To the relief of everyone involved, the open omega cases were being solved and or closed fairly rapidly. The first and most dangerous problem was Mad Kat's box. Mr. Katzmer had no further information on the box than what he'd imparted during the battle with Mad Kat and though he was upset by the need to dispose of it, he was also relieved to be no longer responsible for the dangerous artifact.
However, he did complain that he would lose income from giving it up to the city. The museum archivist had already suggested to the deputy mayor, that it would be in everyone's best interest if the Mayor's office paid the antique dealer a fair sum for the box which should have been returned to the dealer after the case had been closed but hadn't due to the box's deadly nature.
Callie agreed this was reasonable and authorized payment from city funds to reimburse Mr. Katzmer...doing a legal bill of sale...before the box was formally handed over to the SWAT Kats for proper and permanent disposal, ending its threat and thereby sidestepping any problems with litigation that might occur later.
With the legalities dealt with, Feral only needed to see that the box be disposed of. So today he stood grimly beside the detail that was guarding Mad Kat's Jack-In-The-Box, which was in a lead lined boxed for safer handling, as he waited for the SWAT Kats to arrive to take care of it.
Though he had thought his enforcers should be the ones to dump it, he had been convinced by his mate and Callie that having the SWAT Kats handle the disposal would be more cost effective, saving him precious flying hours and fuel which he was forced to agree was a sound reason, his budget still too tight for an expensive trip out over the ocean.
His ruminating was cut short at the sound of a familiar jet approaching. In seconds, the sleek Turbokat was hovering close then landing on the flight line. As soon as it had stopped completely, Feral and his detail walked toward the cargo hold entry door that was beginning to open at their approach.
Razor greeted him politely, accepting the box with grave care into his own paws.
"You know where you're going to take this?" Feral asked, still not happy about letting them be responsible for the disposal.
As if reading his mind, Razor answered in a brisk and professional tone, showing the tom they were treating this with all the seriousness it deserved. "Don't worry, Commander. I researched where the deepest part of the ocean was and came up with the Devil's Trench. It's estimated to be some 50,000 feet at its deepest point. In just under an hour, Mad Kat's box will be out of sight and out of mind permanently. We'll call your tower to confirm the job's done," he reassured Feral as he finished his work to his satisfaction then secured the box to the deck for the trip.
Feral sighed in relief. Watching Razor place the box into another heavier, metal one, close and lock it then begin to add other weights to the box to insure it would sink deep when it was dropped into the ocean had reassured him the SWAT Kats were just as dead serious about disposing of the box properly and well as he was. This made him feel better about letting them handle this important task.
"Thank you! That would be appreciated and would allow me to finally close the case file," he told them sincerely.
"It's about time we closed this loophole, Commander! Call you in a bit!" Razor said giving him a tight smile before waving farewell as he closed the cargo hold door.
Feral and his team backed away then stood and watched as the Turbokat VTOL'ed smoothly into the air until it was high above the building then its engines glowed brightly as it shot off toward the ocean at a high rate of speed, leaving a sonic boom behind in its wake. Feral winced, flattening his ears for a second at the sound then turned to dismiss his team before heading back to his office with a calmer mind.
When T-Bone engaged all engines, Razor grit his teeth as the G's rose to barely tolerable levels but said nothing as he too wanted this job done quickly. It took over forty-five minutes to arrive at their destination but soon they were slowing down then going to VTOL, much to Razor's relief. Unstrapping from his seat, he hustled down the ladder into the cargo hold. Detaching the box from the deck, he carried it over to the side cargo door.
He paused to secure himself to a ring next to the door with a rope before hitting the release. He was immediately buffeted by strong winds coming off the ocean making it hard to keep his feet. Gritting his teeth, he held the box tightly and leaned out as far as he dared before releasing it to plummet into the ocean.
He'd taken the foresight to put a beacon on the box so he could track it and insure it had indeed gone down into the trench. Pulling himself back in, he hit the release again to shut the door then went back up to his seat and strapped in. He turned on his sonar then inputted the frequency of the beacon. Moments later he was receiving the signal loud and clear.
"Got a clear signal, T-Bone. Now all we gotta do is wait a bit and see how far it sinks. Get some height to keep from being knocked around by these high winds," he advised his partner.
"Roger!" T-Bone acknowledged, taking the jet to a higher elevation. "Shouldn't take too long for it to sink to the bottom," he mused.
"Uh huh...," Razor muttered distractedly as he watched his screen closely. Twenty minutes later, "Yes! It halted at over 37,000 feet. Mission accomplished!" He cheered.
"Wow! That's deep and no way is it ever coming back up. Better contact the Commander while I take us home," T-Bone said with great pleasure and relief.
"Roger! Best message I've ever sent!"
Feral received confirmation an hour after the SWAT Kats had left his flight line. He sighed with relief, opened the file he had waiting and, with a flourish, annotated the box's location, depth, date of disposal and his signature then tossed it in his out basket for filing.
"One down," he murmured happily then reached for his phone and made a call.
City Hall...mid morning...
Callie was smiling widely as she put down her phone. Commander Feral had just informed her that Mad Kat's box was now at the bottom of the ocean. Now that was the best news of her day and she hurried to tell Albert who thanked her for the update. But just an hour later, she received news of another kind that left her with mixed feelings.
She was going through a pile of reports when Lt. Kam walked briskly into her office.
"Good morning, Ms. Briggs."
"Oh, good morning, Lieutenant. What brings you here?"
"I have the results of your tests and the Captain thought it would be best if I presented them to you in person," Kam said politely.
Callie felt her heart beat faster...she dreaded the news but straightened her shoulders and gave Kam her full attention. "I'm listening."
Kam could tell she was nervous but keeping it hidden very well. Not wanting to prolong the suspense, he quickly relayed his message. "The results of your genetic tests show you have a very high magical potential. The mages feel you should have no problem wielding magic once your dormant genes have been activated and Dr. Tennar added that your body should have no difficulties or serious side effects from accepting the procedure that will accomplish this. Now it is up to you on whether you are willing to do this at all."
"Oh, well that is good news, I guess," Callie said less than enthusiastically. "I'm probably going to do it but would like to discuss it one last time with someone close to me first. I'll give you an answer by tomorrow, will that be alright?" Callie asked.
"Of course, Ms. Briggs. Take all the time you need," Kam reassured her.
Callie eyed Kam a moment then asked, carefully, "what if I decide not to do this?"
Kam gave her a sympathetic look. Fortunately, he and Captain Ing had discussed this possibility and had an answer ready for her. "I understand how frightening this could be for you. It is a major change to your body and will allow you to do something few on your world is capable of, so I'd be reluctant too. In answer to your question, it's your choice. If you choose not to be altered then our mages will attempt to deal with the Pastmaster themselves," he said honestly.
"I hear a but in that statement, Lt. Kam. They are much more experienced than I...why is it important that I be the one to do this? I didn't think of it before, but I'm told we do have a small handful of magic users that are more qualified than I...why couldn't one of them simply be tested and trained to do this?"
"Well to answer your first question, Ms. Briggs, though not able to use magic myself, I have been around it all my life. What I've been taught is magic unlike physics, functions at different frequencies indigenous to each world it appears. Because of this, a magic user from one world may not have as much power or strength than one that was indigenous to that world. Or, they are far more powerful and thus unable to wield the energy correctly and do more harm than good. This is why only a magician indigenous to the world in question will have a better chance in dealing with the problem they are having than an outsider," Kam explained patiently.
"And to answer your second question, we did do a work up on the other magic users, which number only ten, and found none to have much more than simple, very low powered magical energy. This means, none of them possess the power to take out the Pastmaster and our mages nor our medical skills can boost their abilities further than then they were born with. I'm afraid magic is truly waning on your world from simple lack of use. You'd be the first since Queen Callista's time to be as powerful as she was," he told her earnestly.
Callie sighed, "when you explain it that way, it makes perfect sense but doesn't make me happy that this has landed in my lap."
Kam gave her a small smile of understanding. "I don't blame you there. I wouldn't like having my genes altered either but you would have the unique opportunity to be a defender for your world just like your SWAT Kats are at present only against magical enemies and from what I've seen of you, since my arrival on your world, you impress me as a strong and capable she-kat who could handle this very well if you choose to do it. I'll take my leave now and allow you to think about this and await your answer. You know how to contact me."
"Yes, I do and thank you for the explanation and your understanding."
"You're very welcome, Ms. Briggs." Turning away, he made a polite escape from her office.
"Crud! Looks like I really don't have a choice here but I still want to talk to Abi about it first," she muttered to herself after he was gone.