And now, the first guest character chapter -featuring TWO combat vets! Enjoy!

Time seemed to come to a screeching halt as the cold of Sub-Zero's daggers pierced the invaders' shells. The wires and circuits froze in mid-air, just like did everything else. The only thing capable of moving were his eyes, watching in awe as an intense heat seemed to suck in everything pertaining to the very vicinity. He prayed in silence for it end, and it did quicker than he anticipated.

The next thing he knew, he was spat onto a flat and hard surface replacing the soft, muddy ground he'd been on. His eyes shot around, taking in the scene of what appeared to be an Earthrealm city. Huge towers of concrete and earthen streets greeted him, but his senses were off the charts. Something was wrong. Just how had he been transported to a city when he had been fighting alien invaders breaching the lands of the Lin Kuei?

He turned and began walking tensely down an alleyway. Reaching the end of it, his head popped out to see a flock of people walking over an open space. They seemed to be in a square of sorts and were doing various motions; absolutely no magic or technological aspects he recognized were present. Clearly, he wasn't in the icy mountains that he was familiar with, and he needed answers badly.

"Where in the realms am I?" Sub Zero asked nobody in particular.

Desiring to get a better view of it all, he gripped onto a nearby fire escape and began scaling it in record time. In what might have amounted to fifteen seconds, he was on top of the roof. The icy warrior was no closer to viewing the larger square when he sensed something heading his way. Sub-Zero did a back-flip into the air as a bolt of lightning sailed right past him, dissipating immediately. He landed on his feet and turned to the one person he expected it to be.

"Raiden."

True to his suspicions, the self-proclaimed 'god of lightning' stood from him down the roof. Adorned in exposed chest and arms segments paired with dark navy armor, a glint of frustration was hid underneath an eye mask and a wide hat. His fists crackled with the same energy he'd just utilized.

"Sub-Zero," he said. "I am surprised to see you here."

The leader of the Lin Kuei advanced forward. The temperature in his already-tense hands threatened to drop to a startling low. "Why attack me, Raiden? We are on the same side."

"Consider it disorientation, friend," Raiden replied. "I just appeared here myself and was confused, as I presume you are."

Sub-Zero glanced back towards the public square and the bright lights reflecting themselves onto the buildings. "Where…where are we? This is clearly not Earthrealm or either of our domains."

"Agreed." Raiden cupped his chin before joining the other fighter in surveying the city from the roof. "Something is amiss. First, we were attacked by robotic invaders that sought only to decimate. Now we are stranded, for an unknown amount of time, in a land not our own."

"Perhaps those machines…this is where they were from. A means to draw us out, limit our defenses?"

"Perhaps," Raiden said, "but guesswork will not suffice. We must try other avenues." The fighting master walked over to the edge of the roof and held out his hands. Watching in awe, Sub-Zero witnessed lightning travel through his fingers and leave them to expunge into the air. Then, with little time having passed, the lightning returned and sparked across his arms and into his chest. Raiden held his breath for a few moments before dropping to the floor and collecting himself.

"What did you do?" asked Sub-Zero.

Wiping his mouth, Raiden turned and smiled, albeit distortedly. "I looked through the electrical and power lines of the people on this planet. There were many differences, but the constant and main one is that the fighters of this earth are what they call superheroes…and supervillains. They use their gifts to help or hurt, and often come to blows with one another."

"Interesting," Sub-Zero replied. "There are champions here, but for a different purpose…" His mind drifted for several moments before he remembered something. "Wait, what about the invaders? Did you learn anything?"

"From what I saw in their technology, those drones that attacked us belonged to an alien called Brainiac. They were sent to assimilate this planet as he drained its' knowledge and took it for himself. The heroes of this world apparently defeated him but at the cost of some of their cities."

Sub-Zero looked down in shame. He and many others from their dimension knew the pain of losing loved ones. If it had happened here as well, he felt remorse for those unfortunate enough to bear the burden.

"Yet that does not explain how the drones attacked our dimension," he countered starkly.

"That is one question I do not know as well," Raiden said. "We must find out for ourselves."

"Looks like you two blokes need some answers," said a voice from behind them. The two fighters turned on their heels and faced what looked to be a British man in a brown trench coat, the cigarette in his hard hands spreading highlighted into his hair. "Truth be told, I'm rather a good conman than a narrator, so forgive me if I suck at it all."

Both unconsciously took fighting stances; Sub-Zero held his hands out and let the familiar cold feeling rush into them, while Raiden put his fists together and charged them up. "Who are you?" Sub-Zero demanded in a dark tone.

Constantine held his hands up. "Who do I look like? The bloody pope? Always, the name's John Constantine, and I'm your neighborhood-friendly magician. From what I was told, I'd be dealing with some nasty threats. Didn't think that'd count for D&D cosplayers."

"You view us as a threat? Are you allied with Brainiac?" Raiden asked.

Constantine shrugged and held up his hands. "Geez, that gob again? I'd snuff myself out before I joined up with an alien high on a god complex."

Sub-Zero furrowed his brows and looked closer at the magician. Whoever he was, he didn't look like the type of person eager to beat them to a pulp. Then again, looks were deceiving, but some risks needed to be taken. The icy warrior lowered his hands and glared at the newcomer. "I do not trust you, Constantine…but I am willing to listen."

Raiden looked at his fellow fighter and hesitated before relaxing as well. "So be it."

"Now that I'm asking it, who exactly are you two?" Constantine asked.

"I am Sub-Zero, leader of the Lin Kuei," Sub-Zero replied. One of his fists surged with cold energy and quickly coalesced into an icy blade, setting the magical conman off.

Raiden coughed. "I am Raiden, god of lightning and fighter for Earthrealm. I am not to be trifled with."

"Lovely," said Constantine. "I get this is somewhat of an odd experience and all, but why don't you two come with me so we can-"

A loud explosion sounded from the distance suddenly, drowning out Constantine's speech. All three turned to see the familiar orange blaze of a fire envelope a tall skyscraper in the distance, accompanied quickly by the sounds of gunfire. Obviously, some attack or robbery was going on.

"That's just great," Constantine said sarcastically. "Nothing like an explosion to knock Central City's socks off."

Sub-Zero's eyes narrowed. "If innocents are in danger, we should help." He began running towards the edge of the rooftop when Constantine piped up.

"Hey, hold on a second!" The Brit held up a finger. "This isn't your world, mate! You can't just run into the frying pan like some bloody superhero!"

Raiden walked up to him, his eyes sparkling once more with energy; he wasn't in a good mood. "This may not be our realm, John Constantine, but we will not stand idly by while innocents are in danger. Deal with that." He turned and bolted after Sub-Zero, the two leaping soundly into the distance and leaving Constantine on his own.

"Oh, fine," said John reluctantly. "I might as well supervise." He made some movements with his fingers before muttering some indistinguishable Latin. His body turning orange, the magical conman dissipated into thin air. The rooftop was once again empty and silent, albeit for the square of commoners nearby.