<p>After Pollard was took down, and the ZPD entered the palace and secured the perimeter, everything seemed to become calmer. Of course, this did not prevented a great deal of reporters from swarming around the place.</p>

<p>"It is true that this was another event involving meta mammals!?" One reindeer reporter asked. "Would this make of this the third event in which one or more meta mammals would be directly involved in less than two weeks?"</p>

<p>"Please, keep distance!" Was the only answer that she got from a couple police officers who were making sure that only the right mammals would get past the police lines that were placed in there. That meant, only the guys who were officers, forensics, and also the paramedics.</p>

<p>Inside the Thaw, the mammals in there who had been attacked by Pollard, namely, the security staff, were receiving medical attention. Many of them had suffered concussion, and some of them were going to have to await for their teeth to grow back. Anyway, all of them were going to need some medical attendance, as well as a certain cougar.</p>

<p>"Ouch!" Alex said as one of the doctors just touched his leg, raising the leg of his pants to be able to look at the wound that was inflict by the claws of the polar bear.</p>

<p>Alex did not wanted to look at it, but he already knew that it was not pretty. Now that the adrenaline from the fight had subsided, he could feel the pain of that wound which was inflict to him. It burned, and touching it directly only made the pain worse. Alex could still feel the blood on his leg and fur, even though it had quickly got cold and hardened due to the coldness of that place.</p>

<p>"Man! That is an ugly wound." The doctor who was examining him said. "You need to treat it as soon as possible."</p>

<p>"He is right." Nora said, looking at the wound, but just for a second, before she looked away, looking a bit sickened. She did not dealt well with blood, and that was something that Alex knew himself. "You need to go to the hospital as soon as you can."</p>

<p>"Yes, we'll take you there." The doctor said, and he was gesturing for a few of the paramedics to come take the cougar, but Alex protested:</p>

<p>"No… sorry, I already have a doctor. In the Savannah Central General Hospital." Alex said, as he got on his feet. "It is doctor Moosard, I would really feel more comfortable if he was the one treating me." Alex said to the doctors as he tried to walk away from them.</p>

<p>"Well, at least let us clean this wound and put some bandages." The doctor said, and soon, a few more animals came closer to him, and Alex looked at them as they had some first-aid material with them. Alex ventured to look at his wound, and he flinched as he looked at that. Well, having this thing cleaned before it could infect was a good idea…</p>

<p>Soon, the animals were threating his wound, what they started by using some hydrogen peroxide to clean it. In the moment that water full of oxygen was dump on his wound, it burned like hell. Alex could barely contain himself as he let out a feral yell that startled many of the mammals around.</p>

<p>They stared at Alex, who could only look down and blush profusely as he felt ashamed of himself for making a scene like that. Still, it was hard to ignore the burning on his wound as it was cleaned and disinfected.</p>

<p>Soon, after the wound was clean, the doctors passed some bandages on it, as the doctor spoke:</p>

<p>"Well, the wound seems a bit large, but it does not seem very deep. Also, it luckily did not hit any important area, and it seems to have missed the tendons, what is very good." The doctor said, giving a few pats on the leg, what made the cougar wince a bit. "You are a very lucky cat, Mr. Hunter. Still you really need to make a better check on this wound in the hospital, I' mean it."</p>

<p>Alex nodded at him, making an "o.k." sign to him. After that, Alex was left alone, while the doctors went to take care of other people around.</p>

<p>"So… you were in quite a few situations since we arrived in this world, haven't you?" Nora asked, after a few moments of silence. Alex looked at her, and he was actually able to smile.</p>

<p>"Yeah, kind of…. So, raccoon, huh?" Alex asked, and Nora looked away.</p>

<p>"I'm still beamed about this." She spoke as she looked around, "You wouldn't believe how other animals treated me just because of my species."</p>

<p>As they both talked, a hammock carrying another mammal passed by them. They could hear a familiar small voice in the bed, along with a familiar polar bear, unconscious, and all strapped to it and with a muzzle on his face.</p>

<p>"Make sure to use this precise combination of drugs intravenously. Trust me, it will prevent him from activating his powers." Jeff said to the doctors as they transported Pollard, who was still unconscious, some police officers were coming along with them, all of them carrying their own weapons. As they passed by the two mammals in there, Jeff looked at them and said:</p>

<p>"Oh, this is my stop! Thank you guys! I leave it to you." He said as he raced and jumped out of the hammock, and was able to swing into the clothes and tails of the doctors and officers, before landing in the ground and rolling a bit. He stopped for a moment, with Alex and Nora both looking at him, as he got up and cleaned his clothes, making himself look more presentable, as he looked at his two friends.</p>

<p>"Well, I guess this whole situation went pretty good, all things considered, right?" The two mammals looked at him, and Jeff continued: "I mean, we did catch the bad guy, and we escaped with a single wound, right guys?"</p>

<p>"Yeah, I want to see if it was in your leg." Alex said to him as he tried to stand, and found himself limping in that leg. "Dammit!" Alex said as he went back to the ground.</p>

<p>"Guys!" A voice called, and they could see the familiar faces of Judy and Nick approaching them. "Are you two okay?"</p>

<p>"Yeah, I'll live." Alex said, as she approached, "The doctor already gave it a look."</p>

<p>"We need to go back to the hospital." Judy said as she looked at this. "The doctors need to check this to make sure it is not serious."</p>

<p>"Yeah, everybody is saying it."</p>

<p>"Because it is true!" Nora said, "I mean, what if this star bleeding later? You need to make sure you are okay so you don't lose your foot." She spoke, crossing her arms. She then noticed that the officers were now looking at her, both the bunny and the fox. "Huhhh, hi, I don't believe we properly met… I'm Nora Ringwald." She said to them, offering her hand.</p>

<p>They shared a look, and Nick was the first to take a step forward. "Nick Wilde." He said as he shook her hand. "This fluff here is my partner."</p>

<p>"Judy Hopps." Judy said, stepping forward for herself, offering her hand to shake. Nora shook it, and Judy said: "It is really nice meeting another of Alex and Linda's friends." She said as she shook her hand. "And two in one day. Can we expect to meet more?"</p>

<p>"Well, I would be unable to tell." Nora said, "Wait, is Linda in here too?"</p>

<p>"Yeah, she has been around for one week now… How long have you been in Zootopia?" Alex asked, and Nora looked up at him.</p>

<p>"Well, around one week too, but I was not around much." She admitted. "I kind of got hurt in all of that craziness. When I wake up I'm in a strange town and I'm turned into a-" She was about to complete, but she stopped when Jeffrey started to frantically made signals to her, and she understood that it was better follow him in this when she saw the way the other two officers looked at her.</p>

<p>"Into a… nervous and confuse mess because I don't know where I am." She completed, and continued: "I spent hours walking in the streets, trying to figure out the layout of this city, and I nearly got mauled by some big brutes who 'didn't wanted a raccoon around'." She said that bitterly.</p>

<p>"That is an absurd!" Judy said, "This kind of speciest behavior is not even legal!"</p>

<p>"Yeah, someone should tell those guys." Nora spoke, and she continued: "Well, some of them beat me up pretty bad, and I was left alone to bleed in that snowy alley. That was when someone found me." She spoke, and the others shared a look.</p>

<p>"This 'someone' was Mr. Big, by any chance?" Jeff asked her.</p>

<p>"Yeah, well, actually it was Koslov, the guy who works for him, but he took me in and they took care of me in the past week." She spoke, and suddenly, a voice sounded.</p>

<p>"Well, that explains why you were on his house."</p>

<p>The ones turned to see the familiar faces of the chiefs Bogo and Ursini approaching. The bear was looking at her as he approached more. "I really need to talk to you, lady." He spoke as he approached.</p>

<p>"We need to talk with <em>all</em> of you." Bogo said, as he looked at the three meta mammals. "About what happened today."</p>

<p>The cougar, the mouse, and the raccoon all shared looks. Nora sighed, and she knew that there was no way out of that. "Okay, what you want to know?" She asked them.</p>

<p>"Everything." Bogo said.</p>

<p>The next minutes were basically the three mammals explaining what had happened before, during, and after the officers and the two meta mammals had arrived in the Big property. Well, the "before" part was, of course, told from Nora's point of view.</p>

<p>"So, you were able to bring the polar bear down with a shock stick?" Ursini asked.</p>

<p>"Yeah, that and I also used my powers." Nora said.</p>

<p>"The thing of disappearing and reappearing?"</p>

<p>"Yes, my teleport power."</p>

<p>"Wait a minute." Nick said, interrupting this and looking at the raccoon. "So, you can actually teleport? I mean, I saw it in action, but, you can actually teleport? Like 'beam me up, Scott'?" He had a smile on his face.</p>

<p>"Yeah, pretty much…" Nora said, and she looked around. "Watch." She said, gesturing to an area ahead of them, were there were many flatware in the ground.</p>

<p>The others looked at her, and then, she suddenly vanished, startling them. Alex and Jeff were not, however, for they had already see Nora teleport a few times, and they already knew what she was able to do. They looked at her as she whistled, getting the attention of the police animals, and she waved at them.</p>

<p>They waved back at her, and she suddenly vanished again, reappearing right where she was a moment ago. "Do you guys see?" She said, catching their attention, and also startling them very slightly as she did that.</p>

<p>"This is… unbelievable." Ursini said.</p>

<p>"Actually, this kind of thing was predicted by some forms of science." Jeff said to the other animals, making them look at him. "In fact, the event of <em>quantum teleportation</em> exists in the realm of the quantum physics, being possible for microscopic particles to travel from one point into another without traversing the existing space between the two points. Nora's ability is basically this, with the only difference that she brings it to the macroscopic scale, teleporting a body on the size of a mammal, namely, herself."</p>

<p>The other animals continued to look at him, and they looked back at Nora, who shrugged. "Yeah, whatever the smart guy says."</p>

<p>"Okay, it is very interesting, but I think we are diverging." Bogo said, "Lets go back to the subject? What happened after you ran with Pollard coming after you?"</p>

<p>So, the three animals continued to describe their experience, which included their race to the Thaw, Alex's direct combat with Pollard, and Jeff's plan to dump him in the water to make him sink.</p>

<p>"How you knew it was going to work?" Ursini asked.</p>

<p>"Because I observed him while Alex fought, and I noticed that he was breathing. Do you remember? The fog formed on his breath when he was snarling." The mouse said, as if anyone should have seen that. "So, I assumed that, even when he was turned into brass, he also had the same need of breathing as other mammals. Of course, having a body made of solid brass meant that you can't float in liquid, so I assumed that he would be unable to swim if he was in this form.</p>

<p>"So… your plan was to lure him to the plunge pool and drop him there to drown?" Ursini asked as he looked at the mouse.</p>

<p>"Of course not!" Jeff said, "I'm not a psychopath. We could not defeat him while he was in brass form, so the plan was to dump him into the water to force him to return to his normal form, so he could be dealt with."</p>

<p>"Right, so, he turned back to normal, came back to the surface not to drown, and then Hunter took care of him." Ursini said.</p>

<p>"Actually, it was Jeff who took the guy down." Alex corrected them, and this made everyone look at the mouse, who smiled proudly. Of course, the next two minutes were Jeff explaining exactly how he had brought the polar bear down to the ground unconscious.</p>

<p>"It is all about knowing exactly where to hit." The mouse said, "The 'pressure point hit' is not just for anime and martial arts movies. There are a lot of vulnerable nerves spread across the body, and it you hit them in the right way and with the right strength, you can bring down nearly anything."</p>

<p>The other animals continued to look at the mouse, all of them too surprised to actually form thoughts.</p>

<p>"So, after that you guys came in. So, it was basically it." Alex said, summing everything up. After these words, there were some moments of silence.</p>

<p>"Man… ever since you guys appeared I feel like I'm into a movie or something." Nick said to the three meta mammals.</p>

<p>"Yeah, I kind of have the same feeling in the past days." Alex said, more honestly than he expected himself to sound.</p>

<p>"Ministein, you gotta teach me the 'knockout-pressure-point' thing." Nick said, "I mean; can you imagine if I knew how to do that? I'd be like, the super fox cop!" Nick said, making a few kung fu-like movements. This caused Judy to look at him and punch him lightly into the arm.</p>

<p>"Nick, this is serious!" She said, as her fox partner rubbed his arm.</p>

<p>"So, this is everything?" Ursini asked. The three animals nodded. "I see… What can you tell us about Pollard, if you know anything."</p>

<p>"Never saw him before." Alex said.</p>

<p>"Only rumors and gossip, but I had access to a bit of useful information." Jeff said</p>

<p>"Heard about him in the past, and it was nothing of good." Nora said, "That guy always seemed like the kind with whom I would cross someday." She said, and that last part was more to herself than to the others around her. Of course, this caught the attention of a certain big and strong polar bear chief.</p>

<p>"And, why would be that?" Ursini asked her, and she looked up at him, and back at her friends.</p>

<p>Jeff patted her leg, and she said, "Well, you better tell them now, before they find later and misinterpret it." Nora looked down at Jeff.</p>

<p>"Tell us what?" Judy asked, getting curious now. Nora looked at her, and she sighed, as she already knew that she was in for an explanation, and she decided to make it clear now that she had a chance of explaining.</p>

<p>"You see, I have a job that is not exactly traditional." Nora said to them. "I was trained to be specialized into entering into fortified locals, overcoming security systems, and retrieving items, all of that while avoiding detection."</p>

<p>There was a silence after these words, as the other animals processed what she said. Nick was the first one to speak:</p>

<p>"So… you are just telling us all, the police officers, that you are a thief?"</p>

<p>"I'm not!" Nora said defensively. She recomposed herself, and she spoke: "My job is to break into secured facilities and remove items from there."</p>

<p>"So… a thief." Bogo said.</p>

<p>"I'm not a thief." Nora said incisively, and she said, "I work in exchange for payment, and I only work for the good guys."</p>

<p>"You can say she is a spy-for-hire." Alex said, and he added, "And it is true, she does not works for criminals, actually, it is from them that she steals things."</p>

<p>"Yeah, I already helped to retrieve many stolen goods." Nora said, and she seemed to have a good deal of pride of this. The other animals shared looks.</p>

<p>"So, a teleporting spy, huh?" Nick said, "How we never heard of anything of the like?"</p>

<p>"Good question, officer Wilde." Usrini said, and he looked at the raccoon girl.</p>

<p>"Well, maybe because she is a spy, and her job would not be well done if everyone knew about her, ain't I right?" Jeff said to the other animals, and actually, his argument had a good point. This seemed to settle the argument, and Nora was able to relax.</p>

<p>"Man, a spy-for-hire, just like in the movies." Nick said, and he approached her. "How much would charge to discover the blueberry crumble recipe of a fox named Gideon Grey? I have been wanting it for a while now." Nick whispered to Nora, and she looked at him a little surprised, unsure if he was serious or not.</p>

<p>A loud throat clearing was enough to make the two mammals look at the water buffalo in there, who looked with an annoyed expression that made both smaller mammals flinch. After that, Ursini spoke once again.</p>

<p>"Yes, but what <em>real</em> information you have on Pollard?"</p>

<p>"Besides his last name and his powers, and also the gossip thing?" Jeff asked him, "Pretty much nothing." He concluded, and this only made the bear leave him a deadpanned face. This was surely not what he had expected to hear, it surely was not the kind of thing that satisfied him, and Jeff had easily perceived it.</p>

<p>"Don't worry, you can ask him all the questions that he wants once he wakes up. The police officers and the paramedics are taking him to the hospital as we speak." The rodent said to the polar bear, and this caught Judy's attention.</p>

<p>"He was under the right amount of restraint?"</p>

<p>"They put a muzzle on him." Alex said, shrugging.</p>

<p>"For a guy like that, I bet it will not be nearly close to enough." Nora mentioned, and Jeff quickly was the one to speak:</p>

<p>"Don't worry, if the paramedics follow my instructions he will be properly restrained in no time."</p>

<p>"And, what were your instructions?" Bogo asked.</p>

<p>"Oh, just a concoction of chemicals and drugs that, once injected intravenously on him in a way that it arrives directly at the brain, will prevent him from activating his powers."</p>

<p>"Say what now?" Nick asked.</p>

<p>"How do you know how to prevent him from using his powers?" Ursini demanded, "Didn't you said you knew nothing about him?"</p>

<p>"I don't." Jeff said, "But I know the right cocktail of drugs that can prevent any meta mammal injected with it from using their abilities."</p>

<p>This was something that the other mammals did not really expected.</p>

<p>"So, you know how to prevent some meta mammals from using their powers? For real?" Nick asked him.</p>

<p>"And I know a way to project a portable system that will inject the drugs on their system periodically, so it can make it easier for imprisoning them." Jeff asked.</p>

<p>"How do you know something like that?" Bogo asked him.</p>

<p>"Because I am a genius." Was Jeff's simply answer.</p>

<p>However, as he spoke that, Judy was able to notice that both Alex and Nora suddenly looked uncomfortable. She found it suspicious, but did not said a single word on the matter. But she was not going to forget that look of uneasiness in their faces and the way that the matter seemed to bring back bad memories…</p>

<p>"Anyway, this will allow Pollard to be properly secured, and maybe even moved to a cell with little problem." Jeff concluded, and he looked up at the officers. "So, any more important questions or just some curiosity that you might have?"</p>

<p>There were a few moments of silence, before Nick said: "Yeah, actually yes, do you know any way of getting free cable without breaking the law?" That was an attempt at a joke, and this only annoyed Judy and Bogo, but Jeff simply said:</p>

<p>"Take me to your house in three days from now and I'll help you with that." He had a smile in his face as he winked to the fox, who stared back at him, not expecting some kind of come back from the mouse. This was enough to make Judy chuckle a little, for it was unusual to see someone to be able to leave the suave fox speechless.</p>

<p>Even Bogo was able to give a very brief smile at this. Even if it was just slightly and just for a single moment.</p>

<p>"So, this is really all that you guys know?" Ursini asked of them, and they nodded. The polar bear let out a sigh, and he turned around as he spoke: "Okay, then let's move around to the station. I need all of your testimonies written down for the protocol. The last thing I need now is a problem with the burocracy."</p>

<p>It seemed that these words were to settle the situation for good.</p><hr />

<p>Meanwhile. The ambulance that was transporting Pollard was moving across the snow and ice covered streets of Tundratown. Inside of it, the polar bear was still unconscious, strapped to the hammock and with a muzzle over his maw. The bear groaned in his state as he was feed some anesthetics through the intravenous, as if a measure to be sure that he was going to remain unconscious.</p>

<p>Around him, three police officers and two paramedics were doing their job. The job of the paramedics was to make sure that the polar bear was alive, and the police officers' job was, if it seemed that the polar bear would try to escape, they would dart him before he could turn himself into brass. (It was still hard for them to believe in it, even though they all knew it was truth).</p>

<p>"Do you think we should do as the mouse said?" One snow leopard paramedic asked. "I mean, the drugs that he described are strong ones, and putting them in a cocktail actually sounds a bit risky."</p>

<p>"How do he even knows that this cocktail will prevent the polar bear from using his powers?" The reindeer woman paramedic said, and the police officers only shrugged at this. However, they knew that they needed to make sure that the polar bear that they were transporting would arrive in the hospital and that he was going to stay in there until he was move to a cell.</p>

<p>They were all on the edge of their seats, for their were described what the polar bear was capable off, and they wanted to be ready in case he tried anything, so they would not fall victim of that guy, just like the poor guys of earlier.</p>

<p>However, they were only ready for something coming from that polar bear, and not for something coming from the outside.</p>

<p>As the ambulance continued to move, it suddenly had to stop as it found a block on the road. It was in the form of a barricade in the round, and there was one mammal standing in the middle of the street, wearing a heavy coat that covered its whole body. It just stood in there as the ambulance approached, and the mammal continued where he was.</p>

<p>"What is that guy doing?" One of the two drivers of the ambulance said as the ambulance stopped, and they looked at that mammal, who just stood in the middle of the street, in front of a barricade that didn't looked like something the police would do.</p>

<p>The two drivers looked at each other, and one of them opened his door to step out of the ambulance and look at the mammal in the street.</p>

<p>"Hey! Hey, man!" The paramedic called out, but the mammal in the heavy coat didn't moved. "Come on, dude! Move out of the way! We need to move so we-GAH!" He suddenly cried out and held the back of his neck as something had just hit him in there. A dart was sticking out of the back of his neck.</p>

<p>The poor mammal dropped to the ground unconscious before he could even turn around to see at what had darted him.</p>

<p>This, of course, surprised the other guy in the ambulance, but he didn't had time to react, for immediately, the one who darted his friend came into sight and darted him. The poor mammal barely could give a good look at the mammal who was pointing a dart gun at him before he had to grab his own arm, which had a dart in it, and things were already getting dark. He was unconscious before he was able to identify even the species of his shooter.</p>

<p>"Why have we stopped?" A wolf officer asked, and the others thought it to be strange too.</p>

<p>"We weren't supposed to." The reindeer said, "They should take us through a way that we wouldn't get any traffic." She spoke, and she opened the small window that allowed seeing the front seats of the ambulance easily.</p>

<p>She gasped when she saw that one of the seats was empty, and the other one was take by a skinny polar bear who was unconscious and with a dart sticking out of his shoulder.</p>

<p>Her gasp called the attention of the others who were on the back of ambulance, but none of them had time to react, for suddenly, the doors on the back of the ambulance were slam open.</p>

<p>The ones in there had no time to react as each one of them was hit with a dart, and they were unconscious before they had a chance to see what had darted them.</p>

<p>Once they had fallen unconscious, the ambulance sank in the snow slightly as mammals climbed into it. Pollard was the only one who had not been darted, and the other animals soon were moving around him as they raised his hammock and were now taking him outside.</p>

<p>A black van without windows was waiting in there, and soon, they slipped Pollard inside there, and they all got inside, including the mammal in heavy coat in the middle of the street.</p>

<p>Soon, the van was driving away, leaving behind just an ambulance filled with darted mammals and without the mammal who was really supposed to be in there…</p><hr />

<p>Alex and the others had been drove to the police central of the ZPD in Tundratown. In there, each one of them had to give their own testimonies into an interview room, and each one had a different officer to take it and record it accordingly. It was all a process more than anything else, and it was more for legal reasons than any other motive.</p>

<p>By the end, they all were liberated and told to give away their contacts so they could be found later if the police had any kind of questions for them, or if they needed to check back on their testimonies. Alex was already walking back to the main hall, and he was doing that with the help of a crutch, because with the wound on his leg, walking was proving to be a little painful if he landed all of his weight in a single leg for too long.</p>

<p>He was soon reaching the main hall, where he expected to find the others, and he did, along with someone else.</p>

<p>"Linda!?" Alex said in surprise as he saw his gazelle girlfriend in there, and it seemed like she had been talking with Bogo about something that was serious, and she turned around to look at him in the moment that he walked in.</p>

<p>"Alex!" She said, and she ran to him, hugging him thigh and almost sending him to the ground as he was made to drop his crutch and having to support on one leg and on Linda herself.</p>

<p>"I heard you had got hurt from the claws of a polar bear!" She said to him as she hugged him, and Alex was a bit stunned for a moment. Eventually, he started to hug her back.</p>

<p>"Yeah, we kind of got a situation." Alex said, and Linda broke the hug, and gave him a kiss on the lips for a few moments. Before breaking it and giving Alex a punch in the shoulder.</p>

<p>"Ouch!"</p>

<p>"Why do you always do that!?" She demanded of him. "Don't you know when it is the moment to walk away!?"</p>

<p>Alex didn't answered, and the silence prolonged for a few moments, before Linda hugged him once more.</p>

<p>"I'm so glad that you are okay." She said to him as she hugged him. Meanwhile, the other animals around were looking at that, and some of them with surprise. Between them, the same animals who had come in there with Alex.</p>

<p>"So… that is his girlfriend?" Ursini asked to Bogo.</p>

<p>"Yes."</p>

<p>"A gazelle?"</p>

<p>"Yes."</p>

<p>"Well, that's… interesting…" Ursini said as he saw the prey and predator having a moment for themselves.</p>

<p>After a while, a voice broke their moment down.</p>

<p>"Good to see you are two still as clingy as ever."</p>

<p>Lind immediately let go of Alex, and looked over. Seeing a raccoon girl with a mechanical claw in the place of one of her hands, Linda immediately made a connection.</p>

<p>"Nora!" She exclaimed, letting go of Alex, who lost his balance and fell on the floor, flat on his butt.</p>

<p>"Oh my god! Nora! I was so worried with you!" Linda said as she hugged her friend, her wounded boyfriend now was forgotten (or so it seemed) as she put her talk in day with her just found friend.</p>

<p>"You won't believe what I have been through!" Nora said, "I spent my first hours in Zootopia trying to figure out where I was and also avoiding some big brutes from attacking me. This place is a zoo! What is actually a little obvious, since it is full of animals…" Nora said, and Linda was sympathizing with her.</p>

<p>"When I woke up I almost used my powers on two male gazelles who would not stop hitting on me."</p>

<p>"Wait, say what now?" Alex said, the talk of someone hitting on his girl getting his attention. That was when Jeff came in to the ladies.</p>

<p>"Yes, indeed, we all are happy that we found our dear friend Nora, now, why don't we save the talk for a more opportune moment? When we are not in a place where it feels like certain parts of me are about to freeze until they fall off? I can barely feel my tail…"</p>

<p>"Indeed." Bogo said, "Since you all gave your testimonies, and if you are all done with your little reunion, then I guess we should take Hunter back to the hospital. The last thing I need is someone saying that the cougar lost a leg because I didn't took him to the hospital."</p>

<p>"Oh yes! Alex, your leg!" Linda said, as if she suddenly remembered that Alex was in there. Meanwhile, Alex had started to get up, and Linda soon was right by his side, helping him stand. "You need to go to the hospital now. Nora, you can come with us!"</p>

<p>Nora looked away, "Huh, well…"</p>

<p>"Oh, come on, it is nice in there." Linda said. "Doctor Moosard is a really cool guy, and I bet that you will like him. Come on, after all, you need a place to stay."</p>

<p>"Well, the thing is, I <em>already</em> have a place to stay. I mean, I think." Nora said, looking down.</p>

<p>"You do? Where?"</p>

<p>"That would be in my residence." A new voice said, one that was squeakily, like Jeff's, but also carried a strength that allowed others to hear it.</p>

<p>Linda and Alex both turned to the source of the voice, and they saw a polar bear on a suit walking in their direction. Linda looked at him, surprised that an animal that big could have a voice like that. However, her surprise shifted when she saw that the polar bear was carrying a small rodent, also in a suit and sitting in a chair, on his big hand.</p>

<p>"Miss Ringwald is currently living with in my residence as a guest." The rodent announced. "By the way, I think it is time for us to go back in there. The <em>three</em> of us." The small rodent said, and Nora looked up at him, as the arctic shrew looked back at her. "I believe there are some matters that need to be discussed."</p>

<p>Nora soon found herself unable to meet his gaze, as she looked down. Meanwhile, Alex and Jeff shared a look, while Linda looked among them all, as she had not yet been introduce to the whole situation beforehand.</p>

<p>"Wait a minute." Ursini said, "Where do you think you are going?"</p>

<p>"Back to my house, along with my bodyguard and my guest, Miss Ringwald." The rodent said. "After all, you already have my testimony, and so you have theirs', so I think that we have no more reason to be in here."</p>

<p>Ursini looked at the small rodent with hate, and his fists clenched. "You still haven't told how you knew Pollard."</p>

<p>"I never saw that bear in my life, and I already told you that." The arctic shrew said to the polar bear. "But, since you seem to insist so much into asking these questions, maybe I can call my lawyers in here so you can ask them. I can also use the chance to tell them that I'm being held in here as a criminal after <em>my</em> house was invaded and <em>I</em> was attacked, along with my employers."</p>

<p>For a moment, the ones around thought that Ursini was going to try to bite the small rodent, but he merely growled at them, showing off his fangs, and the rodent seemed completely unfazed by it.</p>

<p>After a few moments, Ursini just said, "Just leave." As he continued to look with hate at the rodent, who nodded at the polar bear who was carrying him. Koslov nodded, and he started to walk away.</p>

<p>"Miss Ringwald, I believe that my limo is already outside, we should be going now." Big said as he and Koslov passed by Nora. She hesitate for a moment, as her friends looked at her. "Now, if you might." Big called, and Nora only looked to her friends.</p>

<p>"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you guys later." She said, and she rushed to meet up with Koslov, who was waiting for her, along with is boss. Soon, the polar bear and the raccoon both had got out of the building, and Ursini let out an angry growl.</p>

<p>"I hate that rat!" He said in anger, and he stomped away. By now, anyone could say that it seemed to have a serious story between Ursini and Big, well, the ones who had been in there since the beginning, which seemed not to be Linda's case.</p>

<p>"Who were these two?" She asked to her friends.</p>

<p>"The little guy's name is Big." Alex said to her as he watched as they went away. "The big dude carrying him… I think someone mentioned his name to be 'Koslov', or something of the like."</p>

<p>"Is Nora with these two?"</p>

<p>"Apparently she is."</p>

<p>"I am a little worried…. I mean, I am not prejudiced, or anything, but these two kind of look like criminals, don't they?"</p>

<p>"That is because they <em>are</em> criminals." Alex said in a blunt way, which surprised Linda, as the cougar simply continued to look at the direction that Nora had went with the other two mammals.</p>

<p>
  <em>Nora… what you got yourself into?</em>
</p><hr />

<p>True to Big's words, there was a limo waiting just outside of the precinct as they walked out. Manchas was actually waiting right on the side of it.</p>

<p>Nora had already seen the jaguar limo driver, and she even spoke with him briefly in one or another occasion, but she didn't truly knew him. Still, in the rare times they had talked in the past week, he had been very cordial and polite, and so he was now, as he offered a smile to her, to his boss and to the polar bear as he opened the door to them.</p>

<p>Once inside, the limo started to drive in direction to some place.</p>

<p>"Unfortunately, the house has become a crime scene, and it needs to be liberated before we can return. Luckily, I do have other properties. I'm sure that we can stay in one of them for a while until the police finishes their job. That is, if Chief Ursini don't tries to make them rip out the boards of the floor in search for anything that he could use against me."</p>

<p>As Big talk, Nora continued to look down, and she seemed to be getting ready for a conversation that she'd rather not have at all.</p>

<p>"So, Nora." Big said, finally looking at her, Koslov made his boss be in a position where he was on the same eye level at the raccoon. "It seems that you are a mammal full of surprises, aren't you?"</p>

<p>Nora didn't knew how to answer, and instead, she just looked at Mr. Big for a few moments, before she once more looked down.</p>

<p>"What, are you afraid of looking me in the eye?" Big asked her. He didn't sounded angry at all, only sounded like someone who was having a regular conversation.</p>

<p>Nora knew that it was a good sign; so, she decided to steel herself and to face this conversation the best she could. Taking a sigh, she looked up.</p>

<p>"What happens now?" She asked him, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean, now you know that I have powers. What now? Will you leave me somewhere and tell me not to come back?"</p>

<p>Big looked at her, and his expression softened for a moment, as he looked at her. "I assume that you didn't had good experiences with the ones who found out about your powers, right?"</p>

<p>Nora continued to look at him. "Yeah, you could say that." She said to him.</p>

<p>"Well, I admit that I was really surprised." Big said to her, as he reclined on his chair, looking at the raccoon lady. "However, I would not put you out on the street. Not after you have risked yourself to protect us both."</p>

<p>Koslov actually nodded at that, agreeing with his boss.</p>

<p>"Indeed, I have to say that, if anything, I'm greatly impressed by your unique skills." Big spoke, and Nora looked at him.</p>

<p>When she was human, she was good at reading others, it was part of the work of being a spy, and it had always been good for her in her line of work. When she turned into an animal, she still maintained it, for it seemed that the animals in this world were amazingly human-like in nature.</p>

<p>She could see that there was something behind the words of that little rodent. She just knew that it had.</p>

<p>"In fact, after seeing how well you do in situations of difficulty like that back in the house." Big said, "I'd like to offer you a job, working for me."</p>

<p>Called it!</p>

<p>"A job…" Nora said, looking at the rodent, her expression serious. "What kind of job?"</p>

<p>"The kind that someone with your skills would be able to pull off easily." Big spoke to her, making a few gestures. He was being vague. He was avoiding talking directly on the subject, and Nora knew it. However, she had already figured out what the rodent was getting at.</p>

<p>"Is it illegal?" Nora asked, and Big remained silent. That was more than enough answer to the question.</p>

<p>"Stop the car, please." Nora said; looking away and there was a silence in the place. "Or you rather let me teleport out of here myself?" She asked him, and her expression was serious.</p>

<p>Big looked at her, and he finally sighed, and he said: "Well, I guess that everyone has their own morals and limitations. I'm one of them myself." Big spoke, and he continued to look at Nora. "One of them is that I always keep my word. Yes, I take the value of a mammal's word to be something that should not be take lightly. Don't you agree, Miss Ringwald?"</p>

<p>Nora only stared back at him, and the rodent said to her. "You look like the kind of mammal who keeps her word. In fact, you mentioned it at some point when you were staying in my house. Was it this earlier today?" He said, and he looked as if he was reminiscing. Nora looked at him with a raised eyebrow.</p>

<p>"No." The rodent said, as he stopped and looked back at Nora. "That conversation was a different one… what was it that you said earlier?" He looked as if he was deep in thought. "Was it something important, wasn't it?... Oh, yes! You said that you <em>owed</em> me." He concluded.</p>

<p>Nora could barely contain her surprise, as she just looking at the rodent, who continued to look at her with a neutral expression as he had his arms resting in the armrests of his chair. It seemed that, to him, that was the kind of regular conversation. Nora, however, could barely believe this.</p>

<p>"I can't believe that you are playing this card." She spoke to him; her expression was not one of amusement. Mr. Big only continued to look at her.</p>

<p>"Well, I'm just speaking my mind, Nora." Big said, using her first name, as if to demonstrate that he considered her a friend. "Also, it was you who said that, not me." He spoke, matter-of-factly. Nora continued to look at the rodent. Big turned to Koslov, and said: "Tell Manchas to stop the limo."</p>

<p>Soon, the limo was stopping on the sidewalk, and Big looked at the raccoon girl.</p>

<p>"Nora." Big said to her. "You were nearly dead when Kevin and Raymond found you. They brought you to me, and I opened my doors to you." He spoke that solemnly, "Many mammals would hesitate into receiving a stranger into their homes, especially someone of your species, after all, you probably know the opinions that most have about raccoons."</p>

<p>Nora continued to look at him, and she realized it was truth. She had only been a raccoon for a little more than a week and she was already feeling like a black human in Shout Africa during Apartheid. It seemed like being a jerk was not something that was a privilege of humans.</p>

<p>"I didn't knew where you came from, your past, or your morals, and still, I accepted you in my home, I feed you, paid for your medical attendant, and gave you a place to stay." Big continued to speak. "I accepted you nearly as a member of my own family, I even trusted you enough to leave my granddaughter on your care. I did all of that for you, without asking or expecting nothing in return."</p>

<p>"Yeah… until now." Nora said, looking at him in the eyes, and Big sighed.</p>

<p>"Yes, I won't deny it. However, if you don't like the idea of working for me, I'm not going to force you." He said, and with that, Koslov opened the door of the limo. "You are free to go if you want, maybe accept the offer that the gazelle made of joining them in the hospital. However, let me ask you one thing."</p>

<p>Big leaned in, looked Nora in the eyes, and said "Don't you think that is natural for a mammal to want to repay the ones who did something for them?" He was looking her in the eyes as he spoke that. "Don't you think that is a common thing for mammals to do one thing for each other? Don't you believe that gratitude is an important thing to have on the present days, which are more and more selfish?"</p>

<p>Nora looked at him, and Big finally finished:</p>

<p>"Don't you think it is natural for a mammal to want to return the kindness of a complete stranger?"</p>

<p>Nora knew what he was getting at. That mammal was hard to read, but at the same time, he was clear as water.</p>

<p>Nora could just jump out of the limo and walk away, maybe go to meet with Linda, Alex and Jeff in that hospital. Better yet, she could just teleport outside of the car and disappear from the sight of that rodent forever.</p>

<p>However, something stopped her from doing these things, as the words of the arctic shrew echoed in her mind, making her think.</p>

<p>Big had indeed took her in his home without ever asking her to return it, up until the present moment. He took her in even though he didn't know who she was, and took care of her as if it was natural to do that for a stranger.</p>

<p>While all the other animals seemed to be against her because of her species, he was the first one who offered her a helping hand (even if it was not his own).</p>

<p>It was the kind of thing Nora couldn't just ignore and brush away as if it was nothing.</p>

<p>Who knows what would have happened to her if he had not taken her in.</p>

<p>She <em>did</em> owed him.</p>

<p>Nora looked at the opened door, and she sighed, as she sat more comfortably, and looked at Big with a softer expression herself.</p>

<p>"What kinds of jobs I'll be doing? Please, be a bit more specific." She said, and the way she talked told that she was in.</p>

<p>Big gave her a faint smile, and Koslov closed the door of the limo, which soon started to move again in the road, as the mammals inside were now having a business conversation.</p><hr />

<p>Meanwhile, Linda and Alex were on Bogo's police car, and Alex had Jeff nested on his shoulder, as the buffalo was driving them back to the hospital.</p>

<p>"Two fights with dangerous mammals with super powers in less than one week." Jeff said to Alex.</p>

<p>"If this is going to become a pattern, I'm not amused." The cougar said, shifting his weight and wincing a little as his leg was still painful from the cut he received.</p>

<p>"Yeah, you might need to stay off that foot for a few days." Jeff said to Alex, and the cougar was force to agree with him.</p>

<p>"Dammit, the guy has some seriously mean claws." Alex said.</p>

<p>"Yeah, I guess this is what it happens in a fight between predators." Jeff said, patting the neck of his cougar friend. "I mean, if both have claws and are willing to sue them, I guess the result can expected to be something like that.</p>

<p>"Hey, I didn't used my claws."</p>

<p>"Yeah, instead all you did was firing lightnings at him until you carbonized his clothing." Jeff said to him with a smile, and Alex found himself to have no real answer for that one.</p>

<p>"I just hope Nora is okay." Linda said as she looked at the window.</p>

<p>"She is fine. Pollard didn't even touched her." Jeff said, and Linda looked at him as she spoke.</p>

<p>"You know that is not what I meant." She sounded annoyed. "I'm talking about that 'Mr. Big' guy and that mountain of fur and muscle that carries him around."</p>

<p>After Nora had left with Koslov and Big, Alex and Jeff both put Linda in pair of the individual known as "Mr. Big". Of course, they were unable to give her very detailed information, but they gave to her the basics.</p>

<p>Mafia. Henchmen. Racketeering. Money laundry. Dubious business all around Tundratown. People who are too afraid to speak anything to the authorities. The ones whom do talk, or who cross him in any other way just vanished, never to be see again.</p>

<p>Just everything that was needed to be said for Linda to know that he was the kind of guy who <em>she</em> would not want to get involved in any way.</p>

<p>"That Big is a criminal. What if she is in danger?" Linda asked, being worried about what would happen to Linda if she was left alone with these guys. "I mean, they could try to keep her prisoner! Or maybe try to sell her to someone! Or maybe hold her for ransom! Or maybe-" Linda could go on, but Alex was the one to cut her off.</p>

<p>"Hey, hey! Linda! Calm down." Alex said to her. "Have you forgotten we are talking about Nora? The same who helped us a lot of times in the past? The same who saved me from being burned alive only two months ago?" Alex reasoned with her. "She knows how to fend for herself, and she can kick some serious butt if they push her buttons."</p>

<p>Linda looked at her boyfriend, and Alex smiled at her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Nora will be fine." He said to her, and Linda was able to smile back at him. "She knows how to take care of herself."</p>

<p>"She better do." Bogo said as he looked at them from the rearview mirror. "Big is the kind of mammal who make many though mammals disappear without leaving a trace… But again, I guess that he never had to deal with a meta mammal ho could teleport before, so I'd say that her odds are good."</p>

<p>"I'm pretty sure that they are." Jeff said, "Also, I didn't thought that Big looked like he wanted to try to harm her. Actually, I'd say that he seemed… oddly interested in her." He concluded, and he did looked a bit worried about that, and this caught the attention of the other mammals around, but Jeff shook it off, and he soon was speaking again.</p>

<p>"Anyway, I'm pretty sure that she will be fine. If anything, she can just vanish from there and find us. She is good at this kind of thing, and she had already got off difficult situations." He concluded with a smile on his small, rodent muzzle, and this seemed to make the two mammals around him relax. Bogo, on his end, was not so sure. It seemed that the rodent was considering something that he didn't wanted to share with the others, and Bog kind of had a feeling about what it would be.</p>

<p>Suddenly, his radio buzzed to life. Bogo was the one to pick it up, and he reached out for it, as the voice spoke.</p>

<p>"<em>Attention, all unities in Tundratown. We have a situation of escape. The suspect Pollard has gone missing.</em>"</p>

<p>Say what!?</p>

<p>The car went silent as Bogo picked up the radio and pressed the button so he could speak.</p>

<p>"Here is Mason Bogo, from Precinct 1 ZPD, what do you mean by 'Pollard gone missing'?!" The water buffalo demanded, as the animals in the backseat shared looks among themselves.</p>

<p>"<em>The ambulance that was transporting him was found in the street.</em>" The voice in the other end said. "<em>The paramedics and officers were all found unconscious, and Pollard was nowhere to be seen.</em>"</p>

<p>"He managed to escape?" Bogo asked alarmed.</p>

<p>"He should not have woke up for the next two hours…" Jeff muttered to himself more than to the others. The attack on that nerve should have knocked him out effectively. Maybe he got it wrong? Maybe it worked in a different way to polar bears?</p>

<p>"<em>We are not sure if he actually escaped.</em>"</p>

<p>"Explain it." Bogo said, and the voice on the other end.</p>

<p>"<em>Well, the forensics are on their way, but it does not seem like a simply escape. All of the paramedics and officers had been hit with tranquilizer darts. Not only that, but the officers who found the ambulance noticed a set of footprints and tire marks that does not match the ones of the officers and of the ambulance.</em>"</p>

<p>Bogo listened carefully, and so did the mammals who were on the police car with him, all of them getting interested in the situation.</p>

<p>"<em>All of that leads to the conclusion that the ambulance was stopped and someone attacked the officers and the paramedics, and removed Pollard from there on their own vehicle.</em>"</p>

<p>There was silence following these words, and Bogo said, "Roger that." He said, and he hung up. However, the silence didn't lasted long, as a voice came from the radio once more, this time a familiar female voice.</p>

<p>"<em>Officer Hopps talking here. Chief, have you heard that?</em>"</p>

<p>"Yes, Hopps, I have." The water buffalo said as he picked up the radio. "It seems that someone didn't wanted to see Pollard detained." He spoke, and the animals on the back only remained silent as they listened to that.</p>

<p>"<em>Okay, I'm turning back and heading there now!</em>" Judy said on her end.</p>

<p>"Negative, Hopps." Bogo said. "We need to take Hunter back to the hospital. We have had enough emotions for one day. Besides, since it seem that Pollard was already take away, it would make no difference. This seems like a subject for the Tundratown PD. If they need our help, they will contact us again."</p>

<p>"<em>But Chief…</em>"</p>

<p>"That is final, Hopps." Bogo said, "We are going back to the hospital. Copy that?"</p>

<p>There was a moment of silence, before Judy would answer "<em>Copy, chief. Hopps and Wilde out.</em>"</p>

<p>Bogo put his radio back in place, and he turned to the mammals on the back. "So, Mr. Genius, any idea who could have took Pollard away?"</p>

<p>He was asking particularly to Jeff, and the mouse was silent, as he seemed to be thinking about that.</p>

<p>"Maybe…" He spoke, but then he said, "No, nothing solid, only speculation."</p>

<p>Bogo rolled his eyes, and focused his attention back to the road. Meanwhile, the animals in the back continued to share looks, and it seemed that they were all wondering about it, just as Bogo surely was…</p><hr />

<p>Somewhere else, in a room, a lonely figure was sitting in a desk, and tipping in front of a computer. In the screen, it was showing the image of a familiar cougar. It was part of a file, and in it was written down:</p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Name:</em> </strong> <em> Peregrine Hunter, Alexander</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Species:</em> </strong> <em> Cougar</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Power:</em> </strong> <em> Electric Manipulation</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Status:</em> </strong> <em> Monitored</em></p>

<p>Soon, the file was closed, another one was right underneath it, and this one showed the image from a familiar gazelle, which seemed to be taken from some kind of security camera.</p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Name:</em> </strong> <em> Thompson, Linda</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong><em>Species:</em></strong> <em>Thomson's gazelle</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Power:</em> </strong> <em> Telekinesis</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Status:</em> </strong> <em> Monitored</em></p>

<p>Soon, the file was closed too, and now, the figure was working in three new files, typing the relevant information in each one of them.</p>

<p>The first file had the photograph of a rodent on it.</p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Name:</em> </strong> <em> Smalls, Jeffrey</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Species:</em> </strong> <em> Mouse</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Power:</em> </strong> <em> Enhanced Intelligence</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Status:</em> </strong> <em> Monitored</em></p>

<p>The second one had the image of a familiar female raccoon, which also seemed taken from a security camera.</p>

<p align="center"><strong><em>Name:</em></strong> <em>Ringwald, Nora (?)</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Species:</em> </strong> <em> Raccoon</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Power:</em> </strong> <em> Teleportation</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Status:</em> </strong> <em> Monitored (C.O.)</em></p>

<p>After that, that file was also closed, leaving behind a last file, and this one had the picture of a polar bear. Unlike the other ones, the polar bear of that picture was with his eyes closed, as if the picture had been take while he was unconscious.</p>

<p>The one who was typing took a moment to look at the image, and then, started to type.</p>

<p align="center"><strong><em>Name:</em></strong> <em>Pollard, Kim (?)</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Species:</em> </strong> <em> Polar bear</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Power:</em> </strong> <em> Brass Mimicry</em></p>

<p align="center"><strong> <em>Status:</em> </strong> <em> Detained</em></p>