Alya begins to get a little too suspicious about Ladybug's identity. Hawkmoth exploits this.

"Thanks again for taking my spot last week," Adrien said as they filed into the classroom.

Felix huffed, both a sigh and a laugh. "Stop thanking me. Besides, you know I'd never turn down the chance to fool people with my impression of you." Pausing mid-stride, he put on his best 'Adrien face' and mimicked his voice, accent and all: "If Father and Nathalie can't tell the difference, nobody can!"

Adrien laughed, genuinely laughed, and that caused a smile to grow on Felix's face as the younger of them teasingly nudged him. "I don't sound like that."

"You do too," the older teased back. "If you and I came to school in matching clothes, nobody would figure out who was who."

As they settled in, for once it felt like today was going to be a good day. Gabriel hadn't made much of an attempt to have breakfast with them, only Amelie had, but that was no matter. Adrien seemed to genuinely enjoy his aunt's company anyway, and Amelie enjoyed doting on her nephew. The forecast was still nice enough despite the winter chill settling in.

Still, anything was better than the bitter London rain.

Adrien looked up and smiled, raising a hand to greet Alya as she walked into the room, but faltered at her determined expression.

"Adrien, sunshine," she sing-songed, slapping a notebook down before him on the table. Light glinted off of her glasses in a ridiculously anime-esque manner. "I need your help with a little project of mine."

"U- uh...? Sure?" Tilting his head, he turned to scan the doorway. "Where's Marinette?"

"You'll never guess. Stomach virus." She winced sympathetically. "There've been a few different things going around - I'm just glad it wasn't pneumonia, like my sisters got. She's home today. Anyway!" Tapping the book with a pen, she leaned in. "I'm trying to figure out where all of these butterflies are coming from, and since she's not here to help, I need your help."

Felix raised a brow. "Have you gone around the room, or are we just special?"

"Of course you're not special," she teased with an eye-roll. "I've already talked to Sabrina about it - 'cause her dad's a cop, y'know, they get calls whenever an akuma attack happens - and since you two always seem to be around akumas when they turn up, your input is appreciated!"

Felix turned away with a frown, humming to himself in thought. Adrien perked up, watching as she flipped the notebook open to a map of the city. Several points were marked in red pen, quite a few from their school.

"Wow, how many have we had here?" Adrien echoed his thoughts incredulously. "I can't even tell how many dots you've made anymore!"

"There's at least five," she explained, tapping the map. "It's not much compared to how many akumas we've had in total, but it's alarming that it keeps happening here."

"Yeah..." Felix slowly turned around to look at where Chloe and Sabrina were sitting. The former was doodling something on her paper, and Sabrina was diligently doing her homework. Then an idea popped into his head. "It almost makes you wonder if there's an ulterior motive behind it, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Alya inquired, raising a brow. "What, are you telling me someone's causing them on purpose?"

"When there's hoofbeats, think horses," he recited. "Who's to say there isn't a bad actor here, conjuring akumas just so they have someone to fight?"

Adrien whirled around, an accusatory retort on his lips, when Alya interrupted, "What? That's ridiculous. Who would do such a thing?"

Hook.

"I know you've still got your theories," he challenged, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Who do you think I'm talking about?"

"That's ridiculous," Adrien echoed, pinching his leg beneath the table. When Felix cast him a glare, the younger blond raised his eyebrows. "Whatever you're thinking, you're wrong."

"What? What is he talking about?" The bespectacled girl looked between them for an answer.

Line.

"Now hear me out on this one," he started, ignoring Adrien's groan of exasperation, "but isn't it strange how Ladybug always shows up, right when we need her? If she lived even ten minutes away, she wouldn't even hear about attacks before the victim had already done a substantial amount of damage. Enough to end up on the news, at least."

"Well," Alya countered hesitantly, holding up her phone, "we do have akuma alerts now, right? President Hollande himself gave the order for one."

"Yes, but that was only recent. I'm talking about in September, when school began." Felix shrugged. "Back then, we had no alerts. We relied on word of mouth, the police, or the news for when an akuma struck. Even now, it takes a few minutes for an alert to be sent out. Even mere minutes makes a difference. What if someone here was taking the blame for akumas... just to draw out Ladybug and Cat Noir?"

She really seemed to consider it for a few moments before she snorted sarcastically. "Oh yeah, that's real smart. What, are you gonna try to convince me that Ladybug really is someone like Chlo..." Her voice trailed off, and she looked up at the blonde with wide eyes.

Sinker.

Felix watched with hushed glee as she really seemed to think about it, looking up and down at the two unaware of the conversation going on.

"Mon Dieu, what if it really is Chloe?" She breathed. "It would make so much sense! She always seems to be around whenever akuma attacks happen - she causes them to happen - and she's selfish enough to want the adoration of being Ladybug! Not to mention, it would make sense for someone in our class to be a hero considering Ladybug and Cat always arrive so soon after one appears."

Shakily, she slumped down in the seat beside Felix and covered her face with her hands, mindful of her glasses. "I can't believe I might've been idolizing Chloe of all people..."

"Wait a minute, there's a very good chance it isn't her!" Adrien interrupted, face going weirdly empty again as he leaned forward. "Why would she go through all the trouble to act so kind to everybody if it really was her under the mask? The Chloe I know would never give people the time of day if she considered them beneath her!"

"Please, her father is a diplomat. She's used to wearing a facade," Felix argued.

"But- but she looks so different! Ladybug, I mean!"

"Who's to say the Miraculous doesn't drastically change how you look?" Gesturing back towards Nathanael, he raised a brow. "You were here the day Nathanael showed us his sketchbook of Ladybug and Cat. Nobody can agree on what they really look like. If the Miraculous distorts your identity that much, who's to say she wouldn't go the extra mile and change things such as her hair and eye color?"

"But..." Adrien trailed off, looking pleadingly at Alya. "We've seen Ladybug and Chloe in the same place before. Ladybug has saved Chloe from akumas!"

That seemed to snap her out of her despair. She hummed in thought. "You're right, Adrien, we have."

"Who's to say it isn't a body double? Or a mirage?" Felix challenged. "I mean come on, Sabrina would be on board with it."

"Felix!" Adrien hissed. "Vanisher!"

"Okay, so maybe it wasn't Sabrina one time." He casually brushed him off. "But who's to say you didn't mistake someone else for Chloe? Plenty of blonde girls go to this school. It's statistically impossible that at least one of them hasn't looked like her from behind."

"Nobody is that blind," the boy deadpanned, lips pressing into a line.

Felix merely shrugged. "I'm just saying - it's not like blonde is a rare hair color."

"There's just too many questions," Alya complained, rubbing her temples as she got up. "Before today I would've called you crazy if you'd told me it could be her, but... now I'm really curious. Chloe idolizes Ladybug way too much for it to be a mere coincidence. And didn't Sabrina say she had cosplays of her?"

"She could've gotten someone else to make them!" Adrien desperately countered.

"Yeah, her Miraculous, maybe," his older cousin snarked.

Alya hummed again, and if looks could kill, Felix would be under the ground from how hard Adrien was staring into him.

To his credit, the older of the two felt a tiny twinge of regret for how Alya was taking this theory. "If it pushes suspicion on the one person it absolutely couldn't be and takes heat off of the real Ladybug... maybe it wouldn't hurt to kick up just a little chaos." He thought, returning to the map on Alya's notebook page. Then he wrinkled his nose. "Ugh. Sticking my nose out for Ladybug... before this year I'd have rather tried to steal the Graham de Vanily rings than help someone like her."

The next day was about as eventful as the last. During a break, Alya poked her head around a corner, squinting at the blonde girl as she walked to her locker. She watched as she looked this way and that before opening it and pulling out a textbook. Something dropped from the inside, and she hurriedly picked it up, putting it back in its spot before slamming the door.

A yo-yo.

The amateur reporter looked at her phone, amazed at the quality of the picture. The entire scene had taken less than a minute, and yet she'd managed to get something substantial. She shrank away as Chloe passed, humming a tune to herself as she checked her phone. Once the locker room was empty, she sprang into action.

Marinette walked into the locker room with a thermos, and stopped short as she locked eyes with her bewildered best friend, hairpin in one hand, lock in the other.

"Uh... Alya..." She started, blinking, as she couldn't believe what she was seeing, "... What are you doing?"

She laughed nervously, raising her hands in defense. "Nothing! I forgot my key at home, silly me, so I decided to pick the lock and-"

"That's Chloe's locker," the girl pointed out, making her flinch. Heaving a sigh, Marinette rubbed her forehead. "Why are you trying to break into her locker in the first place?"

"Because I have proof - solid proof - that Chloe really could be Ladybug!" She insisted, going back to bending the pin.

Marinette choked on her own spit. "You- you seriously think that Chloe could be- what? That's insane!"

"That's what I thought too," she agreed, tongue poking out in concentration as she fit the end of the pin into the lock. "But Felix had a pretty good theory about Ladybug's identity... so all I'm doing is confirming or denying my own!"

Marinette took a breath. A really long breath. Then she looked down at her bag. Tikki peeked back at her, shaking her head in concern.

"Look, Alya... I like Ladybug too, but I really don't think brute-forcing your way into Chloe's stuff is gonna-"

"-st a second, Sabrina, I forgot my- HEY!" Chloe shouted, having walked into the room. She pointed at a stunned Alya and Marinette. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! That's my locker!"

"It's not what it looks like," Marinette pleaded, "I just walked in here!"

"Oh you shut your mouth, Dupain-Cheng," Chloe seethed, moving her ire to the brunette. "I was talking to this thief over here!"

"I know your secret, Chloe," she said instead, puffing up her chest instead of cringing away like her friend was. "And I have proof! I saw you with Ladybug's yo-yo!"

Marinette turned to the blonde, eyes wide, as her face grew red. "I- you- what's in my locker is none of your business!"

Turning, she stormed to the door. Throwing it open, she yelled, "Wait until Daddy hears about this! You're done!"

The two stood in silence, and slowly the dark-haired girl cupped a hand over her face with a quiet groan.

This was so not the day to deal with Chloe.

"Hey, did you hear what Chloe did this morning?" Adrien whispered to his cousin as the next period started.

"What didn't she do?" Felix snarked back, opening a book while they waited for everyone to file in.

"Hey, it wasn't her fault this time." He looked mildly affronted for all of a split-second before he cupped a hand over his mouth. "Alya tried to break into her locker before lunch. Chloe got her suspended for a week."

That got his attention. Felix stared at his cousin, lowering his book. "She did what?"

"Yeah, I know. She even got to go home early. Poor Alya, it was probably a huge misunderst-"

"No, no, Chloe." He interjected. "She's still pulling that old trick? How did the principal even let that happen?"

"Well, she did catch her in the act," Adrien mused. "And Marinette saw the whole thing."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the Brit groaned. "Of course she happened to witness this..."

Deep down, he felt a little bad. He hadn't meant to goad her into trying to steal something, of course - that would be stupid considering he still needed others to trust him. But on the other hand, Alya had done it herself, with no provocation. His lips pressed together, unimpressed. Was it really that easy to get her going before? Or had he just been lucky enough to witness a complete surprise?

As others began filing in, along with Miss Bustier, he figured it must be the former. Marinette was among the crowd, looking uncharacteristically glum even as Rose and Juleka walked with her, Rose soothing her and Juleka with an arm hooked around hers.

The bell chimed, and Bustier cleared her throat. "Alright, kids, it's time to begin our next lesson..."

The moment she turned on the projector, the presentation she had prepared remained for just one moment before the picture changed; a black screen greeted them, followed by an ominous white wifi symbol.

Marinette stared at the board, dread creeping in as she heard familiar laughter tinged with a cold fury. "Hey there, Paris! I'm Lady Wifi, here to expose Ladybug's true identity once and for all!"