Caged

Bad Reputation

"Just when you think you know everything, Annabelle Billard manages to surprise us once again," Margot said, flipping her hair away from her face.

"Honestly, Margot, I am still shook with what she has for this crowd," Dorian responded. "Should we have her show the latest on the exploits of Chat Noir and the girl who saved him?"

The crowd cheered loudly. Taking it as an affirmative response, Margot welcomed the red-headed journalist to the stage. Annabelle carefully sat on one of the purple couches, making a point to adjust her glasses.

"I must admit, I did not expect to be talking about this again so soon," she said, with an almost airy tone. "I thought they would at least last a week before their next screw up."

"Oh, they really are in a pickle now, aren't they, Annabelle?" Margot said.

"Indeed."

"Why don't you show us what you have?"

"Certainly," Annabelle said, her lip twitching. "Before I do, I must express my deep gratitude to our photojournalist Adam Garçon, who was able to get these astonishing images. You may put up the pictures now."

The image of the large screen behind them changed from the logo to side by side pictures of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, one of them kissing Adrien Agreste and the other kissing Chat Noir. There was a collective gasp and several 'oooh's.

"Oh my," Margot feigned shock.

"Always knew that girl was bad news," Dorian tutted.

"As did I," Annabelle agreed. "As you remember, last Saturday Dupain-Cheng and Chat Noir were here to deny their relationship. However, I couldn't help but notice the way Dupain-Cheng looked at Chat Noir when he claimed that he would never be with her. You would have thought someone slapped her across the face.

"So, Adam and I decided to do some digging yesterday. We... studied their behavior and realized they were lying to our faces. You, of course, know I really don't like it when people lie to me. And after studying further, Adam was able to capture proof that Dupain-Cheng is, in fact, cheating on both Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir.

"Wait," Margot raised a hand, "are you saying these two pictures were taken on the same day?"

"Yes," Annabelle nodded. "Merely two hours apart. Adam sacrificed so much to get these images. For the second one, Chat Noir caught on to our coworker and dared to destroy a camera worth over a thousand euros. Clearly, he's possibly aware of Dupain-Cheng's infidelities."

"Poor Adam," Margot lamented.

"Adam is one damn good camera man," Dorian praised.

"And so, it begs the question." Annabelle adjusted her red trimmed glasses, a sadistic smile barely curling her lips. "What else are Chat Noir and Dupain-Cheng hiding from the public? How do we even know if we can trust one of our own superheroes, when he approves of such an unethical practice? How will Ladybug respond for her partner's actions? And, how will Adrien Agreste and his mogul father respond to Dupain-Cheng's transgressions?"

"All very important questions, Annabelle," Dorian said. "One thing is for sure, though: Marinette sure has it in for the famous and the rich."

"Clearly someone wants a little attention for herself," Margot huffed.

"Perhaps," Annabelle said quietly.

"We sure hope to see a continuation of this story," Dorian said, clasping his hands together. "Thank you for being with us today, Annabelle."