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Gabriel Agreste stood in his study, fuming.
It had been almost a year since he and Emilie had first found their Miraculouses- and the strange book that came with them.
Nooroo had been most helpful in explaining what the jewels were, and Emilie had become enamored with the idea of having powers. The other kwami, as they were called - Duusuu - had been more difficult to understand. They all assumed this was just how she was - apparently not even Nooroo had interacted with her before, at least not directly.
With Nooroo to guide her, Emilie had transformed into La Paon. Gabriel covered for her absences as she trained in secret, practising the power of the peacock Miraculous. He himself was a lot more hesitant with the idea of using superpowers to become some sort of vigilante team - after all, they had a son to look after - but he was happy to let his wife explore the possibility for herself.
That changed, however, when Emilie got sick. Gabriel confronted Nooroo about it, but the kwami had never seen anything like that before. Nooroo insisted it couldn't be because of the Miraculous. Despite his doubts, Gabriel relented. He allowed her to keep practising with the Miraculouses, but forbade her from ever going out in public with them. If she tried to do as she planned, become a vigilante do-gooder, and fell ill at the wrong time- he didn't want to think about it.
Emilie understood his concerns, it seemed, because she agreed to keep her use of the Miraculous limited to her secret training. But when she finally fell into a coma, Gabriel had had enough. He finally took on the power of the butterfly Miraculous, informing his assistant Nathalie of the situation. She agreed instantly to his plan.
Gabriel - he had no need of a ridiculous pet name - brought Nathalie to see Emilie. With the abilities of the butterfly Miraculous, he suspected he had a way to revive her. Following Nooroo's direction, he released a magical butterfly into Nathalie's tablet. He sensed a psychic link, and followed the script they had rehearsed.
"Rouser," he said, scowling at the nickname. Nooroo had insisted it was necessary, though, so Gabriel had relented. "I wish to grant you the power to wake this woman. Will you work with me towards this common goal?"
"Yes," Nathalie replied simply. With the contract made and a goal agreed upon, the power of the butterfly Miraculous engulfed her, transforming her.
Nooroo would hypothesize later that the butterfly Miraculous wasn't strong enough alone to undo the damage another Miraculous had caused.
Gabriel didn't care why it didn't work. He interrogated Nooroo and Duusuu endlessly. He did his best to translate the mysterious spellbook, to no avail - but used it to inform his conversation with the kwamis.
Eventually, Nooroo told him about the possibility of combining the powers of multiple Miraculouses. The butterfly and peacock wouldn't be helpful combined, not for this situation. But the ladybug and the cat were another story.
Gabriel grinned. "When it comes to luring superheroes," he said, "what could be better than creating supervillains?"
Nooroo looked terrified. "But master!" he objected, "The miraculous are not meant to be used for evil purposes!"
Gabriel couldn't care less. Good and evil were relative terms. And if Emilie could be returned to him, any means were worth those ends. He said as much to his kwami, who tried to object further. "Your Miraculous is in my control!" he snapped, glaring at Nooroo. "I am your master now, and you must obey me."
He considered the transformation phrase for a moment- 'wings rise' - and smirked. Emilie was always one for wordplay, and being dramatic. When next Gabriel spoke, it was in her honor. "Nooroo," he said, "dark wings rise."
It was further in memory of Emilie that he chose to take on a new name - one that was befitting an evil butterfly. Hawk Moth smiled, and got to work.