A battle raged as the fate of the realms was reaching a critical point. Warriors who fought for the forces of light were facing their greatest challenge yet.
Within the Netherrealm, in at Pyramid, Raiden, protector of Earthrealm, faced against the Fallen Elder God, Shinnok, who wished to bring about the apocalypse. Having gathered the Seven Kamidogu, Shinnok sought to revive the One Being and destroy all of existence so that could he recreate in his image.
"It's over, Raiden! I have everything I need to unleash destruction across the realms!" He shouted as he and the Thunder God were locked in epic conflict. "The One Being will consume your Elder Gods, the Realms shall be next and you will have died in vein!"
But the Master of Storms was undeterred. "I won't ever allow it, Shinnok! No matter what you say or do, you will never see your horrid plans come to fruition!"
And while Raiden and Shinnok fought against each other, the forces of Light were going against Quan Chi and his demonic horde. Liu Kang, the Champion of Mortal Kombat and the greatest of Shaolin Monks lead the crusade in order to save the Realms as he met against the Mad Sorcerer of the Netherrealm.
"You will not be permitted to continue!" He shouted as he launched Dragon Fire to match Quan Chi's Flaming Skulls, the Oni Sorcerer stating "And you cannot stop what is already happening."
"Can't you see?! If Shinnok succeeds, even you will perish along with the rest of us!"
"Shinnok promises me absolution. In his new era, I will have power that you will never know."
(No hourglass in this, just a reference)
Seeing how pointless it was trying to talk to this guy, Liu Kang continued to fight with all that he was in the hopes of passing him and helping Raiden. His allies had the same idea as Kung Lao was talking out as many enemies as possible, cutting away at them with his razor hat
"Pull forward!" He yelled out. "We must help Raiden and Liu Kang!"
"We're right behind you, Lao!" Jax, punching a Demon General away, Johnny Cage and Sonya were right behind him.
"Is it weird that this is practically our lives now?" Cage asked.
"I try not to think about too much." Sonya replied, blasting an Oni away with Energy Rings.
"Yeah. As long as it's fun!" Cage agreed, shadow kicking another away.
Sub-Zero and Scorpion, polar opposites and former enemies, were fighting side by side against the Shadow Priests with their own elemental powers, Arctic Ice and Hellfire. The Former Vengeful Spectre wanted nothing more than to drive his blade through Quan Chi's skull. But as long as Liu Kang was keeping him occupied, he would get his chance soon enough.
"I'm honestly surprised you came to our aid, Scorpion." Sub-Zero said while holding up his Kori Blade against a dark magic blast.
"I've already lost one family." Scorpion replied, slice a Shadow Priest in two with his Ninjato. "I refuse to lose another."
Smoke and Cyrax were right behind, the latter of the two jumps over the Fire and Ice Warriors and kicks away another Oni. "Keep fighting! We don't have much time!"
"Agreed, Smoke! Let us fight on." Sub-Zero turned to his cybernetic ally. "Cyrax, give us some space."
The cyborg assassin nod before turning to the upcoming horde and unleashing a barrage of bombs against the demons.
Princess Kitana and the Assassin Jace also fought besides one another, slicing through demons with war fans and breaking bones through bojutsu. They fought for their friends and for what remained of their home.
"If Shinnok succeeds in reviving the One Being, all will be lost!" Kitana expressed her concern in this critical situation. But her best friend was not afraid, bashing away another demon handler as they continued to head up to the Nexus. "It's not over yet!"
Kurtis Stryker, average swat officer pulled from his job to join a team of fighters dedicated to protect all of mankind, was only armed with everything the weapon's locker had to offer him and his own slightly-faster-than-human reflexes, was burning through ammo in his assault rifle before using it to whack some demons away.
"This is SO NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR!" He yelled out, switching to his sidearm ad using CQC movements to blast and evade enemies attacking as best as he could. "…But I can't complain at this point."
Another demon warmonger, tried to get him from behind, but was blasted away by an Energy Wave, curtesy of Jax. Some others were repelled by spirit arrows by Nightwolf.
"We got your back." The Major said as they continued to head upward to the battle between Raiden and Shinnok.
"Hurry! We're out of time!" The Shaman yelled as they rushed to the top.
Neither God seemed to be getting the better over the other as their battle was releasing huge of amounts of energy that was affecting the Kamidogu. They were spinning around the arena, almost violently as the Nexus was beginning to open each portal that interconnected the realms. Raiden looked in horror as this was happening while Shinnok had an expression of confusion, this was not foreseen. Could this really be the end or something beginning anew?
That is when the Fallen God step forward and saw the Relic spinning around a newly made glowing white sphere. Inside, he could see something, another world. Much like Earthrealm, but different.
"What's this? Another realm?" He spoke, but this game Raiden a chance.
With Shinnok distracted, the Thunder God casted the greatest of lightning he can muster and struck the Kamidogu with it. The relics began to crack and the portal became unstable, much to Shinnok's dismay.
"You fool! What have you done?!"
"My duty!" Roared Raiden. "No matter the cost, I will never let you take the realms!"
There was a major shockwave then. The Kombatants and Demons were knocked off their feet as they just reached the Nexus, only to see what has been conjured about ready to blow. Shinnok tried his best to stabilize it, but it was too later, and he was the closest to the blast…
"GRRRR! YOU WILL REGRET THIS, RAIDEN!"
And then everything went white. The Defenders of the Realms will survive, but be welcome to another world that had its own heroes. The mightiest of them all.
Earth: New York
The Largest Metropolitan in America. Also known as the home to many of the World's Greatest Heroes; the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic, lots more. But none are more Infamous than Spider-Man, who was swinging above the streets and skyscrapers of his hometown.
"You know, I was honestly hoping for a nice, relaxing day, even when I get to enjoy flying past the rooftops." He said to himself. "But instead, THIS IS HAPPENING!"
Giant mechanical tentacles were after the web-based Superhero, climbing up the buildings and revealing one of his most hated nemesis's, Doctor Octopus, who was currently held up in a mechanized version of the arms he's built. Spider-Man was forced to dodge them, coming from left and right in mid-air. But that wasn't the only thing as Aleksei Sytsevich, the Rhino was chasing him down at the streets, jumping into the air to try and snatch the Spider, mid-swing. The hero attached himself to the side of a building, only for it to be blown to pieces by a seismic blast, curtesy of Herman Shultz, the Shocker. Then, Spider-Man found himself in the air, dodging a giant Scorpion Stinger from Mac Gargan himself, and Spidey was pretty sure he saw him die before.
"I am don't know how many reunions I can take all at once." He said while landing another rooftop.
"Well, I guess I can come back later!" Hearing another familiar, crazy and annoying voice made Spidey turn to see his old buddy, Max Dillon, aka Electro, floating with his suit charged with electricity.
"Oh, come o-" Spidey couldn't even finish his whining as he was forced to dodge a blast of electricity, which in turn accidentally hit Rhino as he was climbing up to the roof and shot him back down to the ground. This gave Spider-Man an idea as he jumped to another roof where the sinister six had him surrounded.
"Wait, I only count Five." He said. "Where's-"
And then he was caught from behind by Adrian Toomes, Vulture. Next thing he knew, he was high up in the sky, pushed straight up the old bird who kept a tight claw on him.
"Let's see how long you can last when the air escapes your lungs!" Vulture yelled out to Spider-Man, who managed to get a grip on the green bird and pry off his claw in order to start fighting back against Toomes.
"You had a pretty good idea, Toomes, but I was hoping to have a pretty calm day today!" Spidey said back to the old flying man. "So, if you can just!"
"You'll never have a calm day for as long as you live!" Vulture said back, swinging his sharp wings back Spider-Man was able to kick him away and start free-falling back to the city below. Only for Electro and Shocker to try and fire at him with their respective/powers and weapons.
"We got him now!" said the electrified psychopath. But Spider-Man was spinning past their blasts and heading right for them. But with Vulture right behind him, this plan of attack was ill-advised. Especially since Rhino just happened to have shown up again and Spidey unfortunately overshot his trajectory and...slammed right into the Russian.
Sliding down, he looked the most dazed while the Villains went over him.
"Hmm. Should have quit and let us kill you, Puk." said Rhino.
"One calm day..." Spider-Man groaned as he tried to get up. "Is that too much to ask?" But before he could even raise his head, it was slammed down by Doc Ock's arm.
"A question you shall take to your grave, Arachnid." the former physicist remarked. "Could victory really be any easier."
But before the Six could finish off their most hated nemesis, the skies suddenly darkened around New York. Thunder roared out of nowhere and lighting began to course through the clouds...unusual, unearthly lightning.
"Uh, Dillon?" Shocker asked. "Is this you?"
"No, but I kind of wish it was." Electro was amazed by this mysterious storm. The lightning that coursed through soon began to flash and strike in various around the city.
From Space, the storm could be seen spreading country-wide...and beyond even that.
Spider-Man and his rogue gallery immediately scattered when lightning struck near where they were. All except for Electro, who had some pretty crazy ideas with this sudden freak storm.
"It's...beautiful." He said creepily as he then reached out, and by just his luck, he managed to get himself hit with a bolt. Not even a second later, the energy he gained felt like something he always dreamed up. Pure energy.
"YEEESSSS!" He screamed, and Spider-Man was still there to see his electric foe start glowing white and going hyper.
"I hate when this happens..."
Meanwhile, somewhere else in New York, two people appeared unconscious in an alley. The signature red bandana from the first guy and the shades plus belt-buckle that says cage on it make these two recognized as Liu Kang and Johnny Cage, who managed to make the trip after that sudden flash from Raiden and Shinnok. Cage was the first to awaken and pick himself up when he saw that they were in New York, but not the one he was familiar with. Seeing his friend on the ground, he quickly got to awakening him as well, shaking him a bit.
"Yo! Liu Kang! Come on, wake up, buddy! We got a situation here!"
"Ugh...uugggghhh..." The Shoalin Monk soon stirred and awoken to see Johnny standing over him. The former actor offered a hand and Kang gladly took and was pulled up.
"Cage. What happened?" was the first thing Liu Kang asked, to which Johnny replied "Not sure. Thought you knew."
"Last thing I remember was seeing Raiden blasting the Kamidogu, with Shinnok standing right next to them."
"And, I'm guessing some kind of massive explosion." Cage added. "Which...would solve our problems, if it weren't for the fact that we weren't in Manhattan during that time."
Liu Kang then took a moment to notice that, as well as the darkened sky coursing with familiar energy; the energy of the relics that ties the realms together.
"Whatever brought us here was no explosion." Liu Kang said. "It is much worse."
"I'm afraid to ask how and why." Cage remarked.
"This is not Earthrealm. At least, not the one we know. The Kamidogu must've had a chain reaction with Raiden and Shinnok's power. When they opened a new portal, it brought us here, and if I fear what has happened...we may be facing another merger with a foreign realm."
"Another merger?" Johnny say, melancholy. "These things seem to happen every so often."
"Too often. We need to find the others if they have arrived in this realm. Especially Lord Raiden."
"I don't think that's gonna be a problem." And that is when Johnny points to the trail of lightning heading out towards downtown. It was their best bet at finding the Thunder God as they made a rush for it.
Heading back to Spider-Man, he found himself continuously getting blasted and smashed against or even through some walls. Electro was more powerful than ever before, the energy he was given allowing him to finally fulfill his big pipe dream.
"As if this creep couldn't get any more annoying." He said under his breath as he quickly tried to get away from incoming streams of lightning. "I need to find some way to discharge him before he literally explodes and takes half of New York with him."
"DON'T THINK YOU'LL BE TAKING ME DOWN THIS TIME, SPIDER-MAN!" Electro roared before laughing maniacally. He continued to demonstrate the intensity of his power by sending. "I FINALLY HAVE ALL THE POWER I'VE EVER WANTED! AND THIS TIME, THERE'S NOT SHORTING OUT!"
Spider-Man feared he was right. Whenever he fought against Electro, there was always a way to turn the power he gained against him. But this was an otherworld energy, and he would need a lot more help for that if he was to survive. The other five of his Rogue Gallery seemed to have split, not wanting to get in the way of Electro's power trip. But they were actually close by, seeing this scene play out much to their amusement.
"Almost amusing." Doc Ock said. "Max having what seems to be nearly unlimited power and toying with Spider-Man until the so-called hero can't take anymore. When Electro fries, this city will have one less pest to worry about."
Fortunately for the Web-Based Hero, Liu Kang and Johnny Cage showed up to see the battle, if you can even call it that, take place amongst the two metahumans.
"It's not Raiden, but a being with similar power." Kang said. "Clearly wicked in nature."
Johnny Cage walked up and said "That's putting it mildly, Liu. Someone's clearly fighting against them, but it's a losing battle. Think this scene's playing fine without us?"
Liu Kang replied "We're in unfamiliar territory, Johnny. We must assess the situation best before taking action."
"Well, we can't just stand here! There's gotta be something we can-" Cage was interrupted when a seismic blast hit him from afar. Liu saw this and turned to see the rest of the Sinister Six coming out of hiding and confronting them.
"Was that really necessary, Shocker?" Vulture asked.
"Nah. But it was pretty fun. And these guys just waltz in on our little show."
Fearing that this may lead to a fight, Liu Kang took a stance.
"We don't know who you are." Doc Ock said as he raised his arms with Shocker, Scorpion and Rhino surrounding Liu Kand. Vulture fly overhead as the Monk found himself surrounded. "But if you're an ally of Spider-Man, then consider this your only warning. Leave. Or die."
"Me and my friend came here by mistake." Liu Kang explained. "It is you who attacked us! This need not go any further!"
"Then leave!" Rhino roared before deciding to charge right at the warrior. But Liu Kang has faced giants before, and was only thankful that this one didn't have four arms. He was able to dodge Rhino's charge, and then block Scorpion's Stinger with his own bracers, much to the mercenary's shock.
"Impossible!" Scorpion yelled before taking a dragon fire blast to the chest.
"I've faced a Scorpion more fierce than you." Kang remarked with a scowl.
"Okay, the guy just shot fire out of his hands." Shocker said. "I'm immediately regretting, Doc!"
"Hold your ground, Schultz!" Doc Ock growled before glaring at Liu Kang. "Even if this one has power, he is no match for all of us! Adrian!"
Then, the Vulture tried to attack with energized knife-like projectiles from his wingtips, forcing Liu Kang to full back, but he still suffered cuts on his arms and shoulders. The Green Bird then swept down and was about to grab him...when he was blasted away by a Shadow Ball, courtesy of a recovered Johnny Cage. The shot he took broke his glasses as he threw them off and pulled out a new pair.
"Next time you shoot someone, don't go near them till you're sure they're dead." He quoted.
"Oh great. This other guy's still here!" Shocker raised his gauntlets against the actor, but Johnny was faster as he shadow-kicked the thug away from him. But then, Doc Ock launched his arms at Cage, forcing the guy to dodge and keep out of the Mad Scientists' grip.
"Ugh! You make the Shokan look better!" Cage said as he flipped backward. "I've had it with extra-armed freaks!"
"Mock me at your peril, stranger!" Doc Ock yelled as he continued to attack with his arms, the next one managing to get Johnny...or so he thought. Much to his shock, Cage was able to two of the arms that were coming at him, with his own hands that were starting to glow green before Cage merely snapped them off with a flick of his wrist. Ock was shocked and livid at this turn of events. "How are you able to do this?!"
"When I was making movies, people always thought I was all lightwork and special effects. But the truth is...I AM the special effects."
The scientist was about to attack with his two remaining arms, but Liu Kang came in with a flying kick and knocked the scientist right in the face, taking him down. The two of them turned to see the Rhino charging at them again.
"You go high, I got low?" Cage asked, with Liu nodding at that as they took a stance.
"NO MORE FANCY TRICKS!" Rhino roared as he went at them both. But Liu Kang sprayed him with fire, which he was not too fond off before Johnny Cage sent two Shadow Balls at him before dropping into splits and sending a glowing green fist right into Rhino's crotch. The Russian toppled over himself in his tracks as he fell to the ground and held his lower region while groaning in pain. Both the Kombatants stood triumphant as Johnny tried to shake off the pain from that punch.
"Ah, that's smart, had to punch through that armor..." He said while rubbing his fist before turning to Liu Kang. "And you didn't want to get involved."
"Well, now that the situation's been assessed. Perhaps, there's still something we can do about...that." Liu Kang points to the fight going on between Spider-Man and Electro...which was not really going well for the Web-Slinger.
Spider-Man was having one of those days...which was one of the worst days of my life as a guy who he can usually take daily was pushing him to the brink as he was hit by another blast of electricity and slammed against another wall.
He spoke in a raspy voice as he struggled to get himself back up. "Okay. Just shake it off. It's just your bones, and your muscles, and your organs."
With a sinister smile on his face, Electro came down and walked towards his nemesis, coursing with all that hyper energy he just absorbed, and he didn't even looked drained of it yet.
"I've waited a long time for this!" said the mad electrified villain. "Get ready to meet your maker!"
Electro and the Six have always taken pleasure in torturing him to an inch of his life, but Spidey never gave them a chance to actually take it and he wasn't gonna give it to him now. Despite how much it hurt, he was able to push himself back while Electro was charging up another devastating attack. However, before he could take the shot, Max felt the power he had just gained, start to leave him, like it was being pulled from his very being by something, or perhaps someone, much stronger than him. Someone that coming flying out of the heavens, with his right arm stretched out to the now currently being drained supercriminal.
It was Raiden, coming out from the skies, and he was taking back the energy that he accidentally unleased. But Electro wasn't going to give up all that power that easily.
"Whoever you are, you're not taking this away from me!" He roared as he tried to hold onto the energy, but Raiden was too strong.
"It was never yours to begin with!" Spoke the Thunder God. "This power was never meant for a mortal like you!"
Pretty soon, Electro reverted back to his original self, and Raiden must've taken a little more than intended since now his normal powers were coming out as little more than sparks of static. And that pissed off the energy obsessed villain.
"Grrr! I don't know how you did that, but if you can do it, then I want to do it as well-" Before Electro could get ready for another fight, Spider-Man finally saw this as his chance to finish him off, knocking down the psycho from behind in one punch. Then, he toppled over himself, just about having enough from all that excitement. Before he could pass out, Raiden walked over to him and blue energy coursed through his hands. That energy was then sent over the Arachnid-themed hero, who was feeling better by the second, his wounds and his costume were all healed up in but a moment as Raiden finished with him and offered a hand.
Spider-Man gratefully excepted it, allowed Raiden to help him as the young hero stood in at the sight of the Thunder God.
"That was…wow. Thank you, whoever you are." He said awkwardly.
Raiden only partially raised a hand and replied "Gratitude is unnecessary, my friend. You fight well, but were no match against the perpetual energy that this fiend had managed to temporarily absorb."
"Since you managed to absorb with going all hyper on me, I'm guessing you more about what just happened."
"Indeed. I am Raiden, God of Thunder and Protector of Earthrealm."
That first part got Spidey's attention. "God of Thunder? That's weird. You wouldn't happen to be buddies with Thor, would you?"
Before Raiden could answer, a familiar voice called out to him and both turned to see Liu Kang and Johnny Cage climbing up to the roof they were on.
"Lord Raiden, it is good to see you're alright." Liu Kang said to his master.
"Ugh, there had to have been a better way of getting up here." Johnny complained.
"Liu Kang, Johnny Cage. I am pleased to see you're alright."
"Likewise, Rai-dude. We were just looking for ya. I see you made a new friend."
Spider-Man then stepped up and got to the point of asking "Uh, is now one gonna fill me in on what's happening."
Everyone turns to the Web-Slinger and Johnny was the one to day "Oh yeah. You're the guy was fighting that other electric outfit. Nice outfit."
"Thanks, but that still doesn't answer my question."
"These are my champions, Liu Kang and Johnny Cage." Raiden gestured and introduced as the monk bowed and the actor saluted with his glasses. "Now, would you be so kinda as to introduce yourself, young man?"
"Me? I'm Spider-Man. People call me Web-Head. People call me Amazing. They just don't call me late for dinner."
"Ha! I like this guy already." Johnny remarked.
"Now, with introductions out of the way, I don't suppose the other Thunder God here can explain what's going on."
Nodding, Raiden began to explain. "We are the Forces of Light, the Defenders of the Realm. For eons, have my Champions have battled against evil and darkness from the dimension that we reside from. It was only until earlier that the Fallen Elder God Shinnok came closed to destroying everything and everyone."
Ah. Now Spider-Man was starting to get. It was going to be one of those alternate dimension things. He just hoped he didn't run into yet another variation of himself. He's had enough of that already. Jokes aside, he could sense the serious in Raiden's voice and could tell that this was no simple matter. The name of this God, Shinnok, send a shiver down his spine.
"We fought hard to ensure that Shinnok would not succeed in his fight plans. However, during our confrontation, the Kamidogu, relics that tie our realms together, opened a portal to this dimension. I used my power to destabilize the portal, but something unprecedented happened."
"Which brought you all here, I'm guessing?" Spider-Man finished, to which Raiden nodded. "Yeah. Believe it or not, this wouldn't be the first time my world's had to deal with this time of problem."
"I believe it. You look like you're straight of a comic book." said Cage.
"I've heard that one before. Lucky for you guys, I think I know someone who can help."
But then, Spider-Man's wrist com started beeping and looked to see that Nick Fury, Director of Shield was on the line.
"Oh, hey Fury. Was just about to call. We might be dealing with something big soon."
"Does it involve the dimensional anomalies we've been picking up on a world wide scale at the moment?" Fury asked with a sarcastic tone.
"Dimensional what now?"
"Part of another world are merging into ours and are causing rifts that are showing places that weren't on the map to begin with. Not to mention, there seem to be some inhabitants that are not too friendly from what our most recent investigation has been showing."
"Fury, I know what you're talking about." Spider-Man replied. "I'm with you three of these other worlders right now."
"What?"
"But they're not evil! They say they fight for good! Maybe we could use their help."
"Fat chance at that!" Fury reprimanded. "We have no proof of what you say. We cannot trust anyone from this otherworld. And as long as this progresses into a crisis, we won't have time to get all buddy-buddy with these people."
"Fury…they have their own Thunder God."
Fury was silent for a few seconds before "…Again, I say WHAT?!"
"He calls himself Raiden. And that he's the protector of his realm. I'm with him right now, and I'm saying he could be an ally."
"…If his story checks out, then we'll see what useful info he may have." Fury says. "I'm sending over a jet to go pick up this guy and whoever else is there. In the meantime, you have somewhere else to be."
That is when his wrist com showed downtown New York, near the Daily Bugle where his Team and the Avengers were busy with hideous beasts with huge teeth and blades coming out of their arms and warriors, some dressed in gis and wearing black and white, fox-shaped masks with naginatas as their weapons, others having sharply made, gold and silver cladded armor and having all kinds of sword, spears and gladiatorial weapons. Tarkatans and Kahn Guards from Outworld.
"Whoa. Those are the freakiest things I've seen by far." Spider-Man commented on the sight of Tarkatans before sighing. "It's never a dull day, isn't it?"
"'Fraid not, kid." Replied Fury. "We need every available asset out there to try and pull those things back to where they came from. Get there fast. Leave those newcomers you're with to us."
And with that, Fury was out. But before Spidey could sign again, Johnny Cage walked up to him and said "You know, you could've introduced us. That guy sounds like a huge piece of work."
"Doesn't half the world know it." Joked the Web-Head. "Sorry, guys. But if you're really on our side, now's the time to prove it. Otherwise, Fury's probably gonna have you locked up and interrogated."
"This Fury of yours is right to be weary of this predicament." Liu Kang said. "The merging of our realms leads only to destruction. The end of life as we know it."
"And these other allies of yours may not be up to the task in fighting off Outworld's Forces." Raiden added. "We may offer you our aid, only if it's clear that we have a common purpose."
"Help me fight off what's going on downtown and you got yourself a deal." Spidey replied. "We'll need a fast way to get there."
"Consider it done." And that is when the Thunder God rose his hand up to the sky, causing lighting to come down and surround the four warriors. In a flash of light, they were gone, teleported by Raiden to where the next battle was taking place.