Wally stirred around in the bed, patting around the bed to look for his phone. After a while, he found it, flinching harshly when he found it and dared to check the time within the dark room.
5:30 in the morning.
Getting up, Wally noticed Amira missing from her room, deciding to look for her.
Unsurprisingly, he found her in the kitchen, baking.
"Want to talk about it?" Wally asked, sitting on a nearby stool. He watched Amira continue to knee the bread dough, her lips pursed as she ignored him. "Want to talk about something else?"
The pregnant silence in the kitchen remained there until Amira spoke moments later.
"Please." Amira practically begged as she whispered, her kneeing stopping.
"Say no more. Remember when you left me here alone? I can't believe you didn't tell me about Bridgette! She's the most adorable baby there is! And can you believe she actually held my hand? She held it for like two seconds. Two seconds!"
Wally went on to talk about the time he spent with Bridgette and how next time he will bring her some toys to play with.
He watched as Amira's shoulders began to sink back down, her kneeing becoming less aggressive and the furrow of her brows less tense.
Wally made a mental note of investigating what caused Amira to have nightmares again.
After all, it's been months he last saw her stress baking because of one.
What caused her to have one now?
-----
Marinette appreciated the cold wind in her face, allowing her to forget the events from this morning.
She didn't think video games would give her flashbacks of the days she used to play them with Jason. Days where they would stay up all night playing them until Alfred caught them or the days Dick would join them and then whine when he would lose.
Memories she believed she had deeply buried within her mind only for a Victim to bring them back with ease.
Days she missed dearly and wished badly for...
But the past was the past and there was nothing she could do to bring Jason back...even if she wanted to...
Stopping at the bottom of the school steps, she let out a deep sigh before going up the stairs, hoping to forget the vivid dreams of last night.
Just as she had a small plan on how to get rid of them, the moment she stepped into the school, she knew something was off. Something was interrupting the equilibrium and she hated that.
Shaking the feeling off, Amira headed to class, taken back by the small decorations in the classroom.
The windows were decorated with paper snowflakes, red and green ribbons draped around the yard.
"What's all this?" Marinette asked herself, preparing herself for the upcoming school day. Keeping her scarf, she put away her coat and a few textbooks she didn't need.
"Dudette, do you really not know why the school is decorated this way?" Nino asked, closing his locker.
"No be honest, no." A gasp came from the other side, Chloe appalled at her.
"Dupain-Cheng. Christmas is just around the corner! How did you forget that!"
"Christmas?" Marinette repeated, wondering how she missed the holi-
Oh...right. "I...I don't really celebrate it." Marinette admitted, then remembering the last time she ever spent Christmas with her Grandpere and father...and with Jason... or rather...without him...
"Marinettte, are you-" Sabrina was about to ask if she was okay when the bell rang.
Now with a tense atmosphere, the friends made their way to their classroom, Chloe feeling miserable as she watched Marinette zone out throughout class.
During chemistry, the girl excused herself various times, making Alya having to do most of the work herself.
"What's bothering her?" Adrien asked Chloe, noticing that she too was acting strange since that morning.
Pursing her lips, Chloe let out a sigh as she began to label the diagram in her textbook.
"I may have upset her." Chloe admitted. "We were talking about how Christmas was right around the corner. I asked how she forgot it when she told me she doesn't celebrate and then...she just...went quiet." Chloe trailed, letting her pencil fall out of her hand. "Adrien, I messed up."
"You didn't know she would react like that." Adrien replied, watching as Marinette walked back into the room, apologizing to Alya as she sat in her seat. "So you apologize for it."
"Okay, so I apologize for it, but how do I prepare for the next time? I don't know what I said that made her...well, change."
"It might have been old memories." Adrien quickly supplied. "Perhaps relating to her family."
"Her family?"
"Well, this is just a theory," Adrien started, hoping that he was semi-right. "But I think Marinette came to Paris to move on." Chloe arched a brow.
"Move on?"
"Well, when we first met, she mentioned having siblings."
"Siblings? As in more than just Bridgette?" Chloe asked, remembering seeing the tiny baby when they had gone to visit her while she was sick.
"Aside from Bridgette, Marinette did mention having two-one other siblings aside from her." He corrected himself. "But as far as we know, we know nothing about them. Never talks about them either."
"Wait, you said two before changing to one. Why?" Crap.
"Well, that's where things get a bit complicated. When Marinette said she had siblings, she told me she had two in total although it used to be three. My guess is that, well...he has moved on." Adrien said quietly, looking at his book with great interest. "Her eyes became dull, just like how they look like now."
Chloe processed the information, looking over at Marinette. To think she knew so little about her good friend. Chloe hit the table with her head, letting out a groan. "Don't worry Chlo. She'll understand if you just ask her."
"I hope she does." Chloe said, lifting her head.
Class went on and shortly later, Mlle Mendeleiev began to tell the class to pack up. With the ring of the bell, everyone went onto their next class or lunch, Chloe missing the opportunity to talk to Marinette.
Sighing, Chloe picked up her things and went to have lunch with her father as they had promised to do that morning.
---
Marinette huffed as she sat across from Adrien, taking out a notebook that was heavily encrypted in code.
After all, she didn't want anyone else to know she was Ladybird and that she had narrowed her suspicions onto one man possibly being Hawkmoth.
"I heard what happened this morning." Adrien said, flipping a page from his own book, Marinette noticing the odd language in it.
It looked eerily...familiar. Where had she seen that book before?
"I'm guessing Chloe told you." Marinette continued, flipping a page in her book of evidence. "She doesn't need to apologize. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me. She didn't do anything wrong, I did. I shouldn't have gone silent like that. I didn't explain to her that-"
"But it's because she didn't know that she should ask what made you react the way you did. For future reference. And to avoid making the same mistake." Adrien said, looking up from his book. "Of course, you don't have to specifically tell her-"
"It's because of my brother." Marinette cut off, closing her book and looking straight at Adrien. "This will be the first Christmas...since his death...a Christmas without him..." Marinette trailed.
He was right? But wait...first Christmas without him? If they were siblings, surely the two would've celebrated various Christmas together...right?
"When Marinette said she had siblings, she told me she had two in total although it used to be three. My guess is that, well...he has moved on."
Moved on...
Marinette did move from Gotham to Paris, remembering that she used to go to Gotham Academy. Surely the two had to have been greatly involved in each other's lives if Marinette remembered her brother dearly; they had to have had a tight relation with each other. To be attached to each other-
"-to the hip." Alfred's words finished off for him.
Wait...what was it he had said after that?
"Even after the two were taken by different families, the two went to the same school and stayed together. But when Jason died, her parents took her with them to open up their business in Paris. To start anew and let Amira recover from his death."
That had to be a coincidence...yeah! A complete coincidence!
There was no way- but now that he thought about it...it kind of made sense.
For starters, Marinette didn't look like either of her parents. She was of a darker complexion and has emerald eyes.
Despite knowing French, Marinette spoke in a dialect that seemed more like Metropolitan French opposed to Parisian French, although her French also seemed to have Canadian influence as well. He remembered that during a spar of theirs, she accidentally said 'aweille' instead of 'allez.'
Her English, for that matter, sounded more natural to her than her French, often hearing Marinette more relaxed when she spoke it.
Marinette also seemed to give off an aura of having already learned her materials, Adrien then remembering how she reacted to learning he was home schooled.
It seemed like she was somehow able to empathize with-
"-need to pick that up?" Marinette asked, snapping Adrien from his thoughts.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Your phone. It's been ringing for a while."
Sure enough, it as, Adrien realizing it was his father. He never called unless...oh no...
Did...Did he notice?! Already?!
Quickly getting up, Adrien dumped the book he was reading into his bag and knocked the chair down. While picking it up, his bag slid down his arm and hit the floor.
Apologizing to Marinette about having to leave her alone, he quickly ran to his locker to grab his coat in case he needed to go out.
Calling his father back, Adrien couldn't even let a word out.
"Adrien. Come home. Now."
-----
Amira blinked for a while as she still took in what had happened just seconds ago. Shrugging it off, Amira continued to look at her data when Tikki flew out of her jacket.
"Tikki!" Amira hissed, making sure no one had seen her. "What do you think-"
"This!" Tikki shouted, Amira going under the desk to see Tikki attempting to lift up a heavy book more precisely, the book Adrien was reading. "We have to bring this to Master Fu!"
"Master Fu? What would he be needing a book like this?" Amira asked, lifting the book and opening up its contents. "It's just a bunch of-"
She stopped as the page she decided to open up was one that showed a man that resembled Hawkmoth, his armor grandiose yet too loud. Seriously, wings?
Amira looked at the image, tracing the glyphs with her fingers that were near an image of what she assumed the Butterfly miraculous looked like. "Butterfly." Amira read, only then did it click as to why these glyphs looked so familiar.
"Amira! How do you know how to-"
"I've seen this before Tikki." Amira quickly closed the book to look at its cover, the crest staring back at her. It looked just like it! "Tikki...what exactly is this?" Amira asked, feeling as if she just stumbled upon Pandora's Box.
"I can't tell you here." Tikki said, looking around. Amira nodded, stuffing the book into her school bag before running out the library and back home, the cold no longer a worry.
Fumbling to find the correct key to the apartment, Amira hated how cold her fingers got as she pushed the door open. She quickly bolted up the stairs and opened up the apartment door before rushing over to her room.
Thankfully, Wally wasn't there, allowing Amira to focus at the hand at task.
As Amira set the book down, Tikki flew out to inspect the book, opening it up and flipping each page.
"Tikki. Explain what this is, now." Amira demanded, opening boxes she never unpacked before. Small trinkets looked back at her, causing her to close them back up and open the next. Where was it?!
"R-Right." Tikki said, flipping over to a page that showed different forms of the yo-yo. How did she forget its many forms? "This grimoire is a book of spells that not only enhance your abilities, but unlocks the abilities of us kwamis. It also contains information about the other miraculouses and how to use them. Of course, only those who know how to read the Guardian's language could decipher the spells and information."
"Guardian's language?"
"It's a special language that is only passed on from one Guardian to another, a language which only they know. Not even us Kwami know. A precaution on the Guardian's part."
Amira hummed in response as she gave up looking at the boxes and started to rummage through her desk, tossing papers, notes and books around, stopping when she found the thing she was looking for. "By the way Amira, how do you know how to read the Guardian's language?"
Amira showed her an old journal, placing it right next to the spellbook. The front of it had the same exact crest as the grimoire.
"My brother adored learning languages, even the obscure ones. Whenever we would have a day off from school, he would go to our father's library and stay there all day." Tikki watched as a soft smile formed on her face as she said so. "I remember the day he deciphered the entirety of this language, a language that had stumped researchers for years. You wanna know how he did so?"
Tikki nodded. "He noticed that the translations among the various attempts to decode the language were right. But he noticed that that was just the first layer of the text."
"Layer?"
"The entire language is encrypted." Amira said, flipping through the journal. "Depending on which part of the grimoire you were looking at, the code would change. The grimoire was created this way to not only test the fluency of the Guardian, but to also prevent it going into the wrong hands."
Tikki was left in awe.
"And he did that all by himself?" Tikki watched as Amira showed her the widest grin she had ever seen on her.
"You bet! You should've seen the look of satisfaction when he tried to teach me how he used different dialects of Chinese, Arabic and other Native American dialects to ensure his translations were correct. Of course, I didn't really capture everything he told me. After all, he was the linguist and I was just the student."
Tikki softly sighed when she saw Amira talk dearly of her brother, a smile on her face that showed her true nature.
Taken by the flow of the discussion, Tikki had forgotten about the reason why they took the book in the first place.
"Amira! We have to get this book to Master Fu! He needs to see this!"
"No." Amira quickly rejected, getting up from her seat.
"No? Amira, Master Fu-"
"I can't give him this book just yet. Don't you realize how valuable this is?"
"That's exactly why-"
"It's our greatest clue yet." Tikki watched as Amira took out a little case from one of the boxes she had opened up earlier, popping it open to display a gadget Tikki had never seen before.
She watched as Amira got to work, placing the small gadgets on the spine of the grimoire, watching as the computer monitors began to display different windows.
It was then that Tikki figured out what Amira was doing.
"Amira...are you planning on-"
"Whoever had this grimoire has to be Hawkmoth. It's the only plausible explanation. After all, whichever Guardian who was the one before Master Fu was foolish enough to leave the translations of the activation of the miraculouses on the book." Amira pointed out, showing Tikki some faint mandarin writing under the glyphs.
Tikki continued to watch in silence as Amira continued to work on the bugging of the book.
"So...we're not giving the grimoire to Master Fu, right?"
"Not this one at least." Amira said, showing Tikki a device that resembled a phone. "I will be sending him a copy after I finish scanning the pages."
Satisfied with the response, Tikki continued to watch over Amira until they had to head back to school for the afternoon classes.
-----
When Marinette stepped into the classroom, she didn't expect to see Chloe crying and sobbing. Sabrina was by her side, rubbing circles on her back as she whispered 'there, there.'
Running and collapsing to her side, Marinette urged Chloe to look at her.
"Chloe, what's wrong? Talk to me."
"It's Adrien! His father isn't letting him come back to school over a book! A stupid book!" Chloe threw herself onto Marinette, sobbing into her friend's arms. "Stupid Gabriel! Adrien doesn't deserve to be treated this way!"
"A book? Did Adrien tell you what it looked like?" Chloe wiped off the small snot off her nose.
"N-no. He only said how the book was a book of inspiration for his fa- where are you going?"
"I might know how to find it." Marinette said, picking up her things. "Tell Ms. Bustier that I won't be back until tomorrow."
-----
Amira looked at the book sitting on her desk, frowning at having to depart from it so quickly.
After calling Adrien, she was able to confirm that the book he had lost was indeed the grimoire. What were the odds?
"Are you really going to give it back right now? Why don't you wait a while?"
"I don't want Adrien to pay for something he didn't do."
"Well, he did take the book."
"But then I took it away without his permission." Amira fought back, picking up the grimoire and stuffing it into her bag. "He shouldn't be punished for something he had no control over."
"True." Tikki said, watching as Amira slipped into a thicker jacket and wore a dress, something she rarely did.
"Ready to head into the lion's den?" Amira asked Tikki, Tikki nodding, slipping into Amira's scarf.
-----
"-didn't know it was yours, sir. I didn't even think it belonged to Adrien until just moments ago." Gabriel watched as the girl handed the book over to him, which he took too quickly for his liking.
While Gabriel thought nothing of this girl, something about her bothered him.
Perhaps it was the designer in him that screamed to grab a pen and pencil as inspiration had hit him. After all, despite working in the fashion industry, he rarely got to see models with an olive complexion.
Her neutral expressions were also camera worthy.
How would she look alongside Adrien during photoshoots?
Setting business aside, he focused back onto the matter at hand.
"So you took it home after finding it in the library?"
"Yes, it happened shortly after he got a phone call. It's how I assume he left it there as he was in a hurry to answer it."
Gabriel looked at her directly, trying to find any wavering emotions, only to find none. A child who wasn't afraid of him. How odd.
"I see." Gabriel said. "Seeing as Adrien didn't actually lose the book, he will be free to attend school again. Thank you for returning my book."
Gabriel watched as the girl bowed, turning around to leave only to stop.
"I have a question and a couple of...suggestions."
"Go on."
"That book, I was wondering where you found it." Gabriel watched as the girl took out a worn out picture, causing his eyes to widen ever so slightly.
In the photo, there was a boy with the same exact book in his hands, deciphering what seemed to be the contents of it. "Before my brother passed, he was researching texts that looked similar to the ones inside the book. So of course, I wanted to know if it was the same-"
"I found mine overseas while on a trip with my wife." Gabriel cut off, wondering why he even told her that. "Since I bought it, I have never seen another copy of it, until now. Do you know what happened to your brother's copy?"
Gabriel didn't know what to expect when the girl shook her head.
"Most of his research along with the book disappeared in the fire that took my brother a year ago in Gotham." The girl said, frowning as she told him. "The only thing I have left from him is this photo."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Gabriel softly said. "Now, you mentioned suggestions."
"Right." The girl composed herself. "I left a few translations in the book based on what I remembered from my brother's notes. But my main suggestion is for you to be more lenient with Adrien. Take it from a child who was also homeschool for half her life.
Resentment isn't a pretty thing. While they're easy to hide, emotions aren't the easiest to control once they spill. With Paris' situation...well, you know the rest." Gabriel let those words sink in, something in his head clicking. "Well, I hope to see Adrien at school tomorrow. And it was nice seeing you Mr. Agreste, although, this wasn't my first time seeing you."
Dumbfounded, Gabriel watched as the girl left his home, wondering what she meant by those words.
He walked back to his office, placing the grimoire back into its place before taking it back. He pressed some hidden buttons on the portrait, feeling the ground below him submerge.
-----
Wally flinched when the hatch to Amira's room swung open.
"Hey! Did-" Amira pressed a finger to her lips before gesturing towards the monitors, taking a seat in her chair and putting on some headphones.
Wally watched as Amira's map of the Agreste residency started to map out, watching as a red dot began to go below ground.
"Holy shit Amira." Wally whispered, grinning like a madman. "You fucking did it...and without me!" He whined, Amira ignoring it as she watched the dot come to a stop.
"So that's where you have been hiding...Hawkmoth."
-----
Amira yawned as she made her way up the stairs of the school.
How she regretted staying up with Wally. She is never letting him take over the Beetle ever again. He treated her camera as if it were some type of toy! The nerve!
As she made her way to her locker, taking off her coat as she walked, Marinette couldn't help but notice the buzzing around her and within the halls.
She also couldn't help but notice the name Lila being said in every sentence she heard.
Lila this, Lila that. Just who was this Lila?
"Lila? That's the name of our latest transfer student!" Alya said, putting her coat into her locker. Guess she said that out loud.
And a transfer student? It's already December for crying out loud!
Picking up a few books, Alya showed Marinette a video, or rather an interview where the girl reminisced about her meeting with Ladybird.
Marinette watched with disgust as the new transfer student blabbered about events that didn't happen, even going as far as saying that the two were good friends by the end of their supposed meeting.
"When did you say she arrived in Paris?" Marinette asked, closing her locker and placing her lock.
"Seriously? You still place a lock on your locker? Come on, we're grown! We can trust-"
"Trust is earned, not given. And you didn't answer my question. When did she arrive?"
"Just yesterday! Which is why I thought it was so cool that she got to meet Ladybird-"
"How do you know she even met Ladybird? Not even you have and you're the only reporter in all of Paris that even dares to approach Ladybird during and after a fight."
Alya pursed her lips as she looked at her phone.
Marinette was right.
How come she didn't get to converse with Ladybird despite their many encounters? Why hasn't she yet got to get an exclusive interview with Ladybird while Lila got one on her first day in Paris?
That wasn't fair. "And even if it was true, doesn't it seem a little odd? There wasn't an attack yesterday, meaning that Ladybird was on patrol and we all know Ladybird never talks with civilians while she's out on patrol. She even told you it herself when you encountered her the second time all those months ago, or did you already forget?"
Alya felt herself bringing her head down, remembering the time she got akumatized into Lady WiFi.
She had tried to go after Ladybird, trying to find out her identity as the next big scoop for her blog - Ladyblog.
After days of tracking her patrol route, Alya decided to track down Ladybird which ended up with the vigilante scolding Alya for disrespecting her space, invading her privacy and for endangering herself.
"Perhaps Lila-"
"Alya. Are you really going to accept Lila words just like that? Whatever happened to being a reporter that would one day rival Lois Lane herself?" Marinette reminded her, hating herself for remembering that rant from months ago. "Will you really blindly accept the words of a person without doing any type of investigation?"
Alya looked at the video staring back at her, Lila's laughing face looking back at her. "If that's what you want to become, then by all means, go ahead. Just don't expect to be receiving any internships anytime soon."
Alya watched as Amira left the locker room, leaving Alya by herself.
Did Marinette really not believe in Lila's words?
She wasn't one to harshly comment about people without knowing them, so why this time?
What in Lila's interview had bothered Marinette?
Having found a new goal, Alya quickly grabbed her things and headed towards class, the gears in her head spinning as she thought of a way to devise her investigation.
-----
"-and he even wrote a song about me!" The way Lila's voice became a pitch higher upon ending her sentence irked Marinette, the girl rolling her eyes at the girl's tale.
"Welcome to the club." Nino told her as she walked past his desk.
"Club?"
"Seems like only us five don't particularly like her." Sabrina elaborated, taking out her notebook for their first class. "Something about her stories just doesn't sit right."
"Doesn't sit right? Sabrina, they're ridiculous! Who brags about being Ladybird's friend when she doesn't even make friends with civilians? She made that loud and clear with Cesaire!"
"I see." Marinette said, looking over at Lila, the rest of the class surrounding her and eating from the palm of her hand. "Where's Adrien?"
"He said he's running la-there he is!" Chloe squealed, latching onto him the moment he walked into the classroom. "Adrikins! I'm so glad you're back!"
The group failed to see Lila look over at them, a faint blush on her face. Holy hell was that boy cute when he smiled.
"I suggest you stay away from them." Someone told Lila, but Lila brushed the warning away.
"It may not look like it but they aren't exactly the kindest of people." Another voice spoke.
"You have Chloe - a bully, Sabrina - Chloe's lapdog, Adrien - Chloe's best friend and Marinette- Chloe's friend."
"What about the boy with the cap?" Lila asked, her eyes not leaving the sunshine boy among the group. He was...perfect...
"He's a recent addition."
Just as Lila was about to ask about more information about Adrien, their teacher walks in.
"Oh, I see everyone has met Lila!" Miss Bustier cooed, watching as Marinette made her way to her seat. The two made eye contact before Marinette huffed.
Ever since that humiliating first day of class, Mlle Bustier tried to bring Marinette's behavior to M Damocles, only for him to do nothing.
Something about her father having donated a large sum of money that allowed the school to have more STEAM programs and of the sorts.
Ever since then, Mlle Bustier made sure to be wary of Marinette and made sure to never give her a chance to make a mockery of her teaching again. "Lila, if you would come to the front of the class to introduce yourself just in case someone hasn't met you yet."
Lila smiled as she grabbed her things and walked to the front.
"Hello everyone! My name is Lila Rossi! I transferred her from Italy due to my mother's job as a diplomat. Since she's a diplomat, we tend to move a lot." The class cooed at that, Marinette, however, raising a brow. "I'd be happy to answer any questions about my-"
"What other places have you been?"
"Have you met anyone famous?"
"What are-"
"Class, class!" Miss Bustier raised her voice, making sure the class settled down before continuing. "Now, Lila will answer your questions one by one."
"Thank you Mlle Bustier. As for where I have traveled, I've been to Spain, England, Achu and now I'm here. I met Prince Ali in Achu and I can't tell you how marvelous it was being able to spend hours with him."
Once more, the class cooed. Marinette remained unfazed, noticing how the girl lied with ease.
"Just recently, I was in Gotham. I even got to go to this year's Gala!"
Lila noticed Chloe raising her hand. "Yes?"
"How come I didn't see you then? Surely I would've recognized that ridiculous hairstyle of yours anywhere." Chloe asked, earning a harsh warning from Mlle Bustier.
"You make a good point Chloe. I also didn't see you there." Adrien said, causing Lila to pale.
"Oh right, I forgot the two of you went to Gotham for Wayne Gala as well." Lila heard Marinette say, her face neutral. "Weren't you guys invited to stay at the Manor as well?"
Shit.
"Well, perhaps you didn't see me because I was spending the entire night talking with Jason and keeping him company throughout the gala!" Lila said, placing her hands together. "Everyone was told that he couldn't make it to the gala due to having other priorities the next day, but the truth is that he wanted to spend time with me before I had to head here."
No one noticed the way Marinette stiffened, the way her eyes widened and her hands began to form a fist. Everyone was either too busy cooing or gagging.
"You're lying." Marinette seethed.
"I know it's hard to believe it, but it's true! Jason and I are the best-est of friends and M. Wayne is like a second father to me! All night, we were chatting away, Jason telling how he was the one who created the foundation in honor of-"
"Shut up." Marinette said it loudly enough for the class to hear, causing them to turn to her direction.
"Pardon?" Lila said with a tilt of her head, wondering why exactly this girl was getting so on edge.
"I said, shut up." Marinette said, her voice just above a whisper. "Shut up before you-"
"Marinette!" Mlle Bustier raises her voice. This girl wasn't going to bully this poor girl on her first day of class! Not on her watch! "Apologize at-"
"No Mlle Bustier, let her-"
"You said you knew Jason...when did you meet him?" Marinette said as she got up.
"We met when we were little, around 5 years old. M. Wayne-"
"Bruce Wayne adopted Jason just over two years ago." Marinette cut off.
"5? I meant to say 12." Lila corrected herself. "And like I was going to say, he told me he had been planning this for quite a-"
"He couldn't have told you that himself!" Marinette yelled, getting up from her seat and slamming her hands on the table. "And don't you dare claim that he did!"
"You weren't there, so how-"
"Because he would never tell someone like you about it! Hell, even if he did show a liking to you, there's no way he would've been able to."
"Why do you keep saying that? Jason and I are good buddies!" Lila cried out, tears pooling in her eyes.
Marinette could hear the yells behind her that told her to stop bullying Lila. To stop acting so jealous over her exciting life.
"Stop lying! Jason couldn't have told you anything because he's dead!" Marinette yelled, feeling her eyes sting.
How she hated how her body trembled and burned with rage.
Somewhere in the distance, she heard Tikki whisper to her to calm down.
But how can she? This harlot was using her dear brother's name for fame..she couldn't sit back and watch this girl do that.!
"And how would you know? You probably have never left-"
"Because unlike you, I actually knew him! I've actually met him! I was there when he got taken in by Bruce. The two of us went to Gotham Academy, because yes! I'm actually a Gothamite! And not only that, he was my best friend!" Marinette yelled, feeling her throat grow dry. "And I! And I was there the day he died during a villain attack in Gotham so don't you dare say you knew him when there was no possibility in you ever speaking to him!"
Marinette marched down the steps and grabbed Lila by the collar of her shirt, Lila's hazel eyes not being a challenge for her emerald ones. "So I suggest you shut your damn trap and stop lying to everyone in this damn room just so you could get a lick of attention!
Unlike them, I can't be fooled by such trickery. You're nothing but a simple con artist."
Dropping Lila to the ground and grabbing her bag, Marinette left the classroom in a hurry, never turning back...
She never noticed the akuma that followed her hot in her heels.
-----
Hawkmoth was busy looking at the translation left on his book, trying to decipher it when he felt a shiver run down his spine.
This emotion was strong, filled with both anger and grief, a negative energy so strong, he felt his knees buckle. He grinned at this golden opportunity.
He would have to thank whoever made this poor soul fester into such a wonderful monster just waiting to burst out. For this will be his greatest akuma yet.
Beckoning a glistening white butterfly, it sat on his palm, Hawkmoth carefully enclosing it between his palms. Oh how he could feel the raw power in this soul. This poor soul who wanted their enemy to feel the same grief she had been dealing with for months.
"Fly, my little akuma and make her our greatest creation yet!" He praised with predetermined glory, watching as his miasma covered butterfly slipped through his hands and out the window.
He waited as his akuma merged into the soul's dearest possession, feeling the negative energy hit him in the face once the merging was done.
Just as he was going to introduce himself, the soon to be Victim spoke to him.
"I know who you are. I know what you want...but why should I let myself be used for your own gain?"
His own gain?
To think his gem was hidden from him all these months!
Letting out a cackle, Hawkmoth couldn't believe his luck.
He could feel it in his blood.
Today was the day.
Today, he will get Ladybird's and Chat Noir's miraculouses.
Victory will be his at long last!
"My own gain? On the contrary my dear. I will give you the power to make anyone you touch feel your despair and anger at losing your loved one. All you have to do," Hawkmoth let out a chuckle. "Well, you know the rest."
-----
Adrien, Chloe, Sabrina and Nino ran out the classroom in pursuit of Marinette, watching in terror as an akuma landed on her, not seeing what item the akuma merged into.
All they saw was their dear friend get enveloped by a hideous purple miasma.
A few seconds passed when the miasma dispersed and turned into fog, mist so dense you can barely see your own hands in front of you.
The four stuck together, staring at the place Marinette once stood, watching as an all white figure approached them.
They watched with beating hearts and held breaths as the figure was now a foot in front of them, staring at them with tears flowing down their pale face and bloodshot red eyes through her thin white veil.
"Li...la." Marinette hoarsely said, her head tilting up to see Lila staring at her with wide eyes. "Lila." She said with a smile.
Letting out what seemed to be a shivering wail, Lila pushed herself away from the railing and sprinted towards the other side of the school yard and fled, Marinette turning to follow her before a hand stopped her.
"Marinette." Chloe whispered, making Marinette turn to her. "Is that-"
"I'm not Marinette." The white figure said, clasping her hand with Chloe.
The group watched in horror as Chloe let out a heart wrenching shriek and collapsed to the floor into a sobbing mess. They backed away from the ghostly figure as Adrien and Sabrina crouched next to Chloe, who had curled up in pain.
The group now looked at the white figure, wary of her hands.
"If you are not Marinette, then who are you?" Nino asked, noticing that the edges of the veil were now black.
"Banshee. My name is Banshee..."