Back at the junkyard, now relieved of their outfits and back into their overalls, Chance and Jake were relaxing with a six-pack of milk and a pizza as they watched another episode of Scaredy Kat.
"Man, you gotta love that Scaredy Kat!" chuckled Chance as he grabbed himself another pizza slice.
"Yeah," nodded Jake, "but you do realize you watched that episode last week, right?"
"I know, but if there's one thing I know about classic cartoons, is that they never die."
"You've got a point there."
"Hey, watch what happens when Scaredy Kat opens the door!"
On their television, the animated character opened a door only to be greeted by what looked to be a giant Kat-headed serpent with an evil toothy smile, causing the main character to scream at the top of his lungs, eyes bugging out.
While Chance chortled at the sight, Jake looked thoughtful, not paying any attention to the cartoon.
The larger yellow Kat noticed his friend and looked a bit concerned. "Is there something wrong, buddy?"
"Huh?" asked the smaller orange Kat, now out of his train of thought. "Oh, sorry about that, pal. I was just thinking about that escape pod we found earlier today. I wonder if Professor Hackle found out anything."
"Jake, don't sweat it. Come tomorrow, we'll visit the Professor and see what he's found out. Why do you seem so concerned about it?"
"I don't know, Chance—there's just something offbeat about it. I mean, I've never seen any escape pod in that sort of model. It just looks like it's more advanced than anything I've seen or heard of. . . . Maybe even more advanced than the Turbokat."
Over at the cannery, the Enforcers, newscasters, and the ambulance surrounded the building. At one of the newscaster trucks, Ann Gora was standing next to Commander Ulysses Feral, his niece Lieutenant Felina Feral, and the frightened hostage Eddy.
"Are you ready, Jonny?" queried the newscaster.
Ann's trusted cameraman, Jonny K., gave her the thumbs-up. "We are all set, Ann, in three . . . two . . . one."
Just as the episode of Scaredy Kat ended with the main character sighing and wiping his brow in relief, Kat's Eye News came on, much to the inward surprise of Chance and Jake.
"Ann Gora here reporting tonight, live at the cannery for Kat's Eye News, where another massacre has occurred. With me is Commander Feral." The newscaster faced the serious gray Kat, his yellow eyes cold and unmoving. "Tell us, Commander, when you heard from an anonymous tipper about strange goings-on in the cannery, did you suspect that the Korat Gang would be involved?"
"What's to suspect?" inquired Feral. "I knew they would be involved somehow. Ever since Bruno Bombay and his ragtag team of criminal scum arrived in Megakat City, every catnip operation we . . . and the SWAT Kats . . . have stopped lead to the Korat Gang—other than the fact that their former member Eddy Shultz helped us out in trying to capture them."
"Hey Jake," spoke up Chance, "is it just me, or does Feral have a queasy look under that stony face of his?"
The smaller orange Kat shrugged his shoulders. "You got me, buddy. Heh, maybe the Commander ate a bad doughnut or something."
"How about telling us what happened inside the cannery, Commander?" asked Ann Gora.
"Well," said Feral, his usually angry-looking face now carrying a sickened look, "let me say first that in all my years working with the Enforcers, I have seen deaths that I thought were unimaginable . . . until tonight. When my men and I stormed the cannery, we only found Eddy tied to a chair frightened. But what caught my eye as I entered the cannery were the bodies of the Korat Gang. . . . All the Kats were found with their skulls and spines missing."
Jake's eyes shot up wide at the announcement, while Chance spit out his sip of milk and coughed.
"Did you find any clues as to who might have committed these murders?" pressed on Ann.
Slightly gulping, Feral continued on. "Well, the first thing that came to mind were the SWAT Kats, but realized that even they would never conceive the idea of killing someone and taking their skull as if it were a prize. Only my niece Felina found something odd amongst the corpses and blood. Felina?"
As Feral, the newscaster, and the camera focused on Felina, the Lieutenant nodded. "The only thing I found, aside from the blood of the Korat Gang and the bullets from their guns, were random spots of some kind of glowing green liquid on the floor, one of the crates, and covering Bruno Bombay's knife. Aside from that was a spear used to impale one of the members. Shultz had also told us that he had seen the murderer."
"Perhaps you could describe to us what the murderer looked like, Mr. Shultz?" queried Ann Gora.
Eddy groaned with fear. "Oh, the murderer was the scariest thing I've ever seen. That green substance Lieutenant Feral mentioned must have been his blood, because it came out of the injuries Bruno and his members have inflicted; what shook me the most was that . . . thing's size, stamina, everything; it didn't flinch or recoil from the attacks. After killing Frederino and Reggie, it seemed to have appeared out of thin air. I'm telling you all, whatever killed the Korat Gang is no Kat. I didn't see it take their skulls, due to fainting at the speculation of that thing committing ghastly acts. I never had a chance to see the face because of the mask it wore. I don't know why I was spared by that thing, but I wouldn't give my hopes up that it won't kill again."
With a sick look on his face, Jake picked up the remote and turned the TV off. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't stomach hearing anymore."
Chance patted his friend's shoulder in reassurance. "I understand how you feel, buddy. But still, we need to find out who was responsible of the murders. Granted the Korat Gang were bad news, but nobody deserves to die like that. Maybe Dr. Viper is responsible for it, or maybe it was one of his mutations."
The smaller orange Kat leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "It sounds possible, considering the countless people he has killed. What about Dark Kat? He probably invented some kind of killing machine."
"I don't think so; I mean, sure Dark Kat is smart enough to create that sort of thing, but to kill people . . . well, in that sort of 'fashion,' seems farfetched. Green blood, huh? Well, I was thinking that the Metallikats were involved, considering they have the weapons to do that, but they don't bleed."
"Obviously. I'm starting to doubt that the PastMaster would be involved, along with Dr. Viper."
"Who do you think killed the Korat Gang? And for what reason?"
"Well, I don't believe it's a 'who' that killed them, but more like a 'what,' if you ask me."
"Are you implying that there's a connection between that escape pod and those murders?"
"I'm afraid so, Chance. Sorry to inform you buddy, but I think we are heading for more alien trouble."
"Looks that way to me also, Jake. Don't worry about it, all right? Come tomorrow we'll patrol the city and hopefully capture that alien before it kills again. Besides, if we could take on alien Ci-Kat-A's and intergalactic water pirates, then I'm sure we can handle some kind of killer."
"Tomorrow can't wait. We must head to the Professor's and see what he has found out so far. The sooner we stop the killer, the better."
"If you insist. All right pal, let's hit it."
Little did the SWAT Kats realize as they re-donned their costumes and took off in the Turbokat, Thwei Halkrath, with the six Korat Gang members' clean white skulls hanging from his hip, watched from the shadows the vigilantes take off in their choice of transportation.
So those are the SWAT Kats I have heard of, thought the Predator, tilting his head slightly in one direction with curiosity and interest. They shall make a perfect addition to my collection.
After announcing in silence that the SWAT Kats were worthy prey, Thwei Halkrath threw a location beacon with extreme force as he ran to try and catch up with the feline vigilantes. Using the minicomputer on his wrist, the Predator stared at the hologram of Megakat City and followed the path that the SWAT Kats were taking.
Sorry for the short chapter everyone. But don't worry, there's plenty more action to come.