Portfolio Category: Jim Johnston

Debt of the Dragon

An ancient underworld organization threatens to overrun Zhu Zin unless Taja, Siro and Kung Lao can stop them.

To make extra money, Taja (series regular Kristanna Loken) opens a bazaar in the trading post’s courtyard. One night as she’s closing up, Jola (guest star Andreea Radutoiu) and her body guards force their way into the courtyard and demand that Taja, Siro (series regular Daniel Bernhardt) and Kung Lao (series regular Paolo Montalban) vacate the premises.

According to the intruders, the trading post is theirs, owed to them by the Baron to cover a gambling debt. When they won’t surrender the post, Taja, Siro and Kung Lao are attacked by Jola and her co-horts. As the fight intensifies, Jola’s brother, Kebral (guest star Greg Vaughan), arrives and demands that Jola stop the fight and leave. Kung Lao, Siro and Taja mistakenly think that Kebral has put an end to this nonsense when he ominously states that they will be back to take possession of the trading post.

It turns out that Jola and Kebral are members of The Black Dragon, an underworld organization known for its deviousness. The Black Dragon is a familial organization led by Bannak (guest star Dave Corey), who opposes Jola’s use of force and agrees with Kebral that there are other ways to intimidate, extort and exploit.

Siro knows of The Black Dragon and their ways–he wants to strike back at the organization and show them that they will not be able to prey on him, Taja or Kung Lao. Kung Lao is opposed to any use of violence against The Black Dragon and asks Siro to restrain himself.

Concurrently, Jola is furious that the men in her family have sided against her and seeks out Shang Tsung (series regular Bruce Locke) in the Cobalt Mines. It turns out that Jola and Shang Tsung have had dealings before and were once lovers. In the Cobalt Mines, Jola begs Shang Tsung to return to her the powers of the Dragon–forces that her family once used to control and destroy their enemies. Over generations, the powers surged out of control and the family turned away from them as they became too dangerous. Jola seeks the powers to settle the score with her family and anyone else who gets in her way.

True to their word, The Black Dragon begins a campaign of terror against Kung Lao, Siro and Taja by killing one of the Temple’s monks and hanging his body on the wall of the trading post. Affixed to the monk’s body is a note that says one more shall die each day the threesome resists The Black Dragon. Against the counsel of Kung Lao, Siro begins a retaliatory crusade of his own.

When Bannak turns up dead, The Black Dragon assumes it’s the work of Siro. Unbeknownst to everyone, it is Jola who killed Bannak. Later in the Cobalt Mines, Jola makes a deal with Shang Tsung for the powers of The Dragon.

With her new powers of darkness, Jola visits the trading post with the intent to kill Kung Lao and settle her debt with Shang Tsung. What she’s not counting on is the unified front presented by Taja, Siro and Kung Lao. Despite the fact the her new powers have made her a fierce fighter with the ability to throw flames from her palms, Jola is pulled back to Outworld by Shang Tsung just as Kung Lao is about to finish her. Telling her she’s failed him, Shang Tsung intends to keep Jola in the Cobalt Mines where he will train her in the use of the powers.

For the time being, the trading post and Zhu Zin are free from the reign of The Black Dragon.

                   

Immortal Kombat

When Shang Tsung’s sorcery puts Taja and Siro’s lives in danger, Kung Lao risks all of the Earth Realm to save his friends.

Kung Lao (series regular Paolo Montalban) takes Siro (series regular Daniel Bernhardt) and Taja (series regular Kristanna Loken) to the Temple of the Order of Light for some meditation and reflection. What Siro and Taja discover after some reflection is that this isn’t for them and they decide to leave Kung Lao and head back to the trading post.

As they’re leaving the post, and elderly monk notices a water sack hanging on a post, and assuming it’s theirs runs after Taja and Siro to give them the sack. The monk drinks some of the water before he gives it to them. The sack, as it turns out, is Kung Lao’s, but his friends take it anyway.

The monk returns to the Temple and dies shortly thereafter. As the other monks are preparing his body for burial, it continues to age and disintegrate until there is nothing left except a pile of dust. It is clear to the other monks that the dark powers of sorcery are at work.

Vorpax (series regular Tracy Douglas), having completed her mission, is discovered trying to sneak away from the Temple. Kung Lao chases her and she narrowly escapes through a portal back to Outworld. Piecing together the events of the day, Kung Lao surmises that Vorpax, acting for Shang Tsung (series regular Bruce Locke), put something in the water sack that was meant for him, not the monk. He then realizes that Siro and Taja have the water sack and are probably drinking the remainder of the potion that caused the monk to age into oblivion–and will do the same to them.

The monks tell Kung Lao of a woman, Omegis (guest star Angelica Bridges), a sorceress who has defeated mortality and can reverse Shang Tsung’s potion. Unfortunately, the monks warn, Omegis is a friend to no one and only serves her own desires.

Arriving at the trading post, Kung Lao discovers that his friends have already aged almost 20 years from the day before, and the aging shows no signs of slowing. Their journey to Omegis is labored, considering that Taja is more than 50 years old and Siro is well past 60. Sensing time is running out, Kung Lao leaves his friends at an abandoned temple and goes on alone.

Kung Lao tells Omegis why he’s come, but as he was warned, she is unsympathetic and unwilling to help. She tells Kung Lao that he should get used to seeing his friends die–since he’s immortal (until he’s defeated in Mortal Kombat), he’ll outlive everyone he meets. Kung Lao persists and Omegis finally relents, giving him a potion to reverse Shang Tsung’s sorcery.

By the time Kung Lao gets back to Taja and Siro at the temple, they have been taken captive by Shang Tsung. Unless Kung Lao agrees to face off with Shang Tsung there and then in Mortal Kombat, Shang Tsung will keep Taja and Siro from getting Omegis’ potion. It’s fierce battle, but once again, Kung Lao is victorious and defeats Shang Tsung (who barely has the strength to make it back to Outworld) in just enough time to get the antidote to Taja and Siro.

With Taja and Siro back to normal and Shang Tsung back in Outworld, Rayden (series regular Jeffrey Meek) visits Kung Lao and berates him for selfishly putting all of the Earth Realm in danger by engaging in Mortal Kombat to save two friends. Oddly enough, Rayden’s warning echoes Omegis’–immortality comes with a price.