Chapter 1

The truck's engine rumbled as the vehicle drove through the streets. The skyscrapers around them seemed to stare down at Cathy and imprison her. She could only see a thin strip of blue sky, but it didn't provide her any sort of hope. Cathy glanced down at the hook-like apparatus that replaced her hand. A year of physical therapy hadn't made the sight any easier to look at. She grit her teeth to keep the tears inside. She'd never fly again, Joker would never laugh again, it angered her to see how life kept moving despite everything. The citizens on the streets just walked around like some evil monster hadn't attacked the Enforcers a year ago.

"Cat, hun."

Cathy didn't want to look at her father, she didn't want him to see her cry, but it was more difficult than she'd expected.

"Come on, talk to me."

Cathy reluctantly turned her head towards the driver's seat. Chance Furlong was a beefy cat with arms as thick as a python. Even in his old age, her father could probably beat most of the Enforcers in an arm-wrestling contest. Brown stripes made their way up Chance's arms and broke up his fur's usual yellow color. Cathy had these markings too and, combined with her mother's white tuffs, bragged that they were nature's marks of approval.

"What do you want me to say?" Cathy asked, weakly.

Her father rubbed the back of his head, "Well, uh, we got pizza to celebrate you coming home from the hospital. Buffalo Chicken topping, your favoooriiittte".

He spoke like he was wafting a slice in front of her, but Cathy couldn't help but think about the time Joker had hidden thin slices of pineapple under a pizza he'd given her. She'd been furious that he'd ruin a perfectly good pizza for the sake of a joke. But he had made it up to her with a fresh, pineapple free pie.

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh…" Chance dejectedly said.

Cathy went back to looking out the window. She began to recognize the buildings they were passing. Stores she'd gone to with her parents, restaurants that Cathy had told Joker about, she remembered the exact path she would take on her way home from school.

The tow truck pulled into the old, familiar parking garage and swung into their parking spot. Cathy felt like a helpless child as her hook hand fumbled with the door handle. She grit her teeth and furiously yanked on the handle with her left hand.

Fall's cold air stung Cathy's face as she stepped out of the truck. Her father was already pulling out her luggage from the truck bed. She didn't have all that much with her, and her things from the base had been taken to her parent's home a long time ago. Cathy took a suitcase with her good hand while her father grabbed the rest.

She pressed the elevator's call button with her hook. The button lit up with a cheery yellow color that made Cathy even more upset. What right did anything have to be happy?! She closed her eyes and tried to rein herself in. Despite all the therapists and grief counselors, her anger still got the better of her. The elevator doors slid open and the two entered in silence.

Memories of childhood came flooding back as Cathy passed apartment door after apartment door. Oddly enough, the memories dulled the pain. She'd spent eighteen years walking down this hallway. Neighbors would know exactly when Cathy and Jessie came back from school as they would race to her apartment door. Jessie… it had been a while since Cathy had thought about him.

Cathy's dad put her baggage down and rummaged through his pockets for the apartment keys. "I swore I had-"

The door swung open and Commander Feral's massive frame filled the doorway. Cathy and Chance stepped back in surprise. Feral's stone like face was stoic, but Cathy could see the sadness in his eyes as he glanced her way.

"Cathy," Feral said, his deep, gruff voice was quiet.

"Commander," Cathy responded.

Feral shook his head, "There is no need for formality here."

He had probably meant to make Cathy feel more at ease, but it only reminded her that she was no longer an Enforcer.

"What are you doing here, Feral?" Chance grumbled.

Commander Feral glared down at Chance. There were few people Cathy knew who could withstand the burning force of her granduncle's eyes. He was an extraordinarily tall kat and, like her father, looked like he could bench press two cadets stacked on top of each other.

"Am I not allowed to visit my niece?"

Chance didn't answer and slipped past the broad-shouldered commander, muttering something.

Cathy was about to follow him when Feral put a hand on her shoulder. "Cathy,"

She looked up at her granduncle.

"The Enforcers are not just field work. It may not be quite as glorious, but desk work is just as important."

Cathy glanced away. Really, a desk job? Did he even know who she was? She was the daughter of two of the best pilots who'd ever been in the Enforcers! Accepting that she was stuck doing paperwork was an insult to her family.

"Thanks," Cathy reluctantly said, "I'll have to think about it."

"Take your time." Feral said, leaving Cathy to her thoughts.

Cathy walked into the large apartment, her feet feeling like lead. The place was just as Cathy remembered it. A wall sized window was in place of the adjacent wall and their dinning room was placed perfectly to allow them to look over Megakat city. Cathy ignored the pizza box on the table and walked to the window. Was this the closest she would get to flying again?

"For the last time, no!"

Cathy jolted as her mother's fierce voice echoed through the apartment.

"My daughter just came home from the hospital, King, I'm not going to a fundraiser!"

Cathy smiled a little bit.

Felina Furlong was pacing about, emitting an aura of Amazonian dominance. Her brow was knit and her eyes burned with the same ferocity of commander Feral's, only fueled brighter by her own motherly rage. Cathy's mother wore a baggy, overly large tank top, definitely belonging to Cathy's father, and grey sweatpants. Based on how she was dressed, her mother was determined to stay home.

Felina paced around the room, phone firmly pressed against her head. Cathy saw her mother grit her teeth, pull the phone away, and firmly press the end call button. Felina tossed her cellphone onto the counter.

"Hanging up with a 'smart' phone isn't nearly as satisfying as the old flip-phones," Felina sighed. She looked at Cathy and smiled, "Nice to see you on your feet soldier."

Cathy's small smile disappeared, "Not really a soldier anymore, mom."

Felina put her hands on her hips, "Is that so? I think you stop being a soldier when you decide to stop," she walked over and put a hand on Cathy's shoulder, "Have you stopped?"

Cathy turned her eyes to the floor, "Maybe."

Cathy's arms were pinned to her side as her mother hugged her, which her father soon joined. Squished between her parent's in a love sandwich, Cathy was finding it harder and harder not to cry.

Chance's warm breath whispered in her hear, "We're proud of you, even if you decide not to be."

Cathy broke out of the hug and attempted to wipe away the hot tears brewing in her eyes. She raised her right hand, forgetting it no longer existed. She stared at the mocking hook for a second, a tear streaking down her furry cheek. Without a word, Cathy fled towards her room. Felina and Chance exchanged looks, not sure where to go from here.

Cathy walked into her room, barely able to see. The tears wouldn't stop now, she couldn't hold them in any longer. She missed flying, she missed running out for training at three in the morning, but most of all she missed Joker. His practical jokes, his sunny disposition, the way he could make a bad situation feel better. Being stuck in the hospital, Cathy hadn't been able to attend the funeral, she hadn't gotten the chance to say her goodbyes.

Cathy flopped onto her bed and pressed her pillow firmly against her face. What was she going to do now? In painful realization, Cathy realized that her entire structure was gone. Her schedule was no more eaten up by Enforcer training exercises, the hospital had given her a set schedule for physical therapy, but now… now she had too much freedom.

—

While Cathy was suffering through her turmoil, Chance and Felina sat on their couch. Felina narrowed her eyes as Chance bit into a steamy slice of pizza.

Her husband caught her disapproving look, "What?"

Felina opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, realizing that there was nothing inherently wrong with what Chance was doing, "Nothing…"

Chance wrapped his free arm around his wife, "Hey, we'll help her through this. Time heals all wounds, right?"

Felina looked into Chances eyes, "What would you do if you lost Jake?"

Chance was taken aback by the question. He glanced at the pizza slice, finished it off, and sighed, "I'd probably be just as shaken up as Cat, I would probably feel… lost." He stared long and hard into Felina's black eyes. The white hair that framed her face had steadily creeped further and further into her black hair. He could see the grey peppered into her brown fur, and wrinkles forming around her eyes. She was still the most beautiful woman in the world.

The door bell rang, breaking the moment.

Tears all poured out, Cathy flipped onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She glanced at the model planes on the shelves. Jessie had helped her build them back in elementary school. But, Cathy didn't remember them being there when she'd left, nor the poster of an old boyband she'd liked in middle school. Movie posters clung to the ceiling like a canopy of nostalgia. There had been a time when Cathy had thought about being a movie maker. She and Jessie would make amateur films to post online. All this childhood stuff had been put away a long time ago though. Had her parents put all this up after she'd left or before she'd come home?

Her bedroom door creaked open an inch and her father poked his head into her room, "Hey, Cat, somebody's here to see ya."

Cathy sat up and set her back against the wall. Her ears and tail perked up as her visitor walked in.

A short kat with yellow fur nervously stepped in. An ill-fitting, salmon colored turtleneck sweater hung loosely from his thin frame. A pair of thin rimmed glasses sat on his snout where his blue eyes glanced about the room, "Wow, I haven't seen this stuff in years."

"Jess?" Cathy asked, surprised by her old friend's sudden appearance.

Jessie adjusted his glasses and rustled his messy hair, "I heard you were coming home today, so I figured I would stop by."

Jessie smiled at her, reminding Cathy of the times they'd spent together. He'd almost always come to her house after school, since his mother was always too busy. Jessie would help Cathy with her homework, and Cathy would help Jessie feel less lonely.

"While I'm here, can I take some measurements?" Jessie reached back and pulled a rolling tool box, about half the size of Jessie, into view.

"What?" Chance asked, looking at the tool box.

Not answering, Jessie pulled his tools towards Cathy. He flicked open some latches and opened the top. Rummaging around, Jessie furrowed his brow and closed the lid, "Where…" He opened drawer after drawer until finally he pulled out a tailor's measuring tape from his pocket, "Why did I put-? Never mind."

Cathy leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. Her tail wrapped around herself and she began to rub the tip. What was Jessie doing?

"Can I see your arm?" Jessie asked, his hand outstretched.

Cathy hesitated, but reluctantly raised her hook for her friend to exam. Not missing a beat, Jessie firmly grabbed Cathy's arm and closely examined it.

"Hmm, light alloy, probably stainless steel…" before Cathy could protest, Jessie loosened the strap that held the prosthetic on. He held it up and examined the inside, "No, no… this'll chafe after a while…"

As Jessie continued to mutter, Cathy looked at her stump. Half of her forearm was missing and a useless bump remained. Her yellow fur thinned out into a bald patch that revealed the olive skin underneath. Her thoughts were broken up as Jessie tossed the hook hand onto the bed. His hands ran over her stump, measuring tape in hand. Having her friend touch the numb spot was… uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" Chance asked, awkwardly watching as Jessie pawed at his daughter.

Pulling out a pen and paper, Jessie started to jot down notes, "I've got a project I'm working on."

"Like the robot that does your homework?" Cathy quietly chuckled.

Jessie shook his head, "You know that thing was unreliable for anything but basic math, however, this project doesn't have to do complex computations."

"Hold on, you actually made that robot?" Chance asked, brow raised.

Jessie shrugged, "In high school, but the math was too advanced by then, would have worked in elementary though."

"What have you been up to Jessie?" Cathy asked.

"Not much," Jessie said, chewing on his pen, "Mom keeps pressuring me to get a job…"

"Well, how else are you going to pay for college?" Cathy teased, knowing full well his family could afford it anyway.

"By not going."

Cathy's brow shot up like a rocket, "What? But you'd be a shoo-in for any college!"

"Going to college isn't going to teach me anything I don't already know," Jessie flipped his notepad closed and turned to Chance, who was just as surprised that Jessie wasn't going. "Didn't a shipment of scrapped scanners come into the yard?"

Chance shrugged, "Jake would no more about that, I haven't really been paying attention."

Jessie nodded, "Makes sense, since he's the smmmmaarrr-," he quickly broke himself off and turned back to Cathy, smiling wide, "So, yeah. Come by my place tomorrow and I think I'll have it ready."

"Have what ready?" Cathy asked, warily eyeing her friend. She trusted Jessie as a person, but his projects didn't always have... positive results.

Jessie adjusted his glasses once more and grinned eagerly at her, "I want it to be a surprise," he turned to his tools and started packing up.

Chance scratched the side of his head, pondering what had just happened, "You headed to the scrapyard, kid?"

Jessie nodded his head as he clicked his toolbox closed.

Chance looked at his daughter with a worried look, "You mind if I drive him down there, Cat?"

Cathy shrugged. Her heart was starting to feel heavy again, but she didn't want to burden Jessie. He apparently had more important things to do. "Maybe he'd finally get a car if you make him walk."

Jessie rolled his eyes, "I walked here from my house, walking to the yard isn't that much further."

Chance glossed over the skinny kat, "Still, it's been a while and I'd like catch up with ya."

"Oh, well, okay then," Jessie said, lugging his tool kit out the door, "if you really want to."

Cathy stood up, grabbing her prosthetic from the bed and followed them out of her room. She'd realized her stomach was growling and the sweet smell of pizza was suddenly much more appealing than before.

"Hey, Jes,"

Jessie turned his head to Cathy, "Ye?"

Cathy smirked, "You didn't eat breakfast, did you."

He fiddled with his hands, "Ugh, well…"

Chance smacked Jessie on the back, sending the poor kid stumbling forward and messing up his glasses, "No wonder you're such a beanpole, kid!"

"You didn't eat breakfast?!" Felina scolded, still on the sofa, "Make him take a slice on his way out."

Jessie put up his hands and protested, "No, I couldn't,"

"A slice won't kill you, Jess!" Cathy chuckled.

Chance grabbed two slices of pizza and slapped them on a paper plate, then ushered the malnourished kat out the door.

Cathy waved her father and friend goodbye, "I'll see you tomorrow, Jess."