No Way Out

A Broken Jar and Unrelenting Evil Plans

Whole, diced, stewed, crushed, chopped, pureed. Regular, organic, sun-dried, low salt, no salt. There were simply too many varieties of canned tomatoes available, and that didn't even include the sauces.

After stocking the shelves with the cans, Simone started on the jars. Her job might have been mind-numbingly tedious, but at least it gave her a good workout sometimes.

Reaching for the next box, she heard a voice. She recognized it immediately, having heard it every day for eighteen months. Praying that she was wrong about who it belonged to, she slowly looked over at the woman.

Sure enough, it was Lila.

She might have had a completely new appearance, but Simone could still tell that it was her. After pausing for a moment, she whispered a question. "What are you doing here?"

Lila casually leaned against the shelves. "I came to see you."

"That's not the deal," Simone said in a frightened whisper, glancing around. "You're supposed to stay away from me, and you definitely shouldn't be here right now. The cops have already come to interview me twice about your prison break."

"And what did you say when they were here?"

"What do you think I said? I said that I had nothing to do with it. That I was only there at the prison that morning to say goodbye because I wouldn't be visiting you anymore."

Checking her nails like she didn't have a care in the world, Lila nodded. "Did they believe you?"

"I don't know! I hope so, but I don't know for sure. And they might come back again at any moment, so you need to leave."

"Sorry," she sighed. "But I need your help."

Simone blinked up at her. "There's no way that I'm helping you. Find someone else."

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen. I need someone that I can trust, so naturally I thought of you. I'm going to be building an army, and you're my first recruit."

"An army?"

"An army of holders. I was lucky enough to become the new Guardian of the Miracle Box, and now I need holders for six Miraculouses. Then I can finally get my revenge."

Simone couldn't believe her ears. "You need to stop," she whispered, shaking her head. "You're finally out of jail, and you can use this opportunity to start your whole life over again."

Now Lila straightened up, clearly annoyed. "I can't start over until I get what I'm owed."

"You're not owed anything! You were a super villain, and Ladybug and the other holders just did their job. It wasn't personal..."

"I was set up!" Lila sneered. "Gabriel set the whole thing up to frame me. He had me take over as Hawk Moth for him so he could hide in the shadows while I took the fall for everything."

Simone's mouth fell open. Of course she had heard Lila claim that Gabriel Agreste was the original Hawk Moth several times before, but she had always assumed that she made it up. "Gabriel Agreste was the original Hawk Moth? For real?"

"Of course he was!"

"But Marinette is his daughter-in-law..."

"Oh, they're best friends now because she woke his precious wife up from an enchanted sleep. So he just..."

Simone tried to follow along as Lila continued ranting, but there was way too much information being thrown at her and she was getting confused.

"... so that I was the only one who ever got caught and sent to prison!" Out of breath, Lila finally stopped.