Confronting the Past
Vengeance is cold comfort. Justice is colder, but longer lasting.
From the Harvester's Journal
Kermit scowled darkly as he recognized the woman walk into the detective's pen. Soralis hadn't changed much since he had last seen her. He walked over casually. "Peter, I'll take her statement." He said, smiling disarmingly.
Soralis flinched. She had dreaded this moment. "Hullo Kermit, long time no see,"
"Likewise," Kermit replied, in that same, mild tone. Peter looked at both of them.
"You two know each other?"
"We played together in the big ring for a while," he replied, referring to his time spent as a CIA agent. He glanced at Peter, knowing the younger man would pick up the hint. Skip it. He thought. I'll tell you later.
Peter shrugged. "Ok," he said, accepting his friend's wishes.
Kermit escorted Soralis into his office, offering her a seat. She took it and pulled it up to the desk, deliberately making it hard for herself to get out of Kermit's way, should he decide to attack. Kermit frowned, recognizing her actions for what they were.
"Thought you were dead kid," he told her, deceptively calm.
Soralis smiled slightly. "I don't die easily."
He snorted. "So I see. What brought you to SloanVille? It wasn't to take in the local tourist traps that's for sure. Every time we hooked up, back in the old days, you were after some sort of terrorist, serial killer or psycho mass murderer."
She smiled sadly. "I'm afraid that's exactly what brings me to SloanVille." She said as she showed him her detective's license.
He looked at it carefully. "Harvester Investigations?" he murmured out loud. The license looked genuine.
"So who are you looking for this time?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
"A particularly nasty group that seems to be targeting martial-artists and priests of all descriptions, regardless of race, social standing or creed. I've been able to link at least twenty deaths to them. Most of the victims died badly." She said as she fished out a few photos from her wallet. He paled and set them aside. They were very unpleasant.
He looked at her hard and she swallowed. "Why haven't you aged any since I last saw you?" he demanded.
"Good bone structure?" she replied quickly.
"Not good enough," he said softly.
Soralis sighed as she gently probed his mind. She was slightly surprised at the things he had witnessed in the past few years. He's been exposed to the Veil. I suppose I can trust him with some of the truth. She thought as she carefully withdrew from his mind and considered her options. She finally looked up at him.
"Essentially, I'm a mutant, an external to be more precise. I'm virtually immortal, though I can be hurt." She winced slightly as she sent a mental command to her symbiont. Three adamantine claws popped out from between her knuckles, gleaming brightly in the florescent light.
"I think I'm around six hundred years old. Around three hundred years ago a friend gave me the ability of foresight. This ability lead me to the first body and another identified the Dahli Llama as a potential target and I moved to intercept." She said as she gave another command to the symbiont. The claws slowly slid back into her hand; the wounds that they made healed almost instantaneously.
Kermit face registered his shock and disbelief. He could barely comprehend what his friend had just told him, nor could he believe what he had just witnessed. "You're a mutant? Why didn't you tell me before?" he demanded.
"Would you have believed me?" she asked bluntly.
"No, but I've seen a lot since then." He replied honestly, losing what little anger he had towards her.
She smiled. "I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven." He told her and she laughed lightly.
"I can't put this in the report. I mean, no one would believe in a 600 year old or older mutant hunting down psychos for a living. They might believe the visions, but that's a long shot."
Soralis smiled. "Just tell them an abbreviated version of the truth: I'm a private investigator who was hired to track down and stop a cult that has been targeting priests and martial artists. Since the Dahli Llama is a very prominent figure in the religious world, he was a logical target. So I decided on my own to watch out for the nasties and got lucky."
"That'll work." Kermit nodded.
***
As she exited the precient, she frowned, looking at the buildings in front of her. The same individual that had been tagging her from Los Angeles was somewhere in one of those buildings, watching her. She could feel his presence in her mind, a wintry shadow. The individual did not feel at all menacing. He, she felt strongly that her tag was a he, seemed to be protecting her from something. Or watching her back.
As she walked towards her hotel, she could sense another presence following her. Cain. This will prove interesting, she thought as she went into her room and closed the door. She shrugged off her over-coat, revealing a slender, acrobatic build.
The only ornamentation she wore was a silver bracelet etched with strange runes and a silver ring set with a large fire opal. She scowled, running her hands through her hair as she looked at the mirror in her bathroom. She looked and felt like hell. Maybe a shower, she thought as she slowly undressed, carefully laying her sword within easy reach, before stepping into the tub.
She let the water cascade over her, washing away the day's events. When she was done and decently dressed; she left the bathroom and wasn't surprised to find that she wasn't alone.
The man sitting cross-legged on her bed was young, in his late twenties, early thirties maybe. Her practiced eye identified him as belonging to Lin Kuei clan of shadow assassins, a group that had sworn allegiance to her long ago.
"It's not nice to enter a lady's room uninvited my friend, nor is it polite to follow her from Los Angeles to here," she told the man.
He got up and bowed. "Forgive me my lord, but we felt you might be a target. I was assigned to protect you by my clan leader. We felt that this might somehow repay you for the favors you have granted us in the past. I am Sub-Zero."
She inclined her head. "Thank you, but I believe I am well equipped to take care of myself."
He looked at her directly. "Even against the hell god Shinnok?" he countered.
"What?" she looked surprised. "Please explain." She gestured for him to sit as she took a chair, sat down and faced him.
"Ages ago, the thunder god Rayden refused to kill his brother after beating him in a sacred combat that would decide which sibling would rule by their father's side. Rayden was banished to earth for that weakness, that inability to kill a family member for power. Shinnok was enraged when he learned that Rayden had become the guardian of earth and a god of great power. He, along with his other son Shao Kahn, plotted to kill the Lord Rayden in order to take earth and all of her resources for themselves. Rayden found out and managed to defeat them with a group of brave, young humans."
He paused for breath before going on. "The Elder gods intervened and banished Shinnok to the dead Realms for his crimes."
He got up and began pacing. "Around 700 years ago, Rayden met and fell in love with a young, foreign woman of remarkable bravery and compassion. They became lovers for a time. She abruptly cut off the relationship and fled without telling Rayden. We later learned that she had been killed in a far-off land."
He knelt before her and took her hands in his own. "Our sages and seers believe that that woman was your mother." He looked at her. "The Lin Kuei owe you a debt we can never repay, you gave us asylum when we were banished from Outland and you protected us from Shao Kahn's assassination squads. Now you are in danger my lord, for Shinnok's cult is responsible for the deaths you are investigating. If he is set free, he will hunt you down and claim you for his own, or destroy you."
Soralis was reeling with shock. Everything, everything the shadow assassin said was truth; she could feel it in her bones, in her soul. Memories, long buried resurfaced. Her mother, oh her mother, center of her young world, swinging her around in a dizzy circle, their laughter ringing and bouncing back from the valley's tall trees.
She remembered her mother teaching her to swim and to read and Soralis remembered her kissing her goodbye for the last time. That night, she felt her mother die violently by some unseen hand. There were darker memories, memories she wished she could obliterate from her mind forever.
***
Well of Souls, Outland 500 years ago:
Soralis was escorted into the chamber. She was exhausted, nearing the end of her reserves of strength and sanity. She raised her head, mustering what little courage and dignity she had left and glared at the Lord of Outland, Shao Kahn.
"Your destiny awaits my dear," he said laughingly as he pointed at the clear, glass-like tube. Around the tube were metallic, foreign objects she could not identify.
"I'll die before I serve you," she told him steadily.
He grinned. "That's the idea," he nodded to the guards. "Put her in,"
The guards shoved her into the tube and chained her in it. The last thing she saw before the clear, molten liquid poured over her was Shao Kahn grinning triumphantly at her. Then there was nothing but pain.
***
"Shao Kahn knew, didn't he?" she asked him softly. "He had to have known who I was."
"In all likely hood, yes." Sub-Zero let go of her hands and got to his feet. "It would have given him great pleasure to set you against your father."
"I have to confirm this," she told him.
He smiled slightly. "I would expect no less my lord." He replied.
In the shadows, Cain observed the conversation and closed his eyes. This was not good. He would have to share this information with others and soon. Very soon...
Elsewhere....
Deep underground, shielded by layers of ancient sorceries was an individual. He was bone white, draped in strange, archaic robes. The creature knelt, surrounded by flames and eternal night.
"The Isisethren lives," The creature murmured. "She is under the protection of Anubis and Osiris as well as the Jade Emperor."
"I suspected as much, only another god could have hid her from me and only a greater god could have hid her aura from Shinnok." Another deeper voice replied from the flames and the darkness that surrounded the demon.
"She saved the Dahli Llama's life," the demon said softly.
Silence. Then...
Quiet, mocking laughter echoed in the chamber. "Her ability to survive is indeed impressive as is her sense of duty. She may yet be of use to us. Watch and wait for an opportunity to take her alive."
"My lord, we tried to take her once and she escaped. This time it may prove impossible."
"Why, pray?" the voice demanded sarcastically.
"Rayden is aware of her and she now has the aid of the Lin Kuei assassin Sub-Zero."
"Rayden...." The voice rumbled. "This was unforeseen. Does he know of his relationship to The Harvester?"
"He most likely suspects, but has held off any attempts at contact." The sorcerer replied.
The voice laughed quietly. "I have another idea Quan Chi...."
Vengeance is cold comfort. Justice is colder, but longer lasting.
From the Harvester's Journal
Kermit scowled darkly as he recognized the woman walk into the detective's pen. Soralis hadn't changed much since he had last seen her. He walked over casually. "Peter, I'll take her statement." He said, smiling disarmingly.
Soralis flinched. She had dreaded this moment. "Hullo Kermit, long time no see,"
"Likewise," Kermit replied, in that same, mild tone. Peter looked at both of them.
"You two know each other?"
"We played together in the big ring for a while," he replied, referring to his time spent as a CIA agent. He glanced at Peter, knowing the younger man would pick up the hint. Skip it. He thought. I'll tell you later.
Peter shrugged. "Ok," he said, accepting his friend's wishes.
Kermit escorted Soralis into his office, offering her a seat. She took it and pulled it up to the desk, deliberately making it hard for herself to get out of Kermit's way, should he decide to attack. Kermit frowned, recognizing her actions for what they were.
"Thought you were dead kid," he told her, deceptively calm.
Soralis smiled slightly. "I don't die easily."
He snorted. "So I see. What brought you to SloanVille? It wasn't to take in the local tourist traps that's for sure. Every time we hooked up, back in the old days, you were after some sort of terrorist, serial killer or psycho mass murderer."
She smiled sadly. "I'm afraid that's exactly what brings me to SloanVille." She said as she showed him her detective's license.
He looked at it carefully. "Harvester Investigations?" he murmured out loud. The license looked genuine.
"So who are you looking for this time?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
"A particularly nasty group that seems to be targeting martial-artists and priests of all descriptions, regardless of race, social standing or creed. I've been able to link at least twenty deaths to them. Most of the victims died badly." She said as she fished out a few photos from her wallet. He paled and set them aside. They were very unpleasant.
He looked at her hard and she swallowed. "Why haven't you aged any since I last saw you?" he demanded.
"Good bone structure?" she replied quickly.
"Not good enough," he said softly.
Soralis sighed as she gently probed his mind. She was slightly surprised at the things he had witnessed in the past few years. He's been exposed to the Veil. I suppose I can trust him with some of the truth. She thought as she carefully withdrew from his mind and considered her options. She finally looked up at him.
"Essentially, I'm a mutant, an external to be more precise. I'm virtually immortal, though I can be hurt." She winced slightly as she sent a mental command to her symbiont. Three adamantine claws popped out from between her knuckles, gleaming brightly in the florescent light.
"I think I'm around six hundred years old. Around three hundred years ago a friend gave me the ability of foresight. This ability lead me to the first body and another identified the Dahli Llama as a potential target and I moved to intercept." She said as she gave another command to the symbiont. The claws slowly slid back into her hand; the wounds that they made healed almost instantaneously.
Kermit face registered his shock and disbelief. He could barely comprehend what his friend had just told him, nor could he believe what he had just witnessed. "You're a mutant? Why didn't you tell me before?" he demanded.
"Would you have believed me?" she asked bluntly.
"No, but I've seen a lot since then." He replied honestly, losing what little anger he had towards her.
She smiled. "I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven." He told her and she laughed lightly.
"I can't put this in the report. I mean, no one would believe in a 600 year old or older mutant hunting down psychos for a living. They might believe the visions, but that's a long shot."
Soralis smiled. "Just tell them an abbreviated version of the truth: I'm a private investigator who was hired to track down and stop a cult that has been targeting priests and martial artists. Since the Dahli Llama is a very prominent figure in the religious world, he was a logical target. So I decided on my own to watch out for the nasties and got lucky."
"That'll work." Kermit nodded.
***
As she exited the precient, she frowned, looking at the buildings in front of her. The same individual that had been tagging her from Los Angeles was somewhere in one of those buildings, watching her. She could feel his presence in her mind, a wintry shadow. The individual did not feel at all menacing. He, she felt strongly that her tag was a he, seemed to be protecting her from something. Or watching her back.
As she walked towards her hotel, she could sense another presence following her. Cain. This will prove interesting, she thought as she went into her room and closed the door. She shrugged off her over-coat, revealing a slender, acrobatic build.
The only ornamentation she wore was a silver bracelet etched with strange runes and a silver ring set with a large fire opal. She scowled, running her hands through her hair as she looked at the mirror in her bathroom. She looked and felt like hell. Maybe a shower, she thought as she slowly undressed, carefully laying her sword within easy reach, before stepping into the tub.
She let the water cascade over her, washing away the day's events. When she was done and decently dressed; she left the bathroom and wasn't surprised to find that she wasn't alone.
The man sitting cross-legged on her bed was young, in his late twenties, early thirties maybe. Her practiced eye identified him as belonging to Lin Kuei clan of shadow assassins, a group that had sworn allegiance to her long ago.
"It's not nice to enter a lady's room uninvited my friend, nor is it polite to follow her from Los Angeles to here," she told the man.
He got up and bowed. "Forgive me my lord, but we felt you might be a target. I was assigned to protect you by my clan leader. We felt that this might somehow repay you for the favors you have granted us in the past. I am Sub-Zero."
She inclined her head. "Thank you, but I believe I am well equipped to take care of myself."
He looked at her directly. "Even against the hell god Shinnok?" he countered.
"What?" she looked surprised. "Please explain." She gestured for him to sit as she took a chair, sat down and faced him.
"Ages ago, the thunder god Rayden refused to kill his brother after beating him in a sacred combat that would decide which sibling would rule by their father's side. Rayden was banished to earth for that weakness, that inability to kill a family member for power. Shinnok was enraged when he learned that Rayden had become the guardian of earth and a god of great power. He, along with his other son Shao Kahn, plotted to kill the Lord Rayden in order to take earth and all of her resources for themselves. Rayden found out and managed to defeat them with a group of brave, young humans."
He paused for breath before going on. "The Elder gods intervened and banished Shinnok to the dead Realms for his crimes."
He got up and began pacing. "Around 700 years ago, Rayden met and fell in love with a young, foreign woman of remarkable bravery and compassion. They became lovers for a time. She abruptly cut off the relationship and fled without telling Rayden. We later learned that she had been killed in a far-off land."
He knelt before her and took her hands in his own. "Our sages and seers believe that that woman was your mother." He looked at her. "The Lin Kuei owe you a debt we can never repay, you gave us asylum when we were banished from Outland and you protected us from Shao Kahn's assassination squads. Now you are in danger my lord, for Shinnok's cult is responsible for the deaths you are investigating. If he is set free, he will hunt you down and claim you for his own, or destroy you."
Soralis was reeling with shock. Everything, everything the shadow assassin said was truth; she could feel it in her bones, in her soul. Memories, long buried resurfaced. Her mother, oh her mother, center of her young world, swinging her around in a dizzy circle, their laughter ringing and bouncing back from the valley's tall trees.
She remembered her mother teaching her to swim and to read and Soralis remembered her kissing her goodbye for the last time. That night, she felt her mother die violently by some unseen hand. There were darker memories, memories she wished she could obliterate from her mind forever.
***
Well of Souls, Outland 500 years ago:
Soralis was escorted into the chamber. She was exhausted, nearing the end of her reserves of strength and sanity. She raised her head, mustering what little courage and dignity she had left and glared at the Lord of Outland, Shao Kahn.
"Your destiny awaits my dear," he said laughingly as he pointed at the clear, glass-like tube. Around the tube were metallic, foreign objects she could not identify.
"I'll die before I serve you," she told him steadily.
He grinned. "That's the idea," he nodded to the guards. "Put her in,"
The guards shoved her into the tube and chained her in it. The last thing she saw before the clear, molten liquid poured over her was Shao Kahn grinning triumphantly at her. Then there was nothing but pain.
***
"Shao Kahn knew, didn't he?" she asked him softly. "He had to have known who I was."
"In all likely hood, yes." Sub-Zero let go of her hands and got to his feet. "It would have given him great pleasure to set you against your father."
"I have to confirm this," she told him.
He smiled slightly. "I would expect no less my lord." He replied.
In the shadows, Cain observed the conversation and closed his eyes. This was not good. He would have to share this information with others and soon. Very soon...
Elsewhere....
Deep underground, shielded by layers of ancient sorceries was an individual. He was bone white, draped in strange, archaic robes. The creature knelt, surrounded by flames and eternal night.
"The Isisethren lives," The creature murmured. "She is under the protection of Anubis and Osiris as well as the Jade Emperor."
"I suspected as much, only another god could have hid her from me and only a greater god could have hid her aura from Shinnok." Another deeper voice replied from the flames and the darkness that surrounded the demon.
"She saved the Dahli Llama's life," the demon said softly.
Silence. Then...
Quiet, mocking laughter echoed in the chamber. "Her ability to survive is indeed impressive as is her sense of duty. She may yet be of use to us. Watch and wait for an opportunity to take her alive."
"My lord, we tried to take her once and she escaped. This time it may prove impossible."
"Why, pray?" the voice demanded sarcastically.
"Rayden is aware of her and she now has the aid of the Lin Kuei assassin Sub-Zero."
"Rayden...." The voice rumbled. "This was unforeseen. Does he know of his relationship to The Harvester?"
"He most likely suspects, but has held off any attempts at contact." The sorcerer replied.
The voice laughed quietly. "I have another idea Quan Chi...."