Mortal Kombat: The Sorcerer's Slave

"Outer World Investigation Agency." A smart female voice answered the phone. "How may I direct your call?"

"Amos Jenkins calling for Curtis Stryker."

"One moment please."

"Jenkins you dog!" Curtis Stryker answered the phone. "Still stalking serial killers?"

"Yeah. Same shit different day." Amos said with a chuckle. It was nice to hear Stryker's voice. The man was always in a good humor no matter what went on. Amos had worked with him last year on a serial killer case that had taken an other worldly turn. Amos had found out that there were other realms besides their own that were populated by demons and sorcerers and other weird things.

The Outer World Investigation Agency or OIA was assigned the task of dealing with all the weird baddies that normal agencies couldn't or wouldn't. Stryker had invited Amos to join his team but he'd declined. Amos was good at what he did and felt that he was still needed on the home front. He kept in touch with Stryker though. Just in case.

"So who's it today?" Stryker asked sitting back in his creaking office chair, that he kept promising himself he would replace.

"Chad Tesla paroled out two days ago."

Stryker whistled. Chad Tesla probably had close to a hundred kills to his name. He'd never been prosecuted for two reasons though. One he was smart and methodical and never left any kind of evidence at a crime scene. Second he did something with the bodies, probably dumped them in the ocean, making sure the authorities would never find them.

Stryker was kind of meh on the subject of Tesla. On one hand the man was obviously a serial killer and that was never a good thing. On the other hand, Stryker had a dislike for men who beat their wives and children. Stryker considered what Tesla did a good thing but he was definitely going about it the wrong way. Nobody was above society's laws.

"So why are you calling me?" Stryker asked. "You know the serial killers don't turn me on."

"One of your boys is playing with my boy." Amos told him seriously.

"Shit." Stryker said. "You're sure?"

"Hell yes I'm sure!" Amos took a breath. "Six foot seven, whole body painted white, black raccoon eyes with lines going up over a bald head, red marking on his arms, back, and head."

"God damn!" Stryker rocketed out of his chair. "That sounds like Quan Chi."

"Quan Chi?" Amos questioned him.

"A demon sorcerer from the Neatherrealm. That's hell to you and me." Stryker was running around his office gathering equipment. "Whatever you do don't engage this guy. Give me your address. I'm going to get my team together and hitch a ride over to you."

"Jesus." Amos said, banging his forehead on the steering wheel. He gave Stryker the address and hung up, looking over at his partner, who was still rubbing his stomach. "Bob you don't have food poisoning. Things may get a bit harry in the next hour or so and I want you to know up front that you're not going crazy. Okay?"

"My mother was right. I should have become a sheriff's deputy back in Putnam." Bob said miserably.

000

"Okay little girl, why don't you go wrangle us up some food?" Chad said to Mac. "The phone book is on the counter and so is my wallet."

"Kay." She got up. "Does it matter what we have?"

"No." Both the men answered at the same time.

"Chinese it is." She said walking away with a smile.

Both men went to stand in front of the window and watched the FBI car silently for a few minutes.

"You should come back to the Neatherrealm with us." Quan Chi finally said.

"I just got out of hell." Chad said shaking his head.

"It would mean a lot to Mac. And I know she is going to bring it up."

"I'm sure she will." Chad sighed.

"I can tell that you two are close. You've missed quite a bit of her life being locked away like you were." Quan Chi said reasonably. "Do you really want to miss more?"

"Way to lay on the guilt trip." Chad said a bit crossly.

"Like I said, Mac hasn't brought it up yet but I know that she will and I really do like to indulge her." Quan Chi said looking down at him.

"Eggrolls?!" Mac shouted the question from the kitchen.

"Yes!" Chad yelled, looking back at the kitchen door.

"It looks like you'll be going weather you want to or not." Quan Chi said.

Chad opened his mouth to make a rude comment but something caught the corner of his eye. He turned and looked at the newcomers standing by the FBI car. There were four men and a woman. The woman was a tall drink of water with blond hair and big tits. Two of the men, a black guy with what looked like metal arms and a white guy in one of those Japanese rice worker hats, were probably as tall as Quan Chi. The other two of them were closer to six foot in height. One was dressed like a swat officer minus helmet, and the other one was dressed in what looked like an Armani suit. And he seemed very familiar to Chad.

Chad watched as Jenkins, who'd been following his case since before he'd been imprisoned, stepped out of the car to talk to the newcomers. Quan Chi stood stiffly next to him staring at them intently and Chad figured that their presence was probably not a good thing. Then Mac walked to the front door and stepped out holding the screen open before either of the men realized what she was doing.

"Oi!" She shouted catching everyone's attention. "I'm ordering now! Are you sure you don't want anything?!"

Everyone one of them looked at her like she'd lost her freaking mind.

"Kung Pow Chicken!" Bob popped his head out the sunroof of the car and shouted.

"Ewing!" Amos hissed.

"Anything to drink?!" Mac shouted back.

"Pepsi or Coke! Whichever they have!"

"Egg rolls?!"

"Yeah!"

"Okay. It's going to be about ten minutes!"

Bob gave her a thumbs up and she walked back in the house and back into the kitchen to finish giving her order.

"Jesus Christ Bob! What the hell were you thinking?!" Amos asked in a horrified voice.

"I'm thinking that I'm hungry and that we know they're not going anywhere for the next ten minutes at least." He said pleased with himself.

Stryker didn't have the heart to tell the poor agent that Quan Chi could open a portal for anywhere. Amos was mumbling about taking bribes from serial killers and Stryker just had to laugh.

"Somehow I don't think that your partner accepting a meal is a bribe." He told Amos.

Amos just frowned and Stryker slapped him on the back. Then he started talking to his team, trying to figure out what they wanted to do. Of course they weren't expecting Quan Chi and Chad to walk out of the house, and across the lawn to stand in front of them.

"Couldn't catch me yourself? Had to call in some help?" Chad asked Jenkins.

"Son of a bitch!" Amos stepped toward Chad threateningly and Stryker grabbed him from behind in a bear hug.

"You'll get your time. Don't blow it." Stryker said quietly and Amos took a breath and calmed down.

"Why are you here Quan Chi?" Raiden asked the sorcerer.

"I thought a change of scenery would be nice." He motioned toward the ocean behind Chad's house. "You know, water over lava."

"The swimming is great here." Chad piped up. "My beach is private."

Jax growled at Quan Chi.

"Please." Quan Chi said rolling his eyes. "I could kick your ass and not even break a sweat."

Raiden put out a restraining hand as Jax took a step forward.

Mac came out of the house as the food delivery car pulled into the driveway. She paid for the food and tipped the driver and brought the food over to the car and she and Bob sat on the trunk of the car and ate, while they watched as everyone started arguing. Nobody had made a move toward anyone one yet and Mac realized that none of them really wanted to really duke it out in the middle of the street. She and Bob started talking quietly over the impromptu meal and when they were finished they hopped off the trunk and shook hands.

"What the hell was that about?" Quan Chi asked her with a disgruntled look.

"Good question." Amos said glaring daggers at Ewing.

"Well since you guys are just planning on yelling at each other all day and not starting a street brawl-" Mac said.

"We decided to work things out." Ewing finished.

"Yeah." Mac nodded. "Pissing matches in the middle of the street don't help anyone's cause."

"So here's how it's going to be." Ewing said. "Mac and Mighty Whitey there are going to go back the Neatherrealm", he looked at Mac for confirmation and she nodded, "and will take Tesla with them."

"Now wait just a damn minute." Chad said.

"You're going to be presumed dead when your boat is found off the coast after tonight's storm." Mac told Chad. "And there is going to be one I checked the weather earlier."

"Jenkins and I are not going to put up a fuss about Tesla dying," he said making quote marks with his hand. "Alleged serial killer lost at sea and presumed dead. Case closed."

"Uncle Chad you can come back and visit occasionally." Mac told him.

"But you can't kill more than two people per visit." Ewing said sternly.

"What?!" Jenkins squawked.

"It's not a bad compromise." Stryker told Jenkins.

"What about me?" Quan Chi asked sarcastically.

"Yeah." Jax piped up.

"You're going to have to work the rest out among yourselves." Ewing said looking warily at Raiden who had electricity arching through his eyes.

"Yeah. Bob and I are sure that rice hat's a god and that's definitely not our department." She winked at Quan Chi. "If anything happens to you though I get Big Dog and the twins."

Quan Chi shook his head, not believing what he was hearing.

"We can live with that." Stryker said looking to his team who all nodded in agreement.

"Quan Chi can you take the boat out?" Mac asked sweetly. "Since you can port."

"Fine." He turned to Chad. "Keys?"

"I like that boat." Chad said with a grumble, handing Quan Chi his boat key.

"You like being alive more don't you?" Raiden asked.

Chad rolled his eyes and headed back into his house with Mac following him like a little puppy. Obviously he now needed to pack his shit. This was almost too much for him to take in. Thankfully he was very open minded. And he knew that Mac was alright.

Jenkins and Ewing got back in their car, Stryker and his team left, Quan Chi headed for the boat dock at the back of the house. Raiden appeared a few minutes later on the deck of the boat.

"I'm sure I don't need help steering a damn boat." Quan Chi said rudely.

"It's not like you to be dictated to by the whims of a human." Raiden said finally.

"She's a great cocksucker." Quan Chi said."

When Raiden said nothing Quan Chi looked at him.

"What do you want to hear from me then Raiden?"

"The truth."

"That little human loves me for who I am."

"And you've disclosed the fact that you're a demon to her?"

"She's been living in the Neatherrealm with me for the last six months. Even if I hadn't told her she would have figured it out very quickly."

"Hmm." Was all that Raiden said.

"You think I don't deserve love?" Quan Chi asked with a snarl, rounding on Raiden.

"It's not my place to say whether you do or don't." Raiden said with a shrug.

"What would you know about love anyway?" Quan Chi asked as he turned back to the wheel.

"I know that humans can give more love than any other species that I've ever encountered. I also know that some of them will give that love freely to any and all around them. It's why I not only choose to be Earthrealms protector but to take an active role as well. They have so much potential."

"Hmh."

"I also know how precious it is to find one that isn't scared of you. That will help you and encourage you in all things. That loves you for who you are but still makes you want to be a better person."

"Have a woman do you Thunder God?" Quan Chi asked somewhat curiously.

"I do." Raiden shrugged.

"You lie poorly Raiden. I've never seen or even heard one whisper of you being with a woman. At least not more than a dalliance."

Raiden smiled a wickedly secret smile.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You've been very quiet lately Quan Chi."

"And that worried you."

"Yes. Now I understand though."

"But?"

"How long are you going to be quiet for? How long before you tire of her?"

"I won't tire of her."

"How do you know?"

"Because no other woman has ever looked at me and had her eyes glaze over with lust. She doesn't cringe when I touch her. She makes me smile. She accepts me, evil and all. I will never get tired of that."

"You speak truly." Raiden said quietly.

"Of course I do." He sighed shaking his head. He couldn't believe he was in the middle of the ocean having a fucking heart to heart with the Thunder God. This was ridiculous.

"What's she like?" Quan Chi finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Who?" Raiden asked.

"Your women you dumb god."

Raiden rolled his eyes but let that one go.

"She's different." Raiden said after a few moments of thinking about it.

"Different how? Does she have three tits or something?"

"Always so crude. But no, nothing like that. Something happened to her when she was younger. Her father, well, I'm sure you could use your imagination. Anyway it broke something inside of her. Inside her mind." Raiden smiled. "Were working on it though. She's so much better than when I first got her."

"But you must have seen so many different mortals that have had their minds snapped. Why is this one different?"

"Do you think that your Mac would kill you if it meant saving you?" Raiden asked quietly.

"I don't know." Quan Chi said after a few moments of thinking about it. He shrugged. "This should be far enough."

He shut down the engine of the boat and left the key in the ignition.

"Maybe we should do some damage." Quan Chi said after a moment.

Raiden raised his arm and bolt of lightning shot from his hand and blew into the control panel of the boat.

"Will that do?" He asked.

"Hope so." Quan Chi said with a shrug. "Let's blow."

Both men disappeared and reappeared in Chad's front yard. They both tried to stare each other down but neither was affected. Mac walked out of the house and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay guys, I'm floating in a testosterone sea. If my boat sinks I'll grow a beard so knock it off."

"She is fearless." Raiden said to Quan Chi with a smile.

"I am." She winked at Raiden. "You know Rice Hat, I'm sure a handsome god like you has a woman to go home to."

"I do." He said calmly. "I will be on my way."

Raiden gave a formal bow to Mac and the finger to Quan Chi and disappeared.

"He's been around humans for way to long." Quan Chi said with a shake of his head.

"Uncle Chad is packing." Mac said as she put her arms around Quan Chi and rested her head on his chest.

"Some how, I knew that he would end up coming home with us." Quan Chi said affably.

"I'm glad you'll be there to help me with him. To be honest I was kind of dreading him getting out."

"Why?" Chad asked coming to stand in front of both of them. He set a duffle bag and a wooden box down at his feet.

"Because you're a serial killer." She said blushing.

"Which you've known all along and it never seemed to bother you before." Chad said raising an eyebrow.

"I have no problem with it. I was just afraid that you were going to get caught one day. And you know how big Texas is on the death penalty." She let go of Quan chi and went and hugged him. "You know I love you and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you. I refuse to spend any more time watching you rot in prison or fry in the electric chair."

"I love you too Mackenzie." Chad hugged her and then looked up at Quan Chi. "I'm ready to go."

"That's all you're taking?" Quan Chi asked Chad's bag.

"I travel light." Chad said with a shrug.

"What's with the box?" Mac asked.

"It's my altar and tools." Chad said with a shrug.

He didn't really say much else. He was a sorcerer, something that he'd inherited from his famous ancestor. Everyone in the Ham knew this and he used it, his brutal martial arts skills, and his sometimes charm to keep others at bay.

"Alter and tools huh?" Quan Chi said with a bit of a sneer. Mac rounded on him with a glare but Chad just laughed.

"I've had no teacher. I'm completely self-taught."

"Trial and error is a bitch." Quan Chi said with a grimace.

"Yeah. Try learning in prison and having to keep it a secret on top of that."

"No thanks." Quan Chi said then asked curiously. "So who did you inherit the magic from?"

"My father's side. I'm the first to be able to use it in three generations though."

Quan Chi looked over at Mac.

"She doesn't have magic." Chad said interpreting Quan Chi's look. "Her mother has a different father than me."

"Ah." Quan Chi nodded.

"So we won't be seeing you again for some time, right?" Jenkins said stepping onto the lawn with Ewing following suit.

"Probably not." Chad shrugged. "I know you were just doing your job Jenkins but I have to know. Why have you been so focused on me?"

"Because you're different than any other serial killer that I've ever had to try and catch." He threw up his hands. "You don't even take souvenirs and I don't understand why!"

Jenkin's looked about ready to pull out his hair, so Chad to pity on him.

"Hypothetically speaking," Chad said slowly and Jenkins froze and stared at him intently. "If I were to have killed those men I wouldn't have needed souvenirs."

"Why?" Ewing asked. It was one of the only things about the case that bothered him too.

"Two reasons." Chad said with a shrug. "One, I have a photographic memory and don't need objects to trigger it."

"And the second?" Jenkin's asked.

"That shit gets you caught." He said with a laugh.

Jenkin's looked almost flabbergasted. He knew Tesla was smart but he'd always thought that he'd thought along the lines of every other serial killer.

"You'd have made a great agent." Jenkins finally said.

"Tell you what. Next time I'm in town I'll secretly consult for you."

Jenkins just shook his head and walked away.

"We'll take you up on that Tesla." Ewing told him. Then he handed his card to Mac. "Next time you're in town give me a call. We'll do lunch. Dave, my husband, would love to meet you."

"This is Texas." She said with a frown.

"We got married on vacation." Ewing told her with a wink and walked away.

"Can we please go?" Quan Chi asked. "This place gets stranger by the minute."

"Ha!" Chad laughed. "You should hang out in the Ham for a few days and this place will seem freakishly normal."

"Okay. No more talk about prison. We-" Mac stopped talking and looked at Chad. "You've been in prison for like five years."

"And?"

"Before we go home do you need to get, you know, laid?"

Chad chuckled. "I'm good."

"I didn't think that you swung that way."

"I don't." He said rolling his eyes. "It's called sublimation."

"Subli-what?"

"Sublimation or sexual sublimation is the attempt to transform sexual impulses or "sexual energy" into creative energy."

"I'd cornered the market on sublimation before I met you." Quan Chi told Mac.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Okay I'm calling a halt to this conversation. I don't need to hear about you banging my favorite niece." Chad shuddered. "Let's blow this pop stand."

Quan Chi focused his magic and opened a portal to the Neatherrealm. They all stepped through and into the gated entrance of Quan Chi's fortress.

The first horrified words out of Chad's mouth were volcano and magma.

"You mean lava." Mac said.

"No. Lava is what comes out of a volcano. Seeing as we seem to be in the volcano this would be mag-" He stopped. "You did that deliberately didn't you?"

"I know you so well Uncle Chad." Mac said with a smile.

Killian and Kraven appeared and informed their master that all was well.

"Where's my baby?" She asked walking past them and into the big inner chamber.