Hawkmoth exclaimed in fury as another one of his akuma were purified and released, foiling his plans yet again. This fight had been so promising, too. The Commander had the ability to place people under his control with a single touch. Ladybug and Chat Noir had to struggle to get a hold of his akumatized item without touching him because even accidental contact would put them under his command.
He had been so close! When Chat Noir had stumbled and brushed past the commander, Hawkmoth really thought that this battle would finally turn out favorably. Especially since the Commander's controlled victims had the same ability. And while Chat Noir had proven to be no real threat to Ladybug when he had been controlled in the past, Hawkmoth believed that he would be able to at least to touch the other superhero.
But somehow Ladybug had proven agile enough to avoid not only Commander and Chat Noir, but also all of the civilians that were being controlled as well. She hadn't even needed to use her Lucky Charm! All she did was line up the Commander with an industrial fan and used her yoyo to knock off his military hat. The fan did the rest, sucking the hat in and shredding it to pieces.
Yet another failure. Just as he was about to detransform and prepare to wait another day, Hawkmoth felt a heavy wave hit him. It was many times stronger than normal. Even Hawkmoth felt disconcerted as he looked around himself for a white butterfly that was supposed to be fluttering towards him.
Surprisingly, none broke out of the ever-shifting mass. But the heavy, dark feeling remained. It pressed down on him like something heavy was crushing him from above. The supervillain frowned. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
Was this some sort of side-effect from his powers? Was Nooroo withholding something from him? The villain was going to detransform and question the kwami when something suddenly caught his eye.
Among the glowing white of his butterflies, there was one weakly fluttering close to the ground, barely remaining afloat. It was shuddering, as if it were in pain. But there was something more important that caught the villain's eye.
Though small, there was what appeared to be a crack along the bottom edge of one of its wings. What could this mean? Nooroo once told him that the butterflies were the physical manifestation of people's souls. So how could a crack appear in one? What does that mean? He took a cautious step off the pressure pad in the floor, causing the circular shutter to close in front of him.
As he moved towards the creature, the heavy feeling became even stronger, making his stomach churn. He ignored it and pressed forward. All the other butterflies seemed to be moving away from it, as if nervous somehow. It was strange behavior from creatures that didn't have a consciousness of their own.
He extended a hand down to the distressed butterfly. It dropped into his hand as if it were exhausted, wings drooping against his palm. Upon closer inspection, Hawkmoth could see wisps of dark smoke rising against the glowing wing, escaping from the crack he had seen earlier.
Darkness was coming from the butterfly? Normally, negative emotions would have to filter through him first to be amplified before being absorbed into the butterfly to return to the soul's owner. This was something completely unprecedented. Not to mention how strong the negativity was.
Hawkmoth lifted his transformation, ready to be rid of this unsettling anomaly. Glowing butterflies faded and dissipated all around him, but still it remained, sitting heavily on his palm like an insect on the verge of death.