#dc×mlb

After some time, a short girl with pink hair cleared her throat and tried to contain the wild grin that spread across her face.

"Nice one Lila! Pfft- Marinette is Mayura," Alix said with a chuckle. A new wave of laughs filled the room at that.

"Y'know, the only times Nett has come close to looking like a supervillain was to protect her friends. Li-like-" Nino wheezed. "Like the Halloween Incident."

Most of the class didn't know what that meant, but Kim started to giggle like a maniac. Chloe paled and shook her head. Juleka mumbled something and those around her turned to look at her. With no small amount of shyness, Juleka cleared her throat and spoke up

"I think she was scarier during the Fork Fiasco."

Kim was practically on the floor with laughter at this point and Nino nodded at Juleka's assessment. Lila sat there dumbfounded as the class swapped stories about Marinette losing her temper on their behalf. It was Rose who brought up the the rumor Lila claimed to hear.

"Marinette would only help a villain if they threatened to hurt her loved ones otherwise! She's scary when she's angry, but it comes from a place of concern and love!"

The class hummed their agreements and Lila watched in confusion as nobody voiced any doubt.

"Umm...Guys? I don't think everybody is as sure of Marinette's innocence as we are," Alya said. She stared intently at her phone. Everyone stopped and turned to Alya. "There is an entire article dedicated to this rumor!"

"What!?" Someone shouted. Several of the teens vaulted over their desks to see the article. They made noises of outrage as they read. Lila stared at the group as they started to argue about whether to tell Marinette.

"Marinette should know about this, she'll want to do damage control," Max suggested as he adjusted his glasses.

"We can't tell Marinette about this! She's already so stressed!" Nathaniel argued.

"Tell me what?" Everyone turned towards the doorway. Marinette's eyebrows were furrowed and she eyed Lila with suspicion. Adrien stood beside Marinette and looked around the room hesitantly.

"Well-" Alya began before being cut off by Mylene.

"There's a rumor going around that you're Mayura, and there's an article dedicated to proving it!"

"W-what!?" Marinette rushed towards the group in horror. Adrien right behind her. Marinette grabbed the phone from her friend's hand.

The class had devolved into arguments. Lila was dragged into it at some point, but wasn't doing much. Juleka discussed the ethics of lighting the article author on fire with Marc, who had snuck in to bring Nathaniel a comic script. Rose advocated for talking to the writer instead. Adrien tried his hardest to get everyone to calm down, which didn't work all that well.

It had all gone down hill from there. Marinette had been brought home by a local officer before the rumor became worse. Her parents had to shut down the bakery for the rest of the day. The plan was to release an official statement that stated that there was no proof for the claim, but the universe has always loved messing with Marinette. She couldn't leave the bakery without being harassed by the news or people who demanded she be arrested. Her number and social media blew up with threats. Akumas and akuma victims had both come after her multiple times.

Everyone she knew suggested she leave Paris.

Jagged suggested an old friend to take her in. Seeing no other option, her parents caved.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•The Present°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Ladybug was brought out of her head by the sound of two people joining her on the roof. She looked up to see Chat Noir and Wonder Woman. She straightened and let her Ladybug persona wash over her fully.

"Ladybug, it is unlike you to summon us so short notice," Wonder Woman started, "what is it that you need?"

"I'm being forced out of Paris." Chat Noir dropped his baton as his hands went slack. Wonder Woman was unreadable, but the unease on Chat Noir's face was as clear as day.

"B-but how will you fight akuma victims? Or purify the akumas?"

"Then it is a good thing Fu gave you the miracle box." Wonder Woman declared, which cut off Ladybug's reply. Both miraculous holders stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. She had been quite vocal about her displeasure with Fu for leaving the miracle box to a child, and her frustration with herself for letting her childhood admiration for the guardians slip into blind trust. She smiled at her young apprentices. "You can use the horse miraculous to teleport over during akumas."

The tension in Ladybug eased as she smacked her face in exasperation.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" She grumbled. Chat Noir looked less panicked now, but there was still a small issue. "But what am I supposed to do if I can't get away to transform? I'm a terrible liar."

"Then don't lie, just stay you watch Paris news to know what's going on with your friends and that your worried about them." Chat Noir suggested. Ladybug weighed the excuse in her head before she nodded.

"Good thinking, little warrior!" Wonder Woman cheered. Both women chattered on and ignored how he was turning as red as Ladybug's suit. Their teasing stopped abruptly as Ladybug noticed that he had zoned out.

"Kitty?" Chat Noir's tail twitched slightly.

"Will you teleport over for patrols and training?" Ladybug grunted in offense.

"Try keeping me away!" Wonder Woman smiled at the young heroes. Nobody in the trio bothered to point out that patrol was more of an excuse to hangout.

"Have you already told your other teacher?" Wonder Woman asked. At Ladybug's nod, she let out a satisfied hum. "Are you still sure that you don't want us to train you at the same time?"

The two teens smirked. Wonder Woman had been making feeble attempts to figure out who the other hero training the duo was for months now. Wonder Woman wasn't worried, she knew the duo was careful, but she wanted to make sure their mystery mentor wasn't being too harsh and maybe she wanted to gush about her babies to someone who knew of their existence.

"Not a chance." Chat Noir said gleefully. Wonder Woman sighed in disappointment. She smiled as the two laughed. They talked on their secluded roof for a long while.