Marinette Dupain- Cheng against the world

Chapter 1: Prologue

Marinette Dupain- Cheng hated Lila Rossi with all of her heart. That girl had nothing but barged into her life, with her lies and atrocities, and the ability to destroy life long friendships like glass. She couldn't understand how no one could see through her translucent tales of meeting Prince Ali or saving Jagged Stone's kitten off a runway. (Which, she thought, would actually be considered a form of suicide) Because of her, Marinette had lost the trust of almost all of the friends she had made at Lycee in the course of 3 years.

Now, a 16 year old Marinette Dupain- Cheng stood in front of the affronted girl in front of her wearing a barely contained smirk. They stood outside the classroom, beside the set of stairs that led to the courtyard. Today was the last straw. Her sketchbook. That held every single creation she had inked over the years. Sleepless nights imprinted onto paper. Now a pile of unrecognisable shreds on her desk. She felt like crying. Wait, scratch that- she was crying; she could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks, each one tracing a line of fire down her face.

"Lila- I swear to god, I don't even know what I did to deserve this, but-"

"What?" Lila propped a hand on her hip and inspected her fingernails. The snarky side of her was showing, the part of her only Marinette could see. "Are you talking about your sad bits of paper?"

Marinette snarled. "Those sad bits of paper where my life's work, and someone with no talent- except for spreading lies about other people- will ever understand what I'm feeling right now!"

Lila smiled softly. "Oh, but I do understand. You must feel so helpless- you've lost everything now... your friends, your work, and I dare say, your dignity-" She laughed a little as she gestured to Marinette, sweeping her hands as she indicated the punchline of her inside joke. "It must hurt, right? To have had so much and to lose it all so easily? Of course, it wasn't easy. All the work I've done over these years..." Marinette opened her mouth, ready to retaliate, but Lila pressed a finger to her lips and continued.

"You know what's your problem, Marinette? You're so naive. You never fail to trust people. To help. You shove your head into other people's business, even when you're not needed. It's not because you want to, is it? It's because it makes you feel good. And you know it, don't you? You hate that about yourself. Well, here's some news for you. You don't have to feel that way anymore. You don't have to feel anything." Lila smiled broadly, a strange look coming over her eyes as she stepped towards her. She balked, feeling her heart pound in her chest.

"Good night, Marinette!" And with a short burst of  demented laughter, the girl shoved Marinette down the stairs.

🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞

"Oh, come on!" Y/N groaned in exasperation as she threw a pen at the screen in front of her. Lila Rossi's maniacal expression plastered across the glass panels around her was enough to set her off. "Did she just kill her? She killed her! Congrats girl, you're a murderer now, that's gonna be a story to tell!"

Y/N was not a normal girl. She was an agent equipped with a system capable of unimaginable things. One of which was entering the various universes throughout the multiverse and setting them right. Like this one.

She turned in her chair, almost knocking over a cup of forgotten iced tea as she reached for a file across the desk. Stretching, she skimmed through the first few pages. She looked up at her system, a small floating white haired child that chewed on a cookie. Y/N threw a stray eraser at her companion, hitting her on the head. "Paimon! Stop eating and pay attention!" Said person yelped at the impact and rubbed her head, pouting. "Ouch- that hurts! Y/N is so mean!" Y/N giggled. "Sorry Pai- but seriously, if you eat so much you're gonna get chubby! I guess then you'll only be useful as emergency food."

Paimon gasped in mock anger and blew a raspberry. She disappeared into a set of blue constellations and reappeared wearing rimmed glasses and holding a pack of cue cards. She popped a meringue cookie into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before starting. "Marinette Dupain- Cheng, 16 years old, owner of ladybug miraculous- killed when rival Lila Rossi pushed her down the stairs. Looks like she died of a blow to the head, not a very nice way to go- she really liked fashion and stuff, she lives in a bakery, she blah blah blah..." Paimon threw her cue cards in the air, the slips of paper raining down on the two like confetti. She huffed. "Paimon thinks that this Lila Rossi girl needs to be put in her place. Poor Mari." She sat on the desk and watched Y/N curiously.

Y/N thought for a moment, fingering her hair as she spun around in circles on her swivel chair. Lila Rossi was the very type of female antagonist that she both admired and hated. The ones who had learned the delicate art of manipulation and embraced it with open arms. It disgusted her, how clever that girl was, how she used every one to her advantage. She smirked. But of course, Y/N wasn't that different from her either. Her mind set, she turned to her partner.

"Pai?"

"Ya?"

"Send me in."