Batman And Nightwing : The True Alien Vs Predator

by Jcarlton

A continuation of Batman : Dead End, and a story to tie in the two greatest scifi universes : Alien and Predator. All those who hated 2004's AvP movie are welcome.

4. Chapter 4

+15 minutes later+

It was a short time of riding in the Batmobile, fortunately finding streets that were deserted enough that the caped crusader could afford to driving faster than the speed limit. He also ignored Stop signs and red lights as he rushed in the direction that the extra-terrestrial creature indicated. With the time being just prior midnight on a weekday, it was understandable why most Gotham citizens weren't outdoors. That only helped the quartet in reaching this destination faster, though forcing Batman to ignore a pair of suspicious activities that he would've normally stopped to investigate. But with time being of the essence, the crimefighter had to look past his initial reaction and keep driving, knowing that where he was heading was too important to delay due to the possibility of a car break-in or drugs being sold on a street corner.

Ultimately, the leviathan in the front passenger seat of the Batmobile indicated towards an alleyway behind Washington Ave, which Batman remembered to be eerily close to the spot where he had beaten up on the Joker before brawling against Red himself. So the driver parked the automobile outside the pathway, noticing that this alley was at least twice as wide and several times longer than the previous one where he met the extra-terrestrials for the first time.

Exiting the car, the human leader pressed a single button on his utility belt once his three passengers were outside also, which activated a metal exoskeleton to cover the entire surface of the vehicle. The protective cover hadn't finished spreading to the last bit of the Batmobile before the masked giant marched off towards the end of the dark, trash-filled alleyway, either ignoring his human companions or simply being too excited to patiently make his way there. That only prompted the three humans to rush to catch up with him, careful to not turn on any flashlights due to the concern of being spotted, and having to use illumination from the moon above or the distant streetlights that lined up the neighboring streets. Disagreeing with Red's advance as the Predator loudly walked in the middle of the pathway, with no effort made to remain quiet, Batman placed his upper back against one end of the alley, always keeping Harley within an arm's reach. As he did, Nightwing pressed his figure against the wall at the opposite side of the passageway. All three humans found it strange that there was nothing at the end of the alleyway that the 7-foot tall hunter was eagerly moving towards. Not that the giant seemed to notice, or care, as he continued walking about three quarters of the way into the area.

"Red!", Nightwing was the first to speak out, and was either ignored or not heard by the juggernaut that he was addressing from his end of the alley.

"RED!", the young man whispered in as loud a manner as he could, finally getting the humanoid creature to stop and turn to face the caller's direction, moonlight shining off the metal mask, "There's nothing there! Where're we going?".

Almost in response to his question, five sources of light appeared from about thirty yards above, shaped in a circular group illuminating the alleyway with such intense white light that it was a nearly complete simulation of daytime. Looking up, the humans were surprised that the beams of light were emanating from nothing, as they simply hung in mid-air above where they stood, though the Predator didn't bother looking up, keeping his gaze towards the end of the passageway instead. Then, one after the other, a dozen other creatures who appeared to be the same size as Red became visible in front of the four visitors, with all the extra-terrestrials looking the same, though three were not wearing a visor in front of their face, revealing a grotesque face that could be found underneath. The twelve currently-visible Predators quickly rushed forward, grabbing a hold of the humans and pushing them towards where Red stood, though three creatures concentrated on manhandling Batman, while a sole creature was used to move Nightwing and Harley into that area. The larger number of leviathans then surrounded the three humans and the fourth Predator inside a circle whose radius was about ten yards long, continually clicking to themselves as the Earth natives looked back and forth at them, though Red kept his concentrated attention ahead of himself.

Looking to see what had their informant so occupied, Batman realized that the Batcave visitor had his eyes locked with another Predator who was at the head of the circle that surrounded them, this one dressed the same as all the other hunters, except that his mask was coloured crimson instead of gold. Recognizing that this particular Predator had also been at the alleyway when Batman fought against Red, the human squeezed Harley's hand in an effort to calm the anxious young woman down, before Harley squeezed back and stayed quiet.

It was only then that the humans heard the leader of the Predator pack as the individual in the red facial disguise pointed towards Red and screamed an accusatory, inhuman cry.

In response, Red angrily clenched his fists by his sides, flexing the muscles in his arms as the subordinate warrior shrieked back. That was then followed by yet another warcry from the giant in the red mask.

When it was Red's turn to respond, the extra-terrestrial stayed silent for an instant, instead pointing towards where Batman stood, and only then answered with a lower tone of voice.

"I tollld you! Speak hisss lannnguage!", the giant furiously demanded of his leader, which only led to another unearthly scream from the alien chief who was being addressed.

When Red did not respond at all this time, the beast in the red visor finally exhaled loudly through the metal in front of his face, slowly looking at his fellow Predators for several seconds while clicking to himself, before returning his gaze on Red himself.

"Then we ssshhhall do ssso", the two-legged monster who was dressed in less traditional crimson finally replied, thankfully in a lower tone this time, "I assummmed you returrrned to explain yourssself. Inssstead I see that you brrrought himmm here! With hisss friends! Explllain yourself!".

"My battllle with this one isss over", Red replied, pointing towards Batman again, "And I havvve learned much innn the prrrocess. I cannot and willllll not conscientiously continnnue our Hunnnt".

That drew several more clicks from the surrounding creatures, louder this time, as the surprise of what they were hearing registered.

"Lorrrd, I dutifully asssk that you cease thisss Hunnnt at once, and assissst the humans in cleannnsing this city of the xenomorrrphs", Red continued, bowing his head as he spoke this time, which only seemed to infuriate the leader he spoke to.

"You darrre speak of duty!", the individual in the red mask angrily shot back, not having calmed down as Red had, "You, who lossst a battle to a hummman! Who absssconded from the pack! Who, worsst of all, brought hummmans back to our position!".

"We are wrrrong about humans!", Red countered, his own tone rising in kind, "They are not the honnnorless parasites we are made to belllieve! This one spared my lifffe after defeating me. Did you nnnot see?"

"This isss not about the human's disgrace! It isss about YOURRRS!", the Predator leader thundered back, pointing towards the alien warrior with a right index finger, "In centtturies of the Hunt, not a sssingle Yaujta interrracted with a tarrrget as you have! And you darrre make demmmands when you return ttto the pack! I should exxxecute you on the ssspot for yourrr dishonor!".

As he was speaking, no one at the scene noticed Batman carefully letting go of Harley's hand and slyly reaching for and withdrawing two batarangs, one in each hand, as the conversation was turning more hostile.

"There is no dishonor in interrracting with one who has ssspared my life!", Red argued back, pointing towards his leader's torso in turn, "Dropping the egg-hatchers on Earrrth was a mistake. One that we ssshhhould rectify".

More hisses and clicks from the Predator chief, until the giant ultimately spoke up again.

"You will do nnno such thing", the leader answered more calmly this time, "You will returrrn abroad and await yourrr punishment. The onllly reason you are nottt dead where you stand isss because you succeeded innn achieving one of ourrr missions through yourrr ineptitude and treachery".

"You are beinnng counterproductive!", Red screamed back, continuously pointing at his former leader, even as his fellow hunters began closing in around him and the three humans, "You arrre also lying to us! The environnnment in our homeworld is being ruinnned, our cities are fighting warrrs with each other for rrreasons that are unknown to theirrr warriors, all of which are shorrrtening the Yaujtas' lifessspans. And all you leaderrrs do is pressure us to worry about becommming better hunter-warriorrrs! Anyone who mentionnns concerns regarding the environnnment in our homeworld and our mysssterious wars is ostracized! If you werrre right all along and these hummmans are truly as devoid of honnnor as you claim, then why did thisss one spare me? Why are you refusssing to…".

A shrill scream from the alien leader interrupted the warrior's reprimand, the Predator in the red mask stretching his arms in front of his torso as his hands pointed diagonally towards the ground, readying into a fighting stance. The chief then returned to speaking in his own language, only this time addressing the other hunters who had the humans and the rogue extra-terrestrial surrounded.

In obeying the chief's command, the circle of Predators that had bordered the four individuals became tighter. The hunters withdrew several different kinds of weapons as they warily came closer, in a repetition of the situation Batman had found himself in after having initially defeated Red. In response to the impending threat, the caped crusader kept the batarangs in his hands and still managed to grip Harley via both upper arms and lifted her off the ground. He then quickly repositioned her in between the rebellious hunter and Nightwing, before Batman himself enclosed the young woman from the third side, effectively creating a triangle between the backs of the three fighters and placing her in the middle of it.

From his point of view, Red withdrew the 10-inch wide, circular blade again, readying to use it on the first hunter who attacked him, before the pack's leader screamed out, this time in outrage at seeing that the disobedient alien was ready to fight against his own kind. Lastly, Nightwing pressed a small button on the base of both his fingerless gloves, activating the gloves' metal interior and causing a thick, razor-sharp blade to extend three inches past both his clenched fists as he remained in a fighting stance.

Clicks continued from the enemies as they had the humans and the rogue giant surrounded, everyone there knowing that the four targets wouldn't last long upon the outbreak of an all-out battle. But it was then that laughter emanated from a spot above everyone's head, causing the individuals in the alley to look up, and also surprising the three humans there. That's because they saw Joker standing just above and next to the circle of five lights that were emanating from thirty yards up. The interruption also caused the tightening circle of aggressive Predators to stop advancing towards their opponents, even if the mostly-masked juggernauts didn't step back. Up above, directly behind the escaped criminal was yet another extra-terrestrial hunter, as that giant was within an arm's range of the white-skinned human. Both beings stood in front of a door-shaped entrance that was evident behind them, obviously the only visible part of a large, otherwise invisible machine that hovered above. Soon, even that entryway disappeared, becoming invisible in its own turn, and left the Joker standing on the high, unseen platform, as the nearby Predator prodded him forward.

"Hey Harley", the Arkham inmate laughed to himself again, and then sniggered as he began climbing down what seemed to be a winding, invisible staircase, careful to hold on to an equally-invisible barrier that was nearby via his right hand, while the Predator followed close behind him, "Long time no see there".

"Hey puddin'", the blonde replied, her tone of voice reflecting none of the enthusiasm she used to make that statement with earlier in her life.

Just to emphasize the point, the counsellor pointed the back of her raised hand towards the still-descending escapee, thrusting her middle finger vertically in the air, which only prompted another fit of laughter from her antagonist.

"Oh, gosh!", Joker caught his breath when he finished the hysterics while his feet finally left the invisible stairs and planted themselves on the ground, the Predator following him the whole time, "But are we really that bad now, Harley, dear? Do you hate me so much that you're willing to ally yourself with the Bat in order to get back to me?".

His face twisted into the opposite of the jovial expression he had carried so far when he made a reference to the caped crusader, his eyes narrowing and lips snarling in anger as he made eye contact with Batman. But as unpredictable as ever, the irate look on his features was then quickly changed to pain.

"After all we've been through", he pressed his criss-crossed palms over his heart, feigning emotional sorrow, "This is how you treat me? We can't even be friends, Harley?".

"What are you up to, Joker? What are you doing with these creatures?", Batman barked back before she could think of a reply.

"Me?", the psychotic convict innocently pointed towards himself, "Just spending time with friends, Bats, that's all, and I'm feeling pretty comfy here. Too bad the same thing can't be said about you, huh? See, I thought I was done for after that giant cockroach pulled me up, but then one of my pals here took care of the cockroach for me. Didn't you?".

He heartily slapped his nearby Predator on the upper arm, causing the larger creature to simply stare back down towards the smaller human, constantly clacking and hissing the entire time.

"And I thought that I was done for afterwards, Bats", Joker continued after he turned his attention back to his pursuer, "But then, something magical happened".

He opened his hands wide, spreading them in an outward motion from his arms.

"I bet you're wondering what that was, aren't you?", the man with the white face continued grinning, though he received no answer from any of the individuals in front of him, the ones who were unmasked and the ones with a visor only staring at him.

"Well I'll tell you anyway", he quickly followed through before slowing to his usual speech, "See, these boys were soooooo eager to get into a fight with someone who could provide them with a challenge, that they were willing to spare little old moi in exchange for my help in baiting and luring the best human fighter this world has to offer. The ultimate human prey, as it were. Care to guess who that is, Bats, my boy? See, that's why they're not shooting you full of holes now, Bats, because they want to dismember you in a man-a-mano fight instead. And they're so obsessed with the thrill of the fight that they even refuse to have you raging on before they ring the bell. That's also the reason why they're not killing your younger brother or Harley there. Some hogwash about an opponent not fighting to his full potential if he's full of rage".

A new fit of laughter took over Joker's continence, though not as loud as before.

"Personally, I'd rather see you all screaming in anger and grief over the loss of your friends before your limbs are ripped out of their sockets, but that's just me", he continued after a few seconds.

"Well then, you sure made out like a bandit", Nightwing countered for the group, "Nice bodyguards you have. Except that you didn't lure us here, did you? We came of our own free will, actually looking for your friends. Which kinda makes your end of the bargain useless, no?".

"What?", Joker turned his head so as to look up towards his nearby Predator, who in turn had his own attention set on the chief in the red mask, "That's not tr...".

It was the last thing the human in the inmate's uniform got to say, since the leader of the hunters nodded once. That led to the Predator who was next to Joker to reach down before he easily twisted the convict's neck. A sharp crack reverberated in the otherwise silent alleyway as Harley gasped, covering her mouth with the right palm, while Nightwing grimaced at the result, with Batman's expression remaining unchanged. That led to Joker's broken body to slump lifelessly on the ground, next to the feet of the hunter who had killed him.

"So that was your plan", Batman gritted his teeth as he addressed the Predator chief, the larger creature who was beyond the circle of extra-terrestrials still standing by himself, saying nothing, though his silence was still a confirmation of the caped crusader's statement, "I'm glad the fish were so eager to jump into your net".

The behemoth behind the crimson mask uttered something in his own language, addressing the combatants who had surrounded the four individuals within the circle. In response to his command, several of the Predators there roughly grabbed a hold of Nightwing, Harley and their rebellious soldier, though two beings set against Red in their effort to properly restrain him.

Ignoring the swears and physical resistance from all three individuals, the extra-terrestrials dragged them away from Batman, pressing Nightwing, Harley and Red back-first against the wall at the side of the alleyway. Following orders, a single Predator restrained each of the humans via their shoulder while two aliens held back the rogue hunter. The Predators kept a steel grip on their prisoners, despite constantly fidgeting their attention from their task to the scene that unfolded between their leader and the masked human who remained in the middle of the alley.

"Sweetie? What're you...", was all the worried woman got to say before the Predator who was guarding her roughly covered her mouth with his left palm, impacting the back of her skull against the wall behind her in the process.

"Hey! Son of a...", Nightwing instinctively gripped his own sentry's left wrist, whose hand was clamped on his right shoulder, in an effort to escape the giant's grasp.

In response, that particular monster extended his right forearm in the direction of the human's head and held his own fist a foot away from Nightwing's face. But the young man was still struggling, swiping both his sharpened gloves against the creature's forearm, drawing an abundant amount of neon green blood out of the wound, though the guard's body language didn't seem to register pain. Nightwing was about to follow up that initial attack with a kick to the behemoth's kneecap when his restraining Predator's right forearm prompted twin blades to shoot past the top of the monster's wrist, stopping half an inch away from the crimefighter's cheek.

The message was clear enough. So Nightwing ceased resisting and gave up on the idea of further assaults, exhaling loudly in exasperation as he wondered how his guard still maintained a strong grip on his shoulder, considering the Predator's forearm bled profusely even now.

Seeing the defeat, the alien creature withdrew the twin blades back into the compartment over his right forearm, and then gripped the human by both shoulders, still ignoring the injury to his right arm as he turned his attention to the side to see what was occurring in the alleyway.

"If you want to challenge me, then you let them go first!", Batman commanded, his eyes set on the Predator in the crimson face protector as he pointed towards his friends via an extended arm and index finger, though he didn't turn to look at the latter, "And I mean all three of them. Not just my own two. I'll fight you after they're out of harm's way".

"Negatttive!", the Predator chief countered, "They may returrrn and bring weaponnns to use against us durrring the match".

Among the many clicks from the extra-terrestrials there, Batman threw a quick glance in the direction where his comrades were held, making brief eye contact with Harley first and Nightwing second, followed by a subtle visual scan of the area around him. It was enough for him to know that while some adversaries held his companions at bay against the alley wall, most of the remaining creatures were still haphazardly positioned in different spots, even while he was addressing their leader. He couldn't try anything subtle with so many eyes on him, so he placed his batarangs away.

The caped crusader surmised that it was because they had been notified that he defeated his original opponent earlier tonight, which was most likely a concept that these beings were not used to. In addition, if Joker had been telling the truth, and Batman had no reason to think that the criminal wasn't, then the Predators wished to challenge him to a fight again. Thus, they would want to be wary around him due to the danger he could pose to their safety. Plus, it'd take even more hunters to properly restrain him without doing any damage if he were to attack now, if they were adamant to have him fight one of their own while he was physically and mentally unharmed.

"You humannns will be allowed to go safely, afffter your battle against me, whether you're victorious or not, as long as they do not inttterfere", the Predator in charge continued, drawing Batman's attention, "But the traitttor stays here".

Thoughts raced through Batman's mind. They started with the safety of his brethren, followed by the danger that these creatures were posing to his city while releasing and then hunting Xenomorph Aliens. And finally, regarding the welfare of the rogue extra-terrestrial who was possibly facing execution if the Predators got their way.

There seemed to be only one way to increase the chances of him escorting Nightwing and Harley out of this alleyway, and hunting the remaining xenormorphs, and demanding that Red be allowed to remain free. And that was if he defeated the monster in the crimson mask who was currently removing all the weapons that the hunter carried on himself, though the chief opted to leave the metal visor on his face.

"I demand your word that you let my friends go unharmed after the battle is over", the caped crusader angrily countered, the better to not make it obvious that he was planning to disrupt the hunters' plans to re-acquire their rogue later on.

"I will consssent to that", the creatures' superior clicked further while stepping ahead of the pile of dangerous and exotic weaponry that now laid by his feet, and in the process confirming that he would be the human's challenger.

He intentionally kept the two sets of blades retracted in their compartment above the forearms, and his shoulder-strapped projectile weapon pointing safely away from everybody, the better to ensure his idea of a fair fight. So while the giant remained still, Batman turned into a fighting stance, causing the other Predators to respectfully give the two combatants more room, even as they casually kicked Joker's body aside to clear the dirty passageway of all obstacles.

The monster reared his head up, partly staring up at the night sky that was past the sources of light which shone above everyone. His arms spread wide in front of him, almost appearing as if he was about to embrace someone, though one look at the tension in his body would quickly convince anyone that he was ready for combat. In that stance, the Predator chief screamed as his muscular arms widened further, either stretching himself or simply arousing his crowd.

It was the last movement he undertook before he turned into a fighting stance himself, but by that time, surprise registered behind the metallic faceguard when he saw Batman hurling towards him in a flying kick. The human had moved faster than the extra-terrestrial thought possible, the bottom of the caped crusader's foot slamming into what may have been the Predator's solar plexus. The blow caused the behemoth to grunt, more so in surprise than in pain.

Despite the power and weight placed behind the flying kick, the giant's only reaction was to take two, involuntary steps backwards, before he regained his usual composure. Eager for his chance, the beast threw a curved punch towards the smaller human's head, aiming to crush the Earth native's skull early in the fight. The Predator's fist met only air as Batman had already ducked out of the way of the giant arm. The versatile human then placed his palms against the ground and lowered his body. Bending his left knee and placing his entire weight on his arms and left leg, Batman swung his right leg counter-clockwise and parallel to the ground. His right ankle smacked into the side of his opponent's feet and knocked the giant's left leg out from under him, sending the Predator crashing towards the ground in a scream of outrage.

The seven-foot tall creature landed hard on his back and yelled again, this time in pain. Both sets of twin blades extended past the top of his wrists, the hunter angrily deciding to forgo his previous, self-imposed rule to not use weapons. Before he could climb back up to his feet, he saw that the human had already withdrawn a retractable, curved blade that roughly resembled the outline of a bat. The smaller opponent leapt up to a vertical position, his silhouette blocking out most of the overhead lights and enveloping the hunter in shadow. Batman finished the upward jump that returned him to a standing position while his opponent was still partly horizontal on the ground. The human then swung the weapon downward with his right arm, using gravity to help him deliver a stronger stab aimed towards the downed Predator's left shoulder.

Somewhere in the alien leader's mind, the hunter wondered why this man was only aiming for his shoulder and not a more vital body part. Was it because the human had miscalculated the neck? Or because he wished to keep his prey alive so as to torment him longer, rather than delivering a fatal blow? And if it was the latter, did his desire to not kill his opponent emanate from over-confidence, or plain stupidity?

The Predator didn't know, and while he lay on his back in the heat of battle, he decided that he didn't care, as the monster's left arm shot vertically away from his body. His hand wrapped around Batman's throat and locked his fingers there in a steel grip before the human could stab him with the circular blade. He kept his larger arm extended straight so the smaller adversary's blade couldn't reach his head or torso afterwards.

The Predator chief climbed back up to his feet, dragging Batman back to a standing position alongside him, his eyes on the human's figure as his prey couldn't breathe while the left grip was tightened around his throat. He then crouched, vehemently slamming the side of the human's head against the concrete ground, an act which definitely dazed the smaller fighter, though it failed to force the human to drop his circular weapon.

Regardless, the hunter had beaten his quarry badly enough to consider himself victorious, so he rose back up to a fully standing position, pulling the stunned adversary with him again. He heard the human female shrieking in the distance, but ignored it as he kept his attention on the adversary. That's because Batman was still dangerous enough to angrily slash the creature's left forearm with the circular blade, creating rivulets of bright green blood that emanated from the deep wound before landing on the ground below. Hissing from the pain, the Predator kept his left arm straight and rigid as he curved his right arm and slowly withdrew it, ready to send the two blades that were still sticking out from the top of that forearm into this enemy's face. This battle was going to be finished once and for all, and there were to be no questions as to who the winner was.

But a commotion occurred further away from the battle scene, prompting the hunter to turn his head in that direction just in time to see that the human female had somehow slipped out of her guardian's grip. The giant chief saw that the blonde-haired woman in the red and black outfit was moving surprisingly fast for someone that small. Regardless of her size, she still managed to rush in his direction, an enraged look on her face as she managed to outrun her large pursuer.

The leader of the extra-terrestrials made a mental note to chastise the warrior who had allowed the tiny human to escape from him, and to make matters worse, who was now being successfully evaded by his prey. But for now, the chief casually released his left grip on Batman's neck and allowed the caped crusader to flop painfully on the ground. That's because Harley had bolted towards where he stood, apparently eager to challenge the masked giant. Her intentions became clear when the Arkham doctor came within an arm's reach of the Predator leader and swiftly kicked him in the groin, putting as much strength into her leg as possible while she delivered the blow.

Unfortunately for Harley, the hunter showed no reaction to her attack, much less one where he doubled over in pain, as she had hoped he would. Instead, the behemoth simply stared down at her, exhaling angrily through his crimson mask at her daring to interrupt the battle that he was immersed in.

Surprisingly, the Predator didn't hit her back, opting to remain standing still as both creatures only looked back at each other, even while Batman was beginning to climb back on his hands and knees. But then, it became apparent why the chief hunter hadn't struck the young woman, and it was because he was expecting the Predator who had been guarding her to do so on his behalf. That was only the beginning of that lower-ranked hunter's atoning for having allowed her to escape in the first place.

As expected, Harley's former guard took aim with the shoulder-fired projectile weapon that he carried, sending a shot that was aimed for the young woman's head. While that occurred, Nightwing used the distraction of having his own sentinel looking towards the turmoil, so the crimefighter swiftly slipped out of the giant's single-handed grip by dropping towards the floor.

Harley didn't see the extra-terrestrial's ammunition flying towards her, as she was breathing heavily while angrily looking at the juggernaut that she had kicked, then to Batman, then back to the hunter in front of her. Along the concerns for her consort's well-being, a small voice in the back of her head asked why the huge creature wasn't reacting as furiously as she thought he would, given the gravity of her actions. But the answer soon made itself be known when she heard another male voice calling out her name just as someone tackled her from behind, causing her body to spin from the blow, before that person pinned her to the ground. She landed hard back-first on the ground, screaming out in agony as she spotted Nightwing on top of her, the masked fighter coming face to face with her in that position. But even in that uncomfortable state, she was able to notice the orange-colored projectile that sailed through the area where her head had been less than a second ago, before the shot itself punched a hole in the wall several yards away.

The doctor from Arkham bit her tongue to stop the urge to scream further in reaction to the combination of seeing Batman almost killed, the physical pain of her body hitting the ground and the realization that she had almost died. Finally, there came the awareness that she could do nothing to protect Batman once the chief hunter decided to resume the attack against him. But before she could even think of an action that could try to improve this situation, she felt Nightwing's right palm pressing against her mouth, her companion's fingerless gloves already having their blades retracted back within them.

Obviously, he wanted to make sure she wouldn't say anything, while he addressed the standing giants himself.

"Don't shoot!", the young crimefighter pointed his left palm towards the Predator who had opened fire, then threw a quick glance at his own guard, before looking up into the face of the chief who was nearest to them, "Don't shoot her, OK? I promise you that she won't interfere any more. Just don't do anything drastic".

Hearing his words was enough of an incentive for the blonde woman to violently shake her head, until she was able to slip her mouth free from under his palm.

"Screw you!", Harley furiously barked back at the man who still remained on top of her, prompting the masked combatant to look down into her eyes, his face unreadable for once, "I'm not letting them...!".

He interrupted by adamantly shoving his right palm against the lower half of her face again, causing her to moan the rest of her statement in an unintelligible manner.

"I won't let him die!", Nightwing whispered back, in a tone that she suspected was soft enough so she'd be the only one to hear him, "I promise. Just trust me on this".

He pressed his hand even harder into her mouth, his eyes locked with hers and indicating that he wasn't planning on releasing his hold on her until she agreed to abide by what he said.

Harley's chest and throat tightened as tears coated her eyes. Anger, grief and frustration flooded her mind as she understood that she couldn't think of a way to save Batman from the fate that was awaiting him once this distraction ended and the monsters returned to their despicable ritual. So telling herself that she may as well let Grayson do things his way, especially considering that she doubted the young man wished to save his mentor any less than she did, she nodded her head once. That induced him to finally remove his right hand from her lower face before he carefully stood up.

Moving slow enough so as to not give any of their adversaries a reason to take another shot at them, Nightwing looked up at the Predator chief again before the leader's lack of aggression indicated to him that it was safe to stir. So he offered Harley his right hand, which the doctor squeezed and used to be helped back up to a standing position. Once vertical, the blonde woman dried her tears with her left hand while she threw a glance in Batman's direction. She made sure to lock eyes with the older man before the caped crusader only nodded back, knowing they wouldn't have permission for verbal communication here. It was all they had time for before the same two Predator guards roughly dragged her and Nightwing back to the wall where Red was still being restrained by two equally-large hunters.

It was a return to their previous state, with Nightwing and Harley being slammed back-first against the alley wall behind them, restrained next to the rebellious Predator. This time, though, their two guards pressed a forearm underneath each of the humans' chin, the better to secure them in place. From there, the otherworldly hunters also gave no attention to the makeshift arena where their leader squared off against the human gladiator, surmising that they should be watching their prisoners rather than the nearby battle. After all, it was fortunate that their chief wasn't infuriated at their recent failure, so neither giant was in the mood to risk failure, as well as their superior's wrath, by allowing the elusive Earth natives to slip through their grip for the second time.

Several yards away from the small group that remained by the side of the passageway, the leader of the hunters surveyed his opponent, breathing hard between clicks as he watched Batman climbing back to a standing position. So the giant took several, casual steps backwards, his eyes remaining on the caped crusader, the blood-colored mask on his face hiding whatever expression he may have been wearing at the prospect of having to continue this battle. First, the creature raised his face towards the sky, his long, possibly metallic hair waving behind his head in the process, and gave a yell as he clenched and unclenched his fists in anticipation. Then, relaxing the muscular arms by his side, the chief levelled his head so as to be staring at his smaller adversary who was now standing up straight from about ten yards away. The giant's entire body turned invisible for a moment as his eyes shone like gold fire, before the eyes returned to their normal state and his body was visible again.

Batman returned to a fighting stance as the circular, bat-shaped blade remained in his right grip, mentally rushing to come up with a plan to deal with this situation while finding it hard to breathe. The impact of his head against the ground had renewed the pain to the injury that was dealt to his stomach earlier tonight, so the fresh pressure in his skull was hard to ignore as he tried to pay attention to the task ahead. There was no time to glance towards his comrades, not when this battle was about to be continued beneath the white lights that still hovered overhead. So the masked crimefighter repeated to himself that this opponent was not to be engaged head-on, not when the extra-terrestrial was easily twice as strong as the human had been in the latter's prime. That's because despite having spent half his life studying different martial arts, and lifting weights, climbing rope and swimming, the caped crusader had been unable to get out of the Predator's grip when the behemoth had single-handedly grabbed his throat. Both he and the Predator chief knew this. Thus, that only left the prospect of fighting faster than his opponent could react, and being so swift so as to avoid giving the giant a chance to successfully land another blow.

Not that Batman lacked experience in fighting opponents who were bigger and stronger than him, as antagonists like Killer Croc Morgan and Bane had challenged him on several occasions. But the different variable about the chief hunter was that this particular opponent was also cunning. The red-masked Predator knew that he was stronger, but never fought a battle where he depended solely on his strength, as Batman's past enemies had. So someone who seemed to possess Bane's might and Nightwing's agility was a fearsome monster indeed.

The idea of using his pre-pressurized grappling hook as an offensive weapon entered the human's mind. But he was wary of doing so, as that may have been seen as cheating, which would lead to the alien leader, and possibly the other Predators also, to open fire via their shoulder-carried cannons in retaliation. So that left Gotham's protector with the sole hope that he could be more swift in battle than the extra-terrestrial hunter already was.

The time for talk had apparently come to an end, even without an official signal to indicate it, because the beast rushed forward, easily crossing the ten yards of space that separated him from the human in one lunge. The Predator swung his right arm as he reached his opponent, looking to skewer Batman via the twin blades that protruded from the back of his wrist. Except that the knives that were attached to his arm made no contact, as the crimefighter had leapt vertically in the air at the perception of the attack, putting as much strength into his own legs as possible. Batman reached the highest spot possible, and followed the dodge with a drop kick aimed at the giant's head, the bottom of both his shoes smacking into the side of his opponent's skull.

The extra-terrestrial leader staggered back from the blow as the caped crusader landed back on his feet. Batman reacted gracefully as his legs bent from the impact, groaning in response to the pain before he stood back up in a fighting stance. Pursuing his foe, the crimefighter swung with the bat-shaped blade in his right hand, aiming for the middle of the hunter's chest. The giant blocked by bending his own left elbow and impacting the outside of that forearm against the inside of Batman's right wrist, effectively stopping the attack.

Not discouraged, the smaller fighter withdrew his right arm and twisted to his own left, before sending the bottom of his right foot into the monster's left knee, trying to ignore the fact that he felt like he was trying to kick down a tree. But the tactic worked since the Predator chief wailed in pain as his back arched and his masked face aimed towards the sky. Even though the leviathan's knee remained unbroken, the hunter found himself in an unusual position, where he intentionally retreated backwards, clearly favoring his right leg as he proceeded away from his adversary.

The monster acted in a surprising fashion, opting to retract the two sets of blades that rested on his lower arms, and clenched his fists, preferring to take his time to make this human pay for daring to last as long as the Earth native did. No longer satisfied with killing his prey with the quick thrust of a knife, the Predator exhaled through the mask as he swung his right arm, that fist sailing over Batman's head as the human ducked, and then drove the sharp edge of his bat-shaped weapon into the creature's wrist. But ignoring the bright green blood that burst out of his artery, the hunters' leader continued with the second part of his plan, as he had been ready to accept injury to that arm. The Predator used the crucial second that Batman had used to slash open his wrist and sent his left fist into the caped crusader's ribcage, solidly connecting with the smaller fighter's torso.

Batman shrieked in pain as he suspected several of his ribs had cracked from the blow as his body was lifted several inches into the air as a result, and he heard Harley screaming in shock off in the distance. As his feet touched back down on the ground, the human caught sight of the beast sending a clenched right fist towards his face, apparently not distressed at the green blood that coated the giant's right forearm and dripped on the ground. Ignoring the nearly crippling pain in his torso, the smaller gladiator gripped his right fingers around the bat-like blade and raised that curled arm to meet the chief's punch. The sharp edge of the weapon was buried into the hunter's knuckles as the extra-terrestrial then felt fresh blood gushing out of the top of his hand now.

Hissing in a combination of pain and fury, the Predator withdrew his twice-injured right arm before executing a front kick with his left leg, attacking so quickly that Batman didn't even see the strike. Instead, the human only felt the bottom of the monster's left foot as it crashed into his damaged ribs and sent him hurling backwards, amid cheers from the surrounding hunters that stifled Harley's second distressed cry.

The caped crusader spread his arms wide in the hope of reducing the damage done once he landed back-first about a dozen yards away. Regardless, all the effort and training didn't keep him from closing his eyes and yelling anew when his battered body landed on the unforgiving concrete.

The pain in his back, stomach, head, and ribs didn't matter. He couldn't pay attention to them now, not when he had lost this battle and surrendered his three followers to their fate if he didn't stand back up. So Batman groaned as he slowly and shakily returned to a vertical position. He found it odd that the monster casually stood a dozen yards away and patiently waited for him to be on his feet again, when the Predator could've easily attacked before he fully stabilized. But the hunter did just that, enjoying the liveliness of his followers as he anticipated having Batman back to a standing position, though the latter took at least ten seconds to be vertical and stop swaying as if he was drunk.

Once back to a fighting stance, the caped crusader noticed that his bat-shaped blade had slipped out of his hand while he was being tossed aside, so he opted to not look for the weapon. That's because he was too busy coughing violently, blood emanating from his mouth and staining his costume in the process. But he couldn't afford to be distracted any further, even though he wasn't able to stop coughing, causing a tremendous amount of pain within his torso in the process. After all, he witnessed the Predator leader withdrawing a ten-inch wide, circular blade now.

Quickly extracting his arm, the extra-terrestrial flung the frisbee-like blade in the human's direction, the circular knife flying through the air and aiming to decapitate Batman where he stood. So the human groaned in pain again as he dropped flat on the ground, lying on his stomach and watching the projectile weapon fly over his position.

He followed its trail overhead, as the blade flew in an oval pattern, almost reaching the beginning of the alleyway behind everyone, and then turning around and heading back towards where the Predator chief remained. The giant creature was readying to receive it back into his right hand as that happened. It was during that time that Batman withdrew his pre-pressurized grappling hook and aimed it for the hunter's chest, reasoning that if his opponent was going to use projectile weapons, then he had earned the right to do the same.

The caped crusader fired into his adversary's direction, the four teeth that constituted the hook slamming into the exact middle of the alien's torso and sending the giant flying backwards with a screech. The Predator finally stopped when his back crashed into a wall that was the alley's dead end which was several yards behind him, clumsily returning to a standing position as he angrily pulled the roped hook out of his body armor.

The beast became increasingly annoyed at this prey's resourcefulness, especially after it ended with his uncaught circular blade being lodged in a nearby wall as a result of the attack on him. So the hunter hissed in fury as he lunged forward. He tackled Batman while the human was still struggling to get back to his feet, forcing the pressurized hook out of his hand, and then slammed the smaller opponent back-first into the ground. This time, the hunter gripped the human's neck with a left hand, ensuring that the prey wouldn't be rising again. Squatting next to the human's horizontal figure, the Predator kept his left arm extended as his fingers choked his adversary. While he did that, he also curled his right arm next to his own shoulder and extended the blades past his bloodied forearm, ready to finish this opponent.

More hysterical shrieks followed from the wall where the two humans and the disgraced Predator were being restrained. The chief hunter paid no attention to it, confident in his soldiers' ability to effectively quell the human female's attempts to intervene again. And he was correct, as further away, Harley found the hands that held her against the wall to be reinforced, making it impossible for her to slip out of her guard's grip, regardless of her efforts.

The young woman had been feeling steadily worse ever since she saw Batman flying backwards after being kicked in the chest. Her grief currently climaxed when she knew she was about to watch the older man die. To make matters worse, her own helplessness in the situation was only confirmed when she was kept immobile no matter how often she tried to slip out of the giant's hold, or stomp on his foot, or knee him in the groin. And why couldn't she breathe even though she was desperately trying to inhale through her nose and her mouth? It was bad enough that her vision was clouded due to the tears that gathered in front of her eyes before running down her face, and the fact that her arms were effectively restrained by her sides meant she couldn't even dry those eyes. But the tightness in her throat made it impossible to even breathe in the cool night air, which definitely didn't help.

"Bruce? BRUCIE!", was what the Arkham doctor managed to gasp between more tears, suddenly having forgotten the strict rule that she was to never refer to any of the crimefighters by their proper name when they were on assignment.

All those regulations and procedures just didn't seem so important any more. What was their significance when the person whose identity they were designed to protect was about to be executed? And come to think of it, what was the point of anything else once Batman died? How long would she be able to continue walking the straight and narrow path of a righteous life before the stress of everyday living caused her to revert back to her past persona, where she constantly preyed on others? Or would her life simply come to an end without the support of the one individual who was her constant crutch since her final parole from Arkham? If that happened, at least she wouldn't have to worry about possibly being insane at one point in the future anymore.

In any case, Harley felt her pessimistic thoughts being interrupted when her massive sentinel used his left hand to roughly cover her mouth, all the better to keep her quiet during his master's moment of glory.

Nearby, Nightwing held his breath as he activated the last-ditch plan he had formulated in his mind earlier. It was a plan he previously hoped he wouldn't have to use, but suspected he may need to do so since he hadn't been optimistic about his instructor's odds of winning the match. While keeping his upper arms by his side, the young man used his left lower arm to slyly reach within a compartment of his uniform. There, he wrapped his fingers around a metallic device that had the capability to project a thin, four-inch long tongue of extremely hot flame. It was a fire that was powerful enough to easily burn through metal, which the crimefighter had used to make his way past locked doors on many occasions in the past. Slowly withdrawing the small blowtorch, Nightwing also surveyed the position that his own guard was in,. He noticed that this Predator was holding the human's upper left arm with a right grip, which was the same alien's arm that the young man had slashed open a few minutes ago. Except that now, the injury on the giant's right wrist had cauterized itself, there only remaining blemishes of dried green blood there, and the monster wasn't applying any medical attention to keep the wound from worsening.

So keeping that point in his mind for future references, Nightwing used his left thumb to turn his miniature contraption on, activating the four-inch long tongue of flame. He bent his left elbow, bringing the weapon towards his own upper arm, and as such, towards the Predator's right wrist. Once there, the young man swung his left hand in a semi-circle and towards his enemy's limb, the flame he controlled easily cutting the hunter's hand off.

The Predator who was standing in front of Nightwing shrieked, his scream differing from his comrades' cheers. He thus attracted everyone's attention there, including that of his chief as the latter looked up to find the cause of the distress. The guard staggered away from his human prisoner, still yelling in pain as fresh green blood erupted out of the stump at his right wrist, while that severed hand remained on the Earth native's upper arm. As the giant quickly pressed his left palm on the wound, restricting the loss of blood, he began panting. While he did, the crimson-masked leader stood up from his own scene without killing Batman, though warily keeping one eye on the downed caped crusader and the other on his injured follower.

It only took a moment further for the wounded behemoth, as well as his companions and leader, to fix their irate attention on the dark-clothed human who had separated the hunter's hand from the rest of the arm. And while the Predator chief would normally have no problem authorizing the kill of a creature who had attacked one of his fighters in such a dishonorable way, there was something about Nightwing's relaxed demeanor that gave the extra-terrestrials a pause for concern. That's because the young man stepped away from the alley wall, leaving Harley and Red behind, and had already deactivated and put away the blowtorch. Instead, the smirking human carried a larger device in his right hand, one that was about three inches long and two inches wide, and then gave a wider smile when he pressed one of the buttons on this gadget.

In response to his command, everyone in the passageway heard and then saw the Batmobile first turning the corner into the alley and then slowly driving towards them. The crimefighters' vehicle had already shed its protective shell before reaching their position. Nightwing pressed a second button on his remote, which caused the Batmobile to stop about five yards away from the closest Predator at the scene. Having gotten their attention, the younger human then made eye contact with the Predator chief, glad to see that Batman was painfully rising to a seated position on the ground.

"Here's how it works, sasquatch", Nightwing raised his voice so as to be heard by everyone there, even though he kept addressing the giant leader only, "See this remote access here?".

He raised the metal apparatus several inches in the air, pointing it towards the chief.

"First button undoes the exoskeleton, second button brings the Batmobile to me", the masked crimefighter explained, keeping his voice as steady as he could manage, "Now this third button here blows it up to kingdom come. The blast radius will be at least, at least, two hundred yards. You kill my boss, I push the button and we all continue this friendly sparring match in the afterlife. Unless of course you sasquatches are either strong enough to survive a fireball, or fast enough to outrun it".

His previous guard yelled something in the alien language, this time sounding as if he was doing so in rage rather than in pain, as he maintained pressure against his truncated wrist. Other hunters growled, hissed or clicked, probably in agreement with him, as Nightwing casually shook his own left arm until the creature's large, severed hand came loose and fell on the ground. But standing in the approximate middle of the group, the Predator leader raised his left arm, ordering everyone to be silent. It was a command that his followers quickly obeyed, though the injured guard's body language indicated that he was still very eager to attack the human who had wounded him.

"Bluffinnng!", the extra-terrestrial chief accused as he extended his right index finger towards Nightwing.

"Really!", the smaller crimefighter angrily countered, pointing the remote control towards the giant again, "You really think I'm gonna let you come in here, kill god fucking knows how many of my neighbors in the name of your bullshit sport, and then you're gonna kill my teacher, and I'm simply gonna watch! Go ahead and try me, you ugly fuck!".

Nearby, both masked and unmasked Predators withdrew frisbee blades of their own, while other hunters adjusted their shoulder-held rocket launcher towards the dangerous human. That caused Nightwing to instinctively step backwards, even though he objectively knew there was nowhere to go. While that occurred, Batman staggered to a standing position and walked towards his comrade. Constantly clutching his damaged ribcage, he was careful to not trip in his weakened state, until he stood several feet away from the younger man.

"Batman and I are both ready to die for each other, and I'm gonna speak for Harl and your own man here", Nightwing continued, the irate expression still on his face as he visually inspected all the hostile figures around him, "Tell your goons to step back, sasquatch. The first one of them who fires anything at me, and my finger presses this button here".

"This can't be that difficult a decision for you", the caped crusader added, suddenly finding it impossible to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his partner since his body was continually hunched forward in pain, "Unless every one of you is willing to die for the sake of your game tonight, I suggest you do as you're told".

The older man kept his left forearm gently pressed over his ribcage as he withdrew a batarang with his right hand, in an effort to even the odds that his former protégé was looking at. Not that two humans struggling against a horde of attacking hunters would've fare better than a single human trying to do the same impossible task, but it was important to support Nightwing in his efforts nonetheless.

The hunter chief's body pulsated with energy and ire, the giant barely keeping himself at bay, almost as if he was an overzealous animal who was placed inside a cage that was too small. But after giving a short cry of fury, the giant leader breathed heavily as he addressed his followers in his own language for a few moments. He swung his face from one extreme to the other so as to look at all his soldiers while he spoke.

Once he was finished talking, the leader slowly turned and marched towards the spot where his gold frisbee blade was still lodged in a wall, even though none of the other hunters moved. When he reached it, he wrenched the circular weapon out of the vertical stone, after which he turned back around to where the remaining beings remained in the alley.

It was at that instant that the hunters' spaceship became visible overhead, whose underside five circular lights that had illuminated the passageway. It caused an involuntary awe to escape Nightwing's facial expression at the sheer size of the craft, as it was almost as long as the alley itself, and many times wider than the passageway, and hovering in the air without noise. A metallic, zigzagging staircase that led to a currently-opening doorway on the ship's side was also seen, portraying the manner in which Joker had previously descended from above.

Still breathing heavily, the crimson-masked leader retained his grip on the rounded blade as he moved to the base of the staircase and stood next to it, before he threw a glance at his disciples. Reacting to his nonverbal sign, the Predator whose hand was cut off moved away from the confrontation in the alleyway first, pacing towards the ascending stairs before he began climbing up the steps. After that fighter, the other giants followed, going up the stairs in single file, and the three guards who had been keeping a hold of Harley and Red released their prisoners, soon joining the line of angrily retreating hunters.

The three humans and lone Predator remained in the lit alley as more extra-terrestrials moved past their leader, climbed up the steps and eventually disappeared through the spaceship's open door. It was only when the four individuals who remained on the ground saw the alien leader ascending the stairs also that Batman remembered to wipe the dripping blood off his mouth and chin. He was so engrossed in the scene above his head that he barely noticed Harley as she quickly wandered to his left side and placed two protective arms around his waistline, embracing him and trying to support his weight at the same time. Not that the young woman's presence made the task of remaining upright any easier, as it hurt his ribs even more. But the crimefighter suppressed the urge to moan in pain, and only placed his left around the shoulders of the Arkham counsellor.

Once the Predator chief was at the top of the steps and in front of the open doorway that led to the bright interior of his ship, he turned around. He stared down at the four beings who remained below, not counting Joker's body that was by the side of the alleyway. The giant growled in disappointment as the zigzagging stairs were automatically pulled within the underside of the floating spaceship, his masked gaze staring into the face of the rogue Predator below.

Standing at his full height down there, Red didn't move a muscle while his eyes were locked with his superior's, even when he saw that his leader's shoulder-fired cannon was adjusted so it pointed at him. The rogue hunter clenched his fists, but kept his arms by his side regardless, resisting the urge to withdraw his circular blade in response.

"Don't even think about it", Batman grimly warned while looking up at the creature in the crimson mask, curious as to why the rogue alien wasn't running for cover or threatening to strike back if attacked.

In emphasis of the caped crusader's threat, Nightwing widened his eyes and pointed the remote control he held up so it was more visible for the Predator chief. So after a few seconds of the silent standoff, the extra-terrestrial leader groaned in disappointment as his shoulder-used cannon pointed away from his target. The behemoth partially turned around, intent on going inside the hovering spacecraft via the open doorway. But first, he extended his right hand and pointed that index finger down at the soldier who was left behind within the alleyway.

The alien leader uttered an angry phrase in his own language, and said nothing afterwards as he then walked through the doorway. The door shut behind him, closing off the bright light of the ship's interior. It was only then that Nightwing exhaled loudly and lowered his arm by his side, deactivating the rectangular electronic device that was in his hand, even while his companions didn't move.

"I can't believe that worked", the young man sighed as he looked up, seeing that the Predator's craft slowly rose further in the air before it flew off at a tremendous speed, all without making any noise, "Who says a car's harmless remote control is an unnecessary piece of luxury, huh, Bats?".

The grin on his face vanished when he turned his head to look at his mentor, only to see that Harley was trying to ease the older man into a seated position on the ground. Clearly, Batman was in no physical shape to celebrate.

"I'll get the first aid kit", Nightwing marched off towards the Batmobile while placing the vehicle's access device back within his uniform.

He frowned while passing Joker's corpse, surprised at the feeling of disappointment he was experiencing now that the psychotic criminal was dead. Shouldn't he be glad that one of his biggest enemies was dead?

Either way, he had more pressing matters to attend to, so the crimefighter grabbed the white box with the Red Cross symbol on its surface from the back of the car and jogged back to where his companions remained.

"What did he say to you?", Batman asked while he remained seated, his palms flat against the ground to keep him from collapsing altogether, as he looked up at the giant who was still standing at his full height nearby.

The hunter only clicked in response as the caped crusader's eyes remained on him. As he did, Harley was carefully examining the damaged state of his torso beneath the grey costume, before the young woman gave Nightwing a tired smile when he offered her the first aid kit.

"He said I am disssgraced", the Predator finally answered after a long pause, "I am bannnished from the Yaujta clllan forrrever".

The behemoth turned his face back towards the sky, silently watching the spot where the spaceship had disappeared from a few moments ago. He continued staring off into the moonlit clouds above, until he heard the humans shifting near him, which prompted him to finally turn back towards the other individuals there. The hunter saw that the oldest of the three humans was carefully standing back up to his full height, his left arm draped over the woman's shoulders, as his torso had been bandaged repeatedly, apparently by her. Off in the distance, the younger human male was still crouched over the corpse of the fourth Earth native who had been killed by one of Red's former comrades. But once the less experienced crimefighter noticed that his friends were moving, he stood up from the spot next to the carcass and proceeded towards the others.

"You have two broken ribs, three more that are bruised, as far as I can tell", the blonde woman stated as Batman withdrew his arm from her and visually surveyed the dark alleyway they remained in, "Now, I can't see any internal bleeding, sweetie, but do I have to lecture you about the many reasons you should be getting checked out at Gotham General?".

"Not now", the caped crusader curtly countered, ignoring the pain that ravaged his body as he walked off and began gathering his grappling hook from where the gadget lay, working to pre-pressurize the device after picking it off the ground, "I don't have the time yet, not until I make sure that our visitors and the monsters that they're hunting have left Gotham".

"You're planning on doing this solo, Bats?", Nightwing asked as he stopped next to the young woman, casually placing his hands in his side pockets as he spoke.

"Until we both make sure", the instructor corrected himself as he turned towards his former apprentice, the grappling hook ready to be fired again for future use, "But what happened here tonight should be proof that we're not ready for what's…".

Batman stopped talking when he noticed that the clicks and hisses which Red was emitting had suddenly gotten louder and faster, so he turned his attention towards where the Predator stood half a dozen steps away. Noticing the interruption in his statement, Nightwing and Harley followed his line of vision, and soon realized that the hunter was indeed distracted by something else that grabbed his attention.

But what was the behemoth looking at? All three humans looked towards the direction that he was staring, his muscular body becoming more tense with each passing moment. As far as each native from Earth could tell, there was nothing off in the distance except the darkness at the end of the alleyway.

It was Batman's eyes that caught sight of movement first, though the caped crusader didn't initially understand what it was he was looking at. But soon, what was clearly identified as the curved, smooth head of an adult Xenomorph exited out of the shadows at the end of this passageway. Coming closer towards them, the 8-foot tall, hunched-over monster hissed as its body became more visible due to it walking closer to the section of the alleyway that was lit by the moon.

The Arkham counsellor gasped when she initially saw the monster's body, and then gasped louder when the beast opened its jaw, exposing the smaller mouth that existed inside of it. She was the only one who didn't reach for a weapon, as Batman and Nightwing swiftly withdrew a razor-sharp batarang each, while the lone Predator pulled out his golden, circular blade. But that was as far as they got before new noise was heard overhead, which caused all four individuals to look up, and spotted five more Xenomorphs who climbed over the alley's walls from the far side. Three of those new aliens climbed down the vertical concrete, showing great dexterity in their ability to move against gravity. As they did, the other two beasts simply jumped down towards the ground from the top of the wall itself, thus joining the original aline who had made itself known to them.

"Where did they all come from!", the younger human male thought out loud, disliking how quickly his side had gone from outnumbering the enemy to suddenly being outnumbered instead, as six Xenomorphs now approached their four targets from the passageway's dead end, though that left the entry to the alleyway clear behind the humans.

"Not important now", Batman quietly replied as he tapped Nightwing and Harley on the arm, indicating them to start walking backwards and away from the vicious animals, going towards where the Batmobile waited several yards behind them, "They may have been there all along. But regardless…".

"We norrrmally have Xenomorphs in ressstraints before releasssing them, and giving themmm a short time to becccome familiarized with the ennnvironment before they're hunnnted", Red explained as he remained standing in place, refusing to slowly retreat from the scene like the humans were, and instead opening an electronic compartment on his left forearm before pressing several buttons on it, "My clannn must have left them behinnnd when they flew off, and the xenomorrrphs naturally look for the nearrrest food source once frrree".

"Ugly, stupid and sore losers", Nightwing dryly whispered back as he noticed that the hunter wasn't moving alongside them, Red ignoring the many hisses he received from the continually advancing reptilian beasts.

"To the Batmobile, all of you", Batman whispered next, slowly turning towards where the vehicle was parked, "And that includes you too, Red. This is no time to be a he…".

The caped crusader stopped talking when he noticed that two more adult Xenomorphs were behind them, a seventh monster sitting on top of the car itself, while an eighth was crouched down on all four limbs nearby. Both of them eagerly watching the humans for their reaction.

"Then again, doesn't look like we're getting a choice in the matter", the oldest human continued, making eye contact with his former second-in-command as the grim look on Nightwing's face reflected the gravity of the situation.

It was only then that Batman noticed the beeps that were steadily growing louder and faster, which originated from where their fellow Predator was still immobile on his feet. While Red kept the frisbee blade in his right grip, the hunter's right arm was relaxed by his side. The giant seemed to have no intention of using the weapon or retreating as the Xenomorphs came ever closer to him. Not knowing the meaning behind this new turn of events, the caped crusader turned his attention back to Harley, not in the mood to have her do anything other than follow his instructions to the letter.

"When the three of us engage them, I want you to turn around and run out of this alleyway", Batman quickly ordered, "Go as fast and as far as you can. Nightwing or I will contact you if we survive".

"But… bbbut…", was all Harley got to protest as her wide eyes were swinging from the two monsters who remained by the car, to Batman, and then to the six beasts who were on the other side of the alleyway.

Her words were cut short when Batman roughly grabbed a hold of her upper right arm via his left hand, keeping the batarang between his right fingers. Without saying anything else, the older man dragged her out of the passageway, intentionally keeping her back pressed against the wall and himself in front of her, until they reached the spot by the wall that was as far as the parked Batmobile. Once there, Batman kept his batarang aimed at the two Xenomorphs that were a mere five yards away from himself and the Arkham doctor, and quickly turned his face towards her, before he barked the word "Go!".

Fortunately for him, Harley inhaled and held her breath as her scared eyes took one last look at him. She then turned towards the beginning of the alleyway and darted towards the streetlights that waited beyond it. It only took her a few seconds to reach the start of the dark passageway, before she turned the corner past the base of the alley and disappeared around it, being back in the well-lit but deserted streets beyond. So she was safe for now, or at least as relatively safe as she could've been in a metropolitan city that had been overrun by two species of violent extra-terrestrials.

Thus, Batman kept his eyes on the two Xenomorphs who still hissed at him from near the Batmobile, and slowly proceeded to rejoin Nightwing and Red towards the end of the alley. Nearing his partner and the hunter as the three of them kept their back towards each other, they made a rough triangle in the way they stood and faced the looming beasts. In response, the two Xenomorphs left the Batmobile and angrily crept towards them as well. It was only then that the caped crusader withdrew a second batarang, even while his attention was diverted elsewhere.

"Red, what is that?", Batman inquired, quickly looking down at the Predator's beeping forearm.

"Self-dessstruct mechanism", the hunter explained, his attention still on the original six animals who were now ten yards away.

"Isn't that the kind of thing you're supposed to be using after you lose a battle?", Nightwing didn't look at either of his partners as he commented, "Doesn't make much sense to set it off now. Unless you already counted us out of this fight".

"He's right", Batman whispered as he kept his eyes on the other two Xenomorphs who were approaching them from the direction of the vehicle, "Just how much of a range does that device destroy, anyway?".

"Apprrroximately one and a half of your killlometers in each direccction", Red calmly informed him.

The answer was enough to have both humans momentarily look away from the alien beasts and back to each other.

"What're you, nuts! Shut that off!", Nightwing then loudly whispered towards the giant who was standing back-to-back with him.

"He's right, Red", Batman added with a more even tone of voice, "We can't afford to destroy that much area within Gotham. The loss of human life would be in the tens of thousands. You need to shut your bomb off and not even activate it, even if we do lose here".

The two crimefighters weren't sure, but it sounded like the Predator sighed in exasperation as he reached for the mechanism on his left forearm. But regardless, Red punched several keys on it via his right index finger, effectively stopping the countdown.

"Wadda you say, boss?", Nightwing asked, out loud this time, as he fully returned his attention towards the existing threat, "Is it time to rock?".

"Absolutely", was the only answer from Batman before the caped crusader threw the two batarangs that were in his hands.

Both weapons sailed through the air and found their mark on the two Xenomorphs who were nearing the humans from the direction of the Batmobile. Both aliens were struck in the head and silently collapsed dead on the ground as acid blood exited out of their respective wounds. Seeing the positive result, Batman withdrew the pre-pressurized grappling hook and turned his attention towards the six monsters that Nightwing and Red were facing. He did so in time to see that the younger human had tossed his own batarang while the hunter had flung the circular gold blade.

The hunter's projectile flew straight through the torso of a third Xenomorph, cleanly severing that creature's body into two, equal pieces that dropped on the ground, acid blood pooling underneath its two halves and eating away at the concrete there. Satisfied with the result, the Predator then leapt into the air as the frisbee blade returned to him. He gripped the rounded blade in his right hand, paying no attention to the thin film of acid that covered the weapon and was eroding the projectile, even while it burned the inside of his right palm.

The young human's weapon entered the throat of a fourth monster, stopping that beast's attack as it screeched in pain, its many limbs flailing, before it staggered towards Nightwing. Acid splattered in all directions as it approached its three antagonists, and its advance threatened to break up the cluster of three individuals who had made sure that none of their backs was exposed to an attack from behind. The nearly-dead monster was still bleeding from his wound and threatening to collapse on top of Nightwing. So the extra-terrestrial left formation and gripped that fourth monster by its waistline via his left hand. He prompted that foe to turn its attention against the masked hunter, and planning on delivering several different attacks via its limbs, its tail and its mouth. But Red reacted first by swinging the circular blade in his right hand and decapitating the monster.

Unfortunately for the Predator, a hiss from behind indicated that a fifth Xenomorph was within an arm's reach of the back of his head. And Red knew that he wouldn't be able to turn around before the eight-foot tall creature struck, which ultimately meant that breaking formation had been his fatal mistake. But the giant hunter dropped the corpse of the fourth alien and rushed to turn around anyway, the better to die when facing his opponent than to be struck from behind. He heard another, more urgent hiss, and the displacement of air which indicated that the Xenomorph was moving to bite him in the back of the neck, before Batman's pre-pressurized grappling hook was fired against that monster. That, in turn, caused the fifth alien to shriek as it was struck in the torso before the hook exited out of its back. The Xenomorph sailed through the air as a result of the hit before it was nailed to the end wall at the back of the alleyway because of it, thrashing like a fish out of water as it slowly died.

Without stopping to acknowledge the human who had saved his life, the lone Predator pointed his left arm towards the nearest remaining aliens. Nightwing saw a malleable, metallic net shooting out from an unseen compartment within Red's armor, and wrapping itself around the sixth Xenomorph. The net plastered that particular creature against the end wall of the passageway, only feet away from where the fifth monster had been pinned via Batman's grappling hook.

The hunter moved on, positioning himself back within the three-person triangle that had been in place earlier, and dropping the corroding circular disk by his feet before the set of twin blades were extracted past his left wrist. The extra-terrestrial screamed a challenging cry towards the two reptilian aliens who were left. Hearing the scream, the Xenomorphs stopped their onslaught because they weren't used to seeing their numbers being cut down so drastically, especially not when facing three opponents.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nightwing caught sight of the sixth Xenomorph who was apparently being strangled by the net which was continually constricting it against the wall. The young man suddenly felt better at the fact that the battle had quickly become more fair, but he still saw challenges ahead. While the masked crimefighter could tell that the net was effectively crushing the creature, it was also clear that the monster's acid blood was seeping through the net's material, causing it to be eroded, and the net was about to snap. Not wanting to give the sixth beast a new chance at life, Nightwing withdrew another batarang and threw it towards that target. The tip of the projectile stabbed through the net and then through the Xenomorph's torso, causing it to screech more as it bled further. A few seconds later, the net collapsed from the acid that was splashed over it, as predicted. But by the time that happened, the sixth alien flopped on the ground, already bleeding to death from the batarang which was inside it.

"Hey, I'm impressed", the younger human grinned as he caught his breath, liking their chances of leaving his alley alive, "So, I'll take one and you and Red take the other, Bats?".

"This is no time to be cocky", the older man cautioned him, "I can just imagine what damage one of those animals can do with a single bite or swipe of their claws".

"OK, OK, gotcha", the less experienced fighter agreed, "So what's our plan, exactly?".

The Predator answered on their behalf as he screamed in fury and rushed away from the small group, targeting the seventh Xenomorph. Red stabbed his left arm's twin blades through that particular creature's abdomen. He then pinned the alien underneath himself against the ground as the monster screeched in pain and anger, lashing out against its attacker. But the hunter kept his left blades in the beast's torso and then begun pummelling its head and neck with punches via his right fist. Red ignored the droplets of acid that spilled over his mask, body armor and bare arms, concentrating only on repeating the massive blows he delivered towards the Xenomorph's weak spots. The result was that he ravaged the monster's head and permanently silenced its cries after several seconds.

The eighth Xenomorph there barrelled towards Red while the latter was still working on destroying the seventh monster, looking to deliver a crucial blow against the distracted Predator. But the Xenomorph then hissed in surprise when it caught sight of Batman delivering a flying kick aimed at its torso, which knocked the creature down. It then smoothly jumped rightside-up on its four limbs. But as it turned its attention towards the masked human, the reptilian creature then spotted the second, younger human who rushed towards it with the previous man's cape in his hands. Nightwing reached the final alien and effectively wrapped Batman's unused cape around the Xenomorph's head, blinding the monster before its draped head was grabbed and slammed against the ground.

With the cape secured around its head, the last alien kept seeing black as it was continually kicked in the face and torso, hearing one of the humans cheering loudly as the attacks persisted.

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