Chapter 3: Mayura

As Mayura came into the light, the two heroes could see she was a tall woman in a dark blue dress that had peacock-feather patterns around the edge of the skirt. She wore a cocktail hat with a transparent veil that covered her right eye. Her skin was tinged with blue, and in her right hand she held a peacock-feather fan with fluffy white feathers on the edge.

Mayura made sweeping motions with her fan and a blast of wind hit Ladybug and Kagami. Their Miraculouses timed out as the magical wind drained the last of the energy.

Mayura produced two sets of handcuffs from behind the fan. With her superior strength she cuffed their hands behind their backs.

"You?" said Kagami. "Ladybug, you're the biased referee who got me into this in the first place?"

"I'm sorry about that bad call, but we're in too much trouble to worry about that right now," said Marinette.

"What have you done?" Mayura demanded. "How dare you break into this home and assault the master of the house? Superheroes or not, you aren't above the law."

"Let us go!" said Kagami.

"I should turn you over to the police, or at least tell the world your identities," said Mayura. "I recognize you from the hat contest, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I can find out who your partner is, too."

"Please don't do that! Gabriel Agreste was Hawk Moth," said Marinette. "We've saved the city."

"I know that," said Mayura. "But still..."

"We had to stop him," said the Kagami.

"I was monitoring you through the security cameras," said Mayura. "You hit him with your full Chat Noir strength after he detransformed. He almost certainly has a severe concussion."

Mayura pulled a white feather from the top of her fan. It turned blue as she held it in her hands.

"My love, I summon healing for you," said Mayura, blowing the feather towards Gabriel Agreste on the floor.

Gabriel sighed and stirred after the feather touched him.

"It will take a little time for the healing to take full effect. I will tell you now what this is all about, and why you should give me your Miraculouses voluntarily to accomplish his worthy goal."

"What goal?" asked Marinette. "What could be worth the terror he's been inflicting on Paris?"

"Nothing is worth that," said Kagami. "Nothing could be worth making me kill."

"Restoring Gabriel's wife, Emilie, is the goal," said Mayura. "The Peacock Miraculous has been in her family for years, after it was lost by a careless Tibetan monk. She used the Peacock power, occasionally in secret to fight crime, but mainly to preserve her youth and beauty. She found it valuable as an actress and model."

"A Miraculous isn't supposed to be used for anything selfish," said Marinette.

"That is correct," said Mayura. "Years of misuse damaged the Miraculous, which in turn damaged Emilie herself. The side effect of trying to preserve herself from the ravages of time slowed her down and drained her energy.

"Emilie and Gabriel went to Tibet following clues in her family records to a secret cache where another Miraculous and a secret grimoire were said to be hidden. They hoped to find a solution to her problem, but it was too late. She slipped into a magical coma, and remains here in that state to this day."

"Here? In this house? And Adrien doesn't know?" asked Marinette. "Why wasn't he told? He thinks she just ran off or something."

"We didn't want to cause Adrien more pain. We hoped that his mother could be cured. She can be sustained in this state by consuming life energy. Plants around her are helpful, but direct sunlight is not. She's like a vampire now, in a way. But not for blood, just plants. She's underground in a room with plants growing under artificial light."

"You called him 'my love'," said Chat. "Why are you helping him bring back his wife, if you want him for yourself?"

"I love him, but I know it's hopeless," said Mayura. "I'm loyal to the family. I'll help him to be happy at any cost."

"I think I know who you are," said Marinette. "Loyal to the family, knowing me from the hat contest: you're Nathalie Sancoeur, the personal assistant of Gabriel Agreste."

"There's no reason not to admit it. I have taken up the Peacock Miraculous, in spite of any danger to myself, in order to help Gabriel and Emilie."

"How can you free her?" asked Chat.

"From the grimoire, we found out that Gabriel could get a wish if the power of the Miraculouses of Creation and Destruction were combined. We were able to translate only that part. That's why we need your Miraculouses. That's why Hawk Moth has been making supervillains. It was all to draw you out and get that wish."

"But did you read the part about how it's a terrible idea to use that wish, because of the cosmic balance?" asked Marinette. "The universe will just transfer her curse to someone else."

"You know about that?" asked Mayura sharply. "Someone has been talking too much. I'm sorry, because had I hoped to talk you into handing over your Miraculous peacefully. But now..."

She closed in and took the earrings and the ring from her captives. She also got the Butterfly Miraculous back.

"You know... and you're still are going to do it?" asked Marinette. "You're just as evil as he is."

"We're not evil," said Mayura. "We simply go for what we want at any cost."

"That is evil," said Kagami.

"I will make the wish and offer you as substitutes for the curse. Both of you are Miraculous users who have abused your powers."

"I've abused my powers? How?" asked Marinette.

"You humiliated the girl who became Volpina, for one thing," said Mayura. "You also used your Lucky Charm to create a phonograph record to change the music at Adrien's unauthorized birthday party, for reasons that had nothing to do with capturing the villain. I'm guessing it was to get Adrien out of a slow dance."

"That's a real stretch, to call changing a record an abuse," said Marinette.

"What about me?" asked Kagami. "How did I abuse the power? I just got it today."

"Your case is even worse," said Mayura. "You only took on the power for revenge. I'm glad you took over for Adrien today – I never could have done this to Gabriel's son."

"You didn't know he was Chat Noir?" asked Marinette.

"Not until today," said Nathalie. "It would have made things much easier for us if we had."

Gabriel Agreste opened his eyes and got to his feet.

"Excellent work, Mayura," said Gabriel. "Though I wish you hadn't used the damaged Miraculous and put yourself in danger."

"I did what I had to for you, Sir," said Nathalie. "Here are the Miraculouses."

"Wonderful! But I can't make the wish right here and now. We must spirit them away to my fall-back hideout first."

"As you wish, Sir. May I ask why?"

"We must assume Miss Dupain-Cheng has informed her parents of her secret. If Ladybug was seen coming in here, just before Marinette disappears... there could be accusations and a search. I don't want any trace of her found here, in a coma or... otherwise."

"You intend to kill whichever of us doesn't go into a coma?" asked Kagami.

Gabriel nodded.

"You're both horrible!" said Marinette.

"This will work out very nicely. With a little time and persuasion I can get you both to write running-away notes," said Gabriel. "I don't think it will be that difficult, since the alternative would be to make your parents disappear as well."

"It will never work," said Kagami. "My parents won't believe I would run away."

"After a humiliating fencing defeat?" said Gabriel. "I think it would be quite credible."

"As for Ladybug, she might well give up and run away after seeing her friend cut in half before her eyes," said Mayura.

With Gabriel holding onto Marinette, and Mayura holding onto Kagami, they went through the elevator system... down from the attic room, sideways a short distance, and then up into Gabriel's atelier, in front of the large portrait of his wife.

"Soon, Emilie, soon we will be together again," murmured Gabriel as he looked at the picture.

"Why did we have to come out in the open?" asked Mayura.

"The secret escape tunnel isn't connected to the rest of the passages, for security reasons," said Gabriel. "We just need to cross the main hall, and..."

Adrien burst through the front door. "I'm home! I was killed by an akuma, but Ladybug cured me... Father? What are you doing? Why are Marinette and Kagami in handcuffs? Oh! Another akuma!"

Marinette cried out, "Adrien, run! Your father is Hawk Moth and he's captured us. Nathalie is helping him in villain form!"

Adrien glared at his father. "You monster!"

"It's not like that, Adrien! I'll show you it's all worth it."

Holding the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses together in one hand, Gabriel chanted a spell in a foreign language. A fiery blue glow formed around him as he said, "I wish the coma curse to be lifted from my wife, Emilie, and put instead on one of these two closest to me who has abused their Miraculous powers."

The glow faded away. Gabriel went stiff and would have fallen to the floor if Mayura hadn't caught him.

"The way that wish was phrased..." said Marinette. "The 'two closest' could include himself. And if anyone abused their Miraculous powers, he did."

"Father! No!" cried Adrien.

There was the sound of an elevator in the atelier, and a moment later Emilie Agreste entered the room.

"Adrien, darling, I'm back! Gabriel? What has happened?"

THE END