The Defenders: Underdogs of Canterlot

Deep within the sewers of Canterlot City, it was empty. Dark, dank, and the stench roamed for what felt like miles. Considering the spot, it was assumed no one would come down here. Well, anyone that wasn't running for their life.

The pitter patter of water was heard beneath a man's own feet, sprinting as fast as he could. He panted, leaning on a wall and growled, now out of breath. The man hissed, holding his bleeding shoulder and he dropped to a knee. "Damn it..."

Sweat poured down his face and he slowly turned his head, his pupils shrinking at the sight of the masked man in red casually walking with a sword in hand. "Shit..." he cursed, trying to stand up and trying to run, however, he tripped and fell. He couldn't bring himself to stand up, as much as he tried.

The masked figure was standing right near his body and raised his sword, intending to kill him. The man knew why, he knew exactly why. Yet that didn't make this moment any less terrifying. He closed his eyes, ready for death. The sword was coming close to his body.

And yet he didn't feel any pain. He could still feel. He heard a clang and opened his eyes. Standing next to him was a man clad in green, a yellow mask over his eyes, a dragon tattoo on his chest, and a glowing fist where he saw the sword coming. His savior merely glared down at him and spoke, "Stay still or your wounds will worsen."

"I-Iron Fist?!"

The vigilante leaned his body to the side of the ninja swinging his hilt at the Iron Fist. The Living Weapon pressed his palm on the Hand mook's face, making them stagger backwards. He then spun his legs and body around, kicking the ninja back as swiftly as possible before they could possibly attack.

Getting his bearings, the ninja got his bearings, chopping Iron Fist in the chest. The hero growled and held his arm up, it glowing as he reared it back, landing a punch.

Iron Fist blocked the fist of the ninja with his namesake, it glowing in the dark sewers. Seeing the ninja counter with a kick, the Living Weapon merely deflected the attack before following up with a glowing shove to the ninja's chest. Danny leaned backwards away from his opponent's fists. Years of training, meditation, practice, in K'un L'un and in Canterlot all coming to light in this one battle.

The vigilante spun his body so that he spinkick the ninja directly in the chest. Iron Fist extended a glowing fist and followed up with a punch, shoving his enemy back. "The Hand..." he growled, "I still thought you all were out of Canterlot."

Without saying anything, the ninja struck Danny Rand directly in the face as hard as he could, making him reel back. "Heh. Got me there." he chuckled darkly. "Let me offer a counter." his fists glowed again and he got into a unique martial arts stance.

"Ha!"

Iron Fist struck the Hand ninja with a powerful jab, creating a small shockwave from the collision. In an instant, the ninja dropped to a knee. The Living Weapon decided to finish the with a powerful uppercut followed by a roundhouse kick. In an instant, the Hand ninja dropped to his stomach, unmoving.

"H-How...?" the innocent man asked. "How did you find me?"

Danny Rand began to explain, helping the man stand up, "I noticed some commotion going on and decided to investigate, knowing it was the Hand and tracked you here, for some reason the Hand has been a lot more active here, and I intend to stop them. I'll get you patched up, and then it'd be best if you explain yourself."

The man nodded, holding back his tears of relief before relenting into a sob, "Y-Yeah, I will. I want nothing to do with this anymore... I just want to live!"

"Don't worry... You'll be safe..." Iron Fist assured.

A woman was crying, tissues in hand, her sobs echoing across the apartment with its door labelled 'Alias Investigations'. The woman sitting on the desk rolled her eyes and handed the crying woman another tissue box, "So are you just gonna sit there and cry or are you going to actually tell me what's wrong?" she asked, looking to not care about the sudden scene.

The night sky and lack of lighting made the atmosphere more grim, which Jessica realized and she wished she could reinstall some lights. 'Maybe Malcolm can help with that.' she mused, 'Can't be assed to do it right now.'

"R-Right..." sniffled the woman, "It's my husband. M-Marcus... He's been missing for two days now. I-I don't know what happened! He was happy, no arguments, a good job and proud of it! I just... I just don't understand why he would just up and leave like this without warning!"

Jessica Jones rolled her eyes again, having seemed to have heard this sob story a million times before, "Listen, Beth, was it?" a silent nod allowed her to continue, "I'm gonna go on the assumption that your husband was secretly an asshole and has been cheating on you then left." she elaborated.

"B-But... He never came home late until the day he never returned!" Beth cried. "I-I was working late that night, and he was always home before me... The only other places he goes to is the local pub o-or Romita's to grab some food!"

"Tough shit. It happens. You're not to blame." she added, "It's just some people can't be insensitive douchebags." Jessica folded her hands, "Alright, any other information you can give me to prove this isn't something I heard before?"

"B-Blood..."

Jessica raised a brow, "...Blood?" she repeated.

"Y-Yes... I just found the marks, which is why I'm here. And a piece of metal... They were small to find... but once I did I came here immediately. You're the best P.I. in the city... Please, please find my husband!" Beth pleaded. "Our son is worried sick too!"

Jessica pursed her lips and thought about it, "...Fine. I'll look into it. Just know it'll take a while." the woman tapped her desk, 'Or he'll be dead by the time I figure it out. Either or.'

Beth managed a thin smile, "T-Thank you, Ms. Jones."

"Please, call me Jessica." Jessica corrected with a very fake smile then her expression changed back to her usual scowl, "Now go home. My apartment's still a shithole and really can't afford to hold company for long."

Beth stood up, aware of the PI's attitude, and wiped her eyes with a few more tissues, walking out and closing the door behind her, leaving Jessica on her own. With a heavy sigh, she leaned back in her chair and took another sip of her beer, which she'd been holding back for a few minutes, "Shit... A missing man case." she held her head, "Hopefully he isn't dead by the time I find him." placing the bottle back on her desk, Jessica stood up and grabbed her old camera, ready to begin investigating.

Walking down the bustling streets of Canterlot City at night was none other than Luke Cage, wearing his trademark yellow shirt. The district's local hero had gotten a call from an old friend and wished to find out what it was. People cheered him as he passed them. Luke merely gave them a friendly nod and wave, just happy to make a difference in the city he loved.

Luke was taken aback by the police tape and chalked outline of a dead body, covered in blood and bruises, limbs sprawled in ways that shouldn't be bent. Standing next to it was Misty Knight, an officer. "Glad you got my message." she greeted.

"Why'd you call me here?" Cage wondered. "...I..." he slightly gagged, "...Didn't want to see this..." he paused. "Thought the cops could handle this stuff on their own."

"Thought the local hero could use a tip that someone new's come here messing things up." Misty explained, pointing at the marks of blood and wounds. "Look at where he was struck, precise, small, hitting major arteries, nerves and a few blunt strikes to the head, evident by the bruising. Whoever killed him knew what they were doing."

Luke folded his arms, "How's this a different case?"

"The body dropped from the roof." Misty responded, "The wounds... This isn't anything like what the Diamond Dogs or Changelings do in their acts of violence. They're more ragged, less orderly. This is someone new, and they had a vendetta. Don't know if it's one guy, or a new gang entering the scene."

The Unbreakable Man asked, "So what am I supposed to do?"

"Just keep an eye out." Misty warned her friend, "We don't know who this is. They could be dangerous, they left little to no evidence. Nothing. They're a John Doe."

Luke said, "I'll look around for a bit. See if I can find the one behind this. Any ID on the victim?"

"Steven Casco. We're currently running sources to find connections that could've led to this incident."

"Casco... He was someone working with Cornell and got some of his stolen funds." Luke recognized and shook his head in disappointment and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I thought he gone straight once Cottonmouth died. Guess I was wrong then."

Misty said, "Tragic. I agree. But..."

"Move forward. Always." Cage finished for the officer, "I'll knock on some doors. See if anyone's willing to cooperate for information. Better I'm out there than the cops honestly. Cause... This doesn't look any at all normal for a case."

Matt Murdock climbed through the window into his apartment. He immediately dropped his mask onto the floor and dropped his body onto his sofa, still in his Daredevil costume. It was an exhausting night to say the least. Frank Castle returned who was intending to kill a criminal, he met the new hero Spider-Man and some girl with latent magic abilities. They confronted the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk now out of prison, who was revealed to have hired Mac Gargan to kill Spider-Man.

Luckily, the vigilantes caught wind of this and made it known that they were going to bring him and any other criminal empire down. Murdock exhaled, glad that nothing escalated. Instead, he dwelled on another important matter.

The Hand.

They were slowly and stealthily making themselves known all around Canterlot City. Their power growing, their numbers the same. They had been at this for quite a while, since Matt put on the cowl. It was like he was alone in this battle sometimes. He needed to find out what they were planning. And he could tell that whatever it was, it wasn't gonna be good for the city, or potentially the world.

Then he focused on that new vigilante he crossed paths before meeting Spider-Man. The Mare-Do-Well, who seemed hellbent on destroying the cult herself. Maybe she could help in some way.

Matt rubbed his forehead, his enhanced senses catching every little sound within a radius. He could hear sirens, broken lights flickering, screams, muffled sounds. He cringed, trying to tune them out. But sometimes even with his experience, he can't. He crouched down and held his cranium.

His blind eyes sensed his armored costume, his pupils only able to see a world on fire as he once described it. It was tough, but he survived and wil survive. Ever since the accident, this is all he saw. He debated putting the costume back on.

This war wasn't something he could handle alone.

Mare-Do-Well hopped from rooftop to rooftop, intending to continue her mission. "Damn it... I need to find them!" she told herself through gritted teeth. She stretched and leaped, holding onto the ledge of another building. "Where the hell do they go? Ugh..." she groaned, sitting on the edge of the roof.

Lightning Dust had to find them soon. Whatever Gao had planned, it definitely wasn't going to be good. She needed answers as soon as possible. Mare-Do-Well got back up and looked to the full moon then at the building across. "Of course it isn't that easy. I don't know how Zecora put up with this." she murmured. "...Wherever she is now."

With a long jump, Mare-Do-Well landed perfectly. She focused back on the Hand. That's all she could ever focus on anymore. There was no turning back for her or her sanity. Not until every single one of them was gone. Not until she saved Zecora. Not until she killed Gao for causing so much mayhem in her life and others'.

Lightning Dust cursed her inexperience with her new title. "..." she paused, nearly missing a jump, her gloved hand luckily clawing onto the ledge.

As she climbed, Mare-Do-Well's mind diverted to Daredevil and how he seemed aware of the Hand. "...Fuck. I don't need help." she reminded herself aloud, trying to push the thoughts back. She couldn't lose anyone else in this eternal war. Not anymore. The Devil couldn'f afford to join her. This was something she had to do herself.

She was the Mare-Do-Well. It was what she was trained to do after all.