Match 13584 Catwoman vs. Amanda

[Guest Dinsdale Piranha]

This is part of an Arc, the last installment of which is found at Cheshire vs. Black Widow.

 

This is the wrap-up to Red Wolf and Fang (Gargoyles) vs. Sabertooth.

 

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Red Wolf smashed his coup stick across Sabertooth's face, drawing a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. The brute only smiled and shrugged his arm, flinging the wolf that clung to his wrist across the room. He raised his bloody wrist and touched the tip of his tongue to his own blood, then grinned.

 

"A redskin, huh? It's been a long time since I got to kill your kind, Tonto."

 

Sabretooth slashed at Red Wolf, who ducked under the claws and slammed the heavy coup stick into his belly. Sabretooth's breath was driven out of his lungs. The next instant, the wolfskin warrior pivoted his body driving the other end of his weapon up into the mutant's jaw, lifting him off his feet. Sabretooth landed on his back, but kipped up instantly. He caught the next blow and tore the coup stick out of Red Wolf's hands.

 

"Pretty tough for a normal guy," Creed growled, "but I'm a lot better than normal."

 

"You talk a lot more, that's for sure," Red Wolf said. He lunged forward, slamming a powerful punch across Sabretooth's face. The larger man took the blow and wrapped his arms around the warrior in a powerful bear hug. Red Wolf grunted in pain and pushed Creed's head with both hands in a futile effort to make him let go.

 

Across the room, Jean deWolfe stumbled to the control panel. She searched for several seconds before finding the button that opened the mutate's cell. She pressed it, causing the Plexiglas door to rise. Fang leaped out and his puma's face seemed to grin as he saw Sabretooth's struggle had him facing the opposite direction.

 

"It ain't good to turn your back on Fang," he said as he sprang forward, his claws raking a bloody 'X' across Creed's back.

 

With a bellow of mingled pain and anger, Sabretooth dropped Red Wolf who collapsed, gasping for breath.

 

"If it ain't the kitty cat," he said, lunging at Fang. The mutate caught his hands and the two grappled for a moment in a contest of strength, then Sabertooth began to press Fang backward.

 

"Oh yeah?" Fang said. Electricity shot through his hands and into Creed's body, convulsing him and throwing him back. He hit a wall and almost fell. Fang followed with another bolt, and this time Sabertooth went down.

 

"Thanks," Red Wolf said, rising to his feet. "He nearly had me."

 

Fang looked at him warily, not saying anything.

 

"That all you got, kitty cat?" Sabretooth had risen to his feet. The wrist Lobo had bitten had stopped bleeding and he showed no after effects of the electric shock.

 

"Holy crap!" Fang said, taking a step back. "What does it take to put you down."

 

"We just try harder," Red Wolf said. He drew a hatchet and a big hunting knife from his belt and leaped at Creed. Lobo, who had recovered from being thrown, leaped at him from the other side.

 

"Oh hell," Fang said, and lunged forward as well.

 

The assault of fang, blade and claws was so furious that Sabretooth went down before it. Jean watched for a moment, mesmerized by the primal savagery of it, then recovered her pistol and readied it, waiting for an opening. It came a moment later as Sabretooth, in a savage show of strength, regained his feet and flung his attackers off in all directions.

 

Police policy said that Jean should give a suspect the chance to surrender before firing, but she had seen too much of this brutal giant to care about policy. She fired four shots, center mass, and saw Creed stagger as four bloody holes appeared on his torso. The brute staggered but didn't go down so Red Wolf lunged in, driving his knife between Creed's ribs and into his heart. As the wolfskin warrior stepped back, Fang fired a sustained electric bolt. Sabretooth sparked and shook for a full fifteen seconds before Fang stopped the current and the three watched as his smoking body collapsed.

 

"God, I thought he'd never go down," Jean said.

 

"You and me both, lady," Fang agreed.

 

"Not bad," Creed said weakly, raising his head. "But I heal real fast."

 

Moving painfully, he rose to his feet. As his enemies watched, he pulled the knife from his chest and cast it aside.

 

"No way," Fang whispered.

 

"He is strong, but he can be hurt," Red Wolf said. "Working together we can--"

 

"Together my ass," Fang replied. "I'm getting while the getting's good. If you're smart you'll do the same."

 

"Wait!" Red Wolf cried but it was too late. Fang leaped out the door and, with a flap of his bat-like wings swooped into the cavernous expanse of the Labyrinth.

 

"Now see what you did?" Sabretooth growled. "The freak's getting away."

 

Jean responded by firing the rest of her clip, one shot missed, but three hit the torso and one smashed through Creed's left cheekbone.

 

"Let's see how well you heal from a split skull," Red Wolf said, swinging his hatchet.

 

Amazingly, Creed caught the weapon by the handle and jerked it from the warrior's hands. Undeterred, Red Wolf began to pummel Creed's body with his fists and knees. It seemed to Jean to be working until Sabertooth slashed Red Wolf across his chest. As the wolfskin warrior staggered backwards Creed struck again, a downward slash across chest and belly.

 

Jean raised her weapon and realized that she hadn't reloaded. She ejected her clip and pulled another from her belt, but Sabretooth saw her. Ignoring the badly bleeding warrior, Creed leaped across the room and slashed at Jean. Her flak jacket saved her life as the tough Kevlar resisted the attack, but the force of the attack knocked her flat, with Sabretooth on top of her. He laughed as she struggled.

 

Jean heard a savage growl and felt Creed's weight roll off of her. she sat up to see Creed rising as Lobo clung to his back, fangs buried in his thick neck. Sabretooth managed to get one hand up to grab the wolf by the scruff of his neck and toss him aside. He turned back to Jean, a bestial expression on his face.

 

"Hey!" Red Wolf shouted as he rose. He was bleeding badly and looked like he could barely stand. "Hey, animal! Your fight's with me, remember?"

 

"You should'a stayed quiet, redskin," Sabretooth growled. "You're on your last legs and you got no weapons."

 

He sprang, but as he did, Red Wolf raised his hand and suddenly, miraculously, he was holding the coup stick. He sank to one knee, bracing the butt of the staff on the cement floor; Sabretooth's chest hit the other end so hard that he almost impaled himself on it. He went down with at least three ribs splintered, but started rising almost immediately.

 

"Bot bad, redskin, but I guess you're about out of tricks."

 

"Not quite," Red Wolf replied. He reached into his medicine pouch and withdrew a handful of whitish powder which he flung into Sabretooth's face.

 

The mutant roared with fury and scrubbed his eyes to get the blinding powder out. It only took a few seconds for his healing factor to recover his vision, but when he could see again, the warrior and the policewoman were gone. There was only the big red-furred wolf, growling at him.

 

"Fine," he snarled. "I can slice you into wolf-burgers and still track your master down, no problem."

 

He advanced on the wolf, which grudgingly gave ground until he had backed it into Fang's cell. When the wolf had nowhere to go, Sabretooth lunged at it, pinning it with his great strength. Before he could strike the fatal blow, he caught a blur of motion in the control room. Jean deWolf had been just outside the door and now raced in and hit the cell door control.

 

"No!"Creed yelled as he lunged for the descending Plexiglas door. He caught it and put all his strength against it. The door stopped, inches from closing completely, then began to rise very slowly.

 

Jean raced through the main door to where Red Wolf lay.

 

"He's caught, but that won’t hold him long. We need to go."

 

"You go," the warrior said. "Call for back up. Don't worry about me."

 

"Fat chance of that," Jean said. "On your feet, I’ll get you out."

 

She got him standing and threw his arm across her shoulders, then half-walked, half carried him back through the maze of passages.

 

"I'm sorry about your wolf," she said.

 

"Don't worry," he replied. "Lobo's okay."

 

She heard the sound of paws padding up behind them and wondered how the wolf could possibly have escaped from the cell. Then she turned all her attention to Red Wolf. He was barely moving and his breathing was weak and ragged. She didn't know if he'd live long enough to make it out of the complex.

 

Sabretooth had been straining at the door for nearly five minutes when hegot it high enough to allow him to squeeze out. He had healed almost completely, though the knife wound to the heart would probably bother him a little for several days. When he caught the Indian, he'd make him pay for that. He started to follow the blood trail when he heard the sounds of sirens approaching.

 

"Another day, redskin," he muttered. "I've lost one mutate already on account of you, I ain't losing another."

 

He turned and headed deeper into the Labyrinth, looking for the trail of Maggie the Cat.

 

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Mercy Graves drew on her armor. It was a slow and painful process, but she wasn't about to accept help from anyone. The armor was what she needed, it made her strong again and she could pretend she was still whole, like she'd been before Lex had shot her.

 

"That was an accident," she muttered, trying to convince herself. "He still needs me, or he wouldn't have given me the armor."

 

She finished and moved to the assembly area where Corey Mills and the other three members of Team Luthor stood. Lex was there as well, ready to give them instructions.

 

"I'm glad you could join us, mercy," he said with a hint of a sneer. "You five are going to Manhattan."

 

"What's the missing, sir?" Corey asked.

 

"There are some… creatures that David Xanatos smuggled into the country," Luthor said. "They're very dangerous, at least by night and it's not safe to leave them in his hands. I want you to recover them and bring them to me.

 

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"I'll get you to New York," Batman said to Vincent. Ever since the lion-man had announced that a woman he was somehow connected to was in danger, he had seemed almost frantic to leave.

 

A computer screen flashed with an incoming message and Robin moved to answer it. He was glad of that; they didn't need one more distraction.

 

"Conners," he said and the scientist looked up. "Here's an untraceable cell. Call Quest and arrange the visit, then have your wife start packing, but tell her not to let anyone know where she's going."

 

"Alright," Conners said, taking the cell. He looked dazed. Vincent still looked anxious but was handling it amazingly well.

 

"Batman, you've got to hear this."

 

Something in Robin's voice told him it was urgent. He moved to the screen, where he saw Dick Grayson, looking pale and on the verge f shock. In a few words Dick told him about a fight with two assassins and Barbara's decision to give herself to them in exchange for her father's freedom.

 

"I’m on my way," he said.

 

"Batman..." Vincent said, but trailed off without finishing.

 

"It's okay," Batman said. "Conners, we have to leave you here for a bit, but you'll be safe. Robin, take the Wing and get Vincent wherever he needs to be in Manhattan. I'll be in touch as soon as I can."

 

Minutes later they were on their separate ways.

 

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"Bro," Eddie Brock said, "Where you been?"

 

Peter Parker felt like wilting as he entered the biology lab at ESU. Eddie was his oldest friend but, since the Lizard incident, the tension between them had been growing by leaps and bounds.

 

"I had an assignment for the Bugle," he replied. "What's going on? Where's Doc Conners?"

 

"He never came back from the conference in Metropolis," Gewn Stacy said. "Mrs. Conners has been really worried."

 

"I had no idea," Peter said. "Has she called the police?"

 

"That's why she's worried," Eddie said angrily. "Somebody broke into the Doc's hotel foom. The place was torn to pieces."

 

"You don't think he's…"

 

"Become that Lizard thing again?" Eddie finished for him. "If he has, that's good luck for you. Maybe you can get some more photos of him for the Bugle."

 

"Eddie!" Gwen snapped.

 

"Sorry, bro," Eddie said. "I guess I'm just worried."

 

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Amanda slipped through the cut circle she'd made in the window. She scanned the room with a hand held electronic device searching for alarms. She found several at the entrances, good but not that hard to beat for someone who really knew her stuff. She spotted a small cat watching her with wide eyes. That was a good sign; people with pets didn't use motion sensors or other devices that would register false signals.

 

"Good kitty," she said. "You aren't going to rat me out while I recover Mr. Xanatos' nice diamond, are you?"

 

She moved to the bedroom where her surveillance had shown her Selena Kyle had her floor safe. It was only the work of a few minutes to find it, though cracking it would take considerably longer.

 

The cat watched her from the door way, then trotted into the study where it hopped up on the writing desk and stepped on a small, red button.

 

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Selena and Holly were in a silver Jaguar F-Type convertible when Selena's cell phone went off. She passed it to her young friend.

 

"It's a text,"Holly said. "Someone's broken in to your apartment."

 

Selena wheeled the car around and sped back in the direction they had come.

 

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"There you are," Amanda said as she opened the safe. She reached in and withdrew the biggest diamond she had ever handled, which was saying quite a lot. "Let's get you home to daddy."

 

"Let's not," said a feminine voice.

 

Amanda looked up and saw a cat-masked woman standing over.

 

"It's not nice to steal," Catwoman said.

 

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Amanda wants to get the diamond back to Xanatos. She never kills unless forced to but really wouldn't mind roughing Catwoman up a bit. She has burglar tools and the funky trick the Highlander immortals have of producing a sword when you're sure they couldn't possibly be carrying one.

 

Catwoman isn't interested in killing either, but she's not going to let the diamond go if she can help it. She has her claws and whip.

[Callisto]

Learn More About

Catwoman

Read more about Catwoman at Wikipedia

Official Site: DC Comics Links: Wikipedia Entry Catwoman Webring Gotham Girls Website

 

Amanda

Read more about Amanda at Wikipedia

Official Site: The Weinstein Company Links: Wikipedia Highlander Wiki Highlander Official

 

 

[Dark Spider-man]

Great setup, Dinsdale! I don't know much about Amanda so I will read up on her before I make a decision.

[Guest Dinsdale Piranha]

Amanda is about 1200 years old and an excellent fighter/swordswoman. She is not as skilled as some younger immortals like Duncan MacLeod, however because she has focused on staying out of fights. In Highlander: the Raven she beats a few immortals in sword/weapon fights, but it's hard to judge her hand to hand skills because we don't really see them in action. It is known that she studied martial arts in China, though the only specific that is given is fighting with a special fan whose spines are sharpened spikes. She has been a thief for much of her life so her skills in that area are amazing, and has also been a circus performer.

 

Highlander type immortals have no increased strength or speed. They have a healing factor, though it's not as fast acting as Wolverine's. They will recover from wounds within minutes or hours after the end of a fight, but not during the fight. If "killed" they will be lifeless for a short period (it varies a lot from a few minutes to several hours) but will then resurrect with all wounds healed. The big exception to this is severed limbs. One of the immortals, names Xavier St, Cloud, had his hand chopped off and it never regrew. Decapitation is the only known way to permanently kill one of these immortals.

[patrickthekid]

Okay, from what I've read, she's not exactly the best swordswoman out there in the Highlander series. In that case I'll give this one to Catwoman. With her longsword, Selina could use the whip to snack the diamond away. Without it, Amanda isn't nearly as agile to keep up with Catwoman. Her best chance (and her most likely choice) would be to make a distraction and make a run for it and even then I'm not sure if she's quick enough for that. I'm leaning towards Catwoman right now.

[Dark Spider-man]

Well, she may not be the best swordsman/figher of Highlander but her worse might be on par with Selina's best. We're talking about a woman who is 1200 years old with YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEARS of experience and I dare say she's even a better thief than Selina because again of her lounger experience at doing it. And even though her agility probably isn't as better as Selina, Amanda is still athelic enough to keep up with her(The circus). Her training in China(Again shows her to be athletic and who knows how long she trained for) but someone like her probably kept studying it better her skills encase she needs to fight if she's committing thievery. We really don't know how much skill she has but all I know is that it's a lot more than Selina's. I'll vote for Amanda.

 

And like Dinsdale said her healing factor so Selina can injure her and make a break for it but kill her? I don't see that happening.

[patrickthekid]

Well, she may not be the best swordsman/figher of Highlander but her worse might be on par with Selina's best. We're talking about a woman who is 1200 years old with YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEARS of experience and I dare say she's even a better thief than Selina because again of her lounger experience at doing it. And even though her agility probably isn't as better as Selina, Amanda is still athelic enough to keep up with her(The circus). Her training in China(Again shows her to be athletic and who knows how long she trained for) but someone like her probably kept studying it better her skills encase she needs to fight if she's committing thievery. We really don't know how much skill she has but all I know is that it's a lot more than Selina's. I'll vote for Amanda.

 

And like Dinsdale said her healing factor so Selina can injure her and make a break for it but kill her? I don't see that happening.

Amanda's likely to win in a fight, but the setup up states that they want the diamond instead. I'm not so certain how crafty Amansa is, but Seline is a crafty fella. She doesn't have to fight to win.

[leroypowell3]

I just want to say good job showing Red Wolf in action. That was an great fight with Sabretooth.

 

Nice debate on the to combatants here. Going with a gun to my head decision... I'll say Amanda. But Catwoman could get the diamond too.

[Guest Dinsdale Piranha]

Thanks!

[DSkillz]

Great set-up, Dinsdale. That Creed vs. Red Wolf/Fang/Jean recap was one of your best yet. And do we see a possible Team Luthor/Manhattan Clan showdown in the near future? Interesting, though I don't think the Gargoyles can take Luthor's entire team at once.

 

As for the match, somehow I think Selena will come away with that diamond. Amanda appears to be kind of skilled with a sword, but Catwoman's probably more agile and she has the homefield advantage. The real trick, though, will be for Selina to find a new hiding place for the diamond when all is said and done.

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

USER RATINGS

A

A Great match and recap!

A

SCORE

Catwoman: 15

Amanda: 7

FPA: 4.0