Iron Fist

"What in the name of the Seven Cities do you think you're doing, Shou-Lao?!" Lin Lie shouted as he stormed into the dragon's sanctuary.

"Protecting K'un-Lun," the ancient creature replied. "Just as I always have."

"In case you forgot, that's my job," Lin Lie snarled, his fist glowing intensely as he approached the Immortal Beast who had granted him his mystical abilities.

"For now…" Shou-Lao replied, extending his long neck so that he was face-to-face with his chosen one. "We shall see how long that remains true."

"Is that a threat?" Lin Lie demanded, not flinching as the dragon's hot breath washed over him.

"It is a fact," Shou-Lao calmly responded.

"Well, here's another fact," Lin Lie said defiantly. "You picked me to be your Iron Fist. Are you really going to let someone strip that away from me? Just because a madman in a metal mask decided he wanted even more power?"

"There are rules, Lin Lie," Shou-Lao responded solemnly. "Rules that were not followed when I anointed you my champion. I believed, in my hubris, that none would ever dare to question me. I was wrong."

Lin Lie wanted to scream, but he knew deep down that his master wasn't lying.

There was a time, not long ago, when Lin Lie went by another name — Sword Master. Then, he wielded the ancient sword of Fu Xi to battle his foes, at least until a powerful Kumiho struck him down and left him for dead. When Lin Lie's body washed up on the shores of K'un-Lun, it was Shou-Lao who found him. The undying dragon saw great potential in the fallen warrior and used his own Chi to revive Lin Lie. Infused with Shou-Lao's essence, Lin Lie rose once more to become the 67th Iron Fist, the Immortal Weapon of K'un-Lun!

But as Shou-Lao said, there were strict rules that were laid out centuries ago in The Book of the Iron Fist which detailed the grueling challenges that a mortal must conquer in order to earn the title of Iron Fist. The Shenloong Trial was a series of tests that culminated with a direct battle between Shou-Lao and his prospective champion. The power of the Iron Fist would be bestowed upon them only when they claimed victory by plunging their fist into the dragon's heart. Since the dawn of K'un-Lun, Shou-Lao's Chi had been a gift that was taken, not given. Until Lin Lie. And now, another mortal had declared his intent to take that gift for himself.

Victor von Doom — the monarch of Latveria and one of the men behind the chronal disruptions that had turned the Multiverse upside-down — had set his sights on K'un-Lun in hopes of gathering Shou-Lao's Chi infused with Chronovium. But when Doom realized that Shou-Lao had fallen into a deep slumber, he changed his course, now determined to cut the sleeping dragon's heart out of its chest and seize the true source of Shou-Lao's Chi for himself. By the time Doom arrived at Shou-Lao's palace, however, the Immortal Beast had already been reawakened by Iron Fist and his allies. Doom momentarily considered attempting to slay the dragon anyway, but he knew that a battle against both Shou-Lao and an army of heroes might not end in his favor. Still, a master strategist on Doom's level was never without a contingency plan.

Doom had long heard rumors that Lin Lie's claim to the title of Iron Fist was tenuous at best. Never one to forfeit an opportunity to seize great power, Doom immediately tried to use that secret knowledge to his advantage. Doom revealed the truth of the current Iron Fist's dubious ascension, leaving Lin Lie humiliated and the assembled heroes stunned. Then, Doom challenged Shou-Lao to combat, hoping to initiate a Shenloong Trial that would ultimately result in his own appointment as the one true Iron Fist. Doom boasted that he would gladly thrust his armored fist into the hearts of a million dragons if it meant he would be able to harness the near-unlimited might of Shou-Lao's Chi. However, there were other rules in The Book of the Iron Fist — rarely invoked rules that dated back thousands of years — which even Victor von Doom was unaware of…

As ancient tradition decreed, if the legitimacy of an Immortal Weapon was challenged during the rare occasion when the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven, like now, had converged to form the Heart of Heaven, then a representative from each city would be offered the chance to participate in the Immortal Beasts' Trial. Doom was unaware of this rule because it had almost never been invoked, and with good reason, as no Immortal Beast has ever dared to risk sharing its Chi with Immortal Weapons of other cities. But once this trial is initiated, it shall expand into a grand tournament where the winner would lay claim the champion's title and the power that came with it. Indeed, when you have defeated the other seven Immortal Weapons of the Capital Cities, the glory you've taken from them is enough to earn you the gift of the Immortal Beasts' Chi. Shou-Lao's clever play had opened the door for a contest unlike any that K'un-Lun or its sister cities had ever seen before. Though Shou-Lao had wisely used this rare passage in the ancient text as a loophole to delay Doom's inevitable attempt to claim his Chi, neither the dragon nor his disciple was terribly thrilled with the path that now lied ahead.

"So, let me get this straight…" Lin Lie said, the glow of his fist beginning to fade as his rage started to give way to logic. "If I want to keep being Iron Fist, all I really have to do is win a battle between the Immortal Weapons, right?"

"That is correct," Shou-Lao replied.

"Well, that should be easy enough," Lin Lie said confidently. "Most of the other Immortal Weapons haven't been seen since the Seven Capital Cities fused together. They probably got swept up in the Timestream Entanglement or something. Even the Prince of Orphans has vanished again… which kind of sucks, because he was in the middle of training me… and he also left me to watch that Asgardian baby he found… who, I'll admit, is kinda growing on me… especially now that Angela and I are cool, and she's been taking point on babysitting… but still…"

"Your point, my child…?" Shou-Lao asked impatiently.

"Sorry," Lin Lie said. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that, if the other Immortal Weapons don't show, that means they can't fight. And so I win by default!"

"If an Immortal Weapon is absent at the time of a sacred trial," Shou-Lao said, "then the beast who rules each city gains the right to choose a new warrior to represent them in battle."

"Seriously?" Line Lie asked. "That seems kind of unfair. But even so, there's no way some rando living in the Kingdom of Spiders or on Tiger Island is skilled enough to take me down!"

"The warrior does not need to hail from the realm they are chosen to represent," Shou-Lao said. "As you may recall, many of my Iron Fists have been outsiders. Including yourself. My fellow Immortal Beasts can select their new champion from anyone present in the Heart of Heaven."

"Oh, you mean the place where all of the Multiverse's greatest heroes happen to currently be hanging out?" Lin Lie asked sarcastically. "Great."

"It seems you have quite the battle ahead, boy," Shou-Lao said.

"I do…" Lin Lie responded, "…but maybe it's not the one that everybody thinks."

"What scheme are you forming in that tiny mortal brain of yours?" Shou-Lao asked, raising a scaly eyebrow.

"Well…" Lin Lie answered, "…you said that all of this unfolded because you didn't follow the rules when you made me your Iron Fist, right? So… what if we did follow the rules? Like, right now."

"You mean…" Shou-Lao interjected, starting to see what his Immortal Weapon was thinking.

"The Shenloong Trial," Lin Lie continued. "If I face it now — if I go through the paces and punch you in the heart, just like the 66 other Iron Fists before me — then Doom's challenge to my legitimacy no longer has any legs to stand on. I become the one true Iron Fist, no asterisk. And the tournament never needs to happen."

"If only it were so easy," Shou-Lao responded with a sigh. "I fear the die has already been cast. One challenge cannot simply be nullified by another. The moment Doom questioned your legitimacy, he became a competitor of equal standing to you. In order to prevent Doom from taking the title uncontested, the tournament had to be initiated. What is done cannot be undone. It must be seen through."

"But we all know Doom is gonna cheat," Lin Lie said, his frustration once again growing. "He'll find a way to rig the tournament in his favor so he can take my power… and yours!"

"I am well aware of that mortal's reputation," Shou-Lao said, "but I am also aware of yours."

"What do you mean?" Lin Lie asked.

"Stubborn, impulsive, unyielding," Shou-Lao responded.

"Some people think I'm also talented…" Lin Lie muttered under his breath, "…and handsome…"

"Since the moment I made you my Immortal Weapon," Shou-Lao continued, "you have led with your fist first. Whether it glows or not, whether the fragments in your arm ache or not... Why?"

Lin Lie paused for a moment and considered his patron's words.

"I guess…" he said, "…because I've been trying to prove myself. I have a hell of a legacy to live up to."

"Then earn it," Shou-Lao said. "Prove to all who step foot into the arena that you are my one true champion. Prove that a bruised ego will not be enough to knock you down for good. And prove that you were chosen to be my Iron Fist not by chance, but because you deserved the name and all the glory that comes with it. Prove that, even though the Sword of Fu Xi is shattered, you are still a worthy heir of Fu Xi."

"Do… do you really think I can do that…?" Lin Lie said in a rare moment of self-doubt.

"It does not matter what I think, child," Shou-Lao responded. "All that matters now is what you think."

"And if I win…" Lin Lie said, his confidence growing, "…if I publicly mop the floor with these other Immortal Wannabes, then there's no more doubt, right? No one ever gets to question whether or not I'm the real Iron Fist ever again?"

"Correct," Shou-Lao said, a grin starting to spread across his wide mouth, showing the glistening fangs within. "So… what do you say, my champion?"

"Just this…" Lin Lie responded, holding up his glowing fist with pride. "When do the games begin?"