Jake eyes himself in the mirror for probably the eighty-seventh time, and debates trimming at his chin whiskers once more, but there's an insistent banging on the bathroom door.

"HEY! Sureshot! Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!" Chance shouts.

"Okay okay, keep your tail on!" Jake says, and quickly dashes his face with aftershave before rushing out.

Chance makes a face and pinches his nose closed as they head down the hall. "Ick. Glad I'm not dating you."

"Hey, this is expensive stuff, Chance! It's supposed to drive the she-kats wild," Jake says with a grin. He grabs his sunglasses off the kitchen counter as they pass by.

"Uh huh. Drive them wild alright. Wildly trying to claw their way to freedom to escape the smell," Chance teases. Jake gives him a good natured punch to the shoulder. Together the two toms head to the tow truck, and Jake jumps inside while Chance is pulling the garage doors shut and hanging the 'Closed' sign.

"Got everything," Jake says, as he checks his pocket for the SWAT Kat communicator and the little doohickey that vibrates if there's an alarm anywhere on the salvage yard grounds.

"Me too, buddy," Chance says cheerfully, and digs in his pocket to make double sure. He jumps into the driver's side and Jake climbs in shotgun. "So, the big day, you lucky dog you."

"Please, Chance, there's no reason to be vulgar," Jake says airily and they both laugh as the tow truck heads off.

Soon enough, with radio blaring, the tow truck pulls into the parking lot near Megakat City Waterfront Park and Jake hops out. "Alright buddy, have a good time!" Chance calls. "I'll be back in a couple hours. Kiss her for me!" he shouts.

"CHANCE!" Jake glowers at him as his buddy laughs and backs the truck out.

Jake shakes his head and walks out of the parking lot towards the boardwalk and the clusters of shops facing the water.

The sun was warm on his fur and he was feeling pretty sassy as he walks towards the Tastee Dream ice cream shop. Callie'd come back for her oil change last week, and while Chance stared at them with wide eyed disbelief, suggested rather than dinner they meet for an afternoon out at the Boardwalk. Jake readily agreed. Chance was grumbling a little after Callie left, then he spent the rest of the afternoon teasing him and acting progressively prouder of his buddy, like he'd set them up or something! But that's Chance for you. He just wants everybody around him happy.

Jake spots Callie just then, and grins widely. Instead of her pink suit dress, she was in cream capris, pink flat sandals, and a light pink sleeveless top. Jake thought she looked absolutely drop dead gorgeous.

"Hi, Jake," she greets him.

"Whuh oh um, hey, Callie, you look great in civvies!" Is all he can think to say.

She laughs. "Why thank you, you don't look half bad yourself. Shall we?"

Jake gallantly offers her his arm and they stroll off, chatting as they move past the Tastee Dream and a Katsafarian hair bead weaver.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Meanwhile, Chance turns onto the main road and pulls a list out of his breast pocket. "Okay... Al's Hardware, KAPA Autosupply, Fuzzy's Electronics, groceries, post office... Whew. I hope I can get this all done before I have to get back and pick him up," he says to himself.

The truck rumbles loudly along the roadway until he hits the edge of town and a few mega-box stores. He passes right by the national brands and pulls along a dingy little store front lined with parking meters. He hops out and plunks a couple coins into the meter before he heads inside. "Afternoon, Susan," he calls, at which a smiling she Kat comes around the counter.

"Morning Chance, it's not afternoon for three minutes! No Jake today?" she questions.

Chance pulls a list out of a pocket with a shake of his head. "Nah, but he sent a list," he says with a smile and she takes it, raising her eyebrows.

"Well another puzzler. I'll get a box," she jokes and will move off, and Chance slides down an aisle and starts reading off serial numbers on boxes of microchips. He grabs one and then moves to another section, picking up solder and a few other odds and ends. He carries it back to the counter, where Susan is packing a box with smaller boxes. "This going on the Enforcer charge account?" She asks and Chance shakes his head. He pulls a few bills off a money clip and watches just a little unhappily as the cash disappears into the register. He thanks her and will head next to KAPA Autosupply, which is a lot easier transaction when most of it gets charged either to the garage or the bill sent directly to the Enforcer accountants. The next couple hours are like that, but interrupted with a quick stop at Pepe's Taco House and a social call to Pop's Newstand.

While Chance is trying to bum free comics off Pops Purrkins, back at the waterfront Callie and Jake finished sharing a lunch of tuna burgers at McKats, and were strolling together across the sand with pineapple flavor ice cream cones from the Tastee Dream in hand. Kits were running around with floaters and sand buckets and there was a breeze coming off the water.

"I'm glad you suggested going to the Tastee Dream. I've never had pineapple ice cream."

"Good isn't it," Jake agrees. "Much better than vanilla at McKats."

"Mmm hmm," she replies, taking another careful ice cream lick.

They walk in companionable silence for a couple moments.

"This is nice," Callie comments.

"Oh uh - I'm glad!"

She nods a little. "It's nice to get out- I've regularly put in 18 hour days at the office lately… I was there 36 hours last time Mad Kat showed."

Jake shakes his head. "Sounds like you're working too hard."

"Oh it's really not as terrible as all that. It's about the 35th hour that I really start to drag." she says wryly and Jake laughs.

"Not enough coffee in the world?"

"Not if they perked it in Megakat Bay," she replies with feeling. "So… yeah. This is nice to get some down time. It's been awhile since there wasn't a function or an emergency on a Saturday."

"Yeah, first Saturday we been closed at the garage in a couple…. evers," Jake says finally. "I guess since Chance is picking up parts today, he's not really getting any off time," he says slightly guiltily.

"Poor Chance! We should have invited him to join us!" Callie replies.

Jake's eyes widen. "Uh, no! I mean, he LOVES picking up parts!"

Callie giggles, hiding her mouth with the hand holding her ice cream. "Never mind then, we'll forget I suggested it." They continue strolling along the sand, and Callie turns the occasional interesting shell or piece of driftwood over with her foot as they go. "It's been awhile since I dated."

"What, really?"

"Yes, why? Does that surprise you?" she asks, between licks of ice cream.

"Well I uh- I'd figured you had dates lined up out the door," he admits. He's already down to the cone and he takes a big bite.

"Eighteen. Hour. Days." she says, her expression and voice deadpan and he snickers.

"Alright I stand corrected. I'm honored you chose me to break the pattern with," he says and her eyes soften as she reaches to take his hand. Then to his extreme disappointment she pulls back and hides her hand in her pocket.

"Well! I shouldn't say that I -never- date. I get out some. But it's usually stuffy society events, galas and functions and things where I'm paired up with some tom I barely know," she admits. "It's much friendlier here with you instead of trying to make small talk with some tom I barely tolerate."

"Sounds awkward."

She shrugs, side stepping a lump of seaweed and takes another lick of ice cream. "The world views some of these wealthy society toms have elude me. I have a little trouble feeling sympathetic when they're complaining about their employee union. How dare they negotiate for a dental plan!" She rolls her eyes. "Oh, and business she-kats? They are the worst. They've spent so much time clawing their way to the top they're -always- on the lookout for some other obstacle to break down - And I seem to be a target." She pauses a moment, licking her ice cream as she thinks. "Some are so competitive with Toms they minimize their femininity to the point they resemble the males they resent, and the others emphasize it and use males as stepping stones to reach the top. They even perfume their tails and wave them in Manx's face."

Jake has the uncomfortable feeling that was a dig at his cologne.

"If I run into one of them on the street they tend to get bitchy with me. Maybe it's the pink," she says impishly.

"You look good in pink! I mean, you look good in everything!" he stammers, cheeks flushed. "They're just jealous they don't look as good in pink as you do, Callie," he says with conviction.

"Why, thank you Jake," she purrs, and for a second he hopes she's flirting like he thinks she might be. He steps a bit closer and she smiles up at him shyly, and reaches for his hand.

The touch never happens, since at the instant before their fingers meet a loud noise explodes on their ears.

MMMMMRRRRRROOOOWWWWWWWMMMMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

"What in the world is that?!" Callie exclaims, and they both stare skyward for a moment. A streak of bright light is cutting through the light cloud cover and growing brighter by the second.

Jake grabs Callie around the middle, jerks her to the ground and rolls them both out of the way as something impacts into the sand mere feet away. It's a deceptively gentle landing for how fast it came in but sand flies everywhere.

"Jake, what-?" Callie asks, lifting her head out of the sand. The noise had stopped with the impact of the object and the silence was eerie, in a way.

"Stay down, Ms. Briggs," he cautions before he gets quickly to his feet. He looks towards the crater dug into the ground. "No explosion. Maybe it's a meteor?"

"Jake?" Callie is getting to her knees. "If it's a meteor why am I hiding like an ostrich."

"Aw Callie I'm sorry, I guess I panicked," he apologizes, and reaches to help her to her feet.

"Well, this IS Megakat City," she says with amusement. She brushes the sand off herself and they walk together to the edge of the crater. In the middle of the three foot deep depression a dark colored, pebbly textured oval is smoking with heat.

"I've never seen a meteor," Callie comments, "outside a museum I mean."

Jake scratches at the back of his head, and glances up. The impact had gathered attention and in the too-close distance he could see a literal herd of kittens and adults heading their way. He starts to step down into the crater.

"Be careful! If it's a meteor won't it be hot?" Callir cautions.

"It should be really, really hot," he says, curiously with his hand hovering over the oblong shape. "It's already cooling down. I don't know… something is weird…". He straightens up and glances over his shoulder at her. "I don't think it's made of rock. It's kind of… It's leathery looking. I don't want to touch it yet."

"If it's not a meteor then what is it?" Callie asks.

"I don't know. I've never seen a substance like this..."

Callie gasps. "Jake! It's- it's breaking!"

"Woah..." He gasps, nearly stumbling backwards onto his tail. "I've never seen..." He murmurs, leaning towards it. Sure enough a seam cracks open and splits in two the capsule or pod or… '-EGG-. It's an egg,' Jake realizes.

The creature that emerges is about the size of a car battery, six legged, and with a pincer-like mouth and huge flapping ears. It was coated in a thick jelly substance that it seemed to be eating off itself by scraping it away with its mandibles. It lays at first on it's side, exhausted, only half heartedly cleaning itself and paying no attention to the crowd of Katizens who've surrounded it.

"What is it?! And where'd it come from?" Callie glances up at the sky.

"It's amazing! Whatever it is," Jake says, leaning in with fascination.

The ….. thing rights itself, emits a squealing trumpet, and scampers up the crater sides like it'd not just been born. It darts between two startled Katizens and into a stand of sea grass.

"Good heavens, it's fast!" Callie comments, shocked. The sea grass waves as the creature moves through the vegetation. It reaches out with its mandibles and starts to tear up the grass and eat.

"We probably shouldn't lose it," Jake says, then his ear twitches and he glances up. "Incoming!"

An object is approaching them at startling speed and circles the area once, as katizens stare and point. The object is some sort of hovering platform with a thin central column. Upon this platform are standing three slender, frail looking tripedal beings. While they have three legs they still have two arms, and assuming the use of the objects they're carrying each are armed to the teeth. At least Jake can only presume those are weapons. They swiftly land and fan out, weapons in hand pointing towards the Katizens as they move towards the creature.

"Woah! Who… Or what are they?" Jake exclaims, backing away. He grabs Callie and pushes her behind him, taking a defensive stance. "I don't know why they're here but…."

The beings proceed carefully until they've made a three cornered perimeter around the little grass-eater. "It's… almost as if they're guarding it.." Callie muses, then realizes that the crowd is strengthening. More of a mob.

"Uh oh. Those guys are gaining a little too close," Jake says noticing one of the creatures leveling it's weapon at the encroaching, curious Katizens.

"Please! Everyone, stay back!" Callie shouts, raising her hands.

An odd buzzing noise starts and Jake tenses. Whatever was about to happen, he had to try to keep Callie safe. Was it one of their weapons charging? The noise causes all the encroaching mob to pause, and it's followed by a -thud-, and a shockwave that ripples out from the sea grass. Sand flies into the surrounding observers faces and there are shrieks of surprise and complaint. When Jake lowers his forearm from his eyes, he gasps. The battery sized… thing is now a little bigger than a toaster oven. The frail beings start a screeching noise that is almost melodic. If Jake didn't know better, he would say they were celebrating.

Some of the Kats scream in fear at the noise and the creatures transformation and there is a general exodus of most of the katizens. Unfortunately one small group comprised of teenagers continues to hang around, staring at the creature. The beings seem to tolerate their presence as long as they're watching. Then one darts in, throws his beach towel over the creature and tries to scoop it up.

It emits a shriek and so does the group of teens, all of whom collapse. The creature shuffles further into the stand of grass and resumes eating. The alien beings chatter animatedly for a moment, not very concerned it seems to Jake, and one pokes a downed teen with his foot.

"Woah! I don't know what that thing is but it's dangerous! We need to- Callie?" He then realizes that the Deputy Mayor is nowhere in sight.

Then he hears her voice over the panicking crowd trying to direct katizens to safety. "Everyone! This way!" From his vantage point in the crater she was barely visible over a dune, though only a few yards away. In the meantime, Jake shakes his head and cautiously approaches the downed teenagers. One of the tripedal beings steps between him and them, making a hissing noise. "Okay... Guess that's not an option..." He says slowly, and reaches into a pocket to pull out his triangle shaped SWAT Kat communicator. "Nice and easy pals, I'm not gonna hurt your pet. Just gonna call my buddy..."

"Breeeeee-OP," sounds off one of the beings, and immediately all three turn their attention to him. One gestures open handed at him. Jake raises an eyebrow. The being makes the same open gesture, lowering its weapon. It forms its hands into a triangle and centers it over its chest. "... Hey... Callie! I think they are trying to be friendly," he calls, taking a cautious step towards the beings.

Callie comes towards him, her eyes roving between the three teens and the beings. The beings allow her to approach the teenagers, lean down and check their pulses. "It's like they're all deep asleep," she calls to Jake. Jake was standing still as one of the beings steps a bit closer to him, making noises and gesturing at the device in his hand between making triangle shapes over his chest.

"We'll call for ambulances," he says, watching the beings curiously. He needed to put the device away before Callie spotted it, but he was curious. He moves his communicator over his chest and all three trill, again almost celebratory. "As long as we don't bother their pet…"

He glances up when someone shouts "Look, it's the Enforcers!" Shouts of excitement are turned back into screams of fear and a mob of running panicking Kats when one of the tripedal beings abruptly raises its weapon and fired at the approaching chopper. And it disappears. Gone, just winks out of existence.

"Oh no! Jake, come on!" Callie shouts, grabbing the tom's wrist and dragging him towards the ladder back to the boardwalk. He climbs up after her and they take shelter between the Fruity Ice and the native necklace seller. Pandemonium has broken out on the beach and the boardwalk as fleeing katizens rush every which way. The tripedal beings are still picking off choppers, and the remaining Enforcers begin to fire their machine guns. One trace gets too close to the still- eating creature and the tripedal brings go absolutely wild. All three are now riding a flying conveyance and engaging the choppers in midair. Where they got them, or where the one they arrived on had gone Jake was not certain of, but at the moment he had more pressing concerns.

"We've got to get you out of here, Callie."

"I can't leave all these katizens!" She protests.

"You're right that they're in danger but you can't protect them," he points out.

"Maybe not, but I know someone who can," Callie murmurs, turning her back to Jake to rummage in her purse.

Jake about leaps out of his skin as his alarm vibrates in his breast pocket and he slaps his hand over it quickly. "Uh, Callie, we really should-" he starts, and Callie sighs.

"We should. And I should call the Mayor."

There is a screech on the surface road behind the little shops on the boardwalk, as a cruiser screeches to a halt and Feral's voice is heard. "You fools! Who gave you the order to fire!" He hears Feral roaring. "You nearly killed civilians!"

He leaps out of the cruiser and darts between the buildings, coming face to face with the two. He stops mid step, startled. "Ms. Briggs! Are you- CLAWSON? What are you doing here?" he snarls.

"Hey Feral, I'm enjoying the sun and sand, what's wrong with that?" Jake growls back.

"Scum like you should stay on the junk pile where you belong." Feral says with disgust.

Jake balls up his fists. "I didn't know you policed my movements."

The two are toe to toe before Callie separates them. "What's wrong with you two?!" she shouts. "Don't you think there are more important things to address right now than your… your pettiness?!"

"Pettiness!?" both Jake and Feral say in unison, then they glare at each other.

Then Jake sighs, stepping back with an effort. "Callie. Go with Feral," he pleads. "The Commander will keep you safe."

Feral raises an eyebrow. "What do you think I am? A babysitter?"

"But Jake, where are you-"

"I've got to go help!" he shouts, starting to run off down the boardwalk.

"Come back here! Leave this to the REAL Enforcers!" Feral roars at him. "Humph. Running off like the coward he is." Feral turns and ushers Callie towards the cruiser.

"He's not a coward, Commander!"

"Associating with scum like that can hurt a she-kat's reputation, Ms. Briggs."

"Commander Feral! My reputation is not in question OR any of your concern!" Callie retorts.

"You do know he and his friend were kicked off the force?" He asks, as he gets into the driver's seat and she climbs in shotgun. Feral puts the car into gear and moves parallel to the beach, watching the movements of the Enforcers starting to move in. He nearly jerks the steering wheel off the column in his agitation. "Their brand of recklessness endangered the entire force. I have to admit they were both good Enforcers, for a while before they got cocky and insubordinate. Maybe with a few more like them who followed the rules, we wouldn't need the SWAT Kats."

"Commander. Are you saying city needs the SWAT Kats? You'll admit they have saved this city?" Briggs asks, unbelieving.

"Hmph. Off the record and in a word? Yes. Remember Mutilor? And now this," he gestures disgustedly at the chaos on the beach, which was blessedly quieter now. The choppers had moved off with two of the beings in hot pursuit and the terrified katizens had either fled the beach entirely or were huddled in groups here and there on the boardwalk, watching a SWAT Team starting to approach the alien still foraging in the grass. One of its guards was watching them steadily.

"No doubt you are aware that we are less than equipped for extraterrestrial visitors."

"Then you won't mind when the SWAT Kats show up?"

"In this case?" he smirks. "I hope they knock themselves out."

Callie blinks and finds herself wondering precisely how he means that. Her thoughts are interrupted by his next musing statement.

"...Maybe a few more officers like Clawson and Furlong and we would be up to these alien scum. Or maybe they'd be so good I would be tempted to overlook any 'incidents' they could cause."

Meanwhile, one of the kats in question was racing down the beach and palming his communicator back out of his pocket. "Buddy! Come in! Got an emergency here!"

Chance just happens to be standing at Pop's newsstand with a half eaten candy bar in one hand. He jumps mid-sentence and grabs at his back pocket.

Pop gives him an odd look. "Bee buzz your tail there, sonny?" The old kat asks. He was leaning on his elbows and watching Chance thumb through a RocKat that had a rip in the cover. Pop had given the younger kat a discount on that one.

"Ah, not exactly Pop. Gotta take this call," he says. He steps away swiftly around the street corner and palms the device.

"Come on, come on, pickup!" Jakes voice echoes out of the com.

"It's me. Don't tell me the date's over already?" Chance teases.

"Negative Chance, this is no time for funny stuff! ALIENS have just landed on the beach!"

"What?! They're not stealing the water are they?!"

"Not this time but there sure seems to be something about our planet that attracts things to its resources, because this thing is eating all the vegetation. And it's worse. It has guards and THEY have some weapon that makes things disappear! And they're using it on the Enforcers. We need to get in the air!"

"But we don't have our jet! Wait. I've said that line before."

"Yeah and in this context too! I'm going to call her by remote control. Meet me at… corner of Jinx and Fuzzy, top of the Furrington Bldg."

"Roger that." Chance steps around the street corner again and heads towards the tow truck. "Sorry Pops," he calls, "Got to run, emergency's come up."

"Fine, fine, go on, but don't be a stranger, you!" Pop chuckles.

"Will do!" Chance reaches the truck and jumps in, and tears off down the street.

Pop blinks at how fast he disappeared. "Sheesh, gonna get arrested driving like that, son. And hey!" He runs out into the street dancing with anger. "Did you pay me for that candy bar?!"