Paris, France, the city of romance, filled with love, affection, fantasy, and romance, many Parisian people always fell in love at first sight, those who were suitors to their secret admirers and gave them gifts such as flowers, jewelry, sweets, toys, poetries, and even sings a song. Across the city, some of the romantic couples were on the date at their favorite places. Furthermore, they also strive to find true love and be loved by someone as their true lover while evading the arranged but forced marriages set up by their families. As for homosexuals, they were also in same-sex relationships despite God's disapproval of the pride. They also got married at the wedding church and went on their honeymoon to their favorite destinations. Across the street of Paris, France, full of people hugging and kissing, there was a neohuman in his late twenties with green hair, green eyes, and stubble, he was wearing a white shirt with long sleeves, black pants with a brown belt, and a pair of black shoes roaming around the city. He looked around and saw many people kissing and hugging romantically but rebuffed them off and ignored them by looking away from them and continuing to walk forward, he took out a book called A Single Person which features a single man who never hated any dates before and decided to read it alone peacefully.
"Hmmm, let's see. What if I never had a date before." the Neohuman wondered, he seemed to enjoy solitude since he was one of the Neohumans with enhanced powers. He came across a cafe full of baked goods and drinks to try, approached it, and entered it, then walked to the line full of people.
"Thank you, come again." grinned the cashier, giving the bag of two coffees and donuts to the couple who walked away with them just as Oscar came up to her, "Hello, what do I get you for you." she greeted.
"Hi, my name is Otto Kessel, I'm here for the cold brew coffee." greeted Otto, asking the cashier if he ordered a cold brew coffee.
"Sure." nodded the cashier.
"Yes, I love cold brew coffee." sighed Otto grumpily, "Oh, do you have any baked goods?" he asked.
"We got macarons, profiterole, religieus, pain au chocolat, mille feuille, eclair, madeleine, and cannele." answered the cashier.
"Well, I'll stick with eclair, with mocha flavor," said Otto.
"Oh, sorry. We don't have any flavor." the cashier regretted sadly, shocking Otto.
"What? What kind of flavor?" thought Otto.
"Well, how about raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, french vanilla, and dark chocolate." answered the cashier.
"Well, I'll have dark chocolate," replied Otto, choosing dark chocolate, therefore his order was requested. Later, outside of the cafe, Otto was sitting on the table with a dark chocolate eclair and a cup of cold-brew coffee, he grabbed it, moved it to his lips, and took a sip of it. He sighed and put the cold brew coffee down on the table, he grabbed a dark chocolate eclair and tried to take a bite of it but then a scream was heard. Otto instantly got up, turned around, and saw there was a robber out of nowhere and gunpoint at a cashier.
"Nobody move, and give me all your money!" demanded the robber.
"Ahhh!" the woman screamed while raising her hands in the air in helpless fear.
"Oh, come on." scoffed Otto, rushing inside the cafe in alerted instinct, "Halt!" he gritted and gestured a stop hand, then a bullet thrust into his palm in front of the crowd.
"Ahhh!" the people gasped and screamed in shock but Otto instantly healed himself and extracted the bullet out of his palm.
"What! How is that possible." the robber shuddered in shock and surprise that Otto could heal himself.
"Nice try, mister. What, you never harmed me like that. Face it, criminal, there is no way to stop me!" Otto determined bravely.
"Ahhh!" the robber screamed in fear and shot the bullet from his gun at Otto to kill him, however, to no avail, and realized that bullets cannot kill him because he's Neohuman.
"Hey, need a hand," smirked Otto, grabbing the gun from the robber and crushing it into pieces.
"Nooo!" the robber screamed helplessly, his neck was grabbed and gripped harder by Otto, causing the people to scream in horror as they watched Otto suffocate the robber to death.
"Oh, my god!" the cashier screamed in horror but was relieved that Otto had saved her life and the robber passed out from choking and dropped to the ground before everyone cheered for him, thinking that he was the guardian angel.
"Thank you, Mr. Kessel. How, am I going to repay you for saving our lives." the cashier thanked Otto for saving her and everyone's lives.
"Well, why not?" shrugged Otto, he was given a free coupon card as a reward for saving the people from the robbery. Just then, a pair of light blue-eyed boys showed up in Red Masque costumes, one was Red Masque and the other one was Blue Masque.
"Otto, where is the robber?" asked the Blue Masque.
"But he was choked to death." gulped Otto nervously.
"Don't worry, I can handle it." said the Red Masque, taking out an astrolabe, aimed at everyone, pressed the button, and beamed at their minds, erasing their memories in the process.
"Roderick Prescott Jones, Reynold Shane Waygetter." thought Otto, calling the boys' full names.
"Great, now I have to fix it." scoffed Scott, pressing the button and erasing the people's minds again before the boys and Otto ran off and set out.
"Boys! What is going on." scoffed Otto, he didn't notice that he left the eclair behind along with the empty cup of cold-brew coffee.
"Sorry." sighed Scott, transforming back to a little boy with blonde spiky, neck-length hair with messy bangs wearing a full-sleeved dark red shirt under a dark green jacket with red buttons and two pockets, a pair of dark blue jeans with a brown belt, white sock and red sneakers.
"Sorry, Otto." sighed Ryan sadly, turning back to an older boy with short dark brown hair with wavy bangs combed on top wearing a light blue t-shirt under a black jacket with rolled-up sleeves, and silver and black buttons, a pair of black pants with a brown leather belt, white socks, and dark brown leather hiking boots.
"Hey, I didn't say that." he gritted in anger, clenching his fist. Just then, a police car appeared and a freckled, pink-lipsticked, black-eyeshadowed young woman with black eyes and long dark brown hair emerged from the car and wore a gold star necklace, navy shirt with a pink and yellow floral pattern, a yellow collar, matching lining under a navy blazer, purple skirt, and a pair of black high-heels.
"Carrie James!" exclaimed Scott. but saw her handcuffed Otto.
"This has got to stop." frowned Carrie seriously. Inside the police car, Carrie was driving with Otto sitting beside her and the boys were in the backseat as well.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know I hurt someone." sighed Otto regretfully.
"Boys, I don't think that this is a good idea." sighed Carrie.
"What's the matter?" asked Scott.
"I knew that there was no love in his heart, but maybe there is an only way to solve the problem; he should learn to love someone else and earn love in return. Maybe, we should make it up to him," suggested Carrie.
"He did, but he killed everyone else in the process," replied Scott.
"Otto, you got to change your ways, they think you are weird, and annoying," said Carrie.
"Oh, come on, I did everything to keep myself from harming anyone." sighed Otto.
"Otto, I cannot handle this, it giving me a hard time," said Carrie.
"Why not, it's not my fault that I hurt somebody." denied Otto seriously. Then, the police stopped at a local apartment full of people living there, a young girl with short neck-length brunette hair with a single side bang and green eyes, wearing a green t-shirt with white sleeves, a pair of black pants, white socks, and black sneakers.
"Chelsea." greeted Scott.
"Carrie." thought Ryan.
"I know." sighed Carrie, opening the door and emerging from the police car, "Hey boys, I don't think this is as hard as we thought. I know your friend had a rough problem but there isn't a way to make it up," she told the boys that she could find a heart to help Otto feel better again.
"Right." frowned Scott.
"Boys, I don't think we should find out if he was going to be okay." worried Carrie.
"Yes, maybe we should take him somewhere to eat or drink," suggested Scott.
"What! Where are we going?" thought Otto.
"Well, we are going to eat." insisted Ryan, the kids, Otto, and Carrie walked out and headed to somewhere to eat.
Across the street in the city of Paris, the two adults and three children walk down the street and wander around the city looking for a place to eat and drink, Otto was not in the mood since he had a little incident that day, but Scott and Ryan consoled him and continued to walk forward. There, they came across a bistro full of people lining up and the group came up eagerly although Otto was curious about the place he had never visited before, but shrugged and was pulled inside the bistro by the children. There, they were in the bistro full of French people sitting on the tables and reading menus. Nervous about this place, Ottot looked around and saw people kissing their lover's hands romantically and looked away, he began to look for a table for himself and the boys, hoping to get a seat to eat the food but to no avail. However, Scott and Ryan saw an empty table in the middle of the area, walked to it, and sat on it. The boys were sitting at the table and were excited to try French food for the first time since their father was not around, Otto walked up to the boys because he was nervous about the French food he never tried before in his life. He sat on the table and moved beside the boys, then heard his stomach growl and sighed while Carrie and Chelsea came up to the table as well. The group grabbed the menus and looked at them to read to have a look just as a waiter approached the group while holding the notepad and a pen in his hands.
"Bonjour, monsieur and mademoiselle." the waiter greeted.
"Hi." greeted Scott.
"It's okay, can you give me something to try for Otto." requested Scott.
"What can I get you all something?" the waiter asked.
"Maybe, the kids are excited to try the French food," said Carrie.
"And what about Otto?" asked Scott.
"Don't, I'll give him all something special." the waiter winked, writing the order down on the notepad and walking away to the kitchen to deliver the order.
"Scott, Ryan, what is it?" asked Otto.
"I wish Dad was here." sighed Scott. Just then, a middle-aged man with blue eyes, spiky light brown hair, and a five o'clock shadow sports an eyepatch over his left eye and wears a light blue bucket hat with a pineapple motif, a white button-up T-shirt with a tropical flower pattern, black pants, and shoes, he showed up looking for a table to sit.
"Dad!" called Ryan, waving his hand at his hand, but then Otto grabbed a knife and prepared to kill the man, thinking he could be the police detective, David Jones, the father of the boys.
"Otto!" gasped Carrie, seeing Otto preparing to kill Jones in time, grabbing him, and pulling him down, "What are you doing?" she asked.
"I don't know?" shrugged Otto.
"Please, don't make a scene," said Carrie.
"Rodney, Ryan." gasped Jones, seeing the children showed up.
"Dad." greeted Ryan, behind him, Otto showed up with a knife and tried to kill him.
"Neohuman!" gasped Jones, seeing Otto alive and realizing that he was gone.
"Dad, he was with us," said Ryan.
"What do you mean, he was trying to kill you! He's a monster and beheaded Denise Daniels," explained Jones.
"Take it easy, it's nothing personal." appeased Ryan.
"Come on, I don't want to fight," said Otto.
"Yeah, but you are trying to kill my kids." Jones accused Otto of harming his children.
"Listen, I would never harm these kids, they redeem and I couldn't get revenge on you." berated Otto.
"Oh come on, you can't make me, Rita sacrificed herself to kill you and the rest of the Neohumans," explained Jones.
Then, a waiter came up with a cart full of full course menu, a plate of hors d'oeuvre consisting of prosciutto and fig jam sandwich, smoked salmon and blinis, salami and provolone sandwich, puff pastry-wrapped sausage, puff pastry-wrapped shrimp, pate on toast, beet salad with goat cheese, and salami-wrapped piave cheese, a pot of onion soup, a pan-seared salmon, a plate of châteaubriand, a plate of confit byaldi ratatouille, a bowl of salad composée, a plate of macarons, and a bottle of wine.
"Bon Appétit." the waiter winked and left.
"Wow, we are so excited." cheered Chelsea, taking out a fork, jabbing the ratatouille, and eating it.
"No way, I'm not eating that." refused Scott, sipping a bowl of onion soup with a spoon.
"Come on, it's good for you." encouraged Ryan, eating the ratatouille with a fork. Otto nervously looked at the ratatouille in confusion, grabbed the fork, jabbed it, and took a bite of it, chewing and swallowing it.
But then, after tasting a Ratatouille all of a sudden, his eyes widened and froze in surprise while holding a fork in his hand as he was about to recall his memory. In a flashback, many years ago, back in Newmark in the city of Grimsborugh, when he was a child, he was used to be one of the test subjects in the secret laboratory since childhood. He remembers one of the scientists used to successfully test the neohumans' self-healing mechanism by shooting them in the hands, although his hand was shot he was able to heal himself instantly. As he has been living in a secret laboratory for the rest of his life, he and his fellow neohuman children remained test subjects and trained for years. One day, while inside the lab, Otto was riding a bike across the area until he fell off of it, tripped over the floor, and hurt his knee, making him cry. As he was crying, a young woman in a white dress came out of nowhere with a pot of ratatouille and saw him crying alone and hurt, she felt sorry for him but decided to treat him well until someone came for him, she walked toward him and approached him, offering him a plate of ratatouille to cheer him up. Otto turned around and saw her so he backed away in fear and tried to get away from him but the woman took out a first-aid kit, unzipped it, and nursed his wounds gently. After bandaging his knee, the woman patted his head with her hand and left him with a plate of ratatouille to eat. After the woman leaves, Otto sniffles tearfully with his knee bandaged completely, he looks at it, grabs it with his hand, and takes a bite of it, tasting it for the first time, thus making him stop crying and smile. After the flashback, Otto remembers and is reminded of a woman's cooking, tears flow from his eyes and he wolfed it down immediately while the children, Carrie, and Jones look in disgust at his behavior.
"Otto?" surprised Scott, but Otto grabbed the pot of ratatouille and munched it whole.
"Man, someone has to teach him to be proper." sighed Jones, palming his face with his hand.
"I know." scoffed Carrie, rolling her eyes.
"Slow down, there is no need to be in the rush," said Chelsea carefully.
"I'm glad that he was fascinated with French culture and nation," said Jones.
"Otto?" thought Scott.
"Here, try macarons." offered Chelsea, Otto grabbed the the whole macarons and munched them whole, then he grabbed the pot of onion soup and chugged it.
"Man, how are we supposed to eat." sighed Scott, but Otto took out his credit card and called for the waiter.
"Hey, are there any kiddie meals for the kids?" asked Otto. A few hours later, on the table, a plate of four-cheese pizza, pissaladière, and bowl of cassoulet appeared, the children enjoyed eating it and Otto happily ate more ratatouille and drank a bottle of wine.
"Slow down, don't get too fast," said Jones.
"Otto, please, settle down, you're making a mess," said Ryan.
"Otto?" thought Scott.
"At least we are going to civilize Otto so he won't rule the world." insisted Jones.
"But how, he's unstoppable." thought Ryan.
"Well, maybe he must learn the true meaning of euphoria," said Jones, mentioning euphoria.
"What's that?" queried Ryan.
"Well, you see. Euphoria is about two soulmates, the never-ending legend of unconditional love, they always learn to love each other for who they are. Only the act of true love can conquer all and they would be together." Jones said the act of true love relates to Euphoria.
"What's that?" questioned Otto, he was disgusted that Jones mentioned romance and refused to admit, "I don't want romance and I will never learn to love someone I never care for." he refused.
"Wow." excited Scott.
"Well, dig it and enjoy." grinned Carrie, the group then began to eat the food together.
"Scott, Ryan, I don't think that is a good idea, I have romance," said Otto disgusted by romance, and refused to date someone else.
"What!" Please you got to, it's the only way to redeem yourself." pleaded Scott.
"No way, I don't like that." refused Otto.
"Please, Otto, it's the only way to make things right" pleaded Ryan.
"Yeah, I would not like romance." Otto still refused to learn to find romance in him.
Back at the apartment, it was already late at night, there in the living room, a young girl with black shoulder-length hair, black eyes, and mid-white skin. She wore a dark pink shirt, and a grey skirt, and was lying on the white couch with her head lying on the white cushion and tucked in a white silk sheet. The girl got up from the sheet, stretched her arms, put on a pair of pink sandals, and walked to the counter with a tray of cups of green tea, she grabbed one of them and sipped it. She smiled and giggled, then put the empty cup back on the tray, she walked to a stuffed gorilla doll, picked it up, and hugged it cheerfully, she was approached by a black dog walking up to her and barking at her. Hearing a dog barking at her, the girl turned around and looked down to see him, smiling at him and patting his head with her hand gently while giggling before kissing him on the forehead. Meanwhile, outside the apartment, across the street, Otto and the children returned from the restaurant with Jones and Carrie, although he had a takeout bag containing his favorite food and holding a bottle of wine with him, the boys had the box of macarons to eat but decide to give their friend to share as well. Upon seeing the boys with the box of assorted macarons, the girl appeared behind the window, opened it, and looked down at the children before walking out of the window, leaving it open. At the same time, Jones and Carrie walked up to the doorsteps, opened the door, and entered the apartment, the children also came up with them and caught up with them while Otto also stayed behind and refused to accompany the group. Instead, he stayed outside the apartment alone and decided to walk away on his own but then the girl showed up and greeted him.
"Hi, Otto." the girl greeted Otto and placed her hand over his shoulder.
"Annika." blushed Otto, looking away from the girl.
"So how it's going?" she asked.
"Great," replied he replied.
"Hey sir, I hope that you would like to stay for dinner," asked Annika, she saw Otto was holding a takeout bag of his favorite food, "Otto, what are you holding?" she asked.
"Uhhh, nothing." denied Otto, but the black dog showed up, grabbed the takeout bag with his jaws, walked to Annika, and gave it to her, "Okay, I admit it, this is ratatouille, a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables," he admitted.
"Really?" thought Annika, opening the takeout bag and looking at the container of ratatouille, "Hmm, I've never seen ratatouille," she commented.
"And it's come with utensils," said Otto, taking out a fork and giving it to Annika.
"Okay." nodded Annika, opening the container, and eating it with a fork, "Mmmm, it's so good." she munched.
"It's made with eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, and tomatoes, it was rich in the flavor of olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs," explained Otto.
"Wow, I just want to make one." excited Annika.
"I know." sighed Otto.
"Uncle Gregory!" exclaimed Ryan, seeing his great-uncle, Gregory Read show up in the street. He is a thin, slender, but mid-muscular, wrinkled older pirate captain with a large chin, a square face, gray hair tied with red ribbon, a messy beard, and a pair of green eyes. He wears a white button-up shirt, brown vest, and red coat with gold lining and red cuffs. He has a red-striped sash over his waist and wears a pair of brown pants, white socks, and brown bucket-topped boots. He has a gold hoop earring on his right ear, a red bandanna under a red tricorne hat, and an eyepatch over his left eye until he takes it off to reveal both of his eyes.
"Ahoy, laddies." greeted Captain Read, waving his hand at the boys.
"Wow, I'm glad that you came back." smiled Chelsea, running up to the boys.
"Uncle Gregory, why are you holding?" asked Ryan, seeing Captain Read holding a basket of fresh-ripened apples in his hands.
"Mmm, apples." excited Annika.
"What are you making?" asked Ryan.
"We are preparing to make apple pie," said Captain Read.
"Really!" excited Ryan eagerly.
"Wow, I love to try apple pie for the first time." excited Annika cheerfully.
"Can I stay with you?" asked Captain Read gleefully.
"Sure." nodded Otto, letting Captain Read stay with him and the children for hospitality.
"Hey, Uncle Gregory? What are you doing?" asked Ryan.
"I'm going to teach him to be the ladies' man, hoping that he won't be lonely again," explained Captain Read.
"Ew, no way, I hate that." refused Otto, disgustedly backing away from Captain Read.
"Otto, it's okay, we just want you to find your happy place and we arrange you for a first date," said Ben.
"Nope, I won't." scoffed Otto, rolling his eyes.
"Come on, it's the only thing to make you feel better again." pleaded Scott.
"I can't, I hate romance," said Otto.
"I hope you will find someone to love you," said Captain Read.
"Listen, kid, we just wanted you to find true love at once, understand?" said Captain Read.
"Fine." sighed Otto, palming his face.
"Maybe, we should go inside first," said Captain Read.
That night back inside the apartment for once, it was already midnight but very late, after the group invited Captain Read to stay for a night, Otto was sitting on the wooden desk typing on the laptop restlessly and had been working so hard, unable to sleep all night as he was alone in the apartment. His tummy growled because he was hungry from work, he got up from the desk, walked off, left the work for a while, and headed to the kitchen to make his own midnight snack. In the kitchen, Otto put a frying pan on the stove, turned it on the low heat, and put a slice of butter on it, letting it melt instantly, he took out two slices of white bread and cheese, pressed them together, and put it on the pan, letting the cheese melt slowly as he was eager to eat it for a midnight snack. Once the grilled cheese sandwich, Otto yawned and patted his mouth with his hand, then grabbed the plate of grilled cheese sandwich, and walked back to the desk, but when he got back from the kitchen, he saw Jones showed up with the bag of takeout food consisting of cheeseburger, French fries, and a cup of milkshake. Beside him, his sons also showed up, Scott got a box containing a slice of cake as a gift for Otto, and Ryan was holding a basket of Brussels sprouts to keep Otto healthy. Just then, Chelsea showed up with a cooked steak for the dog Annika had but because she didn't like to eat animals or saw them eating each other, he put her fingers to her mouth and whistled to draw the dog's attention. Soon, Evergreen came up, puffed and huffed, wagging his tail, he saw a piece of meat Chelsea had, rushed up to her, grabbed it, and munched it whole, making her giggle and she patted her on the head with her hand. Otto took a bite of the grilled cheese sandwich and munched it gently until a hyena cub hopped toward the sandwich, snatched it, and landed on the floor before eating it happily
"Hey! My sandwich!" gritted Otto angrily, but Jones offered half of his burger to him to share.
"Here, take it, I will make it up," said Jones.
"Why not?" thought Otto.
"Don't be sad, I will cheer you up," said Jones.
"Go away, leave me alone!" refused Otto, crossing his arms and looking away.
"Please, it's okay," said Scott.
"Fine." sighed Otto, grabbing half of the burger and eating it.
"See, you like it." grinned Scott.
"Mmm, not bad." munched Otto, turning to the hyena cub, "Who is that filthy animal?" he asked.
"It's Nick Furry, my hyena cub," said Scott, walking to Nick and picking him up.
"What?" thought Otto.
"Look, I want you to earn love from Annika and I hope you will get along," said Jones.
"Wait? What? Ewwww, I hate romance." refused Otto, storming off, walking to the door, opening it, and exiting the apartment room. But when he was outside of the apartment unit, he turned around and saw Annika appear beside him and he yelped in shock.
"Otto, are you alone?" asked Annika, but noticed some crumbed over Otto's face, "Have you been eating meat?" she asked.
"Yep." nodded Otto nervously, admitting he was eating a burger.
"Eww, I don't eat meat, I love animals." Annika was saddened and disgusted.
"Why are you sad?" asked Otto, feeling sorry for her.
"I love animals and hate harming them so much." sniffled Annika sadly.
"What, Mr. Jones gave me a piece of burger," explained Otto seriously, but felt sorry for her seeing him eating an innocent animal, he wiped the tears flowing from her eyes with his hand to console her, "Annika, I'm so sorry, I will make it up to you," he said.
"Why?" thought Annika.
"The truth is." Otto tried to say but he was too nervous to confess to Annika, he sighed and expressed his worry, "Because I never had a loving and positive family before, I've been living as a test subject for years until I got a job. Since then, my creator has duplicated another one of me until he was killed last year, I was filled with anger over humanity and decided to take revenge on them." he explained.
"And then?" queried Annika eagerly.
"Well, the thing is, after I followed these kids to Japan and met them during the fight before you met me when I held you hostage," said Otto.
"I'm so sorry." frowned Annika sadly.
"Of course, I was taken their wings and live in Paris together," added Otto.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you don't have a family, but you got the Jones family with you." consoled Annika.
"Yeah, I know." sighed Otto.
"Well, maybe you should have a family bonding for a while, it will make you feel better again," suggested Annika.
"Well, Annika, I didn't like to date with other girls, I'm a busy man and it's my job to provide for my needs," said Otto.
"Why not, you hate girls?" thought Annika.
"I know, it hard if I could." sighed Otto regretfully.
"Why not?" thought Annika.
"So you wanna go on our first date," asked Otto anxiously.
"Sure." nodded Annika.