Adult-FanFiction.org : Comics

Bat Cat	By : Kip Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 5311 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Batman series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
He slithered down the rain soaked tiles, desperately scrabbling for a way to halt his downward slide. Sounds came out of his mouth, only to be sucked away by the howling wind. Rain lashed into his eyes and he screwed them shut, clenching his teeth against the fear that rose in his belly. The roof was high, and if he should fall off it…

For a moment, Littlest Cat forgot he was supposed to be grown up, and called out for his mother, but the shrieking sky swallowed his frantic pleas. Mother had been right, when she had warned about the world outside, but it wasn’t until now that he appreciated just how reckless he had been. Granted, struggling with the huge bird as it carried him away had been pure instinct, but doing so while suspended in the raging sky high above the storm drenched city had been plain stupidity. It was only luck that he had been snatched up by an errant gust, and thrown onto the side of this broad roof instead of plunging to his death on the ground far, far, below: Cat's luck.

Littlest Cat remembered the Cat Lady telling all of them about the treacherous creatures who dwelt in the city around them, and how her people must be ever vigilant and not trust anyone or anything from outside the Clan. He shivered, soaked and frightened, as the cold finally reached his skin. Despite his best intentions a single cry escaped between his chattering teeth. He knew that he shouldn't have done that, shouldn’t have done anything to alert whatever might be out here watching to his presence, but it was too late! Darkness loomed over him, and reached out.

"What have we here?" A stony voice ground the words out, audible even over the pounding rain. "A spy?"

Frantically, Littlest Cat backed up. Wall! No way out! Baring his teeth, he spat futile defiance at the giant sharing his bit of roof.

"Easy, fella!" The rumbling tones were making Littlest Cat think of one of the tigers with whom the Cat Lady chose to share her home.

"What's a little guy like you doing out on a night like this?" The stranger asked. Hands, gloved hands, shot out and captured Littlest Cat with embarrassing speed. He fought, but the material was too thick for his small teeth to get through and he found himself with a mouthful of unyielding rubber.

"Feisty though…" The rumbling tones became a long low laugh. "You'd have my whole hand off if you could, wouldn’t you? Real tough guy?"
The hands lifted him, and he was dangling in mid air, on a parapet, high above the rest of the buildings, while the storm thrust and sucked at them. Tucking in his tail he trembled just a little, telling himself that it was only because he was cold. Of course the water running through his short fur was just rain.

What was the human wearing? Whatever it was the high wind flapped it around the dark stranger like wings, and despite himself Littlest Cat hung there transfixed by the way the fabric rippled and moved, and moved… Reflexively his claws poked out.

Oblivious, the dark-clad stranger completed his evaluation.
Littlest Cat completed his too. His nose twitched as the wind eddied, carrying the smell of his captor into his reach. The stranger stank of rubber and Science, while underlying it all was a faint trace of adult human male. Was this the demon the Cat Lady had warned about? Batman … Littlest Cat remembered the name with a little bit of concern.

"You're a bit young to be out." The Batman said in an almost kindly tone. The grip on Littlest Cat shifted until the large hands were wrapped around him surprisingly gently. He was lifted against the armoured chest but before he could wonder at that, or resist, the long garment was wrapping around both of them, shutting out the worst of the cold night air along with the rain. Up this close the rubber smell was even stronger, and Littlest Cat inhaled as lightly as possible. How could humans tolerate stinking like that? Still, it was warm under the cape … which was more than welcome.

"So where's your mama?" The Batman stared around, and when the search was unrewarded he looked back at Littlest Cat as if expecting an answer. Littlest Cat was about to protest that he was fully weaned and technically didn’t need his mother 24-7 any longer, thank you! Instead the growl came out as a sneeze.

"You're soaking." The Batman observed.

Littlest Cat merely glared at him. What did the human expect? Cats weren’t known for their waterproof qualities. He settled for a derisive sneer. The Batman didn’t seem to notice. Cat was divided in his reaction to that. On one paw he wanted to make an impression, to show how fierce and capable he was, on the other the stranger was HUGE.

"Well, even if you do live around here, I can't exactly leave you up here tonight. The way the wind's gusting you'll get blown right off the parapet." The Batman decided. "Doesn’t seem like anyone wants to commit any crimes tonight, so I was about to go home anyway. How about you take a ride in my cape pocket, and we get ourselves somewhere warm and dry for the rest of the night? We can come back here tomorrow and look for your mama?" He sounded sincere.

Accustomed to the foibles of the Cat Lady, Littlest Cat was not concerned by the handling, it was just something that humans did and the idea of going somewhere warm and dry sounded fine, in fact it sounded better than fine, and as the Batman slid him into a pocket sewn into the lining of that curious cape, Littlest Cat began to feel a whole lot more hopeful about the way his big adventure was turning out.

The big car was a surprise, and just a little bit scary. The Batman seemed to understand though, as he insisted that Littlest Cat sit close to him, and kept a large gloved hand ready to stop him falling off that broad lap, even though the journey seemed to take quite a long time.

Which was why Littlest Cat decided to take a short nap. Not because he was any sort of baby, thank you … no, it was just convenience.

"Sir! You surely aren't thinking about keeping that … animal … in the house?" The other, older, male protested, after they had escaped from inside the belly of the car.

"Actually, Alfred, I wasn’t planning on keeping him at all …" Still dripping, the Batman cast a glance at Littlest Cat. "Just offering him a bed for the night. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the little guy up on the Cathedral roof in that storm. Look at him! What would you have done?"

The old man had merely tutted, before meticulously drying Littlest Cat with a large piece of fluffy cloth. Littlest Cat paid very little attention to the verbal exchange between the two men. He was still thinking over the things he had just seen.

Off to one side he could still hear the fast car cooling noisily in the dark.
Sometime after that, Batman had walked off across the cave. Littlest Cat had sat there, tense and excited all in one. Time passed and human voices interrupted his musings.

"Master Bruce?"

"Oh, by all means let him go, Alfred." The new arrival had replied. Bounding excitedly over the cold stone Littlest Cat had found himself facing yet another human. Behind Bruce the fearsome Batman stood at stiff attention. Littlest Cat instinctively shied away from the forbidding figure.

When Littlest Cat sniffed hesitantly, creeping closer, the human called 'Bruce' chuckled at his unease and patted his head.

"It's alright." The man soothed. "There's nothing there for you to worry about, fella." Reaching out he boldly tapped a finger on the slick rubber. The sound was strangely hollow, as if there was nothing in the shiny ebony hide.

"Nothing's going to happen to you while I'm here." Came the firm promise.

Littlest Cat wasn’t so sure. The Batman smelt … strange … alien to his senses, and he was still a little scared of the staring eyes in the masked face. As he crouched there, he gradually realised that Bruce was tainted with the odd scent too. Maybe there wasn’t anything to worry about after all? He was reassured when, just as Bruce had promised, the Batman didn’t react, merely continued to stand, rigid, motionless, and utterly silent.

When Littlest Cat sniffed hesitantly, creeping closer, Bruce chuckled at his unease and patted his head. "If that was a hint, you needn't bother, I know I reek. I'm going for a shower." He said warmly. "You can stay here if you like?"

Crouching in the shadows under a long bench Littlest Cat had watched the suit for a while, but as Batman continued to remain motionless there was nothing to interest a cat there, and instead the kitten crept around the corner to watch what Bruce was doing.

Littlest Cat didn’t like cold water on him any more than any other intelligent furry creature; however he discovered quite quickly that warm water and the sticky stuff that humans used to wash with could feel surprisingly nice, at least on his outsides. Though the sticky stuff tasted horrible!

Bruce had chuckled when Littlest Cat had joined him in his shower. He had also found it quite amusing when Littlest Cat had nibbled on his toes. For a human he hadn't even minded that much about being scratched. Of course that last part had been an accident: Littlest Cat hadn't expected to be picked up quite so fast, or so high, and he hadn't felt very safe with his paws wet and sliding against water-slick soapy skin, which was why he hadn't been all that careful with his human.

Now where had that thought come from? 'His' human? Whatever next? Go on this way and he'd be letting the man share his kill … Thinking of which, what was for dinner? Something certainly smelled good! Served human-style, and cooked to death, but good anyway…

Following the man up the winding stair and into a long tiled room, the kitten's stomach rumbled. Would anyone even remember he was here? How long did it take before you starved to death? Mother had been most insistent that he eat regularly … or should that be constantly? In which case he was probably more than halfway gone by now…

"Hey there, Cat."
Turning his attention back to the people, Littlest Cat meowed a polite reply.
"I bet you'd like some dinner? Growing guy like you?" Bruce slid a plate down onto the floor and Littlest Cat sniffed at it. He always sniffed at everything very carefully, just as his mother had taught him. Then he dived in. Salmon! Heaven!

"Charming…" Alfred muttered.

Bruce only laughed. "Well, you can't say that he doesn’t appreciate your cooking, can you? Not with the way he's tucking into that!"

"Hhmmm." The older man sounded very slightly amused.

After dinner, it was apparently time for games.

"Perhaps sir, YOU would care to entertain your … houseguest?" Alfred suggested dryly, after Littlest Cat had spent a few minutes dashing around and ambushing the man's trousered ankles. It turned out that Alfred could be fun after all, but Littlest Cat doubted if the old man would ever be as much fun as Bruce.

"C'mon Cat!" Bruce's hands slid around and under him, raising him off of the linoleum and onto the man's broad shoulder. Securely balanced there, Littlest Cat regarded his new domain with approval. Yes, he could see himself settling in here quite nicely! Bruce certainly made a good pet.

"Let's go watch TV?" Bruce suggested, and set confidently off along the maze of corridors.

TV turned out to be the same boring flickering box that the Cat Lady occasionally sat and stared at. Littlest Cat yawned. What was the point of the thing? It didn’t smell and it didn’t move, although it made sounds and the light flickered from time to time. The humans seemed to love it though.

"Like that rug, do you?" Stretched out beside Bruce's feet Littlest Cat lolled on the thick carpet. The first thing he had done once they got in here was to check out the room and its potential for threat or amusements. The underneath of the sofa was thoroughly investigated, as was the dark space just behind the long curtains.

When neither location yielded any spiders or anything else of interest, Littlest Cat had temporarily abandoned his hunt as he pondered over what to do next. He wasn’t used to this. Not at all… where he had been raised there was never an empty moment, never a second when someone's whiskers weren’t twitching with interest or annoyance. Being the most recent, and therefore smallest, free-roaming addition to the cat colony meant that Littlest Cat came in for a bumper share of idle cuffs and hisses from the other residents. Being the Cat Lady's favourite darling didn’t help much either, not when she wasn’t in residence…

The building that the cat colony and their human leader inhabited was at the end of one of the old city blocks, and the sounds of city life were clearly audible, at least to a cat. Bruce's house was quieter than anything Littlest Cat had ever known. Outside the old mansion there was only nature for as far as ears could hear. Inside the building the rooms were largely empty, and mostly being unused. It was a bit spooky, which might have scared Littlest Cat just a smidgeon had he not remembered that he was a big bad cat now and not afraid of a few ghosts, and of course there were the interesting, so very interesting, flying mice down in the further reaches of the dark caverns hidden under the house. How was he going to get to them?

With a wide yawn, Littlest Cat remembered how nice and warm Bruce was. It occurred to him that this might be a good time to condescend to allow himself to be petted. Purely to show his appreciation, of course. Not because this big old silent house was still creeping him out just a bit. No. Not that at all. He shivered his fur into proper order and sprang up onto the sofa cushion beside the lounging man.

If Bruce noticed, he said nothing, merely slowly stretched out one hand toward Littlest Cat and waited, occasionally glancing over as if to see what his guest was going to do.

Curious, Littlest Cat sniffed the ends of Bruce's fingers, wrinkling his nose over the last lingering whiff of rubber. Sitting back he groomed himself, carefully nibbling the undersides of his paws, and swiping over the backs of his ears diligently, just as his mother had taught him to. He missed her. Just a bit. Well, quite a lot more than that actually. For a second his confidence wavered. He continued watching the man out of the corner of his eye.

Despite the Cat Lady's frequent rages and sermons about the general untrustworthiness of humans in general and males in particular, Bruce didn’t seem all that dangerous. Then again, that might be exactly what the human wanted him to think? Littlest Cat shuddered again, and not just because of the rain licking against the outside of the windows. What to do? Who to trust?

"Bet you can still hear the storm outside, huh?" The deep plush voice suggested. "Well, don't you let it bother you, it isn't going to get you in here. You're quite safe with me." Moving with deliberate slowness, Bruce reached out, running his fingers lightly over Littlest Cat's head. The touch felt good, pleasant, friendly. Not at all what the kitten had been raised to expect from a human.

"Like that do you?" There was a smile in the voice.

Still not sure if he could entirely trust the man, Littlest Cat waited, alert in case this should turn bad in any way. There were more than enough places that he could dash to, should the need arise. He had claws, he reminded himself, and teeth, and he wasn’t afraid to use them. Except that he found himself reluctant to use them against Bruce. Batman had been fair game, being armoured, but Bruce had only skin. Besides, the large warm palm that continued to brush lightly over his fur was oddly reassuring. Pleasant really.

Littlest Cat settled onto the muscular thighs and huddled there, comforted by the living warmth of the man. When the large hand very softly smoothed along his back, Littlest Cat started to purr, and without realising it, gradually drifted asleep.

The kitten woke to find himself being carried, snuggled soundly in firm human arms.
"Bedtime for both of us." Bruce rubbed Littlest Cat's ear affectionately. "You tired little buddy?"

Littlest Cat decided that he was, and enough that he wasn’t going to bother to protest about being carried around like a trophy. The room smelt of Bruce, years of him ingrained into the very fabric of the place. Littlest Cat inhaled appreciatively and gave a sneeze of approval that earned him a raised eyebrow from his human.

Bruce seemed to think that the bedside rug would make an ideal cat bed. Littlest Cat wasn’t so sure. He rather liked the idea of the large canopied bed. Bruce wasn’t having any of that. After gently but firmly removing Littlest Cat from the end of his bed twice, he sighed and shook his head firmly. "You are not sleeping on here. This is my bed and I don't share." He told his new roommate. "Despite Alfred and his ridiculous predictions to the contrary."

They finally found a mutually acceptable compromise. With the addition of one of Bruce's old sweaters, the chair in the corner became a guest bed. "That," Bruce told him with a wry grin. "Is the best offer you are going to get. Either make do with it, or go and sleep somewhere else. Though I warn you," He added, "Alfred keeps a frying pan beside the bed, in case of intruders."

Littlest Cat kneaded the sweater, inhaling a noseful of Bruce and purred. Yes, this was a damn good idea of his! What an adventure! He had caught a big bird and the Batman all in one evening, even though he had eventually had to let them both get away, but he had ended up bagging himself a pet human instead. Plus there had been Salmon in Bruce's kitchen. Littlest Cat had preferred fish to birds, ever since he had grown old enough to notice the difference. Musing on these pleasant thoughts, he drifted off to sleep.

Night had settled thickly around the house when something roused Littlest Cat. He woke fast to the sound of something groaning nearby. No, someone! Bruce was having a nightmare, and a bad one by the sound of it. Littlest Cat cocked an ear and waited, but his human didn’t seem to be winning.

Well, no one was going to get any rest at this rate. Obviously someone had to make a decision here, and put in a little action.

After a moment's hesitation, Littlest Cat bounded down off the chair and sprang up onto the foot end of the bed. Tail high, he strolled bravely up to the pillows.

Trapped in sleep, Bruce whimpered. Water trickled down his face, leaking from under the tightly closed eyelids. Littlest Cat licked it tentatively, tasting salt. What did you do to wake humans? With such a very small amount of fur on them, not that Littlest Cat was uncivilised enough to have ever mentioned that, even the lightest biting would probably do more harm than good.

Cautiously, the kitten nuzzled his new friend, helpfully sticking the damp end of his nose under Bruce's ear. Jerking awake, Bruce stared at him. Littlest Cat purred, reassuring the bewildered man that they were friends, and promising that he was looking out for Bruce.

A tentative hand came out of the dark and fingertips investigated his fur, before he was stroked from head to tail. Littlest Cat allowed the liberty, and when the rest of the arm wrapped around him and clasped him to the broad chest, he allowed that too. After all, it did mean that he got to stay on the bed.

Bruce muttered something, his voice hoarse and low. In response Littlest Cat touched a questioning paw to his human's cheek, but Bruce was already sinking back into sleep, so the kitten closed his eyes too, and napped.

Littlest Cat had been living at the mansion for several days when the embarrassing thing first happened. Following Bruce with his usual enthusiasm, and because there were very few things worthy of his interest in the old house, Littlest Cat had bided his time until Bruce had completed his daily exercise routine and gone off to take his usual shower. The gym equipment stood empty again, the scent of fresh human perspiration dusted
all over it.

Intrigued, Littlest Cat had wandered over to the vaguely animal shaped suede covered thing that Bruce had called a vaulting horse. He was busy enthusing over the way the scent of the soft tanned hide mingled with the distinctive odour of Bruce, when a sudden shiver rippled through him.

Suddenly Cat was falling to the floor. He tried to catch his balance but his traitorous limbs refused to obey. He hit the ground hard and without any of his usual grace, thankful for the cushioned flooring.

It was at that moment that he saw what had happened! Oh heavens, he had hands! Letting out an instinctive growl of terror, he gaped, totally distraught, at his changed body. Where was his beautiful fur? Where had his claws gone? More to the point, what was he supposed to do with only two legs?

"Cat?" The echo of Alfred's voice from the top of the stairs jolted him into pure panic. "Are you in here?" Again the ripple shivered through Littlest Cat. Only just in time he regained his usual shape. Pelting frantically under the vaulting horse and across the cave floor, he narrowly avoided tripping Alfred as he hurtled between the man's feet and out into the house.

For several hours Littlest Cat refused to come out of hiding, skulking under a cloth covered table in one corner of the dining room in case he embarrassed himself like that again. It was mortifying, he was a perfectly normal cat not a … whatever.

Except that when it did happen again, and again, Littlest Cat had to accept that he was not quite as ordinary or as much cat as he had always assumed.

The second time that the change occurred, Littlest Cat was lying sprawled on Bruce's bed in a particularly nice patch of late afternoon sun. Bruce was out, wherever he went in his crisply ironed business suit. Alfred was out too, on some errand or other. Stretching his spine to its fullest extent and uncurling his toes happily, Littlest Cat inhaled an appreciative whiff of his human and suddenly found that he was abruptly a whole lot longer than he rightly ought to be!

The shock of changing unbalanced him and he slid off the bed in an undignified heap. Thankfully there was a rug to cushion his fall, and no one around to pass comment on his failings, but even so it totally ruined his good mood. Managing to haul himself up into a sitting position, even though at first it seemed as if the stupid legs didn’t want to help him, Littlest Cat was able to make a long and leisurely, if somewhat anxious, examination of his new state.

Once Cat had squirmed his way across the carpet, which wasn’t a very nice experience at all, and into the bathroom, the full-length mirror on the far wall confirmed the unpleasant truth. He was a boy! A rather bruised and unsteady boy, but a boy nevertheless…

Sitting in the middle of the cool tiled floor Cat gave vent to his confusion, and wept hot salty tears, crying aloud until his new hands slapped over his own ears to blot out the sounds.

What if he never got his proper shape back? What if he was stuck like this forever? What if Bruce didn’t want to be his friend now that he was so … weird? The thoughts pounded in his brain until his head ached with them. And still he couldn’t figure out how to put this right.

It was while he was worrying for the umpteenth time what was going to happen when Bruce and Alfred came back, that he heard the muted roar of a car pulling up. As panic surged through him, the ceiling receded and he was once again firmly and thankfully four-legged and furry. And trapped! Once again lacking hands, and now without the ability to actually reach out and turn the door handle, he was stuck in Bruce's bathroom!

"Now, what are you doing in here, Cat?" Bruce pushed open the door and wandered into the room. As was his usual habit, he talked to Cat as he took care of nature. "I guess I didn’t shut the door properly, huh?" Rinsing and drying his hands, he looked down at Littlest Cat. "You poor little guy, how long have you been stuck in here?"

Littlest Cat meowed.

"Hungry?" Bruce always assumed that Littlest Cat would be hungry, and he wasn’t usually that far wrong. "Come on then, hop up," He knelt down and waited for Littlest Cat to come to him. Bruce rarely did anything as undignified as grabbing, seeming to understand that a cat, even a small one, needed to retain his dignity.

Taking his usual position on Bruce's broad shoulder, Littlest Cat immediately tested that his human still smelt the way he ought to, and when that proved to be the case, he purred approval into Bruce's ear.

Bruce chuckled, and raising one hand to steady his rider, continued to stride along the carpeted hall. Littlest Cat paid careful attention to the way that Bruce walked, thinking that if the damned change should ever happen again, it would be worth trying to copy the way Bruce moved. The man was nearly as controlled as a cat, his movements flawless despite the ungainliness of having a human shape.

After several days filled with intermittent practice at attaining and using his new shape, Littlest Cat was exhausted. Sleep came for him quickly that night, regardless of Bruce still being out on patrol. Despite the stolen luxury of lying uncontested on Bruce's bed, the kitten's slumbers were filled with uneasy dreams of his legs lengthening, and of his paws becoming hands. As the night wore on and the bed remained empty apart from himself, Littlest Cat shivered with cold and loneliness, dreaming of bare human skin growing fur and of shrinking back toward the floor.

Morning came and filled the room with hard light. Littlest Cat woke up in mid-pillow, testy, tail thrashing, and eyes bleary. Glaring around he found himself alone. No Bruce? The thought was enough to send him leaping down onto the carpeted floor and out of the bedroom door.

Downstairs, Alfred was in the kitchen, but Littlest Cat didn’t need the older man to know that Bruce was not around. The scent on the air was stale. Bruce hadn't come home last night.

Breakfast was eaten in silence, with Alfred as reluctant to eat as Littlest Cat.

"I'm worried about him." The normally reserved old man finally admitted out loud, as he washed the few breakfast things by hand. "He's usually back by now, and there's been no word." Casually, he opened the back door and let Littlest Cat out into the rising day.

Bruce had been gone forever, or that was how it felt to Littlest Cat. Spending the whole night, and part of the morning without his friend had left him jittery. Prowling the house he searched increasingly earnestly for his human, checking out the draughty spaces under the eaves and coming down covered in cobwebs, investigating the gaps under the sofas and scaring the few resident spiders that were smart or lucky enough to have evaded Alfred and his noisy sucking tubes on wheels.

Littlest Cat sighed as all of his efforts yielded a blank: Bruce was not here, and had not been for some time. It was then that the youngster remembered the cave. And the Batman…

Out in the garden a small pipe led down to the hidden chambers, and after squeezing his growing body through the grille and negotiating the twists and turns Littlest Cat arrived, only to find more disappointment. The cave was empty.

Littlest Cat sat on the broad cave floor, howling his misery into the unresponsive dark. His human wasn’t here either, and although the cave still held more than a hint of rubber suit, the Batman was gone too!

Even hearing how he was scaring the bats into a flurried chittering swarm was not enough to console Littlest Cat. Catching one might have lightened his mood, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to risk the embarrassment. No doubt the damned flying rodents would hang on the roof and laugh at him if he missed. You had to retain some dignity, or what would the world come to?

"I know." Alfred was suddenly standing beside him. "I miss Master Bruce too." Bending slowly, he picked Littlest Cat up and gently tucked him against his chest. "I am afraid that something dreadful has happened to him this time, that even the Batman's prodigious skill will not be enough if Master Bruce's luck has finally run out…"

Something in the old man's tone raised a prickle of unease in the back of Littlest Cat's mind.

"Perhaps the Commissioner will have some news?" Alfred suggested hopefully, setting Littlest Cat down beside the huge computer system. Littlest Cat agreed. The instant the dialling tones sounded, he was beside Alfred, waiting to hear the voice on the other end.

"The Catwoman has him." Commissioner Gordon was grim. "Batman was fighting Penguin and winning, until something that loony did knocked him off his feet and bowled him over. Catwoman chose that moment to arrive, complete with her latest four-legged army. Penguin knew he was outmatched and skedaddled at speed. Catwoman picked Batman up and hightailed it out of there. We never stood a hope of stopping her."

"And her mental state?" Tense and nervous Alfred waited for the response.

"She's been over the edge of sanity for weeks, and she's in one of her man-hating moods. It would take a miracle to save him now." Gordon predicted grimly.

"I see. Well, thank you for your efforts."

"We aren't giving up." The man at the other end of the line said hastily. "We'll do everything we can. We owe him that much."

Alfred nodded to himself. "We won't give up either." He shut off the connection, meticulously switching off the circuits that disguised his voice. "Will we? However, only one of us is perfectly equipped to assist Master Bruce in this particular instance." His eyes locked on Littlest Cat. "Therefore now would be a good time to decide where your loyalties lie." He said softly.

Littlest Cat stared at him. Was the old man crazy?

"Perhaps we might start by your repeating your little party trick?" Alfred suggested. "After all, it would be a lot easier for us to be sure we were communicating effectively if both of us were the same shape…"

Littlest Cat sat back on his heels and gaped. Alfred knew?

"Whenever you are ready?" The old man's eyes were serious, his tone firm.

Littlest Cat thought it over. From a cat's perspective time was a very fluid thing, and by now he had had more than enough of it to learn the knack of setting off the change.

He worried that he might not be able to do it with Alfred watching, but his fears were groundless: the familiar tingle ran through him as the metamorphosis swept over his flesh once again.

"Good boy." Alfred nodded. "Now, if you would concentrate on what I am saying for a few moments, rather than watching the bats? Er-hem?"

Guiltily, Littlest Cat jerked his eyes back to the old man.

"Better." The thin mouth tipped up in a wry grin. "I don’t know quite what Master Bruce would say about any of this, and frankly I don't care at the present moment. That dreadful woman has him in her clutches, and it falls to us to extricate him. What do you say, young man?"

Littlest Cat tried very hard to agree, but looking like a human was one thing, speaking like one was quite another.

"Give it time." Alfred murmured. "Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know. Or perhaps you wouldn’t know…" He sighed. "Can you walk?"

Littlest Cat disregarded the hand that was offered, and climbed warily to his feet. Several practice sessions had given him more than adequate control over his gangly form, even if certain parts weren’t all that he could have hoped for. He had studied Bruce's fighting style, and his athletic prowess, and while he was not in Bruce's league, his animal nature more than compensated for lack of experience.

"Excellent!" Alfred finally seemed to approve of something. Or was this a bit of tail pulling? The resident human elder had a strange sense of humour at times. Littlest Cat eyed him sceptically.

"I am quite sincere." The older man promised. "I do not think that I could have learned to be a cat in the short time that you have learned to be a youth. And your balance is admirable. What of your loyalty though? Will you face your former family to rescue our friend?"

Littlest Cat thought that over, and nodded. He would do whatever he had to do, in order to get Bruce back safely.

"I shall drive us to the last known lair of the Catwoman and her feline family." Alfred decided. "Then I shall leave it to you to infiltrate the structure and determine the lie of the land."

Reluctantly Littlest Cat nodded. Ooh, that was going to be fun. Not! He would rather have volunteered to have his tail trodden on...

Gotham was larger than Littlest Cat had expected and the car couldn’t fly, so they had to follow the streets, which was frustrating. All in all, it seemed like hours before they parked and began to search on foot.

After three blocks Littlest Cat was hungry and thirsty, but sheer determination kept him moving; despite the growing ache in his paws. It must be here somewhere. Then he realised that the street around him was growing increasingly familiar. He was almost home! Leaving Alfred behind, he fairly streaked along the empty pavements toward his goal.

The warehouse was so quiet that at first Cat was frantic that he had come all that way for nothing, and that the colony had moved on, that was when the wind changed and finally he smelt it. Cats, of all sizes and breeds, and behind the smell of the colony the scent of food. Meat, fish and fowl: in huge quantities. His mouth watered.

Creeping in through one of the less used entrances, Littlest Cat found himself mingling with his peers. Gathering his courage, and pulling his tail up proudly, he strolled in as if he owned the place. No one stopped him. Perhaps no one recognised him? Then a single call rang out.

It was Mother! The pair met, tentatively at first and then with increasing affection, making up for the lost time with enthusiastic rubbing and purring.

"So, Smudge, have you brought home a new friend?" The voice of the Cat Lady echoed from above them.

Littlest Cat remembered the days of cuddles and petting, and of basking in her adoration. Had he been forgotten so easily? Could she really not know him? She who was the cat's living goddess, the over-mother to the feline clan? Glancing around, it occurred to him that he was no longer the scrawny kitten who had perched in adoration on this woman's knee. With the ability to take on human shape, he had started to think as they did …

"Come." Catwoman commanded, holding out her hand in summons.

Littlest Cat cocked his head. He didn’t remember her being like this. Was this the way it had always been? It seemed so, by the way that the others were watching. Confidently he padded up to the waiting hand and offered a polite rub.

"Such a pretty darling!" Catwoman approved, her fingers sliding through his thick coat and ruffling it. "Welcome." She gestured toward the plates of food. "Won't you eat with us?"

Littlest Cat cast a glance at the food, and at the eyes of the other cats. Perhaps it was his imagination, but they didn’t seem that keen to share, and was that all he was noticing in the faces? They didn’t seem anywhere near as friendly as he remembered. Only to be expected really, considering the time he had spent away… and that he now smelt like a stranger. He inhaled deeply, refreshing his memory of the mixture of scents that combined to embody the colony as a whole.

What!

Littlest Cat tilted his head and sniffed again. There it was again! That smell! Rubber and … human science… The Batman! The same dark suited form that took his friend away night after night and then abandoned Bruce in the cave, tired and hurt, to fend for himself. Littlest Cat scowled and vowed vengeance, but it would have to wait until the Batman had told him where to find Bruce.

Curious Littlest Cat drifted across the warehouse on silent feet, ignored by the others now that he no longer seemed to be after their food, but his footsteps were far from aimless. Following the thread of scent, he trotted around one of the dividing walls and stopped, fascinated.

The smell was stronger in here, the nose curdling taint of the rubber suit mixing with a myriad of other smells.

Stretched out across the floor and lashed to metal rings with swathes of coarse rope, Batman lay trapped.

Tentatively, Littlest Cat padded closer. Glancing around he couldn’t see Bruce, but he could smell traces of him, even around the strong smell of Batman. Confused and disappointed, Littlest Cat swished his tail and narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He had almost expected Bruce to be here, and to find that he was not, was frustrating. He growled low in his throat.

"It's quite safe, darling." Catwoman had followed. "I can understand why you would be upset, but the Bat is no threat to any of us anymore. Go on. See for yourself?"

That had been his intention anyway, but since she was making it so easy, Littlest Cat decided that this was as good a time as any. Wandering over to the bound figure, he checked out the situation. Seen up close, the Batman was in a sorry state, blood seeping from various places in the reinforced suit, speaking to a cat's sensitive nose of bruises and worse under the artificial hide. Underlying it all were strong traces of Bruce! But where was his friend? Unable to quell his response, Littlest Cat let out a heartfelt hiss.

"Oh!" Catwoman exclaimed.

Oh this was bad! She had heard! How stupid was he, to be so careless!

"Whatever did he do to you to merit such a reaction, darling child?" The woman asked. "Well, whatever it was, you can be sure that he isn't going to do it again." She patted him. "I have an errand to run. You make yourself at home, I'll be back shortly."

Forcing his heart back out of his throat by swallowing hard, Littlest Cat dared to breathe again.

"Who's there?" Weakly, Batman turned his head. The voice was deep, harsh and raw, but still so confusingly familiar. The scent, even tainted as it was by the rubber and the science smell of the confining suit, was familiar too, although the underlying tones seemed to make no sense. This time Batman was no longer the faceless empty shell, this time the armoured form moved. And spoke. Just as he had that first time up on the cathedral roof in the rain.

"Cat?" The voice was growing weaker, softer. Oh so much more familiar. As their eyes finally met, Cat nearly jumped out of his skin. Gathering his courage, he leant in closer, puzzled as his nose tallied with what his ears were telling him. It was then that the more-human part of his mind suddenly grasped the fuller picture and he realised exactly what he had just found.

The suit wasn’t Batman: the suit was only an outside. Like the outside that Alfred wore during the day. That was why so much of this man smelt so familiar, so right. Batman hadn't done anything to Bruce, he couldn’t have, Batman WAS Bruce!

Cat growled low in his throat. No way was he going to let any harm come to HIS human! Suit or not.

Carefully he bent his head, gnawing at the ropes, starting to fray at the threads that held the man captive. He wasn’t a mewling infant any more, and he would prove it!

"Cat…" Bruce moaned softly. "Get away while you can…"

No way was that going to happen. Under Cat's insistent chewing, the rope fell away. Bruce sighed, flexing his unbound wrist to restore the circulation. Cat tackled the other wrist in double-quick time.

"What are you doing?" Catwoman's voice rang out in the still air and she did not sound pleased, not at all.

Suddenly furious Cat span round, snarling his defiance at the woman whom he had thought so fine.

"You can't mean to defend him?" Catwoman was incredulous. "A man? A human? And you're taking his side? Against me?"

Behind Cat, there were sounds of movement. Uttering a warning growl, he turned to drive away any cat that would interfere with his human, before returning his attention to Catwoman.

"Well…" She crouched on the stone floor. "So, you mean to protect him?"

Cat considered the idea and decided that he did. Setting his shoulders he prepared to take her on if necessary.

"It seems that you have a champion, Batman. I'm impressed."

Slowly and stiffly, Bruce hauled himself into an upright position. While one hand activated the summons for the Batmobile, the other automatically reached for his friend. As the gloved fingers stroked along Cat's back, Cat arched joyfully into the touch.

"Such loyalty…" Catwoman breathed. "But you have no chance against all of my children, Batman. They will tear you apart for your presumption. Then I shall take back my errant child and teach him the error of his ways."

It was then that Cat decided that a future with that woman in it did not appeal in the slightest. He had other plans, if his human could be persuaded to comply. Sliding out from under Bruce's hand, he took a breath and stretched. What happened then was as much a surprise to him as it was to everyone else.

"Oh, my…" Catwoman's eyes widened as they all discovered that there was a lot more to Cat than expected.

"Handy," Bruce approved. "Very handy."

Now how had that happened? Not that Cat was complaining. He swished his new, longer tail, and rumbled.

Blinking under the fierce gaze of the huge panther, Catwoman fidgeted uneasily. "So, the experiment was at least partially successful?" She breathed.

Cat tried a snarl, enjoying the echoes almost as much as the reaction from the other cats, now crowding around to watch. Yes, he liked that!

"Experiment?" Batman wondered, freeing his ankles.

"An attempt to create a worthy mate." Came the immediate reply. "However, this seems to be yet another failure. More interesting than some, but a failure."

As the hurtful words were spoken, Cat tensed, glad that she hadn't seen the other change. Just as he was thinking how glad he was that Bruce hadn't seen it either, a gloved hand settled on his shoulder. Strong fingers sinking fondly into his plush pelt.

"Ignore her. She doesn’t know a good thing when she sees it." The baritone voice cut through Cat's growing misery and evaporated his fears.

"And you do?" Catwoman snapped back.

Cat had had enough. Insulted, annoyed and frustrated he roared, sending the smaller animals fleeing for their lives. The two resident tigers considered the challenge, but when Cat roared again, and reminded them that he was younger, smarter, bigger, and royally pissed off into the bargain, they saw the wisdom of declining to engage in such undignified activities.

Beside Cat, the Batman was ready to leave. From the distance came the throb of a massive engine. Part of a wall collapsed as the huge car burst through it and stopped beside its owner. The door clicked open.

"Let's go home." Batman murmured, and painfully hauling himself up, dragged himself into his car. "I take it you are coming? There might even be a bit of salmon, if we're quick?"

Purring, Cat leapt into the car, his new shape practically filling the cabin.
Batman only chuckled and tweaked his ear, wincing as he leaned around a now-massive shoulder. "Much as I appreciate having you like this, smaller would be good, if you don’t mind?" He suggested.

Cat didn’t mind at all.

That night there was no argument over who was sleeping where. When Bruce practically fell into his bed, Cat instantly settled beside him, within easy reach.
Already drowsy, Bruce stretched out an arm and drew his small furry protector up against his chest. Cat snuggled blatantly, purring his appreciation.

"Night …" Bruce sighed, fingers rubbing in Cat's fur. "Sleep well … buddy." He yawned hugely. "Seems like Alfred was right about the bed thing after all," He yawned again. "But I'm still not calling you 'bat cat' though…"

.
- 1
- 2
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Bat Cat