Title: Changes Part One
Chapter 6: Things Heat Up
By: Cody Furlong
The next day found a restless Chance pacing the floor of the tiny apartment that was his home. The garage below was closed and would stay that way. The mechanic had no intentions of opening up for work after the night he'd had. While Abi had been a help in determining just what had taken Jake, and given him a thumbnail description of what the blood sucker supposedly could do, it didn't get him any closer to finding and getting his mate back.
After leaving the museum he had done another through sweep of the city, looking for anything that might have been a sign pointing to where that cursed undead had gone. In the end however he got nothing from it but another wasted night. What little sleep he had gotten had been spent tossing and turning while his dreaming mind conjured up every manner of horrible nightmare it could muster. As a result the tabby had discovered he'd overslept by two hours when he finally did crawl out of the bed.
It may have only been two days since his kitten had been taken, but the burly mechanic couldn't help but feel like he'd already lost his lover. No matter how many times he tried to squash the thoughts of dread that filled him though, they'd only bubble back up as soon as he let his guard down.
This being one of those times as Chance traveled the short distance from wall to wall in only a few ground eating strides, his 'morning' coffee forgotten on the counter next to the pot where he'd left it. He hadn't even bothered to dress anymore than pulling on a pair of three day old sweat pants over his boxers.
The sudden buzz of the doorbell caused the muscled tabby to pause in his thoughts. "Who the hell could be here!?" Growling at being interrupted Chance marched down the stairs and threw open the door. "What!?"
Callie gasped taking a step back from the door and the tabby standing in it. "I..I 'm sorry if I interrupted anything Chance. I just wanted to come by and see how Jake was doing…"
Seeing what he'd done the large tom immediately powered down. "No I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled like that….It.. just hasn't been a good day…"
The lithe Deputy Mayor smiled up at the bare chested mechanic, trying not to blush at the hard muscle rippling under his striped fur. "It's quite alright Chance, I've had days like that too."
The Swat Kat couldn't help but return the smile, something about the she-kat's presence suddenly making all his tension melt away as he moved out of the doorway. "Please, why don't you come in out of the heat? I'm afraid that Jake's not here though, he left to go stay with a friend out of town until the heat comes down a bit."
"Oh, well I hope he comes back soon, I hate to think that you're here having to do everything by yourself." The blonde haired she-kat took the invitation, gratefully walking past the male and into the shade of the garage.
The tabby watched the sway of her hips and tail as she gracefully moved deeper into the building making his heart pound in his chest. "Knock it off Furlong! Now's not the time for your fantasies!" The chocolate on honey blonde tom mentally scolded himself.
He'd always had an attraction to the powerful yet beautiful queen, even after getting with Jake he'd never really stopped flirting with her. His mate had said it was cute, and didn't even really seem to mind it when he'd confronted the small kat about it.
Chance shook his head before closing the door then jogging after the female. He still remembered how Jake had explained his crush on their friend, as stemming from the biological urge to pass on his excellent genetics to his offspring, something that his soul mate couldn't give him but Callie could.
The pilot had to admit that Jake had been right, he did want to have a kit that would inherit and continue on with the legacy he and Jake would leave behind some day. When he suddenly realized he was daydreaming the muscle bound tom forced the thoughts back into the depths of his mind.
"Can I get you anything to drink Callie?" The tabby asked while opening up the fridge in the break room, having forgotten all about his problems for the moment.
"Sure Chance, I'd like that." The Deputy Mayor purred softly, she could tell that the big tom was suddenly a lot more relaxed than when he'd greeted her.
The hero couldn't help but let a small rumble escape from his throat as he reached into the icebox for a bottle of water. His fingers had just brushed over the sides of one when the light bulb inside the box suddenly flickered. Jerking his hand back in surprise when the power went off in the whole building, the short furred male looked back to his friend in confusion.
"What the hell?" The vigilante growled when the power came back on a few seconds later.
"I don't know….that was certainly odd…" His blonde guest agreed.
The tabby-tom shrugged his broad shoulders then grabbed the bottle of fluid for Callie. Letting the fridge door close on it's own Chance moved past her handing her the bottle as he settled down onto the couch next to her.
"Maybe there's something on the news about it…" Grabbing the remote and flipping the set on their ears were immediately greeted by a special announcement.
"This is Ann Gora of Kat's Eye News coming to you live from the megakat power sub-station number nine! Just seconds ago that notorious techno thief Hard Drive burst out of the station, and is now running rampant in the streets! I advise that everyone living in the surrounding area stay inside their homes until the situation can be resolved!"
On the screen the female news anchor could be seen fearlessly reporting on the destruction, while in the background the familiar image of the mohawked villain was blasting out the windows of a store front.
"Damn it! That's the last thing I need to deal with!" Chance growled out loudly before turning back to face his friend. "I'm sorry Callie, but you need to stay here, I'll be back later and explain everything."
Not waiting for her to respond the champion jumped up and strode over to the rug where the hatch was hidden then kicked the scrap of cloth aside. He knew he was breaking the rule of never revealing their secret to anyone, but fate it seemed had decided otherwise as he jerked the lid up, then disappeared down into the revealed hole.
"What? Where are you going?" The peach furred female called after him in confusion when he'd vanished down into the depths of what looked like some kind of basement.
When no answer came the pewit official got off the couch and walked over to the opening, she was glad she had worn a pair of capri pants and a blouse instead of her suit when she saw the ladder bolted to the side of the tunnel. Ignoring her water bottle left on the coffee table the she-kat climbed down after the male.
What she found in the 'basement' however came as quite the shock when she found herself standing in the lair of the Swat Kats! Looking around in awe at the huge underground space, she could hardly believe that this was where her protectors had been all along. Hearing a grunt the blonde twisted her head back around in time to see Chance, or T-Bone rather straddling one of their bikes.
"Chance…T-Bone?" Callie called after him before jogging over to where he was.
T-Bone looked up from where he was keying in the start up sequence on the cyclotron. "Later Callie, I have to go stop that lightning bug, stay here." Feeling the powerful vehicle purr to life between his legs, the Swat Kat peeled out and vanished through a doorway. The beautiful queen sighed as she watched him go before taking another quick look around, then headed back up the ladder to watch her Swat Kat save the day.
T-Bone felt his body tensing back up as he piloted the powerful bike toward where the techno crook had been spotted. After everything that had happened in the last two days he needed something to vent on, and it looked like the unlucky target was going to be Hard Drive.
-
It wasn't very hard to find the baddie since he tended to stand out with the glowing eyes, mohawk, and arcing electricity all over his body. Though by contrast powering up onto the scene on a jet powered bike, armed to the teeth with missiles was a good way of getting spotted pretty fast too.
That would prove to be just the first anger fueled mistake he'd make, as no sooner than he had arrived than he had to abandon the bike to avoid the huge blast of sizzling static that struck it. After rolling to his feet unharmed, the burly tabby turned back to watch as his ride crashed into a group of trash cans, the surge of power spider webbing over it's metal clad body.
Snarling in anger the tom stalked over to the building the blast had came out of, noting it was the same store he'd watched the villain break into not minutes before. "Why don't you come out here and face me instead of hiding in there like a coward!"
The response to his challenge didn't come back in words, instead the Swat Kat had to leap to the side as another wave of pure energy came flying out of the building and scorched the ground right where he'd been standing seconds before.
"Fine! You're gonna regret making me come in there after you!" T-Bone roared before climbing in through the destroyed display window.
Looking around the front of the establishment, the Swat Kat could tell from the few displays and shelves still intact that it had been an electronics store. "Figures that techno weasel would come here." The masked tabby snorted to himself.
Speaking of the weasel he was nowhere in sight, though the charred remains of what once had been computers, and other objects of technology forming a trail into the back told him right where his opponent had gone. T-Bone shook his head easily following the path straight to the cocky tom who'd turned his back to the entrance, and was bent over a safe fiddling with the old fashioned combination knob.
"What's the matter? Is the lighting bug stopped cold by a little old-fashioned tech?" The hero barked before snatching the crook up by the back of his surge coat and twisting him around.
Hard Drive gasped in surprise at the voice and suddenly being jerked around to face the powerful vigilante. Any retort he might have thrown out was quickly cut off when he felt the large tom's balled up fist plant itself into his gut. Double over and wrapping his arms over his sternum the scrawny feline grunted loudly in pain, leaving his face unprotected for the follow up blow.
Feeling the warm gush of blood that washed over his glove and fur when he slammed his hard first into the thin tom's nose. The striped male smirked in satisfaction before turning away and starting to drag his catch back into the front of the building. Figuring that the villain had given up when he went limp was T-Bone's second mistake. He'd just about gotten Hard Drive back outside when he felt a tingling sensation shoot up his muscular arm. It hadn't been very strong but had still been powerful enough to make him let go of his prisoner.
The reedy feline quickly scrambled back to his feet and away from his captor as soon as he had been freed. He knew he didn't stand a chance fist to fist against the brawling tabby, so had purposely pretended to give himself up after the first two stunning blows.
"You muscled idiot! How dare you lay your hands on me!" The rogue snarled pointing at a nearby TV, a whip of energy slashing out connecting him to it instantly. "Catch this if you can Swat Kat!" With a flick of his wrist, the electrically charged appliance was sent hurtling towards the burly pilot.
Catch it T-Bone did, though not quite in the way he would have had preferred as it plowed into his chest like a wrecking ball when he turned around. It wasn't one of those new light weight flat screens either, as the weight and surprising force behind it knocked him off his feet and sent him flying out into the street.
The strong warrior couldn't even let out a whimper of pain as he crashed down onto his broad back, the bulk of the large screen TV crushing down on his chest and driving the air from his lungs.
Hard Drive cackled as he strode out of the ruined shop to watch the tabby struggling to get out from under the blocky device. "What's the matter fly boy? Your brain not here to think for you today!?"
The vigilante roared and shoved the TV off him with adrenaline fueled muscle after hearing his partner being talked about like that. He wasn't given the chance to regain his footing though before a blast of energy struck him head on forcing a yell of pain from his lips.
The techno crook laughed manically as he pumped torrents of electricity into the prone tom's body. "I could care less where your little slut is! So long as I can kill you I'll be happy!"
T-Bone had never felt so much agony before as his body convulsed uncontrollably, every fiber in his body painfully contracting to the point that he couldn't even breathe. Tears stained his mask as his screams died out, though his mouth still hung open in silent torment. It seemed like the burning pain wracking his body would never end until it suddenly, blissfully stopped. Panting heavily, desperately trying to catch his breath the tabby watched as his opponent slowly walked up to him.
"Awwww…The muscle head kitten doesn't like his 'juice'!" The omega gloated raising one booted foot up and pressing it down onto his victim's chest.
The blue coated male had heard the snap when he'd hit the Swat Kat with that TV, so he had to have at least cracked a rib. Baring that in mind, Hard Drive had focused most of his follow up blast on the tom's powerfully built chest, hoping to do even more damage.
Now the boot grinding down on top of it was just salt in the wound before he put the champion out of his misery. It was the former enforcer that would have the final blow though, as he'd been able to swallow back the pain while the megalomaniac was posing over his trophy.
With a guttural snarl the Swat Kat's hand shot up and griped his target's ankle in an iron grip. A swift jerk and twist was all it took to reverse their positions as T-Bone pulled the struggling baddie down while rolling to his feet all in the same fluid motion. It was that same motion that ended with a shattering stomp delivered to Hard Drive's head knocking him out cold.
Letting go of the now limp leg the tabby grunted and rubbed at his abused chest, his flight suit, fur, and skin were burnt and singed, and it felt like he'd broken a rib too. Standing over the unconscious body he thought about giving it another good kick for good measure, but the sounds of sirens fast approaching made him think otherwise.
Heaving out a sigh then wincing at the pain it caused him T-Bone quickly limped back over to where the Cyclotron had crashed. Thankfully the electricity had discharged into the ground by now making it safe for him to touch. With a loud grunt the male pulled the bike upright then got on it before keying in the ignition code. His beat up body protested the movements but he pushed the pain to the back of his mind as he drove off.
-
When he arrived back at the hangar he found the Deputy Mayor pacing right where he'd left her. She no doubt had watched him getting his ass kicked on the news just like all the rest of the city had. Parking the vehicle back where it had been the mechanic expected to get yelled at for being so reckless.
"It's what Jake would have done…" The hero thought to himself bitterly, never expecting to suddenly be on the receiving end of the gentle hug he got from the concerned she-kat.
"Chance are you alright? I saw what happened on the TV." Callie's soft voice asked while her green eyes searched over his body for injuries.
"I'll be fine Miss. Briggs it's just some singed fur, and possibly a broken rib." He tried to make light of the situation, though all it really did was make his beautiful guest frown even more than she already was.
"It's a good thing I found your first aid kit then. Why don't you go get undressed so I can treat your injuries?" While she may have worded it politely, her tone of voice and the look she was giving him clearly said that he'd best obey.
The masked male slowly nodded then dismounted the custom war machine with a huff before heading over to where the lockers were to strip out of his gear for her. The thought that she'd get to see him semi- naked while he changed brought a slight smile to his lips as he simply put back on the sweat pants he'd worn before.