Chapter 2: First Impressions
Edited by Starfang's Secrets
Artwork by Knoton
Judy finished the next day of her job fairly easily and with a spring in her step that raised eyebrows across the precinct building. They'd expected after the tongue lashing they'd all heard about from the chief a day prior would have gotten the bunny down. That or her being assigned to parking duty in the Canyonlands, the area nearest the massive heater wall and hottest place in Zootopia, would have drained her enthusiasm for life.
But no...
It hadn't...
She was as perky as any rabbit any of them had ever seen. "Think she just found a boyfriend?" was a common question asked around the office regarding her happy behavior. Once the rumor had reached Clawhauser, everyone had known as he'd instantly called Judy over the radio to confirm the theory. Judy, in her stereotypical fashion of the day had replied with a very enthusiastic one word response.
"Nope!"
Thus is was befuddling to the entire precinct how the bunny they had beaten down after months, that they all felt didn't deserve to wear a badge...was suddenly so happy.
"Have a good night, Clawhauser!" Judy said in a sing song, cheery voice as she skipped past the reception desk, a spring in her step.
"Oh, bye Judy!" the hefty feline replied, waving the bunny off before going back to the latest Gazelle news on his phone. She left a trail of surprised officers in her wake until she disappeared out the medium-sized mammals door.
"What was up with her today?" McHorn grunted as he pointed at the disappearing visage of the doe descending the steps outside the building. The tiger he was talking to shrugged.
"Don't really care," came his terse reply. "Just as long as she leaves the real police work to us, she can be as happy as she wants writing tickets. Her cheer will be gone soon enough...and hopefully her as well."McHorn grunted in approval as the bunny finally disappeared from view within the crowds outside the precinct.
After finishing her dinner, Judy went about her plans for the next few hours. She forced herself to take a quick nap, knowing that her activities would keep her up past a reasonable hour and she absolutely did not want what she was about to do to affect her job performance. She still wanted to be a cop, after all, and doing what she was going to do wouldn't help pay the bills in the least bit. Finishing off her "Carrots for Two" meal, (she'd found that the single variety of the meal was vastly disappointing), she'd opened her closest and stared at the suit she'd bought with cash at a thrift store earlier in the day.
The jet-black clothing was perfect, and the moment she saw it, she knew it would make for the perfect disguise. Memories of her favorite action movies growing up, Roar Hard, The Spy who Groomed Me, The Furtrix...all of them she remembered watching a hero fighting in a dapper looking suit, protecting those he loved, all while looking quite good in them. And it wasn't just that Keanu Leaps, a bunny that almost all her sisters had a crush one, was the star in one of them.
The suit slid on easily over her neoprene uniform and as Judy testing it out, leaning this way and that, jumping a few times and stretching in every which way imaginable, she found it actually didn't restrict her movements too much. It was a one less worry she had, as she had only realized that fact that she possibly couldn't move in it after she'd bought it.
Costume...check. Eyeing herself in the floor length mirror of her apartment, she found herself smiling at the image she presented. She did look quite nice in a suit, but...
Squash and cucumbers...she cursed mentally, rolling her eyes as she stripped off the suit and pants. Forgot the dye.
An hour and a quick trip to a store later, Judy was back in her apartment, putting the finishing touches on the fur dye she'd applied to her face, ears, and paws. She'd bought several colors, not knowing which to use before settling upon a white dye. Now, fully clothed in the suit once more, she smiled at the mirror.
"Looking good Judy!" she told herself, smiling at the white furred bunny staring back at her. "Though it feels like something else is missing..."
Putting her paw to her chin, she scratched for a bit until a sly grin filled her muzzle. Hopping back over to the fur dye, she chose a black fur marker and carefully traced three lines across her cheeks and another across her ears.
"Perfect!" she declared after finishing the final touches. Stepping back to admire her handiwork, she couldn't help but binky in joy at the sight.
I'm really doing this...she thought with a smile, a slight 'eep' escaping in her excitement. She didn't have a plan on where she'd go to start her vigilante career that night, but she figured that the Herd Street area downtown would be a good start. Close enough to the tallest skyscrapers, but with its back to Sahara Square, the place was easily one of the most compact areas of the city. Skinny streets and a plethora amount of alleyways provided the ZPD with a hard time of policing the area as the criminals seemed to know the streets better than anyone else.
Except maybe a bunny who'd been studying the maps for years to prepare for this job...she said to herself. Part of her test at the academy was to memorize the various streets and areas she might be policing, and memorize she did; pouring over the maps with a gusto that had surprised all of her academy teachers. She knew nearly every street on the books, so the alleys would just come naturally, right?
Shrugging, she made her way to the door after hiding all her costume supplies. Putting her ear to it, she didn't hear anyone out and about on the floor. Creaking the door open, she lowered her ears and stuck her head out, scanning the hall before darting towards the stairwell, her door locking behind her. Within moments she was on the roof, the setting sun casting long shadows across Zootopia. She placed her paws on her hips, relishing in the feeling of her undertaking.
"I'm finally going to make the world a better place," she said to herself as the sun settled over the bay. With a grin on her face and a skip to her step, she darted off across the rooftops towards Herd street, using the closeness of the buildings and telephone wires across streets to her advantage. Her years of balancing during gymnastics growing up made the high wire acts relatively easy, and as the sun had finally set for the day, the moon rising in its place, she reached her destination.
Judy hopped onto the wall around the roof she was on. Leaning onto one knee, she gazed at the crowds below, searching for any type of behavior that stood out to her. She watched several couples coming out of a nearby cinema across the street, while a theater across from her was fairly vacant. This section of the city was known for its entertainment venues. It wasn't Broadleaf by any stretch of the imagination in the Gnu York section of the city, but still was known for hosting better shows. Not spying anything out of line, she moved down a few more buildings, jumping from roof to roof while searching the alleys below.
Nearly an hour went by before Judy began to grumble. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. She plopped down upon the rooftop right above an alley near her original location. The cheap wristwatch she had bought showed it was nearing 11pm. The theatre across from her just emptied and with her adept hearing she was able to hear the gushing reviews of the play from those exiting the building.
If only I made enough to see it...Judy thought, watching the well dressed mammals vacating the building. Three zebra's left behind most of the group, the two parents swinging their child between them, who was whooping and giggling in joy. Judy smiled as she watched them turn, cross the street towards her and begin walking away from her.
A car honking brought her attention back to the other side of the theatre, where two drivers were yelling at each other in the middle of an intersection. Rolling her eyes, she went back to scanning the street, hoping to find something to alleviate her boredom. Something was missing though when she went back to scanning the streets below.
"Where'd they go?"
Judy's ears perked as she sat up from the wall. She lightly jogged across the roof, speeding up to jump across the fifteen foot gulf between buildings, tucking and rolling once she hit the other side. She heard nothing from the alley below, even through the din of a city just falling asleep. Another building, another leap.
Yet this time a whimper from below caused her to skid to a stop and return to look over the edge of the building to down below.
The zebra couple was huddled against a trash heap, a lion holding a gun blocking the exit of the alley. Her hearing picked up the frantic pleas of the family below.
"I'm scared..." the child whimpered, huddling closer to his mom and dad.
"Please, let us go, you can have our wallets, anything...just let us go."
The lion waggled the gun towards the male zebra, who clamped his muzzle shut immediately. "Just give me the diamonds and the wallets and noboda' gets hurt, kapesh?"
Judy watched the situation unfolding beneath her, eyes narrowing and grin widening. This was her chance to actually do good in the city for a change. Spotting a nearby fire escape, Judy lightly hopped onto it, her weight barely registering on the elephant sized contraption. She scurried down the ladders, hopping from floor to floor until she was just two stories above the fidgeting lion.
The zebra was shaking as he passed over his wallet, his paw trembling so much that the object dropped onto the dirty and wet alleyway.
"You little trash piece of prey!" the lion shouted, reaching his arm back to pistol whip the startled mammal. Judy's eyes widened and before she knew it, she had already leapt over the banister, aiming directly at the lion.
The predator only saw a black and white blur as Judy's powerful legs smashed into his face. The lion went stumbling back as Judy flew back, deeper into the alley. Rotating through the air, she landed deftly on her paws, skidding on her hind-paws to a stop. She slowly stood, dusting off her paws together as she marched towards the lion who was shaking his head. Seeing the crook disoriented, Judy bolted towards him, leaping up and delivering a bicycle kick to the slumped over lion's jaw. The following, resounding crack filled the alley as the lion arched up, straightening to his full height before stumbling backwards once...then twice...before toppling to the ground.
Judy stood at the lion's feet, watching him carefully for any movement. After she was sure he was out cold, she turned, straightened her coat, and walked towards the zebra family.
The three shocked mammal were completely stunned by what they had seen. They watched in fear as the lion was about to attack them, only to see a small, blurry figure smash into the lion's face, then, in another daring attack crushed the lion's jaw, knocking the mammal out cold in barely five seconds. The small mammal stood for several moments over the prone predator before turning and facing them.
It was only then they could see the figure was a white bunny with black stripes across their cheeks. The rabbit walked towards them, picked up the wallet from the ground, dusted it off, then presented it back to father. Offering the family a salute and a smile, the rabbit ran and jumped against the far wall, using her momentum to propel herself further up and onto a nearby fire escape.
"Wait!"
The bunny halted, ears flicking to focus upon the zebra family below.
"Thank you."
Nodding, the bunny took off up the stairwell and soon disappeared from view.
Several hours, Judy slipped into her apartment, her excitement showing in the massive grin she had. Thankfully she was able to keep herself from binkying in joy, as she was fairly certain the jumping and shout would annoy her neighbors at such an early hour. Eyeing the clock and seeing it was nearly 2am, Judy quickly removed her suit, placing it gently into her closet before heading off to the bathroom to clean off the fur dye.
Fifteen minutes later and feeling quite refreshed, Judy jumped onto her bed, a grin going from ear to ear.
I can't believe I'm doing this! She clasped several of her nearby stuff animals and squeezed them tightly against her. I can't believe I am finally making the world a better place!
The feeling of euphoria after saving the zebra family was amazing. She had stuck around to see what would happen after she'd left, watching from the rooftop as the family snuck around the lion, calling the cops and waiting nervously until they showed. She recognized Officer one of the two officers that showed up at the scene, grinning as she saw his disbelief while taking the statement from the family that a bunny had knocked out the lion. His partner, a rhino, actually laughed at the family, letting them know that no bunny could have done what they'd said they'd done.
Make a mental note to spar with him next time you see him at the precinct's gym...Judy noted to herself at the time. After that, she had managed to stop one more mugging before deciding to call it a night. She'd have plenty more opportunities to help the mammals of Zootopia, but still needed to get ample sleep for her day job.
Shuffling under the covers, Judy played with her alarm, setting it for 7am in order to be at roll call at 8:30am. She figured she would no longer need the extra two hours to exercise considering what she would be doing at night now.
And so, with a smile on her face and a warm feeling radiating from her heart, Judy fell asleep, feeling for the first time in months that she had actually done some good.
"The Vigilante strikes again!"
"Drug runners found tied to pole, claims victim of the Vigilante Rabbit"
"Who is the Vigilante Rabbit?"
A cheetah counted down on his paws, several cameras pointed at the two newsmammals in the brightly lit room. When the countdown hit zero, the moose began speaking.
"Good evening, this is Peter Moosebridge," the mammal began. "Our top story today is again about the Vigilante Rabbit that has been taking the city by storm these past few weeks as several bank robbers, fleeing from Sahara Square's Furst National Bank on Adobe street, were found tied together in an alley a few blocks away from the scene of the crime."
The moose turned to his co-anchor, who stoically continued the monologue. "All four mammals claimed the same thing, that a white rabbit with black stripes and wearing a suit incapacitated all of them. Our ZNN news vans were on scene to capture the arrests."
For those watching the report all around Zootopia, the image shifted to a film of the street, police lights blazing all around, yet not affecting the view from what must have been a giraffe holding the camera. A wolf could be seen being led from the alley in cuffs, a muzzle over his mouth while a boar behind him was cursing and shaking as police led him away.
"He was a savage, man!" the boar yelled at the camera. "That bunny is savage! Arrest him, man! You gotta arrest him!"
The film cut off as the news anchors reappeared, with the snow leopard continuing where she left off. "It would appear that this is the 17th sighting of this Vigilante in the past month, and the 14th such arrest after a sighting. The ZPD has been tight lipped about this daring mammal, but has vowed to capture the Vigilante."
The bullpen was as raucous as always when Judy walked in. She already knew what Bogo would give her as an assignment, so she wondered why he still made her come to them. Judy took up her normal seat at the front of the room, listening in on the conversations around her.
She could barely suppress her grin when she noticed several were on the mysterious Vigilante Rabbit that had been eluding the ZPD for a month now. She had some close calls, managing to disappear barely a moment or two before the ZPD showed up to apprehend her, only to find several crooks tied together or in one case, hiding in a dumpster to, in their words, "keep that mad rabbit away from them".
The bullpen opened and Bogo walked in, his usual gruff appearance seeming even more annoyed than usual.
"Alright, shut it!" he roared, calming the room down in an instant. "As you've probably already heard, last night the Vigilante struck again. This time, making complete and utter fools out of us again!" He slammed his hoof down on the lectern, bending it slightly under the pressure. "I want this bunny found, and I want him found NOW!" His eyes glared out at the room, settling upon each and every officer. "Since this bunny seems to be getting the best of Precinct One, we've requested help from other precincts to deal with this vigilante and will be having all paws on deck for this until he is found."
A lion from the back spoke up. "You mean you're even going to put Hopps on this?"
Every eye turned towards the bunny in the front row. Judy's eyes widened, the beginning of a grin forming on her muzzle.
"I wouldn't do it boss, if she'd found that buck, she'd probably have to go out on maternity leave right after."
A round of laughter burst across the room as Judy's smile wilted.
"No, do it! We could finally get the bunny out of here for a change," McHorn bellowed from the seat next to Judy. A new chorus of laughter broke out, though eventually Bogo managed to calm the officers down. Judy, meanwhile, with her ears hung low, slunk back into her seat, awaiting her inevitable assignment to Records.
Bogo held up several red folders in his hooves as the room quieted. "Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato. I want you to cover the crime scene from yesterday. Find me anything you can to identify who this rabbit is so we can bring him in. Francine, McHorn...I want you two to canvass the area to see who you can that might have seen this bunny hopping around. Find them, talk to them."
The elephant and rhino left the room. Two by two, Bogo called out officers until Judy, as always, was the last in the room.
Bogo let out a sigh, "And finally, Officer Hopps..."
Judy cast a melancholic glance at her boss, who seemed much more irritated than usual. Though she noticed something was amiss when she spotted one last red folder in his hooves
The back door to the room opened, causing Judy to turn. She stood to see over the back of the chair she was in, but couldn't see anyone walking up the aisle. Turning, she glanced at Chief Bogo, who returned her inquistive look with a glare.
"Since we're needing all paws on deck for this...I've been forced by City Hall to even put you out onto the streets."
A new grin split Judy's muzzle. "Really?" she shouted in excitement. Bogo nodded.
"And as such, you'll be needing a partner for the investigation. So let me introduce your partner..."
Judy turned, hearing the soft clacking of clawed paws against the carpet. She leaned over the chair, waiting for the mammal to come into view. She wasn't sure who it could be, as she hadn't heard of any other small mammals graduating from the academy. The only other bunny she'd heard of that had entered had quit within two weeks and the next smallest, a dhole, only lasting five months before an injury prevented them from continuing.
Her nose twitched in nervous anticipation as a pair of black tipped ears could be seen above the tables, moving slowly down the walkway between the tables. Judy hopped down from her seat as the set of ears neared her, putting out her paw to greet her new partner.
Violet eyes met emerald eyes, and Judy's eyes widened when she saw a fox staring down at her. His uniform was slightly rumpled, his tie loose and shirt untucked. Both paws were shoved into his pockets, and a look of severe boredom on his face as he glanced down at her. Though that look seemed to turn quickly to one of annoyance at spotting the bunny.
"I have to work with a bunny?" the fox spoke, his voice smooth and if not for the speciest comment, Judy might have found attractive.
"Excuse me?" Judy asked, dropping her paw before placing it against her hip.
"Meet your new partner. The first fox officer and pain in the tail to Tundratown's Precinct Three," Bogo said, his voice dripping with delight. "Officer Hopps, meet Officer Wilde."
AN: Well, that doesn't seem like the best of first impressions. Wonder how this partnership will turn out?