To anonymousfriend27: The dynamic between these three characters turned out pretty amazing! The Owl gives his perspective on being asked to join the Heroes of Paris; the Heroes' perspective can be found in "Tit for Tat" chapter 1. But they certainly warmed up to him after "Tit for Tat"!
Anansi groaned as she leaned against a streetlight, waiting for her companion to catch up. This was the fifth time in as many blocks that he'd fallen behind, and she was half tempted to ditch him. So why didn't she? Perhaps she'd spoken a little too forcefully when she said she worked alone; though she would never admit it aloud – certainly not to Alya herself! – she hadn't actually minded Rena Rouge and Carapace literally dropping in to help her out a while back. So maybe this wannabe-Knightowl copycat could make himself useful. Somehow.
"I really hope you're not having a heart attack back there, Professor," she called, turning to check on his progress.
What she saw almost made her keel over from shock. Okay, maybe he won't be so useful… The Owl had stopped halfway down the block to pick up garbage! He'd pulled a trash bag from somewhere – probably that stupid utility belt; his type always had stupid, useless junk in their utility belts – and was merrily loading it up with trash he'd found around a bus stop. Before she could think better of the decision, Anansi retraced her steps to stand right behind him.
"Exactly what do you think you're doing, Hoots?" she growled, arms folded in annoyance.
"Why, I am picking up this garbage, trusty companion!" the Owl replied, holding up the half-full trash bag triumphantly.
She raised an eyebrow and gave him a look (as best she could with her mask). "And why are you doing that?"
His smile faltered. "We're superheroes, aren't we?" he asked hesitantly. "Doing good deeds is what we do, right, partner?"
Anansi slapped the trash bag out of his hands and grabbed his collar, lifting him off the ground. His cape hung limply from his shoulders. "Let's get a few things straight, Bird Brain. Number one, you can call yourself a superhero all you want, but count me out. The powers, the super-villains, all of that? That's not me. I'm out here for one reason, and one reason only: to find where the bad guys are, and stop them before your Powered Pals of Paris get involved.
"Number two, is this seriously what you think being a superhero is all about? Do you think Spotty and her merry band are out here picking up trash all night? 'Cuz I've seen them work. Sure they might get a group of people together to clean up a park for publicity or something on a weekend, but they've got more important things to do when they're 'on patrol.' And come to think of it, I do, too.
"Number three," she continued, interrupting his indignant retort, "We are not partners!"
"But–"
Anansi set him down, released his collar, and turned on her heel. "You can stay and pick up trash if you want, Birdy," she called over her shoulder, "but some of us actually have work to do!"
Anansi stormed off down the block. She resisted the urge to look at her watch. She knew this whole misadventure had already cost her more time than she could afford, time when she could have been staking out her latest target, a large building in the 18th Arrondissement that she'd heard strange noises from a few days ago; she didn't need that reminder of how much time she'd lost. A quick glance down the street in either direction confirmed that she was alone on the streets in this neighborhood. Or almost alone.
Heavy footsteps pounded on the pavement behind her. Without looking she said, "I suppose you want to tell me I'm wrong about superheroes, Doc?"
"No… nothing like that," he responded sheepishly. "I… ah… I haven't exactly… that is to say I have never… um… done this whole hero thing… your hero thing, that is… that much," he explained, fidgeting with the small owl ears affixed to the top of his cowl. "I tried it, you know, after Hawk Moth first appeared and Ladybug and Cat Noir arrived on the scene to stop him. Looking back I can admit now that I – um – got myself into more trouble than I prevented, heh heh. Then Ladybug and Cat Noir convinced me a couple years ago – after I got myself Akumatized, I mean – that I should just help people if I'm going to be a hero, do the things they couldn't really do while Hawk Moth was still at large. So that's what I did: pick up trash, carry bags for people, find lost pets. Take pictures with fans. People liked me. I was doing good. Ladybug and Cat Noir kept the city safe; I kept the city happy. Then after they defeated Hawk Moth, they invited me to be one of the Heroes of Paris! But I just kept doing the same things I'd been doing. I guess I don't really understand what being a hero means anymore."
Anansi let out a breath. "No, I shouldn't have yelled the way I did," she conceded. "What you do is good. People like you; you've got a hell of a lot more followers on Instagram than civilian-me does! But your way of being a hero? It's just not what I do. I'm after people trash, not… trash trash."
"Then teach me!" He gave her an eager look. "I'm always looking for continuing education courses! How do you do what you do?"
Anansi was about to respond when a car alarm went off a couple blocks down. She turned to follow the sound but couldn't see the car making the noise.
"You want to know about being a hero?" Anansi asked, taking off toward the sound. "Lesson one is to stop crimes when they happen right in front of you!" she shouted over her shoulder.
Anansi sprinted as fast as she could. She could hear the Owl panting as he tried to keep up with her breakneck pace. At the end of the block, she turned right, toward the source of the noise, and saw a dark-colored midsized sedan pulled over with two men standing beside it, one on either side of the back doors. Anansi had just opened her mouth to shout for them to stop when the shout died on her lips.
Something long jabbed out of the car's shattered rear window, knocking one of the carjackers to the ground. As she neared the scene, the car door opened and a figure emerged, holding a long, thin object with a round base on one end. He raised the weapon vertically above his head and slammed the circular base down on the carjacker's face, shouting, "That was totally not rock and roll, mate!" The next thing she heard was a low growl, followed by a high-pitched shriek.
Anansi finally found her voice again and raced up to the carjacker who was still standing. "Hey!" she shouted. The carjacker took one look at her, dropped his gun in shock, and ran off down the block, tripping over a trash bag and nearly losing his balance in his haste to escape. She watched the man stumble into an alley before turning back to tend to the car and victims. But when she saw the man standing on the other side of the vehicle, her jaw dropped. "You have got to be kidding me!"
Standing on the other side of the car was none other than Jagged Stone, dressed in a magenta jacket with bronze epaulets protruding from the shoulders. His hair was dyed a brighter shade of blue than his normal highlighted tips and stuck up in all directions. And in his hands he was twirling a microphone stand like a baton.
The Owl reached them and stopped, bending over and gasping for breath. He started putting his hand on Anansi's arm, but thought better of it. When he had caught his breath, he straightened up. His face brightened when he caught sight of the man on the other side of the car. "Ah! Guitar Hero! What brings you out to battle the primal forces of evil on this auspicious evening?"
Anansi's eyebrows shot up into her hairline under her mask. "Guitar who now?" Every word they say makes less sense than the last…
"Hey, mate!" Jagged called, dropping the microphone stand. A dull groan indicated that he'd dropped it on the carjacker's chest. Jagged glanced down at his feet disdainfully. "And you deserve worse than that for what you lot done!" He looked back at Anansi and the Owl as he moved around the car to join them, stepping gingerly to avoid the crocodile that was walking beside him with its tongue hanging out of its open mouth and its tail swaying happily. "The Owl, right? And are you lot out on hero business?"
"That was the idea," Anansi grumbled.
"And who might you be, love?" Jagged asked, finally looking closely at her.
"Name's Anansi. So let me get this straight: you two know each other?"
"Oh, yeah!" Jagged replied, throwing an arm around the Owl's shoulders and grinning. "Owl and I go way back! Fought together in the First Rock Battle of the Year! Totally rock and roll!"
"We stopped a band of miscreants from making off with charity money!" the Owl added, putting an arm around Jagged's shoulders while using the other to fend off the overly-affectionate crocodile.
"Of course you did," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
"So have you been Akumatized again by our mutual friend, Impératrice Pourpre, Guitar Hero?" the Owl asked, examining Jagged's outfit and testing an epaulet. "Who is the villain? We shall fight him together again!"
"Oh, no, nothing like that, mate," Jagged replied, shrugging. "Had a concert tonight – just on the way back to the hotel when this mess happened. I actually commissioned this outfit special for the concert, after our last adventure. Made by an awesome young designer! Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"
"Ah! Marinette! Of course I know her! She was actually a student at my sch-ahem," the Owl coughed, "at a collège nearby. Ladybug even asked her to design my new suit after our last team-up!" The Owl stretched his arms out, cape spread wide, and turned around to display the Owl logo emblazoned across the back of the cape.
"Marinette"? Alya's best friend is connected to these two? Anansi wondered, raising her eyebrows behind her helmet mask. Somehow that does not surprise me. Aloud she said, "We are out on hero business tonight, Mr. Stone, and we really should get going – at least if you want us to maybe catch that other carjacker who was trying to steal your car?"
"That sounds totally rock and roll!" Jagged crowed enthusiastically, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Just give me a minute and Fang 'n I will come with you!"
"You'll do what?" she asked, nonplussed. Her heart sank.
"I won't be but a minute!" Jagged assured them, racing to the open car door. Fang plodded up to Anansi and started rubbing his head against her leg until she pushed him away. Fang moaned in disappointment – how can a crocodile even sound disappointed? Jagged gave the carjacker still lying in the middle of the road an enthusiastic kick in the gut and leaned into the car. "I just need me a weapon!" he called. He mumbled to himself while rummaging through the back seat. "Let's see… microphone, soundboard, keyboard – aha!"
"Jagged? What on earth do you think you're doing?" a woman's voice shrieked from the car.
"Not to worry, Penny, love!" he replied cheerfully. He withdrew from the car with his guitar in his hands and a portable amp slung on his back. He spread his arms wide. "Off to be a hero again! I sense inspiration tonight! A rock opera: 'Guitar Hero, the Owl, and–' I'm sorry, what's your name again, love?"
"Anansi," she repeated in a monotone.
"'The Guitar Hero, the Owl, and the Anansi'! No! 'The Guitar Hero and His Band of Brothers in Rock'!"
Anansi heard the same voice from the car mutter something that sounded suspiciously like "I told Marinette this costume was a bad idea…"
She rubbed her temples to soothe her growing headache. "Fine. Whatever," she muttered to herself. She shook her head ruefully. "I'm babysitting one cosplayer already tonight; what's another one?"
"Come, faithful companions!" the Owl shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "All the Paris underworld shall learn to fear… the Owl! Hoo hoo!"
"This is going to be so rock and roll!" Jagged added, riffing on his guitar.
Fang let out an excited grunt and wagged his tail.
Anansi face-palmed. "I almost wish I babysat the twins tonight," she groaned, as something metallic caught her eye beside the carjacker's prone form.