Butterfly Boy

Chapter 36

People were screaming and scrambling backwards away from the boy. Their whole world was crashing down around them, because the only thing they thought they knew for certain was gone. The only thing that gave them safety was gone. And they didn't know what to do.

The goop dispersed and a crackle and burst of light made them freeze in fear.

What stood before them could barely be recognized as the kind and gentle but sassy boy he was before. The black hair was still there, but it looked more like burned black than the raven black it used to be. The rest of him was covered by a skintight suit, like most other akumas. The scarf had turned bright dark blue, like the hot flames of a fire, and the ends of it were crackling and burning. The jumpsuit was, predictably, red. Not like Ladybug's jumpsuit. More of a glaring, harsh red. It was striped white. The stripes beginning from the middle of his chest and spreading out. He was also wearing blue wide ankle socks and blue fingerless gloves that reached back further up his forearm like gloves.

Danny opened his still blue eyes and looked down at himself. A spark of concern went through his mind. Fire?

"Hello, Firecracker. It might take the superheroes a while to get here, but you could hurry it up by going to cause some ruckus."

Firecracker, what a name. Danny chuckled and looked up at the terrified faces of his peers. He felt a pang of guilt at it and what he was about to do.

The others gulped as the new villain straightened and smirked. "Well, hello there." He cocked his head. "Don't worry. I'm not here to harm you."

"Danny?" Rose asked trembling. She couldn't believe it was really him.

Years of having to endure villain monologues led to this exact moment.

Danny placed this fists on his hips. "Danny? No, I am Firecracker! And I am here for the miraculouses. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go complete a delivery." He grinned mischievously as he stepped forward and passed the teens who all but scrambled back from him. "And I will not stop until my task is completed."

He ran out of the building and took a moment to hear the shouting inside. Marinette and Adrien won't be long in coming.

He looked up at the buildings around him and had one end of his long scarf swing out and curl around a chimney. He pulled himself forward and landed on the roof.

That was interesting. The scarf felt like an extension of him. He knew exactly how to move it and it did what he wanted it to. It could also stretch out endlessly.

Danny wondered how he knew all of these new tricks. He ran down the roof and jumped off, using the scarf's ends as a means of pushing himself off and pulling himself forward. It was like all the information about his new villain form had downloaded into his mind.

But one thing worried him. "Can I just ask something?" He hoped he wasn't acting too out of place for an alkumatized (hey, he almost got it that time) person. "Why fire?"

"Simple," Hawkmoth responded. "I noticed you had a good grip on your fire powers in that other form you possess. And I was curious as to how a creature such as you would react to my magic."

Danny gulped. The guy had mistaken ectoblasts for fire. He could understand how but even though they both burned stuff they were as different as fire was to acid.

His core really wouldn't like it.

Danny paused on a roof looking out to a wider street. He really needed to get his plan going. If these fire powers affected him (he was already feeling the heat inside him) too much then he wouldn't be much use later. He needed to hurry.