I own nothing. Absolutely Nothing. Thank you and good night!
NK
Jake Clawson slid carefully on his back until he was underneath the chasse of a rusted land yacht. He puffed out a sigh as he reached up towards the oil cap. It was a normal enough task, but today everything seemed to take so much more energy. His left ear twitched towards the sounds Chance was making. His burly blonde partner whistled off key. Certainly Chance had to be feeling as washed out. Maybe it was the heat. The temperature in Mega Kat City had sky rocketed into the high 90's, but out there in the middle of no where, surrounded by miles of metal junk, the heat was amplified. The puny oscillating fan facing in from one of the open bay doors offered little relief.
"Jake, you changing the oil in that beast or taking a nap?" Chance's voice practically echoed in the garage.
Jake stretched, letting his cracked lips curl up into a grin. "Somewhere in between the two," he replied as he tightened back on the cap and slid out from under the car, pulling the drain pan with him. Once on his feet, he stretched again, wincing at a sudden sharp twinge of pain in his abdomen. Chance shot him a curious look. His blue eyes sparkled with concern briefly before he turned back to his own malfunctioning hunk of garbage.
"Cramp," Jake supplied an excuse with a shrug. "I'm getting some water. You want anything?"
"Yeah! Grab me a bottle too, will ya?" Chance looked back up again as Jake went up the stairs. Before Jake even got a paw on the door knob, however, a loud, ominous buzzing erupted from the speakers on the walls.
"Shit." Chance cursed loudly, dropping his wrench and whipping around to close the garage door. Jake leapt back down the stairs to help lock up before the both double timed it to the hangar to find out what the latest emergency was.
"Yes Miss Briggs?" Jake huffed into the receiver, a little winded from the flurry of activity before finally answering the call.
"Razor? It's the tower again. You two better hur *crunch*" Jake caught his flight suit as he hung up. "The tower, T-Bone, the same damn tower." Razor climbed into his seat. T-Bone lowered the canopy and started take off procedures while Razor fastened his harness and turned on his radar and the enforcer frequency to get a heads up on what the situation was.
"… everything you got at those vines. I don't care what you use, just get rid of 'em!" Feral's angry voice echoed throughout the cockpit.
"Viper!" Both kats shouted simultaneously as the Turbokat roared out of the hangar and into the sky. In less than 5 minutes they were flying above Megakat Tower.
"So what's the game plan this time, T-Bone? Cut away the vines and then go in glovatrix-a-blazing to save Callie?" Razor looked thoughtfully at the angry thorn covered constricting weeds woven in and out of the broken glass windows and up and down the buildings façade.
"Sounds good to me, hot shot. You fire your little buzz saw things and make a hole. I'll drop you off at the window. While you're saving our damsel in distress, I'll see about cutting the rest of the yard."
"Arming buzz saw missiles." Razor emphasized the last part in a display of the insult T-Bone had made. The pilot chuckled lightly. Razor hit the switch and deployed 6 missiles. The thick heavy vines plummeted to the street below. "Alright, get me in there." Razor released his harness, checked his glovatrix and prepared to leap from the cockpit to the broken window.
"Watch that glass, Razor." T-Bone initiated the VTOL engines so that he could hover parallel to the building.
"Roger that." Razor replied, firing a grappling hook at the brick just above the window. Swinging in feet first, he broke away the glass and slipped into the building. T-Bone motioned to his headset, indicating that his partner remain in radio contact. Razor responded with a thumb up before releasing the grapple.
"Of course I couldn't just land right in front of Dr. Viper." Razor looked around. He lifted his glovetrix hand up and turned on the infrared scanner. "Well snake puss might be cold blooded, but Miss Briggs sure isn't. Time to start searching."
Meanwhile…
T-Bone swung the Turbokat around and started firing at the remaining vines. Between his efforts and the Enforcers, they managed to clear off the building within an hour. "Razor, we're about done out here. Any sign of the deputy mayor?"
"Not yet, but I've got a lot of floors to cover. If you're done weed-whacking, I could really use your help."
"Affirmative, buddy. I'm going to set the Turbokat down on the roof, and then work down from the roof entrance and meet you somewhere in the middle."
Razor dropped his paw from his headset. There was no sign of Miss Briggs or Dr. Viper. Looking down, he noticed a small heat signature behind one of the desks. "Miss Briggs?" He crept across the office space, quietly making his way around. There wasn't anybody there, but there was a familiar triangle lying on the floor. Razor bent down to pick it up. Still crouched on the floor, he examined it. "T-Bone?"
"Yeah?"
"I found her communicator. It looks like it's been stepped on, but there's no sign of her here."
"Ok, well at least we are on the right track." T-Bone replied. "Let's just keep looking."
"Yep." Razor once again dropped his paw. He slid the communicator into a compartment on his suit and stood up. "Ah…" he gasped, clutching his abdomen. That weird pain was back again. He took a deep break and let his back lean against the wall behind the desk. For a moment, he felt sick. Then he felt like his head was humming.
"Hmph! MMhmmHMP!" Razor stood up straight. That definitely wasn't his head. It was the storage closet to his right. "Miss Briggs?"
"HMMRRR!"
"T-Bone I found her." Razor reported briskly, swinging open the closet door. There were thick strips of tape covering her mouth and binding her wrists and ankles. "This is going to sting, Miss Briggs." Razor warned before pulling off the tape covering her mouth. She started blabbering as soon as she was free.
"This was a distraction. Dr. Viper's already gotten away. He wanted everyone to be busy trying to save me while he slipped away to steal another one of those chemicals!"
"Shit." Razor cursed. "I knew something wasn't right!"
"What isn't right?" T-Bone looked as if he'd run down the 5 flights of stairs between Razor and the roof.
"This. It was a set up so that snake breath could get away with the prize." Razor scrubbed the back of his neck. "Let's head over to the Bio-Chemical research plant and find out what they're missing and what it does before we're living in the bayou."
"Are you okay, Miss Briggs." T-Bone had to ask before they left. She nodded. "Barely even a scratch on me. I tried to warn you guys but he stomped my communicator before I had a chance."
"I'll fix it and get it back to you ASAP. Right now, we need to find out what that psychopath is up to." Razor stated, heading a head of T-Bone to the roof top. He really needed to sit down, but he didn't want T-Bone to see how weak and sore he felt. T-Bone jogged to catch up.
"Hey Razor, wait up." T-Bone noticed that his partner had his paw held up against his stomach. "Are you okay?" He grabbed Razor by the shoulder, halting his brisk walking.
"Uh, yeah, I think I just pulled something when I jumped through that window." Razor quickly dropped his arm to his side. "We need to hurry. Maybe he's still there and we can stop him before he does any damage."
"Yeah," T-Bone seemed unconvinced but Razor was right. They didn't have much time.
Megakat Bio-Chemical Research Facility
"We're still cataloging the catalysts to see which ones are missing." A thin, mousy looking she-kat with thick-rimmed glasses informed the Swat Kats. "So far, we are missing 2: Catalyst number 74 and Catalyst number 36. Separate, they are harmless. One is a mild growth hormone. The other is an organic pesticide. I don't have a clue how they would react together. We have numerous other Catalysts, though, that if paired with those two Catalysts could create an explosion that would level the entire city. It could take us days to figure out which ones exactly are missing, and without knowing the chemical compound he's using, the only way to stop him would be to get there first."
T-Bone and Razor looked at each other. There was a silent, mutual feeling that they may have already been too late.
"Well, the city is still here. We need to refuel and then we can start searching again." T-Bone gestured towards the Turbokat.
"Right." He turned back towards the scientist. "If you find out what he's stolen before we find him, then tell us what we need to do." Razor gave the scientist their personal radio frequency. "Don't give this to anyone." She nodded.
"You have my word."
"Good. Let's go, T-Bone."
That sick feeling returned once the Swat Kats were in the air. Razor clenched his jaw shut, feeling sweat trickle down the side of his head. His abdomen was steadily throbbing as if someone had jabbed a knife in to him and was twisting it. The flight home was brief, but silent. T-Bone was thinking of possible hideouts where Dr. Viper could be formulating his plot for world domination, and Razor was trying to think about anything but the pain in his stomach and the increasing nausea.
The Turbokat hit the runway smoothly and glided to a halt. T-Bone leapt out, quickly setting the jet up to be refueled. Razor slid out as carefully as he could. The second he was on the ground, however, everything seemed to tilt. He let a groan slip out unchecked as he steadied himself against the fuselage.
"Razor?" T-Bone jerked his head up. He poked his head around the side of the jet to see his partner pressed flat against the side panels, his arms tightly clutching his stomach. "Jake?" T-Bone stopped the fueling and walked over to where Jake was leaning. Jake's eyes were clenched shut and his breath was coming out in short gasps. "What's wrong?"
"…hurts…" Jake ground out.
"Your stomach?"
"… uh huh…" T-Bone backed away for a minute. "Christ, Jake… of all the times…"
He came closer again and put his paws on Jake's helmet. He pulled it off, along with the black nylon mask. It was drenched in sweat. "We need to get you out of this flight suit and into civilian clothes."
Jake nodded but didn't make a move. "Now, Jake. We don't have any time to waste. You need a hospital, and I have to find out what Dr. Viper's doing!"
Jake opened his eyes, nodded once more and pushed himself away from the Turbokat. Unsteadily, he made it to his locker and pulled out the greasy clothes he'd been wearing earlier. Chance dragged Jake up the stairs and out the garage into their beastly tow-truck. Jake let his head loll against the cool glass window, sharp tendrils of pain shot in every direction. It was all he could do to keep from writhing or screaming. His vision kept blurring on the edges as if he was going to lose consciousness, but it never happened. He wished it would. Chance stomped the accelerator and tore down the street like lightening. Jake moaned as his stomach roiled against the momentum. "Chance," he said weakly. "You're gonna make me throw up."
"Sorry, buddy." Chance looked over quickly, slowing down. "I don't care what's wrong with you. The rules are the same in the truck as they are in the sky. You puke, you're cleaning it up."
Jake nodded quickly, praying that any moment he would just pass out.
Chance jerked the truck into a parking space and hurried to help Jake out of the passenger seat. Jake pushed Chance back slid out of the truck. As soon as his feet hit the ground and he was upright, he pitched forward. Chance caught a hold of him. "Shit." He cursed and then scooped his unconscious friend up in his arms.
The receptionist quickly called for a stretcher when she saw the kat run through the automatic doors carrying another kat.
"They are on their way down with a stretcher. What happened to him?" Before Chance could say anything the doors to the Emergency Room burst open and two orderlies pushing an empty stretcher raced towards them.
"He said it was his stomach. It was hurting him real bad." Chance followed along behind the orderlies.
"How long has he been in pain?"
"Early this afternoon, but it got worse all day."
Chance was stopped just short of the large double doors by the receptionist. "Sir, I'm going to need some information about your friend in there."
Chance paced the waiting room anxiously. The news was on, broadcasting the events of earlier that day. It hadn't been released that Dr. Viper was up to something else. Thank goodness for that. Good ol' snake face would just eat it up, knowing that the city was paralyzed in fear.
Chance walked over to the windows looking out into the parking lot, wondering if the labs had figured out what else was stolen, wondering where Dr. Viper was putting together his master scheme, and wondering what the hell was wrong with Jake.
"Clawson?"
Chance whipped around at the sound of Jake's last name. "Chance." He held out his paw to the short, dark furred doctor.
"Dr. Purdue." He motioned for Chance to have a seat and he sat next to him. "Your friend in there is pretty lucky. His appendix was very close to rupturing. As soon as we realized what the problem was, he went straight into surgery. He's still under the effects of the anesthesia right now, but he's already been moved to recovery."
Chance let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "So he's going to be fine?"
The doctor nodded. "He will need to stay here for the next couple of days but then he will be fine to go home."
"Can I see him?" Chance really needed to get a message to Jake to let him know when he woke up where he'd gone.
"Sure." The doctor led Chance out of the waiting room. Recovery was dimly lit, and Jake's bed was separated from another by a heavy blue curtain. His greasy clothes were gone, replaced with an ugly hospital gown, and his breathing was even and calm.
"I have to get back and get our shop closed up. Can I leave him a note for when he wakes up? He was unconscious when I brought him in and he'll probably freak out a little bit."
The doctor nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. We will make sure that he sees it."
Chance found a piece of paper and scribbled out a note before folding it into Jake's paw.
"I'll be back before you know it, buddy." He squeezed his paw and thanked the doctor before darting out.
Back inside the truck, Chance was halfway back to the hangar when there was static on the radio.
"Swat Kats, this is Dr. Furnashi. Do you copy?"
"This is T-Bone, over."
"T-Bone, we have identified the other missing catalyst as catalyst number 107. When this is mixed with 36 and 74 it does not create a bomb. Instead, it releases a vapor into the air that creates a vicious storm cloud. This cloud will be saturated with very acidic moisture that, when it becomes rain, is a hundred times more caustic than acid rain."
"What kind of damage will this rain cause?"
"It will cause monumental damage! Not only will it chew through asphalt and steel, but through flesh and bone as well!"
"How do I stop it?"
"Once it's released into the atmosphere, nothing can stop it until the storm passes. You need to prevent him from releasing it."
"Okay." T-Bone paused for a moment. "Where would be the best place to release this chemical?"
"A rooftop, somewhere very high; the higher he is in elevation, the more quickly it will form into a cloud. He will have to be within the city limits as well."
"Thanks Doc. You have been more than helpful!" T-Bone climbed out of the tow-truck and raced back down to the hangar. It was getting dark, he would have to hurry.
Dr. Viper couldn't help the snicker that escaped his throat as he crept along an alleyway. "Once I releasssse thisssssss gassss into the atmossssphere, Megakat City will quickly disssssolve into a ussssselessss wasssssteland, and I will be free to reign asssss the sssssssupreme ruler of Mega Ssssswamp city."
He darted in and out of the shadowed alleys unnoticed, quietly reaching his goal.
T-Bone had just begun to search the rooftops when he caught a blip on his radar. It was soon followed by the familiar sound of a chopper and an equally familiar voice booming over a megaphone.
"SWAT KATS, I AM ORDERING YOU TO LAND! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"
"Shove it up your ass, Feral." T-Bone muttered before switching over to the Enforcer frequency. "Now you listen to me, Feral. Dr. Viper is out here somewhere with a test tube full of something that's going to make it rain acid on this city, and if you don't want to watch everyone have their skin eaten off their bones, then you'll help me find him before it's too late!"
"What's the matter? You two hot shots can't handle it on your own?" Feral hissed back over the radio.
"If there were two of us, I wouldn't be asking for your help because I'm sure Razor has some sort of gadget that could just find him for me. But Razor isn't with me at the moment, so I need you and all your spotlights on every one of those rooftops."
The radio was silent for a moment, and then Feral ordered all available units to search the city for their villain.
Viper hissed from the shadow keeping him hidden. "Thosssse damn Sssswat Katssss! I have to be quick!" Every move he made out of the stairwell leading to the open rooftop was halted by the approach of a spot light. With a snarl, he darted out to the center of the roof. "Itsssss now or never!"
"I don't think so you piece of shit!" T-Bone launched himself at the mutated doctor.
"Careful, Ssswat Kat. You wouldn't want me to drop thissss. If I do, it will break and you will have done my job for me!"
T-Bone skidded to a halt. "Come on. You don't want to do this, Viper. That stuff will eat through you just as well as anyone else."
"You foolish kat! Don't you think I've thought of that? I'm a geniussss." Viper hesitantly moved forward, knowing that he had the upper hand. "Once I releasssse thisss, it will be unssssstopable. In the time it will take for it to form into a cloud, I will be long gone."
"Unless, of course, I take you down; which I will. When that happens, you will be forced to stay here, in the storm, and die like the rest of us." T-Bone snarled. He balled his fists up and prepared to take Dr. Viper down. Dr. Viper simply cackled and placed his slimy claws on the cork that sealed the chemicals. A chopper roared overhead and a spotlight illuminated the vigilante and his nemesis. "Take him out!" T-Bone shouted and dove all at the same time. Dr. Viper hit the cement roof and the test tube went flying.
Jake felt like his mouth had been stuffed with cotton. He blinked and tried to clear the haze and tried to bring his arm up. Something was tugging on it, and it felt as if something was in his paw. "What the…" Jake lifted his head, finding himself attached to an IV line. "Chance?" He looked around, and found himself alone. A small feeling of panic formed in his chest before he remembered he was holding something. He turned his hand over to find a piece of paper.
Jake,
I'll be back as soon as I can. I had to go clean up those chemicals. Buzz the doctors when you wake up. See you soon.
Chance
"Chemicals?" Jake laid his head back down. "What chemicals?" He reached around with his free paw to find the call button. "Maybe someone here can tell me what's going on."
T-Bone looked up in shock. He tried to move to get the tube before it shattered but Viper swung out his tail and caught his foot. "Aw crud!" the Swat Kat shouted as he fell onto his stomach. Just as he was sure that he had failed, a paw caught the tube before it could it the ground. T-Bone followed it up to the familiar form of Lt. Felina Feral.
"Enforcers, arrest him!" Lt. Feral pointed behind T-Bone.
T-Bone turned his head to find Viper surrounded by Enforcers. "Jesus, Lieutenant. You couldn't have gotten here any sooner?"
Chance plopped down into the chair next to Jake's bed. He was exhausted. The nurse at the desk told him that Jake woke up briefly but the drugs hadn't completely worked out of his system yet. He'd fallen asleep almost as soon as he'd paged them. Chance threw his feet up on the bed and leaned back, prepared to take a nap until Jake woke up again.
Jake felt the movement near his feet and cracked open his eyes. He didn't feel as dried out as last time and his head was clearer. "Chemicals!" Jake shot up, nearly ripping out his IV line.
Chance jumped up. "Easy there, Jake. You just had surgery. You don't need to be jumping around."
"I read your note earlier. I didn't understand it, but it just hit me. Did you… ah… get it taken care of?"
"Everything's fine. I took care of it. No thanks to you of course." Chance sat back down, looking smug.
"Yeah, well I… I had surgery?" Jake's skin paled beneath his fur. "Why?"
"The nurses didn't tell you when you paged them?" Chance crossed his arms.
"No… I mean, I think I dozed off before they got here." Jake looked confused.
He looked sheepish. "So, uh, what exactly happened?"
Chance slumped down in the chair, arms still crossed. "Well it definitely wasn't a cramp." He glared. "Your appendix almost burst."
"Oh." Jake looked away.
"Oh? OH?!" Chance threw his arms up. "You know what? I'm going home. I've been up all night saving the world and I'm exhausted. I'm going to get some sleep, and then I will be back here to take you home." He stood up, shaking his head, and started to walk away.
"Chance, wait." Jake called out. Chance turned around. "I, uh… thanks, you know, for not letting me die and for saving the day without me."
"Yeah. No sweat. Just don't make me do it again."