# Charged Relationships (rewrite)

Author: SynjoDeonecros
Tags: Anal, Electricity, Felina Feral, Gay Relationships, Hard Drive (SwatKats), Male, Oral, SWAT Kats, Surge Coat, SwatKats, Ulysses Feral, Violence (Not In Yiff)

#4 of Swat Kats

Found the rewrite I did for this story (thank you Gmail and your wonderfully huge hard drive space). I like this better than my older one, and I got consultation on it from Wielder Wolf, as well, so hopefully you'll enjoy it, too.

  

Hard Drive cursed under his breath as he ran for his life. Behind  
him, sirens wailed and gunshots fired as he turned the corner of the  
massive industrial building. He didn't expect this kind of resistance  
when he first decided to break into Khan Industries, but then again,  
he didn't expect to find the kind of technology the complex had,  
either. He was only in the building for 10 minutes, and found both a  
gold mine and trouble for a techno-thief like him; state of the art  
electronics and cybernetics littered the labs within the building,  
but each and every one of them were heavily guarded. Slipping past  
the security systems he thought would be easy, given his knack for  
disabling such devices, but Khan, whoever he was, must've been  
extremely paranoid about his projects, since no sooner had Hard Drive  
disabled one security device than three other redundant systems  
tripped, and before he knew it, he was being swarmed with armed  
guards gunning for his life.

  

He ducked into another corner, wincing  
at the sound of a bullet ricocheting off the wall behind him. Looking  
down, he growled and fingered the still-scorching hole in his Surge  
Coat that the bullet created. Fortunately, none of the circuitry was  
damaged, but just an inch or two further up... He sighed and charged  
up his hand with electricity, punching the ground to electrify the  
floor behind him. With any luck, the static-imbued floor would slow  
the guards down long enough for him to escape.

  

Or so he thought.

  

Turning another corner, Hard Drive  
screeched to a halt as he came face-to-face with yet another guard  
troupe. Behind him, he could hear some of the guards he had left  
behind calling for rubber mats to be brought in, obviously in an  
attempt to bypass his trap. Glancing between the guards in front of  
him and the empty corridor behind him where the guards were trying to  
get to him, the electric tabby knew he couldn't get away. Then he saw  
it. It was small and almost indistinct, but up in the ceiling was a  
covered light socket, burned out from his intrusion. Praying under  
his breath, he conjured up a bolt of lightning and threw it at the  
fixture, shattering the dome covering it and the burned-out bulb  
within with a puff of smoke and shower of sparks. That was all the  
break he needed; The guards in front of him, blinded by the  
explosion, dropped their weapons for a brief moment as they covered  
their eyes, giving Hard drive the opportunity he needed. Turning into  
electricity, he entered the socket, traveling like a flash through  
the building's wiring and out into the city's power network. As he  
raced along power lines and stations, he cursed himself again at his  
failure and thought back on what he had learned during his brief trip  
inside the complex.

  

He needed to plan a lot better, if he  
was expecting to make another raid on Khan Industries.

  

Felina Feral looked up as she heard  
the sound of a large and very expensive car pull into the parking lot  
of Khan Industries. Sure enough, the distinct black limo of the  
building's owner, Shere Khan, came to a halt right in front of the  
police barrier, the window to the far back seats rolling down to  
reveal its passengers. Trussed up in a pair of matching suits, Khan  
and his mate - and Felina's uncle - Ulysses Feral sat, worried  
expressions on their faces.

  

"We got the call from my security  
chief just fifteen minutes ago," Khan said, concerned. "He said  
it was some freak named Hard Drive making the break-in."

  

Felina nodded as she walked over to  
the limo, a determined frown creasing her lips. "It was;  
surveillance videos confirm it, and we've got an electrified floor  
and a bullet with a piece of the creep's Surge Coat on it to back it  
up."

  

Both cats in the limo cursed under  
their breath, Feral a bit louder than his mate. "He's getting  
ballsy if he's hitting something so big and heavily-secured."

  

"Not so secured that it wouldn't  
have made a tempting target," Khan corrected. "This is a new  
industrial complex that I just recently refurbished. Only half the  
security staff was assigned, tonight, and the systems were all  
experimental. If what you told me about his electrical powers is  
true, I'm surprised he didn't get farther than he did."

  

Felina nodded again, folding her arms  
thoughtfully. "Fortunately nothing was stolen, at least nothing  
that we can tell, but I can bet you he got a good glimpse at the kind  
of tech you've got building in there; it's likely he's going to plan  
another attempt on the place."

  

Both Khan and Feral nodded in  
agreement, but before they could respond, the high-pitched roar and  
familiar gusts of wind from a pair of JATO jet engines came in,  
signaling the late arrival of the Swat Kats. Landing the Jet a good  
distance away in the parking lot, the duo of Razor and T-Bone powered  
the jet down and jumped out, making a beeline toward the limo.

  

"Sorry we got here so late," Razor  
said, apologetically. "But we got caught up in an armed robbery by  
the Metallikats."

  

"Besides," T-Bone added, smirking  
a little beneath his stern exterior. "It doesn't sound like you  
needed our help with this."

  

Felina sighed and shook her head,  
smiling. "Fortunately no; Khan's guards are like an army in there.  
They could easily rival the Enforcers... or you."

  

Razor grinned and waved the comment  
off, dismissively. "So, what's the damage?"

  

"Nothing of consequence," Feral  
harrumphed, creating an air of haughty dominance over the pair; even  
though his personal relationship with them had greatly improved, as  
of late, his public relationship hadn't changed, and he aimed to keep  
it that way, to avoid any major suspicion. "Seems like Khan's  
soldiers were able to take care of the problem before anything major  
was stolen... even though he still got away."

  

T-Bone snorted at Feral's attitude,  
though gave him a wry wink to let him know he was in on the charade.  
"Well, aren't you a bundle of sunshine, Feral. In any case, I'm  
sure we haven't seen the last of him, here, though I don't think he's  
going to try anything about it for a while."

  

"Perhaps, but I'm not about to take  
any chances." Khan flicked on a switch on the dash of the limo's  
back seat. "Peter, have the remaining guards expected for this  
building to report to duty by the end of tomorrow. I want this  
building secure 24/7."

  

A crackling sound emitted from the  
dash as Peter, back at Khan's main headquarters, responded. "Yes,  
sir, I'll see to it right away."

  

Khan nodded and flicked the switch  
off, turning back to Felina. "I'm assuming you're going be  
monitoring this place for any new infiltration attempts?"

  

Felina nodded herself and cracked her  
knuckles. "We'll have our own 24 hour surveillance on the labs at  
your request. If that scum attempts to come back, we'll be ready."

  

"Very well. I'll leave it in your  
capable hands." With that, Khan ordered the limo to back out of the  
parking lot, driving out into the night.

  

T-Bone and Razor watched as the limo  
left, then turned toward Felina. "Is there anything we can do to  
help?" the bigger tabby asked, crossing his arms.

  

Felina shook her head, shrugging  
helplessly. "Thanks, but from the sounds of it, and I don't mean to  
sound like my uncle when I say this, but the Enforcers can handle it  
from here."

  

Razor smirked, keeping a giggle  
welling up in his throat in check. "Well, you know where those  
words lead, so if they do, you know where to call us." Waving  
goodbye to the Enforcer commander, the duo jumped back into their jet  
and took off, leaving Felina alone to work over the crime scene  
thoroughly.

  

Deep within a particularly dilapidated  
section of the Megakat City slums, Hard Drive was scheming, his Surge  
Coat on a desk as he worked on sewing up the holes in it. He didn't  
like living in such a dirty, dreary place, but it was the only safe  
place for a thief like him to stash away. Grumbling, he reached out  
to grab some more thread from the desk, only to wince in pain as  
sparks suddenly flew from his hand, his hole arm twitching in  
uncontrolled reflex. Carefully, he closed his eyes, grabbed his arm  
with his other hand, and willed his electrical powers to calm  
themselves, the pain surging through him gradually subsiding as they  
obliged.

  

He huffed in relief as he continued  
ministering to his coat. _Damn condition,_ he thought to  
himself, dourly. _That's the third time this week it's flared up on  
me. If I wasn't so stupid with my heist at Khan Industries, I'd have  
what I'd need to get it calmed down, by now..._ As if in response,  
his fingers gave off one last zap before fully dying down. He looked  
at his fingers in concern before sighing and returning to his work.  
_That tech was perfect for what I needed. That Khan character must  
be really paranoid about security to throw so many guards and  
redundant systems into one building. I've I'm going to swipe the gear  
I need from that place, I'm going to have to do some major recon. But  
how? Now that they've seen me, I don't think any of my typical  
disguises will work on them._

  

Finishing up the last  
stitch, he zapped the excess string to cut it and went over to a  
nearby closet to hang it up. As he did, he passed by his computer, on  
which was a picture of him an a young, strong kat, playing around in  
the nude with an odd-looking device in what looked to be a school  
lab. He stared at it out of the corner of his eye, considering  
something that he quickly dismissed, out of hand. _No, I won't do  
that to him. He's got his own life to live, now, and I'll only be a  
stupid reminder of the past. It'll never work out, anyway; I'd look  
too much like I do, now, if I tried to..._ He stopped, looking  
back at the computer, then to a mirror hanging on the wall. Staring  
at it inquisitively, he tilted his head, imagining what he would look  
like now as he did in the picture - metal piercings, rainbow-dyed  
headfur, crazy tye-dyed lab-coat. Grunting in concerned  
determination, he nodded and returned to his desk, pulling out a pad  
and pencil to write down a list of things he'd need to set up the  
deception. _I'm sorry, Peter,_ he thought, bitterly, _but this  
is the only way I can save myself. I just hope you don't get in the  
way..._

  

Later that week, Hard  
Drive arrived at the labs, looking up at the outside of the buildings  
he had just a few measly days earlier been running for his life in.  
Sighing, he looked down at himself, hoping his disguise was good  
enough; much like in the picture on his computer's background, he had  
his hair and skinfur dyed in the occasional rainbow blotch, his hair  
itself a cascade of color. His matching labcoat and pants were  
likewise splotched with tye-dye, and he had a series of piercings  
along his eyebrow, ear, and nose. . _As long as I keep my powers  
and condition under control,_ he told himself, _I should be able  
to pass myself off as a prospective techie and gain access. I should  
then be able to assess the situation and plot a heist. Hopefully,  
they'll have what I need..._ Growling in determination, he braced  
himself and entered the building.

  

Inside was a cacophony of activity as  
guards and technicians ran hither and thither, working to better  
secure the labs for Hard Drives return. Though nervous about being  
caught, he was surprised when most of the kats rushed by him without  
even glancing at him. Some did stop, but only to say hello and to  
comment on his dress before running off. This was both a good and bad  
thing; on the one hand, no one seemed to recognize him, but on the  
other hand, no one was willing to stop long enough to interview or  
even help him. After a good 20 minutes of this madness, he was about  
to give up and come up with another plan to infiltrate the labs some  
other way, when a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder from behind.  
Turning around, he froze in place as his eyes met a pair he never  
wanted to see again.

  

"Marz?" the kat asked, offering  
his left - and only - hand for shaking. "Is that you?"

  

Hard Drive blinked, surprised and  
distraught, took the kat's hand warmly. "Peter? Wow, how are you? I  
haven't seen you in years."

  

Peter grinned and pulled Hard Drive -  
Marz - into a big one-armed bear hug. "I've been doing better,  
but things aren't too bad. What about you? I thought I'd lost you  
during..."

  

Marz nodded and patted the kat on the  
back, cutting him off with a clearing of his throat. "Um, yeah. I  
thought so, too. I'm glad to see you." He rubbed the back of his  
head bashfully, looking around at the still-bustling building. "I  
see you've made good for yourself."

  

Peter nodded. "Yeah, I guess I have.  
But tell me about you. What have you been up to, these past couple of  
years?"

  

Marz bit his lip, struggling to keep  
his composure. "Nothing much, actually; bouncing from job to job,  
place to place, the usual. That's actually why I'm here."

  

"Ah, I see. Well, unfortunately, we  
aren't hiring anyone, right now, in light of the break-in..."

  

"Break-in?" Marz asked, quirking  
his eyebrow in feigned confusion.

  

Fortunately for him,  
Peter didn't catch the deception, so caught up with seeing his old  
friend was he. "Yeah, some freak named Hard Drive tried to crash  
the party here and make off with some of our tech, but the guards  
managed to scare him off. I'm surprised they managed to fend off an  
attack by a metakat like they did."

  

"Yeah, they must be something  
special," Marz droned, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

  

Again, his old colleague didn't catch  
the hint. "We're trying to fortify the labs, right now, but after  
we do that and make sure Hard Drive's not coming back, I'd be happy  
to help you get a job here."

  

Marz nodded and patted Peter on the  
back a few times. The third time, his powers freaked out again,  
sending a small spark of electricity arcing at the kat; it was tiny,  
little more than your typical static shock, but it was enough to make  
Peter jump a little in surprise. "Oops! Sorry about that.  
Static..."

  

Peter glanced at Marz, and for a  
second it looked as though he had given himself away, but he merely  
smiled wryly and returned the pat on the back. "That's the Marz I  
know and love, screwing around with the forces of nature."  
Laughing, he gestured outside and led Marz toward the door. "C'mon,  
we can talk about this over lunch. I'm sure there's a lot we need to  
catch up on."

  

Marz smiled as best he  
could, though it was a thin, bitter smile. _More than you could  
ever know, Peter..._

  

'Lunch', as it turned  
out, was at _Chez Manticores_, a very fancy restaurant near the  
inner city. Marz was flabbergasted at how well-off Peter had become  
in the intervening years, ordering a fine steak for himself and  
braised squab for Marz. Peter laid out what had happened to him since  
their last contact, including his rise to the role of personal  
assistant to Khan, though Marz could sense he was leaving out vital  
information about said rise that he didn't want known. Marz, in turn,  
fed Peter a line about moving from place to place, working odd jobs  
for people, and not being tied down to anywhere in particular - a  
half-truth, but the only truth he was able to tell without spoiling  
his cover. Then, things turned to the worse as Peter finished his  
steak.

  

"So," he said, patting down his  
lips with a nearby napkin. "When did you wake up after the  
accident?"

  

It was a question Marz hoped never to  
be asked, ever, even by his old friend. He could feel the tingling  
sensation from the electricity surging through his body, the weeks of  
torture as he fell into a coma. He didn't care to remember it again,  
and if it was anyone else asking him, he would've avoided the  
question entirely. But this was Peter asking him, a friend and  
colleague, and he owed him an explanation, even if he had to twist  
the truth a little. "The docs said I was out for the better part of  
the year. I'm...honestly not surprised you decided not to hang around  
afterward."

  

Peter nodded and reached instinctively  
for the empty void where his arm should've been. "I did wait for  
you. I waited as long as I could, but when the docs said there was  
little hope of you waking up, I...I couldn't wait any longer. I  
couldn't bear the thought of what happened to you. If I had waited  
just a little longer..."

  

Marz frowned and  
reached out, taking the other kat's hand into his. Despite his  
deception, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Peter. They were good  
friends, after all, and it was hard to see him down like this. "Hey,  
it's alright. You didn't know I was going to wake up. Hell, neither  
did I. I don't blame you for leaving, Peter. I never have. I just...  
I just wish things had turned out different, y'know?"

  

Peter nodded and gripped Marz's hand,  
reassuringly. "Yeah, I do. I think about the incident every night.  
Hell, I've even refused cybernetic limbs to replace my arm, because  
of how it reminded me of you. "

  

That surprised Marz a little; he knew  
that Peter hadn't taken up any new artificial limbs, but he didn't  
know it was because of him. "You should; don't worry about me,  
honestly. I'm getting by. You should take care of yourself."

  

Peter smiled, thinly. "I've gotten  
by, myself. Even had a bit of a lover, at one point, but...he wanted  
something I couldn't give."

  

"Oh..." was all Marz said, looking  
down at his plate, sadly. He didn't know who Peter was talking about,  
but he definitely knew what he meant when he said that person 'wanted  
something he couldn't give'. Looking up, he caught Peter's eyes,  
barely containing tears as they stared back at him, and blushed.  
"Well, It's been nice seeing you, Peter. I'm glad you're doing so  
well for yourself. And thanks for the lunch; I haven't eaten that  
well for a long time."

  

Peter gripped Marz's hand tighter, his  
pent-up tears finally breaking through and streaming down his face.  
"Any time, hon. I'd like to see you again, sometime."

  

That stopped Marz short; he never  
wanted to meet Peter during his infiltration, for obvious reasons,  
but now that he did, and knew Peter couldn't recognize him as his  
alias Hard Drive, he was tempted to take advantage of the situation.  
But he held back, knowing the complications of such an endeavor. "I'm  
afraid I'm not going to be around this area, much longer. I'm going  
to have to move out in the next few days if I don't find another job,  
and since Khan's business was the only one I could find..."

  

Peter waved his hand dismissively and  
pshawed. "I'm sure we can work something out. Khan's got a few  
suites empty in his building. I should be able to convince him to  
shack you up there until we get this crisis with Hard Drive situated,  
then we can get you applied for a job at the labs."

  

Marz sucked in breath sharply at the  
proposal, not sure what to think. On the one hand, this was perfect;  
he was able to continue to talk with Peter and hang out with him, and  
infiltrate the labs with ease. All he needed to do was make sure no  
one got wise to his true identity, and everything else was gravy. On  
the other hand, that meant he needed to be on his guard around Peter;  
the kat knew everything about him up to before the incident, and if  
he caught wind of his true identity, everything would be in  
jeopardy...something he did not want to risk, or put Peter through.  
"Thanks. I'll consider it.."

  

Peter nodded and dug out a card from  
his pocket, handing it to Marz. "Call me if you decide on it. I'd  
like to meet you again, soon. I feel like we have a whole lot of  
catching up to do."

  

Marz took the card and looked at it;  
it had the distinct logo of Khan Industries, though scribbled on the  
back was Peter's personal home phone number."Thanks, I will. Now,  
if you'll excuse me, I need to get going."

  

Peter smiled as his friend got up from  
his seat, doing the same and offering his hand again. "I'm glad we  
got this chance to talk, Marz. You don't know how much this means to  
me."

  

Marz smiled back and took his friend's  
hand, shaking it warmly. "Believe me, I do. See you later."

  

As he left Marz felt his spirits lift  
and his heart sink at the same time; He didn't like having to deceive  
his old friend like this, but he had no other choice. He just hoped  
it didn't wind up biting either of them in the ass, later on...

  

Later that night, Peter was  
consolidating the increase of security at the labs with Shere Khan,  
his boss...but in a most unusual way. Khan was bent over his desk,  
his pants and shorts around his ankles, as Peter, his own pants drawn  
down, was standing on a footstool, giving him the height he needed to  
take the tiger's firm ass. It was Khan's favorite position to  
negotiate deals with when it came to close confidants like Peter, and  
while the roles were reversed for anyone else, with Peter he was  
always on bottom. Neither of them knew why; perhaps it was the  
no-nonsense air of dominance that Peter exuded over his boss that  
made him weak at the knees. Or maybe it was because Peter, despite  
his small frame, was just as hung as his employer, coming to a hefty  
foot in length and 2 and a half inches in thickness. Whatever the  
case was, neither of them seemed to mind, even though Khan was now  
mated to Feral.

  

As they fucked, Peter ran down the  
list of all the security measures he had implemented, in as even a  
voice as possible. It wasn't difficult, honestly; Khan, being the  
charismatic leader of Khan Industries, taught Peter everything he  
knew about keeping a cool head and a firm, steady demeanor, even  
during stressful or distracting situations, so while the pleasure was  
building up in his balls, Peter's affect remained unchanged.

  

"Oh, before I forget," Peter  
finished, his orgasm growing as he pumped in and out of his boss,  
eagerly. "We had someone come by the labs looking for work. An old  
friend of mine that I thought I would never see again."

  

Khan looked back at his assistant,  
growling a little in confused lust. "Really, now? Is it the same  
guy you were lusting after in college?"

  

Peter blinked at Khan's words,  
shocked, but nodded, gripping the tiger's hips harder as he thrust  
wantonly into his ass. "Yes. His name is Marz Raikou, a master at  
electronic engineering. I had to shoo him away from the building, but  
I think he'd make a prospective employee after this whole Hard Drive  
business is taken care of."

  

Khan hummed, thoughtfully, before  
moaning as his own orgasm started reaching its peak. "I'm not in  
the habit of giving out work to strangers, Peter, even if he is your  
friend. He'll have to prove himself if he wants a job with us."

  

Peter nodded. "I'm sure he'll do  
fine, sir. Though, if you don't mind, I'd like to put him up in one  
of your suites, for the time being. According to him, he's going to  
be kicked out of his old place without work, and I'm afraid he might  
be out on the streets if I don't help him."

  

Khan nodded and moaned, the tiger  
digging trenches into his desk as he fought back his orgasm as much  
as he could. "I'll think about it. I trust you won't let him screw  
with my generosity. I'd hate to have to put a friend of yours out on  
his ass for not following procedure."

  

"I'll make sure he behaves himself,  
sir. Now, that's everything. So cum for me, you sexy tiger!" And  
with that, he slapped Khan's ass and growled as he himself spurted  
his load into Khan's tight tailhole. Khan, following orders, finally  
let himself loose, as well, spurting a load of sticky cream all over  
the front of his desk. His stomach bloated a little as Peter's load  
filled his inner walls, causing him to orgasm a second time at the  
feeling of being so full. It was always a pleasure he felt with  
Peter, and he enjoyed every minute of it.

  

By the time they were done, both  
Khan's backside and his desk were painted white with cum. It was just  
like old times for them, screwing around at the copier during Peter's  
rise to power as Khan's assistant. They hadn't done something like  
that in such a long time, and it felt good to let loose like that.  
Huffing, Peter laid down on Khan's back, rubbing his side with his  
hand. Khan, in turn, looked back at his assistant and grinned,  
murring happily.

  

"Shouldn't you be going soon, sir?  
This was very pleasurable, but I'm sure your mate is waiting for  
you."

  

Khan nodded and sighed again. Feral  
was dancing at the club again, going strong for the past couple of  
years. He really didn't need to; he didn't need the money or the  
pleasure of the strip club, ever since he became mates with the  
tiger, but it was something that Feral loved to do, sort of a  
rebellion against his retirement from the Enforcers. And, he had to  
admit, Feral looked damn sexy gyrating his hips on stage. "Indeed.  
Thanks for the release, Peter. Take the rest of the night off. I  
think you deserve it after this."

  

Peter smiled and hugged the tiger  
tight, licking along his ear. "Thank you, sir. I much appreciate  
it."

  

While that was going on, Marz was in  
his slum home, contemplating all that had happened, that day. His  
heart and head were torn to pieces as he agonized over Peter's offer.  
He knew Peter wouldn't have offered him a place to stay had he even  
suspected of Marz' true identity, and he had to admit, the offer did  
put him in the perfect position for his infiltration attempt.  
However, he also knew that one slip-up would bring the entire facade  
crashing down, and besides that, this was Peter he was talking about,  
his best friend and colleague. He couldn't take the risk of harming  
their friendship.

  

He started to pace  
around the room as he contemplated his next move. As he paced, his  
mind started to wander to the incident that caused them to be split  
apart and that set him on the path of his current alias of Hard  
Drive, and then earlier to the times he and Peter had together.  
Looking over to his computer, he sat down and started scanning  
through a private stash he had of himself and Peter having their fun  
on campus. It was always the same: he would invent some new  
electrical sex toy that he wanted to try out, Peter would give a  
token resistance to the idea, but eventually they'd wind up in the  
college's electronics lab, fooling around with the device until they  
both blew several loads together. It was always something; a  
conductive urethral sound or butt plug, a vibrating egg toy, a  
Faraday cage- like steel condom for electrostim. It was always with  
the electrostim with them; even as a kid, Marz had a fascination with  
electricity and its power, and would purposely shock himself with  
static electricity to get a feeling for it. Later in life, he learned  
how to safely harness the power for his own pleasure, and it became  
an addiction for him. Peter, while not at the same level of interest  
in the fetish as he was, was still perfectly willing and able to  
indulge him, and they both had no problems with engaging in their  
deepest, darkest electric fantasies together.

  

Undoing his pants, Marz started idly  
pawing off as he started one of his better-liked videos, involving an  
ever-present Tesla coil and a steel mesh glove. Peter was laying  
face-up on the metal table, bound hand and foot to the table's legs,  
unable to move as Marz began stroking his body with his gloved hand.  
Peter tensed as the hand reached his genitals, the cool metal  
caressing his member and balls as Marz began to slowly stroke him  
into erection. Then the electricity started as Marz placed his other  
hand on the sparking ball of the coil. It was exquisite; the metal  
table being used as the perfect ground for the kat, Peter moaned as  
bolts of electricity danced along his throbbing shaft, teasing it  
with its high-voltage, low-amperage shocks. Moving lower, Marz moved  
one of his metal-covered fingers to Peter's tailhole, slipping it in  
easily thanks to a glob of silicon-based lubrication injected into  
it. Peter gasped as the electrified digit entered him, its tingling  
stimulating his sphincter and prostate as the electricity surged  
through his loins. Smiling, Marz slid a second digit into him, making  
sure to keep the two digits separate to avoid a dangerous shock as he  
probed the kat's back end, stooping down low to lick along the  
underside of Peter's shaft and lap at the pre that was starting to  
form at his cockhead.

  

This went on for several minutes, the  
force of the shocks strong enough to keep Peter on edge but not  
enough to make him cum. It wasn't until Marz retracted his hand and  
undid his lab coat that the real fun had begun; there, wrapped around  
his throbbing 7 inch long, 2 inch thick member was a metal mesh  
condom, complete with wicked rounded spike on the tip, lubed up with  
the same silicon gel that Peter's tailhole was slickened with.  
Gripping Peter's genitals again with the gloved hand, Marz positioned  
his cock against the prepped ring of flesh and, with a moan, thrust  
in, the sparking piece of flesh easily penetrating into Peter's  
nether regions. The feeling of both his anus and his cock being  
assaulted by electrical sexual stimulation only made Peter groan  
loudly as a huge glob of pre spurted from his cock and onto his  
belly. Marz, smiling wickedly, started stroking and thrusting into  
his fiend at a regular interval, the feeling of the electricity  
surging through his body and into the kat like a perpetual orgasm for  
him. After that, it was simply a matter of spurts, groans, and howls  
as they came within 10 minutes of this ministration, then another 5  
minutes from then, and another, the two cats milking each other dry  
within the following half hour.

  

It was an erotic video, Marz couldn't  
deny that. But it was also a sad video, a reminder of the torture  
they had gone through during and since the incident. Growling, he  
clicked off the video and stuffed his cock back into his pants,  
dourly. He couldn't think of Peter like that, not anymore; he had his  
own life to live, his own loves to pursue, and keeping him around  
would only bring pain. Sighing, he took out Peter's card and looked  
at it, contemplatively. With a sigh, he tossed it onto his desk and  
decided to retire for the night. If anything, he could sleep on the  
offer and come to a decision in the morning.

  

However, he never got a chance to.

  

Late that night, both  
he had Peter had similar dreams...or perhaps they were better called  
nightmares. The harsh crackle of out of control electricity humming  
through the air, the smell of frying flesh and burning nerves, the  
agonizing cry of Peter as he struggled to escape the coil before it  
was too late, his right hand fused to the globe like it was trapped.  
Then, all was blackness. It was the same dream they had, over and  
over again, though Marz moreso than Peter, and it often ended  
differently; Peter suffering through the agony of waiting for Marz to  
wake up, Marz feeling trapped in his own body, then floating above it  
as it moved in to punish the one responsible for the accident. It was  
always the same, always gut-wrenching, and always left both of them  
waking up in a cold sweat, unable to do much more than gasp each  
other's name in horror.

  

This time, though, was different; they  
had met each other again, and Marz still had Peter's phone number.  
Reaching over, he grabbed the card and stared at it, concerned. He  
didn't want to do this, but if he didn't he knew he would go mad, and  
likely Peter, as well. Sighing, he picked up the phone and dialed the  
number, hands shaking in nervous anticipation. At first, the phone  
rang off the hook, and he was about to hang up, but then it clicked  
as Peter picked up. "Hello, Peter? This is Marz... Couldn't sleep,  
huh? Yeah, me, neither. Could we meet somewhere to talk?"

  

Peter waited at the Kat's Meow strip  
club, twiddling his thumbs and watching the dancers strip erotically  
to the music. He had been waiting there for Marz for the past half  
hour, and was getting worried about his friend. Sighing, he dug out  
his phone and attempted to recall the number the tan kat had called  
him from when Marz finally walked into the door, scanning the area  
nervously. Smiling, he waved at Marz, catching his attention long  
enough to flag him down and bring him to his table. As he sat down,  
Marz looked around, twitchily, as if expecting someone to grab him  
and throw him out or something.

  

"Glad you could make it, hon,"  
Peter smiled, a little frustratedly. "Settle down. There's no one  
that's going to hurt you, here."

  

Marz nodded and continued to dart his  
eyes around, fearful. "Sorry I was late; I had a hard time finding  
this place, and the bouncer kept on refusing to let me in. I had to  
mention your name before he finally did."

  

Peter nodded back and placed is hand  
on Marz's lap, trying desperately to calm him. "Yeah, ever since we  
moved here, my employer and I have become quite known at this  
establishment, mostly through my employer's mate."

  

"I'm surprised, honestly; I didn't  
expect him to be interested in such a place."

  

Peter smirked. "Khan is a man of  
sophisticated taste, even in porn. His mate strips here every  
Wednesday, so he decided to fund it."

  

"I see. Does he come here to see his  
mate show off? Or is he worried about his reputation being  
tarnished?"

  

Peter shrugged. "He does, on  
occasion, but in back through a private booth. I would usually be  
back there with him, but he told me to take the rest of the night  
off, so I decided to relax a little and enjoy myself without his  
supervision."

  

Marz smiled, ruefully. "Indeed.  
I..." Just then, a pair of kats, one a yellow and tawny striped  
bear of a tabby, the other a brown, lean tom, walked up to their  
table, smiling happily.

  

"Hey, Peter," the tabby winked,  
seductively. "Who's your new friend?"

  

Peter smiled and waved an arm between  
Marz and the pair. "Marz, I'd like you to meet Jake and Chance, two  
of my employer's good friends. Jake, Chance, this is Marz, an old  
friend of mine from college."

  

Marz offered his hand in welcome,  
eying them both suspiciously. He could've sworn he looked familiar,  
but he couldn't place their faces.

  

Apparently, Jake had the same  
reaction. "I'm sorry to pry, but do we know you? You look awfully  
familiar..."

  

For a moment, Marz panicked, not sure  
how to respond. He wasn't sure what to make of the slim tom's  
statements, and hoped he didn't recognize him as his alter-ego, but  
shook his head, denyingly. "I had the same thought, honestly, but I  
don't think so. Maybe Peter showed you a pic of me a while ago and  
forgot about it?"

  

Peter glanced at Marz, suspiciously,  
but shrugged. "Possibly; I've been rather busy, lately, though I'd  
think I'd remember showing your face around to them."

  

"Same here," Chance mused.  
Shrugging back, he shook Marz's hand and patted him on the back,  
returning to his chipper attitude. "Ah, well, any friend of Peter's  
can't be all bad, huh?

  

Peter chuckled and nodded. "Oh, he's  
a sweet one, let me tell you."

  

Marz smiled, breathing a sigh of  
relief inwardly that his cover wasn't blown. "Hope you enjoy the  
shows here. This is my first time here, so I dunno what to expect."

  

Jake grinned and placed a hand on  
Chance's shoulder, warmly. "Oh, I'm sure you'll like it here."  
Just then, the lights dimmed, and the room fell in a hush. "Ooh, we  
better sit down. Feral's coming up, next."

  

That caught Marz's attention. "Feral?  
You mean former Enforcers commander Feral? He strips here?"

  

Chance nodded and smiled. "Yeah, has  
been ever since before he left the force, though I wouldn't spread  
that around, if I were you. If you'll excuse us..." With that, they  
left and sat back down at their own table, neither they nor Peter  
seeing Marz's dread on his face as he paled at the thought of seeing  
Feral strip. Actually, it was less seeing him strip than being  
recognized by him, considering how many times he had dealt with the  
former commander in the past. He never knew the commander to be  
stupid, and he already had his first close call of the night; he  
didn't want to deal with the possibility of Feral, of all people,  
catching sight of him.

  

Before he could do  
anything about it, though, the spotlights came on and Feral -  
dressed in a stylized version of his old commander's uniform - came  
onto the stage. Entranced, Marz sat still as the former commander  
made his rounds, dancing to the beat of the techno music coming from  
the speakers around the patrons, giving them brief glimpses of his  
rock-hard body. He seemed to stop for a good long while at the table  
Jake and Chance were sitting, showing them even more than he did the  
other patrons, indicating some sort of relationship going on beyond  
the confines of the club. However, it was when he finally arrived at  
his and Peter's table that Marz held his breath, praying to whatever  
god he worshiped that the former commander didn't recognize him. To  
his relief, the commander gave him the same odd look of  
semi-recognition that Jake and Chance gave him, but again, he  
shrugged and gyrated away, not paying the feline any mind.

  

When the show ended, Marz turned to  
Peter with a worried look in his eye. This time, Peter took notice.  
"What's wrong, hon?"

  

Marz shook his head, smiling a little  
in a vain attempt to look nonchalant. "Nothing. Just...he seemed to  
recognize me, as well. Am I that familiar to your friends?"

  

Peter shrugged and put his hand on  
Marz' shoulder. "You have a distinctive look. You probably just  
caught their attention, nothing more."

  

Marz sighed. _That's  
what I'm afraid of_ . Still, he was comforted by the fact that they  
didn't pin his identity down, like he worried they would.

  

Suddenly, he felt himself being tugged  
out of his seat by Peter and led to the back of the club. "Where  
are you taking me, love?"

  

Peter smiled, warmly. "C'mon, I want  
to introduce you to Feral and my employer. I'm sure they'll be happy  
to meet you."

  

Panic gripped Marz's heart as he was  
led backstage. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

  

Peter looked back and frowned,  
confused. "Why so nervous, hon?"

  

Marz sighed and shrugged. "It's  
just...I dunno, we haven't seen each other in years, and here you are  
trying to show me off to your friends like I was a trophy, no  
offense. I just think we should take this a bit slower, is all."

  

Peter looked at his friend and sighed,  
as well, debating on what to do next. "If that's how you feel, hon,  
then I can understand. I was just hoping that introducing you to Khan  
would help you get a Job at the labs, is all."

  

Marz nodded and patted Peter on the  
back, smiling. "I know, but it's a bit too late in the night for  
that to happen, and besides, I didn't call you just for that."

  

Peter hummed and looked into Marz's  
eyes, seeing the fear and desperation in them. He looked terrible,  
much worse than he thought he was. Sighing gently, he nodded and  
walked back to their seats, sitting down as the next show started.  
Growling a little in impatience, Peter called the waiter over and  
ordered a rum and coke for himself, with Marz declining any drinks.  
Taking a deep sip of the liquid, Peter put down his glass and stared  
Marz right in the eye, concernedly. "So, what's are your mind,  
hon?"

  

Marz frowned and bit his lip,  
nervously. "I think you know what's on it, Peter, and I know it was  
on yours, as well, earlier tonight."

  

"The dream, you mean?" Peter  
asked, sighing wearily. "Are you still having them?"

  

Marz nodded, folding his hands  
together. "Hon, it nearly killed me, and it took your arm! That's  
not exactly something either of us can easily get past in a few short  
years."

  

Peter pursed his lips, placing a hand  
on Marz's, comfortingly. "Hon, I know it was hard on us. Believe  
me, I know just how hard it was. But you seriously need to let the  
past be and find your own way through life. Dwelling on it will just  
make you even more miserable."

  

Marz sighed and nodded, taking Peter's  
hand and gripping it gently. "I know. I just....I thought I'd never  
see you again afterward, you know? I though that, after the incident,  
my life was over, especially with you."

  

"I know, and for a time, so did I,  
but no offense, I moved past that, and now, it's inconsequential.  
We're here, now, together. We can't exactly go back to how things  
was, but we can try to start anew, if you're willing."

  

Marz looked up at Peter, a curious  
look on his face. "You mean that?"

  

Peter nodded. "I do. Let's just take  
it slow and figure some stuff out before then, like getting you a  
job. Then, we can work on being together again. Alright?"

  

Marz smiled and nodded, hugging his  
friend tight. "Alright. We'll try things your way. Just don't  
expect ol' Thunder Kat to come back, any time soon, okay?"

  

Peter giggled, nodding as he  
remembered his College nickname for the light tan tom. "I totally  
understand, hon, and I won't ask that of you, not until you're  
ready"

  

Smiling, Marz leaned in and kissed his  
old friend on the lips, sealing the deal for both of them.  
Unbeknownst to them, however, they were being washed from backstage  
by Feral, Chance, and Jake. The three toms stared at the duo,  
sternly, as Marz took his leave, giving Peter a big hug in thanks for  
his commitment to him. Humming in dour contemplation, Feral looked at  
the Swat Kats, concerned. "What do you think?"

  

Jake looked at the former commander,  
the same look of concern on his face. "It's Hard Drive, alright. No  
mistake about it."

  

"Should we nail him now, before he  
does anything to hurt Peter?" Chance asked, cracking his knuckles  
in anticipation.

  

Feral went to say something, but was  
cut off by a deep, growling voice behind him. "I do not think he'll  
pose a threat to Peter, if he is who you say he is."

  

The trio looked back to see Shere Khan  
emerging from the shadows. Feral frowned and shook his head, in firm  
disagreement with his mate. "How do you figure, love? You don't  
know this scum like we do."

  

The tiger placed an arm  
on the tom's shoulder and waved an arm toward Peter, who was still  
enjoying the shows. "As I told you when I met your father during  
your brother's wedding, I can read kats, and he looks to be very  
sincere about his feelings toward Peter. They obviously have some  
sort of history together, a history that goes deeper than love and  
lust, to survival and loss. I suggest we look into this matter  
carefully, and figure out what we can sort out before Hard Drive can  
make his next move."

  

Jake glanced at the tiger,  
thoughtfully. "I suppose, but remember, this isn't your typical  
criminal. This is a metakat we're dealing with. If he even suspects  
something with us, you can kiss your tail goodbye with a lightning  
kiss."

  

Feral nodded and frowned. "I know,  
but we have to trust Khan on this one. Whatever their relationship  
is, we have to determine it, and figure out how it fits in Hard  
Drive's schemes. It's possible we can use it to our advantage."

  

"I dunno, Feral," Chance said,  
shaking his head. "I don't like leaving that maniac running free,  
especially so close around Peter."

  

Khan nodded and placed a hand on the  
chocolate-striped tabby, comfortingly. "I don't like it, either, if  
he truly is Hard Drive. However, right now there's nothing we can do  
but gather information and wait for him to make the next move. If I'm  
right, he won't make it as long as Peter is around to get harmed."

  

Feral nodded and hugged his mate  
warmly. "I hope you're right, love. I know how much Peter means to  
you."

  

Marz's spirits were high as he made  
his way back to the slums that were his home. He couldn't believe his  
luck back at the club; slipping past unnoticed by the former  
commander himself! If that wasn't a victory over ol' ironheart, he  
didn't know what was. He couldn't wait to tell the other metakats  
about his findings...

  

That thought stopped him cold. No, how  
could he go back to his old life when his old flame is offering him a  
new one? Sure, he originally planned on using him to gain access to  
the labs so he could rob the place, but now he's not only offering  
him a real job, one best suited for his technological genius, but  
also a new beginning with him, something he had always wanted since  
the accident.

  

A spark of pain and actual sparks from  
his right arm shattered that notion completely. No, he would never  
accept a freak like him, a freak who had done such horrible things in  
the interest of self-preservation. Peter may have lost an arm in the  
accident, but he became a metakat, a criminal, and that's something  
the tom could never accept him for. He looked down at his crackling  
appendage, wearily; everyone thought it was just his Surge Coat that  
gave him his power, and to a point they were right; in the beginning,  
it did allow him to do all the things he could do as Hard Drive.  
However, it was just a conduit, a regulator of his true power, and  
now those powers were growing out of control for even the Surge Coat  
to contain. Normally, he only unleashed low-voltage static  
electricity without his coat, but with the sparks and seizures he was  
undergoing as his powers fluctuated, he estimated four, five years  
before the coat could no longer handle the discharge and he burns out  
like a car battery being drained by a short circuit. He needed the  
tech at Khan Industries, there was no two ways about it, and going  
with the new plan Peter offered him was not an option for him.

  

_So, I stick with the  
old plan,_ he thought to himself, bitterly, forcefully willing the  
sparking in his arm to subside. _I don't like it, if it means  
hurting the one I love, but that can't be helped, now. It's do or die  
time, now, and I'm not about to lose it when I'm so close to  
salvation._

  

With that, he found an old power line  
and, using his power, transferred himself into an electric current  
through it, traveling the swift way home.

  

The next few days were hectic for Khan  
and the others; they had a plan to trap Hard Drive, and a means of  
doing so, but keeping it a secret from Peter was going to be tough.  
He was the key; Khan was convinced the metakat had some sort of  
history with his assistant, and was determined to use it to figure  
out Hard Drive's plan for him and the labs. To that end, he settled  
on a daring plan; he'd set up an interview for 'Marz' as a way of  
gathering intel on the kat, forwarding it whatever information he  
found out to his mate to be transferred to the Enforcers for  
analysis. Feral, meanwhile, will have the Swat Kats be on call for  
any suspicious movements 'Marz' makes in the lab. It was a perfect  
set-up, and it all started at the interview...

  

"Name?"

  

"Marz Raikou, sir."

  

"Age"

  

"28."

  

"Address?"

  

"264 East Wincheshire Alley."

  

The droning voice of the interviewer -  
an old kat secretary who seemed more out of it than a stoner in a  
field of catnip - was starting to grate on Marz's temperament.  
Fortunately, after a few more monotone questions, the interview  
wrapped up... or so he thought.

  

"That does it. Wait here for the  
boss to call you in."

  

Marz blinked, confused. "Wait, I  
thought you were giving the interview?"

  

The old tom shrugged. "Usually I am,  
but the boss wants to see you, personally. Something about being  
referred to him by a trusted employee of his. Just wait here for him  
to call your name, it'll be the last door at the back of the hall.  
Next!"

  

Marz started to panic;  
he never expected to meet the boss so soon. He figured he could slip  
under the radar for a few weeks as he assessed the situation and  
plotted his heist, but this... He didn't have time to finish that  
thought, as a gruff, growling voice that shook him to the core with  
its assertiveness called his name. In a split decision, he couldn't  
decide whether to do as he was told or flee the area, abandoning the  
mission he had set up. A wince as his left arm contracted with a  
faint staticky sound reminded him of why he came, and made the  
decision for him. Gravely, he got up and walked into the jaws of  
doom...

  

The boss...was huge. There was no  
other way of describing him. An imposingly large tiger sat across  
from him, the business suit he wore barely containing the massive  
body within as he stared at the smaller cat with a keen, intimidating  
eye. Marz's ears flattened as he questioned the feasibility of his  
plan, now, but all thoughts fled him when the tiger spoke.

  

"You do know why you are here, do  
you?"

  

Marz stammered a little before  
collecting his thoughts, almost grateful he didn't eat any breakfast  
before the interview as he most certainly would've soiled his pants  
by the tone of the tiger's voice alone. "Ye-yes sir. I need a job,  
you are offering one, and I was told I was referred to you by one of  
your employees, which is why you wanted to see me in person."

  

The tiger smiled imperceptibly,  
enjoying intimidating the metakat immeasurably. "That is correct. I  
believe you know of this employee; his name is Peter Collins."

  

Marz smiled back as Peter's name was  
said, thanking the gods his friend didn't screw with him. "I do,  
sir. He and I go way back."

  

"Really?" the tiger mused with  
interest. "Tell me, how do you know him?"

  

Marz gulped as he stared at the tiger,  
trying to come up with a suitable lie to tell the tiger, but knowing  
that those piercing eyes would catch any that he told. So, in an  
uncharacteristic move for him, he said the only thing he could say:  
the blatant truth. "He and I went to Megakat U. several years ago;  
I was studying electical engineering while he was majoring in  
computer programming. We ended up becoming roommates, and together,  
we made an unstoppable team in the computer and electronic science  
department."

  

The tiger glared at him for a few  
moments, looking for any hint of deception, but finally relented and  
nodded, satisfied. "I see. And, did you and he graduate from this  
college?"

  

Marz sighed, knowing where this was  
going, but not wanting to reveal more than he already had. "No,  
sir. There was an...accident at the school that incapacitated us and  
destroyed a key laboratory. Had it not happened, we probably would've  
been working at Pumadyne or some other high-tech place."

  

The tiger nodded and  
hummed, gently, disseminating what he just heard in his mind. _An  
incident at Megakat U., eh? That is definitely something that needs  
to be investigated further._ Filing that bit of information away  
for later, he stared at the younger kat, scanning him over with a  
cultured, predatory eye. "I see. Normally, I don't hire people  
unless they're the top of their class, but from the sound of it, you  
were getting there, anyway. And Peter speaks highly of you. Tell you  
what; I'll give you a low-level apprentice job at the labs, for the  
next few weeks. If you do well there, we'll see about a more  
permanent solution to your unemployment issues. Does that sound  
fair?"

  

Marz locked eyes on the  
tiger, not letting him know he was cursing his luck on the inside.  
_Low-level apprentice work? That won't get me anywhere near where I  
need to go in the labs. Still, it's better than nothing, I suppose,  
and as long as I can keep up this charade and play my cards right, I  
may be able to get the info I need to make the heist._ Coming to a  
decision, he nodded firmly. "Yes, sir. I thank you for this  
opportunity. I won't let you down."

  

The tiger growled deep enough to send  
shivers down Marz's spine. "You better not, young lad; I'm a harsh  
master on those under my employ who do."

  

Marz quivered a little in fear as he  
caught the double entendre in the tiger's words. Fortunately, the  
tiger cut him loose before any further scaring could happen, and  
despite the low-level position he was granted, Marz was happy that  
things were going smoothly for him.

  

As the tan tom left, Khan flicked on  
his phone and called Feral at home, tapping his claws on the desk as  
he waited for his mate to pick up. "Feral, this is Khan... Yes,  
hon, I know it's early for me to call, but I've got some news about  
our boy Marz... Yes , stage one is complete, and I've got some info  
for you to check out. Do you know anything about an incident  
involving Megakat University...?"

  

Later that night, Marz got a call from  
Peter, asking about his interview. Apparently, to his dismay, news  
traveled fast in Khan Industries. Informing the one-armed kat about  
his acceptance into the labs, Peter squealed in joy and insisted they  
talk about it over dinner. Smiling, Marz donned his best casual  
outfit and made a beeline to the restaurant Peter suggested they meet  
at, the same restaurant they had lunch together at, days earlier. As  
he entered the fancy building, he couldn't help but feel rather small  
and insignificant next to the bigwigs that were dining there, almost  
as if he was ashamed of eating in their presence. Cursing inwardly,  
he reminded himself of why he was there and what he had staked in it  
and sat down at a table, ordering some rotisserie chicken for  
himself. A few moments later, Peter showed up, flagging the tom down  
and sitting across from him at the same table, ordering a salad and  
shrimp.

  

As they waited for their orders to  
arrive, Peter asked how the interview went. When Marz told him about  
the entry-level apprenticeship, Peter could barely contain his glee.

  

"That's wonderful, love!  
Congratulations. When are you going to be starting?"

  

Marz shrugged and took a sip of water.  
"I wasn't given a date, but I'm suspecting I'll be asked to come in  
in a few days. What got me confused about the interview is that the  
boss himself decided to conduct the interview."

  

Peter blinked and stared at the tom,  
quirking an eyebrow as their food was served. "A large tiger with a  
booming voice?"

  

Marz nodded, taking another sip of  
water before turning to his food. "Yeah, that's the one."

  

Peter hummed as he picked up his fork,  
his eyebrow raising higher. "That's Khan. I'm surprised he took the  
time out of his schedule to interview you personally."

  

"Well, he did say  
that you referred me to him, so maybe he thought that if anyone has  
potential to be a decent enough worker, it's a friend of someone as  
dedicated to his work as you are." The tom reached down to pick up  
his own fork, only to jerk back in pain as his powers flared up  
again, arching a bolt of static from his fingers to the metal  
utensil. It wasn't enough to cause a spectacle, but it was enough to  
cause him to flinch and caused Peter to notice.

  

"Another bout of static?" Peter  
queried, worriedly. "You seem to be having a problem with that,  
lately. I thought 'Thunder Kat' wasn't making a reappearance, yet."

  

Marz smirked thinly and willed his  
powers to settle, thankful that they chose not to go farther than a  
small spark. "It's nothing, just something the docs said I'll have  
to live with..."

  

Peter stared at his old friend, not  
sure what to think. "What do you mean?"

  

Marz sighed and put his hands down,  
being careful not to touch anything metal. "Since the accident,  
I've been getting random twitches and sparks of static. The docs say  
the accident must've affected my fur to be especially sensitive to  
static. As far as I know the changes are permanent."

  

Peter looked down at Marz's hand,  
which was still trembling from the shock it gave. He could believe  
it; when the doctors had to amputate his arm after the accident, he  
was told the nerves in it were going so haywire that it was  
impossible to calm them. "I'm sorry to hear that, hon." :He  
grabbed his right shoulder, trembling a little himself in sadness. "I  
guess that incident changed both of us, hadn't it?"

  

Marz nodded and tentatively picked up  
his fork, breathing a sigh of relief that his powers finally calmed  
themselves. "Like you wouldn't believe, Peter. Anyway, I hope this  
job goes smoothly for me. I'd hate to screw it up like last time..."  
He looked up to see Peter staring at him, eyebrow quirked again in  
confusion. He realized what he had said and cleared his throat. "My  
last job didn't do me any favors, sadly. Only lasted a few months  
before I got fired. Not pleasant, I can assure you; kept getting shot  
down in my attempts to get ahead."

  

Peter nodded and dug into his shrimp,  
smiling. "Well, hopefully that won't be the case, this time. As  
long as you keep your nose clean and do your best, I'm sure you'll do  
just fine."

  

_Yeah, keep my nose  
clean,_ Marz thought to himself, ruefully, taking a bite out of  
his chicken. "Don't worry, I'm sure with my skills, it won't take  
me long to get myself in the right position to succeed in the labs.  
Speaking of, I'm surprised you haven't tried to get some help with  
your condition from the labs, yet."

  

Peter frowned a little in insult,  
looking at his limbless shoulder. "Something I have to live with,  
as well, I guess; docs said that the nerves all along my arm were  
totally shot, pretty much useless. Any prosthetics I could use either  
irritate the area or can't get through the bad nerves to connect to  
the good."

  

Marz nodded, sullenly, as he realized  
what that meant. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

  

Peter just shrugged. "I learned to  
live with it, though Khan said the company's working on a  
revolutionary new device that could help me out."

  

That got Marz's attention. "Oh? How  
so?"

  

"They're experimenting with  
high-level conductive metals and other electrostatic devices in order  
to help stimulate the damaged nerves for possible repair. Right now,  
it's just a prototype, but it looks promising."

  

Marz nodded, making mental note of  
that bit of information for later. "Ah, I see. Well, let's hope it  
works out for you; I would love to see you with two working arms  
again."

  

Peter sighed and nodded, smiling  
thinly. "Yeah, so do I."

  

Realizing he had depressed his lover,  
Marz reached out and took his hand, gripping it tightly with love. As  
he did so, a rumbling through his arm alerted him to another electric  
shock coming,on, but it was too late for him to will it to stop. With  
a \*bzzap!\*, a somewhat larger bolt of static than the one that he  
produced earlier went through his arm and into Peter's, causing both  
parties to jump in surprise. But instead of yelping in pain, Peter  
just purred and gripped Marz's hand tighter. With a smile and wink,  
Peter leaned over and kissed Marz on the cheek, letting him know he  
wasn't hurt by the bolt, something that confused Marz, but ultimately  
chalked up to their previous playtimes together. "I guess Thunder  
Kat's back on, huh?" he asked, warmly.

  

At Khan Towers, Feral was meeting with  
the building's namesake in his bedroom suite, reporting on what he  
had learned from Marz's interview.

  

"Apparently, there was an explosion  
in one of the university's electronics labs. Two people were injured;  
Marz Raikou and Peter Collins. Collins lost his right arm, while Marz  
was in a coma for most of the year. After he woke up, Marz vanished,  
and there was no more contact made with Collins after he was  
discharged."

  

Khan frowned and rubbed his chin,  
thoughtfully. "Well, that explains Mr. Collins' missing arm. I've  
meant to ask him about it, but it was always clear from the beginning  
that he didn't care to explain himself about it. Do you know what  
caused the explosion?"

  

Feral shook his head. " The best the  
investigators could tell, the main Tesla coil in the lab overcharged  
and detonated. Except for Marz's and Peter's prints, the only fresh  
prints that the forensics department could find were those of the  
headmaster." He frowned and started pacing. "What's odd is that,  
shortly after Marz woke up, the headmaster was found dead in a  
similar lab, electrocuted to death."

  

That caught Khan's attention.  
"Interesting. You think the two are related?"

  

Feral shrugged. "Perhaps, though  
there's no evidence to prove it. It would make sense, though; The  
accident is probably where Marz gained the powers he has as Hard  
Drive, and after losing those many months and Peter's arm to such a  
suspicious explosion, he likely thought the headmaster was to blame  
for it; his record does show several complaints of abuse by the  
homosexual students there during his tenure."

  

Khan blinked and quirked an eyebrow at  
his mate, curiously. "I thought it was known his powers came from  
that Surge Coat of his. You're telling me that it's actually  
internal?"

  

Feral nodded, grousing. "That's the  
typical belief on the street, but I've seen him use his powers in  
jail. It's become harder and harder to cage him, because of it."

  

Khan hummed at that, thinking.  
Suddenly, his eyes widened, turning to his computer and calling up a  
manifest of the products his lab was producing. "I thought as much.  
My labs are currently producing bioelectrical equipment and  
artificial organs and limbs for medical research. Perhaps he's  
looking for a way to better control his powers..."

  

"It's possible," Feral shrugged,  
frowning. "last I heard, it was getting harder for him to control  
his powers in jail without his Surge Coat on. I doubt it, though;  
it's likely something that a rival of yours ordered him to steal, to  
get one up on you in the medical competition."

  

"Perhaps, but we should not rule  
anything out, just yet. I have him scheduled to start his  
apprenticeship at the start of next week. I'll have the guards lax  
around long enough to give him brief windows of opportunity to skulk  
about and do what he has planned without security being useless. If  
things go well, we should be able to catch him in the act soon  
enough."

  

Feral sighed and sat down beside his  
mate, folding his arms in displeasure. " I hope you're right about  
this, hon. I don't want you having to bear an actual theft from that  
scum."

  

Khan frowned and gave his mate a stern  
look. "If we are to determine what his goals are, we must play the  
roles that he has set us up to play, and we must be prepared for when  
he does make his move. To do anything else would be presumptuous of  
us and risks putting Peter in danger. I can't risk that."

  

Feral nodded and hugged his mate,  
warmly. "I know, hon. I know. I just hope this all works out."

  

The weekend, as it  
turned out, was rather uneventful for all parties. Peter and Marz  
hung out as much as they could between Peter's work hours, catching  
up on old times. Marz, for his part, managed to keep his anticipation  
in check as he counted down the hours to his new "job". It was  
hard on him, not having his Surge Coat to keep his powers under  
control, but somehow he managed to do so with little issues, only  
accidentally sparking a few times during his meetings with his  
friend. Peter, on the other hand, was getting more and more worried  
about the tan tom's health, each spark and sizzle emitting from Marz  
sparking a pang of remorse from him. Eventually, things came to a  
head when, hanging out at Peter's suite Sunday night, the tabby asked  
a strange question.

  

"Hey, Marz? Do you ever regret what  
we did at college?"

  

Marz looked up at his friend and  
quirked an eyebrow, confused. "What do you mean, hon?:

  

Peter glanced over at Marz and  
shrugged, sighing. "The times we had sex in the lab. If it wasn't  
for those, we likely wouldn't have had the accident."

  

Marz stared at his friend for a few  
minutes, then shook his head, dourly. "I don't think so. There was  
something else that happened, something that someone didn't want us  
to know."

  

The tabby blinked and propped himself  
up on one elbow. "What'cha talking about?"

  

"I mean the headmaster. You've heard  
the complaints about him by the gay students there. I'm sure he found  
out about what we were doing and did something to the coil to cause  
it to explode."

  

Peter stared at Marz, disbelievingly.  
"How do you know for sure?"

  

"I can't say," Marz lied, sighing  
frustratingly. "All I know is that he did it. He had to have.  
There's no other explanation I can think of for it."

  

"Hon, you're starting to sound like  
a conspiracy theorist. You don't know for certain that it was him."

  

"Yes, I do. He had to have; the coil  
was working perfectly the last time we played with it, and we both  
know our way around it, so there was no way we could've messed up on  
it."

  

Peter wasn't convinced. "But why  
would he do something so cruel like that? What did he hope to gain?"

  

Marz glared at his friend, sighing. "I  
dunno. I think he was both pissed off at us being gay and messing  
around in the labs, and jealous of our talents. You remember when he  
kept on putting us in detention for no apparent reason, right?"

  

Peter nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah,  
the guy kept insisting it was because we were causing problems and  
being a bad influence on the other students, but we were graduating  
the top of our class. You think he'd really be so jealous and  
disgusted at us that he would actually try to kill us?"

  

Marz shrugged. "You've heard the  
reports; the bastard was capable of anything."

  

Peter nodded and frowned, thinking  
about something. "What happened to him, anyway?"

  

"He died," Marz said, simply. "Or,  
at least, that's what I hear. Similar kind of accident that we were  
in. In my opinion, the guy deserved it."

  

"I don't doubt that, if he did  
sabotage the coil," Peter replied, pointedly."Right now, it's all  
hearsay. I heard our case went cold."

  

"Yeah, it did. So did the one with  
the headmaster. Look, no offense, but can we get off the subject,  
now? I'm not too comfortable talking about it, right now."

  

Peter nodded and patted Marz on the  
back, comfortingly. "Sure, I don't mind. So, what do you want to  
talk about, now?"

  

Marz smirked and laid back, thinking  
to himself. "Well, what have you been up to, during my absence? I  
see you've made a name for yourself at Khan Industries. Found any  
hunky guys there that you liked?"

  

Peter blushed and nodded. "Yes, I  
did. Actually, you met him when you had your interview."

  

"You don't mean..." Marz blinked,  
mouth agape as Peter nodded, confirming his suspicions. "Well, talk  
about sleeping with the boss. Bet he was pounding your ass pretty  
good in the back room."

  

"Actually, it was the copy room,"  
Peter corrected, smiling. "And it was the other way around."

  

That got Marz's attention. "Really,  
now? You, such a little tabby, taking the ass of that big, bad-ass  
tiger? Now that I would love to see."

  

Peter blushed and grinned, beeping  
Marz's nose with a finger. "I think I can arrange that; he and I  
still sleep together on occasion, despite him being mated. He and his  
mate have an...interesting relationship going on."

  

Marz giggled and patted his friend's  
hand, warmly. "I would like that. Though, I'm surprised you aren't  
mated to him, right now."

  

Peter's disposition turned a little  
sour at that. "Believe me, he tried, but...he wasn't the right one  
for me. Not like you are."

  

Marz frowned, noting the dour turn of  
his friend's attitude. "Don't tell me you were pining for me all  
this time..." Peter nodded, solemnly. The tan tom hugged the tabby,  
tenderly. "Oh, hon, you shouldn't have. Like you said, we didn't  
know when I was going to wake up, and you had moved on with your life  
by the time I did. Just because I was your first, doesn't mean I had  
to be your only one."

  

Peter nodded, biting his lip a little  
in shame. "I know, but I couldn't help it. I...I love you, Marz. I  
always have, and I think I always will. I know I said I had moved on,  
but when it came to you...I can't. I just can't..." He gripped Marz  
tight, burying his head in his shoulder as he started crying.

  

Marz mrewled and snuggled the tabby  
tight, shushing him in an attempt to calm him down."It's alright,  
hon. It's alright. I understand. I never stopped thinking of you  
either, honestly. I...I don't think I could've survived for much  
longer without you."

  

Peter looked up at his friend and gave  
a weak smile, before kissing Marz tenderly on the lips. Marz, caught  
off guard, blinked a few times at the kiss before returning it in  
kind, rubbing his friend's sides with his hands. For a long while, he  
forgot entirely about his mission or his old metakat identity as he  
melted into Peter's embrace, making out with the tabby with all his  
heart. Peter, in turn, was just happy to be in his lover's embrace  
again, and moved his arm down to grip and fondle Marz's ass, gently,  
causing him to meep in amused shock. Grinning, he pressed himself  
tighter against Peter's body, lightly stroking his sides and thighs  
gently in response. That was all the encouragement Peter needed;  
slipping his hands underneath Marz's waistband, he felt around before  
his hand landed on the tom's package, fondling it gently. Marz let  
out a gasp as he was groped, grinding into the paw needingly as he  
explored his lover's body.

  

After a few moments of this, both kats  
were full hard and pressing against the tight fabric of their pants,  
just waiting to be released. Peter, his hand still occupied with  
Marz's girth, leaned back a little to give room for the tom to undo  
his pants, an offer Marz quickly obliged. As he undid the snap and  
unzipped the fly, Peter's husky foot-long member sprang to life,  
surprising Marz at his lack of underwear. Glancing up at his lover  
inquisitively, all he got was a giggle, shrug and kiss as Peter  
started undoing his pants, smiling slyly as he saw the velvety  
leather fabric of what was clearly a thong.

  

"I guess we both have interesting  
choices of underwear, huh?" Marz smirked, playfully.

  

Peter's giggle died down to a chuckle.  
"You can blame Khan for my lack thereof; he gets so horny when we  
play around it's impossible to keep anything on."

  

"I can bet. Speaking of..." Marz  
growled, mischievously, and pounced his lover, pinning him down on  
the bed as he started stripping Peter's clothes off. In spite of the  
lack of an arm, Peter's body was just as perfect as Marz had  
remembered it; a swimmer's build, looking almost like an otter with  
his height, and gorgeously handsome. It was no wonder Feral found him  
attractive... or why he found him so dominant; there was an authority  
beneath the meekness, a type of no-nonsense attitude that just exuded  
from every muscle of his being. His crotch didn't help matters any,  
either; the long, thick slab of male meat hung semi-limply in Peter's  
lap, adorned with its fair share and more of a kat's typical penile  
barbs, while his orange-sized balls laid deftly between his thighs,  
just waiting to be juiced by a skilled tongue and mouth. With  
difficulty, Peter also stripped Marz of his clothing, exposing his  
own taut body to his gaze; more chubby than Peter was, he was  
nonetheless fit and stern in frame, being somewhat more muscular than  
his smaller counterpart. Adorned on both nipples were a pair of metal  
hoops, with more lining his urethra and golf ball-sized testicles,  
and piercing the underside of his glans. Peter smiled as the memories  
came flooding back; Marz had such piercings even before they met, and  
were perfect contact points for their e-stim games, something that  
Peter theorized was done on purpose, given Marz's addiction to the  
electric tingle they produced in his nether regions.

  

Growling in unbridled lust at the  
sight of his naked lover, Marz stooped down and began tracing his  
tongue around the length of Peter's shaft, eliciting a moan from the  
tabby. The taste was just as delectable as he remembered it, a  
salty-sweet concoction of sweat, musk and precum that tingled the  
senses and intoxicated the taste buds. It was more than Marz could  
stand as he slowly took the kat's member into his mouth and started  
going down on him, sucking hungrily on the length of flesh like a  
kitten suckling on his mother. Peter, looking down at his lover,  
smirked broadly and placed his hand on the back of Marz's head,  
guiding him on his cock as the tom bobbed up and down its length.

  

After a few minutes of  
this ministration, Marz decided to take it a bit further; sliding his  
mouth off of Peter's length, he took one of his fingers and stuck it  
in his mouth, wetting it generously before moving it to the  
underside of the tabby's tail, pressing it gently against his  
puckered bud. Feeling the digit against his tailhole, Peter moaned  
and relaxed himself, allowing it to slide easily into him as Marz  
resumed his suckling on his cock. One finger quickly turned to two as  
Marz started pumping in and out of Peter's ass, his lustful growling  
sending rumblings through the tabby's cock. Finally, a third finger  
was added, and Marz quickly picked up a rhythm with his fingers and  
his mouth, going down each time he pulled out, and pushing in  
whenever he drew his lips upward. This dual pistoning quickly brought  
Peter on-edge, but for some reason, it wasn't enough to push him  
over.

  

That is, until Marz's powers chose  
that time to malfunction, again.

  

With a wince, Marz unwittingly  
discharged a mild bolt of static from his fingers deep into Peter's  
anus, shocking his insides and causing his sphincter to spasm.  
However, instead of pain, Peter cried out in pleasure as a huge glob  
of precum spurted in Marz's mouth. Marz barely got a chance to pause,  
contemplating the consequences of his actions, when Peter pushed his  
hand against the back of his head again and gave out a cry of "Spark  
me again, Thunder Kat!", indicating a clear desire to be shocked  
again. Grinning in deviousness, he slowly charged up his fingers and  
tongue, releasing short, low-voltage, random bolts of static from  
both as he administrated to Peter's crotch area, carefully  
controlling the bolts to make it seem like his "condition" was  
causing it instead of his powers. That seemed to do the trick; with  
each spark, Peter started preing heavier and heavier into Marz's  
mouth until finally, with a last, stronger burst of static to his  
prostate, Peter came, spilling what seemed like a lifetime of salty  
kat cream down Marz's throat. It was almost too much for the tom to  
drink, but he had much experience with taking Peter, so he was able  
to quickly compensate and take the full load down his gullet.

  

Looking up as he sucked  
the last dregs of cum from Peter's member, Marz saw a very exhausted  
but satisfied tabby laying on the bed, staring back at him with a  
grin. "I could get used to your condition, if it causes that to  
happen," he huffed, eagerly. Marz smiled back, a hint of saddened  
betrayal in his eyes that Peter thankfully didn't catch. _Thought I  
doubt you'd want to..._ Getting up, he repositioned himself into a  
straddling position over Peter's chest and head, stroking himself as  
he got close to his own orgasm. Knowing what the kat wanted, Peter  
reached up and did the same thing he was given, wetting his own  
fingers to shove underneath Marz's tail as he sucked the tom off,  
ravishingly. While he didn't have the powers Marz had, Peter was  
still able to make the kat's groin tingle with his ministrations,  
dexterously pawing and sucking until, with a final cry of pleasure,  
Marz shot his own load into Peter's mouth, the warm tongue and mouth  
milking him dry.

  

Once his balls were fully emptied into  
his lover, Marz rolled off Peter and cuddled up close beside him,  
snagging the tabby into a warm embrace. They kissed, tasting their  
own seed in each other's mouth, enjoying the flavor of their mixed  
contributions. Both kats purred as they hugged each other tight,  
letting the warmth of each other's body calm them in their afterglow.

  

Peter looked at his lover and smiled,  
kissing him gently on the lips. "I love you, Marz. I don't think I  
could ever spend another day without you, from now on."

  

Marz blinked, a little  
unsure of what to say to that. Now that the haze of lust had left his  
brain and he was thinking more clearly, he thought back to his old  
life, his life as Hard Drive, and the life Peter was offering him  
now...and he was conflicted. His time as Hard Drive had hurt a lot of  
people and caused a lot of destruction and thefts, and now he's using  
Peter to instigate yet another heist. Knowing Peter was completely  
ignorant about his past since the accident, and now knowing he still  
lived him and wanted to be with him, tore at his heart. He knew that,  
if Peter ever found out about his lifestyle, that would be the end;  
their relationship would be dashed, and anything that could've  
happened between them would be lost.

  

At the same time,  
though, Peter's declaration of love for him made him question  
returning to his old lifestyle. He knew it would be impossible to not  
return, to forget that his time as Hard Drive ever happened and  
return to loving Peter the way he wanted, but the moment those words  
of declaration of love to him slipped from Peter's lips, his heart  
melted. He couldn't just turn his back on this, just as he couldn't  
turn his back on his life as Hard Drive. He _wanted_ this; he  
wanted to be with Peter, to kiss and hold and caress and make love to  
him every single chance he got, to be his mate, to love him like  
Peter loved him back.

  

Peter, finally noticing his lover's  
indecision, tilted his head a little in confusion. "Hon? What is  
it? What's wrong?"

  

Blinking, Marz snapped out of his  
musings and gave a weak shrug and a thin smile. "Nothing. It's  
just...it's been a long time since we've done this, Peter. It feels  
good but weird, at the same time."

  

Peter frowned and shook his head, not  
buying it. "You can't fool me, Marz; you're worried about  
something. What is it?"

  

Marz sighed and curled up, biting his  
lip a little in consternation. "It's just...you've made a name for  
yourself, working for Khan, and I haven't, at least not the kind of  
name you'd want me to make for myself. I haven't kept a steady job in  
years, I've been running around this city, getting into trouble...I'm  
not the kind of guy I used to be, anymore, and I don't think you'd  
want that as a mate."

  

"What kind of trouble?"

  

"Just little tiffs, here and there.  
Typical zap in, get into a little mayhem with some locals, and zap  
out." He laughed half-heartedly at the joke he made. "I guess you  
could say that I've turned into a bit of a bad boy since you've been  
gone."

  

Peter hugged him tight and looked into  
his eyes. "Hon, listen to me: whatever trouble you might've gotten  
into, I don't believe it's your fault, and I don't believe you meant  
any harm by it. Whatever happened, I'll still be here for you, you'll  
never lose me. You got that, Thunder Kat?"

  

Marz stared at his lover for a few  
moments before finally smiling, holding him close. "Yes, sir."

  

Marz's first couple of months on the  
job was largely uneventful, giving the tom a sense of confidence as  
he made note of every bit of surveillance and security upgrade they  
made, since his bold attempt at a break-in over a month ago.  
Interestingly, his position as an apprentice gave him much deeper  
access to the labs than he initially thought, and he didn't have to  
go too far out of his way to spy out the situation. The guards, while  
doubled from their original number and still as highly-trained and  
heavily-armed as usual, were still spread out pretty thin along the  
building's floors, and he discovered several flaws in the sensors and  
alarms that made up the automatic security system for him to exploit  
with his powers. Pretty soon, he had a good diagram of what to expect  
during his next impromptu visit, and where to hit them for maximum  
impact with minimum risk.

  

The prizes he saw were pretty sweet,  
as well; state-of-the-art biomechanical devices and electronic  
medical gear were being researched and built, all miles above what  
even Pumadyne and the Metallikats could ever hope to see. Artificial  
limbs, respirators, artificial organs, sensory equipment, monitors,  
even experimental electro-stimulation devices for nerve-damaged  
patients were in the works. It was the latter of which he was most  
fascinated with; from what his superior told him, they were highly  
experimental and ran off the body's own bioelectrical field, allowing  
it to bypass or stimulate damaged nerve endings for victims of severe  
burns, chemical attacks, or - what Marz wanted to hear -  
electrical shocks. Combined with sensors built into artificial limbs  
or organs, they could use the body's own nervous system to render  
someone fully functional again.

  

_Perfect,_ the  
tabby thought to himself, smiling. _With some tweaks to that  
technology, I should be able to cure these blasted seizures of mine  
and increase my powers without the Surge Coat tenfold. Even the Swat  
Kats will end up kneeling before me!_

  

Such thoughts  
faded, though, when he passed by the artificial limb factory on his  
tour, and saw a perfectly manufactured and free-moving robotic right  
arm being tested for grip strength and sensitivity. Once he saw that,  
his thoughts turned immediately to Peter and his missing arm, and how  
such technology could be used to benefit him, as well. He then  
remembered what Peter had said about the nerves in his right  
shoulder, and he furrowed his brow in concern. Again, doubt gripped  
his mind as he began to question his commitment to the plan, but  
quickly shoved those doubts aside as he continued his recon of the  
labs.

  

Meanwhile, at Khan Towers, Khan,  
Feral, Chance and Jake - the latter two in their personas of the  
Swat Kats - were listening in on a play-by-play of Marz's movements  
through the labs by the head security guard, making note of all of  
the places and devices he stopped to question his supervisor on.

  

Chance - T-Bone - folded his arms  
and whistled in surprise. "Man, Mr. Khan, you're sure taking an  
awful risk letting that freak into such a secure area like this."

  

Feral growled and pointed at the Swat  
Kat, deftly. "May I remind you that you are here at our request?  
And as for Khan's plan..."

  

"As for my plan," Khan cut in,  
glancing at his mate in slight irritation. "I have it all under  
control. I requested you here to give us your assessment of what he  
might have planned for another heist. As such, what do you think,  
Razor?"

  

Razor frowned and rubbed his chin,  
thoughtfully. "My best guess would be that he'll go after those  
electro-stim devices your company is building; with those, he could  
increase the power of his Surge Coat immeasurably. Even we might not  
be able to stop him, if that turns out to be the case, and he gets  
his hands on them."

  

"Or maybe he could make use of his  
powers without that coat," Feral pointed out, frowning. "Remember,  
I've seen him outside of his coat after you ruffians capture him, and  
I can tell you right now his shock value, while diminished without  
it, is still very much present even out of it. What I don't get is  
why he's showing interest in the artificial limb production line."

  

Khan frowned and started to talk, but  
another voice interrupted him, filled with anger and disappointment.  
"It's because of me, sirs."

  

Peter was sitting at  
his desk, bored. It wasn't often that he would have nothing to do,  
but now was one of those times; he had finished the paperwork Khan  
had him do a few hours early, and with the tiger meeting with his  
mate up in his office, there wasn't going to be any new assignments  
offered to him, any time, soon. Sighing, he stretched out and put his  
feet on his desk, staring out the window and daydreaming about Marz.  
The tom was kind and decent to him, but curiously aloof with his  
past. He couldn't see Marz as a bad boy, far from it, but there was  
something off about his demeanor, something hidden behind his words  
and eyes that made him wonder just what was going on with the guy.  
_Maybe he's just uncomfortable with dating me, after all these  
years,_ he thought, wryly. _Maybe he's ashamed because he didn't  
make it big in life like I did, and feels embarrassed for dating  
someone of a higher caliber as him._

  

The familiar roar of the  
Turbokat's engines snapped him out of his musings as it flew into a  
hovering position above the tower. As it landed, Peter blinked and  
looked out the window, looking for what crisis was happening to bring  
the Swat Kats in to their center of business. He didn't have long to  
find out as T-Bone and Razor barged into the office, somewhat  
hurriedly.

  

"We're here on request of Shere  
Khan." T-Bone growled, hastily. "Will you let him know we're  
here?"

  

Peter stood there, agape, as he was  
addressed by the duo, but did as he was asked, flicking on the  
intercom and announcing the Swat Kats' arrival to his boss. After a  
moment, he was ordered to let them in, and he did so, watching them  
walk through the doors into Khan's personal suite. At first, he tried  
to go back to whatever semblance of work he could manage, but  
something kept him back, something about the Swat Kats' arrival that  
unnerved him. Frowning, he flicked a few switches on the intercom,  
tapping into the one in Khan's office to allow him to listen in on  
their conversations without Khan knowing. He didn't use it too often,  
not wanting to incur the tiger's wrath for spying on him, but on this  
occasion, something told him to do it, despite the risk.

  

What he heard astounded and enraged  
him.

  

"So, you think Hard Drive was  
involved in the attack on the headmaster of his college, after the  
incident?" Razor asked Feral, curiously.

  

Feral nodded. "There's no doubt  
about it; the fingerprints found at the crime scene were distorted  
and almost unusable, but matching them to Hard Drive's showed enough  
of a match to provide no doubt; he and Marz Raikou are one and the  
same, and he was responsible for the headmaster's death."

  

T-Bone growled, cracking his knuckles  
in frustration. "That isn't like Hard Drive; he's more interested  
in theft than destruction and death. Are you sure it's him?"

  

"I'm sure, T-Bone, and honestly I  
can't blame him; evidence reexamined from the site of the incident  
that created Hard Drive showed strong evidence that the headmaster  
was indeed the one who sabotaged the Tesla coil that exploded. I  
believe he used his powers to get revenge on the headmaster for the  
attempted murder."

  

Razor nodded, humming in doubt. "That  
still doesn't explain why he's after the tech in Khan Industries'  
labs, or why he's getting so buddy-buddy with Peter."

  

"Peter and Marz were good friends,  
probably lovers," Khan noted, pointedly. "Likely they haven't  
seen each other for so long, they don't know about the other's life  
after the incident. Peter always told me that I wasn't his first, so  
I'm assuming it was Marz that popped his proverbial cherry. If that's  
the case, he's probably playing it cool and avoiding conflict to  
prevent Peter from being hurt when he does try to steal my company's  
tech."

  

"And that makes him even more  
dangerous than before," Feral continued, frowning. "If we start  
getting on his or Peter's case about this, either one of them could  
crack and warn the other about our intentions, and blow the whole  
plan sky-high. Hard Drive might even try to use Peter as a hostage  
to keep us at bay."

  

Khan growled at that suggestion,  
aghast at such a proposition. "I don't think he would go that  
far...but we can't take the risk, either way. We'll wait until he  
makes his move at the lab, then swoop in to strike. We can't let him  
and Peter get together any more, if your theories are correct, lest  
we put Peter in danger."

  

That did it; standing up, Peter balled  
his hand into a fist and stormed toward the doors to Khan's office,  
determined to clear this mess up once and for all...

  

"Peter!" Khan gasped, surprised,  
staring at shock as the one-armed tabby pushed his way past the Swat  
Kats and to the tiger's desk. Swinging his arm back, he decked the  
tiger across the jaw; not a slap, but a full-fledged punch, sending  
Khan reeling back in pain.

  

"How dare you accuse my friend and  
lover of being such a horrible criminal!" Peter yelled, furiously.  
"How dare you, sir, threaten to separate us in a haphazard  
conspiracy theory!" The Swat Kats jumped on him after a few brief  
moments of stunned silence, only to get thrown off by the smaller  
kat,.

  

It took Feral to finally push the  
tabby back. "And how dare you punch _my_ mate! Do you know  
what you've just done?"

  

"Do you know what _you've_ just  
done, sir?!" Peter shouted back, eyes welling up with angry tears.  
"You have no right to accuse my lover to be Hard Drive; you have no  
proof, just speculation and circumstantial evidence that won't hold  
an ounce of water in court. And now you're not only planning on  
arresting him for no good reason but to also divide us for my sake?  
Who are you to say who I can and cannot have for my lover?"

  

"_Enough!!!_" Khan bellowed,  
rubbing his chin in the process. He glared daggers into the smaller  
feline, more hurt by the accusations than he was at the punch.  
"Peter, you have no idea what you are getting yourself into, and  
even we have only a vague idea of it, ourselves. This is purely a  
reconnaissance mission to determine what course of action to take if  
and when the worst happens, nothing more!"

  

"And what action would that be,  
sir?" Peter asked, in angry sarcasm. "You said it yourself, you  
do not wish Marz and me to be together as long as your fruitless  
accusations of his criminality continue. Are you really going to try  
and separate us? Are you really going to keep the only other love of  
your life from pursuing the love of _his?_"

  

The room went silent as the group  
mulled over that question. After a few minutes, Khan looked up,  
stared Peter right in the eye, and nodded. "If he is what we  
believe him to be...yes, for your own safety, we have to keep you  
away from him."

  

Peter stood there, fuming, unable to  
come up with a proper response to that; he knew that Khan was a  
sweetheart at heart, and always had his and his loved ones' best  
interests in mind. It showed even in his ruthless business practices;  
even though they seemed harsh to outsiders, once you were in the fold  
you quickly discovered they were fair and well-meaning, with plenty  
of compensation for all. So in the back of his mind, he knew what  
Khan was saying was true. However, he wasn't thinking rationally; his  
body was on automatic, his brain blocked out by irrational anger and  
protective instincts for Marz, and he said the words he thought he  
would never say in his life: "Then you can take your sympathies and  
this job and shove it, sir. I will not allow you to ruin this man's  
life for your petty conspiracy theories. You will have my resignation  
on your desk by tomorrow. Good day, sir.."

  

And with that, he ran out, not even  
bothering to slam the door behind him, leaving the group of kats  
staring bewildered behind him. As he ran, one thing permeated his  
mind: he had to warn Marz about what Khan and the gang were up to,  
before it was too late. Racing down to the ground floor of the  
building's parking garage, he dove into his car, started it up, and  
drove full-tilt out of it, headed straight toward the labs. As he  
drove, he dialed Marz's cell phone number and tried to get a hold of  
him, but Marz, having left his phone home for the night, wasn't  
answering. Growling in frustration, he threw the phone onto the  
passenger seat and continued his trip to the labs.

  

At the labs, Marz had checked himself  
out early and slipped into an unused part of the building, carefully  
avoiding the guards as he waited for nightfall. He wished he had his  
Surge Coat with him, but he knew he couldn't risk it, not at this  
point. Minutes turned to hours as he waited , until a final  
lights-out throughout the building alerted him to the fact that it  
was deserted once more. Smirking, he tossed his lab coat and charged  
up his powers, his hair and fur glowing lighter and spiker as the  
static electricity around him surged. His eyes dimmed to golden orbs,  
and his hair shot straight up in a staticky mowhawk.

  

Bracing himself, he pressed a hand  
against a power socket near the door, charging up electricity as he  
mutated himself into pure energy and entered the socket, sliding  
along the electrical conduits within the building's walls. Soon, he  
made his way to the main security room, where the head guard was  
lazily scanning the wall of monitors for any sign of invaders.  
Grinning to himself, the metakat popped his head onto one monitor,  
then another, until his face filled the entire wall. He cackled as  
the guard fell backward at the sight, startled out of his wits as the  
being now known as Hard Drive spoke.

  

"You're watching HDTV, Hard Drive  
Television, and on our next episode, we'll be robbing you blind and  
zapping you unconscious, all in wondrous 3D Shock-o-vsion!"

  

With that, the monitors started to  
burst, one by one, shooting lightning at the frightened guard. The  
guard tried his best to dodge the bolts as he ran to the button that  
would sound the alarm, but just as he got to it, a stray shock struck  
the button, destroying it.

  

"Uh, uh, uh, can't have you do that,  
now, can we? But let's give him a hand for trying anyway, folks!"  
Hard Drive then stuck a hand out of the destroyed button, its  
circuitry allowing him to reform as he grasped the hand of the guard,  
sending a taser-like shockwave through his system. Groaning, the  
guard rolled his eyes into the back of his head and collapsed, alive  
but out like a light. Reaching down, Hard Drive felt the guy's pulse  
to make sure he was still among the living, before patting him on the  
cheek. "Night night, Sleeping Beauty. Hopefully, when you wake up,  
this nightmare will be over and done for all of us..."

  

Back at Khan Towers, Feral was fuming  
at what Peter had just done to his mate.

  

"Goddamnit!" he yelled out,  
roaring almost loud enough for the entire building to hear him. "What  
in the hell is he thinking, trying to protect that criminal? If I had  
half a mind, I'd..."

  

"You'll do what, my love?" Khan  
asked, standing up to stare into Feral's eyes, confrontingly.

  

Feral growled and poked a finger at  
his lover's chest, defiantly. "You're not going to let him get away  
with this, now, are you, Khan?"

  

Khan continued to glare at the former  
Enforcer Commander, tempted to start swinging, himself, but managed  
to calm himself down as he realized what had just transpired.  
"...Yes, I will."

  

"You can't be serious! Mr.  
Collins..."

  

"Is his own man with his own  
priorities," Khan cut in, pointedly. "I should've realized this,  
sooner."

  

Feral quirked an eyebrow, confused.  
"What do you mean?"

  

Khan sat back down, rubbing his jaw,  
wearily. "He told me, once, while I was worrying about whether or  
not to marry you that I wasn't his first. I should've realized when  
he mentioned Marz what he meant by that. They aren't just lovers,  
they were separated by chance and brought together by fate, two men  
broken by their love only to be rebuilding each other together by  
that love. It's that love that's blinding him, right now, to the  
truth."

  

"Then shouldn't we go after him?"  
Razor asked, concerned. "I mean, If he finds out that Marz really  
is Hard Drive, there's no telling what he'd do, or what Hard Drive  
would do to him, in defense."

  

T-Bone nodded in agreement. "Yeah.  
No offense, but I don't care how deluded he is in love or how much  
electricity he was able to take during the incident, facing off  
against that psycho-electro won't be good on anyone's health, least  
of all his."

  

Feral nodded, still pissed. "At the  
very least, we should make sure things don't escalate between them,  
should the litter hit the fan."

  

Khan looked at the trio, unable to  
come to a decision, but finally nodded, as well. "Fine, we'll get  
going. But I warn you, no unnecessary force against either Hard Drive  
or Peter. I don't want either of them getting harmed, understand me?"

  

The trio nodded their agreement and  
headed out, Feral and Khan in their limo, the Swat Kats in the  
Turbokat. As he headed toward the labs, Khan secretly prayed for  
both Pater and Hard Drive - Marz, he reminded himself, gently -  
would be okay.

  

It was late at night before Peter was  
able to arrive at the labs. Most of the lights in the buildings were  
dark and the parking lot was itself barren. Shutting off his car, he  
jumped out and ran into the main building, passing by a few security  
guards along the way. The guards blinked as the one-armed tabby  
rushed by them, only to jump as a klaxon started blaring. "Intruder  
alert! Intruder alert! Lock down at Section E-7. Repeat, lock down at  
Section E-7. Theft in progress. Repeat, theft in progress." Peter,  
hearing the announcement, blinked and growled, cursing himself for  
his foolishness. Steeling himself, he ran toward the mentioned  
section, hoping to catch Marz before anything else went wrong.

  

In the aforementioned section, Marz  
was running for his life, dodging fire from guards and slipping under  
closing riot doors as he attempted to make his way out of the labs.  
Without his Surge Coat, he was reluctant to simply zap out of there,  
especially with the amount of experimental devices he was carrying.  
Once again, he was duped into thinking the lab was easy pickings,  
only to be sorely mistaken shortly after sneaking into the lab where  
the experimental electro-stimulation devices were being held. He was  
so sure that, after a week of studying the layout of the building and  
its security, he'd be able to get what he needed no problem, but  
instead, it was almost as if someone knew what he had planned and was  
just baiting him on before springing the trap on him.

  

Sliding underneath another riot door,  
he stopped as a familiar face came into view: Peter, running  
full-tilt toward him with a worried, almost enraged look in his eyes.  
They both screeched to a halt as their eyes met, both widening in  
shock as they saw what the other was doing. Then Marz saw the guards  
coming up from behind Peter. Yelling at the kat to get down, he  
conjured up the most potent bolt of lightning from his fingertips and  
flung it at the riot door behind him, causing it to slam with a crash  
between him and the guards as Peter did as he was told. With another  
couple bolts of lightning, he magnetically sealed the door, locking  
the guards out of the corridor. Peter, looking up from his crouched  
position, looked back to see the electrified door and the guards  
pounding on it, trying to get inside, then glanced back to Marz, a  
look of utter shock and horror on his face.

  

"What the hell are you doing here,  
Peter?" Marz yelled, trying futilely to hide his stash behind his  
back.

  

Peter got up and brushed himself off,  
before angrily stomping toward Marz, growling a little in rage. "I  
should be asking you the same question, Marz. Or would you prefer I  
call you 'Hard Drive', now?"

  

Marz frowned as Peter walked over to  
him and grabbed the duffel bag that held the device out of his hand.  
Looking into it, Peter snarled and dropped it onto the ground and  
grabbed Marz by the collar, bringing him down to eye-level with him.  
"What the hell have you been doing, Marz? I just risked my job and  
my life with Khan to defend you from his and his friends'  
accusations, and now..." He sniffed as tears welled up in his eyes.  
"And now I learn they're all true. Every one of them. "

  

"Peter, I..." Marz started,  
tearfully, but stopped, unable to come up with a proper retort to  
Peter's words.

  

Snarling, Peter went to punch Marz in  
the jaw, his eyes flared in anger, only to go wide-eyed as Marz,  
instinctively, reached out and slammed him with a bolt of  
supercharged lightning. To both parties' surprise, though, instead of  
blasting Peter back and causing a heart attack, it only made him  
stumble back a little as it scattered harmlessly around his body.

  

Marz gasped and reached out, trying to  
grab his friend in concern. "Oh, gods, Peter, I'm so sorry, I..."

  

Peter growled and knocked Marz's hands  
away, taking another swing at the now-exposed metakat. Again, Marz  
attempted to defend himself, trying to block Peter's punch with his  
arm, only for his powers to spaz out again, sending a shockwave  
through his arm and into Peter's as they connected. Again, Peter was  
knocked back, the electricity diffusing around Peter's flesh and fur.  
Seeing how futile this battle was becoming, Marz quickly grabbed  
Peter by the shoulders and slid his hands down, pinning the tabby's  
arm to his side in order to calm him down. Peter, still pissed off,  
tried to fight him, but his fighting slowly dwindled as he realized  
Marz wasn't trying to fight him back. Looking up, he stared at Marz,  
solemnly, and buried his head into the kat's chest, sobbing his eyes  
out.

  

"Why? Why is this happening? What  
happened to change you like this?"

  

Marz blinked, looking down at his  
lover in despair, and powered down, his normal appearance gradually  
coming back as he willed his powers back in check. It was hard -  
much harder than it used to be - but he managed to do it, his fur  
settling down and returning to its original color, his hair falling  
limp as the static that held it upright dissipated, and his eyes  
returning to their normal state. Hugging Peter tight, he hushed the  
tabby gently, sighing as he looked around the room. "This isn't  
exactly the right place to talk about this, hon."

  

Peter shook his head, emphatically,.  
"No, I have to know, now. And I'm not leaving until I do."

  

Marz sighed and looked around, trying  
to find any place secure enough for their discussion. A doorway to  
the side of the corridor caught his eye, and he darted in, dragging  
Peter with him. Inside was the unintentional memory of a nightmare  
gone by; an electronics lab, filled to the hilt with all sorts of  
electrical devices, including a professionally-made Tesla coil in the  
middle. Slamming the door behind them, Marz used his powers to seal  
it like he did with the blast doors blocking the guards' entrance.  
Turning, he saw Peter looking over the lab in remembrance, a solemn  
look on his face as he touched the coil tenderly.

  

"This device...it's where all of  
this started, wasn't it? If the one at college hadn't blown..."

  

Marz frowned and walked up to Peter,  
trying to hug him again. Instead, Peter turned and pounded  
half-heartedly on his chest again. "Why did you leave me, hon? Why  
did you get into this unsavory business?"

  

Marz frowned and stepped back,  
extending his arms in presentation. "Look at me, hon; that accident  
made me a monster, a freak of nature with little left to lose. No one  
would hire me, in this state, and I doubted at the time that you  
would've taken me back, especially after thinking me dead for so  
long, so what choice did I have in the matter?"

  

"But why do this, hon?" Peter  
asked, insistently. "Why keep me in the dark like this and try to  
use me to rob my employer blind?"

  

Marz growled and bit his lip,  
struggling to keep his composure. "No offense, but I wished I  
hadn't reunited with you; things would've gone so much easier without  
this; I could've slipped in and out without anyone noticing, and  
you...you'd be safe to pursue whatever life you've been living."

  

Peter mrewled, sadly, and frowned,  
reaching out to stroke Marz's arm gently; it was still cracking with  
electricity from the large bursts he used to seal the doors, and it  
seemed to be growing in intensity. "You weren't kidding about your  
condition, were you? You were just hiding how severe it was."

  

Marz nodded. "Normally, without my  
Surge Coat, I can only produce low-level electricity, but recently my  
powers seem to have a mind of their own, going off in fits and spurts  
without my doing anything. And they're growing worse. That's why I  
needed the tech from your boss's labs, to try and whip up an antidote  
for this."

  

"But why not come to a hospital or a  
specialist, or..."

  

"There are no specialists for this  
condition, hon," Marz snapped back, frustrated. "Believe me, I've  
tried, but not even the docs on the Enforcers' payroll know what's  
going on with me. The only specialist I can count on is me, and  
without that tech, I can't cure my condition... not that I'd ever  
want to..."

  

Peter frowned. "You've become  
addicted to the power, and the criminal lifestyle, haven't you? With  
those devices, you could increase your powers to the point where no  
one could stop you, couldn't you?"

  

Marz nodded. "Yeah, at least...that  
was the plan. But the more time I spent with you, the more I realized  
that you meant more to me than this life. I...I don't want this  
power, anymore. I want to be normal, I want to be with you and never  
have to deal with my stupid alter ego ever again."

  

Peter stood there, contemplating all  
that he heard. He could tell in Marz's eyes that he was telling the  
truth, but he was hesitant to believe him; after being used for so  
long without his knowledge, could he ever trust the guy again? Just  
then, he realized something else, something that hadn't come to mind  
until then, and he had to know the answer. "...You were the one who  
killed the headmaster, weren't you?"

  

Marz blinked as the question was  
asked, a pit forming in his stomach as he realized what he had been  
inquired about. "Hon, he sabotaged the coil, tried to kill us both.  
He confessed as much when I confronted him about it. The bastard was  
sick and he deserved what he got!"

  

"How could you be so sure?" Peter  
growled, despairingly. "With your powers, he could've told you  
anything you wanted to hear, and it wouldn't have made a difference."

  

"No, he confessed quite readily  
without me having to create so much as a static spark. Hell, he  
blabbed about it the moment he realized it was me coming after him,  
he was so surprised I was still alive."

  

Peter frowned as he absorbed what he  
was told. He had to ask Feral about it, if Khan and the others were  
willing to forgive his impudence, but he had a feeling Marz was  
correct. Still, he couldn't believe what was going on,. It seemed  
like a distant dream, vague and undefined, as he fell out of focus  
with the world and narrowed his vision to himself and Marz.

  

"I...I dont even know what happened,  
after that," Marz cried, tearfully. "I didn't even know about my  
powers until after I confronted the dean. All I know was thare were  
sparks, lots and lots of cackling, and when I finally came to, I had  
his charred flesh on my hands, on my body. It...it was...oh, gods,  
Peter..."

  

Peter gasped as he saw Marz break  
down, his powers fluctuating, causing him to go from normal state to  
the state he was as Hard Drive and back, rapidly. It was beginning to  
dawn on Peter what was happening; Marz's powers were going out of  
control, his emotional instability translating into actual  
instability with his ability to control his electrical impulses.  
Remembering the sudden seizures the tan kat had before, he wondered  
just how much of his willpower it took now just to maintain his  
normal presence. He also realized why he hadn't seen Marz until now;  
the burden of being a murderer, accidental or otherwise, must've  
weighed heavily on his conscience; from what he was told by the Swat  
Kats, Hard Drive usually wasn't in the habit of harming anyone, if he  
could help it. _He probably didn't think I could love someone like  
him after what he did, after what he had become._

  

Marz sniffed and attempted to speak,  
his voice cracking in choked-back tears. "I...I didn't  
mean...to...to kill him, hon... I...I just could...couldn't help  
my...myself..."

  

Peter, worried, snuck up close to Marz  
and wrapped his arm around him, the sparks dying down a little as  
they were absorbed into Peter's fur. He nuzzled Marz, trying to calm  
him down. "It's alright, hon. It's alright. I'm here, now. It'll  
all work out, now."

  

Marz shrugged, just as lost to the  
world as Peter was. "I dunno; I can't exactly knock you out and  
make you forget what happened. My powers don't work like that, and  
besides, they don't seem to affect you, for some reason. I guess  
it's a side-effect to the blast, just like my powers were."

  

"And I've pretty much blown my  
chance of retaining my job out of the water trying to protect you,"  
Peter noted, without going into any other details. He didn't need to;  
Marz new that harboring a dangerous criminal like him was enough to  
get him arrested and suspended from work, if not worse. "But  
something has to give, here. One of us has to sacrifice their  
livelihood for the other. It's the only way we'll both survive this."

  

Marz frowned and thought, trying to  
come up with a plan. Peter was right; there was no way both of them  
would be coming out of this one intact; one of them had to give  
themselves up for the other to get off. Sighing, he made his  
decision. "I've been in prison enough times to know the routine.  
I'll be gone for a couple of months, a year or two at most, then I'll  
be back on the streets and we can pick up where we left off, if  
that's what you so - _GYAAAAAH!_"

  

Peter winced as Marz started spasming  
out of control, first in his left arm, then his right, then his  
entire body started jerking and sparking like a robot going haywire.  
Concerned, he rushed to Marz's side and hugged him close, the  
residual electricity coming off him being absorbed by Peter's skin  
and fur. "Marz, hold on, I'll try to get someone to help. Just stay  
with me, okay?" Digging out his phone, he hastily called Khan's  
cell phone, the signal crackling due to the close proximity to Marz's  
powers.

  

After a few rings, the tiger picked up  
and growled into the phone. "Peter? What are you - "

  

"Just shut up and listen, sir,"  
Peter yelled into the phone, keeping the spasming Marz close. "Marz  
is down and we need an ambulance and your best technicians here,  
pronto. He's going into spasms and I think his powers are going out  
of control from him using them so much without his Surge Coat. You  
have to help him!"

  

Silence, then Feral's voice squealed  
over the line. "We will not help that criminal scum, especially  
after the stunt you just pulled."

  

Khan batted his mate away with a snarl  
and took the phone back. "How do I know this isn't a trick, Peter?"

  

Peter bit his lip and held back an  
enraged roar. "You can hear the static over the phone, can't you?  
Please, he may die, at this rate! You have to help him. I'm sorry for  
what I did, but if you've ever loved me, _please help him!_"

  

Again the phone went silent as Khan  
considered his options. With a glance of indignation to his mate, he  
made up his mind. "Alright, we'll be there in five minutes. Try to  
have him hold out until then, okay?"

  

Peter smiled and nodded. "Yes, sir."

  

Peter sat with Khan and Feral at the  
court house, waiting for the verdict on Marz. It had been months  
since the robbery attempt, and things were never the same since;  
Marz, thankfully, had gotten the treatment he needed in time, telling  
the technicians where his lair was so they could examine and  
reverse-engineer his Surge Coat for a cure for him. While they did  
so, Peter stayed right by his side; at first, the docs tried to to  
pull him away from the injured kat, but the constant sparks flying  
from Marz's body kept them from getting too close, and realizing that  
Peter was not harmed by them, they decided to let him be. Eventually  
Khan's medical technicians were able to create a prototype device  
from his Surge Coat, but it wasn't perfect; he had to wear a rather  
bulky device that looked like a three-ring collar around his neck to  
help regulate his electricity, but the doctors said that it and  
regular contact with Peter - whose skin they determined now acted  
as a sort of insulator against electrical attacks - should keep the  
spasms down to a minimal. After that was done, Marz was taken into  
Enforcer custody to stand trial for the robbery.

  

As Marz was carted away, Khan - with  
Feral grousing at him from behind - placed a hand on Peter's  
shoulder and squeezed it, tight. It was a sign of concern and  
respect, a gesture that Peter knew meant the punch he threw didn't  
hurt their trust. Sitting down, they began discussing what was going  
to happen to Marz and what it meant for them; after a long  
deliberation, Khan realized just how much Marz had meant to Peter,  
and how much he had risked to defend him. As they talked, Khan  
explained to Feral how, the last time Peter had hit him and  
threatened to leave, he did it out of concern for Khan and his  
relationship with Feral; now, he did it out of concern for his own  
relationship with Marz, something he just now realized was little  
different in perspective. It took some doing, but Feral was finally  
convinced of Peter's convictions and was able to forgive him for what  
he had done.

  

At the same time, Khan had to admit  
that he owed Marz one; with the reverse-engineering of the kat's  
Surge Coat, he managed to acquire several levels of electrical and  
medical technology that even his best technicians weren't able to  
properly create, on their own. To Peter's surprise, Khan revealed  
that, with the tech gleaned from the coat, they were able to advance  
the sensitivities and usefulness of the devices Marz was trying to  
steal exponentially, and tests seemed to indicate they should be able  
to work even with Peter's own anti-electrical condition and damaged  
nerves. With time, he was sure Peter would be able to get a fancy new  
cybernetic arm no problem.

  

Now, as they awaited the verdict,  
Peter looked at Marz, sorrowfully. He couldn't believe what had gone  
on, in the past couple of months, but he was grateful that it was  
over. Marz, on the other hand, was stoic as ever, patiently awaiting  
his fate as the judge read the court's decision: guilty of robbery in  
the first degree. Biting back tears, Peter turned away from Marz as  
the latter bowed his head low, knowing what the judgment meant.  
However, in a shocking twist, the judge continued to read the  
judgment; in light of the revelation about Marz's power and due to  
the doctors' prescriptions, the court would defer custody of Marz to  
Peter for house arrest. Blinking back tears of surprised joy, Peter  
and Marz rushed up to meet each other in a warm embrace, grateful for  
the court's mercy. They didn't even bother to listen to the other  
restrictions the judge placed on Marz, such as a year away from the  
city in a facility suitable for containing him (which they later  
learned was a self-sufficient cabin in the woods that Khan and Feral  
used for their honeymoon) and a strict restraint against him using  
his powers; all they cared about was that they would finally be  
together.

  

As they walked out of the courthouse,  
Khan stopped the duo and asked to talk with Marz, privately. Ignoring  
a dirty look from his mate, he pulled Marz away and into a dark  
corner, making sure no one was around to listen in. "First of all,  
you can thank me for ensuring the judge was so lenient on you."

  

Marz nodded, solemnly. "I figured  
you were the one behind this. Thanks. I don't think I could ever  
repay you for this."

  

Khan smiled, wickedly. "There is  
something, but before we discuss that, there is something I must  
emphasize in regards to your relationship with Peter."

  

Marz nodded again, knowing where this  
was going. "I understand, sir. I won't harm a hair on his head, or  
any other place on his body."

  

"Good. I'll hold you to that,  
because if you break that promise, I swear I'll hunt you down and  
break you, understand?"

  

Marz winced, shying away from the  
tiger as he said that. "Loud and clear, sir."

  

Khan nodded. "Good. Now that that's  
taken care of, I heard you were once in the business of, let's just  
say... technological espionage?"

  

The tom frowned. "Yes, sir, but you  
heard the judge; I'm done with all of that stuff, now."

  

The tiger growled and placed a hand on  
Marz's shoulder, staring at him coldly. "Not until I say you are,  
boy. You said you wanted to make this up to me, well here's your  
chance. Now, I'm assuming you've run into them enough times to know  
about the Swat Kats, correct...?"

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/q1xxPE91
Part of the series Swat Kats
Previous: https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/577249-aftermath-2.md