The Predator examined the weapon that Slay-Er had been using earlier. There seemed to be nothing special about it at all. He had killed several of the inhabitants of the world with it already and yet no explosive cloud of dust. Shaking his head he walked on through the forest. Things were enjoyable on this hunt, yes, but little things like not being able to make Slay-Er's weapon function or the fact that his cloak was still down made it a little frustrating. He'd have to overhaul his cloak on his shuttle or go without it. The Predator froze. He didn't leave that door open at his craft. He fell back behind one of the trees when he heard voices.
"Boy's got himself quite the collection of skulls in there." J said as he exited the ship, K right behind him.
"Those are the typical trophies these things take Slick. Still, you didn't have to play with the Xenomorph skull." K replied.
"Oh come on man. Lighten up. Moving that other little head in and out of the mouth, it's just like a trombone." J laughed, "Hey, what's wrong with you? No humor?"
"I have a very healthy sense of humor sport, but right now I'm still trying to figure this out. Hunt Master's don't usually come alone on these trips. And they certainly check and double check their engines to make sure that they don't leave any signatures that can be traced." K reasoned.
"I see what you're saying. It'd make it harder to get off-world." J stated.
"…You thinking what I'm thinking?" K asked.
"Not unless you're thinking you want to hit that Double Meat Palace on the way out of town, get us some Double Meat burgers." J replied.
"No, listen, Predators love challenges." K said.
"So, he wants someone to notice him while he's on earth and then take them out when they come for him?" J asked.
"Fits the profile of these things." K replied.
"Think he wanted some MIB's?" J asked again.
"More than likely. And we took the bait. Oh well, that's the job. Though he might have tried to lure Reed Richards out here. He's been infamous all over the universe since that whole deal with Galactus and the Skrull Homeworld." K explained.
"No, I think he wanted us." J said pointing.
K looked to where he was pointing and saw the seven foot Predator walking out from behind a tree. Its scales glistened in the moonlight as a slight reflection of that same light bounced off his helmet. The familiar cicada warble returned as it pulled a small device off of its belt, which instantly expanded into a very long and sharp looking spear. Other than those few movements it was totally still.
"Why's it wearing a mask?" J asked.
"You don't want to know. Let me handle this." K said, pulling out the Universal Translator from his coat pocket, "Excuse me? Hello. Could I have your attention?"
The Predator cocked his head when he heard his native clicks and grunts come from the creature speaking to him. It decided it would listen for the moment.
"You are currently in violation of ordinance 111752: Intergalactic poaching on a restricted planet, in addition to ordinances 111264 and 111265: entering a system without contacting the proper authorities and landing on a planet without proper authorization." K stated.
"We got your number now." J added.
"We're going to have to ask you to either get into your ship and leave or have you come back to MIB headquarters for questioning and incarceration." K continued.
"We're talking downtown!" J helped out again.
"If you resist arrest, then we have authorization to use force to immobilize and or exterminate you should you become violent." K went on.
"And don't pulling none of that Rodney King crap, because we get that from every other alien who lands on this planet and gets arrested. You'd think ya'll get some of your own material and stop swiping ours." J added.
"Now if you'd please come with us we'll try to make your stay here as pleasant as possible." K smiled.
"Yeah we'll….what?" J asked.
"Well you have to be nice." K stated, "Now, what will it be?"
The Predator watched the creatures with fascination and then decided he had given them just about a moment too long. His plasma cannon opened fire. The two Men in Black jumped apart at the last moment.
"Can't we all just get along?" J asked as he leaped into midair.
K pulled out his Deatomizer and opened fire on the Predator. The Predator roared and managed to evade the shot before opening fire on K. K was hit dead on went flying back into the bushes, not moving.
"K!" J shouted drawing the Predator's attention, "Okay Mr. Big Bad Alien Hunter, it's on now!"
J reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun….about as long as his index finger. The Predator stopped and J was very certain that the sound he heard coming from the Predator was laughter. J smirked as his "little gun" started making a light chirping noise.
"That's what they all do." J said as he squeezed the trigger.
Both he and the Predator went flying back, in opposite directions of course. J landed roughly on the ground while the Predator smashed into a small tree, making it crack slightly and knocking it over. J sat up and laughed.
"Whoo! That little gun's got some kick doesn't it?" he shouted.
The Predator roared in pain and sat up, holding its chest. It was bleeding, heavily. It looked to J and growled. J didn't like that growl. He was also slightly in shock that the thing was still in one piece.
"Should've been closer." He said as the Predator stood up shakily.
J pointed his Noisy Cricket again but was immediately restrained against a tree by a metal net that the Predator had fired. The Predator picked up its spear and twirled it, letting J know its intentions. J swallowed hard and tried to find a way out of this situation. He was pinned hard and the thing was getting closer. He had even dropped his Noisy Cricket.
"Wait a minute," he thought, "My cufflink has that little one way teleporter thing we picked up a little while after we got K back. Just good for one teleport though….man I hope I don't end up teleporting into that thing's body."
J struggled and reached for the cufflink, slowly as he was pinned to the tree. The Predator was within striking distance now. J reached and reached. Almost got it, almost got it. The Predator paused and doubled over; still a little woozy was from the shot it took. It rose again and roared in pain and anger. It then thrust its spear towards J who screamed and disappeared in a blink of light. The Predator's spear was embedded in the tree.
Another blink of light flashed and a screaming J fell from ten feet up and behind the Predator. He was instantly up and running as the Predator turned. Reaching for its belt, the Predator threw a razor disk at the escaping creature. The Predator smirked under its helmet, and then doubled over again. This was not good.
J ducked the razor disk as it flew just over top of him. He then breathed a sigh of relief as he was safe. Wait, no he wasn't. He ducked again, the razor on a return path. J ran as fast as he could try to avoid getting his head sliced off as the disk seemed to follow his every movement. J screamed as it came back again. J turned to run and tripped over a root. The razor disk flew at an angle down towards J, who was screaming with his mouth open as wide as it would go. The razor disk was blasted out of the air as it neared him.
J turned and watched as the Predator was running off as K was standing firing at it with his Deatomizer. K fired again and again and again as the Predator ran, holding his chest in extreme pain. He wasn't running out of fear of course. He was running because he needed to repair himself or he wouldn't be able to hunt ever again. And he wanted to ad these beings to his trophy case now, right alongside Slay-Er. J stumbled over to K, who was smoking heavily, though literally smoking. No cigarettes.
"K…you're alive! …I think." J said to his partner as he stood there, his suit smoking.
"Standard issue plasma fire resistant suit." K stated.
"It's plasma resistant?" J asked.
"Why do you think we hand them out?" K asked.
"…Stylish?" J mused.
"Give me your communicator. Mine's fried." K said as J reached into his jacket and handed it to him.
"Calling Zed?" J asked.
"Yeah. We're setting up a perimeter. We need this ship guarded and then we're going hunting." K said.
"Please tell me for wabbits."
Xander Harris decided to sleep over at the Summers house that evening. Mainly because there were at least two killer demons out there gunning for Buffy. And if history has shown Xander anything about the bad guys wanting Buffy dead, they tended to kidnap her friends to get Buffy's attention. Hell, Spike had done it once and now he was sharing her bed.
Still, Xander was half asleep on the couch and was soon to be off in the blissful embrace of Morpheus, or at least that's how Willow would phrase it sometimes. Then again given the dreams Willow usually had, he probably shouldn't talk that way. Warn the tadpoles? What the hell did that mean? Willow was his best friend, but boy she had weird dreams. Still, Xander was ready to join her in dreamland. But of course, that's when the glass window above the couch exploded above him.
Xander's first thought before the mind numbing panic that usually set in was that "My God, how many times do I have to FIX this stupid house?" Then the mind-numbing fear set in. Xander opened his eyes just to see the circular chakram fly overhead and back out the window. He looked over to Principal…Robin, formerly sleeping in the chair across from him now wide awake.
"What was that?" he asked.
"God only knows." Xander said sitting up and peering out the broken window. He saw nothing at first, but then his stomach began to churn, "Oh my God."
"What is it?" Robin asked.
"Go get Buffy." Xander said, putting his hand over his mouth.
"What happened?" Robin asked again.
"Just go get Buffy." Xander said again, eyes wide.
Moments later, the entire group of people (minus Tara) who were asleep upstairs, had come down the steps. Buffy seemed like her old self, able to move much more easily and much less stiffly. Slayer healing abilities were really a bonus. Xander still sat on the couch, not believing the sight he saw outside. He was white as a sheet and Buffy immediately knew something was up. Xander had seen and experienced more on the Hellmouth than most people could only dream of. It took a lot to freak him out.
"Xander? What is it?" Buffy asked.
"Take a look outside. I think Bacchus left something for you." Xander said, sounding sick to his stomach.
Buffy immediately dreaded opening the front door. But she walked to it and turned the knob regardless. As the door opened, Buffy's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth in dread. In fact, she vomited right there on the porch. Spike walked to her side and his eyes likewise widened. But he wasn't that affected by the sight. Hell, he had caused scenes like it pre-soul.
"Red, come here. Everyone else stay back." Spike said quietly.
"Why? What is it?" Kennedy asked.
"Just stay back. Nobody else comes forward, just Red because we need her." Spike said again, almost whispering.
Willow nervously walked forwards and looked out the door over Spike's shoulder. She immediately regretted it. Sunnydale had many institutions, just as any other large town-small city would. Among them were a branch of the cub scouts. They had been out camping now that summer was here. Now, they were decorated on the front lawn: bloody messes only barely recognizable as the children they had once been. Resting on the body of the child closest to the house was a single black rose. Willow felt like puking just as Buffy had.
"Send it away Willow." Spike said.
"What?" she asked.
"Send them to a pocket dimension or to somewhere else in town." Spike ordered.
"I-I can't do that Spike. We can't just send them out of here like that!" Willow said shakily, unable to turn away from the sight. Also unaware that her eyes had gone black just by looking at it.
"Red, we have to do something. We have twenty dead kids on the lawn and something has to be done before the sun comes up and the police come asking questions. Now look, I don't like it anymore than you do, but it's got to be done." Spike stated.
"Buffy?" Willow asked, looking down at her kneeling friend. No, not just her friend: her leader.
"Do it." Buffy ordered solemnly.
Willow slowly nodded and looked at the flayed children in the yard. She froze for a moment and then closed her eyes.
"Away." Willow commanded, as the children's bodies faded from sight.
"Where'd you send them?" Spike asked.
"A pocket dimension. For now, I-I-…we have to do something…that wasn't right…that was.." Willow started before breaking down in tears and walking back into the house. She screamed and fired a small bolt of lightning striking a wall, "GODDESS WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM? They always hurt people to get to us! They always do this! I'm SICK of it! They come to town and they kill and kill and then basically say "Tag. You're it". And now, now they're killing kids to get to us?!"
Kennedy stepped back at Willow's uncustomary outburst. Robin didn't know what to think of it, but still he stayed clear of her. Xander watched his friend in sympathy, listening to her utter words he couldn't find. Spike watched and knew what Willow was going through. It was always the quiet ones who had all the rage just waiting to come out. He was like that. Buffy just stood silently, angrily.
"No. They don't do it because of us. They do it because of me." Buffy started, "It's because they want me. I'm the Slayer and they get some power trip on making my life miserable. I'm sick of it. We're all sick of it."
Everyone looked to her as Buffy stared out the door with hard eyes. Slowly, Buffy turned and looked to her friends. Yes, they were all her friends. Principal Wood who had seemed more like a coworker or ally, he was a friend. Kennedy, who she had verbally sparred with since they met, was her friend. Spike who had been an enemy, pain in the ass, lover and everything in between was her friend. And Willow and Xander, more than anyone they were her friends. More than that, all of these people, they were her troops. She was their general. And now, it was time for war.
"The sun will be up in a few hours. We're going to get some sleep and then in the morning we're going to get up and load up on weapons and we're going after this son of a bitch and we're going to send him and every other monster, demon, vampire, or just plain idiot human who wants to mess with this town a message. You do not FUCK with us. You especially do not FUCK with the Slayer." Buffy stated.
Spike smirked.
"There's my girl." He thought.