- Well there it is, the sequel to "Blow it up" and "A new hero". I recoment reading "A new hero" and then "Blow it up" before reading this story. But you can also start with this right away. It´s your decision ;D Anyway, have fun with the first chapter-

Since they are existing all beings have looked up into the night-sky and watched the stars. From the simple creatures at the begin of evolution over the old Greek philosophers to the people of the modern age. They all looked up and asked questions.

Where have we come from? Where are we going? Is there a sense in life? Simple questions which are kind of unsolvable. And even the modern people, with all their scientific knowledge, can´t give a sure answer to these simple questions. So, the people are still looking up and wonder.

Also in this night when dusk was already long ago and the only luminescent objects were the stars and the moon high up in the sky questions were asked into the darkness. Darkness also surrounded the white dog and the tan cat which were lying on a hill next to each other nearby the city Petropolis.

A soft wind chilled the hot summer night down and made the heat a bit more bearable. Besides the two stargazers was a picnic basket which they have emptied in the time they were able to see what they eat. Now they did nothing than just watching the stars.

"They are Beautiful, aren´t they?" asked the dog called Dudley Puppy.
"Yeah, even if I know that they are just giant gatherings made of gas." replied the cat who was Kitty Katswell and grabbed his hand.

"Okay… you somehow just spoiled the magic. Why do you always have to spoil the magic?"
"Don´t be such a girl." Kitty laughed.
"Oh look there, a shooting star!" Today the earth moved through the trail of a comet what meant that they should see thousands of shooting stars in this night. "Make a wish, Kitty!"

Kitty closed her eyes and thought concentrated at what she wanted. As she opened them again she turned her head to Dudley. "Okay, I finished wishing."
"And what have you whished?"

"It´s a secret." Kitty winked smirking at Dudley and turned her head back towards the stars again. She was getting pensively again.

"Hey Dudley, do you also feel this loneliness when you look up there? I know most people just look at the stars and think that they´re beautiful and so on but… I always ask myself if we are alone out there. If it´s just us in the infinity of space. I just ask myself these elementary questions… What do you think?"

Dudley laughed a bit. He knew the answer to that, he actually met one of the things out there. The thing was called advisor or how he now called him Sam, a creature with great powers that tries to protect the planet. But not through doing it himself, no he used Dudley for that.

Every time Dudley asked Sam why he used him he said something about potential and that he´s not able to intervene but Dudley always thought that there was something more than just that. He hoped that he maybe find out about that one day.

The last time Dudley saw Sam was now five years ago. Five relatively quiet years in which he had not to save the world. There was a little number of smaller jobs he had to do but nothing that required him to risk his life. But no life risk doesn´t mean that these jobs were fun. He had to do a few really bad things.

His psyche probably hadn´t handled those terrible things if he hadn´t Kitty as his anchor.
So he tried to get engrossed in his relationship with his anchor in the spare time he had. And if that was a mission he would call that a total success.

Dudley and Kitty were not just purrfect partners anymore. They were far beyond. Even if they didn´t show that all the time. At work they acted like they always did, they screamed at each other, they wrangle and were of course arguing.

But when they walked over the threshold of their apartment their behavior made a 180 degree turn. They laugh together, they tell the story how they got together -which was one of the coolest because who can claim that they met on the funeral get-together of the one of the partners- other couples in this I end the sentence of you and you of me style and they even had profound conversations like this one.

"Do you refer to aliens or something?" Dudley probed.
"Yes, but not only that. I think bigger! I´m thinking about god. Where is he? Is he maybe a she? Or is he even existing, you know that I don´t believe that but sometimes I these questions are rushing through my mind."

"I hope you don´t expect a concrete answer?" laughed Dudley
"Of course not but you know…"
"I know. Questions but no answers. We are T.U.F.F. agent, we solve criminal cases. Unsolved mysteries torture us. I also have this one question that kind of tortures me."

Kitty sat up and looked interested at him. "Which one?"
"How I ever could get someone like you."
Kitty blushed as she heard that. Dudley sometimes was so romantic, so cute… at least when he not behaved like an idiot.

But that´s what Kitty loved about him. He somehow stayed the same one over the years last. After this time five years ago when he became a little more mature and changed, but not in a bad way, he hadn´t changed. But it was just strange that it happened so sudden.

Maybe this was also connected to the thing with the nuclear bomb. The first weeks after that Dudley was the hero of the city. He was invited to almost every talkshow, reporters always surrounded him when he stepped out of the apartment, he was called when something happened because they thought he was kind of an expert and also a known T.V.-channel bought the rights on his story and wanted to produce a cartoon series which was pretty entertaining.

Dudley always watched this show. But now it got quieter around him. What stayed were the scars on the palms of Dudley´s hands. No fur grew there anymore, just pink skin. It was all ripped away by this propelling charge back then. But no undamaged skin also meant no fingerprints… what was very useful for some of Dudley´s missions.

Kitty snuggled against him and looked into the sky again. "Dudley?"
"Yeah?"
"What question really tortures you?"
"Hehe… It´s a secret but… I think I can trust you." Dudley said jokingly.

"Oh my god! Thank you! You trust me! And I just needed to sleep with you." retorted Kitty mockingly.
"You sacrificed yourself, you deserve it. The question that tortures me is a double question. When I get an answer to the first the second will appear. Okay, the first is 'when will he return' and the second is 'when will it end'."

"Very cryptic… you want to explain that to me or do I need to sacrifice myself again?"
"I would really appreciate that." Dudley and Kitty moved closer and began to kiss each other. But Kitty interrupted the intimacies by shouting. "Look there Dudley! A giant shooting star!"

"Really now? I mean…" Dudley looked up in the sky and saw a bright shooting star in the sky that left a clear trail behind it. But this thing was too big to be just a piece of dust that burn up while it was entering the atmosphere, it looked like something really big came down.

And as Dudley saw this thing his whole body from his toes to his head began to tickle unpleasantly. He knew what that mean. "Question one is answered, I think. So when will it end?" He knew that this was maybe some kind of warning and that he had a few hours or maybe days before he would get another chance to risk his life.

A part of him, the bigger one, was really scared what will come but a little part of him was also excited of what will come.
"Have you said something?" asked Kitty.
"No, let´s go home." Dudley answered sternly. Kitty was kind of surprised that his mood changed so sudden.

"Everything okay, Dudley?"
"Yes." Dudley stood up and stretched.
"Let´s go." He walked without looking back at her to the car.
Kitty sat on the ground still a little bit confused. "Well okaaay… let´s go home."

Dudley was right in this night, the comet was a herald. And it should turn his life once more completely upside down.