Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
I have to change the title of my Beta, she is no longer just a Beta, MisaRae is now the Co-Author on this venture.
Don't like it Misa? Tough! This fic would not be the same without you.
For those who want more action, stay tuned. The next two chapters bring the whole cast to one of the climaxes of the story. Then.. you will see.
Jake could no longer just lay there. He flipped them over so Felina was below him. He kissed her with the same passion that she kissed him. He ripped her panties from her body. He then made love to her the way that she wanted.
Sometime during the night as they slept, they were transported back to Jake's room at the salvage yard, luggage in tow. They slept peacefully in each other's arms for the rest of the night.
While they waited for Persival to finish his impromptu date with the jaguar, Callie and Callista sat on a bench just to the right of the enclosure, sipping the tea that they purchased from a cart. As Callista finished taking a sip, she asked Callie, "Once this Dark Kat mess is over with, what are your plans for the future, Callie?"
Callie nearly choked on the tea that she was drinking after Callista finished asking her question. She knew that she wanted to get married to Chance, settle down in the new house, and eventually start a family of her own. Callie also knew that City would demand that she spend quite a bit of time away from her husband and future kittens. Then there was her training to become a sorceress. She was learning very fast, probably faster than even Callista expected. Although there was still so much more to learn before she was anywhere near Callista's proficiency in using magic. She finally answered, "I want to marry Chance and move into the house that you gave us. Eventually, I want to start my own family, so I can be just as happy as Sarah and her parents are." Callie waved at Sarah as she saw Sarah sitting on her father's shoulders, looking at the jaguar's enclosure. Sarah waved back at Callie, smiling the whole time.
"That is a good plan, Callie, but you still have your training to finish. You have learned more in a few days than I have learned in months on my own. You definitely benefit from having a teacher to guide you in the use of your powers, uninterrupted. What is going to happen when you return to your position of Deputy Mayor? Manx relies on you to do most of his work, and you do it without complaint. What happens when you finally do get pregnant? Are you going to be able to stop being the Deputy Mayor and take care of yourself in order to have healthy kittens? These are questions that you really need to ask yourself, Callie."
Callista paused for a second before she continued speaking.
"You are doing so well in advancing your magical abilities that I don't want to see your training fall by the wayside when you return to work, and your abilities will not let that happen, either." Callista took another sip of her tea before saying, "What I am telling you is, now that your powers have fully awakened, if you don't keep nurturing them, they will take over your life. I have a story to tell you about the dangers of what can happen if you neglect your powers. When I was much younger, I met a tom that I fell in love with, and he fell for me. He had courted me for weeks. One day, he told me that an evil sorcerer took his father from him at a young age, and because of that, he hated all magic users. I was naïve and in so in love with him that I tried to hide my powers from him at all costs. We went out for a walk around the castle on a sunny afternoon. I looked into his eyes, and he looked into mine. He took my paws in his, and before I knew it, he leaned in to kiss me. It was my first kiss ever. Boy, did I enjoy it.. too much. As I returned his kiss, my paws started to glow. I tried to push the magic back, but it would not retreat as I asked it to. I had to let it out right then and there, otherwise it might hurt the tom I was madly in love with. I pointed one of my paws at a wall, and a large burst of energy came out of my paw, tunneling right through the stone and making a hole in the wall.
He pulled back from the kiss, throwing my paw from his, and started yelling, 'You are a magic user? How could you deceive me like that?! You utterly disgust me! I can't believe I actually kissed you, you vile creature. I never want to see you again!'
He left me standing outside the castle all alone. I ran back to my room and cried for days. That was when I learned if you don't use your powers, they build up inside you, and will take over with potentially devastating consequences." She looked down at the ground, her mood obviously dampened in the wake of her cautionary tale.
Callie placed her right arm around Callista, pulling her mentor close in order to comfort her before saying, "I had no idea, Callista. I am glad that you told me that story. I guess I will have to keep practicing and learning something new every day."
Callista perked up at hearing that Callie wanted to continue her training. She replied, "That is a good attitude to have, Callie. The more you learn, the more confident you will become in using your powers for the right things. Just like you did when you helped Sarah find her parents."
"Speaking of Sarah, I sort of told her that we are magic users. I did ask her to keep it to herself, and she said that she would," Callie said sheepishly.
"Do you think she believed you, Callie? It could mean real trouble for us if she tells anyone," Callista replied.
"I also showed her Persival while he was flying above us," Callie said nervously.
Callista had to think real hard about whether Sarah was going to be a risk to her and Callie's future. She just had to find out. Callista reached out with her mind and called over to Sarah, "Hello Sarah, there is no reason to be afraid. My name is Callista. I am Callie's grandmother. I just wanted to say hello to you, and make sure that you keep the secret Callie told you earlier. You don't have to speak out loud to talk to me. Just think of what you want to say, and I will hear it."
Sarah was stunned to hear Callista's voice in her head. She seemed nice enough, though. "Hi Callista! Your granddaughter is real nice and pretty. I hope that you will let me be her friend. I also like your other friend, the flying cat," Sarah replied with her mind.
"Of course you can be Callie's friend. She will be lucky to have a sweet girl like you as a friend. That flying cat you saw is named Persival. He will be a lot bigger when you see him next. He is also very nice, especially to sweet little girls. I am sure that he will love having you as a friend. Now, you still need to answer my question, Sarah. Can you keep our secret?" Callista asked.
"Oh, sorry. I am not used to talking with just my mind. It is real fun! Yes, I will keep the secret, just as long as I get to come over and play," Sarah said.
Callista smiled at Sarah's ultimatum. After all, she was only about 5 or 6 years old. What else would she ask for? She just wanted to play with her new friends. Callista replied, "Of course, Sarah. You can come over and play any time you want. Persival will enjoy it. He used to play all day long with Callie when she was a little kitten just like you are. Enjoy the rest of the day with your parents, and be a good girl. Your parents are very nice cats. I will see you soon, Sarah. Bye." Callista turned to Callie and said, "We don't have to worry about Sarah telling the family secret. The only thing that she wanted in return was to be able to play with her new friends."
"So that is what the smile was for. I thought that you were going to try and use that 'Glamour' thing on her," Callie said.
"I couldn't use that on Sarah. Her mind is still developing and growing. If I used 'Glamour' on her, it might have damaged her mind. Using certain spells on kittens can have dire consequences. You will have to learn what spells can be safely used on kittens, and what spells can't," Callista said.
The jaguar emerged from the cave a few minutes later, followed by Persival. He quickly made his way back to the front of the enclosure. He slipped out the same way he got in and walked over to where Callie and Callista were sitting. Persival jumped back into Callie's bag and let out a mew.
Callie looked down at her bag and and saw that Persival had returned. She scratched him behind his ears. He let out another mew. Callie turned to Callista and said, "Casanova is back. We can go home and turn Persival back to normal. Then I can grill him as to what happened in that cave."
Callista and Callie got up from the bench and walked out of the zoo. Once they reached a dark alley, they darted into it. Callista then teleported them back to her apartment.
After they arrived, Callie reached into her bag and took Persival out of it. She placed him on the floor, took a few steps back, then waved her paw while concentrating on returning Persival back to normal.
Persival was returned to his normal self, sort of. Instead of being able to talk, he let out a low roar as he tried to speak.
Callie turned to Callista and asked, "Was that supposed to happen, Callista? The last time he was turned into a cub and returned back to normal, he was able to talk to us, not just roar and growl."
Callista walked over to Persival and got down on her knees to examine him. Physically, he looked alright, but after checking his mental state, she found out that his brain thought he was a cub and had not yet developed the ability to talk. Callista got back up and replied to Callie, "You got most of the spell right. The only thing that you didn't do was return his mental state to that of an adult. He should completely return to normal within the hour."
"Whew, I thought that I would have to raise a 300 pound puma from a cub. I don't mind being a foster mother to a cute little cub, but doing the same thing when he is fully grown would have been very difficult. I can't see me trying to cradle him in my arms as I did earlier when he weighs this much," Callie replied.
Callista just had to laugh at the thought of Callie hauling around a fully grown Persival. The image that came to mind was just too funny. "Sorry, Callie. I was just laughing at the mental picture of you carrying a fully grown Persival in your arms," Callista said.
"It's not that funny, grandma," Callie replied.
"Oh, yes it is. Take a look," Callista said. Then she sent the image of Callie attempting to carry Persival in her arms.
When Callie received the mental picture from Callista, she also started to laugh. After a few minutes, she stopped laughing long enough to say, "You were right, Callista. The image of me attempting to try to carry Persival was real funny."
Finally able to speak again, Persival said, "I don't find that funny at all, mistresses."
"Ah, he speaks. Now, what happened in that cave with the jaguar?" Callista asked.
"A gentle-cat never tells. What I will say is her name is Isis, she is beautiful, and she wants to see me again. Only this time, she wants to see the real me. Milady," Persival replied to Callista.
"How are we going to do that, Persival? You can't exactly show up at the zoo as a full grown puma, wings and all, bearing a bouquet of flowers in your mouth!" Callie exclaimed.
"I know that, mistress. That is why I am going to ask both of you for a favor. Can you teleport her here after the zoo has closed and the caretakers have gone home for the night?" Persival asked.
Callista thought about it for a minute. Since Persival could not go to the jaguar, it was only natural that he would want Isis to come to him. Then again, the thought of having a semi-wild jaguar in the apartment was not exactly the most pleasing of ideas. She finally answered, after deliberating the pros and cons in her head, "How do you know that Isis will not act like a wild creature while she is here? She is not exactly as refined as you are, Persival."
"I do not know the answer, milady. I do know that she was calm, loving, and cuddled up with me when we were alone in that cave," Persival replied. Then he stared into Callista's eyes, letting his emotions speak for themselves.
Callista took one look into Persival's eyes, and saw nothing but love and devotion for Isis in his gaze. She finally said after a few seconds and hearing Persival whimper, "I don't see why not. She probably thought that you were an abandoned cub. Her motherly instincts were probably kicking in. That is why she cuddled with you."
Persival now had a smile on his face. He was so happy, that he pounced on Callista and proceeded to lick her while saying repeatedly, "Thank you! You have made me so happy, mistress."
Callista laughed as she was literally smothered by Persival's enthusiastic gratitude. She tried to get him off of her, but she lacked the physical strength to move a 300 pound puma. Callista asked Callie, "Mind giving me a hand, here?"
Callie was also laughing at Persival's antics. She replied to Callista, "What do you expect me to do? I can't lift or move him, either."
Then Callie had an idea. She grounded herself, closed her eyes, then focused her energy on trying to levitate Persival off of Callista. It worked! Persival was now floating in mid-air without using his wings. He obviously wasn't very happy about it, though. Flying wasn't the issue. Doing so without using his wings, however.. that was another matter.
Callista got up from the floor and dusted herself off, then looked at Persival floating in the air. Callista finally turned to look at Callie, who was concentrating real hard on keeping Persival aloft. She told Callie, "You can let him down now."
Callie breathed a sigh of relief, then slowly willed Persival back down to the floor. She slowly willed Persival back down to the floor, then opened her eyes. Callie bent over, placing her paws on her knees as she took several deep breaths. "That was harder than I thought it would be," she said, continuing to focus on her breathing.
Callista walked over to the now exhausted Callie and placed her right arm over Callie's shoulders. She said to her granddaughter, "You did fine for your first time using levitation. That spell takes a large amount of concentration and energy to keep the object aloft. The larger the object, the harder it is to maintain. Why don't you go and take a short nap just to recharge? I'll start dinner for us, since it is getting late. Would you like anything special?"
For some reason, Callie had a craving for Chicken Parmesan and some nice, hot bread. She replied, "Chicken Parmesan would be nice, if you don't mind?"
"Not at all, Callie. Go take that nap. Dinner will be waiting when you wake up," Callista said.
Callie left and walked to her bedroom. She took off her shoes and crawled into bed. She was sound asleep within seconds.
Callista went to the kitchen and started to look up the recipe for Chicken Parmesan that Callie wanted. She was looking at the list of ingredients when the phone rang. She went to the phone and answered it, "Hello, MegaKat Antiques. How can I help you?"
"Yes, I need to buy the key to a certain she-cat's heart," Ulysses said on the other end of the line.
Callista chuckled at his response. She replied, "I'm sorry, we don't sell such an item here. Although, this certain she-cat's heart might be won with a little patience and TLC."
Ulysses sensed that she was playing with him. He smiled and said, "That could work. Would a certain she-cat be interested in going out for dinner and possibly dancing at a fancy supper club this weekend?"
Callista's heart started to pound. Ulysses was asking her out for a date! It had been years since a tom even showed a romantic interest in her! Callista continued playing with him and replied, "Yes, I am sure that she will be delighted to go out with you. What time should she be ready?"
Ulysses started sweating. Callista actually said that she would go out with him. When she had said she would go out with him earlier in the shop, he hadn't been sure if she had meant it, or if she had just been trying to make him feel better. After he snapped out of his stupor, he said, "About 6, and wear a nice dress. The club that I am taking you to has a strict dress code." He paused to collect himself for a second, then said, "I am really looking forward to this, Callista. It will be just like back when I was a senior in High School, minus the awkwardness."
"I am looking forward to this too, Ulysses. See you this weekend. Bye," Callista said. Then she hung up the phone. Her paw lingered on the phone for a minute, then she smiled from ear to ear and jumped for joy, just like a teenager who had just been asked out on her first date.
Persival heard the commotion from the kitchen and rushed in to see what was going on. He saw Callista jumping around the kitchen, obviously very happy. He asked, "Is everything alright, mistress?"
"Yes, everything is perfect, Persival. Ulysses just asked me out for a date of dinner and dancing!" Callista exclaimed.
Persival let out a low, protective growl. He asked, "How well do you know this Ulysses?"
"Persival, I dated him before I married Steven. He was always polite, and the kindest tom I knew at the time. Ulysses always made sure that I was taken care of. You don't have anything to worry about, Persival," Callista said.
"Are you sure, mistress? I just do not want to see you hurt by anyone, period!" Persival said as he flexed his muscles.
Callista saw Persival flex and stretch. She thought to herself, "Oh boy, this is going to be very interesting. I sort of feel sorry for Ulysses. If Persival sees him before I do, Persival is likely to use Ulysses as a scratching post." She then said, "Persival, you don't have to worry about Ulysses. Besides, if he gets out of line, I know how to take care of myself." Callista made her paw glow.
"Very well, mistress. I trust your judgment without question," Persival said.
"I'm glad. Now, I have to get started on that dinner Callie wanted. After we eat, I hope Callie will go with me to get a dress for my date," Callista said.
End of Chapter
Author's note: Welcome aboard Zepher06! Enjoy the ride!