Hawkgirl (Danny Rand)

Seven

             "Oh come on!" I groan as I step into a puddle. I just had to go for a walk in the middle of the night in the one part of town with no streetlights! I wouldn't be surprised if I end up tripping and smashing my head open.

           Suddenly I see a strange glow out of the corner of my eye. I turn to look, and a startled gasp leaves my lips. The man in green that saved me a couple nights ago is sitting on the roof of an abandoned office building, his legs dangling off the edge.

          He appears to be deep in thought and doesn't notice me enter the building and climb up the many flights of stairs. He only looks up, rather startled, when I sit down next to him.

          "What are you doing?" He questions, a startled expression on his face. I immediately feel sort of bad for disturbing him.

         "I just wanted to say thank you for helping me the other night. You didn't have to do that," I blush lightly, the words seeming silly as soon as they leave my mouth.

          "I was just in the right place at the right time," he dismisses the statement carefully, and I look at him curiously. What is that supposed to mean?

         "Well, thank you anyways. So what are you doing up here anyway? Seems like a lonely place to hang out." He shifts uncomfortably, and it's clear that he doesn't want to talk to me.

          "I was simply thinking. With people comes turmoil and frustration. When I'm alone the world is still and peaceful." I have to stop myself from laughing. That was the nicest way to say "go away" I've ever heard. Unfortunately for him, I have nothing to do except stay away from my house for as long as possible.

          "I know what you mean. I love being alone." He looks almost surprised to hear this but regains his composure quickly.

          "You struck me as the type to prefer being in the presence of others," he quietly admits.

          "Yeah, well you don't know anything about me." I shoot back, feeling oddly defensive. Who is this guy to go around making assumptions about me?

           "Then tell me," He replies, unaffected.

           "What?" I gape slightly at him. A few seconds ago he told me to go away, and now he's asking personal questions?

          "Tell me about yourself," He insists, and the genuine curiosity and care in his voice suddenly makes me want to spill my deepest darkest secrets to him.

           "Only if you tell me about yourself first," I challenge. If I'm going to tell him anything he's going to have to share too.

          "Alright. My name is Iron Fist. I was trained for years by monks in K'un-Lun. Then I fought and defeated Shou-Lao and earned the iron fist. It is my sacred duty to use it to help others, and to one day claim the throne of K'un-Lun." I blink at him, unsure of what to say. I wasn't expecting him to actually reply, let alone tell me all of that.

         "Wow. Unfortunately, my life isn't nearly that cool, but I guess I have a bit to share. My family was pretty normal when I was born. I had a mother, father, and eventually a little brother. We were happy for a while until my mom died when I was about 6. That was hard for me but even harder for my dad. He loved her a lot. Everything calmed down though, and when I was 8 we moved from Rhode Island to New York. My dad got a much better job working for some big company here." I recount. I'm not sure how much I want to tell him. I mean, it's not like he told me everything either.

         "What happened after?" His words startle me, effectively breaking me out of my train of thought.

          "What do you mean?" I ask, surprised that he can see through me that easily.

         "You look far too sad for the story to have ended there," He explains, looking me in the eye. For a second I freeze, staring into his sparkling green eyes. I know I've seen them before, and for some reason that thought makes me want to tell him everything.

        "My brother died last year," I blurt out. My hand flies up to my mouth, but it's too late. Iron Fist is already staring at me with wide eyes.

          "I was with him. We were messing around, walking home from school, when all of a sudden this car came out of nowhere. They were so busy speeding they didn't notice the stop sign. Conner, my brother, was walking a few feet in front of me and the car hit him. I didn't even get a scratch, but he died on impact." I can feel tears fill my eyes but I swipe furiously at them, refusing to let them fall.

        "After that, my dad slipped into the same depressed state as when my mother died, only this time it was so much worse. Instead of being sad he'd get furious with me. He'd always yell at me about how I should've saved him. How it should've been me who died instead. He's right too. It's all my fault he's dead. I'm the worst sister in the world." The fact that I've never spoken my feelings to anyone before makes this exchange even harder, and before I can stop myself I'm full on sobbing.

          "How am I supposed to be a hero when I can't even save my own brother?!" I cry, paying no attention to the words leaving my mouth. Iron Fist wordlessly wraps his arm around me, and I bury my face in his shoulder.

          "It wasn't your fault," He whispers, gently rubbing soothing circles on my back. I know he's wrong though. How could it not be my fault? I had superpowers! If I wasn't so caught up in myself I could've saved him, but I wasn't paying attention. It's all my fault.

          We sit like that for a while, my head resting on his shoulder and tears streaming down my face. Eventually, I stop crying, and even though I don't really want to I pull away from his warm embrace. As soon as his arm isn't wrapped around me I shiver, wishing it still was. I shake off the thought quickly though, knowing it's ridiculous.

         "I should get home. I have school in the morning," I whisper. I would much rather sit on this roof with him for the rest of my life, but I know that I can't stay away from home forever.

          "Goodnight Iron Fist." I carefully stand up and walk towards the stairway.

          "Goodnight," He replies, his voice completely calm. I smile slightly and turn back around, but he's gone.

          I stare at the place where we were sitting a few seconds ago, right on the edge of the building, and I'm suddenly overcome with an overwhelming urge to jump. Without a second thought, I do exactly that.

          My wings emerge from my back once I'm a few feet away from the ground and I land gracefully, beginning my walk home.