The Ladybug and the Raccoon (a Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction)

Chapter 11

Out of all the places in Paris, his hideout felt the most secure. Sly was never out during the day because he is usually sleeping or doing nothing. There have been very few times he's been out in the day, but he's rarely gone to the human world. The last time he was here in the human world, it all felt weird and strange to him. Today, he decided to go undercover. He wore a long trench coat with a fedora hat to cover his ears and tail. He didn't have to worry about his hands and feet because of his gloves and boots. Hiding his face however was tricky, it wasn't until Bentley had come up with the idea of wrapping his face in bandages. "If anybody asks about them, just say that you're recovering from plastic surgery." He said at that point. Then Murray made a comment about how he looked like one of the display mummies in the Egyptian exhibits they've seen in the past. That in turn gave Sly flashbacks. Now he was focused on navigating the streets and on his main objective. "Bentley what's our status on Mugshot's whereabouts?" asked Sly into his earpiece. "According to what we heard last night, he plans on scattering his troops to steak out any museums in the surrounding area." said Bentley. "They're more likely to seek a higher vantage point and less likely to be on ground level.". " So I guess that means going incognito on the ground wasn't that bad of an idea." smirked Sly. "It's an over the top risky move. You stand a 99℅ percent chance of getting caught. Which means that in order for your one percent chance of survival, you have to act like a normal citizen." said Bentley. "That means no climbing, pick pocketing, or talking to anyone.". " Is there anything good that you have to offer besides impossible odds?" asked Sly. "I'm just trying to keep you alive " partner" but I have placed holographic projectiles around Paris that show you where you need to go. I've modified the calibristics so that only you can see them and no one else can.". "Gotcha. Let's see what this world has to offer." said Sly. "It's you're funeral." said Bentley. "Relax Bentley, I live for this stuff." said Sly. He turned off his earpiece and continued down the sidewalk. When he met up with Bentley and Murray last night after visiting Marinette, on their way to their old hideout they spotted one of Mugshot's guards stirring up trouble. He eaves dropped on a conversation between another guard, they said they were gonna go undercover during the daytime to scout out potential targets. Hearing this actually worked out in Sly's favor, it gave him the opportunity to explore during the day and study the streets and maps for potential exit routes and hidden passages to take cover in. He was also thankful that it was a cold spring day, if it were any hotter his disguise would be roasting him like a microwave burrito. As he strut down the sidewalk he looked around at the other people walking by. He was nervous on the inside, it was all new territory for him. There was a churning feeling in the pit of his stomach, his natural animal instincts telling him to hide, but he took in a deep breath and kept walking. Then Sly walked past a girl with headphones on, her headphones were a leopard print with fake plastic ears and this gave him an idea. Every human he walked past he wondered what type of animal they would be if they were in his world. They didn't know him, they were just going about their day like anyone else would. With that reassuring thought in mind he was able to confidently lift his head up as he crossed the street.

Marinette had finished most of her sketches. She was very impressed with herself for getting most of them done in such a short period of time. Her encounters with Sly had repeated over and over in her head as she put pencil against paper. It was after school had just ended and everyone was just hanging out. The Sly Cooper chatter had never stopped even with Chloe showing off her sneak peak of her designs the other day. She couldn't help but think about how Sly was so patient with her last night. How he had this calming presence despite being a thief, she could tell how Sly felt relaxed on her balcony. She wondered what living in his world would be like. Imagine being the one human in a world full of animals, or in Sly's case it was vise versa . "You saw the calling card, Sly could've done it." said Kim. "Anybody can make a calling card like that at home." countered Alya. "Yeah but not everyone can dodge bullets being fired at them." said Kim. "For all you know he could be a former military officer in disguise." said Alya. Max sat down next to Marinette as Kim and Alya continued to their debate. "Kim has been thinking about Sly for the past few days. He's been asking me all sorts of questions about him." said Max. "Does it bother you?" asked Marinette. "I mean I know you don't believe that he did it.". " Oh I don't mind the questions." answered Max with a smile. "It just gives me a challenge and what could be more of a challenge than a comic no ones heard of until a few days ago.". " Have you found anything?" asked Marinette. "He was a videogame back in the nineties before either of us were even born." answered Max. "I've seen some pictures and a few videos online. But when I compared them to the video footage from the robbery, the moves were almost synchronized.". " What does that mean?" asked Marinette. Max pulled up his phone. "This is the robbery footage. You can see here that the culprit rolls over to the side." He explained. Then he pulled up another video. "Now this is from the first Sly Cooper videogame, as you can see Sly performs the same rolling technique. Look what happens when I play them side by side.". Max played both videos together. Marinette saw how both were exactly the same. She knew it was Sly but pretended to be amazed for Max's sake. " It's just like in the game." She said. "I know. Whoever robbed the museum must've worked for years to study Sly's exact movements." said Max. "It's fascinating, it almost made me believe it was him.". Marinette thought to herself about all of the Sly Cooper chatter in school. She kept looking over at Alya, wondering if she'd tell her about Sly. She wouldn't believe her, despite Alya being her best friend she would totally freak out if she met Sly and call the police. Then again she would also have questions of her own, she is the creator of several blogs including the Lady blog. (Her blog about Ladybug and Cat Noir). When she looked back at Max he was on his Game Master 6 playing a robot battle game. Her mind instantly wandered to Sly's tale of the Gamers accident. A secret island full of videogame characters and their worlds, thousands of dimensions gathered into one place that continues to grow. " Why are you staring at my game?" asked Max. She snapped back to reality. "Oh I just uh.." startled Marinette. Before she could answer that question, Nino and Adrien showed up. Adrien had three comic books in his hands and Nino held up his tablet with a big smile across his face. "Guys you'll never believe what we just found." said Adrien. "Wait a second are those.." said Kim, perplexed. "The second, third and fourth issues of Sly Cooper." answered Nino. "No way!" exclaimed Alya. "Where did you find them?". " They were in an antique store." answered Adrien. "The guy who owns it is a fan.". " And he just so happened to sell you guys copies?" asked Max. "Yeah he's got doubles, and there's more too." answered Nino. Marinette looked at the other three comics. "There's more?" said Marinette, surprised. "It turns out the comic book you found came from the antique store." explained Adrien. "The box wasn't taped shut right and it blew out the window.". " So that explains why I found it." said Marinette. "But it doesn't explain the robbery." said Alya. "What else did you find?". As Nino told everyone about their adventure across town, Adrien was left with Marinette. He handed her the comics and she was speechless. " Here, I've already read them and Nino has too. I think you would enjoy them." said Adrien. "Me oh no I can't take these." said Marinette. "It's no big deal, besides you were willing to share your comic with us." said Adrien. "I think it's only fair that we return the favor.". She flipped through the pages, her heart was racing a thousand beats per minute, she couldn't tell if it was due to uncovering more of Sly's story or the fact that Adrien willingly handed her the answers to her questions on a silver platter. " Thank you Adrien." said Marinette, feeling her nervousness kicking up inside her again. "No problem Marinette." said Adrien. "I'd do anything for a friend.". She wished she could say her feelings but then drove her attention to the chatter between Nino and Alya. "Mr. Frasier, the guy who owns the antique store, said that there was a government accident that happened years ago. " said Nino. "What are you trying to say Nino?" asked Alya. "It's not the first time Sly has showed up. I did some research and found the same theory." answered Nino as he scrolled through his tabs on his tablet. "In 2010, government officials and scientists collaborate to change the future of gaming. With the help of tech developers and the use of every videogame, consol, and gaming system on the planet, they were able to create a transportation system to allow a person to enter the cyber world." Max read. "Wait a minute are you saying they invented teleportation?" asked Kim. "At least they were trying too." said Nino. "And that's when this happened." He scrolled to a tab showing video footage from inside a lab. Marinette watched closely,