Before we get started today, it’s
time for another round of self-promotion. Hm… is it self-promotion if it happens
on the site that I run? A thought for another day. Anyway, I took part in a
writing contest presented by the good people at Sec Semper Serpent publishing.
Said contested, entitled Spontaneous Combustion, had local authors write up a
short story in only 24 hours. In addition, we had to use three prompts. 1. That
at some point a balloon sword would be used instead of a real sword. 2. Sage
wisdom delivered by a non-human entity. And 3. The phrase “Uff Da, this lutefisk
is limp.” 100% honest, number 3 was the hard one. Well, I was able to do it,
and my story “Bizarrely Typical,” was chosen as one of the fifteen finalists.
If you’d be so kind as to click the link: https://www.sicsemperserpent.com/spoco2stories,
read my work, and then vote for me, that’d be greatly appreciated. Voting runs
until Tuesday 10/31/17. Enough of that, on with the show.
We pick up a couple of minutes
after the last episode ended. The fledging Defenders escape their pursuers, and
end up setting up shop in a Chinese restaurant. Danny gets them pretty much
free reign of the place by offering to play the rent on the place for the next
six months. Danny’s finally tapping into his real superpower, a ridiculous bank
account balance. The next few minutes are filled with of the characters that
know each other, Luke and Jessica, touching base, the group arguing, sharing
information on the situation, and more arguing. But they do get to start
enjoying some fine cuisine part way through. There’s some tension involving
Matt and his initial hesitance to take off Jessica’s scarf and show his face,
but he does ultimately opt to reveal his identity to the crowd. Kind of funny
that, technically, in this group of superheroes, Matt really is the only one
that has a secret identity.
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| It's a good group. |
Back at the Hand’s base, Midland
Financial, Electra is examining a few old scars. Apparently, while the Hand’s resurrection
techniques can raise the dead, cure illness, and even remove cancer, scars are
still permanent. Alexandra comes in and seems to try very hard to convince
Electra that she isn’t the same person as she used to be. She is the Black Sky,
Electra was the name she held before her rebirth, that kind of BS. Electra goes
along with it, but you’d have to be an idiot to think she bought it completely.
Apparently, most of the Hand’s plans ride on Electra’s effectiveness in battle,
and her having any sort of past would negatively affect that effectiveness.
The Defenders kind of explain their
backgrounds to each other, specifically their previous dealings with the Hand.
There’s still more arguing, as we’re dealing with four very different
personalities, but that’s all put to a stop by the arrival of a now one-handed
Ninja master, the Stick. He reveals he’d tracked them using Danny’s cell, and
pretty much lets the group know that there is a good chance that they’re all
hosed. Thanks Stick, real encouraging.
We then jump over to a pretty
creepy scene of a man gutting a bear. This is another Hand leader, a fellow
named Murakami. Alexandra arrives and ends up asking for his help in whatever
she’s planning. Whatever Alexandra is planning, she needs all five members of
the Hand’s leaders. Murakami is pretty disinterested, due in part to the fact
that the Hand is officially out of whatever supplies it needs to resurrect its
members. Also, him disemboweling the bear is pretty messed up. But, with only a
little prodding from Alexandra, he seems willing to throw his hat in with hers.
Whatever is going to happen, it looks like it’s something big enough to
interest even a potentially immortal man.
Meanwhile, Electra examines some of
the weapons in the Hand’s armory. She seems drawing in particular to the sais.
For those who don’t know, sais were Electra’s weapon of choice… during her
first life, anyway. And for those who don’t know what a sai is, it’s that big
fork looking weapon that Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles favor.
My understanding is that they were a weapon designed to catch and even
potentially break a katana between its progs. Making Electra’s current choice
of weapon somewhat Ironic. I think. White Hat walks in a moment later flanked
by some goons. He reprimands Electra for not killing the four intruders, and
openly wonders if it was the right call to use the last of their materials to
bring her back. She easily kills his two goons, tells him to keep watching and
see if he’s right, and marches off.
At the restaurant, The Stick
explains that the Chaste were a private ninja army that followed the teachings
of K’un-Lun and that they serve the Iron Fist. Too bad the group’s membership
has officially dropped to one, The Stick. He claims that the Hand is planning
something big, on par with what happened at Pompeii, and Chernobyl in terms of
destruction. Apparently both places and disasters were tests for the main even,
whatever it is. It’s at this point that Jessica claims she’s done and storms
off. Luke tries to dissuade her from leaving, but she’s not having any of it. There’s
clearly a certain level of awkwardness between the two of them, which given
their past isn’t too surprising. Is there a good way to be friends with someone
you used to <cough> “date” casually and kind of ended when you attacked
her in a mind controlled state and she shot you in the face? Yeah, I didn’t
think so. He doesn’t try too hard to stop her, though, and they both admit it
was nice seeing the other.
Back inside the restaurant, The
Stick mocks Matt for choosing to be a superhero instead of a ninja warrior, and
then mocks him again for giving up on doing the vigilante justice thing. To
borrow a line from Team Four Star’s excellent Dragonball Z Abridged, The Stick
feels that Matt is “The Grand Central Station of disappointment.” Once Luke
rejoins the others, it’s clear that he and Danny want to hear the Stick out.
Matt is much much more skeptical of his former mentor’s motives, but is at least
willing to listen.
 |
| He was a Blind Ninja Master before it was cool. Who am I kidding? That was always cool. |
Across town with the baddies, Alexandra
is prepping for a night out. Every night can’t just be filled with evil plans
and plots for world domination, you’d burn yourself out. She gets all dressed
up, but suddenly start getting some sort of painful sensation in her stomach
area. Shot in the dark, but it seems that whatever is killing her is getting
progressively worse. She pops a couple pills before canceling her plans.
Jessica, meanwhile, heads home,
takes a few swigs of whiskey, and boots up her computer. She started looking
through the files she’d taken photos of from the library/archive, while
chugging a little more booze. To her shock, she’d noticed that the signature on
all of the documents, which were signed across hundreds of years and under
different names, all have the exact same handwriting. Further confirmation that
Alexandra has been at this for a very, very long time.
Back with the other Defenders, The
Stick tells them the story of The Hand. He makes it clear that when it happened
was unclear, could be 500 years, could be 2,000. What they do know, is that
some time ago, the elders of K’un-Lun began learning to control their chi to
help heal themselves and the world. Like in most groups, there were a few that
saw such techniques and thought they could be used for personal gain. They
tried to use their chi control and other techniques as a means of gaining power
and immortality. These five heretics, as The Stick referred to them, were cast
out of K’un-Lun. They became the leaders, or Five Fingers, of the Hand. While loosely
untied under that banner, they spent most of the following ages in their
respective countries, forming bastions of power. The woman now going by
Alexandra took Europe and was the de facto leader of the group as a whole,
Madam Gao ruled China’s underbelly, a fellow named Swande (who I believe they
said is also White Hat but not 100% on that at the time of writing) was a major
war lord in Africa, Bakudo was in charge of an undisclosed location, and
Murakami was in charge of Japan. I assume they all took an interest in and
watched over things in the US of A. Stick also mentions that Murakami was the
superior of Nobu, the Hand assassin that was the kind of last minute villain of
Daredevil’s second season. Matt is
obviously troubled by all this, but is pretty adamant that they all stay out of
the Stick’s machinations. The previous betrayals that his old master had put
upon him have obviously left a bad taste in his mouth.
Jessica checks in on Mrs. Raymond
again. At like 2 in the morning. And Jessica is pretty close to being smashed. Jessica
might possibly, definitely have a
serious drinking problem. Mrs. Raymond is surprisingly cool with it, though,
especially when Jessica mentions that she was just checking in on them. Mrs.
Raymond mentions a ‘cop’ that’d been staking them out, and is legit concerned
when she learned Jessica hadn’t set up the observation. Not good. Jessica has
her return inside like nothings up, and goes about prepping to kick some ass. A
short time later, she circles back and beats the guy within an inch of his
life. She warns him to back off, but he doesn’t seem to get that right away, so
she hurts him more.
 |
| So could we actually make Sigorney Weaver immortal? Is that an option? |
Back with the guys, Luke and Danny
do a little more bonding. The two seem to get along great, and, while Luke is
pretty certain that their cooperation ends when the Hand is dealt with, it’s
clear Danny doesn’t completely believe it. And Stick and Matt have a secret conversation.
The two point-out how both of them failed to mention that they knew the
mysterious woman that attacked them. Can’t see how that could backfire later.
Matt is hopeful that some part of his former lover is still insider her, as she
hesitated when they’d fought, but the Stick crushes that hope hard. He’s well
versed in the resurrection ritual, as well as the Hand’s other techniques, and
knows the Ninja purged any memories of her past life during her rebirth. Matt
did note that she didn’t have a heartbeat, a previously established sign of
undead Ninja warriors, but still doesn’t seem that convinced.
Matt and the Stick notice that they’re
being watched outside. They gather the others and start prepping the restaurant
for an attack. To their surprise, Alexandra slipped in when they weren’t
looking. How do you sneak up on two blind Ninja with hyper sensitive hearing? No
answer is given. She wants to ‘talk this out.’ Basically, she wants Danny to
come with her to fulfill her plans. She’s even willing to let New York survive
and his friends as well. When the group collectively tells her to screw off,
she calls in Electra to mess them up. Electra vs. the Defenders, Round One. It ends
right away when Jessica shoves a truck through the front of the restaurant,
knocking her on her ass. Jessica joins the rest of her squad. So now, Electra
vs. the Defenders, Round Two can begin. Next time!
This is largely an expositional episode.
Not much action, lots of talking. The History of the Hand was rather interesting.
I liked how the Stick points out that he isn’t really sure of many of the
details, like when exactly that it happened. It sounds a lot like the basic
plot of Paradise Lost, i.e. things used to be good, some selfish people decide
that they know better, and then get banished and screw with regular people. I’m
hoping that they go into some of the basics of how the five original members of
the Hand gained their resurrection technique. Just like maybe mentioning one or
two rare ingredients of their resurrection cocktail, or how they first
developed it. They keep mentioning how they’re ‘out of resources’ to do it
anymore, and I hope that doesn’t just turn out to be a lazy bit of plot
convenience. And I would like to know why Alexandra seems to be dying now,
despite having gone through the procedure/ritual. Does it only slow the aging
process, as well as give them the power to come back to life, or was she dying
before the ritual and needed to be constantly rejuvenated because of it. So not
having the resources to do it any more is what’s killing her. Questions atop questions,
for over analyzing nerds like me. Electra’s ‘I forgot who I was but remembering
pieces’ story is pretty basic, but they do get points for subtlety. Things like
hesitating for just a moment when fighting Matt and gravitating to her previous
favored weapon are good little things to suggest her having some memory without
going full on ‘disjointed flashbacks’ to describe her remembering things. So in
summation, good episode. Ready for more.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/15032895
Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero
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