Chapter 31: Viper Finally Appears
Razor sighed with relief as he left the Feral-Furlong home a little while later. Both Ulysses and Chance were moving a little easier when he off loaded them in the field beside their home. Still he followed them into the house and waited until he was sure they were going to be okay before leaving to get Jeremy.
He walked back out to the jet and was soon winging his way back to Enforcer Headquarters. Except for a question by the flight line guard about why he had returned, he wasn't halted by anyone else as he made his way down to the daycare center.
Stepping through the door, the monitor looked up at him from her paperwork .filled desk.
"Hello, Razor. Sgt Jiessen was here a little while ago attending to Jeremy. I'm sorry grief overcame the Commander like that but at least those destructive emotions have been released at last. Jeremy was feeling unhappy but he's alright now and knows he's going home with you again. I'm afraid you might have a little problem with that aspect. He's becoming a little resentful about being left so often recently," she told him warningly.
Razor shook his head. "Poor little guy! He just doesn't understand what's going on and he's too young for me to explain. Well, guess I'll just have to go the mega distance to distract him tonight, huh?" He said with a wane smile.
"I'm afraid so," she said, commiserating with him. "I'll go get him." She got up and went into the playroom, returning five minutes later with a more subdued kitten that was handed off to him.
Holding the kitten close, he nuzzled him. Jeremy looked up at him and frowned. "Why can't I go home?" He asked plaintively.
"Ah, Jeremy, I'm sorry, squirt. But your mommy and daddy had a really bad day and need some time alone together. It's not that they don't love you...them do a lot...but sometimes big people need a little time together to deal with certain problems. I promise you, you'll understand better when you're older," Razor tried to soften the blow of going with him rather than his parents.
Jeremy's face scrunched up in concentration. "'kay, I try to unnerstand!" He finally said unhappily.
"I know you will. How about we play that new video game you got and eat some pizza? What ya say?"
The kitten flashed a brief smile and nodded.
"Good!" Razor said, relieved to get at least a small smile. He turned and walked out of the center and headed back up to the flight line.
Now Jeremy perked up more at the sight of the Turbokat! "Yeah, go fly!" He cheered.
"Yeah, we go fly!" Razor grinned as he leaped up to the wing then settled Jeremy in his lap as he sat down in the pilot's seat and strapped them both in.
He lifted off and headed for his home.
Though grief still clung to them, the next day Feral felt a bit more in control and wanted to see his son. Jake was very relieved to take him home since the time he spent with the kitten had been a bit strained.
As Feral hugged Jeremy tightly, Jake spoke privately to Chance.
"I know it wasn't your fault but Jeremy is very upset and confused by all that's happened the past month. He needs some reassurance from you two to help him get over this time. Maybe you two should take some time off and spend it with him?" He suggested.
Chance's face grew more and more unhappy as Jake explained how Jeremy felt and how he responded to his and Ulysses' absence. "Crud! I'm sorry, buddy. A short vacation sounds like a very good idea to repair our relationship with Jeremy and give us more time to adjust to our loss. Thanks for letting me know."
"You're welcome. With luck, the city will remain quiet, too," Jake said easily.
They took Jake's advice and did go on a two week vacation away from the city. They spent time in Sandeval Bay enjoying the beach and just being with each other. When they returned, all three felt closer and much happier. The grief was still there but it was more a wistful and sad memory rather than the destructive grief it had been.
During Feral's absence, the city remained quiet and peaceful which suited Steele nicely as he used the time to work on his handbook. But the very day, Feral returned all hell broke loose.
Dr. Viper had been waiting for his moment or apparently waiting for his plant horrors to get big enough, at that moment Feral couldn't have cared less which it was as the result was rampaging through the city, destroying property and sending Katizens screaming.
The SWAT Kats were on the scene trying to cut up the herbage the best they could but Viper had learned from his many defeats and had made his plant army harder to damage. The Turbokat was taking a beating from massive whipping arms, limbs or whatever they were.
"Crud! Look out!" Razor shouted as some kind of thick tentacle came hurling their way.
T-Bone yanked the yoke hard to the left but the tentacle still managed to wack the side of the Turbokat sending it spinning. Before the pilot could get it back under control, it took out a chopper with its tail.
"Back off, T-Bone! We're taking a beating here!" Razor ordered his partner.
"Crud! What has he done to those things? They are damn near indestructible!" T-Bone snarled as he sent the jet to a higher altitude where the things couldn't reach them while they assessed the damage to the Turbokat. "How's it look, buddy?"
"Not real good but we're still intact. We've got a huge dent in the side and I wouldn't recommend any sharp maneuvers because our tail rotor is damaged.
"So what do we do now? Nothing you've hit them with has had any effect?" T-Bone asked.
"Honestly, buddy, I just don't know. I do have a couple of new weapons to try but I was holding them for when I could do the most damage..." Razor began to say when they heard Feral's call for retreat.
Feral hated to do it but too many enforcer jets and choppers were being wiped from the sky as fast as they showed up and many officers were being killed as they hung helplessly in the air from their parachutes so he had no choice but to call retreat.
"Squadrons...Retreat...I repeat...Retreat back to headquarters!" He barked over his mike. He was monitoring the battle from high overhead. It wouldn't help matters if he allowed himself to be taken out. It felt strange not leading the charge but his therapist and his mate made it plain that he was far too important to the city to be lost.
As much as it galled him, during this battle he could see the wisdom of that advice as he pulled all his forces back so he could reassess their battle plan. The brief skirmish only lasted fifteen minutes but it was long enough to show him what they faced.
To his surprise, his mate also heeded the call to retreat. The Turbokat landed on the flight line and a very livid T-Bone jumped down in mid argument with his partner whose face was stony and obstinate.
Feral didn't have to guess who had ordered the retreat for them. He shook his head. His mate was not stupid but sometimes his desire to take out the bad guys overtook his intelligence once in a while.
He sighed as he stood at the edge of his building and stared at Viper's approaching army of plants. The flying ones flew vanguard and didn't leave the main body, protecting them. He shook his head at the sight.
"He's gave them rudimentary intelligence," Razor growled unhappily.
Feral turned and noted all his squadron leaders that still lived and the SWAT Kats were standing near him as well as Sgt Fallon and Steele.
Many of the ones standing there gave Razor a look of incredulity except, surprisingly, Steele.
"I have to agree. No way would those plant things do what they are doing. They certainly didn't the last time we dealt with him," he said, scowling. "So what are we going to do to take them out before they wipe out the city? We don't seem to have anything that's effective."
"Can your kind do something, love?" T-Bone asked, hating to do so. He didn't like the idea of his mate getting into the middle of that but he was out of other options except for "...what about freezing them again?"
Razor nixed that instantly. "I very much doubt poisons, cold, or heat is going to work. Viper has managed to cover all those bases this time."
"Except for us," Feral finally said, thoughtfully. "We're an unknown to him so I'm guessing he thinks beefing up his plants will handle us too but I bet he isn't so certain. Unfortunately, neither am I but I don't see any other way to handle this but to try."
"I don't like it!" T-Bone growled.
"Neither do I," Feral said, his eyes still on the enemy heading their way. "However, I don't plan on being as obvious as we were taking out Dark Kat. We need to be more circumspect...like snipers. Get me all our Sabrens asap, Steele," he ordered.
"Yes, sir," Steele said briskly, bringing up his radio and initiating the instant recall he'd set up for the Sabrens under their command.
As they waited tensely, the Sabrens were notified and within ten minutes a squad of some twenty officers were running to stand behind the Commander.
Feral turned away from the depressing scene on the ground and walked up to his fellow Sabrens. He gestured for them to circle him and get close. For the next five minutes he laid out a dangerous and desperate plan. When he finished, the officers dispersed and ran back inside headquarters.
"What are you planning?" T-Bone asked, jumping in before Steele could ask the same thing.
Feral sighed. His mate wasn't going to like this but he wouldn't object completely because he didn't plan on being visible to direct attack.
Everyone of my kind including me, will take individual positions throughout the area in the path of Viper's army. We will change position after every hit and run for the first part of this plan. If we succeed in taking out some of our targets then we will regroup further down the street and fire all at once and wipe them out," he explained.
Addressing the SWAT Kats, Steele and his assistant next, he said, "You two will transport me to the Megakat Broadcasting Building roof. Steele, you and Fallon will be responsible for letting us know where Viper's army is at any given time and relay that to my Sabren Squad, especially inform us if our hits are having any effect because we won't be able to hold position long enough to know. Use frequency 0034. Clear all other traffic from that frequency," he told his second.
"Yes sir! That sounds like it might work. So here's hoping your energy bursts do the job. Good luck sir!" Steele said as he separated himself from the Commander with Fallon in tow. The Sergeant was already calling for a strong pair of binoculars from the hangar crew. Only moments later, a crew member ran a pair out to him and another for the Lt. Commander. Meanwhile, Steele called the communications center and got the frequency Feral wanted, cleared.
Next, Feral turned to his squadron commanders. "The rest of you will keep those plants from getting inside Enforcer Headquarters then if we're successful, you'll be called out to clean up."
He received multiple responses of acknowledgment then the squad leaders took off at a run to follow his orders.
"Well, let's get going!" Feral said, heading to the Turbokat, his mate and his partner following him in grim silence.
They were airborne in moments. Razor warned T-Bone to go high so they wouldn't be seen by Viper until they were ready. Dropping Feral off on the Megakat Broadcasting Tower, they lifted off.
Razor wanted to try his new weapons on the rear of the army and Feral had given permission because he felt that would help distract Viper from the frontal sneak attacks his squad was going to try.
Once he'd received notifications from his squad that they were in position, including the Turbokat, Feral gave the order to attack.
Suddenly the air was filled with blasts of energy coming from multiple locations and Razor fired a strange blue ray at the largest cluster of plants. The energy blasts and Razor's new weapons instantly made a huge hole in Viper's army.
Viper was hissing furiously as he watched from a safe hiding area as his plants were blasted to crispy bits. He sent out the order for his plants to rush forward at a faster rate using a special radio frequency to direct them.
As Razor prepared another volley from a different weapon he caught the odd frequency on his comm board. His eyes narrowing, he searched for the signal but couldn't because it had been too short but he didn't miss the fact that when the signal occurred the army below them suddenly began to move much faster and spread out.
Realizing what it meant, he quickly contacted Feral.
"Commander!"
"What Razor?"
"I just picked up a radio signal I'm 99% certain was from Viper as his army began to move faster just after that signal occurred. I couldn't locate where the signal came from...it was too short. I can, however, send the frequency to your comm center and I recommend they scramble it. That should make Viper's army easier to take out once they lose contact with him!"
"Excellent idea! I'll contact them and give that order. Give me a moment!" Feral relayed back. After a few minutes, he returned to signal Razor.
"Yeah?"
"Done, transmit it! Also prepare for a concentrated assault...me the front...you the rear in five minutes!"
"Roger!" Razor acknowledged. "T-Bone get us in position for a final strike while I send this frequency to enforcer comm center."
"Roger!" His partner said turning the Turbokat back around and lining it up at the rear of Viper's army.
Below them the plant's forward motion stalled and they began to falter and hesitate...leaderless. At that moment combined energy bursts poured down on them from the front while Razor fired a specialized high voltage bomb at their rear flanks.
The combination of the three prong attack was the total destruction of Viper's Army except for a few flying plantimals that the SWAT Kats eliminated rather handily with Razor's blue beam weapon.
Any still moving plants were swiftly taken out by the hidden Sabren's. Feral sent to Steele the order to have the squad leaders go out and do clean up and to flush out Viper. He then ordered his Sabren squad to join him in hunting Viper themselves. The Turbokat had been monitoring his frequency and now came to pick him up and drop him near where they suspected Viper might be.
Furious and afraid, the mutant Kat hurried away from the scene of his worst defeat. Viper had hesitated to use the sewer system at first as he knew they were aware this was his main escape route. But after he'd weaved through multiple alley ways and empty buildings for about a mile away from the battle scene, then he went underground only to run into Feral and three other Sabrens. Their bodies glowed so brightly they lit the dark tunnels up like miniature suns allowing them to see the lizard easily. Here he made a critical error...he panicked. Turning to flee in the opposite direction, he was hit by multiple bursts of energy making this his last mistake on this world.
Feral walked up to the body and stared down at it dispassionately. All he felt was relief at the end of a long time threat. That left only the Pastmaster and Feral really couldn't worry about that creature since no one knew if or when he might return. Sighing, he pulled out his radio and sent out the word that Viper was no more and calling for back up to his location to collect the body.