agresteddevelopment

[agresteddevelopment]

It was two months after his fathers arrest when Adrien had a second ground-breaking event in his life. He was living at a guest house down in the south of France where he remembered going when he was much younger. It was one of the many holiday homes they had and Adrien couldn’t be in his main home right now. He couldn’t live where Hawkmoth completed all his plans. His other home was not perfect but it would do.

When he first lost Marinette, he completely isolated himself from the world. Losing Marinette and his father being convicted made him feel like he could not trust anyone anymore. Not even Luka. When he looked at the face that he spent years of his life doting on, he couldn’t even smile. He knew Luka had to carry on, they were the closest thing which the world had to a guardian. But the unspoken air between them made Adrien leave. He didn’t make it an emotional affair, he left a note and the cat miraculous. Of course he didn’t want to leave plagg, but it wasn’t like they existed in harmony anymore and Adrien knew that he wouldn’t have it for much longer so why pretend he could stay as Chat Noir forever.

At first, France was peaceful. It was a small place, a few shops and that was it. He got to pretend none of the things in his life ever happened. That he had been raised in this village since he was a babe, the streets he walked down was where he made his first friends. He often did this as he walked, hoping that if he wished hard enough that his life was changed. That the Agreste name would be stripped and he could be from the small village. But he knew that couldn't be true when the paparazzi first arrived.

It was a normal day and Adrien was walking around the village and a group of people swamped him. Asking him questions such as “How do you feel about your father being the Villian Hawkmoth?” and “What’s your relation to the missing Marinette Dupain Cheng, she was your close friend correct?” and the most stinging of all “how is your relationship with Luka Coffaine?” Of course in the grand scheme of things it was the least important one, however it was the only one that Adrien could have a chance of saving but he had no clue what to actually do.

These questions started to repeat day after day, people finding him whenever so it reminded him of reality. This reality finally died when he received a letter from his Aunt explaining that he needed to return to the manner to finish his father’s affairs before the family could try and sell the mansion . He knew that he was the only one he could do it, so he begrudgingly moved back to paris. He booked a hotel nearby so he didn’t need to stay there.

When he arrived at Paris, it took a few days for him to get the confidence to go back to the mansion, he was scared of what he needed to do. He knew he would have to go to parts of the house which he hasn’t explored before in his life . He had only ever seen behind the painting but he never would have suspected a hidden floor.

When it eventually came, he woke up early and decided he would walk to his mansion. It would help him get some fresh air before he started to walk. Walking through the streets of his hometown compiled his thoughts. Until he arrived at his home, before all this the outside didn’t seem homely but now it seemed even less. When he walked in he saw the stairs which he remembered running up as a child, but that wasn’t where he needed to go today. He needed to start in his father’s office.

When he got the confidence, he grabbed the door handle and opened it, he knew the room well. But before the atmosphere felt awkward but now it was just oppressive. The same feeling of being shouted at by a teacher as a child. He first went to the painting, he remembered how to open it, but it was weird when he got to it. It was completely empty like all the things had been stripped. Suppose it made sense, but he knew that the police wouldn’t have found the secret room yet so he knew that would be the next place for him to head.

So that's where he went, as he moved down he saw that Emilia was no longer there. So the police did get here, they were smarter than Adrien expected. Suppose he could keep moving through, his nerves starting to calm, he felt safe. He was alone and there was no chance of a sudden attack. So he walked into where most of the crimes occured, the place which was described as the room with the butterfly window. When Adrien walked in, he felt a wave of nerves start to rush all over him. This is when it was the most real, he was standing where his father’s crimes were committed. As he stayed there, he felt waves of more and more negative emotions wash over him.

As he stayed in this state, a shadow hidden deep in the corner of the room started to move towards the man in the middle. It moved in an inhuman way, a little like a worm. Until it got closer and closer and soon attached to Adrien’s leg, it started to worm it’s way up spreading across his body. Adrien didn’t notice it until it hit his bare skin which was around his waist.

“Woah Get off”

The purplish blob didn’t stop however it only kept spreading… it moved up him and Adrien tried to scrape it off but it just stuck to his hand and it spread up his body quicker and quicker.

“Help! Someone Help!”

He said as the slime started to cross over his mouth and take route in his brain. The last thing he said before his brain shut off is.

“We are Frenzy…”

4 hours later…

Adrien finally woke up with no memory of where he was, he had to pull himself together but he had a splitting headache. He couldn’t work out what time it was, it was like he’d just woke up from the worst hangover he had ever had in his life. His brain was pounding…. last thing he remembered was being in his fathers akuma room. CRAP! He was now outside, the dull light of the fallen sun surrounding him. He looked around the area and saw a trail of blood near him. He wasn’t bleeding…

He looked around and that’s when he saw it, a half eaten corpse was in front of him… he looked upon it and felt a wave of illness wash all over him. Did he eat it… he felt vomit bubble up in his stomach flow out his mouth. He ran to a nearby bin to throw up in it. He needed to get away…

He sprinted away. He knew he shouldn’t since he was a hero, but he couldn’t be found. It wasn’t his fault he needed to work out what was going on. But he didn’t know how to fix it.

He returned to his old home and didn’t know what to do. He needed to work out as much as he could to be able to separate himself from the thing. When he thought that he felt a low growl in his head. So they coexist… great. He needed to shut him up as soon as he could.

The first idea, which he had was checking his father’s system. So he went to his old office and checked out the computers. He was locked out of course, but the first security wall was simple for himself as he tried every passcode which could be related to his family life. It ended up being Adrien’s own birthday, and it shocked him of course but he didn’t have time to think about it at this current moment in time. He couldn’t think about it. As he got into the files, he started to research into this frenzy. Eventually finding one file. He clicked on it as fast as he could. However all but three pieces of information was completely blacked out behind a further security level.

The information’s title said “Project 0105: Symbiote- Frenzy.” underneath said the date which was forty years ago. The project was that old, which meant that it might have had more victims than just him This symbiote could kill him before he knew it. The last piece of info warned the reader about its potentially cannibalistic tendencies. Which terrorfied Adrien, would he have more blackouts which could cause potential damage to more people. He needed to stop this as soon as he could.

However it continued for two months, in the day Adrien spent all his time and resources on trying to contain and destroy the beast. But every night, Frenzy would awaken and when he did more and more bodies would pile up. But Adrien wouldn’t hand himself in. Even though he hated to admit it, the symbiote was slowly warping his mind. The guilt for the piling bodies slowly started to dim, he only focused on him and how he needed to save himself from this plague which was sweeping through his body. It didn’t matter about the murders now, it just mattered about him. He also seemed to get more aggressive in his real life, there was a situation where he went to the shop and walked into a fan. They were sweet but invaded Adrien’s personal space. Instead of the warm grin he once had, he scowled and asked the other to leave. The media put it down to grief as they couldn’t comprehend what was happening to him.

The first time he was actually going out was today, Felix demanded to meet him as the rumours circulating about him did worry him. He didn’t care that much about his family but Adrien’s apparent aggression was running the name of the brand down. He still needed that to be as powerful as he could. Of course being part of the miracle killers gave him some sense of power but he wanted his family corporation, He wanted the world. So to increase his slice of the world he invited Adrien out to dinner to confront him about his grief.

Once Adrien arrived at Le Passage, he saw Felix and walked towards them with a small smile on his face. “Hello Cousin,” he said politely towards the other male. He wasn’t cold but he wasn’t necessarily excited to see him. These pleasantries continued for a few minutes until the silence was eventually broken.

“The company is worried about you, Adrien. You haven’t done anything for weeks except mope around near the home. People have also said you've been seen in alleys even though I don't believe them. We don't need more bad pr after your father and the loss of one of our head designers Marinette.

Adrien watched, taking in what the other was saying at first it was fine. Even Gabriel, Felix could get away talking about it. But the moment he brought up Marinette he looked directly at the other.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t talk about Marinette, she was a hero and I prefer you to have respect for her.”

Felix laughed and replied “a hero… she fed into your fathers fantasy so why would you have any respect for her.”

Adrien felt himself start to get angry, but that was a lot more risky now. He believed that Frenzy was tired of anger so he needed to make sure that he would be out before they took over. “This meal is over,” He said standing up and leaving the restaurant and quickly speeding down an alley knowing he would need to calm down. But Felix followed him, he knew angering Adrien would hopefully lead from him disappearing again so maybe that was his way for his stake even more.

“You’re really getting upset over Marinette getting killed, I’m more happy we got her killed.”

“We.”

“Yes- you heard me. My associates helped her tragic end-”

The moment he heard that Adrien saw red almost instantly, because of that Frenzy took its chance to take over. It quickly took over Adrien using his anger to keep in control. Felix of course responded in shocka and tried to get away. But Adrien shot one of the purple tendril shot out at Felix's hand trapping him to the wall. Breaking two of his fingers from the pressure of the hand hitting the wall. Felix screamed for help and no one came to help.

The last thing Felix saw was Adrien’s face revealing in front of him, a grotesque vision of the usually beautiful face. His eyes open but lifeless, the veins in face bulging from the pressure of the symbiote. Then in an eerily monotone voice he responded. “We are Frenzy,” Then in one bite he easily bit the other's head off the symbiote feeding off the brain as usual. Leaving Felix’s corpse by a nearby bin the symbiote jumped into the night.

When Adrien woke up and realised in his bed, he had worked out what he had done. Of course he questioned the possibility of something on that scale actually occurring but he could never believe Felix would push him that far. He got up and went to the bathroom and looked upon his face. Just like the picture of dorian grey no one could see the sins that he had committed. His face had the youthful glow which it always had and it repulsed him. Surely something about him would have warped, a tell that he isn't a good person. He looked around his body from his hair down to his feet but he looked like a perfect human. Why was he like this.. He was repugnant. He stared blankly until his body just got tired anymore and he dragged himself to bed.

This repeated daily now, the beautiful reflection Adrien saw almost tormenting him about how he was on the inside. Then frenzy going out at most nights. The victims are racking up at this point. He knew he had exhausted all his possible routes of preventing the symbiote and there was only one person he hadn’t gone to for help yet. The one he knew he should ask but the one he needed to. His own father… he prepared himself to book a flight to Gotham.

So that was what he did, Adrien booked a plane to Gotham. Well he got first class since he wanted to be able to hide from the world more. He was hoping he could control Frenzy whilst they were there. But he knew it wouldn’t, he just hoped he wouldn’t kill, because he would be definitely tied to the murders then…

It worked mostly at first, he brought so excess animal brains to hopefully entertain so he was able to stay in his Gotham apartment till he got the approval to go and see Gabriel. That approval eventually came and he was able to go to the asylum.

When he arrived, it was just like it had been described as in the past. It looked like it hasn’t been updated in years and it scared him. He didn’t want to end up somewhere like this, it only added to his urge to separate himself.

The meeting room, it was a lot more simple than he thought, there was a glass divider, a simple metal chair and a few guards. But apart from that it was a plan room. Knowing his Dad would be in a place like this still made him guilty, he wished he helped him to work through his problems instead of this pit of despair. But it was too late now and he was too young then, so he definitely couldn’t help him. Now them being reunited in such a strange situation, it made him so nervous, his throat felt dry.

As his father walked in he was unsure how to speak, he felt brought back to their old dynamic. Where Adrien wasn’t his own person- he was similar to one of the sentimonsters. But being Chat did help him. But now he was trying to control the symbiote and he felt like he was back at square one.

When Gabriel sat down in front of him, Adrien was unable to get some words out. He was unable to speak up against him still and it angered him- and that anger forced the words out.

“Hello Father, I’m not here for an emotional reunion… I want your help please. I was on your balcony and I’ve been ill ever since. I wanted to know if you knew how to prevent it.”

He wasn’t going to say in front of the guards about Frenzy, but he knew that Gabriel would know. So he just waited for his response. Knowing it would change his eternal opinion of his father just as much as when he learnt that he was Hawkmoth. He was affected more by emotions these days.

Grief is something that can affect everyone in a variety of ways, even twins can respond to pain differently. Especially this unusual pair of twins. They have had vastly different life experiences, Tommy was in and out of juvenile detention in his early years and went through months of torture to be a living weapon. Whereas Billy Kaplan was the eldest son of Rebecca and Jeff Kaplan and he had a much more content childhood. He got everything he wanted whereas Tommy had to fight to get to where he was today. So of course once Tommy had the chance of a family he grabbed the bull by the horns whereas Billy didn’t need to. So now that the perfect family dynamic was starting to break down, Tommy of course was taking it the worst out of them.

Nothing could last forever and Tommy shepherd understood that, but he didn’t think it would end that soon. Did he not deserve a second chance at life? He was a hero, that should mean that he deserves a happy family… of course he didn’t do it for self-gain but surely he deserved something in return for dedicating his life to helping people. He thought he got his ideal reality with a mother and two wonderful boyfriends. But that started to end, it started with the death of David Alleyne.

He still could remember what it was like when he walked in on David. They were going to go on their weekly date night and Tommy left patrol earlier to be able to plan his outfit. He didn’t even go and say hello to David assuming he was still working on his serum, he still blames himself for not going to check on him. If he did, maybe he could have been able to save him. But he didn’t, he stayed up there changing his outfit. Then when Peter returned he went to check on David and there he was… slumped down in his chair smashed chemicals all around him. At first Peter was in shock and he couldn’t believe it, he ran to David and started shaking him and begging for him to snap out of it but he got nothing in return. This outcry caused Tommy to walk in, but when he entered he paused in shock. The speedster was completely frozen in time, not wanting to move, because he would be further away from his lover. As his life would be more in the past. For a speedster a mere second could feel like hours. Now Tommy had lost his life, his light now had fallen to the floor as embers which Tommy could no longer hold as they had dissipated in his hands.

As he looked around the scene of the murder he could pick up on many things, the first thing which they picked on was the chemicals all smashed all over the floor david would have never let that happen.He cared to much about his science. Even if he was angry he would never destroy the chemicals because he understood the threat they could be. Then he looked at the test tube that he had seemingly swallowed and how it further confused him, he wouldn't have drank it straight.

That's when Peter wrapped his arms around Tommy and tried to get his boyfriend to look away, Peter wanted Tommy to be his cleft in the rock of the world that he could hide in.The two just stood there crying, even if they havent seen everything in the room such as the suicide note they couldnt bare to be in there anymore so they walked out and called someone and left it up to people higher status than him. Even if those “professionals” boiled it down suicide but they both wouldn’t agree. Especially Tommy who wouldn’t even question the possibility.

That was only a month ago, but he had already had another loss just as painful as the last. It was the loss of Wanda Maximoff. But this time they had yet to find a corpse. So Tommy hadn’t given up hope, he had spent all day for the past three days running around every corner of the world. Checking every sight from the causeway of Ireland to the rainforests of the Amazons. But it was impossible for him to find the other. But meanwhile Billy had done absolutely nothing. Or that was what it seemed like to Tommy. He saw that his brother had been looking on foot, when he could use a simple spell to find her but he was useless. His pent up aggression led up to this current moment where he was angrily phoning his brother.

Billy was still contacting as many heroes as he could for evidence when he saw the phone call of his brother, thinking it was a call off news he urgently went to pick up the phone and said “Tommy? Has something happened? Have you got some news about mom?”

Tommy heard the sense of urgency and it made his mind rage, his hand clutching the phone at this point in rage. “You.. could save her”

“What?” Billy asked in shock from the scathing tone in the other male’s voice. It was completely different to how he had heard his brother talk in the past, from the teasing tone he was used to.

“You heard me Bily '' He said as the twins shared a mournful silence for a few moments after him phrasing that. Then after that moment, Tommy spoke up again. “You could save her, if you weren’t useless and used your powers for once and we could find her with a simple spell. But no- it is the Billy pity party all the time. If she dies it is your fault.” He says finally expelling all the pent up aggression which he had kept in him for a long time. Grief and fear for his mother caused him to expel all the anger he had in all directions and poor Billy was the target of it all.

Billy was shocked… speechless even. He could explain the shock he felt hearing Tommy’s true opinion of him. He felt tears prick the corners of his eyes before he could even respond. He tried to keep a level head, like doctor strange would in this situation. “You don’t mean that. It is just grief. I know you don't mean that Tommy. You know that the slightest mistepp in me performing that spell could kill her before we can even get to her.” He says taking the mature role in the conversation, even in passing conversations he was the maturer one so he just hoped that would knock some sense into the other.

That didn't help Tommy, in his rage it just came off as condescending, as he was blinded by rage at this moment to be calmed down. “I do mean it, someone needed to say it to you. Your powers have gone wrong twice, it might be the only thing we can do. The risk is less than the reward.”

Billy was also starting to get annoyed at this point, he wasn’t irrational as his twin but he was crossing lines that in Billy’s eyes weren’t right to cross. “Look Tommy, I know it is hard, I went to strange to discuss the potential and he shut me down instantly. With the state of the world right now it could cause cataclysmic effects. Even if I’m on par with the other magic users I am not using them.” He says the mature tone slowly warping to assertiveness as he spoke. Of course he had questioned using his magic but apart from being scared of repercussions he just wasn’t ready. He was going to end the call and wait for the other to be rational until he heard a feeble voice on the other end. The anger melted away as Tommy didn’t have energy to stay at level any more, behind the aggression was a scared man who was losing two of the people closest to him in a short time. That voice only muttered out.

“Please….”

“Please…”

“Please Billy, I can't lose her. For once please just focus on our family not just being a hero. We still had so much to learn from her.”

Billy was shocked, he didn’t expect that much vulnerability out of the blue. “Tommy I am sorry, I would if I could. But we could potentially not have a family if the spell goes wrong.” he replies in his soft voice, sounding similar to how Wanda sounded. “I still have faith we’ll find her. She wouldn’t want us fighting”

“Fine.”

Tommy whispered his throat shot from the shouting and the days of tears. “Fine, you keep looking by your feet, I'll find someone to help me.”

“Tommy! Wait!”