"What's the plan, Hawk Moth?" Mayura asked quietly.
"Try to draw Cat Noir away. Those heroes are nothing without each other."
"Would that apply to you too?" a snarky voice remarked. They looked up sharply to see the cat hero perched on the roof, who then dropped into the alley. "Aren't you better as a duo?"
"You'd best mind your own business," Hawk Moth told him. "Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'curiosity killed the cat'?"
"How about we test that?" Cat Noir suggested. He hopped back onto the roof. "Come and get me!"
"Do we stick with the plan?" she asked.
"Yes, but be careful, Mayura. I'll handle Ladybug."
She leaped from the alley, chasing after the black-clad superhero. She darted across the roof, but he had vanished just as quickly as he'd appeared. Then he materialized behind her and used his staff to pin her arms to her sides.
Mayura managed to escape his grip and used his staff to throw him to the ground. The rare slip-up from the hero led to her pulling the ring from his finger.
In a flash of light, Cat Noir was gone. And Adrien took his place.
All she could do was stare, her thoughts frozen. His scared eyes glared back at her.
The ring slipped from her fingers, falling to the ground. He quickly reclaimed it and she made no move to stop him. He re-transformed, watching her warily as he stood.
Everything made sense now. Adrien's odd lateness, his absenteeism whenever someone was akumatized, his admiration for Ladybug.
"What, are you surprised to find a model behind the mask?" he quipped, trying and failing to sound at ease.
She had half the mind to remove her Miraculous and end things right then and there, but she didn't. Adrien would never forgive her if he found out who Mayura really was.
"Go," she whispered.
"Excuse me?"
"Go, please." She looked around for Hawk Moth. "Before he comes."
He didn't think twice; soon he was just a speck in the distance.
Now she just had to figure out what to tell Gabriel.
A minute later, Hawk Moth dropped next to her. "Mayura, what happened? Are you alright?"
She had to tell him.
No, she couldn't-
"Adrien."
"What?" He moved in front of her, lowering his voice. "Nathalie, what do you mean?"
"He's Cat Noir."
"No . . ." Hawk Moth gripped her arms. "That's impossible!"
She shook her head, tears blurring her vision. "I took his Miraculous, but I was so surprised that-" Her voice broke. "We . . . we have to stop, Gabriel. We can't fight Adrien. I can't fight Adrien."
"No . . . no, of course, we can't." He loosened his grip, trailing his hands down to hers. "And I can't take his Miraculous now."
"He would never forgive us."
"Oh, Nathalie, what do we do? I can't betray my own son."
"We have to stop," she repeated. "Please."
He looked out over the city, thinking. "I know," he said eventually. "I know."