Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
This chapter was a real pain to write! Thank You Misarae for making sense out of the mess that I made.
A brief reminder:
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.
After arriving at the hangar, Razor got off the Cyclotron and ran to the bathroom as fast as he possibly could. He almost made it, but he tripped over a driveshaft that was laying on the floor in the hangar. Razor went down hard, smashing the back of his helmet against the floor. He rolled onto his left side, then vomited on the floor.
Caliber and Empress cringed as Razor tripped and fell. Caliber got off the Cyclotron, then helped Razor off the floor. Caliber carried Razor out of the hangar and placed him on the couch in the living quarters. Then she walked into the kitchen, got him a glass of water, and walked back to him. Caliber removed his helmet and mask, then told him to drink slowly as she removed her glove and placed her right paw on his forehead, just to make sure that he did not have a fever or anything more serious than motion sickness. Satisfied that he did not have a fever, she placed her glove back on, and said to him, "Empress wants to keep riding. I am going to take the other Cyclotron and go with her. Stay here and keep drinking water. You will be alright, love." She bent over and kissed his forehead, then stroked his head with her left paw before letting him rest.
Caliber left the living quarters and saw Empress hosing out the hangar. Empress looked up as she heard Caliber's heels clicking on the concrete and asked, "Is he going to be ok?"
"He will be fine. He is just not used to your driving yet." She walked over to Empress and placed a paw on her shoulder, smiled, then said, "You want to go back out? I know you were having fun out there. If you want, you can ride solo. I'll just grab the second Cyclotron."
Empress partially closed her eyes and grinned, knowing that she was probably going to get into a little mischief with Caliber, and to give her a little taste of her own medicine, Empress said, "Oh yeah, riding the Cyclotron is almost as good as having sex. I just can't wait to do it again."
Caliber pulled back her paw, shocked at Empress' rather crude comparison. Then she said, "I guess you are right, Empress. I have been a bad influence on you." Caliber sort of felt bad about corrupting her best friend. Then again, what were best friends for? A Cheshire grin spread across Caliber's face, then she said, "You are right about riding the Cyclotron, though." Caliber looked at the second Cyclotron, then back at Empress, and said, "Wait here for a minute while I get the other Cyclotron. Then we'll go have some fun."
Empress mounted her Cyclotron and waited for Caliber to get hers. While waiting, she looked into the hangar and saw an air brushing kit. An idea came to her to paint a pink rose with blood dripping from one of the thorns onto the gas tank of her Cyclotron. If she was going to ride the Cyclotron as her primary SWAT vehicle, why not decorate it to her taste.
Caliber drove up next to her and saw Empress looking into the hangar. She asked, "What is so fascinating in there?"
Empress turned to look at Caliber, and said through an evil grin, "You'll see. Let's get out of here." Empress gunned the Cyclotron and took off, leaving Caliber in a cloud of dust.
Caliber said before taking off, "Maybe it was a bad idea to let her ride solo." She twisted the throttle fully open on the Cyclotron just to catch up to Empress. The pair rode down Main Street, actually keeping to the speed limit. As they rolled up to a stoplight, a convertible full of teenage toms started making lewd comments about their shapely forms. Empress and Caliber ignored them for the most part, until one of the toms reached over and grabbed Empress' backside, saying to her, "Why don't you two hotties come with us? We will show you two a real good time."
Empress smacked the tom's paw away, and she and Caliber took off ahead of them after the light changed. Once they were a decent distance ahead of the convertible, Empress fired a stinger missile at the tom's car, frying the car's electrical system. Then she yelled back, "I am having a real good time with my friend here," pointing to Caliber. Then she continued, after placing her paw back on the handlebars, "Why don't you tell your mother and father exactly why you will be walking for a while, Mr. Steele? Yes, I know who you are and who your parents are. If you don't tell them, I will!" Empress and Caliber left the toms in the dust, hopefully, thinking about how to properly treat a she-cat.
They continued for another half hour, when a dress shop caught Empress' eye. She said to Caliber, "I want to go check something out. Care to come along?"
Caliber replied, "Why not? It's your day out." The two parked their Cyclotrons in front of the shop. It was not just any dress shop, but a bridal shop. Caliber saw the sparkle in Empress' eye and decided not to argue with her. They dismounted their Cyclotrons and went into the shop. As they entered, they were greeted by one of the clerks, who was surprised to have the two female members of the SWAT Kats entering the shop. She asked, "Can I help you with something?"
As the pair entered the bridal shop, a cameracat from the Litterbin Show filmed a video of them walking into the shop. Once they entered, he stopped the camera, called the station, and sent the video over to the editing department.
Empress looked around and saw the perfect wedding dress. She replied, "I would like to try that one on, please," pointing to the dress on a mannequin over in the corner.
The clerk looked at Empress' body, attempting to guess her dress size. Her SWAT uniform was form fitting enough that she guessed Empress to be a size 5 or 6. She said, "That one will not fit you, miss, but I have something similar in your size in the back. Please come with me." The clerk walked off towards the back of the store as Empress and Caliber followed her. The clerk knew exactly where to find the dress that she envisioned Empress wearing. She picked it up off the rack, took it out of the garment bag, and brought it out.
Empress went wide-eyed when she saw the dress. She knew that it would be perfect for her. She went into the changing room with the dress in hand, removed her SWAT uniform, except for the mask, and put the dress on. She then asked for help with the clasps in the back, as she could not reach them. The clerk assisted Empress with the dress. Once she was finished, Empress walked out of the dressing room and stood in front of Caliber before saying, "What do you think?"
Caliber looked at her friend and instantly got teary-eyed. Empress looked absolutely gorgeous. The dress was long sleeved with slightly puffy shoulders, with a sweetheart neckline trimmed in delicate lace, a form fitting bodice that really showed off Empress' shapely form, and the skirt had multiple layers of sheer fabric all trimmed with the same lace as the bodice. It flowed nicely all the way down to her feet. It also had a short, lace train. Caliber said, after she wiped her tears away with a paw, "It's perfect! T-Bone is going to have a heart attack when he sees you at the end of the aisle in that."
"I'll take it. Can you hold it here? I can't take it with me while I am riding," Empress asked the clerk.
"Sure. We can hold it here for you. Let's get you out of that dress, and then we'll go over the details.
Jake took a short nap while his stomach settled from the she-cats' driving. After he awoke, he went to the kitchen and got a bottle of water from the fridge. Since Felina was not around, he figured that now would be a good time to call the agent regarding the house that was for sale next to his friends. He picked up the phone and called the agent's office.
"Hello, Summer's Realty. How can I help you?" one of the clerks asked.
"My name is Jake Clawson. I am interested in the property on Elm that is for sale," Jake said into the receiver.
"One minute, please, while I connect you with the agent for that property," the clerk said in reply.
While Jake waited, he grabbed a pencil and a pad of paper from the drawer to take down any notes that may be required. After about a minute, he heard, "This is Bob. How can I assist you Mr. Clawson?" the agent asked.
"I am inquiring about the property on Elm St.," Jake replied.
"Ah, yes. It is a four bedroom, three-and-a-half bath, Colonial with recently updated appliances, heating, and A/C. It's been on the market for some time now. The home is delightful, would you like to see it?" Bob said.
"Sure. I live in MegaKat city, so it will take me an hour to get there. Would that be a problem?" Jake replied.
"Not at all. I can meet you at the house in an hour. Call my cell if you run into any delays." Bob gave Jake his cell number and disconnected the call.
Jake got up, grabbed the keys to the Barracuda, and headed out. After about an hour, he arrived at the house and found Bob waiting on the front porch. Jake grabbed his pad and pencil, as well as a checkbook. Jake walked up to Bob and said, "Hi, I am Jake. We spoke on the phone."
"Welcome, Jake. Bob is my name. Let's show you your new home." Bob opened the front door off of the porch. Once inside, Jake saw what could be an office with a set of double doors to the left, a staircase that went to the second level ahead of him, and a formal dining room off to the right. As they walked further into the house, off to the right was a half bath, followed by a large family room with a deck facing the back yard. Off of the family room, to the right, was a breakfast nook, followed by a large kitchen. To the left of the family room, there was a closet and a full bathroom, followed by a bedroom with another deck also facing the back yard. Jake was impressed so far.
Bob asked, "Want to see the second floor?"
"Sure," Jake replied.
As they went up the wooden staircase, he saw a large open space that offered a nice view of the entry way below. There were three more bedrooms on the second floor, plus another two full bathrooms. All of the windows were recently installed and of good quality.
Jake asked Bob, "Why did the current owner leave? This is a real nice house."
"From what I was told, the family that used to live here moved out west, but from what I hear around town, the house next door is haunted. There are reports of a large, flying object showing up from time to time at all hours of the night. Since the gates are locked, no one has been able to go onto the property to find out," Bob replied.
Jake smiled at Bob's comments. He knew that it was probably Persival checking on the house for Callista, but he was not going to tell Bob that.
Bob said, "There is also a three car, attached garage off of the kitchen, but I don't think you need to see that. Shall we head off to the rear yard?"
The pair went downstairs to look at the rear yard from the deck off of the family room. Jake thought to himself, "Plenty of room back here for a swing set, and whatever my kittens want. Wait, kittens? Where did that come from?" Jake snapped out of his thoughts, then turned to Bob and asked, "How much is the asking price?"
Bob had to look at the paperwork to find out. Usually, the perspective buyer turned tail after hearing that the house next door was haunted. He said, "They are asking $275,000 for the house. Since it has been on the market for quite some time, I am sure that they would consider any reasonable offer."
Jake knew that he could easily afford to pay the full asking price for the house, since he owned ClawTek Int. He said in response to Bob, "Offer them $225.000 cash, and see if they take it. I hope to hear from you within a few days.
"You should hear back within a day. It was a pleasure meeting you," Bob said as he shook Jake's paw.
"Likewise. Now if you will excuse me, I have an hour's drive back to the city," Jake said and left.
On the way back to the city, Jake decided to stop by Callista's shop. He pulled up the recent location log from the GPS, since he knew that Chance had to have used it to find Callista's shop. Jake found the address, and programmed the GPS to take him there. After about a half-hour of driving, he arrived. He got out of the car and went inside.
The same antique bell jingled as he entered the shop, and Callista came out of the back room. This time, she wore a long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans that hugged her feminine form. She said, "Hello, what can I help you with?"
Jake looked at Callista and saw a she-cat who could be Callie's identical twin. He knew that she would be beautiful, but he hadn't been expecting such a drop dead gorgeous, classy looking she-cat. Jake regained his composure and said, "My friend Chance was in here a few days ago, and found an engagement ring for his fiancée. I was hoping to find one here, too."
Callista said in reply, "Ah, yes. The tom that is going to marry my granddaughter. Yes, I can help you. Right this way."
Jake watched Callista walk over to one of the display cases, and followed her. As he perused the rings that were in the case, Callista asked, "How special is this she-cat to you?"
Jake looked up at Callista and replied, "She is very special to me. Just like Chance, I can't imagine life without her. She is all I think about, and I am sure that she feels the same about me."
"None of these rings will work for you, Jake. Excuse me for a minute so I can get a selection that will better suit your needs," Callista said. Then she left for the back room. She opened a large safe and took out a tray of rings that had belonged to her family and friends. She returned to Jake and said, "One of these will fit her perfectly. Take your time, and choose carefully."
Jake took a good look at the tray of rings that Callista brought out. His eyes were drawn to a ring that had a teardrop diamond in the center that was flanked by several amethysts. The ring itself was engraved with an intricate design that looked like it was from the middle ages. He was entranced by the way it sparkled. Jake could easily picture Felina wearing it. He asked, "Can I see that one, please?"
Callista looked where Jake was pointing, then she picked the ring up. She said, "That ring used to belong to my Sergeant At Arms back when I was a Queen of the court over 450 years ago. She was to marry a soldier from a neighboring kingdom, but before they had a chance to marry, the one you call the Past Master attacked, trying to get me to marry him. They both fought bravely against the Past Master's forces, but in the end, it was too much for them. They both perished in the battle. As they were dying, they reached out, held each other's paws, and exchanged their marriage vows. They both died after that." Callista wiped a stray tear from her eye.
Jake went slack-jawed as Callista told the story of the ring. He finally got up the nerve to ask, "Not to be rude, but exactly how old are you? You don't look a day over 35."
Callista chuckled, then replied, "I am about 500 years old. When I was a newborn kitten, my parents were told that I was very special, and I was going to be a very powerful sorceress when I grew up. Since they didn't have any powers themselves, they did not know what to think. As they aged, I didn't, at least physically. From what I was told, my body ages at 1/20th the rate of a normal cat. At first, I did not know how to handle the news, so I shut myself in until I was physically old enough to marry. That was 280 years ago. I was physically 16, but mentally, I was 320. Still, I had many suitors. I was a queen, after all."
Jake interrupted, "Not to mention, beautiful."
Callista smiled at the compliment, then she continued, "However, all my suitors were eventually scared off, because not only was I a sorceress, but I was going to outlive them. I lived a very lonely life until 60 years ago, when I met Steven. He was handsome, kind, and he loved me. We married, had a kitten together, and lived happily until he passed. That kitten was Callie's mother. She had the same powers that I have, but she was blind as to their potential. She had me seal them inside her for all eternity. When Callie was born, I instantly saw a sparkle in her eyes that told me she had the 'family gift'. I was not going to tell her mother, fearing that she would want Callie's powers sealed before Callie had a chance to make the decision for herself. Sadly, Callie's mother and father were killed by a drunk driver ten years ago. They would have been proud to see what their daughter has become." Callista took the ring that Jake had picked out and said, "If this she-cat is anything like my Sergeant At Arms was, she will love this ring, and you, for all eternity. Let me clean it up and place it in a box for you. Just give me a minute."
Jake could not believe his ears. Callie's Grandmother was 500 years old, and she was a queen! What did that make Callie? A princess? Jake had to find out.
Callista cleaned up the ring and placed it in a velvet box. She then sealed the box with a ribbon, and walked back out to Jake.
Jake asked as Callista returned, "If you are a queen, what does that make Callie?"
"If we were still in the middle ages, she would be considered a princess, and heir to the throne. But since such titles are not recognized anymore, she is just a normal she-cat. Well, except for the sorceress part." She giggled.
"Not that I want to pry here, but how did you afford the house and this shop?" Jake asked.
"You are not prying at all, Jake. The truth is that I own most of the downtown area, since it was originally part of Megalith so long ago. I maintained the title of Queen until the monarchy was dissolved. After that, I was still allowed to keep my property, as the rightful owner of the land. I have sold off some of it to various corporations over the years, but I managed to retain most of the property."
"That would make you the wealthiest she-cat in the city!" Jake said.
"I guess it would. I give large amounts of money to charities all over the world, while still living very comfortably here. Please keep that information to yourself. Callie will find out in due time," Callista said.
"I will certainly honor your wishes, Callista," Jake said, then he looked around the shop, expecting to see Persival. Jake guessed that Persival would be in the back. It wouldn't exactly be good business to have a winged puma running around the shop for customers to see. Jake finally said to Callista, "Our plan to have Dark Kat captured is in motion. I was planning on whisking Felina away for a romantic dinner to ask for her paw in marriage, and hopefully show her our new home. If the seller accepts my offer on the house next door to yours, that is. Could you have Persival keep an eye on Callie while we are away?"
Callista heard Jake's request, but she had a better idea. She said, "Why not have her stay with me for a few days? That way, I can start her training on how to use her powers properly."
"That is a great idea, Callista. I will ask Callie tonight if she would like to spend time with you. Although I really don't think that she will mind. You two have a lot to catch up on. I will see you soon, Callista. I have to get back to the garage," Jake replied, then he walked towards the door of the shop.
"I will expect to hear from her soon, then. Goodbye, Jake, and good luck with asking your girlfriend to marry you. Not that you are going to need it," Callista said. Then she returned to the back room.
Jake waved to Callista as he left the shop. Once outside, he thought to himself, "Callista is some piece of work. Not only was she a queen, but she is a very beautiful, immortal sorceress. How is she still single? Any tom I know would be beating down the door to get to know her." He shrugged his shoulders, got back in the car, and headed towards the garage.
T-Bone was laying on the floor next to the bed that Turmoil was sleeping in. He was not going to sleep next to her, even if it was completely platonic. He got up off of the floor and gently shook Turmoil awake.
Turmoil awoke with a small smile on her face, knowing that it was T-Bone's face that she was waking up to. She said, "It's time to bring you to Dark Kat, and convince him that you are willing to work for him. Better get you into your new uniform, then. It's over there." She pointed to a garment bag hanging in the corner.
T-Bone walked over to the bag and opened it. Inside was a tom's version of Turmoil's uniform. T-Bone looked around for a private place to change, and seeing none, he asked softly, "Mind turning around, Turmoil?"
Turmoil grinned and replied, "Remember, we are supposed to be lovers now. I should have already seen all of you. There should be no reason for modesty, but I will do as you wish." She turned around, but neglected to tell him that she could still clearly see his reflection in the mirror as he changed. She couldn't help but stare intently at the image.
T-Bone removed his G-Suit, leaving him in his underwear. He put on the pants first. They were a little bit of a challenge, since the material was fitted to his legs, waist, and butt like a second skin. Next was a form-fitting dress shirt, followed by a jacket. Finishing off the uniform was a pair of leather boots with a slight heel. T-Bone thought he looked ridiculous as he saw his reflection in the mirror.
Turmoil, on the other hand, had just been given a show that she would not forget for a very long time. She got up and walked over to him, before saying, "Turn around, T-Bone. Let me get a good look at you."
T-Bone did as he was asked. He turned and faced Turmoil, then said, "What do you think? I feel out of place in this. It's too tight."
"Not at all, T-Bone. I say it is tight in all the right places. It shows off all of those wonderful muscles of yours very nicely. If we didn't have to go meet Dark Kat now, I would simply have to have my way with you again, darling," Turmoil said as she gave him a hot once-over, while licking her lips, then slipped both of her paws around his waist and purred seductively.
T-Bone drew her into a quick kiss, then said, "Let's go meet Dark Kat."
They left the room paw in paw.
End of Chapter