MISSION 6:

Tail Nabber Strikes

Quick note: Changing the chapter names for 4 and 5. Some minor clean up for the past chapters.


Above the sky, two Turbo Kats have been fighting each other for the past hour. The fight ended once the good versions of Chance and Jake blocked their bomb bay, effectively sticking the duo with the bomb they were supposed to drop.

"The bomb's stuck!" Jake yelled out.

"You stupid-" Chance attempted to say until the bomb went off. His life flashed before his eyes briefly, and he regretted all the decisions that led to this. The jet was disappearing, and so was he as he futilely tried blocking with his arms. The inside started to break, and a sharp glass above cut the tabby's head. He heard a scream, but he was unsure if he had just heard it or if his mind was playing tricks on him.

It was brief. Chance and his partner in crime disappeared as it appeared they had exploded from the bomb.

A couple of miles away from the city, towards Megakat Bay, the pair reappeared with a destroyed Turbot Kat. The jet freefell down to the waters below like a brick and slammed to the waters below. Chance had monetarily passed out and woke up to the sight of water, making him wince as he prepared.

BOOM!

Chance jerked awake, sweating a storm and his heart racing. His breathing was erratic, and he felt his heart would burst. He looked around for help expecting to hit the waters soon, and his inability to swim to save himself. He noticed he was in a dark room, on a bed, and realized he would not crash in the water.

"Where am-" Chance said, still trying to calm down until he heard a bang. He winced, looking to his side and seeing a familiar human in an awkward position as he slept. His mind finally remembered his situation, and the boy was his responsibility.

Chance let out a rumble, deciding to give the kid a good flick in the head as he got off his bed. He was about to do it, went his temper slowly dissipated. He sighed and sat on the bed beside the boy. He looked to the floor and then back at Ethan.

Ethan had turned his whole body 90 degrees so his feet were touching the wall and his head was on the side hanging. The kid was drooling again and had already thrown his pillows on the floor, showing the mess below. Chance considered buying a camera to start Ethan's sleeping position's galleria. Ethan began moving off the bed and slowly drifted toward the floor.

"Stupid kit, " Chance hissed and put his paw to stop the kid from falling.

"Ah….what….what?!" Ethan said, snapped out of his sleep, and saw Chance holding him. "Chance? What are you-"

"You idiot, you were about to fall on the floor."

"I was? Oh?" Ethan grumbled, getting help from the tabby to raise himself to sit. The boy was still out of it and was bobbing his head back and forth, rubbing his eyes and facing the wall. "Uh…thanks? Um…what time is it?"

Chance looked at their clock, "About five in the morning, an hour early from our usual start time."

"You mean yours," Ethan corrected, "Why can't you just let me sleep in? God, you and your military time regiment….this is abuse on so many levels!"

"Well, don't blow up the kitchen next time. Plus, Tina wanted to start on time with you early in the morning."

Ethan groaned, "I said I was sorry, alright? Jason already gave me a hard time yesterday, and I didn't learn anything except he hates me with a passion. What's his deal? I didn't do anything!"

Chance and Ethan sat facing opposite walls. Ethan was grumbling something incoherent and trying to sleep in his sitting position. Chance watched the boy, thinking about something before putting his large paw on the kid's head.

"Let's go get breakfast before your studies. You can pick the place this time," Chance said, turning his attention away as the boy looked at him with a surprised look.

"Seriously?!" Ethan shouted, making the tom wince and fold his ears, "Oh…um, sorry. Let's go to that bagel shop we passed that one time."

Ethan quickly got off his bed, grabbing his mask and neckerchief. Usually, he would drag his feet, and Chance would have to carry him awake, but the boy's first time picking excited him. He was prepared quickly and waited for the tom.

"You coming or what?" Ethan said, wondering what was holding Chance.

"Say kit, why do you take that thing around you whenever we go?" Chance asked, pointing at the kit's neckerchief, "A bit big for you, ain't it?"

Ethan touched the item in question and tenderly played with it in one hand, "Don't worry about it….look, let's just go."

Chance shook his head, looking at the ceiling for patience as usual. Ethan has been sharing his magic development with him and Evelyn, but the boy would brush them off when they asked things about his past. The kid was an enigma to them, and June kept tabs on their progress. To him, flying a jet and working with Dark Kat was more straightforward than this.

A sudden tug on his arm snapped the tabby back, and he looked to see Ethan trying to pull him to the door.

"Come on, slowpoke!" Ethan grunted, not being able to move the kat an inch.

Chance looked at the kid with annoyance, sighing and standing up. He quickly grabbed the kid's head in the arm lock and led them to the door, flicking the boy's head.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Chance snapped.

"Gah! Stop flicking my forehead!" Ethan yelled but smiled as they were heading out.

They were unaware of Dante watching them from the shadows, following them outside their room, and focusing only on the boy with his Eyes of Revelation.

Ethan's magical barrier was still there. However, it was slowly smoothing out the kinks and issues like before, becoming less erratic and a gentle waterfall. It was far from stable, but it proved to Dante that the boy was practicing his control with the spell cards. Dante had attempted before to touch him again but went through again. He shook his head and looked back at Ethan's mana flow, staring at it more intently.

"Hmm…did this fool use my boost accidentally to increase his capacity forcibly? That would explain the mess I saw initially and where it went. Little fool! You could have avoided the first mess, though I'm glad you didn't perish. You and I are going to have some fun later," Dante whispered, already imagining all the trouble he could cause.


A few days passed, entering day seven of Ethan's punishment, and he hated every minute. The boy struggled with his lessons, and his teachers struggled to get him to understand the material. The boy had difficulty paying attention and would have trouble retaining the reading materials, leaving teachers like Tina and Jason in anger as they controlled the urge to wrangle his neck. It was Benson's turn, and he was dealing with the same barriers as the rest.

Ethan was fidgeting and would move around as he could not sit still in one place. He read a passage about historic kats who have contributed to kat society, such as the Masa founder, who paved the way for scientific exploration. However, Ethan struggled as he moved on to the questions and retained little of the long text. It pissed him off, and he angrily threw the papers aside.

"Fuck this! I'm done! I just can't remember anything," Ethan shouted, pacing back and forth in his room.

Benson sighed as he sat on Chance's bed and picked up the papers on the ground. However, he was eyeing the boy from the beginning and would note things down on his notepad. He heard from his other teammates about Ethan's habits and their annoyance, thinking they were wasting their time with the boy. Jake was already drawing the boy as hopeless. Tina and Jason told Mike to have them do something else as they were so close to hitting the kit. Initially, for the past two days, it was supposed to be Evelyn and Chance's turn to teach the boy, but Benson stepped up as he felt he could understand what was wrong and would report back to the group when he found his answer. However, this was difficult for him because his background was in adult behavior and psychology, not children.

Benson looked at his notes again and decided he had enough information. He went towards the door to leave momentarily, "Ethan, I'm going to step outside for a bit. Take a break, and we will restart later."

"Don't bother. It's not like it's gonna change anything," Ethan muttered, sitting on the corner of his bed and head down.

"I'm not giving up on you. You shouldn't either."

Benson began to walk down the hall, heading toward one of the emergency escape routes: some nearby stairs that led towards the above. He reached the end and looked at the hatch door, pushing it to appear near the wooden cabins in the middle of the forest. He swiftly closed the big hatch door, revealing it was hidden with a fake patch of red flowers and grass above.

Benson headed towards the nearby wooden benches, sat down, and lit a cigarette with his lighter. He took a couple of puffs and lazily dangled the cigarette as he stared at the foliage of the trees, dancing around with the slight breeze and enjoying it as he slowly accepted what he needed to do. After some self-deliberation, he grabbed his communicator and used its phone feature to dial some numbers.

There was a long ring until a gruff old voice could be heard.

"Scratch residence. Who is this?"

Benson stayed quiet for a bit. Hearing his father's voice on the other side, Murphy Scratch.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Murphy asked, giving a light chuckle, "James, this better not be one of your pranks again, or I'll tell your parents."

"Hey, pops, it's me, Ben," Benson spoke up, though hesitant.

Silence.

"….I thought I told you not to bother this family or me again," Murphy coldly said, changing his demeanor quickly. "I'm hanging up now."

"Wait, hold on, I'm not calling to catch up or anything related to me. I need your help as a doctor."

"My help?! What, did you knock someone up or something? Wait…do you have a kit?" Murphy whispered the last part.

"He's not mine. Just helping two of my associates kit. They thought I could help, I've tried, but kits are not my specialty."

"Which is why you called me."

Benson could hear his father sighing on the other side and muttering something. Benson tapped his claw on the wooden table and glanced back to the leaves above as he waited for a response.

"Fine, though, let's keep this conversation about the kit and nothing else. Is that understood?" Murphy firmly said.

"Yeah, I understand."


Back with Ethan, the boy got over his troubles and messed around with channeling energy into a card. However, the kid was extra careful this time as he remembered what happened a couple of days ago and the kitchen, which had been fixed, and kitchen furniture replaced.

It only took five days for Mike's contacts to come and fix it. Though they decided to leave the wall open since there was no point worrying about that, they just needed to clean the edges, so now you can enter the kitchen from anywhere. The team had been eating takeout till all of it was done. It annoyed them since restaurants were not nearby in their abandoned area, and it was a mission to drive there and return. Ethan also recalled all the glares from Jake, Tina, and Jason.

Dante would temporarily return and leave when he was recharged, rarely staying with Ethan, but did laugh at the kit's misfortune with the kitchen incident. He had asked Ethan what happened, which the boy embarrassingly retold to his teacher. Ethan was channeling mana about one-fourth of the way when he got distracted and accidentally sacrificed some of his blood, accelerating the process and making the magic unstable. Dante told Ethan that it appeared the spell was explosion magic though it was supposed to be a little bomb, and Ethan just increased the output.

Ethan would beg his teacher to show him how to do magic as he did at the beach. Dante ignored the boy, warning that what he did at the beach was sporadic magic – randomly summoning those spectral hands without any proper incantation or groundwork. Concentration was the key focus so Ethan would not hurt himself like last time and do magic properly.

Before Dante left today, he also cautioned the boy not to leave the cards around if he were to accomplish finishing the spell card. Anyone can set off the spell card, regardless if they had magic or not, and they only need to chant 'activate.' Ethan was surprised by this revelation and asked why this was possible. Dante took a moment before remembering something and only mentioned that wizards way back would give spell scrolls to the common folk so they could protect themselves or fight off monsters when they needed more firepower.

"Ass…couldn't bother to watch me do this," Ethan grumbled, recalling Dante disappearing like before, "I'll show him something that will blow him away….eh wait…well, let's not do that."

Ethan paced back and forth as he channeled mana to the card, which was slow, and he had to be extra careful when he felt he was tapping into something other than it. Ethan had realized these past few days that if he loses focus but does not overshoot, the card will dissolve and destroy itself, marking it a failure. However, Ethan was better at this than in his education classes and more focused. Additionally, walking around while focusing on the card has helped, and he was steadily improving.

"A water to a cup…water to a cup," Ethan said, imagining in his mind what Dante told him.

Through the naked eye, the boy was holding a card. However, if someone was a certain kat with Eyes of Revelation, a small mana flow was transferred from the boy to the card, which the boy could sense was like water draining down the hole of a sink. It was a minor fire spell, but Ethan needed time to prepare it as this was still too new, and the fear of failure made him extra cautious.

Ethan's eyes widened when he saw the symbol glow on the card and disappear. He cursed himself when he realized he had lost concentration and ready himself for another failure, but the card remained in his hand. He was unsure and placed the card on the bed, testing it out, and it remained intact. The boy shook, fist-pumping the air and looking around the room with a smile until he realized he was the only one there.

"Oh yeah….right," Ethan whispered, his smile dropping and looking at the door. The boy wanted to show Evelyn or Chance what he's done but was still stuck in his room. He groaned and gently dropped back to his bed, wondering what to do, quickly glancing towards Chance's closet.

Ethan smiled, rapidly heading towards the closet furniture and opening it. He went to the lowest cabinet and grabbed one of the comics, another issue of 'Kat Kommandos,' which introduced a new hero called Black Kat. This new hero used his detective skills and powers to help the main heroes track down the dastardly villains holding one of their heroines captive. Black Kat used his powers like Black Gate, a gate that allowed this kat to travel and show up at different locations, and Black Echo, which allowed him to touch items that would create projections of what occurred. The boy was enthralled by this new hero and found him appealing to see in action.

"I wish I could do this," Ethan mumbled while watching the panels on how Black Kat uses his powers, focusing hard on Black Kat's explanation of his powers and his actions. The boy gently left the comic on his bedtable and sighed at his lack of unique abilities. "Man, would it be a dream come true to do things like that!"

Ethan stretched, deciding to pace around the room for a bit before thinking of what else to do. However, the boy stopped when he looked at the bedtable. The magical book and the comic were sitting next to each other. The kid pondered something and thought back to what Dante said. Creating a spell requires an idea and barriers for it to work. If it is too easy, the magic will be weak. If it is too hard, the spell will be challenging. So what if it's the middle? Technically, his teacher told him to focus on his concentration lesson, but the boy was getting impatient and would finish all the comics at this pace leading to boredom.

"Well…better than nothing, I suppose?" Ethan said, "So, barriers….hmm."

For Black Echo, he imagined himself using it where he needed to touch something for it to work, requiring complete concentration and build-up so he could activate it. After chanting the spell, the spell would start going based on what he wants to see. Additionally, he would create another condition that varies based on the length he wants to see. The longer the time frame, the weaker it is; the shorter the time, the clearer the picture. If he wants to change an item's time frame, he needs to use his magic to deactivate the first choice and use more magic to pick a different time and length.

For Black Gate, it was easier as he imagined using energy to enter and exit, creating the barrier he had to move the same distance to reach his desired destination. However, he added the option to move freely if he spent more magic inside to increase the speed of arrival or get up somewhere. He envisioned a different plane of existence, allowing him to move around.

"Should I call them Black Echo and Black Gate? I wanna be original so…" Ethan trailed off, remembering his teacher told him he's a wizard of darkness, "Then…let's call it Shadow Echo? Hmm…Shadow Resonance! That sounds nice. And for the other one, Shadow Gateway!"

The boy looked around the room for something to grab. Seeing Chance's shirt he wore yesterday on his bed, the boy went towards it and touched the shirt. He imagined transferring magical energy to the shirt.

"SHADOW RESONANCE"

Ethan opened his eyes to see that nothing had happened. He frowned and sighed, ready to expect this if it didn't work. He went back to his bed.

"I thought it would work! Gah, I'm so freaking useless!" Ethan chastises himself, feeling hopeless and throwing himself back in frustration. "I wish it was like the car-"

Ethan's eyes widened, sitting upright and touching his chin. His teacher only told him the basics, but what if Dante held something back or forgot? What if there was another step? What if he needed to use magic to create the spell before he could use it? The card spells need to be written, activated, and finally read to use. So, it would mean his imagination and barriers were the written portion while using it in his chant and sending magic to the target would be the final step. So how does he activate the spell?

Ethan recalled going to his inner sanctum and wondered if it had something to do with it. The boy was desperate for results and assumed the position, slowly drawing mana for the spell and chanting it. Ethan's spectral body awoken in the space from before, and he quickly headed towards the pillars. Unsure what to do, he places his hand on the structure and closes his eyes, imaging the deck of cards and channeling more energy towards the pillar.

The boy felt something, but it soon disappeared and closed itself from him.

"Shit! I'm putting energy in, but it feels too slow to keep it going! I need more power!" Ethan shouted, kicking the dirt and pacing back and forth.

Ethan stopped, recalling his master's warning to use only mana when using the cards—substitution magic. The boy grinned slightly, thinking he might do it, and felt he had more experience. Of course, it was stupid, and the boy didn't want to risk losing something he needed, so he had to pick something he could get back.

"Blood?" Ethan muttered, looking at his hands and remembering when the squid injured him. He nodded to himself, "Yeah, I can use that!"

The boy placed his hand on the pillars and imagined both spells that he wanted to do. He imagined sending his mana and blood into his posts, feeling a slight chill as he felt drained. He felt something and reached for it, hearing whispers around him and a slight hum. The pillars shook in acceptance, certain symbols glowing and shooting beams in the middle of the rocky platform.

Ethan let go of the pillars, and like instinct, he headed back to the middle and assumed the position. The ball of energy dropped on the boy as he exited the inner sanctum.

Ethan opened his eyes, coming to his room and beaming excitedly. He got off his bed, but as soon as he landed his feet below, he felt unbalanced and started to trip forward. Ethan grabbed Chance's bed as his dizziness continued, feeling like he would faint. He scowled at the thought, attempting to fight it even as his heartbeat was beating fast. He paced his breath and gripped the bedding as he tried calming himself.

It took thirty minutes before Ethan felt comfortable to let go and slowly picked himself up. He felt exhausted and wanted to go to bed, but his stubbornness and eagerness pushed the boy forward and put his hand on his guardian's bed.

Ethan again imagined transferring energy to the shirt but kept his eyes open as they started to change and dark clouds formed in his hands. He did not mind this new thing and focused.

"SHADOW RESONANCE," Ethan shouted, the energy glowing before disappearing.

Nothing.

Ethan grimaced and expecting for it to work. The boy shook and gripped the bed sheets tightly, cursing his inability to do the spell. He released a shaky breath and turned around to head to his bed, accepting the defeat.

A loud snore was heard behind him, and the boy froze, realizing it was Chance's loud snore. The boy spun around and saw a shadowy figure of Chance sleeping, scratching his chest and grumbling something before turning to look at the side. Chance's shadowy figure wakes up, yawning, and scowls when he notices the boy on the side.

"How do you end up like that?" Chance's shadow said, heading towards Ethan's bed.

Ethan was confused as the tabby approached him and put his hands out, "What? Wait, you are going to-"

Chance's shadow goes through Ethan like a ghost, making the boy turn around and see the tabby eyeing his bed. It appeared this image was reenacting what occurred this morning, but he could only see what Chance was doing. The shadow eyed the bed and put his hands on his waist as he stared at Ethan's bed.

"Hmm…I should buy a camera when I get the chance to do so, " Chance whispered, before kneeling and shaking something, "Kit, hey, kit! Wake up already."

"…..Come on, let's get some breakfast…No, I am not giving you another minute….Get your tail up!" Chance growled, grabbing something and dragging someone to the door. "Don't make me carry you like a sack of potatoes."

Before Chance's shadow could reach the door, he disappeared, passing four minutes.

"Wait until Dante comes back. He's going to choke on a hairball," Ethan said, imagining the sweet victory and the exhaustion coming to him. He winced, grabbing his knees and trying to shake the feeling away. "Not…yet….I wanna try the other one."

Ethan's eyes fluttered, and he rubbed his eyes as his dizziness returned. It appeared that his excitement brought it back, and need to calm himself before continuing. He stood in the middle room for a few minutes before putting one arm up and then retreating it when he realized something.

"So how am I supposed to summon a door….hmmm….maybe it will appear when I say it aloud?" Ethan asked himself, shaking himself awake, "Okay….SHADOW GATEWAY!"

The boy's arms were aimed down, so energy shot below him. The boy was expecting a gate to appear before him and was alarmed when he fell, letting a surprised scream as the portal closed above him.


Everyone was called into a meeting in the briefing room to discuss their progress. Chance and Jake gave a short report on the progress of the Turbo Kat, saying it should be operational within two weeks. Tina and Jason had been investigating sudden strange activity in the desert but found nothing except sand in their shoes. Evelyn just told the team about their upcoming exams for the month. Finally, Benson was wrapping up his discussion about Ethan.

"…so I believe in short. We should alter our teachings and be more hands-on with Ethan. He also seems to be efficient verbally but struggles when reading extended text. I also recommend a one-to-one overview with the kit to see where-"

"So now we have to spend more time with him? Shit, I thought you were running a team here, not a middle school," Jason interrupted with his usual annoyance, looking at his boss. "I'm not going to go easy on him because he's stupid-"

"That's enough," Evelyn snapped, agitated with Jason and his usual chimes about the boy.

"And here we go! Right on fucking cue. Doc comes to save the alien yet again."

"Ethan needs help. We shouldn't push him away. How do you expect him to work with you?"

"I honestly rather lose my arm than help that little thing or have him watch my back. That brings me to another issue I have. That useless dud is our weapon?! The alien hasn't done anything except fall flat on his face, blow up our kitchen, and is a waste of space. I understand furball over there," Jason said, pointing at Chance sitting near Evelyn. "But come on….the kit was a one-hit wonder with the squid, and it nearly killed himself!"

Tina and Jake nodded in agreement. The three wanted to remove the alien, return to their usual free time, and not worry about babysitting someone. Chance sat quietly and only glared at Jason when he mentioned him. Mike, Benson, and Evelyn had disappointed looks at their team's eagerness to let the boy go. June said nothing but silently watched the whole drama with an unreadable expression.

Evelyn growled, "Shut it or-"

"Or what? I'm getting sick of you defending his tail. Are you with us, kats, or that alien? Oh wait…don't tell me," Jason paused, ignoring everything as he was angry and only could focus on hurting the she-kat. He laughed when he came up with something, "You're not trying to replace your-"

Jason could not get the words out till Tina grabbed his mouth, hissing at the stupid tom as she had an idea what he wanted to say. Tina gave an eye to Jason and shook her head. Her usual explosive attitude was gone and replaced with utter disappointment.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Tina whispered, letting Jason's mouth go and slowly looking towards Evelyn, who seemed to be hit by a truck and eyes shaking as she knew what Jason meant.

June was initially watching the scene unfold without care, but as soon as Jason dropped the ball, her eye hardened, and she stared at the tom with fury. Benson shook his head and crossed his arms at Jason. Jake and Chance were out of the loop as they needed to be more familiar or keep to themselves here. Mike looked the most disappointed out of everyone and looked at Jason with soft eyes.

Jason's ears dropped, understanding he messed up, but he could not face looking at Evelyn. He looked away, standing up and heading to the door. Before he could get close, Mike stood in his way.

"Hey, we are not done here. Just sit for a moment," Mike said, getting close to Jason's side to face away from the rest, whispering, "Hey, Jay, what the hell was that?"

"I messed up. Just let me go and walk it off before I say anything else. Can you tell Evelyn that I'm sorry?" Jason whispered, looking at the younger tom regretfully, "You know I didn't mean to say that…right, M?"

"I know…but you need to tell her that, not me," Mike whispered, looking back to see Evelyn being consoled by Chance.

Chance was confused, but seeing Evelyn frozen made him worry. He sat next to her and placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder. Evelyn stared back, jumping a bit as she didn't see Chance get close to her, and shook her head.

"I'm fine. I just needed a moment," Evelyn said, brushing his hand off her, "I appreciate the concern, but I'm not some poor she-kat that needs rescuing."

"I know," Chance then eyed the duo near the door, specifically Jason, "I won't pry about what just happened, but… I can send him to the infirmary, and you can finish him off there."

"Don't…it's okay. He's not like this…it's just that the kit triggers him. It's-"

A small portal appeared above Jason, and the sound of wind and something shredding open was heard in the room. Before anyone could react, the sound of Ethan's scream and appearance as he slammed down towards Jason, knocking the tom to the ground and acting as a cushion for the boy.

"Yes, finally out of there! I'm alive!" Ethan exclaimed, sitting up and putting his arms up in victory. He closed his eyes and patted the ground beneath him, "Thank god I landed on something soft."

"You little shit! Get off me!" Jason growled, wincing as the air got knocked out of him. He rudely shoved the boy and gripped his chest, "Son of a bitch! You landed on me, you alien scum."

Ethan let out a sound and scrambled off the ground. He finally noticed that he was in the briefing room, and everyone was inside. Ethan winced when noticing June but looked away to see Chance and Evelyn. Excitedly, he clenched his fist and went towards the pair, ignoring Mike helping Jason off his feet behind him.

"Guys, I learned something new! Actually, two new things and….Chance you snore like a truck," Ethan said, ignoring everyone but the two kats. "Um…you guys okay?"

Everyone was still processing what had occurred, only to be broken by Tina as she laughed.

"Good job, four twenty-three. How does it feel, Jason? Getting knocked down by a small fry like this? Ethan two and Jason zero," Tina said before continuing to lose it.

"That doesn't count! I just got ambushed by the alien!" Jason argued but winced as he held his chest, and Mike supported him to stand up.

Slowly everyone was snickering, and Evelyn let out a small smile. Ethan was confused but scowled at the nickname. The terrible mood washed away and was replaced with peace. However, one she-kat was not laughing, eyeing the portal above closing, and snapped her finger to get the room's attention. Silence followed, and everyone turned to look at June.

"Esmond, I believe that I told you that you were to stay in your room unless for basic needs. What are you doing here?" June sharply said, making the boy flinch and slowly turn towards her.

"I uh…uh…..got lost….going to the bathroom?" Ethan said sheepishly, putting his hands up to act ignorant.

"Hmm….is that so?" June said, leaning forward and watching the boy more intently, "Since you barged here to our meeting…seems like you are the next one to report….explain these two new skills you mentioned and their effectiveness in the field. You haven't improved your studies, so I hope this will compensate for it."

Ethan shuddered and scratched his arm. His confidence disappeared, and his eagerness to show it was gone. He looked away from his boss and stared at the ground. A hand touched the boy's shoulder, and he looked to see Evelyn standing next to him, and Chance was standing near, leaning on a table.

"Hey…it's okay. You got this," Evelyn encouraged, whispering the next thing she said, "Remember, we are both here to help you if you need it."

Ethan looked at Evelyn and then at Chance, who gave the boy an affirmative nod. He sighed and nodded at the pair, looking at June more confidently.

"So…let's see," Ethan began, thinking about his words, "Let's just say I can travel certain distances using my Shadow Gateway. It's hard to explain how it works, but I can avoid everything and appear elsewhere. You already saw it when I came in. I guess it would be good to get to places that are hard to reach?"

June didn't say anything, which made the boy shake, wondering if it was a good enough explanation.

"And uh…the other one is called Shadow Resonance. I can see past things that have occurred with kats. I just need to touch an item and think about a specific time. Uh….it's better if I show you. Let's see," Ethan said, looking at Evelyn and seeing a pen on her lab coat. "Can I use that?"

Evelyn nodded and handed the boy her pen.

"So, when did you get here?" Ethan asked.

"Around 2:50," she muttered, trying to recall the specific time.

"Okay…good enough….Shadow Resonance!" Ethan shouted, gripping the pen and a black shadow emerging from his hand that held it. The shadow leaped out of his hands and scurried toward the door.

At first, nothing occurred, but then the shadow of Evelyn appeared, entering the room. The shadow looked at some files, heading towards the area she sat at. Jason and Mike froze as the shadow approached them and casually went through them. The shadow headed toward where Evelyn's group stood and passed them to sit where the chair was originally at. The shadow dropped its files near, which made them disappear as soon as it let go and waved at someone entering the room.

"Hey, how're the repairs going?... I see….Are the two of you okay?... Well, I won't pry about your personal life. However, I'll lend an ear if you are willing to talk about it…. No, it's not a date, Chance, just a concerned teammate, " the shadow rolled its eyes and shook its head. It was about to continue till it disappeared.

Ethan sighed, still feeling dizzy and more drained than before, and holding onto the table nearby, "Damn it, I couldn't last longer….shit, I feel…" he groaned, grabbing the nearby table and dipping his head.

Everyone stood watching in awe and curiosity during the whole thing. Evelyn had stopped looking prior when noticing the child's paleness and short breathing, examining him and trying to figure out what had occurred. The doctor gently patted the boy's head and cursed on feeling the heat.

"How do you feel?" Evelyn whispered to the boy to give him some privacy from the others, "Are you feeling like you are going to faint, or do you feel sick?"

"I just…donated….some blood….no biggie….Eve," Ethan said, trying to stay awake and barely recalling what he said.

"Blood!?" Evelyn said, gripping the boy's shoulder and finally understanding. The boy gave all the signs of the after-effects of blood donation. Looking concerned, she looked at Chance and asked him to get close, "Go to the kitchen, grab some drinks with electrolytes and something light."

Chance nodded and went to the door, giving a stern glare to Jason before he left, telling the other tom not to do anything against the two. The tabby headed out and left.

Evelyn guided the boy to squat and lean forward to ease his pressure. She stayed with him, softly rubbed his upper back, and watched the boy, who groaned and had his hands on his face.

Chance returned after a few moments, gathering some things for Ethan to eat, and everyone just stared as the boy regained his balance. The boy looked miserable and tried to consume what the tabby brought him. June had kept her eyes on Ethan and waited until the boy seemed a bit better.

"Alright…" June continued, hands close to her face as she deeply thought of what to say next. She stopped, leaning back and smiling at everyone, "Continue improving them…your punishment ends today. That ends today's meeting, everyone."

"Huh? You mean…I'm no longer stuck in my room?" Ethan slowly said, head sluggishly, looking at June leaving the room without a care.

"That's right! However, I still want to see progress in your studies," June said, not looking back and waving her hand, "If I don't see passing grades, then everyone here will give you chores to do as punishment. If you cause any problems for them, they have my permission to give you more tasks."

"Chores?!" Ethan cried out, seeing some of the kats eyes light up at the prospect.


At Enforcer Headquarters, the city's shield and sword protected the citizens of Megakat City. A paramilitary law enforcement agency with multiple divisions in this enormous building was housed, which focused on different areas. Their Flight Unit was the most popular for recruits but the hardest to get into. However, nearly all recruits start at the bottom as ordinary foot soldiers who focus on police-like calls before they can apply for the programs they want to get into unless highly recommended or do well during their time in the academy.

Focusing on the Investigation Unit Division, a lone prominent figure stared at his chart of the vast city. The figure stood out among his peers. A few of his coworkers gave a disgusting look when they saw him around the office, and some tried their best not to stare rudely at the new hotshot detective. The minor hostility would be that this figure was half a kat and half cane which is apparent in his face. Kats were the dominant species of this world, but there was another intelligent life form on this planet though less in numbers due to past incidents between kats and canes. The figure paid no mind and would casually wave at his comrades.

On his desk, his name read 'Detective Winston B. Softpaw,' and he stared intensely at his graph. He looked like Saint Bearnard but with orange and white coloring, stripes on his arms and back, and kat-yellow eyes. He wore simple street clothes, and the only thing that showed that he was a detective was his badge and gun. He sighed and grabbed the file he was given a while ago about a serial killer on the loose. It was given to him like a joke since it's been marked unsolvable by prime detectives as the killer covered their tracks so well and kept changing locations in this big city.

"Where are you going next…." Winston muttered, following the red lanyard from the first kill to the previous one.

The victims were always kittens; the one thing connected them was the killer's signature, where he would cut off their tails and keep them as trophies, as other detectives have theorized. The Tail Nabber was the nickname the media gave the killer, terrorizing the city for years, popping back and forth before disappearing and reappearing later. Tail Nabber already killed thirty by Enforcer's count, and there might be more they don't realize. It would have been easier if the killer stayed in one sector but constantly migrated to new locations.

The mix stared at the files nearby, grabbing them, which had photos of the victims and the Tail Nabber's notes that he had recently started to leave near the bodies, his own stories on how he described how the monster was looking for a friend. Winston frowned at the notes, placing both hands together to meditate and focus his attention. His mind was filtering all the unnecessary facts and thinking heavily about what he would do if he was the killer. Kats are now wary about their kits being taken, so they have taken extra precautions so areas that the Tail Nabber has struck would be off the table.

"….maybe…." Winston whispered, reopening his eyes and eyes on Megakat Upper Valley, which is too far away from the other victim's locations. It was a sector of the city that never had any incidents with the Tail Nabber, but it was at the dead center with nearby sectors that did. "What if this kat is-"

"HEY, DOGGIE!"

Winston winced but weakly smiled at his two fellow detectives, Hill and Jones. He ignored their usual stare and their claws tapping on his cubicle entrance, trying so hard to make him reconsider joining the detectives. The pair was a black and grey kats that had made it a habit to bug him whenever they had the chance. Internally, Winston wished they could just let him be, but he knew all he had to do was stand up, which usually reminded everyone who was the taller being here.

"How can I help you?" Winston chuckled, towering over the two and casually scratching his ear, "You want to grab drinks or something?"

"Fat chance! We are doing our due diligence to ensure that our new hotshot is not ignoring his other cases," the black kat, Jones, growled, though backing a bit when the mix stood up.

"Yeah! Or is daddy going to pull strings for you?" the grey kat, Hill, spat.

Winston's smile dropped. He gritted his teeth and showed his fangs at the mention of his father. A rumble of his throat that was a mix of tiger and dog growl. He leaned closer to the kats, "Come again?"

Both kat's fur frazzled, and they popped their claws in response to Winston. The trio waited for the other party to start something until a loud cough was heard. They all looked to see a tiger, their Captain, from their division eyeing them to stop. The Captain signaled the toms to leave and the mix to follow him to his office. Both toms scoffed and went as they were told, giving one last nasty look at Winston.

Winston's ears dropped. Sighing and turning back to his cubicle to drop the files, he stopped when seeing Megakat Upper Valley again.


Mia looked less excited at the coffee shop than before and was zoning out as she played with her drink. She had been waiting for a bit, but Michael had not shown up, and she was pushing it with how late it was getting.

"Where is he?" Mia muttered, jumping off the chair and swinging her backpack behind her. She was very excited to talk to the tom again today. This became the norm when Mia left school and spoke to Michael about books before heading home. Though he was here before her, she wondered if he was running late.

Mia fixed her glasses and exited the coffee shop, barely managing to step one foot out when a familiar face appeared nearby. Her face beamed excitedly, and her tail swished happily as she approached the tom, who was holding a book in one hand.

"Micheal! Where have you been?" Mia said.

"I'm sorry. I had some troubles at work today. I hope I'm not too late," Michael groaned, putting his paw on his face.

"It's okay…but yeah, I have to go home, or my parents will cut my tail off," Mia said, glancing at the sky to see it was late.

"I feel bad…how about if I give you a ride home?" Michael pleaded, trying to appear regretful of wasting the kitten's time, "I don't want you to get in trouble!"

"It's okay. I don't live far away," Mia said, waving her hands and turning to go down a path, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Michael's eyes tensed up, making a fist with both hands as he watched the kit take several steps. Quickly swapping his look to a sad expression and ears down, "I'm sorry to say, Mia. But this might be the last time you see me."

Mia's ears perked, and she looked back at the tom confusedly, "Last time? What do you mean?"

Michael turned away from the kitten, smiling as he covered his mouth, "I lied. I lost my job today and can't afford to stay here. Sorry, you had to hear this, but this will be the last time I come here."

Mia shook, hugging Michael's leg from behind and gripping tightly. "You can't leave! You have been my only friend since getting here. I won't let you!"

"Sorry, kit, I can't stay here. I'm glad you consider me a friend," Michael said, brushing Mia's head and pushing her aside, "You should go. It's getting late."

Mia felt tears forming, and she watched the tom heading toward the back of an alley. She gripped her skirt and shook as the tom almost reached the corner.

"Wait!" Mia shouted.

Michael froze.

"Can you give me a ride home? If you still want to." Mia said, quietly sobbing, wiping the tear on her cheek and staring at the tom.

Michael turned back to face Mia with a smile. He nodded for her to come with him, heading towards the back alley a bit away.