Heroes Assemble!

Blending Into The Background

"I'm Danny Rand. The Immortal Iron Fist. The Protector of K'un-Lun. Defeater of Shou-Lao. Sworn Enemy of The Hand."

Spider-Man couldn't help himself. All this talk of hands and fists of iron. Taking three quick steps forward, he grabbed Danny's hand, held it up and twisted it around, giving it a good couple of pokes with his finger.

"Look, I'm sorry, dude, but this is just a hand. All flesh and skin and hair and stuff. No iron. Gotta admit, though, the way you got it to light up like that was pretty cool."

"It only becomes as hard as iron when I summon my chi," Danny replied, reclaiming his hand.

"Chi?" Daredevil repeated. "Not the craziest thing I've heard. And what's K'un-Lun?"

"K'un-Lun is a city. It's where I was trained."

"Let me guess, it's not in the States?" Squirrel Girl said.

"No. It's not. You can't exactly get to it right now. The best that I can tell you is that it's in Asia, the Himalaya's to be precise but the gate only opens once every fifteen years or so," Danny replied.

"And this Shou-Lao that you defeated?" Mage asked.

"He's a dragon," Danny replied.

"Dragon?" Mage repeated and all there could hear the steel in his voice.

"Not good, dude. Mage's got a thing for dragons," Spider-Man said with a shake of his head.

"Oh, don't worry, he's not dead or anything," Danny replied, trying to wave off any confusion. "Shou-Lao's immortal. But I had to fight him and thrust my fist into his heart in order to claim my powers as the Iron Fist."

"Immortal, huh? He'd better be," Mage grumbled.

"If you're the Protector of this K'un-Lun place, what are you doing in New York?" Squirrel Girl asked.

"I was born here; this is my home," Danny replied. "Not to mention that the Hand are here and it's my job as their sworn enemy to defeat them."

"The Hand?" Daredevil repeated. "You are their sworn enemy?"

"You know them?" Danny asked.

"Criminal organisation," Daredevil repeated. "They've got their fingers in everything. My contacts say that it's not just New York, either."

"It's not. They're worldwide and have been operating for centuries," Danny confirmed.

"Let me get this straight, you're here in New York just to fight a criminal organisation?" Mage asked.

"Basically," Danny confirmed. "I may be the Protector of K'un-Lun, but I see the job as more than that. I see having this power being used for the good of all. It's my responsibility."

"Can't argue with that: with great power comes great responsibility," Spider-Man nodded. "It's something that I was taught once."

"I'd say that most of us live by a similar code," Daredevil agreed. "Maybe worded a little different, but it boils down to the same thing. If you're here to help, to do good, then you've got our support, just as if we needed it, I'd hope that we'd have yours."

"You've changed, Devil," and they could all hear the grin in Mage's voice. "Once upon a time, you worked exclusively alone."

"Let's just say that I've seen the benefits of team-work and leave it at that," he replied.

"Listen, thanks for the assist, guys," Danny said, glancing across at the piled-up bodies off to one side, webbed and bound awaiting the police. "But I really have to be going; my friend, Colleen, will be wondering where I am."