AN: Here we go! Man, this story blew up pretty quickly! I'm glad you all are enjoying this, since a lot of this is uncharted territory for me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well!

Chapter 2: The God of Thunder

Izuku and the rest of the gang stood in front of the ring once again. Liu Kang had recovered a little bit, but it was clear that, despite the brave face he was putting on, Liu Kang was still feeling weak. If anyone challenged him to a fight, he may lose. Johnny and Sonya hadn't had a wink of sleep last night, so they were also in danger as well. With everything compiled together, Izuku realized that only he and Jax were in any shape to fight. Izuku had decided that, whoever came up first in the tournament, he would directly challenge them first.

Shang Tsung sat down and started declaring the matches.

"Kombatants! The next match will now begin!"

A burst of lightning appeared in the ring, and a man with white eyes and a straw hat stepped out, his features marred by a look of disgust, as if everyone in the audience was beneath him.

"Raiden! The Elder God of Thunder! Wishing to prove his might against the pathetic mortals of Earthrealm who believe themselves to be mightier than the Elder Gods! Who among you is worthy of this challenge!"

Raiden looked around the audience, a glare present in his features. "Be warned. Anyone that dares to step into this arena will not walk out of it."

Izuku couldn't help but feel a tiny bit fearful of the literal god that had appeared before him. Gathering his courage, Izuku stepped out into the ring. "I-"

That was as far as he got before a guard stepped out and dropped his spear, quickly taking off his clothes to reveal the robes of a Shaolin Monk. "I accept his challenge!" he shouted.

"Kung Lao?" Liu Kang asked, stupefied that his best friend had entered the tournament against their master's wishes.

"Be ready, Raiden. Now you face a Shaolin." Kung Lao stated, before spinning his bladed hat in preparation.

Raiden scoffed. "You will regret your impulsiveness."

Raiden didn't even give Kung Lao the chance to strike, immediately jumping upwards and kicking Kung Lao in the face. Disoriented, Kung Lao didn't even have the chance to recover before Raiden landed and did a reverse hook kick to Kung Lao's head, and then immediately followed through with a roundhouse kick and a spinning crescent kick. The last kick sent Kung Lao flying into the air, and Raiden capitalized on this by flying into Kung Lao's chest. Raiden flipped backwards as Kung Lao bounced off the wall. Not letting Kung Lao have even a moment of respite, Raiden punched Kung Lao into the wall, bouncing him against it yet again. As Kung Lao rebounded, Raiden added onto Kung Lao's humiliation by kicking him against the wall and bouncing him off it one more time, before grabbing Kung Lao, electrocuting him, and throwing him to the ground. Kung Lao laid down, blood pouring out of his mouth, barely able to move, as his hat was shattered into a dozen bloody pieces. Raiden grabbed Kung Lao by his hair.

"You were arrogant in believing you could defeat a god, boy." he scoffed, before throwing the monk to the audience.

"You are not yet a warrior. Be grateful that I allow you to live."

"KUNG LAO!" Liu Kang shouted, rushing to his friend.

Izuku couldn't breathe. He knew he'd be going up against a few powerhouses in this tournament, but this...this was unbelievable. Raiden moved with a speed and ferocity that rivaled that of All Might, and no matter how much Izuku had accomplished, how many villains he had taken down, he never believed himself capable of winning a fight against the Symbol of Peace.

"Izuku! Johnny! I need your help! He can't move!" Liu Kang shouted at his friends, desperate to get Kung Lao out of the arena. Izuku shook himself out of his stupor and helped Liu Kang take Kung Lao out of the arena.

A Few Hours Later, the Arena

Izuku walked up to the arena. After witnessing Raiden practically annihilate Kung Lao, Izuku had spent the rest of the day trying to think of a way to defeat the God of Thunder, analyzing the moves he made and powers he used in his beatdown of the Shaolin monk. He'd asked Johnny to keep him posted on any other fights that Raiden would participate in, so Izuku could possibly gather more footage to analyze. Lo and behold, Johnny had come running in and told Izuku that someone had issued Raiden a challenge. He'd asked if Liu Kang wanted to come, but he had declined, worried about Kung Lao's health.

Izuku and the others stood in the audience, ready to see how badly Raiden would destroy the fool who issued the challenge. A man stepped out, dressed in a battle skirt and two blades with chains attached strapped to his back.

"Kombatants, we have a challenger. Kratos! The Ghost of Sparta! A Man Made A God! His opponent will be Raiden, God of Thunder!"

Raiden and Kratos stared each other down, neither one moving an inch. It was clear that the two were extremely wary of each other.

Kratos moved first, thrusting his blade into Raiden's chest. Raiden jumped into the air, doding the blow. As Raiden turned to attack, Kratos summoned a bow to fire at the god. However, Raiden proved to be the faster of the two, grabbing Kratos and electrocuting him. Throwing the Ghost of Sparda onto the ground, Kratos bounced into the air, and Raiden capitalized on his opponent's helplessness by trying to juggle him in the air like had done with Kung Lao. Kratos, however, was having none of it, and flipped into the air, putting him in a decent enough position to counter Raiden's next strike with a right hook to the face. Raiden snarled, before teleporting behind Kratos. Attempting to attack, Kratos quickly dodged Raiden's kick by jumping into the air. Raiden teleported yet again, and tried to do a leg sweep. Kratos barely had enough time to block the low attack, before throwing a counterkick of his own. Raiden took advantage of his teleport a third time and threw a punch into Krato's chest. Kratos smiled, before embedding some golden power into his chain swords. As Raiden's fist connected, the God of Thunder was blinded by a bright light, and Kratos tore into his opponent with the opening he had created. Kratos threw a round-knee kick to the Elder God's sternum, before slashing upwards with his chain blades, sending Raiden flying high into the air. As Raiden got up, Kratos flashed a bright light from (Holy fucking shit, was that a HEAD?!) something, blinding the God of Thunder just enough for Kratos to unleash a downwards strike, a high knee kick, and an upwards strike. Jumping into the air to meet his opponent, Kratos thrust his blades into Raiden's chest and threw him to the other side of the ring while midair. Raiden, desperately trying to come up with a solution to counter the Ghost of Sparda's brutality, came up with a new trick. As Kratos rushed down to the Earth to strike Raiden, Raiden teleported. While Kratos's attention was briefly kept on the other side of the ring, expecting the God of Thunder to strike from his blind side. Raiden instead immediately teleported back to his original place as soon as Kratos's back was turned, striking him with a punch to the stomach and a left hook kick. Raiden tried to follow through on his opponent's weakness by flying at him again, the same move he had used against Kung Lao. Kratos, however, was ready, and using the same move he did last time, countered Raiden's next strike with a left hook to the face. As Raiden was disoriented, Kratos took advantage by kicking Raiden in the chest, sending Raiden into the air. As Kratos began to swing his blades down to finish Raiden, he teleported away. Kratos swung behind him, but Raiden, rather then teleporting back, decided to jump over Kratos and throw a left hook to Kratos's jaw. Disoriented, Kratos was unable to defend himself before Raiden threw a hook kick and followed through with a round kick. As soon as his blows landed, Raiden teleported, performed a leg sweep, and grappled Kratos to the ground. Unable to defend himself, Kratos could not throw Raiden off before thousands upon thousands of volts of lightning slammed into him.

Shang Tsung clapped with the rest of the audience. "Wonderful, wonderful! Now, finish him!"

Raiden did not acknowledge the sorcerer. Instead, he grabbed Kratos's head, before an unending torrent of lightning started coursing through his hands. Kratos screamed, before his eyeballs popped out of their sockets. A few moments later, Kratos's head flew up in the air, and Raiden shot a beam of lightning at it, turning it into a puddle of gore. As the head exploded, the rest of Kratos's body disintegrated to ash.

Shang Tsung shook his head, pleased at the fight. "Raiden wins. Fatality!" he said to the audience.

Meanwhile, in an entirely different universe

I have lived as a warrior

I have died as a God

Having suffered the ultimate sacrifice

I have been denied release

I...I will defeat Olympus.

I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!

Kratos screamed as he fell into the Styx. Breathing deeply, Kratos had no time to relax as the souls of the deceased tried to grab him down and destroy him. After making it to the shores of the Realm of Hades, Kratos took a moment to reflect. The last thing he remembered was Zeus knocking him out of Olympus and Gaia refusing to help him, denying him his revenge. Clutching his side, Kratos snarled. "We are not finished, Zeus! The Gates of Hades, has never held me!"

A melodious voice rang out behind him. "Death cannot hold those with purpose, Kratos."

Kratos turned around in disbelief. "Athena?"

The apparition smiled. "I have missed you, Spartan."

Back in Earthrealm

Izuku, for the second time today, was breathless. He'd just seen the impossible. Someone had been able to go toe to toe with the very god that had destroyed Kung Lao earlier, and he hadn't even used his special abilities that much, if at all. Besides the bow and the weird light (for the sake of his sanity, he was going to deny it was a head), Kratos had dominated a fair few bits of the fight with only his blades and a few well placed kicks. Izuku found himself clenching his fists, his resolve stronger than ever. So what? So what if this was a literal god in front of him? So what if he'd effortlessly torn apart someone who might be Liu Kang's equal? He had sworn that he wouldn't let Shang Tsung and his cronies destroy Earth, and he never went back on his oaths.

Analysis. I need to analyse his moves. Every jab, every punch, every kick, every power he throws out. I need to observe it all and find a plan of attack. No one is infallible, not even a god.

Izuku closed his notebook. He had work to do, but that could wait until tomorrow. "You all go back to bed. I need to take a walk, clear my head.". His friends nodded in confirmation, before heading out of the arena.

As Izuku walked down the island, he overheard two men talking loudly. Izuku stopped, and slowly crept up to listen in on the conversation.

"Are you sure about this, Sektor? Shang Tsung may be paying us to kill Earthrealm warriors, but if he wins, Outworld will absorb our world. It would not be difficult for the sorcerer to drag the Lin Kuei along with it."
"The Grand Master gave us an order, Cyrax. We will obey. Remember your task. Johnny Cage must not leave this tournament alive. "

The men paused their conversation, taking a look at the ocean in front of them. Sektor turned to Cyrax.

"Cyrax, the Cyber Initiative, are you certain you have no qualms with it?"

Cyrax laughed. "You've seen my work. I already use bombs and net launchers in my regular fights. Besides, the Grand Master himself said that it was optional! I understand that cybernetics have always been a controversial topic amongst the clans, but this will only strengthen the Lin Kuei. Cybernetics can be a useful tool to those that either desire it, or require it. God knows, I could use some housing storage units in my arms for my equipment."

Sektor smirked. "Yes, you are correct in that assessment. The Cyber Initiative will strengthen our clan."

As the men left, Izuku fumed. He'd stayed passive long enough. It was time to fight back.

The Next Afternoon, in the Earthrealm Residence

Izuku stared at the monitors, slowly rewinding and playing back the beatdown Raiden had given Kung Lao that he'd recorded on his body cams. This wasn't the only video that was playing. A dozen monitors were around Izuku, some showing a part of Raiden unleashing hell on his opponents, some showing Cyrax's moves and abilities. While Izuku was watching the videos, he tinkered with a few gadgets he was putting together. Johnny, Sonia, and Liu Kang walked into the room.

"Before that fight with Raiden, what did I miss?" Izuku asked his friends.

Johnny took it upon himself to answer. "Oh, not much. Just that a demonic ninja killed some ice ninja pretty brutally. I mean, holy shit! That demon ripped out the poor dude's skull!"

"Wouldn't wanna be that guy." Izuku replied nonchalantly. He'd been tinkering and plotting all morning, coming up with plans to defeat Cyrax and Raiden. While Izuku had no concrete plan on handling Raiden, Cyrax was far easier to get a handle on. Cyrax tended to rely heavily on equipment, such as buzzsaws, net launchers, and bombs. Without those to aid him, Cyrax was still formidable, but nowhere near as much of a threat as he was with them. Izuku smirked. He had a plan of action, now all he had to do was carry it out. As Izuku walked into the arena, he spotted Cyrax, Sektor, and Shang Tsung in front of the stage.

"The next match will be Cyrax versu-"

"ME!" Izuku roared.

Shang Tsung, Cyrax, and Sektor looked at the greenete in surprise. Shang Tsung in particular took a closer look at the Kombatant, wondering why he had never really paid attention to this fighter before. Izuku didn't give Shang Tsung a chance to argue against him. He pointed at Shang Tsung. "Rule two of Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat, once declared, cannot be refused by either party. You really want to test that against the Elder Gods?"

Shang Tsung scoffed. "Very well. The next match will be Cyrax vs Izuku Midoriya!"

The assassin and the vigilante went to their respective areas in the ring.

(Play "More Huge - Yakuza 3")

"You are not my target." Cyrax stated to Izuku.

Izuku snarled. "Cry me a river. You wanna kill Cage? You'll have to get through me first." Izuku shifted into a fighting stance. "COME ON!"

Cyrax ran towards the vigilante, throwing a flying sidekick at his opponent. Izuku slid underneath him. Getting up quickly, Izuku pulled out his pistol and took a few potshots at Cyrax. Cyrax, busy guarding his face with his bracers, was unprepared for Izuku to rush in. Quickly bringing up his net launcher, Cyrax fired, only for Izuku to jump over him and kick Cyrax in the face. Disoriented, Izuku took advantage and grabbed Cyrax's wrists. Kneeing him in the groin. Cyrax doubled over in pain, and Izuku further capitalized on this by headbutting Cyrax in the nose. Blood gushed out. Izuku clasped Cyrax's wrist equipment while he was dazed, and pulled. Cyrax's wrist equipment came off with little resistance. Smirking, Izuku threw the equipment to the ground and crushed them underneath his boots. Cyrax, angered at the fact that his opponent had just destroyed his equipment, rushed into the fight with an angry roar. Foolish. Anger made any opponent sloppy, and without his equipment, Cyrax was twice as vulnerable. Izuku mercilessly seized the advantage with the activation of a switchblade. Slicing over Cyrax's eyes and giving the man a wound that bled over his vision, Izuku tackled Cyrax and went to work. Putting the switchblade away, Izuku delivered brutal punch after brutal punch to Cyrax's face. It was only when the assassin stopped moving that Izuku dared to stop his assault. Stomping his opponent in the chest for good measure, Izuku turned to Shang Tsung, a bloodthirsty grin adorning his face.

"What? You scared, asshole?"

AN: So, yeah. A lot of shit happened this time. I'll start off by saying this. Raiden mains, are absolutely fucking terrifying to fight against.

Sorry to Kratos, but I didn't really see any way for him to help the Main Kast besides destroying pretty much the entire competition, so I just settled that Kratos somehow briefly ended up in the MK Universe before dying again and kicking off after the prologue of God of War III.

On another note, some of you guys probably noticed that Izuku's fight was really short compared to some of the other fights I've written. That's because Izuku, as smart as he is, as talented as he is, knows that the best chance in victory is annihilating your opponent as quickly and brutally as possible. The longer he prolongs a fight, the smaller the chance of victory he feels he has.