Hey. Hope you all enjoyed my first chapter, because the story is going to get even better! Here is chapter 2!

The Raccoon, the Panther, and the Divine Gods

Chapter 2- Michael's Interrogation

It was 10:00 pm, and Michael Cooper was watching a Sci-Fi movie. He was quite a handsome young man. Although he has inherited his mother's fox like fur, he was technically a raccoon. He also has his father's eyes, as well as his habit of being very charming. This was made obvious during his last year in middle school. He was constantly putting the charm on all the ladies in the hope he could land himself a girlfriend. But alas, they keep shooting him down. 'Guess I'm not quite as good as my dad is.' he thought as he went home for the summer.

"But I'll do a lot better when I start high school, now that I got a few pointers from dad," said Michael with a smirk. Just when his movie had reached its climax, the front door to the house knocked. Michael, looking a little peeved from turning away from the most exciting part of his movie, muted the TV and got up to the door. "Mom, dad, is that you?" The voice that came from the door was not either of his parents. "Michael Cooper, this is Lieutenant Barkley, your parent's boss. May I come in and have a word with you?"

Puzzled, Michael opened the door and let Barkley entered. He turned to Michael. "I think you need to sit down." They both sat on the couch, the TV now turned off. Michael looked very nervous; he had never met Barkley before. "Mr. Barkley, sir, I don't know what my parents have said about me, but I'm telling you I didn't do anything illegal!" Barkley shook his head. "No, no, it's nothing like that. Your parents have told me that you are a nice boy with a good head on his shoulders. I've even heard you are a hit with the ladies." he said with a laugh. Michael grumbled a little.

The old badger then looked suddenly serious. "Actually, son, your parents are the reason why I'm here. Something has happened to them, and I think you should be the first to know." Michael looked at Barkley with surprise and worry. "What about my parents? What's happened to them?" Barkley took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but your parents have been…taken." Now Michael was upset. "Taken?! But how?! Who took them?! Why?!"

"Take it easy, son, and I'll explain." Michael nodded and waited to hear what happened. "I sent your parents to investigate a museum robbery a few hours ago, and during that time, the robber caught them off guard and captured them. We don't know who took them or why. We don't even know how they disappeared without a trace, but all we know about the robber is that it was a woman." Michael, tears flowing out of his eyes, looked at him in anger. "I don't understand! Weren't there other policemen there to help them?!"

Barkley looked sad. "All the guards at the museum were knocked out by the robber before your parents vanished. No one else could have helped them, I'm sorry." At this point Michael covered his face with his hands, sobbing hard. Barkley got up. "Listen Michael, your parents were good people, and I promise you we will do everything in our power to find them and bring the kidnapper to justice. Now, do you have any relatives or friends you can stay with a while?" Michael looked up and nodded.

"Alright then, I suggest you give them a call and ask them to take you in for a while. Everything will be okay, alright?" The young raccoon nodded again as Barkley got up and headed for the door. "I have to get back to the office. I'll let you know if we find anything, okay?" "Alright, sir." said an upset Michael. "Well then, good night Michael. Take care." He was about to close the door behind him when Michael asked him one more question. "Sir, are you sure you don't know anything else about what happened in that museum? There had to be at least one witness, right?"

The badger looked strangely uncomfortable and shifted his position, as if he had something else to say, but he couldn't say it. "Well…there was one museum guard who saw the whole incident. His name is Sam Wells, a rooky. However, what he saw was considered classified by Interpol. I can't tell you anything regarding that matter. Good night, son." Barkley then closed the door, leaving Michael alone with his thoughts.

'My mom and my dad…kidnapped! And the police don't know who took them! Or do they?' Michael sat down on the couch again, pondering what Barkley said. 'He told me he can't say anything because it was classified.' Despite that he was very upset about his parents, Michael suddenly smirked. ' Sam Wells, huh? Maybe I should pay him a little visit in his home tonight…' Michael immediately went into the kitchen and found the phonebook. He quickly found Sam's address. After he memorized it, he picked up the nearby phone and called some old friends of his dad.

Unfortunately, he got an answer machine instead. 'Darn! I'll just leave a message and try again later…after my trip to Mr. Wells.' His message explained that what happened to Sly and Carmelita and asked them to get to the house as quickly as possible. After hanging up, he went into his father's room, picked up his dad's old master thief outfit (which by a miracle fit Michael) and a mask that covered his whole face. He put them on and headed out into the night.

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Sam Wells, a 20-year old bear, had just finished his classified report for Interpol and went to get himself a cup of coffee. He still couldn't believe what he saw in that museum; it was just too unbelievable. He took a sip and went back to his office/room. When closed the door behind him and turned in front again, he immediately froze. There was someone in the room waiting for him. Wells couldn't see who it was, for the lights were broken by the stranger and he was completely in the shadows.

"Hello, Mr. Wells. What do you say we have a chat?" the stranger said in a masked voice. Wells was about to reach for his gun, but the intruder jumped in front of him and held a knife to his throat. "Uh-uh-uhh." he said while shaking his head. The young bear stood stock still, with his hands up. "Who are you?! What do you want from me?!" The intruder looked at him with anger. "Sit down, please." Wells immediately sat down on the chair beside him. The masked man took another chair and sat down, so that they were eye-level.

"Now then, let's get down to business. You saw what happened in the museum when it was robbed, didn't you?" The young officer looked stunned by this statement, but nodded his head nonetheless. "Now, I would like for you to tell me what it was that you've seen. And I suggest that you tell me quickly, before I lose my patience." Wells nodded again with fear in his eyes.

"Well, I was just waking from the robber's attack; it was while the lights were out. Somehow, all the lights, cameras, and security systems were disabled. I saw the robber standing in front of 2 Interpol officers, while holding the stolen item; an ancient looking headband." The man interrupted. "Who were the 2 officers standing in front of the robber?" "They were Sly and Carmelita Cooper. They were sent to investigate the robbery." The man allowed Wells to continue.

"The robber was a woman, judging by her voice." "Did she say anything?" "She said something about "Sly marrying Carmelita was the last thing she expected him to do." I don't know what that was about, but I know what that when she took off her hood, the Coopers looked shocked. I think that she may be someone they knew..." The masked man held the knife closer to Wells' throat. "This woman, did you see what she looked like?" Wells shook his head.

"I don't know; I was behind the thief when I woke up, so I couldn't see her face. Before the Coopers could do anything else, she attacked them and lay on the floor, out cold. She put her hood back on and said something about "completing phase 1 and moving on to phase 2." The robber then raised the headband up and I saw this blinding light. It lasted for a few seconds, and then the robber and the Coopers were all gone. The headband had also vanished. I was told to keep all this information classified; no one should know those details about that incident."

They were both silent for a moment, and Wells got the nerve to speak again. "Look pal, I don't know who you are but I swear I will…" The man put the knife's tip on the Well's neck; just barely touching it, but not enough to make it bleed. "You will tell NO ONE about our little chat, got it?! Now before I leave, I have one more question for you: What do you know about this "ancient headband" the woman thief had stolen?"

Wells shook his head in fear. "I don't know. I know nothing about that headband!" "Liar! Now tell me the truth!" "It is the truth, man! I don't know about that headband anymore than I know the woman's identity!" Suddenly, Wells and the masked man heard footsteps heading their way. The man turned back to Wells. "Guess our conversation is over, Mr. Wells. Remember, tell no one about me, not even Interpol! Got it?" He nodded as the man opened the window and jumped out, vanishing from sight.

When the bedroom door opened, it was Sally, Sam's college girlfriend. She looked concerned. "Sam, honey, I heard you shouting while I was downstairs. Is everything alright, baby?" Sam looked at her, then to the window, and back to her again. "Oh, it…was nothing. I…just fell asleep while I was getting my paper work done. I just woke up from a nightmare, that's all." But what had just happened was no nightmare, and he knew it.

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Back at the Cooper house, Michael had just returned through his bedroom window. His night time interrogation with Wells worked perfectly. 'I was over doing it a bit, but hey, it got all the info I needed. I just wish I knew what the deal was with that strange headband, and how my parents knew the woman who had stolen it…' He took off his mask and thief outfit and laid them on the bed. He was on his way to the kitchen when he saw a huge shadow coming from the kitchen.

Michael instinctively tip toed his way to the kitchen and jumped the intruder. He wrapped his arms around his neck and tried to force him to fall, but the guy was big and apparently strong; he easily knocked Michael off and onto the floor. When the strong man turned, he gasped. "Michael! Is that you who just tried to strangle me?" Michael recognized the voice instantly. "Uncle Murray?! What are you doing here?" They heard another voice from the kitchen.

"He is here the same reason I'm here, Michael: To help you find your parents. But first, let me turn on some lights!" The lights in the house were on and there, in front of Michael, were Sly's best friends: Murray, a big pink hippo who was very strong and loved to kick butt, and Bentley, a super-smart turtle confined in a tricked-out wheelchair. "Why were you sneaking around, sport?" asked Bentley. Michael got up and apologized. "Sorry guys, I just thought I would be the only one here. But what about you two?"

"Well, we got your message and got here in a flash." said Murray, while munching on some ham. "While Murray has been snacking, I've been doing some hacking. I've set up my trusty laptop in the living room and had some cookies. I was just about to focus the satellite on the museum robbery when you snuck up on Murray." said Bentley. Michael then looked very relieved. "Man, I am so glad you came here. I really…wait a minute, Uncle Bentley. Did you say you were focusing a satellite?"

The turtle nodded. "That's right, kiddo. A few years back, your Aunt Penelope and I have built our own satellite and launched it into space without anyone knowing about. It was designed to be completely invisible to radar and other satellites that might spot it; basically, it's an invisible satellite. Penelope and I use it to keep track of all robberies all across the globe. We called it the Infiltrator." Michael was impressed. "Sounds sweet, but how is this satellite going to help us find my parents?"

"I'm glad you've asked," said Bentley enthusiastically. "The Infiltrator has a built-in alarm sensor so powerful, that it can pick up alarms from any store on the planet like banks, jewelry stores, museums, etc. When the museum in Paris was broken into, Infiltrator picked it up right away. I was going into what it found before I was interrupted." Michael again apologized. Murray, after finishing his ham, asked Michael why he wasn't here when they arrived. He chuckled nervously before he told them of his "nighttime stroll."

When he was done, Bentley and Murray were surprised. "Unfortunately, that was all I could get out of the guy before I had to go. What do guys think about this?" Bentley thought about it. "What you've told me is very interesting. Sly and Carmelita knew the thief, and they vanished in a flash of light, coming from that old headband. I'll have to do some research on it, but for right now, let's get back to my laptop, shall we?"

They walked into the living room and Bentley got back to his laptop. On its small screen was a picture of the roof of the Paris museum. "Okay Michael, watch this." Michael and Murray watched as the picture zoomed in more and more, until it right past it; the actual inside of the museum was visible. "Cool, how did you do that?" asked Michael. Bentley turned to him. "The Infiltrator also has a built in X-Ray camera to see inside the buildings that have been robbed. That way, we can see the robbery in its entirety! We'll be able to see the robber, what items they took, how they got away…you name it, the satellite's got it!" Bentley finished with pride in his voice.

"Awesome!" said Murray. "Well, what are we waiting for Uncle Bentley? Let's see who took my mom and dad!" Bentley nodded. "Alright, all I need to do is get the camera in the crime scene about five minutes before the big vanishing act. This will take a second." They watched as Bentley got the camera where it was supposed to be; in the Egyptian exhibit looking down from above. It was right at the moment Sly and Carmelita walked in. "Now I will let the camera play out what happened. Let's be quiet now and watch."

The camera began playing out the whole event again in front of their eyes. They saw the lights go out, heard the guards screaming, and then the lights came back on. When the robber appeared and took off her hood, Bentley froze the screen. "Okay, this is it: the face of the robber/kidnapper. Just a few clicks of a button, and…" The moment the face of the thief was revealed, Bentley and Murray gasped. Michael turned to them; they were both shocked, but Bentley was the one who was pale in the face.

"No…I…I don't BELIEVE it!! It's…just…impossible!!" said the very stunned turtle, not knowing what to think. Murray was just as dumbstruck. "But it can't be! I thought she was dead!" Michael looked confused. "Uncle Bentley, Uncle Murray, what's wrong? Who is that woman?" All three turned back to the screen, which showed a picture of a light purple colored female tiger with dark purple marks on her face. She also had emerald eyes and long black hair. Bentley turned to face Michael. "Michael…that woman…the one who took your parents…is an old enemy of theirs…and her name is…" he hesitated before saying the name.

"Neyla."

Note: This is the "corrected" version of chapter 2. I'm sorry about writing that Neyla was a panther, not a tiger. Also, I want to mention to all my reviewers that a horrible tragedy had occured on early Monday morning. A very disturbed senior student at Virginia Tech College shot and killed 32 people (students AND teachers) before killing himself. This was the worst school shooting massacure in US history. I hope that you will give your thoughts and prayers to all the family and friends of the victims of this incident.