June 8, 2010
She de-transformed and collapsed onto the couch. Duusu appeared in midair, and she immediately fell onto the coffee table. Emilie coughed and rolled over.
"You okay, Duusu?" She asked her kwami. Duusu shook her head.
"The miraculous... it's been damaged."
"Damaged?" Emilie asked worriedly. Duusu took a shaky breath.
"Yeah."
"Shh. Just rest." Emilie told her. Duusu gratefully closed her eyes, and Emilie laid back down. She ached all over and really wished Gabriel was there. After a while she fell into a fitful sleep.
********************
Emilie had been fading in and out of sleep. She was having trouble telling what was a dream and what was reality. She was currently more awake at the moment, and she was somewhat aware that she wasn't dreaming. Her eyes were closed; she was too weak to open them.
She heard the door open. Gabriel and Adrien were home, and she could hear Adrien run into the living room.
"Mommy?" Emilie heard Adrien ask. His voice sounded worried and confused, so Emilie told him she was alright. She tried to, at least. All that came out was a groan.
"Adrien, what is it?" She heard Gabriel ask. His heavy footsteps made their way to the living room. She heard Adrien start to cry.
"Emilie?" Gabriel asked. He gingerly touched her forehead; it was burning up.
"Is Mommy okay?" Adrien whimpered.
"Mommy is going to be okay." Gabriel told him. "I'm going to call Natalie." She heard the phone dial, and she felt Adrien laying down on the couch next to her. He was sniffling, and Emilie couldn't stand it. She mustered all her strength and managed to sit up.
"Mommy?" Adrien asked hopefully.
"Hey. I'm okay, don't cry." She wiped the tears from his eyes as Gabriel walked into the room.
"Emilie!" He ran over to her, and she gratefully leaned on him.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Later." She whispered. Her voice was scratchy, so Adrien went to go fetch some water. When he came back Emilie gratefully took it and drank. The doorbell rang at that moment, and Gabriel left to go answer it. He came back with Natalie.
"What's the matter?" She asked worriedly.
"Just a bad cold." Emilie smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Natalie, would you be willing to watch Adrien tonight? I don't want him getting sick." Gabriel said.
Natalie nodded. "Sure. That okay with you, Adrien?"
Adrien nodded. "Can we make cookies?"
"Of course!"
Adrien smiled.
"Adrien, why don't you go pack your bag?" Gabriel told him. Adrien ran off to his room, and Natalie turned to Gabriel with a hard look in her eyes.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Gabriel shook his head and looked helplessly at Emilie. Emilie was laying down again; she was fighting to keep her eyes open.
"Tell her." Emilie managed to croak. Gabriel nodded, and he told Natalie everything.
**********************
June 10, 2010
Gabriel and Emilie sat on the couch while Duusu and Nooroo explained everything. Adrien was still at Natalie's, and Duusu and Emilie had gotten over their sudden illness.
"So, the miraculous is damaged, and we can't do anything about it?"
"The guardian might be able to fix it, but I don't know for certain." Nooroo said.
"Guardian?" Emilie asked.
Duusu nodded. "The keeper of the miraculous. How did you think you found us?"
Emilie frowned. "I guess I never really thought about it before."
Duusu shrugged.
"Wait, back on topic." Gabriel said. "Emilie won't be able to be Peacock again?"
Duusu shook her head. "After something as serious as that, no. If anyone uses the miraculous they will be injured, but the injury will be minor and get greater the more they use it. Emilie was wearing the miraculous when it got damaged, and honestly, she's lucky to be alive right now. If she uses it again, she'll probably die."
"You can't be Peacock anymore." Gabriel told her.
Emilie ignored him. "How did the miraculous get damaged in the first place?"
"You didn't have the fire power up for it." Nooroo told her.
"Power up?" She asked.
"There are special spells the miraculous holders use when dealing with an element of any kind." Nooroo said.
"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Emilie asked.
"Honestly, I didn't really think about it. Even if I did, it wouldn't be much help because we don't know the recipe for it." Nooroo said.
Emilie sighed. "So, I can't be Peacock anymore?"
"I'm afraid not." Duusu agreed.
Emilie fell back onto the couch.
"It's going to be okay." Gabriel told her. "We'll get through this together, just like we always do."
***************************
June 21, 2010
Emilie sat on the floor with Adrien. He stood on his tiptoes and placed his block on the top of their tower.
"Good job!" Emilie said.
"It's looking good!" Natalie said from her place on the couch. Gabriel walked into the room with a plate of cookies, and Adrien helped himself to some.
"I wonder what the weather will be like tomorrow." Gabriel clicked on the weather channel, and he was happy when the weatherman reported clear skies and sun.
Abruptly the news changed to show the news reporter, and he looked grim. "Down at the new construction sight there seems to have been an accident. A crane fell and knocked down half of the building, and a worker is hanging on for his dear life. The firefighters and cops are on their way, and hopefully Peacock and Hawk Moth are on their way too."
Emilie immediately stood, and Gabriel glared at her. "I need to go get some medicine from the drugstore." She said.
Adrien looked up. "Can't we play some more?"
Emilie smiled. She bent down, softly kissing his cheek. "When I get back, we will play together. I promise."
Adrien nodded, and Emilie headed for the door. "Coming, Gabriel?" He grudgingly stood and followed her out the door. Once it closed behind them, he angrily stopped her.
"What do you think you're doing, Emilie!"
"Saving someone!"
"You can't always be the hero!" He shouted at her.
"I'm not trying to be the hero, Gabriel!" She shouted back. "I'm trying to save a life! If I can do something, I will do it. You can't stop me."
Gabriel sighed. "Fine, but I'm coming too."
"Of course you are; you're my partner." The couple transformed, and Peacock wobbled, her hand going to her head.
"You okay?" Hawk Moth asked worriedly. Peacock straightened and nodded.
"Let's go." They ran to the construction sight. When they got there, there was a crowd at the base of the building, but the firefighters weren't doing anything.
"What's the matter?" Hawk Moth asked them.
"The building is too unstable for anyone to go up. If someone touches it, it's going to fall."
"But it's going to fall anyway."
The fireman nodded sadly. "That poor soul."
Hawk Moth turned to Peacock. "I can grant someone powers."
"But what if their powers aren't that helpful? Plus, the building will probably fall before they get here."
"So what should we do?"
"I can call a protector."
"No! That will definitely kill you."
"We have no other choice, Gabriel. We need..." Her words were drowned out by the gasp from the crowd as the building started to fall. Peacock looked desperately at Hawk Moth.
"Do it." He told her. She nodded and pulled a feather out of her fan. She clenched it in her fist, fueling it with her power, and blew it away. Her head was starting to hurt, but she ignored it, trying to concentrate on the task at hand.
She felt her mind connect with the man trapped in the falling crane. His panicked screams filled her head, making her headache even worse.
I'm sending you a protector to help you, okay? She told him.
Hurry! He thought back. Suddenly the ground was cast in shadow. Everyone looked up to see a giant dragon circling over head. People started screaming and running around like crazy. The building was falling faster by the second. Peacock leaned on Hawk Moth for support as her raging headache got worse. The dragon swooped down and snatched the crane up with it's claws. The building crumpled, and the dragon landed next to the ruins. It opened the door of the crane, and the worker gratefully hopped out and ran over to the rest of his colleagues. The crowd cheered, and the dragon vanished.
"Way to go!" The fireman told Peacock and Hawk Moth. Peacock gave him a faint smile before she felt herself falling into a black hole.