After that terrifying episode with the Pastmaster, they were hit again and again with a string of omega attacks that pushed the foursomes nerves to the breaking point.
Jake was past the point of being seriously concerned about them all. His stomach was already giving him signals of an impending ulcer as his already high stress levels went through the roof. He was still at a loss as to how to deal with it though so was distracted enough one day when he was working with Professor Hackle on a joint project that the elderly inventor noticed it.
"Razor, what troubles you, lad?"
"Huh?" The cinnamon tom jerked aware again and looked down at the Professor standing below him waiting to hand up another tool. "Oh, uh nothing really, Professor."
"Oh really. Seems that nothing has been distracting you quite a bit lately and since what we're developing here is cutting edge tech, your inattentiveness could have devastating consequences. So, you want to tell me again its nothing?" The Professor asked, arching a concerned eyebrow at the young Kat.
Razor paused and closed his eyes. Hackle was right, he could ill afford to make a mistake on such an important project. He sighed and climbed down from his perch. When he reached the floor he glanced up at the new style chopper they were building.
Hackle had approached him after another tussle with the Metallikats about designing and building some new types of vehicles for the enforcers. The two new vehicles they were working on were designed to give the military an edge in their fight against the omegas and to stop the high death toll of enforcers. These new vehicles would be made of a new form of metal that was laced with Agracite and would have AI memory cores.
The Professor had grown concerned, over time, about the high losses the enforcers were suffering due to Mayor Manx's constant short budgeting of the enforcer's coffers. Lack of more advanced training, equipment and weapons, left the military force ill equipped to deal with criminals who kept designing or stealing newer and newer tech against them.
Pumadyne took far too long to develop what was needed and they charged far too much for Feral's budget to handle. And, if you added in the constant theft of their newest inventions, the enforcers were constantly left holding an empty bag.
Though he was loathe to make things designed for fighting, Hackle realized developing a new ground tank of some kind and aircraft would be saving lives more than taking them in some senseless conflict. It still was a little painful for him to accept this truth since he truly was a Kat of peace but he just couldn't stand by any longer and watch so many brave Kats lose their lives to protect the city he loved.
So he put his robot plans on hold and asked Razor to give him a more in-depth idea of what would be of more use to the enforcers in their fight against the omegas and to assist him in building them. He suggested they make at least five of each vehicle since it would be too expensive to try and mass produce them due to their expensive high tech design and AIs. Hackle was footing the bill for this so it meant they had to be extremely durable and survive the regular encounters with the omegas. Feral would have to man them with only his best officers to ensure maximum benefit and low loss rate.
Razor also suggested a newer weapon that was light weight and had more options than the lasers the enforcers presently used.
After a few months of tossing around ideas, they finally came up with three things that would push the enforcers ahead without breaking their meager budget for maintaining them and maybe help them win the battle against the high powered criminals at last.
When Chance had learned of the Professor's idea, he was ecstatic. Before he'd mated Feral, he would have been pissed his partner wanted to help the enforcers push past even their own tech, but now that his mate was involved, he was all for making sure Uly was given all the protection that they could muster so with that in mind, he willingly shouldered the burden of working the garage alone so that Jake could continue to work uninterrupted.
So now, here Razor was working on building the new chopper and new tank-like vehicle for the enforcers. The design stage had not taken them very long since they both had lots of experience behind them, so it had taken only two months to come up with two workable designs. The weapon would be made later after the two vehicles were completed.
Another month and Razor had the framework of the chopper nearly done and would soon be doing the delicate electronic work within it. Professor Hackle had two robots aiding them in their work, moving the project more rapidly forward but his personal problems had begun to rear their head more and more frequently which brought him to the present and the Professor's obvious concern.
"I'm sorry, Professor. You're right. Certain personal problems have been clogging up my mind lately and distracting me far too much but I'm at a loss as to how to deal with them." He admitted, frustration lacing his voice.
"Here, let's take a break and have lunch. Perhaps, if you explain a little of what's going on I might have a suggestion or two for you." Hackle said gently as he turned to hobble out of the lab and head for his living quarters.
Razor frowned unhappily but followed the elderly Kat out of the room.
Some twenty minutes later, they were sitting down at the Professor's small kitchen table and enjoying sandwiches and milk. They ate in companionable silence until nearly done with their meal before Hackle gently prodded the young Kat for information.
"So, tell me what has you so bound up in knots, my boy."
Razor sighed then popped his last bite of sandwich in his mouth then downing his milk before trying to answer that difficult question.
"That's really difficult to answer Professor without giving away my identity."
"Not if you simply state the problem without embellishing it much. It's obvious to these old eyes that you're just eaten up by this and you need to talk to someone and you both trust me, correct?" Hackle said gently.
Razor didn't see how he could but sighed and nodded. "Of course we do. Alright, I'll try. Well, its that very problem...keeping our identities secret...that's causing me such pain." He said bluntly.
"T-Bone and I fell for two people whose lives are in as much constant danger as ourselves. In T-Bone's case, his lover knows who he is so his difficulty isn't keeping his secret from them but keeping it from everyone else so he must pretend he isn't close to this person which, since the person is always in trouble, causes him constant anxious moments." Razor sighed then went on.
"As for me, I'm in even in worst straits as my lover has no clue who I really am but I'm in the same boat as T-Bone but times two. I have to hide how much I care for this person while protecting them so that they don't discover who I really am. It's really ripping me up. On more than one occasion our loved ones have come close to being killed. For T-Bone this last time caused him to go totally homicidal against the perp that threatened his lover. That scared me. I didn't know he was capable of such violent behavior and neither did the perp." Razor said, shivering as he remembered the Pastmaster incident.
"I haven't allowed myself to become overly vengeful but my relationship is fairly new and T-Bone's is one of a bonded mate. This situation is beginning to give me an ulcer and makes us both unhappy and tense all the time. I just know its only a matter of time before one of us gets seriously injured or killed from being distracted by our efforts to protect our beloveds from themselves." Razor finally finished, unable to look into the Professor's face so stared down at his paws resting on the table in front of him.
Professor Hackle sighed mentally as he eyed the troubled young tom. Well, Razor certainly hadn't been overestimating his and T-Bone's problem. This was very serious indeed. He didn't begrudge them forming intimate ties, Kats in their situation...extreme danger and high stress...needed someone to help them de-stress. Unfortunately, those very same people could also be the death of them. A two-edged sword and one many heroes faced in their chosen career.
However, that didn't mean there wasn't some way to have it all.
"Razor, you and T-Bone have chosen this life and I'm assuming your lovers have also made the choice to be who they are. You two must learn to accept what you cannot change and take all the good your relationships gain you and cherish it. Life is not forever...death does come to all. This does not mean you should push the one's you love away in some misguided idea of trying to protect them. They will resent it. Cease the day! That should be your philosophy in a life filled with danger and adventure. Let your relationships be all they can be." He said sagely.
Razor looked at him with a disgruntled expression. "That's easy to say, Professor but damned hard to actually put into practice." He growled.
"I know my boy, that's why I also suggest you two seek therapy."
"What?"
"Don't look so stunned. It's obvious to me you are unable to deal with this and need guidance to help you learn to change your way of thinking so you aren't so unhappy or stressed. A therapist can do this for you." Hackle said coaxingly.
"How the heck are we going to do that? Our secret identities make it impossible for us to be totally honest with a therapist." Razor snorted.
"You must trust someone, sometime, my young friend. I know your secret is how you keep you and those close to you safe but eventually you do need others in your life. You must find someone you truly trust or you will make a fatal mistake and die and our world will be lost without you." Hackle said gravely.
Razor blinked in surprise at that bit of wisdom. They had taken great care to hide who they were for those exact reasons. Feral had known but that didn't count since he had biology to give him the answer. Were there others they could trust? If he thought about it a bit, he realized there were Kats they could trust their lives with the secret: the Professor, Dr. Sinian, Dr. Konway, Callie...and maybe a couple of family members.
He blew out a puff of air as he realized the Professor was right. They were surrounded by Kats that would keep their secret to the grave if necessary. Perhaps, with some intense searching, he could find a therapist they could trust. They did need the help and soon.
Razor looked up at the patiently waiting Professor. "I guess you're right. I'll see if I can find a therapist we can trust enough to help us untangle our feelings on this before it can get worse." He promised, giving Hackle a wane smile.
"Good for you. Now, let's return to work." Hackle said warmly, pleased he had been able to help just a little.