Miraculous Ladybug: Arkham Rogue

A Plan to Regroup

The deep and intense stench of the sewers finally began to process in the two heroes' noses.  Their adrenaline from running had finally drained from their system, allowing the rest of their senses to return to normal. When they entered the sewer, they did not catch much of what was said or was done. All that they could gather is that Batman had managed to interrupt Monarch from hunting them down. If they were just a moment or two slower, their identities would have surely been found out by Monarch.
Now the two sit and rest in a familiar sewer cross road. This cross road opened out and poured out into a main central hub of other sewer pipes. Having a wall that separated them was very handy to let the Kwamis wake from their chilly slumber. Both Miraculous Holders were relieved to see their Kwamis seemingly okay; if not a little chilly and still dazed from their slumber.
"Here you go, Tikki," Marinette said as she handed her little companion a pinkish macaroon. A small smile spread across Tikki's as she took a chunk out of the dessert. "How's Plagg doing?"
"He's doing-"
"More cheese!" Plagg bursted out, cutting of Adrien. "I'm withering away. So cold. So hungry." Plagg dramatically flopped onto Adrien's open palm. Adrien stared blankly at Plagg   He laid still for a moment but had quickly looked up to see if his plea would net him more cheese.
"He's fine," Adrien finally said, breaking the silence.
"Hey!" Plagg shot up at Adrien's face. "I'm not faking it. I really am starving."
"Plagg," Tikki cut in. "You are always hungry."
"That's not fair, Sugarcube. You can't just sell me out like that."
"It's okay, Plagg." Adrien pulled out another piece of Camembert, which Plagg greedily took.
"You so get me, Chat." Plagg tossed the slice of cheese into the air and opened his mouth wide. The piece practically disappeared in his mouth as he ate the whole thing in one bite.
"It's just as well," Marinette said in a stern tone. "We are gonna need all our strength to face off against Monarch and Mr. Freeze." Adrien turned his head to the side. Even without his cat ears, he still looked like a curious cat.
"You don't think Batman defeated them?"
"I'm not sure. He may be able to take down Mr. Freeze but with Monarch added to the mix, I don't think he can do it alone."
"That's true. I've  just heard all these rumors from Gotham about him being a one-man army against hundreds of goons. It makes you think what powers he may have to accomplish such feats."
"Well now that you mention it, I don't think he has any powers."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he reminds me of Knightowl. They don't have powers either, but are able to accomplish a lot with different gadgets and combat know-how."
"Oh yeah, but then how does one gain the reputation that Batman has without powers?"
"I'm not sure, but to be honest I have no idea what to believe or who to trust. Other than you, Chat." She added right away.
"Glad you can still trust my mewo-rd," Marinette laughed at the quip.
"Of course I can."
At that moment both of their phones chimed as they received a notification. The two found it quite strange to get one at the same time, and from an unknown number. The text message read: 'Meet me at the top of the Eiffle Tower in a half an hour. Make sure you come prepared. -Batman'
"Did you get the same message, Ladybug?" Adrien asked after reading it over.
"I think so. But I don't really like it." Her tone became more serious than before.
"You think it is a trap?"
"It's possible but that isn't what I dislike the most. I don't like how Batman was able to send us a message to our civilian phones."
"Oh yeah, I didn't even think of that," Adrien sheepishly said. He considered it lucky that Ladybug pointed that out. Adrien was definitely glad she was the brains of the operation.
"Whoever Batman is more than likely found out our secret identities and somehow got a hold of our phone numbers." There was a brief pause as Marienette stood up from her spot. "Well, I am not going to sit and wait. I am going to go find Batman and confront him myself. Tikki Spots On." A shimmer of pink light illuminated down both sides of the tunnel as Adrien stood up himself.
"Claws Out," He uttered quickly and was transformed. He then proceeded to round the corner to talk to Ladybug face to face. "Hold on My Lady. It may not be as bad as you are making it out to seem."
"No, Chat, I don't think you realize how bad it really is for us. Someone knows who we are under these masks, and they are here in Paris. If Batman were to tell Monarch he-"
"But Batman saved us, he wouldn't tell Monarch." Chat interrupted her.
"Maybe not on purpose he might not, but if he lost is temperament and was to be Akumatized, then he would have next to no choice but to tell our secrets." Chat couldn't argue with her, it isn't too far out of the possibility that a situation like that could happen.
"I am going to find Batman, ask him how he found out so that way no one else can find out and ask him to leave Paris." Ladybug started to walk to the edge of the pipe and threw out her yo-yo, but before she left Chat grabbed her hand. Ladybug stopped and looked at Chat.
"But what about Mr. Freeze?" Chat asked. "We might need Batman's help if Freeze is still with Monarch."
"Freeze caught us off guard. We still have our ice power-up treats to help us combat against Freeze's cold gun."
"That may be possible to beat Freeze if it was a two on one. But with Monarch there, as he has all the powers of the Miraculous, it would be like a two on twenty odds." Ladybug looked down at all the rushing sewer water falling down. She contemplated Chat's words and they conflicted with her conviction.
"We need to have Batman help us take out Mr. Freeze and maybe Batman can keep him contained and sent back to Gotham. That's the only way we can make the fight a little bit more fair in our favor."
Ladybug sighed. "Okay, fine. Batman should stay." A smile flipped onto Chat's face. Much like how a kid gets told they can go out for ice cream after dinner. "However, I am still going to ask how he found out and if he can withstand the mental fortitude of Monarch's influence. Because he could still be a risk to us."
"Fair enough, My Lady." Chat moved his hand away from Ladybug's hand. "This feline isn't gonna leave your side however. If you want to go look for Batman before we have to meet him, then I want to come with you." Ladybug laughed as she put her hand on Chat's shoulder.
"Thank you, my brave kitty." Ladybug leaped from her spot letting her yo-yo reel her back up. Even though most of Chat's feelings have gone to Marinette, he still couldn't help blush a little under his black mask. He shook his head as to focus up. He had to stop letting her sweet comments mess with his brain. Chat used his baton to extend himself out of the intersection.
After jumping through the sewers for a bit, the two came to an exit. They slowly lifted the lid and peered around their surroundings. They determined that it was safe and crawled out from underneath the lid. Both heroes enjoyed the breath of fresh air after what seemed like a whole day wasted in the sewer.
Pulling out her yo-yo, Ladybug checked for any news or information. According to the report given by Nadia, she stated that most of the camera footage became unusable due to the ice dome and some random interference that they could not explain. While they saw Batman fighting Monarch and Mr. Freeze off, there was nothing that had them in their civilian forms. It was a huge relief for both heroes.
"It seems Batman has already left," Ladybug said as she showed the screen of her yo-yo to Chat. Batman had just blew off Monarch from his BatWing and flew away.
"Seems like Monarch and Freeze also flew the coupe." Chat pointed out. On the screen, it showed the villains walking through a portal. "Seems like we missed all the fun."
"I can't lie," Ladybug said, rewatching the footage. "Seeing Batman in action is very impressive. The way he moves definitely seems super-human."
"It makes sense given his reputation. If I was a crook I would definitely have my tail between my legs if I was face to face with him."
"Regardless, I say let's lay low and think of a plan in the meanwhile. That way when we meet up with Batman we will be well prepared."
"Lead the way, Ladybug," Chat bowed and followed close behind Ladybug. The two heroes kept close to the rooftops and refrained from swinging through the air. They figured it would be the best way to stay out of the media's spotlight as they make their way to the Eiffel Tower.
Meanwhile, the villainous duo were underneath the Agreste Manor. Mr. Freeze's ice gun sparked and fizzled with electricity at the spot where Batman's gel exploded. As Freeze attempted to stabilize his ice gun, Monarch paced back and forth, his brow furrowed and his face in a sharp frown.
"Can you quit your sulking," Mr. Freeze said after a while. His tone was as ice cold as the rest of him. "It is distracting my concentration. The slightest miscalculation could result in catastrophic failure. Not only in my gun but throughout my whole suit."
"How dare you speak to me like that," Monarch snapped back. "Especially after what you did today." Freeze powered off his gun and turned to Monarch.
"And what exactly are you insinuating?"
"I am insinuating that it was your rash arrogance and deep hatred for Batman that cost us the battle. I could feel your emotions like a crashing wave of the sea. It made you lose your focus."
"I do not think your observations are accurate." Freeze defended himself. "My hatred for Batman is indeed deeply ingrained to myself. However, I believe it helps me focus all my efforts onto him."
"I believe you need to clean your goggles if you are too blind to see your own errors."
"I do not need to clean them in order to see how you let Batman escape our grasp." Monarch tightened his hand into a fist. "Especially when we had the complete upper hand on him."
"He should never have been within our grasp. You had told me that he would not leave Gotham."
"Because to me it was infalthanable possibility for him to do such a thing. The unexpected cannot always be accounted for."
"But it should be prepared for!" Monarch's voice began to rise as did his anger. "If we had planned for him we could've seen the end of Batman and Ladybug and Chat Noir."
"Even with his interference, you should have been more than capable of capturing a man with no magical powers. I had even tried to warn you to not let him escape. You have all these powers, yet you squander it every opportunity you have. No wonder you haven't brought back Emilie yet."
At this, Monarch's eyes flashed with an intense rage. His mind went completely blank, except for one sole thought: rage. Monarch's clenched fist glowed yellow and lunged straight at Mr. Freeze.
Freeze could not have fought back in time, nor would he have been able to do anything about it. He merely flinched backwards, his mouth agape and his arms slightly raised as an attempt to protect himself. Freeze stood still, his whole body froze up, locked in the same position. As Monarch removed his fist from the top of Mr. Freeze's chest, the transparent bee stinger disappeared.
"I told you before that you shouldn't speak her name." Monarch snapped his fingers and left his hand out flat. A moment later and white butterfly flew down from the elevator shaft towards Monarch. "If our working together is to continue, you will refrain from having her name be uttered from your mouth." The butterfly landed peacefully onto his hand and Monarch brought it closer to himself.
"You seem to have misunderstood the situation. You and I are not partners, you are my means to an end. You are nothing more than just another pointless rouge, no different than the many others from Gotham." Black and purple energy poured into the white butterfly, transforming it into a Mega-Akuma. "We tried it your way, now we will try it my way." Monarch pressed the Mega-Akuma gently against the broken ice-gun.
The whole device was washed over with the same purple and black energy. Monarch's symbol appeared in front of Freeze's unmoving face.
"Arhkam Rogue, you have long since struggled against your battles against Batman. Unable to defeat him with your own set of abilities."
    Monarch continued his monologue as he circled around Mr. Freeze. "However, with what I am about to give you, you will have the unique powers of the other villains from Gotham. I will also bestow upon you an additional power: the power of multiplication."
    Monarch used a Voyage portal and stepped into his lair. He went there to retrieve the power of the Mouse Kwami, Mullo. The poor creature was gone in a flash of dull grey, which filled the whole glass and metal container. Their energy drained into the machine and transferred to Monarch's ring that had the mouse insignia on it. The ring beeped and flash for a brief moment, signaling that the transfer was complete.
    A pedestal rose from the ground, it came as high as to Monarch's waist. An opening slid open from the top of the pedestal. From within there was a little ring holder that had an Alliance Ring wrapped around it. It raised from the opening as Monarch approached the ring. He grabbed the Alliance Ring with his index finger and his thumb and then carried it in his palm.
    Once Monarch was finished in his lair, he returned to his wife's sanctuary room. The immobile Mr. Freeze still stood, as frozen as if fulfilling his name sake. Monarch took the Alliance Ring and slipped it onto Freeze's left index finger. The Alliance Ring beeped, showing it was connected to Mr. Freeze and was ready to be used by Monarch. With a simple press of his own ring, Monarch had granted Mr. Freeze the power of the Mouse Miraculous.
    "Batman may be able to defeat the others individually but he will not be able to handle you and your copies all at the same time. And if Ladybug and Chat Noir try to stop you, they will be overwhelmed, and you will help us both succeed in bringing back our wives. All I need from you now is your cooperation. Do we have an understanding?"
    Without a word uttered, Monarch could feel Freeze's emotions change. There was a sense of anger towards Monarch, but it began to shift to Batman, Ladybug, and Chat Noir. Freeze had no choice but to accept Monarch's offer. He allowed the energy to spread from the ice gun to his whole body. Monarch face grew a wicked grin across his face. He was confident that he would soon have the end of Ladybug and Chat Noir.