Match 13607 Chameleon (Marvel) vs. The Creeper (Jack Ryder)

[Guest Dinsdale Piranha]

This is part of an Arc, the last installment of which is found at Elisa Maza vs. Renee Montoya.

 

Elisa has gotten on Lex Luthor's bad side. He used his political connections to get her suspended from duty and sent for psychiatric evaluation. The psychiatrist was Dr. Hugo Strange who is on Luthor's payroll. Strange used his special equipment to scan Elisa's thoughts and learn about the Gargoyles, then he injected her with drugs that would induce temporary psychosis and staged her escape. As a final gesture, he murdered his nurse and framed Elisa for it.

 

Elisa is on the run in Gotham when the police catch up with her. She gives most of the squad the slip, but Renee Montoya corners her on the roof of a hotel.

 

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"Pit the weapon down, Elisa," Renee Montoya said. "I'm here to help. I'm a cop, like you."

 

"Luthor sent you," Elisa said, holding her pistol steady.

 

"This is Gotham," Montoya said. "Luthor's in Metropolis."

 

"Luthor's everywhere!"

 

"He's not here. It's just us. Why don't you put your weapon down and we can talk."

 

"Why don't you put your weapon down?"

 

"Come on, Elisa. You're on the job, you know it doesn't work like that." Renee watched the other woman's eyes and thought she saw a real conflict there. Whatever had pushed over the edge, she still had a lifetime of habit and training pushing her to do the right thing.

 

"Tell you what," Montoya said, deciding to take a chance, "We'll put our weapons down together, then we can talk, okay."

 

Elisa stared at her for a moment, then nodded. Moving very slowly the two women lowered their pistols to the roof and laid them down, then straightened warily.

 

"See?" Renee said. "Now we can--"

 

She was cut off as Elisa spun and thrust a side-kick into her mid-section. The blow stunned her but her flak jacket cushioned the blow. When Elisa stooped for her pistol Renee tackled her. The two struggled for several moments before Elisa broke free and got to her feet. Renee rose and the two squared off.

 

"I don't want to hurt you," Renee said.

 

Elisa responded with a one-two combination to the face that stunned her and followed with a foot sweep that sent her down. She turned and headed back to the discarded pistols as Renee struggled to her feet and drew her TASER. She fired as Elisa grabbed her pistol, and the darts lodged in the other woman's back.

 

Elisa convulsed as the electricity surged through her body. She dropped the pistol and curled into a fetal position.

 

A few moments later, Renee's backup had arrived. Elisa had been handcuffed and an ambulance had been called. Renee watched as several uniformed officers led her away.

 

"Hey Montoya," Harvey Bullock said. "Good bust. I guess you got one more nut for Arkham."

 

"Yeah," Renee said. "I guess that's for the best."

 

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Robin landed the Batwing where Vincent had directed him. The two disembarked and Vincent went to a side door and quickly located a hidden key. One of the big doors had been forced open and the floor inside was littered with smashed crates and their scattered contents.

 

"Catherine!" he called.

 

"Vincent!" her voice choked with emotion, a young woman rushed to embrace the lion-man. They held each other close for a long moment, then Catherine pulled back.

 

"I thought you were dead!" she said. "Killer Croc said he'd killed you."

 

"He very nearly did," Vincent replied. "What else has he done? I could feel you were in danger."

 

"It's complicated," she replied. "I need to take you to Father; there's a lot you need to know."

 

"If you are safe, and the people below are well everything else can wait," Vincent said.

 

"I suppose so… but how did you survive?"

 

"With the help of…" Vincent trailed off as he turned to find Robin had disappeared.

 

 

Six blocks away in the Batwing, Robin grinned.

 

"I always wanted to do that," she said.

 

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Jean deWolfe stared at the unmoving form of Red Wolf in the hospital bed. It seemed strange that such a strong and vital man should seem so frail now. Sabretooth had torn him up so badly that he was lucky to have survived this far.

 

"That's him?" asked a voice at her shoulder. Jean turned to see George Stacy, her captain. He wore the weary expression of a man who had pushed himself hard and was still nowhere close to down with his responsibilities.

 

"Yes, sir," she replied. "He helped me against the killer. The guy was superhuman, but Red Wolf wouldn't give up. I've never seen anything like it."

 

"I thought you didn't think much of these super-heroes," Stacy said, the ghost of a smile crossing his face.

 

Jean shook her head slowly. It was true, she'd been one of Spider-man's detractors in the year he'd been around, and she stories she saw in the news out of Gotham made her cringe… but this man had saved her from a particularly nasty death.

 

"Do we know who he is?" she asked.

 

"Thomas Thunderhead," the Captain replied. "Twenty-three years old; no criminal record. Came to Manhattan three years ago to work construction on the high steel. I'm posting a guard on his room, at least for now. After tonight it seems like a good precaution."

 

"I'd like to be assigned," Jean said.

 

Stacy smiled and shook his head. "You're going to give your statement to the detectives and then you're going home to get some rest."

 

"If you say so, Captain. What about you?"

 

"I've got to talk to Greer Nelson… give her the news about Bill."

 

Jean winced. Bill Nelson had only been her partner for one night, but his death still hurt like she'd lost a bother. "Please give her my condolences," she said.

 

 

The statement to the detectives only took half an hour, but Jean knew it was only the first session of many. This whole thing was so bizarre that IA might even need to talk to her at some point. It was after midnight when she made it back to her patrol car. She opened the door, thinking of nothing more than a hot shower and a soft bed.

 

There was a wolf in the car.

 

"What the blazes?" Jean stepped back, placing her hand on her gun. But the wolf made no intimidating moves. It sat in the passenger seat staring at her as if expecting her to do something.

 

"Lobo?" she asked, and was rewarded with a small whine.

 

The animal was huge, bigger than any of the police dogs she'd worked with, and there was an indefinable quality about it that told her without any question this was not a domesticated animal. This was a predator from the wild, something no human could ever tame. At the same time she felt an over powering urge to trust the animal and care for it. It didn't make sense, but there it was.

 

"I was wondering where you disappeared to," Jean said. "How did you get inside a locked patrol car?"

 

The wolf merely stared at her with calm, yellow eyes.

 

"Okay, boy," she said climbing in. "This is against regulations, and probably crazy to boot, but somebody's got to take care of you till your master recovers."

 

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What do you have there, my friend," Rat Catcher asked as Vermin emerged from the tunnels into the subterranean lair the two shared.

 

"Ssspecial," the man-rat said. "Sssshe isss different." The army of rats that shared the space with them parted as he laid the unconscious body of Maggie the Cat on the cement floor. She was humanoid but with the fur and features of a lion and the wings of a bat.

 

"What in the world is she?" Ratcatcher said.

 

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"I believe that Barbara Gordon is Batgirl," Merlyn said, placing the young redhead on the sofa in Talia Head's office."

 

"You have a sharp mind," Talia said. "I'm glad you brought her to me."

 

"I thought you and the Master would be interested," he replied. "Mr. Luthor as well, of course."

 

"The Master is already privy to this secret," Talia said, "and I do not deem it necessary that Luthor learn it at this time."

 

"As you say, Mistress."

 

"What of the assignment?"

 

"The Batman will follow Miss Gordon to her father's house," Merlyn said. "Razor Fist is waiting for him there."

 

"By himself?"

 

"No, I have dispatched Steel Serpent to aid him."

 

Talia nodded.

 

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In the clock tower over the police precinct house the giant gargoyle towered over the police detective as the other gargoyles watched.

 

"Arrested?" Goliath roared. "But she is a guardian of the people and laws of this city!"

 

"I don't understand it either," Matt Bluestone replied, making a placating gesture with his hands. "They say she has some sort of psychotic break and killed a woman."

 

"Elisa would never do this. Her will and her mind are too strong to break so easily!"

 

"I know," Matt said. "This whole thing is fishy, which is why I'm taking some time off to go to Gotham and investigate. I'm sure she's been framed."

 

"Then I shall go too," Goliath said. "And when we find who has done this framing--"

 

"We shall go, father," Angela said. "Elisa is my friend too.

 

"And mine!" Broadway said, stepping forward."

 

"We should all go," Lexington said.

 

"If we did, who would watch over the city?" Hudson asked.

 

"Hudson is right," Goliath said. "Angela and Broadway shall accompany me. The rest shall remain here under Brooklyn's leadership. We shall return as soon as possible."

 

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Spider-man swung from building to building. He hadn't seen any crime tonight, which was probably a good thing. Things were getting complicated with Liz, and Doc Conners' abduction in Metropolis was weighing heavy on him. What got him most was how angry Eddie Brock has been. Eddie had been one of his closest friends since childhood, but the look in his eyes had been so hateful.

 

"Hey! Spider-man!"

 

He looked for the voice and saw two of the gargoyles he had recently met soaring close overhead. They were the little green one, Lexington, and the beak-nosed Brooklyn.

 

"Um… hi guys," he said.

 

"Out patrolling?" Brooklyn asked.

 

"Us too!" Lexington said before he had a chance to answer. "Hey, we should team up!"

 

"Well, I--"

 

"Great!" Brooklyn said. "Do you have a line on anything going down?"

 

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"Mr. Osborne," L. Thompson Lincoln said. "I'm afraid I may have to take my business elsewhere."

 

"You can't be serious," Norman Osborne replied into the phone. "I've been providing you with super-villains. Who else could do that?"

 

"I'm afraid that's not your concern," Lincoln said. "What is more germane is that I feel some loyalty to you because of our past association. If you can produce real results for me, and soon, I may reconsider my decision."

 

"You have my guarantee," Osborn said.

 

"I'm glad to hear that."

 

After Osborn hung up, he sat there for a moment, brows knitted in anger, then he picked up the phone and dialed another number.

 

"Yes?" came Otto Octavius' voice.

 

"Octavius, where are we on the sub-dermal armor project?"

 

"M-Mr. Osborne," Otto stammered. "I'm working on new safety protocols. After the last unexpected results I thought--"

 

"How soon?"

 

"It should only be a week until we can try another human trial. Maybe ten days."

 

"Tomorrow, Otto," Osborn said.

 

"T-tomorrow, sir?"

 

"If you value your position."

 

"Y-yes, sir."

 

Norman Osborne smiled as he hung up the phone.

 

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The limousine swerved as it headed away from the Wayne Industries building, but failed to dislodge the bizarre green-haired figure that clung to the roof. Inside the vehicle the man who looked like Bruce Wayne tucked the thumb drive into a hidden pocket in his coat. He cringed as another peal of maniacal laughter came from their unwanted passenger.

 

"You've got to shake him off!" he yelled at Phineas Mason, who was driving. Mason hit the accelerator and jerked the wheel hard.

 

It didn't work. A red-gloved fist smashed in the window next to the false-Wayne's head and he flinched away. The next minute a grinning yellow face with green hair appeared in the open space.

 

"You've been naughty, Proty!" the apparition said, then broke into another peal of laughter.

 

Quentin Beck, the other man in the back seat, pulled out an automatic pistol and fired three shots through the window, but the bizarre stowaway easily pulled his head out of harm's way.

 

"Who the blazes is that, Chameleon?" Beck demanded.

 

"Yeah," Mason added, "and why did he call you 'Proty'?"

 

"I used to use the name 'Proteus,'" the Pseudo-Wayne said. "This lunatic is an enemy I had back then. He calls himself the Creeper and--Look out!"

 

He spoke too late. The distracted Mason had run a red light and the limo was t-boned by a UPS truck coming through on the cross street. It took 'Wayne' several seconds to recover enough to assess what was happening. The big car and the truck were both out of commission and his two associates were stunned. Fortunately, the Creeper, who had been thrown clear of the car and lay on the street, shaking his head.

 

Grabbing Beck's pistol the false-Wayne bolted from the car. A moment later, the Creeper was leaping in pursuit. Chameleon ducked into the first doorway he saw.

 

A moment later the Creeper sprang through the bar to see a dozen bikers in "Cycle Kings" leathers drinking and playing billiards. There was no sign of Chameleon.

 

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The Chameleon has a gun and has switched disguises so Creeper can't tell who he is on sight. His goal is to slip away without getting caught. Chameleon is the version appearing on the animated series "Spectacular Spider-man." Phineas Mason and Quentin Beck are also from the show. Mason will go on to become the Tinkerer and Beck will become Mysterio.

 

The Creeper is the version who appeared on "Batman The Animated Series."

[Callisto]

Learn More About

Chameleon (Marvel)

Read more about Chameleon (Marvel) at Wikipedia

Official Site: Marvel Links: Wikipedia Marvel Directory Superhero Universe

 

The Creeper (Jack Ryder)

Read more about The Creeper (Jack Ryder) at Wikipedia

Official Site: DC Comics Links: Wikipedia DC Animated World's Finest Online

 

 

[Guest Dinsdale Piranha]

In the first few appearances of the Creeper his main foe was a character called Proteus whose powers were identical to the Chameleon's. I liked the idea that they might be the same character.

[Dark Spider-man]

Really great setup and I like the idea with Chameleon and Proteus begin the same villain for this story arc. I might give this Chameleon because he's just trying to get away, not fight. I think Creep can't pinpoint where he is so Chameleon with his cleverness will get away.

[Bergy_Berg]

I'm gonna give this one to Creeper. He's bound to tear apart that bar until he finds Chameleon, and the guys more than capable of downing everyone before Chameleon sneaks out.

[Guest Supes Rulez]

YELLOW SKINNED WACKY MAN!

[DSkillz]

Great set-up as usual, Dinsdale. I like how you're still covering all your bases here. While Elisa's locked up, Goliath, her partner Bluestone, and the young gargoyle couple go to Metropolis to see how they can handle it; Maggie's held hostage somewhere in the sewers; and Talia's sending two tough assassins after Batman (waitaminute! Last I checked she and Bats still had and on and off thing; someone correct me if that's changed in New 52). Very interesting.

 

As for this match, Chameleon's probably going to have a time playing keep away from Creeper, even with all his disguises. DCAU's Creeper can somehow "sense" the presence of whoever he seeks out.

[Guest Supes Rulez]

Great set-up as usual, Dinsdale. I like how you're still covering all your bases here. While Elisa's locked up, Goliath, her partner Bluestone, and the young gargoyle couple go to Metropolis to see how they can handle it; Maggie's held hostage somewhere in the sewers; and Talia's sending two tough assassins after Batman (waitaminute! Last I checked she and Bats still had and on and off thing; someone correct me if that's changed in New 52). Very interesting.

 

As for this match, Chameleon's probably going to have a time playing keep away from Creeper, even with all his disguises. DCAU's Creeper can somehow "sense" the presence of whoever he seeks out.

Well, she's been an enemy of Batman for a long time, and in the New 52 she's turned into one diabolical evil b****.

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

USER RATINGS

A

SCORE

Chameleon (Marvel): 14

The Creeper (Jack Ryder): 4

FPA: 4.0