Chapter 2: Reunited
"Ugh…why won't everything…stop ugh…spinning?!" The man named King said. He was drunk, sitting behind a bar in Arizona. He felt he needed a drink seeing as how the man named Craig Marduk was now free. Here's the catch. King freed him. He freed him so that he could kill him in the next Iron Fist tournament. King didn't realize that one drink became two, then three, then four, etc.
He could barely see. Everything seemed so foggy. He felt nervous. In fact, before he had gotten drunk, he felt only fear. What if he couldn't defeat Marduk? He would fail Armor King. That was a thought that he just could not entertain for long. Now he was sitting on the ground, back against the wall, beer bottle in hand. He looked at the half empty bottle of Corona. It barely stayed in his hand as it sat perched upon his right knee. His other leg was straight. He wore a pair of black jeans with a red and black flame designed t-shirt. His mask seemed to choke him as he continued to drink. Suddenly, figures started to come around the corner of the bar. King thought that he was perhaps hallucinating as he observed the men approach him. But to King's surprise, they began to speak.
"So this is the famous King. He's supposed to be the world's strongest wrestler. Look at him now, a wreck." King was too depressed to answer back, so he just raised the bottle of Corona to his mouth. He was shocked when one of the men kicked the bottle out of his hand. King was too busy focusing on the bottle breaking to pieces, to block the man's kick to his ribs. He choked out a breath of painful air as he grabbed his ribcage. Now, King was angry and the alcohol was causing him to become even more violent. He growled as he rose to his feet. King swung his right arm at one of the thug's heads. To his surprise, he felt nothing hit his arm. Rather, he felt a kick land in his backside, causing him to fall forward on his knees. The only thing he felt after that was a series of kicks in his sides, laughter accompanying them. Practically defenseless, King huddled himself into a ball.
Suddenly, a feminine voice came to his ears. "Hey! What are you doing?!" The men turned around to face her. She stood in the shadows, next to a man. The group of men approached slowly as one of them spoke.
"I don't think this is your business." He said. The woman stepped forward into the light. It was none other than Julia Chang. She smiled as her comrade stepped into the light past her. "I think this IS our business, when it's our friend and my father that you're attacking." King strained his eyes to see who was talking. He thought he heard that, but it came blurred to him. The same man responded to the young warrior. "Why don't you just go to hell?" The boy known as Peter stared intently at him before replying:
"Oh I've already been there and back and trust me…it's not all that." He then dropped into his fighting stance. "But if you'd like to continue, I'll gladly send you there." The three men looked at each other with anger. Suddenly, they charged at both Peter and Julia. King tried to see as his attackers attempted to bring down his rescuers. He couldn't exactly see perfectly, but he could make out the action. The female dropped to the floor, swinging her right leg out behind her attacker's feet. He fell to the floor only to be practically devastated. The woman jumped high into the air, feet together as she landed into his gut. King's eyes eagerly shifted over to the male who was now fighting the other two. Peter placed his hand on the red dumpster to his left and jumped up, kicking the first man in the chest. Julia rushed in to help, seemingly upset. After holding his chest, the man spun around and back slapped Julia to the ground. She hit her head against the floor and fell unconscious.
Peter grabbed the man by his shirt and slammed him into a wall, head butting him right after. Suddenly, a fist landed in the back of his head, causing him to lose consciousness. King widened his eyes in horror as the man walked over to him and pulled a sharp knife out of his pocket. The man raised it high in the air, smiling as he did so. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his armed hand and twisted it. The man yelled out as he dropped the knife. Peter caught it and shoved the knife into the man's underarm. The man widened his eyes in shock as blood began to drip out of his nose and mouth. Peter watched as he then fell to the floor. For a good half a minute, silence filled the air. King himself didn't know what to say because he had no idea who his protector was.
Peter finally broke the silence by kneeling down and feeling for a pulse in the man. Unfortunately, the man was dead. The knife went through his arm pit and plunged straight into his heart. This was the first time that Peter had killed anyone, and he was scared. Peter looked up at King with fear. "This isn't the time to be weak…" Peter whispered to himself. He noticed Julia coming back to consciousness. One look between the two told Julia all she needed to know. Knowing that King needed help, Peter stepped over the dead man and put a hand on King's shoulder.
"Are you hurt?" He asked. King said "…Uh…I think they kicked my ribs and uh…my stomach." After a short nod, Peter gently placed his palms against King's stomach.
"Tell me where it hurts." Peter moved his hands up King's stomach. King shook for a second and Peter then moved his hands up to King's ribs. King growled in pain.
"Sorry." Peter said. King still couldn't tell who this boy was, but he was reminded him of someone. "Julia, he isn't broken anywhere, just badly bruised. You okay?" Julia grabbed her head and smiled.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bump." Peter smiled at her before turning back to King. He tried to comfort him.
"Listen. Everything's gonna be okay, we won't let anybody hurt you. We need to hurry up and nurse his injuries Julia." King thought of someone and didn't want to let go. "Kid, you remind me of my son…" Peter snapped to full attention as King spoke. "He was nice like you, but he's…not with me anymore. But…" Peter waited for King to speak, but he didn't.
"But what?" Peter asked. King's eyes burst with tears as he replied "I had to do it!! He was dying and he asked me to and I…I should have been able to save him!!"
"It…it wasn't your fault." Peter said dryly. King continued. "I just wish…that he was here now…I feel so deserted…" Peter sat in front of King and wrapped his left arm around King's neck. "He's here…and he's always been." Peter whispered. King cried for a minute more, something he was unaccustomed to. Suddenly, he began to pass out. The last thing he saw was that young lady over the boy's shoulder. Then, his vision faded to black.