Chapter 17: Love is Chaos
The employees of Printemps Haussman prided themselves on always being ready to help any customer that might need it. But none of them was ready for what happened, when Madison Ambrose was akumatized by Hawk Moth and decided to cause chaos inside the building.
As she walked through the department store's service corridors, she only had two thoughts in her mind; revenge and payback. She wanted to get even with everyone that was shopping right then, and who she had to listen to their incessant stories of how wonderful Valentine's Day was going to be for them. And more importantly, she wanted to teach a lesson to the guy who stood her out the previous night. But first, she was going to deal with the customers.
When she was about to enter the store she worked in, she bumped into her boss… the same boss who told her that if she did not come back calmer, she would be fired. Looking at the woman, Aphrodite felt the need to teach her also a lesson, but she deemed her unworthy of her attention. She had bigger fish to fry, and was not going to lose her precious time with her.
"W-What? Who are you?!" -the woman asked, demanding an answer.
"Out of my way!" -Aphrodite told her.
"You can't be in here! How did you get in here?!" -the woman insisted on being given an answer, blocking her path. She had not realized that she was in the presence of an Akuma.
"I said to get out of my way! Here, why don't you love yourself a little bit more?" -Aphrodite said as she blew a kiss at her boss.
As she did that, a sparkling violet powder was blown into her face, spiralling into the air and hitting the woman, who became instantly smitten. She began to feel her body relaxed, her eyes turned pink, and as she looked at herself in a nearby mirror, she fell in love with her own reflection.
"Hey, there! Haven't seen you around here before…" -the woman said
"So much better… what's not to love about loving one's self?" -Aphrodite asked. –"And now, let's show these people just what love truly is."
Entering the store, she saw that some of the customers who were shopping when she was told to taker her break, were still there. And more importantly, the woman that made her make a scene was still there as well. The first ones to notice her presence were some of the customers, as she made her way to the centre of the store.
"You all think that you are entitled to having a perfect romantic day on Valentine's Day, don't you?! Well, I, Aphrodite, am here to show you what true love really is!" -Aphrodite told everyone who was in the store.
At first, both the employees and the clients wondered if that was some kind of publicity stunt, that had been organized by the department store. But when Aphrodite began to blow kisses, using the same kind trick she did with her boss. Upon being hit by the spiralling violet powder, the Akuma released on them, everyone began to feel relaxed and in a matter of seconds they too suffered the same fate as Aphrodite's first victim. Only this time, instead of just falling in love with their own reflections, some people fell in love with the person that was next to them, and vice versa, and in the worst possible scenario, they fell in love with some object they were holding or looking into, which caused them to begin fighting for that same object.
"That's mine!" -one of the women screamed, as she pulled a sweater.
"No, it's mine! I'm in love with it! Get away from it!" -another women screamed as she punched the other, forcing her to let go of the sweater. –"Don't worry, I won't let her take you! We're destined to be together!"
The whole scene looked like something out of a bad comedy movie. But it was not. It was real, and for anyone who had managed to escape that first attack from Aphrodite, and was watching it, it made them wonder what other powers she would have.
"Yes! That is what true love really is!" -Aphrodite said, as she looked around her, when she spotted the customer that had made her mad before. –"Where do you think you're going? Don't you want the perfect Valentine's Day? Allow me to give it to you." -she smirked evilly at the woman.
Blowing her a kiss, the violet power spiralled into the air with an incredible speed, making its way towards the woman, who tried to run away. But no matter how fast she ran, the powder, which Aphrodite decided to baptize as "Love Powder" caught up to her. Hitting her, she became infatuated with the first thing she saw, which in that case was her own reflection. Without hesitating, she began to flirt with it, while claiming that her boyfriend meant nothing to her.
"Glad to see that I've given you the perfect Valentine's Day, you wanted so much." –Aphrodite laughed wickedly, feeling good about herself. - "But there is much to do. Everyone here needs to know what true love really is!" -she laughed, as she made her way out of the store. Looking around, she picked her next target, a group of women who was coming towards her. –"Dear ladies, allow me to show you what love is really all about!"
Madame Romani, who had kept herself hidden, was following Aphrodite and admiring her handiwork. When her master akumatized her, she wondered what kind of Akuma she would be turned into. And now that she had seen her at work, she knew that Hawk Moth had created an incredibly powerful Akuma, all thanks to her judgement and locating skills.
"Incredible. Making these fools fall in love with each other, with their own reflection, or with an object… with this kind of power, it's only a matter of time before things begin to escalate, and those kids are drawn into it. And once that happens, Aphrodite will make sure this will be their last day on Earth." -Madame Romani thought to herself. –"I can't wait to see that happening."
It did not take long for someone inside the department store to call 112 and warn the police about an Akuma inside. And as always, the Parisian police promptly answered the call, by dispatching numerous patrol cars and the task force that had been created for such cases. Along with them, also came firemen and paramedics. Ever since Hawk Moth showed up, the police had had their hands full, thanks to the incredible number of Akumas that continued to appear, week after week, each more powerful than the previous one. To say that they trusted and depended too much on the Miraculous Team was no lie. They had learned to do so. Unlike the heroes, the police did not have the kind of power they had to deal with those creatures. But that did not mean they had not developed ways to deal with the Akumas in their own way. Over time they had learned that Akumas could be hurt through the use of the right weapons like taser guns and tear gas. Fire weapons were strictly used in dire situations, or as a last resort against any Akuma, because they did not want to risk to fatally hurt someone; after all, a victim of akumatization did not have any control over their actions.
Through the use of certain containment strategies, the police were also able to prevent the Akumas from destroying public property, or hurting innocent bystanders. Of course, those strategies only worked when the Akumas were still learning to control their powers. Once they had managed to learn to do so, the only ones who could stop it were the heroes. But on that day, those that had been dispatched there were determined to hold down the fort until the heroes arrived to finish the job.
The first thing the authorities did was to seal the perimeter to prevent any civilians from entering said perimeter, as the task force arrived, accompanied by several other police vehicles and ambulances. Once more, a section of Paris had turned into the closest thing to a scene in a major Hollywood movie about cops and robbers. Behind the barricades, hundreds of people who were passing by, took the time to stop and start snapping photos and videos of what was going on.
Among those in lead was Sabrina's dad, Roger Raincomprix, who once again saw himself in the front of battle. He had seen more Akuma attacks than he would like to, and he firmly believed that this one would not be the last. Still, like a good law enforcement agent, he tried to remain calm. One of the first things he was taught at the academy was to always act calm, even when the situation seemed out of control.
"What do we have?" -Lt. Roger Raincomprix asked one of the officers, as he approached him.
"Most people that managed to get out are talking about an Akuma who's making everyone fall in love, lieutenant." -the officer answered.
"Making everyone fall in love? Don't tell me Hawk Moth decided to create an Akuma based on this holiday?" -Lt. Raincomprix asked, as he tried to imagine how the Akuma would look like. Until then, it had not showed itself to the police, and no image of it had surfaced online.
"It wouldn't be the first time, sir." -the officer stated.
"Why are the building doors shut?" -Lt. Raincomprix asked, while looking at the building's front.
"From what we were able to find out, it's part of their security system, lieutenant. In case of theft, the doors sealed themselves, to prevent the robbers from escaping. Some of the security guards inside must have deployed it, either by accident or on purpose to not allow the Akuma out." -another said.
"Whether it was an accident or not, we best be prepared." -Lt Raincomprix said. –"And hope that it was just a false alarm. We've already had this month's share of Akumas." –he thought to himself. –"Has the commissioner arrived yet?"
"Not yet, sir. He's still on his way."
"I see… well, I'll go talk to the task force and tell them to get ready to move in soon. And someone get me the blueprints of this building. We need to find the best way to get in there, if we can't open those doors. In the meantime, keep an eye out for trouble. Whenever one of Hawk Moth's Akumas show up, his minions also tend to show up." -Lt. Raincomprix warned his men.
He was on his way to do just that, when suddenly, the doors of the Printemps building opened and what came out was something none of the people were expecting to see. Usually, monsters and creatures tended to show up, along with the Akuma. But this time, something different happened. This time, what came out were not monsters or creatures, and instead, it was people. Regular people, who seemed to be enjoying themselves, by kissing and smooching, while also dancing to the sound of some music that could not be heard by anyone, except themselves. On top of that, their eyes were all pink. Surrounding them was some sort of purple mist, which seemed to be moving around them, with a mind of its own. Watching it, both the authorities and the civilians that were behind the barricades, wondered what was really going on.
"What's going on there?"
"They seem like they've been hypnotized, or are under some sort of spell or something."
"Look at their eyes! They're pink!"
"Whoa, this doesn't look like an Akuma attack… it looks more like a party!"
Hearing the civilians saying that, the police officers, the paramedics and even the firemen wondered what was really going on. But before they could do anything, the mist that was around those people began to converge into a single point, right in the middle of that crowd of people. Holding their breath, little by little, they all saw the mist acquiring a definite shape. turning into a person, a beautiful woman, who was not a simple woman, but an Akuma. Seeing that, most police officers drew their weapons and pointed at Aphrodite and her entourage, though none of them had intention of firing them.
"Good afternoon, officers! I was wondering when Paris' finest would show up." -Aphrodite said. –"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Aphrodite, and I'm here to show you what love really is, unlike this stupid holiday!" -she declared.
"What is she talking about?" -Lt. Raincomprix thought to himself. –"Whatever it is, it can't be good." -he mused.
"What are your orders, sir?"
"Hold your fire! I repeat, hold your fire! Don't shoot, you might hit one of civilians!" -Lt. Raincomprix ordered them. The last thing they needed was for a dead civilian. –"She's smart. She's using them as a shield, and she knows that no one will dare to fire against her, while she has civilians under her control next to her." -he thought to himself, while trying to think of a way to take Aphrodite out, without hurting any of the people she was keeping around her, under her control.
"You all seem rather stressed… perhaps some of my Love Powder is what you need." -Aphrodite smirked. –"Yes, that's just what you and everyone else around here needs. Once you are under the spell of true love, I'm sure that those Miraculous Heroes will come to your rescue… here, let me blow you a kiss." -she said, as she did so, sending Love Powder flying into the air.
At the same time, in College Françoise Dupont, the whole school was inside the gymnasium watching Cyrano de Bergerac, without even dreaming about the fact that another Akuma was on the loose in Paris. But not all the students were happy about being forced to watch that play. Most just wanted to get out of there and do something that was both fun and non-educational. And one of them was none other than Chloe Bourgeois, who had never enjoyed Cyrano de Bergerac.
"I'm bored, Sabrina." -Chloe whispered to the redhead. –"The story of this play is so boring." -she sighed. –"Why did Miss Bustier had to force us to leave our cell phones in the classroom?"
"Well, I like it. It's quite beautiful." -Sabrina whispered back at the blonde, as she paid attention to the play.
"Well, I would rather be checking my profiles online, than watching this." -Chloe sighed. –"It's bad enough we had to study this play in class a few months ago, but now we've also got to watch it." -she thought to herself.
But there were some students who were enjoying it, like Mylene Haprele. Loving theatre and acting, her eyes were literally glued to the stage, watching the play. She had seen Cyrano before, when her dad's theatre company did it a few years before. In it, her dad played Christian de Neuvillette, and told her, that perhaps one day, when she was older, she would be able to play Roxanne. The young Mylene imagined herself playing Roxanne, but as years went by, she began to think that perhaps she was not physically suited for the part. But her dream of playing the character did come true, the year before, when she played Roxanne for one night, courtesy of her dad, who upon the lead actress coming down with a flu, asked Mylene to play Roxanne, in an adaptation of the play that had been written for children
"You're really enjoying it, aren't you?" -Ivan whispered at Mylene.
"I love the play so much. Every time I watch it, I remember the night I played Roxanne." -Mylene sighed, as she remembered the night in question. –"It was such a magical night." -she whispered at Ivan.
"I wish I could have seen you in it." -Ivan whispered at her. He had seen Mylene acting countless times. But those times had been mostly for short-films. He had only seen her on stage three times, and they were all small parts, not leading parts.
"If you want to, I can put on a private performance just for you." -Mylene smiled at her boyfriend.
"I would like that, very much." -Ivan smiled back at her.
And of course, then there were those students who took the opportunity to whisper among themselves as the play went on. Two of them were Alya and Nino, who despite being attentive to the play, were talking about something far more interesting, the state of Marinette and Adrien's relationship.
"Looks like things are going smoothly, wouldn't you say?" -Alya asked him in a whisper.
"I guess we can say that." -Nino whispered at her. –"The look on Adrien's face when she presented him with that cake was priceless." -he declared.
"She told me that she wanted to give him something special." -Alya said. –"Especially, after what happened the other day." -she stated.
"What happened the other day?" -Nino asked her.
"Marinette told me that two days ago, she saw Adrien with another girl and she believed that he was secretly dating her. It was a real blow to her confidence." -Alya answered him.
"What?!" -Nino exclaimed, making almost everyone near them to keep quiet. –"Why would she think something like that?" -he asked her in a hushed voice.
"Because this is Marinette we're talking about here. You know how she is. She might try and act tough in front of everyone, but her heart is the polar opposite of that. Sometimes it only takes a word to make any shred of self-confidence she might have disappear." -Alya reminded him. –"And what she saw that afternoon, messed her up pretty bad. It made her think the worst. It made her that she had lost any chance with Adrien."
"But that's not what happened. Adrien told me he didn't want anyone to know, including me that he was going to buy Marinette a present. The only ones who knew were Plagg and the girl he took with him, who happens to be an old friend of his, and with who he practices fencing two times a week." -Nino told her. –"He told me that she volunteered to help him out. That's all." -he said.
"Well, maybe he didn't have that intention, but the fact is that in doing so, he made her think the worst. It's a good thing Chloe gave her a pep talk yesterday, which lifted her spirits a bit, because if she hadn't… we would've seen Marinette crying her eyes out in the middle of the class." -Alya told him.
"What matters now, is that everything is bound to turn out okay. That's what really matters. It's about time those two realize they are made for one another." -Nino commented.
"By the way, what's the present he's going to give her?" -Alya asked him, curious.
"I shouldn't tell you, but, it's a pendant. I don't know exactly how it looks like, because he didn't show it to me. But I know it's a pendant." -Nino said
"Hey, would you guys be quiet?! Some of us are trying to watch this." -a girl who was in front of them asked them, clearly annoyed by their chat.
"Sorry." -Alya and Nino apologized in chorus, and realizing that they better not talk during the rest of the play.
A few rows behind them, Marinette and Adrien were sitting next to each other, watching the play, without thinking that their best friends were talking about them. Though they were watching the play, their minds were somewhere else, thinking about each other.
"Should I tell her now? No, I left the pendant in the classroom. Plus, asking her to be my girlfriend, while surrounded by all these people isn't very romantic." -Adrien thought to himself. –"After lunch, I'll tell her everything and give her the pendant. Let's hope I don't forget the speech that Nathalie helped me memorize yesterday." -he thought, as he looked to his left and saw just how pretty Marinette looked in the dark.
"The face he did when he saw the cake… he made the cutest smile ever." -Marinette mused about. –"But I can't let those thoughts distract me from my plan. After lunch, I'm going to tell him about my feelings for him… and if I back down, Tikki knows that I've given her orders to slap me, until I gain the courage to do it." -she thought.
As they reached the end of the second act, everyone applauded. But the applauses were not just from the students and the teachers. Hidden in a place where they could see the play, without being spotted, the kwamis were also applauding. That was a rare opportunity for them to attend a theatre play, and they were loving it; well most of them were. One or two of them were not into theatre.
"Why are we applauding this?" -Plagg asked, clearly bored.
"I'm with him. This is really boring." -Muria said.
"Because it's in good taste to applaud in the theatre." -Mulan told the cat and the bear kwami.
"And because it's a beautiful story." -Tikki said.
"Beautiful? I'll tell you what's beautiful. A lovely piece of Camembert. Now that is beautiful, cupcake." -Plagg told Tikki.
"Yuck! Only to think such a thing, Plagg. And don't call me cupcake!" -Tikki told him.
"Well, I think that it's quite entertaining and the morals of the story are quite good. Older men can fall in love with younger women. Younger women usually fall in love with young men, but surprisingly, they sometimes look favourably on an older man, especially one with unusual ability, virtue, or kindness. And of course, men fall for feminine beauty." -Wayzz said, summarizing some of the morals of the play for his fellow kwamis. Unlike Nino, who read only some parts of the play, he read it in full.
"You and your philosophical mumbo jumbo. Don't you ever get tired of saying those things?" -Daria asked Wayzz.
"Not really. Philosophy is a wonderful thing." -Wayzz answered the dragonfly kwami.
"Well, I prefer comedy to philosophy, and I wouldn't mind if this play had a little more humour in it." -Flint said.
"I think it doesn't need a single joke. It's perfect as it is." -Tamara told Flint.
"Well, I would trade it for a good action movie, like those that I'm always watching with Kim." -Imp said.
"Well, I prefer a good theatre play, instead. Just wished Mylene could attend more of those." -Pin said. –"Unfortunately, the only ones she goes to are those that her dad is in." -the deer kwami said.
"Hush, everyone! The third act is starting." -Pollen warned the other kwamis.
As the third act began, Miss Bustier checked her cell phone to see if she had received any texts. Unlike her students, who she told to leave their cell phones in class, she had brought hers. And it was with great surprise that she saw that she had received a warning from the Akuma Attack app, signalling there was an attack in progress.
"An Akuma attack?" -Miss Bustier thought, as she looked at the warning on her cell phone. –"And it's relatively near here. Let's hope it doesn't come this way and that the heroes are on the job and manage to take it down quickly." -she thought to herself, hoping that by the time the play ended, the Akuma had been dealt with.
The streets in the 9th Arrondissement were an absolute chaos. Aphrodite had managed to put everyone she saw under her control. All the policemen, firemen and paramedics, as well as civilians that had gathered in front of the Printemps building became infatuated with her love spell. And as walked the street, more and more people suffered the same fate as them. As for Aphrodite, she was happy to see those she had showed what love truly was, to experience it first hand, while also destroying anything related to Valentine's Day.
But Madame Romani was not happy about what she was seeing. She was seeing a lot of chaos, with people kissing each other, their own reflection or any object they felt it deserved their love and adoration. But she was not seeing the faintest glimpse of the Miraculous Team.
"Where are they? Usually, they show up before the Akuma can do any kind of serious damage." -Madame Romani asked herself, as she looked around. She had not decided to show herself to Aphrodite, believing that it would be best only to show herself, when the heroes showed up. –"Maybe we need a little more chaos." -she thought, as she contacted her master via telepathy. –"Master… the heroes have not showed up yet. Perhaps we need a little more chaos to force them out of their hideout."
Hearing her, Hawk Moth did not waste time in contacting his newest Akuma, to tell her that what she was doing was not enough. She needed to gain the attention of the heroes, so they would show up.
"Aphrodite. You are doing well. But it's not enough… the Miraculous heroes still haven't showed up. You must wreak even more chaos into the city." -Hawk Moth told Aphrodite.
"Very well, Hawk Moth. It shall be done." -Aphrodite said. –"Just don't forget that I still have unfinished businesses to take care of." -she reminded him.
"I haven't forgotten it. But those can wait. Once the Miraculous Team is dead and their miraculouses are mine to destroy, you will be free to do as you please." -Hawk Moth said. –"Make use of your powers. I've given you more than the ability to make people fall in love with each other or with their own reflection. Make use of them, and spread true love everywhere." -he said with a malicious voice.
"Understood." -Aphrodite said, as she terminated her conversation with Hawk Moth, and turned her attention to everyone that was around her. –"You all have seen what love truly is, people! But there are millions of people in this city who still don't know what true love is! It's time for you to show them what that is as well! Go and spread the love!" -she ordered them, as the pink eyes in her victims turned red.
This one's a little sorther than I expected it to be. But it's the quality not the quantity, as people would say. So, now we see Aphrodite getting her revenge on both the people she spent hearing about how Valentine's Day is so special, while she herself thinks that Valentine's is just a lot of hooey, but that is just the beginning, as you might have figured by that cliffhanger. What could this mean for our heroes? We'll find out, once they suit up. Once more, I want to take a little time to thank LaViolaViolaRosa for allowing me to use her original Akuma (I hope the way I'm writing her matches your expectations so far). As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave sugestions to improve this story, or future ones. :)