MIRACULOUS ALLIANCE
EPISODE 9: POWERFIST, PART III
Adrien was in a better mood as of late. In his household, emotions are not expressed, and emotions are more implied then spoken out loud. He was glad when that changed as soon as he went to public school and made friends. Yet there was still a void inside Adrien. He never knew what it was until Uncle Greg returned. Uncle Greg made time for him. Uncle Greg didn't have an easy job, there goes a lot of work in organizing the exhibits for the Culture center. But he still went out of his way to make time, even interfering with some of his planned lessons to get some time between them.
"You look happy, kid." Plagg said as he munched on (what else?) some cheese.
"That's because I am. Don't get me wrong, my friends make me happy, Marinette makes me happy, but there is a new type of happy I'm feeling." Adrien said.
"Must be because of your godfather. You needed a good parental figure. Which is fine, because I know of myself I am not the most touchy-feely or responsible kwami out there." Plagg said as he about inhaled his camembert slice before picking another from the tin.
"You are a good friend, confidante and mentor Plagg, in your own way." Adrien said.
"Don't try to make me feel better kid. Not that it bothers me." Plagg said. "I didn't do much, I just listened a lot and hoped that whenever I gave you a peptalk it didn't come out the wrong way."
"You tried Plagg, that is more then what father did." Adrien said. "And I don't want to talk about Father in that way but...is it wrong to wish sometimes that Uncle Greg was my dad?"
"I dunno. Human emotions can be complicated. But the guy has been there for you, he makes you happy, so he's fine in my book." Plagg noted. "You have been made welcome in your friends' families but you needed some family of your own to count on. So the Greg guy came back at the right moment. And forgive me for being honest...No, please don't, I said it before, quite frankly your pops is an ass."
"I know my Dad isn't the nicest. Is it wrong to still believe in him?" Adrien asked.
"Either you're stupid, or you're kind. I know you had some moments of the former but I can choose to believe that for you it's the latter." Plagg said. "But if he doesn't listen to anyone then it is his problem, not yours. The Greg guy chooses to make time for you. You don't always need to please others, sometimes it's good to look out for a bit of your happiness. If your father one day gets his head out of his own ass, the better. But until he does, it's ok to enjoy your time with your godfather." Plagg said.
Adrien smiled softly. "You are better at this then you think, Plagg. Thanks."
"You know what? I might be. I'm just that awesome I guess." Plagg said as he finished his last slice of cheese from the container.
Gabriel on the other hand had a nagging feeling. He couldn't explain it. Everything was in order. At least on the business side of things, he had as of yet to get an Akuma competent enough to get him the Miraculouses. But his business was running greatly and Adrien just kept to his schedule as usual. Not counting the interruptions that Akuma attacks caused, that one was kind of on him. But there didn't seem to be any outside interferences. He met up with his friends and girlfriend only in the scheduled times, the timeslots he generously incorperated in his son's schedule. He hadn't heard from Greg since their last conversation. Though he couldn't help but think...
His son, while he could often have his son comply to his demands (short-sighted people called it bullying at times but they don't know anything) his son still had a rebellious streak. His son hadn't displayed any of it since Greg came around, and with Greg Cipica he could be more then certain that the bad influence of the guy in tacky shades of green would encourage such rebellious behavior.
But if Adrien were to skip out on any of his activities the teachers, tutors or staff would have informed him. And they didn't so it meant Adrien behaved. So that couldn't be it. So then why is he so bothered by his son's more jovial then usual attitude? Granted, Gabriel was the first to admit he wasn't very good in dealing with emotions so he could have misread it. Maybe he was getting too worked up about it. As long as he didn't hear bad news, everything was in order. Maybe he should take some time off, after he finally got those blasted Miraculouses. Seriously, kids nowadays just can't be bothered to roll over and hand their magical objects to responsible adults.
"Whoa, I can't believe you were able to get me out of a photoshoot." Adrien said happily as he and his friends were enjoying another outing in the park. "I mean, for fencing and Chinese you just talk to one teacher, but how did you convince an entire crew..."
"I owe a lot of favors now, but it would be worth it. It is a nice sunny day and no way my godson is spending that time locked in a studio inside, camera lights are not the same as fresh air and natural sunlight. And instead of those tasteless 'so-healthy-it-aint-healthy' snacks, a growing boy could do with a good burger to put some meat on your bones. There is difference between being a model and being boney, kid." Greg handed everyone some hamburgers he had roasted on his portable grill.
Adrien happily took a bite out of the big juicy burger he was given. Delights like these were rare as his diet was too closely monitored. His dietician took his activities like fencing and modeling in mind, but not his activities as Chat Noir, and he burned way too much calories that way for that diet to be sufficient for him.
Greg was just happy with his own veggie burger with a slice of soy cheese. "Your mother used to love meat a lot, and she absolutely dispised tofu. She says she respected me not eating meat, as long as I respected not her eating fake meat." This got a chuckle out of all of them.
"I got you something, Mr. Cipica." Marinette said as she pulled something out of her bag.
"Please, no Mr. Cipica. I told you many times before, call me Greg. You are allowed to call me Uncle Greg as well, since it's obvious that in a few years Triple-A is going to put a ring on your finger."
Marinette blushed a little. "Er...Right. So I made you this. It is everything I could do in a short time..." Marinette said as she pulled out a bracelet she made. A lucky bracelet, not unlike one she made for Adrien. "A lucky bracelet. I did a bit of research on the African symbols you showed during your presentation and carved a few in..."
"This is a lovely bracelet, Thanks, Marinette." Greg said as he put it on his wrist. "And the symbols are quite accurate. Girl, you have magical hands. You are going to make Adrien really happy with those." Both Marinette and Adrien blushed and covered their faces with their hands. Greg laughed his ass off. "Oh, you kids are so easy to tease!"
Nino put Adrien and Marinette out of their miseries by drawing Greg's attention. "Mr. Cipica...I mean Mr. Greg...Er, Greg. I made a remix of your song, but I thought it'd be best to let you hear it before I use it for anything."
"And I put the news about the African exhibit of the new culture center on the school blog. That way it may draw a lot more attention from students and parents alike." Alya said.
"That's awfully kind of you two." Greg said happily.
"Er...I don't know what I can do. I cannot craft clothes, charms or music...Maybe if I can ask my father to make a donation to the culture center?" Chloé asked shyly.
"Listen, Chlo...don't mind if I call you Chlo?" Greg asked. Chloé shook her head slightly. "I know you are trying to do better, but you are still a product to your environment. While giving money to others is generous, not all problems are solved with money. Believe me, when building that hospital, while money was important, it was far from the biggest issue there was. It's good you learn to help people, though there are different ways to do so. Still, glad you are doing better. Certainly without that mother of yours looming over you."
"Yeah, I remember that last time she saw you she said something that made my hippie comment look like a compliment." Chloé said. "She also made Auntie Em uncomfortable."
"Wish we could cut out Mr. Agreste out...Sorry to say dude, but your dad can get under my skin at times." Nino noted.
"I know he is difficult and I don't blame you." Adrien said.
"Say, can you do more Gabriel and Nathalie impersonations? The way you did them last time were downright hilarious!" Alya asked.
"All right, but only because you are stroking my ego." Greg joked.
Nathalie knew Gabriel was unusually tense, though everything went according to schedule. Which was worrying because between Adrien's rebellious moments and the Akuma attacks, nothing went exactly according to schedule in the past year and a half. To ease Gabriel's worries, and her own, she double checked. She had heard from the fencing teacher and Chinese tutor they had to cancel their last classes. Even more, the crew of the photoshoot had to admit to her, under the threat of being fired, to having cancelled the shoot. She could easily put the pieces together. Someone had been interfering in his schedule and causing Adrien to goof off somewhere. She had a suspicion who may have been was responsible for this.
She sighed. She has to mention it to Gabriel, it is her job as his Personal Assistant. But at the same time she remembered Greg's words from yesterday. That she hasn't performed her godmother duties as well as she should. She had to admit Greg was right. She was Personal Assistant to the boy's father but she had kept her relationship with the boy too professional. It was better then the boy's current relationship with his father, perhaps...but she hasn't done nearly enough to try to reach out or comfort the boy, or try to get Gabriel to reach out towards his son again. She could have tried to fill the void Emilie, whom she loved like a sister, left behind. She could have done more...she could have been a better godmother.
And that while Adrien made no secret he considered her part of the family. And even when he had lied to him about the gift of the girl whom became his girlfriend, both him and Miss Dupain-Cheng were so kind to forgive her. Gabriel would be expecting her report in a few moments. She could think of an excuse...or beg Gabriel to go easy on him for just this once. She could do that, right?
She had walked back to the office, where Gabriel was waiting for her. She kept her professional emotionless face up, but under that mask her emotions were in turmoil. Gabriel looked up from his paperwork and eyed her with his cold, steely eyes. "Is everything in order, Nathalie" he asked.
Nathalie wanted to speak up, lie to placate him and spare Adrien, or begging Gabriel to let it slide. But as she spoke up, she found her vocal cords betraying her: "I have not been able to reach your son. Furthermore, Mr. D'Argencourt and Mr. Huan informed me their last classes were cancelled due to circumstances, as was the last photoshoot." she said. She done and messed up again. She mentally called herself a coward.
Gabriel's eye twitched. Not a good sign. "That...He...I knew he'd be a bad influence, he'd only be a distraction...Cipica..." Gabriel growled. "Where is that useless bodyguard?" Gabriel growled and clenched his fists as he took a few deep breaths. "I'm going to retrieve my son myself and there will be a few choice words with him afterwards."
Nathalie wanted to speak up and beg Gabriel to stand down and don't do anything hasty, but as she looked him in the eyes, she found her resistance crumbling before it was even properly built up. She was so weak..."I'll call one of your other drivers, sir." she said, not showing a slip in professionalism on the outside, but on the inside being in utter turmoil. 'I'm sorry, Adrien.' she thought to herself.
The Gorilla was sitting in the car he used to drive Adrien, Greg and the others around, waiting for them to finish their picnic. They were nice to let him have one of the pastries Adrien's girlfriend brought along. He had pulled it out as he moved it towards his mouth as someone knocked on the car window. He stood frozen, the pastry barely having entered his open mouth as he saw his boss looking at him, with a dissaproving glare. More then usual, he always looked dissaproving. "You and I are going to have a talk about your employment later." he said as he then walked into the parc angrily, Nathalie on his heels. The Gorilla blinked a few time as he slowly unfroze, put away the pastry and followed them with a heavy heart.
Gabriel hated going outside his mansion, outside the comfort zone. Not only didn't he like being near people in general, he is also far away from his secret lair from when he needs to be Hawkmoth, but this Cipica guy just has a way of getting under his skin (and it had to be because of him because whom else would it be?) and he really didn't want to give his son the luxury of being berated in private.
If he wasn't furious before (which he totally was), he was now when he saw Greg, his son, the 'bad influence' he akumatized into Bubbler, the Bourgeois brat, the Ladyblogger and Miss Dupain-Cheng (the only one whom deserved to be called by her name). They were laughing at something Greg did. Judging by the fake glasses he created with his fingers and seeing him doing a stiff, poised pose, it was instantly clear to Gabriel the idiot was mocking him!
"Oh, I know sir, I could shove myself up your arse, my head's already pretty much there." Greg said in a feminine voice that is meant to emulate Nathalie. The laughing continued, while Nathalie shook her head. She was embarrassed but part of her said she kind of deserved it. The gorilla trembled as he struggled to hold in his laughter.
"But you are not a stick, Nathalie!" Greg said in his 'Gabriel' voice.
He then switched to his Nathalie voice and continued: "I am! I am a stick-in-the-mud!" The laughter of the children continued as hard as ever until they noticed Gabriel slowly approaching behind Greg, Nathalie in tow, making them go pale and quiet. Greg instantly realized what was going on. "He is right behind me isn't he?" he muttered softly. He turned around, and to his credit, he didn't flinch under Gabriel's stare, which would have killed him if looks could actually kill. "Oh, hello Gabe..."
"Don't you 'Gabe' me, Cipica!" Gabriel growled in a dangerous tone. "I knew it...I knew you would be trouble upon your return, ruining everything I have. Taking my son from his classes, causing him to neglect his responsibilities, ignore his diet, set a bad example and now you are openly mocking me..." His tone was soft, while still dangerous, and yet his face was heating up until he was redder then Ladybug (he would become even angrier at that comparison).
"Hey, his lessons just happened to got cancelled, I just wanted to hang out with my godson, learn to know his friends, have him unwind for a bit." Greg said. Either he was too chill to be afraid or he didn't quite realize the danger he could be in.
"You are ruining him. He is the heir to the Agreste fortune, the face of my company, I cannot him become a hoodlum under your bad influence." Gabriel said.
"Do you hear yourself? You make it sound like his image is more important then him being your son. You are forcing Adrien Agreste, the supermodel, but you do nothing to nurture Adrien Agreste, the dorky boy whom just wants a chance to be a normal kid." Greg said.
"You are trying to ruin him, ruin me, all because you couldn't have Emilie!" Gabriel said.
"I let her go! Because you meant a lot to her. I already told you that. I just wanted to look out for Adrien." Greg shot back.
"Uncle Greg, what does he mean with..." Adrien wanted to ask about his mother.
"Not now Adrien." Greg whispered to him. "Later."
"There is not going to be any 'later' with you. Adrien, you come with me. And you can forget about going to public school from here on out! You go back to full time home schooling!" Gabriel said.
"Dad, please...No, I beg you..." Adrien asked sadly.
"No buts!" he said coldly. Adrien looked down and whimpered, looking so broken and helpless. That Gabriel made the boy whom fought Akumas on a daily basis so weak with a single glance and a few words. It was heartbreaking to watch.
"Gabriel, you are going too far, it is me you are mad at, not him!" Greg said.
"You are right." Gabriel said. "I may reconsider revoking my punishment if you keep away from him." Gabriel said.
"You can't do that to me...I had to miss him for far too long." Greg said, whom looked pretty angry as well.
"Mr. Agreste, please! You are hurting your son by doing this. I beg of you..." Marinette said, deciding to step in.
"This has nothing to do with you Miss Dupain-Cheng, this is a private matter. You should not get involved with things you don't know anything about." Gabriel said. "And I would advise not to jeapordize your future, as it would be a waste if a young talent as you would be on the receiving end of some bad press..."
Idol or not, she would not allow her Adrien to be seperated from her and his friends. Her inner Ladybug took over as she raised her voice: "You are a bully! You bully your son into doing what you want, without caring what he wants, and now you try to bully me in stepping down when I am calling you out for it! I can't believe I looked up to you." The words had escaped her before she fully realized what she said.
Gabriel eyed her darkly. "A shame, I had high hopes for you, but they were misplaced. I will no longer allow Adrien to see you again, I can no longer allow you to date him."
"NO!" Adrien shouted. This actually startled everyone, whom never saw him shout against his father. "Marinette...I love her, she is my soulmate..."
"You are just a boy, you don't know what love is yet, for all we knew it could be a teen romance..." Gabriel said.
"You say that because you have forgotten what love is!" Greg said.
This struck a nerve with Gabriel. "And you don't? You couldn't help it that Emilie chose me? Is that why you are trying to turn my son against me?"
This caused some confusion among the youths, especially Adrien. This was the second time his mother was brought up. "Uncle Greg? Is it true? Did you love my mom?"
Greg sighed. "Yes. She was my dearest friend. And I would have loved if we were...more. But she chose your father. I respected that. Because I didn't want to lose her, rather to be her dearest friend, by her side." Greg then steeled his face as he looked up. "That is what real love is, you would do everything for that person, put their happiness above your own. For all the problems I had with you, I never got between you and Emilie. Because she'd never forgive me. And she wouldn't have forgiven you for getting in between Adrien and..." Greg said as he stopped.
Adrien looked confused, pensive. "Uncle Greg, what are you talking about?" he asked. Greg didn't say anything. Adrien looked at his father. His father was normally composed, but he could tell by little things when his father is flustered. He saw his father flinch, even if only for a second. "Father, what did you do this time?" Adrien asked.
"This is none of your concern, Adrien, and I don't like the way you are talking to me..." Gabriel said.
"TELL THE TRUTH!" Adrien shouted. It was years of repressed rage, Adrien slowly starting to get enough of his father's interference, and treatening his godfather and his girlfriend is what was slowly pushing him over the edge. The anger in his voice is nothing like Gabriel ever saw before. The burning anger in his son's eyes, it was more like he was a force of destruction ready to be unleashed. Why did that look so familiar?
Gabriel regretted to let his temper get the best of him. Cipica always had him lose control over his emotions and rational thoughts. Now he was lured in the open, in a confrontation he should have thought twice about having, in front of his son and his son's friends. "I..." Gabriel wanted to say something, he could fib a little to keep the peace, but Greg knew and he didn't trust the man to not expose him, and being dishonest would damage his relationship with his son further, and he knew that his son was already losing it.
"We couldn't keep it a secret forever." Nathalie whispered to him softly. Gabriel hated it when Nathalie was right. This was a secret that unlike Hawkmoth he could not keep due to Adrien being so close to it.
Gabriel didn't like to give in, but he had to. If he wanted to salvage the situation afterwards, he had to. And he was confident he could salvage it. "I had all of Cipica's letters to you intercepted." He said it, not as a dark secret, or with any regret, just like he was talking about something uninteresting like the weather.
Adrien trembled...the others had to check if the ground wasn't shaking too because that is what it felt like thanks to what Adrien is going through now. Still trembling, tears of anger and joy unshed in his eyes, he softly, but also coldly whispered: "Why?"
"I did what I thought was best at the time." Gabriel said in all honesty
Adrien stopped trembling. Most people seeing this thought by mistake that the worst would be over. It was not. Adrien didn't shake anymore, because Adrien was through holding himself back. "YOU BASTARD! YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER BASTARD!"
Gabriel flinched at his son's outburst. Under his ascot, his Miraculous burned like the sun as he senses his son's rage through it. "Adrien, calm down! As your father..." he could only mutter out softly.
"FATHER? WHEN HAVE YOU EVER ACTED LIKE A FATHER?" Adrien shouted. In the next few sentences, he lowered his voice but it was still louder then he normally spoke: "After mom left...you didn't talk to me, let me talk to you, we could have been there for each other, comforting each other but you were never there. Do you know how much it would have helped me to talk to someone? You didn't, you forbade Nathalie from doing it, you didn't get therapists to do it! I could have Uncle Greg's words, even if on a piece of paper, comforting me. I felt so sad, alone and inconsequential. I started to think it was my fault mom was left...I wanted to run away, or hurt myself, because I thought I deserved it, for not being good enough for mom to stay!"
The way he said that...the others could still feel his anger, but they felt his heart break as they felt the hurt in his voice. Adrien continued his rant: "Never once you asked me if I was ok or how I was holding up. Never once you assured me you loved like a father should. Never once you asked me what I wanted or needed. You let me do all of these activities but you never bothered to ask me if I liked them. Well I don't! I hate learning a language that I only used to speak to three people and two of them were tutors. I hate those piano classes since despite you paying for them you never bother to show up at my recitals! I didn't hate fencing but you ruined it for me by forcing me to be competitive while I didn't want to be. And I hate modeling. I hate how I have to sit there and smile like nothing is wrong in the world while there is plenty wrong! Like I'm a mannequin...
Too busy for me? As if! Marinette's parents are bakers and they are busy but they take every chance they get to see their daughter, support her, make her feel loved, comfort her and encourage her. Even if it was half a minute, was it that hard to give me that much of your time? You only bother if you berate me or you want me to show me off, like a trophy or a prize. But I am not! I am not a thing! I am a living being, I am supposed to be your son!"
Adrien trembled again, but it was not the anger, it was because he was wearing himself out venting himself. "But you don't care..." he said softly, the anger mostly be replaced with sorrow and acceptance. "It was always about you, you only cared about making yourself look important. It was always what you wanted. I went along because you was the only thing I had left. Did you want that? For me to not have friends? Did you push away mom's friends as well so you could control her, like me? Is that why you did it?"
Gabriel was still too dumbfounded, and paralyzed by the emotional overload he picked up through his Miraculous to properly reply. It wouldn't have been wise to answer since his son was too emotional to listen anyways. Adrien stopped for a few moments. "You can forget it. You can forget about me catering to your whims, to your ridiculous standards. You can forget me about being the perfect golden boy, I want to be ME! Not what you want me to be. You are not my father, Gabriel Agreste!"
He then turned to Nathalie. There was less anger when he turned to her, but his voice was still cold: "And you, what a godmother you turned out to be. You are my dad's PA, yes, but was your duty to me not more important? Didn't it matter that I suffered? You are a coward!" Nathalie didn't say anything as she hung down her head. Nathalie, unlike Gabriel knew she did wrong and didn't justify herself, Adrien was right.
Adrien turned to the Gorilla: "I don't blame you. You don't say much, but you're cool!" Adrien said as he patted the Gorilla's lower arm. "You are the only one whom tried to look out for me in the correct way." The gorilla nodded and gave him a sad nod.
Adrien then asked Uncle Greg: "You knew he did this...why didn't you tell?" he asked.
"I wanted to give him the chance to come clean himself, to be better. I guess like you, I had too much faith in his humanity." Greg sighed. "I knew it was bad, but never thought it was this bad..."
"I am not mad at you but...I can't be here right now, I just can't..." Adrien breathed heavily and then he turned around and bolted. And he did it very fast, as some of his Chat Noir speed and strength made it in his civilian form.
"Adrien...we really need to go after him." Marinette said as she eyed Greg briefly.
"Go ahead, go to him. I'll come behind, there are some things I want to say as well." Greg said. Adrien's friends nodded and he turned to Gabriel, whom still stood there dumb-founded. He sighed. Unlike Adrien he wasn't angry. More...dissapointed. "I hope you are happy Gabriel. You just ruined your relationship with your son."
Gabriel snapped out of his funk and started screaming at Greg, desperation in his voice: "It's your fault, you just should have stayed away..."
"And you wouldn't have seen how hard your son suffered. If you even care." Greg said. "I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, I wanted to beleive in you Gabriel, for Emmy. But...I didn't know it would turn out this bad. I...have made the biggest mistake of my life, for letting Adrien put up with you. He may not blame me, but I blame myself. I don't know what happened to you but...was it always like this? Was it because of Emilie or was it before? You know what, I don't care. Right now, the boy needs someone to look over him because while I trust his friends to do so, I cannot trust you with the same."
"If you see him, tell him I'm sorry." Nathalie said. "It may not mean a lot to him, but I want him to know at least."
"I will, Nattie." Greg said as he ran after the teens, hoping he could still catch up with them.
Gabriel trembled like Adrien had earlier. He was losing control of the situation. He never lost control. Aside a few Akumas, but those were flukes. Emilie...it was just an accident. But he could always fix it, he needed to fix it, somehow. It was not his fault, he acted in their best interests, even if it didn't seem like it. But how could they all know...they couldn't know. No, it was not too late, he could...He needed to regain control, he couldn't lose Adrien like he lost Emilie. He could go after him and say sorry. But Adrien may not want to listen, he may not want to stay.
He needed Adrien to stay. "Nathalie, cover me." he said as he walked away.
"Sir?" Nathalie asked confused.
"I know what I can do to set things right!" he said as he walked away.
Nathalie didn't say anything. She didn't bother to ask what Gabriel was up to. She should have, but she would have never expected what Gabriel to do next. Even if she did, would there even have been something she could do? Is it her logic or her cowardice speaking? Nathalie was a bit too emotional to think about that...The gorilla had just sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. He looked at Nathalie, whom said: "I know, I messed up."
Gabriel made sure no one was around to see him, and in a corner of the park, with thick fern to hide him he removed his ascot, exposing his Miraculous. Nooroo flew out and started pleading with Gabriel: "Master, you are not thinking clearly, this will be a big mistake. I beg you to calm down and think about it rationally! This is your son. You cannot do that to him..."
Gabriel looked spaced out. If he had heard a thing Nooroo said, he didn't react. Right now, Adrien's emotions were still running wild and high. "Nooroo, Dark Wings Rise!"
When Greg caught up with Adrien and the rest, he found Adrien, curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth, Marinette doing her best to soothe him, with her arms wrapped around him and stroking his hair, while the others tried to talk into him.
"Adrien...Please come back to me. Adrien...I know it must have destroyed you earlier, but please don't lose yourself. I'm here, Kitty. I'm here, we're all here." Marinette's words and touch may have prevented Adrien from freaking out but he was still trembling and he was unable to speak. Plagg remained hidden but tried to calm him down with gentle purrs from inside his jacket.
"Bro...I just, never thought your dad would stoop that low...Wait, don't think about your dad. Think of something calming. Music perhaps, that works for me? Or the sunny sky?" Nino was grasping at straws a bit. He was used to cheering Adrien up after he felt a bit down but this was not a normal Adrien freakout.
"Sunshine? C'mon, you are the bright one, don't go out on us. You got us, we're here." Alya added.
"Adrikins..." Chloé just said softly. She joined Marinette in stroking Adrien's hair, worried for the person she called her brother. "Please, the moron you called a father wants you to be broken, don't allow yourself to break!"
"He doesn't care. He never cared..." Adrien said softly. Marinette deepened the hug, and now Chloé, Nino and Alya decided to make it a group hug.
"We care." Marinette said softly.
Greg's own thoughts are overwhelming him, that prevented him from hearing what they were saying to Adrien, all he knew is that they were there for him. Like he wasn't there before. "I shouldn't have left...I shouldn't have left..." he thought. No matter how much Adrien had said he didn't blame him, sometimes emotions of hurt doesn't make one rational.
The look on Adrien's face of pure horror, sadness, heartbreak. It reminded him of a look Emilie once had long ago. Emilie and Gabriel were working through a row they had and Emilie was so desperate to make it work but she was hurting herself with her denial. He could have brought her back to him, but he thought it would have horrible to deliberately break her and her husband up. He hadn't fully realized how bad it was then, and only now seeing how history has repeated, that look on Adrien's face. He failed them, he failed them both. He felt so useless...powerless.
He paced around on the spot a bit as he kept replaying the events of the last few minutes in his head, Adrien's angry rant and heartbreak...then it kept flashing back to Emilie. But then he saw something in the corner of his eye. Something black and purple. And he was in Paris long enough to have done the research. After all it is difficult being in Paris for a while and not having learned about the heroes of Paris, and the Akumas. 'No, not now! Not him!' Greg said as he sprinted for the Akuma. "ADRIEN!" he shouted.
Adrien and the others looked up, long enough to see Greg snatch the Akuma before it got to them, they had not noticing it as they were busy calming Adrien down. Unfortunately Greg grabbed it with the hand that now sported the lucky bracelet that Marinette made. And the Akuma easily slipped through his closed fingers, sensed his distress and possessed the bracelet. Greg grabbed his head in pain, as the holographic butterfly mask appeared over his face.
"You are not AdrienAgreste...YOU!" Hawkmoth's voice sounded in his head.
"You are him...the one everyone is talking about! You are Hawkmoth!" Greg said back. "You can't have him!"
"UNCLE GREG!" Adrien said, but the others held him back. For good reason, because they know what might happen.
"You are not meant for the Akuma! Let it go!" Hawkmoth commanded.
"No, you are not kicking him when he's down, not when he's like this...I am not letting you get to him. I am not failing him this time." Greg said. "Even if I keep this cursed insect inside so you can't send it to him, I will!"
"Give back my Akuma! Let it go!" Hawkmoth commanded. He was so close to regaining control of the situation, he could not lose control of his Akuma now.
"Letting it go? I'm letting it go all right. My anger...My sorrow...I was useless before. I was stupid. I was powerless. No more! I am not powerless...I am Powerfist!" Greg roared as he was covered in black and purple energy. It was not oily or smoky like other Akumas, it was a whirlwind of energy, a sign that Hawkmoth is not going to gain any control over this Akuma.
The energy had died down. Greg now wore an outfit of green and purple, a dragon-like symbol on his chest, a silver belt, big brown boots with shuriken. A helmet that covers most of his head aside from his mouth, the skin and lips green and having portruding canines. From the back of his helmet, two pieces of bandana-like cloth portruded, and a butterfly symbol was engraved on his helmet. One of his hands was covered in a purple glove with green fingers, the other hand, where his bracelet was, was a metallic gauntlet, making the hand three times as big as the other, with clawed fingers and a ring-like band around the wrist with various symbols.
The Akumatized Champion shouted out to the heavens: "Watch out, Gabriel Agreste! I'm coming for you and making you pay for ruining the lives of the two most important people in my life. I'll make sure no one hurts them ever again! Cower in your mansion, it won't work. I'll be coming for you! And no one is going to stop me! Not you, not the heroes of Paris, not Hawkmoth!"
TO BE CONTINUED
AUTHOR'S NOTES
For what Greg and Powerfist look like: kivathedcwizard/art/Miraculous-Alliance-Greg-Cipica-Powerfist-815695663