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Heart of Iron

Chapter 12: Happenstance

What is happenstance, but twisted fate...

-Anonymous

Six sighed in boredom as he disassembled and oiled his firearms in the hidden and underground hanger of his somewhat friends and term-allies, the SwatKats. Another week had passed since anything worth mentioning had happened. He had not seen Callie or Felina in quite some time, and he was surprised to notice that he missed their presence. Both felines had a tendency to make his existence...interesting. Even his little squirrel....friend's absence was somewhat unappreciated. Yet, it was not as if he could take a stroll through the city streets, giant armored aliens had a tendency to draw attention to themselves, even in this strange planet of kats and their odd villains. So far he had encountered two of the cities four main terrorists. And he could see how the metropolis was in such dire straits.

Dark Kat was by far the more dangerous of the two in Six's opinion. The tall and bulky purple kat had orchestrated a serious attack on the city's R&D facility and escaped with some high level tech if what he had been told by Jake and Chance was true. Combine that with his sinister plans for the city, access to his new reptilian army, wanton desire for destruction and domination, and he posed a very real danger to the city.

Dr. Viper was low on his priority list. The scalie feline had only been encountered once and judging by how it went, he was not as major a threat as his larger counterpart. Sure he wanted to turn the city into some primordial cesspool, but his attackers have largely been futile, or at least that's what they told him.

The spartan gently placed his battered MA37 on the workbench beside his M6G magnum, Combat knife, and Emile's kukri, all had been cleaned and oiled as best as he could with what he had. His equipment was starting to show its wear and tear, and soon if nothing was done, his weapons would break down. Six was smart enough to make bullets out of what the SwatKats had on hand, but he had no experience as a gunsmith or mechanic, and so he could not make replacement parts himself. It was something he would have to see Jake about soon. Hopefully he could create parts that Six could use to maintain his gear. It would be a shame if he had to abandon the last vestments of his UNSC gear. Beside his armor, his weapons were the only things he had left of his past....as were the combat records stored in his HUD.

Six looked to his left where his armor sat, set up on a makeshift stand of Chance's design. It was fairly crude, made from thick steel pipes and crossbeams, but appearances weren't everything, it was strong enough to hold his suit when he was not wearing it and that was what was important. Today the spartan decided to leave it off and was instead wearing a spare outfit that Chance had donated to him. The jeans and shirt were a little tight in some places even with the tawny feline's muscular bulk, the boots were stiff, and the rear was a bit drafty, but it was also nice to get out of the armor...once in a while. Either way he still had his undersuit which gave him some ballistic and even mild energy weapon protection.

With that done as best as he could, Six left his stuff, (bar his combat knife and magnum), and climbed up the ladder into the main shop where Jake and Chance were relaxing. The spartan poked his head into the small room adjacent to the main office and saw that Chance was lounging on the couch, watching his favorite show, David Litterbin, and Jake was fiddling with some small rectangular device, probably a part of his strange weapon, the Glovatrix. Six had inquired about it, and was curious to try his hand in making one of his own. If he went off of Jake's schematics, he could make quite a formidable weapon.

Seeing that they were busy, the spartan decided that he would go for a little recon, it would be important to get formation regarding the enemy's activities. Solid Intel was the difference between life and death on the field.

With that thought he left a note on the table in the living area and grabbed Chance's trench coat and hat, covering himself up in it and stepping outside. The day was winding down and the sun's dim orangey light was slowly disappearing over the mountains, a perfect time to get closer to the city and do a little snooping around. He wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible this time, no doubt the enforcers would be on the lookout for a seven foot armored individual, and so he simply planned on exploring the city's outskirts, away from the denser population centers. Perhaps he could uncover some information along the way pertaining to the inevitable plans of Dark Kat or Dr. Viper, or even of the other criminals of the city's powerful underworld.

Six stiffened the collar of the black coat and tipped the rim of the hat downwards, concealing his features. The spartan decided to borrow one of Jake's bikes; an average blue and red civilian model parked out back, and keyed the ignition. The gentle rumbling of the engines filled the air and he throttled the handle, shooting down the road and towards the city.

"Did you hear that?" Jake asked his friend as his triangular ear twitched. "Sounded like one of my bikes." He shifted his light brown short furred muzzle to the window and peered out, eyes narrowed.

"Yeah I did." Chance replied curiously, getting up from the couch and following Jake to peer outside.

"It was one of my bikes!" Jake exclaimed as he noticed one of his two regular motorcycles missing from their place by the back of the garage.

Both kats immediately looked for Six and after a quick search, found a note scribbled on a piece of paper sitting on the small counter in the kitchen.

Left to recon the city, going to look for clues for Dark Kats next plan, borrowed Chance's trench coat and hat, hope he doesn't mind. Will be back before tomorrow morning...most likely. Take care of my equipment.

-Noble Six

"He took my stuff!" Chance muttered as he read the note. "I suppose he needed it."

"He better not get in to any trouble." Jake added before sighing and shaking his muzzle. "But what am I saying, of course he will."

Six slowed the bike as he neared the city's limits, crossing the bridge that separated it from the countryside. It was strange to him, driving on the streets; it was something he had never done before, at least not civilly. Usually it had been at high speeds with covenant forces in pursuit, blasting the pavement around him with plasma and hate. This was a unique experience for Six, one he found to be surprisingly pleasant. The cooling evening air wiped around his head gently and the smells of the countryside were pleasant, harking the spartan's memories back to his jumbled past, before his home was glassed.

Many of the local felines traveled in cars or walked the streets, and besides a few glances he remained mostly unobserved. From his seat on the bike, it was almost impossible to discern what he was hiding, his hands were covered by his undersuit's gloves and the rest of his body was similarly concealed. Thanks to that he could remain hidden amongst the populace and hopefully listen in on any relevant conversations. This was a skill he had learned a long time ago and had honed to perfection.

When he had been fighting insurrectionist cells in the outer rim of the colonies, he had often infiltrated communities in disguise and gathered information on their locations, strengths, and weaknesses. But even then it had been difficult to stay unnoticed, and since the population here was dominated completely by a race of anthropomorphic felines, it would be a slight challenge to blend in, but nothing he could not handle. All he had to do was keep a safe distance and keep under the radar of any officials of news teams.

Six maneuvered the bike to the side of the road in one of the grittier areas of the city and cut off the ignition. The spartan stepped away from the bike and took a look around. The streets here were dirty and sparsely occupied, the smells were even more unpleasant and the inhabitants were clothed in raggedy outfits with mean and desperate looks marring their muzzles. In other words, this was the perfect place to look for information. It was in the dark and unmonitored places of a city that one could find the pulse of the criminal underworld. If Dark Kat was planning something that information was sure to be found here, trickling down the vine. The dregs of society were not as stupid as most were led to believe, knowledge was power and if they wanted to survive in such a harsh environment, then knowledge is what they lived by.

He could feel eyes following him as he walked through the garbage strewn streets, gauging whether or not he would be a worthwhile or easy mark for some quick cash. The smarter streetwise thugs new to steer clear of the menacing aura he subtle exuded, but he wasn't looking for them, he was looking for a couple of rookies. They would be foolish enough to try and get something out of him, and he would get the information he needed.

Six spied a group of five young, scruffy looking kats, sitting on the steps of an old brick apartment building. They were brazenly holding a collection of pipes and other makeshift weapons, and the leader had a knife in his paws. They were watching him carefully and whispering amongst themselves.

Perfect...

The spartan took a left, heading down ally and away from the bright street lights.

The young toughs nodded to each other and got up from the steps, following after him. They had though to corner him in the alley but were surprised when they found their target of opportunity standing in the middle of the alley, arms folded and looking down at them from his shaded features.

"Tell me what you know of Dark Kat and you will leave this alley with your bones intact." He growled in a rough voice.

"I don't think you are the one to be issuing threats hear." The leader retorted sarcastically, rolling the blade in his paws as he looked smugly back at the spartan. "We have you at a disadvantage, five-to-one. I think you should be handing over any valuables."

The man scoffed. "I will give you one last chance to reconsider; I rather not have to waste my time on a couple of kids. But I will if I have to." He warned in a serious tone.

A few of the leader's cronies looked a little nervous, slowly taking in the size of the person they were trying to rob and the intimidating and casual air he had surrounding him. It was as if this was a minor inconvenience, one he rather have dealt with swiftly and be on his way.

"Uh Maurice, maybe we should do as he says." A kat in the back suggested fearfully.

The dark grey cat in front looked back at the other contemptuously. "Shut it Harry, he's just trying to play us. We can take h-". Maurice never finished as a large gloved hand wrapped around his throat and he was raised in the air by the unknown person. They had not even seen or heard him move. It was as if he had teleported into action.

"Now how about you tell me what it is you know about Dark Kat...and I don't break everyone in your body?" The man growled dangerously, keeping his hands tight on the feline's throat.

The kat tried to gulp and nodded his muzzle repeatedly and whimpered.

"Good, I thought I might persuade you to see reason." The man sounded slightly amused.

********

Six walked away from the alley with some useful information and having scared some kids onto the straight and narrow. He had a feeling that their days of petty crime were officially over.

Apparently, there was word on the street that Dark Kat was to receive a shipment of weapons from one of his suppliers. No doubt he planned to use them to fuel his army of reptilian warriors. Six didn't manage to get the location of the transaction, but he did know that it was to take place within the next two days. This was a big deal. If Dark Kat got his weapons, he would be able to equip his growing army and use them to do whatever it was that he had planned. He would have to consult with Jake and Chance; they would know the locations that Dark Kat would use.

With this new development of information, the spartan got back on the motorcycle and turned to leave the city. The sooner he got back to the scrapyard, the sooner he could prepare for the op.

After the short ride back, as he pulled up to the shop, he spotted a dusty brown feline in a mechanic's jumpsuit, standing by the door, paws folded in his arms and an unimpressed grimace on his muzzle. "You took my bike." Jake muttered, tail flicking in agitation.

"I found out that Dark Kat is planning on receiving a weapon's shipment." Six ignored the kat's claim and stepped of the bike.

Instantly, Jake's mood changed. "You did? When is it?" He asked, turning serious and standing up straighter.

"Two days from now, but I couldn't figure out where." Six replied as he walked up the steps to the shop, discarding the coat and hat. "I was hoping you and Chance would be able to figure it out since you know the purple bastard better than I do."

Jake nodded his tapered muzzle. "Sure, we'll get on it, try and figure out a location."

"Good, we have two days before this deal goes down. And if it does, this city is going to be in trouble." Six replied as he entered the shop and headed down to the hanger, which had become somewhat of his lair. The spartan seldom ventured out of it, today being the exception.

Jake watched him depart with a sigh, already knowing where the human was going. Six was a strange individual; he showed no enjoyment or interest in anything besides combat. The spartan was always so serious and when he was out of armor, Jake almost never saw him with a smile. And even then it was more like an amused grimace then a true grin. The only times that the kat had seen him react in any normalish way was when he interacted with Callie and Felina. Those where the only two who really got any emotion out of the spartan, and even then it was reserved and tense, as if he was unsure of himself. Jake supposed that it was due to the life he led, from the rare moments he talked of his old life, Jake could tell it was not one of happiness and fun.

The light brown colored kat entered the shop, stowing away his musing. Inside, he saw Chance, sitting at the small green table in the living room, chowing down on a sandwich. "Do you ever stop eating?" Jake demanded with a chuckle as Chance looked over, crumbs sprinkled on his tawny muzzle.

"Of course I do...I have to sleep." Chance retorted with a wide feline grin. "My mom always said if you wanna grow big, you gotta eat big." He said as he took a massive bite of his tubular sandwich, munching on it loudly.

"Well she was certainly right." Jake muttered as he took in the large size of his friend. The only two persons he knew to be bigger were Six and Dark Kat. Chance was always the bigger and tougher one of the two, and without him, Jake would never have been where he was now. "Yeah well put a hold on that sandwich, Six got some vital info. It looks like Dark Kat is trying to get more weapons for his scalie thugs."

Chance shook his muzzle. "Crud, if he can get his purple paws on more guns, he could do some serious damage with those goons of his."

"Which is exactly why we have to find out where he plans on having the deal go down...the deadline is two days, that's how long we have to find the place." Jake explained as he walked past Chance and headed down to the ladder to the hanger. We better get working."

Chance looked to his sandwich and sighed. "Until we meet again..." He whispered and took a huge bite, leaving the rest on the table and sliding down the ladder with his friend.

The duo turned from the ladder and walked into the center of the hanger. They soon spotted the spartan, in the middle of suiting back up into his armor. Six had everything back up except for the helmet, which he was just placing on his head when the duo walked in. His pale skin, dark blue eyes, and raven black hair were once more concealed behind the impenetrable and unforgiving black visor of his helm. He was again the intimidating alien warrior that had so efficiently and viscerally brutalized Dark Kat's minions not so long ago. It looked like he was back to his more serious self. It seemed that whenever he donned his armor, the fractionally less grave part of his persona was strangled by the oppressive obsidian suit of plate.

As they walked over to their side of the hanger, the spartan moved toward his weapons and began to look over them. It was something that the kats always saw him doing; it was as much a part of who he was as his armor.

And they doubted it would ever change.

**********

Callie groaned in boredom as she sat in her office, reviewing changes in city policy. It came as no surprise to her that Manks had once more spouted some nonsense about how he was in the midst of something of monumental importance. As usual, Callie tuned him out and waited until he left. Her task was mind numbing and as she went over number filled statistics and heavy pointless wordage, she could feel her brain slowly shutting down. Why politicians insisted on making these things so dense she would never know, all she knew for certain was that they were a pain in the ass to read. If and when she finally became Mayor, she would see about changing the laws so that making documents of such useless wordy opulence was made illegal.

The tawny feline smiled at the thought. It would be nice to strike back against the politicians. But, her smile soon gave way to a thin frown.

The documents were not the only thing on her mind.

She had increasingly become worried about the prolonged absence of her guardian. It had been little more than a week since she last saw him, covered in blood and hiding away with the SwatKats to avoid an unwanted confrontation with Commander Feral. She was growing more concerned and her want to see him again increased as the days went by. Besides a report that the strange fighter and the Swatkats had jointly handled an emergence by Dr. Viper, she had not heard anything concerning him. She missed his comforting presence, and gruff voice that seemed to soften whenever it was directed at her. She wondered what it was that kept him so occupied that he had not come back. In the short time he shadowed her; she had grown to want having him close and without him now, she felt vulnerable. She was also irked that she had not seen what it was that he held hidden, under his opaque visor. What he looked like was something she thought about often. She wanted to know what her savior looked like, to touch him without the armored barrier he covered himself in, and seemingly hid behind. She wanted to know what he was really like.

Why did he hide his face?

A faint blush crept on her tawny cheeks at her desirous thoughts. But they were true; she felt that she had a right to see what he really looked like. But at the moment it didn't really matter as he was nowhere to be found. The feline sighed and leaned back in her chair. Things were so...dull.

She resigned herself to not knowing anything when the phone at her desk trilled softly. Curious as to what the call was about, she picked up the wired phone and brought the receiver up to her triangular ear.

"Callie Briggs, Mayor's aide. Who is this?" She asked in her business tone.

"Ah yes Callie my dear." The voice said in an airy tone, and the kat groaned inaudibly as she realized who the caller was.

"Yes Mayor Manx, what can I do for you today?" She inquired as she rolled her eyes.

"I need you to come to the Enforcer's headquarters. I have a meeting with commander Feral and I would like you to be there." The haughty Mayor declared.

"Yes of course, Mayor. I'll be there right away." Callie replied with forced cheer.

"Excellent my dear." Manx said happily and hung up without another word.

Callie waited a moment and then slammed the phone on to its base grumpily, muttering to herself. The last thing she wanted was to have to sit in a room with the pig headed commander, but that was one of the more undesirous parts of her job. With a reluctant groan she picked up her small purse and slung it onto her shoulder, making sure to grab her cell phone. Callie exited her office and made her way to the elevator, turning to see her assistant sitting at her desk, playing with the little squirrel. Seeing the little critter made Callie sigh and chuckle softly in remembrance. It looked like Six's little friend was doing just fine with Karen. The kat and the squirrel seemed to be getting along great.

Callie waved goodbye to her assistant and entered the elevator, thinking about how she and Six had first met. She smiled at the memory and felt a pang of longing. But she pushed the feeling down roughly, she had to focus on her job, she could worry about her feelings later.

Meanwhile, deep down in the depths of Megakat City's sewers, two fearsome villains were deep in discussion.

"Ssssso, tell me Dark Kat, did my creationssss function up to par?" A dark green stripped feline inquired. He was covered in scales and was wearing a dirty coat. He stared down his associate with yellowish slitted eyes that glowed softly with malevolence.

"They proved to be...adequate, although they were no match for that damn creature!" The larger more intimidating cloaked purple kat growled, slamming his fist into the wall beside him and pulverizing it.

"Ah yessss...I have encountered thisss...creature asss well. And I mussst sssay, it is proving to be quite the nusssciance." The scaled feline replied with a disgruntled hiss.

"On that I can agree, we must do something about it, otherwise it might endanger my-" The reptilian cat hissed. "-our planes for this city." Dark Kat finished reluctantly.

"I don't sssupose you have a plan for thisss?" Dr. Viper demanded with a harsh mocking grunt.

"As a matter of fact, my esteemed colleague, I do..." Dark Kat chuckled darkly. "We must first draw it out of hiding and then we can kill it."

"And how are we going to do that?" Viper demanded.

'Tell me..." Dark Kat responded with a malicious grin. "What do you think about giving our dear comrade Commander Feral a visit? It will be to die for."

In response, Viper released a hissing chuckle from his throat and grinned savagely. "Why Dark Kat, I do believe that'sss a geniousss idea."

Both villains chuckled sadistically and turned to walk off, a devious plan slowly shifting into action.

Callie stepped out of the taxi and paid the faire.

"Have a wonderful day Ms. Briggs." The spotted cabby said as he took the money.

"Thanks Seymour, you have one too." She replied with a winning smile and watched as the cab driver sped away.

She turned from the street and walked through the crowd towards the towering structure of steel and glass with MKCEH stenciled above the quartet of doors that led into the building. Her smile turned into a frown as she looked at the Enforcer's Headquarters. But she steeled herself and stepped inside, past the main doors and into the lobby.

As she walked towards the front desk, she looked around the familiar place. Kat's in grey and blue uniforms sped around, either with criminals in cuffs or holding papers for filing. It seemed that nowadays the Enforcers were always working hard, and she felt a pang of pity for them. It was hard to keep up with regular criminals, let alone the evil masterminds. But each officer knew what they had signed up for, and she had a deep respect for them...which didn't mean that she was any less happy to be here.

"What can I do for you today Ms. Briggs?" The desk clerk inquired as he looked up from his monitor. The white kat looked tired, and the day had only begun.

She gave him a friendly smile. "I am here to see Mayor Manx, and Commander Feral."

The clerk nodded. "The Mayor and the Commander are down in the office on the first floor." He stood up and leaned over the desk, pointing at a hallway to his left with a furry digit. "Just head down, and take the first left, three doors further and the office is to the right."

"Thank you." She said and inclined her head before turning and following the directions. She passed down the hall, heels clicking against the polished granite, took the left, and went to the door the clerk had specified. Before she entered, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, releasing the breath after a moment and doing her best to look relaxed. Confident that she was ready, she placed a paw on the doorknob and twisted it open with a soft click. It swung wide and she stepped inside, looking at the two occupants.

One was obviously Mayor Manx; the slightly portly feline sat on the only chair in the room and looked to be dozing off slightly. The other, stood next to the chair and looked down at the other kat with an unamused expression on his muzzle. Commander Feral was wearing his usual uniform and had a sidearm holstered to his hip. There was a slight graying to his fur and he looked a little haggard. That made Callie feel a little less upset with him, the poor kat was greying early, probably constantly overwhelmed by the monumental task of trying to keep the city from being destroyed.

Callie closed the door and the sound made Feral turn around, and awoke the semi-sleeping Mayor. "Ah, Ms. Briggs, you have finally arrived." Feral said with a slight growl, his shirt temper flaring for whatever reason.

She declined to respond and simply nodded as she walked closer more towards the center of the room. "What did you need Mister Mayor?" She asked, looking to the rotund feline.

"Ah, well you see, Commander Feral told me about this new vigilante." The mayor replied with a slight huff as he cleaned his glasses with cloth.

Callie suddenly felt a little uneasy. "What does that have to do with me?" She asked a little weakly, clearing her throat with a short cough.

"What it has to do with you..." Feral cut in harshly. "Is that you were seen in the city with the vigilante before the incident at the R&D facility."

Callie knew what this was about now. "That's true." She said stiffly.

Feral nodded and stepped closer to her. "What can you tell me about this person? Is it kat or machine? What does it want? Where is it and what does it have to do with the SwatKats?" Feral barraged her with questions and Callie balked at his interrogation, backing up slightly and pulling her ears back.

"I-I-I..." She stuttered, not knowing how to or if she should answer his questions.

The interrogation would have continued if not for the fact that the floor suddenly shook and there was a loud percussive noise coming from somewhere outside the building. Manx was tossed off his wooden chair by the force and Callie would have joined him on the floor if feral hadn't caught her. Just because he was an ass, doesn't mean he wasn't a good kat at heart.

"What in the heavens was that?" Manx gasped as he clumsily placed his glasses back on his snout.

Feral snarled and released Callie, grabbing his holstered sidearm in his right paw. "Headquarters is under attack!"

"Oh dear, that's not good at all!" Manx managed to state the obvious.

"I have to ask you to stay here Mayor." Feral ordered as he moved towards the door.

'Yes, yes, of course." The kat replied and righted his chair, sitting back down once more.

Feral looked to Callie. "We will deal with this later." HE muttered before running out of the room.

Callie only took a moment to debate whether to stay in the room with the Mayor, or to run outside and see what was going on. And the decision was apparent. She looked back to the Mayor and said goodbye before running out after the Commander.

"Well...." Manx muttered. "I'll just sit here then..."

Felina stepped out of the grocery store, holding a large brown paper bag in both her paws. She was looking down at the street, when she heard hushed murmuring around her from the other kats walking across the street. Curious, she looked up and gasped, dropping her groceries when she saw a pillar of acrid black smoke on the horizon in the direction of Enforcers HQ. Not even bothering to think about the food she had just dropped; the feline rushed in front of a cab and stopped it. She climbed inside and ordered the driver to head towards the smoke.

"What are you crazy or something, lady?" The cabbie demanded as he looked over his shoulder, cigar balanced in his maw.

"No, but you'll be missing a few teeth if you don't get moving!" She hissed.

"Alright, alright, sheesh...don't get angry when we get killed." The cabbie muttered and gunned the engine and taking a puff from his cigar.

Six was in the process of manually loading a spare clip for his MA37 when Jake came running up to him. The feline was panting heavily and only half dressed into his vigilante costume. His other half was bare except for a single fingerless glove on his left paw and his helmet was crookedly wrapped around his head. "Six, we got trouble, Enforcer Headquarters is under attack!"

The spartan's helmet tilted in acknowledgment solemnly and he slid in the just loaded clip into his assault rifle before standing up. He turned towards his alcove of equipment and geared himself up. "Get Chance and go airborne, I'll be right behind you." He ordered in his gruff tone and snatched his shotgun off the wall and a handful of makeshift grenades he had made.

Jake nodded rapidly and ran off, shortly after Six could heat their jet starting up and the hanger was filled with a roar as it launched.

With great care, Six grabbed his two bandoliers and made sure they were full of ammo before placing them on his breastplate. Once more it seemed they would need the services of a super soldier. With his weapons mag-locked to his body, he grabbed the sniper rifle off the wall and walked towards his jet. He climbed into the cockpit and placed the sniper in a secure clamp besides his seat.

With a sigh he kicked the Sabers engines into full gear and pulled the throttle, sending it flying out of the hanger to catch up with his two allies.

It seemed that some things would never change.