The Marvel Knights Group presents: Iron Fist #1

PROLOGUE

A few months ago…

Dr. Jonas Harrow works in his lab. Lying on a hard slab is a prone body, connected to a series of wires and IV cables, fluid seeping into his arms, even as Dr. Harrow moves around the room, touching keys on a control pad on a personal PDA, nodding with approval.

“It seems I was correct,” Dr. Harrow remarks, more to himself than to the unconscious form lying before him. “When I sent agents to bring you here, I thought I could restore you.”

He steps back, watching with interest as the vitals monitors flash with blue and red lights. He notes the results, smiling and nodding. “And I have been able to do so,” he continues. “Your wounds were substantial, but largely disappeared when your transformation was reversed, and you were reverted back to your true form.”

“As a natural result of the transformation, as well as the injuries…” Dr. Harrow continues, running his hand along one of the tubes sending IV fluid into the man’s arm. The body is athletic and toned, clearly the result of intensive and regular exercise. “…your body went into a coma-like state, which allowed for significant healing from what would have normally been fatal injuries.” He smiles, nodding once again. “Undoubtedly another side-effect of your transformation…the ability to restore yourself in such a way.

“Your restorative capabilities are rather astounding,” Dr. Harrow remarks, picking up and glancing over a chart attached to a clipboard. “But to those present after the shooting, it certainly appeared that you were dead. Fortunate for me that I knew the difference. Now, it will not be long before you have completely healed.

“Hmm,” Harrow comments, looking with interest at the results from the chart. “It seems there has been another lingering side-effect from your transformation…one that did not revert when you returned to your human form. It seems that you have super-human strength…”

“Impressive work,” a regal voice echoes out, even as Harrow reacts with surprise at the voice…one he clearly was not expecting. He quickly turns around, where he sees a darkened figure walking into the room.

“Who are you?!” Harrow exclaims, moving towards the figure, which stands, his arms crosses against his chest, the long purple sleeves on his tunic draping across his arms. “And how did you get in here?!”

“Locked doors are a small matter to one such as myself, Harrow,” the figure returns. “But I should thank you for your efforts. I have use of this man for my own purposes.”

“Are you mad?!” Harrow exclaims, moving directly in front of the figure. “I have worked on him for some time, healing him and restoring him. He will be used for my purposes…not yours!”

“That was not a request!” A swift, brutal back-hand to Harrow’s face shatters his nose and sends him flying across the room, slamming into the brick wall. He slumps to the ground, unmoving. “Now,” the figure remarks, walking over to the man lying on the table. “It is time for us to leave.”

End of Prologue

Miami, Florida.

RM LLMC opened a week ago, and is already drawing in clients from the Fortune 500 corporations in the area. An engineering and architectural firm, little do the corporations they are doing business with realize that the controlling partners of this organization are, themselves, respected super-heroes.

Danny Rand shakes Andrew Norton’s hand. Both are dressed in three-piece suits, and Norton wears only the finest, with initialed cufflinks on his tailor-made shirts. Norton’s hair is largely dark brown, but there are sprinkles of gray scattered throughout his hair, and he has a dark brown goatee.

“Will we be able to meet our deadline?” Norton asks, looking at the blond-haired Rand.

Danny allows himself a slight smile. “I certainly plan to, Andrew,” he returns. “But, of course, you realize that we just got involved with this project a couple of days ago.”

“Ha!” Norton responds, nodding and smiling. He realizes that Rand doesn’t buckle down as easily as others he has worked with in the past. In fact, Norton is used to having his way. Still, he respects Rand and has little doubt that he is a man of his word. “You have a good point.” He puts on his hat, and turns to leave Danny’s office. “Fair enough. I’m sure that Tony’s suggestion—that I use RM—will be a good one, and I fully expect us to have a good relationship for some time to come.”

“That’s pretty much what I have in mind, too,” Danny responds, shaking Norton’s hand again. He then turns and walks out of Danny’s office. Danny watches, as the man walks through the corridor leading to the clients’ waiting room beyond.

Danny starts to turn back into his office, but is interrupted by a hand on his forearm. As he turns, he sees his lovely receptionist, Shelly Connors. She is in her early twenties, has long red hair, and fits very nicely into a short, black dress.

“Mr. Rand?” she asks, cautiously.

“Yes, Shelly?” he returns, noting that she is carrying a small piece of paper in her hand.

“Mr. Rand, there’s someone here to see you,” she continues, in a tone that is almost apologetic, concerned that she is bothering her new boss. She was hired just before this company opened, and wants to keep this job. “She doesn’t have an appointment.”

“Who is she?” Danny asks, his right eyebrow curving upward with interest. “I have appointments all day.”

“I know,” Shelly replies, looking sheepish, as she bites her lower lip slightly. “But she’s insistent. I thought I’d let you know, because she says she plans to park out here, if necessary, to speak to you.”

“Who is she?” Danny asks again, his voice betraying a hint of irritation.

“Oh, sorry!” Shelly responds, looking flushed with embarrassment. “She says she’s a private investigator. Her name’s Drew…Jessica Drew.”

“Hmm,” Danny muses. “I’ve heard of her, but I didn’t know she practiced in this area.” He turns to Shelly once again, who is waiting anxiously for his answer. “Go ahead and send her in. I’ll be in my office.”

Danny returns to his office, closing the door. His office is a large one, having a nice oak desk near the large windows on the east side of his office. In the center of the office is a large conference table. He likes to work there, because it allows him to spread out his plans and paperwork over a larger surface.

He walks over to one of the large windows, beside his desk. He enjoys looking out over the beach below, and finds himself mesmerized by the blue water, and the large boats passing by several floors below.

He is awakened from his daydream by a tapping on the door. He quickly turns around, seeing Shelly enter, along with another woman. This woman has long black hair, a tight-fitting skirt, and a white blouse. She walks over to Danny, holding out her hand. He takes it, shaking it.

“Mr. Rand,” Shelly offers. “Miss Drew.”

“Thanks, Shelly,” Danny returns. “That’ll be all.” He nods, and Shelly turns to leave, closing the door behind her.

“I appreciate you agreeing to meet with me,” Jessica comments, as she follows Danny across the room. He gestures for her to take a seat at the plush chair opposite his at his desk. He walks around his desk, and resumes his seat facing her.

“No problem,” Danny returns. “Professional courtesy.”

Jessica smiles, and he notes the way her smile lights up her face, accentuating her green eyes. She crosses her legs, and leans forward, taking one of Danny’s business cards from a small holder on his desk. “Well, I appreciate you seeing me.”

“What’s this about?” Danny asks, taking notice of the way her jet black hair shines in the lighting of the room.

“I’ve come to ask you a few questions about Morris Hamilton,” Jessica responds, getting out a small notepad, and holding a pen in his slender fingers.

“Morris Hamilton?” Danny asks, surprised to hear that name. “That’s a name I haven’t heard in years.”

“But you know him?” Jessica asks, looking back up to Danny.

“Yes, I know him,” Danny responds. “Or, rather, my father did. He was a friend of the family, from what I understand. I met him a few times later on, as an adult.”

“When’s the last time you saw him?” Jessica asks, flashing her eyes up at Danny.

Danny leans back in his chair, his lip twisting slightly as he thinks about the answer to her question. “Hmm,” he responds thoughtfully. “I guess it’s been a couple of years. Why?”

“He’s missing,” Jessica replies calmly. “I was hired by his wife, Gloria, to try to find him.”

“That’s certainly odd,” Danny responds. “I don’t think I knew Gloria. The last time I saw Morris Hamilton, he was a widower. I didn’t know that he re-married.”

“It’s a recent thing,” Jessica returns. “They haven’t been married but for a few months.”

“Well, I don’t know how much help I can be,” Danny replies. “Like I said, I haven’t seen him in a couple of years, and never met his wife. Still, if I can be of any help, I’ll certainly do what I can.”

“I appreciate that,” Jessica replies, getting to her feet. Danny walks up to her, and she gives him her card. “Here’s my card. It has my cell phone.” She looks up at Danny, their eyes meeting. “Call me any time if you think of anything that might be helpful.”

“I’ll do that,” Danny replies, placing his hand on her lower back, as he helps her out the door. “If I may,” Danny offers. “I’d like to discuss this with you over dinner?”

Jessica turns back, smiling at him. “I can see you’re a busy man,” she responds, as she starts out the door. “Your secretary let me know that you’d be busy all day,” she continues, opening the door. “If you think you’ll have time later, give me a call.”

“I’m sure I can fit you in,” Danny replies, smiling. “I’ll call you later then.” Jessica nods, and turns to walk down the corridor. Danny watches her until she disappears through the door leading to the client waiting area. He then looks down at her business card. He tucks it into his right coat pocket, and returns to his office.

Later in the afternoon, Danny is seated at his desk, going over paperwork, when he hears the voice of his secretary over his phone intercom. He pushes aside some of the paperwork, and takes a drink of his Diet Pepsi on his desk, as he reaches down, touching the phone speaker.

“Mr. Rand?” the secretary’s voice calls out. “You have a call on line 4 from a Mr. Luke Cage.”

“Okay,” Danny replies, a look of relief on his face. “I’ll take it. Thanks, Shelly.

“Luke!” Danny calls out. “It’s good to hear from you, buddy.”

“I’m not interruptin’ anything, I hope?”

“Not at all!” Danny replies. He looks over at the clock on the wall, noticing that it reads 4:55. “I was just looking for an excuse to get out of this paperwork anyway.”

“How’s Miami treatin’ ya, man?”

“It’s a beautiful city,” Danny responds. “I’m still getting used to it. How are things with you?”

“Oh, keepin’ busy.”

“You sound…I’m not sure,” Danny comments. “You sound like you want to tell me something.”

“Yeah, I guess so. You know that lady Sam’s been wanting me to hook up with?”

“Lela?” Danny asks. “Yes, I remember he said they used to date way back.”

“Yeah, well, we’re gonna go out tonight.”

“Oh,” Danny remarks. “Good. I hope you let me know how it all turns out?”

“Sure will. I gotta tell ya, it ain’t the same, not havin’ you around to talk to.”

“I’m always a phone call away, buddy,” Danny replies. “You know that.”

“Yeah. How about you? You got anything goin’ on in the lady department?”

“Not sure yet,” Danny replies. “I’ll let you know after tonight.”

“Heh. Sounds promisin’. Well, I’ll catch you soon. Need to get some stuff done for tonight.”

“Okay, Luke,” Danny replies. “Enjoy yourself, and let me know how it goes.”

“I’ll do that, but you gotta do the same.”

“I think I can handle that,” Danny remarks, nodding. “Talk to you soon.”

An hour later, Danny places the project that he has been working on in a file, and places it on the corner of his desk. He turns off his computer, and shoves his chair under his desk. He gets up from his desk, stretching his legs, as he takes a moment to look out the window. Night has fallen on the city, and the beach is illuminated by the lights of the buildings along the strip.

“I think I’ve had enough for one day,” Danny comments, as he walks out of his office, turning off the light when he leaves the room. “This is going to take some getting used to. I studied engineering extensively during my time in K’un L’un, but I never thought to use it as a career. Then, Jack offered me this business opportunity. It all fell into place.”

As he walks through the area outside of his office, he sees two secretarial desks. There is trace lighting in the room, and he walks through that area, towards the back door. As he walks through the back door, he emerges immediately onto a parking deck adjacent to the building.

Walking through the parking deck, Danny makes his way to the area reserved for his staff. He sees his vehicle, a black Lincoln Navigator, in the distance, taking note of how dimly-lit the parking deck is. He makes a mental note to say something to the deck owner, because he doesn’t like the thought of the women on his staff walking through this deck after dark.

“I’ve got to say,” Danny thinks to himself, as he continues walking towards his vehicle, “this is a real challenge…starting a business. I think I’d rather be fighting super-villains all day. But, it’s important to find my own way, and this is a good opportunity.”

Danny stops in his tracks, thinking that he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turns around, listening for any sounds of movement. Hearing none, he takes a step forward, only to be kicked in the face by a figure that moves very fast.

Danny rolls with the blow, landing on the ground and rolling across the pavement to lessen the impact of his contact with the pavement. He then does a back flip, landing on his feet. He immediately raises his hand, and crouches slightly, preparing to defend himself.

“Impressive,” the figure before him remarks. Danny cannot make him out, but he appears to have a mask that resembles a skull. “They didn’t tell me you could fight. No problem, though. I like a challenge.”

“I don’t know who you are,” Danny responds, taking a step back, as he tries to get his foe to step into the light, so he can see who he is up against, “but you picked the wrong target.”

“No,” the figure responds, as he leaps across the distance separating them, driving his foot into Danny’s mid-section, sending him flying back against the concrete wall! “You’re the one I was paid to take out.”

Danny ducks to the side, as the figure kicks again. Danny then delivers a blow to his foe’s mid-section, just to his right side, slamming his fist into his opponent’s rib cage. “You won’t find me an easy mark!” Danny warns. “I’ve fought plenty of your kind before.”

“Heh,” the figure before him replies, spinning around quickly and kicking Danny in the face, sending him to the ground once more. Danny skids across the pavement, his suit jacket ripping in the back. “Not like me, bud! I’m one of a kind!”

Danny rolls across the pavement, working to get back onto his feet. As he does so, a round, disc-shaped object shoots through the air, heading for his face. Danny puts his hands behind him and uses the momentum to leap into the air, as the shield narrowly avoids him. He flips himself back onto his feet.

As Danny rights himself, landing on his feet again, the figure walks into the light. “Taskmaster!” Danny calls out, surprised.

“Ah,” Taskmaster remarks. “I see my reputation precedes me.”

To be continued…

MARTIAL MISSIVES

Welcome to the first issue of Iron Fist. I’ve always been a fan of the character, but never really gave much thought to writing him until David Golightly e-mailed me and asked me to do a title for this site. For some reason, Iron Fist came to mind.

As I thought more about the character, I started to get a coherent idea for the formation of an Iron Fist series, and agreed to write one for Marvel Knights.

There will, of course, be some differences for old Iron Fist fans. I decided to give Danny a different career, because the heroes for hire angle never really seemed to fit him the way it did other characters. In choosing another career for him, I gave some thought to what else he could have learned on K’un L’un, and decided on making him an engineer. Danny, like Captain America, has been somewhat lacking on the development of a secret identity, and I plan on changing that here.

I wanted Danny to have a fresh start, and decided on having him move to Miami as well. I’ve always maintained that there are too many characters in New York, and Danny really doesn’t have roots there anyway, so it was a good time to give him a fresh start in a new city.

Those are some of the changes that you’ll see with the character. However, he’ll still be Danny Rand, and he’ll still have Luke Cage and some others who have been mainstays appearing in these pages. This series will focus on Danny, though, and develop around that character. There will be familiar characters popping up—both allies and enemies, but there will also be new friends and enemies added to Iron Fist’s mythos. Hopefully, this series will work for old fans and new fans alike.

As for Danny’s business partner, you’ll recognize him too. This will be a new excursion for him also, although he has been established as having artistic skills. More on that as the series develops.

Your comments, suggestions, and reviews are always welcome and appreciated. Send them to earth2jsa@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading.

-Jeff Melton