A Change of Fighting Grounds

Hi everybody. What follows beneath is my first fanfic ever. I didn't know it would take me such a long time to finish this story. But, I must say I don't regret one single hour of the work I put into this. In fact, I hope you have as much fun reading this as I had writing it.

There is one more warning to begin with, though. English is not my native language, so please be kind on possible grammar errors in the text.

After reading, tell me what you think of this story. I'm looking forward for some criticism and praises (I hope!). You can contact me at helion.regret@gmx.net.

Legal Notes: 'SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron' and characters of the series are the property of Hanna-Barbera.

Hard Drive tries to steal secret military data and the SWAT Kats interfere. But, as the danger seems banned, small injuries force up a change of fighting grounds and threaten to reveal their secret identities.

A Change of Fighting Grounds

PART 1

A jet roared through the sky, its engines beating even the noises the wind could produce. As nobody could see much of its black and red colored silhouette the two kats in it had the same problem the other way around.

"Crud, Razor I can't see a thing in this night," T-Bone cursed through the cockpit while handling the joystick.

A soft chuckle could be heard from the rear. "Beats me how you always get the 'Space Station Kats' high score. Isn't half of the game set in outer space? Must be even darker there." Razor smiled outwards but concentrated himself on his work.

"Outer space, hey, bud? That's where you'll find yourself in a nanosecond if you can't stop tampering with our dimensional radar," T-Bone shot back good-natured.

The dimensional radar, one of Razor's high tech gadgets, was a kind of X-ray beam that could show the surrounding area on the interior radar screen. The picture was always crystal clear, no matter the weather, twilight or total darkness.

Like all their equipment, it was built from former Enforcer technical components that could be found in the salvage yard. For Razor it didn't matter whether it was dysfunctional from the beginning, junk from a chopper wreck or even a plain alarm clock. If it had just the look of electronics, it could be used.

"Working on it, aaaaaaaannnnddd...," Razor stretched the word while he connected two wires in a control panel to his right. "...Ready! Dimensional radar online again."

"Roger that," T-Bone acknowledged as the screen in front of him came back to life and filled his face with a creepy green shadow. "Let's see what we've got. Hm, seems as if the Enforcers are out of power. The whole city block is lacking electricity."

Looking out of his window, Razor searched for clues. "Yeah, now we only have to find the reason for this. Callie couldn't say much over the distress band, no more than Enforcer Headquarters was being attacked when we lost communication with her. I hope she is * HUH?*" he stopped in mid-sentence as he saw a bright blue shimmer illuminating three or four stories halfway up the building he was just observing. It had looked like a lightning, but the storm wasn't near enough downtown to have caused it.

"Hey, Razor, I've got abnormal readings on the dimensional radar. Looks like a kind of power surge..."

Commander Feral had had a very bad start on the day. The telephone had interrupted his sleep at 4.23 a.m. And, if he was angry then thinking that once again be Lt. Commander Steele was asking him to verify the easiest orders, he now wished it had just been him. The scene that greeted him on arrival was one of confusion. As could be expected, Steele had done good to get his trained men into disorder. While his adjutant had finally managed to get units mobilized, he had certainly mustered them wrong. HQ main security system was short-circuited; the backup security systems of his weapons development department had been triggered and given alarm. Some sensitive electronic instruments noticed power fluctuations and people within Enforcer Headquarters had witnessed lightning sweeping through the electronics. All hinted toward Hard Drive. In fact, Feral had gotten this straight while he was still driving toward Headquarters and had ordered the block's electricity as well as all city telephone lines cut via phone. The moment his mobile was dead, he at least knew that Hard Drive couldn't get far on these routes.

And still, Steele had screwed everything up. Who else would mobilize half a dozen tanks in front of the building? Commander Feral couldn't think of something more unnecessary to help fight a high tech villain. At that moment he heard the familiar sound of a jet flying by at low altitude.

"I don't think Hard Drive will fall for our old trick with that voltage-proof missile again," a thoughtful Razor admitted.

"So, what are we supposed to do to stop that glowing worm?" T-Bone asked to no one in particular. "If we do nothing, this little creep will spark through the electricity cables and hide in the underground without us noticing it."

"What do ya mean, buddy?" T-Bone had enough to do with keeping the jet flying. He couldn't get behind Razor's riddle besides.

"I mean, this power shutdown is more likely to be Feral's work. Because his suit needs electricity Hard Drive would only lose his advantage if power and communication were still offline once he's behind security systems.

Now, if we send high voltage into an power line not far from Enforcer Headquarters with a scrambler missile, Hard Drive will most probably find his way to the energy field, to recharge his little toy."

"...We will cut all his access lines to other electricity circuits nearby," Razor butted in. "That will leave him helpless."

"Then, we can blast him out of that dirty little jacket of his. It will make him an easy pick-up for the Enforcers." Knowing their plan, T-Bone grim-faced brought himself into position to fulfill their task. But, one thing troubled him. "Hey Razor, how are we to know when Hard Drive tries to get out of the building?" he asked.

"I think he has presently decided to do so," Razor answered with a glance at his dimensional radar monitor. On it a bright flash of energy had only a moment ago emerged on the seventeenth floor of Enforcer Headquarters and was by the minute racing down the floors toward street level with high speed.

"Here we go," he said as he locked on to a pylon near to the building. "Scrambler missile away."

The missile hit its target with sure aim. Blue electricity started to enlighten the wires attached to the pylon.

Of course, it is impossible to lay feelings into the behavior of energy. But, if one could, one would see that the high power flow racing through Enforcer Headquarters was in a most glorious mood. Everything had gone fine so far. Hard Drive allowed himself to admire his perfect plan as he dashed through several electricity circuits in his disembodied form. He nearly switched back to his normal self, just to perform the act of smiling. The city block's power failure - he had to thank the Enforcers for being so kind as to order it - had sped up his way into their Headquarters. And, miraculously, left the Enforcers in a panic at the same time. They were in the dark without orders and soon morale was down. As a result of the fact that their Commander had his shift off duty and his second seemed to be a total fool, it stayed below zero. Without much resistance, Hard Drive had gotten into the building's power lines, meddled with one backup power system or two, and at last transferred himself to the weapons development department on 17^th floor. There was what he came for.

Rumors of a new Enforcers weapon had drawn him, and, as he hacked the computer systems, he found his goal on the spot. The X-KNKR-3190 was the project code for the weapon he was going to steal. Still in an early phase of development, it didn't have a name, just this code, and it wasn't tested either. The files he copied from and afterwards erased on the Enforcer's computer contained blueprints and technical information; all there was from the weapon at this state of development. The thing may yet not have been built, but Hard Drive knew it would work. All the weapons from Pumadyne and the Enforcers that had come this far in development did. The X-KNKR-3190 combined the effects of a neutralizer gun with everything an EMP had to offer. It could short-circuit the electrics of a car and knock out the passengers as well. It even worked with buildings. He would sell the blueprints to the highest bidder, getting a nice little fortune. Or he would eventually double-cross the buyer and sell the weapon more than once. Which would get him even richer. Oh, - and he would keep one copy of the blueprints. The banks of MegaKat City would be sitting ducks without their surveillance systems and with their bank clerks out cold. Which would make him *overwhelmingly* rich.

And now, not even the SWAT Kats can stop me, he thought as the tiny energy beam he was prepared to leave Enforcer Headquarters on an underground route.

Suddenly, an unexpected force ran through the wire he had locked on to. His senses were overpowered as his suit's programming took control. New data concerning the best exit route was added and his position adjusted. Comforting as it should be, it somehow made Hard Drive shiver in the back of his mind. For half a second he didn't know where he was, didn't know which cables to jump to. As startling as it had begun, it ended soon enough. But now, something else was strange. The wire he used as transport ended fifteen feet before him, as well as twelve feet behind him. And he could feel no welcome electrical circuit for hiding nearby. Had he inhabited a body just now, Hard Drive would have had goose bumps all over it.

The one wire the SWAT Kats have left in perfect shape for Hard Drive as bait started to glow a bright blue. Razor's reaction was fast, much faster than the reflexes of an average kat would have been. He pressed the button on top of his joystick. Phase one of their plan was nearing completion. The twin TurboBlades shot away and sliced through the last intact cable at the pylon, trapping Hard Drive.

As if on command, a kat appeared in a lightning stroke. His tawny features were hard to make out as the first rays of sunrise mixed with the clouds. The hairs on Hard Drive's head were standing upright, as if drawn by a magnet. Two hard, yellow eyes looked around, searching for an escape. There was no iris in these eyes; they gave the impression of death. But, his face showed life, the angry expression that was clearly visible belied his coolness. And yet - he wasn't beaten. After a swift look-around he transformed back into his disjointed form and jumped into a tank near to him. The vehicle started to emit blue sparkles. The lid on top of it opened up and two Enforcers struggled to get out of their formerly safe machine to flee from electrocution.

The TurboKat took a direct course toward Hard Drive's newest position. Distance from the tank was dwindling, as were its chances to evade Razor's lock-on.

"Roger." Following Razor's order was no problem for T-Bone. Enforcers' tanks were heavily armed and armored by nature and thus not moving fast. Up to now, Hard Drive wasn't moving at all, the tank stood motionless on the spot where the villain had taken it over. Nothing had changed there; it still shimmered dangerously, with growing intensity.

All of a sudden, T-Bone knew it to be a set-up and furiously pulled the joystick backwards, jerking the jet into an upward motion.

"Missile away, *WHAT THE HECK*?" Concentrated on his aiming, T-Bone's maneuver had taken Razor by surprise.

T-Bone's evasive movement came almost too late. The tank exploded in a great fireball, its own ammunition adding to the force of the blast. Little pieces of metal flew everywhere. Enforcers nearby threw themselves on the ground or searched for cover. Not all of them were lucky enough to find some. Small shrapnel hit Commander Feral in his face, knocking him to the ground. He stood up again, clutched his chin and withdrew his hand. It was blood-streaked, shimmering black in the night.

Barely moments before the explosion Razor had fired his rocket. Still near the TurboKat, it was caught in the detonation, blowing up itself. Its shreds were thrown backwards; most of them hit the underside of the SWAT Kat's jet.

His little diversion worked. Hard Drive had never intended to use the armored vehicle as his escape pod. But, with the electrical supercharge it, made great fireworks. This was his key to cover his back-up way out. When the time was ready, he had jumped out of the tank again.

There was a sucking noise coming out of Razor's compartment. Additionally, a warning siren drew T-Bone's eyes to the blinking lamp. It stated 'Cockpit Pressure Loss,' an unmistakable sign of the rocket's impact. A quick glance over his shoulder nearly put the TurboKat's pilot into a shock. Razor's face was ugly, twisted, the pain in his expression evident.

"Hurt?" Razor snapped back to his old self. "No, T-Bone, I'm not injured. It's just... I'll be busy with these dents for weeks."

T-Bone's jaw dropped open wide. He had been half-mad about his partner's health and all he was concerned about was the jet? I've to talk tough with him when our night shift is done, he thought. First things first, Hard Drive is getting away. Maybe one little teasing as revenge.

"Yeah, he's not far away. Seems that the night wasn't dark enough for Hard Drive," the weapons officer replied, "He jumped off the tank and into the sewers through a street gutter. I received his readings on the dimensional radar."

"So?" intoned T-Bone, implying that his partner should stop talking and start the action. Like Razor, the damage to their jet had made him angry and he longed for payback.

"Feral won't like it." Razor's plan was similar to what he did with the electricity cable minutes earlier. Trapping Hard Drive by cutting off all the exit routes. But, with the subterranean canal it meant bringing its walls down. And, this could only be achieved by bombing the street and underlying waste system.

Two, plain explosive missiles shot away from the TurboKat and into the dark while Razor tried not to admit to himself that he enjoyed this *destructive* part of his job.

Fiery explosions turned grey night into a red inferno, and then died down. A big crater centered a street crossing at Enforcer Headquarters with no one nearby. Three hundred feet away up the main street, the second lay near to the tanks.

The fierceness of the explosion surprised even Razor. The holes were deep enough to ensure that the sewage system was blocked, but the one beside the tanks was so wide that one of them now balanced dangerously at the abyss, its front half in midair. Still, the Enforcers in it managed to make the unwanted flight so many of their comrades shared with them before it tumbled over and turned into a wrecked mess on the bottom of the pit. Regrettably, the SWAT Kats were too far away to see Feral's sour-milk expression.

"I just hope he shows up on street level. I don't want to drag him out of this duct personally." The TurboKat's pilot shuddered.

Hard Drive shuddered. He stood thigh-high in a sickly ooze. In spite of his sharp eyes he couldn't make out the color of the fluid, or any motion besides. There were no lights in the sewage systems and Hard Drive was thankful for this. Unfortunately, darkness didn't absorb stench. Every breath brought with it a cocktail of smells almost to vivid too inhale. Hard Drive fought against nausea and the urge to vomit.

Cursing the SWAT Kats helped to distract him. These masked fools always ruined his perfect plans. They were the reason why he had to wade his way through this slime. More *expressive* words echoed down the tube.

His invention and masterpiece - the high-tech suit - wasn't invincible. It needed a great amount of energy to translocate itself and its wearer. To get this, it used the link to telephone lines or power circuits to draw power from them. Standalone, its power supplies were soon spent, and overcharging the tank had taken its toll. There was barely enough energy left to zap out of the canal again, not to mention of the power needed to race bodiless down here.

Before Hard Drive came to his third round of cursing, the world turned into hell.

Some seventy feet before him, light filtered in for a moment, then the whole section collapsed in on itself, shutting the light out. The wastewater around him started to churn and a double sonic shockwave and the blast of two explosions hit him with full force. Suddenly, sitting in the tube with sewage water up to his chin and his ears ringing like church bells, Hard Drive was thankful that at least his surge suit was waterproof.

Fuming, he stood up. Although it was dark again, Hard Drive knew by instinct that he was utterly trapped. His only exit way was the same way he came in and that meant he had lost. Of course, he could stay down here, but on the other hand.... he didn't want to be down here until the SWAT Kats decided to bury him alive.

With the last power resources his suit had to offer, he became an energy beam and passed the street gutter again.

The SWAT Kats greeted him with their next missile. He was knocked off his feet, his head sent spinning. When the world stopped rotating, Commander Feral stood over him and turned up his nose.

"Hard Drive, you're under arrest," he quoted standard Enforcers arresting procedures while forcing him out of the surge suit and handcuffing him with his hands behind his back.

Slowly, because Feral had to support a staggering Hard Drive, man of law and criminal walked toward Headquarters. After a few paces, they looked up into the sky as boosting jet engines announced the SWAT Kats' departure. Feral's mouth became a thin line and Hard Drive didn't fail to notice. Maybe his plans were crossed, but not his tongue.

"What's the matter, Commander? Think your position's endangered?" All he received was an unfriendly slap on his back.

PART 2

For the first time, Hard Drive had an occasion to take a look-around at the building. Dark as it was without lights, he could see with his keen eyes that its interior was plain, matter-of-fact. The dominating color was gray and only sporadically it was covered by paintings on the wall, most of them portraying battle scenes. While these pictures were seldom to be spotted, plants were even more rare. At irregular intervals a mid-sized potted plant stood in a corner. Like the pictures, the plants were always the same sort, so that binary code looked more varied beside them.

"No wonder you're always in a bad mood, Commander. Your home makes you depressed!" There came the second frosty slap on his back. Maybe he should watch his tongue. NO CHANCE. Another sarcastic remark died on his lips as two voices floated down the staircase toward them.

"...ase of insubordination. I'll have your hide for this, Lieutenant!" A male voice, but high-pitched.

"Don't think because the Commander is your un... Ouch!" The footsteps had ceased.

Hard Drive guessed that this Lieutenant had stopped and that the second person had bumped into him.

"Listen up, Lieutenant Commander Steele." Into her, Hard Drive had to correct himself. The second voice was definitively female, and furious.

"It is the Enforcers' job to protect the citizens of MegaKat City. I've sworn to do this, no matter the cost. I didn't take an oath on the other hand to follow anyone blindly. Especially a chicken. I took command of my comrades on the flight deck, yes, where the alternative would've been to search HQ for your hiding-place. I will gladly state my reasons for doing so before the Commander, and any courtroom besides, if need be."

"Now, if you will excuse me, the reek of your smugness is overpowering." The stepping-sound revived.

He didn't get far. At this point, Commander Feral, with Hard Drive in tow, came around the corner.

"I said can it, Steele. I've overheard enough of your discussion to know it's important. I want a written report from both of you at 1100 today, but first I'll imprison this scum here," he said with a look at Hard Drive.

After he had overcome his initial shock of seeing the Commander, Steele noticed the stench on both him and Hard Drive. Luckily, he hadn't had an early lunch. Even so, he barely kept his stomach under control.

At once Hard Drive snapped alive. Uncle, that's what this Steele had tried to say earlier. Of course, this was Lt. Felina Feral, Enforcer par excellence, more-than-average fighter and hotshot. The last two characteristics she had in common with the SWAT Kats. No wonder the newspapers often made her a hero as well. She was quite tall, around 5'9" feet. Her fur was blue-gray whereas her eyes and her hair were black in color. The latter held a streak of white in it and she wore her hair in a braid. To her favor, (Hard Drive thought) she didn't look much like Commander Feral. Regrettably, she wore a grim expression whenever her gaze swept across Hard Drive. He had to be careful while near her.

"I'm fine, Felina. It is only a scratch. The MD's can look at it after I've locked up this criminal."

"This is not 'a scratch'. It's a deep wound and has to be stitched. Look at you!"

Felina was right, Commander Feral looked like hell. The cut on his face was still bleeding. The fur around the injury was blood-clotted and his trenchcoat was bloodstained all the way down.

"Any other Enforcer can lock Hard Drive away." Felina had turned from mildly upset to wildly troubled.

"I don't take 'No' for an answer!" his niece said resolutely. "I'll drive you to the hospital, and don't try to lure me out of this." Then, she grinned. "I already stand accused of insubordination once today, uncle. I'm a fast writer; I can manage two reports beforel eleven o'clock if you don't give in."

"OK, take me to the.... Just wait a minute. What's with our internal medical department?" he asked, irritated.

"When the emergency began, the sluices automatically sealed all the security relevant floors of HQ. Unfortunately, our medical facilities lie in one of them. With the electricity down, we weren't able to open the locks again. Manual back-up opening failed."

Feral made a mental calculation. Because the telephone lines were out of order, some Enforcer had to drive to the power station or the telephone station to get the sluices up again. Hospital was faster.

"Crud. To the hospital, then," he said to Felina. "Let me find a washbasin first to get the sewage smell off my arms. Lt., Lt. Commander, if you'll follow me." With this, he pushed Hard Drive into movement, and the quartet resumed climbing.

They left the staircase with the next door. A sign on the opposite wall read "5^th floor". Commander Feral left his niece and Steele standing there with the order to guard Hard Drive. He pressed Hard Drive's high-tech suit into Felina's hand and walked left down the hall to the next restroom. He found it near the end of the hallway, on the right side. At first, he took off his trenchcoat and examined it closely. In addition to the obvious patches of blood the material was torn from smaller shrapnel impacts and his fall to the ground. It went straight into the garbage can. Afterwards, he washed his arms; twice actually, until he was sure they smelled only of neutral industrial soap. This finished, he took care of his face, cleaning hi chin carefully with water and drying it up with recyclable paper towels. Next, he washed his hands - again - and searched for a cloth handkerchief in his pocket. He pressed it firmly against the cut, to still the bleeding. A small red spot showed immediately on it.

Looking a bit more fashionable, he left the restroom again, but turned right, away from Felina and company. He took two turns before he found two Enforcers guarding the corridor.

They ran down the corridor toward him and saluted militarily. Both of them Lieutenants, Commander Feral observed with the blink of an eye.

Thus reinforced, he came back to the others. Once there, he addressed the back up.

"Lieutenants, keep this criminal under guard. The Lt. Commander will take him to his cell. He is not to get away, understood?"

"Lt. Commander Steele, you have heard the orders. Have Hard Drive showered before he's locked away. This smell is disgusting."

"Yes, Sir. Of course, Sir." Steele was his usual slimy self once more. He turned to Felina and stretched his hand out. "The suit, Lieutenant."

"I'll take the suit." Commander Feral seized it first. "I'm more relaxed when I know it's where Hard Drive can't reach it."

"And you, if you want to ever see the sun again, you better tell me how I get the top secret weapon designs out of this again," he said and shook the surge suit. "Or you'll spend the rest of your nine lives in jail."

"You mean the Enforcers can actually lock someone up for longer than a week?" Hard Drive countered.

Hard Drive was forced into the staircase again, one Lieutenant to his left, one to his right, both with a firm grip on his arms. Steele followed close behind. Felina saw them taking the steps to the 6^th floor before the door fell shut behind them.

"To the hospital, Felina," Feral surprised her by saying. She had prepared herself to argue with her uncle again. When she looked at him questioningly, he only said "I'm getting a headache."

The TurboKat landed flawlessly and came to a halt on the circular platform in the SWAT Kats' secret hangar. While the platform was transported to the upper level by hydraulic force, the jet's cockpit opened up and the SWAT Kats unbuckled their seat belts. They stood up and jumped out of the TurboKat.

"Let's say half a point for Hard Drive," Razor moaned with a look at the jet's fuselage. "The TurboKat took medium damage. It will take some time to get her repaired."

"Later, buddy." T-Bone was already walking toward their lockers. "It's 6.15 by now. I, for once, want to have breakfast before we open the garage. And, don't forget the car Mr. Perkins is going to collect at 9.00 a.m. It won't drive without its ENGINE!"

"'Guess you're right. The TurboKat will have to wait," his partner replied and followed.

Two massive lockers stood against the wall, the left one marked with "T-B", the other simply with "R". T-Bone and Razor. They contained the SWAT Kats' uniforms or, when the SWAT Kats were on duty, the mechanics wear of their alter egos: Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson.

T-Bone/Chance quickly unzipped his uniform and stepped into his usual working outfit.

It all seemed unreal at times. Only one thing was a steady companion through all this years. Jake. The band of brother-like friendship between them was so intense that he would lay his bare life into his hands willingly every time.

Chance looked over to the other sideboard where Jake/Razor had just stored his uniform and began dressing again.

They had helped each other through bad times and enlightened each other in good times. Chance knew how lucky he was to be blessed with such a comradeship. As usual, he spoke a silent prayer into his locker, thanking whomever was out there that Jake and he had come back unharmed. Then, he closed his locker and, with a final look at his partner, stated, "I'll make ham and eggs," and began to walk to the ladder that granted access to the house above them.

Suddenly, he noticed the small puddle of blood at Jake's feet. A ripple ran over its surface as another drop of blood fell from his left arm into it.

Jake looked up, frowning, as if he didn't know what Chance was talking about. Then, he followed Chance's gaze and saw the blood. Slowly, he lifted his left arm and turned his hand so that he could see his palm and the underside of his forearm. His work coat was a mess. He pulled the sleeve up. There was a deep gash running crossways over the arm, positioned roughly halfway between his elbow and the beginning of his hand. It was more or less as long as his thumb and went deep, nearly to the bone.

When his friend inspected his arm, Chance winced. Although Jake tried to hide it, his face showed the pain. This was more than a shallow flesh wound. It seemed impossible that Jake hadn't noticed it earlier, but Chance knew the reason. Adrenaline. High in the sky, in mid-action, both of them had high levels of adrenaline, a hormone the body produced in situations of stress. It helped them to react faster, to raise their pulses and to still pains. The stress gone, it slowly drained off, and when Jake had visually discovered his wound all its effects were nullified.

"Does it hurt much?" As soon it left his mouth Chance knew it to be a dumb question.

Chance knew it to be a dumb answer, too. His friend made an effort to play the injury down. He rapidly walked back to him, reached into Jake's locker, found his karate sweatband and fetched it. He tied it around Jake's arm, quenching the loss of blood, and unfurled the sleeve again. A swift slash with the claw of his index finger and it was torn where the patch of blood was reddest.

Chance was already dragging him to the ladder with a grip to his good arm. "We've no time to change into the SWAT Kats again. I'm driving you to the hospital as fast as possible. If they want to know how this happened, we tell them that we started working earlier today because of Mr. Perkins' car. You got the cut when you bumped into a sharp side of the engine. Now HURRY, or I will carry you on my back!"

It didn't slow Chance down. "Out 'f the question. Not even the Enforcers will lose him half an hour after he was caught."

"Hey, careful. It's not easy to walk with ones arms behind ones the back!" complained Hard Drive. It was hard for him to maintain balance at this quickstep pace.

The doorframe they had just strided through revealed the prisoner's showers. He already knew it from former stays here; it was next to the prison cells and as barren as the rest of this cursed building. In a rectangular form, it was 32 feet long, 15 feet wide and 10 feet high. 2 x 6 showers stood in line in the middle of the room, flanking both the left and the right side. At the beginning of the line of showers, as well as between the two rows, were walking paths, 8 feet in width. A waist-high wall separated the outer path from the showers, so the water couldn't splash the place where the Enforcers guarded the prisoners.

That was Lt. Com. Steele's voice. It took Hard Drive a moment to realize that this was an answer to his protest earlier. The little prick. Now that the Commander was gone, he was tryong to play the man-in-charge, but it didn't take an expert to grasp what a helpless fool he was in reality. He said so.

"Whom did you bribe to pass the admission intelligence test here, Lieutenant Commander?"

Steele's face became an unhealthy blue. "You think you can mock me, Hard Drive? Let's see how sharp-tongued you are after a cold shower." Addressing his subordinates, he pointed to the second shower on the right side and barked, "Take him there and turn the water on. See that he can't escape the jet of water."

"They are stinking, too. The Commander said I should get *all* the smells off him." An evil grin crept onto his face as he locked faces with Hard Drive and whispered in a tight voice. "Don't hope for dry cloth too soon."

Both Lieutenants answered an affirmative, but Hard Drive knew they didn't think this was how the Commander had meant it. Hard Drive smiled inwards as they dragged him to the shower. Stupid folks were so predictable. With his teasing, he had gotten exactly what he wanted.

While one Lieutenant hold him unrelentingly, the other one stepped behind Hard Drive and loosened the cuff on his right arm. Two U-formed iron bars were solidly fastened to the wall at the height of 5 feet. They were nearly centered under the shower, only separated by one foot. The now semi-open handcuff closed around the left pole, Hard Drive's left arm still in the other half.

That was what the bars were for all along. Rebellious criminals were under control that way and had to endure the showers. But, short of murderers, the prisoners were granted the liberty to use one arm un-cuffed so they could soap themselves. Hard Drive hoped he had this freedom too because it was crucial for the success of his plan.

When the water hit him, he involuntarily struggled to back away. It was ice cold. As a result, his warders snatched his arms again to still movement. That was another thing Hard Drive could use to his advantage. He thrashed about more violently now, splashing all the three of them with douses of water. Only when he had to fear that more resistance would cause them to handcuff his second arm, did he go limp.

"Alright!" he mumbled. They didn't slacken their grips and he yelled louder. "Alright. I give up. I just want to get away from the water." He did mean it. From this short experience, he knew how an icy shower could break anyone. He was shivering from the cold already. "Could I have a bar of soap? PLEASE?"

Steele beamed at being humbly begged for. Hard Drive hated him for this and hated himself for playing along.

The Lt. Commander deliberately waited some more seconds. "You see, Hard Drive? No one mocks me! Lieutenant, bring him a bar of soap."

The grip on his left arm was released. A bit later, the other pair of arms let go as well. Their owner went a step backwards, a flight from the cold that Hard Drive couldn't escape. But, the Lieutenant still had a sharp eye on him and would be there in a second if Hard Drive started thrashing again. From the corner of his eye, Hard Drive watched the second Lieutenant go over to the opposing shower, take a bar of soap and come back.

Hard Drive turned to seemingly receive it. But, he turned left, away from the second warder. In that one second he felt his eyes on his back, Hard Drive's free hand dived into his pocket and fetched the small device. It was an electric stunner, hidden there for a situation like this: captured without the aid of the surge suit.

Of course, it was useless when the Commander got the idea to handcuff him, arms behind his back. It'd been unexpected bad luck.

A hand presented him the soap bar and Hard Drive thanked the gesture with a quick reflex. The Lt.'s eyes bulged as he saw the miniature stunner, but he didn't see the flash, nor did he hear the slight buzz anymore. The charge connected with hi hand - still clutched around the soap bar. High voltage shocked his whole arm and the Lieutenant flew back, collapsing on the wet shower floor, unconscious. Hard Drive wheeled around and pressed the device blindly into the other Lieutenant's wet clothes. The water did its own to conduct the power.

I hope he hasn't touched me, yet quickly flashed through Hard Drive's mind. The shock would stun me as well!

But, he didn't pass out. The Lt. - on the other hand - gave a short yelp and crashed down in spasms.

There was, however, one weak point in his escape plan. Just one now, but everything would rise or fall with this. He was still pinned to the shower bar. If Steele were more than a big-mouthed toady, he would be at his mercy.

He snapped his head in Steele's direction. Face ashen with fear, the Lt. Commander was stiff as stone. Hard Drive crouched and felt for the bunch of keys at the unconscious warder's belt, never letting Steele out of his gaze.

Finally, Hard Drive felt the keys and risked loss of eye contact to open the cuffs. Ten seconds later, they sprang open and he literally jumped out of the water.

The addressee didn't react, and Hard Drive anticipated to see how a few extra volts would equalize the humiliation of earlier.

Hard Drive knew instantly it wasn't played. He'd made more than enough bank robberies to see the difference between a performance and a real faint. As an Enforcer, Steele was completely useless.

"Why can't the kat be Commander instead of Feral? Life would be much more easy, like scaring kittens." He sighed.

All direct threats minimized, Hard Drive became fully aware of his wet clothes. It would be impossible to leave the building in these things. Even a blind Enforcer would find him by following the water trail he'd leave behind. Then, an idea struck him. The same fur color, the same height....

"On second thought, maybe you're not completely useless, Steele," he considered aloud, and began stripping him to the underwear. Every Enforcer seemed to avoid the Lt. Commander at all costs. It shouldn't be too difficult to get out of the building in Steele's uniform.

Hard Drive beamed. "I guess I'll make a trip to the hospital. You have something that belongs to me, Feral. And, I don't think the SWAT Kats will be there to support you this time."

PART 3

Jake glanced at his friend from the passenger seat. Chance's expression forbade any discussion. So, Jake only sighed and immediately wished he hadn't for Chance thought it to be another suppressed moan of pain.

It was the first time. An injury like this had never happened to one of them before. Of course, there were sometimes flesh wounds and bruises, but this was their debut visit to MegaKat Memorial Hospital.

Except for the incidence with what I thought to be an elderly couple last year, Jake reflected. But that was fake, to weaken my self-confidence. And, nobody was injured then.

On the way, Jake had seen the other side of Chance, the one he seldom let surface. He revealed concern and his actions showed his worries. Driving here, he deliberately left out all of his (ill-)famed short cuts. And, when Jake had mentioned that his wound wasn't serious enough to justify parking directly before ER, he was nearly drowned in a storm of protests. It had taken a whole minute to change Chance's mind.

The car abruptly came to a halt on the left side of a dark niche with three lots in it. Jake was thrown forward in his seat belt and winced again, this time from the pain in his arm.

"Chance, it's fine. You don't have to behave like I'm dying. It's just a cut. Now, let's find our way to ER and we can forget about it in an hour."

They left the car and searched for a staircase in semi-darkness. It took a while until they found it. M.M.H. was build some fifty years ago and was in a state of decay. The hospital had a backup generator in case of a power failure and it was currently running, yet it didn't help against the burned out bulbs in the car park. On top, warning signs were missing and the paint and bits of plaster were crumbling from the walls. Such things like a camera surveillance system were futuristic news when the thing was built and not installed in consequence.

Eventually, they found the staircase, the stairs worn and uneven, the iron railing rusted.

Mayor Manx had made a vow to modernize the building and to spend money on an additional wing. It had gained him an extra round as mayor and the wing would be named the Manx Wing, although the renovation was Deputy Mayor Briggs' idea in the beginning.

Unfortunately, work on the building and the new wing had just begun as Chance and Jake came to realize when they reached ER.

The ER was fully occupied, so Jake first had to sign a stack of medical forms standing at a reception desk. While Chance filled out another lot with the help of a stout nurse, one more nurse directed Jake to a door two-thirds down the hallway on the right side.

Jake looked in Chance's direction, who silently nodded that he would wait, and walked down the corridor.

Chance was through with the forms, literally and figuratively. He was already sick of the paperwork. Only one place he knew was more form-ridden, Enforcer Headquarters.

Suddenly, a couple of paramedics rushed down the length of the hall with a stretcher between them. An elderly tomcat, matching Jake's fur color, was strapped onto it. Chance could only see his milky eyes; the rest of his face was buried under an oxygen mask. A sand brown doctor ran toward them and one paramedic presented in his hand what Chance first guessed to be the old kat's scalp. He stated the case.

"Alexander Prowoyski; age 56; male; 45 minutes ago used a new glue to fasten his toupee; showed an allergenic reaction; now in shock; his wife called us immediately."

The doctor made a quick scan of the patient, but it was skilled through years of practice. "He should buy her as big a bunch of flowers as he can get. She was his guardian angel." They vanished down the hallway.

It's unfair, Chance realized. The people here do more to save the citizens of MegaKat City than the SWAT Kats ever can; yet they don't make fuzz over them in the news. They deserve more praise. There should be a holiday named after them and also a...

Why does Jake stand frozen in the open door? And, why does he look as if in shock?

Despite his promise to wait, that look on Jake's face made Chance worry about Jake's condition again, and he followed him to where he had just entered Room 3.

Chance pushed the closing door against its swing-shut motion and stepped into the room. The light in it was a nuance brighter and he had to blink twice until his eyes adjusted. He looked for Jake, his gaze skimming over a massive gray figure before he found him on a waiting chair in the back corner. Then, his head snapped back and his face mimicked Jake's expression perfectly.

An unbelieving "Commander Feral?" echoed down the swarming ER hallway before the swing-door finally fell shut and swallowed any more words.

The doctor was shaving her uncle's chin around the wound with delicacy so Commander Feral couldn't move his head. But, his eyes traced the owner of the voice down past the doctor's shoulder and Lt. Felina Feral saw his brow tighten in a frown. She was at a loss herself; try as might, she found no mental connection to the kat who had addressed her uncle, nor was there a spark of remembrance to the other one in the corner. Although not totally sure, she guessed she had never seen them before.

But, apparently, her uncle had for suddenly recognition straightened his features, and his glance and voice darkened visibly.

"Hold still," the doctor interfered. "If you don't want another cut, hold still. That includes talking."

She dared a glance over her shoulder to the big, yellow kat who wore a long-armed white t-shirt and an overall, the color something between green and blue, sleeves rolled up, over it.

"I'm Dr. Ellen Burkes. There are more injuries than usual tonight, I'm afraid, so you'll have to wait. Just take a chair in the corner like everyone else."

"What? Oh, no, I'm not injured. I accompany my friend," he stated with a glance at Felina's uncle.

"That's good. So, maybe I'll get a break before noon after all." Her voice said she didn't believe it. "Get seated anyway. You standing makes me nervous pacing, and my patient too it seems. Hold still!"

Commander Feral's wiggling stopped right away when Dr. Burkes increased the pressure on the razor, but he still glared angrily.

Felina asked herself why. Her uncle had referred to the two kats as Lieutenants and her brain had made double shifts ever since. No conclusion; she didn't know them.

Curiosity kills the kat she quoted silently, but she would die more quickly if the question continued to block her tongue.

"Only on the paper." The answer was given swift, bitter. It came from the injured kat this time, whose face was a shade whiter than normal. He was dressed in the same outfit as his friend, except that his t-shirt had normal arm length.

"Yes, we're still Lieutenants, but the way we earn our wages isn't usual, ain't that right, *Commander*?"

"Yeah, lucky for you that there is an Enforcers' salvage yard far away from civilization where unwanted youngsters can rot to infinity."

Commander Feral's face flushed with anger and even the doctor couldn't hold him back. "Your fates were self-made and you deserved it. Be glad I didn't strip you of your ranks as well, or you'd pay me back till Judgment Day! Your lack of thinking endangered many innocent citizens. Two rookies trying to play *OUCH!*"

Dr. Burkes had finished shaving and had prepared for the stitching. The first stitch had caught Feral off guard.

Both Lieutenants had a smile on their lips, trying desperately not to show this. At last, Felina knew the names to the faces.

Actually, she didn't make out who was who, but the story that followed their fates was a legend and still in every mouth (and object of wild speculation) of every first-year cadet.

'Don't try a Clawson / Furlong on Commander Feral!' was a winged expression at Enforcer HQ. All recruits with a wild nature were confronted with it.

All except one. Felina was well aware that most of her superiors had tolerated her behavior because she was 'Commander Feral's niece'.

These two hadn't been so lucky and Felina didn't envy them for their new occupation. They had an aura of being haunted. Doubtless, the mental scars of the dismissal they had encountered. Besides, they looked tired, as if they had to work nocturnally for the work to pay off the debt, and yet weary, almost fearful of their own shadows.

Life simply is not fair, she thought. Then, she remembered that she was here because of her uncle and turned to find his wound tended and hidden under an oversized white plaster.

"That's it. As good as new. The stitches have to be removed in two weeks. Either you come back here, Commander, or let your internal doctors do it. Anyway, come back here *at once* should there be any problems. I know you guys are stiff-necked, but don't underestimate the danger of an inflamed wound in your stupid manly pride."

Felina seldom saw her uncle verbally overpowered. This was one of these scarce times. By sheer luck more than anything else, she hid her grin, but not all of those present were lucky. The mechanics unsuccessfully suppressed a laugh.

"Stop that snickering, young men. What I said goes true for you, too. Do you have the slightest idea how many accidents would never occur if you men used your heads for thinking instead of for wearing hats." It wasn't meant as a question but a statement.

"And, now to the next of you rascals." She pointed to the injured mechanic, who stood up on command.

This goes in circles, Felina got alarmed, seeing her uncle heat up to the argument, and quickly prepared for an exit. "Uncle, I would rather not let Steele be in command longer than absolutely necessary. The guy is a goof."

For seconds, Commander Feral was inconclusive, then fell for it. "You're right, Felina. Ma'am, thank you for the treatment, but now we have matters to attend to."

His niece let out a sigh when he shoved her toward the door. She turned her head and said goodbye to the ex-Enforcers, who retorted at once.

And then, they were in the corridor again with its bustling activity, the vocal melee of doctors, nurses and patients, and two or three instrument tables with several pieces of medical equipment.

While they turned left and walked down the corridor, Felina thought of Steele and how she could justify her behavior here and now, but it was too loud for conversation and, besides, she hadn't done anything wrong. It would have to wait.

The corridor ended at a T-crossing with an old cast iron radiator directly in front of her. This must be nearly antebellum, came to her mind. A left-turn again and her view on the radiator was replaced by the shadow of a familiar figure.

"Steele, what are you doing here?" her uncle's words boomed in her ears, and then faded out along with the rest of the world.

The meeting in the hallway had been a surprise for both parties, but Hard Drive recovered faster from it, with a negative effect for the Ferals.

Felina Feral fell to his electric stunner like a tree to a chainsaw and her uncle seemed glued to his position, surprised and shocked. In this unique moment, Hard Drive loved Steele, loved his disguise. Before it could change to his disadvantage, he moved the two steps toward the Commander and repeated the stunning procedure. Cold eyed, he watched how quick 6'8" feet could sag.

"I think that's mine, Commander," he spat at the unconscious form, grabbing his surge suit. He turned to go, but thought better of it. One corridor was deserted - everyone had fled - the other had emptied at least up to the next waiting area. Nobody wanted to oppose him, not even doctors or ludicrously brave civilians. And, better yet: no more Enforcers and no SWAT Kats. It was an once-in-a-lifetime chance to get rid of Commander Feral.

All he needed was electricity. His electric stunner was worn out, but this hospital had power, thanks to the backup generator.

"Enjoy your last minutes of sweet slumber, Commander, 'cuz you won't wake up no more!"

He put on the still stinking suit, totally drained of power after the ordeal at Enforcer Headquarters. How he missed the thrilling feeling that usually rushed through his body - even altered his appearance. He felt so... weak... without it. With a sigh he went over to a naked bulb at the wall and misused his electric stunner to smash it.

Carefully fingering for the circuit, his figure was suddenly bathed in blue and he sucked on the energy like an addict.

It looked as if there was no end to Dr. Burkes' complaints. Chance wondered how she managed to soak the swab with a disinfectant from a glass bottle and keep talking at the same time. But she managed, flawlessly, and treated Jake's arm with the fluid. Not that he realized her words or their meanings. Only one thing occupied his mind: "Clawson and Furlong".

To see the recognition and the pity in her eyes had stabbed him like a dagger. Now his old wound, the wound no doctor but time could ever heal, had opened up again. It made him angry, angry with the Commander, with himself, just with everyone.

Their Lieutenants' income mostly confiscated for the repair on Headquarters, Jake and he had to earn their living with the profits of the garage. Only it lay so far from civilization that seldom a customer lost himself to their home. Except for some regular customers like Callie or Manx (he chose them for their cheap prizes) business was poor.

Chance knew well enough that his living at the salvage yard, in combination with their secret identities, offered a life that was often as good as a career at the Enforcers, even better sometimes.

And yet, the humiliation, the loss of Enforcer friends (some of them real friends, who still visited them regularly, some of them just pseudo-friends, who turned their backs on them the moment they got grounded), had turned his life upside-down and it still angered him sometimes.

If he wouldn't get out of here and pace his anger away, the Dr. would be the innocent victim of an outburst and Chance would hate himself afterwards.

He focused his eyes and looked up. Dr. Burkes held a syringe in her hand, prepared to inject Jake wiht a dose of a local anesthetic. Great, he wailed silently; it would look as if he couldn't stand injections. Oh well, he didn't care; he was already doomed in the Doctor's eyes for having the wrong gender.

"Ehm, I, well, I guess I can't help here. I'll wait outside and see if the Commander is really gone for good."

Jake looked up in surprise, then met his face in understanding and nodded, so he stormed out of the room and nearly ran into a shoulder-high instrument table. It had wheels so that it could be shoved up and down the corridor, and it rolled away from the impact.

The door closed, muting Dr. Burkes' exaggerations about men and their weaknesses. Chance leant against the wall for a moment and closed his eyes to cut off his anger, to sort his thoughts.

First, the injury and then the coincidence of meeting Commander Feral here unmasked were two things out of the ordinary. *Much* out of the ordinary.

Everyone seemed to be running for cover in the waiting area and further down the corridor. Chance leaped from side to side so as not let the stampede carry him away.

What's going on? he wanted to scream at the masses, yet the question died in his throat when he witnessed a figure fall at the far end of the hallway. Commander Feral. Between single forms in the subsiding rush of people, Chance furthermore saw how the surge suit was taken away from him by...

....Hard Drive. The connection exploded in his brain and set his pulse pounding through his veins. From that moment on, Chance did everything on instinct, letting the SWAT Kat part of him take control. He couldn't face the electric eel in this outfit. Luckily, he and Jake always had a pair of SWAT Kat uniforms in a secret compartment under the car's rear seat.

With more force than necessary, he pushed the door to Room 3 open again and called to Jake. "Jake we totally forgot about Mr. Perkins. He'll want to collect his car soon and we still have his *spare parts* in *our car*. I'll wait for you there and let the engine run. Come *ASAP*."

Then, he was gone, with no time for Jake or Dr. Burkes to raise a question. Chance guessed his friend would be very confused, considering his vague hint. But, he was clever enough; he'd understand it.

Running down the corridor the way the stampede went, away from Hard Drive so not to make him suspicious, Chance finally found a second staircase that led to M.M.H.'s car park. Halfway down the stairs the lights began to flicker.

One silent curse followed another. This just wasn't his day. *Of course,* M.M.H. had to be connected to the same city block as Enforcer Headquarters. In effect, it had its backup generator running, and that old darling couldn't stand the amount of energy withdrawn and threatened to shut down, so Hard Drive was forced to reduce the power input to his surge suit once again. No, definitely not his day. It was like catching fish with your hands, possible, yet slow and tiring. Normally, his suit would be charged with 30 to 35 percent by now, but his display stated '17%'. Well, 70 - 75 percent would be enough for what he intended, but that aim was still far, far away.

Don't let them wake up, not so soon, he repeated in his mind, meaning the Ferals.

And then, rather unexpectedly, he felt the backup generator's energy flatten away, replaced by energy from another source. The city's power net was online once more.

Two steps at a time, then three. Jake jumped down the stairs in neck-breaking maneuvers for he knew time was a luxury he couldn't afford. The underground car park was still deserted and dark. Perfect.

Inside the car, he found Chance, completely changed into T-Bone, busy fingering on the special instrument panel.

"Wanna walk back home?" T-Bone snapped back, never lifting the eyes off the buttons and the monitors before him.

Jake laughed aloud and hit his head at the doorframe. "Ouch! This is more a metal coffin than a dressing room. It's even too cramped for one of us. So, why are you still here? You changed completely minutes ago."

"And, what do you think we should tell Feral about how we know about Hard Drive's showing up?"

"You young man should use your head for thinking instead of for wearing hats. Or should I say 'a helmet'?"

T-Bone switched the radio on, the Enforcers' band tuned in. A monotonous male voice could be heard, yet it had an underlying, fearful edge.

"....peat. Attention all units. Hard Drive has escaped. First location to search for the suspect is MegaKat Memorial Hospital. All units near the destination are ordered to surround the building. The Commander is in the building and has to be warned of the eminent danger ASAP. Proceed with care. I repeat. Attention all units. Hard Dr..." T-Bone cut it off.

"It started two minutes ago and runs in a loop. When I first heard it, I began to bring the TurboKat here by remote control," he hinted toward the panel and the joystick and buttons he was operating. "It's landing on the roof just... *now*. The staircase winds all the way up to the roof, so when we emerge from the exit in the ER, it will look as if we just arrived on top of the hospital."

That would work, Jake thought, closing the zipper on his uniform while he watched T-Bone open the door.

From his peripheral vision, Hard Drive noticed Commander Feral stir. To late for you. Without haste, he disconnected the power flow and readied himself. Feral made a feeble and vain attempt to crawl away on all fours.

"Feel dizzy, Commander?" mocked Hard Drive. "Well, actually, you should still be out cold, but I guess the stunner wasn't powerful enough anymore. All the better, you'll meet your end with full awareness. Try not to look too *shocked*," he giggled at his pun.

Hard Drive bent down to touch the Commander. Power built up in his jacket and tickled his flesh, with the result that he didn't hear the "NO" scream racing down the corridor.

What stopped him from electrocuting Feral, though, was the explosion that happened right above his head and sprayed debris of brick from the left wall all over him.

In the next moment he lay on his side, his ears ringing for the second time that day and the running kat came nearer. A SWAT Kat.

Panic welled up in Hard Drive. He crawled out of the heap of rubble and considered flight, till he saw some fallen thing on the floor beside him.

A pole. It was a pole for IVs, with two hooks at the top where the plastic bags containing the liquid medicines could be hung. Hard Drive couldn't care less. He didn't know the medical expression for the pole, and he didn't care, either.

The option of flight totally forgotten, Hard Drive snatched the pole up and turned. The old cast iron radiator was before him, its antique coils misshapen and bulky, like oversized O's on a chain. Twenty to twenty-five of these O's were there, the holes in their middles wide enough to push the pole through.

Which was exactly what Hard Drive did. After it was firmly attached and the radiator looked like a big piece of meat on a spit, he touched the outer edge, stepped as far off as he could without losing contact, and pointed his finger to the radiator's other end.

Like a source of electrical energy, his fingers emitted a current and it leapt into other side of the radiator. The circuit was complete; energy raced through the spiral and Hard Drive felt it heat as a side effect. All around him the air began to sizzle with static energy.

Razor, who had made quite a spurt to gain on T-Bone, for the first time ever, cursed his speed. He'd run straight into the trap.

The newly constructed apparatus before him was an electromagnet. Sort of, anyway. For a pupil presenting a teacher a miniature version of Hard Drive's magnet they would have received an 'E', maybe even an 'F'. The pole (or iron core) was too small in diameter; the winds of the radiator (or the coil) were made of iron, too, where copper or gold would've been a much better conductor. And, there were far less winds than necessary to withstand the amount of energy. They were already beginning to melt away like butter in a pan. In a minute, it all would be a worthless clump of iron.

But, this was no school project; it didn't need to stand eons, just now. And, it was the high energy level that made it work *just now*.

Everything metallic was drawn to the magnet, including their glovatrixes and helmets, and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it but to relent, else they'd be drawn as well.

"Watch out!" T-Bone yelled and both fell on the ground instantly, metal medical instruments flying through the air like weapons where their heads had been seconds ago. Other metallic things ricocheted off the walls and even a whole instrument table was drawn to its doom by the electric siren's call.

"Crud, he has us unplugged," T-Bone cried over the noise to Razor, echoing his thoughts.

Razor smiled despite the situation. "Your fault. Bad missile aim, amateur," he shouted back.

A picture of the look on T-Bone's face would have won the Pulitzer Price for Ann Gora.

"Alright, I knew I'd get it back sooner or later, but what can we do against Hard Drive?" he asked, watching Feral desperately releasing the wrist watch that was about to pull his arm off. Luckily, still unconscious, Felina Feral wore no metallic things beside her pistol, and that, like her uncle's, was long lured away.

"I have an idea. Keep Hard Drive occupied for some minutes." With thi,s Razor ran away, averting oncoming metallic missiles like in a bad jump-n-run game. Behind him, the magnetism ebbed away.

T-Bone dared to stand up. The T-crossing resembled a battlefield. Metal had fallen to the floor on the spot just when the magnetism had stopped. Other things had molted away with the radiator and the pole, and only a swollen-up mound of metal waste remained. The walls had gotten the lion's share of the damage, being leveled by the explosion of the glovatrix's missile, scratched by sharp metallic objects and melted by the heat of the radiator, a heat that had forced even Hard Drive to withdraw some steps.

Now, he urged T-Bone to attack by with a motion of his hand. "One wet his pants. What about you? Come and fight me, coward!"

If he wanted to force a reaction with the insult, he was disappointed. T-Bone didn't move one stride, knowing that his glovatrix would've absorbed Hard Drive's power while he couldn't. "The moment I am *that* dumb, I'll become a criminal!"

Hard Drive snarled. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let's raise the stakes a bit. Do you prefer a living Feral to a dead one?"

For a split-second, T-Bone thought he meant the Commander, but he had gathered a good distance between himself and the fighting scene. Hard Drive took a step to the side and there ly Felina, still unperturbed by the racket, ignorant of the danger she was in.

It was the perfect bait, and T-Bone racked his brain for another solution. There was none.

Screaming out his fury as loud as he could, he charged Hard Drive, who straightened up in anticipation of a one-sided fight with him as the victor.

T-Bone gained speed, jumped over the rubble, yet when the power Hard Drive built up became visible from sheer intensity, T-Bone realized it wouldn't make a difference.

At the very last instant, an alternative popped up out of nowhere and he threw himself to the ground, slithering past Hard Drive. Hard Drive was too surprised to counter the measure and his main blast missed him. Still, the rest of the energy shot through his body and it felt like a thousand needles stabbed every single part of his skin. Then, the momentum on the waxed floor carried him out of Hard Drive's grasp and the pain subsided slowly. It felt like heaven. He raced by Felina, clutched onto her and dragged her with him, using her counterweight to slow down at the same time.

No... No. Razor rummaged through the pile of utensils on the instrument table, but the object of his desire eluded him. On a lower shelf was a gruesome bean in a sealed jar, from a small boy or girl's ear, Razor presumed. The jar was flanked by various comrades, medical gloves, and a pair of scissors, soaps... No. There were two more instrument tables in the corridor; maybe he should try his luck at one of them...

His eyes found the bottle he'd searched for and Razor grabbed it with the intention of leaving, yet he stopped in his tracks when his arm reached for something else. "Crud, T-Bone, I hope you can give Hard Drive a hell of a fight a bit longer," he voiced as he recognized the object. Our future could raise or fall with this.

He didn't take one object from the instrument table - as he had intended, but three. Alone in the corridor, no one noticed him opening Room 3, and Dr. Burkes had fled like anyone else. Even if someone had seen, who'd have thought that this kat became a regular visitor today?

A groan escaped Felina's lips, the first sign of her return to wakefulness. Nonetheless, it would take her a while to shake off her dizziness. T-Bone was the barrier between her and Hard Drive; he had to prevent him from getting to her.

The probability of discharging Hard Drive's surge suit to the point of vulnerability was roughly zero. Alas, Hard Drive was aware of this, too, and didn't waste time to attack.

"What now? Seems you're not so bright after all. Let me teach you!" Hard Drive made a show with his hands, letting high-voltage jump between his palms.

Pressed for time, T-Bone scanned the floor. Not far from him lay a fire extinguisher, and hope came back with its discovery.

"Hard Drive your puns aren't funny at all and I'm not in the mood at 8 a.m., so would you please *SHUT UP*," he made a dive for it.

A side roll and he had it in his hands. Looking up, he saw Hard Drive coming for him with gritted teeth before he found the release button. He aimed the fire extinguisher at Hard Drive, pressed the button, and then there was only white.

The snowy powder spread the whole T-crossing. It was like a blizzard, one couldn't see the hand before ones own eyes.

Now our chances are even, T-Bone wanted to scream at Hard Drive, but he'd give himself away. With two silent side steps directly into enemy lines he aimed a fist at where he thought Hard Drive should be.

It connected with a soft smack and he heard him fall to the ground. T-Bone grinned and moved on, intending to sneak up on Hard Drive from behind.

He was in position and ready to once again hit blindly into the whiteness, when his hairs raised from voltage. His strike missed, fortunately, and T-Bone jumped back a step. All around him, the powder clotted like wet snow and fell to the ground.

Everything at the T-crossing was visible for a second time, Hard Drive included, who smiled menacing at T-Bone. "Impressed what a little extra-charge can do?"

T-Bone did a reverse somersault over the instrument table. Without thinking, he took hold of its end and raced Hard Drive down. Only when he didn't step aside, T-Bone knew he'd made a mistake, yet he didn't manage to lose hold on the table in time.

Hard Drive sent his power into the metal thing and T-Bone was seized by the energy and flung backwards until he slammed into a wall. Lacking a helmet, the impact stunned him and took the wind out of his lungs.

So did Hard Drive, and he came closer. "It's over. Poor SWAT Kat, deserted by your friend. Alone, you're no match, you hear me? No match!"

His enemy was on the same level with the former radiator by now. In three steps, T-Bone dreaded, his life was doomed.

"I don't need a match!" Razor's scream came down the corridor and brought Hard Drive to a standstill in midstep.

He ducked just in time to evade the bottle flung for him. It burst on the metal heap behind him and spilled its liquid contents all over the wall and Hard Drive's suit.

"...I have a lighter," the SWAT Kat concluded, igniting the flame on the lighter in his hand and throwing it into the puddle at the end of the corridor with all his might. He'd found it in the smoking area in ER, left there in the panic.

The liquid was the disinfectant that Dr. Burkes had used on Jake and it was 95 percent ethanol and methanol, or simply alcohol. It caught fire easily. The surge suit burned too, the plastic material ablaze, the wires in it losing their insulation.

For an instant, Hard Drive didn't realize he was on fire, not until the smell of smoldering plastic told him of his worst fears. He tried to switch into his disembodied form, but the suit only emitted sparks and crackled on.

The flames built up in size and everything around Hard Drive was forgotten. His revenge, the secret development plans in his suit, even his getaway. All that mattered to him now was his life, and he rolled on the floor to extinguish the flames.

Eventually, he managed to quench them, but he took his surge suit off anyway because of its heat. Promptly, he remembered his precious liberty. Quick as a weasel, he made an effort to flee, but Razor was with him and landed a punch on his head that tore him into oblivion.

"Thanks, SWAT Kats," she led Hard Drive away. At the far end of the corridor, she met an onrushing group of Enforcers. They took Hard Drive in custody and forced him back to their cars. Felina stayed close to prevent Hard Drive from escaping again.

"There's your backup. Late as usual, Commander," T-Bone teased and the SWAT Kats walked down the corridor in the other direction.

Commander Feral didn't seem to hear. He knelt by the burned up surge suit and studied its remains. Angrily, he stood up, stormed after them, caught Razor's left arm and yanked him around.

"Do you know what you've done? There was data in Hard Drive's suit that was worth millions. It was also important for our weapons department. Now, we might never recover the data thanks to your foolish stunts. If so, you've thrown back our studies by years. I will forgive this because you have saved Felina's life and mine, but tell me something. *How do you know that Hard Drive was here?*"

T-Bone watched traumatized as their secret identities dissolved. His efforts to make up a believable story for their appearance, all in vain.

Yet, Razor managed a genuine puzzled look, and Feral, on the other hand, seemed disappointed.

He managed to peek at the arm himself without revealing his concern. There was no wound or plaster, only an unbroken mantle of fur.

T-Bone was more than astonished, but he hid it with confrontation. "Your Enforcers' band, what did ya think? It's making a good job at pronouncing your helplessness. I don't know what your game is," he said with a nod at Razor's arm, "but, I think Hard Drive's blast did more to your brains than I thought."

Feral let Razor go. The stare he gave them was alarming. "One day you two will make a mistake, and then I'll find out who you are. You will pay for acts."

But, the SWAT Kats were already running down the hallway, missing the last words.

He walked to meet his men. To think the SWAT Kats were former Enforcers. Feral sniffed at his idea. The kats he'd met in Room 3 looked too worn out to be masked maniacs. Wondering how he had made the connection in the beginning, Feral left MegaKat Memorial Hospital and neared the Enforcer car that waited for him.

Before he could climb into it, he heard the TurboKat lift off and he craned his neck to see it flying away from the roof.

Well, just two more kats to erase from his long list of possible subjects. Eventually, he would narrow the SWAT Kats down.

He closed the door behind him and the car sped away. There was another matter that had to be dealt with and he was interested in its outcome. He leant back, preparing for the meeting with Lt. Commander Steele.

EPILOGUE

The glance he earned was more than skeptical. "Two or three traffic jams, I'd bet."

"Bingo, I confess you're right. Commuter traffic." At 8.15 a.m. the streets of MegaKat City were one big mass of vehicles, performing a gigantic car-horn opera. In between all those cars, his truck's extra power didn't make a difference. The way back home had taken him more than an hour. It was 9.20 o'clock by now.

"Yes, I repaired the car just in time. Had to skip breakfast, though. And, all the while, I guess you practiced your magic tricks?"

"Your arm. How'd you do it? First, I thought Feral grabbed your wrong arm, but now I'm sure he didn't."

"Oh, that." Jake had totally forgotten about it. "You haven't figured it out already?" he responded with a question.

His friend waved his greasy hands. "I've had enough things to worry about. So, will you tell me, or have you vowed not to tell anyone?"

Jake laughed. "Sure, I'll show you." He exposed his arm where the wound should have been, but where everything seemed normal.

Chance's eyes widened with unbelief as Jake peeled away a rectangular part of his skin. Under it, the stitched wound, without its original plaster, was revealed.

"What the....?" There he stopped, the answer dawning on him. "The guy with the toupee," he whispered, remembering the older kat on the stretcher.

"You're right, a toupee," Jake had understood the last word. "It lay on the instrument table with the disinfectant and a pair of scissors. The color fit mine, so I thought I should take no chances."

"I'm glad you didn't. I thought my heart was about to stop when Feral pulled your sleeve up."

"Me too, I admit. That was a close call." Jake was relieved. "But now, Feral thinks we can't possibly be the SWAT Kats. I'd say that's good to know for the future."

"Yeah. One problem solved, thousands to go." The doorbell interrupted Chance. "Speaking of problems. Are you expecting anyone, or is it just Burke and Murray delivering their morning greetings?"

"Well, she was so sad, and although she didn't say it, I guess she kinda fell for you," Jake mumbled on before Chance could interrupt. "I knew you'd mind, but... she's very convincing with that razor in her hand. She had our address from my medical form anyway, so I invited her for an early lunch. I didn't think she'd come so soon."

Chance harrumphed. "Kindly greet her? She can be glad if I don't jump at her throat. And, as for you," he said, walking toward the door, "I can't believe you did that."

He passed the living room and the hall and opened the door with such strength that the doorknob slammed into the wall and the person before the house cringed. But, it wasn't Dr. Burkes. It was a teenage kat from a pizza delivery service.

It took Chance a while before he realized and when, after a long wait, he found some money to pay him, the boy ran away from this mad kat at top speed.

Chance closed the door and found Jake in the living room, lying on the floor in front of the couch in a fit of laughter.

"Yeeees," Jake managed between laughs. "I kn..ew ...ha ha... you'd miss lun...ch." He had to stop again until he calmed down. "But I did... didn't think... you'd fall for the Dr. Bur..kes story. ...ha ha... I mean, it's *so* ob... obviously a joke."

"Ne..ver. I'm not *that* ea..sy to con...vince!" Jake held his stomach; it hurt from laughing.

"Ha! Huh?" He stopped his laughter, but was unable to prevent Chance from forcing him into a headlock. "Chance, what...?"

"Now I'll show you my personal magic trick. I can miraculously change a dry kat into a wet one. Wanna see?" He dragged Jake to the bathroom with him.

"What? Chance, you can't possibly mean.... Come on, stop it, the pizza is getting cold." They moved on. "You wouldn't dare, would you Chance? Chance...? NO! Chance!"

A Change of Fighting Grounds

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

EPILOGUE

THE END