Sweet
old lady Abigail Verpoorten loves to feed the stray cats outside her home. This
day, Tigra, shrunk to the size of a housecat and with instincts to match, comes
out for some food as well; the nearsighted lady notes that Tigra doesn’t sound
like an ordinary cat but she can’t see that she looks different too. A bully
lets his pit bull attack the cats; it kills one and goes for Tigra. Tigra
manages to kill the dog but is badly wounded herself. Abigail hurries the
injured Tigra to an animal hospital, witnessed by a black cat. The doctor, who
doesn’t get a good look at Tigra, assumes she is too badly injured to survive
and prepares to euthanize her. Suddenly, Agatha Harkness enters, accompanied by
her black cat Ebony (see above) and claims Tigra as her own. The doctor then
sees what a strange looking cat Tigra is; Miss Harkness leaves; the doctor and
Abigail follow and discover from the receptionist that no one has entered the office
since Abigail went back….
At
Avengers Compound, Miss Harkness uses Hank Pym’s Pym Particle device to restore
Tigra to her normal size; she tries to restore Tigra’s human consciousness by giving
her (and the reader) a detailed summary of her comic book history. But the
heroine is still badly injured and still acts like a cat, as instilled in her
by the Cat People. Believing only the Cat People can help her now, Agatha
Harkness summons the cat emissary Balkatar who turns out to be Tabur who knocks
Agatha cold and uses a special amulet to heal Tigra and restore her human
memories. She balks as she remembers Tabur was a bad guy; he explains that he
was once an enemy of the Cat People, being one of the High Evolutionary’s New
Men, but now he has conquered the Cat People and become their leader. And to
legitimize his rule, he wants to mate with Tigra. Ebony then attacks him and is
violently batted away and Agatha Harkness enters. Tigra decides Tabur is still
a bad guy and they fight. But Tigra is still weak from her ordeal and she
passes out. Agatha Harkness employs the cat amulet to transform Tabur into a
regular house cat. Tigra awakens to find she is now just human Greer Nelson;
Miss Harkness gives her the amulet, explaining that she can use it to become
Tigra whenever she wishes….