Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
Again, I have to thank Misarae for all that she does. Please check out her stories.
A reminder for those who do not remember:
Callie wrapped her arms around Callista and stroked the back of her head, just like Callista always did to comfort her. Callie said after a few minutes, "I'm sorry, Callista. I should not have pushed you."
"You didn't push me, Callie. If I hadn't wanted to tell you that story, I wouldn't have." Callista wiped her eyes, then said, "Are you hungry for lunch? I know Persival must be. If I don't feed him on time, he will start eating the furniture."
They closed up the shop and went back up to the apartment to have lunch and feed Persival.
As they ate lunch, Callie worked on wrapping her mind around Callista's story. She thought to herself, "My grandmother and the Commander actually dated! What else is she not telling me?"
Callista looked over at her granddaughter and saw her deep in thought. She asked, "Is anything troubling you, Callie?"
Callista's question snapped Callie out of her thoughts. "Wha.. huh.. Oh, everything is fine, Callista," she responded.
"You were just so deep in thought, I wondered if there was something troubling you." Callista reached across the table and placed her paw on Callie's, then said, "You can ask or tell me anything, Callie. I may be your grandmother, but I also want to be your friend."
Callie took Callista's paw in hers. Then she said, "I appreciate that, Callista, but I cannot shake the feeling that you are hiding something from me."
"Callie, I do know a few things that I can't tell you. If I did, it would adversely affect your future. As of now, you are on a path that will make you and Chance's lives together very happy. You are the only family I have left. Everyone else that I have ever loved or cared about has passed. I love you more than life itself. I will NOT jeopardize your happiness, even if that means keeping things from you. Can you understand that, Callie?" Callista said.
"No, I can't. Why do you have to be so cryptic about my future? I love you, too, Callista, but why can't you just be straight with me?" Callie asked.
"Because what I know could kill you!" Callista said, squeezing Callie's paws fiercely. At the look on Callie's face, Callista wondered if she had gone too far. She didn't want to frighten her granddaughter, but it was important that Callie understand the dangers that awaited her. Callista took a shaky breath and looked away for a moment to blink back the tears that had come into her eyes. After Callista had collected herself, she turned back to Callie, and said much more calmly, "I'm sorry. I did not mean to yell at you, but being a sorceress not only takes a lot of hard work, it is also very dangerous. I make it look fun and easy because I have been using magic for over 485 years. You have only become aware of your powers in the past few weeks. If I just told you everything you needed to know, rather than letting you experience it for yourself, you might attempt to do something beyond your abilities and end up killing yourself or those you care about. Remember when you shot that blast at Hard Drive? You were so magically drained afterwards that you slept for two days straight. The nightmares you had while in that state felt so real that you could have attempted to use your powers. If you had, while in such a state of magical exhaustion, you could have died. I could not allow that to happen, and neither could Persival. That is why he was by your side when you woke up. He cares for you deeply, and does not want to see you hurt." Callista paused to give Callie's paws a light squeeze, then she continued, "The more you use your powers, the stronger and more confident you will become. Eventually, you will be as powerful as I am, if not more so, but that will come naturally with time and practice. Now do you understand why there are things I simply cannot tell you?"
Callie looked down at her plate while she contemplated what Callista had just said. Callie thought to herself, "Just how old is she, anyway? And now she is saying that if I use my powers when I am magically drained, I could kill myself? She is right. I need to take this very slowly and let her train me." Callie looked up at Callista and said, "I trust you. If you can't tell me my future because knowing would put me at risk, then I don't want to know. You said that Chance and I will have long and happy lives together if I keep following the path I'm currently on, right? So how do I know what to do in order to stay on that path?"
Callista thought very carefully about how to answer Callie. Deciding that in this case total honesty would be best, she said, "I truly don't know the answer to that, Callie. I don't think anybody ever does. What I suspect, though, is that if you keep following your heart, everything will work out in the end."
"I guess I will have to take that as the answer to my question. I mean, if my 485 year old magical grandmother doesn't know, who would?" Callie teased Callista.
"500 year old magical grandmother, my dear, and no one will," Callista replied, then she giggled.
Callie got up and gave Callista a hug, before saying, "I love you, grandma." Then she kissed Callista's cheek.
Callista just smiled while being hugged by her granddaughter and said, "I love you, too, Callie, but now we need to go back to the shop."
The pair got up and proceeded to walk back to the shop, but along the way, Callie looked at the mess in the kitchen, wiggled her nose just as Callista had, and the mess was cleaned up. Callie smiled and said, "I guess I am learning."
Callista turned back around and saw what Callie had done. She said, "Yes, you are, and even faster than I expected." Then she placed her right arm around Callie's shoulders and pulled Callie towards her in order to in order to kiss her temple. Then Callista released her, and they walked back to the shop.
Dark Kat was making real good progress in getting the equipment back up and working. He only needed a few more parts, and everything would be back in working order. He was pleased. Dark Kat wrote down a list of everything that he needed, then he went to the intercom to summon Turmoil. "Turmoil, I need you in the planning area, now."
The intercom in Turmoil and T-Bone's bedroom came to life, and the pair heard, "Turmoil, I need you in the planning area, now." Katerina got up, walked to the intercom, and said into the device, "I will be there shortly, Dark Kat."
Then they heard in response, "Make sure you lock the door so T-Bone does not leave your quarters."
Katerina looked at T-Bone, then turned back to the intercom and said, "As you command." After the intercom was shut off, she said to T-Bone, "Sorry, but I have to do this." Then she turned and left, locking the door behind her before making her way to the planning area.
Turmoil arrived to see Dark Kat repairing a piece of equipment with a soldering iron. She placed her paws on her hips and said, "You wished to see me, Dark Kat?"
"Turmoil, I need you to disguise yourself, go into town, and purchase the following items." He handed her a list of exactly what he needed.
Turmoil took the list, looked it over and asked, "Where do you expect me to find these things?"
"There is an electronics store over on third and main that has everything that I need." He handed her an envelope with a large number of bills in it. "This should be more than enough to pay for the parts. Now get changed and go!" Dark Kat ordered.
Turmoil turned on her heel and left Dark Kat. She returned to her bedroom, unlocked the door, and entered to see T-Bone just sitting there.
"So, what did tall, dark, and creepy want?" T-Bone asked.
"He wants me to go into town and get some parts that he needs. Apparently, he wants me to go alone and in disguise." Turmoil walked over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater. Then she went to a darker corner of the room to change. When she came back, T-Bone got up and grabbed her arm. As she turned to face him, he said, "You are going to need a hat or something to cover that hair of yours. It is too recognizable. Maybe braid it or put it in a ponytail. Just something to make it look a little less 'Turmoil'."
Turmoil never really thought about looks or her hair. T-Bone was right, though. She was too recognizable. She quickly placed her hair in a low ponytail and grabbed a large hat that shielded her face. She turned back to T-Bone and asked, "Is this better?"
T-Bone gave her a good look over and said, "It should work. Just be careful out there, beautiful."
"Aren't I always, darling?" Turmoil replied as she flipped a stray strand of hair away from her face.
"No, you're not. You can be as reckless as I am sometimes," T-Bone said, then pulled her into a hug.
Turmoil slipped out of his embrace, turned to the door, and left him standing there.
Katerina made it to the store that Dark Kat had mentioned. She opened the door and went inside. She made her way to the counter and gave the clerk Dark Kat's list.
The clerk took one look at the list, then back at Katerina, then said with a strong Asian accent, "Pretty impressive list of stuff you have here. How do you expect to pay for all this? Some of these items don't come cheap."
Katerina reached into one of the pockets of her jeans and withdrew the envelope Dark Kat had given her. She placed it on the counter, then said, "This should be more than enough to cover the order. No?"
The clerk picked up the envelope and thumbed through the bills. He looked back at Katerina and said, "Yes, this should cover the entire order. Please wait over there. It will take a little time to get everything together." He pointed at a dirty old couch over in the corner of the store.
Katerina went to the couch, but did not sit on it. She did have standards, after all, and one look at the couch told her that she would be better off standing. She found a fish tank with a few goldfish in it to keep her occupied while she waited.
The clerk made fast work of getting most of the order together and placing it on the counter. He looked at Katerina as she bent over to look at the tank, and said in Mandarin, "She-cat has nice legs and tail. Too bad that sweater covers her chest. She probably has a nice rack, too."
Katerina heard the clerk speaking in an Asian tongue, but since she could not understand what he said, she simply turned and smiled at the clerk.
The clerk disappeared into the back again to complete the order. He came back a few minutes later with the rest of what Dark Kat needed. After he placed the rest of the parts on the counter, he said, "All set."
Katerina righted herself and walked back to the counter, picked up the bags of parts, and left the store to return to Dark Kat.
As she was walking towards the wharf, she encountered an older-she-cat that was being surrounded by what appeared to be a small street gang.
The she-cat said nervously, "What do you all want?"
One of the gang members brandished a knife and said, "We just want your money and jewelry. Now hand it over and you will not be hurt!"
Katerina stopped when she heard the gang member speak. Then she thought to herself, "Could I take on this gang of thugs by myself and help this she-cat? Only one way to find out." She placed her bags down and confidently strode over to the gang, then said, "Why don't you try this on someone who can defend themselves, boys?"
The leader turned, looked at Katerina, and said, "Well well, this pretty she-cat wants to play with the big boys now. Why don't we show her how well we play with someone who sticks her nose where it doesn't belong." He went to slash her with the knife, but she was too quick for the tom. As she dodged the attack, she brought her elbow down onto the tom's elbow with such force that it shattered.
The tom screamed in pain as his elbow was completely shattered. He screamed, "Get her!"
The other two toms came after Katerina, but again, she dodged her attackers. As they surrounded her, she landed a roundhouse kick, her foot sinking into one tom's stomach and throwing him back. She whirled around to face her other opponent, her fist flying out to punch him hard enough to break his nose.
After that, the gang apparently had enough, and beat a very hasty retreat, leaving the two she-cats alone.
Katerina took a few breaths, then walked calmly to the older she-cat and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I am fine, thanks to you. How can I repay you for what you have done?" the she-cat asked.
"I need nothing. Just get out of here and get home safely," Katerina said.
"I will. What is your name, child?" the she-cat asked.
Katerina was now stuck in a very bad situation. She could not use her given name, and she definitely could not call herself Turmoil. She had to think fast. After a second, she said, "You can call me Havoc. I am one of the SWAT Kats, but you didn't see anything, understand?"
"Yes, I understand completely. Thank you, Havoc," the older she-cat said, then got up and left.
Katerina stood there for a minute and thought to herself, "What did I just do? T-Bone is going to have a fit when I tell him." She then picked up her bags and left to get back to the wharf as fast as possible. She entered the lair, and gave Dark Kat his parts, then went back to her room, and opened the door. Seeing T-Bone standing there waiting for her made her nervous. How was she going to explain what she had done? Then she snapped herself out of it. It was best to meet things head-on. She moved forward, firmly closing the door behind her, then strode across the room to catch T-Bone in a fierce hug before tilting her head to whisper in his ear, "You have a new partner."
End of Chapter