In Need of Sanctuary

12 0 0
                                    

Mere moments before Ladybug had sprung into action, Adrien was sitting in the back seat of the car looking at his phone. A notification popped up on top of the screen, it was from the Akuma Alert App. He scrolled the message down and saw that it was happening back towards the Eiffel Tower. It wasn't too convenient for him since he was going in the exact opposite direction of where the attack was. He had to come up with a plan to get out of the car and to go help Ladybug.
"Hey... can we go back home? I forgot something really important to bring." His bodyguard merely shook his head. "B-but it's... its what I need for this promotion meeting." The bodyguard said nothing, but he did hit a button on the dashboard, it made a soft ringing noise.
"Hello?" Adrien heard a woman's voice on the speaker.
"Natalie?"
"Hello, Adrien."
"What are you doing? I thought you were supposed to be resting at home?"
"I am resting," she said before she started to cough. Adrien could hear some wheezing as she attempted to gain control of her coughing fit. "As long as I am able, I am to fulfill my duty as your father's assistant. He filled me in about this impromptu promotion event. He said it is imperative that it gets done right now."
"But..." Adrien was at a lost of what to say. Even though a lot has changed, he still did not have much of a voice of his own against Natalie or his dad. "what abo-"
"I'm sorry Adrien, it is out of my hands. If you need something while at the promotion event your bodyguard can take care of it. Is that clear?" Adrien deflated in his seat, his head dropped. "Yes, that's clear..."
"Sorry, Adrien. Good-bye" The car made a double beeping sound, which signified the call had ended.
"Yeah... bye." Adrien had to make a backup plan and soon. He just hopped Ladybug could hold out for just a bit longer.
The car finally arrived at the location for the promotion event. Adrien saw Kagami and her mother walk inside as the paparazzi were taking photos of them. A smaller amount of reporters were there than normal to cover the event. Adrien assumed it was because the event was done so last minute, but as he walked up to the entrance he overheard some of their conversations.
The other reporters were having discussions with their higher ups over the phone. They were discussing if they should stay or leave to cover the Akuma attack. Some made mention that Ladybug was already on the scene. The camera operators continued to point directly at Adrien and his body guard as they walked past. The bodyguard had to shield his eyes from the barrage of camera lights that flashed their faces. Adrien paid it no mind, all that Adrien really cared about was thinking up a plan to leave and to help Ladybug immediately.
Adrien's bodyguard got them both through the paparazzi, pushing away any cameras that got a little too close. As they stepped into the building, some of the reporters came in behind them as well. Though they were unable to progress past the red velvet line that the bodyguard clipped across. Meanwhile, Adrien kept glancing all around to find a proper place to transform. Kagami came to greet Adrien while her mother was talking with the producer. She was chewing them out for not getting all the reporters inside sooner and causing such a huge delay.
"Hello Adrien," Kagami said. A hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Hey Kagami. You are not thrilled to be here either?"
"No," Kagami crossed her arms. "I find it ridiculous that we had to redo the promotion, just cause you were late."
"Yeah... sorry about that," Adrien looked down and rubbed the back of his head.
"You don't have to apologize. It is not your fault. It is our parents who are responsible for dragging us around and around."
Adrien could not argue with her, nor would he really want to argue. He was too focused on looking for an exit. In the corner of the room, there was a doorway that led to the kitchen. Adrien smirked as he came up with his excuse.
"I need to go grab a quick bite to eat before we start. I'll catch up with you in a bit." Adrien ran off before Kagami could even reply. Adrien had to basically jump around a server to avoid running into them, and jumped into the kitchen. 
Many of the staff members paid Adrien no mind. They were still in a big scramble to provide food on short notice. The chefs were busy prepping and cooking food, one stove had giant flames emit from it. The waiters hurriedly organized their white cloth covered carts to bring the food out. Adrien effortlessly continued to weave past them to get to the back door.
The back door led to a small enclosed space with just a couple of dumpsters. Adrien grimaced at the smell but ignored it as he ducked behind the trash container. Once Adrien was out of sight, Plagg flew out of Adrien's shirt and by Adrien's face.
"Alright Plagg, time to join the fight."
"How can you want to fight after running past all that delicious looking food?"
"We will eat later. Plagg, Claws Out!" Plagg zoomed into Adrien's ring. In an instant, Adrien was covered in a flash of green light, and transformed into Chat Noir.
Without delay, Chat climbed onto the dumpster and took out his baton. He extended himself over to the rooftops and ran as fast as he could. He dialed up Ladybug on his baton. It only took a moment before Ladybug appeared on the screen.
"Finally, where have you been Chat Noir?" Ladybug sounded a bit snappy.
"Sorry, had a bit of a detour. I'm on my way now. Where are you?"
"We are heading east, along the Seine, towards the Notre-Dame."
"I'll be there as soon as I can. Just wait a little while longer." Chat hanged up and started lunging himself above the rooftops even faster and farther. He had to spin his baton to gain the extra air time needed to make a few of the jumps. Even though he wasn't quite there yet, he could see the commotion from afar and saw Ladybug jumping along her own respective rooftops. "Hold on Ladybug."
Ladybug had been keeping any potential snacks away from the Gingerbread Man for about twenty straight minutes. Though he had still managed to grab a few tasty treats for himself. The Gingebread Man had grown to almost five times the size he was when he started out, and had maintained a great amount of speed. Several times during the chase, it took very quick 90-degree turns, which threw Ladybug off his trail several times. She had grew incredibly irritable every time, the Gingerbread Man went behind some of the buildings. Not that it was hard to spot him or to keep up as her powers gave her an incredible boost of athleticism. Though Ladybug knew she could not run after the Akuma all day long.
    Just then a long poll extended from an alleyway in front of the Gingerbread Man. The Gingerbread Man did not notice the poll and tripped over it, crashing onto the concrete. The bottom portion of his legs had broken off from making contact with the baton. The legs wiggled around on the ground until they suddenly stopped and all the decorations rolled off of the top.
    "And that's how the cookie crumbles." Smirked Chat Noir, retracting his baton. Ladybug landed right beside him, she was panting a bit.     "You alright My Lady?"
    "Yeah... yeah just running a marathon here."
    "Again, I'm sorry for taking so long."
    "It's fine, you are here now." She looked over at the spot where the Gingerbread Man fell, but he wasn't there. "Where did he go?"
    "Over there," Chat pointed at the bridge that led to the Notre-Dame. The Gingerbread Man was crawling onto the other side of the Seine, gobbling anything along the way.
    "Okay, no more wild goose chases. Lucky Charm!" Ladybug had thrown her yo-yo up into the sky and her suit changed to her black and red outfit.
    Magical mini ladybugs spun out from the yo-yo, and had come together to create the Lucky Charm, a giant can of frosting. It was as large as one of the advertisement columns that usually hosts a picture of Adrien or the Alliance Rings. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir had to hold it up so as to not crush either of them. The can was full of frosting.
  "I didn't realize we were gonna decorate cookies today. You bring any spatulas?" If Ladybug wasn't focused on holding up the can while trying to figure out how to use it against the villain. She might've laughed at his quippy comment. It only took her another minute to figure out
    "I've got it! Chat, I'm gonna need you to create a spot where our run-away cookie can't escape."
    "Got it." Chat got out from underneath the container and hurried over across the bridge. He jumped above the Gingerbread Man and yelled, "Cataclysm!" He slammed his hand on the concrete ground and jumped away.
    As he did the ground gave way, creating a crater, where the Gingerbread Man tumbled down into it. He tried to climb out but it was too steep and couldn't get any traction with his round stubs for hands.
    "Hey Gingerbread Man, I got a special treat for you." Ladybug said as she rolled the giant can down into the pit with it.
    "FROSTING YUUUUUUMMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!" The Gingerbread Man wasted no time and took the lid off and devoured the frosting that laid within the container. He got about halfway through the can when he pulled his face out from the can, frosting covering his whole face. "OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH......  TUMMY NO FEEL GOOD......" The Gingerbread Man pressed his arms against his stomach and knelt against the can of frosting.
    Suddenly in one singular motion, all the content that the Gingerbread Man ate came flooding out. Garbage cans, billboards, hot dog stand, bikes and even a full 18 wheeled truck, sat in a pool a liquid white frosting. Some of the frosting continued to spread inside the crater, which unveiled a transformed box of gingerbread cookies that was colored a dark purple. With all the contents exposed, the Gingerbread Man had shrunk down to the size of an actual cookie and was too weak to go eat new items.
    Chat Noir smacked the box with his baton, causing the box to become creased and the lid to the box opened. From the lid, a purple and black butterfly flapped and to release the purple and black butterfly. Ladybug quickly snatched it up with her yo-yo.
    "Gotcha!" Pushing the top of her yo-yo, it opened up, and out flew the de-evilized butterfly. "Bye-bye little butterfly."
    "How did you know that he ate the Akuma?" Asked Chat Noir with his head tilted and his cat ears down.
    "Simple, it was practically eating everything in sight and there wasn't any other discernible item on his person."
    Chat grinned widely. His ears perked back up. "Always on the top of your game, huh Ladybug?"
    "I try," she gave a quick wink at Chat and she threw the empty can of frosting into the air.     "Miraculous Ladybug!" The can became a swarm of tiny magical ladybugs and went flying about cleaning up the mess created by The Gingerbread Man. All the random street items were put into their proper place and they undid Chat Noir's cataclysm. The ground was completely restored, and there laid the half broken cookie. Purple and black energy foamed over the Gingerbread Man, and he transformed back into a little kid, who seemed no younger than Manon.
    The little kid sat up, and looked rather confused. "Ladybug? Chat Noir? What are you doing here?" Ladybug knelt down to his level.
    "You were Akumatized, and we saved you."
    "Really? I'm sorry. I just wanted some cookies before dinner..." The child's eyes became misty as he looked down.
    "Oh, it's ok." Ladybug reassured him as she opened her yo-yo. She put her hand within the pink light and pulled out a magic charm. It was brown with purple and white spots, just as the Gingerbread Man was. Ladybug placed it in his hand.
    "W-what's this?" The boy sniffled.
    "It's a magic charm. To help you stay positive, even when you don't always get your dessert first." A small smile appeared on the boy.
    "Yeah, you're right Ladybug."
    "Good, now, do you want to help me take you back home?"
    "Sure! It's over- Oh mommy!" The little boy pointed at a red car that just pulled up along the bridge and a woman, who looked much like the boy came running out to hug him.
    "Oh sweetheart, I'm so glad you are okay. I'm sorry for snapping at you, but I just didn't want you to eat sweets before dinner."
    "It's okay mommy. You are just looking out for me." The mom smiled and hugged her son tighter.
    "Come on, let's get home before dinner gets cold, and if you eat enough of it, then I'll let you have a cookie for dessert."
    "Yaaaaaaay! Thank you." The mom picked up her son and turned to Ladybug and Chat Noir.
    "Thank you for saving my son."
    Chat bowed. "It's all in a day's work ma'am." The mom smiled and walked back to the car. The kid waved at them as they walked away, and the two waved back.
    As the red car drove away from the two heroes, they fist bumped each other for a job well done. Both of their miraculouses beeped at them, signaling that their transformations were almost up.
    "Sorry Kitty, this bug has to run."
    "Till next time, Bugaboo."
    They both got ready to shoot off across the Parisian skyline, but before they could, a towering teal ice wall instantly grew in front of them. It stretched for miles in front of them and looped around behind them, closing off any access to the rest of Paris.
    "What is this? Another Akuma?" Ladybug asked as she spun her yo-yo around. Chat, likewise, spun his baton, ready for combat. Both their eyes darted about.
    "Not at all!" Came a robotic voice from the top of Notre Dame. They looked up and saw a man in a grey and blue tech armor. A large blaster held in his right hand. He aimed it down towards them. From it, a big blue blast shot towards them. The two easily dodged out of the way. The blast had created a big chunk of spiked ice where the heroes once stood.
    The man pointed his blaster down the side of the Notre Dame and coated the building. It formed an icy path that the man to jumped to after a moment. He kept his blaster pointed downward, and made the ice slope the same way. He used the newly formed ice as a type of slide to get to the ground level in front of the heroes.
    "It is, in fact, a sudden change in temperature." The man said as he reached the ground. While he was only several feet away from the two heroes, they could feel an intense chilling sensation as he got closer.
    "Who are you?" Ladybug said, despite the situation was able to keep her voice clear and stern.
    "I am a fierce cold front, the chill down your spine, and like frostbite, your inevitable demise. I am Mr. Freeze."
    "Mr. Freeze?" Chat Noir asked "Like the one talked about in Gotham City?"
    "The very same."
    "I thought you were just made up by the media, like The Batman." Mr. Freeze let out a chilling chortle.
    "If only that was the case, but enough of this small talk." Freeze aimed his ice gun towards them. "Hand over your magic jewels."
    "Never!" Ladybug shouted, but then her earrings and Chat Noir's ring beeped and their indicators flashed. Freeze took a few steps forward.
    "You only have a couple of minutes until you transform back, and will be left without your magic suits to properly protect you from the effects of my ice gun. And believe me, I have no trouble leaving two teenage size popsicles to float down the Seine."
    "You're gonna have to chisel our Miraculouses out from the blocks of ice if you want them." Snarled Chat Noir. Freeze merely let out a small smile.
    "That is the plan, child." He sent out a blast of ice towards them, the two however managed to get out of the way in time. Mr. Freeze did not let up as he sent several more shots at them, which none of them hit.
    Ladybug and Chat Noir tried to split up to take focus away from the other and tried to get in close. However, Freeze was able to keep up with their fast paced movements. As their Miraculous beeped a third time, they regrouped.
    "Chat Noir!" Ladybug yelled over the sounds of the ice pounding against the concrete. "We got to get out of here to recharge our Kwamis."
    "I think I see an opening at the top." He pointed to the sky. The ice wall was forming an ice ceiling above the roof of the Notre Dame.
    "Then let's go that might be our only chance."
Chat Noir nodded at her and began to extend his baton below him to extend upwards. Ladybug lasso'd one of the ledges of Notre-Dame and pulled herself just behind Chat.    
    However, as they were reaching the top of the ice wall, they saw that an ice ceiling was being formed in front of them. They both tried to rush to the little gap that sat just above the Notre-Dame, but were met with a barrage of ice attacks from Freeze. It was enough to slow the heroes down to miss their window of opportunity. The last of the direct sunlight had been closed off from them. Though the dome was not completely dark as the ice was partially transparent and still allowed some light to come through. Though it was not very much.
    As Freeze shot up at them, it forced them to stay up at the top. They had to duck behind the bell tower for cover. Chat looked around the corner and saw Freeze running towards the building, creating an ice path upwards.
    "Let's try busting our way of of the ice wall." Chat suggested and both of them attempted to use their weapons to break the ice. Their weapons merely bounced off the ice, only chipping it slightly.
    "I'm open to suggestions, My Lady." Their Miraculouses beeped at them once more, only a single icon remained on their displays. Mr. Freeze had caught up to them and tried to blast them. The shot missed and smacked the bell causing it to ring for a moment. The ice began to  envelop the bell and caused the noise to die out as it stayed frozen mid-ring. The bell
    Ladybug and Chat Noir had jumped down from their spot and rounded around back to the front of the building. Both were panting like crazy. For as bulky as Mr. Freeze looked, he was able to move quite quickly and shoot even faster. The intense cold also made the two feel sluggish.
Ladybug pointed at the front door.
    "You'll have to detransform in the Notre-Dame and then come out to Cataclysm the ice wall."
    "But what about you? You are gonna transform back soon too."
    "I'll be fine until you can come back out."
    "But what if- LOOK OUT!" Chat shoved Ladybug to the side of the cathedral as a football sized gray and light blue canister was thrown down by Freeze. From it, giant large crystalized chunks came forth and exploded upon landing on the ground. Chat Noir was flung to the ground, a small amount of frost covered him. He tried to push himself up but struggled to get barely a half an inch off the ground, until he plopped back on the ground. His Miraculous flashed its final icon.
    "N-no..." Chat mumbled to himself before he slumped unconscious.
    "No, Chat Noir!" Ladybug stretched her hand out, but had to retract it as new blast came from Mr. Freeze and his ice gun. She spun her yo-yo around and luckily it was enough to prevent any of the blasts from freezing her or her yo-yo. She tried to advance towards Chat Noir, but Freeze was likewise moving towards him as well.
    "Give up Ladybug. I am only a few moments away from retrieving Chat Noir's Miraculous thanks to my ice gun weakening him. Soon your powers will run out too, leaving you both vulnerable. Hand them over and I will spare both of your lives." Ladybug's earrings began to flash its final icon as well. Panic began to fill Ladybug, she had never been backed into a corner quite like this, especially without her Lucky Charm or Chat Noir. She was quickly running out of viable options to get them both out of the sticky situation.
    Just as Chat Noir's Miraculous gave its final beep a tiny black pellet landed near him, enveloping Chat Noir in a cloud of dense smoke. It covered his whole body and a flash of lime green shimmered beneath the smoke, signaling that Chat Noir and transformed back. Both Freeze and Ladybug looked over in confusion from the random smoke pellet, but not soon after did Freeze's face contorted with a furious frown. He looked up into the sky, and Ladybug looked up too.
    At first, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The ice ceiling that had captivated them within the area around Notre-Dame seemingly remained. But there was someone there. Ladybug had to do a double-take cause she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but they weren't. There was a dark figure, one who blended in nearly perfectly to the shadows and architect of the Notre-Dame. The figure had leaped into the air and spread out their arms wide while holding their long angular black cape to slow their descent.
    With them now out of the shadows, Ladybug was able to get a better look at the person. A majority of their suit was dark gray with a black segment around their waist. Above that was a gold colored belt with several pouches lining the whole way around. Their feet were covered with angular black sleek armor plating. On his arms were similarly plated gauntlets which had three spikes jutting from the sides. The cape connected to a black cowl with two narrow spikes on the top of his head. The cowl covered the top half of his head down to his nose, leaving the other half of his face exposed. With a soft thud, they landed on the ground.
    "Hello, Fries." Calmly said the black and grey-suited man.
    "That's Mr. Freeze to you, Batman!"

Miraculous Ladybug: Arkham RogueWhere stories live. Discover now