Premos.
Connors and Banner worked together on the serum formula. After Bant obtained the complete serum formula from Walter Hardy, he handed the improvement task over to them.
Connors went without saying. With research records on both the Lizard Serum and the Dinosaur Serum, he had ample experience with human enhancement agents. Even if he couldn't guarantee creating a more perfect serum, he could at least spot any problems with it. Banner's intellect ran even deeper. With the two of them working together, Bant felt reassured. To focus on this, Connors even set aside his research on the gene variable device.
In truth, ever since Premos had scaled up, the self-healing serum had already formed a fairly complete production line. Now with Dr. Otto added to the team, the line's efficiency had increased considerably, so Connors no longer needed to keep an eye on it.
Inside the laboratory, Banner and Connors hit it off instantly, as if they'd known each other for years. Both were geniuses, both held doctorates, and both could turn into enormous green hulks. It was like a bond forged in a past life.
"By the way, Dr. Connors, when you bit me last time, you probably got some of my blood on you. Your body hasn't shown anything unusual, has it?" Banner set down his microscope and looked at Connors with some concern.
Connors shook his head. "Bant warned me about that as well, but I ran a full-body scan and found nothing out of the ordinary."
Banner nodded, relieved. Not everyone's body cells could absorb gamma radiation the way his could. His main worry had been Connors turning into a monstrosity like the Abomination. But from the look of things, a small amount of blood shouldn't have affected the mutated dinosaur-human cells inside Connors.
The two resumed their research.
"The Super Soldier Serum injected into Captain America was basically a semi-finished product," Banner said. "If it had been anyone else, it probably wouldn't have worked that well."
The serum came with side effects.
Connors added, "After the serum strengthened the body's genes, it also affected the personality." His gene research was more detailed than Banner's, and he understood clearly that genes had a profound influence on a person. The Super Soldier Serum enhanced human genes, which in turn made a person's personality more extreme.
"But the Winter Soldier and the SSS Serum don't have that drawback."
Banner brought out three test tubes of blood for comparison. The blood samples came from Steve, the Winter Soldier, and Natasha. Bant had provided all of them for their research. He had even brought a sample of the SSS Serum from the Skyhammer Bureau.
The SSS Serum was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s leftover assets. The quantity was very small, essentially a diluted version of the Super Soldier Serum. The enhancements it provided weren't impressive, though it did slow the aging process. The downside was that it required long-term injections to keep the serum's effects from being metabolized away. Bant looked down on this serum, so he never gave it to Uncle Ben or Aunt May.
Norman, on the other hand, saw the serum and immediately thought of further reducing the physical enhancement effects, keeping only the lifespan extension, and then selling it to the wealthy at an exorbitant price. Bant was fully on board with the idea.
At this point, the key wasn't how much money the serum could bring in. To Premos or Oscorp, money no longer held much meaning. What mattered more was that once this product hit the market, it would drive people even crazier than the self-healing serum had. The rich would give up everything they owned for a drug that let them live longer. The wealthy, especially the old ones nearing the end of their lives, whoever wanted to die? After earning so much money in a lifetime, who would be willing to die before fully enjoying it? And since the drug required continuous injections, that meant Norman and Bant could seize total control over the entire nation's capital. If you wanted to live, you had to be an obedient dog.
As for Connors, his thoughts were different. If this drug could truly be perfected and eventually made universal, it might raise the average human lifespan across the globe. He saw that as a good thing. Bant, however, shut him up with one remark: "If that happens, we'll have to work until we're ninety."
Pure hell. When would this grind ever end?
Setting those digressions aside, Connors and Banner's research went smoothly. There was already a wealth of data on the Super Soldier Serum, plus modified versions to reference, and they even had the original formula in hand. It would have been strange if they couldn't produce an improved version.
Soon, they completed the reformulated serum according to the requirements. After confirming it was problem-free, they sent it to Bant.
Meanwhile, under Walter Hardy's arrangements, Felicia's training proceeded in an orderly fashion. Although Hardy and Bant had already decided to inject Felicia with the improved serum, Hardy didn't want her to become someone who relied solely on it. He set up a dedicated training facility to give her specialized coaching. Every day after school, Felicia poured all her time into training, so much so that her moments with Bant had grown scarce lately.
She felt the absence keenly but resolved to endure it. At first, she wanted power to protect Bant. After learning Bant's identity from Mary Jane, what she wanted shifted to standing by Bant's side. Of course, teasing Bant a little was a small, catlike mischief in her heart.
Felicia was full of anticipation, because Hardy had told her that tonight, she would receive the serum that would grant her superhuman abilities. Just wait, Bant. I'll give you a big surprise!
Mary Jane had no idea her best friend was already preparing to pull ahead of her. She just felt that Felicia had been acting a bit strange lately. Worried, she brought it up to Bant.
"What's up with Felicia? She rushes home right after school these days, and whenever I ask, she won't say a thing."
"Seems like Felicia's dad is back. She's been busy reuniting with her family," Bant said.
"Her dad..." Mary Jane watched Felicia's departing figure and repeated Bant's words, feeling happy for Felicia but also a little envious. Her own father had been a violent drunk. Eventually, her mother couldn't take it anymore and took her away from that home. Later, after her mother passed, Mary Jane had been kicked around like a ball by various relatives until she landed at her aunt's house, where life finally stabilized a bit. Thinking of her past, Mary Jane's eyes dimmed for a moment. But she quickly swallowed those unbearable memories. She never liked talking about her past or complaining about her hardships. Besides, Felicia had found her dad. As a friend, she should be happy for her.
"I'm really happy for her. But since that's the case, I guess I'll have you all to myself for a while." She tightened her grip on Bant's arm, as if afraid of losing him.
Night fell.
Felicia changed into her black Catwoman suit, her slightly wavy golden hair draped over her shoulders. She hadn't been injected with the serum yet, but the form-fitting black leather still showed off her figure perfectly.
"Dad, I'm ready."
"Good, come over here." Hardy nodded. Felicia's performance during this period had genuinely surprised and satisfied him. She had a remarkable talent for thievery and had picked up most of his skills in a very short time.
Hardy led Felicia into a laboratory and wheeled out a device that looked exactly like the one used to inject Steve with the serum in Captain America: The First Avenger.
"Lie down inside."
Felicia obediently climbed into the device. It closed around her like a giant cocoon. In truth, injecting the serum no longer required such an elaborate setup. The machine wasn't there for the injection itself but to keep Felicia from seeing what was happening outside. Because a few minutes later, Bant arrived with the serum.
Hardy eyed the pale blue liquid in the vial and asked, "This is the newly improved serum?"
"Yes. A joint effort by Dr. Connors and Dr. Banner. It has all the effects of the standard Super Soldier Serum, and it also allows the user to hide their superhuman abilities at will."
Hardy took the serum, studied it for a moment, then said, "Felicia begged me not to tell you she's Black Cat. I think she's planning to toy with you a bit."
Hearing that, both of them laughed. Felicia's innocent, adorable little scheme amused them. She thought she was the only one who knew Bant's secret identity and wanted to prank him after becoming Black Cat, completely unaware that her serum and suit were both prepared by Bant.
That seductive Black Cat suit also packed plenty of high-tech. The decorative-looking eye mask actually had night vision. The earrings helped her maintain better balance. The white gloves had retractable claws made of a sturdy vibranium alloy. The suit as a whole possessed strong tensile strength, able to dissipate some bullet impacts, and the shoes, like a cat's paw pads, had a sound-dampening function.
Hardy loaded the serum into the device. Instantly, the glowing blue liquid began flowing into Felicia's body.
At that moment, Bant pulled up a camera feed. On the screen, several armed gang members had surrounded the Hardy Foundation.
"Kingpin's already made his move."
Since Bant planned to have Kingpin serve as Felicia's rookie boss, he had naturally tracked Kingpin's every move down to the last detail. Nothing escaped him, including the plan to abduct Walter Hardy.
"Then let's finish him off in one go," Hardy agreed.
Bant watched the serum travel through the tubes toward the steel cocoon, fully aware that tonight, Felicia would undergo her transformation into Black Cat. He then quietly left, as if he had never been there at all.
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)