TIME TRAVEL, PART 4 "This is Ann Gora, Kats Eye News, with day 24 of the what has been deemed the Megakat City crisis," Ann said with an apparent lack of enthusiasm. "More and more Kats everyday seem to be leaving the city, with no means of supporting themselves. This once thriving metropolis, which once served as the home for over two million, now only supports a few thousand. Crime has increased by a near 200 percent, keeping the enforcers busy at all times. Even with his increased amount of resources Commander Ulysses Feral has had great difficulty maintaining order. The task of rebuilding the city has been delayed as well, due to Dr. Viper's attempt at retaking the city with his mutation serum. Due to unknown causes, Viper failed in his attempts," she stopped briefly, allowing an image of Doctor Viper to appear behind her. "Viper was found shortly after the event, in what seems to be a coma like state, and, due to limited medical resources, he has been left that way as he is in a stable condition," she paused, switching to another topic. "In other news, the Pastmaster was found in a similar state near City Hall, and doctors are likewise unable to bring him out of his state either. Even with these two dangerous criminals out of commission, riots occur almost on a daily basis, and rumors of the Metallikats and Hard Drive resurfacing run rampant. As earlier stated, High Command has granted the Enforcers direct martial law control over the city, so remember that curfew is at 9 PM sharp," Ann finished as she put her notes down and addressed the camera personally. "All of the events that have led up to all of this are very strange, and have caused a lot of chaos and destruction; that's why we must remain strong and work to hopefully bring this city back together, that is why Kat's Eye News will remain here, giving you the information that you need. So, until next time this is Ann Gora, signing off." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been a week since Viper had tried to take over the city, and Chance was once again taking a long shower, hoping to get rid of that creepy feeling that he had when he had mutated. He quickly finished, not wanting to waste too much water, since they didn't know how much they would have left. He got out, and dried off, and changed into a clean pair of mechanics overalls. Well, at lest things were going slightly better, he thought. For once the Enforcers were too busy to bother them, and the Turbokat was almost finished. He decided to go down into the Hangar to see what Jake was up to. Jake could be seen over at his workbench, fiddling around with another piece of technology. "What are you up to, buddy?" Chance asked, climbing down the ladder and into the Hangar. "Well, I'm reconstructing the main flight control assembly," Jake said as he used a soldering iron to piece together the small electrical components. "Lemme give you a hand with those stabilizers than," Chance said, pointing to a stack of the custom tail fins of the Turbokat that Jake had yet to attach. "Yeah, might as well get some of the exterior construction finished," Jake said as he set aside what he was working on. They both walked over to the stack, and with a coordinated heave they lifted the first one up on top of the frame of the Turbokat, and put it in its proper place. "Okay, now just hold it there while I weld it in place," Jake said, as he hopped back down. Chance jerked for a second, struggling to hold the heavy stabilizer while Jake went off to go find the torch. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "This is too perfect," Dark Kat said aloud. He stood at Megakat Docks, not afraid of being seen, as there was virtually no one around. His Creeplings stood by his side, while he held a remote control in his claws. Out in the distance on the water, a boat responded to it, steering towards the awaiting fleet. "Those enforcers will never know what hit them," said a cocky Dark Kat as he increased the boat's speed and changed the trajectory towards the giant aircraft carrier. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Commander Feral sat in his chair in the control room of the carrier, in a fairly good mood considering the circumstances. "What's our status?" he asked to no one in particular. An officer turned to face him. "Another riot has broken out in the downtown district, troops are responding; it shouldn't last longer than an hour," the officer replied. "Good," Feral said. It was nice to be able to resolve the problems in the city, especially with some extra force to do so, Feral thought. As soon as he finished the thought he was knocked out of his chair and onto the deck plates as the lights dimmed and a loud explosion reached his ears. "What happened!" Feral shouted as he got back up. The lights then went out completely as systems crashed throughout the ship. "We've collided with something, sir," the officer replied as the damage report came in. "One of our main power conduits that lead from the nuclear reactor to the rest of the ship has been severed; repair teams are already on their way." "That's just what I need," Feral said aloud. "What did we hit?" The officer talked with another crew Kat and turned to face him again. "We're not sure, there's nothing left out there," the officer replied. "Fine, what's our status now?" Feral asked again. The officer once again examined his panel before it blinked out. "The carrier itself has been incapacitated, although we can still launch air squadrons if necessary." "So, we're dead in the water?" Feral asked. "Yes." Feral slammed his fist down on the armrest of the chair, snapping it clean off. So much for the day starting out nice, he thought. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Both Jake and Chance stepped back to admire their work, having just finished attaching the stabilizers that gave the Turbokat its sleek look. It had taken no more than an hour, and the work wasn't too hard, but they both felt a great sense of accomplishment. The Turbokat was finally coming together once again. Their brief moment of silence was broken by the radio that they kept tuned to the Enforcer frequency. "...repeat, Dark Kat has been sighted, all available craft respond..." the radio crackled with the urgent orders of the dispatcher. "Dark Kat!" they both said in unison. Not hesitating they quickly ran over to their lockers on the other side of the hangar, and practiced by what was now second nature, changed into their SWAT Kat flight suits. "What do you think that he's up to this time?" Chance asked as he zipped up his blue flight suit. "Maybe it's what that McGrath guy has been warning us about," Razor thought aloud as he donned his helmet. Both grabbed their glovatrixes as they ran not for the Turbokat, but for the Thunder Truck that Jake had refurbished just in case something happened before they finished repairing the Turbokat. Chance, now T-Bone, leaped into the front seat as Jake now Razor took his position at the Megalaser in the back. T-Bone threw the truck into high gear as they sped forward, on their way to deal with whatever threat that Dark Kat might have up his sleeve. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Commander Feral had personally accompanied the now launched fighter squadron, taking the lead himself. A dozen fighters should be enough to take whatever Dark Kat can throw at us, Feral thought confidently. It was unfortunate that the carrier had been immobilized, but that was only a minor setback; soon it would be operational again. "We have the target on radar," another Enforcer pilot said over the radio. Feral saw it too, the blip of the fear ship reading loud and clear. "All Enforcers, prepare to engage on my mark," Feral ordered as he locked on his weapons systems. The target on his heads up display glowed red to indicate a lock. "Fire!" The dozen standard issue Enforcer jets all opened up with a volley of laser fire as they streaked after the craft. The Fear Ship obviously noticed this as it took evasive maneuvers to avoid the incoming fire. "Match course and heading," Feral ordered as he did so himself. The squadron complied as they flew after the craft. Feral gave a brief thought of worry as the craft reversed course and was now heading back toward Megakat City. Dark Kat must be getting braver, Feral thought as the craft dove downward, into the maze of buildings and freeway overpasses. "Sir, we can't match that course without..." the transmission was cut short as one of his wingmen collided into an overpass, exploding into a large ball of fire. Feral gave a sigh as he was briefly saddened by the loss, but he continued on with the pursuit. "Maintain pursuit," Feral ordered again as he gambled a laser blast to try and take out the renegade craft. His shot missed, taking out another walkway, sending debris flying everywhere. Some of the other pilots weren't so lucky as they were hit by falling debris, sending them careening off in different directions. "Break off," Feral ordered as more of his jets crashed into nearby abandoned buildings. The squadron obeyed as Feral led the retreat out of the downtown district that Dark Kat's Fear Ship had taken refuge in. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dark Kat laughed at the incompetence of the Enforcers as they flew away. He didn't even have to fire a single shot either, he thought, making him laugh yet again. His Creeplings delighted in this as well, watching as his Fear Ship continued to fly in and out of the buildings. "That distraction should be enough," Dark Kat said as he adjusted a button on his remote control. Far overhead, the Fear Ship that Dark Kat had been controlling from a distance came to a stop, and hovered in mid-air. "Now, I shall put this plan into motion," Dark Kat announced as he flipped up a switch and prepared to press it. As he placed his paw on it, the Fear Ship suddenly shuddered as the side of it exploded from the side, throwing it out of the sky and crashing back towards the ground far below. "No!" Dark Kat shouted as he brought a pair of binoculars to his eyes, trying to find the origin of the attack. As soon as he saw what it was he crushed the specs in his paws, shattering it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- T-Bone had that cocky almost maniacal grin that always accompanied him whenever he drove the Thunder Truck. His mood was already starting to get better as Razor had taken the hovering Fear Ship down with a single blast. "Good shot, buddy!" T-Bone cheered as he threw the truck into high gear, sending them jumping over piles of debris left over from the original attacks. "Looks like Dark Kat's gonna need to cash in on his aircraft insurance a little early," Razor said as he prepared to power down the megalaser. The two continued driving forward at a steady 90 miles an hour, chasing after the ship that was quickly dropping like a rock. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "It appears as though we will have to accelerate plans, my Creeplings," Dark Kat said as he tossed the now useless remote to the ground. His Creeplings looked up at him; eyes seeming to pay attention as Dark Kat gave instructions. As soon as he finished, they laughed in their Creepling way and went off to carry out his instructions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- T-Bone stopped the Thunder Truck just in time to see the Fear Ship go into a swan dive and collide with a skyscraper not too far away. "Well, that wasn't so..." Razor began, but was interrupted by a massive explosion that encompassed the skyscraper where the craft had crashed. Both Kats had to cover their eyes as the flash of the literal eruption of flames was too bright to look at for a brief moment. "Whoa, what was that thing carrying?" T-Bone asked as the skyscraper began to come apart. "I don't know," Razor said, watching in amazement. "I'm just glad that we took it down before it could do anything," he finished as the skyscraper was gradually leveling to the ground. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Later in the Day... Both T-Bone and Razor had returned safely to the Hangar, both relieved that, for once, they were returning without injury, and with an undamaged vehicle to boot. After changing back into their 'civvies,' they made their way back up the ladder and into the garage. "Think we made the news?" Chance asked as he retrieved himself a can of milk from the fridge. He then plopped down onto the reclining chair and leaned back as he reached for the remote. "I doubt it - all of the major television companies are out of commission," Jake said as he sat down in the nearby couch. "Even the newspapers have stopped printing." Chance was about to say something about how he wanted the comics, when he finally found a channel that was coming in clear. "Well, looks like MBC is still broadcasting," Chance said as the image of Ann Gora came up on the screen. He quickly pressed the button on the remote to turn up the volume. "This is Ann Gora, Kat's Eye News, with day 25 of the Megakat City Crisis, and we have some astonishing news to report," Ann said as she paused to allow for the camera to switch to footage of the Enforcer Fleet stationed just outside of the city. "Earlier today the lead Enforcer aircraft carrier was damaged after colliding with an unknown object. Investigations are still being conducted as the cause is still being determined," Ann said as the image of the Enforcer carrier came up with a big hole in its side. "Wow, I wonder what did that?" Chance asked as he leaned forward in his seat to listen. "That had to be some kind of mega explosive to penetrate the mega alloy hull of that carrier," Jake commented. "In other news, Dark Kat has been presumed missing as there are no remains apparent in the Fear Ship that crashed into Megakat Banking earlier today. However, Commander Ulysses Feral had this to say," Ann said as footage that had RECORDED EARLIER at the bottom of it played. "Yes, Dark Kat has been stopped, but at what cost? Those destructive SWAT Kats caused this multi-million dollar banking establishment to be leveled to the ground!" the all too familiar voice blared. Chance looked for something nearby to throw at the TV, but Jake managed to stop him. "And, finally, the most revitalizing news of the day, the SWAT Kats have returned once more to kick more tail," Ann said, probably more enthusiastic then she should have been. "Well, it looks like it's getting better," Chance said as he began to relax yet again. "Yes, Megakat City's prized vigilantes have broken rumors of their disappearance by taking down Dark Kat before he could cause any more damage to the City," Ann said as an amateur video showed both T-Bone and Razor in the Thunder Truck virtually flying down the streets and firing the megalaser at the craft, causing its eventual destruction. "Heh, and they got my good side too," Chance said. Jake only rolled his eyes as Ann wrapped up the news broadcast. "Well, that wasn't so bad, I'd say only a mild complaint by Feral this time," Jake said as he got up. Chance did the same. "Well, let's get back to work on the Turbokat. Who knows when Dark Kat's gonna show up again," Chance said as both of them made their way back to the hangar. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Professor Hackle sat at his worktable, examining the device that the Kat from the future had helped him to develop. The device that he had made in the past. Hackle stared at it, with a sense of hesitation about him, contemplating what other things that he may have invented that he had no knowledge of. He sighed as he got up and put the interdimensional time travel device away, locked in a safe to make sure that no one could get it. He wasn't even sure if it even worked, fearful of testing it unless entirely necessary, but the Kat from the future had assured him that it would work, and Hackle was in no mood to argue. As he locked the safe, he went to retreat to his main-lab, just to see if everything was in order. The Kat, McGrath, had taken it upon himself to go out and patrol the city by himself so as to have a better chance of finding any more temporal anomalies. Hackle thought it was a good idea as well, not only so they could find the root of the problem, but also because Hackle needed time alone, time to think. From what the Kat had told him, he was personally responsible for an apocalypse that would occur within the next thirty years, all because of one invention that he made. That was a lot of responsibility for one Kat to have, but Hackle felt like he deserved it nonetheless. The Kat had assured him that it wasn't his fault, but Hackle had ignored him. At least, he thought, there is a chance that all this can be erased, all of the pain and suffering of those to come can be prevented. That is, he thought, if we play our cards right. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hard Drive walked the now evening deserted streets alone, debris scattered about everywhere. Its funny, he thought, MKC has withstood so much it's unbelievable, but then it's pretty much decimated in one brief moment. Hard Drive laughed for no apparent reason as he continued to move forward, looking for anything of value that might have been abandoned. Ever since Feral had taken direct control of the city, almost everyone had left. Now, only a mere 5000 or so remained in the city. It's perfect, a whole city almost deserted and enough left behind for the taking, he finished the thought as he rounded a corner onto Main Street, now eerily unpopulated. That brought up another thought as he continued to walk with no apparent destination in mind. When the attack had occurred, Enforcer Headquarters had taken some damage, and in all the confusion he had managed to escape. He still wondered why Dark Kat had done what he did to him that day, just weeks earlier. Of course, he and Dark Kat had never been exactly friends, far from it actually. But, Hard Drive knew of no ill intentions that the criminal mastermind would have had in store for him. Hard Drive thought that their business with one another had been complete, with no hard feelings on either side. He had obviously been wrong. That brought another thought into the mind of the techno crook, why? Why had Dark Kat done what he did? Then, Hard Drive remembered what he had said to Dark Kat before the megalomaniac had shot him. What day is it? Dark Kat had asked. I know it's crazy, but it's gotta be January first, Hard Drive had replied, seemingly upsetting Dark Kat in the process. It was after that that he had shot him with whatever that gun was, probably an electric disruptor tuned at an opposite frequency as his Surge Coat was, shorting it out and taking him with it. Hard Drive had then woken up later in a cell, just as he had remembered the day before. The same off duty Enforcer had even arrested him, he thought. He continued to walk onward, diving behind a dumpster as an Enforcer tank drove by. I can't believe that Feral has the nerve to enforce that 9 o'clock curfew he thought as he came out from behind his hiding place as the tank continued onward and soon disappeared from sight. And now, Dark Kat has reappeared, he thought as he dusted himself off. Leading Feral in what was seemingly a pointless game of Kat and mouse, only to be blown out of the sky by the SWAT Kats. Hard Drive laughed as the thought of Dark Kat being taken down like that amused him. But, Hard Drive was no fool; he knew that somehow in some way the mastermind had incorporated that into one of his genius schemes. "Yes," Hard Drive spoke aloud. "You're still out there Dark Kat. There's no way that you'd have died that easily." "Of course not, my criminal friend," a large, booming voice said from behind the lanky techno crook. Hard Drive spun around, nearly having a heart attack as he fell to the ground, landing right on his tail. He was swarmed by multiple Creeplings as the enormous form of Dark Kat, still clad in his trademark hooded robe came into the moonlight. "Dark Kat! I err...Um...how nice to see you again!" Hard Drive nervously prattled, scared beyond his senses. "I can assure you that the thought is not mutual. However, I do have need of your services once more," Dark Kat said, getting straight to the point. Hard Drive merely nodded, not wanting to offend the gigantic Kat. Dark Kat smiled as he led the extremely uneasy Hard Drive away. ---------------------------------------------------------------- McGrath watched, a little bit on edge as the criminal known as Hard Drive talked with the present day Dark Kat. To make sure, he scanned him with one of his devices and found that this Dark Kat was in sync with the current timeline, and had no traces of temporal interference about him. But, that can be easily disguised, he thought as he watched the two go off somewhere. But, I can't risk it, if that's the current Dark Kat, then I can't terminate, not without endangering the timeline. McGrath sighed as the temptation to eradicate the Kat that would someday be responsible for a destroyed and battered world diminished. McGrath let the two leave as he remained unnoticed by either of them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Some time had passed as Dark Kat led Hard Drive to an abandoned warehouse that he had been using as his temporary base of operations. Hard Drive's fear seemed to lessen as he entered the warehouse to find it filled with all kinds of computer related technology. "Quite a set up you have here, Dark Kat," Hard Drive commented. "Yes, all the best that can be stolen, I'm glad that you approve," Dark Kat replied, not really caring either way. "Now, Hard Drive, you're probably wondering why it is that I brought you here." Hard Drive nodded as he paid close attention to the purple Kat. "As you know, Megakat City is currently in a little bit of a crisis. I don't know if you've heard about this yet, but plans of abandoning the city are starting to come together," Dark Kat said. "Abandon the city?" Hard Drive repeated. "Yes, they wish to abandon Megakat City, but there are many who are not sure if that is a good idea. I wish to make them think differently." "How?" Hard Drive asked. Once again, Dark Kat was overwhelming him in the way that he always did. "I want Megakat City to be abandoned. From it I can make Dark Kat City a reality, from which I can control my criminal empire," Dark Kat replied. "So, it was you who caused all this destruction?" "Yes, indeed it was, my quick friend," Dark Kat said as he turned away from him. "At first it was not my intent, but I found a way to take hold of the situation," Dark Kat said as he withdrew a glowing spherical device from a nearby stronghold. "What is that?" "This, my friend, is the future. With this I shall take this city by the throat and drain it dry," Dark Kat said with a sadistic smile. "What does it do?" Hard Drive asked as his curiosity was perked. "I'll show you," as he adjusted the device, causing a bright flash of light to fill the room and Hard Drive to blink. In front of him, his familiar blue Surge Coat had appeared. Hard Drive started to reach for it, but a gang of growling and snapping Creeplings prevented him from doing so. "You said that you needed me, why?" the techno villain asked, a little bit angry with the Creeplings, but he tried not to show it. Dark Kat walked over to a nearby computer console and activated it, showing the image of the Enforcer fleet just off shore. He then focused on the nuclear submarine that accompanied them. "I am going to hi-jack that submarine and use the ballistic missiles aboard to hold the city, and perhaps even the world hostage. It is with that submarine that I shall convince those in high places to abandon Megakat City and leave it in my hands," Dark Kat said as he revealed his plan. Hard Drive then realized why Dark Kat needed him. "But, you don't have the launch codes, and you need me to hack into the sub's systems and get them for you." Dark Kat smiled as Hard Drive had finally caught on. "Yes, I need you to do exactly that," Dark Kat said as he picked up the Surge coat as it sparked with electricity. "Do I have your cooperation, Hard Drive?" I can't believe he's actually going to do this, Hard Drive thought as he took the Surge Coat. He's insane; he's lost it this time. He put on the coat and felt the tingle of electrons surging through his veins, flowing in and out of him. His hair mowhawked, just the way that he liked it as his pupils disappeared. "What if they don't meet your demands?" Hard Drive asked, guessing what the answer would probably be. "Then, I nuke the city and anything else I can find," Dark Kat replied in a matter of fact manner. He has gone insane, Hard Drive thought. He tested his coat, just to see if he could charge up a blast of electricity. He found that he couldn't and realized that Dark Kat had probably wired his coat with safety systems so that he couldn't attack him. "Don't disappoint me, Hard Drive. I you haven't figured it out already, I can control your surge coat remotely, so don't try to do something that you may regret," Dark Kat said, supporting Hard Drive's guess. "Fine, I'll do what you want me too just let me know when," Hard Drive said as he zipped into a nearby phone line, disappearing in a flash of light. Dark Kat gave another sadistic smile as he left. "You'll know when, everyone will know when," Dark Kat said aloud as he began another round of his trademark laughter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Commander Feral watched with interest as the frozen forms of the Pastmaster and Doctor Viper were brought aboard the carrier and put in the brig with medical diagnostic systems attached to them. Both demonstrated the same symptoms, seemingly alive and dead at the same time. Someone had even speculated that they were frozen in a specific moment in time, but there was no real evidence to support that theory, so Feral had dismissed it and ordered their "incarceration" in the brig, still a possible threat even if they were frozen. Feral remained in a sour mood, having his carrier disabled, his air squadron shot down and, to add insult to injury, having the SWAT Kats return to embarrass him yet again. Other than the damage done to the Enforcers, the city itself and the katizens within it had not been harmed, and, for once, a riot had not occurred that day either. Well, I suppose things may be getting slightly better, Feral thought as he surveyed the bridge of the carrier, supervising everyone at their workstations. That's when he noticed a slight bump in the power, causing the lights to dim. On a nearby power monitor, he noticed a surge in the overall power grid. It only lasted a second before it vanished, but it perked his curiosity nevertheless. "What was that?" he asked the nearest officer. "Oh that, probably just a bump in the power, that's all," he replied without any concern. "Where did it originate from?" Feral asked, still concerned. The officer seemingly annoyed, but trying to hide it looked over at a nearby monitor. "Munitions bay, in the hangar deck," he replied with obvious boredom in his voice. "You idiot!" Feral shouted as he slammed his paw down on the control panel. "Can't you put two and two together? That's Hard Drive!" he raged as he started barking out orders to get security personnel in the hangar deck. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall, it was an easy plan, Hard Drive thought as he materialized in the ammunitions bay of the aircraft carrier. Just cause a distraction while Dark Kat did whatever dirty deed he was planning. Just an easy plan, he thought again as he looked around and found what he was looking for. "Those stupid Enforcers, how mentally challenged can they be?" he asked no one as he approached an aircraft that had been set aside for some not so obvious reasons. The side of the craft read BM-02, and had an unusual design for an aircraft, with wings that curved into almost scythe type blades and stabilizers that faced inward instead of out. "Ah, the Blue Manx, prototype 2. They must've moved it from the tactical base to here after the attack. How unfortunate... for them," he said as he opened the canopy with a surge of electricity from his coat. He hopped in to find that all the systems were operational, no damage that he could see. He closed the canopy just in time as a laser blast hit the fuselage, leaving a black scorch mark. "Ah, Commander Feral, how nice to see you again, but I need to make use of your jet for a little while - just to break her in for ya," Hard Drive taunted over the radio as more laser blasts hit the fighter. "Hard Drive, you're under arrest!" Feral shouted over a megaphone. "Come out with your hands up!" "Not likely," Hard Drive replied as he electronically activated the thrusters, causing the jet to hum ever so quietly. More laser blasts hit the side of the jet, but he wasn't worried. Those puny lasers can't penetrate this very nicely put together titanium-agracite alloy, Hard Drive thought as he powered up the afterburners. "I'll be seeing you, Feral," Hard Drive mocked as he threw the jet into high gear, sending it speeding forward. The Enforcers that had gathered there quickly jumped out of the way so as not to get run over by the craft. The jet gained speed quickly, and lifted off from the ground and exited via an elevator hatch. "This is Feral!" Feral shouted into his radio. He had managed to dive out of the way just in time as the jet had washed him in its afterburn, causing his uniform to be singed, thus infuriating him further. "I need some jets scrambled right away!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jake and Chance had been working nearly non-stop all night long, and were beginning to see the result of all their hard work. Chance held the last stabilizer cable in place as Razor welded them together, for extra strength. He removed the welding goggles that he had been wearing and put them aside and let out a sigh. "What is it?" Chance asked as he released the cable, now tightly held in place by the weld. Jake hopped down from his perch on the right wing and down to the floor of the hangar. "We're done," Jake said plainly. Chance's face lit up. "Already?" he asked as he looked at the clock on the nearby wall. It read 5:30 AM. "Whoa, we've been working all night - didn't seem like all that long." Jake was about to say something about how time flies when you're having fun, when the radio caught his attention. Ever since Callie and the Mayor left town to go and negotiate MKC's crisis in Washington they had to rely on the Enforcer band for information on any trouble that might come up. Chance listened too as he turned it up. "...attention all Enforcers, criminal Hard Drive has infiltrated the carrier and has stolen the advanced prototype, all units respond..." "Advanced prototype," Jake thought aloud. Chance sighed. "I just hope that it's not another one of those 'Blue Manx's' again," Chance complained. "So, what if it is?" Jake asked as he opened his locker on the far wall of the hangar. Chance did the same as he took out his SWAT Kat flight suit yet again and got into it. "You know the Turbokat can handle anything the Enforcers can dish out," Jake said confidently as he put on his flight helmet, completing the guise. "Of course, what was I thinking," Chance said as he put his helmet on as well. "Let's just try to avoid giant crystal monsters this time," he said as he ran up to the Turbokat and leaped into the air and landed into his seat in the front. Razor did the same as he landed in his weapons officer seat. The canopy closed as the sleek black jet descended down the aircraft elevator and onto the underground runway. "Just try not to scratch the paint," Razor warned as T-Bone threw him a grin and put the throttle to maximum. The afterburners came to life as the jet began to propel itself forward. T-Bone easily guided the jet down the runway and out of the ground hatch that led to the outside. The Turbokat lifted off into the early morning sky, heading out to meet yet another threat. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Such incompetence, it almost saddens me, Hard Drive thought as he laughed out loud as he flew over the now mostly abandoned Megakat City. The Enforcers had been slow to respond as the blips on his radar gradually left the screen. "Now, time to have some fun," he said out loud as he brought the weapons systems online. He then scanned the area for the most convenient target, and found one. "Sorry, but it looks like you're in for a severe audit!" he laughed as he locked a missile on the IRS building. A missile shot out of the bombay and found its mark, obliterating the building from the ground up. "Well now, Feral managed to arm this thing with some pretty hefty weaponry," Hard Drive said as he looked for another target. He smiled as one appeared. "City Hall, so we meet again," he stated. "Well, let's see who gets thrown in the slammer this time!" he declared as he electronically locked another missile on the familiar clock tower. He fired the missile, as it left the bombay, streaking forward at the immense building. Hard Drive's smile grew bigger as the projectile closed the distance. Abruptly, the missile blew up before reaching its target, sending bits of debris flying. "What happened?" he asked no one in particular. Then, he looked at his radar screen. A blip was moving in fast, too fast. Realization dawned as Hard Drive kicked in the afterburners. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Good shot, buddy," T-Bone said as he brought the newly repaired Turbokat on an intercept course with the Blue Manx Jet. "Yeah, you know that Callie never would've forgave us if we let that happen," Razor remarked as he tried to get a lock on the retreating jet. T-Bone sighed when he saw what it was. "Crud, not another one," he sighed as he increased speed. "I'm beginning to think the world is against me." Razor didn't remark as he pulled down his targeting visor and the familiar tracking cross-hairs filled his vision. They darted around for a few seconds before they isolated the image of the Blue Manx. They glowed red, indicating a lock. "Locked on... Buzz-Saw missiles... Deploy!" he shouted as two of their trademark red tipped, shark stenciled missiles launched from the bombay, and streaked towards their target. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The proximity alert activated in the cockpit of the Blue Manx as Hard Drive turned his head to see two of the SWAT Kats' missiles heading after him. He gave a brief yelp, but then remembered that he was in a superior craft. "Arrogant fools, you can't stop me!" he laughed again. The two missiles that had been pursuing him suddenly came apart at the tips as buzz-saw blades unfolded and began to spin. Hard Drive tried to outmaneuver them, but to no avail. The two missiles impacted his fuselage with a loud clash. Then, the clash stopped, as Hard Drive surveyed the damage, only to find none. "Looks like Feral really did put his checkbook into this thing," Hard Drive commented as he continued to fly away. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Crud!" Razor exclaimed as the two buzz-saw missiles just pinged off of Hard Drive's jet. "That thing must have some kinda mega-alloy armor." "Yeah, and that's not all," T-Bone warned as he dodged a rear fired missile. He threw the jet into a corkscrew as the missile flew past them and hit another abandoned building. "Got any more ideas, buddy?" "Let's try some Scrambler missiles," Razor said as he depressed the firing stud on his joystick, launching two of the sparkling missiles. They darted through the air and quickly impacted the fleeing Blue Manx. Razor watched in shock as the missiles delivered their charge... and fizzled out. "Lemme guess, insulated right?" T-Bone asked. "Looks like it," Razor replied as he started to get annoyed. "Well, let's try it the old fashioned way," he said as he brought up his explosive weapons list. "If this doesn't work, nothing will." The Turbokat's bombay unleashed its arsenal as two matchhead missiles, followed by three Baby-Boomer missiles streaked at the Blue Manx. The nose cone of the Turbokat split apart as the Megalaser released its deadly blast, followed by multiple rounds from the Cement Machine Gun. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hard Drive looked at his radar screen and blinked as he turned around in his seat to look behind him, just in time to see his jet engulfed in explosions. He was lurched around in his seat as each explosion knocked him in a different direction. He was then knocked almost clear out of his seat as a bright flash of light impacted his jet, scorching it. "Its gonna take more than that, SWAT Kats!" Hard Drive laughed as his jet survived the attack. But, not without damage, he thought. Looks like this thing's not invincible after all. "No matter, I'll take them down right now," he smirked as he launched two more rear firing missiles at the Turbokat. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hang on!" T-Bone shouted as he threw the jet into a dive, evading the first missile, but having the second smash into the topside fuselage. "Crud!" T-Bone yelled again as he began to loose control of the dive. "That last hit fried our stabilizer cables!" Razor shouted. "I'm going down to fix em'!" he said as his seat slid back to allow access to the floor hatch that led to the interior of the jet. He hopped in quickly, hoping that he could fix them in time. "Better hurry, we're dropping fast!" T-Bone warned as the altimeter numbers spiraled down. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hard Drive laughed as the Turbokat started to hurtle towards its eminent demise in the damaged city far below. He swung the jet around and brought the tumbling jet into his target sights. "Just want to make sure that you do indeed die," Hard Drive reassured himself as the cross-hairs on his targeting screen flashed red. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The target lock alarm filled to speakers of Turbokat's cockpit as T-bone tried again to level off their descent. "Hurry up, buddy, we only got seconds till' we're just another mark on the sidewalk!" he shouted as Hard Drive's jet pulled up behind them. Down in the bombay, Razor was furiously welding the stabilizer cables back together with the torch on his glovatrix. The cables then grew taunt as the welds held. "All right, we're back in business!" Razor shouted over the roar of the engines. T-bone yanked on the stick, just feet above the streets below, and just seconds before one of Hard Drive's missiles blew up in their last position. "Double too close," T-Bone said to himself as he wiped the sweat off his brow. The seat behind his slid back into position as Razor took his place at the weapons officer seat. "Now, let's show that guy our claws," Razor remarked as he targeted the other jet. T-Bone did a perfect barrel roll and took position behind the stolen craft. "All yours, Razor - take em' down," T-Bone said as he slid behind the jet. "We can't blow it up, but maybe we can just take him down, the hard way!" Razor said as he selected two pincher missiles. He took aim and fired at the craft. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "No!" Hard Drive shouted as his missile missed and the Turbokat did a barrel roll around him. He tried to get out of their sights, but to no avail. Hard Drive was no expert pilot and was unable to dodge the incoming missiles. The two pincher missiles did what they did best and clamped onto the fuselage of the jet. Hard Drive tried to maneuver, but found that he couldn't, as the missiles had control now. "NO!" he shouted louder this time. His anger turned to outrage as the missiles took him on a collision course with a nearby skyscraper. Hard Drive's eyes grew wider as the building filled his vision. At the last second he converted back to electricity and zipped out of the doomed jet. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Blue Manx slammed into the skyscraper, and a resounding boom followed it. Fireballs fueled by the jet's payload and fuel tanks engulfed the upper floors as debris rained down. "Bingo!" Razor said as the jet continued to explode. "Well, so much for that," T-Bone replied as he set a course back for the hangar. Razor looked over at the scorched wing and sighed. "More dings to buff out, great..." The Turbokat did a complete reversal of its course and headed back towards its awaiting hangar. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Unconscious bodies lay strewn about the interior of the nuclear submarine. Creeplings were quickly dragging them out as fast as they could and locking them in the sub's brig towards the rear of the ship. Dark Kat supervised this as he looked around to see how much damage had been done. He was pleased to find that the sub itself was in good condition and hadn't been damaged in the infiltration. "Soon it will all proceed as planned," Dark Kat said aloud. As he finished the statement, a bright flash of electricity filled his vision as Hard Drive appeared before him. "Dark Kat, I'm sorry, but I..." he began. "Lost the jet? No matter - you served your purpose," Dark Kat replied. Hard Drive's shoulders slumped with relief. Then, another thought crossed his mind, one that he had been trying not to think about. Dark Kat confirmed this thought as he spoke. "Now, get into the mainframe of the sub and give me the arming codes." Hard Drive hesitated at this. In his entire career as a criminal he had done some bad things, things that not even he was proud of. But, compared to Dark Kat he was a first class citizen. This worried him because he knew that it he gave him the codes, Dark Kat would not hesitate to use them. "Dark Kat, I..." "Stop delaying, go and get me the codes," Dark Kat said, more firmly this time. Hard Drive mustered up what little courage that he had. "Dark Kat, is it really necessary to actually do that?" he began. "I mean, you have the sub, and no one will know the difference. You'll get what you want." Dark Kat laughed at Hard Drive's reasoning. "Of course I could, if I only meant to threaten, but I intend to use these missiles." All right, it's time to leave, Hard Drive thought. Dark Kat caught his glimpse of the nearby power conduit and quickly retrieved a remote control from his cloak. "I warned you not to disappoint me," Dark Kat said as he activated the remote. Hard Drive's surge coat reacted and flung him into the mainframe. "You have five minutes to give me the codes, or your matrix will decompile in there," Dark Kat said, setting up the ultimatum. Hard Drive heard him but couldn't reply. He mentally sighed and ultimately decided better them than me. He easily bypassed the security subroutines and hacked into the launch code storage program. He retrieved it then reemerged back in front of Dark Kat. "I have it," he said unhappily. "Good," Dark Kat said as he pulled out the spherical device once more. "But, I'm sorry to say that your services are no longer required," Dark Kat said sadistically as he activated the device and froze Hard Drive in place. His Creeplings removed the Surge Coat and handed it to their master. Dark Kat plugged the suit into a nearby console and extracted what he was looking for. "Megakat City shall fall before me!" Dark Kat shouted and began laughing. His Creeplings did the same as they readied the ballistic missiles. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jake and Chance had returned from their latest battle with the Blue Manx, and both were feeling pretty good. The reconstructed Turbokat was fully operational and had barely any damage from their latest encounter. "Well, let's go see Feral blame that on us," Jake said as he climbed up the ladder. Chance sighed as his fellow mechanic and crime fighter turned on the TV. A Scaredy Kat cartoon came on, and Jake didn't bother to even try to change the channel. "Heh, who says there's nothing good on TV," Chance asked rhetorically as he got comfortable on the couch. Jake decided that he should go and work on the Turbokat some more, just when the picture on the screen abruptly changed to static. "Hey!" Chance shouted as he got up. "What's the big deal!" he shouted as he hit the side of the TV. The picture came back into focus, but not on a Scaredy Kat toon, but on the face of Dark Kat. "Dark Kat!" they both said unanimously. Chance turned up the volume to see what the megalomaniac was going to say. "Citizens of Megakat City and the world... This is Dark Kat, and I have some interesting news for many of you out there. Minutes ago I hi-jacked the nuclear submarine accompanying the enforcer armada outside of Megakat Harbor. I now control the vessel and the weapons that it carries. My demands are simple - give me Megakat City and the surrounding areas. You have one hour to do this or I shall be forced to take action." Dark Kat said as the image switched to that of Megakat Desert. Abruptly, an object came down from the top of the screen and hit the ground, igniting the area into a bright flash of light. The image turned to static. "Oh my god..." Jake began, then heard a distant boom. Over the horizon, miles away the distant shape of a mushroom cloud could be seen. Fortunately for them, it was a safe distance away from anything. "As you can see, I am fully capable of deploying my nuclear arsenal. If you do not meet my demands within one hour." The image switched to that of Anakata island. "Then, Anakata Island shall be the next thing to be wiped off the face of the planet!" Dark Kat finished as the image returned to static. Both Jake and Chance stood there beside themselves. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Feral watched the broadcast and snapped his baton that he carried in half. "Where's the sub's current position?" he barked. "Unknown," an officer replied. "It disappeared off our scopes as soon as the transmission ended. Feral slammed his fist down on his control chair. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hackle watched Dark Kat's broadcast in horror, and was even more horrified to see the resulting mushroom cloud miles on the horizon in the middle of Megakat Desert. "Professor," a Kat said from behind Hackle. Hackle recognized the voice but didn't bother to answer it. "There's a problem. Dark Kat is not coagulating with the current timeline. In history there was never an occurrence of this happening, not for at least another twenty years," the Kat McGrath said. "Then, you mean to say that Dark Kat has the device?" Hackle asked. "It's so obvious I can't believe that I didn't see it. First, he summons all of those creatures to attack MKC, decimating the overall integrity of the city, and forcing the majority of the populace to evacuate. Then, he somehow influences those at High Command to send Feral an entire military strike force, complete with the nuclear submarine. Then, he eliminates those who are capable of stopping him; hence all of the frozen criminals. Then, he uses that jet to cause a distraction while he infiltrates the sub. It's all so simple..." he said, the obviousness of the whole thing giving him a headache. "What can we do?" Hackle asked. "Call the SWAT Kats," McGrath replied. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- T-Bone and Razor received Hackle's transmission and were now landing the Turbokat in Hackle's front yard. They both hopped out and were met by both the Professor and McGrath. "Better hurry doc. We only got a half hour left," T-Bone said as he approached them. "We have a working model of the IDTD complete - you may need it," McGrath said as he handed the sphere to Razor. "It's not as complicated as the original, but it should get you from here to there." "Alright, anything else?" Razor asked. McGrath handed the two armbands with futuristic circuitry attacked to them. "These are the paradox prevention bands. If Dark Kat figures out how to alter the timeline, these will protect you," McGrath said. Both SWAT Kats took them and put them on over their flight suits. "Alright, let's go," T-Bone said as he headed back toward the jet. "Wait, I'm coming with you," McGrath said, following him. "You'll need someone to operate that thing if the need arises." T-Bone was in too much off a hurry to argue as the three hopped into the sleek black jet. The canopy sealed them in as the VTOL engines engaged, sending them upward into the sky. "Good luck..." Hackle said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dark Kat watched the chronometer on the control panel of the sub winding down to its eventual destination. It ticked ever so slightly, counting downward in excess of 60 minutes. Nearby, a digital counterpart served as a back up, and it too was winding down. 7 minutes and 46 seconds remained before Dark Kat would either become Megakat City's new ruler, or become the world's butcher. Either way, Dark Kat thought, I win. The sound of an alarm interrupted his thoughts as he looked around to see where it was coming from. After a moments search, he found the surface disturbance detector station beckoning to him, and he walked over to it, a little bit of a challenge as the interior of the sub was rather cramped. "First thing I do when I rule Megakat City is to make passageways no smaller than 7 ft at a minimum," he said to himself as he examined the station. He frowned when he saw that something on the surface was racing towards him. Or, at least something close to the surface. "My Creeplings, raise the periscope," he ordered as the little pink gremlins went to do their master's biding. Dark Kat made his way back toward the command section and looked into the periscope, his mood turning sour as he did. In it he saw the image of the all too familiar black jet, the one that had caused him so much trouble in the past. "The SWAT Kats!" Dark Kat raged as he left the periscope then went to the weapons control panel nearby. "No matter, soon the SWAT Kats will not be a problem at all," Dark Kat said to himself confidently. "Now, let's see what this tin can can do." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The X-ray scope on the underside of the Turbokat retracted as Razor gave a satisfied grin. "You can't hide from us, Dark Kat," Razor said as the coordinates of the submarine flashed up on his targeting screen. "You better get those to the Enforcers - who knows what Dark Kat has in mind," McGrath said from beside Razor. T-Bone gave a barely audible snort at the mention of the Enforcers. "Yeah, we'll let them pick up the pieces after we're done," T-Bone said as he increased their speed. "Roger that," Razor acknowledged as he brought down his targeting visor. He then transmitted Dark Kat's coordinates to the nearest Enforcer ship. "We got backup coming if we need it." T-Bone brought the Turbokat down even lower to the surface of the water, causing it to wave upwards behind them. Razor watched as the range finder in his visor ticked downward. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- A large blip blinked on and off on the sub's weapons panel targeting system as Dark Kat watched with interest. The computer was already locking on automatically, which made Dark Kat smile. "Ah, modern technology," he said as he armed the torpedo launched cruise missiles. He took one more glimpse at the blip, then fired, causing two long cylinders to shoot out from the two forward torpedo tubes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the alarms buzzed inside the cockpit of the Turbokat, warning the occupants of a weapons lock. "Where's it coming from?" T-Bone asked as he began to take the jet to a higher altitude. Razor scanned his console to find something which he didn't quite expect to happen. "That thing is armed with those tactical cruise missiles!" he warned. "Crud," T-Bone replied as he sent the jet into a corkscrew maneuver. The two cylinders breached the surface of the water as they shot upward. "I'm bringing the rear missile launching system online," Razor said as he flipped a couple of switches. The view in his visor changed from forward to reverse as he now saw the two cruise missiles heading after them. McGrath watched in silence as the masked vigilante concentrated on the impending targets. Once again his range finder was counting down, the Turbokat's computer system trying to get a lock on the fast moving projectiles. The cross-hairs in the visor quickly aligned and glowed red. "Locked on," Razor said as he flipped the safety off his control stick. "Babyboomer missiles, Deploy!" Two elevated platforms raised upward from the top of the fuselage, and one missile blue missile was released from both of them. They streaked back towards the cruise missiles at a blinding speed and collided, lighting up the sky behind them. T-Bone struggled to keep the jet steady as the shock wave knocked them forward. "Bingo!" Razor cried as he normally did. "Now, let's take out that sub, partner," T-Bone said as he brought the Turbokat back on course. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dark Kat watched through the periscope as the two missiles that he fired quickly turned into nothing more then an expensive fireworks display in the sky. "No matter - their time is already up," Dark Kat said aloud as he watched the chronometers wind down to zero. "Well, no reply, you know what that means, my Creeplings," Dark Kat said as he gave an evil laugh. His Creeplings joined him in his sadistic celebration as the cloaked purple Kat activated the ballistic missiles. He brought the targeting system online, and entered the coordinates of Anakata Island for missile number 2. He then entered the coordinates of Megakat City itself for Missile number 3. He then entered miscellaneous targets around the world for missiles 4 through 15. "Now, it is time to begin a new era of suffering," Dark Kat said as he disarmed the safeties. An alarm rang out through the interior. The missile launching alarm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- McGrath looked at his watch and he blinked and looked again. "We're out of time," he said plainly. T-Bone was about to object when the alarm inside the Cockpit once again went off. "I got multiple arming systems coming online," Razor said as he examined the incoming readings. "Dark Kat is ready to launch!" "Can we stop him?" T-bone asked quickly. "We can stop one, maybe two, but I'm detecting fourteen different missiles coming online." "This isn't right," McGrath said to himself. "What was your first clue?" T-Bone replied. "No, this isn't supposed to happen. Dark Kat has altered the timeline." "Well that's just great - some more good news," T-Bone said sarcastically. Before anyone could say anything more, the surface of the water broke as the ominous projectiles began to rise upward, increasing in speed. Fourteen different missiles rose up, and took off in different directions. "Well, we can at least try," Razor said as he removed a toolbox from under his seat. "T-Bone, get us close to one." "You got it!" T-Bone replied as he put the afterburners to maximum, sending them rocketing forward. After a few mere seconds, they came right up to a missile that was quickly gaining altitude. Razor opened the canopy and put on his oxygen mask. He then raised his glovatrix and fired it at the missile. A grappling cable shot out and pulled him up to it. Razor then called over the radio. "If I don't get this thing disarmed in five minutes, you blow it up," T-Bone took a second to reply, before giving a forced, "Roger." The two remaining Kats watched as Razor activated a cutting torch on his glovatrix and began to open the paneling. McGrath watched and noticed the radar screen was flashing another blip. "T-Bone, there's another missile just a few clicks away; I can disarm it," McGrath said. "You?" "Yes, I used to do this kinda thing all the time - the only exception was that the nukes were on the ground not moving." T-Bone thought about it, then sighed. Either way they were dead if they didn't try anything. "Alright, there's another oxygen mask and a glovatrix in that compartment," T-Bone said as he gestured to a side paneling on the cockpit's interior. McGrath found them and put them both on. T-Bone opened the canopy as McGrath used the glovatrix's grappling cable to latch onto the rising projectile. "Good luck," T-Bone said as the Kat from the future left the cockpit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dark Kat watched as the Turbokat pointlessly pursued the missiles. He laughed at this, as he took a seat in the captain's chair. "Now, we sit back and enjoy the show." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Talk about deja vu, Razor thought. Only except this time I'm falling up instead of down. He removed the paneling and tossed it aside, briefly looking to see it fall and disappear behind him. He then brought his attention back to the missile as he fingered through numerous wires. He traced one in particular until he found what he was looking for. "Okay, hopefully this works," he said to himself as he removed a box with digital red lights on it. The guidance system - without it the missile would fly off aimlessly into space. "But, just to make sure," he said as he linked it to his glovatrix computer. He adjusted the coordinates, which caused the missile to jerk slightly; indicating that what he was doing was in fact working. The missile now flew straight up. "Time to leave," Razor said as he jumped off the ballistic missile, diving downwards back toward the earth far below him. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- McGrath was having less success as he took longer to remove the paneling. He tossed it aside and looked around inside to see the mass entanglement of wires and electronics inside. This is insane, he thought, briefly looking back to see the horizon grew smaller as the altitude increased. He looked around inside the interior to find the navigational array intact and removed the same black box to see the red digitized coordinates on it. "Well, let's see if I can just launch this thing into space," he said to no one as he began to disconnect wires. The missile abruptly jolted, hitting some turbulence as McGrath struggled to hang on. In the process, he accidentally broke one of the connections, and the box beeped. He looked to see that the coordinates were spiraling in an erratic fashion. "Crud, I severed the stabilizer system," he said as he quickly tried to find the connection that he severed. The missile began to tilt to the side as the navigation system tried to decide which way to go. McGrath then gasped as he felt his fur start to turn frosty, and an enormous cold began to overcome him. His vision started to blur and his mind began to slow. The air pressure around him gradually began to lessen. No, he thought. I'm almost there, in space. He struggled to stay awake as he tried to locate the severed connection. "Ahhh!!!" he cried in agony as his breathing became labored. His eyes were bloodshot, and his fur was quickly turning pale. Blood veins all over his body began to swell, and his thinking began to fog even more. He could see the first star begin to appear, and realization became clear; he was going to die. I have about another thirty seconds to live. I'm already on the brink of the atmosphere. I'll die even if I jump off now, and I still haven't disarmed the missile. Then, with the last of his strength, he raised the glovatrix and activated the weapons system. He pointed it at the main nuclear reaction chamber. Then, he fired. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Free falling barely captured the actual meaning of the word, Razor thought as he fell downward, approaching in excess of a 200 mile an hour fall, and his speed was increasing. "Looks like I gotta do this HALO drop style," he thought out loud as he watched the altimeter on his glovatrix wind down. The wind rushed at his face, and he could feel his tail flapping around in all directions. The horizon steadily grew more flat as he descended downward toward the earth far below, which was rising up to meet him rather quickly. Razor's altimeter continued to spiral downward, going from an incredible six miles to three, and then two. Almost there, he thought. One mile, 5000ft...4500....4000. "Okay, I better do this right or I'm gonna be nothing but a smear," Razor said to himself. 3000....2000....1000. Razor blinked at his speed, and prepared to open his chute at just the right moment. 900...800...700... He tensed, preparing his body for the whiplash effect that would occur. 500...400...300. He could see the ocean now in full focus, individual waves appeared, and sunlight reflected off of it. 200...100...90...80 "Crud this is gonna hurt," Razor said as he grabbed the ripcord, but waited another few seconds. 40...30...20... At 20 he pulled the ripcord, which radically slowed his descent, jerking him sharply upward. But before his body could be ripped apart from the reverse force, he cut the chute, his descent having been literally stopped in midair. He dropped into the water with the force of only a 20-foot drop. "Well, that wasn't so bad," he remarked as he checked himself over. His thoughts then abruptly ended as a bright flash of light filled the sky. He had to activate his anti-glare visor for a moment just to see what was happening. Up in the sky, a massive fiery explosion filled the sky. "One of the other nukes - just glad it blew up up there," Razor thought. He waded in the ocean momentarily, as the form of the Turbokat flew overhead, lowering its grappling cable. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dark Kat watched with pleasure as the missiles took off, then frowned abruptly as one of them flew off into space, and another one blew up just outside of the atmosphere. "No matter, the others are well on their way," he said smugly as he watched his weapon systems track the remaining twelve missiles. He sat back in the captain's chair, and prepared to watch the explosive display, when he was knocked onto the deck. "What was that?" Dark Kat asked as he scrambled to get back up. He lumbered up to the periscope and quickly found what was going on. The Enforcer Fleet had found his location and was now attacking the sub. The sub then shuddered again as systems began to fail all around. A bulkhead ruptured as water began to pour in. "Perhaps we should make an abrupt exit, my Creeplings," Dark Kat said as he retrieved the sphere device. His Creeplings chattered in anticipation as Dark Kat activated it, engulfing the interior in a bright light. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Razor climbed back into his seat in the Turbokat, just as a bright light flashed. "Not another one," T-Bone sighed. "Looks like it, buddy," Razor said as the temporal detector that Hackle had given them weeks earlier began to go off. "Temporal disturbance, right where the sub is." "I'm on it," T-Bone replied as he kicked in the afterburners and rocketed back towards the submarine. As soon as they came into visual range, they noticed that a bright gleaming portal had popped into existence in front of the fleeing underwater craft. Realization donned as the front of the craft entered the portal and began to disappear. "Step on it, T-Bone!" Razor shouted. "He's getting away!" "Hang on!" he shouted as he increased speed even more. The tail end of the sub began to disappear as well. "We're not gonna make it!" "Yes, we are!" T-Bone yelled as he engaged a lever on the throttle that he rarely had to use. Four exterior engines extended from four concealed hatches, two on the top of the fuselage and two on the bottom. They quickly ignited, sending the Turbokat rocketing forward at an incredible pace. The portal began to shimmer and disappear. The sleek black jet zipped through it... just as it blinked out of existence. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Feral watched the Turbokat disappear via a TV monitor as his Enforcer fleet moved to intercept the now vanished hi-jacked submarine. Ever since Dark Kat had issued his threat, he had gone to Anakata as fast as he could, helping with the evacuation. "Let's move it!" he ordered as he scrambled to get as many Kats off as he could. It had not gone well, as not even half of the thousands that had gone there had been evacuated yet. He abruptly stopped as the sound of a missile caught his attention. He looked upwards towards the sky, as everyone else around him did the same. A shadow began to cover the island and everyone watched. A Kat nearby Feral dropped to his knees and began praying. Others around him screamed in panic. Feral just stood there, watching as his imminent fate fell from the sky towards him. He saw the missile impact the now extinct volcano, and for a moment he saw it hit the side of it. But, only for a moment. He closed his eyes as the world around him disappeared, leaving only blackness. To be continued....