FUTURE SHOCK
By AJ Siytangco


Prologue

	"Come on, come on, where are you?" Steve  massaged his eyes.  He
had been in front of the screen for the past ten minutes monitoring
the movements of his teammate. Two minutes ago, the blip from the
tracer she was wearing vanished off the screen.  The anxiety was
getting to him.  She wasn't just a teammate.  Not to him anyway.
"Damn it, Dan.  Where could she be?" He said to the kat at the wheel
of the van, frustrated.
	"Calm down, Steve.  Katrina's a tough she-kat.  She can handle
whatever comes her way."  Dan tried to soothe his companion.
"Remember, you're in 'Dan's Van.'  I'll get you two lovebirds
together."
	Steve couldn't help but smile at that, if only for a
split-second.  True, Dan was the best recon-van driver on the force.
His record was spotless.  No one had ever been lost on recon while he
was at the wheel.  And he sure as heck wasn't going to start with
Katrina of all kats.
	"There!" Steve saw the blip reappear.  He punched in a few
commands and a wire-frame representation of the part of the city
where the blip was appeared.  "Corner of Clapton and Summoner."
	"We're on it." Dan floored the gas pedal and expertly weaved his
way through traffic to get to his destination.  There they spotted
Katrina waving them down.  Slowing down but not stopping, Dan brought
the van alongside Katrina.  She then raced along behind it and leapt
into the open door and Steve's waiting arms.
	"I was worried about you." Steve hugged her close when the door
was shut.
	"That's sweet, Steve.  But I just fell into a sewer while
escaping.  It must've been  deep enough to block out the tracing
beacon."  She pulled out a mini-disk from her breast pocket and waved
it around triumphantly.  They sat down and inserted the disk in the
drive and searched it's contents.
	"There it is..." Steve said in awe as he viewed the contents of
the CD-ROM. "My gosh, Katrina.  You must have all the plans right
here.  Look at that! All the major targets, all the attack points,
and troop deployment all on one measly mini-CD."
	"I almost lost an arm and a leg getting that information."
Katrina sat on the chair next to Steve's. Her whole body ached and
she was dead tired.  "I sure hope I didn't miss anything." She rested
her head on Steve's shoulder and closed her eyes.  Her ebony hair
smelled great today, Steve thought, despite her coming from the
field.  The van they were in was so full of equipment that there was
no real place to sleep.
	"Your dad will be plenty happy with this, Katrina, I can tell you
that much."  Steve surfed through the rest of the disk's contents.
This was all they needed to put everyone behind the crime syndicates
away for good.  They had to tell the commander.  "Wake up, hero.
Your dad's on." He dialed the number of headquarters.
	"Hi, dad!" Katrina woke up as the monitor lit up.  Most of the
kats on the force couldn't figure out how such a petite kat like her
could be the daughter of a stocky, well built kat like the Commander.
	"Hi, honey." The commander answered. "Did you get the
intelligence we need?"
	"You bet I did!  It's all on this mini-disk."
	"Good" The commander smiled.  "I'm proud of you honey.  Now let's
get that disk back here to HQ."
	"Yes, Sir!"
	Steve had almost cut the channel to HQ when a warning beeper
flashed.  He threw a few switches and pressed a few buttons and
beside the picture of the commander came a shot of several
black-robed figures speedily approaching. 
	"Yo, Dan!" Steve called to the driver of the van.  "Get us out of
here now!"  The driver complied.  The van roared off, leaving their
hooded pursuers in the dust.
	"Don't look now." Katrina said.  "But some of them have
hovercyles!"  She took out her glovatrix and broke the back window of
the van. She hit the lead biker but it did little to slow them down.
	"What have you got?" Katrina took a break from firing back to
ask.  Steve was still fiddling through the controls. 
	"I've got multiple incoming bogeys, that's what I've got. Three
planes coming in from the east and one more from the north."  He
tapped his headset then adjusted it's mike.  "I also have Ulysses
Squad coming to the rescue."
	"Where to?" The driver was frantic.  He was running out of road
fast, and the planes were getting closer.
	"Head for the old lab down by the sea." Katrina instructed over
the laser fire.  Steve took up a position beside her and began
shooting also.  Together they toppled the leading bike which slowed
the rest.  They were there at the lab in seconds.  Stepping out they
heard, then saw a whole squad of TK-7 fighter jets.
	"Looks like Uncle Mike made it in time." Katrina commented
rushing into the building.
	"We can't stay here." The driver pointed out. "Ulysses squad may
take care of the enemy planes but we're still outnumbered by the
bikers."  He readied his glovatrix as he heard the hovercycles pull
up.
	"Hold them off." Katrina ordered. She slipped the disk into her
breast pocket. Dragging Steve with her, she went deeper into the
building.
	The cyclists came, and the only one between them and the disk was
Dan, who had taken up a defensive position.  Try as he might, he was
only able to buy Katrina and Steve a few moments.  They overran him
quickly, ganging up on him and beating him till he was unconscious.
	"Search the entire compound." Their leader ordered.  He opened
the door and walked into the room, as if he were strolling in a park,
while his underlings scampered around searching for Katrina and the
mini-CD.

	Katrina led Steve to a back room which contained equipment that
looked so strange that it made  Steve forget about their pursuers for
a moment.  "Come on." She saw Steve's startled face.
	"How did you know about this place?"
	"The owner used to work with my dad.  He brought us down here a
few times.  Now where is it?  Oh, there!" Katrina hurried to a dusty
contraption at the room's far end.  It was a small platform with a
control console right beside it. "Come on, come on..." She tried to
fire it up but it remained dead.  She kicked it hard and it began to
hum to life.  Then she opened a closet and took out a yellow suit.
It was like a jump-suit for pilots but thicker, with more padding and
electronic gizmos on it.  The extremely high shoulder-pads served as
mounts for the helmet Katrina was now putting on.
	"What are you doing?!?  Those criminals will get here any
second."
	"Look, when I say go, throw the switch, ok?"
	What?!"
	"Do it!"
	Laser fire erupted into the room, hitting Katrina in the arm,
ripping her suit.  The lead kat was screaming to his troops to
destroy Katrina and the Disk.
	"Go!" Katrina yelled.
	Steve threw the switch and the whole room was filled with an
intense, blinding light.  The lead kat ran toward the machine but
Katrina had vanished.  Steve jumped him, punching away.  He connected
a few times which toppled the kat.  The others piled on him much like
they did to Dan, one of them jabbing the butt of his blaster into
Steve's head.
	"Are you alright, sir?" One asked his leader.
	"Get into those yellow suits!" He ordered, ignoring his trooper's
concern.  Then he looked around the room, searching as if he knew he
had left something there earlier.  He then discovered several devices
which were blinking.   The tracers.  He wrapped one on his forearm
and handed the remaining to his troops.  "Put these on.  They'll help
us find her."
	"How do you know so much, boss?"
	"I designed the stupid thing, idiot."   He scoffed, putting on a
suit himself.  He climbed onto the platform and pointed at the lever
Steve had just pulled.  "You there!  When I give the word, pull the
switch.  You, stay here and guard this machine!"
	Steve stirred a bit, his consciousness returning to him.  He saw
the hooded kats in yellow suits vanish in another explosion of white
light.

End Prologue




	"I'm telling you, Chance, Callie isn't going to appreciate your
putting turboplugs in her engine again."  Jake stuffed his dirtied
rag into his pocket and handed his best friend a wrench.
	"And I'm telling you, this baby'll take it just fine.  I modified
it a little so it can take the extra power."  Chance closed the hood
then wiped his hands on his rag. "There.  All done.  Now she can
easily get away when Dr. Viper or Darkkat show their ugly mugs
again."
	Jake didn't hear Chance reason out, he was already inside
scrounging around for some cold milk and day old pizza.  He got two
cans of milk from the fridge and half of an anchovy-mushroom-black
cod-pizza from the table.  He popped the soggy slices into a
microwave they recently salvaged to heat it.  It didn't work at
first, but a good pounding later it was warming up.
	He threw Chance a can then opened his.  He smelled something
burning all of a sudden, and looked around to find out what it was.
His gasp was audible when he saw smoke coming out of the microwave.
He spilled his milk in the rush of shutting the appliance down.  When
he did, the whole room was full of smoke, spilled milk and the smell
of terribly burnt pizza.  Chance came running in, saw Jake's smoked,
snarling face then backed out.  "Oops.  Sorry, buddy."
	"Tell me you didn't." Jake said.
	"Well, I..."
	"You just had to put a tuboplug in the microwave too, didn't
you?"
	The sound of rubber going across bumpy ground heralded the
arrival of Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs, who came to pick up her car.
Just in time, Chance thought. Jake grabbed the towel hanging from the
fridge door and wiped his face.  They went to greet Callie together.
	"Hi, guys.  Is she ready?" Callie asked.
	"As ready as she can be." Chance assured her.  
	Callie signaled to the driver that she could get back ok, so he
left her there.  She slid behind the steering wheel and flicked the
ignition. It caught immediately and it sounded meaner than it did
when she had brought it in.  "Looks good guys.  How much do I owe
you?"
	"We'll just send the bill to your office."  Jake told her.  She
thanked them again, waved good-bye and left.  Chance and Jake saw
Callie's flabbergasted face as she jerked back under the power the
turbo plugs gave her car.  Jake estimated that she must've hit 80 in
just under four seconds.
	"You think she'll make it home all right?" Jake thought aloud.
	"Yeah."  Chance said.  "Come on, let's look around.  We need a
new microwave."  He went off into the mountain of junk and Jake
followed.  
	They rummaged through their little kingdom of scrap but no
microwaves.  After a while, Chance found himself inexplicably drawn
towards the oldest hill of junk in the yard.  He didn't know why he
felt the urge to look there, he knew there were no microwaves there.
In fact he and Jake hadn't touched anything from that mound for
months.  But as he searched an even bigger surprise caught him.  He
heard a small sound, scratching.  It was something scratching.
Then... whimpering?  No! Sobbing!  Crying!
	He sped around the mound and behind it was a strange yellow suite
sprawled on the ground and from the neck opening was a little kitten,
crying aloud.
	"Jake!"  He called frantically. "Jake get over here quick!"
	Jake heard his partner's call and hurried to where the voice came
from.  Why he went back there he didn't know.  When he rounded the
mound the sight there was strangely funny and cute to say the least.
Chance had the young kitten in his arms, cradling it protectively,
the baby giggling and cooing, it's little paws tugging at Chance's
whiskers.
	"Is it a he or a she?" Jake thought to ask.
	"It's a she." Chance rocked his arms gently. "We'd better get her
back to the garage and into some clothes."  
	"At her size she can't be more than a few months old."  Jake
commented as they walked back.  "She must be hungry, too."  When they
reached their kitchen they realized they had two small problems.
They had no food or clothes, at least not for little baby she-kats.
	"We can feed her milk for the time being." Chance smoothed the
baby's fur.  "But we need to get those baby food supplement things."
	"I can get my sister's old clothes." Jake offered as he picked up
the phone.  Chance sat down and figured out how to get a kitten to
drink from a can of milk.
	"Hello, mom?" Chance could hear Jake's phone call. "Yeah, look,
mom... I need  Jenny's old clothes.  It's a long story, mom, but I
promise to tell you all about it.  Yeah.  I didn't do anything to
anyone, ma, so don't worry.  I'll be there soon. Love you.  Bye."
	
	
	Later that evening, Chance successfully fed the kitten, and not
knowing exactly why but doing so anyway because he knew he was
supposed to, he put her on his shoulder and patted her back until she
burped.  She was wrapped in an old shirt of his which was doing a
good job of keeping her from the night's cold.
	She did her thing, and Chance found himself having one less shirt
to hang up.  He wished Jake were back.  He had to take care of a
little sister when he was still on the farm, so he knew what to do.
At around the time that Scaredycat was on Chance was so pooped that
he fell asleep, the kitten in his arms and the TV blaring.
	A slight tug at the baby and Chance's eyes sprung open.  Jake was
taking the baby from him.  Chance noticed Jake's bag.  "I see you got
the stuff, pal."
	"Yeah, I wouldn't even be back here just yet if I hadn't taken
the Cyclotron." Jake unwrapped  Chance's second shirt and tossed it
aside.   Then he lay the kitten on the table and fashioned a diaper
on her.  Next he slipped a pretty little pink dress which clashed
with her black hair.  "There you go, little fella.  Cute ain't she?"
	"Yeah, Katrina's a real doll."
	"Katrina?  So you decided on a name already."
	"Yup.  Not bad, huh?"
	"No.  But to be serious, Chance, we can't exactly keep her here.
I mean, we're "hotshot, lawless vigilantes", remember?"  Jake had his
arms akimbo as Chance hardly heard him.


	The following morning was a typical morning except for the fact
that they had a kitten running around.  Literally, running around.
She had slept in a makeshift crib Jake had slapped together from
scrap and cushion from their previous couch.  When morning came they
found her gone.  After a short search they located her in the
refrigerator, sloppily gulping down some milk.  She looked as if she
had grown overnight.  Her legs were longer, and she could run circles
around Chance and Jake.  The black fur on her head was thicker now,
as was the rest of her orange-brown fur.
	"I don't know about you..." Chance missed Katrina who ran out
into the yard. "But I don't think she's an ordinary kitten." He tried
to catch her again but failed.
	"I know what you mean."  Jake followed their little guest.
"Frisky little thing.  Where is she?"
	"There!" Chance pointed to one of the junk mounds and there she
was climbing it.  By the time they reached it she was almost to the
top.  Chance and Jake leapt, the smaller one snatching her just when
she got to the top.  When Jake landed the mound collapsed in a loud
crash.  Under the scrap and dust, Chance sat himself up.
	"You see why we can't keep her here?" Jake said.
	"What do we do? If she really does grow at a faster rate then she
can't just go to any foster home."  Chance picked himself up and
fluffed the dust off of him.  "Hey, I know."
	

	"Thanks for taking her in for today."  Jake said as the old kat
picked up Katrina and raised her over his head.  This brought a smile
to her face.
	"No problem at all, sonny."  Pop Perkins cheerfully played with
Katrina.  "Ain't that right, ma?"
	Mrs. Perkins came in with a bag full of toys for little Katrina.
"Oh, no trouble at all, dearies.  It's been so long since we've heard
the pitter-patter of little feet around the house.  I've missed it
so.  And just in time too."
	"Then we'll just leave you three now.  Gotta go, pops.  We've got
some jobs waiting at the scrapyard.  Thanks again." Chance headed for
the door.
	"Think nothing of it, Chance my boy.  It's our pleasure to
baby-sit your  friend's kitten for a day."   Mr. Perkins walked them
out.  
	They said their good-byes and Jake and Chance returned to the
scrapyard.  The Perkins' were leaving for a cruise the next day so
they couldn't look after Katrina even though they wanted to.  Chance
and Jake were to pick her up that evening, then, if she still grew
the next day, do something about it.  The question was, what?
	Sure enough, the next day Katrina woke them up by pulling on
their cheeks and whiskers and talking.  The first thing she asked
was, "Wat's  for bweakfast, Jake?"
	This convinced them that something was definitely amiss, and
prompted them to call in some help.  "Who'd you have in mind?
Hackle?" Chance drank his milk while keeping Katrina on his lap.
	"The only person I *know* would be professor Hackle or the
Enforcers maybe."  Jake said.  "But we should keep this quiet first
until we know what this all means.  So the Enforcers are out."
	"That leaves Hackle." Chance concluded.  
	Jake got on the phone.
	"I don't think I can help you right now, though her case seems
very interesting." Hackle answered Jake's request.  "I do  have a
colleague though, a pediatrician  who is more into this sort of
thing.  Plus she's a psychiatrist, which I imagine, you would need in
a situation like this. Her name is Dr. Sylvia Yarn, and she works at
the Megakat Research Hospital."



	"We've managed to put the machine back together after it was
damaged in the fire fight." The head of the Research and Development
Department  informed The Commander as he brought his large frame into
the room where his daughter disappeared.  Everyone in the room stood
and saluted as he passed.  He returned everyone's acknowledgment and
faced  his old pal, who was instructing  the technicians to work
their magic. 
	"Great, buddy."  The Commander looked down on his friend who due
to injuries was confined to a hoverchair.  He was about as old as
him, although a lot thinner.  His head was obscured by his visor and
the diagnostic equipment strapped to his headband.
	"Yeah.  The old kat really knew what he was doing.  That thing is
a bundle of pretty complex stuff.  You should be able to go any
minute now, though."  He tossed a small packet at the Commander.
"Here,   Steve tells me Katrina's suit was punctured.  It's a
patch-kit for the suit."
	"Thanks, ace."
	"How do you feel?  Nervous?"
	"Yeah." The Commander confessed.  "Very."
	"Kind of like going into action for the first time, huh?"
	The Commander laughed then let his good friend get back to work.
"How many did you say made it into the machine?" The Commander asked
Steve.   He had a bandage around his head, with a small reddish patch
of dried blood on his left temple.   Dan was next to him, nursing a
broken arm.
	"I saw seven make it in, sir, after I woke up from the knock to
my head before Lt. Commander Pawter's kat's broke through."  Steve
answered.  "That's when the machine was damaged, sir, in the fire
fight."
	"Well, I'm leading the retrieval team personally.  You and Dan
get back to the medi-lab then take some time off."
	"Sir, I'd like to be assigned to this mission." Steve sternly
declared.  He didn't have to say why.  The Commander already knew
that he and Katrina were more than just friends, and he was counting
on that to get him in on the mission.  
	"You're in no condition to tag along on this one." The Commander
told him flatly.
	"Please, sir." Steve pleaded.  Just then a kat came up carrying
two yellow suits for them, the same kind of suits that Katrina and
the other kats wore when they entered the machine. The Commander
glanced at his crippled friend who gave him a slight nod and a thin
smile. 
	"All right." The Commander said, taking his suit and putting it
on, Steve did the same.  Then, as he finished with his suit he called
everyone on the mission to attention.  "Just one rule before we go.
Minimal interaction is a must.  No one interacts with anyone unless
it's absolutely necessary, understood?"  The kats in yellow suits all
nodded their helmeted heads.
	"Good." The Commander said.  He took a deep breath and marched
onto the platform, the kats under his command lining up behind him.
The Commander was filled with a fear he hadn't felt in a long time,
one mixed with anxiety and a strong desire to back out.  He fought it
back instantly and surveyed his troops.  When they were all on the
platform, the hoverchair-bound kat threw the switch and the room was
filled with a blinding light once again.
	


	The next day Katrina had grown a full foot, and had expanded her
vocabulary.  At the hospital she was asking questions, reading, doing
simple math problems  and just plain exploring.    	
	"Hi guys!"  A female voice shocked Chance and Jake.
	"Miss Briggs!" Jake exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
	"Checking on you. Dr. Yarn is a friend of mine.  She mentioned
you guys over the phone."
	"Oh." Chance and Jake didn't know what else to say.  Katrina was
pulling on them to go outside where a guy was selling balloons.  	
	"Also, I've been meaning to talk to you about my car." Callie
narrowed her eyes.  Jake  smiled and scratched his head and Chance
loosened his collar.  Lucky for them Sylvia Yarn opened her door and
found them in the hall.  
	"Callie!" She called. "Come on in.  And you too, come on lets
go."
	Dr. Yarn's office was typical of a doctor's office, a desk to one
side, an examination bed on the other.  The walls were adorned with
her certificates, her degree and other honors.  Sylvia was large for
a she-kat, just about a foot shorter than Chance.  Her fur was of a
grayish tone, with stripes of deeper gray all around.  Her features
were fair enough, but her stature did make her somewhat of a daunting
figure.  The radio was on when they entered. 
	Dr. Yarn was very cordial and formal.  "Come in. Professor Hackle
called me yesterday to expect you.  And this must be Katrina."  She
placed her hand on Katrina's head and ruffled her ebony hair.
Katrina fought back by pushing Sylvia's hand away.  "Now, lets start
shall we?"
	Chance lifted Katrina on to the examination table.  "Is this
gonna hurt?" The kitten asked.  Chance ruffled her hair and assured
her it wouldn't hurt one bit.
	"It won't hurt at all." Dr. Yarn said taking out her stethoscope
from her black bag.  She put it on and slipped the examining end
under Katrina's shirt.  The heart beat was normal.  A little fast,
which she attributed to her being nervous, but normal.  So was her
breathing.  Dr. Yarn took her blood pressure which was also slightly
high.  It was obvious to her that Katrina didn't believe it all
wouldn't hurt.
	Katrina got a full physical, and except for a slight cold,
everything checked out okay.  Feeling she was getting nowhere, Dr.
Yarn turned to Chance and Jake.  "And you said she grew overnight?"
	"That's right, doc." Jake confirmed.  
	"Well, I'm not about to believe that you'd just come in here and
drag this little girl on a hoax or practical joke or something."
Sylvia rubbed her chin.  "I'd like to do the whole nine yards.  Blood
chemistry, ECG, etc.
	"I also want her admitted for further observation.  Katrina is a
unique case, and I'd like to see exactly how she grows.  I want a
battery of other tests, too."
	"I don't know..."  Jake scratched his head. "Is that really
necessary?  I mean, I'm not sure we can afford all you've got in
mind."
	"I'm afraid it is." She replied.
	Jake consulted his partner who agreed to have Katrina confined.
She was given a simple room on the 7th floor.  "I gotta go, guys.  I
still have some work to do."  Callie said to the two mechanics when
they got up there. "I'll check back later."
	Chance thanked her as she left.  The rest of the day went by
without anything interesting happening to  Katrina.  Come night, Dr.
Yarn came in and took some measurements. She took her height, weight,
arm length, cranium size, and some of her blood.  
	Katrina slept the sleep most little girls have, her stuffed toy
beside her, her comforter tucked under her chin.  Jake read her a
story and sat beside her as she yawned cutely and drifted off.  By
midnight the trio of Jake, Chance and Dr. Yarn were falling into
dreamland themselves, until Dr. Yarn spotted a sudden jerking
movement from the bed Katrina was on.  
	She nudged Chance and Jake and they watched their patient.  Their
eyes settled at the point where Katrina's foot was.  It lengthened in
front of their eyes.
	"This is incredible." Dr. Yarn immediately pulled out a tape
recorder from her breast pocket. She whispered, "Subject's appendages
seem to have extend suddenly, morphing in much the same way as a
special effect on a computer."
	What's happening to her?" Chance moved closer.
	 Yarn cautioned him, "No! Stay back!  We don't know what will
happen if you disturb her.  We should let this run it's course."  All
of a sudden, the little kitten began to thrash violently, screaming.
Her newly lengthened arms darting out, hoping to grab something.
"Has this ever happened before?"
	"No, never." Jake answered.
	
	The world was red, all the flames around her made of sure of
that.  She was standing in the middle of a park that her waking self
wouldn't have recognized, death rays raining down on everyone around
her. She spun around and saw a kat coming at her, screaming for her
to get away.  He leapt at her and knocked her down just as laser fire
scorched the soil where she stood.  The kat acted as if he knew her,
but she did not recognize him at all.  Or did she?
	More explosions came when the kats in armor arrived.  But these
were good kats, or so it seemed, because they trained their weapons
on those planes shooting at her.
	"Let's go!" her companion said.  Though they were next to each
other, his voice seemed to come from far away.  The cries of the
wounded and frightened echoed in her ears, and seemed to chase her as
she ran.  Her little feet could not go fast enough so he carried her
to safety.  
	

	Finally she got up and screamed.  Chance moved beside her and she
hugged him, sobbing.  She eventually fell asleep again and woke up
the next morning, fully remembering her nightmare.  She told them all
about it, and it left them all in thought, particularly Dr. Yarn. She
had a nurse take Katrina to the nursery to see the newborn kittens
then had a talk with Chance and Jake.  
	"She grew, physically, almost two years worth of growth last
night." She informed the duo.  "Her vital signs still seem rather
normal for a kitten her age, as does her blood chemistry, and, though
I haven't really delved into it just yet, her mental faculties seem
intact.  If anything is causing her to grow like she does, I don't
know what it is."
	"What about that dream of hers? Could there be a connection of
some sort?" Jake inquired.
	"Well, since you told me she's never had them before during her
'growth spurts' then I see no reason why they'd be connected."  Dr.
Yarn tossed her files on the bed and sat on it as well.  "I'd like to
keep her for a few more days."
	Chance and Jake didn't argue with that.  Not only was it the
sensible thing to do for Katrina, but it also freed them to be the
Swatkats again without worrying about her.  By day at least, but at
night they'd sleep over at the hospital with her.
	The next day Katrina acted as if the growth spurt never occurred.
The nightmare however, bothered her.  She was extremely attached to
Chance and Jake, the latter in particular, pulling on their shirts to
make them stay.  

	She grew steadily.  All the tests turned out nothing strange, no
inconsistency was uncovered.  Yarn was stuck.  She had finished the
basic routine and had come up empty.  It was decided to bring
Professor Hackle back into things to get his opinion, but he was
unavailable at the time.  Something about giving a lecture out of
town.
	Katrina was now about  sixteen  and was more adjusted to take the
tests Dr. Yarn had planned for her, which now included psychiatric,
as well as physical exams.  Her days were filled with these tests.
One after another, the next different but no less irritating than the
last for her.  Katrina wanted to get out into the sun, put on a
bathing suit and go swimming.  She wanted to get lost in a mall, meet
other kittens her age.  She wanted to tell them, but Dr. Yarn
constantly assaulted her with tests it was hard to get a word in
edgewise.  Now, with the sun shining and the clouds lazily hanging
above, she wanted to get out more than ever.  She looked up as Callie
entered the room with a big smile.  
	"Hi, Katrina.  How are you doing?"  The Deputy Mayor said.  It
still unnerved her how Katrina grew so quickly overnight. The TV was
blaring and the room was cluttered with teen magazines Chance and
Jake had brought her.
	"Hi, Miss Briggs."  The young kat sat up.
	"So, How've you been?"
	"Terrible." Katrina crossed her arms. "I've been cooped up in
here for days!   I can't go out, I don't have any friends besides
you, Chance and Jake and the doctors and nurses in this place!"
	"Well what did doctor Yarn say?" Callie took a seat next to the
bed.
	"She's been making me take these tests, you know?  Math, science,
history, literature, geography... I pass most of them, except math
and geography.  She says she can't understand how I know so much
never having gone to school."
	"And what do you think?"
	"I don't know.  I just know as much as any kitten my age.  I also
know that I want to get out of here! Maybe go shopping!" 
	"We'll see what Dr. Yarn has to say about that."  Callie said and
they both giggled.  "But what about your nightmares?  Still having
them?"
	"Yeah.  Every night.  The funny thing... the scary thing... is I
remember every one of 'em. It's as if it were more of a memory."
	"What was this last one about?"  Callie asked.  Katrina was
obviously uncomfortable talking about her nightmare.  Her voice
quivered as she recounted the dream for Callie: 
	It was as if nature had lowered a veil of red over her eyes all
over again.  This time she was clutching tightly to a kat who had
control of a hovercycle.  There were no wheels but the bike seemed to
just hover over the ground.  It was going at a good clip and there
were others alongside them.  Katrina removed her weapon  from it's
holster and fired at the oncoming  Scavengers.
	The Scavengers, mechanical constructs of some sort were closing
fast, running at top speed and firing on them as well.  She heard her
companion speak.  Again it was as if it were from the far end of a
tunnel. She couldn't make out what he was saying but she knew this
was the same companion in most of her dreams.  And there was one
other kat this time, one veiled in shadows.  He was on their side,
destroying the scavengers showed her that.  But  his face was
obscure, and she lost more detail trying to make his face out.  All
this was beginning to scare Katrina as much as it confused her and
Dr. Yarn.
	Callie held her hand.  "Well, maybe we can talk to Dr. Yarn about
getting you out of her for an afternoon." Callie said.  "Maybe
that'll clear your head a bit so you can make sense of those dreams
of yours.  How does that sound?"
	Katrina dropped her magazine on her bed and hung her head.  Her
dreams were so vivid that it seemed to her that it happened only
moments ago.  Except for that new kat.  She brushed her hair back and
forced a smile.  "That sounds really good, Miss Briggs.  Really
good."
	"Sure does." Chance said as he entered the door.  Jake was behind
but Katrina greeted him first.  They set down some take-out food for
dinner.  None of them liked hospital food.  While they ate Callie
observed that Katrina was always by Jake's side even though he may
not have noticed her.  She also noticed that for the past two days,
she had always had what Jake had.  	It was a trivial little thing but
she thought she'd bring it up with them soon.


	Professor Hackle was exhausted.  Being in the field was for
younger kats, he thought, those little scientists who can afford to
run about chasing a mechanoid gone astray.   He had a pain in his
right knee which had been present throughout the whole day, and
wasn't about to leave.  He leaned on his cane all the more because of
it.  Someone once told him that he was only as old as he thought
himself to be, and at that moment, he thought himself very old.  It
wasn't just the knee.  It was everything.  He seemed to be always
short of breath lately, and whatever drive was left in him diminished
by the day.  
	At least the students seemed enthusiastic about his being at
Katsford University and lecturing.  Ah, teaching.  Now that was one
prospect which excited him a bit.
	He tapped in the alphanumeric code to his back-room and stepped
inside.  Descending the staircase,  he looked around.  Why was he
feeling nostalgic all of a sudden?  Why the sudden yearning for
youth?  He looked and saw that almost all of his creations, whether
they functioned properly or not were in this room, his failure room.
	He had the original bodies of the Metallikats on the far side.
Those two had changed bodies so many, many times.  Off to another
corner was scrap from the Macrobots, his dream of space exploration
turned rampaging machine.  His heart was heavy with the guilt of his
failures.  In front of him now was his prototype long-term
submersible, which he had long ago abandoned.  Beside it was his
attempt at a time machine, also abandoned.
	How he failed so many times, he couldn't fathom, and he knew he'd
go deeper into despair if he did.  Not that he didn't have successes,
but his mistakes were more engraved in his mind.  He pulled himself
out of his daily pit of tragic memories and forced himself to call
Dr. Yarn.  Maybe the advanced growth of her patient would help lift
his spirits.
	The slight beep caught his attention.  It was the faintest of
beeps, but in such a quiet room he heard it clearly.  It was followed
by the brightening of a control panel.  It lasted only a second, then
faded.  The beep was gone as well.  He approached the panel and
examined it.  It was the control panel of the time machine.


	
	The same dream filled her sleep,  down to the last detail.  She
still couldn't make out what her companion was saying.  And the
mystery kat was still as shrouded as ever.  But it was different
somehow, more vivid.  The haze was redder than the previous time, and
the terror in herself was more immanent.  
	She strained to remember as she sat up in her bed. She felt the
cold sweat on her.  She changed and looked around in the dimly lit
hospital room.  Jake was sleeping on the two chairs put together
beside her bed.  Chance had gone home to look after things at the
garage.
	She noticed how cute Jake was.  Instantly she forgot her dream.
She wondered why she never noticed his smile before, the way his fur
curled around his cheeks.  There was her dreamboat.  She fought back
the terror that was slowly creeping up.  The dreams seemed more real
than ever, and she felt she had grown, her clothes were tighter.  She
almost cried but fought it back.,  then forced herself back to sleep.
	Katrina's eyes burst open just as she heard the knocks on the
door.  She looked at herself.  She was drenched in sweat, and her
breathing was heavy, as if she had run a marathon. Another dream.
The mystery kat was there again, but this time he had a friend, a
partner, whose face was also lost to her mind's eye.  They were
awe-inspiring to her, destroying Scavengers left and right.  She was
about to be crushed when she had woken up.
	 She heard voices from the other side of the door, and that
scared her a little.  She got up shakily and opened the door just a
little way.  She recognized the voices as she saw them.  It were
Chance and Jake along with Miss Briggs.   She looked on some more and
tried to put together what they were saying.  	
	She pressed her ear closer and heard one of them mention going
out somewhere.  She jumped back as Callie opened the door fully.
"Come on, Katrina.  Dr. Yarn agreed to let you go for today,
reluctantly."   The news was music to her ears.  She peeked out at
Chance and Jake.  "They were thinking maybe of bringing you to the
beach today."
	"But...  I don't have a bathing suit."  It saddened her that she
got a chance and couldn't take it.
	"That's why I'm here."  Callie pulled out a bathing suit from her
bag.  It was a one-piece affair, and Katrina hugged it to her chest.
Chance and Jake came in and packed their stuff as did Katrina.  She
was so happy that she didn't notice Callie wasn't packing until they
were about to leave.  When confronted Callie reasoned that she was
still needed at work and that she'd tag along next time.
	"That's too bad." Chance whispered to Jake with a grin.  Jake
grinned too. Callie heard the remark but said nothing, she just
looked at them slyly.  Dr. Yarn then showed up saying that she wanted
Katrina back by nightfall to get a good rest.  She had another
battery of tests lined up, and  had contacted Professor Hackle who
had agreed to come the next morning.
	While Katrina was changing, Callie decide to tell Chance and Jake
her observations.  "I think Katrina has a crush on you, Jake." She
declared, to Chance and Jake's surprise.
	"How do you know?" Jake asked.
	"Trust me.  We she-kat's know each other.  The way she always
brushes against you, her always having the same thing you have for
dinner and a lot more tell tale signs.  She has a crush on you, Jake.
Question now is what are you going to do about it?"
	Katrina came out before he could answer, and he just loosened his
shirt collar.  
	The drive to the beach was a long one but it was a chance for
Katrina to be free of the tedious tests.   She sat up front, Jake
having given up his seat for her and settling for the back.  For a
moment she wished she were sitting beside Jake but said nothing of
it.  She looked out the window wide-eyed, pointing at everything that
piqued her interest, which was just about everything.  Chance
chuckled and shot Jake a look when Katrina was going on about the
world so much she didn't notice.  They both found her exuberance
funny and a bit childish.  But then Jake reminded himself, she really
is just  a little kitten,  physical and mental development aside.  
	"You act as if this is the first time you've seen these things."
Jake said.
	"Oh  I'm sure I've seen them somewhere before."  She said.  She
must have, Chance said to himself.  Despite her awe in the simplest
things like tall buildings, lush parks, towering redwood trees and
such, she *knew* what they were.  It was a puzzle, but a puzzle which
could wait till tomorrow.  They had just pulled up in the Megakat
Beach Parking Lot and the fun times for Katrina were about to begin.  
	"Let's hurry so we can get a good spot!" Katrina tugged at Jake.
Chance was left to carry their things.  They found a site close to
the lockers so they could change and shower easily.  Jake and Chance
changed into their shorts while Katrina slipped into her one-piece.
The ocean had a way of relaxing a kat, Chance thought.  And that was
just what he wanted, to relax.  Jake had the same idea, find a spot
to lie back and rest.  Let Katrina do all the running around.
	The two mechanics watched for Katrina to come out of the locker.
When she emerged, she had a small shirt over her suit and a towel
wrapped around her waist.  She walked past them blissfully and set
her things down on the towel .  Then she moved out, as if moving to
center stage, and took off her shirt.  The towel soon followed.  
	Chance and Jake stared at Katrina.  Her young, ample body filled
up the swimsuit Callie gave her.  It had a floral print and a
high-cut waist, making her already long legs look longer.  She
brushed her hair back gracefully and adjusted the straps to her
swimsuit. Chance and Jake had always looked at Katrina as the little
girl they found in their scrapyard, so seeing a voluptuous young
she-kat showing plenty of fur was quite a shock to them.
	Chance suddenly felt strange.   He looked around for suspicious
looking teenage kats, and saw several staring at Katrina.  He also
felt as if he wanted to wrap Katrina in the beach towel and march her
back to the garage.  Then he stopped himself.  Is this how a father
feels? he thought to himself.  He decided to just let Katrina have
fun and resolved to keep a close watch on her, and any kat who
strayed to close to her.
	Jake was uncomfortable being beside Katrina, but not because she
constantly talked to him about the most mundane things.  Nor was it
because she seemed ready to do anything to pull his attention away
from his book to her.  He felt uncomfortable because when he did get
a chance to get back to his book, he couldn't help but look at her
hourglass figure. She'd stop making Jake take notice of her.  She'd
look around at the passers-by and the waves.  And when she'd look
back,  Jake would shift his book to hide his staring eyes.  
	Jake  decided he had  to get some distance between him and
Katrina so he excused himself and went for a dip.  The water wasn't
as cold as he first thought so he jumped right in.  What exactly it
was that was bothering him he did not quite know.  Katrina had been
affectionate to Chance during the first few days, but lately her
attentions seemed to have turned to him.  Why that upset him was
still in need of working out.  
	But he couldn't deny it for more than a few minutes.  He found
Katrina very attractive, and to him that was the trouble. He didn't
feel it right for him to want Katrina, but there it was in his
feelings. Jake felt a swarm of butterflies in his stomach, a swarm he
hadn't felt since his highschool days.  He felt guilty looking at
Katrina that way.   With any other she-kat he would think nothing of
it, but not with Katrina.  Not with the little kitten he had made a
crib for, and fed at night
	She popped up beside him suddenly, doing a breast-stroke.  "Hi."
She said and started to tread.  Jake motioned for them to go to
shore. They got out of the water at one of the more secluded areas of
the beach, where the rocks jutted out of the shoreline.  They found a
smooth boulder to sit on.
	"How did you know how to swim?" Jake asked, keeping his eyes from
roaming.  
	"I don't know." Katrina said honestly.  Realizing she was
slouching, she sat up straight and thrust her chest out.  She looked
like a highschool cheerleader wanting to impress a football jock.
Jake just smiled and turned his gaze to the sea.  There was a silence
now, aside from the crashing of the waves.  Katrina slid closer to
Jake, her arm brushing against his.  
	"You can stop flirting, Katrina." He tried to make it sound nice,
but knew it didn't.  Katrina pulled back and drew her knees to her
chin.  Jake saw the  hurt  in her eyes.  "Hey.  Come on, Katrina."
	"What's wrong?"  She said softly.  "You like me, don't you?"
	Jake took a deep breath.  "Of course I like you, Katrina.  I've
always liked you.  But it just wouldn't work out between you and me."
	"Why not." Her face had sadness and confusion.  "In another two,
three days we'll be the same age." She reasoned.
	"In another week, you'll be old enough to be my mom." Jake
answered, a little to harshly.  He saw her face drop again, and she
buried it in her knees.  Jake tried to lighten the mood the
conversation was going in.  "I used to change your diapers for Pete's
sake."  
	Katrina giggled at that one, though she was embarrassed and
blushing.  She wanted to say something, but how could she tell him
what she didn't understand herself?  She felt something more than a
crush on Jake.  As if she remembered Jake from long ago.  But then
she thought that was impossible, wasn't it?  Maybe he just reminded
her of someone.  Who, she had no idea.
	"Are you still with me here?" Jake kidded.
	Katrina was still hurt but she forced a smile.  "I'm sorry..."
	"No harm done." Jake assured her.  "So how about we get back to
Chance?  He's probably worried sick about you by now."
	Neither of them noticed the two figures approach till it was too
late.  The first stepped between Jake and Katrina, kicking him in the
stomach.  The second snatched Katrina up and pulled her to her feet.
"Is he one of them?" The one holding Katrina spoke up.  "Maybe we
should just finish him now."
	"Yeah, lets!." Said the one who kicked Jake.  He kicked him again
off the rocks into the water.  Jake fell in the ocean as the two
turned to leave with their catch.  He scrambled up to the surface,
ignoring the pain in his gut.
	He climbed to rocks, preparing for a fight.  One of them turned
to him and took a battle stance.  Jake attacked first, scoring a knee
hit into the kat's midsection.  He followed it up with a punch to the
same area then another to the face.  Out of the corner of his eye he
saw Chance come running up along the shoreline.  He must have been
watching them and ran as soon as he saw the two approach. 
	The kidnapper was suddenly cornered, boxed in.  Chance was
intimidating him to give up, but he wouldn't listen.  In a sudden
move he threw Katrina at Jake and ran past him.  He wasn't able to
get far when Chance grabbed his collar and flung him to the ground.
He rolled with the move, dragging Chance to the ground with him,
where they both struggled to get the upper hand.  Chance's weight and
leverage were too much, and the assailant cried out in pain as he had
his arm painfully twisted behind his back.

	
	"Aren't you going to say anything?" Feral shoved the second
prisoner into the cell.  They had been completely quiet since they
were brought in by the two mechanics.  It didn't surprise him that
those two hotshots had managed to apprehend criminals.  They were
Enforcers for a while after all, though their records were pockmarked
with as many commendations as it had reprimands.  
	Feral completely believed that they were at fault for the escape
of Darkkat.  If only they hadn't been so stubborn and had given him
the tag, Darkkat might be rotting on Alkatraz right now.  But that
was too much, he thought.  There was no guarantee of that.  Still,
that was no reason to go easy on them.  He had yelled at them when
they brought in these two would-be kidnappers.  Felina was outside
dealing with them.  Thank goodness, since he didn't want to see their
faces any more than was needed.
	He glared at the two captives.  "Well?"
	"Go find a scratching post, Commander."  One said.
	"We ain't gonna be here long anyways." Said the other.
	"We'll see about that.  Were bringing in an attorney for you
tomorrow, though personally I think you don't deserve one."
	"Scratchpost is calling, Commander."
	Feral slammed his paw on the bars and startled the two, who
pulled back in fear.
	Outside, his niece was handling the two hotshots.  "Don't worry,
with your sworn statements, those guys aren't going anywhere." Felina
promised.  "But what bothers me is why they would want to kidnap
Katrina?  From what you told us she isn't extremely rich or
influential."
	"That's what I think your uncle is trying to find out." Chance
said.
	"Yeah." Felina narrowed her eyes at the two ex-Enforcers.  "He
sure blew his top when you two walked in.  Almost as if someone tore
open an old war wound."
	"Yeah, well, it's a long story Lieutenant." Jake assured her.
"And not a very pretty one either."
	"Can we go now?" Katrina nagged.  Chance looked at Felina who
said everything was in order and that they could go for now.
"Thanks, Lieutenant."  Katrina said, and waved as she made her way
out, dragging Jake with her.
	"Well, see you, Lt." Chance hurried after.  He was barely out the
door when Feral entered from the ante-room.  Felina could see the
contempt in her uncle's eyes.  He went on about how they caused
Darkkat's escape, and how kats like those never should have made it
on the force.  Felina, for her part knew that if they had one or two
kats like those, the force would be a lot more effective.  She  had
gone through their dossiers before, and they were quite impressive.
As well as incredibly mischievous.
	"Something isn't right, Felina."  He told his niece.  "Furlong's
'cousin' is a bit suspicious."
	

	
	
	"You're back early." Dr. Yarn said, surprised.  She had just
gotten of the phone with Professor Hackle, who requested they bring
Katrina over.  "He seemed very excited.  He said as soon as
possible."
	Katrina shrank away, her face showing her disappointment at the
cutting short of her vacation.  "Do I have to?" She crossed her arms
across her chest.  "I mean after the Enforcers and all..."
	"Enforcers?"
	"Somebody tried to kidnap Katrina." Jake explained.  He went on
to tell Dr. Yarn about the attack at the beach and how they managed
to stop the attackers and haul them off to Enforcer Headquarters.
"Why is what we can't understand.  Katrina says she doesn't know why
either."
	"Aw, come on..." Katrina whined. "Am I going to have to take more
tests?" Katrina's voice was irritated and full of disbelief.
	"Well, maybe we can postpone the trip till tomorrow. "Dr. Yarn
said, and Katrina's eyes softened somewhat.   "Though for reasons of
safety I'd like you to stay here."
	"Sheesh!" Katrina was obviously exasperated.  "Pleeeeeaaaasssse?
I just have to get out of this place!"  Dr. Yarn looked at Chance and
Jake who were the official guardians of Katrina.
	"Well," Chance said after thinking a while. "We can take her with
us to the garage.  It's not the beach but at least it isn't the
hospital either."  He turned to Jake who looked shocked and in
protest.  Chance's eyebrows met and that was a signal for Jake to
stay quiet and ride along.
	"It's safe enough, I mean no one would link Katrina with the
Megakat Scrapyard right?" Jake agreed.  Katrina softened a little.
Dr. Yarn didn't protest.  The scrapyard it was.


	He hadn't felt this enthusiastic about anything in years.  Ever
since the sudden but fleeting beep from his abandoned time machine he
canceled all previous appointments with the University and locked
himself up in his hall of failures, his robot servants bringing him
his meals.
	He did some computations in his head and wrote them down.  He had
abandoned this project when his colleague, Dr. Greenbox was
incarcerated after the incident with Zed.  It seemed their theories
of time travel had been acceptable, the proof being the only missing
factor.  They had to prove, to themselves first then to the
scientific community, that it was possible to place an object in a
different time than when it was supposed to exist.
	More computations filled his mind.  He did them all as fast as he
could, and wrote them down again.  But this beep, this sudden glowing
of the lights, it meant something. He took out his old notes and
flipped through them.  He found designs for a small oddly-shaped
device, a portable version of the console.  It had been decided not
to build it, since there was no proof the larger version worked.  Ah,
but the beep!  That was proof!
	Then he remembered Katrina, the little girl who Jake Clawson had
called him about and who he had recommended to Dr. Yarn.  There was a
link, he was sure.  Perhaps, her aging was caused by a disturbance in
the timestream?  But if so why was  she the only one?  A thousand
possibilities flew through Hackle's mind as he wrote down more
formulas and checked schematics.  His watch told him night had come.
He was sure he wouldn't get any sleep.


	"Uh... Lieutenant Feral?  There are a couple of kats here who
want to see the two new ones." Felina heard over the headphone.
"They say they're the guys' attorneys."   She didn't recall her uncle
calling anybody about the two new guys yet.  Probably some of those
commercial lawyers trying to make a name for themselves with a big
case.  
	"Tell them to come back some other time." Felina ordered.
	"I already did, ma'am.  They insist on talking to Commander
Feral.  I told 'em he already left so they want to see you."
	"All right then.  I'll be right down." The nerve of those guys.
And at this hour of the night!  She'd get rid of them easily.   She
took her time getting down there.
	When she got to the entrance, Felina was shocked to see four of
the Enforcers lying on the floor.  She rushed to check on them; they
were all still alive.  She sniffed at the air.  Something wasn't
right, a peculiar odor which she couldn't make out was hanging in the
air.  Right then she knew that was what knocked out the guards.  She
rushed to the desk  where the security monitors were, but they were
all smashed and the tapes ripped apart.  The kat stationed there was
also unconscious.
	Racing to the cell block where the new prisoners were, she
gathered all the kat's she could.  "Didn't you see anything!?" She
screamed as she ran  She pulled out her blaster from its holster.
The other kats followed suit.
	"We saw a couple of guys with passes on their coats." An Enforcer
replied.  It figures, Felina thought.  It must've been easy enough to
pull out a pass with the guards unconscious.  They finally reached
the cell block, where the guards were also unconscious.  But the two
prisoners were still in their cell, acting as if nothing had
happened.
	"Where are they?" Felina demanded, her weapon held at ready.  
	"Who?" One of them asked with mock ignorance.
	"You know who." Felina shot back, though she wasn't looking at
them, she was looking around at every conceivable hiding place.
	The smoke filled the room quickly, rising up from a small
cylinder lying on the floor.  One by one the Enforcers fell.  Felina
kicked the can to the far side of the room.  "Everyone out!" She
managed.  Where had that come from?  She turned and saw the two kats
exit their cell, gas masks on their faces.   They barged through the
weakened Enforcers.   Felina tried to block their escape but she too
had inhaled some of the gas and was too weak to put up much of a
fight.  She hit her head as she fell, her vision blurring.  The world
became unfocused and eventually faded to black.
	

	Jake didn't agree with Chance's decision to take in Katrina one
bit.  They were vigilantes, as such not only wanted, but needed
secrecy.  To Jake's mind, Katrina's mere presence in the scrapyard
jeopardized their identities.
	Not to mention the uneasiness between Katrina and him.  He wasn't
sure if Chance was aware of it.  Heck, he thought, he wasn't sure if
Chance noticed how paternal he himself acted towards Katrina.  It was
all getting out of hand, Jake thought.  Slowly but surely out of
hand. 
	At the scrapyard, Katrina  eagerly searched the junk for some
interesting stuff.  In her first hour she had found a portable video
game and CD player which Jake then promised to fix.   The whole place
fascinated her.  And she didn't care if she dirtied herself
scrounging around.  She literally dug into the mounds of scrap in
search of her treasure.
	In the kitchen, Chance was whipping up some Black Cod, using an
old family recipe.  Katrina's eyes had bust open when she saw the
junkyard and had been happily lost in the rubble since they arrived.
He was happy to see her happy.  Jake was finishing up on a Honda in
the garage.  "Dinner's almost ready!" Chance called.
	"You don't cook often Chance." Jake came in wiping his hands.
"Why now?"
	"Well, I figured we had a special guest, and that called for the
family specialty."  Chance was stirring his dish when Katrina came
running in.  Yup.  Jake decided.  Chance was getting fatherly.
	"That smells wonderful!" She exclaimed.  "Can I taste?"
	"Sure."  Chance took out a tasting spoon and filled it up.  "Be
careful, it's hot." He warned as he gave her the spoon.
	Katrina took it and blew on the spoon for a while then tasted the
fish.  She chewed slowly, thinking at the same time.  When she
swallowed she looked at Chance.  "That's plenty of ginger, some
rosemary, a dash of lemon..."  And she went on and on  identifying
the ingredients of the dish.  When she was done Chance was staring at
her.
	"That's right." He said.  Katrina smiled and left to wash up.
Chance looked at Jake who shrugged, just as confused and surprised as
he was.  Dinner was quiet.   Katrina enjoyed the meal.  She helped
clean the dishes then excused herself, going out into the yard again.
	"You know where this puts us, don't you buddy?" Jake finished his
milk.
	"Whadda you mean?" Chance said. 
	"I mean having a curious teenage she-kat running around our
operation here."  Jake got up and  peeked outside to see if Katrina
was within earshot.  She was on another mound so it was safe to speak
up.  "What if Darkkat attacks?  Or the Matallikats try to break into
the Megakat Mint again?"
	"It's a bit late to turn back now, ace."  Chance took a large
gulp of his milk.  "We'll deal with it when it comes."
	At that moment the phone rang, interrupting their conversation.
It was Dr. Yarn. "I'll pick up Katrina at around eight." She told
Jake who had answered.  "I'll also leave my car in, if you don't
mind.  It's been making a strange noise lately."
	"No problem, doc." Jake said.  "But how are you going to Prof.
Hackles? Do you need a ride?"
	"No, thank you, Jake.  Callie agreed to lend me her car for a
while."
	"Oh, okay." Jake felt he should warn her but she hung up.
	After dinner and a few more chapters of his book, Jake decided to
get some sleep.  Chance agreed, and went outside to call Katrina back
in.  He saw her on one of the higher mounds of rubble, her knees to
her chin, the wind blowing her long silky hair.  She looked
enchanting against the full moon.  He called out to her but she
didn't seem to hear.
	She climbed on one of the taller mounds of rubble and perched
herself there, her knees drawn to her chest.  The cool breeze she
didn't notice.  What was wrong with her? she finally thought.  She
grew an average of two years every night.  She knew as much as anyone
else  without having to go to school. How?  She knew how to swim
earlier, as if it were second nature.  How was that possible?  Or
more importantly, what was to become of her?
	The idea of dying of old age in a few days was frighteningly real
all of a sudden.  A potent feeling of despair built up within her,
threatening to engulf her.  She had fought it off for days,
pretending to be normal.  But her sudden recitation in the kitchen
reminded her that she definitely wasn't normal. 
	To top it all off she had a severe crush on Jake.  She saw a
great kat in him, and knew in her soul that they would really hit it
off if only Jake would let it.  But their talk at the beach ended all
that.  Katrina still couldn't shake what she felt.  When she stopped
to think about it, it was more than a serious crush, as if he
reminded her of someone, but for the life of her she didn't know who.
	Chance was a great kat too.   He was the kind to answer all her
questions, watch over her, protect her.  He was always there to hug
and snuggle up to, like the brother she never had.  Or did she have a
brother and not know?
	Who did she know really?  Chance, Jake, Miss Briggs, Dr. Yarn, a
couple of the nurses and orderlies at the hospital.  It dawned on her
that she had a short, unfulfilled life.  Then the dreams were always
there in her head.  She wiped a tear from her eye.  She didn't want
to stop pretending, but she knew she had too.
	"Katrina? Are you all right?" Chance sat down beside her.  She
didn't respond at first.  Then she looked at him, her eyes almost
completely in tears, then looked away.  Chance held her.  "What's
wrong?  You can tell me."
	"I just..." She struggled against an outburst. "I'm just so
scared.  About growing old.  About my nightmares." She melted into
Chance's embrace, burying her face in his chest. It felt good for
Katrina just to have somebody close. 
	"Shhhh...." Chance rubbed her back lovingly.  "It'll be all
right.  Professor Hackle will fix whatever's wrong."
	"Promise?" She hugged him tighter.
	"Promise." He trusted Professor Hackle.  The old kat knows what
he's doing, Chance thought.  
	"I... I don't want to sleep tonight." She declared.  "I don't
know maybe... maybe if I don't sleep I won't grow."
	"That's Ok."  Chance said supportively.  "I'll stay up with you."
By early morning they had gone through several old movies, the
leftover of the codfish, a litter and a half of milk and several
games of Gin Rummy, Poker, Speed and Crazy Eights.  All of which,
surprising to both of them, she knew how to play, and play well.
	Katrina gathered the money she won in front of her.  Chance
scratched his head.  "That's it, Katrina.  I'm all outta money."
Then he glanced at his wrist watch.  "It's four forty-five."
	"Yeah." Katrina stuffed her money into her pockets.  She was
sleepy and she knew Chance was sleepy too, but she really wanted to
stay awake.  To do that she needed someone to keep her awake.  Chance
rested his elbow of the table and his head on his palm.  He took deep
regular breaths.  Katrina smiled and stood to get some more milk.  
	Out of nowhere a wave of nausea swept over her.  It hit her so
hard and so suddenly that she lost her balance.  Katrina supported
herself  with the table.  The dizziness was overwhelming her and her
vision was blurring.  She tried to call Chance but nothing left her
lips.  Then everything went black and she fell to the floor.
	Chance woke up with the sudden thump.  He got up and looked
around, "Katrina!" He found her on the floor.  He moved to pick her
up when she began to morph again, much like that night at the
hospital.  Her limbs were longer, and her cheeks fuller.  Her hair
lengthened as well.  Her clothes were suddenly too small for her.
	When it was all over Chance shook her softly to wake her up.
Katrina's eyes fluttered open.  "Wha... What happened?" She looked at
him groggily. "Did I...?  Chance took a deep breath and nodded  his
head slowly.  Katrina hugged him tightly.  
	The next morning there was a rush job, some hotshot teenager
pushed his car too far and the engine blew so now he needed a tow.
Chance and Jake  proceeded to the caller.  Katrina wanted one of them
to be with her at Professor Hackle's, and they promised to follow as
soon as they could.
	Once back at the garage, Chance gave the teen-kat a lecture on
what and what not to do with your car.  It bugged him and Jake to no
end how badly kids treat their cars these days.
	"Start talking!" Jake heard and bolted up in surprise, hitting
his head on the underside of the car's hood.  He turned around and
found Commander Feral glaring angrily at him.   Felina looked far
more composed but she did have a bandage wrapped across her forehead.
Jake rubbed his own head injury as Feral went on.  "Those two crooks
you brought in escaped."
	"What!?" Jake said.  "When?"
	"Last night!  Felina and several others were injured in the
escape."  Feral pointed a finger at Jake.  "You better start talking,
Clawson.  There's something you and that crazy foul-up Furlong aren't
telling me!"
	"We've told you everything there is, Feral."  Chance lied,
stepping out of the garage.
	"Those two weren't just two-bit criminals, and neither were their
accomplices!  Something isn't right about that girl!  Where is she!?"
	"She's not here." Jake answered back defensively.  "She  left
this morning.  Hey!" Jake was pushed aside as Feral barged past.  He
scanned the area quickly searching for something, anything that would
serve as a clue or point him in a solid direction.
	"You got a search warrant, Feral?" Chance blocked Feral's path. 
	Feral backed down.  He didn't have a warrant, nor did he  have
enough of a reason to ask for a warrant from a judge.  But he was
sure, the girl had something to hide, and was willing to stake his
job on it.  He looked around  a few more times then barged past Jake
again to leave.
	"Whoah" The kat with the busted car said.  "Creepy dude.  You
guys must be in some serious mojo to get a real wacko like him down
your pants huh?"
	Chance didn't know if the kat was stoned or trying too hard to
sound cool and he didn't care.  He looked him in the eye, said,
"Scram.", andd the kat was out of sight in record time.  
	But Jake was barely aware of his partner or the departed kat.
His attention was fixed on a slight scuffling noise coming from the
mound right behind them.  "What's the matter, buddy?" Chance asked
when Jake didn't reply.  But Jake just put his finger to his mouth in
a motion of silence and lightly made his way to the mound, his other
hand beckoning Chance to do the same.
	They were practically noiseless as they approached the mound.
Another light, almost inaudible scuffling sound reached their ears as
they were almost upon the mound.  Right at the foot of the heap, Jake
clenched his fists and crouched, bracing himself.  In a flash he
leapt into the air, clearing the mound and diving straight at two
bewildered kats.  The first one was able to regain his composure
quickly and took up a receiving stance.  He caught Jake and tossed
him aside.
	Jake flipped with the throw and landed on his feet.  He  crunched
down again, his spine storing energy like a spring.  A split second
later he pounced directly at the kat who flipped him over, knocking
him into the pile of junk.
	The other kat was about to rip Jake off of his companion when
Chance came crashing down on him, fist first.  Chance's knuckles
slammed violently into his opponent's face, knocking him several feet
away.  Chance landed and looked around.  No one else was there, and
Jake seemed to have the other guy under control.  The kat he knocked
down was standing up, so he charged at him and buried his shoulder in
the guy's midsection.
	By now Jake's opponent was able to sneak out of Jake's hold and
roll away.  Jake swung a punch which was avoided.  The kat countered
with a kick but Jake was able to catch it.  With the guy's foot in
his hand, Jake pressed it back and at the same time swept him to the
ground.  "Aw, dad! That's enough!"  the kat exclaimed as he hit the
mud.
	Jake was surprised.  Did he hear right? Dad?  "What are you
talking about?" He asked, still in a combat stance.  The kat
staggered to his feet.  He was almost upright when Chance came out of
nowhere to slam him back into the junk pile.  "Chance, wait!" Jake
said.  
	Chance eased up and pulled the kat from out of the scrap heap,
holding him up by the collar. "D... Dad..."  He said. Chance made a
confused look which he shot at Jake.
	  Jake came up beside him.  "What do you mean 'Dad?'  We're just
mechanics, and I'm no father."  He crossed his arms.
	"No time... to explain..."  It was obvious that Chance had hit
the kat a bit too hard.  "Have to go... find Katrina..."
	"Katrina!?" Chance and Jake said together.  "What do you know
about Katrina?" Chance pressed.
	"Where... where is she?"  The kat was getting his breath back.
	"Why should we tell you?." Jake told him.
	"We have to find her.  Please... She's in danger..."
	"Danger!?." Chance let the kat go.  He looked over the uniform,
and it donned on him now how similar the design was to the
Enforcers', only a different color scheme, blue and orange.  And the
insignia also looked like a spin off of the Enforcers'.  "Who the
crud are you anyway?"
	"Like I said, no time.  Where could she have gone?"  The kat was
frantic.
	"She went to visit professor Hackle today."  Jake informed the
uniformed kat.
	"Then that's where we'll find her." The stranger said.  "Get the
Turbokat out and let's go."
	Chance and Jake stared at him wide eyed.  "What are you talking
about?" Jake denied.
	"We know all about you." Came a commanding voice, almost as gruff
as Chance's.  From behind the other mounds other kats showed
themselves.  All of them wore the Enforcer-type uniforms with the
Enforcer-type insignias.  The speaker, a big, burly kat stepped
forward.  His face was obscured by his helmet and lowered visor.  He
had a gruff voice, much like Chance's.  "I'll explain later but I'm
asking you two, kat-to-kat, we have to get to Katrina."
	

	"It certainly is a wonderful day, don't you think?" Dr. Yarn
drove out of the city limits.  
	"I suppose so." Katrina said in response.  "It really was a
beautiful day, the sun was out, the sky was clear and the air was
crisp, especially outside of the city.  But, no matter how much she
let it, it just didn't seem to lift her spirits.
	For her part, Dr. Yarn  was getting nowhere, and that was
beginning to nag at her immensely.  She wanted Katrina to see
Professor Hackle for one, to find a cure or a solution to her
unorthodox predicament and two, and perhaps of little more importance
to her, to find out the truth.  "I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Professor Hackle was excited to see you."
	Katrina was unimpressed.  She folded her arms across her chest
and scowled. 
	"Oh, what's this?" Dr. Yarn looked at her rear view mirror.  She
saw several kats in motor cycles closing in on them at an alarming
speed.  They looked intent on something, and were approaching the
car.  Soon Katrina and Dr. Yarn were flanked by two, the remaining
pair bringing up the rear.  
	Katrina stared out the window and recognized the kat as one of
her assailants. "Speed up, Dr. Yarn!" She cried.
	"What?  I'm sure these hooligans..."
	"Floor it!" Katrina yelled as a shot went past her head and Dr.
Yarn's.  She grabbed the wheel from Dr. Yarn and turned hard right,
almost knocking the biker off.  Then she swerved back to the left,
going for the other biker, who slowed down to avoid the car.  "Floor
it now!"
	Sylvia stepped down on the gas as hard as she could and felt
herself get thrown backwards into the seat.  The turboplugs had
kicked in. The engine roared like a dragon waking up from it's sleep
and about to take flight.  Sylvia shifted gears and the monstrous
roar transformed into a smooth sounding purr.  They were going way
over the speed limit, and the bikers were slowly disappearing from
the car's rear view mirror.
		


	Professor Hackle was seated in his living room, computations,
possibilities,  and hypotheses streaming through his head.  Just then
a light klaxon sounded and woke him form his musings.  He checked who
it was and immediately ran to open the door.
	"I'm so glad you could make it." Hackle greeted his two guests.
"And this must be Katrina."  Katrina took time out from looking over
her shoulder to say hello.  She was jittery, and she wanted to get
inside and not feel so exposed.  
	"Do come in." Hackle said as she edged her way past him.  To Dr.
Yarn she said.  "You look dreadful.  You're all pale and sweaty.  Is
anything the matter?"
	"Forgive me, Professor." She answered politely.  "But we
encountered these uncouth kats on the road and..."
	"Uncouth my tail!" Katrina called from inside.  "They were trying
to kill us!"  She searched the room for a phone but there was none.
It all seemed familiar to her but she wasn't sure when if ever she
had been in here last.  It was Deja vu at it's strongest for her.
Professor Hackle closed the door and approached her.
	"Are you looking for something, my dear?"  He offered.
	"The phone, I need to make a call."  Katrina was frenzied.
	"Here." Hackle pulled a lever and the phone rose from the coffee
table.  Katrina snatched it up urgently and dialed the number of the
scrapyard.  It rung several times but no one was answering.  She put
down the phone and sank to the chair, dejected.
	"Not to worry." Hackle promised her. "This compound is equipped
with security devices to keep any unwanted visitors out."
	"Come now, Katrina.   We should begin our tests."  Dr. Yarn said.
	A loud klaxon sounded as a panel in the wall slid to reveal a
monitor.  Hackle flicked the switch and an image of the bikers came
on screen.  "Ah, are these the hooligans you were talking about?" 
	"Yes, and we have to go, now!" Katrina was almost hysterical now.
"Let's get in the car and go! Please!  Let's just go!"
	Dr. Yarn ignored Katrina and looked at Professor Hackle.
"Impossible." She heard him whisper.  "My security devices are turned
off..."
	"Then I agree with Katrina, Professor." Dr. Yarn beckoned them to
leave.
	Too late.  The front door burst open, the kats barging in.  They
subdued Katrina violently, throwing her to the floor.  Dr. Yarn  ran
to help her up but she was shoved aside.  Several blasters directed
at his face prevented Professor Hackle from aiding anyone.
	"Well, well.  If it isn't professor Hackle, my old colleague."
The leader of the kats said.  "You never change do you?  You haven't
even bothered to replace your security system.  I still have the
override code.  Perhaps I should kill you right now, and spare me a
whole world of trouble in the future. What do you say?"  
	"I... I don't know who you are..." Hackle stuttered.
	"Oh, of course not." The leader removed his hood and revealed his
face.
	"Professor Greenbox!?" Dr. Yarn exclaimed.
	"Yes, but not the Greenbox you know.  I think in this time I was
still being evaluated for mental stability."
	"What do you mean 'this time?'" 
	"Ah, Hackle haven't you figured it out yet?"  Greenbox fired a
shot through the roof for effect.  "I'm from the future!"
	The three prisoners were aghast.
	"What do you want with me?" Katrina was trying hard to stay calm.
"I don't know you."
	"No but you will." Greenbox squatted to look down at her.  "Now
where is the CD?"
	"I don't know what you mean."
	"Liar." Greenbox scowled.  He would've slapped her had another
klaxon not sounded.



	"Going to hover-mode." T-Bone announced.  He expertly landed the
Turbokat right between a row of trees.    They dismounted quickly but
cautiously, no knowing what, if anything, was happening in the lab.
T-Bone opened the Bomb-bay doors to let  the rest of his passengers
out.
	"I never thought I'd actually be able to ride in the belly of the
Turbokat!" One of them exclaimed.
	"Everyone back home will be so mad." Said another.
	Razor kept a close eye on the Enforcer-like kats,  not completely
trusting them.  It disturbed him how they knew so much about their
operation.  He couldn't help but feel Steve's gaze burrow into his
neck.  That guy looked at him as if he was a teen idol or something.
Heck, everyone except for the commander looked at him and T-Bone like
they were superheroes.
	"Let's get moving." He led the way.


	"You really should change your security codes, Hackle.  Still the
same from now until my time." Greenbox turned the security systems
back on.


	"I don't like this." T-Bone whispered to Razor.
	"I know what you mean." Razor glanced over his shoulder at the
pack of kats following them. "I don't like them knowing our secret."
	"Roger that." T-Bone affirmed.  
	A few more meters down they were stopped by a sudden humming
sound, like several small motors turning on all at once.  T-Bone and
Razor backed up, coming back-to back with the other kats. who had
also stopped.
	Out of the foliage came several silver tentacle-like
contraptions, their ends sporting three-fingered grapplers.  They
seemed to poise first, sizing up their prey, then darted at them with
snake-like speed.  "Scatter!" Razor yelled as every one did.  The
tentacles connected with ground and grass, then bounced back to their
poised position.  The sensors on their tips searching out the
intruders.
	"Take 'em out!" Yelled the Commander, pointing to the tentacles.
His troops let loose laser-fire from their glovatrixes, shredding
through most of the tentacles.  The ones that survived sprung at
them, this time succeeding in grabbing Razor and Steve.
	Razor brought out his buzzsaw from his glovatrix and freed
himself while Steve struggled with his.  "Hold on, Steve." He said,
slashing at the tentacle.  Steve dropped to his feet, again catching
his breath.  "Thanks Da.." Then he stopped himself.  Razor would've
pressed him for an explanation, but the remaining tentacles were
gearing up for another go.
	"Run!" T-Bone told everyone.  "We have 'ta get outta their
reach!"  He led the charge to the lab, Razor and Steve in close
pursuit   The Commander was next, followed by the other kats.  A few
yards away the tentacles stopped, having reached the end of their
range.
	T-Bone and Razor flanked the doors, the others bringing up the
rear.  "You want to do the honors?" Razor joked.
	"No," T-Bone said.  "You do it better."
	"Suit yourself." Razor kicked down the door and leaped inside.
T-Bone burst in also, swinging his glovatrix around looking for a
threat.   The Commander and his troops came in to cover any area
T-Bone and Razor weren't covering.  
	The living room was empty so they made their way to the adjoining
rooms, searching.  "This way." The Commander led them to a back-room
that T-Bone and Razor didn't even know about.	  They descended the
staircase carefully, keeping their attention to the shadows where
someone might strike .
	The room was so full of  contraptions, gizmo's, structures,
watchamacallits, and doohickeys that it took them a second to spot
Greenbox, who was holding Katrina by the neck and pointing a blaster
to her head.  He had an evil gleam in his eyes and there was no doubt
in everyone's mind that he would pull the trigger if pushed too far.  
	"Everything's gone screwy." T-Bone mumbled.  "That looks like
Greenbox holding Katrina hostage over there." Razor concurred.
	The Commander  said, "Everything hasn't gone screwy yet.  And
that's an older Greenbox holding Katrina hostage."  He still had his
glovatrix trained on Greenbox.
	"Dad!" Katrina called out, surprising herself.
	"Don't tell me she's your sister..." Razor whispered to Steve.
	"Nope. He answered.  "She's the  Commander's daughter, my
girlfriend."
	"Put your weapon's down." Greenbox ordered.  He gripped Katrina
tighter and pressed the barrel of his blaster to her temple.     In a
bright flash, she remembered everything now, total recall.  Having
reached her proper age her memories had cleared as well.  Her dreams
played themselves out again in her mind, this time with crystal-like
clarity.  The surge of understanding filled her and a slight scream
left her lips as her mind began to ache, sending a charge down her
spine.  The cascade of memories seemed to literally dig into her
brain. 
	No one said anything, keeping their weapons aimed at Greenbox.
	"Steady..." T-Bone said.
	"Foolish as ever.  I've got the upper hand." Greenbox gloated.
The other kats from the future came out of the shadows and directed
their blasters to the Swatkats and their companions.   "Are you
really willing to sacrifice the daughter you haven't even had yet?"
Greenbox stared at T-Bone.
	"What...?" T-Bone lowered his glovatrix slightly.
	"I will pull the trigger." Greenbox threatened.  "I want to
retrieve or destroy the disk.  If it's lost and no one can find it
then that's good enough for me.  I won't think twice about little
Katrina here."
	The Commander saw Katrina glance his way, trying to tell him
something with her look.  Through his visor he looked back, then
nodded slightly.  "Throw them down." The commander said.      T-Bone
and Razor wanted to protest but removed their glovatrixes as well.
"All right, Greenbox.  We're unarmed.  Now let her go."
	Greenbox only  laughed at him.  "I should get rid of you now.  Or
maybe..." He removed his gun from Katrina's head and aimed it at
T-Bone.  "I should get rid of you before you give us any problems at
all, eh?."  
	In a lighting fast move, Katrina lifted Greenbox's arm, making
his shot go wild.  Coming down she made sure to plant her elbow in
his midsection.    She then ran for cover, knowing how big a
firefight was going ensue.  The other kats opened fire, filling the
room with brilliant lances of laser light and sounds of explosions
and tearing metal.
	T-Bone and Razor dove for their glovatrixes and found them a
split-second before the laser beams rained down on them.  They
slipped their paws in and activated their shields to protect them
from the onslaught.  "Remind me to widen the shield when this is all
over!" Razor yelled over the deafening roar of gunfire.
	"Maybe we should put in  a turboplug?" T-Bone kidded.
	The other kats had gone for their glovatrixes as well and
scattered across the room.  The Commander on the other hand vaulted
for Greenbox,  knocking his blaster away.  "Get away from me you
oaf!" Greenbox fended his assailant off.
	"Yeah, sure." The Commander said sarcastically then grabbed
Greenbox by the collar and flung him to the wall.  
	Katrina got on all fours and crawled her way to where  Dr. Yarn
and Professor Hackle were tied up, keeping low to dodge laser fire
and a wide assortment of missiles from all the glovatrixes in the
room. Her head was still in pain though not as searing as it was when
it first came.  Somehow  she made it to Dr. Yarn first and came up
based her.  "Stay calm, doc." She instructed while she hurried to
undo the doctor's bonds.
	"Keep calm!?  We're in the middle of a firefight!"
	"I've been through worse." Katrina said, throwing the rope aside.
Now let's get to Professor Hackle, doc."
	"Bet you never thought we'd end up like this when you got up in
the morning, huh, ace?" T-Bone leapt over a thick piece of scrap .
Razor tumbled down after him, crouching to make the most of what
little cover they had.
	"Nope." Razor admitted.  The other kat's were pinned down as
well, their opponent's having the advantage of an elevated position.  
	"Any ideas, buddy?" T-Bone kept his head down.
	"Just one." Razor said.  He  bolted upright and, screaming,
"Bring down the staircase!", fired off two turbo-blades.  T-Bone came
up and fired also, the other kats braving the rain of lasers to
attack the staircase as well.  Their  missiles tore through the
foundation of the staircase, causing it to tilt to one side, and
throwing many of their opponents to the floor.
	After that it didn't take them long before they  had everyone
under wraps, including Greenbox.  As the smoke cleared, it became
obvious to everyone that most of the contents of the room were badly
damaged by the shoot-out.
	Professor Hackle stood in the middle of his failure room,
shoulder's hunched, his head hanging down.  The pain in his knee was
suddenly back.  He breathed a deep sigh and tried to climb the tilted
staircase.
	"Let me help you doc." Razor offered, and which Hackle accepted.
	"Dad!" Katrina ran to the Commander and hugged him tightly.
T-Bone looked on, perplexed.
	They gathered outside in the living room.  Hackle's robotic
servants bringing them some snacks.    Hackle himself was obviously
depressed.  When Sylvia asked him why, he didn't answer.  He felt
older than he ever had before.  It was as if  the fountain of youth
had slipped between his fingers.  For once, answers didn't seem to
hold any attraction for him.   He stood up slowly, made his way
outside.
	"Hi there, doc."  Steve came up to him.
	"Hello." Hackle answered, his heart and mind elsewhere.  He did
not turn to Steve. 
	Steve scratched his head for a moment, debating whether to go
through with what he wanted to do or not.  In the end, he didn't care
about the Commander's orders.  Everything was out in the open anyway.
"Look, doc."  Steve moved in front of Hackle.  "I know you must be
feeling down and out right now but..."
	"Young kat,  you don't know..."
	"But I do know, Professor."  Steve said more forcefully, laying
his hands on Hackle's shoulders. "Believe me I know about you.  I
went to The Hackle Institute for Technology and Research. "
	"What are you saying?"
	"Greenbox wasn't the only one from the future, Professor." Steve
smiled.

	"Wait a minute..." Dr. Yarn had a realization, "Greenbox said he
was from the future.  Then that means that all of you are from the
future as well.  Am I correct?"  None of the Commander's kats
replied.  Katrina was quiet as well.
	"Good-bye, Professor Hackle, Doctor." The Commander said.  Then
to Razor he said, "Let's go."
	"Hey, wait a..."
	"Let's go." The Comander repeated strongly.  "We need to get the
disk and get back. "	
	"Ok, ok." Razor conceded.  
	The big, burly kat from the future addressed his troops.  "Get
these no good crud-faced has-beens back to the future."   Then he
called Katrina, Steve and two others to accompany them to the junk
yard.
	When they arrived at the scrapyard, Katrina  showed them where
she left the CD-ROM, in the pocket of her suit.    "Perfect." The
Commander smiled.  'Now as soon as we repair your suit we can head
back." He took out the patch kit and tossed it to one of his troops
who proceeded to repair Katrina's C-I suit.
	"Woah, there, buddy." T-Bone grabbed the Commander's shoulder.
"You at least owe us an explanation, pal."
	"There's no denying it, Commander." Razor concluded.  "Steve here
called me 'dad'  And I'm sure I'm not a dad right now.  Not yet.
Somehow, you guys are from the future."
	Katrina looked at her dad.  "Kat's out of the bag now, dad.  They
might as well know."  The Commander's look hardened.  He knew the
danger of telling everyone what's in store for them.  It might change
something for them when they return to the future.  But he couldn't
stop himself any longer.  He had to tell his friend.   He removed his
helmet and revealed  his face.  It was an older Chance Furlong.  The
fur was dull, and had taken on a few gray streaks, but it was
unmistakably Chance.
	"You must've figured it out by now." He began, looking at T-Bone.
"I'm you.  Or rather, you will be me in about thirty years."
	"Crud." T-Bone blurted out.
	"Exactly."  The older Chance said.  "Greenbox worked with Hackle
for a while on the Time Machine, so he knew about Hackles security
devices and codes.  He went bad and joined Darkkat to lead an
organized crime syndicate.  I suppose that incident with Zed
should've told us something about Greenbox's disposition."
	"So what's with  all this  'Commander' stuff?" Jake asked.  He
wanted so many things clarified.  "And the uniform?"
	"We're Enforcers." Katrina answered.  "21st Century Enforcers."
	"T-Bone becomes the leader of the Enforcers!???"  Razor was
dumbfounded.
	"Old Feral bought it during what we call the Big Bang  of 2006."
The Commander explained.  "Dr. Viper was plotting to mutate the
entire city using an enormous amount of radiation.  So he rigged the
Megakat Nuclear Chain to blow and..."
	"Megakat Nuclear Chain?" Razor interrupted.
	"By 2003 Megakat City expanded so much that more than one nuclear
plant was required.  And we also supplied other cities with their
power needs, so there came a large chain of nuclear plants running
across a good portion of the continent.  Needless to say though,
Viper failed.
	"Anyway,  the lid was blown clear off. " the Chance from the
future picked up the story again. "Our secret was out, but there was
no one to do anything about it.  With Feral gone the Enforcers
disintegrated.  Steele ran off and everyone was in disarray, so we
stepped in."
	"And your glovatrixes?" Razor interrupted again.
	"Standard Enforcer issue.  It's come a long way since your first
design, eh?"  He looked at Razor and smirked.  "A copy of the
original glovatrix is in the Official Swatkats Museum.  As are copies
of the original Turbokat, Cyclotron, Sand-kat, Hover-kat and
Cybertron."
	T-Bone and Razor were shocked.  This was a completely different
future than the one the Pastmaster showed them.
	"Mayor Briggs had it put up." Katrina interjected.
	"And Katrina is my daughter?" T-Bone asked softly.
	" She's *my* daughter.  Well, she *will* be your daughter.
Soon." His older counterpart cleared. "But I won't tell you about
that.  It's a surprise."
	"But what about her aging.?" T-Bone inquired.
	"You can't time-travel with a damaged Chronal-Inhibitor suit.
There's no telling what would happen.   Mine *was* damaged and,
well... well you know what happened." Katrina told them.
	"She should stabilize now that she's reached the age she was
when she jumped back to this time." Steve held Katrina's hand and
snuggled up to her.
	"So where do I come in?  What happens to me?" Razor wanted to
know.
	"You're my dad." Steve said happily.  "And I'm proud of it.  You
and the Commander did a heck of a lot for Megakat city."
	"Right, so how come I don't jump back here?"
	Steve lowered his eyes and Katrina  shot her father a look. It
was up to him to explain this one.  Razor sensed some apprehension on
their part and that made him nervous.  He was about to say he didn't
want to know when the Commander blurted out "It's a long story."
	"What?  You sound like something's wrong." Razor broke out a cold
sweat.
	The Older Chance clenched his fists and steadied himself.  He had
been dreading this moment since he found out Katrina had made a
timejump into the past.  He really wished it could be any other way,
but he knew it couldn't.  He closed in on Razor and gave him  a big,
heartfelt embrace.  After a long while he let him go then turned to
walk away, calling his troops to follow.  They all stalled, trying to
get a good last look at the grounds.  This was the real thing, not
the full-sized diorama of the scrapyard in the Museum at home.
	"Well?" Even T-Bone was peeved now.  "What happens to Razor?"
	"Nothing is certain." Katrina told them.  "Our being here may
have changed the future for you.  Feral may live till ninety and hand
over the Enforcers to Felina.  No one can say for sure."
	"And  I may never have a daughter like you." T-Bone said
affectionately.
	"Or..." Katrina moved to kiss him on the cheek "You may have two,
or three."
	T-Bone hugged her close.  "I guess it must be a coincidence then
that I named you 'Katrina' twice, huh?"
	"Maybe.  Maybe it's destiny."  
	Before leaving  Katrina  went up to Razor and told him with a
smile. "I really thought  we'd be about the same age."  He embraced
her, not sure whether to feel like he lost someone or not.  She broke
off and went to her dad, leaving Steve a few moments with his father.
	The Chance from the future waited for his cadre of kats to gather
around him.  When he was sure everyone was accounted for he had
everyone put on their yellow suits again.   He gave the order, and
everyone flicked the 'recall' switch then they simply vanished from
sight, much like they beamed up.
	

	In 2028, they arrived in another flash of light, with that era's
Razor coming up in his hoverchair.  "I take it everything went just
dandy."  He folded his arms across his chest.  "Greenbox and the
others arrived a few minutes ago and are in lock-up right now."
	"That's great buddy." Chance said.  "Now what say we go plan our
strategy over a nice can of milk and an anchovy-mushroom pizza?"
	"Sounds great." Razor answered and floated out heading for the
cafeteria, Chance beside him, telling him what happened.
	Katrina was relieved to be back.  The past was a great place to
visit, but in the end that's all it is, the past.  Better to leave it
as is, she thought.  Though that was easier said than done.   She
didn't think she would look at Uncle Jake in quite the same way
anymore.  She didn't think she could tell Steve that she had a crush
on his dad, as strange as it sounded.  Then it occurred to her how
alike he and his dad were.    Taking off her helmet, she let her hair
fall to her shoulders.  "What say we do the same?" 
	"Hmmm?" Steve muttered, looking off into space.
	"Is something wrong?" Katrina asked, even though Steve's face
clearly told her something was bothering him.  "What is it, Steve?"
	"Dad.  He's still in a hoverchair."  He took off his helmet.
	Katrina gripped his arm.  "You didn't..."
	"Yes I did.  Right before we left.  I told him the how, the when
of the accident.  But..."  He hung his head.  "...nothing's changed!"
	Katrina embraced him closely.  She knew what he did was wrong but
who could blame him?  They were only kittens when his dad lost the
use of his legs.  Even she couldn't remember seeing him walk, aside
from old Katseye news reels.    "Don't worry.  Somewhere, out there,
there's a Jake Clawson who can still walk, thanks to you."



The End