Zootopia belongs to Disney. Spider-Man belongs to Sony.


Yep, Judy had gotten up, having heard something and gone to check on the cub, only to find the clothes under the sheets. Now Danny sat on the couch with his arms crossed. He had forgotten that Judy, with her big ears, could hear everything that happened in the house.

"I'm what now?"

"You're grounded," Judy repeated. Nick nodded in agreement.

"I... don't know what that means."

Nick resisted the urge to laugh, snorting through his nose quietly to get rid of his giggles. Easy. You're playing the tough guy here.

Judy answered. "It means we're going to keep a closer eye on you. I mean," she threw her paws up in exasperation, "we've been through this before! And you're still doing it! Oh, and grounded also means," she counted them off, "no going out, no music..."

"You wouldn't dare."

...no watching tv, no nothing. Just books."

"Why?!"

"Because you left your room when you weren't supposed to, that's why!"

"Oh come on, Judy!" he said, covering his face with his paws. "Aren't I in enough trouble already?"

Nick spoke up. "Which is exactly why we're doing this, son. We just don't want you to put yourself in a worse position."

"But ah-" he sighed and marched toward his room, muttering, "Geez, you save a little girl from a burning building and get buried for it."

"It's ground- wait, what did you say?"

He raised his voice - "Nothing, just forget it!" - and slammed his door.

Nick and Judy turned to look at each other. "What did he say?" asked Judy.

He shrugged. "Something about a girl and a burning building."

"Hm." She pulled out her phone and looked at her notifications. Nothing. Ah, she hoped it wasn't what she thought it was. Was he back to... freelance B&E? If he was, then it was likely his court case was altogether caput.

"Come on, let's go to bed," said Nick. "He'll be fine for the rest of the night."

They heard an attenuated shout coming from his room: "Yeah, don't worry, Mom, I'm not going anywhere!"

Nick chuckled but Judy winced. That one hit home for her. Because it was sarcasm. She was sarcastically his mom.

"Hey," he whispered on their way back to their room. "Don't worry, ok, Honey? He'll be fine. He's twelve. Every kid his age gets like that."

Judy nodded in agreement. She wasn't exactly easy when she was his age either. Oh yeah, she was much worse! Ha! Danny, compared to twelve-year-old Judy, was much more mature. Still a kid; still had a lot of growing up to do. But he had experienced the worst of life before the age of five. He was experienced miles beyond his years.

They closed their door. Having put her mind to rest over this issue, she turned to Nick and bat her eyelashes. "You're right, Babe. Now," she cooed in that voice of hers that got his tail a-swangin', jutting her luscious hip to the side, "where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?"

"Hmm," he hummed, beginning to massage his wife's back. "I think we were right...about..."

Yep, it was a good night from there.


He knew he was acting like a brat. But no music?! Come on! That was the only thing keeping him alive at the moment. He was going to cave in if he had to deal with more stress. Ugh. He should not have left the house. At least he wouldn't be... grounded. Weird way of describing it. But... a little girl, her dad, and three firemammals might have died if he hadn't...? Oh come on, he didn't know that. Still, the memory of seeing those foxes with their daughter, safe and sound... it felt good. Amazing. He had been struggling with the urge to B&E for days, and stumbling upon that had provided an escape. It had felt better than the adrenaline rush that he always got from stealing. Because he knew it was right. If only everyone saw it that way. Who knew? Maybe one day, they would.


Kenten held the phone to his shoulder as he restitched his incision. He would be so glad once everything was in place. Having to separate the raw flesh to keep it from fully healing was... he groaned loudly in anticipation of prison. Any average idiot would be wondering why he was trying to get in rather than staying out. But he wasn't any average idiot. He knew his place and the place of predators as compared to prey in the evolutionary hierarchy.

"Hello, who's this?"

"Elkeson, it's Kenten. It's getting close. I need to be in solitary by Friday. You're sure that Thursday is the best day? I'll be put in solitary by Friday?"

"Oh, absolutely. That's general procedure at Mill-Sing. Violent convicts are put in solitary for a maximum of a week. 'Less o'course you're so outta control they just leave you in there. Heh. Pops their psyche like a balloon after a while."

"So, to get into solitary, I have to do what?"

"That's usually reserved for mammals who are a danger to themselves and others. Just... kill someone, go a little crazy. You know, be psycho."

Eugh. The thought of that left a bad taste in his mouth. He was not above killing by any stretch, but he was above losing control. He had to wrestle with the concept for a moment, convincing himself he'd only be appearing to be psychotic. It was a means to an end. "Fine. Get the serum to Bellwether. Once he has it, she'll have only ten minutes to get it to me."

"Gotcha. Good luck. And, remember, you owe me, right? You won't attack prey who are on your side?"

"Of course not."

"And uh, what about that kid, Tartarus?

"Arcturus. What about him?"

"Well, I see here on the news a breaking story about how a black panther kid saved a bunch of mammals from a burning apartment complex."

"He- What now?"

"Just turn on the news."

He flipped the tv on and found something he had not expected.

"...mystery mammal was. The victims claimed the mammal was, quote, 'sticking to walls and punching holes in the floor and concrete. He helped us get out,' end quote. The fire truck present at the apartment at the time had currently been under repair, due to a previous mishap that rendered its ladder inaccessible. Another truck was en route but was not able to reach the apartment in time before it collapsed. On-scene investigators found traces of a fuel source. They are certain that the fire was started deliberately and was therefore an act of arson. This individual who was involved in the rescue of five potential victims, including two civilians and three firefighters, was claimed to have used a kind of rope that, witnesses say, extended from his paws as if it were a part of him. The question on their minds is, who is this mammal? How can they thank him? And will he return?"

"Thanks, Fabienne. Moving on to the stock market..."

Doug Kenten stood transfixed at the screen. His synapses were overclocking in light of the news story he had just heard. He was formulating an idea of how to expedite the gray area of his grand scheme. How to put a limping society on its knees: kick the crutch out from under its arm. First step: give them the crutch. Crutch: Daniel... Rigel... Arcturus.

His lips curled in a vicious grin, punctuated by a slow, malicious cackle. It was as if some higher power was putting everything in place even better than he had imagined. A win-win it was... whether it worked or not, his goal was untouched in the long run.

And the cub would still die...


"...But none of the witnesses have any knowledge of who this mystery mammal was. The victims claimed the mammal was, quote, 'sticking to the wall and punching holes in the floor and concrete. He helped us get out,' end quote... The question on their minds is, who is this mammal? And how can they thank him?"

So... that's what he meant. Judy looked at the family as the commentary continued, the silver foxes smiling and talking to their daughter. Danny did this? She felt... emotions. She couldn't settle on what she was feeling, whether pride or fear, anger or joy... but the look in that family's eyes proved one thing: he had not relapsed. The irony wasn't lost on her: he technically had broken into a residence to retrieve "an item," that item being a precious child, along with several others.

She walked toward his room, now fully aware of the situation. Opening the door, she saw Danny reading (or pretending to read) his old textbook. She closed the door quietly.

"You in here to press some more charges?" he asked sarcastically.

She clasped her paws loosely in front of her and shrugged. "I came in to thank you." Danny turned his head toward Judy, his brows furrowing. "For what you did for that family."

He returned the shrug with one shoulder. "I was just swinging and I heard someone calling for help."

"Swinging? As in, 'swinging by?'"

"No, I mean swinging literally. I was swinging with my web."

"Th-that... that is incredible," she said with wide eyes. "And dangerous..."

"Hmph. Am I grounded from that, too?" he asked sardonically.

"You're not grounded." He turned to her again, surprised. "But," she pointed at him, "from now on, if you want to go somewhere, ask us first."

He nodded, glad to be off the hook. "Ok. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. You hungry?"

"Eh," he shook his head, "I ate a bunch of snacks a little while ago. I eat a lot when I'm stressed."

"Everyone eats a lot when they're stressed."

Danny clicked his tongue, shaking his head slowly. "Did not know that."

" I noticed you haven't talked to Gazelle in a while. She doing ok?"

"I think she's been really busy lately. And she's all hung up on Weston. I think she's expecting him to put a ring on it, like, within the next week or so. I'm giving her a little space for when that happens, in case someone nearby has a camera."

Judy chuckled uneasily. He said it so pointedly that she couldn't discern whether he was serious or not. She had been absolutely fan-crazed over meeting Gazelle that she bombarded the poor girl with an impromptu photoshoot the day she visited the farm. Once they had become more familiar with each other, Gazelle had confessed to her that the experience had been hard for her, given her self-conscious nature. She normally didn't mind pictures, but only when she was dressed for the occasion. In response, Judy had deleted the pictures she'd taken. Reluctantly, but willingly. She hated hurting anyone's feelings. It was probably for the best, as a certain cheetah (to say nothing of her boss) was as of yet unaware that a close coworker and friend of his was currently rubbing shoulders with his favorite mammal in history. Now, the two were good friends especially after Judy was able to view the vulnerable mammal under her glamor.

"Well, I sent her a text and she said she's at home." She checked the clock. "It's only six so we have some time before we have to be in court. I think I'll go visit her today."

"I'll come with," he said, needing the distraction until then.

"Ok, let's go." She pulled out her keys.

"Aaaaaactually... I think I'll swing there."

"Danny, when you say swing, do you mean, like, the way you swung on your web at the farm?"

He nodded. "Wanna see?"

"I have to admit that I am curious."

They jogged outside, one eager to show, the other eager to see. They found a few tall trees in the park close to their house. "Ready?" he asked, more for effect.

"Ready."

He leaped high in the air and peaked. He didn't sling his web until he had begun his descent; it made for smoother sailing. His web made its home halfway up a tall oak. He finished his first swing before kicking off and slinging a second web, deftly arcing around a set of trees and swinging back to land in front of Judy, who stood wide-eyed.

She didn't know whether to tell him never to do that again or to demand a ride. Oh, that looked like so much fun! But she was, for all intents and purposes, his mother and decided to go with the middle ground. "That is... so cool, Danny," she breathed, shaking her head slowly side to side in awe. But... just be careful. For me."

He nodded. "I will. Promise."

"Great! Now let's go to Gazelle's." She grabbed his sleeve to climb up onto the confused panther's back, hugging him tightly from behind. "Ho!" She pointed toward the sky. "Up, up, and awaaaaay!" she yelled in a silly voice. He laughed; she sounded like she was breathing helium.

"What?!"

"I said, 'Up, up, and awaaaaay!'" she repeated, shaking his shoulders.

"I thought you-"

"I said, 'Be careful,' and you promised you would be. I trust you. And..." she spoke with a voice full of longing... "that looks like so much fun!"

"You're serious."

"Yep! Let's go!"

"Ok, but hold on tight." She clasped her paws together and wrapped her legs around his torso, locking herself in place. "You're sure about this?"

"Do I need to say it again-ah!"

He bolted toward the buildings in front of them at wind-splitting velocity. She'd never seen any mammal besides a cheetah run this fast! All stationary objects were blurs as she passed them, gripping the panther even tighter. She moaned nervously, nearly regretting her snap decision. She had not thought very deeply about this, like a little kitten saying, "I wanna ride that one!" only to find out... what were they thinking?!

"No going back now!" he laughed as he approached the buildings. "You asked for it!" He jumped high. The sudden change in movement caused her to release a startled yelp. They were surging forward and upward at breakneck speed. She felt several G forces acting on her thin frame. He spun his first web, a hissing sound produced by the spinnerets as they forced the silk from within his powerful arm. The web stuck to a building at a point far ahead of them. They flew above the street, the wind tearing past them; Judy's ears tossed and flapped uncontrollably. Their clothes rippled noisily. She grunted from the intense experience. The rope at Bunnyburrow was child's play to this. He came to the end of each swing, where he kicked off of the web, sending him surging upward and bringing him back to an upright position. Adrenaline poured into her, bringing every sense to the peak of awareness. All too soon, Judy felt herself slipping.

"Danny! DANNY!" she screamed over the blasting wind.

He kicked up, and his whiskers twitched as she lost her grip on him. Instantly, he reached around, holding her body to himself, allowing her to reestablish her hold. Quickly, in the middle of his ascending wave across the skyline, he spun a short web and attached it to her forearms to hold her in place. She sighed in relief. She was safe. He continued swinging, approaching Gazelle's modest but gated house. He slowed down and came to a gentle landing in front of the gate where he lifted Judy off of himself and carefully cut with a claw the web restricting her arms. Oh, that swing was exactly what she needed! Judy felt so refreshed and renewed, despite the scare she'd had and her adrenaline-induced trembling.

He had not yet visited his friend's house, but she had told him that he and his family were welcome anytime, especially since she had little to do at the time besides act as a constant doll for photographers to grind for their magazines and clothing ads and beauty whatzits. He looked around for... she said it was a button on this... thing, he forgot what she called it, next to the gate. Ah, there it was! He pressed it.

"Alo?" Gazelle's voice asked from a speaker on the, uh, wingamajigger jingamaboohickey... thing?

"Hey Gazelle, guess who just swung by for a visit, quite literally?"

"Ooh, I know this one... Santa Claws!"

"Yep, you are exactly right!" he said. "And if you've been a good girl I'll take you for a ride in my sleigh!"

He heard her snickering through the speaker. "Please, come in, mi amigo," she said joyfully as the gate began opening.

As they approached her house, the front door opened. "Judy! Oh, I'm so glad you two are here!" She bounded over and embraced the two of them. Letting them go, she welcomed them inside.

"How are you doing?" asked Judy as she sat down at her table.

"Ugh!" she groaned. "You would not believe how many pictures, autographs, and..." She groaned again, wearing a frustrated grimace. "I want to sing so badly! But crime in the city's only getting worse." She shrugged and held her hooves up. "I don't know what to do. And I haven't been able to do anything to help."

"Oh, Gazelle, I'm sorry," said Judy, "that does sound hard."

"But what about singing in restaurants and clubs? You can still do that, right?"

She shook her head. "No, no one will allow it. Things are just getting too bad out in the city. My manager has hired more bodyguards, more security detail, and it's eating away at my privacy. I can't even eat a meal without someone checking for poison! Ai caramba, I'm a singer, not a monarch!"

"I... I caramba?" Judy whispered, leaning toward Danny.

"Ai caramba, it's an expression; it's kinda like saying, 'geez!'" She nodded. Gazelle was smirking at them.

"Sorry, I don't speak that language," she said.

"It's not a big deal. When I first moved here, I couldn't speak English."

"Really!" she perked up.

"I couldn't even find a good job. I found small singing gigs at exotic bars and..." she shuddered... "strip clubs. I don't know what I was thinking when I took those jobs. But I learned to speak English by singing American music."

"Strip clubs? What are those?" asked Danny.

"Never mind!" said Gazelle while Judy laughed nervously and ignored the question.

"That's really cool, Gazelle! I always thought, actually, that it was the other way around. There aren't many mammals who can speak Spanish."

"I have Hill to speak Spanish with, but he's never really been... more than a kind of butler to me. He came to Zootopia on the same flight as mine, and he became my driver when I started singing professionally. But it wasn't until I met Danny that I really had... a taste of home again if you know what I mean."

Judy nodded. She knew what she meant. She had known moving away from Bunnyburrow would be hard after she graduated from the academy, but the moment the train pulled away from the station, she felt homesick. She had been glad that she had packed her stuffed beanie bunnies when she moved. They had provided a source of comfort when she was down (before she had all-exclusive access to her Honey's tail, that is).

Gazelle shrugged. "I miss my family, my old friends. I came from a small village, farther away from the larger cities. Everyone knew each other. But my father sent me away to keep me safe from a civil war. And..." she closed her eyes briefly... "I lost contact with them."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Judy with a gasp. She had always wondered why the star never talked about her early life. It was very personal. She felt honored to have her share that. She still couldn't believe that she was close friends with her by proxy of her relationship with Danny.

"No, don't worry, they're fine. They had to relocate from their village to the city. They were able to reach me."

"Oh, good," Judy sighed. Danny was relieved; he'd heard and/or experienced enough stories of lost loved ones for one lifetime.

"I... I just had to get that off my chest. It's been really hard lately because of all this going on. I'm so glad you stopped by because the company is so soothing to me."

"We're happy to help," said Danny, patting her paw. She smiled at him.

"Can I get either of you anything to drink? Tea, or...?

"Water?" asked Judy.

"Water. And Danny?"

"You have any soda?"

"En serio, Daniel? Do I look like a fat gazelle to you?"

"What? Who doesn't drink soda?"

"Me," Judy and Gazelle said simultaneously.

"Increible," said Danny. "Fine, I'll take water too."

"Muy bueno," she responded before preparing two glasses of ice water, ooh, with lemon. Delicious!

They sat and chatted for a while, but eventually, they had to get going. Judy, Nick, and Danny had to be in court in an hour and a half.

As Judy stood up, Gazelle clasped her paw. "Please, please, stop by more! Company keeps me busy. I need it!"

"Ok, sweetie, we'll visit more often. Thank you for the water. Bye!"

"Bye, now!" she said before gasping as Judy jumped onto Danny, who vaulted high in the air and began swinging. They'd failed to thoroughly inform the gazelle as to their unorthodox method of arrival.

"Oh, eso parece muy divertido... y peligroso."


Shoutout to vcj for the reviews. I greatly enjoy reading the reviews you post. They are so well-thought-out and fun to read. Please keep sending them in your style of writing. They're a great source of inspiration to me.