Journey of the Iron Fist #2

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Journey of the Iron Fist #2
Shogun Dynasty
Part 2
Warming Up

Written by G. Brown
Edited by Daniel Dyer

Iron Fist faced the on rushing headlights with micro-seconds to make a move. Without hesitation, he leapt not away from the car, but toward it. The driver and passengers almost smiled, knowing the hero couldn’t clear the vehicle in time. The smiles changed to a look of horror when they realized their target wasn’t attempting to avoid the car, but was in the air heading toward the windshield in a kicking motion!

“Holy Sh...”

The cries of the gang was drowned out by the crack of shattering windshield! The panic and the glass flying all over the interior of the car, caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The car was at such a high rate of speed that it swerved and impacted with the side of the alley wall. The force of the stop crushed the front end of the car like an accordion and the front passenger sailed through the open windshield and slammed into the wall as well. His shoulder crunching when it hit the brick. The driver hit the steering wheel with sufficient force to break his nose and render him unconscious. The three in the back stumbled from the ruined car attempting to gather their senses, not really sure if what they saw was to be believed.

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Danny reacted by instinct. Knowing he couldn’t avoid the car, the dragon took over, and he attacked. His flying side kick would certainly destroy the windshield, but the force would take him into the vehicle itself and almost certainly damage himself, if not kill him. He focused his Chi, all of his energy into one point at one time, his leg. At the perfect time, he snaked out a strike from his leg that shattered the windshield, while at the same time, gave him enough spring to actually propel himself into a backflip that somersaulted him over the top of the metal juggernaut. His momentum was far greater than he had imagined and his trajectory was off. He hurtled toward the pavement much too fast. With barely an inch to spare he shoulder tucked and rolled several feet from the back of the vehicle. He rolled into a grouping of trash cans with a loud crash. Luckily that sound paled compared to that of the car smashing into the wall. He brushed himself off and got to his feet behind the men exiting the vehicle.

Lucky, lucky Dragon... At least no one heard or saw that move, but any crash you can walk away from... Iron Fist kept his thoughts to himself as he silent as a Christmas night crept up behind the rest of his attackers.

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“What the F**K? Is he dead? He got to be dead!”

“I didn’t see him... is he under the car?”

Iron Fist stood directly behind one of the teens.

“I’m right here.”

They almost leapt out of their skins. Not being able to see the acrobatic move that Iron Fist had just made, it appeared to the boys that he had simply vanished and reappeared without a scratch.

The one closest to Danny must have been made of sterner stuff than the others, for after his initial shock he attacked immediately. He swung with well executed punches, thrown from his waist in direct lines toward Iron Fist’s head and midsection. Iron Fist stood without moving his feet, his upper body merely moved from side to side and both blows missed by fractions of an inch. Then with lightning quickness, Iron Fist reached out and grabbed the boys arm from underneath and using his other forearm struck the arm while it was trapped. He used just enough force to sprain the arm, but inflicted enough pain that the youth would swear it was broken. He pulled back the arm with a cry of pain, but did not stop his attack, rather he spun away from Iron Fist and attacked with a spinning backfist using his other hand.

Danny was sure the arm bar would have took the fight from his opponent, so he was surprised by the counter, but the boy still seemed to be moving in slow motion. He blocked the fist and crushed the boy directly in the chest with a front kick. The boy sailed back into the rear of the car in a heap. By now the others joined into the fray. They came at Iron Fist from opposite sides, kicking and punching with a timed precision. Danny crouched and blocked both attacks, arms a blur of motion. Neither boy could penetrate the defense of Iron Fist, but they were impressive.

These attacks are far superior than I expected, They are much faster than I’ve encountered here as well, he thought to himself. There was more to these boys than met the eye. Danny swept his foot out suddenly taking the legs out from under the one to his left, but even that half second taken from his defense allowed the other boy to close the gap. One punch came within hairs of hitting Danny and the blow actually cracked the brick alley wall!

The surprise could be seen in Danny’s eyes. The boy had cracked a solid wall and never hesitated from the pain. As the boy withdrew his hand to prepare for another blow, Danny saw a familiar tattoo on his inner forearm. The symbol of the Shogun Combat Academy. It was burned or inked into his arm. Dunston only allows his best students to wear his “mark”. These young men were students of his and somehow they possessed increased speed and strength. Danny had to end this fight fast. He switched to attack mode and hit the standing boy with two strikes to the interior nerve of his legs and spun upward connecting his elbow into the boy’s chin. The combination of his legs going dead and Iron Fist leaping up into him drove the boy into the air and he collapsed in an unconscious pile. He positioned himself to face the boy he had swept, hands open in traditional K’un L’un fighting stance. The boy had hardly saw Iron Fist whirl, when the next thing he saw was his partner crumble to the ground. He decided to stay down and wave in surrender to Iron Fist.

Danny relaxed a bit and was about to question his opponent, when he noticed the blaze getting bigger and by now it was absolutely spreading toward the Dojo. He sprinted over to the wooden docks that connected the two warehouses. Like a snake he could see lines of flames crawling toward his side of the dock. He could hear sirens in the distance. The firefighters wouldn’t make it before the Dojo was on fire. Luckily enough the warehouse that was engulfed in fire was empty but he knew that the blaze was started with every intention of it to spread to Kung Kai.
He looked over the pier’s structure and ran to the end of the pier.

I have to hit this just right, Danny said to himself. He then closed his eyes and summoned the Power of Shou-Loa, he called on the Iron Fist. His right hand began to glow and crackle with energy! When he opened his eyes he dropped his glowing fist sharply into the pier floor.

“Kiai!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The blow began a series of cracks that trailed down the length of the pier and in seconds the entire pier crashed in on itself. Iron Fist, drained from the summoning, fell toward the icy waters. The use of the Iron Fist was draining and it left the user some what strained. The last thing he saw before the cold black waters met him was that he had struck true. The support beams were intact. The warehouses would stand and the Dojo was safe from the fire. Then he was engulfed by the water, exhausted he submerged...

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Perched atop the Kung Kai Dojo stands a figure concealed by shadows. He shakes his head in disgust. He makes no move to save Iron Fist, although he intently watched the entire episode unfold. He continues his vigilance until the Guardian of K’un L’un sinks under the water.

“Pathetic.”

He slowly turns in the direction of the sirens. Several of New York’s bravest and finest have arrived at the scene of the blaze. They begin to do what they can to get the situation under control. None of them ever look upward. That is why they never see the mystery man leap silent as a cat from one rooftop to another. Had they looked up they may have mistook him for the man known as Iron Fist, since he too wore a very familiar warrior’s uniform.

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Iron Fist had not blacked out for long. The cold snapped him back to the land of the living almost instantly. His energy was already returning as he floated toward the bottom. Slowly and effortlessly, he began to reverse his momentum and swim towards the surface. On the surface he began to swim with the grace of an Olympic athlete passing debris from the pier as he headed toward a ladder on the nearest warehouse. He was about to pull himself up when he was offered a helpful hand. Looking up he saw the face of Misty Knight. He took the hand and together they hoisted him from the water.

“Very brave of you.......”

Iron Fist began to smile when she continued.

“Most men wouldn’t swim in water this cold dressed like that. Shrinkage... the tights... Never mind.”

Danny almost blushed. “I was hoping to avoid the police, the media and such.”

“Don’t worry. No one else is within a block of here. Its just us Detectives Knight and Nyguen. We’re the sharp ones. Think of us as Charlie Chan meets Foxy Brown.”

“Harry, good to see you.” Iron Fist turned to face Misty’s partner Harry Nyguen. Harry was a Korean man of small frame and was at least ten or more years older than he and Misty. He was a very funny man and one of NYPD’s brightest cops. Harry was one of the first police officers in the precinct to take the rumors of Iron Fist seriously. Reports in this area of Manhattan were piling up with reports of a masked man running around in tights and slippers fighting thugs like Bruce Lee reborn. Of course, no one believed it. Even now, Iron Fist was more of an urban legend than a fact in New York. Detective Nyguen was no different until the night he was taken hostage with several shoppers in a local Bodega. Harry couldn’t dare pull his weapon, but the hostage takers were getting panicky and desperate. Harry was just about to make an awful choice when Iron Fist appeared from somewhere in the back of the store and disarmed the gunmen in seconds. Harry honored Iron Fist’s request for anonymity and to this day feels like he owes him one... or more. Harry had, of course, met Danny the same night that Bobby had tried to “save” him, but Harry had met Iron Fist under different circumstances.

“I’m glad its you Harry and not some youngster trying to get his name in the paper. And you are?” Danny asked Misty, knowing full well she was Danny Rand’s girlfriend. What’s the point of a dual identity if you can’t have some fun with it.

“Knight. Misty Knight. And you must be Harry’s guardian angel, the deadly hands of Iron Fist or something like that. Right? What’s with the mask anyway? Are you trying to be some kind of comic book hero, like Captain Action or Captain America?”

“Here, I am the people’s problem solver. I am many things to many people, but always I am the Iron Fist.” He bowed before Misty. She rolled her eyes as he bent over so only Harry could see her.

“OK, Iron Fist.... laying it on a little think aren’t you?”

Harry cleared his throat to interrupt the interaction.

“Excuse me? I don’t want to break up this hallmark moment, but can we get down to business? The man that owns this building to the right is a “special” friend of my partner’s, so can you shed any light on what happened tonight?”

Misty looked a tad irritated that Harry put her personal business out there like that in front of this weirdo. Who she was seeing wasn’t anyone’s concern, certainly not a masked vigilante, no matter how hot his abs looked in that costume. She found herself staring at Iron Fist’s muscles and his dragon tattoo. “That has nothing to do with the matter, This just happens to be our beat.”

Danny was more than happy to share his information, Harry always returned the favor to him in the past. Harry was his best link inside the department.

“I was on routine patrol.” He looked at Misty as he caught her staring at his chest again. “This area falls under my beat as well. When I came upon several young men torching the piers. They attempted to get away by car and I stopped them.”

“That would explain the wrecked car,” Harry interjected.

“With the unconscious men,” Iron Fist added.

“No. No men, Van Damme, just a burning car,” Misty corrected.

Iron Fist looked puzzled. There were five young men. They attacked me and....” He thought back to the encounter, trying to figure out how to put this.”....They were very strong. They smashed brick and they were amazingly fast. Far above normal. They had to be enhanced somehow. More than human.”

“But not fast enough to take you down?” Misty challenged him.

“Many would gasp at the speed of the viper, until judged against the mongoose.” Danny grinned and Harry smiled.

Iron Fist continued, “They also had a mark, a tattoo or a burn maybe, on the inner arm. It was the symbol of the Shogun Combat Academy.”

“The puzzles coming together, Mist,” Harry said as he rubbed his chin.

“Let me fill in the blanks for you ‘Slippers’,” Misty said turning to Iron Fist. “This Dunston, the Shogun, is hiring out his best students as errand boys for some very bad people. They are very well paid muscle. Normally we could handle that, all in a day’s work, but these kids are juiced up.”

“Steroids?”

“We wish. Its called Accelerate or Xcell. It like a super combination of speed, ecstasy and steroids. They can’t sleep, they get highly temperamental and violent. Not to mention strong as an ox and fast as a snake. Although, evidentetly not as fast as a mongoose. They don’t seem to feel much in the area of pain. One of our patrolmen emptied a clip into one of them and the kid still got up and ran away.”

Harry took over. “That would explain why your sparring partners aren’t where you left them. They got better and ran off. Misty and I have been all over this Shogun for a while now. More Misty than me. She went undercover at first, Shogun has a gleam in his eye for Foxy here. Anyway up till now we could never actually tie him to the Xcell gang. I ‘m sure you won’t have a problem taking off that mask and testifying for us, do you?”

Harry and Misty turned around to find they were alone and talking to themselves. No one heard Iron Fist move, let alone leave.

“Of course, perfect. Saw that coming.”

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“Crack!”

The Shogun Academy student’s jaw shattered from the punch thrown by Dunston. The teen fell to the floor in a heap before his Sensei. He spit out twin teeth and a gob of blood, his face a testament to the teacher’s unhappiness.

“Stupid, incompetent... How could you not finish the job? No one was there. That Dojo should be burned to the ground by now!” Dunston wiped blood from his fist as he paced around the room.

“Shogun, it wasn’t our fault. Iron Fist showed up and...”

The explanation was interrupted by an elbow from the man next to him. He couldn’t stop his partner until it was too late. Dunston turned to face the group. The anger in his eyes was almost as tangible as the fire from last night.

“Iron Fist? Iron Fist! So some fruit cake in a mask shows up and you girls get all scared. Let me get this straight, some guy puts on a costume to play urban hero and he kicks the crap out of my best guys. That’s your best story? That’s your excuse?”

“No, Shogun.” They all spoke as one and just as uniformly they turned their eyes to the floor.

“You’re damn right! I don’t accept no excuses. What’s next? You guys gonna get your butts kicked by the Tooth Fairy next time... Bigfoot?” He could tell from the look on their faces that this Iron Fist was real. It was no concern to the Shogun, if he was the badass people say he was, why hadn’t he tried to take him on? Because like everyone else, this Iron Fist was scared as well.

“Looks like we’ll have to go with plan B. Mr. Dan Rand just needs to see the importance of getting on board with us. Time for playing nice is over.”

Despite his better judgement, one of the students spoke up.

“Why’s this Rand guy so important? You have your man at Stark International, we always come through for him and he always comes through for us with loot and the high tech stuff. We don’t need Rand.”

Dunston whirled around and punched, mere inches from the man’s head. The blow shattered the wall leaving a fist sized hole in it. Dirt, brick and paint chips rained down on the student.

“My man at Stark got fired! The CEO found out about our employ and all the goodies we’ve been getting our hands on. And guess what? He wasn’t too happy! The wells dried up boys. Rand is our new sugar daddy whether he likes it or not. I never could get anything on Stark, but Rand is different. Plan B revolves around that sweet lady friend of his Misty Knight. That cop lady thinks she’s slick playing nice with me while she noses around in our business. Well tonight we kill two birds with one stone. Rand starts to finance us or Ms. Knight pays the price. She may pay anyway, as a lesson to the man and to get her off our backs.” The Shogun showed his shark like teeth again. “Tonight Rand signs up or of course he could have an accident, his second in command could be just as easily swayed. Either way, Rand and Knight are in for a most entertaining evening.”

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Danny arrived at the office of Rand-Meachum Imports and Exports by midday. No one gave him a second look, most employees understood that the recently arrived CEO had little to do with the day to day activities of the company. He sometimes didn’t show up at all. He walked past his secretary, smiling at the young woman as he headed to his office.

“Morning Crystal.”

“Good morning Mr. Rand. Another late night? You should really think about taking my sister up on her offer. She is an excellent martial arts teacher and she always says a sound body creates a strong mind.”

Crystal Wing had been harping on Danny’s hours ever since he arrived on the job. She always mistook his late arrivals for a life of partying and Danny saw no need to discourage her conclusions. Apparently, she had an older sister, Colleen, that owned a Detective agency and a gym/martial arts studio. Crystal knew from taking his calls and reviewing his mail that he had an interest in martial arts and was always attempting to get her sister some sort of work.

“Thanks, but I don’t have time to work out, Crystal. A few minutes on the treadmill is all I have time for.”

He spent the entire afternoon searching the web for information about X-Cell. There were many and none very encouraging. The drug was dangerous to its users and very experimental. It was also very expense and rare. Dunston must have been hiring his crew out to some very rich clients to be affording it to his students. He thought about Harry and Misty and how they were watching Dunston and his boys. He worried for Misty. She was getting close and Dunston’s boys could be very dangerous. He knew Misty could handle herself, but those guys are tough enough, but amped up on X-Cell they were more than a match for her. Danny couldn’t watch her twenty four seven, maybe an extra set of eyes wouldn’t be a bad idea. He hit the intercom for Crystal.

“Crystal, your sister does security work as well, right? Give me her number again.”

In minutes, Danny was on the line with Wing restorations.

“Hello Colleen Wing? This is Daniel Rand.... Yes, that’s right. Crystal’s boss. That’s very kind of her, I was wondering if you were available to take on a job right away.”

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Danny and Misty drove up to the Wintergarden Restaurant and pulled into the Valet parking area. It was one of the first “real” dates they had been on. At least their first official date, rather than a trip to the café or another visit at the Dojo or in front of the TV at one of their homes, this was a real date and Danny was nervous. Not just because he knew they were in danger from Dunston, but also because he wanted things to go well with Misty.

“I heard this place has a month long waiting list.”

“Well I pulled some strings or I should say my secretary pulled some strings. I wanted you to have the best for our first real night out.”

“Mama Knight’s little girl doesn’t need to have all the bells and whistles, Mr. Rand. I’m a simple girl at heart.”

Danny looked her over from top to bottom. Misty looked gorgeous in a red dress, skin tight in all the right places, low neck line and slit up the leg.

“There’s nothing simple about you Ms. Knight.” He smiled her way.

They hadn’t just stepped from the car when a van screeched past the valet parkers and raced up to them! The van door slid open and two of Shogun’s men stepped out, one holding a shotgun. He fired the weapon toward the couple and Danny reacting from instinct, to protect Misty, leapt in front of her. The blast seemed to hit him dead center, but in actuality Danny had avoided the brunt of the pellets. He had moved so fast that most only grazed him in the side, but his momentum spun him into the parking garage pillar. The pellets that did hit him tore some skin off his side and bruised him badly on the rib but the pillar was less forgiving. His head slammed directly into the concrete. He fell to the floor looking up, fighting the blackness just enough to see the men drag Misty into the van. They were arguing with each other and yelling. He tried to get up only to blackout and fall to the floor.

*

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Colleen Wing had been in the parking garage the entire time, she was about to race toward the intercepting van when she saw her employer shot point blank with a shotgun! She covered the distance between the attackers and herself in seconds but she had to chose between helping the cop or trying to save Rand. She kneeled beside Rand. He was bleeding from his side and seemed to be unconscious. She ripped his shirt open in order to begin CPR and use the shirt to stem the bleeding, when she came upon a startling discovery. With his shirt open she could easily see the dragon tattoo clearly through his undershirt. She also saw that the pellets had hit him but not fatally. Colleen acted quickly. She hefted Danny over her shoulder and ran to her own car deep in the parking lot. She now had a good idea who this man may actually be and she knew that police would not be what he needed to deal with right now. As she placed him in her backseat and pulled away from the ever crowded crime scene she couldn’t help but think how she was Alice and tonight she had fell face first through the rabbit hole.

To be continued...