It's the Little Things That Count - Gabenath Drabbles

Day 4: A New Enemy

Author's Note: I took this prompt and ran with it

Getting Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous was now the least of Gabriel's problems.

His Miraculous was gone.

As soon as he noticed, he ran to Nathalie's room to see if she'd moved it.

She was still asleep when he entered, a small smile on her face.

He felt a bit guilty as he shook her awake. "Nathalie!"

She sat up with wide eyes, immediately noticing something was wrong. "Gabriel? What happened?"

Trying to take a deep breath to calm himself, he asked, "Did you move my Miraculous? I can't find it."

She shook her head. "No, I'm sure I saw it on your shirt yesterday."

"Do you still have the peacock Miraculous?" His voice was growing more panicked.

Nathalie opened the nightstand drawer, freezing. "No . . ." She swung her legs over the side of the bed, desperately searching the drawer. "It was here, sir, I swear!"

He looked with her, his mind already miles away.

"Maybe we left them in the safe." Nathalie jumped to her feet. He grabbed her upper arms as she swayed.

"No, we didn't."

She sat back down heavily. "I'm so sorry, Gabriel." She sounded to be near tears.

"No, it wasn't your fault." The reality caught up to him and he sat next to her.

Without the Miraculous, he would never be able to bring Emilie back.

He rested his forehead in his hands.

"Who took them?" Her voice was quiet. "It couldn't have been Adrien. And Ladybug and Cat Noir have no idea who we really are."

"No," he agreed, his own voice close to breaking. "I'm afraid we have a new enemy."

They found out who the culprit was later that day. Nathalie, Adrien, and Gabriel -the latter more reluctant- had attended Adrien's most recent photoshoot, which was at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Both adults were solemn, enough so that Adrien seemed to notice something was wrong. Or maybe it was Gabriel's presence that confused him since his father never came to his photoshoots.

Everything was going smoothly until a purple-clad teenager dropped in the middle of the shoot. A butterfly mask covered her face.

It was unmistakable; she had stolen the Miraculous.

Gabriel took Nathalie's arm, pulling her behind him. "Adrien, hide!" he ordered his son, the only one of the three of them who had access to the exit. Adrien fled without protesting, though his expression conveyed terror. The rest of the photographer's crew followed.

"You," Gabriel growled at the girl. "Return what you stole."

"I can't do that." She held up another familiar brooch. "But I need you to tell me how to fix this one."

"Who are you?" Nathalie asked warily.

"Swallowtail, but maybe you remember me as Volpina."

She and Gabriel froze.

"Lila!" he exclaimed.

Of course, Nathalie knew of the girl's now former alliance with Gabriel, but he hadn't told her that he was Hawk Moth. And she couldn't figure out why the girl would've revealed her own identity. To boast, perhaps?