"Dude."  I said, shocked to find myself standing on an Army base.

            "Come on, she's around here somewhere."  He leads me into a plain looking building.  HOLY SHIT!  There she is!  Live and in living color.  Raiden and I stand at a plate glass window, watching her hit a bag.

            "She is so awesome!  Look at those moves."  I can't believe it!   I watch her land kick after kick on the bag, until it crashes to the floor.

            "You OK?"

            "She's the best.  The best."   She looks in our direction.  WOW, THE SONYA BLADE!  WOW!  OH, GOD, SHE'S COMING OVER!  Breath, Jessie, breath.  The door opens, and she steps out.

            "Who's invading this time?"

            "Why does someone have to be invading for me to visit one of my favorite mortals?"

            "Because that's usually the only time I see you."  I can't stop staring at her.  She shifts, noticing my stare.  THE SONYA BLADE!  HOLY SHIT!

            "Not this time.  I have a special favor to ask."  Her eyes lock with mine.  OH, GOD!  OH, GOD!  OH, GOD!  Raiden takes her shoulder, walking her away from me.  MOVE!  SPEAK!  BREATH!  Do something!  SHIT!

            "What's up?"

            "I need a favor."

            "Shoot."

            "I need you to keep an eye on my friend over there."

            "You're kidding.  She's like, catatonic.  Does she speak?"

            "Until about five minutes ago, I couldn't shut her up."

            "What's going on?"  OH, MY GOD!  SONYA BLADE!  OH, MY GOD!

            "She's in a little trouble.  I need you to watch her."

            "NO WAY!  Do I look like a babysitter to you?"

            "It's for a few days.  I have to find out what's going on."

            "Absolutely not!  Jax and I are trying to infiltrate that fighting ring."

            "She can help."

            "I doubt it.  She can't even speak.  She hasn't moved a muscle since I came out here."

            "Talk to her.  I'll be back in a few days."

            "You can't do this to me!  I don't have time for this!"

            "Make time, Sonya.  You owe me."  He vanishes, as she lets out a deep sigh, walking to me.

            "Well, I guess we're both stuck.  I'm Sonya Blade," I KNOW, "You got a name?"

            "J . . . J . .. ."
            "OK, your name is Juh?"  OH, GOD!  DÉJÀ VU!  She thinks I'm an idiot.

            "J . . . Jessie."  FINALLY, YOU MANAGED TO SAY SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT!

            "OK, Jessie, I know you can walk, so follow me," Calm down.  Just walk.  One foot in front of the other.  There you go.  There you go.  OH, SHIT!  OH, SHIT!  I'm following THE Sonya Blade.  I gotta be dreaming!  Holy cow!  She leads me into a room with several tables and metal chairs.  I'm staring at her again.  I sit down, near tears.  She sits across from me, "You OK?  Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

            "No, I'm . . . I'm fine.  You're really .  . . I mean you're . . . You're Sonya Blade."

            "Yeah, last time I checked."

            "You . . . You're . . . You're my hero."  She sits back, rolling her eyes.

            "You've just met me, and I've never seen you.  How am I your hero?"

            "Raiden brought me here from another Earth.  You're . . . You're like, the best there is."

            "Well, you're not there, you're here.  Unless you're trying to drive me up a wall for the next few days, you need to calm down, OK?"

            "I'm . ..  I'm trying."  Jax walks in, carrying a file.

            "Here's that file, partner."

            "Actually, we need to talk.  Jax, this is Jessie.  Jessie, this is . . ."

            "Major Jackson Briggs."

            "OK, I give.  How do you know me?"

            "Raiden just dropped her off from another earth.  Apparently, we're heroes there."

            "About damn time we get the respect we deserve."

            "Wow!"  I sit back, taking it all in.

            "Calm down, girl.  I don't know what we're like over there, but we ain't all that here."

            "She . . . She's all that, period.  She's Sonya Blade."  Sonya sighs, getting up.

            "Her?  She ain't all that."

            "OH, NO!  OH, YOU DID NOT JUST GO THERE!  SONYA BLADE KICKS ASS!" Jax laughs, as Sonya gets a bottle of aspirin from a cabinet.

            "Calm down, damn.  That's my partner.  I can rip on her all I want."

            "Not in front of me, chump."  Sonya gets a coke from the mini fridge, and pops two of the asprin.  She sits back next to Jax.

            "If you two children are finished, we do have bigger problems, partner.  Raiden isn't coming back for a few days."

            "Shit, we can't stop now."

            "I'm an OK fighter, maybe I can help," They both laugh, "What?"

            "Yeah, right, half pint."

            "I am!"

            "OK, mouth piece, try me."

            "Are you sure you want to do this?"  He laughs, getting up.

            "Don't worry.  I won't hurt you too bad."  I grin, as we clear the tables.  I stand in the center of the room, Jax across from me.  I fall naturally into the Sonya Blade fight stance.

            "You sure you want to do this?"

            "You stand like my partner, let's see if you fight like her."

            "Full contact?"

            "Are you trying to get hurt?"

            "The way I see it, you're gonna be the one getting hurt."

            "You run your mouth too much."

            "Come shut it, big man."  Jax grins, throwing a light kick.  I catch his leg, and sweep the other.  Still holding his leg, I throw a punch, stopping it centimeters from his chest.

            "Not bad."

            "Come on, Jax.  You're better than this.  Get up," I let him up.  Kick, block, punch, block.  We go at it for about an hour.  I jump onto one of the tables, and flip over his head.  I land a roundhouse to the back of his head before he can turn around.  He falls to one knee, as I walk to him, "You OK?"  He grabs my arm, pinning it behind my back.

            "Yeah, you?"  I grin, kicking at his leg.  He leans his weight on me, kicking his legs out of the way.  Burying my elbow into his face, I grab the back of his head, and flip him over me.  I plant my knee in his back, and pull back on his head.

            "Had enough yet?"

            "You pass."  I laugh, letting him go, and sitting next to the wall.

            "Well, that was fun."

            "How long have you studied."

            "About five years seriously."  Sonya tosses us each a bottle of water.  I raise it to her, and take a drink.

            "Ready for round two?"

            "Hell no!  I'm not hitting you!"

            "You don't want to fight me?"

            "I'd sooner slice my own throat than lay a hand on you."

            "You're that scared of me?"

            "No, I've got that much respect for you."

            "YOU DON'T FUCKING KNOW ME!  How do you have so much respect for someone you don't know?"

            "You don't understand . . ."

            "You're right, I don't.  And I don't have time to double as your shrink.  Raiden dumped you on me.  I got enough going on without having some star struck kid following me around LIKE A GOD DAMN PUPPY!  I'M RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE FOR THIS SHIT!"  I look at her, a smile on my face, but I can feel the tears in my eyes.  She throws up her hands, walking out.

            "Well, Jessie, welcome to our world," Nice job, dickhead, she hates you, "You OK?"  I clear my throat.

            "Hey, I just got slammed by Sonya Blade.  I'll be telling my grandkids about this."  Jax laughs.

            "Don't take it personally.  She's got a lot on her mind right now."

            "She hates me."

            "Nah, if she hated you, you would've already been at the infirmary.  Trust me, I've seen her kick the shit out of someone for looking at her wrong.  I'm gonna go check on her.  You gonna be OK?"

            "I'm cool."  Jax walks out.  Damn it, Jessie, why do you have to be such a geek?

            "Not quite what you imagined, is it?"  Raiden appears next to me.

            "I spazzed, AGAIN!  I suck."

            "She just shredded you."

            "Because I can't stop staring.  I can barely form words around her.  She thinks I'm an idiot!"

            "And you think she's some kind of god.  She's not, you know."

            "She's just so awesome.  I mean, it's like," I shake my head, feeling the tears fall, "It's like standing in front of a superhero.  What the hell do I say to her?"

            "Start with hi."  I look up, seeing her at the door.

            "Hi."

            "Do you always talk to yourself?"  I'm gonna kill that dude.

            "Not usually, but I have been recently."  She chuckles, pulling one of the metal chairs in front of me.  She sits down.

            "A visit from Raiden tends to have that universal effect.  Now, let's try this again.  I'm Sonya Blade, and you are?"

            "Jessie."

            "Better.  You didn't stutter this time."  I laugh, shaking my head.

            "Well, you told me to calm down."

            "Good.  Now, why are you under the impression I can walk on water, eat bullets, and leap tall buildings in a single bound?"

            "Because you're THE Sonya Blade."  She rolls her eyes, taking a deep breath.

            "What in the hell did I do on your world that you found so impressive?"

            "It's a long story."  She looks down at her watch.

            "Then explain it over lunch.  Come on," I follow her to the officer's club