Crazy trouble with love part 9
Penelope and Bentley
Series: Sly Cooper
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We find ourselves in Paris, the city of love and where numerous people were going about the day with peace in mind. However, for those who lived their lives in hiding it was another story all together.
For two individuals, it was a place where the biggest things of their lives began. Well, mostly one, but it's a near second for the other. The camera panned over to a balcony attached to an old and abandoned warehouse, but inside the ones using it had decked it out in all sorts of high tech gear, such as a state of the art security system with reinforced walling.
One of the inhabitants was none other than the Brains of the Cooper Gang, Bentley. Who was hard at work on his latest invention, a time machine. Said turtle was busy soldering together some circuit boards on his work table while his girlfriend Penelope was in the middle of packing her things, unbeknownst to Bentley.
"Ah Bentley, I could watch you work all day long. But if we're going to get anywhere in this cold cruel world one of us has to step up." she muttered, making sure to keep it down even with the door closed as she shut the case and made sure to clear out the notes on her desk. "I know it'll hurt, but the end will justify the means. You'll understand when we meet again."
She hefted her bag on her back and grabbed her case, giving the room one last look. "Gotta say, I might actually miss this place." she made her way to the door, but right before she grabbed the knob she felt a strong wind pick up, making her blink and look behind her before her eyes widened when she saw a blue portal rip open into the room. "What in the name of science…!"
She dropped her case and bag, moving a hand down to her pocket as she saw a figure walking towards her before a foot stepped into the room, making her pull out a remote from her pocket, only for an arc of lightning come zipping out which hit it, making her yelp as she dropped it, watching as it shorted out right on the floor.
"I forgot how frail that thing was. A small static charge is all it took to fry it." remarked a woman's voice that was familiar to Penelope.
"That voice..." she muttered, watching as the figure fully stepped out as the portal vanished, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Who...Who are you?"
"Are your glasses fogged up or are you simply too incapable of recognizing your own face?" remarked the elderly woman, shown to be Penelope. Except for the obvious fact that she was taller than the girl, her pink fur was much more grayish and faded, her glasses were gone with her eyes looking nearly faded and filled with despair. She wore a long yellow blouse dress with a white apron on the front, steel toed boots, her tail cut in half, a deep cut across one ear, several scars across her arms, and a brown glove on her right hand that was giving off sparks.
"You're-"
"Yes, yes. I'm you, you're me, try to keep up." spoke the woman shaking her head as Penelope rubbed her eyes and checked her glasses as the older mouse looked around the room and smiled. "Boy, it's been ages since I stood here."
"Ok, let me take a moment here." Penelope closed her eyes to inhale, and exhaled slowly before walking over to the mouse and looked her over. "This is...amazing!"
"Seeing yourself look like crap? Yeah, real amazing." droned the elder mouse shaking her head. "Look me, I know what you're thinking, so I'll say it now. Yes, I'm you, from the future. Standing before you in this place and time." She continued as present Penelope looked her over. "To you this is a marvel of science, but to me it's just an average Tuesday." She finished before slapping her younger self's hand as it reached for her glove.
"Ow!" she rubbed her hand with a frown. "What? I just wanted to touch it."
"Well I wouldn't. I had to piece this thing together pretty quickly so it's not completely safe. Nearly fried my own flesh off when I put it on, but I had to because I knew you'd try and stun me with our remote with me showing up out of the blue. Honestly it's astonishing to think I was ever so slow witted."
Present Penelope frowned before shaking her head and smiled. "Ignoring that, this is great! I was just on my way to leave and meet up with Le Paradox, but this is way more important. Tell me, what's the future like? What does our empire look like? How much are we worth? Have we run into any problems? How many notes should I keep on hand?" Present Penelope asked before Future Penelope's frown deepened with her clenching her hands.
"Problems?" The elderly mouse repeated, she breathed deeply before shaking her head, moving her arms behind her back, and started pacing with a thousand yard stare. "Calling them problems would be the understatement of the millennium."
"That bad?" Present Penelope asked seeing the expression of her older self.
"...Instead of telling you, I'll show you." she spoke, pulling out a small remote. "Just keep in mind, it's NOT pretty." she pressed a button making another rift in space and time open.
Present Penelope looked through the rift, only for her eyes to widen as she saw what looked like a burning city with the sounds of explosions, sirens, and gunfire in the background. "Oh my god."
"Oh this? This is only a fraction of the destruction caused by a war between my empire and the rebellion seeking to overthrow me." The old mouse said. "I have made many mistakes, and took just as many lives. In the end I learned far too late the importance of trust, compassion, generosity, and especially loyalty."
"This...This can't be real." Present Penelope shook her head. "With our brain power we should be unstoppable. I mean our deal with Le Paradox-"
"Le Paradox is the whole reason this happened, you stupid fool!" snapped her older self while looking away with guilt. "Him and us...if we hadn't been so arrogant and hadn't helped that no good skunk, everything might have gone better than this. His whole plan on getting rid of the Cooper line? It fails, and guess what happens to us? We not only lost our group of friends, but a man who we could have had a future with."
"But that doesn't make any sense." frowned Past Penelope. "The whole reason I'm doing this is for Bentley's sake. With Le Paradox's influence after he becomes royalty, and our combined minds, we could-"
"Own the whole world, yes I know." frowned her future self. "Well guess what? Considering the hell I've been through, I can safely say this is rightfully deserved." Future Penelope slapped her past self across the face making her whip her head back.
"OW!" she held the cheek and frowned, looking at her future self who scowled at her which actually made her flinch.
"We! Were! Idiots!" yelled the Future Penelope grabbing her younger self and started shaking her. "We were too egotistical! We were complete morons! We thought we were going to have an easy smooth sailing, but we were wrong! And it cost us everything we ever truly needed!" she threw Present Penelope down at the floor and panted, trying to keep it together before straightening out. "That's why I've come back here, to stop all this before it even starts."
"But... won't you cease to exist?"
"I've wished for my existence to end more times than I can count. I live my life surrounded by soulless automatons as my only trusted companions. They record everything I say, but they don't empathize with how I feel, just stand there. I've just been too much of a coward to go ahead and do it myself." grumbled Future Penelope clicking the remote and closing the rift and looked at her past self with a frown.
"I never imagined any of this could happen." Present Penelope thought out loud.
"And that's not even the saddest part. After going through 'the change' realizing I'd never have children of my own I actually tried to build a family. From that point….it was just a downward emotional plummet." she looked down with Present Penelope going wide eyed.
"What...What do you mean by change?"
"THE change, as in when a woman can no longer have children." she replied, closing her eyes. "I tried to not feel alone anymore, to feel like I had someone there with me, but it was completely useless. I started our empire by myself, with nobody there to truly rely on. Nobody could match wits or creativity with me, because there was only one person we ever met that could."
"Bentley."
"By the time I had realized my critical errors in judgement it was far too late. I had already wasted my life."
Present Penelope gulped and made herself speak up. "What happened?"
"The resistance happened. For years we had fought, but then, they finally got the upper hand and worked their way to crushing all that I had made. And deep down, a part of me was happy. A part of me was glad to see them burn it down, because after all we had done, it was shown to be useless. A desolate, empty, hollow, and sickening world we made just to fuel our ego. No love, hope, companionship, or even family. Just...nothing."
"My god." Present Penelope let out backing up to her bed and had to sit down from the shock.
"That's why you're gonna listen very closely to what I'm going to tell you to do. I've had plenty of time to come up with a way to fix things, and I want you to follow it to the letter, understand?" ordered Future Penelope with a firm expression.
"Okay, but quick question, do we become this wrinkled naturally or is it from constant snarling and frowning?" She questioned before the elderly mouse pinched her ear. "Owowowow, Owie! Owie! Owie! Owhoohoohoo!"
"Ask me again and I'll tan your hide missy." the elderly Penelope said before letting go. "Now listen you little smart ass, I worked my tail off to get here using what little resources I could cobble together, so the least you can do is take this seriously."
"Ok ok, I'll take it more seriously. It's just a lot to take in." admitted the Present Penelope looking at her room. "I had such big plans after things got started. But now...knowing that my plans for the future are all pointless...what's the point in doing any of this?"
"Oh no, don't go that route. I already went that route when shit hit the fan, so don't do it." frowned her older self. "I already know what you can do, and you're gonna do it all to hopefully fix the hell we caused. First of all, stay away from Le Paradox."
"That might be hard. I already set a date on when we meet so I can hand over the time machine blueprints."
"Then cancel! We can't let him get his hands on them or..." snapped the older Penelope before freezing and felt a lightbulb go off in her head. "Wait...wait a second… Yes! I've got it!"
"Got what?"
"A way to not only keep from betraying our friends, but putting that skunk away for good." the older mouse walked over to her younger self's computer and began typing on the keyboard.
"You mind telling me what it is?" the young Penelope asked.
"I'm altering the blue prints so that when skunk boy tries using it he'll be out of our hair along with the rest of his cronies and those other three idiots." she replied while data moved across the screen. "This way he'll get the irony on trying to fuck with time and we won't have to worry about him causing trouble. Plus when he 'disappears' we can let it slip to the police about all the illegal activities he's been involved with so they can confiscate everything he owns."
"Wow, that's…. diabolical."
"I know, but don't try it on anyone else." she warned while tweaking some of the designs.
Present Penelope looked at the blueprints as they changed and went wide eyed. "Holy cow! If you do that, won't it collapse in on itself and create a black hole?"
"Only temporarily. Just long enough for his blimp to get sucked in before closing." remarked her future self with a dark smirk. "I hope it hurts, that bastard's got a bigger ego than we do."
"What a way to go, sucked into a gravitational singularity."
"Listen to me Penelope, I've...done things…things that have even kept me up at night. I don't want you to go through that. Believe it or not...I envy your innocence." spoke her future self as she stopped typing and looked to her younger self with a solemn expression. "That's why I want this trip to be the only one I need." She then lifted up her hands and put them on her younger self's cheeks.
Present Penelope looked at her older self who put her forehead against hers and looked like she was crying.
"I'm so tired. So very tired, in every possible way. Always tired. I can't take it anymore." she muttered, closing her eyes. "That's why if you can change things for the better, I can finally rest in peace. I want this more than anything. So please, promise you won't go down the path I chose, promise me."
Present Penelope looked at her older self who started breaking down on her shoulder and felt a huge weight on her shoulders. She looked at the time machine blueprints and gulped, then back at her older self before moving an arm up and wrapped it around the torso and patted her other self on the back. "I promise, I'll make everything right."
Her older self moved back and sniffled while wiping at her eyes. "Thank you. Just stick with the blueprints and make sure Le Paradox doesn't think anything's wrong, and then it's just a matter of ruining his legacy for good. And since I was the one who wrote these new blueprints you won't have to shoulder any guilt."
"Understood, and thank you for your help." spoke Present Penelope as Future Penelope opened one last rift up and walked towards it before Present Penelope realized something. "Wait! I have one more question!"
"What is it?"
"...if things go as they should, should I tell the gang? About what I did? Or was about to do?"
"Mmmh ...nah, everyone's entitled to their own secrets afterall." remarked the older Penelope. "But one thing I would do is try and save money up for a restaurant called château Repas de Fantaisie. Trust me, you will thank me later."
"You got it." she nodded with a smile before seeing her future self walk through the rift before it closed and she was alone. "Okay time to get to work." she muttered, cracking her fingers. 'Remember Penelope, you only have one chance to change the future, don't screw it up.'
(Three days Later)
The rain was coming down hard as Penelope paced at the rendezvous point, which just so happened to be an abandoned airfield. Dressed in a raincoat that was a few sizes too big, along with a pair of galoshes, and a fedora. "Come on you dirty skunk, where are you? I'm freezing my tail off out here."
She had been waiting for the past half hour with the blueprints safely tucked away in a waterproof carrying tube slung over her shoulder by the strap. She was starting to wonder if she should just say screw it and leave. That is until she heard the sound of zeppelin engines and saw lights breaching the clouds. She looked up and began to see said ship slowly lowering. "Tch, show off."
After it landed, Le Paradox was the first to step out as he walked down the ramp.
"Well it's about friggin time!" Penelope snapped.
"My deepest apologies for my tardiness." Cyrille spoke with a slight bow.
"Tardiness?! No no no no, tardiness would be if you kept a person waiting 5 or 10 minutes, fashionably late would be 15 minutes tops, you're just plain late. I've been waiting here for the past half hour! I'm wet, I'm cold, my feet hurt, and don't even get me started on my hair!" she snapped with the skunk looking uninterested.
"Er...yes, the weather is rather gloomy right now. I was a bit held up by a slight storm, but that's not the important part, do you have the blue prints?" he asked with a blunt tone that made Penelope wanna rip off his mustache.
"Yeah I got them, but I'm charging double for keep me waiting in this stupid rain. I'll be lucky if I don't get sick. So either pay up or I walk."
"Fine, fine. Losing a little extra money is nothing in comparison to what I have planned." he frowned.
A few minutes later two rats in gas masks and hazmat suits walked down the ramp carrying briefcases.
"As promised, plans for a time machine." she said holding up the plans.
Cyrille rubbed his hands together and licked his lips as Penelope got the briefcase and checked the money. "Very good Penelope, I can see this partnership is going to be very lucrative."
"Of course," she smiled and took the cases of money. "And I think you'll find the plans to be some of my best work. I'll use my own time machine to head to the designated time period once I start noticing changes in history."
"Until next time we meet my dear." he waved before making his way back up his ship with the rats as Penelope walked away with a smirk.
'There won't be a next time, Stinky.' she thought, glancing back one last time while letting out a low chuckle.
Later Penelope returned to the hideout and made sure not to be seen as Bentley was going over some data. She tiptoed past them and near the lab door. "Nice and quiet. Now, eh...ah...Achoo!"
Bentley turned quickly while Penelope rubbed her nose and sniffled while looking bashful. "Bless me."
"Penelope?"
"Heh, sorry Bentley, didn't mean to interrupt you. I... Ah...ah...choo! Achoo! Achoo!" She put the cases down and blew her nose in a hankey.
"Penelope, were you out in the rain?" asked Bentley rolling over. "It's coming down like cats and dogs. What were you doing out there?"
"Just meeding a client to ged us some extra cash, sold 'im some of my personal plans." she replied, her stuffy nose making it hard to properly speak. "Besides, I'm alrigh, just a little sni...snif...Achoo!" she let out before sniffling and wiped her nose. "Ugh, bless me."
"Okay, let's go, you." Bentley said, grabbing her hand and pulled her away.
Later Penelope was laying in bed dressed in her pajamas with a thermometer in her mouth.
Bentley took it out and looked at the mercury in the thermometer and sighed. "Yup, 102 degrees, you're definitely sick Penelope."
"No no, I'm fine, really." she spoke with a sniffle and her voice sounding stuffed up. "I can...I can...Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Ugh."
"For the time being, you're not gonna be getting out of this bed until you're all better missy."
"You sound like my mom." she grumbled while blowing her nose.
"Well right now I'm gonna get you some chicken soup, now stay here." he ordered firmly.
"Okay, okay." She groaned. She watched him wheel himself out and sniffled. 'Why didn't I come prepared and just wear a thicker coat?'
Later Bentley brought her a bowl of soup on a tray and placed it over her lap before she started eating. She tried to keep from sneezing while sighing.
"Thanks Bentley, this is really good." she smiled at him.
"You're welcome." he smiled. "I'm gonna get you an ice pack to help you stay cool, you just stay in bed."
"Ok Bentley." she said and watched him leave while smiling. 'He's such a sweet guy. I can't believe I ever considered stabbing them in the back. Well as soon as I'm feeling better, I'm gonna use my knowledge for the actual betterment of the world. Besides, there are other ways to lead a powerful empire that won't kill everything.' she thought as she continued eating when suddenly a small portal opened and a paper airplane flew out and landed on her bed. She blinked in confusion before picking it up and unfolded it.
'Don't. Even. Think about it.'
Penelope nearly coughed up her soup and crumpled the plane up quickly. 'On second thought, better just focus on getting better.' she gulped before tossing it in the trash right as Bentley came back with the pack.
"Here you go Penelope."
"Thank you Bentley." She smiled. She took it on her head and sighed from the cold. "What would I do without you?"
"I dread to even imagine." he replied while patting her hand. "I'll be in the other room if you need me, so just call out if you do."
"I will." she nodded and resumed eating her soup as he wheeled himself out.
(A few days later)
"Ah, I'm feeling much better." Penelope said as she stretched. "Alright, time to get back to work." She stated before going towards her work desk. When she got there she got on her computer and tapped her head. "Now what could I try to get started on first?" She wondered before a news alert popped up. "Woah, what's this? 'Mysterious Zeppelin Implosion'." She gave a dark smirk and chuckle before turning it off and shook her head.
She reached over to her phone before dialing the police. She held it to her ear and waited before it picked up.
"Yes, hello. This is an anonymous tip, Le Paradox has been involved in criminal activity. Don't ask how I know, but if you search all the places that belong to him you should find some hard evidence linking him to numerous thefts." she spoke before ending the call and leaned back. "Wonder how long it takes before they find all the loot."
"Penelope!" Bentley called
"Yeah Bentley?!" she called back.
"Would you come in here for a moment?"
"On my way!" She left her lab and walked across the hall where Bently was waiting. "What is it?"
"How would you like to go to that fancy new restaurant that opened up?" he asked while using his computer to show a picture of said restaurant. "You see, I thought it over while you were sick and this pop up ad suddenly showed up on my computer for château Repas de Fantaisie."
Penelope blinked, remembering her older self talking about that place and figured she must have been responsible.
"Anyway, after doing a quick antivirus scan I looked the place up and figured that maybe a little night on the town would be a nice change of pace. I even got us a reservation." smiled Bentley.
"Wow Bentley, that actually sounds pretty nice. But aren't places like that expensive as all heck?"
"Yes, which is why I dipped into my savings from a past heist." he smiled. "It should just about cover it all, with a little bit left over."
"That's so sweet of you." she smiled, pecking him on the lips, making him blush and smile. "When are we going?"
"I was thinking around seven."
"Great, that'll give me plenty of time to get ready and pick out a dress." she said before kissing him again and raced off.
"And I gotta get a snazzy suit. Maybe something in purple, green blends too much with my skin color." he muttered, moving away to ponder.
(Later that afternoon)
Penelope walked out of her room wearing a light blue dress and white high heels. She had her glasses put away to go with contact lenses with her held in a ponytail. "Hope Bentley's ready."
"Hey Penelope, does this look good on me?" Bentley said, rolling up dressed in a plum suit.
"Wow, clean up pretty good." she smiled. "Purple suits you."
"Yes you too." he smiled with a blush. "You look beautiful in that dress."
"What, this old thing?" she smiled looking at it. "It's nothing real big, I just bought it on a whim cause I thought it looked cute."
"And you were right." he nodded. "You look breathtaking."
"Are you just gonna sweet talk me all night or are we gonna get going?" she teased with him blushing.
"Sorry, let's go." he said before they left the hideout and strolled down the streets. The ground thankfully less wet than before and drying up.
"You know I always wanted to visit Paris when I was little." Penelope said. "I always thought it was a city from fairytales, even though I never really believed in them, kinda silly when you think about it. And now I live here. Take that, girls from highschool who teased me!"
"Living here all my life, I can tell you it has its moments." he smiled looking around. "Some good, some bad, and some of them a bit hectic."
"Let me guess, involving a heist?"
"Among other things." Bently replied. "Let's just say it involved Sly and us making a quick escape from Inspector Carmelita, and lots of damaged cars."
"Heh, you know normally it's the guys who are always chasing tail, not the other way around. You sure Sly doesn't have a thing for pegging?"
Bentley gave a dark green blush and tugged at his collar. "Uh...I don't know, and quite honestly I'd rather not. Sly's like a brother to me. Just seeing those two banter as usual is good enough for me."
"Hold it!" Shouted a rat jumping out infront of them. He was dressed in all black and held a knife in his hand. The rat's hand shook and his head twitched. It was clear he was going through some kind of withdrawal. "Hand over your money, all of it! And anything else of value you got!"
"This would not be one of those moments I mentioned." whispered the turtle to his date. "Take it easy guy, no need to do anything crazy."
"Crazy? Who you calling crazy four eyes?! I'm just dandy, now hand over your cash!"
"Bentley." Penelope let out getting nervous.
"Don't worry I got this." He said before his robotic arms emerged. "I wouldn't be trying anything with us my good sir." The arms stretched out, grabbed the man by his own arms, and lifted him up. "If you drop your weapon, I'd be glad to let you go, if you leave us be."
"Woah! Hey now!" he dropped the knife and gulped as Bently took out his crossbow. "N-N-Now let's be easy here buddy, no need to get-" he was cut off when Bentley shot a dart at him. The attacker winced and groaned before he went entirely limp.
"Bentley!" Penelope let out in shock.
"Relax, it was only a tranquilizer dart." he spoke, setting the mugger down. "He'll be out until the police find him." Bentley said before taking out a phone. "I just need to give the police a call and pick him up."
"Excellent plan, but you're kinda slipping." Penelope said before walking up to the crook then removed the dart. "Don't wanna leave evidence."
"Hmm, touche." he admitted as the arms slid back into his chair.
After alerting the authorities Bentley and Penelope made their way to the restaurant. Said restaurant had bright lights with the kind of air of fancy to it that you'd expect.
"Here we are."
"Wow, it looks more pretty up front than I expected."
"Hopefully the interior is the same."
Both of them made their way inside, where they came across a grey wolf in a white suit standing in front of an archway with his eyes closed and nose upturned.
"Good evening. Welcome to château Repas de Fantaisie, I trust you have a reservation?" he asked.
"Yes, it's under a Mister Bentley." the turtle replied before the dog actually opened his eyes to look at the turtle but his gaze was pulled towards the wheelchair.
"Oh...um one moment please." He said before looking in the reservation book and saw the name in question. "Ah. Here you are. 'Bentley'. Terribly sorry, but would you excuse me for just a few moments?"
"Is there a problem?" Bentley asked.
"Nothing that can't be sorted out quickly." The wolf said before quickly yet calmly going to talk to the nearest waiter. "Tell me we have at least one table free."
"Why, what's wrong?"
"I don't think our latest arrival will be comfortable with a booth." The wolf said discreetly pointing over his shoulder at the handycapped turtle.
"Oh….oh! Alright, I see now. I'll go check."
"Good. The last thing we need is a bad review from a handycapped person. The media will be all over it."
The wolf went back to the couple and bowed. "One moment please, we just need to tidy up a table that recently opened up. The last customers were causing a slight hassle, but it will be ready for you two right away."
"Great." Smiled Penelope.
After some time, the couple were led to a quaint little table and given their menus.
"No matter how long I live in france I'll never be able to pronounce these french foods." Penelope stated.
"It does take some practice." admitted Bentley looking over his menu. "Honestly when I first tried, I almost got punched in the face. Thankfully Sly was able to sort things out."
It was quiet for a few moments before Penelope sighed and put down her menu. "Was I the only one who noticed how that wolf seemed to look down at your wheelchair?"
"Nope, I noticed right away. I've had time to read people's expressions when that happens."
"Doesn't it bother you?"
"It used to at first, but then I tricked it out. Now I only get offended when someone looks down on me in a fight." he admitted. "I got use to the attention it would give. After all, it's not every day you see a handicapped turtle with a state of the art wheelchair."
"True enough."
When the waiter came by they placed their orders and waited for their food to arrive.
"Hey Bentley. Let me ask you. Have you ever thought of using your brains to...I don't know, take over the world?" she asked while trying to sound casual.
"What?" he looked at her in surprise. "What brought that up?"
"Well back in my Black Baron days. I used my intelligence to get everything I ever had. My planes, my castle, even my own dog fighting field. There were times...I just wanted more." she admitted rubbing behind her ear. "I guess I was curious if you've ever felt tempted to go ahead and do something like that."
"Given how many deranged, sociopathic, and psychotic crime lords I've seen, and helped put away. It's given me a good idea of a cautionary tale about not becoming a super villain." he admitted with Penelope feeling those hit her deep, but didn't let it show. "Not to mention, trying to take over the world isn't really for me. I'd have to be on guard for the rest of my life for anyone who would want my head. Plus, that's way too much land and resources to keep track of. Even I have limits on how much I can do at once."
"Guess it's a good thing The Black Baron didn't decide to take his dog fighting tournaments on tour." admitted Penelope. "You make a good point, several actually."
"Yeah. And above all else the last person I want to end up being like is-"
"Your orders." Said the waiter walking up to their table.
"Oh, thank you." Bentley smiled as the waiter put their meals in front of them. "This looks pretty fancy, I hope it tastes as good."
"You're telling me." Penelope replied before digging in. "Hmmm, not bad actually. So what is it you were about to say?"
"It's not important. I don't want to sour the mood with my demons."
Penelope now looked at Bentley with more curiosity as he munched on his meal with her putting her utensils down. "Bentley, we both know I'm gonna get it out of you eventually. It only makes sense to just tell me now and get it out of the way."
"Mhhh...d'oh okay. I was going to say that the last person I want to end up being like...is Clockwerk." he let out while looking away with Penelope's eyes widened.
"Oh….I'm sorry for bringing that up Bentley."
"It's okay, it's just… I can't help but think that Clockwerk may have been even smarter than I am." remarked the turtle. "I mean he may have been an evil genius, but he was one who kept himself alive for millennia just for revenge on Sly's family. All that hatred not just fueling a lone chip, but able to replace every part of himself with metal to not die. How he managed that with old material and science compared to what we have now is something you'd hear in crazy tall tales. Yet there he was, a giant metal owl who hunted generations of Coopers and their gangs. In a way, I'm glad we put him down before meeting you."
"You're telling me. I don't think I could stand to be around him, otherwise he might have tried to rip me to shreds." Penelope shuddered.
"Given that he was a giant owl with functional artificial innards, it's more likely that he would have eaten you."
Penelope shivered at that. "Now there's a scary thought, ending up as a giant owl pellet." She remarked and shook her head while Bentley sighed.
"Sorry, i should have kept my big mouth shut."
"No Bentley, it's fine. I'm the one who opened my yap." she spoke up quickly. "Honestly, I get what you mean, but there's one thing I can say without missing a beat. He may have been some mad genius who had a huge revenge complex, but he's not you. You never got hung up on anything that bothered you much. Well, except for that small jealous side with Sly."
"Honestly that came out of nowhere. I guess it just popped up after meeting you."
"But other than that, you use your brain for your friends and help them out of tough situations. Unlike Clockwerk, you've got friends who are there for you, whereas he was all alone. You've done far more good than he ever did, so the idea of you someone getting really mad and turning into a giant mecha turtle is something I'd see in some fever dream." she said with a smile. 'Although I don't have much room to talk about that since I almost ditched him to mess with the past. If anyone is more like Clockwerk it's me.'
"Still, I do admit the temptation to go far and do something selfish is something I've heard is always there inside everyone."
'Oh I can definitely vouch for that.' Penelope thought with a pang of guilt.
"Sure I'm not like that now, but far in the future? There's no telling what might happen. All I can say is that I would never wanna turn out like that owl, or Dr. M for that matter."
"Remind me, it was Clockwerk that crippled you right?"
"Well...yes and no." he nodded. "Technically it was his body, but said body was being controlled by the late former constable Neyla who helped the Klaww gang steal his body parts from interpol."
"You could have just said parts instead of making it sound all macabre."
"Well you asked." he shot back playfully.
She smiled, the serious tone lifting up. "Is there anything you can explain in simple terms?"
"Well, we're a raccoon, turtle, and hippo, going around stealing from other thieves in a van. How's that?"
"Simple enough I suppose. So what happened to this Neyla person? I assume she was arrested."
"Well….not exactly. Remember that hate chip I mentioned? Well her consciousness was actually absorbed into it. As for her body...let's not talk about that."
"Oooh, gotcha." Penelope, for the sake of her sanity decided not to pry.
"Once she was fully integrated into it she called herself "Clock-La"." Bentley added air quotes as she spoke the name.
"Clock-La? That's….lame. Like, really really lame."
"Yeah and even with all of Clockwerk's might and power we still took her down. But as I was about to take the hate chip out from inside the beak of that metal monstrosity, it came down and crushed my legs. " he rubbed his leg with a far away look. "At first it hurt, mostly the realization I wouldn't walk anymore, but when I got over it and started to upgrade the chair, I felt a bit more like myself."
Penelope looked on to him with a sad expression. "Oh Bentley…. wait a minute, it only crushed your legs, not your spine?"
"Nope, thank God for my hard shell on that one. Unfortunately my legs never properly healed at the bone. So while I can still technically feel my legs, the bones inside can't really handle the weight of my body."
"Oh, you had me going there for a moment. If you were actually faking at being handycapped all this time I would have slugged you in the schnozola."
"What?! Why would I go off and fake something like that?"
"Well you said it was only your legs, so I guess a part of my brain just... assumed." she admitted looking away embarrassed with her ears drooping. "Sorry."
"Well I guess it's sort of my fault for never clarifying the extent of my injury." he admitted. "I guess with the fact I couldn't walk was enough to get the point across."
"Mind if I ask something a bit more personal?" Questioned Penelope.
"Go right ahead."
"If it's just your legs that were damaged and not your spine, does that mean that your…'weapon' isn't just loaded with blanks?"
"Huh?"
"You know, your... primary weapon?" She specified cryptically and more quietly while pointing down.
"I don't follow." Bentley said, scratching his head.
"The one that really counts to being a man. If you catch my drift."
Bentley was silent before it clicked and his cold blood ran hot. "Oh! Oh! Oh….y-y-yes." he nodded quickly. "I mean I never tested, but I'm positive 'THAT' still works."
Penelope smiled and swore she heard a slot machine let out a jackpot somewhere. "That's good, just had to ask." she replied hoping she wasn't blushing like a horny school girl.
Bentley gulped, tugging at his collar before noticing the lights suddenly going dim. "What the…."
"Welcome everyone to our lovely restaurant for your dining pleasures." spoke up a wolf on a stage with spotlights shining over him. "And now, for your viewing pleasure, put your hands together for tonight's entertainment." smiled the speaker while gesturing to the curtains. "Give it up for the fiery and eye catching dancers of arabia!" The man moved off stage as the light shined on the curtain before it opened. On the other side were three shapely Chipmunks in belly dancer outfits. One outfit colored pink, another blue, and a third green, all of them giving seductive looks with the men in the crowd going wide eyed, Bentley included.
Honey you're a sweet thing,
and you look so fine
All I ever wanted
is to make you mine
The women moved off the stage and danced around the tables with the men giving goofy grins when they passed by them.
[Chorus:]
Give me a clue
Tell me what I need to do
to get lucky with you
"This is what they consider entertainment?" Penelope questioned. "The level of inaccuracy is mind numbing."
Boy I really love you
with my heart and soul
Honey won't you take me
Where I want to go
As the dancers passed by tables, they gave flirtatious gestures that made the men, and a few women, go gaga and drool a bit, even Bentley.
[Chorus]
Getting lucky
whoo, getting lucky
It's really what it's all about
Getting lucky, mmm getting lucky
It's something I can't do without.
One walked up to Bently and tickled his chin. He let out a chuckle with Penelope not looking amused.
Honey I've been waiting,
waiting patiently
Let me unlock your heart boy
I think I got the key
[Chorus x4]
Oh honey, honey
Give me a clue
wontcha tell me what I need to do
To get lucky with you.
The girls sang and returned to the stage and danced in unison. When the song ended they struck a pose before the curtains closed and most of the crowd applauded. Some of the men wolf whistled. While others, mostly women, were less than amused.
"Wow, that was great." spoke Bentley, not noticing Penelope giving him a glare. "What?"
"You were staring at them and drooling." Penelope said, crossing her arms. "I'm still here you know."
"Oh..." he spoke, rubbing his head while looking away with guilt. "I didn't ...I mean…. they're…"
"Showing off tons of skin, I know." Penelope cut in. "Everyone here got that message clear as day."
Bentley poked his fingers together with Penelope raising an eyebrow. "Uh...well...it was unexpected. I mean, who could have seen that coming?"
"Certainly not me." Penelope replied. "The music and song wasn't even arabian. It was rock."
"Off hand, I'd guess they're going for some odd mix to make it stand out more." Bentley pointed out.
"More like playing into the stereotype that sex sells."
"Well...it does have some significant influence, but given the business, it's only part of it."
"If I didn't know better I'd say you liked watching them strut around in those vulgar outfits." she remarked Penelope in a slightly cold tone making the turtle flinch.
"W-W-What?! N-N-N-No! Not at all!" he quickly spoke up shaking his head. 'Oh man, I really messed up. Why did I have to stare? Penelope is tons more worth staring at. Oh no, now I sound like a pervert!'
Penelope looked at Bentley, feeling annoyed before her thoughts turned to what her future self would do right now if she saw her. Which involved a scolding and cheek pinching, making her flinch. 'Maybe I'm being immature, I mean it's normal for a man to stare at dancers like that, but I can't help but feel jealous. If I dressed like that, Bentley would stare just as much if not more, right? Maybe I need to say sorry, or maybe I should wait and see if he apologizes first. I just need to be patient. Come on Bentley, just say sorry already.' Penelope thought drumming her fingers on the table making Bentley nervous.
"Uh ...so...how about the lighting in here? It really ...brings the room together."
"Yeah, I guess it does." remarked Penelope awkwardly as it went silent again. 'Maybe I need to get the ball moving.' "Bentley? I don't think the lighting in here is what you're concerned with."
"Uh….yeah, you're right." he coughed. "I didn't mean to stare like that. It's just...I don't usually see girls like that that often, even on some of the trips me and the guys have taken around the world. I was a bit caught off guard."
"Bentley. You don't need to explain it all. A simple sorry is all I'm asking for. Believe me, I used to be the Black Baron, I needed to maintain the illusion in every way possible." Penelope explained to the turtle. "Truth be told, I even flirted with a few girls to make it more convincing."
"I'll bet you got quite the fan club from it."
"You have no idea. Some even tried offering me their daughters hands in marriage."
"Wow, that's impressive." he admitted looking at the table, but with a curious expression. "Did...any of them catch your eye?"
"Of course not. I'm not gay Bentley." she shook her head. "Some of them were cute, and one or two pretty hot, but that was just casual observation."
"Well that's good to know." Bentley said feeling a sense of relief wash over him.
"You thought I was secretly gay didn't you?"
"...Not exactly." He replied sheepishly. "More like bi."
"Nope, as straight as a ruler." Penelope stated firmly. "Closest thing to staring at a girl was just me wondering if I was ever gonna grow out since some of them were more….."
"Endowed?"
"I was going to say expanded."
"Just out of curiosity, but would that include Inspector Carmelita?" Bentley asked her.
"Nah, by the time I first saw her I was well aware I was never going to get any bigger. Although that doesn't mean I don't get jealous of her now and then." admitted Penelope shrugging while looking to the side. "Guess I'm meant to be this tiny for the rest of my life."
"Well you never know, maybe you're just a late bloomer. It occurs more often than people think. Also women do tend to get wider hips and bigger breasts after childbirth."
Penelope's eyes momentarily widened, her face growing a little warm with a gulp. "Uh right, that part slipped my mind." she scratched her arm before new worries entered her mind. "Bentley, you said you're still...fertile enough to have children, but do you honestly think that with the species gap between us that we can actually produce offspring?"
"Well it's not entirely unheard of." he admitted before realizing what she said and went wide eyed. "Wait, where did-"
"Your bill sir, no need to rush." spoke the waiter setting the bill down on the table before walking away as quickly as he came.
"How about we continue this somewhere a little more private." Penelope said, reaching for her purse. "50/50 split right?"
"Oh no, I'll take care of this one. It's the least I can do."
"You sure? Money's no trouble for me right now."
"I'm sure."
"Well, okay this will give me time to rate this place on my phone. I'm thinking four out of five stars."
"Dare I ask why not five?"
"Lousy entertainment."
"Fair enough."
After paying for their meal and rating the service, the two made their way out and headed to a nearby park for a romantic stroll. Or at least it was a stroll for Penelope.
"You sure you don't want me to push you Bentley, I don't mind. And it would save you some battery power."
"I appreciate the offer Penelope, but this fella can get around no problem on his own." Bentley said pointing a thumb at himself. "Now about what we were talking about in the restaurant."
"You mean about us having kids?"
"Yes. As I was saying, what brought this on all of a sudden?"
"Look at us. You're a turtle, I'm a mouse, you're cold blooded, I'm warm blooded. I'm just worried that we'll never be able to have children with such a species gap."
"You don't know much about anthrobiology do you?"
"No, I specialize in tech. Plus in my hometown it wasn't a subject that was very welcome in schools. My own parents even spearheaded the committee that banned it."
"In that case, let me give you the shortened version. The possibility of interspecies children between you and I wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. Given the ratio of pureblood species in the world, which I can only assume your parents were and stood to maintain, it's actually harder to guarantee more pureblooded children. Contrary to popular belief, our genetic makeup are all common and the same, it's just a matter of various mutations and genetic evolutions we've gone through in time."
"Really?"
"For example if a male mammal had children with a bird, reptile, or amphibian. Then it will always be one of the three and never a mammal yet they would still have traits passed down from their mammalian parent. the same can be said for us, only in reverse. If we had children they will always be mice but never turtles."
"So, it really is possible? With facts and statistics to back it up?"
"Of course. The main issue is what creatures are born from eggs and which ones….erm, well you get my point right?"
"Yeah, crystal clear." she answered with a scowl.
"Penelope, are you okay?"
"Oh yeah, I'm just peachy learning that my parents lied to me about species never being able to mix in such a way." She replied before kicking a can with enough force to send it flying. "Just fantastic knowing there was plenty of facts to prove their ideas on relationships was a load of garbage!" this time she kicked a nearby rock. That landed square in a knothole where a squirrel had apparently made its nest and didn't appreciate being disterbed. "And I'm thrilled that all the guys they tried hooking me up with were all pompas mice from rich families!"
Bentley saw Penelope fuming and stopped moving as she let out huff after huff before kicking a trash can. However since it was bolted to the ground all she succeeded in doing was hurting her foot. "Do you need a minute?"
"Yeah, and a place to sit." She winced.
"Now that I can help with." he smiled before moving right over to her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her back to where she was sitting right on his lap.
"Oh...well this definitely qualifies as the best seat in the park." she smiled while wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You know I don't think I ever heard you talk about your family."
"Oh...yeah, it's not important."
"You sure? I'd love to hear about them."
"Trust me, you wouldn't, besides they'd never approve of you."
"Because I'm a turtle?"
"That's one reason."
"Because I'm a thief?"
"That's another. You're not going to stop asking until I give you some answers are you?"
"You know me so well."
"Ugh, fine...you ever see those old timey black and white movies where they portray the 'Perfect little town'?"
"You mean like the movie Pleasantville?"
"Exactly." Grimaced Penelope. "That would be the best way to describe my hometown of Squeakerton."
"Wait, your hometown is named Squeakerton?" Bentley asked with his lips involuntarily moving into a grin.
"Yes!" Penelope groaned. "And before you ask, I'm perfectly aware of the irony. It was a town founded by mice, for mice, in the late 1800's. Yet it never seemed to progress beyond the 1950's"
"That sounds….I have no words to describe it."
"Everything about the town just screamed prude, and if you aren't a mouse you're not exactly loved by the community. My parents even had separate beds, placed at opposite sides of their room."
"Geez. How did you live like that without going bonkers?"
"At first I didn't know better. I was just like all the other girls, a dolled up schoolgirl pining over cute boys."
Bentley pictured Penelope in such a fashion. In a way it was adorable.
"Then one day a family of moles moved into the neighborhood. Their daughter, Reggie was a tomboy who had an RC car, and when my eyes gazed upon on it...I just couldn't look away." she smiled. "It was like seeing something out of this world for the very first time. Like something in me clicked. Of course I wasn't stupid enough not to see her family was under alot of pressure from the town. So we met up in secret to hang out."
"Let me guess, not a happy ending?"
"That would be putting it mildly. My parents caught on to our little meetings and caught me wearing a pair of Reggie's overalls, that she lent me, and my parents went more ballistic than a missile." She shook her head. "They took me back home and made it clear that something like that is not how we live and grounded me for a whole year."
"Yikes."
"But the worst part is that they began to spread slanderous accusations about how Reggie and her family were corrupting the town and the pressure only got worse, until eventually they had to move away. I never saw Reggie again after that."
"That...must have been hard for you." Bentley spoke softly, feeling sympathetic towards his girlfriend.
"It was. It was then that I started to grow curious on what else there was and expanded my mind, growing smarter and smarter until I started tinkering with my own inventions, in secret of course. But as my mind grew so did my resentment towards the people of Squeekerton and their closed minded ideals. I made it my mission to get revenge."
"Uh, by revenge, are we talking about the kind that DOESN'T involve police?"
"Well it wasn't illegal." She said, scratching her cheek. "Tell me Bentley, do you know what happens to a building when they can't get a horrible smell to go away?"
"Not entirely."
"They have to burn it down." revealed Penelope making Bentley go wide eyed. "Yeah, it was pretty bad. I created a few stink bombs and loaded them with a putrid smelling mixture of my own making that would seep into the walls and linger for sometime, then I planted them in places that were essential to the town's economy, nothing too deviating of course, just enough for them to wake up and seek assistance from the world outside the town."
"What happened next?"
"Heh, that's the best part. Soon a lot of big name companies were scrambling to get some prime real estate and a bunch of new stores with modern products popped up. The other kids were drawn into the modern creature comforts and their parents… they couldn't do anything but watch as the ideals they held dear were trampled on by the march of progress."
"I take it some weren't too happy with that?"
"Oh hell no." she shook her head. "My parents were so livid, they actually thought it was a better idea to try and go the way of the amish than accept all that. I'm actually grateful they didn't start drinking or smoking to relieve the stress."
"Did they try to drag you along?"
"Kinda, mostly they just started preaching the same old outdated philosophies, I had to hide my inventions so they wouldn't throw them away or destroy them."
"Every inventor's worst nightmare."
"Exactly, when I turned seventeen I knew I had to get ready for the day I moved out, but I'd need money for that. So I approached a shady land developer with a plan. If he paid me a large sum of money then I would use my stink bombs to get him some prime land."
"Devious and sneaky, but I assume you managed to make it happen without a problem?"
"Correct as always my love." Smiled Penelope before kissing his cheek. "Yet my parents still remained stubborn even with all the progression the town was making. It irked me to no end, so on the day I moved out I told them everything."
"You know, this might be Sly's influence on me over the years, but I'm curious, did you set up a camera to record their expressions?"
"Sadly no. But I can tell you it was priceless." She said with a smile. "After that, it was just a matter of time before I went out, bought my own castle, and wound up becoming the Black Baron and...well the rest you already know."
"Wow Penelope, I never thought you could be so diabolically genius."
"You don't think I'm a bad person for it, do you?"
"Well, not exactly." he looked away rubbing the back of his head. "Truth be told, it actually sounds rather…..fetching."
"Is that your way of saying hot?"
"Indubitably."
"Well then, why don't we end this date on a high note? Back at our place~?" she winked with half lidded eyes.
"I think that would be most excellent."
"Perfect, and don't worry, as long as you can provide me with the means to bare children I could care less if your genitalia is small." She said, earning a look from him before he chuckled. "What?"
"You really need to research more anthrobiology."
he remarked before he started wheeling ahead of her with her tilting her head.
"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Oh you'll find out."
(Later)
Penelope plopped down in her bed, she was naked, hot, sweaty, and sore in a number of places. Her hair had been freed from its usual ponytail while breathing heavily. "Ah...ah….ah….that...was…sweet mother of Charles Darwin, I can't...I just can't...find the words." she let out in her post-coital state.
"I believe the word is... 'wow'." smirked Bentley, rolling on his back beside her with a pleased expression and just as winded as Penelope. "I apologize…if it felt like...I made you do…most of the work."
"No….don't be. It helped me with my thighs." she let out with a chuckle.
"Ha...good one." he smiled while Penelope looked down at the juices and liquids all over herself.
"Phew, I got more dirty than I thought. Might need to take a shower."
"Do you need my wheelchair to get you there?"
"I think that over stuffed kielbasa of yours more than helped with that."
"Touche." he replied with a grin before Penelope climbed out of bed. She nearly fell, but caught herself and limped herself to the bathroom.
(The next day)
"Bentley, I'm going out!" Penelope called grabbing her keys. "Do you need anything!?"
"A new box of condoms would be nice to have on hand." he said wheeling his way over to her.
"You're saying that now, after last night?" she raised an eyebrow. "I don't think they have condoms big enough to hold THAT bad boy."
"Oh they do, the pharmacy just puts them in the back of the counter. Where are you going anyway?"
"The library, and maybe the book store. I need some books on anthrobiology." she replied before waving him bye as she headed out of the hideout. She was still a little tender after the night before but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She did however have a tricky time keeping her tail from sticking up just remembering the fun, and it didn't go unnoticed by other female anthros who giggled at the sight of it, knowing exactly what it meant. "Ugh. Sometimes this thing is more trouble than it's worth." As she walked down the street and past an alleyway, she stopped when she felt a pair of eyes staring at her, making her turn her head and narrow her eyes. "If someone's there, don't try anything. I'm in too much of a good mood to deal with this early in the day."
"Relax, it's only me."
Penelope blinked when she saw her future self step into the light, except she looked WAY better than the last time. No scars blemished her appearance, her tail and ear were undamaged, and there was a gleam of hope in her eye. Not to mention she was wearing a bright red short shirt that exposed her belly with right black shorts, black fingerless gloves, and her fur looking more vibrant than last time.
"Hello dear, it seems you did a bang up job fixing your future."
"Yeah, although it looks like my fashion sense went south for the winter."
"It's that bad huh?"
"Well considering your age it looks like you're a grandmother going through a midlife crisis."
"I still make it look good." she smirked. "Besides, I didn't come back to get a fashion lecture on miss 'I had no idea turtles were hiding a huge sausage', I came here to let you know the future is...well not to give away too much, but let's just say things are ten times better than what they were."
"Good to know." Present Penelope smiled.
"And for the record, those condoms won't do Bentley much good at this point." Future Penelope said with a chuckle.
"Given how he filled me like an eclair? Already figured that one out." Penelope said, putting a hand on her stomach. "I'll grab some pregnancy tests and surprise him."
"Well did you figure that Sly and Carmelita would finally tie the knot and make you the godmother?"
"Seriously?" Present Penelope questioned. "I mean I figured the first one was a given, but... me? The godmother?"
"Yup, along with Bentley as the godfather." her future self looked at the watch on her wrist and walked over to her past self. "Well I gotta go, but I need to leave you with one last thing." she pulled out a slip of folded paper and handed it to her. "Don't read it until I'm gone."
"Uh... okay?" Present Penelope raised an eyebrow and looked at the paper as her future self opened up a rift and walked on through before it closed. "I hope she didn't go and get me lottery numbers, that's the oldest cliche in the book." Penelope deadpanned before opening the paper and saw two names written on it. The first one was Aristotle, and the second, Helen.
Although a little vague, Penelope smiled having a pretty good idea of who the names would belong to. She folded the paper up and slipped it in her pocket before making her way out of the alleyway. "Bentley's gonna have a field day when he finds out."
xxxxxxxxxxxx
END