Chapter 1: Prologue: Yellow Queen Observes💛
Summary:
So long since the Primaries disbanded, everyone forgets who used to be on it.
But a Queen is always watching.
Notes:
Each chapter will have two lines from a song. If you can guess the song, kudos to you!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The underdogs are my lions
The silent ones are my choir
What every school in Paris lacked was order. That was a fact Chloé recognized at the age of 10.
And right now, those feelings came rushing back as she was stuck listening to another one of Lila's so called "high life" stories. Granted, she could have just scrolled through her phone until Mlle. Bustier got there, but she was under orders.
Orders that were given to her one year ago, but orders nonetheless...
1 year and 3 months ago...
Blue Empress💙: Dupont may not need us right now, but I have a feeling we will be needed again someday. Right now, it's time for us to become normal students as well.
Yellow Queen💛: Have to admit tho, we had a LOT of fun with those idiots.
Red King❤️: Oh yeah. Sad we have to dispand. I enjoyed making fools out of those bullies >:)
Blue Empress💙: Who knows? Maybe one day we'll return. But before we say goodbye to this life for good, I want to give you both one final order. Observe everything you can, for any sign of corruption within the student body or the teachers.
Yellow Queen 💛: Got it. Since you know that my personality will be like, I apologize in advance :(
Red King ❤️: Bring it on Chlo ;)
Contrary to what newcomers to Dupont believed, Chloé was not in fact a spoiled brat. Her daddy may be the Mayor of Paris, but that never meant she enjoyed using him so cruelly to get what she wanted. But to keep up the charade and drive darkness out into the light, she had no other choice.
Her mother, while a bitch, was the whole reason Chloé hated bullies in reality. Audrey Bourgeois was the perfect example of what a bully can become. A selfish, entitled twat with no regard for the feelings of others. Who's to say Chloé would not have turned out like that as well?
But she never did. All because of a generous heart of one adorable girl.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Fierce as fire, cold as ice.
The two met when they were only in kindergarden. Both came from semi- similar backgrounds. Both of their parents were well known in Paris for one reason or another. To this day, Chloé still could not describe what made her want to follow Marinette when they were young. Marinette was confident, bossy, stood up to bullies and every bully that ever crossed her ended up crying themselves to sleep.
But behind that exterior was a gentle and kind Princess who cared about all her fellow students. When three bullies were dealt with in a row back in elementary, some students gave her the nickname "Blue Empress". Blue indicating her bright and gentle blue eyes. Empress indicated her confidence and cruelty towards wrongdoers.
The trio were inseperable and would rule Elementary and Collége with iron fists. Any bully that crossed them were sent packing in a matter of days. If a teacher was unfit to teach by acting shady or enabling bullies, those teachers would soon find themselves without a job.
Every school in Paris knew of them. It escalated so far that they had garnered hundreds of fans throughout the city. They even made a social media site where students from all over could submit their cries for help. Unfortunately, since they retired, the site was marked as inactive.
The trio treated Dupont as their garden. Their home. Their castle.
Their Queendom...
When the Primaries went their seperate ways to try and live as normal students, Chloé was the only one to predict that they will have to return sooner than anyone expects. The other two were not as pessimistic, believing no one would dare bully anyone in Dupont anymore.
That is... until a certain girl with tales (lies) of greatness came into their class.
Lila Rossi.
Lila. Rossi.
Lila Fucking Sausage-Hair Rossi.
Chloé sighed and thought to herself. "Better make your choice now, Mari..."
She tried her best to drown out the ever annoying voice of the liar, but how could she when everyone shouted praises whenever Lila said even one letter?
"Yeah, my grandfather was an ace pilot..." so on and so on, blah blah blah...
Ugh, ridiculous. Sure, anyone could claim something about their ancestors and everyone would be none the wiser. But time and time again, it was obvious Lila lied with every breath. Pigs would start flying way before even one simple truth would escape the Italians mouth.
To her surprise and utter shock, her phone let out a vibration and a sound no other notification made on it. A sound so nostalgic, it was a wonder no one else heard it. Then again, those who would have recognized it would have shaken in fear, so it was probably a good thing they were as oblivious as they were.
And there it was. The three colours and the name of a chat room she had not spoken in for over a year...
❤️The💙Primaries💛
Blue Empress💙: It's time. I'm done watching this. Rossi must pay. I did not come to school because of this.
Blue Empress💙 has sent an attachment
When she saw the image, Chloé nearly dropped her phone in disbelief. There, in the picture, was Marinette's sketchbook all torn into pieces and ruined by coffee stains. Nothing could possibly be salvaged from it.
Chloé took it personally because those designs were specifically made for HER. She had commissioned Marinette in secret like she had done many times before. She could only imagine how furious her Empress was right now.
Blue Empress💙: I found this yesterday in my locker before I went home. I skipped school today to plan our comeback. Your predictions came true, Chlo.
Blue Empress 💙: I did try to tell Alya, buuut the only reply I got was "jealous bitch". Rossi. Needs. To. Go.
Chloé smirked.
Yellow Queen 💛: My predictions always come true 😉 But I'm with you, Mari! Together forever!
It felt good not having to pretend to be a bitch. She missed it more than she realized. All these months if waiting and pretending to be a bully would soon be behind her.
Red King❤️: Finally! Marc has been asking me about us returning for weeks now. I am so ready to send the bitch flying.
Blue Empress 💙: Glad to see you both agree, King and Queen :) How about a sleepover at Chloés tonight for old times sake? We'll drive her limo to school.
Yellow Queen💛: You always did like to make a dramatic entrance 😂
Red King❤️: Finally I can stop pretending to be a shy weakling. Dupont beware.
Yellow Queen 💛: You'll always be our shy boy 🥰
Red King❤️: Love you too
Chloé could not hold back her smirk even if she tried. That smile did not go unnoticed by her classmates. Apparently, while she was busy with her phone, Lila had started something about her and Marinette. But hey, what else is new?
Rolling her eyes, she grabbed her bag next to her seat and headed out the classroom. Now out of view from her classmates, she squealed and wiggled in place in total excitement.
Aurore, coincidentally, walked past the door right before Chloé came out, so she definitely heard the excitement.
"Someone's excited." She noted.
Aurore was no idiot. She knew very well that Chloé's bully and bratty attitude was a façade. Whenever the two were alone, they would casually talk and discuss certain topics.
"Sorry, Rory, can't tell you. I promise it's good though."
Aurore put on a smug smile and lifted her phone up. On the screen was a chat window with Marinette.
The bluenette had already told Aurore about the upcoming return of The Primaries.
Blue Empress💙: The fact I am messaging you should already be enough to tell you what this is about.
Chloé fondly shook her head. "Marinette sure doesn't like standing still.
Aurore giggled. "That girl is on top for a reason. I'm guessing this has something to do with ugly-ass in there?" She asked as she pointed at the classroom.
Chloé pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Ugh, yeah. By the way, thanks for telling your classmates about her. The less people believe her lies, the better it is for everyone. Plus, easier to make a comeback.
Aurore winked. "Well, I was her informant for a reason."
No arguments there...
When Chloé finally made it back home, she immediately set her sights on her closet. From an outaiders perspective, it looked like a regular rich person closet. What no one knew was a secret chest hidden underneath the floor, smack dab in the middle of the closet. Given that rarely anyone came in here, no one ever noticed the hollowness of one spot.
She knelt down and pressed the floor. It was one of those push in lock hatches. When she pressed it, the hatch opened up and a chest qith golden trims was revealed. She opened it up and there, in prestine condition, was her old Primary jacket. The golden glimmer of the fabric and the silver C letter embroided on the back brought back so many memories.
She would have put it on immediately, but then she remembered it had been over a year since she last wore it, meaning it most likely did not fit anymore. She'd have to ask Marinette to make some improvements on the jacket.
Good thing was, she did not have to wait long. It was 18:00 when a knock was heard on her bedroom door.
Her friends had arrived.
Better watch out Rossi. The Primaries will be out for your blood and you'll never see it coming...
Notes:
I am so excited to write this.
I am having a bit of a writers block with my WIMTB(What it Means to Be) series and so I decided to take a little break. But! I found a little corner of the fandom called HBIC AU and I instantly knew I had to write something like this. Being a fan of the movie "Mean Girls" and the Heathers, I knew I could do something.
So, I hope for the life of me that I can finish this fic. I estimate about 20 chapters (could change) to wrap this up :)
Chapter 2: Prologue: Red King Watches ❤️
Summary:
The Red King judges
Cursing bullies into smudges.
His classmates are idiots
Soon they'll be his minions
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The women will be my soldiers
With the weight of life on their shoulders
So apparently, Nathaniel stole Lila Rossi's art designs?
When did that even happen? Why would he do that when Lila doesn't even know what a stick figure looks like? Did she even know how to draw an elementary level tree?
At that moment he came to a conclusion.
His class was full of idiots. Well, all except two of them. About four years they have spent together and got to know each other, and all of sudden Nathaniel is... a villain or something? Seriously, where did their braincells go? Up Rossi's a-
Anyway. He was furious with his classmates. And all of this started because he once caught Lila in a lie and called her out on it. He didn't want to make it seem like a big deal. He just wanted to correct her.
It was a month ago when Lila came into school one day and promised him an internship with a well known artist. He forgot the name already. What he does remember is he corrected that he died years ago. Lila did not take too kindly to it. All he did was correct her on a simple mistake. She immediatelu felt threatened and promised to make his life hell if he doesn't keep his mouth shut.
Wow... what a bitch...
That was his only thought when that interraction ended. What else was there to say anyway? Not like he wanted to make Lila even madder.
Though, if he was honest, he did enjoy a bit of discord every now and then when it came from tormenting a bully. He was the Red King for a reason after all.
Come to think of it, it was a surprise that no student in the school have never told the newcomers about The Primaries. They made it clear that IF the circumstances demanded it, they would return and run the school again.
Nathaniel was so close to disobeying his orders and dealing with Rossi right then and there. But he held himself back. Only she can decide when they take action. If he were to start a revolution all on his own, no doubt his Empress would punish him.
He was punished once before, though it wasn't that huge. He went against orders once, was temporarily kicked out of The Primaries and was given a week to redeem himself. He redeemed himself in only one day and vowed never to disobey orders again. Orders exist to keep someone in line. And given how unhinged Nathaniel can be when provoked, the Blue Empress was strict with him when it came to orders.
But would his Empress be mad at him if he were to, say, accidentally punch Lila in the face? On accident. Don't ask him for details. If he says accident, he means accident. Again, don't question it.
Indeed, his shy boy persona was a façade, like Chloé's bullying and Marinette's clumsy demeanor.
He grew up reading and watching Batman stories. Ever since he was a small child, he was fascinated with how the caped crusader dealt with crime. He was never afraid to do some dark deeds for the greater good, never afraid to challenge the law if the circumstances demanded it.
Most importantly, he had a tight relationship with his grandfather and grandmother, who used to be just like him when he was young. Nathaniel calls his grandparents the nickname "The ancestral Primaries". His grandfather also dealt with bullies and kept his school safe from them. That "hobby" turned into a career. Shady, but damn his family was now loaded. Corrupt politicians trembled at the mention of the Kurtzberg family name.
He was the only one other than Chloé to hear the blondes phone chime with a familiar sound. Given how his phone was on silent, he would never have gotten it. He took out his phone and indeed, there it was...
❤️The💙Primaries💛
Blue Empress💙: It's time. I'm done watching this. Rossi must pay. I did not come to school because of this.
Blue Empress💙 has sent an attachment
Good (not) to know he was not the only one with sketchbook problems. Once he saw the image, he almost snapped his phone in half. Almost.
Blue Empress💙: I found this yesterday in my locker before I went home. I skipped school today to plan our comeback. Your predictions came true, Chlo.
Blue Empress 💙: I did try to tell Alya, buuut the only reply I got was "jealous bitch". Rossi. Needs. To. Go.
Yellow Queen 💛: My predictions always come true 😉 But I'm with you, Mari! Together forever!
Good as time as any to chime in.
Red King❤️: Finally! Marc has been asking me about us returning for weeks now. I am so ready to send the bitch flying.
Blue Empress 💙: Glad to see you both agree, King and Queen :) How about a sleepover at Chloés tonight for old times sake? We'll drive her limo to school.
Yellow Queen💛: You always did like to make a dramatic entrance 😂
Red King❤️: Finally I can stop pretending to be a shy weakling. Dupont beware.
Yellow Queen 💛: You'll always be our shy boy 🥰
Nathaniel resisted to urge to playfully shake his head before giving a reply. He also took his time to narrowly glance at Chloé.
Red King❤️: Love you too
A sleepover. Something they have not done in such a long time. He still remembered the last one as if it was only yesterday. Marinette and Chloé braiding each other's hair, him drawing in his sketchbook, sometimes he would step in and let the girls polish his nails, giving them the reigns. Sometimes they’d even watch movies while planning the downfall of a target. He was sure that tonight was going to be a blast.
These memories made him reflect on how he got here. Much like Chloé, he had gone to the same kinder-garden as Marinette. He watched her destroy bullies, make them back off from their victims and utterly humiliate them.
It was only a matter of time before her influence rubbed off on him. Seeing Marinette be so cool, so confident, so… badass! He made a vow that he would one day be just as intimidating as she can be. It wasn’t long before he and the girls formed the trio most of the schools in Paris know as “The Primaries”.
He was the enforcer, the “muscle” of the group. He wasn’t physically stronger than Marinette, but he for sure was more intimidating. His glare could kill, his words could make people shake in their boots. If Marinette made a rule for the students to follow, Nathaniel was the one to enforce it on them. It may seem bad, but the rules were always meant for the bullies.
Of course, that didn’t mean they had an angelic streak from day one. If a student wasn’t a bully, yet still manage to tick off even one of the Primaries, all hell broke loose. It was one of the other reasons they disbanded.
Near the end of the “era of Primaries”, a student who no longer attended the school managed to piss them off so badly they ended up making their life miserable until the student wouldn’t even show up to school anymore.
When everything died down, the Primaries felt like they overstepped a huge boundary they set for themselves. The student body itself was saddened about their decision to disband, but still supported them. No one wanted to remember that one final act.
But once a Primary, always a Primary. Maybe it was time to right their wrongdoing and make the student body respect and admire them once more.
They loved their fellow students and would do anything to protect them. The school was their kingdom, their territory. And one liar claiming to live the best life, while manipulating others for their own gain, was NOT going to take that away from them.
Before anyone even realised it, it was evening and that meant he had a sleepover to get to. His thoughts kept him so busy he forgot when he went home, grabbed his things and made it to the hotel. Time sure flies when you reminisce.
This was it. Once Marinette arrives and they both enter Chloés penthouse, it would all be official. The Primaries would be back in action…
I just hope things won’t escalate as far as they did last time…
”Hey Nath!”
Nathaniel turned his head to see Marinette running and waving at him. He smiled.
But… I have a feeling things will be much better this time around. Our Empress will make sure of that
A year on hiatus gave them all time to grow and mature, see the world from a different perspective. They intended to use this wisdom to the fullest extent…
Notes:
I hope to get the prologues out of the way as soon as I can. Luckily, only one more to go.
Also, in this fic, Nath is going to be an intimidating little bean. He protec and attac
Chapter 3: Blue Empress Rules 💙
Summary:
When the Blue Empress arrives
The winds clear the skies.
A liar has reigned for too long
But after night comes dawn
Chapter Text
Drink until you’ve had enough
I’ll drink from your hand
Chance after chance. Time after time again. She had been lenient and forgiving thus far.
Threaten her? Sure. Bully her? Why not. Tell her friends a bunch of lies? Go for it.
But destroy all of her hard work and creativity? You’ve painted a target on your back.
If there is one thing an artist values above everything else, it’d be her sketchbook. Seeing her sketchbook all torn to pieces in front of her, Marinette was fuming with fury. She wanted to scream, to yell, to break the first thing she came into contact with, be it a person or an object.
Tikki took notice of her anger and floated in front of her in concern. Her chosen skipped school today, believing that if she was around her classmates for even a second, she’d do something she really did not want to take responsibility for.
”Marinette, please, you have to calm down. Don’t-“
She stopped talking once she saw her owner shake vigorously.
”Tikki… please… not now. I am this close to exploding. Just let me think in silence…”
Her kwami did as she was told. It wasn’t an order, more like a request. Her chosen needed space, something she was always willing to give.
She will pay dearly…
But what could she do? If she tried to talk to her classmates, they wouldn’t believe her. She had a good feeling that it was her classmates themselves that tore up her sketchbook. Telling them that Lila is nothing but a liar and a cheat would only fall on deaf ears.
High road, huh?
Fuck the high road.
…
Of course.
How could she forget?
Her crush. The love of her life. He knew damn well about Lila’s true nature, so why didn’t he step up? Why did he just sit there and allow all of this to happen? Where was he when she needed him the most!?
Stupid Adrien…
…Damn it, she still liked him. Just a little less now.
What the hell was she supposed to do!?
Marinette viciously scratched her head, creating a mess of her hair that she had spent a good 30 minutes perfecting this morning.
…
Wait… of course! The answer is simple!
If an enemy is what they want, then an enemy is what they shall get. Only, this enemy played by her own rules and forced bullies to submit or be conquered.
That’s right. It was time for the mask to finally come off. And the first thing she wanted to do was to find that.
Marinette got up from her chaise and walked up to her window. To anyone else, it was just like any other window. But no one, except for her, Chloé, Nathaniel and her parents, knew otherwise. The window sill was detachable. It was hollow underneath. Unless someone knocked on it, they’d never suspect it, but honestly, who goes around other people’s houses knocking on window sills anyway?
Probably psychos.
When she removed it, it was there, just as she had left it over a year ago. Her blue jacket with a black and glittery “M” embroidered on the back. Her jacket she hadn’t worn for so long.
”Marinette? What is that? I never knew there was something underneath here!” Asked Tikki.
Marinette giggled in a… pretty ominous way. “That, my little bug, is my jacket. Let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time, there was a young girl with a strong sense of justice. This girl was someone every bully feared to cross. Once in kindergarten, she saw a girl her age being bullied simply because her dad was someone very important. I stood up for her and the bully was sent home and cried himself to sleep that night. The girl became popular after that. Everyone who was bullied came to her for protection..."
"And that girl... was you?" Inquired Tikki.
Marinette nodded. "A little over a year ago, I was the leader of a trio. I was called the Blue Empress. Me and them ruled over Dupont and dealed with all kinds of bullies and got some teachers, who were unfit to teach, fired. But there was an incident and we decided it would be best if we disbanded."
"Who were the other two?"
Marinette smiled. "Those would be... Chloé and Nathaniel. I know what you're thinking; how can Chloé be a part of my group if she is my enemy? The answer? It's just an act we all made up. Knowing that there are bound to be someone who will want to attend and be a bully, Chloé took it upon herself to act like one. With her power, no one would dare to stand up to her and no other bully would dare to cross her. I was made the victim of her bullying. As far as the school is concerned, me and the Primaries got into a huge fight and that's why we disbanded. Clever, no?"
Clever, but complicated if you asked Tikki. Still, she understood the story thus far.
“And now? You’re going back to it?”
Marinette scowled as she took a glance at her torn up sketchbook on her desk. “Lila overstepped a huge boundary. Time to show her that her throne is as brittle as paper…”
”Marinette, is this really such a good idea? I mean… you’ll be enforcing your rule on the school, won’t you?”
Marinette raised a brow as she unfolded her blue jacket. “Uh-huh? Yeah? And?”
”Isn’t that, you know… not something Ladybug would do?”
Marinette sighed in annoyance. She loved her little kwami to death, but sometimes Tikki was a little too nice for her own good. Times like these is when Marinette wished she got Plagg instead.
”Tikki… I am tired, okay? I’m tired of always being expected to be the bigger person. I am tired of keeping all of these secrets. Ever since I got my miraculous, I have not been able to express myself like I want to and… don’t take this the wrong way, but I learned a long time ago not to care for what others think. As long as I do what makes me happy and if it ensures the safety and wellbeing of others? Then I am fine with it. You don’t have to agree with me. I’m sorry I kept this from you, but this is the real me. I’m a Primary. No changing that fact.”
The tiny God wanted to argue, but found no fighting words. Not like she could do anything about it anyway. Whatever her chosen decided, she’d have to go along with it. Such is the life of a kwami. Damn the mage for putting that spell on them. The old fool really was too old to think things through.
"I get that, Marinette, but... if things go wrong?"
"We are the Primaries. Nothing ever goes wrong."
This was certainly not the Marinette had met at the start of the school year. This Marinette was different. She was confident, elegant, not overthinking things. She was just like an Empress.
Tikki mentally shrugged. Seeing as how she can't change her owners mind, she might as well see how things play out it in the long run. Who knows, maybe this will be entertaining for a tiny God?
Marinette grabbed her phone and snapped a picture of her torn up sketches. She opened up her messenger app and scrolled.
'Go to hell'
'We can't be friends if you act like this'
'Never thought you'd be such a bitch'.
Okay, so block, block and blocked. Who needs those idiots with no braincells anyway.
There was also something else Marinette wanted to do when they made their comeback. Recently, the Ladyblog has been bothering her to no end. At first it was a harmless blog that kept the people informed, but now? It's a site that constantly ships LadyNoir, tries to expose their identities and of course, the journalist in charge is always getting in the way during Akuma fights. Lila and the Ladyblog had to go. They are only hindrances at this point.
Block after block, she finally found the chat room she had been looking for, smack dab at the bottom of the lost. Oh, they'll soon be at the top once more.
❤️The💙Primaries💛
Blue Empress💙: It's time. I'm done watching this. Rossi must pay. I did not come to school because of this.
Blue Empress💙 has sent an attachment
Blue Empress💙: I found this yesterday in my locker before I went home. I skipped school today to plan our comeback. Your predictions came true, Chlo.
Blue Empress 💙: I did try to tell Alya, buuut the only reply I got was "jealous bitch". Rossi. Needs. To. Go.
Yellow Queen 💛: My predictions always come true 😉 But I'm with you, Mari! Together forever!
Red King❤️: Finally! Marc has been asking me about us returning for weeks now. I am so ready to send the bitch flying.
Blue Empress 💙: Glad to see you both agree, King and Queen :) How about a sleepover at Chloés tonight for old times sake? We'll drive her limo to school.
Yellow Queen💛: You always did like to make a dramatic entrance 😂
Red King❤️: Finally I can stop pretending to be a shy weakling. Dupont beware.
Yellow Queen 💛: You'll always be our shy boy 🥰
Red King❤️: Love you too
"Marinette?" Her mothers voice called out as a knock came on her trap door.
"Come in, Maman!"
Sabine opened the hatch and climbed into the room. She was quiet for a whole five seconds until she saw her daughters sketchbook on the table, all torn up or stained with coffee.
"Sweetie, this is why you stayed out of school today?" She asked in her gentle mom voice.
Marinette nodded and sat down on her chaise. Sabine noticed the blue jacket still in her clutches.
"Are you... thinking of returning to that lifestyle?"
Sabine was one of the few people who knows why the Primaries disbanded. She knew almost everything about them - the methods they used, their connections, their behaviours- all of it. Knowing her daughter was only mean to bullies, she was actually quite proud of her. Her daughter was the most respected and admired girl in school, but it never let it define who she was. She kept being herself, this kind and gentle girl who always pursued justice to right the wrongs.
Of course, when that happened, Marinette was put in house arrest for an entire week.
"I can't sit back and allow my school to become corrupted, Maman. I can't and I won't..."
Sabine smiled and sat next to her daughter. "How can I help?"
Marinette looked up to her mother in surprise. Considering what happened before the seperation, Sabine was still willing to support her?
The woman only chuckled and patted the young girls head. "Don't look at me like that, sweetheart. Yes, while what happened was indeed something never meant to happen, we can never go back and change it. But I know that you are not that kind of person at all. It was all an accident, something never meant to happen. You could not have known. But you have matured since then. I only punished you before because that's what a mother is supposed to do. You'll understand one day when you start a family of your own."
Marinette smiled and hugged her mother. Her eyes looked to her desk, seeing Tikki hiding behind her desk lamp, her expression drowned in concern. Just what happened so long ago? What is this tragedy they are referring to?
"I think the first thing I should do is contact Aurore and Mireile. Those girls can announce it. I'll have to write a poem that has an impact though..."
Sabine put her hand in her chest pocket to look for something. "I may or may not have taken the liberty of writing one already."
Marinette grabbed the paper Sabine offered her.
"How did you-?"
"When I watched the whole expulsion thing and after that, saw you crying because of your ruined sketches, I knew it would only be a matter of time before you reach your breaking point. Call it a mothers intuition."
Marinette opened the paper and read it out loud.
You've gone and done it now
Soon you'll all bow.
A Rebel and her squadron shall fall
This will be your wake up call
Red King watches you
Yellow Queen observes you
And the Blue Empress rules over you
Sincerely~ The Primaries 💙💛❤️
Marinette giggled at the dramatic yet accurate wording of the poem.
"Maman, have I ever told you how amazing you are?"
"Many times, dear, but it fills me with joy each time."
The two women embrace in a tight hug. No friends? No problem. She had her parents and The Primaries on her side. "I love you so much, Maman."
"I love you too, mon bébé."
After the sentimentality had worn off a minute later, Marinette stood up in determination. "Right! Now to text the two informants!"
Sabine giggled and stood up herself. "I'll leave you to it."
"Oh! Before I forget, Maman! I sort of told Chloé we can have a sleepover at her place. Is it okay if I go?"
Sabine smiled. "Tomorrow is Saturday, so I see no reason to object."
Marinette nodded. Once her mother was gone, she opened up another group chat she had not messaged in for almost as long as the Primaries.
Blue's informants💙
Blue Empress💙: The fact I am messaging you should already be enough to tell you what this is about.
Mireile: For real!? 😲
Aurore: Your majesty! You have returned! 😍
Blue Empress💙: Damocles, Bustier and Lila have to go. Make the announcement. I'll send a poem written by my Maman. I think you'll both like what she came up with :)
[Blue Empress 💙 has sent an attachment]
Aurore: Gurl I love it!
Mireile: Glad to have you back! When do you want it announced on the school blog?
Blue Empress 💙: Mmm... I think Sunday evening would do best. I want it to have the best impact.
Aurore: Chloé's right, you always were the dramatic one 😂
Mireile: For sure! 😂
Blue Empress 💙: Someone has to be ;)
So then. It was official. The Primaries are now out to play. Lila's blood shall be splattered on the ground by the time they are done.
Not literally, you psychos...
Chloé and Marinette stood side by side in Chloé’s lavish bedroom, the golden evening light filtering through the grand windows, casting long shadows over the polished floors. Marinette, arms crossed, studied Chloé’s old Primary jacket with a critical eye, while Chloé smirked, the excitement of their comeback evident in the glint of her gaze. Behind them, the city of Paris stretched beyond the glass, oblivious to the storm about to be unleashed.
Rossi, prepare to be dethroned…
Notes:
Phew. Prologues are all done. This one is longer than the other two, so can this really be called that tho? Eh. Whatever.
Next time we'll the see the impact the news has on the school.
I can say though, that those of the Akuma class who don't shake in their boots probably should.
That last part was added in by a comment on this chapter. The scene was so good I just had to implement it somewhere. The art is done by the amazing DoveSilver. All credit goes to her!
Chapter 4: Warrior
Summary:
The Primaries are back
Prepare for their attack
You are not safe
That is simply the case
Notes:
Am I excited to publiah this? Yes, yes I am. I've submitted this to a few collections. Moderators pls accept it alreadyyyg
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
I will be your warrior
I will be your lamb
"Oookay, so! Here is what we know so far."
Marinette and Nathaniel stopped what they were doing once Chloé was done drawing and writing on a white board with her many colored markers.
On the right of the board, at the top, was written in red "Advantages" and on the left was "Disadvantages"
"Alright, Chlo, what do you got?" Asked Marinette.
"Right. We know for a fact that Rossi is a lying snake who's only purpose is to snatch the souls of our classmates."
"Dramatic thinking, but yeah?" Said Nathaniel.
"I thought about it and I think that that there are certain advantages that we have over her should she try anything. First and foremost, when it comes to connections, her amount is close to zero unlike us. We have a bunch of people we can call up in any given situation. Additionally, her lies are actually very easy to detect. Every story she tells the class has major holes in them."
Marinette nodded and crossed her arms. "True. They are full of holes, but according to her words, people hear what they want to hear. No amount of evidence gathering will help us here. She'll turn it upside down if we try going that route."
Nathaniel flopped down on the beanbag he was sitting on before. "I think I have an idea on how to gradually work up to her exposure..."
The girls looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. He smirked. "We leave Rossi alone for now."
Marinette narrowed her eyes and looked ready to punch the daylights out of the red haired boy if he said anything more stupid. "And why should we do that?"
Chloé cleared her throat to get Marinette's attention. Smugly, she tapped her nail on the board, right below another categorized advantage. "Damocles and Bustier".
Marinette blinked once or twice and then the lightbulb lit up in her head. "Of course! Before we deal with this bully, we have to get rid of her enablers first. Without them, she won't be so uncaged anymore."
Chloé nodded with approval. "Right. Tomorrow is Monday, which means that in only a few hours, Aurore and Mireile will announce our return on the school blog. This won't give our class the time to prepare themselves. Their defences will be lowered a bunch."
Nathaniel got up from his bean bag and took a red marker, flipping a page over the board and writing something.
"Before that, we should figure out who can fulfill this role."
He stepped aside to reveal what he had written.
'Snitch with stitches.'
Marinette cackled. "That's a good one. Came up with it yourself?"
"Nah I heard Chat Noir say something like this once."
Marinette's eyes twitched. Note to self, tear his tail off for the horrible puns.
"Last time we dealt with Holly, our snitch was Rose, wasn't it?" Asked Nathaniel, to which Chloé nodded, "It will be hard to find a snitch in our class. They all believe Lila anyway."
Marinette piped up. "All except for one."
Chloé raised a brow. "Something you ain't telling us, DC?"
Marinette smirked and climbed up onto her bed. She removed one picture from her board and brought it down. Then, without a care, she slapped the photo onto the board while pinning it down. When she stepped aside, the answer was obvious.
"Agreste knows about Lila?" Asked Chloé.
"Mhm."
"Why hasn't he said anything!?" Fumed Nathaniel.
Marinette groaned. "Ugh... he was convinced that as long as he and I knew the truth, it doesn't matter and that we should take the high road, otherwise we'll upset her and she'll be akumatized."
That left her two friends stunned. They blinked more than a few times before erupting.
"Excuse me/what!?"
"That's how I felt. Crush or no crush, even I can admit he is an idiot..."
"That's an udnerstatement. Anyway, we're getting off topic. Do you think he'll agree?" Asked Chloé.
"He will. And if he won't, we'll simply have to send in the cavalry," said Marinette and pointed behind her where Nathaniel was standing, the boy cracking his knuckles upon hearing about a chance to intimidate someone.
Chloé looked at the board. "For now, though, I don't think we'll need a snitch. Our first target should be Caline Bustier. We can handle her on our own. A few phone calls here and there and we'll force her to quit. Maybe we can even pull some strings so that someone we know can come teach in Caline's place."
"Yeah, but it has to be someone who won't give us any special treatment. We want a fair system in place." Said Marinette.
"So, here's the plan. Firstly, we make our comeback in front of the school and announce it. Secondly, we reconnect with our informants. Thirdly, we make sure everyone knows that we are not the same pushovers we were before."
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes at the blonde. "You never were a pushover."
Chloé smirked in response. "I know. I was referring to you two."
"Hey!"
The funny situatuon caused all three to laugh. Once it was calm, they all took a look at the board. "Any plans for Damocles?" Asked Nathaniel.
"Kaboom?" Asked a very hopeful Chloé with sparkles in her eyes.
"No, Chloé, no kaboom," Responded Marinette, causing the blonde to deflate, "Something's been bothering me about Damocles for the longest time. As the principal, he should looking out for the safety of the students in his care. But, there are no security cameras and no locks for the lockers. Theft and framing is easily exploitable. Why is that? Where does the money the school raises through fundraisers actually go?"
"Huh," replied Chloé, "That's a good question. I'll have to ask daddy to dig into some bank details."
Nathaniel stretched. "Well, how about for now we just let ourselves see what tomorrow holds?
The girls nodded and thus began yet another sleepover. The plan was to get up even earlier than usual so that Chloé can call her limo, then the trio would drive to each of their homes, get the supplies they need for studying and make the grand entrance they had in mind.
It goes without saying that Marinette was the least enthusiastic about it. The girl loved to sleep, so hearing they had to get up even earlier than before? Someone shoot her now.
Monday, 8:15AM
When Alya walked to school, it was as if the entire building had lost the ability to speak. Some students were fidgeting in place, some looked lost in thought, some looked excited. Did something happen without her knowledge?
First Marinette blocks and ignores her for the entire weekend, now the school is acting as if a meteor is about to fall on them. Sure, it’s Monday; everyone hates Monday, but come on!
Yet it was odd that some looked excited. Pushing those thoughts to the side, Alya calmly walked toward her classroom.
Along the way, she could not help but feel all eyes on her, judging her for every step that she took.
‘Can you believe they are back?’
’I know! I wonder why?’
’Who is the target this time?’
’Probably that Rossi girl and her cult.’
’Think they’ll do something about Damocles?’
’They better!’
Who was back? What? What did everyone mean by ‘targets’? And what did Damocles do? This was getting more and more confusing.
Stepping into class, Alya found that her classmates were not much better. Alix was pacing back and forth in front of the teachers desk, Kim was toying with his hair looking anxious as can be. Rose was shaking in her seat with Juleka trying to comfort her, but not like it did anything, seeing as she was nervous herself. The only one who looked just as confused as her was Adrien. When the two made eye contact, he merely shrugged.
”Hello everyone!” Greeted Lila as she stepped into the classroom, noticing the tension in the room immediately. “Woah. Who died?”
”Yeah, seriously, what’s going on? You all look like the end of the world is near” Said Alya.
”Have you seen the school blog?” Asked Kim.
”No? Why?”
Alix took out her phone and practically shoved it in Alya’s face. The girl took the phone and inspected it. A poem? Lila leaned on her shoulder to read it as well. Alya began to read it out loud.
You've gone and done it now
Soon you'll all bow.
A Rebel and her squadron shall fall
This will be your wake up call
Red King watches you
Yellow Queen observes you
And the Blue Empress rules over you
Sincerely~ The Primaries 💙💛❤️
That made no sense. What was this? Who were the Primaries?
”This doesn’t really narrow down my confusion.”
”Are you telling me none of you have heard of The Primaries? Lila I understand, but you two?” Asked Alix.
”Hey, don’t look at me. I was homeschooled.” Defended Adrien.
”I mean… the name does ring some bells? Other than that, no clue what this is about.”
Nino got up from his seat to draw everyone’s attention. “Well, how should I start? You’re aware of those groups of people in a school who have power over the student body? Like Heathers or Plastics for example?”
”Yeah?”
“The Primaries are like that. But unlike those groups, they are much more powerful. If the Heathers can make your school life miserable, then The Primaries can end your entire lives with just one phone call.”
Alix took over. “They used to rule over Dupont. But over a year ago they disbanded. I think they got into some sort of argument or something. No one knows.”
Alya nodded. That made sense. Sort of.
”But what about this Rebel and squadron and Queen and stuff?”
Max stood up. “King, Queen and Empress are their titles. The Blue Empress is the leader of the group. She decides when The Primaries take action and what punishments will be carried out. The Yellow Queen is the second in command. She has the most connections and you do not want to get on her bad side. Then there is the Red King. He’s basically the enforcer of whatever rules the Blue Empress sets. But all three of them hold just as much sway in their decisions. They are best friends and always stick together.”
“I think I get it. But isn’t this sort of… I don’t know, dumb? To me, it sounds like they are a bunch of role players,” said Alya.
”Babe, I don’t think you realise how far you are from the truth. You do not want to be on any of their bad sides. You piss of even one Primary and all three of them will be on your ass. Trust me when I say they have real power. If they want to, they can end your careers before they start. There was one student who tried to rebel against their rule. A mistake she’ll never make again.”
”What happened to her?” Asked Adrien.
”Her dad lost his job and the family was forced to move out of Paris for good. That’s what happens when you mess with The Primaries.”
“Perfect… if I can get them on my side, they’ll destroy Marinette for good.” Pondered Lila, ”And the Rebel?” She asked.
”Rebel is their word for a student they targeted. They never reveal the name of the Rebel either. They take care of them from the shadows, without anyone ever knowing they had a hand in it. Even if you know it was them, it would be impossible to prove. They cover their tracks so well even a seasoned investigator would quit on the spot.” Explained Kim.
Lila was liking the sound of this group more and more. Getting The Primaries on her side would be a piece of cake. A few tears here, a sob story there and they’ll be bowing to her! They’ll soon learn that Dupont is her territory.
”Do you know who The Primaries are? As in their real names?” Asked Adrien.
”We can tell you, but I doubt you’ll believe us. Let’s just say you’ll have to see it to believe it." Said Rose.
There was a knock on the wall right next to the door. Aurore cleared her throat and gestured the class outside.
"They're here. Anyone wants autographs, make a run for it."
While some, who believed they were completely in the right, stormed off in a flurry of dust, Nino was a little reluctant to go and watch. He had a bad feeling. The Primaries are back, but only once the class had collectively ruined Marinette's sketchbook. No no, he was not dumb. He knew exactly who the Rebel and her squadron was. Marinette had warned them co stantly about Lila from the start. The Italian and the class are the targets. Should he tell it to the class? Probably not a good idea. If any of the Primaries' informants find out he snitched, he'll be in trouble.
At the same time, he found some form of comfort knowing the group is back in action. Maybe now, the school won't be such a magnet for Akumas and his girlfriend won't run off to record the fights.
Yeah, it's best to keep his mouth shut on the matter.
When the entire student body was gathered in front of the school, a black limousine was parket at the front. Everyone waited in anticipation.
Most viewed The Primaries as Gods. Those who didn't simply saw them as protectors or bully exterminators if you prefer.
The driver stepped out of the car and walked to the back door. He opened it up to let the passengers out. One by one The Primaries began to step out, each more shocking to Alya, Adrien and Lila than the last.
First was Nathaniel. If his fashion sense before left a lot to be desired, then that boy was gone. His hair was neatly styled. Unlike regularly, he had used some hair gel to get the bangs out of his eyes. His outfit left the girls, and some boys, fawning over him. Black jeans with some chains hanging from the pockets. He had a blood red jacket on for the outdoors. Early winter was here after all. On the back of the red leather jacket, neatly embroided, was a shiny black letter 'N', his initial. Underneath the open jacket he wore a simple blue T-shirt with some sort of emblem pinned on his chest. The pin was a black crown with three points, each point had a different colored gem on at the tip. Red, Blue and Yellow. The Primaries' colors. His boots were simple white sneakers.
Nathaniel offered his hand to the next person to step out of the limo. Chloé Bourgeouis. The rich, snobby brat had beem replaced with a confident and elegant young woman. Her hair was in a braided ponytail, held up by a Primary hair pin. The same kind of emblem Nathaniel had on his shirt, only this one was made for hair. Most likely designed by Marinette. Her talent just screamed off it. Chloé's yellow jacket remained basically the same, only the sleeves were made out of leather and there was a silver letter 'C' embroided on the back. She was wearing some yellow high heels with black leggings going almost all the way up to her knees. Her skirt stopped right above the knees. To completely give off the image of a badass woman, she had a pair of pure black sunglasses on. Worth to mention that she no longer had the blue eye shadow, instead she had toned down on the make up, opting for a simple eye liner with a bit of mascara.
Nathaniel offered his hand to the next person. The person that stepped out next almost made Alya, Adrien and Lila drop dead and pass out.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
From the color of her jacket alone, it was obvious that she was the leader of the trio. Whoever that pink wearing pig tailed girl was that Adrien gave his umbrella to was completely unrecognizable. Her entire demeanor screamed 'don't cross me'. Her blue jacket had streaks of glitter running through the sleeves. On the back of it, written in silver, just like Chloé's jacket, was the letter 'M'. She was wearing black high heels, which she was able to walk in without any issue whatsoever. Her leggings reached up past her knees, stopping somewhere underneath the black skirt she had on. She wore her hair completely down, her bangs being held up by the same kind of hairpin Chloé had. To complete her look, black sunglasses were hanging from her chest pocket.
No matter how much Alya looked at the girl in the middle, it did not make sense for her.
"M-Marinette...?"
Notes:
Welp.
Alya's screwed.
And Chloé's already looking forward to digging Lila'a grave.
Also yeah, Chloé just wants to commit some arson. Or an explosion. Let her do it. She's going to be that type of gremlin in this story.
Chloe: *takes out a stick of dynamite and holds a lit match* Kaboom!? OwO
Marinette: Yes, Chloé. Kaboom :)
Chapter 5: The Grand Return
Summary:
The Empress protects all
Those who defy shall fall
Notes:
I've been sick for the past week, so this chapter was written during a massive headache. Lol, anyway, enjoy it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The sea waves are my evening gown
And the sun on my head is my crown
Holy shit!
What? When? How? Why? Where!?
Where is Marinette and what did this girl do to her? Alya felt like her whole world had come crashing down. Her best friend was actually in league with Chloé this whole time!?
What was going on?
Aurore and Mireile were on the sidelines, leaning against the doorframe. They saw the look on Alya's face and smirked at her reaction. Yep, never judge a book by it's cover. Marinette was no pushover. She had more power than you can imagine. Alya better be careful, or she can kiss the Ladyblog goodbye.
When Chloé gave the limo driver a friendly high five, he took it as a sign that he can go. When he did, the Primaries began to walk toward the entrance. Along the way, anyone who called any of their titles got a warm and friendly wave from them.
'Empress! Over here!'
'Queen can I get a selfie!?'
So on and so forth. The trio beamed under the praise and attention. They never did any of their actions because they wanted the attention or fame among their peers. They did it because they just wanted a safe environment for their fellow students. But getting the praise, respect and admiration from the other students was a bonus they happily accepted. It made them confident, made them feel like they really were unstoppable. They protect their peers and their peers protect them in return. That's the type of dynamic they want to have. That's how their Queendom functions.
All went quiet the second someone grabbed Marinette's wrist. The trio stopped and the crowd gasped. Did this girl have a death wish!?
"Mari, what is going on? Is this about Lila? Or because of your expulsion? What are you doing? You're making yourself look even worse, you-"
Alya never finished her sentence. The moment she got a good look at Marinette's eyes, she shut her mouth. The glare the bluenette was giving her sent chills down her spine, like a hundred daggers stabbing her all at once. It was like the glare she used to reserve only for Chloé, but this one was like that of a Medusa or a Gorgon. If she stared any longer she'd turn to stone.
"Cesaire, I give you three seconds to let go of me. Now," said Marinette in the coldest voice Alya had ever heard. But she strenghtened her resolve and glared right back.
"No, not until you give me a proper explanation."
Marinette looked on ahead, not wanting to look the traitor in the eye. "I don't need to explain myself to you. Now let go."
Alya shook her head and tightened her grip on Marinette's wrist. The bluenette sighed in annoyance and looked over to Nino.
"Control your girlfriend, Nino."
"R-right. Come on, babe."
Nino grabbed Alya by the shoulders and gently pried her off the Blue Empress, who nodded in gratitude. Marinette turned to the crowd.
"Let this be an example. That's right, The Primaries are back. Don't do anything stupid and we won't have a problem."
Chloé took the stage next. "You may have heard that we disbanded because we got into a huge fight. That was a lie. It was something else. Regardless, we never truly went away. We've been watching every single on of you, teachers included. But someone forced our hand recently and here we are."
Marinette nodded along. "There is one student here who is on our radar. Her and her cult of followers. We know you are in this crowd. You and your possy have three weeks to confess your wrongdoings. We will not be lenient with you if you do not comply."
Nathaniel reached into his pocket and took out the same type of pin he had on his shirt. "Come to us during breaks and we'll give each of you a Primary emblem. Guard it with your life. These pins mean that you are under our protection. If anyone tries to harm you, you press the middle of the emblem," he did so and the pins on the trio began to beep, "and we will know something is up. We'll get a notification on our phones."
"Please refrain yourself from doing that on the weekends and during the night time. I need my beauty sleep. As does Marinette here," Said Chloé.
Marinette smirked and turned to Chloé. "I don't need beauty sleep to be prettier than you, Chlo."
That caused a collective 'oooh' from the crowd of students, some even laughed at the roast. Chloé made a face of annoyance and ended up giving Marinette a noogie. Yeah, Marinette truly had missed this. She missed being able to be herself, to mess with Chloé and get away with it. Chloé was like a sister to her in reality. There was really no hard feelings about the bullying for the past year. Truth be told, it kept any potential bully from rising up.
Nathaniel cleared his throat. "Right, well, our rules still apply like they did last time. Follow our guidance, don't challenge us and don't do anything to upset us. We are students, just like you. If you want to come up and talk to us, feel free. Bully anyone, harass someone, assault someone and you'll be under our wrath."
Seeing as there was nothing left to say, Marinette clapped her hands to dismiss the students to their classes. The Akuma class was the last to leave the scene, with Lila and Marinette making brief eye contact. But that single moment felt like an eternity, as if the two girls were able to tell exactly what the other was thinking.
'Think you're clever? Nothing you do will make me back down'
Marinette smirked at her.
'Try me, bitch'
The rest of the day went as well as you would exlect for the Primaries. The Akuma class completely avoided them. No one had even asked them for their personal emblem yet. Not like they were willing to give it away just because anyway. If they wanted it, they'd have to earn it.
Other classes were luckier. They got their emblems almost immediately. None of them had ever wronged even one of The Primaries.
During lunch, The Primaries had a table meant only for them and those they personally invited. Honestly speaking, Alya did not like how the trio just suddenly appeared that day and made all these rules as if they are the center of the universe. What gave them the right to boss around other students? Why do they get their own table? The cafeteria is for everyone. The school is for everyone.
Yet, she couldn't help but feel envious. Marinette had never looked so carefree in the time she had known her. This was such a drastic change.
Clenching her fists, she shot up from her table and made her way towards the Primaries, intending to interrogate Marinette for some answers. She never got far from her table as Adrien's hand was suddenly on her shoulder, telling her to sit back down and that he will confront Marinette himself. Alya resisted, but relented soon after. If anyone could have any influence on Marinette, it would be her crush.
"Hey, Mari, check this out." Said Chloe and turned her phone screen toward the Empress.
The video was of a small hamster munching on some cabbage, it's cheeks all puffed out. Marinette immediately burst into tears at the sight.
"Chloé~ why~? I want one so bad!" She cried.
"I know, that's why I showed you."
Adrien cleared his throat once he was at the table.
"Marinette. Can we talk? Privately?"
Marienette looked up at from her group and made eye contact with the blonde. Immediatley, her expression hardened to that of minor annoyance.
"What about?" She asked.
"Please, can you just... come with me for a second? This is between you and me."
Marinette sighed and got up, much to the protest of her friends, but she assured them that she'll be fine. Marinette gestured toward the door, knowing that there would be no one in the hallway. Lunch break meant that everyone was either in the cafeteria or were having their lunch in a nearby park somewhere to get some fresh air. As much fresh air as a dence city provoded, at least. Once the two were out in the hall, Marinette turned her full attention to Adrien.
"What is it, Adrien?"
Adrien crossed his arms. "What happened all of a sudden? You seemed completely normal on Thursday."
Marinette put her hands on her hips. "The high road happened, Agreste. I tried it your way. That didn't do anything. Lila would not stop lying. So, I took matters into my own hands."
"And if Lila ends up getting akumatized over this?"
Marinette rolled her eyes at the blonde. It was a miracle her eyes were not all the way back in her head from how many times she had to roll them in his presence. Reminds her of Chat Noir.
"So? How is her getting akumatized, in any way, my problem? People get akumatized over the smallest of things, Adrien. I am not responsible for other people's happiness."
"But-"
"You once said to me that I am like your Everyday Ladybug, right? Well, even Ladybug is a normal girl with a normal life. All these responsabilities and expectations just kept piling up until I snapped and realized who my true friends are."
Adrien deflated. "So, I'm... not your friend?"
"Did I say that? No, I didn't. You are my friend, Adrien, but you suck big time. You were not there when I needed you the most. You are not my target. You know who that is; you're smart enough. All I am saying is that I won't be a doormat anymore. That Marinette was never the real me. She was just a mask."
"So, you really are not scared that she will be akumatized? At all?"
Marinette narrowed her eyes.
"What's the point of living a life where I am actually afraid to live? Where will that eventually get me?" She paused for a second to calm herself down, "You know... even after your major screw up, I can't help but still love you. That's the only thing that hasn't changed. Despite you loving some other girl, I can't help this feeling. Do you know how infuriating it is!?" She seethed.
Adrien's eyes went wide. Marinette raised a brow. Did she say something?
"You love me?"
Oh shit...
"No?" She tried.
"No, I heard you. You said that. You love me."
"I think you're confusing 'love' with 'loathe'."
"You said I was your friend. I doubt you loathe me."
"I can loathe you if I want!" She yelled, raising her hands above her head for good measure.
"You can, but I doubt you want to," grinned Adrien.
"Shut up..."
Adrien made a motion of moving both his hands from left to right in perfect sync. "Setting that aside... if Lila is the target, why are you treating the class the same way? They haven't really done anything."
Marinette felt her eye twitch. "Oh?" She then took out her phone, unlocked it and went to her gallery, shoving the device in the blonde's face, "This look like nothing to you!?"
It was a picture of a torn up sketchbook, something Adrien was never made aware of. But surely his class was not involved, right?
Marinette cut him off before he could say anything. "I know what you're going to say, and believe me, I know our classmates are to blame. You know why? Because the only one that is aware I bring my sketchbook to school on Thursdays is Alya, Chloé and Nathaniel. I know for a fact that the King and Queen had nothing to do with it. The Primaries loathe backstabbing, especially within our group. That only leaves Alya. Not even Lila knew about my sketchbook. I left my bag unattended for one minute and bam, next thing I know, there's my sketchbook, in my locker, not even half of what it used to be."
"I-I didn't know..."
Marinette shoved her phone back into her skirt pocket and pinned Adrien against the wall. Gently. She wouldn't want to harm his pretty face.
"So, here's the deal, Agreste. Every time a new target is around, The Primaries appoint a snitch to spy on them, sometimes multiple snitches. You are the only one in our class to know about Lila's true colors. You are our official Snitch. If Lila lies, you tell us. If Lila harms anyone, you tell us. If Lila breathes, you tell us. If even one strand of hair on her head is missing, you tell us. Do I make myself clear?"
Never had Adrien seen Marinette be so cold, so rutheless, yet still carry the same amount of kindness in her eyes. She wasn't doing this to spite Lila. She was doing this because she cared about her class so much. She was so... badass!
"Choke me- I mean, yes, yes I uderstand ma'am!" Holy crap that was close. Wait... 'uderstand'!? Words, Agreste! Words!
Marinette smiled in content. "Good," she smoothly ran a hand up his chin and cupped his cheek, "you know... you're cute when you act scared..." she purred.
"U-uh... thanks...?"
"Now off you go, Snitch. Do good by your Empress and..." Marinette kissed her own hand and placed it on his other cheek, "she may reward you," she purred again.
Adrien blushed in a shade not known to mankind and made it back to the cafeteria
When Adrien and Marinette were seen leaving the cafeteria, everything went eerily quiet. The whole student body had their own predictions on how Adrien would return. He would either be crying or be held by a leash. The second option did seem fun, no?
"Oooh, is she going to tell him!?" Rose squealed.
Chloé scoffed. Rose still believed Marinette was as tongue tied as before when it came to Adrien. It was true to certain degree. Marinette's crush on the boy was always genuine. In a school that had bullies and an unfair teacher body, one boy was selfless enough to sacrifice his own well being in exchange for Marinette's own. Marinette genuinely loved Adrien, that was true, but her whole clutzy demeanor was a mask to hide her Primary side.
"Ten euros says he'll come back in tears or defeat." Challenged Nathaniel.
Chloé smirked. "Oh yeah? 20 euros says Adrien will come back a blushing mess."
"What makes you say that?"
Chloé set her phone down and leaned on her elbows, her chin resting on her intertwined fingers. "Here's a fun fact for you, Nath. Adrien is a total weeb. He loves anime. More specifically, he loves when an anime girl is a total bad bitch type of boss. Good hearted, but badass. Trust me, he'll be unable to function when he comes back."
All of sudden, Chloé's vision went completely dark. She felt someone's hands over her eyes.
"Guess who?" Asked someone in a deep voice.
"Aurore, I know it's you. Your voice does not change all that much, you know."
Aurore giggled and released her hold. She then took a seat right next to Chloé. Aurore was one of the few, along with Mireile, who was allowed to sit at The Primary table. Being one of the Blue Empress' informants had it's perks.
"Sooo I did a little digging around with Jake and Austin."
Jake and Austin were the personal informants of Chloé, the ones she trusted to bring her the latest and up-to-date information possible. The two mostly spent their time away from The Primaries as to not raise any suspicion in their involvement. Of course, they did interract with the group pretty often, but not when the entire school was there to witness it. Aurora and Mireile were the bold ones.
No one actually knew who their informants were, or if they did, they kept quiet about it. It wasn't their place to mettle. The Primaries got the job done and that's all that mattered to their peers.
"What'cha find?"
"Turns out, Marinette's suspicions were valid. Damocles has been spending funds the school raised for his own personal gain, just enough to not raise any suspicion."
"That's more dirt on the Owl..." said Nathaniel.
"Hey! Why does she have a pin and we do not!?" Yelled Kim, drawing all attention on him.
Nathaniel looked over with an unimpressed look. This was to be expected. Whenever Marinette was not around, someone was bound to be stupid bold enough to raise their voices against The Primaries. Sure, Marinette was the most threatening Primary, but Nathaniel and Chloé were just as dangerous to provoke, a lesson which Kim never learned, even a few years ago. He always challenged them when he saw fit, which was honestly getting annoying. Where that knowledge he got from school went, no one knew.
"You haven't even asked for one, Kim."
Alya stepped up. "Now that Marinette is not here... what's the deal? You came here today and expect the whole school to just follow you? This isn't a movie."
Chloé inspected her nails as if they were more interesting. To be fair, they were. "That's how things have always worked, Césaire. I've seen you glaring at us every chance you get. Ask anyone and they'll tell you we're not as bad as you think."
Lila put on her best shy girl face before speaking up. "Don't you think this is all a trick...? Marinette hates me for no reason. She's just using you to get rid of me..."
Chloé and Nathaniel looked at each other and snickered, which turned into full laughter.
"What's so funny!?" Asked Alya.
"Hahaaa... just what Lila said. Seriously, I've been to enough beauty pageants to know what a fake face looks like. You're not fooling anyone, Rossi. Except for the idiots surrounding you, but hey, what can you do?" Said Chloé, coming out of her laughter high.
"Hell, I draw characters on a daily basis, all of which have different personalities. And they have much better ones that you at least." Said Nathaniel.
"Don't talk to Lila that way!" Yelled Kim and raised his fist.
Nath glanced behind Kim and smirked, looking the tall boy in the eye. "Going to hit me? Well, go on then. I dare you to punch me."
Daring Kim to do something was the best way to get him to do anything at all. Get a good grade? Dare him. Run 50 laps around the school? Dare him. Punch someone for a thousand euros? He'll do it for free if it's a dare.
But this was all a hook, line and sinker situation. When Kim raised his fist in fury and was about to punch the living daylights out of Nathaniel, a loud slap echoed in the cafeteria. Someone had grabbed Kim's wrist before he could even throw the punch. The air went so cold, everyone felt their feet freezing.
When Kim looked behind him, he was face to face with Marinette. When he got a good look at her eyes, he froze even more. There was another side to Marinette others rarely got to see. If one of her friends were in any form of danger, Marinette's whole personality turned into that of an ice queen. This was how she got the title of Blue Empress. Marinette may not look like it, but she was the scariest among The Primaries. If something upset her to this point, the whole room would know immediately.
"Is there a problem, Kim...?"
No one dared to move. No student made an effort to help Kim. Not like they needed to. He got into this situation himself.
To Marinette, those who raise a hand against a fellow student is a bully, no matter their intentions.
"N-no! I was just, uhm... stretching!" He excused.
Marinette was not amused nor convinced. "Stretching? Looked to me like you were about to hurt Nathaniel."
"W-well... he asked for it!" Argued Kim.
"Oh? So if he were to tell you to shove your face in the oven, you'd do it?"
"Well I-"
"I've heard enough," Marinette twisted his wrist, not to break it, but to simply scare him, "Only warning. Stay away from Nathaniel, or you and I are going to have problems."
Even Lila was scared out of her mind at the raw coldness Marinette was displaying. This was nothing like the Marinette she had threatened in the bathroom weeks prior. But she couldn't give up yet. She already isolated her from her class, now she just had to find a way to get rid of her.
And she would find that one weakness of this new Marinette. Connections or not, everyone had a weakness, and Lila always found it. This won't be any different.
Marinette finally let go of Kim and her personality switched back to the normal Mari everyone knew and loved. She sat down at her table with The Primaries and enjoyed the company of her friends. She made brief eye contact woth Lila, who immediately averted her gaze. Yeah, she'd have to play it smart.
Needless to say, Kim had nightmares that night of being frozen in place by the ice queen.
Notes:
Woof... I think it's safe to say Adrien is the one with the crush now.
Marinette's icy side is something I always thought she should have. After all, the most kindest of people are the most dangerous when their limkts are tested
Chapter 6: Protection
Summary:
A ladybug and a cat
Sometimes they sit and chat
A crush on someone can change
Will someone help Adrien stay sane?
Notes:
The first Akuma fight in this fic happens. Keep in mind that this will not be like other Akuma fights. I'll explain it in the end notes.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
I made this Queendom on my own
And all the mountains are my throne
"I see..."
Tikki had observed her chosen on the phone for almost an hour in the comfort of her bedroom. Marinette had decided to go through each of their connections and see if they were any willing to help her out should the situation required it. From what Tikki observed, it seemed that only a few of them were too busy or out of the country to offer any real support. Still, Marinette had more connections she could pull, more than Tikki was ever aware of.
"Thanks Aurore. I'll be sure to look into it... love you too girl... bye."
When Marinette hung up, the kwami took her chance to grab her chosen's attention, flying up in front of her face.
"Marinette? Can I ask you something?"
Marinette set her phone on the table, turning to Tikki with a genuine smile. "Sure, what's up, Tikki?"
"Was what happened in the cafeteria today... really necessary? I mean, you didn't exactly have to twist his wrist."
Marinette sighed and leaned back on her chair. "Tikki, I've told you this before. This is just how I do things. How The Primaries do things. I've despised bullies ever since I was little. Hell, I was bullied when I was four in kindergarten. That is, until I grew a spine and vowed to myself to rise above them."
"How did you even get all these connections anyway? I mean, look! You have the President of France in your contacts!"
Marinette giggled. "Well, my parents are owners of a bakery after all. I met the President when I was about 7, in first grade. My parents had gotten a huge catering order for an event hosted by the President. After the event was over, I met his daughter and the two of us bonded really well. That's basically how I know the President and his daughter. It's easy to build connections, Tikki. All it takes is kindness and compassion and willingless to understand each other."
"What about your Ladybug duties? Master Fu has been training you to be the new Guardian."
How could she forget? What was Master Fu thinking when he even proposed such an idea? Why would someone, in clear conscience, ask a 15 year old girl to carry such a heavy burden? She agreed to be Ladybug, but she never actually agreed to become the Guardian. She only agreed to help him in his own duties, like translating spells and making potions. Becoming Guardian would only hinder her duties as Ladybug.
Moreover, her recent travel to an alternate timeline of Chat Blanc. Seeing that future was something of a wake up call. It told her two things: One, she and Chat Noir would have to choose their reveals very carefully and it should only happen when there is mutual understanding between them. Two, she cannot afford to become a Guardian. Chat Blanc had given her a new perspective. She wanted to know who Chat Noir was and to do that, she wanted him to know just how important he was to her. If she were made Guardian, she'd be too busy to do any of that.
"I'm going to turn him down. Simple as that."
"Marinette, you can't-"
"Can't what? Why should he get to decide my future for me? He is the Guardian, sure, but he is also a stranger wanting to put some heavy burden on me. Do you or Master Fu ever ask what I actually want or need? No. You don't. My decision is final. He can find someone else to do it for him. I have too many things on my plate right now. My focus is on The Primaries."
"Marinette, instilling fear among your peers is not within your nature..."
Marinette sighed and cupped Tikki in her hands, holding the tiny God as gently as she could.
"Tikki. I know that this side of me is not something you expected. I get it. It's hard to get used to. But this is me. I am happy and I really feel free when in the presence of Chloé and Nathaniel. That's that. Don't take this the wrong way, but I feel like Plagg would be more supportive in this situation."
Unexpectedly, Tikki actually laughed. "You know, that makes sense! You destroy bullies and destruction is more his thing than mine."
"I thought for sure you'd be offended."
"You know, you are my chosen, but you could always trade miraculous with Chat Noir if you like. Plagg and I come as a pair. A Ladybug and Black Cat can always exchange if they want to."
"Huh... I'll think about it."
Just then, Marinette's phone buzzed and the screen lit up. It was known immediately who was calling the second she saw the three colored hearts. The Primary group chat. She took the phone and answered it.
"Hey!"
"Girl, what the hell did you do to Adrien!? I didn't get a chance to ask because of the whole cafeteria scene, but the boy was a blushing mess! When I asked him about it directly, he blushed so hard and made a run for it! What happened in the hallway!?" Asked Chloé.
Marinette snickered when she remembered what she had done to the poor soul. The young Agreste thought she hadn't noticed when he accidentally muttered 'choke me'. It took all of Marinette's willpower to not break into fits of laughter.
"Let's just say, dear Chloé, that our snitch is on board. And I may have promised him a reward if he makes his Empress proud." Replied Marinette in a tone that would make even a succubus jealous.
"Girl.... you's a ho."
"Funny. Is that the only reason you called or was there something else?"
Nathaniel had not connected to the call yet, which was understandable, since he was out on a date with Marc. The boys needed some one on one time too.
"Oh, right, yeah. Before you walked in to stop Kim, Lila thought you had somehow influenced me and Nath to get rid of her."
"Of course she did. I take it Césaire took her side?" Asked Marinette.
"Honestly? I'm not sure. Alya only asked us what our deal was. We replied with the truth and that's when Lila began her little sob fest. Oh yeah, but before that, Aurore came to our table. She, Jake and Austin did some digging and found out you were right. Something is off about Damocles. They found that some funds the school had raised had gone straight into his own pockets. They weren't able to find out how much, though."
Marinette hummed. Sometimes she wished her intuition was incorrect.
"Yeah, I just got off the phone with Aurore and she told me all that. When was the last time the school did a fundraiser?" She asked.
"Mmm... I think it was before summer break, somewhere in May. We raised funds to go on a school trip and to also purchase new sports equipment along with renovations to the building."
"Do you remember how much we raised?"
At that point, Marinette had begun to write everything down on her white board as she listened to this new info.
"I think it was... if we combine all classes together... 1,405,478€. Even as the Mayor's daughter, I admit that is a lot of coin."
"Indeed. But that was largely a part of you secretly selling your stash of designer bags." Smiled Marinette.
"They were a waste of good closet space. Besides, I found new and better ones."
"Still waiting for the one you promised for my birthday."
"Ha-ha. Anyway, what do you make of this?"
Marinette looked at the board. Over a million euros and the school only had half of the new equipment the money could have bought. Of course, some of the money had gone to renovations of the classrooms. Still, Damocles had stolen some of it. But they need solid proof for it.
"Okay, Chloé, here's what I want you to do. Go ask your dad to get in touch with the city bank and take a look at the bank statements. Denis Damocles' account to be specific. Look at the transactions he made somewhere around May or June. Find out just how much he took for himself."
"Got it. I'll get started on that right away. It may take a few days. What about Bustier?"
"I think Nathaniel has someone perfect for the job. I'll talk to him about it later."
"Sounds good. I gotta go for now. Ciao!"
Chloé hung up. Marinette glanced at the clock and saw that it was 21:13. Time for a patrol with Chat Noir. Finally, she could escape the stresses of real life and hop around rooftops. Without wasting time, she transformed and disappeared into the Paris night.
Something was off with Chat Noir that night. What happened to the awful jokes? The terrible puns? The not on topic remarks? He seemed so distant and in thought. She wondered if he even knew she was there with him on the Eiffel Tower.
"Helllooo~? Earth to Chat Noir?"
"Huh? What?"
"What's up with you? You've been awfully quiet tonight. Something bothering you?"
Chat Noir shrugged. "I mean... I'll try to explain it without giving much away."
"Okay?"
"You know I have eyes only for you, M'Lady, right?"
"Mhm?" No need to push his feelings to the side. Chat Blanc taught her that his feelings mattered more than she ever gave them credit for. The best she could always do is hear him out, no matter if he declares his love or not.
"Well today, this girl made a move on me and... I swear I have never been so flustered in my entire life! It was as if the second she made that daring move, my love for you tranferred over to her instead!"
Ladybug cringed a little. So it was a relationship advice type of thing. Yikes... she wasn't that good at those.
"Oh boy... that is a conundrum... well, what's this girl like, for starters?"
"Honestly? Before today, I always saw her as this beacon of kindness and beauty, someone who always thinks about her friends before anything else. But today? I saw a side of her I never knew existed. She was ruthless and cold towards people attempting to harm someone and even made me scared at some points."
Okay, it was very easy to deduce just who Chat Noir was talking about. A girl who he had perceived as the embodiment of kindness and generosity with a hidden cold side to her? Sounds just like her, doesn't it?
But logic is irrelevant when you're two superhero idiots unable to pick up on simple clues...
"Yikes. What makes her so scary then? The fact that she can be cold? I mean, even I have a protective side when it comes to my friends. I'd never let anyone harm them."
"She herself is not scary at all. It's her tone when she is upset. I mean, she sprained someone's wrist just to get a point across!"
Ladybug raised a brow. "Did she do it without reason?"
"Well, between you and me, the guy she hurt is a bit of a dick. He tried to hit someone before she stopped him."
Ladybug smiled and lightly laughed through her nose. She softly averted her gaze back out onto the city. "You know, Chat, if it will make it easier, I don't mind if you give off some clues to your civilian life. Explaining something like this is complicated and even more confusing to understand when I don't have the facts."
"Sounds reasonable, M'Lady, but you know the rules and so do-" he never got to finish as Ladybug's yo-yo bonked him on the head. Not in the mood for that tonight.
"Finish that sentence and you're dead."
"Unnecessary violence. Anyway, you're sure?" Asked Chat as he rubbed his head. It's not like the bonk had hurt him in any meaningful way. It was just friendly banter.
Ladybug shrugged indifferently in response. "I guess that recently, I fail to see the reason behind secret identites more and more. At least between each other."
"Oh? Why's that, Bugaboo?"
"How long have we been fighting Hawk Moth now?"
"Uuh... we started on September 2nd. Right now it's Febuary 18th, so about five months, give or take."
Ladybug nodded. "Right, and how close are we to actually stopping him?"
"I dunno. Not even a little close, I guess."
"And that's the problem. The only times we ever interract with each other is behind these masks. Whenever there is an akuma, we arrive and leave straight after. We do patrols, but only to ensure everyone is safe. We aren't attempting to track him down or uncover his identity. We never actually take the time to sit down and talk about any plans for an offence."
Chat Noir nodded along, understanding her logic. "You're not wrong. You mean you want to reveal to each other?"
"I'll have to think about it for a while. I'd do it now, but give me some time to think it over, okay? Because from the story you told me about the girl, I have this sort of feeling that I know who you are. So give me some time until the nervousness wears off."
Chat smiled and laid down on her lap to stare at the night sky filled with stars. She did not mind this at all, only smiling in content. He put his hands behind his back as Ladybug played around with his hair.
"Take all the time you need, M'Lady. I'm not going anywhere."
"I mean... you'll have to go home eventually to sleep."
Chat smirked. "Nah. Your thighs are comfortable like pillows."
Ladybug giggled in response and braided his hair. "I wouldn't know, I can't rest my head on them."
Chat chuckled in response. For a few minutes, things went quiet between them, with Chat Noir just staring into the sky and Ladybug playing around with his hair, both in their own little world. That is, until Ladybug broke the silence.
"Hey, Kitty?"
"Yes M'Lady?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For just being you."
"Always and forever, LB."
❤️The💙Primaries💛
Red King ❤️: Holy crap I missed the conference call. Sorry ladies. What did I miss!?
Yellow Queen💛: Apparently, Marinette made Adrien her bitch 😏
Red King❤️: ... xcuse me?
Blue Empress💙: I DID NOT! I simply told him to be our Snitch like we discussed! Chloé!!
Yellow Queen💛: You said, and I quote: “I may have promised him a reward if he makes his Empress proud" 😉
Blue Empress💙: CHLOÉ!
Red King❤️: Ulalaaa Marineeeette 😏😏
Blue Empress 💙: THIS CONVERSATION IS OVER! GOOD NIGHT! >:(
Yellow Queen💛: Someone's in denial 😂
Red King❤️: Never change, Mari. Never change <3
To say that Caline Bustier was conflicted about recent events was an understatement. Firstly, her star student was expelled and then reinstated immediately after, being caught stealing and lying during a test. To make matters worse, she’s gone back to her old ways of being a Primary, something Bustier was never fond of. Sure, it got rid of bullies in the school, but at what cost? The Primaries don’t just get rid of them, they destroy them. If it were up to Caline, she’d deal with the situation differently, to try and find the middle ground between the bully and the victim.
But who was the victim and who was the bully? Lila or Marinette? It was hard to believe that Marinette would ever cheat on a test, let alone push someone down the stairs and steal their property. Why had she done so then? And why was she allowed back only two days later?
Lila and Marinette were both good students in her eyes. Both had good grades and kept their class together. Only now, the class couldn’t be more divided if it had tried. Everyone was constantly avoiding The Primaries, at least within her classroom, giving them glares whenever one of them spoke up to answer a question.
Marinette was supposed to be a good example to her peers. She was the class representative. And yet when Caline looked up from her papers, she saw Marinette brush Lila off completely, not even giving her a chance to speak to The Primaries. Maybe Marinette needed another pep talk about treating her classmates fairly.
”Marinette, can I see you outside for moment?”
Marinette looked over from her friends in confusion. “What for?”
”I just need to talk to you. Class, before the bell rings, make sure you have everything noted down.”
The teacher led her student out of the class and closed the door behind them, turning to Marinette.
”Marinette, I know that you had a falling out with your friends, but it’s not right to treat them as if they aren’t there either.”
Marinette raised a brow. “What? Chloé and Nathaniel? I’m not ignoring them, what are you talking about?”
”I meant Alya and Lila.”
Upon those names, Marinette’s interest in the conversation completely vanished. “Oh.”
”Look Marinette, I know you don’t get along with Lila, but don’t treat her that way. Be a better example to them, show them that kindness is a necessary aspect to have.”
Marinette sighed. “And then what? Cater to their every whim? Be a walking doormat? I don’t think so. It’s not my job to set an example. That duty falls on you, Mlle. Bustier."
"What if your friends ask for help?"
"I have every right to say no if they ask for too much."
"Marinette, please listen-"
Marinette held her hand up to silence the teacher. "No, you listen. Why should I have to be the example to everyone? I'm only a student, just like the rest. Don't put your burden onto me. And another thing! Tell me, why should I have to make free stuff for them all the time? I have no time for any of the things I actually want to do. So, again, tell me, why?"
Bustier sighed. "Marinette, you're the class representative, you-"
Marinette walked past her teacher and was about to open the door back to the class when she looked back at Caline.
"Oh, that's right. I am not."
Marinette pushed the door open and walked back toward her seat. Since The Primaries took charge, they had changed the seating arrangements. She, Chloé and Nathaniel were sitting at the front. Chloé and Nathaniel were sitting together in the blondes usual seat and Marinette had shoved Nino a seat back so that she could sit next to Adrien. It wasn't because of her crush. No, no, Marinette had to keep an eye on her Snitch.
When everyone saw her return with her head held high and a bit of weight in her steps, they all knew she was not in the best of moods. Bustier came in a few seconds after, looking like she lost a lottery that was only one number off from victory.
Nino leaned on his elbow and watched the bluenette in front of him. He's not an idiot. He knew Marinette would not have returned to being a Primary if she wasn't bullied in some way. Being Marinette's childhood friend, he knew why the group disbanded in the first place. He just kept quiet about it as Marinette requested.
Somehow, he knew there was something off with Lila when she came back from her supposed trip to Achu. At first, Lila told stories that sounded believable at first, but Nino found it hard to believe that someone their age was ever allowed on an airport runway to save someone's cat. Tinnitus? Maybe, but they'd also die from being run over by a plane. At the very least they'd be deaf.
That's why Nino stayed away from The Primaries and made sure Alya did the same. There was no need to cause unnecessary trouble. Glancing to his left, he saw Alya scrolling through her phone, trying to find any info she could on the elusive trio.
"Babe, will you drop this?" He whispered so Marinette wouldn't hear.
"I can't, Nino. There has to be some sort of proof that The Primaries are nothing but bullies. There just has to be. But everywhere I look, everyone actually praises them and were sad to see them gone."
"I told you, The Primaries are not bullies. They only deal with bullies, despise them, in fact. That's it."
Alya scoffed. "Yeah? Then what was that in the cafeteria yesterday? Kim has to wear a bandage around his wrist and use lotion. She hurt him, you saw it."
"She only did it because Kim was going to do something worse to Nathaniel. Trust me, if Marinette really wanted to hurt him, she would have. Besides, I've known Kim since forever and a sprained wrist, to him, is like stubbing a toe."
Alya shook her head. "I'm not giving up until I can prove Lila is innocent and Marinette is being a hypocrite."
Not giving up... that's Alya's biggest strength and greatest weakness, something her boyfriend was never too fond of.
"That's what worries me..."
In the front seat, Marinette was scribbling down in her note book, writing everything she learned the day before and what Bustier told her outside the class just now.
Here's a little secret to how The Primaries have so much evidence on everyone. It doesn't matter who they are or what intentions they have, if someone comes to talk to them, they immediately hit record on their phones. When the recording ends, it is immediately sent and saved to their "Vault of Secrets" of sorts on all their devices, all categorized. They took no chances. Anyone could have any kind of info. If any recording proved to be useless with nothing new to add to the table, the recording gets deleted.
Marinette stopped her scribbling when Adrien tapped her on the shoulder. She raised her head and saw that he was offering him a note. She took it and opened it up.
I have a photoshoot with Lila today around noon. Orders?
Marinette smiled and turned to him.
"You don't have to send notes to talk to me. But keep an eye on her. Remember what I told you. Anything she says, does or doesn't do, you tell us about it."
"Won't you need proof of what she says?" He asked.
"Nathaniel will send you an app on your phone. Use it to record your convos with her. They'll automatically be sent to our phones."
Adrien nodded and looked away, which he thought Marinette would not notice. But, of course, she did. She knew he was avoiding eye contact with her. Yesterday's interraction must have really shook him. But she couldn't help but be proud of it.
"Understood, Mari- uh Marinette."
Marinette smiled smugly and did the same notion she did yesterday. She kissed the palm of her own hand and then placed it on his cheek, causing him to blush furiously once more.
"Good boy," she purred.
Just then, an Akuma alert sounded on every phone in class. Great, just perfect. Marinette glanced at the clock on the wall. Class was nearly over, meaning that school would end soon. Could she afford to skip the last 20 minutes?
"Mlle. Bustier! May I go!? I have to get this for my blog!" Requested Alya.
Caline smiled. "You may, but please keep your distance from the Akuma. And make sure you get home safe."
Alya nodded and grabbed all of her things, beginning to run out the door. She was almost out until someone closed it. Or more like three people closed the door. The Primaries are all that stood in the way of Alya and the Akuma. Marinette stood in the middle of the trio, a little closer to the door.
"Nope, not happening." Said Marinette.
"Marinette!? This is important to me!"
Chloé scoffed. "Your safety is important to us. Life's not fair."
"Sit back down, Alya. Don't make us repeat ourselves," said Nathaniel.
"No way!" Argued Alya, "My credibility is on the line! The people must see this!"
Marinette narrowed her eyes. "See what? A teenager running around while a wild Akuma is on the loose? I don't think so. Now sit back down."
Truthfully, Marinette was in a similar situation. She had to leave the classroom to go deal with the villain. But how could she? She didn't want to seem like a hypocrite, going outside while forbidding Alya from doing so. Ladybug was screwed here.
Chloé, seeing the panic in Marinette's eyes, raised her hand behind her and crossed her fingets, which Marinette took notice of. It was a secret hand sign of The Primaries. It basically meant 'We got you covered, Primary'. Marinette smiled and slowly made her way out of the door, making sure all attention was on Chloé and Nathaniel. They can handle Alya.
Once she was out the door, she made her way to the bathroom where she could transform safely. Tikki floated out of her jacket, seeing as she no longer had her purse with her at all times.
Marinette giggled. "Welp... Chloé knows who I am."
"Oh no, not Chloé!" The Kwami cried.
"Relax, I trust her. She wouldn't betray a Primary." Assured Marinette.
"Are you sure? What if-"
"I have known Chloé since we were little. She's the most trustworthy person I know. We'll talk about this later. Right now we have an Akuma to take down. Tikki, spots on!"
Adrien found it a bit harder to leave the class, however when you're a model, it's easy to fake a phone call. So, he secretly tapped his phone and turned on a ringtone, claiming it was from Nathalie. Bustier, bless her naivéte, allowed him to go out and answer.
Sucker.
He didn't waste any time transforming and leaping out without being detected.
When Ladybug arrived on the scene, there was surpringly no damage to the city at all. The Akuma was sitting on a rooftop, leaning their elbows on their knees looking bored. It was a young girl, about half of Ladybug's age. Maybe 10 years old. She looked... docile. She didn't seem to be causing anyone any harm. This was out of the ordinary.
"Uh... hey there!"
The Akuma looked behind her. "Ladybug. Where's kitty?"
"On his way, I think. So, you gonna give me your akuma or do I have to force it off you?"
The Akuma shrugged. "I got my revenge on my bullies already. Guess we'll have to at this point."
"Your bullies? Who are you? What school do you go to?"
"My name is Mir-Reflect, a combination of the words mirror and reflection. Butterfly man wanted to call me Mirrorer but that's a bit of a tongue twister."
Ladybug laughed through her nose in amusement . "No kidding."
Chat Noir landed behind Ladybug and instinctively took out his baton. The red themed heroine knew he wanted to attack, so she simply put her hand out to halt him.
"You're being bullied?" Asked Ladybug.
Mir-Reflect sighed sadly. "A lot. Other kids see me as... ugly or a waste of space, calling me useless. They never get physical, but... no one wants to get close to me because they are afraid to get bullied themselves. It hurts..."
Ladybug looked toward Chat Noir. "Chat, I think I can handle this. Don't interfere, okay?"
The black cat saluted and leaned on his baton to just stand guard in case anything happened. Ladybug took a few steps closer to Mir-Reflect. "Have you told anyone about it?"
"I tried... the only ones who believe me are my parents who try their very best to comfort me. But the teachers? They do nothing. They don't even ask for details, they just leave the matter alone and let the bullies do what they want, telling me to ignore them so they eventually stop."
Ladybut had heard those words from teachers time and time again. Adults think that bullying is not a huge issue among young individuals. It actually is a very huge problem, something Marinette learned a long time ago. When she was bullied at four years old, no teacher ever came to help. That's why she took it upon herself to make her peers feel safe in her embrace. That's why she became the Blue Empress.
Marinette despised bullies. But more importantly, she despised those that enabled them. Their parents, the teachers, other students- everyone who supported them.
Ladybug knelt down in front of Mir-Reflect, who had not made any movements nor did it seem like she wanted to.
"I know what it's like. To feel alone. Can I call you by your real name?" She smiled gently as she wiped the tears away from Mir-Reflect's face.
"L-Lily..."
"Lily... that is such a beautiful name. It's a type of flower, isn't it?"
"Mhm..."
"What school do you go to, Lily?"
"Grand Collége."
Ladybug nodded her head and held the Akuma's shoulders firmly, despite Hawk Moth making his move and trying to control his Akuma. Lily just cried as Ladybug did her best to comfort her. Mir-Reflect did not need a fight to be saved. She needed a shoulder to cry her emotions out on. There was no one else more perfect for that than Ladybug herself, the kindest girl in Paris.
"Lily, listen to me. You are way more important than anyone knows. I know exactly what you are going through. When I was four, I was bullied as well, harshly in fact. Do you know what I did?"
Mir-Reflect shook her head, prompting Ladybug to continue.
"I stepped up. When I saw another girl getting bullied, I went up to protect her. Because bullying is a pain we both shared. And now? We are like sisters, the best of friends. We have each others back. I vowed never to be bullied again. I am more confident than ever."
"I'm not like you, Ladybug..."
Ladybug shook her head and pulled the girl closer to her, pulling her into a soft embrace, feeling the small frame shake and sob into her shoulder. Thankfully, Ladybug's suit was water repellent, not that she cared about it much.
"You don't have to be. I don't want you to be. I want you to be you. You're Lily. A lily is one of the most beautiful flowers ever. Show the world that this lily has the thorns of a fearsome rose."
Mir-Reflect snorted through her tears, letting them flow freely down her cheeks. Ladybug pulled away and wiped them off.
"Lily... can I have your akuma now?"
Mir-Reflect took the mirror strapped onto her hip and offered it to Ladybug. Hawk Moth tried desperately to control Mir-Reflect, but her negative emotions had subsided by this point. The hero took the mirror and was about to break it, but she had one more piece of wisdom to offer. She turned the mirror to show Lily's reflection.
"See this girl? This Akuma is a reflection of you, the thorns of the lily. Show the bullies that those thorns can prick. Don't change the girl in the mirror. Let her be a part of you."
Mir-Reflect nodded with a confident smile. With that, Ladybug tossed the mirror over her shoulder, Chat's cataclysm already waiting for it's target. He caught it without effort and the mirror turned to dust, releasing the black butterfly. Ladybug did not bother to say her iconic lines. This butterfly was not as evil as she thought, just broken. And what is broken can be fixed.
The corrupted butterfly got caught in the yo-yo, but she did not release it. When Mir-Reflect transformed back into Lily, Ladybug offered her yo-yo to her.
"Do you want to do the honours?"
Lily's eyes widened in both shock and excitement. She looked to the hero for extra permission, who just nodded. Lily had seen Ladybug free an Akuma many times before. All she had to do was to release the white butterfly. With a tearful nod, she pressed the top of Ladybug's yo-yo, opening it up and seeing the white butterfly flutter out of it. The butterfly circled around her head before flying off.
Lily waved to the butterfly. "Bye bye little butterfly. And thank you."
Ladybug smiled and released the negative energy from her yo-yo, bringing back the bullies Mir-Reflect had affected with her powers, whatever they may have been.
"Can you make it home on your own?" She asked the small girl, who nodded in response.
"Mhm, my home is not far. But... can you help me down?"
Right, leaving a ten year old on a rooftop without supervision would be irresponsible for a hero. Ladybug picked Lily up and brought her down to the street level. After giving the hero a tight hug, she said her goodbyes and left for home. Chat Noir, impressed with how well Ladybug had handled the situation, stood behind her, not really knowing what to say to praise her.
But since school was out for today, maybe...?
"Hey, so, is school over for you today as well?" He asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"I thought about what you said last night and... us hanging out outside of akuma battles sounds like a good idea. So, how about we do that now? I have nothing better to do right now. We could get ice cream?"
Ladybug giggled. "That sounds lovely, kitty, but maybe later? I have something I need to take care of."
"Of course! When's a good time for you, M'Lady?"
Ladybug hummed in thought. "Does seven sound good? I should be available by then."
"Sounds perfect." Chat Noir took her hand and softly gave it a kiss, making Ladybug shake her head. Same old Chat Noir...
When the two departed, Ladybug actually followed Lily to her home. The akuma 'fight' had given her some new perspectives. It wasn't just Dupont that was suffering from bullies. It was happening everywhere around them. Every school, every workplace. As a Primary with two others by her side, she could not do much, but she knew there had to be a way to expand The Primaries' reach. They protected Dupont, their Queendom, but they could potentially protect other schools as well. Workplace bullying was not their problem. Adults should have grown out of that.
She didn't just want to protect others from getting bullied, she wanted to keep the victims from developing any potential trauma. But there were only three Primaries. Protecting other schools was impossible. Unless she insoired victims to stand up themselves. That's something she could try and do.
The Blue Empress never ever gives up on the victims.
When Lily woke up the next morning, she found an envelope on her desk. Opening it up, it contained a letter and a strange looking black hair pin. It was a black crown with three points, each containing a different colored gem. Red, blue and yellow. She opened the letter and began to read.
We heard about your struggle from Ladybug
We decided to reach out to you, Lily.
This pin reperesents that you are protected and valued.
Wear this pin proudly. You are under The Primaries' protection now. When you need help, simply press the pin and we will be there as soon as we can.
Show the world how sharp your thorns can really be.
You have a home in my Queendom, Lily.
I look forward to the day we meet.
Sincerely~ The Blue Empress 💙
Lily took the pin and smiled more brightly than she had in the last few days. She may not know who this Blue Empress is, but it brought her great comfort that somewhere out there, someone cared and wanted her to be happy.
By the end of the day, nothing had managed erase that smile.
Notes:
I wanted to include a different kind of Akuma, something that is not done very often. The whole theme of this fic is bullying and the effects it can have on someone. I was bullied a lot in my childhood and the words said to me and the kicks and punches haunt me to this very day, even at 24 years old.
Bullying leaves scars on people, some heal, while others last for a lifetime. We live in a society where loneliness and isolation is the worst kind of punishment for a human soul. The feeling of being all alone is a feeling I don't even wish on my enemies.
It caused me to have abandonment issues. I cherish the friends I have today and would do anything to keep them around. If one of them ignores me or refuses to talk to me, I fall down yet again and it takes me a while to get back up.
The point is, Mir-Reflect is a reflection of my own younger self, just genderbent. She a girl, me a man. Mir-Reflect is going through the same kinds of things I had to. My parents were supportive of me and tried their very best to protect me, but a child needs more than that. A child needs friends to rely on, someone to have their back when things get hard. But bullying someone causes fear in others as well. They fear to get close to you because they don't want to get bullied either.
Loneliness is a plague, a desease. A deep pit of despair that no ladder can help you climb out of. All that will help is someone to pull you out of that pit.
My writing may not reflect emotions perfectly, but I hope that I got this message across. This story is to tell anyone who reads it to step up. Don't be a doormat. You are worthy of friendship, no matter what you look like or what you love to do. You matter. You are important. Your life is a priceless artefact. Cherish it forever and don't let anyone steal it. Protect it. You are not alone.
Love to all of you <3
Chapter 7: Bustier, You're Out
Summary:
A teacher enables
Leaving students to be feeble
A group rises up to defend
Bustier, this is your careers end.
Notes:
TW: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS AND ACTUAL CASE OF SUICIDE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
That last chapter got heavy and there will be more moments like that, but rest assured, it will still have fluff, humor and teenagers being teenagers.
Like Adrien not understanding how his weeb fantasies are coming to life.
Someone get this boy some help, Marinette is teasing him.
Also also also, we get to say goodbye to the ever wonderful Bustier. Yes. That was sarcasm.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
I hunt the grounds for empathy
And hate the way it hides from me
"Ha! Look at you! You're all yellow! You look so ugly!" Laughed a boy.
"Hey, do you think if I cut her hair I can sell it?" Asked another.
The young, four year old Chloé could do nothing but shake in the corner, being surrounded by the three bullies. She didn't want to cry, she didn't want to show any of them any weakness.
"I-I have good looks! M-my daddy said so!" She argued weekly, clutching a plushie of an axolotl in her arms as if it would protect her.
"Your daddy? Awww, is someone a little daddy's girl? Baby needs daddy to come and save her?" Mocked the third bully.
"HEY!" A small voice shouted.
When the trio looked behind them, along with Chloé, they saw a young girl their age with blue-ish black hair tied into a neat ponytail, her eyes burning with fire.
"Leave her alone!" She demanded.
"Hah, and what are you going to do? Throw scruncies at us? Need another torn up shirt, Losernette?"
The girl did not move nor reply. She kept staring at the torturers, keeping her gace strictly on them. Deep down, of course she was afraid. These were her bullies too, but she'd be damned if she let them bully someone else who didn't deserve it. She would not back down. She had to show them she wasn't afraid. The longer she stared, the more she realized how... not scary the bullies actually were. They were just sad. Pathetic. Figuratively smaller than her under her icy glare. Oh yeah, they knew that too.
"Quit staring at us, you freak!" One yelled.
The girl decided to finally speak up. "If you do not leave Chloé alone," she held a photo she had secretly obtained of the bullies, "I'll make copies of this and plant them everywhere in the building. Everyone will know how girly you all are, your majesties."
The picture was that of the three boys playing a... well, a teaparty, dressed as girls even.
Indeed, everyone had a side they preferred to keep to themselves and these bullies were no different. All the girl had to do was find that side. It wasn't even that difficult. But she wouldn't ever tell how she did it.
"You can't do that!" One cried out, even tho it was obvious he was flustered.
"Are you sure?" She defied, "Leave and never bother Chloé again. In return, I'll destroy this photo. If not? You know my terms."
Yeah, she was not destroying it. It served as good leverage. Plus it was funny to look at.
That got the bullies to back off. They agreed immediatley when they thought she was going to burn the photograph. Suckers.
The raven haired girl walked up to Chloé and knelt down. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes... thank you! That was so cool! How did you do that?" Asked Chloé.
"Bullies are stupid. It's all a battle of the mind. Just have to find something and use it against them."
This girl... was smart. Clever. Cunning. Most importantly, feisty.
From that day on, Chloé stuck by the girl, keeping close to her at all times. It wasn't long until the girls' confidence began to have an impact on her as well, leading her to develop her own way of dealing with bullies. The blue haired girl gathered evidence and things to use against bullies all on her own. Chloé took over that department. All her friend had to do was present it.
But the one part of the memory she would always cherish is when the raven haired girl revealed her name to Chloé. She remembered the wide smile, the bright sparkle in her eyes as she uttered that one word, that one name she would cherish forever in her heart...
"Marinette!" Called Chloé.
The girl in question jolted up from the bed and fell on the floor. Wait, did she fall asleep? Weren't they just in kindergarten? When did her room get so small? She remembered it being a lot bigger when she was little.
"Chloé? Aren't we in kindergarten?"
Chloé raised a brow. "What? Girl, are you deluded now? We're teenagers, dummy. You slept over last night after coming here, remember?"
"Last night?"
"When you came here as Ladybug."
...
Ooooh, yeah, that did happen. She remembered now. She had run a late night errand to deliver that girl Lily her emblem and letter. Since Chloés place was closer, Marinette decided it was as good as time as any to confirm whether or not Chloé knew her identity. And yeah, she did. Apparently, she had only figured it out when she saw the panic in her eyes when she attempted to leave the classroom.
"Riiiight. Yeah. I guess I was pretty tired. What time is it anyway?" Asked Marinette.
"Almost time to leave for school. Chop chop."
Reluctantly, Marinette got back up and began to get ready. She was already wearing her clothes. Now she just needed her jacket.
Wait... ah shit, she forgot it at home.
Chloé rolled her eyes. "We'll make a pit stop."
Marinette made the shape of a heart with her fingers. "Thank you Chloooo~" she cooed.
"Yeah, yeah, now hurry up, I wanna do your hair!"
Just then, both of their phones buzzed. When they checked, the Red King had initiated a conference call.
"Hey Nath!"
"Hey, ladies. I thought I should say, today may be the last day Bustier teaches our class." He said.
"Wait, what? Nath, what did you do?" Marinette narrowed her eyes.
"Kaboom!?" Inquired Chloé.
"NO!" Replied both Marinette and Nathaniel. Chloé deflated in response. Nathaniel continued to explain.
"Remember when I told you my aunt works with the school board?" The girls hummed in response, "Well, she has a... different type of job within the board. She goes from school to school, substituting for sick teachers and such. But, she also digs up any dirt on all the other teachers. She's like a secret agent for the school board."
"That's pretty badass." Commented Chloé.
"Haha, thanks, Chlo. Anyway, I pulled some strings and Ms. Mendeleiev is called into a meeting with the board today. My aunt, Loora Gergina, her married name by the way, is going to substitute for Mendeleiev. I told her about Caline Bustier and her enabling ways. By the end of the day, with luck, Bustier will be fired and probably have her teaching license revoked."
Marinette blinked a couple of times. This boy was incredible! He managed to plan all of this in only a few days?
"Nath? How did you manage this without us knowing about it?" She asked.
"They don't call me the elusive Primary for nothing," gloated the boy.
Chloé snickered. "No one calls you that, dummy."
"They will. Anyway, what do you think?"
Marinette wanted to shout in joy and hug Nathaniel until he broke. She was so happy to have such a reliable friend.
"Nath, you beautiful son of a bitch..." she muttered.
"You kiss your mother with that mouth? Anyway, see you two at school!"
The Red King hung up therafter.
Nathaniel usually preferred working alone. That was just his style. He hung out with the girls a lot, having sleepovers and such, but when a target needed to be put down, he tended to go off on his own, yet still deliver the same results. He wore his pin and jacket with pride. A King worthy to serve his Empress.
Not that Marinette would ever take advantage of them or treat them as beneath her. She held The Primaries in high regard, treating them as equals, as family. A brother and sister that she never had. The trio was inseperable. At the end of the day, all that mattered was eliminating their targets and looking badass while doing it.
Nathaniel was irreplacable.
"We should get going. I need my jacket," said Marinette.
"Speaking of which, do you think you'll have time to make some small adjustments? They are cool and pretty, but I feel like we should have something more... modern."
Marinette giggled in response. "Chloé, Chloé, Chloé... what makes you think I haven't already made them?"
Chloé blinked in surprise. "But we began our comeback since Friday! How did you manage that!?" Seriously, does this girl sleep?
Marinette adjusted the hem of her skirt, "Lila took all of my supposed friends away, remember? I don't have to waste time making things for them anymore. I can focus much better on projects I want to do. I'll come back in the evening to show you what I made?" she offered.
To her shock, Chloé grabbed her by the shoulders and glared at her. Marinette did not know what to make of this, so she darted her eyes left to right.
"U-uh, Chloé?"
"DC, you are one amazing woman, you know that?"
Marinette visibly relaxed and giggled, "Aww, thanks! Now come on! Let's get going!"
Loora Gergina, aunt of Nathaniel Kurtzberg. Maiden name, Loora Kurtzberg.
When Loora was young, she had a similar situatuon to Nathaniel. While she was not bullied, her teachers left a lot to be desired in the teaching department. In her days, teachers often abused their power, handing out stricter punishments for misbehaving students. Sometimes even a little violently, like slamming a ruler on their fingers.
Loora would not stand for it amd made it her life's mission to change the laws of teaching. That's a dream she accomplished through intellect, cunning and wits.
When she had exposed five teachers in a row with no evidence of her involvement, her higher ups called her into their office. They offered her a special position within the school board. A spy, operating within the shadows. Her mission? Substitute for teachers while digging up dirt on the ones she had to expose, all the while keeping her doings a secret.
No one was more qualified for this job than Loora Gergina. Her innate ability to blend in seemlessly was unrivaled, her tolerance for bullshit was zero. No student was better or worse because of their grades. Every student was equal, with no one getting special treatment simply because they did better than others. Of course, that didn't mean she didn't praise those who did well. Those who didn't she simply assured that they can try again.
That brings us to Collège François Dupont. Her newest assignment, requested personally by her own nephew. Of course, no one knew about his involvement as he had delivered the request directly to Loora a couple of days ago.
Her mission was simple: she had to substitute for Olga Mendeleiev for a day, all the while gathering any evidence to get Caline Bustier out of the picture. From what she had heard from Nathaniel, Caline was too much of an enabler for bullies, taking sides of students she believes to be right and recently, exposed to being a complete pushover in the presence of Chloé Bourgeouis. No one knew this, but the reason Chloé got into arguments with the teachers was to see how well they handle a bratty student. Caline did not pass that test with flying colors. The colors were barely crawling on the ground.
Loora knew of The Primaries. She knew all of the connections they had. The three most powerful students in Paris, maybe even France as a whole. She knew all of their methods, their willingness to protect and harm, if need be.
Well, time to see what another Wednesday would bring.
"My tinnitus is acting up again. Can I please sit next to Adrien today? I know you don't like me, but... I thought you would do that for me?"
Marinette groaned internally. When will this brown headed snake take the hint that her days were numbered? Marinette no longer bended to her rules. She never did in the first place.
"I told you already, Lila, my rules are final. It's either this, or The Primaries sit at the back where we can all keep an eye on every one you at all times."
Truthfully, Marinette would have given up the seat and happily moved a little farther back if not for one reason. Sexual harrassment. She was not stupid, she knew what it was and what it looked like. Lila had a tendency to grasp onto Adrien like a lifeboat, grabbing him in places she shouldn't.
And no one, absolutely no one, hurt her precious Snitch...
"Come on, Marinette, you did it once before. Can't you be nice to Lila just this once?" Asked Alya.
Marinette leaned back in her seat and looked up toward the ceiling. "I don't recall asking for your input, Césaire. My word stands. Can't handle it? Take a walk."
Alya crossed her arms and sunk into herself, "What I can't handle, is what a bitch you have become..." she said.
SNAP!
The pencil Marinette had been using was no longer usable, breaking like a twig in her iron grip. Great, her latest design sketch was halted. She stood up from her seat, her aura suddenly going from warm to cold in an instant.
"Could you repeat that...?"
Her tone was darker, more fearsome. The air within the room had shifted, turning everyone into icicles.
"I said you've become a bitch," replied Alya with no hesitation, having had enough of Marinette's bullying of Lila.
Marinette looked like she was about to murder Alya in cold blood. She was furious. But she knew it was not how The Primaries went about doing things. They were better than bullies. Bigger and stronger, but physical strenght was not enough to prove that. She took a deep breath.
She had to calm down and remind herself that things would all fall into place soon enough. Nathaniel and Chloé were on her side. She was not alone. Never was and never will be.
Poor Lila... she was still under the impression that this was about taking Marinette's friends away and destroying her life.
Marinette's life and reputation was indestructable. She was respected and feared by many. Neither Alya nor Lila had any leverage on her. She never lost her friends. She gave them up willingly. Alya had no loyalty and thus, no place in Marinette's heart.
Lila...
Now that Marinette thought about it, Lila was a nobody clamining to be special. The more she interracted with the liar, the more she realized how small she was compared to Marinette. If Lila was a prickly tumbleweed rolling around in a sandstorm, Marinette was the god damn storm itself. That's the kind of leverage she had on Lila. She would only roll in the direction Marinette's storm directed her.
Taking a deep breath, she turned toward Nathaniel. "How long would it take?"
Nathaniel smirked. "An hour at most, 30 minutes at best."
"Be prepared to make the call then, just to be sure."
Alya raised a brow, "What will he do? Draw me a death note?"
"Babe!" Cried Nino.
Marinette turned to her and smirked, "Final warning, Césaire. Fall in line or The Primaries will be forced to do something drastic."
Nino was shaken up. Why couldn't Alya just listen to him!? Why was she so stubborn!? Instead if searching for 'evidence' against The Primaries, she should be reading about their accomplishments and come to the realization that they are protectors, not bullies. They are a nice group of students if you get on their good side. Alya constantly provoking them would only make her penultimate punishment worse.
When Marinette sat back down, Adrien turned to her in concern and confusion. "How long would what take?" he asked.
Marinette put on a smug face that Adrien had grown strangely attached yet fearful to. Whenever she had that mischevious glint in her eyes, he knew he was going to be a blushing pile of skin and bones in a matter of seconds.
Lo and behold, he was right. Marinette did the notion, that felt like tradition at this point, of kissing her palm and seeting it on Adrien's cheek.
"Nothing you need to be worried about, pretty boy. Got any new info for me?"
Pushing past his flustered state of mind, he gave the most confident answer he could. "Too much to say right now. Did you get the recording?"
"I didn't get a recording."
Well, shit. In Adrien's haste and desperation yesterday of getting to an Akuma fight, he had to rush to his photoshoot and had completely forgotten to hit record on the app Nathaniel had sent. Whoops...
"...shit."
Marinette cocked a brow. "What?" Then it clicked and her eyes narrowed, "Agreeeeste..." she said through her teeth. She said his last name. Abort mission, abort!
"I-I forgot!" I said abort mission, you stupid brain!
Marinette did not listen and simply decided to playfully punish him by pulling on his ear like a stern mother, which she pretty much was to the class. Stupid defiant babies!
"You forgot?"
"Ow ow ow ow ow! Marinette, I'm sorry!" He pleaded, promtping Marinette to let go with a giggle.
"Do you at least remember if she said anything incriminating?"
"Ow..." Adrien rubbed his ear, "Yeah, I remember everything."
"Good. Then you come to my place after school tomorrow and you'll tell us everything. I’ll be busy today."
"Y-Y-Your place? Your room? Your house? Your room? Room your?" He stuttered in response. Someone get this boy a doctor, his brain is not screwed in properly.
"Yes, my room, Agreste. What, thinking of sneaking a peek somewhere you shouldn't, like my-?" She asked with narrowed eyes, though it was obvious that she was teasing.
"No!! I respect your privacy, Marinette! I'll be on my best behavior, I promise."
How no one saw the two interracting like this, Marinette will never know. Oh well, they were blind to Lila's lies, they'll be blind to this as well. Good, meant that she had Adrien all to herself.
The bluenette giggled and ruffled his hair affectionately.
"Good boy."
The door to the classroom finally opened. Everyone was expecting Ms. Mendeleiev to walk in with her usual stoic demeanor, but instead they saw a different woman.
She was wearing a black dress, the hem going all the way down to her knees. She had black high heels on to compliment the dress. On top of her dress she was wearing a long sleeved, seethrough sweater, white in coloration. Her hair was cut just below her shoulderblades. She was also wearing small bits of make up and black diamond earrings.
"Good morning class. Sorry for being late," She greeted as she moved to the teachers desk, putting her purse on the chair, "I'll be your substitute for today. My name is Loora Gergina."
"What happened to Ms. Mandeleiev!?" Cried Rose in a volume that she really should not have, startling even Lila. Just because there's a substitute does not mean your normal teacher is dead, you imbecile...
But this may be a good oppurtunity. A new teacher meant a new puppet to control. She would most definitely put The Primals, or whatever they are called, in their place. She was an expert at manipulating people. This new idiot of a teacher wouldn't be any different.
Loora looked at Rose with disappointment. "I didn't see you raising your hand to speak, young lady. Now be quiet. As for your rude question, Ms. Mandeleiev has a meeting with the school board. I'll be your substitute only for today. Now, before we begin, I want to set some ground rules."
Loora took a white chalk and began to write on the board, writing numbers one to three and writing a rule for each number. When she was done. She dusted her hands from the chalk and stepped aside to reveal what she had scribbled.
"Rule number one: No phones in class unless you get a call or need to look something up. If so, you ask for permission. Rule number two: Keep your posture straight and well mannered. You're here to learn, not play. Finally, rule number three: If you want to take the stage, raise your hand. I will not tolerate any interruptions. If anyone decides to go against any of these three rules, I'll write an equation so difficult and call you to the front to solve it in front of everyone. Understood?"
"Yes, Mlle. Gergina."
"Madame Gergina, but good. Now, onto the lesson."
Nathaniel phone vibrated in his lap. Knowing that Loora was secretly on their side, he opened the text message, but still did it discreetly. Chloé covered for him by pretending to help him open up the right page of their math book.
Red's Embassy ❤️
Marc: Bustier has just left the teachers lounge. You're good to go, Nath.
Jean: Better make it fast. She may have no classes right now, but she'll be back soon I imagine.
Nathaniel took the words of his informants as his cue to execute the plan. Gently, he nudged Chloé and gestured her to make her move. The blonde understood the assignment.
Taking a deep breath, she pretended to sneeze. During the sneeze, she said the word "Pestisis!", which was so hidden no one noticed it, but they did find her sneeze a little funny and the class snickered collectively.
Loora understood the code word. That was the plan before she came. If Bustier was away from the teachers lounge, Loora would go in and search around her computer. It took a lot of planning, but The Primaries managed to change the schedule for the teachers to be away from the lounge at the same time. Bustier was away. It was time to make a move.
"Bless you, Mlle. Bourgeouis. Class, I just remembered I forgot to bring my own math book. I'll go get it. Before I do, who among you are The Primaries?" She pretended not to know.
Nathaniel, Marinette, Chloé and Lila raised their hands. Wait, Lila!? Oh boy, she was asking for it now... Marinette would deal with her when Loora was gone.
But Loora knew Lila was a liar, so she ignored the way she had raised her hand. Also the fact that The Primaries, just like the colors their names are based off of, consists of three members. It would not make sense for there to be four of them.
"Excellent. I'll trust you to keep the class in line until I return. Feel free to study or talk amongst yourselves until then. No fighting and no ruckus."
With that Loora left the class, leaving the students on their own. Immediately, The Primaries stood up and turned towards Lila. Even if she was sitting in the middle of the class, the trio knew for a fact she would pull something like this. And boy were they angry about it.
"Mind explaining why you raised your hand, Rossi?" Asked Nathaniel.
"O-oh, I thought... I thought Mme. Gergina asked a lesson related question. My tinnitus must have been acting up. I hope none of you are mad at me." Lila sobbed.
What a bitch...
"She asked who The Primaries are and you are not one us, Lila," said Marinette.
"Hey, she said it was her tinnitus!"
"Leave Lila alone!"
"It's okay Lila, we all make mistakes!"
Chloé leaned toward Marinette to whisper to her. "You know, sometimes I want to bully them again just for the laughs."
Marinette playfully nudged her in response, telling her no.
"All right... what secrets are you hiding, Caline...?"
Putting on some disposable rubber gloves, Loora began first by going to Caline's personal desk. She opened up the drawers and looked through the many folders within. There wasn't that much to find other than test results and student information, none of which actually interested her, but she took a peek anyway.
Opening up the test folder, the first sheet of paper that stared back at her belonged to Lila Rossi. Her grade was 20, which is the best possible result, meaning no answer was incorrect.
But it was. Almost all answers on the paper was incorrect.
Q: What gave Leonardo da Vinchi inspiration to draw the Mona Lisa?
A: His daughter. PS: I am a decendant of da Vinchi. He was my great great great grandfather.
And the answer had a red checkmark behind it, marking it as correct. What? That answer is completely incorrect! A student should never be allowed to incorporate themselves into the answer unless they were told to do so. This answer was wrong and irrelevant to the question. This should be graded at least 3/20, not 20/20. Why did she let her pass!?
Next up was a student named Rose Lavillant. First off, pink pencils are not allowed to be used in school work. Either black or blue. Secondly, did Rose read any of the questions? The same question Lila got was answered as follows:
A: Mona Losa is a beautiful painting done by Leonardo da Vinchi. A work of art encompassing beauty
Was this girl a total airhead? Where was her head at during tests? Just like Lila, Rose got a 20/20.
What the hell are you doing Bustier...?
There was bound to be something on her computer. Loora reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a USB stick. Plugging it in and turning the computer on, the device began it's magic of hacking.
She found a newspaper buried deep under the folders of the drawer. It was from three years ago. Odd, why would a teacher be hiding an old news article under their work? Curiously, Lara took it and opened it up. It was a case that happened three years ago in the very school she was standing in.
Student gone missing. Teachers claim they have no clues to her whereabouts. Investigators are puzzled
In the early hours of April 20th, Monday, Melly Zhen, a student of Collège Françoise Dupont was repoeted missing. Melly, aged 14, has good grades and a good relationship with her parents. Her parents say they have no idea why their daughter would be driven to do this. Further investigation lead to traces of bullying.
When the investigators questioned the school, the teachers claimed they had no idea bullying was taking place.
"Our students are well behaved and friendly. If there was bullying, we would know about it," said the Principal.
Police will continue to investigate the case.
Loora dropped the newspaper and lost her balance, forgetting how to breathe. Was this... a panic attack?
Never in her entire career had she come across something like this. She has had to deal with sexual harassment, abuse of power and other devillish situations, but none of them could habe prepared for a case of a missing student. No, no this can't be that, can it? As quickly as she could, she took out her inhaler, for situations just like this. After using it, she was able to stand up properly.
The computer had been hacked. Shaking the shock away, Loora took a seat and continued her search. Like any other computer in the office, it just had folders upon folders of assignments, field trip information, student grades and so on. On the left of the screen, separated from every other folder, was a document under the name 'Melly'
She did not hesitate in opening it. It contained a small letter with only a few sentences, however the context made it clear.
'I hate you. You caused this. You allowed it to go this far. I hate you Caline Bustier. Screw your example, screw being better. Live with this guilt. Goodbye'
Now it all made sense. A few years ago, Loora did read the news about a student who had gone missing and she was never found. It was never mentioned again, thus she deduced the case had been solved.
It was never solved. Melly wanted France to know what caused her to go this far, who allowed it all to happen right under everyone's nose.
Caline Bustier was a kind individual. Her heart may have been in the right place of wanting all of her students to get along, but she blatantly ignored all the troubles around her. She was too naivé, too pure. Loora understood her reasoning. It was a noble thing, but hiding this crucial evidence is downright criminal. Caline may face trial and a life in prison. She may not have been involved in the obvious, but she had control over the students and failed to see how one of them was sufferring.
Loora had heard about Marinette from Nathaniel. The boy constantly told her about their teacher and how Marinette was expected to be a good example and a role model to her peers. Melly... Marinette could have very easily cracked under the pressure of Lila and the duties as class rep had she not had this secret of her being a Primary.
The door then opened up, Caline Bustier walking in with a cup of hot coffee. Loora did not bother to close the computer. Bustier had to to immediately, otherwise, who knows when this cycle would repeat.
"Caline Bustier."
Bustier almost dropped her coffee upon being startled.
"Mme. Gergina! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be teaching right now?"
Loora stood up from the chair. "Melly Zhen," she said, ignoring the question.
"Sorry?"
"Melly Zhen. Do you know that name?"
Bustier gently placed her cup on the table.
"She was a student here. She went missing three years ago. It was a tragedy..."
Loora scowled. Caline had been found out and she still tried to hide it. Closing her eyes, Loora twirled the monitor around to face the redheaded teacher. Caline's throat went dry in an instant. The monitor had Molly'd note still open.
"She was driven to suicide, wasn't she, Caline?"
"I..."
"Not only that, you are actively manipulating these children into thinking they can graduate, when they barely have the skills. You lack proper discipline and allow bullies to roam the halls."
Caline tried to think of an excuse, wanting to say anything to prevent Loora from leaking this.
"I don't want students to think they are inferior to others... they all deserve to graduate."
"Deserve to? I would put them in extra detention for failing to answer simple questions! You are enabling them to be lazy, allowing them to develop the sense that everything in life comes easy. You're manipulating these kids, Caline. You disgust me..."
Caline could not find any words to counterattack.
"I should report this, tell the world what happened and how you tried to cover it up. This is... this is just so cruel I want you to suffer... I just..."
"Please! Mme. Gergina, you can't do that! I can't leave these poor students!"
Loora slammed her hands on the desk, shaking everything on it.
"I'm going to offer you a choice, Caline. I believe it when you say you had good intentions. You wanted equality, to make every student feel like they are not different from each other. It's noble and I don't condemn you for trying. But in doing so, you allowed bullies to get away with everything. You enabled a liar to make one student miserable. You allowed a student to be driven to suicide... you didn't do anything."
"I-I just thought if Melly was to a good example to them, it would stop."
"That job belongs to you, you imbecile. You are meant to be a good example, not one of your students. As I was saying, I'm offerring you a choice. Either keep this secret, allow me to reveal it to everyone and you shall lose both your freedom and your license."
"O-or...?"
"Or, you confess to this yourself and in turn, I'll provide you with the best lawyer, to make sure your punishment is as lenient as possible. You may not have been responsible for Melly's death, so you are no murderer, but you still withheld this information from the authorities. With my lawyer, you might only have your license revoked. Otherwise you'll most likely go to prison. Your choice."
Caline was in a trap. In her mind, she knew this day would come eventually. She should have been angry with Loora for snooping around her business, but she deserved it. While Melly's death may not have been her fault, she still could have prevented it from happening. But it was too late for it now.
What choice did she really have? She didn't want to go to prison. Her days as a teacher should have been over long ago. She should have accepted that, come to terms with it, but she never did.
There was only one choice to make. The right one.
"I'll... I'll do it. I'll confess to everything. I should have done that a long time ago." She said.
"Good. To also protect Melly's parents from living with this wound, you'll also tell them directly. It will cause them pain, but they deserve to know. They deserve to have this closure. They lost their child, but this will help them heal and cherish Melly's memory. As long as you do the right thing."
Caline nodded her head. She did not need any more words. All she could do was fall onto her knees and cry, letting Loora hold her by the shoulders and allow her to cry. Bustier may have done something horrible, but she was just someone who wanted to see good in others. Loora could not bring herself to hate her. She just pitied her. Caline wasn't stupid or evil, she was just weak. Too weak to lead her own students. At least now, Melly's parents' sufferring would lessen.
"Hey Chloé," greeted Marinette as she entered Chloé's bedroom. With three paper bags.
The blonde hopped off her bed and went to greet the Empress with a quick hug.
“What’s with the bags?” Asked the blonde girl.
“Well, I did tell you I would show you what I have been working on, right? Do you have any mannequins so I can show them?”
Chloé’s eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree and she hurriedly rushed into her closet to bring out three mannequins. Marinette was only going to display the new jackets, so she only got a top half of the mannequins attached to a stand.
”Look the other way, please. I want this to be a surprise,” requested Marinette. Chloé complied and turned her back to Marinette, deciding to scroll through her phone in the meantime.
A few minutes later, Marinette called out. ”’Kay, you can look now!”
Chloé turned around and her eyes nearly fell out of her head in amazement. The old jackets were simple, with one color and a letter embroidered on the back. The new ones were completely different.
Marinette had gone all out and allowed her passion for designing to seep into these new jackets.
Firstly was Chloé’s jacket. The main dominant color was still yellow, however now, the sleeves had black cuffs. The pattern on the jacket was that of a bee hive. Everyone knew Chloé was Queen Bee and that’s what Marinette attempted to go for. Chloé was the toughest bee around. She was a Queen protecting her hive. The shoulders of the jacket were slightly pointed upwards with a wavy black lace embroidered at the edge of the shoulders and arms. Normally they had to wear a black crown hair pin, which they still would, but Marinette had gone the extra length and embroidered an actual black crown right where the heart was located. It was the size of a hand and in the middle was the letter ‘C’ in a brilliant yellow color. This was exactly how Chloé had imagined.
Next was Nathaniel’s new jacket. Ruby red in color with the same kind of black cuffs. His jacket had ruby patterns on it and the collar had a spiky design to it. Same as with Chloé, Nathaniel had the same black crown on the heart with the letter ‘N’ done in ruby red. Rubies were often associated with kings and royalty, so it was easy to see why Marinette had chosen a design such as this. Both jackets could be buttoned up to make them look more sophisticated.
Finally there was the crown jewel. The Blue Empress jacket. Instead of black, Marinette made her cuffs and collar snow white, possibly a reference to her ice queen persona. The jacket was a magnificent icy blue, no longer the glittery kind they all used to wear. The only black part on her jacket was the crown on the heart with a sapphire blue ‘M’ on it. Icy blue and sapphire blue… what an odd combo yet it also made the letter M stand out!
It was clear that Marinette didn’t want to make her jacket look the best. She saw The Primaries as equals, friends who always had her back and she theirs. She made the jackets look different from each other because in reality, they were different as people, but that’s what made them work so well together. They all had their strengths and weaknesses. Where one lacks, they can always count on another Primary to cover that weakness. The only similarity between the jackets was the crown, showing that no matter how different they are, when they come together, they are united as one.
Chloé was in total awe. As she expected her new jacket on the mannequin, she noticed something was odd. There were zippers inside the sleeves and on both sides of the middle of the center front.
”What’s with the extra zippers?” She asked.
Marinette, who was standing a few feet away to give Chloé the chance to inspect the jackets in full, smiled at her friend.
”I had some extra time on my hands, so I wanted to test something new. Notice how thin the jackets are? Well, they can also be worn in the winter. The zippers are for an attachment I have yet to make. I intend to make a fluffy and warm inside, like a detachable sweater of sorts. You connect all the zippers and boom, you turn your summer jacket into a winter one!”
Chloé was in total awe. She got up and tackled her friend in a huge hug. Marinette, while surprised by the speed, hugged her back just as tight.
”These are amazing, M. You’ve really outdone yourself!”
The door to the bedroom opened up and Nathaniel walked in. Greeting the two, he took notice of the new and improved jackets.
”Whoa! Mari, you made these!?”
”Sure did! Do you like them?”
“Absolutely! Wow! Can we wear them to school tomorrow!? Finish Friday off with a bang!”
Marinette beamed. ”Of course!”
”It’s already Thursday?” asked Chloé.
Nathaniel nodded and sat on the edge of Chloé’s queen sized bed. “That’s right. Also, I heard back from Loora,” he said.
”What did she say?”
”Well, the good news is that Bustier is officially out of the picture and will lose her license to teach ever again. Bad news is, what Loora found out about her is very dark. Apparently, Bustier tried to hide the fact that one of her students committed suicide three years ago due to tremendous amounts of bullying.”
”WHAT!?” Yelled Marinette.
”Yeah, do that about 20 times and you’ll still be as shocked as I am now. Melly Zhen was a student with excellent grades, but Bustier had enabled bullies and attempted to have Melly carry the burden of ‘setting a good example’ in hopes that the bullying would cease.”
”Oh my gosh…” muttered Chloé, cupping her mouth with her right hand.
Nathaniel smiled solemnly and nodded. “Oh, and get this. Bustier had been falsely grading our tests. Didn’t matter how badly we did on them, she’d give everyone a 20/20 every time.”
Chloé snapped her fingers. “I knew there was something sus about our grades always being so high! Not that it mattered, I always studied for them.”
Marinette came out of her trance and clapped her hands together! “Right! How about we celebrate tonight? We can order a pizza and watch a movie? Let’s honor Melly and have fun the way she would have wanted.”
The idea was a splendid one to the King and Queen, who smiled in response.
”Good idea. I’ll make a couple of calls to make sure my family knows where I am and tell Marc as well. I’ll order pizza while I’m at it.”
Nathaniel left the room and Marinette began to take all the jackets, sans Chloé’s, off the mannequins and neatly fold them to fit into the paper bags. Chloé moved her own next to her bed.
When the sun was setting, all three Primaries were up on the balcony of Chloé's room, overlooking the beautiful orange horizon.
One down.
Two to go.
While they may not have been involved with Bustier's departure as much as they would have liked, it was for the best. If they had been the ones to find that final note left behind by Melly, no telling what sort of trauma they could have endured.
Their resolve had been hardened.
Melly's case was something they had never encountered. They had faced many types of bullies and protected all kinds of victims in the past, but none of them were people they had to avenge. These things were the real problems in the world.
Akumas and magic were small compared to this. They could fight all day long get rid of an Akuma, but psychological trauma young teenagers and kids have to endure was an entirely different issue.
That night, Marinette told Nathaniel and Chloé the truth. Firstly, she told Nathaniel she was actually Ladybug. She told them aboht her encounter with Mir-Reflect and how they now had a 10 year old Lily from another school under their protection. Chloé and Nathaniel were completely on board with this. They would invite Lily to them soon and teach her how to defend herself. In the long run, they hoped to inspire other kids to do the same. The three of them could not possibly protect every student in France, that's just the reality. However, they can recruit honorary Primaries, ones who act on their behalf in other schools.
Lily's story was still being written and they would be the overseers of her future. No kid would ever be bullied under their tender embrace. If anyone tried, they'd be dealt with. But first, they had to deal with the safety of their own school.
The Primaries all gathered together in a tight group hug, all happy to have each other to lean on when times get tough.
Oh, yeah, Marinette told them Adrien would be coming over to her place the next day. Needless to say, that was an instant regret. Chloé and Nathaniel's teasing knew no bounds.
Notes:
I began this fic only a week ago and already it has over 1800 hits and over 70 Kudos? My God, thank you all so much! ❤️💙💛It makes me really happy!
This is the longest chapter I have ever written in my fanfic hobby, period. My thumbs are about to fall off...
Chapter 8: Throne
Summary:
Battles leave scars and wounds
Left behind by only fools.
Do not mess with power
Lest you want to become fodder.
Notes:
I never thought tormenting Adrien this way could be so fun. He's a bean, but he deserves this teasing.
Is Marinette a tsundere? Maaaaaybe?
Be prepared for some Adrienette this chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
With care and thirst I have become
You have a home in my Queendom
Reality.
It sucks, but it's what we got.
Wolves. They are pack animals. They hunt together, eat together, live together. Their favorite meal? Deer. In a pack of three hunters, they are extremely well coordinated. First, they prowl, paying attention to the direction of the wind so the deer would not pick up on their scent. When close enough, they pounce. First one tears the poor animal apart. Second one pounces when the leader gives the go ahead. Third one eats what the first and second one have torn up.
That's the best kind of analogy Adrien could think of as he was about to enter Marinette's room on Friday. Instead of a deer trying to look out for the hunters, this dumb animal decided it was a good idea to walk straight into the den of wolves.
What could possibly go wrong?
It was just Marinette's room! He had been there before! Marinette and Chloé were his friends! No doubt they would be nice to him! Nathaniel's a cool guy as well!
"Snitch, you're coming over after school, right?" Asked Marinette.
"I dunno. Father may decide to reschedule a photoshoot."
Marinette waved his concerns off. "Chloé will handle it. Your Empress demands you come to her place after school. Be a good boy and I may reward my valiant knight with a kiss," she teased while licking her lips.
"U-uh, got it, Marinette. I'll come over today. I promise."
"Good."
Marinette patted his head and began to walk off. When she was a few feet away, she held up a finger and spun around on her heels.
"Ooooh, right, I forgot to mention. Chloé and Nathaniel will be there too."
"W-what? I mean, I don't mind that! Uh..." stuttered Adrien while trying to hide his fear. He was SO going to get Marinette back for all this teasing.
Marinette giggled. "Aww, what, were you hoping to have some privacy with me~? Adrien, you perv~"
"No! I just... Marinette! I swear I'll get back at you someday."
Marinette raised her chin with a smug smirk. "I'm sure you will, Agreste."
Yeah, they were nice people. Knowing Marinette, she would not dare to tease him in the presence of the other Primaries.
...right?
With a deep breath, he knocked on the door to the Dupain-Cheng appartment. When the door opened, Sabine was the one to greet him.
"Adrien! Hello, dear. What can I do for you?" She greeted with a warm smile.
"Hello, Mme. Cheng. Marinette invited me over. Is she home?"
"Yes, she's up in her room. I'll let her know you're here."
Sabine climbed up the stairs and knocked on the trapdoor to her daughters bedroom. "Marinette! Adrien is here to see you!" She called.
"Send him up, Maman!" Her daughter called back.
Sabine walked down and gestured for Adrien to go. Taking his shoes off and leaving them next tk the door, he began to walk up the steps. Each step felt like he was moving closer and closer to hell. There were three demons behind that trapdoor and he was about to walk right into their domain. Was it too late to go home? Probably.
He opened the door and peeked inside.
...right!?
"Adrieeeen! Welcome, welcome! Come in, have a seat!" Said Marinette as she poked her head out from behind a mannequin wearing her latest project. Chloé and Nathaniel were playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III on her computer that was connected to a console. He never knew Chloé was a fan of video games...
When the two gamers turned to face him to greet him, the color of his skin turned white. Yep, this was the wolves den and he was the deer about to step inside. He could already feel Plagg laughing in his pocket like the little shit he was.
Run, Agreste!
"Thanks for having me, Marinette."
Marinette wrapped her arms around his shoulders and guided him to her chaise, seating him. She seemed to be in a very good mood.
"Can I offer you anything? A drink? Some snacks?"
Adrien gulped, trying his best to appear confident.
"D-do you have any passionfruit macaroons? T-they're my favorite."
Marinette smiled. "Of course! Let me go get them for you. I'll get you some apple juice while I'm at it. Be good to Chloé and Nath!"
O...kay? What happened to Marinette all of a sudden? Just earlier that day, she had mercilessly teased him out of the blue, same as any other day since The Primaries returned. But she did not tease him at all when he came to her room? Her voice sounded friendly. Too friendly.
"Did something happen to Marinette?" He asked.
Nathaniel put his controller down and turned to face him. "Well, Snitch, Marinette is convinced that her teasing is not flirting. Chloé and I disagree."
Chloé giggled. "She thinks that acting nice toward you like this will make us stop teasing her about it. She's fooling no one. I mean, you heard how high pitched her voice was? Her acting skills are terrible."
Adrien smiled softly, glancing at the trapdoor. "I see."
"So, Agreste, you like being Marinette's little lap dog?" Asked Nathaniel.
Adrien blinked in shock. "W-what?"
"Don't act stupid, Adrikins. We all know how much you love anime. Marinette's acting must be doing a number on you, huh?"
"W-well I..." Kill me, kill me now.
Before he could reply, there was a loud bang on the trap door, like someone hitting their head on it. On the other side, Marinette had both of her hands full, so she could not open the door to her room. The solution? Bang her head and hope her friends care about her health enough to open it up. Nathaniel looked up and shook his head in endearment. He got up went to the door to open it, letting Marinette in.
"Here you go! A full plate of macaroons. I got multiple flavors for you. Oh, and here's the apple juice," she said, handing Adrien his snacks.
"Mari," sighed Chloe, "We won't tease you. Your acting is terrible. You can stop now."
"I'm not that bad!"
"Your voice went a little too high," observed Adrien. Bad move, he realized, when Marinette narrowed her eyes at him.
"You shush. Now, you remember why I asked you here, right?"
Adrien nodded his head. The Primaries gathered closer to him with Chloé sitting on the window, Marinette taking a seat on the chaise, hugging her knees. Nathaniel rolled over with Marinette's desk chair and sat on it backwards, leaning his chin on the back support.
"Well, let's hear it," said Nathaniel.
"Oh boy... well..."
He was late. He knew this. His father would not be happy if Vincent tells him about it. He already wasted ten minutes of the crew's time. His worries were washed away when he arrived at the acene and saw that the crew were just finishing their final touches of setting everything up.
"Adrien! Mamma mia, you're just in time. Hurry up to the tent and get ready for the shoot!" Said Vincent.
"Sure thing!"
Today was supposed to be a regular photoshoot for some hair product, which were the kind that Adrien rarely minded. He liked doing photoshoots where he could enjoy the comfort of his own clothing. It made him feel like himself, like he wasn't putting on a fake image. Some make up on him and he was ready to go. Pure and simple.
But of course, like everything in life, it came with complications. Lila Rossi.
The first hour of the photoshoot was supposed to promote the producy for men, so only Adrien had to be the one posing for the camera. When that was done, Vincent called for a coffee break. Finally, some bliss.
Until Lila decided to invade his personal bubble by clutching onto his arm. He would not have minded a simple hug or a friendly shoulder punch, but Lila did the opposite and it even hurt when she held his arm so tightly. Then again, to Adrien, this was to be considered 'normal'.
Idiot.
When Adrien asked his father about Lila and how she got to be a model, Gabriel simply said she had talent and she was his 'muse'.
"Adrien! I'm so happy to be doing this with you. You know, I used to oversee a photoshoot of a famous fashion designer back in Italy!" she lied. Obviously.
"Wait, wait, wait, back up. Gabriel said what?" asked Marinette.
"He said Lila was his muse?" replied Adrien withn a shrug.
The Primaries all exchanged glances at each other, all thinking the same exact thing.
Creepy...
"Adrikins... you do how that kind of wording reflects a little badly on your dad, right?" Asked Chloé.
"What do you mean?"
Nathaniel sighed, "Muse? She has talent? Takes in a girl he barely knows? You don't think that's weird?" he asked.
"Well... no, not really."
Marinette slapped her own face, audible for the entire room. Groaning, she dragged her hand down her face, "Fine, I'll say it myself. Adrien, your father just made himself look like a pedophile," she stated bluntly.
The Primaries all muttered their agreements.
"What!? No, no, that can't be it!"
Nathaniel waved the issue off, "We'll come back to this later. For now, please continue, Snitch."
"R-right..."
"Lila, why do you even attempt to lie to me? You and I both know what you just said is not true."
Lila smirked. "Oh? How could you prove that? You don't know if I did or did not," she said.
"Fine, but please let go of me."
"Why? No one is around. It's just you and me. And if you scream, I'll simply tell your father about the people you surround yourself with, he'll pull you out of school and you and I can get a lot more closer. Your choice," purred Lila as she plased her hand on his chest.
"Well, no, I don't want that. But you have to leave Marinette alone. She has done nothing to you."
Lila sneered. "That bitch is trying to ruin me. I will not stand for it. I gave her a choice. She is either with me or against me. She chose the latter. As long as I get what I want, it doesn't matter who I hurt."
Adrien forcibly removed his arm away from her, pulling with such sheer force that her nails ended up scratching him, making him bleed just a little.
"And what do you want? What would you go this far for?"
"Popularity. I want people to worship me. It's my right to get what I want. Our class already is under my thumb. Soon, you will be too. So will The Primaries. They are nothing but annoyances."
"You don't have to lie to get people to like you. I already told you this."
Lila scoffed and leaned in closer to his face. Then, without any warning or hesitation, she licked his cheek. She actually licked his cheek!
"Adrien... not everyone wants to be nice..."
"She... did... what!?" Marinette was outraged.
"Licked me. On my cheek."
"Ewww!" Gagged Chloe, "What is her deal? That's just disgusting and takes sexual harrassment to a whole new level!"
"It's not like that, guys..." defended Adrien, or at least he tried to.
"Defend Lila one more time and you'll die where you stand, Snitch," warned Nathaniel.
Marinette squinted her eyes. Then it dawned on her. Sometimes, even though it rarely happened, Adrien would only wear his T-shirt to school and his PE clothes were short sleeved as well. But ever since Lila began to go to their school, he had always worn long sleeved clothes and a jacket over his T-shirt. She knew Lila liked to grab onto him, which disgusted her to no end, but how far did that actually go?
"Take off your shirt," she demanded.
"Uh, what?"
"Marinette?" inquired Chloé, her eyes widened at the bold command. Marinette did not let it bother her in the slightest.
"Did I fucking stutter? Take off your shirt, Agreste," she demanded once again.
"Marinette, I really don't think I-" he tried but was cut off by the blunette, who did not back down.
"Take it off or I'll tear it off you myself!"
"Okay, okay! Take it easy!"
Adrien did as he was told. He removed his jacket first, revealing some scars on his arms left behind by Lila. He took a deep breath and lifted his T-short over his head, setting it beside him.
Just as Marinette had expected.
Not only had Lila been hurting him by scratching his arms, she had also scarred him on the chest and the stomach, even going as far as to leave a god damn bite mark on his collar bone!
Marinette took out her phone, her expression dark and unreadable. She brought the phone closer to Adrien and snapped a picture of his frame as evidence, a leverage to use against Lila. When she was done, she looked at the picture she took. No one dared to say a thing.
She could not take her eyes off the picture. She kept staring at it. The more she did, the more angrier she got. She was mad. Mad at Lila for having the nerve to do something so nasty to one of her friends. Adrien did nothing to deserve these scars.
"You..."
Without any warning or any indication of movement, Marinette brought her hand up and slapped Adrien across the face, shocking everyone in the room.
"You idiot!!" She yelled and stormed off, running up to her bed and climbing onto her balcony, slamming the hatch closed.
Adrien was stunned. Her slap burned across his face, hurting unlike anything he had ever felt in his life. It wasn't the physical pain that hurt so much. It was the thought of Marinette being mad at him that did most of the hurting.
Chloé and Nathaniel had never seen Marinette be this furious at anyone. No bully in the past had ever managed to push her over the edge like this. But they had a good idea as to why that was. This was Adrien that Lila was hurting. Despite hiding her Primary side for so long, Marinette genuinely loved Adrien with all of her heart. Seeing him hurt like this angered her to her very core and she had no idea how to express it properly, thus ending in her slapping him.
"W-what did I-?" began Adrien, trying to make sense of the sithation.
"Really, Agreste? Take a look at yourself and ask yourself that again. Why would Marinette slap you like this? You're lucky she didn't run off to find Lila. The liar would already be six feet underground."
Adrien brought his hand up to touch his cheek. It was still burning, like a thousand needles piercing his skin all at once. It was a lot of pain, but some part of him felt like he deserved it. He didn't know why. He looked at the direction Marinette ran off to.
A whole school week had passed and Alya was no closer to finding enough evidence to expose The Primaries as the bullies they were. Everywhere she looked or searched, all she found was only good things The Primaries had done in the past. How could no one see the truth?
The Primaries randomly decided to show up one day and declare themselves to be these... tyrants of Dupont! How can they claim that Lila is a liar when Marinette had lied to her about this? How can they say they will protect them from bullies when the first thing they did was change the seating order in class and claim one table as their own in the cafeteria!?
They weren't protectors. They were tyrants, coming to Dupont to opress any and all students who dare defy them.
Nino had tried to reason with her, tried to warn her not to mess with the group. Alya paid him no mind. Her investigation into The Primaries had slowly turned into obsession.
Lila was a good person. Sure, some stories of hers sound unbelievable, but some people just have adventurous lives! Nothing wrong with wanting to share her feelings about what she has experienced. She was kind ans out others before herself. How can The Primaries say she is a bully when they are a lot worse!?
"Babe, please... you need to stop. I am telling you, you won't find anything negative about them. I wouldn't be telling you this without reason," said Nino.
"A good reported checks every possible source, Nino. It's what I do. I know there is something."
Like how you fact checked Lila's Jagged story? Nino wanted to ask, but refrained himself from saying so.
He liked Lila. In his eyes, she was cool. A bit over the top in her stories, but cool nonetheless. However, Alya's obsession with this topic was beginning to irritate him. He worried what his girlfriend would do.
He also knew that if she continued with this meaningless search, the Ladyblog would be deleted. The Primaries can very easily make that happen. Honestly, Alya should consider herself lucky that it had not been deleted yet.
But if this went on, it would come, sooner or later.
When Adrien had recovered from his slap, he went to find Marinette. He opened the hatch to her balcony and found her sitting on her folding chair, curled up into herself and hugging her knees close to her chest. When she heard the hatch open, she immediately turned her head the other way, not wanting to talk to whoever came from her room.
She knew who it was even without looking. Who else would come after her when she was this upset?
"What do you want Adrien?" she asked.
"I came to offer some company."
"Thanks, company received, now go away."
Adrien shook his head and sat down on the edge of the chair, determined to cheer her up. He sat there and let the silence take over.
That is, until Marinette broke it.
"I hate her..."
"Hm?"
"I hate her. I hate her more than I've ever hated anyone. If I could, I'd dance on her grave..." she seethed.
Adrien had never heard Marinette say something so... savage. He liked it, but now was not the time to act flirty or flustered. She needed support, not another reminder that she loved this stupid blonde.
"Marinette, if it's not trouble... why do you hate bullies so much?"
"Why shouldn't I? You wouldn't know, you were homeschooled. You wouldn't get it."
Adrien nodded. "True. Well, how about this then: How did you become a Primary?"
Marinette sighed. She hasn't really told anyone this story before. Reason being that if she told it to anyone and it got back to a target of The Primaries, they could use it against them. The Blue Empress was always extemely cautious. Anyone who knew her from childhood were already aware of the origin of The Primaries. But Adrien was not there. There was no harm in telling him about her past. He was her friend, he deserved to know. The Snitch would not dare tell anyone.
"When I was three years old, my parents enrolled me to kindergarten. I was supposed to go at two, but they didn't want me to, as they were managing their own bakery and were able to take care of me. I was bullied. A lot. Sometimes those voices still haunt me. But... I never let it bother me. I let those haunting voices carry me forward."
"Why did they bully you?"
Marinette shrugged, not looking up him and just stared forward. "Who knows," she said, "kids are just like that. If they find something weird about someone, they target them. Their appearance, their personality, their likes and dislikes... That's just how kids are. Most likely because my favorite hair style was pig tails at the time. They never liked them. They thought of me as a weird girl and stayed away from me, occasionally taking my things or breaking my LEGO houses, sometimes even my Barbie dolls. When I told my Maman about it, she encouraged me to step up, unlike the teachers who told me to ignore them. So I did. I stepped up. I dug up as much dirt on them as I could and threatened to expose them if they did not stay away from me. Then I met Chloé, who also was being bullied. I did not stand for it, so I dealt with them too."
"What about Nathaniel?" asked Adrien, slowly running his hand along her back to show comfort.
"Nath? We met him two years after that. Chloé and I had grown close since that day. Nath joined our kindergarten a year before we all went to school. He was different, so other kids targeted him. He had an incredible talent for art, which he always loved to show. One time, a bully tore his art book to shreds, so me and Chloé took care of him in only a week. We took Nathaniel under our wings and taught him how to stand up for himself. Not long after, he became more intimidating than me and Chloé. That's how The Primaries were born..."
Adrien smiled and hummed along. He felt happy that Marinette trusted him enough to know the origin of The Primaries. But one thought still lingered in his mind. That slap did not mean nothing to him. It was more like a wake up call, making him realize how much of a fool he'd actually been.
"So...are you mad at me?"
His question was not in the usual 'pity me' tone. Rather, it was genuine and heartfelt.
"I just told you my life story and that's the first question you ask? Idiot..."
"Are you?"
Marinette turned to him with annoyance. "You're damn right I'm mad at you!"
Adrien nodded. He didn't need to defend himself, otherwise the girl in front of him would only get angrier.
"Okay. May I ask, why?" he continued.
"Why!? Who was it that suggested I take the high road? Who was it that told me that Lila's lies were not hurting anyone? Who told me that as long as you and I knew the truth, it doesn't matter? You! You told me that! And now look at yourself! Can you really sit there and tell me all of that again!?"
After her rant, she took a deep breath and put her head into her knees, not wanting to look at him.
"I know it's not right, what she did, I mean."
Marinette scoffed. "You think?"
"I didn't want to keep this from you. But I was afraid you'd react badly and I was right. I knew it would only upset you, but I figured if I kept this to myself, you can focus on your own life."
Marinette's anger turned into sadness and she began crying. She had not been crying for an entire week. Her Blue Empress persona had completely taken over that she rarely showed this broken side of her to anyone. It's not that she wanted to hide this because she knew that crying is only a good thing when things get hard. The Primaries had just kept these feelings of sadness buried deep. When she saw Adrien's scars, she could not handle it anymore and all her pent up emotions were taken out on him.
"Why...? You idiot. Why should you have to worry about me!? Quit being so selfless and think about yourself for once!" She cried, "Don't assume things without even asking! You better not say things like that ever again. Dummy!"
Adrien took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "I'm sorry, Marinette. I really am. What can I do to make it up to you? I don't like seeing you cry."
There wasn't much he could do, she had to admit. The damage was already done. Still, hopefully he had learned a valuable lesson: do not hide behind your own worries. She dried wiped her tears away and hugged her knees closer.
“…Kiss me,” she whispered.
“What?”
”Kiss me,” she said, a little louder this time.
”Why?”
Marinette rolled her eyes and scoffed. “A girl just asked you to kiss her and you ask why? Dummy…”
”I-I’m sorry! You just caught me off guard!” he replied.
“You,” Marinette smirked, ”really are hopeless, aren’t you, Snitch?” Yep, there it was. The Blue Empress was back.
”Okay, come here.”
Adrien began to move closer to her and closed his eyes to kiss her, but she giggled and put her hand on his mouth to stop him. He opened his eyes in confusion.
”You haven’t made your Empress proud yet. The moment was ruined,” she said as she got up and stretched herself.
Adrien whined. ”But-but Mari~”
Marinette turned around and put a finger on his nose, pushing him gently.
”Do you promise not to hide things from me like this anymore? And do you promise to take your role as a Snitch more seriously?” she demanded.
Adrien dumbly nodded, but the determination was clear in his expression. Marinette smiled and kissed her own hand, putting it on his cheek.
”Good boy. If you want a real kiss, you’ll have to earn it.”
With that said, she opened the hatch to her room and climbed in, closing it behind her.
But I wanted to kiss her now…
While Adrien and Marinette were up on her balcony, Chloé and Nathaniel decided to review what they had learned from their Snitch. It was not much to go off of, however, they had recorded Adrien’s voice and had pictures of his scars. That was more than enough proof of Lila’s true nature.
Their reviewing was short lived. As soon as they were done, the two got into a thumb war out of boredom.
”Chlo, come on! Your nails are disturbing! You have an advantage here!” whined Nathaniel.
“Don’t hate the player,” Chloé smirked and flicked his forehead in a friendly manner, “hate the game.”
”Don’t test me.”
”Loser loser loser loser~” sang Chloé.
Nathaniel smirked and held his hands up like a wild tiger ready to pounce. “You asked for it!” He declared and actually pounced on her, beginning to tickle her without mercy. The blonde had always been ticklish and Nathaniel knew exactly where her soft spots were. The room was filled with the sound of Chloé’s laughter, trying hard, and failing, to pry Nathaniel away.
”Truce, truce!” she laughed.
”Say it!” he demanded.
”Nu-uh!”
”Say iiit!”
Chloé eventually relented, “Alright alright! You win! You’re the best!”
Satisfied, Nathaniel ceased his attack, helping Chloé sit up properly as she calmed down from laughing so much.
”What are you guys doing?” asked Marinette as she climbed down from her bed.
”Just messing around, nothing special. How are you feeling?” Asked Nathaniel.
“Much better,” Marinette smiled, “thanks for asking.”
”So, what do you want to do? We have enough evidence to expose her, don’t we?” Asked Chloé.
Marinette closed her eyes and crossed her arms to think. Adrien climbed down from her bed and sat down on the chaise, smiling. Someone was happy.
When Marinette opened her eyes, her answer was clear.
”Not yet. We stick to the plan. Lila is an excellent manipulator. If we bring this information to light, she’ll turn it upside down and escape any punishment. No, not yet. We keep going as we first planned. We get rid of her enablers in school, make Gabriel fire her and then we strike. Bustier is out, so that only leaves Damocles.”
”Bustier is out?” asked Adrien, “What happened to her?”
“That’s for us to know and for you not to find out, Snitch.”
”Huh?”
“Ask fewer questions,” Nathaniel twirled a pencil between his fingers as he stared Adrien down, “you’ll live longer,” he said, causing Adrien to have a chill run down his spine. Who knew Nathaniel could be so scary.
“I figured you’d want to deal with Lila as soon as possible, considering what she did to Adrien,” said Chloé, upon which Marinette’s demeanor shifted.
”I don’t want to just expose her. I want to destroy her completely, so no matter where she goes, everyone knows what she is. I want her to know what it’s like when the entire world is against you. When we’re done, she’ll get exactly what she wants, that being popularity. But that popularity is on our terms.”
”Are you sure she deserves that?” Asked Adrien.
”Don’t make me slap you again, Snitch. Defend her one more time and I swear I will.”
”I’m just asking if she really deserves all that?”
Chloé scoffed, “She chose her fate the second she decided to target a Primary. You are either with us or against us, Adrien. You want her to keep harassing you, fine, be our guest, but we will not help you.”
Adrien wanted to relent, but he knew the three were correct. He had to accept that fact that there are some people out there who will never be nice, who only want to see the world around them burn. Lila was one such person. He can try to give her as many chances as he wants, but she will never change no matter what he did.
Sighing, he dropped his shoulders. “I’m with you, I am your snitch after all.”
”Speaking of, I forgot to tell you one crucial part of being a Snitch for The Primaries,” said Marinette.
”You didn’t tell him?” Asked Nathaniel.
”Tsk tsk tsk, Marinette,” smiled Chloé.
”It slipped my mind, okay!?”
”What are you guys talking about?”
Marinette turned to the blonde and walked up to him. “Adrien, something you should know about being a Snitch is that you are not under our protection. You spy on our target, but after the target is exposed, you are not allowed to expose yourself as the snitch. If you do, there’s no telling how others will react. If they react badly, we will not step in to protect you.”
”What? Why not?”
”Ever hear the term ‘snitches get stitches’? That’s why. No one has ever been aware that The Primaries have a Snitch to do their spy work. If they did, they’d exploit it against us.”
That… made a lot of sense.
”Okay, I get it. I’m a little too far deep to back out now.”
Marinette smiled in approval and ruffled his hair affectionately.
”Good boy. We’ll do something about your dad as a thank you when this is over, I promise.”
How could he not accept those terms? He loved his father, of course, but even he had to admit that some of the things he has Adrien do are too over the top and controlling. If he could have more freedom, he would do whatever it took.
”Now then… let’s discuss Jester number two…”
“Nathalie.”
”Yes, sir?”
”See if you can find anything about a group called ‘The Primaries’.”
”Of course, sir.”
Notes:
I enjoy writing Marinette as a sort of tsundere. Also, yes, I made them not kiss on purpose. If any of you were hoping for an Adrienette kiss, then I did because you were expecting it :3
Adrienette shippers, do not fret, you’ll get your kiss soon
Chapter 9: I Take What I Want
Summary:
Sometimes to win
It's okay to sin
The path is yours to forge
In this insane world at large
Chapter Text
As you stand upon the edge
Honed by a single thread
Saturday.
A week had already passed since the Primaries returned to rule over Dupont. Like clockwork, they wasted no time in dealing with unruly teachers. First was Caline Bustier, who lost her job on Thursday . Now there was only one person left to deal with. Denis Damocles. The principal of Françoise Dupont.
It was clear that no matter how many students filed reports against him, he always managed to keep his position.
Damocles would be more difficult to get rid of. The key was the school board and the Ministry of Education. Those two had to be involved. Without proper evidence, however, there was no point in trying.
That brings us to right now, with Marinette pacing back and forth in her living room, Nathaniel sitting on the couch making art while her parents were downstairs handling the bakery. Chloé was nowhere to be seen. That’s who the two were waiting for, and have been waiting for the past two hours.
”Marinette,” said Nathaniel, “You’ll run a hole through the floor if you continue like that.”
Marinette stopped and turned to face the redhead.
”Well, excuse me for not having much to do while we wait.”
Nathaniel showed his sketchbook, “Why not draw?”
”Art block.”
”Want to play video games instead?”
“Don’t feel like it.”
”Well you can’t keep pacing like that either.”
”Nathaniel’s right, Marinette,” said Tikki, “Why not go out for a run as Ladybug while you wait?”
“Damn it… I totally forgot.”
“Forgot what?” Asked Nathaniel.
“I need to talk to Master Fu soon. I’ve been putting it off.”
“Riiight, yeah, you did mention that he wants to make you a Guardian.”
Marinette scoffed, going to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.
“Uh-huh. But there’s too many things for me to focus on that I completely forgot.”
”Hey, school’s out for the week, so you’ll have time to visit him today or on Sunday.”
“I guess so. Right now I just want to get things in order in my civilian life, then focus on everything that comes after."
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. Marinette had been the most focused on their Primary duties than either him or Chloé. Was she...?
"Marinette, have you been sleeping well?"
Marinette looked surprised at the sudden question. "Kind of."
"Kind of?"
"I'll rest when Lila is gone."
Nathaniel did not say anything. No need to provoke her, but it was clear that the girl desperately needed sleep. It was a good thing it was Saturday. She needed to stop worrying about the liar for a day and do something for herself. There's a reason Marinette had a King and Queen on her side, a reason she often tended to ignore.
The door opened up and Chloé walked in with a suitcase, presumably filled with papers. Her style was a bit different today. Her hair was down and curly. She had her new Primary jacket on, it's style radiating off of her like the sun. Her skirt was in a navy blue color to go with her yellow jacket. She preferred using high heels, but she had gone with some simple flats and knee high socks this time.
"You got it?" Asked Marinette.
Chloé blinked. "That's an odd way to say hello, but yes, I got them."
"You'll have to excuse Mari," Nathaniel stood up, "she's not herself today," he said.
"I'm fine."
Chloé shook her head. "You have bags under your eyes. Even my make up can't cover that up. You need to rest."
"Yeah, yeah, later. What did you find?"
Chloé sighed and put the suitcase on Marinette's desk, opening it up to reveal stacks of papers, all coming from the bank. Damocles has that many transactions?
"I wasn't able to get only his bank statements. It would have looked sus. So, I took multiple and put the ones of Damocles at the bottom of the stack. The rest we can just toss aside. Now, check this out. 1.4 million euros, half of it went to school renovations and new equipment. 20% went to funding events. Then 10% went to food for the cafeteria. That leaves the other 20% that went missing. Can you guess where it went?"
"Damocles' pocket?" shrugged Nathaniel.
Chloè snapped her fingers and pointed a finger gun at him. "Bingo. Now, here's that, but here," she took a new sheet of paper, "is the bank statement from two years ago. Back then, the school managed to raise about 950,473 €. Half went to children hospitals, 30% of it went to new equipment like new weights at the gym, 10% went to necessities like food for the cafeteria. The rest went to his pocket, which is 10%. As you can see, he has gotten greedier as time went on."
Marinette nodded and set the papers aside. She knew Damocles was a shady figure, what with him cosplaying as a superhero during school hours for example, but she never expected him to be an outright thief.
"Time for a conference call..."
She took out her phone and looked through her contacts. She wanted to get all informants in one place. While each Primary had their own informants , Marinette was technically the one in charge of all of them, but never bossed them around. She never pressed them for info unless it was absolutely necessary. They'd usually come to her or their respective Primary themselves.
Upon creating a temporary chat room consisting of The Primaries, Aurore, Mireille, Jean, Marc, Jake and Austin, she pressed the call button. One by one, all of their informants picked up and their faces appeared.
"Uh, what's going on?" Asked Mireille.
"Marinette?" Asked Aurore.
"This is new," said Marc.
The others were quiet.
"Guys, tell me, have any of you or someone you know ever filed a report against Damocles or another student? Have you ever gotten a response?" Asked Marinette.
"Uh... many times, I think. I know Mireille filed a report recently," said Marc.
"Yeah, I did. I wanted to bring his attention to the outdated cameras in the hallway. I never got a response from him. I then emailed the school board directly, but no dice either."
Jake cleared his throat so everyone would allow him to speak next. "I also did a few months ago, back in November. All the balls were getting old and unusable at the gym, so I requested new ones, from both the school board and Damocles."
"Want me to hack into his emails? You know I can do that," said Austin.
"Please do. Whatever you can find over the weekend, send it to the school board on Monday. Make sure it's anonymous," ordered Marinette.
"Yeah, meanwhile, Marinette is going to get some rest'" said Chloé.
"What? No! I'm fine!" She argued, ending the call abruptly.
"Marinette," Nathaniel put a hand on her shoulder, "we understand that you want to get this thing with Lila over with as soon as we can, but we can't do that if our leader is so tired she can barely see straight. Please get some rest. You have earned that much at least."
"That, or take care of any Ladybug duties you have. Leave Primary business to us today. Please, Mari."
Marinette sighed. She wanted to argue, but knew her friends were right. They weren't pressuring her to rest because they didn't want her to be involved. They were just looking out for her. That was all it was. Smiling, she nodded.
"Okay, there is something I have been meaning to do as Ladybug for a while. I need to tell Rena Rouge something."
"Good. Stretching your body might to good for you."
Marinette smiled with a nod. "Let's go, Tikki, spots on!"
The pink magic washed over her and in an instant, Marinette felt the worries of her civilain life vanish. It felt good to transform. Bwing Ladybug was a thrill she'll never get tired of, even if at first she wanted to give it up.
"One thing to know, another thing to see," said Nathaniel.
Ladybug giggled in response. "I'm off, you two. If anything happens, call me. My yo-yo is connected to my civilain phone."
The two gave her a thumbs up in approval, prompting Ladybug to run up to her room and leap out from her balcony. How no one was ever able to see her coming from said balcony they'll never understand. But now they could focus on taking care of things while Marinette was taking some time off. They could only hope she took it seriously.
"I wish we could help her when she's Ladybug too..." muttered Nathaniel.
Chloé smiled and shrugged. "Knowing her, she'll call on us when she needs to."
"How do you know?"
"Considering Alya was her bestie during our hiatus and she was Rena Rouge? She'll trust those she knows she can trust. And I have a pretty good feeling what she is going to Alya's for."
Nathaniel hummed and glanced at the door to Marinette's room Ladybug had just gone out of.
How stressed have you been all this time...?
When Ladybug was a few streets away from her home, she dove into a dark alleyway and let her transformation fall. That confused her Kwami. Weren't they supposed to just run around doing nothing?
"Uh, Marinette?"
"I know, I know, but change of plans."
Marinette peeked out of the alleyway and saw her new destination right across the street.
Agreste Manor.
"What are you going to do?"
Marinette smiled at her kwami. "That jerk owes me a date."
"Uh, since when?"
"Since now. I checked his schedule, he is not supposed to have anything planned. Today is Saturday, the only day of the week he is most likely to be free. I just want to go out on a date with him."
"If he doesn't accept?"
Marinette giggled. "Have you seen him around me lately? He'll want to."
Good luck getting in is what Tikki wanted to say. But she thought better of it and kept it to herself. Her chosen needed to do things her own way without her kwami nagging at her for every decision. Marinette may not be the nicest when she is the Blue Empress, but she was still a good person at heart. The only people she isn't nice to are her targets and those who she sees as threats.
Pepping herself up with a deep breath, Marinette made her way across the street and rang the doorbell to the mansion. A camera came out of the wall in response.
"Who is it?"
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm Adrien's classmate. I came to see him."
"What is the purpose of this visit?"
Marinette rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Apparently it's wrong to want to see a friend these days..."
The camera moved around to inspect her, which was a little creepy to her. Sure, it was Gabriel's home, he can do what he wants, but everyone would agree that if you have cameras in every corner of your home, you're paranoid as hell. To Marinette, however, Gabriel was a coward. Instead of handling business on his own, he thinks himself so high and mighty, he has Nathalie carry out everything he says. Okay, great, it's good to have an assistant when you're a huge fashion guru, but would it really hurt him to show some interest himself?
The camera zoomed in on her primary pin in her hair, a fact she was oblivious to.
A minute later, the camera went back into the wall and the front gates suddenly opened up.
Okay?
She may as well go in, seeing as how they were so nice to let her in. Yes, thay was sarcasm on her part.
Before she even made it to the top of the stairs, the front door opened up, Adrien's bodyguard letting her in. When she stepped into the mansion, the feeling of emptiness washed over her yet again.
She had been to Adrien's home many times before, either as herself or as Ladybug, but every time there was just something missing from it. It wasn't the coldness of the marble floors or the statues and paintings made out of gold. It was luxurious, but it just felt so lifeless. The whole house just screamed depression and loneliness.
How did Adrien manage to live like this? The second she walked in, it was like all joy was sapped away from her.
"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng."
Standing on top of the stairs, looking like he owns everything, was Gabriel Agreste himself.
"Hello, Mr.Agreste. Is Adrien home?" she asked as politely as she could. She had to take a stance that showed she wasn't intimidated by his stature. So, she crossed her arms and stood straight.
"He is. What business do you have with my son?"
"Business that does not concern you, Mr. Agreste."
Gabriel narrowed his eyes, although Marinette did not fail to notice how his left eye twitched at the audacity she was displaying. Inside, Marinette felt proud as hell. She had wanted to sass Gabriel for a long time.
"This is my son you are meeting. That makes it my business."
"Mr. Agreste, I do not need to explain myself. All I can do is assure you I will not harm your son. Do I look like a bad person to you?"
"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, I'm sure you understand that I am merely protecting my son."
"Yeah, sure." More like imprisoning.
"As such, I need to know why you want to see my son."
Marinette narrowed her eyes subtly. Sometimes she wondered if this was really the man she idolozed as a fellow fashion designer. He was so cold and ruthless, acting like a total dictator. But she had to stay strong and show him not everyone will bow to him like the royalty he thinks he is. She is a Primary for God sake! He wanted an explanation? He was getting one.
"Very well. I'll be blunt then. I'm here to take your son out on a date."
"A date, you say?"
"Problem?"
"And what shall you be doing on this... 'date' of yours?"
Marinette shrugged. "What else can two teenagers do? Take a walk in the park, get some ice cream, just have a fun time hanging out."
"With all do respect, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, I can not allow this. My son is very well known. You'll attract unwanted attention to him and yourself."
"I do not mind that," shrugged Marinette, "as long as it gets him out of the house and a smile on his face, that's all that matters."
Gabriel smiled despite himself. It wasn't a content smile, that much Marinette could tell. Rather, he was amused by her relentlessness. Releasing a breath, he closed his eyes.
"Very well. You may go up and see him. On one condition."
Marinette raised a brow, a motion she knew for a fact Gabriel did not like. Mocking him felt good.
"That pin in your hair. I'd like to study it. May I have a picture of it?"
That was a strange request. She always allowed people to take pictures of her emblem if they really wanted to. There was no harm in it, but this was also Gabriel she was talking to. He always acted shady, like when he had asked Ladybug about her earrings that one time. That moment still makes her shiver.
"If it gets you off my case, then fine."
She took the pin out of her hair and handed it to Nathalie, who snapped a picture of it using her tablet. When she was done, she handed the pin back to her.
"Is this hairpin important to you?" Asked Gabriel.
"Let's just say, if you'd tried to take it from me, I'd have to break your fingers."
"I see," scoffed Gabriel, clearly not being entirely convinced, "Nathalie, escort this young lady to Adrien's room."
"Of course, sir."
"I will indulge you just this once, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I shall trust you to keep things appropriate."
How much faith did this man have in his own son anyway? Instead of letting a girl take him out, shouldn't he tell his son how to behave properly on a date, like all fathers should? At least he had the decency to ask what her intentions with his son were, so he got points for that, but those points did not bring the count to a positive. If it could be scaled, he'd be a negative 90 father and positive 10 designer.
What a douche...
Nathalie escorted her to Adrien's room like she was instructed to. When Gabriel went back into his study, Nathalie took the chance to speak to Marinette without worry.
"I know you're a Primary. As such, I feel like I should tell you that Adrien has a guest over right now."
"Who is it?"
"Let's just say I want them gone just as much as you."
That was a little cause for worry. Who could be a guest that even Nathalie hated? There's only one person she herself right now and-
Oh no. Oh God no!
"If you need anything, I'll be at my desk."
"Thanks, Nathalie."
When the assistant was gone, Marinette knocked on the door. Upon hearing Adrien's voice, calling her in, she opened it. When she stepped in, she nearly lost her footing. There, sitting on Adrien's lap, was someone she never wanted to see there. Adrien himself looked uncomfortable as hell, his face begging for Marinette to help him.
"Lila..."
“Oh crap.”
“What is it?”
Chloé lifted her phone to show it to Nathaniel. Upon witnessing the screen, he scowled.
“Primaries: Bullies in sheep clothing
Hello Ladybloggers! Recently, a group of students, calling themselves The Primaries have made a “comeback” as they call it, in Dupont. Being a student at the school, who also transferred there at the start of the year, I had no prior knowledge of them. I made this post to talk about them.
Every person I talk to praise their efforts to thwart bullies, claiming they feel safe when they are around. But as I observed them over the week, I personally don’t agree with what people say. They came to school without warning and suddenly enforced rules upon us, like changing the seating order in class and they even have their own table in the cafeteria, a table no one else can sit at unless The Primaries personally invite them.
Then there are these pins they encourage us to wear. I never asked for one nor so I want one. I did think about it, but upon seeing their leader, who I thought was my bestie, twist someone’s wrist on their first day, I thought better of it. I know who their target is too, which I don’t understand.
Their target is a friend of mine called Lila Rossi. The leader of the Primaries has had it out for Lila ever since the latter came to our school.
I don’t get it. They are not protectors of anything. They even hold the teachers under their thumb! How can anyone be okay with this!? They are bullies and they are the worst people I have ever seen. They have no right to just boss everyone around! They say they have all these connections, but I am convinced it’s just a rumor to spread fear. My own boyfriend is even scared of them! Come on, you people! How can you let anyone get away with this!?
I don’t want to see them ruling a school simply because they feel entitled to it.
That’s all, Ladybloggers!”
Nathaniel handed the phone back to Chloé and leaned back on the couch in Marinette’s living room. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath the entire time he was reading the blog post.
”We should tell Marinette about this,” he suggested.
”Mkm,” Chloé shook her head, “This will only stress her out. This is her day off. We’ll deal with it ourselves.”
“We never really do anything unless she gives the order.”
”I know, but come on, she’ll be happy to know we dealt with it on our own. Besides, it’s exactly what she’d want us to do.”
Nathaniel looked to the side in concern, but nodded in approval.
”So, Operation BugOut?”
”Operation BugOut”
Marinette was furious at the sight in front of her. Lila was sitting in Adrien’s lap without any hesitance or worry, the blonde looking uncomfortable as could be. She wanted so badly to rush up to the two and throw Lila off of him, but she couldn’t. If she showed any violence at all, Lila would definitely tell about it to Gabriel and she’d be thrown out. That, and she’d rather not commit murder at the age of 15.
Damn my moral code…
“Marinette! This is such a surprise, I was just practicing a new pose for the upcoming photoshoot!” Lied the liar.
”Uh-huh.”
“I’m sure you don’t mind this, right? Adrien and I are very close you know,” she lied more.
”I’m aware.”
Lila got off of Adrien, finally, and straightened her skirt. “What are you doing here anyway?”
Marinette crossed her arms, her expression not changing in the slightest.
”I came to begin our date.”
”A date/a date?” Asked Lila and Adrien in unison.
”Adrien, sweetie, don’t tell me you forgot about it. We agreed to hang out on Saturday, remember?” She smirked, hoping the idiot would be smart enough to catch on to what she was doing. If he didn’t, too bad, so sad, she’s out of there.
Pray enough and they do get answered.
”Oh! Right! Sorry, Marinette, I completely forgot about it. I got distracted. Lila, I think it’s best if you go. I did promise Marinette after all.”
Lila scoffed and seethed, walking up toward Marinette. Just like on Monday, time seemed to stop when the two made eye contact, their mutual hatred toward each other suffocating the very air they were breathing.
“I know you had something to do with Bustier’s departure…”
Marinette shrugged. “Actually, no, I had nothing to do with it.” Or at least, not directly. Bustier’s case was all done by Loora.
“We will talk on Monday. Bathroom, lunch break, don’t be late.”
Marinette smiled and waved her off, walking past the liar with complete disrespect. Said liar growled and walked out the door, going who knows where.
When they were alone, Marinette walked up to Adrien and immediately began inspecting him for any damages as if he was some priceless artifact.
“Marinette, I’m fine, Lila did not harm me.”
“Next time, tell her no.”
Adrien scoffed. “I did. Five times, in fact. She’s persistent.”
Marinette took her phone from her skirt and ended the recording. It was a wonder her phone even had the memory to hold all the recorded audio of the past week.
”Anyway, get yourself ready. You’re taking me out on a date today. Your father already allowed it.”
“What? How did you do that?”
Marinette giggled. “Well, Snitch, you should already know a girl like me has her ways of getting what she wants, even from a fashion mogul.”
”Fair enough. Okay, let me get myself dressed properly and we can go. Where should we start?”
Marinette shrugged and mindlessly began to look through Adrien’s trophy case, it’s shelves filled with medals and trophies the model had won over the years.
”Anything is fine. I just needed to get away from my Primary duties for a while. Besides, you owe me this date.”
Adrien stopped scouring through his closet and turned around to face her in clear confusion. “I do? Since when?”
“If you recall, an idiot gave his umbrella to me when it was raining and I have been trying to confess to you for a long time. This date is you owning up to how oblivious you are.”
Adrien did not reply. He simply smiled and got ready for his impromptu date. He didn’t mind calling this one a date. Marinette was not like the many girls he has gotten asked out by. She was more down to earth and did not place him on a pedestal of glory.
Once he was done, the two made it to tue front foyer, ready to leave the ever depressing mansion.
“I trust you’ll have him home at a reasonable time?”
Gabriel was standing at the door to his office with an unusual smile. Marinette narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
“No, I’m keeping him.”
If there was one thing Gabriel could respect, it’s bravery. This young girl is sassy, charming and yet gentle and kind. She reminded him a lot of Emilie, which could be why he allowed Adrien to go out with her.
The two teenagers were out the gates before anyone realized, ready to begin their day of fun.
“I have never seen Father be so lenient. I’m surprised he did not ask Gorilla to throw you out.”
Marinette shrugged as she walked next to him. “I had my ways to convince him, or rather, he asked me for something.”
“What did he ask for?”
Marinette took the crown off her hair and held it in her hand. “He seemed interested in my Primary emblem.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you come up with the emblem? Why black?”
Marinette smiled and set the pin back into her hair. “The three colors just stand out better when on a black surface. Nothing special about it.”
”The gems look real.”
”They are. At least for me, Chloé and Nathaniel. Other emblems you’ve seen us hand out have fake gems. Just some polished rocks we colored.”
“How come I have never gotten one?”
Marinette stopped and looked at him like he had asked the dumbest question of the day.
“You are our Snitch, Adrien. You wearing a Primary emblem in this situation would raise suspicion.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Well! Enough talk! Let’s just go and enjoy the day!”
With a giggle, Marinette grabbed his hand and dragged him along, smiling all the while. Adrien chuckled to himself. Marinette acted tough, but underneath was a kind girl who just wanted to protect what was precious to her. Her classmates, however idiotic, were important to her. It was a self proclaimed duty to deal with bullies and bad teachers. But today, Marinette was not The Blue Empress. Today, she was just Marinette, a girl he wanted to know more about. Her hiding this side of her was something she never expected, but it was like a fresh breath of air. He only wished the girl he was in love with was like this sometimes.
But maybe it would be best not to bring her up on their hangout…
When Alya woke up the next morning, she decided to see what her views on her latest posts were like. When she booted up her computer and opened the Ladyblog…
How did…?
No, no, this could not be right. This had to be a bad dream. A nightmare. This couldn’t be real!
All her months if hard work, recording footage and creating a friendly environment on the internet, gone. Just like that. All that was left was an error screen with a laughing skull. That was it. She could not access it, she could not even see any traces of her website.
The Ladyblog was…
It was just gone.
Chapter 10: Developing
Summary:
A mothers love is endless
With it, a child is not defensless.
Let your confidence shine through
And they shall yield to your will
Notes:
Prepare for some drama at the start, some mother-daughter fluff and Marinette feeling invincible.
There will be a song in this chapter. You know how in some cartoons or even movies there are musical numbers that canonically the characters are not aware of? Yeah, it’s kinda like that. I’ll tell you the name of the song at the end notes.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Through dirt and shadow I grow
I’m reaching light through the struggle
Here’s how Marinette’s date went. It started off well, with her grabbing his hand and having a fun time walking around Paris, getting ice cream and chatting about whatever came to mind.
However, throughout the date, Marinette could tell that Adrien was a little tense. Well, not even a little. A lot of tense. Whenever she’d make a joke, he’d laugh, but it always came off fake.
That brings us to when the sun had already set. It was February, which meant it was not the warmest outdoors as of yet. It was time for Adrien’s curfew, meaning Marinette had to take Adrien home. The two were strutting along the dark streets of Paris, only illuminated by the street lights. Adrien walked in front of Marinette, with the girl trotting along with her hands behind her back, head down.
”Man, I had such an amazing time today, Marinette. Thank you so much for taking me out.”
Marinette did not reply. Her mind was elsewhere.
”Marinette?”
The girl stopped walking and looked to the ground, bringing her arms to her side.
”Adrien? Did you… want to come out today? Or was it just an opportunity for you?”
Adrien’s surprise to hear such a question was evident.
”What? What makes you say that? Of course I wanted to come out.”
”With me?”
”O-of course! You’re my friend. I always enjoy hanging out with you.”
Right. Friend. That’s all he ever saw in her. She had hoped that with this date, he’d see her in a new light, but perhaps, he was slightly scared off by her drastic personality shift.
“I mean specifically me, Adrien. I came out today because I needed a break from my Primary duties and a date with you is something I thought would work.”
”You mean… this was a real date? Not you playing?”
Marinette’s expression suddenly darkened. She scowled and crossed her arms, looking at the blond straight in the eye. How dumb was he?
”You realise that now? After the ice cream, the walk, the restaurant… NOW is when you question what this was!?”
She had hoped he’d see things differently after the events of the past week. But blondie was as dense as ever.
“No, no! I knew this was a date. Sort of. I just didn’t realise it was a date date, you know?”
”Uh-huh…”
”I guess I’m still not good at this social thing. I don’t know how to pick up on cues. I'm sorry."
"Clearly... Anyway, we should get you home before Gabriel decides to call you."
Without waiting for a response, Marinette walked past him and stomped onwards. Not literally stomp, but there was some anger in every step she took, leaving Adrien to pathetically catch up to her.
Someone explain to him how her mind worked. He could not fogure it out no matter how hard he tried. Of course, the day had been a lot of fun, but he had no idea she considered it a date. He simply guessed she disguised it as one to let him out of the house. Great going, Agreste, you upset a friend!
Friend...
Is that all Marinette was to him in reality? He was in love with Ladybug, but could he really tell anyone that without it seeming like a celebrity crush? Ladybug was unreachable, he had no idea what she was like underneath the mask. Maybe his love was just a teenage fantasy.
No, that can't be right.
Come on, you idiot! Say something!
"You know..."
Marinette stopped in her tracks to listen, her eyes never losing the shadow over them.
"You're right. Maybe I should have clarified with you what this was. You considered this a date, a real one, one you have been wanting since we met, right? You told me you've had a crush on me since I gave you my umbrella. It wasn't fair to you for me to assume what this was. I'm sorry."
There. That's a good apology, right? She seemed to be a little more calm than earlier.
Marinette turned her back towards him.
"I told you not to assume things without even asking..."
"I know. I'm sorry. No wonder I can't ask that girl out..."
Marinette froze. Of course. Adrien had told her that before. He was in love with someone else. But did he really have to choose now of all times to say that!?
Taking a deep breath, Marinette straightened her posture. "I think... you're more than capable of getting home on your own. It isn't far."
"W-wait, Mari, I didn't mean-!"
"Don't call me that, Snitch. See you on Monday."
Without another word, she ran off towards home, leaving a very dumbfounded blonde behind. Good thing she left, otherwise she would have seen a tiny God poke it's head out of his shirt.
"Way to go, Casanova..." said Plagg.
"W-what? What did I say?"
"Seriously, kid?" The cat sighed, "Let's just go home, I need my cheese..."
Home... a place that was anywhere other than that empty, lifeless mansion...
"Stupid fucking..." grumbled Marinette.
"Are you okay, Marinette?"
The girl hadn't even realized she was going the opposite direction from home until she was standing in front of the Bourgeouis Hotel. Damn her anger.
"Yeah, sure, just peachy! I went on a date with my idiot of a crush and he flat out tells me he is in love with someone else!"
If only I could tell you, Marinette
"I'm sure he didn't realize it would hurt you," Tikki tried failed to defend, causing Marinette to scoff at her Kwami.
"That does not make it better, Tikki, but thanks for trying..."
Her kwami giggled nervously, deciding to change the topic to help her chosen.
"Didn't you say you were supposed to see Alya before you went on your date?"
"Oh, shoot, right. I should do that!"
"Before you do," Tikki floated up to her, "what are you going to tell her?"
"You'll see when we get there. You'll probably hear it through the suit anyway. Ready?"
Upon her Kwami's approval, she transformed and slung on to the rooftops of Paris. Finally, some bliss. Parkouring around the city as Ladybug always gave her the adrenaline rush she needed after a hard day.
Confronting Alya was a task she had wanted to do for a while, but only as Ladybug. As Marinette, Alya was her bestie before she made her grand return as a Primary, but she always refused to listen to Marinette. Ladybug was a different persona, so she did not need to worry about damaging her relationship. Not that there was anything left to damage. Her and Alya's friendship was over the second the journalist decided to trust someone she barely knew over her best friend, waving it off as pure jealousy.
Alya became Rena Rouge because of her cunning and sly personality. She personafied the fox perfectly. The Fox Miraculous specialized in illusions and trickery. The ultimate irony of it all? Alya was never able to see through illusions herself. That's why she would have always failed...
She landed on top of Alya's appartment complex and zipped down with her yo-yo, hanging off from the string upside down like Spider Man. When she peeked inside, she saw Alya working on her computer. Upon closer inspection, she was writing an article about The Primaries.
Digging your grave is more like it...
She knocked on the window, startling the young journalist out of her trance. When she spotted the hero outside her window, she did not hesitate to run up and open it to let her in.
"Ladybug! What can I do for you? Is there an Akuma?"
"Alya, we need to talk..."
Her tone was strict and no-nonsense. This was not the proper time to fangirl about the Ladybug in her room. This was hero business.
"Okay?"
Ladybug zipped down further and sat down on Alya's window sill, blocking out the cool late winter air. Good thing her suit kept her warm at all times.
"I've been... hearing rumors. About your school."
"Right, yeah, The Primaries. If they are bothering you, then you're in luck, because I'm working on exposing them! In fact I'm writing an article abojt them right now. They-"
"No, Alya. It's not about that. I have heard rumors, but I came here to tell you that due to said rumors, I can't let you be Rena anymore."
A small part of Marinette felt bad to break Alya's heart this way, but the bigger part of her did not care and even took satisfaction in her distraught face. Alya was not the girl she thought she was. Alya enables a bully, making her a bully as well in Marinette's eyes. It didn't matter if she was unaware of Lila's lies. Her refusal to listen to reason already proved where her loyalties lied. If someone came with new tales of a high life, Alya clung to them like the plague.
Break the rules, you are scum.
Abandon even one of your friends, you're worse than scum.
"W-what? W-wait, what do you mean?"
"Rumor has it, you abandoned a friend who desperately needed help. Not only that, but I need you to stop making those posts with Lila in them. They are all false information."
"Oh, so this is about Lila now? What is with you people!? Lila has done nothing to you, so why does everyone hate her so much! She's a good person!"
Ladybug put a hand up to silence her, which Alya smartly did.
"By all means, maybe she is a good person. However, the information she is giving you on the blog is fake. I do not know her personally, I have never once saved her from being run over by a truck and I most certainly don't go to her to consult about new heroes. She does not know anything about me. Not where I live, not what I like, not what I am like."
"But... but she said-"
"Alya Cesairè, you will not be Rena Rouge again and that is final. Have a good evening."
Ladybug was about to throw her yo-yo out, but Alya grabbed her wrist.
"What about Nino?" she asked.
Ladybug pulled her hand free before replying.
"Nino will understand. That's all. Oh, and if I were you, I would not post that article about The Primaries."
Alya scowled. Ladybug came to her home, told her she wasn't needed anymore, then tells the owner of the Ladyblog how to run said Ladyblog? There are lines Alya did not want anyone to cross.
"Ladybug, I respect you, but this is my blog and I decide what goes and what does not. Besides, I posted it hours ago, I’m just going over to see if I missed anything."
Ladybug turned around and smiled softly, throwing her yo-yo out the window and swinging away into the night.
Then came Monday. When Ladybug had gotten home on Saturday after visiting Alya, Marinette shut down and did not come out at all on Sunday. The only people she talked to were The Primaries, but only for business concerns. She only came out during eating hours.
It's not like she was depressed or anything like everyone assumed. She was just angry and needed some time alone to figure things out. She was angry at Adrien for saying something so insensitive and angry at Alya for not seeing any reason.
Good news is, during her self-imposed exile, she got a lot of work done on her commissions and managed to pull new ones from people like Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale.
And now it was Monday, another start of a school week. Was she excited?
Hell yes.
She'd be able to wear her newest Primary jacket, hang out with her friends and enjoy a whole new era without Bustier teaching them. Nathaniel pulled a few strings and Loora was appointed their new homeroom teacher.
So, yes, Marinette was indeed excited to start the week.
Pulling up her skirt and putting on her tights, she looked in the mirror with a cocky smirk. Oh yeah, The Blue Empress had awoken once again. But what kind of hairstyle would she go with? Normally, she'd be organised and reserve a hairstyle for every day of the week, but she felt like going a bit differently this time.
"Maman!" She called as she ran down the stairs to the living room.
"Don't run down the stairs. What is it sweetie?"
"Can you do my hair? I have a style in mind!"
Sabine had never seen such sparkle in her little girl's eyes. She giggled and patted the stool next to the counter. Her daughter jumped on it like an excited little toddler.
"What did you have in mind, oh great majesty?" She teased.
"Can you do the traditional Chinese hairstyle? The bun and the chopsticks?"
"You mean hair sticks?"
"Yeah, those!"
"Of course, dear. What's the occasion? You normally let your hair down with the pin on Mondays."
Marinette shrugged. "No real reason, I just wanted to try something new."
Sabine nodded and began to comb her daughters hair to make it smooth. When it was, she began to gently tie it up into a bun.
"I heard that Mme. Bustier quit her job. Do you know why?"
Marinette tensed up a bit, the suicide of Melly Zhen still fresh on her mind. It was something she needed more time to process before openly talking about.
"Yeah, I know, but... I'd rather not talk about it, if that's okay? I'll tell you some other time, but not now."
Sabine hummed, respecting Marinette's wishes to change the topic.
"Okay, then here is a little fun fact for you. Did you know that the hair stick style is not actually traditional Chinese?"
Marinette blinked. "It isn't?"
Sabine shook her head. "Hair sticks are ancient accessories. Many countries used them, like Egypt, Rome, India, China and others. These days it is most common in Japan. China of course uses it, but not as much as Japan."
"I never knew that."
Sabine giggled. "I wouldn't expect you to. It's not that well known of a history."
Marinette smiled and leaned against her mother's chest. "Thanks for always being there for me, Maman..."
"Of course, dear. Always. Now, which color gem would you like the hairsticks to have? Matching? Odd?"
Marinette hummed and then smiled. "Surprise me."
Nodding, the smaller woman went to the TV stand, opening up the small drawer below and chose the hair sticks she thought would look best. Her choice was already obvious considering what Marinette was wearing.
"How about these?"
Marinette looked over and her mouth fell slightly open in awe. The hair sticks were a simple wooden design, but at the tip was a blue heart thay shined like a diamond. Of course, she should have figured. They were perfect.
"You do know blue is actually not my favorite color, right?" She giggled.
"I know, I know, it's pink, but look, these sticks go with your title!"
"Yeah, they're perfect. Can you do the honors?" She asked and turned her back to her mother, the woman walking up and putting the sticks into the bun in an X pattern. Her daughter looked so beautiful, she felt like crying. But no no, must remain strong for child!
"You look beautiful."
"Thanks, Maman."
"Do you want to bring anything for your class? Or at least to Chloé and Nathaniel?"
Did Loora like cake? That was a good question. But even if not, she could still enjoy it with her friends. The class would get some cake too if they asked nicely. She wasn't that cold.
Wait...
No, no.
No, her days of bringing in free pastries to her ungrateful classmates were over! She'd never waste time on them again only to be brushed off a minute later!
Still, she could do something nice for Loora to say thank you for helping them with Bustier, so maybe a small slice of cake would not hurt.
"Yeah, but only one slice," she replied. "A new teacher was assigned to us, so I want to welcome her."
"Nothing for your class?"
Marinette sighed. "Maman, I..."
Sabine patted her head. She knew her daughter more than anyone realize. The two shared such a special bond that she could easily tell what Marinette was thinking.
"It's okay, sweetheart. I understand. It's always okay to say no."
"Yeah... I just... never realized how ungrateful they all actually were, treating me like a food dispenser or a doormat. I thought me abandoning my title and change would get me more friends, but..."
"Don't forget, Marinette, that just like you," Sabine got a strawberry cake out from the fridge and cut a slice from it, "they are teenagers. To them, they love receiving, but they never want to give. I am proud that you realize nothing is ever free. Don't feel bad for saying no. Be The Blue Empress, because it's who you are."
"If... I am The Blue Empress... what does that make you? There isn't a higher position than Empress," smirked Marinette.
"Yes, there is."
"Oh?"
Sabine smirked. "Goddess."
Marinette's giggles soon turned into laughter. Sabine could listen to her precious child laugh all day and never get tired of it. The sound of your own kid laughing and enjoying life is something every parent should cherish.
"You are an Empress, Marinette. You are unbeatable if you put your heart and soul into it. You protect your classmates and the school from bullies, something anyone hardly ever does. I really am proud of you. Keep doing your best."
Marinette had enough of the sudden surge of sentimentality and tackled her mother in a tight hug, not wanting to let her go. Yeah, if she was an Empress, Sabine was indeed her Godess, her Guardian Angel.
"I love you, Maman..."
"I love you too. Now, hurry up, you'll be late."
Marinette glanced at the clock and saw that there was about 20 minutes left before the first bell, but she understood why Sabine told her to go. Her mother had a bakery to run after all. Plus, she wanted to make an entrance, an entrance Dupont had never seen. Dramatic, yes, but this was Marinette. She's always dramatic. Don't judge her.
Grabbing the wrapped up box with the slice of cake inside, Marinette pecked her mother on the cheek and ran out the door.
While it was nice to sometimes drive a limousine to school, it wasn't the most optimal when her home is right next to it. She wasn't that lazy.
When she was out the door, she slightly opened up her jacket to check the inside pocket.
"You better not sneak into the box and eat the cake," she warned.
Tikki did her innocent look by putting her paws behind her back and whistled. If you can call it whistling.
"Me? I would never do that."
Liar...
Marinette narrowed her eyes with a smirk. "I'm serious, Tiks. I know you have an uncontrollable sweet tooth sometimes."
"Fair enough. Wait, Tiks?"
Marinette did not reply and gently pushed her Kwami back into her pocket, hearing a protesting 'hey!' muffled by the fabric.
Chloé and Nathaniel were already at schoo. Since they lived farther away than Marinette, they took the limo. And, don't tell anyone, but that's where they also drink their morning coffee.
What? Coffee's good.
"Think Marinette's gonna come today?" Asked the redhead.
"She got some rest, I think she's fine. Monday's the day she's most full of energy, for some reason. I have no idea how she does that."
“It’s Marinette. Don’t question it.”
Chloé giggled. Just then, the front doors to the school burst open, with a ferocious girl stepping inside, silencing the entire courtyard. Marinette had arrived, and she seemed to be in an entirely different mood from yesterday. Her high heels clicked strongly with each step, her aura radiating off her like a whirlwind. She looked like she absolutely owned the place, with confidence and elegance to match her steps. Her hairstyle made her look like actual royalty and now, she was walking on her own red carpet. Her posture was straight, making all students feel as if they should literally bow before their Empress. But no one did. This wasn’t a real kingdom after all.
Baddest do what the baddest do (Hey)
The baddest do (Hey), we the baddest, ooh
Baddest do what the baddest do (Hey)
The baddest do (Hey), we the baddest
No one had expected her to actually start singing the minute she walked in the door, but damn did everyone love it. Well, everyone except for Lila and even Alya, who stood by and rolled their eyes at the sight.
Where was the music coming from?
It’s a mystery
We're comin' at you live (Live), real, real wild
Here to light it up, set the world on fire
Gonna break rules and hearts in twos
'Cause that's what the baddest do
To emphasise the breaking hearts line, Marinette held a heart shape paper in her hand and tore it up.
“Marinette, girl, what’re you doing? And where’s this music coming from?” Giggled Chloé
”Where do you think? The speakers! Come on, sing with me!”
Never goin' back, nah, not that
Diamonds on drip 'cause I came to make a splash
Gonna brеak rules and hearts in twos
'Cause that's what thе baddest do (Yeah, uh)
Shrugging, Chloé got up and decided to take over the next part of the song. Was she improvising the lyrics? Yeah, but so was Marinette. What no one was expecting, was the fact that the Chloé Bourgeois could rap!
I spit heat, I melt your face off
Disappear, I’m your eraser (Yeah)
In the cut just like a razor
Murder business, where my blazer?
I got all the boys on me
She smoothly ran her fingers up the jaw line of Kim and Max, in a semi teasing way, which both boys found sort of irritating. Chloé did not give any damns. Her rhythm and body movement was fast, elegant and a show of power.
I got all the lines on ring
Knock 'em dead, turning heads
I got all the eyes on me
I walk in with a pretty face, make 'em want a taste
Boy, slow down, you gon' have to wait, dangling the bait
You like, "Woah, 'Kali, you the GOAT"
I'm like, "Yeah, I know"
Prepare 'cause I like to ball, I won't stop
Keep it lit, mega like a bit, I mean like a byte
Get it right, know I do it big, I ain't talking height
I'm legit, know I leave 'em dead
I'm a boss, extra with the sauce, give 'em what they like
Marinette and Chloé slid across the courtyard and were leaning against each other back to back. Marinette took one of her hair sticks out from her bun and hurled it like a ninja kunai, its sharp point landing directly above Lila’s head, who ducked down in horror. Holy shit!
Then, Marinette and Chloé sang together. Yeah, Nathaniel was not going to join in. His male voice would kind of ruined it, but he enjoyed watching his girls show off their confidence like that. Damn, he had some great role models.
I'm doing damage, went just how I planned it
I do what I want when I say (When I say, when I say)
I'm making the news but it ain't nothing new
To live on the edge of insane
Comin' at you live (Live), real, real wild
Here to light it up, set the world on fire (Fire, ah yeah)
Gonna break rules and hearts in twos
'Cause that's what the baddest do
Never goin' back (Back), nah, not that
Diamonds on drip 'cause I came to make a splash
Gonna break rules and hearts in twos
'Cause that's what the baddest do (It's crazy)
Then, the music seemed to calm down. Marinette slowly walked up to Alya and Lila, putting on a face of mockery, yet in a kind, gentle, Marinette way.
Sorry for the bad news, sorry I'm so bad
Only took a minute for me to get what you had
Sorry for the bad news, know it makes you sad
I'll be here for a minute, baby, you should pack your bags
Lila scowled in her direction, but knowing she was in the presence of all her classmates, she had to make it seem like a scowl of sadness. She pretended to be hurt by the way Marinette was insulting her through the song. Of course, her classmates all huddled up and made Marinette back away, which the girl did with a smirk.
Chloé popped up right behind their classmates and continued the verse.
Way that I look should be breakin' the law
If I don't got it, I take what I want
My circle small like a round of applause
You know that I love the sound of applause
You know I mean everything that I say
When you see me coming, get out of the way
I came to slay, I came to slay
Back and I'm better and ready to stay
The same thing as before repeated itself, with Marinette and Chloé sliding into the centre of the courtyard, back to back.
I'm doing damage, went just how I planned it
I do what I want when I say (When I say, when I say)
I'm making the news but it ain't nothing new
To live on the edge of insane (It's crazy)
Marinette held her nose high and walked up to Lila, appearing left and right with every next sentence.
Sorry not sorry for bein' the best
I came to stunt, I came to impress
Look at the gold all on my chest
Look at the gold, call it a flex
And on the final word, she literally flicked Lila upside the nose. It wasn’t enough to hurt her, but the liar exasperated anyway.
That final verse was meant as a challenge to Lila, to tell her no matter what she did, Marinette, as her number one enemy, would always be better than her in every single way, and she’d make sure Lila knew it.
Everything went black after that…
Before class began, there was another 10 minutes left, so Marinette decided to ask them about the whole Ladyblog fiasco. She was currently sitting on their table with her legs crossed. Loora would not mind when she arrived.
Right?
”Did you see the article Alya posted?” She asked as she let Chloé do her nails in the meantime.
”Why do you think we deleted it?” Smirked Nathaniel.
“Wait, you did what now?”
”Nathaniel! We did not deleted the post. We… yeah, we sort of hacked the blog and deleted the site altogether,” confirmed Chloé.
”Huh…”
Uh-oh, was Marinette going to be mad at them? They did it without her permission. She was their leader, she should have been there to decide it. But, surprisingly to them, she smiled with sincere gratitude.
“Thanks, guys. It was about time anyway.”
“You’re not… mad at us?” Asked Nathaniel.
”Of course not, Red King! I’m proud of you two for stepping up! You did well!” Giggled Marinette as she ruffled his hair with affection.
"I take it you also saw the post?" asked Chloé, filing Marinette's left thumb.
"Mhm. I went over as Ladybug and saw her going over the post. I did warn her not to post it, but she did not listen. How did you do it anyway?"
"That's a secret, Mari. Sorry, even we have our own," replied Nathaniel with a wink, making Marinette smile in hia direction. That was a fair argument. Her Ladybug life was a secret, so it was only fair her two friends had their secrets too.
With the Ladyblog out of the way, Lila's fame was ruined and Alya no longer had any reason to chase after Akuma fights. If she decided to remake the blog, they'll get rid of it immediately until they can be sure Alya learns to actually listen to all facts before posting anything.
"First day of the week and I already see one student breaking school rules. Marinette, get off the table."
The sound of Loora's voice as she entered the classroom completely startled her and she quickly stumbled back to her seat, next to Adrien.
The blonde tried to greet her, but she ignored him. Yeah, Marinette holds a grudge for a little while.
Adrien wanted to speak to her, but Loora began the lesson. Not wanting to press his luck, he let it go, but he'd find a way to talk to her again when the lesson is over.
Rose held her hand up to grab Loora's attention.
"Yes, Rose?"
"Will Mme. Bustier be coming back?"
"No."
Loora's reply was somewhat robotic and monotone. Clearly, she was still shaken up by the unexpected reveal of truth, just like The Primaries were.
"Mme. Gergina, may I sit at the front?" asked Lila, causing Loora to groan.
"May I ask, why?"
"My tinnitus prevents me from hearing very well and I need to sit with Adrien to be able to learn better."
Loora pinched her nose. It was too early on a Monday to be dealing with such nonsense.
"And what does Adrien have to do with your tinnitus?
"Well, he is a good tutor and I focus better when next to him."
Loora looked toward Adrien for confirmation. Adrien was not amused and shook his head a firm no.
"Do you have a doctors note to verify your disability?" she asked.
Lila blinked. Ahha. She had clearly not expected any teacher to ask that. "Well, no, but-"
"Lila's mother is very busy! She has no time to get a doctors note!" Defended Alya.
"Mlle. Cesairé, do not shout in my classroom."
While the class was arguing with their new teacher, The Primaries were quietly studying by themselves. They had nothing to offer to the conversation anyway. They'd rather let Lila dig her own grave than get their hands dirty.
"Furthermore, this will be rule number four in my classroom. Unless you have a doctors note about a disability, I will consider it a falsehood. Your previous teacher may have caved and was lenient with you, but your cries and moans will not work on me. Do you understand?"
While the rest of the class muttered quietly that they understood, Lila was not easily swayed.
"But-"
"Do you understand?" asked Loora, a little more firmly this time.
If this wae Bustier, Lila would put on crocodile tears until she gave in to her demands. But something about Loora took away all her confidence. If Lila was a lion, Loora would be the cage to keep her in check.
"Yes ma'am..."
Loora sighed in relief.
"Good. Now, I see all of you are seated to people closest to you. Am I correct?" when the class nodded, she continued, "To keep you-"
Loora stopped talking when she turned to face her desk and saw a wrapped up, white cardboard box on it. She took it in her hands and held it out.
"What's this? Who put this here?"
Marinette raised her hand. "It was me, Mme. Gergina. I wanted to welcome you as our new teacher, so I brought you a little something you can enjoy."
Loora opened it up to see a delicious looking strawberry cake staring right back at her. Her face beamed in joy. This wasn't anything anyone had ever done for her before. She loved receiving gifts, especially those done with a pure heart.
"Thank you so much, Marinette. That's so sweet. How did you know strawberry was my favorite?"
Marinette giggled with a wink. "Call it a hunch."
Alya frowned and slammed her hands on her desk, standing up.
"Marinette, you didn't bring us any?"
Marinette blinked. "Uh... should I have?"
"You always bring pastries for us!" Cried Rose.
"Yeah! We want some too!"
Lila shrugged. "Guess she forgot about us."
Loora, taking a piece of her cake with a plaatic spoon, looked at Nathaniel with a raised eyebrow. This is normal?
Nathaniel rolled his eyes and nodded. Every single day.
Marinette sighed and leaned on her elbows.
"If you wanted pastries, go to the bakery and buy some. I'm not a walking charity."
Adrien was about to say something next to her, only to be silenced by a stomp on his foot from Marinette. Ouch.
"That's so not fair!" cried Rose... again.
"But... Marinette, you have to-" began Alix.
"I don't have to do anything. Like I said, if you want pastries, go to the bakery. Don't treat me as a food dispenser. Now pipe down or else."
Alix wanted to keep challenging her, but after a look of concern from Kim, thought better of it. She knew better not to mess with any of the three Primaries, much less The Blue Empress herself. It was clear that she was not the target of their wrath and she'd rather keep it that way.
When the lesson officially began, Lila frowned from behind Marinette and decided not to say anything during class. The Primaries were more skillful than she gave them credit for. One wrong move and she'd be exposed, that much was clear. She'd have to plan her next steps very carefully. The only advantages she had left were Damocles, Alya, the classmates and the Ladyblog, which, still unbeknownst to her, was deleted the day before.
This new teacher was not easily manipulated. Unlike Bustier, Loora had a spine and the intelligence to match it. But it would only be a matter of time before even she bows before her. No one has ever defied the rule of Lila Rossi, and Loora will be no different.
And as long as she had Gabriel'd support, she'd be invincible...
Enjoy your reign while it lasts...
Notes:
The song used in the chapter is called Baddest by K/DA
I wanted to try something I've never attempted in anything I've written, which was implementing a musical number. It did not turn out as well as I hoped it would, but I did my best to make it happen. I just wanted to show how confident and happy Marinette is when she's free from being everyone's doormat.
Let's be real, in canon, everyone seems to take some sort of advantage of Marinette's kindness. While it's not often, it is noticable when it does happen. My girl deserves a lot better than that. That's honestly why in my opinion her and Chloé would get along extremely well in reality. They both balance each other out and compliment each other.
Also, before you start attacking Adrien for what he said, he actually intended that in a different way. It will be explained soon, but know it was not as it seemed.
Chapter 11: When I’m Gone
Summary:
The liar wants to play
The teacher won’t be swayed
A friendship broken
The activation of a token…
Notes:
The fact that everyone seems to adore this story just warms my heart. I cannot tell to how many times I have read the comments over and over. Seriously, all of you keep me going!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
I look around me and all I seem to see
Is people going nowhere, expecting sympathy
Soon it was lunch, meaning Marinette had to meet Lila in the bathroom, just as the liar requested of her. She could already tell what was going to await her. Threats, manipulation attempts...
Lila had not shown up for five minutes, so Marinette decided to touch up on her make-up. She wasn't a huge fan of dolling herself up like Chloé, but she did like to wear some mascara and eyeshadow every now and then. Her freckles were always hiding behind make-up, but Chloé had actually convinced her that they add to her beauty.
Looking in the mirror, Marinette had to admit, the girl staring back at her was quite pretty.
Ah, her bun had gone a little loose. While she may not be as good at it as her mother, she was still proficient enough to adjust it.
Just as she was about to open up her bun, the bathroom door slid open and just as expected, Lila walked in.
"Marinette! Thank you for agreeing to meet me here."
Seriously? Still trying to act sweet? This girl really had issues. Had she ever considered therapy? Nah, knowing how much of a psycho she was, therapy would be the last thing on her mind...
"Make it quick, Lila. I have things to do."
Lila dropped her sweet girl attitude instantly, already insulted by Marinette's response. Marinette took a comb out of her school bag and was about to brush her hair when Lila suddenly grabbed it out of her hand, throwing it aside. Marinette was not amused in the slightest, not even showing any signs of irritation, just annoyance.
"You made that spineless teacher quit, I know you did!"
Marinette sighed, "I've told you already, we had nothing to do with it. Bustier quit all on her own, probably finding a new oppurtunity in another school."
Nah, she was aware that Bustier was awaiting trial and was at home under constant watch, but Lila did not need to know that.
"You think you're so clever, Marinette? You're still the same weak girl as before. It does not matter if you have some 'group' with you or not. I'll take them away just as I did your classmates."
Marinette finished tying up her bun and placed the hair sticks inside like they were before, then turned to face Lila.
"You know, Lila, you are severely underestimating how loyal The Primaries are to each other. Even if one of us steps out of line, the others will rush in to help them. No matter how hard you try, all three of us know what a snake you really are. No lies will ever break us apart."
Lila growled and grabbed Marinette by the collar, attempting to intimidate her into submission.
It... wasn't very effective.
"You listen and you listen good, puttana. You will fall in line. If you don't, I'll make sure your life is over. No one will ever trust you, no one will ever look at you. I already took all of your friends away. I can do so much worse..."
Marinette smirked softly and grabbed Lila's wrist. Without any warning, she tossed Lila over her shoulder. Since Lila physically attacked her first, it was self-defence. She knew her morals.
"You can keep them if you want. They already showed their true colors. They aren't loyal. As soon as someone new comes along, they'll do the same to you as they did to me. I don't need them. I have two best friends in my life and that's all I need."
Lila scowled, but Marinette did not give her the chance to speak.
"You know what's funny to me? You declared war on me, yet here you are, threatening me again. Admit it, you are scared out of your mind. I saw your reaction during our return and when I twisted Kim's wrist. You're afraid and still continue to fight. Imagine that, Lila. A baker's daughter with connections and talents you could only dream of, the daughter of the Mayor, who has a police escort on speed dial and the son of the CEO of the biggest tech company in Paris. You, Lila? You've managed to piss off every single one of them. You know this. That is why you are afraid of me."
Lila got up and dusted herself off. She had to calm herself down. Physically attacking Marinette would not do any good. Her most valuable weapon wasn't her fists, it was her silver tongue.
"You have no idea what you're talking about Marinette. I'll find something and I'll completely ruin you. Just you wait and see."
Marinette smiled and packed up her make-up kit into her backpack. Tossing it over her shoulder, she moved toward the bathroom door.
"Good luck, Lila. Trust me, you'll need a looooot of it."
She then opened the door and walked out. Chloé and Nathaniel were leaning against the wall opposite the door, already waiting for her. When she told them she was meeting Lila, the two requested they'd come along as back-up. She tried to refuse, but they insisted.
"So?" Asked Chloé.
"Well," replied Marinette as she put her hands on her hips and honestly did not know what to make of the situation, "that... was a waste of time."
Nathaniel and Chloé burst into fits of giggles.
Next day
"Now then, since I am your new teacher, the old rules by Bustier are no longer in effect. That means, you have to choose a new class representative."
That's the part Marinette was already looking forward to. During Bustiers time, she resigned as class rep. How will her fellow students fare when she is no longer their babysitter? One thing is for certain: they will want her to keep being their leader.
"Marinette should still be class rep!" squealed Rose.
Yep, there it was. Marinette twirled her ponytail in her hand smugly.
Loora shook her head. "No. She is not. That's kind of the whole point of the topic?"
"But Marinette is so good at it! She always brings us food and organizes trips for us!" Said Lila in her sweetest tone possible.
Marinette wanted to gag in the front seat from hearing the disgusting voice. Loora stole a glance her way and honestly agreed with the notion, but she had to be a teacher, not an associate to The Primaries.
Loora stood up and walked over to the chalkboard, grabbing a small white chalk and began to write.
"Being a class representative is more than just handing out things to your peers. It's about leadership. If Marinette should be the class representative only because she brings you free things, then that does not equate to you trusting her," she finished her writing and turned to her class, "it's called taking advantage of someone."
"B-but Mme. Bustier always told Marinette to-" began Alya, only to be cut off by the narrowed -and intimidating - eyes of their teacher.
"I am not Bustier. She quit her job, get over it."
"Honestly..." sighed Chloé as she turned her head to look out the window, finding the clear blue sky more interesting. One whole day had passed since Loora came to teach them and none of them were willing to let the thought Bustier go.
"Mme. Gergina!" called Lila as she jolted up from her seat, startling Chloé out of her trance.
Loora pinched her nose. How long would it take for these stupid teenagers to understand her rule of raising a hand to speak?
"Ms. Rossi, what did I say about speaking up?"
"Marinette is on her phone!"
Loora looked to Marinette's desk, seeing the phone screen lit up as Marinette scrolled and wrote something down on her paper. Upon hearing herself being accused, she turned around to face the liar sitting behind her.
"I already asked for permission to do so, as per the rules."
"Indeed. Marinette asked me before class began. She's handling something personal. I did tell you that using your phone is not against the rules unless it's absolitely necessary and that you ask for my permission first."
"That's not fair. If she can be on her phone, I want to be on mine as well! I need to find out what happened to my blog!" Said Alya.
Loora shook her head. "Are you five? No one is getting special treatment."
Nathaniel raised his hand from his seat.
"Yes, Nathaniel?"
"Shouldn't we get back on topic?" he asked with a one handed shrug.
Loora cleared her throat. Thank goodness someone realized they don't have all day to argue amongst themselves. More like whining, but she digressed.
"Yes, Indeed. We shall hold a vote. As you can see on the board, I have written down each of your names according to the seating order. When homeroom ends, I want all of you to leave the class one by one and leave a piece of paper on my desk with the name of the student you feel would fit the position of respresentative. Of course, you can vote for yourself, if you're a narcissist."
The more Marinette listened to Nathaniel's aunt being sassy, the more she liked her. Who else would make fun of her students in the most lighthearted way than Loora Gergina herself.
Unbeknownst to everyone, this voting system was her idea. She knew for a fact that Lila would somehow manilulate events into her favor and gain the position of class rep.
That is the reason she was on her phone during homeroom. Before the bell rang, Marinette had asked Loora to bring up the topic of class representative. On her phone, she had looked through all the duties she had to fulfill as rep and wrote them all down for Lila to follow. Lila would never be able to fulfill any of them, because her tales of great connections and capabilities were all lies.
"Once all of you have left the class, I will read over the vites and add a voting total behind the name with the most supporters. You'll see the results when you come in again tomorrow morning."
Tomorrow morning... that would be Wednesday. How long did The Primaries say Lila had time to come clean? Three weeks. Half of those three weeks had already flown by. That meant they had to get rid of Damocles this week. Lila's ultimate downfall was always in the works, done in utter secrecy, and it all starts with her needing to become class rep.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she felt a pencil poking at her shoulder.
"What?" She asked, turning toward Adrien.
"Are you mad at me again? You didn't speak to me at all yesterday."
Marinette's eyes narrowed. "Oh you'll know when I'm mad."
"Marinette, listen-"
The bell rang. Good. She did not want to deal with Adrien. Not at that moment. Hopefully not until he figures out for himself what he did srong. Homeschooled or not, there is no excuse to be that dense. He wanted a better social understanding? She was going to teach him in her own way.
"See you tomorrow. Text me if you have anything," she said, throwing her bag over her shoulder and walking up to Loora's desk. She leaned in to the teacher, "Better make sure Lila gets the position."
Loora gave her a subtle wink. "Way ahead of you, sweetie."
Marinette smiled and joined The Primaries, walking out together.
"Babe, can we talk?" Asked Nino.
Alya looked up from her phone and set it beside her on the school bench.
"What's up?"
"Dude, you've been... kind of distant lately. Did I upset you? You doing okay?"
Alya sighed. "I'm okay, Nino. I've just been feeling down because of my blog getting deleted. I just... I want to find proof that The Primaries did it! Who else could do that? Ladybug herself warned me not to post that last article, which was specifically about those three. It all adds up! I know there's proof!"
They heard a 'tsk' coming from next to them. Alix leaned against the wall, with one foot bent and resting on the wall, her hands behind her back.
"Fat chance, Alya. Remember what Kim said last Monday?" she asked.
...Right.
"They hide their traces so well, even a seasoned investigator would quit on the spot," he had said.
Okay, so maybe Alya acknowledged the fact that The Primaries were experts in acting from the shadows, but she was Rena Rouge, and she always followed the words of Majestia. 'All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is thay good people do nothing'. She was good, Primaries bad. Fact. In her brain at least, but who was going to tell her that she was wrong? Nino? He tried that. Alix? Hah, no.
"How is that even possible?" She asked, "I've seen Max hack into things, but his tracks are tracable, hence why he doesn't uae that skill of his."
Alix sighed. While it was true that she wasn't on the good side of The Primaries either, she avoided their wrath as best as she could. Trying to explain to Alya all the ins and outs of the group was a challenge that she really did not want to indulge in. Alya was stubborn to a T. Even if she were to tell her that The Primaries can drop a nuke on her house (they can't), Alya would still not back down.
Alix was afraid, more than almost any other classmate of hers. Except for Rose, but Rose always cries anyway. Unlike the others, who seemed to have forgotten about it, she was aware of the deadline The Primaries gave the class. Half of that deadline was already over. Their target was someone in their class, but she did not know who. Definitely not Lila. She's a good person, no one should have a reason to target her.
No one except Marinette. It’s possible that Lila is indeed a target, but that would not make sense. Lila has never shown any signs of bullying or anything of the sort, so why should she be a target?
That’s something that had always infuriated Alix when it came to The Primaries. They never ever revealed their target, thus making it near impossible to stay clear from them.
“Listen, Babe, I respect that you have morals and want to protect your friends, but please trust us when we tell you not to meddle. Messing with them is like voluntarily stepping into a cage of panthers,” said Nino.
Alya scowled. That’s an analogy she did not agree with. Marinette was harmless. Was one day really all it took for all of the school to suddenly fear her? Was she supposed to stand idly by and watch her best friend act as a tyrant?
Fuck no.
“Where is Marinette?”
Alix shrugged, “Probably went home, why?”
Alya said nothing and threw her bag over her shoulder, walking away from Alix and Nino.
”Dude, where’re you going?”
”I’m going to talk to her. I know for a fact they deleted my blog. I need to give her a piece of my mind.”
“Babe wai- oh forget it…”
Yeah, there was no point in trying to stop her. Alya was a stubborn cookie, so only a fool would get in her way when she has her mind set on something. Sighing, he turned to Alix, who was already on her phone.
”What’re you doing?” he asked.
“Organising Alya’s funeral.”
Nino blinked, then shrugged.
Fair enough.
Marinette was in her room alone, having pulled down her planning board. In the past, it was used to plan out convoluted ways to confess to Adrien. Lately, she’d been using it to plan Lila’s downfall and currently, she was going over the plan in her head.
She’d have to reach out to Jagged and Clara sometime in the upcoming days. They were the key to getting rid of the liar.
First things first, Damocles, as stated multiple times. Now that they had all the evidence to expose him as a thief and a cheat, they had to wait for a response from the School Board. Sending them an email was an obvious no-go, since Damocles had somehow rigged the email to send letters directly to him. It was unclear how he managed that, but it didn’t matter. Loora was told about the plan and she personally delivered all the evidence to the School Board herself. With any luck, Damocles would be exposed tomorrow or on Friday. The sooner, the better.
“I’m surprised,” said Tikki.
“Hm?” hummed Marinette, not turning her head away from the board.
“There haven’t been any akumas since Mir-Reflect.”
Marinette snorted. “Good. Means I have more free time on my hands. I do miss Chat though. Wonder how he’s doing?”
“You could go on patrol tonight and maybe he’ll show up.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Her room’s trapdoor opened up, prompting Tikki to quickly duck into Marinette’s jacket lying on the chaise.
She turned around to be greeted by the piercing eyes of her former best friend, Alya. For a few long moments, the two just stared at each other, one emotionally furious while the other indifferent and honestly annoyed. You can guess who was feeling what.
Narrowing her eyes, Marinette pulled on the planning board, making it roll up out of sight.
“Learn to knock first,” she said.
“We need to talk.”
Marinette wanted to laugh and shove Alya out of her room. After all this time, now’s when she suddenly wanted to talk? Didn’t she realise it was too late for that? Marknette had given her multiple chances to talk and she never took her up on them, so why start now?
“We have nothing to talk about. In any case, I’m busy, so I’d appreciate it if you leave.”
“Marinette, what happened? We’re supposed to be best friends, looking out for each other!”
Hypocrite…
“We were, Alya,” replied Marinette, taking her hair out of her ponytail.
“So, what? Are we not friends anymore?”
Okay, this was so ridiculous, Marinette blinked in astonishment.
“It took you over a week to figure that out?” She asked with a raised brow.
There it was, the thousand pound weight waiting to fall on Alya's head.
"We're not...?"
"Alya, we were friends. Best friends even. But then, someone new came along, told all these supposedly amazing stories, bullied me relentlessly simply because I had the audacity to stand up to her. What did you do? You believed her over your best friend who you've known for longer. As your best friend, I should have been given the benefit of the doubt, but no, the whole class tossed me aside. I gave you so many things, yet received nothing."
Alya reached her hand out, "Marinette, I only wanted to collect all the facts before-"
"Before what? You're a terrible journalist. Lila said she was best friends with Ladybug and instead of checking to see of it was true, you just kissed the ground she was walking on."
Alya dropped her head. "That's not true..."
"That's the problem. You're too much of a hypocrite."
Alya took a sharp breath and straighted herself. Now was not the time to be weak.
"Yeah? What about you? You've had it out for Lila ever since she came to our school. All because... I don't even know why!”
Marinette pinched her nose. That’s the problem with Alya. She never ever listened. When Ladybug told her that Chat and her were not a couple, she still kept posting about their ship. When Marinette told her Lila was lying, she jumped to defend the liar, not even listening to her side of the story.
”Why? I’ve told you so many times, but you never bothered to listen.”
“There wasn’t enough evidence to support your claims.”
How ironic that she speaks about evidence when she didn’t even bother to look into any of Lila’s stories. This conversation was going in only one direction and Marinette wanted it out of the way as quickly as possible.
“Get out of my room, Cesairé,” she demanded.
”You’re kicking me out…?”
Marinette turned around. She may be cold to those she deems unworthy of her time, but deep down, there was no denying that Alya and her were once insuperable. Telling her former friend that what was once between them could never be brought back was more hurtful to Marinette than she let on.
”I’ll make it official. As of today, our friendship is completely over.”
The whole world seemed to shatter like glass around Alya. Marinette was the first friend she made when she transferred to Dupont. Seeing her turn out this way, her heart shattered. She swallowed, but needed to hear one last thing.
“Fine, but answer me this: Did you delete my blog? Why?”
“For your own safety.”
Marinette did not want to bother hiding the truth from Alya. It may seem like it, but Alya was not stupid. It was obvious who deleted all her hard work. Plus, Marinette would never stoop down to Lila’s level, unless it was absolutely necessary.
”Safety?”
“You may not be my friend, but everyone in my class is my subject. I protect all of them. Now go. We have nothing else to discuss.”
Dropping her head, Alya slowly made her way out of the room, tears threatening to fall.
Once Alya had left, Marinette’s knees buckled. She shivered and clenched her teeth hard, doing her best to keep her own tears from falling.
The pressure was too much…
She fell to her knees and put a hand on her mouth to quiet down her sobs. Alya was still someone who inspired her to become Ladybug in the first place. She was still important to her. The fact that her and Alya shared a past would never change and that’s what hurt her the most. The bullying she endured when she was little did not even come close to what she was feeling at that moment. She could ignore a few insults and her property being vandalised, but a betrayal is something she hated a lot.
But now, Alya was no longer her friend. Now, she and her were only strangers with memories. Regardless of that, Marinette would still continue to protect her, even if she had betrayed her trust. All students are under her protection.
She had wanted to cry the entire time Alya was in her room, but she held it all in. Now that she was alone, her tears flowed freely. She did not want to make Alya her enemy or her target. Whether she ended up as such was entirely up to Alya herself. If she apologises to Marinette after Lila was exposed, then perhaps the two can reconcile in some way. If not and Alya decides to remain loyal to the liar… then Marinette would have to harden her heart and do what needed to be done to protect herself, The Primaries and the student body.
Tikki peeked out of her hiding spot and flew over to stroke her chosen’s cheek.
“Marinette…”
Marinette brought her hand from her mouth and gently cupped her kwami against her cheek.
“I’m gonna be okay, Tikki. It all just caught up to me, I guess.”
The trapdoor opened up, Chloé peeking her head inside.
“Marinette? Was Alya here just now?”
Her questions were answered when she saw The Blue Empress on the ground crying her eyes out. Without hesitation, she climbed into the room and knelt down beside her and pulled her into her embrace.
”Mari, what happened?”
“She cut ties with Alya before you came in,” replied Tikki, seeing as her chosen was too much in tears to speak.
Chloé frowned and pulled the girl closer to her, hugging and petting her to soothe her sorrows.
“In my heart, I wanted to believe that there was still something to be salvaged, th-that her and I could still get along, you know…?” Sobbed Marinette.
“I know, sweetie, I know… just let it out, kay? It’s okay to cry every once in a while.”
Marinette nodded and just enjoyed the feeling of her best friend comforting her. Best friend…
Yeah, it was never Alya. From day one, it had always been Chloé by her side, supporting her even though she had to act like act like a bully.
She would be okay.
The Blue Empress is an indomitable spirit.
She had her friends to rely on.
She would be okay as long as they were there…
If misery loves company, well so long, you’re gonna miss me when I’m gone!
“Ladybug?”
“Yes, kitty?”
Chat Noir fidgeted in his spot, not really sure how to begin asking his lady for advice.
“I think… one of my friends is angry at me and I don’t know why.”
“Probably told them one of your jokes and they felt offended?” She shrugged with a smirk.
“Meowch. Low blow, Buginette.”
Ladybug giggled. Once Marinette had gotten over her depressed state, she felt like running around the rooftops of Paris. It was not long before she ran into her partner, who had apparently had the same thoughts as her.
She was already over her own dilemma, but her kitty seemed a bit down in the slums, so, being the amazing partner she is, she insisted they’d hang out. After half an hour, that’s when Chat decided to open up to her.
”I’m kidding, Chat. I could tell something was up. You can tell me.”
“Sooo… I was out on a date the other day,” began Chat.
”Mhmm?”
“And I had a fun time! But when it was time to go home, she sort of acted funny and then just… ran away! Without any explanation. And now, every day I see her, she refuses to talk to me or hang out. She hasn’t even done her… boss girl act on me lately.”
Ladybug sighed through her nose and lifted one leg over the other, leaning back in her seat.
“You know, Chat, we girls don’t get mad at anyone without reason, despite what you may believe.”
“Oh meowlly now?”
”Terrible pun, but yes, it’s true. If she refuses to talk to you, then it must have been something you said to her.”
Chat looked up. He said something to upset Marinette? What could that have been? It takes a lot of Marinette to get mad at anyone without reason, so whatever he said must have been hurtful.
But what?
He knew already, at least now, that Marinette had always had a crush on him, ever since he came to school. She got to go out on a date with him, which he was also happy to be on. They had a lovely time! So did he really sa-
…-aaayyy.
”Shit!” He yelled.
”Chat! Language!” She scolded.
“I just figured it out!”
“Figured what out?”
”She’s mad at me because I mentioned not being able to ask another girl out! Now it makes sense!”
Ladybug’s eye twitched. No, it was not because it was an obvious giveaway to his identity. That thought did not even occur to her actually.
Her eye twitched because her kitty gad the audacity to tell a girl something so insensitive! She was a woman herself, so to hear a guy treat another woman like that ticked her off.
“You… said what?” She growled.
“I-I know it sounds bad!”
”Bad!? Chat, she isn’t mad at you! She’s heartbroken, you dunce!”
”I didn’t know!
Ladybug slapped her face and dragged it downward. She knew her kitty could be a bit of an idiot, but surely not that much. Reminded her a lot of Adrien, actually. Both socially awkward dunces.
“Okay, well… you do realise you’ll have to apologise to her, right?”
Chat nodded, “Yeah, I know. I just need to find the right time to talk to her and explain what I really meant.”
“What did you mean then?”
“I… would rather not talk about it anymore. I feel like you’re about to punch me.”
Ladybug relaxed her fist. “So close…”
Come next morning, The Primaries assembled in Marinette’s room. All had one goal in mind for today: Get rid of Damocles.
A teacher hiding a suicide is one thing, but a principal hoarding, stealing, lying and neglecting his students is another. That ends this Thursday.
”It’s official, right?” asked Marinette, to which Nathaniel responded with a nod.
”Yup, Loora told me a Board representative is coming in today after lunch time. After that, it’s likely that the school will close for a little while until a new principal is found.”
“That’s a bit of a problem. We gave Lila three weeks. If the school is closed next week, then…” said Chloé.
Marinette shook her head with a smile. “Ah, but we meant school weeks, remember? It won’t count if school is closed. Plus, this will give us even more time. And I think I have the perfect plan.”
“Burn the school and blame it on Lila?” Asked Chloé.
Her fellow Primaries blinked in what could only be described as concern.
“Okay, seriously, what is with you and fire?” chuckled Nathaniel.
”Don’t knock it til you try it,” shrugged Chloé.
“Chloé,” giggled Marinette, “we’re not going to burn anything. But, here is what I am planning. Check this out,” she said.
Marinette pulled open her desk drawer and took out a neatly decorated poster of some kind and laid it on the ground, The Primaries circling around to get a good look. Looking at the Queen and King, Marinette awaited their response. Her smirk grew wider and wider when she saw Chloé grin and Nathaniel nod with a devious smile.
“Love it,” he said.
“Genius!” cheered Chloé.
“Cool. Also, I wanted you two to check out this new poem I wrote for the school blog. The students need to be reminded that we are still very active, after all.”
Marinette folded open a paper and set it on top of the poster. The poem was:
A jester is out of the garden
Another will soon be fallen
Our eyes are on you at all times
Rebel, careful not to stroke our fire
Regards~ The Primaries💛💙❤️
”Nice,” said Chloé.
Their meeting was interrupted by the vibration on their phones. The notification that played was a custom one, the kind that only played when one of the emblems they handed out was pressed. That meant that one of their subjects was in trouble.
Marinette took out her phone and opened the app that was linked to all pins.
“Where’s the signal coming from?”
Marinette tapped her screen a few times to get an accurate location. The distress signal did not come from Dupont. It came from…
”Grand Collége… Lily needs our help.”
Notes:
Sooo here’s the thing.
The chapter limit says that this story will end once chapter 20 is out.
Buuut with how many ideas I have and I can’t fit them all in the chapters, I have been thinking about increasing the amount. The new amount will either be 30 or 25.
Believe me, I have many ideas. Just because Lila will be exposed at some point doesn’t mean that there aren’t other stories to be told.
I’ll make my decision based on the feedback
Next time?
“Primaries, I have a request.”
Chapter 12: Invincible
Summary:
The Primaries are no joke
They'll impale you with a pitchfork.
Principal abusing how power
They'll expose him as a delicate flower...
Notes:
The fact that my fic is not even a full two months old yet has 5K hits is insane. The feeling of watching your child grow up! :D
In case you are wondering why this chapter took a little longer to come out, uuuh...
Ya boi turned into an anime weeb for a little while Ówo;
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Feel Invincible, earthquake, powerful
Like a roar of victory in a stadium
Here's their dilemma:
Situation. Lily needed their help.
Problem? They have school themselves! How can they possibly explain the reason they skipped was to visit another school? Damocles would be dealt with today, so they had to be there to make sure everything went according to plan.
Solution? They didn't know.
Conclusion? Shit...
"We have to go," said Marinette.
"I agree, but how? We can't just skip school!"
"Uh-huh," mumbled Nathaniel, his phone to his ear with the most chibi smile the girls had seen, "Yeah, we're going now. Yup. Thank you, auntie~" he ended the call and gave the girls a thumbs up, "Loora will cover us, we're good!"
Nevermind, solution found.
"That was fast!" Yelled the girls.
"Helps to have a family member as your teacher. Gotta take advantage some time, ya know?"
Marinette blinked. "Nath, you beautiful son of a bitch..."
Nathaniel's eye twitched upon being called that a second time. "Can you not?"
"Sorry, sorry! Anyway, what're we waiting for? Chloé, call your limo. We're going to Grand Collége."
Chloé took out her phone and got to work. Marinette was excited. She hadn't heard from Lily in over a week and now, she could introduce the adorable little thing to The Primaries. She could hardly wait.
Grand Collége.
A prestigious school, bigger and more elegant than Dupont ever could be. That was only because the principal of the school actually cared about the well-being of her students.
The system worked exactly the same way as Dupont. Every class had their homeroom teacher that taught them most subjects, but the ones they did not excel at was left to other teachers. All students were treated equally and if a bully were to get caught, teachers would jump to defend the victim.
However, that was exactly the problem. IF they were to get caught by the teachers themselves. If a student came to a teacher or the principal with a bullying issue, they'd look the other way.
Not all blame can be put on the adults for not knowing how to handle acts of bullying properly. Kids were difficult to handle and that was a solid reason for not knowing. How can they scold or punish a bully when all it will accomplish is making things worse for the victim? If the bully gets punished because of them, the bully will torment the victim even more.
It was a cycle they were stuck in and honestly, they wanted it to end. They did not want any bullying to happen in their school. Times like these is when they wish The Primaries went to their school instead. Oh yes, the teachers were well aware of their reputation and the power they held, even over other schools.
Even then, it was a hopeless case. The bullying would not stop even if the trio was there.
"Hey, look, Lily has a weird pin!" laughed a girl.
Lily had kept her Primary emblem hidden from her peers at firat, but today was different. Or it would have been different, had her peers not vandalized her belongings. The pin had dropped out from her bag when they made a mess of it.
Thankfully, she had managed to press it 15 minutes before it happened. She couldn't handle the pressure and pressed it almost on instinct. She made herself promise that she would not call upon her guardians and that she'd learn to stand up for herself. But in her panic, she did it anyway.
"H-hey!" She called out, "That was a gift! Be careful with it!"
"Looks like a piece of junk to me. Honestly, you can't even afford real jewelry? Then again, no amount of accessories will take away how ugly you are."
Ugly...
She had heard that insult so often. It made her feel so small, so insecure and frail. To a degree, she was all of those things, but the words from Ladybug and The Blue Empress echoed in her mind despite all that.
"Show the world that this lily has the thorns of a fearsome rose!"
With a shaky breath, Lily straightened herself and looked at her bully in the eye.
"Y-y-you're one t-to talk!" she said, causing the entire hallway to go eerily quiet with a few gasps. Lily, a girl so fragile and quiet, had actually stood up to her bully!?
The bully, of course, while being caught off guard by this outrage, did not take it lightly.
"Why you-"
She raised her hand to slap the teeth from Lily's mouth, the victim closing her eyes and just waited for the inevitable impact. Another day, another bruise...
SLAP!
A slap?
Wait... why was there a slapping noise when she felt no pain in her face?
Carefully, she opened one eye, only to let out a gasp.
Standing right next to the bully was a black haired girl with a blue jacket with black sleeve puffs. Her hair was down, but two braids ran down from the side and connected behind her head.
Behind her were two other people. They had the same kind of style that the blue one had. There was a girl wearing a yellow jacket of a similar design with her hair in a high ponytail.
Then there was a boy who was wearing a red jacket and black jeans. He seemed to be the most plain looking, but his presence was intimidating as hell.
The bully slowly recovered from her wrist being grabbed and turned her head towards the assailant. Even before looking at them, the aura radiating off of them was intimidating, like a fire about to burn her skin off. It was like waiting fir a nuclear reactor to suddenly go boom and cause disasters all around them.
"Who-who are you?" she asked.
The blue jacket girl smiled in response. "We came to check on our little sister."
"Sister?"
Chloé picked up what Marinette was putting down and looked at Lily. "You okay?"
"U-uh... yeah..."
The bully yanked her hand away from Marinette and turned to face them fully. "Don't touch me. I own this school and I don't know any students that look like you!"
Nathaniel walked up to her like a guardian to the two girls accompaning him.
"No, the city owns the school. We are just here because Lily called us, saying she needs help. Looks like we found out why."
Behind him, Marinette and Chloé deflated with tears flowing comically like a waterfall.
"Thanks for ruining the entrance, Nath," said Marinette.
"Now, what's going on here? Were you about to hit Lily, by any chance?"
"W-what? Noooo..."
Lily blinked. Who were these people? They appeared so suddenly and jumped to her defence without question?
Wait...
Red jewel, red jacket.
Blue jewel, blue jacket.
Yellow jewel, yellow jacket.
Of course! How did she not see those crowns on their jackets sooner!?
"You're The Primaries!" she exclaimed.
Marinette knelt down to Lily's level. Her lresence was like a comforting blanket thrown around her.
"That's right. It's nice to finally meet you in person, Lily," smiled Marinette.
"You came..."
"Of course we did. You did call us," replied Chloé, rolling her eyes fondly.
"Hah!" Laughed the bully, "No way they are The Primaries! They go to Dupont, not here. These are just some wannabes!" She said.
While The Primaries were well known all over Paris, other schools had never personally met them. Only Dupont knew what they looked like, meaning for schools like Grand Collége, this was the first time seeing them in person.
Their reputation was grand, of course, but if you haven't had any personal contact with them in the past, chances are you'll severely underestimate them.
"What's your age?" Asked Chloé.
"Uh, what?" replied the bully.
"You look about the same age as us. 14? 15?"
"I'm 13, thank you very much!"
Marinette put a hand on her chin, looking the bully over top to bottom.
"Aren't you a little short for a 13 year old?" she asked.
"Wha-!?"
The students around them giggled. No one had ever said something like that to the most spoiled brat in school.
"Setting that aside, why do you pick on Lily? She's three years younger than you, so what gives?" Asked Marinette, walking up behind said girl and putting her hands on her shoulders.
"Duh! She's so pathetic! She cries over everything, she has no talent! She's useless and not to mention ugly!"
"Mhm, mhm..." nodded Marinette, "and why do you think so?"
"Yeah, I mean, have you looked in the mirror?" asked Chloé, inspecting her nails.
"Shut up! This is none of your business anyway!"
Marinette giggled and looked at her friends. "Red, Yellow, can you take Lily and keep her company? I'll catch up in a moment."
"Sure. Come on, Lily."
Right now, Lily only vaguely knew The Blue Empress and was only trusting of her. Marinette's hands on her shoulders was such a comfort, she suddenly felt shy about going with two strangers she did not even know. She was not even aware there were two other Primaries. One of the rare students who didn't know, in fact.
"It's okay. They're my friends, Lily. They'll keep you safe..." whispered Marinette.
With a shy nod, Lily walked over to Chloé and Nathaniel. The red headed boy walked up to Marinette and leaned towadd her ear.
"Try not to make a mess..."
Marinette smirked. "You know I don't make silly promises."
With a fond sigh, Nathaniel returned to Chloé and Lily, walking away with all of them. Marinette waited for them to be out of sight before turning around to face the girl tormenting Lily.
When she did, everyone saw all joy and positivity vanish from Marinette's face. The kind teenage girl that protected Lily seconds ago was not there. Instead, an icy feeling ran through everyone's spine.
"I'm only going to say this one. Stay away from Lily. If you do not, you and I are going to have many problems."
The bully was not impressed.
"This isn't your school. You can't tell me what to do."
Marinette smiled, almost sadistically, and placed a hand on the girls shoulder. The touch felt so hot, the girl could swear her shoulder was melting. Nah, that was her imagining things, right?
"I can find out everything about you, Elizabeth. It would only take one phone call to make sure you get expelled. If that's what you want, then we can play it your way."
Okay, Elizabeth admitted that this... show of intimidation was scary.
"Or, we could play it my way. You're two years younger than me, more naive and foolish. So, I'm going to offer you a little choice. Swallow your pride and apologize to Lily for all the torment you put her through..."
Elizabeth gulped. "O-or...?"
Marinette smiled. Getting under the skin of her targets always felt satisfying. "Or, I'll dig you a grave so deep, you can never climb out of it," she looked at the other students, "Metaphorical grave, not a real one."
"Aaaaah..." the students chorused.
"How did you know my name!?" Elizabeth realized all of a sudden.
"While we were talking before, Nath did some snooping on his phone."
"You aren't meant to be here... this isn't your school."
Marinette chuckled. "True, but we got permission. We're here for a little bit to hang out with Lily, so don't do anything stupid."
With nothing else to say, Marinette left the baffled Elizabeth behind.
The Primaries did not come to Grand Collège to abuse their connections and get rid of a bully. This was not their objective. Their intentions were something more grand and efficient.
"I-I'm sorry for calling you on a school day..." said Lily.
Chloé giggled. "Aww, don't worry about it. Marinette gave you that pin for that reason. We're happy to help out."
Nathaniel nodded. "Mhm, plus it give us a reason to check out another school. Besides, I think our school will be closed for a week anyway."
"Huh? Why?" asked Lily, only to be met with Chloé's finger on her lips.
"That's a secret," she winked.
Marinette burst into the couryard with her hands behind the back of her head, walking casually as if nothing had happened minutes before.
"Good news is, Elizabeth won't bother you anymore today. Bad news is, I can't guarantee she won't do that tomorrow."
"She didn't take you seriously, huh?" asked Chloé while she braided Lily's hair, which the young girl did not seem to mind.
"Oh, she did. But who knows how she will act when we are not around. Sorry about the scene, Lily. This must be confusing for you."
Lily giggled nervously, but managed a smile nonetheless. "A little."
"As you guessed, we are The Primaries. The Yellow Queen, Chloé."
Chloé winked as she continued to braid Lily's hair. It was soft and smooth, she couldn't resist.
"The Red King, Nathaniel."
"Heya."
"And me, The Blue Empress, Marinette. I'm happy to finally meet you."
Lily gulped. These three were so intimidating, but there was also some warmth spreading off of them. Their presence was soothing and calming, like a shield warding off any bullets that flew their way.
"H-how did you know where I lived?"
"Ladybug followed you. My guess, she planned for us to help you from the start," replied Chloé, sending a smug grin in Marinette's direction. The bluenette blew a soft raspberry her way.
"I-is it true you get rid of bullies? Make them go away...?" asked Lily.
"Well... it's like this, Lily..."
No one said being the director of the School Board was easy. In a world where magical jewerly, superheroes and supervillains exist, School Board officials had their hands full with all kinds of emergencies.
But no school came close to the amount of akuma attacks that Dupont got on a daily basis.
Even if the akuma was nowhere near the school, the principal would order the sthdents to evacuate and go home for the day. That had led to many missed mandatory tests, severe loss of time ans overall bad performance.
No one was more angrier than Gina Fasiri, the director of the School Board. Her step was that of a giants and the sight of her alone made every teacher either freeze or show of more insentive to work.
As she entered Dupont, all hell broke loose. Students did not seem to mind this unfamiliar figure, but every teacher already knew who Gina was.
Normally, the School Board would send someone else to bring schools into order and all would go smoothly. However, it was very rare that Gina herself came. Every school she had the honor of visiting ended up either temporarily closed or severely cut off from funding. She had a reputation for being very merciless.
In her 15 years as director, she had never come across a principal that would steal funds that the students raised themselves. If he had only taken like a hundred or thousand from the huge amounts of money, no one would have ever gotten suspcious. His pride, ego and greed is what led Gina here today.
Honestly speaking, the only teachers she respected in Dupont were the P.E teacher and Ms. Mandeleiev. They were actually good at their jobs as teachers. Bustier was a meh, because at least she did a decent job, kind of. But Damocles... yeah, she didn't know why he was ever given the position of principal. He was too much of a doormat and used his power as principal in places he shouldn't. Chloé Bourgeois' 'reign of terror' had proved just how much he only cared about the rich amd powerful, while the ordinary students were barely acknowledged.
Nope, no more.
After Loora Gergina had come to her office the other day, Gina was so furious she accidentally teared an important document in half. Thank God printers exist. She had requested to personally visit Dupont and have a talk with Damocles.
So, that's how she was here now, in Dupont, standing right in front of the principals office. Taking a deep breath and hardening her nerves, she grabbed the door knob and pushed it open with auch force, a diploma was shook loose on the wall, startling Damocles in the process.
"What in the-? I told you to knock before you come in! You-"
Gina narrowed her eyes. "You are in a position to demand nothing, Damocles."
Damocles' eyes widened, his fear written clearly on hia face. "M-Mme. Fasiri! What can I do for you?"
Gina slowly pushed the doors behind her to close.
"Let's have a little talk, Denis."
"So, you can't get rid of Elizabeth?" asked Lily.
"I mean... we technically can, however since this is not our school, all we can really do is teach you how to deal with her yourself. We'd rather not abuse our connections, you know?" replied Marinette.
Lily nodded and said nothing, so Chloé decided to take the stage.
"Look, sweetie, we get it. Being bullied is... it's hell. All three of us were bullied too when we were young, but we got over it and instead of letting it hold us down, we use it as a motivator to help others."
Nathaniel leaned back on the bench and put one leg over the other. "Think of it this way: Bullies are like the scaffoldings in a construction area. Take even one piece of the scaffolding off and the rest will fall apart, but only if you know the weakest link. Bullies are the same. Everyonr has a weakness, a side to them that they don't want others to see."
Marinette held back her giggles. She had never heard of any bullies being compared to scaffolding, yet somehow it made for a perfect analogy.
This analogy did not only apply to bullies. They applied to everyone. Every person had a weakness, but it takes a keen eye and intelligence to actually find and exploit those weaknesses.
Now that she thought about it, Hawk Moth was like that too. His weaknesses were just hard t9 find because he never fights on his own, only relying on minions to do his bidding. But she can leave her Ladybug duties on hold for now...
"While a rather unique analogy, Nathaniel has a point. Lily, everyone has something to hide. Take Chloé for example. We Primaries were on hoatus and took on personas to bury that part of ourselves. Chloé took on the persona of a bully, but no one would have guessed she was a big softie."
Chloé's eye twitched and she blushed in embarrassment. "Keep talking and you'll wake up with singed hair..."
Marinette giggled. "Oooor she has the mind of an arsonist. But, I think you get our point?"
Lily timidly nodded, "I think so," she said.
"We don't expect you to suddenly change ypur personality and do the same things we do, but we want you to know that standing up for yourself is something that comes to you with time. Trust me, Lily. You're more capable than you think."
"S-so, uh..." Damocles cleared his throat, "what can I help you with?"
Gina was not amused by his attempt at a calm demeanor and leaned on his desk, using her hands as support.
"I've recently gotten some very concerning reports, Denis. I've turned a blind eye before since it seemed like your students wellfare was in good hands. But those reports forced my hand. Do you mind explaining to me why, despite funding campaigns, the students have not gotten new equipment or their promised field trips?"
Damocles adjusted his tie before replying. "W-well, you see, I decided to put that money aside to keep for emergencies."
Gina raised a brow, "Emergencies? Like what?"
"U-uh..."
"Denis, do you take me for an idiot?"
"W-what? Of course not, Mme. Fasiri!"
Gina stood up and walked over to the bookshelf on the left side of the room. She reached a hand and ran her fingers through every book. Some were thinner than others, so either educational books, or...
"An anonymous source told me that last year before summer break, the school raised over a million euros, but aboit 20% went missing. Do you have any idea why?"
"Renovations, of course."
"No, that's not where it went. See, you like to play superhero, don't you? So, it would only make sense..."
Gina pulled a random book from the shelf and opened it up. The cover said it was a history book, however, between the covers, the original content had been ripped out and a comic had been glued in it's place.
"As I thought."
Damocles wiped the sweat on his forehead with his hankerchief.
"Those are paid from my own pocket. I'm a... a collector, per se!"
Gina rolled her eyes and slammed her hands on the table. "Do not test my patience, Denis. Now show me."
Damocles gulped, but eventually relented and took a remote from his desk drawer. As much as he wanted to keep everything hidden, Gina Fasiri was not a woman you'd want to cross. As the director of the school board, not even the Mayor he loved to hide behind could do anything against Gina. His options were to either keep up this charade and keep going forever in circles, or to come clean. The longer he stalled, the worse it would get.
He may be selfish, but he was not an idiot. He knew when to surrender.
But let's be real, he is still an idiot.
When he pressed on the remote, the bookshelf moved and twirled around 180 degrees, revealing an array of superhero weapons and gear that all looked authentic.
"So, that's what you have been spending money on?"
"Well, you see..."
Gina turned to face him with a very cold and stern expression.
"So, not only did did you steal the money your students worked hard for, you also spent it all on... this junk?"
"This is... it isn't junk. It's real and they are the same things you see on movies."
Can she punch this man? Probably, but that'd be unprofessional.
"I care not how real they are. What matters here is that you have stolen a huge amount of money that never belonged to you, you've lied to your students, neglected them and only cared about the students that had rich and powerful connections. Also, recently, I also heard you expelled a students without even a hearing."
"W-well..."
"Well, well, well," Gina mocked, "sit straight! You're a principal, act like it!"
Damocles cleared his throat and did as he was told.
"The evidence was all stacked, I had no choice but to expell her. I only allowed her to return because the victim she bullied came clear with a lying desease."
....
....
Gina's brain broke. Could someone explain to her what a lying desease was? Was it even real?
Hold on, you didn't have to explain it to her because anyone who believed it was a moron! If that's how he wanted to play it, then she'll indulge in it for a little bit.
"Do you have her medical info to verify that?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Forget it. That whole 'lying desease' garbage told me all I needed to hear. Denis Damocles, I am removing you as principal of Collége Dupont. In addition, I will revoke your license to teach and shall hand you over to the authorities for stealing, lying, manipulating along with favoritism."
Damocles's world went cold. This couldn't be happening. How did it come to this? Why? Why him? Why now?
"You can't do that!"
Gina smirked took the utility belt attached to the item wall and broke it in half. "Can't I? I've already done so. While we have spoken, the authorities have gone to your home to search everything. They should find the stolen money any minute."
Damocles leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. A small part of him felt relieved that he had been found out like this. He knew from day one that what he was doing was wrong. His job as principal did not pay him as much as he wanted it to, so he resorted to... illegal solutions. He should have stopped a long time ago, but his greed is what eventually blinded him.
"Now, as your final act as principal, call all students to the courtyard. I'll need to announce the temporary closing of the school, thanks to you."
"Yes, Mme. Fasiri..."
The school bell rang, which meant it was time for Lily to go. As much as they wanted to keep the little bean company for a while longer, they couldn't keep her from her lessons.
"Lily, if you want to hang out at any point, you can always come visit me. I live at the Dupain-Cheng bakery. My door is always open if you want someone to talk to."
Lily nodded and got up, preparing to run to her classroom. When The Primaries stood up with her, she hurridly threw her arms around Marinette in a tight hug.
"I'll get better, I promise..." she said.
Marinette smiled warmly and hugged her back, "I know you will, Lily. But we're always there is you need us."
When the goodbyes were done, the three watched the little girl run off to her class. Smiling and hand in hand, they got out of the school and into the early spring air.
Knowing full well that Dupont would be closed for the rest of the day, Chloé told her limo driver that they would rather walk home. The driver respectfully bowed and drove off.
A little while later, the three were walking by the Seine when their phones suddenly buzzed. It was the groupchat they made with all their informants that they should have deleted but forgot to. Oh well.
Aurore: Congrtaz. Damocles is officially out.
Marc: They closed the school until a new principal is hired.
Mireille: Bad news is, Damocles managed to slip away when all students began to riot after the truth came out.
Austin: lol, imagine if he gets a bounty placed on him.
Aurore: Imagine.
Marinette: Thanks for the update.
"So, now what?" asked Chloé.
"Now, we earned ourselves a little treat. Who wants ice cream!?" cheered Marinette.
"We didn't even do anything though," stated Nathaniel, "so are you sure you're not just craving sweets?"
Marinette shrugged, "I'm a sweet tooth, don't judge me."
Chloé raised a brow. "It's not that time of the month that you're craving sweets, is it?"
Marinette blushed a tiny bit, but shook her head. "Nope, that ended two weeks ago. What, I can't have ice cream any other time?"
"Fine, but Nath pays."
"What!? No way, buy your own!" protested Nathaniel, promting the two girls to put on their innocent puppy dog eyes.
"Naaaaath~ you don't want to buy sweets for the ladies~? Some gentleman you are," teased Marinette.
"Ha-ha, that may work on your boyfriend, but it won't work on me, Marinette, so don't even try."
Marinette's face dropped at the indirect mention of Adrien. That was also one issue she wanted to solve. If only the idiot would hurry up and apologize already.
"Speaking of... did something happen? You've been sort of avoiding him all week," asked Chloé.
"Nothing happened. Kind of."
"Kind of?"
"Ugh," Marinette groaned and decided to just tell her friends the truth, "okay, here's the deal, remember on Saturday, when I transformed and said I'd go to speak with Alya?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I did, but before that, I decided to go out with Adrien. So, I went to his home, invited him out on a date, we had fun, and when it was time for him to go home, do you know what he said?"
"That he isn't interested in dating you?" guessed Nathaniel, already not liking where this was headed.
"Worse. He said, and I quote: 'No wonder I can't ask that girl out'. Can you believe that!?"
Yep, just like he thought. Would anyone blame him if Adrien went missing?
Okay, no, he was kidding. He'd not a criminal.
"So?" asked Chloé out of the blue.
"Huh?"
"So!? Chloé, did you not hear me?"
Chloé put her hand up in defence. "No, I heard you and I agree what he saod was wrong, but I also don't blame him for saying it."
"I don't follow."
Chloé sait down on a nearby bench and crossed her legs, wanting to rest a little from the long walk.
"I've known Adrien for far longer than you, Mari. He was homeschooled and isolated, so the only social cues he learned was from anime and video games. Am I saying he was in the right for saying it? No, absolutely not, but I do understand why he said it. Trust me, there was another meaning behind it."
Marinette crossed her arms. "Yeah? What meaning?"
"Yeah, what meaning?" mimicked Nathaniel. If Chloé didn't provide a good answer, he'd martch into the Agreste mansion and give Adrien a stern lecture.
"That, I don't know. You'll have to talk to him and ask him yourself."
"I want to, Chloé, but... every time I look at him, I get so angry I end up avoiding him."
Chloé shrugged. "Then wait for him to gather the courage to come up to you himself. You can't avoid him forever."
"I know..."
The trio's coversation was interrupted when a black car with tinted windows stopped by the road. The color and license plate made it clear who it belonged to. Gabriel Agreste, or at least the computer image of him, talking to them through video.
"Primaries, I need a favor. Get in."
Did he even realize how suspicious this actually looked to any outsider? A middle aged man, telling three teenagers to get into his car. He may as well have pulled up in a white van offering candy.
But, the three teenagers in question knew how to take care of themselves, so they had nothing to be afraid of. With a look between each other, they climbed into the car and it drove off.
"What is it?"
And how did Gabriel know they were The Primaries?
Oh... right, Marinette's pin. Gabriel Agreste was a shady man, so it came as no surprise.
"As I said, I need a favor from you. You will hear me out."
Nathaniel shook his head. "Sorry, old man, but if you want something from us, you'll ask us in person. Nothing is stoping us from ending this call if we want to."
Gabriel's face scowled upon being called old.
"Very well. My driver will take you to my mansion, see you soon."
The call disconnected.
"Not how I saw this day going," said Chloé.
"We're not seriously pulling any favors for him, are we?" asked Nathaniel.
Marinette smirked and pulled out her phone from her pocket. "Nope. Set your recordings. I promised Adrien we'd deal with his dear old daddy when Lila was dealt with. Now would be a good time to begin. We hear him out, decline and have dug up some dirt in the process. Easy peasy."
The Primaries smiled as the car sped into the distance towards the Agreste Mansion.
Notes:
Sheesh... writing the part where they make their entrance to Grand Collége was harder than I thought it would be. I hope it turned out good ○~○
I wanted to make Damocles have a bit of a grander exposure, but the main focus here was Lily and The Primaries. Hopefully I made the right call.
Also, Arsonist Chloé threatened to burn my room down if I didn't finish this ~_~
Chapter 13: Take My Hand
Summary:
When friends you have
Your heart soars with love.
When the rain is pouring
Someone take the matches away from Chloé...
Notes:
Every summary will have little to do with the chapters. They are juat meant to be funny or sometimes meaningful. Just the general vibe.
This chapter shall be... well, a little different. Now that Bustier and Damocles are out, it's time for the Primaries to take a small break and enjoy life being teenagers.
Also, Marinette would not be Marinette if she did not get involved in drama she made in the first place...
There will be an akuma fight this chapter, but please bear in mind that it will be extremely short. I am not the best when writing fight scenes, so it’s better to skip the fights and keep in the important parts of it. Plus, I don’t want the chapter to be too long.
Also, fighting akumas is not the point of this story.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cuz our hearts are locked forever
And our love will never die
The Primaries. An elite trio of students keeping peace in their school. With The Blue Empress as the leader, the Red King as their enforcer and Yellow Queen as the second in command, one would assume that this team was unstoppable.
One would be... very wrong.
But we shall come back to the drama later.
What should one call it when a middle aged man told three teenagers to get into his car? Creepy, inappropriate, gross? All of that actually.
And as they sat down at the dining room table on on side with Gabriel on the opposite end, their guards were up on instinct, never dropping for a second.
Marinette grumbled to herself. She should have known that showing that stuid man her emblem would be a bad idea, yet she did it anyway in the heat of the moment. Oh, how badly she wanted to just yell and punch his stupid glasses off of his face. She restrained herself, however, knowing that violence was competely pointless and would not look good in this situation.
Damn my moral code...
"Alright, can we move this along, Mr. Agreste? This is getting creepy," said Nathaniel.
"I do ask that you show proper respect toward your elders. I asked you here for a reason."
Sure you did... thought Marinette.
"FIne, get to the point,"
Chloé sat quietly, silently agreeing with Nathaniel, not showing her thoughts through her emotions. Don't get her wrong, she has always respected Gabriel, going as far as to refer to him as Uncle even. She grew up playing with Adrien on a regular basis, so Gabriel, in a way, was like a distant family. However, after Emilie went missing, Gabriel changed and that caused even Chloé to be extremely cautious around him.
"I did some research on you three," Gabriel began.
"He says research, I hear stalking..." mumbled Marinette, prompting Chloé to elbow her in the ribs.
"And?" asked Chloé.
"And I see you three are not normal teenagers. You have quite the repertoir of connections at such a young age. Firstly, I'd like to know how you managed that?"
Marinette came out of her brooding state and straightened herself. 'Negotiations' were a part of her duties as leader, so she had to restrain herself and show professionalism.
Again, damn my moral code...
"Mr. Agreste, the last time I was here, I thought I made it very clear that I do not appreciate being snooped on, even if I didn't say it directly. What gave you the right to look into our history?" she asked.
Gabriel's expression did not falter. He snapped his fingers to Nathalie, who showed them all what was on her tablet.
"On screen, you can see I have found out quite a bit. Recently, you three made your homeroom teacher quit and earlier today, your principal was fired. I want to know how you did it."
What was even the point of this meeting...? He was totally avoiding all questions.
"We had nothing to do with either of those cases," Marinette replied honestly. She was right, they didn't really have anything to do with them.
Bustier was completely handled by Loora alone. All they did was distance themselves from their homeroom teacher. Loora was the one to dig dirt on her and expose her. As for Damocles, all they did was gather evidence about thievery and then reported it to the School Board, that was it. The rest was up to whoever was sent to deal with the principal.
"I disagree. I think you were heavily involved. Once again, you have quite the number of connections at such a young age."
Nathaniel waved his hand in a dismissal manner. "Is this going somewhere or are we just going to waste time?"
Gabriel cleared his throat. "Yes. I would like a small favor. Seeing as you have almost more connections than I do, I would like to ask for you three to keep an eye on my son during school. If anything poses a threat to him, you shall remove them immediately."
Well that was not what any of them were expecting. Honestly, they thought he'd want something more, like information about someone. Then again, he is powerful on his own, so he'd have no trouble himself.
Spying on his son? That didn't sit right with them. They never spied on anyone. They have snitches and informants for that.
"And why should we do that?" asked Marinette.
"I simply cannot keep an eye on him while working. I do not know what types of people he surrounds himself with."
Chloé was about to stand up and confront him, but Marinette stopped her, telling her that she can handle the talking.
"Let's say we agree. What do we get out of it?" she asked.
"Connections to the Gabriel brand. You, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, are an aspiring designer, no? If you accept, you'll have access to world class materials for your designs, along with a guaranteed future position in my company. That is my offer."
Marinette was taken off guard by these terms. She so badly wanted to accept it. Ever since she was little, she had always dreamed of being a part of the Gabriel brand. If she accepted the deal laid out for her, her dreams would be one step closer to becoming true.
Yet, something in the back of her head stalled her. The little devil on her shoulder yelled for her to take the deal and she'd have everything she'd ever wanted. The angel on the opposite shoulder yelled otherwise.
If she were to spy on Adrien, she'd be no better than Lila, she'd have to lie and secretly report to Gabriel. It was not something Adrien deserved. He needed to have more freedom to make his own connections and choices.
She may be a bit peeved at him at the moment, but she would never betray him like that. Not ever.
"Sorry, no deal," she decided.
"Excuse me?"
"Did I stutter? Adrien is not someone to be watched."
"He is my son."
Marinette stood up. Even though she wanted to lash out and yell, she kept her composure.
"I don't care if he is your son or the King of Narnia. We Primaries are not your underlings or spies for you to command."
Gabriel hummed and rested his elbows on the table, leaning his chin onto his hands.
"If you do not, I'll see to it that you won't have a future in fashion, young lady..."
Was that his attempt at intimidation? Or was it manipulation? Well, it was both.
Spoiler alert, it had no effect. Marinette looked over to Nathaniel.
"Nath?"
"Mhm," he muttered and stood up, "on it. Mr. Agreste, you tamper with Marinette's life, and we will report you for things you should be punished for. Shall I lost a few? Child labor for starters. Your son is your model, he achieves so many things, yet you barely make time for him. So, we have enough evidence to call CPS on you. And of course, manipulation of teenagers. While you have been yapping and sitting there without a care, we had our phones record everything. If this gets out, you will be done for. No amount of power you have can protect you from legal action."
Gabriel's eyes widened slightly and his mouth fell agape. Clearly, he had underestimated these three teenagers. Never in his life had he felt so insulted.
"You are not in a position to make demands to me!" He lashed.
Marinette shrugged. "Your body language and expressions prove that what Nath just said is right. We frightened you pretty good, didn't we?"
"If this gets out, you will have me as your enemy. You do not want me as your enemy," warned Gabriel.
Marinette chuckled, not bothered by the threat in the slightest.
"We do not want you as our enemy. One is already enough. Besides, you are the one threatening us right now with destroying our lives. Honestly, it's really pathetic how you come to us for something like this. Spying on your son? How petty can you be?"
Marienette signalled that it was time for them to go. The three respectfully bowed and began to head to the door. When Chloé and Nathaniel were out, Marinette turned her head back to look at the scowling man.
"These recordings will stay with us. Allow your son the freedom and respect he deserves, otherwise we will leak this online and your reputation will be tarnished. Good day."
With that, The Primaries stepped out of the mansion, leaving a baffled Gabriel Agreste to ponder his life choices, as he should. Such was the effect of a pissed of Primary. You mess with one, your livelyhood shall be threatened in return.
When Nathalie saw them out, Nathaniel proposed an offer that his father was looking for a secretary should she ever decide to quit working under a tyrant like Gabriel. She made no response, of course, but at least he gave her something to ponder about.
Now then, remember when it was stated we'd get to the drama later?
It's later!
Everyone fights, especially best friends. Fights can start from the smallest of sparks. One person says one thing, the other says another thing, so on and so forth. It can happen anywhere and anytime. Some fights occur when there are differences in opinions.
"Why are you so stubborn?" asked Chloé.
"Listen, I just don't want to talk to him. That is all. I'm over it!" argued Marinette.
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "Sure, the fact you brought it up in the first place means you are over it."
"The heck do you know anyway? You don't understand my problem!"
"Me and Marc get into disagreements every now and then as well," shrugged Nathaniel, "doesn't mean I'll avoid him."
"He has a point. I told you that what Adrien said probably had a meaning behind it," said Chloé.
"And I told you I want to know what the meaning is! I can't just go up and ask him that. That'd be awkward!"
"You're being impossible, Marinette!"
Marinette blew a raspberry in response, causing Nathaniel to sigh and pinch his forehead.
"This is why I prefer men. Girls are confusing as hell..." he muttered.
"Excuse me!?" both Chloé and Marinette yelled.
"You say you want one thing, but instead of following your own advice, your mood changes on the fly."
Chloé got up from her seat and pressed a finger to Nathaniel's chest. "Oh, so this is about me now too!?"
"Yeah, so what? Girls are all the same."
Marinette shot up. "Maybe you should have been born a girl, maybe then you'd understand."
"That's a weak argument. And what is there to understand? You say you want to talk to Adrien, but then say you don't want to talk to Adrien. Make up your mind!"
None of the three teenagers noticed a purple butterfly entering the room through the skylight. It fluttered around and within the skirmish, landed on Marinette's emblem. Since they were all connected through the emblems, the influence of the akuma spread to Chloé and Nathaniel.
"Princess Justice, Queen Wasp, Evillustrator, I am Hawk Moth. You feel as if your friends do not understand you. I'll grant you powers to make them underst-"
"FUCK OFF!" they all yelled.
Yeah, they really did not want to indulge in whatever idiotic plan Hawk Moth had at this time of day. The akuma just flew out of the emblem and left them. The only reason they were able to dispell it was because they weren't feeling particularly negative towards each other. They were just annoyed.
In a funny twist of fate, it even caused Hawk Moth to flinch when the akuma retreated. Not something he expected in a Thursday afternoon, so he decided to take the L for today.
"Marinette? Aren't you going to go after it!?" worried Tikki. Marinette just waved her off.
"Yeah yeah yeah, later," she said.
Chloé shook her head and wagged her finger. "Yeah, sure, don't go after the akuma you caused."
"Me!? You two were the ones who suddenly wanted to argue about our Snitch!"
"Uh-huh, let's be real, the only actual reason you made Adrien our Snitch is because of your crush," deadpanned Nathaniel.
"No! I told you why I did it. Because he knows Lila's true colors! Plus, he doesn't have a backbone to argue back with."
Chloé narrowed her eyes. "Don't talk about my childhood friend that way. You make it sound like you hate him and are using him."
Marinette could not stand the argument any longer and angrily stomped her foot, possibly scaring a few bugs that were underneath the floor.
"That's it. You two, out!"
"Oh, great, kicking me out so you can hide. Classical DC!" retorted Chloé.
"And there you go with the 'me' talk," said Nathaniel, rolling his eyes.
"I said BOTH of you. Now out!" Yelled Marinette, pointing to her trapdoor.
"Fine! Maybe when you both calm down and get a common sense you'll be more tolerable!" said Nathaniel and stormed out of the room.
"Oh! Says the guy who stomped out of the room first!" yelled Chloé, storming after him.
"Good! Yeah! Look who's talking!" yelled Marinette.
When her two friends were gone, Tikki timidly peeked out from her pocket.
"Marinette...the-"
"I know I know! Spots on!"
Once she was transformed, whe leapt out of the window in pursuit of the akuma, and to quite possibly try to clear her head with a nice run. Yeah, that sounded good.
Stupid Chloé and Nathaniel. What would they know about crushing over a guy for almost an entire year anyway? They didn't know what it was like to get your heart broken over and over again. Who needs them anyway?
Who... needs them... right?
...
...
She did.
Oh crap, what has she done!?
She found no traces of the akuma that had escaped her room minutes prior. In her state of anger, she overlooked the purple butterfly and left it to it's own devices. She should have transformed and purified it when she had the chance, but her mind was elsewhere in that moment.
She gave up looking for it. She shouldn't have, but it was the best option at that point. If she can't find the small butterfly, then it will show itself in a host eventually. She can relax and sit quietly until then. Which is exactly what she did.
Man, she was dumb. She felt like the same screw up she was only a few weeks prior. She always did this; get involved in drama she made in the first place. Come on, girl, pull yourself together.
"A gloomy Ladybug. Not something you see everyday."
She turned her head to see Chat Noir leaning on his baton with the most Chat like smile she knew. The kind of smile you see and know you're in a no judgement zone.
But even that was not enough to ease her mind.
"Hey, kitty..."
Chat Noir set his baton on his back and walked over to her.
"What's wrong?"
"Have you... ever got into a fight with a friend?"
It was strange. Lately, confiding in Chat had become so much easier. She found it to be comforting, but a small part of her felt like every time they talked, some hints about his identity was leaked.
Nah, probably not.
"Hmm," he replied, "I can't really answer that without a hint to my identity. Are you okay with that?"
There it was.
Ladybug sighed. "Yeah, whaterver, just shoot me with it."
Chat chuckled. "As purr M'Lady's request. See, I was homeschooled for a long while. So I never really understood how this whole friendship thing works. I tend to avoid conflict whenever I can. But... to answer your question, yeah, I have gotten into a few fights here and there. Some fights are unavoidable."
Homeschooled? Sounded familiar... so a girl won't talk to him and he was homeschooled just like Adrien?
Odd.
(A/N: COME ON MARINETTE!)
"I royally messed up. I got into a fight because I denied everything my friends said. They were right, but I refused to listen. It got into a point where an akuma came for all three of us, but... I was preoccupied, so I couldn't capture it in time."
Chat sat down next to her. "Ah, so that's why you're out here? Did you capture it?"
Ladybug shook her head. "Nope. I wasn't able to find it, so I decided to just wait for it to corrupt someone. It's easier that way."
"You'd let someone get akumatized?"
Ladybug giggled at that. "Normally no, but come on, we're dealing with a tiny butterfly in a giant city. It's like looking for a needle in a haysack. If we look for it, we may exhaust ourselves. Better to conserve our energy, no?"
Good point.
"True. Well, back to your dilemma. What was your fight even about?"
Ladybug, without a thought, took her feet up from dangling over the edge and then laid on her back, her head resting on Chat Noir's lap.
"Oh, we're playing therapist now?" he grinned.
"Yes, be quiet, therpists are meant to listen," she teased back.
"Well then I'll be the fur-st therapist to also act as a pillow."
"Har har. Anyway, we got into a fight because I've been avoiding someone. Before you ask, yes, I am a little mad at him, but my friends told me that I can't avoid him forever. When they told me to talk to him, I got mad at them. And then it escalated when we called each other impossible and... yeah."
Chat nodded as he listened. He may not be the most well versed when it came to teenage drama, but he knew enough from anime and story time games that these kinds of fights happen quite often. But in this case, he was able to see a bit of a bigger picture; the root of the problem.
"M'Lady, I think your friends were right."
"I know! Or, I do now! I didn't then!"
Chat patted her head with a calm smile. "Just listen. I've known you for a while, and you are the type of person who can sometimes be very stubborn. That's just who you are. I'm sure that whatever was said between you three was not meant to be hurtful, right?"
"I know I didn't want to hurt them..."
"Then that's probably the case with them as well. Right now, the fix lies with whoever decides to take the first step to talk."
"I know..."
"I may have been homeschooled M'Lady, but I know enough to know that it's okay to fight. Everyone does it sometime, especially best friends. But you'll have to make up too. No argument is more important than the bond you share."
That may have been the wisest advice Chat Noir had ever given her, which was a little scary. Being the responsible one in this partnership was her job!
"You're right, kitty. I'll be sure to remember that."
"I'm sure you will."
The L that Hawk Moth was supposed to take? He never takes a loss very well. Once the akuma had left Marinette's room, it wandered around the streets of Paris in hopes of finding a new host. In a city that big, there was bound to be someone in a horrible mood.
Finding someone in a...'collaborative' mood for an akuma was not as hard as one might think. In a city as large as Paris, there was always someone upset at any given moment. Yet another power of the butterfly miraculous. It could sense the feelings of those around the user and with enough focus, the user can sense the emotions of those far away.
Which now leads us to Meduster. Yes, a Medusa like akuma who turns people and objects into dust instead of stone. As stated, Hawk Moth sucks with designs and names.
Meduster was half snake, half human, just like a real Medusa. She had a silver necklace with an emerald on it. The chosen color of her scales was midnight blue. Her hair was that of a human, but it could shapeshift into a horde of snakes if she wanted to. The snakes could spit poison at it's targets. Her real weapon of course was her eyes, which turned anything she looked at into dust.
Her story was nothing that special from your normal, everyday akuma. She was just bored of everything looking the same all the time, so her powers to turn things into dust manifested from those emotions.
"Regret turning a blind eye now, M'Lady!?" asked Chat as he blocked a blob of poisom with his baton.
"Don't start with me!"
Meduster may be a regular akuma, but she was still very powerful and dangerous. Ladybug and Chat Noir already knew that the two of them alone would not be able to defeat this akuma.
"Chat," she said once they were hiding behind a dumster in a dark alley, "we need some help here."
"Who do you have in mind? Rena?"
Ladybug shook her head. "I didn't tell you this, but Rena's been removed from duty. Permanently."
"Carapace?"
"Same story. I do have... two people we need for this. I think. But I don't want to leave you alone with Meduster."
Chat Noir smiled at her concern. "Don't worry, I'll be purr-fectly fine. I can keep her distracted. I just need to not look at her."
"Chat, I don't want you to sacrifice yourself again for my sake. I've seen you do that too many times already."
"Hey," Chat Noir placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her with a confident expression, "I promise I won't do that, kay? Trust me."
It didn't cause her worries to completely vanish, but the reassurance from him at least put them to rest for a while. With a smile, she nodded back at him.
"Now go!" he commanded.
With a firm nod, she leapt out of the alleyway without being detected by Meduster. Chat Noir sprung into action as well, landing on top of a street light and twirling his baton, staring confidently at the akuma.
"May I have this dance?"
"Master!!"
Fu yelped awake from his afternoon nap from the sudden burst of the door opening. Wayzz fell out of his tiny bed in shock.
"Ugh... Marinette, have some respect for the elderly... what is it?"
"I'm sorry for intruding. But I need some help with this akuma."
"Very well, I-... what's with the outfit?"
Really? Now?
"No time. I'll tell you later when I return the miraculous."
Fu was skeptical, but he agreed. Marinette did not really blame him for hesitating. He had always seen Marinette wearing her normal pigtails and pink jeans, so seeing her in a skirt and a jacket was not what he was expecting.
He reached into the gramophone and sat the Miracle Box down on ground, the campartments all opening up one by one.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pick an ally to assist you on this mission. Choose carefully, as these powers are meant to be used for the greater good."
Meduster was their enemy, who relied on her sight to defeat her enemies. If they were going to have a chance against her, Marinette would need to choose one ally to keep Meduster in place and another ally to distract her. She'd give the honor of destroying the akuma to Chat Noir.
A perfect way to distract an enemy that relies on sight would be someone who could blind them. The Fox would be really useful. But Alya was no longer Rena Rouge, so who could she pick?
The answer was obvious.
Someone who could stop Meduster from moving. The only immobilizing miraculous in the box was...
She picked out the two miraculous she needed. When Fu saw her pick out the second one, his face grew worried.
"Are you sure?"
"Totally."
"We agreed she can no longer wield one. Her identity was exposed, remember?"
"I have a plan for that. I'll bring these back once I'm done. I also have something important to talk to you about."
Fu nodded in understanding.
"Good luck, Ladybug."
The only problem with recruiting an ally to assist in akuma fights was that you never actually know their location, so in some instances it could take Ladybug at least 10 minutes to sweep the city.
However, in this instance, she did not need to locate them. She knew exactly where they would be. Or at least, she knew where one of them was. With any luck, they may be together, so she hoped that her luck was on her side.
Sure enough, she was right. Chloé and Nathaniel were both on her penthouse balcony, sitting on the tanning chairs and doing their own things. Good, at least they made up and no longer seem to be arguing. She landed on the railing with a thud, causing the two teens to lift their sunglasses. Yeah, even though it was early spring, it was an especially warm day, so no harm in an early day in the sun.
“Hey you two,” she greeted.
”Mar- Ladybug. What’re you doing here?” asked Chloé, her voice kind yet still held some form of resentment. Their argument before was nothing to write home about, but it’s not like they can forgive and forget that easily. Teenagers are just like that.
“I need some help. You two up for being superheroes?”
At that, Chloé’s eyes lit up like a kid in Disneyland. “I get to be Queen Bee again!?”
“Kind of. Nathaniel, what do you say?”
She worried that Nathaniel would refuse immediately. He was always known for holding the longest grudge in the group. But, to her surprise, he got up from his seat and gave her a thumbs up.
“A Primary needs help. How could I refuse that?”
Ladybug smiled. “Thank you. Here, I think you know the drill by now.”
She reached out and placed the Fox pendant on the palm of his hand, he held it up and looked at it. Trixx took form and chirped upon being greeted by his new holder.
”My name’s Trixx!”
While the two were getting acquainted, Ladybug turned to Chloé and held out the Bee Miraculous.
“Chloé, I still stand by what I said. It is dangerous for you to be Queen Bee, but I think I have a way to work around that.”
Chloé wiped an imaginary bead of sweat off her forehead. “Phew, I thought you were gonna troll me for a second.”
Ladybug giggled. “I wouldn’t do that. Now, listen carefully. You can’t be Queen Bee. When you transformed, you must make a different outfit and a new name for yourself. That’s the only way for you to wield it now.”
“That’s… not actually a bad idea. Okay, I think I can do that! I have an idea! Gimme gimme gimme!”
Yep, like a kid in Disneyland. Ladybug finally handed over the Bee miraculous, causing Pollen to appear from the hairpin.
“Hello, My Queen.”
”Pollen!” squealed Chloé, sweeping the tiny God into her hands and nuzzling her.
Ladybug smiled at the reunion. She worried her friends would turn her down, but turns out, it was not worth worrying about at all. They’d deal with their argument after the akuma was dealt with.
“Whenever you are ready, transform.”
Chloé put the hairpin on and called forth her transformation. Her outfit, considering that it was the Bee Miraculous, did not change in colour. However, she now had a fluffy black collar around her neck and even around her wrist, like a real bee had fur all over. Her hair went into a sharp ponytail and two antennae sprouted from the top of her head.
Ladybug gushed over this new form. “Omg! You look so adorable!”
“Why, thank you. Hmm… a new name… I think I’ll call myself… Mesilane.”
“Mesilane?” asked both Ladybug and Nathaniel.
“If you didn’t know, it’s a word in Estonian that translates to bee. Pretty clever, huh?”
With a firm nod, Nathaniel wasted no time transforming into the Fox hero. Compared to Rena, his outfit was a little bit more red in coloration. He didn’t sprout ears out of his hair like Rena or Chat Noir did, but rather, he had a hood on with fox ears. His belly was white and he sprouted a more authentic fox tail. His gloves and boots were black.
He looked pretty badass, Ladybug had to admit.
“Red Fox! Because I’m too lazy to think of a name and shut up and don’t judge,” he declared, causing the two girls to giggle at his goofiness.
”You both know how your powers work, so let’s not keep Chat Noir waiting. We have an akuma to take down. Follow me!”
The akuma battle itself took only a few minutes upon the arrival of two new heroes. Chloé, having used the Bee multiple times beforehand, was a natural when it came to finding the right moment to paralyse someone.
Considering that Nathaniel was an artist at heart, it would have made sense for Ladybug to give him the Goat or Rooster miraculous, but that would have been too obvious. It’s not that Rena could ever be replaced, she was a fine hero in her own right, but often times, Nathaniel was quite cunning when it came to Primary duties. Had Marinette never met Alya, Nathaniel would have gotten the Fox miraculous at some point anyway, so it was like a full circle.
Chat Noir found it easy to cooperate with the two new recruits. Unlike Rena and Carapace, Mesilane and Red Fox knew when not to take things too seriously and even laughed at his jokes when the situation was right. They even punned along with him! Hah, Ladybug unknowingly gave herself more torture…
Later, when the miraculous was returned to her hands and she delivered Nathaniel and Chloé home, she made her way back to Master Fu. She owed him some explanations and confront him about the whole Guardian thing.
“Hmm… I see. Clearly, you are not the type of person I thought you were,” he said.
“Is that… bad?”
Fu smiled. “Not at all. I think it’s a good thing that you don’t let people treat you as a doormat. It’s like you were Ladybug before receiving a miraculous.”
“There is… one other thing, Master Fu.”
“Yes?”
Marinette took a deep breath. Here goes…
”I… I’m afraid I must turn down the proposition if becoming the new Guardian. I’m sorry if this is out of the blue, but I know for a fact that I am not the right person for the job.”
Fu closed his eyes and rubbed his small beard in thought. “Hmm… I see, I see. That complicates things. I have already begun teaching you. Turning away from it all is not as simple as that.”
“What do you mean?”
Fu took his tea cup and ran his index finger along the edge of the cup.
“I mean that you already know more than most trainees did back in the old days. You already know enough that if it got out, it would be a risk.”
Marinette raised a brow. “I’ve kept it a secret for this long. I don’t see how I can’t just take this secret with me to my grave.”
Fu smiled. “Be that as it may, I understand why you want to set this aside. I admit, when I told you I want you to be the new Guardian, I was desperate. My time may come sooner than we think.”
“But?” asked Marinette.
”But, the temple in Tibet is now back thanks to you and Chat Noir’s efforts during Feast. Had you turned down this proposal before that, I would have convinced you otherwise. But, if this is what you want, then I am sure I can contact them and tell them the situation. They will understand, even if they may resent me.”
Marinette nodded. “I honestly expected you to be… angry at me. For, you know, telling Chloé and Nathaniel my identity and now turning down the Guardian position?”
Fu chuckled and sipped his tea. “I may be old and strict when it comes to the miraculous, but even I know that children your age need to make your own decisions, even if those decisions disobey orders. Sometimes we must follow our hearts instead of our heads. Besides, it has already happened, so there is no point in scolding you. What’s done is done.”
Marinette bowed her head in respect. “Thank you, Master.”
“You may not become a Guardian, but as Ladybug, I am here if you need me. I can tell that you embracing your past as a Primary once again has given you new resolve. Keep it up and maybe Hawk Moth will be defeated before we realise it.”
Marinette agreed and the two spent another half hour just talking and drinking their tea. While it saddened Marinette that she could not look after the adorable little kwamis like she would be if she was Guardian, it had to be done. She knew her age and her limits. Taking on the role of Guardian on top of all of her other duties would only cause her unneeded stress.
This was for the best.
”So…” said all three Primaries.
“I’m sorry!” said Marinette, “I know you two were only looking out for me and were just trying to push me in the right direction. I was out of line with the things I said earlier today.”
Chloé smiled and sat next to her on her chaise. “I’m sorry too. I was being too pushy.”
Nathaniel scratched his neck. “Yeah… sorry for calling you two… you know.”
“Hey, it’s fine. You’re right, though. We girls can be confusing,” giggled Chloé.
“I promise, you guys. I will talk to Adrien. Give me a few days and I will find a way to meet up with him. You’re right, I shouldn’t run. He said what he said, but we know he is not like that.”
”I guess even best friends fight sometimes,” said Chloé.
Nathaniel shook his head. “Nah. You two are more than just my friends. You are my girls. My sisters. I may have said the wring things, but I was never angry with you two. Just…”
”Annoyed?” offered Marinette.
”Irritated?” asked Chloé.
”Baffled?”
Nathaniel laughed. “Okay okay, I get it.”
Marinette giggled at their antics. “Yeah, you two are my siblings. We are family and we stick together, right?”
Chloé nuzzled her cheek against her friend with a squeal.
“Yup! You are the most adorable little sister!”
Marinette narrowed her eyes in amusement.
“Chlo, I’m only a month younger than you.”
“Little sister! How dare you correct your big sis!”
Nathaniel shook his head and looked out the window. Yup, it was true. No argument was more important than friendship.
Everyone argued sometimes. Best friends more often than others. But the most important part of it was the forgiveness.
The Primaries may fight sometimes and have differing opinions, but their bond was too strong for a mere fight to sever it. They have been together since childhood and that will continue on to the far future.
Take my hand tonight
Let’s not think about tomorrow
Take my hand tonight
We can find some place to go.
Notes:
What is realism?
Nothing. It's a fanfic. It doesn't exist! :D So yeah, Marinette can threaten anyone she wants.
My babies are tough!
Also:
Gabriel: I fear no man, but that thing.
*Marinette*
Gabriel: It scares me.
On another note, I was a little too lazy to come up with new akuma names for the trio. I know the names have almost nothing to do with the situation they are in, but hey, I don't think it really matters. I mean come on, Gabriel akumatized Mr. Pigeon like 72 times. For a fashion designer he is awful when it comes to inspired names or outfits.
If you didn’t know, I am Estonian. Chloés hero name really does mean “Bee” in my native language :)
Chapter 14: This is Where I Belong
Summary:
Romance will be beauty
I hear wedding bells calling.
Rockstar is still rocking
All the while still good looking
Notes:
Well, if there is one thing I am good at, it's procrastinating. I have many ideas and such, but I like to take my sweet ass time. But... this time there was a reason for it. I'll explain the delay at the end
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Scream my lungs out to our favorite song
Cuz this is where I belong!
The school being out meant that The Primaries had more free time on their hands. Of course, no one knew how long the school would actually be closed for, but the teachers had given them a lot of homework to make up for the lost time. Until a new principal was found, that’s all they had to work with.
Now, could they ask Loora to lighten their load by pulling a few strings? Sure, they could, but that would be unfair. Just because they were The Primaries did not mean they could escape the boredom of daily student life.
However, they didn’t have that much left to finish, so during their down time, they focused on the project that Marinette was working on for the group. It wasn’t a design project, but rather a plan to fully expose, humiliate and destroy Lila.
“I know we’ve always gotten rid of bullies, but I never heard you get so serious when it comes to one,” said Nathaniel, twirling a pen between his fingers.
“Lila’s a… different case. Like something on your shoe that you can’t wipe off. So, to wipe her off, burn the shoe.”
”Burn!?” sparkled Chloé, literal stars forming in her eyes. Marinette rolled her eyes and pushed her away by the nose.
”Not literally, you doofus. You know what I meant.”
Chloé deflated. Nathaniel patted her on the back to show comfort.
”One day you’ll burn something. One day.”
Chloé hugged Nathaniel with waterfalls flowing out of her eyes. “Thank you brotheeeer~”
Marinette shook her head. “Back on topic. I checked Jagged’s schedule. He does not have any concerts planned, so, it’s not hard to ask him to throw a fundraiser party at the school. Of course, that being said, we need to talk about it the principal as well, whoever that will be.”
Chloé came out of her whiny baby mood and straighted herself. “Cool story, but how do you know he will agree? Even rockstars have to take breaks from time to time. Got an alternative in case that happens?”
”She was up all night coming up with weird plans…” confessed Tikki.
”Hey, I still got two hours of sleep!”
Silence.
”How… are you even standing straight?” asked Nathaniel.
”Coffee. With sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.”
”No wonder you have bags under your eyes. I thought you screwed up with the make-up,” deduced Chloé.
”Is it that noticable?”
“Marinette… you’re eating your pencil…”
“No, this is a pocky stick.”
“Since when are pocky sticks grey?”
Marinette took the so called ‘pocky’ out of her mouth to see what the fuss was about. Yeah, turns out she had been chewing on her trusted pencil she often used to sketch her designs.
“Okay, fair enough…”
“Why don’t you sleep? Lila’s takedown does not take priority over our own health you know,” said Chloé.
“I don’t know. I want to, but I have been having trouble sleeping.”
”Well then, it’s settled. You stay here and take a nap or something. Me and Chloé will go talk to Jagged ourselves.”
”But-“
”Tikki, make sure she sleeps.”
Tikki perked up and left her cookie where it was on the table. “I would, but kwamis can’t exactly order their owners around.”
Chloé sighed. “Look, I don’t care. Marinette needs sleep. No akuma fights, no nothing. If there is trouble, then leave it to Chat Noir or just give your miraculous to either me or Nathaniel.”
Marinette smiled and laid down on the chaise, holding her arm over her forehead.
“Really stepping into the older sister role, huh?” she asked.
“Someone has to tell it to you straight. We’ll be off now.”
”Okay… thanks you guys.”
After exchanging quick hugs, the two left the bakery. They loved Marinette as their leader and friend, but she had a flaw that she herself never admitted to. When her mind is set on a goal, she tends to forget to take care of herself. If she were to be the only Primary, then most likely she’d be a zombie living off of coffee alone.
Now that she was resting and was temporarily ‘off duty’, Chloé was the one to take charge. She was the second-in-command. Nathaniel never argued over it when they made the decision. He was never fit to be in the leadership role anyway.
“So, what’s our next stop?” he asked.
”Jagged Stone is staying at daddy’s hotel, so that’s where we are going. Let’s just hope he’ll be willing to listen to me.”
”Think he won’t?”
“I was never the most pleasant girl to be around, if you recall.”
Nathaniel shrugged with a chuckle. “Fair enough.”
Even though The Primaries disbanded for a little over a year, it was hard to forget that the personalities they took on during that period of time were all an act. Chloé was actually the kindest of the group, so it hurt her to have to act spoiled and entitled all the time. Though, it didn’t seem like it bothered her that much anymore, since both she and Marinette reminisce and laugh about it from time to time.
Others, who don't know the whole story, did not see it that way. To their classmates and strangers, Chloé turned into a spoiled rich girl overnight and left it at that. Their families and true friends knew...
"I know we've been together again for only two weeks, but..." began Nathaniel.
"Hard to believe?"
"Yeah, I guess so..."
"Do you still remember why we disbanded?"
How could he forget?
Some time ago, Chloé's father gave them a piece of advice, one they should have taken more seriously.
'Power can corrupt absolutely anybody if left unchecked.'
It was advice that was true to a T. The Primaries were very well known at the time. Known to be passive agressive and only dealing with bullies and troublemakers in a verbal manner, never getting physical with any of them.
But children are more easier to corrupt. Two years ago, they had amassed a following, like they have going on now. However, the following they had before did everything The Primaries asked them to. That, added on to the praise from their peers, got into their heads.
A year and a half ago, there was a bully who decided to try his luck. They should have looked more into it, but instead, they simply told their followers to deal with the bully. Had they done it themselves, they would have understood that the kid did not bully because he wanted to. He only wanted respect from his abusive father. The Primaries' followers did not deal with him the same way they would have. They used fear and got physical to get the bully to submit.
The bully eventually broke, took the anger out on his own father, attacking him with a knife and hospitalizing him for life. The bully moved away from Paris with his mom.
That's when they learned that not all bullies are cut from the same cloth. Everyone has their reasoms to act the way they do. It's up to the parents amd the people around them to guide them toward the right path in life.
Every now and then, they check on the former bully without his knowledge. A year in therapy and medication had done their job and he was continuing to heal. Maybe one day they can get the chance to apologize. For now, it was best to let him heal.
After that, it was clear that all the power, attentiom and fame had gone to their heads. Their dispansion was not up for discussion.
"We agreed we'd only get the group back together if the situation called for it. That, or when we are older and wiser," replied Nathaniel.
Chloé giggled. "Older and wiser? You talk like an old man."
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes in response and cleared his throat, changing his voice to that of an actual old man.
"With age comes wisdom, my dear lass."
Chloé laughed at her friends funny, albeit terrible, impression of an old man.
Ahhh...
The softness of pillows under her head.
The warmth of the blanket covering her entire body.
When was the last time she felt so relaxed, so warm, so safe?
Last night, when she only got two hours of sleep.
Marinette was far off in the dream world, her body and mind getting the rest it deserved. She's a hard worker, for sure, but she never knows when to actually slow down and take a break.
Those were Sabine's thoughts as she silently cleaned up Marinette's room. It had become a mess and with how busy her daughter was, the girl did not have time to clean it. While Sabine normally enforced the 'clean your room' rule, it was fine to do it herself every once in a while to help out. Besides, she was off work for the day, so she needed something to keep her busy.
There have been some instances where some customers knew that Marinette was the infamous Blue Empress, asking whether or not Sabine was okay with her daughter being this so called 'ruler' of a school. Truth be told, she wouldn't be under normal circumstances. But, Marinette was not like the girls you'd see on TV, who'd flaunt their power and bully others just to make herself seem superior. She used her connections and power to better her environment.
So, whenever a customer asked, she put on a kind smile and calmly told them that she couldn't be prouder.
Of course it came with it's flaws. Like the incident with a bully over a year ago. Thankfully, Marinette saw her own error and disbanded her group. She was only grounded for a week after that. Disbanding The Primaries was already heartbreaking for her, so grounding her for longer would have just added fuel to the fire. Plus, it seemed like Marinette learned from that experience.
Sighing, she leaned down, picking up a pink lace bra that Marinette loved to wear. No, seriously, that girl loved pink a little too much, it was sometimes frightening. But leaving her bra on the floor?
"And she expects to get a boyfriend..." she giggled to herself.
Picking up the laundry basket, she looked at the room that was no spotless from the dirty clothes and scattered papers.
Tikki had been watching her the entire time she was in there. The kwami sometimes wished she could talk to Marinette's mother. She was such a sweet and kind woman, it was no surprise why Marinette turned out the way she did. The tardiness was definitely from her father, though.
She was peeking over Marinette's bed, laying on her stomach and simply observing the small Chinese woman. When Sabine opened the trap door to leave the room, Tikki did not expect her to glance back into the room and look up toward the bed. She did not have time to hide, so she did the only thing she could think of. Pretend to be a plush toy!
What happened next was not something she was expecting either. Sabine smiled and put a finger over her mouth, letting out a quiet, "shhh...", before giving her a wink and leaving the room.
Tikki let out a sigh of relief, glad that she was safe for the time being.
...
Wait...
Did Sabine wink!?
"How do you not get tired living in such a giant place? I mean, you have an entire penthouse all to yourself!" said Nathaniel as they exited the elevator.
Chloé shrugged. "Honestly, if it was up to me, I'd want a smaller room. The balcony is nice, but I have so much room that it gets boring."
"And here I thought you liked being a rich girl."
"I do, but it gets exhausting. But, hey, I at least have a walk-in closet!"
"Fair enough. Now, which room is Jagged staying at?"
"He has his own personal suite here. Don't forget, he is not a regular guest."
Nathaniel shrugged. "True."
The two eventually arrived at a specific door. Normally, each door would have a number on them, but this one had the name 'Mr. Stone' instead.
"Is he here?" asked Nathaniel with a grin.
Chloé rolled her eyes, "No, this is our stone storage room..."
Nathaniel chuckled and raised his hand to knock on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened up with... Fang crawling around their feet like a dog excited to see familiar people.
"Fang! Hey boy!" cooed Chloé, leaning down to pat the crocodile on the head.
By some miracle, Jagged had adopted and trained Fang so well that the reptile acted more like a dog than a crocodile. How? We don't know.
"Fang! Here boy!"
The two teens entered the hotel room, closing the door behind them. Penny was sipping tea next to the window, greeting them with a smile and a nod. Jagged, on the other hand, shot up from the couch. In a completely anime style comedy act, he threw his guitar over his shoulder, because why not?
"Chloé? Ain't this a rocking surprise. Uh... you're not in a bitchy mood, are you?" greeted Jagged, to which Chloé giggled.
"No, Jagged, you can relax. This is my friend, Nathaniel, though I'm sure you remember him."
Nathaniel waved casually. He had met Jagged a couple of times before, so the nervousness had already dissipated. Jagged was like an old friend to them at this point.
"Of course! You didn't tell me you three were back together."
Chloé shrugged and sat down on the sofa. "It was pretty recent. You were too busy, so we couldn't tell you."
"I see, I see, so, what can this rock and roll star do for you?"
Nathaniel sat down next to Chloé, grabbing a piece of chocolate on the table and popping it into his mouth.
"We need some help. Marinette was supposed to call you, but she's a little occupied at the moment. Do you think you'll be free on March 14th?"
Jagged looked at Penny for answers. He himself never knew how packed his schedule was, so that's where Penny always came in. The woman was already looking at her tablet.
"Let's see... well, we are supposed to prepare for a flight to Lithuania. We have a concert there on the 15th. The only time he is trully available would be on the 13th. That's Thursday. Would that work?" she asked.
Nathaniel nodded. "Yeah, that'll work. We plan to throw a small fundraiser and we need an artist for entertainment. It doesn't have to be a huge concert either. Just think of it as a warm up to your upcoming concert."
Jagged nodded, understanding everything so far. "Since it's you who is asking, I'm going to guess that this won't be a simple... party."
Chloé snapped her fingers and pointed at him. "Bingo. So, here's the thing: there's a girl in our school. She is our current target. She lies with every breath she takes, making up stories of an amazing life. Sounds harmless, but she is a manipulator and hurts anyone she wants if it means she can get what she wants. And I think this is something you can consider personal yourself too."
Jagged ran his finger along the edge of his quitar, waiting for Chloé to tell him what she wanted.
"She once said that she knows you personally, that she saved your cat from a runway, causing her tinnitus, after which, you made a song about her."
Jagged blinked.
Then he blinked again.
One more blink.
He then pointed at Fang, laying next to the couch that Chloé and Nathaniel occupied. "The entire world knows that I have had Fang ever since he was a hatchling. You're telling me that the people she lied to absolutely believed her?"
Nathaniel shrugged. "Don't ask. Our class share one braincell and it's not like it has a lot of IQ."
"And a song? The only song I have written for anyone would be the rocking superhero duo and that's only because they are centuries old according to the news."
Chloé and Nathaniel felt a drop of sweat fall down their faces as they smiled as if trying to hide their pain. Marinette once stated as Ladybug that she was over 5000. That's a detail some have forgotten.
Uh-huh...
"I'll get our lawyers on the line, Jagged," said Penny.
"No no! Don't. Not yet at least. Like we said, we have a plan. That's why we asked if you are free to hold a small concert for the school," said Chloé
"Penny, if it's my reputation in front of my fans on the line, then I'm willing to play along with The Primaries. Besides, it's a fundraiser, right? Think of it as a side job!"
Penny blinked with a deadpan stare. "As if a millionaire rock star needs a side job..."
"Thank you so much, Jagged! We'll make it up to you somehow!" thanked Chloé.
"Naw, no need. Happy to rock and roll with you."
The two thanked him once more and then left the room to give Jagged the privacy he wanted. Sometimes, famous artists need a break from an audience too.
Adrien hated conflict, outright despising it. Arguing with strangers and wealthy people at parties was one thing, but arguing with friends was a whole lot worse.
And then came Marinette... a sweet girl, who in only a week, managed to get him to fall for her completely. It took a while for him, but he admitted it now.
"Plagg... what do I do...?" he asked.
"Eat cheese, then you'll think clearly."
"Yuh-huh, thanks."
Plagg threw his Camembert slice into the air and caught it in his mouth. He then flew up to Adrien's face. Yeah, it was a pain, but his chosen would keep pestering him if he didn't try and help.
"Look, kid, there are others more qualified to give you love advice."
"I don't need advice, I just need an opinion," said Adrien.
"Fine, you want one? Go and talk to her."
"But she hates me!"
Plagg facepalmed. "Yeah, because you had to go and run your mouth. That's exactly why you need to go and talk to her. You have free time, don't you? So be productive with it."
"I don't know..."
"You wanted my opinion and you got it. Now go and do it. The longer you stall the harder it will be."
Despite being a cheese eating, annoying little bugger, Plagg offered solid advice when it was needed. It had been over a week since he last spoke to Marinette properly.
Sighing, he got up and walked out of his room, intending to step out of the mansion and go talk to the girl. Plagg was right. The longer he waited the more stress he’ll put on himself.
“Adrien, where are you going?”
Of course… right as he was about to exit through the front door, his father just had to open his mouth. Turning around, he saw the man standing in front of his office door.
“I need to see a friend, Father.”
“Who is this friend?”
Was he being graded or something? Why all these questions?
”I just said something to Marinette the other day. I need to go and apologise.”
”Very well. Don’t stay out too long. Your bodyguard shall drive you,” said Gabriel before he stepped into his office again.
Huh? Wait… what?
What just happened? Did his father just allow him to go without any further questions? He didn’t need permission?
Adrien shook his head. No. He shouldn’t dwell on it for too long, otherwise Gabriel may just change his mind. He opened the door and walked over to the car, his bodyguard already waiting as he opened the door.
Could it be that Father was secretly afraid of Marinette, her being a Primary and all? Nah, that didn’t seem right. Sure, Marinette had a lot of power and connections, but Gabriel had more of those, right?
Ah.
Now he understood.
He allowed him to visit Marinette because she had power and connections. He did it out of respect. Marinette would be a good influence, as he likes to always stress.
The drive to the bakery did not take that long. Only a few short ten minutes at the least. Had he lived farther, he would have gone to another school most likely.
“I don’t know how long I’ll take, so I’ll text you if I need a ride. Don’t worry, I won’t get into any trouble,” he said to his bodyguard once he opened the car door.
The Gorilla nodded and drove off once the door was closed, leaving Adrien standing in front of the bakery. It was the afternoon, so Marinette should be awake. Should be.
With a deep inhale, he stepped into the bakery, the smell of freshly baked goods hitting him in the face like fluffy pillows. Stepping into this particular bakery was like stepping through the gates of Heaven.
“Adrien, dear! What can we do for you?” Greeted Sabine.
“Hello, Mrs. Cheng. Is Marinette home? I’d like to talk to her.”
“She is up in her room sleeping. Did something happen?”
”Oh, then I can come back some other time.”
Sabine shook her head and took off her apron. “Tom, can you manage on your own? I’ll take Adrien upstairs.”
She was replied to by a hand throwing a thumbs up from the back. “Sure thing, Honey!”
Sabine smiled and gestured for Adrien to follow her. Yeah, he should have figured that Sabine would not let him go that easy. They were such nice people… unlike his father.
The two made it up to the apartment, Sabine slipping off her shoes to replace them with her flippers.
“Can I offer you anything? Some tea maybe?”
“Uh… maybe just some coffee? Low caffeine.”
“Of course. I invited you in because Marinette has been napping for almost two hours now. She should be waking up in a bit. I just figured it would be a good time to get to know you.”
“Oh, that sounds nice. I don’t want to impose too much though.”
“Nonsense, dear. A friend of my daughter is always welcome here.”
Friend… something about that word stung him in his chest. He considered Marinette a very close friend, sure, but what about her? What did she think?
“That’s… kind if the reason I came. I may have said something that upset her. We haven’t spoken for a week.”
Sabine, instead of being mad, gave a gentle smile and placed two cups of coffee on the table, sitting opposite to him.
“Knowing Marinette, she probably took it out of context and thought too much about it.”
Adrien scratched the back of his neck, a drop of sweat running down his face. “Yeah, well… I told her that I could not ask someone out during our date. I realised a few days later that it was not a thing one should say during a date.”
To his surprise, Sabine giggled. He figured she’d get at least a little angry with him, since it was her daughter he accidentally offended.
“No, it definitely is not. But, I’m willing to look past it, since you were homeschooled. I’m sure you meant something else when you said that?”
Adrien nodded, sipping his coffee. “Yeah, I did. That date with Marinette went really well, so… I guess that during that day, I realised that my social skills are not the best. I meant that as like… I don’t know… a realisation? An epiphany? Something like that.”
Sabine placed her chin on her hands. “Simply put, Marinette asked you out despite how awkward you are and you realised that all you ever had to do was be yourself. You fell for Marinette and just said your epiphany out lout."
Adrien nodded. "I do want to be with Marinette, but.... yeah, that's about the size of it."
Sabine sipped her coffee. "Then that's it. You'll just have to be honest with her. Without being biased here, Marinette is a special girl. She works hard on her designs, is the leader of a well known trio and always puts others needs before her own. If I was any different, I'd say no one is worthy of her affections."
Adrien smiled. Marinette was special, on that, he agreed. "Truth be told, Mrs. Cheng, no one actually is. Not even me. But I don't want to date her just because she is so amazing. I want to support her and be someone she can lean on when things get too much. That's about all I can do."
"Then you my permission. Think of this as an unofficial boyfriend interview," giggled Sabine.
"Isn't that usually the father's duty to do that interview?" asked Adrien.
"Tom is a big cuddle bear, but can be a bit... intimidating when it comes to his daughter. Anyway, I think you can go to her room now. Marinette should be awake. If not, wake her. She needs to come down and help us in the bakery anyway."
Adrien nodded and finished off the last of his coffee. Homebrewn coffee was the best kind. Better than the expresso machine he had back at home anyway. Being the polite boy that he is, he rinsed the cup with water to not leave any coffee stains and dried it, placing it on the counter.
"Thank you for the coffee, Mrs. Cheng," he bowed.
"Of course, dear. Good luck."
Sometimes he wished his own family was as welcoming as this one. His father, though successful, had a lot of flaws, many of which were unsuited for a parent to have.
But still, it brought him comfort that he was always welcome in this bakery. He climbed the stairs all the way up to Marinette's room, knocking on it.
"Marinette? Are you awake?" he called.
No answer.
"I'm coming in!"
He opened the trap door and stepped inside. Quiet. Marinette was indeed still asleep. That girl could sleep through a hurricane without knowing it had ever happened. Was it possible to learn such power?
Shaking his head, he climbed the ladder to her bed and gently shook her foot.
"Marinette. Pssst! Mari!"
"Nnng... go away Chaaaat...." she groaned.
Chat? What kind of dream was she having? Well, she was technically correct, he was Chat Noir. He may as well play along, right?
"M'Lady, akuma attack at 12 o'clock."
At that, Marinette jolted up from her bed, sitting up with her hair more messy than a barn after a tornado. Adrien immediately turned away.
Marinette had been so tired that while she changed into her pajamas, she had passed out before even putting a shirt on, leaving her only in her bra. Of course, Adrien was used to seeing such things since he was a model, hence why there was no blush on his cheeks. Still, he looked the other way out of respect.
"Akuma? Where? Why?" she asked.
Chuckling, he turned his head to look at her. "Kidding. You didn't wake up when I called earlier, so."
Marinette squinted her eyes. "Oh, it's you..."
Adrien raised a brow in response. "That's a rather strange hello. Can we talk?"
Marinette sighed. She couldn't refuse him now. He was already in her room. Kicking him out would be rude and plus, he most likely got permission from her parents. And secondly, she did promise her friends she'd talk to him. No better time than this, even if she was groggy.
"Yeah, just... give me a minute to wake up."
"Uh-huh, and maybe put a shirt on."
"Huh?"
That's when she looked down. D'aw crap, he was in her room and she was only wearing her bra!? And he had seen it all!? Damn it! Stupid Adrien! She screached like a pterodactyl and grabbed the nearest pillow.
"You pervert!!" She yelled and threw the pillow at him, which he gaught with only one hand, that stupid grin never leaving his face.
"Easy now. Just come down when you're ready."
"Don't boss me around in my own room!"
"Not bossing."
"Jerk..."
Relenting, she covered her chest and walked down from her bed, walking up to her closet and picking out a shirt at random. Quickly throwing it on, she finally turned to face him.
"Okay, I'm decent now. Kind of. You can look. Why are you here Adrien?" She asked as she sat down on her desk, combing her hair to make it more presentable.
"I came to talk to you. And apologize."
"Finally figured out what you did, huh Snitch?"
Adrien felt a vein appear on his forehead. "Can you not call me that?"
Marinette smirked, not even looking at him as she combed her hair. "I do what I want. Besides, it's your title."
"A title you gave me without my actual consent."
Marinette stopped abruptly. "I only gave you this job because I trusted you out of anyone."
Adrien sighed and sat down on her chaise. "Fair enough. That's not why I'm here though."
"So, again, why are you here?"
"It's..." Adrien scratched the back of his neck, "it's about our date last week. I said something out of line and... I'm sorry."
"So, who is she?" asked Marinette out of the blue.
"Wh- whu?"
"That girl you said you couldn't ask out. Who is she?"
Adrien blinked and shook his head. "That's not the point. Listen, in all honesty, it was a celebrity crush, nothing more. And that wasn't what I meant during out date at all."
Marinette, having made herself look good in front of her mirror, turned her desk chair to fully look at him. "Okay, then tell me, what did you really mean?"
"It's... honestly hard to explain."
"Try me, Snitch."
"I had so much fun during our date, even if I was being awkward and clueless a lot of the times, you never stopped having fun and just kept grabbing my hand with a face full of laughter. At the end of the day, I realized two things."
"Go on," pried Marinette.
"One, I do like you. Simple as that. Secondly, I realized that I don't need to pretend to be someone I'm not for people to like me. Me myself am enough. That's what I meant."
Marinette sighed. If she were being honest, then that's the same conclusion she came to a few days ago. She was just too stubborn to go talk to him.
"Geez... you could have cleared the air sooner you know. I would not have jumped to those conclusions."
"I did try to clear the air. Many times. You just didn't want to listen."
"Well, I listen to you most of the time. Still, I guess I should apologize too. I should not have given you the cold shoulder every time you tried to talk to me."
Adrien smiled. "So... what happens now?"
"You want to date?"
"I mean... I'd like that, but aren't you too busy with Primary stuff?"
Marinette sighed. He had a point. Damn it.
"True. Not like those are going away until Lila is out of the picture. Plus, we plan to stick around even after she is gone."
As much as she would have liked to disband once again after Lila was dealt with at first, she had a different resolve now. During these short few weeks, she had seen mamy kinds of bullying. She knew she could do something about it. The Blue Empress was not going to lay her crown down anytime soon.
"Fair enough. But... if given the chance... would you... uhm..." he stuttered. All of sudden, the simple question of 'will you be my girlfriend?' was so difficult to ask. Come on, man up!
"Out with it," demanded a narrowe eyed Marinette.
"Would you... be my girlfriend?"
Marinette smirked and put on a thoughtful face. "Hmmm... should I? What would other students think if they found out their Empress was dating a mere peasant?"
Adrien raised a brow. "Peasant?" Then it hit him. "Marinette!!"
The girl did not relent. "I mean, I would be losing my Snitch and you'd lose your honor. That sounds terrible."
"Marinette..."
"I'm joking!" She giggled. She crossed her legs and arms and looked at him sternly. "Geez, learn to laugh at yourself. Anyway, yes, I'll gladly be your girlfriend. However, only outside of school. You can come to my place whenever you want or invite me over. But no contact other than Primary business during school," she said.
"If I may ask, why not during school?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
"You're smart, Adrien. You know damn well why."
"It would... get in the way of your duties as The Blue Empress?" he guessed.
"That too, but also, you'll be targeted by Lila. If she found out you and I are an item, then she'll simply use you against us. I don't want that on my conscience."
Adrien nodded. He always figured that any relationship he may have in the future would involve showing it off to the world to see, but if his lady desired discretion during school, then he saw no problems with it. Besides, with how famous he is, he doesn't want any of his fans to stalk Marinette or harass her.
Though, he couldn't deny that she was being a bit bossy about it. That...
Yeah, that got him more giddy than he wanted to show off, so instead, he crossed his arms and looked at her with a smirk.
"Any other demands from the Empress?"
"Just one. I have to ask you something and I need you to answer me with the utmost honesty. If I detect that you are lying, then I'm breaking up with you and set the world record for the shortest relationship ever."
Adrien nodded. "Kay, shoot."
Marinette took a deep breath. This is something she had been wondering about in her head for a long while now. There was no backing out, no more running and no more secrets. There were too many coincidences to simply ignore.
"Are you Chat Noir?"
She did it. She had asked him the million dollar question. His reply would determine what would become of them. If he was smart, he would also have figured it put at this point that she herself was Ladybug.
Knowing her kitty though, no doubt he would deny it.
"I am."
She sighed. "I knew you'd lie- wait what?"
"I am. I am Chat Noir."
She blinked. And then blinked again. Okay, one more time.
Then she giggled to herself. "Well, I'll be damned."
"Not disappointed?"
"My boyfriend's a superhero. If I was disappointed, I would have thrown you out the window."
Adrien laughed at her sudden joke. "Fair enough. Why did you ask me that though? You're taking this a lot better than I thought. I thought you'd be hyperventilating or something."
Marinette uncrossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. "I've had... time to accept it. I told you once that I had a strong suspicion on who you were, didn't I?"
She did? When? He doesn't recall her and him, well - Chat Noir him - ever having that type of conversation with her. The only person who ever said something similar to him was...
Oh...
"Son of a bitch," he muttered.
"Adrien Agreste!" gasped Marinette, "did you just swear?"
He grinned. "Ladybug messed with my head. That's a thing to swear about."
She shook her head. "Yeah, that's me. But, if you go prancing around Paris that you and Ladybug are finally together, I'll hang you from your tail," she warned.
"Noted."
"Well, you're here. Want to maybe play some video games?"
"Sure thing! Haven't played in a while. But hey, I'm sure I can kick your butt anyday."
Marinette squinted her eyes. "You talk big for a guy who runs around Paris with cat ears."
"Your suit is skin tight. You have no right to speak."
Well, he's got her there.
"Touché."
Tikki and Plagg had flown onto Marinette's bed, sitting on the edge and observing their chosen.
"Well, finally, I'd say. I was getting tired of hiding in his pocket every time he was near her," said Plagg, eating a slice of cheese as usual.
"You still have to. Only she knows. Let's just hope Master will not be upset about this."
"Secrets kept are weapons wasted, Sugar Cube."
Tikki blinked. That was... surprisingly wise for a kwami hellbent on consuming cheese all day everyday. She shook her head, deciding not to pry further.
"Marinette, can I ask if you have come up with any new plans to take Lila down?" asked Adrien.
Marinette, who just got done booting up her console, grinned in his direction. She then kissed her own palm and placed it on his cheek, as was the new normal between them.
"Ask fewer questions, Snitch. You'll live longer," she cooed.
Adrien blushed furiously. "You told me that before... can you not call me Snitch when alone? And can you please stop doing that thing with your hand? It's distracting."
"No to the first question and no to the second question, honey. You wanted to date me, you knew the terms."
Adrien sighed. He had a girlfriend now and this girl was the toughest and baddest around, in a good way. Did she forgive him a little too easily? Maybe, but he decided it's better not to dwell on it.
For now, he'd enjoy the video game time with his girlfriend.
I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!!!
...Yes, buddy, yes you do...
Notes:
This chapter was supposed to come out a week ago. However, I had to stall my writing on it.
Not much to it. Simply put, my grandmother passed away. She was my last grandparent, so to know that all of my grandparents are gone, it hurt a little. Me and grandma were never that close, but still, she was family and the one who babysat me when I was very little. She may not have been around me much, but family is family.
But I'm doing okay! She is in a much better place now and I know she is watching over me!
Also, the chapter was a bit longer to make up for lost time.
Happy April everyone!
Chapter 15: Heartbreak Century
Summary:
The liar contimplates life
Holding behind her a knife
The boyfriend admires
The girlfriend inspires
Notes:
This is short, but I wanted to put a chapter out before April ends. I made a promise to finish this story. I have no intention of abandoning it. Updates are slow only because my job exhausts me.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
We're not a movie with written lines
Still we're chasing the perfect pretty lie
Françoise Dupont is back!
For the better this time.
It took some work, but the School Board found a suitable replacement for the now missing Denis Damocles.
A german woman, who had been living in Paris for a major part of her life, being fluent in both languages because of it.
Sofia Falay, a 35 year old woman with shining brown hair that extended all the way to her shoulderblades.
She had been working in the education industry for over 10 years, being well respected by the students she had the honor of teaching. Françoise Dupont would be her first time stepping into the role of principal. She was well aware of the... not so gentle history with the school's leadership and was honestly not impressed by it.
As for the School Board itself? After Damocles got exposed for thievery, it took a few days, but the money he had stolen was safely returned to them, which they then put away into the school funding. By the time the students were allowed back into school again, there was new equipment and some minor renovations to make school life more comfortable, like vending machine that the students can use to buy drinks if they want to.
First day as principal...
Bring it on.
"Girl, I'm so excited to see you again! What have you been up to?" asked Alya.
Lila smiled back at her 'friend', "Oh, you know, this and that. I took the oppurtunity and made a small trip to Achu to visit Prince Ali with my mom. We discussed some charity matters and such. I had a blast."
"Wow. Even during breaks you don't rest, huh? Did you take any pictures?"
Lila shook her head, turning her smile upside down in mock sadness. "Sorry, Alya. My phone ran out of battery and I left my charger back in Paris. But, Ali assured me that even a dead phone can help against pollution!"
"Look at you being all green."
"You're too sweet."
"Yo, Alya!" greeted Nino, walking up to the girls with his backpack over his shoulder
"Hey babe! Glad to see you made it on time."
"I'm always on time."
"Not always," smirked Alya, flicking his cap.
"Har har."
"I'm sure Alya did not mean that..." said Lila in her disgusting sweet tone.
These two were so easy to manipulate. Give Alya a fancy story and she'll kiss the ground you stand on. Wherever Alya went, Nino was not far behind either. As if Lila could care less about pollution and nature. All she needed was for others to worship her, nothing more.
Damocles being out of the picture did not bother her as much as she thought it would. If she could manipulate him to do as she wanted, then the new principal would be no different. A few tears here, a few lies there and they'll be dancing to her tune.
"Ahem."
The three turned around to see Marinette standing there, wearing her Primary jacket and her black skirt. She had red knee high socks on with some kickass looking red sneakers. Her hair was down, with her bangs being held to one side with her Primary hairpin. She had a little touch of make-up on. Not many knew that Marinette actually liked wearing make-up, just not too much of it.
"Marinette."
"Alya."
"Marinette."
"Lila."
"Nino," said Nino, promting the girls to look at him, "what? I thought we were saying names at random?"
Marinette rolled her eyes. As dumb as Nino could be sometimes, her childhood friend never failed to make her laugh on the inside.
"Here," she said, handing out a flyer to him, which he took.
"What's this?"
"Since spring will start soon, we decided to do a fundraiser. This time it'll be a Jagged Stone concert. Everyone who receives this flyer is invited. Of course, there is an entry fee, but it's much cheaper than an actual concert," explained Marinette, handing out another flyer to Alya.
"Wow. That's pretty cool. How'd you manage that?"
Marinette shrugged. "Jagged is staying at Chloé's hotel. She asked him and he agreed. That is it really."
"That's... pretty awesome! Right Alya!?"
"Yeah... awesome..." she muttered in response, "thanks Marinette."
"Sure thing."
Marinette turned around and began to walk away, smiling to herself.
"Trois... deux... un..." she mumbled quietly.
"Marinette? Am I not invited? I know you don't like me, but I'd still want to attend," said Lila with a solemn voice.
Ahha, there it was.
Marinette turned around, smiling at Lila's direction.
"Wait, yeah! Lila deserves to be a part of this!" defended Alya.
Marinette nodded. "She does. But I figured that since she knows Jagged personally, she most likely is already invited. Am I wrong?"
"O-oh! Yeah, totally! Jagged texted me yesterday about it."
"Then you don't need a flyer. Problem solved."
Sucker...
With that, she turned around and walked up the stairs toward her classroom.
Lila held a smile in front of her 'friends', but deep down she was fuming. Who needed those dumb flyers anyway? She would simply ask for someone to pay the entry fee for her, no matter if she was invited or not.
*RING*
"Before class begins, Marinette, you had something to share with the class?" asked Loora.
"Mhm," replied Marinette, getting up from her seat, "since not everyone was here earlier, I'll share these around. Me, Chloé and Nathaniel managed to get Jagged Stone to hold a fundraising concert this Thursday. These flyers are basically your tickets. I'm giving each of you two of them. You can invite a friend or family member."
She walked up and down the middle of the classroom, placing four flyers on every table, minus the ones she had already given flyers to. There was some muttering among her peers, some filled with excitement, others with confusion as to how Marinette managed to pull this off.
"This is so cool! Thank you, Marinette!" Squealed Rose, who was a big fan of the rockstar.
"Mhm, sure. That is all, Mme. Gergina."
"Thank you, Marinette. I assume you got the permission from our new principal?"
Chloé raised her hand. Loora motioned for her to speak.
"We did, yeah. She was totally on board with a fundraiser and promised to make sure none of it went missing."
"Good. Before we move on, I need to know who is attending the concert. Those who will, raise your hand."
Literally every student raised their hands, to no ones surprise.
"Adrien, are you sure your father will allow it?" asked Loora.
"I'm sure, once I explain me and Ma-Ouch!" He winced in pain, holding his side.
"You and.... mouch?"
"It's nothing, nothing," he played off, "Yes, I'll be attending."
"Well, good, that'll make my job easier. Now, onto the lesson, we wasted enough time as it is. Open your books and turn to page 142..."
As Loora continued the lesson, Adrien subtly side-glared his girlfriend. Marinette squinted her eyes in response. He knew damn well why she stabbed him with a pencil. He was supposed to keep quiet about their relationship. Realising his mistake, he mouthed an apology, to which she lightly smiled at.
Way to dodge a bullet, Agreste...
"Did you hand out everything?" asked Marinette at the lunch table.
"Yep, I'm all out of flyers. Every class should have theirs. Remind me why we told them this is for the school again?" asked Nathaniel.
"Because, with no offence, our class is full of idiots. I love em, but they are idiots. If we told them differently, they would not be attending. A fundraiser for the school is a good cover up," replied Chloé.
Marinette nodded. "Exactly and with Lila attending, it'll be that much sweeter."
"Well, we still would have gone through with it even if she didn't attend."
"True. Now, where would be a good place to donate the raised money?"
Now that's the part of the plan they had not yet gone through. There were many places they could donate, each one just as important as the last. Children hospital? A good choice. Children with disabilities need a proper childhood just as much as the rest.
“Choosing one charity is too difficult. Why bother just split the amount and donate to two instead?” suggested Marinette.
“But then they’ll get only half the help,” pointed Chloé, to which Nathaniel raised his brow.
”Says the girl so loaded she could end world hunger?”
“That’s an exaggeration! I’m not that wealthy!” She defended.
”Guys, guys, take it easy. Look, it doesn’t matter who what charity gets more and who gets less. Every bit helps. So, how about the children’s hospital and the anti-bullying association? Best places for us, no?” suggested Marinette.
Chloé nodded in agreement. Nathaniel shrugged with a smile. Two girls vs one boy, so he was out.
Alya looked at the trio sitting at their table from across the cafeteria, sending every ounce of judgement their way. First day back at school after a week off and they were once again acting as if everything was fine. They got rid of Bustier and Damocles already, what else did they want?
“Alya, you haven’t blinked once since looking at them. It’s concerning,” said Nino.
”I can’t help it. Bustier and Damocles are just… gone, one after another and those three are still around. Who else do they want out of the picture?”
Adrien kept quiet, glancing left and right. He so badly wanted to come clean and tell his friends the truth about how he was a Snitch for The Primaries and who their true target was all along. He really, really did, buuuuut…
”I can’t even tell Nino that we are dating? Not even Alya, your best-?” He had asked.
”First, Alya is, in no shape or form, my best friend. Second, tell them and I’ll tie you up on top the Eiffel Tower. And keep you there,” Marinette had replied.
”Noted… I understand. But I can’t even know what your plan is?”
”Nope.”
He loved Marinette. Seriously, he did.
But holy shit was she scary.
If he was to describe her in one word, he'd say...
Well, he didn't know what word to use to describe his girlfriend. Was she beautiful? Definitely. Was she brave? Absolutely.
He didn't know why, but something about her just draws him to her. The need to protect and cherish her was always present when she was around.
To many, Marinette seemed like a devil disguised as a human. They viewed the title of Blue Empress as alternate way of calling her the Ice Queen. It's true that some of her words and actions seemed quite cold at a distance. At cloae range and upon deeper inspection, her actions were nothing but love.
When he had asked why she was so cold toward their classmates, she shrugged it off and simply told him that they were not worthy of her attention. When he inquired further, she told him that despite giving them the attention and care she felt they deserved, they turned a blind eye towards her when a new girl with tall tales came into their lives.
It was only a few days ago when they had that conversation.
"Adrien, honey, listen, I don't hate our classmates. If I did I would have grabbed Chloé and Nathaniel and simply enrolled to another school. But I didn't, because no matter how much of a hellhole Dupony can be, it's still my school. Of course I'm cold to our classmates. They support a full on bully. How else should I treat them?"
Adrien shrugged as he combed Marinette's hair. Ah, smooth silky hair. No, focus, you dunce.
"Maybe try being a little more kind to them?" he suggested.
Marinette shook her head. "I tried to be kind. Many times if you recall. Where did that get me? Nowhere. I'm just their classmate. I care for them, but I have no intention of being their friend. If they want to be that to me, then they'll have to earn my trust. That is all."
Adrien smiled. "You make it sound like they are scum," he said, to which Marinette sighed in response.
"I guess, in a way, they are."
"You think so?"
Marinette grabbed Adrien's hand and stood up to face him. Her expression tightened, looking more serious than he had ever seen her. It was scary, yet something in him knew that what she was about to say was something he won't forget that easily.
"Adrien. Anyone who brakes the rules I consider to be scum. However... if you abandon even one of your friends, you're more than scum to me."
He didn't really know what to make of it. Ladybug was always on the side of justice and never once showed coldness toward anyone she met. Marinette, however, did.
She's like an anti-hero. She stayed on the side of good and protected those she loved, but it didn't matter how dark her methods became. As long as it got the job done, she allowed her friends and herself to use whatever manipulative tactics they could come up with. Honestly? It was admirable in some way. It reminded him of his father somewhat, which was a tad bit troublesome. He respected his father, admiring how he could accomplish so much with just words alone. Marinette was no different.
But Marinette was nothing like Gabriel. Unlike the fashion guru, Marinette used dirty tactics for selfless reasons, to better the lives of those around her. Gabriel only did what he had to, to better his own standing in society.
Then there was the fact that she was Ladybug...
The most adored superhero in all of Paris, maybe even the world at this point. While Marinette had changed in such a short while, Ladybug remained the same.
It made sense and it was smart. Her personality was different on both sides, making it even harder to deduce her identity. Good luck to Alya, huh?
"Adrien. Adrien? Yo, dummy!" Nudged Marinette.
"Huh? What? Me?"
Yes, you, with the stupid face. You've been spacing out. What's wrong?"
Right. He had been so lost in the clouds, timr had flown by without his notice at all. Before he had ever realized, he was sitting on Marinette's chaise in her room, accompanying The Primaries.
"Nothing's wrong. Just lost in thought, that's all."
"Did you even listen to what we were talking about?" Asked Chloé.
"Uh..." he replied, causing Nathaniel to slam his head on the table.
"I am not repeating myself..." said the redhead.
"Sorry..."
Marinettw sighed. She had to remind herself that she can't expect Adrien to always be on board with everything. Then again, as Chat Noir, he always went along with her crazy ideas. She'd ask about it later.
"You wanted to know what our plan was. Here it is. A Jagged Stone concert."
He nodded along, allowing her to keep talking.
"It won't matter if she shows up or not. We'll let Jagged perform a song here or there and when he decides to take a break, we'll play all of the recordings that you, Adrien, have provided us with. That's the idea. We all play our parts, nothing will go wrong."
"Huh..." he muttered.
"What? Don't like the plan?" Asked Nathaniel with narrowed eyes.
Adrien shook his head. "I like it. I'm just surprised by how simple it all is. I figured you three always came up with more complicated plans."
Marinette rolled her eyes. "I come up with complicated idras every day thanks to those stupid purple butterflies, so excuse me for coming up with a simple one for a change."
"Fair enough, M'Lady."
"What did I tell you about calling me that out of costume?"
"....Not to do it?"
Chloé gigfled at their antics, drawing the attention onto her. She cleared her throat before speaking.
"You may think that this plan is easy, Adrien, but it's more complicated than you give us credit for."
"How so?"
"If it was simple, we could have organized this concert weeks ago. The plan was to actually leave Lila alone as much as possible while we deal with Bustier and Damocles first. Now that both of them are awaiting trial, Lila has no more adult enablers left. So when she gets exposed, she has no one to hide behind."
"Sounds... devious, actually. But what about my father? She does work for him as a model. No doubt he'll protect her."
Nathaniel shook his head, clicking his tongue. "Already taken care of. If he tries to, we already told him we'd expose him as a pedophile. No sane adult calls a minor their 'muse'. Yuck..."
Well, he was not entirely wrong. Still, his father should not be involved in this. He decided to keep quiet. Marinette would never intentionally hurt him or his family. That much he was sure of, regardless of how brutal she could be.
"In any case, we trust you to keep quiet about it. If Nino or anyone else asks, then..."
"I know, I know."
Time for a long overdue recap of events!
She successfully managed to get Marinette expelled, only to have it backfire because Adrien threatened her. Holy shit, but well done on her part.
Marinette's friends all hate her. Well, maybe not hate, but they do not like her as much as they used to, going as far as to not even invite her anywhere. Good job.
And...
Wait, that's it, those are all the things she succeeded in thus far.
Any negatives?
Bustier and Damocles, the spineless idiots, were gone from the school, leaving her with no adult support. Instead, two new women took the jobs of teacher and principal and they were not as easy to manipulate as the former sheep were.
She was not stupid. She knew for a fact that Loora and the new principal - she forgot the name already - were on the side of The Primaries.
Blue Empress, Yellow Queen, Red King.... what pompous names, being nothing more than a display of their overblown egos.
She wanted to be the best. The most popular girl in Paris. All of it was within her reach. And yet, three morons stand in her way.
Then there was the matter of the upcoming Jagged concert at school. Once again, she was not stupid. She knew that Marinette, being the ringleader, has had it out for her since the beginning, wanting to expose her for the liar she was. The so called 'concert' was going to be nothing more than a plan to expose all of her lies. It was so obvious!
Worst of all?
She was trapped!!
About a hundred crunched up sheets of paper were scattered around her bedroom, all filled with solutions that would save her hide. No matter how many times she thought about it, there was no way out!
She either had to:
A: Attend the concert and be present while all of her stories were debunked.
Or
B: Not attend and be spammed by messages and maybe even threats on the internet.
Fine!
She'd never admit this to anyone, but Marinette was indeed someone she should have never crossed. To a degree, the blue haired she-devil was even worse than her! She already had the respect, admiration and love of everyone around her and she used that power to expand her kingdom!
That is what Lila so desperately wanted.
Ever since she was a child, she wanted nothing more than admiration from others. She learned to lie, to make up stories, make people believe what they want to believe.
Honestly, if she was an adult, she'd be president by now!
...Nah, she wasn't brave enough for politics. Her mother working as an ambassador fed her distate for politics even more.
It didn't matter...
Exposed or not, she will lie her way out of this. Until the concert, she would double down and isolate The Primaries. In the end, she'll have defenders by her side.
She had three days to go.
Plenty of time...
Wait... three days!?
"Ffffffuuuuu-"
-"uurrrrtabulous evening to you, M'Lady!"
Ladybug shook her head and continued to lick her ice cream.
"Chat, we saw each other like... an hour ago. You're awfully chipper," she pointed out, promting her boyfriend to shrug and sit down next to her.
"I'm just in a good mood."
"I can tell. What brings you out? We didn't schedule a patrol."
Chat nudged her playfully. "Then why are you out?"
Ladybug sneezed. "Ugh... I just needed to destress a little. The night time air is quite calming, isn't it?"
"True."
What followed was silence for a few minutes, both of them relaxing and letting the troubles of yesterday stay behind them. That is, until Ladybug spoke.
"Adrien..."
"Hm?"
"Do you remember... when I accused your dad of being Hawk Moth?"
Well, that was a strange topic to pick up.
"Yeah...?"
"I'm starting to suspect him again."
Chat blinked. "While I'd be glad to defend my father, I'll hear you out."
Ladybug smiled and finished her ice cream before facing him fully.
"So, it's like this..."
Notes:
Cliffhanger
Because I don't trust you guys with nice things :3
Just kidding I love you <3
Honestly I enjoyed writing the Lila section of this chapter. She'd always depicted as this serious villain, but here, she'd also a regular teenager only after attention. And every teenager has a fear of the unknown. Her reactions here are basically:
Panic, calm, panic, calm
No. She will not be redeemed. Not here, not in my head. Anyone expecting a redemption can throw their tomatoes at me now.
Chapter 16: Angel With a Shotgun
Summary:
Old friends catch up
The rebel shall be locked up.
A flower that grows thorns
Shall never rest on her laurels
Notes:
Yes, we are nearing the exposure of Lila. Should happen in maybe the 18th chapter. Even if it does, the chapter count is still 25, so you can tell I have ideas at the back of my head, like side stories and epilogues and such.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
They say before you start a war
you better know what you’re fighting for
”When I first suspected him, it’s because I found the Grimoire that belonged to him. When Lila first came into town, you and her were talking in the park. Tikki saw it and I had to recover it. Then Lila threw the book into the trash.”
Chat nodded. He remembered that day vividly.
“Plagg found it in my father’s safe. I was about to put it back, but father came in, so it was too late and I made a run for it with the book. In retrospect, not a smart move.”
Ladybug shook her head, “Not necessarily. Master Fu has a copy of the book via pictures now. But that is beside the point. The problem is, why does your father have that book? According to what I heard from Master Fu, he lost it over a century ago.”
Chat blinked, “He’s that old?”
”186,” she shrugged.
”Bruh…”
She lightly bonked him on the head. “Focus, you dunce. Once again, I’ll ask, why does your father have that book?”
Chat Noir hummed in thought. He vaguely recalled some stories his mother used to tell him about how she and his father used to travel all over the world, kind of like their hobby of archeology.
“Before I was born, my parents used to travel a lot. I think… they became a real couple during their time in Tibet. That’s all I got from my mother before she disappeared. It’s possible that they just stumbled upon it."
"True, but I find it hard to believe that the bookmarked pages were about the Ladybug, Black Cat and the Butterfly.”
Chat Noir took a deep breath through his nose, then a light bulb lit up in his head. “How about this: I’ll keep an eye on my father, as hard as I still find it to believe? If anything it would put your mind at ease,” he suggested.
“That’s fine. Just don’t get careless. And don’t be too surprised if it turns out I’m correct.”
Chat nodded. “However, why the sudden interest?”
“Pardon?”
”You dropped the subject after he was akumatized. What changed?”
Ladybug shrugged in response. “He called us to his limo and wanted us to keep an eye on you during school and report back to him whenever you do damn near anything. We refused, but that kind of sudden request is a little bit suspicious.”
”Okay, I can see why you’d think that. But, what motive would he have?”
Ladybug pointed to her miraculous and then took his hand in hers. “Combining our miraculous grants the user one wish. You’re aware of that, right?”
”Yeah?”
”And your mother disappeared a while ago. What happened to her, no one knows. But it’s obvious that the Wish could bring her back to you.”
Chat Noir hummed. In truth, he did not fully understand how the Wish actually worked. All he had to go off of was the cryptic info from Plagg and the limited info from Master Fu. Using a Wish to bring someone back does not seem all that evil. Does he want his mother back? Absolutely. But he was smart enough to know that there was a catch to using the Wish. Still, his curiosity did not lessen.
”What’s the issue in just letting him make the Wish then?” He asked without thinking.
“Idiot. Think for a second. Creation and Destruction are opposites sides of the same coin. Combining them is the edge of said coin. When you make a Wish, then Creation will make it come true, but Destruction takes something of equal value. Get where I am going with this?”
“Okay, but I don’t think my father values anything other than himself of my mother, so…”
“With the Wish, that is not up to the user to decide. The Wish will read your heart and mind and determine what to take away. Adrien, I swear, if you decide to join up with-“
She did not get to finish, instead finding Chat’s hand on her mouth.
”Don’t even finish that sentence. I’m not that dumb.”
”Good.”
The following Wednesday was busy for the Primaries. Since they came up with a last minute fundraiser, they had limited time to set it all up. They got the green light from their new principal, but only if they manage to set the stage themselves. Luckily, the school had most of the equipment necessary for a small concert.
Sounds great, right?
Well just because kitchen fires sound cool doesn't mean that they are!
Sure, they could handle setting up a concert, but getting an entire stage ready with only three people more of a hassle than they realised.
"We only have two speakers?" Asked Marinette.
"Apparently," shrugged Nathaniel.
"That is... not going to be enough. We'll have to ask the principal if we can boot up the school speakers as well. Since it's in the evening, I don't think it will be an issue."
"We still need someone to adjust the sound system. I'm not a sound wizz, so..." Chloé said.
"Me neither."
Marinette breathed in through her teeth. "Oh boy... well, then I guess we'll have to call in for back up?"
"The term was that we set the stage ourselves, otherwise we can't have this concert. Remember what the principal said?" Nathaniel reminded.
Marinette snapped her fingers, as if Nathaniel had asked the exact right question. "Ahha, but she said: "If we set the stage." The stage is already set. She didn't say anything about working on the audio."
"Gonna use that card, huh? You cheeky little you." Chloe cooed.
Marinette giggled and excused herself, climbing up the stairs toward her classroom.
They were excused from classes on Wednesday after much explaining the day prior. They had other students take notes for them so that they wouldn't fall behind. While some were reluctant to do so due to them being on The Primaries' bad side, others were not against it. Taking notes for someone, even if you didn't like them, wouldn't take a piece off of them.
She walked into the classroom and... was met with a cold stare from Loora.
"Ms. Dupain-Cheng. I asked you to knock first..."
"Uhh..." Marinette stuttered. Loora was not like Bustier. She was like a Medusa, staring at you and turning your feet to stone if you do something she didn't like.
But, as it stood, Marinette was still pretty much on her good side, so she sighed in irritation instead.
"What is it?"
"We... sort of need one student to help us? If it's possible?" Marinette asked.
"It can wait until class is finished, Marinette."
"It's kinda urgent. The sooner we're done, the better. The deadline is tomorrow!"
Loora sighed once again. She didn't like playing favorites when it came to teaching a class, but, being like their aunt, she could not help but feel her aunt instincts kick in.
"Fine, fine. Who do you need?"
"Nino."
Said boy shot his head up from his text book and pointed to himself. "Me?"
"Yes, you, the doofus wearing a hat indoors. You're an aspiring DJ, so we need you to adjust the sound of the speakers."
"Oh, uh, sure, yeah, I can do that."
"Great," beamed Marinette, "come along then. The faster we're done the faster we can go home."
Marinette waited until Nino was out the door. Smirking, she looked at Alya and, like a mischevious succubus, put a finger on her lip and looked at her former bestie with a glint in her eyes.
"I'll be stealing your boy for today. Buh-bye."
Alya felt her face twitch, mostly out of irritation if nothing else. She wanted to say something, anything, back at her, but she knew better of it. For one, Loora's 'lift hand before you speak' rule was a rule the class followed sternly, mostly out of fear of their teacher. And secondly, it was something Nino and her had a conversation about earlier that day...
It was sometime before the first bell rang. Most of the class, including Lila, was still not at school, letting Alya and Nino have the privacy to talk.
"Nino?"
"Mh?"
"...I wanted to apologize. I haven't been the best girlfriend lately."
Nino shook her head. "Nah, it's nothing to apologize for, dude. I kind of get it."
"It's just a little frustrating for me. I get that some people will never see eye to eye, but I don't want our class to be divided, you know?"
"You always were the kind of girl to get stuck on one idea. Not that I’m surprised. But, honestly, take a good look at them. I've been trying to tell you this for weeks now, but do they seem bad from a distance?" asked Nino, pointing to the open classroom door.
The Primaries were all standing outside, leaning against the railing of the second floor. Chloé was holding her phone sideways, a video displayed on it. Marinette had her arm on Chloé's shoulder, leaning in to watch the video. Nathaniel was on her other side. Something must have happened, as all three Primaries began to giggle and spout some jokes amongst themselves.
Nino was right. They didn't seem bad at all. They were...normal. More normal than any other student at school if she was being honest.
Marinette, her former best friend, did not seem sad or stressed out at all. She was not bothered by their friendship being over. She was happy. Happier than Alya had ever seen her be.
The Primaries were happy and that was it. They stuck together through everything, doing everything they could to support one another.
“I guess not,” she muttered.
”Babe, don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you should just leave them be. If they claim that someone is their target, then there is a reason for it. The reason everyone trusts and admires them is because they keep them all safe. Dupont is a safe school to attend because of them.”
“Why do you trust them so much?”
Nino looked down onto his desk, smiling as the memories of his childhood came to him.
”I’ve known Marinette since we were little. We grew up together. And I know that she would never hurt someone on a whim. She doesn’t target those that have done nothing wrong. I only warn you not to cross them because, I admit it, even I am afraid of what they can do.”
”It’s not the Marinette I know…”
”Maybe not, but that’s who she is. Just don’t get on her bad side and don’t piss any of them off and they’ll be friendly with you. Show proper and genuine kindness and they’ll protect you from anything.”
”I’ll try.”
”What’s the issue?” asked Nino.
”We would adjust the sound system ourselves, but we don’t want to disturb anybody in classes. You’re a DJ. Something like this should come naturally to you,” explained Nathaniel.
Nino locked his fingers and stretched them in front of him, cracking his bones with a smile. “Easy peasy, dudes.”
"Great, thanks, Nino."
Nino got to work. The sound system was the only thing left for the concert to be ready. The DJ worked in silence while The Primaries took a small break.
Nathaniel and Chloé soon headed off to buy drinks, leaving Marinette to watch over Nino. Not that he needed to be kept an eye on like he was a dog, but The Primaries were a cautious bunch. Leave him alone and no telling when Lila might show up to ruin something.
Now that she thought about it, it had been a long time since she and Nino were alone together. It was easy to forget that they used to be close friends. As time went on, they grew apart little by little. They were still friends, sure, but not as close as they used to be.
And just as she was mindlessly scrolling on her phone while sitting in front of the DJ booth, he spoke.
"How's Primary life treating you?"
She glanved up from her phone, smiled a little and went back to scrolling.
"'Bout as well as you'd expect."
"Aha, exposed any teachers lately?" he smirked.
"No hiding things from you, is there?"
Nino laughed at that while he worked. DJ work came to him so naturally, it was bqsically muscle memory.
"Marinette, everyone knows you three had a hand in it. We just don't bother to call you out on it because there's no evidence."
"Smart move."
"But why did you? Bustier was a nice teacher."
Marinette rolled her eyes, taking a sip from an orange soda can she had with her.
"And that was the issue. She was too nice. Do you have any idea how many times I tried to tell her someone was bullying someone and all she had to say was for me to set the best example. Sure, she's a good person, but a good teacher? Nah."
"Fair enough. You know you can go and chill somewhere else, right? Not that I mind the company, but I'm sure you must be bored."
Marinette got up and stretched herself. "It's not you I don't trust. It's Lila who I'm looking out for."
"You've had it out for her ever since she arrived. What's the story there?"
Marinette got caught a little off guard with that question. Was someone from her class legitimately asking her why she hated Lila so much? Yes, yes they were.
"Well, firstly, what do you think?" She asked in return.
Nino shrugged. "Never thought about it. I just nodded along to whatever Alya said and she thinks it to be jealousy."
"Jealousy over what exactly?"
"The fact that Lila wants to get close to Adrien."
Marinette felt a vein pop in her head. That jealousy excuse was something she never understood.
"No offense then, but your girlfriend is an idiot."
Nino, fortunately enough, laughed at the sudden roast of his own girlfriend. He knew Marinette did not mean it in a bad way.
"Alya is... well, she's the stubborn kind. She's a great girl, but good luck trying to change her outlook on certain things."
"Whatever. Are you done yet?"
Nino nodded. "I think this should do. I can do a few tweaks before the show anyway."
"That took faster than I thought."
Nino smirked. "Like I said, I can multitask."
"You didn't say that."
"I did now."
Marinette narrowed her eyes, but could not hold back her giggles. "Thanks, Nino. I hope you'll enjoy this concert."
Nino gave a thumbs up in response.
Setting up the concert took more time than she had thought, so when Marinette was finally out of the school, she was exhausted, to the poiny that even if she had rejoined the lessons, she would have fallen asleep at her desk anyway.
So, she had asked Loora if she could take the rest of the day off. As skeptical as the older woman was about the idea, she allowed it.
Not wanting to go home just yet, Marinette wandered around in the streets, just clearing her head. Finally, some alone time. She loved Chloé and Nathaniel to death, but sometimes, even she needed some time to herself.
"You seem happy, Marinette," said Tikki, poking her head out of her owners' jacket.
"Everything is coming together, so why wouldn't I be?"
"Things have been more peaceful lately. Akuma attacks seem to have halted."
"Good. I just hope Adrien doesn't screw it up and expose himself. Maybe then we'll finally put and end to all of it."
Tikki patted Marinette's head to reassure her owner. "He is Chat Noir. A goof, but he get's the job done regardless."
Marientte giggles.
It was hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago, she was a completely different person. Now that some time had passed since that day, she had come to fully embrace her Primary side. She loved it.
Now, she wasn't a power hungry girl at all, but she could not deny the exhilirating thrill it gave her whenever she towered over someone. Knowing that no one would be brave enough to stand up to her if she decided to punish a bully mader her feel so alive, so invincible.
Was she a devil disguised as a human? Yeah, most people who feared her by reputation alone would think so.
Maybe a fallen angel? Nah, by that logic, she would have had to have been a good person turned evil person at some point, yet she was still pure of heart. At least she felt like she was.
No, no, she was still an angel sent down from the heavens to help others toward their goals. She wanted kids her age to have the best school life one could have. That's why she defended anyone, no matter what school they were from.
She hoped thay by some miracle, her reputation would exceed the boundaries of Paris one day and inspire kids from far and wide to change their lives and stand up for themselves.
That got her to wonder what Lily was up to...
She shook her head.
When the wind blew, she held up her hand to her face to keep any hair from getting into her eyes. Her hair created an ominous shadow, something that Tikki took notice of. The sun, from that particular angle, made it appear as if Marinette had wings sprouting from her back. Shadows don't usually work like this, so what was this sudden anime bullcrap?
Yes, Tikki knew anime because her owner watched it in her free time.
Marinette was no angel, nor no devil either. She was something else.
She stood for justice, standing up and never backing down on her beliefs. She had mkre lethal weapons than a miilitary soldier. Her persence caused students to admire, respect and fear her all at the same time. She was approachable and friendly, but will kill you faster than a possum on a highway if you threaten those she loved.
An angel...
Smirking, Marinette stepped away from the wall she was standing in front of, making it look like the wing tucked into her body, which she was still unaware of.
Oh yes, she was an angel indeed.
An angel with a god damn shotgun.
What was Lily to do? What could she do? She may have learned to be confident enough to stand up for herself, but she was nowhere near brave enough to help someone, especially from those she used to be bullied by herself.
Ans yet, something inside of her snapped the moment she saw a classmate of hers about to be physically assaulted. Her classmate did nothing to deserve it! They were students, just lie she herself was.
Before she knew it, her body moved on it's own. The words of The Blue Empress echoed in her mind. Be a lily flower, but extend out your thorns. Prick the bullies and if necessary, poison them!
Okay, lilys and rose thorns are not poisonous, but let a girl dream!
Just when the bully was about to deliver a strong slap to their victim, Lily's mouth opened up, her voice rising to a volume she never thought possible.
"HEY!!"
Notes:
I wanted Lily's 'ascension' at the end to mirror Marinette's own. I'm sure you know why, so I won't bother to explain it :)
Anyway, just like last month, I wanted a chapter to be out before the month was over.
Trust me, I write something every day. Every single day I come to this story and write at least two to three paragraphs. The problem with that is that I'll have to read the chapter all over again to understand what I wanted to do in the first place. It's a hassle, but hey.
Chapter 17: Finish Line
Summary:
Feel the pain of my heart
And into war we'll march
Been a long rough road
But I finally reached the goal
Notes:
Oh wow. This story has OVER 11 thousand hits? What the hell is that about? Thank you so much everyone!
But also... what the hell is wrong with you?
Ye, my one shot story of Lila getting thrown to the wolves also has over 10k hits but... iz not a book.
Seriously, people recognizing my work, even if it is a fan work, keeps me going. Once again, thank you.
The beginning is a comedy scene I wanted to try. If you know you know. Yes it's canon to the story
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
We know we’ll survive
Even if we crawl to the finish line
It was finally time. It was finally Thursday. That meant the concert and Lila’s ultimate downfall would happen today. Needless to say, the Primaries were excited.
And taking their sweet ass time getting ready for it in the comfort of Marinette’s living room. Yes, they decided to meet up there, since it was the closest place to the school. Chloé took her make up kit along with her, while Nathaniel had his suit neatly folded on the couch.
Chloé was sitting on a single, comfy chair polishing her nails while Nathaniel was sitting on the couch scrolling his phone.
Marinette? She was extremely slow to get ready. Chloé had insisted she’d be glad to do her make up, but Marinette refused the offer, opting to do it herself, which is why it was taking her so long.
“Ugh… does Marinette have anything to drink?” Nathaniel got up and walked over the open kitchen, opening up the fridge to see what was inside.
“Drink water?” Suggested Chloé, inspecting a newly polished nail, placing it under a UV nail lamp to quickly dry it.
”Nah I want something a little better and tastier. Oh, what’s this?” He took out a glass of some yellow liquid. Apple juice? Gas-less lemonade? Ur-
Ahem.
”Looks like some sort of apple juice?”
Chloé looked up. “Try it.”
Nathaniel did so. When he swallowed, he scrunched his face and placed the glass back in the fridge.
“Yep,” he said as he closed the fridge, ”it’s fat. I drank fat!”
Chloé looked amused as one could be, not even looking back up from her nail art. “Yeah, I know, I did that half an hour ago.”
“Who keeps fat in the fridge…?” Nathaniel mumbled, getting himself a glass of milk to wash the bad taste of fat from his mouth.
”Cooking reasons. Lard is a very nice ingredient to have around the house. It’s rarely used for medicinal reasons too.”
”When did you get so knowledgeable about lard of all things?”
“Common knowledge.”
"Country knowledge."
Chloé fondly rolled her eyes and got up from her seat, having finished the last of her nails. She then headed to the bathroom to put on her make up. Nathaniel, now being left alone in the living room, decided to get back at Chloé and sat down on the chair she was using for getting ready.
Chloé tended to get possessive over objects that she deemed as her own, even if said objects did not belong to her in the first place.
He expected Chloé to return, but was surprised to see Marinette walking down the stairs from her room instead, dressed up in a way he had never seen before. It was nothing too elegant or fancy, but she sure made it seem so.
A bright red dress with short sleeves and her blue jacket thrown over her shoulders was all she really needed to stand out. The jacket was not even on, it was just on her shoulders, connected at the collar by a silver chain. Badass, but beautiful. Her hair had some glitter in it, as well as it being a braided ponytail.
Next to Chloé, the second most beautiful girl in school.
"Well well, who's that lovely lady?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows.
Marinette giggled in response, doing a twirl in place. "Thank you, kind sir. Where's Chloé?"
"Bathroom, probably doing her make up."
"She takes make up a little too seriously. We'll be late if she does not hurry."
Nathaniel shrugged with indifference. “That’s just how women are.”
“I’m a woman,” replied Marinette with narrowed eyes.
”I rest my case.”
Would anyone blame Marinette if she smacked him? Probably not, but she was not going to, even if he reminded her too much or Chat Noir at that moment. No, that was not a good thing. Then again, her boyfriend was worse when it came to being annoying.
Why do I love him again?
No one knows, Marinette.
“We still have an hour left until the concert begins anyway. We are in no hurry, so let her be. Besides, you know how she takes her looks,” said Nathaniel.
”True. Well, if we have an hour left, I guess I’ll take this time to do some sketching.”
Marinette sat down on the couch and took out her sketchbook from her purse. Yes, she carried it around with her everywhere. The original was destroyed by Lila and her posse, but it only took a few days to recreate every sketch, which Marinette knew by heart.
A few minutes later, Chloé came out of the bathroom. Nathaniel had an exciting tingle run through his body, holding his laughter back as he found the opportunity to mess with her.
“Okay Nath, get up,” she said.
”What?” He asked.
”You’re in my seat.”
Nathaniel looked at the chair he was sitting on and shrugged. “How is this your seat?”
”Cuz I was sitting there.”
“But then you left.”
Chloé felt her eye twitch. “It’s not like I went to America! I went to the bathroom, you knew I’d come back,” she fired.
”What’s the big deal? Just sit somewhere else.”
Marinette, looking engrossed in her sketches, had to put on the best poker face she could as to not laugh at the absurdity of the scene she was witnessing. How did they expect her to concentrate like this?
”The big deal,” said Chloé, “is that I was sitting there last, so… it’s my seat!”
“Okay. Did you use the toilet by any chance?”
Chloé cocked her head. “A little TMI, but yes?”
“Then, technically, the last place you sat in was in there, so…”
“Guys, guys,” Laughed Marinette, “it doesn’t matter whose seat it is. There are plenty of other places to sit.”
”Oh yeah, you know you’re right, Mari,” said Chloé, “just one thing. GET UP!” she yelled at Nath.
Oh, Chloé knew exactly what Nath was doing. He was trying to get her mad at him for no discernible reason other than messing with her head.
"Guys, come on," said Marinette, "Enough. Just go get ready. Nath, you're not even wearing your suit. You're not dressed either Chloé."
"I'll get dressed when Nath gives me back my chair."
Nathaniel shrugged and nodded. "Okay."
He then got up from the chair, Chloé nodding in approval. What she did not expect was for Nathaniel to take the cushions of the chair with him and walk away. Confused, she followed him to the door.
"What are you doing?"
Nathaniel turned to her. "You said you wanted the chair, you didn't say anything about the cushions."
"The cushions are the essence of the chair!"
"That's right! I'm taking the essence!" he said and left.
He came back a second later after having closed the door, with an amused smile on his face.
"Okay, okay, I'm just messing with you. That's what you get for tricking me into drinking fat."
Chloé scoffed and grabbed the cushions from his hands. "I fell for it too, jerk..."
Marinette put down her sketchbook and lookef over her shoulder. "Wait a minute, you guys both drank the fat?"
"I was thirsty! I didn't know it was fat!"
Marinette giggled. "What did you think it was? Apple juice?"
"Don't you dare laugh at us! Maybe put a tag on it next time." Said Nathaniel.
"Or maybe don't raid other peoples fridge?"
The two stood silent after that. Looking back at it, it was quite funny. Another memory to tell their children one day.
An hour left before the concert. Students from all over began to show up left and right, each one excited to see their favorite rock star on stage. The Primaries were more busy than ants in their nest. The concert was their idea, so they had to double and triple check to see if anything needed adjustments.
This was it. This was the day they had been planning for the past few weeks. Whether all of that was worth it had yet to be decided. No matter how it ended, with their reputation ruined or skyrocketing even more, Lila would lose the war she had started herself.
Marinette was especially looking forward to the events about to unfold. The pesky bug that had been eating away at her skin for several months was finally about to be squashed. This time, there would be no way out for Lila. No lies to exchse herself, no loopholes in any stories and no one to tell Marinette she is just jealous.
She had been planning and planning this. Nothing would go wrong.
Before anyone could realise it, the school yard was full of people. Sabine and Tom -bless them- were providing pastries for all the atendees. Sure, everyone was expected to pay, but it was only one euro a croissant, so they thought it was fair.
Jagged was already on stage, talking to the audience. He may as well have been talking to a brick wall, considering everyone was gushing over him too much to pay attention.
The Primaries had the best view of the concert, because of course they did. It was not anything special, just on the balcony above the front door. That spot was not only reserved for them. A lot of people who were fast enough got the best view. Yes, most would agree that being at the very front of the stage would be the best place, but it's not like Jagged will jump off the stage to hug anyone, so no point in fighting over the front row.
As they expected, Lila did attend the concert. Who would have thoght she could actually look... pretty? Yeah, to Marinette's surprise, her hair was made into a braid and she was wearing a regular orange dress, with a belt around her waist, looking like the shirt and skirt parts were sperate. She even wore small high heels, just high enough to be comfortable.
Well, Jagged was on his third song, which meant that after one more, he would take a small ten minute break. That was the moment they would shoot their arrow of judgement and show everyone everything they had recorded these last few weeks.
Hours upon hours worth of audio files, all about to be shown to the populus. When Marinette said she wanted to destroy Lila and make her popular on her own terms, she really meant it.
"Thank you, little rockstars! I'll be taking a small break!"
When Jagged left the stage, the crowd began conversing amongst themselves, waiting for him to return.
Now was the right time. Marinette, Chloé and Nathaniel all walked away from their spot and to the DJ booth where Nino was stationed.
"Nino."
"Yeah?"
Marinette, silently, took out a small memory stick and handed it to him. "There's a song in here I think everyone will like. Play it for us, will you?"
Confused, Nino took the memory stick and inserted it to the USB port. While he did so, Marinette looked at the crowd and her eyes met Lila's for the first time that night. She was expecting a scowl, a frown or even a look that said the F-word. But none of that was written on Lila's face.
Her expression was... almost unreadable. Lila knew very well that there was no way out of this. The liar knew what was on the memory stick. She knew why they gave it to Nino. She knew she. Was. Trapped.
The only reason she decided to attend the concert was to save whatever pride she had. Yes, she did try to isolate The Primaries like she had told herself, but none of that worked. The class disliked them and the school loved them. One class was not enough.
So, when the room suddenly went quiet and all the stories she told, the threats she made, the insults she spouted - all of it came out to the public ears.
As expected, there were some of the Akuma class that denied and thought it was fake, which Lila tried to assure them it was. Rose cried, no surprise.
"You... you did all of that...?" Muttered Alya.
"I-"
"No. There has to be some mistake. Or maybe... no..."
Chaos soon ensued. Honestly the only one who had to receive this wake up call was the Akuma class. The rest of the school pretty much knew Lila was a liar, so they ignored her, even though they never knew how far her lies went.
But that's the thing. It was not only the school who was attending the concert. Excluding Marinette's parents, there were other adults that their kids brought along, or some friends they brought along from other schools.
If there was one thing The Primaries knew very well, it was that gossip spread really quickly. People desire to be peaceful, but on the other hand, they want to create conflict. That duality is just how mankind is.
Marinette, seeing the chaos her weeks worth of plans had sown, smiled contently and walked away from her group. Nathaniel wanted to follow, but stopped when Chloé put a hand on his shoulder.
The audio file continued on, soon turning into a video interview with Jagged, Clara and other celebrities Lila had ever lied about. Every single one debunked her lies. No stone was left unturned when it came to exposing her.
"Why...?" Muttered Alya.
Shaking, Lila finally broke. "Because I was sick of it! All of you clung to your stupid Marinette like bees in a hive! I could not stand to look at her being all... all... blegh!"
"So you lied!? You isolated her, made us hate her for no reason!?" Argued Alya.
"It was the only way to get rid of her. I tried to make her see things my way, she didn't listen! I had no other choice!"
"You're disgusting!" Shouted Alix.
Ouch.
"Tsk... I don't need to hear this. I don't need any of you amyway!"
And then pushed past the crowd, anger radiating off her. She stormed toward the front door and ran out. Slamming the door closed, she took a deep breath, trying her damndest to calm down.
Just as she was expecting. No matter how that evening went, she was made a laughing stock. Even if she didn't attend, the outcome would have been the same.
"Damn it all..."
She wanted to go home, so she did. Or at least, she tried to.
"Running away? I thought you never backed down."
Turning around, she was met face to face with Marinette leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. When did she get here? She certainly didn't hear the door open and close.
"You ridiculing me was not enough? Came to rub it in?"
Staying silent and breathing outward through her nose, Marinette walked past Lila and down the steps of the school. Stopping halfway, she turned around.
"Walk with me."
"Huh?"
"Come on."
Not finding any reason to refuse, Lila followed her rival away from the school. What was she planning now? Throwing her into the Seine? Dumping her to the sewers?
Nah, Marinette was too nice to do any harm.
The moon was high in the sky, illuminating the streets of Paris even more than the city lights themselves. The Seine was calming, quiet and tranquil. For a good 20 minutes, neither girls spoke to each other, just walking alongside each other, Lila trying to read Marinette's mind. Needless to say, she did not succeed.
"You're wondering why I brought you out here, aren't you?"
Okay, this girl needed to stop being so psychic.
"To ridicule me, no doubt."
"Actually, no. The reason is simple. I wanted to talk with you."
“Talk? What could we possibly have to talk about? I hate you, you hate me, that’s that.”
“I want to know something. Something I’ve been thinking about for a long while.”
“That is?” Asked Lila.
”Why do you do it? Why do you lie so much?”
That question caused Lila to freeze in her steps. Was Marinette being genuine with the question? She knew why she lied, right?
"I've told you before. I want people to worship me and only me," she replied.
"Mhm, sure, I remember that. But there's a lot more to the story, isn't there? Something you deliberately leave out."
"Tch... I don't need to tell you anything."
Marinette smiled and turned her back towards Lila. "You don't. But I think you want to, otherwise you would not have agreed to walk with me."
Now that Lila thought about it, why did she agree to walk with this brat? She had nothing to gain from it. Her body seemed to have moved on it's own. Maybe, subconaciously, she wanted some form of closure, or some angel on her shoulder told her to come clean.
Why should she tell her anything? What would she do with that knowledge?
Seeing Lila being silent, Marinette walked on ahead. "Keep your secrets then. I don't mind leaving you behind."
"My parents..."
Marinette stopped and turned around, not saying anything. Smart move, because if she had said anything, Lila would not have continued.
"My parents were always busy. They had such high priority jobs that kept them away from me most of the time. I was mainly raised by babysitters or, if they could afford it, a maid every now and then. But not even they paid much attention to me. All they cared about was me being fed and being put to sleep on time. They didn't play with me or help me study or... anything, really. One day, when I was five years old, a kid asked me if I had played a certain video game. I said yes, even though the answer was actually no. When he was ecstatic about it and began to hang around me more, I pretended to share the same interests. Then I tried my luck again with another kid. Same story. It eventually reached a point where I would make up stories of grandure just to have the chance to be wanted."
While she was telling her story, the girls had found a nearby bench and sat down, knowing that the story would be long and a bit complicated.
"So why do you hate me so much?" Asked Marinette.
Lila scoffed in response. "Isn't it obvious? I want to be wanted, to be desired, to be worshipped. You are not the first one to get in my way, so don't think you're anything special. When someone calls out my lies, I feel threatened. I see that person as someone who wants to take my fame away. So, I lie and lie to get out of every situation I come across. You can call me a liar all you want, and I'll proudly admit I am, but you cannot blame me for the people who believe me. They choose to believe me."
Marinette crossed her arms and legs, that stupid, cocky smile never leaving her lips. Was she trying to taunt her!?
"You're right. I don't blame you for that. In that sense, you were always in the right. People believe what they want to hear. When they heard me calling you a liar, they denied it because it's not something they want to hear."
"Hmph, so you can listen."
"Even so," Marinette got up from her seat, "I do owe you some gratitude," she said.
Lila raised a brow. "Gratitude? For what? I made your life miserable."
"You can look at it that way, but if it weren't for you, I would have continued as I normally do. I would never have realised that some friends are never true friends. You taught me a valuable lesson in life and for that, I am grateful."
"Spare me your sentimentality... I don't need your gratitude or your pity."
Marinette laughed for the first time that evening. "I do not pity you in the slightest. Make no mistake, Lila, I still hate you. Even after I know your story, I can't see myself ever forgiving you for deceiving my whole school, for attempting to isolate me, for-"
"Alright, alright, I get the picture."
"So, now that I won this silly feud between us, what will you do? Will you continue to attend Dupont, or will you run away with your tail between your legs?"
Lila scoffed. How could she return? Everyone at the school hated her and know what her true colors are.
"I can't go back. What would be the point? I’ll just search for some online courses or something. I’m fine with being alone. That’s how it has always been.”
Marinette leaned on the railing separating the river and land.
“You say you’re fine with it, but I don’t think that’s the case at all. If you were, you would not have gone to the lengths that you did. In that sense, I can understand you a lot better. Being all alone is… it’s a feeling that no one should ever feel. Isolation, betrayal, bullying… all of it can ruin a person, no matter how kind they are. Why do you think I’m the Blue Empress? Because that’s just my broken self. I was bullied a lot as a kid, so I took matters into my own hands and made sure I or anyone else never get bullies again. I’m not the perfect ray of sunshine you think I am. And I’m fine with being broken. Honestly? I’m happier than I have ever been. I have friends who trust me, who rely on me.”
Lila rolled her eyes. “I told you to spare me with the sentimentality. I don’t care that you’re happy. I wish you weren’t, quite frankly.”
"Yeah yeah, I get it, you hate me. You know what the difference between us is?"
"I would count them but I don't have that many fingers..." replied Lila with a roll of her eyes.
"The difference is that I knew what I was fighting for when you declared this silly war on me. You just wanted to get rid of me. I wantes to protect those around me. See what I mean?"
Lila scoffed and stood up from her seat. "Enough. I get it. You won. Do not rub it in. But just know that this isn't over," she put a finger on Marinette's nose, "We'll see each other again. You and I will never see eye to eye. I'll see you as an enemy and that's final. One day I'll make you regret humiliating me like this."
To Lila's utter surprise, Marinette grabbed her hand on her face and shook it between them. With a confident smile, she let go.
"Bring it on. Fighting you has been fun."
This unwavering fighting spirit was beginning yo rub off on Lila as she found herself smiling, challenging her rival yet again.
In a strange and unexpected way, both undestood each other better than anyone else could. When looking deeper, Marinette and Lila were mirrored versions of each other. Lila is what Marinette could have been had she not decided to step up to her bullies as a child. Same goes the other way. Had Lila been truthful, she could have still made friends and would have been loved by many. She lied a lot, sure, but she had a lot of charisma.
"Next time I won't go as easy on you."
Marinette let go of Lila's hand. "Promise that and I'll promise not to humiliate you again. We'll keep things only between us."
Lila giggled. It wasn't forced, it wasn't deceptive. It was genuine laughter. "It's a deal."
When Marinette returned to her room later that evening, she plopped down on her chaise with a thud. The adrenaline was still overwhelming. She just could not believe this silly war between her and her bully was finally over.
To clarify, Marinette did not go to talk with Lila to taunt her.
Before the Primaries broke up last time, every single time they dealt with a target, they never tried to appeal to them. They got rid of them, broke them as much as was necessary and left it at that.
That got Marinette thinking. Maybe there was a solid reason Lila made an enemy of her? Maybe there's a reason she felt so threatened?
This feud not only gave her a new perspective on bullies and their reasons for doing certain things, but it also gave her a rival. Just so happened that same rival was the reason she herself changed.
"You finally did it, Marinette!" Cheered Tikki.
"Yeah, but not so loud, Tikki."
"Sorry. Why did you go after her?"
Marinette stood up. "If I hadn't, I'd be no better than her. If Lila had won, she would have stood there and smiled, not even bothering to check how I was doing. But Lila is still a human person. I wanted to destroy her reputation, sure, but I did not want to destroy her spirit. Lila is a liar and that's that. I can try and try, but that will never change. So, instead I chose to underatand her."
"Did you?"
Before she could reply, there was a ding from her phone. Opening it up, she saw a text message.
Liar: Just so you know, I did not lie about my past. But if you tell anyone I swear you better sleep with your eyes open
Marinette: Sure. I won't tell anyone. Unlike you, I can keep my mouth shut ;)
Liar: ....I hate you.
Marinette: Hate you too <3
"Yeah. I did understand."
A little while later, the rest of The Primaries showed up in her room, asking her questions about where she went and why she did not text them. Needless to say, she had some explaining to do.
But that could wait until the next day. At that moment, Marinette was so tired she just wanted to sleep until a year passed. With that in mind, she proposed a sleepover, to which the others agreed to.
That night, The Primaries got more sleep than any other night before it. No stress, no unexpected outcomes, nothing. That night would just be pure, calm and tranquil rest.
They made it to the finish line...
Notes:
Now uh... look, I know most of you would have preferred a more traditional downfall, like total humiliation and Lila needing to be dragged away like a rabid animal. Truth be told, I was planning on it, but that's the thing with Season 1-4 Lila. You don't know anything about her, so in any story you write, you can mold her in any way you like. That's what has spawned so many of these types of stories.
Remember this story is not just another Lila downfall. I stated before that this story is about bullying and the effects it has on people. Regardless, bullies are humans just like us. They may have made your lives miserable, but there is always some form of reason for it. So, I wanted to delve a little deeper than necessary and appeal to Lila's humanity.
She is not evil here like she is in the official Canon. She's cruel and deceptive, sure, but here, she's just a generic bully and nothing else. But she will not change. She'll remain a liar until the end.
Yeah, I get sentimental very easily.
Chapter 18: Afterglow
Summary:
Trust that built a bridge
The fire painted it red
She saw throught the manipulation
But never lost her determination
Notes:
Waking up at 5AM for work and writing a fanfic chapter during my coffee break.
My head is about to explode please shoot me in it!
Also, happy 4th of July to all you Americans!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
I know it's time to let you go
So come and get your ghost
The day after the concert, Friday, was when everything in school was... well, it was hectic to say the least.
The Primaries made it to class and what did they find? Their entire class practically on their knees begging for forgivness.
"Marinette, I'm so, so sorry I did not believe you," said Alya.
"Uh-huh."
"Marinette, we're sorry!" Said Rose.
"Sure."
"Can you forgive us?" Asked Mylene.
"Yup."
Those single word answers summed up everything Marinette thought about the situation. It's not that she blamed her classmates or outright did not want to forgive them. She just expected this to be the outcome. She already knew the class was going to grovel.
And it's not like she refused to forgive them. She chose not to. To her, they were a bit of a toxic group. If she accepted and things went back to how they were, she'd be the doormat again. Well, sorry guys, not gonna happen.
"Can you all please move? I wanna get to my seat!" Demanded Chloé.
Thankfully, the class heeded her words and allowed the three to pass by.
Laara, already at her desk, was leaning on her elbow, doing a crossword puzzle in a magazine until everyone got to class. She was already done with paperwork, so a crossword was a nice way to kill time. She did not bother to call out her students to keep quiet. The bell had not rung yet, so let them be loud as long as it was within school rules.
"Listen, guys, it's not that I am angry with you or dislike you or anything. I just don't want to be friends with you again. That's basically it. You're all my classmates and nothing else. If you want my help with anything, fine, feel free to ask. But don't expect me to baby you by bringing pastries and new clothing for you. As for trusting you? Well, you'll have to earn my trust again and that may take a long while," said Marinette.
When lunch break came, Alya had called Marinette to have a private talk in the bathroom. Chloé, bless her golden heart, insisted she'd be present. At first, Marinette made a joke about Chloé being her bodyguard, but that only lead to the blonde to get that... arsonistic look in her eyes. So, yeah, three girls, one bathroom.
But, to assure them she was just tagging along and making sure things stay civil, Chloé stood quiet during the whole meeting.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Asked Alya.
Is she serious...?
"Hello? I did try, remember? Many times, actually. You just never wanted to listen. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record and I don't like it."
"No, I mean... this? You being a Primary, how far Lila had gone with her lies, all of it?"
Marinette leaned against the bathroom sink, looking at Chloé. The blonde simply shrugged as if to say 'May as well'.
"Simply put, I had no reason to tell you. I mean, what would you have done with that information? We quit being Primaries for a while due to personal reasons. No one had or has any right to demand anything out of us. As for Lila? Once again, you wouldn't have believed me and just written it off as 'jealousy'."
"But... I genuienly thought it was out of jealousy because of how close Lila and Adrien were..." said Alya.
There was a small slapping noise in the bathroom. Without looking, Marinette knew Chloé had slapped her own face because of how stupid Alya was being.
"Is that the impression you got from me? That I'm SO petty, SO jealous, SO much of an idiot, that I would never allow Adrien to get close to anyone other than me? Adrien is his own person. He has the right to do what he wants and see what he wants."
"I know, but-"
"And one more thing. There is no need to feel guilty, Alya. You chose to toss me aside, you chose not to believe me, you chose to think so little of me. As your 'BFF', I should have been given at least a little benefit of the doubt. Did I expect you to believe everything I said? No, but I at least expected you to hear me out."
"I'm sorry, Marinette."
"And I accept your apology, but what we had then can never be again. Our friendship is over and that's it."
Alya hung her head, took a deep breath, and held it up again.
"Can I at least request to have the Ladyblog back?"
Marinette looked to Chloé. The blonde shrugged with a smug smile. "Sorry, but there's no trace of it left, so if you want the blog back, you need to start from scratch," said the blonde.
"Seriously...?"
"Yes. Seriously. And be warned, if you decide to go through with it, we will be monitoring it to make sure no false news ends up there. We had plenty of that previously."
Marinette nodded along.
"That's going a bit too far. The blog was meant to help people and make them aware of Akumas. That's all," defended Alya.
Marinette narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "Then explain to me, how did speculation about our heroes, their identities and daily lives, along with that one picture of them kissing without their full consent, help anybody?"
"Well..."
"Don't even try to defend that. If you wanted a fan page, anyone could go to Instagram and find hundreds of those already. You want your blog to be helpful, then actually make it helpful. You understand what we are trying to tell you?" Asked Chloé.
"Sorry, but you can't tell me what I can't or can't post."
"True. But either listen to us, or we'll keep deleting the blog over and over. We aren't doing this to be tyrants. We are doing this for your own safety," explained Marinette.
"Safety? From what? I always stay safe! Plus, if I ever am in danger, Ladybug would always swoop in and save me!"
Chloé sighed, wondering how someone can be so dense. "Fair point, but put yourself in her shoes for a moment. You are in a fight that is a matter of life and death, and you have to also look out for a dumb reporter getting too close. It's a distraction she doesn't need."
"I don't-"
"Alya, my patience is running thin," said the Blue Empress, "Either take what we say seriously, or go against us and create your blog the same way you did before. Just know that if you do, we'll be forced to delete it."
"Okay, okay. Look... I'll make sure to check my sources. There won't be another false news like the one I did with Lila. I promise."
"Good. Glad you understand."
Alya left the bathroom with a little bit of frustration in her steps, leaving the two Primaries alone. Before stepping out, she looked back.
"For what it's worth, Marinette, I really am sorry. I didn't want it to end like this..."
Marinette frowned and looked away, crossing her arms, her expression sour, yet also showed a lot of sadness.
"Yeah... me too, Alya."
As soon as she was gone, Marinette released a huge sigh of relief.
"You handled that well," Chloé complimented.
"Not as well as I would have liked. Talking with Alya is still hard. I may never get over it..."
"You will, honey. Give it time."
Marinette smiled at her friend's comforting words. In front of all her classmates, informants, spies, she out up the Blue Empress persona. Deep down, she was also hurting from the betrayal. It was understandable, given that she had worked so hard to build up friendships with them, only to have it all crumble down because of one liar.
No matter how hard she thought about it, she would never be able to forgive Lila for the mental damage she caused. Her challenging the liar again was only to prove she was not afraid in the slightest.
If Lila attempted anything again, Marinette would make sure that next time, it would be more than just her reputation that will be ruined.
A week after Lila had been exposed, Marinette was called into Gabriel's study. He never said the purpose of the meeting, but deemed it as important.
If she was to be honest, then she had a million other things to do that were more productive than listening to a stupid old fashion guru flexing with his power and influence. Knowing him, whatever he wanted from her was bound to be stupid and unreasonable.
So, that's where she was now. Sitting on the couch in Gabriel's study, waiting for him to show up. What kind of host calls a guest to visit, but fails to show up themselves?
What a dick...
"Marinette?" A voice called from the door.
Turning her head, she saw her boyfriend walk in. With a smile, she greeted him warmly.
"Hey, sweetie."
"What are you doing here? I wasn't aware you were visiting," he said, sitting down beside her. Marinette wasted no time and leaned into him, prompting him to put an arm around her.
"Your dad called me in for whatever reason. I don't know what for."
"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. My apologies for being late."
Gabriel stepped into the study, walking toward the tablet in front of his wife's portrait. Adrien quickly slid away from his girlfriend, almost forgetting to keep their relationship a secret.
"Adrien, go back to your room. I need to speak with her in private."
"But-"
"Adrien. Do as I tell you."
Marinette squinted her eyes in disgust at the man. There were a million red flags circling around her head, alarms blaring. If she was to have an audience with someone alone, she would rather them not be the middle aged man, who called a teenage girl their 'muse'.
Still gross...
When Adrien stood up from the couch, Marinette grabbed his wrist to stop him from leaving.
"I'm sure whatever you have to tell me can be said with him here," she said.
"I'd prefer to keep business matters private, Mlle."
Rolling her eyes, she let go of Adrien. The boy in question smiled at her endearingly and left the study without any arguments.
"Geez... father of the year over here. Make it quick, I have things to do," said Marinette.
Gabriel leaned on the table in front of him in an attempt to be opposing, which kind of failed. Marinette had dealt with far scarier people in the past as a Primary, so a man dressed as a candy cane was as scary as a maple leaf.
Hehe... candy cane
"Is something amusing to you?"
Ah, crap, she hadn't realized she was snickering to herself.
"Nothing," she replied.
"Then let me get straight to the point. I need a small favor from you and your group."
"A favor? What is it this time? Spy on your son again?"
"No, nothing like that. Are you aware of the fashion show happening in a week?"
Marinette nodded. "As a designer, of course I know about it."
"Excellent. What would you say if I'd help you get one of your designs onto the stage?"
Her designs? On stage? A dream she has had since she was small? Sounds too good to be true.
"Let's say I agree to it. What's the catch?"
Gabriel tapped something on the tlectern and that caused a holographic screen to pop up in front of him. "I did my research on you three, and-"
"Can you not say that so creepily?"
Gabriel cleared his throat, "My apologies. What I meant was, I know you have a reputation. This fashion show will be the biggest one this year in Paris. I need someone to make sure everything goes smoothly. Basically, I need organisers, temporary managers."
"What makes you think we are fit enough for that?"
Gabriel smiled. "You three single handedly have a tight hold on your own school and have influence in other schools. Your presence alone is enough to earn respect. I have no doubt that my employees will listen to you three when given commands."
"And is there a reason you can't do it yourself?"
Gabriel froze for a second. For a man who always had plans up his sleeve, he did not account for Marinette asking him that question.
The real reason was to invest more time into being Hawk Moth.
The unofficial reason...
"I got called into my boutique in London, so I'll be gone until the show is over."
He expects me to believe that?
"I see," replied Marinette, "Sounds reasonable. What does this have to do with allowing one of my designs to be in it?"
Gabriel smiled. "That's just my way of rewarding you for a job well done. Nothing more, nothing less. You'll be credited, of course, and your anonymity will remain intact."
"Hmm... I'll have a talk with my friends. Just know that if they disagree, we won't be doing that."
"Very well."
“This could have been said with Adrien here."
Gabriel huffed. “My apologies, but my house, my rules.”
Ah, the usual adult nonsense. Fair enough.
Marinette got up from the couch and stretched herself, her bones being a little stiff from sitting for so long. "Then I'll take my leave."
"Aaaand that's what happened."
The Primaries were having a nice relaxing day at Chloé's hotel, being given free passes to the hotel spa services. A nice hot sauna, a nice bath, manicure, pedicure, hair maintenance...
And currently, massage chairs.
Yes, Nathaniel loved doing these things. He may be the enforcer of the group, but let the boy be beautiful!
"Sounds... you know what? I don't know how to comment," said Nathaniel.
"Sounds ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous if you ask me. I mean, if anything, it sounds like he is trying to use us because he can't do his job."
Marinette hummed along.
"Seriously. It feels like he has a secret double life or something."
A secret... double life? Well, Chloé wasn't wrong. He is leading a double life, just like Marinette was. Or, at least, she only speculated it to be the case. She had no evidence to him being Hawk Moth as of yet. But, it wouldn't hurt to have more allies for her superhero life.
"Or he has a thing with hiring minors..." said Marinette.
"Ew, can you not joke like that? Gross.” Chloé gagged.
“Sorry. Anyway, there is… one other thing I feel like I need to tell you both. It has to do with Gabriel as well.”
“Well, we are alone in these chairs, so have at it.”
Marinette took a deep breath, preparing herself. She had no reason to be afraid, nor any reason to hold back. She trusted her friends, they deserved to know.
“Me and Chat Noir are investigating him in secret. I have a strong suspicion that he is Hawk Moth.”
Chloé and Nathaniel turned their heads toward her sharply, not expecting that at all.
”Seriously?” Nathaniel asked, “Why do you think so?”
“Too many coincidences that don’t add up. For the most basic reason, he almost never leaves his house, so there is no telling what he gets up to. Secondly, and this is the most alarming reason, he has a book. Not just any book, but the Grimoire, which holds all kinds of ancient information about the Miraculous. I asked Adrien about it, and all he knew was that his parents used to travel a lot, so they may have stumbled upon it.”
“It could be true, for all we know. Him owning that book now is kind of a weak proof.” Argued Nathaniel.
“It would be, but when I managed to peek at it, there were three Miraculous that were bookmarked. The Ladybug, the Black Cat and, you guessed it, the Butterfly. Oddly specific coincidences, don’t you think?”
”I mean… when you put it that way, you do have a point,” Chloé admitted, “so, what do you want our help with?”
“I made a promise to Adrien that we’d deal with his father's overwhelming demands. That’s what we’ll do. If he turns out to be Hawk Moth, then that’s just a bonus.”
Chloé hummed. She saw nothing wrong with the plan, but if they were to go against Gabriel of all people, it could be dangerous. Gabriel was not a school kid. He had much more influence than that.
But, if it was to help her childhood friend, Chloé saw no reason to diasagree.
“So, then I guess he will be our first target outside of school?” She asked.
"This will not be like dealing with a bully. We're dealing with an adult, who is leading a fashion empire. Not something I want to go against, but if it's to help out Adrien, so be it."
The Primaries spent the rest of their time at the spa putting a plan together. One thing they already agreed on was Gabriel's greatest weakness, that being, his fame.
If one did some simple searching online, they'd find hundreds of celebrities, be it streamers or business owners, exposed for criminal acts and their entire fanbases turn against them.
Fame was a double edged sword. You either need to have a really good defence against your actions, or you get stabbed multiple times.
They had to keep in mind that they did not want any form of online bullying to occur against Gabriel. That said, they had to keep the media as far away from that ordeal as possible. The media and paparazi were vultures looking to eat whatever food was on their plates. The more juicier the food, the more vultures would be circling it. Luckily for them, Marinette had a great relationship with Nadija Chamack, babysitting her daughter on many occasions. Through Nadija, Marinette could get in touch with her bosses and keep the media off their backs. If said media was to get involved, Adrien would never know peace and would be swarmed with reporters who had nothing better to do than to invade personal space.
Speaking of...
"Ugh..." groaned Marinette as they exited the spa.
Outside the front door, dozens of cameras flashed and microphones were practically shoved into their mouths.
When Kim had told the newcomers of their class that the Primaries were like celebrities, he was not joking. It was only strange that it had taken the media this long to bother them. They did have a few articles written about them flying on the internet, but those were harmless interviews.
This? This was more about the sudden disappearance of the Ladyblog, but more importantly, the sudden lack of Akumas.
"Miss Blue Empress, could it be your acts against bullying is preventing Akumas?"
"Yellow Queen, over here, the camera's here!"
Chloé sighed and leaned over to Marinette, "Should I call my police escort or..?" she asked.
"Please do," Marinette nodded.
No sooner than five minutes, the police arrived on the scene, pushing back the annoying reporters and cameramen.
The Primaries knew they were famous in Paris and, if they were honest, they didn't mind the attention at all. In fact, sometimes they loved it. But there comes a point when something nice turns into something repetitive and annoying. And they've seen enough TV shows and Anime that they knew just how annoying reporters can be.
Such is the curse of fame, I guess...
"Thank you, André!"
Marinette and Adrien gladly accepted the two ice cream cones from the friendly neighborhood ice cream man. Some might view his obsession with playing Cupid for teenagers and adults alike a little... creepy, but it's not like he meant any harm.
"Been a while since we've been on a nice outing," commented Adrien.
"Sure is. I love a good Akuma fight, but something about this peacefulness is so nice."
"First time I've heard you like Akuma battles."
"What? It's a good way to let off some steam. Even I get angry sometimes."
Yeah, you didn't need to remind Adrien of that fact when you already slapped him across the face.
Still stings...
Adrien looked around to make sure nobody was in hearing distance. "I did a little bit of digging around as you said."
"You mean, I did? You just stayed in your room the entire time," argued Plagg.
"Tomato tomahto. Anyway, Plagg went around the mansion to find anything crucial. Turns out, we have a basement. And not the kind of basement one kept their potato bags."
Marinette raised a brow. "You didn't know you have a basement?"
Adrien shrugged. "How could I, when the only entrance is from my father's study?"
"His study? But I've never seen another door in that room."
Adrien shook his head, "There isn't one. There's a specific set of buttons on the portrait of my mom. They all need to be pressed at the exact same time for the elevator to open up. When Plagg followed him, he found two rooms. One was the room where Hawk Moth most likely sends his akumas from and the other is a beautiful garden. He didn't look beyond that."
Marinette hummed. Sure, she felt terrible her boyfriend of all people had Hawk Moth as his father, but sdeing as how he took it far better than she thought, she didn't want to press the issue.
"That.. poses a tiny problem. So, here's the thing: me and The Primaries decided to keep our promise and help you deal with your dad and to at least give you more freedom. But, with this evidence, there is no doubt that he is Hawk Moth. But we can't exactly use that against him."
"Not that I want my father to go to jail or anything, but why not? Seems like a good weapon to me."
Marinette frowned at him, "Think about it, Adrien. Your dad is Hawk Moth, if word got out about it and people realize it, then what? Reporters and paparazi all the time and you'll most likely be called into questioning. I want to help you, not cause you more problems."
Adrien nodded, understanding the logic behind her reasoning. A small part of him was still in denial and hoped that whatever kind of nightmare this was, it would be over soon and he'd wake up.
But, the words of his late mother kept him in check with reality.
"Reality can be cruel, Adrien, but don't let that change who you are."
"Well, it's not like we are in a rush with it, so I think we can take our time and plan this out perfectly. I love my father, but... even I admit he is too unfair all the time. And my love for him may never change."
Marinette smiled and scootched closer to her boyfriend, snuggling up to him and resting her head on his chest.
"I know, sweety. I know. Don't let this change who you are. Remember that I am always going to be there for you, even when you do piss me off with your jokes."
Adrien laughed at the not-so-subtle jab at his personality and reciprocated her feelings by wrapping an arm around neck and bringing it up to pet her hair, smothering the top of her head with kisses of affection.
"That's why you love me," he grinned.
"Don't remind me, you doofus..."
He laughed once more and just enjoyed the peace and quiet of their surrounding environment.
"Hey, Marinette?"
"Hm?" She replied cutely.
"Je t'aime."
"Je t'aime aussi, chérie."
His mother also said that if he was to ever find love, he was to make sure the girl he falls in love with was just like her. Caring and kind, yet cool and bossy.
Well mom... I think you and her would be best friends...
Notes:
A wise man once said: "If we are gonna be men of peace and tranquility, we tie up loose ends."
So, now we are at the final arc of the story. And you can guess what it's about.
Yes I wrote I love you in French. Yes, I had to use google translate, get off my case.
I've got nothing else. Hope you liked it!
Chapter 19: Beautiful
Summary:
Watching your child grow up
Will make yourself glow up
Lips that felt cold
Were enough to break the mold
Notes:
Marinette to her class:
*Oh dear, oh dear, gorgeous”
Marinette to her class:
*You fucking donkey!*
Woooot!? New chapter in less than a week!? These are confusing times!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
You are beautiful the way you are
you are you because you have your scars
The situation in Dupont with the Akuma class had completely changed over the following days, both for the worse and for the better.
The worst part was the scars that Lila left behind. Any time anyone claimed to have done something cool, everyone demanded evidence that it was true. That was not a huge problem when viewed from the surface, however, it was obvious that trust was easily questionable.
In a strange way, Marinette was glad this was the state of her class at that point. She learned long ago that not everything was as it seemed. By standing up to bullies, she found dirt on them no one ever thought would be true. So, in a sense, she was glad her classmates learned this valuable lesson in life; don't trust everything you hear at face value. That wasn't to say that they shouldn't trust anybody at all, of course.
The best part? They didn't condemn Marinette or Nathaniel for not wanting to be friends with them again. Chloé they had always been wary of, so she was a different kettle of fish, but Marinette and Nathaniel were once their friends, best friends. To their surprise, their classmates were understanding, talking to them in a friendly way, but never pushing their luck in trying to get closer to them.
In case anyone was wondering, no, the class did not receive their own Primary emblems. At least, not everyone. Nino was one of the ones who did, along with Juleka, since she never really verbally attacked Marinette whenever Lila acted all weak and defenceless. The rest of the class had to earn that privilege. Yes, even Rose, despite everyone knowing how naive she was, was still one of Lila's biggest supporters.
Despite how cold and distant The Primaries were, no one blamed them for it or dissed them in any way.
"Hey, Marinette? Can you help me with this?" Asked Ivan, one of the many who still had not earned his own emblem.
Marinette turned around in her seat and took the textbook from the bulky boy's hands. Ah, a math equation. She wasn't the most proficient in math, but enough to get by. Yes, she got a perfect score on her last math test, but that didn't matter!
"I had problems with it as well. Explaining it would be difficult. Why not ask Max?"
Ivan shook his head. "No way. His way of explaining things always confuse me."
Marinette giggled. "Amen to that, brother. Okay, let me see..."
The unspoken rule of the Akuma class was to be friendly with The Primaries and they'll treat you the same way.
"Mmkay, so the 3x needs to move here to..."
This was now her daily school life. It didn't happen all that often, but she was always willing to lend a helping hand. After all, that's who she was, it was in her nature to help out those who needed it and not expect anything in return. How could she, when she already had everything she wanted? She had friends, a loving family, connections and -to no one else's knowledge- more money than the entire class combined, sans Chloé and Adrien, due to her commissions on her website. What more could she ask for?
The class was slowly changing into a much better and healthier environment, which was a good sign that The Primaries had not lost their influence and power.
Marinette stretched herself as she stepped out of school that day, the beautiful sun during springtime warming her face and allowing her black hair to glimmer.
“Marinette, wait up!”
The Blue Empress turned around, being greeted with her lovely boyfriend running up to her.
“Hey, missed me already? Class just ended,” she teased.
Adrien caught his breath and stood up straight, “Not that, I was wondering if you have time today? I know you love Mecha Strike and I got the latest DLC, so-“
”Sorry, can’t. Not today, at least.”
”Oh… why not?”
Marinette looked around to make sure nobody was in proximity to hear her, “As tempting as playing games with you is, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Master Fu’s. I figured he ought to know Hawk Moth’s identity.”
“Ah, true, that is more important than what I had planned.”
“Want to come with me?”
Adrien was surprised at the sudden proposal.
“Me?” He asked, “Are you sure? Won’t he get angry that we know each other’s identities?”
Marinette shrugged. “Then let him. There is nothing he can really do about it. And if he decides to take away our miraculous, then it just shows he never trusted us anyway.”
“That’s… true.”
”Also, him taking them away would be really stupid at this point in the game. If he’s smart, he’ll know that.”
”This is where he lives? A massage parlour?” Asked Adrien.
”Mhm. It’s kind of brilliant, if I do say so myself. It’s worked for over a century, so…”
The two stepped inside the parlour, Master Fu ready to greet Marinette with open arms. What he was not expecting was for Chat Noir to also be present!
“Welcome, Marinette, here for your appointment?”
Marinette shook her head and sat down on the floor with her legs under her. “You can drop the act, Master. Adrien is here with me. You’ve met him before.”
“Wait… what are you saying?”
Marinette sighed. “Yes, yes, we know our identities, bla bla, we came here to discuss something else. This is just how things played out. Nothing more.”
”Marinette, do you realise how dangerous this is? I allowed for two people to know who you are, but your other half was always out of the question.”
Adrien gulped. This was the first time he had seen Master Fu angry about anything.
“You said it yourself, Master. What’s done is done. It’s not like I can knock him unconscious so he’ll forget.” Argued Marinette.
“Please do not…” begged Adrien.
“Marinette, no means no. I told you countless times how dangerous this would be.”
Plagg flew out of Adrien’s shirt, already looked pissed off for their sake. “Oh please, not like they are the first ones to know who the other is. Every wielder has gone to be the same way.
"Not all and it's not always a good thing, Plagg. I was against it from the start," said Tikki.
Marinette pinched her nose. In school or out of school, she still had to put on her Blue Empress mask and make people see things in a rational way. Why was she surrounded by idiots daily? She loved her kwami, but she was ticking her off.
"Marinette, I'm going to have to take your miraculous back from both of you,” declared Fu.
"What? You can't do that!" Adrien protested.
"Sorry, but I have made my decision, Adrien. I made it very clear you are not to reveal, but you went behind my back and did it anyway."
Marinette stood up from her spot.
"No way. I'm not convinced."
"Marinette! You can't disobey the Guardian! You heard him, he's made a decision!" Cried Tikki.
"I am aware that Master Fu has made a decision, Tikki, but given that it is a stupid ass decision, I've elected to ignore it."
Clearly, Marinette gave Master Fu more credit than he was due. Adrien and her had been heroes for almost a year now, so to take it all away at this stage in the game was the dumbest decision he could have made. They were too far in, they knew too much. If he were to take their miraculous away, he’d have to find new holders, who would be inexperienced, while Hawk Moth had already grown in power. Plus, if new holders would be placed in charge, then she won’t tell them the identity of Hawk Moth as punishment to Fu. Cruel, yes, but such are the consequences if you double cross her.
"Master Fu, by all means, take them away, but just know, you'll lose the only chance you have to retrieve the Butterfly Miraculous and put an end to Hawk Moth."
At that, Fu's facial expression changed from that of angry to shock.
"What? You mean-?"
"That we found out his identity, his hideout, his motives? Yes, we did, so taking our miraculous away would be very dumb. But, if you are so sure, then okay, fine by me, I'll let Paris have another sleepless night. Take my miraculous and appoint a new Ladybug. In exchange, Hawk Moth’s identity will remain a mystery. Your choice."
To prove her point, Marinette reached her hand up to her left ear, ready to take her miraculous off and leave it on the floor and to walk out without a care. But, just as she had exprected, Master Fu reached his hand out in a desperate attempt to stop her.
"No, wait!" He said.
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Take it, leave it, take it, leave it- make up your mind already."
"Clearly I misjudged you two. I'm sorry, I didn't know you had uncovered the whereabouts of Hawk Moth. You're right, taking your Miraculous away would be foolish."
Marinette mentally patted herself on the back.
While she was not like Lila, she still knew very well how to make people dance to her tune and make her see things her way. She didn’t like it, but what’s a girl to do when no one listens?
"Glad you approve."
Adrien shifted uncomfortable due to the tension in the room.
"Now, please, tell me everything you learned," demanded Fu.
Marinette smiled at the sudden change in tune.
"Oh boy... well..."
After a long explanation, the two finally got out of the parlour and began their way to Adrien's house to hang out.
"Did you really have to be so... so..." began Adrien.
"So...?"
"So..."
"Mean?" Asked Tikki.
"Assertive?" Suggested Plagg.
"Dominating?"
"Harsh?"
Marinette tighted her fist. "I get it! Geez... to answer your question, yes, I had to be."
"You went a little too far, if you ask me..." muttered Adrien.
Marinette stopped abruptly and turned on her heels to look at him with a very ominous smile. Sure, on the outside it looked like a regular bright smile, but anyone who knew Marinette personally could feel the cold aura radiating off of her.
"Care to repeat that, sweetie?"
“Uh, uh… I didn’t say anything!”
”That’s what I thought. Come on, I promised Chloé and Nath we’d hang out today.”
”I’m coming with you?”
Marinette rolled her eyes. “No, I’m dumping you into the sewers on the way over. Yes, you’re coming along,”
“Sheesh… you are not in the best mood today, are you?”
Marinette’s mouth fell agape, stopping herself from whatever she was about to say. Did her Blue Empress side show a little too much? Was she being a bitch?
Wait, why does she care? She never cared what others thought. And it’s not like she was in a bad mood. She actually was in a great one! Sarcasm was just something that came naturally to her, like a form of shield to hide her vulnerabilities.
“Sorry. But no, I’m in a good mood. Just a little ticked off at Master Fu.”
“No worries, Mari, I get it. Anyway, where are you three supposed to meet?”
“Nowhere special,” shrugged Marinette, “just at the park near my house. We planned to have a picnic and maybe discuss a plan for your dad.”
“Do I even wanna know what you have planned?”
“Er…. No.”
“Wait, before we go, I have to ask, am I still your snitch, or… does that duty not apply to me anymore?”
Marinette shook her head. “Once a snitch, always a snitch. You’re just off duty. And we won’t force you to spy on your own family. We’re not that cruel, you know.”
“I knew that.”
Marinette and Adrien slowly took each other’s hand and walked along the busy Paris streets. It was strange, but ever since Marinette became a Primary once again, he found he had a lot more free time than usual, and a lot more freedom to boot. He wanted to ask his father or his girlfriend why that was, but figured he better just enjoy it and not cause any disturbances in his present life.
When the two lovebirds finally made it to the park, they did not expect a third individual speaking to Chloé and Nathaniel under a tree. From the back, it was hard to tell who it was, but judging by the elbow length brown hair, it was a girl. She had a cyan summer dress on, which would be a bit of a bad call during late March, but it was uncharacteristically warm on that particular day. And it’s not like Marinette could judge, when she herself wore a black skirt daily. The breeze was nice, don’t judge her.
When they got closer, Chloé waved them over, prompting the mystery figure to turn around. That’s when Marinette recognised her. Completely forgetting she had a boyfriend holding onto her arm, she shoved herself out of his hold and ran up to the girl.
”Lily! Hi! What are you doing here!?” She asked, her eyes in the shape of stars as if she was a kid on Christmas morning.
Lily scratched her head with a bead of sweat dropping. “U-uh, I was on my way to your bakery to get something sweet. But uhm… Miss Chloé called me over to talk with Mr. Nathaniel.”
”Once again, sweetie,” said Chloé, “no need for formal titles. Our names are enough,” she corrected.
"Right, sorry..."
"I like your new look. Where'd you get this dress?" Asked Marinette, her designer mind blurting out the question before she could stop herself.
"My new friend made it for me from scraps of blue fabric she had. A... gift of our friendship," Lily scratched the back of her head nervously, hoping her idols would like her dress.
"It looks wonderful on you, Lily. You're gorgeous," Marinette complimented, petting Lily on the head.
It was then that the younger girl took notice of Adrien. Lily was never good with new people, as she was extremely shy and timid toward strangers, which was honeslty good for a 10 year old. Stranger danger after all.
She hid behind Marinette and held onto her jacket tightly.
"Marinette, who is this little girl?" Asked Adrien. Of course, he did remember who Lily was, since he was Chat Noir when she was akumatized into Mir-Reflect, but it’s not like anyone else knew that.
"This is Lily. She's... our little sister!" Declared Marinette.
"Marinette's off the rails. She's a student from Grand Collège we recently helped out. A mutual friend." Chloé corrected.
"Hello. It's nice to meet you," greeted Adrien, offering his hand for a little shake, but that caused Lily to hide further behind her big sister figure, who smiled and placed a hand on Lily's head to reassure her.
"It's okay. This is my boyfriend Adrien. He's cool. Don't be shy."
"H-hello..."
Marinette felt her heart squeeze. Why was Lily so adorable!?
"It's okay, I understand if you're shy."
Nathaniel cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Lily, you said you wanted to show something once Marinette got here?"
"O-oh! Right! Uhm... I wanted to properly thank you for all your help the other day. The words you said really helped me a lot and... recently, I was able to stand up to a bully and protected my new friend from them as well."
Marinette's heart was squeezing even harder. Any more cuteness and she'll be dead. But more importantly, she felt so proud of her little sister. She felt like a mom watching her child face the world. Her future daughter better be this cute or she'll swap the kid out for another one!
....Okay she won't do that. She's not a psycho, she’s just obsessed with cute things.
Without a word, she squealed and hugged Lily. "You did!? I'm so so so so proud of you!"
"I feel like Marinette forgot we are like her siblings as well..." mumbled Nathaniel.
"I'm jealous..." agreed Chloé.
"Awww come on, you two. I love you both, you know that!" Defended Marinette, "Anyway, continue, Lily."
"Uhm... ahem... right, I also wanted to... get your opinion on something. Recently, since I have been showing more confidence at school, some have started calling me a... uh... a sub-Primary. I didn't- um... I didn't know if it was a good idea, but... I put this little thing together at home."
Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out her Primary emblem Marinette had gifted her, but it had been tweaked with. It had a cyan colored polished rock glued onto the middle of the emblem, shaped like any other gem on the crown, so a square shape.
”I… made this? Cyan is my favourite color, so… if you are okay, I’d like to… follow? Your example, I mean…? Make my own group that is the same as yours?”
Marinette felt her mouth fall open in awe. Was this real? Was her influence finally spreading to other schools? Was she really someone’s role model?
This was what she always wanted to happen. For so long, she had been hoping for The Primary influence to eventually reach into the hearts of others and inspire them to stand up to their tormentors. Knowing that someone actually took their words to heart and desired to follow in their footsteps filled Marinette's heart with so much joy she was about to burst.
Not knowing what to say, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, which was not something anyone was expecting of her to do.
"Cyan Princess..." she muttered.
Chloé raised a brow. "Huh?"
"Cyan Princess. That is her Primary name!" Said Marinette.
"O-oh! Me? A Primary?" Asked Lily, pointing to herself.
"Beeefore Marinette explodes, I think she means to say that she supports your dream. While I don't think we can take you in as a Primary, since Cyan is not a Primary color, we do acknowledge you as a similar group," corrected Chloé.
"Yes, that's what I meant," nodded Marinette, "that's ultimately what our goal is, after all. We want other kids to stand up and stand firm in front of their bullies and protect others."
Lily beamed from ear to ear. "I will do my best! But... I don't really know how to start. Do you... have any advice?"
"Advice?" Hmmm...." hummed Nathaniel.
"I think... the most important thing to remember is how to manage power. We admit, we are a powerful bunch, but it's important to remember that power, in any shape or form, has the potential to corrupt," advised Chloé.
"I may not be a Primary, but just make sure you never lose your way and never take advantage of your skills and those around you? Is that correct?" Offered Adrien, looking to Marinette for clarification.
Marinette nodded. "Mhm. Make sure you start building connections towards those you trust. Don't be afraid to ask anyone for help, even if it's from a relative. Connections can come from anywhere, so anytime you are on a school trip for example, don't be afraid to talk to your tour guides, because you never know when they can come in handy."
Lily nodded along as she continued to listen.
Truth be told, being a Primary was not as hard as some people made it out to be. It was much easier. All one had to do was juat live their lives, keep their friends close, but enemies closer, pay attention to whatever is happening around you, make sure you keep up with the world and that was basiclaly all there was to it.
"But we have to stress this, Lily. Do not let your power and connections get into your head. Part of what makes us Primaries so loved by our peers is because we don't use our assets for selfish reasons," said Chloé, who was honestly the only one in the group who can say they are loved and get away with it, given her ego.
"I understand. Protect those around you never be afraid to speak up!" Lily chorused.
"There is one last thing I've neglected to mention," said Marinette, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Feels like we are offering a job here..." muttered Nathaniel.
Marinette ignored him and continued. "Recently, one of the bullies we dealt with revealed why she acts the way she does to me. I promised her I won't tell anybody, but here's what I can say. Nothing is as it seems. Bullies have their reasons for acting cruel toward others, so remember that. At the end of the day, bullies are kids, just like you and me."
Lily nodded once more. "I think I understand," she said, then bowed her head almost 90 degrees, "thank you so much for supporting me!"
Marinette giggled and placed a hand on her cute little head. "Come on now, Cyan Princess, there is no need to bow. You're one of us! And you have my permission to call yourself a Primary if anyone asks. I'm so proud of you."
Lily felt tears of joy in her eyes, wiping them away with her fingers before she could make herself look ridiculous.
"Thank you!"
"Oh, and one more thing. Last one, for real this time. Stand up straight, keep your head high, walk with confidence and make your voice carry authority. That is all," smiled Marinette.
Lily could not help herself any longer and wrapped her arms around Marinette, squeezing her so tightly that she never wanted to let go. Having someone be the big sister she never had was a feeling she absolutely loved. She loved being cared for and being accepted. Marinette ticked all those boxes.
Another few hours flew buy and it was time for all of them to head home...
Marinette could not stop smiling for the rest of the day. This what she was aiming toward. Her war with Lila made her realize that all over the world, kids are suffering from constant bullying. She had always wanted for some way to help all of them, but she was only one girl amidst billions of people on one planet. One human person could not possibly have that much influence, unless they were in politics.
That's what made her so happy to hear that Lily essentially started her own group of Primaries out of her own volition. All of her hard effort had finally paid off and inspired someone. While it is true that she loved protecting other people and making bullies cower like babies, she had always wished someone would take a hint and actually do the same, that being, to fight back.
But that had never happened before this. All those under her protection always looked to her for it. She so wished any one of her subjects had the nerves to stand up for themselves, but none of that ever came.
But she felt like she was repeating that thought over and over.
Before she went home, she gave Lily her contact information in case she ever needed guidance and advice. She had full faith in Lily and her ability to find her own confidence. That was Marinette’s role now. She had to be the big sister, the one who guided her Queendom to a new generation.
Man, that made her sound like an old grandma. Lily was only five years younger than her, not nearly enough of an age gap to be considered a generation. But it was still the same energy.
It’s true that she may not be a Primary in a school setting forever, but that would not hold her back from carrying her beliefs into adulthood. The world constantly needed a Primary. Bullies existed everywhere and it took someone brave to carry the weight of dealing with them. Who knows, perhaps her actions today could inspire even adults to form groups in their work place to keep things in check, even though, logically, adults should have grown out of their bullying days years ago. But some people do not change. Some people simply get old.
“Marinette, your cheeks will start to hurt if you keep on smiling like that,” noted Adrien as they sat on one of the benches along the Seine.
“What? I can’t help it! I’m just so proud of Lily that this is the only way I know how to express it!”
“Fair enough, but half of your ice cream is on the ground already. You’re lost in your own world.”
Marinette looked down to her feet and sure enough, half of her strawberry ice cream on the ground, now serving as a tasty treat to any lucky pigeon.
Pouting, she began to lightly hit him on the shoulder. “You could have told me!”
”I’m sorry! I thought you noticed it!”
“There goes my money down the drain!”
Adrien looked at the ice cream on the ground, noticing that half of it was slowly making its way toward the sewage drain.
“Literally,” he smirked.
”That’s not funny, you jerk!”
“Okay, okay! Don’t be so mad at me. I genuinely thought you noticed. My bad.”
“Hmph!”
Marinette crossed her arms and looked away with an angry pout. Adrien could only chuckle at her antics.
”Aww come on. I’m sorry. What can I do to make it up to you, M’Lady?”
“you…uld…ss… me…” she mumbled.
“Huh? Sorry, what was that? Speak up,” he demanded.
”I said you could kiss me, you dumbass!”
Adrien choked on his ice cream and fell into a coughing fit. Marinette smirked. Served him right!
”R-right now?” He asked.
”No, next week, Wednesday, at 11:30 at lunchtime. Yes! Now!”
Aha, right, he forgot, never ask Marinette anything stupid or else she’ll retort back with a sarcastic remark.
“My lips are kinda covered with cold ice cream right now, so that wouldn’t be comfortable.”
Marinette looked down with a pout once again. “Always finding excuses not to kiss me…” she muttered.
She would have pouted more, but then an idea struck her mind. With a mischievous glint in her eyes and a smirk, she crossed her legs and sat up straight on the bench, closing her eyes as if she was currently the most important person in the room.
”Well, I guess I should have expected that. I thought for sure that all your Chat Noir advanced on me before were all genuine. But who could have guessed that underneath that mask you are actually a very scared little kitten, who can’t even muster up the courage to- mh!”
Before Marinette’s little insulting rant could continue on any longer, Adrien had grabbed her cheek, turned her face toward him and planted his lips onto hers in a ferocious, yet passionate and gentle, kiss. The kiss came so out of left field it caught Marinette completely off guard, her defences were still so high up and alarms blared in her head. Yet, the longer he held the kiss, the more her body relaxed.
Raising her hand, she put a hand on his cheek and kissed him back, the ice cream on their lips barely an inconvenience in their heat of passion.
Finally, after what felt like five minutes -it was two- they broke away from each other to catch their breath. Marinette’s mouth kept opening and closing, trying to find the right words to say while being so awestruck and full of passion.
“I-I could be wrong too… s-sometimes…” she muttered with a face rivalling a tomato.
“Hmhm,” chuckled Adrien, “the Blue Empress is supposed to have high walls as her shield. Good to know that a kiss is what breaks those walls down,” he teased.
Marinette rolled her eyes, then noticing that she was still holding into him, and edged herself even closer to her beloved boyfriend.
“Shut up, Kitty…”
She began to close the gap between them once again.
”Just shut up… and kiss me more…”
Well, how could Adrien refuse that?
Notes:
There, for all you Adrinette stans out there. You got your kiss scene! 19 chapters later, but you still got it!
Lily is a bean and deserves to be protected. At all costs. So put that knife away, random reader of my fic!
I also want to say right now that the next chapter will cover the daily life of the Primaries AND showing off their capabilities, their reputation and why they actually are so admired. I feel like the latest chapters have had little to do with it, so… prepare for some badassery!
Chapter 20: One Way Dream
Summary:
Someone who attempts to play God
Will reflect on the battles they fought.
A leader is chosen to walk in front
Though their journey may be for naught
Notes:
Can somebody tell me why autocorrect is so stupid? One word in this chapter is “utensil” and autocorrect immediately ‘corrected’ it to say “uterus” instead. Does autocorrect know something we do not?
Am I losing my mind here? Anyway, chapter 20! Longest chapter, probably the most slife of life chapter this far!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Boost your spirit off the ground
I’m a spark that won’t go out
On the outside, it may have seemed like Dupont was an orderly school, with only a few instances of bullying.
That was a huge overstatement.
In truth, there were many who used to bully others, even during the previous reign of the Primaries, they persisted, keeping the status quo going. That all changed when the Primaries disbanded and Chloé took the role of a tormentor herself.
Chloé made herself be worse than any other bully combined, be it through threats, manipulation, or flaunting around her power. The Evil Queen of Dupont as she was known at the time by those who did not know her history. In a strange way, Chloé solved the entire problem of bullying by becoming the very thing she swore to destroy. It was quite the irony if she was being honest. It wasn't hard to understand why other bullies backed down and had their own epiphanies.
What was hard to understand was, why, despite a huge declaration that The Primaries were back, despite just dealing with one pathological liar on a public scale, did new bullies come along? Did no one watch the internet? Did they live in caves? Did they eat rocks?
Yes, schools transfer students constantly for many different reasons. Maybe the kids have parents that got a new job and a new school would be convenient? Maybe the kids were too troublesome for a school to handle? Maybe they wanted a new environment? Honestly, Marinette could list more reasons, but why bother?
But you know what? The Primaries were not saints disguised as demons. They were demons disguised as saints. They were proud to admit to themselves that they accepted this new challenge. It gave them something to do and even more of a reason to flaunt their power around. Nothing felt better to them than making a bully grovel and beg for forgiveness.
Yes, despite the wise advice to Lily last week, they were terrible at taking their own words to heart. New bully meant a new reason to remind everyone that The Primaries are there to keep them all safe. It had been a long while since they managed to instill fear in the heart of a bully.
On this particular day, however, their demands were met.
A new transfer student by the name of Satele Duima was... well... she was certainly a nutcase.
"Get out of my seat, you bimbo!"
Yeah. That kind of nutcase. The kind of person who thought the world revolved around them and that they were under the spotlight all the time. Kind of like Lila to be honest. Only difference being that Lila twisted her personality and kept her bitchy side under wraps, putting on the mask of a sweet girl.
Satele? Oh, she knew she was a bitch, but she loved it. If she had to be a total menace toward her peers to get what she wanted, then fine by her.
But why now, when Marinette just wanted some peace and quiet with her friends during lunch in the cafeteria? Of all the times to make themselves known, Satele chose now? Deathwish much?
Something Marinette overheard cause an anger to start boiling inside her, so to take it out on anything, her victim came in the form of a spoon, which she managed to bend. Great…
"You okay there?" Nathaniel asked.
"Yeah, just waiting for her to shut the fuck up…”
Yet Satele never did, just kept going on and on about one particular spot being her seat, until her victims relented and eventually gave up their seat. That’s when Marinette knew it was time for The Primaries to start inserting themselves.
“Claiming a seat is bad enough. But if she starts badmouthing anyone, we’re moving in,” she declared.
“Yeaaaah while you were thinking about that, I took the liberty of looking her up. Sheesh, her backstory is a bit ridiculous,” said Chloé, scrolling through her phone while munching on a tasty waffle.
“What’cha find?” Nathaniel asked.
”Her name is Satele Duima, who recently transferred here from… oh wow, Grand Collegè! Isn’t that the school Lily goes to?”
“It is. I wonder what caused her to transfer here, though. Did she get into trouble?” Nathaniel wondered.
Marinette pondered for a bit. A bully that recently transferred to her school from another, that other school coincidentally being the same one her little sister figure attended. Given how Lily recently took it upon herself to follow The Primary path…
Oh. Aaah…
Smirking, she tapped her fingers on the table. “I think I have an idea why she transferred.” She said.
Taking out her phone, she searched for Lily’s contact and pressed the call button. It was currently lunch time, so it was safe to call Lily to check on her and ask for some details.
A few rings later, Lily picked up.
”Blue Empress? Hello.”
”Lily! How’s our little sister doing!?”
Chloé shook her head. “Marinette, chill…”
"Hush. Anyway, Lily, I have a small question for you."
Lily cocked her head. "Yeah?"
"Satele Duima. She came from your school, right? Did you make her leave or something?"
Lily shook her head with a smile. "No, I didn't ever get the chance to. From what I heard, she got into trouble for disrupting class too much and was eventually forced to transfer. Bummer... I wanted the practice!"
Marinette giggled. "You'll get another chance. Anything you can tell us about her? Her background, her family - anything?"
"Uh... hmm... well, I do know that her family is filthy rich. They're both investors, owning about half of the supermarkets in Paris."
Chloé blinked. "Nani!? She's more rich than I am!"
Outrageous, isn't it, Chloé?
Lily giggled at Chloé's awful japanese pronounciation.
"Yeah, that's what I heard. But that's about all I know about her. She came to my school when I was 9, so she hasn't been around for too long. Plus, she was in a parallel class from mine and we never had much contact. She is a bully, but she left me alone all the time."
"Hmm... good to know. Thanks Lily. Enjoy your lunch!"
Marinette ended the call and placed her phone back into her skirt pocket. Suddenly, she got up from her seat and faced the direction of Satele Duima.
"Primaries, we are going in."
"Bravo Six, going dark!" Announced Chloé, much to the confusion of her friends and to the table next to them.
"Huh?" Nathaniel asked.
Chloé shrugged. "I dunno, I always wanted to say that."
"Why are you wearing those stupid pins?" Asked Satele.
Satele worked rather fast for someone so new to a school. Despite being an even bigger bitch than Chloé used to be, she did have actual friends and could make them rather easily. All she had to do was point to someone, tell them they are friends, and done. She may as well kidnap them. But, as it stood, Aurore and Mireille were two students who volunteered to help Satele settle in, purely out of kindness and a willingness to help. They thought that if they worked hard enough, they’d eventually be able to break through the tough exterior of Satele and make her ease up a little, at the very least to save them from the wrath of The Primaries.
That didn’t mean they were going against their royal leaders or taking away their voluntary job or anything. They just wanted to make their school life easier.
But, then again, they had a hidden motive that no one else knew, a hidden profession, if you will. They were, as stated before, the personal informants of The Blue Empress. They were supposed to bring any and all information directly to her and answer only to her. Like hidden royal guards. They didn’t even take commands from Chloé or Nathaniel. Marinette was the only one to have command over them, mostly out of respect and admiration. Fear of what the Blue Empress could do? Maybe.
”You don’t know?” Asked Mireille, “These are the pins of The Primaries. Only those who have proven they can be trusted are allowed to wear one. This school is basically ruled by three students.”
”Ruled?” demanded Satele with narrowed eyes.
”Essentially, there is this group within the school, called The Primaries, who are all model students with good grades and a huge sense of justice. Their leader is the Blue Empress, the one with most connections and influence, due to her compassion for others and often… cruel punishments to those she deems to be wrongdoers.” Explained Aurora.
”Sounds stupid…”
After saying that, the three girls could swear they heard the sound of metal bending from a few tables over. Odd..
Ignoring Satele’s rude remark, Mireille continued.
”Then there is the Yellow Queen, who is basically the second-in-command of the trio. She’s an expert at digging up dirt on others and is the information gatherer of the group.”
”And then there’s the Red King. Probably the one you don’t want to anger the most. He’s the enforcer, he makes sure everyone follows the rules and protects his two superiors from any form of danger. So if you raise a fist, he’ll tear that hand off. Not literally, but I think you get the idea,” finished Aurora.
Satele actually began to laugh the absurdity of the story. Three students ruling over an entire school? Just three? What could they possibly do?
More than she knew, but not like they were going to tell her that.
Coming out of her laughter, Satele crossed her arms.
“Seriously? That has to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Sure, I’ve heard about things like a Student Council from anime and manga, but that’s only in Japan. This is the real world. Things don’t work like that.”
Aurore shook her head. “You’d be surprised. Just a fair bit of advice, don’t do anything to upset them. That means, you have to stop bullying others to get your way. If you make anyone’s life here miserable, The Primaries will return the favour ten-fold.”
”I’d like to see them try. I can get them expelled with a phone call if I want to. My parents are rrrrrich! Now give me those ridiculous pins!”
”And I design Jagged Stone’s album covers,” said a voice from behind.
”Good for you, now-… who said that?”
Turning around, Satele was met face to face the Blue Empress herself. The moment their eyes met, Satele’s colors drained from her face.
Marinette was not happy at the public display of slander toward her group. Who was this sudden peasant promoting propaganda against her Queendom?
Marinette’s eyes drilled into Satele, the chill running down the newcomer’s body like thousands of spiders. If intimidation was a weapon, Marinette was a tactical nuke. Her body and figure were actually such good covers for her. No one expected someone so slender and petite to carry so much strength and power.
There was one time where Marinette was actually almost kidnapped for ransom, which was a few years ago, by an older man. You may be wondering: what happened? Did she die?
Well, no. She didn’t die. But the man who assaulted her did end up screaming like a baby and was hospitalized, paralyzed from the waist down. How? Marinette had instinctively grabbed the knife from the man’s hand and stabbed him in the pelvis. Was it cruel and a bit traumatizing for a child barely a teenager? Yes, but it was self defense, so it doesn’t count. She got a good therapist to help her through that trauma.
The only one she had ever told that story was to her own mother. Sabine, to Marinette’s surprise, did not even rush to her side to hug and shed tears for her. Instead, all Marinette got was: “sometimes… you scare me”
To that, Marinette had replied with: “sometimes I scare myself…”
The point of the story? Marinette was not someone to be messed with. She never took slander or insults well. But her physical capabilities were not what scared those she came across. It had more to do with this seemingly petite and innocent girl smiling in an unnerving way that made her opponents shiver. There was just something about her image and her smile that no one could place their finger on.
Of course, Marinette was not afraid to get physical either, but that only happened if it was self defense. She never raised a fist herself. She’s the type of predator that waited for her prey to strike first.
But the narrator has rambled on for long enough. Back to the story at hand!
”Me, I said that.” Marinette stated
”Who are you? What do you want?” Demanded Satele.
”Oh, nothing. But I heard you have a problem with The Primaries? What’s so hard to understand about them?”
Marinette was playing the kind of trick she liked to play against most new bullies she came across. She made sure that her informants and spies knew not to reveal her or any of The Primaries’ members names. That way, if someone spoke badly about them, she’d be able to confront them, get even more slander out of them to fuel her own anger and burst it all at once.
Marinette was usually calm and collected, but her anger rarely showed in front of people. If she was angry, people would know immediately, because her anger is something that is left boiling underneath her until it explodes. That’s the kind of mind game she was playing with Satele at that moment.
“They sound like jerks to me. What, three students with so much power they rule an entire school? It’s so stupid I want to scream.”
Satele got up in Marinette’s face, who still had not dropped her smile.
Chloé wanted to pounce on the newcomer for having the audacity to attempt to intimidate her Empress. No one did that! But, Marinette subtly held a hand behind her to stop Chloé from going on a rampage.
“And these pins are stupid. That does not go with your hair at all, take it off!”
In a moment that shocked the entire cafeteria, Satele reached up and grabbed Marinette’s Primary hair pin, taking it out, causing the black haired girl’s bangs to fall in front of her eyes.
”I mean look! Black crown with some fake gems? They are just cheap pieces of plastic! Come on!”
To prove her point, Satele tossed the pin on the ground and stomped on it, mostly thinking that a good stomp would shatter the pin completely. While it was true that the black crown itself was made of a weaker material, Marinette made it abundantly clear to everyone that the gems on her pin were actually real. The same with Chloé and Nathaniel’s pins. Only their followers had fake gems, because where would they even get the money for all the pins to have real gems on them?
”I think… we should… leave…” said Kim, attempting to slide against the wall toward the door. He was fully aware of how badly Satele had just screwed up and did not want to be a witness.
He was the only one to actually leave the cafeteria. Other students were too frightened and scared to move. They did respect and admire Marinette for her bravery and how badass she could be, but they also feared her a great deal.
Chloé would get revenge by making your social life nonexistent, not stopping until the you had learned your lesson.
Nathaniel would just give the bully a good punch, just strong enough to get the message across.
Marinette would hunt you for an eternity if you ever destroy any of her property, especially if that property took weeks to make. And the pin that Satele stomped on? That, along with making two identical ones, took Marinette two whole weeks to perfect. Two weeks spent on tiny accessories.
“So? Where are The Primaries? I don’t see anyone stopping me! Hah! For all that talk of grandeur, they sure like to cower!”
”You’re looking at them…” muttered Marinette.
”Huh? What? Speak up!”
”Nathaniel,” commanded Marinette.
Nathaniel wasted no time and sat Satele down in one of the chairs, walking up behind her and then pulling the chair down so that Satele was on the verge of falling on her back.
”You have quite the nerve to insult me directly to my face. The pin you stomped on? I spent weeks perfecting it. You are but a newcomer, and on the first day here, you try to break the order we have established? You think the world revolves around you?”
“W-wh…what is… d-don’t tell me you…”
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Marinette Dupain-Cheng, but here, everyone calls me The Blue Empress. I am the leader of The Primaries. I stopped bullies a hundred times more threatening than you. My Queen and King can make your life more miserable than you can imagine. And we have gotten more teachers fired than we can count. You’re new here, so let me give you a warning. Do not harm anyone, do not insult anyone. We have eyes and ears everywhere in this building. Bullies like you are the reason we exist. If I hear that you so much as breathe in someone’s direction, I’ll make sure that Dupont will be the last school you’ll ever go to. This place is my Queendom, my haven, a place where everyone is under our care and protection. Don’t upset us, and we won’t do anything to you,” Marnette leaned as close as she could, staring sharp daggers into Satele, “do I make myself clear?”
“…U-uh… y…”
”The Empress asked you a question. Answer!” Commanded Chloé.
“Y-yes! I understand! I promise! Please let me go!” Cried Satele.
Marinette, satisfied with the answer, backed away. Nathaniel suddenly let go of the chair and it fell forward into a proper position, Satele having to hold onto it lest she fell.
”Just know, Satele Duima, that due to your actions here today, we will be watching you very closely. Your classmates will tell us the second something is wrong.” Chloé said.
Satele nodded, still frightened to her core. Never in her 14 years of life had she been so scared. No one had ever spoken to her or threatened her this way. No one had ever told her that actions have consequences. This was something entirely new, and every teenager feared the unknown.
Nathaniel patted her on the shoulder, his touch being nothing short of cold. “FYI, I don’t usually hit girls. But if it’s a bully? I’ll make an exception.”
Marinette, coming out if her rage, took a deep breath and turned toward the rest of the students, noticing them staring.
”What’re you looking at? Show’s over, get back to your lunch!” She scolded.
Aurore had enough bravery to tap Marinette on the shoulder to get her attention.
“Um… Blue Empress? Lunch is over,” she said.
Marinette felt her eye twitch. “Then what are you all still doing here!? Back to class everyone!”
Everyone scurried like scared mice at the bellowing voice of their Empress.
Not that she ever found out, but the teachers had found the sudden silence of the cafeteria to be a little disturbing. When they got there, they found Marinette speaking to Satele and could not help but watch.
Did the teachers honestly wholly support how The Primaries handled bullies and delinquents? Well, no, but at the same time, they were glad that someone among the student body set the records straight and kept everyone in line. In that sense, their jobs were easier. The Primaries never actually hurt anyone physically and did as little mental damage as possible, so the teachers left them alone. Plus, they were model students! Their grades were the top three of the school! First was Chloé, then Marinette and Nathaniel respectively.
Yes, contrary to popular belief, Chloé was the smartest girl in school, acing every test with ease. She never once lost the number one spot, even during her days as a bully. Marinette and Nathaniel were the ones constantly going back and forth between the second and third places. Friendly rivalry was always good.
“Are you calm now?” Adrien wondered, slowly walking up to his girlfriend.
Marinette, still actually a little peeved, just grabbed his collar and pulled him down to kiss him deeply. When she let go only ten seconds later, she visibly calmed down.
“Now I’m better. Wait, why aren’t you heading to class?”
”I uh… wanted to go with you?”
”Adrikins… I’mma say this as politely as I can. Do as we say, not as we do. Chop chop, before the bell rings!” Said Chloé.
Marinette shook her head. “I’ll see you in class Adrien. We’re gonna clean up the cafeteria, so we’ll take a while.”
“Oh! Alright, I get it. I’ll see you later then!"
They were model students not only in grades and performance. They also kept things in order around the school, like putting the chairs under the tables or putting away sports equipment after a good workout. They didn't have to, but no other student would, so they may as well be the bigger people. Bunch of lazy jackasses...
Plus it earned them brownie points with the teachers.
Throughout the rest of the day, The Primaries did not hear anything negative about Satele. Marinette had scared her so much that she refused to talk to anyone lest she say something that would get her in trouble. It took a lot of convincing from Aurore and Mireille until they were able to break that shield and explain to her that she is not forbidden from making friends or talking. She just had to be nicer about it.
That day, everyone was reminded why they feared The Primaries. They weren’t just students who claim to have power and influence. They could actually back their claims up.
As much as they would have liked Satele to be the last bully they dealt with today, there just had to be another one that tried to act tough.
That bully was a typical high school situation. A bully found someone weaker than them and demanded lunch money. Okay, sure, but where’s the logic? Lunch was over, so what was the point?
They handled that quickly, doing their usual thing by handling out a few threats here and there, while also making sure their claims were backed up. Needless to say, the bully relented pretty quickly, but just like Satele, he was on their radar.
Life for a Primary was never dull nor boring. They had their hands full daily, either by stopping bullies or just keeping order in the school.
But... that also began to come with some downsides. After Lila's exposure, the Akuma class changed for the better, but they also began to rely on their leaders too much. Lila was exposed, as said before, so the position of class reprasentative was up for election again.
"Marinette, can't you do it?" Suggested Alya.
Marinette let her head fall on the table with a thud. "I have told you before. I have no interest in it."
"Why not? You're so good at it!" Cheered Rose.
"Because I have my hands full enough as it is! I'm too busy to carry you around like a bunch of babies."
Laara tapped a ruler on her desk to silence her classroom. "Kids, if Marinette says she does not want to, then that is that. Just like before, we will hold an election."
Marinette slammed her hands down on her desk and jolted up. "No way! These idiots will just vote for me!"
Thank God it was not an official lesson, otherwise Laara would have reprimanded her for speaking without raising a hand. This was just homeroom to discuss the future.
Chloé had enough and stood up from her seat. "Okay, okay, everyone settle down. You can vote for a new rep, but The Primaries are staying clear of it. We have enough on our plate.",
"No one asked you, rich brat," snapped Alya.
Quite frankly, everyone seemed to have wanted to remember Chloé as this mean bully and dictator, rather than a just and honorable Primary. Especially those who have only known her for a few years or one, like Alya.
Marinette, not taking kindly to her Queen being insulted this way, turned to face Alya's table.
"Care to repeat that, Cesairé? Show some respect."
The journalist was about to retort, but then remembered how scary and frightening Marinette could get if pushed too far, like how she got earlier that day with Satele Duima. That's a Marinette everyone would rather avoid.
"Sorry..." she apologized.
Laara sighed and got up from her seat. "Look, kids, I don't care which one of you leads. Just please do it before the day is over. Seeing as how Chloé mentioned they were busy, I'll honor their wish and leave The Primaries out of it. Just pick someone who you think is capable of it. You think I'm being harsh? Tough, my class, my rules."
Chloé put a hand on her chin, then a smile crept up her face. "Someone who is capable... theeeen~"
Chloé turned around and pointed toward a student that was sitting two seats over from her, so almost at the back.
"I nominate Sabrina." She declared.
"H-huh!? Me? Chl- Yellow Queen, are you sure? You always told me how incompetent I am," said Sabrina.
Well, not like she can deny that she did say that many times in the past, but in truth, Sabrina was one of the most reliable people she knew. If Chloé needed homework to be done, Sabrina did it in a matter of minutes. If Chloé needed intel on someone, Sabrina had a file on hand. Hell, if Chloé ever needed to avoid prison, Sabrina would make for a fantastic lawyer!
"I mean... yeah, I did say that, but you have also come in clutch multiple times. I nominate you because you are reliable. Your dad is a Police captain, isn't he? Then I think you have it in you to lead people. You’re more capable than you think. How many times have I asked you for the impossible and you have accomplished it anyway? See what I mean?”
“Why should we trust someone who helped you bully people?” Asked Alya.
Marinette raised a brow in Alya’s direction. “Alya, can you shut up for one minute? If Chloé says that Sabrina should lead the class, then I trust her as well. My Queen has excellent intuition.”
Nathaniel nodded next to Chloé. “I agree. Chloé has an eye for talent not many know about. She has sought out people for us that are still reliable to this day. Trust me, if Chloé says Sabrina is a good choice, then I believe her completely.”
Chloé blushed at the sudden compliment, but shook it off with a cough.
”Sabrina, I know I treated you horribly. Trust me, if I could take it all back, you know I would. I had to put up that fake persona for… well, I’ll not get into it. Point is, you have never once actually disappointed me. In fact, you made me proud with every accomplishment. So just… let me make up for that past year and nominate you to be class rep. Trust me, you can do it.”
Sabrina had her mouth agape, not knowing how to respond to such kindhearted words. She felt tears forming, but wiped them away before they fell. With a smile and conviction, she nodded fiercely.
“Okay, I’ll do it! Mme. Gergina, I volunteer!”
Laara smiled with content. “Very good. Those were beautiful words, Chloé. If you think Sabrina can do it, then I’ll take your word for it. Just know, this job comes with a lot of responsibilities. Marinette, being a former representative, if Sabrina needs help, will you help her out?”
Marinette raised a brow and then leaned onto her desk with her arms crossed, not really looking forward to more duties, but smiled nonetheless.
“If I must, I must. Sure, I’m okay with it.”
”Very good. I think this is enough for today. You solved this while remaining civilized. I think I can afford to let you all go home a little earlier today. Class dismissed.”
While everyone began to pack their bags, The Primaries looked at each other and smirked with a nod. Once Loora had left the classroom, they quickly got to the door and blocked anyone from going anywhere, much to everyone's outrage.
"Now what? Kiss your boots before we leave?" Asked a skeptical Alya.
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Firstly, I'm wearing high heels and I'd rather not have anyone put their lips on them. Secondly, take a look at the classroom and maybe you'll figure out why we aren't letting you go."
The class did so. From first glance, nothing seemed to be wrong at all, a few spilled puddles of water on the tables and the chalk board was not cleared along with several pieces of paper just lying on the ground.
“Um… nothing is wrong? Just a few pieces of paper here or there. What’s the issue?” Asked Alya, seemingly the most defiant out of the class.
“The issue is that as students, it’s our responsibility to keep our class clean and proper. So, no one leaves this room until it’s spotless,” said Nathaniel.
“What, why!? That’s for the janitor!”
”What’s stopping me from just going out the window?” Kim asked. It wasn’t even out of defiance, just silly curiosity.
Marinette blinked. “From the second floor? You want to die?”
”Jesus, we’re not asking too much from you! Just clean the place up before you leave!” Demanded Chloé.
”I don’t see any of you three doing it!” Argued Alya.
Marinette groaned with annoyance. “We clean the cafeteria and the gym every day. Okay, you don’t want to clean it? Fine. Nino!”
“Uh, yes?”
Marinette held her hand out with an open palm, as if expecting him to give her something.
“Your pin. Hand it over.”
”Huh? Uh, okay?” The boy did as he was told and gave Marinette his pin.
“Either you clean the place you use to study and learn, or we will confiscate your pin and that means, you are not under our protection any more.”
Adrien scratched the back of his head.
“Come on, Marinette, that’s a bit-“
”Zip it, Agreste.”
Adrien shut his mouth and stood straight as a stick. Relationship or not, his girlfriend was scary as hell when in school. Outside of it she was a precious gem, but here? Better stay on her good side.
“As class rep, I think they have a point. We use this classroom, so it’s only right we take care of it as well,” said Sabrina.
“Exactly. We can keep standing here and keep you all here until the next morning if you want us to. Or you can just do as we say,” said Marinette.
After a moment of thought, the class relented and began to clean the room up from any trash lying around. It wasn’t as bad as any of them thought it would be either. It was a nice bonding experience.
When everything was clean and spotless, they had to admit, it did feel good taking care of a room they use daily.
“You see? Was that so hard to do? Alright, you may leave. Nino, here’s your pin back.”
The class began to leave the room one by one. Alya was the last to go, but was stopped when Marinette placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Ugh, what!?” she demanded.
”Something’s bothering you. You’ve been quite angry lately.”
“I’m fine.”
Chloé scoffed at the obvious lie. “Yeah, and I have one euro in my bank account. You’re not fine. You’re the only one who still speaks to us with contempt.”
Alya sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to insult any of you. I guess… I’m just having a bit of a hard time accepting all this. I mean… for so long, Lila kept me on her fish hook and I believed her. To have it all revealed to be a lie? I don’t know what to believe. I don’t know who I can consider a friend or a foe.”
Marinette frowned. Yep, this was what she was worried about. Lila’s damages were never physical, but deeply mental. Manipulation in and of itself was not bad necessarily. Sometimes manipulation was a part of human nature and in some cases can be used as a tactic to better one’s status. Just make sure your manipulation does not have lasting impacts.
Lila’s lies were not like that. She fed Alya lies after lies, it was no wonder why the young journalist was feeling betrayed. She genuinely thought Lila was a good person and a good friend.
“That’s understandable. Sadly, we can’t offer you any real advice on what to do. This is something you have to come to terms with on your own,” said Marinette.
“Yeah, I know…”
”One thing you could do is talk with the school therapist? Or if you want us to, we can hook you up with one outside of school? Mental damage is no joke, you know,” offered Nathaniel.
“I’ll do that. I’m sorry if I seem defiant or… well, fighting against you. I’m not trying to.”
Marinette nodded. “Listen, we do more than just keep bullies at bay and order around the school. If you ever want to talk about your experiences with bullies and how to move on, just come and talk to us. Alya, you may not have a pin, but you are still our subject. I have told you many times. This place is my Queendom. I care about everyone in this building, pin or not. We aren’t friends, but that doesn’t mean I hate you.”
“Yeah… thank you. I’m gonna get going now.”
Once Alya left, Marinette sat down at the teachers desk with a heavy sigh.
”Something on your mind?” The Red King asked.
“Lila had more of an effect than I thought…”
Chloé smiled. “The worst kind of bullies are sociopaths. That’s a given.”
”I wish I had made up my mind sooner about The Primaries coming back. Actually, no, scratch that, I wish we never broke up in the first place…” said Marinette.
Nathaniel smiled and sat on top of the desk. “Sorry for being a bit cringy here, but I think us being apart was a good thing. Our bond is stronger because of that, isn’t it? I mean, look at all we have accomplished in one month. Before, it took us at least two weeks to expose one teacher. Now? We got Bustier fired in only three days! Being apart only made us stronger."
Marinette giggled in response. "You're right, that was cringe. But that’s not the problem. I know it was necessary. I guess I just feel a little guilty for letting Lila have the reigns for as long as she did.”
Chloé walked behind her Empress and wrapped her arms around her neck to give her a comforting hug.
”Honey, you have nothing to feel guilty about. You are not responsible. Our class is to blame for even believing such obvious lies. Lila left an impact on all of us.”
”I know… thank you, Chlo.” Marinette replies, placing a hand on Chloé’s arm to acknowledge the comfort.
Nathaniel had a light bulb go off in his head as an idea struck him.
“Hey, something we told Alya moments ago got me thinking. We told her we are also here to listen and stuff. Didn’t we used to have a website?”
“Oh yeah! We did. We used to offer advice to anyone who had problems with bullying.”
“What if we brought it back online? If our eventual goal is to make society more aware of bullying, that website was a good step.”
Marinette raised a hand to her chin. “True, but now that I have my MDC website for fashion, managing The Primary website would be too much. I’m the only one of us who has experience with managing one.”
“It can’t be that hard, can it? You could just show us the ropes. Chloé and I can handle it.”
“Are you sure?”
”Totally!” Cheered Chloé.
“Okay. Then that’s what we’ll do. If it’s to help people, I’m all for it. It may take a little while before it’s properly set up again. I’ll handle that. You two come to my house tomorrow and I’ll walk you through everything.”
With a nod from her Kind and Queen, the three finally left the school to enjoy their free time.
Later in the evening, Marinette decided to go on a run to clear her mind. She wasn’t stressed or anything, she just needed some fresh air. Doing commission work can get demotivating at times, so going outside to touch some grass was a good way to motivate herself again.
Of course, not long after she began her run, she ran into Chat Noir, who offered to buy her some ice cream, as has become their tradition by this point. Ladybug gracefully accepted the offer. When they got their sweet and cold goodness, they sat in the middle of the Eiffel Tower on one of the horizontal support beams.
“I forgot to ask you this before, M’Lady, but remember a few days ago when my father wanted to talk with you? What did he have to say?”
“Hm? Oh, well, he offered to showcase one of my own original fashion designs at the fashion show happening next week. In exchange, he wanted The Primaries to help manage the show itself.”
”Did you take it?”
Ladybug shook her head. “No and for good reason. He claimed to have been summoned to his boutique in London.”
Chat Noir raised his brow. ”The boutique in London? The same boutique he hasn’t gone to even once since establishing it? That one?”
”Yes, Adrien. That one.”
”What’s weird about that? You don’t know if he was or was not.”
It was normal for Chat Noir to be skeptical about his father. Gabriel was family and to him, it was still too hard to believe that his own father was secretly Hawk Moth. He may have taken it well, but that did not mean he was still okay with the truth.
“Adrien, I’m the kind of girl who does not trust easily. You’re right, I have no way to know for sure, but at the same time, I have no way to know if he spoke the truth either. Given that he is Hawk Moth, I have to assume the worst.”
”You…” Chat Noir sighed, “make a good point.”
Ladybug softly put her hand on top of his to show him she was on his side. “Adrien… I know, okay? This is difficult for you. Just know that I am here for you. Always. Now that we know each other inside and outside of both identities, I promise to never keep any secrets from you. If you ever need to, are always welcome to live with me in the bakery where you’ll be safe.”
”I know. Thank you, M’Lady. How goes the plan to expose him, by the way?”
”Well… we are dealing with a supervillain here. Can’t expose one without exposing the other. Do I want your only family to go to prison? No, but he certainly has earned it.”
Chat Noir chuckled. “Hey, I’m not gonna argue with that. He may be family, but being evil is being evil. And trust me, I know there is no way to reason with him.”
”Maybe there is a way to save him from a harsh sentence, but I cannot plan that. That can only happen if he willingly surrenders. And believe me, after he tried to akumatize me multiple times, I want him behind bars, but that’s just me personally.”
Adrien stiffened next to her. He knew Hawk Moth attempted to akumatize the Primaries a few weeks ago, but to hear that he tried to do it to his love multiple times!?
”He’s going to jail,” he said.
”Eh?”
”No one harms my Empress and gets away with it.” He declared
”I think you-“
”Jail.”
”But if-“
”Jail.”
”If you just-“
”Jail!”
”Adrien!! I will throw you off this tower if you don’t shut it!”
Taking a deep breath, she finished the last of her ice cream in a few quick bites. After that, she turned to him and cupped his face in her hands.
”Is that truly what you want?”
“No, but all I want is to have a peaceful life. I know that’s what Mom would have wanted from me. I don’t want to let her down. And I know she would never approve of the man father has become. M’Lady, I promise, I won’t let you down either.”
Ladybug smiled and pulled him into a hug, burying her face into his muscular chest.
“I know, kitty…”
”So, what’s our next move?”
“We need allies. Just the two of us rushing in would not be ideal. We’ll overwhelm him with numbers and face him while he is a civilian.”
”When?”
”When I give the go ahead. Give me a few days. Preferably it will happen during the fashion show.”
”Then I’ll wait for your signal. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
Ladybug hugged him tighter. “You’re so brave, Adrien… I’m so proud of you…”
Chat Noir smiled and planted his cheek on her soft head, smiling. The only other person who said to be proud of him was his Mom, who was now gone. Marinette was slowly filling the whole his mother’s disappearance caused in his heart. He may be a teenager still, but maybe it was time to let go of the past and his family to live life the way he wanted to.
”You and me against the world, My Empress.”
”Oh? So I’m your Empress now?”
”Always have been.”
”Against the world… as always.”
One way or another, if Marinette was going to achieve her life long goal of making the world more aware of bullying and its mental effects, Hawk Moth had to go.
The Blue Empress would rule for all eternity over her subjects. Some may call it naive for someone to think they can carry this kind of burden and make billions of people aware of one concept.
But you know what? Marinette did not view this as her being naive. She viewed it as ambition. She was determined. She was on fire. No supervillain, no bully, no corrupt teacher would ever stand in her way. With her King and Queen by her side, her story would go down in history.
Lila had ignited a spark within Marinette with all of her lies. That spark began as just that. A spark. It began to burn brighter every day until it became a raging inferno. Wherever the liar was now, she better not crawl back out. Yet, Marinette had a feeling she would meet Lila again someday. Next year or next month, she knew she would.
But it was time to leave those thoughts alone for now. She had everything she needed at that moment. All she needed to be happy…
Notes:
Here we go. Chapter 20 is complete. Now the , only 5 chapters left!
But for now, I will take a two week break from writing. I quickly posted these last 3 chapters fast because I did not want to keep you all waiting for too long, so this mini posting marathon was to tide everybody over. Hope you enjoyed and see you soon!
Chapter 21: 'Cause You're The One
Summary:
Old friends reunite
The villains defeat be finite.
By the power vested in him
He'll purge all the sin
Notes:
Hello, friends, been a while hasn't it? I know I said I'd take a two week break, buuut it ended up being much longer. But, then again, this is not an official work, so I don't have to rush anything.
Regardless, thank you for being patient and don't be shy to leave comments! I lovw reading them. They are a big motivator!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
We could break up and then make up
I’ll always come back to you
"I'm sorry, you three, but my hands are tied."
The Primaries, after a few days of planning and waiting, finally managed to get in touch with their contact in CPS. They weren't exactly the head or the boss of the office, more of a secretary actually, but through her, they did get an audience with one of the heads.
Currently, they were attempting to get CPS involved with Gabriel's unfit parent behaviour.
Would have been a good plan, but there were some issues they just found out about at that moment.
"Mr. Romeré, I know what we're asking is a lot and we are minors, who shouldn't be involved in such manners, but this is serious. How can you sit there while a father is turning a blind eye to his son who, may I remind you, has been sexually harrassed by a girl our age!" Argued Chloé.
Romeré leaned on his elbows on his desk.
"The problem isn't that you are minors. In fact, I'm impressed you were able to know when Child Protection should step in. Believe me, I want to help your friend. Gabriel has been on our radar for a while. Do you think we haven't tried?"
"You have?" Asked Marinette with a raised brow.
"Many times," replied the secretary beside the boss, "but Gabriel Agreste is a powerful man. Far too powerful. Any time CPS has sent an email to him, he never replied, or if he did, denied amy accusations. He was even threatened once, but all he did was pay CPS to keep us away,"
"So you just... accepted it!?" asked Marinette, her hands curling into fists.
The boss sighed. "I didn't. I'm only the head of one department. There are people in higher positions than me. If it were me, I would have rejected the offered money and went through with the threat anyway. So, as you can see, it's a very corrupt case."
In a strange and comedic way, The Primaries, after hearing that last statement, perfectly mimicked the Three Wise Monkeys from Japanese culture. Chloé put her hands on her mouth, Nathaniel put them on his ears to cover them and Marinette placed her own hands to cover her eyes. See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil.
Regaining her composure, Marinette cleared her throat. "I'm sure you have had your own corrupt dealings like your higher ups."
Romeré chuckled. "Perhaps, but corrupt in a good way. Regardless, this case is impossible. I cannot help you unless I get the green light and make sure everything goes in our favor."
Marinette smirked at the challenge given to her.
"Call me stubborn, but every bully, every corrupt teacher I've ever exposed? Those cases were impossible as well. Until I did them."
Nathaniel chuckled at his leader's sudden confidence. "She's right. We've dealt with all kinds of people. So, regardless of what you tell us, we'll still find a way, with or without your help."
Romeré leaned back at his desk. These teenagers were indeed stubborn, but, to his surprise, that fact didn't irritate him. It intrigued him if he was being honest. Smiling, he got up from his seat to look out the window.
"There is... one way we have not tried yet," he revealed.
"Oh?" Replied Nathaniel.
"How well connected are you three? How far do those connections go?"
"I mean... I do know the President personally. Friends with his daughter even," shrugged Marinette.
"My daddy is the Mayor, so I can get in touch with basically anyone through him if I want to."
"And my parents own a tech company, so you know."
Romeré nodded. "Right. Is it possible you could potentially find a lawyer undeterred by money? The best you can find."
"We have several we can call up if we wanted to, but what does that have to do with anything?" Asked Marinette.
"Here's what I propose. We need one of your parents, who want to take custody of Adrien. They sue Gabriel, the lawyer refuses any money Gabriel offers him. Then CPS can step in."
"Well conceived plan, however there's great risk," said Chloé, "because Gabriel also has laywers who are extremely good at their jobs. One lawyer on our side won't make a difference."
"You're just saying that because you actually want to burn his mansion..." smirked Nathaniel.
"Nath!" yelled Chloé, "yes I do..."
"Alright, alright, settle down, kids. This is the best plan I could come up with."
"What about your higher ups?" Asked Marinette.
Romeré smiled and sat back down to his desk, his secretary filling his afternoon tea cup. "Let's just say: what they don't know, won't hurt them. At first. This case has been going on for a while and while they won't admit it, they also do want it solved somehow, despite the money Gabriel offers them. So, I'll take on this case as a solo mission. If it succeeds and they found out I was the one involved, I may end up getting promoted. If not, I'm fired. So, I am putting my trust in you three."
Marinette deadpanned. "Ah, so you did have an ulterior motive."
"If I'm going to take a risk, I may as well be rewarded for my efforts. Sounds fair, no?"
"As long as it gets Adrien the freedom he deserves, I really don't care."
"Good. Here's my business number. If you find someone fitting into the plan, call me about it."
"Mmmkay, so, where are we going to find the right lawyer?" Asked Nathaniel.
“I…” began Marinette, “have no idea,” she admitted.
”Nice going, imp,” said Chloé with an eye roll, “But I’ll take care of it. I’ll just ask Daddy for help with this. He is the Mayor.”
”Yes, yes, like we can forget. Hm… I think I’m going to call Vivian. She may have some ideas,” said Marinette.
“Shall we go our separate ways for today then?”
“Yeah, I have to head home. I promised my mom I’d help with the bakery anyway.”
For all their expertise, The Primaries were not very well versed in matters of the law. They knew right from wrong, sure, but anything to do with court and how it all played out was never their strong suit. They knew the basics and how it generally worked, but nothing more. It was still on their agenda to learn.
So, on her way home, Marinette pulled out her phone from her skirt pocket and picked out a number she hadn’t called for a few months. Vivian was actually the daughter of the President, so she was only called upon for extreme situations. Being the daughter of the most important man in France, Vivian was most familiar with the law.
The phone rang for a good ten seconds before it was picked up.
“Hello?”
”Vivian, hey, it’s me. Marinette.”
“Marinette…”
”Dupain-Cheng.”
There was a tiny squeal of realisation on the other side.
”Maribun!? I haven’t heard from you in a while! How are you!? Why haven’t you called!?”
Maribun… yeah, she did not like that nickname. It was given to her by Vivian when they were little. Vivian was a huge fan of Marinette's family bakery, so much so, that she saw Marinette as the sweetest bun to come out of the bakery oven. Thus, the nickname Maribun was born. It was cute, sure, but it always irked her the wrong way. But, at the very least, she only allowed Vivian to call her that.
"I've been busy with school and stuff, Viv. Besides, you have your own responsibilities."
She heard Vivian scoff on the other end. "Busy or not, you know I'd always make time for you."
Marinette cooed, "Awww, that's sweet! But, listen, I need a fav-"
"Ap ap ap ap, I'm not gonna do anything unless you promise we can hang out sometime!"
Marinette blinked, then released a giggle. "You didn't let me finish. I was going to invite you out for tea. Or coffee, whatever works. I need to talk to you in person."
"Your voice got all serious. What's this about?"
"I'll tell you about it when we meet up. I'll be waiting at that cafe across the street from the Eiffel Tower, north side."
"I'll be there in 30."
Vivian ended the call, allowing Marinette to change her course from home to the cafe she mentioned.
Once she arrived, she picked out a table and ordered two cups of coffee.
"Pst, Marinette!" Whispered Tikki from her inside pocket.
"Hm? What is it?" Replied the girl, subtly lifting the left side of her jacket to not cause suspicion.
"How will this Vivian girl help? Please tell me you're not planning on telling her your identity."
Marinette shook her head. "Gods, no. Vivian is a sweet girl and a great friend, but she is also a blabbermouth. I trust her a lot, but with a secret that huge, no way."
"Then how will she help?"
Marinette raised a brow. "Were you asleep in my jacket or something? Vivian has more connections than I do thanks to her family."
"Marinette, I..."
"Out with it."
"I'm just worried about you involving too many people in this. What if someone connects the dots and figures out you are Ladybug?"
That was indeed something she had not thought about. People were not dumb. They could put two and two together fairly easily if they tried. The only reason they hadn't and most likely never will is because of the magic involved in wielding the miraculous and the fact that Marinette normally stayed out of superhero matters. If she wasn't careful, the public may start to question why a teenager is looking into Gabriel Agreste and how she figured out he was Hawk Moth the entire time.
Then again, was it really that bad? If people found out, she wouldn't actually mind it. Yes, her family and friends would be in danger, but surely Hawk Moth knew that threatening the lives of innocent people never works out in the end. Give the hero a choice between saving one and saving many, the hero will always choose both options.
Paparazi would not be difficult to handle either, considering Chloé had a police escort on speed dial, among other assets The Primaries had. Besides, Marinette was not above using intimidation to make people back off.
She understood her kwami's worries, but knew better than to take them too seriously, lest she wanted stress.
"By the time they figure it out, I'm hoping Hawk Moth to be behind bars. After that, it's not a huge issue."
"What about those you care about? They'll be put in danger."
"What would be the point of anyone targeting them? We both know I'll have to give you back to Master Fu once this is over. If anyone came after me to try and steal you, it'd be a moot point."
"I guess you're right."
"You could trust me a little more, you know."
”I do! I’m just keeping myself on my toes!” Defended Tikki, a sentence that caused Marinette to giggle.
”Like I said before, you don’t have any toes.”
“Semantics.”
“Heh, sure.”
The café doorbell chimed and a young woman with gorgeous magenta hair walked in, outfitted with an elegant white summer dress. It may have been early spring, but it was still very warm outside, so a dress was not out of the question. She took off her black jacket and hung it on the coatrack, along with the purple parasol she brought with her everywhere.
Being the President’s daughter, she always had to keep a bit of a low profile whenever going to public places. Weirdly enough, a pair of sunglasses was all it took to keep people looking the other way.
When she spotted Marinette, she smiled and walked up to the table. The Blue Empress smiled in return and got up from her seat, wrapping her arms around the newcomer in a very fond way.
”Vivian! It’s so good to see you.”
“You too, Maribun! It’s been so long.”
“Hope you don’t mind, but I already ordered some croissants and tea for us.”
”Oh, thank you! How about we take a seat then? You sounded serious on the phone, so this must be important.”
”It kind of is. You may want to get comfortable. This is a bit of a long story.”
Vivian giggled and sat down comfortably. “I got nowhere else to be, so take your time.”
“Hm… where should I start? You are well aware of what me and my group do, right?” Marinette asked.
“Mhm?”
”Let’s assume that recently, I got a boyfriend, who has a father that is… very controlling. I want to help him get out of that situation and have more freedom for himself. I figured since me and my friends are so connected, it would he possible for us to do something about it. But, today, we found out that getting a good lawyer is a lot harder than it sounds. The CPS refuse to help unless we can find one.”
“Sooo, you want me to get you my family lawyer?”
Marinette shook her head. “Not just any lawyer, Vivian. We need someone who isn’t swayed by money and power. We need someone whose only goal is to right the wrongs.”
“I mean, sure, I can do that for you. But, who is this target you want the lawyer for?”
“Gabriel Agreste.”
Vivian’s eyes went a little wide during her sip and she almost choked on her tea. Managing to compose herself, she gently lowered her cup onto her plate.
“Maribun, sweetie, big sister… Do you know how insane it sounds?”
”Why does everyone keep asking me that…?”
Vivian leaned a little back and put one leg over the other. “Gabriel Agreste is a powerful man.”
”I’m aware of that, but my mind is made up already. With or without anyone’s help, I will get Adrien out of there.”
”And if you can’t?”
“If at first you don’t succeed…”
Vivian sighed, already giving up on trying to convince Marinette to change her mind. That baker’s daughter was a stubborn girl.
“Vivian, I know what I am planning is insane and maybe foolish, but you don’t know what Adrien goes through everyday. How would you feel being sexually harassed and scarred by a coworker and your father not even batting an eye at it?”
Vivian shuttered. “When you put it like that…”
“I dealt with said coworker already, but the point still stands.”
"Hey, I never said I won't help, just that Gabriel Agreste being your target caught me off guard. Lucky for you, I know just the guy for the job. As President, my dad has the authority to oversee a trial, so..."
"That would be a little too... much, don't you think? I'm sure he has many other things to attend to. I mean, he is the President of France. He won't drop everything to help one teenage boy."
Vivian smirked and took a smug bite of her croissant. "But he will drop everything for his daughter."
"That's manipulation." Said Marinette very bluntly.
Vivian raised a brow. "Says the Blue Empress."
"Touché."
"I'll have to ask him. If it turns out you are right and he can't help, then at the very least, he can give you the best lawyer."
Marinette smiled. "Thank you, Vivian. That means a lot to me."
Vivian smiled back, but then leaned on the table, her chin resting on her palm with a smug grin. "Sooo.... boyfriend, hmm?"
Marinette blushed and coughed a bit. "I said to assume I have one, not that I do."
While her attempts to convince Vivian were admirable, one had to be completely dumb if they did not figure out that what Marinette just explained was true and that she did, in fact, have a boyfriend.
"Spill the beans, dear sister! What's he like? Is he cute? Is he handsome? What's his favorite color? Favorite pastrie? Have you kissed? Have you hugged?" Vivian paused to gasp, "have you declared your love!?" She asked.
Marinette felt gears in her head turning. That was too many questions in the span of five seconds. Five seconds of very embarrassing questions. Yet, despute them being a spicy topic, Marinette remained composed and tried to answer each one in order.
"He's sweet, he is cute, green, passionfruit macaroons, yes, yes and yes."
Vivian blinked. "Oh wow. I didn't expect you to answer them all."
Marinette giggled. "Vivian, as much as I'd like to swoon over my boyfriend, there isn't much to tell you. He's Adrien Agreste, teenage model, but he is also just a normal boy. A normal, silly boy who enjoys pranks, jokes and is a genuinely kind person. That's really all I can say about him. Nothing complicated."
Vivian visibly calmed down and took another sip from her cup , which was almost empty.
"Fair enough. So, tell me, how did you two meet?"
Now that's a question she hadn't thought about. What even was their first meeting? One could say it was when she first became Ladybug and fell on top of him because she wasn't used to her powers.
On the other hand, she officially met him standing in the rain and he offered her his umbrella out of kindness and compassion. The gum incident was not what she viewed as a proper meeting, but the umbrella scene was, to her, the first time she saw him.
Vivian did not need to know her superhero persona anyway, so the second option was safest.
"Oof... well... the first time we met was at the start of the school year. Chloé attempted to prank me by placing gum in my seat, which I had to act like it was bullying. Adrien attempted to take it off my seat, but I ended up taking my so-called "anger" out on him, leading me not to trust him. But... then the next day, at the end of the day, it was raining heavily. Even though my home is right next to the school, I would have been soaked if I had run through it. Then, out of nowhere, Adrien offered me his umbrella as a sign of good faith. I was pretty shocked, let me tell you. But, I took it and saw him in a new light after that."
"Awww, that's so cute! That's when your crush started, right!?" Vivian pried.
"Well... yes and no. After that, I did have a crush on him, but it's not like I knew anything about him. So it took me a while to realise that I loved the idea of him, not actually him. Until, of course, I saw what his family life was like and that he isn’t anything special. Aaaand then it turns out that me being a Primary and my bossy attitude is what gets him flustered the most, leading to me reversing our crush…”
Vivian blinked, but then burst into small giggles. “Funniest love story plot twist I’ve ever heard. But… are you happy?”
”Hm? What do you mean? Of course I am.”
Vivian shook her head. “I mean are you happy with him? Anything you would change?”
Now there was a question… but Marinette already knew her answer for certain.
“Nope, nothing. We haven’t been dating for even a month, but I think I can easily tell that our relationship is gonna last for a good while, if not forever. But, that is only if I can get him away from that sorry excuse for a father.”
“There is one thing you could do to make Gabriel back down entirely.”
Marinette leaned over on the table, her attention fully on Vivian.
“Go on.”
”Have you tried being a constant? Just go into the mansion to hang out with Adrien? I know you, and you are not one to take orders from people you dislike. Plus, I’ve seen people more muscular than their bodyguard be afraid of you.”
The designer giggled and fell back in her seat with a sigh. “While your idea is sound, I wouldn’t think it’s right. Remember that coworker I mentioned before? She did the exact same thing, leading Adrien to be sexually harassed and he now has to hide scars on his chest. If I did what you suggested, then I’d be stooping down to her level, which I’d really rather not do.”
Finishing her tea, Vivian gracefully pushed her cup and plate to the side, resting her hands on the table.
“You know, Maribun, that sometimes hypocrisy is unavoidable. You can try to avoid it all you like, but every day, each and every one of us will do something that others have already done that we swore we’d never do. Sometimes, it’s okay to be a hypocrite. As a politician’s daughter, I would know. Gabriel Agreste is an unyielding man, so you have to show him that you mean business.”
”Oh, he knows I mean business alright. We have him scared. He once tried to get us to spy on Adrien, but in turn, we threatened to expose all of his wrongdoings if he didn’t allow his son the freedom he deserves.”
Vivian nodded with contempt. “See? You’re well on your way. All you need is a good lawyer to make sure he can’t hide behind any of his own, is that right?”
“Correct.”
“Well then, give me a day or two and I’ll find you the best.”
“Thank you, Vivian. I should get going now. I already delayed going home. Mom said she needed help at the bakery.”
“Before you gooo…”
Marinette got up and put her jacket on, looking at Vivian with confusion, who only pointed to her cheek. Understanding what she meant, Marinette narrowed her eyes.
“I’m not kissing you.”
“Awww come on, dear sister! What’s a kiss between two sisters!” Vivian whined.
“I will give you a hug.”
“Not good enough! I haven’t seen you in so long! Come on, pleaaaaase~?”
Vivian was a smart and resourceful girl and can be serious when she really wanted to be. But, underneath it all, she was also very mischievous. Every time the two got together, Marinette was put into a situation she’d rather not be in, like Vivian cuddling up at a sleepover. Did she view the magenta haired girl as a sister? Definitely and she loved her a lot, but Vivian had a way of pushing her buttons.
”…Fine. Just this once.”
Vivian beamed like a kid in a bouncy castle, closing her eyes and standing up straight, waiting for the feeling of lips on her cheek.
Reluctantly -and secretly finding it endearing- Marinette gently pushed away Vivian’s hair and placed a kiss on her cheek.
“Thank you, dear sister~!”
Marinette let out a sigh, but couldn’t help the smile forming on her face.
“Don’t expect this again anytime soon. This was only because you agreed to help me.”
“Aww, but I like it when I get your affection!”
Marinette, despite herself, smugly placed a finger in Vivian’s nose.
“My affections are for my boyfriend only. This was an exception. Better get used to it.”
“Fine, fine, I get it. Anyway, it was great to see you again. We should meet up like this again soon!”
Marinette smiled with a nod. “My family bakery is always open. Drop by whenever.”
You would think that being the daughter of the Mayor of Paris, Chloé was well versed in court and hearings. Well, she was not. She did have tutors in her earlier years who attempted to educate her about it and she had shadowed her father to court from time to time, but she never found them to be interesting enough to warrant her full attention.
That being said, she wasn’t entirely in the dark. She knew that to win a case, the evidence had to be clear and convincing. Manipulation was the name of the game. One had to know how to reach the ears of the public with irrefutable truths in order to win a case.
She also knew that calling out inconsistencies of your opponents was important. Make yourself look good and make the enemy look bad. That’s how court cases were won.
Do not show hesitation. Do not show fear. Know yourself and your opponent. Push the right buttons in the correct sequences they appear.
...God, she was starting to sound like a gamer. Still, that's how it all was to her. Court hearings were a game played by those who saught justice. Justice that was sometimes served to the wrong people.
And thus, a question popped into her head as she was sitting on the couch in her father's office.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?" Replied the Mayor.
"Is there a way to guarantee victory within court?"
The question was sudden and made the Mayor and he abrubtly stopped writing on the piles of paper in front of him.
"Well... that depends on the evidence and the lawyer you hired. Why do you ask?"
Chloé shrugged. "We're on the verge of doing something either really smart or really stupid. I can't tell you more than that."
"You have a target that is not a bully this time? Who is it?"
Chloé smiled at her fathers ability put the pieces together. She should have figured that subtlety doesn't really work on him.
"If I tell you, you'll freak out."
"Try me."
"Well, it's... Gabriel Agreste."
Instead of freaking out like Chloé thought, André put a hand to his chin.
"What did he do? For all I know, he's a generic business owner."
"There are many things he's done, Daddy, including child labor and condoning sexual harassment at his work place. Adrien has scars on his chest, you know. He just covers it all up with body make-up."
"Excuse me?"
"Before you say anything!" Chloé hastily shouted, "I promise we are this close to exposing him to the authorities. Believe it or not, we even got Ladybug and Chat Noir on our side on this."
She wasn't going to tell her dad that Gabriel was Hawk Moth. If she had, André would most definitely request a police squad to surround the mansion and arrest Gabriel. While that would have been ideal, normal police officers would not stand a chance against a Miraculous wielder.
"You do?"
"Yes, we do. All I ask is that you trust me and be prepared for court."
Even if he wanted to send a squad to the mansion, Chloé had proved herself capable time and time again. She was a smart girl.
"Very well, dear. I will trust you. Before you go, you should know, your mother is coming to town."
Upon that, Chloé froze a little. Her relationship with her mom was... complicated. Audrey was the type of parent who seem to regret ever even having children. Chloé became a Primary out of loathing her mother. Audrey was tyrannical both inside and outside of work, often times even forgetting her daughters name.
Chloé's bully persona was deeply based off of her mother, which she secrwtly despised to the highest degree.
She would never be like her.
Not ever.
"For how long?" Chloé asked.
"A week, I'd say."
"...Can I stay the week at Marinette's bakery then? I... really don't want to spend any of my time around Mom."
André gave a single nod. "I understand, sweetheart. I will call her parents and see if we can figure out an arrangment. I just thought I'd let you know."
Chloé smiled and walked up to André, giving him a quick hug to show gratitude.
"Thanks, Daddy."
"Of course, Chloé. Now, I have work to do. Run along now."
Chloé did just that.
Later in the evening on top of a roof across the Agreste Manor, Ladybug and Chat Noir were staking out the place and trying to come up with a good plan. The first plan was to surround Gabriel and take the Brooch back from him without hassle. The second part.... they were working on it.
"I've been thinking..." started Chat Noir.
"Hm?"
"You said you didn't want Paris to know he is Hawk Moth. I'm beginning to have second thoughts about it."
Ladybug raised a brow. "What're you saying?"
"Wouldn't it make it easier for you and the Primaries if he was exposed as Hawk Moth as well?"
"Chat, I told you, I don't want the whole of Paris to crawl up your ass. You have nothing to do with what your father gets up to, but the public doesn't know that."
"Just like I said with Lila: as long as you and I know the truth, what does it matter? Marinette, I just... I want this to end. He's my father, but I can't just pretend he is not the villain of Paris."
"Adrien..." said Ladybug solemnly.
"There's something I heard from an anime once-"
"Of course you did."
"That the path of a hero is riddled with sacrifices. LB, I'm saying that I'll be okay. No need for an elaborate plan. We go in, expose him, and... I don't know, but at least it will be over. Worst case scenario, I reveal myself as Chat Noir to the public. That ought to keep the people's trust."
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
Chat Noir turned his gaze onto his home. His empty, happyless home that made his heart ache every day.
"It's what Mom would want..." he muttered.
Ladybug smiled and took his hand in hers to show her comfort.
"Then let's assemble the team. I'll be with you all the way, Adrien."
"I know."
Adrien was more mature than Marinwtte ever gave him credit for. She was glad that he could understand that while his father is family, he is also a villain. Just like any other criminal, they had to bring him down.
One way or another, this nightmare would end today. Ladybug on her own is a hero. Marinette on her own is a Primary. Both of those put together will equal a force Hawk Moth would have no choice but to submit to.
Notes:
Once again, thank you for being patient! ^^
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Business_goose_98 on Chapter 1 Thu 13 Feb 2025 07:38AM UTC
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