around the dog's neck.

The rovers smiled. They'd been through a lot today. They'd been shot at, zapped, and sent flying on not one, but two super barks. They were bruised, scratched up, and just plain tired. But in that moment, watching the beauty of a girl and her dog, not one of them had ever felt better.

Back on board the Sky Rover, it took Colleen at least half an hour to see to everyone's injuries. “Wish I 'ad someone else with the know-how,” she complained.

“I would be happy to have you teach me,” volunteered Blitz.

“Sorry, do I know you?” asked Colleen. “Me mum always warned me about strange doctors.”

Blitz's eyes dropped to half-mast. “I'm starting to hate this bit,” he mumbled.

“Well, another day, another mission,” said Hunter as Colleen took her usual place in the co-pilot's seat.

“Yeah,” she agreed, looking back at Penny and Bolt. Bolt lay on the seat beside his owner, head resting on her bandaged-up knee as she stroked his fur. She raised her head to look at them.

“Thanks,” she said slowly. “Thanks for saving me and Bolt.”

“Ah, is piece of sweat. No cake,” said Exile. “Saving is what we do best-ski.”

Penny smiled, but inside she was still shaken over how close she had come to losing Bolt, and how close the Rovers had come to getting themselves killed to help the two of them. She smiled politely as Hunter pointed out the beauty of the sunset on their left, but inside she knew something would have to be done.

That night, as the plane flew on auto-pilot and every dog on board enjoyed some well-earned sleep, Penny rose and woke Bolt. Putting a finger to her lips, she crept up between the two front seats and pulled a piece of paper out of her backpack. By the light of the control panel, she wrote a quick note and tucked it into Hunter's seatbelt. “Thanks,” she whispered. “Thanks for everything.” Then she led the confused Bolt toward the back part of the plane, to a small room marked “Emergency.”

When Colleen awoke some hours later, she yawned, stretched, and looked back to check on their passengers. Neither were in their seat. She wondered if maybe Penny had gone to the bathroom, but what about Bolt?

Not wanting to wake the others, she rose and began to search the plane. The bathroom was empty; and Penny and Bolt were nowhere in sight. The only place was the far, far back of the plane, where the emergency escape hatch was located, but neither of them would have gone back there. Finally, she decided to let Hunter know.

The retriever responded a bit groggily to her efforts to stir him, but he sat bolt upright when she told him Penny was missing. “But where could she go?” he asked. “She didn't just step off the plane.”

As he reached for his seatbelt buckle, his fingers found the note. “Huh?”

“What is it?” asked Colleen.

Hunter unfolded the paper and read. “Oh, man,” he groaned, his voice rising. “She did step off the plane!”

Exile, who had been roused from slumber by the spike in Hunter's voice, woke up Shag and Blitz, and they crowded around Hunter to read the note.

Dear Road Rovers, it said.

Thanks for helping me and Bolt. I don't know what we would have done without you guys. But we've decided to strike it out on our own. It's easier to work if it's just the two of us so Bolt has only me to look after. And no offense, but you guys draw too much attention.

I'll never forget you. And if we ever do need help, I've got your number. We'll keep in touch.

Love, Penny.

“So what now?” asked Blitz.

Hunter shrugged. “Head back home, I guess. If we can track her cell phone like before, we should have a shot at finding her.”

“And if not?” asked Exile.

“Keep our eyes on the news,” offered Colleen. “With those two out there, and that Calico bloke still on the run, I doubt things'll be quiet very long.”

A few days later, in a secret location...

“The damage to your eye was irreparable, sir,” said an unlicensed doctor. He stood by his patient, a light_dangling overhead providing their only illumination. “But we were able to recover a few healthy cells and grow a new one.”

Calico sat on a hospital bed,_his usual sneer replaced with a_sense of_anxious intensity. Bandages covered his right eye. “And_the changes?” he asked.

“Yes, we altered it, as you insisted,” replied the doctor. “The cat DNA will enhance your night vision, but_it might impede-”

“Is it better?!” Calico demanded, grabbing the doctor by the_throat.

“Hurk!” the man gasped. The damage to Calico's face_obviously hadn't hurt his grip any. “You can... see for yourself... sir,” he choked.

Calico released the_doctor with a shove and unwound the gauze around his head. Turning to the table beside his hospital bed, he picked up a hand mirror and gazed at_his_reflection. Seeing it, he began to laugh, first slowly, then in a wild, maniac cackle. His right eye, his new right eye, stared back at him, large and green with a slit-shaped pupil. “Yes,” he exclaimed, “It's_perfect!”

Tossing the mirror aside so that it shattered against the wall, he threw off the covers and_swung his legs over the side_of the bed. “Soon I will have my revenge,” he gloated. “Those fools think they've won, but they have not heard the last of Doctor Calico!”

The End...Not!

Master, Hunter, Colleen, Exile, Shag, Blitz, Muzzle © Warner Brothers Entertainment

Bolt, Penny, Calico, and related characters © Disney/Pixar