Shao Kahn steals the souls of the entire
population of planet Earth, claiming billions of people his own. Raiden
has protected the souls of certain people in the Earth - the survivors
of the 10th Mortal Kombat tournament, and the Outworld battles. Liu
Kang, Johnny Cage, Sonya, Sub-Zero, Jax, Kung Lao, Hornbuckle, Bo,
Kitana, and Kenshi are still alive, due to Raiden's protection. There
are four newcomers they must meet: S.W.A.T. officer Curtis Stryker,
Native American werewolf Nightwolf, crime-fighting vigilante Kabal, and
Sub-Zero's sister, Frost, who was born in China but raised in Colorado.
Despite
losing twice, Shao Kahn has found a way to win with his third plan,
resurrecting Queen Sindel using the spilled blood of the warriors who
fought in the Outworld battles. Shao Kahn begins the six-day process of
merging Earth with Outworld. Alongside an evil Sindel, Shao
Kahn storms the streets of the world with his unstoppable extermination
squads made of humans, Cryomancers, Tarkatans, reptilian Saurians,
Shokan, Centaurs, robots, and vampires. As Earth ties together with
Outworld, Raiden loses power, and he fears that his vision of the end of
all things, where only Shao Kahn is left standing, will turn true. The
mortals, in their darkest hour, must prove that humans can overcome
even the worst of all odds.
Johnny
Cage is killed by Motaro, leader of the vicious Centaurians. The rest
of the group must travel on without him. On the second day of the
merging process, the blue sky of Earth is purple. On the third day, it
has grown more to red. Raiden has grown significantly weaker, and it
becomes time for the mortals to apply their teachings in the world.
Scorpion
has still not passed on to the afterlife, but now he has lived in Earth
long enough to see its destruction by Shao Kahn. He realizes that this
is not ever what he wanted. He never intended to fight for evil, or to
fight for the rule of Shao Kahn. Now he sees that this is exactly what
his participation in the 10th tournament brought on. Suicide may be
the only honorable option left . . . unless he decides to help the Earth
warriors stop Shao Kahn. Now, not only is Scorpion working together
with the younger Sub-Zero, but he's lending his help to all of Earth,
against Shao Kahn.
A
small crowd of robots, walking identically to each other, connected to a
united network of robots, approach Sub-Zero, the last Lin Kuei left to
escape automation. Earlier, the younger Sub-Zero and his friend Smoke had found escape from the Lin Kuei.
But Hydro, recently converted to an automated assassin, captured Smoke
to have him converted as well. Now Smoke is here to fight Sub-Zero, and
bring him back to Lin Kuei Headquarters. Sub-Zero urges Smoke to remember that this is not his will. Smoke is now nothing but a programmed cyber assassin, here to capture Sub-Zero. Removing his mask entirely, Sub-Zero has renounced the Lin Kuei clan entirely. He won his fight with Smoke, but is not happy about it. A deep scar has formed near his eye.
The Grandmaster, clad in all
red, would never have approved of this newer Cyber Initiative. But when
he had a heart attack, his son, Oniro, took over leadership of the
clan. The Grandmaster's heart attack turned out to be staged by his own
son, just to take over the Lin Kuei. So Oniro proceeded with the Cyber
Initiative, to attach mechanical augmentations to the Lin Kuei
assassins and program their minds to be more obedient, more
teamwork-oriented, and less resistant. Cyrax refused, at first, and he
attempted escape, but he eventually became a loyal Lin Kuei. Hydro and Smoke were both converted after that. Unlike the men who resisted, Sektor
liked the idea of upgrading himself, and he underwent the process
willingly. Sektor is not resisting the augmentations, and as such, he is taking one step ahead of the rest of the cyber-organisms.
Sektor has gotten his hands on heat-seeking rockets, once sought by the Black Dragon gang, and he is able to add it to his own permanent arsenal.
Kano indeed lives on, his evil soul still bound to the dark body of his doppelganger from the Mirror Match. The two wrestle a little for control of the same body. He is allowed to live, by Shao Kahn, in exchange for teaching his extermination squads how to use Earth's weapons. Kano knows how to use guns, knives, and even the more advanced technology like rockets. Kano teaches the Tarkatans, the Saurians, the Shokan, the Centaurs, the vampires. Shao Kahn demands that they listen to Kano attentively. The Shokan and Centaurs are both angry about having to work together under a low human. Meanwhile, Shao Kahn can see across the Earth, looking for the rare survivors. He wants to track down all the warriors from the Mortal Kombat tournament, and see to it that they be killed.
Sonya and Kano fight each other on the rooftops of Chicago, and Sonya throws Kano off a roof, watching him die a second time. Hopefully, this will end Shao Kahn's attempts to educate his armies with Earth's weapons.
A crowd of robots surrounds Sub-Zero, ready to take him back and perform the automation process themselves. He will become a cyber assassin, and then the cybers will continue to serve the Lin Kuei, and the Lin Kuei will serve Shao Kahn, for he has manipulated their programming through dark magic alone to serve him.
Although Smoke failed to capture Sub-Zero, now Cyrax and Sektor approach him. Sektor fires heat-seeking rockets, and Sub-Zero tries to manipulate ice to protect himself, but he is eventually struck by a rocket and knocked down, to be captured in a bio-net by Cyrax. Kept in containment, he is told by both robots that he will be coming back to Lin Kuei Headquarters to proceed to automation.
Nightwolf, seeing Sub-Zero beaten, transforms into a wolf. Shedding his humanity, he unleashes his animality, the wolf called Kiva. Sub-Zero is no longer a friend, while Nightwolf is Kiva. He attacks Sub-Zero for a second, but is then attacked by a robot, and so Nightwolf takes everything out on all the robots in the area. Sub-Zero is glad to have Nightwolf as an ally. Eventually, Sektor leads the robots away, retreating. Once Nightwolf is done, he begins to calm down. He ends up attacking Sub-Zero again, who freezes the werewolf's legs until he will transform into a human again at sunrise. Still, Sub-Zero thanks Nightwolf for saving his life.
Liu
Kang, Sonya, Sub-Zero, Jax, Kung Lao, Hornbuckle, Bo, Kitana, Kenshi,
Stryker, Nightwolf, Kabal, Frost, and Scorpion fight together across the
city of Chicago, through hordes of Tarkatans, reptilians, ninja-like
Cryomancers, and vampires. Working together, they take down significant
numbers of Shao Kahn's armies, but it still looks like it will be
impossible to win. Mileena, Jade, and Pearl arrive, to tell Kitana to
come back with them. Kitana refuses, and fights the three assassins.
Shang
Tsung arrives, accompanied by a skeleton crew of human
bodies, nothing left but bone, filled with the souls from his own collection. As Liu Kang and Kung Lao approach
Shang Tsung, he makes himself look like Kung Lao, and he confuses Liu
Kang enough to get him to fight the real Kung Lao. Then, Shang Tsung makes himself look like the old Kung Lao, from the first Earth tournament. Both monks fight the man, who soon is clearly Shang Tsung again.
There
will still be no way to take on entire armies of Shokan and Centaurs.
However, the mortals manage to exploit their hatred for one another,
instigating a battle which becomes a vicious war between Shokan and
Centaur. The Earth mortals take this time to escape, while they're busy
fighting each other - particularly Sheeva versus Motaro.
Reptile is in charge of leading the Saurian army. Liu Kang urges Reptile to understand that his home realm of Zaterra was taken over by Shao Kahn, and destroyed, causing the near-extinction of his race. Reptile refuses to believe this. Liu Kang is a liar, he has been told: a manipulator, willing to make up anything to have his way. Reptile will not be persuaded by his attempts to lead Reptile against Shao Kahn. The Emperor has told him the story of Zaterra: it was a dying world, on the path to death, before Shao Kahn arrived and offered a new chance for hope for life, by joining it together with his own Outworld. The realm has lived on, as a province of Outworld, due to Shao Kahn's noble actions. Liu Kang is able to eventually persuade Reptile to see the truth, and to lead Reptile to lead his own Raptor men against Shao Kahn, hoping to get Zaterra back in the control of its own people. Reptile has become a friend and ally. All the Raptors are led up in arms against Shao Kahn.
S.W.A.T. officer Curtis Stryker takes on undead banshee Sindel near a wrecked bank. He avoids her supersonic scream, and uses tactical riot gear to deal with her. Now the Bride of Shao Kahn is down, and so is Shang Tsung, and even Sheeva and Motaro. Now Shao Kahn arrives, refusing to let go of Earth. Raiden and Shao Kahn fight. Shao Kahn beats the weakened Raiden, and he laughs as he remarks that now he will kill every person until he and Raiden are the last two left standing.
Finally, it's Noob Saibot who fights and stops Shao Kahn. Once Sub-Zero, and now a wraith, Noob Saibot stops Emperor Shao Kahn from keeping his grip on Earth.
Shinnok arrives, and remarks that his son, Shao Kahn, has done well. He was born and raised to kill and to conquer, and he has done that. Now it's time that Shao Kahn's dimensional breaches allow Shinnok's return to the Earth, finally freeing him from millions of years of banishment. Stealing Shao Kahn's essence and power for himself, Shinnok becomes all powerful. Shao Kahn may be a half-mortal, half-Elder God, but Shinnok is pure Elder God. Now that Outworld has been split apart into 9 realms again, Shinnok will own them all.