Chapter Fourteen: Confrontations - Johnny Cage, Kitana Kahn and Liu Hasashi, Part Two
Mileena's hatred of the Cage family was well-known. While not the ones who dealt the deathblow, Mileena hated Johnny and Sonya with a passion. Had it not been for the fact that all three alongside Jacqueline Briggs had fallen to the Blood Code along with herself, Mileena would've laughed herself to tears.
It was supposed to have been a simple mission. Eliminate Johnny Cage, and track down the reincarnated counterparts of 'Sister and Sister's Boyfriend' so that they could absorb their souls.
That plan went off the rails when Johnny confronted Shang. He didn't do it alone. Aside from the failed actor the reincarnations of Liu and Kitana, six other people accompanied Johnny; three men and three women.
The green-skinned giantess reminded Mileena of Kotal Kahn. She had learned from Shang and Quan Chi of how Daddy Dearest and her stepmother had dealt with the Osh-Tekk fool. Now, he was a Revenant, serving under Quan Chi.
Even Mileena herself was surprised as to how Cage had reinvented himself from an actor to a billionaire industrialist. Kano, being Kano, wanted Cage's wealth to rebuild the Black Dragon.
But now, all her attention was on the Amazonian beauty. She was no Osh-Tekk, but she carried herself like a fighter, and was built like one as well. And she was pretty. Now, Mileena focused on the confrontation between Johnny and the two Revenants. Cage was good, but he was a goof and a showoff. How he was able to best Shinnok was a miracle in itself, let alone his daughter repeating the same feat.
Mileena maliciously grinned. Once Cage was dead, the green bitch would be next.
Revenant Kitana reached Johnny first.
The cocky smirk was now gone on Johnny's face, replaced with one of intense focus and concentration as he took one step back, avoiding the Revenant Empress' bladed fan swipe, slicing only air where his neck had been moments earlier. A quick jab to the face stunned her momentarily.
Then Revenant Liu joined the fray.
Out of the Revenants, Johnny knew that Liu Kang was the most dangerous out of all of them. Even as a Revenant, the former monk still retained his skill, power, stamina and skill. The same attributes that saw him through against the likes of Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn. But Johnny hadn't been sitting on his ass these past sixteen years following Operation Montilyet. In between building a business empire, and other assorted Exiled God-related antics and hijinks involving The Hand, HYDRA and who knows what else, Johnny trained and kept his skills sharp, sparring against not only his wife and fellow Gods, but also the likes of Black Panther and Iron Fist.
And he didn't even had to use the sword tucked behind his back just yet.
Even as a God, Johnny knew not to take the Revenants lightly. They were just as a big of a threat on par with the Black and Red Dragons. Especially Liu Kang.
R. Liu threw a straight punch. Johnny deflected it. After repeating the process with several more of R. Liu's punches, Johnny struck.
R. Liu discovered that this was not the Johnny Cage of old when he weaved through his attacks, and scored the first strike with a hard punch to his nose, stunning him. A hard strike to R. Kitana's throat made her drop her fans, allowing Johnny to grab both their heads and slam them together. R. Kitana was sent spinning to the ground following a hard spinning back kick, while R. Liu was knocked on his ass with a simple uppercut that rattled the teeth in his jaw.
R. Kitana was back on her feet. Johnny's head rocked to the side from R. Kitana's own hard punch to the face, making him stagger back a single step, but it was enough for R. Liu to recover and join in the fight.
The Emperor of the Netherrealm was shocked to see Johnny recover so quickly, but pushed it out of his mind as he and his Empress double-teamed the actor-turned-industrialist.
Johnny, for his part, was feeling a serious sense of deja vu. Over four decades ago, he was in the same position, fighting a two-on-one battle alongside Sonya against Shinnok. Now, in a twist of fate, the roles were now reversed. He was the Shinnok. The Emperor and Empress were in the roles of Johnny and Sonya.
And just as Shinnok did, Johnny was holding his own with little difficulty. A quick swat of his hand deflected a high kick from Revenant Kitana. A forearm block to stop Revenant Liu's kick to his exposed side, followed by Johnny taking one step back to avoid R. Kitana's fan swipe to his jugular. When R. Kitana tried another fan swipe, Johnny grabbed her wrist, while his other hand was chambered back.
Stars exploded in R. Kitana's head as Johnny's fist smashed into her face. Without turning around, and still holding R. Kitana's wrist, Johnny leaned back hearing the satisfying sound of his elbow making contact with R. Liu's face, right before reintroducing R. Kitana's face with his fist once again. A hard kick to her armored torso made R. Kitana double over, all the while Johnny held onto her wrist, before lashing back and kicking R. Liu square in the face, before flipping R. Kitana on her back.
The undead Empress rolled out of the way to avoid Johnny's booted foot that was aimed for her face, but that allowed R. Liu to knock Johnny off his feet with a power sweep. Johnny recovered, but R. Liu was upon him. One Flying Bicycle Kick from Liu, followed by a Square Boost from R. Kitana, and Johnny was sprawled on his back.
"Ow," Johnny groaned. The combined attacks hurt like crap, just not as bad as it used to back in Earthrealm. He could already feel his wounds healing.
"You are outmatched, Johnny Cage," R. Kitana said. "Surrender, and your death shall be quick. Refuse, and your comrades will suffer."
"You have no stuntmen to take your falls, Cage," R. Liu taunted, feeling good about finally knocking the former actor on his ass. He charged up another dark fireball, this time, he held two in both hands.
R. Liu's jubilation was short-lived as Johnny got back to his feet, looking none worse for the wear. He raised a single index finger. "One, in regards to your demand, Empress, you can go fuck yourself." His index finger joined the second. "And two, I do my own stunts."
"Then you choose death!" R. Liu decreed.
What happened next was something no one from Shang's side saw coming.
R. Liu flung both fireballs. Only this time, he flung them both at the group of heroes, rather than Johnny.
Iron Man raised both arms and prepared to fire off his repulsor beams, but something else happened entirely.
Johnny tilted his head slightly, and made a slicing motion with both hands...
R. Liu and R. Kitana's eyes widened as a pair of razor-sharp wind blades materialized and sailed towards the dual demonic fireballs, causing them to harmlessly detonate upon impact. Shang, Mileena, Tanya, and Goro were also shocked to see Johnny generate such winds, the blades only stopping when they sped by them and cleaved into the concrete wall behind the three.
Fortunately, they were well out of the way of the attack.
Behind the Chairman of Cage Incorporated, Banner, Jen, Storm, Iron Man and Black Panther were in awe. Sure they had seen video footage of Johnny using his wind blades, but seeing it up close and personal was a thing of terrifying beauty.
In a burst of speed, Johnny brought out an oldie, but goodie: the Shadow Kick. To Iron Man and the others, it was as if Johnny's movements was caught in a gray strobe light. And it was just as fast and just as powerful as R. Liu remembered it, seeing as how Johnny's foot smashed into his chest, knocking him back into R. Kitana and sending them both backwards until they landed in a heap at the feet of Shang Tsung.
"Been a while since I was able to let loose," the God of Wind said as he lowered his foot. The tattoos on his arms, normally hidden, began to glow with a soft gray light. Behind his shades, his eyes glowed before reverting back to normal. "Not bad, huh? Wasn't expecting that from little ol' me?"
R. Liu and R. Kitana staggered back to their feet. "You cannot be this strong!" the Revenant Emperor sputtered. "You were never this strong!" His eyes widened as he connected the dots. "Just as strong as...Sindel..."
Just then, Raiden's words came back to him with a vengeance.
'You don't get it, do you, Liu Kang? None of you did. I gave Johnny and the others what they need to fight back when the time comes.'
Soon, R. Kitana's expression matched that of her companion's. Behind them, Shang's eyes narrowed. Then, they widened as the realization soon hit him as well. He himself had been the victim of Shao Kahn's soul transfer, in which Kahn had implanted his soul - and those he had devoured over the centuries - into Sindel, empowering her to the point that she killed most of Raiden's champions.
And both Revenants had been present when Shao Kahn took the Revenant Sindel's soul and transplanted it into her past counterpart. While stronger, Sindel was not strong enough to massacre a horde of Raiden's champions, but still a credible threat.
Johnny grinned. "Finally figured it out, huh, Shang?"
"You stole your own soul, and transplanted it into yourself." Shang chuckled mirthlessly. "How deliciously cold-blooded of you, Johnny."
"Close, but not quite," Johnny admitted. "Yes, my soul was transplanted from Old Me into Young Me, and combined with Fujin's essence. But it was done with the support of the Elder Gods." He did, however, kept out the part that Raiden had to kill an Old God for the scheme to properly work.
"But Cetrion would have known!" Tanya objected.
Johnny wagged a finger at the Edenian. "She didn't. She was purposefully left in the dark by Lord Naoh Amoukar and the others. They knew that Cetrion wasn't one to be trusted. She is, after all, loyal to Mommy Dearest." Johnny performed a theatrical bow. The gesture was made to mock Shang and the others. "Johnny Cage. Former actor, ex-Earthrealm champion, now Chairman of Cage Incorporated and God of Wind. At your service."
Behind him, Banner, Jen, Panther, Storm, Banner and Iron Man all had looks stemming from being confused to outright shock. Johnny wasn't a mutant, but a GOD?
Back to Johnny, he was chuckling at the reactions of Kronika's forces. Disbelief from R. Liu and R. Kitana. Anger from Goro and Mileena. Shock from Tanya. And mild annoyance from Shang. "Oh, I just love that look. That moment of dawning comprehension...it's what I live for. Better than winning an Oscar. Sonya, she's Raiden's successor," Johnny continued. "We're not the only ones. Jax...Hanzo...Kuai...even Nightwolf. We've all transcended our humanity. And our kids...? Oboy..."
The pieces then fell into place for the Revenants. They both wondered why Raiden and Fujin were mortal when they killed them. Now, they knew why. And those sent to kill Raiden's champions and/or kidnap the reincarnated kombatants were going to be in for a huge surprise.
Shao Kahn, the older version of Kano and Tasia found this out the hard way when their attempt to take Cassie Cage failed.
Shang could only imagine what would happen to Cetrion and Shinnok when they confronted Sonya.
Goro, in the meantime, had heard and seen enough. He shoved both R. Liu and R. Kitana to the side. "The two of you could not defeat this puny worm! Johnny Cage is mine!"
As the Shokan King stalked forward, Johnny turned his head and looked at Banner. "Bruce...I think it's time for a code green."
Getting over his gaffe regarding the revelations surrounding his employer, Bruce nodded and strode towards Goro. The Draco Shokan stopped mid-step at the sight of the scrawny-looking, bespectacled human that Johnny had sent to die.
"You sent a toothless worm after me?" Goro sounded insulted, stopping only briefly before resuming his advance. "I'll crush him in a single blow."
Banner, for his part, didn't look the least bit scared as he removed his glasses and after securing them in an impact resistant case, tucked them in his pants pocket. All while continuing forward.
"Um...Doctor Banner?" Kitana sounded worried as Banner passed her, a look of determination on his face. "I think now would be a really good time for you to get angry."
Jen, for her part, smirked at Kitana's worry. She knew her cousin better than anyone, their boss included.
Banner turned around, and grinned at Kitana. "That's my secret, Kitana," he replied, just as Goro was nearly upon him. His face then turned serious and his eye color changed from a friendly shade of brown, to green. "I'm always angry."
What happened next shocked Shang and company. But none were more shocked than Goro.
Banner's body began to stretch, swell, and harden. The shirt stretched and strained, until it was ripped off of his expanding body, now a shade of emerald green. His pants also stretched under the strain of the transformation, the massive calves destroying the lower half of his pants, his shoes also being consigned to the same fate.
Banner's hand balled into a fist, now the size of a human head, and with the force of a wrecking ball having been dropped from a skyscraper, smashed into Goro's head, knocking the Shokan King ass-over-teakettle. Goro bounced off the reinforced pillar and fell to the ground, the impact having damaged the pillar, breaking off chunks of concrete and exposing several strands of rebar.
The Hulk was unleashed.
But this was a much more different Hulk than the one known for wholesale destruction of personal property and gross damage of military equipment. This was one of Johnny's personal projects; training both Banner and the Hulk to control their anger, to learn how to work together.
The end result? A Hulk that was on par with the Skrull-Worldbreaker Hulk that tried to smash New York City. Smarter, stronger, and angrier than before.
"Incredible," Kitana said. That was the fastest time she had seen Banner transform into the Hulk.
Johnny stepped forward, addressing the Shokan King that was currently staggering to his feet. "Goro, meet Hulk. Hulk, Goro."
Hulk spun on Cage. "I didn't come to make friends, Cage," he growled, sending chills down the spines of those who had dealt with the Skrull-Worldbreaker Hulk. Turning back to Goro, he saw that the Shokan King was back on his feet. "I came to SMASH!" With that, he charged full-bore at Goro.
Fourteen hundred pounds of pure green rage smashed into Goro, the momentum sending both Hulk and Goro smashing through the concrete wall and three stories down to the ground below.
"Now, you boys play nice!" Johnny shouted after the two behemoths.
Both Mileena and Tanya took this as a sign to attack. While Cage was distracted with Hulk, the former Empress and her Edenian lover struck.
Johnny raised his leg, as Tanya's low kick missed. He swatted her hand to the side, and planted a hard punch to the temple that stunned Tanya, but that left him open for Mileena. Her punch connected, rocking Johnny's face. He feigned injury, taking several steps back, as if he had been staggered by the blow, in order to lure both women in.
Mileena was the first to close the gap. Sais in hand, she went with an upward stab, but Johnny deflected the blow. Then, Mileena went low, attempting to sever his right Achilles' tendon. But Johnny pulled out Stormbreaker and deflected the blow with a flick of his wrist.
Hopping back, Johnny sized both Mileena and Tanya up, but kept his eye on the former. "Mileena. Thought you died."
"Repulsive human…" Mileena sneered.
"Sleeping with Baraka's 'repulsive,'" Johnny sneered back.
"WHO TOLD YOU THIS?!" Mileena roared in reply as she tried to impale Johnny in the torso with repeated stabs, only for him to parry and deflect with Stormbreaker.
Then, Johnny countered with a vertical axe kick that nailed Mileena on the chin. He had put enough power in it for her to bounce off the parking garage's ceiling and land on the ground.
Dragon Naginata extended, Tanya went on the offensive. Johnny hopped back as Tanya somersaulted forward, landing in the splits, her Flip Kick missing, but quickly recovering to land a hard kick to his sternum. Then, she vanished in a yellow flash of light, materializing overhead and behind Johnny. Using her naginata as a pogo stick, she attempted to drive the bladed end into Johnny's back…
...and missed. Johnny sidestepped the attempt.
But Tanya was anything, if aggressive in her kombat. Her kicks reminded him of Sonya's, his wife having decades of experience in Taekwondo under her belt. But the handstand into the splits was something new, as she caught him in the face, knocking off his glasses. This time, Johnny staggered backwards for real.
CRUNCH.
As Tanya stood back up, one booted foot crushed Johnny's shades, bending the frame and destroying the lenses. To add insult to injury, Tanya grounded her heel into the destroyed shades, just to annoy Johnny further, smirking at Johnny, who was glaring at her.
While Johnny considered his family his most prized possession, the sunglasses were a close fucking second.
"Those were $500 sunglasses, asshole," he griped.
Tanya's smirk vanished when Johnny's eyes began to glow, along with his tattoos that were visible. He closed the distance between them rapidly, Tanya flinging fireballs at his face in an attempt to stave off his advance. But it was all for nothing, as Johnny's Backflip Kick had the same effect as making Tanya bounce from impacting the concrete ceiling. Johnny followed with another Cage classic: the Rising Shadow Uppercut.
Tanya was down and out alongside Mileena.
But Johnny could not rest for long, as R. Liu and R. Kitana recovered from the earlier Shadow Kick.
R. Kitana missed with the Fan Throw, flinging both her bladed fans at Johnny, who dodged the attack. Kitana, acting quickly, unfolded her own fans and deflected them away from herself and the others.
Materializing another pair of fans in her hands, R. Kitana attacked, making Johnny backpedal away from her attacks. While he was immortal with a healing factor, he would much rather get out of this battle unscathed.
Seeing R. Liu rapidly close in, fists covered in dragonfire, Johnny grabbed R. Kitana, just as R. Liu chambered his fist back and let it fly.
The Revenant Emperor barely stopped from caving in the head of hi s beloved. But it didn't stop Johnny from smashing R. Kitana's head into R. Liu's once again, before flinging the Revenant Empress into the Revenant Emperor.
Johnny smirked at the mass of undead flesh at his feet. Then, with a gust of wind, he blew them back to Shang Tsung.
"They refused to accept my godhood," Johnny said, pointing to the fallen Revenants. Old habits died hard, as he started to ham it up for old times' sake. "Fine. They can keep their fallen God." His eyes stopped glowing and returned to normal. "Perhaps now would be a good time for them to pray to Shinnok."
Behind the reincarnated kombatants and the Avengers, rapid footsteps were heard. The Dora Milaje, ever loyal, ever courageous, had rushed from their place guarding the Wakandan VTOL, using its stealth capabilities to conceal its presence before coming to their king's aid.
Oyoke snapped a sentence in Xhosa, and the women went into attack formation, spears at the ready.
Iron Man raised his hands, repulsors fully charged and ready to fire.
Kitana still gripped her bladed fans in both hands, the fans folded for the time being.
Liu balled his hands into fists, readying himself alongside Kitana for the battle what was to come.
Storm floated off the ground, crackles of lightning dancing from her fingertips, the power of the weather at her beck and call.
Jen crackled her knuckles, aware that Mileena has it in for her.
Black Panther's vibraium-laced claws were unfurled, the King primed and ready to fight alongside his queen and his fellow Avenger.
Johnny, for his part, grinned at Shang as his own forces rallied to his side, save for Goro.
"Well...so much for your plan, Shang," Iron Man quipped, repulsors primed and armed.
"This can end in one of two ways," Johnny continued. "And in both of them, you die."
Shang's face twisted into a sneer. "I believe the Earthrealm adage would be the best reply. I shall take the third option."
The sorcerer then opened a portal. Only it wasn't for a quick getaway.
It was for reinforcements.
The portal opened up behind Johnny's group; an angry, swirling mass of orange-red energy, reminding Johnny of the portal Shang had opened during his visit to the Wu Shi Academy back in Earthrealm. While Jen and the Dora Milaje kept their spears aimed at Shang and the others, Johnny turned around, with Panther, Iron Man, and Storm following suit.
Johnny's expression soured when he emerged from the portal. He was just as he remembered him, back when he was alive and running the show as Outworld's Kahn. But now, Kotal Kahn was playing for Team Netherrealm; his skin the color of slate gray, complete with glowing, cracked veins. The eyes were like R. Liu and R. Kitana's; a glowing hellish orange-red color. In his hands, was his macuahuitl. His armor reminded Johnny of what he wore during Shinnok's return, only more demonic. An Aztec warrior, forged from the pits of hell itself.
"Oh shit," Johnny cursed. "Damn, Kotal…"
Panther turned to Johnny. "You know him?"
Johnny nodded. "Kotal Kahn. From the look of things, the former Emperor of Outworld. We're...acquainted. Back when he was alive, that is. He tried to have Cassie and her team killed, but he but ended up killing Kenshi's dad instead. Looks like he's playing for Team Netherrealm. Can harness the power of the sun to heal or hurt."
Johnny turned back to Shang and the others. R. Liu and R. Kitana couldn't help but to smirk at the predicament Johnny and the others found themselves in.
"You should've known that it wasn't going to be easy for you, Cage." R. Liu sneered.
"For a moment, I did," admitted Johnny.
"You may wield the powers of a God, but even they will not save you," Mileena hissed. "Kronika's will shall not be denied." She then barked out a sentence in Tarkartan.
A battle cry was heard from the portal. Then, they emerged. A horde of screaming Tarkarta, blades drawn, ready for kombat, blood and above all things, fresh meat. They charged past Kotal, who pointed his macuahuitl at Johnny and the others...
...only to be blown back by a volley of hurricane-force gale winds unleashed by Storm and Johnny, some of them being knocked back through the portal, tripping over the horde of Tarkarta. R. Kotal stabbed his macuahuitl into the hard concrete, and held on for dear life.
It wasn't enough. More Tarkarta were pouring through the portal.
Johnny stopped blasting the Tarkarta with his wind and chose another tactic. He began to launch wind blades at the ceiling. Stark and Liu immediately caught on and quickly followed suit. While Storm kept the Tarkarta at bay, Iron Man, Liu and Johnny unleashed their most powerful attacks on the ceiling.
Shang and the others watched, confused as to what Johnny and the others were doing. But when a car from the top deck toppled, flattening a Tarkarta, Shang understood what they were doing. Iron Man took aim at the car and fired. The first blast struck the car, sending it flipping end-over-end towards the portal. Iron Man fired again, this time aiming for the fuel tank as if flipped.
KA-BOOM!
The car detonated, the blast wave knocking back Kotal, but it had the desired effect of causing more steel, concrete and a second car to fall onto the pile, blocking the portal. Kotal rolled out of the way, thus avoiding the explosion and being crushed under the falling debris.
"God, I fucking hate Tarkartans," Johnny muttered. "At least Baraka wasn't with them."
Shang dismissed the portal. He could have summoned another portal, but decided against it. He looked at R. Liu. The undead Shaolin was watching his reincarnation wield the fire, aiding Johnny, the dark-skinned woman, and the iron-clad warrior in destroying the ceiling and blocking the portal.
'It has been a while since I saw kombat,' Shang said as he removed his longcoat and tossed it to the side, leaving him only in his vest, slacks and boots. 'And I always wanted the powers of a God at my fingertips...'
The current threat of being overrun was over. But there were at least 25 Tarkarta remaining, backing the revenant version of Kotal Kahn. And there was Shang and his group.
"Okay, I give up," Iron Man said. He turned to Johnny. "If we survive this, you and I are gonna have a nice long chat about this, Cage."
"Um, guys..." Jen's voice got their attention. "We're surrounded by bad guys. Now what do we do?"
"You, Jen, keep Mileena busy. Looks like she has it in for you," Johnny replied.
Jen turned to the purple-clad hybrid. Mileena was back on her feet. The hideous-looking Edenian-Tarkartan hybrid hissed as she brandished her sais. Jen nodded and broke off to confront the former Outworld Empress.
Panther saw that Tanya was back on her feet, and turned to Oyoke. "Keep Tanya occupied. Stark, Ororo, and I will deal with Kotal and the Tarkarta."
Johnny turned to Liu and Kitana, only to discover that their Revenant counterparts had already confronted them. He just hoped that his daughter and Hanzo's son were strong enough to withstand their combined might.
That left Shang Tsung.
"Keep the Tarkarta contained! We can't let them leave the garage!" Johnny ordered.
Iron Man nodded, as did Panther. "What about you?" Panther asked. "What are you going to do?"
Johnny looked at Shang, who had finished removing his longcoat and was in the process of tying his hair back. "I'm gonna bag me a sorcerer. If Jax can do it, then so can I."
Behind his mask, Iron Man rolled his eyes. "Yeah. We're definitely gonna have a long chat about this when this is over..."
Mileena, having overheard Johnny and Iron Man talking, made her opinion clear. "That conversation will not happen, because the both of you will die alongside your friends!" She then barked out a sentence in Tarkartan. "Rrgo-na-TAY!"
The Tarkarta charged.
"WAKANDA FOREVER!" Panther bellowed.
"WAKANDA FOREVER!" Storm echoed her husband, along with Oyoke and the Dora Milaje.
"FIGHT!" both Shang and Johnny shouted.
With that, the two sides clashed.