The Central American jungle vibrated with dread, the air heavy with the stench of green Predator blood.
Raja, his Telepathy cranked to max, scanned the trees, pinpointing the fleeing Yautja.
"Alright, listen up," he barked, eyes glinting, "You saw that thing's sci-fi laser show. I can't focus with you lot stumbling around, so I'm escorting you to the extraction point and drawing Ugly Mug to me."
The team, spooked by the Predator's cannon, nodded like bobbleheads, Hawkins muttering, "That laser could grill my mom's tamales!"
Dutch, still rattled, grunted, "Let's move, people!" They bolted toward the rendezvous, Billy leading like a jungle GPS, the team in the middle, and Raja trailing, his Telepathy locked on the Predator's heat signature.
Blain whispered to Mac, "Kid's gonna get himself skewered."
Mac hissed, "Good—less smirking!"
As they trekked, the Predator, cloaked and pissed, shadowed them from the trees. When it got too close, Raja, with sniper precision, fired his Desert Eagle, grazing its arm or pinging its laser cannon, green blood dripping.
The monster hissed, retreating.
Billy, watching Raja's shots, smirked, "Master Demon, you're missing on purpose, aren't you? Mother Naru's rumors check out."
Raja, feigning outrage, clutched his chest, "Billy Boy, how dare you slander your Master Demon? Even Naru never called me out like that! What rumors, you little snitch?"
Billy grinned, "Mother Naru, 200 years back, said you're a psycho battle junkie. You toy with prey, faking weakness to puff up their ego, then bam—you crush 'em till they're begging."
The team, overhearing, exchanged looks.
Poncho muttered, "Two days with this guy, and I'm buying Old women Naru's story."
Hawkins nodded, "Kid's a walking horror flick."
MAYA chirped, "Master, Naru nailed your vibe in just two years—girl's a legend!"
Raja's lip twitched, "Naru, you backstabbing disciple! Demonizing my pristine rep? Rude!"
The team hit a rickety tree-log bridge over a ravine. Raja ushered them across, then planted himself at the bridge's edge, "Guys, hit the extraction, grab the chopper, and bounce."
Dutch opened his mouth to protest, but Billy cut in, "Major, let Master Demon handle the monster—we're just baggage."
Dutch sighed, "Fine, kid, don't die." They vanished into the jungle, leaving Raja alone, his Chaos Watch humming.
The Predator, cloaked, stalked onto the bridge, its blade gauntlet gleaming.
Raja smirked, clicking his watch's translator. Red Queen's voice boomed in Yautja tongue, "Yo, ugly mug from the Yautja tribe, self-proclaimed apex predators! Guess who I am?"
The Predator froze, mandibles clicking, snarling, "Lowly human pest, you dare speak our sacred name? That watch—human tech isn't that advanced! Who are you, worm?"
Raja's grin was pure evil, "1719, human calendar. I ripped your hunter's spine out, crucified him, and sent a message. Hope your tribe didn't shove it in the spaceship junk drawer."
The Predator roared, "You're the demon my ancestors feared! Your disciples shamed us, but Yautja gods favor me today. Your skull's my trophy!"
Raja cracked his knuckles, "Bring it, fugly—time for a world-class ass-whooping!"
The tree-log bridge creaked under their weight as the Predator charged, blades slashing. Raja, no powers, matched its strength just enough to keep it cocky.
The Yautja swung, blades whistling, but Raja ducked, weaving like a boxer, landing jabs to its ribs. "C'mon, big guy, my grandma swings harder!" he taunted.
The Predator roared, thrusting a blade; Raja sidestepped, grabbing its arm, twisting it till it popped, then kneed its gut.
The monster slashed wildly, nicking Raja's shoulder, but he laughed, "Love the foreplay!" He countered with a spinning elbow, cracking its mandible, then dodged a claw swipe, tripping it with a leg sweep.
The Predator scrambled up, lunging, but Raja caught its wrist, slamming it against the log, splinters flying. "You call this hunting? I've had tougher bar fights!"
Raja quipped, landing a hook to its jaw. The Yautja, panting, swung desperately, but Raja's superior skill—years of combat—kept it off balance, every move a taunt.
Raja, ready to escalate the game, wound up and slammed a fist into the Predator's gut, the force stealing its breath. It gasped, eyes rolling, and Raja shoved it off the bridge, the monster tumbling unconscious into the river below.
"Nap time, champ!" Raja called, dusting his hands. He trekked to a familiar spot—waterfall, mountain peak, giant trees—where Dutch smoked the Predator according to the movie. \
"Perfect stage for round two," he muttered, setting to work on Boy Scout traps, non-lethal but humiliating, designed to make the Yautja lose its cool.
As darkness cloaked the jungle, Raja lit a massive bonfire, its glow screaming "come get me." He roared, a primal bellow echoing miles, waking the Predator, now washed ashore, and spooking Dutch's team at the extraction point.
Hawkins yelped, "Raja's toast!"
Billy smiled, "Nah, that's Master Demon calling his prey for a final beatdown."
The Predator, enraged, scaled a tree, spotting the fire. It stalked toward the blaze, cloaked, blades ready.
Raja, chilling his body to dodge thermal vision, hid among trees, clutching a jungle-crafted bow.
The Yautja hit Raja's trap gauntlet: first, a tripwire snagged its foot, dumping it into a pit of sticky sap, Raja's arrow triggering it with a thwack. "Sticky situation, huh?" he chuckled.
It climbed out, only to trigger a vine net, yanking it skyward, Raja's arrow cutting the anchor rope to drop it hard. Next, a log swing, triggered by another arrow, clocked its head, sending it staggering.
A hidden snare looped its ankle, hoisting it upside down, Raja sniping the rope to let it crash. A mud pit sucked it in, arrow-triggered, gumming its cloak.
Spiked branches, rigged to snap, grazed its armor, Raja's arrows setting them off. A bamboo cage dropped, briefly trapping it, until it slashed free, Raja's arrow springing the latch. A pepper bomb, hit by an arrow, exploded in its face, making it sneeze violently.
A weighted vine, arrow-snapped, whipped its legs, tripping it.
Finally, a fake snake pit—rubber vines—freaked it out, Raja's arrow rustling them. The Predator, sap-covered, sneezing, and bruised, screamed, firing its laser cannon in a frenzy, blasting trees to splinters.
After a minute, the cannon overheated, the Predator panting, scanning for Raja. A voice purred behind it, "Over here." It spun, seeing Raja's evil smirk, "Boo!" The Yautja stumbled back, freaked, but Raja Spartan-kicked it, sending it crashing into a rock.
Raja stripped to his waist, flexing his Baki Hanma-level physique, veins popping, warming up with stretches. "No gear, no tricks—let's dance," he growled.
The Predator, pride stung, ditched its mask, revealing its crab-like face, and charged.
Red Queen translated Raja's taunt, "Come, fucker, no weapons. Fistfight to the death—winner takes the head."
The brawl was brutal, a clash of titans under the jungle moon.
The Predator swung a haymaker, but Raja ducked, slamming an uppercut into its jaw, mandibles cracking.
"Smile for the camera!" he quipped. It roared, clawing at his chest, drawing blood, but Raja laughed, "Tickles!" He countered with a knee to its ribs, the crack echoing.
The Yautja tackled, pinning Raja, but he rolled, locking its arm, wrenching it till it popped. "Yoga's good for you!" Raja taunted, springing up.
The Predator lunged, fists flying, but Raja weaved, landing a barrage—left hook, right cross, elbow to the temple.
Green blood sprayed, the Yautja staggering. It tried a desperate headbutt, but Raja sidestepped, grabbing its dreadlocks, slamming its face into a tree. "Timber, face first!" he crowed.
The Predator, dazed, swung wildly, but Raja caught its arm, twisting, then hammered its gut, doubling it over. "Had enough?" Raja asked, dodging a claw swipe, then landing a spinning backfist, shattering its cheekbone.
The Yautja, gasping, tried one last charge, but Raja met it with a flurry—jabs, hooks, a knee to the chin, each hit a lesson in pain.
Finally, Raja wound up, delivering a roundhouse kick that sent the Predator flying, impaling itself on a jagged branch from its own laser rampage.
Raja strolled over, the Yautja tapping its gauntlet to self-destruct, denying him its head. Raja laughed, tapping his Chaos Watch, "Think I'm losing my trophy? I can hack your timer, dumbass. Dragons were my teenage sparring partners—you're just a tech-bullying punk."
As the Predator screamed, Raja ripped its head off, spine intact, roaring in victory.
Miles away, Billy smiled, pride swelling.
Raja stored the trophy in his watch's inventory, triggered the Yautja's self-destruct, and sprinted toward the extraction point.
A nuclear-like blast lit the jungle, shaking the earth. Dutch's team, waiting at the rendezvous, flinched, Hawkins yelping, "Raja's barbecue!"
Billy, praying for his safety, whispered, "Master Demon's fine."
Dawn broke, a chopper buzzing in. As the team boarded, Raja jogged up, waving, "Miss me, losers?"
They gawked, Dutch demanding, "What happened, kid? That explosion!"
Raja grinned, "Fucker couldn't handle my fists, blew himself up like a coward." Using Telepathy, he wiped their memories of him and the Predator, leaving Billy untouched.
Billy, eyes gleaming, said, "Master Demon, visit our ancestral lands—Naru and Taabe's legacy, a secret valley you gifted us 200 years ago."
Raja nodded, "Let's roll, Navajo." They Flew to the valley in a Chopper that raja stole without anyone Knowing, now a thriving state.
Raja strode in like he owned it, locals murmuring, "Who's this outsider?"
The tribal chief, alerted, granted a meeting. Seeing Raja's face and Trishul tattoo, the old chief sprinted, dropping to a knee, "Master Demon! My ancestors blessed me to see you!"
Raja smirked, "Nice to be back, chief—love what you've done with the place."
The chief explained, "Thanks to Naru and Taabe's fight against colonialists, we're 25% of the US population, with two elected vice presidents from our tribe all these years."
Raja handed over tech blueprints, medicinal formulas, and political advice, asking, "Heard of Weyland-Yutani?"
The chief shook his head, "No, but we'll dig."
Raja left a cryptic letter for the universe, grinning, "Keep the valley thriving, chief."
To Be Continued…