Chapter 20: Buses and Ice Cream

The stench in the air, made it practically impossible to breathe through one's nose, without becoming sick and nauseated, as the heroes moved through the dark tunnel, with only a couple of flashlights that Panda Rouge had created for them, using his powers. Following the plan, they used Grizzly Bear's strength to punch two separate holes on the floor; one to get them from their classroom and into the broom closet, and a second one to grant them access to the sewers. Though after getting out of the broom closet, they still had to dig a little before hitting the sewer lines. Luckily, Grizzly did not mind using his massive strength to drill their way towards one of the millions of sewer tunnels in Paris. Pounding his fists against all sorts of things that were in his way. And when he finally reached the sewers, he felt a sense of pride, mixed with disgust, as the stench of the sewage filled his nostrils, along with the nostrils of everyone else. Because Queen Bee kept complaining that she was going to get dirty, while walking through the sewer, Panda Rouge decided to give her, and everyone else something to prevent that from happening; Hazmat suits.

Stepping into the sewers, the heroes could not help but to be amazed by just how disgusting the tunnel they were in was. The wall around them was covered with a thick layer of grime and filth, and there were all sorts of debris floating in the water, as they made their way forward. For more than once, they were forced to give hands, so they could advance, without slipping into whatever was underwater. A lot of thoughts went through their heads, but there was one that was the same to them all; walking in a sewer was one of the most disgusting things, if not the most disgusting thing, they had ever done.

"This stinks…" -Dragonfly said. Even with the Hazmat suit on, she and the others could still smell the disgusting stench in the air.

"What did you expect? It's a sewer." -Rena Rouge told her.

"No, I mean, sure it stinks, but… I'm talking about how we must go through the sewers to save the town. I bet other superheroes don't have this kind of problem." -Dragonfly declared.

"Spider-Man has." -Arachnid said.

"But Spider-Man is the epithet of super-hero who struggles to have a good day in his life. So, he really doesn't count for that matter." -Carapace said. Like Dragonfly, he too believed that unlike them, comic book heroes did not have the kind of issue they were having right then. –"Superman and Batman don't have to go through the sewers." -he said. –"Okay, maybe Batman has to, because we see him in the sewers, from time to time, but that's because he wants to go down there."

"Then, tell me another super-hero who struggles with this kind of problem." -Dragonfly demanded.

"Does it have to be superheroes? Can't it be just literary characters?" -Forest Doe asked her.

"Fine, go ahead, I don't think it would hurt." -Dragonfly sighed.

"Okay… then, we have Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, Percy Jackson, Valkyrie Cain…" -Forest Doe said, reciting all the literary unlucky heroes she could remember.

"Don't forget the Baudelaire Siblings." -Grizzly Bear remembered her, knowing she had begun reading the A Series of Unfortunate Events saga a few weeks ago.

"Oh, yeah, those too. So, yeah there are a lot of characters who have to deal with things like this." -Forest Doe said.

"Alright, alright, maybe there are a lot of fictional characters who have this kind of problem, but I keep saying it, most superheroes don't have it." -Antelope stated.

"Well, we're the only superheroes that this world has ever seen, remember?" -Ladybug reminded her. –"So, we can't compare ourselves to any others. Whether we like it or not, we don't have any competition." -she stated.

"I just remembered one thing… there are superheroes who have to go through the same thing we are going through right now." -Arachnid said.

"Oh, yeah? And who might those superheroes be, Max? Who are the superheroes who have to go through the sewers to get to where the action is?" -Antelope asked his best friend.

"The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, of course." -Arachnid told him. –"They take the sewers to go to where the action is… in fact, they even live in the sewers." -he said.

"Okay, I'll give you that… but, let me just point out that the sewers they walk on, both in the comics and in the television series, they all look a lot cleaner than the real ones." -Antelope said. –"And they must smell a little better."

"How do you know if they smell better, or not?" –Flamingo asked him. –"You can't smell a picture." -she pointed out.

"She got you there, Kim." -Dragonfly told him.

"Alright, I don't know if they smell better than the one, we're walking in right now, but I hardly think that matters, because they don't have noses." -Antelope declared.

"What?! Of course, they have noses!" -Arachnid exclaimed.

"I don't see them on the comics, or on the cartoons." -Antelope said.

"Then how can they smell the pizza?" -Ladybug asked. She was not as much a fan of TMNT, as she was of manga and anime, but like all of them, she knew the characters and had watched some episodes of the cartoons. –"They must have them, or otherwise they wouldn't be able to smell it."

"I don't want to tell you the same thing, Rose told you a couple of seconds ago, Kim, but Marinette's got you there." -Chat Noir told him. –"If they don't have noses, how can they smell pizza and other things?" -he asked Antelope.

"I don't know… maybe the same way that Krillin in Dragonball. Did you forget that he doesn't have a nose?" -Antelope declared.

"Then, how does he breathe and smell?" -Corbeau Noire asked Arachnid, curious. She had never been a big fan of Dragonball, but her brother was, so she knew the characters and the story.

"According to series creator, he has physical idiosyncrasy that allows him to breathe through his skin." -Arachnid answered her.

"Excuse me, but is this the Miraculous Team, or some group of nerds and geeks, who love to talk about things, no one really cares about?!" -Queen Bee asked them, clearly annoyed by that whole conversation.

"Chloe…" -Louve Grise reprimanded her.

"What?!" -Queen Bee asked, not understanding why the wolf heroine was reprimanding her.

"Just because you don't like to talk about a subject, doesn't mean, others won't like to." -Louve Grise told her. –"I bet you wouldn't like if one of us told you that, if you were talking about fashion or something else that you like to talk about, now would you?" -she asked her.

Once again, the blonde heiress realized she had screwed the pooch, and she felt awful about it. When she thought that she had finally stopped acting like her old self, she would act or say something that would prove it otherwise. She hated it when that happened, because it was a constant reminder of the horrible girl she used to be.

"I'm sorry…" -Queen Bee told Louve Grise. –"It's just that… I'm so stressed and worried, and it bugs me a little that you guys are all talking like that, as if you hadn't a care in the world." -she said.

"And who says we aren't stressed and worried, Chloe?" -Arachnid asked her. –"We all are stressed and worried… at least, I am." -he admitted.

"We're just talking about these things, to relax a bit. That's all." –Antelope said.

"If you want to, you can also join. You can even choose the subject." -Forest Doe told her.

"N-No, no, it's okay… you guys can continue to talk." -Queen Bee said. She did not say it, but she was grateful for them asking her to join in the conversation. –"Nice going, Chloe… you act like you used to, and instead of being mad at you, they ask you to join them. It's times like this, that I feel like I don't deserve the friends I have." -she thought to herself.

"Alright. But the offer stands, if you change your mind. And one of these days, we will turn you into a geek or a nerd just like us, you'll see." -Antelope said.

"Whatever you say, Kim… now hurry up, and keep moving. For the guy who calls himself as the fastest hero in our group, you're taking your time." -Queen Bee told him.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Chloe." -Antelope huffed. –"I'm trying not to slip and fall into this disgusting water." -he stated.

"Well, hurry up! There's a rainbow of stenches down here that I didn't need to know existed… oh, God there's a dead rat, floating in the water over there!" -Queen Bee screamed the last part. –"That's it! Even with this Hazmat suit on, once I get back home, I'm taking the longest bubble bath of my whole life!" -she declared.

Hearing her say that, everyone laughed, including her. They were all nervous, like it happened each time they went into battle. But they had learned that most of the time, the best remedy for a restless heart and soul, is a good dose of laughter. And right then, they needed it, more than ever. They were marching towards a battle that could be their toughest one yet. Still, as leaders, Ladybug and Chat Noir knew they had to keep their minds in the game.

"So, what are the places that Aphrodite was last seen, Alya? Neither you, nor Max, nor Nino told us that information, before we got into the sewer." -Ladybug asked Rena Rouge.

"Oh, sorry, Marinette. It slipped my mind." -Rena Rouge said. –"She was last seen in three different places, and those places were Sainte Trinité, Pont Alexandre III and the Champ de Mars." -she said.

"Well, then, who goes where?" -Corbeau Noire asked.

"Since we don't know where Aphrodite really is, and what to expect when we find her, maybe we should split up into balanced teams?" -Flamingo suggested them.

"Good idea, Rose." -Ladybug said. –"In that case, let's me think… Adrien, Nathaniel, Nino, Alya and I will take Sainte Trinité. You, Juleka, Chloe and Sabrina can take Pont Alexandre III and the rest goes to Champ de Mars. What do you say?" -she asked them.

"I see no problem." -Louve Grise declared.

"Me neither." -Grizzly Bear said.

"I think we're all good." -Carapace said.

"Then, it's settled." -Ladybug said. –"And as always, the first team to spot the Akuma, notifies the others." -she declared.

"By the way, for those of you who are going to Champ de Mars, my dad's there. He's attending an exotic animal exhibit there. I know that asking you to see if you can find him and to check if he's alright is a little too much, but if you could…" -Rena Rouge said.

"If we happen to see him, we'll make sure to guarantee his safety, Alya, don't you worry." -Dragonfly said.

"Yeah, we'll do that." -Forest Doe said.

"Thanks, guys." -Rena Rouge thanked them.

After walking through the sewers for what seemed to them like the equivalent to the distance of three blocks, they exited the sewers, through a manhole. Opening the manhole cover, just enough to see where they were, they realized they had ended up in a back alley which some of them were familiar with, having used it as a place to transform, without being seen. Once outside, they ditched the hazmat suits and took a moment to breathe the fresh air, just before heading towards the places they had been assigned to.

"Good luck, everyone! Remember, don't do anything rash or stupid, and always look out for each other." -Ladybug told her friends.

"You guys be careful as well." -Corbeau Noire said.

"Remember, first one to spot the Akuma, warns the others, so no one hogs all the glory of taking it down." -Dragonfly said.

"Let's do this!" -Carapace exclaimed, as he was the first one to take off.

Heading towards Sainte Trinité, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, Carapace and Panda Rouge saw just how much of a mess Paris was, because of the Akuma. On the streets, people were running away from those that had been infected by the love zombies. And those that could not flee fast enough, would become the latest victims of the Akuma, and get turned into love zombies themselves. They would then seek other victims. As for those who managed to run fast enough, they would seek refuge anywhere that had four walls and a door they could lock, to prevent them from being touched or kissed by them.

"This doesn't look good." -Panda Rouge said.

"You're right, it really doesn't look good." -Rena Rouge agreed.

"Kind of reminds me of what happened during Halloween, last year." -Chat Noir declared. –"I can't remember of an Akuma attack where things got this bad, in so little time." -he said.

"Well, let's hope this time it doesn't take us that long to deal with it." -Ladybug said.

"Agreed, but I think it's going to take us a little longer to get to our destination… look!" -Rena Rouge declared, as she pointed.

Up front, on the street, there was a bus that was upside down, and it was surrounded by love zombies. And more importantly, there were several people, stuck inside it, who were panicking. Seeing that, Ladybug had to decide if she should stop and help them or continue towards the church to look for the Akuma. She knew that by helping the people, she would lose a little bit of time, while Aphrodite continued to cause chaos and mayhem. But she also knew that if she did not stop to help those people, then she had no right to call herself a heroine. No matter how important it was for her and the others to stop an Akuma, saving any citizen that would be in danger was just as important. Signalling Chat Noir to follow her lead, they both stopped, as Rena and the others continued to run.

"You guys go ahead! We'll take care of it, and catch up to you, in no time!" -Ladybug warned them.

"Are you sure you don't need any of us to lend you a hand?" -Carapace asked her and Chat Noir.

"Pretty sure! We'll catch up to you." -Ladybug said. –"One of the good things about us being so many, is that a couple of us can spare a couple of minutes to help out, while the rest goes after the main prize." -she thought to herself.

"Alright." -Panda Rouge said.

"Okay, if you say so, we'll see you two in a bit, girl. And I know you said we shouldn't do anything rash or stupid, but the same goes for you and the kitty cat over there. Don't either one of you dare to do anything rash or stupid." -Rena Rouge warned Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Deal. Now go! We'll handle this." -Ladybug said, as she and Chat Noir saw their friends continue to run, while they stayed behind.

"So, what's the plan, milady?" -Chat Noir asked the scarlet heroine.

"We've got to get those people to somewhere safe," –Ladybug exclaimed, as she looked down and examined the situation, trying to figure out the best course of action. –"Let's see… this has got to either be a really bad joke, or a very big coincidence. Either way, I think today the sewer system of Paris will be our silent ally in this battle." -she thought to herself, as she noticed that the bus had stopped on top of a manhole. –"Okay, I've got a plan. I'll distract them, by using my yo-yo, and keep them at bay, while you use your powers on one of the windows and break in the bus. Once inside, use it once again to open a hole in the bus, right above the manhole cover there. Open it and help the people get into the sewers, using your staff as a pole, so they can slide down safely."

"It's risky… I like it. But are you sure you don't want me to be the one to keep them at bay? It'll be easier for me to do it with my staff, rather than you with your yo-yo." -Chat Noir pointed out.

"Maybe, but you, with your Cataclysm are better suited to open holes in the bus, than me with my yo-yo." -Ladybug said.

"You got it. I don't think the passengers will like being dropped inside the sewer, but considering things, I think they'll prefer the sewers, to being turned into one of those love zombies." -Chat Noir said. –"Once the passengers are safe in the sewers, I'll grab you and we'll try to catch Alya and the others." -he said, as he placed his arm around Ladybug's waist. –"Hold on to me, milady. We're going down."

Doing as Chat asked her, Ladybug wrapped her arms around him, as he used his staff to get the two of them down. Once they were on the ground, she let go of him, and he used his staff to knock down a good number of love zombies that upon seeing them, tried to attack them. Not wanting to let the feline hero have all the fun, Ladybug quickly used her yo-yo to knock a few of them too.

"Get cracking, kitty cat!" -Ladybug said, as she knocked a love zombie with her yo-yo, sending him flying a couple of meters into the air.

"On it! And remember, don't do anything rash, bugaboo. I don't know about you, but I don't want to find out if we can get turned into one of those love zombies, even if temporarily, if they touch us!" -Chat Noir warned her, as he jumped on top of the bus.

"Don't worry, I can do this." -Ladybug said as she threw her yo-yo, and then used its string to wrap as many love zombies as she could. –"I may not be able to punch them or kick them, but as long as I have my yo-yo, I can still tie them up and then throw them away." -she thought, as she spun her yo-yo and used it as a shield against one of the love zombies, who was trying to grab her.

"Gotcha, milady." –Chat Noir winked at her, as he readied himself to get inside the bus. –"Get out of the way, people! Cataclym!" -he yelled, as he used his special attack to open a hole in the bus. Once his claw touched the metal, this one began to rust, describing a perfect circle.

Smiling at the passengers, he entered the bus and quickly made his way to the back of the bus, where the manhole cover was located. With the bus turned upside down, he was forced to improvise a couple of moves, to reach where he wanted, while also avoiding hitting any of the passengers. Telling them to keep calm, he once again used Cataclysm to create another opening, this one leading to the manhole. Looking out the broken window, he saw Ladybug's legs, as she continued her efforts to keep every love zombie away from the bus, knowing he had to pick up the pace.

"Alright, let me ask this. Is everyone okay? Can everyone walk?" -Char Noir asked them, to which they all said yes. –"Okay, you probably aren't going to like this next part, but there's only one way out of there, and that's through the sewers." -he declared, as he pointed to the manhole.

As soon as he said those words. Chat noticed the looks on the passengers faces and he knew he was going to have to use some psychology to convince them to go down the manhole.

"It's disgusting, I know. I just came from down there. But trust me, you'll be safer down there, than up here with those love zombies… unless you want to start kissing everyone and everything you see, and chase after people the way they are." -Chat Noir told them, as he pointed to the love zombie Ladybug had just knocked out cold. –"Now, come on, one at a time, one at a time." -he said, as helped out the first passenger, getting down the manhole. –"That's it, you're doing great… who's next?"

There were two things that always happened near Pont Alexandre III, whenever the weather was nice and the Sun graced Paris with its presence. The first was the astonishing number of tourists that visited it. And the second was the presence of André Glacier and his ice cream vending cart, right in the middle of the bridge. Andre was a short man, with short brown hair and a brown moustache. He wore a short-sleeved white top with dark blue stripes, dark grey pants, and shoes, along with a dark blue beret on his head, a thin red scarf around his neck tied at the front, and a blue apron. But more importantly, he was sort of a celebrity in that part of Paris, due to his jovial personality and due to the way, he sold ice cream. He was known for creating small masterpieces out of ice cream, claiming that each scoop of ice cream, represented a physical trait, or even a personality trait of the person who bought the ice cream. Most of the times, he even challenged his customers to let him guess what would the flavours they would like in their ice creams, based on the first impression of them. And most customers would allow him to do just that, which meant that from all the ice creams he created, there were no two ice creams alike. And when he showed up with his ice cream cart on that Valentine's Day, he had the feeling it was going to be a good day. He especially liked Valentine's Day, because not counting summertime, it was the one day of the year, where his ice cream cart would get more clients; all because the countless couples would come to him and ask him to create ice creams that reflected the physical appearance of the couple. He had just finished selling two ice creams to a lovely couple, when a young man stopped in front of his ice cream cart.

"Good afternoon! And what will it be for you, my dear young man?" -Andre asked him

"Well… I… I really don't know." -the young man said, a little nervous. –"I was told that you are the closest thing to an ice cream magician, and… well, I'm going to meet my girlfriend in a couple of minutes, and I was wondering, if you could do that trick where you create a unique ice cream, based on a person's personality, just for her?" -he asked.

"Say no more, my young friend. You have come to right person for the job." -Andre smiled. –"And I'll do you more. I will also create an ice cream for you as well. Ice cream is the perfect food to be shared by someone who's in love. Now, tell me how your girlfriend is, and allow the magic of the numerous ice cream flavours to do its thing." -he told him.

Unfortunately, Andre did not expect his day to go the way it was about to go. When Andre first noticed something was wrong, he wondered what could possibly be happening. It did not take him long to see dozens of people running past him and his latest customer, a young man. And then, they appeared… the love zombies. Seeing them, it took Andre and his latest customer to understand that all of that was part of an Akuma attack. And when they did, it was already too late. One of the love zombies tried to grab him, only for him to dodge him. But another love zombie, who attacked the young man he was talking to, managed to grab him. As soon as it touched him, the young man's eyes turned pink and he fell in love with the first thing his eyes saw, the ice cream Andre was holding in his hand. Trying to get it, he tried to jump over Andre's cart, only to make it tumble. Falling on the floor, he quickly got up and tried to get the ice cream once again, only for Andre, who was beginning to panic, to throw it at him.

"I know people like my ice cream, but this is ridiculous…" -Andre said, as he threw his ice cream scoop, trying to defend himself.

Fearing for his well-being, he began running. But it did not take him long to understand that it was not going to be easy to do it. He had gained a few pounds over the last couple of months, and he was incredibly out of shape.

"I'm so out… of shape…" -Andre thought to himself, as he tried his best to outrun the love zombies.

Seeing two more love zombies coming towards him, Andre felt that he had no other option but to try jump into the Seine. Trying to climb on to the parapet, he was nearly grabbed one of the love zombies, who he managed to kick on the face. Already on the parapet, he looked down and had second doubts about jumping. Buy seeing the love zombies trying to get him, gave him an extra reason to jump. Already in mid-air, he was saved by an angel; a yellow and black angel with blonde hair and a kind smile. Queen Bee had arrived just in the nick of time, and saved Andre from hitting the water.

"Don't' worry, I've got you!" -Queen Bee smiled at Andre, as she looked for a place, she could drop him, knowing he would be safe from any love zombie. –"I hope you aren't afraid of heights." -she said, as she saw the perfect spot.

Dropping him on top of one of the bridge's columns, next to one of the Fames' statues, Queen Bee knew that unless love zombies could fly, Andre would be safe there, until she and the others had dealt with that menace.

"Thank you so much, miss Queen Bee." -Andre thanked the bee heroine.

"Just Queen Bee, please." -Queen Bee told him. –"And it was my pleasure. I just happened to be passing by." -she said with a modest voice.

"No, no, I am in debt to you. You must allow me to thank you properly." -Andre told her.

"That's very kind of you. But it's not necessary." -Queen Bee declared, with a smile on her face.

"But I insist. You saved my life. It is the least I can do." -Andre told her, insisting on the matter. –"I know! From this day on, you and your hero friends can come to my ice cream cart and eat as many ice creams as you want, whenever you want, free of charge!" -he exclaimed.

"Thank you so much. It's very kind of you." -Queen Bee smiled at Andre. –"We'll try not to take advantage of your generosity." -she said, as she took a mental note to remind her to tell the others about this. –"Now, if you'll excuse me, my friend down there might need a little help from me."

Dashing towards the ground, Queen Bee was going to help Louve Grise, who had her hands full. Down on the ground, Louve Grise saw that no matter how many people they were able to save from the love zombies, these would continue to infect everyone they touched, if they did not stop them. So, she did what she felt was the best… she began to freeze them to the ground. Using her fans to open two fire hydrants, which sprinkled water all over the bridge's entrance, she then allowed them to run over the water, just before using her ice breath. In a matter of seconds, the water turned into ice, and every last love zombie that had the unfortunate luck of being there, was caught. Between giggles and laughs, they tried to free themselves, but the layer of ice that was covering their feet was too thick for them to do that.

"Nice job! Do you need a little help?" -Queen Bee asked Louve Grise, as she praised her plan to deal with the love zombies.

"If you can get me more water so I can stick these guys to the ground, it would be great!" -Louve Grise exclaimed, as she took a brief moment to regain her breath.

"Consider it done!" -Queen Bee told her, as she readied herself to use her trompo to get the water, the wolf heroine needed. –"You keep sticking these guys to the ground, while I try to take as many people as I can to a safe location." -she said. –"Look up ahead! More of them are coming!"

And while Queen Bee and Louve Grise continued to take care of things at the bridge, nearby, Flamingo and Corbeau Noire were busy dealing with a multitude of love zombies that had concentrated on the gardens surrounding the Petit Palais. They had been attracted by the melody of a Valentine's Day concert that was taking place there. Because of the sheer amount of love zombies, the girls decided to split up and see if they could take down most of them, before they would turn others. Using her powers, Flamingo multiplied herself, sending her clones to fight the love zombies, while Corbeau Noire sought to gain control of all shadows around her, to help her get everyone that had not been infected into a place where they would be safe.

While fighting the love zombies, Flamingo found out that her clones were not affected by the love zombies. Some of them were grabbed by the arms or the legs, and others were even kissed. But none of them turned into a love zombie. She figured that because they were not real, they could not end up under the Akuma's love spell. Still, she knew that she herself could most likely end up turned into a love zombie, if she was not careful.

"Looks like my copies aren't affected by the love zombies touch or kiss. That's a good thing. It means that I can use them to take down as many of these love zombies as I can. The less of them are up on their feet, the better chances we'll have of end this pandemonium." -Flamingo thought to herself, as she swung her cane and hit a love zombie on the head.

And she was not the only one who noticed it. Corbeau also noticed it, and decided to take advantage of it, by throwing a couple of love zombies at her girlfriend's copies, who took them out. Continuing to fight the love zombies, both girls kept an eye out for the Akuma, or any of Hawk Moth's lieutenants, but neither seemed to be around there. Still, they kept fighting, knowing that what mattered there was the safety of the civilians, who continued to run scared, while trying to find a safe place to hide. Though the love zombies kept showing up from everywhere, neither Flamingo, nor Corbeau Noire showed any sign of exhaustion.

Corbeau Noire had just prevented a couple from being attacked by a love zombie, by grabbing it with a shadow, when she noticed something happening from the corner of her eye. A love zombie had managed to slip through the barrier Flamingo's clones had created around them, and was making its way towards her. Fearing her girlfriend would only notice it, when it was already too late, Corbeau Noire decided to help her.

"Get away from her!" -Corbeau Noire exclaimed, as she used her hand-mirror to invoke a shadow to snatch the love zombie away from Flamingo.

The raven heroine was fast, but not fast enough. When the shadow wrapped itself around the love zombie, it had already grabbed Flamingo's left arm from behind. The blonde quickly began to feel herself dizzy, knowing that she had been infected. She tried her hardest to keep her mind from ending up the same way as everyone else who was touched or kissed by a love zombie.

"No! Keep your head in the game… you can't let yourself… be infected! Juleka needs you! Everyone… needs you! Come on, Rose! Fight this!" -Flamingo thought to herself, as she

She resisted for a few seconds. But in the end, whatever it made people turn into love zombies, it got her as well. And when it did, all her copies disappeared, leaving her alone. Not taking any chances, Corbeau Noire used one shadow to snatch her from where she was, before she was attacked. Dropping her in front of her, the raven heroine feared the worse.

"Rose, are you okay?" -Corbeau Noire whispered at her, as she looked into Flamingo's eyes, which were now pink instead of blue, as she began to giggle like some of the love zombies.

"H-Hi, Jules… did I ever tell you that you're the prettiest girl in the world?" -Flamingo asked Corbeau Noire, giggling, as she tried to plant a kiss on her. –"Give me a kiss, please!" -she giggled, as she launched herself at Corbeau Noire.

"Not the time for that, Rose…" -Corbeau Noire thought to herself, as she dodged Flamingo's attempt to kiss her. –"I've got to make her snap back to reality… but how?" -she said, as she jumped over her.

"Come on, give me a kiss, Juleka…" -Flamingo giggled, as she tried to catch Corbeau Noire. –"Just one kiss… one beautiful and sweet kiss…" -she giggled.

"Stop using my real name! Someone might hear you!" -Corbeau Noire warned her in a hushed voice, as Flamingo kept trying to kiss her and hug her. –"I should slap her and see if the shock would stop her from acting that way. But I don't know if I slap her, I'll also get infected… come on, Juleka, think, how are you going to make her snap out of this?!" -she thought to herself, as she took into the air.

"You can't run from me! I'm going to get you… and then I'm going to kiss you, you silly little raven!" -Flamingo giggled as she took into the air, trying to catch her.

"She's right, I can't run from her. We both have the same kind of flying abilities…" -Corbeau Noire thought to herself, as she dove into the ground.

And then it hit her. She did not need to use her hands or feet to attack her. She only had to make use of her shadow powers. Going up once again, she made sure Flamingo was right behind her, before using her hand-mirror. Taking control of the shadow from a nearby water tank on top of a building, she ordered it to quickly wrap itself around Flamingo, who was right on her tail. Once that was done, she ordered the shadow to shake her in the air, hoping the violent moves would make her snap from the trance she was in. Flamingo herself kept giggling and laughing, as if she was aboard an amusement ride. Feeling she was not shaking her enough, Corbeau Noire ordered the shadow to shake her as violently as possible. A few seconds later the giggling and the laughter ceased, and the raven heroine noticed Flamingo looked as she was about to faint. Ordering the shadow to stop, it did, placing her on the building's rooftop, as she herself landed on it. Looking her in the eyes, she saw these were back to their original colour, meaning that she was probably back to normal.

"W-What happened?" -Flamingo asked her, while feeling slightly dizzy. –"Jules? What happened? Tell me!" -she asked.

"You got touched by a love zombie, but you're okay now." -Corbeau Noire answered her.

"Oh my… did I try to touch you or kiss you?!" -Flamingo asked her, worried.

"Yeah, you did. But don't worry, I managed to snap you out of it." -Corbeau Noire assured her.

"How long was I acting like one of them?" -Flamingo asked her.

"For about 30 seconds." -Corbeau Noire said.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" -Flamingo told her girlfriend, feeling awful about it.

"You don't have to apologize. Just promise me you'll be a little more careful, okay?" -Corbeau Noire asked her. –"I don't want to have to fight you or run from you, okay?"

"Alright, I promise." -Flamingo said, as she hugged her.

"Hope you don't break it." -Corbeau Noire said. –"By the way… I didn't even have the chance to say it, before all this started, but, I'm glad your mom allowed you to come to Luka's concert." -she smiled at her.

"Me too. I can't wait to go on this Valentine's date with you tonight." –Flamingo smiled back at her.

"You took the words out of my mouth, Rose." -Corbeau Noire smiled, as she caressed her face with her left hand, just before kissing her tenderly on the lips. –"But before that can happen, we need to find this Akuma and put an end to this mess." -she said, this time with a more serious voice.

"You're right. And there's no sign of Aphrodite, anywhere." -Flamingo told her, as she and the raven heroine got back up. –"I wonder if the others have managed to see her or not." -she said.

"I don't know, but I do hope they find her and contact us soon to lend them a hand." -Corbeau Noire said, as she looked down and saw that things were getting worst by the minute. –"We're giving everything we got, and yet these love zombies just keep coming… I don't want to say it, but I feel like we're in a zombie movie. The only difference is that these zombies don't eat brains." -she said.

"I agree. Because when it comes to the chaos and mayhem, it's pretty much the same thing." -Flamingo said, as she looked "at the bridge where Queen Bee and Louve Grise were fighting. –"Seems like Choe and Sabrina are managing to keep things in order back at the bridge." -she pointed out.

"Yeah. Freezing them is actually a great idea." -Corbeau Noire said, when she came up with an idea of her own. –"Hey, do you think your clones can help me with something I just came up with?" -she asked her.

"Name it." -Flamingo said.

"Let's try and put as many love zombies as we can inside those buses over there." -Corbeau Noire pointed to the empty buses that were down on the street. Once the love zombies showed up, the bus drivers and everyone aboard the buses decided to run, leaving them behind. –"If we can trap them inside, they won't be able to turn anyone else." -she told her.

"Great idea!" -Flamingo said, as she created ten copies of herself. –"What are we waiting for? Let's trap those zombies!" -she and her copies exclaimed in chorus.

I told you that this chapter would take a little longer, because I spent some of my free time watching season 2 of Sabrina. And it was worth every second. I really like what they did with the story, and with the whole setting the enemy for the next season. Kiernan Shipka is adorable as Sabrina (though the rest of the cast is also phenomenal, as always). I can't wait for the rest of the season to premiere, later this year.

And now, something regarding this chapter. So, the action has begun and our heroes have their hands full with everything that's going on. They still have to find Aphrodite, but they will, eventually. I also decided to insert a little bit of humour during the beginning of the chapter, when they are walking in the sewers. And, as you might have read, I added Andre Glacier to this AU... a lot of people have asked me to insert into my stories, and well, this chapter marks his first appearence. He'll be appearing in the following stories, don't worry. I know a lot of you want to see an ice cream date scene, and I also want to write it. In the meantime, as always, feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestion to improve this fic, or future ones.