To anonymousfriend27: Jagged Stone/Guitar Hero has some… unique… ways of fighting. And the thing you missed is that Anansi would probably be rolling her eyes while they pose around her!

To The Keeper of Worlds: It would be pretty awesome if they found a way to work this team-up into season 4!

The town car pulled away from the scene of the mugging, leaving the Owl and his companions alone with the would-be carjacker. Looking down the street, the Owl couldn't see anything to indicate where the other carjacker had gone. Now that he was out on the streets, hunting for criminals and ne'er-do-wells, the Owl couldn't help thinking that perhaps he was overmatched. After all, these carjackers had been carrying guns! Marinette had assured him that the material from which she had made his new suit was tear-resistant and would even hold up against a knife, but he did not want to test it against bullets. However, he could not let such thoughts distract him from his mission: he must be strong for his companions. They must learn all they can about these carjackers to keep Guitar Hero and his assistant safe!

Anansi evidently had the same thought. The Owl nearly jumped out of his skin when she let out a low growl, radiating disgust with her body language. She grabbed the carjacker by his shirt collar and pulled him up off the pavement. Quietly, so low that the Owl could barely hear, she growled out, "I'm giving you one chance, cupcake. Tell me what I want to know, or you're crocodile chow. Where did it come from?"

"Bite me," the carjacker retorted.

"Don't tempt me," she snapped, shaking him roughly. "Either you give me answers, or I beat them out of you so you're nice and tender before the crocodile starts in on you. Now where did you get it?"

"I ain't telling you nothing!" The carjacker spat on her mask.

Anansi lifted him further off the ground and was just about to slam him back into the roadway when the Owl intervened. "Hold up, my dear," he declared. "Maybe I can be of assistance?"

"Call me 'my dear' one more time, and we'll find out just how far owls can fly," Anansi snarled. Nevertheless, she released the carjacker to slump back to the ground. "You think you can get this dumbass to talk, go for it."

"I shall! But first, what am I looking for information about?" the Owl asked.

"Everything he knows."

"That's a very broad category my de-aring companion!" he amending quickly when Anansi feigned a step in his direction. "I could ask him his favorite cereal or preferred aftershave, but I don't see how that will help us. So what should I ask him about?"

"Ugh, fine," Anansi grumbled, leading the others away from where the carjacker was blinking owlishly in the middle of the road. She reached into a pouch on her belt and withdrew a metallic object. The Owl and Jagged Stone both leaned in to take a closer look. "This is a lynchpin," she explained. "They're popping up all over Paris as some sort of calling card. So where did this loser get one?"

"A conspiracy?" Guitar Hero enthused, striking a pose with his foot on Fang's back and windmilling his arm to strike a chord on his guitar. "This is totally rock and rock!"

"Could you say that a little louder, Rock Brain?" Anansi hissed, grabbing the arm before it came around again. "I don't think they heard you in Russia!"

"Why of course I can!" Guitar Hero declared. He took a deep breath and shouted, "A–"

"Rule number one of investigating conspiracies," Anansi growled, pulling him close to her face and keeping her hand firmly clamped over his mouth, "is that you don't talk about investigating conspiracies! Now if I let go of your mouth, you have to promise not to speak another word about lynchpins or conspiracies, period, for the rest of your life. Nod if you understand."

Guitar Hero nodded his head, and Anansi released him. He immediately started in on a wicked guitar solo, swaying with the music. The Owl chuckled – and Anansi narrowed her eyes – when he started mumbling lyrics under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "Guitar Hero and the Lynchpin Conspiracy."

"I will turn that guitar into kindling if you don't stop!"

"I did not speak a word!" Guitar Hero protested, holding the guitar out of her reach.

"Very well, then." The Owl turned away from his squabbling companions, rubbing his hands together as he returned to the dazed carjacker. "Let's see what the best disciplinarian in the Paris Educational System can dig up from this delinquent!"

"Oh no," Anansi groaned behind him.

The Owl squatted next to the carjacker and withdrew a water bottle from his utility belt. Cracking the seal on it, he offered the bottle to the carjacker before opening one for himself. The carjacker drank silently for a minute before giving the Owl a confused look and grudgingly saying, "Thanks."

"You are very welcome, son," the Owl told him. "Do you have a name?"

He mumbled something indistinct.

"You'll have to speak up, son," the Owl said sharply. "Speak loudly and clearly."

"Denis, all right?"

"Very good." The Owl beamed. "Now, Denis, let's talk about you. I don't need to tell you that your situation does not look good, young man." He chuckled jovially and put a hand on Denis' shoulder. "After all, theft and assault are very serious charges."

Denis gave him a look. "That supposed to mean something to me, old man?"

All the humor left the Owl. "Now see here," he told him severely. "You don't want to try my patience when I'm the only thing keeping you in one piece. You and your colleague were found attempting to rob a world-famous musician on a side street in the dead of night. The penalties for that are severe; why, I'm sure Jagged Stone would be more than happy to go along with my companion's suggestion and let his pet 'take a bite out of crime' tonight! You only have a couple choices in front of you. Option one: you can answer my questions right now, and I will put in a good word for you with the police officers who are already on their way here." Denis tried to scoff, but the Owl cut him off. "Option two: you can refuse to answer my questions, and the crocodile can have a go at you until you tell us everything we want to know anyways. There are your options: you go with the police without bite marks, or you go with the police with bite marks."

Denis held the Owl's gaze for another minute before blinking and slumping back to the pavement. "What do you want to know?"

"I think the first thing we all want to know is how you came to target that particular car, my dear boy!" the Owl told him, chuckling jovially. From the sidewalk, Guitar Hero's ears perked up at that.

"Crime of opportunity," Denis replied dismissively. "We were on our way to the bar when we saw a sweet car driving past and thought it looked rich. How were we supposed to know that nut was in it?"

"I see." The Owl nodded, pondering. "Now, which bar were you heading to?"

"O'Shea's. The Irish pub 2 blocks down on the left."

The Owl examined his face closely before turning to look down the street. "Were you planning on meeting anyone at the bar?"

"Yeah, my friends Smiley and Chuckles were supposed to be waiting for us there. Then we were going to go to a concert downtown."

"That's all a very fascinating story," the Owl told him. "A pity none of it is true. The only concert in town ended hours ago. There aren't any bars near here; we would see the lights if they were. And I suppose that means that the carjacking we foiled was not a crime of opportunity, but deliberate! Now, are you going to tell me the truth, or are you going to waste our time?"

Denis grumbled something under his breath.

"What was that, young man?" the Owl asked. "Come, come, you have to speak clearly and enunciate!"

"I said you remind me of my old math teacher!"

"I have no idea what you mean," the Owl sputtered. "Now will you answer the question, or shall I bring in the crocodile?"

"Ugh, fine," Denis groaned. "He's probably going to kill me when I don't show up tonight, anyways. Yes, we were sent to target that specific car – not to kill anyone, just to rough 'em up a bit. We didn't know whose car it was until it had stopped and we broke the window so we could see inside. And then he was poking me with that stick-thing."

"Why were you after Jagged Stone of all people?" the Owl demanded, paling under his cowl. "Surely your boss wouldn't be targeting known Heroes and their allies?"

"How am I supposed to know that?" Denis retorted. "Do I look like the kind of guy who works for people who tell their underlings their reasons? The people I work for tell me to do something and I do it because I know that if I don't, or if I ask too many questions, they'll start murdering their way through my friends and family and then come for me!"

"That's good, you're doing well now, Denis." The Owl patted him on the shoulder. "Now, what were you supposed to do after roughing up my friend Jagged Stone?"

Denis sighed in defeat. "We were supposed to report back to the boss outside a bar called Le Napoleon in the 2nd Arrondissement. He's expecting us around midnight."

"Excellent job, son, thank you," the Owl told him. "I just have one question left. Where did the lynchpin come from?"

"The boss gave them out," Denis shrugged. "He never told us why we were supposed to carry them around, just that it's a signature."

The Owl squeezed Denis' shoulder and pushed himself up to his feet. "The police will be here momentarily to take you into custody. I'll let them know you cooperated. Your future is looking up again, young man!" He glanced back toward Anansi and Guitar Hero to see that Fang was waddling over to investigate. "I must consult with my companions, but for now I will leave you under the watchful eye of Fang the crocodile!"

"Wait… I thought you said you wouldn't feed me to him!" shrieked Denis as Fang lay down across his legs and rolled over to show him his belly.

The Owl strode over to where Anansi had cornered Guitar Hero behind a dumpster. She shouted, "I will take that guitar and shove it up your–"

"I have some information," interrupted the Owl, looking between them.

"Wait, he talked to you, Birdy?" Anansi asked, surprised.

"Of course he did!" the Owl replied proudly. "I have never failed to get the truth from a student!"

"I'm sure," Anansi answered dryly. "What story did you get off him?"

"Just that Guitar Hero was his target, and a time and location where they were supposed to report to their boss." The Owl shrugged.

"Huh."

"Wait," Guitar Hero interjected. "Are you saying that these loonies were actually trying to attack me and Penny? That's a seriously rock and roll story there! Wait until the press hears that! They'll be all over my new album, 'Rockin' at the Law'…"

"Yeah, okay, Rocky," Anansi retorted. "But aren't you missing something here?"

Guitar Hero furrowed his brow in thought for a moment. "No… I already commissioned the cover. And I'm sure I've got the songs already set to go – once this one is finished, that is…"

"You were specifically targeted by carjackers as part of a conspiracy!" Anansi shouted in his face.

"What, that?" Guitar Hero asked, nonplussed. He chuckled. "That was nothing! I've gotten worse from my fans. You know, one time I was getting groceries right after an album came out, and a mob surrounded me begging for autographs."

"'Autographs.' Are you serious? How does that compare!?" Anansi demanded.

"Well," Guitar Hero admitted sheepishly, "they were asking me to autograph clothing." Seeing the skeptical look Anansi gave him he added, "My own clothing. That they had just ripped off of me."

"You're… you're being serious here." Anansi threw her hands up. "Of course you're being serious. Why should I even be surprised by anything anymore tonight?"

The Owl cleared his throat. "As much as I enjoy partaking in good superhero banter, come, my faithful companions! We must track down these miscreants and avenge this wrong against our good friend the Guitar Hero!"

"Right," Anansi said, shaking her head. Then she looked at him and nodded approvingly, clapping him on the shoulder. "You done good, Professor. Now never call me your 'faithful companion' again!"