Chapter 8: The Trap is Sprung

The longer he had to wait the more nervous Jet became. Not knowing what the alien might do weighed heavily on his mind so when he noticed movement on an adjacent building he had brought up the MP5, snapped off the safety and took aim. Instead of seeing an alien monster he saw several small creatures take flight and heard the fluttering of wings.

"Damn birds!" He growled to himself as he lowered the gun. He was starting to jump at shadows, and he didn't know if the Predator would even show up. As soon as that thought entered his mind he heard a loud metallic click from behind him. Whirling around his specs showed him something big that stopped moving when he turned. For a moment neither of them moved. Whoever he was looking at remained absolutely motionless, acting like he thought Jet couldn't see him. This guy either thought Jet was blind or he thought he was truly invisible. That could only mean one thing and Jet went for his gun.

The ooman had been alert and heard the wristblades extending and quickly turned around. In response the Predator had froze in its tracks. Jet was again wearing the dark eye lenses but those had proven to be ineffective before so the Predator was not worried. He was carrying a weapon and his state of alertness made it quite possible that he would use it at even if he only had slight suspicion. If, however, Jet let down his guard he would not be tempted to reach for his weapon. For a moment it looked like the tactic was working, Jet just stood there just looking straight ahead, but instead of turning back around he grabbed and raised his weapon. He dove to the side as the ooman fired a burst.

The alien had begun moving before Jet had a chance to take aim so he fired a long burst that chased the alien across the roof and behind one of the air conditioning units. He continued to fire, hoping that he could keep the alien pinned down until he could reach the door letting him back downstairs. Unfortunately like many police, and even soldiers, in the heat of battle Jet had forgotten just how quickly a thirty round clip could run out on full automatic fire. Like all others the only reminder he got was when the bolt locked and instead of the crack of bullets flying all he heard was a hollow sounding click. At that moment the click was louder then anything Jet could have imagined.

"GOD DAMN IT!!!" He cursed as he ejected the empty magazine and reached for a fresh one. As he slammed home the new magazine he heard a loud war cry and looked up he saw the Predator leap over the unit and charge straight at him him.

The Predator cursed himself at being caught off guard so easily. It was one thing to respect ooman intelligence but being fooled by it was a completely different matter. Crouching behind the machine unit he could hear the sound of the lead projectiles hitting it but they did not have sufficient power to penetrate it. While planning his next move he deactivated his cloak, there was no sense in using it if they could see him with or without it. He waited patiently, the weapon Jet had could fill the air with projectiles but its ammunition was finite and continuous fire could not be maintained. When the hail of projectiles stopped he did not move, this could be a trap to lure him out into the open. However when the fire had stopped the ooman let out a loud curse. Whether he was cursing himself or his weapon, it didn't matter. All that did was he was distracted and now was the time to strike. Bellowing a battle cry he leapt over the machinery unit and rushed toward the ooman with his wristblades raised.

The gun had a fresh clip in it but Jet had no time to chamber a round, to do so would have left him wide open. With what little time he had he raised the MP5 up in a futile hope that it would block the two blades the alien swung at him. His effort seemed to be in vain as the blades shattered the gun and cut into his chest. The cuts were deep and bleeding but didn't do any serious damage. The alien swung the blades upward to finish the job but Jet was able to back up and avoid them. He began to feel the pain from the cuts and clutched his chest and bent over.

"GOT YA!!" The alien yelled in Faye's voice, and raised the blades to deliver a killing blow. Maybe it was the fact that he was being toyed with like an animal, maybe it was because he had been losing so easily to this guy, or maybe it was hearing Faye's smug voice coming from a would be executioner. Whatever it was Jet would be eternally thankful for the surge of adrenaline at that moment. Instead of trying to dodge the blow he knew was coming he lowered his shoulder and rammed into the alien like a football linebacker with all his strength. The alien let out a surprised grunt and didn't fall but he did have to shift his footing, offsetting his center of gravity. Using that as leverage Jet lifted the alien up and slammed him onto his back with all the strength he could muster. So heavy was the alien and so hard was the bodyslam a large dent was formed in the metal roof. That would have easily killed or at the very least crippled an ordinary person the alien wasn't even phased and kicked Jet in the chest.

"SHHIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT!!!!!" Jet yelled as he literally went flying across the roof. He landed hard and despite having the wind knocked out of him scrambled to get up. "Tougher then he looks." He said to himself as he stood. He had lost his infrared glasses but saw that the alien was already on his feet. He didn't know why the alien had shut off its camouflage and really didn't care, just so long as he didn't turn it back on. The picture from the files was nothing like seeing the real thing. "Man you really are one ugly son of bitch aren't you?" He told the Predator. With its faceless mask and snakelike skin, combined with his size and menacing posture along with his fighting skills, he saw just how they had earned their reputation over the years. Jet knew that he wouldn't be able to get back to the door, he couldn't make it past the alien alive. He would have to do as much damage as he could and hope it would be enough. He took out his spare pistol with his right hand and his communicator with his left and turned it on. Spike immediately answered.

"Jet what's going on up there!?!"

"Our friend decided to get sneaky on us and took me by surprise. I'll get him to fight me as long as I can, after that it's up to you."

"You don't think you're going to make it?" Spike asked, sounding reserved to the fact that there was nothing he could do.

"Not unless I can get extremely lucky." Jet answered, surprising himself on how calmly he was talking about his almost certain death. As he talked he maneuvered himself to one of the skylights that dotted the roof, keeping his pistol trained on the Predator the whole time. It was following him but not making any aggressive movements. Stopping just before the skylight he stopped and stared the Predator down. After a moment three red beams of light extended from the thing and settled on Jet's throat.

That was twice Jet had surprised him since the battle began. Pretending to be more seriously wounded then he really was had given him the opportunity to attack. A clever ploy, and though spirited, the attack was weak and easily countered. Standing he saw the ooman also on his feet and aiming another, smaller weapon at him and speaking into his communicator. Accepting that they knew he was here he made no attempt to stop him. The ooman looked taken aback by the results of his failed attempt but the weapon never wavered. Slowly the ooman maneuvered himself to one of the spots of the roof that was slightly hotter then the rest of it. Why wasn't his concern. His only concern was killing this prey before it could make any more unseen moves. He could rush him but at this distance the ooman was sure to hit him with his weapon. It was small but there was always a chance that one projectile would find a weak spot in the skin and hit something vital. They were at a standoff, and there was only one way to end it. He had been hoping to fight this ooman hand to hand but its use of a weapon left him no choice so he activated his targeting lasers and centered them on his throat.

As soon as Jet saw the red beams he began to bring his left arm up to block them. A blue light shot from the shoulder of the Predator and Jet managed to get his arm up just as the blast was fired. The blast hit his forearm and under normal circumstances the it would have passed thorough and continued into his throat, but the extreme luck Jet had been hoping for came through. His metal arm managed to disperse the energy of the blast but its sheer power caused the arm to explode all the way up to the shoulder. The arm itself had no pain receptors so losing it was painless but the explosion had thrown shrapnel into Jet's face and burned it, thankfully with no damage to his eyes. Flinching at the explosion and staggering back, he felt no pain as the adrenaline started pumping again and he forced himself to look through the haze that a second ago had been his arm. The Predator had flinched also, the heat from the explosion overwhelming its vision. Aiming his gun Jet started firing at the thing's head. The disorientation from the explosion caused most of the shots to go wide and those that made it ricocheted harmlessly off the mask. Counting his shots carefully this time Jet stopped firing when he had one bullet left. The Predator growled angrily but Jet just looked down through the skylight. He was starting to feel lightheaded from his injuries and the loss of his arm, though painless, had been just as traumatic as losing the real thing. He was on the end of his rope and he knew it, he couldn't fight and he couldn't run. That left him with plan B, which was just as suicidal as anything Spike ever did. His luck had held out his long, no reason to think it would stop. As the Predator approached Jet couldn't help but smile.

"Murphy's laws of combat." He told the Predator. "If it's stupid but it works," He cocked the hammer of his gun. "Then it isn't stupid." He fired straight down and shattered the skylight making him fall down into the building.

When the artificial arm of the ooman had exploded the Predator had been unprepared and the flash had overpowered his eyes. When he regained sight he saw that the arm had been completely destroyed but the ooman was still standing somehow. He was angry, not so much that the ooman had survived, that was a testament to their resiliency and even for an ooman this was impressive. His chest was still bleeding, his face was cut and burned, all that and even the loss of an arm had not brought down this one. What angered him the most was that he had lost a fine trophy. The arm would have proved the advancement of the oomans to all back home, the first trophy of its kind. The ooman then started firing his weapon but most of the projectiles had either missed or were deflected by his mask. He growled at the ooman and stalked forward. The ooman just looked down and started smiling, perhaps the pain of its injures had driven it mad. It then said something that sounded like a riddle and fired its weapon straight down. He could hear glass shattering and the ooman fell through a hole and disappeared. When he went to the hole and looked down he saw the ooman had landed on a suspended metal walkway and was staggering away. Determined to finish this the Predator let out another battle cry and jumped through the hole onto the metal walkway.

The first thing that had surprised Jet was the fact that he wasn't dead and that his plan had actually worked. He started forward but had twisted something in his leg during the fall and was forced him to hobble down the catwalk. He got another surprise when he saw Faye standing about a hundred feet down the walkway. Even from this distance and his blurred vision he could see the look on her face, extreme surprise at seeing him there and so bloodied up. He then heard the alien yell again and jump onto the catwalk behind him. That he had expected, what surprised him was that the catwalk broke under the alien's immense weight and sent it falling to the ground. Jet fell forward as the section he was on gave way and grabbed onto one of the rails, something that would have normally been futile but instead of breaking off the section remained attached to the rest of the catwalk and hung there like it was attached with a hinge. Jet was within arms reach of the next section and solid ground but without his other arm he couldn't reach for it. As he hung there he felt his fingers loosening despite his efforts to maintain a death grip. He tried to tighten his grip but the effects of his injuries were catching up to him he felt himself slipping when his wrist was grabbed by two hands.

When they had taken up positions inside the plant it was agreed that Spike would stay on the ground floor and Faye would work her way up to the highest point to get the best possible shot. Both were keeping their glasses off until they were needed to avoid the same problems the Predator would have. Being closer to the roof Faye was able to make out the sounds of battle above her, she had heard gunfire then Jet and the Predator yelling. Then there was a loud crash that made her start and when she looked in the direction it came from saw a bulge in the roof that looked like the one the Predator had made punching his way into the Red Tail, only much, much larger. The call Jet made to Spike came over her communicator to and when she had heard Jet make his little speech she had wanted to say something but bit her lip. His mind was made up and going to help him was out of the question. She could only do the same thing as Spike; hope Jet came out of this all right. The next thing she knew she heard an explosion that sounded like it was almost right over her head. As she tried to figure out what it could have been a skylight not far from her shattered and Jet fell through it. His chest and face were bleeding and his left arm was completely gone, the only thing left was a smoldering stump at the shoulder. Jet began to limp towards her when the Predator jumped through the shattered skylight after him. She only had a fraction of a second to process the fact that she could see the alien when he hit the catwalk and then fell through it. It was only partly good news as the section Jet was on fell with the rest them. She ran over to the newly formed edge of the catwalk and saw Jet trying to hang on. When his grip began to fail without even thinking about it she reached down and grabbed his wrist with both hands. Digging in her heels she pulled upward as hard as she could, below them she could hear the Predator roaring in pain but she couldn't dwell on the fact that he had survived the fall. Giving the arm another yank she managed to clear up the fog in Jet's brain by almost pulling his shoulder out of its socket and he let out a yell of pain.

"Glad to see you're awake!! Now could you please give me a little help here?!?!?" Faye yelled. Gathering his wits Jet started to pull himself up. With the combined effort Jet was about to make it to the top when Faye suddenly stopped.

"FAYE!! What's the big idea!? Help me get up before I lose my grip again!!!" Faye said nothing and just looked at her hand, eyes wide as saucers. Twisting his head to get a better angle Jet saw three red dots on the back of Faye's hand forming an upside-down triangle. The dots traveled up her arm and settled on her forehead, where she tired to look at it cross-eyed. She let out a loud gulp and looked down the length of the beams and saw the Predator calmly aiming his shoulder cannon. Faye and Jet froze and waited for the end to come.

When the Predator hand landed on the metal walkway he felt the metal give and realized he had misjudged the walkway's strength and fell downward. It wasn't a hard fall to take, forty-five feet, perhaps fifty at most. The problem wasn't the fall but the environment he had fallen into. Around him vats of molten metal were being moved and poured. Large slabs of red and white hot metal were being pounded into shape and transported around on cables. All the heat had overloaded his helmet visor and was threatening to damage his eyes. Almost franticly he changed his view to ultraviolet and the majority of the glare vanished. The metal still glowed but at a comfortable level that wouldn't ruin his vision. Scanning the area around him he could find no sign of Jet, even though he had seen him begin to fall. Looking up to where he had fallen from he saw two forms. Jet was hanging over the edge of the walkway and began to fall when the female ran up and grabbed his one remaining hand. The female pulled and Jet started to climb up, yelling insults at each other the whole time. This was intriguing, during the pursuit in her vehicle the female had shown arrogance and hostility towards her fellow hunters, only asking for help when things had turned against her. Now she showed loyalty by trying to save her wounded comrade. It might be a trap so he made sure to scan all possible hiding spots. He found no evidence of another ooman and decided to test just how deeply the female's loyalty really was. Activating his targeting lasers he set them on the female's hands, the area where her eyes were focused. As soon as she saw them her efforts to pull Jet up ceased, but she did not let go. She stared at her hand like a frightened animal so he moved the lasers up her arm and onto her head. Despite this she still did not drop her comrade and try to save herself. The Predator growled approvingly, the female showed she was willing to accept a warrior's death, and that's just what he would give her. The targeting system flashed as he locked on.

On the catwalk Faye was still staring down at the Predator like a deer caught in headlights.

"Faye! FAYE!! SNAP OUT OF IT!!!" Jet shouted. That caught Faye's attention and she looked back down at Jet. "Let go of me and take cover!! I'm just weighing you down!!"

"No way!" Faye said as she grit her teeth and redoubled her efforts. "I'm not going have your death on my conciseness."

[Yeah, you'll just have both our deaths instead.] Stealing a glance down he saw the Predator flinch and grab his side at the same moment he fired his shoulder cannon. "LOOK OUT!!" Faye responded with one last heave that dragged Jet over the edge and took a step backwards. That step saved her life as the blast passed the front of her face so close she could feel the heat from it, making her stumble and fall backwards. When she looked down she saw the Predator aiming his shoulder cannon at a slab of metal that was leaning against a wall. Just as the blast hit the slab Spike rolled out from behind it and fired his tranquilizer gun again. The alien turned to one side and the dart sailed past him.

"It's about time you caught on! It was getting cramped back there." Spike said as he dove into maze of conveyor belts and other machinery. The Predator let out an angry roar and gave chase, forgetting about Faye and Jet. With the danger passed Faye went over to Jet and rolled him over. Even though she had seen what injuries he had when he came through the skylight she still gasped when she saw the amount blood coming from his chest wounds.

"Jeez! What did he do to you?" Faye asked as she took her jacket off and used it to put pressure on the two slashes.

"He messed me up royally." Jet replied weakly.

"Well at least we had some good came out of it." Faye said.

"We did?" Jet said doubtfully.

"Yeah. You might be in bad shape, but at least you had to of done some damage to him."

"Well to tell the truth,….. " Jet said sheepishly.

"You mean after everything I heard on the roof you weren't able to do anything to him!?!?" Faye asked incredulously.

"Oh I was able to do something." Faye looked at him hopefully. "I managed to really piss him off." Faye's face fell and from deep within the plant they heard another loud yell that couldn't be human.

When Spike had taken up a hiding place he had chosen the metal slab for one big reason. The metal was thick enough so that even if he didn't use infrared he still wouldn't see him unless they had X-ray vision. The downside was that it was extremely uncomfortable and his muscles had begun to cramp up. He stuck it out and when Jet had called he had gotten his glasses and tranq gun in preparation. He heard the sound of glass breaking and a yell similar to the one he had heard back at the warehouse. He then heard stuff crashing to the ground and a surprised sounding roar from the same source. Grabbing the glasses he stuck one lens out and looking at the reflection saw the Predator getting up from the fall. It started looking around but didn't seem to notice him and began to look up at something. Changing the angle of the lens he saw Faye holding onto Jet, barely keeping him from falling. The Predator turned on the targeting lasers for his shoulder cannon but did not fire. He shifted the lasers then growled for some reason. Taking out the tranquilizer gun he stuck it around the corner and using the reflection began to take aim. Hitting from this angle was going to be tough but any other way and he would reveal his location. After pulling the trigger he pulled his hands back and waited. As he reloaded he heard a surprised yell and a second later a large hole was blasted in the metal slab. Knowing that the Predator would just keep shooting holes in it until he hit something Spike rolled out and fried another dart but missed.

"It's about time you caught on! It was getting cramped back there." He shouted, hoping to lead him away from Jet and Faye. The roar that he heard from behind him proved that it had worked. Now all he had to do was stay alive long enough to capture it.

The Predator had locked onto the female and had activated the firing mechanism when something struck him in the side, causing his entire body to flinch but his shot was on target and he saw the female fall. She succeeded in pulling Jet up but he was too badly wounded to be of any threat now. Clutching his side he pulled out a small feathered object. He recognized the design as being a version of the dart launcher that was used whenever prey had to be taken alive. He growled at the implication. They were trying to capture, not kill him. It was not the first time oomans had attempted this but this group was nowhere near as organized as the others had been. The skin around the area where the dart struck was numb but other then that he felt no ill effects. Turning in the direction the dart had to have come from he saw nothing suspicious. Spike must have been hiding somewhere and eluding his detection. Narrowing down where he might be the Predator focused on one section of wall that gave off a strong glow and fired a plamcaster blast into it, hoping to flush Spike out. It worked but as Spike came out from behind it he fired a weapon that did not give off the loud crack associated with ooman firearms. He turned to one side and felt something go past him a subsonic speed. Spike was wielding a dart gun and had been the one that shot him with the first dart. Spike then taunted him and disappeared deeper into the building. Giving a battle cry he followed the prey.

So far the plan had been a bust. The Predator had gotten the drop on them and as they had feared he was somehow able to overcome the heat problem. Spike had retreated into another section of the plant that pounded the heated metal slabs into sheet metal; mechanical arms lifting the metal multi-ton slabs like they were made of paper. Hiding behind one of the conveyor belts Spike saw the Predator enter the area and start looking around for him. It then began to mess with something on its wrist. Knowing he had to lure the alien closer for the new plan to work and now would be the perfect chance he popped up and fired another dart that hit but again all the Predator did was pull it out and throw it away. It did give away his position and the Predator leapt over several of the conveyor belts and landed about fifty feet away from Spike.

"Kill you." It said in an unfamiliar but distinctly human voice and switched on its targeting lasers. Spike calmly pulled out his communicator even as the beams settled on his forehead.

"I don't think so." He told the Predator, who gave a confused grunt. Spike flicked on his communicator. "NOW!!!" He shouted. A loud whirling sound of machinery filled the air as one of the mechanical arms used to lift the sheet metal clamped down around the Predators midsection, pinning his arms to his sides, and lifted him off the ground as he howled and thrashed in protest. In the control room Ed giggled and clapped her hands watching events unfold through the plant's security cameras.

"Turnabout is fair play. You caught Edward and now Edward has caught you." Ed sang as she made the arm wave from side to side, shaking the Predator like a rag doll.

As he had followed Spike the Predator was on the look out for traps. Spike led him to a room where the heat had dropped to a level that he could go safely go back to infrared and as he was shifting vision another dart struck him. He removed it and saw Spike standing with the dart gun aimed at him. He leapt over and tried to scare him but the ooman had just responded to him in a calm fashion and yelled something into his communicator. Tired of these games he locked on and was about to fire when something loud caught his attention. He was about to turn towards the new threat when something clamped onto him and squeezed him like a vise. He was lifted up into the air and saw that one of the arms used for labor had gotten a mind of its own and now held him captive. He tried to force his way out but the arm was far stronger then he was. As the arm started to throw him from side to side he could feel rage building from within. They were mocking him!!! Inexperienced hunters would have continued to try to overpower the arm and exhaust themselves but he managed to keep his head and examined the machinery as best he could, trying to find a weakness. He found one but could not get a chance to exploit it while he was still shaking. He heard Spike say something then a second later the shaking stopped. Not wasting time he targeted one of the arm's joints and locked on.

Spike watched as Ed continued to shake the Predator, enjoying the scene but quickly got back to business.

"That's enough Ed. I need you to hold him still so I can knock him out."

"Spike person wants bulls-eye and Edward will give him one." Ed answered. Even though the situation seemed under control Spike still had reservations. The alien had taken two direct hits and remained unfazed. He only had four darts left not counting the one already loaded, not a good sign to use almost half his ammunition and have none of it be effective. Ed stopped the arm and Spike took aim but saw the alien's targeting lasers come on. He prepared to dive out of the way but stopped when he noticed the beams weren't aimed at him but at the arm. The cannon fired and hit one of the arm's joints and blew it off. As the arm fell to the ground the cannon shifted towards his direction and Spike rolled out of the way as the Predator began firing the cannon in his direction without aiming. The alien forced the arms clamps apart, stood, and rushed forward. Spike got to his feet and tried to aim his gun but the Predator was faster and knocked the gun from his hands. Spike slowly backed up and the Predator extended his wristblades.

"Failure." It said in Vicious' voice. Spike narrowed his eyes and began slowly reaching for his own gun, but doubted he could draw it in time. Before he had a chance to find out shots started to echo around them and the Predator stiffened up as he let out a roar of pain. It turned and looked up and when Spike looked he saw Faye standing on one of the catwalks aiming a smoking gun. Spike also noticed that the Predator now had several holes in his back that were bleeding a green, glowing blood. The Predator paid no heed to the wounds and set his targeting lasers on Faye's head. Instead of running Faye took careful aim and fired. The shot hit the shoulder cannon, which started smoking and sparking. Bellowing an angry roar the Predator yanked the cannon off his shoulder and threw it as far as he could. It then leapt up to the catwalk fifteen feet above him and started to chase the now running Faye.

Madness!! This was all utter madness!! He had gotten away from the arm and was about to kill Spike when he had been struck in the back. When he faced his attacker he saw the female that was supposed to be dead. How many lives did these oomans have?! The wounds she inflicted weren't fatal but this annoyance couldn't be allowed to remain alive. When he tried to use his plamcaster the female had fired one shot, not at him but the plamcaster itself. The lead projectile had been on target and gone into the weapon's barrel, completely destroying the interior of it. It was useless to him now so he had discarded it so it could not turn into a hindrance. The female turned and fled, Spike was unarmed and no longer a danger, so he jumped up to the walkway and perused the female. The female had not run far when it stopped, turned around and leveled her weapon. Rather than stop the Predator kept coming and raised his arm to shield his throat against the fire that was sure to come. The female began firing with a calmness not seen in many oomans when facing down a charging opponent. Most shots bounced harmlessly off the band that held his wristblades or off his helmet. One buried itself in his shoulder and another in his right arm but he ignored the pain and kept on going. When he was just outside of arms reach the female discarded her weapon and brought out a weapon similar to the one Spike had. Dropping to a kneeling position she aimed and fired a dart that hit his leg. Another trick!! She had made him defend the upper portion of his body while leaving him open to another shot of whatever was loaded into those darts. From the reactions they had displayed every time he had been hit they must have thought whatever was in the darts would have dropped him instantly. That wasn't the case but the chemical in the darts was beginning to have an effect. He began to feel wooziness in the back of his brain and his vision began to blur around the edges but forced it out as he plowed ahead. He grabbed the gun with his right hand and punched the female in the face with his left, sending her to the ground. Out of habit he had grabbed with his right, if he hadn't the female's head would now be impaled on his wristblades. He growled at his own stupidity, crushing the gun with his bare hand as he looked down at the dazed female. The punch hadn't been hard, he wanted her to see the end coming. She also deserved some form of recognition for the way she had fought and the challenge she gave him. He had the precisely the right thing, both a complement and an insult at the same time.

Faye could only watch as the Predator stood over her, waiting for some reason. It had all seemed like a good idea at the time. After using her jacket as a makeshift bandage she had left Jet on the top level, despite his protests. The bleeding had stopped but he was too weak from the blood loss so she had to do this on her own. As she worked her way down to the lower levels of catwalks she had seen the Predator fighting Spike, his back to her. It was a perfect shot but rather then risk the tranquilizer not working she instead took out her Glock. Taking aim she fired six shots in quick succession, all of which hit the alien in the back. Instead of dying or dropping to the ground withering in pain, like he should have, he had turned around and pointed that fancy shoulder gun at her. She didn't have time to be scared. Instead of running she leveled her gun and shot the cannon almost off his shoulder. The sounds she heard coming from its owner made it clear that was very angry. Now would be the time to run and she did, as fast as her legs could manage. As she ran she felt the catwalk shudder and risking a glance behind her she saw the Predator hot on her heels. With a sigh she realized she couldn't outrun him so she turned and reacted with the only language he understood, violence. Now she didn't expect him to turn tail and run but the last thing she expected was for him to run headlong into an onslaught of bullets. A few connected but didn't stop him. When he was almost on top of her the Glock ran out so she threw it away and drew the tranquilizer gun. Keeling, she aimed for his unprotected legs and scored a hit. This one had even less effect on him then the one Spike had hit him and he had grabbed the gun from her hand and punched her. Her world went spinning and she could barely feel the metal of the catwalk under her. Looking up groggily she could hardly make out the shape of the Predator but she heard it growl and then heard it speak.

"Tough bitch." It said in Jet's voice. The fog in Faye's brain burned away and her vision became sharp and clear. She then kicked the alien in the gut with every ounce of her strength.

As soon as he had spoke the female had kicked him in the stomach with surprising strength; surprising but inefficient. Grabbing her ankle he swung the female above his head and swung her back down to the catwalk, hard. Her heartbeat and respiration indicated she was unconscious. He prepared to finish her when a heavy weight fell onto his back and something wrapped around his neck.

"Try picking on someone your own size you bastard!!" Jet's voice rang in his ear. Despite the injures he had dealt Jet on the roof he had worked his way down here and continued to fight, even if he was half-dead. A true showing of ooman redundancy but right now just a very large annoyance. Jet's attempt at a chokehold did him no good so the Predator grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder. Instead of letting go he held onto Jet's remaining arm and held him out at arms length. "Go ahead!" The ooman snarled with no trace of fear in its voice. He brought back his wristblades in order to oblige him when a projectile whizzed by right in front of his face. Looking down he saw Spike aiming another weapon up at him.

"Put him down." Spike ordered. The Predator gave him a curious look. " I know you can understand us so get this straight. Your beef is with me. I'm the one that shot you at the warehouse, and you're the one that nearly took off my arm." He gestured at one of his shoulders. So he had hit him at their first encounter. "If you don't I do this." He pointed the gun at his own head. Suicide rather then see his two hunting partners die? An odd form of loyalty but admirable. "If you do I'll fight you right here and now." He put the weapon onto the floor. He then removed the coat he was wearing and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. "Make your move." The weapon was still within reach and he did not try for it, but he did not get rid of it either. So he was asking for a show of faith. The possibility was intriguing. If his two comrades had lasted this long their leader would be a greater challenge still. And he was willing to face him in unarmed combat, its purest form. He retracted his wristblades and continued to watch Spike, who nodded and kicked the gun away.

"Spike don't!!" Jet yelled out in warning. "You can't beat this guy!! He'll…." Tired of the ooman's ranting the Predator punched him with the fist that a second ago would have split his skull. Instead Jet was rendered unconscious and after making sure he was still alive the Predator dropped him onto the catwalk with the female. He then jumped down and faced Spike. Reaching up he disconnected the two hoses that gave him breathable air in this alien atmosphere. He then slowly removed his mask so Spike would see the face of his executioner.

[This is probably the stupidest thing I've ever done.] Spike thought to himself as he made his challenge. [But it's not like we have a lot of options left.] When the Predator had fired his cannon into the arm it had sent an electrical pulse through the wires that had fried almost every piece of machinery in the place, leaving Ed unable to give them anymore aces in the hole. Spike tired to focus on the plus side of the situation. [He's never gone up against anyone like me before. I might have a few surprises he's never seen.] The Predator landed on the ground and tried to face him down. It slowly brought its hands up, unhooking two tubes from its mask then removing it. Even the picture from the file hadn't prepared him for this. Two yellow eyes zeroed in on him like gunsights, while two pairs of mandibles moved independently of each other. "I didn't think it was possible for something to get that ugly."

"Ugly son of a bitch!!" The alien said in Jet's voice. Its mandibles spread wide and it let out a loud war cry as he began to stalk forward. Spike tried to keep himself calm.

[This is just like any other match against a larger opponent.] He told himself. [Except that now the opponent is a seven foot tall alien who wants to display your skull on his mantle.] Pushing that thought from his head he and the Predator circled each other waiting for the other to strike. Taking the initiative Spike struck with a left right punch combo the alien's face. The Predator seemed unaffected and responded with a right of his own that to Spike felt like it would take his head off. Recovering quickly Spike wiped the blood off his chin. [Ok, new plan. Let him attack first then counter with all I've got.] When the Predator threw a second punch Spike ducked and threw a kick to the face that would have broken the neck of any man alive. The Predator's head twisted to one side but slowly turned back. He gave a growl that seemed more annoyed then angry then responded with a punch that sent Spike flying onto his back. Spike got to his feet but the Predator was already approaching. [This is no good. He took my best kick and didn't flinch.] He ducked another punch and responded with an uppercut that should have put the alien on the ground but it had the same effect as the kick. He then received another punch that was just as hard as the first one. [My best chance is to wear him down. He's putting a lot of energy into those punches and I can make him waste it.] He started a process of hit and run. He would hit the Predator with a light blow then dodge when the counter punch came. He dodged all of them easily and his opponent seemed to be getting angry. The punches came faster and harder, so fast Spike almost wasn't able to dodge them.

"Fight me!!" The Predator exclaimed in Jet's voice. He threw another punch that barely missed Spike. "Wuss." He said in another voice.

[Ok he's mad. Now to get him on the defensive.] Spike began attacking with a flurry of blows that were, to him, hard but the Predator took them in stride, not even bothering to block. The Predator threw a punch and Spike saw his opportunity. If he could flip this guy he would be able to at least break his arm before he could recover. As he dodged Spike grabbed the alien's wrist, pivoted, and started to throw.

Spike had once told his only student Roco that strength was a small factor in fighting. It was the motion of your movements, not the power you put behind them. He was about to learn the hard way that all that Kung Fu shit only worked in Bruce Lee movies. When he attempted to throw the Predator his forward motion jerked to a halt. His opponent had set his feet and it was like he was trying to flip a mountain. In that moment of surprise the Predator swung his arm and flung the surprised human to the side like he was a rag doll. Spike let out a yell of surprise, flew far, and landed hard. Dazed from the fall he barely got up in time to see the Predator's fist headed right for his face. The blow staggered him but Spike managed to stay on his feet, and for his effort received another punch to the head, then another and another. With his head ringing and his vision blurred Spike was powerless to stop the hammer blows that the Predator rained down on him.

As Spike and the Predator fought Faye had begun to regain consciousness. The last thing she remembered was being lifted up into the air then everything went black. Groaning she forced herself to sit up. When she did she saw Jet lying at her feet, possibly dead. She gave him a light kick, making him grunt and stir a little. She gave him a harder kick and he woke up completely.

"OW! What was that for Faye!?" Jet asked when he got his bearings.

"It was to make sure you weren't dead. And I won't even ask how you got down here." Faye responded as she hauled herself to her feet. "I guess what we should be asking is why are we still alive? We should be skinned and headless by now."

"It was Spike, the big idiot." Jet grumbled. "He agreed to fight the guy hand to hand if he left us alone."

"That's crazy!!" Faye exclaimed. "The lunkhead can't beat that guy by himself!!"

"I know, I know!! Jet said, trying to think of a plan. "We've got to save his worthless skin somehow."

"We? Jet, you can't fight like this."

"Because I'm injured?" Jet asked. He answered before Faye could say anything. "You're not exactly one hundred yourself. You'll be lucky if you can see out of that eye tomorrow." Faye hissed when he mentioned it. Her eye had been throbbing ever since the alien had punched her but she was hoping it wouldn't be that bad.

"All right." She relented. "Just tell me how we're supposed to rescue him with only a tranquilizer gun?" Jet gave he a quizzical look then looked down at her shattered gun. "I saw where it landed after the Predator knocked it out of Spike's hands." Jet nodded.

"Good. I saw where he kicked his gun so at least we each have a weapon." He started downward but his leg forced him to walk with a heavy limp. "How are you fixed for darts?"

"Seven." She answered without checking her belt. She picked up Spikes tranq gun and checked it. "Eight, counting this one."

"And Spike fired one shot so I've got almost a full load here." Jet replied. "All that's left is to find them." In the distance they heard Spike yelling followed by a loud thud. Both glanced at each other and started in that direction as quickly as they could.

Spike again went flying through the air, this time courtesy of an uppercut to his chin. He had fought tough opponents before but this one took the cake. All his best punches and kicks the Predator had shrugged off like they were only light taps, and these were moves that would have killed almost anyone else if he used them like this. The punches he took, on the other hand, were so strong it felt like he was being hit by metal, not a fist. The fight was beginning to take a horrible toll on him. His chest felt like it was on fire, no telling how many ribs were broken, and his face felt like it was just one big bruise. This and he was dizzy to the point of nausea, a sure sign of at least one major concussion. Landing hard, for a second he could not move, but he saw something that might be able to save him. Snaking its way along the floor towards a pulley system was a thick electrical cable that was used to power the system. Several thousand volts would be flowing through it but the trick was to make it useful. Behind him he heard a metallic clink and saw his opportunity.

The ooman had proved to be a superb unarmed fighter. His blows were hard by ooman standards, and would have devastated his opponent had he been fighting a member of his own species. His agility and quick reflexes made him hard to catch, he had avoided many blows before he had attempted the ill-conceived throw. While his execution was good he lacked the strength to follow it through. After that it had degraded into a one sided beating. He was now punching Spike at will, several different times he heard bones break, and the last blow he had been very slow to rise from and was now in a kneeling position. The game was won and now all that remained was to end it. Extending his wristblades he stalked forward.

[Come on you sneaky bastard. Just come a little closer.] Spike mentally taunted. He hid the cable from view and listened as the heavy footsteps came closer. When they sounded close enough he turned and threw the cable. The Predator let out a surprised cry and instinctively cut at the object flung at him, the blades cut the cable into three different pieces. Two fell harmlessly to the floor, the other one started throwing out large sparks. Moving very quickly but precisely Spike grabbed the sparking end and thrust it at the Predator. The cable connected and the alien was engulfed in a storm of electricity. The first thing Spike noticed wrong was the Predator wasn't making any sound, what was worse was it looked like he didn't even feel the volts arcing through his body. With an air of almost indifference the alien pushed the still sparking cable aside. Spike looked up at the ceiling and sighed. There was one last thing he could do but he wouldn't get the chance. He looked at his executioner, completely calm. "It was a nice try though. Right?" The Predator didn't reply and slashed with his blades. Spike tried to lean to the side to avoid the attack and though he wasn't decapitated the blades ripped two deep gashes into his cheek, cutting down to the bone.

"Nice try." The Predator said in Spike's voice. He couldn't run and wouldn't be able to dodge again so he waited for the alien to strike but it suddenly flinched and grabbed its neck. It pulled out something and Spike saw it was a tranquilizer dart. Looking behind the alien he saw Faye reloading and Jet aiming the gun he had thrown away with his remaining hand. As the Predator turned to face them Spike's hand went to the pouch that held the rest of his darts and took them all out. With the Predator distracted Spike lunged forward and plunged them into the alien's back. The Predator stiffened up and let out a loud roar.

"SHOOT!!!" Spike shouted to Jet as he dove aside. Jet aimed and began firing. Again and again he fired, each shot hit the Predator in the chest. He had managed to put nine slugs in his chest before the Predator turned and ran, shoving Spike aside.

"Where the hell is he going?!" Faye yelled.

"Who cares, let's just get the bastard!!" Spike replied as he started off after him, even as he held his hand up to his face to stop the bleeding. Without a word Jet and Faye followed.

Wrong, wrong!! How could everything go so wrong!?! Everything had been going his way, even the trick Spike had used with the electrical cable had failed. He was about to get possibly his greatest ooman trophy, then the other two interfered!! He had left the two wounded and unconscious. They should have been helpless! How could they have recovered so fast!?! How did they get those weapons!?!? It didn't matter now. He had been injected with so much of the ooman chemical his balance was beginning to fail him. His vision came and went, blackness threatened to overwhelm him. They had set out to capture him, but he could not allow that, his honor would be tainted and that was a fate far worse then death. On the run he opened up the panel on his left wrist and armed his self-destruct mechanism. The drug impaired him so badly he barely got the code in to start the countdown, but once the countdown had begun he allowed himself to slow. There was no way they could stop it now. He stumbled once and fell, he tried to brace himself on the wall but darkness enveloped him before he even hit the ground.

As the three followed the path the Predator had went they could not hear him running. When they did find him they found him facedown on the floor, but any excitement was quickly dashed by a loud beeping coming from him.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is." Faye groaned. Jet leaned down and flipped one of the Predator's wrists. On a readout weird symbols were flashing, changing and disappearing.

"Afraid so." Jet answered solemnly. "We got less then a minute before this place turns into ground zero."

"Well don't just stand there!!! Stop it!!!" Faye shouted.

"I don't know how the damn thing works! How the hell am I supposed to stop it!?!?!" Jet shot back.

"Like this." Spike replied calmly and took his gun back from Jet. He took aim and put two bullets through the Predator's forearm. This was able to destroy the self-destruct device but it also succeeded in waking the Predator up. It brought its head up with a yell but Faye had been waiting for an opportunity like this and took it. With a kick that would make most punters jealous she nailed the Predator in the side of the head that slammed it into the wall, creating a small crater with a spider web of huge cracks in the concrete and knocking the Predator out cold.

"That was for the bitch crack." She snarled at the unconscious form.

"Well we've done it." Spike said. "We did the impossible and captured one of the greatest hunters in the galaxy. Now comes the really hard question. What do we do with him?"

"What do you mean "what do we do with him"?" Faye asked. "We take him to the cops like planned."

"Before we do anything." Jet interrupted. "We need to make sure our prisoner is secure and we can transport him. Then we need to make sure we're all ok. After that we can talk."