Once and Future King part 3

The Five Elements in Chinese tradition is a philosophical framework that explains nature and the transference of energy. It can be applied to many studies, including martial arts. The elements are used in a variety of styles and often depict specific strategies and movement:

Wood – accurate attacks with a long reach

Fire – aggressive and rapid movements

Earth – stability and defense

Metal – strong, precise strikes

Water – fluidity, speed, and evasion

These elements are often meant to flow in a certain pattern. Water feeds wood. Wood feeds fire. Fire creates earth. Earth creates metal. Metal collects water. The cycle continues. Of course, just as there is a generative cycle, there is also a destructive cycle.

On a New York rooftop, the Cavalier and Wuxing faced off. The wind blew and the two men stared each other down.

“I’m willing to let you go today if you tell me where they are,” Cavalier told him, “I’m just here for the women.”

Wuxing chuckled, “I haven’t opened business yet but so just ya know, they won’t be cheap.”

“Last chance.”

Wuxing smiled and took a particular stance, “Tell me… Ever see something like this?”

The Cavalier saw a strange, blue glow. The Chinese character for water shimmered in the air in front of Wuxing just before he darted forward in a blur.

Cavalier threw a punch, but Wuxing twirled away from it and transitioned fluidly into a spin-kick. Cavalier was hit in the side and stumbled before catching his balance; a glowing quarter-staff appeared in his hands a second later, “Dodge this.” He spun the staff and made several thrusts and swings. Wuxing stood with his hands behind his back as he pivoted, dipped, ducked, and swayed around each and every attack in a fast and fluid manner, “Effortless.” He spun around Cavalier and delivered a palm-heel to his lower back that knocked him to the roof.

Cavalier picked himself up, ready for another burst of speed. Instead, Wuxing placed his hands together in a different configuration. There was an odd glow and the Chinese character for wood flashed in gold light. Cavalier leapt forward with a kick that, to his surprise, landed against Wuxing’s chest (his speed was gone and now replaced with a different skill).

Wuxing fell on his back and rolled onto his feet, allowing Cavalier to press the attack. He ducked under the Knight’s next punch, grabbed his wrist, then raised his arm. From there, Wuxing jabbed two fingers against the area above his ribs. “The hell?” Cavalier stepped back and saw trails of gold energy running up his torso and across his shoulder like growing tree roots digging through soil. The energy converged on his right arm and he suddenly felt a strange tingle before the limb went numb and dropped uselessly at his side.

“Wasn’t sure I could get through the armor,” Wuxing explained, “Happy accident.”

Cavalier was starting to worry, but remained stoic, “I have plenty of other working limbs.”

Wuxing tried to make another configuration, but Cavalier used his functioning arm to slap his hands away and then back-handed him. Wuxing shouted in annoyance and somersaulted away to put some distance between them. He completed the configuration and red light flashed; the next character that appeared was fire. His hands immediately ignited and were sheathed in flames.

Cavalier erected a shield as Wuxing threw several hard and fast punches into it. Every swing of the arm was followed by a trail of flames and every impact created a small burst against the shield. He drove Cavalier back toward the edge of the roof and finished with a roundhouse kick, flames emitting from his heel as he spun around. The kick sent the Knight to the ground and he rolled closer to the ledge, nearly falling off. Below, he caught a glimpse of a dark alley.

“Are you starting to see what’s going on?” Wuxing asked, “See why my bosses in the mainland sent me over here? I’m in charge now. I’m the king and this city is my kingdom.”

Cavalier stood up once again and stayed still to catch his breath, “So what’s with all the glowing calligraphy and the different powers?”

“Glad you asked,” Wuxing answered truthfully, “But to tell you that, I gotta tell you another story. As you might’ve guessed, my family’s been in this business for generations. Needless to say, my father wanted me, his only son, to be an heir. I had to be tough. He taught me how to fight and even entered me into competitions when I was a kid. To tell ya the truth, I actually lost my first tournament and my dad kicked my ass. Know why?”

“He thought you were weak?”

“Nah, none of that typical bullshit. He knew skill can only get you so far. He was mad because he noticed I had the chance to punch my opponent in the balls and, from my position, it’d likely go unnoticed by the ref.”

“He wanted you to cheat?”

“Yup. It was a valuable lesson that proved useful in the future. Now, about my abilities…”

Cavalier suddenly accessed the Round Table and his morning star appeared in his palm. Wuxing quickly created another configuration as Cavalier flew at him. The Chinese character for earth flashed between them and the morning star hit Wuxing’s femur. The blow should’ve been debilitating, but Wuxing remained still and calm, his eyes closed as he held his pose. Cavalier did a reverse swing, bringing the weapon against Wuxing’s head. Again, he was unmoved, his eyes closed.

“Ya got me talking. It was a ballsy move,” Wuxing said finally, “But it’s time to end this.” He slammed both fists against Cavalier’s chest plate, pushing him back. Once space was given, Wuxing created his final symbol: metal. The silver light disappeared and Cavalier came at him again. Wuxing spun into a punch against the chest plate, putting a dent in it and sending Cavalier into the air with a massive blow. A second later, he disappeared over the ledge.

His breath was removed from his lungs and he spun weightless in the air with only one functioning arm. Despite this, he managed to fire a grappling line from his wrist gauntlet that wrapped around a fire escape in the dark alley below. The cord pulled taut and the momentum broke; he swung up and to the side, brushing against a wall before the hook let go. He dropped a dozen feet and landed on top of a dumpster before rolling off to the alley floor. There was a tingling sensation in his arm that let him know it was recovering and air was slowly returning to his lungs.

In the apartment building, he could hear Triads shouting to one another. They’d find him soon. He wasn’t scared. He was angry. He came back to the city to protect it and he was caught off guard, unprepared. He let his city down. Slowly, he exited the alley and stumbled to the hovercraft in the middle of the street. Just then, a group of men exploded out the front door of the apartment building. They were bruised and bloody from the beating Cavalier had previously given them, but now ready for revenge. Wuxing had softened him up a great deal and he knew he couldn’t fight through them again in his current state.

The Triad member in front of the mob raised a machine gun, ready to take the kill. The Cavalier tried to gather the strength to make a quick break for it. The Triad placed a finger on the trigger, ready to squeeze – and then a rock was thrown. The gangster jerked back when the small chunk of asphalt struck him above the eye. Everyone stopped and turned in the direction of the projectile. A group of citizens were now making their way across the street. Some lived in the neighborhood and others had just been passing by. Regardless, they were there to stand up for the Cavalier.

“Get away from him!” an older woman shouted.

“Get outta here,” another man warned.

“You want Cav, you gotta go through us,” someone else called out.

He was surprised. It wasn’t too long ago that the citizens of New York wanted his head on a pike. Now they had his back. Everyone kept telling him he had the support of the city and he was beginning to see that for himself now. It boosted his confidence, but further reflection would have to wait. The citizens were brave but they were in danger.

The Triads lowered their weapons but didn’t put them away, clearly waiting for orders. Soon, Wuxing exited the building and studied the situation. One of his men muttered something in Mandarin; he sighed, replacing his red-lensed sunglasses before speaking. He gave his men an order in Mandarin and motioned toward the cars parked nearby. His men put their weapons away and made their way to their vehicles while the small crowd began to jeer.

“People of New York,” Wuxing raised his arms toward the crowd, “Think about who you want to throw your support behind.” He pointed at Cavalier who leaned against the Dragon. “This is your champion? He can barely stand!” The crowd got louder and hurled more insults at him. He smiled confidently, “I don’t have to kill him. At least not today. I want you to think about what you saw here. I want you to think about the day you saw the Cavalier defeated. He’s on borrowed time people. Wake up! We can take care of you, but you’ll need to show a bit more respect in the future. I’d hate to lose my patience.”

Wuxing blew a kiss at the crowd as they continued to shout. He briefly turned to Cavalier and gave a mocking wave before getting in the backseat of a car. The Triads drove away and the crowd rushed to Cavalier’s side.

“You okay, man?” someone asked.

“I will be,” he answered, “Thank you.”

“We got you,” another New Yorker told him, “You saved us and we’ll return the favor. You need help, you can always ask. This city loves you.”

“I think I do need help,” Cavalier admitted, “Luckily, I know who to go to.”

Later, he arrived at the Castle. His father pulled his glasses to the tip of his nose to examine the dent in his chest plate, “Not sure I have the tools to smooth this out. You’ll have to ask Bennings the next time you see ‘im.”

“That’s fine,” Michael rotated his arm to make sure there was no permanent damage, “You were right, Dad. After everything involving ‘Shit-Town’ and my mission in Costa Triste, I thought I was on my own. I have more support than I realized. If I’m gonna bring this guy down, I’ll need some teamwork.”

“Glad you mentioned that,” Arthur motioned toward the Castle’s computer, “If you recall, I had a few run-ins with the Triads in my day, but it was my father who really had to go after them. He even kept files on his missions and Triad leadership. According to his old records, the Jade Cobra made a few attempts to find some ancient clay seals that depicted the Five Elements. I think that’s what we’re dealing with here.”

“Yeah, Emily told me about the elements. What’s the story with the clay seals?”

Arthur brought up a file onscreen that depicted the five Chinese characters representing the elements, “A long time ago, there were five wise masters from five different schools who cultivated fighting styles based on the elements. One was water, another was fire… and so on. They used mysticism to create clay seals to be used in rituals to imbue key fighters with complete mastery of said elements.”

“Rituals?”

“Yeah, so the seals are apparently clay blocks with the corresponding elemental symbols on each one. A master would have a chosen student lay face down in whatever element they needed: a puddle of water, some dirt, burning coals… whatever. The master would heat the seal and brand the guy’s back to transfer the power. That’s my understanding, anyway.”

“So the best students get some Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon shit. What’s the point of it?”

“The idea was that these five masters would find truly balanced fighters that could harness each power separately. They would be more powerful together since the elements complemented each other in one cycle but could just as easily counteract each other in a reverse cycle. Keeps everyone humble. Think of it sort of like rock, paper, scissors.”

“And the Triads wanted to find these clay seals to become more powerful?”

“Yep. Of course, no one was supposed to have all five powers. Seems like the guy you fought got the seals and kept them all for himself.”

“Yeah, he was pretty self-absorbed. Now I need to find a way to stop him.”

“Like I said, there’s a cycle to counteract the elements. I think we can whip up a few surprises the next time you see that asshole.”

“I’m all ears.”

Hours later, at Emily Koboshi’s apartment, a knock at the door pulled her away from the show she had been watching. Grabbing her cane, she made her way to the peephole and looked through it. She smiled a bit before opening the door, “Last time you showed up at my place, your were half dead.”

“I remember,” Cavalier answered.

“Get your ass kicked again?”

“Yeah, but I don’t need medical treatment this time… This time, I was hoping to get more direct help.”

“It’s about time,” she said happily and let him into the apartment.

Once they moved to the kitchen table, Cavalier explained the plan to Emily and what her part would entail. She nodded in approval, “I think it could work.”

“I know I keep benching you, but I appreciate your help. I guess, I’ve been afraid of you getting hurt. I’d hate myself if anything happened to you.”

She gave him a serious look, “What else have you been afraid of?”

He sighed, “Look, I know things have been… I know we’ve gotten close.”

“I get it,” she hung her head in disappointment, “You can’t let things be more than this.”

“It’d be complicated, yeah.”

She placed a hand on his, “Is there a way it could be uncomplicated?”

“Have any idea on how to uncomplicate it?”

She shook her head slowly, “No, not really.”

“Me neither,” he got up, “But this… with us being allies in taking these assholes out… it works.”

She stood up next to him, “Agreed. Let’s just focus on that.” She turned to him, “So, before we go after Wuxing, you have any idea how to find the refugee women he kidnapped?”

“I know a guy who might be able to help.”

That night, after some careful planning, the Cavalier waited across the street from The Broken Sword. The bar was commonly frequented by criminals and supervillains with the caveat that cops and superheroes wouldn’t enter so long as the villains didn’t do business inside. The former villain calling himself Ohm stepped out of the bar, glowing with electric energy as always. When he crossed the street, he noticed a familiar figure standing in his path.

“How’ve you been?” Cavalier asked.

“I’m clean these days,” Ohm told him defensively, his voice crackling with static like an old radio.

“I know, man. Look, I’m working on a lead right now. You hear about the female refugees that were kidnapped?”

“Yeah, I heard the Triads got ‘em. The bastards.”

“Sounds like we’re on the same page. Listen, I need some info. I know you frequented certain places in Chinatown back in the day. These women are gonna be forced to work in one of those places. I’m wondering if you might have some ideas.”

“Most places I can think of got shut down a long time ago,” he thought for a moment, “But there’s a casino that I think might still be in business.”

“Remember where it is?”

“Sure.”

“Great. Give me the address and I can send the girls home.”

Later that night, in Chinatown, painters put the finishing touches on the walls of the casino as Triads stood guard. In the office, the casino manager paced in front of the refugee women who grew increasingly exhausted while two more guards flanked him. “I know you’d rather stay in the apartment, but it’s been compromised,” he told the women, “We’ll move you someplace else, but in the meantime…”. He was interrupted when the sound of a scuffle and scattered gunshots could be heard in the gameroom. An unconscious Triad fell through the door with a bucket of paint dumped over his head and the Cavalier soon followed.

The Triad guards pulled guns from their suit jackets, but two electric arrows took them out before they could pull the triggers. The manager backed away as the Cavalier came close. Meanwhile, the refugee women stood silent but hopeful.

Cavalier grabbed the manager by his lapels, “Your boss said he let me go so we could go another round later. Right?”

“…Yes,” the manager answered nervously.

“Tell him I’m ready. Tell him he can meet me under Hellgate Bridge. Wards Island. Midnight.”

Cavalier gave the manager a push toward the exit and he was smart enough to take it; once the room was cleared, he turned to the refugee women. “It’s okay,” he extended a gentle hand, “I’m here to help.” For the first time in days, they all smiled.

An hour later, the Triads were taken away in police vans while the women were taken to a shelter. Inside, detectives gathered evidence from the casino. Cavalier and Commissioner Reins remained in the doorway leading inside.

“You did it again, Cav,” Reins told him, “The ladies are safe, thankfully. It could’ve ended so much worse for them.”

“I’m glad I got to them in time.”

“So are they. So’s the rest of the city. Good work.”

“The night’s not over yet.”

“You gonna take out Wuxing tonight?”

He nodded, “I’m gonna let him know who New York really belongs to.”

Continued…