C80: Tandem
"Who are you?"
With Danny Rand's intervention, the Defenders regrouped inside a shuttered Mexican taquería on West 53rd in Hell's Kitchen, an old haunt abandoned during the Chitauri invasion cleanup.
Clutching his ribs—bruised by the palm strike of the Fire Cloud Evil God—Matt Murdock, still dressed in his makeshift Daredevil gear, winced as he turned toward the man who had just saved them.
"My name is Danny. Danny Rand." Standing watch at the restaurant's steel-plated door, Danny glanced back at Matt, his expression guarded but sincere.
"Wait—you're the billionaire kung fu monk from K'un-Lun?"
Ignoring her split lip, Jessica Jones gently laid Luke Cage's unconscious, bloodied form onto a stack of flour sacks. Her dark eyes narrowed at Danny, recognizing his face from a cover story in Forbes.
"If you mean the Rand Enterprises CEO who went missing in the Himalayas for over a decade, yeah, that's me." Danny nodded, his tone neither proud nor evasive.
"Why were you anywhere near the Hand's stronghold? And why save us?" Matt adjusted the collapsed billy club strapped to his forearm, trying to push through the sharp pain in his sternum.
Danny replied, "I was ambushed in Phnom Penh by Hand assassins. One of them muttered something about 'the gate' and said the answer was in New York."
"And why would the Hand attack you in the first place?"
Danny's expression darkened. "Not sure yet. But it probably has something to do with this."
He raised his right fist, and as chi gathered, it began to glow—a fierce, golden light reminiscent of molten metal forged in divine flame.
Jessica, arms crossed, scoffed. "So, glowing fists. Is that your thing now?"
"That's not just a glow. That's Shou-Lao the Undying's chi—channelled through the Iron Fist, the sworn protector of K'un-Lun."
"K'un-Lun?" Matt echoed, remembering the ancient city referenced in Stick's grim lectures about celestial alignments and demonic invaders.
"Look, philosophy lessons later. What matters now is what we do about that Fire Cloud Evil God guy," Luke Cage rasped from where he lay. His bulletproof skin hadn't stopped the pain—he felt like a truck had run him over.
"We're not ready to face him again," Luke admitted. "That guy hits like Hulk but moves like Daredevil."
"Fire Cloud Evil God?"
Danny's eyes flickered. The name sparked something.
"I've heard that name. From someone in Chinatown. A man named Ip Man."
"Ip Man?" Jessica asked, curious now. "From Hong Kong?"
"No, Penglai. At least, that's what he claimed."
——
"Master Ip, what brings you to Manhattan?"
After a sparring session in a quiet park near Confucius Plaza, Danny realized he couldn't match Ip Man's flow—not even with the Iron Fist active. The man radiated the same inner stillness as Lei Kung the Thunderer.
"I'm looking for someone and the truth," Ip Man replied, adjusting his cuffs with graceful precision.
"The truth?"
"One of Penglai's disciples went missing in this city," he explained. "I came to find him... or his remains."
Danny nodded. "I hope you find what you're looking for."
"And you, young guardian of K'un-Lun? You carry your confusion like a heavy sword. What do you seek?"
Danny hesitated, then confessed: "I was attacked by the Hand in Cambodia. I traced their activities here. But I don't understand why they're after me or why they're afraid."
Ip Man nodded sagely. "Then we walk parallel roads. May your path lead to clarity."
"Same to you, Master Ip." Danny gave a formal clasp of his fists.
"By the way… who is this person you're looking for?" Danny asked as they parted.
"A being who once defied celestial law. The Fire Cloud Evil God."
——
"Escaped?!"
Back at the Hand's now-compromised safehouse, Madame Gao stood amid the rubble, her usual poise tinged with irritation.
The walls, thick with mystic seals and ninjutsu wards, had been shattered—an unmistakable mark of chi-based force.
"I thought the Fire Cloud Evil God was supposed to eliminate the Defenders," she muttered.
"What happened?" she asked, eyes narrowing at Bullseye, who stood off to the side, idly flipping a throwing knife between his fingers.
"A guy showed up out of nowhere," Bullseye said, shrugging. "Fists glowing like a sunrise. Hit the Heretic hard enough to crack concrete."
"Glowing fists?" Gao's hand gripped her dragon-headed cane tighter. That power could only belong to one being—the Iron Fist. The living weapon of K'un-Lun. The Hand had spent centuries trying to harness or destroy that power.
As she turned to issue orders, a new voice cut through the room like a scalpel.
"Looks like your plan's gone sideways, Gao."
A stooped, skeletal man stepped into the stronghold, dressed in black ceremonial robes. His face was like a dried husk, but his eyes gleamed with necrotic intellect.
Murakami had arrived.
"I told you before—this operation was mine," Gao said, eyes cold.
"Once, yes. But now, your failures cost us precious soldiers. The Five Fingers have convened. They agreed: you need... assistance."
"I've already tracked Iron Fist," Gao argued, her voice sharp. "I can deliver him."
"But you haven't captured him. Meanwhile, your... guest... failed to kill four wounded vigilantes." Murakami turned to the silent man standing across the room—the Fire Cloud Evil God, still brushing brick dust from his crimson robes.
"This is your ace, Gao?"
"I suggest you watch your tone," she warned.
But Murakami ignored her, striding up to the Fire Cloud Evil God. "So... you let them escape?"
The Fire Cloud Evil God raised an eyebrow, then turned his head. "Who is this walking corpse?"
"He's... another of the Hand's elders," Gao said reluctantly.
When the old man stepped forward, demanding an answer, the Heretic God didn't speak. Instead, he reached out—lightning-quick—and rotated Murakami's head a full 360 degrees with a bone-crunching snap.
Murakami's body crumpled to the floor.
Chaos erupted. Hand ninjas drew their swords, guns, and enchanted blades. None moved.
The Fire Cloud Evil God stepped toward Gao and said calmly, "From now on, I am your new master."
> [Reputation gained from Murakami: +800]
[Reputation gained from Madame Gao: +320]
[Legend increased from Bullseye: +285]
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