An enraged Liu Kirk began the running motion he meant to use to wipe the arrogant smile off of Shang Khan's face. At the last second, though, Vulcan, god of Thunder and Logic, stopped him cold.

"That, Liu, is a good way to lose one's soul. You are not ready to battle Shang Khan-yet."

Liu Kirk looked up, perplexed and angry.

"Would someone please get me another mentor?"

"Sorry, friend. But much as we may wish it otherwise, we're stuck with Vulcan. He does come in handy-on the odd occasion."

Accepting both his words and a hand up, Liu Kirk asked Jean-Luc Cage of the situation elsewhere.

"Any word from McCoy?"

Cage shook his head.

"He's still treating her. Why Major Kathryn Blade feels the need to play risk-taker all the time is..."

Liu finished.

"Probably the reason you keep hitting on her."

Cage smiled.

"Probably. Good thing we have McCoy--or NightHealer, as he insists on being called."

 Keeping an eye on Shang Khan, Major Jackson Sisko-Jax-spoke up.

"Gentlemen, may I suggest we suspend all discussion of my headstrong partner til we get back to base? Otherwise, those Borg mechs are going to gain some new recruits."

In their talk, they hadn't noticed the genetically enhanced sorcerer open up yet another portal. Thankfully, they were only Borg. Their battle-leader, Lore, was not there to direct them. Apparently, Data was still keeping him busy in the other - dimensional Neutral Zone- as he had sworn to do. Jax, the strongest man in the Quadrant, slammed the ground, knocking Shang off his feet, shutting the portal. But still the Borg were formidable. Our heroes were in for it.

Liu Kirk launched a massive array of chi-fireballs, then a series of bicycle kicks. Jean-Luc Cage's patented Shadow movements cut a wide swath straight through the middle. Jax waited until he had 3 Borg grabbing each arm, then twirled them like toys until they knocked out a whole phalanx of their brethren. But still they were massively outnumbered.

"Vulcan! A little help, here?"

"I am a god. We do not participate in Kombat. To do so would rob humanity of an essential element of independence, which your race will need if it is to keep Shang Khan's master Q'Nok from merging his continuum with yours. Further, I..."

In the midst of his lecture, Vulcan found himself surrounded by about 50 Borg, all intent on assimilating a god. Casually, he incinerated them all.

"I do not think that was so a wise course of action."

Jax and Cage were about to tell Vulcan what he could do with his non-interference, when real hope showed up. Their friends, the Princess Uhura and Ice-Like-Winter would help to turn the tide. As Ice-Like-Winter froze and destroyed the Borg surrounding Jax, he got a half-hearted thank you.

"Nice of you to show up, Chakotay!"

"Stuff it, Jax. Keeping your crazy partner in cryo til we got back to base was no easy task...and yes, NightHealer says she will be fine."

Jean-Luc Cage faced a Mega-Borg, oversized and overenhanced. The thing tried to grab him, but merely grabbed and crushed his Kombadge. With a savage upward movement, Cage ripped the torso from the thing's body, and tossed  it at yet more Borg. The classically-trained action star was cocky as he leapt once more unto the breach.

"A pity he had to be destroyed! He seemed he like my biggest fan!"

Suddenly, the Borg that had dog-piled on top of Liu Kirk spotted the rapidly-whirling fans of Princess Uhura behind them.

"You Borg back off! That's MY boyfriend!"

The fan-blades kept spinning as the rightful heir to the Q continuum tossed them at the Borg who assaulted her lover still. The blades shredded them, but came within inches of Liu Kirk. Still, he kissed her upon getting up, then fireballed a whole wall of descending Borg.

"You take a lot of chances, Princess!"

"So do you, Mister! That's why we get along!"

Just as it seemed that the Borg were being driven back, a group of four-armed, hybrid reptilian-centaurs emerged from the last remaining portal. Shang Khan gloated mightily.

"You task me, Liu Kirk! You task me, but now I have you! These Jemhdaros are known to have even less mercy than I showed to your Brother. I wonder how your soul will taste?"

"The only thing you're going to taste, sorcerer, is this!"

Moving in a difficult combination movement, with extraordinary coordination, the mortal heroes combined their individual energy projectiles into one beam, which Ice-Like-Winter then through up a frozen lens to focus it through. It took on a bluish tinge, and struck all the Jemhdaros at once. This "Phaser" movement appeared to obliterate them, but in reality shifted or "phased" them back to their own realm. Shang Khan maintained his arrogant cool.

"Verrrry good, children! But the master is far more dangerous than his servants. Witness--My Power!"

A whooshing sound followed next, as the injured Kathryn Blade sailed over and then kicked Shang Khan back, into the Borg rubble. He was only temporarily stunned, though, and she knew it. She ached from her wounds, but she'd be damned before she'd let Jean-Luc see her weak-or for that matter, the Princess Uhura, who never seemed to tire or get injured. Khan looked up at her.

"You, my lovely Kathryn, are dead!"

"Hey, Shang! Give us a Kiss!"

Punching open a container of the rocket fuel their transports used, Kathryn Blade dumped it all over Shang Khan. She then executed both her trademark finishing move-a kiss that sent a ring of fire-and, for that matter, Shang Khan. Unfortunately, the Emperor Q always had the option of reviving him. As the battle-chamber began to rock, she felt Cage grab her up, her injuries being more extensive than she thought. The heroes were out in time-narrowly. Liu Kirk looked at the wreckage of their planes.

"I, for one, do not want to have to explain this to Curtis Riker!"

Jean-Luc Cage grabbed Kathryn's Kombadge.

"I'm going to try and page Kiral. With her speed, we can probably cross the water unaided."

Vulcan shook his head.

"If you will recall, Kiral is still recovering from the scarring of her soul by Skorpdukat. It does not violate my oath to transport us back."

Just then, the clouds parted, and a huge face, twisted with arrogance, looked down at them in contempt. Vulcan raised an eyebrow.

"Q'Nok. Fascinating."

"You insignificant microbal Barbarians! I've come to put you in your
place!"

All, including now Vulcan, went to a fighting stance. The God Of Thunder And Logic spoke for them all.

"I do not think that to be so wise a course of action".

TO BE CONTINUED?