1 The Rebirth of the Dragon

They say fate works in mysterious ways. Like invisible threads of silk permanently bound to humanity and pulling them towards their destined paths like puppets.

Some are born martial artists who enjoyed battles and learning the art of combat, seeking out other martial artists like them and fight. They train to be the best, fighting every opponent in their way along their treacherous climb to the top of the mountain.

However, there were only a few who truly stood on top as a legend. They were looked up to and revered by aspiring martial artists. Upon their death, they left a grand legacy behind that would inspire the future generations.

Although martial arts is used mainly for combat and self-defense, it also a way to express yourself, releasing your inner spirit through a quick and powerful kinetic motion. It is to focus on yourself, to train yourself in a discipline and truly grow as a person. But, it is up to the individual to decide what martial arts means to them, because that is what martial arts is.

There were no other person who expressed it better none other than Bruce Lee. Unfortunately, his time on Earth was short-lived. However, fate had other plans for the legend. In which the martial artist had never experienced before.

Void.

It was an all-encompassing darkness that had no end in sight. It was the great silence where one can be truly lost in the emptiness. Yet, it the midst of the surrounding black chasm was a dimly lit ember. The ember crackled throughout the void like fire wood.

It was small and weak. One small blow could snuff out the flame in an instant.

Suddenly, the flame grew brighter. Then, the flame slowly grew in size. First, a small campfire, then a large blaze bigger than an average house. A mighty roar suddenly echoed throughout the void as a dragon, born from flames, rose up into the darkness with great defiance as if it wasn't ready to give up just yet.

The dragon breathed out a pillar of fire, blasting the endless void into a fiery world.

Then, everything turned blank.

Bruce Lee's eyes suddenly snapped back open, and he quickly sat back up. Bruce looked around and found himself in an alleyway in the dark of night. The moon stood right above, and its soft light caressed the buildings beside him. It was cold and quiet, a far cry from the bustling streets of Hong Kong he was very familiar with.

He had difficulty understanding the situation he was in.

"Where am I?" Bruce mumbled to himself, standing back up again. He wiped the dirt and grime off of his pants. He remembered being at Betty Ting's apartment, going over the script of Game of Death with her until he mysteriously blacked out. Now he woke up in some random alleyway.

Did Betty do something to him? Was it the Triads? Why would they leave him out in the some dirty alleyway? He didn't looked hurt. Not a single cut or bruise on him. Strange. Bruce Lee needed answers.

Suddenly, Bruce heard footsteps behind him, and he quickly turned around. His brows furrowed as he heard multiple footsteps echoed from the umbra of moonlight. He couldn't see who was there, but, he could see their shadows, veering out from the depths of darkness like ghastly spirits in rippling black.

Then, three thugs appeared with malicious smiles, dressed in rags and oversized hoodies.. Bruce Lee glanced down and frowned a bit. They had knives in their hands, old with tinges of rust. Then, his sharp eyes looked directly at their faces. These guys weren't Chinese. They were a mix of white and black.

'Shouldn't this be Hong Kong? Why are there foreigners lurking in a place like this?' Bruce Lee thought to himself.

"Hand over your wallet unless ya wanna get cut up," one of them pointed his knife at him.

"Who are you? What are you guys doing in Hong Kong?" Bruce Lee slowly asked.

"The hell?" The thug responded. "Did you get lost digging your way out of China, Chinaman?"

Bruce Lee clenched his fist in anger. He despised racism with every part of his being. Bruce watched silently as the thugs laughed at him, throwing racial slurs in the mix. However, he remained calm and analyzed the situation before him. He could back out of the fight and avoid any trouble, but Bruce wanted to teach these fools a hard lesson. Besides, he needed some answers out of these fools.

So, he waited.

"Why don't we just fuck this yellow bitch up and take his wallet!"

"Try not to leave him dead, Roy; I don't want the cops on our tails,"

Suddenly, one of the thugs charged at Bruce, aiming his knife at him with the intent to kill. Bruce simply scoffed; he threw a lightning-fast kick, quickly disarming the thug in an instant. The man didn't even have time to react before he was knocked out with a vicious right hook to the jaw.

It was quick work for the legend. Bruce sat down on the unconscious thug as he looked over at the remaining two. His hands folded over his nose as he patiently waited for them to attack him again. The hooligans stood there stunned; their friend had been put to sleep just like that.

They expected this guy to be easy, but that wasn't the case. Not at all. Did they fuck up?

"Well?" Bruce taunted them. "What are you waiting for? Come at me."

"You think you're some kind of fuckin' badass?!"

The remaining two thugs charged at him in rage. They wanted to slice him into pieces for humiliating them. Bruce Lee quickly rolled out of the way as a sharp blade came down on him. The low life did not give up and kept attacking him, swinging his knife in erratic fashion. However, Bruce was calm, simply dodging everything without a drop a sweat.

It was time to end this little fight.

With incredible speed, he landed a thunderous kick at the thug's chin. The lowlife dropped like a sack of potatoes, finally getting some good night's sleep. Now there was only one scumbag left that Bruce would have to deal with. The remaining thug shook in fear as Bruce slowly approached him. He stumbled backwards and planted himself against a brick wall.

"Wait, man, I-I'm sorry!" He immediately apologized. "Please, man, don't hurt me!"

Bruce Lee picked the scumbag off of the ground by his collar and spoke in a low voice, "Now you tell me this: where am I?"

"In Gotham City!"

"Gotham City?" He repeated. "What country is Gotham City in?"

The thug thought this guy was either an idiot or had lost all of his marbles. But, he responded to him anyways in fear of his life, "Y-ya don't know? It's in America, man! Can ya let me go now?"

Bruce knocked the man out cold with a quick punch before he dropped him on the floor. His mind was filled with confusion as several unanswered questions popped up. How did he get back to America? Who brought him here? He would need to investigate. And so, he dusted himself off and quietly left they alleyway.

Soon after he left, an elusive, shadowy figure quietly landed in the alleyway. The moonlight revealed the anonymous person to be a woman in a black tight suit that closely resembled a bat. Her full red hair fluttered with the wind as she knelt down to investigate the three unconscious thugs.

"Looks like whoever did this seem to have some skill," Batgirl said to herself.

She heard the faint echoes of a fight from the distance, but it seemed that she was too late to catch the guy who did this. For a moment, she thought Batman was taking on some of Penguin's henchman, but it looked like that wasn't the case at all. These guys looked like your average low lives in Gotham.

"Batgirl, you there?" A static, deep voice reverberated from Batgirl's earpiece.

"Yeah, I'm here, Batman," she quickly responded, pressing the earpiece in her ear with two fingers.

"Penguin's men are bringing in illegal weapons to the city through the docks; I need you and Robin to go down there and stop them."

"On it."

Batgirl took one final look at the open streets just up ahead before she grabbed her grapple gun. She pulled the trigger, and the hooks immediately latched themselves onto the edge of a nearby rooftop. In an instant, she had disappeared from the scene without anyone noticing a thing.

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