The Salt Files: Additional Cases (MLB)

Online Rivalry

Ladybug no longer sees the Ladyblog as a credible source of information with Lila's lies taking over in full swing, so she creates her own for people to rely on. Alya notices her views dropping and wonders what happened.

It's not often that Ladybug gets pissed off, but in the rare moments that she is, everyone must stay away. That is a lesson everyone was soon to learn very fast.

It was another day filled with fighting an akuma, one who just so happened to be a random teen who was mad that they got accused of plagiarism on their work and got no credit for it. The heroes felt sympathy for him themselves, being teenagers themselves and knowing they would be going through the same thing if they were him. Luckily the teacher who accused him was found out to target students he didn't like and was under investigation, and the student would get their credit back.

It kind of made Ladybug wonder if Ms. Bustier was like that. But she pushed that thought to the back of her mind.

After the fight, many reporters came up to ask questions, and of course one of them was Alya Césaire. Ladybug couldn't help but frown at that, her ex-friend being so desperate for the attention yet all she posts are lies and biased opinions.

Cat Noir, seeing her facial change, took charge. "As much as we would love to stay and chat, we best be going now!" He took her arm and shot them up into the sky, landing on a rooftop far away from the crowd. "If I had to guess, I'd say you were about to bite Alya's head off."

Ladybug suppressed a laugh. "Was it that obvious?"

"To the reporters? No, they don't know how to be aware of their surroundings. But viewers may try to analyze it." Cat Noir sat down on the rooftop. "But what happened between you two? You've been more tense when it comes to her lately."

Ladybug hesitated then sat down next to him, sighing. "I'm not sure, I just haven't felt like dealing with her lately. She's gotten more annoying at school, as you've noticed."

Cat Noir nodded. "I've been trying to get her off your back as much, no one hurts my Mari!"

"Don't say that so loudly! People will hear!" She elbowed him as he laughed.

"Alright, alright. No one hurts my Bugaboo!" Ladybug rolled her eyes.

"I'll take that." Cat Noir beamed. "But seriously, I just haven't had the energy to really deal with her. It's like she craves the attention for her blog lately, especially since her numbers have started dropping. She hasn't tried to catch an akuma fight in weeks and now she suddenly wants to?" Ladybug shook her head. "Feels like a publicity stunt to try and get back on the good side. But since it has more about Lila, it doesn't feel as credible anymore. People would rely on her blog for information or rating akuma damage and whatnot. Now they are stuck with videos on a girl they barely know sprouting lies left and right!"

Cat was silent for a moment as he thought. Then his ears perked up with an idea. "Why don't we make our own?" Ladybug looked over in confusion. "Hearing it from the direct source will definitely get attention! Whatever you say goes!"

"You make it sound like you're a sidekick or anything less of me, you know. I don't like it when you think that way, we are a team and we are equal." Ladybug did think about it though. It might not be a smart idea to run an entire blog just the two of them, but if it gets enough credit then maybe they could get help! She supposed it was worth a try.

"...Alright, we'll try it. But we don't really know how to-"

"I already have ideas. Since you're a designer, you can design the layout of the page, helping others understand and navigate it better. I'm decently good at technology but if I'm not, I could hire a tutor or even get Max to help."