Present day~

Marinette sat stiffly in her seat, her eyes pinned to the wall. She bit her lip as a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. She was stuck; and she didn't have much time left.

Come on, Marinette thought frantically to herself. You can figure this out.

Her nerves were shot and her heart raced with anxiousness. She had to be mindful of whatever came out of her mouth next, or else she would be a goner.

It was life or death.

"Uhhh," Marinette mumbled, looking down. She squeezed her eyes shut. "The sum of the two equations is five thousand and seventy-six?"

Her teacher smiled happily at the answer. "That is correct. Very good, Marinette."

The girl breathed out her anxiousness, relieved that the answer was correct. Alya patted her excitedly on the back.

"Way to go!" she exclaimed.

"Thanks," Marinette smiled. "You have no idea how nervous I was."

Kim peeked his head out from behind Alya, a wide smile on his face. "Well, you broke the tie and now our team wins the review game! We all get 10 points extra credit on the test tomorrow! Woo!"

Knowing Kim, he'd definitely need it. No wonder he was so excited.

"That's all for today," the teacher announced, just as the bell rang. "You're dismissed."

Alya and Marinette stood up and gathered their belongs before exiting the room. Alya walked beside her friend down the hallway. "Seriously, you are a math genius, girl. How do you do it?"

Marinette shrugged. "I guess I'm just lucky-WOAH!" Her words were cut off as she stumbled over her own feet, nearly falling.

Alya quickly grabbed her friends arm and hoisted her back up, a playful smile working its way onto her face. "You were saying?"

Marinette chuckled, pulling her arm away. "Hey, it could've been much worse."

The two girls chuckled as they approached the exit. Thankfully, it was the end of the day so Marinette could go home and relax a bit.

"See you later?" Alya asked, stopping in front of the door.

Marinette widened her eyes as she remembered. Alya had invited her over for dinner at her place tonight; she had completely forgot!

"Oh, yeah!" Marinette exclaimed. "See you later!"

Alya raised an eyebrow before chuckling and walking back into the school to meet up with her boyfriend, Nino.

Marinette skipped down the steps and started walking towards her house which wasn't far away at all. She entered through the front door of the bakery, everything seemingly normal. This assumption was crossed out when she saw her parents staring at the TV, gasping and covering their mouths in shock.

"What's going on?" Marinette asked, immediately alarmed.

"Look," Sabine said, her voice shaky. She pointed at the TV screen in horror.

Marinette's eyes adjusted to the news channel report. It was a live broadcast from a helicopter of a man in a hoodie that was crossing the highway.

"Witnesses say the man could burn anything he touched," the female news anchor said over the broadcast. "He is on the loose and very dangerous. Reports say that he has critically injured more than 11 people. We can't stress this enough; please stay inside if you live near or in Paris, and if you see this man, contact authorities immediately."

The broadcast then cut to a commercial.

Sabine wailed, burying her head in Tom's chest. Marinette was utterly shocked. Another man that could harm things with his touch was out and about?

"It's just like the broadcast 2 years ago about the boy who could destroy anything he touched!" Sabine cried. "What if those two form an alliance?"

"Calm down, mom," Marinette said soothingly. "I'm sure the guy from 2 years ago is long gone now. There's no way he could've stayed out of captivity for that long."

"Well, I don't want you going to school tomorrow. If this criminal is on the loose, then I don't want you out there."

"Mom," Marinette said quickly. Her mother had a tendency to overthink things. Plus, as much as Marinette was spooked about the entire situation, she couldn't miss school tomorrow. She had a very important physics test to pass.

"I'll be fine," she continued. "Paris is a big city and the police will find him right away, I guarantee it."

"I don't know, honey," Tom said worriedly. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Marinette glanced up at her father, his eyebrows creased in concern. "Remember how worried you two were when that boy from 2 years ago was on the loose?"

Sabine wiped her eyes, carefully deciding her next response. "Yes, but-"

"Well, here I am, untouched," Marinette said slowly. "There is nothing for you to be worried about. In the morning, this new criminal will be caught and everything will be okay."

Sabine sighed, dropping her arms at her sides. She walked over to Marinette and hugged her. "Maybe you're right. I'm just a little on edge lately, that's all."

"It's okay," Marinette whispered as Tom came to join them, completing the giant hug. "I love you guys."

"We love you too," Sabine replied soothingly.

*

The group of friends sat outside on a bench, the leaves of the trees around them rustling intensely. It was lunchtime and apparently sitting outside wasn't their best decision. The sky grew dark and ominous.

"You heard about that new criminal, right?"

"How couldn't I?" Marinette replied to her friend, Alya.

Nino sat across from them, leaning over the table excitedly. "And he can burn anything he touches... Cool."

Alya shot him a glare and he laughed awkwardly, muttering a 'sorry.'

"I'm determined to record it this time," Alya declared, whipping out her phone. "For my Superblog."

"Superblog?" Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I made it when that first dude showed up, and was like, 'Hey, this could be a cool business.' I was planning to record him in person but then my uncle passed away and the monster dude disappeared, so the blog was kinda abandoned for all those years."

"Oh." She looked around, noticing the sky growing darker with each passing second. Students that hadn't already left were moving indoors. That caused a pit of worry to grow in Marinette's stomach. She shifted in her seat. "Maybe we should go in?"

"You're probably right," Alya said, looking around cautiously. She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. "But I'm so ready this time for that villain to show up." She then glanced over at Marinette with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, try not to die in these next few weeks, okay? Can't afford to miss this for another funeral."

Marinette blinked, feeling cautious. "Uh, sure thing."

The wind picked up substantially, causing a loud snap to fill the air. Marinette's heart beat quickened as she looked up towards the sky and saw a large branch from a nearby tree falling down towards Alya.

If Marinette's  "powers" wanted to work, they'd better do it now. For as long as she can remember, Marinette had the power to grant luck to those around her. That's why she was so liked by all of her peers. What's ironic is that she grants luck to everyone but herself.

Marinette watched in horror as the branch fell through the sky. Thankfully, her powers came through, and the branch changed position at the last second and landed a few inches away from Alya instead of on top of her. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief.

Alya quickly turned around, hearing the loud sound of the branch hitting the ground. "Woah."

*

The raven-haired girl walked down the sidewalk from the school, her petite hands shoved into her coat pockets. A cold November breeze whipped past her face, causing her to bury her head into the neck of her jacket.

Her house was in perfect view.

But then her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes focused more intently. In front of the door to the bakery, a man in a black hoodie and red jeans was standing stiffly on the sidewalk, staring straight ahead at Marinette.

It wasn't like he was admiring the pastries through the window, but he was just standing there. Right in the way. She didn't dare to try to negotiate around him.

So Marinette stopped in her tracks, bravely meeting the man's gaze to see what he would do next. He was only about 50 feet away, but she couldn't distinguish his facial features since his hood was casting a dark and ominous shadow across his face.

Her pulse quickened as he took a step forward.

And another. Then another.

Marinette decided that staring down at the man in an attempt to scare him away was not going to work. She began to back pedal involuntarily, her speed increasing as his did. He wasn't running, but he definitely wasn't taking a casual walk either. He was following her.

Soon, she swiveled around from the man, who still followed after her, and began to walk briskly down the sidewalk. Away from the man that, for some reason, wanted to follow her. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't charged her phone last night so it was dead and she had no way in contacting the police.

After walking the sidewalks for a few minutes, she looked over her shoulder and saw that he was still following her. 20 feet away, his hands shoved in his hoodie pockets and the hood still over his head, he showed no signs of giving up.

That's it, I'm booking it, Marinette decided in her head. It was still daylight, so maybe someone would notice her panic and call help. Or she could lead him to the police station, but that was across town.

Marinette's legs immediately kickstarted as she began sprinting down the sidewalk, pure adrenaline moving her muscles. She panted furiously as the cold air filled her lungs.

She passed a few pedestrians, all of which were looking at her strangely but not saying a word. Perhaps he gave up on trying to follow her since the pedestrians weren't shocked at all. Or maybe they just didn't care that a strange man was chasing a teenaged girl down the sidewalk?

If he's still behind me, I'll take a little detour to get him off my trail, Marinette thought, her eyes darting to the left. She saw a side street and immediately swerved onto that, her legs starting to ache. She desperately hoped the man wasn't following her.

The street she turned on was a quiet one; no one was walking on the sidewalks. Well, except for one old woman that was walking her dog.

Ahead of her, Marinette saw the end of the road, a street railing blocking it off. Behind it, a vast forest lay ahead. Yeah right, Marinette thought. I'd never go in a forest. That'd be the most foolish thing to do when a guy is stalking you.

She decided to slow down a little, breathing heavily. She bent over, placing her hands on her knees and taking sharp intakes of air. Her legs felt like jello, but it was all worth it. With a quick look around herself, she had concluded that she escaped the guy that was following her.

The old lady walking her dog looked concerningly at Marinette. "Are you alright dear?"

"I am now, some guy was following me," Marinette breathed. "Would you call the police for me?"

"Oh, of course!" she replied, hobbling back to her house, her dog following behind. "I'll be right back."

"Thank you!" Marinette called after her, looking around. The wind picked up. It was dead silent except for a few leaves skidding across the street. She desperately wished her phone was charged so she could call her parents to tell them what happened.

"Okay, I have the police on the line," the old woman called out, walking out onto her porch. The house telephone was pressed up against her ear, and she looked down at Marinette. "What did you say your name was sweetheart?"

Marinette looked out over the street, still cautious. "Mari-- Oh no," she said, but stopped frightfully as her eyes landed on the man turning around the curb and heading down the street towards them.

"What? What is it?" the old lady asked curiously.

"He's here!" Marinette yelled, her heart racing furiously.

The man's hand slid out of his pocket, and he raised it up slightly. Marinette raised an eyebrow, backing away slowly. The old woman talked frantically in the phone as she saw the incoming threat.

In an instant, a fiery ball grew in the man's hand, and he held it up in the air like a torch. Marinette felt her heart drop. He's-

She couldn't finish her thought, because the next thing she knew, the fire ball was hurtling right towards her. She attempted to dodge it, but was too slow, and the ball of fire slammed into her chest, searing her skin and clothes. She screamed in pain, and the sound echoed in the air. The force sent her flying through the air and across the railing. She landed on the ground with a hard thud, it practically knocked the wind out of her.

Every inch of Marinette's body ached with pain, especially her stomach, which felt like she was being roasted over a fire. The pain radiated through her body, pricking her fingers and toes.

Her eyes were squeezed shut, tears leaking down her cheeks from the excruciating pain. She groaned, attempting to grab her stomach to ease the pain, but contact just made it worse.

Her vision was extremely blurry when she tried opening her eyes again, but when it cleared, she saw her attacker staring down at her, a sick twist of delight hidden in his eyes.

Finally, she could see what he looked like. Red, bloodshot eyes that just screamed evil. His chin was pointy and covered in stubble, and his nose was almost flat against his face. Also, it looked like he hadn't slept for days. Dark brown hair poked out from underneath his hood.

He crouched down beside Marinette, tilting his head at her. "Woah, I didn't want to kill you that fast. There's still more for you to see."

Marinette weakly lifted her head, eyes narrowed at the man. "Why?" she coughed.

"You ran away from me, not cool."

"Neither is burning my insides," Marinette replied, trying to gather as much courage as she could. Not like it would matter anyways; the girl had no way of getting out of her current situation. Not unless the old woman minded giving her a hand, but that was very unlikely. Hopefully for her, the police would be on their way and stop this maniac. After all, if she hadn't imagined the whole fire ball thing, she was pretty sure this man in front of her was the one on the news last night that could 'burn anything he touched.'

"Still awake?" the man asked, his voice filled with amusement. Marinette's eyes threatened to flutter close, but she didn't want to pass out with him around.

She attempted to speak, but a struggled whimper came out instead as the pain in her stomach intensified.

"Why don't I just put you out of your misery now?" the man then said, lifting up and forming a fire ball in his hand. He tossed it around like a baseball. "One fire ball dropped on your pretty little head and you're out like a light."

Marinette hated him. She hated the twisted satisfaction on his face. Her eyes darted to his ankles; he was standing right by her aching legs. If she tried hard enough, maybe she could muster up enough energy to kick him in the shin and send him to the ground. She could only hope.

The muscles in her legs sprung to life, every bit of pain returning to them. She screamed in agony, gathering up as much energy she could, and swung her legs at his ankles.

The man fell over in slow motion, not anticipating this action. He slammed hard against the forest floor, his face making direct contact with a rock.

Marinette widened her eyes as she realized her advantage; she could get away! Adrenaline powered her body as she quickly jumped to her bruised feet and staggered away as fast as she could. Blocking out every signal of pain and every prick that stabbed her insides, she saw a tiny cabin ahead of her. Perhaps she could hide inside of it and recoup?

"Help!" a strangled whimper came out of her mouth. She felt herself slowing down considerably. Leaves rustled behind her and the man growled in annoyance.

"You're gonna pay for that you stupid kid!" he yelled.

"Help!" Marinette screamed again, but she quickly realized this was no use. She was in the middle of the forest for pete's sake. If any luck, maybe that old woman had called the police and they were on their way. But considering how long it had been since the fact, and she still hadn't heard sirens, Marinette guessed the fragile woman was too spooked and ended up dropping the police call.

Marinette lost her footing and tumbled to the ground, her elbows being the first thing that touched the ground. However, this slight injury was nothing compared to the severe burn she had on her stomach. She mumbled some vulgar words, hugging herself. She wasn't so sure how long she could go on for; her body was in tremendous pain. She had used up every little bit of her energy. Her pain filled eyes met with the crazed eyes of her attacker and she shivered from the look of pure evil in them.

"Inferno has won," he smiled sickeningly.