A Fateful Decision
It wasn't long before the Turbokat had cleared the city and was flying across the bay to the abandoned refinery. The jet touched down on a landing platform atop one of the long-abandoned storage tanks. As they looked at the view across to the city that was spread out before them, the gravity of what they were there to do hit home.
"Can you create enough vaccine for the whole city?" T-Bone asked as Xenon led them down the stairs.
"I have the equipment here to do that, but it would require vast quantities of several chemicals that must be combined with the anti-mutagen inside Cody's veins" Xenon explained. "But hopefully those two examples at that Enforcer facility are the only current victims. I can create a batch of the cure to restore them to their previous selves relatively easily here, but if The Pandemic becomes more widespread we will need to generate very large quantities of the cure, and that will be more difficult. With any luck we will be able to restore those victims and then I can return here and begin mass-production of the vaccine. Then, if The Pandemic does get out no-one will be infected" Xenon explained, leading them through the doors of a building marked 'laboratory'.
"Uh, Doctor, how are you going to make the serum for the victims?" Razor asked.
"Leave that to me and Cody" Xenon said, taking Cody's hand and leading him into another room. "This will not take long, please, make yourselves comfortable here, we will be back shortly" Xenon added as they left.
Xenon led Cody through to a room that was half laboratory, half operating theatre. On one side stood ranks of test tubes, beakers and scientific paraphernalia and on the other an operating table sat surrounded by medical equipment. Xenon sat Cody on the table, and deftly extracted blood from his arm. While Xenon busied himself with mixing together several chemicals in a beaker, Cody thought. For the first time in his life, people were treating him as more than a vessel for some contagion.
"Father" Cody began, but was cut off.
"I know Cody. You know as well I do that I really don't have much time left on this plane. I need to make certain that the vaccine can get to everyone who needs it. Maybe then I will have put a stop to the evil I created" Xenon said.
"No, Father, there's something else" Cody said. "What is going to happen to me? Once you've put out the vaccine, what will I do?"
"T-Bone will look after you. I wish I could do more for you. I made you to fight against a disease, but I created so much more than just a container" Xenon said, looking at Cody fondly, but wistfully. "T-Bone and Razor will see you alright" he said, turning back to what he was doing. It was painful to think of what he had put the kitten through because of what he was.
"He's really nice, I would like that" Cody said. "He treats me like a regular Kat instead of a thing."
Xenon kept working, adding Cody's blood to a blue liquid he had made up in a beaker. When the blood was added, the substance turned an electric red and fizzed violently.
"Excellent" Xenon said, loading some of the contents into two small arrowheads which he could use to inject the cure directly into the victims through their thick skin. He looked at Cody again, and felt a pang of guilt for what was to come.
"I'm Sorry Cody" he said. Cody looked back, nonplussed. Before he could ask the obvious question, Xenon butted in. "The cure is ready, we had better go."
T-Bone and Razor were waiting in the other room, and stood up when Xenon and Cody walked back in.
"Is everything done?" Razor asked Xenon.
"Yes, I have prepared the cure" he replied, indicating the bag he was carrying which contained the serum. "We must return at once to those Pandemic victims, I need to administer the cure."
With that, Xenon walked out of the door and across to the stairs up to where the Turbokat was waiting.
---
Steele's chopper touched down outside Megakat City Central Station, and the acting commander stepped out and attempted to smarten himself up. He had to get this right; his professional career depended on it.
"Now arriving on platform twelve is the 19:21 MKC United Expressways service from Carcer City. This train terminates here" announced a disjointed electronic voice to the station as Steele entered and made for the platform specified.
Clearly someone at MKC United had known Feral was travelling, as the train was a brand new model, and looked quite out of place next to the older units around it. Steele didn't have time to admire the locomotives though, as he could see Feral and his niece emerging from the First Class carriage. Steele put on his most ingratiating smile as he approached them.
"I do hope you had a very pleasant holiday Comm..." Steele just had time to say before Feral seized him by the lapels and brought his face to within an inch of his own.
"What is going on here, Steele?" Feral asked through gritted teeth. "Why do I see on the train that you've been blowing up important Enforcer facilities? Why do I see on the news that you have been attacking prisoners? AND using my name to deny them? I want answers Steele, now!" the commander concluded.
This was not going according to plan. Steele silently cursed the train operator, MKC United, who had recently made a big thing of the TVs on their new trains. Of course they would have been showing Feral live footage of the disaster on Kats Eye News. Cursing that meddlesome reporter Gora in addition to the train company, Steele tried to answer.
"There was a riot warning at the facility, the camp commander radioed for backup. There were some high-level detainees there and it would have been irresponsible to risk their escape. I did not order the full-on assault though, the tank commander did that. And the allegations of abuse are untrue sir, so I didn't think you would object to my using your name to the media, sir" he told Feral.
Feral stared at Steele for a long minute, his brain mulling over what he had just been told. It all tallied perfectly with events on the news, and he already knew the tank battalion commander to be somewhat on the trigger-happy side. Feral removed his gaze from Steele and tuned to Felina, who was standing next to him.
"What do you think?" Feral asked her.
"If there was a risk of escape, why didn't the Swat Kats show up? The news didn't say they participated in the attack on the base at all. They would have been first on scene, knowing them" was her reply. It was somewhat ironic, as T-Bone and Razor had very much been on-scene at the time, although they hadn't been captured by the news teams.
"Very well Steele" said Feral "I shall review the situation back at Headquarters."
The trio walked down the platform and out of the station to the waiting chopper.
Inside the train they had just left, the TV was still running, showing a large number of Kats running down a market street in the East Harbour district, looking terrified...
---
The smoke was still rising from the burning remnants of the Enforcer work camp when the Turbokat came over the horizon towards it. There appeared to be no one left, not even any fire-fighters to tackle the many blazes. Steele must have ordered that the duo be left to die at the hands of the mutants. The jet flew slowly over the wrecked buildings before T-Bone spotted the one where they had stashed the two Pandemic victims. As the jet touched down, the group got out and walked slowly towards the building, aware of the danger that lurked inside. If the victims had broken free of their bonds they would be a force to be reckoned with.
"Wait by the jet Cody" T-Bone said. Cody began to protest, but T-Bone shot him a look that silenced him. Sometimes it was better not to argue.
"Got that serum to hand doctor?" Razor asked as they approached the door of the warehouse.
"Right here" said Xenon, showing Razor his bag.
"Alright, lets get this over and done with" T-Bone said, throwing his weight behind the huge rolling door of the warehouse. It groaned open, throwing the interior into daylight. The three looked around, not able to see the mutants anywhere.
"Where are they?" T-Bone asked, puzzled.
Razor walked gingerly inside, playing his torch across the darker corners of the interior. "There's nothing in here" he said "nothing. Not even the ropes we tied them up with."
Outside, Xenon was examining the ground around the warehouse. As Razor came back outside, he spotted the scientist examining the tyre tracks and footprints around the building.
"What have you found?" Razor asked as he walked over.
"Look at this" the scientist answered, standing up and pointing at the tracks. "It looks like something was loaded into vehicles. Heavy vehicles, these tracks look like something an armoured vehicle would leave. And judging from the direction, they're going to Puma-Dyne" he finished.
"Why would Puma-Dyne want to get them back?" T-Bone asked.
"I don't know. They may want to try and cover this up" Xenon speculated.
"Well, we need to help them. So Puma-Dyne it is" said T-Bone, ushering Xenon back onto the jet.
T-Bone quickly fired up the engines and lifted the aircraft off the ground, but as the jet flew across the desert towards Puma-Dyne, the emergency band radio began squawking urgently.
"This is unit four, we're under attack here control, I repeat, we are under attack on Guildford Road, East Harbour! Need immediate assistance!" a distressed Enforcer unit was shouting into the radio.
"Unit four, what exactly is your situation, over?" the controller asked. There was nothing but static over the line. "Unit four, this is control, come back" the controller asked again, but still did not receive a response from unit four.
"I don't like the sound of that buddy" Razor said to T-Bone.
"What a day were having, huh" T-Bone said, swinging the jet around and heading towards the East Harbour District.
