"All right, move it." "Let's get this stuff out of here." "Wildcat, it's Black Canary." "I'm at the warehouse." "Where are you?" "Sorry, baby." "Ooh!" "I got hung up." "This is getting old, Ted." "Need a hand?" "Nah." "Just sit tight." "I'll be there in 10 minutes." "Would those be real minutes or Wildcat minutes?" "Hey, come on." "Over there." "And there's that merciless left jab..." "Larry, we interrupting your private life?" "Pay-per-view webcast." "It's almost over." "Put it down and get to work." "Dude, the last one with this guy only went one round." "I'm not missing it." "It cost me an arm and a leg." "I'm gonna cost you an arm and a leg if you don't" "Whoa!" "Things are about to get ugly here, folks." "Kind of late for a charity drop-off, isn't it, boys?" "What a spectacle!" "You're seeing a living legend in action." "It's almost too awful to watch." "Move it!" "We may have a knockout in record time!" "I don't think this one's getting up again." "I don't think this one's getting up again." "And that means we have a winner." "And that means we have a winner." "Still the undefeated champ:" "Wildcat!" "Most people, after they've sold a company for $3 billion, would just kick back and relax." "I'm not most people." "Besides, after taxes and the lawyers are through with you, you're lucky if you see a billion and a half." "My heart bleeds." "Black Canary." "Green Arrow." "I've noticed you around." "I know." "You happy punching the bag or you want to go a few rounds with me?" "I am talking about sparring." "That'd be nice too." "You're telegraphing." "You got to center yourself." "Center myself." "Got it." "You're good." "You should see me when I'm trying." "I'd like that." "In fact, I could use your help on something, but the League can't know." "I'll explain once we're on the surface." "I don't know." "Sounds fishy." "I promise, it's for a good cause." "How about a wager?" "If I can get out of this hold, you help me." "Deal." "I'll drive." "You can hold on to me if you want." "So tell me about Wildcat." "What's so secret you couldn't talk about it in the Watchtower?" "He's doing meta-brawls, illegal, no-holds-barred cage fighting." "Mostly superpowered criminals or guys with chemical enhancements." "Only rule: they fight till one guy stays down." "Why's he doing it?" "He loves to fight." "Before he was Wildcat, he was the world heavyweight boxing champ." "I remember, but doesn't he get enough fighting in the League?" "I think the League's part of the problem." "It's like he's going through some kind of midlife crisis." "I'm worried something's gonna happen to him." "Oh." "Roulette, need a word." "Anything for my star." "I've come to a decision." "I'm not gonna fight anymore." "What brought this on?" "It's interfering with my work, and I've been letting my friends down." "Hmm." "You mean the Justice League?" "That's right." "The timing's a shame." "Atomic Skull's in town, and he wanted a shot at you." "But don't worry." "I'll tell him you quit." "Knock it off." "I know what you're doing, and it's not gonna work." "I've already made up my mind." "Well, you're a good man, Cat." "You care about the right things." "I can't fault you for being loyal to the League." "I just have a hard time understanding it." "What's so hard about it?" "Well, you must have to swallow a lot of pride, being one of the only normal humans in the group." "No superpowers, not even a pile of gadgets like Batman's." "You want out of this, fine." "But if you want to stay where people respect you, where you're the king, then don't go." "Hey, no problem." "If you can't swing it, there's a lot of fish in the ocean." "Know what I'm saying, babe?" "I need a thousand dollars." "For what?" "We can't just go to some big sports arena for this kind of thing." "The location's a secret." "For a grand, this guy gives us the info and the ticket in." "Well, at least now I understand why you brought me along." "You didn't need Green Arrow." "You just needed green." "It isn't like that." "No?" "Then tell me, what's it like?" "I thought I could trust you." "Man, good guy to have on a date." "Thousand, was it?" "Actually, that was just for one ticket." "If you're both goin', it's two." "Fifty K on Atomic Skull." "All that cash against Wildcat?" "Keeps it interesting." "You never know." "Twenty says the Cat crushes the Skull." "This way." "Yeah?" "What is this?" "We want to help you, Ted." "We want to get you out of here." "Why?" "Does it look like I have a problem?" "You do if you don't see what you've become here." "You're entertainment for these people, the rooster in a cock fight." "Fighting is what I do, all right?" "It's all I was ever good at, and I'm still good at it." "I'm Wildcat, the guy who fights." "That's what I am." "You're so much more than that." "Anyway, I can leave anytime I want." "I don't need help." "Then leave." "Right now." "Uh-uh." "I'm fighting Atomic Skull tonight, and you know he deserves a beating." "Ted, come on." "Hey, I was the greatest, all right?" "I fought 'em all, and I beat 'em all." "And now look at me." "Most of the time they keep me up in that stupid spaceship, babysitting." "They call me to do real work less and less." "Don't you think I see where this is going?" "I mean, I don't shoot beams from my eyes, I" "I can't turn myself invisible," "I don't even have a supersonic birdcall." "So that's it?" "You're angry at people with powers, and down here you get to beat on them?" "Am I getting too close now?" "Hey, settle down!" "How's this your business, huh?" "Stay out of it, Ollie." "That's it." "I'm done." "What are you putting me in the middle of this for?" "You guys obviously have your own stuff to work out." "What stuff?" "I'm trying to help a friend." "That sure looked like you were more than friends." "Did you think--?" "Ted is like a father to me." "He trained me, trained a lot of us in the League and kept an eye on us when we were starting out." "I owe him." "Now I guess training isn't enough anymore." "You want to get him out of this quietly 'cause you don't want him thrown out of the League?" "Or worse." "All right." "But I saw the look in his eye." "He's not gonna budge." "Then I hope I can count on you for plan B." "Uh, there's no place to change." "Right here'll do." "You drop something?" "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Meta-Brawl." "Place your bets and take your seats." "Get ready for the historic match-up... the clash of titans... between Atomic Skull... and Wildcat!" "Show's over, folks." "Forever." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Let us out of here!" "Think we can take 'em?" "No." "Hold it." "Just what do you think you're doing?" "If the only way to get you out of here is to take this place down, then so be it." "You better decide whose side you're on." "Sorry about getting you into this." "Forget the apology." "Just do that sonic scream of yours." "I can't." "At this range, it would kill them." "I have a better idea." "How would you like to see two League members fight each other?" "Me and Wildcat in the cage right now." "That make you some money?" "Oh, definitely." "Then here's the deal." "If I win, you ban Wildcat from cage fighting forever." "And if I lose, I'll never bother you again." "Forget it." "Can't do that, Cat." "It's much too good an idea." "Everything's okay, folks." "In fact, it's fabulous." "Because after a brief intermission," "Wildcat is going to fight Black Canary." "That's right, two good guys fighting each other." "And one of them's her." "So place your bets." "Give our new contender a dressing room and keep them both in it until showtime." "I'm not doing it." "I only fight guys who have it coming." "That's all I've ever done." "Or so you've told yourself." "The truth is you love the fight." "Well, I'm not gonna love beating up one of my own students." "That ain't right." "If you trained her, she can take care of herself." "She knew what she was getting into." "And if you don't do this," "I'll never let you fight in that cage again." "And I expect you to win no matter what." "Don't take a fall." "Don't even go easy on her." "You're still my star attraction, and I need you undefeated." "Ruin that, and I'll put you out to pasture as quickly as the League." "Are we clear?" "Ooh." "Well, you bought us some time, but it still looks like we're gonna have to fight our way out of here." "Changed your mind about using the scream?" "You don't understand." "If we leave here without Wildcat, or worse, if I use my power to force him out, he'll just come back." "We have to settle this the only way he understands." "You're not really gonna fight him?" "I have to." "And beat him." "It's the only way to make him stop." "I thought that was just you pretending again." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Like all that flirting you did up at the Watchtower, the way you acted interested, to get me to come with you." "Who said that was pretending?" "Oh, no." "I know your game now." "It's not always a game." "No?" "Come here." "Look me in the eye and say so." "Uh..." "Don't worry." "You'll still get your main event." "Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the world's first cage fight between two heroes, right here at Meta-Brawl." "However, there's been a change in the program." "Instead of Black Canary," "Wildcat will be fighting Green Arrow!" "There's no way." "I'm not fighting him." "Canary could have held her own, but not this guy." "You'll fight who I tell you to fight." "End of story." "What's the matter, Cat?" "Afraid?" "He's not a fighter." "I know what it is." "Maybe you'd rather fight a woman." "That idiot." "Arrow!" "What do you think you're doing?" "Teaching the teacher a lesson." "Wildcat, stop it!" "He asked for it!" "So when are you gonna start, has-been?" "I don't have any powers." "And you're still too old to knock me out." "You had enough, smart guy?" "Huh?" "Get up." "I'm not done." "What have you done?" "I'll tell you what he's done." "He's taken the fights to a whole new level." "Think of the word that'll spread from this." "Anything's possible here." "Next time you fight, we'll clear millions." "No." "No, I'm out." "And this time, I mean it." "You know, that was an incredibly stupid thing to do, not to mention arrogant, pigheaded, macho, and... very, very sweet." "I'm sorry." "I'm not." "It's a stunner." "Puts you in metabolic stasis for a few minutes." "You wanted him to see what it would feel like to kill someone." "Think it worked?" "It worked." "Who are you kidding?" "You won't be happy stuck on that ship." "I give you a month, and you'll be back here crying for me to give you another chance." "Mark my words, Wildcat, I know your kind, and you will fight again." "Of course he will." "Just not here." "I'm sorry for what I put you through." "But don't worry." "Seeing a dead body from my hands, it knocked me back to my senses." "I believe you, but I'd like some assurance it's gonna stick." "Excuse me?" "Things like this sometimes you can't stop all by yourself, no matter how much you want to." "Believe me, fighting's nowhere near as tough as this is gonna be." "How's he doing?" "He'll make it." "How about you?" "You recovering okay?" "I've had worse." "I wouldn't brag about that." "Care to join me for a cup of coffee?" "Yeah." "Good." "You're buying."