Chapter 8: Vigilante's Sonnet

"Just what do you think you're doing here, SWAT Kats?"

Feral always has to ruin the party. I give a short glance to T-Bone, then back to the commander as he takes a step forward. A wave of nausea feels overwhelming at the moment, but I stand my ground without covering it in the remnants of my small dinner. Time is not of the essence, Jake. Who knows where Emily's at in that building, and that's a lot of ground-

"Sorry to cut in, Feral, but I think that we can do a better job." T-Bone's voice chimes over the barrage of enforcer cruiser engines, and a distinct tone of anger can be heard within each syllable. He pushes through a band of foot soldiers before reaching the commander, whom in which he shares an infuriated glare with before shoving past. I follow close behind, as if I was a lost child finding refuge through the guidance of a larger being, but as I shuffle by Feral, he brings a heavy hand against my shoulder.

I couldn't help but hiss as I knock his paw away, and T-Bone is soon facing us once more. Feral speaks before the enraged vigilante that is now tending to me has the chance, "You troublesome pests are only going to make things worse for our hostages; don't you even think about their safety before barging in on such a delicate situation such as this?"

"Shut it, Feral," I murmur, weakly rubbing the throbbing muscles as T-Bone and I walked on. "We know what we're doing. I mean, we practically do this every day for you. So don't give us any lip."

And with that, we're both off, into the darkness of MegaKat Biochemical. "Razor, you sure you can do this?"

I hear my partner's distraught voice to my right, and with the tap of a finger against my helmet, a flood of light overcomes him. He blinks, doing the same to his head gear before asking again, "You sure you're up for this? I can do this on my own if you're not-"

"Don't ever try, T-Bone. Besides, haven't you already tried this once today?" My nerves are frayed to their limits, and, except for the constant reminder of the current phobia festering n the back of my mind, I just don't care about anything anymore. That is, anything besides finding Emily and busting Viper's face in. I make a mental threat, storing it within the confines of my conscious mind before muttering a short apology to my comrade. "So, you ready to try the whole 'split up' scene again?"

T-Bone turns sharply, basking me in a blinding light that takes me a moment to adjust to. When I do, his wide eyes alarm me. "You've gotta be kidding me, Razor! Need I remind you of what happened last time?"

I shudder; nobody has to remind me of that.

He carries on, "Besides, two are better than one. If we see Viper, one can kick the stuffing out of him while the other rescues Emily."

I don't have to stop to think about his logic; I know that it's right. But, as much as I want to go on my own and personally deliver well-deserved punishment to that low-life snake, I nod, quickening my pace as much as I can. "Yea, I guess. Now, let's go."

Viper's presence is heavy throughout the building, as we cut our way through the fallen vines now strung across each hall, and I know that we both feel the undeniable evil in the air. It seems as if we've been slicing through mutated nature for hours when T-Bone finally stops, placing his back against a clearing on the wall and emitting a low growl of frustration. I soon follow, allowing myself to melt onto the floor, and my body is fast to let me know that it's taking as much as it can. My muscles constrict to the pain's rhythm, and through I try hard to suppress them, my breaths come out as short gasps.

"You okay, Sure-Shot?"

I'm almost in a fetal position now, but I hear my comrade's concerned question. So, I try to reply as calm as I can, "S-sure thing. Just, give me a moment, okay?" I heave another pant, "My body's not really used to this stuff yet."

"Well," I hear him muse to himself, "I could leave you here, so you could blow chunks for Viper to clean up…" I look up at T-Bone, and spot a mischievous grin to match the sarcasm in his voice. "He might like scrubbing other people's barf as much as I do."

For a moment, it feels like old times as I begin to laugh. I can't help myself, but I soon see that my partner doesn't mind, for he soon follows. In a way, I guess this is our way of knowing that there are no hard feelings against me for the way I've been treating him, and a part of me begins to ease.

Until a ear-piercing shrill fills our heads, and our laughter soon dies. Wide-eyed, we both pull ourselves from the wall and continue through the jungle before us. That small sense of tranquility that had shown itself earlier was now gone, and my hear was in a full-swing panic as I shove against my body's warnings. I keep my glare on my feet, hoping to keep the pain out of my mind as the other SWAT Kat leads the way. Once we're out of this rain-forest, it should be smooth sailing until we get to Viper. Then, I'll prove to him that you NEVER mess with a Clawson.

"Uh, Razor." I smack face-first into T-Bone's back as he suddenly stops; guess that's what I get for not paying attention. I stop for a moment, trying to slow my spinning head and thoughts, before looking up at my friend to head his troubled tone.

- I wish I would have kept my head down, for when I advert my attention to the other SWAT Kat, I catch glimpse of the overgrown figure of Alex Nelson.

This can't be good.