AN: We're at the finish line for the MK I arc, ladies and gents!
Chapter 8: The Tournament's Conclusion
"The Shaolin has defeated me in Mortal Kombat."
Izuku could only grin as Shang Tsung shakily stood up from his throne. The sorcerer had gotten soft and complacent, relying on trickery and subterfuge over his own skill, and now he was gonna pay the price for it.
As a green portal flared to life, Liu Kang stepped out of it. Smiling at his friends, he then turned around and saw Shang Tsung walk onto the floor. Liu Kang shifted into a fighting stance.
"Shang Tsung! Only one fight remains! Face me...in Mortal Kombat!"
"So be it." the sorcerer growled, before going into a fighting stance of his own.
And with that, Shang Tsung struck first, throwing a flaming skull at Liu Kang.
Liu Kang jumped into the air, avoiding the projectile while throwing a mid-air hook punch to Shang Tsung's face, before following through with low round kick.
Unfortunately, Shang Tsung was able to recover from his dazed state quite quickly, and blocked the attack, before sweeping Liu Kang's leg. Liu Kang, unprepared for the counter attack, was thrown off his feet and fell to the ground. Shang Tsung, taking advantage of the opening he'd made, quickly changed form.
Turning into the God of Thunder.
Liu Kang, however, refused to be intimidated, and quickly threw a punch-jab-axe kick combo on the sorcerer, sending Shang Tsung flying, before grabbing his opponent and throwing him into a pillar, Liu Kang closed the distance with a flying side kick, only to be blocked by Shang Tsung. Shang Tsung then counterattacked with Raiden's trademark Torpedo move, throwing Liu Kang far away from the fight.
Dropping out of his disguise, Shang Tsung threw his hands, and flaming skulls started to rise up off the ground. Liu Kang, realizing that that sorcerer could not utilize that attack when in close proximity to him, quickly closed the distance and started throwing punches and jabs onto Shang Tsung.
However, the ancient sorcerer was not a former champion of the tournament for nothing, and Liu Kang found his own strikes and punches being blocked and countered by his opponent.
Throwing a backfist, Liu Kang found himself being grabbed by the sorcerer, before being thrown over his back. Quickly landing on his feet, Liu Kang saw the punch that Shang Tsung was going to hit him with, and quickly threw a punch of his own to Shang Tsung's face, hard enough to throw the sorcerer to the floor.
Shang Tsung snarled, before quickly changing forms once again, taking the visage of his opponent. The two Liu Kang's stared at each other for a few moments, before they attacked. Liu Kang threw a punch at his other self, only for his punch to hit air as his opponent teleported to his blind side in a flash of fire, hitting him with a backfist to the spine.
Liu Kang can do that? Izuku thought, bewildered at what he'd just witnessed.
Apparently, Liu Kang didn't know he could do that either, staring at his mirror image of him in shock for a few moments before closing his eyes. He breathed deeply, ignoring the sounds and the stress of the situation he'd found himself in. As his mirror descended on him once again, Liu Kang opened his eyes, before blocking his opponent's strikes. Liu Kang then threw a hard hook punch. Dazed, his mirror couldn't react in time to defend himself against Liu Kang's punch to his kidney…
And the palm strike that fractured his skull.
Refusing to relent, Liu Kang continued his assault with a round kick to his opponent's diaphragm, another hook punch, a backfist, and a knifehand chop that broke a few of the bones on Shang Tsung's neck.
Deciding to finally end the vicious barrage of blows, Liu Kang kicked his opponent away, forcing his opponent's back to face him as he threw a palm strike into his opponent's chest, one hard enough to break a large amount of their ribs.
As Shang Tsung fell to the ground, he was forced to drop the disguise he had taken.
"Say it." Liu Kang growled, in a tone that conveyed how tired he was of the violence of the tournament.
Shang Tsung slowly got up from the floor, viciously coughing blood, before kneeling down.
"I concede." he whispered quietly, unable to admit his shame out loud.
Izuku shouted in jubilation, as did the other fighters of Earthrealm. Raiden could only stare in shock as he had slowly walked in.
"He...he has saved Earthrealm." he whispered, in disbelief of what he saw in front of him.
A light shone above Liu Kang, almost blinding the audience, declaring the Shaolin Monk as the Champion of Earthrealm. His friends surrounded him.
"That was awesome, Liu Kang!" Sonya exclaimed.
"Congratulations!" Nightwolf stated, proud of the monk.
"Well done, brother!" Kung Lao shouted, happy at Liu Kang's victory.
"MVP, baby!" Johnny cheered, shaking his fist.
"And to think a week ago you were worried about competing!" Izuku said hoarsely, still tired from his previous fight, but having enough energy to slap Liu Kang in the back in congratulations..
As Outworld's Kombatants walked into a yellow portal, one that would take them back to their homeworld, two kombatants stayed behind.
Izuku slowly walked out of the group, coming face to face with Mileena.
"Well, guess this is it, then." Izuku rasped, trying to think of what to say to the woman he'd found to be a good friend, despite the differences in their allegiance.
"Seems like it." Mileena replied, looking downwards.
The two didn't say anything for a few moments, before Izuku shook his head.
"Fuck it. Here." he said, before taking out his Combat Analysis notebook and ripping out a few pages. He then handed the pages to Mileena. "Consider it a future birthday present or something."
Mileena gingerly took the pages, before her eyes widened. The pages all focused on Mileena. Her features, both old and new, occupied the first page. The rest of the pages detailed her strengths, weaknesses, recommended tactics to defeat her, and, in a different pen color, methods she could to improve on her weaknesses.
"You're giving me this? Why?"
Izuku shrugged. "Well, considering what you're going to get up to in Outworld, it wouldn't hurt for you to be better prepared, and it's not like I gotta worry about you killing me anytime soon, right?"
Mileena held the pages, still unsure if Izuku wasn't making a mistake. "Are you sure about this?" she whispered.
Izuku chuckled. "Yep. Already memorized the pages, not that I think I'll need em anytime soon."
Mileena didn't say anything. She merely hugged Izuku for a quick moment, before turning away and, looking back one last time, went back home. Kitana followed soon after, her expression unreadable, bar the small bit of red on her face that Izuku could see. Smirking, Izuku quickly glanced back, only to see Liu Kang's beaming smile at the Princess of Outworld.
She has it bad. Izuku thought, not realizing that he had also fallen victim to the same denseness Liu Kang had towards another similarly dressed Outworld assassin.
Meanwhile, Raiden stood far away, still in disbelief.
If these humans can overcome odds as terrible as the ones Shang Tsung set up in this tournament, then does that mean…
Was I wrong?
Was I wrong to write them off, believing that they had forgotten their place in the scheme of the universe?
Try as he might, Raiden could not answer that question, even as he went back to the Heavens to sit amongst his brethren.
An Hour Later
Izuku took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the air of the sea.
"So, is that it? We won?" Johnny asked, still disbelieving of the fact that they had conquered the insurmountable odds they had found themselves in a week ago.
"Seems like it, Johnny." Izuku replied, with a smile on his face. He turned to the actor. "Tell me, how's it feel, being an actual hero?"
Johnny chuckled. "I gotta be honest. It feels...kinda great, actually. I feel reinvigorated."
He sighed. "To be honest, this tournament thing...it was a last ditch effort. My acting career's been going down the toilet for a long time now. I was about ready to put a bullet in my dome before I heard about this legendary tournament that occurred every generation. I thought 'this is it, Johnny, your make or break moment'. I guess, in a way, I was right. Just...not in the way I was expecting"
Izuku didn't say anything for a few moments, before clasping Johnny's shoulder in reassurance.
"I don't know if it'll mean much, but even if your acting career fails, no one in this little group here is going to forget you. Johnny Cage, the guy who lasted the second longest in a tournament fought by cutthroats, freaks, and mutants galore, the man who never gave up in a fight."
"Oh shut up. You know what, screw it. Everyone come in for a group hug!" he shouted. Everyone gave the actor a strange look, before they decided to come in for the said group hug anyways.
AN: And with that, the MK 1 arc is over! The next three chapters will be an interlude of sorts. One will be dedicated to the legacy Izuku left behind in the MHA universe, one will focus on setting up the events of MK II, and one will focus on the small celebration of the heroes before everything goes to shiet