SLY POV*
The road trip gave me the time I needed to study up on the Panda King. Born penniless, he was fascinated by the fireworks rich noblemen set off every New Year. He spent a decade learning the art, but when he tried to offer his fireworks to the noblemen, they couldn't see past his shabby clothes and chased him away.
Humiliated, the Panda King took revenge on those who shunned him by using the very tools of his art for crime. The Fiendish Five recruited him as their demolitions expert, and from then on, his explosive touch became feared worldwide.
He's rumored to be perfecting some new firework technique high in the unstable Kunlun Mountains of western China.
COOPER
As the van pulled to a halt at the end of a paved road up into the mountaintops, Sly leaped out, Izuku once more clinging to his back. The young boy was bundled up in the warmest clothes possible to stave off the cold mountain hills.
As they made their way up the slope, they saw that 'Panda King' wasn't an empty title, as the first minion they encountered was a panda wielding kung fu against them, though it went down from a single tranq dart courtesy of Izuku.
They continued up the slope, evading bomb-filled snow boulders that some of the guarding minions rolled towards them until they caught sight of a giant statue on a mountaintop, where they could see a firework being launched from the top of it
"Would you look at that? A fireworks show!"Bentley noted.
The rocket suddenly careened into a nearby mountaintop, causing an avalanche to fall on a village below, burying it in freezing snow.
Bentley gasped."Oh my gosh, that's awful! That poor village just got buried in freezing snow!"
"I was able to see tracks that looked like they were leaving the place and the buildings seemed empty," Izuku noted. "Burying a village in snow is pretty bad, but whatever the reason, everyone was out with all their things before it happened."
"The rocket came from that giant statue, and you can bet the Panda King lit the fuse," Sly said grimly. "We've got to find a way up there and fast before that lunatic squashes another town.
The pair continued to make their way up the mountain path towards the statue, trying to sneak around. However, there were times when they had to set off fireworks in order to blast open new paths.
"Somehow, I doubt if we'll be able to catch Panda King off guard," Sly grumbled.
"Well, considering how we've handled the other three members of the Fiendish Five..." Izuku chimed in.
Eventually, they managed to find a vault, which Izuku quickly popped open. It contained the page from the Thievius Raccoonus covering Huckleberry Cooper's further development of Slytunkhamen's invisibility technique, allowing the invisibility to be maintained while moving once it was activated, as long as movement was slow and careful.
"Huh, reminds me of Huckleberry Finn...could they have been related?"
Sly shrugged. "Nah, you'd be surprised how many people share the same name."
"I doubt anyone else would be named Sly, though..."
"Eh, fair enough."
The duo followed the opened paths to reach the security gate, where Izuku showed off his young genius brain once more:
Sticking his PDA from Bentley into the gate, the little boy pressed a few buttons and entered a few passcodes, shutting down the power. As the guards moved to investigate when an announcement was made, Izuku quickly climbed up and opened the gate jsuyt enough for Sly to sneak in…then restored the power.
"Good job," Sly praised, ruffling the little boy's head.
"Ehehehehe! Bentley taught me that."
The pair made their way to the main stronghold, a massive fortress built atop a mountain peak and stretching out around it on all sides, precariously balanced to maintain equilibrium. The pair were forced to hide frequently as they made their way forward, scouting out the initial terrain. Once in, Bentley gave a rundown of what he'd discovered.
"Nice job breaking into the Panda King's compound. I think I've figured out a way to get to the top of that giant statue, but unfortunately, it's obstructed by this reinforced ceiling hatch."
"And the Panda King no doubt has some trusted guards with keys needed to unlock it," Izuku noted. "We just gotta find the right guards, steal both the keys and the Thievius Raccoonus pages, and then pop that hatch open like a soda can!"
"Smart thinking, little buddy," Sly smirked. "Just...be careful, okay? I don't want you getting buried in the snow."
With that decided, the duo searched their surroundings, determining which way was the best to go first. They ultimately decided to hit a temple structure to one side of Panda King's main compound. As Sly and Izuku approached, however, they saw that it was patrolled by both humans and Beastkin of various sorts garbed in martial arts gi and bearing weapons, making it plainly more a dojo than a temple.
Even so, it proved relatively easy for the pair to infiltrate, as the entire path through was basically an obstacle course designed to be just barely possible to maneuver, much like what Sly had trained on to build his skills. While the course would prove challenging for any ordinary individual trying to get through, it almost seemed designed specifically to test Cooper family skills.
"It's like maybe one of your Cooper ancestors used to own this place!" Izuku noted quietly.
As such, they were able to breeze through most of the Temple, the only real obstacle being a moving laser grid on a large floor inside a building where the Vault was. Once the laser grid was disabled, Izuku opened the safe, revealing another page out of the Thievius Raccoonus. This one covered a technique developed by Sir Augustine of Cooper to defy gravity in the event of a possible misstep to avoid a deadly fall.
Then came a challenge: a guard in the middle of his rounds wore the key they needed. Izuku quickly ducked into the shade overhead where the guard was coming from…waited just the right moment…
And then leapt and pinched the guard uncouious, taking his key and leaving a Cooper calling card in its place.
"One key down, two more to go." Sly said.
The next area the pair explored also contained a temple-like structure, though lacking the obstacle course-like hazards of the previous one. Instead, there were a great many guards with lights watching the paths. Rather than draw attention by knocking the guards out, Sly and Izuku made use of the Invisibility technique.
This made the journey for this area's Vault easy but time-consuming due to the focus needed to maintain the invisibility. The Vault contained sections of the Thievius Raccoonus and was positioned at the top of the structure they had to leap into, past numerous security laser grids, to reach the guard and knock him out for the second key.
As Izuku took a moment to read over the new Thievius Raccoonus section, his eyes widened in shock at what he read.
"Connor Cooper's 'laser grind'….Sarah Cooper's 'disarming smile….."
What most caught their attention, however, was that Connor and Sarah's spent the vast majority of their pages planning how they'd raise their then unborn baby; Connor being convinced his dashing good looks would come in and Sarah hoping their child would have a better sense of humor and friendship than his father….who actually highlighted that line.
There was a laminated and glued sticky note on of the pages that read:
'Sly, if you're reading this? Then know that for all we stole and all we mastered…nothing tops the love and pride we have in you.'
"Wow...they talked a lot about you..." Izuku said softly.
Sly smiled, fond memories of his childhood before that horrible day flashing by as he put a hand on his little buddy's head.
"Yeah...Dad always said I was destined for great things. Hope I made him proud."
"Well, I think your dad would be proud because...I'm proud of you." Izuku said.
Sly smiled as he and Izuku decided to take a break to look over Connor Cooper's section of the Thievius Raccoonus together before heading back to their mission.
COOPER
Meanwhile, Murray had decided to stretch his legs for a bit. He didn't plan to go to far; as get-away driver these breaks were few and limited. But since Sly and Izuku were still nowhere near the Panda King's inner lair, he wagered he was okay. Besides, Bentley could drive well enough.
There was something calm about the Chinese mountains, the hippo mused. Yes, Murray was capable of being calm and appreciate the simpler things. It came with waiting times for Sly.
Suddenly, Murray overheard a ruckus and went down to investigate what was going on, the sound leading him to what looked like a camp of sorts; with animals huddled together in the cold, working on soup and their few possessions.
And one such soup maker, dressed finer than the rest, was a lovely female Panda who it seemed was being harassed. 'Seemed' being used, as Murray's Chinese was rusty and he didn't want to assume.
"I am aware of what happened and I am sorry." The panda tried to sooth her harasser. "I tried to get my father to give you more time…!"
The harasser then tossed away the soup the panda was making, backing her into a corner as he kept speaking louder and louder…before a single punch from Murray sent the loudmouth flying.
"Look, I don't know what he was saying, but from where the Murray was standing, she's helping you all!" Murray snapped, missing someone translating what he was saying as he looked over to the female panda…who he would not deny was very pretty.
"I…thank you….Murray, was it?"
The Hippo nodded, his normally boisterous voice lost on him.
"I am Jing King." The female panda smiled, offering him a handshake which he took. Glancing down, Murray salvaged what he could of what Jing had been making, sneaking a sip.
"….Holy moly. That is delish." He managed, pouring a bowl and handing it to a small child. "Go on. Its alright."
The child took the soup and smiled, thanking Murray before sharing the bowl with their family. Murray helped Jing serve the other villagers before he snuck away, waving to her as he raced back towards the van…only to spy a race.
"…The MURRAY'S BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!"
And he dashed forward…missing Jing and the villagers challenge the racers.
'I hope we meet again, Murray.'
COOPER
"Sly! Izuku! Murray managed to get the third key from a race he was challenged to by one of the guards!"Bentley called out after Sly and Izuku returned to the main stronghold."I managed to sneak it to where you both could find it."
"Thanks, Murray!" Izuku smiled. "You too, Bentley!"
With the three keys in hand, the duo was able to unlock the fireworks needed to bust open the roof panel, allowing them to drop to a lower level of the structure, where another group of fireworks in another open-air segment was locked with seven locks.
"I've calculated the trajectory of these rockets and... I'm 99 percent sure you'll be able to ride them all the way to the top of that statue before they explode."Bentley noted.
Sly hummed. "What about the other one percent?"
"Well, in that case, Sly, you will be blown to bits... but the experience will no doubt be spectacular."
"Let's hope that one percent doesn't happen, then..." Izuku gulped.
"Strangely, the blueprints for the Panda King's fortress I've managed to download give the general areas of each of the special guard keys needed as well, almost as though it was written to give you just enough information to figure the rest out for yourselves,"Bentley added.
Sly rubbed his chin. "From what you're saying, it's almost like the Panda King wants us to come and take him down."
"Then let's find the rest of the keys!" Izuku said.
The next path took them across the rooftops of another area of buildings. As soon as Izuku caught sight of this, he hopped off Sly's back.
"What's up, kiddo?"
"Miss Fox is coming."
"FREEZE, RACCOON!" Carmelita called out from a nearby rooftop, aiming her shock pistol toward Sly.
"Have fun, you two!" Izuku smiled as he immediately bolted.
"Wait, buddy! Don't just…!" Sly started, only to sigh. 'I love and hate him so much right now….'
"Conjito! Wait!" Carmelita called out before glaring at Sly when she saw he made no real movement to stop the little boy. "You're just going to let him go off like that?!"
"What's wrong?" Sly smirked. "He's just off to play in the snow and set off some of the fireworks, I imagine."
"And you're just fine with him doing that?" Carmalita asked.
"Well, I trust him more than Murray with fireworks." Sly retorted. "Besides, what kind HASN'T set off at least one firework?"
"…Fair." Carmalita sighed, then narrowed her eyes. "But you STILL brought him here! The Panda King's lair of all places!"
"Lets be honest inspector, cold and height aside, this is probably the safest out of all the Fives's base…" Sly started before his brain realized what he'd just said. "Ooooh….I….! I should not have said that."
If the Interpol officer in front of him was merely annoyed, she now entered a whole different level of anger: An anger NO ONE ever wants to deal with.
"…You?" The fox Beastskin, a brow twitching, repeated what she'd heard. "…You. Brought. Him. To. ALL? OF THEIR BASES?!"
Carmalita, thoroughly enraged, let out a long line of Spanish words Sly was 90% sure were not child appropriate, at such a volume it was a miracle another avalanche didn't begin. Sly, while finding this side of his Interpol adversary very attractive, began to back away.
"C-Carmalita, I do all the fighting and dangerous…WHOA!"
He barely dodged a Shock shot.
"I AM GOING TO RING YOUR NECK, BEAT YOUR HANDSOME FACE BLACK AND BLUE, TURN YOUR TAIL INTO A SCARF AND LOCK YOU UP SO DEEP, THE INMATES IN SOLITARY WILL BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT THEY HAVE!" Carmalita roared as she chased after Sly.
Sly couldn't even tease the inspector for that little slip revealing she considered him handsome. He was now dodging with the same intensity he'd Mz. Ruby's Mojo games, only know he was completely terrified…and strangely intrigued.
'…I wonder if mom and dad went through something like this.' The young racoon inwardly mused during the few milliseconds of breathing time Carmalita.
"Sly!"Bentley suddenly screamed, startling Sly and giving Carmalita a chance to pounce and aim her Shock pistol at him. And there was no doubt she'd have fired if not for what they heard next:
"We just got an SOS! IZUKU'S SOS!"
The conversation between thief and agent was forgotten as they raced to Izuku's location. Any thug unfortunate enough to get in their way was knocked out by cane or shock pistol as they raced through the lair.
They found Izuku, lying prone on the ground by an opened Vault...that had scratch marks that looked like they came from a giant bird. In the boy's hands was a Thievius Raccoonus page detailing Colonel Reid Cooper's ability to temporarily stop time around him.
"Izuku! Wake up!" Sly panicked.
Carmelita checked Izuku's pulse to find it was normal and he didn't seem to have a fever. From the looks of things, the boy seemed to have fainted from some kind of shock. Thank goodness he was bundled up in warm, thick clothing in this freezing snowy landscape.
Needing a safe place, Sly and Carmelita brought Izuku to one of the nearby huts, which also happened to be a combination sentry post/storage shed complete with blankets, crates, and a fireplace.
"I'm sorry..." Sly apologized, genuine anger in himself and worry for the boy clear. "If I had known this would happen, I would never have let him go ahead of me..."
"Part of me wants to take this opportunity to slap the cuffs on you right now and leave you here...but not with him like this." Carmelita admitted.
Suddenly, Izuku woke up screaming and crying, a terrified look on his face as he thrashed around before Sly and Carmelita both settled him down.
"Izuku! Calm down, it's us!"
"S-Sly? Miss Fox?" The boy whimpered through his tears, his body shaking from fear. "Y-You're...I'm here..."
"Yeah, you're okay, little buddy. You fainted from shock or something." Sly said. "What happened."
"I...I was able to get the key...and I found the Vault but when I got the page, I sensed...something and then I saw myself...as a baby..."
FLASHBACK
Izuku played with toys on the floor as his mother cooked, humming a tune. His father was playing with Izuku as well, making funny faces and noises.
Suddenly they heard a loud crash outside the door.
"Open up…Midoriyas."
They didn't move. Izuku's mouth was covered as he found himself in his mother's arm.
Then a metallic bird claw pierced the door. Izuku's father motioned Inko to take Izuku to the back as he stood at the ready. The last of the man Izuku saw was something pouncing on him.
The baby's mother rushed into another room and placed her son in a basket that was on top of what could best be described as a Rube Goldberg contraption that would get the basket out of the building and onto a skateboard that would roll away for at least a full block.
Izuku felt his mother kiss his forehead as she cried, then pulled two switches. The basket was wheeled out the window and down along the side of the building, just as the door of the room the woman was hiding in caved down.
There, with bloodied claws and a beak, stood a gigantic metallic owl with cold, dead yellow eyes.
"It was clever of you and your husband to hide under a false name. But such a trick is merely a parlor trick to me," The robotic bird said as he advanced onto the woman. "If only you and your kin had sworn to aid me instead of the Coopers. Then again, I've always done better alone. And with you dead, the Cooper child will have no other aid: McSweeny will never see life outside a prison. M's greed has corrupted him…along with a wiring mistake any proper genius would've seen in the schematics. And the Theivus Racoonus is scattered to the winds."
The woman, though terrified and knowing her husband was now dead, stood her ground. Her attacker was so into his speech he failed to see something leaking all over the room.
"You think your baby is safe?" The owl asked. "He will be dead within days. Either by abandonment induced starvation, rapid street animals or a corrupt police officer."
He then stabbed the woman and thrashed her against the wall and ground.
"Sarah and Connor lasted far long…wait. …Why do you keep smiling?"
It was only then that the mechanical Owl spied that Inko was not only holding grenade pins, but the whole room smelt of kerosene. Seconds later entire apartment complex went up in a blazing flame, accompanied by a deafening explosion that sent the basket baby Izuku had been on flying through the air, across the city skylines and then finally into a river.
But just before the memory ended, the mechanical owl, damaged but still very alive, emerged from the burning rubble and flew away.
"Soon enough."
FLASHBACK END
As his green haired little buddy cried in Carmalita's arms, Sly was left in shock, although he wasn't certain which was the most of said feeling:
His parents had a gang? They had allies that could've raised him? He could've grown up as Izuku's true big brother? The Midoriyas had NUKED an entire building to try and protect not only Izuku, but delay the final member of the Fiendish Five?
Or maybe that this final member hated his family so much he murdered, imprisoned or corrupted said gang of his parents and killed Izuku's parents?
Resolve hardened within Sly as he saw his destination.
"…Look after him. Please." The theif asked, handing Carmalita his PDA. "That will lead you straight to the van."
Carmalita said nothing, taking the device and Izuku into her arms as she begun the journey. Then, being in no mood for theatrics, Sly just cut the knot and broke the locks on the fireworks with his cane before heading to the temple.
The Panda King looked up from his meditation when he felt, more than heard, the Cooper come in. Seeing Sly standing there with confidence and readiness to do what he needed to do, The Panda King smiled inside. At the same time, he found himself lost in sorrow. He was the same age as Jing, after all. This would never be easy...but it was the fate he had to live with. He shook his head. There was a time and place for regrets.
"Greetings, Sly Cooper." He stood and stretched slightly.
"Panda King." Sly responded, making no move beyond that.
"You are here for the pages, and revenge, I presume," The King grunted. He glanced to the side, where a vault rested in a far wall. "They are there."
Sly glanced at the vault, and blinked at the fact that it wasn't even shut, open and revealing the pages in their glory. He looked back at the Panda King in confusion.
"Oddly convenient," he offered carefully, suspecting a trap.
"They are yours to take when you leave, no matter how our encounter goes. I have not read them." Panda King smirked as he noticed Sly's confusion grow even further. "You have questions. I have answers, if you can prove you can handle them."
He settled into the first stance of Flame Fu, flames gathering around all four paws as Sly tensed in surprise.
"Fight me, Cooper! Show me how you have grown! Show me your strength, your heart! The child hiding in the closet, he cannot face HIM. Show me that child has become a man who can protect what he treasures! Then I will answer your questions!"
Without further stalling, Panda King tossed a flame up off his hand before spinning to kick it towards the thief.
Sly immediately moved, but kept his focus on his opponent, outrunning the flung flames as he circled, quickly moving to the center platform of the pagoda.
"FIERY WHEEL!"Panda King cried out, charging flame into one paw before flipping on his head, spinning like a wheel in an attempt to knock Sly off his feet.
Sly, however, leaped over the strike, using his cane to propel himself off Panda King's own leg as he shot for the ceiling, only to come down on The Panda King's head before leaping off.
"BOOMING CHOP!"The Panda King cried out angrily, spinning to try and chop Sly down, only for Sly to dodge and deliver a hard cane strike into his opponent's stomach.
The Panda King stumbled back, clutching his belly. Chuckling at the strength Sly showed, he channeled flames into all four paws at once before launching himself forward, intent on unleashing a shockwave of flame on impact.
Sly dashed forward to meet the charge swiftly jumped to meet him, catching The Panda King around the neck with the hook of his cane. As the momentum jerked his upper body back, Sly yanked to make him flip onto his back before performing a diving takedown.
Panda King coughed, gasping and choking through the burn and the blows he'd taken before seeing Sly aiming his cane at his face. With a sigh, he bowed his head.
"I yield...I can sense the strength you have gained not just from yourself...but from someone you love dearly." Panda King said. "Yes...you are strong enough to face HIM."
"Who is...he?" Sly asked carefully. "Mz. Ruby wouldn't say anything about him either."
"If you want to know, give the pages back to your compatriots and come back here."
"You seem to know a lot about us." Sly observed calmly.
"There is reason for that."
COOPER
*SLY POV*
Retrieving the Panda King's section of the Thievius Raccoonus gave me a chance to learn about my technically-minded ancestor Otto van Cooper. Not known for his physical dexterity, Otto relied on vehicles to aid him in his criminal endeavors. Armed with his designs, I was sure Murray would be able to make some cool modifications to the team van.
Izuku managed to recover under Inspector Fox's care and made his way back to Bentley and Murray. I managed to get the pages to them while I held a private audience with the Panda King...
TO BE CONTINUED….
Knightmare Lord A/N:
We learn what happened to Inko in this story's continuity and we also get to have Carmelita going Mama Bear for Izuku. Also, the Panda King shows his honorable side from Sly 3 more.
I hope Mrotrax didn't mind what I left for him.
Mrotrax A/N:
Not at all! Lore is what I live for!
Added a scene with Murray and Jing King in a bit of hopeful foreshadowing and a nod to Knightmarelord's 'Sly and Ben' story.
One more member of the Fiendish Five left to go: The worst of them all.