31. Lila Exposed and Private Hero Meeting

"Really? So, if we ask Lila a question, she'll tell the truth no matter what?" Marinette asked excitedly as this is finally the chance for everyone to see how bad Lila is. Angel confirmed the hero's question with a nod.

"This is cruel! You can't do that to me!" Lila shouted as she tried to shake loose her invisible restraints.

"Yeah! You're one to talk about being cruel!" Angel said to the sociopath sarcastically and the two heroes laughed in agreement while everybody else gave confused frowns. "So, let's start with something simple. Is your name really Lila Rossi? Just checking."

"Uh, duh! Why would I change my name if I'm trying to draw much deserved attention to myself!" Lila shouted and both Marinette and Chloe scoffed in response.

"And you lied about everything you've ever told us?!" Alya asked with a frown.

"Yes. I can't believe many of you idiots have fallen for it for so long," Lila said with an amused evil smirk.

"So, you're not Ladybug's best friend at all?!" Alya asked, angry that Lila lied to her and at herself for posting such lies on her blog.

"Why would I?! It's bad enough she had Adrien's attention when I'm trying to get his, but she humiliated me in front of him! I don't care if she apologized for that! Once you've messed with me, you'll feel my wrath! In fact, I gladly take any akuma Hawk Moth gives me," Lila answered very loudly and angrily. Everyone gasped in shock that someone is willingly working with a terrorist.

"You've never been to Achu and met Prince Ali?!" Rose asked, angrily on the verge of tears.

"No, you whiny little crybaby!" Lila said as she gave Rose a disgusted look. Rose then sobbed into Juleka's shoulder while the others were becoming angrier and angrier at the lying sociopath.

"So since you've never been to Achu, may I ask where have you been on the days you were absent?" Miss Bustier calmly but gravely asked as she and Mr. Damocles gave Lila very stern glares.

"Where do you think? I've been skipping school and staying home the entire time!" Lila confessed.

"Does your mother know about this?" Mr. Damocles gravely asked with a frown.

"Of course my stupid mother doesn't know about this! I told her that you Mr. Damocles were akumatized the entire time and these stupid heroes over there were too incompetent to stop you!" Lila confessed with an amused smirk and everyone gasped on how nasty their supposed friend really is.

"Don't talk about your mother that way, young lady! The woman gave you life," Sabine reprimanded the troubled young girl.

"Oh, shut up, you old bat! You think I care about my stupid mother?! I don't!" Lila said and everyone gasped sharply in response. "I'll dump her stupid butt once I become rich and famous!"

"So, you literally don't care about anyone?!" Angel asked angrily in disgust. Even though she kind of already knew the answer to that question, she had to be sure.

"Duh! Me and my needs are all that matters in this world!" Lila said proudly and everyone opened their mouths in shock at the fact that there's someone way more selfish than Chloe was. "Why do you think I keep sabotaging Marinette and her stupid alter-ego?! She was getting in the way of my plans!"

"And what plans would that be?" Angel calmly but gravely asked.

"Become the most popular girl in school for starters! You gotta start small, you know. Then, become Adrien's girlfriend since he's handsome, rich, and famous! Even better, marry him in the future! That way, I could become the most famous and beloved girl in all of Paris! Pretty soon, all of Europe! And soon after that, the entire world!" Lila explained with a crazy look on her face, creeping everybody out.

"Wow, Rossi! I knew you're an utterly ridiculous liar. But I didn't know you're just utterly INSANE!" Chloe said with a disgusted scowl and everyone growled in agreement.

"Oh, really?! Insane am I?!" Lila asked loudly and angrily.

"You don't care about anyone but yourself, even your own parents. You tell such ridiculous lies about yourself to be famous and popular. Not to mention you're trying to sabotage people who know that you're lying or are a threat to your unrealistic "plans". So, yeah, you're pretty insane!" Marinette recounted and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Oh, shut up, you stupid nosy goody two-shoes!" Lila shouted towards the hero. "If you haven't minded your own business and worshipped me like you should, you'd be safe from my wrath!"

"Back when you said you were trying to sabotage Marinette, could you please elaborate that?!" Adrien asked calmly but angrily. He knew that Lila set Marinette up to get expelled, but he wants to know the full story that warranted her so.

"That stupid wretch is the only one who wouldn't fall for my charms, so I threatened her in the bathroom after she threw the napkin at me! I told her that I would turn everyone including Adrien against her and that'd she be hated and alone forever if she didn't become my friend! I mean, hello! You all are so far up my butt that you would believe me if I told you that she punched me or something! She chose to stand against me, so we were at war! Setting her up to get expelled was my best work yet!" Lila said proudly, pointing at Marinette, and everyone gasped in realization and disgust.

"So, you really did set up Marinette to get expelled! I knew it!" Adrien said in anger as he gripped on his girlfriend protectively.

"Duh! I planted the test answers in her bag, planted my necklace in her locker, and walked down the stairs and screamed that she pushed me down on our way to Mr. Damocles' office. And she would've stayed expelled if Adrien hadn't threatened to fight me if I didn't get her back in school!" Lila confessed proudly and everybody has started boiling with rage.

"Messing with my blog is one thing because I'm partly responsible for that since I didn't check for sources about you. But, threatening and messing with the best friend we've all ever had?! You're gonna wish you never met us!" Alya yelled towards Lila and everybody looked like they're getting ready to kill the latter.

"Oh, well. I don't need you losers anymore. I got Gabriel Agreste on my side who has made me a supermodel!" Lila gloated with an evil smirk.

"You did one photoshoot with Adrien and you're a supermodel now? OK, Lila! Since I designed one derby hat for Gabriel, that makes me the Parisian Queen of Fashion!" Marinette sarcastically criticized Lila and everyone laughed hard in agreement at the absurdity of Lila's opinion of herself.

"And you do realize that I could tell my father what you're really like and I have everybody else here to back me up on that?" Adrien asked dangerously and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Ha, doubt it! I've been bad mouthing you all to him for weeks now saying that you're all bad influences on his precious son here. Especially his little goody two-shoes girlfriend! Adrien says anything, his father will most likely think you all corrupted his son, pull Adrien out of school, and I'll be the only "friend" he'll ever have!" Lila confessed proudly and everyone growled in agreement.

"Maybe the children here. But not us adults once we bring your mother to discuss this horrendous situation," Mr. Damocles strictly and gravely warned her.

"Not to mention my daddy and the police once I tell them about you willingly working for that monster Hawk Moth!" Chloe threatened the girl loudly. "For everyone's safety, I would suggest deportation and a ban from you ever setting foot in France again!"

"And I'll help you build your case with my newly-rebuilt journalist skills!" Alya said to Chloe and everyone agreed, ready to give the power of full-blown karma on the lying sociopath.

"Ah! But you made one fatal mistake! Once we get back, I could try to get myself akumatized again and easily tell Hawk Moth who Ladybug and Cat Noir are now that I know!" Lila gloated with an evil smirk while everybody else began to panic. Then, Angel snapped her fingers. "Hello! I can't hear anything! I've gone deaf!" Lila shouted in panic.

"I made her deaf, so she can't hear what I'm about to say. As a watcher of your show, I already know about Lila and her evil ways. So, once the show is over and done with, when you guys get back, Lila will be the only one who will lose her memory of ever being here, so she won't remember who the heroes are nor Hawk Moth for that matter. So, you guys can sneakily plan against her and get her out of your lives before she does her worst!" Angel explained and everyone sighed and hi-fived in relief. Angel snapped her fingers again, bringing Lila's hearing back.

"Now I can hear again! Like I said, now that I know who you pathetic heroes are, you're all doomed!" Lila gloated once again.

"You can try to your little heart's content, but you're the girl who cries wolf. How is anyone, let alone Hawk Moth, gonna believe you now?" Marinette asked, laughing in her head.

"And who are you calling pathetic?!" Tikki asked. "You're the one who pretended to have sprained wrists to avoid doing something so simple as carrying your lunch tray!" Everybody laughed hard in agreement as Lila tried to violently shake loose her restraints in anger.

"Just you wait!" Lila said as Angel snapped her fingers again, making Lila disappear.

"Where did she go?" Adrien asked curiously.

"I put her back in her bedroom. Figured a good night's rest will calm her down. Well, calm her down more," Angel explained. "As my form of torture, she will watch the rest of the episodes with you guys, still in her invisible restraints. With the heroes' victories on-screen and everyone complimenting them and acting all sweet, she will go crazy!" Angel said, laughing and everyone followed suit in agreement. "OK, so time to turn in everybody. Good night!" Everyone then began to go to their respective bedrooms to rest for the night except for the two heroes and their kwamis who are still in their seats.

"Well, that was certainly interesting with the whole thing about Lila," Adrien started the conversation. "I'm sorry when I said that you shouldn't expose her. I didn't know she was this insane and dangerous until she got you expelled."

"That's ok, kitty. It's partly my fault too. I should've told you that she threatened me, but I wasn't so sure you'd believe me," Marinette said sadly and Adrien gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll always be by your side, m'lady," Adrien promised and the two blushed at each other until Tikki cleared her throat, getting their attention.

"Now that apologies are made, Plagg and I need to discuss something with you two. Something suspicious," Tikki said with a look that says she's dreading this already.

"What is it?" Marinette asked curiously as she and Adrien gave their kwamis their full attention.

"Remember when we saw Adrien's dad's safe at the beginning of Volpina?" Tikki asked, and the heroes nodded. "Plagg and I saw something that's gravely concerning for us: the Peacock Miraculous!"

"SAY WHAT?!" The two heroes yelled in surprise. Luckily, no one else can hear them.

"Why would my father have the Peacock Miraculous at his safe?" Adrien asked, getting more worried at the possible truth.

"Kid, sugarcube and I have been talking and since he has the Peacock Miraculous and that book, we agreed that it's possible that your father...could be Hawk Moth," Plagg answered nervously and the two heroes gasped loudly.

"But, that can't be true! My father was akumatized! Remember that?" Adrien said in denial, but then began to seriously think. "Wait! Isn't it possible for Hawk Moth to akumatize himself?"

"I'm not sure," Marinette answered as she thought about it. "But it's definitely a possibility since there's also no evidence otherwise."

"Oh, so I guess my father is back on the suspect list," Adrien said, looking down in extreme sadness. Feeling sorry for him, Marinette got closer to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I know this looks suspicious and bad. But, whether your father is Hawk Moth or not, I know you are not like him. You are the sweetest and most caring person I know, Adrien. I will stick by you no matter what. That'll never change," Marinette said sweetly and Adrien looked up to her, smiling but still sad.

"Thanks, Bugaboo," Adrien said softly.

"I'll give this Bugaboo a pass for now," Marinette said, making both her and Adrien giggle. The two then locked themselves in a passionate kiss.

"Ugh! You two are grossing me out!" Plagg said and the two heroes giggled while Tikki rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Let's get some shut-eye!" The heroes and their kwamis then bid each other good night and headed to their respective bedrooms.