Chapter 12: Dark Cupid

Chloé Bourgeois was trying not to fall asleep in class as Ms. Bustier taught the students about how the power of love conquered hate and that was why most fairy tales featured the prince kissing the princess to break the spell. 'I hope I don't have to kiss an akumatized person to free them.' Chloé thought in disgust.

"Speaking of love, Adrien Agreste deserves to be commended for his contribution to the charity auction organized by the Gabriel Fashion along with City Hall." Ms. Bustier commented. "I'm sure the animal shelter will enjoy the money paid for your autographed poster."

"It was actually Chloé's idea, Ms. Bustier." Adrien replied, shocking the class. "Normally, I don't like giving autographs but it's for a good cause."

"That's the spirit!" Ms. Bustier exclaimed in approval. "And remember, finish Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault tonight, and happy Valentine's day, students."

After classes ended, Chloé and Sabrina walked out and their kwamis decided to talk to them. "How much cheese do you think the shelter will buy with that posters' money?" Plagg asked.

"Plagg, I don't think they'll spend it all on cheese." Sabrina commented.

"Well, I suppose some of it must be saved for things like medicine, electricity, water and their building's maintenance." Plagg conceded.

"Not to mention other foods the shelter might feed the animals with instead of cheese." Tikki commented.

"Those poor animals don't know what they're missing." Plagg said, earning eyerolls from Tikki, Chloé and Sabrina.

"Quick! Hide!" Chloé whispered and the kwamis hid as they noticed Marinette Dupain-Cheng approaching them.

"Spill it, Chloé." Marinette demanded. "What's your angle?"

"What do you mean, Dupain-Cheng?" Chloé asked, pretending to be surprised by Marinette's attitude.

"Come on, Chloé. Do you really expect me to believe you were acting out of the goodness of your heart?" Marinette skeptically asked.

"Dupain-Cheng, are you suggesting I was just trying to help my Daddy and myself being reelected as Mayor and as Class Representative?" Chloé maliciously asked. She didn't really care if Marinette knew that.

"Not at all!" Marinette quickly replied. "Bye!" 'At least it's not a ploy to take Adrien for herself.' Marinette thought in relief.

"Chloé, aren't you afraid Marinette will become akmuatized because of that?" Tikki asked her wielder.

"The risk would be bigger if I let her wonder over my motives, Tikki." Chloé replied. "I'm going home to enjoy the hotel's SPA!"

"Goodbye, Chloé." Sabrina replied.

One SPA session later, Chloé was taking a walk through the town. As she was approaching a small bridge, she was oblivious to the fact that Lê Chiến Kim was waiting for her to show up so he could ask her to be his valentine. As Chloé was approaching the bridge, her smartphone rang. "What's up, Sabrina?" "Now? Fine, I'm going right now!" She ended the call and ran away, unaware that Kim was calling her.

"Chloé! Chloé!" He called her name but it was in vain. "She could've just refused to be my valentine but this?"

Later on, Chloé arrived at the auction hall. "Am I too late?" Chloé asked Sabrina.

"You're right on time, Chloé." Sabrina reassured her friend.

"Good." Chloé commented.

"Our nest item is an autographed poster by Adrien Agreste, son of fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste and one of his main models." The auctioneer announced. "Bids start at one thousand euros."

"One thousand euros!" Chloé quickly shouted.

"We've got one thousand euros from Chloé Bourgeois." The Auctioneer happily said. "Does anyone bid more?"

"Fifteen hundred euros!" Another girl said.

"Now we have fifteen hundred euros from…" The auctioneer said until Chloé interrupted him.

"Two thousand euros!" Chloé screamed and glared at the other girl.

"Two thousand euros from Chloé Bourgeois!" The Auctioneer was happy to learn someone would bid that much for a poster. "Do I hear two point five thousand?"

"Two point five thousand!" A third girl shouted, earning a glare from the Mayor's daughter.

Chloé didn't even give the auctioneer a chance to speak before shouting "Five thousand euros!"

"Five thousand euros from Chloé Bourgeois!" The Auctioneer eagerly announced. "Five thousand going once, twice,"

"Six thousand euros!" A fourth girl shouted.

"TEN THOUSAND EUROS!" Chloé shouted back.

The auctioneer silently looked at the Mayor, who nodded in approval. "Ten thousand euros from Chloé Bourgeois! Going once, twice,"

Kim crashed into the auction hall wearing a cupid-like outfit and actually flying. "Kim, are you an akuma?" Chloé asked.

"Kim ceased to exist when you rejected him." The no longer Kim answered. "I'm Dark Cupid and my arrows will destroy love."

"What're you talking about?" Chloé asked in genuine confusion.

"You probably don't have enough love to be affected by my arrows but I'm sure your father is a different case." Dark Cupid commented.

"Fearful for his safety, the Mayor tried to run away but Dark Cupid hit him with an arrow. "Daddy?" Chloé fearfully asked.

"Chloé, I hate you." The Mayor said. "You're a terrible daughter and I'm disinheriting you. I'll adopt Marinette Dupain-Cheng and leave everything I own to her."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Chloé screamed in horror.

Her scream was so loud the Lahiffes heard it from their home. "What was that?" Nino's mother asked.

"I don't know, Mom." Nino shrugged. "Perhaps Chloé's Dad grew tired of her and disowned her."

While Chloé screamed, Sabrina pulled her away and everyone else fled except for the now hate-filled Mayor who insisted on going after his daughter.

Sabrina eventually found a corner for her and Chloé to hide and transform. Meanwhile, Dark Cupid kept looking for Chloé. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Superbug and Catgirl were hidden near a doorway. "Time for Lucky Charm?" Sabrina asked and Superbug smiled.

"Time for… Lucky Charm!" Superbug said and got a candy apple. "What are we supposed to do with this?"

"I've got an idea!" Catgirl exclaimed. "Just recharge while I distract Dark Cupid." After Superbug left, Catgirl charged towards Dark Cupid until she got close enough to hit his hands with the candy apple.

"Ha!" Dark Cupid scoffed. "Did you really think that could defeat me?" He asked and then tried to shoot another arrow only to learn it got stuck into his hand. "What?"

Superbug then used her yoyo to pull Dark Cupid's arrow from him and broke it but no akuma. "Maybe it's inside his brooch." Catgirl suggested and cataclysmed it. She was right and Superbug de-evilized it. "Hurry, the candy apple!" Superbug said and Catgirl gave it to her. "Miraculous Ladybug!" Superbug shouted as she tossed it into the air and several butterflies undid the damage.

"What happened?" Kim asked, not remembering anything he did as Dark Cupid.

"You were akumatized but don't worry, everything's fine now. Bye!" Superbug quickly said and ran away. Unlike normal circumstances, she wasn't on a timer but had other reasons to leave the scene. Catgirl ran as well and both superheroines hid somewhere to detransform. "Tikki, spots off!" Superbug said and transformed back into Chloé Bourgeois. "Sabrina, you wait here." Chloé said and confronted Kim. "Lê Chiến Kim, I know you don't remember anything you said as an akuma but, what do you mean by me rejecting you?" The Mayor's Daughter asked. "You never asked me out or anything."

"Because you ran away when you saw me at the bridge earlier today." Kim accused Chloé.

It didn't take long for Chloé to connect the dots and, when she did, she got livid. "Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous!" She shouted. "I wasn't running away from anybody! I was running to this place so I wouldn't miss a chance to place a bid for Adrien's portrait!" She then calmed down and turned her attention to the auctioneer. "Speaking of that, have the portrait delivered to my room at Le Grand Paris Hotel." She ordered him.

"I'm terribly sorry, Ms. Bourgeois, but the item in question still isn't yours." The auctioneer replied, fearing one of her known tantrums.

"Do you want an advanced pay?" She asked, feeling offended that somebody would dare to demand it from her.

"Money and credit aren't issues here, Ms. Bourgeois." The auctioneer explained. "Because the auction was interrupted before I could declare the item as sold, I must give people a chance to outbid you."

"So, do I have to be here to confirm my bid?" Chloé asked the auctioneer.

"No, but I suggest you to be here tomorrow just in case somebody does outbid you, Ms. Bourgeois." The auctioneer answered.

"I'll do it." Chloé replied and started walking away. "Goodbye."

"I screwed up." Kim commented.

The next day, Chloé and Sabrina entered the classroom. "Good morning, Adrien." Chloé said.

"Good morning, Chloé." Adrien replied. "Who bought my poster?"

"Unfortunately, the latest akuma attack interrupted it when the auctioneer would announce it as being sold to me so people will be given a chance to outbid me this afternoon." Chloé answered. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Chloé." Adrien replied.

"Thank you, Adrien." Chloé replied.

"Attention, students." Ms. Bustier said. "Principal Damocles has an announcement to make."

A big screen was placed between the students and the blackboard and Principal Damocles appeared on it. "Good news!" The Principal announced. "Nino Lahiffe's request to use this classroom for scenes of his entry at the Parisian Student Short Film Festival!"

"Yeah!" Nino exclaimed and practically all of his classmates cheered with him.

Once the cheering stopped, Principal Damocles resumed speaking. "I've informed all details to your class representative. Bye."

"What?" Nino asked while glaring at Chloé.

"You told him the class was doing it so he thought I was already in, Lahiffe." Chloé explained.

"And you played along, didn't you?" Marinette accusingly asked.

"I wouldn't say no to a chance of becoming a movie star, Dupain-Cheng." Chloé replied.

"Alright but don't expect to play Agent Smith and work with Officer Jones here." Nino said as he pointed at Adrien.

"Smith? Jones?" Chloé asked. "Are we doing a parody of Men in Black?"

"No!" Nino retorted. "Why would you think… Oh, you're saying that because of who played J and K, right? No, that was just a coincidence."

"Really?" Ivan asked. "Because the plot wouldn't seem out of place in a Men in Black movie."

"I haven't seen the script yet so I can't tell by myself." Chloé replied.

"I'll email a copy to you, Chloé." Nino said.

That afternoon, after Chloé bought the Adrien poster, she was reading the script with Sabrina, Tikki and Plagg. "I agree with Bruel." Chloé commented. "It does fit a Men in Black plot."

"Chloé, I don't think your classmates liked your intrusion." Tikki commented.

"I know, Tikki, but I want to be around just in case someone gets akumatized during the making of this film." Chloé explained. "With or without me around, I'm afraid it might happen."

"Given that school's luck so far, you're probably right." Plagg commented.

"What if your presence alone is enough to get one of them akumatized, Chloé?" Sabrina fearfully asked.

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloé replied. "I'm sure none of them hates me to that point!"

End chapter.