"It seems you need some help."
Matt Murdock turned his head slightly, his senses painting a picture of the three people standing behind him.
"Don't worry," Luke Cage cracked his knuckles, the sound like a gunshot in the confined space. "We won't slow you down."
From the darkness ahead, the sound of rushing footsteps grew louder. It wasn't a patrol. It was a swarm. Dozens of Hand ninjas poured into the corridor, blades drawn, eyes vacant with fanatical devotion. They didn't scream battle cries; they charged in terrifying silence.
"They're suicidal," Matt warned, tightening his grip on his billy clubs. "They won't stop until they're dead."
"Good," Danny Rand stepped forward, his Chi flaring. "Neither will we."
The clash was instantaneous.
Luke Cage acted as the battering ram. He charged down the center of the tunnel, ignoring the katanas sparking off his skin. He grabbed two ninjas by their heads and slammed them together.
CRUNCH.
Jessica Jones used the walls. She leaped, pushing off the concrete to deliver a drop-kick that sent a ninja flying back into his comrades like a bowling ball.
Danny Rand was the scalpel. He weaved through the chaos, his strikes precise and devastating, clearing the flanks.
Matt Murdock was the conductor. He moved in the spaces between, striking nerve clusters and breaking joints with surgical efficiency.
In less than a minute, the corridor was carpeted in unconscious bodies.
"Let's go," Matt breathed, tilting his head. "The main force is coming."
[The Dungeon - Five Minutes Later]
Madame Gao stood in the open cell, staring at the broken chains.
"They escaped," a Hand lieutenant stammered, looking at the floor. "The Iron Fist... and the others."
Gao's face remained impassive, but her grip on her cane tightened until the wood creaked.
"Daredevil's intrusion was a distraction," Gao murmured. "And now the Key is loose."
"Should we seal the exits?"
"No."
Gao turned, looking toward the dark maw of the tunnel entrance in the corner of the basement.
"There is only one place they would go. The Iron Fist is drawn to the energy of the door like a moth to a flame."
"Notify Alexandra," Gao ordered, stepping into the tunnel. "The guests are bringing themselves to the party. We must not let them interfere with the ritual."
….
The air grew colder the deeper they went. The walls changed from modern concrete to excavated earth, and finally to ancient, hewn stone.
Matt stopped.
"The place I'm going to... it's the heart of the nest," Matt said quietly. "If we go down there, there is no retreat."
"The Hand won't just lock you up again. They will kill you."
"We know," Danny said, stepping past the Devil. "But they have something of mine."
"And they pissed me off," Jessica added, trudging forward.
Matt sighed, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. "Stubborn."
"Forward, always," Luke muttered.
They continued.
The tunnel opened up into a massive, cavernous chamber. Floodlights illuminated the center of the room. The excavation was complete. Embedded in the bedrock was a massive, ancient Bronze Door.
It was two stories tall, covered in verdigris and mud. Carved into the metal was a relief of a serpentine dragon—Shou-Lao the Undying. Standing before the door was Alexandra Reid. She stared at the relief with hunger in her eyes.
"My Lord," a technician whispered, checking a seismic monitor. "We have reached the threshold. The seal is intact."
"Notify Gao," Alexandra commanded. "Bring the Iron Fist. The treasure chest is found; now we need the Key."
Bzzt.
The radio on the technician's belt crackled.
"Alexandra," Gao's voice hissed. "The prisoners have escaped. They are with Daredevil. They are in the tunnel. They should be... right behind you."
Alexandra froze. She slowly turned around. At the mouth of the tunnel, four figures stepped out of the shadows. The Devil. The Tank. The P.I. And the Immortal Iron Fist.
Hundreds of Hand soldiers turned their weapons toward the intruders. The standoff was silent, heavy with the promise of violence.
"Are we sure we're not attacking now?" Danny whispered to Matt. "If we wait for Gao, we're surrounded."
Matt didn't answer immediately. He was listening. He heard the heartbeats of the soldiers. He heard the hum of the electric lights. He heard the click of safeties coming off.
"Now," Matt whispered.
He reached into his belt and threw two small spheres to the ground.
HISSSSSS.
Thick, white smoke erupted, instantly filling the cavern.
"Go!"
The cavern became a white void.
"Hold your fire!" Alexandra screamed, covering her mouth. "Don't hit the door!"
But chaos had already taken over. For the Hand, the smoke was blinding. For Daredevil, it was home.
He moved like a phantom. A billy club flew out of the white, cracking a skull, then vanished again. Screams echoed from the dark.
Luke Cage roared, a juggernaut in the mist. He didn't need to see. He just swung his arms. Every impact sounded like a car crash.
Jessica Jones took to the air. She hopped from scaffolding to scaffolding, diving down on unsuspecting gunners like a hawk, then disappearing back into the smoke before they could aim.
And in the center of it all... a golden light bloomed. Danny Rand charged.
A soldier saw the glow and opened fire.
RAT-TAT-TAT!
Danny didn't dodge. He raised the Iron Fist.
PING. PING. PING.
His movements were a blur. The bullets struck the Chi-hardened skin of his hand and flattened, falling uselessly to the floor. Danny punched the air. A shockwave of golden energy blasted a path through the smoke, knocking a dozen soldiers off their feet.
He locked eyes with Alexandra across the chamber.
"You wanted the Iron Fist?" Danny shouted, his hand burning like a star.
"Here I am!"
....
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