The SWAT Kats' Final Days, Part 3: Losses
Disclaimers: SWAT Kats, MegaKat City, and all associated personas and locations are the property of Hanna/Barbera.
A/N: I've added back in a few scenes that were deleted from the original because I couldn't make them work back then. I think they work well now.
A few days later:
"What is this nut doing?" T-Bone asks as the now damaged unidentified craft turns and heads straight at them.
"I don't know, but he's armed his missiles," Razor replies, his hands flitting over his console.
"No kidding. Oh, crud!" T-Bone cries as the ship suddenly accelerates at them.
"We gotta eject, T..." Razor yells, but is cut off by the impact.
The twisting flaming wreckage of the TurboKat and the other jet explode, then careens to the top of a small skyscraper, strewing debris over half a dozen city blocks.
Commander Feral's face turns ashen as he sees the explosion. He sits down at his desk to prepare a press release.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Felina screams in an angry sorrow as she sees the larger jet tear apart the TurboKat and both jets explode. Had it not been for her co-pilot, her Chopper would have crashed.
Callie stares at the firestorm out of her office window, transfixed, tears staring to form in her eyes. She drops to her knees, sobbing.
"This is Ann Gora," the brown-haired reporter says, her face showing her horrified disbelief, "Kat's Eye news. What we just saw may very well be the death of the SWAT Kats..."
"Hey, here's another one!" a rescue worker calls as he pushes on the huge piece of metal. Several other workers run over and manage to push the jet's nosecone off the unlucky kat.
"Damn. That's the sixth homeless we've found in this alley. When those jets exploded, the wreckage really did a number to the poor bastards who lived here."
"This one's in real bad shape, but at least he's alive. Most his fur and clothes got burned off, and he's lost his leg for sure."
"If he survives, it'll be a miracle," the EMT says, checking the tom's pulse, "This guy's almost dead. Help me get him to the ambulance."
"Ohh, crud," he groans as he unstraps his harness and pushes the ejektor seat off of him. He stands, looking around the pitch-black alley. He remembered the other jet coming at them as if to ram, and he rightfully guessed that he had been knocked out by the impact before the auto-ejection system had activated.
He presses a button on his glovatrix and tries to track his partner's glovatrix, but to no avail. He figured that his was damaged, and he had to start searching for his partner before anyone else found him. He pried off the cover and inspected the internals of his glovatrix. It seemed undamaged. He started to despair, knowing that it was his partner's glovatrix that was damaged, or worse, destroyed. If it was the latter, the odds were good that his partner had died.
He throws his ejektor seat into the nearest dumpster, and his helmet too. He takes off his mask and pockets it, then his G-Suit follows the helmet. He stumbles out of the alley in a pair of jeans and t-shirt, and spots a TV store. On it was the spectacular footage of the TurboKat's demise, and the reporter saying that more than fifty pedestrians and homeless Kats had been killed and injured. The reporter also mentioned that Dark Kat's corpse had been found in the wreckage as well, but neither SWAT Kat had been found.
After a several day long failed attempt to search the explosion debris area, he walks to Enforcer HQ.
He had found out that everyone thought that the SWAT Kats had died, and what Feral had done to cover up the SWAT Kats' identities was to erase all of their records after their stint at the Pumadyne. He wanted to see Feral before doing anything else.
He walks into Feral's office while the Commander was out and sits down, waiting for the huge tom to arrive. He falls asleep in the chair...
...And wakes to see Callie staring at him with sad eyes. He sits up and recognizes the layout of standard quarters.
He cringes at the sight of her, fear and sadness playing across his face as he backs into the wall by the bunk. She stands up and stretches. Feral sits at the nearby table doing paperwork, and upon hearing Jake and Callie moving, looks up.
"You're finally awake, Clawson," he says, his voice level and even, "You've been asleep for a day and a half. Ms. Briggs has barely left your side in that time."
"T-Bone would have made contact by now if he were alive. I can't stay here. Commander, I'm asking you to arrest me. I want to..." Jake gets interupted.
"Jake!" Callie gasps.
"No, Clawson. That is unacceptable," Feral says, locking eyes with Jake.
"Commander, I can't fly anymore. Not without T-Bone," Jake shakes his head, keeping his eyes locked with Feral.
"You will stay at the Salvage Yard, honoring our contract, Clawson. If Furlong does not contact us within a month, we will update his record as deceased, and you will be freed from the Salvage Yard," Feral narrows his eyes and lowers his voice to a dangerous purr.
"Commander, I will not fly. Unless Chance is found alive, Razor died in that explosion," Jake says, before standing and stalking out.
"Jake!" Callie yells as she rushes after him.
"Please, Ms. Briggs, go away. I need to be alone for a while." Jake says while trudging along the hallway.
"Jake, I love you. I'm still here for you."
"I can't accept your love. I don't share your feelings."
"Please, I know you must feel horrible, but..."
"Dammit, Callie, I've probably lost my best friend, the only tom I could call my BROTHER. We both knew you liked me more than him, and that Felina liked him, but he loved you. He. Loved. You. The only way he knew to get his feelings across was flirting. He didn't love Felina, he only liked her. I didn't love Felina either. And... I can't love you. Please, just... leave me alone."
Callie stands there, her mouth open, her face wearing an expression of angry shock. Jake turns away from her, hanging his head and continues to plod down the hallway, until he reaches the elevator. He presses the button, and after a moment, he looks down the hallway at her, a mournful expression on his face.
The elevator door opens and he steps in.
She sobs as the doors close. Feral walks out of the quarters after her and places his hand on her shoulder.
The elevator stops, and Jake gets out. He turns down the hallway and walks to Personnel. He walks in the door, and his father looks up, suprised.
"Jacob!"
"Hi dad," Jake says.
Sergeant Clawson stands and hobbles over to his son, and bear-hugs him.
"Dad, if Chance doesn't show up in a month, I'm leaving MegaKat City."
"What about the Deputy Mayor? And what should I tell your mother?"
"I'm leaving everything, dad. I'll keep in touch, when I can, but I'm not... I can't take Callie with me. I can't return her love and affection."
"You mean won't. You forget, Jacob, I am your father. I know you too well," the elder Clawson wags his finger in his son's face.
"I know, dad, I know."
"Don't push her away, Jake. I know she really does love you, and besides, I want grandkittens to dandle on my good knee."
"I'll keep it in mind, dad. Tell mom I love her."
"I will, Jacob. Goodbye."
"Bye dad."
Later that day:
"You wanted to see me, Uncle?" the tall she-kat says, her face ashen and gaunt, her eyes red and puffy, and her fur unkempt.
"Yes. I'm giving you two weeks leave, and this Cashier's Check for ten thousand dollars. You are going to vacation, then you are being transferred immediately to New Cymric. Don't return to MegaKat City, go straight to New Cymric. Your belongings will be there, waiting for you."
"Uncle, that's half-way across..."
"Don't argue with me, kitten. You need to be away from here for a while, until you've conquered your grief. When that's happened, I'll have you transferred back," he says, his tone indicating the conversation was over.
"Uncle..." she hisses.
"Dismissed Lieutenant," he snarls.
Two months later:
She forces herself to stand up from the toilet. The nausea passes, and she flushes the toilet, then goes to her kitchenette to make something that wouldn't upset her stomach. She again wonders if she was sick, so she decides to use one of her sick days, and sees the doctor on duty.
"Well, hello, Lieutenant Feral, how are you feeling?" the doctor says as she enters his office.
"Nauseous. Every morning for the last few weeks I've been puking my breakfast."
"Hmm, lets take a look at you."
He places an electronic thermometer in her mouth, and measures her pulse, then takes her blood pressure after looking at the thermometer. "Slightly elevated temp, heart rate is above average, BP is elevated. Hmm. I'll have to run a test for sure, Lieutenant, but when was your last period?"
She starts to think, and says, "A while ago. In fact, I was still in MegaKat City. Just over two months." she pauses, and her face expresses shock, "I'm not..."
"Pregnant? Most likely. I can run a test on a urine sample." he says, and walks over to get a test cup. He gives it to her and says, "If you would, Lieutenant, the bathroom's over there."
"Well, Mr. Clawson, We've reviewed your resume, and we must admit, we're quite impressed. Could you tell me, however, what brings you half-way acros the country to NCA? Why didn't you put in at Pumadyne?"
"I didn't want to develop new weapons. I want to help Katkind. An old friend, Professor Isaac Hackle, worked at Pumadyne. He told me that all they ever do is military research. Besides, I worked Security there while I was getting my degree. Every other week some megalo starts some scheme or another. It got tiresome, wondering if I'd be the next to die in one of their attacks."
"So that's why you came here?"
"Yes. Like I said, I don't want to make weapons, and I'm tired of megalomaniacs. The risk factor here is much lower."
"We do have a lab assistant opening in one of our medical technology programs."
"That would be almost ideal."
"I'll introduce you to that team leader, Dr. Philip Glass."
"So, I have the job?"
"That's up to Phil. It's his team, although, most applicants don't even get this far."
Jake nods and follows his interviewer out of the office.
Six months later;
'Mr. Clawson, you have a call on line three, Mr. Clawson, line three.' a female voice pages him in the lab he was working in.
Jake walks over the phone at the entrance to the lab and picks up the receiver, pressing the button.
"Hello, Clawson speaking."
'Jake? Hi, it's Callie.'
"Callie," he snarls, "How did you find me?"
'I had a P.I. keep tabs on you. I'm sorry, Jake, but I still love you. I'm going to be moving there when my term is up next January. I can't live being away from you."
"Callie, I can't love you. Don't call here again," he says, then hangs up the receiver. He walks back, shaking his head.
One of his team-mates asks, "What was that all about?"
"Nothing. Just an old girlfriend. I've asked her not to call here again. Now, where was I?"
"Umm, potential actuator systems for this new prosthetic limb. We've covered eletric motors, miniature hydraulics..."
"Oh, yes. My submission is this."
"And what is it?" one of the other assistants asks.
"This material, a myo-polymer plastic, contracts like a muscle when exposed to an electrical current."
"Where did you get this?" Dr. Glass asks, "I've never seen anything like it!"
"I... well, I was trying to make a new form of plastic explosive when I was in college, as an experiment, but I came up with this instead. I was suprised that it contracted and expanded when exposed to electricity."
That night, as he prepares to leave the building, he hears his name and turns to see a short blonde running toward him.
"Hey, Jake, what're you doing here?"
"Where do I know you from?"
"You and Chance saved my life in MegaKat City. You were a Security Guard."
"Oh... what's your name..."
"Tina."
"Tina. Whaddya doing here?"
"I asked you first. I thought you were Security."
"Well, I just recently finished my Bachelor's in General Engineering, and two Associate's in Chemistry and Material physics. I've always wanted to do R&D."
"Oh. I see. Well, how's Chance?"
"He's... ok. Still probably working Security at Pumadyne."
"Well, ok," she says, a suspicious look on her face, "I just graduated and moved out here. Dr. Glass just hired me on his Prosthetic Team."
"Well, we'll be seeing a lot of each other then. I'm on that team."
"Bye Jake."
A day later;
"Hey Jake," Tina says as they walk out of the lab, "How're you today?"
"I'm ok."
"I was wondering, if... you would like to go out tonight. Dinner and a movie maybe?"
"Sorry, but, no. I've, uh, got a girlfriend," he lies.
"Really," she asks in a disbelieving tone.
"Yeah. She just hasn't move here yet." his mind races to find a candidate, and gets stuck on the previous day's phone call.
"Why?"
"Well, she's waiting for her term of office to expire. The Mayor's gotten a new running partner for this election, so, she's out as of January."
"You mean... Calico Briggs? MegaKat City's Deputy Mayor?"
"The same."
"How'd you hook up with her?"
He looks thoughtful, and decides to tell a half-truth.
"She could tell the story better than I. Well, we first met when I was an Enforcer, and then when we were sent to MegaKat Salvage, she'd come just to get her car fixed by us. She asked me out just before we left there and became Security Guards."
"I knew you were an Enforcer, but, why did you get sent to a junkyard?"
"We were sent to the Salvage yard as punishment. We had to pay off the cost of repairs to the Enforcer Headquarters and the cost of one jet. We finished paying off the debt almost a year ago."
"So, you're that kat?"
"Yeah."
"You sure you're not Razor?"
"Who?"
"The SWAT Kat."
"As far as I know, they both died in that crash... of course, no bodies were found. Maybe they survived."
"They said on the one news broadcast that they'd stop flying when they died."
"So, I guess they died."
"Where's Chance?"
"I left him working Security at Pumadyne. When I first met you, I'd just finished my degrees a couple weeks before. I quit the day after I met you."
"Chance doesn't work there either. I called two days after to thank you again."
"Well, if he's not there, I don't know where he is."
"So, about dinner?"
"I've got a girlfriend. Sorry Tina. There are other nice guys on the team. Dave for instance, or Zach even."
"None of them saved my life," she says, then turns away.
A year later, in MegaKat City;
He opens his eyes to a bright light, and squints. The first thing he notices was his stomach growling. He sits up and brings his hand to his face, only to stare in shock at it, for most of it except the forefinger and thumb were missing.
He quickly looked at his other hand, and saw that it was intact. However, when he uncovered himself and looked, he was also missing a leg.
'We gotta eject...'
"What?" he asks, looking around.
The voice stayed silent.
"Where are you? Who are you?" he asks, then stops as he realizes he can't remember his own name, "Who am I?"
He sees someone walk in, and asks, "Hey, what's my name? Where am I?"
She looks over at him and gasps, dropping the tray she'd been carrying.
A few days later:
"John," the doctor says as he enters the tom's room, "How are you today."
"I'm fine Doc. How're you?" he says, turning away from the TV and looking at the doctor.
"Doing good. We have some news for you. New Cymric Advanced is accepting applications for the test of a new prototype prosthetic. It's a leg. Would you want us to put you in for it, so you can walk again?"
"Yeah. I'm goin' crazy in this bed, havin' to be wheeled around where I wanna go." he says before glancing at the screen. He does a double-take upon seeing someone on the screen.
'Thanks, guys.' he hears, and feels her patting his shoulder. He sees her smiling at him, then turns and his memory fades when he saw a non-descript tom dressed in blue and red.
"John." he hears, "John?"
"I know her," he says, pointing to the picture of the blond on the screen, as his vision returns, "I can't remember who she is though."
"That's Deputy Mayor Briggs. Do you remember anything?"
"Only that she said, 'Thanks, guys', and touched my shoulder. T--that's all I can remember."
"'Guys?'"
"I turn and see someone, a tom-kat, but I... don't see him, either. I--I can't see him. I don't know what he looks like."
"OK. I'll update your file then. Back to our original subject, it's a pretty good chance you won't get the leg, as there will likely be other candidates for it."
"Better a slim chance than none," he replies, before looking back at the TV. He turns up the volume, and listens to the reporter asking her as she leave City Hall with several boxes on a hand truck, 'Where are you going to go, Ms. Briggs?'
'I'm sorry, Ann, but I have no comment,' she says as she starts putting the boxes into her car.
'Rumor has it you're leaving MegaKat City,' the reporter asks, 'Is it true?'
'I have no comment.' she repeats as she gets in her car and drives off.
A couple days later, in New Cymric:
The doorbell rings, and Jake gets up from the chair he'd been dozing in and opens it.
"Hi Jake. Can I come in," Callie asks, dressed in a jogging outfit.
"What're you doing here?"
"I told you I'm moving to town when my term was up. It's January. I just wanted to see you," she says before repeating, "Can I come in?"
"Fine. Sure. Just don't expect much conversation. I'm tired."
"Jake, why? Why are you acting so cold toward me? Do you hate me or something?"
I... don't hate you," he replies, "I just..."
"Then talk to me. Every time I try to tell you how much I love you, you say you don't love me, then you hang up or leave. Why don't you love me?"
"Chance loved you."
"That excuse again? I liked the 'I'd rather you loved me more then Razor' excuse better. Jake, I've loved you for a long time. When I found out you were also Razor, I felt a bit confused, but I still loved you. I love you even today, Jake, but I won't put up with you pushing me away forever."
"You want me to say I love you back, huh? Fine. I love you. Now tell me if I meant that or not."
"Sarcasm aside," she spits, "Deep down, I think you do. But, I won't put up with any more of this. I've wasted enough of my life on a pathetic, worthless, coward of a tomkat. Goodbye, Jacob Clawson."
"Only fitting that I be alone," he says, bowing his head, "Chance is gone. I'm dead inside without my brother. You're right -- I am a coward. I can't even take my own life."
"Jake," she asks, horrified, but he looks up and says, "Callie, it's not a matter of 'I don't love you', it's a matter of 'I can't love you'. I just can't, I feel it would betray Chance's memory. But the feelings are there."
She stares at him, not knowing what to say in response.
"Now you can leave me to my misery," Jake adds as he turns away from her and walks toward his chair. He flops into the recliner, and folds his arms, waiting for her to leave.
A sharp exhale, almost a sob, comes from Callie. She tries to hold back her tears, but one escapes and streaks down her face. "That's the most truthful you've been with me about your feelings yet, Jake."
"Yeah... it is, isn't it? Well, have a good life, Ms. Briggs," he says, "You're the only one of the two of us that's alive inside."
"I'll be searching for someplace else to live tomorrow. May I stay the night on your sofa?"
"My bedroom is at the end of the hallway. I was going to sleep here anyway. I haven't slept in my room in several months," he replies, "I've seen no need to."
Callie walks a few steps down the hallway, then turns and looks at Jake, who sighs and continues to stare at the ceiling. With reluctance, she walks down the hallway and enters the room at the end of it.
She wrinkles her nose at the musty smell of a room that had not been lived in. After turning on the light, she looks around, then pokes her head back into the hallway, muttering, 'He was right about not using his room...'
She clears her throat and yells, "Jake, do you have a fan so I can get this room aired out?"
He groans as he stands and walks to the hall closet. He pulls a box fan out for her, sets it in the doorway, then plugs it in the wall socket.
He stands and ducks under her arm, shuffling back down the hall to his chair.
The next evening;
"What are you still doing here, Clawson?" he hears as he sits at his desk.
"Oh, Dr. Glass. I, uh, was looking through the potential candidates for the prototype. This one caught my attention for several reasons." he replies, looking up at his supervisor.
"And they are?"
"He's an unidentified amnesiac from my hometown, MegaKat City. That and... the time and place he gained his injuries. He was one of the homeless injured by the wreckage," Jake closes the folder and places it in the middle of the stack.
"I sense there's a story behind that remark?" Dr. Glass asks as Jake stands and stretches.
"You'd never believe it, sir. So, I'm not going to state my final reason why."
"Clawson. Why?" he asks, placing a hand on Jake's shoulder.
Jake hangs his head and replies, "I personally owe him. I'll leave it at that."
He walks to the door of the lab and turns, "Goodnight, Dr. Glass. I'll see you tomorrow." Jake walks out the door, leaving his supervisor wondering exactly what the talented researcher was hiding in his past.
Dr. Glass pulls the folder from the stack and looks at it, scanning the information inside.
Jake pulls into the driveway and he gets out. As he walks inside, Callie's car pulls up. She steps out, looking exhausted. She walks inside after him, and watches as he flops down into his chair.
"Sorry Jake, I had no luck finding a place today."
She looks at the expression on his face and asks, "Ok, Jake, tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing."
"It's not 'nothing'. Something's bothering you. Tell me about it, please?"
She sits on the sofa, removing her shoes and wiggling her toes, then takes off her suit jacket and tie, draping them across the arm of the sofa.
"Nothing." he repeats.
"I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me," she says.
"Have it your way."
"So?"
"There's, uh... We're developing new prosthetics. We've decided that a leg will be our first prototype. I've come up with a new actuator system, and we've been reviewing candidates for testing the prototype. I came across one from MegaKat City." Jake stops, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "He was injured by... by debris from the TurboKat. I owe him. He was crippled by my jet, and it'll be my leg that'll make him walk again. I'm going to push to have him as our test subject."
"Jake, it's not your fault. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"I know, but I can't help but think that he'd be walking right now if we hadn't flown that day. A--and Chance would still be alive."
Callie stands, shaking her head. "If you hadn't flown, who knows what might have happened to MegaKat City. Feral and I didn't let the media know something, Jake."
He looks up at her and asks, "What didn't you let the media know?"
"The Enforcers found a thermo-nuclear warhead in the wreckage of Dark Kat's ship. That tom would be dead if you hadn't flown. I don't know what else to say about it, but you saved about a million lives. A million versus the almost fifty who died from the wreckage."
He stares at her, his mouth agape. He stutters, "A--a t h--thermo-nuclear bomb?"
"You saved lives by flying. Please, wake up to reality, Jake. Chance died a hero. You are a hero. You don't owe that tom personally. I understand you feel responsible for his injuries, but you didn't cause them."
He stands and says, his voice thick, "I'm not a hero. I never joined the Enforcers to fly, Callie."
"Why did you join?" she asks as she walks up to him and looks him in the eyes.
"I joined to get in R&D, what I'm doing now. It was a paperwork mistake that landed me in the Flight Corps with an egomaniac pilot. But I grew to love flying. And I started to become friends with my pilot. Then we got kicked out. I saw it as a chance to start my own Research and Development, the products of which were used to help the Enforcers fight the criminals they couldn't handle alone."
She kisses him, pressing her body against his.
"Callie, I can't," he says, trying to pull away from her.
"Jake, you need this," she says, unbuttoning her shirt, "I need you."
His eyes grow wide as she kisses him again, wrapping her arms around him.
He feels guilty as he starts returning her kisses, but the guilt soon disappears as Callie's embrace and kisses become more passionate.
"Clawson, come to my office. I want to speak with you," Dr. Glass says as he walks into the lab.
Jake nods and follows him down a couple corridors, and they enter a door.
"Now, Clawson, what is the real reason that this one caught your eye?"
"Exactly what I said, sir. Am I in trouble or something?"
"Only if you don't reveal what you're hiding."
"All right then. You want the truth?"
Dr. Glass nods, and Jake says, "I am, or was, the SWAT Kat Razor. The SWAT Kats died that day in the air. I built the TurboKat, and its wreckage injured that tom. I owe him personally. I'll leave it that sir."
"Well I'll be damned. One of the SWAT Kats is working on my research team?"
"I partly lied about the myo-plastic. I didn't come up with it in college, I came up with it almost two years ago, while working on an alternate explosive other than homemade C4 for our baby-boomer missile."
"I have a hard time believing you about the 'SWAT Kat' bit."
"I can verify it, if you can wait an hour or so."
"By all means."
"May I use your phone?"
Jake dials his home phone number, and Callie picks it up.
"Callie, this is Jake. Could you stop by where I work? I want you to meet my boss. Oh, and in my closet, you'll find a box labelled... Razor. Bring it. We'll meet you outside the front gate."
As Callie walks up to the two toms, Dr. Glass says to her, "Haven't I seen you before?"
"Probably. Up until a few days ago, I was Deputy Mayor of MegaKat City. I brought the box, Jake," she says, handing Jake the box.
"Thanks, Callie," Jake replies, then gives the box to Dr. Glass. "Open it, and ask her anything."
Dr. Glass opens the box, and is, but isn't suprised to find a helmet, Glovatrix, and G-suit, all bearing the red and blue insignia of the SWAT Kats. He glances at Jake before looking at Callie and asking, "Is he really a SWAT Kat?"
Tina looks on from a distance, not hearing anything, but watching. She bows her head and sighs as she recognizes Callie.
"Yes. He was. He gave it up when his partner died in a crash. The wreckage killed many homeless Kats. Only one survivor, and he was in such bad shape that no one could recognize him."
Tina trudges into the complex, not bothering to look at Jake anymore.
Jake responds bitterly, "My fault Chance is dead, my fault this tom's injured. I owe him a new leg, at least. If you're not going to give him the prototype, I'll pay for his leg when it reaches production."
"Well Clawson, you got it then. He'll get the leg. No one must know about this though," he says, gesturing to the box. He turns to Callie, "So, why did you leave MegaKat City?"
"I love him. I had for a long time before I found out he was Razor."
"So you've known him for a while, then."
"Since he was an Enforcer. When he was sent to MegaKat Salvage, and became a mechanic, I'd choose his shop just to see him."
Six months later;
"We have someone here, Commander. According to his prints, he's an ex-Enforcer named Chance Furlong. We just got his records in today. We'd like if you could come over and see him. It may jog his memory."
"Furlong..." Feral asks in disbelief, "Are you sure?"
"Well, all his remaining fingers are a direct match for the prints in his record. Could you also tell me why it was so hard to access his records?"
"I'll be over in a few hours, and his records are resricted access. How did you actually get them?"
"I had to go to some kats in high places."
"Like who?"
"Generals Korat and Thompson among others. I'll see you, Commander."
A short time later,
"Thank you for stopping by, Commander."
"Well, may I see him?"
"Of course. Follow me," the doctor replies before leading Feral through a set of double-doors and a hallway.
"There he is, Commander," the doctor says as they walk to an observation window. They see the tom in question running at a light pace on a treadmill, various sensors and equipment hooked to his body and a small electronic linkup connected to an open panel on his leg.
"That is Furlong," Feral replies, then his voice drops to a whisper as he muses to himself, "How in the world did he..."
"Commander, this way," the doctor says, holding the door to the workout room open.
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
They enter the room and Feral strides up to Chance.
"Furlong," he says as he stops near the tom.
"That's who they say I really am. Just a sec. Whenever they get done testing my prosthetic I'll talk to you."
After a few more minutes, the treadmill powers down and Chance starts walking slower and slower until it stops. A technician detaches all the leads and the linkup to the prosthetic and says, "Well, the leg is performing better than expected. The only flaw is the battery life, but we've got a team working on it. See you next month."
"See ya, Doc."
Feral stands there, his arms crossed, as Chance turns around and smacks square into him.
"Oh, sorry..." Chance says and freezes as he sees the larger tom for the first time. He briefly sees and hears something, and shakes his head, trying to remember.
"Do you know who I am, Furlong?" Feral asks.
"I can't place you, but I... should. I get a negative feeling from you."
"You should know me. I was your superior for five years. You hated my guts every second of it, too."
"Five years?"
"Yes, Lieutenant," Feral says, then looks at his watch, "I'm missing a meeting with the Deputy Mayor. We'll talk later, Furlong."
"See you later, Commander," he replies.
That night, after seeing Commander Feral, he wonders what it was he had remembered. After laying out his pajamas, he sits down on his bed, taking off his leg and plugging it in the nearby wall socket. He pulls on the pajamas, then pushing all the thoughts from his mind, lies down to sleep.
He hears a voice call, "T-Bone, we gotta..." as he sees a
distorted shape rushing at him...
"...get those ejektor seats in. Here, catch!" he turns from the
unpainted hulk to see a caramel colored tom in blue overalls
tossing a wrench at him. He catches it, then turns around to a
large black fightercraft that sat where the partially built
jet was the moment before. He turns back around to the tom in the
blue overalls to see him wearing a a blue and red flight suit and
helmet, a black mask and a fierce grin.
"C'mon, let's go, the MetalliKats are attacking MegaKat First
National!" the small tom yells as he leaps onto the jet and
settles into the back seat of the cockpit. "C'mon, T-Bone, don't
just stand there! We..."
"...need a pilot, buddy!" he hears as he opens his eyes to see
the city coming toward them at an incredible rate. He pulls back
on the joystick, and the jet levels out. The sky is a maelstrom
of energy, and the City seemed to change shape and morph before
him.
"Why didn't you eject?" he hears himself asking.
"And miss that look on your face? No..."
"...problem, buddy." his friend says, dressed in a grey uniform.
He turns his attention to the blond she-kat and asks, "You ok,
miss?"
"Yeah," she says, then asks in a quivering voice, "How did you do
that?"
He replies, "I was an Enforcer. So was Jake. Now we work
security at..."
"...Pumadyne, again? What is that place, psycho central?"
"We've got a bigger problem, T-Bone, the MetalliKats know our
secret identities," his partner says as he looks in the mirror at
him. Worry is written all over the caramel's face. "Once they
spill the beans, it'll be all over."
"Then let's..."
"...kick some tail!" he yells as he unsheathes his claws and
leaps to his feet. He grabs the nearest Dark Ages knight and
throws him like he would a baseball. He looks at his partner and
stops as he sees his buddy look past from his locker. He looks
in that direction as well to see Commander Feral enter the
pilot's locker room and stop in front of his locker.
As he turns back to his own locker, he notices the letters 'T.B.'
spraypainted on it's door. He looks back over at his partner and
in a single moment he hears and sees his entire life in a
cacophony of sound and images.
He remembers jerking back on the stick, and the other craft
impacting the bottom of the TurboKat, tearing it in half. He
glances up, seeing flash of flame above him, and the metallic
gleam and yellow flame of his partner's ejektor launching. He
presses his eject button, but to no avail, so he slaps the
release on his harness. He feels the heat from the TurboKat's
explosion sear his skin as he sees the side of a building rushes
toward him. His vision momentarily blacks as he feels the
impact.
He opens his eyes as the heat subsides and looks down to see a
huge chunk of metal buried in his left thigh, and his leg
beneath it flopping loosely. He looks upward to see the ground
coming at him quickly. The impact knocks him out.
He screams as he sits up straight in his bed and several nurses run into the room. He starts sobbing, "I remember, I remember, I remember..."
A week later, Chance leaves the institute with a couple hundred in cash, his remaining money. He walks to Enforcer HQ, then stops and checks the power level on the batteries. They were low, so he decides that he would shut off the leg when he got to Commander Feral's office.
He walks into the Commander's office as he and a tomkat he didn't recognize were sitting, discussing the latest Mayoral policy for the City. Feral looks up at the intruder, and recognizes him.
"What are you doing here Furlong?" Feral asks.
Chance replies, "May I sit down? My leg can only go for a few hours before it needs a recharge, and it's been awhile."
"Go ahead. Why are you here?" Feral asks again.
"Thank you Commander," Chance says as he sits down next to the wall and pulls up his pant leg. He pulls a cord from it and plugs it in, then looks up, "I remember. It was the night after you saw me, and it all came back."
"And just who are you?"
Feral replies, "Deputy Mayor Alexander Terida, this is First Lieutenant Chancellor E. Furlong, MegaKat City Enforcers."
"Commander, I need to find Jake," Chance interjects, "He's gotta know I'm ok."
"I've already ordered a search. Last night I received word that he is in New Cymric. I'll warn you, that's where Felina was transferred after your supposed death."
"Thank you, Commander. Could you do me a further favor and not tell anyone, especially Felina, where I'm going? I owe you bigtime as it is, but if you could do that for me, I'd appreciate it."
"I will." Feral replies, then states, "Dismissed Furlong, and good luck. You can finish recharging your leg in the Mess Hall, and I'll get the keys to storage to you. Cl--er, Jake... asked that your things be places in storage, and that he'd pick up the bill."
Chance nods as he unplugs his leg and turns it back on. He walks out of the office, and Deputy Mayor Terida says, "What is going on here, Feral? Who is this 'Jake'? I want answers."
"You'll need Alpha-2 clearance at a minimum to access either of their files. I'll say no more."
"I can have those files on my desk tomorrow then. I know General Korat."
"Just try. They are so sensitive that one phone call and they are destroyed." Feral picks up the receiver on his desk and waves it at the Deputy Mayor. "By the time you talk to Korat, there will be no record of him ever existing. Or his partner's files for that matter."
"You wouldn't dare," Terida snarls.
Feral growls in response, "Try me."
Two weeks later, as he steps off the bus, he's surrounded by Enforcers.
"Chance Furlong," the leader, a lieutenant asks.
"Yes," he replies.
"We're to bring you in for questioning."
"What for?"
The Enforcers glance at each other, then the leader says, "Information regarding the death of the MegaKat City vigilante T-Bone."
"I... see. Well, lead on, officers."
They place his baggage in the trunk of their car, then they all get in. As he gets settled in the back seat between two Enforcers, he asks, "Can I turn off my leg?"
"What?"
"I ain't pulling a gun or anything, ok? I'm just turning off my leg." he says as he pulls his pant leg up. He opens a small panel and pushes the switch to 'off'.
"You wear a prosthetic leg," the lieutenant asks.
"It happens when you have to get yours amputated. This one has a short battery life, and if I sit down for more than five minutes, I usually turn it off."
Chance sits at the table in the darkened room. He glances up again at the camera in the corner, then shrugs and places his head in his hand.
Ain't this just great, I've been stuck here for an hour when they say it would take five minutes. Probably just wanna see how I handle the time alone. Well, I'm just gonna be patient. That's somethin' Jake taught me.
A few minutes later, the door handle turns and the door swings open. He sits up as he sees the silouette of someone on the door.
"It's about time someone..." he starts, his growl changing to a gasp as the figure turns the room lights on and he recognizes her, "...Felina?"
"Hello, Chance. I figured you were coming here."
"I asked your Uncle not to tell anyone."
"He didn't, not that it matters. I had a hunch that you were alive when a nationwide records search was ordered for Jake," she says as she walks up to him, and after a very slight hesitation, she kisses him.
He pulls away, "Look, Felina, can't be like it was. I'm not... whole anymore. I never was in love with you, anyway."
"The first reason doen't matter, Chance, and I don't believe the second."
"It matters to me. I only have one leg, half a tail, and it's hard not to notice this," he says, holding up his right hand.
"The second reason is the truth. I was in love with someone else," he says, turning his head away, "Not that she loved me."
"Do you think this matters to me?" she asks, taking his crippled hand in hers. She spreads his out in hers, and says, "It doesn't. I still will love you the same as I did. You haven't changed, just the package you're in. Why love someone who won't love you back? Give your love to someone who does love you."
"When you lose ya memories for two years, you develop a personality that can't be repressed when you regain 'em. I ain't the same Chance you fell in love with. Everything is different about me. Everything."
"Then... I think I should show you. Follow me," she says, walking out the door and stopping just outside it. He turns his leg back on, then stands and walks out to her. She turns and heads down the hallway. She turns down another hallway, then walks into a door.
He hears the cry, "Mommy!" and he steps in to see Felina holding a tiger-striped she-kitten. Two sets of emerald green eyes blink at each other, then the kitten asks, "Dis, Mommy? Dis, Mommy?"
Felina turns and looks at Chance. The kitten cranes her neck to see the stranger as Felina replies, "This is your Daddy, Nadia."
Nadia stares at Chance, then starts flirting with him as only a toddler can.
"I'm a dad," he says in shock, slumping against the nearby wall.
"Yes. She's definitely ours. I see so much of us both in her."
"Nadia? Not the first name I'd choose, but it is pretty."
"It's my mother's name," Felina says.
"I'm a dad. I can't believe it," he says, then almost laughs as he adds, "I owe you child support."
"You can get out of that by moving in with me," she replies as she puts Nadia down. "Please, Chance, I need you, and she needs a father."
"I--I gotta find Jake, Felina. He needs to know I'm ok." He watches as Nadia runs off on all fours and pounces on an older tom-kitten. The tom backs away from the headstrong she-kitten, who crouches and watches him with an intense look.
The tom backs behind a toybox and crouches himself, ready to leap out of the way if she pounces again. Felina replies, "He lives right here in town. I'll drive you there."
Felina walks over and catches her mid-air as she tries to pounce on the tom again, "Time to go, you bundle of energy. We're going to visit someone."
The tom-kitten looks relieved that she was leaving.
"I'll get it Jake," Callie yells as she rushes to get the doorbell.
She looks through the peephole, and sees a familiar, yet thin and scarred tiger tom and Felina Feral standing there.
She opens the door. The tom takes off his derby and asks, "Uh, hi, Callie. Is, uh, Jake in?"
"He's in his workshop. Who should I say is here," she asks, her curiosity piqued at this tom who referred to her by her nickname.
"Chance," he replies.
"Chance! What happened to you?" she asks, opening the door all the way. A tiger-striped she-kitten looks at her with wide green eyes, and holds tightly onto Felina's hand.
"I survived the accident, barely. I was in a coma for a year, and I just got my memories back last week."
"Come in, make yourselves at home," she says, then turns and runs through the house at a break-neck pace.
She dashes into the garage. "Jake, you'll never believe who showed up at the door. Come, quick!"
"What, what, what?" he asks as she all but drags him into the house and into the living room.
Chance stands as Jake enters, still holding his hat. "Hey Jake, long time no see."
"CHANCE!" Jake cries, and a second later, both toms are crying like kittens as they embrace each other.
After a moment, they separate and Chance asks, "Can I plug my leg in, I think the batteries are probably low."
"Leg?"
"I have a prosthetic. It uses plastic muscles instead of motors. I can't wait 'til they get better batteries for it," Chance says as he sits near a wall socket.
"What's the serial number?" Jake asks, his expression disbelieving.
"NCA8561-..."
"...P001?" Jake finishes.
Chance nods.
"That's my leg! Callie, that's my leg! You're 'John Doe'? The one I thought was injured by... Chance, you're wearing my leg!" Jake says, exitedly.
"All right already, you don't have to repeat it three times."
"Show up at my work tomorrow, and we can try out the upgrades we had slated to ship out to Samuel Manx Institute. The prosthetic is still in testing, so any upgrades at this point are free. I'll call Dr. Glass and let him know that you're here, and not in MegaKat anymore."
"It's good to know you're ok, Jake."
"And you, buddy. So, who's the little one?" Jake says as they all enter the dining room.
"Well, when... the accident happened, Felina musta been pregnant. I just found out myself today."
"Wanna help make dinner, buddy?" Jake asks.
"Like what?" Chance asks.
"Your 'namesake steaks'."
"My special recipe?" Chance replies with a smile.
"I think I have all the ingredients."
"Sure. I'd be glad to."
"While your starting, I'll make that phone call to Dr. Glass," Jake says as he picks up the phone.
FIN
Inspirational music:
Original;
Can't remember
Rewrite;
Bring Me To life
Evanescence -- Fallen
Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Mix)
Matrix Soundtrack
