Author's Note: So for those of you who are wondering about what I think of the new Mileena DLC, here's brief rundown of my thoughts.
Voice actress: good, a healthy mix of crazed clone and savage assassin.
Appearance: kinda wish for MKX's lips... I mean, what else is Magnus gonna kiss?
Fighting style: excellent. The right mix of savagery and unpredictable.
Gear: Considering this is MK9 Mileena shot forward in time, looks pretty alright. The various options are quite nice.
Fatal Blow and Fatalities: Oh yes. Sooooo much yes. I love getting to perform them every time.
I know some hardcore MK fans will fight me on my thoughts on Mileena having no lips, but its whatever man. Everyone's entitled to their opinion without having to start a war over it, ya readin' me?
Anywho, enough form me, enjoy the chapter!
-Chapter 8: Fighting With My Family
Elsewhere in the universe...
A thunderclap signaled Raiden's arrival as he teleported back into the astral domain. As he came into being and his lightning dissipated, the thunder god's eyes widened as he realized the ruinous state of the realm.
A grey haze lay everywhere, the thrones of the Elder Gods broken and toppled with the divine deities nowhere to be seen. Raiden looked round and round, lost for words as he struggled to comprehend this grave calamity. He had been here just hours ago and everything was fine, what had possibly transpired to cause all of this?
"It is... too late." He sadly realized, deeming Kronika's havoc as responsible for this tragedy. The Elder Gods had already claimed their power was weakening and declared that they would be erased along with all other beings in a temporal Armageddon. Perhaps that had already unfolded... perhaps the time quakes had wreaked havoc with them as it had with his future counterpart. Raiden was not certain and had no answers, all he knew was that there was no one to call upon for aid now. the Elder Gods could no longer intervene in the affairs of the realms.
"Blame yourself for the Elder Gods' deaths, Raiden." A feminine voice sharply accused. Turning around, Raiden watched as Cetrion floated down from among the fallen thrones. Her violet body clothed in shimmering leaves and halos of light, the goddess of nature looked far more mortal than she ever had. "Your actions have irrevocably altered Kronika's golden balance of light and dark. Shinnok's decapitation was the capstone." She continued, appearing none too pleased with him. A shocked Raiden tried to comprehend her words as Cetrion's green eyes bored into him.
"Y-You are a paragon of virtue! You should wish evil vanquished!" He stammered back. Cetrion merely tilted her head, as if appraising his inability to see the truth, her leafy hair rustling as she spoke again.
"I abide my mother's will."
It all became clear to Raiden in that moment. Cetrion's words opened his eyes and he realized, all this time, that there was a mole in the highest order of the realms.
"You were begotten by Kronika..." he gasped.
"As was my brother, Shinnok. The darkness to my light." Cetrion continued. Though shocking, it made sense to Raiden. Light and dark, virtue and evil, both were two halves of the same topic. Yin and yang, polar opposites moving in fluid motion... and time had given birth to both. "Nature demands equilibrium. Balance is perfection." The goddess went on, approaching Raiden and placing a hand on his shoulder. "You have stepped out of your role, made that balance impossible... even among mortals. My mother approached Magnus Shadrix and sought to use him to forge a new balance between the realms. But because of your teachings, he refused her. That is why the New Era holds no place for you." She chided. Getting over his shock, Raiden turned serious.
"You will not succeed." He promised in a stern voice.
"Mileena Kahnum is captured, along with her husband. The combined might of Outworld and the Netherrealm will keep your forces at bay, Raiden, while my mother finished her work." Cetrion revealed as she turned and floated off. Taking the news in stride, Raiden determined to deal with it immediately.
"Do not underestimate Earthrealm's warriors, or our alliance with Mileena, or my student Magnus!" Raiden called after her. Cetrion went unfazed by his words.
"You were right to have been fond of these mortals. They were good souls." She replied in a patronizing tone. As she left Raiden be, the thunder god clenched his fists as he came to terms with the grave situation facing them all.
Things had just taken a turn for the worst...
Back in Earthrealm...
The training dummy stood still for a moment before it was promptly annihilated in a burst of flame and smoke, the thermal rocket obliterating it in a single shot. Two more projectiles took out another in quick succession, past Jax grinning as he viewed the destruction he'd caused. His mechanized limbs had been outfitted with kinetic converters that turned built-up heat friction into a particle blast capable of laying flat any kombatants dumb enough to get in his way.
"Man, these arms are an upgrade!" He whistled, turning back to Jacqui as they both removed their ear protectors. "It'll be payback next time I see Ermac." He mused, confident his newly-upgraded tech had what it took to handle any Outworld goon.
"Empress Mileena made sure he got his." Jacqui stated as they abandoned the training range for a moment. A few stalls down, her fiancé Takeda was showing off his of his own tech to past Kenshi. A trio of throwing blades stuck to a dummy moments before they detonated, thanks to the micro-thermite charges imbedded in each one.
"The they're primed to blow within a few seconds of leaving my hands. Makes it handy for laying a subtle trap or two." He described. Despite his blindness, Kenshi's telepathic and telekinetic senses helped him understand everything.
"Very impressive, son. Certainly makes for leveling the playing field every now and then." He applauded.
"Sure has come in handy." Takeda agreed as he slid another two into his hands.
"Remind me to stick close by your walking arsenal." Kenshi mused with a slight smile and his son sent both blades spinning downrange. While it still seemed strange for them to be interacting with children yet to be conceived, the kombatants of the past had adapted to their new realities fairly fluidly.
"I imagine 'future me' is out kickin' ass with these right now." Jax remarked with a grin as he flexed his arms. Jacqui's expression fell as her father's true history unfolded in her mind, the gung ho desires of his past self definitely outweighed by the crushing reality that had actually unfolded.
"Cassie told you that 'future you' spent time as a Revenant, yeah?" She wondered in a quieter voice. Jax nodded.
"Sounded horrible. Can't imagine becoming Shinnok's puppet." He replied in a grimmer tone. "But she says I come back from it. Raiden freed me at the same time as Master Hasashi and Sub-Zero." He was hopeful, Jacqui could just hear it in his voice... and she had the unwelcome responsibility of telling him the crushing truth.
"The experience haunted Dad." Jacqui explained. "But then he... you... met Mom. She brought you back to life."
"The love of a good woman? Like the sound of that." Past Jax mused.
"She was Dad's everything." Jacqui confirmed with a sad look in her eyes. "She died last year. Ever since, Dad's stayed on the farm... he feels safer there." She revealed. Past Jax nodded slowly in understanding, wrestling with the gravity of having so much be taken and forced from him in exchange for little in return. Jacqui crossed her arms, loosely hugging herself and staring at the floor as Takeda and Kenshi strode over.
"You okay, Jac?" He wondered, setting a hand on her shoulder. The ebony girl sighed.
"I guess." She mumbled, leaning closer to Takeda as he encircled both arms around her.
Meanwhile, Cassie was busy setting up a terminal with the proper clearance for past Sonya, the lieutenant effectively needing a brand new profile entry in order to access the system. Lieutenant Blade of the past had been eager to do her part with this new means of defending Earthrealm and Cassie had been keen to oblige her. It had been a long, awkward day already, but maybe getting her 'mother' to help out some might actually be cathartic... somehow.
"Here's how you access reports," she began as Sonya leaned closer to watch the tutorial, "Swipe here to crosscheck them with past reports. The software can suss out the deltas and pretty much do the rest." She described. Sonya nodded in understanding, smiling a little at how easy things were.
"Now that's progress." She mused, pleased the amount of actual paper had been reduced to a minimum. Cassie grinned and vacated the scene to let Sonya work on the rest, the lieutenant sliding her seat closer as she got to work.
A few terminals down, both past and present Johnny Cage's watched her work, the older with a sense of respect and admiration while the younger merely checked her out with roving eyes from under his sunglasses. Sonya glanced down and offered the elder a slight smile before she returned to her work, Johnny reflecting for a moment on how his Sonya had given him similar looks before.
"Dad? You know where Liam is?" Cassie wondered as she approached her father, checking her watch and realizing how long she'd really been up for.
"Crew quarters, honey." He answered. Cassie nodded and walked off.
"So... I marry Lieutenant Princess over there?" His counterpart wondered and present Johnny nodded with a smile. "I always have had a thing for blondes. Ever since Suzie-"
"Donardo. Junior year." They said simultaneously. Present Johnny knew exactly who the girl was.
"Take it from me, you didn't miss much." He told his past self. "That woman over there? She's the real deal." He promised, pointing at Sonya. Past Johnny took a moment to eye the working woman over the edge of his sunglasses.
"Oh I got eyes, brother." He replied. "As Younger You, I solemnly swear to tap that at the earliest opportunity!" He bluntly, and loudly, proclaimed.
He was loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the complex, who shot him an unimpressed look.
Present Johnny turned to his younger self, with a rather disgusted look on his face. "What? It's our destiny!" Past Johnny exclaimed. The elder Cage had heard enough and stood, promptly forcing his younger self up by the ear.
"Out!" He snapped, forcefully removing the protesting Johnny from the room with every intention of teaching him a lesson. Sonya watched them go.
"How the hell do I ever sleep with that guy?" She wondered to herself, bewildered that the arrogant asshole she knew someway somehow matured into a well-rounded father. "And then have a daughter... can't believe I just said that." She muttered, rubbing her temples as another headache brought on by temporal distortion set in. Trying to shrug it off, Sonya returned to her console and worke don accessing some personnel files, which triggered an automatic scanning system. "Biometric verification required." A synthesized voice stated as a blue beam swept over the surprised lieutenant. Within seconds it could confirm her physical identity, but not her age. "ID verified: General Sonya Blade." It announced. Sonya couldn't help but smirk.
"General Blade..." She repeated, impressed with her future rank within the SF. "Dad would be proud." She said to herself as her entire history was brought up before her. More than a little curious, Sonya leaned forward and started to read...
Within the base's tank garage, Johnny and Johnny were engaged in a heated conversation... if it could even be called that.
"Untwist your panties, Older Me. I'm a star." The younger protested as he walked away. Elder Johnny promptly grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him around.
"This is a military operation, not a movie set." He scolded.
"I'm only the best fighter here." Younger Johnny bragged. "But your daughter's got me sitting at the kid's table." He accused. Elder Johnny promptly cuffed him upside the head, knocking his sunglasses askew.
"OUR daughter is C.O; Commanding Officer. A little humility might earn her respect!" He exclaimed, more than fed-up with his aggravating younger self. The irritated Johnny of the past fixed the posture of his sunglasses and shot his future self a glare.
"Dad always said 'Hungry people eat lunch, humble people serve it.'" He retorted.
"Dad was an asshole!" Elder Johnny snapped, jabbing a finger into his past self's chest. "Hollywood made us an even bigger one!" With that, he lifted the sunglasses off his younger self and dropped them on the floor, crushing them under his boot. Unfazed, younger Johnny promptly whipped out a fresh pair from within his jacket and donned them with a smug smirk. With wild, flailing motions he assumed a kombat stance.
"Hiyaaaaah!" Rolling his eyes, older Johnny stood ready to fight, somewhat keen on knocking some sense into his younger self.
Striding through the halls of the SF base, Cassie made a beeline for the accommodations wing, where soldiers of all sorts slept when on shift for days on end. Having memorized Liam's number some time ago, she found his door with ease and knocked.
"Liam? You in?" She called out.
"Yeah, door's unlocked." He answered from the other side. Finding the latch, Cassie slid the door open to find her boyfriend sitting on his bed, most of his combat gear resting on a nearby chair. "How're you doing?" He wondered as she closed the door behind her.
"Today's been... well, not easy." Cassie confessed as she walked over and sat beside him.
"That's putting it mildly." He agreed. "How about you and your... 'parents'?" He asked, using air quotes.
"Dad is... fine. Weirded out, like the rest of us, but he's managing." Cassie answered. "As for the other two... geez, I kinda forgot they used to be like this."
"Yeah, well, I'd say they're better than my dad." Liam mused, grumbling the word 'dad'. He had no idea if the Kano of the past was around or not but didn't care to dwell on the notion too much. "Your dad of the past giving everyone a hard time?"
"Especially my past mom. Gets on her nerves really quickly." Cassie admitted with a snort. "Thing is... My dad isn't the Johnny she knows. He... Grew up." She continued, her tone a little more somber. "I like to think she rubbed off on him. As a kid I... looked up to both of them." Cassie fell into a moment of reflection as Liam wrapped an arm around her shoulders, comfortingly stroking her clothed arm as she continued to reminisce. A recent memory came to mind and she snickered a little. "She... my past mom, told me her dad, my grandfather, was her hero. Called her 'Private Pun'kin'."
"Now that's a nickname." Liam mused with a chuckle. But Cassie's expression remained thoughtful. "What?" He pressed.
"That's what she used to call me." Cassie quietly told him. Liam put two and two together as he realized what was going on.
"You're missing her, aren't you?" He wondered. Cassie sighed in agreement.
"Just when I thought I was ready to move on, all of this shit happens and now... it's like starting from square one. But with a lot of baggage." She said.
"I hear you, Cass." Liam quietly said, pullgin her into a hug. "Sorry I can't be much help in that department." He apologized.
"Just having you close at hand makes things easier." She hummed. The moment of closeness was very much a source of stress relief and Cassie silently thanked whoever had determined that she and Liam were to cross paths the way they did. "Thanks for listening, babe. I know it's late and I just dumped all of this on you..." She rambled as they parted for a moment.
"That's what boyfriends are for." Liam remarked. Cassie laughed, her smile beautiful in his eyes. "I know it's unprofessional, but you wanna stay here tonight?" He offered. Cassie grinned.
"Read my mind, babe." Kicking off her boots, she started to remove the rest of her SF uniform. "Besides, as the current ranking officer around here, I think I'm allowed to say what is and isn't unprofessional." She wondered with a slight smile.
"No argument there, Commander." Liam quickly agreed.
"Good. Now get over here," Cassie said with a grin as she promptly pounced on her boyfriend and flattened him against the bed, her lips pressing against his as she made out with the man she loved...
As Sonya poured over her profile, she became engrossed in all the different missions she had been on since the end of the last Mortal Kombat tournament. Each one brought with it some manner of challenge that she had overcome and she was feeling quite proud of her future self. But then she arrived at the final mission report on the list, marked by the words KIA-BODY NOT RECOVERED. Brow arched, Sonya accessed the file and found a voice recording attached to it. It started with Cassie's voice,
"Override it, Jacqui!" She cried, almost screamed.
"There is no override." Jacqui sombrely told her. The sounds of a struggle followed, interrupted by the voice of Liam.
"Cass, listen. Listen!" He hissed,
His voice was reduced to static and the clamour of kombat and screeching demons filled the air before the recording came to an abrupt end. Sonya was left shocked, the tag on the recording was marked 'evidence for status as deceased' and realized this was the moment she had died.
"Geez... seriously?" She muttered to herself. It was hard enough knowing she'd died, but to see the evidence in such a way was even more earth-shattering. The voice log ended and the surviving squad member roster was revealed to her. Most of the names she recognized; Briggs, Cage, Takahashi... but there was one she didn't recognize: Liam, with no surname listed. Curious as to why he was down to one name only, Sonya cracked open his file and started reading, wanting to know who this man was, the man her future daughter called her boyfriend. She was soon pouring over his file and down in the notes she discovered the direct link to his parentage. "WHAT?!" She exclaimed, bolting upright. A few other crew in the command hub turned towards her startled. It didn't take Sonya to put two and two together... and all this time Liam, Cassie's boyfriend, was...
Fuming, she turned and marched over to the nearest trooper. "Where's Liam's quarters?!" She demanded.
Things between Liam and Cassie were getting hot and heavy, slowly escalating the longer they made out. Liam was now devoid of a shirt, his muscled chest exposed to his girlfriend who had shrugged down the upper part of her fatigues, leaving Cassie in a tight-fitting sports bra. Her boyfriend was keen on seeing more, though, much like she was. His hands trailed down her slim yet toned body, pushing her fatigues past her waist and just a little down her hips. She was busy feeling up his chest, but her hand kept moving lower and lower. It wasn't long until one of his hands had risen and was slowly working its way under her bra, just like hers was descending below the waistband of his pants. All the while they made out, engaged in a passionately intimate liplock. Cassie loved the heat blooming in her core, her desperation for Liam slowly rising...
Then it was all abruptly halted when the door slid open and Sonya barged in.
For a moment, the blonde lieutenant stood there in shock, eyes wide at the display before her. A startled Cassie and Liam looked to where the Sonya of the past was standing and managed to untangle themselves from one another.
"M-Mom! Er, L-Lieutenant," a flustered, embarrassed, and generally upset Cassie stammered, not knowing if she should cover up her exposed midriff or reach for her fatigues, "i-is there something wrong?" Her look was part questioning, part annoyance, rather perturbed that someone had barged in on her quiet time with her lover. A shirtless Liam sat up and couldn't resist making a comparison.
"Well, this seems familiar." He remarked, referring to the one time Cassie's mom had caught them in a similar situation in the past. But as his mouth widened in a sheepish chuckle, Sonya's gaze narrowed as one too many similarities registered with her.
In that moment, all she could see was Kano.
"Get away from her!" She screamed, suddenly charging in and pouncing on Liam, a swift right hook smashing into his jaw as he was pinned to the bed. Sonya went so far as to draw her sidearm, but not before Cassie grabbed both of her arms from behind and hauled Sonya off of her boyfriend.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Cassie shrieked, absolutely livid as she forced Sonya's sidearm away with one hand while gripping her arm with the other. On the bed, Liam rubbed his jaw.
"I've changed my mind... this one's actually worse." He groaned.
"I could ask you the same question!" Sonya retorted, brow furrowed in a frown. "What're you doing with Kano's son?!" She demanded. Cassie shook her head, as if the question was dumb with blatantly obvious answer.
"Wha-..." For a moment, it didn't seem like a big deal. But then she remembered who this was, when she was from, and how she had learned this. "The personnel reports." She realized, facepalming. "Shit... No, I'm not doing this. Not with you." She determined.
"Dammit Cassie! What the hell are you doing with him?!" Sonya demanded. "Don't you know who Kano is? His bastard son is bound to be no different!" She knew only the Kano from her timeline and, while he hand't change, the assumption about the father was not so of the son.
Her words, however, tipped Cassie over the edge and sent her rising anger well past the boiling point.
"Did you read his whole file, Lieutenant?!" Cassie snapped. "Every fucking word?! If you had, you'd know that Liam hates Kano! Kano put him through some messed up shit and he came to us to help put his 'father' away!" She screamed. Sonya paused, her temper abating somewhat as the truth was made known. Cassie let her own anger fade slightly, but the resentment she held for her would-be mother in this moment was at an all-time high. "Go read the full report, Lieutenant! Now get out!" She sternly shouted. After a moment's glance shared between her future daughter and Liam, Sonya slowly made her way back into the hall. When the door sealed shut, Cassie let out an exasperated sigh as she dropped Sonya's firearm and sat back down next to Liam. Her face was one of total loss and that of a woman completely strained. Sitting up, Liam adjusted his position so he was right beside his half-dressed girlfriend. "See what I mean?" Cassie wondered in a quiet, despondent voice.
"Yeah, I felt it too." He quipped. That seemed to stir Cassie from her reverie.
"Oh god," she whispered, reaching up to feel out the bruise on his cheek, "I'm sorry." Liam waved her off.
"Don't be, babe. I've been shot, stabbed, your mother punching me was-" He trailed off when he realized his brevity wasn't landing with his stressed-out girlfriend. So instead, he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "I'm okay, Cass. I've had worse." He promised. Cassie nodded and leaned closer to him. Part of her wanted to renew their intimate activists, but the rest of her was simply too mentally exhausted to do anything else.
Besides, reality wasn't going to give them that chance.
Alarms started sounding, red lights flickering outside the hall. Suddenly rejuvenated and alert, Cassie picked herself up and quickly tugged on the rest of her fatigues to appear modest again. "What's going on, Cass?" Liam wondered.
"Don't know. Get dressed, all the way, and meet me in the hub." She tasked, grabbing her pistols and sprinting into the hall. Ahead of her, Sonya was already moving and the two arrived in the command hub to find multiple proximity alerts blaring from the local terminals. There were hostile bogeys, dozens of them, converging on the base!
"Go to Condition Red!" Cassie quickly ordered, scrambling to get kombat ready.
With the order given, soldiers all across the base scrambled to form defensive positions. The tank garage was on total lockdown, the invaders likely trying to breach the perimeter walls to access the SF intel within. The local PA system blared the warning. "We're under attack! Repeat, we're under attack!" Among the mobilizing soldiers, Johnny and Johnny (the older having thoroughly trounced the younger during their brawl) joined them with assault rifles at the ready.
"Yippe-ki-yay, right?" The younger wondered with a keen grin. Present Johnny rolled his eyes.
"Follow my lead." He ordered, shoving his younger self behind him as he took point with rifle raised, his military training a stark contrast to what little his Hollywood counterpart knew.
They were abruptly interrupted when one of the exterior entrances was blown open by a powerful explosion that sent both Johnny's tumbling to the floor. They managed to pick themselves up as multiple armed insurgents entered the facility. Present Johnny recognized them to be Black Dragon, especially once he caught sight of a young Kabal and a young Erron Black leading them...
Elsewhere, past and present Kano shoved their way past columns of Kronika's white-armored Cyber Lin Kuei as they approached the sealed entrance to the base's central hub. They were soon joined by a revitalized Sektor, his armor now a mix of red and retrofitted white to go with his repairs and upgrades. A look from the twin mercenaries was all he needed to raise his right arm and prime a cutting laser that began to slowly melt through the door. On the other side, the SF troopers finished constructing a barricade out of crates, chairs and whatever else they could find as a glowing red line slowly cut across the top of the door. Behind a second barricades made with tables and crates, Cassie and Sonya took up defensive positions, Cassie having sent Liam to rendezvous with Jacqui, Takeda and the Jax and Kenshi of the past. Mother and daughter shared begrudging looks of compliance as they primed their weaponry for kombat...
Erron led half the Black Dragon forces in engaging the Johnny's while Kabal took the other half elsewhere. The odds were drastically uneven, the two Cage's pinned down by incoming fire from AK-47's and stolen Spec Ops rifles as well as Erron's thunderous carbine repeater. Johnny and Johnny quickly sprinted to new cover as the Black Dragon advanced towards them, unleashing covering fire as they ran through a hail of bullets... one of which grazed Past Johnny's cheek and sent his sunglasses flying. He clutched his face as he took cover behind a vehicle as elder Johnny felt something along his own cheek, his fingertips feeling out a newly-formed scar. Turning to his younger self and seeing the bloody line that had just appeared, he arrived at a startling conclusion...
If anything afflicted his past self, he would feel its ramifications too.
"Oh, that's freaky like Friday!" He remarked. His younger self was shaking.
"They shot out face, Johnny!" He cried. "They shot. Our FACE!" Hurriedly withdrawing a pocket mirror from within his jacket, younger Johnny had a mere few seconds to check his new wound before his compact was destroyed by a stray bullet. Suddenly enraged, Johnny grabbed a spare riot shield beside him and rounded the humvee before present Johnny could stop him, using his shield to deflect incoming bullets while he squeezed the trigger on his assault rifle and swept it back and forth with a shout as he charged the attackers.
"He's gonna get us killed..." Present Johnny grumbled, quickly following after him as past Johnny plowed into the Black Dragon ranks and forced them into a retreat, leaving Erron Black to stand his ground against present Johnny. His carbine was quickly shot out of his hands by Johnny's final round and he cast his empty weapon aside as the two squared off. "Funny way of saying howdy, partner. Mileena told us you were killed by Skarlet." Johnny greeted.
"Mah future self was." Erron drawled. "I ain't suffered such a fate."
"So why's a nice Texas boy like Erron Black in bed with the Black Dragon? Older you worked for Outworld, you were always one of the good guys... kinda." Johnny wondered.
"When Ah pick sides, Ah pick a winner... every time." Erron replied, his hand by his holstered pistols in a quick-draw position as Johnny readied himself for kombat. Erron was quick on the draw as he fired from the hip, Johnny equally fast as he launched forward in a shadow kick, the green aura surrounding him deflecting the bullets harmlessly as his boot collided with Erron's chin at top speed. Spun around by the blow, Erron wasted little time recovering and firing his pistol, the round grazing Johnny's hip and forcing the actor to flinch as Erron withdrew a stick of dynamite from his belt and lit the fuse, rolling it across the ground towards Johnny. Still agile despite his age, Johnny lunged forward with a leaping punch as the dynamite exploded behind him. Erron quickly caught his fist, however, and landed two gut punches that knocked the wind out of Johnny before he grabbed his pistol and slammed the handle into Johnny's chin and then pistol-whipping him across the face several times before a push kick sent him tumbling to the ground.
Chuckling at his seemingly imminent victory, Erron retrieved his carbine and loaded some fresh bullets into it as Johnny struggled to recover. "Say g'night... partner." Erron drawled as he took aim down his iron sights. Nowhere near finished, Johnny performed a kip up before launching into a backflip kick that sent the carbine flying from Erron's hands, following up by a rising elbow and knee combo that struck the cowboy in the chin and gut simultaneously, Johnny finished it off with a sideways shadow axe kick, his boot colliding with the top of Erron's skull. Now it was Erron's turn to be laid out as Johnny landed, sufficiently pleased with his recovery. The Black Dragon gunslinger was far from defeated, though, and rolled to his feet as he sent a bottle of Saurian acid rolling Johnny's way. The glass broke as the actor stepped back, a green pool forming on the metal ground that began to hiss and crackle as the ground beneath it was dissolved. Avoiding the trap, Erron surged forward and attacked with a dropkick, his twin boots smashing into Johnny's ribcage with a enough force to put the actor flat on his back.
Picking himself up, Erron loaded a fresh cartridge into his pistols as he slid across the ground into the rising Johnny, knocking him off his feet long enough for Erron to unload four bullets, two from each pistol, into Johnny's back. The actor recovered quick enough, forcing his way past the pain as he picked himself up to face a waiting Erron Black. The stock of his carbine smashed across Johnny's face and then into his chin with enough force to catapult Johnny into the air. Erron then fired a single shot that knocked him down to the ground, a fifth bullet wound in the actor's side. Grimacing in pain, Johnny pushed on and got back up as Erron approached him, surprising the cowboy with a sudden axe kick that caught him in the gut. Pressing his advanatge, Johnny nailed him in the face with a punch before driving two knees into his gut and followed up with a spinning hook kick that knocked Erron back, gasping for air as Johnny came at him again. A left and right jab smashed into Erron's masked face as Johnny then struck with an overhead blow and then an uppercut, followed up with another shadow kick that spun the cowboy around.
Having had enough, Erron drew both pistols and unleashed a storm of bullets that struck Johnny all over. The cowboy quickly drew a line of bulletholes up Johnny's torso before tossing some koins into the air and pitching one of his weapons forward, the butt end of the handle slamming into Johnny's face, the weapon flying back and into his hand, thanks to his impressive aim and timing, Erron turned and fired into the air without looking, the twin rounds striking his koins and directing both bullets down as they slammed into Johnny and put him on the ground. Catching his koins as they fell into his hand, Erron believed he had his fight down, victory his the moment Johnny could no longer pick himself up. But to his shock, the actor sprung up and unleashed two twin shadow bolts that stunned Erron and gave Johnny time to close the gap. A hard punch to Erron's chest crushed his ribs and Johnny then grabbed his arm and broke it harshly, the gunslinger crying out in pain even as Johnny pulled his head under his arm and dislocated his shoulder, promptly turning and throwing Erron onto his back as he writhed on the ground in pain for a moment longer before falling unconscious.
"You chose... poorly." Johnny remarked, recalling that movie fondly. With the cowboy out cold and his younger self nowhere to be seen, Johnny raced to link up with his daughter.
He soon encountered the others disposing of several Cyber Link Kuei, Takeda's whips tearing off arms and heads while Jacqui's rocket cannon obliterated one at same time as her energy pulse cannon destroyed another. Jax's metallic punches made short work of one more cyber ninja just as Kenshi sliced through a trio with Sento as they held their own. As Johnny strode over to them, he was met by Liam, the orange glow from his power glove dying down as the melted remnants of cyber ninjas could be seen behind them.
"I thought you were with Cassie?" Cage wondered.
"She sent me to find these guys. I haven't seen her since." Liam answered. With all of them knowing Cassie and Sonya might be in danger, they took off towards the base's command hub.
At first glance, it didn't look good. The door had been cut open, the melted metal still glowing from the laser that had sliced through it. Acrid gunsmoke filled the air and the bodies of Cyber Lin Kuei and SF trooper alike littered the ground.
"Cassie! Sonya!" Johnny called out as they entered. At first they could see nothing, but as Liam darted forward, Johnny joined him as they knelt beside an unconscious Cassie. Gently helping her into a seated position, Cassie came to with a groan.
"Breathe, babe. You're alright." Liam promised, spying the nasty bruise forming on her forehead. Someone had obviously knocked her down for the count... but who.
"Dad..." she rasped, finding her breath, "they... they took Mom-... Sonya." Johnny nodded in understanding.
"I'll get her." He promised. He patted Liam on the shoulder. "Look after her." He ordered as he rose. "Can we find out where they've gone?" Jacqui nodded and jogged over to a terminal, quickly punching up the necessary proximity scan information.
"Tarmac B." She answered. Grabbing a spare assault rifle, Johnny took off at a sprint, charging down the corridors as he made for the tarmac... but he slowed as he passed by a hangar, spying a very handy vehicle within. Deciding to take a momentary detour, he slid the door open and stepped inside.
Outside the desert command base, Sonya struggled within the iron grips of two Cyber Lin Kuei. As their prisoner she was helpless, her flesh and blood lacking in comparison to impervious metal.
"Take her to the dropship." Sektor ordered, the two cyber ninjas immediately complying. They were halted when one of the access doors suddenly blew open, surprising the cyber ninja's gathered outside. They stopped and attempted to scan for incoming threats, but the thick smoke from the explosion rendered their sensors blind to whatever was within. Sektor panned over to thermal and picked up a scattered heat signature from within, just as a powerful Bison-class battle tank emerged from the haze, crushing a pair of cyber ninjas under its heavy treads. At the controls, Johnny gleefully relished in his enhanced firepower as he attacked the cyber ninjas head-on, the tank's armor impervious to even Sektor's rockets as the leading cyber ninja quickly discovered.
He managed to teleport away just as Johnny rolled over his position, taking out two unfortunate Cyber Lin Kuei as he did. Realizing he'd missed, Johnny quickly used the tank's superior H-track mobility drive to turn on a dime and he gave chase as Sektor sprinted towards the nearby cliff edge. The cyber ninja stopped and turned, Johnny priming the main gun as he prepared to obliterate him.
"I have you now." He remarked, quoting yet another movie. Sektor remained unfazed and appeared ready to take Johnny head-on, his reasons made known as a Black Dragon gunship rose up from behind him. "Uh oh." Johnny realized the trouble he was in as he veered to the left in an effort to avoid getting shot. Using his booster jets, Sektor lept atop his ally just as the gunship fired twin rockets that struck the tank and knocked it onto two treads for a moment before it slammed back down, a fire engulfing the ruined remains of the tank's drive system. Johnny realized his predicament as he fought with the controls to no avail, the gunship shooting past him as he realized he no longer had the upperhand. Emerging from within, Johnny looked to the skies as the gunship banked around and came barreling towards him again, a Vulcan gun bellying from its nose like an A-10. Grabbing the bag he'd brought within him, Johnny dropped the explosives down into the belly of the tank and took off running as dozens of rounds struck the tank from the buzzing Vulcan gun as they attempted to strafe him. "Two can play that game!" Johnny hollared as he triggered the detonator, the exploding tank engulfing the gunship as it flew overhead.
The explosion and fireball were enough to set the craft alight and, with smoke trailing from its engines and burning hull, the crafted banked hard to the right as it disappeared over the nearby mountain ridge, destined to be a flaming wreck. But Sektor crashed into the tarmac ground well before he could join the wreckage and primed his subsystems for kombat.
"Send another extraction vehicle." He ordered the remaining cyber ninjas as he marched on Johnny Cage.
"You won't be online long enough for your friends to make it, Tin-Head." Johnny threatened as they drew closer. The struggling Sonya was carted off to the side and forced to watch as Sektor and Johnny squared off.
"Johnny Cage..." Sektor analytically mused in a synthesized voice. "Cyrax defeated you when you were younger and stronger. As I am his superior, I am yours." The cyber ninja gloated.
"You're forgetting the time I beat Shinnok, who's an Elder God, mano-a-mano." Johnny retorted. "Oh wait! You were dead when that happened." He added with a smug grin as the cyber ninja quickly engaged him. His back thrusters sending him sliding across the ground, Sektor staggered Johnny with a hip-check before disappearing into the ground and teleporting right by Johnny's feet as he executed a powerful uppercut that launched him into the air. Sektor soon sent him crashing back to the ground with a burst of power from his palm thrusters, the cyborg dropping down and opening his chest as he launched a pair of missiles towards him, only for Johnny to destroy them with a pair of shadow bolts. The actor was then on the offensive, attacking Sektor with a hard backflip kick to the chin that knocked his bolts loose before following up with a second shadow-powered backflip that sent the cyber ninja somersaulting before being laid out on his back.
His mechanical abilities quickly recompiling his situation, Sektor boosted himself to his feet as Johnny came at his again with a series of punches and kicks, each one blocked by Sektor until he parried a low kick and promptly retorted with a kick to the shin that dropped Johnny to one knee, driving his pistoning fist into his face over and over until a rocket-powered uppercut knocked the actor on his back. Sektor then primed and launched a trio of missiles from his back only for Johnny to get up with a roll and avoid them.
"Your biometrics indicate it is improbable for you to continue fighting." Sektor droned as he analyzed Johnny's previous wounds.
"You know us Cage's. We just don't quit." Johnny remarked, suddenly pulling out a pocket camera and snapping a picture. The burst of light from the strobe flash was enough to overload Sektor's photoreceptors long enough for Johnny to land a hard shadow kick that crumpled the cyber ninja's chassis. Johnny turned and converted his momentum into a hook kick that caught Sektor on the jaw, pitching his metal face to the side as Johnny then hit him with a forceball, the explosion of green energy pitching Sektor back a few more feet. The actor attempted to press his advanatge, only for the cyber ninja to counter with his flamethrower, singeing Johnny's clothes and hair before striking with four roundhouse kicks, one after another, and then using his boosters to launch into a double lunge kick that put Johnny flat on the ground.
Rolling to the side and springing to his feet, Johnny caught the cyber ninja in an axe kick and followed up with a trio of hard kicks before executing a spinning hook kick that caught Sektor across the helm again. Sektor attempted to get in a blow, only to meet Johnny's waiting hand as the actor parried with a krushing blow to his head that caved in his white plating. Johnny followed up with a rising shadow elbow before coming down in a hard backflip heel blow that smashed Sektor downwards. Putting an end to the cyber ninja, Johnny dropped low and executed a kick to the robot's shins before landing a front flip kick that smashed into the bottom of Sektor's helm and knocked his neurocircuitry out of alignment, effectively shutting him down. Sektor landed hard on his back and did not move as Johnny picked himself up, working out a sudden cramp with much cursing. "Go back to the Nineties." Johnny managed to scoff as he studied the surviving cyber ninjas slowly backing off, including the ones holding his future wife hostage. At this point, Johnny didn't care how many he had to fight before he could rescue her. He would accept any number of challengers! "Who's next?" He wondered aloud.
"I'm next, Hollywood!" A heavily-accented voice responded and Johnny turned to see past Kano aiming an assault rifle at his head. Realizing the merc's penchant for killing, Johnny knew he needed to act quickly, sprinting ahead a dropping into a sliding split as Kano pulled the trigger a second too slowly. The round past over Johnny's head as he drew his fist back, Kano recognized the imminent danger he was in just seconds before it happened.
The look on his face was priceless, comical even, Kano's eye bugging out of his head as the wind rushed from his lungs. His assault rifle fell to the ground as he clutched his groin, a victim of Johnny's infamous 'nutkracker' punch. Johnny sprung to his feet as Kano remained doubled over by unbearable pain, groaning and gasping as he struggled to recover.
"Shit. As if throwback me wasn't bad enough." The former actor mused.
"Oh it gets bloody worse." Kano promised as he righted himself with a grimace. "Sonya an' yor lil' girl? They're gonna die. Right in front a' yor face." He threatened, working through the pain as he and Johnny readied themselves for kombat. It was Kano who managed to attack first, launching forward in a Kanoball strike that pummeled Johnny before he drew his knives and slashed through the actor's protective equipment, streams of blood splashing across the ground as Kano landed on his feet with a killer gleam in his eye. Johnny righted himself and pulled some brass knuckles from his belt, sliding them on as the Black Dragon leader attacked again. Johnny quickly caught him on the chin with a swift uppercut and then an overhead punch before laying into the mercenary with multiple left and right crosses, beating Kano black and blue until he finally sent him flying with with a shadow-powered roundhouse kick.
Kano picked himself up as Johnny advanced towards him, crunching low and zapping the actor in his shins with a laser burst from his cybernetic eye. The hit put Johnny off balance as Kano guarded his approach with a throwing knife, the blade catching Johnny in the shoulder before Kano grabbed him and hit him with a headbutt, his cyber appendage digging into Johnny's flesh and staggering him further. Kano followed up with a hard boot to his stomach, his foot caught in place thanks to the hidden knife suddenly buried in Johnny's gut. Using his available leverage, Kano reached up and kicked Johnny across the face and sending him spinning. Leaping to his feet, Kano pounced again as Johnny managed to gather his senses and launch another punch. Unfortunately, Kano grabbed his arm and jabbed a knife through his biscep, Johnny crying out in sudden pain before Kano then blasted him with an optical laser, scorching the side of Johnny's face before he finally released him.
Finally breaking away from Kano, Johnny landed a shadow kick and followed up with two shadow bolts to put some distance between him and the merc. Taking a moment to recover, Johnny shook his head and rolled his shoulders, trying to amp himself up again. He threw a pair of forceballs to keep Kano busy as he worked out another plan of action. But the merc was quick to roll past his attack in another Kanoball strike, slamming into the Johnny amd opening him up for another suite of attacks. Multiple knife slashes cut through Johnny's attempts to ward him off, both blades digging in deep and allowing Kano to lift Johnny off the ground and execute a lumbar check, striking him first with his knees then with his boots. Managing to pick himself back up, Johnny soon found himself lifted off the ground again as Kano's hands encircled his throat, choking him out before applying a massive headbutt that cracked his skull. Staggered, thoroughly wounded and very kombat-weary, Johnny barely had anything left and could not prevent Kano from grabbing him and throwing him to the ground, promptly driving his head into Johnny's and landing another krushing blow. "An a fivah says you'll die aftah I'm done wit' 'em!" Kano sneered.
That seemed to be all it took to give Johnny his second wind.
Powering to his feet, for Cassie and Sonya's sake, Johnny executed a shadow kickflip that cracked Kano across the jaw, opening him up for Johnny to give it his all. Surging ahead with a shadow-powered punch, Johnny followed up with two back-kicks that sent blood spurting from Kano's mouth. Turning around and executing a spinning overhead kick, Johnny went all out as he used his momentum to land a backflip kick that stomped Kano's head into the ground. Pulling a spare away trophy from his belt, he beat Kano with it until the bottom fell off before he plunged the sharp end of the golden figure into Kano's gut with a splash of blood, bacflipping away from the downed Black Dragon leader as Johnny stood victorious over him. "No one threatens my family." He growled, planting his boot against the back of Kano's neck. The beaten mercenary struggled to rise, Johnny applying subtle pressure to keep him pinned.
Then a loud shot rang out and Johnny collapsed as blood spurted from his pierced thigh.
"Motherf-!" Johnny would've sworn as he clutched his wounded leg if not for the arrival of past Kano, pistol in hand and a bruised younger Johnny in his grip, clearing having been beaten and tossed about by the merc.
"Well well, got ahselves a full on generation swap 'ere." The Aussie remarked, shoving Johnny to his knees in front of the others. At that moment, a recovered Cassie joined by Liam, Jacqui, Takeda, Jax and Kenshi arrived on the scene and trained their assault rifles on Kano, but not before he pressed his pistol to the back of the young Johnny's head. "Don't think so. 'Tween Ninja Mime an' Lady Liberty, we've got all tha lev'rage." He told them, forcing them all to back down. Eyeing them all one by one with his glowing cybernetic optic, Kano offered a smirk as he laid eyes on his son. "'Ello Liam."
"Kano." Liam growled with a frown.
"Aw, izzat any way ta treat dear ol' dad?" Kano mockingly wondered, feigning hurt. The news was rather shocking to past Kano.
"Bloody hell, I have a kid?" He wondered as he picked himself up.
"One 'o don't take kindly to how we do things." Present Kano explained. "Joined tha SF jus' ta spite me." He added, shooting a look Liam's way.
"Ain't that a kick in tha teeth." Past Kano huffed as a second dropship arrived, flanked by a heavily armed gunship. Their ride touched down and the boarding ramp lowered, revealing a young Kabal flanked by two more cyber ninjas. Forcing Johnny to his feet, Kano roughly escorted him to the ship.
"Kabal, ya get what we came fo'?" Present Kano asked.
"Server's been wiped, any intel to give them a leg up is kaput." The speedy assassin replied. "What now?"
"We got our trump cahds." Past Kano responded as he strode over. "And we'll take care a' wha's left." He added, pulling a detonator from his belt and priming it.
Behind them all, Sektor suddenly went rigid, his photoreceptors changing color from blue to red as a steady beeping filled the air.
The remaining cyber ninjas joined the Black Dragon as past Johnny and past Sonya were forced onto the drop ship, Cassie and her team quickly helping present Johnny to his feet as the last of their enemies herded into the transport. Knowing she couldn't risk her parents getting killed, and thus erasing her from existence, Cassie quickly developed a far sneakier plan.
"Liam, fit a tracker to that ship!" She quickly ordered. Priming the launcher on his glove, Liam needed a mere split second to aim and shoot, the small metal disc sinking deeply and innocuously into the tail wing of the craft as it took off, the act going unnoticed by anyone save them. Pulling a PDA from his belt, it quickly revealed an active signal as it tracked the fleeing craft.
"We're live and locking." He announced, passing it to his girlfriend. "What now, Commander?"
"We go get them." Cassie responded.
"All things considered, Cass, we're not ready to go after them just yet." Jacqui interjected.
"I'm not losing them, Jacqui! Not again!" Cassie firmly replied.
"Kiddo... she's right. We're in no shape to give chase." Johnny said as Jax half-carried him over. It was then, with the roar of the transport jets gone, that another noise proved to be cause for concern. "Anyone else hear beeping?" He wondered and they all turned about to see the source, Sektor, sparking and twitching as his internal systems overloaded.
"Oh great. In addition to being a mechanized warrior, he's also a walking bomb." Liam dryly realized.
"Think we can disable him?" Takeda wondered.
"No. There's no time." Kenshi answered. "My senses show that bomb is set to go off in less than a minute... and take the whole base with it."
"Thermonuclear power core... just dandy." Liam remarked. It was then that a thunderclap sounded overhead, accompanied by a bolt of lightning that brought Raiden with it.
"Have I arrived too late?" He worriedly asked as he strode over to the group.
"You're back in the nick of time." Johnny stated, gesturing to the overloading Sektor. Raiden understood and used his powers to generate a powerful electric field that surrounded them all, teleporting them within a lightning bubble that vanished member moments before the overloading Sektor turned blue with uncontrollable power and exploded in a massive detonation that destroyed the ruin desert command base.
Elsewhere in Earthrealm...
The glow of Raiden's teleportation bubble stirred Grandmaster Hasashi from his meditation, the leader of the Shirai Ryu rising from within his dojo and walking to the entrance just in time to see Raiden and the Spec Ops survivors arriving in his courtyard, electrical energy fading away all around them.
"Now that's what I call a miracle." Jax remarked as he wiped sweat from his brow.
"Yeah Raiden, thanks." Cassie offered to which the thunder god nodded. They turned as Hanzo approached them, Raiden bowing in respected greeting.
"Grandmaster Hasashi, I humbly request the Shirai Ryu's hospitality. My Sky Temple has been compromised, thre is no safer place for us to gather." He explained. The stock Grandmaster nodded in understanding.
"Lord Raiden, welcome to the Fire Garden." He responded, bowing in a display of mutual respect and greeting. Raiden nodded and stepped to the side as Hanzo approached the armored Takeda. "It is good to see you again, Chujin." He offered, Takeda bowing in greeting.
"You as well, Grandmaster." He politely responded. Hanzo's eyes then widened as he spied Kenshi.
"It does my heart good to see you alive and well again, Kenshi." He greeted.
"While I am not the Kenshi of your time, Hanzo, know that will endeavour to keep our friendship alive and well." The blind swordsman offered as the two shook hands.
Later that day, Raiden gathered the Forces of Light within the Shirai Ryu's enclave, with Hanzo's permission. The collection of Jax, Johnny, Takeda, Kenshi, Jacqui, Liam, Cassie and Hanzo were joined by Kuai Liang, Liu Kang and Kung Lao, the warriors of Earthrealm now sporting a nearly complete roster. It was then that the thunder god filled them in on his discoveries.
"The Elder Gods are gone? Shinnok is Kronika's son?" A shocked Cassie said aloud, voicing everyone's thoughts. "No wonder she sent the Black Dragon after me and Dad. We both kicked his ass." She realized.
"Then I guess this means you stand a chance against Cetrion as well." Liam mused.
"That is entirely possible, Liam." Raiden agreed. "But it is not vengeance that drives Kronika. She restarts history to balance light and dark among the realms."
"And I'm willing to bet none of us are gonna like her idea of 'balance'." Johnny mused.
"What can we do, Lord Raiden?" Liu wondered.
"We must gather Earthrealm's full fighting force. But that effort will be for naught if Mileena Kahnum and the armies of Outworld cannot join us." The thunder god stated, then made to elaborate. "Cetrion informed me that Shao Kahn has captured Mileena Kahnum and Magnus Shadrix. We must spare no effort to free them."
"Magnus is a real power player. We get him back in action and we'll be bound to tip the fight in our favor." Cassie stated.
"I sincerely hope that is the case, Cassandra Cage." Raiden said with nod.
"Kung Lao and I will go." Liu offered. "We will rendezvous with Princess Kitana."
"And I will join you, Liu Kang." Raiden stated. "We must show to Shao Kahn once and for all that we stand with Mileena Kahnum's Outworld."
"What about us?" Cassie asked.
"See to it that you rally the remaining Special Forces, Cassandra Cage. Assemble a team and save Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage from the Black Dragon." Raiden tasked before his electric gaze turned to the remaining martial artists. "Grandmasters Hasashi and Liang, I would politely request that no prying eyes are allowed to reach here, our staging grounds." He told them. Hanzo nodded.
"I will place double guards across the perimeter."
"I will help enforce that security and send for whatever Lin Kuei remain to meet us here." Sub-Zero offered.
"Thank you." Raiden earnestly responded. "May the Elder Gods protect-" he paused and trailed off, realizing there were no more Elder Gods to protect them. With a disappointed look, Raiden sighed and corrected himself. "May you all return victorious."