Chapter Twenty-Eight: Team S-F's Mission - Expedition Into Latveria, Part Three

SNAFU'S ANNOUNCEMENTS: So, there is a reason as to why I haven't been updating MK vs Marvel. Aside from the fact that I've been working on ideas for MK vs Injustice, I've purposely halted updating when Mortal Kombat 11 was released. But I continued to write. So after a fuckton of revisions, one fried laptop, and even more revisions, here we are. Probably got about two more chapters for the Latverian mission before I can properly continue with the fanfic. That and much to my embarassment, I kinda forgot my password for my account. Bah.

And yes, I plan on doing a MK11 Character Banter fanfic. This time, aside from videogame and comics, I'm also adding anime characters as well.

Kronika's Keep - the Netherrealm.

She stood before the hourglass, a massive construction of crystal that contained the Sands of Time, watching the events play out in Earthrealm and in its counterpart.

She was the Keeper of Time, the Guide to the Realms' Destinies.

And in the years since Shinnok was reduced to a living head, she has not been very happy.

Kronika had not been happy for the past several decades. Raiden had undid her work, her perfection when he resetted the timeline. Armageddon and Shao Kahn winning the ultimate prize was all part of her plan. She would had preferred it that Shinnok would had taken the prize, but the end results did leave her satisfied.

All threats to her design were eliminated - save for Kitana, who would go on to kill Shao Kahn - and the balance would be restored.

But Raiden ruined it all.

Icy blue eyes watched with disdain as the war between Raiden's forces and Earthrealm began to unfold. She watched as the first salvos were fired when Kano killed Elektra and Shang Tsung stole her soul. She watched as Shang Tsung led the attack on the Red Lotus, resulting in the demise of Jade.

But what surprised her was how the duplicate Earthrealm's defenders quickly came to the defense of the Exiled Kombatants, especially the Cage Family.

Kronika frowned. She had a particular hatred for the Cage family, due in part to what she and Cetrion assumed to be sheer dumb luck on their side. Kronika had seen what Cassandra Cage would become and what she would do, and had taken steps to stop her from coming into being.

She failed.

Johnny and Sonya were supposed to die when Sindel slaughtered the heroes, with only Liu Kang and Kitana surviving. But it was the opposite that resulted. Johnny and Sonya both survived and Liu Kang and Kitana were both killed. Even worse, Johnny and Sonya were successful in reviving Jax, Kuai Liang and Hanzo Hasashi.

Raiden was right about humans. They were so unpredictable.

Her son had been defeated twice; the first by the father, and the second by the daughter. She had foreseen Shinnok's defeat at the hands of Johnny and Cassie, hence her attempts to thwart that vision from becoming a reality.

First, she sent Geras to murder Johnny shortly before Kano had stolen Shinnok's Amulet. Johnny had been successful in fending off her most loyal enforcer, even knocking his head clean off his shoulders. But he didn't count on Geras reviving and resuming the attack. Had it not been for the intervention of that damned sorcerer, then Johnny Cage would've been dead.

When that failed, Kronika sent Cetrion after Cassandra Cage and Jacqueline Briggs whilst she was on her first tour in Kurdistan. Whar Kronika didn't expect was for Cassie to drop several tons of rock and debris on her daughter using high-grade explosives, allowing them to escape the trap.

When Shinnok was released from his amulet, Kronika and Cetrion had hoped that he would be able to finally eliminate the Cage family once and for all. Their hopes were dashed when Cassie rescued her father and defeated Shinnok.

"You should had let me kill them, Mother."

Cetrion. Kronika didn't turn around, but was aware of the presence of both her daughter and her most loyal inforcer.

"Twice we had them in our power," Cetrion continued. "We had both Liu Kang and Johnny Cage in our power, and we did nothing. When Cassandra Cage led the rescue mission to retrieve her sister and her former team, we could have destroyed them then and there."

Kronika turned around. "You forget yourself, daughter."

The female Elder God bowed her head. "Forgive me, Mother. I spoke out of turn."

"Nothing to forgive, daughter," the immortal timekeeper replied. "I too, share you concerns regarding the Exiled Kombatants." Kronika gestured to Geras. "I had intended on using Geras to ambush Cassandra Cage and her team once they arrived in Hong Kong."

With a wave of her hand, Kronika change the view from the current war to what had happened days earlier in the Macau ruins. Geras was tracking Cassie and her team, waiting for the precise moment to strike. Then, Subzero, Scorpion, the Red Dragon, and finally, Raiden appeared. But before Geras could attack, the building he was hiding had collapsed upon him.

Cassie and Ravenna had unleashed the powers of the Phoenix Force, which had caused several buildings to fall. One of which not only had several Red Dragon snipers perched on the roof, but also Geras hidden on the bottom floor.

If there was one power that could rival that of her own, it was the Phoenix Force.

"I had long since knew where Raiden's former champions had fled to," Kronika continued. "Three times, I had sent Geras to eliminate the former revenants and the Cage family. Three times, he failed."

"I will not fail a fourth time, Lady Kronika," Geras said. "Command me, and I will not fail again."

Kronika turned to her most loyal enforcer. "Oh, I know, dear Geras. But it is out of our hands now. The Exiled Kombatants have powerful gods on their side. Anyone wise would not kill friends of that sort."

That didn't mean that she could...influence certain parties in doing her dirty work. Raiden's patience was wearing thin when Shang Tsung was unable to produce results regarding his missing champions. It had been Kronika who approached Shang and revealed their location, hoping that Raiden's forces would eliminate the proverbial thorns in their side.

But she once again underestimated the Exiled Kombatants. She had assumed that the duplicate Earthrealm was defenseless. But, as she watched Kano's failed attack on Cage Incorporated, the old mortal adage rang true: "Assumptions are the mother of all fuckups."

Now, she spent her time looking into the alternative Earthrealm's champions. They were indeed a credible threat. The mightiest heroes of Earthrealm, masters of technology, martial arts, the arts of the mystic and wielding unique powers that made them feared by other mortals.

And there were gods.

Actionally, otherworldly beings that saw themselves as gods. But gods nonetheless. Kronika knew of these gods all too well. Especially Hera.

Kronika had seen the confrontation between Hera and Raiden's generals inside the Sky Temple following his immolation. Before that, there was the confrontation with the Greek goddess and her warmongering progeny.

[Flashback - some years earlier...]

Kronika had faith in her beloved enforcer to get the job done.

Despite the fact that the Cage family and the former revenants were now in that alternative Earthrealm, they were still a threat. Originally, she had planned to wind time back and rewrtie history, ushering in a new era. But Raiden's actions in absorbing Outworld with Earthrealm had somehow, restored the balance. Not perfect, mind you, but for the moment, Kronika was satisfied.

That left one loose end to tie up.

Once again, she sent Geras after the Cage family. That damned sorcerer that saved Johnny years earlier was now gone, which meant that whatever protection they had was now gone. Once they were dealt with, the Red Lotus grandmasters would be next.

Once again, she was monitoring Raiden's process. She felt nothing as she watched Kano and his son rape and murder Vera Briggs. Or that Frost went into hiding after killing Tanya for her crimes against Li Mei's village, wanted by her former clan and the Shirai Ryu. She especially felt nothing as Raiden imprisoned and tortured Fujin.

She was still monitoring the events in Earthrealm when Geras returned.

"I trust that you were successful in your task, Geras?" Kronika asked, not turning around.

"Mission failed."

The voice was male, but was not Geras.

Kronika spun around. A redheaded woman in a smart business suit stood alongside a man with the build of Shao Kahn. In one hand, was a satchel. Kronika noted the dripping blood that seeped from it. Kronika noted the intense power radiating from both the man and woman. She also took note of the yellow lightning that crackled at her fingertips, and the blood splatter both on his chest armor and on his bloodied axe.

"Kronika, I presume?" the redheaded beauty asked. "It seems you forgot something." She then turned to the big man beside her. "Ares."

Grinning, Ares opened the bag and upended its contents. Body parts, fell to the ground, the last thing to fall was Geras' head, still alive.

"This your man?" Ares said, that bloodthirsty grin still on his face, and enjoying the look of anger and shock on Kronika's own. "Gotta admit that little time-stopping trick was a tad annoying, but he put up a good fight."

"Lady...Kronika..." Geras groaned. "Please...forgive..."

CRUNCH.

Geras was silenced when Ares crushed Geras' head under his heel. "Shaddup, you. Grown-ups are talking."

Kronika lowered herself to the ground. "No one knows the location of my Keep. How...?"

"It was easy," the reheaded woman replied. She then introduced herself. "Hera Argeia. Goddess of childbirth, marriage and fidelity. As to how I was able to access your precious keep, it was your enforcer who showed the way."

"Geras had nothing to do with you," Kronika snapped. "By what right do you attack him?"

"Because your man tried to kill several people under my protection," Hera replied. "Raiden's former champions. Oh, yes. I know all about their origins. I looked into their souls. While some things are left to be desired, they...intrigue me."

"Intrigue you how?"

Hera began to pace. "Oh, Jonathan's fidelity towards his wife, for starters. I even sent Aprhodite to test him, to seduce him. Any other man would crack under Aphrodite's charms, mortal or otherwise. But Johnny surprised even me when he refused Aphrodite, thus keeping his marriage vows intact. For that, although he nor his family don't know it, they are under the Gods' protection."

If anything, Kronika looked rather amused. "That will not save them from me. And what of the Red Lotus?"

"Oh, from what I heard, the former revenants are under the protection of our Japanese counterparts," Hera replied. "They are far from your influence, Kronika."

"And what is to stop me from rewinidng time and erasing them from existence?" Kronika sneered.

"You could try that, but as I've said, before. They are protected," Hera repeated. "Their lifeforce are bound to our Earth. The attempt would merely end in failure. So take this failure on the chin, Lady Kronika, and heed my warning: Quit while you're ahead."

"And if I refuse?" Kronika challenged.

Hera's lips twisted into a sneer. "Then you will receive another visit from, shall we say, a much less patient deity. One even more powerful than me." With a formal bow that pretty much read "Fuck You" to Kronika, Hera raised her hand to the sky. Two bolts of golden lightning struck both Hera and Ares, the pair disappearing from Kronika's sight.

[End Flashback]

"So what do we do?" Cetrion asked.

"My powers are not as effective in the alternative Earthrealm as it is here," Kronika replied. She turned back to the screen, watching the Shokan/Seidan attack on Doomstadt commence, with Cassie Cage leading the charge. "For the moment, all we can do is watch, and see how this unfolds."

Cetrion folded her arms across her chest. "I do not like this, Mother."

"Neither do I," Kronika admitted.

Doomstadt, Latveria - now.

With Stryker and Ms. Marvel...

A Shokan warrior charged at Stryker, who quickly spun around, aimed, and squeezed the trigger on his Glock. The hammer slammed into the bullet's primer cap, causing the powder to ignite. The powder's expanding gases drove the enchanted, armor-piercing projectile spinning down the barrel, while at the same time, the slide jerked back, ejecting the spent shell, and jacking another round into place.

Carol Danvers had counted the rounds in her head. A standard, police-issued Glock 22 pistol used .40 caliber bullets in a fifteen-round clip. And not once, did she see Stryker reload. And there were at least twenty bodies left in his wake.

Maria Hill and Olivia Hook had the advantage of knowing who the Red Lotus grandmasters were sending to Cage Incorporated, of which they shared that information with Carol herself.

Ms. Marvel was the third Red Lotus plant following Maria Hill and Olivia Hook. Originally planned to be placed within Sonya Blade's Tactical Response Unit as a spy before agreeing on sending Mey, Carol joined S.H.I.E.L.D. to keep an eye on the Avengers and ensure that won't become a threat to the Red Lotus.

Carol had heard of Stryker's exploits back when he was a cop some twenty-plus years earlier. Now, seeing him in action was quite the experience.

Stryker's weapons were a leftover from his time in the Netherrealm; Quan Chi and Shinnok had enchanted his pistols, allowing him to fire without reloading, thus giving him infinite ammunition. Even as a revenant, he was a crack shot, as many of Earthrealm's military forces and Sonya's S-F troopers had been slain thanks in part to him.

First thing he did upon waking up alive after nearly 30 years as a revenant? He puked his guts out. Afterwards, Liu and Kitana had filled in the details, and even he had to admit that the Cage family had been given a raw deal.

But now, he was given a chance to redeem himself for his crimes.

He had single-handedly stopped terrorists inside the Greenberg Tower, and rescued passengers inside a speeding bus rigged to explode. Now, he found himself once again on the front lines of an otherealm invasion. Funny how he had experienced it from both sides. Now, Raiden was doing the invading. All because Johnny Cage had gotten the best of him.

But now, he was in the zone. There was a reason why he was known as a one-man SWAT team back in Deacon City. And he was showing why that was a well-deserved title.

Cassie's orders were simple: save as many civilians as you can, and lethal force was authorized.

Stryker liked those orders. It allowed him to blow off some steam left over from his days as an undead thug of Quan Chi.

Before leaving for San Francisco, Stryker and the others had been briefed in regards to the Cage family. So far, neither side violated the non-aggression pact, but the mistrust was still there. In all honesty, Stryker couldn't blame them. He dished out his own fair share of misery upon Sonya and S-F back when he was a revenant. And he was certain that Johnny and his family had their own eye on the Red Lotus.

A Seidan guardsman was creeping up on his blind side. Carol saw him coming and fired off an energy blast. Stryker quickly sidestepped Danver's blast as it caught a Seidan guardsman in the face. The guardsman was dead before he hit the ground. The superheroine smirked at the former cop. "You're welcome."

Stryker responded by raising his pistol, and after taking aim, fired.

Carol cocked her head to the side, feeling the bullet whiz past her. Spinning around, she saw that Stryker had blown out the eye of a Shokan warrior.

Now, Stryker smirked at Danvers. "Right back at ya."

'I'm starting to like this guy,' Carol thought as she dodged a sword from a Seidan warrior. Taking a page from Johnny Cage's playbook, she let loose with a superpowered uppercut that literally knocked his head from his shoulders, and punted it at a charging Shokan, distracting him long enough for Carol to fire an energy blast at its chest, obliterating his heart.

The battle raged on.

With Jacqui...

The Seidan guardsman look of shock was short-lived as Jacqui slammed her fist into the Seidan's face, breaking her nose and sending the cartilage into her brain.

From her left, three Shokan warriors came charging forth, bladed and blunt weapons raised to rend and break her limb from limb. Jacqui charged head-on, and dove into a slide, right between the middle Shokan's legs. Quickly turning around, she got back to her feet, raised her bionic arms, and slammed them down to the ground. It had the desired effect, as the three Shokan stumbled from the brief, albeit violent, tremor. A trick she picked up from her father.

Jacqui made quick work of them; the one of the left lost his head following a blast of green plasma, another trick she picked up from her father. The second had its throat crushed, while the third's head exploded like a melon after Jacqui crushed it with her hands.

'Jacqui,' Cassie's calm voice penetrated her head, 'Don't let your emotions control you. You control them.'

It had the effect of calming Jacqui down. Her focus now returned, Jacqui attacked.

It felt weird, her longtime friend and sister in all but blood inside her head. It reminded her of Takeda and his father. Cassie, a mutant? Uncle Johnny and Aunt Sonya remarried with another daughter, who was at Utopia aiding the defenses and helping those who can't fight escape?

And the Earthrealm they've escaped to, and made their home for nearly 20 years...

The bionic arms felt odd, but they worked just like her normal arms. "You'll get used to 'em. Trust me. I know the feeling," her father had told her.
At least now she didn't have to wear those heavy gauntlets. And she had to admit that her uncle and aunt had some pretty cool tech for her to play with.

Still boggled the mind as to how Johnny managed to convince Sonya to build Cage Incorporated using S-F tech. Once things calmed down, that was a story she definitely wanted to hear...

With Frost...

Ares wasn't the only one with the battle madness, as Frost herself was under its power as well.

One Shokan warrior nearly lost her footing as she slid along the sheet of ground ice Frost had shot earlier. Then she was sent flipping up and over when the rogue Lin Kuei slid into her. Not missing a step, she formed an ice grenade and lobbed it at the airborne Shokan, freezing it instantly. It shattered upon impacting the ground, reducing it into bloody chunks.

The daughter of the late Bi-Han somersaulted backwards, creating an Ice Klone. The Shokan that targeted her tried to stop, but slammed into the Ice Klone, freezing upon impact. Frost punted the head off his shoulders, and kicked it Pele-style into the head of a Seidan warrior, stunning him.

The ice kukri to the heart finished off the Seidan.

A scream caught Frost's attention. Turning her head, she was too late from stopping a Seidan guardsman from impaling an innocent woman. It reminded Frost of the massacre at Li Mei's village. She formed a second ice grenade and threw it at the Seidan.

He was pulling his sword out of the woman when the ice grenade hit. This time, the grenade exploded, leaving frozen body parts, blood and gore behind.

Frost quickly checked for a pulse on the woman. There was none. She was dead.

'No time to mourn,' Frost thought as she returned to the battle. 'Gotta keep moving.'

With Cassie...

Back in Earthrealm, Cassandra Cage's relationship with her military mother was strained. In all honesty, she had nearly written Sonya off as a lost cause due in part to her choosing her job over her family. It had been her father who had convinced her to give Sonya a second chance.

Without the threat of Raiden and Earthrealm hanging over their heads, Sonya began to rebuild her relationship with Cassie. Back in Earthrealm, Sonya had taught Cassie Kempo. Cassie hated it. So Sonya switched it up, teaching Cassie Taekwondo. Aside from that and teaching Cassie Yoga (and forcing her to take ballet classes in between), once Cassie was sixteen (i.e., thirty-two in actuality), Sonya began firearms training, preparing Cassie once again for the military.

Another thing Sonya had taught Cassie was the Center Axis Relock; a shooting system providing stable firing platforms in multiple scenarios. Sonya herself had learned the style during her first marriage to Johnny, and passed on her skills in the weapons kombat system to Cassie.

From the number of bodies with bullet holes left in Cassie's wake, she was a natural. Even more funny was that Cassie and Sonya were the only ones in this realm who knew the weapons system style.

She was working with a single Desert Eagle, as she worked better with a single pistol when using the Relock system. Like Stryker, her pistols and Desert Eagles were now enchanted, thanks to Magik. The enchantments were done to her weapons following their return from Earthrealm, meaning that not only carrying around spare ammo was now a thing of the past, but she could focus some of the pryokinetic abilities of the Phoenix Force into the weapons, giving them an extra kick.

"You helped me with my relationship with Piotr," Magik had said when she performed the ritual. "Consider the debt I owe you paid."

Good thing too, since most of the Seidan guardsmen were coming for her. Now, the Shokan and Seidan attacks on her person were increasing in strength, forcing her to revert back to the aforementioned Magnum and her mutant abilities.

Without turning around, Cassie aimed, and fired, blowing a Seidan's head off. Ducking under a wild Shokan swing, Cassie kneecapped him, followed by grabbing him and pumping several bullets into the Shokan's torso, before flinging the now-dead warrior into several Seidan guardsmen, crushing them under the weight.

"CASSANDRA CAGE!"

She felt the murderous intent long before the Tigrar Shokan's enraged roar coming from her side. Cassie recognized the voice. It had been over twenty years, but she recognized the voice.

Cassie spun and raised her Magnum, hoping to get a shot off. But when she saw the Tigrar's left upper and lower hands chambered back, ready to throw a punch that would've pulverized her insides, she raised a psionic shield.

Just as Kintaro attacked, the dual fists smashing into Cassie's shield and sending her sliding back several feet, stopping only when Cassie slammed back-first into a transit bus that She-Hulk and Iron Fist was helping to evacuate.

'Ow,' Cassie mentally thought. 'That really hurt.' She stood up and faced her attacker.

"Spawn of Cage," Kintaro growled.

"You should be dead," Cassie replied. "Mom killed you."

"I live again," Kintaro replied. "And I will prove it by killing you."

"Lemme guess...Shang Tsung? Since when he was into necromancy?"

"It will not matter once you're dead!"

Kintato lunged. Cassie hopped back out of his range. But the Sparta-style kick from Kintaro caught Cassie in the chest, knocking not only the gun out of her hand, but also the wind out of her and breaking half the bones in her ribcage...of which the powers of the Phoenix Force began to heal, but as with Hotaru's sneak attack, Cassie would be feeling it for a while.

As Cassie got back to a vertical base, Kintaro inhaled, and from his gullet, came a stream of fire that enveloped Cassie.

Unfortunately, instead of immolating the female Cage, as it had done with Kabal decades earlier, it had the opposite effect.

When testing out the limits of the Phoenix Force under the watchful eye of her parents, Cassie and Ravenna discovered that exposure to fire amped up the healing factor. It had been a dare between the sisters. A dare that turned out to be beneficial for the both of them.

Kintaro looked at the burning woman and laughed. "Humans," he gloated. "Still less ugly when they burn."

His supposed victory lasted only five seconds. Kintaro's eyes widened in shock as the flames dissipated. Cassie was unharmed. Not even her clothes were charred, or even singed.

"No!" Kintaro shouted. "Impossible!"

Cassie smirked as her irises went from blue to red. "Phoenix Force. And fire amps up the healing factor. And I'm done playing with you."

Kintaro roared.

And Cassie stretched out her hand.

Kintaro froze in place. No matter how hard he tried to move, he couldn't break Cassie's telekinesis. With her other hand, Cassie willed her Desert Eagle back into her hand, aimed, and blew out Kintaro's kneecaps.

Kintaro roared in agony as he felt the enchanted 50 caliber Action Express rounds destroy bone and cartilage, rendering him defenseless. The final round went through his right eye, obliterating the organ and leaving a melon-sized exit round. Then, to make sure that Kintaro was dead, Cassie flipped him over, and with bonecrushing force, drove him headfirst into the pavement.

Kintaro's head exploded like a melon.

"Come back from that, asshole," Cassie said as her eyes returned to normal.

"That was brutal."

Takeda.

He had just put town a trio of Seidan guards when he witnessed Cassie's brutal execution of Kintaro.

"Fight now, talk later," Cassie snapped.

"HELP!"

The scream came from a building.

A woman was visible through the open window. "They're inside and trying to break down the door!" she shouted. "We got children in here! Help us! PLEASE!"

Takeda turned to Cassie. "Go! I got this!"

Cassie nodded and returned to the fray, while Takeda charged inside the building.

More Seidan and Shokan were closing in on her location. One Desert Eagle wouldn't be enough this time. Cassie pulled out the second Magnum and took aim.

"Okay, fuckers." Cassie felt her blood heating, feeling the battle madness rush through her. "Let's dance."