*SLY POV*

The third member of the Fiendish Five was the infamous voodoo priestess, Mz. Ruby. Born into a family of mystics, other children found her...scary. Teaching herself to summon the undead provided what few friends she had. A career in crime allowed an adult Mz. Ruby to punish the world for fearing her as a child.

Chief Mystic for the Fiendish Five, her powers allowed them to break both the laws of man and nature at the same time. Yet, despite the whirlwind success of her youth, she'd managed to slip into obscurity. Last known sightings claimed she headed out of civilization and deep into the Haitian jungle.

Considering just how dangerous her line of work was, we figured it was best if Izuku stayed with Bentley and Murray while I went solo...we just didn't know the events that would happen afterward.

COOPER

"Why can't I come?" Izuku asked as Sly set out alone.

"If Mz. Ruby really will try to snatch you up, you can't risk anything over the pools of water. She, or her goons, might be waiting in every pool and puddle."

"Especially since her minions aren't of the LIVING variety." Bentley chimed in.

"So...like ghosts and zombies?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah, I'm with you, little buddy." Murray gulped. "Ghosts are a no-go for me."

"Don't worry, Izuku. You're just as good at being the guy in the chair with Bentley." Sly smiled reassuringly as he ruffled the boy's head, making him giggle.

With that, Sly set off, Izuku, Bentley, and Murray keeping watch over him on the Binocucom monitors. In that time, Sly managed to find the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus that Mz. Ruby had stashed away while avoiding the various bewitching traps she had laid out for him.

The first page retrieved regarded Kelle Cooper's upgrade of Old Sally Cooper's Raccoon Roll move, which allowed the user to generate an electromagnetic field around them that could zap any enemy with the force of a taser while rolling.

The second page retrieved involved Sly having to outrun a giant swamp serpent but it was definitely something Bentley and Izuku found useful. It pertained to Bruce O'Coop's skills in Computer Hacking, which would give the two tech-savvies new opportunities in their hacking talents.

The third page had Sly dealing with actual ghosts. Fortunately, Izuku had a solution after hearing of Mz. Ruby's mystic endeavors, providing Sly with salt capsules to purify the ghosts, which worked like a charm. The pages detailed the exploits of Sly's ancestor from ancient Scotland, Sleigh MacCooper.

The fourth page regarded Matthew de la Coopeur's improvements on Dev Cooperinda's Slow Motion Jump, allowing him to move around anywhere in slow motion, not just in mid-air. Izuku playfully joked that this could let Sly reenact the Quicksilver scene from X-Men: Apocalypse.

"We need a movie marathon after this caper.:" Sly mused as he continued on his way, eventually finding another vault and opening it.

"Thaddeus Winslow Cooper III…"

"…What about the first two?" Izuku asked.

"Sadly, they died quite young." Bentley mused after a quick search. "Well Sly? Whattya got?"

"Well, he was the most chivalrous of the Coopers." Sly read. "Broke a lot of hearts…oh, wow! Apparently, he DID outsmart Sherlock Hound!"

"HA! CALLED IT!" Murray beamed. Bentley grumbled and Sly heard Izuku leaughing as the turtle gave his hippo brother some cash.

"He was among the best when it came to Spire jumpimng and cane-work…But his speciality was disguises." Sly finished reading. "Hmmm…Me thinks perhaps Carmalita would be more…drawn to…"

"Sly. Focus." Bentley reminded the Racoon.

"Sorry." Sly apologized, pocketing the notes after Bentley had snapped a photo and leaving his calling card.

Izuku was excited, admiring Thaddeus' thieving endeavors. His young mind wondered if he could try rocking a suit and top hat...

'You would look most adorable, chile.' A voice suddenly said within his mind, shocking and scaring Izuku. 'As for the Cooper thief?...Not my type, but he could make it work. Oh! Worry not. I mean ya no harm. Surprised one so young has an such an open mind.'

'…You're Mz. Ruby?'

'Indeed, chile. And you must be the Cooper boy's little friend….'

'How are…?'

'Voodoo is far more than dolls, cursing and the spirits. Telepath with similar minds is such a rarely used and wonderful trick.'

Must be nice to have friends.'

'Bentley told me about how you grew up.' Izuku noted. 'If it means anything….?'

'It's in the past. I got where I am and live fine as it is.;

Izuku grew cross.

'Grave robbing and cursing? Killing Mr. Cooper and orphaning Sly? You're happy to have done that?'

Something changed; Mz Ruby's half of the telepathic converstion turned somber, mournful

'Connor Cooper was NOT supposed to die that night, chile.' Mz. Ruby's voice explained. 'It was not yet his time and I would never wish the loneliness of orphanage on anyone. We were just going to take the book, maybe hurt him enough so that he never stole again…but that foul of a fowl Klockwerk moved 'fore we could stop hi m.'

'Klockwerk?'

'Like I say, chile: A foul of a fowl. The big honcho of our lil gang…and in my not so humble opinion; the single most evil criminal to ever live…..Pray he never learns of you…or that Sly goes after him.'

Izuku frowned as he took this information, then remembered something:

Seeing as Murray and Bentley were helping Sly, he snuck his way over the the pages of Henriette, Ryoichi, Tennessee, and Thaddeus Cooper. He'd thought…

And there it was: In the background of their greatest heists: a mysterious bird-like figure.

Was…no. No, that couldn't be, right? He'd have to be….! But magic was a thing. Technology could do wonders…..

"Could that be him...?"

COOPER

Eventually, Sly came back, having managed to defeat Mz. Ruby, retrieved her section of the Thievius Raccoonus, which detailed the exploits of his pioneering ancestor from ancient Egypt times; Slytunkhamen, whose invisibility technique allowed him to steal from corrupt pharaohs and greedy noblemen.

However, something surprising came about as Mz. Ruby once more spoke with Izuku by telepathy.

"Little Chile, I wish I'd known ya when I was younger. I'd never have turned my magic to crime...if I hadn't been so alone."

"There's always someone out there who will care for you..." Izuku softly said. "You just have to hold on to hope."

The boy heard Mz. Ruby chuckle wistully."I know the weight on my juju is bad, but seeing you, chile...I can see the shining light of you if you reach your full potential. I can see what it'll do to the world...If I can give just a little help to get you closer to that...I can face what's coming to me with a smile."

Sly then handed Izuku something that amazed him; it was Mz. Ruby's voodoo spellbook.

"She wanted me to give this to you after I beat her. It was in her personal vault along with Slytunkhamen's pages."

Izuku held the voodoo book and the metaphorical weight it carried before closing his eyes as he concentrated so that Mz. Ruby could hear his next words loud and clear.

"Inspector Fox should be here before long. Once she arrives, surrender to her and confess everything. Don't ask for any deals. Do that...and I know I'll be able to trust any magic instruction I might come to you for once you're out."

"Will do, chile. I swear it as a sacred oath."

With that, the Cooper gang left, Izuku praying that Carmelita would offer Mz. Ruby mercy. Maybe she and Mugshot could become cellmates? They both liked him and seemed to have hearts among the Fiendish Five after all.

COOPER

Some time later at a motel, the Cooper Gang was having an impromptu movie marathon to celebrate Mz. Ruby's defeat and cheer themselves up; the last two capers had been worrisome 'what ifs' for them…One member especially.

"You're not one, you know." Murray started suddenly, looking at Izuku as he spoke.

"Huh?" The little boy asked in confusion.

"A sidekick. Of just a friend." The hippo clarified.

"…Okay?" Izuku noted confused.

"Mz. Ruby told me about your chat with her before our fight." Sly explained, clearing up much of the confusion, a small smile crossing his face.

"Then why was I left out of this caper?" The little boy pouted, trying to be as 'mad-looking' as he could

"Because we were dealing with zombies and cannibals!" Bentley explained.

"Izuku, you're probably the mpst omportant member of the Cooper gang." Sly continued.

"The heart." Sly said. "The reason we've stayed as good as we, both as people and thieves."

"And don't let anyone ever say that ain't important." Murray finished.'

Suddenly, all lingering thoughts of inadquency and fears the trio didn't care for him died and with tears in his eyes, Izuku hugged the trio, who returned the embrace, the movies quickly forgotten.

Knightmare Lord A/N:

Since Izuku hung back due to the dangers of Mz. Ruby's mojo magic, he decided to take the time to learn more about the Thievius Raccoonus and gets to show his heart of gold.

Next up is the Panda King!

Mrotrax A/N:

While he may not have been involved with the Caper (Sly, Murray and Bentley will NOT have their little buddy around the undead or cannibals) Izuku still gets to showcase his worth in this chapter more than any other so far: His heart of gold, open and bright mind.

Looking forward to seeing how Izuku incorporates Voodoo? I certainly am!

Keep warm and safe until next time!