Chapter 17
Normally, Matt loathed shopping. It was a pointless, time-consuming task, and Christmas shopping was the worst possible type of shopping. Now don’t get him wrong, he loved Christmas time. It was a time for celebration and spending time with family – which in his case was Karen and Foggy, and now Ashley. He wanted to spend time making memories with the people he loved but trying to fight through hordes of people trying to find the most lavish and expensive gifts, or trying to find a gift that would be in equal value to what they expected to receive from the recipient really put a dampener on his mood. Especially when these people would bitch and moan about their meagre Christmas bonuses or having to spend time with particular members of family.
The shops were jam-packed, with the constant reminder of three weeks to Christmas blaring out over the crackling sound systems which were more than enough to give Matt a headache. The only comfort Matt found was in his friends as they dragged him from one shop to the next. Matt didn’t need to see to know that beside him Ashley smiled brightly as Karen showed her a pair of fluffy slippers that looked like kittens, whispering to the younger that she would buy them to put in Matt’s stocking that Karen had hung on his office door earlier that week. Matt couldn’t help but chuckle at the audible thump as the slippers were dumped in the basket hanging from Karen’s arm.
They spent another hour traipsing in and out of shops before Karen finally called for a food break. It was getting close to half five in the afternoon and they had started shopping before one o’clock that afternoon. She and Foggy went off to go pick up some food, leaving Ashley and Matt to head back to Matt’s place ahead of them.
“You seem happier today,” Matt remarked as they trudged through the snow. For the past week or so, it had snowed pretty much every day and the height of the snow would soon reach Ashley’s knees. She was a bit worried she was going to have to dig out her tent later that evening, which would be a long and very cold task. “Things go well at the tower last night?”
“Yeah, you could say that…” Ashley spoke, letting out an amused huff. “Mr Stark and I finished the prototypes for my watch, and I think I have a new friend.”
“Wanda?” Matt asked, to which Ashley nodded. She debated over telling Matt for a moment that Wanda knew her secret, but then decided against it. It would probably only result in her getting into an argument with him and she really didn’t want to kill the good vibe.
“She told me some stories about her brother, Pietro. It put things into perspective.”
“Oh? How so?”
Ashley sighed deeply. “Guilt can be such a useless emotion… Wanda held so much guilt for him dying, but in the end, Pietro’s death came from doing the one thing he valued most in the world – helping his people. Pietro died without regrets and without fear. This world needs more Pietros – people who aren’t afraid to live their lives to such an extent.”
“I’m not sure I can agree with you.” Matt spoke as he slowly mulled over her words. “Guilt creates accountability and remorse. Guilt helps us to identify when we have crossed onto the wrong path, so we can atone for our actions. Fear helps us to rationalise and live responsibly so that we and others don’t have to get hurt unnecessarily.”
“Says ‘the man without fear,’” Ashley scoffed.
“I never boasted to be a model to live life by. In fact, everything I do, you should probably do the opposite.”
“Even if I wanted to study law at Columbia and becoming a defence lawyer?” Ashley asked, leaning against the doorframe as Matt pulled his keys from his pocket.
Matt grinned widely. “Definitely don’t do that… Have you seen how broke me and Foggy are?” Matt ushered Ashley into the apartment and hung up his coat and cane. Ashley immediately dashed for the kitchen and started pulling plates and glasses out of the cupboard ready for when Karen and Foggy came back with food. “I thought you wanted to be a programmer or a scientist or something?”
“Yeah, something like that…” Ashley opened the fridge, wrinkling her nose as she took in the meagre amount of anything in there. “Do you live off pastries and beer?”
“Something like that,” Matt answered back. In response, Ashley snatched a spoon off the counter and threw it at Matt, aiming for his head. Matt caught the spoon right in front of his face and threw it back towards Ashley, who was mostly ducked behind the open fridge door. She stretched out one arm and caught the spoon, not lifting her head from its desperate search in the fridge. “Your reflexes are getting better,” Matt commented as he walked towards her.
“I had a good teacher.” Ashley stood up and closed the fridge, smiling softly at Matt. “I’d probably be dead by now if it weren’t for your help.”
Matt shook his head. “No way. You’re a strong fighter. I could tell from the first time we met.”
“You mean when we both ended up in that dumpster with our butts kicked?”
Matt chuckled at the memory. “Yeah, I could tell even then. You remind me of me.”
Ashley snorted “I somehow find that insulting.” Matt laughed loudly in response. “How many times have I ended up in a dumpster?” Ashley asked just as Foggy and Karen were coming through the front door.
“Once as far as I know.”
“Once, full stop. And how many times have you ended a night in a dumpster?”
Matt sheepishly turned away instead of answering the question. Karen and Foggy were trying hard not to laugh as they started dishing up the Chinese take-out they had brought with them. “At least I never tripped over one of the guys I just knocked out and fell into the harbour…” Matt mumbled around a mouthful of rice.
“Low blow, Murdock…”
“You’re both as bad as each other,” Foggy sighed exasperatedly. “Hey, Matt you got any beers?”
Matt started to stand up to make his way to the fridge when the room was enveloped in a violet glow. The purple tendrils pulled open the fridge door and coiled around three bottles of beer before closing the fridge and setting the beer on the coffee table in front of them. Karen and Foggy stared at Ashley with their jaws hanging wide open, whilst Matt had a disapproving look on his face.
“I see your gifts are back to normal working order. Shouldn’t you consider taking it easy?”
Ashley rolled her eyes as she guided some noodles into her mouth with chopsticks. “I’m fine, Matty. I just had a little hiccup last weekend.”
“What happened?” Karen asked, cracking open a beer.
“Apparently my gifts don’t work too well when I’m running on no sleep. It felt like someone was jabbing tiny knives into my skull repeatedly,” she answered, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.
“Geez kid, do we need to wrap you in bubble wrap?” Foggy asked.
“I’m not opposed to that suggestion,” Matt chimed in, smirking. “We could get one of those giant inflatable bubbles you told me about and put her in that.”
“I’m gonna smack that smirk right off your face in a minute Murdock.”
Matt put down his plate and stood up, his smirk stretching even wider. “Come on then Carter. Get one clean hit on me and I’ll stop.” Ashley stood up too, easily falling into her stance, left foot forward, heels barely touching the floor, both fists in front of her face, but her left fist just out in front, ready to land the first hit. Matt was in a similar stance, but his hands were open, ready to defend against Ashley.
“You guys are not gonna seriously spar right now?” Foggy asked with an exasperated tone.
“No,” Ashley answered with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “We’re gonna fight.”
Ashley lunged forward quickly, dropping her body low at the last second to aim a hit to Matt’s stomach. As she dropped low, Matt’s knee came up, blocking her arms from landing the punch. He then pushed her back with an open palm and lunged himself. He smacked an arm across her shoulders and pushed her to the ground, pinning her with his body weight. Normally, this would be the moment Ashley would tap out, but the sly grin on her face grew as she kicked her legs out from underneath him and wrapped them around his arm and neck, forcing Matt to roll over onto his back. As she squeezed her calves together around Matt’s body, Ashley leaned forward and tapped his cheek with one hand.
“How’s that for a clean hit?”
“You win…” Matt grumbled, and Ashley finally released him. He rubbed his neck, taking a moment to get his bearings before making his way back to the sofa. “Where did you learn that?”
“Natasha and Bucky were teaching me some self-defence moves this morning.” She could feel the piercing gaze that Matt was no doubt trying to muster in her direction. “It’s perfectly normal for a young girl living in New York City to ask for self-defence lessons.” Ashley rolled her eyes as she picked up her plate of food and resumed tucking into her Chow Mein.
The four of them continued eating and chatting and laughing together well into the night. It was getting past nine o’clock when Ashley announced she would head home. All three of them had offered to see Ashley home and Foggy had tried giving her money to call a taxi, but she politely declined, assuring them she would text them as soon as she got home. The walk to her tent in Midtown wasn’t a particularly long one. She got there in about fifteen minutes and quickly fired off a message to the Avocados at Law group chat to let them know she had gotten back. What she failed to let them know is that she wasn’t staying for very long. She changed into her tattered black skinny jeans, (which had some pretty impressive holes in them at this point and were probably more holes than fabric) black vest top and hoodie and she tied her purple scarf around her face. She pulled up the hood on her jacket and made her way back towards the school.
Climbing the school walls was far too easy. The plastic window ledges provided easy grips for her hands and feet, and Ashley was perching on the rooftop within just a few minutes. The school roof provided enough height so that she could see over the area, but it wasn’t too high up so that she might draw attention to herself. She didn’t want to use her wings if she could help it, as they would be a sure give away to anyone who might be on the look-out for her.
Her eyes caught on a couple of shady-looking figures walking the streets below. Two men dressed in jeans and hoodies seemed to be following a young woman who was walking down the street in a pair of heels. The clicking of the red stilettos was echoing in Ashley’s ears. She launched herself from the rooftop, using the parkour skills Matt had taught her to get down safely. She scaled another building near-by that was only a few stories high and jumped across to the next building before finally lowering herself into an alleyway on the other side. She listened carefully as the lady walked past her. She didn’t seem to be in a particular hurry, which led Ashley to believe she hadn’t spotted the two men that were now only a couple of metres distance from her.
Sure enough barely a minute later, the two men had grabbed the lady, one of them securing a hand around her mouth to muffle her screams as they dragged her backwards into the alley Ashley was currently hiding in. She was pressed flat against the wall as the two men unknowingly came towards her.
“We’re going to have fun with you,” one of the men spoke. His voice was scratchy, like nails on a chalkboard and even from a distance, Ashley could smell the thirty-odd cigarettes on his breath.
“If anyone is having fun around here, it’s going to be me,” Ashley announced as she stepped out of her shadowy spot. The two burly men took one look at Ashley’s lithe appearance and snorted. They clearly didn’t think she was much of a challenge. “Let her go.”
“You gonna make us princess?”
Ashley smirked and launched herself at the pair. She landed a kick to the first guy’s face, knocking him out instantly. The other one slowly reached out for her, but she ducked under his arm and kicked him in the back, knocking him up against the wall. As he slid down the brick work, one side of his face grazed up pretty badly, which angered the thug. He let out a roar of frustration and started throwing punches in Ashley’s direction. During the commotion, the woman in the stilettos ran away, the sound of her heels clicking at an incredibly fast pace echoing in the otherwise silence of the street. For the most part, Ashley was able to block the punches aimed at her. But as she was too busy blocking her face from the flurry of fists, she didn’t notice the knee that came up swiftly smacking her in the stomach. As Ashley fell backwards from the force, her powers took over instinctively. The familiar smoky coils found a nearby manhole cover, lifting it up high before launching it at the thug’s head. The resounding smack as his body hit the floor had Ashley grinning.
She stood up, briefly dusting herself off before making her way out to the street. Adrenaline was thrumming in her veins like an electrical current. Putting a hand to her stomach, she winced softly. That was definitely going to leave a nasty bruise, but her night wasn’t over yet.
It was well past midnight when she eventually stopped. She had gotten herself a few more scrapes and cuts, but nothing too serious. Ashley had stopped thieves and muggers and had even interrupted a drug deal. Everyone had been left knocked out cold and a few anonymous tips had been left to the police to find the trail of criminals she had left behind her.
Ashley was perched on a nearby fire escape as she watched the police come to apprehend her last one for the evening. The man she had caught had been trying to convince some kids to sell some drugs – heroin she thinks – for him. He had managed to get a lucky hit in, and she now had a bloody gash running along her temple and dripping down her neck. Once she had him down, she wanted to make sure he stayed down until the police arrived. The familiar voice of Detective Sergeant Mahoney reached her ears as she watched two uniformed officers wrestle the now groggy, but mostly awake dealer into the back of a cop car.
“These damn vigilantes are making us look incompetent. I’ve had my eyes on this guy for weeks and nothing. One vigilante comes along and takes him out on the streets for us like it’s easy.”
“It wasn’t easy, detective,” Ashley called down to Brett. She was mostly still hidden in the shadows. Brett’s gaze scanned over the building she was perching on, trying to pinpoint her exact location. “He put up one hell of a fight, but I caught him trying to get a group of teens to sell the drugs on. I think they go to Midtown Tech, if you want to start there, detective.”
Brett scoffed, running a hand across his forehead. “Thanks, umm…”
“Pegasus,” Ashley answered. “Just do me a favour and don’t mention to anyone that I was here.” With that Ashley jumped up the fire escape and launched herself across to the next building, heading back to her tent.
Ashley felt pretty satisfied as she settled into her sleeping bag that night. Her ribs and head were hurting from the mild assault on them earlier that night, but she felt good. She felt that she had made a difference tonight. The rush and exhilaration that the fights had given her was still buzzing just underneath her skin. She was starting to understand why Matt went out every night. It wasn’t just about helping people and curing the city. The fight itself was enthralling, and fast on its way to becoming addictive. Her knuckles were looking a little busted, with blood dripping down her fingers, but the pain was like a burning sensation that warmed her up from the icy wind. She tried to clean her bloodied knuckles up as best she could with the few supplies she had before heading to sleep for the night, but not before overriding her watch so that no alerts were sent to Wanda.
***
School was now finished, so Ashley spent most of her time at the local library during the daytime. Tony had had to cancel lab time this week due to him and Pepper needing to travel to Europe for a business deal. So that Wednesday, Ashley found herself tucked up in a corner of the library working on some of her internship projects on her laptop. For the most part she was tweaking EMMA’s coding, but she had also started studying prosthetics for a future project she was sure Tony was going to send hers and Peter’s way eventually.
Her first pay check was coming in at the end of the week and Ashley couldn’t wait to upgrade her Pegasus gear and maybe invest in some medical supplies. The knuckles on her right hand were split and they stung every time she clenched her fists, but it didn’t stop her from going out every night. She was now nursing a split lip as well, so it was probably a good thing Ashley didn’t have any food. As a reminder her stomach grumbled loudly at the thought. If she asked, she was sure Matt would give her some food, but he would also take one proverbial look at her and give her a lecture as well, which would only sour the good mood Ashley was in. There was a small amount of change in her coat pocket, left over from when she had bought the thick winter jacket that was currently wrapped around her shivering frame. Night would soon be falling, so Ashley packed up her laptop and returned the books she had been reading before heading off, making sure to bid goodnight to the librarian Ms Fisher.
It was now dark, so she dumped her bag at the tent and took a walk to Koreatown, dipping into one of their convenience stores to grab some food before going on patrol. Inside, she bought herself a pot of instant ramyun, which she cooked inside the shop and then sat in the window to eat, watching the people and cars pass her by. As night started to fall, the street lit up in neon signs and the small bars across the street from where she was sat began to open as men and women in business suits filled the tables and chairs that were put out. The streets got noisier as the sounds of laughter, glass clinking, and very bad singing filled the air. Ashley couldn’t help but smile. This was what New York City was about – the people were out there making noise and having fun, but of course it couldn’t last.
During her people watching, Ashley had noticed a black SUV go around the block twice and it was now on its third drive past the convenience store. She recognised the plates on the car, which was how she knew it was the same vehicle each time it went round. Ashley discarded what was left of her meal and dashed out of the door. She turned into the first alley she came across and climbed up the fire escape as quickly as she could. She climbed as high as she could before jumping across to the next building and continued to go up higher. Once she hit the rooftop though, she had nowhere else to go. There were around six men dressed in black suits in front of her. They quickly circled her so she couldn’t go back down the side of the building she had just scaled. Two of the men were holding katanas, another two had hand pistols, one of them was carrying a pair of nun-chucks and the last one appeared to be empty-handed. He stepped forward, lifting up his sunglasses to reveal a pair of dark eyes that glared at Ashley menacingly.
“You should really come quietly. You won’t win this fight.”
Ashley clenched her fist, despite the protest from her knuckles. “I have no intentions of coming with you,” she seethed, dropping into her stance. “What are you doing with the mutants?”
“Come with us and you can see for yourself,” the man answered. He stepped back, moving towards the edge of the rooftop and lit up a cigarette before making a waving gesture with his hand. That was all it took for the men around her to move in.
Ashley let her instincts take over immediately – five on one wasn’t a fair fight after all. Energy buzzed incessantly under her skin as her power curled around the two guns, yanking them out of the thugs hands and throwing them off the side of the building. At the same time, she ducked out of the way as one of the men armed with a katana lunged for her. As he moved behind her, she kicked him in the back of his calf, effectively snapping the bone. The man fell to the floor with a scream, but his teammates were not deterred. The two that had been holding guns were now resorting to their fists and feet and they both lunged at her while she was trying to block being skewered by the other katana. Without thinking, she dragged one of the men in front of her, using him as a shield as the katana lunged for her again. There was a sickening squelch as the man in front of her was run through, the blade poking out through his stomach, just inches away from Ashley. While the man was trying to pry the katana from his comrade’s body, Ashley kicked the other gunman, who had landed a smack to her face. He fell onto the man with the broken leg, who screamed again, and Ashley proceeded to kick them both in the head.
That left two men (not counting the supposed leader, who was watching the fight from a distance). Ashley spread her wings, using them to jump high as the man with the katana pounced towards her, twirling the blade in his hands. She was so focused on him as he swung the blade at her, that she hadn’t noticed the man with the nun-chucks. He made his presence known when the nun-chucks were smashed against her right wing. Ashley let out a piercing howl as the bones shattered on impact. That distraction allowed the swordsman to swipe the katana down her side, creating a long, deep gash in her stomach.
Ashley roared as her powers took over. She was blinded by pain as her wings curled around her protectively, despite the throbbing the shattered bones of her right wing brought her. She didn’t see when the violet tendrils reached for the two katanas and stabbed both the remaining assailants through the chest. The man who had been watching dropped his cigarette, stomping it out with his shoe before walking over to Ashley.
“Oh, Miss Carter. You’re far more powerful than we imagined.” Ashley staggered to her feet as he spoke, dragging herself to the building ledge. “We really didn’t want to hurt you like this. But I don’t think you’ll be getting away from us this time. It’s a long drop from here.”
Ashley shot him a glare over her shoulder. She clutched at her stomach with one hand, trying to stem the blood flow from the large cut. She groaned softly as she stepped up to the roof ledge. “I’ll take my chances,” she muttered as she stepped off the building. She began falling and she was sure she was about to meet a very sticky end with the pavement below, especially as it quickly moved closer and closer to her face with each second. But, despite the intense pain that burned through her, her wings began to move, keeping her afloat in the air. She cried and whimpered with each flap of her right wing, her altitude dropping every so often under the strain of moving the broken bones. She somehow made it back to Midtown, crashing into an alleyway near the school. Her face, arms and legs grazed the pavement as she crashed, not unlike how a motorcyclist skids across the road when they come off their bike at high speeds. She laid there for a minute; face buried against the tarmac. Her breaths came in short, sharp pants and her chest felt increasingly tight as she tried to sit herself up. She managed to sit up, leaning against the side of whatever building she had landed beside. There was a buzzing coming from somewhere to her left. At first she thought it was her gifts, sizzling under the surface of her skin in preparation for the next attack. But after focusing, she realised it was the heavy vibrations of her watch. A moment later, the voice of her AI cut through the fog building in Ashley’s head.
“Ashley, I have detected a large amount of blood loss from a laceration in your abdomen. I am also detecting multiple contusions and broken bones. I have alerted Wanda.”
Ashley groaned loudly in answer and heaved herself up to a standing position, although she was leaning heavily against the brick wall. She dragged herself along the alleyway until she was out onto the street. She was fairly relieved when the entrance to the school greeted her and she began a stumbling walk to get back to her tent. She stumbled and fell over a few times, especially as she made her way across the school field at a snail’s pace. Each time she fell, tripping over her own feet, the struggle to get back up was harder and harder. Her right hand was now soaked red from where she held it against her stomach. Once she got to her tent, her legs gave out for the last time. She couldn’t muster the energy to change or crawl into her sleeping bag. Instead, she just laid there and hoped the ringing in her ears would stop soon. She patted the pockets of her hoodie and coat, and groaned when she realised they were empty – she had dropped her phone.
Ashley turned onto her left side, taking as much of the weight off her broken wing as possible, allowing it to flop uselessly on top of her. There was no way she could put her wings away in this state. The pain would be too much; she remembered the dull ache she carried for days after Matt had plucked that bullet from her wing. Time seemed to slow around her, or maybe that was just the thump of her heartbeat echoing in her skull. Her eyelids were fluttering as if someone had attached lead weights to them and one last thought crossed her before she was dragged under.
Matt’s gonna be so pissed when he finds out I ruined his hoodie.