*SLY POV*
It had been a while since I'd been back in the U.S. Next up; the notorious Muggshot, ruthless muscle of the Fiendish Five. What he lacked in brains, he definitely made up for in brawn.
Turns out he wasn't always that way. He grew up as the runt of the litter, the neighborhood weakling. The only friends he could turn to were usually found on the big screen. It was there that he spotted his first gangster, and he knew instantly that's what he wanted to be.
He spent the rest of his youth working real hard to get there, fueled on his dreams of great power and respect. With enough perspiration, he realized that dream. He'd become a hard-boiled, street-brawling, tough-as-nails gangster, ensuring that he'd never be picked on or pushed around again.
So he's holed up in Mesa City, huh? I've always wanted to go to that thriving American boomtown.
Even though Muggshot is our enemy, Izuku can't help but feel bad for him. The kid certainly has a big heart, but I doubt Muggshot will be the kind to be easily swayed.
COOPER
As the gang drove to Utah, Mesa City, Izuku was busy reading all the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus that had been retrieved from Raleigh's base of operations. However, something interesting caught his eye in Heinrette "One Eye" Cooper's pages.
"And see I did off the port bow, the frightening gaze of an eagle. My strong and seaworthy crew, transfixed in its terrible gaze, lay motionless and silent. All but myself fell victim to its heart-stopping stare - perhaps my eye patch protected me during the ordeal - and I alone manned the ship away from the flying beast. I fear it may strike again..."
In one of the pictures, Izuku saw a suspicious black shadow in the background. The 7-year-old boy had no idea why, but he felt a chill run down his spine.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when the van pulled to a halt at the end of the stable road winding around the stone pillar that led to Mesa City. Beyond there, a stone bridge stretched over the deep chasm below, not strong enough to support the van and everyone in it driving across it.
While not the only entrance to the city, careful study showed it was the least guarded by patrols as nature did a good job keeping anyone from using this route. While an effective deterrent to law enforcement, it was a momentary obstacle at best for Coopers.
"Hey, Sly! I thought you said Mesa City was going to be loud and busy. This looks more like a ghost town!"Bentley noted over the Binocucom.
"That's unfortunate. I was hoping the busy streets would make it easier to sneak through the place." Sly frowned.
"Maybe we can figure out what happened," Izuku suggested. "Look, there are a lot of poles there!"
Sly smirked, realizing Izuku was right. The special pages of the Thievius Raccoonus they got from Raleigh earlier detailed the exploits of Rioichi Cooper, Sly's ancestor from Feudal Japan, who patented the Ninja Spire Jump that allowed him to perch on even the narrowest of points to sneak through the thickly fortified castles he robbed from.
Because Izuku was able to also learn the tricks of the Thievius Raccoonus inexplicably, he followed Sly as they hopped across the strung lights. At one point, they had to hop down to ground level, which drew the attention of a large guard dog who sat up from his bone to growl threateningly.
Sly got ready to act but Izuku rushed forward and suddenly began scratching the dog behind one ear, whispering some gentle words to it as it lulled to peaceful sleep.
"Well, that was effective," Sly noted.
"I learned it from that Dog Whisperer in Mumbai." Izuku beamed.
It wasn't the only guard dog the duo encountered on the way into the city, but each was dealt with the same way. Before long, they caught sight of a passage lined with blinking lights on the floor.
"What's with those flashing lights?"
"The latest in high-tech security — electronic floor sensors. Step on them and you're a goner."Bentley explained over the Binocucom.
"Then we won't do that," Sly offered teasingly, moving swiftly past the obstacle, Izuku following close behind.
At that point, the only path forward led past guards, forcing Izuku to make use of a special knockout dart.
"At least this way they won't know for sure where we entered from, since we left conscious guards behind us, right?"
"Very good, little buddy," Sly praised, ruffling the boy's hair. "That's exactly right."
A brief detour from the main path to a distant pinnacle led the pair to the Vault containing yet another page of the Thievius Raccoonus, this one covering Rob McCooper's Explosive Hat Technique, which involved infusing inner energy into copies of one's hat to turn it into a mine that could be lobbed out where guards might stumble across it, knocking themselves out from the release of energy.
"Think I'll stay off that one until you're a little older, buddy." Sly smiled at a now pouting Izuku. "Or at least save it for when you're not around."
"But I want to use my hair to make explosions!" The little boy pouted.
"Aw come on, Sly!"Murray said over the comm-link. "Let Izu try! After all, it's never too early for your first explosion!"
"That coming from the hippo who blew up the orphanage's chimney?"Bentley added."When he was eight?"
"Well, how was I supposed to know soda and candies were dangerous mixed together?"
Deciding to turn off the comm-link, the duo soon made their way past the locked gates leading into the rest of the city. They could see a neon sign reading 'Muggshot' at the top of it, along with a giant inflatable character of himself floating over the roof.
"This Muggshot certainly isn't shy,"Bentley noted."Okay, so we know he's here somewhere, but how are we supposed to find him? Mesa City is a big place."
"Given that he's a bulldog... it seems only reasonable to assume that he'd choose to live in a giant fire hydrant," Sly suggested.
"Well, it makes the most sense," Izuku said. "We just need to find a way to break in."
Sly shifted the lock on, noticing a crimson convertible held in place by a large lock. He smirked as he knew that he and Izuku just needed to find the key to unlock it...and maybe swipe some of Muggshot's loot and any Thievius Raccoonus pages he had.
COOPER
While exploring through Muggshot's turf, Sly and Izuku got an alert from Bentley that Murray had managed to get a key in a race while trying to get a quick snack. Figuring that might be the key to unlocking the convertible, Sly and Izuku looked at each other and smiled proudly as they made their way into one of the larger buildings, a casino by appearances. As they approached, they knew defenses would be high.
"Yo! Hey, yo, yo! It's the boss! You know, I am the first to admit that maybe driving everyone out of town, while necessary to set up shop, might have taken a hit out of the business. So, now I hope you mugs would be obliged to any visitors that come here to lose their money in my casino."Muggshot said over the speakers."But, I got a reliable tip that a cop might be snooping around the operation. So from now on, greet any visitors you see with a hail of lead! Capiche?"
"That sounds counter-productive," Izuku noted.
Sly chuckled. "Hey, Muggshot isn't known for his smarts."
Once inside the casino, Sly cut the power both to open the front gate and to give them shadows to hide in as they made their way inside. They made their way over the top of the slot machines, carefully avoiding the machine gun-totting guards. Izuku couldn't carelessly knock them out with her knockout darts, as seeing one of their fellows drop would put the others on high alert.
Once the last of the guards were down, Izuku hopped off Sly's back to take a look around, only to slip off the slot machine and yank down on the arm. The tumblers began spinning before landing on three gold bones, the bells ringing as coins started spilling out, burying poor Izuku.
"I'm okay...!" He muffled from underneath the pile. "These coins aren't that heavy."
"That's...different," Sly mused, hopping down. Picking up a handful of the coins, he tried a few other slot machines...only for them to constantly come up with mismatched symbols that gave nothing back. "And this is why I don't gamble..."
Another series of bells and whistles called Sly's attention to another slot machine, where Izuku was once more being buried under a jackpot.
"I was just curious..."
Rolling his eyes, Sly pocketed the coins. He'd have to trade them on the black market for a major discount before taking Muggshot down to get any value out of them, but it would still be a profit.
"In that case, we won't go to any casino until you're of legal gambling age," he concluded firmly, scooping his little buddy back to his shoulders.
Continued exploration of the casino proved exceptionally frustrating, as the lower levels seemed to be flooded, with the craps tables and roulette wheels turned into floating platforms Sly had to jump across carefully with Izuku clinging to his back. On top of that, the vault was on one of those floating platforms, making Izuku nervous as he rolled the tumblers, and he gave them an extra spin just to make sure she'd heard them click right.
Inside was another page of the Thievius Raccoonus, this one covered B.F. Cooper's meditation technique, which allowed one to maintain absolute focus in times of inactivity, making it seem as though the world around the user was moving faster than normal, which was perfect for long stakeouts.
"Nice job, buddy. Let's head out and see if we can meet up with Murray to get that key to the car."
COOPER
After meeting up with Murray and getting the key from him, Sly and Izuku made their way back to the area in front of Muggshot's building and unlocked the revving car, setting it loose to crash into the wall around the hotel entrance. With the wall smashed, they made their way inside, knocking out the guards until they came to a wall with Muggshot's face jutting out from it larger than life, jutting teeth, cigar, and all.
"Would you look at that ugly mug?" Sly commented.
"My x-ray detection devices reveal that a secret elevator to Muggshot's penthouse is contained within that giant head,"Bentley noted.
"So how do we get in?" Sly asked.
"Behind this locked wall, there's a lever that summons the elevator, but you need a special key to open it up."
Izuku and Sly looked at each other and nodded, knowing they needed to split up again to cover more ground. Izuku decided to take the roof access area while Sly decided to scrounge the rooftops.
Climbing to the top, Izuku saw a vault protected by a trapped skylight.
"You'll never be able to smash that thick glass. You'll need something super-heavy... like that big wrecking ball up there."Bentley noted."Just...be careful, okay? You're still so young..."
"I'll be okay, Bentley! I promise!"
Izuku nodded and made his way to the neon signs along the roof, climbing across them in search of a way to disable the security system. The roof was sparsely patrolled, with only a couple of guards and some guard dogs. All were dealt with readily and silently. As he climbed, the boy heard Muggshot speak up.
"I got a personal message for the two-bit thief who's making off with all my goods: you're dead, pally! If I get my hands on you, I'm going to fit you with your own pair of cement bunny slippers. You hear me? You're lunchmeat, jerk!"
Izuku shivered. "Scary...!"
After reaching the wrecking ball, Izuku moved it so that it smashed the skylight, allowing him to gain access to the vault, dialing in the code and opening it up to reveal several pages detailing the exploits of Sly's Victorian Era ancestor, Thaddeus Winslow Cooper III.
"Whoa! He knew Sherlock Holmes and even teamed up with Arsene Lupin!" The boy marveled as he read the pages. "And he even was the one to defeat Jack the Ripper!"
Knowing Sly would love to read the pages himself, Izuku stashed the pages in his backpack and headed back down.
COOPER
With Sly, he was exploring the rooftops of the back alleys behind the hotel, clambering up and down the outside of the buildings as he made his way in the direction Bentley's scanners indicated the vault waited in. As he moved, the greatest threat proved to be spotlights, backed up by machine guns, that swept across the sides and roofs of the buildings in regular patterns. What few guards there were patrolling the area were easy enough to deal with.
At the very edge of the rooftops, he found both the vault and inside were pages from the Thievius Raccoonus detailing the tricks of Suzanne Cooper, who developed a technique that not only made her a swimmer on par with Olympic athletes but could also kick off the surface of the water, whether flat or turbulent, to regain dry land without getting wet or leaving a trace of passage.
"This will definitely be useful," Sly smirked as he left his calling card and made his way back inside.
COOPER
The final vault was in another area of the rooftops, specifically in a jewel case near Muggshot's penthouse. This forced Sly and Izuku to detour over another section of rooftops, which at first seemed relatively clear. However, this proved a mistaken impression as Carmelita dropped in on the rooftops across the road.
"Cooper, you aren't REALLY carrying Izuku around across rooftops like this, are you?" She demanded coldly. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"
"Come now, Miss Fox," Sly offered teasingly. "You should know by now I don't misstep when it counts."
"Hi, Miss Fox!" Izuku waved.
"Hola, conjeto." Carmalita smiled sweetly for a second before turning to glaring at Sly. "The point remains!"
"Do you remember Morocco and Alberta?" Sly countered. "That's what happens when we leave him behind."
Fox and racoon both shuddered, remembering those times.
"I said I was sorry!" Izuku cooed, breaking out the weakness of any parental figure; the puppy dog eyes. "…Am I a bad boy?"
Sly and Carmalita winced.
"We know you're doing….!" They started, trying to sound firm.
"…And I am so proud of you for doing it!" Sly smirked.
"…And it is working." Carmalita confessed at the same time, shuffling her shock pistol away. "Cooper?"
Sly looked at her; not used to this…softer tone from her.
"…Despite it all? You ARE a good caregiver. And at least part of that is why I…"
"Not just my charming, good looks?" Sly smirked.
"Please." Carmalita waved off. "You're a five at best….ten with him."
"…Dang. That might hurt more than the pistol."
Carmalita smiled knowingly.
"…..Look, I know I come across as fearless, dashing and cool." Sly said.
"Not really."
"But its for him more than me." Sly confessed. "He's been with us since he was a baby; we were barely 15 when we found him in that basket."
That got Carmalita's attention; who puts a baby in a basket?
"he knows what we do is technically wrong." Sly confessed. "Actually, fully wrong. So…"
What he said next shocked Carmalita.
"We came up with the idea of acting like brave, cool heroes to put him at ease whenever we go out. And help us come back. He's a smart kid, could do real good….but…"
Sly didn't know what to say; he knew the beautiful Interpol Agent had a soft spot for Izuku; that she'd raise him well and proud; probably make him a legend among any officer of the law.
Was it selfish of him to NOT want to give up his, Bentley and Murray's reason for living beyond the thrill and smirking? Maybe. Could others support him better? Definitely. But he, Murray and Bentley didn't trust anyone else to raise their boy they way he was now: Fully happy and full of cheer.
Carmalita smiled sadly.
"Alright Cooper. I'll make you a deal." She said. "As long as Izuku is with you? You get a two-minute head start every time. But if you ever leave him behind or wind up behind bars and I can't convince the Commissioner to let you work off your sentence…"
"…You'd do that?" Sly asked hopefully.
"I wasn't done!" Carmalita snapped before composing herself. "…if you ever leave him or he loses his way? Hell will freeze over before I let anyone else touch him. And I will…"
She struggled to say this:
"…I will let him believe and become the kind of theif he wants to be."
She REALLY hated saying that: She was a woman of the law after all! But she did mean everything she said regardless.
Sly smiled softly.
"…Gracias, Senorita."
"…Speaking my home tongue will get you nowhere." Carmalita assured him, but she smiled softly as well.
"Really?" Sly coyly asked. "Because…I've always felt…"
"The connection between us will be your wrist in a handcuff and the other in mine."
"My, how daring!"
"NOT LIKE THAT, PERVERT!"
"I didn't mean it like that….!" Sly smirked, delighting in the fox woman blushing and angrily reaching for her pistol.
"Are you two done flirting yet?" Izuku asked as he came in, startling Sly and revealing he had several pages with him.
"Izuku?!" Sly gasped, both him and Carmalita startled out of the tramnces. "Where did you go? No. Scratch that, WHEN did you go?"
"While you and Miss Fox were talking, I snuck off to find the vault and unlocked it." Izuku then handed Sly the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus he recovered. "It's really fun; it's about Sir Andrew Cooper's Thief Replica technique! He could make convincing inanimate body doubles to confuse his pursuers."
"That's...very impressive," Sly noted. "You didn't take any risks, did you? Or leave any evidence?"
"Nope!" Izuku offered proudly. "I even closed up the jewelry case and vault behind me! No one will even know I was there for a while. I even found the key to the switch!"
Chuckling, Sly waved to Carmelita. "Guess we'll be doing this some other time."
With that, Sly leaped off the rooftops while Izuku jumped after him, but not before waving goodbye to Carmelita.
"Bye, Miss Fox!"
Sighing, Carmelita holstered her shock pistol and shook her head ruefully.
"That boy..."
COOPER
With the key in hand, Izuku and Sly were able to access the lever that would take them to Muggshot's penthouse lair.
"You ready, Izu?" Sly asked softly. "This guy we're going up against is going to be pretty big."
"I'll be fine." Izuku reassured his big brother/father. "Let's kick some bad guy butt!"
The giant Muggshot face opened its mouth, extending a tongue-like set of stairs leading to an elevator door. Nodding to each other, the pair boarded the elevator, riding it up into the fire hydrant-shaped penthouse.
As they arrived, they found themselves in a large single chamber, a wide open floor between themselves and a large throne-like chair, upon which sat the biggest bulldog beastkin they'd ever seen. He easily stood twice Sly's height, with a pale purple coat over his heavily muscled limbs, with a dark blue mustache and eyebrows.
"What? My boys have been yapping about some big, mysterious dude running around cracking skulls and...and this is it?! Yer the monkey wrench in my operation? Some scrawny rat with a stick!" He snapped. "And what's with the runt? Didn't know it was Take Yer Kid To Work Day."
"I'll be eight in a few months!" Izuku pouted.
Muggshot ignored the boy, his eyes narrowing on Sly's cane in particular.
"Hey, wait a sec...I've seen that stick before!"
Sly smirked. "Maybe when my father knocked your block off with it."
"Yer FATHER?! Whoa...you're a Cooper?" Muggshot asked in realization before smirking impudently. "You know, that Thingus Raccamagoocus had a lot of nice pictures, but way too many big words."
"So can we have it back?" Izuku asked hopefully.
"What are you kidding? You break into my place, steal my stuff, trash the joint. I feel transgressed and violated." Muggshot snapped. "Let's rock!"
"HAVE A BISCUIT!" Izuku shouted as he threw a giant dog biscuit he had procured earlier at Muggshot, who caught it and just stared at it with an unamused face before dropping it.
"Kid, just because I don't get big words don't mean I'm stupid!" He said as he threw the biscuit away. "Ya might wanna get outta the way. Hurting kids leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
Sly gave a silent nod to Izuku, not wanting the kid to get hurt either. Understanding the situation, Izuku made his way to the elevator.
Muggshot smirked. "Nice kid. Reminds me o' me before I started lifting. If I end up winning this, I'll keep an eye out for him."
"Thanks for the offer, but I've got some friends who can do the job just fine." Sly replied.
"Just between you and me; offin' yer old man wasn't personal." Muggshot clarified as he readied his guns. "It's all business, but I don't let that get in the way of looking out for youngins."
"I appreciate the gesture," Sly offered gratefully, sincerely. "But I seriously doubt you'll be the one walking away from this."
"That's the spirit!" Muggshot proclaimed happily before opening fire.
Grates fell down around the outside of the room, sealing it off. At the same time, large glass crystals and rotating mirrors fell to the floor. Quickly seeing a solution, Sly raced ahead of Muggshot, rotating the mirrors to shine light into the crystals. As they all illuminated, the focused light burned Muggshot and overheated his guns.
"My beautiful gun is destroyed!" He snapped out angrily. "Good thing I got a spare upstairs."
Racing over, he rode an elevator up to the second floor of the penthouse...at which point Izuku rotated the last mirror on that floor into place.
"GYAH! Why you little-" Retreating to the elevator, he rode up to the chandelier...where he saw too late all but one of the mirrors already in place. "Aww, hell naw-"
Izuku, having hitched a ride up on the elevator, flipped over his back to strike the last mirror, spinning it into place before bracing himself on a lamp on one of the cables holding it up using the Ninja Spire Jump. As Muggshot collapsed back onto the chandelier, Sly rode the other elevator up to that level.
To their surprise, Muggshot started to chuckle.
"I thought the only way I could beat the bigger and stronger guys...was ta get bigger and stronger than them. But you two! Ya beat me fair and square by tag-teaming me and using my own place against me. I think youse two can look out for yourselves. ...the rest of the pictures I got are in my safe behind my throne, but if you want the rest, you're gonna need to head to Haiti and cross paths with Mz. Ruby. And believe you and me...if she gets her claws on you...you don't wanna be you!"
COOPER
*SLY POV*
Muggshot's section of the Thievius Raccoonus contained an entry from my gunslinging ancestor "Tennessee Kid" Cooper. His specialty was the Rail Walk and Rail Slide, moves perfected through a lifetime of theft in the Old West.
Getting out of town proved to be a little more challenging than getting in. Having just missed us, Inspector Fox went for the next best thing and dragged that canine steroid case off to jail. But Izuku had left a note telling her to go easy on him since the idealistic little pup that just didn't want to be picked on anymore was still in there. Perhaps he'd learn to be a good dog again soon enough.
That was the end of Muggshot's gambling empire, and Mesa City citizens soon returned home, while me and the boys, well, we enjoyed the rest of our stay in America... and then returned to Paris, ready for our next mission.
COOPER
"Murray? Do you think…?"
"No way." Murray assured Izuku.
"…You didn't let me finish."
"You were wondering if you might've ended up like Muggshot. And I can safely say: You're too smart and cool."
The Hippo's confidence then dropped
"Me on the other hand?"
"No way!" Izuku cut Murray off, hugging him. "You're too nice! And brave!"
Murray smiled.
"…Thanks, lil buddy."
He then picked the boy up and readied him for bed.
"Now, you get some sleep: We got long trips ahead of us."
And later that night, after Izuku was deep in slumber, the three older thieves had a quick meeting.
"Here's what I found about Miss Ruby." Bentley said. "Its not good."
After 10 minutes of reading, the Cooper gang all came to an agreement:
"Izuku stays out of this one."
Knightmare Lord A/N:
Muggshot's Adaptational Nice Guy treatment is taken from Dressed to Steal, a My Little Pony/Sly Cooper crossover where Coco Pommel is adopted and raised by the Cooper Gang. You can read it on Fimfiction.
Anything you'd like to say, Mrotrax?
Mrotrax A/N:
I handled the last bit at the end and Sly and Carmalita's conversation. Hope I delivered!
How will the next mission go? Wait and see!