AN: Just to be clear, this is set within the "Mind Games"-verse, not the "RooT"-verse. The idea for this "Patrol Log" came from Kiki. If you have any ideas, let me know!
To armadas: Capricorn will definitely play a role during "The Colossus Saga." He and Geber are fun!
To Butterfly: Thanks! Getting reviews is definitely encouraging – and at least part of the reason I keep writing.
To Cesar848: There are going to be several new Heroes of Paris introduced during "The Colossus Saga," and quite a few miraculous heroes…
To yellow 14: Well, there's a lot of "wheels within wheels" going on. For example, there's been a lot of talk over the last couple months about Ivan and Mylène and the idea of them having kids, and "Cat Noir-2039" is all about their future alternate-universe son!
As Kim finished his dessert, he grinned, musing on how different this date was from so many of their previous ones. Across the table from him, Ondine swiped a spoonful of his ice cream and held it down just above the table for Xuppu to take the banana slice off of it before she ate the ice cream herself. A few months back, Xuppu would have been hiding in Kim's sweatshirt, not sitting next to Ondine's plate. And he would have had to come up with some sort of excuse for why he had to leave a little early for patrol.
Ondine gave him a warm look and reached across the table to take his hand. "Thank you for tonight," she told him, smiling.
Kim squeezed her hand. "I only wish I didn't have to cut it short," he apologized.
"I understand," she assured him, nodding. She chuckled. "The people of Paris need you, and all that, right?"
Xuppu scoffed. "You'll give him an inflated ego if you keep going like that, kid," he warned her, tossing a peanut at Kim's face.
Ondine arched an eyebrow at Kim. "I suppose we can't have that," she commented to the Kwami.
"Oh, great," Kim grumbled, glaring at Xuppu halfheartedly. "Now it's gonna be both of you…" With a last look at his watch, he stood up and helped Ondine to her feet. After the short walk back to Ondine's apartment building, he put his hand on her back, and she hugged him tightly.
"Be safe," she whispered in his ear, kissing him. "And if you want to stop by after patrol, my window will be unlocked."
He grinned. "If it's not too late…"
"Any time you get done," she assured him before giving him a last kiss and slipping inside.
Kim stared after her for a long minute before Xuppu pinched him in the stomach, drawing him back to reality. He blinked down at the Kwami in confusion.
"You're supposed to be on patrol, remember?" the Kwami prompted, raising an eyebrow.
Kim sighed and jogged away, transforming in an alley before sprinting the couple blocks to his meeting location with Taureau Dechaine. When he arrived at the Champ des Mars, Taureau Dechaine was slowly pacing from one side of the Eiffel Tower's base to the other, humming quietly to himself. King Monkey leapt to grab one of the support bars and swung around into a flip before landing in front of Taureau Dechaine. "What's hanging, Ox-boy?"
Taureau Dechaine grinned. "Just left a date with Multiplice," he told him.
King Monkey grinned. "Great minds think alike, I guess," he replied. "I just brought my girl home after dinner."
"Shall we get to it?" Taureau Dechaine asked, raising an eyebrow. "The sooner we start, the sooner we can get back to our girls!"
King Monkey nodded and sprinted down the street, following the river, Taureau Dechaine jogging behind him more slowly. He couldn't help chuckling as they turned north and crossed the river by Notre Dame.
"What's so funny?" asked Taureau Dechaine, hustling to keep up.
"Nothing. Just feeling a lot better about patrol now that my girl knows I'm not just ditching out on her," King Monkey explained.
Taureau Dechaine hummed. "I couldn't imagine not being honest with Multiplice," he observed. "She knew my identity almost as soon as Ladybug recruited me."
"Did that cause any problems for you two?"
Taureau Dechaine started shaking his head but paused. "Maybe some," he admitted. "Especially in the beginning. It took me a while to get used to the idea of her putting herself in danger after she became a hero – even if that was my idea. It took her a while, too, at first. But now? Now I'm glad we both know."
King Monkey nodded. "I was afraid that she'd worry about me," he confessed. "But she's been nothing but supportive since she found out."
"I guess that means you found a good one."
King Monkey grinned as they jogged down the street side-by-side. The sun had fully set, and the temperature had dropped substantially. There was a hint of flurries in the air. And a couple blocks ahead of them, King Monkey could see a man ambling down the street in a t-shirt and shorts, waving his arms wildly. King Monkey narrowed his eyes, his shoulders tensing. "What do you think is up with him?"
Beside him, Taureau Dechaine pursed his lips in thought, humming quietly. "I'm not sure…" he began. "But he's got to be cold."
King Monkey nodded and fell silent as they neared the man. He was only a few meters behind him when he finally heard the man's voice.
"They–they have to be watching me through the radio waves," the man muttered. "They had me, but I got away… but now they're after me! They thought they could get me with the chemicals in the water, but I was too smart for them! But I have to stay on the move – someone has to learn the truth."
King Monkey raised an eyebrow at Taureau Dechaine dubiously.
Taureau Dechaine shrugged. "I mean, with everything we've seen, can we really dismiss anything someone says?" he asked rhetorically.
"Point," King Monkey conceded.
Hearing their voices, the man spun around, took one look at them, and shrieked. Sprinting away from them he screamed, "The aliens have found me!"
King Monkey gave Taureau Dechaine a deadpan look.
Taureau Dechaine grimaced, rubbing his forehead. "Okay… that was a little much."
King Monkey sprinted after the man and caught up to him less than a block away, Taureau Dechaine bounding after them. King Monkey grabbed the back of the man's shirt, and he dropped to the ground in a panic, clasping his trembling hands together. "Hey, it's okay," King Monkey insisted over the man's high-pitched pleading. "We're not aliens – we're human, just like you."
"We're here to help you," Taureau Dechaine added. "Why don't you tell us what's up – start with why you're running around the streets so late at night without a coat."
"I – you're sure you're not the Centaurs?" the man demanded, looking between them anxiously.
King Monkey blinked, staring at him slack-jawed. "Do I look like a half-horse to you, bro?"
The man scoffed. "The Centaurs – from Alpha Centauri," he explained. "They've been monitoring my brainwaves, ever since they returned me to earth last night."
"They abducted you?" Taureau Dechaine frowned, head cocked to one side.
"In a flash of light," the man whispered. "I was transported beyond my senses. They placed a chip in my brain so they could track me, and the next thing I knew, I was back in my bed. But I could feel the eyes on me – they can turn invisible. They might even be watching us right now!"
King Monkey tapped the communicator in his ear. "Turing, have we had anything… weird from space?"
"Not lately," came the immediate reply. "What is your situation?"
"We have a guy here talking about invisible aliens. He calls them 'Centaurs' from Alpha Centauri."
"One moment." The communicator went silent for several minutes, in which time King Monkey's eye was drawn to a spot of light that flew toward them from the direction of the Seine, paused near the roof of the building across the street from them, rotated quickly in a complete circle, and then disappeared. Turing's voice returned moments later. "Thermal imaging of your location is negative," he reported. "Victor does not know of any 'Centaur' aliens, or intelligent life near that specific star."
King Monkey put on a grin for the man, who was watching him carefully. "I think we're good for now," he assured the man. "No aliens here! But I think we should probably get you to someone who can help you out."
"But who can help me with this?" the man demanded, wide-eyed.
King Monkey frowned. This definitely didn't sound like a punching problem… And he was starting to get a pretty good idea of what the problem actually was.
Taureau Dechaine put a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. "We're the Heroes of Paris: helping people with alien problems is one of our specialties! Let's start by getting you somewhere warm; your feet look cold. Maybe a hospital can make sure you don't have hypothermia or frostbite?"
"I have called an ambulance to your location," Turing chirped. Suddenly he whirred agitatedly. "Traffic cameras show a car accident in the 16th arrondissement! Possible injuries!"
King Monkey cursed and turned in that direction. Taureau Dechaine seemed to have a handle on this situation; maybe he could do something for this other situation. Before he could leave, however, he felt a hand grip his arm tightly.
"Wait! You're–you're going to leave me!? But what if they come back?" The man began to hyperventilate, turning in all directions, looking about wildly.
King Monkey grimaced. "Turing?"
"I have already alerted Impératrice Pourpre to the situation," Turing assured them. "She already has an Akuma en route to assist with the accident."
King Monkey let out a breath. "Thank her for me, will you? Or for our new friend here, rather."
The man calmed down and dropped to sit on the curb beside Taureau Dechaine. King Monkey took a seat on the other side of the man, resting his hands on his knees and trying not to fidget. Flashing lights appeared in the distance as a police car pulled onto the street. The man flinched but looked at the two heroes and stilled. The police car stopped in front of them, and two officers got out.
"This the guy?" one officer asked, gesturing to the man.
King Monkey nodded. "Can you bring him to the hospital to get checked out?" he asked.
The officer nodded reassuringly. "Not a problem, King Monkey. Us and old Rene here are old friends – we've picked him up a few times before now."
Taureau Dechaine let out a breath. "Make sure he gets the help he needs," he instructed them, as the officers helped Rene into the police car.
"We will," the other officer promised. "And thanks."