Continued from Chapter 41
Judy grit her teeth as she wandered into the inner buildings of the Zootopia Empowered Division. Walking hurt slightly.
"Are you okay, Agent Hopps?" Benjamin Clawhauser, one of the non-empowered agents working on surveillance asked with concern on his big, pudgy cheetah face. "It looked like the Hustler got you pretty bad..."
"I'm fine," Judy grumbled.
"Nonetheless, you will be checked out by our medical chief," Head of Staff Bogo said, his hands behind his back.
"I don't believe that's necessary," Judy said carefully. She had a few new reasons to be suspicious of the rest of the ZED.
"It wasn't a request," Bogo returned. "We must make sure you haven't been permanently damaged by the Hustler's attacks." Bogo motioned to an elevator and got into it with Judy. Judy felt herself getting anxious. During the elevator trip, Bogo hit the emergency stop. Judy looked at him, fear jumping into her body. She felt her legs tense up. Would she have to defend herself against Bogo in this room? Was she bound for the same fate as the others who failed against the Hustler? "So. You lost."
"I did," Judy said. "But I can get him next time. I just need another fight."
"Are you sure you should go back in blindly against him?" Bogo asked, his voice still flat. "You've been injured."
"I just need a chance, one more," Judy said, gritting her teeth. "I'm not going to end up like the others."
"The others?" Bogo asked. "Brittany and Gerardo?"
"Yeah," Judy said. "They're gone..."
Bogo's brow furrowed. "Let me show you where they are." Judy's nerves tingled in fear. He hit a different button on the elevator and it stopped. Judy stepped out with Bogo into what looked like labs fitted with training rooms. "Brittany and Gerardo are recieving training and equipment to bolster their abilities."
"Huh...?" Judy said, catching sight of the two in their training rooms. "I thought you said the Hustler killed them?"
"I said he defeated them," Bogo sucked at his teeth. "That's quite an important distinction."
"Uh!?" An arctic hare in a lab coat flinched with worry. "Mr. Bogo, sir? You didn't say you were going to come down here today! I've got nothing to report, and it's not on my schedule, and..."
"Calm down, Skippel," Bogo sighed. "Miss Hopps here was just curious about our advanced training programs."
"Oh, uh, I'm not sure R&D can whip up something for her powers yet," Skippel looked worried. "We don't have enough field data on them."
"My powers are just fine," Judy nodded.
"Right then, how about you tell me how the others are doing?" Bogo said impatiently.
"Sure, uh," Skippel wandered over to a console and tapped a button, leaning into a microphone. "Uh, Brittany? Could we test your new device?"
The red fox behind the glass nodded enthusiastically, smiling. She had a sort of flared out, almost skirt-like yellow top and black pants, with warm, nearly red-brown eyes. She looked quite young. She skipped across the room and picked up a small metal rod.
"She looks like she's only a teenager," Judy said, marveling.
"Sixteen," Bogo nodded. "And our first empowered officer. I was a fool to send her out against the Hustler. I thought that them being the same species, her being female, or her age might give him some pause, but her injuries from their first encounter took a month to fully heal. I will only send her out again when she determines she is ready."
"Mm..." Judy seemed a bit upset to hear this.
"Brittany Voxen can set nearly anything on fire with her mind," Bogo explained. "Pyrokinesis. She can then manipulate the flame to do whatever she wishes. However, she has a bit of a mental block. Even though the Hustler probably could have easily created a vacuum with his super speed to put himself out, she couldn't bring herself to set him on fire, even when he was attacking her directly. So without something flammable to light on fire, and being unwilling to set live mammals on fire, she's helpless."
"Until now," Skippel smirked. "All right, show us what you can do, Brittany."
From behind the glass, Brittany twisted the metal rod, and a different material began to protrude from it, almost like a mechanical pencil. Brittany squinted briefly, and the material ignited, creating a flame. She smiled pleasantly.
"A special compound that is very slow burning," Skippel said proudly. "As long as she has that device and the material inside it, she has a source for her flames pretty much at all times."
"Oh, it's like a wand!" Judy perked up.
"It's not a wand!" Skippel cringed, suddenly upset, gesturing wildly with her hands. "It's not magic! She can speed up the very molecules in the-"
"All right, moving on," Bogo interrupted.
"Right... uh..." Skippel chuckled nervously. "I guess um... show us your 'routine'...?" Skippel asked, brushing her hand through her ears. Brittany nodded, starting to frolic around the room in a dance, "drawing" lingering flames in the air with the rod, even adding twirls that created spirals of fire around her. Then, posing and gesturing with her free hand, she gathered all the fire into a large ball above her free hand and made a banishing gesture, where it burst into innumerable embers that swirled around her and settled onto the floor, going out. She bowed.
"Whoa," Judy gawked. "Neat!"
"Yeah, kinda pretty, right?" Skippel said, entranced. "She said she wanted to be a ballet dancer, but she feels like she has to use her powers for the city."
"It is noble, but we still have to work on some of her mental blockades and... maybe her overly pleasant attitude," Bogo said grimly.
"Aw, she's fine, sir!" Skippel protested. "At least the Hustler didn't beat all of that youthful spirit out of her."
"Okay, next," Bogo rolled his eyes. "We have Gerardo Umpigger." He gestured to the other room. There was a pig standing in there, wearing a purple shirt and darker purple and black jeans and an overcoat. "His ability is... well, it's like a sort of telekinesis, but it's instantaneous. Like teleportation, almost."
"Wow, how did the Hustler beat him?" Judy wondered. "You can't get much faster than instantaneous."
"Because he too has issues with his powers," Bogo grumbled. "He is afraid to teleport himself or any other living creature, or anything he cannot see. Maybe a visual demonstration would help. Skippel?"
Skippel hit another button and leaned into her microphone. "Gerardo, can we test out the goggles again?"
"Sure thing!" Gerardo said, fitting a pair of goggles with a screen over his eyes. Judy could no longer see them. There was a wall between him and a few objects in another room."
"Gerardo can't teleport what he can't see," Skippel explained. "So we made these goggles for him that let him see through certain structures and define shapes. Still, he needs a bit of help." Skippel hit the microphone again. "Okay, to the furthest left, there's an alarm clock. Could you get it?"
"Sure thing!" Gerardo nodded, gesturing forward with his hand open, then quickly pulling it back and curling it into a fist. In a small flash of light, the alarm clock blinked out of the closed-off room and just above Gerardo. He caught it in his hands. "Got it!"
"Great!" Skippel said to him. "Now could you get the object to the farthest right?"
"Okay," Gerardo frowned. "Uh, what is it...?"
"Just try it, okay?"
"Well, all right," Gerardo nodded.
"It's just another alarm clock...?" Judy said, turning to Bogo. "He can see the shape with his goggles, right?"
"Yes, but he doesn't know exactly what it is, and that is a crucial difference," Bogo said, pointing to redirect her attention to Gerardo. He made the same gesture, but the alarm clock, when it teleported, came over onto the other side in pieces. Judy yelped in surprise.
"Ugh, it happened again!" Gerardo complained. "That was the same object, even..."
"We'll keep working on it," Skippel said, trying to be comforting, but her somewhat scratchy voice didn't help all that much. Gerardo pouted.
"There you have it, Hopps," Bogo started, "thank you, Skippel by the way." She nodded, and Bogo led Judy back to the elevator. "The reason you don't have any allies right now is that they both need work. This type of 'super-mammal' stuff is still in its infancy, and the people that have the powers are still people, with their own problems. That blasted fox is a bit too good at what he does, and I fear that neither of them, maybe even both of them together, are a match for the Hustler."
"Yeah," Judy twisted her mouth into a frown.
"Now, do you feel you need any special training before you take him on again?" Bogo said.
"No, I think I can take him," Judy sneered. "And I'll have some choice words for him too before I bring him in."
"Splendid," Bogo said. "Your confidence and your extraordinarily destructive power do set you apart from the other two. We'll patch you up and get you back out into the fray. Once we get our claws into the Hustler, we'll all be a lot better off."
"Uh, you're not going to kill him, are you?" Judy narrowed her eyes.
"Well, that's not our first choice," Bogo said. "But he's an unrepentant criminal. He has stymied every effort for us to contain him. He's even shrugged off tranquilizer that should have put him in a coma by just willing his body to process it absurdly quickly. What are we supposed to do with him, Hopps?"
Judy paused. The two were walking down the halls toward the infirmary. She still felt pain from where he attacked her. "He hasn't really... done any major damage to anyone, or anything, has he?"
"That doesn't mean I'm going to let him lawlessly do whatever he pleases!" Bogo frowned. "What happens when the temptation to misuse his power gets too great? Who keeps him in check? Him? He doesn't have to play by anyone's rules but his own, and that needs to stop. As 'harmless' as he might seem now, over time his morals will likely erode when he accepts how much more powerful he is than most. He is an enemy. He refuses to work with us, for us, or even let us examine his DNA. Now, Hopps. I will ask you this once. Are you willing to fight the Hustler for the ZED?"
"Yeah," Judy said grimly. "Let me at him."
Judy grimaced as she saw the green blur that could only be bits of the Hustler's costume rushing around Downtown. It was an evening two weeks later. Judy lifted up her leg and slammed it on the ground.
TCHAAK!
Judy tried to time the shockwave to interrupt the Hustler, but the blur just slightly swerved and slowed down, avoiding it.
"Ah, if it isn't Thumper," the Hustler, which Judy also knew as Nick Wilde, smirked warmly. "Ready to put on a fake fight for the 'normal' peoples?"
"You're breaking the speed limit," Judy quipped, punching a fist into her other paw, grimacing. "I'm not going to 'play around' with you."
"Oh c'mon," Nick shrugged and smirked. "What's with you?"
"Does your super speed apply to your fast talking, you liar?" Judy thrust her finger out in an accusing point. "Brittany and Gerardo, those empowered mammals you defeated, are still alive!"
"Ah, news to me," Nick said plainly, shrugging his shoulders. "Haven't seen hide nor hair of them since."
"How could you beat up a vixen who's still basically a kit?" Judy stamped her foot in disgust, and this caused a small shockwave, even though she wasn't meaning it to.
"I dunno if you noticed she can set pretty much anything on fire?" Nick held one of his hands out, the other on his hip.
"I can't believe I listened to a world that came out of your mouth!" Judy shouted angrily, thrusting her head forward and drawing her fists back. "The ZED isn't some conspiracy that kills empowered mammals! I should have known better. You're a fox, after all!"
"Is that how it's going to be, then?" Nick said coldly, his countenance falling. "Well, this time I'll take you out even faster. Don't blink."
"I won't!" Judy said, stomping the ground. Nick dashed at her but faded back at the shockwave, preparing to dash. "Lose!" Judy stamped again, and the next shockwave actually did hit Nick, and he tumbled backwards. Nick growled and his body shuddered unnaturally quickly, repairing his body.
"Yes, you will," Nick said evenly. "You know you can't win. I can just heal any damage you do to me. Whereas I just need to get one good attack, and the speed at which I hit you will-"
"Stop talking!" Judy shouted, crouching down and causing an explosion at her feet, launching at Nick. "URAH!" She cut her dash short with a swiping kick through the air that send forth a wave of destabilized atmosphere that caused several random explosions as it traveled.
"Jeez, rabbit!" Nick used a dash and moved around her, nearly instantly appearing behind her. "You need a time out."
"Nghh!" Judy grunted as Nick immediately tackled her and she felt herself speeding towards a building. He was trying to crush her against it! Judy set off a few more explosions at her feet, which launched them both into the air.
"Woah!" Nick wailed as he suddenly had no ground with which to speed across and no stored kinetic energy with which to dash away.
"Guh!" Judy scrunched her legs at the knees then thrust them both out at the same time, causing a very large explosion. It propelled both of them backwards into a building on the opposite side of the street, where Judy smashed Nick into. Both of them fell to the ground, Nick on his haunches, and Judy on one knee. "Give up, dog!"
"Not going to happen," Nick grit his teeth and his body vibrated again. "You naive bunny. You really do listen to anything anyone tells you, huh?" He huffed in exertion. "Well, be that way. I'm getting tired of you pummeling me, so this is it. I'm going to break those pretty little legs of yours, and your detonation days will be over. Shame we couldn't have worked something out."
Nick lunged, but Judy used her explosions to take to the sky again. Nick braced himself for the atmospheric disruption and then grit his teeth.
"Come get me, if you can!" Judy sneered down at him, using explosions to endlessly jump through the air.
"Fine!" Nick growled, and ran several laps around the city block and suddenly crouched to store his built up energy, then dashed into the sky, using dashes to close the distance between himself and Judy nearly instantly. However, Judy's explosive kicks kept thwarting his approach. He'd get hit, get knocked off course, dash again, and so on. Judy's kicks served to stymie his advances and propel her further away from him.
Green streaks of speed and fire-less explosions littered the Zootopia skyline. Some onlookers found it beautiful, others exciting, and still others were trying to sleep, to no avail. Finally, Nick grunted and put the last of his stored kinetic energy to good use, he dashed blindingly fast, pausing in four specific places rapidly.
"Uh!?" Judy looked terrified suddenly as it appeared that there were four Nicks surrounding her from various directions. Then, abruptly, the false ones disappeared and Nick dashed into Judy from above. She used one final explosive kick to break both of their falls and send them tumbling across the ground. Nick ended up on top of Judy and both of them bared their most defiant expressions. Nick wound up his hand with his speed, preparing for a super-speed punch, and Judy grumbled in frustration. His pinning of her meant she couldn't move her legs. She hoped she'd be able to in the future. But Nick hunched over and gasped for breath, panting, the speed breaking from his hand. Judy looked surprised, but then grinned smugly.
"I was listening to you," Judy smiled. "What else are these big bunny ears for? You were panting. You're tired! You can't keep this up forever. Looks like I have a bit more fuel left than you."
"So... rrgh... so sore," Nick grunted. His body vibrated again, but he couldn't summon any more strength beyond what was necessary to heal his incidental wounds. The anger drained out of him. "Judy... ...rgh.."
Judy broke free of him and stood up, looking at Nick trying desperately to keep from falling over on his face, his arms vibrating. "Looks like your 'hustling' days are over."
"...Don't..." Nick suddenly pleaded. "Don't take me in to the ZED. They'll... they'll kill me..."
Judy put her hands on her hips. "You're an unrepentant criminal."
"Please..." Nick winced. "I don't... rgh..."
"Think I'm going to fall for this sad, innocent, 'really a good guy once you get to know me' shtick again?" Judy put on a stony frown. Nick collapsed, consciousness fleeing from him. There was cheering from onlookers. Judy grinned. She'd been able to defeat him, after all.
"Excellent work, Agent Hopps!" Bogo's voice came from a car that parked fairly close to the two. "Now, let's get him to the ZED before he recovers and end his reign of terrorizing the Zootopia public for good!"
Judy suddenly had a barb strike her conscience. This fox... he'd lied to her, beat her and her allies to a pulp. But, it was true, there was no one he had outright killed, and no serious, terrorizing crimes he had committed. And if she took him in...
Judy leaned down and scooped Nick over her shoulders. He was a bit heavy; unfortunately for her none of her super powers had affected her arms. She looked to the ZED and grit her teeth. She crouched down, and with an explosion, she burst into the air.
"Hopps!?" Bogo looked up in disbelief. "Where are you going!?"
TCHAAK! TCHAAK! TCHAAK!
Judy sailed across the night sky, carrying the unconscious Nick.
"HOPPS!"