Disclaimer: I don't own any of these.

Naruto/ Mortal Kombat X

She was the best. Born of two amazing humans, one a world-renowned movie star that actually did his own fight scenes and stunts and the other a hardened soldier that was the pinnacle of a femme fatale, so it was not much of a stretch to believe that Cassandra Carlton "Cassie" Cage would not be amazing in her own right. From a young age the blonde girl knew she would want to follow in her mother's footsteps and join the military to protect the world—er, protect Earthrealm since apparently there was a whole bunch of craziness out there most people were unaware of. Then again Cassie's dimension had been brought under siege twenty-two years ago by Shao Kahn's Outworld forces, followed by Netherrealm's entrance a paltry two years after. If the entire world didn't know that they were not alone by now since the encounters were too grand to cover up...human stupidity really had overtaken the masses.

Cassie wasn't stupid though. She was strong. And skilled. With Sonya Blade's beauty and Johnny Cage's cocky attitude, she was truly an amalgamation of two entwined but opposing forces. She was svelte but buxom, with pale yellow hair she liked to crop rather short and rough, and bright blue eyes that could give you the look that could explain how great of an idiot you were so expressively it made her dear old dad proud. Girls were jealous and guys, well...it wasn't too hard to figure out what they had on their minds.

But now she didn't have to deal with any of that anymore.

At eighteen years of age the young woman had just finished high school (boring, easy, but the occasional kickass party) and was more than ready to start her military career. Despite her parent's divorce five years back and the passive-aggressive feelings she still felt towards her mother choosing work over family Cassie still wanted to heed the call of the stars and stripes, patrolling the earth and defending America and its comrades from harm. Could she become an artist like her father? Most likely. She had the pedigree, expressive range, and looks...but smiling for the camera just didn't have the same appeal. While the decision wasn't too well received by Johnny, he still respected her wishes. God she loved that man. Fatherhood had mellowed him in certain ways and when she said he was the best parent ever, Cassie honestly wasn't boasting.

Sonya on the other hand...General Blade of Earthrealm's Special Forces was of two minds. She was proud that her daughter wanted to serve, but didn't like the idea that Cassie wanted to serve! One word from her could have 'Unfit For Duty' stamped all over the enrollment forms. It was so weird that the girl could feel more at peace around the former-womanizer-dad instead of her uptight-turned-tighter ass mom was kind of hilarious. How her father got it in there in the first place so she could eventually be born...

Cassie shivered in her chair after realizing what she had thought. Sometimes her sarcasm got the best of her and...this was the result. Gagging over any inkling of her parents trying to reproduce, the blonde woman pushed her plate of food away, appetite suddenly forgotten. Heaving a sigh she leaned her cheek against her palm and relaxed against the antique wooden dining table she currently sat at.

Johnny Cage's current home was not massive but still expressed the luxury he had grown used to thanks to his fame. While not the expansive manor he once owned during his bachelor years, the middle-aged actor still had more than enough dough to purchase a modest manor in the Hollywood Hills for himself and his daughter for whenever she stayed with him...something rather commonplace since Sonya had a more Spartan outlook on things and barely used her own house out near Washington D.C, meaning those visits never had that 'homely' feeling to them.

Then again the Briggs family currently lived in the eastern half of the country and Jacqui was her bestie; however that lovable bitch was already enlisted thanks to her own father's pull in the Special Forces and that was just damn annoying.

Sighing again, Cassie leaned back and kicked her feet up on the table with her hands behind her head. There really wasn't much to do today. There were the movies but no one to go with. She just ate (kind of) so it would be redundant to go out to a restaurant. And the dating scene around here despite all the celebs and their children was woefully dry. Plenty of rich kids around here were idiots, or young, or just...they didn't click with Cassie. Perhaps because she knew what it was like to live with strict discipline and rules, and that gave her a better grounding as a person.

A bunch were also assholes who sported an entitlement complex. Yeah...Cassie didn't like assholes hitting on her. She had the art of cockiness down to a 'T' and could match the best of them but also knew when to lighten up.

Well...she was still in her training clothes. The blonde could always pass the time by working out some more. Standing up Cassie began to twist her torso around to stretch and get a better look at her body; brushed a hand against her blue sports bra and spandex capris to smooth out any wrinkles she marveled over the way they hugged her curves. Man...she really was thankful for her parents passing on all the good genes. In fact...the more she thought about it the more she was emboldened to pull out her phone and take a damn good picture to share with the world. Social media was one of her guilty pleasures...and considering she was a modern-day teen in North America, she wasn't alone in that.

She went to pull out her smart phone and then nearly dropped it as an odd, blocky black portal suddenly appeared near the ceiling above the table. There was an odd ripping noise before a body was ejected and fell to the table below, crushing it inward and busting its legs despite the drop not being from up very high. Cassie shrieked in confusion at the unexpected intrusion and jumped away, mind so focused on what was before her that she missed the split second of time where her body glowed with a strange lime-green tint before vanishing.

Fumbling with the device she shoved it back in her pocket and prepared herself for a fight, pulse quickening from the stimuli; Cassie was the daughter of two high profile celebrity types and kidnapping attempts had happened before that were quickly ended before they could even begin. This would have been the first time it ever happened in such a strange way...but if it was somehow the efforts of that damn Black Dragon syndicate again, the warrior was going to show no mercy. Not against those criminals.

Yet as the seconds ticked by and absolutely nothing happened save for the gateway disappearing and returning the ceiling to its normal look, the gal eventually recovered her wits and inched closer, fists clenching and unclenching in anticipation. But the body did not stir...if it was even still alive that is. When Cassie was within a foot of to the point she could have reached out and touched him, it was only then that she could properly tell it was a male, possibly around her age, and merely unconscious.

He was tall and could have passed for a member of the family from her mom's side, with nicely tanned skin, marks on his cheeks, and bright yellow hair kept even shorter than hers. He had on a black jacket with an orange zipper and sleeves that could be buttoned back; the left had done so but the right remained loose, possibly because the hand and wrist were completely bandaged up. His pants were orange, but his sandals and the pouches at his waist and thigh were black. So was the black stretch band he had on around his forehead with a metal plate and swirly symbol. His entire being was dirty and the muscles trembled faintly...and on the rare occasion he would groan in pain. Clearly this guy had just gone through something major and it was because of that the girl was not exactly sure how to proceed.

Was he an immigrant from Outworld? The Special Forces had been dealing with a recent influx of refugees from the alternate dimension as of late because a civil war had apparently broken out between two self-entitled rulers in the wake of Shao Kahn's death. The arrivals were sporadic and the government was still trying to iron out the suggestions for handling the situation. Yet the portals were always large vortexes of neon/blackened colors with electrical charges arcing off their circular shapes. Everything about this arrival had been unequivocally wrong compared to the intel that was already known.

Well...her dad would be home soon...he might know what to do. The mysterious intruder was not bleeding or anything but he still looked to be in a rough way. Biting her lip, Cassie contemplated calling for an ambulance but ultimately decided against it when the boy moaned again and tried to sit up drunkenly before falling back over. He didn't seem hurt enough to cause such a panic. "Whoa there, buddy! Take it easy!" She leaned over in concern and put a hand on his shoulder, getting him to look up at her with partially unfocused eyes. Then he seemed to snort in dismissal and slump back. If he had fallen unconscious again Cassie couldn't tell. But the young blonde made a face concerning his somewhat rude action after he looked at her.

Still...he seemed well enough despite the wear and tear. But she couldn't exactly just leave him in the middle of the shattered wood and tableware...

When Johnny Cage returned home that day, he was expecting to find two things lying in wait for him. One was a nice long shower after the last day of filming his latest movie—Trespass, regarding his experiences during the Netherrealm invasion—and the other was his daughter and her familiarly haughty features welcoming him back. What the older man sure as hell wasn't anticipating was the fact his little Cassie would be sitting on the couch and not alone. There was a strange boy next to her with an icepack on his naked forehead, apparently asleep on a bunch of pillows stacked up around him, and looking rather roughed up. Something reaaaaally wasn't adding up for the man who helped protect his home dimension multiple times from destruction and doom.

The man calmly (for the situation) folded his arms across his broad chest and fixed his child with a stare. Cassie in turn sat up and smiled so innocently it almost made him believe she was ten years old again, instead of in revealing clothes and looking more and more like her a copy of her mother every day. Shaking his head, the warrior knew they were going to be in for a talk.

Yet, before he could even open his mouth and say something snarky, Cassie beat him to the punch. "So can I keep him?"

"As long as we get him neutered," he quipped without missing a beat.

Even Cassie winced at the thought and Johnny just smirked; yeah, she was good...but he was the master.

Yeah...so here's a thing. Haven't updated in awhile so thought I'd put something out to show I'm still around. I've just been writing a lot,or...rewriting over and over again. My premise is taking a lot longer to put down in a way I want to present. That, and typing out scripts for Youtube videos with a premise to them. And I need a job to start paying off my student loan which will begin soon-ish. So technically I've been both very busy...and not at all.

This little preview takes place 4-5 years before the start of Mortal Kombat X. Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda, and Kung Jin obviously have not joined the Special Forces yet and Quan Chi still plots, while Mileena and Kotal Kahn wage war over Outworld's leadership. As for Naruto, his appearance should give you an idea as to what he was doing before coincidentally appearing above Cassie. But if he's here...and not doing so well...then...something big must have happened.

So the game doesn't give much in the way of dates...but based on what is given I'd say that Cassie is maybe around twenty-two years old. I've read it was two years after MK9 when Earthrealm is invaded by Netherrealm and Shinnok defeated, and Johnny and Sonya fall in love. MK9 to MKX is twenty-five years, or twenty-three taking the invasion into account. Given that Cassie's parents get married, and it's a given fact that a pregnancy takes nine months without issue, Cassie's highest age during MKX peaks at twenty-two, maybe twenty-three if it happened early.

In my opinion she seems older at around her mid twenties but it's probably the graphics, and such an age doesn't fit with the game's timeline. Then you have to take into account her parents would very likely want their daughter to complete her schooling before joining the military, and then all the training, and her ascension to sergeant...even a prodigy, it would take Cassie a few years.

So...tl;dr, Cassie Cage is probably early twenties at the start of the game.