Hey, Readers! I'm back from Italy, which was AMAZING! Glad to see that people still read my stories while I was gone, especially since I was bursting with ideas all throughout the trip, and finished this chapter as soon as I came back to the school! Bus ride was long (15 hours), but I was able to think about the future plot of this story, and I think you all will find it pretty interesting!
Wanted to get this chapter out now, since I have two papers due on Thursday, but if any of you think I'm posting too often, just let me know. I, by nature, usually write and read pretty fast, which is why I usually post a new chapter every 6-9 days. However, if you find it too overwhelming, I'll wait after finishing a chapter before publishing, but ONLY if you guys want me to. If not, I'll publish at my normal pace.
Now here's Chapter 12 of the series. Before you read it, though, I wanted to take the time to thank all of you, the Readers, for making this story possible. If it were not for your continuous support, this story probably would've died a long time ago. So thank you again for your support! Special shout-out to Trekker77 especially, and I hope that you and everyone else are all enjoying the story so far!
I'm not gonna have a synopsis of this chapter (the title kinda says it all), though it does feature Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird." If you've heard it, you can already assume that some good ol' butt-kicking's on the way!
As usually, follow, favorite, and leave me a review! And stay tuned for more chapters to come! Thank you all again, and have a great day!
EDITED: (NEXT UPDATE WILL BE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH)
-aggiefrogger
Act Two: Lonestar
First Mission:
"Happy Early Christmas, Max," Jake said one morning, tossing a bundle onto the kitchen table, landing right in front of the human's cereal.
Nearly choking on his Frosted Wafers, he looked up at the cinnamon kat in shock. "Is that my-"
"One Swat Kat uniform, ready to go! You might wanna try it on in case I need to make any-"
The teen and the bundle of clothes disappeared in a flash, nearly knocking over Chance as he raced into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him.
"What was that about," Chance asked, grabbing the box of cereal.
"Just gave him his uniform."
"Radical! Hope he likes it."
"I hope so too. He helped me a bit with some specifics when it comes to his anatomy, but I've mainly kept him in the dark about the overall design."
"Me too," the blond kat replied, giving his friend a sideways glance. "Any particular reason, buddy?"
"What can I say; his sense for the dramatics must be wearing off on me!" He cracked a smile, but he was secretly worried about how the human would react to the uniform. He'd added something different to this uniform, and hoped that the human appreciated it. Being from a whole other century, not to mention species, Max could be... unpredictable at times. Besides, it was only two or three weeks ago that the whole Reflex Room incident had happened, and he hoped that he didn't make the teen feel more upset.A minute later, the door in the hallway opened, and the two kats swiveled around, taking in the third member's appearance.
A lot of thought had to go into the human's uniform; not only was he a different species with a different anatomy and bone density, but the uniform had to disguise this fact from everyone else. So, unlike the kat's own uniforms, this one was practically skin-tight, like a jumpsuit, but designed almost like a gymnast's uniform, except with long sleeves; he wasn't wearing them now, but there was also a pair of gloves and a ski mask that would go with the teen's uniform to cover his face and hands, and a pair of shoes as well. The only difference was some padding around the chest, torso, forearms and shins; not enough to prevent the teen from flipping and turning mid-air, but enough to act as a sort of armor to protect the vital organs. The material was durable but lightweight, and had enough breathing room for the human to move around in. It was in two pieces, both the same navy blue as T-Bone's and Razor's uniforms, but the pants had large streaks of color against the blue on each leg; red and black on the right, white and black on the left. And the final unique feature was a solitary white star in the middle of the young man's chest, besides the Swat Kat insignia on the arm.
Max had remained silent, his face passive and unreadable as he walked over to the folding table, stopping a couple feet away as he looked down at the uniform. Meanwhile, the two kats stared at the human, taking in the ensemble. Finally, Chance had to ask.
"Is that-"
"The Texas flag," Max replied, his voice hushed, looking almost shell-shocked. He looked down at the star again, then over at Jake. "You… you made it a part of the uniform?"
The cinnamon kat nodded hesitantly, still unsure of the human's opinion of the uniform. "Y-Yeah. I just thought that… that since you liked it so much, giving your code name is Lonestar, and since you seemed to miss your home so much, that you should always have a little piece of it... I... I made sure it was subtle enough for somekat like Johnny not to notice, and-"
Max suddenly moved forward, and for a second, Jake wondered if he was about to be attacked. However, the teen hugged the smaller kat, nearly knocking him back with the force of the embrace. Slowly, the cinnamon mechanic smiled and hugged him back, relieved that the human like the uniform.
"Thank you," Max whispered, his voice trembling slightly, almost holding onto Jake for support.
"No problem, dude," the kat said. "Now… you're kinda crushing me, so-"
The human gave a shaky laugh, letting go and taking a step back, wiping a stray tear from his eyes. He looked back down at uniform, gently touching the star on his chest.
"The blue stands for loyalty and strength," he said out loud, almost to himself. "The red for bravery and sacrifice, and the white for purity and goodness… Thank you again." He was smiling now, a broad grin that was probably bigger than the state of Texas.
"Looks good, buddy," Chance commented, giving him a thumbs up and a grin of his own.
"Is it comfortable? Can you still move in it?"
In response, the teen stepped back, giving himself enough room as he did a few front flips, landing on his feet. "I think so," he said casually, sitting back down at the table, crinkling his nose at his soggy cereal.
"Show off," the large tabby muttered, the human chucking as he started on his cereal.
"By the way," Jake added, "this comes with another gift."
"Another gift? You're makin' me look bad, pal," Chance joked.
"This one's from both of us," the smaller Swat Kat replied, giving his friend a pointed look, reminding them of their conversation from last night. The burly pilot's eyes widened with realization, and he gave the human another grin.
"Oh yeah! How'd you like ta come with us on our next mission?"
Max quickly looked up, looking between the two, that shocked look reappearing on his face. "Are… are you serious?"
"'Course we are! We think you're ready," the large kat said.
"The only question is… do you think you're ready," Jake asked, leaning forward a little, anxious to hear the human's response.
At that moment, however, the communicator in Chance's pocket buzzed, and he pulled it out, hitting the button. "Yes Miss Briggs?"
"Swat Kats!" The Deputy Mayor's voice sounded panicked. "We have a break-in at Megakat City Mint! How soon can you get here?"
"We're on our way," Razor replied firmly, turning the communicator off.
"Crazy timing," T-Bone commented, getting up from his seat. The two Swat Kats then looked over at the human. "Well, if this isn't dumb luck, I dunno what it is! So… Whaddaya say Max?"
The teen looked between the two for a few moments before opening his mouth to respond.
Max applied some more powdered chalk to his grips, pulling himself back up onto the horizontal bar that the Swat Kats had built him in the underground lair. Whenever he had a lot on his mind, he would do gymnastics; the rhythmic routines always helped him focus his thoughts, besides allowing him to work on his upper body strength.
He wondered if he'd done the right thing, saying no to the Swat Kats' offer to go with them on the mission. They'd been kind and understanding about his decision, and didn't hold it against him, but he could almost sense a slight disappointment in their faces as they'd left in the Turbokat, which only made him feel guilty. Looking back, he wasn't sure why he'd said no; he wasn't particularly afraid of going and fighting crime, and he felt that he was prepared enough, but something tugged at the back of his mind, making him uneasy.
It had been a little over an hour since Jake and Chance had left to stop whatever villain was robbing the mint, and the teen had been keeping himself busy, though he had the TV on still, just to make sure that they were fine. He did a few more turns around the bar, spinning though the air and twisting as he did so, he finally did a quick flip of the bar, landing on his feet; not perfectly, since he stumbled, but decent enough. Glancing at the TV, which was still showing the weather, he took a swig from his water bottle, wondering if he'd made the right choice.
"Get over yourself," Max muttered to himself. "It's no big deal." But even he didn't believe that lie. Putting down the bottle, he grabbed his phone and lay back on the floor mat, staring at the ceiling as "Carry On Wayward Son" started to play, resting after his workout.
Why had he said no? It seemed that his refusal was causing more problems than if he'd just said yes; at least Chance would've done something to cheer him up or help him stay calm as they went to stop whatever villain was causing trouble. Maybe he was scared, deep down, but he had no reason to be; he knew what to do, he was well-trained, and he had two best friends to help him. Looking back now, maybe he should have said-
"This is a breaking news report from Kats Eye News, coming live from the Megakat City Mint."
The human sat up with a start, staring at the TV, hoping that it was finally over. Ann Gorra stood in front of the building, which was outside the limits of the city (according to Jake, it used to be inside city limits, but they moved it to avoid any future damage to the city skyscrapers). Behind her, trucks of Enforcers surrounded the building, seeming to wait for someone to leave.
"We've just received word that the villain who has currently taken over the Mint is none other than Dark Kat, who appears to have captured the Swat Kats, along with Commander Feral, the Deputy Mayor and several faculty members of the mint!"
The young man's mouth dropped open in shock. Jake and Chance… captured? They rarely got caught, but it certainly explained why they were gone for so long. But knowing them, they would surely find a way to escape, and-
"The super villain," the reporter continued, "has demanded that the Enforcers stand down, allowing him to make away with over three million dollars. The Swat Kats and other hostages are currently incapacitated inside the building, and all efforts to communicate with them have failed. Right now, Lieutenant Felina Feral, who is currently leading the squad, is planning an extraction plan, but their odds of rescuing the captives are slim, since it appears that the entrances are wired to explode."
"Shit," the teen muttered, shooting to his feet, turning off the music as well as the TV, rushing back into the main hanger. If they were in trouble, then something must have gone wrong. Besides, now that there were multiple lives at stake, he couldn't very well sit on his ass doing nothing.
Going over to Jake's workshop, he picked up the Glovatrix that the kat had made for him. It'd been ready for a while, and he'd only used it a couple of times in training, but it seemed that he had no choice but to master it now. He turned towards the nearby chair, where his uniform sat (he'd changed out of it after they'd left). Nearby, his bo staff, shoes and mask sat nearby, and the spare keys to the Cyclotron hung on a wall hook.
"Well," he said to himself, quickly swallowing a lump in his throat, "looks like I'm ready, whether I like it or not."
Twenty minutes later, Lonestar crouched in a tall tree, fifty or so yards away from the back of the Mint, observing the kats on the ground; the Cyclotron was parked beneath him, hidden by some bushes. Fortunately, the roads were mostly deserted, but he tucked the end of the face mask into the neck of his uniform so it wouldn't fly off in the wind. He now scanned the Mint, assessing what to do next.
The building was one story, but wide, and from his perch, he was well over the top of the building. It appeared that the Enforcers were still not sure of what to do; the Swat Kat could now see that the entrances were covered with wires, several packs of what looked like TNT or some other explosive surrounding them. The building had no windows, so there was no way in, unless they had a battering ram, which the Enforcers did not.
Unless you went in through the AC vent on the roof.
It was scary, using the glider for the first time in a real-life situation, but he managed not to die, though he gave several felines a shock as the costumed figure suddenly leapt out of the tree, glided onto the roof, and disappeared from view. Rushing over to the vent, he quickly pulled out a small device, scanning the metal entrance with a device Razor had made, revealing that there were no explosives anywhere, so he quickly used his Glovatrix's laser to cut a hole in the vent, sliding head-first into the opening.
It was a maze of vents, and for a short time, Lonestar was worried if they would carry his weight. However, T-Bone had shown him "the proper way" to crawl through a vent without making a noise or falling through it, and it was working so far. He had no plan so far, but he figured that he should find where his friends and the other hostages were being held. The place was huge, and it was another ten or fifteen minutes before he finally heard yelling, and made his way to a grate on the floor of the vent, peering down through the slats.
A large room lay some twenty feet beneath him, and at the moment, it was abuzz with activity. Pink bat-like creatures (dubbed "Creeplings" by Jake and Chance) were crawling around, dragging bundles of what could only contain money in them. Tilting his head, the young human caught a glimpse of the hostages; they were off in a corner, some sort of force field preventing them from leaving the space, and based on the faint buzzing sound, it must've been electrified as well. T-Bone and Razor stood at the front of the group, Callie Briggs right beside them, and Commander Feral sulking nearby. Behind them, the employees of the Mint stood, all looking terrified; there was maybe a total of thirty-four hostages, not including the Swat Kats
It was his first time seeing the Commander in public (he'd seen Callie before at the garage, though she'd never seen him). The head Enforcer was huge, a lot taller than he appeared on TV; he towered over Chance, who was only a few inches taller than Max himself. He wore a steely expression, and he kept patting the empty holster on his belt, as if confirming that it wasn't there. Now the teen noticed a table sat nearby outside of the force field, which held the prisoners' weapons, including Jake and Chance's Glovatrixes.
Tilting his head again, the teen finally caught sight of the super villain. If he'd thought Feral was tall, Dark Kat made him look like a dwarf. He had unnatural purple fur, wore a grey cloak with a black hood, and even from his hiding place, Max noted the razor-sharp claws and yellow eyes that seemed to glow with hatred. He was known as the Swat Kats' biggest fiend, and now the teen understood why.
"Hurry up, you bumbling idiots," he screamed at his minions, who were continuing to drag the bags of cash towards a large hole in the floor; according to the Swat Kats' briefing, the villain used underground tunnels to get around. "We need to get as far away from here as possible before those Enforcers blow a hole in this place!"
"You won't get away with this, Dark Kat," T-Bone yelled, glaring at the evil tabby through the force field. "When we get outta here-"
"Ha! As if you two could escape my trap without your gadgets," the super villain taunted. "Besides," he added, pulling out a small device, "I'm the only one that can shut that shield off, but I wouldn't worry yourself about trying to escape; besides the doors, I've rigged the major supports of this place to explode; as soon as we're done here, I'll be burying you all under a pile of rubble!" He laughed maniacally at that, turning back towards the hole while his creatures continued to work.
Lonestar gaped through the AC grate, a mix of emotions in his head. On one hand, Dark Kat was so clearly a cartoon villain, it was hard to take him seriously. However, the death of Chance and Jake, along with the thirty-plus other captives darkened the situation, scaring the teen as he tried to think of what to do. Obviously, he had to get the remote from Dark Kat, but the only problem was the army of pink minions around him; he could take down the large kat no problem, but he couldn't take him on with all those monsters around him. He didn't have enough darts for all of them, and he couldn't sneak up on them; according to the Swat Kats, they had pretty good hearing.
So, he thought, I'm gonna have to go all A Quiet Place on here, sneaking around and-
With that thought, an idea, a crazy one at that, entered the teen's mind, and he gave a small grin:
Shit's about to get real.
Razor paced back and forth by the edge of the force field, racking his brain as he tried to figure a way out. For once, though, he had nothing; there wasn't anyone out there to help them, they couldn't get out without their gadgets, and anyone who got too close to the barrier got fried.
"Crud," T-Bone muttered, standing next to his partner and glaring at Dark Kat. "Got any ideas, buddy?"
"None," the cinnamon tabby replied solemnly.
"Are we gonna die," somekat asked, and the group of employees started to murmur around them.
"None of us are dying," Callie spoke up, though she looked nervous herself.
"Way to get us into this mess, Swat Kats," Commander Feral said angrily, glaring at the two of them.
"No one asked you to come in after us, Feral," the larger Swat Kat snapped back. "Besides, if I remember correctly, you're the one that announced our presence to Dark Kat!"
"Whatever," the Enforcer said. "Felina and the others will save us, but if anything happens to her-"
"She'll be fine," the Deputy Mayor assured them. "We'll all be fine!"
"That'd take a miracle," one of the employees muttered.
"We're open to suggestions," T-Bone snapped.
The mint employee opened their mouth to respond when a sudden burst of sound rang through the room. The room was already loud with the murmurs of the Creeplings, but this new sound was louder than all of that, and everyone, including Dark Kat and his minions, froze as the sound echoed again.
Was that… rock and roll?
Suddenly, a vent popped out from the ceiling, and a figure dropped from the hole, landing in the middle of the room, a few feet from Dark Kat. The hostages gaped at the new figure, though T-Bone and Razor couldn't help but grin.
The mysterious kat wore a single-piece uniform that covered him from head to foot; only his eyes, which were fierce yet almost calm at the same time, were visible. His uniform was the same blue as the Swat Kats' uniform, but was accented with different colors, and, oddly, a white star in the center of his chest. He didn't have a tail, but based on the ears, it was clearly a kat, and one look at the Swat Kat insignia on his arm identified who he was. The music seemed to be coming from the new kat, specifically from a device attached to his belt. A few of the trapped employees cheered, though most still stared in shock, along with Callie and Feral.
"Sorry I'm late," the new Swat Kat yelled over the music, giving his comrades a small wave. "Traffic was a pain!"
"Glad you could make it," T-Bone called back.
"Who are you," the villain demanded, having to shout over the noise.
"Name's Lonestar. And you-" The tailless kat took out something from his belt, which expanded into a metal staff of sort. "-should prepare to get your tail whipped!"
"GET HIM," Dark Kat shouted, pointing a claw at the new intruder; he hadn't seen the Swat Kat insignia yet, but he feared that this was some new villain that had come to take what was rightfully his. The Creeplings, dropping their money bags, started to snarl, rushing towards the mysterious kat.
Here goes nothing, Lonestar thought, pushing the button on the side of his phone, turning up the volume to max volume.
The noise was so loud, all hopes of further discussion was thrown out the window. Fortunately, the teen's plan worked; as soon as the bat-like monsters got within three feet of the masked hero, they stopped, clutching their ears and screeching in agony. It was like that final scene in A Quiet Place, where the monsters withered under the overload of sound; the human was secretly glad that his plan worked. Of course, there were dozens of these creepy things, so the hero simply stood there as a small pile of creatures started to pile around him, trying to block out the noise. Dark Kat was yelling for them to keep going, but for once, they didn't hear their master. Grinning under his mask, the newest Swat Kat jumped over the small pile of minions, straight towards the super villain.
Razor and T-Bone had seen their friend fight before, having both fought him in training, but even they were dumbstruck by the sudden ferocity of the teen as he rushed forward. The evil kat grabbed the end of the staff, swinging it, with the human in tow, over his shoulder. Landing on a nearby table, Lonestar jumped back through the air, landing on the villain's shoulders and pulling him into a headlock, pulling the bo staff back against his windpipe, trying to choke him as the kat stumbled back in surprise. He pulled the teen by the staff off his shoulders, but as the new Swat Kat flew over his head, he kicked the bad feline in the face, flipping around and swinging off the staff (which was still in the tabby's hands), kicking him in the stomach. When the villain dropped him, he landed on his feet, caught the staff, and jabbed it at the villain, at the same time hitting the button that activated the electric shock. Dark Kat screamed in pain, his body contorting for a few moments before falling back. For a second, Lonestar thought he'd won, but a money bag was quickly flung at him, hitting him in the chest and knocking him back.
Scrambling to his feet, the tall villain swiped at him, but the Swat Kat quickly and nimbly flipped back, landing on his feet and aiming the staff at the villain. The super villain ducked as the dart instead embedded itself in the wall behind him, nearly tripping over a few of his minions. Grabbing another bag of cash (they weren't that heavy, maybe 25 to 30 pounds each, but at the speed they were being thrown, they were like cannonballs), he chucked it at the tailless kat, who avoided that, though it grazed his shoulder. Several more followed, and the teen dodged them, eventually ducking behind an overturned table and shooting a glob of cement from his Glovatrix, hitting the villain in his eyes. The substance instantly hardened over Dark Kat's eyes, but he slammed his fist against it, cracking it instantly as the pieces fell to the ground. Around them, the minions still continued to cover their ears, the sound of the wailing guitar and beating drum set echoing throughout the room. The teen had purposefully chosen a long song (it was about nine minutes long, but he'd skipped the first few minutes to get to the guitar part), but he knew that once the song ended, the Creeplings would be free to attack them, meaning he had to finish the villain off and get the remote. Quick.
Lonestar started his next assault, shooting his grappling hook into the hole in the ceiling, pulling himself up as Dark Kat lunged at the spot where he'd been seconds prior. Releasing the claw, he landed on the kat's back, separated the staff into the two batons, and started whacking the villain on either side of the head repetitively, managing to stay balanced on the large tabby's shoulders. He didn't know if the super villain's head was made of stone, but it seemed to do little to affect the feline, and he quickly jumped off as the claws reached for him. Putting the two batons back together, he took a few swipes at the villain, landing a few hits, but they didn't slow the purple feline down. At one point, the bad kat was even able to grab his leg, tossing him across the room, where he slammed into the wall, dazed for a few moments as he had to roll out of the way to avoid a chair that was hurled at him seconds later.
The dude's like a tank, he thought, ducking as another large bag of cash hit the wall where his head had been. No wonder Jake and Chance always had a rough time taking him down, more so than with other villains. Even that electric shock from earlier didn't seem to affect-
The new Swat Kat shot a glace at the electrified field, along with his friends and hostages on the other side. Another idea popping in his mind, he ran towards the field, stopping a few feet from it and turning to face Dark Kat.
"Hey Furball," he yelled, though the music covered his voice. However, the evil tabby still turned to face him, his face full of rage. The teen made a taunting motion with his hands, as if toying with the feline, as well as dancing a little to the music. The ploy worked and, like an enraged bull, he ran forward, charging forward to destroy this pest, this unknown fiend that was messing with him. At the last moment, Lonestar dived out of the way, and too late did Dark Kat realize what was in front of him before he slammed into the force field.
The lights around them flickered, and only now did the evil kat scream louder than the music, his body contorting as smoke curled from the edges of his robes; the smell of burning hair filled the space. For a second, the teen wondered if the villain had shorted out the force field, but nearly fifteen seconds after hitting it, the tabby stumbled back, body jolting with several aftershocks, before finally collapsing to the floor, defeated. To be safe, the newest Swat Kat shot a sleeping dart into his exposed neck, ensuring that he didn't wake up anytime soon. The Creeplings, who'd been keeping their distance due to the music, screamed and scrambled towards the hole in the ground upon seeing their master defeated, disappearing in less than thirty seconds. When he was sure they were gone, the teen turned off the music, turning back towards the group behind the force field.
Shock, to say the least, was played out on all of their features. Of course, Feral, Callie, and the employees were all shocked by this sudden new addition to the vigilante duo, but T-Bone's and Razor's shock was different. They'd fought Dark Kat in the past, along with his minions, but they'd never thought of using sound against the pink monsters, allowing them to focus their energy solely on the super villain. And their friend had defeated the villain relatively quickly, though they were certain that if the young man wasn't as quick or agile, he'd surely have lost. As they continued to process what had happened, the newest Swat Kat dug in the unconscious feline's pockets, pulled out the remote, and hit the single button, deactivating the force field.
"So," Lonestar said, smiling under his mask, his bo staff shrinking back down to the size of a ruler, "how'd I do?"
T-Bone couldn't help but laugh, giving his own big grin as he walked over and gave him a high-five. "That… was incredible, buddy! Excellent job takin' down Mr. Dark an' Evil over here!"
"Well, I did my best," the human grinned, walking over to Razor. "The staff worked great; thanks, dude!"
"Glad you could join the party," the cinnamon Swat Kat said, grinning as well and giving him a hand shake. "Way to save our tails! And that bit with the music; very ingenious!"
"And who might you be," Commander Feral interrupted, finally getting over his surprise and walking over to them, towering over the trio.
Lonestar rolled his eyes, ready to have some fun. "Uh, weren't you paying attention earlier? You'd think that the head Enforcer would be a little more perceptive!" The kat's face flushed with rage, and the blond Swat Kat gave him a subtle thumbs up. "I'm Lonestar, or... you could just call me Swat Kat number three!"
"'Number three,'' the Deputy Mayor repeated, now walking over towards the group, a slightly confused and suspicious look on her face as she examined the new kat. "Why've you waited so long to… reveal yourself, may I ask?"
"Simple; I had to train, of course, and make sure that my uniform was up to bat before I went into the field."
"And why is your uniform so different from theirs," she asked.
Max gave a small frown under his mask; he wasn't sure why she was being so nosy (he expected Ann Gora to be the one asking these types of questions), but he hid his suspicions. "It doesn't really matter how different it is from theirs; it still serves the same purpose of hiding my identity, and shows that we're a team. But if that's not good enough for you, then let's just say that I have a particular set of skills that differ from my colleagues', and this particular garb allows me to fight crime more effectively." He now made sure she could see his narrowed eyes. "Is… that a problem for you, Deputy Mayor?"
Her skin flushed red under her fur, and she pursed her lips in an effort to keep from giving a quick retort. She knew that whoever was under this mask was the future visitor that was hiding out with the Swat Kats. Whoever it was, they were smarter than they appeared, and she knew that if she needed answers, she'd get none from him.
She smiled sweetly. "None at all. In fact, I wanted to commend you for saving our lives." She was back to playing the roll of the Deputy Mayor, all traces of distrust gone from her features. Whoever it was was still a male tabby, and they practically bent to her will with a little bit of flattery.
Lonestar was no exception, and he grinned under his mask. "No problem, ma'am. Just doing my job to help the city. Speaking of which," he added, turning towards his friends, "isn't this our cue to leave? We can leave him-" He indicated to the unconscious villain nearby. "-to Commander Feral here. Besides, we should probably let them know that you're safe before Felina starts the extraction process."
"Felina," the Commander cried, and he quickly grabbed his pistol and walkie talkie from the table, rushing out of the room, speaking rapidly into the device. The mint employees left after that, following the feline, talking amongst themselves about what had happened.
"Yeah, let's go," T-Bone said, he and Razor shooting their grappling hooks to the vent in the ceiling, Lonestar quickly following after them.
"Sorry we can't stay," Razor spoke up, climbing into the ceiling. "But we've got alotta work back at the lair."
"Nice meeting you," Lonestar called, giving the she-kat a small wave as he rose towards the ceiling. One by one, they disappeared into the vent, disappearing to who knows where; the roof, presumably.
Callie's grin instantly faded, the past few minutes replaying in her mind. Going over to the table, she grabbed her own communicator, bringing it to her mouth. "Ann? It's Callie. Yeah, we're fine, but you're not going to believe what just happened!"
Epilogue: Toyger Island
Dr. Viverral Void sat in his ornate sitting room, watching the news on the television. It was the same on every channel; a mysterious third Swat Kat member had shown up out of nowhere, saved everyone, single-handedly take down Dark Kat, then disappeared with T-Bone and Razor just as fast. Lonestar, his name was. Several mint employees gave eye-witness accounts, describing how the mysterious, tailless feline had taken out the bad guy and his army of minions.
" … it was something out of this world," the tabby on the screen said.
"Idiots," the scientist muttered to himself, his glasses reflecting the image on the TV. It had appeared that his escaped human was now to play a more active role in their society, hiding himself like a coward.
"He'll eventually become more confident," the kat said to himself. "The more he goes out to fight, the more I can observe. Eventually… he'll slip up, and when that happens, I'll be ready."
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and his butler Karson poked his head in.
"Sir," he asked, "we've received his next meal."
"Take it down and feed him," Void ordered, focusing back on the TV, pulling out a small journal from his pocket, jotting down a few ideas. The servant tabby nodded, leaving the room.
Out back, Karson paid the van driver with a wad of cash, dragging the kat-sized bundle out of the back of the car, heading towards the secret entrance to the hidden basement. He wanted to get this over with; they always delivered live kats, usually homeless ones they found in Megakat City, and knew that if it woke up, his job would get ten times harder. Making his way down the passageway, he eventually stopped outside a side door, pulling the feline behind him.
The room was dark, and the back half of it was shadowed in darkness, cut off by a pair of strong bars that were electrified. It smelled like urine and feces, as well as molting fur. Based on the slow breathing, the creature was at least asleep. Quickly turning off the electricity, he shoved the bag into the cage, shut the door, and quickly reactivated the current. Not wanting to watch what happened next, he quickly left the room, pausing in the hallway, ears cocked as he waited.
It was a few minutes before the homeless kat woke up, confused and yelling for help. Then, even from the hallway, he could hear the monster's low growl, and the butler took that cue to start down the hallway.
By the time he reached the end of the hallway, the meal was screaming as the monster tore it apart.
Note: I do NOT own A Quiet Place, "Carry On Wayward Son" song, written by Kansas, Lynyrd Skynyrd, or the song "Free Bird" in ANY way, shape or form.
