Spread My Wings

"Depression is nourished by a lifetime of ungrieved and unforgiven truths."

Chapter 12

The Tension Tamer, as he went by, had an agenda. He was man, distressed by the sheer amount of stress that his employees caused him. Which in hand, created the akuma, The Tension Tamer.

Ladybug dodged a whip that barreled toward her. She let out a groan as she ran into the side of a building. This akumatized man was definitely going on her list of most annoying victims.

The hero pulled herself up onto the roof of a building. She attempted to come up with a strategic plan to secure the victim's akuma. Yet, without her partner, Chat, she was not able to catch a break. She needed time to think.

'Think, think!'

The familiar whooshing sound of her partner's staff caught her attention. She stiffened as the cat-themed hero entered her line of vision. He landed a few feet away from the Tension Tamer, smirking at him as he let out one of his usual quips.

"Hey Lion Tamer, why don't you relax a little? I think you and I could cat-ch a break you know?"

Marinette groaned outwardly at his puns. No matter how ill her kitty was, he would still pun his way through a battle. Knowing he was biding her some time to think, she began to stare at the man, hoping to find where his akuma was currently residing.

Calling upon her special power, Lucky Charm, the girl stared at the time that materialized within her hands. The item was that of rope. A piece of plain as day rope.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

Chat continued to distract the man, knowing his lady needed more time, but he was having a hard time holding his fatigue away. His body was not holding out well enough.

While he continued to throw out puns and insults, the Tension Tamer was slowly beginning to blow his fuse. He was growing more than annoyed with Chat.

"You've uttered your last pun, tomcat. You think I'm a Lion Tamer, just wait until I tame you with the power of my whip!"

Chat dodged a series of attacks, using his baton to block each strike of the man's whip. The attacks continued, never ceasing in their strikes. All the while, Chat felt his energy depleting. He was growing weary as he felt his body slacken. He fell to his knees, his head pounding with the beginnings of a migraine. He groaned, teeth ground together as the pain radiated through him.

Tension Tamer smirked upon seeing this moment of weakness. The blond's pain was enough to make him laugh out maniacally. It was his.. No, Hawkmoth's lucky day.

"Looks like this kitty is tamed. Seems as if your bad luck has struck again, tomcat. Hand over your Miraculous and you'll find relief. That tension headache will only worsen with time."

Ladybug watched in horror as this entire ordeal occurred. She cursed under her breath, shooting a partner a reassuring smile.

"Don't give in, Kitty! We'll stop him. Hang in there!"

Chat scrunched up his face, pain shooting through his head. "Hurry, LB. I don't think I can crack anymore puns here!"

Ladybug nodded, face set in determination. She smirked over at the Tension Tamer as she launched up to use her lucky charm on the man.

Adrien attempted to observe the battle at hand, but ultimately found himself losing consciousness. His eyes rolled back into his head, colors swirling in his vision, nausea rising in the pit of his stomach.

He lost consciousness moments after his partner approached their foe. Darkness claimed him and allowed him to relax once again.

Adrien cracked open one eye, his mouth opening and taking in a deep breath. He let out a groan as he attempted to focus on his surroundings.

His entire body felt like lead. His head pounded and his stomach churned as nausea coursed through him. Exhaustion and thirst hit him as he slowly found his world returning in focus.

The bright colors of pink and purple that he had expected to see were no more. He grasped as he felt his chest grow heavy. His eyes closed instantly, as he tried to calm himself. The unbearable nausea began to worsen. The telltale signs of tears began to prickle at the edge of his closed eyes.

Relaxation was not easily discovered. Knowing that he was in glands at least, he thought he was. He tried to relax, but his fists clenched at the blanket over him.

The faint smell of antiseptic and bleach burned his nose. This is when Adrien realized he was in a hospital. For how long, he wasn't sure.

Concentrating on other things, he managed to overcome the initial pain of the nausea, relaxation soon finding the distraught teen. He opened his eyes, just barely, as he heard the sound of a door opening nearby.

Too exhausted to move, Adrien remained still, breathing somewhat slowly. He barely had a moment to blink before his vision was filled with that of Nathalie.

The woman gazed down at him, a frown marring her features. Her hair was barely pinned up, an obvious sign of the haste to rush over to see him.

Her cold, blue eyes bore into Adrien's own half-lidded meadow irises. She gently took one of his hands into her own, and squeezed it gently.

"Adrien," she whispered. Her voice was barely audible over the steady beep of his heart monitor.

"N-Nathalie?"

She nodded, smiling sadly at his, relief evident in her eyes.

"Adrien, you had me worried. You could have died out there."

"What? What happened? Why am I in the hospital?" he asked, clearly confused by her cryptic reprimanding words.

His voice was hoarse, dry from lack of use. He let out a small groan and tried to pull himself up, but ultimately failed as his body protested at the futile attempts.

Nathalie gently pushed him back down into his previous position. "You were attacked by an akuma victim. You barely made it. Ladybug saved you and you were very ill, Adrien."

"Lady… My Lady! Where is she?"

Nathalie frowned but answered him. "She visits at night. But Adrien, your Father… He's worried sick."

The teen felt his stomach churn at the mention of his father. He tried to move again, barely aware of his right hand. His very bruised, empty hand. His ring. His Miraculous was gone.

Nathalie tried to chastise her charge, but fell silent whenever she noticed the horrified expression on Adrien's pale face.

"Adrien? What's the matter? Do you want me to call the nurse?"

He shook his head, trying to keep himself calm, but it was futile. The loss of his ring caused his anxiety to rise, thus causing his heart rate to spike. Stress and anxiety obviously triggering a panic attack.

"M… My ring. Where is my ring, Nathalie?"

His questions were left unanswered as his father's assistant was forced out of the way as a series of nurses and a doctor entered the room, flanking around to the model's panicking form.

Adrien was gently pushed back onto the bed by a nurse as she tried to whisper reassuring words to him. All the while the doctor began to check his vitals as the other nurses managed to keep Adrien down and stable.

"Adrien, you need to calm down, alright?"

The supermodel struggled against the hands that kept him down as Nathalie stood back and watched this ordeal. She felt for Adrien, she really did. But there was not a thing she could do.

The kind nurse whispered gently, "Adrien, it's okay, relax."

The doctor unlocked a drawer on one of the portable stations that were in the room, and searched through for something. Once he found it, he closed the drawer, procuring a syringe. "Relax, Adrien. It's alright."

He opened the syringe and inserted it into Adrien's IV line, injecting medicine instantly.

Nathalie frowned, knowing that this was only a temporary solution. Adrien would panic again whenever he woke up.

Like clockwork, Adrien's eyes began to drift shut as his heart rate began to lower, blood pressure returning to normal. Once his vitals were in a safe place, the nurses and the doctor let out relieved sighs, gently letting the teen rest peacefully.

"Was that really necessary?" Nathalie asked, voice thick with anger.

The nurse looked over at the doctor and nodded. She and the rest of the nurses were excused, leaving Nathalie alone with the doctor.

The doctor was a man with dark hair and a receding hairline. He cleared his throat, turning his attention toward Nathalie.

"Ms. Sancoeur, I presume? I'm Dr. Moreau. I'm the doctor in charge of Adrien's care."

She frowned. "I figured you were," she muttered dryly. "Is there a reason he needed to be sedated? He just woke up as it is."

Dr. Moreau glanced over at the unconscious form of his patient. "Mr. Agreste asked me to do what was necessary in terms of his son's well being. Adrien is not able to handle this much excitement with his anxiety in his weakened state."

"I see," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Would you mind filling me in on his current prognosis?"

The man frowned at her, shaking his head. "I'm afraid I cannot disclose that information to you, Ms. Sancoeur."

Nathalie bristled at the man's tone. "I am Adrien's caretaker in his father's absence. I believe I am more than qualified to hear this."

"While I understand that, madame. Mr. Agreste has asked me to withhold any information until he is able to arrive."

Dr. Moreau offered his apologies and left the room, leaving Nathalie alone with a comatose Adrien.

The woman could only offer a sad smile to her charge. Once Gabriel arrived things would only grow more complicated from here on out.

Knowing that his son was found had been a relief to the designer. Yet, hearing the news that his son had been admitted to the hospital was more than enough to make the usually stoic man panic.

He had attempted to visit Adrien, but was denied access until the teen was stable enough.

Adrien's disappearance had been warrant enough for the police to investigate. All the while, Gabriel found himself waiting impatiently for a call to alleviate his worries.

Fortunately, he was able to receive news fairly quickly. The news had him on edge as he sat in the back of his black sedan, gazing out the window as his driver took him to visit his son.

Adrien had been dreaming of himself and Marinette. He thought of his love for her, his lady, his love, his Marinette.

He struggled to remain in his sleeping state. The sound of his heart monitor was slowly gaining his attention.

His eyes opened half mast. He let out a breath as he felt his hair being brushed away from his face. The gesture had him smiling. It reminded him so much of his mother.

"Adrien, it's okay. You're okay," the soft voice of Nathalie reassured.

The voice startled him at first. He had not expected to hear that voice. His eyes opened fully, finding the familiar blue eyes of his father's assistant peering down at him.

"Nathalie?"

The woman nodded, a soft smile gracing her lips. "Yes, it's me, Adrien. Your father is currently speaking with your doctor. He wishes to see you."

"My father is probably disappointed in me," he stated in a soft tone, falling back against the pillows on his hospital bed. "He's going to lecture me until I'm thirty."

Nathalie took a hold of Adrien's hand, squeezing it gently. "Your father has been extremely worried about you. I think that he will drop the lecture for now. He just wants to see you safe and healthy."

Adrien scoffed under his breath, taking in this information. He knew that Nathalie was placating him. Well, attempting to. Gabriel would definitely take away all of his freedom.

The blond glanced down at their hands, his lips forming into a frown. The absence of his ring had him worried.

He looked over at Nathalie again, hoping she would catch on to his worries,

She let go of his hand as she realized what he was staring at.

"Do you have my ring?"

"Adrien…"

He groaned. "Nathalie please, that's my Miraculous. If it has fallen into my enemy's hands, I'm no… We are all screwed."

She sat down at the chair by his bedside, removing her glasses as she cleaned them with the hem of her shirt.

"You did not have the ring with you when you were brought here. I'm assuming that your partner has it?"

"My Lady?"

"Yes, I'm fairly certain she has it in her possession. She must know how stubborn you are, Adrien."

Adrien felt relief flood through him, a weight lifted from his shoulders.

"Thank you, Nathalie."

She offered a tight smile. She was happy to see her charge in higher spirits. The distant sound of Adrien's heart monitor beeped in the background, thus drawing her away from her monologue.

It wasn't until hospital door opened that Adrien's happy moment ceased.

The familiar tall, lithe form of Gabriel Agreste stood in the doorway, cold steel-blue eyes meeting Adrien's vibrant forest green.

"Adrien.."