There was a long pause as we all just sort of stared at each other.
The two red-clad Hand agents looked almost stereotypically ninja-like. They were covered from head to toe, though I could faintly tell one was a man and the other was a woman.
Neither spoke. Both of them seemed to have their eyes locked on my lightsaber.
A pretty fair reaction, to be honest. Supertech wasn’t really in their wheelhouse. Even the comic version of the Hand was more of a street-level mystical organization. Both the MCU and the comics I read painted them as a pretty insular force.
So… why the hell were they here?
Was it because of the butterflies from my own actions, or was this simply a weird quirk of this Earth?
“Um, sugah?” Anna leaned over and whispered. “Shouldn’t ya know…” She mimed a one-two combo with her fists.
“Right…” I shook my head and raised my lightsaber toward the two. “Hey, I’m only gonna say this once. Nobody needs to get hurt—”
A trio of needles snapped through the air, heading straight for my eyes.
My hand shot out, catching all three needles out of the air. They were called senbon, I think… Man, these guys were really committing to the whole ninja bit.
“Do they not teach communication skills in ninja school?” I made sure to show off as I casually rolled the three needles between my fingers. Hopefully, the rather superhuman display would provoke a conversation, at least.
Although it seemed to have the opposite effect, because both ninjas simply tensed up.
“Nothing?” I raised an eyebrow at them. “Come on, talk to me, guys.”
There was another long pause as the Hand ninjas glanced at each other, then back at me.
I gave them my best disarming smile and raised both hands.
They both broke in opposite directions.
…Rude.
Hard way it is.
I clicked off my lightsaber and tossed it to Anna.
The air crackled as I took a deep breath.
Then I moved.
The male ninja’s eyes widened as I appeared in front of him in a flash.
“Grit your teeth.”
He didn’t reply. His hand went straight for a knife.
My fist smashed into his gut before he could even reach the handle. A strangled cry tore out of him as something cracked beneath my knuckles.
Credit where it was due, the man didn’t hesitate. Even through the pain, his other hand shot up, a knife hand aimed for my throat.
But technique could only go so far when the stat gap was this wide.
I tilted my head to the side, and his hand flew past too slowly to even touch me.
In return, a dozen of my own strikes hammered into his stomach with a series of sickening crunches. He doubled over with a wheeze and dropped to his knees.
Across the room, the female ninja was already a step away from the window.
Distance vanished as Spatial Displacement dropped me right in front of her.
Unlike her partner, she reacted a beat faster. A katana flashed from her hip in one smooth motion, the blade cutting a wide arc that forced me to step back.
Her leg snapped up like a whip, aimed straight for my liver. I caught it just before it landed, fingers clamping around her ankle.
I tried to yank her off balance, but two knives flicked toward my face, forcing me to lean back. She twisted with the motion, slipping free of my grip as her leg pulled away.
Then her katana flashed down toward my skull, the blade screaming through the air.
The air vibrated as Thunder Breathing flooded my body.
My palms snapped together in an instant, catching the blade mid-swing.
I saw the incredulous look in her eyes as she realized what I’d done. She tried to push the blade down, but I made sure it didn’t budge an inch.
My leg shot out like lightning, landing a clean kick in her stomach.
Instead of taking the full hit, she twisted with the impact, letting the force carry her into a backward flip that sent her skidding across the floor instead of crumpling.
I whistled.
Hot damn. She was good. Really good. Maybe even better than what I’d seen from Bucky in terms of purely martial arts. There was a surprising amount of strength and speed there too. Not quite superhuman, but way stronger than someone her size and build had any right to be.
I vaguely remembered something about Chi manipulation letting them boost their internal momentum or something.
Unfortunately for her, my martial arts bullshit was stronger.
Demon Slayer breathing was truly absurd.
“No disrespect, you're skilled, but I think you and I both know how this is gonna end,” I said. “Last chance to surrender.”
Despite the rather amazing martial showing, it was still the same problem as before. There was a reason combat sports had divisions. Even a small size difference could tip the balance, never mind the gap created by super strength and speed. She looked pissed at my statement.
Her hands moved quickly, pulling out a pair of sais from somewhere beneath her robes. Her fingers tightened around the handles, and for a second, I was sure she was about to charge me. Unfortunately for her, she was just a little too focused on me. “Boop.”
Anna’s finger tapped the female ninja on the shoulder.
The ninja stiffened, stumbled once, then hit the floor.
Orange-gold ropes of sorcery snapped out and wrapped around the downed ninja before she could recover.
“Victory!” Anna grinned and held up her fingers in a V. “All me, baby!”
I rolled my eyes.
—Securing our surprise guests took a little effort.
Unsurprisingly, both of them were carrying a lot of weapons. The male ninja had needles hidden literally all over his clothes. He was like a human fucking porcupine. There were so many that I eventually just gave up and made extra sure to gag him, bind his hands, and knot everything together with cut-up curtains and the magical ropes Anna conjured.
Thankfully, the pain seemed to be too much for him, so I didn’t have to deal with him annoying me. He just passed out halfway through.
The female ninja was surprisingly cooperative, letting Anna take her various weapons without much fuss. It wasn’t as bad as Mr. Porcupine, but…
“Do you not get poked by these?” I asked with genuine curiosity.
A small hill of knives and ninja stars sat on top of her katana and pair of sais.
How the hell was she doing flips with all those sharp edges tucked away?
Ms. Ninja didn’t reply, only shooting me an annoyed look.
“Fine, keep your secrets!” I threw my hands up as I walked a little ways away and whispered to Anna.
Her eyes were closed, one hand touching the orange-gold ropes wrapped around our prisoners.
“How long are those ropes gonna hold?”
“Maybe half an hour. Twenty minutes, maybe,” Anna said with a shrug. “I’m not really the best at conjuring them yet. If they struggle, probably even less.”
“Not very long to interrogate someone, but it’ll have to do,” I muttered.
I looked back at our captives with thin lips.
I wasn’t a particular fan of torturing someone, but I had very little sympathy for Hand ninjas.
“I could always use my power, sugah,” Anna whispered back. “I’ve gotten a little better at dealing with the mind stuff, so maybe…”
“It’s fine,” I cut her off. “These guys are schmucks. Sure, I want to find out why they’re even here, but they probably don’t know much. No need for you to potentially risk infecting yourself if there’s some chi bullshit or a demon hanging around in their heads.”
“I can handle it,” Anna said, frowning at me.
“Let’s try the more straightforward methods first,” I said. “If that fails, then we’ll consider your power.”
“Think you’re being a bit paranoid.” Anna rolled her eyes. “But fine.”
I kissed her on the cheek.
“Always for you,” I said with a wink.
Anna turned red and huffed, lightly punching my shoulder.
I chuckled as I walked back toward the female ninja.
My lightsaber came to life with a sharp hiss as I pointed it at her.
A quick flick of my wrist sent the blade through the wooden corner of a nightstand, carving it off like butter. The severed chunk hit the floor with a dull thud.
“There are two ways this can go,” I said, angling the lightsaber near her head. “The easy way or the hard way. So you better start talking before I—”
“Okay,” she said.
I paused.
“Wait, really?”
There was no way it was gonna be that easy. Some sort of trick to stall, maybe?
“If you’re just trying to buy time for your Handy buddies to come save you, think again. If I think for even a second that you’re about to get away, I’ll ignore everything else and kill you.”
“No tricks,” the female ninja said, shaking her head. “This might be hard to believe, but I’m not a Hand agent. I don’t know who you are, but you obviously aren’t on the Hand’s side. We can both benefit from working together. I have people behind me.”
“You're from Chaste?” I guessed.
She twitched at the name.
“…And if I am?” she said begrudgingly. “Hmmm…” I rubbed my chin as an idea formed. “Let me speak to my leader.”I quickly turned away as I pulled Anna away to fill her in. “Chaste?” Anna quirked an eyebrow at me.
“Basically, weird ninja rivals to the Hand,” I said, shaking my head. “Not too important. But the one thing you need to know is that they serve the Iron Fist and follow K’un-Lun. So we do this…”
I leaned in and whispered my plan to Anna.
She just sighed and palmed her face.
“Fine. You owe me for this.”
I slipped her the Ring of the Bull as Anna secretly put it on.Then I turned back to the female ninja and spread my arms wide.
“Rejoice,” I said, giving her my most solemn look. “You are the first to be honored with the chance to serve.”
Her eyes narrowed instantly.
“I serve no one,” she said. “The Chaste serves only one purpose.”
“Rejoice, then!” I declared, placing a hand over my heart. “After much deliberation, the great Iron Fist has accepted your presence and chosen to reveal herself to you.”
The female ninja stared at me.
“…Bullshit.”
“Oh? You dare doubt the great master of K’un-Lun? The slayer of Shou-Lao?” I tilted my head up with as much dignity as I could fake. “My apologies, my lady. Please show this doubter your greatness.”
Anna gave me the flattest look in the world.
Then she nodded.
Her right hand lit up gold, sparks of orange-gold sorcery curling around her knuckles.
Admittedly, it looked nothing like Danny Rand’s Iron Fist, but…
I glanced at our little captive.
Her eyes were fixed on Anna’s glowing hand.
Completely captivated.
I’d bet most of the Chaste hadn’t ever even been told what the Iron Fist looked like in practice, let alone seen it themselves. Just as I’d hoped, selling the deception wouldn’t be hard.
But the final cherry on top?
I nodded at Anna.
“Ha!”
Anna threw a simple punch into the cabinet beside her.
The Ring of the Bull did the rest.
The entire thing exploded into wooden shrapnel, boards and drawers shattering like glass from her strike.
The female ninja gasped.
I smiled down at her.
“Do you doubt the might of K’un-Lun any longer?” I asked. “Who else could wield such potent power but its chosen champion?”
The female ninja simply stared at Anna, speechless. Even through the mask, I could see her mouth opening and closing repeatedly.
“…Lady Iron Fist?” she finally asked. “Are you truly back? Is it time to defeat the Hand?”
“…Yes,” Anna replied with a stoic face.
I could tell she was uncomfortable acting so serious, but I doubted the ninja even noticed. She was too busy blue-screening.
“I would be honored to be of service,” the ninja said, her voice filled with awe.
Anna nodded slowly, then walked over and undid the ropes binding her.
The ninja rose to her feet just as slowly. Then her hands reached up and undid her mask.
I had to stop myself from gasping in surprise.
Fucking Marvel… man.
Of course it was Elektra Natchios.