Fox Rain V2

The Assignment

Well guys, here's the return of the Fox Rain project. While I liked the original take, I realized I had just put in too much of my own stuff too soon, and couldn't go on. I will not lie, the story will be quite different - starting in season 3 with Alya firmly as Rena Rouge, for starters, and with some ideas coming from the Lilanette Discord - but the general theme will remain: Ladybug and Lila learning the other can be a good friend and even a hero, in their different ways while exploring Lila's tantalizing past, while also keeping the one scene that made me choose the title. What scene? Well, I hadn't got around writing it yet, but you'll see.
I will also not use the season 5 retcons about various characters, though I will freely pilfer a few ideas, and add my own worldbuilding and use a few things the show could have but, for some reason, didn't.
Hope this time it will go better.

Chapter 01: The Assignment ​

It should have been an easy day for Marinette. Yes, Lila had come back the previous day, and the whole situation had been quite harrowing even without Lila's newest Akuma physically beating her up, but everything had ended well, the liar didn't actually seem willing to carry out her threat of ruining her social life, and Marinette had managed to get at school on time. Then came the book assignment."You will have to examine and review a book by your choice." Mme Bustier announced. "You'll be in pairs, though one group will be of three due uneven numbers, and I'll assign the groups."And then she put Lila, Sabrina and Marinette together."I suppose we can give each other a chance..." Lila said as Marinette put her head on the desk."Already done." Sabrina said as she gave a withering glare... To Marinette. "You are going to do your part, this time."

"It's not like that!" Marinette protested.

Sabrina just sniffed and turned away, much to Marinette's frustration. It wasn't like she'd believe what had actually happened that day, or that she could tell her that without risking her secret identity.

"That sounds like an interesting story." Lila said. "But I suppose it could wait... Do we meet at the bakery or Sabrina's home?"

"Why not at your home?" Sabrina asked, puzzled.

"Dip-Well, I'm not sure you'd believe it, so I'll better show you after school. Don't worry, I live nearby."

Lila had been telling the truth about living nearby - in fact her home was in a building on the other side of Place des Vosges compared to the bakery. She had also been telling the truth about them not believing why. After all, how could she believe they'd have their access barred by a tan woman with blonde hair in pigtails pulling a shotgun with a bayonet on her?

"What the..." she whispered when the woman did just that.

"Winchester Model 1897 in trench gun configuration." the woman said as she moved the gun away. "Lila, why didn't you explain your classmates about the security measures?"

"Because I can scarcely believe them myself, and the class representative needs the modules to request a security clearance anyway." Lila replied.

"That is a security measure?!"

"With an active terrorist it is. Lieutenant colonel Hartmann-"

The woman made a patently false cough.

"Leprotta here has dealt with smarter if less powerful terrorists in the past, so she and other experts have been posted at the embassy and this building owned by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Rumor has it that other embassies have gone much further, and that someone at the US Department of State lost their job when he decided to be stereotypical and proposed to post Majestia."

Both Marinette and Sabrina shuddered at the words - the idea of Majestia being Akumatized was terrifying.

"Fine, we're going at my home." Marinette conceded.

"I thought we could do The Count of Montecristo." Sabrina proposed. "We had to read it in class, already, and-Wait, Lila, did you read it too?"

"Couple times." Lila replied. "And speaking of grudges... I've been told that Marinette was having a date with an Akuma to distract him from murdering Chloé when she ditched that assignment."

"How do yo know that?" Marinette asked, surprised.

"Well, obviously she checked with Ladybug." Sabrina stated.

"Actually, no. I was telling Nathaniel of the surprising reveal, and he volunteered the information about what happened during his own Akumatization. So, now that this has been settled, are you ready to work?"

As she confirmed, Marinette thought that maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she had expected.