7078/City Fall: An Offer We Could (and did) Refuse

City Fall: An Offer We Could (and did) Refuse
Date of Scene:	29 March 2019
Location:	New York City
Synopsis:	Matt starts pulling the old gang together to discuss the matter of Shredder and his plans. Old enemies meet as potential friends; new aquaintances are made. Everyone agrees Matt is a fool.
Cast of Characters:	Daredevil, Elektra, Hellcat, Iron Fist
Tinyplot:	City Fall

---

Daredevil has posed:
Fogwell's Gym. The aging building in Hell's Kitchen had become the de facto Defenders club house after Elektra's death, with Matt using the money he'd inherited to buy the place and set it up for that purpose. Now that she was back, the gym remained in his name and it continued to serve as Defenders HQ.

An invite had been sent out to the Defenders tonight through the usual civilian means and while Matt and Elektra await the others they spar. Matt is dressed for it, workout gear, gloves and bare feet, he bounces like a boxer as he throws kicks and punches Elektra' s way. Even though it's sparring he doesn't hold back, Elektra can take it.

"Wonder who will show," Matt says between strikes. "As teams go we're sort of... disorganized."

Elektra has posed:
Whether she could take it or not (she could), Elektra wouldn't accept anything less of the man, and would have goaded him into that very thing. Nor would it have been the first time she had, either. The place was full of ghosts, but for once they were good ones.

"I don't know. I suppose it will depend upon how many of them expect I will be here, and how many of those have decided to forgive me."

Not that she seems bothered by that fact. There is little she can do about her past other than rise above it, and this meeting was part and parcel of that very thing.

HIs kicks and punches met with blocks and throws of her own. And, because she is herself, and he is him, she doesn't hold back either. A little bit of dirty pool thrown Matt's way for good measure, because while this might be them sparring, their 'friends' out there weren't going to be so kind.

Besides, there was the gloating to be had for winning at this. Somewhere, she was sure, there was a tally.

Hellcat has posed:
Trish Walker isn't new to the Defenders. She's old-new. And there's a difference. She'd been on the team for a little while after - well, not too long after Jessica had joined - but then Something Happened. And she took some time off. But, she also hadn't known who else would be here. And so, Trish Walker isn't Trish Walker tonight. Instead, she's Hellcat. Not the best known of heroes, especially with all the Justice League and Avengers running around, doing a majority of the 'heavy lifting'.

Her blue and yellow costume is adorned with the red sash, and sways as she walks through the entrance. "Already had planned on working late tonight," she states towards Daredevil. Then, her intution is proven true as she spots him sparring with Elektra, whom she doesn't recognize. "New faces. Always with the new faces." It doesn't quite sound like a bad thing, though.

Iron Fist has posed:
    There isn't a terribly long wait before someone else does arrive. With a duffle bag slung over a shoulder, a twenty-something male figure walks in. With tousled blonde hair, jeans, a t-shirt with Bruce Lee upon the front...and sandals on his feet. A few more steps in, and, with a toss of the bag it is apparent who exactly the new arrival is as he speaks. "You know, the whole invite couldn't have come at a better time. Been sitting in board meetings all day and I will tell you this. They are aptly named. Because, damn, are they ever boring."

    The figure turns, revealing himself to be one Danny Rand, if the voice was not a give-away. There is a pause as there is a mixed reception of costumes and not, which causes Danny to frown in minor confusion. "So, what...this needed to be a formal occasion? Because I can do that...but I don't usually wear *that* particular suit to the office, if you know what I mean."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt ducks the a blow. "You're worrying too much about if they'll forgive you or not," he says. "What happened to the take no prisoners Elektra?" he asks her kicking back at her. "Besides, you came through for us when it mattered, the rest, that wasn't your fault."

And he believes it too by the tone of his voice.

When Hellcat arrives, Matt pulls back from the spar hands up until he's sure Elektra's got the message, then lowers them and grins. As a courtesy he turns towards Trish, "Long time no, well, you know," he says with a wry smile for his fellow vigilante. He moves to the edge of the ring to retrieve his shades, he might not be wearing the cowl and horns, but he does at least want to be wearing his other mask, those red shades that keep his sightless eyes hidden from the world.

Glasses in place he rises, a little less causal than he was before putting them on, "Hellcat, this is Elektra, Elektra, Hellcat; she's been away for awhile."

Though when Danny joins them Matt smiles, "No worries didn't mention a dress code on the invite."

Elektra has posed:
"Worried? Not especially. But Claire has made it clear I will remain persona non grate until I rot in the ground like I was supposed to." She's not as convinced as Matt is that the rest isn't her fault. She'd been the one who'd never shied away from killing, her boredom leading her on to ever more dangerous and reckless acts. And Claire not forgiving her might be little she had control over, but it did make some things awkward. Thankfully, Elektra wasn't really in a position to need the nurse's care any longer.

She's about to throw a swing when the hands come up in 'halt', Elektra stepping back neatly, and nodding, turning to see for herself who has joined them. The first face unfamilar; the second more familiar than most to her.

It's the familiar one she addresses first.

"Danny Rand. The Immortal Iron Fist. Defender of K'un-Lun." Her voice is rich with barely restrained amusement. "Now, see, I thought I was the only one who felt that way about Board Meetings." Which is to say she agrees.

Sparring over, she slips from the ring and grabs both herself and Matt towels, nodding to Hellcat. "Away." She notes that with a small noise at the back of her throat. "Then you've missed all the fun. Welcome back."

Hellcat has posed:
    "I tend to make my own fun. The boys can attest to that," Hellcat answers, not feeling the need, just yet, to take her mask off. It's a Thing. "Good to see you again," she tells Danny, with a smile.

She glances back to Matt, "Didn't know if you had something to do or not. And, well. I wasn't sure if you'd brought along any new friends. Seems you have." She nods, welcoming enough in the 'I trust these guys' sort of way to Elektra. "I'm Hellcat." There's a pause, as saying the name causes something to tweak in her brain, and then she just gives a wry chuckle, some private joke. "Anyways, what's the scoop?" She asks Matt.

Iron Fist has posed:
    "Elektra?" The questioning tone slips out of Danny before he could have had a chance to reign it in. There is also more than a little surprise in that tone, before Danny manages to pull himself together. He offers a wry grin. "You forgot the Living Weapon and my least favorite, at least for today, CEO of Rand Enterprises." There is a beat, then Danny comes back with a polite comment. "It is good to see you..." The phrase almost seems like it was cut off abruptly, before Danny could add a word. Like 'alive'. But hey, it is always good to be seen, at least in Danny's mind.

    There is a smile cast over towards Trish, as Danny nods in return. He turns to Matt, chuckling softly to himself. "Yeah, I don't think you all was calling the party back together just to spar. Because...you know, being a living weapon and all, it be no contest."

    Of course Danny is joking. It is one of the few occasions today he had the opportunity. The amused tone in his voice is all that Matt needs to know about just how serious Daniel is.

Daredevil has posed:
"Yeah, no idea what's up with Claire, she was more testy than usual when she patched me up last," Matt admits to Elektra as they wind up their sparring match.

Picking up on the subtext between Danny and Elektra, the unanswered questions and all of that, Matt offers, "It's a long story. But the long and short of it is the Hand are out of the city, and Elektra's back." He leaves Elektra to fill in the details or not as she wants.

He turns his head to Hellcat. "As you can tell, things haven't gotten any less interesting around here while you were gone." And they would definitely be talking about that absence sooner or later, he'd been worried even if Hellcat was one of the last people he had to worry about handling things for themselves, like she said, she makes her own fun.

"As for the scoop, we haven't so much got rid of the Hand as swithced limbs, ever run into anyone calling themselves the Foot?" he ask Hellcat and Danny both, his expression saying clearly, 'hey, I didn't make up these names'.

Elektra has posed:
"She doesn't like that you're with me," Elektra says simply. "I'm the focal point for her distate for ninja." After a pause, she adds, "I don't really blame her. They were my responsibility."

The towel is used to pat herself down, and it is true, the ninja attacks had all been because of her. At least the ones Claire was upset about. It didn't matter that by then Elektra was between a rock and a hard place with no solution that didn't end up with Matt and his friends in more danger than if she was hands off about the attacks.

Danny gets an amused laugh, "I don't recall you mentioning Rand Industries as part of the litany, but I've my own stories to tell in that arena. Perhaps now that we're not meant to be fighting one another to the death we can discuss those matters more civilly." There's a faint shrug, as she takes her towel, and offers to take Matt's as well, to put them in the laundry bin for just such purposes.

As for Trish, Elektra waits some moments before supplying, "Elektra Natchios. Both of my father's fortune, and Hellas International, and lately in the news. Old news. As for new friends, Matt and I go back some time now. I'm surprised we haven't met before."

She doesn't supply her particular extracurriculars at this time. But she does add to Matt's words, "The Foot ostensibly offered that we might join them. They seem to think that we're a substandard organization and would be better suited to be part of their organization. They've threatened, directly, the stability of our streets here, suggesting that if we don't join them, they won't be respnosible for the resulting mayhem."

Hellcat has posed:
"I had some things to work out," is all Hellcat says to Matt, not entirely dismissedly, but while her words are casual, friendly even, there's that tone to them that suggests that she is absolutely not going to go into it further. At least not now.

She does nod to Elektra, however, "Well, happy to have you aboard, if they are." Again, another suggestion that she completely trusts Matt's decision (and Danny's) in this. Then, she's leaning back against a well, adding, "The Foot? No. I have heard of Head & Shoulders though."

Iron Fist has posed:
    "Death battles do tend to put a crimp on civil discussion." The statement is said so matter-of-factly that it is unsure (even to those with enhanced senses) if Danny was kidding that time or not. It was certainly a truthful statement. That much was certain. There might be more going on in that head of his, but Danny does not share that. At least not quite yet.

    What he does, however, is turn to the Hellcat and gives her a smattering of applause. "Well done! I couldn't have done better if I had tried." Then, it is his turn to speak. "Well....no. Not really. Though it sounds like a group I should meet." That....was definitely a serious tone. No doubt about it. It was a cool, measured statement uttered in a slightly detached tone...one that those that have come up against Danny would know.

    "Extortion and outright threats. Sounds like they are cut from the same cloth as the Hand. A copycat organization, perhaps? It seems they share more than a thing for human extremeties."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt frowns brow quirking with Elektra's assertion. "Really?" he asks, but there's no time to pull on that thread now. There are other matters at hand.

"I am," Matt confirms to Trish about being happy about Elektra being part of the crew.

There's a smile for the joke about the names because, okay, he could get behind the Hand, but yeah, it was starting to get ridiculous. "You're going to love that their leader calls himself the Shredder," he says with the smile slimming down to a thin line across his lips. "Despite the questionable name, he's no joke, even if, yes, he and his people seem like carbon copies of the Hand."

"Anyhow, he hasn't delivered on his threat yet, but I figure it's only a matter of time, he didn't seem the type to bluff, which means I'm really glad you're both back right now."

Elektra has posed:
"You say that like you're suprised, Matthew," Elektra says easily, coming now to join with the others, taking a seat on one of the benches., looking as at home here as she might in the board room. Laughing softly, "Of course you're happy. You always were a fool where I was concerned." Her voice both amused, and fond.

"You're a fool Mattie, and one day that's going to get you killed." Elektra does a fair imitation of Stick, then shrugs. "It worked, though." To the surprise of all, including herself.

"They're Hand lite if you must," Elektra informs. At least in her opinion they are. "But with the vacuum left behind Madame Gao fleeing with the mains of the infrastructure of the Hand, he's taking a stand, and a rather firm one at that. He's not a triffle, though. I'm to believe he was working with us while I was.." A cautious look Hellcat's way. "...otherwise engaged."

Hellcat has posed:
"If they follow through on their threat, you know you can count on me," Hellcat says, her lips forming into a thin line. She tips her head towards Elektra. But, Hellcat has her own demons, so she's not about to try and press Elektra further. At least, not yet.

"Frankly, the city could use more fools like him," she states, briskly back to Elektra, "And him." Yep. She just said Danny was a fool too. But, there it is. It was a compliment, probably. She tells Matt and Danny, "But yes. I'm back. And, ready to kick some ass. You know how to get ahold of me." Like they just did.

"I have some friends who can keep an eye on things" She looks to Elektra, adds, "Information brokers." She half-smiles. "It helps to know people, who know people."

Iron Fist has posed:
    There is still a moment of reflection visible on Danny's mein. He is thinking about something...most likely dealing with how to handle the Foot. However, the comment of fools does rouse him from his thoughts. Danny flashes Hellcat a smile...a true smile...as he rather unceremoniously flops onto a free bench. "Oh, you know I am ready and willing to help. Just say the word."

Daredevil has posed:
Matt stores that bit about Claire away for later discussion and offers a faint smile at the Stick impression. Yet another person to track down, he'd vanished after the Hand had fallen, likely looking to lop off Gao's head if he could manage it.

"Not exactly working with us, just not fighting us when it came to the Hand. It was an alliance of conveninence."

Matt does smile somewhat fondly at being called a fool by both Trish and Elektra, he'll own that name. "And great glad you're all on board. Not sure what your plans are for tonight, but if you've got time to stick around I can go get some beers and we can all catch up," he offers to turn the visit to a social call with the night's business complete.