A/N: This won't be pretty guys, Viper and Shao are horrid. Warning for adult situations, bloodshed, fighting. If you wish to skip this, I understand. Our beloved 'Man of Thunder' will be back in the next chapter.

Noose Tied

Shao paced back and forth in his room, the fifth day in a row he had done this. A few times, he contemplated leaving the palace, vent his frustration on a poor, defenseless animal during a hunt. The form of the clone wouldn't leave his mind...

Cream coloured skin, verging on translucent in certain light, and almost blemish free. On the small side, compared with Sindel. He could wrap his arm around the clone's hips almost twice over. Silly quirks, smoothing back errant hairs, or blowing them out of her eyes. The tilt of her head when she was learning something new, when she was engrossed in a book, her face would light up. She was particularly fond of the war journals he had written. She also studied encyclopedias of each realm, taking in information like a sponge, ever eager to learn more about her surroundings, the people around her.

He had no idea why he felt this way, felt this pull. When he had met Kara, he hadn't seen anything vaguely interesting in her appearance. Her cowering, trembling frame, quivering of her bottom lip and the tears? They only served to bore him. He wanted her to fight, not giving in until she'd lost too much blood, lost her spirit, the will to fight had gone.

Viper did fight however, and she fought with gusto. She wasn't about to cast her life aside and give in to the inevitable.

He payed her much more attention than was due, was acceptable. This worried him. He wasn't one for fawning over women. He didn't care for Sindel...

Not in the way she wanted him too.

However, she'd try and make him care. He took what he wanted...though he did feel something in his gut. He felt guilty at times. He'd taken her husband from her, stolen the throne, and taken her as his wife. She had no say in the matter.

He could chalk his current predicament up to the lack of physical interaction in his life. Not intimacy, he had no need for that. He was more carnal with his desires. In the past, he had scared many women away when they realised he wouldn't be soft and gentle with them. Eventually he found a woman with a wicked glint in her eyes, just like his own. She taught him much about courtship, lust. Feelings rarely came into play with the man. He wasn't entirely devoid of these however.

That dinner, it was over a week ago, and yet, his mind focused on that. His stomach twisted when he saw Viper, no makeup, no glitz or glamour, her hair was messy, and she was a little sweaty and flustered from rushing about, whilst preparing dinner.

Something was there, lingering in the air. The only thing interrupting his slight daze was the rumbling of his stomach. This took him away from looking at the young woman, as she idly fiddled with the cutlery in front of her, straightening them out, until their tips created a straight line on the napkin.

He ate methodically, unusual for him. Whatever was in front of him would be eaten quickly, and rather messily.

In front of Viper? He practically acted dainty, as if he didn't wish her to see him being a gluttonous pig. His thoughts turned to the various times he had maimed her. He'd lost his temper and struck her several times. He looked from his plate, his gaze falling upon Viper, who was eating some ham.

The fading bruises on her body caused his appetite to wane as his stomach dropped. He found himself wanting to reach out and tilt her head so she faced him. Admitting he had done wrong wasn't something he was used to doing. Voicing apologetic words wasn't his forte.

He picked up his goblet from the marble above the fireplace only to find it empty. He'd drained it long ago, but had forgotten. That accursed woman was on his mind, he wasn't this forgetful before. It was the damned woman who made him like this.

And yet, no matter how much he wanted to resent her, he found he couldn't...

A week later

July's warm weather had hit Outworld hard. It was scorching, too much for most. Civilians began perishing from it's sheer force, and many wilted under it's glare. Crops began turning to ash, forest and harvest fires were starting, growing in number day by day.

Did Shao do anything about this? No. He busied himself with training Viper to fight in the vast Outworld plains. Whilst his people were panicking, their way of life was falling apart and they suffered greatly, their leader was a sweaty mess as he sparred with a woman they all soon began to resent. Whenever she travelled to the city, she'd cause mayhem, start brawls, all for the sheer glory of it. She loved fighting, beating people bloody, black and blue, all in the name of the Emperor. Viper don't care. She wasn't there for them to like, she was there for Shao to like.

She jumped backwards, and slid under Shao's arms as he went to grab her. She kicked his shins, the action bringing the man to his knees. She grabbed the back his neck and dug her nails into it. Shao growled and grabbed a hand, throwing her over his shoulder. Viper landed on the hard stone with a thud. She cursed. The Emperor threw her as if she were a rag-doll. The Emperor put a hand on the back on his neck, and wiped the skin. When he withdrew it, he saw blood and felt a slight stinging sensation. A mere scratch, not enough to anger him. It had the opposite reaction however.

It thrilled him. He hauled the woman up, and placed a hand around her throat. Her eyes widened as she squirmed, his strength too much for her. It consumed her. She wasn't about to concede defeat. She used her knee, and rammed him in the ribs. She then dropped her weight, his hand dropped from her neck in shock at the move, and spun around, kicking him, her heel jabbed into his stomach. This winded the man, and he drew back.

"Better"...he coughed out. "Much better".

Viper smirked and curtsied. "Thank you". She offered a hand, and tried to haul him up. She couldn't, the man was almost triple her weight. She was determined though, and kept tugging. Shao laughed, and stood up.

"Little one"...he shook his head. A slight purr in his tone threw Viper for a loop, and he pounced when her guard was down.

"Never lower your guard! What did I tell you?"

Viper hissed. Shao hissed back. "Further riling me isn't advised, little girl".

She hissed again. "I'm not a little girl. Stop it!"

Shao stood up, dusting himself off.

"Prove it then".

Viper clicked her knuckles, and levitated. As Shao tried to swat her, like a bothersome fly, she laughed and scratched him when she could. If she wanted, she could bury her toxin in his veins, that would cripple him, as he died, rotting from the inside out.

A large corpse, to fill the bellies of the animals in the Outworld Wild-Lands...

A nasty, short burst of cackling alerted the Emperor, who punched, aiming for her face. She barely dodged it, rolling out of the way. A lumbering foot stamped on her ankle and she howled. She crawled away, anger burst from her body in a telekinetic wave, erupting violently. It hit Shao, who was thrown fifty feet in the air, before being dropped unceremoniously onto roughly-hewn, weather beaten rock.

Viper crawled up a rock-face, and sat down,hot, bothered and sweating profusely. She looked at her ankle, and saw it had swollen, at least double it's original size. The once white skin was now blotchy, stained with shades of red and purple. She shifted, pain lanced through her leg, causing her face to contort in various stages of pain. She saw Shao stand and summon his Wrath Hammer. The woman's eyes went wide as she quickly assessed the area, looking for an exit strategy.

The Hammer Shao spun around, then launched it at her. She couldn't walk, nit with her ankle in the shape it was, so she dived, awkwardly rolling sideways, and kept on rolling until she had a fair distance between her and the large, imposing weapon.

When the dust settled from it's impact on the ground, Viper shielded her eyes from the particles, and shut them for good measure. Unbeknownst to her, Shao ah seen her move, and was standing mere feet away...

Small, curious eyes opened, vivid violet, the pupils thick, but rapidly thinning as light entered them. Viper coughed and spat, tasting grit in her mouth. She covered her eyes, putting a hand above them as she tried to calm herself. Her heart was pounding, thudding.

That thudding became painful, and her breaths laboured, when she saw Shao in front of her , hammer in hand. She gulped.

Back to grovelling...

Anger flickered in her eyes, giving away her true mood.

"Emperor, I'm sorry, but, you say you want me to fight you. Then, when I do, you beat me half to death!"

Shao couldn't argue. He looked away, offering a hand. Viper was wary, rightfully so he could crush her without a moment's notice. Hesitation wasn't in his vocabulary. Viper blanched, scooting back a few inches, refusing his offer of 'help'. The Emperor pinched the bridge of his nose. He hauled her up, his other hand cupped her face, a predatory glint in his eye frightened the woman, who trembled despite herself. Eyes widened, pupils dilated. An arm snaked around her waist and pulled her impossibly close.

If she felt hot and sweaty from fighting prior, now she burned. It felt like the suns rays were burning her skin, causing it to redden. Cocky arrogance fell, replaced by an innocence, wonderment, with a pinch of fear thrown into the mix. All this flitted about her face, her body remaining still. She couldn't gauge the situation, how her body was reacting, how Shao was reacting. It felt too much, she was unprepared and yet, when she gained enough courage to look into the man's carnelian eyes, she didn't see what she thought she would.

He no longer looked as if she was his prey, nor did he looked serene, calm. It was as if he were in two minds as to how to proceed here. Viper had heard tales of how he treated women. They were objects to be played with, then thrown away. He'd been known to almost kill Sindel various times, whilst in the throes of 'passion'.

Wait...

And there it was, the ping of realization, a 'light bulb' moment.

Courtship. This is what Shao was attempting with her. Though the initial spark of interest that peaked earlier was still there, it began waning. She hadn't been intimate or physical with anyone. She'd had thoughts on the topic, though did not know how to act on them. She hadn't even explored her own body, and now, someone else wanted to do that. She wasn't comfortable here, and she willed her body to move. She sighed when it did, wriggling, and surprised when the arm around her retracted. She was set back down, onto the rock behind her cautiously.

Shao left, no warning, nothing. He merely strolled away, through the portal to the palace. Viper stood up, swore when her ankle protested, and thoroughly confused, she hobbled her way to the portal.

She wished to go to her room and think, about what, she wasn't entirely sure...

In the solitude of her quiet space, Viper ran a bath. She sorely needed one. She smelt like she'd been rolling around in the cattle sheds in the palaces grounds. That, and her body was sore, her skin tender from the heat. It was almost time for dinner, but she wasn't hungry. Her mind was firmly stuck to the Emperor's actions before.

What was he playing at? Viper was fast and fairly strong, that was for certain, but she couldn't handle him, could she? His bulk with her slight frame? He'd tear her apart, possibly murdering her in the process. That wasn't fun in her books.

Unless, she took control. Mind control wasn't something she'd attempted, but knew that Shang could do that, to a certain extent. And, as his power flowed through her veins, she pondered if she could somehow trick the Emperor, so he got what he wanted, and she didn't end up mortally wounded in the process. If she could manage this, she could manage anything...

Anything? Don't get ahead of yourself.

Her brain reminded her, and it was right. Whilst she wished she could outwit the Emperor, beat him at his own game, this would take time. Time she may well not have spare if he somehow found out her plan...

Shao burst into her room, uncaring for modesty or decorum. He marched over to the woman, who felt herself shrink back. She stood her ground though, she wanted the man to know she was not some shrinking violet, a feeble, measly little thing.

Not anymore. She decided, albeit brazenly, that she would take him on, mentally and, if need be, physically.

What she expected to happen was that the Emperor took her, claimed her violently, then stalked off, smirking. The cat who got the cream. This was not the case however, far from it.

He merely whispered sweet nothings to her, telling her to do things to herself, act out what her mind desired, using herself as the means to do so. Viper blinked, cautious, but she could no longer deny that the words had an effect.

Shao left the room, and made straight for his chambers. His words hadn't only affected Viper it seemed...

Viper undressed as if possessed, quickly yanking off her garments and casting them onto the floor. She sat on the side of the large bathtub and dangled her legs in the warm liquid. It caused ripples in it, and sent a shiver up her spine, her skin prickled. She slipped into the bath and immediately felt a change in her mind. She no longer felt afraid to give in to what Shao asked anymore. After all, he was doing this for her benefit, right? Perhaps his own too, but, honestly? The woman could not care less as she slid a hand under the water.

As if still possessed by the Emperor, she listened to his advice, giving in to something carnal, natural.

And, as she slowly discovered, a wonder...

Almost midnight found the young woman outside Shao's room, knocking on his door. He was awake, yet looked slight ruffled, as if something had disturbed his sleep earlier, thus he chose to stay awake instead.

The Emperor opened the door, eyed Viper's flushed, towel clad body, and put his hand out. This was a test, a silent proposition. If she took his hand, she was his.

The urge to smirk was overwhelming Shao, but he bit the skin of his cheek to stifle it.

Viper gazed into his eyes warily. She put out her hand, but stopped before it met his. Her body spoke with silence, though she was telling him something obvious. He already knew what she about to say. Doe-eyed, ever so innocent, she chose to say it with her mind, lips unable to move.

Help me to help you. Don't maim me. Don't kill me, please.

She took his hand.

I only live to serve you...

And what a delicious lie that was...