Chapter 3

Felina's Car pulled up to the curb of a nice, two floor, suburban home. The pristine, luscious lawn and hedges were being worked on by hired help. Their work under the noon sun just reminded Felina why she lived in an apartment, but she could still see the appeal of living in such a quiet area. No wonder Callie had decided to raise her kid out here. That being said, it felt like Jessie had been over at her apartment more than his own home.

When was the last time she'd been here? Probably last year, before… Felina glanced over at her daughter. Cathy sat quietly looking at the house intensely. However, Felina could see Cathy's mind was a thousand yards beyond the fancy homes around them. She'd seen that stare before in Enforcers who weren't quite ready to return to duty. Felina briefly pondered if she'd ever been caught with that same stare.

"Been a while…" Cathy muttered.

"I think I can count on one paw how many times you've come here." Felina remarked. Jessie had almost always come to play at their apartment, but Felina didn't hold that against Callie. Callie had started her campaign for mayor when Jessie was six. With Callie being so busy, Chance had offered to look after her kid until the election was over. Jessie was such a sweet little boy that Felina wasn't too upset when their deal with Callie extended beyond the election.

Felina opened her car door and headed towards the house, giving a slight nod to the workers. She stopped and glanced back to the car where Cathy still sat. Cathy furiously scratched at the door handle, brow furrowed and teeth clenched. She wasn't going to lose this time! The handle was a thin bar with the hinge on the far side. When she tried to pull the handle back her hook would skid across the surface and slide off. Maybe if she wedged her elbow against the door and use her wrist… Cathy pursed her lips, remembering she'd lost that too. No matter, she'd figure this out. Okay, since she didn't have a wrist maybe she could… Cathy wedged her elbow between the door frame and her seat, then placed her hook as close to the handle's hinge as she could. Cathy was about to use her elbow as leverage to pop up the handle, but found herself being dragged out as her mother opened the car door.

Cathy's hook hand slid off the handle and her body dropped towards the sidewalk. Felina's outstretched paw was all that stopped her from cracking her head against the pavement.

"Are you okay?!" Felina helped prop her daughter back onto the leather seat.

Cathy glared smoldering holes into the car's floor, "I'm fine," she snarled. She'd almost had it! Cathy, gathering herself, left the car and followed her mother to the front door.

Felina tried to clear her head and prepare herself before knocking. She liked Callie, the mayor was a hard working she-kat who truly cared about Megakat city. Some people would make the case that Callie had practically been the mayor during her deputy-mayor days. Pretty much every Enforcer had something good to say about her, however, well, Felina was a soldier and Callie was a politician. They didn't really have all that much in common, other than having to deal with "supervillain" attacks and that their kids were friends.

Her search for a subject of discussion was quickly dropped as a heavenly sweet smell wafted into her nose. As she knocked on the door, Felina's head jerked towards the street. Sure enough, tucked away at the far end was a small, emerald colored car. She couldn't help but smile as her paw rapped against the fine wood door. What luck that Cathy was going to meet the sweetest kat that had ever graced this planet.

The door swung open to reveal the illustrious mayor of Megakat city, who looked like she was a college student who'd fallen asleep studying. With her glasses askew and her maroon business dress slightly wrinkled, Callie Briggs stifled a yawn and stretched her back. Her tail stiffened up as her body remembered what it meant to be awake. Her blonde hair was mashed to the side, no doubt because she'd been sleeping on it.

"You get a chance to actually sleep?" Felina chuckled, stepping into the nice home.

"It's that noticeable?" Callie sighed, rubbing her eyes, "Between raising funds for repairing the city and the lobbyists, I get pretty swamped." Callie turned to Cathy, firmly planting a paw on her hip, " Well if it isn't Cathy! You sure have grown."

"Where is Jessie?" Cathy asked, bluntly.

"Where he always is," Callie sighed, "Auto was about to bring up some cookies for him."

Cathy raised a brow, "Auto?"

"Yes?" Asked a pleasantly timid voice. A blue and orange shape leaned around the corner, "Did someone request my services?"

Cathy looked the new kat up and down. He was just as tall as Feral, but not nearly as beefy. He wore a blue suit with a bright green tie. The kat's hair was neatly slicked and parted on the left side, and his muzzle was a snowy white while the rest of him was a light orangish brown. A gentle smile hung beneath a pink nose. Cathy pinned him as the kind of kid who got picked on for wearing a button up shirt in elementary school. Whoever he was, he just had this… goofy aura that hung around him.

Callie motioned towards the kat, "This is Auto, he's the personal assistant of Mr. Whiska."

Mr. Whiska? Where had Cathy heard that name before?

"Ah, Cathy Furlong," Auto said, deliberately walking forwards, left paw outstretched, "it's nice to meet you!"

Cathy had to pause a moment. Auto's cheerful demeanor had slightly thrown her off. She reached out her only paw and shook Auto's.

"I've baked a sheet of oatmeal cookies and marshmallow fudge cookies. If neither of those appeal to you I can bake a new batch later today."

"I… the fudge are fine," Cathy said, slightly uncomfortable with Auto's blinding sunshine disposition.

Auto nodded, somehow smiling brighter, then ducked out of the room.

Felina bit her lower lip, trying not to show her excitement. He'd made marshmallow fudge! Those delicious disks of sweetness were half the reason she went to those stuck up fundraiser parties. No bakery in Megakat city could compare to Auto's cooking.

"Wait," Cathy chimed in, "you said he was the assistant to…"

"Mr. Whiska, the head of W&M Financial." Callie said, trying to fix her hair in the reflection of a mirror down the hall.

As Callie lead them further into her home, Cathy scratched the side of her head with her hook, "So, he isn't your assistant? Then why is he here?"

They walked into a dining room with papers scattered across the long, shiny dinner table. "I thought I told Jessie to clean this up," Callie grumbled, gathering the papers. "Mr. Whiska lends him to the city. Normally we wouldn't allow that, but the kid can sort through a workload meant for twelve people in an hour." Callie glared at the stack of papers in her paws, "Oh, these are mine."

"I'm pretty sure Whiska doesn't charge the city for Auto's work either," Felina mentioned, "He lends Auto to the Enforcers too. Guy always brings cookies when he comes by, I've had to spend an extra hour in the gym because of him."

Auto came walking in with a tray of cookies from a small door on their left, "My apologies Mrs. Furlong!" He gently placed the cookies on the table, "I can see if I could alter the recipe to be less calorie intensive."

Cathy stood stoically as the two other she-kats chuckled. She didn't want cookies, "Where is Jessie?"

"Jessie is currently working on a project in his room upstairs," Auto cheerfully said, "I would have asked to see it, but Ms. Briggs fell asleep and these forms needed to be finished."

Callie shook her head and sighed, "To think I was able to do this all on my own back in the day…"

"I'm going to say hi to him," Cathy sighed and headed towards the door on her right.

The hall was lined with pictures of Jessie and Callie in different stages of their lives. They were all professionally done with Jessie's hair slicked back and a single colored background behind him. The smile in each one was forced and unnatural. Cathy meandered into a room with a large, fancy, T.V. and a leather couch. Beside a set of stairs was a large display showing several trophies and certificates with bright lights shining on them like a ray of sunlight. Those were all rewards Jessie had won, right? Why were they down here and not with Jessie? It was at this moment that Cathy felt the presence behind her. She glared at the tall kat who'd followed her.

Auto looked down at Cathy, his beaming smile faltering, "Is something wrong Ms. Furlong?" He still held his plate of brown, crispy cookies.

Cathy snagged a cookie and bit into. Her taste buds screamed in delight as chewy goodness embraced her tongue, "… Are you going to see Jessie too?"

Auto nodded, his smile returning to full strength, "He likes oatmeal chocolate. The oatmeal creates a favorable texture for him."

Cathy felt some deep pit in her urging her to be grumpy, but Auto was making it very easy to ignore it. She took another bite and started up the stairs into a dark hallway. Reaching the top floor Cathy saw a door outlined with flickering blue light. She approached the door and heard the tapping of keys on a keyboard and whizzing of some mechanical contraption. Reaching for the handle, she flinched as her metal hook scrapped against the door.

Pushing the door open with the correct paw, Cathy squinted as a row of bright computer monitors blasted her eyes. Electrical wires hung from poles that ran parallel with the roof, like vines hanging from a jungle canopy. Bits and pieces of miscellaneous items were scattered across the floor. It looked like a localized tornado had hit his bed. Jessie sat in an office chair, typing away, however, Cathy was much more interested in the machine that sat on the table next to Jessie

"Mom!" Jessie growled, "I asked you to kno-" He spun around to face Cathy, "Oh! Hey Cat."

"Hey."

"Hello Jessie!"

Jessie slapped his desk, causing the junk on it to shake, "Wait, what time is it!" He stood up and snatched his project from desk. "I've finished! I've finished! I'm just… doing some adjustments."

Cathy couldn't take her eye's off the device in Jessie's paws. Metal fingers hung loosely from smooth joints, attached to steel palms, "Is that what I think it is?"

Jessie nervously lifted the prosthetic up. Sure enough it was a robotic paw. A plastic cuff extended from the wrist joint and was braced with metal rods. Laminated circuit boards could be seen doting the cuff. Aside from the robot paw and circuitry, it looked very similar to her hook.

"Auto, can you grab some jelly from theeeee…"

"Shelf?"

"Sort of? The one on the ground though."

"These drawers?"

"Yes?"

Auto walked over to the flimsy, plastic drawers beside him, "There is no jelly in here."

"It's not food jelly, its-"

"The kind used for ECG electrodes, correct?"

Jessie paused, glanced at the ceiling, and seemed to get lost in something, "Yyyyyyessss."

Auto closed the top drawer and searched the bottom. He brought out a palm sized tub and handed it to Jessie, who scooped out a portion of blue goo and began to rub the inside of the cuff.

Cathy couldn't get her horrid hook off fast enough! She clawed at the strap that held the hook to her arm, then popped out her claws and attempted to literally claw at the stupid things. A surprisingly strong paw grabbed Cathy's left wrist before she had the chance, however.

Auto's grip was firm and unwavering, "My apologies Ms. Furlong, but you could hurt yourself by recklessly clawing at your straps like that. Allow me to help."

"I don't need-" But, before she could finish, Auto had deftly removed the hooked appendage. Cathy glared at the hook, then shook her head, sighing, "Thanks, Auto."

"It was my pleasure."

Jessie, satisfied with the coating of jelly extended his free paw to Cathy, "All right, you ready?"

The eagerness she'd felt suddenly dropped out of her. What if this didn't work? Jessie was smart, but not all of his inventions were successful. Cathy nervously reached out her stump.

The inside of the cuff was slimy and cold. Her arm moving into position sounded like somebody smashing jam into a tube. Hopefully the jelly here wouldn't be sticky later. With the prosthetic firmly in place, Cathy tried to move her paw.

The fake didn't move.

Cathy glanced at Jessie, disappointed.

Jessie tossed himself onto his rolling chair and swung around to face his computers, "Sorry, forgot to boot it up."

Several taps later, and Jessie readjusting the device, Cathy tried once more. The fingers twitched a little. How had she used her paw before? She decided the movement she remembered best was rotating her wrist. The robotic paw whirred as it rotated upwards! Cathy's heart soared as she watched the machine move. She tried her fingers again, this time managing to curl them inwards. With a few more moments of practice Cathy was able to clench and open the device as if it were truly her own paw!

Cathy looked up at Jessie's proud eyes, "This is working a thousand times better than I expected!" he said, clapping his paws together.

"Fascinating," Auto leaned closer to Cathy's new paw, "Ms. Furlong, would you mind doing something for me?"

"Anything!" Cathy was practically shaking with joy.

"When I say a number could you raise that many fingers, please?"

Cathy nodded vigorously.

"One"

Cathy's pointer finger shot up.

"Two"

Her middle finger rose to join the first.

"Five"

A bit thrown off Cathy rose all her fingers.

"Two"

This continued on for a few moments, Auto saying numbers in random sequences while Cathy showed her understanding of elementary school math.

"Extraordinary!" Auto said, adjusting his tie, "Such a speedy reaction time from a homemade prosthetic. Pumadyne's require invasive neural surgery to get the same speed."

Jessie, embarrassed, scratched his arm, "Well, I am pretty good."

"Mr. Whiska would love to see this."

Jessie's countenance dropped, "It's for Cathy."

"I- of course, but he'd really enjoy seeing it."

"I need to show mom!" Cathy rushed to the door, only for her arm to be jerked back. She glanced at the cable that connected her to a car battery on the floor.

"I haven't gotten the final power source in," Jessie said, disconnecting a cable from his computer and hopping off his chair. "For now I've been-" He reached down and strained to pick up the large, brick like battery. "*oof* I've been using this *urgh* for testing."

Auto put a paw on Jessie's shoulder, "Allow me," With one paw, Auto grabbed the car battery's handle and easily lifted it up. "Oh, and these are for you, Jessie." Auto offered the plate of cookies to Jessie.

"Ooooooh! Come to papa!" Jessie eagerly snagged a cookie and chomped into it. He took the plate from Auto and set it on the bed.

Cathy impatiently tugged at the wires holding her down.

"I'll finish these later, thanks Auto." Jessie tapped Auto's shoulder and squeezed past him and Cathy.

The lanky cat streaked down the corridor and down the stairs, reminding Cathy that Jessie used to be one of the top runners in their school's track team. She glanced at the heavy battery and scowled once more.

"If you ever need to go jogging," Auto said, "I could always come by and run with you. I'm very fast, even with this battery."

Cathy smirked at Auto, "Bold of you to assume I'd need the help."

Auto beamed back and followed Cathy back downstairs. She descended the stairs to find her mother and Callie waiting for her. The room was filled with light and joy as Cathy moved her new hand.

"You made all that with scrapyard parts?" Callie mused, "I just don't get why you don't want to go to college."

Jessie rolled his eyes, "Why does it always come back to this? Look, I'm twenty two, I'm an adult, and I can make my own decisions."

"Sweetie, you forgot how to make toast this morning."

Jessie blushed, "Well, anyway, It's going to take some time for you to fully adjust to the prosthetic, Cathy. But, I'll make you good as new."

Cathy looked at Jessie with a mad glint in her eyes, "I want to juggle!"

"I… yeah, totally, you'll be able to do that."

"Now!"

The three watchers laughed as Jessie scrambled to find something for Cathy to juggle with.

"Mrs. Furlong?" Auto whispered, tapping Felina on the shoulder, "May I speak with you for a moment."

Felina's smile drooped and she glanced towards her daughter.

"I understand, Mrs. Furlong, but it's very important."

She couldn't conjure the desire to get mad at Auto, which was probably why people would get him to approach her. Felina reluctantly nodded and dragged Auto back to the dining room.

"What is this about?" Felina grumbled.

Auto adjusted his tie and stood at attention, "Mr. Whiska was wondering if you were planning to attend the upcoming fundraiser."

"Most likely not."

"I see," Auto said, solemnly nodding his head, "I would usually end this conversation on that, however, Mr. Whiska has asked me to stress that this fundraiser is very important."

Felina sighed, "Come on, Auto, I don't want to get mad at you."

"I would also appreciate that not happening," Auto's blue eyes gazed deeply into Felina's, "Mrs. Furlong, this fundraiser is being held to support wounded veterans."

Felina's heart dropped out of her chest.

"Mr. Whiska believes that your presence, and your daughter's story, would be very beneficial to the cause."

"Do you want Cathy there?"

Auto shook his head, "Mr. Whiska believes it would be too soon, and I feel he is correct. She is most likely still dealing with her loss," He bit his cheek, "It also wouldn't help matters that this event is being held on the anniversary of the attack."

Felina pinched the bridge of her snout and shook her head, "Will you be making anything for it?"

Auto smiled once more, "I've been given permission to prepare one hundred thousand baked goods."

"And how much of that will be fudge marshmallow cookies?"

"I'll have as much as you want."

"Well, Auto, I suppose you can tell Mr. Whiska I'll be there."