Batman: Knight of the Hunt

Issue 11

Into the Predator's Den

Batman's breathing is ragged, his throat parched from the climb. His entire body aches. The rough mountain face has ripped his gloves to shreds, leaving his fingers bloodied. The same goes for his knees. He staggers along on all fours, dragging Green Arrow with him.

He stops to catch his breath as he realizes he's on flat ground again. Green Arrow pulls away from him, trying to stand up. Batman looks around. Unlike before, this isn't a narrow ledge they now find themselves on. Instead, it's a large, open valley on top of the mountain, ringed by a semi-circle of much smaller, irregularly-shaped peaks. At the center of this circle, gazing out across the tops of the jungle trees below, is a spaceship.

Green Arrow finds his feet, and stares in awe at the ship. Its strangely beautiful, familiarly aerodynamic yet strangely alien at the same time. The nose of the ship rests lightly on the ground, while the hull swoops up and back toward the rear of the ship. Long, sweeping indentations accentuate the ship's graceful curves, while also providing a somewhat menacing sense of depth. The smooth plating seems designed to deflect missiles, while the metal itself seems thick enough to withstand any conventional bombardment. At the rear of the ship, large rearward thrusters on either side of the ship are rotated downward to serve as landing gear. All in all, the ship exudes an aura of grace and power, a weapon of deadly precision. The perfect vessel for the greatest hunters in the known universe.

Apart from the ship, the valley seems deserted. No animals, no plants, no Predators.

After catching their breath, Batman and Green Arrow tread forward cautiously. There may not be any of the Yautja in sight, but they've already seen the aliens use some sort of cloaking technology. Adding to their concern is the fact that Bane seems nowhere to be found either.

Green Arrow grips Soultaker, Katana's sword, in his remaining hand. Batman lost his rifle during the climb, but he holds a Batarang at the ready as they move toward the rear of the ship. Here they find the entrance, with a lowered ramp leading up to what looks like a cargo bay. There's still no sign of either Bane or any sort of Yautja sentry as Green Arrow and Batman climb the ramp and step inside the ship.

On closer inspection, what had seemed to be a cargo bay now appears to be some sort of medical station, with a couple of operating tables in the center, along with various machines neither Batman nor Green Arrow can guess the use of. Against the walls on either side, however, are large, upright canisters made of reinforced glass with a glass door on the front. Tubes feed into the canisters, possibly to sustain a passenger in stasis. Batman realizes how they were brought to the planet with no memory of their trip through space. Seven of the canisters stand open, and seem to have been used recently.

Seven canisters for seven human fighters, turned loose in the jungle to serve as game animals for the Predators.

Green Arrow puts a hand against the glass, steadying himself as he looks around the chamber. His gaze finally settles on a door at the far end of the room, which is open to the room beyond. Batman notices his gaze, and nods toward the door. Gritting his teeth, Green Arrow nods in return. Together, the duo makes their way cautiously toward the next chamber.

Batman takes a step into the second room. His black boots make no sound on the soft carpet inside. The room is mostly dark, but with patches of light here and there from glowing panels overhead. Like the first chamber, there's no sign of anyone here in the room. Once fully inside the door, the Dark Knight looks around in some surprise. While the medical area just inside the entrance ramp was relatively spartan and impersonal, this second area appears much more lived in. The dark carpet underfoot is worn with the paths of heavy boots. Dust lurks in the darker corners, but is noticeably absent at the center of the room. Here large, thronelike seats are draped with the hides of unknown animals. The fur of mammals, the scales of reptiles, some with enormous talons still hanging from their paws. The seats themselves form an irregular circle, a sort of lounging area with a table in the center. A setup that looks like a game waits on the table, interrupted.