Drabble 28
An Ice Emergency
Part 2: The Reluctant Dragon Hero
Somehow, Cat Noir was unsurprised to find Jack holed up in his basement/evil lab, surrounded by space heaters and ranting injustices at the world.
"Somehow, I don't think shouting at the ceiling is all that good for your sanity," the hero said as he crept out of the shadows.
The evil boy genius jumped in surprise and wheeled around, clutching his chest. "I've told you a million times! Stop barging in here! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he shouted.
"And miss out on cat-ching you unawares," said Cat Noir with a coy grin. "Nah."
The expression Jack gave him was severely unamused. "That's it. Next time you come here, you're cat sushi. No ands, ifs, or buts about it." He then threw back his head and yelled, "JACKBOTS-!"
Cat Noir tensed as the robot henchmen began mobilizing, and he quickly held out his hands in surrender. "Wait, wait, I need your help!"
That made Jack freeze, and look at him like he was crazy. "Um, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm evil. Helping heroes isn't really what I do."
"Never stopped you before," said Cat good-naturedly.
Jack scowled. "Jackbots-!" he repeated, but was cut off by Cat once again.
"Sorry, sorry, my bad. Really, though, I do need your help. It's urgent," he said.
The genius gave the hero an unamused look. "Why? You've already got a partner, and all those other backup heroes are out there too. Can't believe you trusted the job to Chloé, by the way. She's the literal worst."
Feeling his piece was said, Jack turned his back on the hero and looked ready to take up his Akuma-time venting session again.
"Ladybug's been captured," Cat Noir said, causing the genius to freeze in his tracks. "I don't know where to find Rena Rouge or Carapace, and Chloé was captured by the Akuma too, along with the rest of her classmates."
Hearing this, Jack wheeled around, all previous irritation now replaced by genuine worry. "Her classmates? You mean…you mean my friends…?"
"Are all trapped in a block of ice, same as Ladybug," said Cat Noir. "And without my lady, there's no way we can free them. The villain will get his wish for another Ice Age unless you help me save them."
He looked Jack dead in the eye. "Please, help me rescue them," he said in a voice that was borderline desperate.
Jack chewed his lip, looking unsure. "Why me?" he asked. "Out of all of the goodie-two-shoes in Paris, why ask the evil kid to help you out?"
"Because I've seen you, Jack," said Cat earnestly. "Yeah, you want world domination, but when the chips are down, you genuinely care about your friends, and you always go the extra mile when they're involved. To the rest of the world, sure, you're the bad guy. But to them, you could be their hero. Heck, in some ways, I bet you already are."
Jack was visibly at war with himself at, before throwing his hands into the air in defeat. "Fine!" he finally burst out. "I'll help you. I'll be a hero this one time." He then shot Cat Noir a scathing look. "But if you tell anyone, you'll be worse than cat sushi. You'll be an entire cat buffet."
Cat Noir beamed back at him. "No worries," he said, holding out the jewelry box. "With this, no one will recognize you. Well, unless you pull a Chloé."
Jack stared in wonder as he took the box from the hero's hands and opened it. Instantly, there was a flash and a small red Kwamii with black horns and spikes burst from within it.
"Nice to meet you," the Kwamii said in a husky voice. "I'm Emburr. Ready for a blaze of glory?"
Jack gave Cat a confused glance. "This is a Kwamii," he explained. "They're the source of our powers. Pretty cool, huh."
Jack glanced between him and the Kwamii in bewilderment, before seeming to resign himself. "Well, can't be any worse than Dojo."
Emburr perked up at the name. "You know Dojo? I haven't seen him in centuries. How is he?"
"Annoying," Jack replied, and the Kwamii nodded as if this was unsurprising.
"So how do we do this?" Jack asked, examining the circlet still in the box as if looking for an instruction book.
"You put the Miraculous on, and say Dragon UP!" Emburr replied.
Jack quirked an eyebrow as he put the circlet on his head. "Dragon up? A little on the nose, don't you-GAH!"
He was cut off from his question as in a flash, Emburr vanished into the circlet, and Cat Noir had to shield his eyes as the transformation took place.
By the time the light faded, a new hero stood in Jack's place looking bewildered.
"Well, you certainly look Clawsome, if I do say so myself," said Cat Noir with a grin.
The hero that was Jack scrambled to find a reflective surface and stared.
He definitely looked edgier than all the previous heroes had. He was covered head to toe in a deep red suit with a black scale pattern covering it, part of the lower back hung loose like the ends of a cross between a tailcoat and an actual tail with a black barbed spike at the end. Black spikes also jutted out of his elbows, and his hands were clawed much like Cat Noir's were, and clutched in one was what appeared to be a blow dart gun. The spikes of his red hair were now black-tipped, and the circlet nestled around it now had a series of five wicked looking horns jutting out of it that looked reminiscent of a thick black crown, with two longer red and spiraled horns one either end, and a red jewel in the center shaped like a coiled dragon. And to finish the costume, a black mask with devil-horn points on either end covered his eyes.
"My own mother wouldn't recognize me," Jack gasped. "I look wicked!"
"After we capture the Akuma, you'll need to give the Miraculous back," Cat Noir added as Jack continued to admire himself.
Jack paused in his preening and glanced at the hero. "What assurance do you have I won't just keep this thing, and use it for evil?"
Cat Noir gave his best look of wide-eyed innocence he could muster. "Because I'm your friend too, right? I can trust you."
Jack groaned and scrubbed his eyes as if that would rid him of the effects of the adorable look. "Curse you! Curse you stupid heroes for being so-so earnest!"
Cat Noir laughed, but the rattling of winter winds shook the window, bringing his mind back to the matter at hand. "We should get going. The sooner we free Ladybug and get the Akuma the better."
Jack nodded, his expression equally serious.
As they exited the lab, Cat Noir glanced over at him, and said, "By the way, any ideas for a name?"
Jack thought a moment before a wicked grin spread across his face. "Dracul," he replied.
"Like the guy that vampire was based on?" Cat asked in confusion.
The newly named Dracul's grin widened. "Yup. The name itself means dragon, but… it also means evil."
A/N Well looks like Jack was too surprised to get a fancy transformation sequence. Honestly, I don't know if the Dragon Miraculous is a circlet or a necklace, or what. From its picture, it's round and has a small stone on it, but otherwise, it's unclear which it is. I went with circlet to differentiate it from the Fox Miraculous.
Also, I admit I picked the transformation words as a reference to American Dragon: Jake Long. I couldn't resist it, though I doubt if they ever use that Miraculous, that'll be the words.
