Chapter Text
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"Like a lionesses
Only with less fur
Do not mess with her
She's the apex predator"
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Six seemed to be the pivotal number for Marinette, Chloe, and Alix.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was six years old when she learned that her cousin, Bridgette, had died from suicide. Apparently, someone from her elder cousin’s school was bullying her to the point that Bridgette got isolated from her friends and one of those so-called ‘friends’ told her to die.
Bridgette Cheng was only fifteen.
Marinette loved her elder cousin. Bri was like a sister to her. She was always willing to babysit Little Nettie (Bridgette’s nickname for Marinette) whenever she visited. Bridgette was also the one who gave Marinette the idea of doing fashion design. Becoming a fashion designer was Bridgette’s dream as much as Marinette’s.
They always said that they’d build a Fashion Empire together. However, Bridgette was gone and Marinette was all alone.
And it’s all because of a bully.
Since then, Marinette vowed that she would avenge her cousin’s death by dealing with bullies. So when she saw a group of girls picking on a blonde girl, during her first week of cours préparatoire, she marched up to them and told them to leave. At first, the group of girls didn’t budge, but then, a girl with messy pink hair came up to stand on the blonde girl’s other side.
“If you didn’t leave us alone, I’ll report you to Maîtresse Faure.”
That had the other girls scurrying away. Maîtresse Faure was the strictest teacher in the school after all.
That began Marinette’s friendship with the blonde girl who was being picked on, Chloé Bourgeois, and to the pink-haired girl who helped them, Alix Kubdel.
Later on, Marinette and Chloé learned that Alix’s mother died with cancer only a few months ago. Apparently, Madame Kubdel had a fascination for antique objects, always dressed in an old-fashioned way, and talked in an old-fashioned language which caused her to be bullied when she was younger. Madame Kubdel made Alix promise to always stand up for herself so that what happened to Xandra Kubdel, wouldn’t happen to her daughter.
This made Alix’s and Marinette’s bond form quicker and strengthened. They both had family members who had been victims of bullying.
Chloé was a different case. Apparently, the group of girls was picking up on her because her mother left her. Audrey Bourgeois moved to New York to expand her business while Chloé’s father, André Bourgeois, wanted to stay in Paris because he wanted to keep his job in the Municipal Council.
This made Chloé the baby of the group despite being older (only in months) to both Alix and Marinette.
Not for long though.
Chloé’s ‘baby’ status changed after visiting her mother in New York during the summer. While Audrey Bourgeois might not remember her daughter’s birthday or name, she made sure that by the end of Chloé’s stay with her, her only daughter would learn the ropes on how to be superior to everyone and how to use said superiority.
Needless to say, by the time Chloé went back to Paris, she knew very well how to manipulate people using her connections and to make sure that everyone knew who’s boss. At first, Marinette and Alix disproved of Chloé’s new-learned tricks. But when a group of boys started making fun of Marinette’s childhood friend, Nino Lahiffe, and the teacher did nothing about it because one of the boys in trouble was his nephew, Marinette and Alix began to see Chloé’s point.
It’s a killed or be killed situation.
(If only Maîtresse Faure didn’t leave, then perhaps they would receive the justice they wanted. Alas, they had to do things on their own.)
The choice was easy. They used Chloé’s connection to punish the group of boys and Nino was given justice. But then, other older kids started to target them too.
The Trio preferred to be the predator rather than the prey.
So they worked hard to achieve their goal. They started memorizing the school handbook: every school rules, all the guidelines, the lists of violations and punishments, and every policy (from bullying to dress code) – you name it, they knew it.
By the time they reached cours élémentaire 2, they became part of different school organizations. On cours moyen 1, they gained principal roles in those clubs, and the year after that, they each became the leaders of their chosen groups.
During the middle of their cours moyen 2, a group of older boys was picking on another one of Marinette’s childhood friends, Lê Chiến Kim, near the school grounds. The situation made them realized that bullies also existed outside school. They might have saved Kim because the presence of Marinette’s father, Tom Dupain, scared the group of guys off but the incident wasn’t forgotten.
The trio of girls started studying again; that time, the laws of the city and when they were done with that, they moved on to the laws of France. They were aware of every change made, every new law added, as well as how to bend the rules a little. They also began influencing their chosen clubs, making sure that everyone in school knew their intentions with a single look.
In their last few months of cours moyen 2, knowing the rules wasn’t enough.
The Trio also began mastering what others deemed as ‘accomplishments’ so that not only would they gain more power, but also respect from their schoolmates.
Number one in those said lists of accomplishments were their grades. The Trio made sure to maintain grades above average and that they were always among the best students in class, if not the whole school. They always arrived on time and were very responsible. Whenever one of them was sick or needed to be absent, the others made sure that they still got their notes and helped them complete their tasks.
Number two was their looks. Shopping was always led by Marinette, helping them pick clothes that fit each of their style and preferences. Chloé was the one who made the appointments and reservations to the best salons and spas, while Alix was in charge of their workout sessions at least thrice a week.
Number three was controlling their emotions. After years of practice, the three perfected the art of maintaining a poker face through any situation.
By the time they entered collége, the other students were already looking up to them. Their clique was not only supported because of their accomplishments and popularity but also respected because of what they do: they made sure that no bullies would run around the school freely without facing the consequences of their actions.
"You guys are like the moon," Nino said one day during their 6éme, "people are always looking up to you because your light gives them hope."
"That or they were a bunch of wolves that always looked up and howl at the moon." Kim joked.
The comments made by the two boys planted the idea for their group name: Lunar Ladies. Their symbol was a crescent moon and for their friendship anniversary that year, they went to a jewelry shop to buy three customized black chokers with a two-inch silver crescent moon pendant. Engraved in their own pendants were their initials. Aside from that, the only difference in their necklaces was the two stones on each side of the crescent. Chloé's got yellow-colored stones, Alix's were green and Marinette's were pink.
When they got back to school the following day, Kim and Nino jokingly stated that they felt left out, so they bought plain purple armbands (it was the only color they found available at the time) and drew a single crescent moon in it using a marker.
The surprising thing was, the other students started following their trend. From earrings, hair clips, to bracelets, anklets, bags, tee shirts, and even drawings. No one dared wear a crescent necklace like theirs.
If they thought that the crescent fashion trend was an accident, then they were proven wrong the next time that it happened.
Marinette was working on a clothing collection at that time; her theme was poisonous plants and flowers. That specific Tuesday morning, she had just finished making the set of clothes inspired by moonflowers. For this reason, she, Alix, Chloé, Kim, and Nino were all modeling her designs.
Marinette wore a simple pink dress with white moonflowers embroidered at the hem, patterned like it was a vine climbing to her waist. To lessen the softness of the look, she partnered the dress with a black leather jacket and black ankle boots.
Chloé wore yellow pants with small light pink moonflowers sewn on each side of the pants, partnered with a purple blouse and yellow blazer while Alix’s was a black jumper with customized purple buttons that were made to look like moonflowers.
Not to leave out Marinette's two childhood friends, who had also become close to her two best friends, she made Nino wear a dark blue t-shirt with a messy print of a moonflower in the color of purple. For Kim, it was a black varsity-styled jacket with the print of a huge blue-violet moonflower at the back.
Marinette's designs were not the reason that specific Tuesday became monumental. No, that day became memorable because the Lunar Ladies had been informed of Lettice Bisset’s crimes via one of Lettice’s victims. And that same day, Lettice Bisset chose to corner Mireille Coquet in the bathroom during lunch.
When the Lunar Ladies found out about it (after triple-checking their sources first ~ they were not going to the wrong side of war!) they were furious. No bullying would happen, not if they could help it.
Lettice Bisset was brave because she had connections in and out of the school. She was the hardest case they had faced during that time. She had her own minions as followers and her parents encouraged her bratty behavior.
Too bad for her the Lunar Ladies had higher connections. So the Trio might not have physically harmed Lettice (they would never stoop that low), but they scared her away and made her pay for her actions.
The Lunar Ladies started gathering evidence about her and encouraged her victims to speak out loud. The silent witnesses had also come out because of their persuasions. However, that was not enough. The school board wouldn't accept their claims, simply because the Bisset’s gave the biggest amount of donation to the school.
The school was not following the standard protocol. Lettice had even managed to get a student expelled without an investigation. This fuelled the Trio's anger at Lettice even more. In order to win, they used all their connections.
With the help of Marinette's Uncle who was running a law firm, they sued the school for disregarding protocols and filed a case of assault against Lettice. Under the influence of Mayor Bourgeois, Chloé's father, the investigation happened quickly and with Alix's threatening skills, Lettice finally backed out and transferred to a different school with bad records.
While the school was under investigation, they replaced the principal and some of the teachers who failed to handle the situation. When classes resumed, everyone started wearing pink, white, purple, and dark blue clothes or something that has moonflower designs on it.
That's when they realized the power they held in everyone. They were rising in the food chain. Still, Lettice Bisset’s case was a tough battle and it proved that they still didn’t have enough power.
So they added a final step in achieving their goals – recruiting allies.
Since the three of them were already leaders of different organizations in the school, it was easy. (Not to mention that they have Nino and Kim to back them up.) This expanded their friendship group; however, their Trio was still as solid as it could be.
Sabrina was the first one they let in. She was the secretary of Chloé’s chosen organization, the Yearbook Club. Members of the yearbook club would document their fellow students doing various things throughout the year, and the reports would be put in print for the entire school to see. Sabrina was good at her job and her quiet nature made it easy for other people to take advantage of her. Even if their best friend might deny it, Marinette and Alix knew that Chloé took Sabrina under her wing to protect her from those kinds of people.
Alix was the second one in the group to bring another person in – the Vice President of the History Club, Aurore Beauréal. A dedicated and confident blonde girl, if not a bit proud, but she deserved it because she worked for what she had. Because of this, she easily bonded with Marinette and Chloé as well.
Oddly enough, it was Marinette (the one people considered the ‘friendliest’ and ‘nicest’ of the Trio) who brought the last addition in their group – a sweet girl named Rose Lavillant who was an officer in Marinette’s Baking Club.
Throughout the years of being in collége, the Lunar Ladies had gained more allies in other organizations to the point that the whole school followed their leads. More allies meant more information and help but it also came with a cost – the Lunar Ladies became targets of older students, wanting to destroy their clique.
None succeeded.
The Trio was very thorough in picking new members. That’s why only Sabrina, Aurore, and Rose managed to become official members of their clique. Nino and Kim had supported them all throughout but they were not really part of the group name, but only because they refused to be called ‘Ladies’.
On their last year in collége, another word was added to describe their circle. Back then, they were only the ‘accomplished’, ‘respected’, and ‘powerful’. That year, they had also become ‘feared’.
And it was all because of a girl named Vivian Bernard. She was a dirty blonde-haired girl who almost got in the group and destroyed the Trio.
Keyword was, almost.
Her way ‘in’ was Marinette, because Marinette was nice and always smiled at everyone. She’s not as scary as Alix or Chloé. In a way, Vivian was right. Marinette forgave Vivian when she ‘accidentally’ spilled orange juice in Marinette’s sketchbook or when Chloé’s bracelet went missing and Vivian ‘found’ it in Marinette’s bag or when she ‘saw’ Marinette replaced Alix’s pink hair dye with a blue one.
Vivian planned to eliminate a member of the Trio, Marinette, and to replace her and rule the school with Alix’s and Chloe’s side. If Vivian thought their friendship was petty, then she thought wrong. The Trio’s ire for her only increased when they found out that she’s been giving Sabrina unnecessary tasks (like doing her homework and whatnot), replaced Rose’s perfume with a scent Rose was allergic to, and told Aurore that she was no longer part of the group after locking her up in the restroom stall.
Unfortunately for Vivian, the Lunar Ladies were not easily manipulated. So the original Three let the witch stayed in their group, but only to give her a sense of security. Within the next month, Vivian Bernard became the social outcast.
The other students could only watch the Lunar Ladies burned Vivian Bernard to the ground. For the first time since the Trio decided to become the defenders of the students, the fight was personal. Because of this, they disregard the rules for the first time and had their way with the girl.
The moment the Lunar Ladies removed the crescent pendant in their chokers and started wearing moonflower-themed clothes and accessories again, everyone became wary of their surroundings.
It was a clear sign that someone was going down.
Sabrina submitted Vivian’s homework (which she answered as incorrectly as possible) and projects (which were done wrongly) making the latter have failing grades for the entire semester. Rose mixed super glue on Vivian’s styling gel and mixed her perfume with vinegar. Aurore hid Vivian’s gym clothes so she had no choice but to wear old and dirty clothes (that were stuck in Kim’s locker for a whole month – it was Alix’s clothes and it was in Kim’s locker as a dare).
By the time Chloé and Alix publicly told everyone that Vivian was no longer worthy to breathe the same air as they did – using a string of colorful vocabularies) – Vivian already looked like a dishrag. Pitifully, she had asked Marinette to help her and to the surprise of all, the noirette’s response was a smirk with cold, calculating eyes.
“You tried to break my relationship with my friends, and now you wanted me to help you?” Marinette asked rhetorically. “I don’t think so. This is what you get for messing with us.”
The moment Marinette walked away from Vivian was the same moment the other students looked at her with disgust, anger, or pity. Still, no one dared to help Vivian.
From then on, no one tried to mess with the six girls – especially the core Trio – of the Lunar Ladies. They’re not just any predators; they’re at the topmost of the food chain… the Apex Predators.