Drabble 33

Tangled in the Web

It seemed Lila was up to her old tricks again.

Getting caught in her fibs in front of everyone had done little to dissuade her from being a manipulative little liar. Instead, she had simply been more careful in her tales for a few weeks in order to lull everyone into a false sense of security, and think she'd learned her lesson.

Then, when the opportunity came, she struck.

The end result was Marinette getting accused of cheating on an important test, and furiously accusing Lila when she spoke in her 'defense'.

However, since Marinette had no proof, it didn't impress Ms. Bustier (who hadn't been present for Jack's reveal, and therefore had no reason to doubt Lila), and started to lead both to the principal's office.

"Uh, isn't there an easier way to find the truth than just 'he-said, she-said'," remarked Jack dryly.

Ms. Bustier and the two girls stopped in their tracks, and everyone turned to look at Jack.

Jack rolled his eyes and pointed towards a small round object in a corner of the classroom. "The school security cameras?" he said as if the answer should be obvious. "The ones all schools need to have as a safety precaution for students. It's got a clear view of your desk, Ms. Bustier. We can find out who stole the answers pretty quickly."

Marinette sent him a grateful smile that promised more cookies.

Lila, meanwhile, turned as pale as Jack.

Ms. Bustier looked up at the camera. "Ah yes, I'd forgotten those were even here," she said. "Danger so often comes from Akuma attacks that we don't often need them. I'm not sure how to connect with their memory files."

"Oh well, I guess we'll have to talk to Mr. Damocles after all," Lila said, trying to once again leave the room.

"I can set it up, Ms. Bustier!" Max offered eagerly, stopping Lila in her tracks once again.

Ms. Bustier nodded gratefully, and the spectacled boy quickly set the security feed up on a computer for her.

While it was only supposed to be Ms. Bustier that viewed it, the entire class snuck so that they could look over her shoulder (well, all but Lila for some reason, who was pouting in a corner).

Playing the video back, it became crystal clear who the real culprit was, as the unmistakable image of Lila slipped into the classroom, stole the answers from Ms. Bustier's desk, and then planted them in Marinette's bag.

"I'm so sorry! It was just a joke!" Lila tried to protest in light of this damning evidence. "Everyone knows Marinette would never-"

Needless to say, Ms. Bustier was very unimpressed and cut her off with a stern look. "Young lady," she said to Lila in a firm tone. "To the principal's office."

Lila looked the picture of meek regret as she and Ms. Bustier left the room.

The effect was completely ruined by the poisonous glare she sent Jack's way just before exiting.

The second the door closed behind them, the room exploded with chatter about what just happened.

"Looks like we'll be seeing Volpina or Chameleon again," said Alya, already pulling her phone out to be prepared.

"I'm starting to agree with Jack that she might just be asking for it," said Nino in agreement.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" asked Adrien, looking at their friend in concern.

Marinette gave them all a vindictive smile. "I am now," she said with another grateful look in Jack's direction and then at the rest of them. "Thanks, Jack. And everyone, thanks for standing up for me."

Jack shrugged it off. "Just doing my evil deeds and causing misery to my enemies," he said, trying and failing to look nonchalant.

Adrien snorted. "Evil, right," he said, clearly not believing it.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Lila later tried to get her revenge by claiming Jack had doctored the video, pushed her down some stairs and had stolen her grandmother's necklace, which was then found in his locker. Thankfully, Nino and Adrien provided him with an alibi, making it impossible (without the proper Wu, but they don't know that) for him to have done any of it, and another look at the security cameras (really, you'd think she'd have learned the first time) showed Lila setting it all up once again. The only reason Lila wasn't expelled on the spot is due to pulling a Chloé and claiming her mother's government connections would ruin the school if they did, but she was given detention for months.

Hawkmoth and Catalyst were very disappointed to only have Volpina again to fight Ladybug and Cat Noir, rather than the army of disappointed students and teachers they'd been expecting.

Perhaps that Lila girl wasn't as impressive as they'd thought.

A/N The episode, Ladybug was a really good one all around, and if it hadn't already, cemented Lila of taking Chloé's place as the absolute WORST! Unfortunately for her, in this version of events, Jack wasn't about to let her get away with her lies and used logic to save the day. I don't know the laws in France, but most schools I've worked in do have such security cameras in place. And they're right, Lila's totally asking to be Akumatized, but Marinette's off the hook.

Also, be sure to check out my Ninjago fics if you haven't yet, I'll be updating them more regularly than this one.