It was hard for Danny to play with the other kids. They were physically the same age as him. Mentally, however he wasn't. Though he knew he didn't have the same mental age as he was before, it still was higher than normal for a six year old. The complexity of being de-aged and having to relive life again.
Even so, some of the kids did want Danny to join their games, at least until he was label a bad kid. Still being young, it sounded inviting. He wanted to run and play with the others, but after a round with a girl name Sheri, he didn't want to play anymore.
She was bossy, and didn't like to lose. No one mentioned to Danny this. So when he tagged her, she dropped to the ground and cried, acting like Danny hit her hard. At first, Danny was afraid that he did. After all he was abnormally strong. His powers may still be out of sorts, but strength was something he still had.
Yet, it turned out she falsely cried and accused him so he would have to sit out. Another girl, Sally, told him, in a whisper while he was forced to sit on the steps the rest of recess, that Sheri did that with everyone who touched her first.
Great. "So why do you even play with her?" He whispered back while the teacher was still preoccupied. A butterfly landing on his shoulder.
"Mrs. Guillotine says we have to play with everyone." Sally said, struggling with the teachers name, as it came more out like, Gillitwin.
And thus ended Danny's attempt to play. Anytime a game started, Sheri would butt in and make Danny look bad. All because she got away with getting him in trouble. Ever since then Danny sat in what little grass there was and watch the butterflies.
He didn't know why he attracted them. It started with one and then a few, until he was practically covered in them. They made his recess less boring.
They would crawl on him and tickle his skin. He swore once or twice they gave him a kiss. He would move his fingers as they crawled over them. Soon enough his classmates were referring to him as butterfly boy instead of his name.
He would catch them staring at him more than once, especially when he was covered with butterflies. He found some of the kids once or twice trying to get butterflies to land on them, but they flew away. The kids just huffed and stared at Danny with envy.
Sheri, in particular, was extremely jealous of Danny and his butterflies. At least that what Danny assumed as she always wore a butterfly clip in her hair and the furious glares she give him. One afternoon at recess, she stomped up to Danny with hands on her hips. "Why are you always covered in butterflies?"
Danny shrugged, still crouched to the ground over some dandelions, " They like me."
"As if! Why would they like a smelly boy?" Sheri huffed, crossing her arms.
Danny raised his head up, as all the butterflies stilled their wings. "I'm better than a crocodile like you."
She let out a cry. "I'm a lady not a crocodile!"
"Crocodiles can be girls too." Danny stated plainly. Surprised she didn't run and tell a teacher yet.
Sheri's face twisted in frustration and her lip trembled. She must be still here for a reason. Danny glancing at the butterflies that were on his arms. She wanted to hold one, badly. He wondered if he could use this to his advantage.
He held out his arm, the butterflies flickering their wings cautiously, before settling down. "Ask nicely and I'll convince them to land on you."
She smacked his hand at the offer, sending the butterflies flying. They all fluttered to land on Danny's back hiding behind them. One butterfly wasn't so lucky as it fell into the grass and was stomped on by Sheri.
Danny glared standing up, fist clenched. The butterflies spreading their wings looking like extra eyes all staring at the girl.
"That's what I think of your butterflies! They must be stupid to like you!" Sheri's face was red and her cheeks were puffed.
Danny didn't know what the heck was her problem with him, but he was very close to throwing her over the fence. She always seem insulted by Danny, or butting into his space.
"I heard from my Brother's friend that butterflies are attracted to corpses." A boy with glasses and light brown hair spoke. Ronald? Randal? Danny couldn't remember. Anyways, he was witnessing the scene and was rarely seen without Sheri.
Danny wouldn't call them friends, but more so... he boosted her ego in exchange of not getting picked on himself. Strange how even at young age kids can develop unhealthy relationships... Jazz mention it could be survival technique.. or related to home.. or something.. Danny didn't care. Rondal or Ranald was annoying and often lied to give Sheri's words more weight.
However, that statement caught Danny's attention, trying to tell himself not to put much value in the boy's word. He just heard it from someone else. Unfortunately, Danny also knew Ronaldo was pretty good at repeating things word for word.
"Its true!" He insisted as he pushed up his glasses, "Also tears and blood. My brother even made a joke that he must be dead inside because one landed on him the other day."
Danny held back a flinch. He took a quick glance back at the butterflies. They did only start to land on him after...
"Ew!" Sheri blech, then grinned with her front tooth missing. "No wonder they like you. They know your dead meat."
Danny glared at her, until he felt a sudden but faint burst of cold air escape his lips. He glanced down at her shoe, and then looked her back in the eye with a smirk. "By you?"
"I'll make you regret ever coming to this school." She crossed her arms, trying to look tough.
"One, already do.. and two, you can't even kill a butterfly, why would I ever be scared of you?" Danny gestured to the butterfly that was on top of Sheri's shoe.
Sheri screamed stumbling back as it fluttered up back onto Danny. Danny quickly move his foot to hide the remains of the butterfly from her. Danny laughed as she scrambled back up to her feet. She dusted herself off and then blew her tongue at Danny.
"Freak! I'm telling teacher!" She ran back towards the teacher with Randile running behind her.
Danny rolled his eyes, moving his foot. "Sorry, I didn't mean to crush you more."
His voice a whisper to the slightly glowing butterfly that now rested on his shoulder. Danny wouldn't say he understood the butterfly, but he could get a general idea of what it wanted to say. So upon request, he quickly put the broken butterfly under a bed of tall grass. Just in time to hear his teacher call out his name from across the playground.
Danny sighed, gesturing the butterflies to leave him as he turned to make his way to the teacher. Wondering what Sheri had said. The butterflies still fluttered behind him like a cape before flying up into the sky, going their separate ways when he got close to the steps to the building. Only one butterfly remained, crawling onto his back.
The ghost butterfly, refused to leave him.
The teacher had, predictably, made him sit out on the steps for what little remained of recess. She also made him apologize to Sheri for calling her a crocodile. At least it was something he ACTUALLY did. He'll have to sit out five minutes tomorrow too, but for now he didn't care.
His mind kept wandering to what Ronile said. The butterfly that been crawling all over him, kind of confirmed it. Danny smelled nice to them. That wasn't the only thing bothering him either, it was the fact he had a ghost butterfly companion. It had turned into a ghost, right in front of him. Was his presence the cause? Would this happen if he was near a cat when it gets run over in the street? Would a neighbor that overdosed become one if Danny's bedroom was too close to their apartment?!
Danny shook his head free of the thoughts, going back inside at Mrs. Guillotine's whistle. The butterfly refusing to leave him as he walked inside.
Sheri, of course, spotted this and tried to get him in trouble again. She yelled to the teacher saying Danny was bringing bugs inside, only to be dumb founded when the butterfly was no where to be seen. Danny of course knew it was still there, but had turned invisible.
He couldn't help but grin when Mrs. Guillotine got onto Sheri for lying and trying to get Danny in trouble again. All through class, Sheri kept trying to point out the butterfly, but eventually was told she be sent into principal's office if she kept interrupting class. She even had a star removed from the chart, for bad behavior.
Danny hummed to himself at the karma, all thanks to his little ghostly friend. He could sense the butterfly found humor in this too.
Rest of his day was pretty uneventful. Sheri shut up after that, glaring at him and then sniffling to herself. He got onto the bus and was dropped off at a bus stop, not far from their apartment.
The bus wouldn't go into the street they actually lived on. It wasn't... pleasant. Not that many were in this area in Gotham.
Jazz was waiting at the stop, psychology text book in hand. She was studying while waiting for him. "Well, you look like you had a good day?"
"Sheri got in trouble for messing with me." Danny grinned.
Jazz smiled, shaking her head, "About time. Oh?!"
The ghost butterfly revealed herself and was fluttering around Jazz. Jazz stared at it strangely.
"She helped."
"She?" Jazz asked, trying to resist the urge to swat the butterfly from her face.
"I think so." Danny shrugged, shifting backpack on his shoulders. "I don't speak butterfly so its a little hard."
"Huh. Well its nice to meet you." Jazz smiled, then looked back down at Danny, holding out her hand for him to take. "Mind telling me everything that happened?"
Danny sighed, before taking her hand. He found it embarrassing. He kept trying to remind himself that he was six and this was normal. Jazz was his "mom". It never helped the feeling much.
He told Jazz everything, on their way home. She listened attentively, asking questions here and there to help Danny recall more. Once they made it into their dingy, one bedroom apartment, she tried to ease his worry.
"Don't think about it too hard Danny. You said the butterflies visit you everyday, right? Then its possible that a creature would need prolong contact with you to turn into a ghost, and since butterflies are so small. After all, this never happened before, right?" Jazz smiled as she moved into the kitchen which was just a tiny stove, fridge, a sink and one cabinet.
It was... functional. Though the state of the items made that statement, questionable.
Danny nodded as he moved to sit on the fold-able table they were using as a dining/study space. The chair wasn't comfy, but the mix matched cushions that Jazz put on them helped.
"Yeah, I never seen it happened." Danny muttered as the butterfly lightly moved its wings while it rested in his hair. It was glowing brighter as the sun was setting. The markings turning more eerie as they turned to look more like red eyes.
"Then, I don't think its anything to worry about." Jazz smiled as she pulled pans out from the sink. She had cleaned them earlier but let them dry.
"I guess." Danny mumbled, crossing his arms onto the table to rest his head. The butterfly fluttered off his head and landed on his arm. Its wings barely touching against his face, as if a sign of comfort.
Jazz had made them dinner, and even made some sugar water. "Well, it felt rude to eat when we have a guest. Oh, but I probably should have asked what she would have liked."
The butterfly was twitching its wings excitedly. Danny translated, though he didn't have to, "She's excited."
Jazz put down the a very small plastic container she had poured the water in. She would have extra left over, but she was certain she could find use for it, if their guest didn't stick around.
She then put down a plate with grill cheese and leftover meat loaf for herself and Danny. Danny poked at his meatloaf, suspecting Jazz purposely gave him the slice with the most vegetables mixed in.
She just pretended not to notice Danny's suspicious stare, eating her food with a hum of satisfaction. That was also fabricated. A trick to make him like the food more, if someone else was enjoying it.
The rest of the night ran smoothly. Danny and Jazz ate all their food. The butterfly had two more servings of the sugar water and then followed Danny through his nightly routine.
The ghost butterfly sat on the toilet, far from the water while Danny took a bath. She rested on Danny's hand while he was brushing his teeth, looking quite funny. She hid in Danny's pajama shirt, playing peak a boo with each space between the buttons.
When he was put into bed, the ghost butterfly would dance on the pages as Jazz read to him. Making it hard to read but same time, the two couldn't help but smile at the ghostly butterfly.
Jazz kissed Danny good night. He uttered out a "Gross!" with a chuckle. Which made Jazz nuzzle his face, the butterfly doing the same on his opposite cheek. Jazz left the room after Danny managed to shove her off, turning out the lights.
Danny sighed, hugging his legs. He had taken the only bedroom in the apartment, on Jazz's insistence. Jazz says its because she stays up studying, and that Danny needed a quiet place to rest. As if the paper thin walls left much silence. She chose to sleep on the sofa, that often left her with a stiff neck.
The ghost butterfly crawled along his knees. She was glowing bright green, lighting up the room dimly like a night light.
Danny sighed and spoke to the butterfly in a whisper, "I'm not suppose to be a kid.."
The butterfly flapped her wings, and twitch her antennae which had grown significantly.
"I'm suppose to be an adult by now. I was strong and.." Danny frowned, "You wouldn't have been crushed by her. I'm sorry. I should have known."
The ghost butterfly flew off his knees and fluttered around his head.
"But.." The butterfly flapped their wings into Danny's face interrupting his next statement. She then flew over to the window sill by Danny's bed.
Danny rubbed his face, then blinked, turning to face the butterfly. He raised a brow, confused. He shifted over to the window sill as the ghost butterfly crawled on the spotted glass.
"Did you want out?" Danny asked.
The butterfly didn't respond, just rested on the glass. Danny still stared confused before trying to see out the window in the direction the butterfly rested.
Danny caught sight of vigilantes jumping off top of buildings and swinging with grappling hooks in the distance. A familiar icy twinge in his chest. Danny rested his arms on the sill and continued to stare out.
The sky was clear and the moon was visible. He watched the planes and helicopters fly in the distance. Once or twice the shadows of the resident heroes would pass by again.
In a strange way, it made him home sick. Which was crazy, as he remembered how hard it was being a hero... but he loved it. It gave him purpose, made him feel more than just freaky Fenton.
Though it had taken away his dream towards the stars it made him feel important. Now he felt like a burden. Jazz gave up everything to protect him.
Danny glanced down at his arms, no longer able to watch the window. He jolted a little, having forgotten all about the ghost butterfly, as she landed on his arms.
She walked slowly up his arm, resting against his face. Danny blinked confused for a moment, then his eyes swell with tears. He could sense the butterfly. She was happy and thanked him for it.
His face felt hot as he sniffled back his tears. He smiled at her, before giving a big yawn. The ghost butterfly fluttered around the boy. Danny rolled his eyes, getting the message. He laid back down in his bed, curling up in his blankets and resting his cheek to his pillow.
The ghost butterfly stayed in the air while Danny situated himself, before flying down next to his open palm. Danny smiled at the butterfly, "Goodnight."
The ghost butterfly fluttered her wings in return.
...
The next morning, the butterfly was gone. Danny groggily woke from his sleep at Jazz knocking on his door to wake up. Danny a gruff, "Up!" so she wouldn't have to pull him out of bed.. yet.
He yawned with a stretch. That's when he noticed something warm on his cheek. His eyes snapped open, only getting a brief glimpse in the dirty window. A large butterfly mark was left on his cheek, glowing bright green before fading right before his eyes.
Danny put a hand over it, feeling the warmth. The butterfly passed on. Danny sniffed back tears. He was going to miss her.
