 Randall, living in drug-soaked seclusion, is pursued by agents of the Steel Serpent and the terrorist group HYDRA.Jolted out of his decades-long ennui, Randall seeks out Daniel Rand in New York and gives him The Book of the Iron Fist, a sacred ledger supposedly containing all the Kung-fu secrets of previous Iron Fists, which Randall claims will be necessary if Rand is to compete successfully in the coming Tournament of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven.The Steel Serpent, whose powers have been greatly augmented by Crane Mother, a ruler of another timeless city, quickly dispatches Randall in single combat.