The soft click of her heels against the pavement was the only sound that registered to Princess Justice. Each click just one more step forward on her path to making things right. In the back of her mind, she was grateful for her decision to take her earrings off, but it was a fleeting thought because she wasn’t sure just how deep the connection to Hawkmoth was. Hawkmoth wasn’t yet aware of her plan to take him down, otherwise he wouldn’t have given her the knowledge of his lair. Of course, he didn’t explicitly tell her, but she knew. She could feel it. It almost made her sick, having that connection with him.
For all of the grand schemes and countless villains with potentially cataclysmic powers, Hawkmoth wasn’t particularly bright. His plans relied solely on his blind trust that those he bestowed powers to would be unwaveringly loyal to him. And that would be his downfall. Marching on with determination and grace, Princess Justice knew that by the end of the day, everything would be different.
As she came to the more crowded areas of Paris, she caught the attention of more than a few bystanders. Princess Justice barely spared them a second glance, the sight her mask gave her allowing her to see the injustices of those around her as well as the true intentions lying in their heart. If she were to describe it, it would be like a flame sitting in the middle of someone’s chest. Burning bright enough to shine through any facade someone might try and put up. The brighter and larger the flame, the more they had done to hurt those around them. The hotter the flame (showing up as blue rather than the more common orange) the more it showed their intent behind their actions.
The average person only had a tiny, red flame, as no one is perfect but very few intend to hurt those around them. That was what she saw most often. But occasionally, there would be someone she passed by that had a more alarming flame, bigger and hotter. Princess Justice would stop them, under the guise of someone simply passing out samples in costume for a nearby bakery, and give them a macaron. And then she would be off without waiting to see what came of them. Occasionally she felt the presence of a knight joining her ranks and she would smile. That meant that the macaron did as she intended, and helped the misguided find their way back to the light. Those who were determined to stay unjust got their punishment, and were rooted to their spot in stocks, their misdeeds displayed for the rest of Paris to see.
It took a surprisingly long time for people to realize that she was not a simple advertisement stunt, and was actually an akuma. But even when people put two and two together, no one ran from her. As she strolled throughout the streets of Paris, people simply made way. Once her cover was blown, she made no effort to stop any more to pass out her macarons. She couldn’t afford to be sidetracked. She needed to get to her school before any kittens could get in her way.
---
The school was still full and bustling with energy when Princess Justice arrived, and she wasted no time making her way up the stairs. To those who questioned her--while still recognizing her as Marinette--she simply smiled and gave them the excuse that she was just helping her parents while showing off her costume making prowess. The naivety of her fellow schoolmates allowed her to pass out many macarons without much problem. She gave and gave her macarons with nothing more than a smile, and no one questioned it at all.
Walking through the front doors of the school, Princess Justice felt a slight wave of emotion wash over her, causing her to purse her lips in disdain. The feeling only got worse as she glanced under the stairwell where she overheard Lila and Alya talking. With narrowed eyes and more determination than she had previously, she marched towards her classroom with renewed urgency. However, despite her rising emotions, Princess Justice could not bring herself to handle things with little tact.
She gently opened the classroom door, strolling in with elegance and a presence that demanded awe and respect. Mme. Bustier did not look up from her book, and only got a “Marinette, you’re late once again--” out of her mouth before the rest of the class broke out into chaos.
Questions of what she was wearing and why she was late, pleads to make a dress similar to the one she was wearing, and inquiries on how she managed to make her mask glow and if she was still able to see out of it. The noise grew louder and louder and was beginning to get overwhelming. She had to make it stop. Out of desperation she banged her scepter into the ground a few times, like a judge calling for order with their gavel. Silence fell over the classroom and Princess Justice smiled in relief. She scanned her eyes over her classmates, her heart breaking at the flames she saw. Some were relatively large, but they weren’t hot. Adrien was one of the first she looked at, and his was larger than she expected from him. Large, but not hot. She supposed that made sense, given his naivety. Even those with pure intentions could hurt others if they lacked the social know-how of most. Chloe’s was unsurprisingly large, and the orange flames had wisps of blue within them.
But it was nothing compared to the blue inferno that was surrounding Lila, who had fixed her eyes on Princess Justice with a heated glare. The glare soon melted into a sweet smile as she walked up to Princess Justice with her arms open as if about to initiate a hug. The heat of her ill intentions would have made anyone else flinch if they had the power to feel it, but Princess Justice didn’t react as she began speaking,“Marinette! That costume is absolutely stunning! But isn’t it a bit late for costumes? And won’t it be a bit… distracting to others?” Blinking her eyes innocently at Mme. Bustier, Lila’s voice dripped with faux concern.
“Actually,” Princess Justice spoke calmly, “This is something I’m doing for my parent’s bakery. I spent my lunch break passing out macarons in this costume, and I would have gone home to change… but I decided to bring the rest of the samples here for you all.” As if to prove herself honest, Princess Justice reached into her purse and produced a box of macarons big enough to give one to each person in the class. No one seemed to question how illogical it was for a box that size to fit in such a small purse, but that only worked to her advantage.
With a cheer resonating throughout the room, her classmates happily took one a piece, and then expectantly looked at Lila who had yet to take one. Before Lila could rattle off an excuse as to why she didn’t want to take one, Princess Justice took a step closer to her. Putting on the sweetest smile she could, her voice dripping with sugar, she said, “I really wanted to apologize, Lila. I’ve been so cruel to you because I didn’t know you had such a rare disorder that caused you to lie. It isn’t your fault, and I shouldn’t have held it against you. I hope you take a macaron as a sign of good faith and I hope we can be friends moving forward.”
Princess Justice was so focused on Lila taking a macaron, she didn’t notice the blonde boy--who recognized the energy coming off of her as the energy of an akuma and chose to hide in the background--slip out of the classroom and sprint down the hall.
Lila, feeling the pressure of those around her, hesitantly took a macaron. Once she took a bite, everyone else in the room followed suit. As soon as she saw that everyone had bitten a macaron, Princess Justice cleared her throat.
“Forgive me for lying to you, my dearest friends,” she said gently as those around her stiffened, their eyes glazing over as the effect of her macarons took hold, “I’m afraid there was no other way for justice to be served.” She watched as tears began falling down the faces of her classmates, them likely witnessing the torment they had put Marinette, and occasionally others, through. Soft whimpers and occasional sobs broke free and bounced softly off of the walls of the room.
“Mari…” she heard Alya sniff, and Princess Justice moved to her friend in an instant, her hand gently wiping the tears from her face.
“It’s alright, Alya. I know that you are kind, and that your heart is good,” she whispered, “Please, fight with me once again. Help me take down the injustice in this city.”
As Alya nodded, the majority of those in the room began to change. Their school clothes were replaced with shining white armor of different kinds. Once again her friends were on her side, and feeling the magical connection she had with them all gave her peace. The peace was short lived though, as she heard an ear splitting screech from where Lila had been standing. Lila was still there, but she was now in tattered clothes, her head and arms stuck in magical stocks. From her stocks a flyer was hung, with her name and misdeeds displayed for all to see.
Lila Rossi:
Liar - Conspirator - Harasser - Villain
Lila struggled and cursed and threatened, jerking and thrashing as she tried to escape the confines of the stocks. Even under the influence of the magic macarons, the classmates and teachers looked at Lila with disappointment and pity. All they could do was shake their heads at the pitiful display in front of them before turning to look at Princess Justice. Getting down on one knee, those around her bowed their heads in respect.
“Rise, my dear knights,” she made a motion with her hand and in unison, everyone stood. “I need two of you to move this misguided soul to the front of the school, to let everyone know of her misdeeds so that her injustice is put on display and she can no longer hurt anyone with her lies,” Princess Justice chose to ignore Lila’s increased rage. The blue inferno that surrounded her only grew larger and hotter. “Everyone else, let us--”
There was the sound of glass breaking as a black streak tumbled into the room. It didn’t take long for it to be evident that it was Chat Noir who had crashed in. Princess Justice didn’t have time to think as his baton extended outward quickly in her direction, intent on knocking her down. With reflexes that came only from being Ladybug for so long, she knocked his attack away with her scepter and stepped to the side, a frown on her face.
“Chat Noir,” she spoke, her voice the same calm tone as before, only slightly laced with disappointment, “I was so excited to see you again, yet you attacked me before even saying hello? That’s not very charming of you.”
Chat Noir stood, his expression pained but determined, “Marinette, please,” he begged, “I don’t want to fight you. And I know Ladybug doesn’t want to either.”
For the first time since she had become Princess Justice, she felt a brief flash of rage. How dare someone assume what she would have wanted? That was all anyone ever did, pretend that they knew her and her intentions. Her voice was laced with malice, despite still remaining an even tone, “I’m not worried about Ladybug stopping me, she can’t. Not anymore.”
The conflicted look on Chat’s face only got worse at those words, not sure what to think or how to feel. Princess Justice found herself confused by that. Sure Chat had helped her occasionally, and did know her civilian name, but there was no reason for him to be so conflicted. He’d never seemed so serious before. There had to be something more to this. That’s when she noticed the flame at his chest. She was surprised by the slightly larger than average flame, but it wasn’t hot. A flame of one who had hurt others unknowingly. A flame she had just seen a moment ago in a classmate. With a glance around the room she realized that classmate was not among her ranks and it all clicked together.
This train of thought took only a second or two, and Princess Justice felt her rage disappear as quickly as it had come. She felt her gaze soften, which only confused the feline hero in front of her even further.
“What did you do to Ladybug?!” Chat Noir cried, desperately trying to stay focused on the fact that Marinette was now a villain and he would undoubtedly have to defeat her.
“Oh kitty,” Princess Justice whispered, stepping slowly towards Chat while the knights around her remained on guard, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Chat stepped back, baton at the ready but obviously not intent on using it. She stopped a little bit in front of him, leaning forwards slightly and smiling gently. She dropped her voice to a whisper so no one else could hear, and said three words that nearly brought Chat Noir to his knees:
I know i’m missing someone for the taglist but i’m to worst and lost the message to be added :( so if you want to be added in future updates, just comment and i’ll be happy to add you!
- I probably won’t continue this but I wanted to do something for my DR AU. Sorry if the random bold words are annoying, I’m copying the game style of relaying info -
There was darkness everywhere. A feeling of floating while simultaneously feeling like her limbs were made of lead. Marinette could feel no floor under her, in fact, she couldn’t feel anything. She wasn’t panicking, wasn’t afraid, she was simply existing in this void.
The only thing should could register was a faint beeping, and even fainter the sound of fingers on tapping at something. A keyboard... perhaps? She didn’t have time to think about it because the next thing she knew she was falling.
Falling...
Falling...
Falling...?
Marinette jolted forward with a start, taking deep breaths and sputtering. Why did she feel like she was choking? She gasped for air for a while before slowly her breathing settled.
“What...on earth..?” Marinette panted softly, wiping tears from her eyes from the force of her coughs, “What kind of strange dream was that?”
Once the panic from choking and the grogginess of sleep completely faded from her foggy mind, Marinette tensed.
She was in a bed, but it wasn’t her bed.
She was in a room, but it wasn’t her room.
Marinette wanted to scream, but was unsure of whether or not she was alone. She saw a door that she assumed lead to a bathroom and couldn’t hear if there was anyone occupying it.
As she slowly crept out of the bed, she tried hard to think about how she had gotten here. Weird situations were far from unusual for Marinette, but this was by far the strangest. The last thing she could remember was getting on the bus to go on a field trip with her classmates.
She had sat next to Alya, who had insisted on trying to get to know her better, and then...
A sharp pang made her grasp her head in pain. Her head throbbed for a few moments and Marinette lost her train of thought.
“I must have fallen asleep on the bus...” Marinette whispered to herself, “And someone carried me to the room I’ll be staying in during the trip.”
Marinette confirmed this to herself as she cautiously opened the bathroom and found it empty, and found her luggage bag in the corner of the room. She hadn’t noticed it at first thanks to her original panic, but she felt herself calm down at the sight of it.
“It’s odd though...” Marinette looked around the room, “This doesn’t look like a hotel room, and wasn’t I supposed to share a room with someone?”
The room was bland, with simple furnishings. There was a desk, a lamp, and a single bed. The bed had solid white coverings. There weren’t even any pictures on the wall. The pictures Marinette saw from the hotel’s website were very different.
There was definitely something up, Marinette decided. She just wasn’t sure what. “I can’t even take a school trip without something going wrong,” she whined, “So much for good luck.”
Marinette dug through her luggage and found the itenerary for the trip. Her and her fellow classmates were to attend a week long conference dedicated to learning how to succeed with their talents. Lectures, counseling, Q&A’s with people in specific fields, as well as more “fun” events that allowed the students to show their skills.
Not that any of that applied to Marinette. She didn’t have any skills that anyone could help with. Hell, in her opinion she shouldn’t even be here. Afterall...
What good is career counseling going to do for the Ultimate Lucky Student?
