I'd wanted to do something involving furry superheroes for a while now, and when  Eggplantman announced a fan art/fiction contest, it worked out beautifully. The story tells of the Zodiac team's first encounter with a mysterious vigilante named Void, a furry hero I hope to expand upon in the future.



Story and character Void © J.R.Sinke
World and characters from the comic ZODIAC © John C. Mann


Chasing Shadows


If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

Leo chose to overlook the mild irony of the thought. Not two months ago, things had actually been rather quiet, to the point that their patrols felt more like public appearances to remind people they were still around. As much as some outlets liked to glorify heroes, in reality such individuals aren’t needed at all times. That simple fact was what made being a “hero” bearable for most who held the title.

But just as true was that their services and abilities would always be needed, which was why Leo was sitting at his desk reviewing all the information they had on two cases that needed the Zodiac team’s attention. It was little enough paperwork, which was a matter that was beginning to frustrate the lion, seeing as how in any operation, information is everything, and they simply didn’t have it. His frustration was compounded by the fact that Ramas had his own thoughts as to what was more important, which partially ran stark opposite of Leo’s priorities.

The first matter that had been brought to their attention was the appearance of an unregistered super powered vigilante in Alpha City. Well, perhaps “appearance” wasn’t the best terminology, as few enough had truly seen him except those he caught. At the moment, they didn’t even have a clue if the vigilante was a him or a her, or maybe even an it for all they knew given how the apprehended described the thing. If it weren’t for the fact that over half a dozen had been caught in the last month, all with no evident connection to each other and nearly identical accounts, he would have passed it off as fear addled minds or an illusion using vigilante.

It was knowing that the accounts were actually true that worried him, as did the unknown nature of the vigilante. It wasn’t much of a complication to become registered, and so legally have approval to fight crime if one was to use their powers for such. But then they didn’t even know if the vigilante was even a person. The consistent description was that of a pure black, reptilian quadruped with solid grey glowing eyes. According to all the reports, which made up almost half the paperwork on his desk, the vigilante had some sort of amorphous body structure, grabbing an engulfing his targets. The descriptions from there were occasionally disturbing, but it boiled down to the captive feeling the vigilante’s mass around them, to feeling nothing, to blacking out, to waking up outside of police headquarters with threats that if they didn’t turn themselves in, he would find them again and make the merger permanent, before vanishing into the night.

That last was what had Leo concerned, as once someone becomes judge, jury, and executioner, any sense of true justice is usually gone. Leo growled in his throat as he was reminded again that they didn’t even know if those apprehended actually understood what happened, and if the vigilante’s threats were even real. If it was, the situation was a ticking time bomb.

Leo had to restrain himself mentally as he inevitably recalled his recent meeting with Ramas, who all but told him to dismiss the vigilante case, without actually saying such, and to focus on the other major issue plaguing the city. Granted, Leo was well aware of the severity of the issue, but to him, but situations were of near equal magnitude.

The other case involved a string of disappearances that had occurred over the last two months. Were it not for the quantity in such a short time, nobody may have noticed for some time yet. But once the missing person reports starting climbing at a steady rate, with not a lead to be found, Alpha City police contacted Zodiac, asking for assistance, as they were clearly not random cases anymore.

If anything, they knew less about the disappearances than about the vigilante, though there was already some speculation that the two may be directly connected. But something about that didn’t add up. All but one of those the vigilante had caught had preexisting criminal records, while those who’d disappeared were all clean. It wasn’t solid proof, but it was a notable discrepancy. Though, the fact that the last anyone had seen of any one of the missing persons was sometime at night did lend the accusation some credence, circumstantial as it was.

The only other thing that seemed clear to the team was that if it wasn’t the vigilante’s work, it was likely some string of kidnappings. But nobody could tie any connection between the missing persons, besides having clean track records, which wasn’t exactly an unlikely coincidence. All of them just seemed to vanish one night, and never seen again. The fact that some had been missing for the better part of two months was not a promising sign, and Leo was already anticipating having to deliver bad news once they figured out what was going on. As a father, he had a feeling of what some would go through.

To that end, he had the entire team doing something. Team Air was discretely patrolling the skies as best they could, looking for anything out of the ordinary, though he knew it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Team Earth was at the police station, where the girls were working with authorities regarding the latest apprehension by the vigilante, who’d turned himself in just hours ago. Cancer he had on his computer, looking for any sort of connection or digital paper trail left by either case, while Pisces and Scorpio were doing covert work, which he left to Pisces discretion. Ares was talking to Chop’s, as the bar was the last place the last missing person had been seen, and Sagittarius was out on the streets.

That last wasn’t Leo’s idea, but she’d convinced him of it. She wanted to walk the streets in the hopes of drawing out the kidnappers. As she’d explained, it may not be so much random kidnappings off the streets as it may be luring individuals to something, and if the kidnappers were preying on those with self esteem issues, they may target a lone woman with an eye patch wandering the streets. He didn’t particularly like the idea of Sagittarius on her own, but he knew she could take care of herself, and she’d be in radio contact, so he accepted.

The long night was made seemingly longer by how long he’d been alone in his office, without word from anybody. They knew so little about what was going on, and if they weren’t checking in, it meant they had nothing to report. He checked the clock again; nearly 3 in the morning. Team Earth had been at the station for nearly two hours already. Surely they’d have something, even if they were still digging.

His finger was above the button for the radio when an insistent knocking that could only be one person came from the door. “In,” he ordered, trying to keep his inner frustration out of his voice.

Cancer entered, his expression a stark contrast to Leo’s. “I got something on the vigilante,” he said quickly without preamble. “Guy’s got a police file on him in a small town out of state. Here, I’ll bring it up.”

As much as he hated it when Cancer touched his computer without his permission, he decided to yell at him later. Instead he asked, “Out of state? Figured out what he’s doing here?”

“Not yet, no.” Cancer’s brashness had faded a bit, but he pressed on, bringing up the file in moments, which Leo scanned while listening with half an ear to Cancer as the boy explained what he’d found and his theories off of it. The reports weren’t too dissimilar from those he’d already read from the Alpha City police, but these mentioned a name the vigilante had apparently given himself; Void. It didn’t shed much light on the individual, but it did pique his interest that it seemed the police force there trusted him, and didn’t seem to be making much of an effort to apprehend him. What really caught his attention was that Void had been operating there for over a year. Crime had dropped significantly since he first appeared, and there were no missing persons attributed to him, or even suspected. But if he was indeed doing virtually everything a registered super was entitled to do, why wasn’t he registered?

“And the disappearances?” he asked as he finished scanning.

“Nothing yet, other than it being unlikely that Void’s directly involved, given the records. Though, there is one potential connection.” Again his fingers flashed over the keyboard, bringing up more information. “Several of them had gym memberships, and not one of them had ever been to the hospital for anything serious. As far as I can tell, they were all in great physical shape, which is the only consistent thing I’ve found. Still, it’s something consistent and a possible connection, right?”

It wasn’t much, but it was more than he knew before. Who or whatever was doing this was apparently being selective, choosing physically fit individuals. It was another clue, but an isolated one. Could it be someone with unethical scientific pursuits? Again he growled in his throat. They were running in the dark and chasing shadows.

Before he could ask any more of Cancer, a message appeared on the lower right of the screen. It was a text message sent from Sagittarius’ communicator: “Emergency at 3261 Connor Street. Send Virgo ASAP.”

Without hesitation Leo got on the line with Scorpio directly. “Scorpio, get to the police station and get Virgo. There’s something going down at 3261 Connor Street and Sagittarius is requesting backup now.” He didn’t wait for a response as he got out of his chair and made his way to the door. “Cancer, get that bot of yours. We’re going to.” Wisely, the teen said nothing, but as the two made their way down the hall, one thought began nagging at Leo’s mind; why had Sagittarius specifically requested Virgo?


30 minutes earlier…


To Kyra Salvatore, known more often to her colleagues as Sagittarius, it was almost too similar to her old life. Things didn’t look nearly as bad of course, but wandering the dark streets alone was still just a little too familiar. As prominent as Alpha City was, like every city, there were portions of it that got left behind, that fell through the cracks. Places where the desperate or the depraved called home because they had no place else to go, or because they could get lost in the refuse.

It wasn’t even an eyesore really, just a number of out of date buildings that hadn’t yet gotten renovated by the city, for one reason or another. With the evaluation, she shrugged her shoulders. Perhaps it really wasn’t like old times, but it was still enough to bring up the memories.

“Been through hard times, haven’t you?”

Kyra whipped to the source of the voice with trained reflexes, barely restraining herself from pulling out her gun. It wasn’t easy, especially not with how the man, a puma she noted, had snuck up on her. Even distracted he should not have managed to get nearly so close to her without her notice, putting her on edge.

“And what is it to you?” she snapped, irritated both at him and herself, even as her brain reregistered the fact that the very reason she was wandering these streets was to draw attention to herself, hopefully from whoever had been abducting people.

“A fair question, my lady” he replied, seemingly unfazed by her anger. “Why should anyone care? Of course, it is likely that way of thinking that led to you now possessing only one eye. They didn’t care about you, they cared only for themselves. Or am I mistaken, in that it was life, or dare I say, god, who cared not for you, leading to such an unfortunate occurrence?”

Kyra wasn’t sure what to say to that. Few people could look her in the eye when she was angry and continue as though she was calm, but as her eyes honestly met his, there unnervingly seemed to be something…almost dead to them. They were regular eyes, though perhaps an unusually dark shade of grey, but there was something about them that sent a mild chill down her spine, a sign she knew to heed.

“I care,” he continued after a few moments of silence. “I care because people need to care. I care, because I want to help, and I know I am capable of helping people. All I ask is for a few minutes of your time. I understand however if you do not trust me. We are but strangers after all. But everyone is a stranger until they know each other. Will you give me the chance?”

He was a smooth talker, she had to give him that. There was something about his calm that made him sound like an honest, humble man, like a missionary reaching out to those in need. She wasn’t buying into it however, and had a hunch that this may very well be the one they were after, or at least one of them.

“I’m listening” she said, still sounding guarded.

“And that is the first step,” he said, with just a hint of satisfaction in his voice that could have easily gone unnoticed. “But I am not alone, just as you are not. We gather here, in this old district, for this is where the disheartened often gather, having no place else to go. Would you join us? Just to talk, I assure you. No commitments are necessary. But as the saying goes, knowledge is power. There is much you may learn, or may not, and but a little time to lose. But, as you’ve been spending so much wandering aimlessly, are you really losing anything by having a look and listening to what we have to say?”

Kyra stiffened slightly at that, unsure if he was making an educated guess or if he had actually been watching her. With a sigh she said, “Well...I…guess I have nothing better to do.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” he said gently, so much so that she found herself reminding herself that they were more than likely honeyed words hiding a dark intent. “Life has done that enough to you, and though you are stronger for it, it has taken its toll. I am sure you can handle yourself in the material, but I believe there is much you can learn in the spiritual. Come, listen, then decide. If you think us crazy, you have spent a little time and expanded your mind, so it will still be time well spent, even if you decide not to rejoin us.” With that, he turned and began walking, seemingly presuming she’d follow.

Of course she did so. Whether or not he was behind the abductions, she needed to discern whether or not he was dangerous. With what she knew, he could be a mostly harmless crazy, though that possibility seemed highly unlikely. He didn’t need to lead her far though, entering an old office building after a few minutes, with a “For Lease” sign still in the window. She wondered briefly where he’d gotten the key, dismissing the thought as something to be asked after her assessment or his detainment.

The first red flag went up as he took the stairs into the basement level. There were certainly better suited rooms besides maintenance and utility rooms for a gathering of like minded individuals. The only advantage such rooms usually had was being completely and utterly out of sight, and out of mind. She hesitated sending a message to the team though; it could all still be a false alarm, and she had dealt with worse situations than this on her own before.

As he opened the door at the end of the stairwell, she knew that she was right where she was needed. Voices cried out in anger at the puma’s entrances, in the forms of curses and pleas. He didn’t so much as flinch, and didn’t even bother turning on a light, though she could discern that there was at least some light source within, dim as it was. Coming to the landing and seeing things for herself, Kyra was able to see all the abductees sitting in a large cage, those who had been there the longest simply sitting in despair, while the rest pressed against the bars, some even rattling the cage. A quick headcount revealed that all were accounted for from the missing person reports. In fact, there were more people in the cage then they’d received reports about.

The puma, whom she belatedly realized she hadn’t asked his name, simply kept going, as if he thought she wouldn’t be bothered by the sight. A quick glance behind her revealed no one, and even if there were others in the room, she’d have the door frame for cover. Once she’d evaluated the threat level, she’d call Leo. Scorpio and Pisces could be there in moments, and that would be all the firepower needed to handle any situation the kidnapers could throw at them.

With silent efficiency, she drew her pistol, a smaller caliber one than she usually wielded for easier concealment, and loaded it with one of her custom tazer rounds. If she were lucky, one shot would put an end to this whole thing, though more likely it would take a few more than that, given the darkness that likely concealed a few more individuals. In virtually the same motion it took to load, she brought her weapon up, aimed and fired.

She would have cried out in shock had the electrical jolt that suddenly coursed through her body not locked the muscles in her jaw shut. Unable to brace herself, her muzzle connected hard with the concrete floor when she fell, her legs having become as useless as her arms. Though she hadn’t recovered enough to properly feel whether she’d dislodged any teeth, she could still easily taste blood on her tongue.

“You are most fortunate that was not a bullet,” the puma spoke with arrogant calm. “I cannot say I’ve seen such a round before, though it is all for the better. Thomas, restrain her.”

A large, heavy foot landed solidly on her back. With enough force, she was reasonably sure that it could land with enough power to break bone. The restraint though was largely unnecessary, as her muscles refused to move. Given the voltage of the round, she was lucky that she was still conscious. She couldn’t move to reach her communicator, even if she could do so discreetly, her mind whirling to come up with something to do once her muscles were under her command once again.

“I think it is about time to call the master,” the puma continued. “I believe we have a large enough collection of candidates for his consideration, especially with this promising young-”

“Intruders,” a voice said from the darkness. “Zodiac members Scorpio and Virgo.”

“What would they possibly be doing here?” the puma asked, finally showing emotion in his voice in the form of anger. “Where are they exactly?”

“They have just entered the premises,” the unknown voice replied. “They haven’t gone to the basement door yet.”

“Kill them.”

Even as she willed her muscles to move, a part of her couldn’t stop from wondering how the pair knew to be there. She hadn’t called for help, so what in the world were they doing there? Especially when Virgo was supposed to be at the police station with Capricorn and Taurus. What on earth had brought them?

The thought was cut off by the crunching sound of impacted metal, coming from what could only have been the entryway into the basement level. Virgo must have figured out where they were. She’d ask how later.

“You will pay for this,” the puma said, his voice now seething in rage. “I don’t know how you managed it, but you will not survive this night, and neither will they.”

To Kyra’s shock, she felt her heart stop. She still couldn’t move, and now she was painfully aware that she was dying, even as she struggled to breath. The world around her was quickly going out of focus. She vaguely heard a cry of pain somewhere in front of her, followed a few moments later by the easing of pressure of her back. Her vision went instantly black, which a dim part of her mind thought odd, before the numbness of her extremities became a complete lack of feeling. Soon she felt nothing at all, before her mind went black as well.


Later…


“How are you feeling?” Pete asked Kyra as he entered the hospital room, looking like his personality didn’t know whether to be concerned or furious. At the moment, Kyra was sitting up in a hospital bed, even if medically speaking she no longer really needed to be there. Though she knew the entire Zodiac team was worried about her, she knew as well as they did that all twelve of them in the same room would be a bad idea. Instead, a little to her surprise, Leo had sent only Pete to check in on her.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, more subdued than was usual for her. He really wasn’t the one she wanted to be talking to, not there, not alone. There were reasons she didn’t want to be alone with him.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” As he began to leave she stopped him saying, “But I don’t know what happened. Could you tell me what happened from their end?”

It seemed Pete contemplated leaving anyway before finally turning around. “Leo got your request for back and sent-”

“Hold it,” she interrupted, completely confused. “What request?”

He gave her a quizzical look. “The one requesting backup from Virgo to your location. You don’t remember that?”

“I never sent a message,” she told him seriously. “I never had the opportunity.”

“I’ll tell Leo about that” he said, though Kyra wasn’t entirely sure if Pete believed her or not. “Cancer said it came from your communicator.”

“I don’t know how it could have. But what else happened?”

Kyra could see clearly enough that he didn’t like her changing the subject, but he continued. “Leo sent Scorpio to get Virgo. The two were ambushed when they got there, but didn’t have any difficulties. Once they made it to the basement, they made short work of the group down there and freed the hostages. You were nowhere to be seen. All anyone there would say was ‘the beast got her’. Next thing we hear, you’re here, having been revived from cardiac arrest with the doctors clueless as to how you got here. Leo seems to think it was that vigilante, who he says is named Void. Any of this sound familiar?”

“No. I…remember feeling my heart stop…after that…I don’t remember clearly. I shot at the puma with a tazer round and…I don’t know how, but it hit me. Someone pinned me to the ground, then Scorpio and Virgo showed up, I heard the door break in, then…my heart stopped.”

“So that wasn’t you?” Kyra looked at him questioningly. “Virgo and Scorpio didn’t open the door either; that’s what drew them to the basement.”

The two stood silent for an uncomfortably long time. Pete finally broke the silence. “I guess it all worked out in the end. All the missing persons have been found and the abductors’ ringleader is in custody. Virgo’s powers seem to counter his, though he’s been stubbornly silent as to how he got them. He is one smug puma.”

“That leaves the vigilante then, who must be connected somehow if he was directly involved in this whole affair.”

“Leo doesn’t seem to think so, but I don’t agree with him either. Get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kyra watched him go in silence. She didn’t know what to do when it came to him, and she knew that he must feel something similar. There was just too much between them, and she didn’t even know where to start. But she couldn’t avoid him, now that they were working together. She knew that the situation between them was a ticking time bomb, but for the moment, there was still time on that clock.

It made for anything but a calm mind to get sleep. She wasn’t going to be released until morning, even though she knew she was perfectly fine, which meant she was going to be awake and frustrated all night. As she was trying to get her all too wakeful mind on a productive line of thought, she heard a knocking on the door. Not the door to her room she quickly realized, but the door to the little bathroom in her room.

After a few moments, it came again. How in the world someone was in her bathroom, unless it was Scorprio trying to be discrete for some reason, she had no idea, but they were obviously announcing themselves.

“Come in,” she said with an edge to her voice.

The door opened, and in stepped quite possibly the last thing she would have suspected. It was some sort of quadruped reptilian, standing a little larger than a wolf, it’s pitch black form perfectly smooth baring the appearance of scales, and its eyes glowing a faint grey.

“I just wanted to check in on you,” it said it a calm male voice starkly in contrast with its feral appearance. “I couldn’t stay to see aid administered.”

Kyra’s brain finally caught up with her as she replied, “Void, I presume?”

“So Zodiac knows my name now it seems,” he answered in such a matter of fact tone that Kyra thought he was completely unsurprised, despite how secret and elusive he’d been. He sat down before continuing. “You are correct. I am known as Void. And you are Sagittarius, correct?”

When she didn’t answer, he continued, “So, how are you feeling? I don’t believe such an electric shock or cardiac arrest is an everyday thing for you.”

“I’ve been through worse,” she replied a bit tersely, “and I’ll live. Wait…you brought me here, didn’t you? How?” That was one of the many thoughts that had been buzzing around her mind, coming out without any censorship or conscious thought.

“In the same way I brought the others to jail,” he said, and Kyra swore he was amused. “If you want a more detailed explanation, I am afraid that I cannot give you one. It is perhaps best you not know.”

“It was you who sent the message wasn’t it,” she said, interrogating him despite their relative positions as her brain began putting pieces together.

“I did,” he answered with a nod. “You had your hands in your pockets, and in the darkness, I was able to manipulate your communicator. There was a reason I requested Virgo. The…shall we say, cultists, need darkness to perform their tricks, and Virgo’s light is enough to shut them down completely. Really, any decently strong light source will do so.”

“So you are connected with them?” she grilled.

“In a sense, yes,” he answered in a darker tone. “I’ve been tracking them, hunting them. I know where they get their power, the power that laid you low. The power that nearly killed you.”

“What do you mean by ‘getting’?” she demanded. “How are they getting it?”

“Straight to the point, as I’d thought, even if you aren’t in any position to question me.” The two glared at each other for several long moments, two equal wills measuring each other.

“That,” Void finally spoke again, “is my concern, not yours, or your team’s. All you need to know is that the power is granted, or forced upon others, and I know who is responsible.”

“Because you served him, didn’t you?” With just slight motions of her wrist, she gently began pressing the buttons on her communicator against the corner of one of her belt loops. She needed answers, and if he felt she couldn’t live if she knew them, he’d be in for a nasty surprise.

“I did indeed,” his voice dropping to a tone she’d heard before, a tone of voice she’d heard Pete use, when he was close to his most violent state of mind. “And I will die before I allow him to attain a foothold in this world, after what he did to me, what he made me do. His influence is already greater than I feared, to grant the power the puma possessed. That puma sent your round into the essence of the darkness around him, redirecting it to you. Then he used the darkness in your own body to grasp and stop your heart.”

Kyra had nothing to say to that, and her anger began to dissipate, the message she had so carefully assembled left unsent. There was something she understood about Void, in a way, and a truth to his emotions that she knew, from being around them before.

“Well, I suppose I should thank you, for saving my life,” she said quietly, honestly meaning it. “And the lives of those people.”

“I do what I can.”

“But why aren’t you registered?” she blurted out, again her whirling mind not censoring the transition of thought to speech. But she couldn’t take the words back, so she pressed on, “You know as long as you operate as a vigilante, I’m obligated to bring you in, as is the Zodiac team.”

“Because those who break laws know that law enforcement has to follow the rules. I’m not a part of law enforcement, so in their minds, I’m as lawless as they are. Because of that, I can put fear in them, real, honest, pure fear. And in that fear, they’re willing to believe anything I tell them, even if I’m talking out my ass. The smart ones don’t want to risk encountering me a second time, because they don’t know if I’ll carry out that threat, and that uncertainty, and the incomprehensible fate I promise, is what truly scares them.”

“Scared straight huh?” she asked sarcastically. “A crude approach.”

“Yet effective,” he replied completely seriously. “For now, the one I hunt has lost his foothold, and it’ll be a while before he can influence others to do his bidding. Take care of yourself.” He rose as he finished the sentence. “I hope the next time we meet, it’ll be under better circumstances.”

“Doubtful, if you’re still a vigilante.”

“Stranger things have happened.” With that he closed the door to the bathroom, and she knew he was gone. However, she had no intention of their next meeting being on his terms. Her instincts told her that he wasn’t some monster, demon, or otherworldly creature. He was very much of this world, and she was going to learn just who he was. That mission gave her something for her restless mind to focus on as the night slowly went on.