Marvelous Martial Arts (A Marvel Story)

Mason’s Spirit Awakening did not bring a huge change with it. He had already been at the edge, his body, Essence, and Breath all at 9.9. Passing over that final hurdle, to this imaginary value of 10, was only a microscopic jump. There was no qualitative change, with the exception of his Spirit.

It did not get stronger or better, but Mason could feel he now had full access to it. Obviously, he did not use it on the spot, since the only thing he knew it was capable of doing was acting like Conqueror’s Haki, and he did not want to knock out his family, but that did not dampen his happiness.

This was it. The very peak of humanity. Only ever equaled, never bested. A single step from transcendence.

Still, he did not say anything, mostly because it would not mean anything to them, and he ended up leaving for his scheduled training session with Steve and Bobbi. He did not say anything to them either, training as usual. He did not say anything to anyone, and nobody knew about it.

There was not really a reason for it; he just wanted to keep it to himself. In a way… he did not want to brag about it. He was proud of what he had achieved, but even with his insufferable master, he did not mention it.

Of course, Mason did not rest because of his success, and he actively started looking for a way to break through. He got nothing in the short term, but it was not like he had nothing to do either, as he meditated upon the Dao and trained in martial arts as well. Steve and Bobbi hardly posed a challenge, but it was good practice.

He also took the time to visit Minx, who somehow did not present a single sign of being traumatized. Mason had thought she had been playing tough for him, but she truly seemed to think nothing of her kidnapping. She was braver than he had thought.

Then, after a couple of days, it was finally time. Danny had called Mason on his new phone, and when Mason finally got to Danny’s penthouse at the top of Rand Tower, their improvised headquarters since everything had begun, everyone was gathered there.

Danny, Izo, Matt, Foggy, and Spider-Man.

”We did it, Mr. Tunt! There is officially a warrant for Wilson Fisk’s arrest.” Spider-Man immediately went in his face, forcing Mason to push him off, although he had a big smile himself as he gave a few polite claps to Matt and Foggy. The two lawyers were happy as well, mock bowing.

Although it had only been a few weeks of work, this was still the culmination of something very important to them. Danny, in his Iron Fist costume, shared in the joy as well, and said, ”Fisk is in his tower, pulling his troops. As expected, he holed himself up in an attempt to make a last standoff.”

Matt nodded, adding, ”He has contacts in the police; he knew about the warrant before they could even send a single car.”

Izo raised a bottle of what seemed to be very expensive sake as he reminded them of his idea, ”It would be much simpler to go in now and cut off the head of the serpent. The longer we wait, the more men he will gather, and the tighter the defences will be.”

Matt immediately replied, ”We already talked about it; we’re letting the police do their job. You may only intervene if they ask for support. Otherwise, Fisk could potentially turn this thing on its head and either get free, or at the very least place press charges against you.”

Izo grumbled in his corner, ”Like I care…”

Although Izo would have preferred a more direct approach, they had all agreed before to do things this way. The best scenario would be if the police managed to arrest him by themselves, but no one in the room really thought that was possible.

They had the manpower for it, with how hard they had hit Fisk’s operations in the past weeks, but Fisk was still a powerful man with many connections in the NYPD and mayoral office. It certainly would not be easy, but with his ass on the line, he could pull up a real fight.

Of course, given enough time, the police would certainly be able to take him down, but it would certainly be at the cost of many of their men. Thankfully, being in contact with SHIELD had helped, as they also had men on the situation, and the moment the situation got too tricky to handle, they would be allowed to intervene.

Technically, they would be working in official capacity as heroes for hire, even though they were not getting paid. It certainly was a first for them all, although Danny did technically act within the capacity of K’un-Lun. They were not a recognized country, due to their secretive nature, but this still technically meant that he had already worked under the law as his alter ego.

Mason shook his head, dismissing the idle thoughts as he said, ”We have repeated it enough times, but once we get there, do not use deadly force unless there is an absolute necessity.” Although he addressed everyone while saying that, Mason stared at Izo, the true recipient of his words.

The old man snorted, murmuring, ”Would be easier if someone could awaken their Spirit already.”

Mason grinned, tapping his temple. ”And who told you I didn’t?”

Izo stared at him, spreading his Divine Sense, but he found nothing different. Nor could he, because the difference was so slight compared to when he had not awakened it. The peak of the Awakening Realm did not represent a qualitative difference, other than the Spirit becoming more active. But for someone like Izo, whose Breath was only at a value of 6, the difference was too slight to be felt.

Danny shared in Izo’s amazement, giving a martial bow with his fists joined. ”Congratulations are in order, then, Grandmaster. It is an honor to be fighting by your side.”

Before Mason could shut him down, Spider-Man immediately copied his actions, giving a stiff bow as well. ”Be water, my friend.”

As for Izo, although his gaze had sharpened, he did not doubt Mason, knowing him well enough to know that he would not joke or lie about this. After a moment, he asked, ”Have you tried it then? Your Spirit.”

Mason shook his head, replying honestly, ”Not yet, haven’t had the need yet. From what I understand, it is an uncontrollable attack, so I’ll keep it for the right situation. Hopefully you won’t be affected.”

Izo looked at the people around the room with his blind eyes, his drunkenness seemingly gone without a trace. ”The awakened Spirit is a powerful tool, but a strong enough will can resist it. Good for taking care of the rabble, but everyone here should be able to resist it without much trouble. It will affect us, but it shouldn’t knock anyone out.”

Spider-Man quipped, ”Couldn’t we try it here?”

Mason shook his head. ”I can only use it so many times before needing to recover. I can’t say how many uses I got, but I’d rather keep them all if we need them. Besides, isn’t it more interesting to discover it in the midst of action? And I may not even need it; who knows how many men he has left after everything we’ve done. I don’t think many would fight if they don’t get paid.”

Spider-Man counted on his hands as he asked, ”Doesn’t someone like Fisk have a bazillion dollars in the bank?”

Matt immediately countered, ”They would have frozen his assets, but I don’t see Fisk trusting banks. Even then, you shouldn’t underestimate the damage we’ve done. Adding the pressure from rivals both within and outside, and the fact that Fisk is the kind of man to prepare for a worst-case scenario, his arrest… the police actually stand a good chance of arresting him.”

And just then, right as he finished speaking, as if the universe was pulling a prank on him, Mason’s new phone rang.

It was Agent 19, his disciple, as well as their contact with the police.

”We need your help.”