Chapter 11: Trouble in the Carnival
The driver had just honked for the third time, and it seemed like the garbage truck in front of him was not moving. Frustrated with what was happening, he opened the window and yelled at the garbage man to move, stating he was in a hurry, as well as the rest of the people in the cars behind him. But what they did not know, was that the garbage man himself was even more frustrated than everyone who was there.
Albert Fabron was frustrated in the worst possible way. With 42 years old, he was no ordinary garbage man. No, Albert was an educated man, who attended college and graduated as top of his class. He had had a good job as a marketing advisor for one of the most important business companies in Europe, and pretty much every benefit that came with it. Unfortunately, over the last couple of years, his luck had changed for the worse. After the company, he worked for filed for bankruptcy, over some financial scandal, his name and the names of every other person who worked for it ended up on a list of people who were to be considered as "toxic", a blacklist. This made it hard for him to get a job in another company. Ever since then, he hopped from job to job, never staying in the same place for more than a couple of months. Now, he was a garbage man. For him, this was the ultimate humiliation. He, who had once a job at a desk, after spending numerous years studying, reduced to a miserable smelly garbage man, spending his time going through everyone's trash. He had started at that job a few days prior, and though he tried to remain optimistic, every shred of hope he had that his luck would eventually change had disappeared a few minutes before.
He was on his way to pick up one of his colleagues before their shift started, when the truck stopped working, just as he turned right from Boulevard Henry IV, into one of the side streets. The engine died right there, blocking the street and the transit. He called the office to report what happened, and the first thing he hears is his supervisor yelling at him, asking how is it possible for the truck to have died like that, when it was running perfectly. Albert tried to explain himself, but he kept being interrupted by the man, who would not stop shouting at him. Being told to stay put, he did as he was told, waiting for someone to come and pick him, as well as the truck.
Still, he felt that that was not going to happen, because the cars behind him began to honk, demanding to move. Checking it, he had forgotten to turn on the blinkers. He thought that by turning them on, the people would understand that there was a problem and would stop honking. He was already under a lot of stress, and the last thing he needed was more trouble. But, that did not happen. Instead the honking became even louder.
"This day can't get any worse…" -he told himself. There was nothing he could, even if he wanted to. The only who could solve that was a mechanic, and he sure as heck was not one. Resigning himself, he just sat and waited, when he heard someone knocking on the door. Looking out the window, he saw that it was one of the drivers, whose car was behind the truck.
"Get that truck out of the way!" -the man yelled, as Albert opened the window.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I can't." -Albert said calmly.
"Can't or won't?!" -the man shot at him.
"Excuse me?!"
"You idiots keep doing the same thing over and over!" -the man yelled at him. –"Instead of collecting the trash at night, no, you come in the morning and in the afternoon, causing people like me, who start working in about 30 minutes, to arrive late at work!" -he said, as Albert got out of the truck to confront him.
"Sir, I can totally understand what you're saying, but there's nothing I can do."
"Nothing you can do… where have I heard that before?! Oh, yes, from every idiot who works for city hall!" -the man exclaimed. It was clear that he was not a big fan of anyone who was employed by city hall.
Albert did not know how to answer to those accusations. The man was clearly not on his right mind, to say all those things. Albert tried to calm him down and explain to him once more what was going on, pointing out that it was not his fault, and the man kept accusing him Albert was a pretty calm, down to Earth person, still, a man can only take so much before he breaks, and in Albert's case, when that man insulted him, calling him every name in the book, that was the last straw.
"You know what?! Here! Keep the keys and try to move it yourself, if you think you're smarter than me!" -Albert threw the truck's keys at the man, and just walked away. He was through with all that. He did not care
Walking down the street, a part of him pondered if he had done the right thing, while the rest of him did not really care. His pride had been hurt… and he could only blame it on one thing, his luck, or better yet, his bad luck. For someone who once had everything he ever wanted, seeing himself in that position was bad. Making its way to where the Seine ran, he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. He wanted to shout out to the world just how bad he was feeling right then. Reaching the Parc Rives de Seine, he was so mad about everything that was going on that he pulled out his cell phone and threw it into the water, while swearing.
"Why is this happening to me?! Why?! What did I do to deserve this?!" -he shouted, not caring if anyone heard him. He just wanted to let all his frustrations off his chest. –"What did I do in past life to deserve this?! I must have killed someone or done something so indescribably bad to be suffering like this!"
The amount of stress in his body and mind had reached a critical point. He did not want to admit, but he himself had reached a breaking point. Cursing everyone and everything that went on in his life felt like the only sane thing to do.
"I'm tired of all this… if only I could change things so everything would go my way." -he said, as he kneeled on the ground, with his head down. He felt miserable, and at the same time angry, angry at himself, angry at his bad luck, angry at the others who seemed like they had all the luck, and that no matter what happened, their luck would never change for the worst.
His words of hatred towards the world were heard by everyone who was passing near that place. And one of those people, happened to be one of Hawk Moth's lieutenants, Reptile, who had gone looking for new targets for his master. Upon hearing what Albert said, the infamous lizard man could not help but to congratulate himself for finding what he had been looking for.
"This is almost too good to be truth." -Reptile thought to himself. –"This one here might be what Hawk Moth is looking for." -he mused, as he tried to establish a psychic connection with his master. –"Master... Master Hawk Moth, sir, I found you a new target."
When Hawk Moth heard his lieutenant's voice in his head, he smiled wickedly. He had found another human, whom he believed would make a good akuma. Using the psychic link between them, he looked through Reptile's eyes and saw the target in question. Just by looking at him, he could almost taste the anger in his heart. This anger was mixed with fear and a little pinch of despair.
"Excellent." -he said. –"This one will make a splendid akuma. Do not let him out of your sight, you hear me?" -he declared, as he broke the psychic link, and made his way to the glass dome where his diabolical Akuma butterflies were. Previously asleep, when they felt their master and creator approaching, they became agitated.
Taking a moment to appreciate the delicateness of the creatures' dark and purple wings, he used his magic to let one of them pass through the glass and land on his right hand. Caressing it with the tips of his fingers, he smiled.
"Go, my beautiful Akuma butterfly. Go and do my bidding." -the villain said, as the evil butterfly flew from his hand and magically went through the walls, crossing the several layers of dirt, gravel and cement, before seeing itself out in the open.
Flapping its wings, the nefarious creature was attracted to the human's heart Reptile had signalled. As it flew, the people who would see it, did not even dare to imagine just how dangerous that creature really was. While flying over a small park, a little dog saw it and ran after her, trying to snatch it in its jaws. But the Akuma butterfly was as deadly, as it was beautiful. Just as the little dog was about to catch it, the dark creature made a noise that could only be heard by animals, which scared the dog away. When he created them, Hawk Moth made sure that his creations would be able to stand for themselves if they were attacked, and that was just what it did.
When it finally reached its destination, it flew downwards, landing on Reptile's shoulder, who was still hiding behind the very same bush, when he contacted Hawk Moth. Seeing the butterfly flapping its wings, he gently grabbed it and said:
"Good, you're here. It's time for you to do some damage so those blasted kids to show up." -Reptile whispered. –"Go, now and akumatize this poor devil." -he ordered the creature.
Obeying it, the Akuma butterfly flew towards Albert, landing on his back. As soon as the creature landed on its back, and its tiny legs touched him, a sudden wave of energy coursed through his body, making his eyes glow purple. He was now fully under Hawk Moth's control.
"Good afternoon, my friend. I'm Hawk Moth and I have a proposition for you." -Hawk Moth talked to him through telepathy. –"If you are willing do me a favour, I'll give you the power to put an end to your current predicament. Would you be interested?"
"Yes, Hawk Moth." -he answered, without hesitation.
"Very well, then. What I want you to do is to cause chaos and mayhem to attract those infernal members of the Miraculous Team. Your mission is to capture them, and then destroy them as well as those infernal miraculouses. Do that, and you will be able to keep the abilities I'm about to grant you."
"I will do as you command, Hawk Moth." -Albert smiled wickedly.
"Then… rise, Leprechaun! Go and exact your revenge!" -Hawk Moth exclaimed.
With those words, Albert's body was fully enveloped by a cloud of black purplish smoke. When this dissipated, he had changed into a completely different being. His brown hair had turned red, and his skin had turned milky-purple. He was now wearing a green jacket over a white and black shirt, a green tie with a purple four-leaf clover, green pants and a pair of black and purple derby shoes. His smile broadened into a terrifying smile worthy of the Joker or Pennywise, the Dancing Clown.
"Oh, frabjous day, oh frabjous day! All these lucky people around, and I didn't get any good luck on my end." -Leprechaun said, with a thick Irish accent. –"It's time for us to change that." -he said, as he looked around, looking for his first victim. –"Oh, there's one."
The victim he chose was a bike courier that was coming down the street. Being in a hurry, he had just passed a red light. He got lucky, because if he had not been fast enough, a car that was coming from the left would have flatten him like a pancake. You could say that luck was on his side that time. But, as soon as Leprechaun saw him, his luck changed for the worse. Snapping his fingers, Leprechaun used his luck manipulation powers to damage the brakes on the courier's bike. When he tried to brake, these did not work. Panicking, he tried to make use of them once again, but these were responding, as a car in front of him stopped. He was merely seconds from hitting the car, his bike being turned into scrap metal, and he, he was about to get a one-way ticket to the hospital. Knowing he was going to hit the car, he yawed to the right, hoping to not hit the car or anything else. He missed the car by a few inches, but when going up the sidewalk, he ended up hitting a street lamp. Falling off his bicycle, he considered himself lucky for only ending up with a few scratches on his arms and knees. But his bike was completely wrecked.
Amazed at his new-found powers, Leprechaun laughed uncontrollably high, realizing what he could do with them.
"Oh, this is amazing! Too bad he didn't get much hurt… but no matter. There are tons of people in this town who have all the luck, and I'm going to make sure that all their luck is transferred to me!" -he kept laughing maniacally, as he began to walk, hopping from place to place, like a jackrabbit.
Reptile, who remained hidden, wondered if akumatizing that man was such a good idea after all. He certainly had the power to cause chaos and mayhem, but he looked more insane than the other akumatized victims he had seen. He wondered if he could be controlled to do his master's bidding. But, those thoughts vanished from his head, when he heard Hawk Moth talking to him.
"Keep an eye on him, Reptile. When those kids show up, be sure to do everything in your power to help him kill them, once and for all." -Hawk Moth told him. –"And remember, if you fail, you'll suffer the price for your incompetence." -he said, with a cold, almost unnatural voice.
Gulping, Reptile knew that Hawk Moth's threats were not to be taken lightly. The lizard man still remembered the last time he had been punished, and he did not wish to go through that again; not if he had something to say about it.
Back at the fair, Marinette and Alya had taken Manon to ride in the Merry-go-round. The little girl chose a unicorn to ride on, and was having the time of her life. While she rode it, to the sickening sound of Justin Bieber's Baby song, Marinette and Alya sat on a garden bench, from where they could see Manon, talking and enjoying that little break. They enjoyed having Manon around them, but still, it felt good to be just the two of them for a little while.
"Enjoying yourself?"
"More or less, I'd say. Taking care of Manon can be more challenging than fighting an akuma." -Marinette sighed.
"Oh, come on, you don't mean that. Sure, she's full of spunk and all, but she's just a regular kid. We were like that, when we were her age." -Alya declared.
"Speak for yourself. I always behaved myself, and I would usually do what my parents told me, when taking me for a walk." -Marinette smiled.
"That's not what I remember. When I first met you, you were screaming and yelling at your parents, because you wanted a doll you saw on a store and you wanted it right then." -Alya smirked.
"Well, I was cranky that day. I mean, everyone has bad days." -Marinette defended herself.
"Right… let's pretend I believe what you're saying." -Alya said sarcastically, laughing. –"Either way, I think your plan is actually working. Treating Manon like she was the same age as the two of us is paying off." -she said. –"Sure, she still throws a tantrum or two, but, usually she would spend her throwing tantrums and all that."
"Well, I'm just glad that Master Fu's idea is working." -Marinette said. –"Manon is so much easier to babysit like this."
"Even if she wasn't, you would be able to pull it off, Marinette." -Tikki told her, from inside Marinette's purse. –"It's like Manon has told you. You're the best babysitter ever." -she said, making Marinette blush lightly.
"There you go, blushing whenever someone praises you." -Alya chuckled. –"If you were a spy, and you had to pretend you were a cold-calculating person, you would fail the mission, when someone made you blush." -she joked.
"As if you never blush. I've seen you blush plenty of times, whenever Nino calls you sweet names." -Marinette shot at her, between laughs. –"And speaking of sweet names, did you notice how Mylene and Ivan looked today?"
"All love-dovey? Please, you would have to be blind to not see just how much in love they are with one another." -Alya giggled.
"You said it! The only way those two could act more lovey-dovey than that, was if they were dressed like a prince and a princess, dancing the waltz, while
The way Trixx talked about Ivan and Mylene made the girls laugh a little. It was a funny thought, especially because it was hard to imagine Ivan dressed up like a prince. Still, they could easily imagine Mylene wearing a beautiful princess gown.
"Well, it doesn't really matter if he would look silly or funny in a prince costume. As I see it, if there's romance between the two of them, I hope it blossoms into something beautiful. They make a cute couple." -Marinette said. She had noticed just how protective of Mylene, Ivan was. Whether they were in school or facing an akuma as Grizzly Bear and Forest Doe, he would always make sure she was alright. –"Like you and Nino." -she stated.
"Or like you and Adrien." -Alya said, as she waved back at Manon, who was waving at the two of them. –"You two are meant for each other, and you'll have to tell him about your feelings for him, sooner or later." -she told her friend.
"All in due time. I just had a date with him." -Marinette told her, blushing a little from thinking about Adrien.
"With the promise of a second date, I know, you told me that." -Alya smiled. –"Believe me, I'm really happy for you." -she said, when she heard her cell phone vibrating in her purse. Reaching for it, she grabbed it.
"What's the matter?" -Marinette asked her.
"Someone has sent a video to the Miraculous Blog, claiming that there's an Akuma running loose." -Alya said, as she opened the video on her cell phone. Opening it, part of her begged for it to be a fake or a prank, because she did not feel like ruining such a beautiful and relaxing afternoon. But another part of her begged for it to be real, just so they could have some action. –"Okay, let's see what we got."
The video started by showing a man dressed in green yelling at a man whose car was on the middle of the street. Looking at him, there was no way the man dressed in green was not an akuma. If not for the way he was dressed in, his skin tone would give him away in an instant. He was looking at the man with a menacing look in his eyes.
"So, let me ask you something, do you feel lucky today?" -Leprechaun asked the man who had previously insulted him, while letting out a maniacal laughter He was going
"W-What?"
"Oh, of course, a man as lucky as you, who has a job he has to get to, wouldn't even care about a poor guy who's down in his luck. It's a lot easier to criticize people and assume they're at fault when something bad happens and that prevents people like you to carry on their perfect little lies…" -Leprechaun kept rambling. –"Well, then let's see what happens when your luck changes!"
Snapping his fingers, the tires on the man's car blew up. And as if that was not enough, the garbage truck gained life and dumped its content on top of the car. As this happened, Leprechaun laughed on the man's face. Revenge was sweet. But the man seeing this happening, was not going to let him get the best of him. Trying to punch him in the face, he missed, as Leprechaun easily
"Oh, so you think you're a match for me, are you?" -he said, with a mocking voice, as his face turned serious, as well as his voice. –"Then, let me show you what happens when I get upset at someone."
Touching the man's arm, Leprechaun's hand began to glow golden, and then, the glow started to spread all over the man's arm, and eventually covering his whole body. Glowing like that, he tried to move but it was no use. He was turned into solid gold. Seeing that, everyone on that street, including the person who was taping it, panicked and ran for their lives, thus ending the video. Both Marinette, Alya and their kwamis, who had joined them to watch the video did not know how to react. An akuma who could turn people into solid gold and who seemed like he could control people's luck was something they had never even contemplated upon.
"Where was this filmed?" -Marinette asked Alya.
"According to this, it was just a few blocks from here, two minutes ago." -Alya answered her. You could tell she was nervous. –"Which means, he might be coming this way." -she said, when a loud noise, like an explosion was heard coming from the West. The people who were around all tried to guess what could that noise have been. But Marinette and Alya did not need to guess, they knew what it was… trouble.
"Then, I'll go and confront him." -Marinette declared.
"All by yourself?" -Alya asked her.
"No, I'll ask Ivan and Mylene to come with me." -Marinette told her, as she grabbed her phone and sent the two of them a text, telling them to meet her outside the carnival, as soon as possible.
"And what about Alya?! Are you just going to leave her here?!" -Trixx asked her.
"Someone has to take care of Manon and make sure she's safe." -Marinette answered the fox kwami.
"She's right, and… Look out!" -Alya screamed, as she threw herself in front of Marinette and pulled her from the bench.
Just as Marinette fell on her back, with Alya on top of her, something big hit the ground, coming from above. It did not take her much to understand that Alya had saved her life, and if it was not for her, she would have been flattened like a pancake by what landed where she was. Lifting her head, she saw that what hit the ground looked like a piece of what was once the front of a car. That was enough to scare just everyone away, who started to run in panic. How did that happened, the girls did not know, but one thing was certain, something like that meant trouble, big time.
"This isn't good." -Marinette thought to herself.
"Are you alright?" -Alya asked her, as she helped getting back on feet.
"I'm okay. Like I said, get Manon and find a place to hide." -Marinette told Alya, as she looked to see if Manon was safe. The little one had exited the merry-go-round and was now running towards the girls, clearly scared and worried about them.
"Marinette! Alya! I'm scared!" -Manon exclaimed, as she reached them, and Alya hugged her close to her chest, trying to make her feel safe. Just like Manon, she and Marinette were still a little scared about what had happened, but they could not let her think that.
"Don't worry, Manon, everything's going to be alright." -Alya said, as she looked at Marinette and told her to go, just by the way she looked her in the eyes. –"Go! I'll stay with her."
"Look, Manon, stay here with Alya. I'm going to try and find a police officer who can help us." -Marinette told her, with a gentle and caring voice, trying to assure her that everything was going to be alright. –"Alya will look after you, while I go find help. Oh, and Alya, just in case I don't find a police officer, call 911, okay?" -she said, as she began to walk away.
Hearing what Marinette had told her, Alya understood what she meant. In case they would ever find themselves in a sticky situation, without being able to talk clearly to one another, they came up with codes to tell one another what the really wanted to say. And in that case, Marinette had told her to call the rest of the team, or text them for back-up. But before she could do that, she had to find a safe place to hide with Manon. Grabbing her by the wrist, Alya dragged her through the crowd, looking a for a place to hide. The options were many, but it seemed like others had had the same idea as her. After a pair of minutes, she found a hiding place for the two of them, inside the Kissing booth. The person who was working there had split the scene, so Alya and Manon had the whole place for themselves. The booth was quite small, but it was still big enough for the two of them to squeeze inside. Seeing just how the screams and the general pandemonium was scaring Manon, Alya checked her purse and grabbed Trixx from it. The fox kwami was once again going to be forced to pretend she was nothing more than a plushie. Trixx did not utter a single word, but Alya could tell from the way she looked at her, that she was anything but happy with that decision of hers.
"Here, Manon. You can play with her, if you want to." -Alya told her with a smile on her lips, as she waved Trixx on her hand.
"Really? It looks a little like the one Marinette promised me she would do." -Manon said.
"That's because she did this one too. You can keep it, until Marinette comes back with the police." -Alya smiled, as she handed Trixx to Manon, who was not happy to be some little girl's dolly again.
"You're so going to pay me for this one, Alya…" -Trixx thought to herself, as Manon began to play with her.
With Manon busy, distracted from everything that was happening outside, Alya grabbed her cell phone and began to text every single member of their team, hoping that at least one more of them could join Marinette, Ivan and Mylene in fighting whoever that akuma was.
Outside the carnival, Marinette ran into Ivan and Mylene, who were looking for her. She did not need to tell them they had to find a place to change into their hero personas. Following Marinette, Ivan and Mylene could not help but to wonder what kind of akuma was running wild. Turning a corner, Marinette almost bumped into a young woman who was coming from the opposite direction, clearly not knowing what was going on. Finally, she found an alley that looked perfect for their needs, turning into it.
"Where's Alya?" -Mylene asked her, as she and Ivan turned into the alley.
"I left her with Manon. I couldn't leave her all by herself." -Marinette answered her.
"You did the right thing. Alya will protect her." -Mylene waved her head.
"So, what exactly are we up against?" -Ivan asked.
"From what Alya and I saw in a video, a guy that seemingly can control a person's luck to his advantage. Plus, when he gets pissed, he can turn people into solid gold, just by touching them." -Marinette told him.
"That's bad." -Mylene said.
"You guys have to transform and go up against that guy, before people get hurt." -Tikki exclaimed, as she, Pin and Muria hovered in front of their faces.
"Tikki's right! Say the magic words, and let's go!" -Pin agreed.
"It's time for us to save the day." -Muria exclaimed, ready to lend his powers to Ivan.
"Let's just hope we're not the only ones trying to stop this guy." -Marinette sighed, hoping that Alya had managed to contact someone else. –"Tikki, transforme moi!"
"Pin, transforme moi!" -Mylene exclaimed.
"Muria, transforme moi!" -Ivan exclaimed.
In the meantime, two blocks away from the carnival, Leprechaun kept causing mayhem. He had just made a car crash against another, because he saw just how expensive they were. He kept laughing maniacally, jumping from one side to the other. A beat cop who had already called for back-up, tried to shoot him. But, Leprechaun decided to change things, so he used his powers to rust the gun to the point that it was absolutely worthless, before laughing on the police officer's face.
"Ha! Sorry, but your luck has just run out." -Leprechaun laughed, as he touched the officer on the shoulder, instantly turning him into golden statue. –"Guess that's that for you, copper!" -he laughed maniacally. –"Now… who's next?"
Reptile, who kept following him, alternating his appearance, so he was not spotted, was actually impressed with the amount of chaos and mayhem he had managed to conjure in just a few minutes. None of the other akumatized had done such a thing, in so little time.
"I'm liking this guy… if there's someone who can get rid of those kids, it will be him, for sure…" -Reptile laughed to himself.
He had not finished that sentence, when someone near him pointed out to the sky. Ladybug, Forest Doe and Grizzly Bear had just arrived, and when Leprechaun saw them, he started to laugh even louder then before. Seeing him act like that, Ladybug assumed they were in the presence of a rather insane akuma.
"Freeze, you idiot!" -Forest Doe said, as pointed her bow and arrow at Leprechaun.
"Oh, the mighty heroes have come to play, have they?" -Leprechaun joked, rubbing his hands in glee.
"Who are you?!" -Ladybug asked him, while positioning herself for a fight.
"My name's Leprechaun, master of luck!" -he declared with a mischievous smile on his face. –"And you are Ladybug, leader of the Miraculous Team, which seems to be incomplete today. What happened to the rest? Don't tell me that unlike you, they think their luck will not save them?" -he joked, letting another laugh.
"We're more than enough to take you on, you freak!" -Grizzly Bear said, as he clenched his fists feeling the smooth cold metal of his brass knuckles against his gloves.
"We'll just see about that, then!" -Leprechaun laughed maniacally, his laughter becoming higher and higher, not to mention annoying with each second. Just from hearing him, the three heroes wanted to break his teeth and shut him up.
