85. Ladybug

Scene: Adrien's room, set before the events of "Befana". Plagg is eating Camembert and Adrien shows him a bracelet he made.

Adrien: What do you think, Plagg?

"Is that…?" Marinette asked her boyfriend as soon as she saw the lucky charm bracelet on-screen.

"Yeah, it's the lucky charm I made for your birthday," Adrien answered as he smiled at his girlfriend who smiled back.

Plagg: (smells it) Ugh, what's the point of giving someone something that can't be eaten and doesn't have a scent? If you gave me that, I'd be seriously offended.

Everyone in the audience eye-rolled in response to Plagg's criticism towards the lucky charm bracelet on-screen.

Adrien: Maybe I should get a second opinion.

Scene: Agreste mansion dining room. Nathalie gives Adrien's bracelet to Gabriel.

Gabriel: What is it?

Adrien: It's a gift I've made for Marinette. We're organizing a surprise birthday party for her.

Gabriel: Marinette?

Adrien: You know, the girl who won the fashion contest? She made the hat I wore for your show. She's a really awesome girl. She loves helping others-

Gabriel: I don't remember giving you permission to go to your friend's birthday party.

Adrien: Please, Father! Marinette deserves to have all her friends there. (Gabriel glances at Nathalie and she nods)

Gabriel: Alright then.

Adrien: Thank you, Father.

Scene: Outside Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. Marinette is surprised after seeing the bracelet.

Marinette: Ah...

Adrien: I always carry the lucky charm you gave me wherever I go, and I think it works pretty well. So.. (Lila angrily watches the party from her bedroom window)

"You saw my birthday party?" Marinette asked Lila as the former frowned at the latter's angry facial expression.

"Unfortunately. The fact that Adrien gave you a special birthday present made me wanna retch," Lila said with a frown on her face while receiving glares from everybody else.

"Wow! Jealous of you even before she knew you. Well, you as Marinette I mean," Alya whispered to Marinette as the two looked in surprise.

Scene: Place des Vosges. Lila is reading when Gabriel's car arrives.

Gabriel: I thought you were supposed to protect Adrien from Marinette. The one you said was a bad influence.

"You do know my father probably didn't believe anything you said to him, right?" Adrien asked Lila, frowning along with everyone else. "He was probably just using you to create more akumas, especially Marinette."

"Yeah, Rossi! You're just a pawn!" Chloe added with a cackle, agreeing along with everyone else about her childhood friend's theory about the partnership between his father and Lila.

"I am not! I'm an ally!" Lila argued, insulted at the idea.

"Lila, if you were truly an ally, Adrien's father would've told you that he was Hawk Moth and yet, he didn't. Do you honestly think that he won't dump you once you're useless to him as Hawk Moth? Remember that he akumatized Kagami to keep you away from Adrien at first?" Angel argued against the Italian girl and after some thought, everyone else murmured in agreement. Defeated, Lila just sat down with an enraged look on her face.

Scene: Flashback from "Chameleon".

Lila: From now on, you and I are at war. You will lose your friends and wind up all alone and Adrien will soon be mine.

Marinette: We'll see about that, Lila, we'll see.

Flashback from Chameleon ends.

Lila: My plan is taking a little longer than expected, sir. But you won't be disappointed.

"OK, before it is shown on-screen, I have to say: that whole expulsion thing with Marinette and Lila? There were so many things wrong that I can't even count," Angel said as she glared at the entire audience, especially towards Mr. Damocles and Miss Bustier. "If you like, I can point them out to you, so that something like this doesn't happen again." Some people like the two educators look like they're about to object, but stayed silent and nodded as they agreed that they needed to learn.

Scene: Miss Bustier's classroom. Lila takes away a paper from Miss Bustier's desk.

"First of all, Miss Bustier, this was after the mock exam was taken that day, correct?" Angel asked the teacher who nervously nodded. "So, the answer sheet was with you the whole time the students were taking their exams and it was taken after the exams were done. So, someone stole an answer sheet AFTER the mock exam? It doesn't make any sense! Plus, you're supposed to monitor your students closely to make sure they're not cheating. Did you see Marinette? Did she look like she was cheating? And yet you thought she did because some note told you that she was." After hearing that first error in her judgement, Miss Bustier slowly began to tear up as that was brutally true.

Scene: Locker room. Lila uses her phone and puts the paper into Marinette's backpack.

Everyone (except for Lila of course) gasped in anger in response to Lila planting the answer sheet in Marinette's backpack.

Lila: Will you keep your promise if I succeed?

Gabriel: I always honor my commitments. (car drives away)

Nathalie: You work too hard, sir.

Gabriel: Now's not the time to ease up, Nathalie.

Scene: Collège Françoise Dupont. Everyone goes inside the classroom.

Lila: (to Nathaniel) I'm good friends with the best manga publisher in Japan, you know. I can talk to them about your comic book project if you like.

Marinette: She's such a liar!

Alya: You gotta stop obsessing over her, Marinette.

Miss Bustier: I've graded your mock exam papers. Most of you did quite well, some better than others, but before I hand them back, Marinette, could you bring your schoolbag to me, please? I need to check something. (Marinette does so) Today, someone placed an anonymous note in my mailbox, claiming that you'd stolen the exam answers, and it looks like the anonymous person was right! (Everyone gasps)

"Second of all, Miss Bustier, an anonymous note?! Really?! If the person is anonymous, how do you know that "Anonymous" is reliable?! Instead, you just called Marinette out in front of the class and pulled the answer sheet out of her bag when really, you should've pulled her aside out of class to discuss it," Angel said as she glared at the red-haired teacher who began to tear up more in response to more of the brutal truth shoved in her face.

Marinette: But that's not true! Someone must've planted that piece of paper in my bag!

Miss Bustier: But you've answered all of the questions correctly.

"It could be just pure luck, you know!" Angel said to the red-haired teacher who nodded, still with tears in her eyes.

Marinette: I did? Yes, but because I've studied.

Alya: Miss Bustier, Marinette always scores high on your tests.

Lila: This is so terribly unlike you, Marinette. You're usually so well-behaved.

Marinette: Of course! You put the answers in my bag! You're the "anonymous informer"!

Lila: (gasps) I'm coming to your defense and you're accusing me?!

Miss Bustier: You can't accuse someone without proof, Marinette.

"Pot calling the kettle black much, Miss Bustier?!" Angel angrily questioned Miss Bustier on her small hypocrisy for accusing Marinette of stealing the answer sheet without reliable evidence.

Marinette: But I'm sure it's her! She stole the test answers!

Miss Bustier: That's impossible, Marinette. Lila got the worst grade in the class.

Marinette: Then... she flunked the exam on purpose!

"Out of curiosity, Lie-la, did you get the worst grade on your exam on purpose?" Angel asked the Italian girl curiously as well as everyone else.

"Nope. It was just pure luck for me. I barely even studied!" Lila said proudly much to the disbelief of others that someone would actually be proud for not doing well on an exam.

Adrien: Excuse me, Miss Bustier, but everyone here knows it isn't like Marinette to cheat.

Alya: He's right!

Rose: It doesn't make sense! (Everyone agrees)

Miss Bustier: (claps hands) Marinette, Lila, please go to the principal's office until we get to the bottom of this. (Lila opens the door for Marinette and she still is angry)

"Not exactly a requirement, but recommended: someone should've gone with the two girls as an unbiased mediator or witness. Otherwise, what Lila's about to do wouldn't have happened," Angel suggested and everyone else nodded in agreement.

Scene: Hallway.

Lila: I swore I'd make your life unbearable, Marinette. Let's see how you get out of this one.

Marinette: I'm not falling in your trap, Lila.

Lila: Too late. You already have. (Lila goes down the stairs)

Marinette: Where are you going?

Lila: You're about to find out! Ready? (Lila fakes an injury and Mr. Damocles goes outside)

Mr. Damocles: What's the holdup over here?

Lila: Marinette pushed me down the stairs!

Everyone (except for Lila and Marinette of course) gasped in shock and anger that Lila faked being pushed down the stairs and accused Marinette of doing it.

Mr. Damocles: In my office!

"OK, a lot more things wrong with this than what usually happens in these cases. When someone falls down the stairs and cries in pain, the immediate response is to have her go to the nurse or call an ambulance if the pain is extreme. And yet, Mr. Damocles, you had both girls go to your office after this "incident". Plus, Lila didn't have bruises or cuts on any part of her body plus she seemed to be just fine, which is nearly impossible after falling down a flight of stairs. And to immediately believe that Marinette actually pushed her?! It would help if there were other witnesses that can corroborate. And doesn't the school have security cameras?! Because if so, the footage should be checked out!" Angel angrily said to her audience, especially towards the principal who has now buried his face in shame.

By God, I was a fool! Mr. Damocles sadly thought as his face was buried.

Scene: Mr. Damocles' office.

Marinette: But sir, it wasn't me, I didn't do anything-

"Another thing! You only had Marinette's parents come to the school and not Lila's?!" Angel asked the principal in disbelief.

"Lila told me that her mother was too busy to deal with such matters," Mr. Damocles said in a tone that implies he now doubts himself while everyone else (except for Lila) just facepalmed in response.

"Oh, and we're not busy?!" Tom asked the principal in exasperation on behalf of himself and his wife. "We had customers at the bakery, but we had to close because our little girl was in trouble!"

"Adding to Mr. Dupain's point, a good parent would drop everything if their child was in trouble or seriously injured. If not, Lila's mother would be seen as a negligent parent, don't you think?!" Angel added and everyone else murmured in agreement while also glaring at the red-faced principal.

Lila: I don't know why Marinette doesn't like me! I've really tried to be her friend, but she keeps calling me a liar, getting the others to gang up against me, and now, she's pushing me down the stairs? (fakes sadness)

Marinette: Those are total lies!

Mr. Damocles: Go on, Lila.

Lila: She even took a necklace I got from my grandmother - a fox pendant!

"Really?! Lila's mentioning her stolen necklace NOW?! Instead of immediately after it was supposedly stolen?!" Angel rhetorically asked everyone else in an angry tone. Mr. Damocles then began to hit himself for being an idiotic fool to Lila's false accusations.

Mr. Damocles: Took, as in stole?

Marinette: Huh? That's not true! I never stole anything!

Tom: My daughter is not a thief!

Sabine: Why should we believe any of this? You're accusing her without any proof!

Lila: Oh, I have proof.

Scene: Locker room.

Mr. Damocles: Open your locker, please. (Marinette does so and the pendant falls out of her locker)

"You mean the locker with no locks where anyone can have access?! Might want to think about adding that, Mr. Damocles!" Angel once again said in annoyance towards the red-faced principal who slowly nodded. "And besides, isn't that the same necklace she used to convince Adrien that she's a descendant of Volpina, therefore it couldn't be a family heirloom?"

"Yep. And besides, that necklace is from my father's jewelry collection. I would've spoken up about it if Mr. Damocles hadn't stopped me," Adrien said as he frowned towards the principal along with everyone else (except for Lila of course).

Lila: (gasps) My grandma's pendant! (Sabine and Marinette gasp)

Marinette: She's making up this whole thing! It wasn't me! I didn't do anything, I swear! (Sabine is crying) You know Lila's lying, don't you, Adrien?

Adrien: Mr. Damocles, I don't think-

Mr. Damocles: Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you are expelled from this school! (Everyone gasps)

"Mr. Damocles, I'm no expert at your profession, but I'm pretty sure you can't just expel a student on a whim like that! Marinette has the right to defend herself, but you wouldn't give her that right! Why do you think we have courts and trials for?!" Angel angrily asked in exasperation towards the principal and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"You're right! I'm sorry! I was such a fool!" Mr. Damocles said as he sobbed in shame for his past behavior with Miss Bustier trying to comfort him. Everyone else (except for Lila who just smirked at her small victory on-screen) just silently looked at the old man, feeling sorry for him.

Scene: Hawk Moth's lair.

Hawk Moth: Lila Rossi was right! This was worth the wait! The downfall of Marinette brings about the despair of everyone who trusted her. I can feel the huge waves of negative emotions as they come crashing down! (Hawk Moth creates an akuma) Are you ready, Nathalie?

Nathalie: More than ever. (Hawk Moth places the akuma in her tablet)

Hawk Moth: Catalyst, I'm giving you back the power to transform me into Scarlet Moth. (Nathalie transforms into Catalyst and she infuses her energy into Hawk Moth's cane)

Catalyst: From now on, you are the almighty Scarlet Moth! (Hawk Moth transforms into said character)

"Great! A rerun of Heroes' Day!" Angel deadpanned in exasperation while everyone else (except for Lila) groaned in annoyance.

Scarlet Moth: Thanks to you, I can now release as many akumas as I desire! Fly away, my little akumas. Find Marinette and her friends and evilize them all!

Scene: Locker room. Marinette opens the exiting door to be swarmed by a bunch of scarlet akumas that infect her, her parents, and several others.

Scarlet Moth: Verity Queen, Princess Justice, I am Scarlet Moth.

"I cannot believe this! I actually came so close to being actually akumatized!" Marinette said in shock along with everyone else after seeing herself being infected by an akuma on-screen.

"What I can't believe is what your akuma name would've been, girl. I mean, Princess Justice?! Talk about a lousy name!" Alya said in reaction to her best friend's almost-akuma name.

Scene: Hawk Moth's lair.

Scarlet Moth: Since the innocent isn't to be believed anymore, I'm giving you both the power to expose the truth. As for you, my desperate loyal ones, disappointed by she who you once admired so much? I'm glad to have you back. In return, you will bring me Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous. (Marinette begins to remove her earrings but Catalyst starts to cough) What's wrong?

"Ever since the akuma that came after me and turned Lila into Chameleon, I actually came up with a hypothetical emergency plan if I ever do end up akumatized. I'd take my earrings off and give them to Tikki, so she could give them to Cat Noir where ideally, he would be Mr. Bug again," Marinette explained and everyone else murmured in amazement at the brilliant plan she came up with.

Catalyst: Nothing, everything's fine. Keep going-

Scarlet Moth: Dark wings fall! (Gabriel rushes to Nathalie's aid)

Scene: Locker room. Everyone is de-akumatized.

Scene: Marinette's room.

Tikki: (voice) If you had been akumatized, nothing could have stopped you from having your Miraculous over to Hawk Moth!

Marinette: And there would have been no more Ladybug. End of story.

Tikki: We can't let that happen!

Marinette: Neither Lila nor Hawk Moth will win. I'm gonna prove my innocence! If only Alya could help me.

Tikki: Alya didn't become akumatized earlier today at school. I'm sure it's because she trusts you. Call her!

Marinette: You're right!

Scene: Marinette's balcony.

Alya: (on phone) So let's recap, right. You're accused of stealing the answers to the mock exam. Evidence 1: The paper with the answers was found in your school bag. You're also accused of pushing Lila down the stairs. No one witnessed the actual incident, but everyone did see Lila at the bottom of the staircase. You're also accused of stealing Lila's necklace, which was, Evidence 2, found inside your locker. And finally, you have a motive. I know for a fact that you've hated Lila from Day 1 because she hangs around Adrien.

Marinette: (sarcastically) I'm so glad I called you. Thanks for your support.

Alya: You're my best friend, Marinette. I totally believe you, but the evidence is stacked against you. The good thing is, the world's greatest reporters always seek the truth, so I'm gonna prove your innocence.

Marinette: (sighs in relief) Thanks, Al!

Alya: First off, a culprit always leaves clues. That's a given. And by following these clues, it will lead us...

Marinette: ...to Lila!

Alya: No, to the guilty party. If you're so quick to accuse Lila, you might just overlook another potential baddie!

"You know, Alya? It's not all about evidence. Evidence can be hidden or even falsified. You'd have to add logical reasoning in there too. Who in the world has a motive against both Marinette and Lila? No one! It has to be one of them and since you wanna believe your BFF is innocent, Lila would be Prime Suspect #1, don't you think?!" Angel asked Alya with a raised-eyebrow glance and the latter nodded sheepishly.

Marinette: Oh. (laughing) Right.

Alya: Whoever it was had to have touched your locker when they put the necklace in there. I'm gonna go track down some fingerprints.

Sabine: Marinette, can we have a word?

Marinette: I'll meet you later at your place. (hangs up with Alya)

Scene: Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.

Sabine: Now listen, honey, we love you but this whole thing has gotten very complicated. And until we've found a new school for you, we've decided that you should help us with the bakery.

Marinette: But I'm telling you, I didn't do anything! If I have spent all my time in here, how am I going to be able to prove that I'm innocent?

Tom: It's fun here at the bakery. You'll see. (gives Marinette an apron)

"You guys didn't actually believe I did all these things to Lila, did you?" Marinette quietly but sadly asked her classmates (excluding Lila) who just looked at each other nervously.

"We didn't really believe that you could be capable of such acts, Marinette. But, you have to admit that your animosity towards Lila has given us a bit of a pause," Max explained and most of the others nodded in agreement.

"Well, I didn't believe it for a second! When I first heard that Dupain-Cheng pushed someone down the stairs, I thought it was an utterly ridiculous joke! I mean, I've picked on her for years and not once has she done any of those things to me! What made Lila Rossi so special?!" Chloe expressed her opinion on the matter. "I didn't say anything because I didn't care enough to have her back in school. No offense."

"Mean! But expected," Marinette said as everybody else murmured and shrugged in agreement.

"Of course I didn't believe it, Marinette. I knew Lila was a liar and that you would never do any of those things to anyone. Why did you think I threatened Lila to get you back in school?" Adrien pointed out and Marinette smiled at him in response.

Scene: Agreste mansion.

Doctor: Once again, Mr. Agreste, make sure she gets lots of rest.

Gabriel: Of course. Thank you, doctor. (Adrien's bodyguard escorts the doctor outside)

Nathalie: Perhaps you can still take advantage of the chaos that Lila Rossi has reeked.

Gabriel: That plan is pointless without you.

Nathalie: You're right. Then I have to... (tries to get up but is too weak)

Gabriel: There will be no more Catalyst, or Mayura. I warned you. (takes Peacock Miraculous from Nathalie's chest) Using a broken Miraculous ends up breaking its wearer. The wounds of the Miraculous are becoming your wounds.

Nathalie: I don't care, Gabriel. I want to help you.

Gabriel: Not at that cost. Never at that cost again.

Scene: Collège Françoise Dupont. Alya attempts to uncover some fingerprints from Marinette's locker only to discover that Fred had cleaned it. She later asks Lila some questions.

Scene: Agreste mansion. Nathalie wakes up and takes the Peacock Miraculous from a sleeping Gabriel. Nathalie shushes Nooroo.

Scene: Place des Vosges. Nathalie buys an Eiffel Tower keychain from Théo.

Scene: Sewers. Nathalie puts on the Peacock Miraculous and Duusu flies out of it.

Duusu: Yay! You're feeling better already! (Nathalie coughs) Oh no! Spoke too soon! But then, what are we doing here?

Nathalie: Gabriel would never allow me to do this, but I'm going to create a very powerful sentimonster. The most powerful one that's ever existed.

Duusu: No, don't do that! You should be resting.

Nathalie: Gabriel so desperately wants the Miraculous, and I want to be the one to give it to him!

"I cannot believe Nathalie did this after my father told her not to!" Adrien said, exasperated along with everyone else that Nathalie is disobeying his father and risking her health to create the sentimonster.

Duusu: Ah, oh, oh! It's so romantic!

[Transformation Sequence]

Nathalie: Duusu, spread my feathers! (transforms into Mayura)

Mayura: (pulls a feather from her fan) Go, my beautiful amok, and bring my creation to life. (creates an amok, puts it inside the keychain, and creates a sentimonster) Ladybug, I am Mayura. You are Cat Noir's true teammate, and you've one goal. To get hold of the Miraculous.

Sentimonster Ladybug: I'm ready, Mayura.

"I'm kind of impressed that she was able to make an exact sentimonster copy of me," Marinette said in surprise about Sentimonster Ladybug with everyone else nodding in agreement, also in surprise.

Scene: Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.

Tom: Always make sure you got your right angles there. Then you fold the pastry, folded toward first, about two-thirds of the way. (Marinette's phone rings)

Marinette: (sees that Alya is calling) Can I please answer?

Tom: (declines call) We're not done with our flaky pastry yet.

Scene: Collège Françoise Dupont.

Marinette's voicemail: It's Marinette. Leave a message.

Alya: Okay, so here's the skinny on my investigation so far. No fingerprints, no evidence. Whoever did this was very thorough. I'm sorry. We'll be in touch. (Adrien, who overhears, sees Lila talking to a bunch of teens from a distance. He goes to confront her when he receives an alert on his phone.)

"No offense, Alya, but your investigation: kind of abysmal," Angel said to Alya in a critical tone in which the latter and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I really didn't do such a good job," Alya reluctantly admitted while looking down in embarrassment.

"I'm assuming this is because you do want to believe that your best friend is innocent, but you also want to believe that Lila is innocent too. Otherwise, you would have to find out that Lila has been a liar all along and admit that you were a fool to fall for her tricks," Kagami assessed Alya's feelings towards Marinette's false expulsion.

"Yes, that's exactly it," Alya admitted, impressed and kind of annoyed in reaction.

Nadja: (on the news) This is Nadja Chamack, live from the Arc de Triomphe, where Ladybug is battling against a new supervillain.

Mayura: I am Mayura, and I'm about to annihilate Ladybug. Mwahahaha! (Adrien runs into Ms. Mendeleiev's classroom)

Plagg: Don't tell me, we have to go and help your lady.

Adrien: She and I are on the same team, Plagg. We'll help Marinette, but first...

[Transformation Sequence]

Adrien: Plagg, claws out! (transforms into Cat Noir)

Scene: Top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Cat Noir: Cat Noir to the rescue, M'lady!

Mayura: Pretend to be hurt. (Mayura supposedly stabs Ladybug with a feather and she acts like she is dying)

Sentimonster Ladybug: AAAAAH!

Cat Noir: M'lady, no! (rushes to Ladybug's aid)

Scene: Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.

Visitor 1: Ladybug's fighting a peacock villain at the Arc de Triomphe!

Visitor 2: Isn't Cat Noir with her? (Marinette ducks under the table to hide)

Marinette: What is this about Ladybug and Mayura?

Tikki: It must be one of Hawk Moth's traps!

"Weirdly, that wasn't the case," Angel noted and everyone else murmured in agreement.

Marinette: I gotta get there before Cat Noir gets tricked! (Marinette uses a sack of flour to make herself dirty) Oh, I'm such a klutz! Can I go change my clothes, Dad?

Tom: No need, sweetie. Don't worry, a good baker is never afraid to get dirty. You can change after you're done decorating these gingerbread men. (Seeing a pastry bag, Marinette aggressively decorates the gingerbread men)

Scene: Top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Cat Noir: You okay?

Sentimonster Ladybug: Don't worry about me. Go after Mayura. Ow! Cat Noir, I don't feel so good...

Cat Noir: There's something wrong, we're supposed to be nearly invulnerable! (Mayura is hiding)

Mayura: He doesn't suspect a thing. Grab his Miraculous, his ring, before the real Ladybug gets here!

Sentimonster Ladybug: Cat Noir, don't leave me.

Cat Noir: What? What's going on?

Sentimonster Ladybug: (Mayura provides the voice of the sentimonster) I've always gone out of my way to hide my true feelings for you, but I just can't do it anymore.

Cat Noir: But I thought you said you love somebody else!

Sentimonster Ladybug: It's... it's over. After all this time, I've realized that you're always here for me, even when I keep rejecting you. Your feelings haven't changed, and mine are growing stronger every day. I can't pretend anymore.

Mayura: Now! (As soon as the two are about to kiss and the sentimonster is about to grab Cat Noir's Miraculous... Ladybug shoves them both)

Ladybug: Watch it, Cat Noir! You're confusing fantasy with reality!

Cat Noir: You're not Ladybug?

Sentimonster Ladybug: No, she's not me!

Ladybug: She's manipulating you! You know I'm already in love with someone else! (Cat Noir is confused over which is which)

Sentimonster Ladybug: Listen to your heart!

Ladybug: No, listen to your brain!

Cat Noir: You're just an illusion! (throws his stick to Ladybug and she catches it)

Ladybug: See, I'm real enough! (throws it back)

Cat Noir: Impossible! There can't be two Ladybugs!

Sentimonster Ladybug: (Mayura providing the voice) She must be a fan of Ladybug who's been akumatized by Hawk Moth!

Sentimonster Ladybug: Don't fall for her tricks!

Cat Noir: M'lady, no!

Sentimonster Ladybug: We've got a villain to fight! We'll take care of me later.

Cat Noir: That's the lady I know!

Ladybug: Ugh, I can't believe you fell for that! Okay, good job. You win, I am the fake Ladybug, but there's no way I'm letting you Cataclysm my earrings!

"Yeah, seriously, dude?! How could you fall for that?!" Nino asked his best friend in exasperation along with everyone else, similarly exasperated as well.

"I let my feelings for her get the better of me. I listened to my heart rather than my brain," Adrien admitted while looking down in shame.

"Um, Marinette loves you and yet, she didn't fall for it when your cousin tried to kiss her while posing as you," Alya teasingly pointed out to the blond boy, making the others chuckle in agreement.

"Maybe that's because I didn't know Ladybug as well as Marinette knows me," Adrien said, trying to figure it out for himself.

"Well, then maybe, I should tell you distinctive facts about myself, so that something like this doesn't happen again," Marinette suggested and Adrien nodded in agreement.

Mayura: What? Why does she-

Cat Noir: You wanna bet?

Sentimonster Ladybug: Over to you, Cat Noir! (ties Ladybug up while Cat Noir lunges at her)

Mayura: No, not the earrings! (Cat Noir misses)

Ladybug: Hello, Mayura!

Cat Noir: Mayura? But... she looks so real!

Ladybug: Things aren't always what they seem to be at first sight.

Cat Noir: This Ladybug isn't an illusion or an akumatized person!

Ladybug: Uh-huh, she's a sentimonster.

Cat Noir: But she's so much more elaborate than any of those we've faced before! She's so perfect, there's nothing monstrous about her at all!

Ladybug: Sorry kitty, but you should have known. I'm nowhere near as perfect as her.

Cat Noir: I love you just the way you are, m'lady.

Ladybug: Got a hint of where the amok is? Look at what Mayura is holding!

Mayura: Whatever it takes, steal their Miraculous and don't hold back!

Sentimonster Ladybug: Senti Charm! (gets a blaster)

Ladybug: I'll show you a real Lucky Charm! (gets a fork)

"ANOTHER FORK?!" Everyone in the audience loudly asked, dying of confusion about the Lucky Charm.

Cat Noir: Okay, you're definitely the real one. (The sentimonster starts to shoot from her sticky blaster all across Paris)

Car driver: Hey, I'm stuck!

Scene: Agreste mansion. Gabriel wakes up and discovers Nathalie is missing.

Gabriel: Nathalie? (looks at news footage on his phone) Nooroo, why didn't you wake me up?!

Nooroo: I couldn't bring myself to, Master. You were sleeping so peacefully.

Scene: Arc de Triomphe. Sentimonster Ladybug continues to fire her sticky blaster. Ladybug notices Mayura, whose health is declining. Suddenly, Cat Noir pushes her out of the way of a sticky blast.

Ladybug: Mayura looks exhausted. That's our chance to bring her down. And find out who's behind the mask. (she and Cat Noir dodge more sticky blasts when she notices a glass board and gets an idea) Cover your ears! (Ladybug scratches the glass with the fork, creating an ear-piercing sound that forces Sentimonster Ladybug and Mayura to cover their ears. Mayura drops her Eiffel Tower keychain and Ladybug grabs it)

Mayura: No! (Ladybug is about to release the amok when she realizes something)

Cat Noir: What's going on?

Ladybug: You're right. There's nothing monstrous about her. Whoever possesses this controls the sentimonster, she couldn't help but follow orders. (gives Sentimonster Ladybug the keychain) Sentimonster, you're free now. I won't give you orders, but I ask you, help us grab Mayura's Miraculous.

Sentimonster Ladybug: Thank you, Ladybug. I will help you.

"So, as long as you get the object infected by the amok feather, you guys can control the sentimonster yourselves?" Mylene asked curiously as well as everyone else and the two heroes nodded in confirmation.

Cat Noir: Are we cool, or are we cool? We could call ourselves Cat Noir and his Ladybugs.

Ladybug: I prefer the Bugettes and Kitty Cat. What do you think?

Sentimonster Ladybug: You're in charge, Ladybug.

Cat Noir: Ugh, I should've guessed. (Mayura walks backwards while Ladybug, Cat noir and the sentimonster try to defeat her and grab her Miraculous)

Mayura: I release you from existence. (Mayura takes away Sentimonster Ladybug's amok, destroying her)

Cat Noir: (enraged) How could you!? (charges at Mayura but Hawk Moth suddenly appears and kicks him away)

Hawk Moth: Getting sentimental on a sentimonster?

Ladybug: Hawk Moth!

Cat Noir: You're the real monster!

Hawk Moth: Oh, that? You'll find out very soon. (Hawk Moth and the heroes fight)

Cat Noir: We've missed you, Grandpa! You don't mind me calling you Grandpa, right?

Hawk Moth:(kicks Ladybug out) You won't be joking around when I take your Miraculous!

Ladybug: Cat Noir, cover me! (Ladybug gets a hold of Mayura while Hawk Moth gets ahold of Cat Noir)

Hawk Moth: (evil laugh) Check, Ladybug!

Ladybug: No!

Cat Noir: Cataclysm!

Ladybug: Good move, kitty. Now all I have to do is grab Mayura's Miraculous and it's over. Checkmate, Hawk Moth. You better surrender.

Hawk Moth: (evil laugh) All I need to do is wait a few minutes until you and your pet transform back into regular kids. So fragile, so easy to break.

Ladybug: Release him!

Hawk Moth: Release her!

Mayura: Don't mind me.

Cat Noir: Don't listen to him. (Hawk Moth throws Cat Noir while Ladybug throws Mayura. Ladybug catches Cat Noir.)

Cat Noir: You had Mayura right where you wanted her. I could've managed by myself. Why'd you do that?

Ladybug: (notices Hawk Moth carrying Mayura away) Because we're Ladybug and Cat Noir. Ladybug by itself doesn't sound half as cool.

"You honestly think I could do this hero work by myself?! Remember when I lost confidence during our final battle with Stoneheart and you helped me gain it again? I need you, kitty," Marinette said to her boyfriend who smiled in response while everyone else murmured in agreement.

"Besides, if Ladybug didn't have Cat Noir helping her, it throws the balance of creation and destruction out," Master Fu warned and the two heroes nodded in understanding.

Cat Noir: You shouldn't say things like that to me. (leans in for a kiss but Ladybug stops him)

Ladybug: But the real Ladybug's heart still belongs to someone else.

Cat Noir: I should've guessed that, too.

Ladybug: Miraculous Ladybug! (The magic ladybugs repair all the damage)

Cat Noir: I guess even your Miraculous Ladybug can't bring our Bugette back.

Ladybug: The Peacock's superpower can be so cruel when wrongly used. Even more than the Butterfly's one.

Scene: Agreste mansion.

Gabriel: You've disobeyed me again, Nathalie. And you put yourself in danger for nothing. (Nathalie coughs and her glasses fall to the floor) Your idea was brilliant, but you don't need a Miraculous to help me.

Nathalie: There is something else you needed Mayura for. To find the Guardian.

Gabriel: I'm not so sure anymore.

Nathalie: (gives Gabriel the Peacock Miraculous) If you ever need Mayura again, I'll be here for you.

Scene: Canal Saint-Martin. Adrien is driven there by his bodyguard and Nathalie for a photoshoot.

Adrien: (gets out of the car) Thank you.

Vincent: Oh, Adriano! ¿Cómo estás?

Adrien: I'm good. Thanks, Giuseppe. (notices Lila from afar) Lila?

Vincent: Do you know each other? Oh my, your papa's new muse is incredible! She's been all around the world, she knows all the celebrities, and she's Italian, just like me!

"Did Mr. Agreste really call you his muse?" Angel asked the Italian girl in disbelief.

"Of course not! But it will boost my fame!" Lila answered proudly, much to everyone else's annoyance.

"And you and everybody else don't see the problem with you being called his muse?" Angel asked Lila and everybody else in the audience who were genuinely confused. "If Lila is Mr. Agreste's new muse, it implies a...relationship between the two. A grown man and a teenage girl?" Once Angel explained, everyone else immediately understood and shuddered in disgust.

"EW! Looks like one of your lies will backfire against you this time, Rossi!" Chloe cackled as she's also disgusted at the thought of Lila and Mr. Agreste. Lila just stayed silent with an enraged look on her face.

Lila: Hi, Adrien. You're gonna give me tons of tips, because I'm not as experienced as you are.

Adrien: Would you mind leaving us alone for a second?

Vincent: Sure. (leaves with the makeup artist)

Adrien: (sits next to Lila) I warned you once already, Lila, but you didn't listen. You hurt my friend Marinette, and that's not okay.

Lila: Me? Hurting Marinette? But she's the one who-

"Seriously, Lila?! First, you pretended to be best friends with Ladybug and a descendant of a superhero called Volpina in which Ladybug called you out and that got you akumatized as Volpina trying to put me in danger. Second, I tell you to stop lying and you got willingly akumatized as Chameleon where you posed as an evil clone of me. Third, you pushed me into inviting you into my house in which you got Nathalie and my bodyguard in trouble with my father. Then, you kissed me and took a photo of it which akumatized Kagami where you asked her to kill Ladybug. After all these incidents, how stupid do you think I am?!" Adrien angrily asked the Italian girl in disbelief as well as everyone else that the latter still thinks she can fool the former.

"You chose HER over me! I think that pretty much answers that," Lila teasingly answered with an evil smirk much to everyone else's anger, especially Marinette's.

Adrien: I don't know how to prove you lied, Lila, because you're good at it. So you'll just have to come up with another lie, just as convincing. Only this time it's gonna prove Marinette's innocent.

Lila: Why would I do that, Adrien?

Adrien: Because we're friends, aren't we? (Lila looks over at Nathalie, who gives her an approving nod from the Agreste car)

"And what if I didn't? What are you gonna do?" Lila teasingly asked, pretty sure that the blond boy had been bluffing and she just did it because of Nathalie on behalf of Mr. Agreste.

"Well, if you didn't get Marinette back in school, then we're not "friends". And since we're not "friends", I would have no problem gathering evidence against you and exposing you for the evil manipulative liar that you are. Normally, I wouldn't boast about this, but I have a huge fan base around the world while your fan base back then was only limited to most of our classmates. Once I expose you to the world, your life will go down the drain, you'll be alone forever, and you'll be lucky if you get a job as a cleaning lady. See how that works?" Adrien asked with an evil smirk himself towards the Italian girl who growled in angry annoyance while everyone else was stunned, impressed at what he could do.

Scene: Mr. Damocles' office.

Lila: And because of this rare disease, sometimes I can't control things I say. I'm really sorry, Marinette.

Mr. Damocles: Thank you for your confession, Lila. It's very moving. Marinette, you will of course be allowed back in the school tomorrow. (blows nose)

"A lying disease?! Really?! There is no such medical condition where someone lies spontaneously. Her pathological lying is a symptom of a personality disorder!" Angel pointed out to the adults in this scene who nodded in understanding while also looking ashamed.

Scene: Outside Mr. Damocles' office.

Marinette: People should know better. Things aren't always what they seem to be at first sight. So look, I don't know why you felt the urge to start all this, or why all of a sudden you lied to fix this mess, but I'm glad to see you're capable of coming back to your senses. Sometimes.

Lila: As you said, things aren't always what they seem to be at first sight. (walks off)

"Something tells me you are not done trying to ruin Marinette's life yet despite what Adrien has said to you," Kagami said with a cold glare towards the Italian girl as well as everyone else.

"Well, duh! I told her we were at war and even that stupid blond boy wasn't gonna stop me from winning!" Lila said with an evil smirk while everyone else gasped in horror and anger.

"As a stupid blond boy, may I say something? Lila, with a talent of lying and fooling others, you could've become an actress. Every talent agent would wanna sign you up and make you rich and famous beyond your wildest dreams and you could hobnob with all the celebrities you want. But, no! You alone decided you're better off as a social-climbing lying manipulator who thinks she can get what she wants by making up stories and kissing people's butts like my father's," Adrien told off the Italian girl in a deadpan tone.

"ROASTED!" Most of the teens laughed in amusement while Lila just growled in anger.

"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU! I'LL GET MY REVENGE AND WHEN I DO…!" Lila shouted towards everybody else and before she could finish, Angel snapped her fingers and the Italian girl disappeared.

"Bye bye!" Angel said as she snapped her fingers. "I transported her back to your dimension with her memory of being here erased. I mean, let's face it: who else was getting sick of her?" After that question, every hand was raised along with a smile that the Italian girl is finally gone until they get back.

Scene: Marinette's house.

Tom: I knew my daughter was innocent all along.

Sabine: Oh, aren't those your classmates?

Alec: (on TV) And this week, we'll be visiting the set of Gabriel Agreste's most recent photoshoot for an exclusive interview with his new muse, Miss Lila.

Sabine: I'm glad her disease doesn't stop her from following her dreams.

Everyone eye-rolled in response to what Sabine just said on-screen before Angel took the stage.

"OK, everyone. This was the most recent episode that has happened in your past. Now, we're gonna get to the future where we start with the 2-part season 3 finale which is called Battle of the Miraculous! With the first part called Hearthunter in which Chloe's parents become akumatized together as one supervillain," Angel announced and everyone else murmured in excitement to see their near future while Chloe began to feel nervous as she suspects that something bad is gonna happen with her as soon as she heard that her parents would be akumatized.