[center][h2] The Master of Kung Fu [color=red] [b]Shang-Chi[/b][/color] [color=gold][i]The Immortal Iron Fist![/i][/color] [/h2][/center] [center] [i][b]PART 1: NO SHIRT? NO LOVE![/b] [/i] [b]August 5th, 2013 10:00 PM Unlimited MMA Ring Center, NY[/b][/center] Like every other first saturday of each month, the newly renovated fight gym became an open house arena. Sanctioned fight cards were filled to the brim with local talent, putting butts in seats for 40 a piece, and tonight was a full house. This was Shang's money maker, the place he went to punch in his timecard. What better way for the Master of Kung Fu to earn his keep than through Mixed Martial Arts prizefighting! [center]***[/center] Matthew "Tha Wreckah" O'Donnell was beating the living daylights out of Shang-Chi. Thirty seconds into the first round, Tha Wreckah made his professional debut sing with a flying knee to the face. The execution of the move was satisfactory, Shang-Chi thought, disregarding how exposed O'Donnell's guard was, how imbalanced and squared up the shot left him afterwards. It didn't matter. Shang followed the script as intended. He measured the distance of Matthew's trajectory and course corrected his own position by milimeters, back stepping just enough to make it look like the hit had landed. Shang let his acting skills do the rest. The crowd erupted. "OH! FLYING KNEE KYLE!! HE LANDED A FLYING KNEE!" One commentator croaked. "Did you see how Shang's head flew back from the hit, John? Man! THAT. HAS. GOT. TO. HURT!" [i]It did hurt, Kyle, but my pride will manage. The rent needs to get paid after all. [/i] Shang-Chi let out an outward sigh, careful not to look so visibly disappointed. O'Donnell pressed forward, pinning Shang against the caged wall of the octagonal ring. He didn't need to see the moves telegraphed, he could [i]feel[/i] them coming. It was like watching your favorite movie for the 1,000th time, only now you're viewing it with an entirely new audience that's never seen it before. You know which scene is coming next, but you stifle your excitement and act just as surprised as everyone else. "Left hook overhead from O'Donnell lands!" [i]Shouldn't have caught that looping hook with my guard so easily. Now I have to jerk my head around and pretend like the impact rattled me. Should I make a grimacing face? I feel like I should make a grimacing face. No, don't overdo it. [/i] "Wow! Nice follow up left hook to the body!" [i]It was decent. I mean, he could've stepped into it more to torque the shot. Had to let him land that one on me anyways - no other way to really make it more convincing. Just hope I didn't break his hand. Oh I see the right coming! I should make it look like he split my guard. I'll weave my head off to the side right when he fully extends...now[/i]! "Straight right hand lands for O'Donnell! Shang's head flies back again! Man, Tha Wrecka just can't miss tonight! He is landing everything!" "That's right, John! That right hand split through Shang's guard like butter! Shang's going to have to pivot off of the cage and fight from the ce-" [i]Good idea. Simple sidestep - mid stride...nothing too fast, got to make it look like I'm still recovering from that right hand... [/i] Matthew bounces off of the cage, turning to face his opponent with a confident grin. Shang reads Matthew's body shift and nods approvingly to himself with the next set of moves he plans on dishing out. The crowd is standing on their feet now. [i]They're gonna love this one. [/i] "Holy Wakanda on Ice Skates! O'Donnell just knocked out Shang-Chi with a spinning back fist and superman punch!" "Matthew "Tha Wrecka" O'Donnell welcome to the fight game!" "MAMA MIA!!!!!" Shang-Chi lays on the sweaty foam mat of the ring and closes his eyes for what felt like the first time in days. The roaring cheers of the crowd are dulled by the intense heavy metal soundtrack blaring through the portable amps. [i]The ring doctors will come in any second now and flash their bright pen lights into my eyes... [/i] "Wake up, Mr. Shang. Wake up!" [i]Just let me sleep... [/i] "How many fingers do you see, Mr. Shang?" [i]You are about to see my favorite one if you don't back off![/i] "I'm f-fine..I'm fine." Shang uttered, rolling onto his stomach and curling up into a ball. "Just let me rest for a moment." [color=gold]Get up you coward! You can take this fool! Use my chi and end this![/color] [i]That's not how this works.[/i] [color=gold]Do enlighten me![/color] [i]I stay down so the greasy man in the far corner of the room pays me double my original contract. The local prospect gains marketability by knocking me out with style, and I don't have to light candles in my apartment for the next three months. [/i] [color=gold]You...[i]wanted[/i] to lose?[/color] [i]What I want has nothing to do with it. If it did, you and I wouldn't even be having this discussion. Or ANY discussion or that matter.[/i] [color=gold]To call one such as you pathetic is an understatement. You are a failure beyond belief![/color] [i]Then what does that make you, exactly?[/i] [color=gold]A complete and utter disgrace of the gods. To be forced to endure such cowardice is a twisted hell onto itself, even for me! Perhaps this is divine punishment finally catching up to me after all these millennia...[/color] [i]After what you did to Danny, to hear that you are suffering is... euphoric. [/i] [color=gold]Again, with this? Bah! Haven't you lear-[/color] [i]Shut up. [/i] Shang slowly got up to his feet. The crowd applauds to his good health. Matthew "Tha Wrecka" O'Donnell rushes over and hugs him respectfully. The two are seperated by the referee as the ring announcer makes the call. "THE WINNER BY WAY OF KO, MATTHEW "THA WRECKA" OOOO'DOOONNEEELLLL!!!" Shang puts on his best sad face for the crowd. The referee raises Matthew's left hand. He grimaces in pain and nurses his wrist soon after. Shang grins. The two fighters look at each other. "Man, you're built like stone bro! Think I broke my hand." Matthew frowned, forcing a smile from the jolts of pain. [color=gold]What a stupid mortal! Shang-Chi is not the stone fist! He is the immortal IR-[/color] "Shut up!" Shang yelled abruptly. For a moment the air was tense, and awkward, but the reaction was taken as a sign of poor sportsmanship, so Matthew just shrugged it off. The heavy metal music intensified, cueing the announcer to set up the next fight card. Shang-Chi was escorted off the ring and greeted with boos from the crowd. [color=gold]Look! They adore you! The Legendary Iron Fist is loved by all! [/color] Shou-Lao the Undying chortles. Shang said nothing. He trudged over to the far corner of the room where the greasy man said he'd be. He wasn't there. [color=gold]Uh oh...[/color] Shang-Chi looked around but the man was nowhere in sight. He surveyed the environment for the man's lackadaisical chi signature until he found remnants of it seeping away through the front entrance. "Uh-oh indeed." He clenched his teeth and bolted out the double-doors. Shang followed the energy trail down a couple of blocks until he arrived in front of a nightclub. "Flint, you stupid, stupid man." Shang stepped forward, but a large bouncer stopped him in his tracks. "No shirt, no love." The bouncer said sternly. In the midst of his sudden fury, Shang forgot that he was still in his black fight trunks and nothing more. The crowd lining up to get inside the club began cheering, and whistling, and yelling things, instigating for an altercation to happen. Cell phones were out and recording the scene. [color=gold]SLAY THEM ALL! UNLEASH THE FURY OF SHOU-LAO THE UNDYING! WHIRLWIND KICK THEM INTO THE UNDERWORLD SO THAT I MAY FEAST ON THEIR SOULS! GI-[/color] "Shut the hell up you annoying son of a bitch!" Shang thought he was thinking those words, but he wasn't. The bouncer glared. Whoops. Two more equally huge men stood behind him, all three now charging forward to grab Shang. "Great.." [center][b]END OF PART 1![/b][/center]