the Return of Black Arrow
  by Jessi Hilyard


 At the Honorable Judge Dagun's office, Gabriel Clawson sat at 
her small desk, doing some research for the judge. The day was 
about as boring as watching paint dry, and the end was taking 
its time getting there. She looked up at the clock; it wasn't 
even ten o'clock yet. Sighing, she turned back to her report.

****************************************************************

 At the salvage yard, Chance and Jake were tinkering with an 
old army jeep. They had been working on it all morning, 
stripping it of its armor and other items that proved useful 
to them. Chance paused a moment to rest. He looked at his watch: 
9:45. Reluctantly, he went back to work. 
 As Jake worked on removing a panel of armor, his thoughts 
drifted off to his wife Gabriel. She worked her tail off even 
though pregnancy was starting to set in. He grinned at the 
thought of a tough Swat Kat being a father. Jake looked over 
at Chance and laughed. The thought of T-Bone as a father was 
too much.
  "What are you laughing at?"
  "Oh, nothing," he said, tears streaming down his face.
 Chance looked up from the engine he had been working on.  Jake 
hadn't laughed this hard in ages, and when _he_ laughed, either 
it had to be really funny or so over Chance's head it wasn't.
  "What's so funny?"
  "Just thinking," Jake chuckled, going back to his work. Chance 
herd him mumble something about T-Bone changing diapers. He 
growled under his breath and kicked his buddy right on the 
tail bone which sent him tumbling over. Pretty soon, the 
garage was a regular war zone.

****************************************************************

 In the basement of an abandoned apartment building sat Hard 
Drive. He had been up all night, working out the virus Razor had 
put in his surge coat. I'm going to get him back for this 
miserable night if it's the last thing I do, he thought as he 
crawled onto his cot. Hard Drive was too tired to think today, 
maybe tomorrow.

****************************************************************

 At the end of the day, Gabriel had a thirty page report on the
edge of her desk and was on the verge of going to sleep.
 Judge Dagun came out to check on how his report was coming. He 
patted his tired secretary on the back.
  "Long day?"
  "Yes."
  "I take it you don't like this job?"
  "Right, but I can't afford to quit."
  "Why not?"
  "I have a kitten coming, and my husband's employer doesn't 
pay worth a crud."
  "I see."
  "See you Monday, Judge."
  "Yes. I expect to see that report on my desk on Monday."
  "Yes, Sir."
 The judge was a sweet old tomkat. He was also huge. In 
Dagun's younger years Feral was afraid of him. The kat 
stood at least a foot taller then the commander. At least 
he cared about her well-being, she thought.
 Gabriel packed up her belongings and headed downstairs. The 
courthouse was located along the outskirts of the city, so 
traffic wasn't so bad when she drove home.

*************************************************************                                   
                                    
 Jake looked up from the fuel line he had been working on and 
at the clock.
  "Hey Chance, quitting time."
  "Hmm?" Chance looked up from his work. "Oh."
 Both tomkats crawled out from under the car and stretched. 
  Jake sighed and went to work on cleaning up their work area.
  "What do you want for dinner?" Chance asked, heading for the
small kitchen.
  "Anything."
  "How does tuna soup sound?" Gabriel asked.
 The two mechanics looked over at the new arrival. Chance 
smiled. Gabriel was the only hero the city had ever had that 
could cook for herself.
  "Sounds good to me," Jake said.
 Gabriel kissed her husband on the cheek and walked into the 
kitchen to start on dinner.
  Chance walked over to his buddy.
  "Having a she-kat around sure does beat pizza every night."
  "You said it."
  "And, what's even better, she can fend for herself."
  "Yeah. Now we don't have to worry about anything but . . ."
  Gabriel sat down and panted heavily, rubbing her stomach.
  "You okay, Gabriel?" Jake asked.
  "Yeah, I'm alright."
 Jake looked up at Chance.
  "Don't have to have to worry about anything, do we?"
  "Well, almost anything."
  "Yeah. Well, let's get this mess cleaned up and take a shower 
before dinner starts."

***************************************************************

 Hard Drive sat at his workbench, working on his plan to get 
revenge on his enemy. He had a great idea, but it had several
flaws in it. One was that Razor an electronics genius.  And, two 
was he didn't know where the Swat Kats lived.
 This perfect plan had come to him a few hours ago when the 
light above his bench had went out. From that point on, it had
only gotten better.

***************************************************************

 Gabriel awoke the next morning with a start. She picked up the 
alarm clock and read the time in a panic. Before she had time
to get out of bed, she realized it was Sunday and the alarm clock 
wasn't supposed to be set. She nuzzled into Jake's warm, furry back, 
curled up into a ball, and went back to sleep. 
 Jake woke up when he felt his wife get situated. Normally, they woke 
up really early, but on Sunday they usually woke up at six. He glanced 
over at the clock. It was only five thirty. He rolled over and kissed 
his wife. Gabriel purred and inched closer to him. Grinning, he put his
arms around her and went to sleep again
 Chance lay asleep in his room. He could never beat Jake or Gabriel 
getting up of a morning. 

***************************************************************

 Chance woke up to the smell of breakfast. He heard Jake and Gabriel in 
the kitchen talking about things. He got up and wandered out of the 
room. 
  "What's up?"
  Both kats looked up at him.
  "Not much, other than you," Jake said.
 All of them sat down for breakfast. It seemed that no matter how much 
coffee Chance or Jake drank they couldn't stay awake like Gabriel, and 
she didn't drink any.
  "She and I were talking about what to name the kitten."
  "Again?" Chance groaned, "Why not just name it Fred and be done with 
 it." 
 The siren in the garage blared to life, ending the conversation. Jake
got up and answered it.
  "Yes, Miss Briggs?"
  "Sorry about the time, but it's Hard Drive. He's in City Hall's 
 computer network."
  "We'll be right over." He hung up the alarm and turned to Chance,
"It's Hard Drive, and he's in City Hall. Let's get moving!"
 Before he disappeared down the hatch he saw Gabriel sitting at the 
table. He knew what and who she was thinking about, but he couldn't 
help her now.
 As soon as T-Bone and Razor were gone, Gabriel ran up to her bedroom 
closet. Deep inside the closet lay a large box. Opening it, she grinned
with joy at its dusty contents. She pulled out her bow and arrows. The 
kitten inside her stirred, reminding Black Arrow that she shouldn't. 
She patted her stomach.
  "Don't worry. I'll stay out of sight and danger. I can't just stand 
by while your father kills himself."
 Silently, Black Arrow snuck into City Hall. After sneaking past the 
Enforcers, she entered a small security room overlooking the huge 
lounge below her. Without a sound, the dark nimble figure waited for 
her chance.

*****************************************************************

 Razor took a deep breath and whipped around the hallway corner, 
glov-a-trix ready - nothing. Sighing, he walked down the short hall. At
the end he found double doors that led back to where he had started.
  "Where could that jerk Hard Drive be?" he whispered to himself, "I've
searched this whole building at least twice."
 He walked out into the lounge and looked around again. Razor saw
something he had overlooked, the computer at the information desk. He
typed in VIRUS. The computer hummed quietly and a screen appeared with
a long list of files.
  "I have my work cut out for me," Razor groaned as he opened the first
folder.

*****************************************************************

 T-Bone sat on the roof waiting for . . .  Well, he didn't really have
anything in particular to wait for . . .  Just waiting.
  "Razor does all the fun stuff on these computer crimes," he mumbled, "I
wonder what Gabriel's up to right now."

*****************************************************************

 Black Arrow wanted to let Razor know she was there, but she decided
against it for fear it might attract unwanted attention. 
 Something at the far side of the room caught her attention. It was
Hard Drive, and he was heading for Razor from the back. In his paws he
held a Star Wars-looking sword. The Swat Kat raised his ears and
swivelled them. Razor-Jake was one of those rare tomkats that had a sixth
sense. 
 Black Arrow fitted an arrow and took aim. She aimed for the floor
behind Razor, hoping to make him turn around and distract Hard Drive.
 The sound of the arrow triggered Razor, and he spun around and knocked the
glowing blade out of Hard Drive's paws. 
 Surprised, he hesitated for a split second, giving Razor enough time to 
trip and pin him. The startled enemy transformed into energy pulses and zapped 
into a wall socket.
 Black Arrow ran out of the room and to the roof. It was time to get
out of here before Razor caught up with her. When she reached her plane
though, T-Bone was there to greet her, soon followed by Razor. The
smaller kat crossed his arms over his chest.
  "What do you think you're doing here?" he teased, knowing good and
well that if hadn't been for her he would have been a goner.
  "Sorry, couldn't help myself," she purred in the same teasing manner.
  "Let's get you home before anything else happens," her husband said,
motioning towards her stomach.
 Black Arrow nodded and jumped into her plane. The Swat Kats jumped
into the Turbokat and waited for her to take-off. Even though she had
gone first they got home earlier.
 None noticed a dark figure waiting and smiling evilly in the shadows
of an alley.
***************************************************************

 Gabriel came out of the hanger door, shaking her damp hair. She had
taken the long relaxing route home and was hoping to have a relaxing
evening at home. No such luck though.
 Right after the first step she took, Jake slammed himself into her and
covered her protectively as a rivet gun fired several rivets in their
direction. Chance was busy trying to batt a pair of jumper cables with
a crowbar.
  "What's going on?" Gabriel grunted from under Jake.
  "I would tell you the answer, but I don't know it myself."
  "Don't you know how to stop it?"
  "I have no idea. All I know is that Hard Drive followed the jet back
 here and now he's going to drive us crazy." 
  Gabriel looked around the room and noticed a power strip that all of 
the power tools were plugged into. She crawled across the floor to it 
and pulled the plug, but, after the plug was halfway out, a jolt of
electricity ran through her body. She blacked out instantly.
  Jake ran over to her after all of the tools had gone dead. 
  "Gabriel, are you okay?" he asked, checking her pulse.
  "Man, what hit me?" she groaned, sitting up.
  Jake didn't answer; he just hugged her.

***********************************************************************

 Hard Drive slumped back to his hideout. His entire body ached from 
the previous fight with Razor. Maybe a good drink would help.
 He opened up the small refrigerator he had salvaged and pulled out a 
beer. He plopped down on his bed and opened it. The lanky kat racked his 
brain, trying to think of a good way to get back at that stupid Swat Kat. 
His first plan had failed. By the time he had figured out a good plan Hard 
Drive had drunk the alcohol.
  "Of coarse!" he said, nearly slapping himself, "I know who the Swat Kats 
are.  Plus, I know someone who would like to know as well. 
 He walked down to Enforcer Headquarters (dressed in normal clothes, of 
coarse). The thin tomkat went up to the front desk and told the man.
  "I know who the Swat Kats are," he mumbled.
  "Sure you do," the kat said, smelling the alcohol on his breath. The secretary 
pushed a button under the edge of his desk and watched two guards escort the 
drunk to a cell for the night. 

***********************************************************************

                              The End