Excavation of Midland Circle

The Excavation of Midland Circle was a conflict between the Defenders and the Hand for the fate of New York City.
==Background==
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==Excavation==
===Chase of Elektra===
After managing to corner Shaft in one of the sewers, Elektra overpowered him and knocked him to the ground before preparing to deal a killing blow. Before she could so, however, she was attacked by Iron Fist, who had spent the last several months following the Hand and believed that Shaft possessed crucial information about the organization.
Rand proceeded to juggle fighting Elektra and protecting Shaft, but was unsuccessful and forced to watch Elektra as stabbed Shaft through the chest before making her escape. Colleen Wing, who had accompanied Rand on his quest, stayed with Shaft as Rand followed and subsequently cornered Elektra. The two engaged in hand-to-hand combat, with Rand using the "Iron Fist" to punch Elektra and knock her down. Seizing the opportunity, the Hand agent disappeared and left Rand to deal with Shaft.
===New York City Earthquake===
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===Attack on John Raymond===
John Raymond, Jessica Jones, and Malcolm Ducasse started hearing footsteps outside the apartment-office doors. Raymond panicked, saying that they were there to kill him, regretting ever visiting them. The assassin slashed the locks from the door and burst inside, bolting towards Raymond. Raymond released Ducasse and fired shots at Elektra, each deflected until he was lifted from the floor. Before she is could kill him, he taunted that she would not be able to take his life, firing a bullet into his head.
===Attack on the Wall of the Chaste===
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===Ambush at the Wall of the Chaste===
Unbeknownst about hiding Danny Rand and Colleen Wing, Sowande's crew came to the Wall and start destroying corpses with acid. Rand and Wing defeated them, but Cole Miller tried to escape.
Rand caught him up and tried to interrogate, but he was attacked by arrived Luke Cage. Rand tried to defeat Cage, but he could not hurt him because of his bulletproof skin. Cage won the duel, but Rand punched him on his head with the use of his Iron Fist. The duel was interrupted by the arrival of police officers. Cage and Rand escaped, but Miller was arrested.
===Escape from Midland Circle===
Danny Rand's direct confrontation proved to be a reckless mistake. By the time he arrived to face the CEOs of Midland Circle, their leader, Alexandra Reid revealed that they laid a trap for him and that they intended to capture him. Immediately the 'CEOs' revealed themselves to be Hand fighter who then tried to capture Rand. Iron Fist fought them bravely. He defeated many of his opponents before they began to overwhelm him with their numbers. The timely arrival of Luke Cage prevented that from happening. Both fighters joined forces and proceed to fight their opponents.
Meanwhile, Matt Murdock, who had followed Jessica Jones into the building, heard the gunshots and started heading upstairs, using Jones' scarf as a makeshift mask. Jones followed him. By the time that they arrived upstairs, they found Cage and Rand defeating their attackers. Before they could escape, they were attacked by Elektra and more Hand reinforcements who tried to prevent their escape. The Defenders fought together for the first time and proved to be a deadly and competent team. While Daredevil fought and held off Elektra alone, the remaining Defenders worked to secure their escape by defeating the enemies blocking their escape.
The battle between Daredevil and Elektra proved fierce. Daredevil was shocked to discover that his opponent was his former lover who had been killed several months before. Elektra would have killed Daredevil if it wasn't for Rand coming to his ally's rescue and her own hesitation when Daredevil mentioned her name.
With their enemies defeated, the Defenders escaped from Midland Circle.
===Ambush at the Royal Dragon===
Reid initially met with the Defenders to try and convince Danny Rand to surrender in exchange for the safety of his loved ones and allies. When he refused, Reid summoned Elektra who then proceed to do battle against the Defenders and Stick. As they fought, they were soon interrupted by the arrival of Murakami who then proceed to do battle against Rand and Murdock while Stick, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones fought against Elektra. Despite Murakami's skill, he met his match by the combined effort of Murdock and Rand.
The main Hand force arrived and began firing against the Defenders. Cage blocked the bullets while the rest of the Defenders found cover from the gunfire. Madame Gao executed one of the attackers for their gunfire and ordered for the Hand to capture Rand. The Hand proceed to surround the Defenders and a brief stand-off ensured.
Sensing Elektra, Murdock broke from the group and proceed to fight her and try to make her come to her senses. They took their fight outside the building. The rest of the Defenders began fighting against overwhelming number of the Hand. During the battle, Cage fought against Sowande who proved to be capable of fighting Cage through the use of his fighting style. Sowande forced Cage outside of the restaurant, where he was then hit by a truck driven by Hand soldiers. Sowande abandoned the battle with his men to attempt to capture Cage. Despite her reluctance, Jones remained with her allies.
Murdock continued his duel against Elektra. He tried to talk sense into her and only managed to make her stop when he called her name. They were interrupted by the arrival of Murakami. Elektra effortlessly knocked him aside and then fled from the battle, leaving Murdock behind. Still fighting inside the restaurant, Rand fought his attackers and was then chi-blasted by Madame Gao. Before they could capture him, Rand was aided by Jones and Stick. They fought off their opponents and escaped back to the alley where they found Murdock. With no other option, the Defenders escaped through the sewers and made their way to Chikara Dojo.
===Rescue of Trish Walker===
Do to fear of the Hand killing their loved ones, Jessica Jones went to retrieve her adopted sister, Trish Walker. When Jones arrived, Walker was discussing the future of her talk show with her producers, attempting to discuss the recent tremors that had impacted the city. Jones told her they had to go, explaining that her case just went south. Spotting two Hand assassins entering through the main entrance, the two women were forced to move upstairs to an deserted dining room, where they were ambushed by Murakami. Jones attempted to fend off Murakami, but she was not as skilled in fighting as he was, causing her to be easily subdued by him.
Suddenly, Matt Murdock returned as the vigilante Daredevil, assisted Jones in protecting her adopted sister. The two heroes fought Murakami as Walker watched in amazement after seeing Daredevil. Murakami was then thrown off a balcony by Jones but managed to disappear without being detected.
===Kidnapping of Iron Fist===
Regaining consciousness, Iron Fist tried to reason with Luke Cage into letting him free and that the Hand were only trying to deceive them. Afterwards, the two conversed amongst one another; Cage turned to Stick, whom had lit some incenses and claimed it was for meditation. Inhaling the smoke, he gradually became sedated and collapsed. Sensing the collapse, Daredevil and Jessica Jones hurried back to their hideout, while Stick slowly approached the Iron Fist, Rand begging him not to, while Stick was ready to kill him before the Hand could collect him. Before he was able to strike, Elektra emerged at the scene and clashed against Stick.
The two fought fiercely, Elektra knocking Stick to the ground. As she was ready to kill him, Murdock entered the room and attempted to persuade Elektra that she was not whom they taught her to be. However, she murdered him with her sword, leaving Murdock and Jones to fend her away from Rand. Cage awakened and tried to defeat her as well but was unsuccessful. With an unconscious Rand, she had cut the ropes that bound him to the chair, escaped through the window, and carried the body directly to Alexandra Reid, whom was about to duel with Murakami.
===Murder of Alexandra Reid===
Scolding her supposed allies on them underestimating her leadership, Reid ordered the Black Sky to kill Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil. Unbeknownst to her, Elektra grabbed her sai blades and pierced through Reid's body, telling her that the Devil's name was Matthew.
===Destruction of Midland Circle===
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===Rand and Elektra===
Reaching the base of the cavern beneath Midland Circle, Elektra carted Danny Rand closer to the barrier that blocked what the Hand sought. There, she explained to Rand what the obstruction was and how she skewed away from her destiny, tempting Rand to do the same. However, the two engaged in a duel. Rand decided to summon the Iron Fist and continued the fight, only for Elektra to clutch his fist and destroy the blockage, revealing dragon bones buried underneath New York City.
===An Altercation Above===
Having escaped the 29th Precinct Police Station, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Daredevil traveled to Midland Circle to rescue Iron Fist. Through a back entrance, they were confronted by Madame Gao, Murakami, and Bakuto, waiting for their arrival. After a brief converse, the three fought, Jones and Cage against Gao, while Murdock juggled Murakami and Bakuto. Though both were feeling pinned and too easily overpowered by Gao, they managed to knock her to the ground. Murdock was evenly matched by both opponents, but was briefly assisted by Colleen Wing, who fended off Bakuto.
In an effort to retreat, an exposed pipe released a flammable gas, Bakuto utilizing his katana to set it ablaze through a spark. Gao, Murakami, and Bakuto left the area; Cage covered the fire with his hand and bent the pipe closed. After everyone recollected, Cage questioned Wing's presence, her response expecting gratitude for her help.
===Wing and Bakuto===
As the Defenders set out deeper into the caverns to fight the Hand and rescue Danny Rand, Colleen Wing and Claire Temple carried the interior map of Midland Circle and the bombs stolen from the evidence locker. As they studied the document, they placed each bomb at the base of a few support columns. However, the two were met with the arrival of Bakuto, taunting that he knew Wing was there and wanted to talk.
Wing then attacked Bakuto as the two began clashing swords. The pair continued fighting around the boiler room, as Bakuto mockingly told Wing to not bother wearing herself out, he proved by landing a hard kick on Wing's stomach, knocking her back. Bakuto managed to slash her across the back. While Wing remained on her feet, she and Temple were assisted by Misty Knight who had arrived on the scene. Knight ordered him to drop his sword. When he refused, Knight fired several shots into Bakuto's chest. Bakuto was able to brush off the gun shots before he managed to subdue Knight while she was reloading before returning to his duel with Wing.
Bakuto claimed that her desire within was the reason why he had saved and raised her. Bakuto then subdued Wing before holding Temple's throat between his swords. Knight then charged in to aid Temple, resulting in Bakuto slicing off Knight's right arm. While Knight then fell to the floor, Wing had charged forward and attacked Bakuto. Wing had managed to steal her own sword back from Bakuto before cutting his throat with it. While Bakuto stood in horror at his student gaining the upper hand, Wing took her moment to end their fight by slicing off Bakuto's head with a single swing with her sword.
===Defenders vs. Hand===
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==Aftermath==
===Daredevil's Recovery===
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==References==
Category:Wars