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Court Summons (Miraculous Ladybug)

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As the fight against Hawkmoth has worn on with no end in sight, Ladybug has taken several steps to strengthen her side, such as entrusting several of the temporary heroes with their Miraculouses full-time and setting up a secret base. Yet many of those she's trusted have turned against their "everyday Ladybug", including somebody who really should have known better. Marinette learns just how far her so-called friends are willing to go when she's kidnapped and dragged to their compromised haven, to face judgment and condemnation from none other than the Protector of Paris herself.

...Well. That was Lila's plan, anyway. But for all the things Alya, Adrien and her other Unwitting Pawns have revealed, there's one tiny, minor detail she wasn't aware of. And in this case, the devil's not in the details so much as the details proving to be the devil's undoing.

Court Summons is a Miraculous Ladybug One-Shot Fic. Like many, many other Salt Fics that were fueled by frustration at Lila manipulating Marinette's classmates so easily for so long, this work centers around her successfully turning several of her friends against her and staging a Kangaroo Court. But her own scheme proves to be the undoing of all the participants, as the whole plan hinges on getting Ladybug herself to punish Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Whoops.


Court Summons contains examples of:

  • Accusation Fic: In addition to being fair-weather friends, Alya and the other classmates who betray Marinette here are all fellow Miraculous Holders that prove themselves utterly unworthy of her trust, much to the outrage of her and all their respective kwami.
  • Adaptational Jerkass: Alya, Nino, Kim, Max and Alix don't just easily condemn Marinette: they participate in a scheme to kidnap their classmate and former friend with the intent of having her cursed. While Adrien is the most reluctant of the conspirators, his betrayal is rendered worse by how he's fully aware of Lila's true nature and Ladybug's secret identity.
  • Ambiguous Situation: While it's clear that Lila and her supporters know Adrien's Secret Identity, it's never clarified how they gained this knowledge. Namely whether he was foolish enough to tell Lila himself despite being fully aware of her deceptive, manipulative nature, or if he told Nino or one of the others (possibly after they revealed their own identity to him) and they passed that information on to her. Ultimately it doesn't matter how she learned of it, as the results remain the same.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: When Alya makes clear that she doesn't want to wait for Ladybug to arrive, Marinette declares "Fine, you want Ladybug? You'll get Ladybug. Tikki, spots on."
  • Bittersweet Ending: Marinette has been betrayed by six of her fellow heroes, including her long-time partner Adrien, and the apartment she'd set up as a Home Base has been compromised. While the traitors have all been punished, along with the instigator, she knows that the weight of their betrayal will hit even harder once she's had more time to process it. Still, the rot amongst the Parsian heroes has been cut out, and she has the full support of the kwami.
  • Blindfolded Trip: Marinette is subjected to one by Lila and the traitors. However, the blindfold doesn't stop her from figuring out just where they're headed; she's so familiar with the area that she's able to navigate the stairs with her eyes still covered.
  • Bruce Wayne Held Hostage: Marinette gets kidnapped and held captive by several of her own classmates, who intend to turn Ladybug against her without realizing their scheme was doomed from the start.
  • Cannot Tell a Lie: Lila's curse blocks her from speaking any kind of falsehood whatsoever.
  • Cassandra Truth: Each of the Geas that prevent the cursed from sharing any Miraculous secrets works differently based on the recipient. In Lila's case, trying to tell anyone what she knows will ensure they don't believe anything she says.
  • Celebrity Lie: Lila's claim that she's secretly besties with Ladybug plays a key role, as that was one of the main reasons why all of her Unwitting Pawns trusted her with their own secret identities.
  • "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: As Ladybug coldly points out, Adrien could have put a stop to the whole debacle if he'd simply thought about what was going on and spoken out against the injustice, rather than standing by and letting the others bully and manhandle Marinette.
  • Curse: The Ladybug Earrings allow their holder to place curses upon others, a power she first revealed when ensuring the owner of the heroes' apartment wouldn't reveal their arrangement. Lila and her co-conspirators intend to make Ladybug curse Marinette, but wind up cursed themselves.
  • Didn't See That Coming:
    • Lila's scheme to falsely accuse Marinette of being Mayura and get her cursed by Ladybug fails due to a factor she had no way of knowing: that Marinette is Ladybug.
    • Ladybug placed a geas on the apartment's owner in order to ensure they wouldn't reveal anything, only to be blindsided by how several of her fellow heroes revealed its existence to Lila instead.
  • Didn't Think This Through:
    • Despite being fully aware that Lila is a manipulative liar, as well as just who his partner Ladybug is, Adrien doesn't say a word against her or any of his classmates caught up in the conspiracy. When they decide to kidnap Marinette, he's right there with them, helping keep her hemmed in and blindfolded so she can't tell where they're going. He only starts to panic about how poorly this might reflect upon him once he realizes they're accusing her of being Mayura.
    • None of the traitorous heroes consider that all of Lila's "evidence" of Marinette being Mayura, such as her mysteriously vanishing during akuma attacks, could apply to any of them.
    • All of the traitorous heroes decide that Lila is trustworthy because she must be if she's "Ladybug's bestie"... but don't consider that the fact that she keeps telling everyone about it is quite suspect.
  • Dirty Coward: Marinette denounces Adrien as one for not doing anything to oppose Lila, letting her dig her claws deeper into their classmates and tricking them into seeing her as somebody they could trust with their biggest secrets.
  • Disappointed in You: Ladybug says as much after revealing herself, though it's downplayed in that it's very clear more punishment than merely her disappointment is coming their way:
    Ladybug: As the leader of Team Miraculous I am disappointed in you. As the guardian of the Miracle box I am infuriated by you. And as your friend I am betrayed by you.
  • Dramatic Irony: Lila's whole plan hinges upon manipulating Ladybug into cursing Marinette, a scheme which is naturally doomed to failure because they're the same person. Once they have her right where they want her, the conspirators spend a fair amount of time debating how to get Ladybug there, blissfully unaware of the truth.
  • Easily Condemned: The only "evidence" Lila has of her theory that Marinette is secretly working with Hawkmoth is that she tends to disappear during akuma attacks, along with supposedly not praising Ladybug enough and "bullying" others to help trigger akumatizations. Her supporters consider her claims airtight enough that they intend to see Marinette cursed for her alleged crimes.
  • Et Tu, Brute?:
    • Marinette is betrayed by six of her classmates, friends, and fellow heroes, five of which she had extended enough trust towards that they were being allowed to keep their Miraculouses full time... and the sixth being Adrien, her supposed partner, who refused to stop what was unfolding despite knowing she was Ladybug all along.
    • Out of all the participants in the scheme, the three who get the most focus are Lila, the ringleader (and the only one who doesn't fall under this trope), Alya, Marinette's former bestie turned enthusiatic interrogator, and Adrien, who falsely claimed that he sided with her while "taking the high road".
  • Failed a Spot Check: Adrien is the only one of the conspirators who notices that Marinette is able to walk up the stairs leading to the heroes' apartment just fine despite being blindfolded and supposedly unfamiliar with the location. He doesn't bother pointing this out to anyone.
  • Fate Worse than Death:
    • While cursing Alya, Ladybug warns that trying to reveal any of the Miraculous-related secrets she knows will cost her the ability to communicate anything at all, observing that the wannabe Intrepid Reporter would likely consider that loss to be a fate worse than death.
    • The curse of mediocrity itself also counts. Not only is she rendered unable to produce anything of merit, Alya will spend her whole life fully, painfully aware both that everything she makes is of woefully low quality, but that she will never be able to improve in any way, shape or form.
  • Foil:
    • Among the conspirators, Adrien and Nino are repeatedly noted to be the most reluctant about the plan, while Lila and Alya are the most eager. Right before the Internal Reveal, Nino tries to restrain Alya as she expresses her desire to start beating the crap out of her former "bestie"; while it's too little, too late to spare him from sharing the same fate as the other traitors, it's still far more than Adrien ever did for Marinette's sake.
    • Alya's actions are also sharply contrasted with Adrien's equally damning inaction. Alya is clearly convinced that Lila's got it all right and is outright gleeful at the prospect of digging through her ex-bestie's stuff for evidence after she's already been punished for her supposed crimes. Adrien knows significantly more than the rest of the conspirators, but keeps his silence until it's too late and only breaks it to beg for forgiveness. Each also tries to keep their kwami from leaving them; Adrien attempts to hold Plagg back physically while Alya tries to make Trixx transform her against their will.
  • Full-Name Ultimatum: Ladybug addresses each of the conspirators by their full name while cursing them. She also addresses Alya this way when Alya tries in vain to transform with an unwilling Trixx:
    Alya: Wait! Trixx! Get back here! Trixx, let's—
    Ladybug: Alya Césaire, it would be wise for you to stop.
  • Geas: In order to prove his trustworthiness, the owner of the apartment space the Parisan heroes are using as their secret base agreed to be placed under a minor curse that would render him incredibly unlucky should he reveal the arrangement to anyone. Lila and her co-conspirators planned to punish Marinette for her supposed crimes by having Ladybug curse her as well, only to wind up suffering the same fate they intended to inflict upon their classmate.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Lila convinces Adrien, Alya, and the rest of her pawns that she knows who Mayura is, and that they should kidnap their suspect and bring them to be cursed by Ladybug. Too bad for everyone involved in her scheme that her target is Marinette, aka Ladybug.
  • Home Base: Ladybug and Chat Noir decided to set one up by renting out the apartment space over a certain tourist shop, paying the owner with licensing rights and autographs. The owner donates the money from selling said autographs to charity.
  • Horrible Judge of Character:
    • Alya, Nino, Kim, Max and Alix all entrusted Lila with their secret identities. So did Adrien, despite already knowing that she was a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing and that Marinette was Ladybug, which one would think might lead him to question her claims of being Ladybug's bestie.
    • Marinette herself falls into this by virtue of giving Alya and the rest of the temporary holders their respective Miraculouses despite how they'd started bullying and harassing her at school.
    • Lila's whole plan hinges on the idea that she can convince Ladybug to curse an innocent schoolgirl without presenting her with ample evidence of her victim's supposed crimes. Even putting aside the little wrinkle that her target and unwitting patsy are one and the same, it speaks volumes to her arrogance that she thinks she can talk the superheroine into doing something so drastic based on nothing more than Malicious Slander.
  • Internal Reveal: Lila and the other traitors aren't aware of who Ladybug is until she transforms in front of them. Aside from Adrien, anyway.
  • It's All About Me: Even though Adrien knows that Lila tends to be anything but truthful, he's willing to go along with the others in hopes of "keeping the peace" at Marinette's expense. He only really gets upset about what they're doing when it hits him how this is going to affect him personally.
  • Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Downplayed; rather than outright killing Marinette, Lila and her self-proclaimed court intend to see Marinette cursed for her supposed crimes... investigating her guilt after the punishment is administered.
  • Kangaroo Court: Lila has Alya and the others kidnap Marinette and drag her to the heroes' secret apartment in order to accuse her of being Mayura. They explicitly state that searching her belongings for evidence will come AFTER her punishment.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: After transforming, Ladybug curses each of the traitors with a Geas that ensures they will never be able to share any of the Miraculous-related secrets they know, on pain of greater consequences should they attempt to do so. Each is also given a further curse to punish them for their betrayal.
    • Alya, for instance, is cursed with mediocrity: she arrogantly believed herself invincible and untouchable, so Ladybug decrees that she'll never be able to achieve anything of merit, and that her ego will "deflate to match [her] morals and journalistic efforts." Ladybug also warns that if she tries sharing any Miraculous secrets, she'll completely lose her ability to communicate.
    • Adrien is cursed with imprisonment: as he treated the Black Cat Ring as little more than a means to gain his freedom, and refused to stop the injustice he saw playing out in front of him, he will never be able to use any Miraculous again.
    • Lila gets cursed with truth: she literally Cannot Tell a Lie, as any falsehoods she attempts to speak will refuse to pass her lips. Should she attempt to tell anyone what she knows regarding the Miraculous, she won't be believed — about anything she ever says.
  • Mass "Oh, Crap!": Aside from Adrien (who's already panicking), Lila and the rest of the traitors react this way when Marinette transforms in front of them, revealing that she's not Mayura, but Ladybug.
  • Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: A minor example; when Alya tries using her transformation phrase, Ladybug interrupts, stating her full name along with a warning that "it would be wise to stop." Looking at her, Alya feels her lips closing on their own accord, and feels the impulse to flee, but can't make her body move. Given how Ladybug uses full names when cursing everyone, it's unclear whether she used magic to make Alya stop, or if she froze up on her own.
  • Mirthless Laughter: When Adrien balks at the prospect of summoning Ladybug, Alix suggests Lila could handle it herself, given how she's Ladybug's best friend and all. Marinette promptly starts guffawing, her face twisted into a grimace even as terrible laughter bubbles past her lips.
  • Moral Myopia: All of the so-called "heroes" who aligned themselves with Lila see nothing wrong with cornering their classmate, blindfolding her, and frog-marching her across Paris to a secret location to accuse her of working with Hawkmoth and have her cursed. Even Adrien, who's fully aware of Lila's true nature, only balks when he realizes too late that they're accusing the actual Ladybug, implying he would have been just fine with the whole plan if he wasn't aware of that one niggling little detail.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!:
    • As part of her efforts to strengthen Team Miraculous, Marinette decides to trust all of the temporary heroes with their respective Miraculouses full-time. Unfortunately, her trust is repaid by five of them going behind her back to make Lila their confidant, sharing various secrets with her and getting drawn into her plan to attack Marinette.
    • Adrien's refusal to back Marinette up and help expose Lila as a liar leads to five of his allies compromising their secret identities and the location of their hidden base. He also particpates in kidnapping Marinette without knowing what their full plan is.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!: Marinette didn't realize just how deep Lila had her hooks in several of her "allies" until Lila put her plan to get Marinette cursed by her own alter ego into action, exposing which of the heroes can no longer be trusted and ensuring they all get dealt with in one fell swoop.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Alya is practically chomping at the bit to beat the crap out of her former "bestie", complaining about how they shouldn't have to wait for Ladybug to arrive before giving her what she deserves for her supposed crimes.
  • Not Helping Your Case:
    • Adrien does absolutely nothing to try and stop the others; he helps kidnap Marinette and escort her to their hideout, and the most he manages is blurting out an apology right before the Internal Reveal. His choice of words only serves as a reminder to Marinette that he knew her secret identity and still went along with the scheme.
    • When Ladybug orders the kwami to ensure nobody escapes, Alya attempts to transform into Rena Rouge... despite how Trixx clearly wants nothing to do with her. This ensures that she's the first to get punished.
  • Oblivious Guilt Slinging: After seeing how distressed Adrien is at seeing Marinette tied up and awaiting judgment, Lila tries encouraging him by claiming that "[Marinette]'s just trying to confuse you, but you know what's right and what's wrong; that's why Ladybug trusts you." This only throws fuel upon the fire of his breakdown, as Adrien knows damned good and well what his cowardice has wrought.
  • Oh, Crap!: Once Adrien finally puts the pieces together and belatedly realizes that Marinette is the one getting accused of being Mayura, he promptly starts panicking and struggles not to shut down completely.
  • Plot Parallel: Nino, like Adrien, isn't entirely sold on the whole plan, and avoids Marinette's accusatory gaze after the blindfold comes off. When Alya wants to start beating her ex-bestie, he tries convincing her to wait for Ladybug; while this isn't much, it's still more effort than Adrien made to stop things from going wrong. And unlike Nino, Adrien is fully aware that Lila has been manipulating them all and that Marinette is none other than the hero they're waiting for.
  • Poor Communication Kills: Adrien is fully aware that Lila is a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, and that Marinette is none other than his partner Ladybug. This doesn't stop him from playing along with Lila's scheme, despite not being aware of everything it entails — he's locked out of the loop just enough to screw over all of the participants.
  • Regretful Traitor:
    • Out of all the participants in Lila's plot, Adrien acts the most guilt-ridden and reluctant. He still goes along with it, mind; he's just making sad faces the whole time.
    • Nino also shows signs of remorse, such as avoiding Marinette's gaze once her blindfold is removed and trying to talk Alya down when she wants to cut to the chase and start beating their captive up.
  • Rule of Symbolism: One of the ways the traitors harassed Marinette before the kidnapping is by ripping up the rough draft of an essay she was working on for Ethics class, underscoring just how little regard they have for such matters.
  • Secret-Keeper: Played for Drama; since Lila falsely claims to be best friends with Ladybug, several of the other Miraculous Heroes see nothing wrong with making her their confidant... despite how she clearly doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Ladybug declares this to be one of Alya's Fatal Flaws when administering her punishment: being Rena Rouge and running the Ladyblog has given her a grossly inflated sense of her own importance, thinking she's invincible, untouchable and infallible. Part of her punishment is stripping away her ability to believe her own hype: her curse makes her acutely aware of her own mediocrity, and that she's no longer capable of rising above the low bar set by her lacking morals and journalistic skills.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: The unnamed owner of a tourist shop got akumatized over the previous tenants of the apartment above him being rude to his customers. After helping him out, Ladybug and Chat Noir made an arrangement to rent the space and use it as a secret base, paying him with licensing rights and specialty items like autographs. As part of this, he agreed to be placed under a Geas barring him from revealing the arrangement to anyone... which is why Lila and the others know Ladybug can curse others.
  • This Is Unforgivable!: Marinette feels this way not just about Alya and the others betraying her, but how they shared the location of their secret apartment with Lila. All of the kwami involved are equally enraged by this; after she transforms, they help ensure that Lila and none of the former heroes are able to escape her judgment.
  • Toxic Friend Influence: Lila convinces Alya and the others that their status as heroes gives them the right to not only bully and harass Marinette, but kidnap her to extract some 'vigilante justice'. Even Adrien gets swept along by her mob mentality despite having every reason to know better.
  • The Villain Knows Where You Live: Marinette is outraged when she realizes that the traitors revealed the location of the heroes' secret apartment to Lila.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Ladybug is not pleased that half a dozen "heroes" betrayed her trust and subjected one of their own classmates to a sham trial with the intent of having her curse them.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Downplayed; While Alix, Kim, Max and Nino all suffer the same general fate of losing their respective Miraculouses, being bound by a geas to ensure their silence and cursed, none of the details of their curses are revealed as they were with Alya, Adrien and Lila.


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