Chapter Twenty-Four: Reunions, Conclusion

Snafu's Notes: Okay, okay, I know that I said that this would be the last part of the Reunions chapters before working on the two Side Stories, but after I ran this through LibreOffice, I discovered that I had at least thirty pages of material here. So I'm gonna add one more chapter after this before the side stories.

Cage Incorporated – Press Conference Room

When word of the attack on Cage Incorporated reached the media, it had all but ignited a massive firestorm as the various news organizations had flocked to San Francisco.

The Press Conference Room was about as big as the one back at Stark Enterprises, Tony realized as he and Maria walked alongside Johnny, down the aisle, ignoring the flashes of the cameras. Two rows of chairs, leading to a raised platform at the far end of the room, where a podium made of glass and wood stood. Johnny walked alongside him, face set in stone, his attitude a complete 180 degrees. Mey walked behind the trio, easily keeping the pace with the two despite wearing heels.

The cameramen spun, catching not only the Chairman of Cage Incorporated and the Chief Executive of Stark Enterprises, but also the Commander of S.H.I.E.L.D. Both Cage and Stark's rivalry well-known in the business world, not to mention their opposing views in the past regarding the Superhuman Registration Act. If the both of them were together, then the situation regarding the attack on Cage Incorporated was even more serious than originally thought.

Of course, that didn't stop the gathered reporters from shouting out various questions to the two businessmen. Johnny, Stark, and Maria ignored them all as they made their way to the podium.

Johnny Cage stood in front of the podium, hand bandaged from the fight, Maria and Stark flanking him on either side, Mey standing alongside Stark, Johny looking every bit the professional, charismatic Chairman of Cage Incorporated that he had projected himself to be. One raised hand was all that was needed for the mob of reporters to fall silent.

"Good morning," Johnny greeted. "This press conference will be brief, and I ask that you hold all questions until I explain what has happened in the past couple of days, and as why S.H.I.E.L.D., the X-Men, and the Avengers are here." His tone showed that there was no room for argument.

"Three days ago, as you already know, my business, along with my youngest daughter and myself, were the targets of a brazen terrorist attack." It was as if he had fell back on his many years as an actor, in which he commanded the screen. For Johnny, it was as if he was welcoming back an old friend. "I would had been killed, and something far worse would had been in store for Ravenna, had it not been for two key factors in my favor."

He held up a finger. "The first, is due to my family's close association with the X-Men, as several of them are our friends, Ravenna was able to send a distress signal to Utopia." He held up a second finger. "The second is that the Army Special Forces' Tactical Response Unit, led by General Sonya Blade, was conducting a series of training exercises with Avengers Commander Steven Rogers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Maria Hill, hence the Helicarrier that is hovering over the main headquarters. Both General Blade and Director Hill had received word of the imminent attack and provided their assistance."

A lie, sure, but it sounded a hell of a lot better than saying "My family are exiles from an alternative Earth, in which an insane thunder god wants to kill us all and quite possibly destroy this realm due to the superpowered heroes and villains running around the place. Questions?"

A glance to Mey, and she punched in several keys on her tablet. The flat-screen TV behind Johnny, Tony and Mey came to life, showing footage of the battle some three days earlier. Johnny was clearly seen, fighting in the battle.

"You can recognize the Hand, due to their red ninja uniforms," Johnny continued. "But the Hand was controlled by a new organization, one that had just recently attracted the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. The organization was known as the Black Dragon." He turned to Maria. "Commander Hill?"

Johnny stepped back and stood alongside Mey, allowing Maria to step up to the podium. "From what we managed to find out through our investigation, Cage Incorporated would had been the first company that the Black Dragon had attacked. Stark Enterprises would have been its next target. What we know about the Black Dragon is that it was a relatively new organization, consisting of mercenaries and cutthroats whose specialties include arms trafficking, racketeering, and murder. We also have solid evidence that the Black Dragon had managed to assimilate the Hand by means of murdering its former head, Elektra Natchios, thus boosting their numbers, given them the strength to launch their attack on Cage Incorporated."

At the same time, with Jax, Ravenna and Sonya...

"He still got it," Sonya said with a hint of pride in her voice as she, Ravenna and Jax watched the press conference.

"And you said that he hasn't been acting since Earthrealm?" Jax asked. Even he had to admit that Johnny had the reporters eating out of his hand.

Sonya nodded. "He was tempted. But he kept his promise to me."

Jax turned to Ravenna. "You knew about your dad's past as an actor?"

Ravenna nodded. "Some of his movies I actually like. The ones where he fights in are...well, shitty."

Jax turned to Sonya, a broad grin on his face. "How about that."

Sonya, for her part, rolled her eyes. Jax did have a point. Following their first divorce, Johnny had started to branch out from doing martial arts films.

"You think that the reporters will buy the excuse that Cage and Stark are giving them?" Jax asked.

"I see it as telling the truth from a certain point of view," Sonya admitted. "Then again, Kano was easy to figure out, expecially if either me or money is involved."

'Ravenna.'

Ravenna frowned slightly at Emma Frost's voice wafting into her skull. 'Yes?'

'Be a dear and come and see both Scott and me. We need to talk.' With that, the link was severed.

Ravenna turned to her mother and Jax. "Excuse me. I'm needed."

Sonya frowned. "Who is it now?"

"Miss Frost. Both her and Summers wants me for something."

Sonya nodded and waved her daughter off.

At the same time, with Cassie and Jacqui...

"Gotta hand it to Dad," Cassie mused, "he still knows how to work the crowd."

Jacqui could only nod. She had emerged from the bathroom, fresh and clean from the shower, and dressed in a fresh pair of fatigues (i.e., her Boot Camp costume), walking in just in time to see the press conference began.

Before the shower, Dr. Rao came by the hospital room at Cassie's behest to give Jacqui a quick check-up. Following Rao giving her friend a clean bill of health, Jacqui went for the shower. For the past five minutes, Jacqui had did nothing but sit in the shower, curled up in a ball, sobbing her eyes out, the emotions washing over her like a tidal wave. She cried over the deeds that she had done in Raiden's name. She cried over the loss of her mother, remembering how Kano had described how he and Darren had killed her and promised to do the same to her if she broke free from Raiden's control.

"Yer look so much like yer mum, Jacqui. Wager you'd scream like her too. Oh, Mama Briggs screamed when me boy and I tapped that ass. She screamed for you and Daddy to come and save her. But in the end, she broke. They all do, in the end. I wonder if you're just as tight and pink as Vera. Well...if you ever break out of whatever mumbo-jumbo that Raiden has you on...I'll show you what a man I am. Even more better than Kenshi's limp-dicked boy. Maybe I'll let him watch as I fuck your brains out like I did to yer mama."

Cassie could feel Jacqui's raw emotions from the bathroom. Honestly, she couldn't help but to feel Jacqui's pain. Vera had helped raise her alongside her parents. Kano killed her, and Raiden denied both father and daughter her body to bury.

Cassie did not shy away from killing. She saw it only as a last resort. But Kano...

'Admit it,' the dark half of the Phoenix said, 'you took pleasure in making him suffer the way you did. Not to say that he had it coming.'

Maybe Magik was right about her, in regards to being a borderline sociopath.

Cassie sighed. She turned to Jacqui. "Jacqui, look at me."

Jacqui turned to her friend, her red-rimmed brown eyes looking into Cassie's baby blues. "Look into my eyes, and don't blink," she said.

Cassie opened her mind to Jacqui, showing her the events that had happened three days ago, during the Black Dragon's invasion of Cage Incorporated. She watched as Cassie confronted Kano, the Black Dragon leader unable to land a hit on her, while Simon watched on.

But what really shocked Jacqui was Cassie's revelation about Raiden selling Kano out to the Red Dragon, an event that Sonya herself had witnessed alongside her father whilst under Raiden's control.

Jacqui couldn't help but to smile as Cassie showed Kano that she was not the same girl from Earthrealm. Cassie had no problem in getting her hands dirty. Jacqui even took a small measure of delight as Cassie described what she and her parents had done to Darren.

Kano had been in over his head, Jacqui realized as Cassie tortured him with her telepathy. Then, Sonya appeared, with a bloodied Darren. Watching Kano try to defend his actions and his son suffering for them brought Jacqui grim satisfaction.

Despite promising Kano mercy for his son should he surrender (after Cassie had shot him several times), Sonya responded by snapping Darren's neck, much to Kano's horror. For Jacqui, she was actually shocked to see that Kano gave a damn for someone other than himself, as he cradled the broken, bloodied body of his son.

Looking into Sonya's face, Jacqui couldn't help but to be reminded of how Sonya looked when she ripped off Kintaro's head whilst hopped up on blood magik.

Jacqui had heard about how Sonya had left Kano half-dead when he threatened Cassie. But to see her best friend and her surrogate aunt beat the crap out of Kano, double-teaming him and not allowing him any sort of reprieve. Kano fought like a man possessed, realizing that he was a dead man either way. But in the end, it was no use. Cassie destroyed his infared eye, and Sonya immobilized him by stabbing him with his own knife.

But what made Jacqui smile was that Kano had begged for his life.

Then, Sonya gave the order to kill him, of which Cassie had done in brutal fashion. Then, just to be sure, mother and daughter unloaded two clips from Cassie's Desert Eagles into Kano's corpse before Cassie burned his remains.

For Jacqui, Kano's screams were music to her ears.

Then, as quick as it had began, it was over. Jacqui found herself back in her hospital room. The entire event lasted for only a couple of seconds. On the TV, Johnny Cage was still speaking.

"Holy shit!" Jacqui gasped. "That was intense!"

"Yeah, that's usually the reaction when someone experiences that the first time around," Cassie replied. "As you can see, Kano didn't die well. Consider this a form of closure on my end. Kano's dead, the Black Dragon has been destroyed, and Aunt Vera's been avenged."

"What did you do to him?"

"A trick I picked up from the Ghost Rider. If you see a dude with a flaming skull dressed in biker leathers riding a motorcycle straight out of hell, you've met the Rider. His signature move is called the Penance Stare, in which he can inflict pain, knock someone out, or even kill them." Cassie smiled evilly. "Kano had about thirty years' worth of crimes under his belt. And the Stare makes the victim feel every single pain that they've inflicted on their victims."

Jacqui put the pieces together. "You used the Stare on Kano, and forced him to relive every evil deed that he had done."

Cassie nodded. "And everytime I made him relive it, the pain increased. It was his sins that killed him."

Jacqui could still hear Kano's horrific screams in her ears. A stark contrast to the man who had so flippantly told her that he and his son had raped and murdered her mother, and promised that she would endure the same should she break free.

"Thank you," Jacqui said. "For this. Now, Mom can rest in peace."

Cassie nodded. Then, she turned her head to the left. "Hmm...Jin's awake," she noted. "Takeda too. I can sense him pacing around the room like a caged animal. Jin's calm...for the most part. He's confused...angry...wow, and I thought I had issues."

"He saw his dad die," Jacqui explained. "Kotal Kahn killed him. Somehow, he broke free of Raiden's corruption. But Raiden put him back under again, and killed Kotal. Only this time, Shang Tsung reinforced the corruption with sorcery."

"Must've been pretty weak if Doctor Strange and Magik can break it," Cassie mused. "And those two are probably the strongest sorcerers on the planet. Even moreso than Shang Tsung. But the negative is that Strange relies entirely on magic, whereas Shang has both magic and martial arts."

"You sure about that?"

"Doctor Strange's mentor broke Mom out of Raiden's corruption. And I trained Magik in how to fight," Cassie explained. "So, yeah, I'm sure." She straightened herself out. "Enough talk. Let's grab the Shaolin and your boy-toy. I'm gonna take you to have your arms calibrated, make sure that they're working properly, while they get looked at by one of the doctors here."

Jacqui nodded. Then, there was a knock at the door. "What is it, Simon?" Cassie asked.

Frost entered the room, the ice ninja clad in her uniform, save for the overmantle. "Not Simon. Just me."

Sensing Jacqui's emotions, Cassie placed a hand on Jacqui's shoulder. "It's okay. She's with us. She's been on the run from the Lin Kuei around the same time as I fled Earthrealm with my parents."

"And trust me when I say that General Blade is very thorough," Frost noted in a dry tone. "She had Doctor Strange and Magik scan me after my physical, just to make sure that I wasn't a spy."

Cassie explained further. "Doctor Strange and Magik used their powers to see if Frost's intentions are pure. Surprisingly, they were. Had they not been, she would be having a seizure." To Frost, she asked, "What do you want?"

"Oh, General Blade wanted me to tag along with you once you reunite with your old team," Frost explained. "After they get checked out, she and your dad wants to have a sit-down with all of you, myself included."

Cassie nodded. She exited the room, followed by her friend and the rogue Lin Kuei.

With Jin and Takeda...

"...second is that the Army Special Forces' Tactical Response Unit, led by General Sonya Blade, was conducting a series of training exercises with Avengers Commander Steven Rogers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Maria Hill, hence the Helicarrier that is hovering over the main headquarters..."

Kung Jin was meditating, whereas Takahashi Takeda was pacing the room like a caged animal. The door was locked, of course, but for Jin, that was to be expected. Johnny Cage had done that for their own safety. The corruption that had inflicted their bodies was gone, yet Jin knew that Johnny nor Sonya was not one to take any chances.

"You're gonna walk though the floor if you don't calm down," Jin noted in a humorless tone.

"I don't see how you can be so calm," Takeda replied. "We don't know where we are, and Jacqui's missing alongside Jax." He pointed to the TV, in which the press conference was playing. "For all we know, that could be a fake."

"You need to calm down, Takeda," Jin said. "I can honestly say that what is on the TV is not fake."

"Johnny Cage is an actor, not an industrialist," Takeda pointed out.

"It has been nineteen years for them," Jin reminded him, "whereas it has only been three years for us the last time we saw them."

"Yet, when Jacqui and I fought her, she looked exactly the same," Takeda said. "Only difference is that she didn't have the undercut and she was a telepath like me. The power that was radiating off of her...not even Dad could match that if he was alive."

"Cassie? A telepath?" Jin stopped his meditation. "Are you sure? And the fact that it's been that long since we've seen her. If what Raiden says is true, then she would be in her forties by now."

'Forty-one last month,' the voice of Cassandra Cage drifted in their heads. 'And yet, I look as if I'm twenty-five.'

"Cassie?" both Jin and Takeda said together.

BEEP. CLICK.

The door to the room unlocked, and opened. First, Simon Williams entered the room, holding a duffel bag in one hand. He was followed by Cassie, Frost, and Jacqui.

Takeda's reaction was nearly instant. He rushed over to Jacqui, who met him halfway as the couple embraced. Jin stood to the side, as did Frost, Cassie and Simon. While she was happy to see her old team back, Cassie felt like a stranger.

Only then, did Takeda notice Jacqui's new arms. "What happened?"

"Raiden," Jacqui replied.

That was all that Takeda needed. Still holding Jacqui, he looked at Cassie. She looked exactly the same, save that she no longer had the undercut. "It was you? You rescued us?"

Cassie nodded. "Alongside Ravenna, yeah." A nod to Simon and he tossed down the duffel bag. Cassie pointed to the bathroom. "Shower's in the next room. Clean up and get dressed. Mom and Dad wants all of you checked out, and Jacqui needs to have her arms properly calibrated."

"Who died and made you boss?" Takeda snapped.

"Takeda..." Jacqui warned.

Cassie stared at the younger telepath/ninja. 'The Cage death glare,' as she called it; the combination of Sonya's signature Blade Death Stare and Johnny's patented Cage Glare. Takeda actually took a step back.

"No one made me your boss," Cassie replied in a tone similar to what her mother used. Takeda could have sworn that he had seen a bit of red seep into her eyes before retreating. "But Dad made you my responsibility, along with Jacqui and Jin." She took a step forward, while he took another step back. "I didn't have to rescue you, or any of you. All I had to do was rescue Ravenna." Her gaze softened. "You think what you went through for the past three years was bad, try living with survivor's guilt for nineteen years. I lived with the fact that I failed not only you, but also Jacqui and Jin. Thought you'd like to know that before you go and question my motives."

Cassie spun on Frost. "Escort these two to Doctors Richards and McCoy. I'll take Jacqui." She turned and stalked out of the room, Jacqui following Cassie, but not before glaring at Takeda. Simon glared at Takeda before walking out of the room.

"Nice job, ninja," Frost said, amused. "You just pissed off Cassie. Next time, try not to do that, unless you wanna end up like Raiden."

"What exactly happened to him?" Jin asked.

"Both Cassie and Ravenna burned him to a crisp," Frost replied as if she was discussing the weather. "He's not dead, unfortunately. She's a lot more powerful in the telepathy department, ninja."

"Real smooth, Takeda," Jin noted.

Takeda sighed. Cassie did not like to fail, this he knew. He knew of her self-doubts, of her personal demons. And seeing as how she was able to not only beat Shinnok, but also himself and Jacqui back in Earthrealm, she was just as dangerous as ever.

Combined with the fact that she is a telepath...just how powerful was Cassie Cage, he wondered.

With Ravenna...

Like the Avengers, the X-Men had commandeered a floor within the medical facility to allow their wounded to be treated. Cyclops had his concerns in allowing some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s medical officers to assist Dr. Rao, but it had been Professor Xavier that had convinced him to allow SHIELD to help Rao treat the injured.

Despite the opposing views and his less-than-stellar opinion towards his former mentor, Cyclops still listened to Xavier once in a while.

Upon emerging from the elevator, she was greeted by Hope Summers and Magik, who fell in step beside their best friend.

"Summers and Frost asked the both of you to accompany me?" Ravenna asked.

Magik nodded. "Yup. They didn't say why they wanted you, though."

"I think I have a pretty good idea as to what Summers want with me," Ravenna replied, as she remembered Cassie telling her about Captain America's proposal. She just didn't told her parents about it. Not yet, at least.

"Care to give the details?" Hope asked.

"I would, but I'm not gonna ruin the surprise," the youngest Cage replied. "How did Cyclops and the White Queen take the news about Raiden?"

"After showing them our memories," Hope replied, "Xavier had no problem in convincing Cyclops to get in touch with X-Factor, and some of our other allies. While some of the folks here are more powerful than Raiden and Shang Tsung, Summers isn't taking any chances.

"Also, Emma's a bit miffed over the fact that Cassie's 2o years older than her and still looks to be twenty-five," Magik added in a humorous tone.

"At least Cassie now has something to make Emma pissed," Hope added in a wry tone, remembering about how Emma went on a tirade about how not only was Cassie older than her, but still looked as good."

Ravenna snickered. She remembered the times she would tease Cassie about her age; of how she was in her early thirties when everyone else thought she was in her teens. Turned out that Cassie was made of sterner stuff, as she had long since accepted her age. "Everyone grows old eventually," Cassie had told her. "Only I'm gonna be looking good doing it."

The X-Men were all gathered in the main area, watching the news conference. At the moment, Maria Hill was speaking to the mob of reporters. Johnny was behind her, standing beside Tony Stark, looking as stoic as her father.

Scott Summers and Emma Frost were chatting by the window, looking just as battered from the battle three days prior. The cowl was off, the ruby-red shades covering his Scott's eyes.

"You guys wanted to see me?" Ravenna asked.

The couple turned from the window. "Ah, Miss Cage," Emma greeted. "Glad you decided to come. How are you feeling?"

"Not the first time I was kidnapped, but I'm okay."

"You have been through quite the ordeal," Cyclops said. "Then again, your family was always full of surprises. But enough of that. Emma and I have been talking. What do you think is gonna happen once Raiden is dealt with?"

"More than likely, you and Rogers would probably end up fighting over Cassie and me regarding the Phoenix," Ravenna snorted. "Unless..." she let that word hang.

Emma immediately caught on. "Unless we find a way past this impasse. Which I did."

"I still don't like it, Emma," Scott grumbled.

"Let me guess," Ravenna interjected. "You want to keep an eye on me, to monitor the Phoenix, right?"

Both Cyclops and the White Queen nodded.

"What about Cassie?" asked Ravenna.

Scott sighed. "Although I'd prefer to have both you and your sister under our supervision...I'm willing to compromise with Rogers."

Scott's eyes widened, as did Emma's own with Ravenna's reply. "Cap just pitched his proposal to Cassie shortly after we got back from Earthrealm. She goes to New York as a consultant. At the same time, the Avengers keep an eye on her. She's still weighing her options."

"What about you?" Emma asked.

"Give me some time to think about it, and I'll get back to the both of you on that, okay?" suggested Ravenna.

The two elder mutants nodded. Ravenna turned and walked off to enjoy the rest of the conference.

Back at the conference...

"We have identified the leader of the Black Dragon," Maria said. Kano's face popped up on the screen. "His name is - well, was - Kano. Not much was known about him, but we do know that he and his son led the attack alongside his three top lieutenants. His crimes stem from murder, rape and kidnapping."

'Glad to see that Maria read Sonya's file on Kano,' Johnny thought.

The picture of Kano was the most recent one that Sonya had, taken shortly after she had beaten the crap out of him for threatening Cassie.

"The reason why S.H.I.E.L.D. has kept this under wraps is that we didn't want to cause a panic," Maria continued. "However, upon learning that Kano had targeted not only Stark Enterprises, but also Cage Incorporated, we had to act. Suffice to say, we caught Kano in the act of invading Cage Incorporated, as he destroyed one of the buildings here."

'Thankfully, I was just building that one,' Johnny mentally noted.

"By that time, we had arrived, along with the X-Men and the Tactical Response Unit," Maria continued. "Despite our offer of surrender, Kano chose to attack. Suffice to say, he did not survive the battle, as he was killed by Captain Cassandra Cage, whereas his son was slain by General Sonya Blade. One by one, Kano's lieutenants fell, chosing death over surrender. Out of the attack force of over 500, less than 20 survived, most chosing suicide over capture." She paused. "However, the battle was not without casualties from our end. S.H.I.E.L.D. has lost twenty-five of its members, double that for the wounded. The Avengers also suffered a loss in the form of Bobbi Morse, codename Mockingbird."

Maria paused. Johnny saw this as his cue and stepped forward, allowing Maria to step back. "Questions?" He pointed to one reporter. "Yes?"

A Korean-American reporter stood up. "Chairman Cage, Lynn Park, KGO-TV. Is the attack on Cage Incorporated just a step for something bigger? Is the Black Dragon working alone?"

"We don't know at the moment," Johnny replied. "Cage Inc.'s Internal Affairs Division is working together with the Tactical Response Unit and S.H.I.E.L.D. to uncover the truth...and who was behind the attack. Next question."

A British reporter stood up. "Conner Wellingham, BBC America. Are you concerned that your European interests might be threatened, let alone your sister and her family?"

"I spoke with Rebecca in London," Johnny replied. "She also shares the same sentiment, as does the British government, seeing as how I also have contracts there. The Prime Minister has deployed several squads of his finest soldiers to guard the London office and its research facility in Sheffield." He gestured to Tony. "Mr. Stark also has overseas investments, and also has acted accordingly, just in case."

With the ex-revenants...

"He's good," Kabal noted as he and the former revenants gathered around the TV, watching the press conference, Johnny answering the questions fired at him by the various reporters with skill, showing that thriving under the pressure was a talent that he (alongside Sonya) had passed on to Cassie.

Liu Kang nodded. "After all these years, he hasn't lost a step."

Sindel remained silent.

"So who's are the other three alongside him?" Smoke asked.

"The Asian woman is Mey, Jade's adopted daughter," Kitana explained. "We originally had her as a mole, but Johnny found her out. Turns out he speaks Edenian. But Johnny wasn't angry over the fact that he had a spy working for him, just amused. Sonya and Cassie had a real good laugh at that when Johnny told us about it later."

Kitana never forgot that day when Johnny spoke near-perfect Edenian to her and Jade back when Liu had challenged Iron Fist. In her long, long life, nothing surprised her. Johnny speaking Edenian and easily deducing that Mey was a spy...that did.

"Johnny instead used that to his advantage," Liu continued. "He proposed that Mey would instead serve as a liaison for the Red Lotus, as well as his secretary. We agreed."

"Clever," complimented Nightwolf. "And the other two?"

"Brunette's Maria Hill, Director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D., for short. They're a peacekeeping force sanctioned by the U.N.," Kitana explained. "The other guy is Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Enterprises, and Johnny's chief business rival. He's also a superhero who goes by Iron Man, for the most obvious reason you will find out soon enough."

Like Sindel, Kung Lao was pensive, but not about the press conference, but rather about his meeting with Kung Jin. Mey had called back, telling Liu and Kitana and Jin had agreed to the meeting, of which the former Emperor had relayed to Lao.

He was trying to figure out how to proceed. The last time he had encountered Jin, Lao tried to kill him, after all.

Back at the press conference...

Johnny looked at his watch. Thirty minutes had passed. He decided to wrap things up. "Okay, one more question, then that will be it," Johnny said. He pointed to another reporter, who stood up.

"Chairman Cage, Rita Malecki, MSNBC," the reporter introduced himself. "These terrorists, this...Black Dragon...how come this is the first time we have heard of them?"

Johnny turned to Maria. "You wanna answer this one?"

Maria stepped to the front as Johnny, once again, moved to the side. "The Black Dragon was relatively new, not entirely on our radar until they decided to assimilate the Hand and murder its former leader. Through our informants, were we able to learn about the planned attacks on Cage Incorporated and Stark Enterprises."

Johnny returned to the podium. "Thanks for coming. This conference is now over."

Ignoring the questions that the reporters were shouting at them, the Chairman of Cage Incorporated and his party quickly made their exit from a side door.

"And I thought the press conferences for my films were bad..." Johnny mused. "Those guys were relentless."

"You seem to have handle yourself pretty well, Cage," Maria noted.

"The Ice Queen of S.H.I.E.L.D. actually complimenting me? Will miracles never cease?" Johnny said. Maria rolled her eyes.

"Any news on your guests?" Stark asked.

"Cassie sent me a mental message during the conference," Johnny replied. "Takeda's awake. Frost is taking the both of them to get checked out, while Cass is taking Jacqui to get her arms calibrated. And Takeda pissed Cassie off. Damn. I owe Sonya 20 bucks. I thought that Jin would be the first." He looked pensive. "With the way things are going, Cassie may need to cash in that favor 'he' owes her."

"'He?'" Maria parroted. "Who's 'he?'"

"A mutual accquaintance of ours," the Cage patriarch explained. "Cassie done right by him by saving the life of one of his subordinates, and he promised her a boon. Cassie's been holding on to that debt ever since. You know him as..."

BEEP. BEEP.

Johnny produced his phone. Looking at the Caller ID, it read THE WIFE. Excusing himself for the moment, he answered. "Talk to me."

"You'd have to shut up first," Sonya's voice greeted him in response. "You owe me twenty bucks."

"I know. Tak pissed Cassie off."

"I'm taking Jax to see Cassie and Jacqui. You deal with Takeda and Jin."

"Got it. We'll bring them to my office for the debrief. You think they'll accept our offer?"

"If they want payback on Raiden, they will," Sonya replied. "Good job on the press conference, by the way. You even impressed Jax."

"Normally, I would respond with a snide remark, but I really don't feel like it," her husband retorted. "See you in a few, babe."

"Asshole," Sonya replied. "I'm on the job."

Johnny ended the call. "My work is never done," he mused. To Maria and Stark, he said, "If you excuse me, I need to check on my former charges."

With a nod of farewell, Johnny, Stark and Maria went their separate ways.