T-Bone set the TurboKat down on a small plateau. As he waited for the hatch to open, Marc moved uncomfortably next to Razor. "Next time you're thinking about adding something to the TurboKat..."
"Yeah?"
"Jump seats. Definitely jump seats."
"It ain't so bad when it's Miss Briggs in here with us," T-Bone remarked.
"Well, next time get Miss Briggs to be your spy, then." The hatch finally opened, and Marc crawled out of the plane onto the wing, then leapt to the ground.
"You got all your stuff?" asked Razor.
Marc went over his mental checklist. "Backpack, canteen, cap, compass, walking stick. Got it all. You getting sound over the mike?" Marc patted the top of his cap.
"Loud and clear," confirmed Razor. He leaned in and peered at a monitor in front of him. "Video's coming in, too."
"Cool." He leaned down to tighten the laces on his hiking boots. "I can't short-circuit these gizmos by sweating too much, can I?"
Razor shook his head. "I don't think so. Not unless you completely submerge them."
"Good, cause I'm pretty sweaty already, and I haven't even started yet."
Razor leaned over the edge of the cockpit. "You know, you can still back out of this if you're having second thoughts."
"Second thoughts? I'm on forty-seventh thoughts by this point. But it doesn't matter- I'm doing it."
"All right. You remember the way?"
"Yeah." Shielding his eyes from the sun, he looked southwest. "I just need to follow this valley about a mile and a half until I run into that canyon."
"Bingo. You'll probably run into trouble by then."
"Don't remind me." Marc adjusted his cap, then looked up at Razor once more. "You are buying me dinner tonight, right?"
"Of course."
"Thought so." He walked off, quickly disappearing over the side of the plateau.
"Razor, I said it before an' I'll say it again - I just don't know about that kat." T-Bone shook his head, then stretched. "I wish we coulda dropped him off closer."
"The further we are, the less chance they know we're here. Besides, this way he'll be all sweaty - and it'll actually look like he's been hiking."
"Hm." T-Bone sunk a bit deeper into his seat. "What d'ya think he'll turn up down there?"
"No way to tell. We'll just have to wait."
"Yeah, but what do you think he'll turn up?" T-Bone repeated.
Razor put his hands behind his head and thought. "All signs are pointing to Dark Kat being down here, anyway. My guess is that we'll probably find him...or his place, anyway. Maybe he's not home."
"If he ain't home, where is he?"
"Heck, I don't know - out grocery shopping?"
"I don't see it happenin', Razor."
"Me, neither. But a kat can dream." He lookeddown at the screenand began monitoring Marc's progress through the badlands.
Marc used to go hiking on a regular basis, but that was several years ago. Already, he was aware that he was going to have some heavy-duty blisters come tomorrow morning. If I get to tomorrow morning, he thought. Upset, Marc kicked a small stone down into a ravine to his right. Come on, I promised myself I wasn't going to think like that.
Stopping just before the entrance to the canyon, Marc took a large swig of water, then wiped the sweat from his eyes. "I'm going in," he said quietly. "Condition: scared to death." Marc entered the canyon, slowly, cautiously, picking his steps carefully. He spotted the large cave entrance above which they had picked out the creepling - it was a few meters ahead, and not an easy climb. Taking a deep breath, he started his way over. There was a slight path heading to the entrance, but it wasn't very wide. "How the heck does Dark Kat get in here?" whispered Marc. After a few more steps, he added, in the same low tone, "Oh, duh. Never mind."
Once he reached the entrance, he leaned around the corner to peer inside. "No guards," he whispered. "That's odd...no, it's not. How often does someone try coming in this way?" He leaned down and picked up a good-sized rock. Setting his teeth, he tossed it into the cave, and prepared to run for his life. But other than the quite cracking sound of the rock rolling along the cave door, he didn't hear anything. "No alarm," whispered Marc. "I guess that's good." He nervously stepped into the cave, and took a quick glance around. T-Bone had told him to make sure to keep his head moving around so they could get a good look at the place, but Marc was quickly seeing that here, at least, there really wasn't anything to see. To all appearances, it was just a cave. In addition, the light wasn't very good, so even if there had been something to see, he doubted they would be able to see it on screen in the TurboKat.
A glimmer of light ahead caught Marc's attention. "Going in," he whispered, then crept along the side of the canyon in the light's general direction. Way off in the distance from behind, he heard a chattering noise, and he quickly ducked behind a rock outcropping. A few seconds later, a pair of creeplings hurried along in front of him. Marc watched them go, and didn't move for a bit. Finally, he whispered, "They looked a lot smaller in the newspaper", and emerged from his hiding place.
The light was coming from a passageway running perpendicular to the cavern Marc was in. Unlike that one, this corridor was obviously katmade. It was almost regular and lit with fluorescent bulbs along the top. The creeplings seemed to be primarily down the right passage, but the voices were coming from the left.
The corridor ended in a wide chamber with a high ceiling. There was, or at least had been, some sort of building going on here - there were wire spools and empty boxes and other items strewn about the sides. Marc hunkered down behind some 55-gallon drums and peered over. In the distance were three figures. Dark Kat. Dr Viper. And someone else. They were locked in a heated discussion, with Dark Kat and Dr Viper furthest away but turned towards Marc, and the other one closer but with his back to him. This thirdone was dressed entirely in black - black cloak, black boots, black gloves, and a black hood over its head.
Whatever was being discussed, it wasn't a pleasant discussion. Dr Viper and Dark Kat seemed upset by something the third individual was saying. Marc wasn't too close to them - maybe twenty meters away - and the sheer size of the room made it difficult to hear anything. Marc contemplated getting closer, then decided against it - he was pretty much as close as he wanted to get. As he calmed down, he did catch a few phrases.
"I am not amagician," said Dark Kat. "I can't simply will the weapon to work."
"The serum hasn't developed as I had thought," slithered Dr Viper. "The mutants are unfortunately quite lethargic."
Marc couldn't catch the other one's reply, but he just barely heard the voice. As Vic had said, it was a man's voice, but he couldn't make out anything else. Marc ducked down as this mysterious third kat turned around and came down the corridor. He felt himself grow cold. He had managed to get just a glimpse of this guy's face...and it was made of metal.
The Metallikats! thought Marc. They're running the show?
The third individual had stopped to pick up a small computer he had left on a table. "I had planned the attack for this weekend. The festival and extra day off mean more kats in the street, which mean more hostages, which mean a better chance of having the SwatKats and the Enforcers surrender without a fight."
Marc, still ducked down behind the barrel, listened to the voice. It didn't have the metallic feel that the Metallikats' voices did. The more he listened, the more he realized thatVic was dead on. It is just a man's voice. There was no way to describe it. He sounds like the guy you hear when you call to get the correct time: genial, but lifeless.
"Give us four days," whined Dr Viper.
"We don't have four days," he replied. "If we don't proceed with this weekend, we must scuttle the plans for a future date."
A sudden squeal behind him sent Marc jumping to his feet. True to their name, two creeplings hadsnuck up behind him, giving him away. The other three had turned to face him as well. Marc took a good look at the mysterious individual.Marcwas prtety surethat this was no robot, but a kat wearing a mask of some sort.
"What is your business here?" it asked in its vacant voice.
"Ummm...collecting for UNICEF?" Marc ventured hopefully.
"Take him!" commanded Dark Kat.
Marc spun around, swinging his walking stick at the creeplings. He caught one full on in the face, sending it into the other one. He then took off at a full run back down the corridor. "Prepare for pickup!" he yelled.
Marc got into the cavern just before the creeplings arrived from the other end of the corridor. Glancing back, he saw he was outpacing them.He grinned, turned back around,and felt himself go cold. Two metal doors were shutting near the entrance to the cavern. "No!" Marc yelled, but he wasn't quite quick enough - the doors shut half a second before he reached them.