When Genus left Enforcer Headquarters, he made for the front entrance after leaving the elevator. Many curious looks followed him as he pushed on the heavy door and stepped outside. He pulled out his comm unit and used it to call a taxi. It took more than fifteen minutes for it to arrive which made him a little uncomfortable as he did not want to draw undo attention.
He was relieved when the taxi finally arrived, climbing inside quickly and giving the cabbie the address he wanted. One quick ride later and he was climbing out again a block from the Megakat Salvage Yard. Paying the cab driver, he waited until it had departed before walking toward his true destination that he hadn't wanted the cab driver to know.
It was fairly quiet in the yard as he passed through the open gate. Walking up to the garage, he noted the closed sign was up on the business door. Finding it locked, he sighed and pressed the door bell then waited.
Down in the hangar, Jake jerked his head up from his work bench where he was tinkering with his glovatrix when he heard the bell announcing a visitor. Frowning, he put his weapon down and went up the ladder to the garage to investigate. Going through the waiting area to the door, he peered out and saw Genus.
Smiling broadly, he quickly shut the alarm off then unlocked the door. "Hi, that was quick! Come in!" Jake welcomed him warmly.
Giving his lover a quick hug when the wolf stepped in, he paused to lock the door and reset the alarm then turning, he gestured for Genus to follow him as he walked toward the back of the garage.
Genus followed Jake to a brightly lit hole in the floor. Jake turned to face him then began climbing down into the hole. Peering in the hole after him, Genus saw the ladder attached to the cement wall and Jake just jumping down to a cement landing. Without hesitation, Genus followed suit, jumping down from the last rung to the same spot as the smaller tom then paused to look around the SWAT Kats secret hanger.
"Nice set up you got here, handy too," Genus said in appreciation, amused that no one had thought that the salvage yard harbored such a unique hiding place for a pair of vigilantes, especially one that was an inventor, engineer, and weapon's specialist.
"Thanks! It was just dumb luck that we found this Megawar II hidden base. It was a godsend for us...but then it probably was a god that sent us here in the first place," Jake said with a snort of amusement.
"Could be!" Genus laughed.
"This is my work bench and here's the scanner I need tweaked," Jake said, grabbing a large device from the work bench.
The wolf whistled at the sight of so many interesting inventions in various stages of production as well as diagrams for others spread across the bench's surface. But as much as he wanted to ask about them, he knew they had more important work today.
He focused his attention on the scanner Jake was holding out. Taking it into his paw, he studied it for some minutes. It was really sophisticated, impressing Genus even more. To his relief, only minor adjustments needed done to make it do what they wanted. Using some of the tools on the bench, he opened the scanner and began to fiddle around, showing Jake what he was doing to enhance his present design.
Chance came from out of the munitions room carrying several missiles under each arm. He saw Genus and called out a greeting. "Yo, Genus, glad to see you got here early. Ready to rock and roll with us or are you not allowed?" He asked as he continued on his way to the jet to load the arms bay.
Without looking up from what he was doing, Genus shouted back, "as long as I don't participate directly except for defending myself, I can go along. That's if you want me under those restricted circumstances?"
"I'll take you under any circumstances," Jake smirked, leering at him.
Genus snorted, finishing his task and handing the scanner back to Jake. "You have sex on the brain!"
"With you around, its hard not too!" Jake said coyly then turned to head to the jet himself with Genus trailing after him.
Chance appeared again and answered Genus' earlier question. "Hey, I'll take you even under those circumstances. This is only a clean up detail after all but, mind you, those creeplings are nasty things with sharp teeth and claws."
"Thanks for the warning. You need any help?" Genus asked, watching as the tabby headed back to the arms room again.
"Sure! Thanks! Just getting a few things, we might need to take care of those creeplings and DK's machines. What did you find out about getting those scorpions out of the mine and into space?" Chance asked, reaching the arms room and loading up with missiles again.
"You're in luck. The Captain has given permission for us to use one of our special capture boxes. It should hold the little buggers long enough to transport them into space where the Wotan's phasers should make short work of them," Genus said, pleased to give them good news.
"That's great! I was worried how we we're going to handle some 100 scorpions in the first place. Well, you can help me finish the restocking of our weapons and we should be able to leave here soon," Chance said, in a happier mood than when the morning started. "Just get four missiles from that stack there." He pointed to a pile of different style missiles across from him.
"My pleasure."
Loaded down, the two headed back to the jet and carefully loaded the arms bay. Chance frowned a moment in thought then seemed satisfied as he signaled the doors to close. "That should do it," he said then shouted, "Jake, how's it coming with the scanner?"
Jake's head popped out of the cockpit, a pleased look on his face. He leaped to the floor before answering his partner. "We're set to go!"
"Radical. Then let's get changed and head out. Wait here Genus, we'll be right back," Chance told the wolf then the pair headed toward their lockers.
In less than fifteen minutes, the group was in the air and heading toward the warehouse district. Over the next couple of hours, they did a grid scan of the entire district with negative results.
"Okay, that's a wash but not surprising. I really didn't expect to find it this close to the city anyway," Razor said. "Set off for the Spine Ridge Mountains, T-Bone. We'll start at that end and work our way north."
"Roger!"
It was a twenty minute flight but soon they were cruising over the impressive mountain range at the edge of the desert. The mountain range at the north end of Megakat City was huge and went on for miles. It was well past midday when they finally hit pay dirt.
"T-Bone!" Razor shouted as a large blip showed up on his scanner. "Go back over that ridge with the volcano spout at its center."
"Got something?" His partner asked as he turned the jet and sent it back over the area where Razor had gotten the signal.
"Yeah, I think this may be it. But it doesn't look like there anywhere to land here," Razor scowled, searching for some place the jet could set down.
Genus, seated beside, Jake, called out, "wait, I see a small plateau just to the right of our flight pattern."
T-Bone piloted the jet back again, staring out his cockpit window to find what Genus had seen. "Okay, I see it. Should be big enough for us to set down on." He flew the jet as close as he could then went to VTOL and carefully maneuvered it down toward the ledge. After many tense minutes, he managed to set it down in the center with just a couple of feet to spare on all sides. "Geez! That's tight. Is this ledge strong enough, buddy?" He asked.
Razor checked some readings for a few minutes then gave the okay, "yeah, we're good. It's a lot bigger and deeper than it appears so it won't shear off the mountain from the jet's weight," he reassured his partner and prepared to leave the jet.
They armed themselves thoroughly before off loading then heading toward where the signal suggested a large amount of electronic and electrical usage was occurring. It took them a good hour of scrabbling around rocky outcroppings and dangerously slippery shale before finally locating a well-hidden cave entrance.
Stopping just inside the opening they waited until they had caught their breaths from the climb and listened hard for any sounds of living things in the cave. Razor used his personal scanner on his glovatrix.
"Bingo!" He crowed softly. "I detect a large number of warm bodies ahead."
"Can you tell how many?" T-Bone asked, uneasily, not really interested in a long-winded battle with dozens of creeplings and/or ninjas.
"Not really. My scanner doesn't give me that much precision. All I can say is there must be a over a hundred warm bodies of some kind in there," Razor said, shrugging.
T-Bone could only sigh. "Okay, then what's the plan?"
"I would have suggested just tossing a bomb in and being done with it but Feral doesn't want us to kill the ninjas, if there are any that were dumb enough to stay here, and we have to inventory what's inside to insure most, if not all, of Dark Kat's technology is here and not split up some where else," Razor reminded him.
"Crud! I hate complications. Well that just leaves sneaking in and seeing for ourselves what we've got to deal with," T-Bone suggested, unhappily.
"I'm afraid you're right, buddy. Let's go then!" Razor headed in first.
The three tried to make as little noise as they could and not use any form of light as they entered the cavern. At first, there seemed to be no one around but Razor's sensor array on his glovatrix indicated many warm bodies dead ahead so they pushed on.
They reached the main cavern without interference but here was where the action was and they had to stay hidden or be caught. Throughout the huge space were industriously working creeplings. What they were doing was hard to say, but it seemed like they were maintaining present equipment and possibly building whatever plans Dark Kat had left behind.
The three traded grim looks. Even without their figurehead to run things, anyone with the strength of will to force the creeplings to do their bidding could become the next Dark Kat easily with all this left behind to work with.
Razor could kick himself. If it hadn't been for the Wotan, this problem could have festered for a long time before someone stumbled on it and possibly taken Megakat City in one fell swoop. It made him sick to think about it. Well they knew it now and it was time to clean house.
He focused his attention on the area. Creeplings flew everywhere, appearing and disappearing from deeper within the cavern. Looking up, Razor could just make out a cluster of them roosting on a high ledge, sleeping until it was their turn to work, most likely. He returned his attention to the floor.
They stayed still for more than half an hour, never stirring least they attract the attention of the sharp eyed and sensitive hearing of the things. Feeling he'd gotten a good feel for what they were up against, Razor signaled to each of his companion's to retreat.
Moving at a painfully slow and careful way, they finally reached the mouth of the cavern to talk without being heard.
"I saw no ninjas. Did any of you?" Razor whispered.
T-Bone and Genus chose to shake their heads to indicate a negative.
"Crud, I wish we could just bomb the place..." Razor scowled.
"...But there might be a bomb strong enough to destroy this whole area and trying to shut down this hideout could accidentally set it off or, if buried, it could gradually deteriorate and set itself off years from now," Genus cautioned.
"Yeah, I know...I know," Razor growled, disgusted. "So we split up and take a section and begin picking off the creeplings as fast as we can. It's a good thing this place is full of perfect spots to hunker down in or those things would overwhelm us in a second. Let's get this done!" He decided, heading back inside.
The other two didn't object with the plan and followed close on his heels. When they reached where they'd been earlier, they split up...T-Bone to the right...Genus to the left...and Razor straight up the middle.
The next half hour was a nightmare. For every ten they killed there seemed to be twenty more. By the time the battle was over, the place was littered with dead creeplings, the smell of burning wires and a few exploded missiles, with rock dust and chunks of stone debris from the walls and ceiling of the cavern to add to the mayhem and mess.
Genus was bitten and scratched over his face and arms, his clothes tattered. T-Bone looked much the same except he had lost his helmet, mask and nearly an eye. He had a long scratch beside his left eye that oozed blood onto his ripped g-suit. They met together over the battle-strewn floor...the only one missing was...
"Razor!" T-Bone hollered, searching anxiously. Genus shouted and called as well but there was no response from any direction. "He's got to be hurt!" T-Bone muttered worriedly. "You look that way," he pointed to the left and I'll go this way," the tabby ordered Genus, running off to the right to search.
It took Genus more than fifteen desperate minutes to finally locate his lover. Razor lay bleeding from cuts everywhere, his mask, like his partner, had been yanked away but so was his helmet and head scarf. He lay as plain Jake Clawson in a torn g-suit.
Genus knelt down and quickly assessed Jake's injuries. The left arm was broken, it felt like a couple of ribs were too. His left leg was under him at a bad angle making the wolf think it too might be broken. He gently felt around the small tom's skull and detected a sizable knot and some blood came away on his fingers. This explained why Jake was unconscious.
"T-Bone!" He yelled. Raising his communicator to his lips, he called the Wotan. Jake needed immediate medical care and his ship was the best place for him to receive it.
A loud cry of dismay came from his left then T-Bone was beside, kneeling down, moaning in anguish at the terrible toll his partner and friend had taken.
"They must have dropped him from a nearly ceiling height and kept him from using his glovatrix as he fell," the big tom hissed, fury shaking his frame as he reached out a gentle paw to push Jake's hair from his face.
Genus just nodded but was distracted by a response to his call.
"What's the situation, Genus," came the gruff tones of his Captain.
"Jake has been seriously injured during our clean out of Dark Kat's lair, sir. Request emergency medivac to the Wotan. He's still needed to complete the projects they volunteered for and his injuries are extensive enough to keep him down the normal way for weeks. Also, permission to complete his task with T-Bone. There were only creeplings and they are all dead but there is the threat of bombs and other nasty devices those creatures were building and maintaining to be dealt with and T-Bone is not skilled in that area," Genus reported.
The comm was silent for several minutes then the Captain spoke, "permission granted. Kam is aboard, I'll send him to pick up Clawson as well as bring you the capture cage you need for the second half of the tasks. Since, even with our advanced healing methods, Mr. Clawson will need to remain here for a while, you may as well accompany T-Bone in completing the tasks they had for today."
"Thank you, sir. I'll keep you apprised of our progress," Genus said, relieved.
"You do that," Captain Ing said and the comm went silent.
"Thank you, Genus. I don't know what I'd do without Jake," T-Bone said.
"We can't lose our most brilliant mind before he's had a chance to see the universe can we?" Genus joked lightly to try and break the tense mood. "Besides, I'm rather attached to my lover and don't want to lose him."
T-Bone gave him a wane smile. He may love Jake as a brother, but he was beginning to see that Genus considered Jake his mate now, making his decision about their future as a team for him. He sighed, mentally, 'looks like we're going into space, buddy. I won't stand in the way of your happiness and without you, I'd be lost.'
Silence fell over the pair as they waited for help to arrive.