Sorry; I would have written this earlier but I got too busy watching Pewdiepie videos. O_o
Still fuming, Quan Chi plotted his next move very carefully. He could not send Kitana out, because she had already participated in the last set of matches, and to keep the crowd entertained he would probably need to withhold her until the tier after the next. He knew his warriors with any kind of technical augmentation would most likely be easy targets for Raiden, so Jax and Kabal were right out. Preferably, his next challenger should be someone free of any artificial enhancements who could attack from a far range so the thunder god would not be able to land any hits on them.
The face of the first person who met the criteria flashed through Quan Chi's mind, and the sorcerer grinned wickedly as he assured himself he had made the correct decision this time.
"Kombatants!" he bellowed, earning everyone's attention once again. "You have earned the honor of proceeding to your next matches! Again, two of you will be lucky enough to face off against kontestants of my own!"
While the crowds in the stands continued to yell fervently, more than a few on the ground below scoffed or gave strange looks at the announcement that they would again face off against Quan Chi's fighters. It had been a surprise the last time he had sprung it on them; they did not quite know what to make of it now.
Whatever the case, they watched as Quan Chi once more summoned two of his captured souls forth from the green pillars. Fujin recognized them as Smoke and Stryker.
He turned to look at Raiden's reaction; contrary to what he had expected, Raiden was staring stone-faced up at the stage. No sign of recognition passed over his expression at all.
Back up on the stage, Quan Chi met his calloused gaze with a look of smug satisfaction. Deciding not to waste any more of either of their time, Quan Chi gestured to the remaining kontestants.
"Step forth!"
Raiden walked forward without hesitation and without confirmation from Fujin. The wind god began to fear the effects the tournament may have been having on his warrior's mental and emotional state, but for now, all he could do was watch Raiden as he stepped out to accept his challenge.
Quan Chi pointed Raiden out for Stryker. As the former NYPD member descended from the stage, Raiden met his empty gaze with one of his own. He knew Quan Chi had set him up for a fight that was already stacked against him. But Raiden was through trying to think circles around Quan Chi's plans anymore; he was simply going to have to tear through his opponents one by one from now on.
After Quan Chi sent Smoke off, he directed his attention back to Raiden and Stryker and lifted his hand for the signal.
"Round one!" he barked. "Fight!"
Stryker's mindless body worked on autopilot for the first few seconds of their match; not having been too specially trained for hand-to-hand combat in his past life, the soulless Stryker before Raiden could do nothing more than throw a few ineffective punches and kicks, all of which Raiden blocked or redirected effortlessly. But still, Raiden knew what Quan Chi had planned for when he had chosen Stryker, so when the next opportunity arose Raiden pushed one of Stryker's punches out of the way and, with a window to his abdomen open, shoved the former officer back a sizeable distance.
Above, Quan Chi's blackened lips pressed into a thin, impatient line. Sure, the thunder god was making unnerving progress, but Quan Chi knew this kind of situation would be Stryker's moment to shine.
Down on the ground, Stryker, even in his mindless state, also took the situation into account and reached for his semi-automatic. Within moments discarded bullet shells were flying through the air. The sudden noise startled many of the other fighters in the arena, including Smoke's opponent, who was quickly taken care of with a slash to the throat by the former Lin Kuei assassin.
Raiden, thinking quickly before Stryker had even realized to pull out his gun, began a mad dash towards his foe, and propelled himself up into the air with lightning-speed precision before Stryker could catch him in the line of fire. Stryker continued to angle his aim as Raiden began his downward descent, and even as Raiden skidded on the ground towards him Stryker's shot was a split second behind. He still hadn't caught Raiden by the time the latter had slid past him, sticking out his leg to hook Stryker's own, bringing the sharpshooter down to his level. Stunned by the unexpected encounter, Stryker could do little as Raiden wrestled the gun out of his grasp and tossed it away before lifting Stryker with an impressive display of strength and hauling him over his head, smashing the officer's skull into the ground behind him.
The crowd screeched with appreciation as Quan Chi's glare grew hot with animosity for the cunning former deity. Waiting the other kombatants' matches out to the fullest, Quan Chi hissed when he realized in grudging acknowledgement that Stryker would not be picking himself up in the next minute.
"End of round one," he called as the last two fighters finished their first set. He impatiently waited for Stryker to push himself up on his knees before raising his hand for the next signal.
"Round two!" he shouted as Stryker sluggishly pulled himself upright. "FIGHT!"
A haggard-looking Stryker shook his head in an effort to clear the effects of his concussion, which struck Raiden as odd, seeing as it didn't seem like the souls of the former warriors would be familiar with real pain. But apparently it was so, as Stryker looked at Raiden harshly through the one eye he had not shut in blinding pain, and reached for another one of his weapons.
Raiden did nothing but put his fists up defensively. He didn't know if he could pull the same maneuver again, but even if he couldn't… the thought passed quickly through his mind that even if he didn't make it after this point, maybe the fact that he had gotten up to here was enough to spite Quan Chi, and to prove to Fujin that he had indeed done everything within his power to protect Earthrealm. It wouldn't be enough, but still, it had to count for something.
This all flashed through his mind before he recognized the weapon in Stryker's hand. All of Raiden's self-doubt vanquished in that instant.
Stryker was holding a taser.
Raiden's eyes lit up with elation at the same time that Quan Chi's did with shock and dismay. He had completely forgotten Stryker had such a tool in his arsenal. And now the drone was too stupid to realize the kind of opponent against which he was using it.
"No!" Quan Chi shouted out, disregarding his role as mediator in the tournament as he saw another fault in his plan come to fruition. But it was either too late, or Stryker had not heard him.
The next second two retractable wires went flying through the air, with deadly precision for their target. Unbeknownst to Stryker, however, was the fact that their target was anticipating their contact with an open hand.
The two probes landed square in Raiden's palm, and instead of sending him into convulsions like it would any other victim, the two pieces of metal were caught in Raiden's fist. He stood his ground firmly as he once again felt the surge of electricity run through him, several times more powerful as the supply he had received from Sub-Zero. The expression on Stryker's face registered dull surprise as he watched Raiden's eyes light up wildly.
Stryker could do nothing as Raiden sent the charge back the other way through the wire, electrocuting Stryker while Raiden swung the wire around like a jump rope, wrapping a good chunk of it around the stunned Stryker's wrists.
Raiden he yanked the cord harshly, sending a dazed Stryker flying over in his direction. As soon as Stryker was within Raiden's range, the latter drove his fist directly into the former's jaw. When the force from the impact threatened to send Stryker back to where he was originally standing, Raiden jerked on the wire again and had Stryker in his grasp once more. This time, he took Stryker in a chokehold and began driving incapacitating punches to his abdomen. The sound of Stryker's ribs being crushed punctuated the air like a beat, and the crowd continued to go wild as Quan Chi looked on in horror.
On the fourth strike, Raiden wound his fist back as much as he could, and when he brought it forth to hit Stryker again, the impact collided with such force that Raiden was able to tear through Stryker's torso like tissue. The audience continued to applaud in stunned appreciation as Raiden's fist emerged from the other side, his tattered bandages stained dark red as Stryker began to cough up more blood.
Raiden quickly withdrew his arm, and when it came back out, he held in it part of Stryker's liver (or pancreas, he hadn't bothered to check). He quickly charged it with a tightly concentrated surge of electricity and plunged it back into Stryker's abdomen. When he pulled his hand back out, Raiden discreetly managed to swipe the taser from Stryker's hand and hid it in his sleeve.
Stepping back, Raiden watched Stryker sway in place for a moment, stunned and blinded by his pain. But Raiden wasn't done yet. He raised his arms and watched as his former ally's eyes grew in half-hearted fear.
Raiden began summoning the electricity back from Stryker's abdomen, looking at his opponent as he bent over in excruciating pain.
You want a show, then I will give you your damn show, you bald bastard, Raiden thought as he decided upon his next move.
With that he drew his hands back, signaling the instant detonation of Stryker's lightning-charged organs. His torso exploded like a time bomb, and both halves of Stryker's body fell to the ground, lifeless.
Raiden stood still once more as the audience and even some of the other fighters cheered him on fanatically. While his eyes were still ablaze with power, Raiden took the opportunity to look up at Quan Chi. His defiant gaze locked steadily with the sneering necromancer's above for a moment, communicating clearly he no longer feared what Quan Chi had planned for him. Quan Chi's scowl deepened as Raiden turned around and went back to the crowd while Stryker dissipated into green mist. Quan Chi's expression grew dark as he recounted that even though their souls had been sent to the Netherrealm, they now floated freely, out of his domain, and most importantly, useless to him.
Fujin kept his expression even as Raiden took his place at his side.
"That was over fairly quickly," Fujin commented, trying to seem nonchalant.
"It had to be done," Raiden reported bluntly, taking the taser out of his sleeve. "But at least I managed to acquire this."
He fumbled with the gun for a minute as he tried to disassemble each component. Eventually, however, he had to settle for brute force as he broke the cartridge off of the end. He took back the empty box from Sub-Zero that he had entrusted with Fujin before his fight with Stryker and analyzed the battery, trying to see how it would fit in best. Of course, the two didn't match up perfectly, but Raiden played around with the battery some more, testing to see which end could ostensibly be positive or negative. After following the map he had tried to create in his head, Raiden finally placed the battery in a way that produced small blue sparks from the ends of the exposed wires. Smiling, Raiden flipped the section of artificial spinal cord around and pressed the power button that had been installed in case a Lin Kuei operative required an emergency shut-down. He placed his fingers near the tips of the exposed filaments and again was able to produce a strong current of static. He had solved the puzzle.
"Here, Fujin," he directed, pushing his sleeve back and undoing the bandages on his arm. "Help me tie it down."
Fujin apprehensively did as he was told, holding the circuit box in place as Raiden rewrapped the long strips of cloth around his forearm. Now that the wires were constantly in contact with his skin, hopefully Raiden would be able to harness the power from the battery whenever he needed it. Fujin silently applauded his friend for his craftiness, but was also concerned about another issue, which he took the opportunity to address as Raiden fixed himself up.
"Raiden," he started, barely earning a glance from his friend. "Are you faring well?"
Raiden looked back up at him strangely, pausing from tucking in the last of the strip.
"What do you mean?" he asked for clarification.
Fujin let go of his arm, leaving Raiden to finish tying it up himself.
"You entered this competition with reservations, understandably so," Fujin remarked. "But now you fight with seemingly no qualms. You faced Stryker just now as if he were a stranger, and not one of your own men from only so long ago."
Raiden's eyes narrowed.
"I had no choice," he reinforced, waiting for Fujin to get to his point. "Why does this trouble you?"
Fujin looked back directly at him, silently warning Raiden to adapt a less forceful tone of voice. The last thing he needed was to pick a fight with his friend, not now, and definitely not here.
"All I am saying is that is fine if you are upset about the situation. I do not wish for you to suppress your emotions in the name of doing what 'has to be done.' Once you ignore your conscience and instead choose to become nothing more than a machine whose sole operative is to destroy, then you become no better than Quan Chi's soldiers."
He paused as he saw the weight of his statement sink into Raiden. The latter looked away and nodded wordlessly.
"Will you be alright?" Fujin again asked as Raiden continued to avoid his gaze. Raiden again nodded without a sound, making it clear that was all the answer he was willing to give Fujin at the moment.
Fujin sighed and turned back to watch the tie-breaker rounds with him. He remembered he still needed to get back to Johnny somehow, but not in front of Raiden.
He would just have to wait for his next opportunity.
I obviously have no idea how tasers work. :D Let's just assume the Lin Kuei happened to build their battery compartments almost exactly the way that would accommodate a battery from one.
I was tempted to do a "GET OVER HERE" joke with Raiden and the wire, but I didn't feel like stealing Scorpion's gimmick. So I just referenced one of his fatalities instead.