Chapter 4: Iron Fist (Daniel "Danny" Rand)
Danny was spending a few minutes, contemplating his upcoming departure to K'un L'un to rule as king. He was thinking about his team and all the friends he'd made. He would miss them all terribly. He remembered when he thought almost a year ago that he'd lose Spiderman and his other teammates then, but he'd been allowed to borrow more time. He remembered how hard he'd hugged Spiderman, enough to make him gasp and complain that he needed to breathe. Danny smiled a little at that memory. He also remembered how sad he'd felt. He'd shaken so hard as he'd hugged Spiderman. He'd been struggling not to cry. For a brief instant, he'd thought he would cry that long ago day. Now, he had a month left before his time came. He'd be a great ruler, but he''d never be permitted to see his friends again. As he brushed a tear off his cheek and sniffled ever so slightly, he felt an arm around his shoulders. Pete had sat down next to him. Ordinarily, he'd have sensed Peter's presence before he'd managed to get within ten feet of him, but he'd been unbalanced and not calm. He'd been preoccupied. "Danny, I'm going to miss you when you go back. We'll make your last month here the best ever."
"All my friends that I've made here, all the memories, from S.H.I.E.L.D and from school and free days, they will always remain in my heart. I will miss it all so deeply. Peter, I feel that I may have made a mistake joining S.H.I.E.L.D. While I learned enormous amounts, I chose to grow close to the people I've worked with, people who have become my friends. I feel that it was a mistake, because I will not be permitted to see them again. I knew this when I chose it, but I believe that I was blind to how much pain it would cause me, and more importantly, the pain it would cause the friends that I've made. I'm sorry Peter."
He covered his eyes as his body shook with silent sobs. He very suddenly hugged Peter. He was careful not to squeeze too tight until Pete had his arms around him too, so he wouldn't crush him. Soon his crying was audible, barely, but it was still enough to tug Peter's heart. Here was his teammate, his friend, who was always so calm, so collected, always knew what to do, and now he couldn't be calm, could not be collected and didn't know what to do. Peter knew he should say something.
"Danny, what you chose wasn't a mistake. It's going to hurt us to see you leave, and to know that we'll never see you again, but I think that we'll all realize how well off K'un L'un is with you as it's king. You learned more about honor, courage and trust. You taught us those things, even if we didn't always seem to pay attention. Danny, we all love you, and we will miss you. A lot. But I think as much as we're all going to miss you and as much as you'll miss us, you'll be a great king, and we'll all be better as a team for your contributions. Maybe, one day, when we face a problem we don't know what to do with, we'll remember one of your fortune cookie comments and we'll know what it meant. Don't worry about us Danny. Don't worry about any of it. We have a whole month left. We will all make it the best." He smiled as Danny stopped crying, regained his normal calm and stood. "Thank you my friend. I will always remember your kind words." He said as he turned to go back in the gym. Peter reflected on how closely bonded his team had become, and how losing one member would affect them all.