Marvelous Martial Arts (A Marvel Story)

Mason was not very familiar with Hell’s Kitchen, his interactions with the neighborhood being limited to visiting Minx.

However, there weren’t a thousand ways to patrol, and wherever one went, the obvious strategy was to climb and observe from a height. That was what Daredevil presumably did to patrol Hell’s Kitchen, and Mason imitated that.

And sure enough, it took him less than an hour to spot a red figure crouching atop a water tower. The devil of Hell’s Kitchen had his head dipped, relying not on sight to watch over the city, but something else.

However, as Mason approached him, his head snapped in his direction, his war-machine of a body tensing as he prepared for a fight.

Raising his hands peacefully, Mason landed on the roof below the water tower with a thud, and called out, ”I come as a friend, Daredevil.”

Although his hands still hovered around his pair of batons, he did not move. He looked down precisely at Mason despite his blindness, and asked in a surprisingly emotionless voice, ”Are you from K’un-Lun?”

”I am not. My name is Mason, but people have taken to calling me Solis.”

Daredevil had apparently heard of him as he relaxed, though he was obviously still ready to fight. The hero kept the high ground, saying, ”I see. Why have you sought me out?”

Mason suppressed a chuckle at his words and asked, ”Have you heard about Fisk and the Hand?”

Daredevil showed no reaction, but Mason’s Divine Sense was focused on him all along, so he felt the surprise within him. ”I find it hard to believe you do not come from K’un-Lun. You practice their skills, and speak to me about their shadowy enemies. You… feel very wrong, Mr. Tunt.”

Whether Daredevil had called him by his surname to destabilize him or something else entirely, Mason chose not to react to it, or to Daredevil’s words entirely, saying instead, ”I learned today they placed a bounty on me, and knowing of their strong presence in Hell’s Kitchen, I figured you might have a better idea as to their whereabouts.”

Daredevil finally showed some emotion, asking with a flicker of interest tinting his voice, ”You mean to hunt them down in return? You certainly are ambitious, but I guess you’re not the type to get scared off. Even when you should.”

”Is the Man Without Fear lecturing me about fear?”

Daredevil chuckled breathlessly and climbed down to Mason’s level, standing eye-to-eye with him as he said, ”Fair enough. You should know that I am a wanted vigilante, and if you are seen working alongside me, you might get arrested.”

Mason shrugged, ”It’s not like I can do anything about it. If I do nothing, I’m inviting them to relentlessly attack me until they either capture me or go after my family. If I act alone, I doubt I could hide my identity from them, and they undoubtedly have connections with the police or government at large. Whatever I do, as long as I become a painful enough thorn in their side, they’ll throw the police at me.”

Daredevil frowned, clearly unhappy with the conclusion he had reached. It was understandable too, since his secret identity was that of Matt Murdock, a lawyer. No lawyer would be happy to hear that the system was rigged, as it meant their work was essentially useless.

Still, he held certain beliefs, so he said, ”You should have a little faith. Because they have influence does not mean they control the law. If it comes down to courtrooms in the end, I’m sure you could easily find someone to fight for your case.”

Though not amused in the slightest, Mason still smiled before sighing, ”It seems you haven’t been fighting them for long. Because I was selfish enough to not wear a mask, my family has become a target. And when dealing with something like the Hand, it’s either their complete annihilation, or the death of my family.”

”I wouldn’t call you selfish. I reckon you had little time, or opportunity, to think about masking your identity against the Hulk.”

Mason shook his head, keeping to himself that while that was true, he had never intended to wear a mask anyway. He had been against it because he wanted to stay true to himself, and now his family was in danger because of it.

Truthfully, Mason had never expected to draw the attention of the Hand or Fisk out of all people, but it still had been a selfish decision on his part.

Letting out a breath, he said, ”What matters is that I need to take action, and swiftly. Will you help me?”

Daredevil stared at him, his blind eyes covered by the red lenses of his helmet, and mused, ”You sound like you’re going to kill them.”

A test, very obviously, considering Daredevil had a no-kill rule. Matt Murdock was a man of Christian faith who believed in the power of redemption. Knowing that, and not particularly murderous himself, Mason reassured him, ”By annihilation, I meant that of the organization, not its members.”

Daredevil stared at Mason wordlessly, to show that actions would speak louder than words. This made Mason smile, as he took it as a wordless agreement to help him, so he asked, ”By the way, what’s this K’un-Lun you spoke of? You say I practice their skills, but since you haven’t seen me fight, could you be speaking about this?”

Saying this, Mason extended a fist and empowered it with Chi, making it shine bright. Daredevil was blind, but Mason had a feeling he could still feel it.

”I find it even harder to believe you never heard of K’un-Lun when they are the only ones to teach how to attain this power.”

”So you are from K’un-Lun? You should know I do not hail from there myself then.”

Daredevil looked confused, which had been on purpose. Of course Mason knew Daredevil had nothing to do with K’un-Lun other than his enmity with the Hand, and a possible friendship with the Iron Fist.

”What are you talking about?”

Mason snorted, pretending to be offended by a bald-faced lie, ”You think I cannot feel your Divine Sense?”

Daredevil’s jaw clenched at the word ‘divine’, ”What are you talking about?”

Mason raised a hand with an apologetic smile, ”Right, Divine Sense is what I call it. It is the energy of the Breath from the Three Treasures. You know, the thing you use to sense the world, predict the moves of enemies ahead of time.”

Daredevil himself did not believe in it, so he argued, ”No, you’re mistaken. I trained my senses to the peak of human condition, not this Divine Sense of yours.”

Mason smiled. He had associated Daredevil with K’un-Lun to mess with him and defuse the misunderstanding over his own origins, but he did genuinely feel Daredevil use Divine Sense. Only, it also felt slightly different, as if it had mutated. That, Mason was not sure how to explain, so he chalked it up to the incident that had given Daredevil his powers. Radioactive material, if his memory served him right.

Suppressing a grin, Mason said, ”I sense that you are a deeply troubled individual, Mr. Daredevil. Not that surprising, considering the name you chose for yourself. Listen, all I want is to get information on the Hand. If you don’t have it or don’t want to share, just say so, and I’ll be on my way.”

Daredevil did not react outwardly to the taunts, but Mason could feel his emotions fluctuating. Nothing too extreme- annoyance at being teased.

But then, Daredevil perked up, his head swiveling to the side. Curious, Mason extended his Divine Sense in that direction and sensed people fighting.

”How about it then, Hornboy? Want some help?”

Daredevil was already on the move, leaping off the building with the grace of an Olympic gymnast as he huffed, ”Don’t get in the way.”

That was going to be fun.