Chapter 5: The Final Stretch, Part I

With a new day came a round of new fights. Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Izuku Midoriya wandered into the ring. Shang Tsung looked particularly displeased at the fact that three Kombatants from Earthrealm still remained in the tournament.

"Time we finish this." Liu Kang stated, a fire in his eyes.

"Oh man, Johnny Cage, Savior of Earth! That's gonna look amazing on my portfolio." Johnny exclaimed, confidence clear in his tone.

"We haven't won yet." Izuku warned. Scorpion, Quan Chi, Goro, Shang Tsung, and worst of all, Raiden, were still in the tournament. They couldn't afford to get complacent now.

"Kombatants! Only three Earthrealm warriors remain. The Shaolin Liu Kang, the Actor Johnny Cage, and the Vigilante Izuku Midoriya. Are they ready to bear such a heavy burden? Earthrealm's fate is in their hands."

Johnny and Liu Kang looked towards Izuku. Izuku, in response, grunted at them to "Remember the plan, gents." And with that, Izuku stepped into the audience.

Johnny and Liu Kang stood together. "We are ready." Liu Kang told the sorcerer. Smirking, Shang Tsung turned to the audience.

"Your opponent will be...Scorpion!"

In a flash of fire, a man came out, garbed in yellow and black armor. He glared at the Shaolin Monk.

"I do not fear you, demon!" Liu Kang declared.

"What he said." Johnny replied, pointing to the monk.

"Fighting with Scorpion… the sorcerer, Quan Chi!"

A pale man stepped out of a green portal, chuckling darkly.

Scorpion growled at the two warriors in front of him. "You have already lost."

Johnny merely smirked. "Tough date at the office, dear?" he replied to Scorpion's threat.

With that parting wisecrack, the battle began. Liu Kang rushed Scorpion, while Quan Chi attacked Johnny. Johnny jumped, narrowly dodging the magic beam that hit the spot he'd originally been standing on. As Quan Chi turned his head around, Johnny was able to utilize a quick hook punch that dazed the sorcerer. Johnny, wasting no time, quickly followed through with a reverse punch, a backhand punch, and a hammerfist. Quan Chi dodged the last move, and attempted to grab the actor. Johnny, sensing danger, jumped away from the sorcerer. Landing, he unleashed the same combo he did before, but this time, instead of ending with a hammerfist, Johnny targeted Quan Chi's left leg. Shaking off the pain in his leg, Quan Chi threw down his own hammerfist, and Johnny jumped away from him again. Ending up on Quan Chi's blind side, Johnny feinted a punch before kicking Quan Chi in the stomach. As Quan Chi was dazed, Johnny threw a back punch strong enough to send Quan Chi flying a few feet away. Giving Quan Chi no time to recover, Johnny dashed to Quan Chi and performed the same punch-punch-hammerfist combo he'd done earlier. This time, Quan Chi was unable to dodge or guard at the last hit, and was sent flying into the air. As Quan Chi was in the air, Johnny juggled him with a front kick, a jumping front kick, and a backflip kick into Quan Chi's back. As Quan Chi came back to Earth, Johnny quickly landed and performed a leaping front elbow strike to Quan Chi's chin, shouting "JOHNNY CAGE!" as he did so. Quan Chi shakily got up from the ground, before Johnny rushed at him again. However, before Johnny could hit his opponent, Quan Chi teleported away. Johnny looked behind him, certain that the sorcerer would be there. He was unprepared for Quan Chi coming out of the sky and stomping on Johnny's head. Dazed, Johnny couldn't defend himself when Quan Chi started stomping on his chest. Once, twice, thrice, Quan Chi kicked Johnny before he kicked Johnny away. As Johnny tried to get up from the ground, Quan Chi prepared a spell to cast on the pathetic human. He was unprepared for Liu Kang to notice the danger his friend was in, and wasn't able to guard himself before he was hit in the back by a flying sidekick. Johnny, noticing that his opponent had been sent flying towards him, prepared a flying backflip kick to greet Quan Chi on his jaw. As Quan Chi was thrown into the air again, Johnny performed the same leaping front elbow strike he had done previously.

Johnny could only listen in rapt attention as Izuku was talking to him about his Combat Analysis.

"Quan Chi is extremely dangerous when he's a fair distance away, preferring to unleash his spells over actual combat. However, as with many that prefer to choose the ranged option, Quan Chi's lethality starts dropping the closer you are to him. I'd recommend rushing him every moment you're in a fight against him. Give him a moment to breathe, and you may lose. Keep the pressure on, and you may just walk out of the tournament."

As Quan Chi's unconscious body hit the floor, Johnny only had one thing to say.

"Get Caged!"

Now that Quan Chi had been dealt with, Johnny turned to Scorpion.

"If you're able to defeat Quan Chi, turn to Scorpion. If the two of you can synch your movements together to attack Scorpion whenever he presents an opening, you'll be able to take him apart with relative ease."

Johnny raised a hand up. "Question. Me and Liu Kang use pretty different moves. How are we gonna be able to work together? We can't really afford to spar right now, unless you want us to walk into the ring with injuries dragging us down."

Izuku smiled. "It's a good thing we have another monk on our side that isn't fighting in the tournament any more, right, Kung Lao?"

Kung Lao nodded with a smile, turning to his friends. "I'm ready when you two are."
Johnny still wasn't convinced, though. "But, Kung Lao and Scorpion fight pretty differently to each other."

Izuku nodded. "That much is true, but the basis of Scorpion's style is similar to Liu Kang and Kung Lao's style. If you two can work together to counter that, Scorpion doesn't stand a chance."

Johnny started to hop around a little bit, before kicking Scorpion on the back with a sliding sidekick. Liu Kang, taking advantage of the opening Johnny gave him, performed his Bicycle Kick, sending Scorpion back to Johnny. Dazed, Scorpion couldn't prepare himself for the kick to his groin, courtesy of Cage. Even though he was now a revenant, that didn't stop the pain. Kneeling to the ground, Liu Kang followed through with a hook kick, sending Scorpion to the floor. For the next few moments, Liu Kang and Johnny repeatedly punched, kicked, and generally laid hell on their opponent. Scorpion, desperately trying to get away from the barrage of blows that was hitting him, allowed Hellfire to coat his body. As Liu Kang and Johnny quickly backed away from the fire hazard, Scorpion teleported, leaving a few small bits of ashes. Liu Kang and Johnny quickly turned around, as Scorpion sent his chained Kunai at Johnny. Liu Kang was able to grab the chain before it could reach it's target. With a nod, the two fighters quickly grabbed the chain and pulled hard, sending the yellow ninja stumbling to them. As Scorpion stumbled, the fighters winded their fists back, before introducing them to Scorpion's face. Scorpion, unable to fight any longer, lost consciousness as he hit the ground.

Liu Kang straightened from his fighting posture. "As I said, I do not fear you, I pity you."

"Also what he said." Johnny replied.

Shang Tsung glowered at the warriors, before standing up.

"It has been years since an Earthrealm Warrior has progressed this far, much less three of them. However, the reigning champion is far beyond your abilities. You will find out how far tomorrow night." and with that, the audience dispersed once more.

Johnny couldn't resist cheering. "WHOHOO! We're doing it! We're beating those pricks! They have less fighters than us, now!"

Izuku shook his head. "We're making good progress, but we can't afford to get sloppy now. Goro, Raiden, and Shang Tsung still await, and from what we've seen and heard, they definitely won't be any walk in the park."

AN: The Raiden vs Izuku chapter is coming, guys, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little bit longer, since it won't be the next chapter, XD