Hellcat

Chapter 54

I huffed out a breath, shaking my head before taking a seat. Danny decided to do the same as we waited. Matt was pacing as Stick just stood there. "She coming back?" Stick asked Matt. "No, she left," he responded, still pacing. "Use your powers?" Danny asked, leaning back in his chair with one foot on an empty seat. "No, I've just met her," Matt responded. Danny dropped his foot from the extra chair, leaning forward on his elbows.

"How can she not understand how big this is?" he asked as if that was an easy question to answer. "Well, I don't know her too well, but like me, she has a life. No matter how big or small it is, it's still hers," Matt said, rubbing a hand across his brow. "After all you've been through, Matty, I thought you'd be more open-minded when the time came," Stick said, disappointment clear in his voice. His words only earned a bitter chuckle in response. "Well, forgive me if I'm not excited at the prospect for facing the Hand again. Yeah?" Matt grumbled with a small nod. "Agreed," I said with a small nod.

"How'd you two get involved in the first place?" Danny asked, glancing between the two of us. "He's one of the most naturally skilled fighters I've ever known," Stick complimented. "I saw," Danny said with a nod. "Yeah, I trained him to fight a war," Stick said before scoffing. "He decided to put on an outfit. Stop muggers in back alleys," the old man grumbled. "Well, from what I've hear, you're... you're doing a good job. Both of you," Danny said, giving a small nod towards me. "Past tense. He's retired," Stick interrupted.

"You know what? We are not talking about this, all right?" Matt snapped, getting defensive as he continued to pace the room. "Suit yourself," Stick said, finally taking a seat. "But I think the two of you have got a lot to learn from each other," the old man said. "Of course," Danny agreed. But Matt wasn't so fond of the idea. "I'm done taking lessons, Stick," Matt told him. "Lessons ain't don with you," Stick responded quickly before Luke reentered the room.

"This isn't her fight," he offered in explanation. "Sooner or later, it's gonna be everybody's fight," Stick countered simply. "Not if I can help it," Luke said as I watched Matt lean on the back of a chair, gripping it tightly. "Me neither," Danny said, leaning forward in his chair. I sighed, shaking my head. "Fine," I grumbled. "All right. Let's just get this over with," Matt huffed before sitting in the chair he had been holding on to. "Seems like now is the time for you to tell us everything we need to know," Luke said, taking a chair and turning it around before straddling it and staring intently at Stick. And he did. At least, everything he thought we needed to know.

"Nobody knows when it started. Centuries ago. Millennia. It doesn't matter. But a long time ago, the elders of K'un-Lun gathered to study how to harness their chi. The energy of life itself. They wanted to use it to heal. But there were five heretics among them, people with darker intentions. They didn't want to heal. They wanted immortality. Power. To never face death. To regenerate themselves again and again. The elders saw this as an aberration. And so, like Lucifer from Heaven, the five were banished from K'un-Lun forever. They became the five fingers of the Hand," Stick explained to all of us.

"I came face-to-face with a woman at Midland Circle. She said she was the Hand," Danny told the old man, who nodded as if this was familiar to him. "She's had a lot of names throughout the years. In my lifetime, Alexandra. And she's led them since the beginning," Stick said before continuing with his story. "When they dispersed, they all went back to their mother countries, each finger ruling over its own domain. Growing in power and influence," Stick told us.

"Madame Gao?" Danny asked. "She's one," Stick confirmed with a small nod. "She helped set up my parents' murder," Danny said. "She set up a lot of murders. Then there's Sowande, African warlord, gunrunner, you name it," Stick told us. "The one I followed," Luke said, his voice hard. "Don't follow too closely. Couple of moves, he'll slow your pulse till your heart fails," Stick warned. "Then there's Bakuto," Stick continued. "He's dead. At least the last time I saw him," Danny informed us. "Oh! Finally, some good news," Stick said almost sarcastically.