In the darkness, a cold metallic hand held a snow globe depicting a beautiful woman dancing in a winter wonderland.
"This is how I'll always remember you; Surrounded by winter forever young, forever beautiful." A cold robotic tone spoke up with a tone of somberness mixed in. "Rest now, my love. The monster who took you from me will soon learn that revenge is a dish...BEST SERVED COLD."
As the owner of the hand spoke this, a pair of glowing red goggles glowed in the darkness, the eyes behind them narrowing in anger...
MIRACULOUS
At a local restaurant, Adrien was having lunch with Marinette, Bruce, Peter, and a very special guest; Jagged Stone himself. It had been a week since the issue with Lila and Mysterio and besides the minor bouts of crimefighting, it had been a relatively slow week.
"Geez, snow in August?" Peter asked as he watched the nearby TV showcasing a news report on a string of 'cold crimes' targeting GothCorp, a sibling company to Wayne Co. whose CEO had been old friends with Thomas back in the day. "And what's this about a Freezing Gun?"
"Sounds like something Bruce's company would use to make instant snow cones?" Adrien playfully suggested.
Marinette couldn't help but snort at Adrien's joke while Bruce rolled his eyes, currently texting on his phone to Lucius Fox, CEO of Wayne Tech and one of his trusted friends and cohorts in handling the business side of things in Wayne Co...not to mention the technology.
"So Adrien, I know how much you like my music, so I have a surprise for you." Jagged Stone spoke up, getting Adrien's attention.
"Really?"
"Hold out your hands, and close your eyes."
Adrien did as he was told and Jagged made a shushing motion to Marinette, Bruce, and Peter as he excitedly put a CD in Adrien's hands.
"Alright, open 'em!"
Adrien looked down at the CD he had just been given and his eyes widened with sparkles in them. It was honestly adorable, Marinette thought.
Jagged smiled. "It's my latest album, not even released, and autographed."
"F-For me?"
"All for my favorite lil bloke." Jagged chuckled. "Oh, and guess who designed the cover?"
Marinette blushed shyly as Jagged gestured to her, waving bashfully at Adrien, who stared at her in amazement.
"C-Can I have your autograph too, Marinette?"
That definitely threw Marinette for a loop to be sure. Eventually, excitement overtook her heart as she nodded happily, accepting the marker offered to her and singing the CD.
"This is the coolest lunch I have ever been to! Thank you so much, Mr. Sto…I mean, Uncle Jagged! Thank you, Marinette!"
Marinette giggled. "You're welcome, Adrien."
Jagged, Bruce, and Peter smiled at just how happy the two of them were. However, a text alert from Lucius got Bruce's attention and he frowned at what he had been shown; it was the things that had been stolen from the GothCorp raids.
Alone, they didn't seem like much, but when put together, they became a massive weapon able to generate intense cold. There was only one component missing and only one plant at GothCorp made it.
Seems like the week was picking up for Batman tonight.
MIRACULOUS
As the night rolled in, a large vehicle was moving fast toward the GothCorp production plant. The security guards barely noticed and got out of the way in time as the vehicle crashed through the toll gate.
Fortunately, the Batmobile was in hot pursuit, and just up above, a familiar red and blue-clad figure was swinging on webs overhead.
"We got company!" The driver of the vehicle said when he noticed the Batmobile from the rearview mirror.
"Keep your mind on the road. I'll handle this."
The back of the vehicle opened up and an armored arm reached out, carrying a high-tech cannon-like apparatus that fired a beam of cold energy that created instant ice, a sheet forming over the street and causing the Batmobile to swerve out of control.
"Bruce!" Spider-Man exclaimed as he dove down and fired enough webs to make a giant grappling hook that latched onto the back of the Batmobile and perched himself on a nearby lamppost as he pulled.
Seeing what Spidey was doing, Batman moved his car while putting his foot off the gas and turned. Fortunately, the Batmobile was able to stop itself before it crashed into anything but it was clear the heroes would have to go on foot now.
As the vehicle approached the GothCorp plant, a hatch in the roof opened up as the same cold gun peeked out and blasted the shutter door, freezing it solid and allowing the vehicle to smash on through.
After getting inside the plant, the back of the vehicle opened up and the driver plus several other thugs clad in winter gear jumped out. Following behind them was their apparent leader; a man clad in a high-tech battle suit colored in various icy shades of grey, white, black, and blue equipped with the cold gun. His head was covered by a protective dome, his skin appeared to be a cold blue, and his eyes were covered by red goggles.
"Load those canisters and hurry."
As the thugs got to work, the armored man made sure the security couldn't intervene by freezing the doors shut. However, Batman and Spider-Man were quick to jump down and make their presence known, Batman dive-kicking one thug, who was pushed into another while Spider-Man webbed the other two and sent them flying through the air.
"Freeze!" Batman ordered as he pointed to the boss.
"That's Mr. Freeze to you." The armored man corrected as he aimed his cold gun and fired.
Batman and Spider-Man quickly moved out of the way of the blast, the former throwing a batarang at the so-called Mr. Freeze, only for him to shoot it with his cold gun, turning it into a crescent icicle that shattered harmlessly on the ground.
"This is a personal vendetta. It doesn't concern either of you." Mr. Freeze said, keeping his gun trained on the two heroes.
"It's our concern now," Batman said as he got on guard.
"Yeah, and you do realize Christmas isn't for another four months, right?" Spider-Man pointed out. "Just saying, you might want to hold off on the Winter Wonderland works."
"Since you ally yourselves with my enemies, you leave me no choice."
Mr. Freeze opened fire, forcing Batman and Spider-Man to go on the move. The thugs also took cover to avoid getting accidentally frozen by their boss.
Seeing as his opponents were too quick, Mr. Freeze froze the area that Batman was about to land on, which happened to be a walkway. As soon as he landed, the frozen part shattered and Batman fell.
"Batman!" Spider-Man called out as he moved to help his friend, only for Mr. Freeze to fire on both of them.
Batman shielded himself with his cape and Spider-Man formed a thick web dome over the both of them, the cold energy freezing it solid. Seeing as the two heroes were indisposed at the moment, Mr. Freeze ordered his men to load the last of the canisters into their vehicle before escaping.
With their combined strength, Batman and Spider-Man broke out of the frozen web dome just in time to see the vehicle driving off. Silently cursing to himself, Batman shivered as the cold started getting to him.
"Yeah, we should get out of here before we catch cold."
MIRACULOUS
"AAACHOO!"
SNIFFLE
"You okay, Tiger?" Mary Jane asked at school the next day.
"Yeah, no big deal," Peter said, blowing his nose. "I was out late last night doing errands and must have caught a small cold."
Mary Jane smiled warmly and handed Peter her togo mug.
"It's just green tea. I find it helps."
Peter graciously took a small sip and wiped the mug before handing it back to the girl of his dreams.
"Thanks, MJ."
The girl smiled warmly and gently patted away sweat from Peter's forehead, then moving onto to placing her hand on his shoulder.
"You do a lot for people, But make sure to leave some you time, okay?" She suggested. "I'm pretty sure the gang can handle things without you once in a whilem especially with Bruce around."
Where he an average teen, Peter would've taken that worry into consideration. Oh what he wouldn't give to be able to do just that; to just forget about other people. To trust Bruce, Mari and Adrian to handle things.
But he knew better.
'With Great Power, comes Great responsibility.'
And Responsibility didn't allow such freedom. Not unless he could live with another good man gunned down before his time by some punk….
Besides, saving people and knowing he did good? That was rewarding in and off itself.
"Say, where is Bruce right now?" Mary Jane asked, bringing Peter out of his musings as she glanced around. "I didn't see him at attendance check; something happen?"
Her eyes widened as a horrifying idea came over her.
"Did his injuries from that fall come back worse or…?'
"Oh, no! No, no. Nothing like that." Peter assured her. "He told me he has a meeting with Ferris Boyle, the CEO of GothCorp."
Mary Jane let out a sigh of relief before her brow furrowed when she saw who Bruce was meeting with.
"Humanitarian of the year fella, right?"
"Yep." Peter smiled, then noticed the redhead's frown. "…You not a fan of his?"
"Lets just say he's an actor in his own way." Mary Jane explained. "And I don't mean stage or screen."
The bell then rang for the next class, but Peter quickly shot Bruce a text, asking him to be careful
MIRACULOUS
"Bruce! It's been forever, how've you been?" Ferris Boyle smiled warmly as Bruce came into his office, pulling the young man into a hug. "Still the terror of the Gotham night scene? Or maybe you're still the ladykiller by the Eiffel Tower and Lady Liberty?"
Bruce chuckled. "I get around when I can. School and all, ya know?"
"Ah, fair, fair. Still, you're looking more and more like your old man every day, I have to say," Ferris said. "He'd honestly love seeing how much you've grown."
"Yeah..." Bruce smiled sadly. "Speaking of terror, what's this I hear about someone causing trouble for GothCorp?"
Ferris shrugged. "You got me. Some fruitcake has it out for my company, I don't know why."
"Maybe it's an investor who lost money or an angry ex-employee," Bruce suggested. "You do tend to be hard on some of your workers here and there."
"There's only one man who'd hate GothCorp that much...if he were even still alive." Ferris said. "Victor Fries..."
"Victor Fries?" Bruce asked. "The cryogenics genius?"
"Yup; he was one of our best scientists years back. The only problem was he was obsessed with something to the point that he resorted to using company equipment without authorization." Ferris explained. "It was costing the company money. MY money."
"Did you ever figure out what he was doing?" Bruce asked.
"I couldn't tell you because honestly, I couldn't care less," Ferris said. "My security force and I went after him. There was a fight and he ended up getting killed in the scuffle."
"I know what he was doing was wrong, but he had to have had a good reason," Bruce suggested.
"Bruce, you and I know as well as anybody that when the wage slaves start acting like they can take over things, you gotta draw the line," Ferris said. "Listen, I know GothCorp always goes on about being 'the people company' but it's not as sugar and spicey as we'd like it to really be, do we?"
Bruce narrowed his eyes. Despite being a good friend of his father, Ferris was notoriously tight-fisted when it came to these things and despite GothCorp doing a lot of good for humanitarian efforts, Ferris wasn't exactly the best boss to his employees either, even if he didn't outright abuse them.
"Sir, the humanitarian committee is here." Came Ferris' secretary on the line.
"I'll be right out," Ferris answered as he prepared to leave. "Sorry to cut things short, Bruce. We're hosting a ceremony tonight for Gotham's Humanitarian Industrialist of the Year. Hope to see you there?"
"I feel ill..." Bruce said with a frown before sniffling. "Excuse me, I picked up a mild cold last night. I'll need to be off for right now."
With that, Bruce left the office and made his way back to the limo driven by Alfred. It was clear now that he needed to do some digging on this "Victor Fries"...
MIRACULOUS
Sitting in the frozen-over warehouse that he had made his hideout, Mr. Freeze scowled as he saw Ferris Boyle on the news, giving a speech regarding the attacks on GothCorp as well as his upcoming ceremony for Gotham's Industrialist Humanitarian of the Year award.
"Humanity...Compassion...CHARITY!" Mr. Freeze snarled as he froze the TV before punching it into a million frozen shards as he turned to a large tube filled with an icy blue liquid holding a beautiful woman in suspended animation. "Where were those pretty words when SHE needed to hear them?!"
"The device is almost finished, Boss!" One of his thugs called out as he and the others were putting it together with the parts they had stolen.
"Good. The cannon must be completed tonight." Mr. Freeze said as he oversaw the construction. "I have my own warm wishes to bestow on Mr. Boyle..."
MIRACULOUS
In the Batcave, Bruce invited Peter, Marinette, and Adrien to look over what was known about Victor Fries.
"While I was talking with Ferris, he mentioned something about an accident involving one of his scientists. I looked it up and then I remembered a headline from last year."
"Does it say what caused the accident, sir?" Alfred asked.
Bruce looked over the news files but found nothing.
"Something tells me Mr. Boyle is covering something up," Peter noted.
"We're going to need to look through GothCorp's classified files to see just what Ferris is hiding," Bruce said.
"Well, Mom and Dad are attending the ceremony tonight. That'll let me give you a backstage pass in." Adrien suggested.
"I guess Peter and I will wait on the sidelines." Marinette hummed.
MIRACULOUS
A few hours later, the ceremony was in full swing but Batman was going in stealthily. Adrien was attending the party with his parents and acting as the cover guy at the moment while Bruce, Peter, and Marinette snuck into the security room.
"This is a REALLY bad idea!" Ladybug whispered as Batman, disguised as a security guard, used a keycard he swiped to access the file room.
"Bad idea or not, Ol' Ferris Wheel has gotta have some dirt," Spider-Man whispered back as he crawled on the ceiling.
Looking through the files after taking off his disguise, Batman found one that was labeled 'TOP SECRET' and searched through it before finding old photos of a man, most likely Victor Fries, happy with a beautiful woman as well as what looked like a data disk containing a video recording and blueprints for some kind of stasis chamber using cold fusion energy to put a body in suspended animation.
"What's this?" Ladybug asked as she saw a medical report in the file as well, checking it over with Batman and Spider-Man.
[Nora Fries]
Diagnosis: Positive
Prognosis: Terminal
"Victor had a wife who was sick..." Batman noted before checking the data disk next, taking out a USB Drive and plugging it into the nearby computer.
The video that played showed who appeared to be Victor Fries, looking like he was making a recording as he stood beside the stasis chamber, which held the woman in the pictures in suspended animation in an icy blue liquid.
"My name is Dr. Victor Fries. I am recording what I pray will be mankind's first step toward immortality. Behind me, you see the CC-100, a cryogenic freezing chamber of my own design." He said as he gestured to the machine. "I created it for the express purpose of freezing subjects stricken with inoperable ailments. Subjects like...my beloved wife, Nora. Once a remedy has been found..."
Suddenly the sound of banging was heard as the doors to the lab were kicked open by Ferris Boyle, backed by security guards.
"Fries! Get away from that equipment right now!"
"Stop! This is my experiment!" Victor argued as he tried to placate Ferris.
"Your UNAUTHORIZED experiment that I ordered to have the funding pulled for." Ferris snapped back. "You're already putting the company three million in debt with this fiasco!"
"You can't stop it now, my wife is in there!"
"So just let her out!" Ferris said, not even seeing or caring what the big deal was.
"You can't interrupt the process now! It's her only chance!"
"This is MY equipment, Victor!" Ferris snapped. "I have every legal right to use it or not use it as I see fit and I say this project ends NOW!"
In anger, Victor moved to attack Ferris to try and stop him. The two struggled before Ferris kicked Victor back, causing him to crash into various cryogenic chemicals that dosed him in coolant gas and other liquids.
"Everyone, get out! Evacuate the building!" Ferris ordered the guards as they fled the lab, not wanting them or anyone else to be caught up in what was happening.
Victor, miraculously still alive, weakly reached out to the CC-100 where Nora was kept suspended. He placed a hand over the glass, leaving a handprint of coolant over it as he collapsed.
"Nora! Nora...!"
And just like that, the video ended. Ladybug had covered her mouth in horror and both Batman and Spider-Man looked positively sickened, the latter at a loss for words for once.
"My god..."
"Yes."
Startled by the new voice, the young truio turned to see Mr. Freeze himself at the door.
"It would move me to tears if I still had tears to shed."
The three heroes couldn't react as a searing blast of cold hit all three of them and everything went black...
MIRACULOUS
The next thing Ladybug knew when she came to, she felt like she was being hanged upside-down and the air was chilly and crisp like she was out in the snowy mountains. As she came to, she saw something that made her gasp; the same CC-100 from the video recording, and inside it was Nora, still preserved in cryogenic suspension.
"The snow is beautiful, don't you think?" Came the voice of Mr. Freeze. "Clean, uncompromising..."
"And cold." Ladybug could hear Batman mutter.
"Like the swift hand of vengeance."
"We saw what happened, Victor. We're sorry." Spider-Man said sincerely. "If you can just give us a chance, we can help you; bring Boyle down…"
"I'm beyond emotions. They've been frozen dead in me." Mr. Freeze coldly replied.
"That suit you wear...a result of the chemicals you were exposed to?" Batman asked.
Mr. Freeze nodded. "Very astute of you. I can no longer survive outside of a sub-zero environment. Tonight I intend to pay back the one who ruined my life...OUR lives."
"Even if you have to put who knows how many people at risk to do it?" Ladybug asked. "Would Nora even want this?!"
Mr. Freeze turned his attention to the young rookie hero, who flinched at the sheer icy menace he exhumed toward her as he approached. Ladybug closed her eyes fearfully, expecting him to hurt her, but instead, he tenderly placed a hand over the glass of Nora's cryogenic chamber.
"Think of it; to never again walk on a Summer's day with a hot wind in your face...and a warm hand to hold." He said softly. "Yes...I would KILL for that."
With that, Mr. Freeze turned and left, his thugs following close behind. As soon as they were gone, Batman grunted as he moved to break free of his icy restraints. Spider-Man fired a web toward an icicle and pulled it into his hand, which he then used to smash the ice holding his legs up and coming down. Batman had done the same but had to manually reach for it with his hands.
With both veteran heroes free, they moved to free Ladybug next. After making sure their surrogate little sister was alright, they then went over to Nora's cryo-pod, where Batman's utility belt had been placed on the side by Mr. Freeze earlier.
"For such a genius, he sure made an amauter mask." Spider-Man noted.
"I'm not so sure." Ladybug mused. "maybe, despite what he says, Dr. Fries knows this is wrong and left the belt there in case we got out. And on the subject: What are we going to do about Nora?"
"I'll send Lucius to pick her up. WayneTech will find a way to help." Batman said as the trio left to stop Mr. Freeze.
MIRACULOUS
The completed Freeze Cannon arrived at the GothCorp tower where the ceremony was being held. Mr. Freeze and his thugs disembarked after parking in front as Victor looked up at the building.
"Keys, sir?" The chauffeur asked, holding out a hand.
All the poor fellow got was a cold glare, making him nervously back away. He then made a gesture to his henchmen, who piloted the Freeze Cannon and aimed it straight at the building, charging up as the vats bubbled before firing a massive beam of cold energy at Mr. Freeze's command.
As the ceremony was going on, Adrien had been helping himself to some of the hors d'oeuvres before looking out the window and seeing the Freeze Cannon firing, looking down just enough to see ice creeping up the building.
"Uh-Oh..."
Quickly, Adrien ran to his parents and got Gabriel's attention.
"Dad, I just remembered that Marinette is waiting for me downstairs. I was gonna help her with homework tonight!"
Gabriel shot Emile a look, the woman herself chuckling at her son's apparent slip of the mind and how he clearly fancied this girl. Seeing no harm in this (and partly to stop Adrian from cleaning out the best of the hors d'oeuveres), she nodded to her husband.
"Well, if her parents are there as well, then it's okay." Gabriel sighed. "Just...be safe."
"I will, Dad."
As soon as Adrien found a safe spot out of the ballroom, he then put on his ring as Plagg popped out of his jacket pocket.
"Trouble, kid?" the cat kwami asked, stifling a yawn.
"Yeah, big trouble," Adrien said before thrusting his ring out. "PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!"
MIRACULOUS
Batman, Spider-Man, and Ladybug had made it to GothCorp to see Mr. Freeze was already freezing it over with his Freeze Cannon. Knowing they needed to act quickly, they made sure to avoid being seen before sneaking up on the thugs manning the cannon.
Before the thug manning the power panel could double the output of the cannon, Spider-Man webbed his hand to the controls before diving down and kicking him upside the head. Mr. Freeze noticed the heroes and fired his cold gun but they jumped past him, Batman taking out the second thug in the process.
"Alright, I can do this..." Ladybug said as she looked over the controls to see what turned them off before taking a leap of faith and pressing a big red button...which worked. "Yes! The big red button always works!"
Angrily, Mr. Freeze fled from the truck as he kicked open a fire hydrant before using his cold gun to freeze the gushing water and propel himself to the ballroom, crashing through the windows and shocking everyone.
"The cold eyes of vengeance are upon you, Boyle."
"W-Who are you?" Ferris asked.
"Come now; surely you remember your old colleague, VICTOR FRIES."
"Victor..." Emilie gasped in recognition, Gabriel's eyes also widening.
Before Ferris could react to the fact that the man he thought dead was still alive, Mr. Freeze fired his cold gun and slowly began freezing him from the bottom up.
"No...NO!" He panicked. "S-S-Stop! Please! I-I b-beg you!"
"You...BEG?" Mr. Freeze asked coldly as he stopped. "In my nightmares, I see my Nora behind the glass, begging to me with frozen eyes. How I've longed to see that look frozen on YOU!"
Mr. Freeze's wrist then protruded a vibrating pick as he raised it to skewer Ferris through the face, only for him to be knocked off-course by webbing hitting his helmet, making him stumble back as he pulled it off, just in time for Batman, Spider-Man, Ladybug, and Chat Noir to run in.
"Glad to see you guys made it in time!" Chat smirked.
"Not now, Chatton," Ladybug said. "We need to turn up the heat on this guy!"
Batman moved first, knocking Mr. Freeze off his feet and making him tumble but despite his bulky suit, he got up with surprising speed as Spider-Man rushed in and tried to hit him a few times, only to find the armor absorbing the blows before being grabbed and thrown into the snow.
"The advanced circuitry that powers my suit also triples my strength!" Mr. Freeze boasted.
Chat Noir took out his baton and extended it, trying to smack Mr. Freeze around only for him to grab it and yank, sending Chat flying through the air before crashing into the hors d'oeuvres table.
"Awww come on! This is definitely not a dish to serve cold!"
Ladybug moved and tried to strike Mr. Freeze with her yo-yo, only for him to have the string wrapped around his arm and pull her into a chokehold. Batman, Spider-Man, and Chat Noir moved to try and help, only for Mr. Freeze to release drones from the backpack part of his suit to hold them off.
Spider-Man leapt upwards, webbed one drone to slam iunto another then leapt onto another to punch yet another into a wall. This left Chat and Batman to deal with one each, Batman with a single batarang and Chat with a charging up 'Cataclsym' and he kept forward, hoping to damage Freeze's suit enough to save Ladybug.
Meanwhile, Mr. Freeze glared at the sole heroine struggling in his grasp. Once upon a time, he'd have never wished her harm. Once upon a time, her question about Nora may have made him pause and maybe even stop. But not this time. She was in his way and he had come to far to be denied.
"Sooner or later all who stand in my way...must feel the icy touch of DEATH!"
"Then maybe...you need...TO WARM UP!" Ladybug shouted back as she swung her yo-yo upwards. "LUCKY CHARM!"
Manifesting in Marinette's hand was a red jar filled with something warm and decorated with ladybug spots. She then smashed the jar over Mr. Freeze's helmet, cracking the glass and spreading a hot liquid over it that caused it to shatter, making him gasp as he began to choke, steam venting out of his suit as he began overheating from being exposed to temperatures above sub-zero.
"What was that, Milady?" Chat Noir asked as he, Batman, and Spider-Man finished off the drones.
"The only way to fight a cold, Chatton." Ladybug smiled. "Chicken Soup!"
"It...can't...end this way...Vengeance...!" Mr. Freeze choked out, having collapsed onto the snow in a desperate bid to keep himself cold enough to survive while reaching out to the still half-frozen and shivering Ferris.
"No...JUSTICE." Batman firmly said before turning to see Emilie and Gabriel approaching.
"He's been alive this whole time..." Emilie whispered.
"You know him?" The World's greatest detective asked.
"Know him? He was going to be Adrian's godfather!" Gabriel remarked, missing the shocked look on Chat Noir's face. "Victor was my best friend growing up. And Nora helped Emilie and I meet. Without their support, I doubt we'd be where we are now."
"G-Gab-Gabriel…?" Freeze struggled, seeming to make out his friend's voice.
"The last time we saw them was at what was supposed to be their wedding; before…." Emilie began, fighting back the memories; Notre Dame, a beautiful ceremony, baby Adrian in her arms, Nora and Victor looking so happy…and then Nora falling to the ground, her condition coming back with a vengeance.
The Agreste parents then found themselves being handed a USB.
"This will be explain everything." Was all the Caped crusader said. "Watch it for yourselves and then send it to Commissioner Gordon."
Batman then approached the shivering Ferris with a glare even colder than anything Mr. Freeze could create, deciding to have some final words to his family's now-former friend.
"Good night...HUMANATARIAN."
And with that, the heroes all left, saying nothing but being sure to glare or even flip off Ferris as they left.
MIRACULOUS
In Arkham Asylum, the special prison that had been made to contain the 'supercriminals' from all corners of New York, Mr. Freeze, without his suit, sat alone in his icy cell. Considering that he was ultimately a victim in the grand scheme of things, despite going to extreme lengths to take revenge, the parole board had opted that, should he show good behavior, he might be let out early.
Bruce had also come to visit and tell him that Nora was okay, being kept safe at WayneTech, where the top scientists and doctors working there were working their hardest to find a cure for her illness. While it did lift Victor's spirits somewhat, the man still had a debt to pay back to society.
"I failed you...I wish there were another way for me to say it...I cannot." Victor weakly said to the snow globe that Nora had given to him on their anniversary many years ago. "I can only beg your forgiveness and pray you hear me somehow. Someplace...where a warm hand waits for mine..."
With tears in his eyes, Victor bowed his head in sorrow, sitting alone in his cold, lonely cell. Outside of Arkham, Batman could only watch somberly before turning to leave, wishing he could do more to help the broken soul known as Victor Fries.
MIRACULOUS
Ferris Boyle, once one of the most powerful and respected men in town, was brought to Blackgate Prison, and to his displeasure, he would be sharing his room.
"Well, well, well!" His cellmate, hidden in the corner and shuffling cards, mused. "The new guy and me; bunking!"
His cordial tone turned to a growl.
"I'd be elated if it was anyone but you."
Ferris sighed, having heard enough spews of hatred to last a lifetime at this point.
"Look, I what I did to…"
"Oh, no, no, no! Its not what you did to that ice nerd that pissed me off!" The inmate mused. "In fact, I found the whole thing hilarious; funniest thing I've read in years!"
The man stopped shuffling his cards and instead reached into his pocket to reveal a shank.
"No, I hate you, Boyle me boy…"
He slowly turned, letting Boyle get a clear look of him.,
"…because you stole my voice."
"No...NO! NOT YOU! STAY BACK!"
The man's mouth stretched into a vile, wicked, twisted grin, his green eyes glimmering in the darkness as he slowly began to chuckle...which then burst into a full-on laugh as Ferris' screams echoed through the prison complex. Throughout it all, the man had one other thing on his mind.
"New York...Gotham...Paris...the three big powers that rule this land...always brings a smile to my face. But those two new kids in their fancy pajamas, thinking they can follow in the same footsteps as Ol' Batsy? WAIT 'TIL THEY GET A LOAD OF ME."
Knightmare Lord A/N:
This chapter was COOL...pun entirely intended and I regret nothing.
Also, all you Bat-Fans may recognize who Ferris Boyle's cellmate is at the end there...and if you can figure out what he meant by 'stealing his voice', you get a virtual cookie!
Anything you'd like to say, Mrotrax?
Mrotrax A/N:
*CHEF'S KISS*
100/10. One of the best episodes of Batman TAS, done wonderfully.
I hope Peter and Mary Jane's bit was okay; wanted to show off some of Peter's guilt over that fateful night, but also highlight how he does enjoy being Spider-Man.
Had a line about Adrian complaining about Marinette making a nice pun before the final battle, but it felt out of place and I left it out:
'Oh, so I make puns and it's annoying, but she does it and not only is it pretty good, but it's cute?...Oh, who am I kidding, I love it and her.'
Also tried to have JJJ show up and give his usual spiel, but it too felt out of place.
Finally, the Nora and Victor bit with Emile and Gabriel was inspired by Fanscription's take on 'Batman and Robin', it is long but give it a watch if you can.
Next time we return to an OG Spidey villain; a recurring member of the Sinister Six who HAS had a movie appearance…but those are the only hints you're getting!
See ya soon!