Chapter 2

"Thunder you say?" said Mittens. It had been months since she had this feeling. The feeling that caused the fur on her back to rise up. The feeling of her senses suddenly sharpening.

"You're trespassing," repeated Thunder as his smirk turned into a frown.

It was the sense of facing danger.

"Really? Don't see your name on this path," said Mittens as she studied the dog. It really was creepy in a way. He was the same breed as Bolt. Had the same powerful build as Bolt. He even had the same amber eyes. The only difference was that he wore a metal collar with a symbol of a golden thunderbolt on it. Well that and the expression on his face.

Mittens could remember how serious Bolt was when she first met him. Thunder's expression was serious, but it was also somehow darker too.

Thunder raised a paw up and much to her shame, Mittens flinched. There was just something about this dog that made her instincts say run for it. The dog though was only pointing to a sign she hadn't spotted before.

No Trespassers, Property owned by Jones

"So this Jones is your person?" asked Mittens as she looked from the sign to him.

"He's my superior," stated Thunder. Ok, that was weird. Mittens had never heard any dog refer to their master before as 'superior'. It was always my person or my master.

"Right, sorry, I was just taking a stroll. My name is Mittens. So I'm guessing you're new here," said Mittens as she sat down. Part of her was still screaming that she should leave. But another part of her was curious about this dog. And like all cats, she couldn't stop herself from following her curiosity.

Thunder's frown was deepening now. Evidently he had expected her to instantly turn tail and leave. Something told her this guy never had to handle a cat before. He stared at her for a full ten minutes. That kind of stare could have made other dogs lower their eyes and walk away. But cats could never be beaten in a staring contest. It just wasn't possible. Mittens simply returned the stare with one of her, with a friendly smile on her lips. Finally Thunder seemed to give up staring her down and sat down as well.

"I'm supposed to be here for R&R," said Thunder. It was obvious he wasn't use to talking. It appeared awkward to him just saying the words. That actually put Mittens more at ease.

"Rest and Relaxation huh?"

"Is that what it stands for?"

"You… didn't know?"

"No one would explain exactly what it meant," said Thunder with a sigh.

"Well you're in luck. It just means you get to laze around all day," said Mittens with a grin.

"I don't laze," grumbled Thunder.

"So what do you usually do?" asked Mittens.

"It's classified," said Thunder with absolute seriousness. Suddenly Mittens had a flashback of Bolt saying those same words. Back when he thought he was a super powered dog. Could this guy possibly be under the same delusion? Could he be… the replacement for Bolt at the show? Mittens had lost track of the show since the whole alien plot was done. Even Rhino lost interest in it from that point on. What the hell, there was one easy way to find out.

"Let me guess, you're a dog with super powers looking for the green-eyed man," said Mittens with a smirk. She really didn't think anything would come of it. She really did think he would just give her a weird look and just ignore it. Unfortunately things didn't turn out quite like that.

Whoosh!

"You have thirty seconds to tell me how you learned that," growled Thunder as he kept Mittens pinned under him. He had pounced on her so fast that she didn't even realize what was going at first.

"Oh crap," muttered Mittens as she tried to sink further into the ground.

"Hey Rhino, have you seen Mittens?" asked Bolt as he walked into the house. She had been gone for over an hour. Being a cat, she often was gone several hours on her own. But he was a bit more worried about her today. He knew that she wasn't completely fine no matter what she said to him. He felt an instinctive need to find her and make sure she was alright.

"Who knows, she could be anywhere," said Rhino as he continued clicking the remote. Channel after channel came and went in a blur on the television.

"I hope she's ok," muttered Bolt more to himself than Rhino. Rhino rolled his eyes.

"Bolt we're in Kansas, nothing happens here. And even if something exciting was to happen, it would much more likely happen to you, the great Bolt," said Rhino as if it was an obvious fact.

"Your thirty seconds are up, either start talking or I'm going to have to do something you won't like," said Thunder in a professional tone. Mittens head was spinning. This couldn't be happen. There was just no way she was having to go through this… again! The only logical explanation she could think of was that this was Bolt's replacement for the show. And like him, he fell for the same delusions that Bolt had fallen for. But if that was the case, why was he out here in the middle of nowhere? Did the studio send him here for some 'R&R'?

"I just can't catch a break," said Mittens with a sigh as she rubbed her forehead. Thunder's weight had her pinned. His snout was only an inch away from her face.

"I won't argue with that fact. You're still not talking," said Thunder as he placed his paws between her head. Mittens looked up at the amber eyes studying her. What did she say last time she was in this situation? Did it really matter? Nothing she said to Bolt really changed his mind. It took being captured by animal control to convince him of the truth.

"You won't believe me if I told you the truth so I'm not going to waste my time telling you," said Mittens. Thunder simply studied her for a minute. Mittens began to instinctively squirm.

"Stop that," said Thunder as he placed a tighter grip onto her. Mittens blushed as she felt hard furry muscles holding her in place. Oh great, her Bolt attraction was actually causing some part of her to be flustered by this. She suddenly wondered what it would be like to have Bolt holding her down and-

"Oh no, no, no," growled Mittens as she raised her head and slammed it into the ground. The sharp pain that came afterwards made her curse, but it was worth it. No way was she having those thoughts in a situation like this.

"You are… very strange," said Thunder after witnessing Mittens just bang her own head on the ground.

"You have no idea," said Mittens as her head-ache receded.

"If you won't talk, then I have no choice but to make you talk," said Thunder as he finally got off her. She didn't waste a second, turning and trying to scamper down the path. But before she even took a step, she felt Thunder's teeth grab the fur on her neck. He easily lifted her up in the air and began walking the opposite way with her.

"Oh double crap," said Mittens. She had only one dog before carry her like this. And she knew exactly what was coming next.

Kansas was truly a beautiful place. With farm fields going miles long. And forests that one could take a walks through. And even a couple of cliffs that give a nice view. Thunder was at one of these very cliffs, holding a cat right over the edge.

Everything about this cat puzzled him. The way she acted towards him. The way she behaved under questioning. Somehow she knew about his powers. Although he didn't know anything about a 'green-eyed man'. Still she knew enough to be a threat. What really puzzled him was her reaction to being hung above a cliff.

"Wow, I'm so shocked," said Mittens in a tone that indicated she was anything, but shocked.

"Start talking," said Thunder as best he could with the fur in his mouth.

"Let me guess, you're going to say you're feeling yawn coming over," said Mittens as she sighed. He actually was planning to say something just like that, but he wasn't going to admit it. This was becoming difficult. He was trained to take out the enemy, not to interrogate the enemy. He had very little interaction with any other animals, especially cats.

"I will drop you," said Thunder. For the first time the cat seemed to show fear over the situation she was in. He could hear her heartbeat go faster.

"W..would you really?" asked Mittens as she stared down at the trees that were just specks this far away. Would he? He was a soldier. But he only killed enemies of the United States. And no matter how he looked at the situation, this cat wasn't an enemy of the country. She was just someone who seemed to know too much. But he wouldn't kill her over that.

"I just can't believe I'm going through all this again," said Mittens. Thunder moved her away from the edge and let go of her.

"What are you talking about?" asked Thunder with frustration. He didn't get a chance to hear a response. Suddenly a large shadow covered both Thunder and Mittens. Metal canisters fell to the ground and exploded, releasing green gas. Thunder didn't even have time to hold his breath. The last thing he saw was the cat collapsing in front of him before darkness took him as well.