#chloe redemption
Selina looked around the space they’d stepped into. It was a semi open floor plan with a living room, dining table, and kitchen. It was small but cozy, even if everything was covered with a film of dust. Chloe and Harley were both watching Marinette rather anxiously, but the girl herself was just looking around the room with a blank expression. All the Kwami were flittering about, but only Tikki seemed worried.
“I’ll work on getting the rest of the utilities back on. Electric and water were never disconnected and paid out of the trust, but we’ll need to get the gas back on and any extras you want. Internet at the very least, I assume.” Chloe had apparently moved back into her problem-solving mode. “We’ll clean your room first so you can rest while we do the rest of the house, then the bakery.”
Marinette just gave a distracted hum as her eyes wandered about the room. It was strange to see her so calm when she was usually so expressive. She finally seemed to focus on a bookshelf and moved toward it slowly. More like she was being pulled than on purpose. Once there, she picked up a picture frame and gently wiped the dust off it. Harley walked closer, staying in the girl’s peripheral and making sure not to crowd her.
“Your parents?” Harley’s voice was soft and Mari didn’t respond. Chloe gave her a nod.
“They’re dead because of me.” Marinette didn’t seem to be speaking to them. Honestly, Selina wasn’t even certain she meant to say it out loud. Before anyone could argue with her, she kept going. “Adrien broke the balance by revealing himself to the others, and my parents paid the price because I’m Ladybug.” Tikki and Plagg shared a look. It was somewhere between awe and panic.
“When did you figure that out?” Plagg looked like they wanted the words back immediately and Tikki’s glare was pure murder.
“As soon as I knew for sure that Adrien told the others the day before they were due to come back.”
“That doesn’t make it your fault, Kit. Blame Adrien for being a terrible cat. Blame Fu for forcing this life on you to begin with. You did nothing wrong.” Plagg flew over to huddle under her chin and purr. Tikki was just frowning at the girl.
“Why didn’t you say anything, or at least talk to us about it?”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything. Everyone was counting on Ladybug and I didn’t want you to worry. We all had enough to deal with.” Tikki just looked devastated at Mari’s words. Eventually, the Kwami ended up flying over to land on Chloe’s head. Now, all the Kwami were sharing panicked looks and Chloe seemed to be afraid to breathe. “I should show you where the entrance to the Catacombs is before anything else. That way, everyone can come and go as they please.”
Plagg’s purring picked up, and they were giving Selina a pointed look. She could feel why. It was like a burning sensation under her skin, but she had no clue what to do about any of this. Hell, she was still missing a lot of information about what all she’d managed to get involved in. She had to do something though.
“Marinette.” When the girl looked at her, her expression was still blank. The entire point of this was to let her grieve properly, not just keep bottling everything up. Great, something she had no experience helping with because either Dick fixed things or everyone just stayed brooding and emotionally constipated. “You can’t control what anyone else does, and you can’t control the forces that are at work around you. It sucks, but taking the blame for things you couldn’t have predicted or prevented doesn’t do anyone any good. Least of all you.”
“I knew I wouldn’t make a good hero. I should never have kept the Miraculous in the first place. Then none of this would have happened.” Selina expected any of the Kwami to argue with Marinette, but they all seemed mute. Tikki just seemed to get even smaller. The longer the silence lasted, the more Mari’s entire body seemed to slump. Yeah, no. This wasn’t going to continue.
“Chloe, why don’t you take the others to get Mari’s room ready so she can rest?” As Chloe herded the others away, all of them looking relieved, Selina walked to Mari and pulled her into a hug. It took a few minutes, but she did relax into it. By that point, it was just the two of them and Plagg in the room. “You’ve done the best you could with the resources you have. All the Kwami trust you and believe in you. Given that they’re literal gods, I’d consider that an impressive feat.”
“They got stuck with me because there weren’t any other options.” Selina heard a growl and assumed it came from Plagg until she felt her chest rumbling. Oh, what the hell was that? Not a problem for right now. She needed to focus. Selina lifted Mari’s chin, so the girl had to look her in the eye.
“You are the only one who believes that. You’ve kept this city safe by yourself, with absolutely no support system, and done an amazing job. But you weren’t meant to do this alone, and it’s taking a huge toll on you. So now, we’re going to take care of you so you can finish this. It’s not a failing to need help.” Mari just looked lost until she burst into tears. Selina pulled her tighter and felt herself start to purr. Something else that was a later problem.
“I’m sorry.” Selina couldn’t stop her eye-roll. She heard Plagg sigh from where they were as well.
“There’s nothing for you to apologize for.” That made her cry harder for some reason.
“I miss them so much.” The words were choked out and barely understandable, but the raw pain in Mari’s voice was heartbreaking.
“I know Kitten, I know.” She wanted to offer words of comfort. To tell her that things would get better. But she wouldn’t lie. Pain like this never truly went away.
“I don’t want anyone else to die because of me.” The words came out strangled and Selina tightened her hold before pulling back to make eye-contact.
“If you and the Kwami are right about what happened, then they died because you had a partner who couldn’t see past his own desires. You won’t have that problem with me.” The girl just gave her a flat look.
“You steal from people for your own gain.”
“No, I steal things for a lot of different reasons. Yes, some of them are selfish, but I have helped other people, and I know when to put my own wants and needs aside. My only goal here is to help you and get rid of that asshole so things here can go back to normal. I will do whatever I have to in order to make sure nothing like that happens again.”
Marinette’s expression made her feel like something was tearing at her insides. Selina could see in her eyes how badly she wanted to believe her words. But she couldn’t. In that moment, she understood what Tikki had been saying about trust. Marinette’s faith in people was broken, and it was going to take time and a lot more than words to get any of that back.
“It’s okay that you don’t believe me, kitten. I’ll just have to prove it to you.” the girl refused to meet her eyes and Selina wasn’t certain if it was guilt or worry. “Why don’t you show me the Catacomb entrance? Then we can go check on the others and make sure your room is still in one piece.”
“You should talk to Tikki too.” Plagg’s voice was softer than she’d ever heard it. “You hiding things like this from us is going to make them feel like they’ve failed you.”
“I just didn’t want to bother you with it.” Mari’s mumbled words just got a tired sigh from the Kwami.
“The fact that you still think you’re just a problem is why they’ll think we failed you. We are not your classmates and you can always talk to us. We’re not going to start thinking worse of you for sharing your worries. Keeping things pent up the way you do is going to hurt you. It is hurting you.”
“You deserve a better Guardian.”
“Don’t you ever let me hear you say that again.” Plagg was directly in front of the girl’s face and their words came out in a growl. “If anyone here deserves better, it’s you. Your entire life was destroyed because of us and the terrible decisions Fu made. All you’ve been doing since is running yourself into the ground trying to do the right thing despite everything going to shit around you. All of that happened in spite of your efforts, not because of them. You are not to blame, and I’m done letting you beat yourself up over it.” Mari got smaller the longer the Kwami ranted.
“Sorry.” Selina felt certain the Kwami was about to explode.
“Marinette.” The girl flinched at her voice and Selina had to wonder if anyone had ever talked to her without blaming her for something. “I believe what Plagg is getting at is that you should be able to lean on other people every once in a while. You’ve done an amazing job by yourself, but just imagine how much more you could accomplish with others helping you.” That at least seemed to get her to think about it. Apparently, they needed to focus on the big picture rather than trying to convince her she deserved better than the hand she’d been dealt.
“But Master Fu-”
“Kit, he didn’t know what he was doing either. A lot of the decisions he made were out of fear. Even more were because of the situation with Hawkmoth. The unique aspect of him being able to get into people’s head made Fu even more paranoid. This situation is vastly different. Having all of you under one roof will allow us Kwami to protect you. Chloe even agreed to stay here for the duration. Honestly, she seemed excited about being able to stay here and go to school online.” Plagg sounded bored, but they’d been the one to insist they all stay together. Whether it was to protect them or keep an eye on them, she still wasn’t certain.
“When was that decided?” From anyone else that would have been accusatory, Mari just sounded confused.
“It was one of many options we talked about while you were asleep. I’m pretty sure Chloe just doesn’t want to go back to that school. Given some of the stories she told us, I can understand why. You’re not going back either, by the way. If you want to finish out at an actual school instead of online, that’s fine, but you’re not gong back into such a toxic environment.” Selina tried to keep her tone firm but still gentle. Mari still seemed unsure.
“They’re not bad people. They just needed things I couldn’t give them.” Selina felt her eye twitch and Plagg let out a huff. It was like talking to a brick wall.
“And that’s not your fault. You aren’t responsible for their insecurities. Regardless of the reasons, I’m not letting you get hurt by them anymore.” Her mental struggle was obvious in the way she was fidgeting, but after a minute, Mari relaxed.
“I should stay focused on Hawkmoth until this is over, so it would be best to homeschool, I think.” Plagg finally relaxed at her words and ended up landing on the girl’s head to burrow into her hair.
“That sounds like a good plan. It’ll be easier to get caught up too, I would imagine, since you’ve been out of school for so long.” Mari seemed relieved that she agreed with her. She wasn’t certain why, given that it was the direction they were all trying to make her go. “Now, why don’t we go downstairs and find that entrance? That way, we can get supplies without using portals or drawing attention from the wrong people.”
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“So why does the big bad bat think you two know how to contact Ladybug?” Harley was still using that soft, soothing voice but Chloe couldn’t bring herself to find it condescending the way she normally would.
“Desperation at this point I think. We were both part of her team for a bit. Well, Mari was. I was just a petty, vindictive brat using the Miraculous for my own gain.” Harley hugged her tighter.
“That’s a pretty big self own.” Chloe just gave a derisive snort.
“When you’re forced into a time loop to live through all your mistakes, past and future, it would take a special kind of stupid to ignore the lesson.” That had been one of Hawkmoth’s worst mistakes and it led to Lila’s downfall. It didn’t occur to either of them that hitting the people she lied to with her powers would inevitably force them to see the truth about her. Probably the funniest thing about the whole incident was that she’d specifically wanted to hit Marinette so she’d realize what a mistake it was to stand up to her in the first place but Mari was the only person in the class she’d hadn’t managed to hit. Lila’s frustration was always highly amusing. “Luckily for me I’m just your plain old regular kind of stupid.” Harley let out an amused snort.
“Isn’t that a mood. We all make mistakes but very few people are willing to do the work to really change. It sounds like you did.” Chloe just gave a non committal hum. She was fairly certain anyone who saw the things she did wouldn’t have any choice but to change. The glimpses she’d had of her future still gave her nightmares when she was too stressed. “Do you know why he wants to find her?”
“No idea but I doubt it’s for a reason I give a shit about. Unless he could convince us that it’s both necessary and won’t harm her in any way there’s no reason for us to even attempt to track her down. And we have no clue how to do that regardless.” Well she didn’t at least. Mari… Chloe knew she knew more than she let on but wasn’t certain how much. Not that she’d tell anyone else that.
“Excuse me, I need to make a phone call.” She watched Catwoman walk away from the house and out of sight. Apparently she wanted there to be no chance that she was overheard.
“What are you doing to take care of yourself?” Harley’s voice brought her attention back and she shrugged.
“I take care of Mari.” She could feel the woman tense up so she continued. “It probably doesn’t make sense but a lot of the mistakes I’ve made hurt her and it makes me feel better.”
“I get that, but being on alert to be there for her all the time has to be stressful as well. You need some down time too.” She could only offer another shrug.
“She’s right, you deserve a life too.” Chloe spun to find Mari standing back in the doorway and refusing to look at her. She marched over to pull Mari into a hug.
“I’m where I want to be, doing what I want to do. If that changes you know I don’t have a problem saying so. I need you just as much as you need me.” Mari let out an amused snort before returning the hug.
“I doubt that.”
“Please, I’d likely be in jail without you acting as my conscience.”
“Nah, you’re too smart to get caught.”
“Sounds like I need to have you help plan my next heist.” She looked up to find Catwoman back next to the other two.
“Depends on what you’re stealing and from who. But I thought you liked people knowing that you’re the one taking something.” The woman let out a dramatic sigh while the other two rolled their eyes.
“Back when I was young maybe. Now it just draws too much attention and makes things harder to fence if I want to. Ivy’s the one that likes to sign her work. Eco terrorism is much more effective when the people you’re terrorizing know that you can literally turn them into fertilizer.” Marinette let out a giggle and Chloe felt herself relaxing for the first time in days. For all she’d encouraged the move to Gotham, she’d been second guessing the decision ever since they got here. “What do the two of you think about us moving in with you for a bit? We can help keep the bats off the property. After the discussion I just had with the head asshole, he might very well try to send someone in to bug the house.”
“He can try, but tell him to make it a challenge for me and send someone I haven’t met yet. I figured out Nightwing in two seconds flat when he approached me in civies. Oh, and I saw a guy with a white streak in his hair in the crowd that he probably shouldn’t send either.” Mari’s tone was somewhere between annoyance and resignation and none of the Sirens seemed to know what to do with that information. Well, at least not until Catwoman broke into near hysterical laughter. The other two were just side-eyeing her.
“You are officially my new favorite person.” How she managed to get the words out through her weezing, Chloe wasn’t sure. Once she was able to stop laughing she gave them a mischievous look. “If you two ever want to just mess with the bats we could all go out and have a good time. We wouldn’t even have to do anything but go out to eat and they would lose their minds. Or I was serious about us staying with you for a bit. I know all of them and can run interference.” Mari looked at her and Chloe just shrugged. She didn’t have an issue with it but she knew Mari was far more concerned about privacy. Mari gave the Sirens a stern frown.
“There will be rules.” Harley and Catwoman let out happy squeals and Ivy rolled her eyes at them. “First, you can’t invite anyone over here. You have your own place if you want to entertain. Second, our rooms are completely off limits. I catch any of you in our private space and you’re gone. Third, you clean up after yourselves. I just got Chloe to the point where I don’t have to remind her constantly and I’m not going to trail after you making you do your own dishes.” Chloe wanted to be insulted, but she knew Mari was right. Having a staff all your life was not conducive to learning such things and she was still useless for anything related to deep cleaning. And don’t get her started on her deficiencies in the kitchen. “Fourth, if I find out you’re feeding any information to Batman I’ll give Chloe free reign to plug any leaks.”
The Sirens chuckled at that last one at first. Mari glared at them and they seemed to realize she wasn’t kidding. They shared a look. Eventually Harley and Ivy shrugged. Catwoman just frowned at her and Mari, and Chloe couldn’t get a read on what she was thinking. The other two seemed to be waiting for her to make the call. Presumably because she was the most likely to let something slip to Batman. Eventually, her expression softened.
“I won’t talk to him at all as long as we’re staying here. I promise.” Some of Mari’s tension seemed to drain at her words and Chloe was just glad that she didn’t see any tells that pointed to the woman lying. “And your other conditions are more than reasonable. But…”
“But what?” Catwoman hesitated.
“Batman and his team won’t necessarily use the front door. It might be a good idea to let us in your rooms periodically, with supervision, to sweep for bugs.” Chloe caught Mari’s eyes and they both started giggling. Catwoman just looked confused.
“I assure you, our security system is more than adequate for keeping them out. Not to mention we’ve installed a few surprises should they happen to get past it. We moved here knowing we would have to protect ourselves against them. Honestly, I hope they try.” Chloe couldn’t keep the smugness out of her tone. Her mother had gotten them in contact with someone who specialized in securing places against villains and heroes, and she was honestly hoping the Bats would trip some of their security protocols. Knowing how close they were with Superman, they’d even put up precautions to keep him from snooping. “We’ll have to give you a run down of spots to avoid. You definitely don’t want to try entering or exiting anywhere but the doors.”
“Does that mean you wouldn’t mind me putting some of my more… aggressive plants around the house as an extra precaution? They would know not to go after those that live here but if anyone else wanders somewhere they’re not supposed to they’d be in for a nasty shock. It would be nice for my babies to have some room to grow.” Ivy’s words just caused Mari to frown in thought and Harley cleared her throat before speaking.
“There’s also Bud and Lou, my hyenas. If you’re not comfortable with them here I can go back and forth to feed them. They’re big sweethearts but they’ll scare off any riffraff.” Chloe could see the wheels turning in Mari’s head. She had a feeling the other girl was making a pro/con list. Pro; it would piss the Bats off. Con; Mari hated sharing her private space with strangers. Pro; it would really piss off the Bats.
“I suppose we could do a trial run and see how things go.”
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Ladybug continued to cling to Chloe and the other girl seemed both grateful and slightly panicked. “You’re welcome? It’s the least I could do after everything. If you give me a list, I can make sure it’s stocked with food for all the Kwami as well.”
“Here you go bee.”
“Plagg!” The Kwami had once again just appeared, this time with a piece of paper to shove at the girl.
“What? She asked!”
“If you don’t stop popping out like this, I’m going to renounce you. I have enough stress without wondering if you feel chatty at any given moment.” Ladybug had pulled back and began rubbing her forehead. Whether it was just annoyance or she had a headache was anyone’s guess. Chloe took the paper gingerly, eyeing the Kwami like he was going to explode. So apparently Ivy wasn’t the only one wary around the creatures.
“I’ll get everything this afternoon.” She was frowning at some of the items and Selina could relate. It was a very mixed bag. “Why does it say ‘no shellfish’ at the bottom?” Ladybug let out an aggravated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“Damnit Plagg, have you lost your mind?” The Kwami just ignored her.
“The kid has an allergy. Best to not chance it.”
“Huh, that’s weird. Marinette is allergic to shellfish too. Guess it’s more common than I thought.” Ladybug’s eye twitched and Selina could feel something poking at the back of her mind, trying to get her to focus on what was being said. Her thoughts felt oddly sluggish.
“Yeah, weird. How do you know Marinette is allergic?”
“I was the class rep before Marinette. Allergies were one of the big things to take into account when planning events. Not to mention my father has always stressed the need to know both your constituents and opponents. I have dossiers on everyone in the school.” Ladybug’s lips twitched upwards but didn’t quite make it to a smile.
“I’m more surprised by that than I should be. I assume that you’re the reason I haven’t seen Lila for the last few months?” Chloe winced and nodded.
“I’m sorry I didn’t do anything about her earlier.”
“The adults in charge should have done something, not you.”
“Maybe, but I could have stopped this and didn’t. Just like Adrien, I ignored her because she wasn’t my problem. Just like Adrien, I could never see past what I wanted when given the opportunity to wield a Miraculous. I… I never really understood why you hated me so much until I saw how Adrien acted after he lost his ring.”
“I never hated you Chloe, I just couldn’t trust you. But at least with you I knew the risks. The others… I didn’t know until it was too late.” The last seemed directed at herself rather than Chloe. Selina was so busy trying to read Chloe’s body language that she didn’t notice Ladybug swaying until it was too late. Chloe caught her as she fell and they all watched as the hero detransformed. Selina ran towards them before she could think it through, and could hear the others behind her.
“Tikki, what happened?” Chloe was staring at the girl in shock, not even noticing their approach.
“The transformation was taking too much of her energy. I had to drop it before it harmed her irreversibly.” Both Tikki and Plagg were hovering over the girl. “She can not transform again until she’s recovered.”
“What do we do if there’s another Akuma? Hawkmoth hasn’t been letting up lately. It’s… it’s like he’s trying to cause this.” The last was said in an almost horrified whisper.
“That’s exactly what he’s doing. Unfortunately right now we’re more concerned with you knowing who she is.” Plagg had flown directly into Chloe’s face and was scowling at her. She just hugged the girl tighter.
“I won’t tell anyone. I meant what I said about helping her. Both of her.” Suddenly the pieces of their earlier conversation clicked together in Selina’s mind.
“Hang on, this is the girl you were talking about? The one who’s been missing?” That finally caused Chloe to look up at them.
“Who the hell are you?” She caught sight of Ivy and set the other girl down to step between them. “And what the hell are you?” Selina could admire her spirit at least. The girl didn’t stand a chance against them but it was apparent that she wasn’t backing down.
“We’re friends and we’re here to help.” She looked ready to argue but Tikki spoke up.
“They’re telling the truth. They’ve been nothing but supportive so far and if that changes, Plagg and I will handle it. Right now we need to get Mari back to your hotel so she can rest. Then we need to discuss what to do when an Akuma shows up while she’s still recuperating.” Chloe didn’t look happy with it but she did nod.
“I’m not entirely sure how to get us all in there undetected. I have a feeling you three don’t really want to be noticed and I certainly don’t want to cause a scene bringing Mari in like this. Bringing attention to ourselves will only cause problems.” Well she was certainly right about that. Selina shared a look with the other two but both just shrugged at her. Before she could suggest anything Tikki and Plagg started whispering together before Plagg flew back to Chloe.
“Can I trust you to use a Miraculous to get where you need to go and then give it back?”
“Yes, I’ll do whatever you need me to.” Plagg continued to study the girl but Tikki Flew into Marinette’s bag and returned with a pair of glasses. Chloe looked sad for a moment but her determination overrode it as Tikki started whispering in her ear. As soon as they finished Chloe put on the glasses and muttered something, causing another flash of light. When it faded Selina wasn’t sure what she was looking at. The outfit was definitely horse themed but at the same time she couldn’t really explain why it was. The suit was a deep reddish brown but everything else about it felt unsettling. Her hair was in a braid but seemed to be attached down her back because it didn’t move. The suit itself wasn’t skin tight but moved with her body as if it were. The longer Selina stared at it the more uncomfortable she felt. She blamed that for why she didn’t notice the swords crossed on the girls back until one was at her throat. “I’ll only give you one warning. Marinette has already been betrayed by everyone around her, minus her family, and I won’t hesitate to do what is necessary to keep you from doing the same.”
“Everyone including you?” Selina expected her to flinch but her gaze just hardened.
“Especially me. I tormented her and took advantage of her forgiveness more times than I can count. I know very well I do not have the moral high ground so don’t expect me to act like a hero.” Selina felt the blade make contact and couldn’t help the grin that appeared.
“Oh I like you. This should be fun.” Chloe slowly lowered the weapon. She tried to hide her confusion behind annoyance but Selina saw it before the girl turned to pick up Marinette. She heard Ivy suck in a sharp breath when a portal appeared out of nowhere.
“Well, are you coming or not?” She stepped through the opening without giving them time to respond. Selina debated for a fraction of a second before following, even as Ivy started cursing under her breath. The chances that Chloe would leave them behind if they weren’t fast enough were high, and she had a very bad feeling at the thought of being separated from Marinette. Her instincts had kept her alive this long, she wasn’t about to discount them now.
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Hey everyone! I’ve been writing this new story for the past couple of days, and am planning to take a break for a while after this. My husband and I are expecting our first child next week and will be focusing on her. For that reason, I decided to give the class some sugar, as we all need some goodness in the world. I’ll be back when things settle down, but until then, Warm-Fuzzies and please enjoy!
It was just an average conversation. Alya was sitting at her desk before class with Lila since Marinette was late again. It was very pleasant until the italian girl said something… wrong.
“After I saved Jagged’s kitten from being run over by the plane and he wrote that song about me, we kept in touch.” Lila tittered away, without a care. “He ended up mentioning how he wanted a pair of special glasses for his tour, so I made him those Eiffel Tower glasses that he loves so much. Next thing I know, he’s bragging about me to all his friends and they’re all asking me to make things for them too. I ended up making a website and going by the alias MDC. Isn’t that amazing?”
Alya hadn’t had a chance to answer as Marinette came rushing into the room a second before the bell rang and Mme. Bustier began her lesson. Although whatever the teacher was saying was practically ignored by the majority of the class that had heard Lila’s claim.
Because they knew.
They had been there when Marinette had made those glasses for Jagged Stone for the work experience day at Chloe’s family hotel. They knew that Marinette went by the acronym MDC for the initials of her name. Max, Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Kim, and Alya had all helped Marinette set up her website and model her designs a couple months ago, while Lila had been traveling…
She’s a LIAR!! They all thought at once.
During the next break, Alya quickly set up a group chat with everyone but Lila and Marinette.
FoxyJournalist:You all heard that, right? She’s lying about being MDC, but that’s Marinette!
DJTurtle:So not cool, doesn’t she know that we were there? Is this some kind of joke?
MightIllustrator:Don’t think so, she’s still bragging about it back here.
GothicBeauty:@DJTurtle Agreed, not cool.
Rocker’n’Pink:I can’t believe it! I just emailed Prince Ali to see if he knows her, because if Lila’s lying about this…
BigTeddy: …
SmolTeddy: …
TrueBrain: …
Da’Strongest: … Crap
Sk8Grl: … I second that Crap
FoxyJournalist:Emergency meeting at my place tonight! We need to figure all this out!
DJTurtle:Agreed.
TruQueen:We’ll be there too. I don’t like Dupain-Cheng, but I HATE Rossi.
MissRed:I’ll bring snacks.
By the time class started again, everyone had agreed to meet up after school. The hard part, as it turned out, was shaking the liar, who practically latched onto their group and wouldn’t let them be. It was Mylene you finally came up with an idea, mentioning that they were going to the homeless shelter to help feed people and clean the facility. Lila suddenly rememberedthat she already had plans and couldn’t come help them, before turning to walk home.
Once she was out of earshot, Alix turned to the other girl with a smirk. “Good going, how’d you know that’d work?”
Mylene shrugged. “I was thinking earlier about all the times she talked about charity work but always made excuses to not come with us when we were doing it. I figured she’d do it this time too, and I was right.”
An hour later the entire class; sans Marinette, Lila, and Adrien, who was at a photoshoot, were gathered in the Cesaire apartment. Everyone had their phones or tablets out, looking up everything that Lila had told them since coming to school. And what they found was anything but comforting.
Connection to Jagged Stone due to saving a kitten: lies, according to articles about his one and only pet for the past 17 years, Fang the crocodile.
Connection to Prince Ali via Go-Green charities: lies, according to Prince Ali himself when he responded to Rose’s email, plus he didn’t do green charities, instead focusing on children’s charities.
Secretly dating Adrien: lies, confirmed when Adrien called Nino back during a break and let it slip that Lila was only his friend and that she made him uncomfortable at times because of how clingy she was.
Every single thing they looked up about Lila turned out to be a lie. And although they couldn’t prove it themselves, that likely meant that all of the diseases and injuries that she’d claimed to have were probably fake too. Meaning that they had been buying her lunch and giving her money for charities, and the money was probably going straight into the liar’s pocket.
“By my calculations, when including all the lunches and food we bought for her, money we donated for charities she wasn’t involved in, and tickets for events she attended with us; Lila Rossi has scammed close to €1,000 from our class. All of which we are not likely to get back from her.” Max groused as he typed away on his tablet.
Alix scoffed. “At least all we lost was some money and a bit of our dignity. I’m pretty sure Marinette went through a lot more than us. Heck, that liar tried to convince me last week that Marinette ruined her homework and said ‘if only she understood what it was like for someone to do that to her’ like she was trying to get me to destroy Marinette’s homework as revenge. I didn’t do it, but I let her copy my homework so she wouldn’t lose any points.”
Juleka’s pale complexion went stark white. “She kept telling me how Marinette was only friends with me so she could get close to Luka and make Adrien jealous, and that I was really trusting to let someone like that near my family.”
“When my headphones broke, she told me that she’d seen Marinette messing with them earlier,” Nino told them, his voice laced with guilt as he remembered giving his oldest friend the cold shoulder for days after that.
Alya’s head dropped into her hands as she struggled to hold back tears. “That liar almost had me convinced that Mari was nothing but a jealous bitch who was out to get rid of her since they both had a crush on Adrien. I can’t believe how close I came to buying that bull.”
“And then there’s the expulsion,” Rose added, her voice quivering. “She was accused of stealing, assault, and cheating on that mock exam. Even though Marinette was reinstated, that kind of stuff doesn’t just disappear from someone’s record. What if that keeps her from being accepted into lycee?”
Everyone went pale at that. Although most turned red in the face a moment later from rage for their friend.
“We can’t let her get away with this!” Kim growled as he began pacing the room.
“But is there anything we can really do?” Mylene asked with tears in her eyes.
When the blonde heiress chuckled, sitting off to the side of the room, everyone turned to glare at her, but she wasn’t phased by their looks. “And this is exactly why I decided to come here. None of you have any idea how to deal with someone like Rossi. I, however, have dealt with those types of people multiple times.” The glares ceased, realizing that Chloe was probably right.
“One of the best ways to get back at her, would be to use her own lies against her. Do it in a way that the only way out of it is to admit that she’s a liar. And while we do that, we completely tear down the empire that fake HBIC is trying to build, maybe get her expelled like she tried to do to Dupain-Cheng.”
The class stared at her in surprise, not expecting the former hero to actually be useful in this situation. But what she said…
Alya shook her head in surprise. “I never thought I’d say this, but it sounds like you’re the best option. Please, tell us your plan.”
The smirk Chloe gave them, almost made them feel sorry for what was about to happen to the liar.
~oOo~
The following morning when Lila came to class, she saw everyone fawning over something on their phones or tablets. Curious, she stepped next to Alya and looked over her shoulder to find that she was looking at the MDC website.
She smirked for a second before plastering an appreciative, yet shy grin on her face. “I see you found my website, what do you think of my designs?”
“Gurl, they are gorgeous! I can’t believe you made such intricate clothes and accessories!” Alya gushed as she continued looking through the pictures until she stopped on a design that she had modeled for Marinette, although, like all the other photos, her face wasn’t shown. “And this one here! It’s like a total dedication to Rena Rouge. Make no mistake, Ladybug will always be my favorite, but Rena’s power is really awesome too.”
“I’m glad you like it!” Lila smiled, she was about to go into describing how she was inspired by the design when Alya asked her something surprising.
“Do you think I can have it? Pretty please?”
Lila came up short, not having expected this. “Well, you can just order it from my website-” she began saying, only to stop when Alya’s expression dropped.
“I don’t understand. You always say that if we need anything to just ask you, and you have this dress listed as in stock on your website, it would be nothing for you to just give it to me, right?”
“I-um-”
“And you even told Marinette the other day that if she were a real friend, she wouldn’t mind giving us free pastries whenever we ask, right?”
“R-right! I’m just surprised that you would be so interested in one of my designs. I’ll bring it in tomorrow!”
“Thanks gurl, you’re the best.” Alya gushed before giving Lila a hug that actually kind of hurt.
Hurrying back to her seat, Lila resisted the urge to curse as she got onto the MDC website to order and overnight the dress to her apartment. Luckily, the mail normally arrived before she left for school. And doing this would help her convince everyone she was the designer MDC.
~oOo~
Lila’s newest lie about being MDC wasn’t going as planned. Sure, she got a lot of praise and people wearing her designs, but it was costing her. Every time she brought in an item that she’d had to buy and overnight to her apartment to give to one of her classmates, another would practically demand another item that was listed as available on the MDC website. A hat for Alix, a hoodie for Kim, a shirt for Max, a dress for Rose, it went on and on. And when she tried to say that she couldn’t, they would say how Marinette would never do such a thing and then start to question what she told them. This left her no choice but to buy everything they wanted herself and give to them.
Sure, it made her lie all the more believable since she was able to deliver the items they asked for, but it was beginning to clear out her savings. At the rate she was going, she was probably MDC’s best customer.
Then came the day when the MDC website began offering custom orders. Alya asked Marinette for a couple sheets of paper from her sketchbook and a pencil before handing it to Lila. “Gurl, I’ve been wanting you to do something custom for me for weeks, but I wasn’t going to ask since you didn’t have it listed on your website and I didn’t want to take advantage of you. But now, I can tell you exactly what I want and I can even record your process for my blog! Isn’t that awesome?”
Lila gripped the pencil until it nearly snapped. She could barely draw stick figures and she was pretty sure Maribrat knew that, not missing the smirk that the goody-two-shoes was sending her direction. “I would but, oww! My arthritis has been acting up all day and I can barely hold a pencil.” She whimpered pathetically as gingerly gripped her left wrist.
“But that shouldn’t be a problem,” Max spoke up smiling kindly at her. “After all, it’s your left wrist that has arthritis and you’re right handed.”
Shut up, you stupid nerd! She thought, struggling to keep the scowl from her face. “You’re right, but I’m not sure if I’ll have enough time to draw something out before class starts.”
“But, Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale have commented on your website how you are really good at doing fast concept drawing for your designs. So, it shouldn’t take you too long to come up with something to start with.” Rose commented, her high voice grating on the liar’s nerves.
She was trying to think of another excuse when Chloe began laughing. “You can all stop the act, I think we’ve played it out long enough.”
To Lila’s surprise, the majority of the class nodded before their eager, friendly faces turned to scowls and angry glares as they looked in her direction. Unsure of what else to do, she started faking tears as she looked around the room. “Why are all of you looking at me like that? I haven’t done anything wrong. Did Marinettesay something? You know-”
“Cut the crap, Lila! We did our research weeks ago and figured out you’re nothing but a lying bag of nothing.” Chloe cut her off as she stood from her desk and smiled cruelly at the girl. “You really messed up when you started claiming you were the MDC, the rising star of fashion. Everyone in class knows that’s Marinette.”
Unable to help herself, Lila’s head whipped around in shock to glare at the french-asian girl, sitting shocked, but a little smug at her desk. “Is that what Marinettesaid? She’s lying!”
Alya scoffed this time. “You know, there may have been a point when we might have believed you, but not this time. We were all there when Mari gave those glasses to Jagged Stone and then had her design his album cover. Max and I helped her set up the MDC website. And Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Kim, Max, and I were the ones that modeled the designs posted on her website.”
Lila glared at her. She knew when the jig was up, and there was no point in wasting her energy on her worthless classmates anymore. Still, she couldn’t help but be angry at them. “Well, you all better have the money to pay me back for all the stuff I bought you! Or else I’ll get all of you in trouble with Mme. Bustier and M. Damocles. If you can’t tell, from the time I got Maribrat expelled, I’ve got them both wrapped around my finger.”
“Actually, you can consider all this repaying us.” Max grinned that annoying, calculating grin at her. “Everything you bought was equal to or of similar value to all the lunches we bought you, tickets for events that we covered, or money we donated to your supposed charities, which I’m 96.8% sure was actually your own bank account.”
She growled at that, about to let out a tirade at all of them when Chloe laughed again, gaining her attention again. “Well, all that was to pay back the class, but you’re still not even with Dupain-Cheng or me. I’m sick of seeing your ugly face and hair-don’t in here every day and decided to do something about it. So, I had Daddy get a hold of the Italian Embassy for a meeting the other day. Imagine how surprised and angry they were when the ambassador’s assistant started talking about how incopitant Ladybug and Chat Noir are, since they couldn’t defeat the akuma that had forced her daughter’s school to close for months.”
Lila’s tan skin paled quickly as her head whipped around the room, looking for an escape, but Ivan and Kim were guarding the door.
“The woman was even more surprised after mentioning which school it was and Daddy told her how it was my school. Then I mentioned a girl that had been out of school for the time the assistant had mentioned, and that she claimed to be in the kingdom of Achu via Embassy funds. The Ambassador wasn’t too happy about what he was hearing and cut the meeting short. Although I did hear her mention that she was planning to speak with the principal and her daughter’s teacher. Speaking of, I wonder why Mme. Bustier is so late for class?
Seconds later, the door Ivan and Kim had been guarding burst open, revealing a very angry Damocles, Mme. Bustier, and a woman that had a strong resemblance to Lila. Without a single word, the woman stomped forward, grabbed Lila by the arm, and began dragging her out of the room. Lila tried to pull free as she pleaded for her mother to listen, but the woman didn’t say a single word as the door closed behind them, leaving a very upset Mme. Bustier standing at the front of the room.
The news quickly spread around school before lunch how Lila had done, and was likely to be expelled for truancy, bullying, lying to the staff, and trying to get Marinette expelled. If that hadn’t been bad enough, an akuma had come fluttering into the courtyard just as the two Rossi’s had been leaving. Lila had pushed her mother away in an effort to catch the akuma, only for a yo-yo to smack her hand to catch it, snapping two of the liar’s fingers in the process.
Seeing that, M. Damocles had no choice but to call the police while Ladybug and Chat Noir stood guard over Lila, with Alya recording everything from the moment she’d seen the akuma entering the courtyard. Lila screamed and raged as the police handcuffed her and took her away. Ladybug recommended using a facility outside of Paris, as they had witnessed her willingly going after an akuma.
The class never saw Lila again, although they did hear that she had been deported back to Italy and was dropped in a high security prison’s deepest, darkest hole to be forgotten by the world after being convicted for aiding a terrorist. Granted, none of them had expected that when they had set out to get even with Lila, but after seeing her willingly go after an akuma for revenge, they were glad she was gone.
The class had also profusely apologized to Marinette for not believing her, as well as keeping her in the dark about their plan to expose Lila. Marinette accepted their apology, but admitted that she had been starting to figure it out after Lila kept ordering from her website and her classmates ended up with the ordered items. Then, when she had mentioned her theory to Adrien, he’d shown her the group chat and admitted that the class had planned a way to confront and expose Lila. So, she decided to trust her friends and let their plan play out, using the money Lila had spent to buy more supplies and make matching ‘thank you’ gifts for her friends.
And that’s it! I hope you all enjoyed this bit of class sugar. With all the salt out there, I really needed something sweet and this seemed like a good way to do it!
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