At the command centre. Cassie is with Sonya, using one of the holographic interfaces at a desk.

"Here's how you access incoming reports. Swipe here to crosscheck them with past reports. The software can suss out the deltas." Cassie explains.

"Now that's progress." Sonya says, impressed.

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.

"So... I marry Lieutenant Princess over there?" Younger Johnny asks.

Old Johnny looks in her direction, also cracking a smile.

"I always have had a thing for blondes. Ever since Suzie–" Younger Johnny says before the older Johnny catches the thought and speaks at the same time as his younger self.

"--Donardo. Junior year." Both Johnnys say.

"Take it from me, heh, you didn't miss much." Johnny assures before pointing over towards Sonya.

"That woman over there? She's the real deal." Johnny says.

Young Johnny then tilts down his sunglasses.

"Oh, I got eyes, brother. As Younger You, I solemnly swear to tap that at the earliest opportunity." Younger Johnny says.

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.

"What? It's our destiny!" Younger Johnny says.

Zaveer, who arrived earlier, grabs Johnny's younger self by the ear, dragging him up amidst protests of pain.

"Come on Johnny. Your evil twin needs to be taught some manners." Zaveer orders as he forcibly drags Young Johnny out of the command centre with older Johnny following behind.

"How the hell do I ever sleep with that guy?" Younger Sonya asks herself.

She then looks to Cassie, who walks over to her.

"Who's... your father. I can't believe I just said that." Younger Sonya says.

"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." Cassie explains.

"My dad, your grandfather, was my hero. Called me Private Pun'kin." Sonya says.

"Huh. That's what you called me." Cassie says.

There's then a moment of awkward silence between them.

"We should get back to work." Cassie says.

Sonya nods and Cassie takes her leave. Sonya looks back to the interface.

"Biometric verification required." The interface says.

The interface then scans her eyes.

"ID verified - General Sonya Blade." The interface says.

"General Blade? Dad would be proud." Sonya says to herself.

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.

In the Special Forces' hangar, Young Johnny is walking away from his older self and Zaveer.

"Untwist your panties, Creepizoid. I'm a star." Younger Johnny says.

Zaveer then grabs Johnny's younger self by the shoulder and pulls him back, getting in front of him at the same time and staring him down.

"Look, I'm having a really bad day and I don't need you and your mouth making it worse. So let me make it clear so it'd hopefully gets through that dense skull of yours. This is a military operation, not a movie set!" Zaveer informs.

"I'm only the best fighter here. But His– (He prods his older self.) --Daughter's got me sitting at the kids table." Younger Johnny says.

Older Johnny then 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.

"OUR daughter is C.O. A little humility MIGHT earn her respect!" Johnny points out.

"Dad always said "Hungry people eat lunch, humble people serve it."" Younger Johnny reminds.

Old Johnny prods Young Johnny in the chest.

"Dad was an asshole! Hollywood made us– (He removes his younger self's glasses from his face) --an even bigger one!" Johnny says.

"May I?" Zaveer asks.

Older Johnny gives Zaveer the sunglasses who then drops them to the ground and crushes them under his foot.

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.

"Heee-yaaaaah!" Younger Johnny yells.

Older Johnny shakes his head in disgust and assumes his own stance.

"Yeah, I'll let you take this one." Zaveer says before moving to the side.

They then 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.

"An old man just kicked your ass." Johnny says.

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.

"...You got lucky." Younger Johnny says.

Zaveer tries his best to hold his frustration.

"He will never learn at this rate." Zaveer says.

Back at 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"

"What?! I'm–" Cassie's voice says before the audio clip distorts, cutting out part of Cassie's earlier statement. "--leaving you behind! --C'mon, move it!" Cassie's audio finishes.

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.

"Let's go, let's go, move it!" Cassie's audio says.

"What...?" Younger Sonya says in shock.

She then gets up from her seat and storms over to Cassie.

"You left me behind?" Younger Sonya asks.

"Excuse me?!" Cassie asks in confusion.

"My final mission!" Younger Sonya snaps.

"How did you–" Cassie says before looking over to the screen Sonya was looking at, seeing the red message for herself. "Shit." Cassie says to herself as she begins to lose her composure. "No, I'm not doing this, not now, not with you!" Cassie says.

She then tries to turn away, but Sonya grabs her by the shoulder and pulls her back.

"Dammit, Cassie! You abandoned me?" Younger Sonya asks.

"To save the company! That was my order!" Cassie replies.

"Who the hell gave you that order?!" Younger Sonya asks.

"YOU did." Cassie says.

At these words, Sonya looks away, doubt etched across her face.

"Read the full report, Lieutenant." Cassie advices.

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.

"Go to Condition Red!" Cassie commands.

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, followed by Zaveer. Cassie's voice echoes across the tannoy system.

"We're under attack! Repeat, we're under attack!" Cassie informs.

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.

"Yippee-ki-yay, right?" Younger Johnny asks.

He strides forward, but Old Johnny catches him by the shoulder.

"Follow my lead." Johnny orders.

"And keep your mouth shut." Zaveer warns.

Johnny. brings his rifle to bear and steps forward, with his younger self trying to imitate his motions as best he can. Before any 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 and Zaveer 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.

In 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.

Back at the hanger, Zaveer, Johnny and Younger Johnny are in cover behind a large tank, with Old Johnny ducked down behind the treads, Young Johnny standing upright and making himself a bigger target, and Zaveer standing behind the both of them. They are trading fire with the Black Dragon mercenaries. Zaveer and 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, as time feels like it's slowing down, 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. Zaveer takes notice.

"Oh, that's freaky like Friday." Johnny says.

"They shot our face, Johnny." Young Johnny says as he looks like he's about to start crying. "They shot our FACE!" "Younger Johnny yells.

"Would you calm down? It's not that bad." Zaveer says.

Younger Johnny then 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.

"Ugh, he's gonna get us killed." Johnny says.

"You just now realizing that?" Zaveer asks.

The older Johnny along with Zaveer then 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.

"I'll keep him out of trouble." Zaveer says.

As Zaveer chases after Young Johnny, Old Johnny faces off against Erron Black, having run out of ammunition for his rifle.

"Ooh! Funny way of saying howdy, partner." Johnny says.

"I was saying goodbye." Younger Erron Black says.

"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." Johnny asks.

"When I pick sides, I pick a winner. Every time." Younger Erron Black replies.

They then 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.

"You chose... poorly." Johnny says before running off.

Back at 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.

"Cassie! Sonya!" Johnny calls out.

He then 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.

"Breathe, kiddo." Johnny says.

Cassie takes a few breaths in, gathering her bearings.

"They took Mom-- Sonya." Cassie informs.

"I'll get her." Johnny promises.

"Where's.... Zaveer?" Cassie asks.

"He's safe." Johnny assures.

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.

"Can we find out where they've gone?" Johnny asks.

Jacqui moves over to one of the interface screens, quickly logging in. Within moments she has what she needs.

"Tarmac B." Jacqui says.

"On it. Keep her safe." Johnny says.

He then gently lets Cassie down onto her back, then stands back up and departs the command centre. Johnny is then 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.

"Ohhh..." Johnny says.

Chuckling to himself, Johnny pushes the door open and enters the hangar that it leads to.

In the desert landscape outside of the base. Sonya can be seen struggling as two Cyber Lin Kuei grip her arms on either side, but she is unable to break free. Sektor then approaches her.

"Take her." Sektor orders.

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.

"Two can play that game!" Johnny yells.

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 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.

"Send another extraction vehicle." Sektor orders.

Johnny finishes his long walk over to Sektor, Sonya and the cyborgs.

"You won't be online long enough for your friends to make it, tinhead." Johnny informs.

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.

"Johnny Cage. Cyrax defeated you when you were younger and stronger. As I am his superior, I am yours." Sektor explains.

"You're forgetting the time I beat Shinnok, mano-a-mano. Oh, wait! You were dead when that happened." Johnny reminds.

They then 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 on the ground.

"Go back to the nineties." Johnny says.

Behind him, Sonya cries out as she tries to break free of the cyborgs restraining her. Johnny turns around to face them.

"Who's next?" Johnny asks.

The cyborgs remain where they are. A new voice cuts in from behind Johnny.

"I'm next, Hollywood." Younger Kano says.

The young Kano points an assault rifle directly at Johnny. Undeterred, Johnny 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 what feels like 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.

"Shit. As if Throwback Me wasn't bad enough." Johnny says.

Kano finally recovers enough to stand upright.

"Oh, it gets bloody worse. Sonya and your little girl... they're gonna die. Right in front of your face." Younger Kano threatens.

They then 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.

"No one threatens my family." Johnny says angrily.

He then 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 yell gain his attention. He looks up only for Zaveer being thrown against him, knocking him off of Young Kano and having both of them landing onto the ground.

"Sorry Johnny." Zaveer says.

"Oh! Motherf..." Johnny says, groaning in pain.

His curse peters out as he and Zaveer spot 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.

"Well, well. Got ourselves a full on generation swap here." Kano points out.

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.

"Don't think so. Between Ninja Mime and Lady Liberty, we've got all the leverage. We're leaving." Kano says.

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 look like the burn victim he will become in later years. Old Kano addresses him directly.

"Kabal. Go get my lesser half." Kano orders.

"And the base?" Younger Kabal asks.

Old Kano then pulls out a detonator.

"Taken care of." Kano says.

He then 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, Jax immediately runs over to Old Johnny to help him up as Cassie and Jacqui rush to aid Zaveer to his feet, 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. Zaveer Jacqui runs after her, while Jax is left holding Johnny up.

"Cassie! Don't!" Jacqui calls out.

"It's no use!" Zaveer yells.

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 Zaveer, 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.

"Let's go get them." Cassie says.

In the silence following the departure of the planes, a beeping noise now echoes through the air.

"Anyone else hear that beeping?" Johnny asks.

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.

"Have I arrived too late?" Raiden asks.

"You're back in the nick of time!" Johnny says as 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, Zaveer 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.

In a luscious garden in the mountains of Japan, which is 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 then walks out of the hut to find Raiden, Cassie, Jax, Johnny and Jacqui before him.

"Now that's what I call a miracle." Younger Jax says.

"Yeah, Raiden. Thanks." Cassie says.

As Hanzo approaches, Raiden faces him and puts his hands together in a respectful salute.

"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." Raiden requests.

Hanzo inclines his head in a bowing motion.

"Lord Raiden. Welcome to the Fire Garden." Hanzo welcomes.

Later time in the day, Raiden stands on a bridge overlooking a small pond, with Zaveer, Cassie, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Jax, Jacqui, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and Johnny (now standing with the help of a crutch) facing him.

"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." Cassie realizes.

"It is not vengeance that drives Kronika. She restarts history to balance light and dark among the realms." Raiden explains.

"What can we do, Lord Raiden?" Younger Liu Kang asks.

"Gather Earthrealm's forces. But that effort will be for naught if Mileena's armies cannot join us. Cetrion informed me that Shao Kahn has captured Mileena and the General. We must spare no effort to free them." Raiden explains.

"Kung Lao and I will go. We will rendezvous with Princess Kitana." Younger Liu Kang offers.

"Thank you both. May the Elder Gods prote–" Raiden says before he stops himself, remembering that the Elder Gods are now no more. "...May you return victorious." Raiden corrects himself.

"I just hope Dad has returned from the mission." Zaveer says.

"What mission?" Raiden asks.

"Before I left, General Kotal had him complete an important task." Zaveer informs.

"Where was he sent?" Raiden asks.