Chapter Fifteen: Confrontations – Johnny Cage, Kitana Kahn and Liu Hasashi, Part Three
SNAFU'S NOTES: To honor the late Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther in this fic will be modeled after him. A fitting homage to the man. Yeah, this chapter is long. The next chapter will being about the conclusion to Johnny's confrontation arc.
Tony Stark thought he had seen it all, be it as Iron Man, an Avenger and as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
He has seen supervillains, madmen and would-be conquerors of all shapes and sizes. He has fought and survived the likes of Doctor Doom, Thanos, Mr. Sinister, and even Galactus. He even fought against friends like Captain America and The Incredible Hulk, both the genuine article and his Skrull counterpart.
When he took off from the Helicarrier that day, he had expected resistance from Johnny Cage. After all, his daughter was one of four hosts of the Phoenix Force, and there was nothing worse than a father fighting tooth and nail to protect his children. And if anything, he would've preferred to deal with the Cage family patriarch rather than Sonya, given what she had done to Carol.
But this...
"Johnny Cage. Former actor and ex-Earthrealm champion, now Chairman of Cage Incorporated, and God of Wind. At your service."
Johnny wasn't a mutant, or a human for that matter. He was a God. Tony met his share of Gods, mostly from the Olympic Group. Johnny was pretty chummy with those guys, as Cassie was engaged to Ares' son. Even more important was that he wasn't originally from this planet, let alone his family, Jax and his family, the Matokan shaman and the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu.
Now, it seems, that their past has returned with a vengeance.
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.
And all Hell broke loose.
With Liu and Revenant Liu...
He had trained from birth under the watchful eye of his adopted father. He was a prodigy in Shirai Ryu Ninjitsu and Wing Chun Kung Fu. He was the darling of the Shirai Ryu. He heard the stories of his namesake, the Shaolin Champion from his father and his uncles and Aunt Sonya, detailing his rise as Raiden's champion to his fall and descent as a Revenant, ultimately becoming the Revenant Emperor of the Netherrealm.
Liu took a moment to remove his shirt, tossing it to the side, leaving him in only the pants and boots. He had the build of a warrior, and had the battle scars to prove it (think a combination of Kazuya and Geralt's scars, minus the big scar seen on Kazuya's chest). He was more muscular than his Revenant counterpart, but still slender, as if steel cables had been wrapped around a skeleton.
Revenant Liu, for his part, nodded in approval. That coward Hasashi did something right. He just hoped that Quan Chi and Daegon have a better outcome in dealing with the Shirai Ryu dog.
"This battle was inevitable, as is my impending victory," R. Liu said.
"Yet, you could not best Uncle Johnny," Liu replied.
"Shang Tsung will take care of him. As I, will you."
Liu flicked his nose and went into the basic Shirai Ryu kombat stance. R. Liu recognized the posture all too well. It had been Scorpion's original stance before he changed it when he began to use his swords and spear.
"Shirai Ryu Ninjitsu," R. Liu sneered. "I am all too familiar with the style. Hanzo was one of us, in the past."
Then, Liu changed stances. R. Liu's eyes widened as he recognized the stance. A left neutral stance. But it wasn't Shaolin Wushu. No, it was Wing Chun Kung Fu.
Then, Liu balled his hands into fists, and attacked.
R. Liu quickly got over his stupor and went on the defensive. While R. Liu had trained with a Wing Chun master in his White Lotus days, Liu retained his Revenant's knowledge of the aforementioned Shaolin Wushu, and thus, was able to keep up with the former Immortal Champion.
Liu wasn't overly aggressive in his fighting style, but kept up the pressure on the Revenant Emperor. When R. Liu scored the first hit with a hard elbow, Liu responded in kind with a spinning back elbow that stunned the undead warrior, if only temporary. Both Liu and R. Liu went low with a hard punch to the stomach, of which they both shrugged off. Then, Liu made R. Liu backpedal/parry a flurry of chain punches he threw with devastating speed.
R. Liu went for a kick to the shins, followed by his own barrage of chain punches, only this time, his fists were enshrouded with dragonfire. Liu parried and blocked the blows just as the Revenant Emperor had done. R. Liu saw that he withstood the dragonfire with no permanent damage.
There was something that was stirring within the chest of the undead Emperor. A feeling he had not felt since his death. It was a feeling that washed over him like a wave.
He was actually enjoying himself, all things considered.
In life, he was Raiden's strongest champion. But in the Netherrealm, while still the strongest out of the Revenants, he felt like he wasn't being challenged. Not by Quan Chi, or by Shinnok.
Fighting Johnny Cage had lit the spark. Now, the fire was rising as he fought his reincarnation. Even if it was a fight for his life, R. Liu had to begrudgingly admit that the Shirai Ryu ninja was holding his own. Hanzo having him learn Wing Chun was something he did not expect.
But R. Liu welcomed the challenge either way. They were both evenly matched. Once he absorbed the soul of his reincarnation, not only would R. Liu live again, but he would be damn near unstoppable.
"Impressive," R. Liu complimented. "You are able to match me step-for-step."
He rolled forward, attempting to sweep Liu's leg. But Liu surprised him by disappearing in a geyser of fire.
"WA-TAH!"
CRUNCH-WHAM-POW!
The Flying Dragon Kick was the strongest technique in Liu Kang's moveset. In life, R. Liu used it to defeat Shang Tsung. Now, his reincarnation used it against him, having reappeared behind him.
And it hurt like bloody blazes, as his feet had been encased with Dragonfire.
But Liu wasn't finished. Still in the air and following the first strike, Liu drove his knee into his Revenant's back. The final blow – a backflip kick, the foot still on fire – destroyed the armor and sent R. Liu to the floor in a heap, while Liu landed on his feet, the fires now gone.
"It's because your heart is not in the battle. That is why I can match you," Liu explained.
R. Liu kicked himself back to his feet. Liu assumed the same stance as before. Slowly, R. Liu assumed his stance. But he did not attack.
The reason being was that his reincarnation was right. As much as he hated to admit. Not that his heart was any good anyway, as it no longer beat. "Save your mindless drivel for those who listen."
"Perhaps you should."
Had Johnny been paying attention and not busy with dealing with Shang Tsung, he would've watched the fight with a bag of popcorn. The two Lius were putting on a clinic, trying to one up the other...even if R. Liu was trying to beat his opponent senseless.
A triple-punch combo to the torso stunned Liu. A hard kick to the knee made R. Liu stagger, followed by a barrage of chain punches to the face. R. Liu countered with a second spinning elbow to Liu's face, and quickly capitalied. A straight punch to the torso, followed by a second elbow to the face had set Liu up for the Flying Bicycle Kick from his Revenant, before planting both feet into Liu's chest, knocking him back towards a concrete support pillar.
Liu grunted from the impact, but quickly recovered. He rolled forward to avoid R. Liu's demonic-charged fireball and performed a Shirai Ryu leg takedown, tripping R. Liu up, before following through with a hard heel to R. Liu's exposed torso. R. Liu's foot lashed out, striking Liu in the chest, forcing him to role backwards, and giving the Revenant Emperor some breathing room.
Liu's face was that of intense concentration, while his Revenant counterpart was one of intense rage. He wasn't expecting this level of resistance from his reincarnated counterpart. While welcome that he wouldn't make it wasy for him, it was indeed infuriating. His reincarnation was talented in Shirai Ryu Ninjitsu, but was a prodigy in Wing Chun Kung Fu.
'Just as I was in Shaolin Wushu,' R. Liu thought.
He was so close. So close into beating Hanzo's adopted son into submission and absorbing his soul. One step away from being alive once more. And yet, another chance to spite not only Raiden, but also Hanzo and Johnny for their failure in protecting his reincarnation.
R. Liu assumed a vertical base and went back into his stance. This battle was just beginning.
At the same time, with Kitana and Revenant Kitana...
Kitana Kahn was a martial artist, but she was also a scientist. She had the memories of the Revenant that stood before her. She knew how her Revenant fought.
Her only advantage was that the Revenant Empress did not know what she know. Aside from her parents, Kitana learned from a former assassin and picked up some pointers from T'Challa and the Dora Milaje. With her background in Taekwondo and Baguazhang, she was a formidable fighter indeed.
But squaring off against her Revenant would be her greatest challenge. Even with her knowledge of her Revenant's fighting style and techniques.
"Why fight me?" R. Kitana taunted as they circled one another, fans drawn.
"My last name may be Kahn, but I'm a Cage through and through," Kitana replied. "I like a challenge."
"This challenge will mark your end, and my new beginning," R. Kitana shot back. "The Elder Gods had no right in stealing what was rightfully ours!"
"Blame Quan Chi for that."
"This is a fight you cannot win, child. You are many years my junior to think you can face me in kombat."
"Your boss thought like that not once, but twice when he squared off against Dad and Cassie," Kitana sneered. "How'd that work out for him?"
R. Kitana sneered from behind her mask. "He was always an idiot. Sonya Blade as well for marrying him. And that pathetic child of theirs..."
"My parents are worth ten times more than Shao Kahn and Sindel," Kitana replied. Her lips twisted into a smirk. "And if memory serves, that pathetic child kicked your ass back at the Sky Temple, Empress of the Dead."
R. Kitana snarled and went on the attack, Kitana not having unfolded her fans save for deflecting her Revenant's bladed fans earlier in the battle, but still used them to block and parry. Then, Kitana lashed out, unfolding her fans and wielding them like a pair of butterfly knives, reversing the momentum and forcing the Revenant Empress on the defensive.
Those ballet lessons and the somewhat questionable (and in some cases, outright barbaric) training methods of her parents, and those of the Lin Kuei and the Shirai Ryu were paying off.
R. Kitana, for her part, was shocked as she defended herself from Kitana's attacks. Sonya's aggression, she realized. But she was much better at controlling it. Johnny's patience, much to her annoyance.
The lightning-quick backhand made R. Kitana drop her fans. The spinning back kick that followed knocked her mask off entirely, sending her spinning to the ground. R. Kitana rolled out of the way as Kitana spun, leg raised, before dropping into a split, her heel striking thr floor where moments earlier, her head was originally located.
R. Kitana's kick drew blood as it busted Kitana's lip. The two Kitanas rolled backwards, R. Kitana retrieving her fans. Rapidly closing in on the distance, R. Kitana tried to cripple Kitana by going for her Achilles' tendons. Kitana avoided it by performing a butterfly twist. She followed through with a second butterrly twist, avoiding R. Kitana's fans as the flung them at her.
Landing in a crouch, Kitana attacked.
Leaping into the air, the youngest Cage/Kahn lashed out with a triple set of kicks, forcing R. Kitana to block the attacks. Armed with her own fans, Kitana had R. Kitana on the ropes. An overhead fan swipe and the double front kicks had been blocked. But the hard open palm strike to her torso wasn't, as R. Kitana didn't see that coming, knocking her back.
The Revenant Edenian leapt back to her feet, and performed the Square Boost. Kitana dodged it by performing a suicide kip-up. Hopping back to her feet, she spun around, but R. Kitana had recovered a lot faster. Her fist bounced off of Kitana's jaw. But Kitana rallied, and slammed her elbow into her breastplate. Going low, Kitana drove her fist into the armored stomach of her undead counterpart, followed by another elbow, finishing with an open palm strike to the chin, knocking R. Kitana down once again.
But R. Kitana was on her feet yet again and rushed in, fists flying, the fans now abandoned. Kitana gasped as her Revenant landed a hard strike to her side. Kitana responded with a kidney punch, making the Revenant Empress stagger from the pain.
Now, the battle fans were back in Kitana's hands. R. Kitana dodged a fan swipe aimed at her face. When she came back up, she shifted her body to the side to avoid the follow-up thrust, and ducked again under a third fan swipe. R. Kitana lashed out, striking Kitana's wrists, forcing her to drop the fans.
As R. Kitana zeroed in for the knockout blow, Kitana did something not even she was expecting.
When R. Kitana attempted to grab Kitana, the latter had dropped to the floor, legs stretched in a perfect split, one fist cocked back.
PUNCH.
R. Kitana screamed in pain as Kitana's fist smashed into her crotch, causing her to double over in pain. Oh, yes, Kitana was a Cage, and she took her father's lesson to heart.
"Forget the gentleman's code. Kombat is all about who gets to go home and who doesn't. You wanna take someone out, then you either gotta crack some family jewels or hurt a lady in their tender places."
Quickly capitalizing on her advantage, Kitana hopped back to her feet and delivered a rising knee to R. Kitana. The Revenant Empress was down, but not out.
R. Kitana staggered back to her feet. But Kitana wasn't fooled. She had used this deception in the past; luring unsuspecting warriors to try and finish her off, only to end up disemboweled and their throats slashed. Slowly, she backed away and stretched her hands towards her fans.
R. Kitana watched as her counterpart's war fans floated back into her counterpart's hands. R. Kitana then mimicked the gesture, and her own fans returned to her cold, dead hands.
There was no smug look on Kitana's face. Only an intensity that R. Kitana hadn't seen during her years as a Revenant.
As for R. Kitana, she would enjoy beating the little upstart into submission before stealing her soul.
At the same time, with Revenant Kotal and Black Panther...
Revenant Kotal Kahn did not aid the Tarkartans. Even in death, the Revenant Osh-Tekk saw them as beneath him.
No, his focus was on the man in the guise of the Panther.
Arms folded, Kotal watched as he and the white-haired woman (oddly reminding him of Sindel, minus the black streak in it), led the charge against the Tarkarta, accompanied by an armored man.
The armored one was firing off beams of light from his hands. Sometimes, a Tarkarta did manage to break through the defenses, only to be knocked down by said armored figure. No, it was the panther-man and his wife that caught his eye. He was regal. He led by example, leading the white-haired woman - obviously his wife - and the spear-wielding women into battle against the Tarkarta.
This man was a king.
The Tarkarta that raised arms against them were quickly cut down; impaled on their spears or dying from repeated slashes.
His wife was just as a big of a threat. She wielded powers similar to that of Raiden and Cetrion. A living, breating Goddess of nature. She fried one Tarkarta with lightning while sent another flying back from a gust of wind. A third Tarkarta had leapt in, only to be frozen solid. He fell to the floor, shattering upon impact.
The panther-man was heading in his direction. But five Tarkarta stood in his path.
Not wanting to risk the lives of his wife and bodyguards, Black Panther chose to engage the Revenant Osh-Tekk. To get to Revenant Kotal, however, was a different story, as five Tarkartans stood in his way.
From his place, Revenant Kotal watched as the black-clad figure strode in his direction. Five Tarkartans stood in between him and the challenger.
It wasn't even a challenge.
The first Tarkartan went for a wild blade swipe, only to receive a broken neck after T'Challa dodged the swing. Arching his back to dodge a second Tarkarta's swing, Panther slugged him, then used him as a Tarkartan shield, for Tarkarta Number Three, causing him to impale his comrade rather than the Wakandan King. When he released his dead comrade from his blades, T'Challa was already behind him, vibranium knife in hand.
One stab to the spine, and the Tarkarta was rendered a quadriplegic.
Two Tarkarta remaining. Make that one, as one clean slice to the throat easily severed the closest Tarkarta's jugular and carotid arteries, the vibranium blade slicing deep to the point of near-decapitation.
The last Tarkarta didn't even fall by T'Challa's hand. As he was in Revenant Kotal's way, he was cleaved in two by Kotal's macuahuitl, splitting him vertically from head to groin.
"You are no ordinary warrior," Revenant Kotal noted. "I see the truth, in your actions and your gestures. You are a king."
"That I am, Kotal Kahn."
"Killing you will be a great pleasure," R. Kotal said. "Lord Shinnok will claim your soul once you die."
"Dying is not what I'll be doing today, Kotal," T'Challa rebuked.
If anything, T'Challa saw that Kotal was strong enough to cleave a Tarkarta in two, given the way he was swinging his macuahuitl. Panther hopped back from R. Kotal's giant swing that would've bisected him at the waist. R. Kotal followed through with the spin's momentum and tried to lop off Panther's leg.
Panther responded by hopping up and planting one booted foot into R. Kotal's face, knocking him back.
Rolling forward, Panther attempted to capitalize, but Kotal quickly recovered, and drove his macuahuitl into the ground. Caught unaware, Panther was blinded from the flash of light that erupted from the impact.
R. Kotal followed through with a massive overhead swing, attempting to do what he had done to the last Tarkarta by splitting the Wakandan King in two. T'Challa, guessing what was coming, dodged the lethal swing. R. Kotal's macuahuitl dug into the concrete floor. As R. Kotal attempted to free his weapon, Panther's vision recovered.
Panther drew blood by bloodying R. Kotal's nose. Two more hard punches to the Osh-Tekk Revenant's face, followed by a rising knee scored Panther the first knockdown of their brawl.
But R. Kotal rallied. A hard backhand stunned T'Challa. The headbutt with his helmet had hurt like hell. The hard double hammer punch knocked Panther to the ground.
R. Kotal walked over to his macuahuitl and yanked it out of the ground. Turning back to his opponent, R. Kotal prepared to finish him.
Unfortunately, he underestimated his opponent. Panther was back on his feet.
He was fast. R. Kotal realized this when a hard kick once again knocked the macuahuitl out of his hands. The double drop kick knocked R. Kotal into a support pillar, stunning him, but not knocking him to the ground. Stepping on the flat blade of the macuahuitl, Panther kicked it away.
No matter. R. Kotal reached behind his back and pulled out his dual hooks. Panther readied himself.
R. Kotal was just as dangerous with those dual hooks as he was with his macuahuitl. T'Challa saw this when he was nearly blind-sighted by an attacking Tarkarta. Ducking under its blade swipe, he kicked the Tarkarta towards Kotal, who promptly eviscerated the lesser being, spilling blood and guts on the ground.
"Stupid Tarkarta! This is my fight!" R. Kotal bellowed.
Panther ducked under R. Kotal's hooks. Then, he blocked R. Kotal's arms when he swung his hooks yet again. Panther went low with a kick to R. Kotal's ankle, but missed, as Kotal raised his leg. Then he ducked as Panther's spinning roundhouse kick sailed through the air, missing his face. R. Kotal responded by sweeping the leg, knocking Panther to the ground.
He raised his hooks and drove them towards Panther's torso, but missed, as T'Challa rolled out of the way and delivered a hard kick to R. Kotal's side, knocking him away and giving him some much-needed breathing room.
Unfortunately for Panther, R. Kotal was within distance of his macuahuitl. Kotal didn't waste any time in retrieving his weapon. Panther, for his part, reached behind his back and pulled out a pair of vibranium knives.
Behind his mask, T'Challa smirked. He was known as 'The Most Dangerous Man Alive' for a reason. And it was time for Kotal Kahn to discover this truth first-hand.
At the same time, with She-Hulk and Mileena...
Jennifer Walters was no Black Panther, but she was trained by the best the Avengers had to offer. Steve Rogers was one of her teachers. The second was the adopted daughter of Thanos herself, Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan.
Rogers was the strict disciplinarian, while Gamora was a sadist. There was a reason why she was known as 'The Most Dangerous Woman In The Galaxy.' That training had saw her through Civil War, the Skrull Hulk's rampage through Manhattan and the War of the Hulks. Now, her training was coming to the forefront yet again against the hideous clone of Kitana.
Mileena had scored the first hit, teleporting behind Jen and slamming her booted foot into her back in a move that would've left any normal person with a shattered spine. But Jen wasn't normal. She was, after all, the Sensational She-Hulk.
Mileena was surprised when she saw Jen get back to get feet. She was even more surprised when Jen came in, fists blazing. She moved like a boxer, one of the styles Cap had taught her. Had Mileena eaten anything before the mission, she's probably had regurgitated it from her stomach after Jen introduced it to her spine by means of her fist. The hard punch to the gut made Mileena drop her sais. The uppercut that followed knocked Mileena into the air. Jen followed through with a hard dropkick that bounced Mileena off the pillar she had been hiding.
Mileena landed in a crouch, as if she was getting ready to pounce on the giantess, a hiss escaping from her lips. Jen had her fists raised in a boxer's stance.
Then, Mileena lunged forward, curling her body into a tight ball as she rolled along the ground, towards Jen.
"WHOA!" Jen shouted as Mileena's attack struck, launching her into the air, setting her up for another Teleport Kick that slammed her into the ground.
"Okay..." Jen groaned as she got back to a vertical base, "I am getting tired of getting hit with that same move…"
Jen charged at Mileena, slamming her shoulder into the demented clone of Kitana, knocking her back into the pillar. Rapidly closing in, Mileena launched several punches into Mileena's torso, followed by a right cross, and completing the combination with a quick right backhand.
Mileena responded with a headbutt to Jen's nose, forcing her back. Sais in hand, she moved to gut Jen…
...only for Jen's hand to catch Mileena's wrist. Mileena tried to do the same with her other hand, but Jen repeated the gesture, holding Mileena's wrists with her own hand.
Then, Jen broke Mileena's nose with a headbutt of her own, and sent Mileena flipping ass-over-end with a clothesline. Grabbing Mileena by the hair, Jen slammed her face-first into the ground. Once, twice, before flinging her back to the concrete pillar.
Mileena, despite the pain, was outright furious. This fight was not going the way she wanted it to go! With a feral scream, she lunged at Jen, tackling her to the ground. They rolled along the ground for a bit, until Mileena was on top. Sai in hand, Mileena had a madness in her eyes as she raised it and brought it down.
Jen twisted her upper body to the side, hearing the TING as Mileena's sai impacted not against green flesh, but instead the hard concrete. A hard elbow to the temple forced Mileena off of Jen.
In a rage, Mileena attempted a second Ground Roll. This time, however, Jen saw it coming. She waited, then punted Mileena's body into the support pillar for a third time.
"What a maniac," Jen said.
"Grr..."
Jen fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Oh, come on!" she whined as Mileena staggered to her feet. "Stay down!"
"Never. You will have to kill me for that," Mileena hissed.
"When I get through with you," Jen replied as she balled her hands into fists, "you're gonna wish that I did just that."
At the same time, with Johnny and Shang...
He was coming at him with the clear intent to kill. The goofy, obnoxious man that Shang Tsung knew back on Earthrealm was gone. In his place was the man who had fought in the Netherrealm War and had withstood Shinnok's onslaught, besting him in kombat.
Johnny Cage was indeed the wild card out of Raiden's champions.
He moved like a leaf on the wind, weaving through his Flamming Skulls. He even dodged a spell in which Shang dropped a rotting, bloody carcass from overhead. No, this was not the Johnny Cage of old. The old Johnny Cage was someone wanting to prove that his skills were geniune.
This Johnny Cage was a new breed.
Shang blocked a kick from the God of Wind. Johnny swatted a kidney punch, and parried a spinning overhead chop from Shang. Johnny then countered with two quick jabs, of which Shang blocked. Another thing Shang discovered was that Johnny's fighting style was radically different. There were some flashy moves here and there, but Johnny's style was mostly professional and direct.
Obviously, Sonya's influence has been rubbing off on him.
Shang knew that as a mortal, Johnny was no challenge. Not to a man of his caliber. But now, as Fujin's successor, he was now a credible threat. While not being a God for very long, his powers had the potential to be even greater that of Fujin's.
Not even Fujin could fling razor-sharp blades that could neatly split someone from groin to gullet. Shang discovered this the hard way when Johnny bisected a Tarkarta the same way Revenant Kotal had done shortly before he intiated kombat with King T'Challa.
That was a distraction Shang quickly capitalized on. Morphing into Syzoth, Shang slid low, clipping Johnny's ankles and sending him flipping up and over. Hopping back to his feet, Shang planted both feet into Johnny's spine, knocking him close to the edge from where the Hulk had smashed Goro through.
Down below, Goro and Hulk were still fighting, with neither behemoth gaining the upper hand.
Johnny rolled to his left, just as Shang/Syzoth spewed a vicosious green bile from his gullet, which began to eat through the concrete upon impact. But Shang didn't let up. Morphing into Ermac, he ensnared Johnny in his telepathy and slammed him into the celing, then back to the ground, and finally, to the ceiling.
Johnny fell to the ground in a heap. Shang morphed back to his normal form and gloated over Johnny's prone form. His celebration was brief, as Johnny was playing possum. Caught in a gust of hurricane-level wind, Johnny propelled Shang into the ceiling, emulating what he had done.
"Had enough?" Johnny taunted.
"We have only just begun," Shang replied as he and Johnny got back to their feet. "Not even Liu Kang offered me such a challenge. You should be honored."
The wounds from both men began to heal; Shang using his powers to heal his injuries while Johnny's healing factor kicked in.
"I admit...in misjudging you, Cage," Shang continued. "Raiden's faith in Liu Kang has been misplaced. You were not just the wild card. You were the more credible threat."
"Yeah," Johnny admitted. "Only because your boss and Shinnok gave me no choice."
"It is not too late," Shang said. "I have Kronika's ear. I can convince her to stay her hand against you and your family. Not even Cetrion or Shinnok would dare to oppose her will."
"Tempting, but no," Johnny replied. "I've dealt with enough Earthrealm intrigue to know that Kronika won't keep her word, least of all you."
"Clever," Shang said. He waved his hands, and summoned three Flaming Skulls. "Then you will die here, and I will consume your soul."
Johnny summoned Stormbreaker to his hand. "Let's go," he challenged.
Shang threw the Skulls. Johnny cleaved through the first two, and backhanded the third, singing his hand. He then dodged three more Skulls as they erupted from underneath his feet..
The battle continued to rage on inside and outside the parking garage. In the back of his mind, Johnny wondered when this madness will finally end.
As good as he was, he could not fight Shang Tsung forever.