They drove fast to the site, Moira sliding across the backseat to crash into the adjacent door as they pelted around one particularly sharp corner. She was the first out, jumping out before the vehicle had come to a complete stop. A fire crew was battling to contain the flames, the fire rising higher than it had before.

Glancing around, Moira quickly spotted a high wall that she scrambled to stand atop of to gain a vantage point over the crowd. The flames were licking at the adjoining house but so far it wasn't spreading. Another crew was clearing undergrowth from around the buildings, which backed onto a dense area of trees.

The trees.

A young man stood at the very edge, clutching a tree as though for dear life. He was far removed from the crowds but no less entranced by the fire. The boy was panting heavily, holding onto the bark, looking prepared to faint. Even across the fair distance between them, Moira could make out that his clothes were stained with sweat, the grubby cloth barely distinguishable from the smoke rising from his back.

Before she even finished processing that last observation, Moira had leapt off the wall back into the thick crowd who were watching the fire with a morbid fascination. Jostling her way through, she was careful to walk only at a brisk pace - worried that if she ran she would draw attention to herself and the boy.

Nevertheless, as she broke the crowd the boy saw her and edged back into the trees. She ran after him.

As the trees closed behind her she risked yelling after him, sure no one else could hear.

"Please stop. I just want to help you!" She yelled, first in Spanish then in English.

Branches snapped around her as she blundered through the foliage, almost falling as she unexpectedly emerged in a clearing. He was waiting for her, staring down in aggravation at his burning hands while he panted for breathe.

He looked up sharply as she came near.

"Don't come any closer!" He warned, his English immaculate - American.

"Okay." Moira said softly, raising her hands slightly. "It's okay, I just want to talk."

"Why have you people been following me?" He asked, voice shaking.

She frowned, thinking back to the blonde she had seen earlier. "There is no one else - no one else that I work with. I only got here this morning."

His face clearly conveyed that he didn't believe her. "Who are you? Who sent you?" He gritted out, his dark face slick with sweat that continued to pour. He looked exhausted, practically vibrating.

Keeping her palms facing him, Moira thought back to Peggy's instructions. "My name is Moira MacTaggert." She said calmly. "I work for an organisation called S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I've never heard of it!" He yelled, taking another shaky step back.

"A lot of people haven't. We're an international organisation. If you just let me reach into my pocket I can show you identification..."

"No!" He shouted.

"I'm not going to hurt you." She assured.

"No, no, no." He shook his head. "You want to study me!"

"That's not true..." Moira paused. "Will you tell me your name?"

"Why?" He asked, his voice cracking. He looked to be on the verge of tears. "So you can tell the world about me? Warn them to keep away from the fire starting freak?"

"I'm not going to do that." She soothed. "It's just you and me." Glancing around the clearing, she saw a relatively flat rock beside her and slowly moved over to sit on it. "I'm just going to get my badge out now."

The boy's whole body shook as she reached into her pocket, opened her badge and threw it on the floor between them. He peered forward to look at it.

"S.H.I.E.L.D is a secret organisation. We work with people who have powers - people like you. We were formed after the death of a man known as Captain America. He had powers - he got them in an experiment during the Second World War." Moira explained calmly, as if they were having this conversation over a quiet cup of coffee instead of in a forest clearing while she ran risk of being burned alive. "I'll answer any questions you have until you understand that I'm not here to hurt you and that I just want to help. Please, just tell me your name."

Taking a shaky breath, he lowered his hands slightly. "Dante. Dante Pertuz."

"It's nice to meet you, Dante." Moira said, chancing a small smile.

The flames in his hands dimmed slightly.

"This Captain America - what happened to him?"

"He died, gave up his life, to save a lot of people. He was a hero."

Dante nodded. "And what do S.H.I.E.L.D want with me?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D keeps track of powered individuals and helps them stay safe - there are people out there who try to exploit people with your kind of powers. Try to duplicate your abilities, try to get you to do bad things. S.H.I.E.L.D works to protect you and put you in touch with similar people. We can train people whose powers are unstable to help them develop and control them. Sometimes we ask certain gifted people to join our organisation to help us in that mission, but they are free to decline. We'll still help them - we'll help you. You can contact us anytime, if you need help, if you feel like you're in danger."

Moira paused letting him think through what she said. "Can I ask you another question?"

Dante looked up. He had been staring at his hands again which were barely smouldering now. "What?"

"How did you get your powers? Have you had them long?"

He shook his head. "Only about a month. I couldn't...I came here."

"You have family here?"

"No. I just, I had to get away. It wasn't safe, my powers, they're...they're not safe."

"How did you get here?"

"On foot."

Moira looked curiously at him. "That sounds dangerous."

"I'm stronger now. Faster. I don't get tired much either."

"And you can make your hands produce fire." Moira said.

"Not just my hands, everywhere." Dante said quietly, the exhaustion becoming increasingly prominent on his features. It made him look so much younger. "I don't know what triggers it, it just happens. And it's not just fire. Do you want to see?" He asked, shrugging the bag from his shoulders and kicking off his shoes.

Moira almost fell off her perch when he erupted into an enormous figure of fire and rock, towering at least a whole foot above his normal height. His eyes smouldered bright orange, flames licking away from his skin, trying to ignite the very air around him. His black hair had disappeared in the redness of his skin, rock that burned crimson in the high temperature. When his arm moved a trail of fire moved with him - Dante was a walking inferno.

"Wow." She breathed, surveying the exceptional before her. It wasn't the first time she had seen someone with powers, but the incredulity still hadn't worn off. Standing, she moved closer but had to stop a few steps away as she encountered a wall of heat.

Abruptly he shrunk back into his human form, clothes burned to charcoal, shaking violently before promptly collapsing into her waiting arms.

Dragging him over to lay on some ferns to the edge of the clearing, Moira shrugged off her jacket and folded it up to place under his head. She would have to find somewhere for them to stay while he recuperated and until he mastered his ability to control the shift between both forms. Somewhere away from civilians and cameras.

Waiting until he regained consciousness, Moira tried to make him promise to stay in the clearing while she made a call.

"I'm going to find somewhere around here for us to stay. When was the last time you slept?"

"A few days ago." He responded, his eyelids dropping heavily.

"And when was the last time you slept in a bed?"

The corner of his mouth tilted upwards. "About a month ago."

" I'm going to call a friend, there was a phone booth not far from here - I passed it on the way here. Will you be okay by yourself?"

Dante pushed himself up on one arm. "I'd rather go with you."

"Can you?" Moira asked, placing a hand under his shoulder blade to try and take some of his weight, watching as his arm wobbled.

"Yeah."

"And can you stay cool?"

He smiled half-heartedly. "I don't think I have the energy to be doing that again anytime soon."

"You'll feel better once you get some rest and eat something." Moira promised, helping him sit up. "We'll go once you're ready."

"Okay." Dante sighed. "I just need a moment."

Half expecting him to pass out again, Moira was pleasantly surprised when he was able to push himself upright less than half a minute later. He moved over to his bag and put on some clothes. At least he'd had the sense to take off his shoes before he transformed, saving them from the destruction.

They left a scorch mark on the rough ground but there was little Moira could do about that.

Leading the way back through the trees, they emerged under a dimming sky. It didn't take long until they reached the phone she had spotted in the commute. It looked a little banged up, it had been crashed into at least twice if the different paint marks were any indication, but the call connected just fine. Undoubtedly her contact would be able to foot the collect call, which was good because Moira didn't have nearly enough change to afford international on her own.

"Stark."

"Howard, it's Agent MacTaggert." She said a little breathlessly, wiping her brow with the back of hand. "I need a favour."

"Moira!" Howard replied happily. "How are you - how's Peg?"

Moira glanced behind her to make sure Dante was keeping close. He was leaning tiredly against the booth. "She's not here right now, I'm out on assignment."

"Oh yeah. You're not in trouble are you?"

"No, no. But I need to get an exceptional off the street and somewhere quiet."

"Where are you?"

"Honduras - in Tegucigalpa. We need to find somewhere to stay but we need to keep away from civilians, and we can't get on a plane just yet." She couldn't put Dante on a plane until she was sure he wouldn't go up in flames - it would be a powder keg.

"Your exceptional's not got his powers under control yet, huh." Howard said interestedly. "I don't have anywhere in Honduras, but if you get to the coast I can get a boat to pick you up. Would that work?"

Boat surrounded by water? Better than a pressurised container flying 35,000 feet. "That works. Thanks for this Howard."

"No problem, I have a boat moored in Jamaica. Maria likes a tropical climate so I bought her a villa."

Of course he did. "There's a port to the north of us, Puerto de Caballos..."

"I'll have my guy meet you there. You got a car?"

"Not right now but I've got enough cash on me to pick up something cheap." Moira said.

"Maybe I'll fly out to meet you," Howard mused. "I haven't worked with an exceptional in a while, could be fun."

"Thanks, Howard." She replied, hopeful that he would follow through with his plan. Hopefully he could make Dante some clothes a little more flame resistant.

With a parting instruction to Dante to stay near the booth, Moira slipped off to find them transport. It was going to be a long night.

XXXXX

Sorry about the delay - I was on holiday.
Dante Pertuz is another Marvel character, also known under the codename Inferno. For people who read my original version of this story I know this has taken a slight divergence, I'm a little torn about whether to abandon certain storylines or if I should keep them in.
As always I hope you all enjoyed the chapter - please let me know in the comments!