| “ | I need to sharpen my stalking skills... if Kraven is to hunt again!!
— Kraven the Hunter
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” |
Kraven the Hunter is a maniacal big game hunter, mercenary, illegal Russian immigrant,bodyguard, criminal and founding member of Sinister Six who seeks to defeat Spider-Man to prove that he is the greatest hunter in the world. Unlike other hunters, he typically disdains the use of guns or bow and arrows, preferring to take down large dangerous animals with his bare hands. He also lives by a code of honor of sorts, choosing to hunt his game fairly. He consumes a mystical serum to give himself enhanced strength and dramatically slow the aging process. Kraven was trained as a hunter largely by a mysterious man named Gregor, a mercenary who battled Ka-Zar.
However, his aggravation, combined constant defeat at the hands of the superhero, destroyed Kraven's sanity. He was so envious about the fame and success enjoyed by Spider-man that after hatching a scheme that actually defeated Spider-Man, Kraven himself donned a copy of Spider-Man's costume and became a vigilante to prove his superiority. After brutally defeating a villain named Vermin who Spider-man failed to defeat and witnessing Spider-man's re-emergence from defeat, Kraven calmly greeted the hero and explained that his victory over Vermin had made his point.
After this incident, the villain killed himself for his jealousy had been satisfied and he had no more goals to pursue in his life.
Battle vs. Predator (by Godkombat21)[]
New York City-10:00 PM
Spider-Man lands in an ally way, coated with blood and human skulls. The sight made him want to vomit. He looked around and soon spotted the bloodied mask of whom he knew as The Green Goblin. Suddenly he sidestepped as a large hunting knife landed right in front of his head. Spider-man turned, and there out of the shadows emerged his familiar foe, Kraven The Hunter. "Well, well, Kraven, I never took you for someone whoed do this." "I'm a hunter not a murderer." Kraven responded. He then grabbed his other knife and attempted to slash Spider-man. Spidey avoided his swings easily. "Well, you know I really don't have time for this." Suddenly Spider-man's spider senses started going off. He looked up but was immediatly grabbed by a strange black creature without a face. It quickly dragged Spidey to the roof of the building as Kraven Picked up his knife he had thrown at Spider-man. Suddenly a second creature landed behind Kraven, it hissed and flashed it's claws before lunging at Kraven. Kraven wrestled the beast as it tried to inject it's second mouth into his skull. It lifted it's scorpion like tail ready to impale Kraven when three red dots appeared on it's head and in a blue flash, it's head exploded. Kraven looked up and standing on the edge of the roof was a creature with tribal looking metal armor and a mask. It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. "You! Spider-man, where is my prey?!" He demanded. The creature simply held up his decapitated head, with his mask still on. Rage filled Kraven as he clenched his fists. The Predator then jumped from the roof in front of Kraven. "I will have your head for this!" He yelled lunging at the Predator with his knives. The Predator extended his wrist blades and the two clashed blades. Kraven backed up for a momment and then jumped at the Predator. The predator rolled out of the way and Kraven ended up lodging his knife into the ground. The Predator took the chance and kicked Kraven with a massive amount of force. This was unexpected and knocked Kraven out cold. The Predator stepped over his incapacitated foe, pondering wheither or not to kill him right there. But it could tell this human was different from the others and thought he'd make a great hunt. He pressed a few buttons on his wrist as he prepared for transport.
The Savage Lands-9:30 AM
Kraven awoke with a throbbing pain in the back of his head. He looked around confused and dazed. The land was very on familiar. Suddenly he caught a scent, a certain scent that was very familiar. A red light then aimed at his head from out of the trees, he traced the smell and turned just in time to see the source of the light. He rolled out of the way just as a blue blast of energy shot at him. He looked towards the source of the fire but could hardly see anything. He looked closely, when he noticed movement. He reached into his vest, and soon discovered he still had his weapons. He pulled out his boomerang and tossed it into the distance. It's first run through, it didn't hit anything. But as it came back it struck something. Suddenly the cloaked Predator revealed itself. "There you are." Kraven said to himself, as he leaped towards the Predator. he tackled it as they both went tumbling off of the tree. The Predators stabbed his arm with his wrist blade. But Kraven didn't let go. He laughed to himself, "You'll have to do better then that if you want to shake off Sergei Kravinoff." The Predator then grabbed Kraven's arms and to his suprise it flung Kraven off of him. Kraven landed on his feet, but he was suprised by the beasts strength, not even Spider-man could shake Kraven off like that. The Predator then pulled out three shurikans and tossed them at Kraven. Kraven avioded them with little difficulty. The Predator reached to grab more when Kraven took out a whip and struck the Predators hand with it. The Predator grunted a bit with pain as it grabbed the gash on it's hand. He turned towards Kraven. "I must admit, you are trully a prey worth hunting, Your head will look wonderful on my mantle." The Predator growled and pulled out it's combi stick, and lunged at Kraven. Kraven avoided the multiple stabs but the Predator pulled back and swung at Kraven's feet, knocking him off balance. The Predator aimed straight for Kraven's heart, but Kraven intercepted it with his own spear. "Oh no you don't my friend." He said evilly.
The two began swinging their weapons at each other. Kraven tried to stabb down on the Predator's shoulder, but it avoided his attack and Kraven loudged his spear in the dirt. The Predator kicked the spear and snapped it off the spear head. Kraven grabbed at the Predator's combi stick. The Predator responds by stabbing Kraven in the side with it's wrist blade. Kraven grunted in pain and the Predator Kicks him against a tree. It attempts to stab him in the heart with the combi stick but Kraven grabs his weapon, as he keeps it a good distance away from his chest. The Predator pushes and edges closer to Kraven. Kraven looks over and sees the headless spear, he grabs it and stabs it's sharp edge into the predator's unarmored side. The Predator roars in pain as Kraven then punches it away from him, and leaps into the trees. The Predator stumbles around in the forest clutching it's side with pain. It reached into its armor and grabbed a syringe. It jabbed it into it's stomach and the hole in it's side begane to heal.
Kraven lept through the trees until he was sure he was far enough from the predator. He reached into his vest and pulled out a special potion. He gulped it down and his side healed almost immediatly. Kraven laughed to himself. This creature was unlike anything he had ever face, not even Spider-man would go so far as to try and kill him. But this thing, could think and strategize like a man, trully it was the ultimate prey. He lept through the trees to try and find it. The Predator roamed through the forest searching for Kraven. It's thermal vision couldn't detect moving target. Kraven watched the Predator out of it's vision. "Interesting, it thinks it's hunting me." He thought. The Predator thought it heard ruffling in the trees and fired it's plasma caster into the trees, but it hit nothing. Kraven noticed the weapon on it's shoulder and knew he had to get rid of it. He reached into his vest and pulled out his secret weapon, a hunting rifle. He aimed it carefully at the barrel of the plasma caster and fired. The bullet hit it's target and the Predators weapons sparked before it exploded. The Predator growled and ripped off the weapon as it looked up and saw Kraven aiming at it. It blocked the bullets with it's blades and tossed it's smart disk. Kraven ducked and avoided decapitation but it sliced the branch he stood on as it came back to the Predator. Kraven lands on his feet but had unintentionally tossed the gun when he fell. The Predator picks up the gun and breaks it in half. Kraven doesn't seem phased he simpley takes out a dart gun, and shoots out a few darts. The Predator blocks most of them but one strikes it in the neck. It's vision starts getting blurry as Kraven pulls out his hunting knives. The Predator pulls out the dart and extends it's blades. Kraven swings his knives but thanks to the poison he seems to be moving faster then before. Kraven smiles sinisterly as he slashes the Predator across the stomach. The Predator stumbles against a tree as the poison starts to wear off. "Be still beast, the noblest prey ends the hunt in silence dignity." Kraven says approaching. The Predator growls, this human believes it could hunt him? Unacceptable. Kraven lifted his knife ready to slit the Predator's throat. But the Predator quickly reaches into it's armor and slices Kraven wrist with it's shurikan.
Kraven yells in pain as the Predator finally recovers from the poison. In a fit of rage though Kraven punches the Predator with all his strength sending it flying through a tree. The Predator's thermal vision starts to fail, as it discovers that it's mask is now damaged beyond repair. It takes off it's mask and tosses it to the ground. "Ah, you finally show your face." Kraven says. The Predator pulls out more shurikans and toss them at Kraven. Kraven avoids them but the Predator jumps at him and kicks him to the ground. Kraven reaches in a pouch in his vest and pulls out some poison powder. The Predator prepares to stab Kraven but suddenly Kraven flings the dust into the Predator's face. The Predator doesn't inhale the dust, but it's face burned beyond belief. The Predator stumbled back in pain as it's vision was severly hindered. Kraven takes his chance and starts swinging his knives once again. He inflicts much more damage on the Predator, but the creature soon recomposes himself and starts fighting back. The two clash blades vicously, slashing at eachother and blocking the others weapon. Kraven then knees the Predator in the stomach, causing it to stumble over in pain. "You have been formidable prey, but no beast can best Sergei Kravinoff." Kraven said ready to slice the Predator in the back. The Predator looks up and slices Kraven in the leg, causing him to neal down in pain. The Predator then kicks him again against a tree, and grabs his throat. "This can't be happening to Sergei Kravin-" The Predator stabbs Kraven in the chest, stopping him mid sentence. Kraven stumbles over bleeding badly. He sees his knives on the ground and tries to crawl towards his weapons. The Predator yet again takes out his combi stick and jabbs it vicously into Kraven's back. Kraven goes limp with death as the Predator pulls out it's weapon. It then sticks it's hand into Kraven's spine and pulls out Kraven's skull, with his spine still attached. It then roars in the air in victory.
Winner: Predator
Aftermath[]
The Predator returned to it's ally way gazing at the fresh skull it just harvested. This human certainly was an amazing challenge, it had almost killed the Predator. The Predator thought, there must have been more humans like this one that would put up a challenge. It looked down and noticed a newspaper on the ground. It picked it up and examined the main headline, an article on The Avengers.
Expert's Opinoin[]
TBA
To see the original, battle, weapons and votes, click here.
Se7en Royale (by Battlefan237)[]
Prelude : The Doomsday Upheaval[]
The Long Corridor, Office of the High Inquisitor, A Timeline long Forgotten[]
"Not gonna lie, mate. Your overall performance certainly exceeds my expectation. At the start I didn't even expect you to last longer than that self-acclaimed chosen one, but look at you now - determined and powerful, coming close to ending my career. " Says the general, as he struggles to reach for the revolver, coughing out blood. Despite having more than a few bones broken and bloody wounds all over his body, the brave man still faces the Incan chief in front of him with professional aplomb.
"Thanks for the compliment, my old friend '.' Although I personally would give more credits to that lady, since basically all of my current powers come from her....Anyway that's not important for you to know, cuz you're going to meet your doom real soon at the hands of the most powerful reality manipulator in the multiverse ! HA !" The chief laughs maniacally, as he draws out his truncheon and points it towards the general. Ghastly hair of Kayako instantly emerges from the weapon and entangles E.A. , detaching both legs from his body. Expecting to see despair on the general's face, the chief is soon shocked to find that the man lying on the ground doesn't even display the slightest sign of anxiety, regardless of the amount of blood that is gushing out of his wounds.
"Still trying to be tough, eh ? Guess the Flamer's right about you - you ain't afraid of death ! "
"No, chief, you're getting it all wrong. As a matter of fact, I do fear death. The very idea of it is enough to make me quiver. The reason why I'm still as calm as I've always been now is that, I'm not going to die. "
"What's the hell are you talking about ? You've got your legs removed, and soon I'll do the same to your arms !"
"Fool. When you and your little friends were busy releasing the prisoners and sending out invitations to the sinned ones for that death match in your brand new timeline, I made some small adjustments to this place - run-of-the-mill adjustments that we used to make on a daily basis for fun when you're still locked in Bandom Zone. " As soon as the general finishes this, the chief freezes in bewilderment immediately. Scanning through his memory for clues and hints about the true meaning of Montgomery's words, it takes a few seconds for him to eventually find out the terrible truth.
"You motherf**ker, I'll kill you - " The chief's speech is truncated, for a few seconds is enough for the general to snatch the Webley and opens fire, blasting the Incan leader's skull.
"We're in Headshot-only Mode, loser !" The high inquisitor lets out a victorious shout, as he watches the chief's body crumbling down and Kayako's soul leaving its host. However, the man's joy of victory is short-lived, for a quick glance at the computer screen shows that the forces of justice and order aren't faring good against Craven's army of villains and abominations. The mounted god who wields the ban hammer has already perished under the combined assault of countless Yetis commanded by a faceless one, while the one that holds the key to this timeline is nowhere to be found. Trotsky and the Hippoman are still fighting fiercely, but they soon meet their ends at the Omega Beam fired from the eyes of the mighty Darkseid.
"This timeline can't be saved now. " The general sighs, as he presses two buttons on the control desk, the first one of which initiates the self-destruction protocol of DFU, while the second one signals an agent of the corridor to do what he always does and does best -
"Barry, run as fast as you can, so that we can get a rebirth. Make it snappy. "
Chapter I : A Priest meets A Prick[]
DFU Federal (Post-Rebirth DFU )
Where am I ? What time is it ? Why am I here ? What am I supposed to do ?
Father Gascoigne wanders aimlessly down the forest lane, as questions keep on popping up in the saner parts of his brain. Every time he is about to recall the answer to one of those quesitions, the insanity starts kicking in, once again overwhelming his brain with images and fractured memories of beasts and human abnormalities of central Yharnam. From time to time he alertly turns back, catching sight of nothing but empty forests. "Looks can be deceiving. There are definitely beasts in those cursed woods. " He tells himself repeatedly, as he continues his blind crusade.
Actually, only minutes have passed since the gamemaster imparted all contestants about their objects and the rules, yet the father, unsurprisingly, has forgotten them all except the fact that he is in some sort of contest against six different fighters. He doesn't give a damn about winning. Neither does he worry about being eliminated early. For all of them - his rivals, the gamemaster and all the beings of this alien realm, will sooner or later, devolve into beasts, which means, they are all equally vile beings beyond redemption, and he will kill each and everyone of them. And that alone is the only goal he has and cares.
Meanwhile, up on the hill, Sergei Kravinoff has finished sharpening his tools and readied himself for the hunt. Deep down inside his heart, the desire of winning constantly urges him to strike out and march into the urban area, tracking down all six opponents and eliminating them with brutal efficiency, so that he can finally receive the esteem he craves. However, experience has taught him again and again the he could only found dignity, not in the cities, but in the jungle. His honor and mindset are all deeply inveterated in the green. So he ultimately decides to remain in the woods. Scanning the area below for any potential targets, he notices nothing out of ordinary except a small suitcase on which the word "supply" has been written in bold. Immediately associating it with the supply box mentioned by the host, he quickly makes his way downward and slashes it open with his hunting knife, revealing two grenades, three can of ham and a few magazines. Although delighted, he carefully puts them back and turn the case over while meticulously wiping out his trace to make it seem like nobody has ever come here. Then he shelters himself behind a large rock nearby, dart gun in hands, as he waits for someone to bite the hook. Seldom
Back to the Father, who, after finding no luck in the forest, has reached the edge of the city in search for fresh blood. Being the most populated area of the Federal, the sewer section of Battlefan's section certainly doesn't let him down, for Gascoigne soon spots four figures laughing maniacally while beating down another figure with their canes.
"So, you're the one that wrote the Art of War, eh ? You're certainly incompatible with your words !" Says Alex , as he repetitiously lands blows on the elderly illegal emmigrant lying below him. Sun Tzu has no choice but to groan helplessly and take the beatings, for the poor condition of the prison has worn him down dramatically, and now he is merely a walking husk.
"Beasts....finally." Gascoigne thinks, as he instantly hops forward and draws out his axe, cutting Dim and Geogre in two at their waists in seconds . Pete soon bites the dust too, as the axe hacks right into his skull. Alex, totally dumbfounded, raises his cane in a pathetic attempt at defense. Right before Father could snuff him, an energy blast sent from behind devastates his back, forcing him to collapse down. Taking it as a chance, the old man rolls into the ditch by the road, narrowly escaping an impending doom. Looking toward the source of the blast, Gascoigne discovers a masked figure who has appeared out of seemingly nowhere.
"Now it's fun. " Says Kai Leng, snobbishly, as he unveils the tactical cloak, fully and foolishly exposing himself to the priest. Still pissed about being tricked by that Russian asshole , Kai Leng is in dire need for a punching bag.Assuming Gascoigne as someone inferior merely through judging his costume and signature weapon,Kai Leng cannot wait to tear apart the middle-aged man in front of him and achieve the first blood of this battle royale. "Your rampage ends here -" Hardly has Kai finished his entrance speech when a pistol slips out of Gascoigne's cloak. Hastily generating his energy shield, Kai Leng is able to block the damage, but the impact still sends him crashing back into the pipe mouth from which he popped out.
"You're too slow, old man !" Despite his poor performance, Kai still somehow shamelessly shouts out an insult. Drawing out his sword, he leans it forward, attempting to finish off his opponent. Hardly has he steadied his pose when Father Gascoigne opens fire once again. This time, the bullet tears through his sword-wielding arm, violently detaching it from his body, forcing Kai to let out a painful scream as he slumps backward into the pipe.
"So this is where all the beasts like you come from ? " Mutters the Father, as he fords into the entrance, closing his distance with Kai Leng. " Beasts ? I don't know what you are talking about. I'm not a beast !" Yells Kai Leng, defiantly, as he struggles to fire off more rounds of energy blast with his remaining arm.
" If I don't kill you today, tomorrow you'll be one of them. " Gascoigne remarks coldly, as he shrugs off the damage like nothing and elevates his axe, violently swinging it toward Kai Leng and crashing the assassin's skull, leading to the number in the sky instantly decreasing to six. Unsatisfied with a single strike, the priest persists in hacking at Kai, until his body becomes a mass of unrecognizable flesh.
.........
DFederal, Canon
Interlude : A Poor Man's Hope[]
"So, that's how you end up in the sewer once again ? And this is your new home ? Damn, it is even more terrible than your previous one, where you can steal catch some rats. Now you can only roast cockroaches for dinner. " The gloating words from Thane echoes in Kai Leng's mind, as he sits in his new home, focusing on future plans to temporarily escape from the horrible smell. He must find someone to fight, or else he will be stuck in this literal shithole forever. But with challenging Captain Stingaree to a sword duel ruled out due to the crazy pirate somehow retains a bottle of venom, he now has to look into the obscurity for a foe. Paging a ragtag notebook stolen from the sealed parts of S119's sandbox, Kai Leng searches desperately.
"How come all of them are so overpowered ?" He bemoans constantly. Just as he is about to toss it into the cockroach pit, it suddenly dawns on him that he has been too narrow in scope. There are still many suitable opponents for him outside the federal, and in fact, he just happens to know one - a being whose reputation is just as unpleasant as his and whose powers are roughly on par with his arsenal. Snapping a bug with his hands, Kai Leng beams out a hyped smile.After all these years of humiliation, suffering and defeats, he finally sees the light of victory around the corner. Picking up his equipment, he stands up and kicks aside the insects feasting on his mask on the floor, letting out a roar of joy :
Jar Jar Binks, you lucky bastard, HERE I COME !
Chapter II : The Halloween that Ends in A Hunt[]
Getting bored over hacking at Kai Leng's corpse, Father Gascoigne leaves the sewer entrance and ventures further into the slump so that he can find more beasts to slaughter. However, before he can make his way into the new area, a tender voice from behind draws his attention. Turning back, the priest sees a woman in purple sweater standing in the close distance, with a top hat staying on her head at odd angles that seemingly defy gravity. A more careful observation soon tells Gascoigne that the woman is different from any Yharnam women who will soon turn into "beasts", for her impressive height, high cheek bones and wide set eyes aren't really common for native residents of that accursed city. Staring into the woman's gleaming eyes, Gascoigne, feels calm for the first time in years. All in a sudden, the mad priest finds that the reddish color that have been keeping his vision blurred in crimson gone, and the urge to kill seems to quite distant as well. Memories from those old days, especially those good memories, soon emerge from his mind, as the outside world becomes iridescent once again.It doesn't take very long for him to recall his wife and daughter.He remembers having dinner with them in their shanty but cozy cottage,chatting and laughing together like any normal family.
"Gascoigne, my dear," The woman begins talking in a tender voice,"As someone who has also at one point headed a family, I can understand your feeling. Follow me and help me with some tasks,then I will reunite you with Viola and the girls." Utilizing information she has gathered by projecting her soul around the arena to locate and read the minds of each and every contestant, Rose the Hat grins, as she uses her power to successfully recruit the strongest contestant. With the first phase of her plan of winning completed, Rose leads the priest into the city."Four more rubes to take down." She whispers to herself, as they head towards the position of the first name on Rose's hit list.
Meanwhile, in another section of the arena, Michael Myers barges into an apartment through its open window. The female inhabitant , who has buried her head in a pile of books written by her favorite author, isn't fast enough to notice this uninvited guest. Quickly thrusting the kitchen knife into the woman's back, Michael relishes over the agonizing scream of his victim, as blood colors all Paul Sheldon books around in red. Heading out of the apartment, the slasher bumps into a girl . Not even sparing time for hesitation, Michael swings his oversized knife across the girl's neck, removing her head instantly. Eager for more easy blood, Michael decides to explore the rooms inside this flat house for more living beings, totally ignoring his main objective like Gascoigne.
Bursting out of the door to seek for more victims, Michael Myers is greeted by Rose the Hat with a heinous smile. "As I have expected, you are quite easy to find." Rose smirks. Underestimating Rose as yet another helpless but arrogant prey, Michael raises his blade.Laughing,the cult leader simply moves her slim body aside to make way for the hunched but muscular husk of her temporary assistance.
Identifying Myers as yet another annoying beast,Gascoigne opens fire. The bullet hits Michael right on the chest, only ending up creating a small hole whose size is moderate at best. Under the order of Rose, the father charges forward, swinging his axe towards the emotionless killer, only to have Michael resist it by grabbing at the handle. Enraged, Gascoigne glares at his opponent,attempting to intimidate him into letting go of the axe,only to find a pair of hollow, souless eyes behind the white mask.
Finding it harder and harder to hold on as the beastly priest increases his pressure, Myers decides to take the initiative via a swift stab to the father's stomach.This decision, however, ended up backfiring, as the father, stirred by the pain, suddenly doubles his strength, pressing the axe into Michael's skull.
Feeling no pain, Michael remains still, but he drops the knife on the floor, for the axe has destroyed his nerve system, preventing him from properly controlling his body. Gladly taking this valuable chance, the father proceeds to deal with Michael by giving him the same treatment as Kai Leng.
"Don't forget to give my regard to Laurie ! It's a shame that such a shining girl has a piece of wood like you as brother. Even though I've only seen her through your mind, it's enough for me to tell that her steam is beyond precious. " Rose remarks, as she orders her stooge to leave the devastated body of Michael Myers so that they can go for her next planned target - a psychic named Roman Sionis, whom in Rose's opinion, is her greatest enemy.
......
Back to the forested area, Kraven is ravished, for after a long period of tiresome waiting, he has finally spotted something - the creature is moving stead-fastly towards the supply box from the edge of the forest. From the way it travels, Kraven can tell that it is intelligent, for the thing somehow manages to hide its entire body in the grass, only making small movements. However, these movements are not in sync with the wind, which is why it has caught the hunter's attention. Slowly and steadily, the hunter aims his dart gun at the area around the box.
The moment the invisible creature reaches the box, a humanoid figure suddenly materializes next to it. Simultaneously, Kraven pulls the trigger and the dart thrusts into the Homunculus's neck.
" Arrrrrrrh !" Shocked, the stand shouts in discomfort, as it pulls the thing out of its body and breaks it apart, discarding it on the floor.Upon realizing that it is just a simple dart, the stand sighs in relief and chuckles, feeling sure that this mortal weapon won't do any harm to him.
Just as he is about to turn to the hill so that he can pick out the ambusher, he is interrupted by sharp pain on his neck and the sound of small objects colliding with the ground. Looking around to seek the source of the noise, his confusion soon morphs into horror, as he shudders to understand that his body is falling apart from the wound on the neck. "Mel...Melone ! What's the f**k is this ?" The powerful but simple-minded creature roars in desperation, as his body crumbles into cubes and his consciousness succumbs to the deadly poison inside the dart that strike fear even in symbiotes and metahumans of all kinds.
Several kilometers away, in the most remote section of the arena, Melone sighs, as the signal on his computer disappears. Packing it up, the Squadra member hops onto his motorcycle, setting out to hunt down another female host for the creation of a brand new Babyface.
Chapter III : Mind Games[]
"My friends, as your leader and the proxy of the mask, I'm obliged to tell you that all of you do not serve me, instead, you serve the mask on my face. Know that this mask destroys one identity while creating another ! Know that this mask recreates the wearer! Know that through the sublimation of personality, inhibitions die -- and deeper drives, more primitive instincts, are brought to the surface! " The Black Mask shouts enthusiastically towards the small crowd of people clustering around him, as he infiltrates their minds and turns them into his slaves."Under the leadership of the mask, we are going to start a movement in this town, a movement that will hopefully satisfy those deeper drives and desires of the mask and of myself, for at this very moment I am the mask and the mask is me. " Once finshed, the crowd burst out cheering for his speech under orders from himself. "Good, good ! As the members of our new movement, you are not only uniform in ideas, even your reaction to the same thing is almost homogeneous !" Roman comments unabashedly.
When Roman rejoices over his success in gathering a small army which will hopefully help him become the champion, Melone is busy educating his second Homunculus.Two rivals have already been taken down,which is a piece of good news, however, the fact that his stand hasn't even directly confronted an enemy is troublesome, to say the least, especially when he takes into account the mysterious figure that brought down the first babyface. "Remember, travel around this town stealthily, take down everyone that attacks you or attacks others, and bring back those boxes." Typing the aforementioned sentence repeatedly into the computer, Melone continue to wait anxiously, for this is the only thing he can and he needs to do.
Back to Black Mask, who has, with the help of his mind-controlled thugs, taken over a small building as his base of operation. "The most important thing Gotham has taught me is that people are always on the move, so if you don't take something in the first place, others will take it, which puts you at a disadvantage." Roman contemplates, as he rests in his office, guarded by the controlled Johnson brothers and thinking about the next phase of his plan.Being as cunning as he always is, Roman decides to play defensively - one contestant perished very early in the match, indicating the existence of very powerful contestants whose overall capability might exceed the mask.Therefore, Roman deems it sensible to hide in a highly-guarded place right now before he can collect useful information about his potential enemies from town folks captured by his slaves.
So far his men have already brought back several citizens, but, to the mask's dismay, none has spoken about anything useful.However, Roman isn't entirely unsatisfied, for his men have also taken back some supply boxes filled with firearms and bullets.
......
Projecting her soul around the arena to seek for Roman,Rose easily locates her target.Marching to his headquarter with Father Gascoigne,the duo quickly massacres the guards at the gate, either by cutting them apart or telling them to kill themselves. Hearing the screams from below, Roman and his remaining slaves reacts quickly, retaliating by firing at their enemies with literally every firearm in their hands.
Having already seen it coming through reading Roman's mind, Rose orders the father to shelter her and Gascoigne obeys immediately, standing in front of the knot leader with the axe in hands.Rounds from pistols and SMGs soon riddle the father with bloody holes. In stark contrast to the amount of blood he has lost, the father still acts vigorously, as his axe suddenly transforms into one with two blades. Steadily marching forward to the guards, Gascoinge beheads Ryder as the poor man reloads his shotgun.
"Bunch of useless fools !" The Mask shouts in rage, as he orders Sweet, who has also ran out of ammo as well,to discard his pistol and hit the father with the baseball bat around him. Putting all of his focus on the bulky man, Black Mask forces the leader of GSF to press every fraction of his strength into the strike onto the father's skull, only to have the bat itself destroyed. Not even giving a damn about the brain damage, Gascoigne, still under Rose's mind control, lifts up Sweet Johnson and tosses him backwards into the street. He then turns his attention to Big Smoke, who, despite Gascoigne aka the target standing few inches in front of him and he himself being placed under mind control, still somehow manages to miss it every single shot.Deeming him as unthreatening, the father marches upstairs, casually taking down two remaining thugs by the way.
The second Gascoigne reaches the second floor, he is offered a warm welcome by a hand grenade and Roman's tommy gun. Both fails to put an end to the beast man's rampage, but the grenade is able to send the physical body of Gascoigne a few steps backward.
"Well,you're one tough bastard, I gotta admit. You remind me of a certain associate of mine back in Arkham. Speaking of associate, why don't you join my movement and work for the mask instead ?" Says Roman, as he activates his mental attack, trying to hypnotize Gascoigne into working for him, only to sense that some vital parts of the priest's brain seems to be protected by some sort of thick mental shields. According to his experience, similar barriers also exist in the minds of the bat and some other lunatics, but the barriers between him and the mind of this murderous beast is diffierent, for it doesn't seem natural, as if someone other than the man has forcibly established them preemptively.
His suspicion is soon confirmed, as the sound of another figure climbing up the stairs is heard, and with the sound getting louder, the mental shields seem stronger. When Rose eventually reveals herself to Black Mask, those barriers become seemingly impregnable.Picking up another grenade,Black Mask doesn't get a chance to use it, as Gascoigne delivers a kick onto his chest, sending him crashing into the office desk. Ascending his axe for a fatal strike on his head, the father is forced to pause, as Rose barks out an order - "Stop ! Stop ! You will destroy the mask !"
"Such an enjoyable fight your men have put up." Says Rose, mordantly."Although it's a shame that they die for someone as pathetic as you - a rube who somehow manages to shine with the help of a magical mask. If I had got this mask, I would have already be ruling my world with my followers. Only a useless, powerless and senseless rube like you will use it for petty things like organized crime.Obviously, you are not suitable for it. So why don't you take it off, give it to me, and let us see your handsome face before my friend Gascoigne does his job ?"Rose orders proudly.
"Hey bitch, this mask is a gift from my father, what makes you think that I will just simply give it to you after you people killed all of my ‘friends' here ? So the way I see it, the only method with which you can get this mask is that you control me to do so like how you controled your big friend to murder my men. But I highly doubt if you can do it, since the mask and I are two souls fused into one, we are inseparable." Says Roman defiantly, as he spits onto Rose the Hat's face.
"YOU WORTHLESS RUBE ! " Angered and disgusted by Sionis's behavior, Rose finally peels off her calm facade. Taking a big sip of steam from her botte, the telepathic serial killer puts all of her mind power into Roman's brain. "I will make you suffer ! " She shouts furiously, as she digs through the memory of Roman Sionis, picking out the worst bits for the psychopath to relive. Almost instantly, Roman's brain is overwhelmed with images and figures from his past - a few of them are full of maniacal laughter, some are filled with sirens, but most teem with ultra-violent and betrayal. In many of them, Roman finds himself back in old confrontations with the bat or Catwoman, during which he is punched, stomped, kicked, and thrown down from rooftops. A lot of them also brings him back to one of the nights in the Asylum, where Joker, Scarecrow and many others torment him with mockery about his failure. At the end of this long string of agonizing memories, Roman finds himself lying helplessly on the floor, with Richard Sionis standing right next to him, leather belt in hands. "Son, you are of great disappointment. " His father shouts, as he beats him like a dog, and the only thing Roman can do is begging for forgiveness endlessly. Rpman has no choice but to groan in purified pain.
"Useless rube fathers raise useless rube sons. " Rose laughs, as she watches it from nearby. "You know, although you rubes don't emit steam when screaming, it's still kind of fun to watch you people suff- " Before Rose can finish her comment, an odd feeling suddenly creeps up her back, and before she can source it out, the axe has already reached her neck. In sheer second her head is removed and tossed out of the window. Blood spurts out of neck like a fountain, as her body collapses down and the steam bottle drops onto the floor, breaking into pieces swiftly. A few steps away, the blood-stained top hat lands onto the floor silently. With its owner gone, it is now nothing more than a fancy joke, and Gascoigne deals with it by stomping it flat.
"Guess my deduction is right as always, you f**king bitch. Your mind isn't enough for more than one puppet. Hell, when you are downstairs, you even struggle to completely control one. With the bitch dead, I think it's time for us to sort out our business. " Black Mask says in relief, as he regains his composure and turns to Father Gascoigne, who, as expected, is readying his axe for the mask.
Chapter IV : The Hunt for Gascoigne[]
Trying to concentrate on the Father so that he can gain control over his mind like Rose, Black Mask isn't fast enough to match the sheer speed of the priest, whose punch sends him flying out of the window.
Landing on the ground, the hardwood mask is able to protect his brain from any injuries, however, the impact leaves several cracks on it, rendering it no longer capable of mind manipulation. Refusing to give up, the mobster grabs up his remaining firearm and is just in time to hit Gascoigne with a string of bullets, forcing the beast to back off. In order to make sure the Father is dead, Black Mask tosses his last grenade towards his enemy.
As the smoke from the explosion elapses, the former king of Gotham is shocked to witness the Father, despite bleeding terribly, continues standing still.
Dropping his axe, Gascoigne roars in fury, as his body initiates mutation into the final form. It only takes seconds for him to completely morphs into a literal beast, but Black Mask is nowhere to be seen.
Picking up the scent of his enemy, the werewolf immediately gets a lead and heads toward the direction to which his enemy has fled.
However, little does the Father realize that a man who specializes in dealing with creatures like him has been notified about his arrival through listening to the faint but ominous noise from the ground, and this man is bringing the correct set of equipment and skills to accomplish his hunt.
Just as Kraven the Hunter, thrilled by the presence of such a beast, packs up his tools for the hunt, Melone the pervert is also on the move. Using the blood he collected from the carnage left by others, he has already succeeded in creating a second Babyface. This time, the job of tracking is a lot easier, for both Black Mask and Father Gascoigne have left a more than visible trail of blood.
Back to Blask Mask, who has, miraculously, found himself around a supply box in the midst of a hasty escape. Quickly digging through its contents, the psycho picks up a flamethrower. Holding it againt the incoming Gascoigne, Black Mask pulls the switch. As the readers might have expected, Gascoigne, though engulfed by flames, simply shrugs off the pain, for he feels only the urge to kill and nothing else.
Fueled by blind rage, Gascoigne ferociously launches his retaliation, knocking the weapon off Black Mask's hands and ripping off one of his arm in the process. What both warrios don't realize is that the Hunter has also made his way here, and he has been watching carefully but silently, looking out for any chance to attack.
Yelling in pain, Black Mask swiftly retreats backwards to avoid further damage and pull off his final trick - snatching the pistol from his pocket with his remaining arm, the mobster, in a seemingly vain attempt to delay his doom, aims for the eye of the beast. Before he can pull the trigger, however, the beast itself collapses down in flames.
Pulling out the dart from his back, Gascoigne turns back to see Kraven the Hunter standing in the distance with his iconic spear in hands.
"Interesting. I have fought and killed many beasts throughout my career as a hunter, however, you aren't like anything I have seen. That dart is more than capable of taking down a symbiote, and from the look I can tell it indeed pains you a lot. Nevertheless, you are still standing after being stabbed by it on the spine. " Says Kraven, to whom Gascoigne responds with a disgruntled roar.
Identifying Kraven as a new threat, Gascoigne temporarily ignores Black Mask and goes for the hunter. Launching himself towards the man, the beast hopes to rips him apart limb by limb. Kraven, however, thanks to the skills which he takes great pride in, is fast enough to block the Father with his spear, thrusting it right into his chest. The poison from the tip almost instantly reaches Gascoigne's heart. Letting out a short but intensely painful scream, the insane priest finally finds peace in his death.
"Guess this is what tells us apart, beast. Humans, especially hunters like me, can excel in both physicality and intellect. However, for beasts like you, no matter how human you might look and how many humans you have slaughtered, still fail to reach the same level as us when it comes to brain complexity. " Kraven comments, as he draws out a cleaver from his belt, chopping off the head of Gascoigne as an addition to his trophy collection.
Chapter V : A Man of God[]
Having just witnessed the doom of the priest, Black Mask immediately reaches for a firearm nearby. However just as he is about to initiate his assault he senses something odd, and it doesn't take long for his feeling of odd to transform into sheer desperation, as he shudders to come to the realization that, due to unknown reasons, a small chunk of flesh on his neck has gone missing, effectively cutting off his throat and preventing him from breathing.
Bloods gush out of the wound, as Black Mask's consciousness fades out. In the last few seconds of his life, Black Mask sees the firearm which he originally planned to grab up steadily break into little cubes and reforming into some sort of humanoid entity. As a native Gothamite who has seen things such as human crocodile and literal mud man , such an incident barely confuses him. And Black Mask doesn't really care much about it until later in the New Iceberg Lounge of the federal, where he is informed by Scarecrow that the aforementioned entity caused his death. And from then on, the greedy man seeks apprentice at Atrocitus to unleash his rage and regret.
Identifying the Homunculus as the creature he has taken down at the supply box, Kraven immediately pulls the trigger. However, this time, the Babyface dodges the dart thanks to better education from his master. Quickly reforming into a piece of hardwood, the stand plummets into the remains of Black Mask's mask, effectively blending into them.
With great precaution Kraven approaches the mask, picking it up for further inspection, and it is at this very moment, the stand itself manifests, turning Craven's hands into small cubes. Thrilled by the small success the stand proceeds to materialize one of its arms, launching it towards Kraven's head.
As a man who has traded blows with Spider-Man, the Hunter remains unfazed by the assault and swiftly dodges the incoming punch, retaliating by cutting off the arm with his machete.
Enraged by the pain the stand once again makes a rash decision - it fully manifests itself infront of Kraven in an attempt to rip him apart with all it has got, only to be met with a quick stab to its chest, and it doesn't take long for the stand to be terminated by the effect of poison for a second time.
On the other side of the arena, Melone is forced into searching. The self-styled hunter, whom he has woefully underestimated, has already taken down two of his creations. Now fully aware of Kraven's speed, skills and tenacity, Melone quickly locates a female nearby as a potential host. Pinning the woman down with the computer stand, Melone hasn't even began the more disturbing part of the process when the woman's friends, a group of bikers in their mid-thirties , return. Naturally, they aren't very happy with seeing a man in such a costume trying to pull off something funny towards their boss's girlfriend, and Melone himself is quickly killed by a barrage of bullets.
So, despite the fact that he hasn't even met his final opponent in person, Kraven, the least evil person in the contest, becomes the champion of evil.
Outro : New Home, New Hope, New Frontier[]
Staring down at the slums from his newly-acquired villa on the hill, Kraven is happy but understandably bored. The victory indeed palacates the rage and sorrow caused by his envy, however, it has also killed the thrill of the hunt. Afterall, in such a wealthy neighbourhood, he has nothing to hunt. Therefore, recently he has been focusing on the sewers, where, according to information from his friends, abnormalities and monsters can be found in abundance. Honing his blades, the hunter is preparing for an expedition to that area of the federal, hoping to recapture the thrill.
Expert's Opinion[]
- 7th - Kai Leng : Despite being a somewhat passable fighter, Kai Leng's personality once again places him at the bottom and pushes him further down the sewers.
- 6th - Michael Myers : Michael is a tank who takes a lot of damage but does little harm to others. He does excel in stealth, but his urge to kill and low intelligence hinder him, preventing him from venturing any further.
- 5th - Rose : Despite being one of the smarter warriors, Rose's over-reliance on her followers in the past, arrogance and overall lack of combat experience make it impossible for her to reach the middle tier.
- 4th - Gascoigne : Gascoigne is the least intelligent but the strongest warrior. His decent weapons and physicality allow him to reach the middle tier, but his lack of restrain in the final stage makes him particularly susceptible to tricks and easy to avoid while drawing a lot of attention and damage to himself.
- 3rd - Black Mask : Black Mask is capable and well-armed, but his arrogance and lack of means to counter Babyface forestall him from reaching top 2.
- 2nd - Melone : Melone's stand Babyface is the sole reason why he reaches top 2. With the help of it, Melone can chill somewhere far from the heat and methodically take down opponents when they are at their weakest. However, at this point, his stand has already become weak due to the damage it has taken, forcing him to recreate one, which leaves Melone unprotected and weak.
- 1st - Kraven : Kraven is extremely suitable for this kind of battle royale due to his expertise in stealth and hunting gadgets, which allow him to outmaneuver others in this scenario and take down those with higher amount of health.