Miraculous Ladybug: Arkham Rogue

A Battle on Multiple Fronts

    "He does know that is two things he's asking for, right?" The ill timed joke flew out of Chat's mouth. Chat felt the silent annoyance from the other two heroes, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, sorry. Force of habit, I guess." A sheepish smile plastered on his face.
    "In any case," Batman moved on. "It seems that Monarch did Akumatized Freeze."
    "And gave him the power of multiplication," Ladybug said gritting her teeth. Chat placed a hand on her shoulder. At this, Ladybug calmed down a bit.
    "I don't see Monarch anywhere, but I will keep a lookout, in case he decides to join the fight again." Batman's face covering closed in and the eyes of his suit glowed even brighter. Orange light poured in through every tube in Batman's suit.
    "I suggest we even the playing field, My Lady." Chat said. The two nodded at each other and utilized their unique light blue food item to transform. Their suits donned a new pattern with snowflakes and icicles, as well as ice skates appearing on the bottom of their feet.
    With their power up complete, the three sprung into action. Ladybug threw her yo-yo to the top of the tower to swing herself downward. Chat Noir bounced between the metal supports of the towers, occasionally using his baton to slow his descent. Batman was diving headfirst towards the three versions of Arkham Rogue. Once he got low enough he spread his arms out and proceeded to glide through the air.
    The three heroes landed side by side each other behind the transformed Mr. Freeze. However, they were immediately noticed and Arkham Rogue turned around to greet them. The one that looked like the Joker had a wicked and sinister smile spread across his face. It was off putting to the heroes, even to Batam. He's use to seeing that smile on the real Joker, not on someone like Freeze.
    "Look everyone!" Started Rogue Joker. His hands shot up into the air with glee. "It's Batsy and his new friends!" The voice was still that of Freeze's just with the added demeanor and personality of Joker. The heroes assumed that would be the case for all three of them.
    "They shall bear witness to a new glorious green world, covered in a layer of frost." Said Rogue Ivy in a soft voice.
    "But not before we crush their spines in two," Rogue Bane said in a low voice as he mimicked breaking a twig with his two hands. Batman remained unfazed, though the two Parisian superheroes were a little uneasy by the comment but nevertheless looked on with confidence.
    The purple outline of Monarch's symbol spread across each face of Arkham Rogue. Monarch's voice was only heard by the three of them.
    'You've managed to draw them in, that's good. Now draw them away from each other. Wreak chaos through Paris' streets. Retrieve the Miraculous and bring back our wives!'
    The outline faded away from their faces, and a snarl took its place. Deep down, they knew they did not like Monarch for what he did to them. However, seeing Batman, Ladybug and Chat Noir took all their anger and directed it to them. Nothing was going to stop them from bringing back their wives. No matter what the cost.
    They immediately took off in different directions, but not before Rogue Joker threw some bombs at the three heroes. While the heroes were able to jump out of the way, several bursts of light green smoke filled the air around them. It towered over them and obstructed their views. Batman was the first to grapple back up towards the Eiffel Tower to get the necessary height to look over the smoke. Ladybug and Chat Noir followed close behind. Batman hit a button on his visor and his eyes flashed orange for a moment.
    "According to my scanners," Batman started. "Those bombs are filled with a nearly identical chemical mixture to those of the real Joker's bombs."
    "Meaning we wouldn't want to dance inside of them?" Chat tried to joke.
    "Let's just say you wouldn't stopped until you dropped." Batman said without a hint of levity. Chat gulped in response. "I am unsure if your powers will protect you from the bombs, but my mask will protect me from the gas. I will go after that one." Ladybug looked beyond the smoke clouds and spotted one of the members of Arkham Rogue.
    "I see that plant one, I will go after that one."
    "Good idea, My Lady. My gardening skills are terrible anyways." Chat readied his baton. "I'll go throw down with our luchador friend."
    Chat and Ladybug sprung through the air with their weapons. Batman launched himself up to the tallest building that was along Rogue Joker's initial path. From above, Batman could see multiple explosions going off at the same time and from all different directions. Batman knew he could not check all the possible locations, even if the Parisian heroes joined the search. Luckily he did not need to check all around Paris, as he just needed to follow and find the source. All he would have to do was isolate the key factor.
The lenses of his mask turned orange again as he used his Detective Vision. Through the lenses, Batman could see the entirety of the city, though a blue filter covered everything he could see. In the street below, there was an orange digital trail that was comprised of floating chemicals. They snaked around the street and sidewalks, sporadic with no sense of a pattern. The trail continued West towards the rest of the explosions.
Using his grapple gun, he propelled himself back into the air, gliding with his cape. He kept his Detective Vision active as he flew above the puffs of smoke. The Bat-Computer was able to distinguish the active compounds from the explosions from the same compounds inactive form. Batman had used this technique to locate the real Joker amongst a pile of Easter Eggs from the last Easter Sunday. Much like that instance, Batman was able to get a proper pin on Rogue Joker's location.
    Batman turned off his Detective Vision and spoke into his ear piece. "Make sure you remain in contact. I know it is not exactly them, but if Freeze has the powers and the personalities of these other villains then I will be able to get you the necessary information that will help take them down."
    "Great," Ladybug said. "Anything you can tell us now?"
    "Do not underestimate them." Batman's voice came in through their earpieces quite coldly. "Freeze is already unlike anyone you have previously faced. Now that he has three very troubled personalities added on top, he truly becomes someone you do not want to take lightly."
    "You can count on us, Batman." Ladybug stated courageously. "We will save Freeze from Monarch's control."
    "And send Freeze back to Gotham were he belongs." Chat added in. Batman's face showed a little grin. He was appreciative of their hopeful optimism. He hoped to take some of that optimism back to Gotham to use that in a new adventure. Regardless, he could not focus on that for the time being, he had to concentrate on catching up to Rogue Joker. It was not hard to spot the purple clad mimic of the maniac. After all he stuck out like a sore thumb against the rest of Paris' more saturated colors.
    Rogue Joker did not see or hear Batman come swooping in behind him. Batman did a glide kick that sent Rogue Joker flying forward, and he crashed into lamppost which broke from its foundation and toppled backwards onto the sidewalk.
    "Ugh, you're not any fun Batsy," groaned Rogue Joker as he attempted to pull himself back up from the ground. Batman had already rushed over and grabbed him by the collar of suit, kneeing him in the gut a few times before tossing him back to the ground. "You always rain on my parade," he says as he tries to shoot a beam of ice at Batman but he easily avoided it. Though in doing so, it caused him to be further away from Rogue Joker.
    "You are not yourself, Victor. Put a stop to this." Batman said, throwing out two batarangs. Rogue Joker froze them in mid air and they fell harmlessly to the ground and shattered. Rogue Joker had managed to get back up on his feet and continued to shoot out more beams.
    "How very rude of you, Batman. You can't even spare the pleasantry to say my proper name. It is Arkham Rogue, and you will not stand in our way of getting the Miraculous." Rogue Joker launched a few more bombs in front of him. This created a large wall of green smoke. It was too thick for Batman to see through, even with his visor. Before he could move to another vantage point, several random ice beams shot out from the clouds, followed by maniacal laughter.
    Batman tried to predict where the next beam would come from next, but Batman would have no real way of guessing, All he had to go off of was his knowledge of the real Joker. Any time Joker would be on a power trip it would cause him to do something truly unpredictable. Batman had to remain cautious if he wanted to make it out unscathed.
    As a few more bombs were launched out, Batman had to resort to dodge rolling to get out of the way in time. Having to be on the defense like this was not what Batman would call advantageous. Especially when Rogue Joker ran out of his plum of smoke. Batman saw him but his body was still readjusting to landing on the ground after his last roll. At point blank range, Rogue Joker shot out a long lasting beam that completely incased Batman from head to toe. Rogue Joker laughed maniacally and gloated in front of the frozen Batman.
"Ha, ha! Oh this was just too easy!" Rogue Joker made a bunch of goofy faces to rub in his victory. "Oh poor Batsy, he's become a black licorice popsicle. A truly terrible way to go." Rogue Joker went into hysterics for a long moment.
Suddenly, as Rogue Joker continued to laugh his head off, the ice shattered around Batman. The flying pieces of ice caused Rogue Joker to close his eyes, inhibiting his view. He was not sure what happened, all that he knew was that the next moment that he opened his eyes, he was on the floor. Batman stood above him. The tubes of the suit was flowing with an orange substance. The Extreme Environmental Suit had kept Batman's vitals at a safe level while breaking down the ice to allow Batman to break free of it. He had just waited for the right moment to strike.
Rogue Joker was pinned to the ground, but was still able to access his bomb launcher and sent several down towards some cars that some pedestrians had hidden behind. Batman threw some Batarangs to set the explosives off early to avoid hitting the people. They ran as Rogue Joker smacked Batman with the ice gun. The force of the blow sent Batman rolling backwards.
He had to leave himself vulnerable, otherwise those people could've gotten hurt. And he did not want to learn the hard way if Ladybug's magical ladybugs could heal life threatening injuries. Instead, he took the inevitable hit and would need to resume chase. He knelt on the ground and slowly brought himself back up. Rogue Joker hadn't gotten far, indicated by the smoke plums rising from the near by buildings. However, Batman would not have the element of surprise once he caught up to him.
Chat's voice sounded from Batman's earpiece. "Uhhh, Batman. You did not tell me that Bane could be so fast!" From several blocks down, Chat Noir bounced between the tops of different cars as Rogue Bane tossed them aside as if they were made of cardboard. His veins around his neck glowed a teal color and even though it was covered by the suit, Chat could tell that his muscles had expanded since the start of the fight.
"It's the Venom in his system," Batman replied. "It enhances his physical capabilities, for several minutes. Though don't be fooled by his towering physic. This is one brute who could still out smart you in a complex game of chess if you are not careful."
"That's great and all. Whoa!" Chat had to jump over a whole car. Rogue Bane had not stopped running but instead of running past the cars, he is now using them as projectiles. "But what can I do to stand up to him?"
"You won't be able to face him hand to hand, even with your enhanced strength. Use your nimble acrobatics to your advantage. Bane might be fast and strong, but that amount of mass won't allow him to turn on dime. Use his physical prowess to your advantage."
"Okay, I will see what I can do." Chat exclaimed, as he rolled behind a car to avoid getting hit by a motorcycle that was thrown his way. Ahead of Chat was a narrow alleyway, he figured that would be a good as any place to limit Rogue Bane's movement. As Chat decided to bolt towards the alleyway, Rogue Bane had jumped on top of the car, flattening it like a pancake. With a deep roar, Rogue Bane took charge after Chat.
Rogue Bane was not wide enough to fit through the alleyway, however this did not deter him. His arms went through the walls, creating uneven lines as he ran. Chat noticed that it did slow him down, at least enough to put some comfortable distance between him and the hulking villain. Up a head of Chat was a set of two fire escapes lined exactly between each other. A mischievous grin spread on his face as he hatched a plan. As he ran up to them, he extended his baton to the fire escape on the left and then to the right, it threaded through the upper levels. Once they were secured, Chat sat atop them, like a cat on a fence post. He carefully watched Rogue Bane to make sure he timed his maneuver just right.
And timed it right he did. Chat yanked on his baton which caused both fire escapes to come crashing down onto Rogue Bane. The whole structure of the fire escapes collapsed on itself, causing all the metal barring to break into multiple parts as it laid on top of Rogue Bane. He laid there for a moment as the veins around his neck returned to normal, and his physique shrunk, only a little bit. It took Chat a second to process the fallen villain. He did a backflip and shouted out in celebration.
Though, for him, it was a victory that was short lived as the bars on top of Rogue Bane became covered in thick layer of ice. Rogue Bane's arms had burst from within, shattering the bars and sending ice and metal chunks flying everywhere. Chat Noir spun his baton in front of himself to deflect what he could, but was hit directly with a large ice beam blast. It sent him backwards back into the street against a car.
The alarm from the car started going off as Chat Noir tried to refocus his dizzying eyes. Way back in the alley, he could see Rogue Bane charging up another attack. Chat tried to get to his feet but he knew he was not going to be fast enough to get out of the way.
As the beam was shot forward, Chat felt his arm being tugged harshly. Not a second later, he was being carried off into the air. The ice beam completely froze the car, killing the alarm. Chat looked up his arm to find Ladybug holding it with one hand and swinging from her yo-yo with the other. This was not the first time that he was relieved to see Ladybug, nor would it be the last time. As Ladybug looked down at Chat to match his gaze, a long thorny vine wrapped around her stomach. Before it yanked her away, she let go of Chat's hand to keep him from being tagged away.
"Ladybug, no!" Chat Noir shouted as he stuck his hand out to her. Ladybug like wise had her hand out for a second before attempting to remove the vine from around her, but to no avail.
The vine brought her to a towering vine pillar. Rogue Ivy had been allowing it to grow during their fight with Ladybug.
Rogue Ivy started with just a few simple strands that propped them up and allowed for swifter movement. Once Rogue Ivy had gained the upper hand, they allowed their vines to take root and to truly begin to blossom. As the vines wrapped themselves around the underground pipe system, they sprouted their own vines and began to over take buildings and sidewalks. As they did, all the surfaces began to freeze over. At the center of all the vines, the tower began to be constructed. It had started off at the same height as the surrounding buildings but began to surpass them as the fight with Ladybug progressed.
Rogue Ivy did not see it necessary to physically chase after Ladybug. Their attention was focused on a light blue bud that had been growing along side the tower. Rogue Ivy was pampering the top of the bud, making sure to keep it well trimmed and ensuring it was healthy. When the vines had brought Ladybug back, Rogue Ivy did not immediately acknowledge their presence, even though Ladybug was making struggling noises as they fought against the vines' tight hold. Once Rogue Ivy was done tending to the bud, they turned their attention to Ladybug.
"Ladybug," Rogue Ivy spoke softly. "Did you really think you could escape me? I can find you just about anywhere, for my influence is now everywhere." They gestured to the streets below. "And it will only continue to grow. You could help this growth."
"Why would I ever want to help out a villain?" She questioned in a harsh tone.
"A villain? Oh no, you mistake me, Ladybug. My intentions are pure. For all I want is to bring back my wife."
"Your... wife?" A hint of geniuine sorrow came from her voice. Though her guard was not lowered.
"Yes, my sweet Nora. She means the world to me. I want to bring her back using the Miraculous. But before I can bring her back, I too must restore the world to a better, more green future. You could help us, Ladybug. You hold the power of creation, you could make the world better."
"I will make it better, but by stopping you and Monarch!" Ladybug swung her skate up into the air and brought it down on top of the vine. It was able to cut off the portion that held her in place. Rogue Ivy let out a small annoyed grunt as Ladybug jumped away and landed on top of a roof. Her skates slid along the frozen rooftop. Ladybug bolted using her skates to propel her faster than running on ice would accomplish.
Rogue Ivy grew more vines and sent them directly to Ladybug. The vines tried to jab from the air and sweep at Ladybug's feet and head. However, Ladybug was able to dodge each one of the vines. She even managed to pull off a few tricks and spins in mid-air as she mowed down the onslaught of vines.
"That is not very green thumb of you, Ladybug." Rogue Ivy stated as they made vines twirl around themselves. The vines created a basket for Rogue Ivy to stand in and was carried towards where Ladybug was running. "Perhaps a blue frostbitten thumb would be a better look for you." From the nozzle of the watering gun came a powder like substance, which looked like dark blue snowflakes.
As they made contact with the roof, blue flowers began to bloom, their stems decorated with light blue thorns. As Ladybug approached, the thorns shot out towards her. She was able to block the attack with her yo-yo, but the other thorns that landed near her began to rapidly fire out a layer of ice shards.
The flowers and the thorns grew larger, and so did their area of effect with their ice layers. Ladybug continued to spin her yo-yo to block further attacks. The larger thorns proved to be harder to handle, causing more strain on her arm to continue the high speed spins. Ladybug jumped backwards to get out of range of the thorns.
While she retreated, Rogue Ivy had began to close the gap and throw out more vine to attack Ladybug. This time, the vines made contact with her, knocking Ladybug around. Rogue Ivy managed to get in front of Ladybug and created a large fist of thorny vines. They forced the vines to  jab forward at Ladybug as she was distracted with the other vines. Ladybug was sent flying over a few buildings before crashing back onto the street.
Ladybug groaned in pain as she sat up. It was the first time she realized how much the ice had slowly been spreading. She could see that the frozen buildings had people inside of them, they were crying out to her. Ladybug's brow furrowed and she grimaced her teeth in an angry snarl. She felt frustrated beyond belief that she was helpless to free those people right away. The only solace she felt was that once the three of them defeated Arkham Rogue that all the ice and destruction would disappear. But they needed a plan, and a plan fast.