Sorry for the long delay, I recently moved house and had to unpack as well as set up and get the internet sorted. Anyway, your patience is rewarded with a new chapter as we begin to build to the finale!
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Barry sighed as he lent against Judy's door, his mask was once again pulled up, although that was more out of habit than anything else. As he stood there, the superhero saw that he was attracting a few stares from the hospital staff, normally he would have been speaking with them, joking, laughing, maybe even getting food, he found it was a great way to get to know the people he helped. It made what he did feel more personal.
Right now though, he didn't feel like talking to anyone. He hadn't known Judy long, but the bunny had made an impression on him with her courage and positive attitude, she actually reminded him of Iris. Maybe she was her double for this universe, but wouldn't that make Nick his double? Alternate realities could be so confusing.
He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of heavy hoofsteps. Looking up, Barry saw Bogo rapidly approaching. Roughly pushing his way through doctors and patients alike, the chief of the ZPD didn't stop until he was staring Barry down.
"A word," growled Bogo, pointing at an empty room across the hall.
The human knew what was coming, the buffalos dislike for him had been made clear at their first meeting. However, he wasn't just going to let Bogo lay into him without a fight. As the door shut behind them, he launched straight into his argument.
"I know what you're about to say, that it's my fault that Judy got hurt, that I'm the reason these enhanced mammals suddenly appeared in Zootopia."
Bogo folded his arms and gave the human a stern look, but Barry stood his ground and continued on.
"I get that you don't like me, there are police back home that don't like me. All they see is the vigilante that could turn on them at any given time."
Then, perhaps in a rather stupid move, he stepped up to Bogo and poked him in his muscled chest.
"But the truth is that your fears are unfounded. I have done nothing to betray the trust of your officers, and I have co-operated with the ZPD at every turn. The fact is, those enhanced mammals have always existed and would have attacked you regardless. All my appearance did was force them out of the shadows sooner."
Barry's heart was hammering against his ribcage as he stared down the buffalo, he might have super speed, but the human was still intimidated by the large mammal, although he hoped that it did not show.
"Furthermore, had I not broken the dimensional barrier, Judy would have died before long before this. In the short time I've known her, it clear she's a brave cop who truly puts the needs of others over her own, it's why she was in that burning building, it's why she pushed Nick into cover. She did what anyone, officer or no, would have done to save someone they cared about and you know it!"
The buffalos expression remained unchanged as he looked down at the finger planted on his chest. Unfolding his arms, the chief of the ZPD firmly pushed it to one side before speaking.
"Eloquently put Mr Allen, but I wasn't going to blame you for anything."
Barry blinked.
"Uh...excuse me?"
"If you had not stopped the explosion, then that bomb would have killed most of the officers on site, including Hopps and Wilde. Furthermore, you are the reason she's in that ward right now and not a slab in the morgue."
He leant back against the wall and sighed, Barry thought that the buffalo looked almost vulnerable.
"Before we continue, I want something to be clear, I still don't like you, you are a super powered vigilante and that makes you dangerous. But...I can respect someone that risks their life to save another, regardless of affiliation."
The buffalo straightened up and approached him.
"Do you have family?"
"Uh, yes," he replied, unsure about the buffalos line of questioning.
"So do I and not just at home. In the course of my career I have gotten to know many officer, all fine mammals with their own unique personalities and quirks. I feel happy when they succeed, and I support them when they fail. Over the years I have seen promising rookies become experienced veterans and I have been proud of every single one. You could say they are like a second family to me."
The buffalo extended a hoof.
"Which is why I want to say thank you. Thank you for protecting my family."
The sincerity of the statement struck a chord with Barry, it made him think of Dr Wells, Cisco and Caitlin, his own unofficial family. He took the hoof and shook it firmly.
"Your welcome, Chief Bogo."
Bogo released Barry's hand and the pair returned to the corridor, just as Nick emerged from Judy's room.
"Officer Wilde," said Bogo. "How is she?"
"Ju-Officer Hopps is conscious sir. She's just resting now, but says she will give a statement as soon as she can."
A subtle smile graced the large mammals lips.
"That's good news, let me know as soon as she's ready."
"Yes sir, " he replied. Further conversation was interrupted by Bogos radio bursting to life.
"Dispatch to Chief Bogo," crackled Clawhausers voice.
"Bogo here," he replied.
"Chief, we may have a lead on that speedy mammal who fought The Flash. Agent Perry is requesting you."
"Thank you Clawhauser, I'll be right over."
He made to leave, before pausing.
"Flash, I might need your help with this one, Officer Wilde you to."
"With respect sir, I'd rather wait for Officer Hopps to recover," replied Nick
"Wilde, I've got most of the precinct in the streets cleaning up after that fight. I may need someone to investigate this lead and you are still assigned to this case. Don't worry, I'll leave someone to watch over Hopps."
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True to his word, Bogo left Officer Snarlov to watch Judy, with strict instructions to contact them if her condition changed in any way.
Racing back to the ZPD, the trio were directed to the Cybercrime division by Clawhauser. It were located near the back of the precinct, and was often overlooked by many as its team didn't have the visibility of the field officers. However, these mammals still served their city with pride.
Cybercrime was based in a large room, with rows of computers occupying most of the space, while several large TV screens lined the far wall, each displaying a different news or data feed, although right now every network was replaying footage of Barry's battle with Zoom. The mammals that worked each station were arguably some of the most tech savvy individuals in the city and their skills at tracking, hacking or defending systems were invaluable to the ZPD.
Following Bogo, Nick and Barry were led to a side office, typically used for private briefings.
It had a small table and a computer as well as a TV screen on the wall for presentations.
Waiting for them inside were Honey, Agent Perry, and, surprisingly, Dr Clawdon.
"Finally!" moaned Honey. "Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting?"
Bogo gave the badger a death glare, she wasn't even phased.
"I'm afraid Honey has a point," said Perry. "Time is of the essence."
"You said you have a lead?" asked Bogo.
"Indeed," she replied. "When I saw that other speedster-"
"Zoom," interrupted Barry. "He calls himself Zoom."
This time it was Honeys turn to give a death glare.
"Anyway...when I saw 'Zoom' fighting The Flash, it gave me an idea about how we might be able to find not just him, but maybe even his boss. I was having difficulty coming up with a workable solution when Dr Clawdon approached me."
The tiger stepped forwards.
"I heard what happened to Judy on the news. She stood up Sawbones when I never did, it made me realise that I don't want to live in fear anymore. I want my darling Lily back, so I grabbed everything I had and came straight here."
He drew their attention to a series of papers that were spread out on the table, they were a series of X-rays and blueprints detailing a series of advanced implants for Zoom.
"Zoom's power doesn't just come from that speed drug. When Sawbones brought him to me his legs were useless, and for what he had in mind we needed to fix them. I rebuilt them using a mix of surgical and technological techniques, but for the implants to work they needed a power source."
He pulled up a blueprint that depicted something Barry immediately recognised from STAR labs.
"That's a Tachyon Enhancer."
Clawdon was astonished.
"Thats...correct Flash. Sawbones wanted something that would work alongside the speed drug and forced me to adapt this design to work as a power source. The Tachyons work with the drug to increase Zoom's speed, however they emit a very specific form of energy."
"With this knowledge," continued Agent Perry. "We used the ZIA satellite system to look for unusual energy signatures, cross referencing it with supersonic disturbances in Zootopia."
Honey hit a button on the computer and a map of the city, crisscrossed with red lines appeared on the TV screen.
"These disturbances are primarily caused by aircraft," she explained. "Which makes it difficult to pinpoint anything moving at supersonic speeds."
"Clever way to hide," muttered Nick.
"However," she continued, "when we overlap the Tachyon energy signature."
Several of the lines turned blue.
"All of these are Zoom," finished Clawdon. "Removing the ones created today, we have discovered that there is a single building that he returns to constantly."
The map zoomed in on a warehouse in the dockyards.
"If he's getting that drug from Sawbones then he has to be returning to resupply," said Barry.
"Exactly," replied Honey, triumphantly. "Which means that is where Sawbones operation is hiding!"
"Excellent work," congratulated Bogo. "I'll rally every officer I can find."
"I'm coming to sir," said Nick. "This guy needs to be put away for what he did to Ju-officer Hopps."
The buffalo hesitated, before turning to the fox.
"If we weren't short staffed right now I would outright refuse your request. You have been personally affected by this mammal which will impair your judgement, so I have to ask, can you keep your emotions out of it long enough to make an arrest?"
"Sir, yes sir," he replied, determined. Judy had taken a bullet for him, the least he could do was bring in the scumbag that hurt her.
"Wait," interrupted Barry. "If you go in there it will just be a repeat of the warehouse, maybe worse. I have an idea, but I'm going to need some help to pull it off."
"What do you have in mind Mr Allen?" asked Perry.
Barry removed his own Tachyon Enhancer and showed it to Clawdon.
"First of all, can you fix this?"