Heroes of Zootopia

Chapter 14 "Fox on the Run"

By DragonMan1997

Zootopia © Disney

Daniel stood under a bridge as he listened tentatively for any reports of crime. Pulling his mask back on, he assumed his alternate identity. The Grasshopper wasn't looking for petty crime this day. His objective had changed. A strange hate broiled inside of him. His skin and fur felt on fire beneath his suit. The Raven had terrorised the city as the leader of Novus Purification, she kidnapped him as a hostage as a child, and now she had killed someone he… "I don't know." It sickened him even more that he would never know. This doe had a bright future ahead of her with a promising career in a life filled with friends and family who undoubtedly loved her. That idea that it had so cruelly been cut short.

The police scanner sprung to life.

"... we got a reported sighting of the Raven off of Cloud Alley and…"

As soon as the Grasshopper heard the cross streets he zipped across the Rainforest district as fast as he could. Passing a park, he realised he could see basketballs moving in slow motion. He was going faster than he'd ever gone before, all the way to where the police scanner said the Raven was. The moment he stopped, he had his collapsible bow staff drawn and extended. "{What?!}" Looking down at what looked like the Raven with a tranquilizer to the shoulder, the Grasshopper removed the white mask. It was guy, a snow fox. The Grasshopper knew this wasn't the real Raven.

"Interesting."

The Grasshopper turned to face a figure casually leaning against a wall behind a dumpster.

"I was curious who this trap was for. Too dumb for me, but you." The figure laughed. "Ah yes, you're that buck from that girls article."

"{You're a murderer, Raven, and a coward.}" The Grasshopper stepped forward and swung with all his might.

The Raven used both hands to stop the force of the staff. She hummed. "Strong words from a buck who knows nothing about what what's really going on." She jumped up, head butting the Grasshopper before throwing him over her shoulder. "You're blinded by hatred they have seeded in your heart to throw your precious Empire off the trail."

"{I'm not with them!}" The Grasshopper lunged forward. His bow staff connected with the Raven's mask, shattering half of it. As he passed it, he could see the fiendish smile the Raven wore as she managed to grab his legs and send him flying with his own inertia.

"Heh." The Raven laughed. "That hurt." The fox's face showed through the shattered mask which still hung onto her face. "Kid, you don't know what you're doing. You got it all wrong-." Her voice was cut off as the Grasshopper landed a jump kick to her chest which sent her flying into brick wall.

"{No, you got it wrong if you think I'm gonna let you manipulate me into believing you!}" The Grasshopper closed the gap between them and grabbed the Raven by the collar of her coat. "{You're going to pay for everything you did.}"

The Raven looked at the Grasshopper, unphased. "Kid, you're letting your hat blind you from the truth. I didn't kill you're girl."

The Grasshopper's grip on the Raven tightened. "{Liar!}"

The Raven rolled her eyes and kicked the Grasshopper between the legs. "Fool." She brought his head down onto her knee and kicked his bow staff away. "You're making a mistake!" Grabbing his ears, she lifted him of the ground as he held onto her wrists to keep his ears from being torn off.

The Grasshopper realized the Raven was bigger than the usual fox, almost as big as a wolf.

"It's horrible what they did to her, and you taking it out on me is only helping them. Think of a smaller picture. This bozo in the mask isn't one of my guys. He's a decoy. Probably for you!" The Raven kneed the Grasshopper in the gut. "Get it through your thick skull!" She tossed him aside. "I'm not your real enemy."

Something inside the Grasshopper snapped. He saw flashes of when he was little, how this monster had tied him up and used him as bait for Whiplash. The image of his hero burned through his mind. He could see it again, the whip cracking vigilante held his hand out to him. "{You'll pay for killing Daisy!}" He ran to his bow staff and returned to the Raven with a vengeance. Time bent as he landed six shots on her before she returned the favor by kicking his knee and punching his side.

The Grasshopper ran back and forth up the alley, attempting to land a strike on the Raven, only to be countered with each attempt. He howled as he swept the Ravens legs from under her. He regretted slowing down in that moment when the Raven retaliated and spun around to sweep his legs, sending him into a roll. As the Grasshopper recovered from his tumble, he looked up to see an unexpected sight. Whiplash was standing over him as he watched the Raven disappear down a back alley. "Whiplash! I sure am glad to see you. Come on we need to catch the Rav-" Time froze as Whiplash had drawn his tranquilizer in his direction. The Grasshopper walked forward and plucked the flying dart, that was slowly heading towards him, right out of the air. Time normalized as the two stared each other down.

"So, you are as fast as they say," Whiplash holstered his tranquilizer, "but are you fast enough?"

The Grasshopper bolted for the alleyway where the Raven disappeared. He screamed at a pain that had somehow caught up to his speed. He slammed face first into the ground. Rolling over he saw the glow of Whiplash's whip coiled around his ankle. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to take you in." Whiplash yanked on his whip.

The Grasshopper screamed as he felt himself flying through the air. He grabbed at the whip and vibrated his ankle free from it's tight grip. Rolling onto the street behind Whiplash, he readied his bow staff and spun it to build momentum before landing a strike on Whiplash's side.

Whiplash grabbed the staff quick enough to prevent it from breaking his ribs. Still holding on, he flipped a kick into the Grasshopper's face. "I really don't want to do this. Come quietly, or you leave me no choice."

The Grasshopper massaged his sore jaw that he could feel was bleeding a bit in his mask. "No thanks!" He twirled his staff and lunged forward.

Acting fast, Whiplash brought his whip forward to wrap around the bow staff. He quickly realized what a bad decision that was as the whip twisted on the spinning staff, pulling him forward. His face collided with one end of the staff, sending him over his feet and onto his back. "Uhg." The wind had been knocked out of him. "You're pretty fast." Whiplash still had a hold of his whip which was coiled around the Grasshopper's now motionless staff. He threw his weight into his legs and thrust his feet into the Grasshopper's stomach. "Not fast enough." As he regained his breath. He unwrapped the bow staff and tossed it down a gutter drain.

The Grasshopper felt his stomach burn in pain. His blood felt like it began to boil as he heard the sound of his staff disappear into the sewer. He ran in a circle, stirring up dust into a tornado.

Whiplash felt the dust that was probably pelting him at a hundred miles an hour from every direction. He clutched onto his whip tighter. "Time to shine." Whiplash focused his mind on the whip. It's ancient spirit seemed to connect with his soul as it knew what he wanted it to do. Whiplash swung his arm up and sent the length of the whip spiralling in the opposite direction of the tornado.

The Grasshopper looked in horror as his tornado was being torn to shreds by the glowing whip that now came at him. He yelped as the whip coiled around his horns and lifted him off the ground. He was still moving as the whip swung him around towards a car. It let go. The grasshopper tried to recover, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid clipping the edge of the car. He collapsed at the edge of the street. There was a clearing. It was his last chance of escape.

Whiplash swung whip and arm over his shoulder with his target in sight.

The grasshopper tried to run, but his legs betrayed him as they stuck together under the tight coil of Whiplash's whip. "That's not possible, I was almost breaking the sound barrier!"

"Whips break the sound barrier." Whiplash yanked him back onto the street. His eyes were focused as he registered every twitch the Grasshopper made. He cracked his whip one direction, then the other, and another. He sent the whip into a motion that made it crack rapidly on either side of the Grasshopper.

"Ah!" The grasshopper grabbed his own ears at the pain from the sonic booms that bombarded his senses.

Drawing his tranquilizer, Whiplash hit his mark. The dart landed square in the Grasshopper's shoulder.

The Grasshopper felt his breath get heavy as he collapsed to his knees. "What, is-" He dizzily looked at his shoulder and dumbly yanked the dart out. "Oy…"

"Now I'm really impressed." Whiplash picked up the dart. It contained a highly potent sleeping agent that could instantly knock out almost any animal, even an elephant.

"Thankee…" The Grasshopper's dumb smile was visible beneath his mask. "At lease sum wun thinkzso."

A black military style van with a radar dish rolled up to Whiplash and the practically drunken Grasshopper. Einswine exited the driver side door and administered a needle into the arm of the passed out snow fox. The back doors opened to reveal the black masked Moth. "So, another bug huh? Do we really need this guy, Whiplash? He's already cramping my style." He tossed Whiplash two sets of metal cuffs.

"He could be a valuable asset to the team. Besides, he was able to hold his own against the Raven, and that's good enough for me." Whiplash clamped the cuffs onto both the Grasshopper's legs and wrists. Pressing a button on the cuffs, Whiplash pushed the Grasshopper over to allow the cuffs to attract to each other. The Grasshopper's legs magnetically stuck to his wrists. "Einswine, how's our double?"

The boar laughed as she smacked the fox's face a bit. "Eh, he'll live."

The snow fox grumbled. "Next time, get Officer Wilde to pose as his dead lunatic girlfriend. You said nothing about that crazy criminal actually showing up."

Whiplash sighed. "It wasn't part of the plan. She must be listening to the police scanners as well. Must have not wanted an imposter floating around."

The Moth lifted the Grasshopper into the van. "Should we unmask him."

The Grasshopper began to struggle now. "No! My da' 'll kill meh."

Whiplash hook his head at the Moth. "Not here. Now hurry. We got to get this guy back to HQ before the effects wear off."

Daniel groggily peeled himself up off the floor. A massive headache banged around in his brain like a two by four plank swinging around a glass shop. He felt the fur on his face being squished by the mask he was still wearing. They still haven't seen my face yet. The thought was a small victory for Daniel as he thought about his next move, escaping. His blurred vision cleared up in time to see a metal door closing. Crap. He hoisted himself up and tried to bolt to the door. It sealed shut as he smacked into the now flush wall. "Gah!"

"Hello there."

Daniel turned to the projection on the wall adjacent to him. He blinked at the large image of the blue eyed jackrabbit.

"Take all the time you need to collect your thoughts, Grasshopper."

Daniel was glad he didn't hear his real name yet. That meant his secret was still safe. "Where am I?"

"A safe place. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Agent Jack Savage."

Daniel looked around the room, looking for a way out.

"Patience, Grasshopper." Jack's quiet laugh was unsettling to Daniel. "You will be let out in due time."

"What am I doing here?" Daniel pleaded.

"You're being evaluated for recruitment." Jack gestured to someone. "One of my best assets really had a challenge when I asked him to catch you."

Daniel felt a bitter taste enter his mouth when he saw Whiplash step into the frame of the projection. "Oh. Hello again ol' buddy ol' pal."

Jack laughed. "Whitty isn't he?"

Whiplash huffed through his mask as he tilted his head at the sight of the Grasshopper's suit which vaguely resembled his, but green and blue instead of red and blue. "I'm not sure whether to be flattered by the copycat design of your suit."

Daniel crossed his arms. "It's nothing compared to the original. I gotta say, I used to be a huge fan of yours until you stopped me from catching the Raven."

"She would have tore you to shreds if she wanted to. One slip in an actual fight, and you'd have been dead."

Daniel frowned as his would-be childhood hero talked down his abilities. "So what, I'm supposed to thank you? We could have worked together to catch the Raven!"

Whiplash shook his head. "The Raven's recent activities have done nothing to merit our immediate interference."

"She's a terrorist!" Daniel stomped his foot in anger. "Are you really going to do nothing!?"

Jack interrupted. "Nevermind the Raven. She'll get what's coming to her in due time, but now you are our focus."

"What do you want with me?" Daniel noticed another figure step onto the screen. He couldn't believe his eyes when he realized this new individual had no face and seemingly no body. It was just a floating shirt and coat. "What?" He remembered, from the conference.

"Hello darling. I'm Crystal." The figure mounted a hat on her invisible head. "Oh a deer? My my, you must be a cutie under that mask. Even if you're not a cutie, you're still fresh meat."

Daniel pulled back from the wall. "Is she crazy?"

A voice in the background called out. "Finally! Someone gets it!"

Jack sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Grasshopper. You're well aware that we are a collective of special individuals like yourself. These are the best of the best. We've already got a couple of vigilantes. You'd fit right in. Of course, you'd need some training. But in time, you yourself could be a valuable addition."

"Valuable?" Daniel laughed. "I had to get abducted to be told that? Hilarious."

Whiplash crossed his arms, much like Daniel. "You most certainly have value. You're good enough in a fight, but you could be better."

"Good in a fight?" Daniel smiled beneath his mask as he chuckled to himself. "Oh boy, my dad would kill me if he knew what I've been up to."

"Not a fighter, your old man?" Whiplash asked.

"Are you kidding?" Daniel burst out into hysterical laughter. "The guy wouldn't know how to defend himself if a sloth was about to punch him. He's a coward. And he hates my guts."

Whiplash sighed at Daniel. "You don't honestly believe that. I can understand a cowardly father, but not a hateful one."

Daniel scoffed at Whiplash. "If he knew what I was, he'd probably throw me out into the streets. I know he'd think I'm a freak."

Jack smiled. "There are no freaks here Grasshopper. There are only potential heroes."

Daniel was caught off guard by the word. Hero. He felt a warmth spread inside him. "You're not going to lock me up or anything?"

"Of course not." Jack reached into his coat jacket pocket. "And if you feel your current living conditions are less than desirable, we would welcome you to stay here or even an apartment nearby. You won't be treated like a freak here, Grasshopper."

Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing. He would never have to hide who he was from these animals. They were animals just like him. Here, he could belong. All this overwhelmed him to the point where he had held back tears of joy. "What do I have to do to join?"

"Cooperate." Jack nodded. "There's some pesky paperwork to fill out. Don't worry. The information will be kept secret, especially your identity."

"So, I'm good to take off my mask and come out?" Daniel waited before taking any action.

"Yes." Jack turned to Whiplash. "You can open the holding pen now."

"Finally." Daniel peeled off his mask as Whiplash walked off to open the door. "Man, this thing gets stuffy. What?"

Jack's eyes went wide as his smile evolved into a gaping hole of surprise. He recognized Daniel from the files. "Uh oh." He looked over to where Whiplash had gone. The hiss of the door opening prompted the jackrabbit to laugh nervously. "Oh, boy."

Daniel rolled his eyes as he saw whiplash step into the room. He jokingly smiled. "Not gonna beat me up again are ya?" His smile visibly waned as he noticed that Whiplash was shaking. "Uh." Daniel had no time to react as Whiplash darted forward and hugged him near to death. "I'm missing something here."

Whiplash pulled out from the hug. Reaching behind his head, he unzipped his mask and yanked it off.

Daniel felt his heart shoot up his throat and out his ears as he stared, half in horror and half in shock, at the face of his father. "D-dad?"

Adam's teary eyed face twitched and convulged in terror and fright. "Oh my-, Daniel?"

Daniel wished that he could crawl under a rock or anything for that matter. There was no running from this. There was no running from his father who he had been horribly wrong about. The truth steam rolled Daniel's mind as he looked into his father's eyes and saw every act of heroism that he had read about in the newspapers. He saw the mammal who fought countless criminals and even rescued him from the clutches of the Raven. "Dad, I'm-"

Adam's face turned to a scowl. "Grounded."

"What?" Daniel froze, confused.

His father stuck a digit up in his face. "You are so grounded!"

Daniel groaned as he fully registered what his father had said. Now having no door to his room was the least of his worries.