Disclaimer: Oh-tay, people, we all know this: Everyone you recognize is Hannah-Barbera's(may Turner burn for taking them off the air), everyone who you don't recognize(which are only two) are mine. All mine!!! Bwahahah!!! Um, sorry. Every character in this story is purely fictional, and if you think you recognize someone, get some help. Trust me, you need it. Anyhoo, complements/complaints should be emailed to me at Adler13@aol.com, with the subject reading, "Hi, Kat W.!" And yes, Kat is my real name. Well, nickname actually. And I got it way before SWAT Kats, thank you. (P.S. This story is in no way connected to anyone else's fan fiction, but if you'd like to use Ludora in a story, just email me and ask, and also tell me the outline of the story. I mean it. I'd love to see someone else use her in a story.) The Ties that Bind "So, Jake," Ludora began, "what can you make of it?" "What can I make of it?" Jake's head popped out from underneath the old `79 Chevy. "Well, I think I could make a spatula out of it." "Oh, no!" she pressed herself against the car. "It can't be dead." "Dori, I hate to break this to you, but this old thing has been close to death for a long time now. I can't believe I've got it to last as long as it has." "Well, you're good with your hands. But, c'mon, it can't be that far gone. It's my baby!" "Your baby is almost as old as you," Jake pointed out, "and it is very much dead." "Oh, my poor thing," she patted its hood. "Hey, Jake, you mind if I do something rash?" "Like what?" he queried, wiping his hands off with a rag. "Can I . . . kick it?" Jake grinned. "Go ahead. It makes you feel better. Trust me." "You stupid thing!" she kicked the side of the Chevy as hard as she possibly could. Suddenly, the engine roared, and the car began to purr. Jake stared at it, thunderstruck. "I can't believe that worked." "Yes!" Dori shouted, triumphantly, and placed her hand on the car. "We're back in business, baby!" "Hey, what's all the noise in here?" Chance walked in. "Oh, nothing, buddy," Jake said, still shocked. "You just missed Dori pulling off another miracle." "My baby's never going to die," she said, beaming. "That's a scary thought," Chance muttered. "Hey, I need it. I've got a job to do." "Don't you think that using that car makes it a little difficult catching the bad guys?" asked Chance. "I'm a homicide detective. Most of the guys I check out are dead. They tend not to run away." "Yeah, well," Chance began to back out of the room, sheepishly, "I better, um, check on, er . . . something." "Chance!" Jake muttered. "What was that about?" Dori asked. "Don't know." Truth be told, Jake knew exactly why Chance walked out. It was because today Jake was supposed to come up with enough courage to ask Ludora out. Something he realized he should have done a long time ago. Ludora Takkrad popped in at the garage five months prior, with the most beat up Chevy that ever graced the world. When a snickering Chance asked Jake to take a look at the "beat up old thing," Jake first stared at the dying automobile, and then at the most beautiful she-kat he had ever seen. Dori had snow white fur, which contrasted drastically to her ebony hair and tail. Her hair was past her waist, parted in the middle, and seemed to naturally split apart, forming two thick locks. Her eyes were wide, and a startling blue-green, while her lips were full, and naturally pouty. As exotic as she looked, Dori was extremely down to earth. When she spoke about something she knew what she was saying. She also had a great sense of humor. She was light-hearted, and friendly. She was also sensitive to what happened around her. One day she just came in to talk about having to investigate the murder of a 4 month old child. It had really shook her up. It was the only time Jake had seen her cry. About three and a half months of knowing her, not just as a customer, but as a friend, it became obvious to Jake that he cared for Dori. Chance, being the more outgoing of the two friends, casually suggested Jake ask her out. Of course, Jake immediatly rejected that idea. He couldn't possibly just ask her out; he'd choke first. But, after a while, Jake finally agreed. Now if only he could find the courage. "Hey, Louie!" an annoying voice called. "Oh, God, please no," muttered Dori. A tabby colored kat walked into the garage. "Fancy meeting you here today, Louie." "Yeah, Rusty," she crossed her arms. "Fancy that." Rusty Blue was another homicide detective. While he was one of the best detectives in Megakat City, he was also the most irritating. He unfortunately had a thing for Dori, as well. And he always seemed to be at the garage when she was. "Coincidently," though, of course. "So," he patted her car, "car trouble again?" "Not anymore," she snapped, hoping to give him a hint. She didn't. "Hey, Louie," Rusty sat on the Chevy's hood, "what are you doing tonight?" "He's sitting on my baby," Dori said to Jake. "Why is he sitting on my baby?" "`Cause he's a low-life, with little to no respect for other people," Jake answered, a matter-of-factly. "Oh." A wicked smile went across her face, and she winked at Jake. She walked slowly over to the driver's side door, and opened it. "Well, Rusty, I appreciate what was obviously going to be an invitation, but I already have plans. And none of them involve you," she reached into her car, and viciously popped the hood, causing Rusty to fly into the air, and land roughly on the ground. Jake was able to hold back his laughter, but not the grin that spread across his face. "Well, that was overdoing it a bit." "Oh, not really," Ludora returned the grin, as Rusty crawled away, humiliated. "I'd rather call it, `blunt and efficient.'" "So, um," Jake scratched the back of his head in nervousness, "just what *are* you doing tonight?" "Why?" her eyes twinkled. "Have any eyes ideas in mind?" "Ideas? But, I thought you said you had plans." "Well, I kind of did," Dori smiled. "But I was hoping those plans included you." "Really?" Jake's voice cracked. Her smile widened. "Yes, really." "Well, I'd liked to, Dori. Trust me, *really* I would," Jake stuttered, his nerves taking control over his common sense. "B-but I don't have any money . . ." "We'll go Dutch." "Even so, I still can't afford-" "We'll go see a movie," Dori tilted her head, grinning. "I don't know if I can use the truck-" "We'll take my car," she patted the Chevy. The car gave a sudden *gasp,* shuttered, and died. ". . . On second thought, we'll take public transportation." "Well, well . . ." Jake stumbled over his words, not knowing what to say. "Don't you want to go out with me?" Dori cleverly pouted. "Of course! Dori, don't think that I don't, it's just-" "Great! I'll see you tonight at around seven, then," she impulsively bent down and kissed him quickly on the lips. She then began to walk out of the garage. When he finally managed to find his voice, Jake called, "You're going to walk home?" "Yeah. I'll be fine." Dori suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, and spun on her heals, so she was facing Jake. "Then again . . . Hey, handsome, mind giving me a ride home?" Jake grinned. "Not at all. My pleasure." ********************************************************** Chance Furlong was hanging half-in, half-out of the Turbokat, checking the wires, the turbines, anything to waste some time. Jake had taken Ludora home, and he still hadn't come back yet. Chance smiled. His best friend was probably the most shy kat in all of Megakat City. It was good to know that he was finally opening up somewhat. And Chance liked Ludora. She would be good for Jake. Unlike Jake, Dori wasn't shy; she was extremely outgoing. Maybe some of her exhuberince would rub off on Jake. Chance's thoughts were interupted by the alarm sounding. He jumped down from the Turbokat, and walked to the intercom. "Yes, Ms. Briggs?" he asked his usual question. And Callie answered in her usual way. "T-Bone, I'm outside of Megakat Towers. Something's going on down here; something big. As far as I can tell, it's Dark Kat. We could really use the SWAT Kats." "We're on our way." By the time T-Bone geared up, Jake was back. "Chance, you wouldn't believe what-" Jake stopped when he saw his friend. "Hey, what's goin' on?" "Suit up, buddy," said T-Bone. "Looks like Dark Kat is back to his old routine." "Aw, great!" groaned Jake. "How am I goin' to explain this to Dori tomorrow?" ********************************************************** As the Turbokat flew across the sky, T-Bone filled in Razor on what little information he had gleamed from Callie. "She sounded nervous," said T-Bone. "Real nervous." "Well, what did she say was going down?" queried Razor. "In her own words, `something big.'" "Okay. Define `something big.'" "I can't. I never asked Callie for details." "Oh, great. We're going in blind." Abruptly, the Turbokat was surrounded by cloud of purple smoke. The jet began to shake, violently. "Whoa!" T-Bone tried to steady the Turbokat, to no avail. "I didn't mean that `going in blind' thing *this* literally!" Razor yelled. And then, as suddenly as the cloud appeared, it disappeared, along with the Turbokat. ****************************************************** When the jet had disappeared, Razor felt as is the world was spinning out of control and that he was going to go flying off it. He had finally blacked out. His eyes felt heavy when he came to, but he forced them open. He felt his wirsts and ankles hurt, and when his eyes came into focus, he saw that his paws and feet were shackled up against a wall. T-Bone was awake and next to him. "You okay, buddy?" T-Bone asked. "Well, if you ignore the fact that my wrists and ankles burn, my stomach is still turning, and I have the largest migrain in the free world, yeah, I'm fine." "Oh, so good to see you're both awake," a low, eerie voice came from the darkness. "Go rot, Dark Kat," muttered T-Bone. "I think he already has," growled Razor. "Or haven't you noticed the sudden stench?" "Always with your quick remarks," Dark Kat slowly, almost reluctantly, walked into the light. His cloak swirled around him omniously. "But those remarks won't save you this time." "As if that isn't cliche enough," T-Bone rolled his eyes. "Let us see if *this* is cliche enough for you, SWAT Kat!" snapped Dark Kat. "I found some one who can and will wipe you two pestelince off the face of this planet. With but a simple chant, you will be driven insane." "You got Barney?" Razor quipped. Dark Kat snarled. "Better still; I have my daughter." "Your daughter?!" the two SWAT Kats exclaimed. "Come here, my dear. Show these two idiots the face of their executioner." Out of the shadows came a beautiful she-kat. Her raven hair was done in two thick locks, and her sable tail twitched, agitated. Her white fur shined, and her blue-green eyes narrowed in on the two heros. Dressed in a Gothic style, she was quite a vision. Then again, if you asked Jake Clawson, he would say that he liked her better in her street clothes. "Ludora?" Razor whispered, disbelievingly. Neither Ludora nor Dark Kat heard him. "My dear," said Dark Kat in a thick voice, "treat them to what you can do." "As you wish, Father," Dori said, indifferently. She raised her hands, waved her fingers, and began to speak a chant in a tounge that neither T-Bone nor Razor had ever heard before. The two SWAT Kats clenched their teeth, trying to groan as little as possible as the world began to spin. ". . . Why? . . ." Razor whispered. He was trying his best to stay awake. He was never very good at keeping awake when vertigo played a part. But he couldn't black out now. This was Dori! . . . Oh, his head hurt . . . "Sssss . . . sssstop!" he shouted, hoping to startle her. To his surprise, he did. She jumped back, putting her hand over her throat. "I know that voice," Dori said to no one in particular. "I'm positive about it." "Why have you stopped?" Dark Kat snapped. "Well, I . . . I thought that I . . ." "It doesn't matter. With you, I will conquer Megakat City with almost no resistence." "`Conquer Megakat City?' You said nothing about that before." "Well, I have now." "That was not part of our deal, Father!" Ludora exclaimed, lifting her chin. "I was to capture and kill the SWAT Kats for you, and then I was to be let go." Dark Kat grabbed her arm, and hauled her up, roughly. "I have *changed* the deal, child. Do you have a problem with that?" ". . . No, Father." He dropped her. "Good. Now keep your eyes on those two temporary problems. I have a few things to . . . handle first. When I come back I want you to take care of them for good." "Yes, Father." "Nice dad," cracked T-Bone after Dark Kat had left. "And what would you know about it, SWAT Kat?" Ludora growled. "I know that if I had a father like that, it would make me wish that I was an orphan." "My relationship with my father does not concern you!" "Actually, it does," said Razor. "Considering Daddy dearest is getting you to kill us, and then destroy the city." "I didn't know about the city. That wasn't part of what I agreed to," Dori crossed her arms. "This isn't going as planned." "Oh, I get it," T-Bone said, flatly. "The plan was that you were just going to kill us, is that it? No big deal. Just kill the only two kats that can take down a guy like your father. Didn't you know that as soon as you offed us, your dad was going to take over without any problems?" "Yes, I knew that! Believe me, if I had a choice I wouldn't be doing this. But I don't," Ludora bowed her head. "I lost my right of choice after he found me." "Found you?" Razor repeated. "You have a familiar voice," she said, abruptly, and delibrately changing the subject. "I wish I could put my finger on where I've heard it before." "Dear child," Dark Kat sudden entrance made Dori jump, "don't get into the past. We have the future to look foward to. Come," he took her arm, and dragged her into the darkness. Suddenly, the room wasn't dark anymore, and the SWAT Kats realized that they were in Megakat Towers, the top floor. But, through Ludora's magik, it had been altered in a strange way. It was more morbid, more depressing; darker. The father and his daughter stood in front of the window, gazing out into the night sky, which was being lit up by lights from Enforcer choppers. Razor frowned. If Dori wasn't a willing participant, why didn't she do something? Surely she had the power. Could she possibly be that afraid of Dark Kat? "Do you see it, my dear?" Dark Kat pointed to a building. "The Megakat Cancer Research Building for Children? Yes, I see it." "How many innocents do you think are in there right now?" "Well, I suppose a little over 300. Why do you ask?" "Because in about two minutes my creeplings are going to send a barrel of nerve gas into that building, killing off every last man, woman, and child in it." "What?" Dori choked. "Why, you sick little-!" T-Bone pulled on his restraints as hard as he could, to no avail. "Crud! If I wasn't chained here, Dark Kat, you wouldn't be acting so high and mighty!" "Yes, I'm sure," Dark Kat said, unimpressed. "You're twisted!" Razor snarled, then turned to Dori. "How can you let him do this, Dori? Are you as cold hearted and evil as your father?" "Father, you can't mean this!" cried Ludora. "It's insane! It's monsterous!" "Are you defying me?" Dark Kat wrapped his paw around her neck, tightly, making sure that he only choked her slightly. "Do you want to end up like your mother did when she refused to do what I said? Do you want to be dead? Do you?" She gasped. "B-Better to *urk* be d-dead than *uh* to end up like *uk* you!" Her eyes narrowed, and she put her hands together, and hit him with an energy blast full force. He flew across the room, and landed roughly on his back. "You'll pay for this defiance!" Dark Kat jumped up and, quicker than Dori could react, grabbed her by her shoulders, and hurtled her across the room, causing her to hit the wall that the SWAT Kats were chained to. "Are you okay?" Razor asked, impulsively. "You gotta get us out of these chains. We can help you." "My . . . my name . . ." Dori moaned, as she lifted her head to him. "You called me by . . . my name before. How . . .? I never . . . said . . . it." "Time for bed, my dear!" Dark Kat scooped her up in the air as if she were nothing more than a feather, and viciously slammed her into the ground. "Good night!" "No!" cried Razor, feeling his heart shatter, and fall into his feet. "Now that that problem is over with," Dark Kat said, looking passively at the broken body of his young daughter laying by him, "it's time for the begining of the end." With that, he swept out of the room. "Dori," Razor gasped. "Oh, God, T-Bone, he killed her!" "I know, buddy," T-Bone said, trying his best to keep the pain out of his voice. "But you can't crack on me now. She wouldn't want you to." "No . . . I wouldn't . . ." a small voice said. "Dori?" Razor looked at her. Slowly, painfully, the tattered and torn Ludora Takkrad sat up as much as she could. She was so out of it, she couldn't even open her eyes, which sadly was a good thing, for if she did open them, blood would have went in them. "Know . . . your voice . . ." she said, her own voice slurred. "You have to get us out of here," Razor said. "I know it hurts, but if you don't, the city doesn't stand a chance." ". . . Jake? Jake . . . that you . . .?" Razor felt his insides twist in pain at the pitiful sounds she was making. His conscience and his common sense battled swiftly, and in the end, his conscience won. "Yeah. Yeah, Dori, it's Jake. You have to release us. We're the only ones who can stop Dark Kat." "Know that . . . hurt so much . . ." "I know. God, I know." Quivering, Dori raised her hands, and said a foreign chant. The manacles dropped from T-Bone and Razor as if they never really had been put on right, and could have been shaken off. Gasping now, Ludora collapsed fully onto the floor. In an instant, Razor was at her side, holding her. "Your plane . . . roof . . ." she panted. "Creeplings . . ." "We have to get you to a hospital," said Razor. "T-Bone can take care of Dark Kat, and I'll-" "No! Both have . . . fight him . . . Don't . . . worry . . . witch . . . fast heelers . . . magik . . . Go now . . ." "Alright," he kissed the side of her face, ignoring the blood. "I'll come back for you. I promise." He got up, and was about to walk away, when he heard Dori murmur, "Sorry . . . so sorry . . ." "Yeah," Razor muttered, following T-Bone out, and forcing himself not to look back. "So am I." ********************************************************* And Part 2. There ya go. :) Quick Disclaimer: Did you read the first part of this story? If so, then you know all this, if not, then do so or this won't make any sense. Silly person. :) By the by, email me at Adler13@aol.com, with the Subject reading, "Hi, Kat W.!" Flames will be ignored, but constructive criticism will be read, and probably laughed at. If you want to use Ludora in a story, email me and tell me the outline of it(if you plan on killing her, forget about it). The Ties That Bind "Look what they did to the Turbokat!" T-Bone complained, after he and Razor had made short work of the creeplings gaurding the jet. The Turbokat had seen better days; the wings were scratched, as well as the canopy. "Well, from the looks of them," said Razor, "the damage on the wings is minor; it can still fly. Problem is, can you see out of the canopy with all those scratches?" "I think so. Only one way to find out." T-Bone hopped into the Turbokat, Razor followed his lead. "Yeah," said T-Bone, obviously relieved. "Yeah, I can still see." "Then let's go!" T-Bone gunned the engines, and they were off. It took them less than a minute to reach the Cancer Research building. "Do you see Dark Kat?" Razor queried. "No," answered T-Bone. "But I see plenty of his lackeys. And they're flyin' straight toward us!" Dodging the creeplings proved harder than it looked, since there was at least twenty of them. After pulling hard lefts and rights, loop-d-loops, and many other aerial manuvers, T-Bone was fresh out of ideas, and Razor was close to being unconscious. "Oh, I wish there was a better way than this," he groaned. "You have a better idea?" asked T-Bone. "I've done everything I can think of, and none of them have bit the dust yet! When did Dark Kat give them brains?" Just then two of the creeplings landed on the right wing of the Turbokat, and proceded to tear into it. "Then again," a smiled spread across T-Bone's face, "maybe they're not that smart, afterall." "I *really* don't like the sound of that," Razor said, his eyebrow raising. "Hang on to your seat, buddy, `cause here we go!" The Turbokat began to spin. The creeplings kept hold as long as they could. They were finally flung off, but they left claw marks from where they held onto. "Alright!" T-Bone exclaimed. "You okay, Razor? Razor?" Silence. "Aw, crud! You can't blank out on me now, buddy. I need ya." Creeplings began to fly directly at the Turbokat, almost as if they knew the jet was without its gunner. T-Bone swooped underneath them, and quickly swooped back up. "Can't keep this up forever," he muttered. Abruptly, six creeplings jumped onto the nose of the Turbokat, forcing it to plummet. T-Bone pulled up on the stick as much as he could, but he couldn't get out of the dive. "C'mon, baby, pull up!" he urged. "Just one time for ol' T-Bone." With one last jerk, T-Bone finally managed to pull up. Unfortunately, that made the six creeplings fly right in front of the canopy, making it impossible to see. "Man, you suckers are annoying!" T-Bone cried. He pulled up again, this time acutely, and the creeplings slid off. Regrettably, T-Bone didn't see that one had managed to hang onto the tail of the Turbokat. Fortunately, the jerk upwards woke Razor up. "Wha-?" he shook his head. "Man, I hate it when he does things like that." Razor turned his head, just in time to see the remaining creepling climbing over. "T-Bone, gun the engines!" "Razor?" "Do it!" The engines roared, and the creepling was smoked in the afterburners. "Two things, Razor;" said T-Bone. "One: glad to have you back. And two: why did we just do that?" "Oh, no reason to concern yourself about," Razor's ears perked up at the sound of choppers. "But that is!" The Enforcer choppers, led by Commander Feral, flew onto the scene. "The Enforcers," T-Bone muttered. "And they're late. What a shock." "How much you want to bet that Feral going to tell us to back off?" asked Razor. "Now, you know me better than that, buddy. I only bet on things I know I'm going to win." "This is Commander Feral," came a loud, baritone voice from the lead chopper. "Back off, you vigilantees, the Enforcers can take it from here." "Sure they can," T-Bone said, sardonically. "Well, they are helping us out in way," commented Razor. "Look!" The Enforcer choppers were just in front of the Turbokat now. The unexpected arrivals startled the creeplings, and focused their attention on the choppers. Suddenly, all of the creeplings were attacking the Enforcers, and ignoring the Turbokat. "I'd never thought I'd say it, but it looks like the Enforcers are actually good for something," grinned T-Bone. "Yeah," Razor laughed. "Good for decoys. Let's go, buddy!" Flying passed the creepling covered Enforcer choppers, the Turbokat made its way to the Megakat Cancer Research Building. When it was in view, it was not hard to see Dark Kat himself on the roof, two creeplings on his shoulders, and the barrel of nerve gas in his arms. He looked up at the Turbokat, obviously annoyed at its arrival. "Take care of those two SWAT Kats!" he snapped to the two creeplings, who emediately flew off into the air. T-Bone groaned. "Well, here we go again." "Maybe not," interjected Razor. "I've been waiting for a chance to try out a new missile of mine." "Now's a good a time as any, buddy," said T-Bone. "I couldn't agree with you more. Firebomb missile, deployed!" Razor pressed the release button. T-Bone watched as a strangely-shaped, firetruck-red missile shot forward, toward the two creeplings. The creeplings started to dodge it, but before they could the missile suddenly exploded into a huge fireball. When the fire abruptly disappeared, the two creeplings were nothing but ashes in the wind. "Bingo!" Razor exclaimed. "Nice one, buddy!" T-Bone complimented. "Now let's go get Dark Kat." "That's a negative, T-Bone," Razor said, his voice full of regret. "I try any missile on him, and that nerve gas won't go into the hospital, but it *will* go all over the streets of Megakat City! And if we try to get to him outside of the Turbokat, it will probably be too late." "Well, we've gotta do something. We can't just stay up here in the air, like our hands are tied!" "I think I know just the thing. T-Bone, swoop in low over Dark Kat." "Alright," T-Bone said, and eyebrow raised. "I just hope you know what you're doing." "Trust me, buddy." The Turbokat roared over the cloaked, morbid figure on top of The Cancer Research Building. Dark Kat looked as if he was going to laugh. He knew as well as the SWAT Kats that they couldn't use their missiles on him as long as he held the barrel of nerve gas in his arms. Then, right before the Turbokat soared passed him, a huge magnetic clamp lowered from under the jet. Dark Kat tried to keep the metal barrel down as best he could, but it was of no use; the magnet pulled the barrel up. But the magnet had caught something extra: Dark Kat had not let go, and was gripping onto the barrel as the Turbokat flew over the city. "We have some extra baggage, T-Bone," informed Razor as he looked out of the scratched canopy. "Goodie," said T-Bone, in a dead-pan voice. "Want me to shake the blood-sucking mosquito off?" "Negative," Razor shook his head. "He might scratch open the barrel in the process. This calls for a more personal touch." "And that means . . .?" Meanwhile, Dark Kat held onto the nerve gas barrel for dear life. It was obvious that he wasn't going to willingly let go of it any time soon. He had become obsessed with his hostile takeover plans a long time ago, and his tunnel vision tended to be his greatest asset, and his greatest weakness. Right now it was a weakness, because he was so intent on holding onto his precious barrel, he didn't notice Razor hopping onto the top of the magnet. In fact, he didn't notice the wiry SWAT Kat until a paw suddenly gripped his cloak. When Dark Kat looked up, he stared into the eyes of Razor, the gunner of the two SWAT Kats. He had done this before many times while trying to beat the annoying duo. But something was different this time. There was a spark in the Swat Kat's eyes that he had never seen before. It was something that made Dark Kat, one of the most frighteningly intimidating villians to ever walk the earth, shiver. It was the look of pure, unbridled hatred. "This," Razor hissed, as he raised a clenched fist, "is for Dori." Razor felt all his anger and fury flow through his punch, and he watched with a mixture of relief and satisfaction as Dark Klaw fell off the barrel and plummeted to the earth below. ***************************************************************** Days after the fight with Dark Kat, Jake was still in a depression. The night of the fight, when they had gone back to Megakat Towers, Ludora had disappeared. No one had seen her since. But that was the way she had wanted it, Dori regrettably realized as she snuck into the Megakat Dump, where her car was, one night. She liked Jake, she liked him more than anyone else in the entire world, and she didn't want to see him hurt, but she had to make a clean brake. Dori wanted to make this as painless as possible to all parties involved. When she found her old Chevy, she pressed her hand on the hood. It glowed, and the car began to hum, its engine magikally fixed to perfect condition. "You could've done that at any time you wanted?" asked a voice behind her. Dori turned, and saw Jake standing there, arms crossed. He was wearing his work clothes. "I asked you if you could've fixed your car by yourself?" he repeated, his voice was indifferent, but Dori could sense the mixed emotions in him by his stiff pose. "Yes," she finally answered. "Have you been waiting up every night to see if I'd come get my car?" "Not `if,' `when.'" "So, you found me," Dori stared at the ground, suddenly unable to look him in the eye. "Now what?" "I don't know," Jake answered, his indifferent voice slipping as an ounce of pain pierced it. "After all, it's obvious that you don't want anything to do with me anymore." Her head flew up. "Jake, that's not true!" "Well, then what is true, Dori?" he exclaimed. "I don't even know who you are anymore!" "You want the truth, eh?" Ludora cocked her head. "Well, fine. Here it is, then. "Yes, my father is Dark Kat. My mother was a sorcerous named Fatima. If you can't tell by his constent mood, my father is a very violent man. My mother left with me when I was six. "He found us a few years ago. He wanted my mother to do a hit on Mayor Manx. She refused," Dori shut her eyes tightly, as if trying to expell the image in her head. "He . . . he killed her on the spot. Right in front of me." Jake opened his mouth to say something, but upon finding that his voice had abandoned him, he shut it. "I worked for him like a slave for a couple of years," she continued. "One night, I managed to sneek away. I began to live a normal life, like everyone else. I got a job, an apartment, a jalopy," she patted the Chevy. "And I met you. The first guy that I've met who actually in no way, shape, or form planned on using me. I was happy. "Then *father,*" she spat out the word, "found me a few days ago. We made a deal; the SWAT Kats for my freedom. Do you realize how much my freedom means to me, Jake?" Dori asked, tears filling her eyes. "Do you even know what it's like to be someone's slave? To do things that you despise for a person you despise? It's the most horrific thing in the world, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. "Don't you see?!" she croaked out, tears now freely flowing down her face. "All I wanted was to be free! I didn't want to hurt anyone, but my freedom . . . I just wanted my freedom . . . I have the right to live my life free!" Ludora collapsed onto the dirt, sobbing. Cautiously, almost self-consiously, Jake walked over, and began to stroke her hair. "I . . ." his voice failed him once more. Mustering up his courage, Jake finally forced his voice to work. "I'm sorry, Dori. I didn't mean to make you cry like this. I had no idea what your past had been like. If I had, I wou-" "You couldn't have known," Dori interupted. "For goodness sake, Jake, I never *told* anyone, how were you to know? Strange thing is," she wiped her eyes, "I never thought my past would come back to haunt me," she laughed, strangely. "Isn't that the dumbest thing you ever heard? The daughter of Dark Kat not thinking that her family ties would muck up her life for a second time. How stupid can you get?" "You know what, Dori?" asked Jake, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I wouldn't call that "stupid" at all. It's just wishful thinking. And no one can blame you for wishing." She looked up at him for a moment, stunned. And then she reflected his small smile. "I hope you find someone good enough to deserve you one day, Jake Clawson." He raised an eyebrow. "I thought I already had." "Say what?" Dori's eyes widened. "But now that you know who I am, and considering your, um, other "occupation," why would you want to even look at me again?" "Because I don't think that you're like your dad at all, Dori," he stated. He lifted her chin with one hand, and wiped the rest of her tears away with the other. "I think you're a kind, good-hearted, person who just happens to have a lousy father. And besides," Jake grinned, "you still owe me a movie." Despite herself, Dori found herself laughing. "All right then, you asked for it. But I warn you, this date won't nearly be as eventful as our last attempt." Jake laughed. "I certainly hope so!" The End