TITLE: THE SWAT KATS' FINAL RESISTANCE: PART TWO

AUTHOR: C. L. Furlong

DATE: January 16, 2001

FINISHED: January 26, 2001

LAST REVISION: February 14, 2001

E-MAIL: chance_lizard_furlong@aeiou.pt

RATING: PG13

SUMMARY: With Turmoil as Jake's new partner, the Radical Squadron
seems to be up and running once more. However, Dark Kat has different
plans both for Razor *and* for the city.

DISCLAIMER: SWAT Kats and anything related to the series is property
of Hanna-Barbera. No infringement is intended and no profit is gained
with this fiction.

COMMENTS: The following chapter of this trilogy. Hope it's enjoyable.
Cheers to all of you, SK fans!

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"We don't have the power to destroy the planet - or to save it. But we might
have the power to save ourselves." - Michael Crichton in "Jurassic Park"
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"If I lose, everyone loses!" - Dark Kat in "Katastrophe"
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THE SWAT KATS' FINAL RESISTANCE: Part Two

A month had elapsed since the creeplings had attacked
Jake at the salvage yard.

It was a glorious sunny afternoon and high in the skies above
Megakat Bay the TurboKat completed a series of daredevil moves that
sent Razor's stomach to his mouth. Razor could see that Katana
was almost as skilled as T-Bone. That was obvious to him now!
However, Razor hadn't gotten over his friend's death yet.

"She's a lot like you, ol' buddy... But, it's not the same
thing... - Razor thought - Chance, Chance... I miss you so badly...
But, I know now you're alive... Somewhere on this planet you live...
I just have this feeling that you're not dead, buddy... I still
haven't lost my hope of seeing you again..."

"So, Razor, what do you think? Had enough G's already?"
Katana asked Razor, her voice muffled over the radio built
in her oxygen mask, bringing the weapons officer back to reality.

Razor blinked twice and mumbled something over the radio.

"What was that again, Razor?"

"I said, so far I haven't seen anything unusual. Can't you
do better than that?" - he was obviously teasing her.

In this month of close dealing with Turmoil/Katana, Razor knew that
would tick her off.

He slipped on his oxygen mask and prepared himself for a
higher dose of G's as the jet hurtled upward. Katana pushed the
throttle switch till the end and engaged the afterburners. The
jet darted upward and Razor was crushed against his seat. He
began to see dark spots in the corner of his eyes a little later.

"Engaging Speed of Heat!" - Katana announced proudly.

The thrusters slid out of the rear of the jet, its wings swung
backward, giving the fighter a somewhat more delta-like shape. The
canopy was covered rapidly with the heat shields. All seven thrusters were
in motion. The TurboKat plunged upward, defying the pull of gravity.
They reached the top of the stratosphere in seconds.

Razor's vision was now almost completely black except for
a strip in front of each pupil. Katana cut off the afterburners
and reduced the throttle so she could turn the jet and head down
toward the ground. She too was beginning to see the corners of her
eyes turn jet-black. She felt her body float free inside her harness
during the turn, when gravity was temporarily null.

When the jet completed a 180ยบ turn, she maxed the jet up again,
starting to spin the TurboKat around itself in a death-defying spiral.
They reentered the troposphere and hurtled down to Megakat Bay, the
sound barrier broken long ago. She cut off the Speed of Heat thrusters
and the afterburners in order to control the fighter before it could
dive into the cold waters of the sea beneath them.

She pulled the control handle toward her to level the jet,
putting all her strength in that movement. When the jet was finally
leveled, she reduced the rear engines and activated the VTOL engines,
setting the TurboKat in hover mode.

"So, what do you say now, Razor?" - There was no answer from behind
her - "Razor?" - She turned in her seat, as much as the bands of her
security harness would allow her, and she saw that Razor's eyes were
glazed.

"He's in G-shock!" - she thought - "I'd better get him back to the
hangar!"

She then turned to the controls and was about to activate the rear
engines when she heard Razor mumbling. He was snapping out of his
trance.

"Razor! Are you okay?"

"I... I'm okay... I guess..." - He managed to answer.

His vision was still clouded, but it was clearing at a satisfying rate.

"Let's head home, okay?" - he said.

Suddenly, the radio crackled and a familiar female voice invaded
the cockpit.

"SWAT Kats! You're alive!"

"Yes, Miss Briggs! The SWAT Kats are back in action!" - Razor
answered, his heart pounding with each word he spoke to his loved one.

"I tried to call you two several times last month but you
never answered! Is everything all right with you, Razor?"

His face turned red. Razor knew Callie didn't know he and Jake were
the same kat, but he couldn't help but think she had just asked Jake that and
not Razor. After all, they were both the same kat...

"I'm fine, Miss Briggs. Thanks for your concern!"

"What about T-Bone? Is he okay too?"

Razor didn't answer that. His mind suddenly flew a month back in
time. He remembered the explosion when the jet crashed against City Hall
and felt a tight knot forming in his stomach.

The radio crackled again.

"Razor? Are you still there?"

"I'm here, Miss Briggs!" - Razor said, snapping out of his memories.
- "I'm sorry I didn't answer you." - He uncomfortably shifted his
position in the seat as he searched for the right words. - "It's kinda hard
for me to say this..."

"Did something happen to T-Bone?" - Callie asked, her voice showing
true concern.

"T-Bone..."

He didn't want to say the word 'died' for he thought it was too
strong. Besides, it would shake his recent beliefs.

"...left this world, Miss Briggs..."

A long silence filled the cockpit before Callie recovered enough from
her own shock.

"I... I'm... I'm so sorry, Razor... I *really* am..."

Even she, who wrote all of Manx's speeches, was having trouble finding
the right words. But then, the facts struck her.

"Then... who's flying the TurboKat? Is it you, Razor?"

"No, Miss Briggs, I'm not flying the TurboKat..."

"It's Razor's new partner!" - Katana said - "Nice to speak to you,
Deputy Mayor. You can call me Katana!"

"You replaced T-Bone already?"

She couldn't know the effect that comment had on Razor. He dropped
his head to his chest and closed his eyes. The feeling he was betraying
Chance overwhelmed him again as it had countless times the last month.

In his nightmares, Chance and T-Bone had already died in at least
fifty different ways. The most terrifying were the times when he
helplessly let his friend die in his arms.

He suddenly cocked his head. No! That was enough! He wouldn't allow
himself to be down now! Chance was alive and he knew it! The hard part
was to pretend to the other katizens he wasn't!

Only Razor believed Chance was alive. Not even Turmoil believed in that
already! But, Razor had to maintain that belief. Otherwise, he would go
insane longing for his 'brother' to return...

"Actually, she came to me, Miss Briggs." - he managed to say, trying to
keep a strong tone in his voice - "She was an old acquaintance of T-Bone's
and he would have wanted her to take his place. I accepted her and she's
already proved trustworthy. She is ready to give her life to protect MegaKat
City,.. like T-Bone did."

From over the radio, Razor heard a voice calling Callie. It was Manx.

"Oops! Gotta go, guys... I have to escort 'his honor' to the opening
of the new Manx statue in Katalina Station..."

The radio went blank. Katana chuckled a little.

"Guys? She must've been very close to you!" - she said as she flew the
black jet towards the salvage yard.

"She's one of our best friends. She and Ann Gora. If it weren't for
those ladies, we would only know Megakat City was under attack until it was
already too late!" - Razor said as he inspected his radar.

Nothing to fear.

No drones in sight.

Katana attempted to look back at Razor. She shook her head.

"Razor, I think you're getting paranoid about those drones! We're all
clear!" - she said as she pushed a button on the remote control that
would open the door to the underground hangar. - "By the way, aren't you
forgetting someone? From what I saw that day, years before, there was at
least *one* Enforcer who gave you credit..."

"Yeah, Felina... She's a good friend, too... At least, she has the
ability to tame her uncle..."

He gave a soft chuckle as the canopy popped open. Both SWAT Kats jumped
to the floor and removed their helmets.

"And, I don't think I'm *getting* paranoid about those drones... I
really *am* paranoid about 'em. I don't want Dark Kat to get here and blow our
cover like the Metallikats did that time!"

"Yeah, so you've told me... about a hundred times in the last month..."
She took off her mask and swung her head so her hair would settle down.
"Even so, I think you should have more faith in me. I think I've made
perfectly clear I can take care of *both* of us!"

"It's not that, Turmoil... I saw your skills! I know what you can do!
It's Dark Kat I'm worried about! Unfortunately, I know *his* skills as
well!"

He took off his G-suit and placed it in his locker. He had started
dressing in his mechanics overalls when he turned to face Turmoil.

"And I don't need *anybody* to take care of me!" - he said in a rasping
voice - "Don't treat me as though I was a kitten!"

Turmoil was surprised! She had never seen Jake act like this!

"Whoa!" - she said, raising her paws to cover her face - "I'm sorry if
I insulted you, okay? Now c'mon, let's get a bite of something. I'm starving!"

"You go get somethin' for yourself. I'm not really hungry. I guess I'll
go practice a little before headin' back to the grease pit..." - he
mumbled as he started to take off his overalls.

Only when Turmoil was safe near the ladder did she scream to Jake.

"You know, Jake, it would have saved you a lot of time if you had just
put on your kimono when you took off your G-suit!"

Laughing, she climbed up the stairs as fast as she could to avoid the
wrench Jake threw at her. She felt tempted to say something like 'not so
sureshot, are you' but she decided it would be better not to tick him off even
more. She knew Jake could be dangerous if he lost his temper, which, in turn, was
something quite hard for him to do. She thought it would be better to leave him
alone a little bit so he would calm down.
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In the dojo Jake and Chance had built in a separate room of the hangar,
Jake was running at full stride toward the sandbag.

He jumped and rotated his torso before rotating his hips and his right
leg, which exploded in the sandbag with a loud thud. The sandbag was
thrown in the opposite direction. Jake landed and waited for the sandbag to
return.

His left fist laid beside his chest as the right one was stretched in
front of him. When the sandbag was about to strike him, Jake let out a
high-pitched kat-rate cry as he extended his left fist and retracted the
right one. The sandbag bulged out on the opposite side and the sand
burst out of the bag.

Jake remained in the same position for a few seconds while the sandbag
was being deprived of its content. He withdrew his left arm, contracting
his biceps. Surprisingly, the bag was uninjured where Jake had hit it, but
the force of his stroke had punched a hole in the opposite side.

He left the arena and sat on a low wood bench, grabbing a towel and
tossing it across his shoulders. Sweat was covering his face and his
muscular bare torso. He was calmer now, but his heart still had some rage
in it.

It wasn't his fault like he said a month ago.

No.

It was all *Dark Kat's* fault!

*Dark Kat* had hurt Chance, not him!

If Chance was missing, then *Dark Kat* was the one to be blamed, not
him!

He jumped off the bench, turned around and smacked the side of his
right paw in a chopping motion on it, breaking it in two pieces. He
straightened, bent his arms up and clenched his fists, tensing every
muscle in his torso, the most determined and fierce look appearing on
his face.

"I swear to you, buddy, wherever you are, I'll *kill* Dark Kat with my
own paws!"
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"How is he?" - Felina asked the old nurse that was taking care of her
cousin as she entered her uncle's private infirmary.

The gray-furred she-kat turned to face the lieutenant with sad eyes.

"It's amazing how he's been recovering but... he's still in a coma...
At least he hasn't had any more cardiac seizures since that day. His
brain's electric activity is stable thanks to the new electrolytic fluids we've
been administrating to him. I think all his system wanted was some potassium
and sodium after all."

She turned to look at the kat in the bed and sighed. "He's so young! It would
be a shame if he died now... He has an entire life ahead of him..." She shook her
head and left the room.

Felina walked to the side of the bed and took a good look at the kat.
Even under the white sheet she could see clearly his powerful muscles. His
fur was now cleaned of the dry blood and new fur was growing where the
scorched areas had been shorn off.

"You know what, cous'?" - she said to the comatose kat - "You're kinda
cute, you know?"

She caressed the kat's snout with her forefinger. When she touched his
whiskers, the kat twitched his nose. She took off her finger, startled.

"Am I seeing things?" - she asked herself and touched his whiskers
again.

Again, his nose twitched. There was no doubt! He was getting his
reflexes back. She reached for her communicator and pressed a button on it.

"This is Lieutenant Feral. Do you copy, Commander?"

The radio crackled and a grave voice responded.

"This is Commander Feral. What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Uncle, you'd better come to one-oh-nine, now!"

"I'm on my way. Feral out!"

The radio crackled one final time and then went blank. Felina returned
her attentions to his cousin again. He seemed to be having
rapid-eye-movements now.

Feral came within a few minutes.

"What is it, Felina? Did something happen to him?" - he asked, his
voice showing true concern.

"Easy, uncle! Well, something is *definitely* happening to him! I think
he's waking up!" - she said, pointing to the kat's eyes. They were still
closed but movement could be seen under his eyelids.

"He's having REM!" - Feral said, stroking his chin. - "As if he was
in a deep sleep..."

He took the kat's right paw in his and felt it squeeze his paw tightly.

"He's coming to consciousness! It seems like he's gonna wake up any
second now! How can that be?"

Feral managed to withdraw his paw from the tight grip of the tom-kat's
paw. The other's entire body started squirming under the sheet now.

"It seems like he's having a nightmare! If it's so, he *really* may
wake up any second now!" - Felina said. She placed one paw on her uncle's left
shoulder and faced him - "Remember, uncle! He doesn't know you're his father so
act as if you didn't know he's your son either! We don't want to confuse him right
off. Okay, uncle?"

"I don't think I'm ready to tell him the truth yet, Felina." - he
shrugged - "I even think it would be better for all of us if we just left things
the way they were..."

Felina faced her uncle with an intense gaze.

"I didn't said that! You have to tell him the truth, uncle! He has the
right to know he has a family! I'm just asking you not to hug him right away
when he regains consciousness..."

Feral wiped her paw off his shoulder as his face acquired a rock-hard
look.

"I thought you'd know me better than that, Lieutenant! You should know
I'd give no one a hug!"

His attention was drawn back to the bed. The kat was now mumbling
something almost inaudibly.
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"No... Gotta bail... Building... Look out... Bleeding... No... Too
fast... Too damaged... Hurt... So much... No... No..."

"*NO*!" - The brawny kat sat up in the bed, but a sharp pain on the left
side of his chest made him groan and sink into the bed again.

He looked around him, his eyes still unfocused. He saw two shadows, one
big and one smaller. The smaller one came to him and a sound came to his
ears, but he couldn't discern what it was. A few seconds passed before he
started comprehending that those muffled sounds he was hearing were words. By
that time, the big shadow, now a little more trimmed in his vision, stood by his
left side but it didn't speak.

He thought he recognized the voice of the smaller shadow. It was a
feminine voice and he knew he had already heard her somewhere. His hearing
and his vision were slowly returning to normal. From his left side, the big
shadow spoke for the first time.

"Wake up already! We don't have all day, you know?"

He recognized that voice too! Only a few moments later did he remember
the name of the owner of that grave tone. And, that comment could have
come from none other than...

"Commander... Feral?" - he said in a raspy voice. His throat was as dry
as a sub-tropical desert. It was hard for him to speak. "Is... that... you?"

"I see you're well already. I can't wait to have you out of my
infirmary and into Alkatraz, which is where *you* belong!"

He pointed a finger at the kat's face. Having recovered almost entirely
now, the kat couldn't help jerking his head toward Feral's finger,
trying to bite it. Feral withdrew his finger just as the kat's jaws closed, barely
missing him.

"You *reckless hotshot*!" - he bellowed - "I should have you *shot* for
that!"

"Easy, uncle!" - Felina soothed - "Maybe it's better for you to go to
your office and let me handle this, okay?"

"Just get this *clown* out of here as soon as possible!" He spun on his heel and
walked to the door, opening it. "I expect a detailed report on my desk tomorrow,
first thing in the morning, Lieutenant!"

He then slammed the door shut with all his strength, almost causing the
door knob to slide off its place.

Felina saluted the door with an emphatic 'Yes, Sir' and then turned to her cousin.

"I wonder what you did to tick him off the second you made eye contact
with him..." - she said to the brawny kat, who just shrugged.

He grimaced when he did that.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!"

He tried to lift himself, but the sharp pain in his chest stopped him
and he sank again into the bed with a grimace of pain.

She put a paw on his bare chest.

"Allow me to disagree with you!" - she said as she ran her gloved paw
over his left chest. An unwanted purr rumbled almost inaudibly in his throat.
Then, she found what she was looking for.

"Remember this?" - she said, pointing to a circular wound in his lower
left chest.

He groaned a little when she touched it with her gloved paw.

"I remember!" - he just said, gently taking her paw off the wound. The
burning feeling faded a little but didn't disappear completely.

"It looks like a bullet entered your body through there. And, I
didn't find any exit wound so it must be still inside you." - she said as
she petted his whiskers.

He looked uncomfortable with her actions. She didn't seem like the same
Felina he knew, the friend that always helped him out. Although he couldn't say
he disliked this new Felina... Even so, he couldn't allow her to have false hopes.
He once again gently took her paws away from him.

"It's still inside me. As far as I can feel, it's really near my heart."
He groped his ribs, searching. "I thought I had broken a rib, but I can't feel it!"

"Actually, you were checked in with five broken ribs, several bleeding
wounds, scorched fur and skin and lots of bruises." - she said as she stepped
away from him. "Fortunately, you have an amazing healing ability! Your ribs are nearly
completely solidified again and your wounds healed in the first two weeks."

That comment made him prick his hears.

"In the first two weeks?" - he repeated - "How long have I been out?" -
he asked, looking at her face intensely.

"You haven't been just out! You were in a coma, deeply, for an entire
month!"

He widened his eyes and opened his mouth in disbelief. "An entire *month*? I
gotta get outta here!"

He threw the sheet off and raised himself, trying to ignore the sharp
pain.

Felina hurried to him. "Are you nuts?" - she said, pushing him down again -
"You're not completely healed yet! And we have to extract that bullet you have in your
chest! You're right, it's right beside your heart so if we don't move it, it could
perforate your lung even more or even contact with your heart!"

He knew she was right. That bullet had to be extracted or he'd never
have a normal life again...

If he could say he had a normal life!

"I'll talk to the surgeons right away. Let's see if we can get you in
surgery today!"

"S-surgery?"

He gulped and shuddered a little. Just the thought of it scared the
heck out of his tail.

"Don't tell me a tough tom-kat like you is afraid of a few bistouries!"
- she teased him, giving him a mocking grin.

"Who? Me? Nah!" - he said, giving her his trademark smirk. - "Just tell
'em not to be too invasive, will you?"

"Will do. Meanwhile, try to rest! You need it!"

She waved her paw at him and shut the door. The tom-kat pulled the
sheet over his chest and stared out the window at the sun setting outside.

He suddenly remembered something. He searched his head and relief filled
his face when he felt the fabric. It was still there! He gave a loud
sigh and closed his eyes for a moment, his grin disappearing from his snout.

"I wonder if he survived!"

His ears flattened against his head and he gave a low growl as his eyes
narrowed.

"Crud... If anything's happened to him, I *swear* I'll kill that
bastard with my own fists..."

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"Sulfur, methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapor..." - the bulky
purple kat slowly mumbled while staring into the lava pit in front of
him.

"That's why it's called lava and not magma when it rises to the
surface... It's amazing how I don't succumb to these noxious fumes... Just one
sniff would be enough to make any kat dizzy... However, I am immune to these volcanic
exhalations... My masters *surely* created the true prowler of Death... and I must
admit they did a perfect job..."

Dark Kat closed his eyes and savored his memories.

Sound... the wind swirling in the sand, raising dust clouds all around
him. Then, the unmistakable sound of metal against metal, sword against sword.

Smell... the pungent odor of decaying corpses, the very smell of Death,
blended with a soft ferruginous scent.

Touch... his feet burrowing ever further in the bloody corpses
scattered on the ground, the tight grip of his paw on his sword, the gushes of
blood from his opponents hitting his face and chest.

Taste... the perspiration dropping from his forehead and onto his lips,
the bitter-metallic flavor of his prey's vital fluid as he licked it out
of his face.

Sight... the breathtaking sight of his masters shattering the stone and
clay houses with one swipe, their black undefined forms blending with
the darkness of the night, the mask of fear and pain his victims bore before
the coup-de-grace.

Pleasure... the perfidious, wicked and sickening joy of torturing the
few survivors until they pleaded for Death to claim their ripped souls.

Thrill... the rush of adrenaline before each battle, before each slash,
before each torture session.

Power... the power his masters granted him, a power so immense that the
entire katkind would tremble if it ever heard his name, for it certainly
meant the death of the entire population.

"Milord Dark Kat?" - Mutilor called his leader tentatively.

Dark Kat slowly opened his eyes, returning to the present day reality
and leaving his obnoxious memories behind.

"Soon they will be memories no more..." - he thought. He turned his
gaze to Mutilor, who shuddered a little. - "What is it, Mutilor?" - Dark Kat
asked, his deep voice rumbling in the humid basalt walls of his 'throne room'.

Mutilor bowed to the huge kat, settling one knee on the ground and
lowering his head. Only then he spoke.

"The drones are ready, milord Dark Kat. They await your royal
visitation in the hangar."

A rush of adrenaline lit the purple kat's orange eyes. Finally, the end
was very near... The end... of katkind...

"Let's see the jets." - he rumbled as he raised himself from his
obsidian 'throne' and crossed the basalt bridge over the lava pit.

He stopped midway out on the rocky bridge and stuck an arm out off
it, into the intense heat emanating from the churning lava below. His
clothes began to burn and he left the bridge. He put out the fire with his
cloak and stared at his brawny purple arm.

The fur was scorched but his skin remained undamaged.

The burnt fur dropped freely and was immediately replaced by new purple
fur. Mutilor had his mouth open wide in disbelief. Dark Kat passed by him
and headed for the hangar. Only a few seconds later did Mutilor recover enough from
his bewilderment and race behind his master.

When they reached the hangar, twenty drones of two different sizes and
shapes stood lined up with Dark Kat's Doomsday Express. Mutilor hurried to
explain the differences between the two types of drones.

"Allow me a little explanation, milord. The smaller drones you see
here..." He pointed to his right with one of his two right arms, indicating
ten round-shaped aircraft the size of a small car. "...are 'Mutilators' and
are meant to inflict damage on any offender and eventually destroy it. The
bigger drones..."

He now pointed to his left, towards ten jet-looking drones the size of
a pick-up truck. "... are the 'Destroyers', which are programmed to destroy
at first sight. The first ones will make good watchdogs while the later
will be our warriors." - Mutilor finished with a smile on his snout.

Dark Kat, however, seemed unimpressed.

"Specifications." - he ordered. Mutilor began talking about the weapons
systems.

"Besides missiles and bullets, they all are equipped with lasers made
of prasium and not ruby, like the ones this planet developed. As you might
know, alpha-prasium is nothing more than quartz with a few inclusions of
amphibole and chlorite, which gives it its greenish color. Now, the trigonal
arrangement of the silica tetrahedrons..."

"Skip it!" - Dark Kat growled - "I know what alpha-prasium is. Is it
more effective than the usual ruby laser or not?" - he shot to Mutilor, who
gulped and answered in a tentative voice.

"T-they are about twenty times more effective. That's why I had to coat
their chambers with gold, to prevent any burned-out system due to the
power of its beam."

"Good..." - the immense purple kat purred - "What about their hull?"

"Agrecite-Beryllium-Aluminum mega-alloy." - Mutilor said, proudly -
"Strong and light. It was almost a physical impossibility to build something
that way, but the ABA mega-alloy solved the problem! The drones are extremely
maneuverable and their hull can withstand any attack!"

"We'll see about that."

Dark Kat headed for the cage in a remote corner of the hangar and
released the agrecite scorpion. The huge beast followed his master back to the
drones.

"Shatter it!" - the purple kat ordered.

The scorpion lunged toward one of the 'Destroyers', pincers snapping in
the air. The scorpion bit the wing of the big drone and his four pincers
pinched the cockpit and rear stabilizers again and again.

A few minutes later, Dark Kat called the scorpion back, caging it again. He then
inspected the attacked 'Destroyer' and this time, the purple kat seemed impressed.

The drone didn't have a scratch on its hull! He tried to lift the
jet-like drone with his own paws and was amazed to discover how light
it was! He walked back to Mutilor, a devilish grin appearing on his
almost featureless purple face.

"You worked well, Mutilor. As it was required, after all. But tell me.
How accurate are their attacks?"

"W-what do you mean? What do you intend to attack?" - the
orange-spotted alien tentatively asked.

Dark Kat's eyes blazed and remained lit.

"The Turbokat!" - he simply answered. He gave an inquiring gaze to
Mutilor who shook his head yes.

"Consider the Turbokat a piece of seared metal, milord Dark Kat!" - the
four-armed creep answered.

Dark Kat broke out in loud laughter, so horrifying that even the agrecite
scorpion burrowed his bulk deeper in the darkest corner of its cage.

-------------------------------------------------------------
Jake stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.
The cold water did a good job of calming him down. He shook his body a little more
in order to rinse the remaining water from his damp fur. Grabbing another towel he
rubbed his entire body and, when he finished, his fur was somewhat dryer but still
damp.

He had to apologize to Turmoil. He shouldn't have acted like that just
because she said she could take care of them both. Of course she knew he wasn't
a kitten anymore! He wondered why he always got so irritated when someone cared
for him. Maybe because it reminded him of his parents.

By the way, it had been ages since the last time he had spoken to his folks
back home. They must be worried sick! He took a mental note to phone them
that evening while he was drying and combing his fur. He then headed for his room
and put on a shirt and a pair of jeans.

Coming to the living room, he saw Turmoil close the garage for the
night. She never stopped to amaze him. Not only was she a good pilot and fighter,
she was also a reasonable mechanic and, above all, a good friend, which was
everything he had needed during the past month. She was always there for him when he woke
up in the night, startled by his nightmares. She comforted him when he was down,
overwhelmed by the ominous feeling he was betraying Chance.

And she helped him rebuilding the Turbokat. The fighter jet was now
better than ever! Jake had used ABA mega-alloy he salvaged from a few
prototype helicopters Pumadyne had developed but, for some reason, all crashed
down, meaning they were useless to the Enforcers. He wanted to do so as the old
agrecite alloy didn't protect them from the bullets of Dark Kat's drones. He also
managed to enhance the Speed of Heat turbine performance up to 35% of their previous boost.

"Did you calm down now, sureshot?" - Turmoil asked him, leaning against a
car she was fixing and cleaning her paws on the cloth she took off from a
rear pocket in her overalls.

Jake shook his head yes.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I treated you this afternoon,
when we arrived. I was a complete jerk." - he said, looking sheepishly to her.

She sighed and smiled to him.

"Why do you always underestimate yourself, Jake? You weren't a jerk at
all! I was! I shouldn't have teased you when it was perfectly clear you were
angry with Dark Kat. I should be the one to apologize, not you."

"I guess we're settled, then. You closed for the night?" - he asked,
changing the subject.

"Yeah. It's already past dusk. I don't think there'll be more customers."

Just as she said it, someone knocked at the garage door.

"Jake? Chance? Are you there?" - said a female voice from outside.

Jake ran to the door and opened it. He was partially blinded by the
headlights of Callie's car and raised his paw to shield his eyes from the beams
of light.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jake!" - she turned to the car and killed the headlamps.

"Hi, Callie! What brings you here at this hour?" - his heart pounded
heavily in his chest.

"I'm sorry to bother you guys but this baby coughed all the way from
Katalina Station. I wonder if you could take a look at it in the morning." - she
said.

Turmoil came to their side.

"Why don't you let me see it now, Miss Briggs?" - she said - "Maybe you
can take it home tonight if it's a simple thing."

She looked suspiciously at the slim she-kat.

"Chance? What happened to you?"

Only then did she recognize Turmoil and gasped. -"T-Turmoil? What is she doing here?
Is she holding you hostage, Jake?"

She backed up a step. Jake took her arm in his paw, asking himself how he found the
courage to do so. She looked at him, fear in her face. It broke his heart to see her
like that. He wanted to hold her in his arms and cherish her, reassuring her everything
was all right but couldn't find the bravery for that.

"Relax, Callie! She's just helping me with the garage while Chance is
out of town!"

She seemed to calm down a little and managed to ask how she was there.

"She came to us. No one in Megakat City would want her. Chance and I
felt sorry for her and we decided she could stay here while Chance was gone.
That's the whole story."

"I already paid my debt to society, Miss Briggs. I've spent five years
in that hell called Alkatraz and I don't intend to go back there! Now,
Jake, why don't you take Miss Briggs to the living room and give her some milk
while I check on her car?"

Jake took Callie to the kitchen and retrieved two cans of milk from the
refrigerator. He went to the cupboard and looked for a glass to pour the
milk in.

"It's okay, Jake!" - Callie said - "I prefer to drink it right from the
can, if you don't mind." - she said, grabbing the cold can in her right paw
and piercing two holes on top of it with the claw on her thumb.

Jake joined her and both kats drank some milk in silence.

"So, what were you doing down in Katalina Station, Callie?" - he asked
casually.

She answered with the same thing she said to Razor that afternoon.

"The festivities just ended a short while ago. I'm pooped!"

She seemed to want to say something but couldn't find a way to say it.
Jake noted the look on her face and helped her.

"Is there anything you want to say?"

She looked over her shoulder to see if Turmoil wasn't listening to them
and then she sighed, releasing all the air in her lungs before she started.

"It's Turmoil, Jake... Tell me one thing... and be honest, like you
always are with me. Do you trust her?"

"I trust her since she first came to us. Chance trusts her too. And she
hasn't given me any reason yet for not."

He sipped some more milk from his can and peered at Callie. She seemed
to relax a little bit more.

"Well, I'm glad I was wrong about her..."

She turned her gaze to the ground and Jake could see her blushing a bit
under her pale fur.

"Well... There's something else I've been wanting to ask you... and I'm
counting on your sincerity again..."

"What is it, Callie?" - Jake asked uneasily. His mind raced.
Had she discovered his double identity?
Had she discovered he and Razor were the same kat?
Had she discovered who the SWAT Kats were?

She blushed a little more and started saying something when Turmoil
appeared at the kitchen door.

"I know what's wrong with... Oops! Did I interrupt something?" - she
asked when she saw the looks on both kats' faces.

Callie straightened up from the chair and faced Turmoil.

"Not at all, Turmoil. You were saying?" - Callie asked as Jake came to
her side.

"I know what was wrong with your car. It was really simple! You just
forgot to change the oil! I've already done that and the car's purring like a
kitten now!" - she said as she scrubbed her paws on the cloth.

Callie smacked herself in her forehead.

"Of course! I saw the oil level this morning but I completely forgot
it! All because of 'his honor' and his new statue's dedication!" - she snarled
in disgust - "I'm sorry to have bothered you for such a puny thing! I'm really
embarrassed!"

"Hey, it was a pleasure!" - Turmoil said, grinning - "And, I think Jake
feels the same way too!"

"Huh... Yeah... Sure... You know you're always welcome here, Callie!" -
he babbled as he suddenly was brought back from his thoughts.

"Well, I should be going now. It's getting kinda late and I guess you
must want to rest... So... I'll be seeing you..."

She stepped into the car and drove out of the salvage yard.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I, Jake?" - Turmoil asked him as she
closed the garage door again.

"She was going to ask me something... I don't know what... But I
started thinking she might have discovered who the SWAT Kats really are..."- he
said, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

"What makes you think that? You didn't gave away any clues when you
talked with her this afternoon!" - she asked back, leaning on the tow-truck.

"Maybe you're right... Maybe I *am* getting paranoid... All this about Dark Kat's
creeplings here in the salvage yard has made me suspicious of everything..." - he
said as he shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Speaking of whom, when do we attack that creep, anyway?" - she asked,
smacking her right fist into her left palm.

"There's nothing we can do about that right now! I don't know where
he's hiding! The ball's in his court now! He has to play his next move...
and, when he does it, we'll be right on top of him... to whip his tail and send
him to his grave..." - Jake said, growling and narrowing his eyes.

Turmoil looked a little bit surprised. She wanted to finish off Dark
Kat too, but that wouldn't be the SWAT Kats' way... Now Jake wanted to kill
him too...

Although his reasons were understandable, she began thinking like a
SWAT Kat when she joined Jake and she thought now that even Dark Kat had the
right to stand a fair trial.

"He may get life sentence for everything he did... or even the capital
penalty..." - she thought - "We'd be saving the taxpayers the cost of a
trial if we'd kill him right away but that wouldn't be fair... I stood trial
and I was convicted... And, that hell was far worse then dying... The only
reason I didn't commit suicide was you, Chance... Like that old song says,
'you light up my life, you give me hope to carry on, you light up my days and
fill my nights with dawn..."

------------------------------------------------------------

The night had set in. In Feral's private infirmary, the big kat looked
at
the moon slowly rising in the horizon. His eyes blazed like coal on fire
as the
silver light penetrated in his pupils. He was trying to set his thoughts
in order,
trying to figure out what happened to him. He could only say the Holy
Kats had
laid their paw over him, shielding him from the terrible accident.
Felina entered
the darkened room, letting some of the light outside to invade it.

"Close the door, please." - he asked softly - "Don't turn on the
lights.
I like it that way."

She did as he asked. She sat on the bed next to him.

"Lieutenant, I want to ask you something."

"Shoot!" - she replied.

He looked outside again, towards the rising moon. His voice was still
raspy, but he could speak much better now.

"How did you find me? And, don't spare me the sordid details, please. I
want to know exactly how I was when I was found."

He kept his face looking out the window, his eyes following the silver
orb
in its slow ascent in the dark skies. She cleared her throat and began
talking.

"I must say we looked for you almost three days in a row. You were
lying in
an alley, half covered with junk. I barely saw you. I just noticed a
strange
looking lump on one corner of the alley. Then, I saw something that
grabbed my
attention.

Blood.

Running from the lump. I ran to you and took off the sheets of
newspaper
and the garbage away from you. You were standing in fetal position with
your
right side up. I turned you so you'd be lying in your back. Believe me,
you
weren't a sight for weak stomachs. You were banged up pretty bad.

There was a nasty wound in your left arm that was bleeding like hell.
Your face was all cut up and soaked in blood. Your chest was bleeding
too
but most of it was burnt and so were your legs. Your right thigh had a
shard
of metal riveted in it. Needless to say it was bleeding like hell too.
Apart
from those major wounds, your body was scratched in several places and
your
skin was as purple in some places as Dark Kat's fur.

After three days in those conditions, I wondered if you were still
alive but you were. Your heart was still beating and, though labored,
you
were breathing nevertheless. I didn't know if you had any internal
injuries
but you had to be removed. I took you to my uncle's private infirmary so

you could have a little more privacy. The doctors who watched for you
found
five ribs broken, your right shoulder and your right ankle dislocated.
Apparently, your constitution and your bones protected your internal
organs
from being damaged. And that's the whole setting." - she finished with a
low
sigh.

A tear dropped from her right eye and she wiped it out immediately,
hoping he didn't see it.

He didn't.

He was still staring at the moon, now almost completely out of the
window frame.

"I guess I *really* should thank the Holy Kats for not letting me die
of blood loss. And the doctors here," - he purred - "And you. Thank you,
Felina. You saved my life. I'm eternally thankful to you... and to Feral..."

That last comment caught her off guard. He sensed it.

"Yes, Feral too. I gotta admit it, if he really wanted me dead all he
had to do was to refuse my stay in here. I must thank him too."

He sighed loudly and grimaced. The pain in his chest returned,
reminding him he wasn't safe yet.

"By the way, when will the butchers chop me?" - he asked, grinning at
Felina.

She returned his grin and answered in a low voice.

"They say it may be too early to chop you, as you put it. You just
slipped out of a coma. On the other paw, they say they can't wait too much
longer, that bullet's been inside you for thirty days already. They said it
would be better for you to rest another week, so they would have time to run the proper
tests on you and verify everything's in order. Then, in a week, they will
remove the bullet from your lung. Are you having trouble breathing?"

"Only when I laugh..." - he answered.

She couldn't help to smile. It was never boring being with that
tom-kat.

"Get some rest now." - she said as she checked the bottle of
physiologic serum. It was dripping at a satisfying rate.

She leaned over to him and gently kissed his forehead.

"Sleep well." - she stated as she departed.

He wished the same for her.

"Good night to you too, buddy." - he thought - "I woke up just a few
hours ago and I'm missing you already... I just hope you're okay..."

----------------------------------------------------------------

Viper shuddered a bit when Dark Kat entered the laboratory he had built
for him in a lava tube inside the volcano.

The lab was equipped with every bit of scientific artillery Viper could
think of. It was even better than his own laboratory back in Megakat
Swamp.

Freezers, a hotte, a centrifuge, a spectrophotometer, a gene sequencer,
three supercomputers attached to the sequencer and to the spectrophotometer,
all the glass material and, of course, all the required organic and
inorganic chemical compounds, including the rare biochemical compounds known as
katalyst 100, katalyst X63 and Viper Mutagen 368 were part of the lab's contents.

"My dear Dr. Viper." - Dark Kat purred as he got closer to the
reptilian scientist. He laid a huge paw on Viper's right shoulder. Viper shuddered
a little, which pleased the bulky kat. "How is your research going?"

"Very well, sssir." - Viper managed to say, pointing to a beaker
containing a dark blue liquid

"Although I haven't been able to develop the adminissstration mode of
the ssserum to your requessst, I am now pleasssed to tell you, sssir, that
it can be injected in the bloodssstream, causssing the sssame effect."

He ventured to look to Dark Kat but the purple kat's face remained
expressionless. The green kat expected the worst.

"It is an enhancement, nevertheless." - Dark Kat said, tightening his
grip on Viper's shoulder until it hurt. "But I want more! I want it developed to
be effective through inhalation. You've been tinkering with the serum for the past
month day and night. I *don't* believe you stepped forward so little. You're hiding
something from me, Viper! I feel it in my bones!"

He dug his claws on the reptilian scientist's shoulder, ripping it.

"If I find out you're betraying me, I will have no mercy this time! You
will be incinerated alive in the lava pit in front of my throne!"

He released his grip on Viper's shoulder. The lab coat was stained green at his
scapula.

"But to prove you I'm merciful, I will wait thirty more days for the
developed serum. If it isn't ready by then, there are more biochemists
in this city I can replace you with."

He took a syringe from his cloak and filled it with the serum Viper
said could be injected in the bloodstream.

"Let's see if it works like you said. Give me your arm."

Viper extended his left arm while his reptilian healing abilities were
taking care of the severed shoulder already.

Dark Kat stuck the needle in one of Viper's arteries and pushed the
embolus. The blue serum was injected and Viper shivered for a while, losing
consciousness a little while later.

A devilish grin appeared on Dark Kat's face. He left the scientist and returned
to his 'throne room'.

A short while after the purple kat's departure, Viper opened his eyes
and rose from the floor.

"That wasss a clossse one!" - he thought to himself - "I can't let Dark
Kat know what I've been doing here..."

He went to the lab bench and opened a drawer. He retrieved the syringe
from the wrap of plastic and stuck it in one of the arteries on his arm.

He retrieved 20 cc's of his green blood and dropped exactly five cc's
in each of four clean test tubes. He closed them and inserted two in the
slots of the centrifuge, each in the opposite direction of the other. Closing the
lid, the green kat programmed the machine to 3000 rpm and 5 minutes.

While it was centrifuging, Viper diluted the other two samples in
distilled water in order to disrupt his blood cells. He retrieved the first tubes
and then placed the other two tubes on the centrifuge and let them rotate at 3000
rpm for 5 minutes.

The first two tubes showed a separation of his blood cells. There was a
clear liquid on top and a green liquid in the bottom, which made about 40% of
the total volume.

When the centrifuge stopped, he retrieved the second two test tubes.
There was a clear solution in them.

He filled a spectrophotometer cuvette with distilled water in order to
calibrate the reading for null absorbency. He then inserted a cuvette
with the solution of his blood and determined the absorption specter for his
blood from 450 to 700 nanometers, with intervals of 10 nm.

He headed for the computer's keyboard and struck a few keys. On the
screen a graphic was shown. The graphic had two spikes, one at 540 nm and the
other at 580 nm.

Viper frowned.

"Everything'sss normal! My red... hmm... green blood cellsss have the
right proportion, my white blood cellsss were in a thin layer above them and I
have enough plasssma. The peaksss on the absssorbency graphic tell me my
hemoglobin isss perfectly functional." - he shook his head.

"I don't get it! The neurological ssserum isss ineffective on me and
I'm posssitive my blood hasss sssomething to do with that. But
everything'sss normal! Wait... Wait a minute... That'sss it! Everything'sss normal...
for a kat! I'm a *mutated* kat, ssso everything'sss wrong with me!

Yesss!

Now that I think of it, my metabolisssm should have ssslowed down...
However, I ssstill need thessse large amounts of hemoglobin... Maybe
that'sss it!"

Viper returned to the lab bench, tail waving crazily in the air.

"It mussst be it! I've found it! The antidote to the neurological
ssserum! Watch out, Dark Kat! Dr. Viper may be down but he'sss not out!"

He gave a dry chuckle and returned to his work.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Jake sat upright suddenly in the bed, shivering and covered in
perspiration.

Another nightmare...

At least he hadn't screamed this time, waking up Turmoil. He shook his
head and leaned it against his knees, embracing them.

This time, it had been the most frightful nightmare of all he had since
the crash. T-Bone died again, but not by accident or by any of Megakat City's
villains.

This time, *Razor* had cold-bloodedly assassinated T-Bone.

He shuddered again with that thought.

What was going on?
Why did he have this nightmare?
Why did he kill his best friend?
Why did he murder his 'brother'?

Tears dropped from his shut eyes.

"Why this?"

Dark Kat killing his friend was one thing, but *him*... murdering T-Bone
cold-bloodedly...

He couldn't bear to think about it.

And, he couldn't get back to sleep either. He stepped out of the bed as
silently as he could. He took his mechanic overalls and exited the room, trying
not to wake up Turmoil. He dressed in the living room and headed for the garage,
where he dug under the hood of the car, trying to fix it and to keep his mind busy.

Although Jake was silent, Turmoil was awake. She woke up when Jake was
still having his nightmare and squirming under the sheet. She heard him
sitting up in the bed and his labored breathing while tears were dropping from his
eyes. She felt her heart shrink when she heard that.

Though hard tom-kat he was, Jake didn't hide his feelings like many
others that she had known, Chance included.

All it took was a careful eye to spot it. She felt an urge to comfort
him, but then she heard him leaving the room. Her eyes welling up in pity for him,
but the tears never slid down.

It was a different kind of love that bonded Jake and Chance, she
thought.

A love much, much stronger than any other kind, even stronger than the
passion she had for Chance.

It was brotherly love.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The dawn came unannounced. The first morning rays hit the big kat in
the face. He was already awake. A nightmare had robbed his sleep. It was one
of the few times he saw the sunrise in Megakat City.

It was a breathtaking sight, the red orb turning golden as it passed by
the twin skyscrapers of Megakat Trade Towers, the skies turning from black
and dark blue to purple and red and then, finally, to yellow and green.

Four days had elapsed since he woke up from his coma. Today was the big
day, when he would be submitted to surgery. The doctors tested him in a
hundred different ways. He was almost fully recovered. He was doing so fine they
decided to operate him a little bit earlier than expected. Although he was
calmer than he expected, the nightmare had startled him a bit.

In it he saw his friend on an operating table instead of him, his chest
fully opened. The doctors were massaging his heart manually, something that only
rarely happened and he knew it.

It had stopped beating after the battle his friend had with Dark Kat
and the doctors weren't able to restore its rhythm now. The electrocardiograph
was showing a line.

They gave up a little later.

Then, the big kat woke up. The worst thing, besides seeing his best
friend die, was the helpless feeling he had. He couldn't do anything to help and
it was terrifying. His thoughts were interrupted when Feral and Felina entered
the room.

"I didn't hear you knock, commander, but you know you're welcome
anytime!" he said sardonically and grinned. He couldn't help it. It seemed like
it was in his genes.

Feral's stone-hard face hardened even more, if that was possible.

"You jerk!" - he said and gave him a little grin. - "I thought you'd
like to know I ordered the doctors to assassinate you when you're under the
anesthesia!"

"Uncle!" - Felina said. She knew he was kidding, something she had never expected
her uncle to do. "Don't scare him off, will you?"

"Scare *him*? Ha! I thought he wasn't afraid of *anything*!

"Lieutenant! You're embarrassing me!" - the brawny kat said with half
a grin on his snout.

"So, is this the time when I go to the slaughter-house and get
chopped?"

Feral couldn't help to smile, but he was facing the window so he was
sure the big kat didn't see it.

"You bet!" - he said from his standpoint - "I'd help, but I didn't
bring my white coat, so I guess I'll leave it to my insiders."

"*Uncle*!" - Felina warned him a second time, this time with a more
fierce tone in her voice.

The nurses came and took the big kat out of his bed and onto a
stretcher, pushing him out of Feral's infirmary and into the operating room. When the
nurses stopped to open the doors to the sterilized room, the big kat grinned to
Feral and his niece, who had accompanied him.

"If someone cares to say goodbye to me, I think the time is now."

Felina reassured him everything was going to be okay

"*Now* you really got me worried, Lieutenant!" - he said.

"You clown..." - she kissed two fingers and placed them on the kat's
forehead.

Feral came by and grabbed him tightly by his shoulder.

"We'll be waiting for you to return safe and sound, soldier. Good
luck."

He backed away from the stretcher and saluted him. The big kat was too
stunned by Feral's actions to salute him back. In a few seconds, the doors
closed and he disappeared inside the operating room.

"I hope he returns well. Although he is a hotshot jerk, anyway." -
Feral said and walked down the corridor toward his office with Felina behind him.

----------------------------------------------------------

The brawny kat stared at the featureless ceiling of the operations
room. He had never felt so helpless as in those few minutes that preceded the surgery
procedure.

He was shivering, whether it was from the cold metallic table
underneath him or with fear, he couldn't tell.

A silver-furred tom-kat came to him and spoke in a soothing tone.

"I'm Dr. Conrad and I'll be your anesthetist for today. How are we
doing today?" - he said while he was filling a syringe with a diaphanous
liquid.

"F-fine... W-why d-don't you t-turn on t-the heat? It's f-f-freezing in
here!" - he said, shivering.

Dr. Conrad smiled and rubbed a spot on the brawny left arm of the kat
with a piece of cotton wool soaked in disinfectant.

"You'll feel a lot better after this, I can assure you. Now relax,
please."

He relaxed his muscles and the needle penetrated easily in his artery.
The liquid entered his bloodstream and its effects began a few minutes
after. He relaxed even more, a sense of sleepiness began overwhelming him.

His eyes unfocused. He began seeing blurred forms come to him. He knew
they were kats but he couldn't discern who they were.

And it didn't seem to matter, anyway. Nothing seemed to matter now.

He looked to the big form in front of him, directly in its face.

That was odd!

It seemed like the face was purple. To his right he saw something
peculiar too. A green face!

How could that be?

The back of his mind was screaming for him to react, to wake up.

But it didn't matter now.

Nothing mattered for him now.

He closed his eyes and let the sleepiness overthrow his consciousness.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Finally, I've finissshed a batch of the antidote." - Viper said as he
emptied the content of an Erlenmeyer beaker into a flask.

The liquid had a rusty transparent color that contrasted vividly with
the developed serum, which was now bright translucent blue.

Now, I can pleassse Dark Kat with hisss ssserum. He won't win now that I
have the antidote."

The green scientist gave a dry chuckle while he settled the bottle
inside a wood case along with another nine and nailed it. He suddenly heard a
squeak and the sound of glass breaking. He spun his head and saw three of Dark
Kat's creeplings rushing out of the lab.

"NO!" - he thought, running after the little critters - "If they tell
Dark Kat I developed an antidote for hisss ssserum, I'm dead!"

He jumped in front of them and grabbed two of them with his tail. With
a simple squeeze of his powerful extremity he crushed the fragile bodies
of the little critters.

However, one of them sneaked between his legs and managed to get away.

Despaired, Viper ran towards his fungus and gave him the case with the
antidote.

"Guard thisss with your life! Don't let Dark Kat or any of hisss
alliesss put their pawsss on it. Allow accesssss only to me... or to the SSSWAT
Katsss... Now GO!"

The giant mutated mushroom engulfed the case and began oxidizing the
basalt wall with his acid fluids. In a few seconds, he was gone. Viper
hit the top of the tunnel repeatedly with his tail in order to seal the
passage.

His tail was bleeding and burnt like hell.

But, the pain he was feeling was nothing compared with what he felt in
his mind at being forced to accept the help of the SWAT Kats if it
became necessary.

"VIPER!" - Dark Kat bellowed as he burst into the lab.

"I will destroy you with my bare paws, you treacherous salamander!"

His devilish eyes blazed like torches. Viper turned to him.

"I'm glad you came, sssir!" - he said, trying to pretend everything was
okay but being betrayed by a tip of nervousness in his speech. "I've jussst
finissshed my tasssk! The ssserum isss effective when inhaled now!"

"Your pathetic lies won't save your tail now, Viper!" - Dark Kat roared
as he grabbed Viper by his neck and easily lifted him from the ground. Viper
fought the urge to snake his tail around the purple kat's neck. Instead, he just
spoke to him.

"But sssir... It'sss true... The ssserum his developed... There..."
He pointed toward the lab bench. "There'sss an entire batch I jussst made. Jussst
put it in an ssspray and sssee for yourssself!"

The bulky kat seemed to power down a little. He tossed the reptilian
scientist away. If what Viper was saying was true, then he didn't need him any
longer. But his creeplings had told him that Viper had made an antidote as well.

But there wasn't anything in sight.

At least anything suspicious.

"Very well, Viper, I will believe you one more time, but I am growing
tired of you!"

He headed for Viper and grabbed him by his neck again, tightening his
grip so that it became difficult for the green kat to breathe.

"But, hear my words, Viper. If I *ever* suspect you again, I'll kill
you no matter whether I'm right or not."

He tossed him away again and left the lab, slamming the door shut. The
creepling that had warned Dark Kat was trapped inside.

Viper's eyes glowed in rage. He grinned at the creepling, showing
his powerful fangs. He fully unsheathed his claws and hissed furiously.

He pounced toward the creepling.

The little critter was so frightened it didn't even move when Viper
slashed its chest with his claws. He pinned the tiny ripped body to the ground
with both paws and dug his fangs into its flesh, scattering and breaking the
creepling's bones.

When he finished shredding the pink critter, his snout and fangs were
dripping with purple blood.

With his eyes still glowing he roared in victory, a deafeningly loud
sound inside his lab.

------------------------------------------------------------

"Huh? Where am I?" - the brawny kat muttered to nobody in particular as
he woke up from the drug-induced sleep.

He was already in Feral's private infirmary, on the bed where he had lain
for the past month. His vision was still unfocused and he saw two blurred
forms approaching. The smaller one talked to him. It was Felina.

"It's okay - you're all right now." - she said soothingly as she laid a
paw reassuringly on his shoulder. "You're back in my uncle's room."

"Your uncle?" - he babbled - "Is it you, Commander?" - he asked
pointing to his left - "I'm sorry, my vision's still clouded."

Feral frowned. He had never apologized him for anything.

"Lieutenant, could you leave me alone with your uncle for a second.
There's something I need to tell him."

"Sure." - she said as she left the room. She stopped at the door.
"If you need anything, just yell. I'll be right outside."

She closed the door. The big kat could see almost perfectly now.

Feral assumed his usual scowl. "I'm waiting. What is it?"

"Thank you, Commander."

Feral was shocked! He had never expected to hear it from that kat! He
regained his posture immediately.

"For what?"

"For allowing me to stay here. You probably saved my life."

He offered a paw to Feral. Hesitantly, Feral accepted it and both kats
shook paws. Feral couldn't contain himself anymore and despite the bandages
the big kat had wrapping his chest, he leaned toward him and gave him a tight hug,
which caught him completely off guard.

"C-commander? What the heck...?" - he managed to say.

Feral let him go and sat on the bed.

"There's something I need to tell you too. I know you just came out of
surgery and need rest, but this time is as good as any other to say
that..."

Words didn't come out. He looked at the brawny kat, inhaled and let out
a long sigh...

"...you're my son, Furlong!"

T-Bone was caught in a double shock! Feral knew he and Chance Furlong
were the same kat!

But even more shocking was the revelation that Feral was his father! He
remained there, jaws wide open in complete disbelief. He suddenly
narrowed his eyes. He took off the mask and revealed his identity, growling.

"That's low, Feral!" - Chance snarled - "You know I don't have any
family! I don't have brothers! I grew up on the streets! My mom died when I
was six!"

His eyes welled up when he spoke of his mother and heavy teardrops ran
across his facial fur

"I never had any one! Only the Holy Kats know how I wanted to belong to
a family! Well, I didn't find a family in the true meaning of the word,
but I did found a brother: Jake!

He's my family!

He's everything that matters to me!

He and my bride are the most important kats in this whole wild world.

Now you come to me and say you're my father! It's sickening! If you
wanted to hurt me, you could have stabbed me in the back, 'cause it would have
been less painful!"

He wiped his tears with the back of his paw. Only then did he notice a
single tear running down Feral's face.

Feral was shocked. He never believed Chance would welcome him right
away, but he never thought he would take it as a personal attack. He rose from
the bed and exited the room.

Felina saw his face and immediately realized something
was wrong. She rushed inside the room and saw Chance putting on his mask.

"Chance! What do you think you're doing?" - she said worriedly as she
ran towards him.

"Leave me alone, Felina! Don't make me hate you too!" - he grimaced
when he tried to dress up the sleeves of the severed G-suit.

"You're in no condition to leave! You just came out of surgery! You
need to rest!" - she said as she tried to stop him.

"I'm not staying here one more second!" - he growled - "I hate your
uncle, Felina! I never imagined he could play so low! My father! Ha!"

Felina grabbed his face and forced him to turn his gaze to her.

"He *is* your father!" - She shot out.

She uncovered his right arm and showed him the mark he had near his
elbow.

"My uncle has the same mark on his right elbow! He had your life
investigated. He made your mother pregnant shortly before they broke apart!
They never spoke to each other again. He just found out you were his son a month
ago!"

T-Bone looked at her for a second and then started putting on his
G-suit again.

"I don't believe you!" - he said.

"Have I ever lied to you, T-Bone?" - she retorted, her eyes pleading for
him to stay.

He looked at her. He powered down a bit. He was confused. His mind was
swirling. He sank onto the bed.

"T-Bone? Are you okay?" - she asked, concern spread all over her words.

"I'm all right. It's just... It can't be!" - he said, shaking his head.

"What? What is it?"

"He can't be my father! He just can't! We're completely different! I
mean, just look at us! I'm a tabby and he's plain brown! He's taller than I
am! He has amber eyes, I don't! We're completely different!"

"I know it's disturbing, but how do you explain the mark? Both of you
have it!"

He shook his head and sank it against his bandaged chest.

"T-Bone, if you want, we can do a DNA test to be positive!"

He looked at her. His eyes bore no anger now, just an immense sadness,
something she never thought was possible in him. But this kat had carried a
burden of sadness on his back since he was just a kitten.

"I never met my dad..." - he said in a low voice, eyes boring holes in
the ground.

"Mom told me he was a fighter pilot that was sent to the Persian Gulf
and was shot down there. That's why I wanted to be an enforcer pilot...

The best of all...

So that my dad would be proud of me..."

He let a single tear roll out over his face, his voice became ragged.

"And now you tell me he's alive and he's the one who booted me out of
the force?"

"I know it's hard to accept it, T-Bone, but that seems to be the truth!"
- she said as she put an arm over his broad shoulders.

"And I know he's proud of you! As a SWAT Kat! You saved him so many
times! You saved this *city* so many times! Do you think he wouldn't be proud of
you?"

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to fight the torrent of
emotions that was subduing him. But it was too overwhelming! He turned
to Felina and embraced her, the gates of his lachrymal pits wide open.

She just caressed his back and let him cry silently.

She was confused too. She never thought the big tabby to be so
sentimental but she understood his behavior.

She thought she would behave like that if she never met her family and
then, suddenly, a relative was thrown in her way.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Three days elapsed.

T-Bone had remained in Feral's infirmary, recovering from surgery.
Feral never showed up there anymore and only Felina visited him three
times a day, when she was off duty. T-Bone was recovering well and his
injuries were almost completely healed.

In the salvage yard, Jake and Turmoil filled their days repairing cars
and practicing when they could. Jake's aim was better than ever and
Turmoil's flying skills grew every day nearer T-Bone's.

It was nearly dawn now. Every kat in Megakat City was asleep. However,
back in Megakat National Park's volcano something was about to happen.

The PastMaster had finally slipped out of his trance and opened his
eye. A smile of satisfaction emerged on his skeletal snout. He headed for the
'throne room' and bowed to Dark Kat. The bulky purple kat straightened and
leaned to the sorcerer in anticipation, a rush of adrenaline streaming in his
arteries.

"I've found it, sire!" - the sorcerer said while he was looking to the
ground - "I've found the Dark Pyramid!"

Dark Kat couldn't believe his words. Could it be true? Could he have
his powers back after all this time?

"Where is it?" - Dark Kat asked, exhilaration in his voice.

"It's a continent away, but I can make it appear wherever you want,
sire!" - the sorcerer replied.

A devilish grin appeared on Dark Kat's face.

"I want it here - right in the center of Megakat City!"

His eyes blazed on anticipation.

The PastMaster simply nodded. "Consider it done, sire!" - the skeletal figure
closed his eye and raised his arms as he began chanting a spell. The watch in
his left paw glowed to life and a purple beam of light came out, directed upward.

The beam went out of the volcano through its crater and rushed toward
Megakat City Municipal Park, where it sank in the ground with the roar
of thunder, awakening the entire dormant city.

Meanwhile, Dark Kat summoned all his allies.

"The time has come, my slaves! Today, the world will bear testimony to the
power of Dark Kat and his Dark Pyramid! But, there are some things to be done
before I can destroy this puny planet! And I count on you, my slaves, to protect
the Dark Pyramid while it's not fully operational!

Metallikats, you will help Mutilor and Hard Drive with their drones.
You will be my first line of defense.

Viper, I count on your plantimals to defend the Dark Pyramid. I require
a wall of your trademark brakes and briars surrounding the Dark Pyramid.
The PastMaster will join you when he finishes his present task.

Go on, my loyal slaves! It's doomsday time!"

The villains scattered. The Metallikats, Mutilor and Hard Drive headed
for the hangar and went inside three 'Destroyers,' letting the drones guide
them towards Megakat City.

Viper went to the lab.

"I better follow hisss orderssssssss!" - he thought - "I don't want to
become a roasted lizard. Although I could have usssed a little more time
to prepare the sssolutionsssssssss with the katalissstsssssss. Well, I'll
just have to ussse my plant growth formula.

Maybe I have time to make a few giant wassspssssss with katalissst 99
and Viper Mutagen 368. And, a few giant mutated frogsss with katalissst X63.
Let'sss sssee what I can do on sssuch short notissse."

He then began mixing all the chemicals he needed.

Dark Kat was in the hangar, commanding his creeplings while they were
loading a bomb inside the cargo bay of the Doomsday Express.

"Careful, my creeplings! We don't want any accidents now and miss out
on all the excitement, do we? When this bomb blows up, the serum will
spread all over Megakat City. All katizens will be forced to inhale it and
then, they will all become my slaves! But, that won't happen before I restore my
dark powers and set my masters free again!"

He burst out in a devilish laughter as he entered his aircraft and flew
out of the hangar.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, on the salvage yard, Jake and Turmoil woke up with the crack
of thunder, as well as all Megakat City. They exchanged curious looks.

"What was that?" - she asked.

Jake shrugged. "It sounded like an explosion! Or a lightning cracking awfully close!"

He stepped outside of the room and headed to the garage, opening the
gate. The sun was about to rise and everything seemed normal except for a
fresh wind that suddenly came to life.

He felt a chill running along his spine. Something was wrong. That wind
wasn't natural.

"You feel it too?" - he turned to Turmoil.

"The wind? You bet! It's kind of... supernatural!" - she shivered a bit
- "What do you think, Jake?"

"It can only be one thing!" - he said, narrowing his eyes - "The
PastMaster! I just can't locate any storm brewing! His time portals usually come
with a storm of wind and lightning." - he squinted in the distance - "But there's
none!"

"Maybe it's just a normal storm this time."

"Maybe." - he said, not completely convinced.

Both kats went inside and headed into the kitchen for breakfast.

----------------------------------------------------------

"What the heck was that?" - T-Bone said from the bed.

He woke up too with the thundering roar of the beam. He caught a
glimpse of it and it didn't seem like an ordinary lightning bolt.

"I've got a bad feeling about this! I just hope the Enforcers can
handle whatever will happen!"

----------------------------------------------------------

For at least half an hour after the cracking sound, nothing happened.
Dark Kat began fearing for his Dark Pyramid. But then, the show began.

Trembling.

An earthquake.

The ground shook like a wild horse, opening large cracks that radiated
from the park. Four obelisks made of black rock began slowly lifting from the
ground, unearthing century's old trees.

The skyscrapers were shaken and a few didn't resist the tremor, falling
in big chunks of concrete and steel. The others that were still surviving the
tremor started darting big shards of glass toward the ground, annihilating every
living thing with whom they contacted.

Then, the tremor intensified.

Dark Kat watched with glee as the top of his Dark Pyramid began slowly
cropping out of the ground. In a few minutes, the infamous monument was
completely unearthed as buildings of all sizes tumbled in a deadly bow to it.

Dark Kat landed his Doomsday Express near the black rock monument and
rushed inside it.

Viper, who came with him inside his ship, began spraying the remaining
trees and plants with his growth formula. In a few minutes, they developed
thorns and grew as a wall surrounding the pyramid. He summoned his plantimals
from the ship's cargo bay and placed them around the entrance of the black
monument.

Mutilor and Hard Drive's drones were flying like buzzards around the
top of the pyramid, which stood up nearly 300 meters above the ground level,
dwarfing City Hall and Megakat Trade Towers. Its base occupied most of the nine
square kilometers of the park.

The PastMaster transported himself to there and, with his watch, he
summoned a few dozen living-dead skeletons from the graveyard and put them
between each obelisk, completing the perimeter defense of the Dark Pyramid.

---------------------------------------------------------