There were two sets of guards. The first team stayed close to the outer perimeter, while the second set of guards held watch closer to the main buildings. In addition to the two teams, there were a couple of additional roving guards who maintained radio silence. With all the firepower and manpower available, it was quite possible that Henry Meachum felt quite safe and secure in his underground bunker, surrounded by his hired thugs and trained professionals. He couldn't have been more wrong. His subterranean hiding ground might as well have been a tomb.

Juan Pacheco, Richard Rodriguez, Henry Sliewasz and Debbie Wilkinson were the members of the first guard who watched the outer perimeter. They all had long histories in the US military and as overseas mercenaries. If asked, they would have told you that they had seen just about everything. When they came under attack, the last thing they would have expected, however, was to be confronted by a man using a bow and arrows as his weapon of choice -- while dressed as Robin Hood, no less. Buut two of their number went down in the space of a few moments, the green shaft of arrows sticking out from their sides, where the Kevlar vests didn't offer protection. Sliewasz and Wilkinson split up to make it difficult for their assailant to get them both. Sliewasz attempted to alert the other teams of the breach in security; Wilkinson set the car's alarm to begin sending a distress call. They both reached for their guns.

"Sorry guys, but a whole lotta noise at this point would make life more difficult for my buddies, so I can't let you warn your friends," Green Arrow remarked. Before he notched another arrow in his bow, Oliver Queen made a quick flick of his right wrist and sent a handful of darts to imbed themselves in Sliewasz's arm, causing the guard to drop his radio. Wilkinson, meanwhile, had a chance to draw a bead on him. Ollie notched an arrow and let fly before she could squeeze off a round. Bounding over her flailing body, Green Arrow reached into the security car and shut off the warning system. Sliewasz, while marveling at the man in green's agility, managed to get Green Arrow in his sights. "Say goodbye, motherfucker," he hissed.

Then he crumpled in a heap. He had made the mistake of not looking around to see if Green Arrow brought any friends with him, which of course he had. Peter Parker had picked up quite a few tricks from Daniel Rand in the past few months. Oliver Queen stood over the last of the fallen guards from the first team. "Goodbye, motherfucker," he said.

Onward towards the compound the heroes raced.

Toni Silvestri was monitoring the security car's monitors. She thought she had seen one of the silent alarms go off, but now everything was normal. Still, it didn't hurt to be safe. "Look sharp, people," she said briskly. "We may have trouble on our hands." The four of them -- Toni, James Bayville, Clive Adebuwo and Deborah Schwenk -- were the members of the second guard, which monitored activity close to the compound. She turned to James and asked him to check on the status of the other teams. She was driving along one of the many paved circuitous paths that circled the main building. Suddenly, in front of her appeared a man dressed in some kind of oriental costume. Before she could turn the wheel, the man raced up the hood of the car and somersaulted over them. There was a wrenching sound and the squeal of tires. Toni Silvestri looked at her dashboard and realized that the Asian man had disabled the radio. She looked back. He held part of it in his hands. "I'm afraid I couldn't let you do that," he said calmly.

The four of them made ready to confront the intruder...

Peter Parker and Green Arrow met up with Iron Fist several minutes later. Green Arrow whistled. "Four against one," he said approvingly.

"The second team of guards never had a chance," Peter Parker said confidently. He had seen Iron fist in action. Peter had a feeling that ten times that number of guards would only have caused Iron Fist to break into a sweat. Maybe.

"Now all we have to worry about is the roaming set of guards," Green Arrow interjected.

Peter looked into the tree-line. "No worry on that score, believe me," he said.

During his time as Spider-Man, Peter Parker had come into contact with a wide variety of beings: cybernetically enhanced humans, paranormal entities, and creatures that either were deities or were considered as such. Woodgod was one who fit in the latter category. He looked like a genetic cross between a human man and a buck. His antlered head was like a huge crown; his furry legs ended in hooves. When Peter first met him, some of the residents of the Northern town near where Woodgod roamed (those who did not worship Woodgod as a natural deity) had organized a hunt to kill the strange creature. Peter had been instrumental in saving his life, and the mute being had always been grateful to him. Several times, in fact, he had been instrumental in saving Peter's life in turn. Although Peter Parker had considered the debt long since paid, Woodgod had appeared to help Peter many times in the intervening years. All it took was an expanse of greenery, some quietude, and a certain mental frame of reference and he would be there. Like today. Somehow Peter was always able to convey his needs to the being known as Woodgod. When he thought about the mechanics of it, Peter Parker would have had to say that there was some sort of telepathy at work. But the way that he considered it was communication without boundaries. Not only could he get across what his needs were, he was able to sense something of Woodgod's frame of reference as well. In those moments when the two of them met and shared minds, Peter had to say that he knew what it felt like to be truly at one with the natural and animal worlds, to still have the higher reasoning abilities of a human, but to not be blind to the rest of the natural world. Being mute was a relatively small price to pay.

Woodgod took one last look at Peter Parker, then stepped backwards into the shadows of the nearby trees and was quickly lost to sight.

The four Heroes For Hire moved into the compound.

Woodgod had taken care of the perimeter guards; Peter and Green Arrow had knocked off team two, while Mr. Personality himself, Danny Rand AKA Iron Fist, had handled the first team. Now, as they stood before the silver door that was the first step in invading Meachum's sanctum, Peter & Co knew that to approach it directly would only complicate things further and concentrate the defense in one definite location. Having gotten rid of the security teams, they knew it was just a matter of time before someone from within the compound would do a radio check. They had only a small window of opportunity to maintain the element of surprise, maybe only a matter of minutes.

The door would be armed with heat and motion sensors, and constructed of reinforced steel and concrete. Any direct assault with anything smaller than a low-level nuke would take some time. Long enough, again, for the alarm to be sounded and more guards to be dispatched to their location, giving Meachum a chance to escape. And who knew where Meachum would fly to next?

That was where the fourth operative came in.

There was a barely perceptible hint of motion to the side of the silver doors. A moment later, they opened. Entering the elevator shaft, Green Arrow made note of the fact that it seemed that the security cameras had been turned off. "Did you get another of your friends to do that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

A green and yellow apparition rose up from the floor. "That would certainly be a logical surmise," said the Vision.

Peter wasn't aware of how it was that the Vision came to be trapped in his immaterial state, but he was certainly grateful for it. When he had attempted to reach the JLA to see which members he had been able to draw on for assistance, he had found that there were few who had not gone with the others to the Positive Zone*. But finding the Vision to be one of them, Peter had leapt at the opportunity to ask Vision for assistance. It was one of the benefits in being a part-time JLAer.

"Can we take the elevators straight down to the sublevel where Meachum's offices are located?" Peter asked.

"Negative," the Vision responded. "There are four levels below ground. Each elevator can only descend one level and has its own security code. I can access the security database and grant you access, but the three of you will physically have to get to each separate elevator."

"And I don't suppose it will be as easy as just strolling down the hallway to take the next elevator down, will it?" Peter commented wryly.

The Vision gave Peter a quizzical look, then slipped down below the floorboards.

"I didn't think so," Peter added sarcastically.

The heroes plunged belowground. For the first time in twenty years, Iron Fist felt that the object of his vengeance was close at hand. Part of him debated the wisdom of harboring that much hate in his heart for such a long time, but with practiced discipline he managed to suppress that line of thought.

You certainly don't aim small, do ya, Pete? he said to himself.

Green Arrow heard him and smiled. "Come on -- taking on a fortress full of hired killers? What's to be worried about?" His grin only broadened.

"You might be right there, Robin Hood." Peter tried to act more confident than he felt.

The door opened and the heroes stepped out to meet the next set of defenders. Opposite them, along the further wall, was a single door. All that stood in their way was a contingent of guards. Instead of an armada of troops, there were only three men.

There was barely any time for the heroes to react as the three guardsmen attacked almost immediately.

Two of the mercenaries went straight for Peter Parker. "I knew they were right about you at the press conference," Kraven the Hunter said. "You think you can disguise yourself by showing up in your civilian guise, but there is no hiding, my long-time enemy."

"You know me, Kraven old boy," Peter Parker quipped, somersaulting over Kraven. "I'm always willing to throw a fly in the ointment -- or possibly a spider, in my case."

The Gibbon was waiting for the former Spider-Man. As Peter Parker jumped over the colorfully-clad Russian hunter, the Gibbon was there, aiming his full body weight at the powerless Peter Parker.

He hadn't counted on Green Arrow, however. The Emerald Archer shot an arrow into the Gibbon's side, causing him to double over in mid-leap, making him miss Peter Parker entirely. He crunched into the wall. Kraven aimed himself like a battering ram at Green Arrow. He removed a set of bolos from his belt and threw them as he leaped, wrapping them around the Emerald Archer's legs, cutting off his escape. The Gibbon let out a frightening yell and also headed for Ollie Queen. Peter Parker looked on, powerless but not helpless...

Danny Rand saw his companions and their attempt to fight off their assailants, but there was little he could do to help them. Whereas the Gibbon attacked with a simple beast's savagery, Sabretooth assailed Iron Fist with speed, ferocity and a strength that was almost superhuman. Several times his claws drew blood while his jaw snapped, trying to mangle the martial artist's exposed throat and jugular. It was like fighting a nearly 7-foot tall, intelligent, super-powerful wolf.

Iron Fist adjusted his defense. He grappled with Sabretooth, gained purchase, and then flipped the man-beast over his head. As he expected, Sabretooth landed on his feet. Iron Fist scuttled forward and knocked his feet out from under him. His huge bestial foe went down with a growl. Sabretooth made a quick swipe with his paws, attempting to grab Iron Fist's legs, but Danny Rand had already retreated. Assuming a ready stance, Iron Fist made a "come here" motion with his hands. Sabretooth howled and leaped at him...

There were bars overhead that the Gibbon was using for motion. As he swung his huge body along the bars, Peter propelled himself forward ahead of him. When the Gibbon (who had not seen Peter Parker doing this) reached for one of the bars, he felt and heard a sudden crunching sound. Letting out a surprised yelp of pain, the Gibbon went crashing to the floor. Peter stamped his foot to get the ache out of it. He had crushed one of the Gibbon's hands. "That was a lot easier thought of then done," he joked. He took a look below him and saw Ollie cutting through the bola with the sharp end of one of his arrows just as Kraven reached him.

Green Arrow jabbed Kraven's face with the shaft of the Arrow. Blood flowed down Kraven's face and Peter figured Ollie had busted Kraven's nose. He didn't have time to figure out how to help Green Arrow subdue Kraven the Hunter as just then the Gibbon took note of him and leapt up at him. Nursing his broken hand, the Gibbon was still a substantial threat to him. Peter Parker took stock of the Gibbon's size and muscle mass and had the sinking feeling that this was not going to end well. The scent of impending death was definitely in the air.

He just hoped it wasn't his own...

Kraven the Hunter pointed at the lion's mane that adorned the vest that he wore. "You may think that this is just a costume, some mere ornament," he sneered at Green Arrow. "But it's not," he said. "I killed this lion and skinned it myself."

Green Arrow smiled. "I am a hunter myself," he jeered. "And I don't use guns. You've got something you want to prove?" he said, as the two began to circle around each other. "Then bring it on."

The two hunters grappled with one another...

Peter Parker and Gibbon wrestled, struggling for advantage...

Sabretooth and Iron Fist fought, each man a blur of flashing punches or slashing claws...

When the battles were decided, minutes later, the victories were won because of skill and a couple of surprises.

Sabretooth lay at Danny Rand's feet, whimpering in unconsciousness, pounded almost unrecognizable by Iron Fist. Green Arrow and Peter Parker had exchanged glances in the midst of their battles, and each had rounded on the others’ opponents. Green Arrow had dispatched the Gibbon with a couple of arrows, while Peter Parker had taken the advantage of Kraven underestimating him. Kraven was dangling from the heavy metal bars that the Gibbon had used to assist in his particular form of perambulation. "I may not have my spider-strength or any of the other advantages I might have had as Spider-Man," Peter said, smiling, "but I still had my handy dandy web-shooters." Kraven could do nothing but glare at Peter, since not only was his body encased in a web cocoon, he also had a patch on his mouth that kept him quiet.

Peter walked over to where Oliver Queen was looking down at the still form of the Gibbon. "Come on Ollie, there's nothing you could have done. And we still have a way to go to end this thing."

Green Arrow didn't say a word, but he followed the other two heroes to the next elevator, which opened as they approached. He glanced meaningfully at Iron Fist. Is it worth it? His look seemed to ask. Danny Rand either didn't see the look or chose to ignore it.

The three heroes entered the elevator, attempting to reach the next level, leaving the broken combatants as mute testimony to their passing.

"So much for the element of surprise," Iron Fist said. He seemed calm, unconcerned or unaffected by the fact that their plans might be going up in smoke.

For all they knew, as soon as they opened the door they would be met by a hail of gunfire.

The elevator slowed, then stopped. They braced themselves. The door opened.

They were met with... silence. Even the alarms had ceased ringing.

The three of them exited the elevator, all warily looking for traps. They were in a big slate gray room with steel panels. There were no other features to the room. Worst yet, there didn't seem to be any doors. There was no way out. Just as they were thinking about getting back into the elevator and taking their chances, the door closed behind them.

A moment later one of the steel panels slid back and a single person stepped to the middle of the empty room.

No ordinary man, but a giant.

The giant carried a long metal staff that he swung over his head then began to tap rhythmically on the ground. The giant wore a uniform that was similar to Iron Fist's except for the color scheme.

Iron Fist stepped forward.

The two combatants met in the center of the room as if in some foreordained ritual.

"Am I supposed to be impressed by you?" Iron Fist taunted. "You're just another of Meachum's lapdogs to me."

"Who is Meachum?" Triple Iron riposted. "I know of no Meachum. I only know you." He smiled. "And I."

While the two men circled each other, Green Arrow made a move to the giant's other side. His movement, however, was cut off by a wall that descended quickly from the ceiling. The steel-gray wall hit the floor with a heavy thud. "Humph! Motion detectors!" Green Arrow commented, impressed and at the same time put off. He made to return back to the elevator, but that move was cut off as well by the crash of another movable wall. "Now I'm really starting to get pissed off!" He yelled, steaming.

"It's better to be pissed off then pissed on," said a new voice.

Green Arrow whirled to face his opponent. "And who are you supposed to be?" he asked.

"Well," the new man said. "I don't know whom I'm supposed to be, but I know who I am," he commented wryly.

"And who might that be?" Green Arrow asked.

"My name is Bloodbow," said the bowman in black and yellow, losing his affability as he drew a pair of arrows from his quiver. "I'll be sure to carve it on your tombstone."

"Let's get it on, then, tough guy," Green Arrow hissed, drawing forth only a single arrow. "This one's got your name on it."

"I just hope you can spell."

"Well," Peter Parker said, suddenly alone. "I guess I could just sit here and smoke a cigarette and let the fellas work out their own issues of anger management, but I might as well get this over with." So saying, Peter Parker stepped onto the criss-crossed floor. As expected, a moment later, another one of the gray panels along the wall opened and Peter's foe stepped out to meet him.

"Oh, swell," Peter Parker said. "It just had to be you, didn't it?"

"I see you quake in fear before the might of ... Batroc the Leaper!" said the eponymous villain.

"Oi," said Peter, rolling his eyes and putting his fingers in his ears. "They should call you ‘Big Mouth the Yeller’ instead of ‘Batroc the Leaper’," he said, exasperated. Batroc, who was an expert in the martial art of savate, began (true to his name) to leap about, expecting Peter to use his heightened agility and strength to combat his skill in the art. Peter, who was becoming an expert in the art of the unexpected, instead countered his opponent's move by being direct -- he punched Batroc square in the face, knocking him out cold. "Thank God," Peter exclaimed, taking his fingers out of his ears. "Silence."

On the other side of the nearest wall, Bloodbow and Green Arrow were busy aiming, firing, and dodging each other's arrows. There was a virtual hail of shafts whizzing by at dizzying speeds. It quickly became apparent that the deadly contest would come down to whose quiver would empty first as much as the level of skill. While Green Arrow had more experience and was a better shot, Bloodbow was younger and had more strength and stamina. Green Arrow had managed to tag Bloodbow a couple of times, but the wounds were minor. As he reached into his quiver for another arrow, his face registered surprise and his hand came back empty. He had run out of ammunition.

Green Arrow leapt over Bloodbow. Although he was sweating and breathing hard, he managed to grab hold of his enemy's quiver, momentarily rendering Bloodbow immobile. The warrior in black and yellow then pitched forward, leaving the quiver in Oliver Queen's hands. Bloodbow still had one arrow in his hand, which he quickly strung to his bow and shot dead-center at Ollie's chest.

"This is where age and experience trump impetuous youth," Green Arrow crowed. "I can gauge the speed at which your arrow flies, and can judge the weight of your arrows; therefore I could calculate how quickly your arrow would take to reach me. I could either sidestep it, or" -- and here he brandished his foe's arrow -- "I could grab it." His instinct was to fit the arrow to his bow, but he fought against the impulse. He'd had enough of killing. Instead he ran over to Bloodbow, and pressing the arrow to Bloodbow's neck, he applied pressure until he had rendered the man unconscious.

It was only slowly that he became aware that someone was pounding on one of the walls separating him from his teammates.

"Hey Robin Hood," yelled a familiar voice, "are you okay? It's gotten awfully quiet in there."

"I'm alright, webhead." Green Arrow smiled. At least one other hero had survived their encounter.

"Two down, one to go," Peter Parker said.

On the other side of the furthest wall, the third remaining pair of combatants battled. Much of the initial stage of combat had been conducted in silence. Both men well knew that altercations are often settled before a single punch had been thrown. After having taken stock of each other, the giant and the vengeance-seeker, each wearing robes of similar design but for the color scheme, were entangled, seeking to gain purchase on one another. Although the giant obviously had the height advantage, the smaller man surprisingly matched him for strength. The big man used his staff to his advantage, using it to gain leverage on the wall and hoping to crush Iron Fist with his weight and size. Iron Fist, however, ducked in under him.

"You have to do better than that," Iron Fist said, as the two of them separated and faced each other yet again.

"I will," said the giant, and smiled.

Iron Fist threw a flurry of punches. His adversary waited until the last moment, then he brought up his metal staff, attempting to use the iron rod to break one of Danny Rand's arms. The smaller fighter was too quick for him, however.

Facing each other yet again, the warrior in yellow and green asked his oversized adversary a question that had been bugging him since first he saw the other man. "You wear the robes of a warrior from K'un Lun. Do you wear it by right, or out of arrogance?"

"Do you wear it by right, or out of arrogance?" the giant in blue and white countered, still smiling.

The man's calmness, and his words, set Iron Fist's blood to boiling, but he tried to control it. He knew that any edge he gave the giant would take advantage of.

The giant had more of a reach then did Danny Rand, and with the staff he had even more of one. He began to use the size differential, using the staff to strike at Iron Fist. Even if the blows were not telling ones, they would serve to wear the smaller man out. And still that smile never left his face. Danny could virtually see the man's mind calculating as he fought.

He tried a different tack.

Rushing in below the staff's arc, he struck suddenly upward at the man's midsection, hoping to cause him to lose air at the very least, and if the gods were with him, to perhaps break a rib.

Neither happened.

In fact, the big man looked as if he had been expecting the blow. The giant had been swinging the staff two-handed, which made for a slightly clumsy attack, but now Iron Fist could see that there was method to the man's seeming madness. The giant used his hands to twist apart the staff. The middle section of the staff was attached to the other two by a length of chain. The giant wrapped the tri-sectioned staff around Iron Fist's arm. Iron Fist quickly spun around to free his arm and prevent it from being broken. The giant backed up and began to spin his newly-configured weapon around like a nunchaku. "You know, outlander, that in K'un Lun all its warriors are known either by their positions or by the weapon they have gained mastery of. You, for example, are known as Iron Fist. I am known as Triple Iron."

So saying, the man-mountain swung his namesake weapon at Danny Rand.

Danny Rand did not move, instead he grabbed one end of the triple iron and tugged, throwing the giant off-balance. As the big man recovered himself, Iron Fist stationed himself in another part of the sealed-off chamber. He cocked his fist back and assumed a ready position. Triple Iron was holding the staff by its center section, whirling either end like nunchakus. For the first time, the smile left his face.

Iron Fist concentrated his chi, his inner force, and focused it in his hands. His fists began to glow, then to smolder, becoming like unto weapons of iron.

"I am aware of your iron fist technique, outlander," the giant said contemptuously. "And I am prepared for you." His weapon began to glow and throw off sparks. It seemed to be generating some sort of repulsion field.

Now it was Iron Fist's turn to smile. He cocked both fists back and assumed a wide-legged stance. The dragon symbol on his chest also began to smolder and glow. A crimson radiance filled the room. "Know you this, you cast-off of the fabled city -- the Iron Fist is only the beginning of my talents!"

Beyond the sealed-off walls, Peter Parker and Green Arrow heard the roar of a dragon...

A moment later, the steel-gray walls that had sealed the heroes off from one another came crashing down.

The Vision appeared, looking even more insubstantial than earlier. He looked like a low-resolution photograph version of himself. His mouth moved, but neither Iron Fist, Green Arrow or Peter Parker could make out his words. The Vision stopped attempting to communicate. A puzzled look crossed his artificial features. He seemed to make some sort of adjustment because when he spoke again the other heroes could finally make out what he was saying.

"Internal security systems have become aware of my tampering," said the Vision in his cold voice. "They have activated sophisticated anti-hacking measures to block me out. I have managed to -- "

And that was all he was able to say. He disappeared in mid-sentence.

Green Arrow stated the obvious. "Looks like that anti-hacking program got ‘im," he said.

"Yeah," chimed in Peter Parker, "that latest Norton anti-virus update is a real humdinger."

The heroes moved on, not looking at the smoking ruin that was Iron Fist's challenger.

The first slab from which one of the three hired guns had originated (Batroc) opened up once more.

"I hope this is a good sign," Peter Parker said.

"I'm certain that it is," said Green Arrow. "This is probably what the Vision was trying to tell us -- that he managed to hack into the elevator controls."

"What will we do for the next level, or the level after that?" asked Peter.

"Hope that there are stairs? Or an emergency exit we can use to gain entrance?" said Ollie Queen helpfully.

Iron Fist didn't say a word. He just walked past the dead body, past the heroes, and through the gray door. At the end of a small corridor there was another elevator. He waited patiently for the other two heroes there. Twenty years had passed with him waiting for his vengeance-taking; that many more minutes besides. Months of planning. A few more minutes wouldn't matter.

The former Spider-Man and the current Green Arrow followed his lead. A moment after they had settled into the concealed elevator, the doors slid shut and they began their next descent.

"Welcome to your doom," came a voice from within the green armor. Like Iron Fist's opponent the man was a giant. His outline seemed to waver and shimmer like an illusion.

Peter recognized their foe from the JLA files. "Super-Adaptoid," Peter Parker said. He was an old enemy, a robot, most assumed, who was able to adapt and mimic attacks against him. His limits, to date, had not been found.

Green Arrow didn't hear Peter Parker's exclamation. Using the arrows from Bloodbow's quiver, he was the first to step forward. "I am tired of re-acting to these hooligans. It's time for me to act first." He shot three arrows in quick succession at the green man. It was only a discerning eye that could have noted that the arrows were aimed at knees and shooting hand. It was only a practiced eye and skilled hand that could have attempted to aim so finely.

All for naught. The shape of the man in the green armor seemed to shift slightly and he too produced a quiver of arrows and a bow. Quicker than it took to tell it, he had also shot three arrows, mimicking Green Arrow's motion. His arrows intercepted the emerald archer's, casting them harmlessly aside.

He followed this initial volley with another barrage of arrows and in the space of a few seconds Oliver Queen was on the floor bleeding. It was only Ollie Queen who could note the irony that he had been hit in the knees and right hand.

"Behold my works, ye heroes, and despair," said the Super-Adaptoid.

Peter Parker became angry. "You aren't Ozymandias," he hissed. Then added: "And you ain't no poet, either." Although mainly a defensive weapon, Peter Parker counted on his webshooters being an unknown factor (since he was not in uniform and his being Spider-Man was generally seen as disproved). He hoped to be able to literally gum up the purported machine's adaptive mechanisms, thus leaving the Adaptoid open to attack.

Impossibly, the man in the green armor produced web-shooters of his own. He was also a hair's breath quicker than Peter on the draw and was able to enmesh Peter in a cocoon instead of being drawn into one himself.

"Wotta revoltin’ development," said Peter, echoing his friend Ben Grimm*.

The only hero left standing alone was Iron Fist, who seemed unconcerned either by his teammates’ plights or the Super-Adaptoid. Peter wondered if Danny Rand's display of violence on the preceding level had somehow unhinged him. He had, after all, killed a man -- and in grotesque fashion. But then again, all of them had been responsible, directly or indirectly, in other people's deaths. What then was Iron Fist playing at? "Hey Fist," Peter called out, mock-playfully, "you forgetting anybody?"

Iron Fist didn't react; he just seemed to be strolling unconcernedly along, making his way past the fallen heroes and the lean green mean machine, seemingly oblivious to them as he made his way to the next elevator door.

He almost made it.

He was almost to the door before the Adaptoid reacted. Peter had to admire Danny Rand's audacious plan. For a machine that adapted to other people's moves, initiating strategy must have been the most difficult thing to do. Of the three of them, only Iron Fist had applied logic to their situation. Both Peter and Green Arrow had acted emotionally.

The Super-Adaptoid was now the one who attacked first, giving Danny Rand the opportunity to adapt to him.

The armored sentient sprouted razor-sharp protuberances, its left gauntlet unhoused a whirring buzz-saw-like contraption, while a length of wire-chord was unwound from its right forearm. The Super-Adaptoid threw the wire mesh metal chord around Iron Fist, its obvious intention was to dismember or disembowel Danny Rand with the whirring blades in its left hand. Peter Struggled to free himself from the webs of the Adaptoid's net, both to help Iron Fist and to tend to the bleeding Green Arrow, but was unsuccessful. The best he could do was yell out an ineffectual warning.

Instead of trying to fight the pull of the wire, Iron Fist ran with it, slackening the tether, as he got closer to his green-armored adversary. He got to within the Adaptoid's reach and used the chord as a rappel rope to propel himself up the Super-Adaptoid's body. He then used the Adaptoid's own buzz-saw to cut the chord. He somersaulted over the green being's shoulders and snapped two of the newly-grown blades from the Adaptoid's armor. Whipsawing his arms around, Iron Fist plunged the blades into the green armor. He removed one of the blades, and in a two-handed motion he aimed high and cut off the head of his enemy. The helmet rolled free, the body slumped forward and two the amazement of all in the room, and they all saw that the armor was empty. Then, to their horror, the body of the Super-Adaptoid calmly reached forward and put the helmet back on its head. Deep roaring laughter issued from the helmet of the green-garbed anomaly. Grimness settled on the masked face of Danny Rand. He stepped forward and his fists were instantly glowing. Using the force of his chi as a weapon, Danny Rand thrust his supercharged hands forward again and again, punching hole after hole in the armor. Several times the green being tried to adapt to the attack, creating extra layers of armor, whips, chains, and metal outgrowths of somewhat less-defined nature; all to no avail. As damaged as the Super-Adaptoid would have been if alive, human, or mortal, it was evidently none of these things. Iron Fist's attack had little effect on its sentience. It was still alive, still fighting back, and still laughing.

Iron Fist fended off every blow, countered every stratagem, and employed a new one of its own. Danny Rand used the smoldering power of his iron fists to begin to mold the armor into a new shape of its own. He twisted and pulled, folded, spindled and molded the impossible creature until he was one condensed ball of silent green metal lying in the center of the room.

It was only then that he turned to his companions. At first he tried to free Peter Parker, but all he succeeded in doing was scorching the former Spider-Man. Evidently the Adaptoid's webbing was made of sterner stuff than Peter's own. He then turned to Green Arrow. Luckily, no vitals had been hit. Danny Rand employed some of his learning in acupuncture techniques to slow down the bleeding and produce a soporific effect. "I'll be back for you both," he said, and then stepped to the elevator. "I promise." Then he was gone.

Danny Rand descended to the next level, alone.

Danny Rand walked out of the elevator and into a hail of bullets and beams of deadly light...

...and was unaffected!

"My senses are very well trained," Danny Rand stated calmly, not talking to the assassins, who still wore their vacuous grins and mindless grimaces. "You must do better than this to fool them!"

There was a thin mist on the floor of the fourth sub-level. The mist seemed to congeal as the assassins evaporated.

"Very good, Iron Fist. Very good indeed. My employer spoke highly of you. I am glad to see his high praise of you was merited."

"What did you hope to do?" Iron Fist asked contemptuously of the figure that peered out at him through the mist. "Scare me to death?" The figure wore an ornate, semi-reflective costume topped by a circular white helmet. Images seemed to appear and vanish around the man's green costume, quicker than the eye could register them.

"I hope to do more than that," the figure replied with some humor. "This mist you see contains a special strain of the Scarecrow's fear toxin. It is lethal, and only I have the antidote."

Danny Rand assumed a fighting stance. He could feel the fine control of his muscles beginning -- ever so slightly -- to slip. Evidently there was a neurotoxin effect to the mist as well. Iron Fist grew angry. A regular poison meant nothing to him. As part of his training in K'un Lun, he was a master of a variety of poisons, most of which could kill the untrained instantly, some horribly. But this -- anything that threatened his control of himself was to be conquered as quickly as possible, and he intended to do so.

"Tell me your name, stranger, so that I may know who it is I am going to kill."

"I am Mysterio," said the man in the reflective costume. "You may beat me, but you will never beat yourself. You will never attain your goal, Iron Fist."

"We shall see," Danny Rand answered formally.

Mysterio responded with confidence. "Indeed we shall."

Just then, a fully reconstituted Super-Adaptoid came crashing through the ceiling. The K'un Lun warrior had been afraid of this. Ducking the shards of plaster and steel, he wondered: how could you kill that which cannot die?

Lasers -- real ones this time -- came out of the ceiling and drew a bead on him. The tremor is his left side was beginning to get worse.

Iron Fist prepared for the fight of his life.

Facing down his persistent enemy, the first thing he did was tear off a strip of material from his sleeve and blindfolded himself. Then he dove right through the Super-Adaptoid, avoiding at the same time the first blast of laser fire.

"If I cannot see your illusions, I cannot be fooled by them, Mysterio!" he declared for the sake of his unseen enemy.

He could feel the lasers heating up for another blast, could hear them swivel in their mounts. His tremors were getting worse. Strange thoughts, fancies, began to occur to him as the effects of the poison began to take hold and rooted itself in his subconscious. He knew he had to end this quickly.

He began to dive and somersault all along the floor, hoping to hear Mysterio's footsteps as he sought to avoid both Iron Fist's body and the deadly stare of the lasers. Finally, he did.

Iron Fist pounced. He grabbed a hold of Mysterio with one hand and tore the sash away from his eyes with the other.

Danny Rand smashed Mysterio's helmet against the ground ... and then he gasped! He was unprepared for what he saw. The face of his enemy, the face beneath the helmet, was his own!

This moment of surprise allowed Mysterio to slip away from his grasp. He ducked into a secret compartment below the floorboard. Iron Fist could feel his concentration slipping. Strange, nightmarish creatures were beginning to dart along the edges of his vision. The fear toxin was beginning to have its way with him. He had to act now. Concentrating as best and as fully as he could, Danny Rand reached into the utmost fiber of his being and brought forth his chi, concentrating it in his right hand, making it unto a thing of iron. He punched through the floor of the sublevel of Meachum Enterprises, and tore a hole big enough to climb through. There, not too far away, he found Mysterio, curled up in a ball, a full vial lying on the floor nearby. Mysterio's eyes were rolled up in his head, his body twitching, and a thin line of drool escaping from his slack lips. He had evidently not had time to administer the dose of the antitoxin before the poison had had his effect on him. And as he half-suspected, Mysterio's face, away from the hallucinogenic effects of the fear-toxin flooded floor of the sublevel above them, looked nothing like his own.

Iron Fist plunged the needle into his veins. Moments later, the tremors subsided.

"Good afternoon, my boy. I have been waiting for you." Dennis Meachum looked for all the world as if Iron Fist had come in for an appointment that had been written into his calendar long ago. Perhaps he had. "Ever since the press conference* that the Robertsons had, I figured it was inevitable. I had a nice little welcoming committee waiting for you, obviously," Meachum said, referencing his hired thugs in the levels down above. "But I didn't hold out much hope of them being able to take care of you. One cannot hide from one's karma. I should have known better than to try, but it is in my nature to try."

Meachum continued. "You surprised me, you know. I didn't expect you to come up with so many allies quite so quickly. I didn't think it was in your nature." He laughed at the irony of the situation. "How you found so many heroes for hire is beyond me. It is again, I suppose, karma."

Dennis Meachum tried to keep his voice calm. "Tell me, if you would indulge me – what was it like? Shamballa, I mean." And suddenly all his cynicism and false affability were stripped away, revealing raw need. A need that had stripped away all of his ethics and most of his humanity. A need to find out the solution to a mystery that had haunted him his whole life.

"You do not deserve to know." said Iron Fist.

Dennis Meachum's face resumed its composed form. "No, I suppose you're right. I don't deserve to know. Still, I had to ask," he said echoing his earlier sentiment. "It's in my nature." He sat down at his desk once again. He seemed to search for something. Iron Fist was prepared for any of his tricks. He had waited for this moment all his life. He was going to savor it; he was not going to rush it in any way. Dennis Meachum looked up at the son of the man he had murdered attempting to reach Shamballa. "I don't know what they taught you in Shamballa about vengeance, Iron Fist, but I can tell you this: vengeance is hollow. I ought to know." Meachum seemed to find what he had been looking for in his desk. He took a gun out of his desk. Before Iron Fist could do anything, Meachum put the pistol to his temple and pulled the trigger.

Upon further inspection, they found that the papers Meachum had on his desk were deeds transferring all assets to Daniel Rand. Iron Fist had effectively become one of the most powerful men in the world with the stroke of a pen.

A freed Peter Parker looked at his newfound friend with concern. "And now what are you going to do?"

Iron Fist took a moment before he responded. "I've been thinking of something Meachum said before he killed himself. Something about heroes for hire..."

Peter Parker opened the door. Ben Grimm stumbled in. "Peter, I need your help..." said the man also known as Thing from the Fantastic Four.

So saying, the man-mountain collapsed on his doorstep like a pile of rubble.

Peter Parker wondered how he was going to move all of that dead weight. He wondered what his neighbors would think. Peter Parker looked heavenward. "This is a test, isn't it, Lord?"

Perhaps too long.

After the Our Omniverse At War storyline, I contemplated what would become of Peter Parker now that he is no longer superpowered or assuming the mantle of Spider-Man. The answer will be forthcoming in these pages and will (hopefully) surprise you. As for Iron Fist, newly arrived in this modern world... well, he has quite a journey ahead of him too.

Welcome to Heroes For Hire, where just about anybody can appear, and just about anything can happen to them. Hope to see see ya around.

• As seen in the now-classic Hidden Arrow in World's Finest Tales of Suspense #2 and Justice League Avengers #2... Greg (back)
• See the Our Omniverse At War crossover for details... Greg (back)
• As a result of genetic surgery performed by Ant-Man in World’s Finest Tales of Suspense #4... Greg (back)
• AKA the Thing from the Fantastic Four... Greg (back)
• Robbie Robertson had a press conference at the end of World’s Finest Tales of Suspense #7 which unmasked efforts to have Danny Rand killed and Peter Parker framed for the murder. Norman Stacy was unveiled as the agent who blackmailed Robbie's son into implicating Peter. Now we know who the money man behind these efforts was -- the man who stole Iron Fist's legacy, Dennis Meachum.... Greg (back)
• This takes place immediately after the Omniverse heroes returned from the Positive Zone Earth, as detailed in the Our Omniverse At War crossover, elsewhere on this site... Greg (back)