Dr. Conway looked through his microscope, analyzing what could be some of the most puzzling samples he had ever seen. Granted, he had seen some odd things in his lifetime; this was, after all, MegaKat City. But this was too strange for even him to believe; something entirely new and unexpected. That didn't mean he couldn't figure it out; it just meant that it would take some doing this time. It also didn't mean that he couldn't find out easily who it was; in fact, he already knew.

'That of course,' he brooded to himself, 'leaves two questions: How did he get back here, and what is he planning?'

Benjamin Lynx was there in the Biotech Lab with the good doctor, arms crossed in front of his chest. He wore the uniform of a Captain, which was the standard Enforcer dark blues with the addition of a long coat, same color. The silver bars of rank were on a patch on his right shoulder, the Enforcer emblem on his left. "So then, what do we have, Dr. Conway?"

"Plenty," he said worriedly, "And that's the rub, isn't it?" He removed himself from the microscope and said, "This specific criminal shouldn't even be here, in theory. It was considered impossible to escape from where he was holed up at; not without a slow, painful, and very cold death."

Lynx grimaced. "I know what you're talking about; that Arctic Detention Facility way up north."

Conway nodded. "As of now, we have no idea how many are alive up there, if any at all; nor do we know how he got here. All we know is that he's here, he's the one freezing the city, and we need to stop him."

Benny raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? And how do you know that he's the one that's causing this freak ice storm?"

The doctor gestured over towards his microscope and said, "Take a look."

The Captain peered into the microscope, adjusting a bit to make sure that everything came out all right for him. After a few moments of taking a look at the hair samples, he muttered half under his breath, "What the hell…?"


Kanto the Slayer presents

A SWAT Kats Fanfiction

SWAT Kats: Endgame


Five hours earlier.

Benjamin Lynx pulled up in front of the scrap yard that he had seen only once before, having been directed to come here by Felina. He was in your standard Enforcer cruiser, so it wasn't all that surprising when Jake and Chance suddenly hopped up in a mixture of surprise and alarm when they heard the sound of a siren outside, just two short, staccato noises to get one's attention. They both headed cautiously towards the windows to see what the deal was, but Felina simply headed outside without any worry.

"Just relax, it's him," she said with a smirk as she walked past. They both sighed and headed back to the couch. Callie rolled her eyes in part disbelief and part amusement as she sat back down in Chance's lap. It wasn't like there was much they could do until the next time this guy struck; thus, they were forced to wait.

Wearing black tactical gear and her usual trench coat of similar coloring, Felina looked all the part of the KatGuard mercenary that she had signed up to be. And for good reason; if Benny saw her in her… other clothing… then he would immediately flip out. No, better for him to assume that she was on the job and just stopping by to check up on her friends.

"Hey there, badass," Benny said with a grin as she approached. "Are you taking a break or something? I thought you were getting paid to patrol downtown."

Felina smiled and said, "Can't a girl check up on her friends once in a while?"

Benny shrugged and said, "You've got a point there. Were I in your position, I'd want to see if you were all right too." His expression turned serious as he said, "It's cold out here, so let's make this quick. You said you had found a break in the case?"

She nodded and dug into the right outside pocket of the voluminous coat that she wore over her gear. When the gloved hand came forth, it opened and displayed the hairs that had been collected. "I figure this should be enough to get a fix on whoever this kat is and whether he's the one that's causing this weather."

Benny took the small bag and examined it. "And where'd you get this evidence from?"

Felina really hated this part. "A gun store that was robbed," she lied. Some part of her cringed at the fact that she had done it so easily. "Some kats just shed a bit easier than others."

Benny looked up towards her and said, "You were there and you didn't stop him?"

She shrugged and lied again, "We got there after the fact that the place was cleaned out. Nothing's perfect, Benny; we can't stop everything. But this should help, right?"

The Captain studied her face, her eyes, looking for some sign of falsehood. Felina, for her part, schooled her features into a mask and did not look away. She had done that with her uncle before when she was far too angry to talk, but had to follow the chain of command and be respectful. Only now the anger was directed inward. But she knew that if Benny suspected anything at all, the whole arrangement that they had made would be put in jeopardy.

After a few moments, the Enforcer Captain nodded and said, "Yeah, it should. So then, should I call you first when I find something down at the Biotech Lab? I'm sure the Commander would love to hear who is responsible for this; the Mayor is breathing down his neck to do so, after all. But KatGuard are the only ones who can really do anything about it, so…"

Felina nodded and said, "That'd be for the best. Let me know as soon as you find something; it'll make the search a lot easier."

Benny smiled and started up his car again. "You got it, Felina. You make sure to keep warm, all right? Hopefully, there will be clear skies and clean streets next week after this!"

Benny drove off after that, headed towards Enforcer Headquarters to get the sample tested. As Felina looked off after him, the mask vanished to a look of mild anguish. She absolutely hated doing that to him, but it had to be done. 'One day, Benny, I'll tell you everything. I just hope you won't hate me for it in the end.'

She felt a hand on her right shoulder and hunched up defensively. Callie had silently come up behind her, not wanting to disturb anything. She could only guess what her friend had to do in order to keep the whole deal intact, and all she could do was comfort her in some small way.

Her thoughts proved true when Felina said softly, "I hate lies, Callie," with her head hanging down.

The silver-haired she-kat nodded and embraced the brunette in a hug from behind. "I hate them too. But sometimes we have to do bad things in order to achieve good ends."

Felina shook her head and said, "It doesn't make it right. The ends don't justify the means, Callie-girl."

Callie closed her eyes and said, "This is what we have to do now. We can't get him tangled up in our mess. If he ever finds out who we are and what we do…"

Felina gritted her teeth; so much that they could be heard grinding against each other. "I know that, damn it! I just…" She wanted to cry, scream, or hit something. The last two sounded like a lot of stress relief, to be honest. But instead she clenched her fists and let her friend hold her as it began to snow. Felina felt like she was turning into her uncle, and she hated herself for it.

Callie didn't know what Felina was going through, but she knew that it was time to go. "Come on," she said, "Let's get something warm in you while we wait for things to happen."


Three hours earlier.

The first thing that Benny did when he got back from the garage was immediately head down to the Biotech Lab. It was there that all the equipment for testing and matching DNA was stored and used, and he needed to find a certain match, as fast as possible. It seemed a bit too convenient to him that the evidence should just fall into their lap so easily, but he didn't dwell on it for the time being. He had to get this to Dr. Conway, and fast.

"What's the hurry, Captain?" a familiar and not-entirely-expected voice called out to him. It almost made Benny freeze in his tracks when he heard the Commander, but he slowed down only a moment.

"We got some evidence from one of the stores that were robbed," he said hurriedly. "I'm heading to the lab to get it to the Doc." He began moving again when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. Well, this was turning out to be a fine day, wasn't it? But the next few words put a sort of ease into him.

"I'm coming along too," Feral said. Benny had expected that, but what he hadn't expected was, "I have a report due to the Mayor in a few hours; he wants to know how the search is going." The Commander rolled his eyes and added, "He really should be doing something about this on his own; it'd be a nice change for once."

Benny chuckled and said, "Doubt that'll happen. Okay, let's go."

The two of them headed towards the area in question, and the doctor was there behind his desk as usual. "Commander, Captain," he said as he stood, "I trust you have something for me, finally?"

Captain Lynx tossed the small bag of hairs onto the desk and said, "See what you can make of this. A reliable resource gave it to me and told me to get it down here as fast as I could."

Commander Feral raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? And just who is this resource?"

Benny turned to his commanding officer and said, "A Captain in the KatGuard private military. You could say we're drinking buddies." It was all he would say for the moment.

Apparently, it was enough. "Very well," Feral said as he walked out of the lab, "I have to put this progress in my report. Call me with the results once you get them."

Benny sighed as soon as Feral was out of earshot and said, "Well, that was interesting. I don't know what I'd have said if he had stayed longer."

Dr. Conway looked towards the Captain and said, "Why, is there something about your contact that you don't want to reveal just yet?"

"You have no idea," Benny said as he leaned against the doc's desk. "Let's get this done, Conway. I don't want to delay on this any more than I have to. If you need me, I'll be right here, waiting for the results." Before the doctor could respond to that, the Captain cut in. "Hey, someone's got to stay and report things, right?"

Dr. Conway shrugged and said, "Very well. We'll start DNA testing immediately. It'll take a while, so I hope you brought something to read, or at least a snack."

Benny grimaced and cursed himself for not bringing something like that earlier. Well, whatever; he was in it for the long haul now. He had a vague idea of how many criminals they had in the database, so he could estimate how long it would take. But when his mind came up with a rough answer, it only made him sigh.

'It's gonna be a long day today,' he brooded to himself.


Now.

"Can you explain this to me, doc?" Benny asked as he looked up from the microscope. "There's some stuff in this hair that I've never seen before."

Dr. Conway shrugged and said, "Nothing I've seen before either, but just the hexagonal pattern on the hairs alone tells us who this is, let alone the DNA matching. First things first; this kat is none other than Rex Shard. What you're seeing now is the aftereffects of what happened to him when he was hit with the Gemkat 6000."

Benny raised an eyebrow and said, "Wait, you're saying that he's still got some of his abilities left?"

Conway nodded. "It's not only possible, but I can guarantee that his DNA was permanently changed by the first exposure. That reversal that the SWAT Kats performed on him didn't entirely remove the problem. But that's only the half of it." The doctor began walking towards the window, looking out at the now snow-covered city. "Somehow, his extended stay at the Arctic Detention Facility gave him an adaptation of sorts. I'm betting that he's not only in control of the weather, but he's probably turning things to ice of his own volition. And with what happened previously…"

Benny grimaced. "He can turn himself to ice as well, and I doubt that the last little trick that was used to put him down will work on him a second time." This was not a good day. Benny pulled out his cell phone and began walking out of the lab.

"Giving the information to Feral?" Conway asked.

Benny nodded and said, "Yeah. That and I need to make a call."

Immediately following the plan that he himself had set, he began to call Felina. She needed to hear this before anyone else, seeing as the people she worked for were out there on the streets in the first place. It wouldn't be long, he knew, before they mobilized and began a full-on search for Rex, but not even he knew what would happen when they finally found him.

'It could be that he wants to know who he is,' he brooded even as he dialed the number of her cell phone, 'but we don't have much of a choice.'

Two rings later, Felina's voice was heard. "This is Feral," she said in an unhurried tone.

Benny almost laughed. She was more like her uncle than she wanted to admit. "It's me. We got a positive ID on our walking snow machine. This is going to sound utterly predictable, but our man is Rex Shard. Don't say anything just yet," he cut in before she could respond, "Because what I'm about to tell you is important."

Over the next two minutes, he began explaining in short what Dr. Conway had told him. It took a few seconds for her to respond, but when she did, she sounded stressed. "This day is just getting better and better, isn't it? And you're sure that the last tactic used on him won't work?"

Benny shrugged and replied, "We don't know for sure, but Dr. Conway certainly seems adamant in his suggestion not to try it again. You guys are going to have to devise a workable strategy, and make it quick. If this keeps up, the city is going to be frozen over and completely under his control."

The response he got was, "We'll take care of it as soon as possible, Benny. First though, we have to find him… it's not necessarily going to be easy."

Well, at least she wasn't overly optimistic about things like the Commander sometimes was. "Doesn't matter; you have to find him, and fast," the Captain said as he began heading towards the top floor. "It's not official yet, but this is a manhunt. Use every resource at your disposal to find him and bring him in."

The next words were typical of a mercenary, and he had a response already in the works for it. "Would you prefer him dead, or alive?" Felina asked with a somewhat subdued voice. She seemed to have already made her decision on the matter.

"Alive," Benny said, "Because it's the right thing to do. We're not paying you to kill anyone, you know." She began to argue, but he cut her off again. "Just do it, okay? I know that knocking him off would be the fast way to end this, but don't. I don't want to have to come after you guys…"

Felina sighed and said, "Understood. We'll try to restrain him. But if we start losing kats…"

Benny nodded. "…Then do what you have to. I'll just have to get the Commander to see that it was necessary. I'll even keep tabs on the radio chatter to confirm."

The former Enforcer smiled and said, "Thanks for understanding, Benny. I'll go give the order now."

Captain Lynx replied with, "Good. I'll go tell the Commander that the situation has changed. Good luck out there." With that, he hung up and sighed to himself. Telling his commanding officer who was behind this would only get him fired up, and he would want in on it, wouldn't he? His usual hard-line tactics would not work here; not like they had ever worked in the first place.

'Sure, they worked back in the day, but a bit more of a subtle approach is needed.' Oddly enough, there was one group of kats that he could rely on for the subtle things, even if they made more noise than even the Commander did sometimes.

'I just hope we don't have to see that black jet in the air today,' he thought as he headed up the elevator, 'Because that's a sign that things have really, truly gotten bad.'


Felina hung up from giving her order via a secure channel and turned back towards those in the lounge of the garage. "Well, we should get ready, just in case. It's not going to be all that pretty when they get a fix on him. This guy hasn't exactly been one to come along quietly in the past."

Callie nodded solemnly and said, "Not to mention that threat he made if the Mayor and myself don't make an appearance soon. Then again, I'm not the Deputy Mayor anymore, and for all everyone knows, I'm dead."

Jake grimaced and said, "I bet he'll settle for just about anyone connected with him getting put on ice; Commander Feral would be a likely target. It probably doesn't matter what he wants though, he'll probably continue doing what he's doing until there's no warm place left. You remember how crazy he got last time when turning skyscrapers into crystals got to his head?"

Chance gritted his teeth and said, "We almost didn't stop him back then. It took something huge to put him down the last time. If it doesn't have much chance of working this time, then what does?" It was a very serious question indeed, and it needed an immediate answer.

For a while, no one said anything, for everyone was racking their brains looking for some kind of solution. If a high-frequency sound wave wouldn't be able to crack him, then something else would have to happen. The first natural answer would be heat, but with the combination of his altered traits and his new abilities, one couldn't just put him into the sunshine and use the magnifying glass trick. They'd need quite the lens to do that anyway.

In fact, the only thing that could very well affect something like an oversized Rex in his current condition would be…

Callie said softly, "Jake, what's the melting point for a diamond?"

The slim tom looked towards her and said, "Upwards of six thousand degrees, but there's not much that can produce that kind of heat. Only thing that's close enough would be an active volcano." He raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't tell me you're thinking of melting the guy into extinction?"

She nodded and said, "That was the plan in my head…" She paused for a while and asked, "Do we have anything here that can withstand that kind of heat without being eaten through?"

Jake placed a hand on his chin and said, "The TurboKat can survive atmospheric reentry. I figure it's because of the Agracite construction of the frame" He pointed towards Callie and said, "If I could make an alloy out of it that could withstand something with a bigger burn…"

She nodded and said, "That's the point. Thing is, we don't have time for testing and even less time for waiting. How soon can you make a weapon that can deliver a payload of something we've never even thought of using before?"

It was Felina that got the point. "You plan on using lava to toast the bastard."

Callie smirked. "If sound won't do it, something else has to." She turned towards Jake again and said, "So how long? Can it even be done at all?"

Jake nodded and said, "I think it can. It's gonna take some doing, though, at least a day or two."

This was the point when Chance finally spoke again. "Do it."

Everyone stared at him for a few moments before Jake said, "How can you just say all that without knowing where to get what we need? Seriously, we've gotta put our heads together and think about how to-"

Chance growled slightly and said, "We have zero time for thinking, buddy. He's out there somewhere, freezing another section of downtown or robbing some store with his rag tag army; hell, he might have even gotten big enough balls to rob a vault." With an almost brutal efficiency, he began listing the downsides of the situation. "The Enforcers can't hope to stop him as they are now and KatGuard is a distraction at best; that leaves it all on us."

Felina clenched her fists slightly. What hurt about that was that he was right; Rex had stopped her and Callie cold, figuratively and literally. What was a private army to him?

"There's gotta be some solution to this," Chance plowed onward, "And if this is what it's gonna take to end this, then we have to get it done. Besides, there are plenty of places that we can get lava from; it's not that hard to look. All we need is something that can hold it in, deliver it, and punch through him like a well-placed sledgehammer."

Well, at least he was confident in what he said; there was no question about that. Jake nodded and replied, "Roger that. I'll have to put in a few calls to MASA and MegaKat Metallurgical to run the numbers for me. That shouldn't take long. From there, all I'd have to do is get enough of it to make a few missiles…"

Felina grinned and said, "Well finally, we're in business here. Only thing we need to do at that point is drop the hammer on him and call it a day!"

Callie didn't think it would be that easy, but she kept her comments to herself. The mood was high at the moment, and she had to admit that it made her think they had a chance to pull this off in a relatively short time. The sound of a cell phone's ring tone halted the conversation however, and Felina was the one to answer. After only a few seconds, she nodded and hung up, a determined grimace painted on her face.

"We got the call; silent alarm at a grocery store downtown." She got up and immediately headed out towards her car.

Chance raised an eyebrow and said, "Why the hell would he hit something like that?"

Callie frowned distastefully and said, "Logistics; he's got an army of homeless kats to feed. I feel sorry for them, but this is what they get." She looked toward Felina and said, "Kick their asses good, and don't do anything stupid. We want you back here without anything permanently frozen."

Felina simply walked out of the lounge with a farewell wave behind her, as if everything would be fine. As soon as she got outside though, Chance's words echoed in her ears. What could she do to minimize losses in this kind of situation? No matter how one sliced it, some kats were going to be turned into ice statues, civilian or otherwise.

'Then we don't fight like police,' she told herself. 'This isn't justice anymore; it's war. Forgive me, Benny.'


They entered with guns blazing. Kats screamed and instinctively ran for cover or any exit they could find as shots were fired into the ceiling, but the shooters came in from both of the front entrances and thus cut off any sort of escape. More of them flooded further into the store and shouted at anyone they encountered to shut up and stay where they were.

Twenty, thirty, forty of them began to storm the building, covering every possible angle. The door of a car was heard closing outside and a tom in an orange parka and pants strolled in with an almost casual gait.

He began speaking in a sardonic tone, "Attention shoppers! If you pathetic excuses for kats have not noticed by now, this is a raid. You've seen 'em on TV, so you know the rules. You stay still and you don't get a hole through somewhere you don't want to. You do something stupid, and I can't guarantee that you all get out of here alive."

More kats were entering the building, carrying bags and boxes. "Take as much as you can carry," the tom in the parka said as they walked by, "Then get another box and start over. I don't care how long it takes."

The reason he didn't care was simple; Rex Shard was expecting company. Someone had to notice sooner or later, and when they did, it would be a riot. He couldn't help but allow himself a cruel chuckle. Who was going to stop him when he had this much power? Everyone appeared to be so tied up in their own doings that they weren't able to focus on what was really going on.

Still, he wouldn't be surprised if in the next few minutes, someone came along and tried to deter him.

Wait, what was that? Something from the stock room, were they here already? Rex gritted his teeth. Too soon! "Someone check that noise!" he shouted.

Was he just hearing things? No, that didn't matter. He had to send someone to check anyway. The Enforcers might be inept at the best of times, but the ones out on the streets now? They weren't. It was why they had been hired.

He heard the sound of footsteps, looked over to where they were coming from. The two kats he sent were manhandling a stock boy; kid barely looked seventeen. Rex scoffed. "Herd him up with the others," he said with a slight growl to his voice. He really needed to relax.

He could put this entire city in a deep freeze. What the hell was he so worried about? Rex relaxed again and smiled. Let them come. They could bring as many as they wanted, and it still wouldn't change the fact that he had the upper hand in this situation.

Anyone who stood in his way was going to be put on ice, indefinitely. And all he had to do was sit back and let them come.

The engine of the sports car roared as Felina hauled ass towards the silent alarm call. Damn it, she was going to be late to the party. So it was Rex Shard, was it? Well he wasn't going to go any farther with his plans today. She tapped the call button on her wireless earpiece. "This is Feral, give me an ETA."

"Five minutes," the kat in charge of Tactical replied. "We've already got a layout of the store. Back entrance is the way to go."

She nodded. Perfect. They'd be able to do this without breaking anything. "Take any necessary detours; we don't want him knowing we're there until it's too late. Don't move until I get into position." Beep. Conversation was at an end. Left turn ahead, the tires squealed as she took it hard. She turned on the siren and burned through the red light.

Damn Chance and his words! She'd prove him wrong; this bastard was not going to stop her. Right turn ahead, cut through that, cars moving out of her way. Quick glance at the GPS, she was still heading down the fastest route. Good; the sooner she got there, the sooner this would be over.

Getting closer now, cut the noise, cut the computer. Felina started slowing down, several feet away from her intended destination. There it was, the MegaKat Superstore. And oh look, a cargo truck; the same one she had seen earlier. Felina shut the engine off, stepped out of the car and into the nearby alley as inconspicuously as she could.

She pulled out a pair of military-grade binoculars and peered down the street, zooming in for a better view. They were pretty hard at work, weren't they? How many were there in total? Did they have hostages? Felina tapped her earpiece again. "This is Feral, I'm inbound. Give me a status report."

"We're in position, waiting for your green light, Captain," the Tactical leader replied in a much softer voice now. "Two teams all set to storm the place."

Two teams, four kats each. Wasn't there more to work with? "I'm approaching," she whispered, "Be ready to go when I get there." Beep. She took another look at the truck, no one there. Go time. Felina put away the binoculars and withdrew the USP from her right thigh holster. Just in case.

The she-kat moved across the street, low and fast, looking to her right once, twice. She reached the adjacent alley and continued her approach, the streets eerily silent despite the activity that was going on. No one had been shot yet; at least, she didn't think so. There was only one way to find out, and that was to get in there and discern the situation.

She was closer now; saw the two black vans and the eight mercenaries preparing to enter. Move down the street; check both ways to see if there was anyone posted outside. Good, no one. Felina circled one finger over her head as she came in sight, and the two teams rallied around her.

"I'm taking command." she told the kat in charge, and he only nodded. "You're leading the first team that goes in; eyes open and ears sharp. I'll lead the second. Put the cans on and check your fire. We don't know what to expect in there." Silencers were attached to barrels and the mercenaries nodded. It was now or never.

"Stack up, both sides of the door. Let's take it to 'em."

Four kats stacked to the left, while the rest of them lined up to the right. Felina took a deep breath. Please don't let there be any hostages. No one had to die needlessly today. "Team one, go." The four kats on the left side opened the door slowly, hoping not to make any noise during their entry. The leader silently made his way towards the exit to the stock room, the other three kats in tow.

"Gimme the wire cam," he whispered as he reached his right hand backwards, and the kat behind him provided the tool. Withdrawing a pair of translucent, frameless glasses from his tactical vest, the leader of team one activated the cam and the uplink to the eyewear. Sliding it under the door, he began to move it around, sweeping the area for any sign of activity.

The glasses saw what the camera saw, and what it saw was expected. "Hostile contacts." He slowly moved the camera and counted as he saw someone patrolling the area, or just standing around. "Counting one… two… three… four contacts." He withdrew the camera and gave it back to the tom behind him. "Door is priority one. Anyone else is secondary. Weapons hot."

The safeties on the UMPs were switched off, and they nodded to show they were ready. The leader clicked his ear piece and whispered, "Team one, ready to enter on your go, Captain."

Felina nodded. "Team two will be right behind you. Stand by…"

Kats were going to die. She couldn't save everyone. A fit of anger welled up inside her, causing her to bare her teeth. Rex was not going to get away with this. She swore by the end of the day, he would be inside Enforcer Headquarters one of two ways: in a cell, or in the morgue.

"Go."

Team one moved immediately, opening both doors smoothly and silently. Two kats moved forward and the other two moved slightly to the right, training their sights on the ragged toms. The suppressor of the leader's sub machine gun coughed as he pulled the trigger, and the tango nearest to the door was put down with a three round burst to the back of his head.

The other three mercenaries opened fire as well, making each shot count. The other three kats were downed without pause, and team one re-formed again, holding position. Felina's team entered and immediately moved to the right as she said "Spread out, teams of two. Comb the place aisle by aisle."

Thus they split up, Felina opting to go alone. The sound of footsteps to her right, she immediately stopped and leaned against the shelves. Peek around the corner; there's one of them. So far, he hadn't noticed anything. She moved back behind cover, fired two shots blindly, and he fell. Come out from behind the corner, put a shot in his head, and move on.

She put two shots to the head of the kat that was patrolling up an aisle. Move on. No reason for alarm yet… the sound of a rifle going off. Crap! She tapped her ear piece. "All elements go loud!" She ran now, her heart threatening to leap out of her chest via her throat. She stopped at the end of the aisle she was in, checked around the corner, and withdrew her head as bullets came flying her way. Shit!

She returned fire without looking, tried to keep those who had shot at her from poking their barrels out again; or worse, coming over to play. Pull a flash bang from the vest, yank the pin free, and throw it over the top of the shelf. Please make it, please make it… BANG. She rounded the corner, ran two aisles over, and opened fire on the three toms she saw there, holding their ears in pain.

No remorse. Move on.

Her ear piece beeped. "We're pinned down near the front, Captain! They had hostages but we took their attention away from the civilians. The good news is that they're out safe; the bad news is that their captors are all over us now!" The sound of bullets bouncing off of whatever cover the leader of team one was behind. "We can't hold these guys for much longer!"

"I'm on my way," Felina said as she moved as fast as she could towards the sound of rifles going off. Her ears rung with the sound of bullets as she pulled out another flash bang; one left. She saw the kats ahead, and those that were firing at them from the registers. The sound of the truck's engine made her ears swivel in its direction. They were going to get away again!

That was when she saw him; the kat in the orange parka. That was him all right. She opened fire on the kats at the checkouts, downing two of them as they popped their heads out from cover. "Cover me," She said as she moved to the left, trying to circle around their positions. The mercenaries responded swiftly, and before long their targets were back behind cover again.

That was when she saw Rex extend one of his arms, aiming it at one of her team members. She ran over and pulled the kat behind cover again, the bolt of ice blue passing inches in front of the tom's face. It slammed into the shelf behind them and instantly caused it to frost over.

Too close.

The sound of magazines being released and reloaded was heard over the gunfire, the mercenaries efficiently continuing their spray of concentrated fire. They didn't have much ammo left, but they would make every shot worth it. Felina took the kat that she had saved along with her and the two of them attempted to flank those hiding behind the registers.

Shots of ice blue followed them as they moved; flying over their heads and onto the floor just inches from their boots, but it was sporadic due to the fact that even he had to take cover. It wasn't safe here anymore. "Peel out," Rex yelled over the gunfire as he began blasting the black-clad soldiers with frost, causing them to remove themselves from what they were doing.

One after another, they began retreating, trying to pull out of the fight, only to be met with fire from Felina and the teammate that she had brought with her. But they couldn't cover both exits, and the majority of the kats got away… including Rex, who smashed through the glass behind him.

"Get after him," Felina shouted, and they did so as fast as possible, but had to take cover again as those who had escaped being shot down covered their comrades' escape. So they weren't going to make it after all.

That didn't mean she would walk away empty-handed.

As the truck began to drive off, she put the flash bang back into its pocket and pulled out something else: a small, black, almost unnoticeable tracer. She reeled back and threw the tracer at the back of the vehicle. She couldn't hear the noise of it sticking to the truck, but she didn't necessarily care. Breathing heavily, she watched them get away, a snarl on her features.

No one died, but the bad guys certainly had time to clean out at least half the store. This was not a good day. Her only consolation, her only hope, was that the tracer was doing its job. Immediately, she began heading back to her car. "Pack up, we're leaving."

They began to exit, but not before Felina walked towards one of those that were still breathing and hauled him up by his collar. "I should shoot you, really I should. But the law dictates that you go to jail, and that's what I'm paid to do; bring you and anyone else who isn't dead in." She began carrying him off to her car and said, "Before I do that, you are going to answer some questions for me…"


Chapter 55: Whiteout (Part 4) – Frozen Heart

Well, there it is for you. I tried to change my style just a bit; I felt like trying something different this time, but if you don't notice, that's fine too. Just as long as you enjoy it, right? In any event, I know I took a while to write this one, and I'm sorry. Really, truly I am. Looking for a school kinda gets in the way of things, you know?

In any event, tune in next time when we find out the fate of the city, the threats made on it, and what happens when you try to melt what has to be the world's largest diamond.

Hasta la vista, see ya when I see ya.