Chapter 4: The Rescue & The Cryomancer

AN: I'm gonna start exploring more P.O.V's from this point onwards.

Outworld, The Armory

Izuku and Liu Kang stood above a fiery pit.

Izuku was busy looking with a pair of binoculars. He spotted two shades of green.

"Hmm. Two hostiles, Reptile and Jade. How're we gonna do this?"

Liu Kang rubbed his chin for a few moments, before turning to Izuku. "I'll handle Reptile. You focus on Jade."

"Understood." Izuku replied.

Izuku and Liu Kang dropped down onto the Armory. As soon as Reptile turned to face them, however, Jade hit him hard in the head with her baton. Reptile stumbled for a few moments, before falling down, unconscious.

Izuku smirked. "Well, that takes care of him. I'm guessing Kitana and Mileena asked you to help us?"

Jade nodded. "You would be correct in that assumption."

"Why is Kitana helping us?" Liu Kang asked.

"Kitana plans to assassinate Shao Khan. She believes that by assisting Earthrealm, she will be able to get the chance to kill the Emperor." Jade replied

Liu Kang rubbed his chin. "That's...a tall order, to say the least. Still, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and she has helped us out in the past. What're your thoughts, Izuku?"

Izuku sighed. "I agree. Kitana did say she wanted to explore Mileena's origins. Maybe she found out something so awful she wants to kill her dad over it."

"Your friend has been taken to the Dead Pool. They plan to execute her." Jade continued.

Izuku chuckled. "Hold on, Dead Pool? That's a bit on the nose, isn't it? What's even there?"

Jade crossed her arms. "Meathooks and rivers of acid, for a start."

Izuku shook his head. "Wonderful. Well, are you gonna tag along with us?"

Jade shook her head. "No. In fact…." she turned to them. "Could you both do me a favor and hit me as hard as you can? I do not wish to be marked a traitor so soon."

Izuku and Liu Kang turned to each other. They shrugged, before decking the green assassin in the face. Jade fell to the ground, cradling her nose.

"Argh! That...ought to do it. You should hurry."

"Just a moment." Liu Kang said. He turned to the unconscious form of Reptile, who was starting to rise up.

He snarled, before brutally bringing his foot down on Reptile's knee. Reptile screamed, as Liu Kang grinded his foot on Reptile.

"Let's see how fast you can warn your master now, beast." he growled, rage curdling every syllable. He then kicked Reptile's head like a football, knocking the creature unconscious once more.

Izuku was stunned at the brutality Liu Kang had just employed. Liu Kang shoulder-checked him out of the way of the exit. "Come on, Izuku. We need to get to Sonya."

Izuku shook his head.

How long will Liu Kang remain in that state before he ends up killing someone? Izuku couldn't help but think.

The duo proceeded down into the Dead Pool, where Izuku noticed a tiny crevice where both he and Liu Kang could climb up to surprise the enemy. Izuku and Liu Kang looked down, seeing a female Shokan warrior in a rather revealing outfit

What is it with the women of this tournament and revealing clothing? Her outfit looks like a literal string.

They also spotted Sonya next to the Shokan woman, as well as a few hideously deformed guards playing some kind of game with dice.

"What is it with you Shokan and underground cesspools?" They could hear Sonya state to the Shokan woman.

"If you had not dishonored yourself by attempting escape, we would not be here in this sewer." the Shokan replied.

Izuku turned to Liu Kang. "I've got an idea." He took out a small device he had stitched together that morning. "A little flash grenade I cooked up. We drop it, get Sonya outta there, and then escape. Long as Shang Tsung believes that we're not in the tournament, we hold an advantage. We'll discuss the plan I've cooked up more when we get Sonya to safety."

Liu Kang nodded. Izuku primed the grenade, and tossed it onto the floor. The Shokan shouted a warning as Sonya closed her eyes, but it was too late for the group. The grenade exploded, disorienting everyone but the Earthrealmers. As they were stunned, Izuku quickly cut Sonya free, while Liu Kang was busy incapacitating the guards, as well as throwing a vicious punch onto the Shokan's head. The two quickly escaped the room, as the Shokan was recovering from her dazed state.

The three ran out, the wide desert of Outworld illuminating their sight. Sonya turned to the duo. "Thanks. What took you guys so long?"

Izuku chuckled. "Traffic." he joked, forcing a laugh out of the Special Forces Agent. Suddenly, a beep could be heard from Sonya's wrist.

"That's weird...I've got two sets of readings….heavy tech signals, both of em."

Izuku rubbed his chin. "That can't be good. Me and Sonya will investigate. In the meantime, Liu Kang, you'll have to find a decent campsite or something where we can all rest up. Maybe Kitana can help you out in that regard."

Liu Kang nodded, before turning away from the group and departing.

P.O.V Switch - Kuai Liang

Kuai Liang hacked, coughing away the smoke trying to enter his lungs. Tomas was in a similar state, clutching his ribs.

"What kind of asshole puts traps on his own transportation ship?!" Tomas shouted, incredulous.

"The kind -cough- the kind my brother was supposed to kill." Kuai Liang said, his voice hoarse.

The duo slowly got up, as Kuai Liang put on his brother's respirator. Kuai Liang took in the gruesome sight of the dozens of bodies impaled on spikes, flies buzzing around them, and thanked his brother in the afterlife for allowing him to stand there without vomiting.

"Not even a minute in and I hate this place." Kuai Liang muttered.

Tomas chuckled. "You and me both, old friend."

The duo looked around, noticing that there was no living person in the area.

"Alright. Remember, from this point onwards, we are Smoke and Sub-Zero."

Sub-Zero nodded. "Shang Tsung will be protected until the tournament approaches its end. Until that time, I will investigate who killed my brother."

Smoke nodded. "We should split up. Sektor is pursuing all members of the Lin Kuei in the name of the Cyber Initiative. You, however, are not Lin Kuei. Sektor will have no reason to come after you."

"Even if I am the brother of the legendary Sub-Zero?" Sub-Zero asked.

"Even if you are the brother of Sub-Zero. Sektor has always had a one-track mind, and according to what intel we have, it has only gotten worse after his Cyberization." Smoke replied.

Smoke then raised his arm to his heart. "Be stealthful as the night…"

Sub-Zero looked at Smoke, an eyebrow raised in confusion. Smoke coughed, embarrassed. "Sorry, force of habit. Old Lin Kuei saying."

"Well, good luck, then." Sub-Zero replied, before walking away.

AN: And that wraps up this chapter! I'm looking forward to writing more of Kuai Liang, since he's kinda a fish out of water when it comes to the whole 'Fight to the Death' stuff.

Also, a bit of a warning ahead, but I'm gonna put our favorite Ice Boy through absolute hell in this arc. Nothing personal. It'll all be in the name of character development.

Final note, I changed the image cover of this story, as I feel the new image better represents what I think my version of Izuku looks like in the story. Have no idea who the artist is, though. Found it on Pinterest