Chapter Text
Adrien wakes up with a raging headache.
Groaning, he grabs his head before slowly sitting up. Blinking, he wonders what the heck happened. Did he collapse into an exhausted coma after the latest Akumatized victim's attack? He can't quite remember. He does remember bits and pieces of it. Photobomb or something. They had the power to blow up anything their camera flashed at and it was tough.
But that's pretty much where his memory cuts off? He doesn't remember coming back to the house or ending up in his bed or the headache-
"...Kid, come on, talk to me," a voice interrupts his thoughts as he gazes up at Plagg with confused eyes which he promptly narrows from the pain. He feels hungover, which was the worst considering he's not even of age for that yet. That Akumatized person had been the worst and he's still vowing to never drink again (even though he hadn't the first time. Just getting hit made him drunk as heck). Paws slap at his cheek, making him hiss in fear for a moment before he stops, looking into green eyes, "You need to wake up."
"What?" He asks softly before rubbing his eyes. His headache is starting to fade but he still feels groggy, "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" Plagg asks seriously before muttering some curses in a different language, "Shit, Kitten. You've been drugged."
"Drugged?" Adrien exclaims before frowning. Something digs at the back of his mind. A faint memory wanting to burst forward.
'Your father wishes to speak with you in his office.'
He rubs his head before glancing around for the first time. His breath catches in his chest as he stares in shock and disbelief. All of his exits are barred off and the windows are locked down with a sheets of metal that are usually only engaged when the whole place is put on lockdown. He frowns before getting to his feet. He sways slightly before getting his balance again, making his way to his desk. Everything looks like normal, a picture of his mom at 17 still there. But he tries to enter any of his chat rooms or social media and sees that he's locked out of the wifi. Frowning deeper in confusion, he sees his bag to the side. Searching through it comes up with everything except for his phone.
"What the fuck happened last night?" He demands before clenching his hair, leaning against his bed, "Plagg, why can't remember it? Is Oblivio back or something? Plagg?"
Plagg shakes his head before flying into his neck, purring softly.
"What do you remember?"
"We were facing Photobomb," Adrien squirms in place, trying to think. He only gets bits and pieces still, "And we defeated them like usual. Then I came back here...I think Natalie said father wanted to talk to me about something in his office..."
'I am very disappointed in you...out of school...can't trust you...keep you safe here...'
"And...?" Plagg asks.
"I...I..." Adrien starts to panic. Why can't he remember? His heart beats rapidly, "Plagg...Plagg, why can't I remember!?!"
"You were drugged, like I said before," the cat Kwami growls angrily before nuzzling into his neck, "That usually makes people have memory problems."
"You know what happened?"
"...yeah, but do you want to know?" Plagg floats in front of his face, looking very concerned. Adrien knows everything is very messed up if his Kwami looks so worried, "I can't take anything back if you do. It's going to hurt you if you do remember."
"I..." He trails off. He could just ignore it. But...he can't. He has to know the truth, "I have to know..."
"Okay..." Plagg nods before floating over to the bathroom. It's the only exit without bars on it. Adrien follows him inside, noting the same conditions on his windows in there. Fuck, he's truly trapped. He tries his hardest not to panic. He hates...despises being locked up. Cleithrophobia and all, "You went into your father's office. He said he was disappointed in you and that he's pulling you out of school to protect you here or some bullshit. You started to argue with him and then Natalie snuck up and drugged you. I couldn't do anything without exposing your identity. They brought you back here before stealing your phone and setting everything up. There's a camera in your room, by the way. And a monitor on your ankle."
Adrien snaps his head down to his legs. Sure enough, there's some type of device on his right limb. He sits on the edge of his tub before trying to peel it off. It's made of some kind of tough metal and seems to be waterproof. No doubt it's also a tracker in case he does get out. He clenches his fists, looking at himself in his mirror.
He's pale and exhausted with bags underneath his eyes. His hair looks more like his Chat Noir self and he looks on the edge of a breakdown.
"This is wrong," Adrien hisses before clenching his hair, curling up into a ball. A few flashes rush through his head. His father's expressionless face. Adrien's anger. Natalie-
Adrien stumbles into the house. Photobomb was not an easy supervillain to defeat and he would really love to go to bed. Hopefully he won't have nightmares about nearly being blown up. Or worse, his Lady dying. There were a few close calls.
"Adrien," Natalie greets him on the stairs. Oh, shoot. He came in through the front door, "Your father wishes to speak with you in his office."
"Okay," Adrien nods, wondering why. He has done everything his father has appointed to him. Well, everything besides staying in his room the whole time. But he had to help his Bugaboo. Not that he can tell his father that...he walks over to his father's office, dread growing. As much as he loves his father, he knows his mood changes so quickly. He takes a deep breath before glancing at Plagg who looks back at him from his pocket. Nodding, he steps inside, "You wanted to see me, father?"
"Where have you been, Adrien?" His father demands, facing his mother's portrait with his hands behind his back. That's a bad sign.
"In my room," Adrien says after a few seconds, playing along with his lie, "All day, practicing piano and doing homework, father."
Technically not a lie. He had. But he had also snuck out for a good few hours to deal with Photobomb and get some fresh air.
"Do not lie to me, Adrien," his father hisses at him, not even bothering to turn around, "It is unbecoming of you. Where were you?"
"Like I said...I was in my room," Adrien says again. Normally they buy this. But not this time...
"Then what is this?" His father questions before twisting his computer around. Adrien stares in shock at a picture of himself outside the Eiffel Tower where he had to detransform to recharge quickly. Luckily, that's not on the photo. Unfortunately, he is, "How many times have I told you to stop sneaking out of the house? I am very disappointed in you. I see you can't be responsible so I'll be pulling you out of school for the foreseeable future."
"Father-"
"It's clear that it's distracting you from your schedule," his father goes on as if he never said anything, "And you're surrounded by bad influences there. I can't even trust you anymore. This is the only way I can keep you safe. You will be staying here where I can keep an eye on you."
"Father, no!" Adrien bursts angrily before clenching his fists, "Can't you forgive that? I do everything you want me to. I get perfect scores. I practice fencing, piano, Chinese, and everything. And I do my photoshoots. You can't..."
"This is final, Adrien."
"You can't do this!" Adrien yells before glaring, "You can't keep me here like...like a prisoner!"
"You don't know what you're talking about," his father watches him with cold blue-grey eyes, "I am keeping you safe, especially with Hawk Moth on the attack. Your mother would agree with me-"
"Maman would never agree to this!" Adrien bursts out before shaking his head, "She actually loves me, unlike you!"
His father's face hardens.
"I am truly sorry about this, son."
Adrien doesn't get a chance to wonder what he is talking about. Something sharp pricks his neck as he yelps, twisting around to see Natalie holding onto an empty syringe. There's a regretful sadness on her face as though she's silently apologizing for her actions.
All he feels is betrayal.
He steps back, everything swaying and swinging around him. He feels off balance so much that he's surprised he doesn't fall over right away as exhaustion drags on his body. He steps back again before trying to get out of the house. He only manages to make it to the office door before he collapses onto the cold floor.
"It didn't have to come to this," his father mutters while standing over him. Everything fades into a hazy fog, "But you brought this upon yourself..."
He jolts as he sits on the tub's edge again. He gasps wildly before sobbing suddenly. He curls up even tighter, in a fetal position.
"They betrayed me," Adrien cries out as his eyes burn, "They drugged me, Plagg. Out of nowhere. They're imprisoning me here. They just...how could they!?! I thought...I...I have to get out of here! I have to..."
He grabs at the ankle monitor, trying desperately to break it off of him. He loses himself for a moment before something bites his ear. He yelps before burying his face into his knees.
It's too much. It's too much. He knew his father was overprotective. But this is much too extreme.
"Plagg...Plaggg...Plagggg," Adrien sobs before pulling on his hair. He knows he's freaking out, but he can't stop.
"Kit, calm yourself," Plagg responds softly before a soothing sound hits him, helping him out, "Breathe. Breathe for me. I'm here. I'm not leaving. We'll get you out of here. But we can't afford for Hawk Moth to Akumatize you, okay, kid?"
Adrien calms slowly.
He feels drained.
"Take a shower and get some sleep," the black cat says, "It's Thursday so we can develop a plan for the weekend. Oh, and you're going to have to bring my cheese in here so I don't get caught eating it on the camera. I did learn my lesson with the Kwamibuster."
Adrien is too exhausted and pained to disagree. He nods before following his friend's instructions.
How could they do this???
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Adrien feels a little bit better after rest. But he's still angry and sick. Before he knows it, Natalie is at his door with a meal and lessons for the day. He completely ignores her, doing everything to show his displeasure and pain. He can't forgive her yet. He knows she had no choice but it still hurts.
She eventually gives up, leaving the dish and homework behind. He refuses both for an hour before Plagg flies up to him.
"Kid, you gotta eat," the Kwami nudges some food at him. Luckily, it's out of view of the camera, "You have to keep up your strength. I can't have you passing out on me."
He nods after a moment before eating. It tastes like ashes, but he swallows it all down. He's still weary that even that is drugged.
"So what's the plan?" Adrien asks as soon as he makes it to the restroom.
"First, you're going to get evidence of this with the burner phone you bought," Plagg stares at him, "Everything. Then we're going to break your monitor off so it doesn't stop working and bust out. Unfortunately, we can't really grab anything without raising suspicions."
"Okay..." Adrien nods before sighing exhaustedly, "I'm super glad you're here."
"Duh," the Kwami grins, "Who else would you want?"
"Thanks."
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He gets everything set up. He takes pictures and videos of everything without exposing himself. The bars. The locked windows. The monitor. The wifi being inaccessible. Even the camera and the fact that his phone was removed and he's lucky he had this one hidden away. He starts spending more time in the restroom to not raise too much attention when he does leave. There's no filming devices in there, but it's clear the ankle monitor must tell exactly where he is because no one has come to search for him yet.
Time to put their plan into action.
"Cataclysm," Plagg whispers quietly, breathing on the device. A crack splits the metal as Adrien quickly pulls it apart enough to get out of it, placing it out of view. He offers Plagg a wheel of Camembert which the Kwami swallows whole without a single complaint, "Ready, Kitten?"
Adrien glances around. He'll miss his father and Natalie and Gorilla but he has to get out. This place hasn't been home since his mother disappeared. He can't handle it anymore.
"Ready as I'll ever be," he nods before sighing, "Plagg, claws out."
With a green flash, he becomes the hero he loves to be. He hears his baton beeping with missed calls and messages, knowing it's bound to be his Lady. There was an Akuma attack and he hadn't been able to help her out. He still feels guilty despite being unable to do anything about it.
"I don't have time to check right now," he shakes his head before holding out his hand. His restroom windows has a blindspot he's known about even before he received his Miraculous. He's getting out of this prison and far away, "Cataclysm!"