Akumatized

1

Gabriel Agreste punched the wall beside him. He watched as his latest Akuma jumped off a building. She had been a perfect opponent for Ladybug, with the power to steal a person's luck for herself. He watched as his Akuma and Chat Noir screamed at eachother, and he felt his control over the girl wavering.

"Luckless! What are you doing!?"

"You won't control me anymore, Hawkmoth!"

She lept off the buildings edge, letting herself fall to the ground with a sickening crack. The Akuma left her body, and Chat Noir destroyed it as Ladybug had not deigned to show up. Hawkmoth quickly detransformed and checked the live feed on the television in his study. He saw paramedics taking the girl into an ambulance, and he was suddenly hit with the realization of just who he akumatized.

"Sir, Adrian has made friends at the public school. I have run background checks on each of them. I have also emailed you pictures of each along with their school records. Please inform me if any of them are unacceptable friends."

"Congratulations Ms.Dupain-Cheng, you win."

"Sir, Adrian will be practicing at a friend's house today. Ms.Dupain-Cheng's house."

"Adrian didn't lose the book sir, I found it."

"Sir, it seems that Ms.Dupain-Cheng is helping Adrian keep away from unwanted attention."

"Natalie, is there something going on between my son and Ms.Dupain-Cheng?"
"I believe sir, that they are 'just friends '."

Gabriel's eyes widened. That was his son's best friend.

And she looked lifeless.

"Luckless! Respond to me!" It was useless, he had no connection to her anymore. Chat Noir, despite his obvious injuries, swooped down to follow the ambulance.

"Please, for Adrien's sake, be okay."
----

Gabriel looked at Adrien through the recently added cameras in his room. The boy was huddled in the corner of his room, his fist clenched around the charm Marinette gifted him. The lights were off, making it hard for Gabriel to see him, but the tears streaming down his face were obvious. It had been three days since Marinette had been out of surgery, confirming the fact that she was in an indefinite coma.

Gabriel sighed. His son was obviously suffering because of him. Adrien hadn't touched any food since it was announced that she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. He wasn't going to last like this.

He had Natalie give him Adrien's food to personally present him with it. Holding the soup and bread, Natalie handed the platter to him.
Gabriel frowned. "What is this? There's so little food." He was clearly not happy. "Sir, this food accommodates to the food limit you presented your son. It will help him maintain, if not lose, weight."

Gabriel stared incrediously at Adrien's caregiver. "This is really the limit? I'm sure that there is more food allowed." Natalie shook her head.

"No. This is unacceptable. We will start giving Adrien more food. My son will not starve." Natalie nodded. "Sir, give that to Adrien for now though. Since he hasn't eaten in a few days, it might be good for him to... eat something small."

When Gabriel arrived at Adrien's door, he knocked. "Adrien. It is your father. Please open the door."
Gabriel heard some shuffling, before the door opened.

Adrien's eyes were red, puffy, and sunken in. His skin was paler. There were definite tear streaks running along his face.

"S-sorry father.. next time I'll look more presentable."

Gabriel felt a unfamiliar twinge in his heart. What had he done, to make his son act so formally around him?

"May I come in?" He asked. Adrien nodded, letting the man enter his dark room.

He set the soup and bread on his desk, then sat down on a bench.
"Adrien. I am concerned about your health. You must eat." Adrien stared at the bowl, then looked at the ground. "I'm just not hungry father." Gebriel shook his head, and grabbed the bread. He pressed it into Adrien's palm, then sat again. "Eat." Adrien mad a small, subtle move to raise his hand to his mouth, before shaking his head.

"I'm can't eat. Not when I'm the cause of.. of..." his voice broke. Gabriel placed his hand on Adrien's shoulder.

"I'm is not your fault, my son."

"Yes it is! If I had stepped in when Chloe bullied her, when I was the cause of Chloe bullying her, she wouldn't have been Akumatized by Hawkmoth! Then she wouldn't have fought Chat Noir, then she wouldn't have jumped!" He sobbed, "If I hadn't become friends with her, then Chloe wouldn't have hated her, to the point where we lost her. It's all my fault!" He held the charm to his chest, fully breaking down as he crumpled to the floor.

Gabriel reached his hand out, then stopped. He stared, horrified at what he had caused. It wasn't Adrien's fault. It was his.

All his.

"Why..? Why her, Father? She is a sweet, innocent girl... Why was she the one that had to suffer?"

Gabriel knew the feeling that engulfed his heart this time. It was utter despair. His son was suffering. All because of his greed.

He wrapped his arms around the boy, lifting Adrien in the process. He sat Adrien on his bed, tucked him in like he had when he was a child, and made sure that the poor boy got some sleep.

In his room, Gabriel stared at his miraculous. He had never meant to hurt anybody this badly. Especially his son.

He stared at the paper he retrieved from the hospital that morning.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Thanks to your very generous donation, Ms.Dupain-Cheng will likely live. But due to the unfortunate events earlier, it is very unclear as to when she will wake. The surgery on her brain may have removed some of her memory, but we will not know until she awakes.

Sincerly,

Conner McBrian,
Head doctor of Paris's top hospital.

His fault.
It was all, his fault.