Uncanny Wonder Woman

Chapter 23: The Harder They Fall

By

The Uncanny R-Man

Disclaimer- Do my worst, eh? Smithers, release the robotic Richard Simmons.'- Mr Burns (The Simpsons)

Gotham City-

Giganta roared in rage as she went on a rampage through Gotham City. She was after Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, the Amazing Amazon hadn't yet made an appearance.

'Wonder Woman!' Giganta bellowed as she kicked over an abandoned bus. 'Come out here, you coward! Come and face me!'

Giganta frowned as she heard a whistling sound, something like an object travelling towards her at great speed.

POW!

Giganta stumbled back as Wonder Woman punched her right on the chin.

'Heh. I knew it was only a matter of time before you decided to show.' Giganta grinned as she rubbed her chin. 'What took you so long? Did you forget to polish your golden lasso?'

'I will only give you one chance to explain yourself.' Wonder Woman frowned as she hovered in front of the giant woman, her arms crossed over her chest.

'Do I need to have a reason to enjoy myself?' Giganta smirked. 'It isn't like I've hurt anyone. Well, not yet, anyway.'

'Stop this nonsense, Giganta.' Wonder Woman told the titanic redhead. 'You used to be on our side. What happened?'

'Now, what would the rest of the League say if they heard you sticking up for a bunch of killers?' Giganta responded. 'I thought you White Hats frowned on that sort of thing.'

The colossal villainess grabbed Wonder Woman right out of the air before she could even do anything to defend herself.

'All this talking is getting boring.' Giganta sighed as she tightened her grip. 'What do you say we actually get down to business?'

'Well, seeing that you were so kind to ask.' Wonder Woman grunted as she fought to free herself from her foe's grasp.

Giganta slammed her captive enemy into the ground, leaving a crater in the road.

'This is too easy.' The colossal redhead sneered. 'You always used to be a challenge, Wonder Woman. What happened to you? You've gone soft.'

'Just give me a chance to catch my breath and I will show you just how soft I am.' The Amazing Amazon retorted as she slowly got up to her feet.

'That's what I like to see.' Giganta smiled. 'Here I was thinking that you'd be a pushover. I wasn't even starting to sweat.'

Once she had initially recovered from being ground into the road, Wonder Woman took to the air again and began to fly around her foe's head.

'Oh, now you're just starting to get annoying.' Giganta groused. 'Stay still so I can crush you!'

Giganta reached up to grab the flying Amazon, but ended up having a golden lasso wrapped around her wrist. Wonder Woman grimaced under the strain as she tried to pull Giganta into the air with her.

'I don't think that's going to work, Princess.' Giganta tutted as she yanked the lasso, pulling Wonder Woman back towards her. 'Don't tell me that you're running out of ideas already.'

'I am just starting to warm myself up, Giganta.' Wonder Woman told the redhead as she yanked back on the golden lasso, making Giganta stumble backwards before falling to the ground.

'That was a lucky shot.' Giganta grumbled as she made a grab for Wonder Woman, only for the Amazing Amazon to take to the air again.

'Take the air as much as you want.' Giganta sneered as she got up to her feet. 'You're only prolonging the inevitable.'

'You should put more effort into fighting instead of talking all the time.' The dark-haired Amazon retorted as she slugged Giganta right on the nose.

CRACK!

'Ahh! You cow!' Giganta howled as she clutched her bleeding nose. 'You broke my nose! I'll crush you for that!'

The monstrous redhead lashed out with a fist, aiming to knock her foe out of the air, but Wonder Woman easily dodged the blow, which left Giganta open for the finishing blow.

POW!

Wonder Woman slugged her enormous enemy on the chin once more, sending her toppling to the ground. The force that Giganta hit the ground with was so great that it caused a shockwave that shattered windows and set off nearby car alarms.

The Amazon Princess breathed a sigh of relief as her feet touched down on the ground. The fight with Giganta had taken more out of her than she had thought.

'Wow. That was some beating you gave her, Wonder Woman!' A black-haired young man with a neatly-trimmed beard complimented her as he ran up to greet the Amazing Amazon. She instantly recognised him as George Jimenez, her teaching assistant at Gotham University, but she couldn't let him know that or he would discover her secret identity.

'Thank you.' Wonder Woman smiled in response. 'But really, it was all in a day's work. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for me.'

'I heard rumours that you were in Gotham.' George nodded. 'But I never believed them. You know how the media likes to exaggerate things. Wait a sec, you don't think that Batman'll be pissed once he finds out that you're fighting bad guys on his turf?'

'Oh, it's nothing to worry about.' Wonder Woman chuckled. 'I'm sure he wouldn't mind.'

'So, what brings you to the Rotten Apple any way?' George inquired.

'Justice League business.' Wonder Woman lied. She wouldn't have told her T.A. the real reason why she was in Gotham. She had a secret identity to keep. Diana's mind struggled to process the earlier battle. What had caused Giganta to go on a rampage like that?

Elsewhere-

Doctor Barbara Minevera, otherwise known as the former female villainess called the Cheetah, had troubles of her own. The immortal sorceress known as Circe had kidnapped her and had forced her into combat with Sebastian Ballesteros, the pretender to the Cheetah name.

Sebastian leapt at Dr Minerva with a feral yell, only for her to duck out of the way and throw him into a nearby wall, using his own momentum against him.

'Please, I don't want to hurt you!' Dr Minerva told her male counterpart. 'I'm retired. I don't even call myself Cheetah any more.'

'That is why you must die.' Sebastian growled. 'Only the strong deserve to use the Cheetah name. You are weak. You are a disgrace. I must kill you to bring back honour to the name of Cheetah.'

'You're insane!' Dr Minerva retorted. 'I never wanted to be a villain in the first place!'

'Cease your whining, woman!' Sebastian hissed as he lashed out and grabbed Dr Minerva by the throat. 'You are disgracing yourself!'

Dr Minerva tried to reply, but only managed a strangled gasp. She didn't want to die like this, but she didn't want to have to fight the other Cheetah. Her feral side thought differently.

'Once upon a time you would have torn his throat out for talking to you like that. Pull yourself together and teach that poor imitation a lesson. Look at him. He's a disgrace, begging like that. Sink your teeth into his jugular and bathe in his blood! Do it! Do the Cheetah name proud!'

'Shut up!' Dr Minerva yelled as she finally managed to free herself form her opponent's grasp.

Sebastian just stood there stunned. Somehow the woman had freed herself. There was something in the woman's eyes that chilled him to the bone. She wasn't messing around now. She meant business.

'Please. I beg of you…' Sebastian pleaded as he tried to back away, but found there was nowhere else to go. 'Please…'

'Not so tough now that you don't have the upper hand, are you?' Dr Minerva growled angrily as she advanced on her foe. 'Now look who's the weak one. You know what happens to the weak, don't you?'

Up above the battling felines, Circe smiled proudly to herself.

'It's amazing what a little telepathic persuasion can do to a person, isn't it?'

TBC…

Next: Park Life

Diana's trip to Gotham Park takes a turn for the worst when an herd of angry centaurs snatch Cassandra. Meanwhile: Circe continues recruiting allies.