EPISODE 8

The TV channels were down. Every one showing either a blank screen with that high-pitched buzz or snow and static. There was actually only one station still running, the only station that would probably run until Doomsday, and that was Kat's Eye News. Somewhere in a temporary shelter, the news was being broadcast while a handful of people moved about in the background, rushing to do their work.

The man sitting in front of the camera was shuffling through a small stack of papers. He looked nervous, but still holding together. The man wore a navy blue suit with a gray tie with had been loosened greatly around his neck. His messy, black hair only added to the appearance of someone trying to hold calm in a time of great fear, but that was exactly what was going on. So the man had every right to feel as he did, despite how unprofessional is was.

He glanced up at the camera (or the viewers depending upon your point of view) and the back down at the papers for a second, before setting them on the desk and folding his hands neatly in front of him.

"Good Afternoon. This is Simon Ease filling in for Ann Gora, Kat's Eye News."

He un-tucked his hands and brought his notes back up.

"To re-cap our top story, there is mass panic in the streets as thousands attempt to flee the city. A kat calling himself Forecaster, who I must shamefully admit was once a employee of this company, is holding the city as his hostage. He has the power to control the very weather it's self and has been running ramped, destroying homes and businesses alike. Currently the Enforcers teamed with the duo come to be known has the SWAT Kats are engaging in combat with the menace. Sources claim that-"

He cut himself off as an elderly gentleman leaned into shoot, handing a piece of paper to Simon and whispering something. Simon nodded and skimmed down the sheet as the other kat disappeared from view. Simon put down the paper and looked blankly downward for a moment before resuming.

"I've just received some chilling news. The SWAT Kats' jet plane has been heavily damaged by Forecaster. They were last seen retreating from the area. It is currently unknown if either is still alive."

He rubbed the fur on his face.

"For those of you who are still with us it is now ten till two in the PM. The situation of the city is looking grim and-"

He cut off and breathed deeply. When his voice came back it was sounded much more personal then professional.

"And……….Wendy. Wendy, if you're still watching this, honey, I want you to get the kids and leave the city. Don't try to salvage anything, just get moving."

He paused.

"And tell them…..tell them daddy loves them. Daddy loves them very much."

There was another pause as the reporter known as Simon Ease closed his eyes tight and dropped his head. Those viewers who were watching very carefully could see several tears fall from his face and splash on the desk. For a long time it looked as though he wasn't going to continue, but then he took a deep breath and lifted his head. His eyes were now red and puffy.

"For those of you who are still tuned in, this is Kat's Eye News. We will attempt stay on the air for as long as we are able. Again, our top story is-"

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The TV clicked and blackened. For a moment, Ann believed that something had happened at the filming location, but then her eyes wandered over to the remote in Jonny's hand. He had switched off the TV and was now laying the remote down on his bed.

Jonny and Ann were on the fifth floor of Megakat Hospital. There were now only a few doctors and nurses left in the building. Most of the others had taken the healthy patients over to neighboring facilities, however others like Jonny were too unstable to move. His injury was worse then she thought. He had nearly passed out before he could be operated on properly. There were people other then her cameraman who were brought in a lot worse off then he was. So by the time he was properly treated, he had grown very weak. Now he was in a white hospital bed in a white hospital room in his white hospital gown. If Ann never saw that color again, it would be too soon.

"Hope you weren't watching that," He said. "But I really couldn't take another minute."

He sounded very tired, like he hadn't slept in days. She hated to see him like this.

"No. It's fine. The news is depressing anyway."

Jonny looked at her and smiled. For the first time ever he wasn't wearing his hat or glasses. Ann could see his face perfectly. He looked naked without them, but somehow, not too bad.

"Ann? Thanks. You know, for staying."

The medical staff tried to get her to leave several times, but she refused. The doctor that was taking care of Jonny was more persistent then anyone else, but he eventually wore down, no longer telling her how dangerous it was, or foolish it was to stay. Now he when he came in, he just eyed her to make sure she knew what she was doing.

Ann reached over and took Jonny's hand and squeezed it gently.

"Hey, what are friends for? Besides, I'll never find another cameraman as crazy as you."

"Got that right."

And there they were, Jonny in his bed and Ann on a chair she had pulled from the other end of the room. They sat there and smiled at each other as the battle for Megakat City raged on in what felt like another world.

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T-Bone was currently alone back in the hanger doing whatever repairs he could to the Turbokat and cursing his ex-best friend with every four-letter word he knew. He felt betrayed by Razor-or Jake, rather. After everything they had been through and now this! This was how he was repaid for their years of friendship! Sometimes life wasn't just unfair, it was downright cruel.

The damage was pretty bad, but it didn't look like anything he couldn't fix. A full repair would take hours, but he didn't have that kind of time. He hated to do this, but he would have to take some short cuts on the repairs. That would cut his down to about an hour, maybe more. He would have to restock the missiles too, however there wasn't much left. Most of the supply had been brought with them, leaving only a handful behind, but something was better then nothing.

An hour slipped by and T-Bone had gotten enough done to at least get the jet off the ground. It wasn't much, but it would do. With the ship fueled and stocked, he remotely opened the hanger doors and flew out. The handling was a little shaky, but that wouldn't slow him any. He was Chance Furlong! If it had wings, he could fly it. So he was back into the storm with a makeshift plane, a stocked weapons system, and a lot of steam to work off. That psycho was in for a world of hurt.

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Jake had trouble getting out of the city. Many of the main roads had been blocked by rubble or traffic accidents. Several times it looked like he would have to get off his bike and walk, but every time he found some way around whatever was blocking his path.

The streets were very empty now. In fact in the time it took him to reach one of the few roads out of the city, he had only seen about four or five cars drive by. It was unsettling in a way, how a city so big could become so desolate in a matter of hours. He wondered how many people had run as opposed to how many were just hunkered down, waiting for some kind of rescue that would never come. Jake stopped that thought dead before he could start feeling guilty again. T-Bone knew what he was doing and would be fine on his own. Jake would only be in the way by this point. Things had worked out for the best. He just had to keep telling himself that.

He was now driving on one of the city's exit roads. It was empty except for himself. Jake hit the breaks and turned the front wheel. The cycle slid sideways to a complete stop. Shortly ahead was a sign that read "YOU ARE NOW LEAVING MEGAKAT CITY: WE HATE TO SEE YOU GO." He read those words over and over again in his mind. Behind him, he could see the city with the dark storm swirling above it in an endless pattern. Here, however, there was sun and an actual sky. To his left, the road led on to the horizon. To the right was Megakat.

Above the top of the skyscrapers and off in the distance, Jake saw a very familiar plane streak by. He couldn't believe it. T-Bone had actually gotten the Turbokat sky worthy. But there was no way he could have finished proper repairs in so short a time. He was basically a sitting duck, waiting to be shot done. Maybe he should help, Jake thought.

"If you leave, I never want to see you again" . Those words rang through his head. T-Bone had made that clear, and yet he had still left. So now what did he do. There was freedom to one side and danger to the other. So what should he do? What was right?

Jake made his choice, now whatever happens, happens. He turned the cycle and sped off.

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T-Bone looked slowed the Turbokat, looking over the area that had served as the battle ground before. On his approach, he saw nothing and heard no sounds of battle. He wanted to think that the Enforcers had won by some miracle, but that hope was soon dashed. Below him there were the husks of downed choppers and tanks, some of them still burning. Nothing was moving except the flames. There was too much damage and jagged scrap metal lying around to know for sure, but it looked like the entire Enforcer army had been taken out. And if that was the case then-

"Oh no."

He had never liked Feral, hell he hated that kat, but not once did he ever wish him dead. No one deserved to die like that, at the paws of some two-bit loony, but that looked like the case. Feral, Felina, and all the others were gone. Now only he was left. He was now the last line of defense for the city. T-Bone's mouth and throat went very dry at the thought. He would give anything to argue with Feral again. If only he could change things and bring Feral and Felina back. However, what was done was done and it was up to T-Bone to see that justice was dealt out.

There was no sign of Forecaster anywhere. He scanned both the sky and the ground and came up empty. He could be anywhere by now. If the guy thought that the battle was already over, then he had another thing coming to him. All T-Bone had to do was get him in his sites and then we would release everything he had at once. Let's see him dodge that.

There was a sudden explosion on the left wing. The Turbokat started to barrel roll uncontrollably. He jammed hard on the controls, smoothing out the ship just as a second explosion shattered the other wing. He was now leaving duel trails of smoke behind him. Ahead, a building was closing in fast as the Turbokat started to dive. T-Bone had no choice but to eject. The seat shoot out from the rest of the jet on it's rockets. From his ejector seat, he could only watch his baby crash into the side of an office, bursting into flames on impact. He would mourn over the wreck later. The first thing he needed to do was get out of the sky. Those strikes were no accident and out here, he was a sitting duck.

When he touched down, he unbuckled from the seat and brought up his Glove-O-Trix, scanning the area around him, ready to shoot the first thing that moved. Everything seemed calm and after a while he lowered his weapon. Just as he did so another bolt of lightning shot from nowhere. He jumped back, avoiding being struck, but the force of the blast sent him crashing into the side of a parked car. He bounced off and hit the pavement. He pushed himself to his feet and look around. He spotted Forecaster on top of a drycleaners. He stepped over to the edge of the roof and looked down at T-Bone.

"And whoever said 'lightning doesn't strike twice?"

"You're sick, Forecaster!" He called back, but the man didn't seem to notice.

"Personally, I thinking lightning can strike and many times as it wants!"

T-Bone dodged another bolt. He leaped over the hood of the car as a second blast came down, blowing up the vehicle. He raced down an alleyway as the strikes kept following him, coming closer and closer each time. Just when he thought he was done for, he felt himself being jerked sideways though a back door. He heard it shut tightly. T-Bone was breathing heavy, holding on to his knees and trying to catch his breath.

"T-thanks." He said to his savior. "You kept my tail from being fried back there."

He looked up to see the kat that had pulled him out of the way. He was completely shocked when he saw who the person was. So much so that if his jaw could have hit the floor then, it would have.

"Feral!"

It was Commander Feral. Not only was the jerk not dead, but he saved his life as well. How was that for bitter sweet irony? He was just pulled out of danger by the same guy who wanted nothing more then to see him de-masked and jailed.

"Don't read too much into it, SWAT Kat. If I would have known it was you, I might have just let you go."

"Good to see you too, Commander." He muttered under his breath.

He was in a darkened room, which looked like a stockroom for a convenience store or a small grocery. There were boxes that lined shelves marked with labels. Only one of the overhead lights were one. The others must have burnt out and never been replaced. It gave off a kind of creepy vibe, that T-Bone wasn't digging.

A female voice came from the other end of the storage area. He turned to see Felina standing there. She looked little worse for the wear, but still looked pretty good.

"Uncle," She said. "Leave him alone. We have more important things at hand."

"I know, Felina. I know."

He could have laughed his head off right then. As weird as it sounded, T-Bone was never so happy to see Feral and Felina. Well, he was never so happy so to see Felina, anyway. It was good to know Feral was alive, but he could do without the insults. When he thought about it, it was Felina he was really worried about. She was a talented woman, brave, smart, pretty, and one of the best pilots he'd ever seen. Next to him, that was. Felina's only drawback would have to be being related to Feral, but you can't pick your family. Despite that, he felt a heavy weight being lifted at the sight of her.

"What happened here?" He asked to both Feral and Felina. "Where's the rest of your team?"

Felina was the one who answered first.

"Dead. Forecaster was too strong. Within minutes he had most of the squadron down. A few more just ran. I can't say that I blame them, but I don't condone such behavior either."

"Ditto." He mumbled, thinking of his ex-best friend and the way he just ran.

"We do have a handful of troops remaining" Feral added. "However we do need all the help we can get, even if it is from the SWAT Kats."

He added a harshness to the end of the sentence, swallowing the word like it was some kind of poison. It seemed that Feral would never change. He would always be to proud to ask for help. The door that led to storefront opened and closed, but T-Bone didn't notice. He was too busy listening to the commander.

"SWAT Kat." He correct. "Singular."

A new voice came from the room. "What happened to Razor?" It asked.

He turned around to see Ms. Briggs had entered the with four Enforcer officers. From their different uniforms, he could see that three of them were tank units and one was copter. Feral wasn't kidding when he said there was only a handful. Counting himself there were only eight in the room.

"Razor," Callie asked again. "Is he alright?"

She looked very worried. Understandable They must have heard the crash from his ship and with him being the only one around, Callie must have assumed the worst. His first thought was to tell her that he didn't make it out of the crash. Why shouldn't he say so? Better dead then a coward. There was a saying that he heard in some movie that went 'A hero dies once, but a cowered dies many times before his actually death.' Maybe that wasn't exactly how it went, but it was in the general ballpark. However, one look into her eyes and he found he didn't have the heart to do that, nor could he say the truth. Either one would crush her, he could just feel it. So he avoided the question all together. One way or another, he wasn't here when he was needed.

"Razor?" He said, not intending his voice to come out as hurt as it did. "Razor who?"

TO BE CONTINUED