With changing, uncertain times like these, there were some people who were bound to become wrought with stress, worried about what the future might hold.
The Cages were not those kinds of people.
No, in fact for Johnny Cage and his daughter Cassandra, more commonly known as "Cassie", doubt, fears, and the like were usually best tucked away in favor of enjoying life to the best of their ability. And in fact, that is exactly what they were doing.
Johnny's film career was certainly less than illustrious, but he still had connections in showbiz and had made use of those connections so that father and daughter could make a movie together.
The last time Johnny had tried producing a film of his own had been a critical and financial disaster, so it was fortunate that Cassie had a lot more common sense, was more in-touch with reality, and was the better writer. Somehow, growing up with a bombastic movie star and a hardass military commander as parents had resulted in Cassie being more of a balance between the two… effectively a normal person.
Of course, Johnny and Sonya didn't deserve all the credit. Some credit was due to Johnny's close friend, and Cassie's childhood babysitter and uncle figure, Carlos Pesina. Although most people referred to him as "Mokap" due to his profession and propensity for forgetting to change out of his motion capture suit.
Such was the case now, as the three were discussing an action scene they were trying to put together, with Mokap blissfully unaware how silly he looked with little white balls on his body.
"Ok, so the fire-breathing Dragon comes in from the right, and then I hit with a sweet spin kick to the face." Cassie said excitedly.
"And meanwhile your old man has to defeat his old friend that betrayed him and trapped his wife at her job." Johnny continued, trying to make it all sound more dramatic and less ridiculous.
The stunt man portraying the "old friend" simply shook his head.
"And then the big bad, Shinnok, comes in played by yours truly." Added Mokap. "And sends his demon hordes after our heroes."
"Do we still have that three-eyed blue ogre costume from a few years back?" Johnny asked.
"The Oni?" Mokap asked in return, trying to remember himself. "I think so."
"Please don't hire that jackass you brought in to play Kano in your last movie." Cassie pleaded.
"Don't worry, kicked that creep to the curb." Johnny assured. "Still not convinced that wasn't the real Kano…."
"So what's after this one guys?" Mokap asked. "A sequel? Another horror crossover?"
"Ugh, do I still gotta do those?" Johnny asked back. "They make me look like a sell-out."
"I dunno, you beating the shit out of Alien and Predator was pretty cool." Cassie chimed in.
"See? It ain't all bad." Mokap said, always one to try and maintain the positive energy in a room.
"Hmmm…...Arnie's probably too old for them to let me fight Terminator." Johnny thought aloud. "Maybe I'll try a comic book movie."
"If anyone gets to punch the Joker for the entertainment of the masses, it's gonna be me." Cassie said half-jokingly.
"That actually sounds pretty fun." Johnny agreed. "And Mokap, you can play Spawn."
"Spawn isn't from DC….." Mokap corrected.
"Oh right right, Dark Horse or something." Johnny recalled incorrectly.
Cassie shook her head. She wasn't exactly a nerd by trade, but she still knew more about this stuff than her father.
"Ok, so for the next scene, I'm thinking—-"
Before Mokap could finish his sentence, the whole building began to shake.
"Dad, what's going on?" Cassie asked, hoping it was just something for the movie.
"Hopefully not Marty messing with the pyrotechnics again." Johnny responded.
Suddenly, a hole was blown through the wall.
"Everybody get down!" Yelled the director, before ducking for cover himself.
"Uh oh….." said Mokap.
"See, I told you guys I can make smaller booms when I want to!" Said a voice. Throw the smoke, the Cages and their family friend could make out two large glowing red circles. Like eyes….
Or lenses.
Out of the smoke walked a man in a fully-body white outfit, with a brown bulletproof vest and a flamethrower in his left hand, the tank for it strapped to his back. The mask he wore obscured all facial features, and bore two large red lenses that seemed to glow.
"So you didn't bring the whole place down for once, No Face." A female voice said indignantly. "Want a fucking cookie?"
"Only if it's extra crispy." No Face answered, just as a woman in a purple outfit wielding two katanas walked out.
Cassie's eyes narrowed when she saw the woman. Her name was Tasia. Years back, she had been involved in an operation to kidnap Cassie and her best friend, Jacquilene "Jacqui" Briggs.
Tasia and her associate were members of the Black Dragon, an infamous criminal syndicate. Their leader, Kano, had been arrested almost a year ago. That hadn't done much to stop the organization. Special Forces Intel told Cassie that Tasia and another Black Dragon involved in her kidnapping, Jarek, had taken control of the group, evidently trying to keep it afloat.
Tasia evidently recognized the two as well.
"Well well well, Sonya's brat and boy-toy, both in one place." Tasia said. "Sorry to interrupt your family time."
"Oh you're about to be really sorry." Cassie threatened.
"Cass, hold on. Let's not do anything rash." Johnny warned.
"Yeah I'd rather not get killed….." Mokap added.
"What should we do with them?" Tasia asked a third person to walk out, a man in brick-red armor. Jarek.
"Kill them both." Jarek instructed, pulling out his large axe. "That'll send the SF a message to leave the Black Dragon alone."
"Ok, let's do something rash." Johnny decided.
Suddenly, a green glow appeared on his body. Johnny's speed increased to the point where he became a green blur, as he kicked Jarek square in the chest and sent him flying.
Tasia went at him with her katanas.
"No!" Yelled Mokap, reaching out with his hands.
Suddenly, Tasia seemed to stop in place. Moments later, she was lifted into the air as a white glow appeared around her, and tossed into No Face, knocking them both to the ground.
"Woah, how'd I do that?" Mokap asked himself, looking at his own hands.
"Holy shit Uncle Mokap, you have superpowers?!" Cassie exclaimed.
"I guess I do." He answered, just as surprised as she was.
Tasia groaned as she and No Face got back to their feet.
"Oh great, the dumbass with the balls has powers to." She said annoyedly. "No Face, fry em'."
"With pleasure!" The masked madman replied, pointing his flamethrower at Cassie and Mokap.
Before he could fire, Johnny used another energy kick to knock him away.
"Boo-yah!" He exclaimed excitedly.
Tasia growled and was about to attack, before a bullet flew by her face.
"Now wait right there," said Cassie, her dual pistols in hand. "I haven't introduced you to Barbara and Jessica."
"You named your guns? Cute." Tasia replies, turning her attention to the younger Cage. "This is Stab and Slash."
"You gotta get more creative with names." Cassie jokingly suggested.
"I'll get 'creative' with the ways I cut you to ribbons!" Tasia threatened before charging forward. Cassie fired a few more shots, but Tasia deflected them with her swords in swift motions.
"You ever meet a guy named Kenshi?" Cassie asked, having only ever seen such skilled swordsmanship from her friend Takeda's father.
Tasia ignored the question and slashed at Cassie, who ducked under the sword and spun around with her leg extended, knocking Tasia off her feet and onto the ground.
Cassie quickly sprung back up and pointed her pistols at the Black Dragon.
"This is the part where you go to jail." She said happily.
Taisa scoffed. "As if."
She kicked Cassie in the gut, knocking her back, before performing a backflip to get herself back on her feet.
"I've been at this before you were in diapers, kid." Tasia pointed out. "I don't go down easy."
"If I had a nickel for every Black Dragon I've taken in that said that…." Cassie replied.
"Cassie, look out!" yelled Johnny.
An axe flew towards her head, and would've taken her out then and there if it hadn't been suddenly stopped by a white ball of energy knocking it off course.
"Holy shit, I really do have superpowers!" Mokap said excitedly.
"Hell yeah you do Uncle Mo!" Cassie replied with similar enthusiasm. The two raised their arms in an air-high-five, only to quickly take notice of Johnny getting into a fistfight with Jarek not too far away from them.
"Go help dad." Cassie instructed. Tasia tried to attack her while she was distracted, but Cassie hit her in the face with one of her guns.
Taisa stumbled back and held onto her nose. When she looked at her hand, she saw blood.
"You broke my nose you little bitch!" Taisa said angrily.
"Sorry, Jessica doesn't know her own strength." Cassie joked.
Tasia growled in frustration and went for a punch, only for Cassie to block the blow with one of her arms.
"Too slow!" she said, but her celebration was cut short when Tasia grabbed her throat with her free hand.
"W-Well…...if that's what you're into…." Cassie said with a smirk.
"Yeah, keep joking!" Tasia said with a mix of anger and sarcasm.
"Knock knock." Cassie replied, before hitting Tasia in the crotch with her knee.
Meanwhile, Johnny was taking somewhat of a beating from the senior Black Dragon member he now found himself squared up against. Not that it did anything to his mood.
"So, you're the head honcho now?" He asked right before being punched in the face. He blocked the next punch, before saying "You don't even have a cool laser eye like Kano."
Jarek caused Johnny to stumble back with a punch to the gut, before chuckling and looking at the actor with a smirk.
"I've got better." he said before a red glow filled his eyes, and laser beams shot out of them.
Mokap tackled Johnny to the ground, allowing them both to avoid the lasers.
"How did he do that?" Mokap asked.
"My guess? Reaallyyy fancy tech." Johnny replied. "That doctor Rotawang or whatever his name is must've been working overtime."
"Who?" Mokap questioned as the two got up.
"The guy who made Kano's eye, and the laser heart some Red Dragon guy used before Scorpion punched a hole in his head."
"Ouch." was the only response Mokap could muster.
"I'll say." Johnny agreed, knocking Mokap lightly on the arm before putting his fists up in a boxer's stance. "Now c'mon, let's take down this crook."
Mokap nodded, and lifted his arms as well.
"Oh please, like you two could ever have what it takes to bring me down." Jarek said arrogantly.
"Look buddy, you might have laser eyes, but you're no Superman." Johnny retorted.
Jarek charged Johnny and tackled him to the ground, beginning to pummel him.
"Ow! Good to know that you…..ow! Like to be on top. Ow!" Johnny said as he was punched repeatedly.
"Do you ever shut up!" Jarek yelled angrily, before raising both fists over his head.
Mokap ran in and tried to help Johnny, but Jarek grabbed him by the arm and tossed him aside.
Johnny took the opportunity to punch Jarek in the face, but the Black Dragon responded by firing his eye lasers directly at him. Johnny's magical energy activated on reflex, acting as a sort of shield that held off the energy.
"Dad!" yelled Cassie, knowing that Johnny's "shield" wouldn't last for long. She tried running over to him, only for Tasia to grab her and hold a sword to her neck.
"Nuh uh uh, you're gonna watch your daddy die faster than his acting career." Tasia said in a tone that conveyed all sorts of creepy.
"Would you idiots get out of the way so I can torch these losers!" demanded No Face, who had been trying to get a clear opening with his flamethrower since the fight began.
"Don't you dare fry us!" Tasia yelled.
"Grr ...I'm getting bored here!" No Face complained.
"Then take a nap."
"Huh?" No Face questioned
The pyromaniac was abruptly hit with a punch to the face, which sent him stumbling backward.
"Ok, who-" he saw who had hit him. None other than General Sonya Blade herself.
"Awww shit." No Face said.
He aimed his flamethrower at her and sent out a stream of fire, only for Major Jackson "Jax" Briggs to jump in the way and protect her from the flames by holding his robotic arms in front of him in an "X" position.
Once the flames cleared, Jax lowered his arms, ready to knock the Black Dragon out then and there.
Unfortunately for him, No Face had already run off.
"Dammit!" he exclaimed, before turning back to Sonya.
"You ok?" He asked.
"I'm fine, Major." Sonya replied in a friendly tone contrasting her formal language. "Now let's go save my family."
"Way ahead of you!" said a youthful male voice.
Jarek was seconds away from burning right through Johnny, when rather suddenly a metal chord with a blade on the end wrapped around his neck and forcibly pulled him back.
The chord was in fact a whip belonging to Shirai Ryu and Special Forces member Takeda Takahashi.
"Dammit, they found us!" Jarek complained.
"You weren't exactly hiding very well, Jarek." Sonya pointed out.
"No point in hiding when you've been following us since Australia." Tasia argued. "Now back off blondie, or your little girl loses her pretty little head."
"Sorry, I don't date older women." Cassie joked.
"I've got a sword to your neck and you're still trying to be a comedian?" Tasia asked, genuinely baffled.
"Yeah, cause she knows I'm right behind you." Pointed out Jacqui, one of her gauntlets pointed straight at Tasia's head, the guns on it ready to fire.
"Shit!" The Black Dragon yelled in frustration.
"Looks like we've caught you now." Takeda said confidently.
"You couldn't catch a cold." Jarek replied.
The ground began to shake again.
"That doesn't sound good." Mokap pointed out.
Another quake came, powerful enough to knock everyone to the ground. Tasia dropped her sword and Takeda released his whip, causing both sides to lose their leverage.
The ground burst open, and atop a pillar of rock rose a man seemingly made out of stone.
"Tremor…." said Jax, recognizing the Black Dragon instantly.
"Need me to bail you out again?" Tremor asked indignantly. "You two are almost as bad as Kano."
All parties involved began to rise to their feet.
"Don't give us that crap, just get us out of here." Jarek demanded.
Johnny tried to hit Tremor with an energy kick, but only succeeded in knocking him back some.
"I actually enjoy your films," Tremor said. "A shame I will have to kill you."
A pillar of rock came out of the ground and knocked Johnny into the air. He hit the ceiling and would've crashed right back to the ground, had Cassie not used her own energy powers to speed over and save him.
"Dad, you ok?" She asked.
Johnny coughed, before taking his sunglasses off and noticing they were broken. "Dammit, those were $500 sunglasses!"
Cassie laughed and shook her head. "Oh dad…."
Tremor walked over to the two intent on another attack. Jacqui and Sonya raised their weapons, but before they could fire, Mokap put himself between the geokinetic and the Cages.
"Hey, listen buddy, I don't care who you are, you're not hurting my friends." He proclaimed.
"Get outta the way, Mokap!" Sonya demanded.
"Your bravery is to be commended," complimented Tremor. "It is a shame you are so insignificant that no one willl ever hear of it."
Mokap sneered at that. Unexpectedly, a white glow began to form around his hands.
The energy would prove useful, as Mokap punched Tremor right across the face with all the force he could muster.
The Black Dragon clearly felt the blow, but it didn't seem to do any incredible amount of damage.
"That hurt." Tremor said angrily. He raised his fist as rock covered it, ready to slam Mokap into the ground.
Luckily for the motion capture actor, Jax shoved him out of the way and then parried the blow with one of his robotic arms.
"Major Briggs, we meet again." Tremor commented.
"This time, I'll make sure you're dead." Jax threatened.
He then uppercutted Tremor, causing him to stumble backward.
Jarek then went to blast Jax with his eye lasers, but Jacqui stepped in the way and revealed a new feature of her gauntlets: the ability to create a durable rectangular energy shield. Red energy clashed against blue as Jacqui protected her father, who quickly began brawling it out with Tremor.
Tasia picked up one of her swords and was about to go for the other, when Takeda picked it up instead.
"You do sword fighting to?" He asked as if he was having a normal conversation. "Let's see whatcha got."
Takeda considered his father, Kenshi, and his mentor, Hanzo "Scorpion" Hasashi, to be the prime authorities on swordsmanship, so he was pretty confident in his abilities, but nonetheless curious to see how this criminal would stack up.
The two began dueling, neither seeming to hold any significant advantage over the other, both evidently being well-trained in their craft.
As the two fight progressed, Sonya took the opportunity to reunite with her family.
"Everyone ok?" She asked in a tone that was somehow motherly and commanding at once, something both her husband and daughter had become accustomed to.
"Yeah…we're fine." Said Johnny as Cassie helped him up.
"All the civilians cleared out when these guys bust in." Cassie informed her mother.
"Not all of them…" Sonya corrected, turning to Mokap.
"Sorry for getting in the way ma'am, just wanted to help." Mokap explained politely.
Sonya chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, you actually did pretty good. Besides, I'm glad you're ok to."
Mokap smiled. "Gee, thanks Sonya." He said earnestly.
She turned back to Johnny and Cassie. "So when did he get superpowers?" She asked, pointing to Mokap.
They both shrugged. "Just now, as far as we know." Johnny told her.
"Huh." Was all Sonya said in response.
"Came as a shock to me too." Mokap added.
"I'd imagine so." Sonya replied.
Before the conversation could carry any further, another hole was blown through the wall, albeit noticeably higher.
All parties looked up in awe and terror as Raiden hovered through the opening, his eyes glowing red and his hands crackling with a similarly colored lightning. The black and bronze armor he wore added to the foreboding nature of his appearance. The more eagle-eyed among them instantly recognized Shinnok's amulet, which was fastened to Raiden's chestplate as a symbol of his greatest enemy's fall.
"Black Dragons, you have run rampant in Earthrealm for too long. Your time is over!" Raiden boomed, before raising his hands sending out bolts of lightning at Jarek and Tremor, striking them and immediately flooring them both.
He continued to let the energy course through them, both Black Dragons crying out in pain.
"Raiden, that's enough!" Sonya yelled at him.
The Thunder God lowered himself to the ground, but kept the lightning coming. "Their scourge has stained Earthrealm for years. Like their clan, they must be wiped out."
"They might be criminals, but they're still people!" Cassie argued.
"Yeah, you can't just execute them!" Takeda added.
"They have a right to due process of law." Jacqui pointed out.
"Your laws are exactly why scum like this continue to live." Raiden snapped back. "They are the reason Kano is still alive."
His gaze shifted to Sonya. "That, and you not finishing him when you had the chance."
"Dammit Raiden, stop this!" Sonya demanded.
"Yeah, you're talking crazy!" Jax agreed.
"None of you understand!" Raiden shouted dismissively.
He sneered, before cutting off the streams of electricity.
"Fine," he said indignantly. "Just ensure they do not escape. They are the last of the Black Dragon's leadership. Without them, that blight to Earthrealm will fall."
"We'll handle it." Sonya assured. "And don't do that again. We don't torture our enemies."
"Torture would imply I intended to keep them alive much longer." Raiden said grimly.
"Raiden, are you feeling ok?" Takeda asked, genuinely concerned.
"I am fine, Takeda Takahashi." Raiden told him. "I merely grow weary of these threats to Earthrealm, both internal and external."
"Believe me, Sonya and I have been after the Black Dragon for a long time, we get it." said Jax. "But we ain't judge, jury, and executioner."
"Perhaps not….." Raiden responded, keeping his temper down.
Suddenly, a blast of flame engulfed Raiden, to the shock of everyone present.
They all turned to see the source of the flame, No Face.
"Thought I left the party early, didn't ya!" the Black Dragon pyromaniac said with manic excitement, before cackling.
"I can't believe it…" said Tasia. "You of all people just saved our asses."
"And some quite fine asses they are." No Face joked.
"Not interested." Jarek, Tremor, and Tasia responded all at once.
"Your loss," the pyromaniac said casually. "Now let's get outta here before Lightning Guy crispy fries us worse than even I could."
"For once No Face, you make an excellent suggestion." Tremor agreed.
He began generating an Earthquake to distract the Black Dragons' foes, before creating a large hole in the ground.
The four quickly jumped into it as Tremor created a tunnel for them to travel through.
Their entrance was blocked off from behind by rock, preventing the SF and their affiliates from following.
"Damn." said Jax. "Lost em' again."
"Worry not, Jackson Briggs." Raiden said, the first time he'd attempted any kind of reassurance since his change in demeanor. "The Black Dragon can only hide and cower for so long. They will fall eventually."
"Ok…." said Mokap, clearly confused by everything that'd just happened. "So ...what now? Lunch?"
"I could go for some eats." Johnny replied, still in a pretty decent mood all things considered.
"Gods do not require food, and I have no time to waste on pleasantries." said Raiden. "Inform me the moment you are able to locate the Black Dragon again. For that matter, our efforts need to be focused on eliminating the Red Dragon as well."
Before anyone could actually respond to anything Raiden had said, he raised his arm and summoned a bolt of lightning, which instantaneously transported him away.
"Well… he seems sociable." Mokap commented.
"You get used to it." Johnny assured.
"I don't think I can ever get used to the way he's been lately." Cassie disagreed.
"Raiden's doing what he feels he needs to in order to protect Earthrealm." Sonya pointed out. "That doesn't mean I agree with him on everything, but for a while now he's helped us severely thin down the numbers of both these Dragon clans."
"Yeah, we might actually be getting close to shutting them down." Jax agreed.
Cassie had evidently shifted focus from her mother and surrogate uncle to her good friends.
"Jacqui!" she said excitedly before offering her best friend a hug, an offer Jacqui was quick to accept. "Man, feels like it's been a while since I've seen you guys." she said as she hugged Takeda shortly after.
"Yeah, we've been pretty busy." Jacqui explained.
"Free time isn't a luxury we always have." Takeda added.
"I hear that, I was lucky to get a week off to make this movie with dad." Cassie replied, understanding the pressure they were under. "Guessing that's why you guys haven't set a wedding date yet."
It was now that one might notice that both Jacqui and Takeda were wearing engagement rings.
"Not yet…" Jacqui said, a noticeable tone of disappointment in her voice.
"But we'll figure it out." Takeda said more positively.
"Well you'd better, I don't wanna get my invite last minute." Cassie said with a chuckle.
"How about we set a date when you manage to find somebody?" Jacqui suggested.
Cassie shook her head but maintained a smile. "Always trying to set me up."
"Hey, we can catch up back at base." Said Sonya in an effort to re-focus everyone.
The three younger fighters nodded and began heading in the direction of the SF helicopter that'd brought them there.
"So much for time off." Johnny said to Mokap. "I gotta get back to work, but I'll see you around buddy.
"Alright," Mokap responded nonchalantly. "Guess I'll head back home."
"I don't think so," said Sonya as she walked up to him. "I'm afraid your powers make you a variable in all this. You'll need to come with us so we can find some answers."
"Umm….." Mokap looked over to Johnny for a second opinion. He gave a reassuring nod to nonverbally tell his friend it was going to be ok.
"Ok, I'll come with you." Mokap finally decided.
Far off from the movie studio, the Black Dragons continued burrowing underground until they ended up hitting something.
A large, dark grey metal panel.
"Can you move it?" No Face asked.
"I wield rock, not metal." Tremor explained.
"Step aside, I'll take care of it." Jarek said, pushing past his colleagues.
He fired his eye lasers at the metal. Although it took some time, he was eventually able to burn through it and create an opening.
The Black Dragons stepped through to find themselves in a technologically advanced base.
"Oh shit….is this SF?" Tasia asked.
"Naw, I don't think so." Jarek replied.
Suddenly, a large force of soldiers in identical black and red gear filed into the room and pointed rifles at them.
It didn't take long for the group of criminals to recognize the uniforms.
"Red Dragon….." Jarek said aloud.
"Stand down, Red Dragons." Commanded a voice.
The soldiers lowered their weapons immediately, not a single one hesitating to obey the order.
Some began to move aside to make way for a man in red and black armor and a cape, a golden version of the Red Dragon's logo emblazoned on the back. He had a prominent scar over the left side of his face and the tattoo of a dragon on the right.
There was no question about the man's identity. The leader of the Red Dragon clan, Daegon.
"Big bad Daegon actually shows up in person for once?" Tasia asked mockingly. "Guess it makes sense, since both your errand boys are dead."
"Yes...the losses of Hsu Hao and Mavado are unfortunate," Daegon responded in a surprisingly calm tone. "Their service to the Red Dragon will never be forgotten."
"Cry me a river…." Jarek said rudely.
Daegon smirked. "If I recall, the Black Dragon is hardly in a very favorable position either, what with Kano serving…..how many life sentences, again?"
"Yeah, we've had it rough." Jarek admitted. "So now what? You're gonna finish us off? End the old clan rivalry once and for all?"
"Hardly." Daegon said dismissively. "I merely wish to discuss business. In particular, our future partnership."