AN: Thank you so much to comingandgoingbybubble who rocks. PLEASE check out hers, they are all awesome. Thanks for all the reads, and reviews are loved. Sorry for the delay, RL caught up with us. Enjoy!

MIM and CK

Jessie shook her head, grinning. Maybe Mikey did have a point. Maybe she should ask Elphaba out. The worst thing that could happen would be her saying no. Jessie still couldn't help but feel like she was taking advantage of Elphaba, though. She was still debating it, as she sliced up the Oreo cheesecake. Scooping everyone a slice, she carried them out to the living room. She dished them out; making sure Elphaba got the biggest piece of the group.

"I know how much you like chocolate." Jessie said, getting a wide smile.

"Thanks Jess." Elphaba said with a slight blush.

"For you, no problem!" Jessie said, in an over exaggerated Italian accent. It got the chuckle she was looking for from Elphaba.

"It looks really good." Elphaba said, before taking a bite.

"Thanks! It's a special recipe." Jessie said a hint of pride in her voice.

"Your own?" Elphaba asked, curiously.

"Yeah. Cooking relaxes me." Jessie said, as Rick put the other DVD on.

"I'm surprised you're not a chef." Mike says.

"No, I enjoy cooking. That would ruin it for me." Jessie said, as the movie started. She was paying more attention to Elphaba than the movie, truth be told, but the accent got her attention in a heartbeat.

"Speed it up, ladies! We've got a deadline to meet."

All of the color drained from Jessie's face, hearing that accent. Her head snapped back towards the TV, there wasn't a moment where she wouldn't recognize that bastard's voice.

"What the fuck is this?" Jessie growled.

"Surprise! It's the new Mortal Kombat series! Legacy." Marcus said.

Jessie face filled with anger, "Turn it off." She said her voice cracking.

"Come on, Jessie. You've got to get over this." Mike whined.

"Jax, I'm at the black dragon's warehouse at twentieth and Walsh…." Jessie fell silent, Jeri Ryan as Sonya? At least they picked an actress that looked like Sonya.

"Seven of Freaking Nine." Mike said, getting a shhhhhh from Jessie, as she watched intensely.

"Kano's here."

Those words were enough to send Jessie to the edge of her seat, her fists clinched. Mike and Rick looked at each other with huge smirks. This is the first time anyone had been able to mention Mortal Kombat without Jessie freaking out. They both felt like they were helping her break through. Even Marcus grinned at the scene. Elphaba was the only one without a smile on her face, she knew that look all too well. It was the same look of abject fear and rage she had on her face when she saw the Wizard of Oz for the first time. Elphaba looked at Jessie, studying her carefully. She had the same intensity on her face when she squared off with Tony.

"No. No, they can't leave her there. Come on." Jessie said, shaking her head. There was a marked change in her breathing. Elphaba sensed she was going into a panic attack. Jessie noticed as well and adjusted her breathing to slow, deep breathes.

"Fuck protocol! I'll go myself."

"Hoorah!" Jessie said, emphatically. Her enthusiasm vanished when they showed a hallway. Hearing heavy breathing and seeing Sonya hanging by her wrists had Jessie trembling.

"No, no, no, no, no." Jessie said, her fists flexing and tears in her voice and eyes. She watched it intensely, shaking her head and almost crying. Elphaba looked over at Marcus, Rick, and Mike, who were watching Jessie carefully.

"Jessie, who is that?" Elphaba asked.

"Sonya. And Kano…." She answered her voice nearly monotone as she watched it.

"Jessie? Tell me about Sonya." Elphaba hoped to keep Jessie calm by getting her to talk about it.

"She's my…my best friend." Jessie said, her eyes never leaving the screen.

"Right on time. I'm gonna miss you baby."

Jessie smirked, seeing Sonya spit in his face. Her voice rose as she began yelling at the screen. "No! This is why we move in strike teams. Three in a squad at the most. They can see you coming like this dumbass!" Jessie watched in anger as the strike team moved into the warehouse.

"Jessie, give it up. It was a dream." Marcus said quietly.

"It wasn't a fucking dream. We don't move like that. Three wide spread, eyes first, and radio silence until you're sure." Jessie said matter of factly, as it faded to Sonya pulling herself up, "Pull, Sonya, pull! You can do it! Pull! YES!" Jessie said, relieved when she fell to the ground.

"So much for progress." Mike said, disappointed.

"Who's Jax?" Elphaba asked, seeing Jessie's focus hadn't broken.

"Sonya's partner, he's a really good guy." Jessie said, proudly.

"Yeah, she was on Sonya's team." Rick said, rolling his eyes.

"Fuck you, asshole." Jessie said, shaking her head.

"Enough Rick. This is not the time." Marcus said quietly.

"Marcus, as long as you let her live in this delusion, you're not doing her any favors." Rick said, worriedly.

"Jessie's not enjoying this. Why don't we just stop?"Elphaba suggested, surprised when Jessie shook her head.

"No, I'm curious. I think this is before I met them. Jax has arm implants and Kano has a red eye." Jessie said, watching Jax and Kano fight.

"…Torturing your sweet Sonya."

Those words had Jessie out of her seat. "Come on, Jax! Get him! Kill him! Oh, hell yeah." Jessie said, laughing as Kano got beat up by Jax.

Normally, Elphaba wasn't into violence as a solution. However, after his comment she had a change of heart. She looked over at Rick, Mike, and Marcus all of them were watching Jessie carefully as Sonya woke up. They seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief when she didn't have a major reaction.

"Now that guy," Jessie said, pointing to Johnny Cage, "He is married to Sonya in real life, and they have a son."

"Jess….." Before Marcus could continue, Elphaba shushed him.

"How old is their son?" Elphaba asked, curiously.

"He was ten when….when I saw him last." Jessie said, catching herself before saying too much, "He's a really cheesy actor, but a much better director and producer."

"He doesn't seem to be that bad of an actor." Elphaba said, seeing the color drain from Jessie's face.

Jessie looked absolutely terrified, as the person that stopped time and introduced himself as Shang Tsung. "No. Johnny never worked with him." Jessie said, emphatically absolutely beside herself in disbelief.

Elphaba couldn't help but wonder if that was the magic user that tried to hurt Jessie. By the look of terror in Jessie's eyes it was a fair guess.

"Jessie, you've got that ESPN interview in the morning. Why don't we watch this another time?" Elphaba suggested, seeing Jessie actually tremble.

"It's OK." Jessie said, waving her off. Truth be told, she really wanted to see what was going to happen. This might be part of their history before Raiden pulled her into that world.

"Are you sure?" Elphaba asked, getting a nod, as Jessie's color returned.

The rest of the movie continued on without anymore major reactions. Jessie explained who the characters were, at least the ones she knew, to Elphaba. When the movie finished, Marcus pulled Elphie off to the side.

"Look, I know you don't know Jessie that well yet, but three years ago we found her lying outside of Melllon Arena bleeding. She was in a coma for almost a month from the injuries. The doctor said her obsession with Mortal Kombat, Sonya specifically, is what spurred the delusion that she trained with Sonya." Marcus looks over Elphaba's shoulder at Jessie.

"I understand that Marcus, but to Jessie it's real. It is as real as you or I are. She obviously considers herself close to Sonya, and is mourning her for some reason. In Jessie's heart of hearts, that was real. Nothing you can say or do is going to change that. My suggestion to you is to let her deal with it in her own way." Elphaba said, getting a nod.

"You sound like you speak from experience." Marcus noted.

Elphaba sighed deeply, "I do, I lost my family. Until Jessie and you guys came along, I've been alone. I couldn't move on until I made peace with it. Jessie talking about this is helping her close the door. To push her the other way is counterproductive." Elphaba said.

"You're good for her." Marcus said, causing Elphaba to blush. He kissed her cheek, before hugging Jessie, and heading to his apartment below them. Jessie did the dishes, as Elphaba went to the room. After seeing Jess a little vulnerable she could see herself falling for Jess, and that scared her a little.

After the kitchen was cleaned up Jessie settled herself on the couch. She didn't want to bother Elphaba; she assumed Elphie was tired since she went to bed after the boys left. Jessie flipped though the channels, trying to forget about that movie. At least Jax stepped up, she could imagine Sonya freaking over that. If there's one thing that Sonya absolutely stressed it was teamwork. She didn't believe in leaving anyone behind, ever. It didn't take long for Jessie to nod off, the TV providing background noise.

"There is no escape, Jessica. I will always find you."

Jessie heard Shang's voice. She found herself back on the island. Sonya was standing next to him, in chains, "Stop me, Jessica. Save your precious hero." He teased.

"Sonya!" Jessie cried out, trying to advance. She couldn't move, much to Shang's amusement.

"Useless. But perhaps you are good for something. You can watch her become mine."

With a raise of his hand, Jessie was forced to watch him take Sonya's soul.

"SONYA!" Jessie bolted awake, the scream loud enough to wake the dead. Seconds later Elphaba all but flew to the living room, finding Jessie screaming and drenched in sweat.

Worried, she squats down in front of Jessie. "Jess? Jess, talk to me." Elphaba said, seeing the distant look in Jessie's eyes. She waved her hand in front of Jessie's face and didn't see a reaction. In fact, Elphaba wasn't sure Jessie was in the same room, "Jessie, it's OK. You're here, you're safe."

"I'm never safe. He can kill me at will." Jessie said, shaking her head.

"Who can, Jessie?" Elphaba asked, wondering who could scare the so far fearless woman.

"Shang Tsung." Jessie said in a paranoid whisper, as though someone else could hear her.

Jessie had just confirmed Elphaba's suspicions from earlier. That man had indeed hurt Jessie somehow. "The man from the movie?" Elphaba asked her voice soft.

"Yes and no. That's not him; he is far more dangerous and evil than that." Jessie said, her hands trembling as she tried to calm down.

Elphaba went to the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later with two mugs of hot milk. "You were saying they are real?" Elphaba said, settling in across from Jessie and sipping the mug. Jessie followed suit, nodding.

"They're as real as you are." Jessie stated.

"Tell me what happened. Just get it off your chest." Elphaba encouraged, her eyes soft and caring.

Jessie looked at her, debating doing just that. She hated that Elphie might think she was as crazy as her doctors did. "It's a long story." Jessie said, obviously upset.

"We've got all night." Elphaba said, getting a nod.

"OK… I was really into Mortal Kombat when I was growing up. Like really into it; I had collections, and everything else. Sonya was my absolute favorite; she was exactly what I wanted to be; strong, smart, brave, loyal, and tough as nails." Jessie has a slight smile on her face at the memory.

"You're all of those things now, Jessie." Elphaba said sincerely.

"Not like her. She would've never left me, no matter who told her to." Jessie takes a breath to steady herself, "I was getting ready for my first Pay Per View fight. Well, like now, I worked a second job. I got called in to help out at the store. When I got there, some girl was being attacked in the alley behind the Burger World I worked at. I went over to help her, and got stabbed in the stomach."

"You got stabbed?" Elphaba asked, a bit floored at how Jessie said that so nonchalantly.

"Yeah, turned out that the guy that did it worked for Kano. That bastard you saw at the beginning of the movie." Jessie was still really pissed that she fell right into that trap.

"Why was he after you? If he is from that world, you shouldn't even exist." Elphaba observed, getting a nod.

"I agree. However, I was just getting popular and was on Black Belts thirty to watch list. He discovered me on a test of a portal machine. Anyway, Raiden healed me and offered me a chance to help Sonya. Of course, I jumped all over it." So far so good, Jessie thought to herself when Elphaba seemed genuinely interested.

"That must've been exciting for you." Elphaba said, thinking back to her meeting with the Wizard, before he revealed himself as a fraud. She felt like the luckiest woman in Oz. Meeting her hero with her best friend at her side. How wrong she had been.

"It was, until I met her," Jessie said, laughing a little, "I was so excited I couldn't form words, and she was not at all happy to have me along. I ended up getting into a fight on the base because a couple of Mp's ran off at the mouth disrespectfully about her. When her commanding officer saw me fight, he recruited me for the mission they were on. They were investigating an illegal fighting ring."

"That sounds dangerous." Elphaba commented, intrigued.

"It was. Two of her team died before I got there. We managed to save the third one. It turned out Sonya's ex-sister in law was investigating the ring too. Sonya was up in her apartment when they blew it up." That had been a tense few minutes.

"They blew it up?" Elphaba asked, she was honestly quite shocked that people resorted to such violent behavior. Oz almost seemed like a safe haven after what Jessie had been through.

"Yeah. I was outside when it went off. I managed to get Sonya out, but I ended up with the third degree burns on my back I was telling you about. Raiden healed those, and sent us here for Sonya to heal." A part of her still couldn't believe that Sonya was here in this world with her.

"Wow. Didn't you introduce her to Marcus or anyone while she was here?" Elphaba couldn't help but be curious.

"I did, but not as Sonya. He thinks she's a detective in charge of looking out for me after I was stabbed. Apparently the media got a hold of the news. Scared a few of my fans." She still has a few of those emails saved in her inbox. It is comforting to know that some of her fans genuinely care about her.

"I can imagine." Elphaba said, after working for Jessie these past few months it seems like a miracle that the media don't report whenever she decides to skip a meal.

"When we went back, Raiden took us to the moment we left. The first night of the fights, we got caught. Turned out Kano was working with him, and wanted me in the tournament as an iniation into the black dragon. The part that I've never told anyone is, the man that ran the tournament over there was Marcus."

"Wait, your friend Marcus?"

"That's the one. Apparently everyone has a double over there. If either of us lost a match, the other and Sonya's sister in law would die. By the end of it, it was Sonya and I in the final match. They had drugged her up, intending to brainwash Sonya if I didn't make the match look good enough for them to let her go and take me instead. Luckily, Jax and the team found us. Kano and Marcus took Sonya hostage to try to escape. I couldn't let that happen. If I did, she was dead or worse. So I stole one of the teams motorcycles, and caught up with them. I rode the bike at ninety into the limo they were escaping in head on. We both were lucky we made it out alive. But I proved myself to Sonya enough that she took me into OIA instead of sending me home. She changed my life." Jessie said, smiling at the memory. Elphaba couldn't help but smile at that.

"So that's when you met her husband and son?" Elphaba asked, getting a wide grin.

"Yeap. Seeing her and Johnny together gave me hope that love really does conquer all. Their son looks just like his dad, except he's blonde and acts just like his mom." Jessie said, grinning.

"Sounds like quite a kid." Elphaba observed, getting a nod.

"He is. He doesn't take anything from anyone. Anyway, while I was in basic, OIA sent Sonya's team on a mission. It got botched, and Sonya went missing. They actually expected me to do nothing." Jessie scoffed, "No fucking chance. It took two months, and getting nearly killed by Kano, but I found out where she was and what happened. Unfortunately, I was too injured to actually go on the rescue, but Jax and my partner had it under control." Jessie is still upset that she couldn't go on the original rescue mission.

"Jax that was the man that fought Kano, right?" Elphaba asked, trying not to get confused.

"Right. He's a little bigger in real life, though, and he's got the metal implants on his arms. It quadruples the strength he would normally have." Jessie explained.

"I would think that would make him nearly unbeatable." Elphie tried to imagine such a person and was a bit scared at the image.

"If he was that type of person maybe. He's a big sweet lovable lug. Just don't piss him off, or hurt someone he loves." Jessie said, getting a smile from Elphaba.

"I understand the mentality."

Jessie was a bit curious when she heard that, but decided not to push it. "When we got her home, I thought it was over. A week later, Raiden showed up and told her she had to go back." Jessie ground her teeth a little at the memory.

"Had to go back? Why?" Elphaba practically growled.

"Because Kano sold her to Shang Tsung for two million dollars. If she didn't go back, he would attack her family. She was his until someone worked off her debt. Shang Tsung chose me to do that." Jessie sipped the milk, trying to steady her voice.

"When I arrived, he gave me a chance to free her. If I could beat him, he'd let her go. If I failed, one of us took his mark for the rest of our lives," Jessie said, rolling up her sleeve to reveal the dragon emblem burned into her upper arm, "I lost." She said, shaking her head.

On instinct, Elphaba reached out to gently touch the scar. "He branded you?" Elphaba growled, through clinched teeth. She got a solemn nod in response.

"It was her or me. Much better it be me." Jessie said, sadly.

"And he uses magic?" As soon as Elphaba touched the mark, she could sense his dark powers. However, she was curious how much Jessie might know about him.

"He's over five hundred years old. A shape shifter, a sorcerer, and he steals souls. I honestly have never been through anything like that in my life. He tried everything to set me back. We were making progress, until Johnny died. Kano gunned him down at a charity gala he was robbing. After that, something in Sonya changed. She decided to marry Shang to take care of her son and goddaughter. Raiden said it was the only way she could end the contract. He told me to stay behind on Earth as backup. All I had to do was distract him long enough for Sonya to get the drop on him. I hope I held out long enough. The last thing I remember was him shattering my kneecap." Jessie pulled up her sweats, revealing the surgery scar, "They said whoever attacked me shattered it with a cinderblock." Jessie said, shaking her head.

"No wonder you reacted so strongly when you saw me use magic." Elphaba said, a lot of things suddenly making sense. Jessie shook her head.

"At first. You're not him, though. I can see it in your eyes. You're not evil." Jessie said, getting a deep blush from Elphaba, followed by a sigh.

"There is an entire world that would disagree with you." Taking a deep breath Elphaba takes Jessie's hand between her own, "Jessie, I need to tell you something."