The good news was, the vet wasn't far from the zoo. The bad news, Robin's step-dad was still alive somehow and following them.
Luna kept the kitten tucked under her shirt the whole ride to the vet, only holding him like a normal person when they got there. Also, she named him Bane. The name had come to her the moment she saw him, so she decided why not.
The second they walked through the door into the building, they were immediately blasted with the smell of animals. Luna tried not to gag as she walked swiftly up to the front desk, gently setting Bane down on the counter. The woman behind the desk was just setting down a phone. The moment she saw Bane, her eyebrows curled upwards.
"Oh, you poor thing! Dr. Thompson will be ready in just a moment, but I'll let him know it's urgent," she turned around and started pressing some buttons. Luna and Robin took a seat in between a crazy cat lady, who actually looked pretty sweet, and a kid dressed all in black with a colorful bird perched on his shoulder.
Finally, the vet was ready, welcoming them into the first room.
Luna was so busy making sure Bane was well handled, she didn't notice the guy she almost tripped over if it hadn't been for Robin, who grabbed her arm at the last second and pulled her to the side.
"Thanks, Robin. Oh, I'm so sorry."
The guy smiled as he waved his hand in the air. He had dirty blonde hair nicely cut and taken care of, deep brown eyes that seemingly stared into her soul, and was about five inches taller than Robin. Her first thought was trainee, but then she thought, volunteer.
"Don't worry about it. I'm a volunteer today so that's why I'm standing here, mysteriously in the back of the room."
Luna smiled, this guy was pretty charming. For a stranger.
"Uh, my name's Luna."
"I'm Robin."
"Cool! I'm Peter."
The three of them stood in silence for an awkward moment, the only sound in the room was the vet cooing to Bane as he fixed him up. Luna, without thinking about it, looked absent-mindedly at Peter, and suddenly the room spun.
Luna couldn't stand properly- her legs felt like jelly and her stomach was doing somersaults. She didn't mean to but a groan growled from her and she reached for the nearest thing to keep her upright. For one second, she was keeping herself up with whatever she'd grabbed. Then somehow she was being held over the ground.
The room stopped spinning and came into view.
Two faces peered over her. The vet, and Robin, whose arms she was in. Immediately embarrassed, she tried to get back to her feet, making everything worse by falling again into his arms.
"S-sorry," her mouth had gone mostly dry, but she didn't really know what else to do, seeing as she couldn't even stand anymore.
"It's okay," she thought she saw a smile hiding in the corners of his mouth. After calmly exhaling, she felt better.
"I think I can stand now."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded. Robin got one foot back on the ground, helping her to her feet again. For one terrifying moment, the room started to spin again, but she willed it not to, so it stopped.
The vet helped her sit on a nearby chair.
"So, your kitten is doing much better. Thankfully, he seems content to be with you, so that's great. I already gave him some antibiotics and pain reliever, along with . . ."
Luna didn't hear the last part, distracted by Peter, who sat against the wall with his head rested on one hand.
"What happened to him?"
"Oh, he went all woozy right after you did."
Luna pulled herself off the chair, took a moment to gain her balance, then walked over to him.
"Peter?"
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When he looked up again, there was something in his eyes. As if he'd just discovered some great secret, but didn't even know it himself. Luna reached out her hand, encouraging a small smile from him.
After paying the vet, Robin and Luna were walking to her motorcycle until someone stopped them. Luna's hand instinctively went to her jacket, where she kept a safety knife, but when they turned around, it was just Peter.
"Did we forget something?"
Peter shook his head, his eyebrows knit together.
"I just . . . where are you going?"
"Sorry man, we don't give random-"
Robin interrupted himself, doubling over without any warning as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. Both Luna and Peter hurried over to help. Robin held up a hand, shaking his head.
"I'm fine, really. Just-"
He stopped himself, pushing out a breath. Luna stared at Peter. Something about him was so familiar. She was a trained assassin. If he tried to give them any trouble, she could handle it. Plus, for some reason, she had a feeling he should come along.
"You can come."
"But I didn't even-"
"Do you have a bigger ride?" she stepped aside, showing him her trusty, but two-person motorcycle. He smiled.
Five minutes later, the four of them were driving down the road on the way to the police station in a bright yellow Volkswagon Beetle. Luna wanted to warn Peter about her being an assassin, and probably now wanted for stealing a tiger from the zoo, but she didn't know how to say it casually. Then words just slipped out before she could stop them.
"Peter, you know my kitten? Bane? You're not going to believe me but he's a-"
"Tiger."
"What?" the two of them asked simultaneously. Robin was busy telling Bane what a good kitty he was. Peter's eyebrows knit together again, forming a crease in between them.
"I don't know how I knew that . . ."
"Me either."
"But I was right? He really is a tiger?"
Luna slowly nodded. Too many questions piled into her mind, giving her a nasty headache. It was like he could read her mind or something. Or he just knew a lot about magical, transforming tiger-cats. She didn't know what was more confusing; the fact that he'd guessed what she was about to say, or the fact that he believed it. None of them said anything else the rest of the ride.
Luna had actually never been to the police station before - for many reasons. She was picturing a movie-like, humble little building with beige-painted walls. She was greatly surprised.
They pulled up to a ten-story, glossy black building with a plethora of fancy-looking police cars parked outside. Some were just pulling in, some pulling out, and some sat idly in their places.
Luna tucked Bane in the pocket of Robin's hoodie. He was wearing a t-shirt underneath and had gotten too hot. It was like the giant pocket was made for Bane, who happily curled up in the warmth of both Luna's hands, and the heat of the sweatshirt.
The station was even cooler inside. The floors were shiny and reflective, and none of the policemen walking around looked scared or even bored. There were desks, offices closed off with glass windows and important people talking inside, and doors and elevators.
An especially nice officer walked up, asking what the trio needed. Luna told them about Dean as much as she could fill them in. While they waited for the officers to figure out more about the monstrous person, Luna, Robin and Peter waited in the main area.
Luna was about to say something to Peter about Dean - even though he'd been there as she informed the police officer about him - but a set of snickers caught her attention, along with her friends'.
A pair of teens - on boy and one girl - sat handcuffed to each other and to a piece of furniture. Luna looked at her friends, wondering if they saw the same thing she was looking at, and they both returned her gaze. When she looked back to the pair, they were looking at her like they knew some great secret she didn't. The boy looked around before gesturing them to come over.
Luna stood, curious about the pair, but Robin grabbed her arm, shaking his head. Peter was shaking his head as well.
"Guys," she whispered so that only they could hear, "I'm a trained assassin. They got nothing on me."
Robin looked annoyed, he was already used to it, but Peter's eyes went wide and his eyebrowed knit together. The confusion was more than visible on his face. As Luna was walking towards the pair, she heard Peter inhale, about to say something but Robin cut him off, explaining things to him. Whoops.
Luna stood in front of the pair, squared her shoulders, and wore the most confident face she could.
"What do you want?"
The two glanced at each other. The boy looked tall, even though they were sitting down. He had red hair and dark, naturally tan skin paired with colorful golden eyes. The girl had strawberry blonde hair, the same tan skin as her partner in crime, and purple-blue eyes. Both of them had a mischievous smile on their faces, but the girl's looked less . . . mischievous. THe both looked about seventeen or eighteen.
"I'm Lilly, this is my twin brother, Fox."
"Firstly, why are you here? Also, what do you want?"
"Eh, petty theft," Fox shrugged. Lilly glanced at him before continuing.
"Listen, we're not as bad as we may look."
"Mhm."
"We heard you talking about some guy named Dean . . . Griffen, was it?"
When they saw Luna's scowl relax. Fox eagerly continued.
"We've heard plenty of things-"
"Plenty of times."
"The police, they don't know who you're talking about. All these people care about is two things. Us, and money."
"I truly and honestly doubt that."
"Dean Griffen, we know him."
Luna narrowed her eyes.
"Honest! We can help you, on one condition."
"I break you out of here."
The twins smiled. Luna looked around the station, considering her options. Robin and Peter ran up before she could get them all in serious trouble.
"Luna, whatever they offered don't buy . . . it . . ."
Peter and Robin both looked at the twins funny, each looking slightly woozy. Luna had seen these people's faces before, once maybe. Was it in a case or something? Fox and Lilly. Why were they so familiar!? Before she knew what was happening, she agreed.
Oh Luna, what have you done?