Chapter 24: I Was Made For Lovin You
When Louve Grise destroyed the Akuma Butterfly, Screamer returned to normal, while at the same time, the whole crowd also woke up, having no sort of memory of what had happened. But seeing the energy barrier, and the way the whole stage looked like a field of war, it did not take much for them to put two and two together, and figure out what had happened. But more importantly, the spheres in which Screamer had placed KISS, Jagged Stone and the person responsible for his akumatization, disappeared, releasing them.
And while this happened, Reptile, who had once again been defeated by Antelope and Dragonfly, who ridiculed him, was teleported back into his master's lair. Landing hard on the floor, the lizard man woke up, and immediately knew that he was in trouble. He tried to move, but realized that he was bounded by whatever Antelope had used to hold him. Like always, the lair was too dark for him to see properly. Even so, he tried to free himself, only to realize that he did not even had the energy to scratch himself, and even less to break free from his restraints. Suddenly, he heard footsteps, which almost made him jump out of his skin. He recognized the footsteps and knew to whom they belonged to… his master.
Tapping his cane against the ground, Hawk Moth illuminated the whole lair. Staring at him, the villain did not look pleased with him. On the back, Madame Romani and Brutus were both looking at him as well, but the way they were looking at him were polar opposites. While Brutus looked like he pitied him, Madame Romani looked like she was eager to see him suffering at the hands of their master.
"You disobeyed my orders, Reptile… again." -Hawk Moth told him. –"Not only that, but you also failed, once more to get those kids miraculouses." -he said, in his usual cold and uncaring voice.
"Master, please…" -Reptile said, hoping to avoid the punishment, he knew Hawk Moth had reserved for him.
"Once again, those kids made a fool out of you, and of one of my Akumas, and of me." -Hawk Moth glared at him. –"Once again, I was humiliated by children." -he said.
"M-Master, I can explain…" -Reptile stuttered, as Hawk Moth looked him in the eyes.
"Good, because I will be wanting to hear your explanation…" -Hawk Moth said, as the tip of his cane began to glow purple. –"… while I remind you, what happens to those who disobey me, and who fail me." -he declared, as he saw Reptile's eyes fill with fear.
And as Reptile was punished for his latest failure, Theo started to come round, with a splitting headache, that he just wanted to get rid of. Everything that happened while he was under the influence of Hawk Moth's Akuma Butterfly, felt to him like a distant dream.
"W-What happened?" –Theo asked, as he opened his eyes, and looked around to see he was in the middle of a field of war. -"I-It looks l-like a tornado came through here." -he said, when he noticed Chat Noir staring at him.
"Do you want the short version, or the long version?" -Char Noir asked him, as he helped him. –"The short version is that you were akumatized… the long version is that you were akumatized and we stopped you." -he said.
"A-Akumatized?! That explains this sensation of dizziness in my head, combined with a splitting headache, while also feeling like I had the craziest dream ever… except that wasn't a dream, after all." –Theo sighed, feeling guilty about it.
"Don't blame yourself for it. It was not your fault." -Rena Rouge said, as she approached them.
"Maybe not… but that doesn't make me feel any better." -Theo sighed, while continuing to feel guilty.
"Look, I know I don't know you, but I know one thing. Nobody wants to be akumatized, and it's not the victim's fault, that happens. Hawk Moth takes advantage of people, when they are at their worse, and manipulates them into doing things they would not do in normal circumstances." -Rena told him, trying to cheer him up.
"She's right. That bastard loves to do that, and it's never the victim's fault, never." -Chat told him. –"So, please, don't blame yourself for it." -he said.
The words the heroes told him, made Theo feel a little better, but not much. He felt bad about being manipulated by Hawk Moth. He had been forced to do things he normally would not do. It was true that he was not in control of his actions, but still, that did not make him feel less guilty about it.
"Well, I guess you're right." -Theo said. –"One thing is for certain… this night can't get any worse." -he said. After being fired and getting akumatized, he believed there was no way things could get any worse. –"Unless, the police decides to arrest me."
"That won't happen. Trust me." -Louve Grise told him. Knowing the police procedures, thanks to her dad, she knew that the police never arrests a victim of akumatization. –"You've got nothing worry about, regarding the police. They are quite understanding, when it comes to victims of akumatization." -she said.
While Chat, Rena and Louve dealt with Theo, Ladybug and the rest of the team were helping Jagged Stone, KISS and Roger getting back up. Making the energy disappear, Carapace was the first one to lend them a hand.
"Alright, let's get you guys back on your feet." -Carapace said, as he helped Jagged Stone. –"By the way, big fan of your work, right here." -he declared.
"Thanks… and thanks for saving us, as well" -Jagged Stone said.
"It was our pleasure… that, and it is our job to save the city from every Akuma that decides to show up." -Ladybug said. –"Still, like I said, it was our pleasure." -she smiled, as Fang approached her and tried to lick her hand. –"Hey, there! You want me to pet you? Is that it? You want me to pet you?"
"Don't let him slob you. He's got a thing for doing that, with people that he sympathizes with." -Jagged joked, without getting his eyes off his mascot.
"It's okay. I love animals." -Ladybug declared, as she kneeled, and allowed Fang to lick her face. –"Alright, alright, I get it, you like me." -she giggled, as Fang continued to lick her face,
"Here, let me help you guys up." –Grizzly said, as he helped the KISS members to get up, alongside Forest Doe.
"Thanks." -Eric said. –"Nice work taking down that creature, by the way." -he congratulated him.
"Thank you. But it was a team effort." -Grizzly admitted, while looking at his girlfriend, who smiled at him. –"I may have gone one-on-one against the Akuma, but if it wasn't for the rest of the team, I would probably not have succeeded." -he said.
"Well said." -Paul told him. –"Teamwork is important." -he said.
"Hey, have you guys seen a woman with short purple hair?" -Jagged Stone asked the heroes.
"Short purple hair? Why?" -Antelope asked him, knowing just who the woman was.
"She's my agent. I need to find out if she's alright." -Jagged said, worried.
"I think I might have seen her…" -Antelope said, not telling him the whole truth. He did not tell him, that he had punched her lights out, when she tried to attack him.
"Jagged!" -a voice was heard, approaching them.
"Penny!" -Jagged exclaimed, relieved to see her. –"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. My head's still spinning a little, and my nose hurts a bit, but other than that, I'm fine. What about you? Are you alright?" -Penny asked him, more worried about his well-being, than her own.
"Never better, thanks to the heroes of Paris." -Jagged said. –"Hey, buddy, look who's here!" -he told Fang, who was still on Ladybug's arms.
Little by little, things became less chaotic, like it happened, whenever an Akuma was defeated. The heroes continued to reassure to everyone that everything was alright and that the danger was over. But like always, there was one an incident or two, regarding the aftermath of the battle. And on that night, the incident it was between the person who was akumatized, and the one who caused its akumatization.
"Stay away, from me!" -Roger cowered in fear, when he saw Theo.
"Hey, man, look…" -Theo said. He only wanted to apologize to him, as well as Jagged and KISS about what happened, so he could feel a little better with himself.
"I said, keep away from me!" -Roger yelled. –"I'm not staying in the same place as him! He tried to kill me!" -he exclaimed.
"He tried to kill us all, Roger." -Gene told him, with a sarcastic voice. –"I'm not saying that's a good thing, but you saying that, doesn't make you special." -he pointed out. –"Plus, you're still alive. So, stop acting like that."
"Besides, he's trying to say he's sorry." -Tommy said. –"You should at least hear him out." -he said.
"Indeed. Besides he's not going to try and kill you now." -Panda Roux said.
It was not easy for Roger, especially because he was still acting a little paranoid. It took most of the heroes to assure him that Theo would not hurt him. Some were more patient than others, and believed that their words would suffice to calm him down. But others felt that what the man needed, more than anything, to calm himself down, was a well-placed punch, or a slap to the face, to help him snap out of it. Still, even if some of them believed that was the answer, they did not do it. Another minute or two went by, when he finally calmed himself down, and once he was asked why he thought Theo was going to kill him, even after being turned to normal, he explained what had happened in the first place.
"Fired?! Because of that? I don't believe this." -Tommy waved his head, in displeasure. –"You really fired him, because he had his walkie-talkie turned off? I mean, come on, that's no reason to fire anyone. It happens all the time." -he said.
"It was not just that… he was wasting time working on lyrics, which he shouldn't be doing, while he's on the clock!" -Roger justified his decision.
"Even so, that's no reason to fire him." -Paul said. –"On the previous tour, we kept losing good roadies, and I couldn't understand why. Now I know why… you keep firing people, because of simple mistakes." -he said. –"That's got to change. From now on, you don't get to fire anyone on the spot, before talking to either one of us, any of the other people in charge of handling the staff. And, you're going to apologize to the kid here, right now."
"You heard him, do it. Apologize to him." -Eric demanded.
"I… I… I'm sorry." -Roger said. –"I'm sorry I fired you, and… caused you to turn into that creature." -he sighed. –"And you can consider yourself, re-hired."
"Thanks. I appreciate that." -Theo thanked him. –"And just so you know, no hard feelings." -he said.
"Well, now that that's out of the way, I think it's time for us to put this place back the way it was. The crowd's getting a little impatient." -Rena Rouge said. –"I'll do the honours, this time." -she said, as she made the Ampulla Amulet appear in front of her.
Using the Ampulla Amulet, a wave of energy swept through the place, and placed everything as it was, making it hard for people, who had not been on the spot, that an Akuma attack had taken place there.
"Now that's some sick magic there." -Gene said, surprised with how quick the magic of the Ampulla Amulet worked.
"Better than what happened in Cincinnati, am I right, or am I right, uh?" -Paul whispered to Gene's ear.
"Yes and no. But let's not talk about it… we all know just how things went there, and what exactly happened." -Gene said. –"Plus, the world's ready for what happened here tonight, but not for what happened in Cincinnati." -he added.
"I do wonder, if it will ever be." -Tommy joked.
"Probably, not." -Eric stated.
"Well, I guess it's time for me to get back to work." -Theo said.
"I better go and see if everyone else is alright, and to see if there's something that needs to be done, before you kick in the next song." -Roger said, as he and Theo headed into the backstage.
"And I better take Fang backstage as well, so you can focus on the concert." -Penny said, as she grabbed the crocodile and slapped his leash on him. –"Come on, Fang, let's go. Let's leave daddy to work." -she said, as she pulled him, with Fang not wishing to leave.
Grabbing a microphone that was lying on the floor, the Starchild decided to address the crowd, to explain what had happened, the only way he knew… the KISS way.
"Sorry about all that, folks! I guess you could say that someone tried to crash the party. But we had a very special security team, who took care of that someone, by throwing him out." -Paul told the crowd.
"A very special security team indeed… and they're right here with us! Can we have a couple of spotlights here, please?" -Jagged Stone asked, as the stage's spotlights were all pointed at the Miraculous Team, whose eyes were blinded for a couple of seconds.
Once the spotlights hit them, the whole crowd cheered the heroes. Due to being under the Akuma's influence, they did not remember what had happened. But they knew that if they were there, it was because they had managed to save the day, and that the Akuma was history.
"Now this is what I call a hero's reception." -Antelope whispered to Rena Rouge.
"Definitely." -Rena Rouge whispered back at him.
"They sure are happy to see us." -Flamingo said.
"We'll never have a cheering crowd like this, ever again." –Chat Noir said, as he waved at the crowd.
"You don't know that." -Queen Bee said, as she smiled and waved. –"Who knows, maybe one day we'll have the whole city of Paris, or even the whole world cheering us, at the same time." -she said.
"I was actually talking about the type of crowd, but yeah, who knows?" -Chat Noir agreed with her.
"Let's hear it for the Miraculous Team, everyone!" -Gene said, as he began to applaud them, with everyone on the stage, and on the crowd, joining him.
The continuous sound of applauses, combined with the chanting of their names, felt great. It was not the first time Ladybug and the rest of the Miraculous Team were given this kind of treatment, but no matter how many times it happened, it always seemed magical and exciting to them. They had numerous squares and streets chanting their names, but this was the first time they had a whole stadium doing it, and that made it ever the more special.
"Thank you." -Ladybug said, as she was given a microphone, so she could also talk to the audience. –"On behalf of the whole team, I thank you for this amazing gesture. It's more than we deserve." -she thanked the musicians and the crowd.
"No, thank you. We're the ones who have to thank you for saving us, as well as this amazing crowd, and the concert." -Jagged Stone said.
"Indeed. You guys are the real heroes here." -Tommy said. –"We're the ones who are more than happy to be applauding you." -he declared.
"Thank you." -Chat Noir said, as he shared the microphone with Ladybug. –"We just happened to be passing by, and well, you know the rest." -he joked. –"But we're glad that that happened."
"You know, I think this deserves a photo." -Paul said. –"I don't know if any of you is a fan of ours, but we usually take a photo with the whole crowd in the background, at the end of each concert. But I think this time, we can take it, a little earlier, given what happened." -he said.
"What he means is, would you like to pose, along with us, for this photo?" -Gene asked the heroes, as he signalled the official photographers that were always following them, when on tour.
"Only if you also let us take a selfie with you all." -Queen Bee said, as she grabbed her trompo and opened it, turning on its cell phone mode.
"You and your selfie obsession, Bee." -Ladybug chuckled, which made a couple of the other
"It's not an obsession. I just happen to like taking selfies with everyone I like, that's all." -Queen Bee told her, with a smug smile on her face, which made Ladybug chuckle.
"Well, obsession or not, it would be our pleasure." -Jagged Stone said. –"Right, guys?" -he asked the members of KISS, who all gave him a thumbs-up.
"Then, first let's take that official photo, and then the selfie." -Eric said, as he grabbed the microphone. –"Okay, everyone! It's photo time! Let's make this one, one for the History books!" -he told the crowd.
And with those words, the musicians and the heroes wasted no time in taking both the selfies and the official concert photo, with the whole crowd cheering them. And the crowd had reasons to be cheering. They were all witnessing a moment that would probably never happen again, not even in a million years. A once in a lifetime encounter of one of the greatest bands ever, as well as one of the greatest solo musicians ever, with the greatest real-life superhero team of all time. Music fans, as well as regular people would be talking about that moment, until the end of their lives. And History books would be sure to talk about such an encounter.
"Thanks. This will look great in my photo album." -Queen Bee said, as she checked the selfie she had taken. –"This one beats the one we took on Christmas last year, in a heartbeat. And that one was quite good." -she thought to herself, as she continued to look at the selfies.
"Ours also looks quite good as well." -Paul said, as he checked one of the cameras from the official photographers.
"Hope you don't mind if we post ours online, so out fans can see it, worldwide." -Tommy said.
"Be our guest. Anything for those who make some of the best music ever." -Dragonfly said. –"O-Ouch!" -she said, as she felt her leg hurting.
"You better be careful with that leg of yours." –Jagged Stone told her. –"That was one sick move you did, when you took that Akuma for a spin in the air." -he said.
"Nothing that a good night of sleep won't fix." -Dragonfly said.
"Are you sure you guys don't want to stick around and watch the rest of the concert, or even play with us? I don't know if any of you plays an instrument, but hey…" -Gene asked them. –"We'd be honoured if you did. After all, you'd mingle with the rest, quite well. We're wearing face-paints, you're wearing masks." -he joked.
"As tempting as that sounds, I'm afraid we can't." -Corbeau Noire said. –"Though I would kill to play that killer bass that Gene has." -she thought to herself.
"She's right. We would love to, but unfortunately, we're needed somewhere else, and we can't stay." -Ladybug said. –"Still, you better get back to playing. The crowd is getting just as wild, as it was, when they were under Screamer's spell." -she joked. –"And we better get back to our places in it."
"Guess we should really get back to playing." -Gene said, as he grabbed his axe. –"Time for us to rock and roll, like we never rocked and rolled before!" -he exclaimed.
"Then, I guess that's our cue." -Chat Noir said, as he looked at Ladybug.
"Indeed. It's time for us to go. It's been a real pleasure." -Ladybug said.
"Yup… I guess you could say that the Miraculous Team has left the building!" -Carapace exclaimed, before looking at Panda Roux and giving him a warning look.
When the turtle hero looked at him the way he did, Panda Roux knew what he was supposed to do, and he was one step ahead of it. For occasions, when they had to make a quick getaway, without anyone seeing them leave, they had come up with a way to do it, which involved Panda's powers. Creating a powerful smoke bomb, he would use it and everything in a 200 metres radius would be covered in a thick black smoke. Using one of those smoke bombs, black smoke covered the whole stadium, in a matter of seconds. Waiting until the smoke had fully dispersed, the heroes made their getaway, being careful not to bump into anything, as they also returned to normal and made their way to the golden circle, by jumping over the crowd control barrier. The last part was not easy, given that there were people already leaning against it, forcing them to squeeze themselves to get back to their places.
It took nearly 30 seconds for the smoke to begin to clear, and when it did, the Miraculous Team was nowhere to be found, and Miss Bustier's whole class was back where they were, before Screamer made his appearance. They had made the perfect getaway.
"Whoa… now that was an exit!" -Paul joked, as the rest of the smoke dissipated. –"Come on, everyone, let's all give one more round of applauses for the heroes of Paris!" -he told the crowd, who applauded the Miraculous Team, even louder than before.
"And now, without further interruptions, let's all get back to businesses." -Gene said.
"But not before I thank a very special person." -Jagged Stone said. –"Just before that Akuma showed up, I was going to thank the artist who created my face-paint, and I asked for a spotlight, so you can all see who she is. Can I get a spotlight, right over there, at the front?" -he asked.
A second after Jagged said that, one of the spotlights was pointed to the first row in front of the stage. It took a little bit, but eventually, the technician in charge of the spotlight found the person it was looking for, at the same time one of the cameramen also found the person he was supposed to find. And that person was none other than a certain blue-haired teenager, wearing a Starchild face-paint, who went by the name of…
"Hey, there, Marinette!" -Jagged Stone waved at the blue-haired teenager, who nervously waved back at him, as her face was displayed on the large –"Everyone, this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and she was the one who created this face-paint you're seeing. Thanks for doing it, Marinette." -he thanked her.
Hearing Jagged Stone thanking her, made Marinette blush red like a tomato. The only reason no one found out about it, was because her face was painted. Continuing to wave at the camera, she tried to not smile awkwardly, though it was not easy.
"And now, let's get back to this concert!" -Jagged Stone exclaimed, as he played the guitar. –"So, what are we going to play next?" -he asked the band.
"One of our best songs, of course." -Paul said. –"One that states that when two people love each other, they were made for loving one another!" -he stated. –"Let's kick it into high gear, everyone!"
Saying that, they began to play one of KISS' most famous songs, "I Was Made for Lovin' You", and the whole stadium began to chant it, with most knowing the lyrics by heart. Once again, the rhythm of good music filled the stadium, and made everyone feel like they were in a concert. On the stage, the five rock stars continued to play, as flames and fireworks flew everywhere. Chanting the song's lyrics, the crowd's chanting was totally different from the one that could be heard, when Screamer showed up.
"Tonight, I want to give it all to you. In the darkness, there's so much I want to do. And tonight, I want to lay it at your feet! 'Cause girl, I was made for you, and girl, you were made for me!" -Paul sang
"I was made for lovin' you baby! You were made for lovin' me! And I can't get enough of you baby! Can you get enough of me?!" -Gene sang.
Leaning against the barrier, Marinette and the rest of the gang sang the song, as high as their exhausted lungs, not to mention the rest of their bodies, allowed them to. The fight against Screamer was tougher than they all thought it was going to be, and they were exhausted. But they still had enough energy inside them to enjoy the concert, while knowing that they would be able to sleep until a little bit later, the day after.
Just like it happened before, Rose asked Ivan if she could see the concert on his shoulders. The blonde knew he was exhausted, but still had to try her luck and ask him. And Ivan answered her, by allowing her to once again jump on his shoulders. But she was not the only one who got that sort of treatment. A certain pink-coloured girl, was given the chance to see the concert, while on top of another boy's shoulders.
"Hey, do you want to see the rest of the concert on my shoulders?" -Kim asked Alix, after he noticed that she was leaning against the barrier, so as to not put any stress on her injured leg.
"Really? But what about your shoulder?" -Alix asked him.
"It's not as bad as your leg. Besides, as long as you don't move too much, I'll be fine." -Kim told her. –"Now, come on. Jump on my shoulders." -he insisted, as he kneeled, so she could climb.
"Alright… and thanks, by the way." -Alix thanked Kim, already on his shoulders.
"Just don't get too accustomed to this kind of treatment. It's a one-time thing." -Kim told her.
Looking at her friends faces, Marinette knew right then, that that was one day they would be talking about, for the rest of their lives. It had not been the perfect day. Not even close… but it did not matter to her. What mattered was that in the end, everything turned out alright, and that was good enough for her, because it meant that whatever bad things had happened to them, they did not outweigh the good things that had happened to them.
"This definitely wasn't the perfect day I envisioned, because of the Akuma. But if I had the chance to go back and do things differently, I wouldn't." -Marinette thought to herself. –"In the end, the work I did for Jagged was a smashing success, and I had the chance to watch the concert with my friends by my side, and more importantly, next to the sweetest boy in the world… my boyfriend." -she thought, as she looked at Adrien. –"Even if things don't go as you want them to go sometimes, life sure is good."
This one was written in an almost record time. And i'm really happy that I managed to write it this fast. It means that my art-block is slowly going away, and that I'm inspired. The only thing left is the epilogue, and I'm already writing it. Hopefully I'll post it within the next couple of days (I'll also tell you what's next for our Miraculous Heroes then. As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestions to improve this or future fics of this series.
P.S. I know a lot of you have emailed me asking what the deal is with KISS and the city of Cincinatti... well, I might as well tel. you about it, right here, so you guys don't have to waste time emailing me. As you know, there are KISS comic books, and in the comic books, KISS have powers and are the defenders of Earth, from all kinds of supernatural entities. When they talk about it in my fic, is a nod to what happens in the comics (as for the question, is this version of KISS the same one as in the comics? Well, I'll leave that to your judgement... I tried to write it, in a way that you readers would choose for yourselves, in what to believe).