Miraculous Ladybug: Arkham Rogue

Run, Run, As Fast As You Can

    In other news, eccentric billionaire, Bruce Wayne, has arrived at the Wayne Tech London Branch for the yearly investment meeting, that is to take place this very evening. This will mark the first time that Bruce Wayne has stepped outside of Gotham city since his return over six years ago. Ever since he landed mere hours ago, London's media press has been all over him, waiting for the chance to even get a whisper fr-
   
    "Ugh, don't you watch anything that isn't the news," Plagg said, flipping through the channels. The afternoon sun bathed the entirety of Adrien's room. Adrien was at his desk facing away from the TV. Papers were spread across his desk with one of his text books that were opened on the side.
"Eh," Adrien shrugged. "It's a decent enough background for homework and such. Besides, it's good to know when an Akuma strikes."
"Yeah, but that is still super boring. We have access to thousands of channels. Including, but not limited to, some of the best cooking shows on Earth!"
    "Doesn't take much for you to find a favorite show."
    "Hey, what can I say? I am easily entertained."
    "Haha, you crack me up Plagg." A faint buzzing came from the top of his desk. Adrien picked up his phone over and saw that he had a new message from his bodyguard. "Huh? That's odd. Come on Plagg, we got to go. Time for another Alliance promotion."
    "What? But you just did one yesterday."
    "Apparently my dad wasn't pleased with how it was done without me there at the start of the promotion. To be fair, that was because I had to stop an akumatized victim."
    "Ohhhhhh, but they were just about to prepare the third course."
    "It'll be on for when we get back." Adrien opened a spot for Plagg under his white polo. Plagg groaned with dissatisfaction before zooming into the inside pocket.
    As Adrien walked down the stairs, he noticed a bit of a chill in the air. It was a bit odd to him, it was like the AC unit in his house was working overtime and sending out extra cold air. Though Adrien was not able to linger for long as he was hurried out of his house by his bodyguard to get to the event on time.
    Meanwhile, back in Gabriel's office, Gabriel looked out the window and sees his son drive off. Gabriel anxiously rubbed the back of his hands, letting two of his fingers linger on the ring he wore on his gloved hand. Out of the several dozens of schemes he had made in an attempt to get Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses, this one felt the most uncertain to him. At that moment, Mr. Freeze ascended up from the secret elevator, though he did not move from his spot right away.
    "I have finished my preparations for the plan. Have you sent the boy away?" Mr. Freeze asked.
    "Indeed. He should be far enough away that I won't have to worry about him potentially being in the crossfire."
    "I admire your efforts to keep your son safe. You must really care for him."
    "Yes, I could not live with myself if I lost him too." He felt a slight sting at the corner of his eyes as he thought of the possible outcome.
    "You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Agreste. As long as our plan goes accordingly, your son shall be safe." Mr. Freeze paused for a small moment. "Though, if you do not mind me asking, are you not worried about the potential of Adrien being Chat Noir?" Gabriel turned his upper half to look at Freeze who walked more into the office, though still far enough away to not be seen out the window.
    "Why do you think he could be Chat Noir?"
    "Simple really. In my research, I happened across a video of a teacher that works at Francois Dupon High School, talking about some sort of floating magical creatures. There are not many sources describing these magical creatures in association with the Miraculouses, but the ones that do exist describe the appearance of the creatures and explain their roles with the Miraculouses. What the teacher so recreated, in such a juvenile way, matched that of the texts."
    Gabriel turned back to the window, but also opened his suit jacket a bit and let Nooroo fly out. "Yes, these creatures are called Kwamis. They are what allow Ladybug, Chat Noir, and myself to transform into our alter egos."
     "I see. When I had learned about the existence of the Kwamis at the school, I figured Ladybug and Chat Noir had to also be at the school."
    "A conclusion, I too, developed. Helped by the fact that when I Akumatized Chloé Bourgeois for the second time, we discovered that many of Ladybug and Chat Noir's teammates also originated from Francois Dupon High School. It only makes sense that they too should be at the school. Though, I have failed to pinpoint exactly who Ladybug and Chat Noir are. As for my son, Adrien, he is not Chat Noir."
    "And you are certain of this? What if your son is Chat Noir?" Gabriel's face turned to a frown. He did not appreciate Mr. Freeze's questioning tone.
    "I will make sure he sees that what I am doing is for him, for us. He will understand, and if he doesn't... then I will still have no choice but to take the Miraculouses regardless."
    "The strongest desires require the strongest wills. I will say again, I do admire your efforts, Mr. Agreste. I likewise have been unable to precisely figure out their identities. Everything I have tried has ended in failure, probably due to some sort of magical failsafe. Just like how the Kwamis cannot be videotaped."
    "They do. Which does beg the question: how could you have figured out I was Monarch when you couldn't figure out Ladybug's and Chat Noir's identities?" Gabriel fully turned his body to face Mr. Freeze.
    "Your identity was not quite as obvious, at first. You hid your alter ego very well, even having the media and your plucky heroes fooled. I had to search down many rabbit holes just to try to catch anything out of the ordinary. Eventually, I discovered the parts you purchased to make the container you used to hold Emilie. A preservation chamber, a bit similar to the one I designed for Nora. From there I decided to do a bit of digging on you Mr. Agreste." Mr. Freeze paced the room as he talked.
    "What kind of digging?" Gabriel furrowed his brow.
    "I learned about your daily habits or lack thereof in the case of the last year. Looking a bit further back, I discovered that you and your wife traveled to Tibet several months before she had gotten sick. Which I might mention, you have not told me how she got sick."
    "She had used the Peacock Miraculous, which was previously damaged."
    "My condolences. That is very unfortunate." Gabriel looked down for a moment, before continuing to stare out the window once again.
    "What else did you learn?"
    "Within Tibet, there laid a special statue that suddenly came to life, and when it was defeated by Ladybug and Chat Noir, a temple was restored. The temple had been described in some of the texts that I had on hand where new guardians for the Miraculous were to be trained. The simple deduction is that you had found the Miraculouses, and thus began your time as Hawk Moth.  Then becoming Shadow Moth, and now you have become Monarch. Am I not correct?"
    "This is all correct, Mr. Freeze."
    "I thought as such." A cocky smile was on Freeze's face. He thought his deduction skills could even give him a run for his money. "You shall not need to worry, Mr. Agreste. Your secret is safe with me."
    "I am not as worried about my secret identity as I am worried about your plan for defeating Ladybug and Chat Noir." As Gabriel talked, he gestured with one hand to the side and one remaining behind him. "You have not shared much of the plan, you have barely shared what it is you need of me. I would like to know more about this plan of yours."
    "I did not come to Paris on a whim." Freeze ignored his request. "For weeks now, I've combed overall available news coverage of the two heroes. Luckily, there is no shortage to pull from, unlike my own nuisance." Mr. Freeze's usual steady voice had a hint of extreme anger underneath it. Gabriel, using his Miraculous' power, could sense the layers of his anger, all manifesting from one individual in particular. A wonderfully vile Akuma he could make Freeze if he allowed him to do so, thought Gabriel.
    "Let me guess, The Batman?" Gabriel turned his head to the side, his own evil smirk on his face. Freeze snarled at the mere mention of the name.
    "He has been a thorn in my side. Not unlike how Chat Noir and Ladybug have been to you. He always manages to be several steps ahead of me, keeping me from my dear Nora. For as much as I do loathe him, I have to respect his intelligence, and his ability to adapt is unparalleled. These children, dressing up as heroes, are quite literally child's play to whom I go against."
    "Careful though," Gabriel said, as he walked back to his desk. "Even though they are kids, they are not to be underestimated. Their bond is nearly unbreakable and will work together as if one in the same mind."
    "I know exactly what you mean Mr. Agreste, a little too well in fact. But regardless, I do believe I know how we can trap this cat and bug."
Gabriel's face contorted into a wicked grin that would stretch from cheek to cheek.
    "I am all ears, Mr. Freeze."
    At the other side of Paris, Marinette sat on top of her roof, she gazed up at the bright blue sky. Her pencil continuously tapped the side of her sketchbook as she racked her mind for ideas.
    "Ugh, no matter how much I try, I can't come up with anything new." Tikki zoomed up to her shoulder.
    "Don't worry about it, Marinette. I know you'll find some inspiration."
    "But I haven't managed to sketch a design for the dress I want to make." Marinette got up and tossed her sketchbook down on her chair, before leaning lazily against the railing.
    "You just have a really bad case of 'artist block', it'll pass eventually. You just have to persevere through it."
    "Oh, what is the point, Tikki? Why should I even bother with-" Marinette cut off her own sentence and cupped her hand above her eye to block the sun from her vision. Tikki zipped on top of Marinette's hand and looked in the same direction as her. Marinette watched as Adrien's car drove past her house. "Where is Adrien going at a time like this?"
    "It is a bit curious." Tikki concurred. Marinette scrolled through her phone for a moment.
    "He didn't say anything to me about having anything important planned. He said he was going to let me know if his father was going to let us hang out today."
    "Well, maybe you can ask him where he is going?"
    "I could..." Marinette's face tensed up. "But what if he thinks I've been spying on him?"
    "To be fair Marinette, you did have an entire copy of his day-to-day schedule." At this, Marinette's face went red.
    "Y-yeah, w-well... that was just me.... taking an interest in his life, and what he likes to do." Tikki shook her head and laughed at Marinette.     "Regardless, you and Adrien are dating now, it wouldn't be all that weird to ask him." The red around Marinette's face had began to fade.
    "Yeah you are right, Tikki. I still overthink too much." A loud crash was heard from the direction of the Eiffel Tower. She could hear a few people scream in terror.
    "Looks like talking to Adrien will have to wait." Marinette quickly jumped down into her room before she yelled, "Tikki, Spots On!" A quick flash of pink enveloped the room as Marinette was transformed into Ladybug. She jumped back out onto her terrace and flung her yo-yo across the Parisian rooftops and went on her way towards the commotion.
    Even before reaching the base of the Eiffel Tower, Ladybug had already saw the Akuma that was causing the trouble. It looked like an animated 10 foot tall giant gingerbread cookie. It was modeled after the generic shape of a person and was decorated using various sweets. White frosting was used to create an eyes and a mouth on the head, and on the top half of the body was styled after a long sleeved shirt, it even had purple gumdrop buttons, that aligned themselves mostly straight, down the middle. Some black licorice was used to make pants for the villain
As the cookie ran amuck, Ladybug saw that it had picked up a bunch of different objects, like lampposts and newsstands and would devour them in an instant. With each bite, the cookie grew in size and became more agile. It was about to take a bite out of a stop sign when Ladybug threw her yo-yo around the sign and yanked it from his hands.
    "You know eating food so fast will give you an upset tummy."
    The giant cookie person turned to Ladybug with a big frosting frown. "NO, IT NOT! ME HUNGRY! RUN RUUUUUUUUNNNNNN! I'M THE GINGERBREAD MAN!!!"
    And just like that, the Gingerbread Man was off running, a lot faster than Ladybug anticipated he would. She chased after him, trying to keep the Gingerbread Man from eating more objects. She scooped up what she could with her yo-yo while she hung in mid-air in between swings.
Unfortunately, the Gingerbread Man would still manage to eat a few things here and there. Including a hot dog stand, which was left abandoned by its owner minuets ago.  It still had freshly made hot dogs later out on the display rack, steam coming from the top. They first dumped the hotdogs into their white frosted mouth, though they did not stay long. He spit out the chewed up hot dogs with a disgusted look. Not a single one was digested. He picked up the cart again and ate it in one bite with no problem. Ladybug noted that it was rather strange to be so hungry, yet reject the actual food.
Ladybug tried to wrap her yo-yo around the Gingerbread Man, but he ran of before she had a chance to do so. With his head start, the Gingerbread Man continued his original trajectory. Ladybug figured she would have Chat Noir help her cut him off his path. She opened her yo-yo and tried to contact Chat, though it went straight to voicemail. She figured he hadn't transformed yet, but was wondering why it was taking him so long to react to the Akuma.
    "Ugh, where is that Cat?"