Blindsided

The Avengers couldn’t do anything but watch as their attackers kept pouring acid into Daredevil’s eyes. His screams were of pure pain, raw and heart wrenching and none of them could do a damn thing.

Then everything went quiet. Daredevil went still, his head slumping back and he stopped struggling.

Natasha let out a soft gasp, worry filling her chest.

The leader took the syringe from Daredevil’s eyes, stepping back to look at the Avengers. He shrugged. “Hey, you were the one who didn’t want to talk,” he said.

“Why,” Clint breathed out, his voice hoarse from screaming curses.

The leader didn’t answer. He turned to the men holding Daredevil. “Take him away, make sure he doesn’t die,” he said.

“What are you going to do with him?” Tony asked, watching helplessly as Daredevil was dragged out of the room. Guilt was all he could feel. It was his fault that Daredevil was here in the first place.

“Ah, he’ll be fine,” the leader said. “His eyes, though, might not be.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Natasha promised, her eyes dark and dangerous.

The man pouted. “Why so mean? You could’ve easily stopped it from happening.”

“I’m not telling you anything,” Steve growled, tugging at his restraints. He swore he felt them getting looser.

“Well, if you want your friend to stay alive then you’re going to have to make a choice, Captain,” the man smirked. “See, I’m the only one who can make sure he pulls through. I could have my men take care of him or I could let the acid do its job of destroying his nerve system. I’d be more than happy to give him another dose if you’d like.”

Steve narrowed his eyes but stayed quiet. He couldn’t give in but he also didn’t want Daredevil to suffer more.

“I’ll give you some time to think about it, though I would have figured the choice would be easy enough.” The man shrugged and left the room.

As soon as he was gone, Steve let his head drop. “What did I do,” he whispered.

“Hey, none of that!” Natasha said. “This is not your fault.”

“Nat’s right,” Tony spoke up. “It’s mine. I dragged him into this, I didn’t give him a choice.”

Steve raised his head to look at his friend.

Clint sighed. “The only person who’s to blame is the asshole that poured acid into that man’s eyes,” he said.
*

Daredevil was never brought back into their cell.

They could hear his screams, though.

“What are they doing to him?” Clint asked, his voice close to a whisper.

It had been at least two days since their capture and nobody had entered the cell since.

“He’s giving us the incentive,” Tony muttered, straining against the ropes in a futile manner. They’d all tried that.

“But why focus on him?” Natasha frowned. To her, the obvious torture tactic was to split them up and torture them individually. The chances of someone slipping up and confessing were so much bigger.

“He’s the newbie,” Steve said. “He’s not used to the things we deal with and I think HYRDA thinks they can break him.”

“If he hasn’t already then I don’t think he’s going to,” Tony admitted. “The guy’s tough.”

“Yeah,” Steve muttered, guilt building in his chest. He couldn’t give up SHIELD’s secrets, he just couldn’t.

The only thing Matt was aware of was pain. His eyes burned behind the gauze that was wrapped around his head. He was trapped to a metal surface and he found it difficult to focus on anything else.

Something sharp cut through his flesh and he didn’t hold back his scream. He didn’t have the energy.

A chuckle sounded from his left. Or was it his right? Matt didn’t know.

“You are strong, Mr Daredevil,” the voice spoke up. “But I will break you. It’s just a matter of time.”

Matt grunted. He knew he wasn’t going to give in. Stick had taught him enough to endure the worst of torture and he knew he could take more.

He jolted when a rough hand touched his face, prying open his mouth.

“Open up,” the man said. A strap of leather was placed between his teeth.

Matt tasted old blood on the fabric and he grimaced as he bit down.

The smell of electricity filled the air long before the crackle did and Matt suddenly found himself biting down on the leather as shocks coursed through his body.

His muscles retracted, tensing as his body tried to break free.

His senses became more muffled after that.

*

It was another day before the cavalry showed up. SHIELD came in blazing and the takedown was quick and effective.

“I’ll alert Bruce to have the med bay ready,” Clint said, already connecting his hearing aid to the comm he’d lost.

“Let’s find us a Devil,” Natasha said as she shrugged off the ropes around her.

Tony stretched and held out his hand, ready for his suit to come flying back at him.

Steve cracked his knuckles. “Let’s go.”

They found him on the third floor. Metal straps around his forehead, chest, wrists and legs secured him to the gurney. A white bandage was wrapped poorly around his head, covering his eyes and half his face. The dried blood on his nose and lips was a stark contrast against the pale skin.

His red suit had been cut off on his torso and several deep cuts were scattered over his chest. They’d leave a scar.

Steve didn’t wait and tore off the restraints. He scooped the unconscious man up easily and Natasha called for a medic.

“Let’s get him out of here,” she said, already moving towards the exit.

Steve followed her, guilt heavy in his chest as he listened to the man’s slow heartbeat. He wasn’t sure if he could fix this.

*

When Matt woke up, it was to almost complete silence. This on its own was enough to wake him up out of whatever deep sleep he was in and then the memories of what happened came flooding back in. His hands shot up, touching his face. He was met by a thick pack of gauze wrapped around his eyes. He moved his hands to his ears but felt relief wash over him when they felt intact.

His fingers pried at the gauze, wanting it off. The fabric felt wrong against his skin, too itchy.

“Hey, leave that on,” came a voice. Natasha, Matt thought.

“Natasha?” he croaked. He cleared his throat.

Something cold touched his skin and he jumped, cursing. His senses were muddled and it made it impossible to tell what was going on around him. He winced as he moved and was reminded of the cuts HYDRA’d made on his body.

“It’s okay, it’s just water,” Natasha said, helping him grab the glass. “It’ll help your voice.”

He drank it greedily. The cold liquid felt like heaven on his sore throat. “Where am I?”

“Avengers compound,” she answered.

He heard a chair creak and knew she had sat back down. “What’s the verdict?”

She hesitated. “You have multiple cuts on your chest and several burn marks but Bruce says they’ll heal.”

Matt waited for her to continue but he urged her on when she stayed quiet.

“D,” she hesitated. “Your eyes, I’m sorry, there was nothing the doctors could do.”

Matt let his hands drop, pausing. They didn’t know he’d already been blind, they thought he’d lost his sight because of HYDRA.

His mind ran over multiple scenario’s. One where he could tell them he’d been blind since he was nine and also reveal who he really was. Or he could pretend and keep his identity a secret.

“D, we’re so sorry this happened to you,” she continued, taking his silence as him processing it. “Tony is already working on something to help you. We’ll get you the help you need, anything.”

Matt bit his lip, the taste of his blood still lingered. “I guess that’s it then,” he sighed. His fingers played with the bedsheets.

“We’ll help you, D.”

Matt managed a weak smile but didn’t say anything. He knew that not telling them would most likely come back to bite him but he needed to protect his identity. He needed to protect those close to Matt Murdock.

*

He spent the next three days in the med bay. Dr Banner wanted to keep him there for longer but Matt insisted that he was fine.

“Really, Dr Banner, I’m good,” he said when the doctor examined his eyes again. “I just want to get out of this room.”

Bruce sighed. He removed his glasses and Matt heard him pocket them. “Tony has a room prepared for you at the compound. I’d like for you to stay a while longer, if you can.”

Matt thought for a second. “I’d have to make a few calls,” he answered. “I’m sure my friends are worried where I am.”

“Of course,” Bruce replied. “We found your phone in the pocket of your suit, it’s beside the bed. I’ll give you some privacy.”

When the doctor was gone, Matt heaved himself out of the bed. The stitches of the cuts rubbed against his sweater and he stifled the urge to rip them out.

He pocketed the phone in his sweatpants and felt around the room. There was a chair on either side of the bed and a small cabinet along the wall. He traced his fingers along it to find his way and then followed the wall towards the door.

There were no heartbeats on the floor beside his own and Matt made his way out of the room. He kept one hand on the wall, fingertips grazing the small indents in the paint.

He didn’t know where he was going until he heard the electrical buzzing of the elevator. His fingers found the button and he pressed it, then he stepped in and pressed the button to go downstairs.

His senses were still slightly clogged by the drugs in his system but the smell of a hospital had clung onto his nostrils for too long already. He needed fresh air.

The elevator dinged and matt tilted his head, listening for who came on. He knew they weren’t on the ground floor yet.

The heartbeat of the person who stepped into the elevator was fast and fluttery, there was something off about it but Matt sensed that the person was calm.

“Oh, hi!” the person spoke up. He sounded young and Matt felt like he recognised that voice from somewhere. “I’m Peter. Are you new here? I don’t think we’ve met.”

Matt blinked, acutely aware that he wasn’t wearing his glasses and that his eyes were on full display for the kid.

He knew exactly when the kid figured it out. “Oh, shoot, sorry! Wait, are you the man who Mr Stark told me about? He said he’d saved a man who was now blind because a mission with the Avengers went wrong. Is that you? Are you lost? Can I do anything?”

Matt raised his eyebrows as the kid kept on rambling. “I uh, yeah, that’s me,” he replied when the kid stopped to breathe. “Do you mind showing me the exit? I’d like to go outside for a while.”

“Oh, yeah, sure!” Matt heard him press the button on the elevator and the doors closed.

He listened as the kid kept on rambling about his work with Mr Stark and when the elevator opened again he couldn’t help the small smile at Peter’s enthusiasm.

“I’m holding my arm out, sir,” Peter said.

Matt lifted his hand and found Peter’s arm with ease. He held onto his elbow as Peter led them through the compound.

The sound of birds came closer and Matt felt the air warm up from the sun. That had to mean that there were windows close by.

Peter opened a door and the fresh air hit Matt’s skin. It tickled his heightened senses and he breathed in the smell of nature. It was much better than the artificial air in the med bay.

“Here we are, sir. I should head back, Mr Stark is probably wondering where I am. Do you need anything else?”

“No, thank you, Peter,” Matt smiled, his hand on the wall. He knew exactly where he could go and where everything was but he wasn’t letting Peter know that.

“No problem, sir,” Peter replied. “I’ll be going now, but it was nice meeting you!”

The door closed behind him and Matt waited until he heard Peter get in the elevator before he turned.

He could hear Steve and someone else outside as well, but they were far away and from the sounds of it busy training.

He walked a bit further away from the building, finding a place in the shade and away from prying eyes before he took out the phone.

His fingers automatically called Foggy’s number and he pressed the phone to his ear.

“Matt?”

A sigh of relief exited Matt’s lips at the familiar sound of his best friend’s voice. Since they met, that had been Matt’s lifeline. It was the only thing he could handle when his senses overloaded. The only thing that could make him feel safe.

“Yeah, Foggy,” Matt replied.

“Where are you? I’ve been calling you for two days now and you’re not at your apartment either!” Foggy exclaimed. His voice wavered. “Did something happen with you know who?”

Matt had told Foggy about Tony’s request and he’d promised him he’d come back.

“I’m fine, Foggy. But yeah, something did happen. I’m at the Avengers Compound but I’m going to need to stay for a while longer.”

“What? Why? What happened? Are you okay?” Foggy asked. “You know we can sue them. I bet we could win.”

“I’ll explain everything later, Foggy. But I’m fine, I promise.” Matt said. He looked up when he heard someone approach. They weren’t close by, but they were heading his way. “Look, I have to go but I’ll call you when I’m coming back, okay?”

“Wait, Matt, what about Karen? What am I going to tell her?”

Matt sighed. “I don’t know. I’m sure you’ll think of something. I’ve got to go,” he said before he hung up. He felt kind of bad about leaving his friend to cover for him but the person was coming closer and he didn’t want them to hear his conversation.

“Daredevil,” Steve spoke up when he was closer.

Matt turned his head in his direction, furrowing his brow. “Captain,” he greeted. He made sure he wasn’t looking in the right direction, not wanting to alert them.

“How are you doing?” Steve asked, silently moving to the direction Matt was looking at.

Matt pursed his lips, darting his eyes upwards. “I’m good. Just needed some fresh air.”

Steve’s heartbeat sped up, signalling that he wanted to say something. He shifted on his feet.

Matt let out a sigh. “I’m fine, cap. No need to feel guilty,” he said. The entire team had been treating him like he was made of glass and Matt was sick of it. He didn’t want their pity.

Steve shifted again. “It’s just, if I’d just given in, or if I’d just lied about the information then this wouldn’t have happened. It’s my fault that you’re blind, Daredevil.”

Matt shook his head. “You weren’t the one who poured acid into my eyes, cap. I don’t blame you and neither should you.”

He turned, placing his left hand against the tree to gather his surroundings.

On his right was the compound, he could feel the vibrations of the people inside, could hear their heartbeats clearly now. The drugs must have worn off. On his left were more trees, the leaves rustling in the soft wind.

He could hear Tony and Bruce talking on the third floor, Peter’s heartbeat close by. Natasha and Clint were in the basement, training.

“But I do blame myself, Daredevil,” Steve said. “It’s because of us that you can’t be Daredevil anymore. We asked you to come on the mission.”

“And I agreed to it, didn’t I? I knew about the consequences. I wouldn’t be Daredevil if I didn’t. so stop the guilt,” Matt snapped. He turned and headed back to the compound. His fists itched and he wanted to hit something.

Steve didn’t follow him but Matt could feel him stare as he walked away.