Chapter 2: New World

"I'm fine Nick, stop fussing.
Nick Wilde looked his partner in the eye as he pulled back her oxygen mask. It had been just over an hour since the blaze was extinguished, and they were currently sitting in the back of an ambulance parked by the smouldering remains of the apartment block. Emergency vehicles had remained on site while injuries were treated and the fire crews made sure that the building wouldn't re-ignite.

"Carrots, you were almost turned into burned bunny by that explosion. If it weren't for that 'Flash' fella then I doubt we would be having this conversation."
He replaced the mask before she could speak and continued to check her for injuries.

Judy had to admit that it was strange for the normally cocksure fox to act like a fussy mother hen, although she would be lying if she said the attention was entirely unwelcome.

"Well, the good news is that you haven't got any serious injuries." He said.

"And the bad news?"

"Maybe you should consider calling yourself 'Singed
Hare'" he replied with a grin.

Judy laughed as she playfully punched him in the arm.

"Ow, the boxing circuit really missed out on you," he
replied, rubbing the impact site.

"Har har," she replied sarcastically. "How are the mammals that were rescued?"

Nick looked over to the police cordon, where a healthy crowd of reporters had gathered since word got out about "The Flash'. They were interviewing some of the mammals he had rescued from the burning building, and Nick spied a few sharing photos from their phones.

"A few need attention for smoke inhalation, but otherwise everyone got out without a scratch," he said, taking a seat next to his partner.
"Heck of a day." He said.

"Yeah," she replied. "How did he move so fast? It was like I was there and then 'WHOOSH! I was out here."

"'Whoosh? Really? That's your best superhero sound?" Nick asked.

"What's wrong with 'whoosh'?" Judy said.

"Nothing...if you want to follow it up with 'bam', 'zork' or even 'kapowza!" Nick said.

"You read too many comic books," chuckled Judy.

"I have to do something while you do all that paperwork." He said.

The two officers shared a laugh as the adrenaline from the day's action began to wear off, fatigue taking its place. Nick sighed as he ran his paw through his sweaty, smoke stained fur, while Judy gently laid her head against his shoulder.

"Any idea where he ran off to?" She asked.

"Not a clue," replied Nick, then he radio sprang to life.

"Officers Wilde and Hopps, return to Precinct 1
immediately!" barked the voice of Chief Bogo.

"But I have a feeling we're going to find out."
__________________________________

Barry Allen was having one of those weird days.
Then again, almost every day since he became The Flash could qualify as a 'weird day'. Although accidentally breaking the dimensional barrier and
ending up in a world of anthropomorphic animals would definitely be up there with the stranger ones.
Ever since the particle accelerator explosion that gave him his powers, he had fought metahumans, evil speedsters, travelled to two, now four, alternate earths, and even met his doppelganger. He had thought nothing could take him by surprise anymore, until he saw that camel in a three piece suit. He had been working on his speed at the time he 'crossed over', and at the rate he had been moving, slowing down wasn't an option. Barry had little choice but to keep going and try to bleed it off. Thankfully, helping rescue the mammals from the burning apartment had done just that. After rocketing away from the scene, Barry had been trying to get his bearings, so he did what every interdimensional tourist does. He went sightseeing.

"How on earth do they do this?" he said, scratching his head. He had stopped on top of the wall that separated Tundra Town from Sahara Square, and was flitting back and forth between the massive heaters on one side, and the blizzard generators on the other.

"The heaters obviously help create the desert biome, but why doesn't it affect the arctic habitat? Shouldn't there at least be a massive rainstorm between the two?" He said.

Barry looked out over Sahara Square, his gaze wandering up the gigantic, palm tree shaped skyscraper that seemed to be a focal point for its development.

"Either way, this is really cool," he said with a grin. Taking his smartphone from a pocket on his suit, he took a quick selfie and some shots for back home. He knew Cisco and Chester would get a real kick out of seeing this. Zipping down the wall into Tundra Town, Barry managed to avoid slipping on the icy roads as he ran towards one of the vents that pumped snow into the sky. The chill was noticeable, even though his thermally heated costume and he stayed only for a moment to take some pictures of the massive machines before speeding towards a tunnel into the Rainforest District. Emerging into the humid, tropical atmosphere, Barry ran off the road and up a winding pathway towards the top of
canopy. Stopping at a viewpoint, he looked out between the trees in awe, as the sea of greenery seemed to go on forever. He could make out shapes on the wooden paths as mammals went about their daily lives while trains trundled their way through the trees and airships soared towards the sky.

This place was magnificent.

"I don't think anyone is going to believe me, even with these pictures." He said.

He spied a bench and sat down; trying to take it all in. This was an earth, run by animals, which had not only evolved into an almost humanlike culture, but had apparently built some sort of urban utopia where nearly every species could live together.

"How do they power it all?" he wondered aloud. "Is it
nuclear?"

"Ahem."

He looked up at the sound of someone clearing their throat, and saw a wolf standing next to him.

"Sorry to bother you young man, but is this seat taken?" He asked.

"Oh, no sorry, let me just move up a bit." Barry said.

As he moved along, the wolf  gratefully took a seat next to him.

"Thank you," he said. "My paws were killing me, but it's worth it for the view."

"Oh, yeah definitely," he replied. "I've never seen anything like it back home.

"Few mammals have. If you don't mind me asking, I've never seen a mammal like you before," he said.

"Are you new to Zootopia?"

You could say that," he replied with a nervous laugh.

"SO, this place is called Zootopia?"

"Yes, the city where anyone can be anything,." He finished that last statement with a small flourish of his arm.

Barry chuckled.

"To be honest I'm a bit overwhelmed." said Barry.

"You wouldn't know if there a tourist information aywhere?" He asked.

The Wolf smiled warmly.

"Well, in my experience, if you get lost or overwhelmed, then theres no group of mammals better suited to help you than the ZPD." He said.

"ZPD?"

"The Zootopia Police Department," he replied.

Pulling what looked like an IPhone out of a pocket, he tapped her pads across the screen beofe turning to Barry.

"Take a look, they are such a nice group of mammals. My son is at the police academy right now in fact."

He handed him the machine and he saw that the device was indeed an IPhone, or at least an equivalent given there was a carrot insignia on the back. The screen showed the ZPD's web page and Barry read it with interest, scrolling through the information about its officers, operations and
recruitment policy. It reminded him a lot of the police department in Central City. Making a note of the buildings address on his own phone, he handed back the tigers. He would check it out later, first
he wanted to explore this earth for a bit longer, and
hopefully find someone that could help him get home in the process. He thanked the wolf for his help and stood up to go.

"Do you need any change for transport?" He asked.

"No thank you, I got this covered," he replied with a smile, before shooting off in a cloud of dust.

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top