What do you get when you cross a couple bad guys with a black cat? A 100 percent chance... of ACTION! Or at least a case of bad luck. Anyway...
Zootopia belongs to Disney. Elements borrowed from Spider-Man belong to Sam Raimi.
Ludwig Lukagi leaned back in his chair, the front legs off the floor of the supply room. He sucked on his joint and relished the calm euphoria each particle of THC delivered to his brain. Days like these were the best he'd had in years. Numbers were up higher than they had ever been, rivalling even the great Marisarius Grande. Once Bellwether was put behind bars, his family name was smeared by that fox-rabbit duo. What were their- Wilde! That's it. While he had been relieved that the psychotic plushie was no longer able to target predators, after her came the most effective five-oh's he'd ever seen. Now that they were having trouble keeping their heads above water, he was able to get a lot more done than he'd expected to. He glanced left at the two assortments of contraband his associates had been able to procure. Once consisted of freshly manufactured Glock 22 pistols with copious ammunition, the other - a necessarily smaller group - of miniguns along with enough rounds to start a small war. No one even knew it was there. How could anything be more perfect?
"Hey, Boss?" came a ratchety voice.
"Yeah?" he asked in a mellow drawl. He never liked interruptions, so it was a good thing he was higher than a hydrogen-charged hot-air balloon at the moment.
"That leopuhd Kenten's back. Should I, ya know...?" He made a finger gun with his paw and put it to his head.
"Hm." He thought for a moment, straining past the fog. Kenten had tasked the wolf with acquiring weapons for something. He just couldn't remember what. The boss turned to him. "You know what? Let him in."
"But... dinchoo say a while back..."
He turned to him, telling him with his eyes to keep his mouth shut, lest his brains leak out through his forehead. He backed away, trying to placate him. "I give the order, gun him down."
After clearing the fog from his brain (and stopping his nosebleed), he pulled out a glock from his office desk and walked to the front of the condemned apartment building. He looked through the peephole, trying to see past the grime on the glass. Indeed it was that old Spots.
Opening the door, he put up his practiced show of standing on ceremony. "Mr. Kenten. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Mr. Lukagi," he responded with a complementary nod. He wasn't much for formality, but it suited his purpose. He immediately took note of the wolf's severely dilated pupils. He had to hold back from smirking. This would be so easy. Lukagi waved him inside, and the leopard walked in. He took off his jacket and hung it up on a rack right next to the door. The wolf tried not to think of the gun shoved into the waistband of his pants.
He led him to a room past the one he was just in, walking to the back of the building into the office. Lukagi pulled out an old chair for him to sit in. Both of them would have preferred nicer conditions to meet. Kenten's apartment wasn't exactly the Oceanside either. But it was all they had. The ZPD was too dangerous to be out in the open.
"So, my friend." Kenten's smile widened involuntarily - he wasn't exactly trusting of the canine. "What can I do for you?" He shifted uneasily on the gun that was now smushed between the chair and his waist. No chance now; he'd have to deal with it. He had been approached by Kenten a decade before, during the crisis. Lukagi already knew of Kenten's ambitions. Being the leader of a trade ring with such a large domain had its benefits. He'd jumped on the bandwagon as soon as the offer had left the leopard's lips. And then, the outrage in the wake of the Nighthowler Crisis came to a close, and Kenten's blunder nailed the coffin on any hope that his plan would get further than the drawing board. And yet... he always found a way to push forward, and so found himself sucked right back in. Now he was beginning to wonder if he even needed the leopard. He eyed him carefully, analyzing his intentions.
"I'm here to collect what I asked." He couldn't hide the slightest bit of sarcasm. Kenten stared calmly at him, amazed at how he was still conscious. He was smashed!
Lukagi nodded slowly. "D-don't worry. I'll have them as soon as possible."
"Oh, that's funny. I said, 'I'm here to collect. Didn't you hear me over the tetra hydrocortisone annihilating your brain cells? They're in that smoke-saturated room you were just in. You really thought I didn't see them through the wide-open door?! Heh, frankly, I'm impressed you were able to accomplish anything of value for me, let alone for yourself over the past decade."
The wolf stood up quickly with a snarl, his paw on the gun.
"So you do have them. I was worried I had misread you." Kenten sensed the shuffling of several mammals near the other side of the door. His senses sharpened, ready for a fight. Regardless of what they did, he was ready. The wolves had done what he needed them to do.
The wolf growled, his paw tightening around the gun's grip.
"Oh please, don't do it," he shook his head with pity. "You and I both know your reflexes are only at about a third of their full capacity." The would-be attacker hesitated. "But if you really doubt me that seriously, then go ahead. I'll see you in hell."
Lukagi stood still for a moment. His paw didn't leave the gun's grip. Kenten sat, a smile upon his face, though his eyebrows were slanted in focus. He was ready.
Lukagi bristled at the leopard's utter disrespect and brashness to demand anything from him. Ever since joining this creep, ever since he was promised authority, he'd received nothing but more and more jobs. It all added up to more and more nothing! A waste! He was done wearing himself and his crew out for nothing!
Kenten saw it coming even before a muscle twitched. Glancing quickly to the left, he spotted a utility knife on the metal table next five feet to his right. The door was beginning to open. He needed to move quickly.
Lukagi yanked the gun from his waistband and leveled it, pulling the trigger. Several holes were blasted through the wood, but there was no one in it.
"Ah!" he yelped as the knife slashed his arm. A large paw wrapped around him and gripped his maw, the other plunging a knife into his abdomen. He forced a muffled groan. The paw let go of the knife and grabbed the gun from his own. At the same time, the mammal fell sideways and backward, causing him to land on top of Kenten. The leopard fired into the group of wolves who were trying to aim. Lukagi waved his paws, trying to keep them from firing.
BANG-BANG! Kenten put down one of the thugs. The others retreated to the hallway. Kenten pushed Lukagi up in the air, causing him to land on his stomach - onto the knife. The blade cut the rest of the way through his back. He coughed harshly and died a few seconds later.
Kenten rolled left, flipping over the table. The wolves began firing into the room again. He waited for the right moment. Until he heard someone coming in. Steeling himself, he took a deep breath and listened for the location of the thug. He dove backward with a shout as the gun fired, shoving his shoulders into the wolf's legs and causing him to fall forward onto Kenten, his thorax landing between his legs. Kenten pressed the gun against his back and fired until he was gone. He crawled back to his hiding spot, pushing the cadaver out of the way. His heart pounded. He was beginning to wonder how he could be so overconfident! He'd suspected that Lukagi wanted to take him out. He had come here fully aware of that possibility. How arrogant could he get!
Lifting his head, he saw shadows shifting from behind the door. One of them was tossing a magazine across the doorway. He estimated where his target was relative to the shadow's length and fired through the wall.
"Unh!... Ow!" a voice screamed. There was a thudding noise accompanied by shouts and shuffling. And then, silence.
He listened for a moment. They must have gone back up to the front. He stood up, his gun at the ready. He held the knife in a reverse grip below the gun. He carefully looked out into the hallway. There was no one there. He felt the sinister shiver of anticipation, not knowing where his enemy was. His senses were on high alert. They were waiting for him. He considered making a break for it. He was outnumbered and outgunned. He remembered his training. Making sure there was no one in the next room, he went into it and shot the opposite wall once. There was a yelp in the room across the hall. There's one.
Another shout came from further down. So they're spread out. He glanced out in the hallway. BANG! He felt the wind of a bullet passing by. He grunted as he retreated. He was on their turf. He should have planned this out better.
Think!
"Tommy, you ok?!" a gruff voice shouted. That gave him an idea.
"I got him!" he yelled into the hallway. A wolf stepped out.
BANG!
He was dead before he hit the floor.
Another wolf.
BANG! The wolf flinched. He'd missed! And his clip was empty.
Taking advantage of the wolf's shock, he lurched at him, slamming him into the doorsill. They fell to the floor. He tried to scramble away, but Kenten grabbed him and pulled his back to himself. He pushed the gun to his temple.
"Should've just done what I'd asked," he said with his teeth clenched before ending his life. Blood spattered his face.
He stood up and hid in the room the dead wolf had just emerged from. "I can do this all day," he growled. "You wanna die, keep right on coming!"
"Ok, ok!" someone said. "You win."
Ugh! "You think I'm that stupid?!"
He heard the sound of objects clattering against the wood floor outside. There was the sound of footsteps receding. He looked through the opened doorway. Four guns were left abandoned in front of the doorsill. He walked to the storage room containing the weapons.
Ah, yes, this is more than enough!
Pulling out his phone, he decided to enlist help from another pocket of Lukagi's henchmammals. A more... cooperative group.
There was a wistful feeling of nostalgia as she passed by this area of Central Park. It was on that rock where she had boldly spoken out for predators' rights, only for everything to devolve into a one-way shouting match. All of the predators who had worked with her, oh, how much they had helped her through that hard time then. Those tigers had carried her through so much. There was the bench Alex was sitting on when she arrived. She could remember how kind he was, how... humble. That was what had caused her to make a promise to him.
"Hey, you comin'?" asked Wes.
"Si - yeah, I'm coming."
They came to a staging area not too far from the reserve where she'd held the rally. It was a relatively small, square court, flanked by landscaping. On one side was a natural stage cut unevenly into the stone to give a sense that it was created naturally. Wes set up his keyboard and plugged it, along with his amp, into a power socket at the side of the stage, kindly provided by the city's Parks and Rec committee. He also plugged this device in that resembled a footboard used by guitarists, though it was...
"What is that?" she asked.
"This..." he said, hooking up his phone and laying his paw on it "...is an abstracter."
She tilted her head.
"It's new, really new. I only have one cause a buddy of mine who used to play in a band with me, he works as a producer for Spotlight Records, and they gave him and another producer one of these, but my friend didn't need it, so he gave it to me. You use it to isolate sound data from songs, like guitar riffs or drum beats, and you can play them. It's really useful if you don't have a full band or if a member can't play for some reason."
"Wow..." she marveled. "Technology is amazing!"
"It is, ain't it?"
As Wes tuned his guitar, Gazelle called Nick.
"Chello?"
"Where are you? You're late!"
"Oh, uh, well..."
"IS THAT GAZELLE?!" a voice squealed in the background.
"W-wait hold... ok, ok fine." Nick's voice sounded distant.
"Gazelle?!"
"Yyyyyeeeeessss...?" This was awkward. Fans... they were great; she loved them. Superfans... a bit much, especially when they were slobbering all over her. Metaphorically, of course.
"EEEEEEE!" she took the phone off of her ear at the piercing sound. I'm such a HUGE fan of yours! I have every CD you've ever released and..."
Por favor, please don't say you have every beauty cream or high heels or...
"...have been to every concert you've ever played."
Phew... "W-well, it's a d... d... delight to meet you, uh..."
"Oh! Me, Benjamin Clawhauser. You, Giselle 'Gazelle' Glossihorn."
Gazelle laughed awkwardly. "Well, can I talk to Nick, please? I need to ask him something."
"Of course! Here ya go, Nick."
"What's up sweethe-?"
"Please don't tell me he's going to be here...!" she whispered harshly, holding the phone in front of her. She heard Danny laugh in the background. He must have heard her.
"Uh..."
"Is that Gazelle?" There was a deep voice in the background.
"Hey! Chief, come on- ok, fine. Again..."
"Ms. Gazelle?"
"Yyyyyeeeessss?"
"I am a big fan of yours," he deadpanned.
Yet another voice in the background, a feminine voice: "Thel, leave the poor girl alone! She probably gets enough of that!"
"Hewwo, Gazewwe!" came a tiny voice, which made her smile briefly.
There was silence for a moment.
"Will you give- Give me that thing!" Nick came back on. "I-I'm sorry about that, sweetie, they just really think highly of you."
She huffed, preferring not to be stalked all night by those two. Oh well, she had Wes and Danny to keep them at bay, she thought jokingly. Sort of. "Anyway, when are you getting here? You were supposed to be here already."
"Well, Judy insisted we bring... them, and so we went to the precinct. But don't worry. What I was trying to say before these two butts butt in on me! was that we were going to be late, for obvious reasons. We're all about to head over."
"Well get here fast." She leaned in to whisper. "I can't wait to hear his voice!"
"Be there in a few."
"Ok." They hung up.
Finally, a group of mammals entered the small courtyard. Judy, Nick, Danny, and a few other mammals she didn't know. Except for... she knew the buffalo, or knew of him. He was the chief of Precinct One and had been given the task of working the Missing Mammals Case. And there was a cheetah who was chatting with Danny, it appeared, about all of the concerts he'd been to. Obviously, that was the crazy fan.
She sent Danny a text to come and meet her at the side of the stage.
"Danny!" she whispered, opening her arms for a quick hug.
"Hi, Gazelle!" He wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't mad at her, of course, for missing the trial. But it had been harder without her. Much harder.
"Por favor, dame buenas noticias," she said as she rubbed his back hopefully.
"Oh! Ohala lo vieras! Habia un psycho... uh, uh, medico que dijo que... well, tendras que preguntarle a Wes, pero el sacudio el lugar!"
"Yessss!" she grinned. "Vas a ganar?"
He hesitated. "Si, eso espero," he said with diminished enthusiasm.
"No suena muy seguro."
"Bueno, supongo que estoy haciendo algunas cosas."
"Como que?"
"Yo... prefiero no hablar de ello... ahora mismo."
"Danny, estoy tu amiga; siempre estoy aqui para hablar contigo."
"No, ahora no."
With that, he went back down to the others. Gazelle wondered what could possibly be wrong when things were going so right.
"Wes?" she said softly, walking up to him. He was tuning his guitar.
"Yeah."
"Is Danny ok?"
He looked at her. "Oh, well, he's... going through some stuff."
"What, though?"
"I can't really say. Client-attorney confidentiality."
"Oh come on!" she said, a little louder than she'd meant to. It wasn't that she was angry, but she felt left out. She wanted to help in some way and he wasn't letting her. "I mean, I'm his friend. Why wouldn't he..."
"Gazelle, listen," he said, bringing her to the side. "He's dealing with some things. He's had a really hard time."
"But why would he share that with you and everyone else, but not me?"
"Gazelle, why do you need to know?"
"Uh, bec-because I... well, I'm his friend, and-"
"Then be his friend. Don't demand anything of him. Look, he told me because that's my job. He told Nick and Judy because, well, I don't know, he lives with them, I guess. And maybe he just needs to work up to telling you. Or maybe it hurts too much to talk about it."
Her eyes turned down. She hadn't thought of it like that.
"No, don't worry." He smiled. "He's not leaving you out. Just... let him tell you in his own time."
She nodded, feeling a little guilty that she'd pressed him harder than she should have. "Ok."
He looked back at the stage. "I'm thinking of starting with a little something to get started and for the next song, you wanna join me?"
Her eyes widened. "I thought you'd never ask," she said, grinning.
"Ok, I'll get 'em warmed up, then you come up here and we'll blow 'em away, whatddoyou think?"
She nodded. He winked and she descended the platform, her heart fluttering madly. She whispered into Nick and Danny's ear.
He cleared his throat into the mic to grab the attention of the group, which had grown considerably. Animals crossing by the square, which was rarely used during this period, were gathering to see what was going on. Yep, there was a need for a bit o'bold singing as far as Wes was concerned. And he was gonna give it to 'em, with a little help from someone whom he hoped was soon going to be someone special.
Danny was surprised that when he began talking, his Southern accent actually thickened. Huh! He could go neutral or fully-integrated Southern cowboy. "Welcome, y'all. Case you don't know me, I'm Wes Goldfurr. Pleasure to be wich'all. This here," he tapped the side of the abstracter with his foot, "is gon' help me give y'all somethin' here tonight. Give you a bidduva summary of myself. By day I'm a lawyer. I work up at the Zootopia Judiciary up o'er that ridge there. By night, well..." he began to strum his electric guitar, causing the small crowd to cheer. He wasn't playing any specific melody, just strumming a simple series of soft cords. "We got any country lovers out there?" There was a smaller gaggle of whoops and hollers. "Aw, come on, there got to be more a'y'all than that! Y'ever hear a'Luke Brushes?"
The cheer grew louder. He'd take that as a yes. Oh, drums! he thought. He pushed a button on a console below him with his foot, counting down from ten silently.
"Better, but still not quite what we're lookin' for. See if I can getch'all kickin' here." He bit his lower lip in in-the-moment passion as he suddenly erupted into a brief guitar riff, followed by the intro of a song, drawing shouts from the still-growing group. A drum recording accompanied him. After finishing the intro, he approached the mic and began singing.
"Seventeen, you don't think that much about life, you're just livin'...
Like kerosene dancin' round the fire that you're in.
So you jump right in, ain't afraid to fall, and you give it all...
She got the best o'me... she stole my heart,
now all that's left o'me... is beatin' in this guitar.
Every night, a different town, she follows me around,
hope she takes what's left o'me, she takes what's left o'me.
Cause she got the best o'me."
"Hearing some claps and shouts out there. Where they at?"
Everyone shouted and whooped, most clapping with the melody. He looked at Gazelle, who was clapping along.
"Oh, so y'all do like country? Well then. Here we go."
"I picked myself up off the floor and found somethin' new worth a-livin' for.
And a old dusty paw-me-down five-string... and a couple cords.
I'm fallin' all for her, even more with ev'ry song, so y'all sing along..." Now some in the square joined in.
She got the best o'me... she stole my heart,
now all that's left o'me... is beatin' in this guitar.
Every night, a different town, she follows me around.
Hope she takes what's left o'me, she takes what's left o'me.
Cause she got the best o'me. Yeah."
He stepped back for an intermission and played some guitar riffs before coming back to the mic.
She got the best o'me... she stole my heart,
now all that's left o'me... is beatin' in this guitar.
Every night, a different town, she follows me around,
hope she takes what's left o'me. She'll take what's left o'me.
Cause she got the best o'me.
...
Cause she got the best o'me!"
The song ended to loud cheers. The small group was gradually growing into a crowd. Not too large, but enough to make counting a waste of time.
"Hey, y'all, we got a special guest here. I wanna invite her up to the stage. Come on up, Gazelle."
Suddenly, the crowd thundered, applause and shouts ringing throughout the area.
Gazelle got up on the stage and waved to everyone shyly. She stepped to the second microphone Wes had set up. She wondered why he'd set a third. She'd probably find out soon enough. Wes set his guitar down and pulled out his keyboard, to the delight of the audience. He turned it on and played a single, complex cord that set them off.
"All right, we know we're livin' in some hard times." Similarly as with his guitar, he began with a slow, methodical melody to grab everyone's attention. His tone became soft, pensive. "Crime's gone up... animals losin' their jobs... sometimes when things get tough, you just wanna quit. But don't. Not until you try everything." At that, the cheering exploded. The audience was going nuts! Gazelle's first big hit! And, her first big hit during a difficult period like this.
Nick and Judy looked at each other Nick was nostalgic; Judy brimmed with excitement. It was like they were back at that concert just a few weeks after the case had ended. During Nick's time at the academy. He'd needed it then.
Wes pushed another button on the sound system, again counting to ten before...
"Come on, Miss Gazelle, show 'em whatcha got!" He played the keyboard as she began; the abstracter filled in the rest of the music.
"Oh oh oh oh oh!" sang Gazelle.
"I messed up tonight, I lost another fight,
lost to myself but I'll start again.
I keep falling down, I keep on hitting the ground,
but I always get up now to see what's next!
"Oh oh oh oh oh!" She looked out into the crowd, beginning to work her hips as she did on stage. It didn't exactly feel right, but she tried. She noticed, out in the crowd, there was...
Mark?!
The tiger was near the stage, waving his phone flashlight wildly to gain her attention. Her eyes widened as she sang. He waved at her, his mouth wide open as he called for her attention.
She smiled at him and waved toward the stage. He immediately pushed through the crowd. He ran up beside her and joined her as she danced to the music. She was nineteen again. It was perfect.
Birds don't just fly, they fall down and get up.
Nobody learns without getting it wrong. Let me hear you sing it tonight!"
She held the mic out toward the audience as they belted out along with her.
I won't give up, no I won't give in,
till I reach the end, then I'll start again.
No, I won't leave, I wanna try everything,
I wanna try even though I could fail." She put the mic to her lips and continued on, dancing as she sang, Mark accompanying her as he did all those years ago. He didn't miss a single step. He'd missed her too.
"Oh oh oh oh oh, try everything!
Oh oh oh oh oh, try everything!
Oh oh oh oh oh, try everything!
Oh oh oh oh oh!
Look how far you come.
You filled your heart with love.
Baby, you done enough, take a deep breath.
Don't beat yourself up, no need to run so fast.
Sometimes we come last, but we did our best.
I'll keep on making those new mistakes.
Yes, I'll keep on making them every day, those new mistakes."
Danny jumped in time to the music.
Sirens.
Halting his jumping, he listened to the noise as it overcame the audience's cheers. The square was right next to the street, so he ran over to the edge of the square and watched as a speeding, maroon-colored car flew by, followed by police cars a second later. He heard the explosive noise of gunshots as the car flew down the street, but the audience behind him didn't notice, being saturated by sound.
Someone grabbed his arm from behind. "Where are you going?" He turned. It was Judy.
"I'm going to-"
"No, you're not!"
"Judy, this is-"
"That is not your job!"
"This is the only thing keeping me from... going back to my old life..." he asserted, though turning his head in shame.
"There're other ways to do that than putting yourself in-!"
"Not for me." He backed toward the landscaping.
He jumped high over the shrubs and slung a web, gliding swiftly down the street toward the chase.
Judy ran toward the crowd, shoving her way through until she came to Nick.
"Nick!"
"Hey, where'd y- what's going on?" he shouted over the cheering when he saw her frantic expression. He leaned down to hear her.
"Danny's interfering in a 10-80!"
Nick's eyes widened. "Come on!"
His ears were still ringing from the loud music. He'd need to bring earplugs next time.
The cold wind made him shiver, but he didn't stop. He was determined to get this done.
The gunshots got louder at his approach. He saw the explosion from the semi-automatic barrel lighting up the street around it. Oh, he needed to be careful.
He came closer to the car but the assailants didn't notice him. Just as he was about to land on the top, the car screeched right. He grumbled, changing directions to start over. That was when he noticed...
No... He shot a web on the street far ahead of him, rocketing himself toward it. He rushed to save the two children currently getting their frisbee out of the road. Right in the path of the car, which was still over-correcting. That bought him a little time, but not much.
He swung briefly, but let go before he peaked to keep himself close to the ground. The car was accelerating. One chance. He timed it, doing his best to measure on his feet, and slung a web horizontal to arc in a flat circle toward the children. The car was right upon them. They noticed the car and screamed.
He swept them off of the road just as the car was passing, the car barely skimming his arm. He landed on the sidewalk and set the kids down, looking at the car speeding away with a growl. He looked at the kids who were probably close to his age and grabbed the tops of their heads, pulling them back so their eyes were on him.
"Stay! Out of the street!" he snarled, to which the kids nodded rapidly. He let them go and continued swinging toward the car. The police cruiser had just mistakenly driven into a light pole. Great. He saw a couple of the mammals through the back windshield give each other a high-four. Don't forget about me, gentlemammals, he thought as he descended toward the car, landing on the roof. He heard shouts. He punched through the roof just over the driver and tried to reach in to grab the wheel, but he couldn't reach it.
"OW!" he yelled at a sharp pain in his arm. He retracted it and saw a deep cut on his arm just above the wrist. "You..." he whispered. Before he could finish cursing them, a muffled gunshot banged, leaving a small hole just in front of him. He stumbled backward, webbing himself off of the car and into the air. The window rolled down and a wolf pointed a pistol at him.
His whiskers vibrated as he kicked high up off the web and to the left at the sound of the gun firing. He performed a corkscrew through the air, allowing himself to freefall for a few seconds before swinging in a diagonal arc that brought him right next to the right side of the car. The wolf took aim, but he slung a short web that covered his gun and cemented it to his paw. As the wolf pulled at the substance, Danny webbed the front tire of the vehicle, causing it to careen sideways and begin to flip down the street. Debris was going everywhere. Danny swung down in front of the still-rolling vehicle and stopped it with his paws just as it was about to fall on its tires.
He looked up to see another wolf dizzily leaning out the window to shoot him, but he pushed the car further up toward its side to jostle him back inside the van with a loud grunt. Danny snickered at that. Then, he shoved the car down hard before ripping the door from its hinges and tearing the seatbelt off of the bewildered and dizzy wolf in the driver's seat. He took their guns and crushed them, and webbed their wrists and ankles so they couldn't move. "There we go!" he said as he let the last wolf fall to the ground painfully and dragged the whole mess to the side of the road so traffic could pass through. But, he suddenly realized... no cars were moving. No one was moving. All mammals were standing stock still. The only sounds were the sounds of distant traffic and the noises of the perps struggling against the web.
At that moment, the police arrived and began to analyze what they were seeing: a small panther next to their targets, restrained by white, veiny rope.
"DANNY!" The cub suddenly winced at the sound. Judy came out from the crowd with Nick, both marching toward him. "DANNY! Are you hurt?!"
He shook his head. "No, I'm fine." He smiled. He actually felt... fantastic! But his smile vanished at what Judy did next.
She took him by the shoulders. "Don't you EVER do that again!" she chastised. "Don't you ever do that again! Daniel Arcturus, do you have ANY idea how much you scared me! I-" she looked around at the noise that had interrupted her.
Someone was... clapping. They couldn't see where it was coming from. Animals were getting out of their cars. Others were watching from the sidewalk. Immediately, someone else joined the first, and soon the whole crowd had joined in. Some whistled. Danny, Nick, and Judy looked around, as did the police. All were looking at the cub.
Pride swelled within him as he turned in a circle, watching all the mammals present clap. He turned back to the ruined car which the criminals had used to escape. He had done that. He had stopped that robbery. A superhero, Jane, Judy's niece, had called him. He looked at Judy, whose emotions seemed to fluctuate between unspeakable pride, fear, and anger. Now she could see why this was helpful to him. He really was just like Nick, coming from an old criminal lifestyle and replacing it with something better.
Once the clapping died down, traffic began to flow again, but some of the animals present there began to come up to him to shake his paw and thank him for his service. Meanwhile, the officers read the perps their Miranda rights before cuffing them for real and shoving them in police cruisers. Judy stood off to the side, anxiety obviously hovering over her. She wanted to tell him to stop this, and yet... how could she say no to it? The great things he'd already done so far, how could she stop that? And then she could only return to square one and start again from there: he could get hurt. Or killed.
Once they got back to the concert, they rejoined the crowd, which was a bit smaller than before. Nick and Judy were a bit shaken and needed some more music. Danny's smile was still three feet from end to end, he felt so great! Being able to make a real difference... he'd never felt anything like it!
Meanwhile, Wes and Gazelle were in the middle of a Deersney song.
Judy was highly dumbfounded when she saw Clawhauser up on stage, singing at a microphone. What! The cheetah could sing?! How, in the seven years she'd known him, had she never found that out? And he was singing good!
"Don't listen to them, cause what do they know?
We need each other, to have, to hold.
They'll see in time... I know.
When destiny calls you, you must be strong.
I'll always be with you, to help you hold on.
They'll see in time... I know.
Let's show them together, cause...
You'll be in my heart. Believe me, you'll be in my heart.
(I'll be there.)
From this day on, now and forevermore...!
Ooh-ooh, you'll be in my heart...
(You'll be here in my heart!)
...no matter what they say.
You'll be here in my heart...
(I'll be there.)
...always.
...Always...
...Always..."
Everyone cheered. Judy knew that song well. It was from a Deersney movie she'd loved when since first came out in the late nineties.
And then, Wes suggested another Deersney smash hit from the nineties. "Alright, Mr. Ben, you told me, as well as Gazelle that you loved The King of Pride Rock. And, at your suggestion... hope you guys know this one." This time, no instruments were used. It was all speaker. Wes, Gazelle, and Ben all stood at their mics, ready to sing.
"Hakuna matata," Ben started. The audience shouted in excitement at this classic song. Ha! He sounded almost exactly like Timon! "What a wonderful phrase..."
When Wes opened his mouth, everyone laughed. He made his voice deep and gruff like Pumbaa's. He made wild faces and gestured wildly, just like Pumbaa.
"Hakuna matata! Ain't no passin' craaaaaaaaaze-zuh!"
"It means no worries for the rest of your days, it's our problem-free philosophy.
Hakuna matata..."
"Hakuna matata?" said Gazelle.
"Yeah! It's our motto!"
"What's a motto?"
"Nuthin'; what's-a-motto with you? Ha ha ha ha!" The audience laughed with them.
"Y'know kid, these two words will solve aaaaaawwwwlllll your problems!"
"That's right, take Pumbaa for example. Why...
...when he was a young warthog..."
"WHEN I WAS A YOUNG WARTHOOOOG!" Everyone roared with laughter.
"Very nice," said Ben, Q-tipping his ear with his pinkie.
"Thanks!"
"He found his aroma lacked a certain appeal. He could clear the savannah after every meal."
"I'm a sensitive soul, though I seem thick-skinnnnnnnnnnnned-duh." Suddenly there was a farting sound, and the whole audience burst in laughter. "And it hurt that my friends never stood DOWNWINNNNND!" Wes and Ben began a hysterical parody of a Broadway-esque lamentation scene:
"And oh, the shame!"
"He was ashamed."
"Thought of changin' my name!"
"Oh, what's in a name?!"
"And I got downhearted!"
"How did you feel?!"
"Every time that I-"
"Hey Pumbaa, not in front of the kids."
"Oh, sorry."
"Hakuna matata! What a wonderful phrase! Hakuna matata! Ain't no passin' craze!" Gazelle picked up the mic off the stand and sauntered toward the edge of the stage, singing. The mammals at the front drew near, wanting her to touch their paws.
"It means no worries, for the rest of your days..."
"Yeah, sing it, girl!"
"It's our problem free...
"Philosophy..."
"Hakuna matata!"
The rest of the song was an absolute blast. Everyone began singing along to the song until the very end when all three bowed. Gazelle walked over to Ben and gave him a big hug with a kiss on the cheek. He deserved it. Wes had offered a place at the mic for someone to come sing - with fair warning, of course, that they needed to know the song and actually be able to sing. Ben had been the first to offer and rushed up on stage. She'd almost rolled her eyes, thinking that he was just trying to get close to her. But when he started singing, she was surprised that not only could the cheetah sing, but he could sing amazingly! He harmonized perfectly at the right time, at the right octave, and had a buttery tenor vibrato.
As soon as she kissed his cheek, he swooned and fell over on his back with a dopey, dazed smile on his face.
"Sir, the wolves got arrested..." the henchmammal rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he said this. He was just glad Kenten couldn't see him through the phone.
"I was counting on it. Don't worry, this is going better than I ever thought it would."
All right, now we're getting to the hero part. Fair warning. Coming up soon, we're going to be seeing serious stuff. I intended to write this as a nitty-gritty story. So be warned. There will be violent, hard times coming up.
She Got the Best of Me by Luke Combs.
Try Everything, Zootopia's main theme, owned by Disney.
Deersney is Disney, obviously.
You'll Be In My Heart by Phil Collins.
Hakuna Matata, a soundtrack from Disney's The Lion King, referred to as The King of Pride Rock in this fanfiction.
