The Defenders
As Matt lay in bed, finally warmed up after his mid-winter outing, he ran through his encounter with the stranger over and over. There was no doubt about it, Matt had to find out who this man was and who he was to his former self.
The following night, Matt slipped out of the compound just before midnight and made a beeline for the building where the stranger had ended up. It was quiet on the top floor, so after waiting in a crouch on the street, he jumped up onto the old industrial fire escape and climbed up to the roof.
Matt had more patience this time. Remembering the bitter cold from the previous night, he’d donned a soft jacket before leaving the compound, so the sub-zero temperatures weren't nearly as much of a problem. An hour passed, then another. Matt started to get impatient. He paced the roof, debating his next move. He needed answers and that man and this apartment held them. He tried the rooftop access door. To his surprise, it swung open. Listening intently for a heartbeat, he could only pick up the television in the adjacent building and a light snoring from a neighboring apartment, so he crept down the stairs, his bare feet almost inaudible against the wood. As he got to the base of the stairs, he unconsciously skipped the bottom step, leaping lightly to the ground. Matt stopped in surprise. He poked the bottom step with his toe, and it creaked in response. He knew this apartment somehow – well enough that something in the back of his brain had recognized the pattern in the steps.
Matt stood there, taking in the space. The apartment smelled unremarkable. It was a bit musty, but it wasn’t unpleasant. And that’s when it hit him. The ‘neutral’ smell was him. This was his apartment.
Matt ran his fingers over the tables and chairs in the main space before dashing into the bedroom and shifting through his drawers and cupboards at an increasingly frantic pace. What he was looking for, he didn’t know. The clothing in his cupboard was near identical, and he screwed up his face trying to work out why he’d need so many duplicates. There were dots at the top. He ran his thumb over them, shook his head, then tried again. He knew these dots. He lowered his head, deep in concentration, mediating on retrieving whatever knowledge he’d lost. “Gray,” he said out loud. But that didn’t help. He ran his finger over another label. “Black.” Matt gritted his teeth and exhaled through narrowed lips. He experienced a wave of anger and pulled the entire rack from the cupboard, throwing the rail hard at the wall. Sinking onto the floor, Matt put his head in his hands, trying to slow his breathing.
Once he’d calmed, Matt shook out his hands and resumed his investigation. Everything in the bathroom was labelled, but none of it was particularly illuminating, so he padded into the living room. There was a table covered in dust, with a few sections that were comparatively clean. Something had been removed recently. His mind returned to the stranger. It made sense now. The stranger had broken into his apartment to steal whatever was on the table, then alerted others to Matt’s survival. He huffed and moved into the kitchen, feeling his way through the cupboards and avoiding the broken ceramics littering the floor. There was a familiar smell of whiskey from the corner cupboard, and he grabbed the half bottle, unscrewing the lid briefly to take in the full scent. It was sharper than the liquid Elektra gave him. He coughed and screwed up his nose, quickly replacing the bottle.
With a sigh, Matt returned to the stairs and stood there, facing out for a good half hour, trying to piece together these clues to a former life. The adrenaline from the rage he’d felt in the bedroom had now petered away, and his shoulders slumped as he started to crash. Eventually, he made his way back up the stairs and ran back to his new home via the rooftops, spinning and flipping from one building to the next.
Matt hesitated at the door to his bedroom, then crept down the hallway to the room he knew as Elektra’s. He’d never been in there, so he knocked softly, and called out her name. “Come in, Matthew,” she replied, her voice clear enough to indicate she was well awake. He slunk in, a coy expression on his face as he padded over to her bed. She patted the space next to her and fully clothed, Matt crawled under the sheets, curling into her, needy and affectionate. She sighed, and put her arm around his shoulders, whispering “rough night?”
“Mmm…” Matt grunted into her side, already half asleep.
“Matthew,” Elektra whispered, poking his shoulder.
“Mmm…” Matt groaned.
“Matthew, move your ass.”
Matt rolled over. “Wha-”
“Get up. I want a coffee and you’re in the way.”
Matt touched her cheek with an expression of wonderment on his face. The moment didn’t last long, however; he rolled out of bed and landed lightly on two feet.
“Your feet are disgusting,” Elektra said. “I can’t believe you brought them into my bed.”
Matt grinned. The hair hanging lank over his eyes gave him a particularly goofy look, and Elektra couldn’t help but smile in return. This was the Matt she wanted. The one that didn’t worry about his church or his friends or his college grades or his city… He was hers. And tonight, his loyalties would be tested.
“Sit. Rest,” Elektra ordered that afternoon. “We’re going out tonight and you need to be at peak performance.”
“Where?” Matt said excitedly.
“That theatre I told you about – where the people who blew up our building are based – we’re heading there. They call themselves the Defenders. Who knows why,” she sneered.
Matt sat cross-legged on the nearest chair. “Just the two of us?”
“I’ve handpicked a team. I’ll take the lead. As our best fighter, you’ll be my second,” she said.
Matt grinned. “Okay.”
“I have some new clothes I’d like you to wear just for tonight.”
“No shoes,” Matt said quickly. They’d had the argument too many times, and he hoped he’d won once and for all.
“Okay, no shoes.”
Elektra, Matt and the three Hand warriors assembled outside the theatre. “Three heartbeats,” Matt whispered to the others.
She gestured to two of the Hand to enter from the side, while the third followed Elektra and Matt through the main entrance. Matt felt a thrill of excitement as they entered the main room. Elektra gestured for him to stay at the top of the aisle, while she strode confidently towards the stage.
The heartbeats of the three Defenders skyrocketed at their entrance. Ignoring Elektra, the woman cried, “oh my god. Matt?”
Another said, “we thought you were dead.”
The other jumped off the stage with an affectionate, “dude!”
“I thought Foggy was going insane,” the woman said again.
Foggy. Matt puzzled. The weather again.
They seemed to completely ignore Elektra, even as she drew her sword.
The man who yelled, “dude,” paused in front of her. “What are you now – his keeper?”
Elektra smiled, “he belongs to no one.”
Matt gave a small nod. “No one.”
The man on the stage uncrossed his arms. “Uh, what’s going on?”
“Yeah, why are you wearing that dumbass outfit?” the woman said with a snicker.
“It’s no worse than his previous one,” stage guy muttered.
Matt tilted his head. The clothes he was wearing were soft and flexible, perfect for fighting in. Elektra had had them made up specifically for him. How dare this woman criticize Elektra. He bunched his fists and raised them in front of him.
The guy on the stage laughed. “What, are you going to fight us now?”
“Dude, who are you and what have you done to Matt?” the other joked.
“My name is Matthew and I serve the Hand.”
There was a sudden silence in the room, then the woman snorted. “Sure you do. And I’m the ambassador for Alcoholics Anonymous.”
The ‘dude’ guy didn’t find it quite so funny. “I am Danny Rand, the Immortal Iron Fist, Protector of K'un-Lun, Sworn Enemy of the Hand"
Matt raised his eyebrows, while Elektra just laughed. “I guess you’re going to have to fight us then,” she smirked, not wasting a second before she took a swipe at Danny. Matt gestured to the waiting Hand warriors behind him and took a spinning leap across the rows of seats, somersaulting onto the stage and standing in front of the two waiting Defenders.
“Matt, we don’t want to fight you,” the man said, his hands up.
Matt listened to his heart. Truth. He shook his head. “No, you blew up the building.”
“Matt, do you even know who we are?” the guy said.
“You blew up the building.”
“Matt, it’s me Luke, and Jessica,” he said, gesturing at the woman.
“Man, this is fucked up,” Jessica said to Luke, “look at him. He’s obviously been brainwashed by the Hand or something.”
“I’ve not been brainwashed-” Matt raged, launching himself at Jessica, who met his advance with a clumsy, yet effective punch. Matt leaped back and reconsidered his approach. Elektra had warned him about Jessica’s strength, but it was still a surprise.
She laughed bitterly. “So this is the way it’s going to be, huh?” She was quickly distracted as two of the Hand warriors attacked Luke and Jessica simultaneously. Matt waited for a break, then charged into the thick of the fray. As Matt managed to get Jessica on the floor, he threw his attention to Elektra, who was holding her own against Danny. He let one of the Hand team take Jessica, and rounded on Danny from behind. The man was concentrating on Elektra and didn’t notice Matt’s leap from above. Danny went down like a sack of potatoes and Elektra said, “that was easy. Next.” Matt smirked and flipped back onto the stage only be thrown back off by an incensed Jessica.
Matt took a deep breath and backflipped onto the stage, kicking Jessica’s feet out from beneath her. He was about to land another blow when his attention was diverted back to Danny. Matt could sense energy being pulled in and concentrated in Danny’s fist. Matt dipped his head, confused, and Elektra yelled out, “Matthew! Watch his hand.” Matt put an arm out in defense, and it connected with Danny’s fist, sending Matt flying across the room where he fell with a clatter against the wall. Winded, he slumped against the skirting board for a moment, building up the energy to reengage. You’re being messy, Matt told himself. Focus. Every move must have a reason. Make every move count.
“What, you want to kill him now?” Jessica said to Danny.
“No,” Danny replied, looking a little sheepish.
“So use your glow hand on these other bastards,” Jessica hissed, ducking a sword. Elektra was dancing around Jessica and Luke, goading them, trying to use their force against themselves.
Matt got to his feet and stood there for a moment, taking in the scene. His arm was starting to swell thanks to Danny’s powerful blow. He opened and closed his hand a few times, testing the joints before striding back towards the fight.
Two of the Hand warriors were lying unconscious on the stage, having suffered blows from Luke, which meant that they were now evenly matched number-wise. They paired off: Matt and Danny, Elektra and Jessica, and the remaining Hand warrior against Luke.
Although undisciplined, Danny turned out to have martial art skills nearly as good as Matt’s. Matt remembered Elektra’s original tale about the Defenders: “there’s one with a magic fist and one with fighting skills to rival your own,” she’d said. Perhaps he’d misheard and she was talking about the same person. Whatever the case, he was buoyed by the challenge.
Matt smiled as he and Danny circled each other, sizing each other up. Matt was about to launch when Danny said, “are you sure you want to do this? I thought you cared about the city. Don’t you remember?” Matt took his opponent’s hesitation as an opportunity to land a kick, quickly followed by a punch to the face.
“You asked me to look after your city,” Danny persisted. Matt landed another blow, ignoring Danny’s words. Danny returned the punch, connecting with Matt’s jaw, but without his fist aglow, Matt just absorbed the strike and kept fighting.
“You don’t remember us? We fought together, and then you stayed with her,” Danny spat, throwing a sideways glance at Elektra. “You’re one of us, dude.”
“I’m myself,” Matt roared, ducking Danny’s kick and returning a solid jab. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
“Geez, Matt, when did you become so emo?” Jessica called across the stage with a theatrical yawn. “You might not be friends with us, but Foggy misses you.”
Elektra took advantage of Jessica’s momentary lapse in concentration, skewering her arm with the sword. Jessica hissed, “son of a bitch,” and held the new wound tight, moving out of the way just as Luke tossed Elektra across the room in furious retaliation.
Matt abandoned his fight with Danny and leapt over to Jessica, pinning her against the wall. “What’s this foggy?”
“Who, you idiot. Who is Foggy. Foggy’s your best friend. Now get off me.” Matt didn’t move, so Jessica kneed him in the stomach while Luke grabbed Matt and threw him across the room towards Elektra.
“Come on, guys,” Luke said to Jessica and Danny. “This isn’t right. Let’s go.” Luke casually elbowed the remaining Hand warrior in the head, who toppled to the ground unconscious. They glanced back at the wall where Elektra and Matt had been thrown, but only Elektra remained. Still holding her bleeding arm, Jessica took a step back and looked around the room for any sign of Matt. “Shit,” she muttered to herself.
Elektra advanced towards the trio, sword raised. She lunged at Danny who ducked once, twice, three times. He tried to summon his chi, staring at his hand with frustration. Luke blocked a couple of Elektra’s targeted swipes before she feinted and ducked under his arm, slashing a massive line across Danny's chest. He fell to the ground and Elektra stood there with a smirk. "Let that be a lesson to you. Next time Matthew will finish the job."
"Fuck off," Jessica said. Arms crossed, she stared daggers at Elektra. This time she wasn’t going to make the mistake of dropping her gaze.
Elektra gave her a dangerous smile, before nodding and exiting the way she came.
"Matthew," Elektra whispered as soon as she was out the door. He appeared behind her. "Where did you go?" She hissed.
"I was covering you," he said.
"Tell me next time. I was worried."
He gently touched her cheek, which was hot and swollen thanks to a well-timed blow from Jessica. "I'm going to hang back here for a bit," he whispered.
"No, you're not. We're going back to the compound."
Matt rubbed his sore wrist. "I'm staying here. As you said, I belong to no one."
"But you serve the Hand," Elektra said through clenched teeth. "And if I say we return, we return."
"I belong to no one," he repeated firmly. He adopted a more sanguine tone and said, "I'll be back soon. I'm going to follow them and find out what they’re really up to. You go back, clean up, and I'll join you in a bit."
Elektra touched his arm. "Are you sure you're okay yourself?"
He gave her a small peck on the forehead. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
Once Elektra had left, Matt climbed into a small crevice in the theatre's façade and waited for the Defenders to exit. Instead, a car drew up and out rushed a woman who smelled of antiseptic, coconut and… there was something else – something he couldn't quite put his finger on. He dropped out of the crevice and followed her inside, lured by her scent.
Danny was still moaning. Idiot, Matt thought. It was a mere scratch. Nothing more.
The new arrival fussed over him, tightly bandaging his chest before helping him to the car. Luke jumped into the back seat with Danny, but when they ordered Jessica to climb in, she drawled, "enough drama for the evening. I'm going home." Matt recognized a lie.
He followed Jessica for a few blocks before she stopped in the middle of the empty sidewalk. "Matt, I know you're following me," she called. Matt instinctively flattened himself against the wall, even though he was around the corner. She couldn't possibly see her... could she? Matt only knew that she had formidable strength. Maybe she could see through entire city blocks too.
"What happened?" Jessica continued. She spoke at a normal volume so she must know about his hearing. Strange. "What happened that you've forgotten everything and sided with the Hand? Did you get resurrected too?” She gave a bitter chuckle. “You would have loved that being a Catholic and all."
She sighed. "Look, Matt, can you get your ass out here and talk to me? God knows you talked enough before all this." She waited a few minutes in silence, her breathing quickening a little as the minutes passed. “Fine. If you're not going to talk, can you damn well stop following me. Geez..."
She continued walking, but Matt stayed put. He had so many questions, yet he didn’t even know where to start. He started to become aware of more of the injuries he’d sustained in the fight, and he shivered slightly, curling his toes against the icy sidewalk. After Jessica’s footsteps eventually died away, Matt loped home.
Elektra was waiting at the dining table with two glasses of whiskey. As he entered the room, she slid one of the glasses across the table, which Matt deftly intercepted as it flew off the edge. He took a long sniff of the glass, feeling intoxicated by the fumes alone.
Elektra walked around to Matt’s side of the table and leaned against the edge, glass in hand. She grasped his fingers and rubbed them affectionately. "Did you find the answers you were looking for?"
Matt shrugged. "They drove away. Iron Fist cried like a baby."
Elektra smiled. "Good."