Match 22998 The Green Hornet vs. Chameleon (Marvel)

[JohnnyChany]

THE HUNT FOR JOSEPH MANFREDI'S KILLER: A GANGLAND SIDE STORY PART 4

 

CONTINUED FROM OSWALD VS. HAMMER HARRISON

 

Hammerhead had summoned two contract killers from his private retainer to his office: Delilah and Mona Sax.He liked having both women available because they brought very different qualities to the table. Mona was calculating, disciplined, and professional. She was the kind of killer Hammerhead could give a job to and then forget about until it was finished. Delilah was another matter entirely. Arrogant, confrontational, and seemingly incapable of entering a room without making it clear that she considered herself the most dangerous person in it. Hammerhead didn't mind. A woman capable of lifting ten tons had earned some right to swagger.

Tonight, however, the massive crime boss wasn't in the mood for swagger from anyone. He sat behind his broad mahogany desk. Smoke curled from the cigar clamped between his teeth as he stared through the dim office at the two women standing before him.

Delilah broke the silence first.

“What jobs have you got lined up, Hammerhead?” she asked.

Hammerhead chewed angrily on the cigar. “I assume you both heard about what happened in the East Island District yesterday morning.”

“Yeah,” Delilah replied. “The old man and his doll got shot up by Tommy Shelby and the Peaky Blinders.”

Hammerhead's fist slammed against the desk hard enough to rattle the papers sitting on its surface.

“That old man, the Ventriloquist, was one of my lieutenants,” Hammerhead growled. “If Tommy Shelby thinks he can murder one of my people without repercussions, he's gravely mistaken.”

“Wasn't his purpose to be there to kill Shelby in the first place?” Delilah asked.

“Yes,” Mona answered before Hammerhead could. “The original plan was supposed to curry favor with Harvey Dent while targeting someone only tangentially connected to Geese. But now that Dent is dead, that play is out the window.”

Hammerhead waved a dismissive hand. “It doesn't matter what the original plan was. Those Irish hoods took out one of my guys, and I'll look weak if I don't retaliate.”

Mona said nothing. She had been made privy to the original arrangement. The Ventriloquist had been intended to serve as a convenient scapegoat if things went south. Now someone had gotten to Hammerhead's ego, and that was considerably more dangerous, At least one advantage remained. War meant more work.

Delilah folded her arms and grinned.

“You want me to take Shelby out?” she asked. “After tangling with Spider-Man, a few old-school Irish smugglers shouldn't be much trouble.”

Hammerhead shook his head.

“No. The Enforcers will handle the Peaky Blinders. I've got bigger plans for you two. We're going to make a statement before any of these new crime bosses start thinking they can come after me the way that fool Big Boy did.”

Delilah's grinned. Mona's expression remained carefully neutral.

Hammerhead turned toward Delilah. “I've got a different Irish target for you. One I want removed.”

Before he could explain further, a crash echoed through the building. Hammerhead's head shifted  toward the security monitors mounted on the wall. One of the cameras showed several of his guards scrambling through a hallway. In the middle of them was a short, portly elderly man who looked completely out of place amid the muscle and firepower surrounding him.

Then the old man rolled himself into a ball. He slammed into two guards, bounced off the wall, and came up with surprising speed. He extended both hands and fired glowing blasts from his fingertips. The energy struck weapons from his attackers' hands and sent several men sprawling across the floor.

Delilah watched the monitor with open amusement.

“Literal finger guns,” she remarked. “That's kind of cool.”

The old man calmly straightened his clothes while the remaining guards kept their distance.

“I'm not here for trouble,” he called out. “I just need to bring something to Hammerhead's attention.”

Mona watched the monitor for another moment.

“It might be worth hearing him out before he puts down the rest of your security,” she suggested.

Hammerhead grunted. He reached for the intercom on his desk.

“Fine. Let the man through.”

A moment later, the security door opened. Boyd walked into the office as though he had been invited to a business luncheon.. Elderly and slightly stooped, with neatly arranged clothing and the mild expression of a harmless pensioner, he looked almost comically out of place in Hammerhead's headquarters.

His eyes told a different story. They were sharp, patient, and constantly moving. Mona noticed. So did Delilah. Both women immediately raised their weapons.

Boyd merely gave Hammerhead a polite nod. “Hello. My name is Boyd, and I'm here on behalf of Silvermane.”

 

 

Hammerhead stood up. “What does the old man want?”

“Well,” Boyd replied, “I've been hired to track down and eliminate the woman responsible for killing his son.”

Hammerhead scoffed. . “And what's that got to do with me?”

“Nothing, I assure you.” Boyd raised both hands, palms outward. “I was simply wondering whether she might be hiding somewhere in your district.”

“What makes you think she is?” asked Hammerhead.

“I happened upon a bar here last night. The one named after you,” Boyd explained.

Hammerhead chewed on his cigar.

Boyd continued. “A rather pleasant establishment. Good atmosphere. Attractive bartender. I could see why the place was so busy.”

“Get to the point,” said Hammerhead.

Boyd nodded.

“As pleasant as the place was, there was something going on underneath the surface. The bartender, Barbara, appears to have some activities going on that extend beyond serving drinks.”

Delilah glanced toward Mona. Mona returned the look.

Boyd continued. “I couldn't determine whether it had anything to do with the woman I'm hunting or whether it was something entirely separate. But out of respect, I thought you should know in case you weren't already aware of what was happening in your own district.”

For a brief moment, Hammerhead's expression showed anger. Not at Boyd. At the possibility that someone had been operating beneath his nose. He buried it almost immediately to show the illusion of control;

“You really think I don't know what's happening in my own district? I see and hear everything.” He sat back down and took another drag from his cigar. “Barbara has some extra activities on the side. I allow her to do it because she's a good earner. Nothing more than that.”

Boyd studied Hammerhead's face. The old assassin had spent decades learning how to recognize lies. Hammerhead's words were convincing enough, his eyes weren't. Boyd said nothing. Instead, he gave a small, respectful bow.

“I understand. My mistake. I meant no disrespect.” He turned toward the door. “I'll get back to hunting my target. Have a good day.”

Boyd nodded politely toward Delilah and Mona before walking out of the office. The door closed behind him.

Delilah waited a few seconds before looking toward Hammerhead. “Should I go to the bar tonight and have a little chat with Barbara?”

“No,” Hammerhead replied. “Like I said, I have another target for you. I'm not changing that because one of Silvermane's hired guns got curious.”

“So you really trust Barbara?” Mona asked.

Hammerhead stared at the closed office door. “I trust that I can find the answer.”

He reached for the intercom again.

“Get me Dimitri Smerdyakov.” Hammerhead paused, the cigar smoke curled around his broad face. “Get me the Chameleon. Let him know I've got a job for him.”

Later that night, the Hammerhead Bar and Grille was doing the kind of business it had become accustomed to. The late-night crowd had packed the place shoulder to shoulder, filling the room with the clink of glasses, low conversation, and the occasional burst of laughter. Colored lights glowed against the polished bottles behind the bar, while cigarette smoke and the smell of fried food hung beneath the ceiling like a permanent fog.

Barbara Kopetski finally found herself with a rare moment to breathe. She ran a cloth across the bar, clearing away the rings left by a dozen careless drinkers, when a blonde woman in a nun's habit slid onto one of the stools.

"Hey, Babs! How you doing?"

Barbara looked up. The sunglasses and religious garb threw her off for a moment, but then she recognized the voice.

"Eda?" Barbara asked. "Why are you dressed like that?"

The blonde woman smiled beneath her dark lenses. Eda was one of Kingpin's black-market liaisons, a sharp-eyed operator who helped coordinate some of his business throughout Gangland. Tonight, however, she looked less like a professional criminal and more like a nun who had wandered into the wrong neighborhood.

"Ah, just reminiscing about the old days at the Knock Off Church," Eda said. She tugged at the collar of the habit with a playful grimace. "I never get to wear this getup anymore. I actually kind of miss it."

She adjusted the fabric around her neck. "Well, except for how restrictive it is. But the looks I get? Priceless."

Barbara chuckled. "What brings you back to my bar? I haven't seen you around much since the first few months after we opened."

"Yeah, that's my fault. I've been busy." Eda glanced around the crowded room, taking in the music, the patrons, and the steady flow of drinks. "I've always liked the ambiance of this place, though."

Her gaze lingered on the room before returning to Barbara. "I'm actually looking for a new drinking buddy. Kingpin's crew is a little light on options."

Barbara raised an eyebrow.

"Lady Bullseye is a no, and who knows what version of Typhoid Mary I'd get after a night on the town." Eda shook her head. "Hobgoblin, Bullseye, and the rest of those guys are walking red flags."

Barbara's mouth curled into a knowing smile. "So you're thinking someone in Hammerhead's crew might be more your speed."

"Possibly." Eda glanced toward the other end of the bar. "That Delilah chick looks like she might know how to have a good time."

Barbara shook her head, amused. "Is there something I can get you in the meantime?"

"Trois Rivières."

Barbara reached for the bottle and poured Eda a generous measure of rum. Eda accepted the glass and turned her attention toward the rest of the bar.

"So, how's everything going over here? Things have been pretty crazy in this city lately. Any of that messiness spilled over into your bar?"

Barbara continued wiping down the counter. "Not really. It's been pretty quiet here since the war between Tombstone and Big Boy."

 

 

Eda gave a low chuckle.

"Your district might be the only one." She took a sip and lowered the glass. "Penguin went down. Harvey went down. Gnucci went down. Not to mention Silvermane's son and whoever is targeting Goldfinger."

"I'm a little surprised I haven't seen more of a response from Kingpin with all this upheaval," stated Barbara.

Eda chuckled again, this time with a little more calculation behind it. 

"It's all happened so fast, it's hard to have a reaction when everything still feels like it's in motion." She rolled the glass between her fingers. "I can tell you he isn't too concerned about the Serpent Society, or whatever they've decided to call themselves now."

Barbara said nothing.

"Balalaika sent a spy to crash our party for Sal Maroni. It's water under the bridge as far as Kingpin is concerned. We took out their spy for trespassing where she wasn't invited, but the real beef is between the Soviets and the Italians now." Eda leaned against the bar and lowered her voice. "I've known Balalaika for a while. She isn't going to even think about making a move against Kingpin while the Roman is breathing down her neck. She's too practical for that."

Barbara studied her carefully. Eda took another sip of rum.

"Now, the Triad..." She paused. "That's a different matter."

A small smile appeared on Barbara's face. "I didn't expect you to be quite so forthcoming."

Eda shrugged, looking perfectly comfortable.

"I'm in a talkative mood tonight. I was hoping maybe you would be, too."

Barbara's eyes narrowed. There it was. Beneath all the casual conversation and playful banter, Eda had been fishing. Every question had been another hook tossed into the water, waiting to see what Barbara might bite.

Eda lifted her glass. "The night is young, and so are we."

Barbara laughed softly but gave her nothing. For the remainder of the night, Eda kept the conversation flowing, subtly steering it toward rumors, recent killings, strange visitors, and anything else Barbara might have heard from the Hammerhead district's ever-present network of gossip. She asked questions without making them sound like questions and offered information without ever quite explaining why.

Barbara remained just as pleasant, and just as tight-lipped.

By closing time, the crowd had thinned considerably. Chairs were being pushed beneath tables, empty glasses disappeared into the sink, and the boisterous energy of the evening slowly gave way to the quiet that settled over the district after midnight.

Eda finished her drink and left a generous tip on the bar.

"Always good seeing you, Babs."

"Good seeing you too," Barbara replied.

Eda slipped through the door and disappeared into the night. Barbara returned to cleaning the bar while King began ushering the last remaining patrons outside.

One of those patrons walked several blocks before finally stopping beneath the shadow of a brick building. He tapped his belt and his appearance changed. The anonymous bar patron was gone, and in his place was Chameleon. He adjusted his coat and looked back toward the Hammerhead Bar and Grille.

Chameleon had spent most of the evening listening. Now he was waiting to see who else might emerge. For several minutes, nothing happened. Chameleon finally turned away. Then the bar's door opened again. A group of men and women approached from down the street, walking together toward the entrance. King stepped outside to greet them, exchanging a few words before holding the door open. Chameleon’s interest returned immediately. 

Then movement caught Chameleon’s eye. Another man was approaching the bar from an adjacent alley. He walked with the brisk confidence of someone who knew exactly where he was going. He was dressed almost entirely in green, a tailored jacket, matching trousers, gloves, and a fedora pulled low over his brow. A domino mask concealed the upper half of his face.

It was Britt Reid. The Green Hornet. Reid had been walking the streets of Hammerhead's district alone, leaving his longtime partner, Kato, to handle other business with his daughter, Mulan. Kato had arrived in Gangland earlier that day, and the three of them were expected to meet Barbara at the Hammerhead Bar and Grille.

Reid had only been in Gangland a short while, but he had already learned one important lesson. The city was sick. Every neighborhood seemed to have its own kingpin, its own army, and its own collection of victims caught between them. Earlier that evening, Reid had interrupted a mugging near the pier. It had reinforced what he had already suspected: if he wanted to make any real difference here, simply knocking criminals off the streets one at a time wasn't going to be enough.

His plan was considerably more ambitious. He intended to establish himself as a new player in Gangland's criminal hierarchy, building a reputation from the inside while quietly using that position to protect the people caught beneath it. Barbara, he hoped, could help him establish the connections he needed.

A man stepped out from the shadows and deliberately moved into his path.

"Hey there, stranger. Where ya going?" the man asked.

Reid stopped. The stranger was an unremarkable-looking fellow in a worn coat. Reid decided to play the part of criminal now to start building his reputation.

"Get out of my way," Reid said coldly. "I have important business to attend to."

The stranger glanced toward the Hammerhead Bar. "Well, the only thing that way is the Hammerhead, and I'm sorry to tell you it's closed."

"Don't worry about where I'm going or what I'm doing."

Reid stepped around the man. The stranger's hand suddenly disappeared beneath his coat. Reid heard the click before he saw the weapon. A pistol appeared and was leveled at his back.

"That doesn't work for me," the stranger said. "I need to know what's going on in there."

Reid spun around. The gunman smiled.  He tapped his belt and within seconds, the stranger was gone. Standing in his place was an exact replica of Britt Reid.

Chameleon smiled with Reid's face. "Better yet, maybe I just need to be you."

The real Green Hornet didn't hesitate. He lunged forward and drove his foot into the gunman's wrist. The pistol went spinning across the pavement.

The doppelganger glanced down at his empty hand, then back at Reid.

"Not bad," Chameleon admitted. "But you're not making it to that bar alive. Don't worry I won't rush; I've got to get your mannerisms down."

[Callisto]

Learn More About
The Green Hornet
Read more about The Green Hornet at Wikipedia
Official Site: NOW Comics Links: Wikipedia International Hero Comicvine

Chameleon (Marvel)
Read more about Chameleon (Marvel) at Wikipedia
Official Site: Marvel Links: Wikipedia Marvel Directory Superhero Universe

[Macklemore]

I have not seen the Green Hornet TV series, only the Seth Rogen movie so mileage may vary, but in that movie Kato was the stand out while the Green Hornet was the one with the money. Hell, even the gadgets were made by Kato actually. I think the Chameleon, while possibly not a better hand to hand combatant, might be at the very least more experienced than him despite the anti-feats he has at his disposal (like getting knocked out by Aunt May's cookies).

[JohnnyChany]

3 hours ago, Macklemore said:

I have not seen the Green Hornet TV series, only the Seth Rogen movie so mileage may vary, but in that movie Kato was the stand out while the Green Hornet was the one with the money. Hell, even the gadgets were made by Kato actually. I think the Chameleon, while possibly not a better hand to hand combatant, might be at the very least more experienced than him despite the anti-feats he has at his disposal (like getting knocked out by Aunt May's cookies).

Poor Hornet. Seth Rogen really did a number on his image. The original Green Hornet, dating back to his radio show in the 40s, was a super intelligent martial arts expert who would present himself as a criminal so he could infiltrate the underworld and take it down from the inside. It's one of the reasons I paired him with Chameleon, two long time characters famous for pretending to be something they are not.

[Macklemore]

10 hours ago, JohnnyChany said:

Poor Hornet. Seth Rogen really did a number on his image. The original Green Hornet, dating back to his radio show in the 40s, was a super intelligent martial arts expert who would present himself as a criminal so he could infiltrate the underworld and take it down from the inside. It's one of the reasons I paired him with Chameleon, two long time characters famous for pretending to be something they are not.

I don't doubt it at all, I might have to watch the show. I mean, I've always wanted to cause truth be told my Bruce Lee related media knowledge is severely lacking.

[Boratz]

Great addition and great use of the characters!

[Venom 2009]

Good match.

Not sure who would win. I'll vote for the Green Hornet since this is his first Rated Match.

[leroypowell3]

I'm going to go with Chameleon. He's underrated.

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

Member Ratings:
5.00 - Venom 2009
5.00 - Macklemore
5.00 - Boratz

FPA Calculation:
3 Total Votes cast
15.00 Total Combined Score
15.00 / 3 = 5.00 Final Rating on the match

MATCH SCORE
The Green Hornet: 5
Chameleon (Marvel): 3