How one lie caused mass Hysteria

Outside the Castle Gates-One hour later

"Gwen, what took you so long?" Ben asked when he finally noticed his cousin come out the front gate. Immediately, they were swamped by the horde of townspeople demanding answers to why the castle suddenly closed on them.

"Hey, it's those two kids whom the king employed!" a man shouted. They were quickly surrounded by a dozen news reporters.

"Excuse me, sir. I noticed you work in the castle. Do you have any official explanation as to why the gates remain locked ever since a week ago?" a reporter for Arendelle Cable News Network (ACNN) asked.

"There was a terrible incident of which I can provide no further details," Ben replied.

"Miss, when do you think the gates will be opened so that we may enjoy the presence of our king once again?" the same reporter pressed.

"I spoke to the king about that matter directly and he said, as long as it is necessary."

"Meaning?"

"We shall see."

And what about that doctor that was arrested? When's his trial?"

"The trial begins today," Ben said.

"And is the doctor connected in any way, shape, or form to the incident previously mentioned? Is that why he was arrested?"

"He is the main suspect, yes," Gwen replied.

"Gwen, are we just gonna stand here and answer questions all day? We have a trial to win! Do something!" Ben hissed.

"I can't. Not without the crowd knowing I have magical powers."

"Well then, time for some crowd control! Humungousaur-style!" Ben was about to hit the Omnitrix when Gwen grabbed his arm.

"No, Ben. We can't let them find out you can transform either."

"What are we going to do then?"

"I don't know. You're good with making up stuff. Go make up some baloney."

"Hey, Miss reporter lady! Why don't you go prepare tonight's broadcast?" Ben asked. The reporter turned.

"Gee, you think it's ready?"

"Of course! I bet your viewers will love it!"

"Oh, I can see the headlines now! How about something scandalous like Source: Deadly outbreak of mysterious illness kills dozens, forces Kingdom of Arendelle to close its gates." The reporter ran off into the crowd.

"Hey! I never said anything about an illness!" Ben shouted, but it was far too late. The crowd had heard the reporter's headline and panicked.

"Oh my word! I'm going to barricade myself indoors and not come out until this contagion is contained!" A woman cried, clutching her baby to her chest even more tightly while simultaneously voicing the sentiments of thousands. The crowd instantly dispersed, trying to flee the area.

"Wow, I've never seen a crowd disappear so fast," Gwen said.

"Thank God for yellow journalism!" Ben exclaimed.

"Yeah, that was one heck of a lie you told them."

"Hmm, I wonder where they all went."

"Home, like that lady said."

"Or perhaps they are all trying to flee the country as fast as possible," Gwen said, which turned out to be true.

The problem was that Arendelle was rich country where there were even more cars than people. The result was a massive traffic jam on Highway 80 leading south, out of the kingdom.

Highway 80

Beeeeep! Beeeep!

"Hey! Get a move on will you!" a shabbily dressed man yelled out his window to the car in front of him.

"I'm richer than you. I should be telling you what to do!" the rich guys yelled back.

"You want to fight? I'll give you a fight!" The shabbily dressed man got out of his car, walked over to the limousine in front of him and pounded on the driver's side window.

"Sir, what do I do? There's a deranged man outside."

"Whatever you do, don't let him in! Just keep driving!"

"What? Let him in?"

"No! Don't let him in!" The chauffeur opened the passenger side door anyways.

"You idiot! Help me!" the rich guy cried as the poor guy dragged him from the car and prepared to give him a pounding.

"My job is to drive you from point A to point B, not to intervene in fights," the chauffeur said cheerfully. Dozens of people stopped their cars to watch the spectacle, leading to even more gridlock.

Sky 9 Traffic in a helicopter

"You are watching to Sky 9 News, Traffic, and Weather. Every five minutes. Now let's head over to Melissa Chung for a look at the road conditions. Melissa, how are they?" news anchor Bob Dole asked.

Melissa was a voluptuous blonde bombshell who was only hired for her good looks. The pilot was ogling her, which made it difficult for her to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Um, Melissa, you're on air."

"Oh, sorry. Yes, as you can see, the conditions are fine on all the secondary streets- Dylan, stop staring at me! Highway 80 seems backed up for miles."

"Anything else you want to report back to our viewers?"

"Ooooh! Look, I can see a brawl going on in the median! Dylan, quit looking at me and get in for a closer look!" Dylan flew in onto the median and Melissa hopped out.

"Excuse me, sir. Why are you punching this poor fellow?" she asked of the poor guy who was beating the rich guy bloody.

"None of your business!" the guy replied as he continued to pummel the defenseless rich guy.

"Stop hitting him for crying out loud!" she screamed.

"Shut-up before I knock you out too!" the poor guy screamed as he turned to the woman. The rich guy took advantage of the opportunity to crawl back to his limo.

"Still want to knock me out?" Melissa asked seductively.

"Hell no! I want to knock you up!" the guy exclaimed as he reached into his pants, paying no attention to where he was going. He crossed the barrier and into the path of traffic going in the opposite direction.

"Watch out! You just stepped into oncoming traffic!" she warned.

"Huh?" Then it dawned on him.

"Oh shit!" he managed before he was flattened by a bus. The bus stopped and backed up the other cars behind it. Now traffic on both sides of the highway was blocked.

"Ok, that's enough violence and sexual harassment for today! I'm out of here!" She climbed back onto the helicopter.

"There you have it folks! Whatever you do, don't go on highway 80! And if you're already on there, good luck 'cause you're gonna need it! This is Melissa Chung reporting for Sky 9, over and out!"

"Wait a minute Melissa! I can see the mayor in that traffic jam!" Bob shouted.

"Oh boy. Go in for another look, Dylan."

The mayor and his motorcade were stuck along with the rest of Arendelle's population. He was getting quite impatient.

"Come on, come on! I have an important meeting at 5 and it's already 4:30!"

"Just in sir. The meeting's been cancelled. Apparently the people you're supposed to meet are also stuck."

"Oh joy! How do I get out of this mess?"

"Make a speech, sir?"

"Hmm. That might work." The mayor got out of his limo and stood on top of it.

"Attention citizens of Arendelle! This is your mayor speaking!" he shouted in vain.

"No one can hear you sir. Here's a megaphone."

"Reporting to you live. Mayor Bill Hitchcock is apparently going to make a speech now!"

"Citizens of Arendelle, there is nothing to fear. There is no pandemic."

"Oh yeah, Mr. Mayor? How come people died then?" everyone else shouted.

"Ok, it was an isolated incident, but it's been contained now. I've just had assurance from the king himself."

"How are we supposed to believe you?"

"I don't know. Go back and see for yourself!" After much grumbling and more gridlock, the entire population of Arendelle got back to the kingdom around midnight the next day.