*SLY'S POV*
The road trip gave me the time I needed to study up on Sir Raleigh the Frog. As a young man, this hot-tempered frog grew bored of his life of luxury and privilege. On a whim, he tried his hand at a bit of piracy and found it to his liking.
Raleigh, who quickly became addicted to crime, was brought into the Fiendish Five as Chief Machinist, where his evil tinkering genius rose to new heights. He escaped with the notes of Rioichi Cooper when the Five attacked my dad and tried to kill me. But his winged boss stopped him.
The last reported sighting of this mad machinist was off the southern coast of the Isle of Wrath, a small island uncomfortably situated in the middle of the perilous Welsh Triangle.
COOPER
Once the van had arrived at a good spot to park, Sly leaped out of the van, Izuku clinging to his back as they made their way onto the island itself, ready to explore and gather anything to assist them. Izuku was only going to cling to Sly at first until they reached a point where it made sense for them to split up. At that point, he'd be going his own way.
Sly had figured it'd be best for Izuku to have some means of defending himself so he got him his own miniature cane and a wristwatch with various gadgets built into it courtesy of Bentley's tinkering skills.
As Sly walked, Izuku took in their surroundings. The dark grey stone of the island was covered here and there with patches of green grass, showing where they'd need to be careful to keep from making noise or leaving traces. His eyes moved to where most of the island was blocked off by a gate.
"Hey, Sly! I just spotted something that's going to complicate the mission. See that nasty-looking gate? It blocks the only road leading into Raleigh's hideout."Bentley said.
"We can see it, Bentley." Sly chuckled, rolling his eyes. "We can just climb over it."
"You mean you're going to throw me over the gate to open it for you from the other side?" Izuku asked eagerly.
"We'll call that Plan B," Sly answered with a soft chuckle. "I was thinking we could climb up over there."
He gestured to a structure near the gate, where a broken ladder hung carelessly.
"Ooooh! Okay!"
Izuku clung tighter to Sly's back as he made his way across the open ground. Once up and over, they split to go to either side of a spotlight that swept over the path. As they approached a guard, Izuku shot a dart from his wristwatch before he caught sight of them. It penetrated his clothes and stuck in his back, putting him to sleep.
Not far beyond, they caught sight of a large boat with a strange device floating over it.
"What's that?" Izuku asked.
"According to my Amphibio-Positioning System, that big blimp is where Raleigh is hiding out,"Bentley noted.
"You know, that blimp looks more like a machine than a hideout," Sly said as he looked closer with his Binocucom.
"Kinda like a sky submarine or something..." Izuku added. "Like that one part in One Piece!"
"You're right, that is a storm machine! It's the reason why it never stops raining around here."Bentley affirmed.
Sly frowned as he noticed something. "That explains all the wrecked ships."
"But why would Raleigh want bad weather at his own hideout?"Bentley inquired.
"Probably because his pirate ships are designed for it," Izuku suggested. "I mean, most ships are designed for peak function in normal weather but able to handle bad weather. Ships designed to function at their peak in bad weather, however, would be at a disadvantage, and possibly not even function, in good weather. That plus a machine that gives constant bad weather would be a huge advantage for a pirate."
Sly and Bentley were both silent for a time as Izuku looked innocently confused at their staring.
"So which of us gets to wrench our shoulders over that one?"
"I think he gets to pick where we go for dinner once we take down Raleigh,"Bentley offered warmly."He's learned well."
"I can agree with both those points," Sly agreed as he ruffled Izuku's fluffy mop of green hair. "Have we ever told you how smart you are, kiddo?"
"A whole lot?" Izuku giggled bashfully, his chubby freckled cheeks glowing pink.
"Exactly."
As Izuku and Sly made their way to the entrance to Rayleigh's lair, they found a safe nearby.
"Guys! That safe is connected to the code you found earlier! I'll send you the schematics so that you can unlock it!"
Putting in the code, which was 7-2-9, Sly smacked the vault open with his cane. What he saw made his ears perk up in excitement as it was a page with very familiar writing.
"It's one of the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus!"
"Whoa!" Izuku exclaimed as he looked over Sly's shoulder to read it with him.
The page contained the notes on Drake Cooper and hisKnockout Dive Attack, which he used to dash past enemies while knocking them out so he could more easily bypass defenses.
"Well, this might be a fun little move to use." Sly chuckled as he pocketed the page safely in his backpack before leaving the Cooper Calling Card.
"Hey, what are you two doing 'ere?!" Angrily asked a Beaver Beastkin Guard, who took out a golden throwing star only for Izuku to instinctively rush in front of him and dive into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and giving Sly the opening to knock him out with a smack from his cane.
"Izuku, what was that?" Sly asked in surprise.
"I...I dunno, I thought that move was so cool and I wanted to try it..." Izuku explained, looking scared. "A-Are you mad?"
"Mad? Are you kidding? I'm impressed!" Sly laughed as he picked up his little buddy in a hug. "You have the makings of a Cooper Thief after all!"
"While I'm also impressed with Izuku's strange ability to learn from the tricks of the Cooper Clan, you guys should get moving!"Bentley said as Sly and Izuku stopped their little celebration and continued on their way,
Sly looked up at the storm machine now that they were closer. "That blimp looks like the most secured location on this boat. If Raleigh's really as smart as his police file suggests, then that's where we'll find him."
"Wonderful idea, but your plan is flawed."
"Why's that, Bentley?" Izuku asked.
"Because it's impossible to get near him. To access Raleigh's blimp, you would have to sneak through that high-voltage power tube. To do that without getting electrocuted, you'd have to destroy that power generator!"
"Bentley, Bentley, Bentley, you forget you've been showing Izuku the ropes on hacking...and he's always been a fast learner."
Izuku smirked as he cracked his fingers…
"OWIE!"
*A few minutes later…*
Sly wrapped up the boy's hands and then let him do his thing. Izuku took out a PDA and connected it to a nearby outlet. He was greeted with lines of code at first, but a quick press on the device turned the data into a Pac-Man-style game. After a few minutes, Izuku was in, and with a triumphant "Boop!", the storm suddenly ceased growing and an elated Sly ruffled the boy's head.
"Not bad at all, Izuku!"Bentley smiled from his comm-link."We'll practice more when you get back!"
That filled the little boy's head and heart with joy.
"Alrighty kiddo, here's the plan." Sly said. "You go for the treasury. I'll handle the boiler room."
And now the boy's head and heart filled with worry. As much as he'd always wanted to help Sly, Bentley and Murray, he didn't really have much training. And he knew this was a big job; one where failure was not an option.
That and in his hero-worshipping days, he'd often picked up on the trope of the 'sidekick getting kidnapped' trope and did not want his big brothers/father figures to resent him.
"Hey." Sly smiled, pulling the boy out of his worries and patting him on the shoulder. "You got this."
Sticking to the corner and shadows, the boy contemplated what he'd need: To take out the guards without drawing attention, possibly disable the cameras, and then snag whatever was being stored in the safe.
He had his cane, his wristwatch with knockout darts, which he immediately decided were his last choice, as guards suddenly dropping would cause a scene, and the PDA he'd used earlier. It would probably take Rayleigh a day to set up anti-software against it, considering he seemed focused on his machine but better save that for last too.
Izuku had been so absorbed in his thoughts (and mumbling) that he'd actually walked right into a guard. Wasting not a second he jumped up and pinched under the guard's jaw.
"…. What're you doing?" The guard asked after a moment, more confused than anything.
"The…nerve pinch knockout?" Izuku weakly confessed.
"Oh, no, no, no! You're doing it too high, kiddo!" The guard said, moving the 7-year-old's hands to the nape of his neck. "See, you got to get the neck and shoulder too; it's where the nerve bunch is."
"Like this?" Izuku asked, following the beaver's instruction.
"That'll do it."' The guard gave the boy a thumbs-up before fainting.
"Wait a nice guard…I guess Canadians really are soft." Izuku muttered as he pulled the guard down the hall, catching his breath after doing such.
Quickly and as quietly as possible, the boy made his way through the treasury, found the code, and then unlocked the safe.
What was inside were several pages detailing the story of Sly's pirate ancestor, Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper. Making sure to keep them somewhere safe, Izuku made his way back out, making sure to take anything of value as well. The young boy soon reunited with Sly back on the grounds.
"Did you find a safe too?" Izuku asked as Sly nodded and showed the page he found.
"It's Old Sally Cooper's Raccoon Roll move. She could move faster rolling than anybody could do on foot."
Izuku beamed. "I got the pages of Henriette 'One Eye' Cooper!"
"Not bad, kiddo!" Sly smiled as Izuku handed him the pages.
Feeling it would be safer if Izuku stuck with him for the next few areas, Sly skillfully made his way through with Izuku sticking close beside him. Eventually, they were able to find the different safes Raleigh had lying around before making their escape, skimming through what they found.
First was Karin Coopergiwa'sCoin Magnet Formula, which she invented to attract all stray metallic goods to her cane using a special electromagnetic pulse.
Next was Chris Cooper, the son of Drake Cooper. He had improved on his father's Knockout Dive by adding a special technique that allowed him to swipe the valuables or possessions of any targets he hit.
Last but certainly not least was Dev Cooperinda and hisSlow-Motion Jump Technique. He used it to make perfectly timed jumps so that he could find the perfect perches and dodge certain attacks.
With all the pages Raleigh has collected in their possession, the duo was ready to confront the frog himself. Finding an old cannon, the two got a sneaky idea of how to get onto the storm machine's main deck.
"Are you sure you're up for this, little buddy?"
Izuku beamed. "Being shot out a cannon like in the circus? Sounds fun!"
Sly chuckled and shook his head as he used friction from his cane to light the cannon and quickly jumped inside with Izuku in his arms. The cannon then fired, sending them crashing through the window of the storm machine and conveniently into Raleigh's main hideout.
"Let's do that again!" Izuku beamed, clapping his hands in delight
"How delightful, we have guests." The Frog Beastkin said, sitting on a throne. "The only thing is...I HATE UNEXPECTED GUESTS!"
Sly stood up, making sure Izuku was unharmed before glaring at the amphibious villain.
"Listen, Raleigh. Wipe out my family and steal what's mine, you better expect company."
"Oh, I'm ever so sorry," Raleigh said, wiping a fake tear from his eyes. "How sloppy of me not to finish the job. Obviously, we should have snuffed you out as well."
"So, how are we gonna fight?" Izuku asked. "Do you have a mechanical apparatus hooked into the blimp connected to a wand to let you shoot us with lightning, blasts of wind, or frigid rain? Or maybe you've built yourself a robot-exo-suit that's going to fold out of your throne there so you can crush us with hands of steel? Or maybe your throne will drop out of the blimp before sealing the place off with us in it and exploding, letting you use the backup storm blimp to continue your reign of terror across the tides?"
Raleigh blinked for a time. As did Sly.
"He watches a lot of anime and cartoons." Sly explained.
"Ani-what?' Raleigh asked.
"….You're a genius scientist and you don't know what…? Never mind." Sly said. "How we going to do this?"
"Well, actually, I was going to bloat myself up to gargantuan size by eating flies and try to squash you like bugs on those sinking and floating platforms, but your young charge's ideas sound much better, and I think I could manage the first one."
The fog then leapt behind his throne and after tossing some scrap metal aside, made a triumphant hurrah before whipping out his blow torch and several small devices. A few zaps and wads of tape later, he leapt back and began firing, forcing Sly and izuku to split up.
The lightning bolts were arguably easy to dodge and Raliegh used them sparingly, not wanting to damage his machines. The gusts of wind sent Sly back and he narrowly avoided the drowning to the sinking platforms. Raliegh then fired a burst of cold at Izuku, sending the boy slipping on ice and landing on his face before almost falling into the water, had he not grabbed the railing.
Seeing that? Something in Sly snapped.
"Don't you EVER do that again!" The racoon demanded of the frog, leaping towards him and powering through a wind blast to knock the wand out of his hands.
"Plan B, then!" Rayleigh explained, pressing a button on his throne. Instantly, a mechanical hand grabbed Sly and hoisted him upwards as another activated. "I was saving these for Klockwerk, but I'm certain he'll be elated when he learns I used them to finish off the Cooper bloodline!"
Seeing Sly in a situation, Izuku dove into the water and grabbed the wand before quickly swimming back to fire a last bolt of lightning onto the free arm, sending it haywire and on flame.
"You cheeky little brat!" Raliegh snapped, forgetting Sly for a second. A second the racoon put to good use, finally freeing himself and tossing the first of the Fiendish Five into the water below.
"BLAST IT ALL!" The fiendish frog cursed. "You've BEATEN me..."
"Well, what did you expect?"
Raleigh growled before chuckling weakly. "Well, gloat all you want. Neither of you is a match for Muggshot, my villainous cohort in Utau! You will see...Mesa City is so well guarded a SNAKE couldn't slither in without setting off alarms!"
With one last weak laugh, Raleigh passed out from his injuries, allowing Izuku and Sly to get at the safe he had hidden behind his throne.
COOPER
*SLY'S POV*
Raleigh's section of the Thievius Raccoonus held detailed instructions on how to perform my ancestor Rioichi Cooper's Ninja Spire Jump, a technique he developed while sneaking into the thickly fortified castles of Feudal Japan.
Finding a way off Raleigh's boat got a little tricky with the untimely arrival of Inspector Fox, who, failing to find me, busted Raleigh and his crew.
With the storm machine out of commission, boats found their way back onto the ocean, and the mystery of the Welsh Triangle faded from memory. Me, Izuku, and the rest of the gang loped around England for a while, enjoying the pleasant weather, and then headed back home, excited for our next heist.
Knightmare Lord A/N:
Sorry for the long wait, but you know me, I always jump from one fandom to the next and get distracted.
Since Izuku is the only BNHA character here, we omitted the Asui Family from the original story.
Mrotrax A/N:
Hey always jump from stoiry to story. So no worries buddy.
Apologies if the fight appeared underwhelming; I wagered Sly seeing Izuku get hurt would make him enter 'Papa Wolf' mode and get serious, a trait which, depending on how things progress, the other Cooper gang members may share.