Title: Doubletake
Chp 1: Summon the Heroes
Author: Kristen Sharpe
E-Mail: skgirl@hotmail.com
Date: April 27 2002
Rating: PG
Warnings: May contain slightly more than average violence for a children's cartoon.
Disclaimer: "SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron," its characters and concepts are copyright to Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc and are used without permission.
Author's note: I've been fighting with this chapter/scene for literally months now. It's original incarnation had a lot of in-jokes that I've slowly stripped out one by one because they were getting excessive. The segment was literally twenty pages long. Now, it's long, but I think everything included has a point and it all contributes to setting up the story... I hope. Please, please, please let me know if there's any way I can improve this. I'm posting it because, if I don't, I might beat on it forever.
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Chapter 1: Summon the Heroes - 1996
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A straggling ray of light crept through the dusty, closed blinds to play across the face of the sleeping tomkat below. With an inarticulate mumble, the tawny kat swatted at it and rolled over. Five minutes later, his internal clock sounded, urging him to wakefulness.
"Mmmmmm...."
Jake Clawson slit sleep-laden amber eyes open and aimed his gaze toward where he knew his alarm clock must be. As expected, it was on the tiny table by his bed, safely close to him and out of range of Chance's morning wrath. Its red letters, muzzy in his fogged sight, read "8:52 am."
"Hmmm...."
Jake rolled away from the clock, pulling his sheet up under his chin. Several endless instants ticked away before the information he'd just seen could properly filter into his sleepy consciousness. But, once it did, Jake wasted no time processing it.
"8:52?!" Jake sat up and stared at the clock in dawning horror. "The parade!"
He was out of bed in an instant, the covers flying in his wake.
"CHANCE!!!"
Jake cleared the narrow space between his and his best friend's bed in a single bound and began shaking his partner.
"Chance, wake up! We're late!"
"Fi' more mi'utes....," Chance muttered in response, hugging his already squished pillow tighter.
"We don't HAVE five minutes!!!!" Jake screamed. He leaned in to give his larger friend a push.
With a groan, Chance obligingly rolled out of the bed, catching himself on his feet just before he tumbled into the floor. "I'm uuuuuup!" he moaned, standing and beginning to stagger for the bathroom.
"Faster!" Jake ordered, dashing to his chest of drawers to dig out a suitable pair of jeans. "We have a *parade* to attend!"
Chance paused and turned to face his friend. "It's not the Seventh."
"The SWAT Kat Day Parade!"
Chance blinked and watched Jake frantically dress for a minute before asking, "Then, shouldn't we go in our flight suits?"
Jake's scream of frustration echoed across the Salvage Yard.
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Ann Gora craned her neck to see the crowded streets below.
"I've never seen so many kats turn out for a parade," she breathed, eager to get down there and start broadcasting.
Beside her, her usual camerakat, Jonny, grinned as he trained his camera on the crowds, getting a nice panning shot up and down the street. "Well, it was you that said anything the SWAT Kats did was big news," he reminded her.
Ann grinned. "And, is this parade ever big news! No one's ever heard of such a thing - a parade for vigilantes." The slim brunette paused and looked thoughtful. "I can't decide if I want to interview Commander Feral or not." She held up both hands and pretended to weigh the options. "On the one hand, I get the reaction." A frown crossed her face. "On the other... I have to face the grouchiest kat in MegaKat City." Ann paused with her arms raised and glanced at her watch. "Almost time to start. We should get down there."
Jonny gave her a petulant glance. He'd been hoping to catch the SWAT Kats' entrance from the rooftop. There were other camerakats assigned to the shot, one in the Kats Eye chopper even, but Jonny hoped to out-do them all with what he believed was a superior position.
Anne sighed, but nodded good-naturedly to his silent plea. "Alright. But, just a few more minutes."
A smile blossomed beneath Jonny's dark glasses, and he trained his camera on the distant horizon.
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Below, expectant parade-goers and participants waited for the cue signalling that it was showtime. High school bands milled impatiently, hot even in the thinner than average uniforms used in the subtropical MegaKat. Horns blatted disconsonantly. Timpani rattled anxiously.
The dark-furred director of the band that would lead the parade was sweeping his eyes over his teenage charges one last time. Satisfied, he stepped aside and nodded to the drum major waiting at his side. She smiled and returned the nod before stepping forward. The sequins on the slim teenkat's dress sparkled in the morning light as she took her place in front of the band. She glanced expectantly toward the Enforcer cruiser waiting to move out and announce the start of the parade.
The Enforcer inside nodded, probably far too eagerly for Commander Feral's taste. But, the Commander was nowhere in sight. Besides, SWAT Kats or not, he'd never led a parade before. With a grin, he activated the car's siren. The siren's whoop sent scores of MegaKat City's citizens crowding up against the Enforcer barricades that cordoned off the street. Taking a moment to revv the engine a couple times, the Enforcer reluctantly headed his cruiser headed down the street at the crawl a parade required.
Behind him, the drum major faced the band. Her arms swept into the air, sequins flashing so brightly the dazzle momentarily blinded the first row of players. The band's opening number burst forth.
And, tens of thousands of eyes strained to see the opening of the SWAT Kat Day parade.
Kats had turned out in droves, some even flying in from the east, for the gala event honoring the famous, or infamous depending on who you asked, SWAT Kats. They were considered a novelty in other parts of the country, a curiosity. A parade for them was an even bigger curiosity. A parade that almost wasn't. It had taken the urging of Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs and her shrewd reminder that an election year *was* nearing for Mayor Manx to finally fulfil his forgotten promise of years before. The empty promise he'd made to the two SWAT Kats when they saved him from the Metallikats. But, Callie Briggs had not forgotten it, nor did she think it should remain empty.
Now, everyone was waiting expectantly for the SWAT Kats' arrival. Eyes darted from the leading band to the sky. Ears that knew what to listen for pricked forward to hear that familiar, welcome sound.
One young kitten, sitting on his father's shoulders, caught the first, faintest flash of light in the sky. Instantly, his still baby blue-gray eyes found the shape of the sleek jet.
"Daddy!!!" the kitten's hand shot out to point upward, "The TurboKat!"
Eyes followed the tiny hand as a loud shout went up from the crowd.
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"Our public awaits, Razor!" the burly T-Bone boomed as the street below, teeming with kats, loomed ever nearer through the persplex of the TurboKat's canopy.
"Just cut the throttle, bud, or they'll all be deaf," Razor returned.
"Aww.... I wanted ta' come in with a bang."
"Wings in subsonic mode, T-Bone," was Razor's dry response.
"Awww... You've gotten boring in your old age, Razor," T-Bone teased, looking in the mirror and noting that Razor's dry comments failed to match his grinning face.
Callie Briggs' voice broke into the cockpit via the distress ban, temporarily ending the game. "Right on time, guys."
"We aim ta' please," T-Bone returned, giving his partner a thumbs up.
-------------------------
Callie smiled as the TurboKat swooped over the raised platform on which she and the Mayor stood. The jet twisted through a double barrel roll before rocketing away, down the length of the parade route. Good thing the notions of any large balloons had been shot down just because of the risk of the jet colliding with one. T-Bone was in fine form today. Of course, he and Razor *were* the center of attention. What pilot in his shoes - or lack thereof - could resist a little grandstanding?
Beside her, Manx beamed, surveying the crowds he was sure were packed with votes. Upon seeing how popular the parade was, he had immediately appropriated all the credit for himself.
Callie shrugged at the thought, adjusting her glasses. Let the Mayor have the credit. The ones she'd wanted to thank with the parade knew it was her doing, and that was enough for her.
Though Commander Feral had hardly been happy.
The blonde she-kat shot the Enforcer Commander a glance around the somewhat rotund Mayor. The tall kat was standing at the base of the platform. A permanent scowl settled on his face as he swatted away the platform's red and blue bunting, still fluttering in the TurboKat's wake.
But, he hadn't protested the SWAT Kat Day Parade as much as she'd expected. Not for the reasons she'd expected anyway. He was firmly convinced that it would be a prime time for one of the supervillains with a grudge to strike. And, she couldn't deny the threat, but it was the unfairness of it she'd thought he'd rebel against. Callie sighed at that and looked away. She had tried so hard to get the Enforcers included in the festivities as more than crowd control. She didn't always agree with Feral's methods, but Feral and his kats did their job as well as they could with Manx and the City Council on the Commander's back.
Callie focused her green gaze out on the sky once more. Best not to dwell on that. There was nothing she could do about that situation. Not now. And, Manx was hardly keeping "SWAT Kat Day" as a permanent institution like the annual 7th of August Parade.* Just one small thank you... that she was sure was much appreciated.
Beside her, Mayor Herbert Manx fidgeted, pulling a gold watch from his waistcoat and checking the time.
"Well, Callay, the guests of honor are right on time," he drawled. "Perhaps we should start?"
---------------------------------------
As the TurboKat cavorted across the sky for the pleasure of her crew's cheering fans, Mayor Manx's amplified voice boomed across the street. "Citizens of MegaKat City - I give you... THE SWAT KATS." His voice dropped to its best effort at suave. "And, when election day comes, just remember this parade... and he who gave it... fondly."
Before he could think of more, the drum major cued the band to launch into their finale.
T-Bone couldn't hear the sound, but he saw the opening in the street below as the bands made room for the jet to land. He knew his cue when he saw it.
"ROCK AN' ROLL!!!!!" the tabby pilot roared, almost as loud as the jet he piloted, as he let the TurboKat thunder over the street one last time, skimming just above the buildings.
"T-Bone,...," Razor started but stopped as they descended among the skyscrapers just beyond the last of the crowd. Ahead loomed an overpass, growing ominously closer by the minute. For a handful of seconds, Razor drummed anxious fingers against the arm of his ejektor seat. He reached a conclusion quickly. Yes, T-Bone most certainly *would* do it. Shunning speech, the orange-furred SWAT Kat opted for getting a good grip on the handgrips beside his seat instead.
The TurboKat hurtled over the overpass, looping sharply and rocketing back to plunge underneath the structure... *upside-down*. Teeth clenched, Razor waited for the inevitable sound of a stabilizer scraping the ground, eyes closed.
Fortunately, it never came.
"Wakey-wakey, Jakey," T-Bone's voice teased as the slim weapons officer felt the jet rise into the air again and right itself.
"Ha, ha," Razor snapped, opening his eyes and straightening in his seat. "You want me to have a real good memory of my kittenhood, don't you, T-Bone?" he muttered.
"What makes you say that?" T-Bone innocently inquired as he headed the jet back toward the parade.
It wasn't until he'd cut back on the throttle and deployed the VTOL engines, spinning the hovering jet to face the same direction as the bands below, that Razor replied.
"Only the fact that you make my life flash before my eyes about three or four times a day," the orange-furred kat hissed playfully.
The big pilot chuckled in reply, grinning mischievously into the mirror for his partner's benefit.
As the music pulsing into the cockpit via the TurboKat's exterior speakers swelled, T-Bone focused on business and brought the jet down to hover just a few feet above street-level. Skillfully, he positioned it in the open space created just for that purpose between two bands. As he did so, gusts of air from the VTOL engines blew stray paper and streamers high into the air, surrounding the jet in a shimmering aura.
T-Bone doublechecked his controls and nudged the TurboKat forward gently, bringing it into position directly behind the lead band and startling several drummers. The two SWAT Kats chuckled as the drummers, who had been staring back at the jet wide-eyed, suddenly realized that the band was several feet ahead of them and double-timed it to catch up. While the twosome were still chuckling, the song ended and the parade halted. Everyone waited expectantly.
T-Bone feigned a studied air as he set the TurboKat down gently. "Could land her on a dime," he murmured, round face breaking into a smile as he opened the canopy.
Amid thunderous applause and a shower of streamers the twosome leapt to the ground. Surveying the crowd, Razor quickly quelled a brief shudder of nervousness.
--Remember, they're looking at Razor, not Jake. Nothing to worry about. Just look cool. Like T-Bone.-- He cast a sidelong glance at his partner. T-Bone was smiling his most charming smile and doing everything shy of openly flexing his muscles to pose himself in the best way possible to ham it up. --Okay, maybe not like T-Bone,-- Razor amended.
Meanwhile, with another nod from the director, the drum major signalled the band to start "Summon the Heroes."** The brass players raised their horns to their lips, and the first trumpet prepared for his opening solo. At the last second, his memory failed him. What was that opening note?
--I know this. I know this. We practiced.-- Frantic thoughts darted in his head. In desperation, he started playing the first, and only, thing that came to mind - the song they all knew *so* well from *so* many football games.
The first notes, complete with the boom of a bass drum, echoed up the street. Not a few heads turned. Ears flickered in confusion. That song was familiar...
Quickly covering the mistake, the rest of the band followed the trumpet player. Not a few members of the crowd looked at each other in surprise.
Why were they playing *that* song now?
T-Bone and Razor also exchanged a glance. T-Bone grinned. Razor grinned back, his nervousness fading quickly. T-Bone's grin was infectious.
Seconds later, the two SWAT Kats were doing the Macarena to the roar of a screaming crowd. Well, more or less. Neither was much of a dancer and both ad libbed any move they forgot. No one seemed to care.
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"Are you getting this, Jonny?" Ann Gora managed around laughter. The SWAT Kats doing the Macarena? This was great!
"Better believe it!" Jonny returned.
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Watching the spectacle, Commander Feral allowed himself to briefly bury his face in one, large hand. "I am *not* seeing this," he moaned to himself.
A tap on the shoulder snapped him instantly from the moment. He looked up sharply to find his niece, Felina, grinning up at him. She was off-duty today. Her hair, usually matted flat to her head by a helmet, was brushed to a much more natural look, falling off her shoulders rather than curling upward from under the helmet. Feral was almost surprised to see her out of uniform. She was almost as much of a workaholic as he. And, the T-shirt she was wearing, adorned with a large, yellow smiley face, was very out of character. Probably a gift from that lieutenant she'd been hanging out with.
Feral frowned inwardly at that. But, it was a feeling of fatherly protection and nothing personal against the gray-furred Lieutenant McFurland. Though Feral did think he was a bit of a goofball, at least it was nice to see her having a personal life.
That aside, he was doubly grateful she wasn't wearing one of those SWAT Kat T-shirts they were selling either. But, she *was* up to something. He looked the black-haired she-kat in the eye.
Felina returned the gaze.
"Uncle," her smile was pure evil, "Some of the crowd want you to move down - the look on your face is scaring small children."
Feral growled a guttural reply.
Knowing he didn't mean it, Felina smiled again and headed away through the crowd, chuckling as she went.
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Seventy-five feet above, a pair of eyes tracked Feral's every movement as a tri-barreled weapon followed the gaze unsteadily.
"One shot. That's all it would take."
"Save it," a husky voice muttered to the ears of the would-be assassin. "He's not our first priority."
Two sets of eyes shifted to watch the dancing SWAT Kats.
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At last, the song was over, and the SWAT Kats' mad gyrations ceased. Razor looked out at the screaming crowd and was fervently thankful for the mask that hid his face. Not to mention enough dark fur to hide any blushes. Had he just been waving his fanny around in front of a few hundred thousand people? Not to mention cameras that would broadcast it to more? The slim kat blushed and ducked his head briefly.
From hidden speakers an amplified voice boomed, "Please give a warm round of applause for the SWAT Kats and the MEGAKAT HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING PANTHERS!!"
Again, the crowd roared its approval.
Then, the thundering voice quieted to mumble, adding, almost as an afterthought, "And,... now a speech by Mayor Manx."
"Fun's over," muttered T-Bone as he and Razor headed for the platform where Manx and Callie waited.
"T-Bone!" Razor gasped, clutching his chest as though he were having a heart attack, "You don't think Manx's speech - written to honor *us* - by Callie I'll bet - won't be *fun*!"
"We-ell, maybe if *Callie* delivered it."
Their conversation ended as Ann Gora hurried up to get a few words with them before Manx could start reciting the speech Callie had written for him.
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To Be Continued....
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* - More or less equivalent to the United States' Fourth of July, the Seventh of August is, however, a local MegaKat independence day, celebrating when the Siamese occupation of the MegaKat area during MegaWar III ended. Another piece of my invented timeline for the city.
** - "Summon the Heroes" composed by John Williams for the 1996 Centennial Olympics.
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Musical Inspirations:
"Summon the Heroes"
"Olympic Spirit"
"Olympic Fanfare and Theme" (Theme of the 1985 Olympics)
--All composed by John Williams and as heard on the "Summon the Heroes" collection of Olympic themes by the Boston Pops Orchestra.
Chp 1: Summon the Heroes
Author: Kristen Sharpe
E-Mail: skgirl@hotmail.com
Date: April 27 2002
Rating: PG
Warnings: May contain slightly more than average violence for a children's cartoon.
Disclaimer: "SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron," its characters and concepts are copyright to Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc and are used without permission.
Author's note: I've been fighting with this chapter/scene for literally months now. It's original incarnation had a lot of in-jokes that I've slowly stripped out one by one because they were getting excessive. The segment was literally twenty pages long. Now, it's long, but I think everything included has a point and it all contributes to setting up the story... I hope. Please, please, please let me know if there's any way I can improve this. I'm posting it because, if I don't, I might beat on it forever.
----------------------------
Chapter 1: Summon the Heroes - 1996
----------------------------
A straggling ray of light crept through the dusty, closed blinds to play across the face of the sleeping tomkat below. With an inarticulate mumble, the tawny kat swatted at it and rolled over. Five minutes later, his internal clock sounded, urging him to wakefulness.
"Mmmmmm...."
Jake Clawson slit sleep-laden amber eyes open and aimed his gaze toward where he knew his alarm clock must be. As expected, it was on the tiny table by his bed, safely close to him and out of range of Chance's morning wrath. Its red letters, muzzy in his fogged sight, read "8:52 am."
"Hmmm...."
Jake rolled away from the clock, pulling his sheet up under his chin. Several endless instants ticked away before the information he'd just seen could properly filter into his sleepy consciousness. But, once it did, Jake wasted no time processing it.
"8:52?!" Jake sat up and stared at the clock in dawning horror. "The parade!"
He was out of bed in an instant, the covers flying in his wake.
"CHANCE!!!"
Jake cleared the narrow space between his and his best friend's bed in a single bound and began shaking his partner.
"Chance, wake up! We're late!"
"Fi' more mi'utes....," Chance muttered in response, hugging his already squished pillow tighter.
"We don't HAVE five minutes!!!!" Jake screamed. He leaned in to give his larger friend a push.
With a groan, Chance obligingly rolled out of the bed, catching himself on his feet just before he tumbled into the floor. "I'm uuuuuup!" he moaned, standing and beginning to stagger for the bathroom.
"Faster!" Jake ordered, dashing to his chest of drawers to dig out a suitable pair of jeans. "We have a *parade* to attend!"
Chance paused and turned to face his friend. "It's not the Seventh."
"The SWAT Kat Day Parade!"
Chance blinked and watched Jake frantically dress for a minute before asking, "Then, shouldn't we go in our flight suits?"
Jake's scream of frustration echoed across the Salvage Yard.
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Ann Gora craned her neck to see the crowded streets below.
"I've never seen so many kats turn out for a parade," she breathed, eager to get down there and start broadcasting.
Beside her, her usual camerakat, Jonny, grinned as he trained his camera on the crowds, getting a nice panning shot up and down the street. "Well, it was you that said anything the SWAT Kats did was big news," he reminded her.
Ann grinned. "And, is this parade ever big news! No one's ever heard of such a thing - a parade for vigilantes." The slim brunette paused and looked thoughtful. "I can't decide if I want to interview Commander Feral or not." She held up both hands and pretended to weigh the options. "On the one hand, I get the reaction." A frown crossed her face. "On the other... I have to face the grouchiest kat in MegaKat City." Ann paused with her arms raised and glanced at her watch. "Almost time to start. We should get down there."
Jonny gave her a petulant glance. He'd been hoping to catch the SWAT Kats' entrance from the rooftop. There were other camerakats assigned to the shot, one in the Kats Eye chopper even, but Jonny hoped to out-do them all with what he believed was a superior position.
Anne sighed, but nodded good-naturedly to his silent plea. "Alright. But, just a few more minutes."
A smile blossomed beneath Jonny's dark glasses, and he trained his camera on the distant horizon.
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Below, expectant parade-goers and participants waited for the cue signalling that it was showtime. High school bands milled impatiently, hot even in the thinner than average uniforms used in the subtropical MegaKat. Horns blatted disconsonantly. Timpani rattled anxiously.
The dark-furred director of the band that would lead the parade was sweeping his eyes over his teenage charges one last time. Satisfied, he stepped aside and nodded to the drum major waiting at his side. She smiled and returned the nod before stepping forward. The sequins on the slim teenkat's dress sparkled in the morning light as she took her place in front of the band. She glanced expectantly toward the Enforcer cruiser waiting to move out and announce the start of the parade.
The Enforcer inside nodded, probably far too eagerly for Commander Feral's taste. But, the Commander was nowhere in sight. Besides, SWAT Kats or not, he'd never led a parade before. With a grin, he activated the car's siren. The siren's whoop sent scores of MegaKat City's citizens crowding up against the Enforcer barricades that cordoned off the street. Taking a moment to revv the engine a couple times, the Enforcer reluctantly headed his cruiser headed down the street at the crawl a parade required.
Behind him, the drum major faced the band. Her arms swept into the air, sequins flashing so brightly the dazzle momentarily blinded the first row of players. The band's opening number burst forth.
And, tens of thousands of eyes strained to see the opening of the SWAT Kat Day parade.
Kats had turned out in droves, some even flying in from the east, for the gala event honoring the famous, or infamous depending on who you asked, SWAT Kats. They were considered a novelty in other parts of the country, a curiosity. A parade for them was an even bigger curiosity. A parade that almost wasn't. It had taken the urging of Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs and her shrewd reminder that an election year *was* nearing for Mayor Manx to finally fulfil his forgotten promise of years before. The empty promise he'd made to the two SWAT Kats when they saved him from the Metallikats. But, Callie Briggs had not forgotten it, nor did she think it should remain empty.
Now, everyone was waiting expectantly for the SWAT Kats' arrival. Eyes darted from the leading band to the sky. Ears that knew what to listen for pricked forward to hear that familiar, welcome sound.
One young kitten, sitting on his father's shoulders, caught the first, faintest flash of light in the sky. Instantly, his still baby blue-gray eyes found the shape of the sleek jet.
"Daddy!!!" the kitten's hand shot out to point upward, "The TurboKat!"
Eyes followed the tiny hand as a loud shout went up from the crowd.
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"Our public awaits, Razor!" the burly T-Bone boomed as the street below, teeming with kats, loomed ever nearer through the persplex of the TurboKat's canopy.
"Just cut the throttle, bud, or they'll all be deaf," Razor returned.
"Aww.... I wanted ta' come in with a bang."
"Wings in subsonic mode, T-Bone," was Razor's dry response.
"Awww... You've gotten boring in your old age, Razor," T-Bone teased, looking in the mirror and noting that Razor's dry comments failed to match his grinning face.
Callie Briggs' voice broke into the cockpit via the distress ban, temporarily ending the game. "Right on time, guys."
"We aim ta' please," T-Bone returned, giving his partner a thumbs up.
-------------------------
Callie smiled as the TurboKat swooped over the raised platform on which she and the Mayor stood. The jet twisted through a double barrel roll before rocketing away, down the length of the parade route. Good thing the notions of any large balloons had been shot down just because of the risk of the jet colliding with one. T-Bone was in fine form today. Of course, he and Razor *were* the center of attention. What pilot in his shoes - or lack thereof - could resist a little grandstanding?
Beside her, Manx beamed, surveying the crowds he was sure were packed with votes. Upon seeing how popular the parade was, he had immediately appropriated all the credit for himself.
Callie shrugged at the thought, adjusting her glasses. Let the Mayor have the credit. The ones she'd wanted to thank with the parade knew it was her doing, and that was enough for her.
Though Commander Feral had hardly been happy.
The blonde she-kat shot the Enforcer Commander a glance around the somewhat rotund Mayor. The tall kat was standing at the base of the platform. A permanent scowl settled on his face as he swatted away the platform's red and blue bunting, still fluttering in the TurboKat's wake.
But, he hadn't protested the SWAT Kat Day Parade as much as she'd expected. Not for the reasons she'd expected anyway. He was firmly convinced that it would be a prime time for one of the supervillains with a grudge to strike. And, she couldn't deny the threat, but it was the unfairness of it she'd thought he'd rebel against. Callie sighed at that and looked away. She had tried so hard to get the Enforcers included in the festivities as more than crowd control. She didn't always agree with Feral's methods, but Feral and his kats did their job as well as they could with Manx and the City Council on the Commander's back.
Callie focused her green gaze out on the sky once more. Best not to dwell on that. There was nothing she could do about that situation. Not now. And, Manx was hardly keeping "SWAT Kat Day" as a permanent institution like the annual 7th of August Parade.* Just one small thank you... that she was sure was much appreciated.
Beside her, Mayor Herbert Manx fidgeted, pulling a gold watch from his waistcoat and checking the time.
"Well, Callay, the guests of honor are right on time," he drawled. "Perhaps we should start?"
---------------------------------------
As the TurboKat cavorted across the sky for the pleasure of her crew's cheering fans, Mayor Manx's amplified voice boomed across the street. "Citizens of MegaKat City - I give you... THE SWAT KATS." His voice dropped to its best effort at suave. "And, when election day comes, just remember this parade... and he who gave it... fondly."
Before he could think of more, the drum major cued the band to launch into their finale.
T-Bone couldn't hear the sound, but he saw the opening in the street below as the bands made room for the jet to land. He knew his cue when he saw it.
"ROCK AN' ROLL!!!!!" the tabby pilot roared, almost as loud as the jet he piloted, as he let the TurboKat thunder over the street one last time, skimming just above the buildings.
"T-Bone,...," Razor started but stopped as they descended among the skyscrapers just beyond the last of the crowd. Ahead loomed an overpass, growing ominously closer by the minute. For a handful of seconds, Razor drummed anxious fingers against the arm of his ejektor seat. He reached a conclusion quickly. Yes, T-Bone most certainly *would* do it. Shunning speech, the orange-furred SWAT Kat opted for getting a good grip on the handgrips beside his seat instead.
The TurboKat hurtled over the overpass, looping sharply and rocketing back to plunge underneath the structure... *upside-down*. Teeth clenched, Razor waited for the inevitable sound of a stabilizer scraping the ground, eyes closed.
Fortunately, it never came.
"Wakey-wakey, Jakey," T-Bone's voice teased as the slim weapons officer felt the jet rise into the air again and right itself.
"Ha, ha," Razor snapped, opening his eyes and straightening in his seat. "You want me to have a real good memory of my kittenhood, don't you, T-Bone?" he muttered.
"What makes you say that?" T-Bone innocently inquired as he headed the jet back toward the parade.
It wasn't until he'd cut back on the throttle and deployed the VTOL engines, spinning the hovering jet to face the same direction as the bands below, that Razor replied.
"Only the fact that you make my life flash before my eyes about three or four times a day," the orange-furred kat hissed playfully.
The big pilot chuckled in reply, grinning mischievously into the mirror for his partner's benefit.
As the music pulsing into the cockpit via the TurboKat's exterior speakers swelled, T-Bone focused on business and brought the jet down to hover just a few feet above street-level. Skillfully, he positioned it in the open space created just for that purpose between two bands. As he did so, gusts of air from the VTOL engines blew stray paper and streamers high into the air, surrounding the jet in a shimmering aura.
T-Bone doublechecked his controls and nudged the TurboKat forward gently, bringing it into position directly behind the lead band and startling several drummers. The two SWAT Kats chuckled as the drummers, who had been staring back at the jet wide-eyed, suddenly realized that the band was several feet ahead of them and double-timed it to catch up. While the twosome were still chuckling, the song ended and the parade halted. Everyone waited expectantly.
T-Bone feigned a studied air as he set the TurboKat down gently. "Could land her on a dime," he murmured, round face breaking into a smile as he opened the canopy.
Amid thunderous applause and a shower of streamers the twosome leapt to the ground. Surveying the crowd, Razor quickly quelled a brief shudder of nervousness.
--Remember, they're looking at Razor, not Jake. Nothing to worry about. Just look cool. Like T-Bone.-- He cast a sidelong glance at his partner. T-Bone was smiling his most charming smile and doing everything shy of openly flexing his muscles to pose himself in the best way possible to ham it up. --Okay, maybe not like T-Bone,-- Razor amended.
Meanwhile, with another nod from the director, the drum major signalled the band to start "Summon the Heroes."** The brass players raised their horns to their lips, and the first trumpet prepared for his opening solo. At the last second, his memory failed him. What was that opening note?
--I know this. I know this. We practiced.-- Frantic thoughts darted in his head. In desperation, he started playing the first, and only, thing that came to mind - the song they all knew *so* well from *so* many football games.
The first notes, complete with the boom of a bass drum, echoed up the street. Not a few heads turned. Ears flickered in confusion. That song was familiar...
Quickly covering the mistake, the rest of the band followed the trumpet player. Not a few members of the crowd looked at each other in surprise.
Why were they playing *that* song now?
T-Bone and Razor also exchanged a glance. T-Bone grinned. Razor grinned back, his nervousness fading quickly. T-Bone's grin was infectious.
Seconds later, the two SWAT Kats were doing the Macarena to the roar of a screaming crowd. Well, more or less. Neither was much of a dancer and both ad libbed any move they forgot. No one seemed to care.
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"Are you getting this, Jonny?" Ann Gora managed around laughter. The SWAT Kats doing the Macarena? This was great!
"Better believe it!" Jonny returned.
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Watching the spectacle, Commander Feral allowed himself to briefly bury his face in one, large hand. "I am *not* seeing this," he moaned to himself.
A tap on the shoulder snapped him instantly from the moment. He looked up sharply to find his niece, Felina, grinning up at him. She was off-duty today. Her hair, usually matted flat to her head by a helmet, was brushed to a much more natural look, falling off her shoulders rather than curling upward from under the helmet. Feral was almost surprised to see her out of uniform. She was almost as much of a workaholic as he. And, the T-shirt she was wearing, adorned with a large, yellow smiley face, was very out of character. Probably a gift from that lieutenant she'd been hanging out with.
Feral frowned inwardly at that. But, it was a feeling of fatherly protection and nothing personal against the gray-furred Lieutenant McFurland. Though Feral did think he was a bit of a goofball, at least it was nice to see her having a personal life.
That aside, he was doubly grateful she wasn't wearing one of those SWAT Kat T-shirts they were selling either. But, she *was* up to something. He looked the black-haired she-kat in the eye.
Felina returned the gaze.
"Uncle," her smile was pure evil, "Some of the crowd want you to move down - the look on your face is scaring small children."
Feral growled a guttural reply.
Knowing he didn't mean it, Felina smiled again and headed away through the crowd, chuckling as she went.
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Seventy-five feet above, a pair of eyes tracked Feral's every movement as a tri-barreled weapon followed the gaze unsteadily.
"One shot. That's all it would take."
"Save it," a husky voice muttered to the ears of the would-be assassin. "He's not our first priority."
Two sets of eyes shifted to watch the dancing SWAT Kats.
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At last, the song was over, and the SWAT Kats' mad gyrations ceased. Razor looked out at the screaming crowd and was fervently thankful for the mask that hid his face. Not to mention enough dark fur to hide any blushes. Had he just been waving his fanny around in front of a few hundred thousand people? Not to mention cameras that would broadcast it to more? The slim kat blushed and ducked his head briefly.
From hidden speakers an amplified voice boomed, "Please give a warm round of applause for the SWAT Kats and the MEGAKAT HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING PANTHERS!!"
Again, the crowd roared its approval.
Then, the thundering voice quieted to mumble, adding, almost as an afterthought, "And,... now a speech by Mayor Manx."
"Fun's over," muttered T-Bone as he and Razor headed for the platform where Manx and Callie waited.
"T-Bone!" Razor gasped, clutching his chest as though he were having a heart attack, "You don't think Manx's speech - written to honor *us* - by Callie I'll bet - won't be *fun*!"
"We-ell, maybe if *Callie* delivered it."
Their conversation ended as Ann Gora hurried up to get a few words with them before Manx could start reciting the speech Callie had written for him.
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To Be Continued....
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* - More or less equivalent to the United States' Fourth of July, the Seventh of August is, however, a local MegaKat independence day, celebrating when the Siamese occupation of the MegaKat area during MegaWar III ended. Another piece of my invented timeline for the city.
** - "Summon the Heroes" composed by John Williams for the 1996 Centennial Olympics.
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Musical Inspirations:
"Summon the Heroes"
"Olympic Spirit"
"Olympic Fanfare and Theme" (Theme of the 1985 Olympics)
--All composed by John Williams and as heard on the "Summon the Heroes" collection of Olympic themes by the Boston Pops Orchestra.