Yo wassup! Whoa… 100 reviews at last! I'd like to thank all of you for reviewing and showing your support, and I hope this story continues to fulfil your expectations.

And now… ladies and gentlemen… due to (slightly) popular demand… Drake takes on the Dead Men!

If you have any suggestions about someone for Drake to have a punch-up with, send them in a review or PM and I'll be happy to consider it.

Yautja, Predator and all related characters and trademarks are © 20th Century Fox.

DEAD MAN WALKING

"Need… more… special guns…"

"You got the money?"

The Dead Man handed over the money, in return being handed two large, bizarre weapons, which he handed to his teammate.

That was the last of it, Drake knew as he watched from the rooftop. The only Prometheus Tech remaining.

And fortunately, this time he knew what he was going up against.

The Dead Men were impervious to pain, thanks to the drugs they took. They felt nothing, physically or emotionally. And when nothing hurt them, that made them tough opponents.

That was the one thing Drake hated more than stupid muscle: Stupid, drugged muscle.

The two dead men walked under the elevated train track, handing the rifles to two of another five men. Two others were already armed with Prometheus weapons.

"… Special… guns…"

Drake allowed himself an instant to bask in the cooling breeze… the nights were getting hotter, as summer quickly approached.

In an instant, he moved along the metal girders as the Dead Men conversed… though it didn't consist of full sentences.

Now was as good a time as any.

One of the Dead Men looked up as a shimmering mass leapt down. Unconcerned, two of them whipped out handguns and fired, ineffectively, as the shape landed amongst them, the impact shorting out its stealth in a shower of sparks.

Drake whipped the Glaive around, tripping four of them up, before kicking another in the face and sending him flying back. Unfortunately, he simply stood back up.

Oh yeah, He thought to himself, Those drugs are strength-enhancing as well. You'd think I'd remember something like that…

One of the Dead Men raised his weapon and a glowing, blue projectile shot out. Drake leapt into the air and landed behind him, slashing through his back, but the gang member felt no pain. Two more ran up beside him, only to be punched in the face. Still, they kept coming…

Damn it! It's like fighting Goddamn zombies!

Another of them fired his weapon from a short distance, a missile hurtling through the air. Drake jumped to the side even as he swung the Glaive, gashing one of the Dead Men in the chest, but to little effect.

OK… if nothing hurts these guys, I'll just have to make it nice and quick…

He rolled forward across the ground, bringing up the Wristblade, only for his arm to be caught by one of the Dead Men. The gangster may have been strong… but Drake was stronger. He forced the blades forward, cutting through the Dead Man's throat, as he felt the blade slice cleanly through skin, flesh and bone, moments before the dead body slumped to the floor.

Two others suddenly grabbed his arms, as another seized him from behind. A fourth raised his weapon and fired, a bolt of green energy flying out. Drake flipped up, however, taking the Dead Men with him and kicking one of them forward, into the path of the lethal blast. The beam struck his chest, burning straight through, before the lifeless body collapsed.

Drake whipped out his Glaive and swung it round in a circle. As he leapt up, the blade caught the heads of two Dead Men, slicing through the necks as their heads flew clean off and blood sprayed in wide arcs through the air.

A blue projectile suddenly shot through the air. Drake saw it coming but, with no time to dodge, brought his arms up in a cross to defend himself. The force of the impact hurled him backwards, slamming him into a wall. He looked down, wincing in pain as the scar on his arm split open. He roared in pain as one of the other Dead Men prepared to fire.

In an instant, however, he leapt over him and stabbed him in the head. As another one prepared to fire, he shot out the Smart Disc. The bladed disc spun through the air and sliced through its target's neck before he slumped to the ground.

And then there was one.

He raised the weapon, preparing to fire, but the Plasmacaster on Drake's shoulder suddenly whirled to life, shooting forth a burst of white-hot plasma which exploded in a shower of sparks against its target's face, completely decapitating him.

Drake stood there for a second, before suddenly collapsing to his knees. Half his body was on fire…

C'jit… there's no way the Dead Men did that much damage… half my bones feel like they're broken…

Through a wave of agony, he leapt up onto the roof of a warehouse…

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"This is confusing," Scarface commented. "The Medicomp patched you up, but… broken bones… inner bleeding… C'jit, you look like you've been in a war zone…"

"But those Dead Men barely even hit me."

"I don't think it was them."

"Then what was it?"

"Well, all these injuries… you've had them before."

"What?"

Scarface thought for a second.

"The Medicomp can heal any wound… but serious injuries take longer to heal than, say, a cut or a bruise. The problem is, you go out hunting almost every night… and since you're not fully Yautja, the Medicomp doesn't have as strong an effect on you."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, it takes longer to heal your injuries than it would for a Yautja, because this technology is more suited to Yautja DNA."

"But why's this such a big problem?"

"Because when you get serious injuries like this, and you go out hunting every night, you're not giving the injuries time to fully heal. These aren't new injuries… they're old ones that you never allowed to heal, and that you've re-opened and made worse."

"So what can I do?"

Scarface sighed.

"You'll just have to wait for a few days… and that means no hunting."

"What?"

"I'm serious, Drake. You may have the strengths of a Yautja, but your body is still human. It just needs time to rest." He looked away.

"Your life could well depend on it."

Well, how was that? Hope you enjoyed the fight… and now, here's another problem for Drake!

Please review.