Disclaimer, I own neither Mortal Kombat nor RWBY as they are the property of NetherRealm Studios and Rooster Teeth respectively. I only own the characters that I have personally created.
A/N: Just so we're all clear, I know that in MK11 Jade was revealed to have been Kotal Kahn's lover but I've decided to alter a few things because I felt that it just came out of nowhere and it just felt like 'strangled with the red string' in my opinion. Though that does seem to happen quite a bit in MK with the exception of Sonya and Johnny.
-Vale, Motel-
Things weren't progressing as quickly as Tanner had initially hoped. The intelligence that had been gathered from the captives they had taken and interrogated had been enlightening but it had only given them the location of similar cells, none of which had the big breakthrough that he'd been initially hoping for. Though in retrospect this was what he should have been expecting. The rebellion that Mileena ran was by far one of the most amateurish he had ever dealt with, especially in comparison to the cells he had put down in the Middle East back in Earthrealm.
Without individuals like General Reiko, or even Rain advising her, she simply didn't know how to run a proper insurgency. Add to the fact that she all but alienated every single citizen of Outworld against her every chance she got. In fact it had gotten so bad that she had all but unified all of Outworld's denizens into becoming her enemies. Her childish idea that her subjects should remain loyal to her no matter how she poorly treated them only ever turned everyone against her.
One of the biggest problems that Tanner had when it came to putting down rebels was getting the public to either turn on them rather than the governments that they were fighting, or make them more afraid of the government than the rebels. But in Outworld's case, Mileena had managed to successfully turn the people of Outworld against her; especially after her latest assassination attempt on Kotal Kahn.
Unfortunately it seemed as though while Mileena's attempts at running an insurgency had made her hide in a backwater realm with only a small number of Tarkatan warriors left, the White Fang were more adept at hiding out and keeping their cells separate from one another enough that it was difficult to pin them all down. It would be a challenge to say the absolute least but wiping out the White Fang was currently only part of their overall mission goal. Their focus was on finding Mileena, killing her and retrieving Shinnok's Amulet in one piece. They had all seen what it was capable of and if the Mad Elder God imprisoned inside were to escape…
Tanner had to suppress a shudder as his mind thought back to the Netherrealm War. That was why they had to find Mileena and quickly. But of course in order to find her they needed to find someone high enough that may have gotten into contact with her. The most likely candidate for that would be one Adam Taurus, the leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang.
To do that Tanner would have to capture and interrogate as many lieutenants and leaders in the Vale Branch as possible, as well as any allies that may have gotten into contact with him. Of course while he did this he would have to spread as much mind-numbing terror through the ranks of his foes as possible, making them far more afraid of him than they would ever be of Adam or his superiors.
Even now they had a new lead. A man by the name of Roman Torchwick. Torchwick wasn't anything special really, a simple crook that seemed more obsessed with being known as one of those 'gentleman thief' types. Though recently he had been acting far differently than normal, mainly stealing large amounts of dust from anyone and everyone in the city rather than valuable shiny items from the wealthy. And then there was the fiasco over at the docks some time ago.
This kind of pattern of behavior simply didn't fit Torchwick's profile in the slightest. He was in it for the fame and notoriety, not the money, or at least not completely. This either meant that he either had a lot to gain, with this kind of new pattern or he was being coerced into it somehow. Torchwick must have had some kind of direct connection to Adam. He had to be captured and interrogated. Hell he probably wouldn't even need to use his more gruesome methods on Torchwick, given how he was a thief and not a battle hardened soldier. He would break easily, and what a fortunate happenstance that there would be such a golden opportunity to capture him in the coming days.
The former Special Forces soldier pushed those thoughts away from the time being and instead looked at a small photograph he always had on him. It was one of a better time, one that felt so long ago now. The photo was a group shot that consisted of a shaolin monk, said monk's Edenian girlfriend, a Matokan warrior, an egomaniac of an actor, two Special Forces officers, a former Lin Kuei that constantly generated smoke, a god, and in the right corner was a young up-and-coming Special Forces Corporal holding hands with what was quite possibly the most incredible woman he had ever met. An Edenian warrior whose eye color was her namesake: Jade.
Michael Tanner managed to fight back the tears that threatened to form on the corners of his eyes. Every time he saw this photo, he wondered to himself how they would react to everything he did; of course he already knew, and wouldn't fool himself. They would be horrified, disgusted and disturbed by what he was doing to save them. But it would be worth it; even if they hated him, even if they were repulsed by him and condemned him as a monster it would be worth it because they would be alive and free to live their lives again.
His thoughts were broken when he heard Wild Dog's voice coming in over the radio "Sir we found that White Fang survivor that managed to escape, he's hiding in a small settlement on the outskirts of Vale. Apparently the villagers are pretty sympathetic to the White Fang, but the authorities in Vale either don't have enough evidence to prove it or are just sitting on it, we can move in claim a new prisoner and wipe out a group of sympathizers."
Perhaps it was time to really show that the White Fang were not dealing with those who cared for 'mercy.'
"I see. Move into the town, take it over and have D'Vorah interrogate everyone for information on any other cells or White Fang members that have hidden there. Then, wipe them out, show everyone the price of protecting the White Fang."
Tanner thought he heard someone on the other line shudder and mutter something about 'creepy bugs' but he ignored it. With that having been done Tanner let out a breath and looked back over at the photo of the only family he had ever known and hoped that they would understand the steps he was taking to their salvation.
-Ansel, Arc Residence-
The instant that Jaune was on the other side of the doors with his parents, he sat down on a nearby couch while his mother took a seat across from him at a coffee table, her hands were on the arms of the chair, gripping them relatively gently. Jaune's father however was pacing back and forth in front of the teenager, a clear sign of the man's agitation.
For what felt like an eternity Nicholas Arc paced back and forth in front of the room's two other occupants before he finally stopped and turned to look at his only son, a look of utter frustration, anger, and more than just a little bit of fatherly concern. "Son, do you have any idea how worried we all were when we saw that letter you left us? Any idea?!" he demanded.
Jaune barely managed to fight back the urge to flinch at his father's near shout. Yes judging by how his dad was reacting, Jaune could indeed figure out just how badly he had effed up. "I think I can guess," said Jaune remembering how his two younger sisters acted when they first saw him.
Nicholas Arc looked like he was about to about to continue with his furious tirade when his mother who was sitting down on one of the couches put a hand on his with a calm smile on her face "Now, dear, maybe we should give Jaune a chance to give his side of the story." Nicholas looked as though he wanted to argue further but his wife just gave a wider smile, one that silenced him completely.
Jaune thought he could see that his dad was starting to shake somewhat. Only Jaune was sure that it was more in fear than rage this time. Silently Nicholas Arc sat down on one of the chairs, gesturing for his son to start talking. The blonde huntsman-in-training started to sweat and he began to regale them with how he had joined Beacon and everything that had happened since then. He didn't lie or leave any detail out, he wouldn't do that to his parents and even if he did, they knew all his tells and he would only make things worse for himself.
It took a good hour but by the end of the story his father looked like he was fuming and the only thing that was keeping him from going off on a rant at his son's actions was his wife's hand on his. "Calm down sweetie. Now then, why don't we all talk about this without throwing a fit?"
The way she spoke was so saccharine that both her husband and son knew it would be foolish to try and go against her. Both of the only male members of the Arc household tried to resist shuddering, though only one of them succeeded.
This kind of talk with his parents was perhaps the most terrifying thing that Jaune had ever had to endure in his entire life, and that was saying something considering what happened with during initiation. In fact if he were honest, he'd prefer to go through that all over again if only to avoid this.
By the end of it though his parents only had one simple question for him "Jaune, are you sure you want to become a Huntsman? That this is the path you want to take for yourself?"
When Jaune answered, he did everything he could to make sure they heard the resolve in his voice.
"Yes, yes I do. I didn't know what I was getting into at first, I knew it wouldn't be easy going in, and even then I was still utterly unprepared for how out of my depth I was. But I got help from people who believe in me, and thanks to them I've gotten better, not just at trying to become a Huntsman but I feel like I'm a better person now. I want to be a Huntsman, I want to protect everyone, and I want to make a difference, no matter how small it is."
Juniper Arc looked over at her husband with an expectant look and he sighed, knowing that while he may still not completely approve of his son's career choice, he still had at least would support him as best he could. "I'll be honest with you son, I still don't like the idea of you becoming a Huntsman, I really don't." At that Jaune barely kept his face from falling.
"However, you have grown quite considerably since we saw you last, and no I don't' mean in size. You walk taller, stand more confident even if you don't realize it. I'll support you, even if I'm very upset and more than just a little bit disappointed in how you went about pursuing your dream job."
"It's not just a job dad," Jaune said firmly to which his father started to really smile. It seemed as though his son was starting to understand just what being a Huntsman truly meant.
"Good." His father stated before proceeding to ruin the moment with the next sentence "But you're still grounded for the break after the end of next semester, and your mother needs you to help out your sisters during said break."
Jaune immediately covered his face with his hands and groaned out a muffled "Daaaaaaaad!"
Jaune's team watched as their leader had been all but dragged into a nearby room by his parents some time ago. At first there had been some yelling then everything went relatively quiet for a little over an hour. Of the entire group the one that seemed the most bothered by the whole situation as definitely Pyrrha who hadn't stopped pacing ever since everything went quiet. In fact there were several times that she looked as though she wanted to burst in, and give whatever support she could to Jaune. Maybe even do something like give some grand speech on how much their son had changed and improved since he arrived at Beacon.
Of course she wasn't stupid. She knew that doing something like that would quite possibly only make things worse for Jaune, and look incredibly ridiculous as well. But she still felt as though there had to be something she could do to help him.
Eventually one of Jaune's sisters, Coral -if Pyrrha was remembering correctly- looked up from a small notebook she was writing in and asked "So, how long have you been pining after Jaune?" she asked with all the tact of a rampaging Ursa.
She and Nora would get along famously if the way the latter was giggling was any indication.
Immediately Pyrrha's face went as red as her hair as she struggled desperately to respond, which only served to make the shit-eating grin on Coral's face widen ever further as she continued to scribble into her little notebook "Ah, that long eh. So what got you interested in the runt of the Arc family's litter?"
That almost immediately got Pyrrha on the defensive "Jaune isn't a runt!" she insisted only to watch as Coral's grin widened further "Ooh, that defensive already, I see that it's not just a crush is it? You really do like him!" She said while writing down even more notes in her little book.
Pyrrha's face turned even more scarlet than that of her hair as she realized she had just fallen completely into the trap Coral had lain for her. "W-w-well I…" she trailed off not really able to finish speaking properly.
"Coral stop picking on our brother's teammate for two minutes please," said Sable causing Jaune's other older sibling to pout.
"But it's so easy though…and fun," she added in at the end. As though she hadn't made that obvious throughout the whole exchange.
"Still though can you not antagonize our brother's teammate and not try to add her into your…stories." And that was something that Pyrrha felt that she really shouldn't know. Unfortunately, though Nora asked, "What kind of stories?" before Ren could do anything, not that he was really even trying. In fact he seemed as though he was simply resigned to the whole situation at hand even when Pyrrha sent them both betrayed looks.
"My sister here is quite the writer of certain, romance novels that people in town enjoy. She also is a bit of a…" Sable trailed off, not really able to figure out a good way to finish that sentence but everyone had more than an inkling as to what she was trying to tell them.
"…an incorrigible pervert~" Coral finished shamelessly. Oh by the gods this was even worse than she thought!
"Yeeeeah that," Sable agreed with a wince. With that out of the way Coral turned her attention back to Pyrrha, a vaguely predatory expression on her face.
She was going to ask what she wanted when she felt someone tugging against her side. Pyrrha turned around to see Jaune's youngest sister Amber, looking up at her curiously "So, how long have you and Jaune been dating and why didn't he tell me?"
While the pout at the end of the demand was undeniably adorable and Nora was utterly gushing over it, Pyrrha looked as though she was on the verge of a heart attack and the only thing that came out of her mouth was a strange sound that no one could quite decipher.
Pyrrha was looking for an out, anything. Nora wouldn't be any help given how she looked like she was about to rush over to Amber and gush over how cute the girl was. Jaune's other sisters? Not a chance given how they were reacting and seemed to be eager for more entertainment at her expense or outright apathetic to it. Eventually she turned her head towards Ren with a pleading expression before the young man sighed and decided to at the very least try and change the subject.
"So pardon my asking but none of you seem all that bothered by Jaune running off to join Beacon as his parents. Is there a reason for this?" he asked. Jaune's sisters saw the blatantly obvious attempt to change the subject but at least they decided to at the very least give Pyrrha a reprieve for the moment.
"Well, to be fair when we found out about it several of us reacted worse than others but after we got a letter from Jaune that he managed to get in we calmed down a little, though there were those that were still concerned as you saw with Lav and Amber. Though dad still wanted to go down there and drag him back to tear him a new one."
There was a pause before Sable continued. "To be honest I never really figured he'd make it in but he did and honestly I was pretty impressed. Dad was still raging for a while though and I think that the only thing that was keeping him from going down there himself and dragging Jaune back here was mom. As much as dad and the rest of us love her, she's downright terrifying when she wants to be."
That actually made everyone else curious "Why do you think she let fearless-leader go and try to become a Huntsman then?" Nora asked. To that Jade responded "She said that Jaune should have the chance to forge his own path, make his own mistakes and that the best we can do support him and help him up if he falls down."
Well it seemed as though they had some answers as to why Jaune's sisters weren't as upset as his father was. Still though what did his mom think about all this-
"We also know that once the next semester is over mom is going to make Jaune's life hell for scaring everyone like that. Remember the last time something like that happened Hazel?" asked Coral looking over at said sister, who just gave her sibling an annoyed glance before sighing "Yeah, I remember, I'm pretty sure we all remember how she forced me into those absurdly girly outfits after she found out about my piercing."
"So what? Is she going to force Jaune into dresses then?" asked Nora quizzically while Coral started scribbling down something else in her little notebook making Pyrrha become concerned again.
There was some snickering with Jaune's other siblings for a moment or two before Coral shook her head "No, but mom'll probably let us use him for something as payback. That'll be awkward for him, to say the least."
"Maybe we'll get to have him as a slave for a couple of days?" Hazel thought aloud. The other sisters made sounds of hopeful agreement at having their brother wait on them hand and foot.
Pyrrha had the sudden urge to call her parents and thank them profusely for not having more kids.
It was only after a few more minutes of waiting before Jaune and his parents exited the room that they had entered. With the looks on their faces, -especially Jaune's- it appeared as though things had been settled in a manner that benefited everyone.
"So, what happened?!" Nora blurted out as bluntly as possible but at the same time asking the question that everyone was thinking.
Jaune looked a little bit reluctant to speak but eventually managed to speak "They said that they'll approve of me staying at Beacon."
Pyrrha barely managed to avoid looking too relieved that her leader was able to stick around. Though considering how Jaune's mother was looking at her, it was obvious she failed. Though at least it was funny when Nora grabbed both Ren and her and forced them into a group hug with Jaune.
-Vale, Beacon Academy-
Ozpin was sitting at his desk sipping on his coffee while silently wishing that it was something just a little-bit stronger. Possibly alcoholic in nature. Just a few moments ago Ozpin had received word from Glynda that they had arrived at Ansel and while Ozpin had expected numerous different outcomes, some more bleak than others for the settlement, something else had occurred.
Ironwood was literally pacing back and forth just a few feet in front of him. "Ozpin this is a very grave mistake." He stated for what felt like the umpteenth time. Ozpin took another sip from his coffee "How so?"
The look that Ironwood gave him was nothing short of incredulous "Are you serious?" He asked "You're telling me that the fact that a group of mercenaries, ones not only none of us even heard of before and who happen to be armed with military grade weapons and equipment not made by any kingdom. Add to that they just so happened to be in the exact same area as a large Grimm attack on Ansel, one in which has not been seen by the settlement in years. These people should be brought in for questioning, not invited into Vale during the Vytal Festival."
Ozpin sighed "James, I am not 'inviting' them in as you say, they are only bringing a small number of their group into vale, and only after speaking to them personally regarding why they are here. And before you ask, they won't be bringing in any of that 'heavy equipment' of theirs that was in use in Ansel. In fact, it is all being sent back the moment Ansel gets more Huntsmen there to guard the town while repairs are being done to the walls."
Ironwood shook his head "Oz, listen; you and I both know that this is just too convenient. Letting them in like this will bite us hard. We can't just make a leap of faith and hope everything turns out alright. Let my people talk to them, I'll ensure we get the facts, and we can find out if they are connected to the group that's been hitting the White Fang."
The look that Ozpin gave was the very definition of deadpan "James, I am not letting your men arrest and conduct an interrogation on people who just saved an entire town. I will speak with them myself when their team arrives and if I think that they are lying or withholding information we can easily have them tailed."
Right, because of Qrow's little gift, he could easily tail at least one of them without any form of suspicion on him. Of course, that did mean that if they split up it would make things more difficult, true they could have multiple tails but still, Ironwood did think that it would be better if his men were to take over any investigation.
Besides, given that he didn't have any real authority in the matter it wasn't as though he could try to force the issue with Vale's Council. Still this was something worth keeping an eye on.
-Ansel Settlement, Near the Walls-
Johnny Cage leaned up against the side of one of the Stryker APCs as the members of 'Nimbus Security Solutions' went about their work patrolling the big-ass hole in the wall of the town. That was going to be something that the town needed to fix up ASAP, especially if more of the ugly bastards from earlier would start showing up again. Still though, maybe he could talk to the ex and see if he couldn't convince her to have the 'NSS' offer Vale to provide some security while the town put itself back together.
He knew that it would probably go either way with Sonya. If she said 'no' then it would be because it had something to do with 'operational integrity' and keeping things on the downlow. However, that had pretty much gone out the window when Captain Faulkner had agreed to let them play hero. If she said 'yes' then it would be because she wanted to make some good relations with the locals if and when they went public about the fact that Remnant wasn't the only Realm out there.
Of course, while the good general might not be willing to admit it, she'd probably go with yes. Not just because of the aforementioned reason but because deep down underneath that ice queen persona she put on, she still cared about people.
Johnny sighed, still though it would have been nice if that care had been around when Cassie was little. No one was able to get back those kinds of moments and when they went, they were gone.
The former movie star saw his daughter and her team approaching him and the serious looks on their faces. He had a feeling that he knew what was about to happen but kept his face with that same cocky grin he almost always had on his face.
"Dad, we need to talk." She spoke simply and plainly just like her mom, hell even the way she was standing made her look almost like a much younger version of Sonya. It was actually kinda creepy when he thought about it.
"Yeah kiddo, whaddya need?" he asked with a grin that promptly disappeared with the next words that came from Cassie's mouth.
"We all saw how you reacted when you heard Michael Tanner's name during the briefing. You know him and the file we were supposed to familiarize ourselves on was very thin and had quite a bit of black ink. So, we're guessing there's a lot more to this than what we've been told."
Yep, figured they'd ask the tough questions, they always did. Johnny sighed and decided to come clean "Alright, you're absolutely right. There is more going on with that guy than you think. What happened with Mikey is something that the military would much rather forget, especially given on how much we all fucked up with him."
Johnny passed a small PDA over to his daughter and said "Here's the full file, I managed to talk your mom into giving me a copy to let you guys look at before we hit Vale. I'll explain everything after you finish reading."
He waited patiently as his daughter and her team accessed the files and Immediately Cassie's eyebrow shot up so much that it was threatening stable orbit around her head "According to this he's quite the hero, numerous commendations, medals, holy shit; during the war with Outworld he was put up for the Medal of Honor, same thing with the Netherrealm war. Then it says here shortly after the Netherrealm war he was about to be …Jesus Christ, dad is this for real?" She asked looking up from the PDA.
The PDA was tilted in such a manner that Johnny could see some of what had been typed up on the file, but he didn't need to. He'd seen it first-hand.
"…severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder…"
"…homicidal fixation on Quan Chi…"
"…maladaptive coping mechanisms…"
"…bouts of extreme anger and depression…"
"…possible threat to self and others…"
"…refusal of attending counseling…"
"…recommend placing on indefinite leave…"
"…resignation and subsequent disappearance…"
Just looking at it brought him back to when his friend was suffering all those years ago. Every time he saw that he wondered whether there was something he could have done to stop things before they got that far. While Johnny liked to act like he didn't have any regrets, the truth was, he had a lot of them and what happened to Tanner was quite possibly in the top three.
"Yep, sure is. We fucked up bigtime with him." And that was an understatement if one had ever been spoken. "You know how Raiden altered the timeline when he sent visions back to his past self, well Lieutenant, -well Lance Corporal back then- Tanner wasn't supposed to survive Shang Tsung's tournament.
Apparently Sektor was too busy to use poison to weaken him before his match because he was a bit busy dealing with his partner Cyrax's…loyalty issues after Raiden decided to try and put some doubt into him. As a result, he beat the living hell out of Sektor during their match before having his ass royally handed afterwards by someone who didn't rip his guts out. Of course, he also fought alongside during the Outworld Tournament, managed to take down some of the competition before being taken down himself."
"What happened afterwards?"
"Well, it took Outworld several months to get its army together and Tanner hit it off pretty good with Jade. In fact, it had gotten to the point that when Shao Kahn started his invasion ten months later, he already had a ring lined up and ready for her."
"Somehow I think we can guess what happened next to make him lose it…" muttered Kung Jin.
Johnny Cage sighed, "It wasn't just that, during the fighting Tanner got wounded because of certain Cyber Lin Kuei and was down for the count when Sindel showed up and started mowing us all down. He watched the only family he ever knew, the woman he loved get slaughtered and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it."
The actor stared forwards as he remembered seeing the look in his friend's eyes as he desperately tried to claw his way off the medical cot they had set up and reach a nearby sidearm to stop Sindel's slaughter. It only got worse when she stomped her heel right onto his arm with enough force to break it. She was about to kill him when Kitana, Jade and Night Wolf intervened. Only for Sindel to cut the former two down like wheat before a scythe.
He brought himself out of those memories and continued "Mikey kept blaming himself for what happened. Kept saying that if he hadn't been wounded or was just outright killed then everyone wouldn't have gotten butchered trying to keep him alive. He was in therapy for a while but when the Netherrealm War started up just a few months later, he was back on the frontlines. When Quan Chi's revenants showed up, Mike was enraged, truly and utterly enraged. I mean I've never seen anyone so pissed before in my life level stuff.
When we finally took down Shinnok and chased Quan Chi back to his lair and, well magical bullshit ensued where Raiden ended up combining his magic with Quan Chi's during their little magical fight and it restored some of our friends. But not all of them…"
-Netherrealm, Quan Chi's Tower, years ago-
An honest to gods miracle had just happened. Jax, Sub-Zero and Scorpion, the Revenants who had been fighting them just a few moments ago were now on the ground, and their skin colors had changed from the unnatural paleness with glowing yellow veins to what they were before Quan Chi had corrupted them. They were still unconscious and probably would be for some time but at the very least they were seemingly back to normal.
Johnny was laid out on the ground with a wound that was only recently sealed shut thanks to Raiden's magic. The actor wasn't in any danger of dying anymore but it would still be some time before he would be back on his feet. As he did though, he noticed that there was one individual that while having been beaten, was no longer amongst those that were. Quan Chi was gone.
Everyone was angry at this turn of events but the one that seemed the most vocal was Tanner "The fuck?!" He shouted before starting to make his way towards the exit that the sorcerer had likely just taken. Tanner grit his teeth and with a snarl, reloaded his rifle. "We have to go after him, he can't have gotten far we can-"
He wasn't able to finish that sentence as immediately Raiden put that idea down "We have too many injured to look after in order to pursue him now. We must retreat for the time being."
The look of fury and outrage that was on Tanner's face couldn't be described in mere words "Are you shitting me?! We have a chance to take down Quan Chi, right here, right now and free everyone we lost, and you just want to-"
Sonya Blade glared at him before stating "Stand down soldier, we are pulling out and that is an order!" she declared. For a brief second an expression that was a combination of utter betrayal and rage appeared on his face. There was a pause as Tanner formulated a response. Eventually the words "Yes ma'am," ground out.
-Ansel, present day-
Cassie's team seemed troubled by what her father was saying and the first one to speak was Jacqui "While I can understand the desire to continue on to try and capture that bastard, it seemed like Raiden made the right call. You couldn't have gone after him without leaving them."
Johnny let out a sigh "Yeah I know that but, we're not finished yet. After that little fiasco Tanner tried to get to anyone in authority to mount a rescue operation into the Netherrealm. No one went for it because of how it would require a lot of troops going in there to rescue a handful. We all wanted to save our friends but at the time there was no way to really do that. He couldn't accept that, said we were leaving them in hell and he just kept on a downward spiral for months after that, long nights at bars, skipping out on counseling, that kind of thing."
There was a pause as the Cassie's father seemed to be trying to figure out a way to continue "The real fuckup happened a few months later…"
-Earthrealm US Military Base, Years Ago-
The meeting between Colonel Granger and Captain Blade was going relatively well. Or at least it was until a certain member of the US Special Forces all but barged in. It was Lieutenant Tanner and by the look on his face he was utterly enraged by something. Though given what he proceeded to slam on his commanding officer's desk it wasn't hard to understand why. It was an autopsy report, one on Jade to be precise and there was a section that was highlighted that really got to Sonya, "Early signs of pregnancy found."
The captain really had no idea how to respond to something like that. How could she respond to that? The colonel however didn't look to happy with Tanner. "Is this true?" The Lieutenant demanded.
The colonel however, if he was even phased by the outburst, replied "Due to what you have been through I will pardon this outburst. As for your question, yes I did have it kept from you due to your mental state, I believed you would be pushed too close to the edge and considering what I've seen in the last few days, I'm ordering you placed on indefinite leave pending a full psychiatric evaluation."
Tanner was grinding his teeth to keep himself from exploding in a rage. "Well I'm going to have to disappoint you sir because here's my resignation." He then placed another piece of paper on the desk as well before turning on his heel and marching out.
As he did, Sonya turned to her commanding officer "Sir maybe I-" she started as Colonel Granger, who was massaging his temples said "Give it your best shot, but I think this ship has sailed."
Taking off after her former subordinate Sonya made her way towards her friend who was already heading towards the main exit of the base.
"Lieutenant what do you think you're doing?" she all but demanded. Immediately her friend turned around and he had the same look he had on his face back in the office. It was one of pure fury, and betrayal. "I'm doing what you and those bastards back at command won't, and I'm not going to let you, Raiden, or anyone else stand in the way of doing what's right." He hissed out.
"What are you planning on doing?" She asked, yet somehow she already knew the answer even as it left his lips "I'm doing what you, Johnny, Command and that coward Raiden won't."
"You can't just storm the Netherrealm by yourself." She stated, but Tanner scoffed "Who said I'd be doing it by myself?"
He didn't answer her when she asked what he meant and she continued to try and press on, he didn't say a word as he exited the base.
-Ansel, Present Day-
At the end of that story, the entire team was shocked, horrified or even outraged one who embodied the latter emotion the most was Kung Jin "And you just kept that kind of news from him?! He had every right to know!" He demanded.
"It wasn't like Sonya or I even knew about it." Johnny stated, offended that he would hide something like that from one of his buddies. "It was the higher-ups who decided to keep that info from him. They figured that he was already on the edge, and that learning that the woman he loved was going to have his kid when she was brutally killed right in front of him would throw him over completely. Well they were right, just for the wrong reasons. He did find out and he just snapped completely because he just found out that people he trusted kept that from him."
Kung Jin seemed to calm down a bit upon hearing that but clearly wasn't pleased with what he had just heard. "From there he just disappeared, only to be spotted in conflict zones helping certain regimes take down US backed Rebel Cells using our own intel he'd 'borrowed', training militias and generally making himself very, very rich over the course of several years. He had all the money he needed, now he just needed the next part of his plan; an army."
"So he could storm the Netherrealm?" Asked Takeda "I gotta admit that's pretty ballsy but where is…Oh. So that's why he's working with Kotal Kahn."
Johnny nodded "Yep, I'd be willing to bet good money that's the kinda deal he's got with Mr. Aztec."
The team looked at one another for a moment or two before Cassie asked "So say we encountered him. What can we expect?"
The former actor looked over at them "That really just depends on a lot of different things. I doubt he'll want to start a fight with us when he has to deal with Mileena and her band of fellow botched dental surgery patients. If he does he'll try to make sure we throw the first punch so that anything that happens afterwards is our fault. That being said if Mikey feels like we're pissing him off or getting in his way he may just decide we're interfering a little too much…" He trailed off.
"We'll be careful then," Cassie assured.
At that Johnny's eyebrows shot up past his sunglasses "Cass, I'm serious. Don't be 'careful.' Act like you're tiptoeing your way through a freaking minefield."
Everyone looked a little uncomfortable at that but it was then that Stone brought up one important little tidbit "So basically we don't piss this guy off, and we don't do anything that would cause us to get into a fight with him. Okay then, so what about our VSSE buddies?"
"What about 'em?" Asked Jacqui with a quizzical eyebrow raised.
"I doubt that they're just here to offer support for us, something tells me that they're here for something else and they aren't telling us. I mean I could be wrong and I hope I am; but these guys are spooks, no matter how much you try to give them nice little names. I'm more than willing to bet they are here for something other than helping us track down you-know-what."
There was another uncomfortable pause "Alright we'll keep an eye on them, just in case you're right." Cassie stated.
They were going to continue talking when they noticed a certain blonde teacher from Vale came up towards them and said "Before you enter Vale there's something that we need to go over with your group…"
To be continued.
A/N: So we finally get some backstory on Michael Tanner, I hope that everyone enjoyed it and that it made sense. Please leave your thoughts in a review.
