A Ladybug's Wrath

Nine

The rest of Marinette's weekend had been spent doing Guardian training, scheming against Lila, and texting with Damian(just thinking his name sent a swooping feeling through her stomach). There was also an uncomfortable conversation with her parents about what Adrien's homelife was like after some offhand comments he had made. Let's just say, Marinette's hatred for Gabriel was growing exponentially the more she learned about him.

She had also gotten some designing done for her new clients and sketched a few business suits for Chloe. If Chloe was going to be her spokesperson, then she was going to need some MDC originals to advertise.

When Monday morning dawned, Marinette grinned, ready to begin the Phase 2 of her plans for Lila. She had made a list of all the people Lila had lied about , not just celebrities, but also other people inside the school.

Marinette made her way to the school's campus, setting her eyes on all the people loitering around that were also early.

She approached only a couple groups of friends from different classrooms, subtly letting slip the awful things Lila had said about them and that-

"-I just knew they weren't true. Lila has this problem where she says things she doesn't really mean. Like this one time she said she saved Jagged Stone's kitten from getting run over by an airplane, but every real Jagged Stone fan would know he only owns a crocodile, not a kitten. I'm sure Lila didn't mean any real harm by what she said about you. After all, she said some pretty mean things about me too, but she's been really nice since I let her over as class president. Oh! But please don't tell anyone that I was the one who told you, I don't want Lila to get upset with me."

If the people she did approach included Aurore and Mireille, two girls that aspired to become reporters, then all the better. If all went according to plan, then the whole school, excluding her class, would know of Lila's lying tendencies before the end of the day.

By the time she was done causing her subterfuge, Chloe was standing off to the side watching with an approving smirk.

"Alright, you've got a deal, Dupain-Cheng, I'm in."

Marinette withheld a squeal of excitement and the hug she so desperately wanted to smother Chloe with. Instead, offering her an excited smile.

"Good, we'll need to make an announcement on my MDC instagram and one on my website. Also, you'll need to meet me at my house after school tomorrow, I need to take your measurements."

Not waiting for an answer, she turned and left a spluttering Chloe behind to make her way leisurely to the classroom. She would've waited for her, but once the press gets wind of Chloe's spokesperson status, they'll be looking closely at her known associates, especially ones that design, so it was better to keep a cool distance in public.

Just as Marinette predicted, she could hear the whispers about Lila during lunch break. Luckily for Marinette, or unlucky for Lila, the girl in question was too busy storytelling for their class to notice the tides changing.

Marinette hid her self-satisfied smirk behind her food.

This was only Phase 2 of her efforts to blacklist Lila and everything was working out just as she had planned.

She would almost feel guilty if she didn't know that Lila would've done much worse to her if she'd been given half a chance. She could've been isolated, maybe even bullied by her own peers if Lila decided to take it that far. She could've been Akumatized, putting all of Paris in jeopardy.

This was what needed to happen to protect herself and Paris, but that didn't mean Marinette couldn't take any satisfaction from a job well done.

By the end of school, she felt increasingly impatient to leave. She had plans to hang out with Damian and she was supposed to meet him at the bakery as soon as school let out.