CASSIE: Here’s how you access incoming reports. Swipe here to
crosscheck them with past reports. The software can suss out the
deltas.
SONYA: Now that’s progress.
Cassie smiles and leaves her to it. Sonya pulls the chair she’s
seated in closer and starts looking over the data. Across the
command centre, both of the Johnny Cages look over at her with
adoration, with Young Johnny flashing a cheesy smile. Sonya
briefly looks over at them, trying her hardest to smile back (as
non-flirtatiously as possible). Young Johnny leans over to his
older counterpart.
Y. JOHNNY: So… I marry Lieutenant Princess over there?
Old Johnny looks in her direction, also cracking a smile.
Y. JOHNNY: I always have had a thing for blondes. Ever since
Suzie–
The older Johnny catches the thought and speaks at the same
time as his younger self.
JOHNNYS: –Donardo. Junior year.
O. JOHNNY: Take it from me, heh, you didn’t miss much.
He points over to Sonya.
O. JOHNNY: That woman over there? She’s the real deal.
Young Johnny tilts down his sunglasses.
Y. JOHNNY: Oh, I got eyes, brother. As Younger You, I solemly
swear to tap that at the earliest opportunity.
His words instantly cause Old Johnny’s smile to drop from his
face. Around them, the other soldiers in the command centre gasp
and look at Younger Johnny in disapproval. Sonya looks
particularly upset, while Cassie shoots a look of disgust in his
direction. As Old Johnny hangs his head in disbelief, Young
Johnny turns to him.
Y. JOHNNY: What? It’s our destiny!
Old Johnny stands up from his chair and grabs his younger self by
the ear, dragging him up amidst protests of pain.
O. JOHNNY: Out.
He forcibly drags Young Johnny out of the command centre.
SONYA: How the hell do I ever sleep with that guy?
She looks to Cassie, who walks over to her.
SONYA: Who’s… your father. I can’t believe I just said that.
CASSIE: Look, my dad isn’t the Johnny you know. He… grew up. I
like to think you rubbed off on him. As a kid, I looked up to
both of you.
SONYA: My dad – your grandfather – was my hero. Called me Private
Pun’kin.
CASSIE: Huh. That’s what you called me.
There’s a moment of awkward silence between them.
CASSIE: We should get back to work.
Sonya nods and Cassie takes her leave. Sonya looks back to the
interface.
INTERFACE: Biometric verification required.
The interface scans her eyes.
INTERFACE: ID verified – General Sonya Blade.
SONYA: General Blade? Dad would be proud.
The screen brings up a picture of Sonya saluting in her combat
gear, alongside her biography (which lists her as deceased). Sonya
looks around for a moment, seeing that Cassie is currently in
discussions with a couple of her subordinates. She turns back to
the screen and begins to type in some commands.
The scene cuts to the Special Forces’ hangar. Young Johnny is
walking away from his older self.
Y. JOHNNY: Untwist your panties, Older Me. I’m a star.
Old Johnny grabs his younger self by the shoulder and pulls him
back, getting in front of him at the same time and staring him
down.
O. JOHNNY: This is a military operation, not a movie set!
Y. JOHNNY: I’m only the best fighter here. But YOUR–
He prods his older self.
Y. JOHNNY: –daughter’s got me sitting at the kids table.
Older Johnny slaps Young Johnny on the side of his head, causing
his sunglasses to dislodge. After a moment of shock, he hastens
to put them back on properly.
O. JOHNNY: OUR daughter is C.O. A little humility MIGHT earn her
respect!
Y. JOHNNY: Dad always said “Hungry people eat lunch, humble
people serve it.”
Old Johnny prods Young Johnny in the chest.
O. JOHNNY: Dad was an asshole! Hollywood made us–
He removes his younger self’s glasses and drops them on the
ground.
O. JOHNNY: –an even bigger one!
He then stomps them into bits. Undeterred, Young Johnny pulls out
another pair of sunglasses from the side of his pants and puts
them on his face. He smirks, and then jumps into a comically
over dramatic fighting stance.
Y. JOHNNY: Heee-yaaaaah!
Older Johnny shakes his head in disgust and assumes his own
stance.
They fight. One would assume that the younger Johnny would have
every advantage fighting an aged version of himself. But for all
of his speed, strength and skill, the older Johnny knows his every
move before he himself even pulls them off. Old Johnny is careful
not to even injure his younger self, but even with this handicap
he has no trouble taking him down. Within moments, Young Johnny
is kissing the tarmac.
O. JOHNNY: An old man just kicked your ass.
Young Johnny struggles back to his feet and dusts himself off.
As he begins to walk away, it’s clear the beating has disconcerted
him, but he tries to maintain a false bravado nonetheless.
Y. JOHNNY: …You got lucky.
The scene cuts back to the Special Forces command room. Sonya is
still seated at her desk, checking through the computer interface
for more information about her future self. She presses a link
on the screen, and an audio snippet from the earlier mission in
the Netherrealm begins to play. The screen displays a new
text box in bright red: “BODY NOT RECOVERED”
CASSIE: What?! I’m–
The audio clip distorts, cutting out part of Cassie’s earlier
statement.
CASSIE: –leaving you behind! –C’mon, move it!
Sonya instantly recoils in confusion and surprise at seemingly
hearing that her future daughter left her for dead. The growls of
the Netherrealm demons can be heard in the distorted background.
CASSIE: Let’s go, let’s go, move it!
SONYA: What…?
She gets up from her seat and storms over to Cassie.
SONYA: You left me behind?
CASSIE: Excuse me?!
SONYA: My final mission!
CASSIE: How did you–
She looks over to the screen Sonya was looking at, seeing the red
message for herself.
CASSIE: Shit.
Cassie begins to lose her composure.
CASSIE: No, I’m not doing this, not now, not with you!
She tries to turn away, but Sonya grabs her by the shoulder and
pulls her back.
SONYA: Dammit, Cassie! You abandoned me?
CASSIE: To save the company! That was my order!
SONYA: Who the hell gave you that order?!
CASSIE: YOU did.
At these words, Sonya looks away, doubt etched across her face.
CASSIE: Read the full report, Lieutenant.
Before she can say anything else, all the screens in the command
center turn red and an alarm begins to ring. An “ALERT” message
appears on several of the screens.
CASSIE: Go to Condition Red!
In the hangar, Special Forces soldiers begin running into
position, fully armed. Both Johnny Cages are also equipped with
assault rifles, running back into the base. Cassie’s voice
echoes across the tannoy system.
CASSIE: We’re under attack! Repeat, we’re under attack!
Young Johnny hoists his rifle into the air one-armed like an
action hero, while Old Johnny keeps his pointed downwards like a
professional soldier.
Y. JOHNNY: Yippee-ki-yay, right?
He strides forward, but Old Johnny catches him by the shoulder.
O. JOHNNY: Follow my lead.
He brings his rifle to bear and steps forward, with his younger
self trying to imitate his motions as best he can. Before either
of them can get very far, a huge explosion rips through the
side door of the hanger. No one is killed in the blast, but
both Johnnys are thrown from their feet. As they look up,
they see Black Dragon mercenaries entering through the blown open
hole… and leading them is the younger Erron Black.
The scene cuts to another part of the Special Forces base. Three
lines of Cyber Lin Kuei cyborgs are standing in formation. Both
the younger and elder Kano stride through them, shoving any
cyborg in their path back into formation. They reach a large door
– the door to the command centre – and smirk in an identical
fashion.
Behind them strides Sektor, his cybernetic body now infused with
the same white and golden painted metal that his cyborg army wears
as well – the design of Kronika. The only reason Sektor is
recognisable is that parts of him still have the red paint job. He
also approaches the door and lifts his fist in its direction. A
red laser shoots out from an enclosed gun-turret embedded in his
forearm.
Back in the command centre, the Special Forces soldiers are
hastily constructing barricades with whatever boxes they have
lying around. Cassie briefly trades a tense look with Sonya,
neither woman saying anything. The soldiers around them bring
their rifles to bear as Sektor’s laser continues to cut through
the steel door like a hot knife through butter.
Sonya narrows her eyes and Cassie nods her head. She brings her
dual pistols to a firing position and Sonya brings up her rifle at
the same time.
The scene cuts back to the hanger. Johnny and Johnny are in cover
behind a large tank, with Old Johnny ducked down behind the treads
and Young Johnny standing upright and making himself a bigger
target. They are trading fire with the Black Dragon mercenaries.
The Johnny’s quickly find themselves outgunned due to the superior
numbers against them and they retreat, ducking behind the tank
and running across the hanger to find more cover.
As they run, time slows down and a bullet clips Young Johnny’s
cheek, drawing a thin line of blood and knocking his glasses off
his head. As the Johnnys duck into cover behind a large jeep,
Old Johnny brings his hand to his cheek and looks at his younger
self. Old Johnny now bears the same wound that his younger self
has, though his is a faded scar.
O. JOHNNY: Oh, that’s freaky like Friday.
Y. JOHNNY: They shot our face, Johnny.
Young Johnny looks like he’s about to start crying.
Y. JOHNNY: They shot our FACE!
He pulls out a personal mirror to examine the wound… which is
instantly blown to pieces by a stray bullet. This serves to anger
him, and he picks up a nearby riot shield and storms out into
the open fray. Young Johnny roars in fury and fires his rifle
one-handed at the mercenaries… completely missing them due
to firing a two handed weapon with one hand.
O. JOHNNY: Ugh, he’s gonna get us killed.
The older Johnny steps out of cover just as Erron Black and the
mercenaries begin to concentrate their fire on Young Johnny.
Erron’s marksman rifle is blasted out of his hands by a shot
from Old Johnny, allowing his younger self to stride forward
with the shield in front, while Old Johnny steps in just behind
him.
Young Johnny proves to be as utterly incapable of shooting
straight as the mercenaries are at shooting at anything but the
shield he is holding up. But it soon becomes a moot point as
Young Johnny charges the mercenaries with the shield, plowing
into them and forcing them back. As he tackles them to the side,
Old Johnny faces off against Erron Black, having run out of
ammunition for his rifle.
O. JOHNNY: Ooh! Funny way of saying howdy, partner.
ERRON: I was saying goodbye.
O. JOHNNY: Now why’s a nice Texas boy like Erron Black in bed with
the Black Dragon? Older You works for Kotal Kahn. He’s one of the
good guys, kinda.
ERRON: When I pick sides, I pick a winner. Every time.
They fight. Even without a gun by his side, Johnny Cage is still
far from defenseless, and his energy powers and martial arts
wizardry are more than a match for the gunslinging Erron Black.
After a fierce scuffle, the outlaw is left down on the ground by
Johnny.
O. JOHNNY: You chose… poorly.
Johnny runs off. The scene cuts to the Special Forces command
centre. The steel door that served as the entrance has been
sheared off at the top by Sektor’s laser, and the bloodied bodies
of both the Special Forces and the Cyber Lin Kuei are strewn
around the interior. Old Johnny runs into the centre, with Jax and
Jacqui behind him.
JOHNNY: Cassie! Sonya!
He spots his daughter lying on her back and rushes to check on
her. Miraculously, Cassie is only unconscious (and not even
bleeding at that) and quickly wakes up when her father helps her
to a seated position.
JOHNNY: Breathe, kiddo.
Cassie takes a few breaths in, gathering her bearings.
CASSIE: They took Mom– Sonya.
JOHNNY: I’ll get her.
Cassie tries to say more, but her eyes roll backward and she
almost passes out. She manages to stay conscious only by an
immense show of willpower. With Cassie in no condition to issue
orders, Johnny looks back to Jacqui.
JOHNNY: Can we find out where they’ve gone?
Jacqui moves over to one of the interface screens, quickly logging
in. Within moments she has what she needs.
JACQUI: Tarmac B.
JOHNNY: On it. Keep her safe.
He gently lets Cassie down onto her back, then stands back up and
departs the command centre. The scene cuts to Johnny sprinting
down a corridor, having acquired another rifle from somewhere. He
dashes past a steel door, but then backpedals to it and takes a
look through its window.
JOHNNY: Ohhh…
Chuckling to himself, Johnny pushes the door open and enters the
hangar that it leads to.
The scene cuts to the desert landscape outside of the base. Sonya
struggles as two Cyber Lin Kuei grip her arms on either side, but
is unable to break free. Sektor approaches her.
SEKTOR: Take her.
As the cyborgs drag Sonya backward, a large explosion rips through
the base behind them. What is left of the cyborg army turns to the
gigantic hole that has been blasted through part of the wall. As
the smoke gradually clears… a gigantic tank, piloted by Johnny,
emerges from the base, crushing two cyborgs under its mass. A
third is caught under the treads and squished into a bloody paste.
As two more cyborgs are flattened under the tank, Sektor shoots
out two of his chest missiles. They hit the tank just under its
main gun, but barely cause any damage. Inside the tank, Johnny
laughs at the ineffective barrage and rides toward Sektor, who
teleports out of the way just before he is crushed.
Noting the teleport, Johnny brings the tank around and spots
Sektor making a run for it. He smiles as he notices Sektor running
toward the edge of a cliff. With nowhere else to run to, Sektor
turns around… just as a black jet fighter suddenly appears from
the canyon behind him. At this, Johnny’s eyes widen and he brings
the tank to a stop.
Sektor activates the boosts on his feet and jumps up to the side
of the jet’s cockpit. As he does so, the fighter unleashes two of
its missiles straight at Johnny’s tank.
Gasping in fear, Johnny desperately tries to put the tank into
reverse, but he only succeeds in turning it slightly as the
missiles rain home. They target the leftmost treads of the tank,
blowing the tank upward into the air briefly and letting it slam
down hard. While the tank remains upright, the targeted treads
have snapped in two from the impact.
The jet fighter arcs off into the air and swings around for a
finishing barrage. Johnny emerges from the tank with a satchel
charge, just in time to spot the jet coming for him. His face
narrows in determination.
The jet fighter lets loose with a barrage from its gatling gun.
While it strikes the ground a fair distance from the tank, it is
clear that this is a strafing attack and the jet moves ever closer
to the tank, the gunfire never letting up. Johnny chucks the
satchel charge back into the tank’s interior and jumps off,
narrowly avoiding some bullets. He sprints off and brings a
detonator to bear as the jet fighter closes in.
JOHNNY: Two can play that game!
As the jet flies over the tank, Johnny presses down on the
detonator. The satchel charge explodes, and with it the tank as
well. More importantly, the jet fighter is also caught in the
blast and catches fire in several places. Sektor jumps from the
smoking wreck and lands back down near the base as the jet crashes
offscreen somewhere in the mountain and explodes.
Sonya was not able to escape the cyborgs during all of that
anarchy and she is still being restrained by two of them. Sektor
relays instructions to the cyborgs while never taking his
optics off the approaching Johnny.
SEKTOR: Send another extraction vehicle.
Johnny finishes his long walk over to Sektor, Sonya and the
cyborgs.
JOHNNY: You won’t be online long enough for your friends to make
it, tinhead.
Sonya again struggles against the cyborgs, managing to wrench one
arm free, but she is quickly restrained once again. The cyborgs
drag her to one side as Sektor faces down Johnny.
SEKTOR: Johnny Cage. Cyrax defeated you when you were younger and
stronger. As I am his superior, I am yours.
JOHNNY: You’re forgetting the time I beat Shinnok, mano-a-mano.
Oh, wait! You were dead when that happened.
They fight. For all of the advantages Sektor has as a cyborg –
his weapons, augmentations and gadgets – Johnny Cage matches and
surpasses them with his fighting skill and powers. The struggle
is brief, and Sektor is soon lying deactivated out on the ground.
JOHNNY: Go back to the nineties.
Behind him, Sonya cries out as she tries to break free of the
cyborgs restraining her. Johnny turns around to face them.
JOHNNY: Who’s next?
The cyborgs remain where they are. A new voice cuts in from
behind Johnny.
KANO: I’m next, Hollywood.
The young Kano points an assault rifle directly at Johnny.
Undeterred, Cage runs straight at him and time slows down as
he does so. Kano shoots the gun, but Johnny slides into his
signature splits and the bullet flies overhead, mere centimetres
from his face.
In slow motion, Johnny clenches his fist and brings it back for
a swing. Kano looks down with an expression of mounting horror
as Johnny finishes the splits and slams his fist straight into
Kano’s genitals. The effect is immediate – Kano drops the gun
and doubles over in pain.
Johnny gets back to his feet as time resumes its normal length.
Kano remains doubled over, clutching his crotch and wincing in
agony.
JOHNNY: Shit. As if Throwback Me wasn’t bad enough.
Kano finally recovers enough to stand upright.
KANO: Oh, it gets bloody worse. Sonya and your little girl…
they’re gonna die. Right in front of your face.
They fight. Kano remains a dirty and dangerous fighter as ever,
with his cybernetic upgrades and numerous knives. But Johnny has
beaten him before and knows his tricks, and helped by the anger
he feels at Kano’s words, he has no trouble overpowering and
defeating the Australian thug once again.
JOHNNY: No one threatens my family.
He walks over to Kano and stomps on his head, pinning him down.
Behind him, more cyborgs have emerged from the base, but Johnny
ignores them for now, focusing on putting an end to Kano. But
before he can finish him off, a bullet suddenly punches through
the kneecap of his right leg, knocking him to the ground.
JOHNNY: Oh! Motherf…
His curse peters out as he spots the older Kano approaching him
with a captured hostage – his younger self. Old Johnny clutches
at his knee while Old Kano keeps a pistol pointed at Young Johnny.
O. KANO: Well, well. Got ourselves a full on generation swap here.
Old Johnny looks over as Cassie, Jacqui and Young Jax walk out
of the base, Cassie and Jacqui both carrying assault rifles.
As they approach, Old Kano forces Young Johnny onto his knees
and aims the pistol at the back of his head, forcing them to
stop.
O. KANO: Don’t think so. Between Ninja Mime and Lady Liberty,
we’ve got all the leverage. We’re leaving.
The two Johnnys say nothing, but both look at Old Kano with
joint contempt. Three transport planes fly overhead, landing
on the ground nearby. Old Kano pulls Young Johnny to his feet
and guides him toward the aircraft. The two cyborgs restraining
Sonya also walk her in the same direction.
From out of the aircraft, two more cyborgs emerge with a man not
seen before in this timeline. Wearing a biker jacket and desert
coloured trousers, he does not like the burn victim he will
become in later years. Old Kano addresses him directly.
O. KANO: Kabal. Go get my lesser half.
KABAL: And the base?
Old Kano pulls out a detonator.
O. KANO: Taken care of.
He presses the trigger. Behind them, Sektor – who has since
recovered – suddenly stands rigid and begins beeping. Cassie, Jax
and Jacqui watch in silence as the Cyber Lin Kuei walk toward the
aircraft, along with Old Kano, Young Johnny and Sonya, still
vainly struggling against her captors.
Once Old Kano is out of sight, Cassie and Jax immediately run over
to Old Johnny to help him up, while Kabal pulls Young Kano to his
feet and walks him toward the aircraft alongside the last of the
cyborgs.
Once Kabal and Young Kano are on board as well, the jets begin to
take off. Once she is sure they are not facing her, Cassie sprints
toward them. Jacqui runs after her, while Jax is left holding
Johnny up.
JACQUI: Cassie! Don’t!
Ignoring her friend, Cassie runs full pelt at the departing
aircraft, but soon finds that she is about to run off the cliff
edge. She grinds to a halt just before she would have fallen
off, then raises her pistol and fires at the last aircraft.
Rather than a bullet, she fires out a tracking device that
attaches to the jet. As Jacqui, Jax and Johnny make their way
over to her, Cassie holsters her pistol and pulls out her tablet.
The screen shows an icon of an airplane, along with the word
“TRACKING” and the probable destination of the plane – Russia.
She looks into the distance with determination.
CASSIE: Let’s go get them.
In the silence following the departure of the planes, a beeping
noise now echoes through the air.
JOHNNY: Anyone else hear that beeping?
They look behind them. Sektor is still standing rigid, with
electricity sparking off him. It quickly becomes apparent to all
of them that he is about to explode. Thankfully, Raiden teleports
into the clearing with a flash of lightning.
RAIDEN: Have I arrived too late?
JOHNNY: You’re back in the nick of time!
He motions toward Sektor, who is now screaming in agony as his
cybernetic body is wracked with electric sparks. Raiden
immediately spreads his arms outward and generates a shield of
electricity around himself, Johnny, Jax, Cassie and Jacqui,
teleporting them away just moments before Sektor finally
detonates, the explosion completely wiping out the Special Forces
base behind them.
The scene cuts to a luscious garden in the mountains of Japan,
adorned with white trees with blood red leaves. Raiden’s
teleporting shield brings them all into the centre of the garden.
Inside one of the huts, Hanzo Hasashi is deep in meditation. He
opens his eyes as the flash of lightning finishes.
He walks out of the hut to find Raiden, Cassie, Jax, Johnny and
Jacqui before him.
JAX: Now that’s what I call a miracle.
CASSIE: Yeah, Raiden. Thanks.
As Hanzo approaches, Raiden faces him and puts his hands together
in a respectful salute.
RAIDEN: Grandmaster Hasashi, I humbly request the Shirai Ryu’s
hospitality. My Sky Temple has been compromised. There is no
safer place for us to gather.
Hanzo inclines his head in a bowing motion.
SCORPION: Lord Raiden. Welcome to the Fire Garden.
The scene cuts to a later time in the day. Raiden stands on a
bridge overlooking a small pond, with Cassie, Liu Kang, Kung Lao,
Jax, Jacqui, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Johnny (now standing with
the help of a crutch) facing him.
CASSIE: The Elder Gods are gone? Shinnok is Kronika’s son? No
wonder she sent the Black Dragon after me and Dad. We both kicked
his ass.
RAIDEN: It is not vengeance that drives Kronika. She restarts
history to balance light and dark among the realms.
LIU KANG: What can we do, Lord Raiden?
RAIDEN: Gather Earthrealm’s forces. But that effort will be for
naught if Kotal Kahn’s armies cannot join us. Cetrion informed me
that Shao Kahn has captured Kotal Kahn. We must spare no effort to
free him.
LIU KANG: Kung Lao and I will go. We will rendezvous with Princess
Kitana.
RAIDEN: Thank you both. May the Elder Gods prote–
He stops himself, remembering that the Elder Gods are now no more.
RAIDEN: …May you return victorious.
The scene cuts to the inside of the Shokan palace in Outworld.
Kitana stands before Queen Sheeva, who is seated on a giant throne
that seems a bit small for her.
SHEEVA: You are passionate, Princess Kitana. But… I am not
persuaded.
KITANA: Queen Sheeva, haven’t your people fared better under Kotal
Kahn than Shao Kahn?