Concrete Jungle: A Miraculous Story

Chapter One

Amelie lifted her watering can and pushed open the door to her rooftop greenhouse. She happily hummed, slowly making her way to every plant, stopping often to tip water into the pot, speak a few words, and massage their vibrant leaves. Bright flowers bloomed in every space and the air was warm and sweet. Amelie bent down and gingerly kissed a small pink flower.

The door burst open and a red faced man barreled in.

"Amelie!" he thundered, "When will you leave this childish behavior alone? There's real work to be done. Go downstairs."

Amelie looked down in shame. "Father, I'm sorry. It's just I haven't seen my plants all day-"

"If this continues you'll never see them again," the man snarled. He stepped closer to Amelie, looking down his nose to see her. He scoffed, then snatched the pink flower off the bush, crushing it in his hands.

Amelie gasped as he let it fall to the floor. Her lip quivered but she found the nerve to say, "Why do you hate me so much? When mom was here you-"

The man raised his hand threateningly. Amelie fell silent.

"I told you to never talk about her again." He swept an assortment of her tools off a nearby table and turned around to leave. "Leave this alone and come downstairs."

He left Amelie alone surrounded by her only joy, but tears were streaming down her face. She fell to her knees.

Far off, a man in purple chuckled to himself in a shadowy atrium full of butterflies.

"So the girl misses her mother, does she," he said while tapping his cane on the cold tile. "Fear and despair, good. Those are my favorite." The mysterious man held out his hand and a butterfly rested on his gloved palm. He covered it, allowing his cruel energy to manifest itself into dark butterfly wings. He lifted his hand and allowing the black butterfly to float away through the window and over the skyline of Paris.

"Yes, fly away, my little Akuma, and evilize her!"

Back at the greenhouse, Amelie was quickly straightening her tools, tears blurring her vision. She didn't notice the dark Akuma become absorbed into the trowel in her hand. Suddenly she felt sluggish, as if trapped in a bad dream.

"Fleuriste," she heard an unfamiliar voice in her head. "I am Hawk Moth. I'm giving you the power to expand your garden and capture your enemies. Show all of Paris that your precious flowers are nothing to laugh at. All I ask for in return is Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses. Do we have a deal?"

Amelie felt cold. She almost didn't know or care what she was doing, but she heard herself say "Yes, Hawk Moth." A bubbly substance covered her whole body and left behind a green and gold skin suit and a tall staff adorned with leaves. A golden laurel topped her head. She jumped to her feet and bared her teeth. When she waved her staff flowery vines erupted from nowhere, trapping the building with thick tendrils that broke apart brick.

With one hand she hopped off the edge of the building and slid down a vine like a fireman's pole, down to the street, where other plants were already breaking apart the pavement and wrapping themselves around cars. Tall flowers grew and bloomed, reaching higher for the sky until they were as thick as tree trunks, blotting out the sun.

Within moments the quiet street had become a menacing forest.

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Across town, Adrien tossed aside his bag and groaned. Plagg flew out of his jacket right before Adrien fell on his bed.