Blindsided

It all started with Tony Stark seeking him out in Hell’s Kitchen.

He’d just saved a teenaged girl from an attempted assault when he perched himself on top of a rooftop.

The sound of something mechanic coming closer filled his eardrums and feelings of annoyance and confusion made him ignore the suit as it landed on the rooftop. He knew exactly who it was, had heard Iron Man’s suit enough times, both on tv and from a distance, to recognise it.

Matt hadn’t signed the Accords and he wanted to stay out of Avenger business as long as he could. He didn’t want to deal with them, he wasn’t a hero.

Stark had said they needed his help. Nobody knew Hell’s Kitchen like him and they had reason to believe that Hydra had set up shop there.

Matt had been reluctant, Hydra was dangerous and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be on their radar but they were operating out of his city. That pissed him off.

So he agreed to help them and in return, the Avengers wouldn’t make him sign the Accords or question his methods.

Looking back, he should have let them deal with it alone.

And that brings us to the moment it went to shit.

He and Captain America had been scouring the premises for a way in when they were ambushed. Their intell was wrong, the base was supposed to be abandoned but more and more men seemed to come out of nowhere.

They’d already lost contact with Natasha and Clint.

Matt could hear Tony’s repulsors somewhere and it sounded like he was rather busy as well.
Captain America and him did a good job at staying alive but there were simply too many men for them to keep up.

That’s how Matt woke up in a cold and damp basement, tied to a chair with the other Avengers in similar positions around him.

He could hear at least three of them were awake, Steve, Natasha and Clint.

Tony was still unconscious but he was fine, his heartbeat was steady.

“Everyone okay?” Steve asked.

Matt knew that his mask was off so he kept his eyes closed, evening his breathing. He didn’t want the others to see his eyes, they’d already seen his face.

“As fine as I can be while tied to a chair,” Clint mumbled, his hearing aid crackled as it received Steve’s words.

Natasha mumbled something similar. She was working on the ropes on her hands. Matt could head them scraping and twisting, digging into her skin.

Heavy footsteps echoed in a hallway and Matt tilted his head in that direction.

A door opened to the basement they were in and three men walked in.

They smelled of paint and chemicals.

“Wakey wakey!” a heavy voice said. It was clear that he was the leader, simply by the tone in his voice. “Captain, why don’t I start with you? Any guesses as to why you’re here?”

Matt had to give it to Steve, his heartrate stayed the same even though Matt knew he was angry.

“SHIELD,” Steve filled in.

The man clapped his hands together and Matt supressed a wince.

“Very good, ten points to Gryffindor!” The man walked closer to them until he was standing in the middle of their circle. “Looks like not everyone’s wake for the show yet. Wake them up.”

The other two men came closer as well. One of them walked over to Matt, who was still pretending to be out. The other walked over to Tony and the sound of skin on skin echoed through the room followed by a groan.

The man that was next to Matt let out a chuckle and Matt had to suppress the urge to jump out of the way of the hand that reached for his hair.

His head was pulled back and a fist collided with his nose. He remained silent and when the man leaned in, he threw his head forward.

A sickening crunch filled the room and Matt bit back a smirk as a coppery smell filled his nostrils.

“Fucking hell!” The man exclaimed before his fist once again collided with Matt’s face.

Matt still didn’t react, just passively took the beating and after the first few punches it almost felt comforting. The coppery taste of blood dripped onto his lips.

Their leader let out a sigh. “Keep him alive, yeah?” he said before he turned back to Steve. “Where were we? Oh, right. Yes, I want the SHIELD’s operating secrets and you’re going to tell me all about it.”

“I can’t do that,” Steve said. His heartrate had picked up, as had the heartrates of the others, as they watched Matt get beaten.

The leader laughed. “I was hoping you’d say that. Let’s see how you feel in a few minutes,” he said.
The man that beat Matt raised his fist and Matt prepared himself for the impact. The fist collided with his stomach and then his chest.

A gasp left his lips and he struggled against the ropes around his chest.

The beating continued, the fists colliding with either his chest, his face or his stomach. Blood was pouring out of his nose and he spit out a mouthful of blood.

He panted, his head lulling to the side but he never made a sound.

The others were yelling at their attackers, and Natasha was struggling against her bonds.

When the punches stopped, Matt let his lips curl in a smirk. “’S that all you got?” he breathed out.

“Oh, on the contrary, Mr Daredevil,” the leader spoke up before he turned back to Steve. “This can go on for so much longer. You’ve got three other very compatible teammates who my men would love to deal with if you need any more incentive.”

“Do your worst,” Tony spoke up.

A movement suggested that the leader moved his hand and the man that was beating on Matt stepped away, wiping his hand off on his pants. He moved to the left, to where Black Widow was sitting.

Matt knew where this was going and he tried to tune out, instead focusing on the sounds outside of their room.

He heard at least forty different heartbeats on the first level and the level they were on. It was a bit more difficult to hear beyond that, something was blocking the noises and he couldn’t seem to focus.

Eventually he had to give up, and he tuned back in on the conversation around him.

“Well that was disappointing.” The leader spoke as Clint’s groans filled the room. “I can’t say it’s surprising, though.” The air shifted around him and Matt suspected that he pointed at something.

The door opened again and two other men walked in. They were carrying something. Matt couldn’t figure out what it was but by the sounds of multiple heartrates picking up, it couldn’t be good.

“Let’s see, who to start with,” the leader mused. By the sound of it, he was rubbing his hand over his chin. His skin scraped against the hairs on his chin and Matt grimaced. He hated that sound. “Why don’t we start with newest addition to the Avengers? Give him a warm welcome.”

“No!” Steve called as two footsteps walked over to Matt.

As they got closer, a strong smell hit his nostrils and his eyes widened as he recognised it.

A hand gripped his hair, pulling his head back.

He struggled, trying to get his head free.

A lid was removed and the smell of chemicals hit his enhanced senses like a bomb.

The chemicals sissled as something was added to it and the smell brought tears to Matt’s eyes.

“Keep his eyes open,” The leader ordered, moving closer.

Two pair of fingers touched his face and pried his eyes open and Matt flinched but he couldn’t move his head.

“Last chance, Captain,” The leader said.

“Steve, don’t,” Matt heard himself say. “I can take it.”

“I can’t-“ Steve said, his voice defeated. “I’m sorry.”

The leader hummed. “Well, that’s too bad. Please don’t take this personal, Mr Devil,” he said and Matt heard the first drop fall before it even made contact with his eyes

The next thing he knew was pain. Excruciating pain. He struggled, twisting against the ropes, buckling in the chair. He shook his head, tried to close his eyes but he had nowhere to go.

It was like he was back in his nine-year-old self, when the chemicals first touched his eyes and took his sight away from him.

Someone was screaming, he was screaming. His senses were in overdrive but all he felt was pain. So much pain.

The acid kept coming, they poured it into his eyes until his voice had died, until he couldn’t take the pain anymore.

They didn’t stop until he went still, his body giving up. Until he slipped into a peaceful unconsciousness.