Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
MisaRae, Thank You again for coming along for this journey.
A Brief Reminder:
The radio broke the silence, "All units, Turmoil is breaking into the military base! Send back up immediately!"
T-Bone choked up, then said, "It's time. Caliber, do me a favor. If for some reason I do not survive this, please tell Empress that I will be waiting to marry her in the afterlife."
"If you think that I am going to tell Empress that, you have another thing coming! Besides, you are going to be coming back to her. Even if I have to go in there and kill Dark Kat myself. You are NOT going to break Empress' heart! Is that understood, T-BONE!?" Caliber said forcefully.
They landed at the base just outside the R & D facility and saw smoke. They ran towards the smoke to see what was going on. When they arrived, T-Bone and Caliber saw a hole in the wall that had obviously not been there originally. They each put on their Glovetrix and went inside.
Once inside, they came to a fork in the hall. Caliber and T-Bone exchanged a look, silently agreeing to split up in order to make the search go faster. Before they actually went their separate ways, Caliber paused a moment to give T-Bone a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then she said, "If you tell Empress or Razor that I kissed you, I will take your head off!" Then she said more quietly, "Be careful, and be sure to come back to us."
After they split up, Caliber ran into a bunch of creeplings trying to break into an office. Caliber fired a net from her Glovetrix and caught them all in one shot. She placed a paw on her right hip and said, "Let's see if you can do better than that, T-Bone." Then she gathered up the net and took the creeplings out to the awaiting Enforcers.
The Enforcers took one look at Caliber walking towards them, carrying the creeplings in a net, and their jaws dropped. She arrived in front of them, dropped the net, and then said, "What's the matter boys, a GIRL showed you up?" Caliber flipped her hair over her shoulder, then said, "Get used to it." As Caliber was walking back towards the building to continue her search, she overheard one of the Enforcers saying that she had a nice tail, and he would not mind taming that she-cat. She stopped in her tracks, turned around and walked back to the Enforcers. She got into their faces and said angrily, "Which one of you BOYS wants to have their tails whipped by, and I quote, 'The she-cat with the nice tail that I you would like to tame?' Well let me tell you two that I don't tame easily." Then she punched them both in the gut, since neither of them had the backbone to own up to their remark. Satisfied, she walked back into the building.
T-Bone was not having the same luck. He had searched for fifteen minutes, and has not found a thing. He continued walking down the hall until he found an open door. Before barging in, he took a good look at the door and the locking mechanism. He saw that it was an electronic lock that could only be opened by a pass card. Or it used to be. The reader had been ripped from the wall and smashed, shorting out the device and rendering it useless. He entered, holding his Glovetrix at the ready just in case. He didn't get far. T-Bone was tackled by a large number of creeplings that pinned him to the floor. Then he heard the sound of heels clicking along the floor. T-Bone looked up after the clicking stopped in front of him, and saw Turmoil.
Turmoil looked down and saw T-Bone looking back at her. She smiled, then said, "As much as I love having you at my feet, I have other plans for you, darling. Creeplings, bring him to the tank! Unharmed!" They did as they were instructed. The creeplings brought T-Bone to his feet and shoved him in the direction that they wanted him to go, not letting his arms free, even for a moment. When they reached the tank, one of the creeplings gave T-Bone a hard jab in the gut, bringing him down to his knees. Turmoil heard T-Bone let out an "Ooof" as he was hit. She turned to the offending creepling, pulled out a gun, and shot him. Then she turned and said to the rest of them, "Anyone else care to NOT follow my instructions?" Not hearing a single sound, she said, "Good. Place T-Bone in that chair and secure him," as she pointed to a chair by the tank.
Not wanting to cross Turmoil again, they placed T-Bone in the chair that she had indicated, and secured his hands and feet. T-Bone grunted and struggled against his bonds to no avail. They were just too strong for him to break free of. Turmoil walked over to him with an extra sway in her hips and placed a paw on his cheek, then she said to the creeplings, "Leave us. Now!" They scattered at her command. Turmoil leaned into T-Bone and gave him a suggestive purr, saying to him very softly, "This is part of the act. The tank is bugged. I can't talk to you any louder than this, or Dark Kat will hear. Play along." Then she backed up slightly, and said, "All that time I was locked away in prison, I dreamed of having you in my clutches. Now that I have, what am I going to do with you? The treachery that you committed on my ship cannot be forgotten easily. You will be punished for that in time. Although, there is another solution. I recall that you and I made a good couple, no? I thought we did. Especially when you kissed me the way that you did. I want to re-kindle that little spark and take over the skies again with you by my side. I can make it worth your while, T-Bone." As Turmoil spoke the last part, she started to stroke his arms and legs seductively, attempting to get a rise out of him and get him to see things her way.
T-Bone was having none of it. He said back to Turmoil, "You are as crazy as ever, Turmoil. Do you honestly think that I would give up what I have with Empress to be with you? I love her with all my heart and soul. She is going to be my wife once you and Dark Kat are in some big hole in the ground somewhere." He winked at her, just to let her know that he was playing along. At least, for now.
Turmoil slapped T-Bone hard across the face. Then she screamed, "Crazy? You call me crazy? What does this Empress have that I don't? I can give you power and riches beyond your wildest imagination. What can she give you? Love? Kittens? I can give you those too." Then Turmoil took out her gun again, aimed it at T-Bone's head, and cocked it. Then she said, "I really don't need you, T-Bone, just your plane. I can kill you right here and now, and Dark Kat will not care in the least. As a matter of fact, he will reward me for getting rid of you. Last chance, T-Bone. Be mine, or be dead. You have thirty seconds."
T-Bone thought to himself, "She sure can act. Katerina should be on stage somewhere, but instead, she is holding a loaded gun to my head. I had better continue with this act, or it might force her to do something rash." T-Bone said, "Alright, Turmoil. You want me that badly that you have to hold a loaded gun to my head. I will be yours. Just beware, I still love Empress, and the minute that I can, I will turn on you and run to her."
"That is what I figured you would say, T-Bone, but in time, I will make you forget this Empress. I am going to free you now, but I am going to keep my little friend here aimed at your head. Just to make sure that you do not do anything foolish." Turmoil grabbed a knife with her other paw, and cut T-Bone free of his bonds, while keeping her gun trained on him.
T-Bone got up from the chair once his bonds had been cut. He rubbed his wrists to get some blood back into his paws. He said to Tumoil, "So, now what? We fly back to Dark Kat, where he gets my jet and you get me? Or do you have something else in mind?"
"You will be mine, darling. After you help Dark Kat get into the Treasury and take control of it. First we have to get you and the TurboKat back to his lair, and prove that you are loyal to him. Let's go, flyboy," Turmoil said as she placed the barrel of the gun against his back.
T-Bone walked back to the TurboKat with Turmoil training her gun on him. He opened the canopy and helped her into the gunner's seat. T-Bone then got into the pilot's seat, lowered the canopy, and started the engines. They took off, heading for Dark Kat's lair.
Caliber heard the TurboKat start, and ran back to the landing site. She saw the TurboKat take off and streak off into the sky. Caliber turned on her communicator and said into it, "Razor, Empress, I need a pick-up. Stage one has been completed."
Empress was in heaven. She took to riding the Cyclotron like riding a bike. Once she got the hang of starting off from a complete stop, she had no problems riding it. The feeling of the wind flowing through her hair was unbelievable. The raw power of the Cyclotron under her control was very addictive. Empress maneuvered the Cyclotron through the traffic of the city with ruthless precision, even if her actual driving was slightly reckless.
Razor, on the other hand, was glad that Empress was able to gain control over the Cyclotron so quickly, but nervous about the dangerous moves she was making. She was darting in and out of traffic at high speed. Finally, as Empress almost got his tail caught in the door of a truck, he said to her, "Empress, the city isn't exactly the safest place for you to learn to ride. Why don't we head out towards the mountains over to the west? We have a training ground out there where you can really open the Cyclotron up and not have to worry about city traffic."
"Roger that, Razor, but before we go, there is one more stop I'd like to make," Empress said, before twisting the throttle wide open and taking off uptown towards the park. Razor was holding on for dear life as she proceeded to get the Cyclotron up to over 90 miles an hour on the streets of the city.
Empress looked in the mirror and saw the scared look on Razor's face. She smiled and said, "What is the matter, Razor? Don't like the way I drive?"
"You drive fine, Empress. Actually, you drive better than T-Bone. But 90-plus miles an hour in Midtown is not exactly what I call 'Safe Driving'. Care to back it down to just below the speed of sound?" Razor said, while holding on to the frame of the Cyclotron.
Empress did slow down, just in time to jam on the brakes and swing the back end of the Cyclotron into a parking space on the opposite side of the street. She then said, "This place has some of the best ice cream that a cat could want. Come on, Razor. You're buying." She got off the Cyclotron and went inside. Razor remained on the Cyclotron until his stomach calmed back down after Empress' parking job, then he got off and joined her inside.
The patrons and the workers all stopped what they were doing as Empress "parked" the Cyclotron in front of the store. They were even more stunned when the pair walked in and stood in line. The owner came out of his office and personally took care of them. He asked, "What can I get you two today?"
Empress and Razor looked at the menu board and made their decision. Empress wanted a hot fudge sundae topped with rainbow sprinkles. Razor just wanted a cup of chocolate ice cream.
"Coming right up," the owner said. Then he started working on their order.
As the two waited, Razor looked at Empress and asked, "Where did you learn to ride like that? I thought that you have never ridden before."
Empress turned to look at Razor, and replied, "My father taught me to ride when I was a teenager. He always had a motorcycle at the house, and I loved going out with him on long, Sunday rides. We would stop here on the way back, just to make my mother mad that he spoiled my appetite for Sunday dinner." Then Empress looked at the floor as her mood changed, before saying, "I want my kittens to be able to have the same happiness that I did when I was young, Razor. I hope that T-Bone gets this over with quickly. I miss him so much already."
Razor lifted her chin with his paw and said to her, "He will be back soon. His love for you is so strong that no matter what happens, he will come back to you like a boomerang. When he does, you won't be able to get rid of him."
Their order came out, and the owner refused to accept any payment. He said, "For what you SWAT Kats do for the city, this is the least that I can do."
The pair thanked the owner, walked out of the store, and ate outside. Empress continued to tell Razor stories from her kittenhood, and all of the good times that she had. Razor just sat and listened as Empress talked. He thought to himself, "T-Bone, you are one lucky tom to have the love of this she-cat. You had better treat her well, buddy."
Razor was pulled out of his thoughts when Empress asked, "What about you and Caliber? You ever thought about settling down with her and having a family? You both seem really happy when you are together."
Razor developed a lump in his throat. He did love Caliber, and he wanted to settle down with her, but he was still afraid of being hurt like he had been back in college. He hung his head and replied, "I am in love with Caliber, Empress. I can't stop thinking about her. She is the last thing I think of before I sleep, and the first thing I think of when I wake up. When we are together, I feel like the happiest tom there is, and when I am apart from her, I don't feel complete. I don't know if T-Bone has ever told you, but I was in love with another she-cat back in school. She was in my Bio class. I was tutoring her, and we hit it off. We went everywhere together, did everything together. We even graduated together. Before the graduation ceremony, I scrounged up the courage to ask her for her paw in marriage. She laughed and told me that not only would she not marry me, but she had just been using me in order to pass her classes. I have not dated since then, that is, not until I met Caliber. She never pulls any punches, she is always honest, and she seems to return my feelings. I just don't want to be hurt again, Empress. Why is this so difficult?"
Empress placed a paw on his shoulder and said, "I see the way that she acts around you. She is not the same she-cat that lived next door to me anymore. Caliber is deeply in love with you, Razor. She sulks and gets real moody when she is not with you, and when she is with you, she is just, I don't know… She acts like a giddy teenager with her first crush. Believe me, Razor, Caliber would never hurt you. It's not in her nature."
Razor's and Empress' communicators beeped, followed by Caliber's voice saying, "Razor, Empress, I need a pick-up. Stage one has been completed."
Empress said, after hearing Caliber's voice, "Speak of the She-Devil herself," then she picked up her communicator and said, "We will be there in ten, Caliber. Don't get into any trouble, at least not without us." Empress got up, turned to Razor, and said, "Let's go get your girlfriend before she does something that we will all regret. By the way, I am driving."
Razor quickly got up, cleaned up the table, and as Empress made the declaration that she would be driving, he looked up at the sky and said, "T-Bone, you had better come back soon! I can't take much more of Empress' driving!" He got on the Cyclotron behind Empress, and held on for dear life as she left a streak of tire rubber in her wake.
T-Bone and Turmoil landed on the wharf. T-Bone got out of the TurboKat, then helped Turmoil out of the jet. Turmoil's feet hit the ground, but her gun never left its target. Turmoil said, "Come, T-Bone. Let's get you settled and into something more comfortable."
Turmoil and T-Bone walked through the tunnels to Turmoil's room. They walked in, and Turmoil said, "Make yourself at home, T-Bone. You are going to be here for a very long time." Then she turned, closing and locking the door before leaving to find Dark Kat. T-Bone looked around his new 'home' and felt his spirits sink as he realized that he was in deep trouble. He thought of Empress' smile, and the sight warmed him. He sat down in a chair, and started to think of how to get out of this as fast as possible, and get back to Empress.
Turmoil made her way back to Dark Kat's planning area, where Dark Kat was waiting for a progress report. Turmoil reported that T-Bone was locked in her room, and that the TurboKat was outside, hidden on the wharf. Dark Kat seemed pleased. Turmoil was about to leave, when Dark Kat said to her, "Turmoil, he had better be totally under your control by nightfall. Otherwise, I am either going to have to use the neutralizer that you stole from the base and make him a mindless slave, or have him euthanized. I don't care how you do it, just make sure that it is done. Use that body of yours. Clearly, toms appreciate the way you look. Use it to your advantage. Is that understood? By the way, I had your room bugged while you were gone, so I can hear exactly what goes on in there."
Turmoil stopped in her tracks. Dark Kat was telling her to use her body as a tool in T-Bone's brainwashing. Turmoil thought to herself, "He is not going to like that at all." Although, she had to admit, the thought of having him love her the way that he loved Empress was dangerously appealing. Turmoil replied to Dark Kat, "I will do what has to be done, Dark Kat." She left Dark Kat, and walked back to her room.
She arrived at the door to her room, and sighed before unlocking it. Turmoil opened the door and went inside, before closing the door and locking it behind her. She walked over to where T-Bone was sitting, and when she got there, she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her paws dangle down over his chest. Then she leaned over, so her mouth was close to his left ear, and said ever so softly, "This room is bugged also. Dark Kat wants you under my spell by nightfall, by any means necessary. Follow my lead if you want to get back to Empress." Then she licked his ear and moved her left paw to the zipper on the front of his G-Suit, pulling it down slowly, while her right paw slipped inside, feeling his muscles as they were exposed.
T-Bone froze as Turmoil started undressing him. Not only did he not want her, but he was going to have to play her game in order to get out of there. He turned his head to meet her lips, and drew Turmoil into a passionate kiss. After a few seconds, he brought her head down so he could whisper into her ear. Then he said, "I'll go along with this, to a point, just to make it seem real to Dark Kat. But I will not make love to you or make out with you, period! I will not cheat on Empress with you, even if it costs me my life!"
Turmoil nodded in agreement, but continued to pull down his zipper and play with his exposed fur. T-Bone moaned at her caresses, as any actor would, then he claimed her mouth with his and got up out of the chair. He picked her up and carried her over to the bed, where they pretended to please each other for the rest of the afternoon.
Razor and Empress arrived at the wharf to pick up Caliber, with Razor looking a little worse for wear. Caliber took a good look at the green-faced Razor, and said to Empress, "What did you do to him?"
Empress looked at Razor in the mirror, brought her paws up to her mouth, smiled, closed her eyes, and giggled for a few seconds. Then she opened her eyes, brought her paws back to the handlebars, turned to look at Caliber, and said, "When you called, we were eating ice cream at a shop that I went to as a kitten. We wanted to get over here as fast as possible, so I drove like T-Bone. I guess getting the Cyclotron over 120 miles an hour and weaving through traffic was too much for him."
Razor got some of his composure back, took off his helmet, and said, "No offense, Empress, but T-Bone does not drive that aggressively. He does take risks as he drives, and takes the most ridiculous short cuts, but he never, and I mean never, attempts to go between two tractor trailers doing 100 miles an hour going the wrong way down a one way street, nor has he ever kicked the rear end out on the Cyclotron to make a 270 degree turn at plus 10Gs! I think I left my spleen back there." Then Razor turned away from the girls as he 'Lost His Lunch'.
In unison, Empress and Caliber cringed and said "Eww," before laughing at Razor's misfortune.
Caliber stopped laughing and said, "I guess I had better drive back to the hangar, then. Razor can't take too much more. Sorry, Empress. I know you were having fun. We can go back out once we drop off Razor, so he can find what is left of his stomach." Caliber got onto the Cyclotron in front of Empress. Razor placed his helmet back on, relieved that Caliber would be driving.
Caliber took a page from T-Bone's book and said, "Razor, honey, I know of a short cut that will get us back to the hangar in no time." Razor went wide-eyed as Caliber gunned the Cyclotron and popped the clutch, leaving a large strip of rubber and a plume of tire smoke behind them.
End of Chapter.