Repercussions
Matt is staying the night at Stark Tower.
On the way there he managed to wrangle a spare mask from Peter to protect his identity from the other Avengers, and now he’s sitting in the MedBay while Tony organises sleeping arrangements. His Daredevil suit is being used as evidence, however he has been given a set of sweatpants and a T-shirt from Steve that hang loosely over his body.
Clint is sat on the bed next to him. Matt can hear the mechanical whirring of his brand-new hearing aids, and is glad that he can communicate with the Avenger much more effectively now.
“Matt…I think we need to tell the others what happened,” Clint says slowly, as if not to spook him.
“What good would it do, Clint?” Matt asks sharply. “We told them they wanted to use our DNA to make assassins, and they found the other people too, so why do they need to know the specifics of me?”
“But what if you’re…?”
Matt turns to face the man. He doesn’t want to discuss this with Clint; however, he knows that he should considering he would be the father of the child.
“If I am, then I will decide what I am going to do. I don’t want the Avengers treating me like some fragile doll.”
“Whatever you decide, I’ll be here for you.”
“Thank you,” Matt responds, placing his hand over Clint’s.
…
Once situated in his own room, Matt pulls out the cellphone Tony gave him. He struggles at first to get it on, but once he has enabled the accessibility features it becomes easier. Peter, Natasha, and Wanda know that Matt is blind, however he insisted that his identity be kept a secret to the rest of the Avengers. He’s already lost so much, that he would rather have this one thing for himself.
He dials the number he knows from heart.
“Hello, you have reached Nelson, Murdock and Page, how may we help you?” Karen says smoothly into the phone.
Matt doesn’t realise how much he’s missed her voice until he hears it.
“Hello?” Karen repeats, when Matt says nothing. And then, like she knows, she says, “Mattie?”
Matt stifles a sob. “Karen!”
“Oh my God! Foggy! Get in here!” Karen is shouting, and Matt hears Foggy charging into the room. The phone is fumbled with slightly, and then Matt hears the tell-tale click of being put on speakerphone.
“Matt! Where have you been?” Foggy practically yells into the phone. His heart is beating so loudly that Matt can hear it through the speaker.
“It’s a…uh…long story, but I’m at Stark Tower. I was kidnapped, a little, but I’m fine now.”
“Kidnapped?” Karen says in disbelief.
“Kidnapped,” Matt responds calmly. He’s rocking back and forth of the balls of his feet, anxious. “I’m staying the night here, but I would really appreciate it if you could come over. I’m going to tell Tony that I have people coming-”
“We’re heading over right now!” Foggy exclaims. “We’ll be fifteen minutes, Mattie!”
When they hang up, Matt allows himself to smile. He walks over to the desk in the room and picks up the plain black mask he had Natasha drop off earlier. He places it over his head, happy to have ditched the Spiderman mask, and unlocks the door to the room.
“JARVIS?” Matt asks to the room, feeling ridiculous.
“Yes, Daredevil?” the voice responds from a speaker somewhere in the room.
“Um, I have some people coming over. Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. Can you let them in and tell them I’m going to be in the kitchen? Also, please tell Tony that I know them!”
“Of course, Daredevil,” replies JARVIS.
Matt nods, as if the computer would acknowledge this, and steps out of the apartment. He knows the general route to the kitchen, mainly because he is following where the strongest scents are in the building. He runs his hands over the walls as he makes his way there, happy to be allowed to walk around freely.
He can hear chatter in the kitchen. Matt did not realise that this kitchen was attached to the communal lounge, and he can hear people watching TV and playing cards. He opens the door to the room and steps inside, surveying his surroundings.
Everything goes quiet.
“M-Daredevil!” Clint exclaims when he sees him. Matt can hear him hurrying towards him, and soon he has an arm wrapped around his shoulders. “How are you doing?”
“Better than I was a day ago,” responds Matt with a grin. Clint guides him casually towards the kitchen counter, and Matt rests his hands on the cool marble countertop. “You?”
“Surviving,” replies Clint. “Are you wanting anything to eat? We have pasta, sandwiches, cereal?”
“Um, a sandwich would be good.”
“Tuna?” interjects Wanda. She’s standing in front of the open fridge, inspecting the contents.
Matt pulls a face. “Tuna is disgusting. I can taste all the chemicals from the cans.”
“Hmm, is fine for me,” replies the witch as she pulls the can from the shelf. With a twist of her wrist the can is opening, and Matt is affronted with the smell of fish. Immediately, his mouth fills with saliva and he feels like he is going to be sick.
Shit.
“Bathroom?” asks Matt with an edge of urgency to his voice, to which Clint grabs his arm and quickly shoos him across the lounge. They push through a door, and Clint locks it behind him.
Matt heads towards the smell of the toilet bowl and immediately vomits into it. He’s on his knees and is clutching the cool porcelain of the bowl.
“Buddy, I think we need to take a test,” says Clint quietly from behind him.
“You think?”