Luke and Danny waited outside a giant set of doors, it was moments before they were set to begin their Practical Exam. "Out of the frying pan, into the fire, huh?" Luke commented, looking at his partner. "The second you're back, they're throwing ya to the wolves."
"I'd expect nothing less from this Academy," replied Danny. "But I have all the more reason not to fail here. Besides, I already passed my written exams through a remote proctor, this is all that's left."
"Glad to hear it," nodded the boy from Harlem. "Still, if anything gets to be too much, let me know. I got your back."
"Thank you," said an appreciative Danny.
"How's your old man doing, by the way?" Luke inquired.
"His recovery is progressing slowly..." Danny replied hesitantly. "He'll be undergoing physical therapy for a while, but the Iron Fist is officially retired."
"For now, at least," put in Luke. Danny looked at him in confusion. "I mean, Gwen mentioned you wanted to succeed him as the next Iron Fist after he stopped, right?"
Danny looked at his chest, his hand went to the image of a yellow dragon emblazoned on his dark green chest. "Someday I do," replied Danny. "But I'm not there yet..."
"Well, this is a good time to prove you'll live up to the name," Luke pat the boy's shoulder supportively. "Speaking of, we'd better get our game faces on." The boy put on a pair of sunglasses as Danny lowered his mask, "So, what do you know about Deadpool?"
"A lot, actually. Peter just filled me in..." Danny began. "Before becoming a teacher, he operated as a freelance member for various super teams, working for the highest bidder. Essentially, he was a hero for hire."
"Hero for hire?" Luke was intrigued. "...That's not bad. Getting steady pay without dealing with the headaches of running an agency. I could probably see myself doing it... Anyway, his Quirk is Regeneration, right?"
"Yes, it allows him to heal at an accelerated pace," replied Danny. "But the more it's utilized in a given situation, it takes a toll on his psyche."
"Well that explains a lot..." Luke muttered.
"He's also a skilled marksman and wields twin katana," Danny went on. "Meaning he has experience with long and short range battles. As far as opponents go, he's easily the most versatile."
"Pair that with an unpredictable brain, and we've got ourselves a real handful..." Luke finished. "In short, taking him head on is a bad idea."
Danny nodded, "The path to victory lies not in a fight, but in avoiding one. Although with our given situation, it doesn't seem like that's possible."
"Then we play it smart," replied Luke. "Try and wear out his Quirk, and if that doesn't work, we book it for the exit."
"A sound strategy," said Danny, turning towards the large doors. "Still, you and I are both close range fighters and he has the option of using long range weaponry. How should we cope with that?"
"That's where I come in," Luke grinned. "My Quirk, Tough Skin, basically makes me invulnerable to anything. He could hit me with bullets, swords, whatever, they'd just bounce off me. I also get a strength boost from it, so I can dish it out too."
"That's handy," replied the blonde. "I've seen you fight, so you should pair well if it got physical," Luke went on. "What else can that energy of yours do?"
"I can focus my chi to enhance the strength or resistance of a limb on my body, although I'm still testing its limitations," Danny explained. "I can also use it to heal and I have heightened senses, but not to the extent of Mr. Murdock's."
"Still, that's helpful," Luke said. "Maybe you'll be able to figure out where he's coming from and we can try to avoid him that way." "It's worth a try," replied Danny.
As if on cue, the large doors opened before them, as if daring the two to enter. A vast forest stood before them. Luke turned to his partner with a confident smile, "Shall we?"
Danny gave a light smile in return, "Lead the way, Mr. 'Hero for Hire'." The duo charged forward into battle as a buzzer went off and a clock began counting down.
Sitting atop the roof of a wooden hunter's nest, a certain figure in a red costume sat waiting for his two opponents. He sketched on paper with a crayon as his phone played early 2000's pop music. The Merc with the Mouth hummed along as he turned to address the reader.
"Oh, hello there," he said cheekily. "I bet you weren't expecting a direct acknowledgment from yours truly. But hey, if the writer could let the new girl in pink do it, I figured, why not me? This is kinda my thing."
He turned ahead, noticing the incoming pair of boys. "Whoop! Time ta earn the ol' paycheck," Deadpool reverse-summersaulted back inside. A sniper's rifle sat against the wall waiting for him, which he cocked and prepped for use.
Deadpool turned back to the reader, "What? They're tranq darts! And you just read that bullets won't break the Cage!" He loads the chamber, "I will say, though, these babies are specially made for guys like him..."
As Luke and Danny rush forwards, a brief glint caught Danny's eye. As if the sun were reflected off a mirror. "Did you see that?" He asked.
"See what?" Luke replied. Suddenly, there was a noise, like a silenced gunshot.
"Look out!!" Danny yelled, diving into his partner. They both landed on the ground hard.
"What the hell, man!?" asked a confused Luke.
Danny pointed to the side, and there, embedded by the tip in the dirt, was a dart. It was silver grey with a green fluid inside. Luke cautiously reached over and pulled it out, looking at it closely.
Another shot rang out and they rolled away, avoiding another dart. "Cover, now!!!" Exclaimed Danny.
The two ran off the trail into a denser part of the forest, a trail of darts impacting the ground behind them. Finally, they stopped behind a large oak, the darts had stopped flying and the boys could catch their breath.
Luke brought out the dart and held it up. "The tip's adamantium," he said, examining the projectile.
"I take it that can break through your skin?" Asked Danny.
Luke nodded in response, "Azari's suit is lined with the stuff. One day when we were sparring, I was actually cut by those claws of his."
"Well this changes things," Danny said, putting a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "We won't be able to get past him now..."
"It's over Anakin!! I have the high ground!!!" They heard Deadpool call out, as he let loose another volley of darts.
"We're sitting ducks as long as he's got that sniper's nest," Luke said. "He can see wherever we go, and who knows how much ammo that guy's packin'!"
"Then we'll have to get him down from there," replied Danny. "Use the trees as cover, get in close, and destroy the structure. I should be able to do that with my chi. If nothing else, it'll catch him by surprise and bring down him to our level."
"That'll solve one problem, how about when he gets up close and personal?" Retorted Luke.
"We stick him with that," Danny motioned to the dart, still in Luke's hand. "The tranquilizer probably won't last long, given his Quirk. But if it buys us a few seconds to cuff him, then it's worth a shot."
Luke thought for a moment, "Ok, I'm game. Let's split up for now, rush the tower from two sides and attack together."
Danny nodded, "May fortune favor the bold."
With that, they took off at a high sprint between the trees. Every once in a while, a dart would hit a tree in a given location, but they hurried on until they saw the hunter's nest. A silhouette manned a high powered rifle point out towards the woods.
"Now!!!" Called Luke, and the two surged forward at the wooden tower.
"Give me a boost!!" Danny yelled.
Luke skidded to a halt and cupped his hands together as Danny leapt forwards with his right fist starting to glow. One foot landed in Luke's waiting hands.
"Alley Oop!!!" He exclaimed as he launched Danny upwards.
The boy drew back his fist and thrust it forwards, letting out a loud, "Kiiiiiyyyyaaaaaa!!!!"
Without warning, the structure burst apart and tumbled upon itself. Danny landed lightly on the ground, as Luke whistled low.
"Damn," he said. "Not bad!"
Danny grinned sheepishly, "Thank you, I've been practicing." They stood back, as if waiting for the debris to shift. But nothing happened...
"Something's wrong..." Luke noted suspiciously.
"What is it?" Asked Danny.
"It's too quiet," he replied. "That guy Deadpool, even if he gets a limb blown off, he never shuts up."
Catching sight of a bit of red in the debris, Danny shifted it around to get a better look. Only to find a life sized cardboard standee of the teacher they were up against. The boy's eyes went wide, they'd been had.
"You're right, he's not here!" He said, turning to his partner.
"So where the hell'd he go??" Asked Luke.
In another part of the woods, Deadpool tiptoed through the brush. A brown hunting cap on his head and a double barrel shotgun in his hands. "Shhhh, be vewy, vewy qwiet," he said, turning toward the reader. "I'm hunting chiwdwen. Ahahahahahahahah."
He glanced up at the two boys looking through the wrecked tower and aimed the barrels.
"Let's see now: Duck season..." The barrels pointed at Danny. "Or Wabbit season...?" They moved to point at Luke, before slowly going back into the bush.
Suddenly, Deadpool rose from his hidden position, now armed with a rocket launcher, "Duck season! Fire!!!" He pressed the button and a missile launched out.
This time, it was Luke's turn to save Danny. From the corner of his eye, he saw Deadpool emerge from the brush and immediately leapt in front of Danny to take the impact of an oncoming rocket. While it thankfully didn't explode, the impact was not lessened and Luke was launched off his feet, knocking him and his partner to the ground several feet yards. Parts of his costume ripped up from the blast.
"Ha!! Two for the price of one!!" Deadpool pumped his fist and tossed away the weapon and hat. "Looks like I'm wrapping up this little hunting trip sooner than expected."
"Owww..." Luke groaned, brushing off his chest. "Sweet Christmas, that hurt... You good, man?" He turned back to Danny, who was just behind him.
The boy nodded, "I'm alright. Where'd he get that from? I thought the teachers weren't supposed to go all out!"
"He's not..." Luke looked up at the Merc with a Mouth. "That was a dummy rocket, the real thing would've blown us both sky high. He's toying with us..."
"Is that all you've got?" Asked Deadpool, mockingly. "If you kids really wanna take me down, you're gonna need to put in Maximum Effort!!!" He clashed his swords together as if to illustrate his point before resheathing them .
Luke turned to Danny, "Any bright ideas?"
"We can't fight his level of stupidity with reason," replied Danny. "We must be equally unpredictable. With that blow, he'll expect us to fall back and attempt to recover, where he'll attempt to reestablish his long range advantage. Now's when we must stand our ground and press forward."
"Take the fight to him, up close where he won't expect it," Luke nodded.
"Get ready with that tranq dart, I'll keep him busy while you recover," Danny said with determination. "As soon as I can hold him still, use it."
"Deadpool!" The young martial artist called, standing up. "Are you ready to fight for real? I'm not done yet." The boy began to walk over.
"Oh? You're approaching me?" Asked Deadpool, now wearing a gold and green outfit with a blonde wig and headband over his mask. He began to walk over to his opponent with swagger in his step. "Instead of running away, you're coming right towards me..."
"He's gotta get in close to give you that ass whuppin'," replied a steely Luke.
"Ho-Ho! Then by all means, get as close as you'd-" Deadpool paused, "Wait, did you get that referen-!?"
He was cut off as Danny surged forward and began to strike at pressure points on his red suit.
"Yah! No touchie!!!" Deadpool leapt back, shaking his head as if to ward off something internal. They weren't particularly hard shots, but something in the way they landed had affected him.
"Oh you wanna play like that, huh?" He drew his swords, ready to fight seriously. "Ok, let's go!!" And Deadpool charged back at the young Danny, swinging the blades wildly.
"MudamudamudamudaMUDAMUDAMUDA!!!"
Back in the Monitor Room, Peter and Wanda continued to watch the fight alongside Night Nurse.
"Is he allowed to use those swords?" Asked Peter, pointing at the screen.
"They have no edge, I made sure to check them before he went out," Claire replied. "At this point, they're basically long butter knives. It'll still hurt like hell if you're whacked with one though."
"Look at Luke, he's getting back up," said Wanda. Indeed, the boy had returned to his feet and made his way over to the fight.
"Takes a lickin', keeps on tickin'," Peter replied. "I knew Luke was tough, but jeez. He took that rocket point blank and just dusts himself off!"
"I promise you, he's still feeling it," put in Claire. "Luke may have that enhanced durability, but a hard enough impact will certainly affect the inside of his body. His ribs are definitely bruised, if not broken. Whatever those two are cooking up, this may be their last chance to make it happen..."
Danny kept up a narrow defense, keeping his foe distracted and his attacks coming his way. It was a steady barrage of slashing and slicing as the boy did everything he could to avoid being touched by the swords.
Finally, Luke gave a nod over to his partner once Deadpool was facing away. He brought up the dart and prepared to move in, despite the shortness of breath he was feeling.
The aspiring Iron Fist soon found himself cornered up against a tree. He felt a strange sense of deja vu, fighting an opponent with blades. Suddenly, another thought entered his head as he recalled a detail from the fight. Danny charged up his fist behind his back as Deadpool prepared to give the finishing blow.
"Your Kung-Fu is no match for my swordplay!!" He yelled, bringing his swords down.
In a swift movement, Danny threw an overhand right which shattered the blades before the hero could make contact with his body.
Deadpool held up the tsukas and blinked incredulously, "Huh... I stand corrected. Ack!!!"
In that brief moment of distraction Luke jumped onto Deadpool's back, jabbing the tranquilizer into his neck. The serum worked quickly as Deadpool's eyes began to lose focus. "Hehehe, sleeeeeepy..." With that remark, he collapsed to the ground, landing head first into the dirt.
Taking out the handcuffs, Danny hurriedly attached them to Deadpool's wrists, the Quirk Dampener immediately going into effect as the hero remained unconscious. The two boys looked at each other, a moment passed before a buzzer rang out. They grinned triumphantly and let out whoops of joy.
"We got him!!" Exclaimed a jubilant Luke. "How'd you know your fist could break through his swords?"
"I was... tested during my internship," Danny recalled his one-on-one fight against the Punisher, looking at his open hand. "I only did it once before, but in the heat of the moment. But I felt sure I could do it again."
"Well it worked out, that's for sure," Luke nodded. "Anytime you wanna team up again, I'm game. You did good, 'Iron Fist'."
Danny looked up to see his partner smiling, a fist outstretched. "You as well, 'Power Man'," he replied, a smile grew on his own face as he brought up his fist to meet Luke's. As they made contact, an announcement went over the speakers:
"Carl Lucas and Daniel Rand... PASS!!!"