Chapter 17: Calm before the storm

Wayhem is an enthusiastic boy. He is also friendly, made friends very easily, was a good student. He was the son of a bank manager and a surgeon.

His family's economic situation was stable.

He was looking forward to entering one of the best business schools in Paris. In other words, he was ambitious.

The teenager looked at the walls of his room with a huge smile.

On each wall were pictures of a young lady with black hair and blue eyes. Unfortunately, some of the pictures were blurred, because he had had to take them in haste, but... He was very proud of his hard work.

It had taken some time, but he had finally managed to find his future wife. This was the result of a great deal of investigative work on his part. He had started by zooming Netty's eyes on every video since she had been in Paris, to see if he recognized the places she had been going to. He discovered that she often went to the "quay de Seine" and near the Eiffel Tower. Then he continued his efforts on "Lucario". This boy looked a lot like Luka Couffaine, Jagged Stone's new protégé. He found the address of the Couffaine family. The rest was not very difficult to find from there.

When he first saw her... His heart missed a beat.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Which meant her first name was probably Marinette Al Ghul-Wayne, which explains the nickname Netty.

He couldn't stop smiling for a whole week.

He started following her discreetly.

He soon realized that it would not be easy. Netty seemed to have a sixth sense and often looked in his direction and quickly found his hiding place. He had managed to escape in time until now, but it was only by pure chance.

She was so extraordinary...

So he chose to become a regular customer of the Dupain-Cheng couple's bakery. Netty worked with them regularly. It annoyed him greatly, that other people could see his Netty, touch the bread she took with her delicate little hands. This couple was completely crazy to make a person of Netty's rank work in this shabby establishment.

She was so brave...

The third problem was the presence of Netty's brothers. Damian Wayne and Jason Todd were both present in Paris. It was impossible for him to get too close or talk to her in the bakery without arousing suspicion. Even though they were his future brothers-in-law, he shouldn't present himself in a bad light.

Finally, there were these three people. This "Luka" who had dared to touch his sweetheart (Wayhem was going to get rid of him in the most painful way possible). This "Billy" who was far too familiar with his princess. And this "Jon" who had the right to the attention of his girlfriend.

Wayhem had a painting with their faces stuck on it.

His smile became cynical.

He was going to get rid of them.

One way or another.

-XxxX-

Marinette had very little time for herself lately...

Between her "work" as "Netty", which included charity work (she had even seen Prince Ali again recently for a special donation of toys), doing photo shoots of the future Netty collection, meeting business partners, sending daily mission reports to her father, managing her tasks as a representative of her class...

She was on the verge of a breakdown!

To make it worse, lately she felt like she was being watched. Someone was definitely following her. As if she didn't have enough problems to deal with in her life as it is!

And then... There was middle school.

The only good news right now?

Lila Rossi wasn't in the middle school anymore.

The atmosphere in the classroom had become much healthier. Well, "healthy" was a figure of speech.

Marinette had noticed that several people had changed their behavior towards her. From what Billy and Tikki had told her, Alya was having fun creating rumors about her. The teenager felt sincere pity for her classmate. Alya was by no means a bad girl. Quite the opposite, normally, she was a lovely girl, very enthusiastic, and gave herself over to her dreams. She had all the qualities to become a great journalist (all she lacked was common sense, but hey, nobody was perfect).

Unfortunately, Lila had turned this cool, confident girl into a stupid, limp, bullsh*t bit**... Lila was, in a way, Alya's "Shiva". Marinette knew what it was like to be manipulated and betrayed by someone you trusted completely (she had considered Shiva as her mother for a long time). The teenager was just hoping that Alya would soon realize what kind of snake Lila Rossi was, before it was too late...

So Marinette had decided to ignore those low masses about her and continued to treat everyone with kindness as she had always done. She didn't give a damn what those people thought of her. Many of her classmates were just profiteers. Marinette didn't need those people in her life.

Maybe if she'd known them for a long time, she would have suffered that abandonment… Yeah... If in another life, these people had been childhood friends... If she hadn't been raised by assassins but by people like Sabine and Tom... It would have hurt.

But that's it...

She knew what real friends looks like.

Marinette had come to agree with what her brother Damian had told her.

Her classmates weren't exactly brilliant.

Or else they turned off their brains on purpose, in the presence of Lila. This girl's lies were stupid and easily refuted. It was on the same level as telling someone the moon was a piece of emmental cheese.

And there was Adrien.

The girl felt very bad for her former kitty. She really adored Adrien. He was a great partner, funny, amusing, and he was a great fighter. However, she didn't regret her choice at all, especially now knowing that Hawk Moth was none other than the father of her kitty.

Alas, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness every time she saw him on her computer screen when she looked at the images projected by the surveillance cameras in Adrien's room.

It was because of her that Adrien would never come back to school again.

Marinette couldn't give this book back to her classmate. It was far too dangerous. She had already taken away part of his freedom by taking his black cat's ring, and now she was condemning him to live imprisoned in his own house.

That was the price to pay. And that price was just horrible.

Adrien was falling into a depression.

And his father didn't seem to notice, or he pretended not to. Gabriel's secretary seemed to have figured it out. But she wasn't doing anything to help the poor boy, either.

So Marinette decided to do something about it.

The bluenette went to Gabriel Agreste's house. She explained that she had found this book in the school library, but the librarian told her that the book in question was not listed in the school catalog. Having learned what had happened to Adrien (that he was being punished for losing his father's book), she thought that this book might be the one the teenager had lost.

Adrian returned to school.

Thanks to Marinette's action, the blonde felt indebted to her. So, since he was already friends with Billy, Adrien began to spend time with the bluenette and her friends as well.

"So, if I understand correctly, you're telling me that you returned the book, containing the secret of all the Miraculous, to Paris's terrorist?"

"Yes, Papa, that's what I said."

"Hm. I thought you already had a boyfriend."

"...NOPE!... I'm not! WTF?!"

"Language."

"He was my partner for a long time, that's all!"

"Hm."

"And also... Cause Gabriel reminds me of... my moth-… Uh... Sandra."

"..."

"Looking at him makes me realize... how lucky I am to have a real gentle papa... that's all."

"..."

Batman said nothing further. Nor did he question her choice.

And then the akumatization stopped.

-XxxX-

Lila was furious.

She had not only lost all her chances with Adrien, because of this miserable bug, but also, according to Alya, Adrien and Marinette had gotten closer.

That little b*tch already had a boyfriend, didn't she? Besides, he was one of Jagged Stone's official musicians, if she understood correctly... So why was she flirting with her Adrien?!

That Marish*t spent all her time questioning her! It's a good thing the students in that class were mostly idiots. Well, except for that little group that followed the bluenette around like little dogs.

Marish*t had the status of the queen of the school. She was adored by everyone because of her stupid kindness and her "good actions".

What a load of bullsh*t!

Lila was not dumb, she could feel when someone wasn't sincere or honest, and that was part of the way she chose her [slaves] allies.

That b*tch was just like her.

She hid behind a mask of kindness, but in reality, she was a vixen.

Lila was also a queen, and there was no room for two queens in one kingdom.

She needed to get rid of the plague. But for the time being, all her attempts to do so were a complete failure. She tried to smear Marinette's reputation with her lies. Alas, the b*tch's reputation was too "perfect" and too few people believed her. There were even people who avoided her like the plague.

Marishit had all the "celebrities" of their middle school in her hands:

- Chloe Bourgeois, the mayor's daughter. This little snob was one of Marishit's closest friends. Nor did she hesitate for a second to question all the stories Lila tried to tell.

- Aurore Beauréal, the advertising model and current president of the student council. She loved the bluenette and couldn't stand Lila.

- Mireille Caquet, the presenter of the weather news, who would run away whenever Lila tried to get close to her.

- Kagami Tsurugi, the daughter of a prestigious fencing family. Lila still remembered the humiliation she suffered because of that stupid Japanese girl. She declared in front of everyone that she did not speak to "girls like her".

- Marc Anciel and Nathaniel Kurtzberg, the duo behind the Ladybug comics. They were always courteous to her, but Lila wasn't an idiot, she understood that they didn't believe her.

- Thomas Dupain-Cheng, the new star of the fencing team... He was impossible to get close to. To make it worse, he was Marishit's "twin" brother (Lila didn't believe for a moment that these two were twins, they were far too different, both physically and behaviorally).

Very few teachers were also on her side. She was sure and certain that Miss Bustier was eating out of her hand. However, other teachers such as Miss Mendeleiev, Mr. Drake and Mr. D'Argencourt openly showed their favoritism towards the bluenette.

That was why Lila had still managed to find "allies". People who were jealous of Marish*t and her "accomplishments".

People like Alya Césaire.

There was another person Lila hoped to bring into her ranks: Adrien Agreste.

The young model was rich, handsome and intelligent. He was the key that would allow Lila to finally have the life of luxury and celebrity that she deserved.

But that stupid Ladybug had ruined everything!

And now, because that Marish*t b*tch, who had found the book she'd thrown in the trash and returned it to the Agreste, Adrien was one of her new lackeys.

It was because of this bug and Marish*t that Lila was locked in her room and forced to call her class twice a week to tell them about her imaginary trip.

She brooded over her anger and didn't realize that a Butterfly had entered her room.

Then she heard a voice in the depths of her mind.

"Good evening, Miss Rossi. I hope I'm not coming at a late time."

"H-Hawk Moth?!"

"I have a proposition for you Miss Rossi. A proposal that would allow you both to get rid of your enemies and gain complete control of your school."

The brunette had a machiavellian smile on her face.

"I'm listening."

-XxxX-

Far from all this excitement, taking advantage of the respite Hawk Moth was giving them, a certain Luka Couffaine was taking full advantage of his date with his girlfriend.

Since Marinette's brothers had arrived from Gotham, they hadn't been able to spend any time alone.

The two were always behind them as chaperones.

But this time, they had finally managed to escape their surveillance.

They shared a cone of ice cream they'd bought at Andre's, the lovers' ice cream stand.

A blueberry, strawberry ice cream with dark chocolate and blackberry slices.

Marinette was sitting on his lap, huddled in his arms enjoying the rest of their ice cream cone, while he had his head resting on her head. He breathed in the scent of her perfume and could finally feel the warmth of her skin against his own.

He had closed his eyes to listen to the sweet melody of his beloved. Several songs were already invading his mind.

They went hand in hand.

Luka left her on the doorstep of the bakery. He put a kiss on her forehead (he already felt two pairs of eyes shooting at him...).

The young musician went home with a smile on his face.

He didn't realize the silhouette that followed him.

The only thing that Luka felt was a violent pain in the middle of his back, then...

Darkness.

Bonus 1: Jason's revenge.

Jason was tired of everyone laughing at him.

What could he do if all those teachers were rabbits in heat?!

Even Artemis was laughing at him! That was the last straw!

So, since Marinette and Damian had decided to play this trick on him, no one would blame him if he took revenge... Wouldn't they?

He started by taking pictures of Damian with Kagami. He had noticed that the two of them got along very well (in friendship of course), but... He could have fun distorting reality a bit, couldn't he?

Jason posted the picture on the Family Chat, with the following message "Demon Spawn and his crush".

Everyone went completely crazy at the sight of the picture. Dick seemed to be the most enthusiastic.

Bluebird: OMG! This day is FINALLY ARRIVED!

Blondie: I'm going to move to Paris too ... I want to find a boyfriend.

Cass:

Redbird: OMFG! Mari was telling the truth?!

Jason was laughing his ass off reading everyone's reaction until Marinette came on the Chat.

Baby sis: JAY! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET!

The Chat became more and more excited.

Jason when he read this message froze.

Wait... What?! Demon Spawn REALLY has a crush on the fencer?!

He heard his bedroom door open. Jason managed to dodge the sword just in time.

In front of him was none other than his little brother, with his katana in his hand. Damian looked at him furiously.

Oops?

Bonus 2: Bridgette, the evil rabbit.

Damian was starting to believe that karma was real.

The only animal Damian could take with him from Gotham was Alfred the cat. And as unbelievable as it seemed, Alfred was afraid of Bridgette.

The reason? Well, it was simple.

Marinette's rabbit was evil!

That animal only pooped on his bed, and always when Marinette wasn't in the room.

He had to hide his books and notebooks, because the rabbit would come and nibble them (even when the stuff was in his bag). She had already destroyed his headphones, his charger and the wires of his headphones... Sometimes he found his bag wet because the rabbit had peed in it...

He really didn't know what had happened between Bridgette and Alfred, but his cat would run away, meowing in terror as soon as Marinette brought her rabbit back into the room. It was ridiculous. Bridgette was a small rabbit. She was the size of a baby shoe. Alfred was huge by comparison...

And then one night...

Damian woke up in the middle of the night, feeling like he had a presence in the room (he shared the room with Marinette). When he turned around, he saw Bridgette staring at him on his bed.

He bit his lip so he wouldn't scream.

Damian had the impression that the rabbit's eyes were abnormally bright. The beast kept staring at him for a while, then jumped out of bed. She went to hide in her little wooden house.

Damian couldn't get back to sleep.

"Damian, are you all right? You look terrible."

Marinette looked at him worried, while caressing the monster, lying quietly next to her.

"Marinette... Does... has Bridgette ever done anything weird?"

"Bridgette? Anything weird? What do you mean?"

"Like watching you sleep or something."

"You mean like getting on my bed? She does it all the time, yeah... Why? Did she get on yours? I can make her sleep downstairs if you want. Alfred the cat will be happy to have company."

Damian could have sworn his cat just twitched.

Then he looked at the rabbit, who was staring at him.

The rabbit winked at him.

Damian's eyes widened. He got up from his chair and began to leave the room, massaging his temple.

"Damian?"

"I didn't sleep well, I'm going back to bed."

"But... We have class in five minutes..."

He ignored his sister, took his cat and locked himself in the bedroom.

He was really tired, he felt as if a rabbit had winked at him. Damian was really sleep-deprived.

For her part, Marinette put a kiss on the head of her precious little rabbit and went to school alone.

Bridgette waited patiently for her mistress to leave. Then she looked through the bedroom hatch. She groomed herself quietly. Wondering what other trick she could play on that human and his stupid cat.

She was finally going to avenge her mistress.