Disclaimer: The SWAT Kats are owned by Hanna Barbera and the Tremblay Brothers. I own the OCs.
I hope everyone re-read New Addition? If you didn't the character reference will not make any sense.
The Diamonds seem to be getting bolder, which means our little group of heroes and heroines are going to have to step up thier game. I feel sorry for The Diamonds, they have no idea what they stepped into, but they will find out, rather quickly.
MisaRae, your constant encouragement gave me my wings. Now I can fly as high as you can. Soar with me as we continue this journey.
While James was being loaded into an ambulance, Felicia called his parents and informed them of what occurred. She hung up the phone before leaning forward against her desk. Of course she was proud of her students, she always was. However, she felt like one of her own kittens was injured and when the EMT told her that James may never be able to return, she almost broke down in front of everyone. That was something her father and grandfather taught her not to do. To them, it was a sign of weakness and she never wanted to disappoint her father or grandfather since they were the only two who supported her when she was growing up.
Katerina approached Felicia's office and heard her friend. She knocked on the door jam and asked, "Are you alright Felicia?"
Felicia didn't even lift her head from the spot it rested and responded, "I don't know Katerina."
Katerina entered Felicia's office and crouched down on her left. She gently laid her right paw on Felicia's left shoulder, then Felicia continued, "Why do I feel like someone kicked me in the gut?"
"You care for your students Felicia, that is why you feel the way you do," Katerina said.
Felicia lifted her head and faced Katerina. That was when she finally broke down and embraced her friend.
Katerina embraced her back and listened to Felicia as she poured her heart out.
"I should have been the one who was shot, not James. He is still young and have yet to experience what life has to offer him. Now he has a bullet buried in his back and he may never walk again."
Katerina simply held her friend tighter and let Felicia let out everything she had bottled up inside flow freely.
"I'm not ready to lead this dojo, I should sell it to someone more deserving and devote my time to nursing," Felicia said.
"Niet my friend!" Katerina responded to Felicia's plight. "There is no one better to be this dojo's mistress than you. Every one of your students listen and will follow you without fail. I see the way they watch you as you teach them, they want to be you and want to make you proud of them. They love learning from you Felicia, no other master or mistress will be able to take your place. So get that thought out of your head of selling the one place that means so much to so many and if you ever think that you are not worthy of the title of Sensei, I will personally kick your tail! Is this understood, da?"
Felicia just had to chuckle at Katerina's response knowing her friend was right. Yoso wouldn't have given her the dojo if he knew she wasn't ready and the emotions she felt showed she cared and loved her students. Felicia lifted her head from Katerina's shoulder, then said, "Yes, I understand Katerina." She stood up and started leaving her office.
But as Katerina started to stand, Felicia said, "You couldn't kick my tail anyway but thank you for telling me what I needed to hear, my dearest friend." She then left the office to return to the dojo's training floor.
Katerina smirked at her friend then said after Felicia left the office, "One day, maybe we will find out." She followed behind Felicia and when she returned to the dance studio, she heard Mark interrogating one of the toms.
"I'm only going to ask one, more, time. Who is your boss?" He asked with his voice low, deep, and very threatening.
"I'm not a snitch and I don't want to end up dead either, which is what's going to happen if I open my mouth," he responded.
Katerina approached the rest of her Enforcer comrades and stood next to Jasmine. She took up a menacing stance while staring down at the three toms, just like the other Enforcers in the room were doing.
"Enough!" Felicia said as she entered the studio, carrying one of her swords. She unsheathed the deadly blade and said, "If he doesn't want to talk to you, then he might talk to me, or rather my little friend."
"Felicia, this is not how to do this. Please let us handle this," Tina pleaded.
Felicia stopped in front of the tom, couched down while bringing the business end of the sword to his throat, then said, "This guy took away the life of one of my students, please tell me why his blood should not stain my sword?"
"Felicia, calm down. There is no reason to kill him," Mark said as he tried to reach for her wrist to disarm her.
Felicia sensed what Mark was trying to do and removed a second blade from the hilt of the sword. She pointed it at Mark's face, then said, "James has a bullet in his back and may never be able to walk again! Isn't that a good enough reason for revenge? A life for a life."
"Put the knife and the sword down Felicia," Jasmine said as she pulled out her gun and trained it on Felicia. "You don't want to do this."
"Felicia, you know who I once was and if I was in your position, this tom would already be dead!" Katerina said. "You are better than I am. You have the adoration of everyone who enters your dojo as well as their respect. Don't blow all of that on an act of revenge. Trust me, it will feel good for a brief moment, but afterwards, the remorse hurts like a bitch." Katerina said as she laid her right paw on Jasmine's wrist, forcing her to lower her gun.
Felicia listened to the words Katerina spoke. This was the second time within a day the she-cat who tried to take over the city when she was Turmoil talked her back down from a ledge. Felicia lifted the corner of her mouth at the irony of it and also knowing she and Katerina were closer than she thought. However, the tom at the other end of her sword was going to pay for what he did to James. She lowered the blade away from Mark, but not the other tom and said through a snarl, "The Enforcers are going to go easy on you, but I'm not. You have exactly five seconds to start taking, or my friend's floor is going to need re-finishing." She then put a little more pressure onto the sword, letting it dig into the tom's neck. Not enough to cut his flesh but just enough so he could feel the sharpness of the blade.
"Alright! I'll talk! Just get this crazy she-cat away from me!" He yelled.
Felicia removed the blade from the tom, twirled it, then lowered it to her hip. "Start talking," she said.
The tom breathed a sigh of relief as the razor sharp sword left his throat. "You know, if the situation was different, I wouldn't mind being in a relationship with a she-cat like you," he said to Felicia.
Felicia bent her right knee just a hair before she asked, "And why is that?"
"I've always liked dangerous, she-cats and you are as dangerous, not to mention down-right sexy as they come," he answered with a smile.
Now it was Artemis' turn to confront the tom. She left Roland and crouched down in front of the tom. "You made a pass earlier at me, and now, you make a pass at my friend? You are kind of cute, but with that attitude of yours it no wonder why you are still single. Pleasantries are now over, talk or I'll let my friend slice and dice you into these little pieces, no one will be able to recognize," Artemis said and cued Felicia to walk over to one of the barres ballet dancers used to stretch their limbs on and sliced it into two with one strike of her sword.
"I work for The Black Diamonds. We were sent here to make sure Gwendlyn kept quiet about the racketeering and extortion rings the Diamonds have been doing to years. She witnessed several members going into her parent's store, demanding money for protection, and if they didn't pay? Well, you can guess what the consequences were."
"And you came here why, exactly?" Tim asked.
"We knew she was adopted by two lesbian Enforcers so going to her home to convince her not to talk to her parents was not going to work. Actually, we tried that approach and was met with major resistance from her," he motioned his head to Katerina since he was cuffed. "And her father. We knew two of her parent's friends owned the dojo and the dance studio. We also knew the owner of the dojo was very skilled in Martial Arts and would be very difficult to fight if we needed to. So the dance studio was our only option," he answered.
"One, I'm the one who is gay and proud of it! And two, is your gang that stupid to try and contact my daughter!?" Tina asked with her claws extended.
"Whoa, down pretty-kitty," he said which only enraged Tina even more. "We only wanted to talk to your daughter into seeing things, our way. We weren't going to hurt her."
"Then why the gun?" Mark asked as he rubbed his fist.
"Like I said earlier, the last time we tried to talk to her, we were met with resistance. We didn't want the same thing to occur again," he answered.
"Things didn't work out the way you planned them, did they?" Jasmine said as she holstered her gun. "I think you and your friends have a date with the Arrangement Officer." She reached out, helped the tom up from the floor, then said, "Let's go." Before she led him out of the studio and to the waiting van.
The two others were led out of the studio as well. But one was situated into a guarded ambulance while the other was loaded into the van.
While Artemis gave her recount of what occurred to Tina, Roland's eyes were locked onto her, wanting to simply hold her and comfort her.
Juan and Mitch watched Roland and noticed how their friend was acting in the presence of Artemis. They both went over to stand next to their friend, then Juan asked, "What's the deal with her? I thought you swore off dating after what happened with Tiffany?"
"Tiffany and I wanted different things Juan. I wanted a serious relationship, she wanted to have fun all of the time. There is something about this she-cat that makes me want to know her better, I'm not sure what it is, but I'm going to find out," Roland said before he separated himself from Juan and Mitch and went to stand next to Artemis.
"Face it Juan, Roland is a goner. Tiffany may have treated him like dirt but if I'm right, our buddy is going to fall for her fast and hard."
Artemis finished telling her side of the story to Tina, then noticed Roland standing a few feet away from her. She went over to Roland, then said, "I never got to thank you for being there for me earlier. My name is Artemis by the way."
Her voice was one of the best things Roland has ever heard in his life and after he gulped in nervousness, he said, "I'm Roland. Look, I normally don't do this with she-cats I just met, but will you go out with me?"
Artemis wasn't expecting to be asked out on a date by someone she had just met, not to mention ever, since killing Rodney. Yet, there was one of Felicia's students doing just that, asking her out on a date. Throwing caution to the wind, she answered, "Why not." Before closing the distance and giving him a tiny kiss on his left cheek. "I'll get your number from Felicia, we'll be talking soon Roland." She said before walking away with a sway in her hips no tom could ignore.
Roland lifted his left paw to his cheek, blushing ever so slightly, then whispered, "What a she-cat. I wonder what's in store for us?"
Juan and Mitch saw the kiss and how their friend was acting like a love struck kitten afterwards. They mock kissed and said, "I'm Roland and I'm in love." Before they both broke out in laughter at their friend's expense.
Roland heard them, but I continued smiling. He walked over to them, latched his arms around their necks, then said, "Laugh all you two want, I have a date with her and you two don't! Let's head back to the dojo, I feel like sparing."
Mark went over to Felicia, gently put his right arm around her, then asked, "You never cease to impress me with what you can do Felicia. Are you sure you are alright?"
"Can Kevin and I come over tonight and play with Raphael? I could use a break from all of this," Felicia answered.
"Of course you can Felicia. Raphael would love to play with you. Just do me a favor, leave your friend at the dojo," Mark said.
The next day was the first day of school for Gwendlyn, Sarah, and Evelyn. Each one was dressed in matching skirts and shirts and since Sarah and Evelyn's parents had to be at work, the three girls were going to be dropped off at school by Tina and Katerina.
Nadia was down the stairs first. She was wearing a simple brown skirt made of corduroy, a white blouse, and matching blazer. Her hair was done up in a bun and she was wearing fake glasses. "You three look adorable! I can't wait to teach your class this morning!" She said with exuberance.
Galina came down next and as she heard her sister, she rolled her eyes. Galina was wearing a black suit with shoes with a moderate heel. "Nadia, you are too cheery for this time in the morning," she said as she rounded the stairs to a small wood table with a locking drawer. She inserted a key into the lock, opened the drawer, and pulled out two small pistols. She laid one down on the table, lifted her skirt, and slipped the other pistol into a holster high on her left thigh. As she lowered her skirt, she said, "Nadia, don't forget your weapon."
Nadia was already in an embrace with the three girls. She lifted her head to face her sister, and replied, "I won't but why do we need them at an Elementary School?"
"You heard Elizaveta earlier. The commander wants to keep Gwendlyn and her friends safe at all costs. Do you want to fail Esfir's inspection?" Galina asked as she checked her hair.
"Of course not! Esfir is like a sister to me!" Nadia said as she let the girls go. But she couldn't help teasing her sister a hair. "Actually, she is like the sister I always wanted." And laughed as soon as she finished speaking.
Galina grabbed her sister's pistol, went over to Nadia, and dragged her out of the house.
Katerina came down the stairs, dressed in her Enforcer's uniform followed by Tina.
"Mommies, I'm ready for my first day at school!" Gwendlyn said as she hugged her adoptive mothers.
They hugged their daughter back as Tina said, "Yes you are and so are your friends. Did you eat a good breakfast?"
"Yes mommy, we all ate a very good breakfast this morning. Courtesy of Evelyn," Gwendlyn responded.
"It was no trouble at all," Evelyn said. "All it took was as simple twist of my wrist and we had a healthy breakfast for the three of us ready in a wink of an eye."
"I wish I could do that Evelyn," Katerina said. "There are nights we don't get home until late and I have to still make dinner for the three of us since Tina isn't the best cook out there."
"Kat, I do the best that I can. I can't help it if you should be cooking in some of the best restaurants in the city with your skills," Tina said.
"I appreciate your compliments love, but we need to get these girls dropped off at school before we are late for work. I really don't want to deal with Felina for the second time this week," Katerina said.
"Alright class," Esfir said as she walked into the classroom. She was wearing a tan tweed suit and a pair of high heels on her feet. "My name is Miss Romanov, your new principal."
"Good morning Miss Romanov," the class responded.
Esfir smiled then continued as Nadia entered the room, "This is your teacher, Miss Vasyuhin. Please make her feel welcome."
"Hi," Nadia said as she wiggled her fingers to her class. She sat down behind her desk, then said, "Let's get started."
After forty minutes of teaching, Nadia turned around from the white board she was writing simple math equations on, turned to her class, then said, "I think its time for a break. Why don't we head outside and play."
The class was up on their feet and lined up by the door. Nadia opened the door and led her class out into the playground attached to the school.
Evelyn, Sarah, and Gwendlyn, sat at a table, simply drawing and coloring in their drawings.
Sarah looked around the playground and high in the trees, she spotted a red spade hanging down from a branch. She peered into the tree and managed to see two pairs of golden eyes and a pair of red ones. "I think our friends are up in the tree over there," she said as she motioned to the tree she saw Inferno's tail hanging from.
Spencer and Tara were perched on a large branch high in a tree with Inferno perched a few branches over. They were watching over their charges when Tara spotted Sarah looking back at her. "I think we have been caught Spencer," she said.
"So, I swore to protect Evelyn wherever she is, that includes going to school with her," Spencer said.
"Don't you think we are being a little over protective Spencer?" Tara asked. "This is a school after all, what can happen here plus, Nadia, and Galina are their teachers and Esfir is the principal, between those three, I'm positive the girls are completely safe."
"Tara, you know how I feel about Evelyn. If something happened to her, and I wasn't there. I could never forgive myself," Spencer said.
Tara tuned her head to look at him. She saw the very determined and focused stare in his face and said, "You are just like your cousin Spencer, a loyal and dear friend to your mistress, and I find it adorable." Tara then kissed his left cheek.
Spencer turned his head to the left, then asked, "Why did you kiss me? Not that I minded it of course."
"Because, I like kissing muscular, handsome, fiercely loyal, pumas that have a bit of Bad Boy in them," Tara answered.
"And I like being kissed by sassy, beautiful, and playful pumas as well," Spencer said right before he kissed her back. He pulled back from the kiss, then said, "Tara, I think I'm falling for you, and you know what? I love this feeling I get, when I'm with you."
Tara backed away from Spencer, then flew to a branch on the tree to the left.
"Tara, what's wrong?" Spencer asked.
She shied away from him, then asked, "Spencer, how do you really feel about me?"
Spencer wanted to jump over to her, and pour his heart out to the puma he was falling in love with. However, something told him to stay where he was and give Tara the space she needed. "Tara, you know how I feel about you already. Are you starting to regret coming to live with us?"
Tara's Head whipped around to face Spencer, then answered, "Of course not! I love being with the Higgins family!"
"Then its me," Spencer said as he lowered his head to the branch.
"Yes and no," she said. Tara walked over to Spencer, with the branch shaking under her weight. As she approached him, she said, "Spencer, you don't know everything about my past. I once was mated to another. We were so in love with each other, nothing else mattered. I got pregnant a few months later. He and I were so happy that we were going to be a family." She lowered her head, then continued, "I had a miscarriage and lost the litter. I was devastated and he.. he suddenly became distant and not the male I fell heads over heels in love with. He left me soon after, and now, those feelings are coming back. I'm frightened that if I follow down that same path," she lifted her head to face him, looked Spencer dead in the eyes, then said, "you are going to leave me as well."
Spencer was shocked and mad at her ex. He wanted to comfort Tara while his blood boiled in his body and tear into the male who up and left her.
Tara watched as his emotions were clearly shown on Spencer's face. They changed from one of a very caring male, to one that showed a very dangerous side. "Spencer, are you alright?" She asked as she watched a very mean snarl cross the face of the male she cared about.
"No, I'm not alright Tara!" He responded. "How dare he do that to the female I would give my dying breath to! No one should be abandoned in their time of need, and that is exactly what he did! If I ever see that so called male, he is going to find out exactly what my teeth and claws feel like!" His wings extended out as his anger grew to the point of rage within him. "I swear, I'll kill him for turning his back on you!"
His rant awoke Inferno. He listened to Spencer rave about Tara's ex and let a puff of smoke leave his nostrils as he let out a low growl, agreeing with the enraged puma.
"Inferno, you stay out of this. He may be a complete jerk, but he doesn't deserve to be turned into charcoal," Tara said then she focused back on Spencer and said, "You don't have to kill him Spencer, that happened a long time ago and I'm over him. Besides, I've found someone much better than he ever was, and I love him dearly."
Once Spencer heard the word 'Love' leave her mouth, his anger and rage quelled. His wings shot straight out from his body, looking very majestic, as he asked, "You are in love with me Tara?"
A light smile crossed Tara's face as she walked the very short distance between the two of them. And as she rubbed her body against his right flank, she answered, "Took you long enough to figure it out Spencer, I've only been sending signals to you over the past two weeks, hoping that you would have realized, I've fallen in love with you. I hope you feel the same way about me?"
Spencer craned his head to face Tara, looked into those golden eyes once more and answered her the only way he knew how. Spencer brought his mouth to a breath's distance from hers, said, "I love you too Tara," and kissed her with every ounce of passion he had in his body.
Inferno blew a ring of smoke shaped like a heart from his mouth and moved over a few branches to give them some privacy.
Evelyn had her eyes closed and was focusing on the mind link she had with her knight. And as Spencer kissed Tara, she giggled, quite loudly.
"Evelyn, what has you giggling so much?" Gwendlyn asked.
Evelyn opened her eyes and focused on the tree where the pair of winged pumas who were hopelessly in love were perched and kissing. She happened to catch a glimpse of a white feathery wing high in the tree before she answered, "My knight has found his mate, and if I'm right, my house is going to be full of little winged balls of fluff sometime soon."
The school's bell rang, signaling the end of their recess, then Nadia said as she gathered her students, "Come on class, we have learning to do."
End of Chapter