Ben paced around his room "okay you two, we need to get to the bottom of this, now, Prowwl, what've you found?" Prowwl floated to Ben's laptop and opened a page "so this "Pangolin" is hitting research facilities and stealing lab equipment which is...odd" Ben nodded "this doesn't fit Tremaine's MO, he would never do the dirty work himself, so I think we have a younger, more naive Tremaine that might've slipped through our little time travel adventure somehow". Ben continued to pace until he saw the clock "oh shit, it's almost time for school". Ben quickly got ready and was about to head off to school when his dad stopped him "hey buddy, you want a ride to school?" Ben looked at his dad, something was off "uhhh, sure" Ben said as they walked toward the car. Ben spoke into his jacket to his Kwami "stand at the ready, I think my dad is an imposter" they both got into the car and drove off. Ben's dad stopped infront of the school "go ahead and go to class, I'll find somewhere to park" Ben looked at his dad "park?" Ben's dad smiled "didn't you hear? I'm chaperoning your field trip!" Ben's face scrunched slightly but he made sure to make it subtle enough for his dad not to notice.
Ben sat in class and slammed his head into the desk with Arnold looking at him "terrible start to the day, I take it?" Ben looked up at Arnold "y'know, deadpan makes your sarcasm even worse" Arnold shrugged "I thought I could improve my social abilities by incorporating sarcasm into my regular speech" Ben responded "and how's that goin'?" Arnold answered quickly "judging by how you reacted, horribly" Mrs. Moirah entered the classroom "hello class, as you may know our field trip is today, we are taking a trip to the Central Park Zoo!" Everyone started to cheer, Ben did not partake in the merriment. Ben felt someone tap his back, he turned to see Nadia "hey Ben, why aren't you excited?" Ben flicked his eyes toward the door "you'll see". Mrs. Moirah motioned toward the door "some of your parents have volunteered to chaperone groups" Ben saw Mason's dad, and Arnold's mom enter along with his dad and several other parents "woah, Arnold your mom is here, she almost never makes public appearances" Arnold nodded "Mother is a very private individual" Arnold's mother was dressed in a business suit and pants with high heels, her hair was styled in a back bun and she had prescription glasses and a constant concescending stare. Mrs. Moirah flipped throufh her clipboard "you will all be in groups. Ms. Briggar you will be in a group with Ms. Clancy and Ms. Giovanni" Sally pumped her fist with Sophia moping and looking at Ben, Ben made a pouty face to connect with and slightly tease her "Mr. Schmidt, you will be partnered with Ms. Akemi Nakamura, and Mr...Grayson?" Everyone froze as they heard that name, as if on cue, Grayson walked through the door and looked at everyone.
Grayson raised his hand "hey everyone" no one said a word with Grayson sighing "look, the principal agreed if I don't cause any trouble I can attend school again, so if you guys don't have a problem with that, I won't have a problem with you" Grayson walked over to an empty desk and sat in it with the person sitting next to him scooching away from him "w-well, that was unexpected, anyway, Mr. Williams you will be partnered with Ms. Fuentes and Ms. Kaori Namakura" Ben could hear a groan from the near back of class which was from Kaori "now, those who's parents have decided to join us, your parents will be assigned to your group". Ben felt his entire body cringe as the class began to move "look at the positive Ben, you have Nadia in your group, I do not know about Kaori however, she seems" Ben interjected "rude, unhinged, bratty, vulgar" Arnold nodded "yes, exactly".
The students began to make their way into the bus, Mason looked around "hey, where's the Sleazeball Tim?" Ben looked around and saw Harvey snake around a corner while commotion was happening just behind it "have the Bus Driver stall" Ben said before making his way around the corner of the building. Ben turned the corner and saw Harvey and couple of other goons had cornered Grayson, Harvey pushed Grayson down "you can't fight back now, can ya? This is for all the times you and your goons grafittied our lockers!" Harvey reeled back his fist but Ben rushed and grabbed Harvey's arm and pulled tossing the 245 lbs boy to the ground, one of his friends swung but Ben weaved it and uppercutted him knocking him out cleanly. Harvey got up and charged but Ben intercepted him with a shoulder hit that stopped Harvey in his tracks. Harvey then grabbed Ben and lifted him and threw him to the ground, Ben cushioned his fall with his tricep and rolled. Harvey charged again and Ben reeled back, took aim and punched Harvey straight in the jaw knocking him out cold, the last of his friends looked at Ben and had his hands up but chickened out and ran off. Ben dusted his hands and put his hand out to help Grayson up, Grayson scoffed...but took his hand anyway "I didn't need your help, but thanks" Ben lifted Grayson up and they headed to the bus.
Ben was about to sit with Sophia when Mrs. Moirah announced "you must sit with your groups" just like clockwork, Sally teleported to Sophia's side practically jumping into the seat "bye bye Benji!" Sally taunted with Ben pursing his lips and responding in kine "I'll see you after the field trip babe" Ben said before grabbing Sophia by the chin and pulling her close kissing her deeply before leaving her and Sally, both stricken, Sophia with awe and Sally with complete disgust "you just let him do that to you?!" Sally protested with Sophia biting her lip "I'd let him do it again". During the bus ride Ben looked out the window watching the cars go by, his attention was caught by Nadia tapping his shoulder "h-hey Benjamin, could you, I mean if it's not inconvenient for you, could you please um" Ben looked at her and tapped his finger on his cheek, Nadia stuttered with Kaori groaning "just get it out already! I know you're horny but just talk!" Nadia's face became red and she stopped talking Ben looked at Kaori "classy" Ben said with Kaori scoffing "shut it, I'll say what I want".
The bus finally stopped and everyone began to get off, Ben and Kaori got off at the same time and they bumped into eachother. Ben motioned "by all means, go ahead" mocked the motion "oh I insist, Pussy first" Ben retorted "I am what I eat" Kaori laughed "oh so you really are a dick". Ben, Nadia, and Kaori got a schedule from Ben's dad "okay kids, we're heading to the Exotic Birds exhibit, sounds like fun" Kaori rolled her eyes and Nadia bounced up and down "you seem excited Nadia" Ben said with her practically exploding "I love birds, I've written papers about how extreme evolutionary divergence led to pigeons being so different from parrots!" Ben leaned back and Nadia realised she was leaning forward and was alarmingly close to Ben. Nearly at the speed of light Nadia backed off and fiddled with her glasses, Ben's dad squinted at the map "uhhh, it's West, I think" Nadia corrected him "actually Mr. Williams, this way is faster" Nadia pointed at a trail with Ben's dad nodding "huh, that trail doesn't even apear on the map" Nadia skipped along the trail with Ben and Kaori following behind.
Ben spoke up "you seem extra excited about seeing the birds today, Nadia" Nadia turned around and put her hands behind her back and walked backwards "I heard they got Cassowaries in, they're big flightless birds that are the most similar to prehistoric raptors than any other bird!" a slightly elevated part of the pavement stopped Nadia from continuing as she tripped and fell. Kaori bursted out in an obnoxious laughter with Ben shooting a glare at her before putting his hand out "here, lemme help you up" Nadia looked away and took Ben's hand and he lifted her up. Nadia looked down and adjusted her glasses, Ben noticed her eyes were shimmering and Ben could tell she was holding back tears. Ben looked at Kaori who kept her mouth shut as she knew she was going a bit too far "hey...Nadia, do you know anything about Parrots?" Nadia looked at Kaori and adjusted her glasses while sniffling a bit "uhm, well, Parrots are fantastic birds..." the group kept walking as Nadia explained.
The group finally made it to the Exotic Birds exhibit and entered. Nadia rushed over to the Cassowary enclosure and peered in to see them resting "well that's boring, they're just sitting there" Kaori exclaimed with Nadia jumping at her loud voice, a Cassowary suddenly shot a glare at Kaori which made her cringe "woah, it looks mad" Nadia nodded "yes, Cassowaries are incredibly territorial and they are known as the most deadly birds on the planet" Kaori peered in "really? What makes them so deadly?" Nadia smiled "their large claws and kicking ability can cause a lot of bodily harm". Ben joined them and both of the Cassowaries turned their attention to Ben, one of them screeched and rushed at the glass slashing fiercely at Ben with its claws "oh shit, looks like those birds really don't like you Benji!" Kaori taunted. Nadia looked at Ben "wow, Cassowaries don't usually respond like that unless it's a threat to their survival" Kaori scoffed "Ben's about as harmless as a pigeon" Nadia responded "well Ben is stronger than he looks, he beat up Grayson" Kaori spit "Ben just got lucky in that fight, you hear that! You got lucky!" Ben was distracted to even listen, all he could focus on was the Cassowary flaring its feathers and screeching at him, he tightened his fist and gritted his teeth "I'll be right back" Ben said before rushing to the bathroom.
Ben flung the bathroom door open and rushed to the mirror, Ben pulled his cheek down and looked at his eye, nothing was out of the ordinary "why am I feeling like this? This want to attack that bird, but of course I'd feel that way, it had no right to attack me, what makes it think it could challenge me!" Ben punched the wall next to the mirror and all the mirrors fell off their hinges. Ben put his hand on his eyes "what was that just now?" Ben opened his jacket and let his Kwami out "hey guys, we need to talk" Prowwl circled around Ben "Benjamin, you need to get a hold of yourself" Ben breathed in and out "I know, I know just...I need your guys' help" Sturnn floated over "Benjamin, you know we are here to help you, but even we do not know the full extent of the Miraculous' abilities" Ben looked at them "wait, not even you guys know all there is to know about where you guys preside?" Sturnn and Prowwl shook their heads "I thought I had this anger thing under control but I guess not" Ben hung his head and walked out of the bathroom with his Kwami quickly going back into his jacket.
Ben joined back with the others "hey Ben, are you okay?" Nadia asked with Ben nodding his head "yeah, I'm fine, just needed to use the bathroom, that's all". The group continued outside the exhibit when a crowd of people rushed to the exits "woah, what's going on?" Kaori said with Ben looking above the crowd seeing bronze colored scales above the crowd. Ben felt a sense of rage building inside of him "c'mon kids, let's get to the exit" Ben's dad said before ushering the others. Ben found a way to sneak out of the group and hid in a corner "alright, Sturnn, time to transform!" Sturnn looked at Ben "are you sure? You don't seem like yourself" Ben growled "Sturnn, Let's Hunt!" Sturnn was sucked into the Miraculous and Ben transformed. Beowulf landed where he saw Pangolin and saw him, a towering mass of scales and reptile-like skin. Pangolin turned around to see Beowulf's wild eyes and he backed away "oh man, Beowulf, I didn't think you'd be here, I was just gonna do a little prank" Beowulf growled and rushed faster than the eye could see and punched Pangolin in the stomach, smashing the armor holding someone who was not Tremaine. The man sprawled out on the floor, mechanical bits littered the floor and Beowulf held the torn mechanjcal suit on his arm, his fist had gone completely through it. Beowulf tossed the armor aside and approached the man "you, are not the Pangolin!" Beowulf reached down and picked up the man by his collar "whoa, whoa, take it easy! I was just trying to get back at my former employer" Beowulf lifted him higher "where did you get the suit!?" The man panicked "I-I got it from a research center, they were trying to replicate the powers of the Pangolin, but as you can see, they didn't do a good job" Beowulf tossed him aside and calmed down, but that's when he heard a voice "well, that's that mystery solved" Beowulf looked back and saw Panther standing there "but I'm a bit late to the party" Beowulf stood at odds with Panther "looking to pick a fight?" Beowulf asked with Panther twirling his staff "you could say that, I still need to pay you back for our botched job at the bank".
Beowulf cracked his knuckles and focused on Panther "let's get this over with!" Panther said before a large mass landed behind Beowulf. Skorpoxus chuckled, his large frame towered over Beowulf, Beowulf looked around "really? You only brought Skorpoxus?" Panther readied his staff "I only need him" something suddenly struck Skorpoxus in the head. Everyone turned their attention to where it came from, Sophia was standing there, she had thrown a soda can at Skorpoxus. Skorpoxus roared and Beowulf shouted at Sophia "run! I don't have a Miraculous to give you!" Sophia's shouted back "I wish I had known that!" Sophia began to run and Skorpoxus leaped after her. Beowulf ran after him but Panther got in his way "don't worry, he's on a strict "no kill" order" Beowulf reeled back and punched Panther causing him to slide back, Panther held his staff, he had blocked the attack "man, you sure are pissed" Beowulf roared back at him "outta my way! I'm stopping him!" Beowulf lept up but Panther intercepted him and striking him to the side and he smashed through an exhibit amd into a pool of shallow water "uh uh, we're settling this, here and now" Beowulf got up and faced Panther.
