C65: Trap
With her superhuman leaping and limited flight ability, Jessica Jones was the first to arrive at the location Daredevil indicated through comms.
Immediately, she saw Matt Murdock—garbed in his classic red Daredevil suit cornered by a squad of black-clad Hand ninjas, their crimson sashes barely visible in the dim port lights.
Jessica narrowed her eyes and dove downward, fists clenched just as a violent boom erupted behind her.
Explosively thrown aside were several Hand operatives, and in the chaos appeared Ah Xing, his lean figure clad in a crimson undershirt, moving with the brutal precision of a trained martial artist.
Exploiting the momentum of Dali's Vajra Legs, a skill rooted in esoteric Penglai martial doctrine, Ah Xing broke through the formation and moved to back up Matt.
Luke Cage arrived last, heavy footfalls echoing on the steel cargo platform. He looked up briefly at Jessica before eyeing the mob of Hand assassins. Without a word, he cracked his neck, squared his shoulders, and ignoring the flurry of shuriken and sword strikes charged directly toward Matt, his invulnerable skin shrugging off their attacks like paper rain.
With Luke, Jessica, and Ah Xing now engaged, the tide shifted. Jessica smiled, descending from above and slamming into the fight with a punishing haymaker.
Tearing a katana-wielding ninja from his back, Luke chuckled as he approached the others. "Sorry I'm late."
Matt parried a blade with his billy club, then stepped beside them. "No, you're right on time."
Surveying the still-approaching waves of black-clad killers, Jessica arched a brow. "Guess we've become popular. Nice of them to throw such a 'warm' party."
"It's more than a welcome committee."
A voice—aged, raspy, and unmistakably sharp cut through the skirmish.
Matt's head twitched toward the source. "Madame Gao."
The ninjas parted like a shadowy tide. Limping forward on a lacquered cane came Madame Gao, one of the oldest known leaders of The Hand. She wore her usual green robe and exuded the aura of someone who had watched civilizations rise and fall.
"This is the big bad?" Jessica muttered to Matt, glancing skeptically at the frail-looking old woman. "She needs a cane just to walk."
Luke said nothing but clearly shared her surprise.
"Don't be fooled by appearances," Ah Xing interjected, eyes locked on Gao. "The first time we fought, she floored Matt with a single palm strike. Even I'd hesitate to face her alone."
Matt nodded grimly. "She's one of the Five Fingers of the Hand—immortal warlords resurrected by the Black Sky ritual using the Elixir from K'un-Lun. She's not human anymore."
Their warnings forced Jessica to reassess. She squared her shoulders.
"Well well," Gao said, her voice gaining steel, "seems you know more than I thought."
Her face darkened. "I've grown… complacent. Decades of stillness. Even the Great Wall crumbles, not from siege, but from the tiniest of ants."
She delivered the latter proverb in fluent Mandarin.
"What did she just say?" Jessica asked, frowning, turning instinctively to Ah Xing—who bore the same black hair and East Asian features as Gao.
"She called us ants," Li Ran, controlling Ah Xing remotely, translated flatly.
Jessica cracked her knuckles. "Tell her I'm the kind that bites. Hard."
"I understand English, little girl," Gao replied evenly, her eyes glinting.
"Little girl?!"
Jessica bristled.
"You wear your strength like armor," Gao said, tilting her head. "But I see through it. Behind your sarcasm and strength lies trauma—Kilgrave, your parents, the car crash, the rape—you've buried the pain, but it festers."
"What did you say?!" Jessica's fists clenched. Her breathing quickened.
"I know more than you think," Gao said coolly, clearly enjoying the reaction.
As a global death cult, The Hand had deep intelligence networks. Through their agents embedded in government, hospitals, and corporate data streams—they had pieced together entire dossiers on the vigilantes of New York.
"Kilgrave," Jessica hissed. "Tell me where he is!"
"Jessica—" Luke stepped forward, brow furrowed. "She's trying to manipulate you."
But the damage was done. Rage boiling over, Jessica charged toward Madame Gao with a feral shout.
Gao did not flinch. With eerie calm, she raised her cane, flipped it with a practiced motion, and swept the air.
Jessica flew backward as if hit by a telekinetic force. Her body smashed into a shipping container.
Ah Xing blurred across the ground, catching her mid-flight. He skidded back several feet, his reinforced Vajra Legs absorbing the brunt of the momentum. "Told you she's not simple," he muttered. "Think before you leap."
"Sorry," Jessica grunted, shaking off the daze. Her enhanced biology allowed her to withstand the blow, but she was clearly rattled.
Madame Gao's eyes narrowed. "If the Elixir of Life hadn't started to decay…" she thought silently. The mystic ichor that prolonged her unnatural life—harvested from the blood of dragons in K'un-Lun was failing. The Hand's resurrection rituals were weakening.
Fortunately, she was not alone.
Above them, atop a container stack, a man emerged clad in a black tactical suit reinforced with Kevlar.
"Kingpin sends his regards," he said with a cruel smile. "I've brought you a gift."
With a metallic clang, the doors of a nearby container burst open.
From inside emerged a squad of mercenaries—not Hand operatives, but enhanced enforcers in advanced armor. Their uniforms bore the insignia of Silvermane Industries, a Maggia subsidiary—Fisk's new criminal contractor since the fall of Hammer Industries.
They were carrying weapons developed by Justin Hammer's old tech division, now repurposed and upgraded using StarkTech knockoffs.
The trap had been sprung.
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