2018
A lone Yautja spaceship left the atmosphere of Yautja Prime and sped past the planet's moons. Several Yautja spaceships pursued and began firing. Lex expertly worked the controls to jump to faster-than-light speed. Her clawed hands traveled the control panel as she put in the correct coordinates to Earth.
Lex was already prepared for a fight wearing the Yautja helmet, wrist guards, utility belt, and armor. Her masks assisted her in her task giving her instant readings in the form of the Yautja alphabet symbols. She had learned the Yautja language many years ago and understood their warnings. One wrong calculation and her ship would end up colliding with Earth at light speed.
The pursuing Yautja ships fired continuously with plasma bursts occasionally hitting Lex's ship. The shields were holding for the time being but not for long. A plasma burst hit one of Lex's engines just as it went through a warp gate.
Lex held her breath as her ship went through the gate and found herself near Earth. A random satellite smashed into her ship and was torn to pieces. Lex didn't have time to concern herself with the satellite. Her ship's engines were damaged beyond repair sending her down to the planet's surface. With her last effort, she attempted to pilot the ship towards the North American continent.
The Predator
NORAD personal immediately detected the falling Yautja space ship as soon as it entered Earth's atmosphere. "We have a bogey," an Airman reported.
"Where's it going?" a Colonel asked.
"At its present course, the East Coast," the Airman replied.
The screen then showed the radar single splitting in two. "It's now two," the airman noted.
The second bogey descended down towards the Yucatan peninsula. "Get me Special Operations. I want to know if we have anyone down there," the Colonel said as he saw the second bogey settle in Mexico.
The pilot-less Yautja spaceship continued to decline in altitude hitting Appalachian hills as it landed near Chattanooga, Tennessee. It finally crashed through the Tennessee forest creating a large path behind it. Meanwhile, Lex's escape pod landed in the Yucatan jungle.
As it happened, US Army Rangers were in the vicinity working on an anti-drug cartel operation. Quinn McKenna looked down his scope as he prepared to kill the drug cartel leader. He had to be careful as there were innocent hostages nearby. He was covered in vegetation making him nearly impossible to see in the dark night.
Two vehicles met at a dirt-road intersection. Quinn waited patiently as the hostages and the drug cartel leader got out. Quinn put his cross-hairs on the leader's head and gently pulled on the trigger. "I'm taking the shot," Quinn reported through his radio.
"Make it count," Nebraska Williams replied.
A sudden sonic boom rattled the whole area as Lex's escape pod came down. Quinn fired but missed due to the distraction. "Shit!" Quinn realized he was now compromised.
The drug cartel gang opened fire wildly into the jungle. An RPG missile from the forest destroyed one of the drug cartel's trucks. With perfect stealth, the Ranger team fired on the drug cartel on their flank killing several of them.
Coyle, Baxley, Lynch, and Nettles rained down fire on the confused drug cartel while Quinn continued to snipe. Another RPG missile totaled one of the drug cartel trucks. Within moments, the drug cartel was killed off.
"That wasn't so hard," Coyle quipped through his radio.
"Easy for you to say. You weren't crawling through the jungle for the last six hours," Quinn said bitterly.
"That's why I never went to sniper school. I can't stand to wait," Coyle chuckled.
"We have incoming helicopters, and I am out of rockets," Nebraska radioed in.
"Get the hostages out of here," Quinn ordered.
"Easier said than done," Baxley muttered.
The six of them met up with the hostages, freed them, and started moving them out. The helicopter blades could be heard in the distance as the Rangers slowly moved the hostages into the forest. Using infrared vision, the helicopters fired on the Rangers.
"Get cover!" Quinn shouted.
"No shit!" Coyle shouted back.
The helicopters continued to fire 30 mm into the forest not caring what they were hitting. A plasma burst suddenly hit one of the helicopters. It immediately exploded and fell to the ground as a fiery mess. The other helicopter started firing in all directions into the forest. Another plasma blast hit the second helicopter blasting it to pieces in midair.
"What the fuck was that?" Quinn demanded.
"It wasn't me," Nebraska said.
Lex saw the helicopters fall with satisfaction as her plasma cannon slowly cooled. Using her infrared vision, she saw the Rangers along with the hostages. Her mask indicated that more drug cartel fighters were slowly surrounding them.
Turning her cloak back on, Lex followed the Rangers and the hostages.
"We have the hostages. Where is the pick-up site?" Quinn radioed.
"Mission has changed. Hostages are now secondary. Prepare to copy new coordinates," Command replied.
"That's bullshit. These hostages will die without us," Quinn argued.
"I repeat hostages are secondary. Proceed to the following coordinates…," Command continued.
Quinn took his ear piece out no longer listening. The forest suddenly became alive with gun-fire in front of them. The Rangers immediately took cover and fired back with automatic fire. Lex eyed the scene from the trees. Putting red triangles on the drug cartel fighters, she fired plasma bursts at them. Fighters were beheaded or their torsos exploded on impact. In response, the fighters attempted to fire back at Lex who was hidden in her cloak.
"Looks like we have a guardian angel," Coyle smirked.
A shuriken blade spun through the air slicing into several fighters before it came back to Lex. Using their night vision, the Rangers picked off the rest of the drug cartel with ease. Another helicopter came in a distance away landing in a clearance in the forest. Special Forces exited the helicopter and formed a perimeter.
CIA agent Will Trager exited the helicopter wearing casual clothes. "I want that pod and its passenger. Remember gentlemen, they find fucking you up as tourism."
Lex eyed a new group of fighters moving on their position. Believing them to be more drug cartel fighters, she readied her plasma cannon. Using her mask, she got a more detailed look at them and noticed they were different.
Special Forces went through the jungle wearing specialized suits that matched the temperature of the environment around them. Lex found it difficult to see them as they approached. Using infrared cameras, the Special Forces could see the heat around Lex's cloak. Seeing her general location, the Special Forces threw concussion grenades. The shock waves from the grenades knocked Lex out of her tree and stunned her. Flash grenades went off blinding her. The Special Forces fired tranquilizer darts at her exposed areas.
Lex felt instantly sick and tried to crawl away. The Special Forces team stayed close to her until she was no longer moving. The cloak deactivated revealing her alien body. "It's a female," one of them remarked as he rotated her on her back.
"That is one ugly girl," another chuckled.
"Bring her to the chopper," the leader ordered.
The Rangers made their way to the helicopter and found Will standing nearby. "We're here with the hostages," Quinn told him.
"Hostages aren't my concern, captain. Had you followed orders, I would have given you a ride," Will smiled.
"Had I followed my orders, all these people would have died," Quinn said angrily.
"And that's unfortunate, but I have the entire world on my shoulders," Will replied dismissively. The Special Forces team came up the hill carrying a covered body.
Quinn eyed the covered body wondering what it was. "There was a third party out there."
"I know. You're lucky to be alive, captain. After she had killed the drug cartel, she would have gone after you and your precious hostages. You can thank me," Will revealed.
"She?" Quinn wondered.
"Oh, I have said too much," Will said mockingly. "You're on your own, captain. I suggest you ditch the hostages."
Quinn watched helplessly as Will took off in the helicopter and flew off. "That son-of-a-bitch left us," Coyle said outraged.
"Let's move," Quinn replied. It would be a long night.
The next morning, Casey Bracket was on her way to her lecture when she was called over by two men in a suit with ear pieces. "Dr. Bracket," one of them called out.
Casey looked back with apprehension. "We understand you like stargazing," the agent said to her. "Can you come with me, please?"
With reservations, Casey did as they asked and entered their black SUV. She was given a folder with pictures of an alien craft. "What am I looking at?" she asked already knowing the answer.
"It is exactly what you think it is," he replied vaguely. "They've been here before: 1987, 1997, 2004, and other unconfirmed cases. Their visits are increasing in frequency."
Casey could only look at the pictures with amazement and horror.
Quinn and his team were surrounded and stopped by the Mexican army. Only the Rangers remained without any of their hostages. "Mind giving us a ride to the border?" an exhausted Quinn asked.
"Is this all of you?" the Mexican captain asked.
"Yeah, this is all that's left," Quinn said regretfully.
The Mexican captain nodded grimly. "Get your men in back of the truck."
"Alright, you heard the man," Quinn said to the others.
The worn-down Rangers entered the truck and were taken to the Texas border.
Will supervised as the heavily sedated Lex was placed on a medical table in a secret facility near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her armor and weapons were stripped off providing her minimal clothing. Scientist Sean Keyes, the son of the late Peter Keyes and FBI agent that had been killed by a Yautja in 1997, was present.
"There appears to be obvious sexual dimorphism in this species. This female specimen is lighter and shorter than previous specimens," Sean said to Will.
"Good to know," Will replied sarcastically. "I wonder why this is the first female we have encountered so far."
"Perhaps female hunters don't naturally hunt. Perhaps a patriarchal society," Sean suggested.
"Call them Predators. Just until we know why they're here," Will said to Sean.
"Certainly. We have her sedated. If she happens to wake up, the restraints will keep her from escaping," Sean assured him.
"They better," Will smiled as he looked over Lex's body. "You're one sexy beast," he said of her.
Quinn ended up in an interrogation room at a Veteran Affairs building near Chattanooga, Tennessee. As he was being questioned, Quinn had a disgruntled look on his face. Will entered the office and sat down across from Quinn.
"How was the trip back?" Will asked.
"I've had better," Quinn replied angrily.
"The loss of those hostages was regrettable but there were larger concerns at play," Will said apologetically.
"What concerns are more important than two dozen hostages?" Quinn asked bitterly.
"An alien from another planet," Will said wide-eyed.
"Bullshit," Quinn quickly replied.
"Who do you think saved you that night with a laser gun and a perfect cloak?" Will asked.
"I could think of a lot of possibilities before getting to alien," Quinn said skeptically.
"I'm glad you think that way, captain," Will smiled and then gave a nod to the mirror window.
CIA agents entered the room and subdued Quinn and dragged him out of the room. They took him to a bus where the rest of his men were waiting. A gate locked them in, so they couldn't access the driver. "What did you tell them?" Quinn asked his men.
"I didn't tell them shit!" Coyle said obnoxiously.
"Where are they taking us?" Quinn asked.
"Some hole where we'll never be able to talk," Nebraska said bitterly.
"We'll find a way to escape," Nettles said confidently.
"Keep it down back there," the bus guard told them, armed with a shotgun.
The prison bus drove away towards an undisclosed detention facility.
That night, Casey arrived at the alien laboratory by helicopter. The CIA agent gave Casey an ID badge as she entered the elevator. The elevator brought them several floors below ground to the laboratory.
"Welcome, I'm Sean Keyes," Sean greeted Casey. "Wow, I heard you wrote the book on evolutionary biology," he said impressed.
"I'm sorry is that…alien technology?" Casey asked of a Yautja helmet and plasma cannon.
"Well, yeah," Sean said casually.
"Can I get into this?" Casey asked inquisitively.
"We got much better in the other room. Follow me," Sean smiled.
Sean showed Casey a room filled with lab coated scientists hovering over Lex's prone body strapped to a medical table. Casey stared in amazement at the alien specimen. It was now all too real to her. Will noticed Casey staring and smiled in amusement.
"Dr. Bracket, would you like to meet a predator?"
Sean and Casey entered the decontamination room. It required that they get naked and put on specialized white lab clothes. "How did they rope you into this?" Sean asked curiously.
"I wrote a paper on the theoretical anatomy of an alien life form. I never thought I would be here seeing one in person," Casey said still overwhelmed.
"My father would tell me tales of aliens visiting Earth. I didn't take them seriously until he was killed by one of them," Sean shook his head.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Casey said seriously.
"It was twenty years ago. I'm just happy I could continue my father's work," Sean said.
Casey and Sean entered the lab and were greeted personally by Will. "I'm sure you have questions," he said.
"Where did you find her?" Casey asked.
"We found its pod in Mexico. We're still looking for the main ship," Will said. "She's heavily sedated," Will assured Casey as she looked over Lex.
"How do you know there wouldn't be an allergic reaction or how much to give her?" Casey asked concerned.
"We don't, but we put enough in her to knock out an elephant. Dr. Bracket, these things are incredibly dangerous even without their weapons. They seem to enjoy killing," Will said.
"She's beautiful," Casey said memorized by Lex's anatomy.
"You're probably wondering why you are here," Will continued. "We noticed something a little odd when we took a DNA sample."
Casey looked over a pad showing Lex's DNA scan. "This is impossible," she muttered.
"We ran the genome test ten times. It's human DNA," Sean said. "The odd thing is that she has both alien and human DNA in her blood. The alien genes are turned on but the human genes are turned off."
"I've never seen something like this before. Its foreign to everything I know about biology," Casey admitted.
"That's why you're here, to unlock the secret," Will said hopefully.
The Ranger team made small talk as they were being led away. "Did you get to see the alien's tits?" Coyle asked the group.
"No, but I saw your mom's," Nebraska joked.
"Good one," Coyle said unimpressed.
"Shut the fuck up back there," the guard warned them.
"Do you know who we are, mother-fucker. We're US Rangers. You need to release us right now," Quinn yelled back.
"I don't care who you are. You're not getting off this bus," the guard replied.
"You're doing great things for your country," Quinn mocked.
During the night shift, Lex awoke and looked around. She quickly noticed she was restrained and that there were armed guards in the room. She then saw her gear on a table a short distance away from her. Moments later, the guards heard a cry.
"Help me! The creature has escaped!" Lex, now a black woman cried out.
The guard came over and gave her an odd look. "The creature changed places with me," Lex said fearfully.
The guard quickly unstrapped her. As soon as the last strap was removed, Lex grabbed the guard's TASER and stunned him dropping him. Lex flexed her human hands and touched her human face feeling around her mouth. The only thing that remained from before were her dreadlocks.
Lex went after the other guard quickly subduing him with a quick succession of punches and kicks. She then took his pistol and placed it at his throat. Will saw what was happening through the glass and barged through the door.
"Sir, the decontamination protocol," Sean protested.
"I don't give a shit," Will said as he shot out the glass and entered.
A sleep deprived Casey also entered the lab leaving a befuddled Sean behind. Will pointed his pistol at Lex and her hostage. "So, you're a lot more human than we thought," Will smirked.
"Doesn't mean I won't kill him. Drop your weapon," Lex ordered.
"No fucking way," Will replied.
Lex quickly realized Will was serious. Using her pistol, she knocked the guard out and pointed it at Will. "There are others coming. I'm trying to help you," she told him.
"Put down the pistol, and we can talk about it," Will offered.
Seeing no other option, Lex threw the pistol away. "Smart decision," Will complimented still holding his pistol.
"You said there were others coming. What for?" Will asked.
"They're coming for me and my technology. They'll kill anyone connected with Yautja technology," Lex told him.
"Is that what you call yourselves? Yautja?" Will asked.
"In your human tongue," Lex replied.
"Are you…in fact human?" Will asked.
"I was, fourteen of your years ago," Lex said and then felt emotionally exhausted by that fact. "But they changed me into one of them. I found a way to change back whenever I want now."
"This would explain the different DNA sets," Sean realized.
"How do you change back and forth?" Casey asked.
"I can't tell you that," Lex said flatly.
"Why do you hunt us?" Will asked.
"It's not just you. It's any alien species that is worthy game. They collect the skulls they kill as trophies. If a species becomes too over populated, they just commit mass genocide," Lex explained.
"How can you be a part of this?" Casey asked bewildered.
"I feel I can change them more from the inside than the outside," Lex said staring at Will.
"Ever killed a man?" Will asked.
"Yes but never for sport," Lex replied.
"You're home now. Just be human again," Casey suggested.
"This form is temporary. Besides…," Lex said and then stopped herself from saying anything more.
"Ah, I get it. It's been fourteen years. I bet you have a space-daddy and some ugly-looking kids," Will smirked.
Lex glared at Will. "You better take this seriously. They're waiting for you to melt your ice caps and then they will colonize this world for themselves."
"That ship has sailed, honey," Will smiled pessimistically.
"No, I have terraforming technology that can reverse the trend. I just need to get to my ship," Lex said seriously.
A Yautja spaceship exited a wormhole and entered Earth's space. Immediately, the ship activated its cloak as it searched for Lex's ship. Meanwhile, Lex approached her technology on the table with Will hovering over her like a hawk. Touching her mask, she saw Yautja symbols indicating another ship was approaching.
"They're here," Lex told Will.
"Tell us how to find them, to beat their cloak," Will pressed.
"I can't beat their cloak, but I can turn it off for a moment," Lex said and began using her fingers inside a red hologram emitted from her mask.
"There, you should be able to spot it on radar now," Lex told Will.
True to her word, the Yautja ship decloaked. American fighters immediately were in the air to intercept as the Yautja ship approached the east coast. "Holy shit!" one of the pilots said as he saw the spaceship.
"Engage the target," NORAD commander ordered.
The two fighters launched missiles at the Yautja ship. Lex furiously worked to undermine the Yautja ship by lowering its shields and jamming its communications. With the shields down, the missiles hit the Yautja ship to the engines taking it down. The distressed Yautja ship fired plasma bursts at the two fighters destroying them. The Yautja ship then landed in the forest with smoke coming out of its engine.
Lex then found herself locked out as the enemy Yautja warrior had changed the codes. "I'm locked out," she informed Will.
"You did well," Will assured her and then fired a bullet into her head.
On the prison bus, a scuffle broke out inside. The prisoners subdued the guards and took control of the bus. "What's the plan, captain?" Nebraska asked.
"We go back and we get some alien evidence to show the world," Quinn replied.
The bus took a tight turn back to the facility.
Casey and Sean were stunned by Will's actions. "What have you done?" Casey shrieked at him.
"We no longer need her. We'll go down to the crash site and pick up the other predator," Will said.
"You just killed our only female specimen," Sean said aghast.
"She wasn't even a real alien," Will excused himself.
"But not really human either," Lex replied rising behind Will. He turned to face her as her body began to transform back to its Yautja form. The bullet hole in her head became smaller and then disappeared. Her mouth opened up with four mandibles as her body grew to super-human size.
Will cocked his pistol for another shot, but Lex swat him hard to face. The pistol fell to the floor a distance away. A stunned Will blinked a few times as Lex fully transformed back into a Yautja. She advanced on him throwing him across the room a few times as Casey and Sean looked on.
Security personal rushed to get inside the room as Will struggled to get back to his feet. "I can take anything you give me," Will said defiantly.
He raised his fists and punched Lex a few times to the gut without effect. Lex picked him up by the neck raising him off his feet and slammed him up against the wall. To further intimidate him, she forced his head to the right and left as she examined him with her now Yautja eyes. She roared in his face, let him go, and then punched him hard to the face knocking him out.
Lex then turned to her equipment on the table. She quickly went to work putting her equipment on with her mask being the last. Security personal barged in but Lex was ready for them. She placed her plasma cannon on stun and blasted them. Those remaining guards that could still function were easily swatted down.
"What do you plan to do?" Casey asked alarmed.
"Get back to my ship," Lex said with a voice synthesizer from her mask.
The Rangers noticed Lex running away from the facility in full Yautja gear. Quinn immediately went after her. Security personal got into Humvees and also drove after Lex. Working her wrist band, Lex activated her cloak. Security Humvee gunners sprayed the area with 50 caliber fire creating sparks all over the facility. Despite being cloaked, Lex could barely avoid getting hit. Fire trucks sped out and started spraying the area with water.
Lex's cloak deactivated as she was showered with water. She attempted to correct the situation, but it would take time for the system to reboot. Now visible, the Humvee gunners became more accurate in their fire.
Quinn intervened ramming one of the Humvees off the road. It tumbled a few times before settling. "I can't believe we're helping an alien," Nebraska remarked.
"We can't be given the galaxy the idea we're assholes," Quinn smirked.
Casey chased after Lex and watched in horror as the Humvees tried to take her down. Lex ran as quickly as she could but the fire trucks were faster. The two fire trucks continued to spray water on her while trying to run her over. With no other choice, she blasted the fire trucks with her plasma cannon causing large explosions of water and fuel.
Helicopters took off and gunners attempted to snipe her. Lex programmed her drone to take off from her back and go into the air. The drone sped up and sliced into the window of the helicopter. The helicopter crash landed on the ground and exploded on impact.
Quinn opened the bus door and saw Lex keeping up with the bus' speed on foot. "Need a lift?" Quinn asked her.
Lex turned to stare at Quinn and then noted one last Humvee was approaching. Seeing no other option, she leaped into the bus. Opening the back of the bus, Nettles and Baxley took their stolen shotguns and fired at the pursuing Humvee blasting out its tires. The Humvee swerved and crashed into building.
As soon as she entered the bus, Lex morphed her body back to human. Her armor shrank as her body shrank. She turned to Quinn with her now human mouth. "Thanks."
"Uh…no problem," Quinn replied in amazement.
"Wow, you're not only human but Black too?" Coyle said impressed. "That's what I'm talking about," he said giving her fist salute.
Lex smiled in spite of herself. "Where are we going?" Lex asked Quinn.
"To my place. I got guns, lots of guns," Quinn replied.
Nebraska took a turn at the wheel while the rest of the men stared at Lex. "So, what is it like being a space-alien?" Coyle asked curiously.
"Everything is so different: the language, the food, the society, what passes for entertainment," Lex listed off.
"Oh yeah? You guys go to the movies?" Coyle asked jokingly.
"Something like that," Lex said vaguely.
"What kind of movies? Alien soap operas?" Coyle chuckled.
"The movies are videos of us killing humans," Lex said darkly.
"Well, God damn!" Coyle said amused. "It's not like we don't do that too, don't we?" he said referring to war movies.
"Do you eat humans?" Nebraska asked seriously.
"No, we only hunt humans for sport," Lex replied without emotion. "We're not that dissimilar from you. We eat domesticated animals, birds, fish, and some reptiles," Lex said.
"So, you're a predator?" Quinn smirked.
"Exclusively," Lex replied.
Nebraska noticed a familiar car. "We're being followed."
"Can you shake him?" Quinn asked.
"With a bus?" Nebraska asked doubtfully.
Lex placed her mask over her face and looked out the window. The mask zoomed in on the driver; it was Casey Bracket. "It's the scientist. It's okay," Lex told them.
At the crash site of the second ship, a male Yautja warrior exited with two of his hounds. Taking a sample of Lex's clothes, he gave it to the dogs to sniff. The alien hounds snarled and immediately ran off into the forest. The male Yautja warrior activated his cloak and disappeared into the thick forest.
Meanwhile, the Rangers took their bus to a hotel. "We need to ditch this bus before we get to my place," Quinn reasoned.
He gave Lex a look over at her exotic uniform. "Best if you stay in the bus. Nettles, stay with her," Quinn ordered.
"Fuck me, right," Nettles muttered.
"I won't kill you unless you attack me first," Lex assured him.
"Good to know," Nettles replied.
The Rangers entered the hotel lobby without cards or money. "Uhmm…I forgot my wallet, but I have a membership with you guys. I can give you my card number," Quinn said smoothly.
The receptionist typed in the number and got Quinn's name. "Here you go," she said giving Quinn a key card.
Back in the bus, Nettles made small talk. "I'm a pilot, Black Hawks," he said in an attempt to impress her.
"I fly space-ships across the galaxy," Lex smiled.
"Will we ever get there, to the stars I mean," Nettles asked.
"It's not as difficult as you humans make it out to be. You're so close to that break-through," Lex said.
"Maybe we just need a gentle push," Nettles suggested.
"That's why I'm here," Lex agreed.
"Let's move," Quinn said upon entering the bus. The Rangers walked with Lex encircled by them so no one would see the half-naked woman with alien armor. They quickly reached the hotel room and went inside.
"What's the plan?" Baxley asked concerned.
"We get some clothes, supplies, and a new vehicle. Who knows how to hot wire a car?" Quinn asked.
"I do," Nebraska volunteered.
"We need to go shopping for Lex," Quinn said obviously.
"What's your size?" Lynch asked her.
Lex bristled at the question. "I don't remember," she said honestly.
"Just buy several different sizes. I'm sure one will fit," Quinn said impatiently.
"With what money?" Coyle asked.
Nebraska smiled and placed a wallet on the table. "Where did you get that?" Baxley asked.
"I stole it," Nebraska said wide-eyed.
"Lynch, Nettles, get some clothes and supplies. You have two hours," Quinn ordered.
As soon as they left, Quinn opened the fridge and found alcoholic beverages. "Probably been a while since you had one of these," he smiled giving Lex a beer.
"We have our own," Lex smirked.
"Oh yeah? Is it strong?" Quinn asked.
"It has to be," Lex said as she drank the beer. She closed her eyes as she remembered the familiar taste and feeling of alcohol.
"I think she likes it," Coyle grinned.
"It just reminds me of the last time I saw my father," Lex reflected. "I can't even remember the mountain's name," she said sadly.
"He was a climber?" Nebraska asked.
"Yeah, he would give tourists tours up different peaks. I followed in his footsteps until aliens picked me up," Lex said.
"How did that happen?" Quinn asked curiously.
"It's a long story. I got a gig with Weyland. I led a team to Antarctica where we found an ancient pyramid. Everyone died but me," Lex said.
"Weyland and the government are tight," Quinn said seriously.
"So, what's our end game? We can't trust our own government. We have nothing to go back to," Nebraska said frustrated.
"Will isn't the government, alright. He's just one man. We find someone we can trust. We're not traitors or deserters," Quinn said seriously.
"She's here," Lex said looking out the window.
Upon entering the parking lot, Casey went to her car. "We can't use your car. They could be tracking it," Quinn said to her.
"Then how?" she wondered.
Lex used her blade to shatter a van window. She opened the car door and allowed Nebraska to do his work. Minutes later, he had the van hot-wired. The group went inside the van and drove away to Quinn's place.
Moments later, a dozen black SUVs swarmed the hotel looking for the Rangers. Will got out of one of the vehicles and looked around disappointed. "I think I know where they might be going."
Meanwhile, Special Forces teams converged on the fallen Yautja ship. With rifles ready and wearing black uniforms, they formed a perimeter around the ship. As they got closer to the entrance, they could hear ruffles in the bushes.
Yautja hounds came out of the darkness and attacked the Special Forces with razor sharp teeth and claws. The Special Forces teams attempted to defend themselves by firing into the darkness and throwing smoke grenades. The hounds went through the smoke using infrared vision to see their prey. Within a few quick moments, the Special Forces teams were down. The Yautja warrior decloaked and looked over the corpses. Finding none worthy, he went past them all. The hounds then tore off through the forest towards their original target.
Quinn arrived unexpectedly to his house surprising his ex-wife, Emily. "Welcome home," she said sarcastically.
"I need my guns," he replied roughly.
"In the basement where you left them," she said unimpressed.
Quinn went down to the basement and opened some crates containing various weapons and ammunition. "Where's Rory?" Quinn wondered.
"He's out trick-or-treating," Emily said obviously.
"Alone?" Quinn asked displeased.
"He's with friends," Emily said dismissively.
Quinn quickly went upstairs to the living room. "Ammo detail," he said to group.
"What are you guys doing here?" Emily asked disdainfully.
"Nice to see you too, Emily," Coyle replied sarcastically. "I must say your artwork has greatly improved since the divorce."
"Fuck you," Emily spat at him.
"You really should get back together," Nettles interjected.
"You need to back off," Emily told him. "Why are you all here? Don't you have a mission to run?"
"This is the mission. There's something out there that's hunting us. We're going to take it out first," Quinn said confidently.
"What something?" Emily asked confused.
"A creature," Nettles said.
"A fucking space-alien," Coyle corrected.
"Are you guys for real?" Emily asked losing patience.
"Here's the radio," Baxly said placing the radio on the table. He turned it on and immediately they could hear what police officers in town were saying to each other. What quickly followed was alarmed shouting and sudden drop offs.
"Its' here," Quinn realized.
"The radio is saying multiple reports. How many are there?" Nebraska asked.
"It's not the Yautja. They're hounds," Lex said. "Sometimes, we use hounds to find prey for us. The hounds do not follow our code of ethics. They kill anyone and everyone that gets in their way," Lex said.
"Code of ethics? What the fuck are you talking about?" Coyle asked disrespectfully.
"We only kill armed people. We ignore the sick, the elderly, the pregnant, and children. It's not good sport," Lex explained.
"So, if we simply go out there unarmed we won't be killed," Nettle shrugged.
"No, we'll simply resort to hand-to-hand combat and then you will be killed," Lex corrected.
"Wait a minute, who is we? Who are you?" Emily demanded.
"She's one of them," Quinn told her. Quinn sighed as he considered what to do. "These hounds must be tracking you. So, if we run away, they'll simply kill people while chasing us. So, we go to them," Quinn said resolved.
"My son is out there. I'm not taking that risk," Quinn added.
"What are we waiting for? Let's kill us some hounds," Coyle said enthusiastically.
Emily simply stared at Lex in shock wondering what to make of her as she followed the team out. The team entered the van armed to the teeth with rifles, shotguns, and grenades. "Do you think this will do the trick?" Quinn asked Lex.
"Maybe," she allowed.
Rory went off on his own dressed as a soldier and carrying a toy gun. Moving towards his elementary school's baseball field he came across one of the alien hounds. Before Rory could be hit, Quinn swerved his van striking the hound out of the way. The Rangers and Casey came out of the van guns blazing. Lex watched intently as the Rangers fired all at once at the hounds.
"Are these things bullet proof?" Quinn shouted at Lex.
"No, but their skin is really tough," Lex replied.
Nebraska fired a grenade shell blasting a hound into green goo. The team got on line and sprayed the entire baseball field with gun fire. Casey took hold of Rory and took him away from the fire-fight. At the end of the fight, three hounds were on the ground dead. Lex casually walked onto the field with a blue vial and poured them on the dead hounds.
"What is that?" Casey asked her.
"It's a chemical that breaks down organic compounds. It will eliminate the evidence," Lex said to him.
"Why would we do that?" Casey asked confused.
"Existence of alien life could cause a panic. I am not sure what we will do if humanity knows about us," Lex replied.
"You talk like you're not one of us, not human," Casey observed.
"I'm not human, not anymore," Lex said sadly.
Quinn immediately went to his son. "You alright?" he asked Rory.
"Yeah, that was so cool," Rory smiled.
"I know, right," Quinn agreed.
Their reunion was interrupted as Lynch was tossed off his sniper position off the hood of the van. The Predator decloaked on top of the van and pulled Nettles, the driver, out of the van and held him in front of himself. The Rangers stared at Yautja warrior close up for the first time. Casey instinctively put herself between the Predator and Rory.
"Shoot it!" Nettle said bravely as he was being held.
The Predator made a motion for them to drop their weapons. They reluctantly complied dropping their weapons on the ground. The Predator then became distracted as Lex began changing. Her clothes ripped open including her jacket. Taking advantage of this distraction, Quinn picked up his rifle and fired on the Predator with automatic fire. The Predator's body armor blocked the bullets but Nettles was dropped to the ground. As the Predator fell off the van, the Rangers retreated to the school.
Nebraska and Braxley did rear security as Casey and Rory fled inside the school. The Predator fired on them with his plasma cannon. The two Rangers bolted inside as the doors of the school were blown off in fiery sparks.
Lex decloaked and fired her plasma cannon on the Predator. The bolt was absorbed by an energy shield. Lex fired a few more times as the Predator got closer. Each of the shots was absorbed by the shield. Lex then armed her shuriken blade and threw it at the Predator aiming for his neck. He deflected the blade with his wrist guard. Extending her blades, Lex readied for a hand-to-hand combat fight.
"Traitorous human scum," the Predator said to her in Yautja.
"Your family honor will be stained forever when I kill you," Lex replied.
The Predator roared in outrage and charged her with his blades. The two clashed just outside the school with their blades. The Rangers meanwhile got to the rooftop of the school and looked down at the battle below.
"Can you tell them apart?" Coyle asked Quinn.
"One's male, the other is female," Quinn said obviously.
"Like that's easy to tell," Coyle shot back.
The Predator got the better of the fight slicing deep cuts into Lex's chest and arms. The Rangers interfered from the school rooftop firing accurate shots into the Predator's back. Roaring in irritation, the Predator fired his own plasma cannon behind him. The blasts blew out windows and large chunks of brick from the school. The Rangers ducked for cover as the bursts nearly wiped them all out.
"You won't fight me alone? Where is your honor?" the Predator said to Lex.
"Never had any to begin with," Lex replied in defiance.
The angered Predator took hold of Lex and slammed her on top of the roof of a car totaling it. The Predator took hold of her mask ripping it off. Exhausted, Lex couldn't fight any longer. The Rangers fired on the Predator but the bullets deflected off its energy shield. The Predator ignored the Rangers and punched Lex hard to the mouth. Lex coughed up green blood as her jaw and teeth were broken on impact.
"Drown in your own blood," the Predator spat as he took Lex's mask.
"Grenades," Quinn called out.
Grenades were thrown down on the Predator as he cloaked himself. The whole area was consumed in fire from the explosions that ripped up the dirt and trees. The Predator disappeared into the night. In the distance, the Rangers could hear cop car sirens.
"We need to move," Quinn told the group.
The Rangers, Casey, and Rory got into the van and drove off before the cops could arrive.
Meanwhile, back at Quinn's house, Emily waited patiently for any news. CIA agents were already at her house waiting for Quinn's return. As soon as the phone vibrated, Emily picked up the phone. "Tell me Rory is okay," Emily asked quickly.
"He's fine. I'll bring him back," Quinn promised.
"Don't come back," Emily replied and threw the phone down the garbage disposal.
"Don't do that," one CIA agent yelled as the phone was destroyed.
"You guys fucked with the wrong family," Emily said as the stunned CIA agents realized what she had done.
The cops came across Lex's body on top of the hood of a car. "Jesus," the cop said as he saw her. Lex's body began to shake and then shrink. The cops pulled their guns out as her body became human again. Lex wiped away green blood from her mouth and looked over her perfectly healed human body.
"Stop right there, Miss," the cops said as she advanced on them.
"Lex quickly activated her plasma cannon and stunned the two cops before they could react. Seeing her own human clothes ruined, Lex stole the female cop's uniform and got into one of the police cars.
The Rangers, Casey, and Rory arrived at an abandoned barn in farmland country. Quinn came up to Casey who seemed shaken by recent events. "We lost her. She was human. She was one of us," Casey said.
"I'm not so sure about that," Quinn doubted.
"She died to give humanity a gift, to save us from ourselves," Casey said distraught.
"She didn't die in vain, alright. We're going to find that ship," Quinn promised. Quinn then went over to his son.
Nettle sat down across from Casey. "What you working on?" he asked.
"Just analyzing their blood for any weaknesses," she said vaguely.
"What kind of weaknesses can you find by looking at blood samples?" Nettles asked curiously.
"Maybe we can engineer a virus that affects only them. Maybe, we can make one of them a carrier for it," Casey suggested.
"Then they bring it back to their home planet," Nettles realized.
"Exactly," Casey agreed.
"Damn, that's cold," Nettles smiled.
Quinn walked over to his son who was simply stargazing. "I talked with your mom. She's doing fine," Quinn told him.
"After all this, are you going to come back?" Rory asked.
"Absolutely. I'm done with this job. Nothing can top this," Quinn smiled.
"Are we going to get killed?" Rory asked.
"Nope," Quinn shook his head.
An alien hound suddenly appeared out of the bushes with a snarling mouth. "Oh shit!" Quinn realized and raised his weapon.
The hound backed away into the dark forest and then reemerged moments later as Lex in human form with Yautja armor on her body.
"Lex? I thought you were dead," Quinn said surprised.
"Fortunately, he was sloppy. He didn't find my death honorable enough to take a skull trophy," Lex said.
"You lost on purpose," Quinn surmised.
"I couldn't beat him one-on-one. I had to out-think him," Lex said.
"You can change into other animals, not just back to human," Quinn realized.
"Anything I touch by physical contact," Lex confirmed. "I can track down my ship as a hound, but I need you to follow me. I need your support."
"You have it," Quinn told her.
Quinn got the Rangers together. "Looks like Lex wasn't killed after all. That's the good news," Quinn told the group.
There were a few sarcastic claps for Lex. "The bad news is that we have a long way to go on foot to get to Lex's ship. We have to get there before the predator or the CIA gets there," Quinn said.
"How many miles we talking about, captain?" Coyle asked sarcastically.
"A lot," Quinn answered vaguely.
"You can't bring the kid," Casey protested.
"That's right. I need you to stay with Rory until we find the ship. Can you do that for me?" Quinn asked her.
"Sure," Casey agreed.
Lex walked over to Rory. "Don't be afraid. I won't let anything happen to your dad," Lex assured him as she touched his cheek.
Lex then became cold again and went over to the group. "Try to keep up," she told them.
"Bitch, no one can ruck faster than us," Coyle replied.
Lex smirked and returned to her Yautja form. Concentrating, she then transformed into the alien hound. Picking up the scent, she tore through the forest with the Rangers following her.
Soon thereafter a helicopter arrived at the farm. Will exited the helicopter as his men formed a perimeter around the barn. Casey with Rory stood outside the barn to meet them. "How did you find us?" Casey asked.
"When we first took Quinn and his men in, we put a tracking device on them in case they escaped. We tracked you here, but it seems we've lost their signal. You wouldn't know where they would be going would you?" Will asked.
"Go fuck yourself," Casey replied.
"Now, now, not in front of the child," Will said mockingly.
"I've heard worst," Rory said defiantly.
"I bet you have," Will smiled.
"Take them. We can use them as leverage," Will ordered his men.
Lex spent two hours at a time as the alien hound leading the Rangers towards the ship. "How much farther?" Coyle asked exhausted.
"Who's the bitch now?" Lex smirked as she took human form.
"Seriously, how much farther?" Quinn asked.
"We should be close by," Lex said.
The Rangers looked over a hill and found the ship. "What a beauty," Nettle remarked.
"Lex and I will go inside the ship. The rest of you stay in your positions," Quinn ordered.
The two of them made their way down the hill and up to the ship. Lex quickly inputted the password to enter the ship and made her way inside. Quinn kept his rifle ready expecting an enemy Yautja around any corner. Lex found the pod holding the terraforming technology. Examining it for any damage, she determined that it was good.
"Cell phone," Lex requested.
"Uh, sure," Quinn said giving her the smart phone.
Lex called a familiar number. "This is Alexa Woods. I have another gift for you. I'll text you my coordinates. Get here quickly."
Lex then hung up and gave the phone back to Quinn. "Who was that?" he asked.
"Old friends," Lex said vaguely.
Lex and Quinn exited the ship only to be completely surrounded by CIA agents with Humvees and helicopters. Will clapped his hands pleased at his success. Casey and Rory were in the background under armed guard.
"If you did anything to my boy," Quinn threatened.
"I didn't touch one hair," Will told him. "Nice to see you alive and kicking. You had me worried for a moment," Will said to Lex.
"Had you been a little more reasonable, no one would have had to die and you would have all my secrets," Lex told him.
"But I have everything I want now," Will said victoriously.
"No, you're all dead men," Lex corrected.
Lynch was looking over the hill with a sniper rifle witnessing the exchange down below. Three red beams appeared on his shoulder and then suddenly his left arm was blasted off. Lynch cried out to alert the others and then let loose a flare. The Predator quickly stabbed him through killing him.
A car suddenly collapse as the Predator jumped on it. CIA agents and security personal began firing wildly as the Predator began firing his plasma cannon at their vehicles. The Predator fired a rope cable into a man's gut and then waited for a jeep to get close to it. The razor sharp rope cut three heads off at the same time. Throwing a shuriken blade, he cut a man clean in half at the midsection.
The Predator came upon Casey and Rory who were cowering behind a vehicle. The Predator stared at them briefly and then walked off towards the ship. Rory followed behind the Predator much to Quinn's dismay.
"Rory, no!" Quinn shouted after him.
Rory ignored Quinn and continued to follow. The Predator went up the ramp to the entrance of the ship when he was suddenly hit with a plasma burst. His own plasma cannon flew off and his right shoulder was burned.
The Predator quickly activated his shield and cloaked himself. Lex fired several shots at the Predator to try to weaken his shield. Each impact made him visible for a few seconds. "You use our honor against us," the Predator spat at her.
"Should have killed me," Lex told him.
"Give me the password," the Predator demanded of her.
"Fuck yourself," Lex replied in English.
The Predator advanced on Lex and stabbed her through. Lex used her own blades to slice off his right arm. The Predator roared in pain and rage. His cloak and shield immediately went down. The Rangers and CIA fired on the Predator forcing him to retreat into the forest.
Lex fell to the ground with green blood oozing out. "You going to be alright?" Quinn asked her.
"I'll be fine. You have to kill him before he gets to his ship. He'll call for reinforcements," Lex told him.
"Where's Rory?" Quinn asked.
"He's in one of the trucks," Lex told him.
"You had me so worried," Quinn said gratefully.
Lex transformed herself back to human. Her gut wound closed up as she did. "That really hurt," she muttered.
Will took up the Predator's plasma cannon and awkwardly put it on his shoulder. "Let's move. This time he's the one hunted," he said enthusiastically.
Lex quickly went back to her Yautja form, touched her wrist band, and cloaked herself. The Rangers gathered together in the forest. "Where's Lynch?" Quinn demanded.
"He's gone," Coyle shook his head.
"We have to find that thing and kill it. For Lynch," Quinn said to them.
The armed humans went through the forest looking for the Predator. Using night vision, they looked for their target. "I need a satellite. I need infrared," Will ordered through his radio.
A military satellite took aim at the forest and looked for heat signatures. Sure enough, the Predator's heat signature showed up. Will led his team through the forest as he received directions from the satellite.
The Predator went through the trees and picked up one of the armed men. The man was taken up into the trees and quickly beheaded. The armed men fired into the trees forcing the Predator to retreat once more. Will fired his plasma cannons creating sparks and fires everywhere. The Predators vision declined as fires confused its infrared.
The Predator fired darts at the last CIA man tearing his body to pieces. The Rangers fired smoke grenades at the Predator making it impossible for him to see. "Light him up!" Coyle shouted. The Rangers blasted the Predator with grenade shells that lit the forest on fire. The Predator was surrounded in flames. Not wanting the Predator to escape again, Baxley rushed the Predator with his knife in hand. He leaped up onto the Predator's back and began stabbing repeatedly. The Predator roared in pain and threw Baxley into the air. Baxley was pierced through as a tree branch stuck him.
The Predator then threw a shuriken blade at Coyle slicing his midsection open. "Oh shit! Fuck!" Coyle shouted as he realized how injured he was.
The dying Baxley and Coyle gave each other knowing looks. They took out their pistols and fired at each other in the heads ending their suffering.
Will continued to fire his plasma cannon at the Predator blasting everything in sight. The Predator fired a dart at Will's plasma cannon causing it to explode blasting off Will's head.
Quinn, Nebraska, and Nettles rushed after the Predator as dawn approached. They could now see the second spaceship parked nearby. The injured Predator retreated towards his ship and activated its engines. Inside, he placed his stump inside a robotic arm and flexed his new fingers.
The three Rangers leaped onto the hull of the ship as it began to take off. They soon realized the hull was bullet proof. A bluish shield emerged from the ship's bow. "Something's coming," Quinn shouted.
The blue shield raced across the hull of the ship. Quinn got underneath the shield just in time. Nebraska leaped up and got on top of the shield and Nettles had his legs cut off. The stunned Nettles slid off the ship and fell to his death.
Nebraska tried to get through the shield to no avail. "Brother," Nebraska said to Quinn underneath. He looked over at the undefended engine intake.
"Godspeed," Quinn said realizing there was nothing that could be done.
Nebraska nodded and then flung himself into the engine intake exploding it. The Yautja ship went down towards the forest below. Quinn made his way inside and confronted the Predator who was at the controls. Raising his pistol, he fired at the Predator until he ran out of bullets. The Predator advanced on him with bladed wrist bands. Quinn took out his own knife.
"Let's dance," Quinn challenged.
The two slashed at each other as the ship crashed to the ground. Quinn was tossed out of the ship upon impact. The Predator exited the ship and stared at the exhausted Quinn. He slowly took off his mask revealing his monstrous face.
Quinn got back on his feet and raised his fists. The Predator towered over him and swatted Quinn around. Using a tree branch, Quinn struck at the Predator to no avail. The Predator took hold of Quinn and slammed him against a tree trunk. Quinn struck the Predator to the face.
The Predator merely laughed an inhuman imitation. He examined Quinn's face for a moment and then threw him into a stream. Extending his wrist blades, the Predator slowly stalked Quinn who was crawling through the stream bed. Exhausted and hurt, he couldn't even stand.
The Predator was about to make his kill when Lex decloaked. She was in black armor from head to toe, two large plasma cannons on her shoulders, three smaller cannons on both shoulders, extended wrist blades, and other installed weaponry. Her mask covered her entire head and had red glaring eyes.
"Forgot something," Lex said in English and then fired four shots at the Predator.
The Predator cried out in pain and rage as its four limbs were blown off. The Predator fell to the ground leaking green blood profusely. Lex calmly walked over to the fallen Predator. "You have no honor as a human or Yautja," he said to her.
Lex deactivated the suit revealing herself underneath. "My mate's brother sent you, didn't he?"
The Predator merely snarled at her. "He should have come to Earth and hunted me himself," Lex said to him. "I don't fight fair. I'm not interested in the challenge or the sport. I never have. All I care about is preserving both our species," Lex told him.
"You're a killer," the Predator croaked.
"You're only a killer if you enjoy it," Lex replied and then blasted the Predator's face off with plasma fire.
Lex then turned to Quinn who was struggling in the water. "You going to kill me next?" he asked.
"No," Lex said as she transformed back to human. She helped him out of the water and onto shore.
"My men…are gone," Quinn said devastated.
"I'm sorry all this happened. At least the technology is in good hands," Lex said.
The US military swarmed the crash site of Lex's ship finding bodies and broken equipment everywhere. "What the hell happened here?" a general asked.
"Looks like Will Traeger's dirty work, general," a muscular man with a cigar in his mouth said.
In front of them was a stripped down ship with only its hull still present. "Who got here before us?" the general wondered.
"I'll look into it," Arnold Schaefer replied.
"We found two survivors," a soldier said bringing Casey and Rory to the general.
"Look what we have here," Arnold said amused. He looked over their shell-shocked faces. "Now, listen very carefully. I want to know everything."
A Yautja ship decloaked near the ruins of the Predator's ship. Several Yautja warriors came out and formed a perimeter around them; all were heavily armed. The last to come out didn't wear a mask. He came up to Lex and Quinn.
"He's a Prince. I would kneel if you want to live," Lex said in her human form.
"Yeah, fuck that," Quinn said losing patience.
Lex rolled her eyes and fully expected Quinn to lose his head soon. "Where is your ship?" the Prince asked of Lex.
"Completely scraped," Lex replied in English.
The Prince noticed the Predator's remains and the damaged Yautja ship. He motioned for one his warriors to leave. The Yautja warrior entered the ship and shortly thereafter it exploded in a fireball destroying any technology that could be used by humanity.
"You've gone too far this time," the Prince lectured her.
"What are you going to do about it?" Lex challenged.
The Prince snorted and turned to Quinn. "You have seven minutes to flee before we hunt you down."
"I'll fight you here and now," Quinn replied dangerously.
The Prince extended his blade and pointed it at Quinn. In response, he took out his small knife. Lex backed away to give the Prince and Quinn some space. When it was apparent Quinn wouldn't back down or flee, the Prince retracted his blade and chuckled in amusement.
He motioned for one of his guards to retrieve something from the ship. A case was brought before the Prince. He opened it in front of Quinn and handed him the antique American Revolutionary War musket used by the first Rangers.
"Come," the Prince said to Lex and went back inside his ship.
"We'll be back," Lex said to Quinn and transformed back to her original Yautja form. She followed the Yautja guards inside the ship. Quinn watched in fascination as the Yautja ship disappeared into space.
Antarctica
A twenty-six year old Peter Weyland was dressed warmly in the harsh cold of Antarctica. A number of heavily dressed Weyland personal were busy setting up the equipment. "Would you prefer to stay warm on the ship, Mr. Weyland," an assistant asked him.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Peter replied with a smile.
The technicians turned the Yautja device on activating its fusion reactor. Peter waited patiently as the humanoid-tall device began to hum. The ground suddenly began to shake as lasers blasted through the ice and rock. Peter kept his footing with a stern expression as smoke poured out of the machine and rose high into the sky.
"It worked, Sir. We are now pumping sulfate aerosols into the atmosphere artificially. It's basically a man-made volcano. We can end Global Warming or at least stall it. This is a remarkable achievement, Sir," the Weyland chief scientist said excitedly.
"We should get back to the ship," Weyland said as he noticed the air composition change.
"I would have thought you would be more excited, Mr. Weyland. You saved the world," the chief scientist said bewildered.
"If only it had been my idea," Peter said sadly and proceeded to walk towards the ship.