It didn't take long for Cat Noir to arrive back at the mansion with claw marks on his body. He was extremely exhausted after the fight. Even the claw mark on his right eye was like a memory of fighting another werecat creature but thank god it didn't take out his sight. The bodyguard saw him at the door and helped him up.

"Thanks," Cat Noir said before removing his mask.

"Adrien?" Nathalie saw him unmasked.

"Yeah, I'm Cat Noir," Adrien said before groaning a bit from all the agony in his body.

"He needs treatment," Nathalie told the bodyguard, who nodded with a grunt.

"Get my father here, now," Adrien said.

A few moments later, Adrien was placed on his bed, heavily bandaged. He didn't need a medic but it was better to heal properly than his way.

"Adrien, forgive me" Gabriel came in.

"Why? You tried to use my DNA to raise Mom from the dead?" Adrien glared at him, "Are you insane?! Do you have any idea how long I was neglected until one day I couldn't remain sane enough but go out as a thief to gain freedom?!"

"I just wanted to complete the family, Adrien," Gabriel said.

"Was a complete family. Everyone has a family once, not twice to be the same as you wanted. Remember when Aunt Amelie and my cousin Felix came here a year ago? You showed no compassion. Instead of caring for my mom's sister, you only ripped the family apart because of your control. Felix was so upset that I did not come to his father's funeral because of you. If you loved my mother, you would let her go and let her be at peace. We can't control people's death or fate but what we can control is moving forward" Adrien said before looking away at how much he let his bottled-up emotions out, "And you trusted a liar, and look what it turned her into" He then added.

"She made me feel convinced," Gabriel said.

"That's no excuse to choose to believe her over your own son. All you think about is perfection. I'm not perfect enough at what you want me to be. I'm the Werecat" Adrien said, proving by showing his nails growing into claws.

"I never wanted you to be a monster. But now I realize I pushed you further away" Gabriel said.

"That was your choice to neglect me for over 2 years. I never wanted Mom back, I needed you. I never forgot my mother. I already healed from my grief but you haven't. Was it really your intention to make my life isolated?" Adrien asked.

"No, it never was, I was just so desperate," Gabriel said.

"I lost my father already" Adrien replied.

"I just couldn't live without your mother, son. She was everything to me and when we had you, it changed our lives until that life took her away" Gabriel said.

"Father, pain is what we learn from to accept the bad and the good. You shouldn't push away anything in your life because it will only make you lose more to yourself and be left all alone. When people go through a problem in life, they go to therapies" Adrien said.

"You're right, son," Gabriel said.

"It's gonna take a while to truly forgive you," Adrien said.

"Adrien is right, Gabriel. You need therapy sessions. And don't say they are not exceptional but you need to recover your mental well-being for him" Nathalie suggested.

"Yes, of course," Gabriel got up.

"And always try to listen to how I feel, not for my own good. And you can't always send Nathalie to check up on me. That's your responsibility as a parent" Adrien said.

"Yes. But if it's anything to make up for it, I let Ladybug go and help you defeat Lila with the countervirus" Gabriel said.

"What?" Adrien said.

"Yes, that's how Ladybug was able to turn Lila back to normal," Gabriel said.

"You had my Werecat blood to create an antidote? At least you did something right for once. Father, my blood is special but it can't revive the dead. I can heal in hours than days or weeks but it's not the same as healing a dead person. Using my healing DNA won't bring the dead back, it would reanimate the dead body to a zombie" Adrien explained the facts between reviving and undead.

"Or turn anyone into a feral beast as shown on Lila. So I made sure there was a backup in case something went wrong. The transformation made me realize it wouldn't bring your mother back" Gabriel said.

"Which is why I've seen what happens to a living thing. It mutates them" Adrien said.

"Yes. It did" Gabriel replied.

Adrien crossed his arms and glared at him for what he put him through, thinking of the times he would always say he's his father and he knows what's best for him but he doesn't act like it, "You put me in school so I wouldn't discover what you're hiding?"

"It was" Gabriel replied.

"It was hard to socialize people, father. Until it took me a while to get used to it. I nearly could've gotten a panic attack if they paparazzi me" Adrien said.

"That's a reason why I have a bodyguard for that to take you to school," Gabriel said.

"He did his job well you know," Adrien said.

"And I'm truly sorry I neglected you. I was so desperate to have your mother back" Gabriel apologized.

"I want to forgive you, but it's gonna take a while," Adrien said.

"Give him time to come around, sir. You can't force him like that" Nathalie said.

"Very well, I'll give you some time, Adrien," Gabriel said.

"As well as my inner beast too. Stress and anger make it worse to come out of me" Adrien said, letting him know that provoking him makes him lose control.

-

Two hours later, Marinette arrived. Adrien convinced his father to allow her to come to the mansion since he needed a friend to talk to.

"Oh, Adrien. You look like a mess" Marinette saw the bandages and patches on him.

"Marinette?" Adrien saw her.

"What happened to you?" Marinette pretends to ask.

"Lila as a werecat attacked me," Adrien said.

"What?!" Marinette pretends to be shocked.

"But I'll live, Marinette. Cat Noir saved me." Adrien said.

"Don't ever scare the hell out of me like that" Marinette hugged him.

Adrien hugged her too, rubbing her back to calm her down. He didn't mean to scare her like that but he had to fight Lila.

"I won't but I dealt with hell a lot of times," Adrien said.

"Don't die on all of us, please" Marinette said.

"I lived to tell the tale," Adrien said.

"You were lucky to live but next time won't be the same with luck," Marinette said.

"I know. But what matters more is Lila behind bars" Adrien said, feeling Marinette's palm on his chest.

"You got a claw mark on your eye," Marinette said.

"Yeah, from the attack in the mansion" Adrien lied.

Marinette knows it was half a lie but he doesn't know that she's his bugaboo, "Well, you still got vision" She said.

"Heh, they say that Vikings with scars make them look attractive" Adrien chuckled.

"It proves they survived" Marinette chuckled too.

"Marinette, there's something I need to tell you and I hate being a liar to you like Lila was to everyone. I don't want to be like her" Adrien had to tell her his secret.

"What is it?" Marinette asked.

"Marinette, I am Cat Noir" He revealed.

He proved it by having his nails grow into claws and his eyes turning green with slit pupils.

"Oh my god! You're the kitty that visits me" Marinette gasps.

"Bonjour, princess," Adrien said the nickname to her.

"It really is you!" Marinette said.

"I'm sorry I lied to you but I had to tell the truth to you," Adrien said shyly.

"I understand, if anyone else knew they'd use me as bait," Marinette said.

"I needed freedom without going insane, even if it meant being a thief," Adrien said.

"Adrien, you don't need to be a thief to gain freedom," Marinette said.

"It was the only thing that kept me sane," Adrien said.

"You wanna know my secret?" Marinette asked.

"What secret?" Adrien asked, looking around to make sure nobody saw.

Marinette took out her Ladybug mask, "I'm Ladybug"