PRINCESS JUSTICE

2. CHAPTER 2

After Princess Justice left, her presence still filled the room. No one could move, no one could speak, they could hardly breathe, fearing that she may come back and recant her mercy. Adrien found this situation to be ironic, as Princess Justice was just as breath-taking in her performance as Ladybug was, though for different reasons.

The first to break the empty void was Lila as a cruel, snide laugh protruded from her lips. The dread that had overcome Adrien had transformed into anger with the sound of the Italian girl's laugh. How could she be laughing at a time like this? Was she actually happy about Marinette's akumatization? Had she actually planned for Marinette to get akumatized? Questions about Lila's allegiance and how malice she truly was started to invade his thoughts. He turned towards Lila, intending to interrogate her when Alya surged forward and slapped the Italian girl's face.

"How could you? What has Marinette ever done for you to go and stab her in the back like this?" Alya screamed into Lila's face. Adrien had a feeling that Alya was taking these recent developments pretty harshly. He couldn't imagine the pain of watching your best friend succumb to despair and anger, unable to help and prevent the inevitable akumatization.

Lila's laughter had died down, reaching for the spot where Alya's hand had connected with her face. Her eyes hardened, glaring at everyone.

"You want to know why I did it? I did it because she was annoying, with her whole goodie-two-shoes act. Plus, she was always getting in my way so I had to get rid of her. Nothing more to it."

Alya grabbed Lila by the front of her shirt and dragged the Italian girl out of the locker room, slamming the door behind her. Adrien was shocked that she hadn't punched Lila after her crude remarks about her friend (he would be lying if he said he hadn't considered it). Her entire body was trembling with rage and frustration. Air expelled from her lungs in quick, shallow breaths. He had never seen the Creole girl so distressed.

"You need to cool down Césaire," Chloe said, finally allowing herself to speak since Marinette's akumatization. She stood up from her spot on the ground and strutted towards the other girl, taking hold of her right shoulder in an attempt to stop her shaking. Then she turned towards Adrien and continued speaking, "And Adrikins you need to buck up as well. Honestly, you look like you're about to puke."

Alya snatched the blonde girl's arm and pushed her away. "Why do you even care? You don't even like Marinette!"

"You're right, Dupian-Cheng's not my favorite person to hang out with. But right now Hawkmoth has not only akumatized her, but is akumatizing everyone who is exuding any negative emotions. So while she might not be my favorite person, I know she wouldn't be happy with the knowledge that anyone, let only her best friend, had been akumatized because of her." Chloe retorted, crossing her arms over her midsection.

Realization sparked in the Creole girl's hazel eyes. Then, taking a deep breath, she was able to steady herself again. "You're right Chloe. Thank you." She replied, her tone more sincere than she had ever used towards the other girl.

The blonde girl scoffed, her cheeks tinted in a light shade of red, "Of course I'm right, I'm always right. Besides Ladybug, along with my help as Queen Bee of course, will be able to change Dupian-Cheng back in no time."

If Adrien had looked like he was about to puke before, he definitely felt he could hurl his lunch up now. With Marinette akumatized, there was no Ladybug to turn her back to normal. Sure, he as Chat Noir could possibly free her from her curse but he couldn't purify the akuma without Ladybug. And at this point, he would be shocked if Hawkmoth didn't already have the ladybug miraculous in his grasp, gleefully awaiting for the cat miraculous to be delivered. All he could really do was stop Princess Justice today. However, the akuma would then fly off and start creating an army of duplicates of Marinette's akumatized self until she gave into her anger or sadness again. There wasn't anything he could do to help fix the situation, he would only be delaying his defeat. What could he do? What should he do?

"Damn it!" Adrien shouted, striking the lockers with his curled up fist. His face fell into the grasps of his other hand. Was he really so useless without Ladybug by his side? No, there had to be something he could do to save her! But what?

"Adrikins, are you alright?" The blonde boy, momentarily pulling himself out of his torment, looked up to see both of the girls staring at him. Bewilderment was etched onto their faces, neither had expected him to have such an outburst. Having been so engrossed in his thoughts, he hadn't even realized how frightening he must have been.

In order to calm them down, he gave one of his model smiles, saying, "Yeah Chloe, I'm alright. I'm just worried about Marinette, that's all."

It was a terrible lie, he knew, but what else could he say to cover for his actions. He just hoped that they would fall for it-

"That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard." And Alya didn't fall for it. He wasn't that surprised. Her shocked expression had melted away to reveal the fierce gleam that she always got in her eyes when she was determined to get answers. "You are one of the most calm, level-headed people I know. And you bang on the lockers just now aligns more with a person who is mad rather than a person who is worried. So for you to get this mad over Marinette's akumatization means that there is something you're not telling us, so spill it."

Adrien stood in contemplation for a minute, his green eyes never losing contact with Alya's hazel ones. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to expose Marinette's secret as it wasn't his to tell. But he knew that any lie he told right now the Creole girl wouldn't believe him. Conflict stirred within his gut and his heart, weighing what path he should take. Then he decided on a path. He only hoped that Marinette would forgive him.

"I don't think Ladybug will be able to save the day this time."

"Wh-why do you th-think that?" Alya was clearly startled by his response.

Adrien took a deep breath, "Because Marinette is Ladybug."