The three remaining active members of the Defenders set out from the sewers of Hell's Kitchen, intent on finding a passage to the Hand's Tenshu fortress.
As they moved, they continued to exchange information regarding the Hand and Matt Murdock.
"I have no idea what the Hand promised or told Matt to make him trust them so much," Luke Cage said, acting as the vanguard and scouting the path ahead.
Jessica Jones followed closely, scanning the surroundings with a flashlight. "Maybe Elektra's death hit him too hard. And it's not like she died at the hands of the Hand itself."
On the other side, Danny Rand, the Iron Fist, offered a completely different take after a brief moment of thought. "Maybe the Hand showed Matt something. For instance, they might have promised they could resurrect Elektra."
The two walking in front stopped dead in their tracks and turned to look at Danny. After a moment of silence, Danny asked, "What? Am I wrong?"
"That's assuming the Hand can actually bring someone back from the dead. Can they?"
Faced with that question, Danny looked uncertain. "In K'un-Lun, I heard many similar stories. Resurrection itself is a violation of the laws of nature. Either the act itself carries immense hidden dangers and flaws, or a sufficient price must be paid. Otherwise, it's impossible."
"If it's true, the Hand definitely wouldn't choose to pay a great price. Whatever method they've come up with is bound to be problematic," Jessica Jones said, stopping to check their position before looking upward. "Okay, the Japanese castle should be right above us. It looks like several entrances nearby lead to the passage… wait, they're sealed off with grates."
"Step aside, lady..."
Luke Cage was about to ask Jessica to move so he could handle it, but she had already kicked the grate flying. Her usual persona as a private investigator often made the rest of the Defenders forget she was a powerhouse. She tossed her hair and walked inside, leaving the two men to exchange a glance before quickly following.
"I really like this girl, man," Luke muttered.
Danny glanced at him. "Then you should probably ask her out for dinner or something."
"…Maybe next time. Now isn't exactly the right moment."
The situation unfolded exactly as they expected. Although the fortress had appeared out of nowhere, it was still connected to the underground sewer system to allow for wastewater drainage. The trio waded through the sewers until Jessica suddenly switched off her flashlight and whispered, "Careful. Light ahead."
"Looks like torchlight," Danny noted, observing the light source. The three shared a look in the darkness, nodded, and moved in quickly. As the light grew clearer, the section connected to the sewers finally came into view: it was a dungeon. Prisoners were held in cells, guarded by undead ninjas.
Seeing this, the Defenders shared a single thought: Did Matt know about this?
They struck almost instantly, taking out the undead ninjas, and immediately began freeing the captives. But when Jessica Jones saw one particular prisoner held in solitary confinement, she couldn't help but gasp.
"Tandy?!"
The girl in the cell was none other than Tandy Bowen, also known as Dagger. Shocked, Jessica tore the bars off the cell and helped Tandy up. "What happened? Why are you here? Are you okay?"
"A woman was killing people in an alley. She lured me and Tyrone there and subdued us... I'm okay."
"Cloak isn't here," Danny confirmed after checking the area. He knelt down and asked Dagger, "Do you know where they took him?"
"I… I'm not sure. But I feel like that woman's target might have been Tyrone. My god… if my light doesn't suppress it, his Darkforce dimension powers will spiral out of control..."
The group looked at one another, immediately connecting the dots to the "Shadowland" that had sealed off all of Hell's Kitchen. It was likely that Cloak's powers hadn't just gone out of control—the Hand had captured him and weaponized his ability to create a pocket dimension, isolating the neighborhood from the rest of the world.
From the look of things, the claim that the fortress's appearance was a "necessary step" was total nonsense. This was a conspiracy by the Hand, and poor Matt was completely in the dark. Realizing this, Jessica Jones looked up.
"We have to get up there. We have to tell Matt what's really going on."
"Regrettably, you aren't going anywhere."
A voice spoke in English, though heavily accented with Japanese. The Silver Samurai stepped forward, clutching his katana. He drew the long blade, channeling his energy into it as he aimed it at the group. Luke Cage immediately charged forward to engage him. The Silver Samurai swung his blade in response, but just before the impact, Iron Fist sensed something was wrong and yanked Luke back by his collar.
The blade sliced through the air, easily nicking Luke Cage's skin—skin that could normally withstand anti-material sniper rounds. Blood began to flow.
"Be careful, his blade is sharp… sharper than you can handle," Danny said, his right fist beginning to glow as he focused his Qi, letting the power of the Iron Fist surge. "I'm probably the only one who can stand against him. The power of the Iron Fist isn't physical matter; it is truly immortal. His blade won't be able to break it."
"I'll hold him off here to give the prisoners time to escape. You two go find Daredevil and tell him the truth."
Luke Cage and Jessica Jones exchanged a brief look, then grabbed the still-weak Tandy and charged toward the upper levels. They left Danny to face the Silver Samurai alone. The Samurai looked at the Iron Fist and gave a slight nod. "Perhaps your fist is strong, but you only have one chance. If I strike you once, you are dead."
"I'm well aware of that. And I appreciate that you didn't try to ambush us."
"That is only natural for a samurai."
Danny looked surprised. "You're a samurai?"
"I am merely a Ronin now, and as such, I serve the ninjas."
The battle was about to erupt when Danny suddenly frowned. "Do you hear that... strange sound?"
"What sound?" The Silver Samurai listened closely and confirmed he heard it too. After a brief pause, the sound became unmistakable.
Why did it sound like a motorcycle?
"Heh heh heh!"
A chain burning with hellfire suddenly hooked around the Silver Samurai's neck, flinging him across the room where he slammed into the floor. The Ghost Rider roared out of the sewer on his motorcycle, skidded to a halt, and looked at the stunned Iron Fist.
"What? Am I late?"