Journey of the Iron Fist #5

[fan4]

Journey of the Iron Fist #5
The Demon and the Dragon, Part 1

Written by G. Brown
Edited by Aaron Martel


The towering walls circling the city of K’un L’un were ringing with the sound of battle. Bodies littered the ground as well as the battlements of the fabled city. Many brave warriors of the Golden Realm had been sent to the afterlife in defense of their homeland this night. The invading forces were relentless in their attack, if not completely successful. Ladders and grappling hooks hung in place all along the gold-lined buttresses as a never-ending swarm of invaders attempted to scale their way past the walled barrier, battle lust and fury in their eyes. Each warrior without hesitation scrambled up the walls as if the devil himself was at their heels. Suddenly the night sky exploded in light as an impossible amount of flaming arrows was launched from the towers on high. Cheers could be heard as if from one voice all along the wall as wave after wave of aggressors fell! K’un L’un was safe.

In an inner room, The Emperor of K’un L’un sat protected from the battle outside and along the walls protecting his Kingdom. On either side of him stood the two greatest defenders the city had ever known. One was Lei Kung the Thunderer, Master Sensei of K’un L’un, and on the opposite side of Lord Yu’ Ti’ stood the Champion of K’un L’un, Daniel Rand-Kai, the Iron Fist. The door to the inner sanctum opened with a start as a servant stumbled, rushing in with wonderful news. Both the Thunderer and the Fist took defensive stances, stepping both in front of the August Personage in Jade and shoulder to shoulder at the same time. The servant slid as he stopped as fast as he could, the look on his face one would expect to see had he stepped aggressively toward Death itself. The outcome being one and the same, should one man attempt to face these two human weapons in combat alone.

“I apologize, Great One, but I bring good news from the battlefield.” The servant immediately fell prone on the ground, not making eye contact with any of the men before him. “The forces have been repelled. The army of the Dark One has been defeated.”

The young servant did not lift his head but a smile crossed his face none the same. He finally felt relief after all the speculation of fear that had spread throughout the city since the siege had begun. Both warriors before him relaxed their stances, but never took their eyes from the man laid out before them. Their muscles were still primed beneath the ceremonial uniforms and masks they both wore. Yu’ Ti’ spoke without moving from his throne-like seat.

“Khan is a Master in the Arts of the Ancients. His foot soldiers are but fodder to him. His power does not take the form of an army.”

The servant slowly raised his head, but the smile was gone from his face. Confusion and some of the fear was returning. “How can he enter.....”

Just then the youth convulsed as if in pain and fell again to the floor. As Lei Kung and Daniel Rand-Kai stepped to him, the boy’s face snapped back up, but it had changed. His features were the same but now his expression gave him a completely new look. An evil grin and eyes that were as deep and dark as an undisturbed moonlight lake greeted the warriors. “You are right to call me a Master. You will do well to remember to add the title before taking my name in vain, Yu’ Ti’. Proper respect is due to the newest Emperor of K’un L’un...”

Lei Kung and Rand-Kai both moved with the swiftness of a pair of vipers. They each reached for the servant’s body, but were thrust back as the boy’s body was engulfed in flames and burned as bright as the noonday sun. The servant’s flesh melted and burned off the man’s form until even the bones beneath exploded from the intense heat! As the light dimmed, in the boy’s place stood the full form of Master Khan, unharmed and smiling.

He stood tall and strong. He wore his black hair pulled back from his face in a very thick ponytail which rose up on his head in a bun before hanging down along his back stopping just past his waist. His skin was bronze and most unlike any native to K’un L’un. He wore a long goatee that hung from his chin, ending in a point always impeccable. His robe was long and seamless. It started at the neck and went to the floor so as to conceal his feet. Its color was midnight blue and his hands gripped each other in front of him, his long finger nails standing out like talons on a predator. As he crossed the floor he almost floated, as if not moving of his own power.

“You have waged war against K’un L’un throughout the ages, Khan. This campaign will end the same as all your others: in utter defeat and shame.” Yu’ Ti’ still had not moved a muscle, his expression like stone as he addressed the mage from his throne.

A smile spread across Master Khan’s face. “Today, everything changes. Today K’un L’un belongs to me.”

Suddenly, his hands separated themselves and the flesh seemed to burn from them in an instant. The hands changed into bare white bones engulfed in a burning flame, but the movements were natural and Khan appeared to be in no pain. From the skeletal hands and fingers shot forth blasts of fire as if from Hell itself! Lei Kung leaped in the path of the inferno to protect his liege, only to become engulfed in the unearthly flames! The invincible Sensei of legend disintegrated before Iron Fist’s very eyes. His mentor and trainer screamed as his flesh turned to ash. As the flame destroyed the Thunderer, it continued unaffected on its intended path. The hell fire blasted Yu’ Ti’ as he sat motionless and died without a sound. Iron Fist screamed for both of them.

Iron Fist had failed! He stared in shock as he watched his Sensei and Emperor die before his eyes as he stood by helpless. As the rage grew in him, Iron Fist launched himself at Khan with a yell.

“Kiai!!!”

As Iron Fist closed to within an inch of the timeless mage, about to launch a deadly attack, he was stopped dead in his tracks by the sight before him. Gone was Master Khan’s face; in its place was the visage of a burning skull.

“Your skill and energy is but a torch when compared to the power at my command.”

Out of the skeleton’s mouth came Khan’s voice and Iron Fist could not tear his eyes away from the horrible sight. His gaze was drawn to the skull’s eye sockets. As he looked deep into the dark pits of the eye sockets, Iron Fist screamed as he never had before......

[fan4]

“Ahhhh!!”

Danny Rand awoke from his nightmare with a scream, sweat covering his chest and face. The image of the flaming skull still seemed as clear as day. Not a cloudy image from a dream, but a solid visual, as if he had seen it up close.

“Master Khan...A Demon....again. It felt as real as the first time I dreamt it.”

Danny rose from his bed and looked at the bedside clock. 2:35am. That marked the fourth time this week he awoke from the same nightmare. He opened the curtains of his penthouse window letting in the night lights from Manhattan. His room lit up like a living room on Christmas night. The lights flashing on the walls created shadows around the room. Shadows where Master Khan or the Demon’s skull waited to pounce. Danny shook his head and headed into his bathroom. He looked at his weary face in the mirror. Sleep was not coming easily this week. He turned on the shower water and entered. He hung his head as the water cascaded down his body on the way to the drain. Danny tried to think of anything but the dream.

It had been over a month since Misty’s operation. She survived and was healthy, undergoing physical therapy.

Tony Stark was as good as his word. The very next day after Misty’s touch and go night, a team of specialized surgeons invaded the hospital. With Misty’s begrudging permission, they attached an artificial arm to her. It was a creation of Stark’s and even the doctors working on Misty didn’t know how it exactly worked. They simply followed specific instructions from Stark on how to attach the amazing prosthetic. The arm was as capable as Dunston’s arms had been, if not more so. While grateful, Misty was certain now to never forget that horrible evening with the Shogun. The arm was a godsend, but the reminder it left her with made it a mixed blessing.

Danny had made several attempts to continue his relationship with Misty, but she had rebuffed him time and time again. She was busy recovering, and then the NYPD concluded that it would not keep her on the force with such an extreme handicap, regardless of the experimental arm she now had. Between therapy and medical retirement paperwork, Misty had used many excuses to avoid Danny, but he knew that avoiding him was exactly what she had been doing. Danny had, at first, been to every therapy appointment, but as soon as Colleen or Harry would show up, Misty gravitated to them and soon it was more than evident that she didn’t want him to come around any more. Danny continued to call and leave messages, but she rarely picked up and when she did it was more excuses. She had accepted a position with Colleen at Wing Restorations, now KnightWing Restorations. Danny was happy to see her find a new direction so soon, but wished there was room in her life for him as well. Whatever the reason for the distance between them, Danny took solace in the fact that Misty and Colleen had become so close.

Danny dried off and threw on a robe as he exited the bathroom. He took one step into the living room when he heard the familiar click of a revolver’s hammer being cocked.

“Don’t even breathe unless I tell you to.”

Danny’s eyes fell on the form of Misty Knight. She was dressed in a black jump suit, complete with zipper from neck to thigh. Her .357 Magnum pointed directly at him.

“Misty? I’ve been calling you every......”

“I know. It’s taken me a long time to deal with everything. Losing my arm was difficult for me. I didn’t feel...I still don’t feel complete. I feel like less than whole. Less than a woman.....I pulled away, Danny. Whenever you came around, I couldn’t handle it. I knew you wanted Misty Knight the woman, not Misty the robot......When you came around I couldn’t fool myself anymore. I couldn’t pretend I was whole.”

“Misty....”

“Let me finish!” She raised her voice, waving her hand cannon in front of her. Danny’s eyes widened. She didn’t want to hurt him. She never really could, but this was the way she maintained control. Part of her would always be a cop, no matter what the department said. “I’ve done a lot of thinking. Colleen has helped, she has been amazing, but before I get to all that there is something you have to do for me.”

“Anything.”

Misty’s eyes hardened and she tilted her head at him the way she always did to a perp she was interrogating. Her full Afro hairstyle made her seem taller than she actually was.

“Drop the robe.”

Danny hesitated. “I’m sorry, Misty. What?”

“Lose the robe, Danny. Now. No games.”

Danny sighed, knowing that to do this would reveal his secret, but he couldn’t refuse her. Not after all she had been through. He slowly undid the robe and let it fall open. He stood before her bearing the dark dragon scar spread out across his chest.

“Damn. Its true. I knew it! I knew I wasn’t dreaming. I tried to think I imagined it, but I couldn’t shake it. I knew it!”

“Misty, I wanted to tell you. It’s just not safe.....”

“Stop. Just stop, Danny. I understand the whole secret identity thing. The need to protect those you care about from your double life. Enemies, the whole gig, I get it. But I’m no damsel in distress, sugar. I can handle myself. I just needed to know, to be sure I wasn’t crazy.”

Danny was relieved. Misty was the one person in all the world he wanted to be most honest with. He wished he had told her sooner.

“So you’re OK with this?” He raised his arms, indicating his scar.

“Ok with what? The fact that my boyfriend is a superhero, one of the baddest men on the planet in a fight? Yeah, I can live with that.” She smiled for the first time that he had seen since the operation. “You saved my life, but there is still something that I need from you.” She de-cocked her gun and put it on a night stand as she stepped closer to him.

“You can have anything that I have.”

Misty began to unzip her jumpsuit, revealing nothing at all underneath. “Danny Rand, I need you to show me that I’m still a real woman.”

Danny’s jaw dropped as he couldn’t tear his eyes from her. “Damn,” was all Danny could muster. Misty smiled.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” She closed the gap between them.

“You’re beautiful,” Danny said as he took her into his arms and kissed her. The kiss seemed to last forever and felt like a long, deep breath of fresh air to Danny. When the kiss broke Misty smiled and sighed, feeling whole for the first time in a long time.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet, sugar.”

Nightmares didn’t return to Danny Rand that night, but neither did any sleep.

[fan4]

Danny had made Misty a huge breakfast in the morning which they ate together, talking and catching up. Misty had explained that Colleen and she had taken a job in Miami protecting the child of a diplomat, and they had to catch an early flight. With a lingering kiss and a promise to call, Misty had left to meet her new partner, leaving Danny with the whole day ahead of him. He felt as if his whole life was now also ahead of him, thoughts of demons and K’un L’un boogeymen far from his thoughts. A quick call to Crystal Knight to tell her he was sleeping off another wild night (this time not a lie!), and that Rand-Meachum would have to survive without him for yet another day, and Danny was out the door for a jog in the beautiful weather.

Danny crossed the street from his building and began to jog through Central Park. The wonderful weather had brought out the native New Yorkers and the park was as alive as he was now feeling. Misty had invigorated him. Now that they were back together, he felt alive and vibrant. He ran with strong, fast strides, smiling at joggers as he passed them and waving at kids playing frisbee on the grass. As he cut off the jogging path and began to run up a hill, his head was filled with a voice eerily familiar to him.

>>Young Dragon, You know I am near<<

Danny dropped to one knee. The more the voice resounded in his head the more his head began to hurt.

>>Tonight, Iron Fist, enter the park and you will find me waiting. Tonight, Young Dragon, come to me. Come face your destiny.<<

It was the dream voice of Master Khan! His last words painfully echoed through Danny’s head. The migraine-like pain subsided as the sound of the voice faded.

Master Khan? How could it be? The ancient sorcerer had been defeated long ago. The tale was told from father to son for generations in K’un L’un. The legend of Khan’s defeat was a popular one told over and over again. Now, in present day New York, he had just been called to and issued a challenge by a sorcerer long dead. Danny slowed his breathing and channeled his energy, his Chi. He could feel that the voice had been real. Something in the power of the Iron Fist ...recognized Khan. The age old Mage and arch villain of K’un L’un was here in New York, of that Danny was certain. Danny returned to his feet, suddenly glad that both Colleen and Misty were out of town. Khan was a powerful force, something only the Iron Fist should face. Danny walked the rest of the way home. He knew he would be busy that night; he had a date in the park and much to rest up for.

[fan4]

Central Park (Midnight):

Iron Fist, dressed in full uniform, moved through the tress and darkness like a shadow. Khan had not spoken to Danny again, but it was as if he had left a supernatural trail of breadcrumbs to follow. As Danny made his way through the park his Chi would pull him in a distinct direction. It was easily leading him into the park until the nudging stopped right before the famed Belvedere Castle. Danny looked at the castle from the safety of a cropping of trees. Belvedere Castle had been renovated and was now home to the Henry Luce Observatory during the day. Security was sure to be on site. Khan couldn’t be inside , could he? Again, faintly, Danny felt the supernatural pull. He followed and crept up closely to the castle wall. The nudging led him to a sewer grate beneath a tower. With a focused tug, Danny tore off the grate and leaped in. Underground, he followed the path of the drainage tunnel until he came to a huge manmade opening in the metal.

“Like a mouse in a maze.” Danny said to himself as he again leaped down, deeper underground. He didn’t like walking right into an obvious trap, but he had no choice. Master Khan was in complete control of the situation. Like a good mouse, Iron Fist scurried through the maze, hoping not to find a hungry cat at the end.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Danny realized that he was walking inside an old abandoned subway tunnel. It was common knowledge that there were very old tunnels that were closed off or simply left and built over or around when the new transit system was created. This seemed to be one of the oldest ones. It must have allowed the rich and powerful of old New York to travel directly to the Castle Belvedere, back when the castle would host various social or political events. A private mode of transportation for the social elite, now a dust and mold-covered reliquary to an older time. Suddenly, Iron Fist stopped in his tracks. His heightened hearing picked up the slightest sound of movement. He then saw a gleam of light as it caught the metal of twin blades. Two men, silhouettes were all they seemed to be really, stepped from the shadows all dressed in black. They both began to swing the blades in a whirlwind fashion. The blades were different and wrong for a pair of ninja. They were thick, with the blades larger and curved toward the tips. Scimitars, not the traditional Japanese weapons of the ninja. The swordsmen worked the blades with great precision as they began to surround Iron Fist. The blades whirled in flashing patterns as they took positions on either side of Danny. The only sounds in the tunnel were those created by the deadly blades slicing through the air. Iron Fist cautiously moved as they moved, his head facing forward, keeping his distance at all times, ready to react at the slightest change in either the blades or the swordsmen themselves.

They attacked as one. Iron Fist moved with the first twitch. The first blade arched at Iron Fist’s knees, the other, his neck. One blade passed a millimeter under his leaping feet while the other brushed the top of his yellow mask as he ducked in the same movement. As soon as the initial attack missed, the ninjas attacked again without hesitation, as if the miss was part of a calculated routine. As soon as Iron Fist’s feet hit the ground, he lifted his right foot again and struck out with it, the base of his foot meeting the flat part of an oncoming blade both blocking and forcing the blade and swordsman away from him with a strong thrust. In the blink of an eye, Iron Fist caught the other blade in between the flat palms of his hand as it swung for his midsection. With a twist of his wrist and elbows, he disarmed the ninja, sending the blade clanging to the floor and smashing the jaw of his opponent with a solid hammer fist all in one swift motion!

As the second ninja regained his momentum, he then attacked at the now exposed back of Iron Fist. Danny shot out a rear kick, bending forward at the waist at the same time. The blade passed through the air where a second before Danny’s neck would have been, while his leg extended and crushed the attacker’s ribs as he stepped in for the sweeping cut. The sound of ribs breaking and air being forced from the ninja’s lungs reverberated off the tunnel walls as both the scimitar and its wielder fell to the ground, useless.

Iron Fist slowly up righted himself, ready for any new attackers. When none came, he began to walk further into the tunnel. As he passed the first ninja, he kicked the stirring warrior in the face, never missing a step as he carefully stepped deeper into the dark. As Iron Fist turned a corner in the old but elaborate tunnel, torches along the wall lit up as if by themselves, and standing across the tunnel stood Master Khan himself!

“I see you have met little to no resistance on your way to me.” The mage was dressed and appeared just as he did in Danny’s dream.

Danny faced the legendary sorcerer in a modified fighting stance, ready for anything. Emotions from both his nightmares and his childhood spent hearing tales of this monster raced completely through his mind.

“You’ve seen to that. Why have you summoned me? Why call upon the Iron Fist?”

Khan stood tall and still, hands unseen under his dark robe.

“You are but the current Iron Fist, the finest but only the latest of K’un L’un. You are insignificant to me. It is what dwells within you that is my desire.”

The man before Danny was legend given form. The very sound of his voice stirred fear in him. He fought to keep it down; Danny had to remain in control. He continued with bravado in his voice.

“The power within me is mine to wield by right of trial. It is not to be taken or given.” Danny remained in his combat stance, but thoughts of all the mystical things this man was allegedly capable of kept filtering in. He wondered if the wizard could simply take the power.

Master Khan smiled as if he could read Danny’s thoughts.

“I know the legends and parameters of the Iron Fist, boy. I understand them far better than you do. I was witness to the birth of Shou-Loa the Undying, far before your name was even written in the books of the living.”

Khan allowed that to sink in, to allow his words to have their desired effect on Iron Fist before continuing. Danny had no response to Khan’s statement. Was that true? Was that even possible or was it more legend? Danny steadied himself. He would not be intimidated.

“Child, the power within you is paramount to my returning to K’un L’un. You, boy, are the keys to my kingdom.”

Danny was taking issue with everything he was hearing. The city of K’un L’un only appears in this plane of existence once every ten years. He didn’t have the power to alter that....did he? The city’s location, when it appeared, was never the same. The quest for K’un L’un had all but consumed his father. Everything he had learned since becoming the Iron Fist had not even hinted that he could traverse between Earth and K’un L’un. It had to be a lie.

“Are you challenging me, mage? In combat for the Iron Fist?”

Master Khan laughed deeply.

“No, young one. My expertise lies not in the Martial Arts, but in the Dark ones. No, today you will face not Master Khan in combat, but rather a soldier of my choosing. Turn, little Iron Fist, and face your opponent.”

Danny turned slowly to see the vision from his nightmare come to life! Across the tunnel from him stood the demon from his dream in the flesh, or rather, in the bone. Dressed all in black leather, chains draped across his chest and back, stood a huge skeleton. Atop his bone neck and protruding from the leather motorcycle jacket was a flaming skull. His eye sockets were deep and dark with a promise of terror inside of them.

Iron Fist steeled himself as the biker demon cracked its knuckles and maybe wrists and stepped purposefully towards him. The demon pulled its chain from its back and spun it over its flaming head like a bullwhip. With its other hand it took a second chain from around its waist and began to swing that one in the air as well. From its bony hands erupted balls of flame that spread along the length of each chain until both chains were on fire and slicing through the air above the demon’s form.

Master Khan began to laugh a deep, maniacal laugh.

“Now, tiny Dragon, you have your challenger. Now you will have your precious combat. For the Iron Fist, a battle with my demon...to the death!”

Without warning the demon attacked with both flaming chains. They streaked out at Iron Fist as if they were alive, one high and one low. Iron Fist leaped into the air, twisting and contorting his body to avoid the blazing chains. He saw them as if in slow motion, his body moving while suspended in the air as if defying gravity. Shoulders turning one way, hips another, head and neck twisting all in an instant. The chains flew by without hitting Iron Fist at all, although coming close enough for him to feel the heat that singed skin and hair as they passed.

As Iron Fist hit the ground, the chains did something to cause him to look twice. The chains stopped in midair and seemed to turn around at Danny in a serpentine way. The ends of the chains almost “looked” at Iron Fist and then launched themselves at him again. This time, leaping to the side in a somersault, he avoided one, but he could see as he righted himself that there was no dodging the second. Instead he made no move, save to raise his right arm, which was glowing with power, until it became like unto a thing of iron. The demon’s chain wrapped around the Iron Fist, flames and all. Danny’s arm was charged with power and he didn’t feel any pain. He attempted to turn the tables on Khan’s demon and pulled with his strength, increased by his Chi. The demon was moved toward Iron Fist by a step and then it caught itself. The skull seemed to close its jaw in a show of effort and pulled back. The demon and the dragon struggled without moving for a few seconds, neither gaining any ground, as Master Khan looked on with a look of surprise, cracking even his unemotional face.

Danny knew he couldn’t keep up the tug of war for long and he had no way of knowing the stamina of his opponent. He needed to close the gap and bring the fight to his advantage: close combat. Suddenly, Iron Fist stopped struggling and was pulled like a rag doll toward the flaming skull demon. Mere inches from him, Iron Fist straightened his body and formed his leg into a flying side kick which connected directly into the center of the demon’s motorcycle jacket. The chain fell to the ground and the flames went out as its master dropped the weapon. Iron Fist landed like a cat and faced the demon rider, only to watch as it immediately rose to its feet and began to walk at him again. Danny stood ready and as it came close enough he unloaded with a flurry of expert punches to the torso and jaw. All of the blows found their mark in a flash, ribs cracking with each hit, and the skull’s jaw unhinging after the last punch. The demon still stood head and shoulders above Iron Fist, almost unfazed. Danny then struck with a low kick to the inside of the monster’s knee. It cracked as Danny smashed the edge of his foot all the way through the knee. As Iron Fist stepped back into a defense stance he heard the sickening sound of bones popping back into place. He couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched the jaw and knee reset themselves in moments! The sight distracted him and the demon took full advantage. The skeletal warrior reached out and grabbed Iron Fist by the throat, lifting him off the ground. The demon’s grip was cold and unyielding.

Master Khan laughed hard and loud, an evil smile now on his face.

“Now, my slave, kill him and throw open the doors of K’un L’un for its new Master.”

Iron Fist struggled frantically against the bone hand on his throat, until the flaming skull closed to within inches of his own face. Somehow drawn against his will, Danny looked directly into the deep, dark emptiness of the demon’s eye sockets and screamed!

To be Continued in Ghost Rider #6...........