Dang I didn't realize it's been over a month since the last chapter!
With season 5 over we gotta look forward to the next special: Miraculous: Hot Topic Edition
Nathalie was getting tired of this. This was the fourth time in two weeks she was running across rooftops dressed like a peacock. With a group of teenagers also dressed in animal attire chased after her. Their leader had already purified her amok, but three of her teammates stayed behind to go after her.
Mayura almost jumped to the next rooftop, before noticing that it was under construction. The scaffolding did not look stable enough for her to land on. "End of the line Mayura!" The rabbit heroine called out, with the fox and tiger girls by her side.
There was nowhere left to run. Her only options were to either risk jumping into the unfinished room or be captured and her miraculous taken. Option B would directly lead to the Miracusquad deducing the identity of the man terrorizing Paris for what felt like seasons. She couldn't let them catch her. With a smirk, Mayura jumped backwards into the scaffolding. Predictably, the flimsy board could not sustain her weight and it started coming down on her. Through her training as a hunter, and some sheer luck, she was able to get out of the collapsing mess, mostly unharmed.
It was too risky for the other girls to follow. Rena Rouge contacted the co-guardians to give them the update. "We lost Mayura. She jumped into an unstable structure."
"Did she do a flip?" Cat Noir asked, genuinely curious.
In a nearby alley, the peacock villainess de-transformed and rested her back against the wall. Every encounter it seemed like the heroes were getting closer and closer to apprehending her. Why did she have to be a field agent?! Oh right, Gabriel claimed he wasn't fit enough to run across rooftops.
"Nathalie?" her kwami got her attention. "Are you alright? That was a really close call." The tiny peacock worried for her partner. She hated being used for evil, but she cared for her holder, regardless.
"I'm fine." Nathalie assured her companion.
Duusu hid inside her jacket as Nathalie snuck out of the alley. "You know-" the tiny voice whispered from her jacket. "I'm sure Nooroo's master will understand if you are honest and tell him that you don't want to fight on the front line!"
Poor little peacock, so optimistic and naïve. Had she already forgotten how worked up Gabriel had got when they were deciding a team name? If he flipped a table over Nathalie disagreeing with his team name, then how would he handle her, not wanting to keep fighting teenagers every week? "I know you are concerned, but I can assure you it is not worth it to argue. Gabriel has our best interests in mind. After all, the two of us are partners."
OXOXOXOX
'Headline-Hawkmoth defeated once more by the Miracusquad. Meanwhile, sales of red pants are at an all-time low'
Nathalie couldn't help but be irritated at the latest news in her digital newspaper. The heroes were fighting her and her amok and yet the news only mentions Hawkmoth behind the attack. The news never forgot Cat Noir when it talked about Ladybug. Why couldn't it do the same for the evil duo of Hawkmoth and Mayura? Granted, she was happy the name 'Fabulous Fiends' hadn't caught on.
The door opening made her look up to see Adrien looking around cautiously. She knew exactly why. "Not to worry, Adrien, your father did not make pancakes this morning." Nathalie and Gorilla had been hiding all the pancake ingredients before their employer could 'cook' his dish for his 'beloved' son.
Adrien let out a sigh of relief. He'd been terrified to eat another one after a previous batch had a skull-shaped smoke cloud above it. "Thank goodness." Something else crossed his mind. "He still remembers its parent's day at school, right? Father promised he'd come this time, after… "
LAST TIME
Miss Bustier is at the front of the class, addressing all of her students as the shot pans across the room. "It's so wonderful to have you all here. Every loving parent and student all together an-" she stopped when she saw Adrien had a crudely made scarecrow of sorts meant to look like his father. He moved its arm with a stick attached and made the scarecrow wave to his teacher.
"I can confirm that your father is aware of that and it is on his schedule." Nathalie confirmed, breaking apart the flashback. The model son was pleased to hear that and took a seat at the table, where under a cloche was some nutritious and not deadly breakfast.
A long stretch of silence ensued. Neither person says a word for like three minutes. It was the older woman who ended up breaking the silent streak "Adrien, you've seen those miraculous heroes, haven't you?"
Adrien avoided eye contact. "Y-yeah, I mean, who hasn't seen them? I sure have! I've even met Cat Noir once and gave him a high-five." It wasn't a total lie. One time as Cat Noir, he gave himself a high five after beating an akuma on his own.
"Is it just that Hawkmoth that they fight or was there some other villain?" The peacock villainess herself probed.
Oh good, this wasn't about her being on to him. "Yeah, he's got this sidekick, Mayura." Adrien answered, more relaxed now.
Nathalie didn't like the sound of 'sidekick', she could accept being called an assistant but not a sidekick. "Huh, you never hear about her in the news."
"Yeah, I think she might be Hawkmoth's wife or girlfriend or something," Adrien casually responded as he took a bite of quail egg. "I don't know who would wanna work for him otherwise."
Is that what the public thought of her? Was this that shipping thing Adrien had mentioned before? "Is that what you think of her? Just some lover to the supervillain and not a partner like Ladybug and Cat Noir?" Nathalie couldn't help but ask.
"Honestly, I think she could do so much better than Hawkmoth if that were the case. Why waste her life working for the bad guy?" Adrien answered. He had no idea who was under the blue skin or why she would work for a supervillain. The squad's secondary villain had to have her own motivations, but they never got to delve into that. Probably because she'd always send a sentimonster to attack them. Maybe she'd benefit from seeing one of those 'therapists' people that Sabrina mentioned he should talk to?
Although the expression on her face never changed, Nathalie did take what the boy had said to heart. He really did take after his mother when it came to his kind and loving heart. Perhaps it was time to reassess the heart of her employer.
OXOXOXOX
Nathalie Sancoeur was a multitasker, she was going through the expense reports from last week's fashion show, scouring through the 'Fabulous Fiends' [NonBrandNameSocialMedia], ignoring Felix's twelfth email in the last five days to hand over her brooch, and having a chess match with Duusu. "Seriously, we just need some paint and this horse right here will look just like my friend Kaalki!" The tiny peacock still had more fun playing with the pieces than actually using them for their intended purpose.
The villainess wasn't paying too much attention, anyway. She'd finished scrolling through the account feed and tallied her findings. Mayura was only mentioned in 5.263% of the posts. It was actually a little relieving considering the cringe her boss posted. That man could not meme to save his life.
"Miss Nathalie?" the timid butterfly kwami spoke up. Nathalie hadn't noticed he'd even entered the room. "My master wants to see you now."
Adjusting her glasses, Nathalie closed her [NonBrandNameSocialMedia] tab and went off. Nooroo sat down opposite Duusu at the chessboard, picking up a king and quickly checkmating several of Duusu's pieces. "... I'm keeping the horse." The peacock firmly held the piece.
Inside the office of Mr. Agreste, papers were scattered about the floor. They weren't any of his fashion(?) designs, just scripts and concepts on how they were going to take jewelry from teenagers. Nathalie stepped on one and picked it up, visibly disapproving of the 'new and improved Mr. Pigeon 2.0' "Sir, you really need to stop leaving your supervillain work on the floor. What if your son or his bodyguard walked in and found these?"
Her boss didn't seem to be listening to her. He was preoccupied with something on his computer. "Gabriel." His assistant's stern tone got his attention.
"Nathalie, come over and look at this." he ushered his partner-in-crime over. Nathalie was confused at the footage from the previous battle. It specifically was footage of Ladybug and Cat Noir taking out the impressively large giraffe-like sentimonster she had created. The amok was hidden in an anklet on her ankle, assuming none of the heroes could get close enough to break it. She assumed wrong when the lucky charm snagged her dress and dropped her at the right angle for Bunnyx to smash the jewelry with her umbrella.
"Sir, I'd hoped you'd realize by now that the Lucky Charm is a variable we could never account for. It gave her a chainsaw once, and she dismantled it for the motor to power up this gadget the horse boy had." Nathalie brought the subject up again. Aside from the power of the monkey, the Lucky Charm was their greatest obstacle to victory.
Gabriel didn't need his sidekick to remind him of what he already knew. "Yes, yes, I am well aware that I cannot plan for what that Yo-Yo gives her! I am talking about how the amok was in plain sight the whole time! Couldn't you keep it hidden somewhere the heroes will never find it?"
"Where would that be? My suit lacks any storage options and keeping it away from me never works." Leaving the amok away from the battle led to it breaking, regardless. She could leave the amok in an abandoned alley and somehow the exact wall would break down in the battle and crush it. That exact scenario happened six times! "Would you want to give being the peacock a try, and I'll be the butterfly?"
"No!" Gabriel growled angrily. "I cannot let this brooch out of my sight! I shower with it, Nathalie!"
His assistant could read between the lines. He didn't trust anyone with the butterfly miraculous, not even his own partner. Nathalie would have given him a brief lecture about working as a team had she not stepped on another akuma design that had fallen on the floor. "What is-" she picked it up and squinted at the design and notes.
Nathalie stopped, these were designs for an akumatized Adrien!
"Gabriel, what is this!?" she shoved the paper in his face.
"Exactly what it looks like." He nonchalantly answered, "I think my son would make a great akuma, though I am torn between two designs. The 'Ephemeral' one is simple but effective, but the 'Caterkiller' one would be so fitting since caterpillars come from butterflies. It'd be a father-son activity!"
Speaking of father-son activities, Nathalie realized what time it was and gasped. "Father-Sir! You're supposed to be at Adrien's school right now! You promised you would be there for parents' day!" She'd lost track of time herself, checking her watch. There were only five minutes before the class would begin.
"That was today?" Gabriel didn't sound interested. "It can't be helped. He'll understand that I'm a busy man. Now where were-" he heard angry footsteps marching out of the room and noticed Nathalie was leaving "Where are you going? We still have our next strategy to go over!"
"I will not let your son try to impress a scarecrow ever again!" Nathalie slammed the door behind her, and finally put her priorities in order.
OXOXOXOX
Adrien stood outside his classroom, dialing his father's number over and over again. "You've reached the voicemail of Gabriel Agreste. Do not leave a message and schedule an appointment like a respectable person." The voicemail shut itself off again. Adrien shouldn't have been surprised. His father almost never keeps his promises. He was still waiting on that pony he promised him on his fifth birthday. He was used to it, but it was never less upsetting.
The screeching of tires blared outside the school, and a woman ran through the door and up the stairway with the speed of an Olympic runner. Adrien didn't know how to react when he realized the lady bolting through the school was Nathalie. "Wha-Nathalie why are you-"
Nathalie firmly placed her hands on his shoulders. "Your father will not be attending. So… I will be your 'parent' for this event." As professional as she spoke, it was clear how much she cared for the boy. Adrien smiled, glad that he had someone who showed up for him. The woman let out an annoyed sound, dropping her stoic demeanor. "Honestly, that man has done plenty of horrible things. But today was the last straw."
"Oh, Hay-briel has plenty of that if you need more." The boy grinned as he made a dumb joke. No, it didn't make Nathalie laugh, but she was happy that he was happy.
On their way into the classroom, Nathalie snuck her phone into her palm and texted without looking, 'Adhere to my conditions and we can make a deal.'
OXOXOXOX
"We really need an official base." Miss Hound sat around with her fellow superheroes. There were a lot of them so it was difficult to find places where they could discuss Miraculous matters as a group. Currently, they were on the highest floor of the Eiffel Tower. How no one else was at such a popular landmark at this time of the afternoon was a mystery for the ages.
Bunnyx turned to the hero beside her. "Pegasus, can't you just teleport us somewhere private where we could build a base?"
The horse hero had apparently already put some thought to that suggestion, "Even if I did, there are several other logistics that need to be accounted for. For instance-"
"Greetings Miracusquad!"
The team of heroes simultaneously turned to one of the edges of the tower. A boy around their age stood in a peacock-themed super suit with a feathery fan in hand. What really caught all of their attention was the unmistakable peacock brooch he was wearing. "I am Argos, the new wielder of the peacock miraculous! I can be your ally or your enemy, if you agree to my terms."
Two minutes later…
Felix is tied up in Ladybug's yoyo. His miraculous removed as he sighs with regret and annoyance while the heroes surround him. Duusu flew around happily, circling her new partner and landing on his shoulder "Told you this would happen!"