A year later, Elektra and her father were kidnapped by terrorists. A rescue attempt by Matt went wrong, and Hugo Natchios was gunned down. Elektra lost faith and hope. She quit Columbia and returned to China to study martial arts. Stick, a member of the benevolent organization called the Chaste, recognized the darkness in her soul and attempted to train her himself, but she ultimately sided with the Hand, a sect of mystical ninja who trained her as an assassin. She later broke away from them and became an independent agent, and in this role she again encountered Matt Murdock, who was now active as Daredevil. She defeated Daredevil in her mission to kill the criminal Alarich Wallenquist. However, she failed her assignment, and Daredevil had to save her from being killed by Eric Slaughter, revealing his secret identity to her in the process. Although the pair worked together to fight the Hand, they also came into conflict frequently.