The next morning, Davos stands in the middle of the arena while Crane Mother motions toward him, "It is my honor to announce the second round in this sacred tournament." The Green Mist of Death stands on her other side, "As the Green Mist of Death was unable to fight in the last round, he has been allowed to fight the final opponent of the last round, Davos, the Steel Pheonix." Davos and Green Mist bow to the audience as they give them polite applause. Lei Kung and the rest of the Council watch silently and Danny stands with the rest of the Immortal Weapons in the basement. Davos glances at Danny from the middle of the arena, a disappointed look on his face as he takes his position. "Let the second round begin," Crane Mother announces as she raises her hands and the two opponents turn and face one another. The Green Mist bows first but his anger shows in his face.
Davos bows slightly, "You seem agitated, John Aman."
"I want this battle to end quickly. This tournament is for honorable fighters only and you do not belong."
"I know that look. You want to kill me, don't you?"
"I do."
"But your pathetic sense of honor won't allow it."
"Believe me... I don't have to kill you to satisfy my anger."
"But why are you so angry? Don't tell me you're still upset about Orson Randall?," he laughs.
Green Mist simply glares.
"I understand," Davos continues, "I succeeded where you failed. You could not kill that man in 88 years, yet I did it in 8 minutes."
"I will take great pleasure in wiping that arrogant smirk from your face," Green Mist finally smiles.
The monk drops the flag and the battle starts. Green Mist turns to fog immediately and flies across the arena to an unprepared Davos. What follows is quick and brutal as a fury of smokey blows rain against him. Davos is struck across the face, the jaw, the temple, the gut, the bridge of the nose, his ribs, the back of his head, and finally one more backswing that sends him flailing through the air where he lands in an unconscious heap, his face now purple and bloodied. "I told you I wanted to end this quickly," Green Mist sneers as he lands beside him. The fight is over. The monk gives the signal and servants rush out to tend to Davos. "Wow," Danny mutters, "Holy shit." Crane Mother snarls angrily, then turns to the audience, "The winner is John Aman, the Green Mist of Death." There is applause as the servants drag Davos off the floor. Green Mist bows to them and then shoots Crane Mother a glance as he walks away. She bristles with anger.
Danny turns to Fat Cobra, "I guess we're up?"
"Certainly," he says with a smile and walks out onto the arena.
In the medical center, servants swab Davos' wounds as he lays on a bed. His eyes snap open and his hand snatches one of their wrists, then angrily shoves him back. The servants back away nervously as Davos sits up, still obviously wracked with pain. He clutches his chest with his good hand and a purple glow begins to emerge from inside him; the bruises and cuts on his face qucikly fade away and he sits up straighter. He hops off the bed and pushes one of ther servants out of his way as he storms off. In the distance, Crane Mother can be heard announcing the next fight.
Danny stands in a fighting stance with his mask on while Fat Cobra stands at the opposite end, also in a fighting stance. "This is ridiculous," Danny shakes his head in frustration. The monk drops his flag and the two are commanded to begin, but Danny drops his hands. Fat Cobra looks at him curiously and the audience is stunned into silence, including Lei Kung and Crane Mother.
"What is it, Daniel Rand?," Fat Cobra asks, "Let's begin."
"I can't do this," he tells him, "I don't care who wins here. I don't care about this tournament and I don't care about the Seven Cities. I just want to take my friends and go home."
Fat Cobra charges forward in a second and the blow to his chest sends Danny sliding across the ground. Fat Cobra stands with both fists clenched and a scowl on his face, "You don't have to care about this tournament or the Seven Cities but don't you dare disrespect me by not giving this fight your all... Now get up Daniel Rand!" Danny nods and rises to his feet. "That's more like it," Fat Cobra bellows, "Show me why K'un L'un gave you the power of the Iron Fist." Danny takes a fighting stance again and ignites the Iron Fist.
Fat Cobra dashes forward again and instead of trying to defend himself, Danny thrusts his fist into floor of the arena. The impact kicks up a cloud of dust and sends tremors through the ground that creates large cracks and pushes the floor up. As Fat Cobra runs forward, he finds himself heading face-first into a cloud of dust that forces him to close his eyes and turn away. The floor under him breaks and cracks, sending him up a slab of rock that acts as a ramp. Blinded and unable to stop due to his great speed, Fat Cobra is sent into the air where he sails over Danny's head and lands on his back behind him. Danny turns and races after him. As Fat Cobra begins to get up, Danny strikes him with a roundhouse kick to his face, which is followed-up by Danny hitting his right knee to bring him to the ground. With Fat Cobra now on his hands and knees, Danny stands over him, ready to deliver the knock-out blow. He balls up his fist and brings it down... only hitting the dusty ground below him. A cloud of dust silently blows past as if suddenly kicked up.
Danny smiles to himself as he realizes his opponent is gone and as he rises, Fat Cobra is revealed standing several feet behind him, ready to continue the fight. He braces himself for a moment, knowing he liekly has his back to his opponent, and spins around, ready to attack but Fat Cobra is already on top of him, sending a hard punch across his face that rolls Danny along the floor where he comes to a stop against the farthest wall. The monk drops the flag and Crane Mother smiles.
"Fat Cobra has won!"
Lei Kung hangs his head sadly and two servants help Danny to his feet. As they bring him to the basement, Davos comes out to the arena floor in time to see Danny's unconscious body being brought back. He frowns and quickly makes his way to Crane Mother. "The third round will commence after a brief period," Crane Mother announces to the audience, "Then, the champion of this tournament will be decided!" As the audience begin to dispearse, Davos reaches her.
"I was supposed to have the chance to kill Daniel Rand!," he growls.
"That was assuming you were capable of remaining in the tournament...," Crane Mother turns to him, "You weren't."
"What now? Part of our deal was that I get the chance to kill him!"
"You will have your chance," Crane Mother leans in close, "Go back to my tower and wait patiently."
"Wait for what?"
"He'll come to you."
"What makes you so sure."
"Because, once my plan begins, he'll have no choice but to save his friends."