Ladybug's surroundings stilled.
Her breathing stopped.
The panic that was now cruising through her body was something she could not shake, yet it was necessary for her to snap out of the stupor brought on by Alix obviously working her out. Ladybug cursed herself for not leaving her civilian phone at home, and it seemed that both Alya and Adrien had cottoned on to what was happening.
Miss Bustier stood up, "is everything ok Alix?" The redhead asked with mild concern. Multiple sets of eyes flickered between the two teens, while Adrien tried to discreetly snap Ladybug's attention to her communicator as a cover for the vibrations.
"Ye-yeah, yes," Alix shook her head and looked down to her phone, "I've uh, just realised that I was wrong about Marinette, but my signal's poor, so I can't send the message." The teen gulped as she thought on the spot, "I just wish I could get through to her."
Ladybug smiled kindly in understanding at her friend with a thankful nod before realising what Adrien was gesturing to. "Ah, my yo-yo is-"
Suddenly, Ladybug fell downwards through the floor, landing hard on her bottom, the red spotted heroine immediately recognised the inside of the burrow.
"Bunnix! What the-"
The Bunnix Ladybug was looking at, was not the adult version of the superhero, but the teen friend who had just realised her identity mere minutes ago.
"Hey Ladybug," she winked before pulling the heroine to her feet. "Sorry, but I really needed you to drop in right about now."
Ladybug rubbed her bruised behind, "wh-what has happened that you need to-"
"Lila is moments away from working you out."
"How?"
The new heroine rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "she's not stupid you know." Bunnix gave Ladybug a levelling look. "You show up with a poster from the video that you as Marinette was so adamant that she was lying about." The teenager lifted her arms exasperatedly, "what did you think she was gonna think? That the two people who have disputed her lies are not the same person when one of them is missing from the scene… come on!"
"Oh." The realisation dawned on Ladybug.
"Yeah, a big fat 'oh' is right." Bunnix walked over to one of the many screens showing different time periods, "you need to see this."
The heroine's white gloved hand adjusted one of the sets to display the bakery in flames: Ladybug's heart stopped momentarily. "How-how did this happen?"
Bunnix left the scene paused on the screen with an Akumatised Lila standing next to Hawkmoth smiling sadistically at the burning remains of the spotted heroine's home. Bunnix explained:
"As soon as she worked it out, the brat became Akumatised and told Hawkmoth your identity."
Bunnix rewound the screen like a video before letting it playback for Ladybug to watch in horror how the events unfolded. It began when the poster became unhooked from the heroine's hip; Miss Bustier picked it up and flipped it around after saying that it was a lovely scene that reminded her of paradise. Lila's eyes widened before Rose stated how it looked just like the background that had been on Lila's video; the Italian then looked from Marinette's empty seat to the heroine at the front of the class.
"You!"
Determined hands reached up for the butterfly that was headed in her direction, to willingly let the tainted creature infect her.
"Yes Hawkmoth... I already know who she is… Ladybug is Marinette Dupain-Cheng…"
Ladybug clutched at her face as she watched Lila transformed on the screen. Instead of attacking, the new Akuma bolted straight through the window: their classmates left in shock as Ladybug made to pursue Hawkmoth's willing accomplice out of the classroom. By the time Chat Noir had caught up with Ladybug, the heroine had already laid eyes on the pile of rubble which contained her parents, everything had taken a turn for the worse from there.
