Gordonut
New member
This is the introduction to a story based on MK1.
All feedback welcome!
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The spy pressed up against the wall.
He stood in the shadows of the Observation Room, deliberately avoiding the light shed by the many glowing monitor screens. Occasionally he looked up, perhaps feeling a chill from the air conditioner vent above. But his gaze concentrated on one particular screen, showing men in white coats working in a laboratory. He bent forward to see more, but the sound of approaching footsteps made him jerk his head around suddenly. When the footsteps halted on the other side of the only entrance, the spy closed his eyes in concentration ... and transformed into a cloud of black mist, which drifted up and vanished into the air vent.
.....
"Smoke?"
Major Jax Briggs offered the man behind the desk a cigar. The technician wrinkled his nose at the foul smell and shook his head, pointing at a nearby No Smoking sign. Jax grunted, and stubbed out his cigar on the man's desk. The technician sighed, then stood and used a card key which opened the door to the Observation Room. Jax switched on the lights and they both entered.
Suddenly a fire alarm sounded, the siren's blare coming from right above the doorway. The technician jumped, but Jax just muttered "What the hell?" There was no sign of fire or smoke anywhere, and the cigar clamped between his teeth was unlit. Jax shouted to the technician "Get a crew down here to switch this damn noise off!". Leaving the Observation Room and shutting the door lessened the alarm's din, and Jax leaned back against the wall and waited, idly looking at his unlit cigar and wondering how his second-in-command was faring in China.
-----
Lieutenant Sonya Blade clenched her fist at Hsu Hao.
"But Paper covers Rock, Miss Blade!" said the big man, showing his open hand, and standing up in a victory pose. "Get down before someone sees you", Sonya grumbled, holding out her hand for the binoculars her partner carried. "Just stretching my back!" chuckled Hsu Hao, sitting down. Sonya smiled, and the two Special Forces agents, one Chinese, one American, turned their attention back to the building down the street. Hsu Hao passed Sonya the binoculars and she lifted them to her eyes, hoping again that this man's information wouldn't turn out to be another wild goose chase. In a joint Chinese/American operation, they were hiding in a run-down warehouse near the docks of Hong Kong, and were watching a nightclub where Sonya hoped she would find her most dangerous foe.
.....
"Kano!"
For a thousand times today Liu Kang had said the name, and had been rewarded only with blank stares. This time was no different. How could one of Earth's finest warriors be so hard to find? Could the Master have been wrong? Liu Kang had left the Shaolin temple and made his way to Hong Kong, where he was questioning a beggar sitting in an alley. The beggar wore ragged clothes and a battered straw hat wedged on his head, which was bowed respectfully at Liu Kang's feet. The man also seemed to be half deaf, Liu Kang mused, shouting Kano's name a second time. Getting no response, Liu Kang started to turn away when suddenly the beggar's hand grabbed at his leg, then pointed at a building down the street. "Kano is in there? That building, the nightclub?" The beggar nodded twice, still looking at the ground. Liu Kang dropped a few coins and left the beggar, heading towards the club.
In the warehouse across the street, Sonya handed her binoculars to Hsu Hao. "Watch my back, I'm going in". Hsu Hao hesitated a second, then nodded at Sonya as she left the room. It had been hard to show such restraint, but he would need the goodwill of this American later ...
In the alley, the beggar ignored the dropped coins. He lifted his head, and his gaze moved from Liu Kang to Sonya Blade, watching as she followed him. Sparks of pure electricity flashed across the beggar's eyes, and he grinned. Then there was a sudden flash of light, and a rumble of thunder - and the beggar was gone.
All feedback welcome!
-----
The spy pressed up against the wall.
He stood in the shadows of the Observation Room, deliberately avoiding the light shed by the many glowing monitor screens. Occasionally he looked up, perhaps feeling a chill from the air conditioner vent above. But his gaze concentrated on one particular screen, showing men in white coats working in a laboratory. He bent forward to see more, but the sound of approaching footsteps made him jerk his head around suddenly. When the footsteps halted on the other side of the only entrance, the spy closed his eyes in concentration ... and transformed into a cloud of black mist, which drifted up and vanished into the air vent.
.....
"Smoke?"
Major Jax Briggs offered the man behind the desk a cigar. The technician wrinkled his nose at the foul smell and shook his head, pointing at a nearby No Smoking sign. Jax grunted, and stubbed out his cigar on the man's desk. The technician sighed, then stood and used a card key which opened the door to the Observation Room. Jax switched on the lights and they both entered.
Suddenly a fire alarm sounded, the siren's blare coming from right above the doorway. The technician jumped, but Jax just muttered "What the hell?" There was no sign of fire or smoke anywhere, and the cigar clamped between his teeth was unlit. Jax shouted to the technician "Get a crew down here to switch this damn noise off!". Leaving the Observation Room and shutting the door lessened the alarm's din, and Jax leaned back against the wall and waited, idly looking at his unlit cigar and wondering how his second-in-command was faring in China.
-----
Lieutenant Sonya Blade clenched her fist at Hsu Hao.
"But Paper covers Rock, Miss Blade!" said the big man, showing his open hand, and standing up in a victory pose. "Get down before someone sees you", Sonya grumbled, holding out her hand for the binoculars her partner carried. "Just stretching my back!" chuckled Hsu Hao, sitting down. Sonya smiled, and the two Special Forces agents, one Chinese, one American, turned their attention back to the building down the street. Hsu Hao passed Sonya the binoculars and she lifted them to her eyes, hoping again that this man's information wouldn't turn out to be another wild goose chase. In a joint Chinese/American operation, they were hiding in a run-down warehouse near the docks of Hong Kong, and were watching a nightclub where Sonya hoped she would find her most dangerous foe.
.....
"Kano!"
For a thousand times today Liu Kang had said the name, and had been rewarded only with blank stares. This time was no different. How could one of Earth's finest warriors be so hard to find? Could the Master have been wrong? Liu Kang had left the Shaolin temple and made his way to Hong Kong, where he was questioning a beggar sitting in an alley. The beggar wore ragged clothes and a battered straw hat wedged on his head, which was bowed respectfully at Liu Kang's feet. The man also seemed to be half deaf, Liu Kang mused, shouting Kano's name a second time. Getting no response, Liu Kang started to turn away when suddenly the beggar's hand grabbed at his leg, then pointed at a building down the street. "Kano is in there? That building, the nightclub?" The beggar nodded twice, still looking at the ground. Liu Kang dropped a few coins and left the beggar, heading towards the club.
In the warehouse across the street, Sonya handed her binoculars to Hsu Hao. "Watch my back, I'm going in". Hsu Hao hesitated a second, then nodded at Sonya as she left the room. It had been hard to show such restraint, but he would need the goodwill of this American later ...
In the alley, the beggar ignored the dropped coins. He lifted his head, and his gaze moved from Liu Kang to Sonya Blade, watching as she followed him. Sparks of pure electricity flashed across the beggar's eyes, and he grinned. Then there was a sudden flash of light, and a rumble of thunder - and the beggar was gone.
