotel room.

"Do not forget our meal, or else the pain will be real," a demonic voice echoed through the kitchen as the redheaded man started readying the ingredients.

Jason let out a huff when he stated as he worked on the prep, "I'm aware. But let me make Kathryn's breakfast first. In case you forgot, she can't eat what we can and our food tends to be on the "fiery" side of things." The redheaded man could hear a small growl before hearing a click of the tongue.

Soon enough, Kathryn came into the kitchen with a yawn, still in her nightclothes.

~}I{~

A fifth angel checked their wristwatch as they sat at a bench right across from the apartment building the Rossis were living at, reading a book.

They were brought in to watch the building while the others set up their tasks to get Lila Rossi to introduce herself. This angel was going to alert them to start on their events the moment they saw the liar leave her residence to head to Dupont. There was just one issue…

It was currently 10:45, and Dupont started at 9:00…

The angel manning the forefront frowned at their watch as they raised their brow. Given that the school is a ten-minute walk from this location, 15 if there was traffic, Lila should've left the residence no later than 8:45…

The angel glanced at their book to read what was going on inside the public areas of the Rossi's apartment building. So far, nothing but the 'normal' activities for the place at this time of day. The angel narrowed their eyes as they flipped back through the pages to the moment one Cassandra Rossi exited her apartment unit to head to work at 5:42 on the dot and headed off to work while thinking about how she much wanted to eat breakfast with her daughter but knew she had to make sure Lila was provided for. The angel raised a brow at one line of the mother's thoughts that stood out to them. They tapped on the line 'But I'm glad Dupont isn't being targeted by another Akuma again.'

The angel tapped on the word 'again' thinking it was strange, causing the sentence to be highlighted in blue. As far as this angel was aware, Dupont has been operating during regular school hours and only closed during those hours if an Akuma destroyed the building. But the school would re-open once the Akuma was taken care of and the Miraculous Cure repaired everything that had been damaged in the attack. The angel glanced up at the entrance to the apartment building they were watching when they remembered that Dupont hadn't been in the pathway of the past few Akumas, so they wouldn't have had to close.

That was a rather odd thing… Maybe this angel should ask Sir Raguel to bring in another angel to watch Cassandra Rossi. After all, there was no such thing as too much information, especially for this kind of case.

The angel flipped through the pages to read if Lila was outside her apartment unit yet. The angel's brow rose again as they read that Lila did leave her apartment unit at 8:10, but she went to the basement of the building, after making sure she wasn't seen. She eventually left the basement at 9:12 and returned to her unit. The angel tapped on these sentences, causing them to be highlighted in orange.

The angel placed a hand on their chin in confusion at this, wondering why there was nothing about what Lila did in the basement. The angel theorised that the cellar was considered 'private' by the residence and was enough to cause the charm to conclude that the location was a 'private space'. They flipped through the pages until they came to the 'current events' going on in the 'public' space of the apartment building.

At 11:02, Lila FINALLY left her apartment unit.

The angel quickly sent a text to their fellow angels, who were still waiting on standby, alerting them to the fact that their target was leaving the building and to get ready. The angel pretended to read their book as they looked up just in time to see Lila Rossi exiting through the main entrance, taking note of the teen's current mood.

Lila didn't seem to be in any hurry nor was she worried about the time. In fact… If it weren't for the school bag she was carrying, it would've simply looked like she was going out for a stroll…

The angel subtly glanced at the teen slowly moving out of their sight with a raised brow of confusion and watched her until they could no longer see her. The angel was quick to use their more 'unseen' abilities to write down how Lila didn't seem bothered that she missed most of the morning classes and was very late for school. After a few seconds, they decided to send this observation to Sir Raguel.

The angel's attention was back on the apartment building. However, to outsiders, it would look like a person engrossed in the book they were reading. At least until another ambulance came barreling towards the apartment building.

}I{

Marinette had to forcefully yank her locker open, which in turn, caused it to release an ear-bleeding shriek that was heard by students passing by in the hallway. Everyone in the locker area immediately covered their ears at the horrid noise.

Once the ringing in her ears stopped and she noticed everyone around her, Marinette self-consciously got out with pink cheeks, "Sorry everyone…"

All who were in the locker area replied with, "You don't have to apologise for that." A few of the students from the hallway peered into the locker area to see what was going on and what made that awful noise.

Alix rubbed her ears when she commented, "I'm not sure if it's because my ears are still ringing but… Is that locker getting louder?"

Kim removed his hands from his ears when he stated, "I was more focused on the fact that Nette was having more trouble opening it than the sound… Mostly…" The tall teen walked over to Marinette's locker when he added, a hand on his chin, "I mean… It looked like you were throwing all your weight into pulling it open and I don't recall you doing that before."

Marinette collected her things for the next class when she said, "I guess… It's been… Getting harder and harder to open recently…"

"And noisier," Chloe threw in flatly. She looked at the locker door as the bluette readied to close it when she asked in more of a detective-like tone than anything, "Hang on… Has the locker been acting up since the whole 'secret' break-ins started?"

Marinette thought about that for a bit before she replied, "Come to think of it… It might have…" She was quick to close her locker door, causing the thing to screech again. Marinette cringed as she struggled to close the door completely. Once she got it closed, she promptly locked it.

Everyone around stared at the bluette, even if they cringed at the loud noise. Trying to remember if they had ever seen her struggle with closing her locker before. That made Sabrina ask, "Uh, Marinette… Don't you think you should get your locker looked at? Um, again?"

Marinette glanced at her friends as she gave a small, short nod before they headed off to their next class.

}{ Meanwhile }{

"And you submitted the complaint right afterwards?" Jason Blood asked a Gabriel Brand employee, writing down the response on a tablet.

The employee nodded when they replied, "Of course, I did. With the photographic evidence included in my complaint!" They folded their arms when they added bitterly, "But has anything been done about that brat? Not a damn thing!" They scoffed when they stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "And I'm not the only one who's been sending in legitimate complaints about Rossi."

Jason gazed down at the tablet when he got out, "I'm aware… And I haven't even talked to half the staff…" He noticed a few of the Lust Demons nearby and gave them a nod of acknowledgement before he continued questioning the employee. "Do you still have a copy of your complaint? If so, could you send me it?" Jason asked the employee.

The person was more than willing to share it, adding that they hoped that the redheaded man would have better luck with getting through to Mr Agreste about Lila Rossi than everyone else has.

Those comments were rather worrying to Jason as he received the email. He then made his way towards the Lust Demons when he finished talking to the Gabriel Brand employee. The redheaded man looked at them as if he were looking at any other human being when he asked directly, "Can any of you explain why the owner of the Gabriel Brand, who might I add is also the parent of the main victim of Ms Rossi, isn't adhering to any of the protocols regarding sexual harassment and receiving numerous complaints regarding one employee? Because I have not even hit the halfway mark with the Gabriel Brand employees and I can't think of one legitimate reason why Ms Rossi is still working at this company."

"Trust us, we're just as confused as you," one of the Lust Demons told the other with a clear look of disdain on their face.

Another Lust Demon let out a low growl when they added, "And that's only half the issues with that brat!"

Jason Blood nodded when he stated, "Yes, the 'feeling up Adrien' was the most common complaint regarding Ms Rossi thus far." He tilted his head to the left in a knowing manner when he added with a raised brow, "But Ms Rossi doesn't know that she hasn't been working with Adrien since the collaboration began, does she."

"Hell No!" all the Lust Demons snapped in annoyance and anger. They went into a bit of a tirade as to why they made damn sure Lila didn't know about the replacement ploy. Jason somehow managed to get everything down, now understanding the reason why the collaboration was still ongoing and why Lust Demons were putting up with all the sexual harassment so far. Then again, the redhead couldn't blame them considering a child was being targeted.

Jason then asked the group, "Given your protocols, I assume that you directly informed Mr Agreste about Ms Rossi and her unwanted advances. What were the reasons why he didn't believe you? Especially since it involves children?" When he was told that he was going to have to ask Axel about it, the redheaded man made sure that he was the next person he would talk to.

}I{

Lila scoffed as she continued on her way towards school, ignoring all the annoyances that had the gulls to cross her path. She couldn't understand why those stupid people couldn't have their idiotic accidents when she wasn't around.

Unbeknownst to the liar, she was being watched.

"Hmm, a little young to be that unsympathetic…" One of the angels mused as they watched from the roofs with the others.

"She could at least stop and look like the others," another angel commented.

The third looked ahead of their target when they stated, "Sir Raguel is the last of our events, so let's hope he can get what we need."

The fourth angel couldn't help but comment, "Still, it's rather strange that a child didn't seem interested in others to that extent…"

The flock couldn't help but glance at each other when those words were spoken, and it made them wonder…

}{

Jason looked over all the rather damning data that was given to him by the Gabriel Brand employees with a puzzled expression. Sure some were eye-witnessed Lila doing this which caused that to happen, but the rest had a lot of photographic evidence that most certainly couldn't be misinterpreted. An entire album-worth of photographic evidence… 'Did Lila not notice any of the cameras or people with their phones at all during these… Moments?' Jason wondered as he went through the digital pictures on his tablet. He then couldn't help but think, 'But all this evidence also makes Mr Agreste's lack of actions all the more stranger… There is no way he could ignore this amount of complaints bombarding his inbox…'

Axel, on the other hand, was more than eerily happy with all this extra evidence of Lila's unwanted actions towards Adrien and Mr Agreste's disinterest in protecting his child from such things. It wasn't hard to think about what the demon had planned for all the damning evidence.

Jason would admit to being a little creeped out by the Lust Demon's enthusiasm over this, but he had a job to do. So the redheaded man asked the professional-looking Lust Demon in a wearily-serious tone, "Um, as much as I don't want to play the devil's advocate… But even if Mr Agreste could care less about Adrien… Wouldn't he at least do something about the business repercussions of Ms Rossi's… Uh, antics? I mean, that would harm his reputation… Something that no real business owner would want happening." Jason then held up the recent Gabriel Brand Magazine issue when he added, "And the photos you all put in this will only add ammunition for that downfall. I'm surprised you didn't show him those before the magazine got printed as a warning." The redheaded man couldn't help but look at the image of Gabriel Agreste from the waist up with his arms folded in a stern expression on the back of the magazine.

Axel glanced at the redheaded man when he stated coldly, "We sent him the photos a week before the magazine was published. To "go over" all of them and see for himself how often Ms Rossi is ruining the shoots with her handiness. He never responded, so we published them and see how the public reacts to them."

Jason raised a brow when he asked, "How did you send him those pics?"

As Axel filed away the evidence, he stated dryly, "Since they were also claims of harassment, they were sent to him via email for the internal complaints."

Jason couldn't help but ask with a raised brow, "Like the other Gabriel Brand employees?"

Axel nodded when he said as he looked at the redheaded man, "Of course, it is protocol regarding that." He scoffed when he added bitterly, "Not like showing them to the guy works either… Dick had the galls to accuse us Lust Demons of faking the evidence."

That made Jason wonder about a few things. After thinking about what he's discovered so far, the redheaded man asked the Lust Demon, "Axel, what did Mr Agreste say about Ms Rossi when you showed him your evidence?" After the professional-looking Lust Demon explained the unpleasant interactions, Jason told him and the nearby employees, "Do any of you mind if I do a little experiment?"

}{

Lila proudly slid on the shiny gold ring embedded with a band of pure white gems onto her left ring finger as she continued on her way to school, already making up a story to earn more adorations from her flock that would also push Adrien to become her boyfriend. The liar smirked when she thought, 'I can't believe how stupid that guy was, and I didn't even have to do a thing.' She smiled as she admired how her new ring looked on her.

The elderly man Lila was walking away from now wore a neutral expression as he quietly headed off towards an alleyway. Once he was out of view of the other pedestrians, he leapt up and flew onto the roofs.

"Was the ploy successful?" one of the Angels asked the elderly man, who smoothly morphed back into Raguel.

The Angel of Justice nodded when he stated, "It was." Raguel turned his attention in the direction of Dupont when he added, "It certainly was."

}{

Kathryn stood in front of Marinette's closed locker, staring at it almost intensely. Her light blue eyes glanced at the undisturbed padlock before they scanned the edges of the locker door. There were no openings for anyone to get in other than a key. Kathryn placed her right hand on her chin as she looked at the lock again. She used her left hand to test the lock, to make sure it was secure. It was.

Kathryn narrowed her eyes at this before she left the locker area. She couldn't help but think that this whole Over-Summoner issue wasn't making any sense.

The target was too pure. The summons were too often. The Over-Summoner refused to listen to reason. There should be a nasty cloud of Miasma wherever the Lord of Lust was being summoned. And the place where the Over-Summoner is getting the items was secure…

It was all too illogical.

'Even if humans are not solidly reasonable beings, the Miasma should be the one thing from this Over-Summoner that hasn't been affected on that illogic path… Yet it's not being found despite its possible size… Why?' Kathryn thought as she made her way to the staircase. She sensed someone coming and quickly ducked behind the stairs. As Kathryn peeked between the steps to see who the intruder was, she was surprised to see Lila Rossi walking into school at 11:29. The child raised a brow at this when she thought, 'Huh? Why is she coming to school now? With close to three and a half hours left in the day?' The blonde girl assumed that the liar was absent from school due to an illness or something.

Kathryn silently watched as Lila headed to her assigned classroom, climbing the stairs the child was hiding under. Kathryn's blue eyes narrowed as she noticed the ring with a faint angelic aura. 'Looks like Sir Raguel was able to get the information he needed. Hopefully, it will tell us something,' the child thought as she kept her gaze on the liar.

But… Kathryn couldn't help but feel something very strange about this lying teenager…

The black skull on the child's earring glowed slightly before she rubbed it with her index and thumb of that side as she narrowed her eyes. She watched Lila walk into Miss Bustier's classroom, already weaving her false tales of her morning to the others inside. Kathryn stepped out from under the staircase as her gaze was still on the door to Miss Bustier's classroom.

}I{

Jason stared at the tablet screen with a critical gaze. The ploy that he used to test the internal complaints system should've gotten a response within an hour at most, but so far, nothing. That made the redheaded man wonder… That was when he asked one of the Gabriel Employees if the email for the internal complaints had changed recently. If it was, what was the email before the new one?

When Jason got the old email for the internal complaints he plugged it in and sent his ploy. Next was to wait, but it didn't take more than five minutes to get a call from Nathalie…

And man was she furious!

"What the absolute hell were you thinking!? Sending such a disgusting thing to us!?" Nathalie's voice snapped through the tablet's speaker.

Jason pinched his nose and replied in somewhat of a foreign accent, "I'ma sorry ma'am, but can you explain what I did that's makin' yah so high-strung?" The Lust Demons standing nearby were holding back their laughter at this display. Jason then asked in a clueless manner, "Um, by the way, who are yah?"

The secretary replied in as much as she could in a professional tone but her anger was clearly evidenced in her voice, "I am Nathalie Sancoeur, secretary of Gabriel Agreste of the Gabriel Brand."

Jason rolled his eyes at the introduction before he replied, keeping that nasally accented voice up, "Huh? Why is a fashion company callin' me?"

That was when Nathalie snapped, "You sent this graphically gory story in our internal complaint email! How can you be surprised that you're getting a call from us?!"

Jason narrowed his eyes as he continued the act, "Huh? Whatcha talking about? I never sent the Gabriel Brand my story. I mean, yeah, sure I sent that story out, but not to some fashion company, it was to a book publishin' company." He paused for a bit before he asked, "Hang on… What's the email yah internal complain system uses?"

When the nearby Gabriel Brand employees and the Lust Demons heard Nathalie saying the outdated one rather than the newer one, they all looked at each other in confusion and shock.

Jason watched them when he replied to the secretary, "Ah! Now I see the problem. Damn, autocorrect changed the email on me before I sent it. I'ma sorry yah got my story rather than the Gory Readz editor. I should turn that off."

Nathalie huffed when she snapped, "Make sure it doesn't happen again! I don't need your so-called stories clogging up our inbox instead of actual complaints when they come in!" Then she hung up with a slam.

Jason removed his right index and thumb from his nose when he mused, "Hm, well that was a telling comment."

Vincent waved his hands when he asked no one in particular, "I don't understand if the boss and Ms Sancoeur are still using the outdated email for the internal complaints… Then why send a notification to all employees telling them that the email for it has been changed?" It didn't make sense to the Gabriel Brand employees or the Lust Demons.

Make-up Artist Mal couldn't help but say, "But this DOES explain why neither Nathalie nor the Boss has done anything regarding Lila despite all the complaints about her actions and behaviours from everyone inside the Gabriel Brand." They folded their arms when they added, "And also why none of the other complaints have been replied to or acted on."

Kippin then asked, "I don't understand, why tell everyone that the email for something has changed when it hasn't?"

Jason and Axel looked at each other when the Lust Demon stated suspiciously, "You don't think that…"

The redheaded man replied almost coldly, "If the facts fit, then it has to be."

Axel couldn't help but retort, "I know the sexual harassment on our end is unusual for a teenager to display, despite the severity, but what you're suggesting is a rather high level of premeditation. One that is far above the means of a teenager." He folded his arms when he added with narrowed eyes, "Besides, I doubt that either Ms Sancoeur or Mr Agreste would allow Ms Rossi to use one of their devices without some kind of supervision."

Jason nodded when he replied, "True, but then again, they are human and can very well deviate from their typical behaviours if lulled into a false sense of security or feel safe."

The Lust Demon had no rebuttal, knowing the statement was entirely true.

Jason glanced at the Gabriel Brand Employees when he asked seriously, "When did all of you get that notification regarding the change to the internal complaints email? And if anyone still has it?"

}{

Wang Fu took a deep breath before he walked down the street. He was halfway done, and he was hoping that these choices were the right ones. Wang looked at one specific box in his left hand. He clenched the black box before he continued on his mission, pocketing the item as he did.

As much as the Guardian of the Miraculous made his resolve, he knew that it would be difficult. But Wang knew that it was needed… And he hoped that he could do this.

He continued on his task.

}I{

Kathryn scanned the seating areas as the other students cheered for Miss Bustier's class. The bulk of the school was watching the PE game, but the otherworldly child didn't see the one student who should have been here watching the game like everyone else. Kathryn couldn't help but think, 'Then again, she was rather late for school… But still, she could've at least watched this game.' Her eyes then turned towards the field entrance to see her father walking in. Kathryn happily ran up to him.

}{

Lila exited the locker area with a satisfied smile. She got more stuff from the goody-goody's locker to use for the Summoning Ritual and no one was the wiser. Lila smirked as she made her way back to Miss Bustier's classroom when she thought, 'Honestly, it's amazing how stupid that goody-goody is. She hasn't even noticed any of the missing trash in that mess.' She slid into her usual seat and pulled out her phone to watch some videos while she waited for the class to return from that waste of time of a game.

}I{

After the game ended, the classes trooped back into the locker area to get the supplies needed for their next class. Everyone got their stuff easily enough, except for Marinette, who was having… A lot more trouble with opening her locker door…

The bluette in question had her left foot pressed against the door of the neighbouring locker as she threw both her body weight and the force of her pushing with her left leg to open her locker door, but it seemed to be solidly shut despite the fact that the lock was sitting innocently on the bench right behind her. The locker door seemed to be almost welded shut… Which was odd considering that it did open earlier… Even if it was a struggle…

Kim tried to open the locker next, but he had just as much luck as Marinette… Kagami then joined in, but still no luck. Ivan offered to help, but it still didn't help… With the tree of them trying to pull open the door, it was a weird sight.

Adrien looked at Marinette when he asked in uncertainty, "Umm, you didn't happen to have accidentally spilt super glue on the latch… Did you?"

Marinette shook her head when she replied, "No." She looked at the rest of the students who were in the locker area when she explained, "Not because I don't keep glue in my locker but because it isn't allowed. All types of glue are to be kept in the Art Room when not being used, remember?"

"Why?" were Adrien's Alya's, and Markov's immediate response.

Alix rubbed the back of her head when she stated wearily, "Oh, right, that incident happened before you three joined the school…" She let out an uneasy chuckle when she explained, "Let's just say that… Someone thought it would be funny to glue all the doors shut in the school… And I'm talking ALL the doors…"

Adrien and Markov were still confused when Alya asked with a raised brow, "As much as I want to know the details of that…" The blogger pointed at Marinette's locker when she added, "But I think that weirdness takes a priority…"

Jason and Kathryn walked past the entrance to the locker area, only to take a few steps back when they registered the three students pulling on a locker door. The Blood father/daughter duo stared at the strange display for a few seconds before Jason finally asked everyone inside the locker area, "Is… Everything alright?"

Kim, Ivan, and Kagami stopped with pulling to catch their breaths when Rose explained what was going on.

Jason folded his arms in thought before he went over to the locker to look it over. His eyes scanned over the door they landed on the padlock staple, which was nearly completely bent to the left and practically prevented it from sliding out of the opening it was designed for. Jason narrowed his eyes at the staple before he pulled his pocket-sized camera and scrolled through the pictures he had taken a few days earlier until he found the one he was looking for.

The picture of the padlock staple. The one that only looked slightly bent… Now that same latch completely obstructed the door from opening… How was that possible?

Everyone watched as Jason looked from the camera's back to the padlock staple with a raised brow. The redheaded man used his left index finger to trace the path of the bend. It bent to the left, the opposite way the door opened… Jason looked at the opposite side of the door and noticed that it was misaligned. Glancing at the other nearby lockers told the redhead that Marinette's locker was the only one that was altered… Narrowing his eyes, Jason looked over the hinges and noticed something odd about the seam… He pocketed his camera before he pulled a pocket knife out of his right inner jacket pocket with his left hand.

Carefully, Jason wedged the blade of the knife into the crevasse of the seam where the hinges were on and slowly dragged the blade up until something else moved. He kept moving the blade up until whatever was caught on the knife came out, and landed on the ground with a clink. Before everyone's attention could follow what the object was, the locker door slid out of place with a soft metallic shrek. Jason narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the lower locker hinge and spotted the same thin metal pole shaped to loosely fit into where the bolt was suppose to keep the hines in place with the leftover curved so it could snuggly fit into the seam of the other side without being seen, but now… The redheaded man carefully pulled the second metal pole out of the hinge and the only thing keeping the locker door from falling onto him was the bent padlock staple.

Jason carefully opened the locker door, from the opposite way, and peered in before he looked at the hinges. To the redhead, it looked like someone sprayed something acidic on it… 'To remove the bolts?' Jason wondered before he looked over at the utterly shocked student staring at the locker door.

Marinette had her jaw and eyes wide open. She slowly moved her hands to cover her mouth in disbelief and shock. This was something that the Ladybug Hero never thought would happen or that that was how the Over-Summoner was getting into her locker.

Kathryn was the one to break the strange silence by saying, "So… That's how someone was able to break into Ms Dupain-Cheng's locker without touching the lock…"

Ms Mendeleiev walked into the locker area just in time to see… Exactly what all the students standing around were seeing. The science teacher pointed her right index finger at the disassembled locker when she got out, "Is that how…"

Jason nodded when he said as he stared at the locker door, "Seems like it." He looked at Ms Mendeleiev when he added, "I believe that this is more than enough to warrant Ms Dupain-Cheng getting a new locker."

Ms Mendeleiev gave a potent nod as she made her way over to the dismantled locker and stated, "Most certainly…" She looked over the corroded hinges when she asked, "But how in the heavens did someone manage to do-" Indicates the now faulted locker parts as she continues, "That! Under everyone's noses? These lockers are nearly always locked!"

Jason looked at Miss Bustier's class, more specifically Marinette, when he asked, "Was there ever a time when you left your locker open and unsupervised? For roughly…" He looks at the science teacher, who was still looking over the corroded hinges and the thin metal poles used as bolt replacements.

Ms Mendeleiev quickly stated, "Depending on the acidity levels used and the time it took to wedge this poor excuse of a bolt replacement in… I'd estimate between one to three hours."

Marinette was almost frantic when she got out, "BUT! But I always keep my locker locked! Even overnight! I would NEVER leave my locker unlocked! Especially for that long! And not after my locker has been broken into during the beginning of the year!" The rest of the class agreed on that, even Chloe and Sabrina.

Adrien couldn't help but add, "The only moment I can think of where this unsub had the time and opportunity to alter the hinges of Marinette's locker is when the school had to deep clean them, but surely someone would've noticed the unsub."

The others in Miss Bustier's class had an 'Oh yeah' moment while the rest of the students had 'What are you talking about?' expressions when they looked at the blonde model. Ms Mendeleiev was confused when she looked at the blonde and asked, "Mr Agreste, what do you mean by the school deep cleaning the lockers?" Jason raised a brow at this as the other students murmured in confusion.

Miss Bustier's class looked at each other in an unsure and confused manner. Shouldn't the other teachers and students know about the locker cleaning? A school-wide thing…

Ms Mendeleiev narrowed her eyes when she asked the class, "When and how were you notified about this 'Locker Deep Cleaning'? Because this is the first time I'm hearing about this."

So the group of students explained how they got a notice from Miss Bustier about the deep cleaning for the lockers and needed to take all their things out of their locker and leave them unlocked overnight roughly a month ago, maybe a little longer. Jason placed a hand on his chin when he asked critically, "Was this locker deep cleaning thing Before the locker break-ins or After?"

Now that the students of Miss Bustier's class thought about it… It was a little before someone started breaking into Marinette's locker. Like… Within a few days…

Ms Mendeleiev placed a hand on her chin when she mused, "That is quite the premeditated plan… And again, this shows that whoever this unsub is, has a lot of access to Dupont without being noticed…"

Markov waved his claw when he stated, "I am still going through the security footage with an algorithm to check for unauthorised individuals and known individuals going into the locker area more often than needed. But that is currently 86.37% completed and sorted." The AI lowered his claw when he added, "It should be done within the next two days."

Ms Mendeleiev nodded when she stated, "Good, email all the Dupont staff your findings once it's done."

Jason raised a brow when he asked in confusion, "All the Dupont staff? Are you sure about that?"

Ms Mendeleieve was stern when she stated, "Given the circumstances of this…" She points to the now unusable locker when she finishes, "I don't think leaving any of my co-workers out of the loop on this is a good idea." The science teacher then added, "Besides, if someone is willing to cause that kind of destruction to school property in order to steal a bunch of items from one particular student, we all need to be aware in case something else happens. Possibly on a bigger scale."

The father/daughter Blood duo glanced at each other before they both shared a 'that's fair' expression. The teens from Miss Bustier's class were unnerved even more now that they knew that someone went out of their way to trick them into making it possible to break into a locked locker. The other students tried to lighten the mood by teasing Marinette that she had a crazy admirer, but that was quickly shut down. Like, as soon as it was brought up fast…

Ms Mendeleiev told Miss Bustier's class to help Marinette move her things out of the locker and into a new unused one, one that CAN be securely locked. They all did just that as the bile in Marinette's stomach grew even more.

}{

Lila thought it was strange that her class didn't return by the time the bell rang. She knew that the game would've ended no matter what the scores were, but it was almost ten past the time class would've started.

Lila glanced at the door before she decided to see what was taking everyone so long. The liar moved to the door and opened it. The moment she peered out, she spotted a small crowd of students hovering outside the locker area. Confused, Lila headed towards the crowd and asked the first students to notice her, "What's going on?" It was so crowded that she couldn't see into the locker area.

They glanced to see inside the locker area when they replied, "I don't know the full extent, but it looks like someone tricked Miss Bustier's class into leaving their lockers open overnight to loosen the hinges of Marinette's locker so they can break into it to steal her stuff anytime they want…"

Another student couldn't help but comment, "I'm admittedly torn between being impressed that they were able to do that and queasy because they are going into Marinette's locker and taking her stuff…"

The 2nd got wacked on the head by a 3rd when they snapped, "Dude! Do NOT say you're impressed that they did such a despicable thing! Poor Marinette has been trying to stop those locker break-ins since they started and figure out who has been doing it! She's been reporting those to the staff practically nonstop!"

The 1st student turned their attention to the other two when they stated, "I can't blame her, I would do the same if someone was somehow getting into my locker without my permission, despite me locking it. But I don't understand why whoever is doing this even did so in such a destructive and cruel way. If they needed something from Marinette, they could've just asked her to borrow something. She would've been willing."

The 3rd student was quick to agree with that while the 2nd wondered if that locker could even be fixed by this point.

Lila was quick to head to the girl's restroom in a huff of anger, much to the three students' confusion. The moment she could, she locked the door, not even caring that it was a public restroom. Lila let out a growl when she hissed softly, "How did that bitch find out?! Her locker was too messy for her to notice anything missing and I made sure that the stupid hinges kept from falling out!" She stomped back and forth when she muttered in annoyance, "Clearly someone with a better memory somehow managed to look into that goody-goody's locker and told her that some of her crap was missing! Yeah, that has to be the case! But how did they figure out my scheme? Ah! One of those stupid so-called athletes must've knocked into the locker while it was open! Yeah! That had to have been it!" She paused when she clicked her tongue when she grumbled, "At least I got enough stuff to get that stupid Satan to finally do what he's supposed to do!"

Lila took a few deep breaths before she fixed up her appearance in the mirrors. Once she deemed herself perfect, not like it was hard for her to do, she told herself out loud, "I don't have to worry about any of those gullible idiots finding out. They're all too stupid to think I would do such a thing." Lila then unlocked the restroom door and walked out as if nothing was wrong.

After a solid minute, one of the bathroom stall doors slowly opened. Mireille timidly poked her head out as she processed what the hell just happened.

}{

Marinette needed some time to herself to… Wrap her mind around what was revealed…

No one could blame her… But they were very worried about her current state of mind… Of course, their main reason was Hawkmoth, but the other was because she was Ladybug…

Marinette let out a breath as she slumped onto a bench in the park across Dupont. She could still see the school from where she was and anyone in the front could see her... But Marinette didn't care about that… Not right now...

The Ladybug's thoughts were spiralling around this recent event… Completely unnerved by the fact that this unsub had THIS much access to the one place she was as often as her home, and what they did to get at her stuff so they can do a demonic summon to make her suffer a great deal... How could she be calm after this?!

Someone that Marinette saw every day hated her guts more than Hawkmoth despised Ladybug!

}{

A closed, round window slowly opened, allowing the light from the outside to shine into the darkroom. This caused the swarm of white butterflies to flutter around a dark figure.

Hawkmoth was elated when he got out, "Yes! Yes! Marinette Dupain-Cheng is feeling so much negative emotion! There is no way she will elude me this time!"

The villain held out a hand for a white butterfly to land on. When it did, Hawkmoth covered it and focused negative energy into the little insect. Now the butterfly was black with a bright purple streak.

The blackened butterfly then flew off towards the only opening in the lair when Hawkmoth ranted with glee, "Go my horrible little Akuma! make Marinette Dupain-Cheng my masterpiece that will get me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous!"

The butterfly flew at a breakneck pace. Towards its target.

}{

Tikki poked her head out of Marinette's purse to look up at her Holder and asked softly, "Marinette, Do you want to talk about it?"

With her eyes closed, posture slumped forward, arms resting on her legs, Marinette said softly, "What's there to talk about? Some... Psycho that I see everyday at school hates my guts, has free reign of Dupont, manages to trick my class just to break my locker door to get in anytime they want to steal my things, and has been Summoning a Lord of Hell so often that even they're unnerved by this psycho's haterade!"

Tikki was worried when she patted the Ladybug Holder's side and said, "Talking to someone about it might help." She wanted to help the human best she could, and not just to prevent Hawkmoth from targeting her.

From Dupont… The members of the Ladybug and Chat Noir group watched Marinette from where in front of the building anxiously. They knew they wanted to be by her side, but they also knew that she needed some time alone... So they opted to watch from a distance...

Which is how they spotted the Akuma flying towards Marinette. This, of course, horrified them. Even more so when they realised that they were too far from their friend!

}{

Lila happened to glance outside a window to see exactly what her classmates were seeing. An Akuma making a beeline towards Marinette.

To say she was pressed against the glass to watch faster than a dog on a stake was an understatement. Lila was radiating so much malicious Glee at this, making her glad that she was the only one in the classroom, belatedly.

}{

"Marinette!" Adrien bellowed as he wanted to rush over, but the traffic prevented him from doing so. He wanted to warn his Lady of the oncoming blackened butterfly.

Marinette unwillingly looked up to see cars whizzing by and her friends waving and playing charades. She didn't understand what they were doing until she spotted black butterfly wings in her peripheral vision. But by then it was too late for her to do anything but gasp and tumble off the park bench in fear.

Suddenly, a hardcover book appeared between the Ladybug Holder and the blackened butterfly. The Akuma sank into the object before it could react.

Marinette managed to look at the person holding the book. Still in shock, the teenage hero managed to get out, "Mr Blood?!"

Jason only glanced at the Ladybug Holder before his eyes moved towards the book as the purple outline of a moth/butterfly appeared over his eyes and upper face like a mask.

"What?! You're not Marinette Dupain-Cheng!?" Hawkmoth exclaimed in shock when he realised what happened.

Jason Blood was eerily calm, despite the situation, when he retorted, "Clearly."

The redheaded man could hear the emotional terrorist growl before he got out in anger, "Everytime! That child manages to avoid me every single time!"

Jason Blood smirked when he replied to the mental terrorist, "Oh, so you were after her! Guess that technically makes you a paedophile."

Hawkmoth was utterly dumbfounded at the claim when he got out frantically, "WHAT?! NO! I'm nothing of the sort! I simply know that Ms Duapin-Cheng will be my greatest Akuma and will get me the Miraculous of the Black Cat and Ladybug!"

Jason let out a hum as he looked over the Akumatized item he used to catch the Akuma when he said almost casually, "So, that's what you've been waiting for, huh. I must say, you seem to have quite a lot of time to just sit around and wait for people to get emotionally distressed, especially teenagers, so I can't help but think that you don't have much of an active life."

Marinette couldn't help but be in awe at what she was witnessing. This man was... Taunting Hawkmoth... While he was in the middle of being possessed by the terrorist!

The rest of the 'we know' group came rushing over, also baffled and confused about what was going on as Marinette.

Jason kept that smirk with a short chuckle when he said, "Sorry, but I'm going to have to decline. I'm trying to avoid being involved with the Miraculous, and besides... Three's a crowd."

Of course, Hawkmoth wasn't willing to let this go. He could tell that this person had a rather high level of magic, and while it wasn't his first choice, he certainly wasn't going to waste a good opportunity. Especially not when the guy foolishly walked into his clutches while protecting his real target.

Jason could easily pick up on this fact and knew that this wasn't going to end peacefully. The redheaded man let out a breath before another voice butted into the conversation with a malicious cackle, "My, my, my, how rude of you. I simply must say that this shall not do." Jason knew where this was going, and didn't feel like stopping the other.

Of course, no one but the redheaded man was able to hear the interactions between Hawkmoth and the demonic voice. So to them, all they saw was the guy examining the Akumatized item.

The next thing to happen was Jason letting out a confused, "Hm?" and then ten seconds later, the book burst into a blaze of purple and red fire. The redheaded man frowned when he stated in an unamused tone, "That was a little much." The flame concentrated into a small spot until a familiar shape emerged from the book, an Akuma Butterfly. When Jason stated seriously, "Perhaps, but it was still overkill," the burning butterfly stumbled across the book and fell over the edge, taking the unearthly fire with it until it hit the grass below. The fire snuffed out the moment it hit the ground.

The teens from the Ladybug and Chat Noir group were utterly shocked that something like this could happen… Not only did this guy completely resist Hawkmoth, but he also taunted him and completely destroyed the Akuma! All without the aid of Chat Noir or Ladybug!

}{

Lila banged on the window in frustration when she realised that the goody-goody managed to avoid getting possessed by the Akuma, then cringed when the pain surged through her hand.

From the ground level, under the window Lila was at, and out of view from that vantage point… Kathryn was looking up at the room Miss Bustier's class was in, where she heard the banging sound. The child narrowed her eyes when she saw the lair standing in the window.

The timing of the bang was suspicious… It wasn't when everyone else was shouting and trying to get Marinette's attention, but after the threat was neutralised…

All these facts made Kathryne even more suspicious of Lila Rossi. The skull earring the child wore glowed slightly yet again.

}{

Gabriel Agreste was sitting on the ground of his secret lair, shaken, sweat trickling down his face and neck, eyes blown completely wide, pupils dilated into pin pricks, and lips trembling.

Nooroo floated nearby when he asked his Holder, "Umm, master?" He didn't know what happened since Gabriel took the brunt of that mental attack, and whatever it was, it was powerful enough to force the villain to de-transform right on the spot. While Nooroo was glad that the villain was finally put in his place, it did look like he was hit pretty hard by this mental attack. Bad enough to lose his hold on his Miraculous.

Gabriel slowly brought his knees to his chest and curled into a ball with that same terrified expression as he wrapped his arms around his legs.

Nathalie came into the lair about a minute later to see something that she never expected to witness. "Gabriel?" Nathalie called out in concern as she rushed over to him, already thinking that this was Emilie all over again.

The emotional terrorist took in a shaky breath when he told his secretary, "I-I-I think… I think I should take a break from being Hawkmoth for a bit…"

Nathalie was concerned when she asked, "What happened? Please, tell me! Gabriel…"

All the white-haired man could get out was, "I-I thought I finally had… Marinette Dupain-Cheng… But was… Was very mistaken…" As he continued the image of that man with an unusually large amount of magic came into his mind, "Someone was there… To protect her… I thought I could use him and that magic he already had,,, But…" The image slowly turned as a shadowy demonic figure with durning red eyes came into view when Gabriel stated, "He wasn't… He had… SOMETHING inside his mind! His being!" The demonic figure smirked, showing off those sharp, white fangs as the villain continued, "And whatever it was… It messed up my own magic… I can't use the Butterfly Miraculous even if I want to…"

Nathalie hugged the fashion mogul close while Nooroo watched.

The purple Kwami couldn't help but wonder what kind of being was able to mess with the Miraculous this way.

}{

Jason Blood held out a hand to help Marinette up when he asked, "Are you alright? Physically at least?"

The Ladybug Holder accepted the help as the rest of the team got closer when she said uneasily, "Yeah! Yeah. I'm okay…" Marinette then wearily asked, "What about you?" She waved her hands as she explained, "I mean! You held off Hawkmoth, broke his control, and destroyed the Akuma! That has to be exhausting!"

Jason glanced at the book he had in hand when he admitted, "Two of the three, actually." He held up the hardcover book that read 'Dante's Inferno' on the front. The redheaded man couldn't help but add, "But I managed to get a look at Hawkmoth without the mask…"

"YOU DID!?" The teenagers practically shouted in shock.

Jason nodded before he stated, "Yes, and before you start badgering me about who he is and what he looks like, I'm telling you now that there was a slight magical backlash I got from the mental attack caused the Rules of Miraculous hammered into the Miraculous to seep into me, so that prevents me from saying anything about the guy for a while." He placed his left hand on his chin when he mused, "But it's strange… I know I've never met him before yet he looks familiar for some reason."

Of course, it wouldn't be that easy…

Jason Blood did tell them that they didn't have to worry about Hawkmoth for a while, since the emotional terrorist got a pretty nasty blow.

Well… At least that was good news…

Adrien was quick to hug Marinette when he got out, "I'm so glad that you're okay!"

The Ladybug Holder was mixed on the action and words when she said softly, "I'm not going to be "okay" until this Over-Summoner is caught… I just… Wasn't Akumtized…" She didn't want to tell him, but she didn't want to mislead him either. So Marinette opted to be honest and let her partner know how she currently felt.

Adrien's eyes shot open at this before he slowly closed them, hugging his friend closer as he did. "We'll catch this person…" He promised softly.

Kim tried to lighten everyone's mood when he said for all to hear, "And we'll make sure they're punished by hanging them upside down in their underwear!"

Everyone stared at the athlete before Max told him, "Kim… No one wants to see that… Plus… Satan and Asmodeus have first dibs on the Over-Summoner and I doubt they'll think that that is an appropriate punishment…"

Kim let out a cheeky chuckle when he said, "We can make a dummy of them to do that."

Marinette couldn't help but smile softly when she admitted, "Well… Maybe it's a little petty of me, but I kind of want to do that… As long as we get the okay from Damocles, of course."

Jason shrugged when he said, "Nothing wrong with you wanting some form of retaliation for everything that has been done to you by this Over-Summoner." He then noticed something stirring in the grass, right where the Akuma fell.

Meanwhile…

Lila was less than happy about seeing Adrien hugging Marinette.

~}i{~

Damocles impatiently tapped his fingers on his desk in a rhythmic pattern as he waited on the phone's landline for someone to pick up. This was the last call on his list and if the track record he's gotten so far was any hint, he was expecting some more incriminating information regarding Lila Rossi. The Headmaster already had one hell of a dossier on the liar, of which he was ready to forward to the School Board after this conversation to hasten their decision regarding that now growing legitimate concern regarding her current behaviour towards Adrien after talking to this contact.

When the line sprang to life with an unsure, "Hallo?"

Damocles sucked in a breath when he asked, "Hello, I am Damocles, the Headmaster of College Francoise Dupont in Paris, France. Is this the Headmaster for Rummelplatz Grundschule?"

The voice from the other end of the line replied in a heavily accented voice, "Ja, this is er. May Ich ask vy Somevone from France is berufung, ah, callin' mein school?"

Damocles went right to the point by saying, "I am sorry to bother you, but I must speak to you about one of your former students who is now attending my school. One who attended your school roughly six years ago"

The Rummelplatz headmaster was confused when he replied, "Ich been za headmaster here for over a jahrzehnt, uh, ten years, but jou need to tell mich vich vone. Ich had tausende, uh, zousands of students since zen and Ich need to look za name up."

Damocles was already thinking the worst when he told the other, "Lila Rossi."

The Rummelplatz headmaster didn't respond for a good few seconds before he replied in a suspicious tone, "Warum willst du etwas über sie wissen?" Somewhat forgetting that the person he was talking to wasn't speaking his native tongue. (Quick translation from German: Why would you want to know about her?)

After consulting with a translator app, Damocles replied by saying, "She is currently attending my school and has been exhibiting some concerning behaviours towards her fellow students that are raising a lot of major red flags and I'm putting together a report that will hopefully get her the help she needs while having her placed in an appropriate establishment."

The Rummelplatz headmaster was angry when he snapped back, "Is zis zome kind of French witz? Weil es nicht lustig ist!" (German: Joke? Because it's not funny!).

Damocles checked the translator app before he shook his head out of subconscious habit when he replied, "I most certainly NOT joking. I have gotten several reports from my staff, students, and a confirmed genuine video of her assaulting a fellow student into submitting to her whims. This is a serious matter."

Things were quiet for a while before the Rummelplatz headmaster asked over the phone, "Jou… Jou're not… Fräulein Rossi is a student at jour school?"

Damocles raised a brow at the question. After all, wouldn't another headmaster be more concerned about what he's dug up on one of his former students rather than if she was attending another school? Confused, Damocles asked the other, "Umm, Yes? But… Why would THAT be your response?"

The Rummelplatz headmaster explained that, trying to remember that he wasn't speaking to a non-German speaker. Damocles was perplexed as to what he was hearing, but if what the other headmaster was true then…

He had a LOT of work to do. Not just for the School…

~}I{~

Adrien didn't know what to think when he got his 'usual schedule' via email, but what he DID know was that neither Nathalie nor his Father noticed that he hasn't been living in the mansion in a while…

The blonde attention snapped onto the new Wrathfly larva as it suddenly grew the length of his hand. Adrien took a deep breath to calm himself down when he thought bitterly, 'Well… At least I know how I feel about the situation…' The Wrathfly grew again, but not by much this time.

Plagg couldn't help but look at his Holder in worry. After all, this kid went through twice as many as the others with Wrathflies.

"Please tell me you aren't going to grow through this one? You just got it."

The sudden voice made Adrien fumble his phone before he looked at the balcony window with wide eyes while Plagg practically leapt out of his skin before looking towards the voice too. There, standing on the balcony was Satan, leaning against the railing with his arms folded. Of course, the Lord of Wrath was still in his human form.

Adrien stared at the Sin when Plagg asked, "Satan! What are you doing here?"

The Lord of wrath only moved to the opened window when he stated dryly, "Plagg, given what my Wrathflies have been feeding off of from your Holder, I do believe he has a right to be angry and wrathful towards his so-called family, especially that sorry excuse of a parent." He let out a sigh when he added sternly, "But he isn't and it's not because of my Wrathflies."

Adrien was concern when he asked, "Why do you care?" He could somewhat understand Asmodeus's motives, but not the Lord of Wrath.

Satan held up his left index finger when he stated, "One, it's not healthy for a mortal to keep their anger inside themself for a long time, both physically and mentally." He held up his middle finger when he added, "Two, your reasons for anger are valid." He held up his ring finger, which had a black band around it, when he added, "And three, from experience, I can tell you that having the Black Cat Miraculous and a lot of pent up rage is a combination for an unneeded catastrophic disaster."

Satan then looked past the teen and realised what had just happened... Again.

Adrien and Plagg turned to see what the Lord of wrath was looking at, only to see that the Gorilla was standing in the doorway of the room.

Everyone stared at one another for a long 30 seconds before the bodyguard signed shakily, "Adrien... You're Chat Noir?!"

Satan slumped when he grumbled out something about Fate and Destiny having the worst humour.

~}I{~

Jason Blood met up with Raguel and the small flock to compare and share notes. Of course, Kathryne tagged along.

The Angel of Justice had to tell the redheaded man, "It was very enlightening."

Jason Blood folded his arms when he asked, "In what way?"

Raguel was blunt when he replied, "A way that gives us one of two possibilities." To anyone with any sense of magical awareness, they would have seen silver archaic lines appearing on the white-haired man's skin when he said in a serious tone, "After all, when Lila Rossi introduced herself, she was both lying and speaking the truth."

Jason's eyes widened before they narrowed. Kathryn was understandably confused when she asked, "I don't understand. How could she do both when telling you her name?"

The archaic lines on Raquel's skin pulsed and glowed slightly when he said in an eerily calm tone, "Something that has been banned for quite some time."

An oddly coloured and oddly-shaped butterfly hovered nearby.

}I{

Lila was irritated as she peered around the corner to make sure no one was there before she hurried to her unit, deciding on what she should have for dinner. Luckily, her unit wasn't far and she got in before she made her choice. Lila locked the door when she thought about what she told Satan just moments ago.

Since she only had a couple of items left from that goody-goody, Lila told him that if he didn't start on her demands that she'll make him regret it. And the plans to do it with the next Summon should Satan not do what she wants.

'So if he doesn't do anything I want, I'll punish him until he starts on my list.' Lila thought as she started re-heating the nice dinner her mother premade for her.

}{

Outside Lila's apartment building, another ambulance was parked right in front of the main entrance. When the patient was safely loaded into the vehicle, it took off towards the nearest hospital.

Across the apartment building, the stationed Angel sat on the bench with their book in hand, watching the whole thing in worry. Of course, the Angel marked this latest ambulance arrival and departure with their more unseen abilities.

According to the data the Angel had so far, this was the third ambulance to arrive at the Rossi's apartment building in one day...

The Angel flipped through the book to find if there was a cause for the humans' need for medical attention. The first one happened in their living quarters, as did the second, so the book didn't register those events. But the third happened right outside the door to their unit as they were leaving. The Angel tapped on the line that detailed what happened to this latest sudden sickness. The person suddenly started having a hard time breathing and had to call for help when their inhaler didn't do anything to relieve that. The section of data turned yellow inside the book as the stationed Angel narrowed their eyes before glancing at the timing of the sudden breathing issue.

It happened three minutes after Lila left the basement, was that a coincidence?

There wasn't enough information to say for sure...

The stationed Angel flipped to the 'current events' of the apartment building. Their eyes widened at what was going on before the sounds of the ambulance pierced the air, again.

~}I{~

When the teens in the Ladybug and Chat Noir group finally went into their rooms to settle in for the night a few of them found a black box with red decor lines on their desk with a detailed note.

}{

Jason Blood and Kathryn returned to their hotel room with a relieved sigh, both glad that the day was finally over.

A butterfly with fried edges on its swallowtail-like wings fluttered alongside the two. The base colour of the wings were blue, there were a pair of bloody red eyes on the upper sections of the wings while the lower wings resembled white fangs with the part of higher sections being an eerie yellow. The main body of this butterfly was red. This little creature made a beeline towards the flowers in a vase on the dinner table.

Kathryn couldn't help but ask her dad about the magical backlash he got from the miraculous. The redheaded man told her it should wear off on him in about two or three days, but he knew ways around these Miraculous Rules.

That was when they noticed a small black box with red decor on the coffee table with a folded letter under it. Jason recognised the box immediately and moved to confirm what it was.

Kathryn watched as a soft light emitted from the now open box and faded into a little goat Kwami. The child cooed happily when she said, "Aw! You're just as cute as Tikki and Plagg!"

Ziggy blushed at the complement when he said in embarrassment, "Oh, thank you."

Jason was flabbergasted when he asked the Kwami, "Ziggy! What are you doing here?"

The goat Kwami let out a cough before he stated, "Isn't it obvious? The Guardian is giving you my Miraculous again."

Kathryn was confused when she vocalised, "Again?"

The only thing Jason got out was one word, "Why?"

Ziggy folded his arms when he said, "He...wants to put things to rest... And... And I missed you..." He dove down and pulled his Miraculous out of the box. Ziggy then asked, "Are you willing to be Nocturn's Sonata again?" The little Kwami shrank a bit when he added, "Please?"

Jason just stared at the miraculous for a bit before the items in question started to shift share. Ziggy looked ecstatic while Kathryn watched in fascination.

}{

After a little calm down over the whole 'Adrien is Chat Noir' thing and some nice Earl Grey, Marques then proceeded to ask the Lord of Wrath why he was there. Understandable.

So Satan went right to the point. "I would like to make a deal with you, little Black Cat," was what he had stated.

Adrien, understandably weary, had to ask cautiously, "What kind of deal? And why?"

Of course, Satan was direct with what the deal was, what it would entail, what would be offered, and what should be forfeited if one were to lose.

Adrien was flabbergasted and confused by this. After all... How can one offer up something as abstract as a family bond? And how can it be removed when it's lost? Also… Why was Satan making such a deal with him?

As expected, the Lord of wrath was direct when he explained, "You may not be able to see it because of that particular 'Family Bond', but it is holding you back by such a great deal and is fogging your judgement in regards to, hm, I guess the right word to use is 'Certain situations'. Especially important ones."

Adrien might not have understood the meaning of these words, but Plagg and Marques seemed to understand.

Satan smirked when he added, "And as to why I'm doing this deal rather than Azrael... Heh, Well, one he's busy with a different task, and two~."

}{

A dark purple was pinned into place on a miniature replica of the City of Paris, right where the Public Gardens were.

Azrael looked over a list before They placed another purple pin into the miniature city, this time it was the public pools. After a few more minutes, the virtue of patience took a step up to take a look at their work. Emerald green eyes scanned the perfectly exact miniature replica of the city they were currently stationed in. They could see a rather interesting pattern to a few of the locations where the Akumas have sprung up from.

Dupont, the Eiffel Tower, parks, and a few spots in the city that are known for being places to be alone. The latter was quite ironic.

Speaking of irony... The places that lacked Akuma activity were also telling.

Azrael traced the air as they took note of the edge of Paris and the immediate areas close to it. No Akuma appeared in those locations. Logically, this had to be out of Hawkmoth's range. Outside the Akuma known as Startrain, which according to the security cameras on that train, the Akuma Butterfly accidentally ended up out of the city and wasn't under Hawkmoth's control, all the Akumas sprang up closer to the mid and centre of Paris. This had to be Hawkmoth's main range.

'The outer and edge of Paris don't get much activity since it's likely to be out of Hawkmoth's range or border lining it,' Azrael thought logically before they turned their attention to the oddly void spot on the miniature. Sure, there was one black pin on the Agreste Mansion but the immediate surrounding area was bare.

Azrael carefully took note of the location of the Agreste Mansion. It was easily within Hawkmoth's range, yet it was barely touched, same with the immediate area surrounding the mansion. The Virtue floated over that area as he scanned this location, waving their hand over the miniatures to reveal the more magical aspects.

Nothing too noteworthy, even regarding magic...

Which was very strange...

'Isn't this also where Plagg's Holder used to live?' Azrael thought as they moved to sense the location where Adrien was currently living. There was a slight hint of the Black Cat Miraculous' energy in the area. That was expected when magical objects reside someplace, even if they are good at concealment. But that made the lack of that at the Agreste mansion stand out more since the Black Cat Miraculous resided there for much longer...

Azrael moved back over to the model of the mansion to get a better sense of the place. "Hm? How odd. This place was built using materials that insulate magic," the virtue of Patience wondered when they realised what the mansion was made of. But while that explained why there was no faint feeling of the Black Cat Miraculous, it was strange for magic insulated building material to be used on the Non-Magical side of Paris without a reason and permission from the reigning Magi Guardian of the area.

After all, unregulated magical items in the hands of untrained Non-Magics is a recipe for trouble.

But...

Azrael waved a hand over the Agreste Mansion miniature to get the data on the construction of this location. "Hm?" The Virtue vocalise when they read through the list of the type of workers who helped build the mansion and the materials used. The list for the electricians appeared to be in order, same with the plumbers, but the construction workers were... Oddly short...

The list for the construction materials they used was limited to the materials for the base and skeletal structure of the mansion... But where were the rest of the materials for construction? The place couldn't have been made without all the proper materials.

Azrael tapped on the construction workers and construction materials on this list to get more information. The new piece of information revealed something peculiar with just one line...

"Construction material provided by Mr and Mrs Agreste."

Azrael looked over this new information with a fine tooth comb.

Apparently, the Agrestes were willing to pay the construction workers extra to use the materials they wanted the workers to use. Odd, usually the person who wants the job done tries to hassle down the price for providing their own material... Plus a bonus for the construction workers to not ask where the material came from...

Azrael placed a hand on their chin when they logically concluded, 'So, these workers did their job with the materials they were told to use, despite their concerns... Well, they did check the sturdiness of them first at least.' They read the data when they wondered, 'So, the Agrestes were willing to pay a lot of 'hush money' so the construction workers would use the magic insulated materials and not ask questions... How oddly risky... But... How did they come across enough of these to build a mansion?'

These strange facts about this place kept piling up... In a bad way...

}I{ The Next Night }I{

The new miraculous heroes left from rooftop to rooftop as they headed towards their and Chat Noir were heading there too.

Why were these heroes in a rush?

Well, the notes they relieved from the Guardian of the Miraculous did have a meeting date, but it got pushed up to tonight after a few things have been discovered on Satan and Azrael's ends. So these Holders were heading as quickly as possible to the meeting point.

As soon as they arrived they arrived at the location, which was rather out of the way for them. They de-transformed and waited on that rooftop. When everyone realised that the others were from their Ladybug and Chat Noir group, they were rather surprised yet not that shocked.

Given what has happened the past few days... They wouldn't have expected anything less. Mostly.

Wang Fu was already at the meet point when all of them arrived. He wasn't too surprised by these chosen Holders' reactions to one another de-transforming. He expected it in all honesty. But what Wang Fu was worried about was the 'information' the sin and virtue found.

Jason Blood somehow appeared without anyone noticing, with Satan and Azrael not too far behind.

Satan let his heavenly sibling take centre stage, since they had more information to tell.

And Azrael didn't leave any information out when they told all the Miraculous Group.

Of course, Adrien was unnerved by the rather damning circumstantial evidence and the fact that didn't paint his father in a good light for the Magical Community.

Jason Blood folded his arms when he stated, "Even I had to go through the process of informing the reigning Magi Guardians of where I have had to live as to why I had to reinforce my dwellings and get their approval." He shrugged when he added, "It's honestly not that hard to get that approval, provided that you're honest and don't lie on the application."

That was when Marinette added in uneasiness, "But the fact that the Agrestes didn't go through the proper channels and concealed the fact that they were using that kind of materials is very suspi-. Hang on!" She placed a hand on her chin as she thought about these facts before she looked at Adrien when she asked, "If the Agreste Mansion is magically insulated, then… How did Hawkmoth know that Mr Agreste was emotionally susceptible to becoming Akumatized? And how did the Akuma Butterfly get in?"

Adrien didn't want to think about it... But...

Jason Blood looked at the Virtue of Patience when he asked, "Sir Azrael, do you have an image of Mr Agreste?"

"Of course," The heavenly being stated as they conjured up an exact image of Gabriel Agreste.

Jason's eyes widened when he got out in shock, "That's Haw-!" But he hiccuped and a dozen small, pink bubbles came out of his mouth. The redheaded man was quick to cover his mouth, but the bubbles still floated in the air.

The teens stared at the bubbles in confusion, but the Kwamis knew exactly what that meant and all of them exclaimed as such. With that, the Miraculous Holders understood what was going on... Wait...

Oh...

Oh...

Oh!

That...

Oh, wow...

Adrien let that information sink in before he got out is a mixture of horror, shock, and dismay, "Father... Father is Hawkmoth?!"

~}I{~

To be continued.

~}I{~

1… Hahaha, the funny thing about the Christmas Rose flower is that the scientific name is HELLeborus niger (very ironic). Since Angels aren't ones to use any type of derogatory vocabulary or outright swearing unless you REALLY manage to piss them off, I figure they use swearing alternatives or words for swearing you wouldn't realise are synonyms to swear words. Meaning, that they will either use kid-friendly words (like using dang instead of damn) or words that have some type of odd relevance to swears (mostly something similar to my Christmas Rose ref).

~}I{~