Title: "That Night"
Author: Wish Wielder
Fandom: Danny Phantom
Pairing / Character Focus: Ember McLain
Challenge: 15 Minute Fic
Theme / Prompt: Word #19
Word Count: 621
Rating: K / G
Summary: They never wondered why her hair burst into flames whenever she got a power boost, or why she was so skilled at manipulating any blaze she came in contact with to her will.
Notes: I'm sure everyone and their cat has done this story, but whatever.
Disclaimer: "Danny Phantom" and all respective properties are © Butch Hartman. Meg D. (Wish Wielder) does not, has never, nor will ever own "Danny Phantom".
"That Night"
They never asked her how she died.
They never wondered why her hair burst into flames whenever she got a power boost, or why she was so skilled at manipulating any blaze she came in contact with to her will. They always just assumed it was her namesake – Ember McLain, and all. A gimmick and nothing more.
But really, that was just a lucky coincidence.
She could still remember that night in her mind, as vivid as it had been those few short years ago. She could still see the lights, hear the screams of her fans as she burned her fingers against the strings of her guitar. She was exhausted, but for them she'd play all night. This was her hometown, where they loved her more than anywhere else. They knew her here. If it wasn't for them, she wouldn't even be playing in this run-down, flea-infested bar on the corner of 5th and Maple. But she loved them as much as they loved her, so she was here, standing on a stage only five-by-five feet around and singing her heart out.
No one paid any mind to the thunderstorm outside; it was warm and cozy in the bar, mostly thanks to all the heat generated from the bodies. They danced and swayed and screamed, and between her music and their voices they drowned out the claps of thunder. The windowless building prevented the lightning from being seen, and the only ones who really acknowledged the storm were the ones in the back that were hit by rainy gusts whenever the bouncer opened the door.
No one paid any mind to the old roof, either, or how it leaked in some spots – some spots more than others. Anyone splashed with a bit of rain would attribute it to someone's drink sloshing over its side, or maybe sweat from a nearby dancer flinging from swishing hair. And as she neared the height of her most popular song, a gritty number dedicated to her low-life of an ex, no one noticed the sparks as one of those some spots dropped a puddle on one of the lights reflecting off her guitar.
Whether it was the simple euphoria of a great song or the hazy joy of one too many beers, the crowd was too caught up in their high to notice the flames until it was too late. With a scream – this time of terror instead of cheers – a woman in the middle of the crowd pointed to the beam above her, and she had barely looked up before the flaming log crashed into her. She barely registered the shift of screams as people rushed to get out. She barely registered the burning roof or the debris falling down around her. She barely realized the pain racing through her as the flaming rafter caught on her clothes and skin, searing her beyond repair. She didn't even register the throb on the side of her head, or the cool trickle running through her electric blue hair. She just sort of fell asleep, or maybe just passed out, and slowly let the conflagration consume her.
When she woke up sometime the next day, she didn't know where she was or really who she was. She just felt angry and hurt and lost, and – when that idiot in the metal suit with the flaming green hair had come over to her to try and help – she had no problem grabbing a handful of blue fire by her side and using it to burn him ten ways to hell and back. Because really, sitting on that purple rock in the middle of a green void, she knew that was the only place she could possibly be.
A.n.: Okies, so I went about a minute over trying to finish that last thought/make it coherent, but it's still basically fifteen minutes of drabble. I was actually really glad when I saw the word (fire; I've been wanting to do something DP, and this gave me the perfect chance (and lookit – no romance! xD).