Hi I'm Peter. Who are you? Author: Christopher Teo E-Mail Address: christeo@singnet.com.sg Hi. I'm back with another fan fiction. I hope that you will like it, but first the introduction. All places and characters from the cartoon 'Swat Kats' are property of Hanna-Barbera. All the other characters in this fan fiction are my creations, please ask me before using any of the characters I have created. I'll be describing a dawg in this story with its species, but in the kat world, they don't have breeds. I'm just using this form of classification so that it will be easier for you to imagine what the dawg would look like. Mayor Manx had spoken a few lines in my last fan fiction, and will be speaking a few more in this one. As you will have seen in my last fan fiction, there is no indication that he spoke with an accent. That is because I don't know how to put it down in writing, and if anyone out there knows how his accent works, please enlighten me as to how to write him speaking with an accent. If there are any questions you would like to ask, feel free to e-mail me. But might I remind you that you might find the answer in one of the introductions of my other fan fictions, the introductions merely describe stuff in general, not specifically to that one story. I hope that if you would wish to e-mail me with any questions, please check the other introductions first before doing so. That's it, happy reading. [Ding] The elevator doors opened slowly and a ragged Callie Briggs walked out. It had been an extremely arduous day. Writing speeches, making public appearances, and all the other duties that she took on when she became deputy mayor. She put the key into the lock and just stood there for a while, as if she was resting to get enough strength to turn the key. How thankful she was that the day was over and that she could finally rest. Callie Briggs turned the key in the lock and pulled open the door. She walked in and collapsed on the sofa. She was EXHAUSTED! Now, all she wanted to do was to take a good long catnap. She sat there on the sofa, not wanting to get up, but she forced herself to get up and walk back to the door and closed it. One can never know who or what may walk uninvited through an unlocked door. She kicked off her shoes and dragged her feet to her bedroom and threw herself onto the bed, falling asleep almost instantly, and she must have been extremely tired in deed, for she did not even notice the five-year old puppy who had been standing next to the bed. He stood there for a minute, looking at the she-kat who was now lying on the bed sleeping. He clambered up and looked down at her face. She had golden hair and wore a pair of glasses. He took the glasses off her face very carefully and inspected them thoroughly. He didn't know what it was for, but he made sure he didn't break it. That wouldn't have been very polite now would it? He walked over to a table and put the glasses on them. He then slid off the bed and when he landed on the floor, he heard his stomach rumble. He hadn't eaten for a long time. He was waiting there so that he could ask whoever owned the apartment for something to eat. But she was now fast asleep and he couldn't wake her up just like that. His tummy rumbled again after some heavy thinking, he decided to help himself. He was just too hungry to wait any longer. He'd apologize for eating her food when she woke up. ********** She slowly opened one eye, and then the other, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light coming in from the window. Callie sat up and stretched herself, and then she got up and looked for her glasses. She found them and put them on, turning around as she did so. She walked slowly and looked at the table. A look of surprise was on her face for an opened box of cereal was on the table with two bowls filled with cereal. She walked over and picked up the box of corn flakes. She was quite sure that it was not her who opened it. She barely had the strength to open the door. "Hi." She turned around and saw a small puppy. He was a Shetland Sheepdog puppy, with long brown fur and a white collar of fur around his neck. He had a saber-like tail and bright brown eyes. One prominent feature he had was a small vertical white line of fur in the middle of his forehead. He was wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of blue shorts. "I'm Peter. Who are you?" "Oh I'm Callie. Uh Peter..." "I fixed breakfast. And I ate some cookies. I'm sorry I ate them without permission, but I was hungry, and I didn't want to wake you because you looked so tired." "That's okay Peter, now where are your parents?" "Parents?" "Your mom and dad." "What's a 'mom'?" "You don't have one?" "I don't think so..." "Oh I'm so sorry." "That's okay." "Well then, what am I going to do with you?" "Can I stay here?" "Here?" "Please, please, please." "Hmmm." "I'll be good, honest." "I don't know..." "PLEASE?" "Oh... All right." "YAY!" Peter hugs Callie's legs. "But you'll have to behave." "Oh I will. I promise." Callie looks at her watch. "Peter, go and sit on that couch while I take a shower. I'll have to be ready for work by half past eight." "Okay." Peter dashes over to the couch and Callie heads to the bathroom. Peter sat there patiently, waiting for Callie to return. Twenty minutes later, Callie returned clean and refreshed. She called to Peter as she was slinging her handbag over her shoulders. "Peter, could you get me my file?" "OK." Peter jumped off the sofa and grabbed the file from the table. He ran quickly over to Callie's side with the file in his paws. She took the file and ruffled the fur on his head. "Thanks. I'll have to go to the office now." "Can I come to?" "I can't just leave you here alone." "I can go with you?" "Yes, but you can't go off anywhere alone by yourself." "I'll stay with you the WHOLE day." "Good. Now come along." Callie walks over to the door and unlocks it. She walks out, closing the door behind her. Peter stands next to Callie with a very excited look on his face, his tail wagging furiously. "Oh and Peter, how did you get into my apartment anyway?" "I just walked in." "I see." << He must have sneaked in when I left the door open yesterday. >> "Are we going now?" "Yes Peter." Callie walked down the corridor with Peter, following close behind. ********** Peter kept fidgeting in his seat. Callie watched Peter who was evidently quite unpleased. "Are we there yet?" "Peter, this is the fifth time you've asked in ten minutes." "But I'm BORED. Are we getting close?" "We'll be there in another ten minutes." Peter groaned loudly and sank back into his seat with a sullen look on his face. He turned his head and looked out of the window. When they stopped at a red light, that somber expression was soon replaced by one of fascination. "WOW! Callie, what's that?" Callie turned to see what Peter was pointing at and saw the Turbokat hovering in mid-air over the traffic. A few seconds later, it flew off. "That's the Turbokat." "What's that?" "Something that the Swat Kats use to get around." "Who are the Swat Kats?" "Two very brave kats who stop bad people doing bad things." "Can I be a Swat Kat?" Callie chuckled. "No Peter. Besides you're a dawg." "Then can I be a Swat Dawg?" Callie laughed again. The traffic light turned green again and Callie started the engine. After another few minutes, they reached the building. As Peter got out, he gazed slowly up the building, until his eyes reached the roof. "Callie, you work here?" "Yes Peter..." "Cool! It must be fifty stories high! No sixty stories high! "Peter calm down, I have to go to work now." "Are you a really important person Callie?" "You could say that." Callie walked through the doors with Peter tagging along close behind. "It must be really exciting." "Well, sometimes it is." "Ah there you are Ms Briggs." Mayor Manx walks up to Callie Briggs. "I've been looking for you. And who is the young pup you've brought along?" "Hi I'm Peter. Who are you?" "My, aren't you the inquisitive one." He ruffles the fur on Peter's head. "I'm Mayor Manx." He turns to Callie. "Now Callie, I do hope you remember that children can't be brought to work." "Oh dear. I forgot about that." "Well you will have to leave him with someone for a while." "But I want to be with you." "Sorry Peter, but I can't bring you to work." "Why not?" "It's against the rules. Don't worry, I'll bring you to someone I know you'll like." "Who?" "Two mechanics I know." Callie turns around holding Peter by the paw. As they walk out of the doors, towards the cars, Mayor Manx walks up to Callie. "Callie. Did you remember the..." "I brought the speech Mayor Manx." "Oh good. Well you know where to go, and don't be late." "I won't." Callie helps Peter get into the car and gets into the driver's seat. Peter tapped on Callie's shoulder while she was starting the car. "Callie?" "Yes, Peter?" "Why was Mayor Manx wearing fake hair?" ********** Jake Clawson had his head under the hood of the car, looking for the reason it broke down. Chance Furlong was in the garage looking for his tools. Jake and Chance are mechanics at the Megakat Scrap Yard, sometimes. But at times where the city is in danger or trouble, they switch to their alter egos, the Swat Kats. They have fought many enemies with vast powers. They have encountered several problems and overcome them. But today, they will be facing something quite different from the other battles they have endured. A familiar green car rolled into the yard. Jake raised his head and watched as Callie's car slowed down to a stop. "Hey Chance!" "What is it, Jake?" "We've got a customer." "You handle it, I'm busy here." "It's Callie." <> Chance rushed out after looking at the mirror to make sure he looked good. He cleared his throat and was about to walk towards the car. "Hi." "Huh?" Chance looked down and saw a pup looking up at him. "I'm Peter. Who are you?" "I see you've met Peter." Callie had gotten out of the car. "Peter, this is Chance." "Hi Chance." "Uh... Callie-" "I have to go to work now and I can't take Peter to work with me and I definitely can't leave him alone by himself. So I wanted to ask you if it's all right if I left him with you and Jake for a while." "Hey sure. No problem, we'll take care of him." "Thanks. Bye Chance." Callie got back into her car and drove off, leaving Peter with Chance. Chance looked down at Peter and Peter looked back and waved. "Oh Krud, what have I gotten myself into?" "What's Krud?" "Come along, kid." Chance walks over to Jake with Peter tagging along. "Jake?" "Yeah Chance?" "There's something I want to tell you." "Could it wait until after I'm finished with this car?" "Chance? What is Jake doing to the car?" Jake whisks his head out of the engine to the source of the new voice to see it came from a pup. Peter waves at him. He turns to Chance. "On second thought, let's talk now." ********** "Chance, WHAT were you thinking?" "I couldn't refuse Callie." "What if Peter finds out our secret?" "He'll only be here for a few hours, what could the little pup find?" "Speaking of which, where is Peter anyway?" "He was looking around the garage." "HEY CHANCE! HEY JAKE! LOOK WHAT I FOUND!" "This doesn't sound good." Jake and Chance dash to where Peter was. They soon found the little pup and his little discovery. He sat on the floor wearing one of the Swat Kat's helmets with his tail wagging furiously. Jake looks at Chance with an angry look in his eyes. "'What could he find?' you said." "Give me a break, Jake." "Wow. Are you guys the Swat Kats?" "Peter-" Suddenly the alarm in the garage went off. "Jake! It's the alarm!" Jake runs over to activate the communicator. "Yes, Ms Briggs?" "Razor! It's Dr. Viper! He's trying to take over Megakat Tower again!" "Callie?" "Shhh." "What was that?" "Nothing Ms. Briggs. We'll get over there as soon as we can." "Hurry. He's brought another of his mutations." "T-Bone! We have to get to Megakat Towers!" "Way ahead of you, Razor!" Jake and Chance bolted to their lockers and started to change into their uniforms. Soon where Jake Clawson and Chance Furlong once stood, now stand Razor and T-Bone. As they ran to their sleek jet, the Turbokat, Peter ran after them. "Hey! Can I come to?" Razor stopped and turned around to face Peter. "No Peter." "Why not?" "It's too dangerous. Now stay here until we come back." Razor and T-Bone jumped into the Turbokat. The secret runway that was concealed by junk slowly appeared as the scrap moved apart at the flick of a switch. The Turbokat zoomed off into the sky, and the doors of junk began to return to their original positions. Once the secret doors had closed, Peter stomped to the couch in the garage. Then, he plopped himself onto it and sulked. ********** "Hey Razor." "Yeah T-Bone?" "Do you think we should have brought along Peter?" "It's too dangerous for the little pup, and there wasn't much time to work things out. Let's just hope that he'll be all right by himself for a while." "Yeah. Hey what do you think Dr. Viper going to try today?" "We'll find out soon enough, we're reaching Megakat Towers." The Turbokat flew around the towers, but other than the sign of rubble, small killer plants and blaster fire, there was no sign of Dr. Viper. He must already be in the towers. "Krud! We're going to have to go in." "No. I'm going to have to go in. You have to check the vicinity for any of Viper's flying plants or killer wasps or whatever he's using now." "Got it, Razor." T-Bone flew the Turbokat to the top of the towers and Razor leaped onto the roof. "Hmmm. No sign of his mutated plants, hopefully we'll be able to stop him before he causes any serious damage to the building." "Again. Good luck, Razor." "Same to you. Keep an eye out, there could be some of his creations hanging around here." "Got it." The Turbokat flew off, and Razor wasted no time. He rushed to the stairs and walked down, taking each step with caution. There was no telling what horrors Viper might have in store for them. He checked each floor quickly, because if Viper is up to another of his plans to turn Megakat City into a giant swamp, he cannot afford to waste any time. ********** "Ssssoon my pets, ssssoon." Dr. Viper was mixing another batch of chemicals that will most likely create another host of horrors for the Swat Kats to face. He was in one of the many offices in the towers. Once he is done, the plants he had brought along will be turned into snarling behemoths. "I will give you sssstrength and you will tear those infernal Swat Katssss to SHREADSSSS!" Chuckling away he continued mixing the chemicals, certain that even if the Swat Kats came, they would not be able to find him before he was done. It would practically be impossible for them to find him in the hundreds of rooms in the towers. ********** "Gotcha." Razor pointed at the screen showing Dr. Viper busy at his work in office 132 on floor 21. Who would have thought that in his haste to get into the building, Dr. Viper neglected the small fact that he could be easily found if someone just looked at the security monitors. He dashed up the stairs and checked his Glov-a-Trix. Dr. Viper's mad scheme is finished. ********** Two mutated Venus flytraps were flung to the pavement by the force of some cement slugs courtesy of T-Bone from the Turbokat. "That should take care of them." Viper's air force, which consisted of five giant mutant wasps, had already been pinned to the wall by a few more carefully aimed cement slugs. They should stay put until the Enforcers can deal with them. With nothing else to do, he decided to help take down the mutations that were guarding the entrance to Megakat Towers. He was about to give a few more walking house plants the cement slug treatment when he saw a bright flash out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see what it was but there was nothing but the wall of the towers. He shrugged it off as a trick of the light and set about neutralizing the threat on the ground. But that bright flash was no trick or illusion, and neither is it as harmless. ********** Razor kicked down the door to the office, immediately prompting three fungus creatures to come out of hiding. "DESSSSTROY HIM!" Viper shouted out his simple command to his mindless minions, not looking up from his chemicals. Razor leaped back and tried to put a bit of distance between the horrific creations. He fired off an octopus missile as soon as he felt he was far enough. As it hurtled towards it's target, the tip split open into four tentacles. It slammed into one of the creatures and trapped it against a wall. But its other two friends were still advancing on him. And the first one was already dislodging the missile. << Krud! >> It was possible to try to lead them off and lose them, having the advantage of speed and agility, but it would lose precious time and Viper would have finished his mixing and created a vicious army from the houseplants outside the room. There was no choice; he would have to try to rush past the vile abominations. Ready to risk his life, Razor prepared for his grim deed. There wasn't much space to maneuver and the three mutated fungi blocked the door to Viper completely. And then the unexpected happened. The floor started moving, at first it seemed like an earthquake, and then the floor soon became like the deck of a ship in a storm. Razor struggled to keep his balance; the three mutations blocking his path were encountering the same problem. They knocked against each other like bumper cars. And then it was as if the floor had somehow became elastic. The floor moved up and down like the surface of a violent sea. It was all Razor could do to actually keep his eyes on his enemies. The three creatures than plunged to the bottom of a hole that had just been created, which was then covered with a solid transparent substance. The floor then came to a halt, allowing Razor to pick himself up. A little groggy from the shaking, he stumbled a bit before regaining his sense of balance. He shook his head. "Woah!" "Did I do okay?" "Huh?" He turned around quickly, Glov-a-Trix ready. What he saw was a golden glowing being. His eyes too were glowing but with the color of white. From the shape of his head and tail, Razor deduced him to be a canine, if not a dawg. "I wanted to help, and I'm sorry about shaking you up like that." "That's okay. Now let's stop Viper-" "TOO LATE SSSSSWAT KAT!" "Uh-oh." Viper had emerged from his makeshift laboratory and was now holding a beaker of chemicals. "NOW YOU AND YOUR NEW FRIEND ARE DOOMED!" Razor readied himself, ready for what Viper might have planned for them, but that was not necessary. His new companion concentrated on the liquid within the beaker and it's color of sickly green slowly changed into transparent water. Dr. Viper noticed the sudden change of color of his chemicals and hesitated. This was the opening Razor needed. He leaped at Viper and grabbed the beaker out of his claws and simultaneously kicked him into a wall. As the villain's back crashed against the wall, the wall became something like a living blob and engulfed Viper. Despite Viper's struggling, his entire body save his head was covered by the blob, which suddenly turned into steel. Razor stood there for a while speechless. He turned to the glowing dawg who looked quite proud of his handiwork. "H-HOW did you do all that?" "I don't know, I just can." "AAAAAGH! CURSE YOU!" "He's not very pleasant, now is he?" "You said it." Razor then walked into Viper's temporary lab to find a safe way to dispose of the chemicals. "Oh you don't have to worry about that nasty stuff. I turned it into water." Razor paused. He turned back to the dawg. "What?" But his new friend was no longer paying attention. He had looked out of a window and was fascinated by the crowd that was gathering below. Wanting to investigate further, he stepped out of the window. "HEY WAIT!" Razor rushed to the window, and to his surprise, he saw the dawg running along a pavement in the sky with a new section appearing with every step he takes. Reluctant to chase after him, Razor called out to the entity but he paid no heed to the Swat Kat. And then a spiraling slide appeared in front of the dawg, which he used to reach the bottom. The floating pavement that was there before had now disappeared. Razor grabbed his radio and called for T-Bone. Moments later the Turbokat was hovering in front of the window. "Hey Razor! How did it go?" "Viper's been taken care of. Did you see that glowing dawg on the slide?" "Who didn't? Who is that guy?" "We've got to get down there and prevent anyone from panicking." "We're on our way." The Turbokat zoomed down to the ground. ********** The moment the entity's feet touched the ground, the slide that he had been on disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared. He looked around at the crowd that was quickly backing away. << Hey? Why are they all going away? >> Why the shot was fired was unknown. Perhaps the person who fired the shot was startled, or perhaps it was an accident. Nonetheless, a shot was fired and hit the dawg squarely in the chest. He fell to the ground on his back. He wasn't badly hurt, but he was still furious. He turned to where the shot had came from and waved his hand. A section of a pavement then rose three feet into the air, with a part of the crowd on it. The Turbokat landed somewhere near the crowd and the Swat Kats leaped out of the cockpit. "Hey stop!" The dawg turned to the left towards Razor, and he turned to the right towards the fast approaching Enforcers. The pavement had begun to lower and people started to leap off it back to the safety of the ground. The being then dived into the ground as if it were water, even leaving ripples as evidence of his feat. And as the ripples disappeared, so did he. The Enforcers stood about where the entity once stood, not knowing what to do. T-Bone looked about, trying to see if the dawg had resurfaced somewhere else, only to no avail. "T-Bone we've got to get out of here before the Enforcers decide to drag us in for interfering or something!" "... Yeah, you're right." They leapt back into the cockpit, and headed back to their own base. ********** Pity, for if the Swat Kats had searched a bit further, they would have found a glowing dawg who was also very depressed, hiding in an alley. He stood there for a while, peeking out from behind a corner and looking at the crowd. << What did I do? I was only trying to help >> Feeling particularly downhearted and perplexed, the dawg walked through a wall and soon there was nothing to show that he had been here. ********** "Krud!" "Cool down Chance." "If only we reached him a bit sooner!" "Stop beating yourself up over this. It won't make anything better." "Yeah... Poor guy. He helped us out and got shot in return." "I think the shot hurt his feelings more than it hurt his chest." "We didn't even get his name." "Hey we're reaching the yard." "Got it." Razor pushed a button and two piles of junk that were actually concealed doors for a hidden runway moved apart. When the Turbokat landed, the secret runway doors began to close. Razor and T-Bone leaped out of the cockpit and as they changed in to their mechanic uniforms, they returned to the lives of Jake and Chance. As Chance walked up the stairs, he turned to Jake who was still keeping their Swat Kat uniforms. "Hey Jake." "Yeah?" "I have a feeling that we forgot something... oh boy." Chance stopped as he saw the pup they had left behind sitting on the couch and pouting. Jake came up and saw the angry pup. "Uh-oh, Peter, about us leaving..." "You don't like me." "What?" "You don't like me, Callie doesn't like me. No one likes me!" Surprised by the pup's sudden outburst, Jake turned to Chance who was equally surprised. Jake walked over to Peter and kneeled down until he could look at Peter in the face. Peter was looking away and looked like he was about to cry, with his lower lip quivering. "Peter, listen to me, we don't hate you." "I never said you hated me, [sniff] I just said that you didn't like me, unless that's true too [sniff]." "No Peter! We think you're a great kid." "Yeah. We really like you." "No fooling?" "No fooling. And I'm sure Callie likes you too." "Really?" Peter is starting to look less depressed and his tail is starting to wag with glee. "Yeah really." A familiar green car slows to a halt outside the garage. Jake sees this out of the corner of his eye and turns to Peter. "Now Peter, about us being the Swat Kats." "Yeah?" "Can you keep it a secret?" "Why?" "I'll tell you next time you come here. Now can you keep it a secret?" "Uh... okay." "Thanks Peter." "Hey look Callie's back." "Callie!" The pup rushed out towards Callie who was just getting out of her car. She was amazed to find that when she just reached the garage, the pup was already out to greet her. She squatted down to receive the happy pup's hug. "Oh Peter!" "Hi, Callie. Are we going home now?" "Yes, Peter." She opened the door and Peter clambered in and sat down next to her file. She turned to look at Chance who had just walked out along with Jake. "Thanks Chance, I hope Peter wasn't too much trouble." "Oh, he was great Callie." "No problem at all." "Okay, bye Chance, bye Jake." She got into the driver's seat. "Bye Callie, Bye Peter." "Yeah, come back soon." The car drove off, with Peter waving back to the two mechanics from the back window. Jake turned to Chance. "Come back soon?" "Hey he's a pretty nice kid, I'd like to get know him a bit better." "Yeah, me too. Well let's get back to work." Jake and Chance went back into the garage to toil until they were needed again as the Swat Kats. ********** "Callie?" "Yes, Peter? They had just arrived home and Callie was arranging her papers. Peter looked at Callie over the couch. "Can I stay with you?" "I already said-" "No. I mean forever, and ever." "What?" "I don't have anywhere else to go. You're the only one who was ever this nice to me. I want to stay with you, not just for a few days or a month, I want to stay with you, forever." Callie stood there silently, pondering. Unsure what to make of Peter's request. "Callie, please?" "... It's getting late, you had better get some sleep." "Callie..." "We'll talk about it tomorrow morning, okay Peter?" "... Okay." Peter turns around and lies down on the couch. Callie walks over to Peter. "Are you going to sleep here?" "It's okay. I'm not uncomfortable." "Well nonetheless..." Callie walks into the bedroom and comes out later with a blanket and a pillow. She hands them to the disappointed pup. "Here Peter, you can use these." "Thanks Callie." "You're welcome. You're sure you're okay?" "I'm all right." She walks to the door of the bedroom and turns to face Peter one more time. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to wake me." "Okay." Callie smiled and switched off the lights before stepping into her room. A second passes, and later a minute and after that, an hour. Confident that Callie was now fast asleep; Peter got up and crept to the kitchen. Back at the garage, when he got into Callie's car, he saw Callie's open file. He caught a glimpse of one of the papers before she closed the file. It was a brief glimpse, and he only got to see a name. But that name was all he needed. It was 'Megakat Orphanage'. << She doesn't really like me, but Jake and Chance do! >> He sneaked quietly into the kitchen and towards the fridge. << I'll go and stay with them. They'll let me stay. >> He tugged on the fridge handle. << But first a snack... >> And, light filled the room as the fridge was opened. ********** It has been one hour and Callie is still awake, and that question would probably keep her awake for a couple more hours. Peter really was nice, and the pup had left quite an impression on her when they met. He was the picture of innocence, and with such endearing curiosity. It would be great if he could stay, but she hasn't the faintest idea on how to care for a child. And she was almost always at work, she didn't have the time to stay and play with Peter for even five minutes. << ... Maybe he would be better off at an orphanage... >> [Clunk] "Huh?" She sat up immediately after she heard the sound. << What was that? >> She left her room and scanned the living room. The couch was empty and there was light coming from the kitchen. << Oh. It's just Peter. I wonder what he's doing, up at this time of the night? >> She walked towards the kitchen, hoping to find out what Peter was doing. "Peter is-" But she never got to complete her sentence; instead she just stood there shocked. For instead of finding a small puppy named Peter rummaging through the freezer for food, she found a being of glowing energy holding a small bundle wrapped in a piece of cloth. They both only hesitated for a second, and then the entity dived at a wall. But instead of the expected crash, there was only a splash as the being leapt through the wall. There were ripples in the wall of water that lay as evidence of his feat, and later the wall turned to what it had once been before, stone. Callie stood there for a while, not knowing what to make of this event. And suddenly, a worrying thought came to mind. "Peter?" ********** In the home of Callie Briggs, rummaging can be heard and later the faint click of a button being pressed. Soon after, in the garage of the Megakat Scrap Yard, a klaxon can be heard which the Swat Kats will answer. Another will soon join in this confusion, a person who resides not within Megakat City, but above. High above the city and among the cloud banks. There, lies a mansion floating in the air with the aid of wizardry. And on the roof, stands a kat facing the wind. He stands there silently, almost as if in meditation. He feels the breeze gently ruffle his blue fur. Now, the Sorcerer is at peace. "... What is this?" His eyes open in surprise. He had felt something, a power. He closes his eyes again, this time not to relax, but to concentrate. His eyes open later, this time with a frown on his face. "This power... far stronger than any I have met... and possibly far greater than mine... I must investigate." He waved his paw and a green cloak flew out of one of the windows of the mansion. Blown by wind and manipulated by magic, it twisted and turned like a kite and gently floated down onto his shoulders. He swiftly put on his cowl and by the forces of magic, which he commands; he glides off into the night sky with the grace of a swan. Scanning the city for the one he believes might prove a threat to the city, and possibly the world. ********** He gazed down at Megakat City; he looked at the tiny lights of the city, wondering how much they looked like the tiny lights of the sky. He turned away from the window, shifting his thoughts to the paw phone that he held in his paws. "Wonder what my old uncle is up to?" He switched it on and pressed a few numbers. Shortly after he heard it ring for a while as he lifted it to his ears. "This is Commander Feral." "And this is Matt." "Matt?" "Guess why I'm calling." "Is it about the incident at Megakat Towers?" "Bingo." "And you've been sent to investigate." "Right, besides it looks like this isn't the first time our luminous friend has made an appearance." "Hmm?" "That's right, at a place that I can't tell you, on a date I can't tell you-" "Get to the point." "-Anyway this guy took out an entire army base." "WHAT?" "Excuse me, sir?" Matt Dobers turned to his right to see a squirrel stewardess. "We're about to land soon so you have to switch off your paw phone." "Oh yeah, sorry. I have to stop now; I'll talk to you later. Bye." "Wait- [Click]" He switched it off and kept it away. He fastened his seat belt. "Sorry about that." "That's okay." She walked off, leaving Matt to ponder about the mission at hand while the plane lands. << Okay... I'm in Megakat City, now what? Comb the entire City STREET BY STREET? Face it Matt, they've given you one heck of a mission this time. Maybe uncle Ulysses could help... >> ********** "Dang." Feral was just as clueless as he was to the current whereabouts of the shining being. Now Matt was stuck. << This bites. Now I have no way of finding the guy. >> The dawg got up from his seat and headed for the exit to the airport. << I'll have to cover as much ground as I can and hope for the best. >> One minute he was just going through the sliding doors of the airport, and the next, he had stepped onto a grassy knoll. "WHAT THE-" "Matt Dobers..." He whirled around to see a green cloaked person hovering in mid-air. "I have need of your assistance." He blinked a few times, and rubbed his eyes, but the guy was still there and still hovering. "Am I suffering from jet lag?" "This is neither an illusion, nor a hallucination." "OW. Okay I've pinched myself and you're still here... hey you're that Sorcerer guy." "Indeed." "Now what would you want me for?" "This involves the being from the Megakat Towers, the one you are currently pursuing." "What?" "Let me finish. This being has immense power and I wish to track it down, discern whether it means good or evil..." "And to kick its tail if he's a bad guy." "If that is necessary. I sensed his power to be great, and I wish to gain allies should battle break out." "So you want me to watch your tail." "Precisely." "Hey count me in. I was supposed to find him anyway." "Excellent. Now there are two more I wish to see." ********** "T-Bone, Razor, I'm sorry to bother you." "Don't apologize Ms. Briggs. T-Bone and I are more than happy to help." Callie Briggs is standing near her window talking to Razor via her communicator. "Thank you, there is a pup named Peter-" "Peter?" "Yes, he was staying with me, and now I think he's been kidnapped." "Kidnapped? By whom?" "I don't know who he is, but he was the dawg from Megakat Towers." "What? It can't be?" "I didn't know what to do, so I called you. Please, you have to help him." "We'll find Peter for you, Ms Briggs." "Thank you. Oh, thank you." "We'll contact you as soon as we find Peter. So just sit tight, he will be back soon, safe and sound." There was a faint click as the communicator was switched off. Callie walked over to the couch and sat down, unable to do nothing, except hope for the best. ********** "Peter was kidnapped by the guy from Megakat Towers?" "It looks that way, T-Bone." "Why the heck do you think he did something like that?" "No idea. We'd better get a move on and start searching for the two." "Got it." Moments later, the Turbokat was in the air, with T-Bone and Razor doing all that was within their power to locate Peter and the glowing being. "Hey Razor, any luck on your radar?" "Negative. We'll just have to keep searching the city until we find him, or at least a clue as to where they are now." "Looks like we're going to need a whole lot of luck." "Swat Kats!" "What the... the Sorcerer?" They heard his voice but he was nowhere to be found. "Listen to me. I'm speaking to you by means of telepathy. There is not much time to explain in detail. Return to the Megakat Scrap Yard and I will be awaiting your arrival there. And do not fret, this will not hamper your current mission at all." And then there was silence. They sat there for a few seconds, listening for any more information the Sorcerer would divulge, but there was none. T-Bone broke the silence. "So what do you think? Should we go?" "We're not making any headway here, maybe the Sorcerer could help." "All right, back to the Hangar." The Turbokat then made an aerial U-turn and returned to where it had begun its flight. ********** As the Turbokat slowly lowered to the ground, the air from its jets blowing harshly at the two figures standing not far off. The Turbokat landed and T-Bone and Razor bounded out of the cockpit to face the Sorcerer and his new companion, Commando. Garbed in a soldier's urban combat uniform and a red mask, he looked at the new arrivals with a small grin on his face. "Commando? What are you doing here?" "I'm with the Sorcerer and don't call me Commando." "What?" "That was just a name I thought up in at the spur of the moment, and I'm not really sure I like it that much. Heck I'm thinking of changing it to something else." "Can we talk about this later? We have to find that shining dawg before he either hurts someone or GETS hurt by someone." "Correct. In fact I feel that the one we are searching for is near." "OK. So now we'll have to split into groups-" "Razor? T-Bone?" The four turned to the direction of the voice to see that it belonged to the glowing being who had been at Megakat Towers. He stood at the entrance of the Megakat Scrap Yard, staring at the Sorcerer and Commando. "Are they Swat Kats too?" Razor walked cautiously towards the entity with both paws open and in the air, showing he meant no ill intent. "Look pal, we don't want to fight." "Of course we don't, we're friends right?" "Sure buddy, but now we've got a lot of questions we'd like to ask you, like what's your name for instance." The glowing dawg stared at Razor with eyes wide with surprise. "My name?" Then, as if at some secret joke, he clutched his stomach and started giggling like a child. "Hahahaha-" "What's so funny?" "-Ha ha. You really don't know me, do you?" He stood up straight again and remained stock-still. His glow began to dim slowly, soon he became translucent and then he was gone, with a small pup standing in his place. "A child?" "Peter?" "Who the heck is Peter?" "He's a pup we know. Peter, what are you doing here?" "I've come to stay with you. Callie doesn't like me..." "What do you mean? Look Callie's worried about you. We'll have to call her and say you're all right and bring you back." "NO! I'm NOT going back." "Hey listen Peter, Callie's really worried about you." "NO! YOU'RE LYING! I'M NOT GOING BACK!" Peter clenches his paws and narrows his eyes. He starts to growl and his eyes begin to glow. "Hey kid! Could you cool down for-" "NO!" Peter stomps the ground and a wave of fire charges towards the small group. "KRUD! SPREAD OUT!" Razor, T-Bone and Commando leapt out of harm's way while the Sorcerer counters the attack by conjuring up a jet of water to douse the flames. Peter has reverted to his larger form and throwing a tantrum. "I'M NOT GOING BACK! I'M NOT! YOU LIED! YOU ALL LIED!" "Ouch. My aren't you the touchy one." Commando hurls a bolt of energy at the angry pup but when it hit him it turned into a bunch of rose petals. "Hey, what are you doing!" "I was just trying to stun him." The irate pup then motioned at a pile of junk behind the Commando. He t turned to see it become a huge blue blob. "Uh-oh." It engulfs his body leaving only his head exposed to allow him to breathe. He struggles against the slime desperately. The Sorcerer glides about the pup trying to reason with the enraged child. "Please child! Calm down so that we may aid you." "LIAR! CHEAT! FIBBER!" "Would you please URK!" His cowl was turned from light cloth to that of heavy steel. He plunged to the ground, dragged by the steel cloak. He fumbled for at his cloak trying to remove it. He succeeded and whizzed away as the steel cloak crashed into the floor, making an indentation. "T-BONE! The kid's going nuts!" "I know, we've got to hold him down or something." T-Bone aimed his Glov-a-Trix at the furious pup. "OCTOPUS MISSILE! DEPLOY!" The missile shot out only to pass through him, as it had become intangible. "CEMENT SLUGS! DEPLOY!" Five globs of cement hurtled toward only to harden in mid-air and stop in front of him. The chunks of cement were then flung back to where it had originated. "HOLY-" They activated their shields and lifted them. And not a moment too soon, the lumps of cement hit with a force great enough to injure them severely. One even left a ding. "OK! NOW I'M TICKED OFF!" Commando had ripped off what remained of the blob from his body and hit the ground with his paw, causing the earth to shake. Peter stumbled, giving Commando time to lunge at him and get him in a headlock. "Now I've got you!" But the ground beneath him turned to mud. He lost his grip on Peter and sank waist deep into the gunk. And then it returned to what it had been before. "OH DANG!" As the Commando tried to dig himself out, the Swat Kats tried once again to reason with the upset pup. "PETER! STOP THIS! YOU COULD HURT SOMEONE!" "NO! YOU JUST WANT TO DUMP ME IN SOME STINKY ORPHANAGE!" "FORGET IT RAZOR! HE'S TOO ANGRY! "YOU'VE GOT THAT RIGHT!" "Sorry Peter, but we've got to do this." T-Bone charged at Peter with his shield but he too fell into ground that turned to mud and back again. But this was only to give Razor the distraction he needed. He bounded towards Peter and wrestled him to the ground. "PETER! WOULD YOU JUST LISTEN!" "NO!" He kicked the Swat Kat off him with both feet. Razor crashed into another pile of scrap, which turned into sand and fell on Razor, burying him. Peter was then trapped in a cage of lightning. The Sorcerer had fashioned a mask from the shadows by use of magic. A dark black cloth now covered his face, leaving only his eyes visible. "CHILD! DO NOT MAKE ME USE UNNECESSARY FORCE!" "YAAAA!" He transformed the lightning to brittle ice and smashed his way free. He stood facing the Sorcerer with rage in his eyes. The Sorcerer breathed heavily; he saw no other choice except to fight the irate pup. "... So be it." He launched five spheres of fire at Peter. The youth retaliated by summoning a wall out from the very earth he was standing on. The orbs of fire exploded on the wall harmlessly. It was then transmuted into fire, which was sent charging towards the Sorcerer. He defended himself from this second wave of fire with a hastily constructed shield of magic. Peter swept up a paw full of sand from the ground. Next he took a few grains of sand between two fingers and flung it at the Sorcerer. As they sped towards him, they began to grow as big as boulders. He shattered them with bolts of thunder. He was using much of his power. Though the one he battles is but a child, Peter could and probably would defeat him. He readied himself for another attack, his paws glowing with magic. Fortunately, the Swat Kats and Commando had freed themselves from their prisons and piled onto Peter. Commando latched onto his legs, and the Swat Kats holding onto both his arms. Peter fought against his captors fiercely, and would have thrown them off in a matter of seconds, were it not for the Sorcerer's timely intervention. "AWAY!" The three gladly relinquished their hold on the furious youth. As soon as they were out of the way, a rope of white energy wound itself around the pup. He struggled against the rope with all his might, but he wasn't able to break free. The four stood around the glowing entity named Peter, taking huge gasps of air. They hardly had the strength to even walk back to the garage. Razor looked at Peter in the eye. "NOW will you listen?" The pup just stood there silently, staring back. T-Bone collapsed to the ground with Commando following suit. "WOAH! [Gasp] I felt like I just [huff] wrestled with five T-Rexes." "[Huff] at once?" "Yeah." "I know how [wheeze] you feel. Boy, am I glad [pant] this is over." Peter just stood there staring at the rope of white energy binding him. "Hey what are you doing-" The rope turned into water and Peter was free once more. "Oh KRUD! Not again!" They leaped to their feet ready for combat, but Peter merely stood still. The five stood their ground, waiting for the other to make their move. And then, Peter yawned. "I'm tired." "YOU'RE tired?" "Hush." The glowing being had begun to dim again, and a small part of the ground rose up and became a small brown cushion. Peter was now a small pup again and curled up onto the cushion, fast asleep. The four looked at Peter sleeping peacefully away on his cushion. Commando broke the silence. "Now isn't that just dandy. We got the snot beaten out of us by him and now there he is sleeping like a baby. Say you'd think someone would notice all the ruckus we kicked up." "I had cast a spell of silence and illusion over the area, no one has heard or seen the events that have transpired." "Wonderful... say he does look kinda cute, sleeping like that." "Well, what are we going to do, now that we know Peter is a being with godlike powers?" "We're going to have to bring him back to Callie, she's worried sick about him." "And she'll get even more worried when she finds out he can raze army bases in a heartbeat." "I will transport Peter to Callie, along with the Swat Kats by use of a portal." "Oh yeah, Commando." "Yeah?" "Why did you come here anyway?" "The kid here leveled an army base." "Yeow. So what are you going to tell your superiors?" "Tell them that the big bad monster that demolished an army base is really a six-year old puppy? I don't think so. I'll think of something else when I meet them." "Aye. Shall we leave?" "First Sorcerer, let's just sit here for a while, I'm beat." "Yeah me too." "I'm not leaving this spot for a week." "My sentiments exactly." The four collapsed to the ground to rest, while Peter slumbers quietly on his pillow. After a hard battle, the peace of the night had returned once more. ********** Callie stroked Peter's head as he snoozed away on her lap. The Sorcerer had transported the pup along with the Swat Kats and Commando. Peter was to be reunited with Callie, the Swat Kats to explain to Callie the Sorcerer's presence and Peter's newly discovered powers. Commando decided to tag along when he heard there was going to be nice soft chairs at Callie's place. "-So you see Ms Briggs, Peter holds quite remarkable powers in those small paws of his." "Yes. And the bundle he was carrying contained sandwiches. But I still find it quite hard to believe that Peter could do what you just described to me. I mean, he's just a pup." "Believe me. Ms Briggs, he really can do all that. If he couldn't, we wouldn't be sitting here on our tails covered in dust and extremely exhausted." "I can see that, and is Commando all right?" She motioned toward Commando who was lying in one of the chairs. "Don't mind me, I'm just resting. Give me a couple of hours and I'll be as right as rain." "What I don't understand is why would Peter run away in the first place." "He said something about being sent to an orphanage." "What?" And at that moment, Peter stirred from his sleep. Once he realized where he was, he tried to get away from Callie. "Hey let me go!" "Peter? What's going on?" The youth stopped struggling, turned around and looked Callie in the eye with both arms folded. "You're going to dump me in an orphanage. Why would you care about me?" "What made you think that?" "Well... I saw those papers with the word Megakat Orphanage on it." "You mean the adoption papers?" "Adoption?" "Yes. I was thinking about adopting you." "You want to adopt me?" "I'd like to Peter, but there are a lot of problems." "So? We can fix them." "It's not so simple Peter." "Ms Briggs." Callie and Peter turned to the Sorcerer. Peter hopped off Callie's lap and walked over to the Sorcerer. He had turned his cape and cowl back to its original material and had put it back on. He looked up to him. "Mister?" "Yes?" "I'm sorry about making all that trouble for you, Razor, T-Bone and that other guy. I was pretty angry." "That is quite all right. We all can feel anger now and then." "Yeah we all can get pretty ticked off sometime. And by the way, I'm Commando but don't get too used to calling me that." "And I am known as the Sorcerer. The Swat Kats you apparently already know." "Yeah, I know them. Oh, did I hurt you guys?" "Ah... Not really Peter." "Yeah just a couple of bruises." "Sorcerer? You wanted to tell me something?" "Ah yes. Peter is a very special child and I would like to offer you my aid, any moment should you require it." "You can count me and T-Bone in too, right pal?" "Right." "Hey like the Sorcerer said, Peter is really special, so if you're in a jam, don't hesitate to look me up... if you can, that is. I travel a lot." "Thank you. But how should I contact you Sorcerer?" "You can contact the Swat Kats and they will in turn, contact me." "Hey you still haven't told us where we could find you." "As I have said before, look for me in the skies." "We'd like something a little more specific." "All will come in due time. You will find me should the need to arise." "Gee, wonderful." "Now shall we take our leave?" "Yeah guess it is getting kind of late." "Yup, time for us to hit the hay. And for Peter too." Peter was evidently quite worn out from the recent battle. The four who had faced him get up and gather around the Sorcerer as he begins cast a spell to teleport them away. "Goodbye Ms Briggs and good fortune to you." "Later Ms Briggs, bye Peter." "See you next time." A flash of light, and then they were gone. Callie looked away from where the four had disappeared to Peter who had returned to sleep. She smiled and patted his head. "Goodnight Peter. Sweet dreams." Callie pulled a blanket over the slumbering pup. She switched off the lights and then went to bed herself. Peter was really asleep this time. And this time he was really happy too. Callie really does like him, and he really does like Callie. One could see the small smile on his face. Why does he smile? He smiles because he is happy, and he is happy because he knows this one thing. Someone really does like him. THE END