I grinned as I entered the Fight Club. Unbeknownst to my father, I slipped away at the cover of night to pay a visit to the States and a certain blonde. I kept the hood of my BoS duster up and had a pair of sunglasses over my eyes. Best way to hide my unique features, even if having sunglasses inside reeked of suspicion or someone just trying to look cool. In my case, a little of both. It had been about half a year since brokering peace with the Lin Kuei, and I finally decided to track Cassie to finish our fight China.

I stood among the crowd as the fight waged on in the cage. I watched two women beating each other senseless, one using capoeira the other using krav maga. I looked around before spotting Cassie and another girl on the opposite side of the cage. I paused as I saw her outfit a white jersey and short shorts showing off her athletic features. I chuckled before slipping through the shadows to the bar before slipping behind them. "Can I offer you ladies some drinks?" Cassie's friend turned around as Cassie watched the fight.

"Fuck off, creep," she said. "Leave us alone or we'll kick your ass." She looked at my face. "And seriously, sunglasses indoors? Could you be any shadier?"

"Oh, I don't know. I could be the hot daughter of a crap actor with mommy issues in the middle of a fight club." I could feel Cassie smirk slightly before standing and turning to face me. She took a beer and removed my hood, showing her friend my white hair before she poured the beer over my head and taking the other before taking a sip.

"Stalking me, are we," she asked.

"Well if you dress like that often, it may become habit."

"Too bad you've got a girlfriend, then."

"I know, it's a shame." We smirked at each other as her friend looked between us.

"You know him," she asked.

"Phoenix Mason, at your service." I shook her hand. "Me and Rich Bitch, here, have a score to settle."

"Oh," said Cassie. "Looking to end up flat on your ass, Mason?"

"Only if you like being on top, Cage." She smirked again before handing her beer to me.

"Again, you have a girlfriend." She started walking away, adding a little sway to her step to tease me as she did. "You two enjoy the fight. I'm going to sign up. And sorry, Mason. But it's girls only tonight. Our rematch is gonna have to wait." I grinned before we turned to the fight in the cage.

"You hurt her, you're dead," said her friend.

"Best friends, I take it," I asked.

"Almost sisters. Our families are close. Name's Jacquie, by the way. Jacquie Briggs."

"Briggs? As in Jax Briggs?"

"That's my dad."

"Guess we're both Revenant legacies then." She turned to me. "I'm the adopted son of Hanzo Hasashi. You may know him better as Scorpion."

"You were raised by that asshole?!"

"Hey, he's trying to redeem himself, just like your father!"

"There's a difference between them!" I glanced to the cage as she shouted.

"Uh… Briggs…?"

"He was a good man before Quan Chi changed him!"

"Briggs…"

"Your dad was a fucking assassin before he was Scorpion and…" I gripped her head and turned her attention to the cage as one of the girls snapped the other's neck before ripping it off with incredible strength and tossing it to the ground like a football. We exchanged a look before rushing after where Cassie had gone to. Two guards blocked us from the changing room, and we slammed their heads into the wall, knocking them out before moving into the room. Cassie had swapped her jersey and short shorts for form fitting shorts and white tank top which she was just now getting on, giving me a brief glimpse of her sports bra before she turned to us. "Please tell me you didn't sign up."

"Just did, actually," said Cassie. "Looking to do the same?"

"No, cause I don't want to be part of a fucking deathmatch!"

"Oh, please. It's just a normal fight club. Like these idiots would actually pay to watch a death…"

"And our next lineup for tonight is our first Celebrity Deathmatch," shouted the announcer over the intercoms.

"Talk about timing," I quipped as Cassie paled slightly.

"Give it up for the famous Cassandra Cage!" The crowd roared in excitement as the guards, who had woken up, entered the room with some back up.

"And talk about inconvenient timing." They aimed guns at us, and I glared.

"You three are coming with us. Cage is fighting tonight. That'll bring us some nice income. Even think about trying to run and… well you get the idea," said the guard I had taken out. I leaned to Cass.

"Did you happen to bring…"

"No," muttered Cassie. "You?"

"Father confiscated my revolver. Kind of slacked on my training one too many times."

"Great…" She glanced at Jacquie who must've been in the same situation as us because Cassie sighed before raising her hands up and leading us to the men with guns to the cage. I glanced at the guards and frowned slightly. Had it just been me, I could've disarmed them and slipped away easily. But with Cassie and Jacquie with me, I needed to make sure they didn't get hurt or taken hostage if I made a move. They both must've had the same thought because they were also assessing the guards around us.

We walked to the cage and I looked around, seeing the people chant and jeer around us as Cassie walked into the Cage and flipped the bird to the crowd as they pissed her off. I gripped my head as a feeling of dread filled me. Something had happened, but I couldn't find out what it was as Cassie's opponent entered the cage. I paused as I spotted Frost enter the cage across from Cassie and cursed slightly. "Careful, Cage! She's like Sub-Zero!" Frost glanced at me before glaring at Cassie. I felt a presence try and enter my mind as the two started fighting, making Jacquie turn to me.

"What's wrong with you," she asked.

"Something's trying to possess me…"

"Possess you?"

"I don't know what it is… hold on." I focused on my soul and strengthened my spiritual defenses against possession before shaking my head. "I'll be fine." We watched the fight and I frowned as Frost almost landed a few blows that could be considered lethal. Cassie was proving how much she'd learned from her parents as she used a mix of different styles. I looked around before I noticed something off about some of the spectators. They weren't cheering. Some of them looked like they were waiting for something. Then I noticed one I recognized. A man who looked like Ken Masters from the Street Fighter games. "Oh, fuck…"

"What's wrong?" I moved to the cage and banged on it.

"Cassie! Finish this fast! We gotta go!" Right as I said that, Cassie knocked out Frost and the crowd started calling for blood. I took the key from the ref and opened the cage after knocking out the two gunmen who were aiming at me and Jacquie faster than they could react. I went into the cage and picked up Frost's body as Cassie turned to me.

"What's wrong," she asked.

"We've gotta get out of here. This place is crawling with…" The roof and wall behind us exploded and people among the crowd started firing on the spectators, a few of them even cutting down civilians with their bladed weapons while several Black Dragons ran into the building, led by Jarek and Tasia. "Black Dragons."

"Shit!" I set Frost down and moved a nearby bench to block bullets from hitting her as I brought one of the Black Dragons to the ground. I grunted as another shot my arm and took the man's rifle before shooting the other back. I looked at the girls.

"Stay down and find a way out!"

"What about you?!"

"I'll cover you! Go!" I slammed the butt of the rifle into the Black Dragon at my feet and swiped some spare magazines from his vest before emptying the magazine in the rifle and swapping it out with practiced ease before leveling a number of Black Dragon. Cassie and Jacquie picked up Frost and carried her out of an exit. I grunted and rolled to the side as a grenade landed at my feet. I tossed away the rifle and stood up as several Black Dragons started to surround me.

"You're outnumbered," said one of the thugs. I chuckled darkly.

"You have no idea who you're fucking with…" I sent out my Johyo and managed to embed it into the eye of one of the Black Dragon to my left before pulling it back and ripping his head off in the process as the dart hooked into the skull. The other Black Dragons turned to me as I pulled on my half mask with a sadistic look in my eye. "Who's next?"

I surged my magic, making the lights in the building flicker rapidly and allowing me to slip into the shadows. The Black Dragons panicked and started firing where I had been, taking out a number of their own. I stole a couple of their daggers and moved like a ghost, slicing through the throats of the men and women who threatened me. Nice thing about being trained by shinobi? Speed training. I sliced through the throat of one before turning his body as he instinctively pulled the trigger in surprise and wiped out two of his companions all in the span of three seconds. I hopped off of him before plunging the knives into the eyes of a woman, making her scream and turning the guns on her, putting her out of her misery. I stood between two of them as the lights came fully on and grinned underneath my mask as the others pointed me out.

The two beside me aimed at me before I aimed one of their barrels up and kicked the other to the side, making him shoot two more Dragons. I headbutt the one in front of me before taking his weapon and shooting him and his comrade before the lights went out again. I curb stomped one of their heads into a bench before letting them shoot me in the back. I collapsed and let them get in close before I disappeared in flames and appeared above them as they looked around, confused as I landed on one of them, snapping his neck. I grinned sadistically before bringing my Johyo out and stabbing it into the throat of one of the Black Dragons before shooting Kobra in the arm with my new stolen rifle and kicking another in the throat as Kobra glared at me and Jarek and Tasia disappeared.

"You killed my friends, freak," he said.

"And you're next on my shit list, asshole." I rushed backwards in a torrent of flames before appearing behind him and slamming the butt of my rifle into his head. He turned and kicked the rifle from my hand before pulling out a pair of nunchaku. "Really? That's the best you can do? To think, I thought this would be a fight."

"Fucking asshole!" Kobra swung at me with expert precision using his weapon. I backed up, dodging his strikes and deflecting any kicks he sent my way before using a flaming kick to break his nunchaku and knock him back a few feet.

"Should've stayed home, Knock-Off." I threw out my Johyo and had it wrap around his neck before grinning and pulling him with me in a whirl of fire before making us appear above a rafter. Kobra's neck snapped from the sudden tightening of the rope as I hung from the other end. I undid the loop around his neck and sent us crashing to the ground. I landed on my feet and sighed before being pulled into another plane of existence. I sighed as I noticed several white pillars surrounding me and knew where I was. "And I was doing such a good job hiding too…" I looked up as the Elder Gods all glared down at me.

"Who are you," they asked in unison. I shook my head.

"Carmen San Diego. Guess where I am!" I glared back at the figures, their clear disinterest at my deflective humor acting like a buffer for these circumstances. At least one of them who found it a tiny bit amusing. "My name is Phoenix Mason. And I gotta say, 17 and a half years to find me." I slow clapped, making them even more agitated at me. "Guess that's how Shinnok was able to do what he did if your response time is this slow Mortal Timewise. And I know you haven't been monitoring me because I know how to hide from gods. I've been doing it for millennia. But I got sloppy and made you aware of my magic, didn't I?" They said nothing and I chuckled. "I know, I know. I heard it before from the Norse and Greeks. No jurisdiction here, no purpose being a being with god level abilities without your permission, blah, blah, etc., etc.. You know, one of these days, your isolationist behavior is going to end up killing you. Hopefully, I'm not there when it happens, because I don't know how I'd react. If we're done here, I need to check on my…" I paused as I felt the Kamidogu in my inventory start to react to something going on in the Realms.

"Phoenix Mason," said a voice behind me. I turned around and spotted Argus, the Edenian God of Fire. "We have brought you here to ask you for your assistance. We fear that a curse has begun to spread its influence throughout the Realms, particularly Outworld and Earthrealm. Through use of…"

"The Kamidogu?" The Elder Gods stared at me in surprise. I cursed lightly before turning to Argus. "They were altered when Raiden messed with time, weren't they? And now they're being used?" Argus nodded. "And because you've all taken Elder Status, you can't directly interfere even though use and collection of the Kamidogu may spark up the events leading to your Armageddon plan." I sighed. "I'll help you. But only because it's my job in the first place to preserve balance. But I do things my way, got it? I don't report to you, I work for the Council. Or at least I will." I looked at the projections above me. "Can I check on my friend now?" Argus nodded and I appeared in the alley Cassie and Jacquie would've run down and appeared in between several men in tactical gear with Cassie nowhere in sight. "Ooh. Guess I shouldn't have pissed them off…"

The men aimed their guns at me, and I instinctively started disarming them, but not killing them. For all I knew, they were cops. I knocked a rifle to the ground after disengaging the magazine and the bullet in the chamber before removing my duster and using it to blind a man on my left. I ducked under a left hook and grunted as the man I blinded tackled me to the wall before elbowing him in the back to make him let go. I threw him away and grunted as a sonic blast launched me through the wall and into the building. I shook my head and looked up as I saw an older version of Cassie standing in front of me. "I'm only going to ask this once," said Sonya Blade as she tossed her rifle to the side before getting into a kickboxing stance. "Where the hell is my daughter."

"Listen. I'm not here to fight. I…" Sonya didn't give me any time to react and rushed me. I blocked a punch before grunting as she kicked me in the gut. I grabbed her leg and threw her away from me before getting into a stance of my own. "Least I know for sure where she got the hotheadedness…" I deflected her punch and grunted as her gauntlets sent a sonic blast at my chest, knocking me away from her. I shook my head and looked at her. "Oh, fuck this…" I rushed her and disappeared in flames before erupting under her and knocking her into the air. I tossed out my Johyo and wrapped it around her waist before slamming her into the ground. She rolled away from me before shooting her sonic blast at me. I threw a bench at it before sliding under the colliding projectiles and tripping her to the ground. I gripped her body armor and pulled her to her feet before wrapping my Johyo around her and kicking her to the ground. I sighed and pulled off my hood and mask before looking at her.

"You're gonna regret this!"

"I just need you to listen! I'm a friend of Cassie!" Hearing her daughter's name, she stopped struggling and looked at me as her men entered the room, rifles aimed at me. "I was here with her. Black Dragons attacked this place and Cassie and Jacquie made their way out to that alley with a Cryomancer named Frost." I removed the rope from around her and held my hands up in surrender as her men advanced on me. Sonya stood up and glared at me.

"That doesn't explain why you attacked my men."

"Instinct. I don't like rifles being aimed at me, especially when I just went twelve rounds with the Black Dragon." I gestured to the corpses around me and one of the soldiers stared at the carnage around the cage.

"You did all of this," he asked.

"Yeah. I was buying time for the girls to get away. They had no guns and had to get Frost out. Then when the Black Dragon surrounded me, I fell back on my training."

"What training is that," asked Sonya as she inspected Kobra's body.

"Shirai Ryu, ma'am." I bowed to her. "My name is Phoenix Mason. I'm the adoptive son of Hanzo Hasashi and his second apprentice." Sonya looked at me critically.

"Are you really a friend to her?"

"As much as one can be after trying to kill each other over a spilled milkshake. Don't… ask." I held up my hands as she quirked an eyebrow. She stayed silent for a moment before judging I wasn't lying to her.

"Come with us. We may need your help."

"Why?"

"Outworld seems to have allied with the Black Dragon to abduct Cassie and Jacquie, more than likely to use them as leverage."

"How are you certain?" She held up a phone and showed a picture of a man wearing a half mask under a brown Stetson and aiming two Colt 1884 revolvers at whoever took the picture.

"This man is Erron Black. He's Kotal Khan's bodyguard. Cassie was smart. She took this picture and sent it to me before dropping her phone as she was taken. We know who took them now."

"Are you sure it's Outworld in general? For all we know, this is just case wrong place wrong time."

"Kotal Khan wants me to use Special Forces resources to put a stop to the Outworld Civil War. We denied. He more than likely took Cassie and Jacquie to force my hand."

"Again, we don't know that." I sighed. "But I should've been there to stop Jarek and Tasia. I'll help you however I can, Major Blade."

"Colonel, actually. Come on. We'll talk more at the base."

When we arrived, I was briefed more on Kotal Khan's closest allies and the situation in Outworld which had been lasting for nearly a decade. Erron Black was originally from Earthrealm, based on his attire and weaponry. He proved himself to be loyal to Kotal and has acted as his bodyguard after the coup to overthrow Mileena. Along with Black was another bodyguard, named D'Vorah. Not much was known about her other than she seemed to be an insectoid female who guards the Khan with her life, this was one of the events I'd been seeing. I was shown an image of Kotal Khan himself and blinked as I recognized him from my studies of ancient societies on this world. He resembled Buluc Chabtan the War God of the ancient Mayan people. Something I kept to myself. The briefing was interrupted as two men entered the room, both pissed off to no end. The first was Johnny Cage. The second was a man of African-American descent with robotic arms in place of his old human ones. Jaxx Briggs. "Where's Cassie, Sonya," asked Johnny as he sternly stared down the colonel before looking at me. "I know you. You're Scorpion's kid."

"He's what," exclaimed Jaxx.

"It's Hanzo," I said with a glare. "Not Scorpion. That specter is long dead, thanks to you and Colonel Blade, remember?" I turned to the other man. "Jackson Briggs. An honor to meet you. I'm sorry for not being able to help your daughter. Both of you." I looked at Johnny as well. Jaxx sized me up before nodding. "I promise both of you I'll do everything I can to bring them back home and out of the Black Dragon's hands."

"The Black Dragon have Jacquie?!" He rounded on Sonya. "You should've told me!"

"There was little time. Me and the Special Forces got into a little altercation when I went to check on the girls after killing the thugs who attacked the building we were in. She was updating me on the intel they have on Outworld who Colonel Blade thinks is working with the Black Dragon. We don't know for sure if that is the case. We just have speculation." I could feel Sonya glaring at me slightly before sighing.

"I'm taking Mr. Mason with me on a rescue mission to get Cassie and Jacquie back. If you want to tag along, feel free to do so," she said. I turned to her.

"I could use a gun. Side arm, no rifles." Sonya unclipped her own side arm before handing it and the holster to me, keeping her other gun at her hip.

"Don't make me regret this, Mason." I nodded and put the holster on my waist.

Several hours after arriving in Outworld, we crossed the Golden Desert of Outworld to reach Z'unkahrah, where Kotal Kahn had gone to confront Prince Goro who had betrayed Kotal to Mileena and wiped out most of the Osh-Tekk army. I looked up at the unforgiving sun and sighed. "Oh no. This is fine. It's not like the sun will sap us of all of our energy before we need to confront a potentially innocent man. No, let's keep the element of surprise and not bring heavy duty off road vehicles."

"Glad I'm not the only one lacking common sense around here," said Johnny.

"Both of you shut up, or I'll shoot you," said Sonya with an annoyed grunt as we arrived at the desert palace Goro had taken residence in. I watched as Kotal spoke with a hooded woman about something, picking up the names Reiko and Mileena. Red Dragon corpses laid around them and I paused. Red Dragon meant Mavado. Mavado meant Dagon. I was glad Takeda wasn't here. I learned early on that he was Kenshi Takahashi's son and knew that the Red Dragon had killed Takeda's mother when the blind samurai had brought his son to the Shirai Ryu Temple.

I was brought out of my thoughts as Sonya fired a shot, hitting Kotal in the side. I growled and kicked the gun from her hand before standing between her and the Kahn. "The hell do you think you're doing," I shouted.

"I want to know where the hell my daughter is." Sonya kept her voice calm and cold as she glared at me and the Kahn.

"Sonya Blade," hissed Reptile. "First you inssulted uss! Then you ambush uss with false accussations!" I sighed softly as he shot his tongue past me at Sonya, only for Johnny to react quickly and catch it.

"You're right, Reptile," said Johnny. "Things escalated way too quickly. Sonya obviously forgot our plan to lead with her charm offensive: Me."

"I think that would end with more than one person on the ground by the time your done," I muttered. I turned to the Outworlders and moved to the Kahn's side before holding out my hand.

"Stay away from him filthy human," hissed the hooded woman. "This one will care for him." I could make out several voices consisting her own and figured she wasn't just insectoid, but a pseudo hive. Talk about creepy.

"My magic can help."

"The others ingest the bullet. Secrete coagulant oils." I looked at the wound and saw bugs crawling in and around the bullet wound. I cringed slightly at the sight.

"At least it's all natural," said Johnny and myself at the same time.

"Thank you, D'Vorah." He turned to me and Johnny. "Raiden's Champion. I will speak with you only."

"I don't blame you," said Johnny. I bowed as Sonya muttered behind the actor. I looked around as Johnny told Kotal the situation with Cassie, Jacquie and the Black Dragon. I could tell we were being watched. A glint in the distance showed me exactly where as I turned to some ruins beyond a sand dune. I frowned slightly before slipping into Johnny's shadow beside me and coming out behind our observers who were too busy watching the two sides speak. I killed a Red Dragon that was taking a piss behind a pillar and used magic to mimic his uniform and steal his memories to better blend in with the mercenary crew.

"Stand down, boys," said Mavado as he lowered his binoculars. "We have a new objective. Looks like Kano's knockoffs have Sonya Blade's daughter. Let's see how much Blade wants her back." I glared behind the cowl and goggles I had on before following them, discretely sending a message to Johnny's phone after managing to copy his data onto the Pip-Boy. I let him know which direction we were heading in and to hang back for a moment and not alert them to their being followed.

We arrived in a jungle, more than likely the remains of Zaterra, Reptile's home Realm, and I discretely took stock of the Red Dragons. I counted 12 thugs and Mavado. The thugs were heavily armed and Mavado had a single side arm and his hook swords. I tightened my grip on my rifle slightly as we progressed on where Mavado was tracking the Black Dragons using his mole in the mercenary company. I kept my breathing even, years of wearing a mask making it easier for me to do so and moved alongside the Red Dragon so they could lead me to Cassie and Jacquie.

(Author's Notes)

In case you're wondering, this chapter and the next will be based on the MKX comics which came out just before the game was released. I needed to find a way of explaining Phoenix leaving the Shirai Ryu later on and the relationship between him and Cassie before the events of MKX and MK11. The events of the comic would be a good sparking point for all of this. Thanks you guys for returning to read this story, I recognized a few names right off the back and knew you guys were coming back to learn more about what exactly happened as explained during the events of the Time Crisis. If you're new to me, welcome and I hope you check out my other stories, including the story this acts as a prequel for, Time Crisis Bk. 1: Mortal Kombat. If you've read both, I hope you're following the second story of the Time Crisis, Dragon Ball Metaverse.