Note: Sorry it took so long and this being such a short chapter.
Chapter Nine: Spies and Thieves
A cloaked figure knelt before the fallen Elder God. Silently Shinnok considered the implications of this one's latest report. It seems that someone else is seeking Rayden's demise and using Quan Chi's old creation to do so. Who was the duplicate working for now? Has she truly been resurrected or is she like one of the sorcerer's slaves, almost demon but not truly alive?
The kneeling figure shifted slightly bringing the spy once again to Shinnok's attention, reminding him of the rest of the report. Earthrealm's champion has been injured and is now vulnerable in more ways than one, a possible kink in the defenses of that realm if used correctly. "Go, "ordered Shinnok, "Befriend the human and make yourself invaluable to him. Continue to observe and report to me any other information you might find to be of interest for me."
The cloaked figure stood and bowed deeply before leaving. Flashes of yellow could be seen from under the cloak as the figure walked off.
(Scene Change)
Johnny sat in the condo's living room flipping through channels. He hated being bored, but the doctor said it was important that someone keep an eye on Liu until the medicine wore off. The injuries were worse than anyone had expected. Not only were the gashes bone deep, but it seemed that the creature that did it had poisoned claws. The medicine that the doctor gave Liu to fight off the toxin made the monk groggy and mentally not all there.
With a sigh he turned off the television and threw the remote on to the coffee table. He got up and looked through his collection of movies and video games. Nothing really struck his interest. Instead he turned on the radio and went to check on Liu one more time. He was considering going over possible scripts for his next project when the phone rang. "Hello, "said Johnny as he picked up. He started to smile when he heard what the front desk was telling him. "Let her on up, "he said with a look of relief on his face, finally someone to talk with.
In a few minutes, his doorbell rang. When he opened it, he said, "Tanya! Thank God you're here."
(Scene Change)
Sitting at the den's desk, Althea was writing in her journal when the phone rang. She picked it up, "Heyo!...Hey Johnny, how's Liu?...Damn, that bad……You need any help……Tanya? I thought she was looking for Kitana…"
Sonya walked into the room, curious as to who was calling. Althea placed her hand over the mouthpiece and whispered, "Johnny." Once again talking on the phone, Althea said, "Huh? You want to talk to Sonya?"
The woman in question nodded when she saw Althea's inquiring look. "Sure, "Althea said, "She's right here." Althea then handed Sonya the phone.
"Blade speaking, "Sonya said.
'Oh oh, 'Althea thought, 'please, please don't tell her you're the same as alone with….'
"What's this about Tanya?" Sonya asked.
Althea quietly closed her journal and wisely left the room. Once in the living room she took a deep breath of relief to have made her escape. Last thing she wanted to be was in a room with a jealous and pissed off Sonya Blade. Althea smiled and thought, 'I have enough of that with Rayden.' The blonde sighed as she tossed the journal onto the coffee table and sat down on the couch. Rayden left as soon as he regained his powers saying something about finding her a teacher. She had hoped to spend time with the thundergod while filming was on hold. On top of that she didn't dare work on any of the more unconventional defenses because of what happened with the shield stones. Sub-Zero took off on that bike of his without a word and now Sonya was upstairs giving Johnny the third degree over the phone so she didn't have any sparring partners.
The door suddenly flew open and a gust of wind flew throughout the room bringing with it leaves and dust. Fujin appeared in a spin and said, "I'm baaaaaack!"
A single eyebrow rose as Althea asked, "Is that suppose to be a good thing?"
Fujin placed a hand over his heart and said, "I'm hurt. Didn't Rayden meet up with his normal standards as a mortal last night?"
"Watch it, windbag, "said Althea with false anger and then with a smile asked, "What brings you back? I thought you would be busy catching up on your duties."
Fujin plopped down next to the woman and said with a shrug, "Yeah, but I thought I take some time off and visit an old friend."
Althea's eyes closed slightly as her suspensions rose. "Rayden asked you to keep an eye on me, didn't he?"
"Humm, well, "Fujin tried to answer, feeling more uncomfortable by the second, "He found out about that near miss at the studio and after what happened last night…."
"I don't need a babysitter, "said Althea in a heated tone, "You can go tell that idiot brother of yours…."
"Althea, please, "said Fujin, "He's only afraid you'll end up disappearing again or worse. Just give him time to let it sink in that you're not going anywhere."
As Althea was about to reply, Sonya entered the room cussing under her breath, something about Johnny, men in general, and some painful sounding positions.
"Hey, beautiful, "Fujin said to Sonya with a grin. Althea covered her eyes when Sonya glared at the Wind God and said, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Fujin stretched and said, "Just wondering how the US Army's loveliest officer was doing today."
(Scene Change)
Johnny slowly placed the phone down as if would exploded. Slowly he walked away from it wondering what the hell that was all about. Why was Sonya acting so…. jealous? "No, couldn't be, "said Johnny outloud, "Could it?"
A loud crashing sound from Liu's room broke Johnny from his musings. The actor ran to the bedroom and when he opened the door, he saw Tanya wrestling with a man dress from head to foot in black. Johnny grabbed the intruder's shoulder and turned him around and away from Tanya. Johnny saw the gray glowing eyes and he landed a punch to the face. The assassin melted away into nothing. "Are you alright? "Johnny asked Tanya as he looked over the half-awake monk.
Tanya nodded and said, "I am uninjured and it seems that Liu Kang was his target. He was already here when I came to check on the monk's bandages."
"That's just great, "said Johnny as he pulled a still drugged out Liu Kang into a sitting position. "Get me his clothes, "ordered Johnny, "It's too dangerous to stay here."
(Scene Change)
Rayden entered the temple ruins, once again debating with himself if this was the right choice. True, Althea needed someone to teach her how to control that timegift of hers, but was the Elder God of Time truly the right choice?
The thundergod frowned as he knelt down before the seven altars. Kronos was the ONLY choice. He couldn't even find Earthrealm's time god and there were no other true magic users on Earth that even came close to having the skills needed to teach her.
A slight flare of frustration came through his link with the woman to join his own. That broke the dark mood he was in and he nearly smiled at the picture of Althea's reaction when she found out that Fujin was there to keep an eye on her. Enough musings, time to request an audience with the Elder God of…
"Please stand, Lord Rayden, "came the tired voice of Kronos, "I already know why you are here."
Rayden did as requested, noting that the room did not change as it normally did. When he saw the Elder God, he was struck almost speechless. Complete exhaustion was written over the Elder God's face. Kronos smiled and said, "I know I look bad, but I hoped it wasn't that bad."
"What's happened?" asked Rayden.
"None of your concern, "sighed Kronos as he looked up and closed his eyes, "But back to the godslayer's little problem. Unfortunately, presently I am unable to assist with her training. However, I will partially seal away that gift until I am able train her properly."
"A partial seal?" asked Rayden, ignoring the fact that an Elder God volunteered to train a mortal.
"Yes a partial seal, one that will enable her to continue using time as a power source for her chi but will help prevent more accidents, "answered Kronos. The Elder God held out his hand and a small flat piece of silver about the size of a half-dollar appeared. "Place this on her bloodline emblem and the seal will do the rest."
Rayden took the seal, feeling there was something the Elder God wasn't telling him. Past experience has taught him that gifts from an Elder God often if not always had a price. Who would pay the price of this gift and what would it be?
As if sensing Rayden's thoughts, Kronos spoke, "This is not from an Elder God, but from a concerned relative."
'Yeah, right, 'the thundergod thought and his hand closed over the seal.
(Scene Change)
Late that night in New York City, a security guard made his rounds past the eastern art displays. His flashlight passing over a blood red medallion in the shape of a dragon as he checked looked around before returning to his rounds. With a sound of a quiet thump, the guard went down after being knocked out. The thief quickly went to the glass encased medallion display, paying no mind to the already disabled cameras. He stood their silently for a few seconds until a tell tale sound of the alarm systems being turned off could be heard in the completely silent room. The thief then forced the case open and almost reverently picked up the red dragon medallion with both hands.
Another thief appeared at the end of the hall waving his hands to hurry his partner. The first thief nodded as he placed the medallion in a case tied to his waist and joined his partner as they left the building.
Behind the museum, a dark van drove up to pick them up. The van door slide open and without a word the two men jumped in. The door slammed shut as the van drove off. "Any problems, "said the man in the front passenger seat.
"None what so ever, boss, "said the first thief as he unhooked the case from his belt and carefully handed it over to his superior. As the man took the case, a passing street light reveal the face of Mavado.
The End….
Next Time on MK: Echoes of the Past:
Once out of sight of the building, the elder professor stood up straighter and grew younger. His clothes morphed from the dark brown suit and wrinkled tie to that of bright red and bronze trimmed robes of a sorcerer. Shang Tsung smiled as a portal opened before him.