"Asia?," Misty asks as she stands up, "Why are we going to Asia?"
"The entrance to the Heart of Heaven will appear there," Orson explains, "The Gobi Desert, in fact."
"That's a huge desert," Colleen explains, "City or not, it'll be hard to find anything there."
"Lei Kung sent me a vision," Danny continues, "I know exactly where to go. I can charter a private plane and be there by tomorrow night."
"You're not doing this alone," Misty tells him.
"Apparently, I have to," he tells her, "I'm an Immortal Weapon, whatever that means. If I don't, I'll be hunted down for the next few decades like Orson... No offense."
"None taken. I wouldn't want to end up like me, either."
"Besides, it's just a fighting tournament. How dangerous can it really be?"
"Danny, you know it's useless to argue with us about this, right?," Colleen tells him.
"I figured I would give it a shot."
"I might as well go with you," Orson tells him, "The whole reason why I came all the way here was to get you ready for this."
"There's no love lost between you and these people, Orson. They won't be happy to see you."
"What else is new?"
"It's settled then. We have a plane to catch. Get your passports ready."
The Gobi Desert
Everything is quiet. The wind kicks up some sand but otherwise, nothing is happening.
In the Undercity, Dog Brother #1 sits with his pack of wolves silently. The wolves all turn in unison and look in the same direction. "Is it happening already?," he asks them. One of the wolves whines in response. The buildings all begin to shift and warp as a different set of buildings take their space. Lei Kung steps onto the balcony of his temple and witnesses the buildings below get overtaken by rapidly approaching trees. Hua watches the waves off the coast of her island and sees the horizon shift as buildings begin to emerge. Likewise, Fat Cobra sees his cost change into a mountain range. Back in the Gobi Desert, a stream of water runs along the dry sand. An empty street in K'un Lun changes to a dark street with twisted architecture and the Bride of Nine Spiders appears, following its path with a swarm of spiders. The wind kicks up in the Gobi Desert and as the sand blows around, tall spires appear. The stream of water turns into a small coastline. Crane Mother steps out onto her balcony and sees the skyline change. The Green Mist of Death walks through the desert and looks up as a partial mountain appears alongside an oasis-like city that doesn't seem to fully exist in this realm with the exception of the front gate, which looks very solid. He approaches it.
On the other side of the globe, a private jet flies through the air. Inside the cabin, Colleen sits in her seat along with her sheathed sword, Orson rests a few seats ahead and Danny sits alongside Misty. "Knowing a millionaire has its perks," Colleen says with a smile as she holds her sword, "With this private jet, I don't have to deal with customs as much. Thanks, Danny." He looks up from the Book of the Iron Fist, "No problem," he looks back down at the book, "I really have to learn this healing technique. It's really amazing stuff." Misty nods and gets up, "I'm gonna go see how Orson's doing." Orson Randall sits with his seat back and relaxes until Misty sits in the empty seat beside him, ¨Hey.¨
¨Hey. Thanks for the private jet. Beats riding commercial.¨
"Danny's pretty generous."
"You two been together long?"
"I'm one of the first people he met when he came back to Earth."
"I'm sure you've made the experience easier for him."
"I guess... So what's it like having the Iron Fist for so long?"
"Lonely," he says sadly, "The only people I know now are people who want me dead. Everyone else is long gone."
"Really?"
"I'm pushing a hundred. It's to be expected."
¨Danny's going to out live me, isn't he?¨
"It's either that or he dies young, unfortunately. It seems to be the nature of having this power. You're never free from trouble."
"But Danny doesn't really like getting involved in all this craziness. Despite all appearances, he's pretty normal."
"I'm sure he wants to be normal, but let me ask you, how successful is he at doing that? How often would you say he just finds himself in trouble whether he sought it out or not?"
"A lot, honestly. He's part of this other world I just can't understand. Somewhere, somehow, there's always someone wanting to kill him."
"That's our fate," Orson gives her a bittersweet smile. She remains silent.
Fat Cobra strolls through the street alongside several women while eating a large turkey leg. He takes a bite and tosses what's left to a nearby dog sniffing at the ground. Dog Brother #1 stoops down next to the dog and pets it as other dogs and wolves join him.
"You shouldn't spends so much time with stray dogs," he tells him as he passes, "Soon, you'll stink just as much as they do."
"It'll be no worse than you," Dog Brother shouts back.
Fat Cobra stops and turns around, "I recognize you," he says, "You're called Dog Brother #1, aren't you?"
"I am now."
He smiles, "I am Fat Cobra. I've met some of your predecessors," he bows, "I look forward to our match."
"I look forward to teaching you some manners."
Hua sits on a cliff, overlooking a sea. A single spider crawls along the ground and climbs up on her lap. She looks down and notices it but does not move. She only lets the spider crawl onto her palm, lowers it on her opposite side, and lets it go. The Bride of Nine Spiders stands behind her and croutches down.
"You are the Tiger, yes?," Bride asks.
"My mother was the Tiger. My full title is The Tiger's Beautiful Daughter," she tells her, "My name is Hua."
"I am the Bride of Nine Spiders," she says as she picks the spider off the grounf, "I admire your patience with my children."
"I have patience with them now. If you send them to attack me during the tournament, it will be a different matter for them and for you."
The Bride frowns and moves along.
The next day, Danny and the others leave the airport. "There should be a post office nearby," Orson tells them, "I have something to pick up. Danny, would you like to join me?" Danny leaves with him, "Sure." Misty and Colleen stay behind.
"What the hell are we doing here, Colleen?," Misty asks.
"Waiting for the guys to get back?"
"You know what I mean. We just hopped on a plane to go around the world so we can watch Danny fight people from other worlds... That's not normal."
"I gave up on normal a long time ago."
"Yeah, well, I've been thinking that I might be too normal."
"What do you mean?"
"Danny has all these weird powers and goes on these crazy adventures. What am I? Just a private invesitgator from New York. Let's face it, compared to Danny, I'm boring."
"I know he doesn't see it that way."
"Maybe he doesn't, but it's true. I can't begin to understand some of the things he's been through. He's part of a world I don't belong to and never will. From all indications, his life will just keep getting weirder."
"And you'll be there to bring him back to Earth," she puts her arms around her, "He needs you and he knows it. He wants that sense of normalcy and if he didn't have it, he'd probably go crazy. You matter to him more than you know."
"I hope so."
At the nearby post office, Orson takes a package from the counter and thanks the clerk before going outside to meet Danny. "Hold this," he hands the box to Danny and begins to open it. Danny takes a look inside and asks, "Are those what I think they are?".
Orsons pulls out two .45's and quickly holsters them under his jacket, "Yep. Airport customs tend to frown on bringing these babies on planes, so I had them mailed. I knew I'd probably have to end up coming back this way."
"I don't think I'll ever train with long range weapons. Not my style."
"If your enemy is too far away to punch, you might feel differently," Orson pats him on the shoulder and they continue on.