AN: Hey guys, Spookyyenna here! First off, I would like to give a huge shoutout to my friends, Garougefaux/Crewefox, Smokertrail, Esso Reese, Alex Boehm, and SuperCanadianRobin for helping me with suggestions, beta reading this chapter, and just for being great friends~ If you can, follow these guys and check out their stories! And secondly, thank you so so much for the follows and reviews for this fic. I'm honestly glad you guys are enjoying Spider-Yena and I hope you guys stick around for more! And without further ado, here's the newest chapter of Spider-Yena; Enjoy and stay awesome ;)
Revenge…it can be toxic to your soul. It can corrupt your mind and judgment. But worst of all, it can get you killed; which is what almost happened to me on the night when I tracked down the robbers that murdered my grandfather. They trapped themselves inside an industrial warehouse over in Tundratown, and the whole place was surrounded by ZPD officers. They sent two officers to apprehend these guys. However, yours truly had other plans...
"Alright, pal, just let the perp go and we won't shoot you." Officer Nick Wilde stated as he and his partner, Officer Judy Hopps, had their guns trained on an orange and blue wearing hyena vigilante.
"We can end this standoff peacefully," Judy added. "Nobody has to die, we'll make sure he and his partner get locked up for good, and we'll maybe, just maybe, let you go."
"No offense Carrots, but are all you bunnies this naive?" Nick gibed as he gives his partner a side-eye grin. "He's just some costume wearing nutjob! Trying to serve his own brand of justice."
"I'm just trying to reason with him, Nick!" Judy replied, keeping her focus on the two mammals. "And if we weren't in a serious situation right now, I'd smack you for that naive bunny comment!"
The vigilante himself stayed quiet and ignored the two cops as he kept a strong grip and focus on the wolf robber who was struggling for air and his life as he was dangling over a broken window. He looked past the fearful canine and noticed all of the ZPD officers looking directly at him and flashing a searchlight on them. He soon notices a cape buffalo officer walking towards the front with a megaphone in tow.
-ATTENTION VIGILANTE! MY NAME IS CHIEF MASON BOGO OF THE ZPD. I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR MOTIVES OR TENSIONS ARE, BUT I DO CARE ABOUT THE SAFETY OF MY OFFICERS AND BRINGING CRIMINALS TO JUSTICE THE RIGHT WAY. SO THIS IS YOUR FIRST AND FINAL WARNING: LET THAT WOLF GO AND ALL THREE OF YOU SURRENDER PEACEFULLY OR I WILL ORDER MY OFFICERS TO SHOOT YOU ON COMMAND. CHOOSE WISELY!-
"P-Please! I don't wanna die!" the wolf pleaded as he continues to dangle. "I know I fucked up by killing that hyena, but, if you let me go-"
"How about you shut up before I 'accidentally' drop you?" he threatens with venom in his voice. "And If anything, why should I let you go!? You're nothing but a coward and a murderer!"
He then tightens his grip around the wolf's neck to the point of him choking and attempting to loosen his captors' grip. "C-Can't breath…"
"Good," the vigilante said grimly. "I want you to feel the exact same pain that you put that elder hyena and those other mammals through...and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it,"
Okay, okay, before you see your pal Spidey go full edgelord on this poor bastard, let's backtrack to how this huge mess started...
2 Days Earlier…
It was a cold and wet morning in Zootopia. Downpours of rain flooded most of the downtown area and nearly half of Savannah Central. Meanwhile, in the more rougher parts of the district, residents of all species came together with flowers and lit lanterns as they honor the memory of their late neighbor, Jerome Nyani; An elderly hyena who lost his life the other night protecting his community from common street thugs. As for the rest of the Nyani family, they were doing their utmost best to keep their composure.
Angela laid down a bouquet of flowers next to the pictures and memorabilia of her father as she wipes the fresh tears running down her cheeks. She soon rejoins her mother and son as they listen to their neighbors give a few kind words about Jamal.
"Jamal was a great mammal! He always had a kind heart and was always wise. It's too bad about what happened to him, and he will be missed dearly."
"Ol' Jamie was one hell of a mammal during our days in the army. He always knew how to see the positive in dire situations...if only he was here to give us that gleam of hope."
"I've known Mr. Nyani and his family ever since I was a cub. I grew up alongside his daughter and I've been through everything with them. Through the good, and the bad. However, Mr. Nyani's untimely death won't be forgotten. On behalf of the ZPD, we will bring his killer to justice."
Taj stayed quiet and kept his head to the ground. All he could think about at that moment was seeing his grandfather's then bleeding body and the last thing that was said to him before he died: "I love you Taj...take care of yourself…" in which, left him feeling regretful and angry; the former being the fact that he could've done something to help if he hadn't been late the other night and the latter because his grandfather, who was more like a father to him, was wrongfully killed plus the murderer is still on the loose. Before he could continue with his internal thoughts, he felt a big paw grip on to his shoulder snapping him back into reality.
"How you're hanging Tajani?" Fangmeyer asked softly.
"I feel like the world's crappiest grandson," he ridiculed himself. "If I hadn't been late last night, Grandpa would still be here."
"Hey, beating yourself up isn't going to help and what happened to Jamal was not your fault," Fangmeyer replied as she bent down to be face to face with the teenage hyena. "Listen, we're gonna catch the guys that did this and make sure they get life in prison. Okay? So until then, please stay out of trouble and be good. For your mom and grandmother's sake at least."
"I'm sorry, Fangmmeyer but trouble crossed the line when a member of my family was killed," he thought to himself. "And I'm gonna make sure the sons of bitches pay for this. Personally."
"Fine...I'll try to stay out of trouble," he replied begrudgingly. "Only because my mom and grandma have been through enough stress."
"That's all I ask" Officer Fangmeyer nodded solemnly.
After the memorial for my grandfather was finished, I tried to convince my mom to let me stay home from school. Partly because I wanted to add a few finishing touches to my disguise and the fact that I still owed Draven a beatdown from yesterday; he was probably restless and super pissed at me for outrunning him and his boys. But, unfortunately, my mom said no as she wants me to focus on my education and try to get my grades back up. "It's what your grandfather would have wanted," is what she said to me with tears in her eyes...and she was right. I need to do better, I need to get my act together, and most of all, I need to keep that last promise that grandpa gave me before he died. And I was going to make sure of it...
Over at Alphasun Industries…
ROAR!
"You...GODDAMN IDIOTS! HOW THE HELL COULD YOU LET SOMEONE NOT ONLY SNEAK INTO MY BUILDING, BUT ALSO STEAL THE FILES THAT HAD ALL OF MY TOP SECRET INFORMATION, AND LET MY DAMN SPIDER DIE!?" an infuriated Oscar Burnell stated as he pinned one of the sheep scientists to the wall.
"S-Sir, please calm down!" the sheep begged as he was fearing for his life. "This was just a minor mistake. I-I'm sure we can find a solution-"
"You called this a minor mistake!? Do you realize how much money I spent to get this far!?" he growled furiously. "Now I'm back to square one! My files and the spider are both gone! And it's all your fault!"
The sheep scientist was trembling with fear as he struggled with his employer's deadly grip and a fear-inducing glare that felt like a cold knife piercing through his body and heart. He soon begins to hyperventilate as he's unsure of what the grizzly bear was going to do next. He soon gets his answer as he gets a terrifying close up of Burnell's fangs before hearing the following: "Consider yourself-terminated."
In a matter of seconds, Burnell slammed the ewe onto the ground and proceeds to pound his muzzle repeatedly. With each hit getting louder and bloodier by the minute. The poor scientist was helpless as his cries for help and mercy were blocked by the sound of gushing blood and crushing bones. The beating went on for a few more minutes until the ewe's head was nothing but a mushed up pile of blood, bones, and wool. He then proceeds to wipe the excess blood from his paws and suit with a handkerchief. After that, he looks over at his antelope assistant and the other sheep scientist who were in complete shock and knew if they said a word about this to anyone, specifically the ZPD or MCB, they too will face the same faith as their fellow employee. Or something far worse.
"Why so surprised?" He asked calmly as he finished cleaning his paws. "Those who failed or crossed me will face the consequences of their actions. Even if I have to get my best suit dirty-again."
The two mammals quickly nodded and continued to listen to the now calm ursine.
"No matter! there are always replacements. But let this be a warning for the both of you and everyone else here at Alphasun; I will no longer tolerate failures or 'minor mistakes' like yesterday. Unless you want to end up like your friend over here," he says as he points to the dead ewe's body which is now surrounded in a puddle of blood. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal Clear, Sir" they quickly replied in unison. "No more mistakes!"
"Good, now get back to work," Burnell says as he begins to exit the laboratory with a cruel but satisfying smile on his muzzle. But before he left the room, he looks back at the now rotting corpse and says "Get someone to clean up this mess. The smell is starting to bother me."
I'm gonna be honest...going to school was the last thing on my mind. All I wanted to do at the time was hunt down grandpa's killer and make them suffer for all the pain and misery that they put me and my family through. And besides...who wants to go to school or even anywhere after a relative just died!? Lucky for me, I had such amazing friends that were always there for me.
As Taj was putting his books into his locker, he gets pulled into a big hug by his friend, Nathan, who had a somber look on his face. "Heard what happened to your grandpa...I'm so sorry bro…"
"Thanks, man…" he replied softly as he embraced the lion's affection. "...It was a rough night and a shitty morning for everyone; I could barely sleep, my mom was crying all night, and my grandma hasn't said a word since she got the bad news last night."
"I know its hard bro, but listen, we got your back. Charlie, Maki, the twins, and yours truly!" Nate winked.
Taj lightly blushed at the large feline before replying, "I appreciate it big guy," and unwrapping his arms from his friend. However, there was a problem, his hands somehow got stuck and he couldn't get loose. He attempts to pull away but with no success. "Uh, sorry! Give me a second,"
Believe it or not, this was one of the first of many moments that my new powers start to kick in. And of course it had to happen at the moment I'm hugging one of my best friends/crush...ugh, I swear these spider-powers are a curse sometimes.
"Everything okay bro? the lion asked nervously as he noticed his friend struggling to get his paws off his sides. "Do you need any help? I can-"
"No! I-I mean no, it's cool bro! I got this," Taj says as he continues to get his paws free. "G-Guess I got a strong strip, hehe." He eventually gets free and ends up stumbling into another student. Unfortunately, it was someone the hyena's been trying to avoid.
"Yo! Watch where you're going you-Oh? Well, look who we got here boys. It's our old pal Nyani and his fat cat boyfriend! Sheesh, what are you? Some kind of feline freak!?" Draven snarked as he and his entourage approach the two mammals.
Nathan tells Taj to get behind him as the larger feline gets into a defensive stance and stares down the aardwolf. "Listen Draven, today's not a good time to mess with me and my bro. So, if you have any kind of common sense left in that so-called brain of yours, you'd walk away and we can go on with our day."
"Aww! The big dumb lion is trying to protect his little dirty hyena! How sweet," He mocked with a chuckle. "Look Furaha, I ain't got no beef with you. However, my boys and I have a score to settle with Nyani over there," he says as he nods at the hyena and cracks his knuckles.
"Not happening Draven…" Nate growled fiercely. "So for the last damn time, get the hell away from us, and walk away. Or else I'm gonna give you a reason to fear us lions."
Instead of doing what he was told, Draven grew a toothy grin and walked slowly towards Nathan with devious intentions. He soon gets all up and personal in the feline's personal space and says the following: "Perhaps I didn't make myself very clear Furaha; I'm going to beat that hyena to a bloody pulp and make sure he knows his place around here. And I'm not gonna let some big, stupid, smelly, full-of-his-own-prideful-bullshit lion tell ME what to do! So, be a good pussycat and run along." he backs away from him with a smug grin on his muzzle and the feeling of satisfaction. That is until…
"How about you make like a scared weasel and scurry your ass back into the dark pit you came from!" Taj exclaimed with confidence as he came from behind Nathan.
Draven stopped in his tracks as his facial expression changed from smug to angry in a matter of seconds. "You got some balls Nyani, I'll give you that, but…" he charges at the hyena as he prepares to strike him. "...Can you beat me in a fight!?"
As I prepare to get my ass handed to by Draven, I felt this loud and sudden ringing in my head. It kinda felt like a migraine...except it gave off a tingling sensation in my mind...like something was telling me to "WATCH OUT!". Also, it felt like everyone and everything around me was moving slower than usual and I was the only mammal walking at normal speed! And before I knew it, I held my paw out in the direction of Draven's fist and…
"What the hell?!" is all the aardwolf could say as he noticed that his punch was intercepted by a flabbergasted Taj.
"Did that just happen? Did that seriously just happen!? I actually blocked a punch from Draven Salerno...Oh, my god! I blocked a punch from Draven...yep, I'm screwed." Taj thought as he tries to process the current situation at hand.
Soon enough, members of Draven's group, Nathan, and a handful of students begin to mutter among themselves and wonder which of the two predators were gonna make the next move. All Taj could do at the moment was give a nervous grin as he didn't mean to attract this must attention nor get into a fight with his long-time school bully. Especially after he promised to stay out of trouble and be a good student again; unfortunately, life and destiny had other plans for him.
"Look Draven, how about we talk about this? Predator to Predator? What do you say?" he asked cautiously as he wanted this confrontation to be over and done with quickly.
Draven scoffed in disgust before saying, "I'd say, kiss my ass, rot in a hole, and piss off! Oh, I've also heard about your gramps...he was an idiot for getting himself killed. It's also too bad he's not here to see you get pounded." and ending it with a crooked smile.
After hearing that harsh statement about his late grandfather, Taj had to use every inch of willpower to keep himself from lunging at the aardwolf and tearing him apart. However, that didn't stop a few tears from escaping and running down his cheeks as he begins to tremble.
"Yo, are you seriously crying!? How pathetic-" but before Draven could finish his sentence, Taj would grab him by the arm and slammed him into one of the nearby lockers. As he attempts to regain his bearings, Draven would soon get a harsh surprise as he's pinned to the locker by the now infuriated hyena.
"Don't you ever...in your damn life...badmouth my grandfather again," Taj growled with venom. "Or so help me, Salerno, I will make your life a living nightmare."
"Pfft! So what? Because you've suddenly got stronger, decided to fight back, grow a backbone, and decided to get tough, that was supposed to intimidate me Nyani!? Face it. You're nothing but a dirty-ass-freak-show and a huge waste of time to your crappy family and your species. I seriously don't know why you keep-"
CRUNCH!
Taj blindly delivered a powerful punch to a now dented locker, which was extremely close to Draven. This caused the latter to finally stop talking and show another side of him that he usually enjoys seeing in the eyes of his victims; total fear. He slowly looks over to his right and now sees the full-length damage to the locker, followed by a quick glance at Taj, who still looked pretty angry, backed away from him and begins to steady his breathing.
"You okay bro?" Nathan asked as he cautiously approached Taj. "If you want to talk about it, I'm all ears."
"No. I'm fine," Taj replied bluntly. "Look, I-I just want to be left alone right now. Okay? I need to clear my head." he says as he pushes his ears into the back of his head and storms off
Nathan begins to follow the distraught hyena, but as he gets close to him and puts his paw on his shoulder, it gets smacked away. "Taj, just let me-"
"I SAID I WANT TO BE ALONE! ALRIGHT!? SO PLEASE...just leave me alone…"
"...Whatever you say bro...talk to you later…"
And with that, Nathan backed off from Taj and proceeded towards his next class, feeling a sense of sadness and failure for not being able to help his friend nor cheer him up during this tragic time in his life. Taj, on the other hand, disappeared into the crowd of mammals. Needing some time to cool off and figure out what's happening to him.
If there was an award for being the biggest asshole of a friend…I think I would have taken the top prize. Nathan meant well. Honestly. I was just under so much stress from everything that was happening at the time; between losing grandpa, tracking down his killer, and getting the hang of my new spider-powers, it can become overwhelming at times. Plus there was so much I can take before I practically exploded. However, there will always be a light to counter the darkness. I just got to power through it until the very end...
Over by the football field, which was currently wet and practically riddled with mud puddles due to the rain from earlier, Taj was rapidly pacing back and forth on the bleachers as he attempts to make sense of all the recent events that have happened earlier; for one thing, he somehow got stuck to Nathan and couldn't get free at first. Secondly, he was surprisingly able to not only block Draven's punch but also easily slam him into a locker. It's usually the other way around as the much older aardwolf was stronger than him. And finally, he realizes that he had left a massive dent in one of the school lockers. Taj then thinks about how much trouble he'll get once his mom and the principal finds out about this incident, not to mention the guilt he feels for how he snapped at his friend earlier.
"What the hell is happening to me!?" He exclaims as he wildly pulls on his mane. "I can suddenly stick to people, I can actually take on Draven in a fight, and I can…dent a locker with a single blow…?" He observes his paws for a moment, in hopes of finding an answer to these odd new abilities of his.
After closer observation, Taj begins to notice little micro-hairs growing out of his paw pads. He begins to freak out at this shocking revelation and unknowingly walks back towards the end of the bleachers and falls over the railings. Luckily, Taj was able to grip one of the bottom rails before falling onto the ground. "Too...damn...close…" Taj exhaled in relief as he was glad to still be alive and not laying flat on the pavement below. "Now for my next objective; getting the hell down without breaking my legs," he says as he dangles a few feet from the ground. "I mean, I could jump and make a graceful landing...or risk miserable pain. Very. Miserable. Pain." He sighed, knowing that he was out of options and his day was only gonna get worse from here. After a few more moments of contemplating a decision, Taj has decided to go for the jump. He starts to sway his body back and forth until he gained enough speed and momentum for the leap. Once that was done, he launches off the rails, followed by a backflip, and finally a slightly rough landing to the ground.
"Woah...that was...Woah.." The teenage hyena was caught off guard by this shocking new revelation; he took a second to regain his bearings and finally process everything that's been happening to him as of late. But, suddenly that loud ringing in his head came back. This time in a somewhat lower tone. He carefully looked over to his right shoulder and notices a small black-brownish spider crawling on him. The young hyena grabbed the tiny arachnid by the tips of his paws and looks at it fondly before putting it back on the ground.
"There you go little fella, run along now."
As he watches the spider disappear into the thick and wet grass, the sound of the school bell ringing snapped Taj out of his trance and back into reality. Thus, making him realize that he was late for his next class.
"Goddamn it!" He cursed to himself as he went to go retrieve his backpack from the bleachers. "Can't tell if this day is getting worse or weird."
Somewhere in the Sherwood District...
An all-black SUV was driving through the neighborhood, passing multiple businesses and the local elementary school. Inside the vehicle was four different mammals. Three of them were predators and the last one was a prey; on the driver's seat was a brown grizzly bear who donned a blue sweater, a pair of tan khaki pants, and a black beret. He had a calm and cool expression on his face, which indicated that he had nothing to worry about. Sitting next to him in the passenger seat was a black striped rabbit who wore a more traditional business suit and had a very serious demeanor. He was wearing a pair of shades while polishing his handgun. Finally, in the backseat was a middle-age fox couple who were in the middle of admiring one another; the male fox was wearing a dark green jacket with the hood down and a pair of blue jeans and the female fox was wearing a black leather jacket with a pink blouse under it, a pair of black leggings with magenta lines on the side, and a pair of punk earrings.
"You still look ravishing to this very day my love~," the male fox says as he gently rubs the vixen's cheek.
The female fox returned her husband's gesture with a light kiss before saying, "You've been saying that ever since we were teenagers. And yet, every time you say it, it sounds oh so sweet and lovely."
"You never fail to fall for my words of love…" he says softly.
"Oh, Robin…"
But before they could go any further with their flirting, the grunt sound of the striped rabbit clearing his throat got their attention. "If you two are done playing teenage sweethearts-we've arrived back at Headquarters and Director Winter is awaiting our arrival."
The SUV pulled into an underground parking lot and parked into a spot with a 'Reserved' sign in the front and a large blue circle in the middle. Once the vehicle was parked, the circle starts to light up and the platform descends into the lower levels, and they were soon in a black-and-blue lit tunnel; the four mammals exit out of the vehicle and proceeded down the hall until they've reached an elevator door.
The grizzly bear pushed the button for the elevator and looked back at his colleagues. "Marian, promise me that you won't say anything rude, sassy, or snarky towards the director. You're already on very thin ice with her and she's still pretty pissed off from the last mission. And Rob, for your sake, please keep your mouth shut! Or at least think before you say something stupid. I can't always save you from her wrath."
"I won't make any promises Johnny," Marian replied. "Besides, the Ice Queen herself is starting to push my buttons…"
"I'm with Marion on this one John," Robin added. "Also, I can't help what comes out of my mouth! Plus, I'm just trying to be an honest fox."
"Let's just get this over with…" The striped rabbit groaned as he dropped his ears and pinched the bridge of his nose.
And with that, the doors to the elevator opened and the four mammals walked inside without another word or comment. However, that silence didn't last long as the striped rabbit turned on the communicator in his ear.
"This is Agent Jack Savage reporting in: Mission was successful and all team members are accounted for."
"-Roger that Agent Savage! I'll inform Director Winter of your mission status. Also, I'd tread lightly on what you say to her-she's not in a very 'humble' mood today.-"
"Noted. Thanks for the info, Ron! Agent Savage out."
The elevator ride lasted for another minute until the doors opened and revealed a massive room full of multiple monitors, computers, and various mammals in business suits or tactical attire scrambling all over the place. In the center of the lively room was a female arctic fox; she wore a light blue sports top, a pair of black leggings with a pistol holster on her left hip, and a tactical earpiece in her right ear. She looks back and notices the lapin and his group approach her with a content mind and a serious look on her face.
"Alpha team…It seems you four made it back in one piece. For once," she stated.
"Indeed we did," Agent Savage replied. "We had a few hiccups along the way, overall, the mission was a complete success."
"Ok, for the record…" Robin was about to give his say on the matter but was immediately shot down by a double glare from Agent Savage and John. "Nevermind then."
Director Winter rolls her eyes in annoyance before returning her attention to the main monitor. "Anyways, we got an update from our secret operative over at Alphasun Industries. She's been keeping a close eye on Burnell and this 'Secret Project' of his. Plus it turns out this little 'project' is a cover-up for some type of mutant bio-weapon."
Agent Savage's ears went flat as he begins to rub his temples before asking, "how bad is this potential bio-weapon? And can we stop it somehow?"
"Very bad, this weapon has the potential to either mutate every mammal in the city into some kind of hellish monster or kill them from the inside. How do we stop it? That's a whole other story,"
"In other words; you absolutely have no clue for how to stop this imposing threat?" Marian stated bluntly. "How typical,"
"Marian…" Robin warned as he knew how blunt and honest his wife can be. Unfortunately, his warning was ignored as the two vixens began to argue. This was not going to end well.
"I'm this damn close to getting rid of you Loxley!" Director Winter threatened with venom. "You always question my authority and leadership here at the MCB!"
"Get rid of me? Get rid of me!? I'd like to see you try. You'd be a fool to fire me," Marian retorted. "And in case you forgot, your majesty; I'm one of your best fighters and hackers."
"I can always find replacements…" Director Winter growled. "And if anything, I don't have to hear any more of your goddamn-snarky-ignorant-insulting-loud-ass comments! And I'm sick of it!"
Marian gave the arctic fox a very sarcastic smile before replying, okay Ice Bitch, how about you get off your high horse you call, 'authority', and take my batons, and shove them right up your-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" Agent Savage exclaimed with great force and anger in his voice.
Everyone in the room went completely silent; Robin and John stood in complete silence. Unsure of what to do next. Should we say something? Or stay out of it and watch what happens? Luckily for the two mammals, they didn't have to wait that long. Agent Savage took the next 20 seconds to calm his racing rabbit heart and composed himself before telling off his boss and team members for their immature behavior. Once that was done, he takes off his shades and looks up at the two taller mammals.
"Listen, I get that things are frustrating at the moment and you two want nothing more than to be rid of each other. But this-this constant bickering between you two needs to either end or at least be put on hold until we deal with the bullshit with Burnell! Alright!? For christ's sake, we're supposed to be working together! As a team! As a unit! Is that too much to ask?"
Director Winter and Marian didn't agree on a lot of things. In fact, there were times that the two female mammals wanted to beat the living hell out of each other. However, there were times where they had to make compromises, and this was one of those times; the agency had a potential crisis in their paws and they need to put aside their differences if they want to save Zootopia from a soon-to-be global catastrophe.
"Alright, fine," Director Winter sighed in defeat. "The mission and the citizens of Zootopia come first."
"I guess you make a point," Marian begrudgingly agreed. "So, what's next?"
Director Winter turned back to the monitor and began to rapidly type on the keyboard. She then uploads a video feed from the other day. The video was of a teenage hyena wearing a black hoodie sneaking in and out of Alphasun Industries. "Find out who this kid is and bring him in for questioning."
"But why him? He's just a kid," said Agent Savage. "For all we know, he could've got lost and ended up in the wrong place."
"Ah, Skippy, Skippy, so young and yet so naive," Marian mocked playfully as she pulled out a tablet from her jacket. "I hacked the little hooligan's phone and it seems that he took some incriminating photos of the place. Some of these can be used to put Burnell away for a long time."
"If only it was that easy dear," said Robin. "Remember, that bastard has a pretty damn good lawyer, and enough money to get him a bloody slap on the wrist and a jail-free-card! Plus he's prone to violence, which means he can and will kill ANYONE that either gets in his way-"
"Or attempt to expose him and his company…" Marian finished for him, realizing that the adolescent hyena and his family are in potential danger. "We need to find that kid! Now!"
"Did you find anything else on his phone? Something useful?" Director Winter asked in a serious tone.
Marian fiddled around on her tablet for a bit until she found the specific files about the hyena.
"I got it; His name is Tajani Nyani! 16-years-old, attends St. Zoo High, a bit of a troublemaker, and he so happens to live in Savannah Central."
Director Winter nodded in response as she crossed her arms and looked back at the monitor with newfound determination and curiosity. "Alright, Mr. Nyani; time to find out if you're friend or foe."
After this morning's "antics" with Draven and my powers coming into full effect, all I wanted to do at the time was to bury myself in a deep ass hole and rot for eternity. There was also the fact that I still owed Nate an apology for how I snapped at him too…he practically avoided me for almost the whole day. It wasn't until lunch that we were able to talk things out. He was willing to forgive me, luckily, and he also understood that I just needed some time to be alone and grieve. Later on that day, I finally figured out what had happened to me; my science class and I were watching an educational video about-yep, you guessed it. Spiders! Ha! Talk about irony! Anyway, the video had all the boring stereotypical school facts and the only part of the video that piqued my interest was this unique looking spider. You're probably wondering "why this particular spider and not the others?" Because it's the same one that bit me. It was also 'created' by those freaks at Alphasun Industries. The arachnid itself had modified strength, agility, a higher sense of hearing, and some pretty strong webbing. I actually have all of these, well, except for the webbing. More on that later. After this little revelation, I realized that I could use these new powers of mine to not only keep my neighborhood safe but to also avenge my grandfather and make his killer suffer
.
It was finally after school and most of the student body and faculty have dispersed for the day. As for Taj, he stayed behind to work on some 'homework' in the school's science lab; after learning the origin of his powers and where the mysterious spider came from, the teenage hyena decided to dig more into those secret files he took from the other day.
One of the files had multiple pieces of papers labeled 'Project: Webs' with the schematics for a wrist-mounted device and a scientific web formula. "Oh yeah, this will definitely work," Taj says confidently as he gathers all the right materials within the school's lab and gets to work immediately.
Two hours have passed and after a few miscalculations and some minor 'sticky' mishaps, Taj was successful in creating an adhesive web-like substance. He then proceeds to pour the artificial 'webbing' into multiple test tubes and carefully places them into his backpack. But, before the adolescent hyena can continue any further his phone begins to ring; his mom was calling him.
"Hey, mom, what's up?" He answered.
"Tajani, where are you? It's getting late!"
"Yeah, it is. Sorry about that mom. I stayed after school to do some extra homework."
"It's alright...but you know I have to work late tonight, and you should already know the rules.
"No being out late, be home before 10:00 pm, look after grandma, and make sure I get all of my homework done, I know the drill mom."
"I'm serious Tajani! I can't handle another heartbreak or any kind of stress right now! With your grandfather gone...it's gonna be even harder to pay all the upcoming bills and our douchebag of a landlord just raised the rent and-"
"Mom! Mom! I get it...I miss grandpa too...If it means anything; I'll look for an after school job to help bring in some extra money. It's the least I can do…"
"That's very kind of you baby, but I don't want you to get overwhelmed from working a job and trying to finish your High School education. Plus I'm worried about your grandmother...she still hasn't eaten anything or spoken a word since this morning."
"She's probably still in shocked mom; it's a lot for her to take in. I mean, she and grandpa were together for almost 30 years. Their love for one another was unforgettable...but now it's been shattered."
"Maybe so, but she's not alone. She still has me, you, and the rest of our neighbors looking out for her. But listen, I need to get off now and meet up with the mortician; we're going to try and have a small and proper funeral for your grandfather…as for you, Tajani, I need you to head straight home and be with your grandmother. She needs some company and I don't feel comfortable leaving her at the house by herself...can you do that for me, dear?"
"Sure thing mom...I was about to head out anyway. I'll be home in about 10-15 minutes. No distractions or any kind of shortcuts. I promise."
"That's all I ask of you Tajani. I'll be home soon, okay? I love you."
"Okay and love you too...bye."
Once he hung up the phone, Taj proceeds to clean up his work area, and stuff all the files and papers back into his backpack in a hastily matter. While this was happening, a shadowy figure was watching him from a nearby building rooftop; they were wearing an all-black jumpsuit and a pair of night-vision goggles. They then press their hooves onto a communicator in their ear.
"I found the kid, Director. He seems to be carrying a file full of important documents. Permission to engage and capture?"
"-Negative, Agent. We're still not sure if he's a potential threat or not. Just keep a close eye on him for now and await further orders.-"
"Yes, Ma'am! Agent Prince out."
Okay, let's fast-forward this origin story a bit. Once I left the school, I headed straight for my house; thank god Draven and his buddies hadn't decided to come out and play. I could've easily kicked their asses and had them running away with their bruised egos-okay, getting off-topic. I eventually got home and immediately noticed that something was wrong….
"Hey, Grandma! I'm home!" Taj called out as he closes the front door and approaches the living room. "It's me, Tajani." He continues in hopes of getting a response from the elder matriarch; unfortunately, he was met with continuous silence.
Taj walks further into the room and soon notices his grandmother laying on the couch while clutching a picture of her late husband; she was silently crying to herself as she listened to classical music on the radio and letting her tears stained the photo of Jamal and onto her nightgown. However, this doesn't go unnoticed as her grandson walks over to her with a concerned look on his face. "Hey, Grandma..."
Imara slowly sat up from her spot and wiped away her tears before replying, "Hello Tajani...how are you, sweetie?"
"I'm managing grandma," Taj answered in a mildly neutral tone. "But what about you? Mom said you haven't eaten anything all day and you've been quiet ever since this morning. We're worried about you!"
Imara sighed and shrugged at this statement as she laid the picture down on the coffee table, patted a spot next to her on the couch, signaling Taj to take a seat, and finally turning the radio down. The teen hyena soon takes a seat next to his grandmother as he gives her his undivided attention and awaits her answer. But, instead of a response, Imara reaches over to Taj and gives him a warm and sympathetic hug.
"I appreciate you and your mother's concern Tajani, but I will be okay. I just need some time to process everything…although I'll never see your grandfather again, his heart and memories will live on with us. And...and…" she couldn't continue as her emotions got the best of her, and she began to sob once more. "...I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I thought I could handle talking about Jamal without crying again…"
"It's okay, grandma," Taj sympathize as he continued to hug her while keeping his own emotions under wraps. "Take all the time you need and let it all out."
Imara continued to cry for another 10 minutes until she was well and stable enough to keep talking about Jamal and all of the memories she had with him; from their first date, their wedding, and even the births of both their daughter and their grandson. The female hyena had a lot more stories and memories to tell about her late husband, but she decided to hold off on telling anymore and saving the rest for the funeral.
Well, on the bright side; I was finally able to get her to talk again and let out some pent up emotions out of her system. However, this won't be the last time that I'll see or hear my grandmother cry...moving on from that, I retreated into my room, where I was finally able to finish stitching up my disguise and adding some finishing touches to it. Once that was done, I proceeded to work on my first prototype web-shooters; who knew grandpa's old wristwatches would come in handy…*sigh* thanks, grandpa. You're always looking out for me. Now for the next part of this story: Avenge Grandpa Jamal and bring justice to my family.
The Next Day…
Over in Tundratown, a local market was being robbed by a black panther and a grey wolf; both predators were armed with a pistol and a shotgun respectively as they were prepared to kill anyone that stood in their way. ZPD or not.
"H-Hurry up with the money! I'm freezing!" The panther exclaimed as he tries to keep himself while keeping his gun pointed a sobbing polar bear employee.
"I-I'm going as fast as I can," the female polar bear replied in a panicked tone as she continues to stuff a handful of bills into a duffle bag. "Just don't hurt anyone…please."
"Tch! A little late for that bitch!" He smirked devilishly as he nodded at his partner who was dragging the dead bodies of a male moose, a female snow leopard, and a teenage reindeer to the center of the market. "You're gonna be next if you don't hurry the hell up!"
The polar bear covered her mouth in total shock and horror as she recognized the pile of dead mammals; two of them were her fellow employees and the young stag was her next-door neighbor's son. But before she can shed any more tears, she adds the rest of the money from the register into the bag and gives it to the cat robber with slight hesitation. "T-That's all the money! I swear! Now, will you p-please let me go?"
"Sure thing sweetheart," the panther says as he grabs the bag and slightly lowers his gun. "But one more thing though…"
"W-What!?"
Bang! Bang!
"Next time; pick up the damn pace. I don't do slow and whiny transactions."
"C'mon, let's get out of here before the cops show up!" The wolf robber exclaimed as he bolted out of the market and into the snowy streets of Tundratown. "I know a spot where we can hide until the heat dies down."
"Lead the way!" said the panther as he sprinted after his canine partner with the bag of stolen cash in his paws.
As the two predators were making their getaway, the now-injured polar bear employee struggled to reach for her phone while trying to stop the bleeding from her gunshot wounds; she was going in and out of consciousness as she dialed 911.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"H-Help! We've been robbed! Everyone's dead...a-and I don't know what to do! Agh…
"Okay, ma'am! I'm gonna need you to calm down and stay with me. Help is on the way!"
Meanwhile...
Taj was in his bedroom making some final adjustments to his prototype web-shooters while listening for any crime alerts on his phone; he was able to rewire his device into the ZPD's data and convert it into a makeshift police scanner. As he's putting the last screw in his web-shooter, Taj's phone begins to go off.
-Dispatch! This is Chief Bogo of Precinct 1; all available units head to Tundratown! We found the two wanted fugitives that were behind the Savannah Grocery Store robbery! They're hiding out in an industrial warehouse near the docks. Be mindful, these guys are armed and dangerous; Proceed with caution and watch your partner's back.-
"That's all I needed to hear," Taj stated as he was already dressed in his disguise; he then proceeds to strap on his web-shooters and puts his goggles on as he dives out of his bedroom window and fires a web at a nearby light pole. "Time to take these bastards down...once and for all." It took a minute for the teenage hyena to get used to his new form of 'transportation' as he was new to this and wasn't getting a lot of speed or momentum from his swinging; he missed a couple of light poles along the way and crashed into three bushes, one car, and nearly collided with a city bus. He eventually gets the hang of it and repeats the following phrase as a reminder, "Thwip! And release! Thwip! And release! Thwip! And release!" He continues this a few more times until he was able to keep up with the police cruisers heading for Tundratown.
Once he swung into the much colder district, Taj landed on a nearby snowy rooftop and took a few minutes to catch his breath and check his surroundings. Unfortunately, he couldn't see anything due to the district having a mini snowstorm and the gust from the cold wind was beginning to fog up his goggles.
"Okay, Taj, you need to find that warehouse before you become Zootopia's first hyenacicle," He stated to himself. "Now where did those cops go?"
He soon gets his answer in the form of multiple gunshots going off from a few blocks over.
"Bingo!" Taj begins his descent as he sprung a web and swings towards the action. As Taj gets closer to where the commotion was coming from, he soon notices first-hand on how serious the situation was; several ZPD officers were taking cover behind their vehicles as they attempt to retaliate against the two gunmen who were shooting through the warehouse's upstairs windows. Only a few officers were wounded while some provided covering fire for others to get closer to the building and hopefully get inside to disarm and apprehend the wanted criminals.
Taj was taken aback by the chaos and was having second thoughts about coming here and getting revenge for his grandfather. But there's no turning back now. He came too far to just run away and let these murderers get away yet again. Enough was enough. It's time to end this. "Here goes nothing!" Taj says as he notices an opening on the roof and dives directly into it.
Once he was inside, the teenage hyena stuck to the shadows as he begins to approach the two larger predators, and plots a strategy on how to take them both down.
However, this doesn't go unnoticed as the wolf stops shooting and begins to pick up on Taj's scent. "Something's not right…"
"What's up? Why'd you stop shooting?" The panther asked as he ceased his shooting for a moment.
"We're not alone," the wolf replied as he begins to reload his shotgun and proceeds to aim it in the supposedly empty room. "Whoever you are...you might as well come out...unless you want rounds of lead through your skull."
"You need to lay off the Morrigan man…" the panther says as he goes to investigate with his gun tightly gripped between his paws and his finger resting on the trigger. "I don't see anything or anyone. I think you're just hallucina-AHHHH!" He shrieked as he was being pulled into the shadows.
"Ah, shit!" The wolf cursed to himself as he begins to panic. He looks around the room in a frantic manner as he tries to figure out who or what took his partner. "W-Who's there!? Show yourself!" He exclaimed with frustration and terror in his voice.
When he didn't get an answer, he foolishly decides to shoot all over the room in hopes of killing the mysterious intruder. He continues to shoot until he was completely out of bullets and options. "Screw this!" He says as he tosses his shotgun to the side and attempts to make a run for the exit. However, his escape was cut short as he got reeled back into the center of the room.
"P-Please! Don't hurt me!" The wolf pleaded as he begins to tremble with fear. "I'm just misunderstood."
"Bullshit," Taj calls out as he slowly walks out of the shadows and approaches the timid wolf. "You're nothing but a coward, a liar, and a goddamn murderer!"
The canine criminal takes a good look at Taj's outfit and begins to laugh. "Isn't it a little early for Halloween kid? I mean look at you, you're just some scared, confused, stupid, and idiotic kid who's completely...out of his league!" He pulls out a pocket knife and lunges at Taj in top speed. However, the teenage vigilante was faster as he successfully dodged the attempted attack, followed by a backhand slap, a quick right hook, and a blow to the stomach to finish it up.
"Had enough asshole…?" Taj panted with a bit of a growl in his voice. "Cause I'm just getting started."
Without a second thought, Taj snatches the wolf up by his throat with his newfound strength and proceeds to punch him multiple times in the face, followed by pounding his body to the ground like a rag doll. "N-No more…please..." The wolf pleaded as he begins to cough up blood and nearly succumbed to his injuries. But alas, his pleads weren't heard as Taj puts his focus on the window that was a few feet from them and a dark idea began to form in his mind; he was going to let the bastard fall to his death. He drags the injured canine towards the window while ignoring the continuous sounds of him panicking and begging for mercy.
"L-Look kid, how about I make you a deal?" The wolf offered, not wanting to suffer any more pain. "If you let me go...I won't rob or kill anyone ever again and we can pretend this encounter never happened. So what do you say?"
"Sorry, I don't make deals with heartless murderers," Taj replied in a cold tone.
CRASH!
With so much force and strength within his body, Taj slammed the wolf robber through the warehouse window. Completely shattering it, and dangling the more frightened criminal by his throat, and having several ZPD officers watch in total shock from below. The wolf himself begins to hyperventilate as he starts to believe that this freakishly strong kid was going to let him fall and die a horrible death. That is until…
"ZPD! DON'T MOVE!" Two ZPD officers burst into the room with their guns aimed at the two mammals; the first officer was a female rabbit and her partner was a male red fox.
"Step away from the window or else we will shoot!" The rabbit officer ordered.
Now...
And we're back...you guys still with me? Good. After I gave these two crooks the mother of all beatdowns, I was about ready to let this murderer eat snow-covered pavement down below. But suddenly, something came over me at that moment and my anger was starting to dwindle…
As Taj prepared to drop the wolf robber, a familiar voice began to replay in his mind.
What happened to you…? You used to be a good boy…
"G-Grandpa?" He muttered softly.
I need you to make me a promise; be a good boy again, look for the good in others…watch out for your mom and grandma…
Taj starts trembling as he begins to loosen his grip on the wolf, followed by slowly backing away from the window and tossing the canine criminal, who was gasping for air, to the side. He then falls to his knees and hugs himself tightly as the voice left him one last reminder.
I love you Taj...take care of yourself…
"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!" Taj curses thrice as he punched the ground with such force and frustration. "Why...why did you have to go to that damn store…!?"
Nick and Judy lowered their guns as they checked over the two large predators before placing the handcuffs on them. While they were doing this, Judy radio's Chief Bogo about the capture and status of the two robbers. However, Nick noticed something was off; the mysterious orange and blue wearing vigilante was gone. He vanished without a trace.
Back in Savannah Central…
After swinging for 25 minutes, Taj finally made it back to his house. He quietly crawled up the wall and back into his bedroom, then he changes out of his disguise and puts on a pair of black shorts and a blue t-shirt before heading downstairs to get a drink of water before heading off to bed. Although, for Taj, he was not expecting to have company when he noticed the living room lights come on; he turns around to see his mom and grandma on the couch wearing bathrobes with equally angry and concerned looks on their faces.
"Listen, I can explain-" Taj started, but was cut off by his mom's paw.
"Where the hell have you been!?" Angela asked in an irritable tone. "It's almost midnight, I had to cancel my shift because YOUR grandma told me that you just up and disappear without a trace! And she was left here by herself. Honestly, Tajani...what has gotten into you...!?"
Taj crossed his arms and kept his head down as a sign that he didn't want to talk or answer the question.
"We're waiting Tajani…" Imara pressed as she was emotionally exhausted and stressed.
"Tajani...Campbell...Nyani...I am talking to you!" Angela growled, beginning to lose her patience.
Taj finally looked up at the two female hyenas with intense anger and tears in his eyes before saying, "I'm stressed mom! That's what's gotten into me! Okay!? I'm stressed because I'm constantly dealing with idiots at school, prey mammals still being scared of me, dealing with PTSD from my deadbeat father, and grandpa getting killed was the damn cherry on top…" Taj falls to his knees once more and finally releases all of the pent up anger and emotions he's kept inside of him. "IT'S NOT FAIR!" he shouted.
Angela's anger starts to simmer down as she finally realizes how much her son's been hurting. She goes over to him and embraces him in a tight motherly hug, and allows her elder child to cry on her shoulder and get all of his feelings out of his system. "Oh, Tajani...I'm so sorry baby…"
"I miss him, mom...I miss G-Grandpa…!" Taj expressed as he continues to sob.
"I know...I know…" Angela nodded as she tries not to cry herself. "...I miss him too…"
"It's my fault that he's gone," Taj sniffled. "If I hadn't been late...maybe he would've…"
"Shhh...shh...that's enough of that," Imara stated as she joins the hug and messages her grandson's mane. "It was not your fault. It never was. Your grandfather saved a lot of lives that night and he will be remembered as a savior and a loving member of this family."
Taj nodded as he continues to embrace the warm comfort from his mom and grandma; more tears were shed, pent up feelings were released, and the road to recovery for the Nyani Family was still a long way to go. With Jamal gone, Angela and Imara will have to work extra hard to make ends meet and to help support Taj. As for the teenage hyena himself, he still had a lot to learn, regarding his new powers. After his attempted revenge scheme almost got him killed or arrested, Taj knew that he had to find a better way to use his powers. Not for revenge, not for selfish gains, and definitely not for fame or glory. He needs to be something else...someone else...but before he could think any further, Imara suggested that they all should get some rest and start fresh in the morning.
A few days later…
It was a quiet and boring Saturday over at the Savannah Central Station. Mammals of different species were commuting to different districts throughout Zootopia or even traveling to the tri-burrows. But on this particular day, things were about to get intense.
A massive armored truck pulled up to the entrance of the train station, wrecking nearby property and hitting anyone that stood in its way. Once the truck came to a complete stop, a group of mercenary mammals wielding rifles and semi-automatic weapons exit out of the vehicle and stood in a single file line, as if they were waiting for someone. "Here comes the boss! Look sharp!" A coyote mercenary ordered as he stood in the back entrance of the truck; a few seconds later, a large Bengal tiger exit out of the truck with a calm and neutral expression on his face. His wardrobe consisted of green combat pants, military-grade armor pads that covered his knees, titanium armor that covered his whole upper body, along with a stamp logo that says "TNT" on the left breastplate, duel arm gauntlets, a belt with grenades on one side and a detonator on the other, and in his paws was a fully-loaded tactical grenade launcher.
The tiger points his weapon at the entrance and fires it. The grenade made an impact and caused a massive explosion, sending a few mammals flying or running and screaming for cover. Soon the tiger and his group of mercenaries proceed inside the station where they get stopped by two security guards.
"Hold it !" A hippo security guard says as he trains his gun on the group of soldiers.
"Drop your weapons! And get down on the ground!" A cougar security guard added.
The tiger gives the two security guards a smug look before snapping his fingers, signaling two of his mercenaries, a cheetah and an Ox, to finish them off; the spotted feline disarmed the hippo with quick ease before breaking his arm and snapping his neck in one swift motion. The Ox overpowered the cougar with her natural strength and finishes the cat off with a fatal horn stab to the chest.
"Excellent work," the tiger complemented. "That'll teach them to NOT screw with the best."
The group of mercenaries proceeds further inside the station until they were standing in the center of the room. The tiger was the first to notice all of the confused and scared looks on everyone's faces; he enjoyed seeing the terror and fear from other mammals. To him, it was a sign of dominance, power, and total control. He then steps forward and begins to speak.
"Good Afternoon, ladies and gentlemammals!" He greeted formally. "How is everyone today?! Scared? Terrified? Afraid of dying? Good. That's just the way I like it." He says with a sinister grin.
The tiger playfully swings his grenade launcher around as he watched all of the mammals and their kits jump and flinch at the sight of the weapon. "Look at all of you, afraid of a mere little firearm like this. Perhaps I should introduce myself," he aims his grenade launcher at one of the trains and ignites it in a fiery explosion, killing anyone that was either inside or in the blast radius. "The name's Lieutenant Wendell Pinkerton, but you can call me...TNTiger! And welcome to my world."
To be continued...