Lila Rossi

"Forget it, Ladybug. You were right. We'll never be friends."

- Lila revealing that she still hates Ladybug. "There's nothing you can do about it, anyway; people can't resist when they hear what they like to hear. If you don't want to be my friend, fine. But soon you won't have any friends left at all, and trust me, I'll make sure you never get close to Adrien in class or anywhere! You seem a little less dumb than the others, so I'll give you one last chance: you're either with me, or against me! You don't have to answer right away. I'll give you ‘till the end of class today."

- Lila threatening Marinette. "I see you've made your decision, Marinette. 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."

- Lila Rossi

Lila Rossi, also known as Volpina and later Chameleon in her akumatized forms, is a major antagonist in the 2015 French superhero cartoon series Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. She is a student at Collège Françoise Dupont with a penchant for lying, who is bent on destroying Ladybug (and, by extension, ruining her alter-ego Marinette Dupain-Cheng) and getting Adrien Agreste to love her, thus allowing her to be akumatized by Hawk Moth on several different occasions.

She is voiced by Clara Soares in the original French dubbed version, and by Lisa Kay Jennings in the English dubbed version.

Appearance
Lila is Italian. She has olive green eyes and long chestnut brown hair with bangs. Her hair is loosely tied at the tips with orange bands where she has two shorter strands of hair. She has red-orange wristbands on her right arm. She wears a red-orange jacket over a dark gray romper that has tiny white spots. Additionally, she wears light gray tights and brown high heel boots.

As Volpina, she wears an orange mask with black edges, and her hair bands are black. On top of her head, two fake orange ears with white and black insides are attached. The top of her hair is black and then ombrés down to light brown with the tips of her hair being white. She also has orange lipstick. The necklace with a fox tail hanging off of it is worn around her neck. Her outfit is orange with a white section going down the front. Wrapped around her waist is an orange sash that looks like a fox tail. The edges of her collar and the tops of her upper arms have black lines, and her forearms and lower legs are solid black, with the soles of her feet being white with an orange fox footprinted on each.

As Chameleon, she retains her normal form. However, with her shape-shifting abilities, she can change it.

Personality
"I thought Chloé was evil, but Lila really takes the whole cake! She's like a supervillain who doesn't even need a costume!"

- Marinette describing Lila.

Lila is highly deceptive and crafty, being able to manipulate people exceedingly with her lies, Tikki even remarking she's never seen someone as skilled at lying as her. She is overly fond of attention and has no qualms with how she may acquire it, leading to her making up various false tales about herself towards her peers in order to garner as much attention as possible. She seems to view no harm in these actions and possesses no remorse for them, yet can be incredibly distraught if they are exposed. Furthermore, she also seems to envy the attention others receive, quickly becoming jealous upon realizing Adrien has a crush on Ladybug and going out of her way to make him feel the same about her. She also does not forgive people whom she thinks to have wronged her easily, as shown in her refusing Ladybug's apology for her harshly exposing her lies.

Her hatred of Ladybug, in general, appears to be rather petty and undying, with her being enraged at the attention she receives and willing to grab up any opportunity to get back at her for supposedly ruining her chances with Adrien. Thus, as Volpina, she takes great joy in beating and tormenting Ladybug, gleeful in nearly succeeding at taking her Miraculous twice by exploiting her emotions. Through her usage of her powers, she can be incredibly precarious in her attempts to overcome Ladybug and Cat Noir, almost never confronting them directly and using her illusions to fool and trick them into being where she needs them to be, although her arrogance in doing so seems to match her cunning. As shown in "Catalyst (Heroes' Day - Part 1)", she seems to take pleasure in ruining Ladybug's reputation using her illusions even after being de-akumatized, showing absolutely no remorse, making her the first of Hawk Moth's victims to genuinely enjoy her actions while akumatized. Overall, Lila is vindictive, spiteful and seemingly detached from telling any sort of truth, making her one of Ladybug and Cat Noir's more clever enemies.

As a civilian
Lila is very skilled at lying and manipulating people.

As Volpina
She has a replica of the flute staff as her weapon. With her flute, Volpina can play a tune with an idea in mind to create a glowing orange ball of energy. She can throw the ball anywhere with her flute, and it will create whatever incredibly lifelike illusion that she wants. This can be as simple as creating multiple illusory copies of herself or grander by forming a large comet or a collapsing building. She also appears to be able to imitate specific people with her illusions, as she creates a duplicate of Adrien that is convincing enough to trick Ladybug. However, the illusions are intangible, and when touched will disappear in an orange cloud. Her flute is also long enough to wield as a staff.

As Chameleon
She can transform into another person after kissing them, causing her victim to fall unconscious for as long as she retains their form. While transformed, she, on top of already possessing enhanced physical abilities, also gains her victims' powers, being able to use Cat Noir's Cataclysm and staff as he can. Her akumatized object also seems to change depending on what form she has, given that it changes from her earring in her initial form to a pearl by the time she transformed into an oyster.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug
In "Catalyst (Heroes' Day - Part 1)", when the two are seen interacting, Lila seems to treat Marinette with the same faux friendliness she shows to the rest of her peers, even when she tries to call out her lies. This continues in "Chameleon", where she tries to cover for her when it appears that she is in the wrong, and further tries to befriend her, even offering to help her out with Adrien (although this is likely done merely to get Marinette on her side like the rest of her class). However, upon realizing that Marinette knows about her various lies, Lila very quickly turns into a bully, very plainly threatening to destroy her reputation if she refuses to convert to her side. In "Oni-Chan", Lila is shown considering the idea of humiliating Marinette after finding her in a pile of garbage outside the Agreste mansion, though decides against this as it is "too easy", implying that she is willing to go to greater lengths to follow up on her promise to destroy her reputation.

With Ladybug, Lila possesses a much more passionate hatred, having despised her since the events of "Volpina". While it is not explicitly stated, she appears to envy Ladybug due to the praise and attention she receives, as well as the fact that Adrien has a crush on her. As such, she is totally bent on defeating and humiliating her, taking sadistic joy in attempting to do so whenever she is akumatized, and even subtly dismisses her even while not so, remarking how she is "useless" when it comes to solving problems like pollution when talking to her class. Despite Ladybug's clear desire to make up for her harsh treatment, Lila has no interest in forgiving her at all, first refusing to be her friend in "Volpina" and later pretending to do so in "Chameleon", while really still wanting to defeat her. Lila's hatred for Ladybug even appears to outweigh her interest in Adrien as well, given her genuine remark that she would renounce her love for him in exchange for having Ladybug eliminated in "Oni-Chan".

Adrien Agreste/Cat Noir
Lila is highly infatuated with Adrien and frequently goes out of her way to impress him, though it appears as if her love for him is more lusting in nature that legitimate like Marinette's. She is thus disapproving of him being interested in other girls, like Marinette/Ladybug, trying her hardest to sway him out of their line of view. As Volpina, her obsession with making Adrien fall in love with her seems to grow even further, as she very quickly tries to push herself onto him by showing off her new abilities and even refers to their brief meeting as a "date". In spite of her attraction to him, in "Chameleon", she despises the fact that he recognizes her lies and attempts to lecture her on why she shouldn't make things up, even trying to get back at him for doing so by stealing his identity and trying to ruin his friendship with Nino.

With Cat Noir, she seems to view him as an enemy, yet obviously not in the same vein as Ladybug. This is shown especially in "Chameleon", where, even when she had him at her mercy, she still chooses to go after and defeat Ladybug instead.

Gabriel Agreste/Hawk Moth
In "Oni-Chan", Lila seems aware of the fact that Gabriel is often very controlling and strict, though regardless shows incredible confidence in being able to convince him to allow her into his house. After being caught in the house, Lila claims to Gabriel that she is a big fan of his (although this is more than likely a lie on her part designed to help her get out of trouble). Later into the same episode, Lila and Gabriel, while officially meeting for the first time, decide to form an alliance with one another, yet she still remains unaware of the fact that he is really Hawk Moth. From that point on, Lila contiues to report to Gabriel about what's going on in his son's life, though she is unaware that he is really using her as part of his plans to defeat Ladybug and Cat Noir.

While not knowing him personally, Lila, in some capacity, seems to like Hawk Moth, as he can provide her with the power she desires to destroy Ladybug. In "Catalyst (Heroes' Day - Part 1)", she greets Hawk Moth when he prepares to akumatize her again, and later expresses anticipation for being re-akumatized as part of his plan. In "Chameleon", she not only deliberately gets herself akumatized but also asks Hawk Moth directly for powers again, which he happily provides. Hawk Moth even notes at the end of the episode that Lila's talents and undying hatred of Ladybug will serve him well in the end; and, in "Oni-Chan", shows amazement at her desire to get rid of Ladybug driving her to make a deal with the titular villain.

Quotes
"I only tell people what they want to hear."

- Lila justifying her lies to Marinette.

"Lila: Hawk Moth, I am Lila. I know you want to destroy Ladybug, and so do I! Hawk Moth: Yes, I remember you. Lila: Give me supervillain powers and I'll give you her and Cat Noir's Miraculous! Hawk Moth: With pleasure. I have some new powers for you, Chameleon!"

- Lila being akumatized into Chameleon.

"Adrien, I wanted to apologize for what just happened. I've thought about it and you're right. I want us to be friends, so I'll never tell another lie again. Will you make peace with me?...Whoops. I lied!"

- Lila, as Chameleon, lying to Adrien before stealing his appearance.

"I could take a photo right now and post it online, but that would be too easy."

- Lila opting out of humiliating Marinette.

"Oni-Chan: Lila Rossi. I forbid you to go anywhere near Adrien! Give up on him and I will spare you. Lila: Adrien? I don't know anybody named Adrien! Oni-Chan: Don't lie to me! Lila: I'm sorry, but I always get what I want; its not my fault!"

- Lila while being threatened by Oni-Chan.

"I don't need you, Ladybug! I was perfectly capable of defending myself! Besides, that ugly horned girl doesn't stand a chance with Adrien."

- Lila ungrateful towards Ladybug saving her.

"You're rushing to my rescue even after all those nasty things I said to you? I really misjudged you, Ladybug! You're the only one who can help me!"

- Lila lying to Ladybug about liking her.

"But how could I possibly give Adrien up? I love him so much! Its too hard for me, honestly! You can't ask me to do that. The only thing that would persuade me to give him up if you got rid of Ladybug, for me."

- Lila convincing Oni-Chan to destroy Ladybug for her.

Trivia

 * Lila's name means "beauty", and her surname Rossi means "red" in Italian.
 * According to Thomas Astruc, he intentionally made Lila "unlovable".
 * Volpina is likely inspired by the fox spirit of East Asian lore, which uses illusions to fool people and occasionally takes the form of an attractive young woman.
 * The way Volpina uses her flute as a weapon is reminiscent of how Melodie, a deleted character, appeared to have done the same.
 * Lila is the only known person, besides Gabriel Agreste/Hawk Moth and Nathalie Sancoeur/Mayura, to hate Ladybug even when not akumatized.
 * As of "Catalyst", Lila is the only past akumatized victim to have been re-akumatized into her previous identity with a different akuma. The akuma is also the only one to have ever been revoked and de-akumatized by Hawk Moth himself.
 * As such, Lila has also been akumatized the most out of any of Hawk Moth's victims, having become Volpina three times and Chameleon once.
 * Strangely, unlike the other villains re-akumatized by Scarlet Moth in "Catalyst" or "Mayura", Volpina did not receive a red redesign.
 * Lila is the second person to rival Marinette for Adrien's affections, behind Chloé Bourgeois.
 * Also, it is interesting to note that while Chloé becomes progressively more heroic over the course of the series, especially during the "Queen's Battle" trilogy, Lila, on the other hand, becomes much more antagonistic and dangerous than Chloé over the course of the series.
 * Volpina, along with Copycat, Antibug, and Queen Wasp, is one of the few akumatized villains who is based on a pre-existing Miraculous holder.
 * As such, her powers and appearance are very similar to Rena Rouge, as they can both create illusions and have similar fox-themed costumes. However, unlike Volpina, who can create multiple illusions without losing power, Rena Rouge can only make one illusion per transformation.
 * In "Oni-Chan", it is heavily implied that the reason Lila is so attention-seeking is that her parents, particularly her mother, are constantly out of her life because of their jobs, though this has yet to be stated as fact.