This is one dark beginning of a chapter. Also Happy Valentines Day. BLAH!
In a wasteland, dead bodies laid everywhere. Phil Coulson's dead body lay crushed by one of Apocalypse's skeletal hands. Nearby, Princess Jamie's bloodied hand was seen. Nearby, Pyro's kunai laid with the tip buried in the ground, he himself impaled with one of Iceman's ice blades. Behind him, many others are dead too.
Quill had been cut in half by Coulson's hat. Iceman laid, impaled by one of Quill's arm blades. Steve Rogers' glasses laid on the ground, broken, while his corpse remained headless.
A vulture ate off the dead body of Natasha Romanoff, sliced in half. A second vulture flew up and pushed the first off the carcass. The first vulture flew off and towards the Armageddon pyramid.
Venom and an unknown ninja laid near it while Mack was impaled nearby. Up the pyramid, more bodies lay. All dead. The only people alive were Storm and Grant Ward. Storm struggled to stand as Ward spoke. "Where are your Elder Gods, Storm?" He mocked. Ward laughed and strode towards Storm, lifting her up.
"Their pathetic Mortal Kombat shackles me no longer!" He declared. Ward pounded Storm on the face serval times before throwing her across the pyramid.
As Storm flew, her amulet fell off and landed on the ground, shattering. Storm crashed into the floor a moment later as Ward raised his hammer. "They masquerade as dragons, but are toothless worms!" Ward yelled.
As Storm rolled over, Ward slammed his boot into her chest. "My venom spreads. It is the end of all things." Ward's hammer glowed, as he did.
"Armageddon." Ward said. "Stop!" Storm cried. "It is done." Ward replied Ward picked up Storm once more, "Your time has passed." "Ages wasted in resistance...now is the dawn of my rule!" Ward said grandly as Storm spotted her amulet.
Storm scooped up what remained of the amulet and began to chant as Ward approached, laughing. "Yes. Pray to the worms, Storm, as your world ends..." Ward said.
As Ward brought his hammer down to Storm, images of her past flashed before her. Visions of battles and defeats. Wins and losses. They all flashed before her eyes.
Back in the past, at the time of the first Mortal Kombat, Storm clutched her head. Piotr walked up to her, "Lady Storm, what is it?" "Strange...visions..." Storm murmured.
A cracking noise caught Storm's attention and she looked down at her amulet. It had cracked in several places. "Your amulet!" Piotr exclaimed. "It's nothing, Piotr Rasputin. The tournament begins." Storm replied.
On Leo Fitz's island, they turned to watch a procession as it passed them. Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff were to the left of them. The older Iceman/Icewoman, Simmons, along with human Cyborg and Vision were behind them.
Atop the throne, Fitz walked out with Jamie and Annette flanking him. Quill entered to the left of them. To the left of Storm, Wolverine watched them cautiously while Strucker and Pyro, to the left of Steve and Natasha, watched impassively.
The monks finished their walking and sat down in front of Fitz. "Kombatants! I am Leopold Fitz! In the coming days, each of you will fight. Some of you are here by choice, some by chance..." Fitz said.
While Fitz continued to talk, Steve looked to his right, at Natasha. "Hello beautiful. Steve Rogers." He flirted. "Good for you." She said, almost dismissively. "What? 'Massive Strike', 'Citizen Rogers', 'Ninja Mime'? None of those ring a bell?" Steve asked.
Natasha didn't reply as she looked over to see another kombatant entering the arena. "Rhodey..." She muttered to herself.
"'Rhodey'? Wasn't in that one." Steve mused.
"You participate in the most important Mortal Kombat in history. This tournament, the tenth after mine Outworld victories, will decide Earthrealm's fate. If you shall defeat all your opponents, you will face one final challenge...me." Fitz said.
"Huh. That old geezer is the final challenge? They might as well give me the belt right now...They do have belts, right?" Steve said with a scoff.
A cough from behind Steve made him spin around. Fitz was there, behind Steve. "What the...How did you..." Steve said. "Appearances can be deceiving." Fitz said before floating back to his throne.
"Our first kombatant will be...Mister Rogers." Fitz declared. Steve laughed defiantly and stepped forward. "That's right! That's right! Who's it gonna be?" Steve asked. "Venom!" Fitz declared.
Steve looked up at a rooftop as Venom turned visible and jumped down, the monks applauding when he did. "Nice stunt. Who's your agent?" Steve asked.
"Begin!" Fitz yelled. "All right. It's show time." Steve readied himself. They began to fight. Steve got a chance to show off his skills by winning against Reptile, showing he was more than just trash talk.
"He got beat. Haha. Oh yeah. I'm so pretty." Steve bragged. Piotr and Storm watched Steve's gloating with equal amounts of disgust. Steve walked up to several other kombatants.
"And I'm taking you down, and I'm taking you down, and I'm taking you out, and I'm taking you out, and I'm taking you out...for dinner." Steve said the last one as he stopped in front of Natasha.
Steve snickered as Natasha glared at him with disdain. "Your second challenge, Mr. Rogers...Quill!" Fitz declared.
The Tarkatan warrior roared and jumped out to the monks' applause. "Okay...uhm...nice makeup. But is it really necessary?" Steve asked.
Quill unsheathed his arm blades. "Woah!" Steve yelled. "They will taste your flesh." Quill said. They began to fight. Despite having just finished a battle, Steve showed off tremendous stamina as he beat Quill too.
"Man I love those blades. My producer has got to meet you. We're doing 'Tommy Scissorfists' and..." Steve began to ramble. "Congratulations Mr. Rogers. Now FINISH HIM!" Fitz said. "Finish him, yeah right." Steve scoffed. "Kill him!" Fitz commanded Steve.
Steve looked at the crowd. Simmons, Cyborg, Strucker, and Pyro all looked forward in anticipation. Steve began to realize the gravity of his situation. "Woah, woah, woah. I'm not going to kill anyone." He protested.
"Very well." Fitz said, standing up, "The tournament will resume at dawn!" "What? That's it? Really?" Steve asked in confusion. No one answered him.
Steve shrugged and rubbed his hands together, "Now where'd that hottie go..." As Steve began to walk off, Storm and Piotr approached him. "You fought well." Storm said. "Thanks. Nice hair." Steve replied, speaking about Storm's white hair.
"You will speak to Lady Storm with more respect. She is the protector of Earthrealm. Goddess of Thunder..." Piotr began to say warningly. "Look, I don't know what kind of role-playing you guys have, but count me out." Steve said.
Steve turned to leave but Piotr stepped in his path. "This tournament is about more than just personal glory. We are fighting for the survival of Earthrealm." Piotr said.
"What are you talking about?" Steve asked. "Your last opponent was Tarkatan. He was born with those blades." Storm said. "Yeah, those things are real." Steve said sarcastically.
They watched as two guards picked up Quill's unconcious form and carried him off. "He represents the Outworld. Had you lost, the emperor Grant Ward would have been one step closer to absorbing our world into his." Storm said gravely.
"The Elder Gods created Mortal Kombat to give Earthrealm a chance at protecting itself. But if we lose this time, Grant Ward will conquer all." Storm said.
"Dun, Dun, Dunn!" Steve dramatically threw his hands in the air. "Look, guys. I'm an actor. I save the world for the cameras. If this emperor really is a threat, call the military. Me? I got a date with a red-head. Ciao." Steve slapped Storm on the arm and left.
"What do you see in him?" Piotr wondered. "He is a hero, Piotr Rasputin, though he may not know it yet." Storm said.
Meanwhile, outside and on a bridge, Natasha was trying to use her communicator to talk to the SHIELD commander. "Triangulating your coordinates for evac..." The commander was saying.
The radio became distorted, "...but there is no island.""I'm on it! Just lock into my wrist comm!" Natasha snapped. Steve walked up and smiled. "Understood! What is your current status?" The commander asked.
"They have Mack. And if I don't fight in this crazy tournament, they'll kill him. I'm going to try to..." Natasha said. "Need help? I specialize in rescuing damsels in distress." Steve interjected.
"You again. Listen, I've got some serious problems here. I don't have time to get hit on by some movie star." Natasha snapped. "C'mon. A girl like you shouldn't be wandering around this freak show alone." Steve said.
Natasha sighed and tried to walk off, but Steve grabbed her arm. "Look, baby. I can't let you run loose without an escort." Steve said.
Natasha punched him in the stomach, then across the face, knocking him down. "I don't need an escort. And I sure as hell am not your baby." Natasha spat. They began to fight.
Although reluctant to do so, Steve proved he was more than capable to fight a woman, and won against Natasha. "Ha...Haaa! Not bad...for a girl..." Steve said cockily.
Steve then regretted getting so caught up in his win and extended his hand to Natasha. "Look, sorry about that." Steve apologized. Natasha slapped his hand away. "I don't need your help." She grumbled.
"Fine. Have it your way. I'll just leave you to your...problem." Steve said. Steve never noticed the man walking up behind him.
The man grabbed him, "Good idea!"The man threw Steve off of the bridge. "Now that he's softened you up, it's my turn." The man said.
"Not man enough for a fair fight?" Natasha mocked. "I don't do fair." The man replied, blasting her with his eyebeam.
"No need to get up, love." He mocked at Natasha, who was struggling to stand. Unknown to either of the two, Steve had grabbed onto a board sticking out and was holding on for dear life.
Steve heard Natasha scream as he looked down at the previous victims below him. "So...tell me. How are things at Command?" The man asked. "B*stard!" Natasha shouted.
Natasha screamed over and over as she was blasted over and over. Steve tried to climb up, but he couldn't get a good grip without slipping. "Gullible b*tch. Just had to point you in the right direction. Couldn't have done it without you." The man sneered.
"SHIELD is on its way. You won't get far." Natasha said. "Oh I think I've got a knack for survival. You, on the other hand, will die here." The man said. Steve suddenly somersaulted back into the bridge.
"Step away from the lady." Steve commanded. Steve approached the man as he dusted himself off.
"Fans think my work is all wires and special effects. Truth is...I AM the special effects." Steve boasted. They began to fight.
Steve had his work cut out for him, but he eventually came out victorious in the match. Steve let out a cry of victory and turned to face Natasha.
"Thanks." Natasha said. "No problem. Who was that guy anyway?" Steve asked, extending his hand before drawing it back, remembering last time. Natasha offered her hand instead, and Steve helped her up. "His name's Rhodey. He was an informant in our Black Dragon investigation. Big-time arms dealer. Turns out he was their leader and giving us a run around. Lot of our guys got killed because of him." Natasha explained.
"So that's not a costume? You're actual military?" Steve asked. "SHIELD." Natasha corrected. Get out! So you know about this 'threat to the world' stuff. Storm called in the cavalry." Steve said.
"Storm? No idea who you're talking about." Natasha said in confusion. As they turned around, they found no Rhodey. "Damn." Natasha swore. "He can't be far." Steve said. "He'll have to wait." Natasha disagreed.
Natasha held out her hand, "I appreciate your help Rogers." "Steve." Steve corrected her. "But right now I have things to take care of. My C.O is locked up somewhere in this island and I have to find him." Natasha said before walking off. Steve stared at her in admiration.
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