Hey everyone!
First off, I just realized I started writing this story over a year ago, with the first chapter being published on September 23rd, 2019. I had no idea back then how far this story would go, how popular it would become, and how much the world would change since then. It's been a constant in my life for over a year, and I just want to thank you all for sticking with me as I continue to write new chapters for this story. You all are the best!
Without further ado, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Dallas Dealings: Part Two
"I wonder how everyone else is doing," Callie said, looking at the human city from the top of the Reunion Tower. "What if Void doesn't show up here?"
"He will," Jake assured her.
The deputy mayor hugged her arms, looking worried. "I almost wish he would show up already," she said. "I can't stand standing here, not knowing what's going on!"
"We can do a quick check in, if it'll make you feel better," the Swat Kat offered, turning on his communicator. "T-Bone? You up there, buddy?"
"Razor," his friend called over the radio. "How're things going so far? Any sign of Dr. Doofus?"
"None yet. Ann and Johnny went down into the tower to see if he was there. Any news from Max or Feral?"
"Not a word. I get the occasional noise from an Enforcer, but nothing much; sounds like they're not doing good down there. I was thinking of heading down there to help, once I finish explaining what's going on to the human air force."
"What," Callie asked, gaping at him.
"Yeah. Turns out they're pretty chill dudes; they're going to try their best to keep this country's entire army from storming in and capturing us."
"Go help Lonestar," Jake said. "We're good here for now. Once Gorgan's down, then bring everyone back here so we can head home together."
"Got it," Chance agreed. "Over and out!"
"Now for Johnny and Anne," Razor said, readjusting the frequency. "Johnny! Anne! Can you hear me?" There was no response, and he exchanged a worried glance with Callie. "Anne? Johnny? Everything good down there?" Still no answer. "Kat's alive!"
"What if Void's down there," the deputy mayor asked. "We need to help them-"
"But what if he isn't, and he shows up while we're both up here," the cinnamon kat argued back. "They could just be somewhere where they can't talk; there's supposed to be a lot of humans down there."
"But-"
"We can't risk it." He noticed her nervous expression. "We can't split up any further; we're already spread thin as it is. And we don't know for sure that they're in trouble. They communicators could be turned off because they're sneaking around, there could be some signal interference-"
"I know all that," Callie interrupted, hugging her arms. "I'm just… worried, is all. How do you and Chance deal with all this uncertainty all the time?"
"It's not easy," Jake admitted. "That's one of the reasons we were so hesitant to let you all help us. While there's more katpower, the chance of something going wrong increases, and decision making is more difficult."
"Wow… I can believe you two have been doing this for so long," she said.
"Yeah… hero work isn't as fan as it seems. I mean, most of Megakat City loves us, but we have to make tough decisions all the time… Sometimes, we wonder if the decisions we made were the right ones." They were silent for a few more moments, the wind the only noise on the roof.
"I… know this probably isn't the best time to ask," Callie suddenly said, "but… even after you realized that hero work isn't so easy, why did you keep doing it?"
Jake gave her a seriuos look. "Because by the time we realized it, we knew that we couldn't stop," he explained. "We realized that… the city needed our help, and even if we found it difficult at times, we now had a responsibility to protect everykat from danger." He smiled at her. "Including a certain deputy mayor, if I might add."
Callie blushed, smiling as well. "Well, I'm glad you did," she said happily. She looked out through the bars that made up the ball structure around them. "If we weren't in danger or about to fight a supervillain, I would almost find this place romantic."
"R-Really," Razor stammered, now blushing a little. "You… I mean…" He shook his head. "After this… we should come back here. Max has told me about so many places in his world that sound beautiful… We could see them together."
The deputy mayor smiled, and they both reached out their hands and the same time, holding each others hands for support. "I would love that."
"Aww," a sarcastic voice said from behind them, and they whirled around to see Dr. Void as he stepped through a swirling portal onto the roof, a simple briefcase in his hands. "Enjoying your last moments before your destruction?"
"You're not attacking this world," Jake said, stepping in front of Callie and aiming his Glovatrix at the villain. "We won't let you. We're taking down your son and-"
"I don't care if you kill that monster," Void said dismissibely. "It's a bit of a pain, really. He has served his purpose." He set the briefcase on the ground, opening it and taking out a single syringe. "I now have the perfect formula to turn every human in this city into a kat monster like him."
"That's not enough for an entire city," Callie said suspiciously.
Dr. Void smirked. "This is for me," he said, and injected the solution into his arm.
His limbs started to shake as he dropped the syringe. A low growl came from his throat, getting louder as the kat grew, becoming more muscular and viscous-looking. The two heroes gpaed in shock as the kat morphed into a monster, and jumped when it laughed at them, flexing its long claws.
"And now," the Void monster said, "to make quick work of you."
[]
Commander Feral, meanwhile, had ran towards the charter bus, a stupid plan in his mind. Normally, he would not consider such plans, but desparate times call for desparate measures [or maybe those cruddy Swat Kats were starting to rub off on him]. He managed to pry open the door, climbing up the steps towards the driver's seat.
"Gotcha," Feral muttered, finding the key to the bus sitting on the seat.
"Freeze," he heard someone yell from behind him, and the kat did so, immediately putting his hands up. "Now turn around real slowly… whatever you are."
Feral did so, finding a human being in blue clothes standing outside the bus, pointing a gun at him. The human looked liked an officer of some kind, given the badge on her shirt and the hat on his head. The kat and human stared at one another for a few seconds, each shocked by the other's appearance. Feral then coughed, covering his mouth and hunching forward a little bit.
"Don't move," the human ordered, her hands shaking a little. "What… You're one of those alien things, aren't you?"
"Yes, technically," the kat replied, covering another cough. "I am Commander Feral of the Megakat City Enforcers. I take it you're some kind of peacekeeper in this world."
"I… y-yes," she stammered. "I'm Officer Jones. Selena Jones."
Feral flinched for a moment, noting how similar her name was to Felina. "I'm not your enemy," he said, covering a few more coughs. "I and my fellow Enforcers-"
"You mean those aliens that keep appearing and disappearing?"
"Yes. We're here to stop an invasion."
"Seriously," Selena asked, giving him a suspicious look. "How do I know you're not with that giant kat that's tearing up the plaza right now?"
Feral groaned, wondering if all humans were this dumb and suspicious. "If I wanted to attack you, I would have done so-" A round of hacking coughs cut off his sentence, and he sat down in the driver's chair, waiting for them to subside.
"Are… you okay," the human officer asked nervously.
"Yeah… it's just this sickness called cancer-"
"Cancer," the woman repeated, her face blanking. "My dad has cancer."
"Wait, cancer exists in this world?"
"Yeah. He currently has state four-" She hesitated. "Why're you here if you're sick?"
"I'm helping a pair of vigilante kats and their human friend stop an evil scientists from turning your species into an army of monsters like that one out there," Feral explained.
Selena's mouth dropped open in shock. "This is just like a movie or something," she muttered to herself. Then out loud she said, "Well, why aren't you fighting with the rest of them?"
"Hello? I'm dying of cancer," he reminder her, coughing a couple more times. "And my kats aren't doing so well out there. I had a plan to drive this bus into Gorgan-"
"Who?"
"The monster kat."
"Oh… what's a cat?"
"I'm a kat! I was going to try to knock it unconscous so we can defeat it easier! There are also four kats at the… what is it called.. That tower with the ball on top of it"
"The Reuinion Tower," the officer gasped.
"Yes! That's where the mutagen gas is going to be released!"
"Oh shit," she muttered, holstering her gun and grabbing her walkie talkie. "I don't think you're lying about all this. Even if you are, I can't risk innocent lives being at risk." She turned on the device, telling them everything she had just been told.
"Now if you'll excuse me," Feral said, "I have to figure out how to drive this thing."
"You can't drive that," the human officer exclaimed. "You could die if you hit that monster too fast! Or you could crash the bus and hurt someone!"
"Then what would you suggest I do?"
Selena looked thoguhtfull for a few moments, then got an idea. "Your shoe!"
"What about it?"
"Use it as a wedge to keep the gas pedal down, then jump off the bus as it starts to move," she explained. "I technically can't let you leave anyway; we're under orders to arrest all of you cat creatures."
"How would I steer," the kat asked, stiffling antoher cough.
"You would have to aim it beforehand. Drive it in the drection you want to go then do the shoe thing."
"But they keep moving around so much. How will I know it will hit him?"
The cop looked uneasy. "I… don't know," she admitted. "But you can't kill yourself. I can try to get some snipers out here to help take that monster down-"
"Sniper bullets don't work. We tried it back in Megakat City but it didn't stop him from killing-" He stopped talking, trying not to think about what happened to his niece.
Selena noticed this. "I.. take it that thing killed someone in important to you."
"... Yes," the Enforcer commander admitted. He starightened up. "But I can't let that distract me from doing my job. I have to protect my fellow kats and my world."
"Then… I'll help you." The officer clilmbed into the bus. "It's my job to protect this city, and I have to make sure you don't cause any more collateral damage."
"I don't need your help," Feral snapped, coughing again.
"Yes, you do," she said. "Together, we will both survive and take that monster down." She held out a and to him. "Deal?"
The kat gave her a suspicious look. He was already wary of Lonestar, and he had known this human for less than a minute. But there was something about here… something about her personallity, perhaps, that reminded him of Felina. She seemed determined, and he knew he couldn't get rid of her even if he tried.
"Fine," he said, shaking her hand. She yelped and drew her hand back. "What?"
"Sorry," she said apologetically. "Your hand's just… fuzzy."
The Enforcer rolled his eyes. "Yep… this is gonna end up great."
[]
Johnny ducked as the first bullet whizzed over his head, shatter the glass window behind him. He looked up to see the butler aiming at him again, but then was knocked to the ground by an invisible force.
Ann, he thought happily, climbing to his feet in order to help his girlfriend.
"What the-" The butler's gun was knocked out of his hand, and it skittered across the food away from him. "Ah… I see we're not alone," the evil kat grinned, sniffing the air. "Ah… Miss Gorra."
"Get away from her," the kamerakat yelled, leaping forward and tackling the butler back to the ground. "Ann! Grab the gun!"
"Got it," her disembodied voice said, and he felt her arm brush against him.
"Aw… love," the butler sneered. "You two are stupid if you think that's going to help you defeat my master!"
"It's worth a shot," Johnny yelled, clawing at the butler's face. The butler responded in kind, and the two of them were soon in a viscious kat fight, trying to gain the upper hand. By now, the humans had all run off, and some distant alarm was going off in the building. Eventually, the butler pulled a knife from his pocket, stabbing down at the kamerakat. Yelping, the tip cut Johnny's arm, tearing his sweater and making him let go of the villain. The evil kat took the opportunity to bring the blade to the kamerakat's neck, grinning triumphantly.
"Where's your love now," he snarled. "She's probably run off and left you!"
A clicking noise came from behind him, and Johnny turned to find a floating gun aimed right at the butler. "She's right here," Ann's voice said, and the gun fired, hitting the butler in the shoulder. The evil kat snarled with pain, dropping the knife. Johnny pushed the kat off of him, aiming a quick punch to the face to knock him out.
"...Woah," Ann's voice said, and a second later, she popped into view. "I… really didn't like that."
"I know," Johnny said kindly, standing up and giving her a hug. "He's still alive, at least. We should tie him up and see if we can get some answers once he wakes up."
"No… need." They turned around to find the butler kat awake, looking up at him with a scathing glare. "My master will be here momentarily on the roof. He will make quick work with you and this other world."
"Why are you telling us this," Ann asked him suspiciously. "Finally seeing the error of your ways?"
"No… but you'll still fail." He laughed a little. "And I can't wait to see you fail!" He laughed again, then he fell unconscious.
The two kats exchanged frightened looks, then, each of them grabbing a leg, dragged the butler kat towards the roof.
Looks like things are about to get more radical! See you all next chapter!
