Cat Chapter 5

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"You're giving me my serum?" Tac asked in disbelief. It turns out that was the reason he wanted Tac back home. He didn't even lecture Terry about letting Tac go off on his own - he had already done that over the phone.

"I've been refining it."

"You know how to do that?" Terry asked.

"Such knowledge comes in handy when you have to synthesize antidotes for fear toxin and poison kisses." Bruce said as he loaded up the dosing gun. "The serum you had been using was not the same formula that Dr. Cuvier had been manufacturing. He was an actual chemist. More than likely yours was made by someone who reverse engineered it but used cheap ingredients to mass produce it to make more money." He explained. "It's why your organs were starting to fail and why coming down from it was so jarring."

"How are my kidneys doing lately?" Tac asked as he brought up his medical records on the computer.

"You've nearly made a full recovery. This shouldn't hinder that." Bruce said. "I want you to go out on patrol with Terry tonight. Just for two hours." Despite the time limit Tac smiled wide. He readily rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to receive the injection. Bruce took his wrist but paused for a moment as he rubbed his thumb over the faded scars there. "I want you to be careful."

"I will." Tac said quickly.

"Listen. This is a trial run. You feel dizzy you come home. You throw up, lose your equilibrium, can't stand, get a nose bleed, dry mouth, an itch between your toes - anything - you come home."

"Bruce I will." He promised.

"It's been a few months since you last spliced - I'm giving you a fraction of what you used to take which is still a lot because you had been overdosing. Don't push it. If things get too risky you let Terry handle it." Tac nodded. He flinched when Bruce injected him.

"Is it burning your veins?" Bruce asked as he moved to the computer to take notes.

"No... kind of tingles—AH!" He gasped. The change was nearly instantaneous. His nails grew first, then his ears. His tail came wiggling out his back and he swung it back and forth behind him. "Aww man." He wined when his muscles bulked out and ripped his jeans. It was a small price to pay for such a smooth transition.

"Your old costume should still fit." Bruce said as he pointed to the work bench. "I've added a few things to it, kevlar piece over your heart, updated tech on your mask." He took up another medi-gun and put it to Tac's arm.

"What are you doing?" Tac asked. He put his hand to his throat when his voice came out in a slightly higher octave. He hissed when Bruce drew some blood.

"I have to study how your immune system handles the new formula." He explained. "How do you feel?"

"Great." Tac said as he flexed his hands. Terry kept an eye on them as he suited up. Tac changed quickly and examined his reflection in the glass cases. "For a while there it felt like cinderblocks were tired around my wrists but now..." He did a back flip and landed on the work table. "It's so easy to move - I feel like I could take off flying if I gave it a little effort."

"That's good to hear." Bruce said.

"Let's get to it." Batman called him from the car. Tac smiled as he put on his domino mask. He leapt off the table and ran to the Batmobile. He was able to squeeze in behind Batman. Bruce smiled a little as Tac smiled wide and waved before they sped off.

———

"So what's the plan here?" Jack asked as he balanced a knife on the tip of his finger. "Cause I'm gonna be honest - being raped to death by a bunch of Jokerz hopped up on Angel Dust is not something I wanted to do tonight."

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