Don't Fear the Reaper [OPEN]

[Daniel Rand]

"You know, when you stop being frightened, time really is on your side.
And you can just go on being you." - John Dorian, Scrubs

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Daniel Rand sat comfortably in his office at Rand International. The young man was an entrepreneur just like his father. Danny was the head of a multi-million dollar corporation based out of New York City. The young man was capable to say the very least. He'd made something of himself. He'd done both his father and his mother proud. The young man sat silently as he leaned backwards in his chair. He thought about how far he'd come. How much he'd struggled. How much he'd overcome. The young man was thankful for all that he had been afforded. Thankful for all he'd been taught. Danny was thankful most of all for his second chance at life.

Daniel Rand owed that second chance to the great city of K'un L'un. Such a great city... And virtually nobody actually knew it existed. Danny smirked slightly. It was ironic. Would things be different if K'un L'un had a constant physical presence on the Earthly plane? Would life as most people knew it change at all if K'un L'un appeared more than once every ten years? The questions plagued Danny's mind today. The young man was more than curious to be quite frank.

As the young man sat in his desk chair, Danny stared out the window silently. He held a pen in his hand and idly flipped it between his fingers. As Daniel sat there he thought about all that was wrong in the world right now. He thought about everything that was going on in his life. The studio and how all the children's lives would be affected. Danny could tell that a storm was brewing. He didn't know what was going to happen... But he had a feeling that something bad was on the horizon. Danny eyed the pen slightly before setting it down on the desk.

With the sun setting, the young man stood up and loosened the tie that had been sitting snugly around his neck and removed it. The young man unbutton the top button of his shirt and headed for the elevator. Once there, Danny took the elevator to the lobby of Rand International and headed for the street. With a smirk on his face, Danny meandered down the block. He wasn't entirely sure as to what exactly he was looking for or what tonight would bring... However, the young man did feel as though he needed a drink. There was a lot weighing on his mind and he felt as though he needed something to take the edge off... Even if it were going to be temporary.

The young man rounded the corner and walked for a while. After about ten minutes, Danny headed into a bar on the corner of the street. The young man headed inside and took a seat at the bar. "Makers, neat. And make it a double please." With a nod, the young girl set to work and Danny smiled kindly for a moment. With the drink set in front of him, Danny took it and closed his eyes before taking a nice refreshing sip. It was exactly what he needed right now.[/blockquote]

[Tony Stark]

It had been a few weeks since the fiasco that the Stark Expo had turned into and they were still no where near figuring out who attacked Tony. And they were even further from figuring out who it was behind the attacks. The only thing that they knew was that one of them stated that there were more where the first batch came from.

The only sliver lining to this was the fact that they hadn't demolished the arc reactor. That was lucky enough to escape the attacks unscathed and was now tucked away safely at the Stark Industries H.Q. under a constant twenty four hour watch. Tony could not shake the feeling that whoever had come to kill him a few weeks ago was because they either wanted the arc reactor or they wanted to destroy it. That reactor was one of the greatest things that Tony had been apart of and he would be damned if anyone was going to take it from him.

Much like Tony was worried about the reactor, Pepper and Rhodey were not too pleased that Tony was out about about on his own. The way Tony looked at it, there were people in this world that were just as smart as he was that could continue on where he left off. Also, Tony knew how to take care of himself, he proved that when he stopped the last of the trio of motorcycle riding guns for hire with nothing but his Italian leather loafers.

After the attack, Tony was making all the rounds on the talk show circuits. Good Morning America followed by Today followed Late Night with David Letterman. Tomorrow it was back to Los Angeles for Conan and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. They wanted to show that nothing could stop Tony Stark from living his life, which was his third reason as to why he was walking into a bar by himself.

Tony spotted someone that was ringing some bells in his head. He looked really familiar, like Tony had met him before. He over heard him ordering a double of Maker's Mark. Tony walked up to the bar, eying the young girl for a quick second before placing his own order. "Oldest scotch you got, on the rocks and what the hell, make mine a double as well. Put both drinks on my tab, too."

This drink had been long over due and Tony was going to enjoy every sip of it. And for whatever reason, he was feeling a little generous at the moment.

[Thor Odinson]

Donald Blake had a long day. A woman had died this day, despite his best efforts to keep that from happening. She was a matronly woman, who reminded Donald of his own mother. He had spoken to her shortly after the woman's passing. Still, he felt awful about what he percieved to be a failure. Jane had told him not to be hard on himself, but he couldn't help feeling responsible. The woman had put herself in his hand, her life in his hands. And he had failed her trust. Days like this, he felt he was hardly worthy of the title doctor. He needed a drink. Walking through the streets of Manhattan, he found an establishment to serve that need.


"Makers, neat. And make it a double please."


Donald noted the young man at the bar was certainly not the sort he figured to frequent these places, but he didn't know the whole story of what brought him here. Then, again, he remembered that some folks just drank for fun. He didn't understand that really. He tended to drink rarely, on days like this. As Donald approached the bar another gentlemen had made his entrance. He was a cocky one, and his face was familiar. He was Tony Stark, naturally. Well, today he gets to meet the famous Tony Stark. How wonderful. Donald didn't give a shit.

Not today.


When the bartender had served the other two patrons, Donald gave her his without much ado. What was the point? This was a business relationship, anyway.

"Guinness, tall," Donald said. He had no interest in hard liquors, something about beer just felt...right. Like it was part of who he was. That was odd, because he had never really been even a beer drinker most of his life. Not even in college. Well, today he didn't give a shit.

[Sierra Fleming]

Sierra needed a break from her boys. This was the perfect time. She was wearing a low cut, black V-neck tank top and a pair of blue skinny jeans that showe doff her curves nicely. Her feet were adorned with 4-inch black heels. The higher the heel, the closer to god in her mind. She twirled herself around in front of her mirror for a moment, before gently rubbing her hands along her sides. Sierra purposely inhaling in such a way to make her bust look larger than it really was. Second to her children, her breasts were her most important aspect to her. Sierra giggled quietly and headed on outside. The kids had put in their room already, having had supper. She knew they'd fall asleep soon.

Sierra smiled as she walked over to the local bar and opened the door. She looked around for a few moments. Some boys who had been looking her way already, their eyes were staring at her bosum. Sierra rolled her eyes. She loved her set of twins, but sometimes the attention was a bit too much. She walked on over to the bar.

"White Russian, please" She said with a warm smile. Her elbows leaned on the bar, her back arching inward in a rather cat-like fashion, as she shifted her weight in her heels, allowing a nice view of her rear if anyone so happened to be looking in that direction.

//teehee, gotta love Sierra's unintentional flirting XD//

[Daniel Rand]

"You know, when you stop being frightened, time really is on your side.
And you can just go on being you." - John Dorian, Scrubs

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There was something itching at the depths of Daniel Rand's mind. The young man didn't know what it was... But he just couldn't place it. Something was bothering him. Danny just couldn't place it. Sure, just when he least expected it, it would probably smack him in the face. That was the way life worked for Danny. When he was least expecting it, Danny was sure that it was going to come right back to bite him in the ass. That's the way Danny's life had been for a while. Knock after knock... Danny had been bitten by bad luck. It seemed to follow him like a bad shadow. The young man couldn't believe it. All starting with the death of his parents at age nine. Now twenty years later, Danny was on his own. He was used to it. But quite frankly, the young man liked being by himself. There was less of a chance to harm people that way. That was the last thing Danny ever wanted. He hated putting others in the face of danger.

As Danny meandered down the streets of New York he let his mind wander. The young man lets his mind stray from here to there and almost every where in between. He wasn't sure what lay ahead of him. It had been months since he had even looked at the traditional garb of the Iron Fist. Lei-Kung would be very disappointed in him. Danny was meant to be a protector. Quite frankly though, Danny was doing a terrible job. Lei-Kung had instilled within him the skills necessary for protecting an entire other world. K'un-L'un was a mystical city on another plane of existence. The doorway only appeared once every decade... Danny had been the protector of that world... Yet, he was shirking in his responsibilities on this world...

The young man headed into the bar and sat down in the bar stool facing the bar. Danny went straight for the bourbon and ordered a double Maker's, neat. The young man liked the way it tasted. It was crisp and refreshing. Danny loved everything about it. With a smirk on his face as he downed the first sip, Danny eyed the first newcomer... He recognized the man immediately... To be honest, it was hard not to. Standing beside him was fellow billionaire, Tony Stark. Danny eyed Tony for a moment as he ordered a double scotch on the rocks and put both drinks on his tab. As Tony grasped his drink, Danny turned to him for a moment and raised his glass to Tony. "Cheers... Next round is on me." For a moment, Danny paused slightly as he eyed Tony before extending his hand. "We met once... Daniel Rand." As the next two people entered the bar and ordered their drinks, a Guinness and a White Russian, Danny eyed the bartender. "Those two are on me." For a moment, Danny smiled slightly and raised his glass to the blonde man and the blonde woman. "Cheers." With that, Danny took another sip of his bourbon and smiled slightly, letting the smooth taste of the liquor take the edge off.[/blockquote]

[Tony Stark]

Daniel Rand, that was it. Tony instantly recalled the time that he and Danny had met before; it was at some party with other billionaires. Quite frankly, Tony goes to a lot of those parties and rarely recalls anyone that he met there; he only remembers the important people. Daniel Rand was pretty damn important in Tony's book.

"I remember us talking about business last time we had a couple of drinks in our hands," Tony said, clinking his scotch with Danny's whiskey. "Hopefully - one day - we can continue that talk," Tony said taking a generous sip of his scotch. There was quite literally nothing better after a long day than a nice scotch to warm the belly.

Tony was not in the mood to discuss business, mostly because that's what he's been doing for the past couple of days. Business, financial figures, company stock and the like were the last things on his mind. From the way Danny looked, he himself wasn't even mildly interested in discussing business. For the most part, the two of them had thrown up a big middle finger to their day jobs.

Much like Tony had picked up Danny's drink, Danny had picked up the drink of a guy who that long day look about him and a very curvy, very sultry blonde. You could not, should not, and are not very surprised that Tony Stark's attention was grabbed by the blonde that was sitting on the bar.

"It was a good to see ya again, Danny," Tony said with a sly smile and a firm pat on Danny's back. It maybe took all of thirty seconds for Tony to see the blonde, excuse himself and walk up to her with all the confidence in the world. Tony could kick himself for being so slow.

"Hi . . . I'm Tony Stark," That was all Tony Stark said, sometimes, it was all he needed to say. He was Tony Stark, after all.

[Sierra Fleming]

"Thanks, babe" Sierra said with a playful wink at the bartender before taking a small shot of her alcohol. Mmmmmm. She needed this. After dealing with three, young boys. She sat herself down and smiled to herself, hearing a man introduce herself. Wait, wait wait. TONY STARK? The voice rang in her head like fresh morning bells. Isn't he the guy that sells weapons? She thought curious to herself. Sierra held her gaze on the glass for the two seconds that these two thoughts ran in her head.

"Hello, I'm Sierra Fleming" Sierra introduced herself, twisting around in the chair so she could see him. She smiled an inviting smiling and crossed her arms under her bosum to make the twins, look, well, larger than they really were. "I'm a chiropractor" She said simply. She knew how to get just about every kind of ache and pain out of the body. She took a careful sip out of her glass before gently placing it down on the bar table.

[Thor Odinson]

The two businessmen exchanged words and introductions, and Donald ignored them. He was worried about the beer in his hand, and it was all good because of that. That's when Tony Stark decided to be magnanimous, and bought everyone their drinks. No skin off Don's back. He was not poor, but he wasn't a billionaire either. He was still new to the whole doctor thing, and so he was good with a free round of beers now and again, even if he didn't like the guy paying for them too much.

Sure, he was a new man, Tony Stark, but his past was problematic all the same. He sold war, and violence and death. That was not something Donald agreed with. He was a healer, not a warrior. He couldn't see how a man could sleep at night, with blood on their hands. Maybe it was the guilt that had changed Tony Stark. It didn't matter. Donald Blake had his own guilt to deal with. He had blood on his hands, but it wasn't something he sought. That was the difference between the two men. Tony had a long way to go to prove his worth. Don Blake had been a worthy physician so far, so he thought. Today was a test to see if he was worthy himself. Maybe they weren't so different...

Daniel Rand was a mystery to Donald. He was a billionaire, yes, but he had not been so much in the public eye lately. Compared to Stark, anyway. He seemed a decent fellow, and Donald wouldn't mind sharing a drink with him. Maybe he would buy a round for the guys. Jane would not approve. He didn't give two fucks right now, however.

That's about when she walked in. Not Jane, but a blond girl with a cat-like poise. She was intriguing to say the least, and Tony wasted no time approaching her. She said her name was Sierra Fleming, and that she was a chiropractor. Donald snorted.

"Easy job choice there," Blake said, " Try being a surgeon. Holding life in your hands. You know something? There is no preparation good enough for when someone dies under the knife..."

"Okay bajillionaire club," He said to the two with big bank accounts, " You gotta let me buy a round, just because it's fair. So what brings you folks to this fine establishment?"

[Daniel Rand]

"You know, when you stop being frightened, time really is on your side.
And you can just go on being you." - John Dorian, Scrubs

[/i][/size]

Something had been irking Danny. It was an itch he couldn't quite scratch. The young man didn't know what it was or how he could get rid of it... Something was bothering him though. Danny didn't know what or why... But the young man did know that he couldn't just ignore it forever. Deep down inside, Danny knew that this was something that couldn't be ignored... For now though, the young man felt pretty damn content ignoring whatever the hell it was that was bugging him. Danny didn't exactly like being like that... It wasn't in his nature to act that way... Sure, no one else knew it... But Danny was shirking his responsibilities. He had been for some while now... And it was finally starting to catch up with him.

As Danny left the office that evening, the young man found himself meandering through the streets of New York City. He didn't have any particular direction in mind. He didn't have a set destination. Danny was just walking. The young man liked doing this. For as long as he had lived in New York City, he still hadn't been everywhere... He hadn't seen everything this grand city had to offer. It was funny almost. No matter how hard he tried, Danny doubted that he'd actually be able to see and experience everything the city had to offer. Every corner he turned offered a new experience. The city kept him on his toes and Danny loved that.

Danny eventually made his way into a bar. It was nothing special. Just the kind of hole in a wall that the young man felt like he could call home for a few hours. As Danny sat at the bar, he was soon joined by a familiar face. Tony Stark had taken the seat beside Danny. As they spoke, Danny smirked slightly. It was true. The last time they had spoke, they had been speaking about business. Danny didn't feel like talking about business and it seemed as though Stark felt the same way. "Looking forward to it, Tony." For a moment, Danny focused back on his bourbon as Tony focused in on the young woman that was standing near them. The young man smirked again as he enjoyed the cool warmth of the bourbon.

As the man beside him spoke, Danny turned slightly and looked at him. By the way he spoke, it seemed as though he was having a bad day. Danny didn't know the guy, but he felt badly for him. With a soft smile, Danny pat the blonde man beside him on the shoulder for a moment. He didn't know what had happened, but it seemed to be weighing heavily on him. The young man nodded slightly as the guy claimed that he had the next round. Danny smirked slightly for a moment as he thought about why he was actually here in the bar. "Just getting through the day, I suppose... How about yourself?"[/blockquote]

[Tony Stark]

When people are in a place like this, they've are in a place like this to drown the day in alcohol. This was far from one of those 'hot spots' that all the kids talk about, looking to hook up with anyone willing to. No, this was a god honest bar. You didn't come here looking to get in good with someone you find attractive, you've come here to pour a little booze on a hard day.

However, if you happen to be Anthony Stark, you do what want no matter the setting.

Besides, you couldn't really fault Tony for spotting the blonde that walked in like she owned the place. She was extremely easy on the eyes and walked with an air of confidence around her; something that Tony knows all about. Daniel was certainly not going to hold it against Tony for doing what Tony does. Whatever business that the two men were going to talk about would come at a later date.

"Chiropractor Sierra Fleming," Tony repeated. He stopped to take a quick glance at her hands, wondering how strong and skillful they were. It was very tempting to look at the assets she was putting on full display. It was very tempting for any man, but Tony wasn't like any man.

Before Tony could really say anything before, the television caught his attention when they began mentioning the Stark Expo. Tony's disposition quickly changed from one of joy to one of complete annoyance. He was getting really tired of hearing about the Stark Expo and what people thought was the night Tony Stark almost died.

"Barkeep, ya mind?" Tony said, using his drinking hand to motion towards the television. Thankfully, the bartender obligied Tony and flipped to the next channel that was also talking about the Stark Expo. Tony rolled his eyes, letting out a annoyed groan as he plopped himself down on the bar stool next to Sierra.

"That's a pretty good start," Tony answered the good doctor's question. "I mean, they barely messed up my hair let alone actually killing me and everyone can't shut up about it," Tony said as he polished off his drink.

Suddenly, he wasn't really in the mood for anything but a good night of drinking.