Lola was the first to realize that she and Angela had a strange relationship with their hippocampus, but there was still one little detail she missed. It wasn't just that she could retrieve Angela's memories as if they were her own, she was Angela's past made flesh. Deborah was the one Angela was with, but Angela used to only want Ambrose. That old version of herself had come back in Lola Hyde, who subsequently had a feverish fixation on Angela's oldest flame. Because of that, in the weeks following her "birth", Lola spent all her time lusting after Ambrose.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the luckiest man in the whole entire world?" she crooned as she sidled up to his office. This time, she refrained from kicking down the door. She held a sheaf of papers, a song. Angela hadn't originally planned on giving Lola musical skill, but because she was made to be a better, more desirable version of Angela, it seemed as if the extra talent was just another unintended side effect of the serum. While Angela had almost no musical talent at all, Lola was much more lyrical, metaphorical, and poetic when she put the effort in.
"I am love incarnate!" Lola once said. "No one could ever write a love song as sweet or sensual as I! Even Deborah's best, prettiest words would seem like utter, childish drivel compared to mine! It's time to see a TRUE master at work!"
After that, Lola began working on several pieces, and Ambrose helped her make them public. He was an agent, so helping rising stars was his entire job, but because Lola was still new to the game, he wasn't able to thrust her into stardom immediately.
"But I think this song will be the one that finally tips the scales in my favor. Lola Hyde has waited for far too long, she is done hiding and ready to bask and bathe in some of that sweet, glorious, shining spotlight! I know my worth, talent and power, but the rest of the world must know, too!"
Lola was triumphant as she slapped the music sheets down in front of Ambrose. On paper, the song looked lovely, but…
"The true power will be in the performance!" Lola insisted, puffing out her chest proudly, arrogantly. "Believe me when I say I'll bring down the house! Give me even one chance and the Goddess of Love will so thoroughly enchant and enthrall the crowds that they won't even know what hit 'em, and yet they'll still be begging for more! This is an Aphrodisiac in audio form!"
"Now, Lola, remember not to get too raunchy," Ambrose cautioned. "We do have a rating system we need to adhere to." That was the strange thing about their industry. Everyone knew that sex sold, but the moment anyone tried to use it, they ran the risk of being shut down for it.
"We just want you to lean into the blonde-haired and blue-eyed thing a bit more because that's really popular right now."
"Last time I did that, you said I looked like an unprofessional, airheaded bimbo!"
"That's because you were flaunting yourself too much, you have to be modest and pure when you're playing with blonde and blue."
"But I'm always blonde and blue, and you were the one who told me I needed to show more skin in the first place!"
"Well, you weren't supposed to do it like that!"
"Fuck that hypocritical horse shit!" Lola shook her head fiercely. "We do things MY way, ok? I know the way to these people's hearts, and it ISN'T through some pretentious denial of the sexual animal inside us all. Maybe those washed-out old farts upstairs would beg to differ, but let them beg! No one knows how to sing a love song better than I. If you really want a best-seller, you have to let me do things MY way."
Maybe she was overconfident, but Angela made her to be superior, not just to Angela herself, but to all of humanity! Lola was supposed to be the very best, and that was why she hadn't failed a single one of her endeavors yet. From asking Ambrose out, to publishing a handful of songs already, to this latest creation, there was nothing she couldn't do! Nothing she wouldn't try! And nothing she wouldn't succeed at with flying colors!
"I am Lola fucking Hyde, I can do anything!" she cried. "And with you by my side, you will help me ascend to new heights! Restore your Goddess to her rightful throne atop Olympus!" Behind her delusions of grandeur, there was some sincerity. She genuinely loved getting to work with Ambrose, and as far as she was concerned, that was how it always should've been. Truly, without his support, not a single one of her songs would've ever been published, but she was certain that, with his help, this next one blow all the others clean out of the water.
ooo
Lola's prediction was almost perfect. The song didn't hit the top spot as fast as she hoped, but a mere week after it dropped, it was all anyone could talk about. Who was this new, mysterious, one-hit wonder who'd come seemingly out of nowhere only to blow them all away so suddenly and completely? She called herself Mistress Lola Hyde, but she would say nothing about her past except that she got into the industry thanks to the help of an old friend.
The world was amazed and intrigued. Lola was sexy, powerful, sensual, new, and addictive. That was the spirit she channeled into her song. She, essentially, tried to write herself in a musical format, knowing that she was her own greatest asset. What better way to win over the crowd than to give them exactly what they wanted? And once they met Lola, who else would they want except her? Her plan worked like a charm.
But while everyone else was slowly falling spellbound, listening to Lola's song on the radio, Lola was holding a private performance for Ambrose back in his bed. She towered over his prone, naked figure and she looked down at him with a twisted, sadistic, hungry smile.
"Don't blame me, love made me crazy, but if it doesn't, you ain't doing it right. Lord, save me, my drug is my baby I'll be using for the rest of my life," she hummed at him, low and sultry. She would reward him greatly for helping her become a chart-topper.
Ambrose could only stare up at Lola with wide eyes and a wide mouth. He felt his heart and stomach twisting inside his body, excitement and fear intertwining. He loved Deborah and Angela both, but Lola was… something else. It wasn't just the stunning, statuesque figure, but the very fire of her heart and soul. It was truly intoxicating, and Ambrose was falling just as deeply into her spell as the rest of the world slowly was.
Lola made him feel alive in a way he never felt before. The man was smitten, looking increasingly weak the longer Lola lorded herself over him. Her twisted smile kept growing. She was going to enjoy this… But don't worry, so would he, she would make absolutely certain of it!
"I've been breaking hearts a long time and toying with them older guys," she teased, running a finger along his jaw. He shivered, but she wasn't done yet, not by a long shot. She was barely even beginning, lowering herself down so that she could whisper right in his ear. "Just playthings for me to use," her head tilted inquisitively. And what of you, lover? Are you my pretty little plaything? My darling toy, just for me and me ALONE?
As the self-proclaimed Goddess of Love, she considered herself the most deserving of the first and best picks, and this man lying before her was exactly the one she wanted. She'd always wanted him. Always. And that was why she deserved him more than anybody else. No one else had waited for him this long, had wanted him for this long. No one except her. It was time for that patience and loyalty to be rewarded.
He was nothing special, more average than handsome, but the prideful Goddess of Love still had her blind spots and all she saw was a glorious, gorgeous radiance. He was the only mortal worthy of being her consort. Now, she was pacing and shaking like a caged tiger, eyeing him like a slab of meat. There was nothing she wouldn't do to keep him, and keep him all to herself. Now that Aphrodite had her sights locked on him, it was game over. The end game was cemented as soon as Lola decided to make Ambrose hers.
Lola knew what the rest of the world would think about that. They'd say, "She's gone too far this time!" But Lola only had one rebuttal: "Don't blame me, love made me crazy, but if it doesn't, you ain't doing it right…" Her voice was low and husky, her eyes were hypnotic as her hips swayed to the tune. Ambrose started swaying, too, unbidden, but Lola's dance was just too enticing to ignore.
Love made me crazy, but love would be crazy without it, Lola thought to herself. She didn't normally like to think of Angela, even during the best of times, but she couldn't help but feel darkly grateful to the bumbling doctor. If it hadn't been for Angela's own passionate madness, Lola herself would've never been "born". Lola may not have liked to think about where and who she came from, but the realization that even Angela could not deny the intoxicating effects of love made her alter ego feel sadistically amused.
Or perhaps I was hungering for him even before she let me out of my cage, Lola continued to muse. Maybe our love was so strong that it was always meant to be, even before Angela ever had the idea to make me.
Lola scoffed, that was enough thinking about Angela for now, she had someone much more important to attend to…
"Oh, baby, lover, darling, man, my name is whatever you decide, I'm just gonna call you mine!" She straddled him, still singing seductively, lowering her face until her lips were almost touching his ear again. "I'm insane, but I'm your baby," she crooned, flicking out a finger to curl it under Ambrose's chin. She watched his throat bob as he swallowed from fear and arousal.
"I once was poison ivy, but now I'm your daisy," she continued, leaning into the vocal talents Angela had bestowed upon her. At least she could thank the doctor for that. But it was true, the sharp and thorny Goddess of War and Love felt softened and soothed by the man lying beneath her, the man whose face she was holding so delicately. No matter what a monster the goddess may have been, this mortal made her human.
And, baby, for you I would fall from grace just to touch your face. If you walk away, I'd beg you on my knees to stay!
Wait. What? Beg? That's… not… what Lola did… And yet…
There was a part of Lola that struggled, that could feel shades of Angela bleeding into her, and she wanted desperately to stop the reverse transformation before Angela could come back and interrupt what was an otherwise lovely evening. But it felt like the harder Lola fought, the harder it became to resist. The love she felt for him, for her man… It would topple even an immortal, shut down the pride even of someone as arrogant as Lola. The power of love, so confusing and strong, so wild and unpredictable and reckless…
Don't blame me, love made me crazy, but if it doesn't, you ain't doing it right. He and the feeling he gave her were more addictive than any serum.
The transformation didn't come the way Lola expected it to. So perhaps it hadn't been Angela knocking after all? Well, then, what else had it been? That sudden and inexplicable rush that didn't feel like her own? Well, if it wasn't Angela, it must've been hers; it wasn't like they had a third member in there, or Lola would've found them by now, she was certain. So that meant these feelings were all her own, and for once, that almost scared the woman worse than the thought of the feelings belonging to Angela.
I just feel so high every time he's loving me, and it trips up my life, every time he's touching me…
Even now, lost in the heat and fire of their lust and passion, Lola could feel the world spinning round and round again; but, as she was staring to realize, this wasn't the spinning that signaled a reverse transformation. In those times, she was spinning down in a deadly spiral, but right now, she was soaring higher and higher, filling the air until the sky itself had become an arched dome for her to sing into. Her voice filled the heavens as she shouted and sung as loud as her throat would allow.
Rocking below her was Ambrose, looking just as intoxicated, just as high and lost in the drug known as Love. Aphrodisiac, that was the word, and that was the song. The notes hung in the air as heavy as the scent, and just like the scent, the echoes could still be heard ringing through the night sky long after the closing note. But then again, just because a song was over didn't mean refrains and replays never happened…
Lord, save me, my drug is my baby I'll be using for the rest of my life!
ooo
Lola would sing that song for many more nights and days to come, sometimes for Ambrose and sometimes for an audience, but no matter the circumstance, as she'd noted before, the melody was simply intoxicating. It was as addictive as any drug, why else would the world hit the replay button so many times? Lola reveled in it, triumphant.
While the mortals were beyond amazed at her sudden, intense success, she thought the secret was obvious. As the Goddess of Love, she was best suited to write about love, so that was what she did! And none were more qualified than her! And she was certain, she could sing the alphabet and it would still captivate the world and they'd replay it until their ears bled!
People were swept up by Aphrodite's power, poured into the song. It was a song of love and madness, something they could all relate to. That was what made the song so popular, what made Aphrodite so popular. She had always been a face, a name, for the concept of love, and people painted her as beautiful but dangerous. That was how their world conceptualized love, so Lola played to that narrative and reaped her rewards.
As she towered over the audience, raising a mic to her lips, she flashed them all a devious, dangerous smile. The music picked up and the beat kicked up. Lola started to sway, seductive smile turning smug. In harmony with the melody, she could hear echoes of Ambrose's name inside her mind. Maybe the rest of the world had no idea, but it was obvious the song was inspired by him. Or rather, how Lola felt about him. But again, that was intentional. Of course the Goddess of Love would write a love song about her most intense love. There was no purer form of love than that.
Love, love, love! So much love! Obsession, passion, desire, ownership, pushed the brink of madness and mania. Lola was dizzy, high on the song, high on life. Only the halo of the spotlight hid the truth depths of her maddened, frantic obsession with love, and the man she loved. But the people ate it up like a drug, breathing heavy and bodies intertwined as they all sang an ode to the wild and dangerous allure of love, aching for more madness. There was only one face in the crowd that didn't look lovestruck. On the contrary, her ocean-blue eyes burned with hatred.
ooo
Three hours later, a Goddess of War was born in response to the Goddess of Love.
"Just who is this Lola Hyde anyway?" Deborah sneered, hiding in the shadows, piercing eyes following the other woman's every move. Her fists and teeth clenched. She was going to follow Lola after the show and figure out exactly who she was and where she came from. This mysterious fiend would not slip off into the night without Deborah making it clear that by encroaching upon her territory, she was playing a very dangerous game.
The hunt was on, and Deborah stalked the night after her quarry. Once the show concluded, Lola slipped backstage. Deborah knew all the dressing rooms by heart, had the entire building's layout memorized. It didn't take her long to find Lola's dressing room. Aside from the gold and diamond-studded nameplate, there was a large, modeled photo on the door of, what a surprise, Lola herself.
I have never ever seen such a disgraceful display of vanity before! Deborah shook her head in disgust before barging right on in.
Eyes and mouth went wide, and the entire world seemed to stop. Lola was atop her man, atop… Ambrose… What…? Suddenly, nothing made sense. The entire world got flipped upside down and Deborah could only stand in the doorway, horrified and humiliated. She suddenly felt like a child who'd walked in on her parents, and now she could only stand in the threshold, too ashamed and embarrassed to move or look away.
Lola didn't seem to see it that way. She only looked casually over her shoulder, sneering.
"Oh, hiya, Debbie! I'm sure you're eager for my autograph, but I'm in the middle of a private show right now."
"I—… Ambrose—…What…? Who…? Who are…? You…? What are you… doing… with… my man? My man…"
"Your man?" a scoff. "He should've always been mine, Debbie. I'm the one who did all the grunt work trying to win him over!"
Although Lola had started off taunting Deborah, the madness of love made Lola furious. The jealous goddess was returning. Holding her head high and tossing it proudly, she dared Deborah to come any closer. She wanted to make it clear that by encroaching upon her territory, Deborah was playing a very dangerous game.
"You've always wanted him, but he never said yes to you because he was always waiting on me!" Lola declared. She'd gone too far that time. Without even thinking, Deborah grabbed a bottle of perfume sitting on a stool only a few feet away from her. With reckless, wild, hateful abandon, she threw it as hard as she could at Lola. Deborah was starting to go too far, too…
The bottle shattered against Lola's massive chest, tearing her outfit, but leaving no scratches on her olive skin. Had Deborah not been infected by her own bout of love-induced madness, she may have been more amazed; but as it stood, all she cared about was utterly destroying this strange intruder that dared lay hands on her man. She was about to lose her mind. What lines would she cross now?
"Deborah, wait! Stop! Please!" the man in question jumped in front of Lola. Now Deborah felt as if it had been she who was struck in the heart by a glass bottle. She'd hoped, in vain, that this was a nightmare she would be able to wake up from, that it was something she could save Ambrose from, too, but his reaction made it all too clear that, to him, this had been a dream come true.
"But… who…? How…? Why…? How long…?"
"It's… a long and complicated story," Ambrose had the grace to look apologetic, holding his hands out in front of him as he spoke to Deborah. She couldn't overlook the fact that he was shirtless. What were all those red marks on his neck? It was a good thing she couldn't see his back.
"Start. Talking. Right. Now."
"It's… not my place to tell," his eyes were pained, and he deferred to Lola. Deborah felt more glass shards. Lola, meanwhile, seemed amused.
"He isn't even your man, Deborah," she repeated, softer this time. "Aren't you dating someone else, anyway?"
Deborah's stomach tightened. That was right! Angela… What the hell did Lola know about Angela?! For a second, the singer puffed up her own chest as if trying to intimidate the woman who towered over her.
"Oh, cool it, blondie," Lola rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying, you forget so easily…" she shook her head and laughed once. "You already chose someone else, so from what I could see, Ambrose was all mine for the taking."
It was something Deborah couldn't really argue against, but the madness of love meant she wasn't thinking rationally.
"I can have them both if I want! You, you just showed up out of nowhere and stole everything from me! Why the hell can't you go back to whatever disgusting little hole you crawled out of?" Lola scoffed at her again. Oh, how little Debbie really knew…
"That "disgusting little hole" is a laboratory," she sneered. "And it's one you've spent a lot of time in, so I'd be more careful what I called it."
"Laboratory?" For just a second, Deborah's scowl lessened as she tried to make sense of Lola's riddles. Did… Did… Angela do this? Was Lola someone she'd found? Someone she set up with Ambrose? But… why?
It wasn't something they ever talked about, but after they'd started dating each other, even though they promised to remain faithful, it did seem as though both of them still had lingering affections for Ambrose. So why…? Why would Angela do this?
Lola's smug smile turned rueful. As fun as this little encounter had been, because Deborah's entrance was so distracting, Lola's time from the serum started to run out before she was ready. Now, there was no way to hide. They could try throwing Deborah out so she didn't see the transformation, but what other conclusion would she come to when she burst back only to see Angela standing in Lola's dress?
"If you really want to know, why don't you ask her yourself?"
One transformation and two minutes later, Angela found herself half-naked and cowering under Deborah's shellshocked, silent stare. She may not have had any memory of what happened, but the look on Deborah's face and the dress barely clinging to her own frame was enough.
"Deborah, I… I… I'm sorry!" Frantic, whispered apologies fell from her lips. Deborah wasn't moving. Then, Angela's apologies were drowned out by an agonized, infuriated roar. Another Goddess was on the warpath, and she was so much more dangerous than any of them could've ever realized.
The madness of love claimed three more victims in one fell swoop.