+2 minutes later+
Harley Quinn had bolted out of the alleyway, as instructed. She then ran around the corner after having reached the well-lit street beyond the dark, cramped and dirty passageway after almost having watched her lover die twice. Once there, she had instinctively turned around, part of her wishing to return to the scene where three fighters were about to engage eight monsters in what seemed to be a hopeless battle. The other part of her wanted to wait, hoping that the two humans and the lone hunter who allied with them could survive the confrontation through some miracle. At least she could hope, even while the prospect of returning to the middle of what was sure to a bloodbath against these giant, black-skinned, double-jawed monsters was enough to freeze her where she stood. Because despite whatever diagnosed, and undiagnosed, insanity had been plaguing Harley or her accomplices in the past, there was no doubt as to who was more brutal at the end of the day. After all, an insane human who sometimes carried weapons was almost sure to fall short when confronting a vicious creature who was twice her size.
While the young woman was at the end of the dark alley, she had wondered why Batman, Nightwing or Red weren't dashing after her. There was no way to prove that the eight aliens would've successfully picked the three fighters off from behind if they had bolted out of the alley as she did.
But another thought had then entered the Arkham doctor's mind. Hadn't Batman ordered her to put as much distance between herself and the eight beasts as possible, in case those monsters got past their three challengers? So what was she to do? She could've either remained at the end of the passageway, watching the ensuing carnage, or she could've continued running as she had been instructed.
If she had decided on the former, she would've most likely watched the three resistors die in battle. She would've then rushed back to the scene in a blind rage, before being cut down by the monsters who had killed three fighters who were stronger than her. Of course, there was the small chance that Batman and his two companions would emerge victorious. Then, the caped crusader would've reproached her for not following his directions and staying so close that the eight Xenomorphs may have turned on her after defeating the two men and the Predator.
On the other hand, if she had decided on the latter and ran further, then Batman would've contacted her on her cellphone if his outnumbered side won the clash against the monsters. And if Batman and his friends had lost, then she would've found out of the result before the sun rose regardless of whether she was just outside of the alley or a few blocks away from it. But at least then, the aliens wouldn't have targeted her next, which was clearly what Batman wanted. So if this had been the last time she saw him alive, could she refuse his final wish by putting herself in harm's way?
Thus, hoping she wasn't making a mistake, Harley picked the second option and resumed running away from the scene. Her eyes were full of tears again, and it was annoying her very much, even as a voice in her mind stated that it was for such reasons the caped crusader never wished to have her accompany him while he was on patrol. She had finally stopped sprinting after a short time, having reached an intersection that was about three city blocks away from the alleyway where she had witnessed the existence of two different alien life forms. It occurred to her that she should've seen some people passing her by, even this late at night. Those could've been vagrants, drunks leaving a bar, Police patrols, or any other people that she would've thought of if her mind wasn't currently clouded with grief and hysteria. But she hadn't seen a single person along the way, and at the moment, she didn't care why as she stopped running and clumsily landed in a seated position on the edge of a sidewalk. She then looked up to see that she was just beneath a streetlamp which was flooding the area around her in ugly, orange light.
"Oh, puddin'!", the blonde doctor lamented as she remained seated, the bottom of her feet placed on the asphalt road as her legs bent, her torso leaning forward and her elbows resting on her knees.
Physically, she was almost comfortable, but her mental state was another issue altogether.
She roughly dried her tears, mentally chastising herself because her voice had a lower frequency when she spoke those two words. It was the most irritating tone she used to speak with back in the days when she was dressed in a facemask and following the Joker around like a lovesick puppy. And it was a well-known fact of psychology that stress brought out aggressive or other generally destructive behaviour. So the blonde woman had to breathe hard as she did her best to compose herself, starting with getting her voice back to the tone she wanted it to be.
"Pull yourself together there, Harley, dear", she thought out loud as she reached within the red outfit and withdrew a small, foldable cellphone.
She sighed when she opened the miniature gadget that utilised a secure line of communication, only receiving a confirmation of what she already knew, which was that Batman had not called her. So there was nothing to do but to close the phone back up, and keep hoping that it'd ring soon.
Despite being physically comfortable here, the young woman looked around the deserted street as she kept the cellphone in her right hand. It was a problem to be in the middle of such a wide road, especially when she suddenly had non-human attackers to worry about. Harley knew she could hold her own most regular opponents, especially from her experience of physically resisting against a countless number of Police officers, Court staff, or Prison guards. Not that she was proud of any of the black eyes, split lips or even bruised ribs she had inflicted on others in the past. In fact, she was downright ashamed of it. But at least it went a long way to ensuring her that she'd rarely be on the receiving end of a beating if a larger person, whether it be a man or a woman, decided to physically strike her. However, that was regarding a human attacker. So how was she supposed to deal with either the intelligent, two-legged hunters who were prowling the city, or the animalistic, four-legged aliens who seemed to want to eat anything that moved?
Wishing to no longer be exposed to an assault from behind, the blonde groaned as she stood back up. Visually surveying her surroundings, she was still disappointed to not see any other movement around this city street other than herself. So she proceeded towards the beginning of the nearest alleyway she could see, wishing to at least be in an environment that was not as wide open as the current road, and one where she could keep her back to a wall.
Once having entered the mouth of that passageway, Harley only moved inward for about five feet. Not surprisingly, she wasn't wishing to go further into this dark alley, especially with the memories of the two species of extra-terrestrials who had been so fond of populating the previous alleyway several blocks away. So keeping close to the light from the nearest lamppost, she squatted on the ground and kept her back to one of the alley walls. It was only then that she hugged herself tight around her ribcage as she leaned her upper body forward, the folded cellphone still gripped in her right fingers and constantly wondering why neither crimefighter from the Batcave was calling her.
Just to be absolutely sure, she let go of her torso and unfolded the mobile again, holding her breath, and exhaled in disappointment again when no one had tried to contact her via it. So rubbing her eyes with her left fingers to offset any new tears that may be threatening to appear, she closed the cellphone and placed it back within her clothes with the other hand.
The young woman was starting to consider the option of simply returning to the spot where she had left the trio as they were about to fight for their lives, guessing that it'd be better to see the result of the carnage, rather than sitting here like a frightened mouse. Besides, if any of the three combatants were wounded and still alive, she may even be able to administer first aid. But what about Batman's wishes that she stay away from the scene of the confrontation?
She was still wondering about her options when the corner of her eye caught movement from the deeper end of the alleyway. So Harley instinctively turned her face in that direction, wondering if she had seen a homeless cat or dog. Instead, the young doctor's eyes widened with morbid curiosity. It was because she caught sight of a multi-legged creature that was approximately twelve inches long, but which carried a much larger tail behind its main body, and was the same color as her skin. It was the last image she got to glimpse before the living thing that she had never seen before scuttled on the ground towards her, racing much faster than she would've thought a creature its size could travel.
"What the h…?", were her final words as she instinctively raised a bent arm in front of her head, but the bizarre creature leapt through the air when it was several feet away from her, jumping in a direct course for her shocked face.
The bottom of the small beast's body slammed into the front of her head, gluing itself to her eyes, nose and mouth via the steel grip it maintained on the sides of her skull via its many legs. But Harley never knew that as she was instantly knocked unconscious and collapsed on her side from the seated position before being able to stand up.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
+1 hour later+
The blonde Arkham doctor groggily opened her eyes, momentarily wondering where she was as she found herself awkwardly lying on her back and looking up towards the night sky. She instinctively tried to sit up, her sore body protesting the movement as she cleared her mouth, wondering why there was such an awful taste there. And once she was back on a seated position and realized that she had been lying at the start of a dirty alleyway ground, she suddenly recalled the strange attack that she had been subjected to. So the young woman gasped as she spun around while still seated on the concrete, speculating as to the whereabouts of the weird animal which had jumped towards her face.
It didn't take her long to spot the creature, as it was lying on its back, its many legs curled inward, much like a dead spider.
Harley painfully rose to her feet, wincing in disgust and anxiety as she slowly reached for the creature with her right foot. She nudged it quickly, and then withdrew her right leg, relaxing a bit when the animal showed no response, indicating to her that it was truly deceased.
But how long had she been unconscious? And why did her mouth feel so dry and sickened, as if she had woken up with a sore throat, except that it wasn't quite that specific sensation of being unwell.
It occurred to her to check her cellphone, both to see if Batman had tried to call her, and to find out what time it was just now. So the young woman reached within her clothes, sending her right hand into the pocket where the device was located, and stopped when she finally noticed that she wasn't alone.
Turning her head to the side, Harley caught sight of a man who was standing at the beginning of the alley, staring at her from an arm's reach away. The approximately 30-year old male was dressed in a haphazard fashion, but with clothes that were relatively clean, especially when compared to her red outfit, the majority of which was covered in dirt or rainwater.
"Uh… Hi?", the psychologist gave a nervous smile as she withdrew her right hand out of the pocket, feeling wary as the man didn't answer, nor did he change the stern look on his face after being greeted.
She instinctively curled her right hand into a fist as her left hand straightened in a rigid fashion, all in response to her believing that she had just come across someone who was hostile.
"Uh, look, I don't know what happened here, but…", she began talking as she kept her eyes locked with his, even as he moved aside and made room for others who were behind him.
"Well, well, look who it is", the leading man interrupted with a grin as he moved towards her, allowing two other men to follow him, "I told you it was the Joker's whore, guys".
"Yeah, wonderful", Harley commented sarcastically as she walked backwards, moving deeper into the dark alleyway as her three antagonists closed in.
They were wisely lining up shoulder-to-shoulder so as to occupy the majority of the width of this passageway, and thus not giving her any space to dart past them without being physically confronted by one of the three. And from what she could tell, the first individual she had seen, who was the smallest of the three, appeared to be their leader. But regarding his size, he still outweighed her by at least fifty pounds, while matching her own height.
How ironic that she was lamenting the fact that she couldn't see any other human beings a short time ago, and now that she was past that isolation, it was currently her biggest problem.
"See, this trollop here ditched the clown and started sleeping her way to the top", the leader of the small gang kept grinning as the trio continued their advance, each step forcing her to retreat further into the darker end of the alley, "Then, she found the ultimate sugardaddy. One hell of a catch, too, living in Wayne Manor and all".
A rushed attempt of coming up with ideas wasn't productive as she carried on walking backwards, moving past heaps of trash in the process, some within round, metal bins, and other pieces of garbage simply laying on the ground. Frustration only grew as her efforts of creating a plan of escape were in vain and she was only able to delay the inevitable confrontation with these three goons.
And once she reached the end of the alley, then what?
She had no weapon on her person, nor any of the equipment she used to carry that helped her climb walls back in the old days when she regularly broke into businesses or shops along with the Joker. And while she was in the process of remembering things that could come in useful at this time, the young woman also recalled that she had gotten into numerous fights with groups of men during her criminal days, some of which left her severely bruised and battered. Oddly, the thought of having bones broken, or even the risk of being beaten to death, just hadn't scared her back then. Not like it was doing so now.
Harley supposed that insanity did have advantages after all. But too bad she was completely lucid now, able to dread what was about to take place once the inescapable altercation took place in a few seconds. The passageway that she was walking backwards into could only be so long, after all.
Would it help if she threatened them?
Harley shook her head. Whatever members of the population paid her some grudging respect because of their fear of the Joker had stopped doing so after her last parole. And menacing someone as she was now just wouldn't be convincing, not when her voice would most likely shake when she described what she'd do to anyone who crossed her.
There was always the option of substituting Joker's name with Batman, claiming that the caped crusader would avenge whatever harm was caused to her now the same way that the insane clown used to do in the past. But then again, most people didn't know Batman's true identity, and the crimefighter preferred it that way, assuming he was still alive, while many people knew that she and Bruce Wayne were a couple. So if Batman happened to still be living, the damage she could do to his double identity would be irreparable if she said the wrong thing.
More movement spotted, dozens of yards behind the three men, back at the beginning of the alleyway. Harley threw a glance in that direction, wondering if this fifth person on the scene was going to be a friend or foe.
She heard herself gasping in further panic when she understood what she was looking at. The new being who had silently entered the beginning of the darkening passageway and was now proceeding towards her location wasn't a person at all, but a Xenomorph. That was quite obvious, as the creature was comfortably walking on the right side wall of the alley instead of moving on the ground, and the dwindling light from the street behind it shone off its large tail, torso, legs and curved head.
So the one variable that could've made this situation worse had happened. And to make it even more dire, the blonde was the only person out of the four people who saw the monster approaching them in the same way that a cat would move towards a group of birds. Even now, the three men still had their backs turned to the beast and their attention fully focused on her.
"Oh Jesus! This can't be happening!", the young woman moaned and temporarily looked down at her feet, anxiously holding her forehead with the right hand, before she looked back up at her three human antagonists.
From their point of view, the three men had stopped closing in, probably because they could sense that the end of the alleyway was only a few more yards behind her. The group of assailants must've been ready for her attempt to evade them, the members looking forward to their chance to overpower her as quickly as possible.
"Look, you can believe whatever the hell you want about me", she locked angry eyes with each of the people there as she spoke, one after the other, "But the four of us need to leave now! There's a monster behind you!".
Her voice suddenly lost the fear that had gripped it since she had woken up, probably because she needed to be more forceful now. Even the thought of being kidnapped and having to be at the mercy of goons wasn't as scary as facing one of the extra-terrestrial creatures. And if she didn't convince the others that they needed to try to evade the alien's attack, then she wasn't going to have anything else to worry about ever again once the beast got its claws into them.
Acting via instinct rather than rational thought, she extended her right arm and pointed past the others with that index finger. She eagerly aimed that digit towards the behemoth which had crawled halfway towards them by now, ever so silently so as to not make a single sound. Unfortunately, none of the men reacted the way she wanted them to, as not a single one of them turned around to confirm or deny what she claimed. A detached part of herself mentioned that their reaction shouldn't have been a surprise.
She just wished she had another idea. Too bad she didn't.
"Do you really think we're stupid enough to fall for the oldest trick in the book?", the last man at the scene, the tallest of the three, chuckled.
"Doesn't matter how stupid she thinks us commoners are", the group's leader took another step towards her, a more annoyed look on his face and his arms ready for what little resistance he expected her to be able to put up, "Wayne will definitely pay a high ransom for his plaything's return. She's gotta be valuable to him before he drops her because she's entered her thirties and is too old for him to wanna bang her".
Harley opened her mouth to verbally counter the many points that he was mistaken on. But she then closed it without uttering a word, reasoning that nothing she said was going to convince them to change their chosen course of action. It was all she had time to do as the leader of the three men grunted and dove for her anyway, intending to pin her down against the ground so as to make it easier to carry her out of the alley.
The blonde inhaled as she reached for the nearest round trash receptacle, and exhaled while she gripped the side of the metal container and then hurled it in his path. The mostly-full container slammed into her attacker's legs, causing him to trip forward as he swore and then crashed on top of the receptacle itself.
The largest of the three was upon her next, and she twisted counter-clockwise while imagining that she was trying to kick a football as hard as possible. The top of her foot impacted against that man's groin. As desired, the attack caused his eyes and cheeks to bulge from the sudden pain before he crumbled on the ground and wheezed uncontrollably while in the foetal position.
While that occurred, the last man standing delivered a powerful punch aimed at her mouth, the blow sending her head snapping to the side as she staggered towards the wall and then bounced off it. The young woman crashed on her back, her spine painfully meeting the ground below as she groggily opened her eyes with a groan. Her distorted vision saw her assailant as he remained standing over her, while his two friends were recovering behind him.
"Get up, bitch!", the same man barked as he kicked her in the side of the stomach, causing a scream to escape out of her mouth as she felt one of his boots coming into contact with her waistline.
The doctor bit her tongue to stop from crying out further, intentionally turning her head to keep looking up at her vertical attackers. She wasn't going to be finished like this, not when she knew how to take down an opponent who was on his feet while she was on the ground. And after she carried out her counter-attack, the impossible task of taking on two further adversaries who were still prepared for a fight would be addressed later. So Harley began climbing back up to a partially seated position, her attention always on the nearest man who she was going to strike first. This was even as she whispered Bruce's first name to herself, wishing more than anything that either Wayne or his alter ego could be here for support.
That wasn't the case, of course, so she grunted, angrily ignoring the pain in her face and stomach as she placed her palms against the wet ground and pulled her torso upwards in that manner. She had to visualize herself carrying out the plan against her attacker. Of course, she had no idea how she was going to deal with his two accomplices, who would undoubtedly be converging on her once she hit their friend. And while she was at it, there was still the Xenomorph to consider, as the monster was only a few yards away from all of them now.
But one problem at a time, the blonde thought to herself. That was the only way to accomplish complicated tasks, and it was also the only way she had a chance of leaving this alley alive and returning to see what fate awaited the others a few blocks away. Assuming that her odds of actually surviving this ordeal were more than zero, that is.
The blonde was about to carry out an impromptu counter-attack when her eyes widened at the sight of the Xenomorph leaping off the wall and landing gracefully on the ground behind the three men. The beast dashed towards them on its hind legs until it gripped her attacker's upper arms from behind, effectively pinning that man's limbs by his side. Before any of the humans had time to react, the beast pulled the man's arms apart as far as possible. A sharp crack followed as the man's two arms were torn out of their sockets, leaving bloody stumps at the shoulders, and it was only then that the alien's victim screamed out in pain.
That led to a cacophony of everyone else on the scene yelling also, even as Harley staggered back to her feet, not as grateful for the distraction as she would've felt if it had come from anyone or anything else.
The Xenomorph let his first victim drop on the ground, the man still quivering aimlessly in shock as he quickly bled to death. Turning its attention towards the other humans there, the monster swung its tail at the gang leader, hitting that man with its long body part and sending him crashing against the left side wall of the alley. As that person then sank to the ground with a moan, the creature leapt at the third and tallest man. It gripped the terrified person with its right front limb and easily carried him while travelling up the right side wall with its live cargo.
"Ricky! RICKYYY!", that third human screamed, holding his arms out towards the group leader who still remained partially crumbled below him on the ground on the other end of the narrow passageway.
It was all he got to yell before the monster bit him in the neck, sending blood gushing out of the wound as slime dripped out of its mouth, the two substances mixing before the beast released its prey. The monster then let the corpse drop to the ground as the third man kept fidgeting on top of the widening pool of red that spread beneath his throat.
Seeing that its second victim was dead, the Xenomorph leapt horizontally from the right side wall to the parallel one on the left side of the alley. Its lower two limbs gripped that left vertical concrete with the efficiency of a fly, allowing it to walk on that wall with the same ease that most animals walk on the ground. From that position, the alien reached down to where the first man remained, though the gang leader had sat back up while instinctively placing his arms behind him, palms against the ground so as to support his upper body.
In another time and place, he may have possessed enough good judgement to stand up and bolt towards the alleyway entrance. But in his panicked state of mind, being just out of arm's reach of two friends who had been killed before his eyes, all the man managed to do was to repeatedly shake his head from side to side as he saw the monster reaching for him.
"This can't be happening! This CAN'T be happening!", he exclaimed as he felt the forward-leaning creature gripping his ankles with its arms as its lower two limbs remained fastened to the wall itself.
He screamed incoherently as the Xenomorph pulled him up towards itself, having been turned upside-down in the process as he could see himself heading leg-first towards a monster that he couldn't believe existed.
"OH GOD NO! PLEASE DON'T!" , he yelled out again as it hissed, showing off dozens of teeth, and what appeared to be a smaller mouth inside the main jaw.
Then, he felt his body become more tense as he stopped being dragged upwards while upside-down and in the direction of what would've surely been his own death. It took him an instant to realize that the reason for his new condition was because another source suddenly had a grip on his upper body, keeping the monster from pulling him higher off the ground. Looking up from his point of view, the man spotted the blonde woman as she had grasped both his hands within hers, and was now determined to play a deadly game of tug-of-war with the alien.
The monster pulled up harder, which led to Harley clenching her teeth as she angrily yanked the man back in her direction, using gravity to her advantage. The Xenomorph tugged at his ankles again, with more force this time as he could feel its steel grip placing pressure against his bones. That led him to scream again as he felt his arms being pulled back towards the ground via the other human. And it was at that time that Harley's cellphone rang from within her pocket, sounding several times as the psychiatrist kept grunting due to the physical strain she was competing with as she was unable to answer it.
"Don't let go! Please don't let go!", the gang leader pleaded as he kept maintaining eye contact with Harley, fear registered on his face as she didn't verbally respond, straining her own figure to release the beast's hold on his lower body, "Oh god, this can't be happeni…".
The creature on the wall hissed again and yanked its end of the person one last time, having placed enough strength behind its pull so Harley yelled as the man's hands slipped out of her fingers. She staggered backwards, unprepared for the sudden lack of pressure that was there, and landed hard on her rear end. From her seated position on the ground, she could only look up as her previous attacker cried out before it was brought to where the alien eagerly waited. The beast quickly stopped his yells as it seemed to be trying to bite his upper back, and the creature's smaller mouth entered his body there and exited out of his chest, effectively impaling him while he was held in mid-air.
The third man now dead, the Xenomorph let the carcass fall back towards the ground, having lost interest in it the same way that a child may treat a broken toy. It then crawled down from that left side wall, using its four limbs to reach the ground and then walk upright on its hind legs as it slowly approached the spot where Harley was still seated.
The young woman twitched as she forced herself to stand back up, realizing that the beast had killed three adult males in the span of barely ten seconds. And no matter how this particular confrontation ended, she wasn't going to remain on the ground, panicking and doing nothing else as the monster closed in. She knew she couldn't outrun the beast if it decided to give chase, not when she had previously seen it easily jumping from one parallel wall to another, so she had to make her stand now.
Harley moaned as she picked up a closed, metal trashbin, noting that the container was only half full. She strained to keep it in front of her chest, ready to throw it at this inhuman assailant and hopefully planning to use it as a distraction for further attacks from her when it was struck by it. From a handful of steps away, the vertical Xenomorph still moved closer to the doctor, its attention constantly on her, but refusing to rush at her like it had against its other three victims.
It was only when it came to within a yard of her and still didn't act aggressively that the young woman became suspicious.
Why wasn't this alien attacking?
Lowering its large, curved head to within inches of her face, the alien only hissed once more, this time not as loudly as usual. It then spun around and dashed away, quickly climbing over the right side wall of the alley and disappearing over the top, and leaving Harley alone with the corpses of three people who had tried to harm her.
The Arkham doctor's mind still hadn't registered what she witnessed, as her eyes were focused on the area where the beast was standing a few seconds ago, until she finally dropped the metal trash container in front of her.
She then turned around, quietly surveying the three corpses which were around her, wondering what had just happened, and not being able to come up with an explanation. Hadn't the rogue Predator mentioned that these Xenomorphs were extremely vicious?
Not surprisingly, none of the three men who had accosted her earlier were still alive, and thus beyond any aid she could administer. That allowed her to actually catch her breath as she wiped the sweat off her forehead with the right sleeve.
It was then that she remembered her cellphone, and the fact that it had rung a short time ago when she was playing tug-of-war with the beast. Of course, it had stopped ringing after a few seconds, and was quiet now. So she reached within her clothes and withdrew the gadget, opening it to see who had tried to call her.
She smiled without realizing it when she noticed that she had missed 36 attempted phone calls, and every one of them was from Batman himself.
Harley pressed a single button on the phone to automatically dial the number she wished, and then placed the mechanism against her ear as she began breathing heavily, the reality of the night's events weighing heavily on her mind. She counted three rings, and then held her breath, wondering why no one on the other end was picking up. She also suddenly felt the dire condition her clothes were in, the dirty and wet fabric sticking to her body from the neck down to the ankles. And now that the immediate danger was over, the rancid feeling in her mouth had returned.
She exhaled happily when she heard Batman's voice responding by asking her first name after the fourth ring.
So things were starting to go right after all.
"Where are you?", she heard the caped crusader curtly asking as she began walking out of the dark alleyway, the urgency in Batman's voice masking the concern she was sure he felt.
"Not a hundred percent sure, puddin', lemme check", Harley replied as she kept approaching the source of illumination that was provided by the streetlights past the beginning of the passageway, "Are you three OK?".
"Yes, all the aliens were dealt with", the older man quickly went on, "What about you?".
"Shaken up, nothing worse, sweetie", the blonde admitted as she rejoined the well-lit road and stood still as she began looking for the nearest streetsign, "Uh, let's seeee... 2300 MLK Boulevard. I'm not too far from you, puddin'. Would you like me to come meet y...".
"No!", Batman interrupted, "We've been looking for you for the better part of an hour, Harley. We'll be there in two minutes. Until then, don't move".
"Uh, OK", the blonde uttered, looking down one end of the long street, and then the other, still feeling uneasy that the entire roadway was deserted, "Don't be late, OK?".
"We won't be. Batman out", the older man on the other end hung up, leaving her alone once again in the night atmosphere, though hopefully not for long.
Folding the cellphone and placing it back within her pocket, Harley remained on edge as she began pacing the sidewalk that was near the mouth of the alley that she had exited. She soon stopped walking back and forth and stood still as she kept staring at the body of the miniature creature who had jumped at her face earlier. It remained dead a short distance into the beginning of the dark passageway.
"Why is it you're giving me the creeps even after you've kicked the bucket?", she thought out loud, looking at the animal's remains, and failing to stop herself from shivering at the sight.
Then again, maybe it wasn't the presence of the small animal's body that was causing her stress, but the knowledge of what remained dozens of yards further into the alley. The thought of the three mangled bodies that were still at the end of the passageway was enough to sadden and scare her at the same time.
Of course, those corpses couldn't be seen from where she was now, as the shadows that enveloped them in darkness made them invisible to anyone who was simply passing by on the sidewalk. But they were there nonetheless, remaining silent and motionless, not bothering anyone who chose to ignore them.
The notion that she might've been able to do more for those three men caused her to hug her own torso, as she hadn't wished to see them being destroyed like that, even if they had tried to cause her harm beforehand.
"An entire metropolis with millions of people inhabiting it, and not a single one of them is out tonight!", she raised her voice, almost reaching the tone of a scream as she stared down the orange-lit sidewalk, before calming down so she continued talking in a whisper, "I don't care if it is two in the morning".
The response to her indignant comment was the sound of an engine that was getting louder, approaching her location at a fairly fast rate from behind. So the young doctor spun around, a smile appearing on his face as she felt that a weight had been lifted off her shoulders due to the sight of the approaching Batmobile. She slowly walked up to the curb, patiently waiting as the vehicle parked several inches away from her spot before coming to a full rest and the engine was switched off. The top compartment smoothly slid forward, allowing her to finally see inside the car, and she sighed contently when she noticed that both humans who were seated within were unhurt.
The first variable that caught Harley's attention as Batman unbuckled his seat belt and almost leapt out of the driver's seat and towards her was that the older man's cape was missing. That definitely made the crimefighter appear different. But she had to admit that, as he stood on the sidewalk in his own turn, locking eyes with the younger woman, he didn't seem any smaller or less imposing than he did with the black cape flowing all around him.
"Are you sure you're unhurt?", Batman asked first, his body language betraying the debate in his mind where one aspect of himself wished to embrace her while the other insisted on maintaining a professional demeanor while on patrol.
Harley snickered at the thought that she still had work to do before successfully frenchkissing him when he was in the suit.
But ideas like that were obviously for another time, so she cleared her mind of that plan before responding.
"Just fine, sweetie", she threw a glance away from him and towards his companions, "Was more worried about you than anything el...".
She stopped talking when she saw the state that Nightwing was in while the young man was climbing out of the backseat to join his partner, the extra-terrestrial hunter following the two humans from the front passenger seat last. The younger crimefighter definitely looked different as the top half of his uniform was missing, having been completely removed, and he was only wearing the kevlar vest over his torso which was usually beneath the outfit.
In his own turn, Nightwing only sighed when he noticed her staring at his bare arms, in addition to the fact that the kevlar armor which was wrapped around his chest also seemed nearly mangled.
"Long story", he explained while brushing the topic aside with a wave of his right hand, "Bugs bleed acid through and through. Very annoying".
"Ah, right", she went on, "Well, just glad you three are still standing. But listen, guys. I have some info that you'll be able to use against these aliens".
"Which is?", Batman verbally prodded as she had the attention of everyone else there.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure why, but I don't think these aliens attack women", she suddenly felt uneasy about giving out the information due to the memory of how she came across it, so she swallowed a lump in her throat before continuing, "For whatever reason, they're only attacking men. That explains why they left me alone when I ran out of the alley. I thought it was because you distracted them, sweetie, but I'm thinking it was more than that. One of them left me alone just a few minutes ago".
"How exactly do you know this, Harley? It left you alone where?", the older crimefighter inquired while crossing his arms in front of his chest, which was the one question she did not want to hear.
She breathed in and out, and opened her mouth to start answering, when Red suddenly shoved himself in between her and Batman, the 7-foot tall hunter clicking angrily as he stared down at her from only inches away. While he did, his back remained turned to the human male.
Her nervousness was gone, suddenly replaced with a feeling of being intimidated at the sight of the creature who was literally twice her size, and who inspected her from behind his metal mask. Harley's eyes widened as she whimpered and instinctively raised her left forearm in front of her face, keeping it parallel to the ground. And it was only a moment later that the Predator growled to himself as the two blades extended past his left wrist, the knives half-melted, but still appearing very lethal if he used them.
Red withdrew his left arm, ready to attack her with those weapons, when Batman grabbed the larger creature from the back of both the hunter's shoulders and pulled the giant as far from the terrified woman as could be managed. With the Predator standing a few feet away from Harley, though still irritably contracting his arms in anticipation of battle, the older crimefighter quickly placed himself between the extra-terrestrial and the blonde doctor. Batman's livid eyes remained locked with the slits in Red's visor the whole time. But he didn't have the chance to say anything because Nightwing gently wrapped his own right arm around the hunter's stomach, the better to ensure that the two fighters in front of him didn't do battle.
"Red? What's wrong, man?", the young man asked, genuinely curious at the sight of his two allies suddenly growling at each other, with Harley's welfare hanging in the balance.
"She'sss infffected!", the tall hunter grudgingly explained, not taking his eyes off the scared woman who was still kept hidden behind Batman's frame, "Xenomorrrphs never discrimmminate with regards to gennnder! My scan connnfirmed it. I can see the egg emmmbedded in her lunnng".
"What are you talking about!", Batman countered as Harley impulsively clutched the top of her torso with a left hand, dreading that the extra-terrestrial's words were actually true.
"An egg-hatcher hasss placed an embryo within her", Red explained further, having partly calmed down, to the point where he didn't seem ready to charge past Batman in his attempt to reach Harley, "The Xenomorph spawn will burssst out of her chest soon. She will die without quessstion. We need to kill her now and destrrroy the egg before that happens".
"Oh, god!", the counsellor started backing away from her protector without realizing it, and slowly shook her head as she covered her mouth with both palms, "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm so sorry!".
"Harley?", Batman partially turned his head around to her, still without taking his attention off the Predator in front of him.
"It was that thing!", the young woman then pointed into the beginning of the alleyway, where the small dead creature remained, and began speaking faster, "It jumped on my face and I was passed out then it was dead then these guys came by and this alien killed them all and I tried to save them I really did sweetie but it killed them all anyway and it just walked away from me and I didn't know what to make of it!".
"It would be morrre merciful to exterminnnate her now!", Red became agitated again as he withdrew the circular blade with his right hand, "Your only option is to do it orrr watch her die a morrre painful death later, and thennn have to deal with the xenomorrrph that was inside! No beinnng who is infecttted ever survives!".
"Put that down!", Batman barked back, pointing his left index finger at the hunter while his right hand withdrew his own circular blade that was wing-shaped, "I don't care who you are, you're not harming her! Unless you want a rematch from earlier tonight!".
The Predator only hissed back, his body barely restrained after easily shoving past Nightwing's light restraint so he could use the two weapons he held.
"You owe me for sparing your life, do you not?", the older crimefighter went on, and understood that the answer was an affirmative one when Red did not reply, "In that case, I'm demanding payment now".
The extra-terrestrial hunter hissed again amid a wail of clicks, before his body relaxed for the second time. He finally replaced the worn-out frisbee blade in its original compartment by his waistline and the twin blades retracted backwards over his left wrist.
Glad for the reaction, Batman kept his own weapon in his right grip as he glanced behind him once more, to where Harley remained standing about half a dozen steps away, and then turned his attention back ahead of himself.
"Nightwing", the older man nodded towards the alleyway once.
"On it", his partner answered while leaving the Predator and proceeding towards the Batmobile.
From within the vehicle, the young man withdrew the largest evidence bag he could find and then marched towards the beginning of the dark passageway. There, he first checked that the creature was truly dead, and then placed the corpse of the facehugger inside the plastic container. He ignored the hunter's stare as he finished his task and returned the bag to a compartment in the back of the vehicle.
"Red", Batman calmly called next, prompting the giant to turn his face back towards the human as the crimefighter was putting his own weapon back where it originated from.
Only clicks were heard from behind the metal mask as the Predator remained still.
"How much time do we have till the alien comes out?", Batman asked as he was busy withdrawing another object from his belt.
"One to two of your planetary rotations", the extra-terrestrial grudgingly informed him.
"What do you propose we do with that 24 to 48, Bats?", Nightwing inquired as he returned from the Batmobile, subconsciously remaining in an area between the other two fighters, just in case tempers were to flare again.
"Already on it", the more experienced individual thought out loud as he activated his cellphone and pushed a specific button for an automatic dial.
He counted five rings before the person on the other end answered, his attention set on Harley the entire time as the blonde was absently hugging herself several feet away from him and anxiously staring at her feet.
"Leslie!", the masked crimefighter eagerly exclaimed as he heard Dr. Thompkins' voice within the phone, "It's me. We have an emergency. Are you still at Bludhaven College?".
A pause as the woman on the other end spoke, in which time Batman walked to where the blonde remained standing and squeezed her left upper arm with his free hand.
"I understand about your students, Leslie, but I need you to perform an operation here as soon as possible", he stopped speaking again, "It's for Harley. As far as I can tell, she has the egg of an alien creature within one of her lungs. We have 24 hours to extract it on the operating table before the egg hatches and the creature exits out of her ribcage".
Another pause.
"Thank you, Leslie", Batman continued, "How long before you can be there?".
He nodded his head and momentarily closed his eyes in relief.
"We'll be ready. See you there", he finally uttered, "Thanks again".
He closed the miniature cellphone and placed it back within its proper compartment as he spoke to the young woman next to him, though certain that he could be overheard by the other two individuals there.
"Doctor Thompkins will be at the Batcave in three hours", the crimefighter informed her, getting her to look up at him rather than the ground, at last, "I need you to be there. She's ready to operate in an attempt to get that specimen out while you're sedated".
She quickly nodded her understanding.
"I'm sorry I came out here", she whispered to him only, "Didn't mean to cause you so much trouble".
"It's my fault for not insisting you stay behind", he evenly countered, "But now isn't the time for this. Right now, the most pertinent issue is to get you to the Batcave and keep you there till Leslie arrives. The mansion's quite a distance away from...".
"Uh, Bats? Why don't you take Harl in the car and wait for Leslie there?", Nightwing interrupted from nearby, "You can come back when Leslie arrives. Me and Red can stay out here till then".
"Are you two sure?", the more experienced fighter first turned to look at him, and then at the Predator who was further away as Nightwing was proceeding towards the hunter.
"Yeah, sure", the younger man gave what Batman suspected was a fake smile as he patted the giant on the back, "Besides, methinks that Red here has a lot of aggression to unleash, so nowhere is it safer than behind him".
Too bad the Predator's face was unreadable from behind his mask, and his body did not budge as he kept staring in Batman's direction.
"Thank you, Nightwing", the older man sighed as he began leading Harley towards the Batmobile, "If you two require my assistance, call me".
"No prob", his former second-in-command waved back as the blonde buckled herself in the front passenger seat.
From that position, the Arkham doctor locked eyes with the young man and mouthed 'thank you' without saying the words out loud, to which he nodded back slowly while closing his eyes.
It was only a few moments later that Batman informed the pair of fighter that he'd join them soon and closed the top of the Batmobile, before speeding away, and leaving the younger human alone with the extra-terrestrial hunter.
"Poor Harl. Sure hope she's OK", Nightwing turned his attention to Red once the vehicle was gone, "But you OK there?".
The lack of response as the Predator continued visually inspecting the alley where the facehugger had been found indicated that the hunter wasn't hurt, at least.
"There arrre humannn bodies there", the giant indicated towards the darker depth of the passageway with his right index finger.
"Wow, not from my point of view, Red", the smaller individual looked in that direction also, but saw pitch black, "How are you so sure?".
"Heat sensssors", the leviathan casually informed him, "There are thrrree of them, killed recentllly".
"Probably the guys that Harl said who were wasted by the alien", the human went on as he withdrew a miniature, but powerful, flashlight, and illuminated the start of the alleyway with it, "Wanna go see if our four-legged friend is still there?".
"It's not", Red quickly pointed out, his attention still at the end of their destination as they began walking towards the cadavers.
"OK, well, it can't hurt to see, I suppose", Nightwing went on as the pair walked side by side, "Maybe we'll find something anyway".
An uncomfortable silence followed as the two individuals proceeded further into the dark alley, walking past trashcans and debris on the ground along the way.
"Tell me something", the Earth native broke the quiet first, looking up at his taller partner, "Were you just gonna stand there and have your chief shoot you, before your ship took off?".
"Of courssse", the hunter kept his gaze straight ahead, occasionally looking at the top of the walls on either side of him, in case the Xenomorph were to return, "It is betterrr to die by the warrior'sss code than to live in disssgrace".
"Uhuh", Nightwing gave a sarcastic approval as they kept walking, "Then is that also why you were so eager to blow yourself up when the handful of four-legs surrounded us?".
No response from the giant this time as Nightwing could see the three bodies that were lying on the ground several yards away from them, due to the artificial illumination created by his flashlight.
"Tell me this, Red", the human kept his eyes on the area in front of him as he continued talking, hoping that his associate wasn't getting annoyed at the conversation, "That whole death before dishonor bullshit your race has got going. You know, the one that you were so willing to die for? Is it the same philosophy that was taught to you by the leaders who also taught you that humans are all corrupt?".
"Yesss", the Predator finally uttered, the truth of what he had realized becoming apparent in his mind, as the hunter momentarily stopped visually examining his surroundings for Xenomorphs.
The extra-terrestrial stayed silent after that, his body language portraying a sense of sadness, which Nightwing guessed was due to the fact that he was suddenly destitute, left behind by his kind and labelled a traitor.
"Well, from my point of view, at least, though I can't speak for Bats back then", the human continued, patting the larger warrior on the arm, "I'm glad you didn't throw your life away like that. And I'm pretty sure that Bats would agree with me if he was here".
Red clicked back as he tensed his arms while standing at his full height, moonlight shining off his metal mask while he looked up at the sky.
"Besides, a shithole like Earth does have some positives, you know", the human smirked while talking further, "I mean, someone like you has a ton of advantages when hunting scumbags here. But you gotta be able to tell who's innocent and who's not. A matter of learning the difference between who deserves to be hunted and who doesn't, you know?".
The Predator relaxed his body while turning his attention back to the only other living being there, saying nothing as he listened to what the human stated.
"I know now what's been bugging me about the way your species does its thing", the smaller native from Earth continued, "See, there's a lot of variety when it comes to fighters. There's mercenaries. They'll go wherever the money is, their muscle goes to whoever pays the highest price and they fight for whoever hires them. There's gladiators, and they're the ones who fight against each other, or against animals for that matter, for sport, while idiots who sit in coliseums are cheering. This world has a pretty sorry history as far as that goes. I'm afraid that your kind is that category, Red, sorry to say".
The giant only growled back softly, at least indicating to Nightwing that he wasn't angered or offended at what he was told. So the young man saw it fit to continue talking in the quiet darkness.
"Then, there's warriors", he added, finally getting to the interesting topic that he had been impatient to describe, "They're the ones who go out and fight for what's right, use their expertise to protect those who are weaker than them, even though there's nothing in it for them. I like to think that me and Bats are this last category. I was wondering if you'd like to be also".
Red partially turned his head to lock eyes with the human, though his own eyes were still hidden behind the metal mask.
"Protect the innocent, punish the guilty", the Earth native continued, glad to have the hunter's full attention, as they looked at each other instead of the bodies that were around them, "It's a simple enough concept on paper, but carrying it out in this world can prove to be a serious pain. And look, one day when we're not chasing or being chased by four-legged cockroaches, I'll sit you down over lunch and discuss the concept of the Social Contract. It's really a brilliant thing. But till then, if you're up for the challenge, I'd love to have you watch my back. As far as I'm concerned, it's the next best thing to having a forty-foot long, fire-breathing dragon on my side. And don't worry if you don't have anywhere to stay. You can always crash at my place".
The smile on his face widened as he finished talking, especially when Red lowered his head towards the ground for an instant, and then quickly raised it back up, the hair-like tentacles at the back of his skull waving in the process.
"So, do you wanna get some Chinese food from a 24-hour take-out? I got money", Nightwing knew he was on to something positive, "Unless, of course, you're not hungry".
"I preferrr beef", the giant uttered back, stating a random fact about himself only because he was asked, "Not famished now".
"Ah. I was hoping you were a veg", the human grinned back, "But I'll take you out to lunch anyway when your stomach starts protesting. But till then, if you're not hungry, I say we go hunting".
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