Pigeon's Coop
A single light was casted down to the center of a stage. A woman with caramel skin and shining platinum hair stood under the light, wearing a yellow canary one shoulder dress. She held a microphone in one hand, she twirled it in her hand before taking it to her mouth.
"Are you ready, Paris? Because now we are getting it on!" she introduced. "I am Ferri d'Avore, and it is my honor to say: Let the 80th Hero Grand Awards begin!"
The stage was lit up with lights and music as the spot the presenter stood turned into a catwalk with a large screen behind it. The red curtains on the sides of the stage shune in the light as all the people clapped in cheer. The auditorium was full with people who paid through the nose to be in the very seats they were sitting on.
The Hero Grand Awards were the equivalent of the Oscars for the hero community and just being there was considered an honor.
"Listen up folks, we got ourselves a sull house of heroes and important people, but we all know who you came here to see!" Ferri said. "Let us start off with the Top Ten Heroes of this city and Paris! Starting off with the Wild Hero that has taken up the rookie world by storm, wherever he goes he causes an uproar! Say hello to Monkey King!"
Walking out into the stage came the number ten hero, Monkey King. He wore a full body brown suit that resembled a monkey's body, a brown belt that extended into a tail, a neck guard, grey arm and shin protectors, a golden headband. He had a brown mask on his face and his hair was red combed back. He jumped in twirling his staff like a master before landing at the catwalk.
"Time to party!" Monkey King claimed, lifting his staff up in the air.
"This hero is a master at causing chaos for the bad guys and can turn any frown upside down!" Ferris explained. "Monkey King has risen up to the number ten spot after being only one year on duty. His Miraculous can create an erratic field that supercharges him while making every villain inside it to get their senses go into overdrive. Sounds like a wild party for anyone in it! Next up is the Number Nine Hero, the most experienced and yet the most lean and mean machine, Turtle Sentry!"
From behind the stage came out a short man slowly walking towards the center of the stage, waving at the people that had come. He looked frail and walked with a sense of slowness that would make him look like an ordinary old man, if not for his attire. He wore a green full bodysuit with baggy dark green pants, armored chest plate that resembled the shell of a turtle, armored shoulderpads that resembled turtle shells, a green belt with a turtle symbol on it, and his arms were covered with dark green gloves. On his face he had a green bandage wrapped around his eyes like a ninja's domino mask. And on top of his head laid a large green hat that could be mistaken for a Chinese country hat, but it was instead a large and powerful shield.
"Hello everyone, I am glad to be invited to such a fancy shindig at my age." Turtle Sentry said respectfully, waving at the people.
Some people laughed at his comment, but they all knew that this man was more than just words.
"Monkey King, good to see you are doing well." Turtle Sentry said, bowing to the young hero.
"Master, I am glad to see you too. I can see that you are still kicking!" Monkey King pointed out with a laugh. "I hope one day we can spar like back in the day without you breaking a hip."
"Be careful what you wish for, Monkey." Turtle Sentry retorted.
"That's Turtle Sentry, folks. An easy speaking man with a great sense of style. But don't let his calm and nice demeanor fool you. This here is a veteran hero that's been giving the bad guys and villains alike with his powerful Miraculous: Shield. With it he can create powerful energy shields that are nearly indestructible!" Ferris explained. "Now let's give it up for our next hero. These last two heroes have been shining heroes, but this one thrives in the shadows, like the dark deity he is named after. Give a warm welcome to Tsukuyomi!"
From the darkness came a simple looking hero. He wore a long black cloak that concealed his body completely with only black boots being shown on his feet. On his neck was a red neck protector, but that was the only non-black colored part of his costume. And what stood out the most was the fact his head was the one of a black feathered hawk with spiky black feathers that blended into the night, menacing red eyes and a curved yellow beak.
"This here is the Jet-dark hero, Tsukuyomi. He is best known for his role as a defender of the night as he was the one that fought against the villainous Slice as she held the Eiffel Tower and all the tourists hostage." Ferris explained. "His Miraculous, Dark Shadow is a multi-purpose force to be reckoned with as it can morph into anything Tsukuyomi needs!"
From inside the black cloak a dark figure that resembled Tsukuyomi emerged with large clawed hands and bright yellow eyes.
"Dark Shadow is here, folks!" Dark Shadow said, giving a thumbs up.
"Dark Shadow, don't show off." Tsukuyomi whispered.
"Next up is the seventh hero that's always on time with the speeds faster than any engine! A shining knight for the modern era, with speed and style! Say hello to the fastest hero around, Ingenium!" Ferris introduced.
In a whoosh of wind, a silver figure emerged onto the stage like a knight appearing just in time to save the day. This hero was completely covered in silver armor from head to toe with exhaust pipes wrapped around his chest and other six pipes coming out from his legs. He took off his helmet and showed a young face with neatly combed black hair and a pair of glasses.
"Ingenium is here, just in time!" Ingenium said with a salute.
"This man is the younger brother of the former Ingenium who decided to retire, but don't think this young stud is anything to sneeze at! This young man has earned himself the title of the Speeding Silver Bullet by catching three different bank robber gangs in the span of 3 minutes! All of which in different parts of Paris! Say hello to the Number Seven Hero! And ladies, he's single." Ferris called out, giving Ingenium the 'call me' sign.
Ingenium blushed as he moved back with the other heroes.
"Next up is the bright yellow princess of Paris! Swooping in with a powerful sting that strikes at the hearts of criminals. You know her, you lover her, here is-"
"Queen Bee, my lovely followers!"
Queen Bee emerged from behind the stage, cutting off Ferris from her speech. She slowly floated down and bowed like the belle of the ball.
"I am here to reassure you all that I am back in action and ready to save the day!" Queen Bee said, giving a victory pose for her fans. "I just took on this vicious mob assassin that escaped from prison just to get revenge on me. But he was no match for me and my awesome moves!"
"...Anyway, on to the Top Five Heroes that are a beacon of hope to all of us!"
"But I wasn't done!" Queen Bee grunted as the other heroes pulled her back.
"Move it, twerp! The real aces are here to show you how it's done!"
From the top of the stage, a figure landed down with a heavy thud, causing a gust of wind to hit the audience. She was a tall caramel skinned short stacked Amazon with long white hair that reached down her back and two large bunny ears that were both adorable and super functional. Her muscles were as though sculpted by a Greek master showing their power as well as her beauty. She wore a white one piece unitar with a fluffy neck, a crescent moon on her bountiful chest and purple boardings on where her arms and legs came out. Her hands were covered with white gloves with fluffy fur on her wrists. She had long purple leggings that reached up her thighs, while she wore metallic rabbit shoes that worked with her feet.
"If you get in my way, I'll kick your ass until you beg for more!" Miruko said. "And that's a promise!"
"Oh my goodness! The Number Five Hero has just made her dynamic entrance! The Rabbit Hero, Miruko, the muscle of the top ten heroes! Her grace is only matched by her unbeatable fighting spirit and her long climb to the number five spot clearly shows it! Her Miraculous: Rabbit, might not seem like much but if you've been at the receiving end of powerful legs you know that those puppies pack a kick and then some!"
Miruko smiled a toothy grin, like the one a wolf would give its dinner.
"Good to see that most of you guys haven't gone soft." Miruko said to the other five heroes.
"How dare you make such an entrance! You ruined my hair, you over muscular rabbit!" Queen Bee ranted.
Miruko only laughed at her claim.
"Maybe you should shave it off then." Miruko laughed, irking Queen Bee.
Back at the stage, Ferris continued with her presentation.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, keep your eyes peeled because the next hero is full of mystery! Nothing is as it seems with this mistress of deception. But don't let her beauty and illusions fool you, this hero is another great show of heroism coming in all shapes and sizes. Say hello to the Number Four Hero, Foxthrob!" Ferris introduced.
An orange mist came up from the seats, freaking out a few of the members of the audience. The mist gathered up on the center of the stage as it began to gather around, taking the form of a large smoke fox. From inside the smoke fox, a dark silhouette appeared before stepping out of the smoke. The silhouette was shown to be a woman with long black hair that reached at her back with tanned skin and a pair of glowing orange eyes. She wore an orange skin tight suit with a white inner part that went from the top of her neck all the way down to her inner legs. She had a bright orange sash wrapped around her waist that went down to appear like a fox tail. She had black elbow long gloves that looked like a new part of her skin with matching black boots that reached half way up her shins. She had a pair of long orange fox ears with white fur on the inside, and an orange domino mask with black eyeliner and two ponytails side by side of her head as though they were little foxtails.
"It is a pleasure to be here, Ms Ferris." Foxthrob said, winking at the presenter. "I look forward to living up to the expectations set by you all."
Ferris blushed at Foxthrob's comment. But she shook her head as the fox-themed heroine walked back with the grace of a model.
"T-There you have it people! Foxthrob's Miraculous: Illusion. With this power she has been able to make even the most ludicrous ideas into a reality! She has made it to the top five because of her tricks and her skills in messing with the minds of villains. Her most notable feat has been the utter defeat of the vicious villain, Volpina!" Ferris introduced.
Foxthrob walked up to the rest of the heroes without a single word. She only smiled at the heroes.
"Don't get cocky, foxy. One day, I'll overthrow you!" Miruko said.
"On that we can agree." Queen Bee added.
The other heroes could feel the tension between the three females. They even wondered if they had to separate them before they fought in the middle of the stage.
"Next up is none other than the toughest girl on this list! She's the untouchable swordswoman. The heavy rain that falls down on all evil doers. And the devastating lightning that proves her might with each step! Give it up for the Dragon Hero, Lady Dragon!" Ferris introduced.
From behind the stage, a woman dressed in red walked out. Lady Dragon had fair porcelain skin and short black hair with brown eyes and a small smile. She wore a red costume with a black dragon coming up from her left leg, coiling itself around her leg all the way up to her chest with a circle with three spinning forces laid, one white, one blue, and one yellow. Her costume's neck was colored black to match her gloves and her right shoe with golden borderlines like the ones that outlined the dragon scales. She had two red horns coming out from the sides of her head with golden tips. Her domino mask resembled the eyes of a fierce dragon. On her back, there was a red bladed sword with the same symbol on the guard as she had on her chest. Lady Dragon gave a cordial bow to the audience, who expected something more from the number three hero.
"...Um, here we have the number three hero. The beautiful swordswoman that has made her way up to the top three with her intense determination and power. You can't say anything about this great combination of beauty and power. Her Miraculous: Elemental Body is a force to be reckoned with. With it she is more than a match for almost any villain!" Ferris explained.
Lady Dragon pulled out her sword with one swift movement. The yellow part of her symbol shined brightly as a lightning bolt blasted through the stage.
The audience was quiet at first, but then they came back to life with thunderous applause.
Lady Dragon sheathed her sword back and walked back with the other heroes. Her simple yet effective show of power reminded everyone that she was just as powerful if not more so than the other heroes. Like a walking storm, she made it so that her presence was felt and respected about the room.
"Wow people! Talk about clearing a room! And what better form to introduce our resident eternal underdog! I give you the boom! The Number Two Hero: DYNAMITE!" Ferris introduced.
From behind the stage came a loud flashbang. Amidst the smoke and loud echo of the explosion came a muscular man with a few small scars on his arms and face, explosive blond hair, burning red eyes and a savage grin on his face. He wore a black suit with matching pants with an orange X across his chest, explosion symbols on his shoulder pads, orange heeled boots, armored knee pads, a black belt with orange cylinders on his sides, and orange palm gloves. On his arms were a pair of gauntlets that resembled slim tactical black grenades.
"Hello people of Paris! Did ya miss me?!" Dynamite asked with a cocky grin.
"This here is the one hero you don't want to piss off, with an explosive personality and a Miraculous that can go hand in hand, villains better beware. His bombs aren't just for show. His Miraculous: Explosion can be pretty devastating as well as versatile! You never know how but you can be sure that by his long list of villain defeats, he'll find a way to win." Ferris explained.
Dynamite walked up to the other heroes, with his signature smile.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen. This is the moment you've all been waiting for. The Number One Hero is here! Brace yourselves for the hot and the cold. Because here is the power of the elements unleashed upon the world. He is so cool it burns, the Number One Hero, Freezerburn!" Ferris introduced.
From behind the stage came out another man, this one was fair skinned with one dark eye and one blue eye, half of his hair being white and the other half being red and under his red side a nasty burn scar. He wore a blue armored chest piece with red stripes across it with a circle in the middle. Wrapped around his back was a white backpack with water packets that ran through his whole chest with exhaust vents and regulators. He wore a red and blue shirt underneath his chest plate and backpack regulator with matching pants with red lines, with black armbands on his arms, and white shoes with red lines.
"Freezerburn, reporting for duty!" Freezerburn said, giving a salute as fire and ice came from his left and right sides.
"Here you have him ladies and gentlemen, the great and powerful force of nature that is our number one hero!" Ferris said. "A great round of applause for these pillars of the community!"
The auditorium erupted into applause.
Meanwhile, Izuku and Mina were watching the awards from the streets. They were both finishing up their patrol when the awards started playing on the big screens of the plaza.
"You ever wonder what would happen if we were given an invitation to those awards?" Izuku asked with a dreamy tone.
"We'd probably end up setting it on fire. Or be banned from them after we destroy the auditorium." Mina replied. "Let's go back to the station and be off and out of duty."
It had been a quiet day, much to the annoyance of Mina. But that night, Paris was at peace and things couldn't have been better for everyone else. Izuku for his own part was happy that the worst that happened to him was that his coffee was taken by someone else. However, there was one thing that seemed to stand out that very day. There was an unusual amount of red eyed pigeons lurking around the city, near the homes of people, the large buildings and the people-filled plazas. The news had barely mentioned them as a passing comment, wondering if tourists had been feeding them against regulations.
The two officers arrived back at the police headquarters, they were ready to take a much needed break from the boredom of the day.
"Finally, we're done with the day!" Mina exclaimed, throwing up her arms.
She turned to her partner as he finished up their last piece of paperwork.
"And with this last date and signature, we are." Izuku added, putting the file with the solved reports.
"Man, this day was too quiet for my taste. What do you say if we hit the town and find a few bars to have a drink with some hot ladies?" Mina suggested, wiggling her eyebrows at him.
Izuku blushed at the idea that his partner was suggesting. He was certain that Mina had that je ne sais quoi that made her constantly think of ways to make him uncomfortable. He knew that she didn't do it out of malice, but out of fun. He sometimes wondered what she would do if he ever agreed to some of her afterwork ideas. However, this time Izuku had the perfect way to avoid looking like a tomato for the rest of the night.
"Actually Mina, I've already have plans for tonight." Izuku said with a knowing smirk.
Mina looked at him like he'd grown a second head. However, there was one thing she knew about his many tricks he had pulled to get out of playing her games. She then smirked thinking of calling his bluff.
"Oh~. Did you get yourself a girlfriend while I wasn't looking? Is it someone I know?" Mina asked, swooning over her dear partner. "Is it capitaine Kendo, perhaps? Or is it Alya?"
Izuku blushed at the idea of him dating either girl. It wasn't that he thought the women weren't pretty or attractive or nice, but he held Kendo with the utmost respect and Alya was far too much like Mina if not more inquisitive. Something a bit too dangerous for his life. He shook his head, holding up his hands in defense.
"No, no Mina. I'm just meeting a friend for a drink, that's all." Izuku stammered.
"Oh, a friend! Now, I am curious!" Mina said. "Tell me more, please, please, please!"
"Oh, look at the time! I got to run now!" Izuku said, fleeing from the scene as fast as his feet took him.
"You won't get away from me, Izuku. I will know where you're going and with who!" Mina called out as her partner ran out the door, much to the entertainment of the other officers.
"I swear those two will make a better comedic duo than Abbott and Costello." Kendo said, rolling her eyes at the antics of her two officers.
Izuku managed to elude Mina after her many attempts of catching up to him and getting the answers out of him. He panted a bit as he straightened his normal night clothes, which were a black jacket, a green buttoned up shirt, blue jeans and red shoes. He looked up, at the bar where he had agreed to meet his old friend. He walked up to the entrance of The Ode to the Outsider bar, looking for his friend.
"Hey Izuku! Sorry to keep you waiting."
Izuku turned around and saw his old childhood friend, Bakugo standing there. The number two hero was now wearing a leather jacket with a red t-shirt under it and a pair of beige pants with brown shoes.
"Kachan, it's so good that you've made it." Izuku said, greeting his friend with a handshake. "I saw the awards on the big screen back at the plaza. Congratulations."
"It would've been great if I finally took half and half's spot. But, let's forget about all that hero nonsense. Time to get drunk." Bakugo said as they both walked into the bar.
The bar known as The Ode to the Outsider was a little hole in the wall place where there was little to do with superheroes. One could find more in common with a sports bar and a ballet recital than the bar and the hero world. The bar was decorated with auburn colored wood with black top tables and pictures of s be they musicians or famous movie stars. The bar was filled with people of all shapes and sizes that had different Miraculous powers that only wanted to have a nice cold drink.
Izuku and Bakugo walked up to the bar counter and sat down for a drink.
"Monsieur, one gin and tonic and one whiskey on the rocks, s'il vous plaît." Izuku asked the bartender.
"Oui monsieur." the bartender replied.
"Thanks man, after the day I've had I need a stiff drink." Bakugo grunted. "The managers are worse than any scumbag on the streets. Every time I go out I have to be on my best behavior or remain in costume."
The bartender arrived back with the two drinks.
"Thanks a lot man." Bakugo said, taking a sip out of the glass.
"I can imagine being on such a schedule can be a bit much for some. But there are some heroes that can be hard to handle." Izuku replied. "Just last week, I got a taste of how working with Queen Bee is like."
Bakugo snorted.
"You're one of the poor schmucks that were there when the insect queen's clubhouse got crashed?!" Bakugo laughed. "You really are a magnet for bad luck!"
"Yeah, my superior, my partner and I went on to speak to her to find the source of the threats and then we were greeted by an explosive packet." Izuku sighed.
Bakugo then thought of something.
"Your partner is a woman, right?" Bakugo asked.
"Yeah, Mina Ashido. She is my partner." Izuku replied. "She's a ball of energy. I bet she'd be a great hero if given the chance. She can also be too much for me sometimes. One minute she's rambling about a crazy plan she has, then the next one she's driving like a woman possessed, and the next one she's somehow attracting more bad luck than me."
"Is she cute at least?" Bakugo asked.
"Some would say gorgeous." Izuku froze up as soon as he heard those words.
He had never said something like that outloud. He had surely thought about it, but never said it outloud.
Bakugo could only laugh at his friend's blushing face.
"But don't tell her I said that!" Izuku snapped, coming back to his senses.
Bakugo laughed. He was happy to see his old friend was actually socializing with others, more so with a member of the opposite sex. The explosive blond man had had his fair share of drinks with his friend, but it usually meant that they talked about their lives. So talking about women was a welcoming change.
The two friends continued drinking for hours. Talking about different topics, ranging from Izuku's time as a police officer to Bakugo's everyday heroic duties with his own agency. However, the topic eventually reached back to women and how Izuku needed a wingman to woo one that he really fancied.
"All I'm saying is that you need to be confident. You seem to have a good way of getting the attention of girls with your personality, confidence is all that you need." Bakugo said. "Trust me, you have that and any girl will fall for you." He added as they walked out of the bar.
"I think we have different ideas of winning over girls. I mean, how many girlfriends have you had?" Izuku asked. "Three? Four?"
"Five, actually." Bakugo replied.
"Who's the lucky girl? I hope it isn't another fangirl." Izuku said.
"No, I learned my lesson last time. It hasn't come out to the news yet, we've been keeping it lowkey." Bakugo replied. "Bet you can't figure out who she is."
Izuku chuckled.
"Hm, even with the drinks we had I think I can take an educated guess. You want to keep it secret for the time being. So it isn't a fan or a celebrity. Is she a hero?" Izuku asked.
"Keep it down man." Bakugo replied, pulling out a picture from his pocket. "Alright you sort of guessed it so I'll show you-"
However before Izuku could get a look at the picture, the picture was snatched by a red eyed pigeon.
"Hey!" Bakugo cried out as the pigeon flew away from the two friends. "That damn flying menace!"
Izuku couldn't help but chuckle at the strangeness of the pigeon.
"Guess that pigeon wanted the next scoop on what's going on with your lovelife." Izuku chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, man. When you get yourself a girlfriend I'll be teasing you when a pigeon snatches your pictures." Bakugo replied. "I guess we better get going before the manager starts looking for yours truly."
"Right, I gotta get up early for my shift. Have a nice night, Kacchan!" Izuku said as the two friends went their own ways for the night.
The next morning, Izuku got a ride from Mina, who kept giving him an inquisitive look. He could tell that she wanted all the details of the night.
"So, how was the night out with your friend?" Mina asked.
"It was alright. We just got caught up on each other's lives. We took different paths in life since we were little." Izuku explained. "He was even about to show me the picture of his new girlfriend, but one of those pigeons just snatched the picture away from him before I could see it. He hasn't had much luck with women so I hoped that this new girl would make him happy."
"Aww, you two must be best friends." Mina cooed. "I hope he can teach you how to pick up women. You need it more than anyone."
Izuku froze at the way that Mina just said that. She would never let him live it down, and that was something he could not live with.
However, as soon as the Dynamic Duo arrived at police headquarters, they were met with a small mob of people fighting to get inside.
"What's going on?" Izuku asked.
"Is the new police calendar out? I thought they said no to my idea." Mina muttered.
The two officers walked into the station and heard some of the things that the people were saying to the officers. Some people were demanding to talk to the officers in private while others asked to be placed in witness protection and others needed help with catching people that had stolen valuable information from them.
The situation didn't sound good and the officers on duty were doing everything in their power to keep the peace and calm down the agitated people. Captain Kendo was getting grey hairs from all the people that were trying to bust into the police headquarters.
"Midoriya, Ashido, don't just stand there like a couple of statues! Get some papers and take the statements of as many people as you can!" Kendo ordered as she used her large hands to keep the people in line.
"Oui capitane!" both replied.
Izuku and Mina spent the majority of the morning taking statements which enlightened them to what was going on. One woman claimed that her whole life's savings had been withdrawn and transferred to an unknown account. One man that worked for an economy firm had received anonymous emails that asked him to shift the information of certain stocks. Another man had received letters that threatened to expose his affair if he didn't defend certain clients. And another woman had been asked to steal from the place she worked unless she wanted her medical record to be exposed. These stories and more worried the two officers as it seemed that a large number of people were forced to do some unscrupulous acts. All the statements were different but they shared a few similar points.
After three hours of taking the statements of all those people, Izuku and Mina were drained of energy. They slumped on their respective desks as they took sips from coffee to regain their strength.
"Man, I can't feel my hand." Mina groaned.
"I don't think that I've written so many statements in a single day." Izuku added, cracking his fingers to alleviate the pain. "We need to start looking into these."
"But where do we even start? Some of these could be done by hackers or longtime stalkers." Mina thought out loud. "I mean, what do we have to go on? A few lawyers, stockbrokers, bankers, security guards, men and women that are completely unrelated, save for their mention of pigeons."
Izuku brushed off the last comment that Mina made. He needed to find the relation between these people and how they were being targeted, assuming that they were all picked by the same person or group.
Just then, Captain Kendo walked up to them. She looked tired with bags on her eyes and the need for a large cup of coffee. Having a mob at the entrance to your office was not the best way to start the day. Both Izuku and Mina straightened up and stood in attention. She returned their salute before handing them a file.
"Midoriya, Ashido, got a job for you." Kendo said as they grabbed the file. "I need you to look into these claims and see if you can find any patterns. If we have any luck all these will be done by the same people."
"Will do, boss." Mina replied.
"Will we be the only ones on this case?" Izuku asked.
"We are a bit busy with some other cases popping up across the city. Since the Hero Awards were yesterday some crooks are hoping to make a living while the heroes are occupied with some villains. We're also playing cleanup with the heroes." Kendo explained.
"Ooh, what do we have?" Mina asked.
"Some people with gigantic Miraculouses, a fella with the Miraculous to turn into Mist just robbed a bank, and Engenium is chasing after a clown that thinks he'll break a speed record in downtown Paris." Kendo sighed.
"He better catch the guy, that record is mine!" Mina commented.
Kendo rolled her eyes as Izuku laughed sheepishly.
"She's joking, captain." Izuku said, hoping to keep his partner from getting her license removed. "We'll get right on that."
"Keep away from the crazy world of heroes, you two. We don't need to be billed to reconstruct the whole city." Kendo said, leaving the two officers to do their job.
"She's never gonna let the Fish Market incident go, will she?" Mina asked.
"If you got an octopus stuck to your face after just coming out of the hair dressers, wouldn't you also hold a grudge?" Izuku asked, just as his phone started vibrating.
Izuku pulled out his phone and recognized the number on the caller ID. He wasn't expecting to get a call from Bakugo, but it would be nice to hear about a friend. Maybe he had just caught a villain and needed to inform the authorities to pick them up.
"Hey man, what's up?" Izuku asked, answering the call.
"We need to meet. I got a problem, man. Meet me at Court de Audit."
The caller hung up the phone, confusing Izuku. Something wasn't right, and he needed to find out what it was.
"Um, Mina. I um, need to step out for a sec. Turns out Madame Pronton is having trouble with some rough kids walking around the building." Izuku said on the spot.
Mina knew instantly that he was lying but decided to play along.
"Sure partner, I'll give you a lift!" Mina said, grabbing her stuff.
"What? No, no, no! There's no need for that! I can take a cab!" Izuku stuttered.
"No way partner! No one bullies old ladies on my watch and gets away with it. I'll threaten to melt their faces." Mina said, dragging Izuku back to her car, knowing fully well that she had called his bluff and was raising the ante. "Come on partner, we're burning daylight."
Izuku was dragged all the way back to Alien Queen. He was panicking, and he knew that there was only one way to get Mina off his case. He was well aware that this was her revenge for keeping his past night activities a secret from her. He was strapped to the passenger seat as she drove like the wind. He was scared that Engenium would actually pull up and give them a ticket.
They were at the intersection that on one side led to Izuku's apartment and the other led to the Court de Audit.
"Last chance to tell me where we're going." Mina commented.
Izuku let out a sigh. He needed to come clean.
"Alright, we're not going to my apartment. I got a call from my friend, from last night. He sounded like he was in trouble." Izuku explained. "He asked to meet with me in Court de Audit. I thought that it wouldn't take long."
"Oh, so you were going to dump all the work on me instead?" Mina asked, giving Izuku the stink eye.
"No I swear!" Izuku quickly replied. "I was going to go back and help you out. I wasn't going to let you do all the work!"
Mina's face remained as a frown before doing a complete 180. A bright gin popped on her face like a jack in the box jumping out to scare the life out of the one that was playing with it.
"You got it. But you better introduce him or her to me later." Mina said, taking a sharp turn to the place where the meeting was meant to take place.
Izuku and Mina arrived at Court de Audit in less than a minute. Izuku looked around before getting out of the car.
"Please, stay here Mina. I'll be right back." Izuku said.
"Oh, come on. I'm not some grounded kid to leave in the car." Mina snapped.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about this, but I need to speak to him without him feeling like he needs to hold back any information." Izuku explained.
"Fine." Mina pouted.
Izuku smiled at his partner's childish actions. He walked towards one of the columns where Bakugo was leaning against. He wore a blue tracksuit with dark glasses and a baseball cap.
"I'm here. What's wrong?" Izuku asked.
"I got this email this morning." Bakugo replied without even looking at his friend, giving him a printed copy of the email. "Sorry for asking you to come meet me at such short notice, but this is important."
Izuku took the printed page which showed a picture of Bakugo passionately kissing a tanned woman. Izuku recognized her as the number four hero, Foxthrob. He wanted to ask his friend how he managed to get in a relationship with the young woman.
"I guess this is the picture you wanted to show me." Izuku said.
"Yeah, but now this could cause a scandal since we are both working together on several missions, and it could be seen as me helping her rise higher up the ranks because of my position." Bakugo explained. "Also, since I'm coming out of a nasty separation, it could lead my former girlfriend to get her hands on more than just a simple bad break up."
"What have they asked you to do?" Izuku asked.
"Nothing for the time being, but they said that they'd get in contact." Bakugo replied. "I don't understand how they got the picture. The only copy I had was stolen by that crazy pigeon last night."
That comment helped Izuku connect the dots. He opened his notepad and started looking at all the mentions of the pigeons being around.
"What are you doing?" Bakugo asked.
"I think you aren't the only one being extorted by the same person. This morning I took several statements of people seeing the same birds. They could be connected." Izuku said. "If you receive any information from this email, contact me. Until then just act normal."
"Thanks Izuku, I owe you one." Bakugo said, giving him a thumbs up.
Izuku smiled, giving Bakugo a thumbs up of his own.
Just then the sound of a loud car horn echoed throughout the court. This caused any and all beings to turn at the source of the noise. Any pigeons and animals that were close by ran away from the noise. Then some animals ran away so fast in a panic that they ran into some tourists, causing them to fall on their butts and for a nearby ice cream seller to push his cart away.
Izuku and Bakugo both turned to see Mina in Alien Queen. She stuck out her head from the driver's seat. She had a big smile on her face and was waving her hand out to get the attention of her partner.
"Hey partner! We gotta go! The captain wants us to get a move on!" Mina called out with a big smile.
Izuku felt embarrassed by the antics of his partner. He covered his face, hoping that no one would recognize him or make the connection that he was working with her.
Bakugo took off his glasses to get a good look at Mina.
"Is that your partner?"
"...Yeah."
"Looks like you have your hands full." Bakugo said jokingly.
Izuku pulled down his officer's cap, covering his blushing face. He walked quickly to the car without even giving his friend a second glance. He got in the car without saying a word.
"So? How was your friend?" Mina asked.
"He… He was alright. But I think I have a lead on the case." Izuku replied, hoping to get out of the awkward situation.
"Oh, that's good. That's good. Is that DYNAMITE punching an old lady!" Mina snapped, pointing out of the car.
"WHAT?!" Izuku snapped his head up.
He kicked open the door, causing a passing cyclist to hit the door and was sent flying. Izuku looked around, noticing that Bakugo was nowhere near in sight. He struck his face with his palm, realising that he had fallen for Mina's prank. He quietly got back into the car, giving Mina an annoyed look.
"You made that up, didn't you?" Izuku asked.
Mina just gave him a big smile as a reply. She turned the car into drive and took off.
They drove back in silence before Mina decided that her partner must've forgiven her by now. She turned around and saw him muttering to himself. She was able to catch a few things that he was saying, but a part of her was more focused on how cute he looked when he got in the zone.
"...if what Kacchan said is true then whoever is doing this must be after the main top ten heroes. But why involve other people in this. Could this be about control? Well, we now have a lead. We should go back to check up on something." Izuku muttered, looking out the window. "If I'm right, the pigeons will be the key to solving this case."
"What about the pigeons?" Mina asked, breaking Izuku from his muttering trance.
Izuku jumped at his partner's words. He began to sweat because he had gotten into his old habit once more. He scratched the back of his head as he realised that he had to come clean and tell his partner what he was thinking. He had already suffered the consequences of keeping small things from her. ...He shuddered at the thought of what might happen if she found out about his nightlife.
"Well, according to Kacchan-" Izuku began.
"Oh, my god. Is that his nickname? That is so cute!" Mina said, laughing.
"...Yeah, don't tell anyone about it. He received an email that asked him to follow instructions that were going to arrive soon, or else the information about him and his girlfriend would come out." Izuku explained. "I don't know the kind of relationship that they have, but to have this force him to ask me a favor… It must be something big."
"Who's the lucky lady?" Mina asked
Izuku pulled out the copy that Bakugo gave him, and showed it to Mina.
Mina whistled at the sight.
"Wow, I got to say that your friend has some good taste." Mina commented. "I wonder how you could get in that position."
"Anyway. This actually gave me a clue for all this." Izuku said, putting the copy away with a blush. "This picture was stolen by a pigeon last night. This means that whoever got a hold of it got it from the bird or was controlling the pigeon to do it."
Mina raised an eyebrow.
"I mean that the person behind these actions must have a Miraculous that allows him to control the pigeons to gather information." Izuku explained.
"Oh, I get it now! Then let's go ruffle some feathers!" Mina said, stepping on the gas pedal.
Izuku was thrown back by the speed of the car. He sighed as he pulled himself back up.
Izuku and Mina arrived at the police headquarters, and started going over the different statements that many of the officers had to get. They were looking for any mention of the strange pigeons that could help them link the information. However, only a couple of statements spoke about the pigeons.
"Damn, there goes that clue of yours, partner." Mina commented.
"I should've known that no one would mention the pigeons. They are all over the city and people barely look twice at them." Izuku sighed. "But that also makes them the most likely to spy on people if someone can control them."
Mina's stomach grumbled. It had been a long day and neither of them had gotten anything to eat. She wanted to go out and get a big meal. But they still had to work on these statements and find a way to nail the evil mastermind behind this. She snapped her fingers as an idea popped in her head.
"Hey, why don't we go check up the places the people supposedly got these calls and messages and we look for anyone that looks suspicious." Mina suggested.
"You think he or she will go back there?" Izuku asked. "People are creatures of habit so it could be a possibility."
"Yeah, I also thought that if I wanted to get info on these guys I'd stalk them a bit." Mina added.
Izuku and Mina picked up a map and circled down all the places that the people had told them about. Throughout the day, the two officers looked at each spot with a fine toothed comb. They looked up and down, keeping an eye out for anyone or anything that looked suspicious. They tried different tactics to get information and to look at all the people that were in the public places. In the restaurant one of the women said she got her call, Izuku and Mina sat down for a coffee pretending to be on break with their eyes set on everyone that was in the restaurant. In an outside café, Izuku and Mina pretended to be looking for information on a missing bag. And in a plaza they pretended to be looking for coffee for the headquarters.
After their last spot they were left without any new leads, except a lot of pigeons.
"Well, we didn't get anywhere with this." Mina sighed as they went back to Alien Queen.
"I thought that if we kept an eye out, we'd notice someone. Since this person is targeting several people, I thought we'd run into a familiar face." Izuku added. "But there isn't anyone that we've seen in the other places. Unless you count the pigeons."
"So, our theory could have some grounds for it after all." Mina lightened up. "Maybe we should look for people with bird related Miraculouses."
"Good idea." Izuku replied while deep in thought.
Mina could tell that Izuku was troubled by the lack of action. She loved how he threw himself into his work and how he often took her suggestions to heart. She noticed how he was beating himself for not being able to put a pin on the situation by the way he was narrowing his eyes and tapping his chin with his finger. Mina thought that as a good partner, she should get him to talk things out.
"Hey, if you don't mind me asking. How did you and Kacchan become friends?" Mina asked, getting Izuku to look at her with a bit of surprise.
"Um, well, I. I don't think you wanna hear about my childhood." Izuku replied, trying to brush it off.
Mina gave him the look of a puppy. She tried to make her eyes as big as possible, sticking out her bottom lip and clasp her hands together in a begging fashion.
Izuku's defenses fell quicker than a sandcastle in the middle of a storm. He dropped his head in defeat.
"Alright, you win Mina." Izuku sighed with tears of defeat coming out of his eyes.
Mina did a brief victory pose before going back to her pleading form.
"We've been friends ever since we were kids. We grew up in the same neighborhood, played in the same playground, and went to the same school. We even looked up to the same hero." Izuku recalled, with an air of nostalgia in his voice. "One day, his Miraculous activated. It started out as tiny explosions that couldn't hurt a fly, but they began to grow larger and larger until the room was completely destroyed. After that he became sort of an outcast and people were afraid that the explosions might get out of control."
"That sounds terrible. Must've been hard." Mina said with sympathy.
"Yeah, it was hard for him. But that never broke his spirit. Since I was constantly looking into heroes and learning how their powers worked, I decided to help him better control it. We worked hard for three summers until he finally got control over the Miraculous." Izuku said. "By the time we reached highschool, we went to different schools but kept in contact. And after I became an officer and him a hero we started meeting every once in a while. He was the one that told me to become an officer like my dad."
"Aww, you guys are best friends no doubt!" Mina gushed over. "I can see why you want to help him the best you can. Well, unless we can find some record of a Miraculous that can control birds or capture one to follow after it we won't be able to help Kacchan or any of those other people."
Izuku made a note of that comment. An idea came to his mind. It was a wild one, but it was the only idea he had. That night would be a very intense one. He'll have to get a lot of bread and nets to get his work done.
The night had fallen in the city of Paris and everyone was weary from the day. Despite the usual rambunctious noises from the city, most people kept out to their own places. The lights illuminated the skyline like a map meant to be filled out and connected between each of the lights. The people were more focused on their nightly activities and their own late night fun to notice anything else. But one person had not gone to bed for there was still work that needed to be done.
Chat Noir ran from rooftop to rooftop looking for any pigeon. He felt like an actual cat, looking for a bird to snack upon. He spotted a small flock of pigeons that were resting by the rooftop before him. He crouched down, and slowly walked towards them. He kept his eyes on the birds, like a cat would its dinner. He reached out to snatch one of them without getting their attention, but the birds spotted him and flew away.
"Merde." Chat Noir muttered, dropping his head.
He straightened out and rushed to find another spot where the pigeons were. He walked up to the edge of the building, looking down upon the square below the building. He spotted a couple of pigeons. He slowly made his way down the drainpipe to the square. Once Chat Noir had landed on the square, he pulled out a butterfly catching net that he'd borrowed from one of his neighbors. He slowly walked towards the pigeons with the bet high over his head. He tiptoed towards the damn birds, wishing to grab hold of the birds and track it to the mastermind behind it all.
"Just stay there, little bird." Chat Noir muttered. "I promise to give you a nice chunk of bread from a sweet boulangerie from the street corner."
Chat Noir swung the net at the pigeons, but they scattered away from the spot. He chased after them, trying to grab hold of them, but all he got were feathers in his hands. He ran after one of the pigeons, jumping on top of trash cans and dumpsters trying to grab hold of it. He tried to catch it with the net but it got caught on one of the hanging cables. He freed it with a hard tug and was back at it like a cat unwilling to lose his meal. But the bird flew away from his grasp.
"Damn it." Chat Noir muttered.
He looked down, sighing as a way to think of another trick to catch the birds. He had been at this since the sun went down and was no closer to catching a pigeon than he was an hour ago. He started to wish that he'd bought a fresh loaf of bread from the boulangerie near his apartment. Just then he heard a fluttering of wings above his head. Chat Noir looked up and spotted a pigeon's nest. Not one to diss good luck, the vigilante started climbing up the wall of the building. His fingers clung to the bricks and pieces of metal left hanging from the sides of the windows. His training helped him make the journey to the top of the drain pipe where the pigeon had stopped to roost. He kept his left hand holding onto the pipe as he reached out to the pigeon. He was about to grab hold of the feathered creature, when he heard the sound of metal bending.
"Oh no." Chat Noir whimpered.
The drainpipe came off from the wall.
Chat Noir held on to the pipe as it bent with his weight. He was swung back and was then thrown into one of the rooms of the building. He found himself inside an old lady's bathroom. Thankfully the window was open. She was just entering the room when the vigilante broke in through the window.
"Sorry, madame. But the rooftops are very slippery tonight." Chat Noir moaned, getting up to his feet.
"If you need a bathroom break, there is a bathroom stall two streets down, monsieur." the old lady said, pointing away.
"Thank you, madame." Chat Noir said, slipping out by the window. "But I do recommend that you close the window."
Chat Noir climbed up to the rooftop before cracking his back. He sighed, feeling exhausted by the haunt of the pigeons.
Just as he was about to give up and call it a night, his phone began to vibrate. He pulled out his phone and saw that it was Mina.
"Hey Mina, it's a bit late, isn't it?" Izuku answered. "How's it going?"
"Hey Izuku, did I catch you off guard with your books?" Mina asked over the phone. "Don't you like to listen to my voice late at night?"
"No, no, Mina. I mean, I was just not expecting a call from you this late. I figured you'd be back at your place or hitting the town as you say. It is nice to speak to you. I've had a bit of a rough night so far." Chat Noir replied.
"Aw, that's too bad. But I did some extra snooping and I found something that might help you and your hero friend." Mina said. "Turns out that there was a file on a man that had a Miraculous that might be what we're looking for."
"You're doing extra work? I didn't see that coming." Chat Noir replied as a smile formed under his mask.
"Can't let you do all the nighttime work. There was this guy named Xavier Ramier who used to be a burglar almost twenty years ago, dabbled on blackmail too. Guess what his Miraculous was. Pigeon Command. He could control pigeons with nothing but a thought from his head." Mina explained. "He was never caught, and vanished from the city. It's almost creepy. You should see the look of this guy's picture."
"Does the file say anything about where he could be hiding?" Chat Noir asked.
"Sorry partner. That's all I could find." Mina replied.
"Well, thanks. I'll see what I can find and I'll contact you if I find anything." Chat Noir said, spotting a pigeon as it landed on the rooftop. "Get some rest Mina, I'll call you in the morning." He added before hanging up the phone.
Chat Noir walked towards the pigeon with great care. He moved every fiber of his being to keep quiet. His steps were short with his feet barely moving away from the ground. He held the net in his hand with all the desire to make his way to the pigeon and catch it. His shadow loomed over the bird, causing it to finally take notice of the man above him. Before the pigeon took off, Chat Noir caught it with the net. He let out a sigh of relief as he pinned down the bird with one hand and grabbed its leg with the other. He wrapped a small tracker around the pigeon's leg. It had taken him a pretty penny to get all the pieces he needed to make the small tracker. He had been going over ways of keeping track of the people and the criminals that he'd been unable to find. Chat Noir tightly wrapped the tracer on the pigeon before letting go of the bird.
The pigeon flew away from the rooftop, leaving Chat Noir to observe the bird as it took off.
The bustling sounds of the city took over as the vigilante took out his phone once more. He activated the tracker as the lights of the city accompanied him. Chat Noir spotted the tracking beacon telling him where to go.
"Now I've got you." Chat Noir said.
He pulled out a grappling hook gun and fired it. He flew through the air with the lights of the night, keeping his presence hidden from the rest of the citizens of Paris. He spotted some heroes on their late night patrols, but none of them saw him. He stopped by one of the rooftops, checking the tracker from his phone. He continued following it until he saw the pigeon fly off. But then his sight of the pigeon was obscured as more pigeons joined up with it. Chat Noir followed the small flock of pigeons to where they were flying towards.
All the pigeons were headed to a large building that was under construction. Cables were littered around the tower with a tall ebony tower that immersed the tower into the night sky. There were no lights coming from the building. Barbed wire could be seen in parts of the building with pieces of plastic bags and thread fluttering in the wind. There were large tarps on top of the large tower which made it resemble a large pigeon house.
Chat Noir pulled out a portable one eye binocular, kneeling down to look at what was going on from the building. He couldn't see much of what was going on with the tarps and the lack of light that was coming from the building. All he could see was the pigeons coming in and out of the building.
"This could be where they all go to roost for the night, but why is such a large flock in such a big building?" Chat Noir asked.
He then spotted some of the pigeons carrying what appeared to be clips from newspapers, documents and pictures.
"Guess this is the right spot." Chat Noir muttered, putting back the one eye binocular.
Chat Noir pulled out his grappling gun and fired it at the building. He was pulled into the building, landing in one of the holes that hadn't yet been filled. He landed with a soft thud, away from the eyes and ears of the many flying creatures that came into the large unfinished building. He pocketed his grappling gun, observing the dark corners of the building in case that he wasn't as alone as he thought. He spotted a staircase that led him to the top of the building. He placed a single foot on the steps of the staircase, hearing a creak. He slowly made his way up, feeling as though he was inside a haunted mansion.
The inside of the unfinished building had many gaping holes, hanging lights that were swinging gently due to the wind and several spots that one could fall out of if they weren't careful. The smell of feathers, bird seed, and old moldy bread mixed together, giving the building the scent of a graveyard where the tombs were left open. Not to mention the smell of all the bird droppings that painted the floor white, making any who stepped on it feel like they needed to burn their shoes afterwards.
Chat Noir heard movement working around the top of where he stood. He peaked out of his hiding spot and saw a small army of pigeons sitting in their own coops. He saw that there was a large table with a small candle light and a large computer next to it. But the thing that Chat Noir noticed the most was the creature that Mina had mentioned.
Xavier Ramier was a scrawny creature of a man. He was thin like a pencil with grey colored skin, a bald head that was covered by feathers, curved nose, and round cauliflower ears. He had long sharp nails, jagger teeth that twisted into a clown smile, red markings under his eyes and nose like those of a pigeon and feathers on his head to match. His feet resembled those of a bird much like the one he was named after. He wore a tight grey suit with black sleeves, pink boots, belts wrapped around his torso and neck, while he had a short cape covering his back that looked like feathers. He walked like a pigeon and quickly made it to his computer.
"Hello my pretties." Xavier said. "Come to daddy. Did you find the information that I asked you?" He asked, holding out his hand.
A pigeon landed on his hand and handed him a note.
"Ah, perfect. The boss will be happy to know that the Pigeon delivered." Pigeon said. "Ah, some dirt on the lawyer from the Rue firm. That should help us get the merchandise sent out of the country." Pigeon added, inputting the information into the computer.
Chat Noir knew that all that the Pigeon was typing down could be vital to his blackmailing ring. He would have to find a way to take him down and recover all that was stolen by his pigeons. He'd need a distraction to get Pigeon away from it without being spotted by him. He slowly moved upwards to the same floor with as much care as a cat amongst a cage full of dogs.
However the vigilante's presence was not hidden for long.
One of the pigeons spotted Chat Noir and cooed, warning its master.
The Pigeon stopped typing on his computer as his eyes widened.
"It would seem, my lovelies, that we have an intruder in our midst." Pigeon said. "A cat amongst us pigeons." He added with a hiss.
Chat Noir knew that the gig was up. He pulled out both of his Kali sticks, preparing himself for a fight. The vigilante glanced at the pigeons as they fluttered their wings and their feathers fell from their perches. He quickly snapped back to where the Pigeon was standing. But now the blackmailer was gone. Chat Noir looked for any signs of the blackmailer.
"...However… This... Cat… Should… Know… That… Some… Birds… Will pluck your eyes out!" Pigeon called from the shadows.
Chat Noir spun around only to see Pigeon pouncing on him. He held up his sticks, blocking the vicious bit of the blackmailer. The vigilante was pinned to the ground while the villain tried to pry off the two metal sticks that Chat Noir used to hold him back. He was surprised. The man that he was facing may have looked like a half prepared chicken with skinny arms and legs, but the Pigeon had a lot of strength in him. Chat Noir kicked him off, sending him crashing against the floor.
Pigeon dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. He flapped his arms and legs like a downed bird, getting back to his feet.
Chat Noir stared down the creature as it snarled at him.
"Who do you work for?" Chat Noir demanded. "I heard you talking about a boss, who is it?"
"You'll have to pry my secrets from my cold dead feathers!" Pigeon hissed.
The villain rushed at the vigilante, swiping his claws at him. The Pigeon was out for blood and the vigilante was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Chat Noir didn't just stand still. He charged at the Pigeon with both of his Kali sticks. He ducked under one of the swipes, landing one of his own. His metal stick cracked the blackmailer across the face. As the criminal regained his footing and swiped at Chat Noir, the vigilante blocked the attack, spinning on his heel before cracking the stick of a man across the face once more. The Pigeon snarled at the vigilante as he jumped back with his weapons ready to strike.
The Pigeon flapped his arms, flying to the pigeon coops. He moved quickly, jumping from spot to spot to avoid the vigilante's eye.
"Give it up! This'll only end badly if you resist!" Chat Noir said, reading himself for another sneak attack.
"You won't be thinking so highly of you, kitty. I've got my ace that has yet to play out." Pigeon giggled like a pigeon. "Now my beauties… ATTACK!"
All the pigeons got out of their coops. They started flying around the inside of the building, hiding Pigeon and began circling around Chat Noir.
Chat Noir held up his two Kali sticks, looking for any opening to counterattack. He was pushed by the flying flock of pigeons to the center of the swarm. He was surrounded by feathers and tiny razor sharp claws. He needed to break out of the eye of the storm and find Pigeon. Chat Noir looked for an opening from within the tornado as it seemed like the pigeons were getting closer and closer towards him. If he could break out and find the villain, then he'd be able to put an end to this.
However, his thoughts were cut short by the coos of Pigeon and his feathery accomplices.
"Now, my beauties!" Pigeon called out from the side.
Chat Noir turned to the source of the voice. His eyes widened at the sight before him.
The pigeons had assembled into three small fighter jets. They flew at him at top speed towards the vigilante.
"What the hell?!" Chat Noir asked, before being struck by the pigeon jets.
Chat Noir was knocked to the floor after being struck by the jet composed of pigeons. He tried to get back to his feet, but was met by the second pigeon jet, knocking him back down to the floor. Chat Noir lost his hold on his weapons. He rushed to grab them back, but was instead uppercutted by the third pigeon jet. The tiny claws and beaks of the attacks had left him with tiny cuts and with the air knocked out of him. Chat Noir held his side as he tried to get back to his feet.
"It is useless to get back up!" Pigeon called from behind his wall of flying birds. "I'll just knock you right back down!"
The pigeons broke from their jet formations and reformed into a large fist construct.
"You've got to be kidding me." Chat Noir muttered as the pigeon construct closed its hand, forming a fist.
The pigeon construct launched itself at the vigilante.
Chat Noir knew that he would not be able to withstand the full force of the attack. He kept his eyes on the large fist composed of pigeons as it flew directly towards him. He reached down to his utility belt. He pulled out a small black party popper.
"I haven't been able to test it, but better now than never!" Chat Noir groaned.
He lit the fuse and smashed it before the incoming fist of pigeons.
The party popper erupted into a bright flash of party lights and smoke. The flashing lights and smoke blinded the pigeons and made Pigeon shriek in pain.
With this distraction, Chat Noir rolled out of the way of the pigeon construct. The vigilante narrowly avoided being crushed as the construct flew through the circling flock and out the construction tarp.
The pigeons crashed through the building tarps, breaking ropes and causing some of the equipment to fall out of the half finished building.
Down on the streets of Paris, some of the people walking by noticed this and called for any nearby heroes to see what was going on. And thankfully someone was witness to what had happened.
Back on top of the building, Chat Noir was able to get back his breath. He heard the screams of Pigeon as the vigilante reached for his Kali sticks. However, just as he grabbed hold of them, he was tackled by Pigeon back to the ground.
Pigeon grabbed hold of Chat Noir's throat.
"You hurt my babies! Now you die, coo!" Pigeon snarled.
Chat Noir grabbed hold of the mad man's hands as he felt claws grip him tightly. He needed to kick Pigeon off, but he was still a bit fuzzy from his explosion and he could barely see straight. Chat Noir started to cough as he landed a knee on the crazy bird person. He punched Pigeon in the face but it barely faced him.
Just then, a loud explosion shook the construction site, blowing off the villain from Chat Noir. As the vigilante got back to his feet he noticed the original photograph of his friend and his new girlfriend.
"Sorry to barge in. Is this a private party or can just anybody join?"
Chat Noir looked up and saw the number two hero, Dynamite, standing before him.
Dynamite had a smile that could only be seen in an action flick as he stared down at the two other people in the site. He walked up to Chat Noir as tiny explosions appeared in the hero's palm.
"Now, which one of you wants to start talking before I drop you both at the nearest cell?" Dynamite asked.
"I think this'll explain things up a bit." Chat Noir said, holding out the original picture of Dynamite and his girlfriend. "That guy is Xavier Ramier, aka the Pigeon, he's been behind a long network of blackmail for a long time now. His Miraculous allows him to command pigeons. That's how he got his network working."
Dynamite took the picture and looked at it. He then looked at Pigeon as he called for his feathery allies back.
"I don't care that a hero is here, I shall pick the flesh from your bones!" Pigeon roared, commanding his pigeons to create large spike constructs.
"Alright then. I don't know who you are, but I could use a hand in beating this jerk." Dynamite said, putting away the picture. "I assume that you can keep up."
Chat Noir kicked his Kali sticks back to his hands. He connected the two ends of the sticks, turning it into a bo staff. He spun it around in a circle before assuming a combat stance.
"You don't need to worry about me." Chat Noir replied. "This place has sensitive information on people, and it could crumble if you go out of control. Our best bet is to knock him out before he can escape."
Dynamite only smiled as they walked towards Pigeon.
"I think I can do something that might give us the edge." Dynamite said, placing his left hand over his right palm.
"Attack!" Pigeon shrieked.
The pigeon spear constructs shot after the two heroes.
Chat Noir rushed forward, prepared for the attack. He ducked under the attacks, holding his new bo staff in his right hand ready to battle the bird themed villain. He was prepared to move out of the way of any flying pigeons coming back to attack him, but the pigeons were unable to return for another attack.
Blasts of concentrated fire flew through the air, striking at each of the flying pigeons.
Dynamite fired a barrage of fiery bullets from his palm at the pigeon constructs.
"AP Shot!" Dynamite called out, firing fiery bullets from his palm.
Chat Noir kept his head low, feeling the heat coming from the shots behind him. He swung his new bo staff at any pigeons that came his way before he got close enough to Pigeon that he was able to see his jagged teeth. He aimed his bo staff at the villain and swung it with all his might.
Pigeon jumped up, calling his remaining pigeons under him. He attempted to fly away from the battlefield. He held out his hand as two of the pigeons handed him the computer. He was more than willing to go out with all his blackmail information before leaving it for the two intruders to take.
"Farewell fools! You shall never get your hands on me and my secrets!" Pigeon called out.
However, a loud bang caused Pigeon to look up. Before him was the image of Dynamite coming down on the villain with an explosive punch.
"WHAT?!" Pigeon cried out.
"You should know by now, birdbrained bastard! I always find a way to win!" Dynamite called out as his hand lit up with heat and explosives.
Pigeon tried to fly down from where he was hoping to avoid the explosion.
However, Chat Noir rose from below, using the bo staff to propel himself up from the ground. He swung his legs, kicking Pigeon on the face and knocking the laptop computer from his hands. As the vigilante gazed up at the incoming attack of his friend, he couldn't help but think about how he felt about Dynamite.
"Kacchan, look how far you've come. No matter how hard or dangerous your Miraculous is, you always have found a way to become a good hero. You were the one that pushed me to find a different way of achieving my dream. Even if it is a long arduous road and no one thanks me for it, I will do everything I can to make people smile!"
Dynamite unleashed his explosive attack on Pigeon's chest, sending him flying down to the floor.
Pigeon was knocked out with his tongue hanging out and seeing stars in front of him.
The hero and the vigilante landed and approached the downed blackmailer. Chat Noir picked up the laptop after putting his Kali sticks back in his belt as Dynamite placed his foot on top of the villain.
"Looks like this bird won't give us any more trouble." Dynamite said. "Hey, thanks for the help. Don't worry, we can share the credit. You must be a rookie or something, since I haven't heard about you. Hey, listen, thanks for not asking questions about the picture. I owe you one. But how did you know I was looking for it?" He asked, turning around only to find Chat Noir gone.
Dynamite sighed. He should've known that the strange hero would try to pull something to look cool.
"Damn show off." Dynamite muttered before turning to Pigeon. "Now, what to do with you?"
The next morning, the news was buzzing as the anchor Nadja Chamak appeared on the French Contact news.
"And in other news, last night, the number two hero, Dynamite, defeated a vicious villain that had made his base of operations in an unfinished building near the Astruc Plaza. The villain was identified as Xavier Ramier by the police and was taken into custody as he tried to claw his way out of their hold. It was then discovered that he had been made part of a large blackmailing ring with the aid of his pigeons as explained by the police. We got an interview with the hero of the hour courtesy of our star reporter Kohei."
The news played a filmed clip in which Pigeon was trying to break free from the hold of two officers as they pushed him into a large armored transport.
Izuku and Mina were observing the news from the car as they wrote down parking tickets for some badly parked cars.
"I still can't believe that Dynamite stopped the guy we were looking for before us." Mina said.
"Yeah, that was a lucky break. The good news is that the villain was caught and the evidence was left back at the station." Izuku replied, pitting the final ticket on the car.
Mina shrugged.
"You got to give credit to whoever left that at the station. Sure made our job easier." Mina said.
"Yeah. We should go now. Captain Kendo said she wanted to ask the Pigeon some questions." Izuku said. "Since we found the pigeon connection she said she wanted us to go with her."
Mina cheered in silence as writing tickets was not her favorite police activity. She quickly pulled Izuku back into the Alien Queen and drove off, letting out a cheer.
Izuku was pulled back by the speed of his partner's acceleration, which also caused a cyclist to jump into the river. He pulled himself up just as he received a text message. He read it in silence as they went off to meet up with the chief.
"Thanks for helping me, Izuku. I owe you one."
Izuku smiled before putting away his phone.
Izuku and Mina arrived at the maximum security prison known as La Maison de Fer, the Iron House, also known as Pandora's box. It was a large fortress with four towers with armed guards, barbed metal spikes, and two large metal doors. It was said to be the only prison in the world that housed the most dangerous Miraculous and their users.
The two officers spotted Captain Kendo and Inspector Noamasa by the gates. They gave each other a formal salute before they headed into the prison.
The corridors of the prison were damp and cold, with lights coming from down on the floor. The doors of the cells were hard steel, each made to fit the different prisoners that were behind them, with only numbers and names written under the numbers with chalk on a black board.
The captain and her officers stopped with one of the guards right in front of the door that held Pigeon.
The security guard opened the door window.
"Ramier, you've got visitors. Allez." the guard called.
Pigeon slowly made his way to the window and stuck out his face.
"What do you want?" Pigeon snarled.
"I am Captain Kendo, Paris police. We have questions about the information inside your computer." Kendo said as Detective Naomasa pulled up a file.
"You collected information on all manner of people, and you sent out emails from this computer. But we found out that you received instructions from a third party." Naomasa explained. "Who were you working with? Who was telling you to target these people?"
Pigeon only laughed.
"Do you know how many little secrets my pretties have heard? Too many for a single lifetime." Pigeon said. "But there is one that I will take with me. I am safe here. Adieu, captaine."
Pigeon went back into the darkness, away from the window of the door.
Kendo had a frown on her face as the guard closed the window.
Izuku and Mina looked at each other in worry.
"What do you think that nut said?" Mina asked. "Was he serious?"
"I don't know. But I think that there is someone hidden in the shadows." Izuku replied, muttering the last part.
