Super Cats v Dr Specs

by Gwyneth Rees

  ‘Her priority should be catching Dr Specs before he distributes all those weapons,’ Rowdy grumbled when Topaz had gone.

  ‘She’s not seeing the bigger picture,’ Marshmallow agreed.

  Tagg couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable, knowing what he now did about Topaz’s superpower and how Dr Specs had taken it from her.

  From her basket in the corner, Sugarfoot tried to speak but found that it was too painful even to whisper. As she whimpered in distress, Tagg rushed over to her. ‘You need to rest your vocal cords. If you do, then I’m sure your voice will come back soon.’ At least, that was what he hoped.

  Rowdy suggested they call Sugarfoot’s parents, Flash and Glamour, to look after her while she recovered. ‘Tagg, I need you to work with me and Marshmallow on a plan to stop Dr Specs.’

  They had only just started their planning meeting – and Tagg was about to ask them if they already knew what Dr Specs had revealed about Topaz – when Flash arrived. Flash’s power was super speed.

  ‘Glamour is on her way,’ he told them. ‘So are Chester, Melody and Wild Bill. They should be here in a little while. We all want to help.’ Chester and Melody were Tagg and Rowdy’s parents. Along with Great-Uncle Bill, they were all retired super-cat agents who had once worked for Topaz. Perhaps semi-retired was a more accurate description, since they still lent a paw whenever the situation demanded it.

  ‘Great. We need all the help we can get. Dr Specs is like no one we have faced before,’ Rowdy grunted, as Flash hurried over to Sugarfoot.

  The other cats in the agency gathered round to listen as Rowdy took Topaz’s usual spot in the centre of the floor.

  ‘Tonight has been a very bad night for super cats,’ he began. ‘Not only has Dr Specs created more neutralising weapons and fired one of them at Sugarfoot, but Thumper the drummer has used his superpower recklessly and caused a fire—’

  ‘That fire wasn’t Thumper’s fault,’ Tagg interrupted indignantly. ‘He pointed his tail away from the pavilion. He was aiming to send the firebolts straight up into the sky. It was Dr Specs who shoved him forward so he fell off the stage into the audience.’

  Furious miaows broke out and Rowdy had to call the meeting to order. ‘Dr Specs must have got Tiffany to invite One Purr there on purpose,’ he exclaimed. ‘He wanted to use Thumper to make super cats look bad!’

  ‘Where is Thumper?’ Tagg asked.

  ‘At the vet’s. Tiffany stayed with him.’

  ‘Tiffany?’

  ‘She was really upset about the fire. And she was really angry with Dr Specs. I don’t think she knew what he was going to do.’

  Suddenly the door burst open and Topaz rushed into the meeting room. ‘I have some important news!’ she yowled. ‘Our scientists have discovered that the weapon does have a reversal mode! But it can only be activated with Dr Specs’s pawprint!

  ‘I want him captured alive, and his paws must be untouched. They must not receive the slightest scratch, no matter what else happens! Is that clear?’

  ‘Ma’am, of course we’ll try, but if he comes at us we’ll have to fight him off somehow. If I have to use my super strength to throw something at him, then—’

  ‘I absolutely do not give you permission to harm his body in any way!’ Topaz insisted.

  ‘Unless the lives of the team are at risk, Ma’am … that’s the only time when we might have to forget about saving his paws.’

  ‘Rowdy, under NO circumstances are his paws to be damaged!’

  ‘But, Ma’am …’

  As the argument continued Tagg glanced at Sugarfoot, who was looking more and more upset, despite her dad’s comforting presence.

  Tagg tried to make himself heard above the loud miaowing of the other cats, but it was hopeless as Rowdy and Topaz’s fiery discussion escalated. Topaz wanted to go in softly with a very small team, whereas Rowdy wanted to use every super cat they had, each of them fully prepared to use their superpower and do whatever it took to bring an end, once and for all, to the evil genius.

  One thing was clear to Tagg – if they left it much longer, Dr Specs would escape again. Then there would be no chance of getting his pawprint or ridding the world of him and his evil plans.

  That’s when Tagg decided there was only one thing to be done, and while the others continued to argue, he slipped silently away.

  TAGG GOES SOLO

  It was starting to get light by the time Tagg reached Dr Specs’s lair for the second time. He hadn’t slept in a while, and for a few moments he felt as if he wasn’t quite up to the task that lay ahead.

  But then he gave himself a shake. Of course he was up to it! He was a super cat and one of Topaz’s top agents, wasn’t he? And just because he and Sugarfoot had always worked as a team on every mission until now, it didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of defeating their enemy on his own! He was sure that if their situations were reversed, Sugarfoot would be here right now, preparing to unleash her super yowl and do whatever else it took to defeat Dr Specs and save her friends!

  Switching on his camouflage, Tagg gave the fridge and the other human junk a wide berth as he pushed through the hole in the back door, taking care to avoid brushing against the sharp, splintery wood. Once inside, he paused for a moment to listen. Nothing. He couldn’t tell whether Dr Specs was at home or not. Cautiously he climbed the stairs. He usually felt safe when he was camouflaged, but this time, against this particular villain, he did not.

  He jumped over the hazardous stair and kept an eye out for any nasty surprises above his head. He reached the upstairs landing safely. Directly ahead was the door to the room they had entered before. As he stepped towards it he heard a creak to his left, then a muffled bang from the same direction, like a window shutting. Had Specs heard him coming and decided to make a quick exit?

  Tagg moved swiftly to his left, where another door greeted him. It was slightly ajar and he stopped to listen. Hearing nothing, he nudged it open a little further with his nose, tentatively pushing his head through the opening.

  This room seemed to contain several pieces of furniture covered with dust sheets. There was a window at the far end, which was closed. Tagg thought he smelt cat food, though there was no sign of Dr Specs.

  As he tiptoed inside he spotted a movement behind one of the sheets. Instantly the door banged shut behind him and all the dust sheets fell to the floor at once, revealing various items of impressive-looking laboratory equipment. Coiled around this equipment were what looked like green garden hoses with large spray nozzles.

  Before Tagg knew what was happening all the hoses switched on at the same time and he was hit from every angle, but not by water. The substance being sprayed at him was thick, oily paint!

  From one side he was doused in red paint, from the other blue, from behind him yellow and from in front green. As the paint stuck to his fur, he gradually became visible, like a patchwork cat materialising bit by bit out of thin air. There was no escaping the cleverness of it – or the evil cackle of feline laughter that accompanied it.

  ‘Call that camouflage a superpower?’ Dr Specs spluttered scornfully. ‘I don’t even have to use my weapon to neutralise it! A few splashes of ordinary paint will do the trick! You have to be the most useless super cat I’ve ever met – and I’ve met quite a few!’

  As Tagg rubbed the paint from his stinging eyes, he saw Dr Specs perched on top of a large crate, holding his belly as he shook with laughter. He was wearing some kind of weird padded jacket over his lab coat, but before Tagg could wonder what it was for, he felt a sharp pain cutting into his leg. One of his hind legs was caught in a snare.

  ‘I set that little snare-trap just before you got here,’ Dr Specs explained. ‘Old-fashioned but effective. My exceptional brain thinks of everything, you see! I need you to stay put! Can’t have you running around in my laboratory – you might break something!’

  ‘This is your laboratory?’ Tagg gasped. He had been expecting something with wooden benches and test tubes and Bunsen bur
ners, possibly with a dissected mouse on display, which was silly, he realised, considering what it was that Dr Specs was manufacturing. ‘What are all these … these machines and things?’ he asked.

  ‘Oh, they’re very high spec. Only the best scientists use them.’ He began to point at the various pieces of expensive-looking equipment resting on tables around the room. ‘That’s my particle counter, that’s my acid cleaner, that one’s my magnetic analyser, and that’s my high-density solidifier. Oh, and in that box,’ he pointed to the crate he’d been perched on when Tagg arrived, ‘are my fire extinguishers, just in case any of my experiments go wrong!’ He chuckled. ‘You see, it takes a lot of research to make a weapon as sophisticated as mine.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Tagg spluttered. ‘Why are you doing this? Why do you hate us so much?’

  Dr Specs seemed to be considering this. ‘Well, it’s complicated, dear boy, though I suppose we do have a little bit of time before I kill you.’

  ‘K-k-kill me? I thought your weapon only took away our powers?’

  ‘The first one did – the one I used on Topaz. I thoroughly enjoyed that. I knew I was getting rid of my chief rival, you see.’

  Tagg didn’t see. ‘Chief rival for what?’

  ‘My rival for ultimate power, of course! I want all cats to bow down to me! But first I need to eliminate all you other super cats. You see, I never get any of the credit. No one ever thinks I’m a hero! When your power is hidden inside you, like mine, nobody realises it is a superpower! Nobody calls it pure genius! Nobody invites you to go on TV to talk about it! No! They only want you to come and talk about all the other super cats out there!’

  ‘Wait, you’re saying, you have a superpower?’

  ‘Of course I do! My genius is my superpower! How else do you think I came up with a way to invent a neutralising weapon? Do you really think an ordinary cat could be that clever?!’

  As Tagg began to process this, Specs continued. ‘For years I felt hurt that my superpower wasn’t recognised, but then I learned how to turn it to my advantage. I could pretend to be an ordinary cat and still use my power to get what I wanted. And now ordinary cats think I am their ally. They don’t even realise I am making them do exactly what I want. Completely ingenious, wouldn’t you say?’

  Specs had moved closer to Tagg as he talked, and Tagg realised the boastful villain was almost within grabbing distance. If he could just reach out his front paws far enough to make contact … but then what would he do? It wasn’t like he was super strong like Rowdy. Maybe Specs was right when he said Tagg’s power was useless. He was starting to think he should never have come here alone.

  Specs stepped closer and gave Tagg a massive shove to his chest that sent him reeling backwards.

  The snare pulled even tighter around Tagg’s leg, making him whimper.

  Smirking, Specs bounded over to a cupboard, which he opened to reveal another stash of neutralising weapons, just like the one he had used on Sugarfoot.

  ‘I’ve enjoyed our little conversation, Tagg,’ Specs told him with a creepy laugh. ‘Unfortunately, I’ve told you far too much to allow you to live. But the good news is, you’re going to be the first cat to see my updated weapon in action when I switch on my brand-new “kill” mode.’

  Tagg could do no more than remain a sitting target for Specs, who was making a big thing of getting himself in a comfortable position as he pointed the weapon directly at Tagg and adjusted one of the levers.

  Tagg said nothing but gave him a cold stare, trying to convey all the hatred he felt in that last gaze.

  ‘Oh, don’t look so glum,’ Dr Specs said with a grin. ‘Look on the bright side – this way you won’t have to worry about what you’re going to do for the rest of your life without your superpower.’

  And with a little chuckle he pulled back the lever, ready to fire.

  TAGG SAVES THE DAY AND A PAW

  There was a sudden gust of wind as something furry and blurry flew past Tagg at lightning speed. Dr Specs let out a screech as the weapon was whipped out of his paw!

  ‘Flash!’ Tagg cried out in relief.

  Flash slowed to a halt, revealing the weapon clamped between his teeth.

  Specs saw him and spat viciously before diving towards the cupboard of weapons. Flash was too quick for him though, pouncing on Specs and knocking him into a corner of the room.

  ‘Are you OK, Tagg?’ Flash shouted as he stood in front of the pile of weapons while Dr Specs shook with rage in the corner. ‘Why are you covered in paint?’

  ‘He did it to block my camouflage. My leg is trapped too.’ He gritted his teeth, not wanting to show how much pain he was in from the wire cutting into his back paw.

  ‘Melody and Chester are on their way. They’ll soon get you free,’ Flash assured him.

  ‘Flash, look out!’

  Dr Specs was approaching them, carrying what looked like a large Christmas bauble between his teeth. It must have been hidden in the corner somewhere. He tossed the bauble at Tagg so that it landed right at his front feet. Tagg immediately spotted the sparkling fuse. It was a bomb!

  ‘You idiot! You’ll blow us all up!’ Flash shouted, but the evil villain just laughed.

  ‘Not me – just you!’ he snorted. He turned scornfully to Tagg. ‘You know, my boy, I almost feel sorry for you. It must be terrible to have such a rubbish superpower and no brains!’ And with that he took a small remote out of his pocket and pressed the button. It controlled a panel in the roof, which slid back to reveal the cloudy night sky.

  At the same time Dr Specs tugged at a bobble on his strange jacket and the back fell away to reveal a small jetpack concealed inside. ‘I guess I’ll see you around!’ he called out. ‘Bits of you anyway!’ he added with a snigger. And before anyone could stop him he had rocketed up through the opening in the roof.

  Flash rushed over to Tagg. ‘Where’s the bomb? We have to get rid of it!’

  Tagg was looking surprisingly calm. ‘I tossed it back at him just before he launched himself. I think it went into his lab-coat pocket.’

  Flash’s jaw dropped open. He was speechless.

  They both stared up through the hole in the roof, hardly able to believe that Dr Specs was about to be blown to smithereens by his own bomb.

  ‘You said you think … ?’ Flash murmured hoarsely.

  ‘I’m almost certain,’ Tagg murmured back.

  At last, above their heads, the sky suddenly lit up with an explosion.

  ‘Phew!’ Tagg grunted, and both cats slumped to the floor in relief.

  A few minutes later the other super cats arrived. First came Rowdy and Marshmallow pounding up the stairs, followed by Tagg’s parents, Melody and Chester, and Sugarfoot’s mother, Glamour.

  Melody lost no time in using her super claws to cut through the wire snare and release Tagg. Then Glamour used her super lick to heal the nasty wound on his hind paw. Meanwhile, Flash explained what had happened and how Tagg had saved them with his super-quick thinking.

  ‘That’s amazing work, Tagg!’ Chester told him. ‘We’re so proud of you!’

  Rowdy stopped examining the cupboard of weapons and came over to give Tagg a lick. ‘You’ve rid the world of a very evil cat. Well done, little brother … I mean, Agent Tagg!’

  ‘I couldn’t have done it if Flash hadn’t saved me when he did. How did you know where to find me, Flash?’

  ‘Sugarfoot got her voice back – just a whisper but it was enough to tell us where she thought you’d gone.’

  ‘Sugarfoot! I can’t wait to see her and tell her that Specs is gone for good.’

  ‘The trouble is, so is her superpower,’ Rowdy said with a sigh as he stared up through the hole in the roof. ‘And Topaz’s.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Don’t worry, Tagg,’ Rowdy added quickly. ‘It couldn’t be helped. I’ll explain everything to Topaz.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Rowdy’s right,’ Flash added. ‘And Sugarfoot would rather the two
of us were alive, Tagg, even if she doesn’t have her superpower.’

  ‘Yes, I know that, but I have to show you something!’ Tagg finally got the words out. ‘We may not have Specs’s paw, but we do have his pawprint! Look!’ He stood up and pointed to his chest. The green paint all over his front was now dry and in the centre of his chest they could see the pawprint Dr Specs had made when he’d shoved Tagg.

  The others all stared at it. It certainly looked like a perfect copy of a cat’s pawprint. But would it work as well as Dr Specs’s actual paw?

  Back at Headquarters, the scientists took Tagg into the lab, where they scanned the pawprint and ran various tests on it.

  Tagg felt very nervous as he lay on his back on one of the tables while the scientist cats set the neutralising weapon on his chest, carefully positioning it so that the pawprint lined up with the right place on the weapon.

  ‘Are you ready for this?’ they asked Tagg. ‘We’ve no idea what will happen.’

  ‘Then let’s find out,’ Tagg miaowed bravely. In fact he was terrified that the weapon would suck out all his superpower too.

  His power might not be as awesome as some other cats’, but he couldn’t imagine life without it. It was only because he knew that this was Sugarfoot’s only chance to get her superpower back that he’d agreed to do it.

  The scientists pressed the weapon firmly against the green pawprint on Tagg’s chest. Then they waited.

  Tagg felt the weapon become warm before it began to vibrate. His fear increased and all his instincts told him to jump off the table and run – then, from somewhere inside the weapon, came a muffled click. The scientist cats looked excited.

  ‘Is that it?’ Tagg asked nervously.